Measurement of the fast electron distribution in laser-plasma experiments in the context of the 'fast ignition' approach to inertial confinement fusion

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Batani, Dimitri; Morace, Alessio

2010-01-01

The recent 'fast ignition approach' to ICF relies on the presence of fast electrons to provide the 'external' ignition spark triggering the nuclear fusion reaction in the compressed core of a thermonuclear target. Such fast electron beam is produced by the interaction of a short-pulse high-intensity laser with the target itself. In this context, it becomes essential to characterize the density of fast electrons and their average energy (i.e. the 'laser to fast electron' energy conversion efficiency) but also the finer details of the velocity and angular distribution. In this work we will discuss several techniques used to determine the fast electron distribution function.

Fast parallel approach for 2-D DHT-based real-valued discrete Gabor transform.

Science.gov (United States)

Tao, Liang; Kwan, Hon Keung

2009-12-01

Two-dimensional fast Gabor transform algorithms are useful for real-time applications due to the high computational complexity of the traditional 2-D complex-valued discrete Gabor transform (CDGT). This paper presents two block time-recursive algorithms for 2-D DHT-based real-valued discrete Gabor transform (RDGT) and its inverse transform and develops a fast parallel approach for the implementation of the two algorithms. The computational complexity of the proposed parallel approach is analyzed and compared with that of the existing 2-D CDGT algorithms. The results indicate that the proposed parallel approach is attractive for real time image processing.

Combining shallow and deep processing for a robust, fast, deep-linguistic dependency parser

OpenAIRE

Schneider, G

2004-01-01

This paper describes Pro3Gres, a fast, robust, broad-coverage parser that delivers deep-linguistic grammatical relation structures as output, which are closer to predicate-argument structures and more informative than pure constituency structures. The parser stays as shallow as is possible for each task, combining shallow and deep-linguistic methods by integrating chunking and by expressing the majority of long-distance dependencies in a context-free way. It combines statistical and rule-base...

Combining M-FISH and Quantum Dot technology for fast chromosomal assignment of transgenic insertions

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Yusuf Mohammed

2011-12-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Physical mapping of transgenic insertions by Fluorescence in situ Hybridization (FISH is a reliable and cost-effective technique. Chromosomal assignment is commonly achieved either by concurrent G-banding or by a multi-color FISH approach consisting of iteratively co-hybridizing the transgenic sequence of interest with one or more chromosome-specific probes at a time, until the location of the transgenic insertion is identified. Results Here we report a technical development for fast chromosomal assignment of transgenic insertions at the single cell level in mouse and rat models. This comprises a simplified 'single denaturation mixed hybridization' procedure that combines multi-color karyotyping by Multiplex FISH (M-FISH, for simultaneous and unambiguous identification of all chromosomes at once, and the use of a Quantum Dot (QD conjugate for the transgene detection. Conclusions Although the exploitation of the unique optical properties of QD nanocrystals, such as photo-stability and brightness, to improve FISH performance generally has been previously investigated, to our knowledge this is the first report of a purpose-designed molecular cytogenetic protocol in which the combined use of QDs and standard organic fluorophores is specifically tailored to assist gene transfer technology.

Edge turbulence measurement in Heliotron J using a combination of hybrid probe system and fast cameras

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nishino, N.; Zang, L.; Takeuchi, M.; Mizuuchi, T.; Ohshima, S.; Kasajima, K.; Sha, M.; Mukai, K.; Lee, H.Y.; Nagasaki, K.; Okada, H.; Minami, T.; Kobayashi, S.; Yamamoto, S.; Konoshima, S.; Nakamura, Y.; Sano, F.

2013-01-01

The hybrid probe system (a combination of Langmuir probes and magnetic probes), fast camera and gas puffing system were installed at the same toroidal section to study edge plasma turbulence/fluctuation in Heliotron J, especially blob (intermittent filament). Fast camera views the location of the probe head, so that the probe system yields the time evolution of the turbulence/fluctuation while the camera images the spatial profile. Gas puff at the same toroidal section was used to control the plasma density and simultaneous gas puff imaging technique. Using this combined system the filamentary structure associated with magnetic fluctuation was found in Heliotron J at the first time. The other kind of fluctuation was also observed at another experiment. This combination measurement enables us to distinguish MHD activity and electro-static activity

Fast and accurate resonance assignment of small-to-large proteins by combining automated and manual approaches.

Science.gov (United States)

Niklasson, Markus; Ahlner, Alexandra; Andresen, Cecilia; Marsh, Joseph A; Lundström, Patrik

2015-01-01

The process of resonance assignment is fundamental to most NMR studies of protein structure and dynamics. Unfortunately, the manual assignment of residues is tedious and time-consuming, and can represent a significant bottleneck for further characterization. Furthermore, while automated approaches have been developed, they are often limited in their accuracy, particularly for larger proteins. Here, we address this by introducing the software COMPASS, which, by combining automated resonance assignment with manual intervention, is able to achieve accuracy approaching that from manual assignments at greatly accelerated speeds. Moreover, by including the option to compensate for isotope shift effects in deuterated proteins, COMPASS is far more accurate for larger proteins than existing automated methods. COMPASS is an open-source project licensed under GNU General Public License and is available for download from http://www.liu.se/forskning/foass/tidigare-foass/patrik-lundstrom/software?l=en. Source code and binaries for Linux, Mac OS X and Microsoft Windows are available.

Fast and accurate resonance assignment of small-to-large proteins by combining automated and manual approaches.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Markus Niklasson

2015-01-01

Full Text Available The process of resonance assignment is fundamental to most NMR studies of protein structure and dynamics. Unfortunately, the manual assignment of residues is tedious and time-consuming, and can represent a significant bottleneck for further characterization. Furthermore, while automated approaches have been developed, they are often limited in their accuracy, particularly for larger proteins. Here, we address this by introducing the software COMPASS, which, by combining automated resonance assignment with manual intervention, is able to achieve accuracy approaching that from manual assignments at greatly accelerated speeds. Moreover, by including the option to compensate for isotope shift effects in deuterated proteins, COMPASS is far more accurate for larger proteins than existing automated methods. COMPASS is an open-source project licensed under GNU General Public License and is available for download from http://www.liu.se/forskning/foass/tidigare-foass/patrik-lundstrom/software?l=en. Source code and binaries for Linux, Mac OS X and Microsoft Windows are available.

ELFR: The European Lead Fast Reactor. Design, Safety Approach and Safety Characteristics

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Alemberti, Alessandro

2012-01-01

• In the framework of the LEADER project, the safety approach for a Lead cooled fast reactor has been defined and, in particular, all the possible challenges to the main safety functions and their mechanisms have been specified, in order to better define the needed provisions. • On the basis of the above and taking into account the results of the safety analyses performed during previous project (ELSY), a reference configuration of the ELFR plant has been consolidated, by improving and updating the plant design features. In particular, the emerged safety concerns have been analyzed in the LEADER project and a new set of design options and safety provisions have been proposed. • The combination of favourable Lead coolant inherent characteristics and plant design features, specifically developed to face identified challenges, resulted in a very robust and forgiving design, even in very extreme conditions, as a Fukushima-like scenario

FAST: a combined NOC and transient fuel performance model using a commercial FEM environment

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Prudil, A.; Bell, J.; Oussoren, A.; Chan, P. [Royal Military College of Canada, Kingston, ON (Canada); Lewis, B. [Univ. of Ontario Inst. of Tech., Oshawa, ON (Canada)

2014-07-01

The Fuel And Sheath modelling Tool (FAST) is a combined normal operating conditions (NOC) and transient fuel performance code developed on the COMSOL Multiphysics finite-element platform. The FAST code has demonstrated excellent performance in proof of concept validation tests against experimental data and comparison to the ELESIM, ELESTRES and ELOCA fuel performance codes. In this paper we discuss ongoing efforts to expand the capabilities of the code to include multiple pellet geometries, model stress-corrosion cracking phenomena and modelling of advanced fuels composed of mixed oxides of thorium, uranium, and plutonium for the Canadian Supercritical Water Reactor (SCWR). (author)

Quantifying the Metabolome of Pseudomonas taiwanensis VLB120: Evaluation of Hot and Cold Combined Quenching/Extraction Approaches

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Wordofa, Gossa Garedew; Kristensen, Mette; Schrübbers, Lars

2017-01-01

Absolute quantification of free intracellular metabolites is a valuable tool in both pathway discovery and metabolic engineering. In this study, we conducted a comprehensive examination of different hot and cold combined quenching/extraction approaches to extract and quantify intracellular...... (such as cold methanol/acetonitrile/water, hot water, and boiling ethanol/water, as well as cold ethanol/water) were tested and evaluated for P. taiwanensis VLB120 metabolome analysis. In total 94 out of 107 detected intracellular metabolites were quantified using an isotope-ratio-based approach....... The quantified metabolites include amino acids, nucleotides, central carbon metabolism intermediates, redox cofactors, and others. The acquired data demonstrate that the pressure driven fast filtration approach followed by boiling ethanol quenching/extraction is the most adequate technique for P. taiwanensis VLB...

Concealed nuclear material identification via combined fast-neutron/γ-ray computed tomography (FNGCT): a Monte Carlo study

Science.gov (United States)

Licata, M.; Joyce, M. J.

2018-02-01

The potential of a combined and simultaneous fast-neutron/γ-ray computed tomography technique using Monte Carlo simulations is described. This technique is applied on the basis of a hypothetical tomography system comprising an isotopic radiation source (americium-beryllium) and a number (13) of organic scintillation detectors for the production and detection of both fast neutrons and γ rays, respectively. Via a combination of γ-ray and fast neutron tomography the potential is demonstrated to discern nuclear materials, such as compounds comprising plutonium and uranium, from substances that are used widely for neutron moderation and shielding. This discrimination is achieved on the basis of the difference in the attenuation characteristics of these substances. Discrimination of a variety of nuclear material compounds from shielding/moderating substances (the latter comprising lead or polyethylene for example) is shown to be challenging when using either γ-ray or neutron tomography in isolation of one another. Much-improved contrast is obtained for a combination of these tomographic modalities. This method has potential applications for in-situ, non-destructive assessments in nuclear security, safeguards, waste management and related requirements in the nuclear industry.

Simulation of dose deposition in stereotactic synchrotron radiation therapy: a fast approach combining Monte Carlo and deterministic algorithms

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Smekens, F; Freud, N; Letang, J M; Babot, D [CNDRI (Nondestructive Testing using Ionizing Radiations) Laboratory, INSA-Lyon, 69621 Villeurbanne Cedex (France); Adam, J-F; Elleaume, H; Esteve, F [INSERM U-836, Equipe 6 ' Rayonnement Synchrotron et Recherche Medicale' , Institut des Neurosciences de Grenoble (France); Ferrero, C; Bravin, A [European Synchrotron Radiation Facility, Grenoble (France)], E-mail: francois.smekens@insa-lyon.fr

2009-08-07

A hybrid approach, combining deterministic and Monte Carlo (MC) calculations, is proposed to compute the distribution of dose deposited during stereotactic synchrotron radiation therapy treatment. The proposed approach divides the computation into two parts: (i) the dose deposited by primary radiation (coming directly from the incident x-ray beam) is calculated in a deterministic way using ray casting techniques and energy-absorption coefficient tables and (ii) the dose deposited by secondary radiation (Rayleigh and Compton scattering, fluorescence) is computed using a hybrid algorithm combining MC and deterministic calculations. In the MC part, a small number of particle histories are simulated. Every time a scattering or fluorescence event takes place, a splitting mechanism is applied, so that multiple secondary photons are generated with a reduced weight. The secondary events are further processed in a deterministic way, using ray casting techniques. The whole simulation, carried out within the framework of the Monte Carlo code Geant4, is shown to converge towards the same results as the full MC simulation. The speed of convergence is found to depend notably on the splitting multiplicity, which can easily be optimized. To assess the performance of the proposed algorithm, we compare it to state-of-the-art MC simulations, accelerated by the track length estimator technique (TLE), considering a clinically realistic test case. It is found that the hybrid approach is significantly faster than the MC/TLE method. The gain in speed in a test case was about 25 for a constant precision. Therefore, this method appears to be suitable for treatment planning applications.

A FAST APPROACH FOR STITCHING OF AERIAL IMAGES

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

A. Moussa

2016-06-01

Full Text Available The last few years have witnessed an increasing volume of aerial image data because of the extensive improvements of the Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs. These newly developed UAVs have led to a wide variety of applications. A fast assessment of the achieved coverage and overlap of the acquired images of a UAV flight mission is of great help to save the time and cost of the further steps. A fast automatic stitching of the acquired images can help to visually assess the achieved coverage and overlap during the flight mission. This paper proposes an automatic image stitching approach that creates a single overview stitched image using the acquired images during a UAV flight mission along with a coverage image that represents the count of overlaps between the acquired images. The main challenge of such task is the huge number of images that are typically involved in such scenarios. A short flight mission with image acquisition frequency of one second can capture hundreds to thousands of images. The main focus of the proposed approach is to reduce the processing time of the image stitching procedure by exploiting the initial knowledge about the images positions provided by the navigation sensors. The proposed approach also avoids solving for all the transformation parameters of all the photos together to save the expected long computation time if all the parameters were considered simultaneously. After extracting the points of interest of all the involved images using Scale-Invariant Feature Transform (SIFT algorithm, the proposed approach uses the initial image’s coordinates to build an incremental constrained Delaunay triangulation that represents the neighborhood of each image. This triangulation helps to match only the neighbor images and therefore reduces the time-consuming features matching step. The estimated relative orientation between the matched images is used to find a candidate seed image for the stitching process. The pre

Fast simulation of non-linear pulsed ultrasound fields using an angular spectrum approach

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Du, Yigang; Jensen, Jørgen Arendt

2013-01-01

A fast non-linear pulsed ultrasound field simulation is presented. It is implemented based on an angular spectrum approach (ASA), which analytically solves the non-linear wave equation. The ASA solution to the Westervelt equation is derived in detail. The calculation speed is significantly...... increased compared to a numerical solution using an operator splitting method (OSM). The ASA has been modified and extended to pulsed non-linear ultrasound fields in combination with Field II, where any array transducer with arbitrary geometry, excitation, focusing and apodization can be simulated...... with a center frequency of 5 MHz. The speed is increased approximately by a factor of 140 and the calculation time is 12 min with a standard PC, when simulating the second harmonic pulse at the focal point. For the second harmonic point spread function the full width error is 1.5% at 6 dB and 6.4% at 12 d...

Fast approach to evaluate MAP reconstruction for lesion detection and localization

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Qi, Jinyi; Huesman, Ronald H.

2004-01-01

Lesion detection is an important task in emission tomography. Localization ROC (LROC) studies are often used to analyze the lesion detection and localization performance. Most researchers rely on Monte Carlo reconstruction samples to obtain LROC curves, which can be very time-consuming for iterative algorithms. In this paper we develop a fast approach to obtain LROC curves that does not require Monte Carlo reconstructions. We use a channelized Hotelling observer model to search for lesions, and the results can be easily extended to other numerical observers. We theoretically analyzed the mean and covariance of the observer output. Assuming the observer outputs are multivariate Gaussian random variables, an LROC curve can be directly generated by integrating the conditional probability density functions. The high-dimensional integrals are calculated using a Monte Carlo method. The proposed approach is very fast because no iterative reconstruction is involved. Computer simulations show that the results of the proposed method match well with those obtained using the tradition LROC analysis

A Novel Approach to Resonant Absorption of the Fast Magnetohydrodynamic Eigenmodes of a Coronal Arcade

Science.gov (United States)

Hindman, Bradley W.; Jain, Rekha

2018-05-01

The arched field lines forming coronal arcades are often observed to undulate as magnetohydrodynamic waves propagate both across and along the magnetic field. These waves are most likely a combination of resonantly coupled fast magnetoacoustic waves and Alfvén waves. The coupling results in resonant absorption of the fast waves, converting fast wave energy into Alfvén waves. The fast eigenmodes of the arcade have proven difficult to compute or derive analytically, largely because of the mathematical complexity that the coupling introduces. When a traditional spectral decomposition is employed, the discrete spectrum associated with the fast eigenmodes is often subsumed into the continuous Alfvén spectrum. Thus fast eigenmodes become collective modes or quasi-modes. Here we present a spectral decomposition that treats the eigenmodes as having real frequencies but complex wavenumbers. Using this procedure we derive dispersion relations, spatial damping rates, and eigenfunctions for the resonant, fast eigenmodes of the arcade. We demonstrate that resonant absorption introduces a fast mode that would not exist otherwise. This new mode is heavily damped by resonant absorption, travelling only a few wavelengths before losing most of its energy.

Research on a Pulmonary Nodule Segmentation Method Combining Fast Self-Adaptive FCM and Classification

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Hui Liu

2015-01-01

Full Text Available The key problem of computer-aided diagnosis (CAD of lung cancer is to segment pathologically changed tissues fast and accurately. As pulmonary nodules are potential manifestation of lung cancer, we propose a fast and self-adaptive pulmonary nodules segmentation method based on a combination of FCM clustering and classification learning. The enhanced spatial function considers contributions to fuzzy membership from both the grayscale similarity between central pixels and single neighboring pixels and the spatial similarity between central pixels and neighborhood and improves effectively the convergence rate and self-adaptivity of the algorithm. Experimental results show that the proposed method can achieve more accurate segmentation of vascular adhesion, pleural adhesion, and ground glass opacity (GGO pulmonary nodules than other typical algorithms.

Combining an Electrothermal and Impedance Aging Model to Investigate Thermal Degradation Caused by Fast Charging

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Joris de Hoog

2018-03-01

Full Text Available Fast charging is an exciting topic in the field of electric and hybrid electric vehicles (EVs/HEVs. In order to achieve faster charging times, fast-charging applications involve high-current profiles which can lead to high cell temperature increase, and in some cases thermal runaways. There has been some research on the impact caused by fast-charging profiles. This research is mostly focused on the electrical, thermal and aging aspects of the cell individually, but these factors are never treated together. In this paper, the thermal progression of the lithium-ion battery under specific fast-charging profiles is investigated and modeled. The cell is a Lithium Nickel Manganese Cobalt Oxide/graphite-based cell (NMC rated at 20 Ah, and thermal images during fast-charging have been taken at four degradation states: 100%, 90%, 85%, and 80% State-of-Health (SoH. A semi-empirical resistance aging model is developed using gathered data from extensive cycling and calendar aging tests, which is coupled to an electrothermal model. This novel combined model achieves good agreement with the measurements, with simulation results always within 2 °C of the measured values. This study presents a modeling methodology that is usable to predict the potential temperature distribution for lithium-ion batteries (LiBs during fast-charging profiles at different aging states, which would be of benefit for Battery Management Systems (BMS in future thermal strategies.

Efficient Discovery of Novel Multicomponent Mixtures for Hydrogen Storage: A Combined Computational/Experimental Approach

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Wolverton, Christopher [Northwestern Univ., Evanston, IL (United States). Dept. of Materials Science and Engineering; Ozolins, Vidvuds [Univ. of California, Los Angeles, CA (United States). Dept. of Materials Science and Engineering; Kung, Harold H. [Northwestern Univ., Evanston, IL (United States). Dept. of Chemical and Biological Engineering; Yang, Jun [Ford Scientific Research Lab., Dearborn, MI (United States); Hwang, Sonjong [California Inst. of Technology (CalTech), Pasadena, CA (United States). Dept. of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering; Shore, Sheldon [The Ohio State Univ., Columbus, OH (United States). Dept. of Chemistry and Biochemistry

2016-11-28

The objective of the proposed program is to discover novel mixed hydrides for hydrogen storage, which enable the DOE 2010 system-level goals. Our goal is to find a material that desorbs 8.5 wt.% H₂ or more at temperatures below 85°C. The research program will combine first-principles calculations of reaction thermodynamics and kinetics with material and catalyst synthesis, testing, and characterization. We will combine materials from distinct categories (e.g., chemical and complex hydrides) to form novel multicomponent reactions. Systems to be studied include mixtures of complex hydrides and chemical hydrides [e.g. LiNH²⁺NH₃BH₃] and nitrogen-hydrogen based borohydrides [e.g. Al(BH₄)₃(NH₃)₃]. The 2010 and 2015 FreedomCAR/DOE targets for hydrogen storage systems are very challenging, and cannot be met with existing materials. The vast majority of the work to date has delineated materials into various classes, e.g., complex and metal hydrides, chemical hydrides, and sorbents. However, very recent studies indicate that mixtures of storage materials, particularly mixtures between various classes, hold promise to achieve technological attributes that materials within an individual class cannot reach. Our project involves a systematic, rational approach to designing novel multicomponent mixtures of materials with fast hydrogenation/dehydrogenation kinetics and favorable thermodynamics using a combination of state-of-the-art scientific computing and experimentation. We will use the accurate predictive power of first-principles modeling to understand the thermodynamic and microscopic kinetic processes involved in hydrogen release and uptake and to design new material/catalyst systems with improved properties. Detailed characterization and atomic-scale catalysis experiments will elucidate the effect of dopants and nanoscale catalysts in achieving fast kinetics and reversibility. And

ECONOMIC APPROACH ON FAST-FOOD UNITS - CASE STUDY

OpenAIRE

Cristiana TINDECHE; Liliana POPESCU

2012-01-01

The globalization phenomenon that characterizes the century we are living in includes even the food we consume which is mostly fast-food products. Fast-foods are internationally expanding at an amazing pace. In the century of speed, when the modern man is in a permanent rush for confirmation, success, money and the time is passing unbelievably fast, the fast-food is a perfect alternative for having a meal out in the city or for preparing dinner at home [5]. Because fast-food products are del...

Fast Transverse Beam Instability Caused by Electron Cloud Trapped in Combined Function Magnets

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Antipov, Sergey [Univ. of Chicago, IL (United States)

2017-03-01

Electron cloud instabilities affect the performance of many circular high-intensity particle accelerators. They usually have a fast growth rate and might lead to an increase of the transverse emittance and beam loss. A peculiar example of such an instability is observed in the Fermilab Recycler proton storage ring. Although this instability might pose a challenge for future intensity upgrades, its nature had not been completely understood. The phenomena has been studied experimentally by comparing the dynamics of stable and unstable beam, numerically by simulating the build-up of the electron cloud and its interaction with the beam, and analytically by constructing a model of an electron cloud driven instability with the electrons trapped in combined function dipoles. Stabilization of the beam by a clearing bunch reveals that the instability is caused by the electron cloud, trapped in beam optics magnets. Measurements of microwave propagation confirm the presence of the cloud in the combined function dipoles. Numerical simulations show that up to 10$^{-2}$ of the particles can be trapped by their magnetic field. Since the process of electron cloud build-up is exponential, once trapped this amount of electrons significantly increases the density of the cloud on the next revolution. In a combined function dipole this multi-turn accumulation allows the electron cloud reaching final intensities orders of magnitude greater than in a pure dipole. The estimated fast instability growth rate of about 30 revolutions and low mode frequency of 0.4 MHz are consistent with experimental observations and agree with the simulations. The created instability model allows investigating the beam stability for the future intensity upgrades.

FastChem: An ultra-fast equilibrium chemistry

Science.gov (United States)

Kitzmann, Daniel; Stock, Joachim

2018-04-01

FastChem is an equilibrium chemistry code that calculates the chemical composition of the gas phase for given temperatures and pressures. Written in C++, it is based on a semi-analytic approach, and is optimized for extremely fast and accurate calculations.

Love-Wave Sensors Combined with Microfluidics for Fast Detection of Biological Warfare Agents

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Daniel Matatagui

2014-07-01

Full Text Available The following paper examines a time-efficient method for detecting biological warfare agents (BWAs. The method is based on a system of a Love-wave immunosensor combined with a microfluidic chip which detects BWA samples in a dynamic mode. In this way a continuous flow-through of the sample is created, promoting the reaction between antigen and antibody and allowing a fast detection of the BWAs. In order to prove this method, static and dynamic modes have been simulated and different concentrations of BWA simulants have been tested with two immunoreactions: phage M13 has been detected using the mouse monoclonal antibody anti-M13 (AM13, and the rabbit immunoglobulin (Rabbit IgG has been detected using the polyclonal antibody goat anti-rabbit (GAR. Finally, different concentrations of each BWA simulants have been detected with a fast response time and a desirable level of discrimination among them has been achieved.

Combination of fast-ion diagnostics in velocity-space tomographies

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Salewski, Mirko; Geiger, B.; Nielsen, Stefan Kragh

2013-01-01

Fast-ion Dα (FIDA) and collective Thomson scattering (CTS) diagnostics provide indirect measurements of fast-ion velocity distribution functions in magnetically confined plasmas. Here we present the first prescription for velocity-space tomographic inversion of CTS and FIDA measurements that can ...

Tracing Fasting Glucose Fluxes with Unstressed Catheter Approach in Streptozotocin Induced Diabetic Rats

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Shichun Du

2014-01-01

Full Text Available Objective. Blood glucose concentrations of type 1 diabetic rats are vulnerable, especially to stress and trauma. The present study aimed to investigate the fasting endogenous glucose production and skeletal muscle glucose uptake of Streptozotocin induced type 1 diabetic rats using an unstressed vein and artery implantation of catheters at the tails of the rats as a platform. Research Design and Methods. Streptozotocin (65 mg·kg−1 was administered to induce type 1 diabetic state. The unstressed approach of catheters of vein and artery at the tails of the rats was established before the isotope tracer injection. Dynamic measurement of fasting endogenous glucose production was assessed by continuously infusing stable isotope [6, 6-2H2] glucose, while skeletal muscle glucose uptake by bolus injecting radioactively labeled [1-14C]-2-deoxy-glucose. Results. Streptozotocin induced type 1 diabetic rats displayed polydipsia, polyphagia, and polyuria along with overt hyperglycemia and hypoinsulinemia. They also had enhanced fasting endogenous glucose production and reduced glucose uptake in skeletal muscle compared to nondiabetic rats. Conclusions. The dual catheters implantation at the tails of the rats together with isotope tracers injection is a save time, unstressed, and feasible approach to explore the glucose metabolism in animal models in vivo.

A fast track approach to commercializing the sodium cooled fast reactor

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Boardman, C.E.; Hui, Marvin; Carroll, Douglas

1999-01-01

As a result of more than 50 years of Liquid Metal Reactor design and development work the basic technology is well understood. However, commercialization of the Fast Breeder Reactor (FBR) has been delayed while various approaches to achieving competitive plant and fuel cycle costs are explored, developed, and demonstrated in prototype systems. Most designers have elected to take advantage of the economy of scale but are burdened by the cost and risk associated with the need for incremental scale up through the design, construction, and operation of multiple demonstration plants. An alternative commercialization path developed by GE would utilize a modular plant design to reduce the plant construction, R and D, and economic risk associated with the need to build multiple demonstration plants to reach a competitive size'. The key question is can a modular FBR compete with alternative electrical generation systems? Recently completed studies indicate that the answer to this question is yes if the modular plant designers keep the design simple by incorporating passive safety features and optimizing the manner in which supporting service systems are shared. (author)

A combined finite element-boundary integral formulation for solution of two-dimensional scattering problems via CGFFT. [Conjugate Gradient Fast Fourier Transformation

Science.gov (United States)

Collins, Jeffery D.; Volakis, John L.; Jin, Jian-Ming

1990-01-01

A new technique is presented for computing the scattering by 2-D structures of arbitrary composition. The proposed solution approach combines the usual finite element method with the boundary-integral equation to formulate a discrete system. This is subsequently solved via the conjugate gradient (CG) algorithm. A particular characteristic of the method is the use of rectangular boundaries to enclose the scatterer. Several of the resulting boundary integrals are therefore convolutions and may be evaluated via the fast Fourier transform (FFT) in the implementation of the CG algorithm. The solution approach offers the principal advantage of having O(N) memory demand and employs a 1-D FFT versus a 2-D FFT as required with a traditional implementation of the CGFFT algorithm. The speed of the proposed solution method is compared with that of the traditional CGFFT algorithm, and results for rectangular bodies are given and shown to be in excellent agreement with the moment method.

Transient coupled calculations of the Molten Salt Fast Reactor using the Transient Fission Matrix approach

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Laureau, A., E-mail: laureau.axel@gmail.com; Heuer, D.; Merle-Lucotte, E.; Rubiolo, P.R.; Allibert, M.; Aufiero, M.

2017-05-15

Highlights: • Neutronic ‘Transient Fission Matrix’ approach coupled to the CFD OpenFOAM code. • Fission Matrix interpolation model for fast spectrum homogeneous reactors. • Application for coupled calculations of the Molten Salt Fast Reactor. • Load following, over-cooling and reactivity insertion transient studies. • Validation of the reactor intrinsic stability for normal and accidental transients. - Abstract: In this paper we present transient studies of the Molten Salt Fast Reactor (MSFR). This generation IV reactor is characterized by a liquid fuel circulating in the core cavity, requiring specific simulation tools. An innovative neutronic approach called “Transient Fission Matrix” is used to perform spatial kinetic calculations with a reduced computational cost through a pre-calculation of the Monte Carlo spatial and temporal response of the system. Coupled to this neutronic approach, the Computational Fluid Dynamics code OpenFOAM is used to model the complex flow pattern in the core. An accurate interpolation model developed to take into account the thermal hydraulics feedback on the neutronics including reactivity and neutron flux variation is presented. Finally different transient studies of the reactor in normal and accidental operating conditions are detailed such as reactivity insertion and load following capacities. The results of these studies illustrate the excellent behavior of the MSFR during such transients.

Transient coupled calculations of the Molten Salt Fast Reactor using the Transient Fission Matrix approach

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Laureau, A.; Heuer, D.; Merle-Lucotte, E.; Rubiolo, P.R.; Allibert, M.; Aufiero, M.

2017-01-01

Highlights: • Neutronic ‘Transient Fission Matrix’ approach coupled to the CFD OpenFOAM code. • Fission Matrix interpolation model for fast spectrum homogeneous reactors. • Application for coupled calculations of the Molten Salt Fast Reactor. • Load following, over-cooling and reactivity insertion transient studies. • Validation of the reactor intrinsic stability for normal and accidental transients. - Abstract: In this paper we present transient studies of the Molten Salt Fast Reactor (MSFR). This generation IV reactor is characterized by a liquid fuel circulating in the core cavity, requiring specific simulation tools. An innovative neutronic approach called “Transient Fission Matrix” is used to perform spatial kinetic calculations with a reduced computational cost through a pre-calculation of the Monte Carlo spatial and temporal response of the system. Coupled to this neutronic approach, the Computational Fluid Dynamics code OpenFOAM is used to model the complex flow pattern in the core. An accurate interpolation model developed to take into account the thermal hydraulics feedback on the neutronics including reactivity and neutron flux variation is presented. Finally different transient studies of the reactor in normal and accidental operating conditions are detailed such as reactivity insertion and load following capacities. The results of these studies illustrate the excellent behavior of the MSFR during such transients.

Prediction of a service demand using combined forecasting approach

Science.gov (United States)

Zhou, Ling

2017-08-01

Forecasting facilitates cutting down operational and management costs while ensuring service level for a logistics service provider. Our case study here is to investigate how to forecast short-term logistic demand for a LTL carrier. Combined approach depends on several forecasting methods simultaneously, instead of a single method. It can offset the weakness of a forecasting method with the strength of another, which could improve the precision performance of prediction. Main issues of combined forecast modeling are how to select methods for combination, and how to find out weight coefficients among methods. The principles of method selection include that each method should apply to the problem of forecasting itself, also methods should differ in categorical feature as much as possible. Based on these principles, exponential smoothing, ARIMA and Neural Network are chosen to form the combined approach. Besides, least square technique is employed to settle the optimal weight coefficients among forecasting methods. Simulation results show the advantage of combined approach over the three single methods. The work done in the paper helps manager to select prediction method in practice.

Fast Geodesic Active Fields for Image Registration Based on Splitting and Augmented Lagrangian Approaches.

Science.gov (United States)

Zosso, Dominique; Bresson, Xavier; Thiran, Jean-Philippe

2014-02-01

In this paper, we present an efficient numerical scheme for the recently introduced geodesic active fields (GAF) framework for geometric image registration. This framework considers the registration task as a weighted minimal surface problem. Hence, the data-term and the regularization-term are combined through multiplication in a single, parametrization invariant and geometric cost functional. The multiplicative coupling provides an intrinsic, spatially varying and data-dependent tuning of the regularization strength, and the parametrization invariance allows working with images of nonflat geometry, generally defined on any smoothly parametrizable manifold. The resulting energy-minimizing flow, however, has poor numerical properties. Here, we provide an efficient numerical scheme that uses a splitting approach; data and regularity terms are optimized over two distinct deformation fields that are constrained to be equal via an augmented Lagrangian approach. Our approach is more flexible than standard Gaussian regularization, since one can interpolate freely between isotropic Gaussian and anisotropic TV-like smoothing. In this paper, we compare the geodesic active fields method with the popular Demons method and three more recent state-of-the-art algorithms: NL-optical flow, MRF image registration, and landmark-enhanced large displacement optical flow. Thus, we can show the advantages of the proposed FastGAF method. It compares favorably against Demons, both in terms of registration speed and quality. Over the range of example applications, it also consistently produces results not far from more dedicated state-of-the-art methods, illustrating the flexibility of the proposed framework.

Spectral editing at ultra-fast magic-angle-spinning in solid-state NMR: facilitating protein sequential signal assignment by HIGHLIGHT approach

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Wang, Songlin; Matsuda, Isamu; Long, Fei; Ishii, Yoshitaka, E-mail: yishii@uic.edu [University of Illinois at Chicago, Department of Chemistry (United States)

2016-02-15

This study demonstrates a novel spectral editing technique for protein solid-state NMR (SSNMR) to simplify the spectrum drastically and to reduce the ambiguity for protein main-chain signal assignments in fast magic-angle-spinning (MAS) conditions at a wide frequency range of 40–80 kHz. The approach termed HIGHLIGHT (Wang et al., in Chem Comm 51:15055–15058, 2015) combines the reverse {sup 13}C, {sup 15}N-isotope labeling strategy and selective signal quenching using the frequency-selective REDOR pulse sequence under fast MAS. The scheme allows one to selectively observe the signals of “highlighted” labeled amino-acid residues that precede or follow unlabeled residues through selectively quenching {sup 13}CO or {sup 15}N signals for a pair of consecutively labeled residues by recoupling {sup 13}CO–{sup 15}N dipolar couplings. Our numerical simulation results showed that the scheme yielded only ∼15 % loss of signals for the highlighted residues while quenching as much as ∼90 % of signals for non-highlighted residues. For lysine-reverse-labeled micro-crystalline GB1 protein, the 2D {sup 15}N/{sup 13}C{sub α} correlation and 2D {sup 13}C{sub α}/{sup 13}CO correlation SSNMR spectra by the HIGHLIGHT approach yielded signals only for six residues following and preceding the unlabeled lysine residues, respectively. The experimental dephasing curves agreed reasonably well with the corresponding simulation results for highlighted and quenched residues at spinning speeds of 40 and 60 kHz. The compatibility of the HIGHLIGHT approach with fast MAS allows for sensitivity enhancement by paramagnetic assisted data collection (PACC) and {sup 1}H detection. We also discuss how the HIGHLIGHT approach facilitates signal assignments using {sup 13}C-detected 3D SSNMR by demonstrating full sequential assignments of lysine-reverse-labeled micro-crystalline GB1 protein (∼300 nmol), for which data collection required only 11 h. The HIGHLIGHT approach offers valuable

Enhancing MISP with Fast Mobile IPv6 Security

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ilsun You

2011-01-01

Full Text Available The Mobile Broadband Association has developed the MIS and MISAUTH protocols as link-layer fast authentication protocols. A combination of MIS and MISAUTH protocols, called as MISP, provides secure and fast connection for a wireless access network, but it has been reported that MISP creates a weak session key and suffers from a denial-of-service attack. In addition, a transaction with an authentication server that is required for every authentication is considered as a delay factor during handovers. In this paper, we present an improvement of MISP that utilizes the fast handover approach of Fast Mobile IPv6 and minimizes an involvement of the authentication server while eliminating identified security drawbacks of MISP. The formal security analysis is performed to verify the correctness of the proposed scheme. Moreover, the handover performance of the proposed scheme is compared with an existing scheme.

Obesity and Fast Food in Urban Markets: A New Approach Using Geo-referenced Micro Data

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Chen, S.E.; Florax, R.J.G.M.; Snyder, S.D.

2013-01-01

This paper presents a new method of assessing the relationship between features of the built environment and obesity, particularly in urban areas. Our empirical application combines georeferenced data on the location of fast-food restaurants with data about personal health, behavioral, and

Safety and feasibility of fasting in combination with platinum-based chemotherapy.

Science.gov (United States)

Dorff, Tanya B; Groshen, Susan; Garcia, Agustin; Shah, Manali; Tsao-Wei, Denice; Pham, Huyen; Cheng, Chia-Wei; Brandhorst, Sebastian; Cohen, Pinchas; Wei, Min; Longo, Valter; Quinn, David I

2016-06-10

Short-term starvation prior to chemotherapy administration protects mice against toxicity. We undertook dose-escalation of fasting prior to platinum-based chemotherapy to determine safety and feasibility in cancer patients. 3 cohorts fasted before chemotherapy for 24, 48 and 72 h (divided as 48 pre-chemo and 24 post-chemo) and recorded all calories consumed. Feasibility was defined as ≥ 3/6 subjects in each cohort consuming ≤ 200 kcal per 24 h during the fast period without excess toxicity. Oxidative stress was evaluated in leukocytes using the COMET assay. Insulin, glucose, ketones, insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1) and IGF binding proteins (IGFBPs) were measured as biomarkers of the fasting state. The median age of our 20 subjects was 61, and 85 % were women. Feasibility criteria were met. Fasting-related toxicities were limited to ≤ grade 2, most commonly fatigue, headache, and dizziness. The COMET assay indicated reduced DNA damage in leukocytes from subjects who fasted for ≥48 h (p = 0.08). There was a non-significant trend toward less grade 3 or 4 neutropenia in the 48 and 72 h cohorts compared to 24 h cohort (p = 0.17). IGF-1 levels decreased by 30, 33 and 8 % in the 24, 48 and 72 h fasting cohorts respectively after the first fasting period. Fasting for 72 h around chemotherapy administration is safe and feasible for cancer patients. Biomarkers such as IGF-1 may facilitate assessment of differences in chemotherapy toxicity in subgroups achieving the physiologic fasting state. An onging randomized trial is studying the effect of 72 h of fasting. NCT00936364 , registered propectively on July 9, 2009.

Safety and feasibility of fasting in combination with platinum-based chemotherapy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Dorff, Tanya B.; Groshen, Susan; Garcia, Agustin; Shah, Manali; Tsao-Wei, Denice; Pham, Huyen; Cheng, Chia-Wei; Brandhorst, Sebastian; Cohen, Pinchas; Wei, Min; Longo, Valter; Quinn, David I.

2016-01-01

Short-term starvation prior to chemotherapy administration protects mice against toxicity. We undertook dose-escalation of fasting prior to platinum-based chemotherapy to determine safety and feasibility in cancer patients. 3 cohorts fasted before chemotherapy for 24, 48 and 72 h (divided as 48 pre-chemo and 24 post-chemo) and recorded all calories consumed. Feasibility was defined as ≥ 3/6 subjects in each cohort consuming ≤ 200 kcal per 24 h during the fast period without excess toxicity. Oxidative stress was evaluated in leukocytes using the COMET assay. Insulin, glucose, ketones, insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1) and IGF binding proteins (IGFBPs) were measured as biomarkers of the fasting state. The median age of our 20 subjects was 61, and 85 % were women. Feasibility criteria were met. Fasting-related toxicities were limited to ≤ grade 2, most commonly fatigue, headache, and dizziness. The COMET assay indicated reduced DNA damage in leukocytes from subjects who fasted for ≥48 h (p = 0.08). There was a non-significant trend toward less grade 3 or 4 neutropenia in the 48 and 72 h cohorts compared to 24 h cohort (p = 0.17). IGF-1 levels decreased by 30, 33 and 8 % in the 24, 48 and 72 h fasting cohorts respectively after the first fasting period. Fasting for 72 h around chemotherapy administration is safe and feasible for cancer patients. Biomarkers such as IGF-1 may facilitate assessment of differences in chemotherapy toxicity in subgroups achieving the physiologic fasting state. An onging randomized trial is studying the effect of 72 h of fasting. Clinicaltrials.gov: NCT00936364, registered propectively on July 9, 2009. The online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12885-016-2370-6) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users

Transbasal versus endoscopic endonasal versus combined approaches for olfactory groove meningiomas: importance of approach selection.

Science.gov (United States)

Liu, James K; Silva, Nicole A; Sevak, Ilesha A; Eloy, Jean Anderson

2018-04-01

OBJECTIVE There has been much debate regarding the optimal surgical approach for resecting olfactory groove meningiomas (OGMs). In this paper, the authors analyzed the factors involved in approach selection and reviewed the surgical outcomes in a series of OGMs. METHODS A retrospective review of 28 consecutive OGMs from a prospective database was conducted. Each tumor was treated via one of 3 approaches: transbasal approach (n = 15), pure endoscopic endonasal approach (EEA; n = 5), and combined (endoscope-assisted) transbasal-EEA (n = 8). RESULTS The mean tumor volume was greatest in the transbasal (92.02 cm 3 ) and combined (101.15 cm 3 ) groups. Both groups had significant lateral dural extension over the orbits (transbasal 73.3%, p 95%) was achieved in 20% of transbasal and 37.5% of combined cases, all due to tumor adherence to the critical neurovascular structures. The rate of CSF leakage was 0% in the transbasal and combined groups, and there was 1 leak in the EEA group (20%), resulting in an overall CSF leakage rate of 3.6%. Olfaction was preserved in 66.7% in the transbasal group. There was no significant difference in length of stay or 30-day readmission rate between the 3 groups. The mean modified Rankin Scale score was 0.79 after the transbasal approach, 2.0 after EEA, and 2.4 after the combined approach (p = 0.0604). The mean follow-up was 14.5 months (range 1-76 months). CONCLUSIONS The transbasal approach provided the best clinical outcomes with the lowest rate of complications for large tumors (> 40 mm) and for smaller tumors (OGMs invading the sinonasal cavity. Careful patient selection using an individualized, tailored strategy is important to optimize surgical outcomes.

Combining accounting approaches to practice valuation.

Science.gov (United States)

Schwartzben, D; Finkler, S A

1998-06-01

Healthcare organizations that wish to acquire physician or ambulatory care practices can choose from a variety of practice valuation approaches. Basic accounting methods assess the value of a physician practice on the basis of a historical, balance-sheet description of tangible assets. Yet these methods alone are inadequate to determine the true financial value of a practice. By using a combination of accounting approaches to practice valuation that consider factors such as fair market value, opportunity cost, and discounted cash flow over a defined time period, organizations can more accurately assess a practice's actual value.

A comprehensive high-resolution mass spectrometry approach for characterization of metabolites by combination of ambient ionization, chromatography and imaging methods.

Science.gov (United States)

Berisha, Arton; Dold, Sebastian; Guenther, Sabine; Desbenoit, Nicolas; Takats, Zoltan; Spengler, Bernhard; Römpp, Andreas

2014-08-30

An ideal method for bioanalytical applications would deliver spatially resolved quantitative information in real time and without sample preparation. In reality these requirements can typically not be met by a single analytical technique. Therefore, we combine different mass spectrometry approaches: chromatographic separation, ambient ionization and imaging techniques, in order to obtain comprehensive information about metabolites in complex biological samples. Samples were analyzed by laser desorption followed by electrospray ionization (LD-ESI) as an ambient ionization technique, by matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization (MALDI) mass spectrometry imaging for spatial distribution analysis and by high-performance liquid chromatography/electrospray ionization mass spectrometry (HPLC/ESI-MS) for quantitation and validation of compound identification. All MS data were acquired with high mass resolution and accurate mass (using orbital trapping and ion cyclotron resonance mass spectrometers). Grape berries were analyzed and evaluated in detail, whereas wheat seeds and mouse brain tissue were analyzed in proof-of-concept experiments. In situ measurements by LD-ESI without any sample preparation allowed for fast screening of plant metabolites on the grape surface. MALDI imaging of grape cross sections at 20 µm pixel size revealed the detailed distribution of metabolites which were in accordance with their biological function. HPLC/ESI-MS was used to quantify 13 anthocyanin species as well as to separate and identify isomeric compounds. A total of 41 metabolites (amino acids, carbohydrates, anthocyanins) were identified with all three approaches. Mass accuracy for all MS measurements was better than 2 ppm (root mean square error). The combined approach provides fast screening capabilities, spatial distribution information and the possibility to quantify metabolites. Accurate mass measurements proved to be critical in order to reliably combine data from different MS

Fasting potentiates the anticancer activity of tyrosine kinase inhibitors by strengthening MAPK signaling inhibition

Science.gov (United States)

Caffa, Irene; D'Agostino, Vito; Damonte, Patrizia; Soncini, Debora; Cea, Michele; Monacelli, Fiammetta; Odetti, Patrizio; Ballestrero, Alberto; Provenzani, Alessandro; Longo, Valter D.; Nencioni, Alessio

2015-01-01

Tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs) are now the mainstay of treatment in many types of cancer. However, their benefit is frequently short-lived, mandating the search for safe potentiation strategies. Cycles of fasting enhance the activity of chemo-radiotherapy in preclinical cancer models and dietary approaches based on fasting are currently explored in clinical trials. Whether combining fasting with TKIs is going to be potentially beneficial remains unknown. Here we report that starvation conditions increase the ability of commonly administered TKIs, including erlotinib, gefitinib, lapatinib, crizotinib and regorafenib, to block cancer cell growth, to inhibit the mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) signaling pathway and to strengthen E2F-dependent transcription inhibition. In cancer xenografts models, both TKIs and cycles of fasting slowed tumor growth, but, when combined, these interventions were significantly more effective than either type of treatment alone. In conclusion, cycles of fasting or of specifically designed fasting-mimicking diets should be evaluated in clinical studies as a means to potentiate the activity of TKIs in clinical use. PMID:25909220

Exercise, fasting, and mimetics : Toward beneficial combinations?

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Jaspers, Richard T.; Zillikens, M Carola; Friesema, Edith C H; Paoli, Giuseppe Delli; Bloch, Wilhelm; Uitterlinden, André G; Goglia, Fernando; Lanni, Antonia; De Lange, Pieter

2017-01-01

Obesity and type 2 diabetes are associated disorders that involve a multiplicity of tissues. Both fasting and physical exercise are known to counteract dyslipidemia/hyperglycemia. Skeletal muscle plays a key role in the control of blood glucose levels, and the metabolic changes and related signaling

A unified Monte Carlo approach to fast neutron cross section data evaluation.

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Smith, D.; Nuclear Engineering Division

2008-03-03

A unified Monte Carlo (UMC) approach to fast neutron cross section data evaluation that incorporates both model-calculated and experimental information is described. The method is based on applications of Bayes Theorem and the Principle of Maximum Entropy as well as on fundamental definitions from probability theory. This report describes the formalism, discusses various practical considerations, and examines a few numerical examples in some detail.

Pharmacological approaches to the management of type 2 diabetes in fasting adults during Ramadan

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Al Sifri S

2012-08-01

Full Text Available Saud Al SifriEndocrinology Department, Alhada Armed Forces Hospital, Taif, Saudi ArabiaI read with great interest the recent review article by AlMaatouq regarding the pharmacological approaches to the management of type 2 diabetes in fasting adults during Ramadan.1 This article stated that "A recent prospective study of more than 1000 patients with T2DMwho fasted during Ramadan found that the risk of hypoglycemia associated with a vildagliptin-based regimen (vildagliptin 100 mg once daily was lower than that of a sulfonylurea-based regimen (both with and without metformin."1 This statement needs to be corrected.Ramadan is the lunar month observed each year in which Muslim adults will fast. This fast includes abstinence from eating, drinking, and smoking from sunrise to sunset. Hypoglycemia during this period represents the greatest health risk for these patients. Recently introduced modulators of the incretin system are the dipeptidylpeptidase-4 inhibitors, which include sitagliptin, vildagliptin, alogliptin, saxagliptin, and linagliptin. These agents are not associated with hypoglycemia.View original paper by AlMaatouq

Possible approaches to fast quality control of IFE targets

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Koresheva, E.R.; Nikitenko, A.I.; Aleksandrova, I.V.; Bazdenkov, S.V.; Belolipetskiy, A.A.; Chtcherbakov, V.I.; Osipov, I.E.

2006-01-01

In recent years, research into the development of reliable methods and techniques for characterization and quality control of ICF/IFE targets has been carried out very actively. This is motivated by the need to provide the means for precise and accurate knowledge of cryogenic target parameters. On the other hand, particular emphasis should be paid to the fact that fuelling of a commercial power plant requires ∼6 targets each second. This indicates that the development of fast quality control techniques is of critical importance as well. Therefore, in this report we discuss the issues underlying the construction of different algorithms for characterization and quality control of ICF/IFE targets. Among them are: (a) algorithm banks and their structure, (b) algorithm testing, (c) target reconstruction experiments. The algorithm bank incorporates the algorithms for two stages of target production: the stage of fuel layering technique development (motionless target) and the stage of cryogenic target delivery (injected target). In the first case an inverse algorithm for individual target characterization (3D target reconstruction) and two threshold algorithms for fast control of target quality are presented. They are based on tomographic information processing methods. Experimentally, tomographic data acquisition is carried out by a hundred projections microtomograph. The spatial resolution of the optical system of the microtomograph is 1 μm for 490 nm wavelength, the accuracy of target angular positioning is ±1.5-2.5 min. In the second case we describe the algorithm based on Fourier transform holography for ultra fast target characterization during its injection. The performed computer experiments have demonstrated much promise of this approach in the following directions: recognition of the target imperfections in both low- and high- harmonics; quality control of both a single target and a target batch; simultaneous control of both an injected target quality and

A Fast Track approach to deal with the temporal dimension of crop water footprint

Science.gov (United States)

Tuninetti, Marta; Tamea, Stefania; Laio, Francesco; Ridolfi, Luca

2017-07-01

Population growth, socio-economic development and climate changes are placing increasing pressure on water resources. Crop water footprint is a key indicator in the quantification of such pressure. It is determined by crop evapotranspiration and crop yield, which can be highly variable in space and time. While the spatial variability of crop water footprint has been the objective of several investigations, the temporal variability remains poorly studied. In particular, some studies approached this issue by associating the time variability of crop water footprint only to yield changes, while considering evapotranspiration patterns as marginal. Validation of this Fast Track approach has yet to be provided. In this Letter we demonstrate its feasibility through a comprehensive validation, an assessment of its uncertainty, and an example of application. Our results show that the water footprint changes are mainly driven by yield trends, while evapotranspiration plays a minor role. The error due to considering constant evapotranspiration is three times smaller than the uncertainty of the model used to compute the crop water footprint. These results confirm the suitability of the Fast Track approach and enable a simple, yet appropriate, evaluation of time-varying crop water footprint.

A fast semi-analytical model for the slotted structure of induction motors with 36/28 stator/rotor slot combination

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Sprangers, R.L.J.; Paulides, J.J.H.; Gysen, B.L.J.; Lomonova, E.A.

2014-01-01

A fast, semi-analyticalmodel for inductionmotors (IMs) with 36/28 stator/rotor slot combination is presented. In comparison to traditional analytical models for IMs, such as lumped parameter, magnetic equivalent circuit and anisotropic layer models, the presented model calculates a continuous

Status report on fast reactor recycle and impact on geologic disposal

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bauer, T. H.; Morris, E. E.; Wigeland, R. A.

2007-01-01

The GNEP program envisions continuing the use of light-water reactors (LWRs), with the addition of processing the discharged, or spent, LWR fuel to recover actinide and fission product elements, and then recycling the actinide elements in sodium-cooled fast reactors. Previous work has established the relationship between the processing efficiencies of spent LWR fuel, as represented by spent PWR fuel, and the potential increase in repository utilization for the resulting processing waste. The purpose of this current study is to determine a similar relationship for the waste from processing spent fast reactor fuel, and then to examine the wastes from the combination of LWRs and fast reactors as would be deployed with the GNEP approach

Discussion on safety analysis approach for sodium fast reactors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hong, Soon Joon; Choo, Yeon Joon; Suh, Nam Duk; Shin, Ahn Dong; Bae, Moo Hoon

2012-01-01

Utilization of nuclear energy is increasingly necessary not only because of the increasing energy consumption but also because of the controls on greenhouse emissions against global warming. To keep step with such demands, advanced reactors are now world widely under development with the aims of highly economical advances, and enhanced safety. Recently, further elaborating is encouraged on the research and development program for Generation IV (GEN IV) reactors, and in collaboration with other interested countries through the Generation IV International Forum (GIF). Sodium cooled Fast Reactor (SFR) is a strong contender amongst the GEN IV reactor concepts. Korea also takes part in that program and plans to construct demonstration reactor of SFR. SFR is under the development for a candidate of small modular reactors, for example, PRISM (Power Reactor Innovative Small Module). Understanding of safety analysis approach has also advanced by the demand of increasing comprehensive safety requirement. Reviewing the past development of the licensing and safety basis in the advanced reactors, such approaches seemed primarily not so satisfactory because the reference framework of licensing and safety analysis approach in the advanced reactors was always the one in water reactors. And, the framework is very plant specific one and thereby the advanced reactors and their frameworks don't look like a well assorted couple. Recently as a result of considerable advances in probabilistic safety assessment (PSA), risk informed approaches are increasingly applied together with some of the deterministic approaches like as the ones in water reactors. Technology neutral framework (TNF) can be said to be the utmost works of such risk informed approaches, even though an intensive assessment of the applicability has not been sufficiently accomplished. This study discusses the viable safety analysis approaches for the urgent application to the construction of pool type SFR. As discussed in

Intermittent Fasting Applied in Combination with Rotenone Treatment Exacerbates Dopamine Neurons Degeneration in Mice

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Giuseppe Tatulli

2018-01-01

Full Text Available Intermittent fasting (IF was suggested to be a powerful nutritional strategy to prevent the onset of age-related neurodegenerative diseases associated with compromised brain bioenergetics. Whether the application of IF in combination with a mitochondrial insult could buffer the neurodegenerative process has never been explored yet. Herein, we defined the effects of IF in C57BL/6J mice treated once per 24 h with rotenone (Rot for 28 days. Rot is a neurotoxin that inhibits the mitochondrial complex I and causes dopamine neurons degeneration, thus reproducing the neurodegenerative process observed in Parkinson’s disease (PD. IF (24 h alternate-day fasting was applied alone or in concomitance with Rot treatment (Rot/IF. IF and Rot/IF groups showed the same degree of weight loss when compared to control and Rot groups. An accelerating rotarod test revealed that only Rot/IF mice have a decreased ability to sustain the test at the higher speeds. Rot/IF group showed a more marked decrease of dopaminergic neurons and increase in alpha-synuclein (α-syn accumulation with respect to Rot group in the substantia nigra (SN. Through lipidomics and metabolomics analyses, we found that in the SN of Rot/IF mice a significant elevation of excitatory amino acids, inflammatory lysophospholipids and sphingolipids occurred. Collectively, our data suggest that, when applied in combination with neurotoxin exposure, IF does not exert neuroprotective effects but rather exacerbate neuronal death by increasing the levels of excitatory amino acids and inflammatory lipids in association with altered brain membrane composition.

Intermittent Fasting Applied in Combination with Rotenone Treatment Exacerbates Dopamine Neurons Degeneration in Mice.

Science.gov (United States)

Tatulli, Giuseppe; Mitro, Nico; Cannata, Stefano M; Audano, Matteo; Caruso, Donatella; D'Arcangelo, Giovanna; Lettieri-Barbato, Daniele; Aquilano, Katia

2018-01-01

Intermittent fasting (IF) was suggested to be a powerful nutritional strategy to prevent the onset of age-related neurodegenerative diseases associated with compromised brain bioenergetics. Whether the application of IF in combination with a mitochondrial insult could buffer the neurodegenerative process has never been explored yet. Herein, we defined the effects of IF in C57BL/6J mice treated once per 24 h with rotenone (Rot) for 28 days. Rot is a neurotoxin that inhibits the mitochondrial complex I and causes dopamine neurons degeneration, thus reproducing the neurodegenerative process observed in Parkinson's disease (PD). IF (24 h alternate-day fasting) was applied alone or in concomitance with Rot treatment (Rot/IF). IF and Rot/IF groups showed the same degree of weight loss when compared to control and Rot groups. An accelerating rotarod test revealed that only Rot/IF mice have a decreased ability to sustain the test at the higher speeds. Rot/IF group showed a more marked decrease of dopaminergic neurons and increase in alpha-synuclein (α-syn) accumulation with respect to Rot group in the substantia nigra (SN). Through lipidomics and metabolomics analyses, we found that in the SN of Rot/IF mice a significant elevation of excitatory amino acids, inflammatory lysophospholipids and sphingolipids occurred. Collectively, our data suggest that, when applied in combination with neurotoxin exposure, IF does not exert neuroprotective effects but rather exacerbate neuronal death by increasing the levels of excitatory amino acids and inflammatory lipids in association with altered brain membrane composition.

Fast generation of macro basis functions for LEGO through the adaptive cross approximation

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Lancellotti, V.

2015-01-01

We present a method for the fast generation of macro basis functions in the context of the linear embedding via Green's operators approach (LEGO) which is a domain decomposition technique based on the combination of electromagnetic bricks in turn described by means of scattering operators. We show

Management of Combined Natural Risks - A New Approach: Keynote Address

Science.gov (United States)

Hanisch, Jörg

A new attempt is made to illustrate and to quantify the relationships of individual natural hazards, their combinations and the human vulnerability to natural hazards. During many catastrophic events, combinations of different natural events aggravate their occurrence substantially. Earthquakes are frequently associated with heavy landsliding (El Salvador 2001) and heavy rainstorms are able to trigger fast running debris flows and not only floods (like during the Mitch disaster in Central America in 1998). That signifies that natural hazard maps should show the combinations of different hazards and their genetic relationships. To put into effect this, first, the individual hazards have to be assessed and presented in hazard zones (0 to 3). Then these hazards zones will be overlain using GIS techniques. In this way, e.g., an earthquake-prone area which coincides with an area susceptible to landslides (ranking 0 to 3 as well) can show hazard concentrations of up to a value of 6, simply adding the individual hazard zones. To get the result of the corresponding risk zones, the vulnerability maps of human settlements and infra-structure have to be overlain on the maps of these combinations of natural hazards.

Fast reactor safety and computational thermo-fluid dynamics approaches

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ninokata, Hisashi; Shimizu, Takeshi

1993-01-01

This article provides a brief description of the safety principle on which liquid metal cooled fast breeder reactors (LMFBRs) is based and the roles of computations in the safety practices. A number of thermohydraulics models have been developed to date that successfully describe several of the important types of fluids and materials motion encountered in the analysis of postulated accidents in LMFBRs. Most of these models use a mixture of implicit and explicit numerical solution techniques in solving a set of conservation equations formulated in Eulerian coordinates, with special techniques included to specific situations. Typical computational thermo-fluid dynamics approaches are discussed in particular areas of analyses of the physical phenomena relevant to the fuel subassembly thermohydraulics design and that involve describing the motion of molten materials in the core over a large scale. (orig.)

Adaptive approach to global synchronization of directed networks with fast switching topologies

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Qin Buzhi; Lu Xinbiao

2010-01-01

Global synchronization of directed networks with switching topologies is investigated. It is found that if there exists at least one directed spanning tree in the network with the fixed time-average topology and the time-average topology is achieved sufficiently fast, the network will reach global synchronization for appreciate coupling strength. Furthermore, this appreciate coupling strength may be obtained by local adaptive approach. A sufficient condition about the global synchronization is given. Numerical simulations verify the effectiveness of the adaptive strategy.

Obesity and fast food in urban markets: a new approach using geo-referenced micro data.

Science.gov (United States)

Chen, Susan Elizabeth; Florax, Raymond J; Snyder, Samantha D

2013-07-01

This paper presents a new method of assessing the relationship between features of the built environment and obesity, particularly in urban areas. Our empirical application combines georeferenced data on the location of fast-food restaurants with data about personal health, behavioral, and neighborhood characteristics. We define a 'local food environment' for every individual utilizing buffers around a person's home address. Individual food landscapes are potentially endogenous because of spatial sorting of the population and food outlets, and the body mass index (BMI) values for individuals living close to each other are likely to be spatially correlated because of observed and unobserved individual and neighborhood effects. The potential biases associated with endogeneity and spatial correlation are handled using spatial econometric estimation techniques. Our application provides quantitative estimates of the effect of proximity to fast-food restaurants on obesity in an urban food market. We also present estimates of a policy simulation that focuses on reducing the density of fast-food restaurants in urban areas. In the simulations, we account for spatial heterogeneity in both the policy instruments and individual neighborhoods and find a small effect for the hypothesized relationships between individual BMI values and the density of fast-food restaurants. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

A FRAMEWORK FOR INTERPRETING FAST RADIO TRANSIENTS SEARCH EXPERIMENTS: APPLICATION TO THE V-FASTR EXPERIMENT

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Trott, Cathryn M.; Tingay, Steven J.; Wayth, Randall B.; Macquart, Jean-Pierre R.; Palaniswamy, Divya; Thompson, David R.; Wagstaff, Kiri L.; Majid, Walid A.; Burke-Spolaor, Sarah; Deller, Adam T.; Brisken, Walter F.

2013-01-01

We define a framework for determining constraints on the detection rate of fast transient events from a population of underlying sources, with a view to incorporate beam shape, frequency effects, scattering effects, and detection efficiency into the metric. We then demonstrate a method for combining independent data sets into a single event rate constraint diagram, using a probabilistic approach to the limits on parameter space. We apply this new framework to present the latest results from the V-FASTR experiment, a commensal fast transients search using the Very Long Baseline Array (VLBA). In the 20 cm band, V-FASTR now has the ability to probe the regions of parameter space of importance for the observed Lorimer and Keane fast radio transient candidates by combining the information from observations with differing bandwidths, and properly accounting for the source dispersion measure, VLBA antenna beam shape, experiment time sampling, and stochastic nature of events. We then apply the framework to combine the results of the V-FASTR and Allen Telescope Array Fly's Eye experiments, demonstrating their complementarity. Expectations for fast transients experiments for the SKA Phase I dish array are then computed, and the impact of large differential bandwidths is discussed.

Surgical treatment of traumatic cervical facet dislocation: anterior, posterior or combined approaches?

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Catarina C. Lins

Full Text Available ABSTRACT Surgical treatment is well accepted for patients with traumatic cervical facet joint dislocations (CFD, but there is uncertainty over which approach is better: anterior, posterior or combined. We performed a systematic literature review to evaluate the indications for anterior and posterior approaches in the management of CFD. Anterior approaches can restore cervical lordosis, and cause less postoperative pain and less wound problems. Posterior approaches are useful for direct reduction of locked facet joints and provide stronger fixation from a biomechanical point of view. Combined approaches can be used in more complex cases. Although both anterior and posterior approaches can be used interchangeably, there are some patients who may benefit from one of them over the other, as discussed in this review. Surgeons who treat cervical spine trauma should be able to perform both procedures as well as combined approaches to adequately manage CFD and improve patients’ final outcomes.

A New Hybrid Approach for Wind Speed Prediction Using Fast Block Least Mean Square Algorithm and Artificial Neural Network

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ummuhan Basaran Filik

2016-01-01

Full Text Available A new hybrid wind speed prediction approach, which uses fast block least mean square (FBLMS algorithm and artificial neural network (ANN method, is proposed. FBLMS is an adaptive algorithm which has reduced complexity with a very fast convergence rate. A hybrid approach is proposed which uses two powerful methods: FBLMS and ANN method. In order to show the efficiency and accuracy of the proposed approach, seven-year real hourly collected wind speed data sets belonging to Turkish State Meteorological Service of Bozcaada and Eskisehir regions are used. Two different ANN structures are used to compare with this approach. The first six-year data is handled as a train set; the remaining one-year hourly data is handled as test data. Mean absolute error (MAE and root mean square error (RMSE are used for performance evaluations. It is shown for various cases that the performance of the new hybrid approach gives better results than the different conventional ANN structure.

Fast technetium Eigen-colloid determination: preparative CPC combined with suspension liquid scintillation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Breynaert, E.; Maes, A.

2005-01-01

Full text of publication follows: Both medical and environmental studies concerned with the solubility and the complexation chemistry of technetium have encountered colloidal Tc(IV)-forms. Although the existence of the Tc colloids has been proven by various techniques [1-6], their determination still remains an issue. Recently a Column Precipitation Chromatography (CPC) technique was developed which enabled the quantitative determination of technetium Eigen-colloids. Based on this technique, a solid phase extraction (SPE)-like methodology was developed that can be used in combination with suspension liquid scintillation to provide a fast analysis of the Eigen-colloid content of a sample. The CPC technique is a thorough analysis methodology for the quantitative determination of the Eigen-colloid content of a sample containing reduced technetium species. This technique requires a relative long elution scheme and fractionation of the eluate. The fractionation also implies a relatively long counting time to determine the Eigen-colloid activity of a sample. Currently an SPE-like analysis methodology was developed which combines a good estimate of the Eigen-colloid content with fast analysis times. To construct a methodology providing both features a specialized extraction apparatus was constructed and a quantitative suspension liquid scintillation technique was developed. This combination enables the Eigen-colloid determination within a short experimental time (15 min) and a limited counting time (60 min). The authors acknowledge a grant from KULeuven University and financial support from the KULeuven Geconcerteerde Onderzoeksacties (GOA2000/007). We also kindly acknowledge NIRAS/ONDRAF for financial support from Contract CCHO 20004004862 [1] Grossmann, B. and R. Muenze, Relationship between complex formation by 99 Tc(IV) and the chemical structure of aliphatic carboxylic acid ligands. The International Journal of Applied Radiation and Isotopes, 1982. 33(3): p. 189

Liquid-phase microextraction approaches combined with atomic detection: A critical review

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Pena-Pereira, Francisco; Lavilla, Isela; Bendicho, Carlos

2010-01-01

Liquid-phase microextraction (LPME) displays unique characteristics such as excellent preconcentration capability, simplicity, low cost, sample cleanup and integration of steps. Even though LPME approaches have the potential to be combined with almost every analytical technique, their use in combination with atomic detection techniques has not been exploited until recently. A comprehensive review dealing with the applications of liquid-phase microextraction combined with atomic detection techniques is presented. Theoretical features, possible strategies for these combinations as well as the effect of key experimental parameters influencing method development are addressed. Finally, a critical comparison of the different LPME approaches in terms of enrichment factors achieved, extraction efficiency, precision, selectivity and simplicity of operation is provided.

Combined Interhemispheric and Transsylvian Approach for Resection of Craniopharyngioma.

Science.gov (United States)

Inoue, Tomohiro; Ono, Hideaki; Tamura, Akira; Saito, Isamu

2018-04-01

We present a 37-year-old male case of cystic suprasellar huge craniopharyngioma, who presented with significant memory disturbance due to obstructive hydrocephalus. Combined interhemispheric and pterional approach was chosen to resect huge suprasellar tumor. Interhemispheric trans-lamina terminalis approach was quite effective to resect third ventricular tumor, while pterional approach was useful to dissect tumor out of basilar perforators and stalk. The link to the video can be found at: https://youtu.be/BoYIPa96kdo .

A fast and pragmatic approach for scatter correction in flat-detector CT using elliptic modeling and iterative optimization

Science.gov (United States)

Meyer, Michael; Kalender, Willi A.; Kyriakou, Yiannis

2010-01-01

Scattered radiation is a major source of artifacts in flat detector computed tomography (FDCT) due to the increased irradiated volumes. We propose a fast projection-based algorithm for correction of scatter artifacts. The presented algorithm combines a convolution method to determine the spatial distribution of the scatter intensity distribution with an object-size-dependent scaling of the scatter intensity distributions using a priori information generated by Monte Carlo simulations. A projection-based (PBSE) and an image-based (IBSE) strategy for size estimation of the scanned object are presented. Both strategies provide good correction and comparable results; the faster PBSE strategy is recommended. Even with such a fast and simple algorithm that in the PBSE variant does not rely on reconstructed volumes or scatter measurements, it is possible to provide a reasonable scatter correction even for truncated scans. For both simulations and measurements, scatter artifacts were significantly reduced and the algorithm showed stable behavior in the z-direction. For simulated voxelized head, hip and thorax phantoms, a figure of merit Q of 0.82, 0.76 and 0.77 was reached, respectively (Q = 0 for uncorrected, Q = 1 for ideal). For a water phantom with 15 cm diameter, for example, a cupping reduction from 10.8% down to 2.1% was achieved. The performance of the correction method has limitations in the case of measurements using non-ideal detectors, intensity calibration, etc. An iterative approach to overcome most of these limitations was proposed. This approach is based on root finding of a cupping metric and may be useful for other scatter correction methods as well. By this optimization, cupping of the measured water phantom was further reduced down to 0.9%. The algorithm was evaluated on a commercial system including truncated and non-homogeneous clinically relevant objects.

A combined feedforward and feedback control scheme for low-ripple fast-response switchmode magnet power supplies

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jin, H.; Dewan, S.B.

1994-01-01

In this paper, a new feedforward technique is introduced, and a combined feedforward/feedback control scheme is applied to switchmode magnet power supplies for low-ripple fast-response performance. The purposes of the feedforward technique are two-fold: to reduce the effect of source variations and low-order harmonics, and to improve the reference tracking ability of the system. The algorithm of the proposed control scheme is presented in the paper, and results of a two-quadrant system are provided to verify the concept

Feature study of hysterical blindness EEG based on FastICA with combined-channel information.

Science.gov (United States)

Qin, Xuying; Wang, Wei; Hu, Lintao; Wang, Xu; Yuan, Xiaojie

2015-01-01

An appropriate feature study of hysteria electroencephalograms (EEG) would provide new insights into neural mechanisms of the disease, and also make improvements in patient diagnosis and management. The objective of this paper is to provide an explanation for what causes a particular visual loss, by associating the features of hysterical blindness EEG with brain function. An idea for the novel feature extraction for hysterical blindness EEG, utilizing combined-channel information, was applied in this paper. After channels had been combined, the sliding-window-FastICA was applied to process the combined normal EEG and hysteria EEG, respectively. Kurtosis features were calculated from the processed signals. As the comparison feature, the power spectral density of normal and hysteria EEG were computed. According to the feature analysis results, a region of brain dysfunction was located at the occipital lobe, O1 and O2. Furthermore, new abnormality was found at the parietal lobe, C3, C4, P3, and P4, that provided us with a new perspective for understanding hysterical blindness. Indicated by the kurtosis results which were consistent with brain function and the clinical diagnosis, our method was found to be a useful tool to capture features in hysterical blindness EEG.

Investigation of bioequivalence of a new fixed-dose combination of nifedipine and candesartan with the corresponding loose combination as well as the drug-drug interaction potential between both drugs under fasting conditions.

Science.gov (United States)

Brendel, Erich; Weimann, Boris; Dietrich, Hartmut; Froede, Christoph; Thomas, Dirk

2013-09-01

To determine the bioequivalence of a nifedipine and candesartan fixed-dose combination (FDC) with the corresponding loose combination, and to investigate the pharmacokinetic drug-drug interaction potential between both drugs. 49 healthy, white, male subjects received: 60 mg nifedipine and 32 mg candesartan FDC, the loose combination of 60 mg nifedipine GITS and 32 mg candesartan, 60 mg nifedipine GITS alone, or 32 mg candesartan alone in a randomized, non-blinded, 4-period, 4-way crossover design with each dosing following overnight fasting. Treatment periods were separated by washout periods of ≥ 5 days. Plasma samples were collected for 48 hours after dosing and assayed using a validated LC-MS/MS method. Bioequivalence between the FDC and the loose combination as well as the impact of combined treatment with both drugs on candesartan pharmacokinetics was evaluated in 47 subjects, while the corresponding impact of treatment with both drugs on nifedipine pharmacokinetics was assessed in 46 patients. For AUC(0-tlast) and Cmax the 90% confidence intervals (CIs) for the ratios of the FDC vs. the corresponding loose combination were within the acceptance range for bioequivalence of 80 - 125%. When comparing AUC(0-tlast) and Cmax of nifedipine and candesartan after dosing with the loose combination vs. each drug alone, the 90% CIs remained within the range of 80 - 125% indicating the absence of a clinically relevant pharmacokinetic drug-drug interaction. Nifedipine and candesartan as well as the combinations were well tolerated. The FDC containing 60 mg nifedipine and 32 mg candesartan was bioequivalent to the corresponding loose combination following single oral doses under fasting conditions. No clinically relevant pharmacokinetic drug-drug interaction between nifedipine and candesartan was observed.

Combined transoral and endoscopic approach for total maxillectomy: a pioneering report.

Science.gov (United States)

Liu, Zhuofu; Yu, Huapeng; Wang, Dehui; Wang, Jingjing; Sun, Xicai; Liu, Juan

2013-06-01

Total maxillectomy is sometimes necessary especially for malignant tumors originating from the maxillary sinus. Here we describe a combined transoral and endoscopic approach for total maxillectomy for the treatment of malignant maxillary sinus tumors and evaluate its short-term outcome. This approach was evaluated in terms of the physiological function, aesthetic outcome, and complications. Six patients underwent the above-mentioned approach for resection of malignant maxillary sinus tumors from May 2010 to June 2011. This combined transoral and endoscopic approach includes five basic steps: total sphenoethmoidectomy, sublabial incision, incision of the frontal process of the maxilla, incision of the zygomaticomaxillary fissure, and hard palate osteotomy. All patients with malignant maxillary sinus tumors successfully underwent the planned total endoscopic maxillectomy without the need for facial incision or transfixion of the nasal septum; there were no significant complications. Five patients received preoperative radiation therapy. All patients were well and had no recurrence at follow-up from 13 to 27 months. The combined approach is feasible and can be performed in carefully selected patients. The benefit of the absence of facial incisions or transfixion of the nasal septum, potential improvement in hemostasis, and visual magnification may help to decrease the morbidity of traditional open approaches.

Improving concept design of divertor support system for FAST tokamak using TRIZ theory and AHP approach

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Di Gironimo, G.; Carfora, D.; Esposito, G.; Labate, C.; Mozzillo, R.; Renno, F.; Lanzotti, A.; Siuko, M.

2013-01-01

Highlights: • Optimization of the RH system for the FAST divertor using TRIZ. • Participative design approach using virtual reality. • Comparison of product alternatives in an immersive virtual reality environment. • Prioritization of concept alternatives based on AHP. -- Abstract: The paper focuses on the application of the Theory of Inventive Problem Solving (TRIZ) to divertor Remote Handling (RH) issues in Fusion Advanced Studies Torus (FAST), a satellite tokamak acting as a test bed for the study and the development of innovative technologies oriented to ITER and DEMO programs. The objective of this study consists in generating concepts or solutions able to overcome design and technical weak points in the current maintenance procedure. Two different concepts are designed with the help of a parametric CAD software, CATIA V5, using a top-down modeling approach; kinematic simulations of the remote handling system are performed using Digital Mock-Up (DMU) capabilities of the software. The evaluation of the concepts is carried out involving a group of experts in a participative design approach using virtual reality, classifying the concepts with the help of the Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP)

Improving concept design of divertor support system for FAST tokamak using TRIZ theory and AHP approach

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Di Gironimo, G., E-mail: giuseppe.digironimo@unina.it [Association Euratom/ENEA/CREATE, Università di Napoli Federico II, P.le Tecchio 80, 80125 Napoli (Italy); Carfora, D.; Esposito, G.; Labate, C.; Mozzillo, R.; Renno, F.; Lanzotti, A. [Association Euratom/ENEA/CREATE, Università di Napoli Federico II, P.le Tecchio 80, 80125 Napoli (Italy); Siuko, M. [VTT Systems Engineering, Tekniikankatu 1, 33720 Tampere (Finland)

2013-11-15

Highlights: • Optimization of the RH system for the FAST divertor using TRIZ. • Participative design approach using virtual reality. • Comparison of product alternatives in an immersive virtual reality environment. • Prioritization of concept alternatives based on AHP. -- Abstract: The paper focuses on the application of the Theory of Inventive Problem Solving (TRIZ) to divertor Remote Handling (RH) issues in Fusion Advanced Studies Torus (FAST), a satellite tokamak acting as a test bed for the study and the development of innovative technologies oriented to ITER and DEMO programs. The objective of this study consists in generating concepts or solutions able to overcome design and technical weak points in the current maintenance procedure. Two different concepts are designed with the help of a parametric CAD software, CATIA V5, using a top-down modeling approach; kinematic simulations of the remote handling system are performed using Digital Mock-Up (DMU) capabilities of the software. The evaluation of the concepts is carried out involving a group of experts in a participative design approach using virtual reality, classifying the concepts with the help of the Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP)

High-spatial-resolution isotropic three-dimensional fast-recovery fast spin-echo magnetic resonance dacryocystography combined with topical administration of sterile saline solution

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jing, Zhang; Lang, Chen; Qiu-Xia, Wang; Rong, Liu; Xin, Luo; Wen-Zhen, Zhu; Li-Ming, Xia; Jian-Pin, Qi; He, Wang

2013-01-01

Objective: This study aims to investigate the clinical performance of three-dimensional (3D) fast-recovery fast spin-echo (FRFSE) magnetic resonance dacryocystography (MRD) with topical administration of sterile saline solution for the assessment of the lacrimal drainage system (LDS). Methods: A total of 13 healthy volunteers underwent both 3D-FRFSE MRD and two-dimensional (2D)-impulse recovery (IR)-single-shot fast spin-echo (SSFSE) MRD after topical administration of sterile saline solution, and 31 patients affected by primary LDS outflow impairment or postsurgical recurrent epiphora underwent 3D-FRFSE MRD and conventional T1- and T2-weighted sequences. All patients underwent lacrimal endoscopy or surgery, which served as a standard of reference for confirming the MRD findings. Results: 3D-FRFSE MRD detected more visualized superior and inferior canaliculi and nasolacrimal duct than 2D-IR-SSFSE MRD. Compared with 2D-IR-SSFSE MRD, 3D-FRFSE MRD showed more visualized segments per LDS, although the difference was not statistically significant. Significant improvements in the inferior canaliculus and nasolacrimal duct visibility grades were achieved using 3D-FRFSE MRD. 3D-FRFSE MRD had 100% sensitivity and 63.6% specificity for detecting LDS obstruction. In 51 out of the 62 LDSs that were assessed, a 90% agreement was noted between the findings of 3D-FRFSE MRD and lacrimal endoscopy in detecting the obstruction level. Conclusion: 3D-FRFSE MRD combined with topical administration of sterile saline solution is a simple and noninvasive method of obtaining detailed morphological and functional information on the LDS. Overall, 3D-FRFSE MRD could be used as a reliable diagnostic method in many patients with epiphora prior to surgery

A Novel Active Online State of Charge Based Balancing Approach for Lithium-Ion Battery Packs during Fast Charging Process in Electric Vehicles

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Xiudong Cui

2017-11-01

Full Text Available Abstract: Non-uniformity of Lithium-ion cells in a battery pack is inevitable and has become the bottleneck to the pack capacity, especially in the fast charging process. Therefore, a balancing approach is essentially required. This paper proposes an active online cell balancing approach in a fast charging process using the state of charge (SOC as balancing criterion. The goal of this approach is to complete pack balancing within the limited charging time. An adaptive extended Kalman filter (AEKF is applied to estimate the pack cell SOC during the charging process to obtain accurate results under modeling errors and measurement noises. To implement the proposed AEKF, only one additional current sensor is required to obtain the current of each cell required for the SOC estimation. An experimental platform is established to verify the effectiveness of the proposed approach. The results show that the proposed balancing approach with the SOC as a balancing criterion can overcome the challenges of non-uniformity and flat voltage plateau and charge more capacity into a LiFePO4 battery pack than those with the terminal voltage as a balancing criterion in the fast charging process.

Fast periodic stimulation (FPS): a highly effective approach in fMRI brain mapping.

Science.gov (United States)

Gao, Xiaoqing; Gentile, Francesco; Rossion, Bruno

2018-03-03

Defining the neural basis of perceptual categorization in a rapidly changing natural environment with low-temporal resolution methods such as functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) is challenging. Here, we present a novel fast periodic stimulation (FPS)-fMRI approach to define face-selective brain regions with natural images. Human observers are presented with a dynamic stream of widely variable natural object images alternating at a fast rate (6 images/s). Every 9 s, a short burst of variable face images contrasting with object images in pairs induces an objective face-selective neural response at 0.111 Hz. A model-free Fourier analysis achieves a twofold increase in signal-to-noise ratio compared to a conventional block-design approach with identical stimuli and scanning duration, allowing to derive a comprehensive map of face-selective areas in the ventral occipito-temporal cortex, including the anterior temporal lobe (ATL), in all individual brains. Critically, periodicity of the desired category contrast and random variability among widely diverse images effectively eliminates the contribution of low-level visual cues, and lead to the highest values (80-90%) of test-retest reliability in the spatial activation map yet reported in imaging higher level visual functions. FPS-fMRI opens a new avenue for understanding brain function with low-temporal resolution methods.

A genome-wide approach accounting for body mass index identifies genetic variants influencing fasting glycemic traits and insulin resistance

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Manning, Alisa K; Hivert, Marie-France; Scott, Robert A

2012-01-01

pathways might be uncovered by accounting for differences in body mass index (BMI) and potential interactions between BMI and genetic variants. We applied a joint meta-analysis approach to test associations with fasting insulin and glucose on a genome-wide scale. We present six previously unknown loci...... associated with fasting insulin at P triglyceride and lower high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol levels, suggesting a role for these loci...

Improved assessment of mediastinal and pulmonary pathologies in combined staging CT examinations using a fast-speed acquisition dual-source CT protocol

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Braun, Franziska M.; Holzner, Veronica; Meinel, Felix G.; Armbruster, Marco; Brandlhuber, Martina; Ertl-Wagner, Birgit; Sommer, Wieland H. [University Hospital Munich, Institute for Clinical Radiology, Munich (Germany)

2017-12-15

To demonstrate the feasibility of fast Dual-Source CT (DSCT) and to evaluate the clinical utility in chest/abdomen/pelvis staging CT studies. 45 cancer patients with two follow-up combined chest/abdomen/pelvis staging CT examinations (maximally ±10 kV difference in tube potential) were included. The first scan had to be performed with our standard protocol (fixed pitch 0.6), the second one using a novel fast-speed DSCT protocol (fixed pitch 1.55). Effective doses (ED) were calculated, noise measurements performed. Scan times were compared, motion artefacts and the diagnostic confidence rated in consensus reading. ED for the standard and fast-speed scans was 9.1 (7.0-11.1) mSv and 9.2 (7.4-12.8) mSv, respectively (P = 0.075). Image noise was comparable (abdomen; all P > 0.05) or reduced for fast-speed CTs (trachea, P = 0.001; ascending aorta, P < 0.001). Motion artefacts of the heart/the ascending aorta (all P < 0.001) and breathing artefacts (P < 0.031) were reduced in fast DSCT. The diagnostic confidence for the evaluation of mediastinal (P < 0.001) and pulmonary (P = 0.008) pathologies was improved for fast DSCT. Fast DSCT for chest/abdomen/pelvis staging CT examinations is performed within 2 seconds scan time and eliminates relevant intrathoracic motion/breathing artefacts. Mediastinal/pulmonary pathologies can thus be assessed with high diagnostic confidence. Abdominal image quality remains excellent. (orig.)

Fast track-hoftealloplastik

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Hansen, Torben Bæk; Gromov, Kirill; Kristensen, Billy B

2017-01-01

Fast-track surgery implies a coordinated perioperative approach aimed at reducing surgical stress and facilitating post-operative recovery. The fast-track programme has reduced post-operative length of stay and has led to shorter convalescence with more rapid functional recovery and decreased...... morbidity and mortality in total hip arthroplasty. It should now be a standard total hip arthroplasty patient pathway, but fine tuning of the multiple factors in the fast-track pathway is still needed in patients with special needs or high comorbidity burden....

Approaches to modernize the combination drug development paradigm

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Daphne Day

2016-10-01

Full Text Available Abstract Recent advances in genomic sequencing and omics-based capabilities are uncovering tremendous therapeutic opportunities and rapidly transforming the field of cancer medicine. Molecularly targeted agents aim to exploit key tumor-specific vulnerabilities such as oncogenic or non-oncogenic addiction and synthetic lethality. Additionally, immunotherapies targeting the host immune system are proving to be another promising and complementary approach. Owing to substantial tumor genomic and immunologic complexities, combination strategies are likely to be required to adequately disrupt intricate molecular interactions and provide meaningful long-term benefit to patients. To optimize the therapeutic success and application of combination therapies, systematic scientific discovery will need to be coupled with novel and efficient clinical trial approaches. Indeed, a paradigm shift is required to drive precision medicine forward, from the traditional “drug-centric” model of clinical development in pursuit of small incremental benefits in large heterogeneous groups of patients, to a “strategy-centric” model to provide customized transformative treatments in molecularly stratified subsets of patients or even in individual patients. Crucially, to combat the numerous challenges facing combination drug development—including our growing but incomplete understanding of tumor biology, technical and informatics limitations, and escalating financial costs—aligned goals and multidisciplinary collaboration are imperative to collectively harness knowledge and fuel continual innovation.

Rectal duplication cyst: a combined abdominal and endoanal operative approach.

Science.gov (United States)

Rees, Clare M; Woodward, Mark; Grier, David; Cusick, Eleri

2007-04-01

Rectal duplication cysts are rare, comprising duplications. Early excision is the treatment of choice and a number of surgical approaches have been described. We present a 3-week-old infant with a 3 cm cyst that was excised using a previously unreported combined abdominal and endoanal approach.

Nanotechnology-based combinational drug delivery: an emerging approach for cancer therapy.

Science.gov (United States)

Parhi, Priyambada; Mohanty, Chandana; Sahoo, Sanjeeb Kumar

2012-09-01

Combination therapy for the treatment of cancer is becoming more popular because it generates synergistic anticancer effects, reduces individual drug-related toxicity and suppresses multi-drug resistance through different mechanisms of action. In recent years, nanotechnology-based combination drug delivery to tumor tissues has emerged as an effective strategy by overcoming many biological, biophysical and biomedical barriers that the body stages against successful delivery of anticancer drugs. The sustained, controlled and targeted delivery of chemotherapeutic drugs in a combination approach enhanced therapeutic anticancer effects with reduced drug-associated side effects. In this article, we have reviewed the scope of various nanotechnology-based combination drug delivery approaches and also summarized the current perspective and challenges facing the successful treatment of cancer. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

A Novel Two-Wire Fast Readout Approach for Suppressing Cable Crosstalk in a Tactile Resistive Sensor Array.

Science.gov (United States)

Wu, Jianfeng; Wang, Yu; Li, Jianqing; Song, Aiguo

2016-05-18

For suppressing the crosstalk problem due to wire resistances and contacted resistances of the long flexible cables in tactile sensing systems, we present a novel two-wire fast readout approach for the two-dimensional resistive sensor array in shared row-column fashion. In the approach, two wires are used for every driving electrode and every sampling electrode in the resistive sensor array. The approach with a high readout rate, though it requires a large number of wires and many sampling channels, solves the cable crosstalk problem. We also verified the approach's performance with Multisim simulations and actual experiments.

Management of interstitial ectopic pregnancies with a combined intra-amniotic and systemic approach.

Science.gov (United States)

Swank, Morgan L; Harken, Tabetha R; Porto, Manuel

2013-08-01

Approximately 2% of all pregnancies are ectopic; of these, 4% are interstitial or cervical. There exists no clear consensus as to whether surgical or medical management is superior. We present three cases of advanced nonfallopian tube ectopic pregnancies from 6 to 8 weeks of gestation. Our first two cases were managed with a combined intrafetal, intra-amniotic and systemic approach using methotrexate and potassium chloride, whereas our third case was managed with an intra-amniotic approach alone. Our combined approach cases were successful, with resolution of human chorionic gonadotropin in 50 and 34 days, whereas our single approach case re-presented with bleeding requiring uterine artery embolization and operative removal of products of conception. Patients presenting with advanced interstitial or cervical pregnancies who are clinically stable can be offered medical management with a combined approach.

On a mean field game optimal control approach modeling fast exit scenarios in human crowds

KAUST Repository

Burger, Martin; Di Francesco, Marco; Markowich, Peter A.; Wolfram, Marie Therese

2013-01-01

The understanding of fast exit and evacuation situations in crowd motion research has received a lot of scientific interest in the last decades. Security issues in larger facilities, like shopping malls, sports centers, or festivals necessitate a better understanding of the major driving forces in crowd dynamics. In this paper we present an optimal control approach modeling fast exit scenarios in pedestrian crowds. The model is formulated in the framework of mean field games and based on a parabolic optimal control problem. We consider the case of a large human crowd trying to exit a room as fast as possible. The motion of every pedestrian is determined by minimizing a cost functional, which depends on his/her position and velocity, the overall density of people, and the time to exit. This microscopic setup leads in a mean-field formulation to a nonlinear macroscopic optimal control problem, which raises challenging questions for the analysis and numerical simulations.We discuss different aspects of the mathematical modeling and illustrate them with various computational results. ©2013 IEEE.

On a mean field game optimal control approach modeling fast exit scenarios in human crowds

KAUST Repository

Burger, Martin

2013-12-01

The understanding of fast exit and evacuation situations in crowd motion research has received a lot of scientific interest in the last decades. Security issues in larger facilities, like shopping malls, sports centers, or festivals necessitate a better understanding of the major driving forces in crowd dynamics. In this paper we present an optimal control approach modeling fast exit scenarios in pedestrian crowds. The model is formulated in the framework of mean field games and based on a parabolic optimal control problem. We consider the case of a large human crowd trying to exit a room as fast as possible. The motion of every pedestrian is determined by minimizing a cost functional, which depends on his/her position and velocity, the overall density of people, and the time to exit. This microscopic setup leads in a mean-field formulation to a nonlinear macroscopic optimal control problem, which raises challenging questions for the analysis and numerical simulations.We discuss different aspects of the mathematical modeling and illustrate them with various computational results. ©2013 IEEE.

Mechatronic design of a fast and long range 4 degrees of freedom humanoid neck

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Brouwer, Dannis Michel; Bennik, J.; Leideman, J.; Soemers, Herman; Stramigioli, Stefano

2009-01-01

This paper describes the mechatronic design of a humanoid neck. To research human machine interaction, the head and neck combination should be able to approach the human behavior as much as possible. We present a novel humanoid neck concept that is both fast, and has a long range of motion in 4

Combined endoscopic approach in the management of suprasellar craniopharyngioma.

Science.gov (United States)

Deopujari, Chandrashekhar E; Karmarkar, Vikram S; Shah, Nishit; Vashu, Ravindran; Patil, Rahul; Mohanty, Chandan; Shaikh, Salman

2018-05-01

Craniopharyngiomas are dysontogenic tumors with benign histology but aggressive behavior. The surgical challenges posed by the tumor are well recognized. Neuroendoscopy has recently contributed to its surgical management. This study focuses on our experience in managing craniopharyngiomas in recent years, highlighting the role of combined endoscopic trans-ventricular and endonasal approach. Ninety-two patients have been treated for craniopharyngioma from 2000 to 2016 by the senior author. A total of 125 procedures, microsurgical (58) and endoscopic (67), were undertaken. Combined endoscopic approach was carried out in 18 of these patients, 16 children and 2 young adults. All of these patients presented with a large cystic suprasellar mass associated with hydrocephalus. In the first instance, they were treated with a transventricular endoscopic procedure to decompress the cystic component. This was followed by an endonasal transsphenoidal procedure for excision within the next 2 to 6 days. All these patients improved after the initial cyst decompression with relief of hydrocephalus while awaiting remaining tumor removal in a more elective setting. Gross total resection could be done in 84% of these patients. Diabetes insipidus was the most common postsurgical complication seen in 61% patients in the immediate period but was persistent in only two patients at 1-year follow-up. None of the children in this group developed morbid obesity. There was one case of CSF leak requiring repair after initial surgery. Peri-operative mortality was seen in one patient secondary to ventriculitis. The patients who benefit most from the combined approach are those who present with raised intracranial pressure secondary to a large tumor with cyst causing hydrocephalus. Intraventricular endoscopic cyst drainage allows resolution of hydrocephalus with restoration of normal intracranial pressure, gives time for proper preoperative work up, and has reduced incidence of CSF leak after

Validity of the top-down approach of inverse dynamics analysis in fast and large rotational trunk movements.

Science.gov (United States)

Iino, Yoichi; Kojima, Takeji

2012-08-01

This study investigated the validity of the top-down approach of inverse dynamics analysis in fast and large rotational movements of the trunk about three orthogonal axes of the pelvis for nine male collegiate students. The maximum angles of the upper trunk relative to the pelvis were approximately 47°, 49°, 32°, and 55° for lateral bending, flexion, extension, and axial rotation, respectively, with maximum angular velocities of 209°/s, 201°/s, 145°/s, and 288°/s, respectively. The pelvic moments about the axes during the movements were determined using the top-down and bottom-up approaches of inverse dynamics and compared between the two approaches. Three body segment inertial parameter sets were estimated using anthropometric data sets (Ae et al., Biomechanism 11, 1992; De Leva, J Biomech, 1996; Dumas et al., J Biomech, 2007). The root-mean-square errors of the moments and the absolute errors of the peaks of the moments were generally smaller than 10 N·m. The results suggest that the pelvic moment in motions involving fast and large trunk movements can be determined with a certain level of validity using the top-down approach in which the trunk is modeled as two or three rigid-link segments.

A novel approach to Hough Transform for implementation in fast triggers

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Pozzobon, Nicola, E-mail: nicola.pozzobon@pd.infn.it [Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare, Sezione di Padova, via F. Marzolo 8, 35131 Padova (Italy); Dipartimento di Fisica ed Astronomia “G. Galilei”, Università degli Studi di Padova, via F. Marzolo 8, 35131 Padova (Italy); Montecassiano, Fabio [Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare, Sezione di Padova, via F. Marzolo 8, 35131 Padova (Italy); Zotto, Pierluigi [Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare, Sezione di Padova, via F. Marzolo 8, 35131 Padova (Italy); Dipartimento di Fisica ed Astronomia “G. Galilei”, Università degli Studi di Padova, via F. Marzolo 8, 35131 Padova (Italy)

2016-10-21

Telescopes of position sensitive detectors are common layouts in charged particles tracking, and programmable logic devices, such as FPGAs, represent a viable choice for the real-time reconstruction of track segments in such detector arrays. A compact implementation of the Hough Transform for fast triggers in High Energy Physics, exploiting a parameter reduction method, is proposed, targeting the reduction of the needed storage or computing resources in current, or next future, state-of-the-art FPGA devices, while retaining high resolution over a wide range of track parameters. The proposed approach is compared to a Standard Hough Transform with particular emphasis on their application to muon detectors. In both cases, an original readout implementation is modeled.

A novel approach to Hough Transform for implementation in fast triggers

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Pozzobon, Nicola; Montecassiano, Fabio; Zotto, Pierluigi

2016-01-01

Telescopes of position sensitive detectors are common layouts in charged particles tracking, and programmable logic devices, such as FPGAs, represent a viable choice for the real-time reconstruction of track segments in such detector arrays. A compact implementation of the Hough Transform for fast triggers in High Energy Physics, exploiting a parameter reduction method, is proposed, targeting the reduction of the needed storage or computing resources in current, or next future, state-of-the-art FPGA devices, while retaining high resolution over a wide range of track parameters. The proposed approach is compared to a Standard Hough Transform with particular emphasis on their application to muon detectors. In both cases, an original readout implementation is modeled.

Hypnotherapy: A Combined Approach Using Psychotherapy and Behavior Modification.

Science.gov (United States)

Goldberg, Bruce

1987-01-01

Discusses use of hypnosis in traditional psychoanalysis, compares use of hypnosis in behavior modification therapy versus psychoanalysis, and presents a hypno-behavioral model which combines both approaches using hypnosis as the medium. (Author/NB)

Combined SAFE/SNAP approach to safeguards evaluation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Engi, D.; Chapman, L.D.; Grant, F.H.; Polito, J.

1980-01-01

The scope of a safeguards evaluation model can efficiently address one of two issues: (1) global safeguards effectiveness or (2) vulnerability analysis for individual scenarios. The Safeguards Automated Facility Evaluation (SAFE) focuses on the first issue, while the Safeguards Network Analysis Procedure (SNAP) is directed towards the second. A combined SAFE/SNAP approach to the problem of safeguards evaluation is described and illustrated through an example. 4 refs

Fasts, feasts and festivals in diabetes-1: Glycemic management during Hindu fasts

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sanjay Kalra

2015-01-01

Full Text Available This communication is the first of a series on South Asian fasts, festivals, and diabetes, designed to spread awareness and stimulate research on this aspect of diabetes and metabolic care. It describes the various fasts observed as part of Hindu religion and offers a classification scheme for them, labeling them as infrequent and frequent. The infrequent fasts are further sub-classified as brief and prolonged, to facilitate a scientific approach to glycemic management during these fasts. Pre-fast counseling, non-pharmacological therapy, pharmacological modification, and post-fast debriefing are discussed in detail. All available drug classes and molecules are covered in this article, which provides guidance about necessary changes in dosage and timing of administration. While in no way exhaustive, the brief review offers a basic framework which diabetes care professionals can use to counsel and manage persons in their care who wish to observe various Hindu fasts.

Soft x-ray continuum radiation transmitted through metallic filters: An analytical approach to fast electron temperature measurements

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Delgado-Aparicio, L.; Hill, K.; Bitter, M.; Tritz, K.; Kramer, T.; Stutman, D.; Finkenthal, M.

2010-01-01

A new set of analytic formulas describes the transmission of soft x-ray continuum radiation through a metallic foil for its application to fast electron temperature measurements in fusion plasmas. This novel approach shows good agreement with numerical calculations over a wide range of plasma temperatures in contrast with the solutions obtained when using a transmission approximated by a single-Heaviside function [S. von Goeler et al., Rev. Sci. Instrum. 70, 599 (1999)]. The new analytic formulas can improve the interpretation of the experimental results and thus contribute in obtaining fast temperature measurements in between intermittent Thomson scattering data.

Fast Weight Long Short-Term Memory

OpenAIRE

Keller, T. Anderson; Sridhar, Sharath Nittur; Wang, Xin

2018-01-01

Associative memory using fast weights is a short-term memory mechanism that substantially improves the memory capacity and time scale of recurrent neural networks (RNNs). As recent studies introduced fast weights only to regular RNNs, it is unknown whether fast weight memory is beneficial to gated RNNs. In this work, we report a significant synergy between long short-term memory (LSTM) networks and fast weight associative memories. We show that this combination, in learning associative retrie...

Effect of combined platinum and electron on the temperature dependence of forward voltage in fast recovery diode

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jia Yun-Peng; Zhao Bao; Wu Yu; Zhou Xuan; Li Zhe; Tan Jian; Yang Fei

2015-01-01

The temperature dependences of forward voltage drop (V F ) of the fast recovery diodes (FRDs) are remarkably influenced by different lifetime controlled treatments. In this paper the results of an experimental study are presented, which are the lifetime controls of platinum treatment, electron irradiation treatment, and the combined treatment of the above ones. Based on deep level transient spectroscopy (DLTS) measurements, a new level E6 (E C -0.376 eV) is found in the combined lifetime treated (CLT) sample, which is different from the levels of the individual platinum and electron irradiation ones. Comparing the tested V F results of CLT samples with the others, the level E6 is responsible for the degradation of temperature dependence of the forward voltage drop in the FRD. (paper)

Fast-shock ignition: a new approach to inertial confinement fusion

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

AH Farahbod

2013-03-01

Full Text Available  A new concept for inertial confinement fusion called fast-shock ignition (FSI is introduced as a credible scheme in order to obtain high target gain. In the proposed model, the separation of fuel ignition into two successive steps, under the suitable conditions, reduces required ignitor energy for the fuel ignition. The main procedure in FSI concept is compressing the fuel up to stagnation. Then, two high intensity short pulse laser spikes with energy and power lower than those required for shock ignition (SI and fast ignition (FI with a proper delay time are launched at the fuel which increases the central hot-spot temperature and completes the ignition of the precompressed fuel. The introduced semi-analytical model indicates that with fast-shock ignition, the total required energy for compressing and igniting the fuel can be slightly reduced in comparison to pure shock ignition. Furthermore, for fuel mass greater than , the target energy gain increases up to 15 percent and the contribution of fast ignitor under the proper conditions could be decreased about 20 percent compared with pure fast ignition. The FSI scheme is beneficial from technological considerations for the construction of short pulse high power laser drivers. The general advantages of fast-shock ignition over pure shock ignition in terms of figure of merit can be more than 1.3.

An automated and fast approach to detect single-trial visual evoked potentials with application to brain-computer interface.

Science.gov (United States)

Tu, Yiheng; Hung, Yeung Sam; Hu, Li; Huang, Gan; Hu, Yong; Zhang, Zhiguo

2014-12-01

This study aims (1) to develop an automated and fast approach for detecting visual evoked potentials (VEPs) in single trials and (2) to apply the single-trial VEP detection approach in designing a real-time and high-performance brain-computer interface (BCI) system. The single-trial VEP detection approach uses common spatial pattern (CSP) as a spatial filter and wavelet filtering (WF) a temporal-spectral filter to jointly enhance the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) of single-trial VEPs. The performance of the joint spatial-temporal-spectral filtering approach was assessed in a four-command VEP-based BCI system. The offline classification accuracy of the BCI system was significantly improved from 67.6±12.5% (raw data) to 97.3±2.1% (data filtered by CSP and WF). The proposed approach was successfully implemented in an online BCI system, where subjects could make 20 decisions in one minute with classification accuracy of 90%. The proposed single-trial detection approach is able to obtain robust and reliable VEP waveform in an automatic and fast way and it is applicable in VEP based online BCI systems. This approach provides a real-time and automated solution for single-trial detection of evoked potentials or event-related potentials (EPs/ERPs) in various paradigms, which could benefit many applications such as BCI and intraoperative monitoring. Copyright © 2014 International Federation of Clinical Neurophysiology. Published by Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

A genome-wide approach accounting for body mass index identifies genetic variants influencing fasting glycemic traits and insulin resistance

Science.gov (United States)

Manning, Alisa K.; Hivert, Marie-France; Scott, Robert A.; Grimsby, Jonna L.; Bouatia-Naji, Nabila; Chen, Han; Rybin, Denis; Liu, Ching-Ti; Bielak, Lawrence F.; Prokopenko, Inga; Amin, Najaf; Barnes, Daniel; Cadby, Gemma; Hottenga, Jouke-Jan; Ingelsson, Erik; Jackson, Anne U.; Johnson, Toby; Kanoni, Stavroula; Ladenvall, Claes; Lagou, Vasiliki; Lahti, Jari; Lecoeur, Cecile; Liu, Yongmei; Martinez-Larrad, Maria Teresa; Montasser, May E.; Navarro, Pau; Perry, John R. B.; Rasmussen-Torvik, Laura J.; Salo, Perttu; Sattar, Naveed; Shungin, Dmitry; Strawbridge, Rona J.; Tanaka, Toshiko; van Duijn, Cornelia M.; An, Ping; de Andrade, Mariza; Andrews, Jeanette S.; Aspelund, Thor; Atalay, Mustafa; Aulchenko, Yurii; Balkau, Beverley; Bandinelli, Stefania; Beckmann, Jacques S.; Beilby, John P.; Bellis, Claire; Bergman, Richard N.; Blangero, John; Boban, Mladen; Boehnke, Michael; Boerwinkle, Eric; Bonnycastle, Lori L.; Boomsma, Dorret I.; Borecki, Ingrid B.; Böttcher, Yvonne; Bouchard, Claude; Brunner, Eric; Budimir, Danijela; Campbell, Harry; Carlson, Olga; Chines, Peter S.; Clarke, Robert; Collins, Francis S.; Corbatón-Anchuelo, Arturo; Couper, David; de Faire, Ulf; Dedoussis, George V; Deloukas, Panos; Dimitriou, Maria; Egan, Josephine M; Eiriksdottir, Gudny; Erdos, Michael R.; Eriksson, Johan G.; Eury, Elodie; Ferrucci, Luigi; Ford, Ian; Forouhi, Nita G.; Fox, Caroline S; Franzosi, Maria Grazia; Franks, Paul W; Frayling, Timothy M; Froguel, Philippe; Galan, Pilar; de Geus, Eco; Gigante, Bruna; Glazer, Nicole L.; Goel, Anuj; Groop, Leif; Gudnason, Vilmundur; Hallmans, Göran; Hamsten, Anders; Hansson, Ola; Harris, Tamara B.; Hayward, Caroline; Heath, Simon; Hercberg, Serge; Hicks, Andrew A.; Hingorani, Aroon; Hofman, Albert; Hui, Jennie; Hung, Joseph; Jarvelin, Marjo Riitta; Jhun, Min A.; Johnson, Paul C.D.; Jukema, J Wouter; Jula, Antti; Kao, W.H.; Kaprio, Jaakko; Kardia, Sharon L. R.; Keinanen-Kiukaanniemi, Sirkka; Kivimaki, Mika; Kolcic, Ivana; Kovacs, Peter; Kumari, Meena; Kuusisto, Johanna; Kyvik, Kirsten Ohm; Laakso, Markku; Lakka, Timo; Lannfelt, Lars; Lathrop, G Mark; Launer, Lenore J.; Leander, Karin; Li, Guo; Lind, Lars; Lindstrom, Jaana; Lobbens, Stéphane; Loos, Ruth J. F.; Luan, Jian’an; Lyssenko, Valeriya; Mägi, Reedik; Magnusson, Patrik K. E.; Marmot, Michael; Meneton, Pierre; Mohlke, Karen L.; Mooser, Vincent; Morken, Mario A.; Miljkovic, Iva; Narisu, Narisu; O’Connell, Jeff; Ong, Ken K.; Oostra, Ben A.; Palmer, Lyle J.; Palotie, Aarno; Pankow, James S.; Peden, John F.; Pedersen, Nancy L.; Pehlic, Marina; Peltonen, Leena; Penninx, Brenda; Pericic, Marijana; Perola, Markus; Perusse, Louis; Peyser, Patricia A; Polasek, Ozren; Pramstaller, Peter P.; Province, Michael A.; Räikkönen, Katri; Rauramaa, Rainer; Rehnberg, Emil; Rice, Ken; Rotter, Jerome I.; Rudan, Igor; Ruokonen, Aimo; Saaristo, Timo; Sabater-Lleal, Maria; Salomaa, Veikko; Savage, David B.; Saxena, Richa; Schwarz, Peter; Seedorf, Udo; Sennblad, Bengt; Serrano-Rios, Manuel; Shuldiner, Alan R.; Sijbrands, Eric J.G.; Siscovick, David S.; Smit, Johannes H.; Small, Kerrin S.; Smith, Nicholas L.; Smith, Albert Vernon; Stančáková, Alena; Stirrups, Kathleen; Stumvoll, Michael; Sun, Yan V.; Swift, Amy J.; Tönjes, Anke; Tuomilehto, Jaakko; Trompet, Stella; Uitterlinden, Andre G.; Uusitupa, Matti; Vikström, Max; Vitart, Veronique; Vohl, Marie-Claude; Voight, Benjamin F.; Vollenweider, Peter; Waeber, Gerard; Waterworth, Dawn M; Watkins, Hugh; Wheeler, Eleanor; Widen, Elisabeth; Wild, Sarah H.; Willems, Sara M.; Willemsen, Gonneke; Wilson, James F.; Witteman, Jacqueline C.M.; Wright, Alan F.; Yaghootkar, Hanieh; Zelenika, Diana; Zemunik, Tatijana; Zgaga, Lina; Wareham, Nicholas J.; McCarthy, Mark I.; Barroso, Ines; Watanabe, Richard M.; Florez, Jose C.; Dupuis, Josée; Meigs, James B.; Langenberg, Claudia

2013-01-01

Recent genome-wide association studies have described many loci implicated in type 2 diabetes (T2D) pathophysiology and beta-cell dysfunction, but contributed little to our understanding of the genetic basis of insulin resistance. We hypothesized that genes implicated in insulin resistance pathways may be uncovered by accounting for differences in body mass index (BMI) and potential interaction between BMI and genetic variants. We applied a novel joint meta-analytical approach to test associations with fasting insulin (FI) and glucose (FG) on a genome-wide scale. We present six previously unknown FI loci at P<5×10−8 in combined discovery and follow-up analyses of 52 studies comprising up to 96,496non-diabetic individuals. Risk variants were associated with higher triglyceride and lower HDL cholesterol levels, suggestive of a role for these FI loci in insulin resistance pathways. The localization of these additional loci will aid further characterization of the role of insulin resistance in T2D pathophysiology. PMID:22581228

Combining the Hanning windowed interpolated FFT in both directions

Science.gov (United States)

Chen, Kui Fu; Li, Yan Feng

2008-06-01

The interpolated fast Fourier transform (IFFT) has been proposed as a way to eliminate the picket fence effect (PFE) of the fast Fourier transform. The modulus based IFFT, cited in most relevant references, makes use of only the 1st and 2nd highest spectral lines. An approach using three principal spectral lines is proposed. This new approach combines both directions of the complex spectrum based IFFT with the Hanning window. The optimal weight to minimize the estimation variance is established on the first order Taylor series expansion of noise interference. A numerical simulation is carried out, and the results are compared with the Cramer-Rao bound. It is demonstrated that the proposed approach has a lower estimation variance than the two-spectral-line approach. The improvement depends on the extent of sampling deviating from the coherent condition, and the best is decreasing variance by 2/7. However, it is also shown that the estimation variance of the windowed IFFT with the Hanning is significantly higher than that of without windowing.

A Novel Two-Wire Fast Readout Approach for Suppressing Cable Crosstalk in a Tactile Resistive Sensor Array

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jianfeng Wu

2016-05-01

Full Text Available For suppressing the crosstalk problem due to wire resistances and contacted resistances of the long flexible cables in tactile sensing systems, we present a novel two-wire fast readout approach for the two-dimensional resistive sensor array in shared row-column fashion. In the approach, two wires are used for every driving electrode and every sampling electrode in the resistive sensor array. The approach with a high readout rate, though it requires a large number of wires and many sampling channels, solves the cable crosstalk problem. We also verified the approach’s performance with Multisim simulations and actual experiments.

USI: a fast and accurate approach for conceptual document annotation.

Science.gov (United States)

Fiorini, Nicolas; Ranwez, Sylvie; Montmain, Jacky; Ranwez, Vincent

2015-03-14

Semantic approaches such as concept-based information retrieval rely on a corpus in which resources are indexed by concepts belonging to a domain ontology. In order to keep such applications up-to-date, new entities need to be frequently annotated to enrich the corpus. However, this task is time-consuming and requires a high-level of expertise in both the domain and the related ontology. Different strategies have thus been proposed to ease this indexing process, each one taking advantage from the features of the document. In this paper we present USI (User-oriented Semantic Indexer), a fast and intuitive method for indexing tasks. We introduce a solution to suggest a conceptual annotation for new entities based on related already indexed documents. Our results, compared to those obtained by previous authors using the MeSH thesaurus and a dataset of biomedical papers, show that the method surpasses text-specific methods in terms of both quality and speed. Evaluations are done via usual metrics and semantic similarity. By only relying on neighbor documents, the User-oriented Semantic Indexer does not need a representative learning set. Yet, it provides better results than the other approaches by giving a consistent annotation scored with a global criterion - instead of one score per concept.

A fast approach to determine a fed batch feeding profile for recombinant Pichia pastoris strains

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Herwig Christoph

2011-10-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background The microorganism Pichia pastoris is a commonly used microbial host for the expression of recombinant proteins in biotechnology and biopharmaceutical industry. To speed up process development, a fast methodology to determine strain characteristic parameters, which are needed to subsequently set up fed batch feeding profiles, is required. Results Here, we show the general applicability of a novel approach to quantify a certain minimal set of bioprocess-relevant parameters, i.e. the adaptation time of the culture to methanol, the specific substrate uptake rate during the adaptation phase and the maximum specific substrate uptake rate, based on fast and easy-to-do batch cultivations with repeated methanol pulses in a batch culture. A detailed analysis of the adaptation of different P. pastoris strains to methanol was conducted and revealed that each strain showed very different characteristics during adaptation, illustrating the need of individual screenings for an optimal parameter definition during this phase. Based on the results obtained in batch cultivations, dynamic feeding profiles based on the specific substrate uptake rate were employed for different P. pastoris strains. In these experiments the maximum specific substrate uptake rate, which had been defined in batch experiments, also represented the upper limit of methanol uptake, underlining the validity of the determined process-relevant parameters and the overall experimental strategy. Conclusion In this study, we show that a fast approach to determine a minimal set of strain characteristic parameters based on easy-to-do batch cultivations with methanol pulses is generally applicable for different P. pastoris strains and that dynamic fed batch strategies can be designed on the specific substrate uptake rate without running the risk of methanol accumulation.

Analysis of resonant fast ion distributions during combined ICRF and NBI heating with transients using neutron emission spectroscopy

Science.gov (United States)

Hellesen, C.; Mantsinen, M.; Conroy, S.; Ericsson, G.; Eriksson, J.; Kiptily, V. G.; Nabais, F.; Contributors, JET

2018-05-01

ICRF heating at the fundamental cyclotron frequency of a hydrogen minority ion species also gives rise to a partial power absorption by deuterium ions at their second harmonic resonance. This paper studies the deuterium distributions resulting from such 2nd harmonic heating at JET using neutron emission spectroscopy data from the time of flight spectrometer TOFOR. The fast deuterium distributions are obtained over the energy range 100 keV to 2 MeV. Specifically, we study how the fast deuterium distributions vary as ICRF heating is used alone as well as in combination with NBI heating. When comparing the different heating scenarios, we observed both a difference in the shapes of the distributions as well as in their absolute level. The differences are most pronounced below 0.5 MeV. Comparisons are made with corresponding distributions calculated with the code PION. We find a good agreement between the measured distributions and those calculated with PION, both in terms of their shapes as well as their amplitudes. However, we also identified a period with signs of an inverted fast ion distribution, which showed large disagreements between the modeled and measured results. Resonant interactions with tornado modes, i.e. core localized toroidal alfven eigenmodes (TAEs), are put forward as a possible explanation for the inverted distribution.

A fast computing method to distinguish the hyperbolic trajectory of an non-autonomous system

Science.gov (United States)

Jia, Meng; Fan, Yang-Yu; Tian, Wei-Jian

2011-03-01

Attempting to find a fast computing method to DHT (distinguished hyperbolic trajectory), this study first proves that the errors of the stable DHT can be ignored in normal direction when they are computed as the trajectories extend. This conclusion means that the stable flow with perturbation will approach to the real trajectory as it extends over time. Based on this theory and combined with the improved DHT computing method, this paper reports a new fast computing method to DHT, which magnifies the DHT computing speed without decreasing its accuracy. Project supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 60872159).

A fast computing method to distinguish the hyperbolic trajectory of an non-autonomous system

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jia Meng; Fan Yang-Yu; Tian Wei-Jian

2011-01-01

Attempting to find a fast computing method to DHT (distinguished hyperbolic trajectory), this study first proves that the errors of the stable DHT can be ignored in normal direction when they are computed as the trajectories extend. This conclusion means that the stable flow with perturbation will approach to the real trajectory as it extends over time. Based on this theory and combined with the improved DHT computing method, this paper reports a new fast computing method to DHT, which magnifies the DHT computing speed without decreasing its accuracy. (electromagnetism, optics, acoustics, heat transfer, classical mechanics, and fluid dynamics)

Combined approach for gynecomastia.

Science.gov (United States)

El-Sabbagh, Ahmed Hassan

2016-01-01

Gynecomastia is a deformity of male chest. Treatment of gynecomastia varied from direct surgical excision to other techniques (mainly liposuction) to a combination of both. Skin excision is done according to the grade. In this study, experience of using liposuction adjuvant to surgical excision was described. Between September 2012 and April 2015, a total of 14 patients were treated with liposuction and surgical excision through a periareolar incision. Preoperative evaluation was done in all cases to exclude any underlying cause of gynecomastia. All fourteen patients were treated bilaterally (28 breast tissues). Their ages ranged between 13 and 33 years. Two patients were classified as grade I, and four as grade IIa, IIb or III, respectively. The first 3 patients showed seroma. Partial superficial epidermolysis of areola occurred in 2 cases. Superficial infection of incision occurred in one case and was treated conservatively. All grades of gynecomastia were managed by the same approach. Skin excision was added to a patient that had severe skin excess with limited activity and bad skin complexion. No cases required another setting or asked for 2(nd) opinion.

Reliability of Serum Metabolites over a Two-Year Period: A Targeted Metabolomic Approach in Fasting and Non-Fasting Samples from EPIC

Science.gov (United States)

Achaintre, David; Sacerdote, Carlotta; Vineis, Paolo; Key, Timothy J.; Onland Moret, N. Charlotte; Scalbert, Augustin; Rinaldi, Sabina; Ferrari, Pietro

2015-01-01

Objective Although metabolic profiles have been associated with chronic disease risk, lack of temporal stability of metabolite levels could limit their use in epidemiological investigations. The present study aims to evaluate the reliability over a two-year period of 158 metabolites and compare reliability over time in fasting and non-fasting serum samples. Methods Metabolites were measured with the AbsolueIDQp180 kit (Biocrates, Innsbruck, Austria) by mass spectrometry and included acylcarnitines, amino acids, biogenic amines, hexoses, phosphatidylcholines and sphingomyelins. Measurements were performed on repeat serum samples collected two years apart in 27 fasting men from Turin, Italy, and 39 non-fasting women from Utrecht, The Netherlands, all participating in the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC) study. Reproducibility was assessed by estimating intraclass correlation coefficients (ICCs) in multivariable mixed models. Results In fasting samples, a median ICC of 0.70 was observed. ICC values were fasting samples, the median ICC was 0.54. ICC values were fasting as compared to fasting samples, with a statistically significant difference for 19–36% of acylcarnitines, phosphatidylcholines and sphingomyelins. Conclusion A single measurement per individual may be sufficient for the study of 73% and 52% of the metabolites showing ICCs >0.50 in fasting and non-fasting samples, respectively. ICCs were higher in fasting samples that are preferable to non-fasting. PMID:26274920

Fast vibrational configuration interaction using generalized curvilinear coordinates and self-consistent basis.

Science.gov (United States)

Scribano, Yohann; Lauvergnat, David M; Benoit, David M

2010-09-07

In this paper, we couple a numerical kinetic-energy operator approach to the direct-vibrational self-consistent field (VSCF)/vibrational configuration interaction (VCI) method for the calculation of vibrational anharmonic frequencies. By combining this with fast-VSCF, an efficient direct evaluation of the ab initio potential-energy surface (PES), we introduce a general formalism for the computation of vibrational bound states of molecular systems exhibiting large-amplitude motion such as methyl-group torsion. We validate our approach on an analytical two-dimensional model and apply it to the methanol molecule. We show that curvilinear coordinates lead to a significant improvement in the VSCF/VCI description of the torsional frequency in methanol, even for a simple two-mode coupling expansion of the PES. Moreover, we demonstrate that a curvilinear formulation of the fast-VSCF/VCI scheme improves its speed by a factor of two and its accuracy by a factor of 3.

Parallel Fast Multipole Boundary Element Method for crustal dynamics

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Quevedo, Leonardo; Morra, Gabriele; Mueller, R Dietmar

2010-01-01

Crustal faults and sharp material transitions in the crust are usually represented as triangulated surfaces in structural geological models. The complex range of volumes separating such surfaces is typically three-dimensionally meshed in order to solve equations that describe crustal deformation with the finite-difference (FD) or finite-element (FEM) methods. We show here how the Boundary Element Method, combined with the Multipole approach, can revolutionise the calculation of stress and strain, solving the problem of computational scalability from reservoir to basin scales. The Fast Multipole Boundary Element Method (Fast BEM) tackles the difficulty of handling the intricate volume meshes and high resolution of crustal data that has put classical Finite 3D approaches in a performance crisis. The two main performance enhancements of this method: the reduction of required mesh elements from cubic to quadratic with linear size and linear-logarithmic runtime; achieve a reduction of memory and runtime requirements allowing the treatment of a new scale of geodynamic models. This approach was recently tested and applied in a series of papers by [1, 2, 3] for regional and global geodynamics, using KD trees for fast identification of near and far-field interacting elements, and MPI parallelised code on distributed memory architectures, and is now in active development for crustal dynamics. As the method is based on a free-surface, it allows easy data transfer to geological visualisation tools where only changes in boundaries and material properties are required as input parameters. In addition, easy volume mesh sampling of physical quantities enables direct integration with existing FD/FEM code.

A fast summation method for oscillatory lattice sums

Science.gov (United States)

Denlinger, Ryan; Gimbutas, Zydrunas; Greengard, Leslie; Rokhlin, Vladimir

2017-02-01

We present a fast summation method for lattice sums of the type which arise when solving wave scattering problems with periodic boundary conditions. While there are a variety of effective algorithms in the literature for such calculations, the approach presented here is new and leads to a rigorous analysis of Wood's anomalies. These arise when illuminating a grating at specific combinations of the angle of incidence and the frequency of the wave, for which the lattice sums diverge. They were discovered by Wood in 1902 as singularities in the spectral response. The primary tools in our approach are the Euler-Maclaurin formula and a steepest descent argument. The resulting algorithm has super-algebraic convergence and requires only milliseconds of CPU time.

Sox17 regulates liver lipid metabolism and adaptation to fasting.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Samuel Rommelaere

Full Text Available Liver is a major regulator of lipid metabolism and adaptation to fasting, a process involving PPARalpha activation. We recently showed that the Vnn1 gene is a PPARalpha target gene in liver and that release of the Vanin-1 pantetheinase in serum is a biomarker of PPARalpha activation. Here we set up a screen to identify new regulators of adaptation to fasting using the serum Vanin-1 as a marker of PPARalpha activation. Mutagenized mice were screened for low serum Vanin-1 expression. Functional interactions with PPARalpha were investigated by combining transcriptomic, biochemical and metabolic approaches. We characterized a new mutant mouse in which hepatic and serum expression of Vanin-1 is depressed. This mouse carries a mutation in the HMG domain of the Sox17 transcription factor. Mutant mice display a metabolic phenotype featuring lipid abnormalities and inefficient adaptation to fasting. Upon fasting, a fraction of the PPARα-driven transcriptional program is no longer induced and associated with impaired fatty acid oxidation. The transcriptional phenotype is partially observed in heterozygous Sox17+/- mice. In mutant mice, the fasting phenotype but not all transcriptomic signature is rescued by the administration of the PPARalpha agonist fenofibrate. These results identify a novel role for Sox17 in adult liver as a modulator of the metabolic adaptation to fasting.

Fusion ignition via a magnetically-assisted fast ignition approach

OpenAIRE

Wang, W. -M.; Gibbon, P.; Sheng, Z. -M.; Li, Y. T.; Zhang, J.

2016-01-01

Significant progress has been made towards laser-driven fusion ignition via different schemes, including direct and indirect central ignition, fast ignition, shock ignition, and impact ignition schemes. However, to reach ignition conditions, there are still various technical and physical challenges to be solved for all these schemes. Here, our multi-dimensional integrated simulation shows that the fast-ignition conditions could be achieved when two 2.8 petawatt heating laser pulses counter-pr...

Development of a fast agglutination screening test (FAST) for the detection of anti-Leishmania antibodies in dogs

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Schallig, H. D. F. H.; Schoone, G. J.; Beijer, E. G. M.; Kroon, C. C. M.; Hommers, M.; Ozbel, Y.; Ozensoy, S.; da Silva, E. S.; Cardoso, L. M.; da Silva, E. D.

2002-01-01

A fast agglutination screening test (FAST) for the detection of anti-Leishinania antibodies in serum samples from dogs with visceral leishmamosis was developed. The test is based on the direct agglutination test (DAT), but combines a higher parasite concentration with a smaller test volume. In

Combining engineering and data-driven approaches

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Fischer, Katharina; De Sanctis, Gianluca; Kohler, Jochen

2015-01-01

Two general approaches may be followed for the development of a fire risk model: statistical models based on observed fire losses can support simple cost-benefit studies but are usually not detailed enough for engineering decision-making. Engineering models, on the other hand, require many assump...... to the calibration of a generic fire risk model for single family houses to Swiss insurance data. The example demonstrates that the bias in the risk estimation can be strongly reduced by model calibration.......Two general approaches may be followed for the development of a fire risk model: statistical models based on observed fire losses can support simple cost-benefit studies but are usually not detailed enough for engineering decision-making. Engineering models, on the other hand, require many...... assumptions that may result in a biased risk assessment. In two related papers we show how engineering and data-driven modelling can be combined by developing generic risk models that are calibrated to statistical data on observed fire events. The focus of the present paper is on the calibration procedure...

FAST TRACK COMMUNICATION A DFT + DMFT approach for nanosystems

Science.gov (United States)

Turkowski, Volodymyr; Kabir, Alamgir; Nayyar, Neha; Rahman, Talat S.

2010-11-01

We propose a combined density-functional-theory-dynamical-mean-field-theory (DFT + DMFT) approach for reliable inclusion of electron-electron correlation effects in nanosystems. Compared with the widely used DFT + U approach, this method has several advantages, the most important of which is that it takes into account dynamical correlation effects. The formalism is illustrated through different calculations of the magnetic properties of a set of small iron clusters (number of atoms 2 <= N <= 5). It is shown that the inclusion of dynamical effects leads to a reduction in the cluster magnetization (as compared to results from DFT + U) and that, even for such small clusters, the magnetization values agree well with experimental estimations. These results justify confidence in the ability of the method to accurately describe the magnetic properties of clusters of interest to nanoscience.

Analytical model for fast-shock ignition

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ghasemi, S. A.; Farahbod, A. H.; Sobhanian, S.

2014-01-01

A model and its improvements are introduced for a recently proposed approach to inertial confinement fusion, called fast-shock ignition (FSI). The analysis is based upon the gain models of fast ignition, shock ignition and considerations for the fast electrons penetration into the pre-compressed fuel to examine the formation of an effective central hot spot. Calculations of fast electrons penetration into the dense fuel show that if the initial electron kinetic energy is of the order ∼4.5 MeV, the electrons effectively reach the central part of the fuel. To evaluate more realistically the performance of FSI approach, we have used a quasi-two temperature electron energy distribution function of Strozzi (2012) and fast ignitor energy formula of Bellei (2013) that are consistent with 3D PIC simulations for different values of fast ignitor laser wavelength and coupling efficiency. The general advantages of fast-shock ignition in comparison with the shock ignition can be estimated to be better than 1.3 and it is seen that the best results can be obtained for the fuel mass around 1.5 mg, fast ignitor laser wavelength ∼0.3  micron and the shock ignitor energy weight factor about 0.25

INSCAN PRO: a fast ultraviolet spectrometer design approach

Science.gov (United States)

Myer, Brian Walker; Dias, João. Mendanha

2013-11-01

Spectroscopy diagnostic techniques have applications in such diverse areas as mechanical and aerospace engineering, physical chemistry, optics, food and pharmaceutical industries. However, the technological state-of-the-art spectrometers do not allow very fast processes to be evaluated or controlled. This ability is crucial in the optimization of industrial processes (welding, burning flames, spark ignition, pulsed radiolysis…) where more theoretical-experimental analysis should be performed. The INSCAN project aims to overcome this technological limitation, to satisfy needs in academia and industrial markets, by developing a compact spectrometer with focal lengths less than 200 mm, taking into account three important aspects: acquisition rate of approximately 10 kHz spectra, spectral resolution on the order of 0.1 nm and operating in the spectral range 200 nm to 700 nm. Initial work is described on the optical design of the device and several possible approaches to achieve the specifications are considered. To guide the first order design, we relate the optical linewidth, spectral bandwidth and imaging properties to component characteristics. The symmetrical Czerny-Turner optical mount was chosen for its flexibility and elaborated using ZEMAX. Predictions made based on the simulated system are compared with calibration and characterization measurements on an experimental test bench used to refine the model assumptions.

Combining the multilevel fast multipole method with the uniform geometrical theory of diffraction

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

A. Tzoulis

2005-01-01

Full Text Available The presence of arbitrarily shaped and electrically large objects in the same environment leads to hybridization of the Method of Moments (MoM with the Uniform Geometrical Theory of Diffraction (UTD. The computation and memory complexity of the MoM solution is improved with the Multilevel Fast Multipole Method (MLFMM. By expanding the k-space integrals in spherical harmonics, further considerable amount of memory can be saved without compromising accuracy and numerical speed. However, until now MoM-UTD hybrid methods are restricted to conventional MoM formulations only with Electric Field Integral Equation (EFIE. In this contribution, a MLFMM-UTD hybridization for Combined Field Integral Equation (CFIE is proposed and applied within a hybrid Finite Element - Boundary Integral (FEBI technique. The MLFMM-UTD hybridization is performed at the translation procedure on the various levels of the MLFMM, using a far-field approximation of the corresponding translation operator. The formulation of this new hybrid technique is presented, as well as numerical results.

Combined endoscopic approaches to the cardiac sphincter achalasia treatment

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

V. N. Klimenko

2015-12-01

Full Text Available Aim. To assess combined endoscopic approaches to the cardiac sphincter achalasia treatment. Results. There are preliminary results of treatment and methods of carrying out of combined endoscopic pneumocardiodilatation and injections of botulotoxin type A ‘Disport’ at achalasia cardia are described in the article. Aethio-pathogenetic aspects in the development of achalasia cardia, action of botulotoxin type A and balloon pneumocardiodilatation of the esophagus, were described. And modern roentgen-endoscopic classification of achalasia cardia was given. Prognostic estimation scale of possibility to implement further combined endoscopic or surgical treatment is defined and is being in subsequent working out. Conclusion. Described clinical cases most brightly demonstrate variety of clinical achalasia cardia manifestations and also determine of the earlier display of surgical treatment.

Direct Fast-Neutron Detection

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

DC Stromswold; AJ Peurrung; RR Hansen; PL Reeder

2000-01-01

Direct fast-neutron detection is the detection of fast neutrons before they are moderated to thermal energy. We have investigated two approaches for using proton-recoil in plastic scintillators to detect fast neutrons and distinguish them from gamma-ray interactions. Both approaches use the difference in travel speed between neutrons and gamma rays as the basis for separating the types of events. In the first method, we examined the pulses generated during scattering in a plastic scintillator to see if they provide a means for distinguishing fast-neutron events from gamma-ray events. The slower speed of neutrons compared to gamma rays results in the production of broader pulses when neutrons scatter several times within a plastic scintillator. In contrast, gamma-ray interactions should produce narrow pulses, even if multiple scattering takes place, because the time between successive scattering is small. Experiments using a fast scintillator confirmed the presence of broader pulses from neutrons than from gamma rays. However, the difference in pulse widths between neutrons and gamma rays using the best commercially available scintillators was not sufficiently large to provide a practical means for distinguishing fast neutrons and gamma rays on a pulse-by-pulse basis. A faster scintillator is needed, and that scintillator might become available in the literature. Results of the pulse-width studies were presented in a previous report (peurrung et al. 1998), and they are only summarized here

Combining a survey approach and energy and indoor environment auditing in historic buildings

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Rohdin, Patrik; Dalewski, Mariusz; Moshfegh, Bahram

2016-01-01

Purpose – This paper presents an approach where a survey study is combined with energy and indoor environment auditing in the built environment. The combination of methods presented in this paper is one way to obtain a wider perspective on the indoor environment and energy use and also let...... this research project. Design/methodology/approach – A combination of energy and indoor environment auditing and standardized occupant surveys. Findings – The main findings in the paper are related to the good agreement between results from standardized occupant surveys and physical measurements...

3D measurement using combined Gray code and dual-frequency phase-shifting approach

Science.gov (United States)

Yu, Shuang; Zhang, Jing; Yu, Xiaoyang; Sun, Xiaoming; Wu, Haibin; Liu, Xin

2018-04-01

The combined Gray code and phase-shifting approach is a commonly used 3D measurement technique. In this technique, an error that equals integer multiples of the phase-shifted fringe period, i.e. period jump error, often exists in the absolute analog code, which can lead to gross measurement errors. To overcome this problem, the present paper proposes 3D measurement using a combined Gray code and dual-frequency phase-shifting approach. Based on 3D measurement using the combined Gray code and phase-shifting approach, one set of low-frequency phase-shifted fringe patterns with an odd-numbered multiple of the original phase-shifted fringe period is added. Thus, the absolute analog code measured value can be obtained by the combined Gray code and phase-shifting approach, and the low-frequency absolute analog code measured value can also be obtained by adding low-frequency phase-shifted fringe patterns. Then, the corrected absolute analog code measured value can be obtained by correcting the former by the latter, and the period jump errors can be eliminated, resulting in reliable analog code unwrapping. For the proposed approach, we established its measurement model, analyzed its measurement principle, expounded the mechanism of eliminating period jump errors by error analysis, and determined its applicable conditions. Theoretical analysis and experimental results show that the proposed approach can effectively eliminate period jump errors, reliably perform analog code unwrapping, and improve the measurement accuracy.

A fast EM algorithm for BayesA-like prediction of genomic breeding values.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Xiaochen Sun

Full Text Available Prediction accuracies of estimated breeding values for economically important traits are expected to benefit from genomic information. Single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP panels used in genomic prediction are increasing in density, but the Markov Chain Monte Carlo (MCMC estimation of SNP effects can be quite time consuming or slow to converge when a large number of SNPs are fitted simultaneously in a linear mixed model. Here we present an EM algorithm (termed "fastBayesA" without MCMC. This fastBayesA approach treats the variances of SNP effects as missing data and uses a joint posterior mode of effects compared to the commonly used BayesA which bases predictions on posterior means of effects. In each EM iteration, SNP effects are predicted as a linear combination of best linear unbiased predictions of breeding values from a mixed linear animal model that incorporates a weighted marker-based realized relationship matrix. Method fastBayesA converges after a few iterations to a joint posterior mode of SNP effects under the BayesA model. When applied to simulated quantitative traits with a range of genetic architectures, fastBayesA is shown to predict GEBV as accurately as BayesA but with less computing effort per SNP than BayesA. Method fastBayesA can be used as a computationally efficient substitute for BayesA, especially when an increasing number of markers bring unreasonable computational burden or slow convergence to MCMC approaches.

Combined approach for gynecomastia

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

El-Sabbagh, Ahmed Hassan

2016-02-01

Full Text Available Background: Gynecomastia is a deformity of male chest. Treatment of gynecomastia varied from direct surgical excision to other techniques (mainly liposuction to a combination of both. Skin excision is done according to the grade. In this study, experience of using liposuction adjuvant to surgical excision was described. Patients and methods: Between September 2012 and April 2015, a total of 14 patients were treated with liposuction and surgical excision through a periareolar incision. Preoperative evaluation was done in all cases to exclude any underlying cause of gynecomastia. Results: All fourteen patients were treated bilaterally (28 breast tissues. Their ages ranged between 13 and 33 years. Two patients were classified as grade I, and four as grade IIa, IIb or III, respectively. The first showed seroma. Partial superficial epidermolysis of areola occurred in 2 cases. Superficial infection of incision occurred in one case and was treated conservatively. Conclusion: All grades of gynecomastia were managed by the same approach. Skin excision was added to a patient that had severe skin excess with limited activity and bad skin complexion. No cases required another setting or asked for 2 opinion.

Studies on fast wave current drive in the JAERI tokamaks

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kimura, H.; Yamamoto, T.; Fujii, T.; Kawashima, H.; Tamai, H.; Saigusa, M.; Imai, T.; Hamamatsu, K.; Fukuyama, A.

1991-01-01

Fast wave electron heating experiment (FWEH) on JFT-2M and JT-60 and analysis of fast wave current drive (FWCD) ability on JT-60U are presented. In the JFT-2M, absorption of fast waves have been investigated by using a phased four-loop antenna array. The absorption of the fast waves has been studied for various plasma parameters by using combination of other additional heating methods such as electron cyclotron heating (ECH) and ion cyclotron heating. It is shown that the absorption efficiency estimated from various methods well correlates with one calculated theoretically in single pass damping. Interaction of the fast waves with fast electrons in combination with ECH has been examined through the measurement of non-thermal electron cyclotron emission (ECE). The observed ECE during FWEH is well explained by the theoretical model, which indicates generation of the appreciable energetic fast electrons by the fast waves. New four-loop array antennas have been employed to improve the absorption of unidirectionally-propagating waves. Characteristics of antenna loading resistance can be reproduced by a coupling calculation code. In JT-60, FWEH experiment in combination with lower hybrid current drive was performed. Power absorption efficiency of fast wave is substantially improved in combination with LHCD of relatively low power for both phasing modes. Bulk electron heating is observed with high-k // mode and coupling with fast electron is confirmed in hard X-ray emission with low-k // mode. The results are consistent with theoretical prediction based on 1.D full wave code. Synergetic effects between FWEH and LHCD are found. Coupling calculation indicates that eight-loop antenna is favourable for keeping high directivity in the required N // -range. Current drive efficiency is calculated with 1-D full wave code including trapped particle effects and higher harmonic ion cyclotron damping

Metabolic Effects of Intermittent Fasting.

Science.gov (United States)

Patterson, Ruth E; Sears, Dorothy D

2017-08-21

The objective of this review is to provide an overview of intermittent fasting regimens, summarize the evidence on the health benefits of intermittent fasting, and discuss physiological mechanisms by which intermittent fasting might lead to improved health outcomes. A MEDLINE search was performed using PubMed and the terms "intermittent fasting," "fasting," "time-restricted feeding," and "food timing." Modified fasting regimens appear to promote weight loss and may improve metabolic health. Several lines of evidence also support the hypothesis that eating patterns that reduce or eliminate nighttime eating and prolong nightly fasting intervals may result in sustained improvements in human health. Intermittent fasting regimens are hypothesized to influence metabolic regulation via effects on (a) circadian biology, (b) the gut microbiome, and (c) modifiable lifestyle behaviors, such as sleep. If proven to be efficacious, these eating regimens offer promising nonpharmacological approaches to improving health at the population level, with multiple public health benefits.

Ultrasound assisted extraction combined with dispersive liquid-liquid microextraction (US-DLLME)-a fast new approach to measure phthalate metabolites in nails.

Science.gov (United States)

Alves, Andreia; Vanermen, Guido; Covaci, Adrian; Voorspoels, Stefan

2016-09-01

A new, fast, and environmentally friendly method based on ultrasound assisted extraction combined with dispersive liquid-liquid microextraction (US-DLLME) was developed and optimized for assessing the levels of seven phthalate metabolites (including the mono(ethyl hexyl) phthalate (MEHP), mono(2-ethyl-5-hydroxyhexyl) phthalate (5-OH-MEHP), mono(2-ethyl-5-oxohexyl) phthalate (5-oxo-MEHP), mono-n-butyl phthalate (MnBP), mono-isobutyl phthalate (MiBP), monoethyl phthalate (MEP), and mono-benzyl phthalate (MBzP)) in human nails by UPLC-MS/MS. The optimization of the US-DLLME method was performed using a Taguchi combinatorial design (L9 array). Several parameters such as extraction solvent, solvent volume, extraction time, acid, acid concentration, and vortex time were studied. The optimal extraction conditions achieved were 180 μL of trichloroethylene (extraction solvent), 2 mL trifluoroacetic acid in methanol (2 M), 2 h extraction and 3 min vortex time. The optimized method had a good precision (6-17 %). The accuracy ranged from 79 to 108 % and the limit of method quantification (LOQm) was below 14 ng/g for all compounds. The developed US-DLLME method was applied to determine the target metabolites in 10 Belgian individuals. Levels of the analytes measured in nails ranged between <12 and 7982 ng/g. The MEHP, MBP isomers, and MEP were the major metabolites and detected in every sample. Miniaturization (low volumes of organic solvents used), low costs, speed, and simplicity are the main advantages of this US-DLLME based method. Graphical Abstract Extraction and phase separation of the US-DLLME procedure.

Fast method to compute scattering by a buried object under a randomly rough surface: PILE combined with FB-SA.

Science.gov (United States)

Bourlier, Christophe; Kubické, Gildas; Déchamps, Nicolas

2008-04-01

A fast, exact numerical method based on the method of moments (MM) is developed to calculate the scattering from an object below a randomly rough surface. Déchamps et al. [J. Opt. Soc. Am. A23, 359 (2006)] have recently developed the PILE (propagation-inside-layer expansion) method for a stack of two one-dimensional rough interfaces separating homogeneous media. From the inversion of the impedance matrix by block (in which two impedance matrices of each interface and two coupling matrices are involved), this method allows one to calculate separately and exactly the multiple-scattering contributions inside the layer in which the inverses of the impedance matrices of each interface are involved. Our purpose here is to apply this method for an object below a rough surface. In addition, to invert a matrix of large size, the forward-backward spectral acceleration (FB-SA) approach of complexity O(N) (N is the number of unknowns on the interface) proposed by Chou and Johnson [Radio Sci.33, 1277 (1998)] is applied. The new method, PILE combined with FB-SA, is tested on perfectly conducting circular and elliptic cylinders located below a dielectric rough interface obeying a Gaussian process with Gaussian and exponential height autocorrelation functions.

Fast-track surgery: Toward comprehensive peri-operative care.

Science.gov (United States)

Nanavati, Aditya J; Prabhakar, S

2014-01-01

Fast-track surgery is a multimodal approach to patient care using a combination of several evidence-based peri-operative interventions to expedite recovery after surgery. It is an extension of the critical pathway that integrates modalities in surgery, anesthesia, and nutrition, enforces early mobilization and feeding, and emphasizes reduction of the surgical stress response. It entails a great partnership between a surgeon and an anesthesiologist with several other specialists to form a multi-disciplinary team, which may then engage in patient care. The practice of fast-track surgery has yielded excellent results and there has been a significant reduction in hospital stay without a rise in complications or re-admissions. The effective implementation begins with the formulation of a protocol, carrying out each intervention and gathering outcome data. The care of a patient is divided into three phases: Before, during, and after surgery. Each stage needs active participation of few or all the members of the multi-disciplinary team. Other than surgical technique, anesthetic drugs, and techniques form the cornerstone in the ability of the surgeon to carry out a fast-track surgery safely. It is also the role of this team to keep abreast with the latest development in fast-track methodology and make appropriate changes to policy. In the Indian healthcare system, there is a huge benefit that may be achieved by the successful implementation of a fast-track surgery program at an institutional level. The lack of awareness regarding this concept, fear and apprehension regarding its implementation are the main barriers that need to be overcome.

The power of simplicity: a fast-and-frugal heuristics approach to performance science.

Science.gov (United States)

Raab, Markus; Gigerenzer, Gerd

2015-01-01

Performance science is a fairly new multidisciplinary field that integrates performance domains such as sports, medicine, business, and the arts. To give its many branches a structure and its research a direction, it requires a theoretical framework. We demonstrate the applications of this framework with examples from sport and medicine. Because performance science deals mainly with situations of uncertainty rather than known risks, the needed framework can be provided by the fast-and-frugal heuristics approach. According to this approach, experts learn to rely on heuristics in an adaptive way in order to make accurate decisions. We investigate the adaptive use of heuristics in three ways: the descriptive study of the heuristics in the cognitive "adaptive toolbox;" the prescriptive study of their "ecological rationality," that is, the characterization of the situations in which a given heuristic works; and the engineering study of "intuitive design," that is, the design of transparent aids for making better decisions.

The power of simplicity: a fast-and-frugal heuristics approach to performance science

Science.gov (United States)

Raab, Markus; Gigerenzer, Gerd

2015-01-01

Performance science is a fairly new multidisciplinary field that integrates performance domains such as sports, medicine, business, and the arts. To give its many branches a structure and its research a direction, it requires a theoretical framework. We demonstrate the applications of this framework with examples from sport and medicine. Because performance science deals mainly with situations of uncertainty rather than known risks, the needed framework can be provided by the fast-and-frugal heuristics approach. According to this approach, experts learn to rely on heuristics in an adaptive way in order to make accurate decisions. We investigate the adaptive use of heuristics in three ways: the descriptive study of the heuristics in the cognitive “adaptive toolbox;” the prescriptive study of their “ecological rationality,” that is, the characterization of the situations in which a given heuristic works; and the engineering study of “intuitive design,” that is, the design of transparent aids for making better decisions. PMID:26579051

Exposure to Common Food Additive Carrageenan Alone Leads to Fasting Hyperglycemia and in Combination with High Fat Diet Exacerbates Glucose Intolerance and Hyperlipidemia without Effect on Weight

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sumit Bhattacharyya

2015-01-01

Full Text Available Aims. Major aims were to determine whether exposure to the commonly used food additive carrageenan could induce fasting hyperglycemia and could increase the effects of a high fat diet on glucose intolerance and dyslipidemia. Methods. C57BL/6J mice were exposed to either carrageenan, high fat diet, or the combination of high fat diet and carrageenan, or untreated, for one year. Effects on fasting blood glucose, glucose tolerance, lipid parameters, weight, glycogen stores, and inflammation were compared. Results. Exposure to carrageenan led to glucose intolerance by six days and produced elevated fasting blood glucose by 23 weeks. Effects of carrageenan on glucose tolerance were more severe than from high fat alone. Carrageenan in combination with high fat produced earlier onset of fasting hyperglycemia and higher glucose levels in glucose tolerance tests and exacerbated dyslipidemia. In contrast to high fat, carrageenan did not lead to weight gain. In hyperinsulinemic, euglycemic clamp studies, the carrageenan-exposed mice had higher early glucose levels and lower glucose infusion rate and longer interval to achieve the steady-state. Conclusions. Carrageenan in the Western diet may contribute to the development of diabetes and the effects of high fat consumption. Carrageenan may be useful as a nonobese model of diabetes in the mouse.

The combined hybrid system: A symbiotic thermal reactor/fast reactor system for power generation and radioactive waste toxicity reduction

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hollaway, W.R.

1991-08-01

If there is to be a next generation of nuclear power in the United States, then the four fundamental obstacles confronting nuclear power technology must be overcome: safety, cost, waste management, and proliferation resistance. The Combined Hybrid System (CHS) is proposed as a possible solution to the problems preventing a vigorous resurgence of nuclear power. The CHS combines Thermal Reactors (for operability, safety, and cost) and Integral Fast Reactors (for waste treatment and actinide burning) in a symbiotic large scale system. The CHS addresses the safety and cost issues through the use of advanced reactor designs, the waste management issue through the use of actinide burning, and the proliferation resistance issue through the use of an integral fuel cycle with co-located components. There are nine major components in the Combined Hybrid System linked by nineteen nuclear material mass flow streams. A computer code, CHASM, is used to analyze the mass flow rates CHS, and the reactor support ratio (the ratio of thermal/fast reactors), IFR of the system. The primary advantages of the CHS are its essentially actinide-free high-level radioactive waste, plus improved reactor safety, uranium utilization, and widening of the option base. The primary disadvantages of the CHS are the large capacity of IFRs required (approximately one MW e IFR capacity for every three MW e Thermal Reactor) and the novel radioactive waste streams produced by the CHS. The capability of the IFR to burn pure transuranic fuel, a primary assumption of this study, has yet to be proven. The Combined Hybrid System represents an attractive option for future nuclear power development; that disposal of the essentially actinide-free radioactive waste produced by the CHS provides an excellent alternative to the disposal of intact actinide-bearing Light Water Reactor spent fuel (reducing the toxicity based lifetime of the waste from roughly 360,000 years to about 510 years)

Fasting as possible complementary approach for polycystic ovary syndrome: Hope or hype?

Science.gov (United States)

Chiofalo, Benito; Laganà, Antonio Simone; Palmara, Vittorio; Granese, Roberta; Corrado, Giacomo; Mancini, Emanuela; Vitale, Salvatore Giovanni; Ban Frangež, Helena; Vrtačnik-Bokal, Eda; Triolo, Onofrio

2017-08-01

Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is a common endocrine system disorder among women of reproductive age. In several cases, PCOS women show infertility or subfertility and other metabolic alteration, such as insulin resistance (InsR), dyslipidaemia, hyperinsulinemia and obesity. Despite the aetiology of the syndrome is still far from be elucidated, it could be considered the result of concurrent endocrine modifications, lifestyle factors and genetic background. In particular, accumulating evidence suggests that InsR and compensatory hyperinsulinemia play a pivotal pathogenic role in the hyperandrogenism of many PCOS phenotypes, which in turn have a clear detrimental effect on chronic anovulation. Different forms of fasting, such as intermittent fasting (IF, including alternate day fasting, or twice weekly fasting, for example) and periodic fasting (PF, lasting several days or longer every 2 or more weeks) are currently being tested in several in vitro and in vivo studies. Changes in the circulating levels of Insulin Growth Factor-1 (IGF-1), Insulin-like Growth Factor-Binding Protein 1 (IGFBP1), glucose and insulin are typical effects of fasting which may play a key role on aging and metabolic homeostasis. Considering the paramount importance of InsR and compensatory hyperinsulinemia, different fasting regimens can reduce IGF-1, IGFBP1, glucose and insulin levels and consequently have beneficial effects on ovarian function, androgen excess and infertility in PCOS women. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Extension - Upgrading Methane Using Ultra-Fast Thermal Swing Adsorption

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Anna Lee Tonkovich

2008-08-11

The need for cost effective technologies for upgrading coal mine methane to pipeline quality natural gas is becoming ever greater. The current work presents and investigates a new approach to reduce the impact of the most costly step in the conventional technology, nitrogen rejection. The proposed approach is based on the Velocys microchannel platform, which is being developed to commercialize compact and cost efficient chemical processing technology. For this separation, ultra fast thermal swing sorption is enabled by the very high rates of heat and mass transfer inherent in microchannel processing. In a first phase of the project solid adsorbents were explored. Feasibility of ultrafast thermal swing was demonstrated but the available adsorbents had insufficient differential methane capacity to achieve the required commercial economics. In a second phase, ionic liquids were adopted as absorbents of choice, and experimental work and economic analyses, performed to gauge their potential, showed promise for this novel alternative. Final conclusions suggest that a combination of a required cost target for ionic liquids or a methane capacity increase or a combination of both is required for commercialization.

Fast dissolving strips: A novel approach for the delivery of verapamil

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

S Kunte

2010-01-01

Full Text Available Objective: Fast dissolving drug delivery system offers a solution for those patients having difficulty in swallowing tablets/capsules etc. Verapamil is a calcium channel blocker used as an antianginal, antiarrhythmic, and antihypertensive agent with extensive first pass metabolism which results in less bioavailability. This work investigated the possibility of developing verapamil fast dissolving strips allowing fast, reproducible drug dissolution in the oral cavity; thus bypassing first pass metabolism. Materials and methods: The fast dissolving strips were prepared by solvent casting technique with the help of HPMC E6 and maltodextrin. The strips were evaluated for drug content uniformity, film thickness, folding endurance, in vitro disintegration time, in vitro dissolution studies, surface pH study, and palatability study. Results: Official criteria for evaluation parameters were fulfilled by all formulations. Disintegration time showed by formulations was found to be in range of 20.4-28.6 sec. Based on the evaluation parameters, the formulation containing 2% HPMC E6 and 3.5% maltodextrin showed optimum performance against other formulations. Conclusion: It was concluded that the fast dissolving strips of verapamil can be made by solvent casting technique with enhanced dissolution rate, taste masking, and hence better patient compliance and effective therapy

Fast optical measurements and imaging of flow mixing: Fast optical measurements and imaging of temperature in combined fossil fuel and biomass/waste systems

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Clausen, Soennik; Fateev, A.; Lindorff Nielsen, K.; Evseev, V.

2012-02-15

Project is focused on fast time-resolved infrared measurements of gas temperature and fast IR-imagining of flames in various combustion environments. The infrared spectrometer system was developed in the project for fast infrared spectral measurements on industrial scale using IR-fibre- optics. Fast time-and spectral-resolved measurements in 1.5-5.1 mu spectral range give information about flame characteristics like gas and particle temperatures, eddies and turbulent gas mixing. Time-resolved gas composition in that spectral range (H{sub 2}O, CH{sub 4}, CO{sub 2}, CO) which is one of the key parameters in combustion enhancement can be also obtained. The infrared camera was also used together with special endoscope optics for fast thermal imaging of a coal-straw flame in an industrial boiler. Obtained time-resolved infrared images provided useful information for the diagnostics of the flame and fuel distribustion. The applicability of the system for gas leak detection is also demonstrated. The infrared spectrometer system with minor developments was applied for fast time-resolved exhaust gas temperature measurements performed simultaneously at the three optical ports of the exhaust duct of a marine Diesel engine and visualisation of gas flow behaviour in cylinder. (Author)

Fast food, other food choices and body mass index in teenagers in the United Kingdom (ALSPAC): a structural equation modelling approach.

Science.gov (United States)

Fraser, L K; Edwards, K L; Cade, J E; Clarke, G P

2011-10-01

To assess the association between the consumption of fast food (FF) and body mass index (BMI) of teenagers in a large UK birth cohort. A structural equation modelling (SEM) approach was chosen to allow direct statistical testing of a theoretical model. SEM is a combination of confirmatory factor and path analysis, which allows for the inclusion of latent (unmeasured) variables. This approach was used to build two models: the effect of FF outlet visits and food choices and the effect of FF exposure on consumption and BMI. A total of 3620 participants had data for height and weight from the age 13 clinic and the frequency of FF outlet visits, and so were included in these analyses. This SEM model of food choices showed that increased frequency of eating at FF outlets is positively associated with higher consumption of unhealthy foods (β=0.29, Pfoods (β=-1.02, Pfoods and were more likely to have higher BMISDS than those teenagers who did not eat frequently at FF restaurants. Teenagers who were exposed to more takeaway foods at home ate more frequently at FF restaurants and eating at FF restaurants was also associated with lower intakes of vegetables and raw fruit in this cohort.

"Combining equity and utilitarianism"-additional insights into a novel approach

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Lemmen-Gerdessen, van Joke; Kanellopoulos, Argyris; Claassen, Frits

2018-01-01

Recently, a novel approach (to be referred to as CEU) was introduced for the frequently arising problem of combining the conflicting criteria of equity and utilitarianism. This paper provides additional insights into CEU and assesses its added value for practice by comparing it with a commonly used

The incidence of calorie labeling on fast food choices: A comparison between stated preferences and actual choices.

Science.gov (United States)

Loureiro, Maria L; Rahmani, Djamel

2016-09-01

In order to test the effect of calorie information on fast food choices, we conducted a questionnaire employing two types of stated preferences methods (the best-worst-scaling and intentional questions) and a follow-up randomized field experiment in a sample of 119 participants. This combined approach allowed us to test the internal validity of preferences for fast food meals across elicitation scenarios. The results showed that calorie information reduces the probability of selecting high calorie meals only in the questionnaire, while it did not have any significant impact on actual purchasing behavior in the field experiment. Thus, the findings show that there is a clear difference between the role of calorie information on immediate stated preference choices, and the relatively low level of responsiveness in real choices in a restaurant. We believe that the current results are quite suggestive, indicating the limits of predicting actual fast food behavior, and may open the way to using data sources that combine stated methods with field experiments. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Sistem Gesture Accelerometer dengan Metode Fast Dynamic Time Warping (FastDTW

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sam Farisa Chaerul Haviana

2016-01-01

Full Text Available In the modern environment, the interaction between humans and computers require a more natural form of interaction. Therefore, it is important to be able to build a system that can meet these demands, such as by building a hand gesture recognition system or gesture to create a more natural form of interaction. This study aims to design a smartphone’s accelerometer gesture system as human computer interaction interfaces using FastDTW (Fast Dynamic Time Warping.The result of this study is form of gesture interaction which implemented in a system that can make the process of recognition of the human hand movements based on a smartphone accelerometer which generates a command to run the media player application functions as a case study. FastDTW as the development of Dynamic Time Warping method (DTW is able to compute faster than DTW and have an accuracy approaching DTW. From the test results, FastDTW show a fairly high degree of accuracy reached 86% and showed a better computing speed compared to DTW   Keywords: Human and Computer Interaction, Accelerometer-based gesture, FastDTW, Media player application function

A fast multi-resolution approach to tomographic PIV

Science.gov (United States)

Discetti, Stefano; Astarita, Tommaso

2012-03-01

Tomographic particle image velocimetry (Tomo-PIV) is a recently developed three-component, three-dimensional anemometric non-intrusive measurement technique, based on an optical tomographic reconstruction applied to simultaneously recorded images of the distribution of light intensity scattered by seeding particles immersed into the flow. Nowadays, the reconstruction process is carried out mainly by iterative algebraic reconstruction techniques, well suited to handle the problem of limited number of views, but computationally intensive and memory demanding. The adoption of the multiplicative algebraic reconstruction technique (MART) has become more and more accepted. In the present work, a novel multi-resolution approach is proposed, relying on the adoption of a coarser grid in the first step of the reconstruction to obtain a fast estimation of a reliable and accurate first guess. A performance assessment, carried out on three-dimensional computer-generated distributions of particles, shows a substantial acceleration of the reconstruction process for all the tested seeding densities with respect to the standard method based on 5 MART iterations; a relevant reduction in the memory storage is also achieved. Furthermore, a slight accuracy improvement is noticed. A modified version, improved by a multiplicative line of sight estimation of the first guess on the compressed configuration, is also tested, exhibiting a further remarkable decrease in both memory storage and computational effort, mostly at the lowest tested seeding densities, while retaining the same performances in terms of accuracy.

Fast Bayesian Non-Negative Matrix Factorisation and Tri-Factorisation

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Brouwer, Thomas; Frellsen, Jes; Liò, Pietro

We present a fast variational Bayesian algorithm for performing non-negative matrix factorisation and tri-factorisation. We show that our approach achieves faster convergence per iteration and timestep (wall-clock) than Gibbs sampling and non-probabilistic approaches, and do not require additional...... samples to estimate the posterior. We show that in particular for matrix tri-factorisation convergence is difficult, but our variational Bayesian approach offers a fast solution, allowing the tri-factorisation approach to be used more effectively....

Scalable force directed graph layout algorithms using fast multipole methods

KAUST Repository

Yunis, Enas Abdulrahman; Yokota, Rio; Ahmadia, Aron

2012-01-01

We present an extension to ExaFMM, a Fast Multipole Method library, as a generalized approach for fast and scalable execution of the Force-Directed Graph Layout algorithm. The Force-Directed Graph Layout algorithm is a physics-based approach

Fast thermal cycling-enhanced electromigration in power metallization

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Nguyen, Van Hieu; Salm, Cora; Krabbenborg, B.H.; Krabbenborg, B.H.; Bisschop, J.; Mouthaan, A.J.; Kuper, F.G.

Fast thermal nterconnects used in power ICs are susceptible to short circuit failure due to a combination of fast thermal cycling and electromigration stresses. In this paper, we present a study of electromigration-induced extrusion short-circuit failure in a standard two level metallization

Sparsity-based fast CGH generation using layer-based approach for 3D point cloud model

Science.gov (United States)

Kim, Hak Gu; Jeong, Hyunwook; Ro, Yong Man

2017-03-01

Computer generated hologram (CGH) is becoming increasingly important for a 3-D display in various applications including virtual reality. In the CGH, holographic fringe patterns are generated by numerically calculating them on computer simulation systems. However, a heavy computational cost is required to calculate the complex amplitude on CGH plane for all points of 3D objects. This paper proposes a new fast CGH generation based on the sparsity of CGH for 3D point cloud model. The aim of the proposed method is to significantly reduce computational complexity while maintaining the quality of the holographic fringe patterns. To that end, we present a new layer-based approach for calculating the complex amplitude distribution on the CGH plane by using sparse FFT (sFFT). We observe the CGH of a layer of 3D objects is sparse so that dominant CGH is rapidly generated from a small set of signals by sFFT. Experimental results have shown that the proposed method is one order of magnitude faster than recently reported fast CGH generation.

Fast-track hip and knee arthroplasty

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Husted, Henrik

2012-01-01

Fast-track hip and knee arthroplasty aims at giving the patients the best available treatment at all times, being a dynamic entity. Fast-track combines evidence-based, clinical features with organizational optimization including a revision of traditions resulting in a streamlined pathway from...... on clinical and organizational aspects of fast-track hip and knee arthroplasty (I–IX). A detailed description of the fast-track set-up and its components is provided. Major results include identification of patient characteristics to predict length of stay and satisfaction with different aspects...... of the hospital stay (I); how to optimize analgesia by using a compression bandage in total knee arthroplasty (II); the clinical and organizational set-up facilitating or acting as barriers for early discharge (III); safety aspects following fast-track in the form of few readmissions in general (IV) and few...

Management of advanced intracranial intradural juvenile nasopharyngeal angiofibroma: combined single-stage rhinosurgical and neurosurgical approach.

Science.gov (United States)

Naraghi, Mohsen; Saberi, Hooshang; Mirmohseni, Atefeh Sadat; Nikdad, Mohammad Sadegh; Afarideh, Mohsen

2015-07-01

Although intracranial extension of juvenile nasopharyngeal angiofibroma (JNA) occurs commonly, intradural penetration is extremely rare. Management of such tumors is a challenging issue in skull-base surgery, necessitating their removal via combined approaches. In this work, we share our experience in management of extensive intradural JNA. In a university hospital-based setting of 2 tertiary care academic centers, retrospective chart of 6 male patients (5 between 15 and 19 years old) was reviewed. Patients presented chiefly with nasal obstruction, epistaxis, and proptosis. One of them was an aggressive recurrent tumor in a 32-year-old patient. All cases underwent combined transnasal, transmaxillary, and craniotomy approaches assisted by the use of image-guided endoscopic surgery, with craniotomy preceding the rhinosurgical approach in 3 cases. Adding a transcranial approach to the transnasal and transmaxillary endoscopic approaches provided 2-sided exposure and appreciated access to the huge intradural JNAs. One postoperative cerebrospinal fluid leak and 1 postoperative recurrence at the site of infratemporal fossa were treated successfully. Otherwise, the course was uneventful in the remaining cases. Management of intracranial intradural JNA requires a multidisciplinary approach of combined open and endoscopic-assisted rhinosurgery and neurosurgery, because of greater risk for complications during the dissection. Carotid rupture and brain damage remain 2 catastrophic complications that should always be kept in mind. A combined rhinosurgical and neurosurgical approach also has the advantage of very modest cosmetic complications. © 2015 ARS-AAOA, LLC.

Study of Material Moisture Measurement Method and Instrument by the Combination of Fast Neutron Absorption and γ Absorption

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hou Chaoqin; Gong Yalin; Zhang Wei; Shang Qingmin; Li Yanfeng; Gou Qiangyuan; Yin Deyou

2010-01-01

To solve the problem of on-line sinter moisture measurement in the iron making plant, we developed material moisture measurement method and instrument by the combination of fast neutron absorption and y-absorption. It overcomes the present existed problems of other moisture meters for the sinter. Compare with microwave moisture meter, the measurement dose not affected by conductance and magnetism of material; to infrared moisture meter, the measurement result dose not influenced by colour and light-reflect performance of material surface, dose not influenced by changes of material kind; to slow neutron scatter moisture meter, the measurement dose not affected by density of material and thickness of hopper wall; to the moisture measurement meter which combined by slow neutron penetrate through and y-absorption, there are definite math model and good linear relation between the measurement values, and the measurement dose not affected by material thickness, changes of material form and component. (authors)

Proximity to Fast-Food Outlets and Supermarkets as Predictors of Fast-Food Dining Frequency.

Science.gov (United States)

Athens, Jessica K; Duncan, Dustin T; Elbel, Brian

2016-08-01

This study used cross-sectional data to test the independent relationship of proximity to chain fast-food outlets and proximity to full-service supermarkets on the frequency of mealtime dining at fast-food outlets in two major urban areas, using three approaches to define access. Interactions between presence of a supermarket and presence of fast-food outlets as predictors of fast-food dining were also tested. Residential intersections for respondents in point-of-purchase and random-digit-dial telephone surveys of adults in Philadelphia, PA, and Baltimore, MD, were geocoded. The count of fast-food outlets and supermarkets within quarter-mile, half-mile, and 1-mile street network buffers around each respondent's intersection was calculated, as well as distance to the nearest fast-food outlet and supermarket. These variables were regressed on weekly fast-food dining frequency to determine whether proximity to fast food and supermarkets had independent and joint effects on fast-food dining. The effect of access to supermarkets and chain fast-food outlets varied by study population. Among telephone survey respondents, supermarket access was the only significant predictor of fast-food dining frequency. Point-of-purchase respondents were generally unaffected by proximity to either supermarkets or fast-food outlets. However, ≥1 fast-food outlet within a 1-mile buffer was an independent predictor of consuming more fast-food meals among point-of-purchase respondents. At the quarter-mile distance, ≥1 supermarket was predictive of fewer fast-food meals. Supermarket access was associated with less fast-food dining among telephone respondents, whereas access to fast-food outlets were associated with more fast-food visits among survey respondents identified at point-of-purchase. This study adds to the existing literature on geographic determinants of fast-food dining behavior among urban adults in the general population and those who regularly consume fast food. Copyright �

A combined stochastic programming and optimal control approach to personal finance and pensions

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Konicz, Agnieszka Karolina; Pisinger, David; Rasmussen, Kourosh Marjani

2015-01-01

The paper presents a model that combines a dynamic programming (stochastic optimal control) approach and a multi-stage stochastic linear programming approach (SLP), integrated into one SLP formulation. Stochastic optimal control produces an optimal policy that is easy to understand and implement....

Fast Access Data Acquisition System (FADAS)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Katsman, Vladimir

1998-01-01

Our goal in this program is to develop Fast Access Data Acquisition System (FADAS) by combining the flexibility of Multilink's GaAs and InP electronics and electro-optics with an extremely high data rate for the efficient handling and transfer of collider experimental data. This novel solution is based on Multilink's and Los Alamos National Laboratory's (LANL) unique components and technologies for extremely fast data transfer, storage, and processing

Head Pose Estimation on Eyeglasses Using Line Detection and Classification Approach

Science.gov (United States)

Setthawong, Pisal; Vannija, Vajirasak

This paper proposes a unique approach for head pose estimation of subjects with eyeglasses by using a combination of line detection and classification approaches. Head pose estimation is considered as an important non-verbal form of communication and could also be used in the area of Human-Computer Interface. A major improvement of the proposed approach is that it allows estimation of head poses at a high yaw/pitch angle when compared with existing geometric approaches, does not require expensive data preparation and training, and is generally fast when compared with other approaches.

Dural opening/removal for combined petrosal approach: technical note.

Science.gov (United States)

Terasaka, Shunsuke; Asaoka, Katsuyuki; Kobayashi, Hiroyuki; Sugiyama, Taku; Yamaguchi, Shigeru

2011-03-01

Detailed descriptions of stepwise dural opening/removal for combined petrosal approach are presented. Following maximum bone work, the first dural incision was made along the undersurface of the temporal lobe parallel to the superior petrosal sinus. Posterior extension of the dural incision was made in a curved fashion, keeping away from the transverse-sigmoid junction and taking care to preserve the vein of Labbé. A second incision was made perpendicular to the first incision. After sectioning the superior petrosal sinus around the porus trigeminus, the incision was extended toward the posterior fossa dura in the middle fossa region. The tentorium was incised toward the incisura at a point just posterior to the entrance of the trochlear nerve. A third incision was made longitudinally between the superior petrosal sinus and the jugular bulb. A final incision was initiated perpendicular to the third incision in the presigmoid region and extended parallel to the superior petrosal sinus connecting the second incision. The dural complex consisting of the temporal lobe dura, the posterior fossa dura, and the freed tentorium could then be removed. In addition to extensive bone resection, our strategic cranial base dural opening/removal can yield true advantages for the combined petrosal approach.

FastMag: Fast micromagnetic simulator for complex magnetic structures (invited)

Science.gov (United States)

Chang, R.; Li, S.; Lubarda, M. V.; Livshitz, B.; Lomakin, V.

2011-04-01

A fast micromagnetic simulator (FastMag) for general problems is presented. FastMag solves the Landau-Lifshitz-Gilbert equation and can handle multiscale problems with a high computational efficiency. The simulator derives its high performance from efficient methods for evaluating the effective field and from implementations on massively parallel graphics processing unit (GPU) architectures. FastMag discretizes the computational domain into tetrahedral elements and therefore is highly flexible for general problems. The magnetostatic field is computed via the superposition principle for both volume and surface parts of the computational domain. This is accomplished by implementing efficient quadrature rules and analytical integration for overlapping elements in which the integral kernel is singular. Thus, discretized superposition integrals are computed using a nonuniform grid interpolation method, which evaluates the field from N sources at N collocated observers in O(N) operations. This approach allows handling objects of arbitrary shape, allows easily calculating of the field outside the magnetized domains, does not require solving a linear system of equations, and requires little memory. FastMag is implemented on GPUs with ?> GPU-central processing unit speed-ups of 2 orders of magnitude. Simulations are shown of a large array of magnetic dots and a recording head fully discretized down to the exchange length, with over a hundred million tetrahedral elements on an inexpensive desktop computer.

Design, in-sodium testing and performance evaluation of annular linear induction pump for a sodium cooled fast reactor

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nashine, B.K.; Rao, B.P.C.

2014-01-01

Highlights: • Derivation of applicable design equations. • Design of an annular induction pump based on these equations. • Testing of the designed pump in a sodium test facility. • Performance evaluation of the designed pump. - Abstract: Annular linear induction pumps (ALIPs) are used for pumping electrically conducting liquid metals. These pumps find wide application in fast reactors since the coolant in fast reactors is liquid sodium which a good conductor of electricity. The design of these pumps is usually done using equivalent circuit approach in combination with numerical simulation models. The equivalent circuit of ALIP is similar to that of an induction motor. This paper presents the derivation of equivalent circuit parameters using first principle approach. Sodium testing of designed ALIP using the equivalent circuit approach is also described and experimental results of the testing are presented. Comparison between experimental and analytical calculations has also been carried out. Some of the reasons for variation have also been listed in this paper

Review of the Safety Design Approaches in Sodium Fast Reactors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Suk, Soo Dong; Lee, Yong Bum

2009-12-01

The principle of the Defense in depth is essential in securing the safety of nuclear power plants, that is, to prevent cores-damaging severs accidents and to minimize the radiological consequences of the accidents 'as low as possible' (ALARA). One of the major design features of sodium fast reactors (SFRs) is that it has a large amount of sodium in the reactor vessel, providing a large heat capacity, such that it is feasible to contain the consequences of sever core damaging accidents in the vessel and primary system boundary. Containment of a severe accident in the primary system boundary, that is called in-vessel retention(IVR), is not a licensing requirement but set up as a design goal in most of the SFR design in the context of risk minimization. The objective of this report is to broadly review and compare the approaches and efforts made in the some of the major SFR designs of the US, Europe and Japan to prevent severe accidents and mitigate their consequences should they occur. Specifically, the subjects described in this report include design criteria or requirements, accident categorization and acceptance criteria, design features to prevent and contain severs accidents

Time Evolving Fission Chain Theory and Fast Neutron and Gamma-Ray Counting Distributions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kim, K. S.; Nakae, L. F.; Prasad, M. K.; Snyderman, N. J.; Verbeke, J. M.

2015-01-01

Here, we solve a simple theoretical model of time evolving fission chains due to Feynman that generalizes and asymptotically approaches the point model theory. The point model theory has been used to analyze thermal neutron counting data. This extension of the theory underlies fast counting data for both neutrons and gamma rays from metal systems. Fast neutron and gamma-ray counting is now possible using liquid scintillator arrays with nanosecond time resolution. For individual fission chains, the differential equations describing three correlated probability distributions are solved: the time-dependent internal neutron population, accumulation of fissions in time, and accumulation of leaked neutrons in time. Explicit analytic formulas are given for correlated moments of the time evolving chain populations. The equations for random time gate fast neutron and gamma-ray counting distributions, due to randomly initiated chains, are presented. Correlated moment equations are given for both random time gate and triggered time gate counting. There are explicit formulas for all correlated moments are given up to triple order, for all combinations of correlated fast neutrons and gamma rays. The nonlinear differential equations for probabilities for time dependent fission chain populations have a remarkably simple Monte Carlo realization. A Monte Carlo code was developed for this theory and is shown to statistically realize the solutions to the fission chain theory probability distributions. Combined with random initiation of chains and detection of external quanta, the Monte Carlo code generates time tagged data for neutron and gamma-ray counting and from these data the counting distributions.

Intermittent fasting: a "new" historical strategy for controlling seizures?

Science.gov (United States)

Hartman, Adam L; Rubenstein, James E; Kossoff, Eric H

2013-05-01

In antiquity, fasting was a treatment for epilepsy and a rationale for the ketogenic diet (KD). Preclinical data indicate the KD and intermittent fasting do not share identical anticonvulsant mechanisms. We implemented an intermittent fasting regimen in six children with an incomplete response to a KD. Three patients adhered to the combined intermittent fasting/KD regimen for 2 months and four had transient improvement in seizure control, albeit with some hunger-related adverse reactions. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

A fast switch, combiner and narrow-band filter for high-power millimetre wave beams

Science.gov (United States)

Kasparek, W.; Petelin, M. I.; Shchegolkov, D. Yu; Erckmann, V.; Plaum, B.; Bruschi, A.; ECRH Groups at IPP Greifswald; Karlsruhe, FZK; Stuttgart, IPF

2008-05-01

A fast directional switch (FADIS) is described, which allows controlled switching of high-power microwaves between two outputs. A possible application could be synchronous stabilization of neoclassical tearing modes (NTMs). Generally, the device can be used to share the installed EC power between different types of launchers or different applications (e.g. in ITER, midplane/upper launcher). The switching is performed electronically without moving parts by a small frequency-shift keying of the gyrotron (some tens of megahertz), and a narrow-band diplexer. The device can be operated as a beam combiner also, which offers attractive transmission perspectives in multi-megawatt ECRH systems. In addition, these diplexers are useful for plasma diagnostic systems employing high-power sources due to their filter characteristics. The principle and the design of a four-port quasi-optical resonator diplexer is presented. Low-power measurements of switching contrast, mode purity and efficiency show good agreement with theory. Preliminary frequency modulation characteristics of gyrotrons are shown, and first results from high-power switching experiments using the ECRH system for W7-X are presented.

A fast switch, combiner and narrow-band filter for high-power millimetre wave beams

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kasparek, W.; Plaum, B.; Petelin, M.I.; Shchegolkov, D.Yu; Erckmann, V.; Bruschi, A.

2008-01-01

A fast directional switch (FADIS) is described, which allows controlled switching of high-power microwaves between two outputs. A possible application could be synchronous stabilization of neoclassical tearing modes (NTMs). Generally, the device can be used to share the installed EC power between different types of launchers or different applications (e.g. in ITER, midplane/upper launcher). The switching is performed electronically without moving parts by a small frequency-shift keying of the gyrotron (some tens of megahertz), and a narrow-band diplexer. The device can be operated as a beam combiner also, which offers attractive transmission perspectives in multi-megawatt ECRH systems. In addition, these diplexers are useful for plasma diagnostic systems employing high-power sources due to their filter characteristics. The principle and the design of a four-port quasi-optical resonator diplexer is presented. Low-power measurements of switching contrast, mode purity and efficiency show good agreement with theory. Preliminary frequency modulation characteristics of gyrotrons are shown, and first results from high-power switching experiments using the ECRH system for W7-X are presented

Fast color/texture segmentation for outdoor robots

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Blas, Morten Rufus; Agrawal, Motilal; Sundaresan, Aravind

2008-01-01

We present a fast integrated approach for online segmentation of images for outdoor robots. A compact color and texture descriptor has been developed to describe local color and texture variations in an image. This descriptor is then used in a two-stage fast clustering framework using K...

Approach to the problem of combined radiation and environmental effect standardization

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Burykina, L.N.; Ajzina, N.L.; Vasil'eva, L.A.; Veselovskaya, K.A.; Likhachev, Yu.P.; Ponomareva, V.L.; Satarina, S.M.; Shmeleva, E.V.

1978-01-01

Rats were used to study combined forms of damage caused by radioactive substances with varioUs types of distribution ( 131 I and 147 Pm) and by external radiation sources (γ, X). Damage caused by radiation and dust factors was also studied. Synergism of the combined effect of the tolerance dose of 147 Pm introduced and preceding external general γ-irradiation was determined. The combined action of 131 I and external γ- and X-ray radiation exhibited an additional effect on rat thyroid glands. The combined action of dust and radiation factors showed that the biological effect depended on the dose abs.orbed in a critical organ (lungs). The results of the investigations point to an important role of critical organs (systems) and the degree of their radiosensitivity in response of body to combined internal and external irradiations. The facts presented show that the approach to standardizing radiation factors from the position of partial summation should be changed. This may be accomplished by using a combination factor which is determined experimentally and reflects a relative biological efficiency of the combined effects as compared to separate ones

Correlates of Sugar-Sweetened Beverages Purchased for Children at Fast-Food Restaurants.

Science.gov (United States)

Cantor, Jonathan; Breck, Andrew; Elbel, Brian

2016-11-01

To determine consumer and fast-food purchase characteristics associated with the purchase of a sugar-sweetened beverage, as well as calories and grams of sugar, for children at a fast-food restaurant. We completed cross-sectional analyses of fast-food restaurant receipts and point-of-purchase surveys (n = 483) collected during 2013 and 2014 in New York City and Newark and Jersey City, New Jersey. Caregivers purchased beverages for half of all children in our sample. Approximately 60% of these beverages were sugar-sweetened beverages. Fast-food meals with sugar-sweetened beverages had, on average, 179 more calories than meals with non-sugar-sweetened beverages. Being an adolescent or male, having a caregiver with a high school degree or less, having a caregiver who saw the posted calorie information, ordering a combination meal, and eating the meal in the restaurant were associated with ordering a sugar-sweetened beverage. Purchases that included a combination meal or were consumed in the restaurant included more beverage grams of sugar and calories. Characteristics of fast-food purchases appear to have the largest and most important association to beverage calories for children at fast-food restaurants. Targeting fast-food restaurants, particularly combination meals, may improve childhood obesity rates.

A combined telemetry - tag return approach to estimate fishing and natural mortality rates of an estuarine fish

Science.gov (United States)

Bacheler, N.M.; Buckel, J.A.; Hightower, J.E.; Paramore, L.M.; Pollock, K.H.

2009-01-01

A joint analysis of tag return and telemetry data should improve estimates of mortality rates for exploited fishes; however, the combined approach has thus far only been tested in terrestrial systems. We tagged subadult red drum (Sciaenops ocellatus) with conventional tags and ultrasonic transmitters over 3 years in coastal North Carolina, USA, to test the efficacy of the combined telemetry - tag return approach. There was a strong seasonal pattern to monthly fishing mortality rate (F) estimates from both conventional and telemetry tags; highest F values occurred in fall months and lowest levels occurred during winter. Although monthly F values were similar in pattern and magnitude between conventional tagging and telemetry, information on F in the combined model came primarily from conventional tags. The estimated natural mortality rate (M) in the combined model was low (estimated annual rate ?? standard error: 0.04 ?? 0.04) and was based primarily upon the telemetry approach. Using high-reward tagging, we estimated different tag reporting rates for state agency and university tagging programs. The combined telemetry - tag return approach can be an effective approach for estimating F and M as long as several key assumptions of the model are met.

Combined SAFE/SNAP approach to safeguards evaluation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Engi, D.; Chapman, L.D.; Grant, F.H.; Polito, J.

1980-01-01

Generally, the scope of a safeguards evaluation model can efficiently address one of two issues, (1) global safeguards effectiveness, or (2) vulnerability analysis for individual scenarios. The Safeguards Automated Facility Evaluation (SAFE) focuses on (1) while the Safeguards Network Analysis Procedure (SNAP) is directed at (2). SAFE addresses (1) in that it considers the entire facility, i.e., the composite system of hardware and human components, in one global analysis. SNAP addresses (2) by providing a safeguards modeling symbology sufficiently flexible to represent quite complex scenarios from the standpoint of hardware interfaces while also accounting for a rich variety of human decision making. A combined SAFE/SNAP approach to the problem of safeguards evaluation is described and illustrated through an example

The FAQUIRE Approach: FAst, QUantitative, hIghly Resolved and sEnsitivity Enhanced 1H, 13C Data.

Science.gov (United States)

Farjon, Jonathan; Milande, Clément; Martineau, Estelle; Akoka, Serge; Giraudeau, Patrick

2018-02-06

The targeted analysis of metabolites in complex mixtures is a challenging issue. NMR is one of the major tools in this field, but there is a strong need for more sensitive, better-resolved, and faster quantitative methods. In this framework, we introduce the concept of FAst, QUantitative, hIghly Resolved and sEnsitivity enhanced (FAQUIRE) NMR to push forward the limits of metabolite NMR analysis. 2D 1 H, 13 C 2D quantitative maps are promising alternatives for enhancing the spectral resolution but are highly time-consuming because of (i) the intrinsic nature of 2D, (ii) the longer recycling times required for quantitative conditions, and (iii) the higher number of scans needed to reduce the level of detection/quantification to access low concentrated metabolites. To reach this aim, speeding up the recently developed QUantItative Perfected and pUre shifted HSQC (QUIPU HSQC) is an interesting attempt to develop the FAQUIRE concept. Thanks to the combination of spectral aliasing, nonuniform sampling, and variable repetition time, the acquisition time of 2D quantitative maps is reduced by a factor 6 to 9, while conserving a high spectral resolution thanks to a pure shift approach. The analytical potential of the new Quick QUIPU HSQC (Q QUIPU HSQC) is evaluated on a model metabolite sample, and its potential is shown on breast-cell extracts embedding metabolites at millimolar to submillimolar concentrations.

Intermittent fasting: A “new” historical strategy for controlling seizures?

OpenAIRE

Hartman, Adam L.; Rubenstein, James E.; Kossoff, Eric H.

2012-01-01

In antiquity, fasting was a treatment for epilepsy and a rationale for the ketogenic diet (KD). Preclinical data indicate the KD and intermittent fasting do not share identical anticonvulsant mechanisms. We implemented an intermittent fasting regimen in six children with an incomplete response to a KD. Three patients adhered to the combined intermittent fasting/KD regimen for 2 months and four had transient improvement in seizure control, albeit with some hunger-related adverse reactions.

Fast beam radiofrequency spectroscopy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Pipkin, F.M.

1983-01-01

The combination of a fast atom or ion beam derived from a small accelerator with radiofrequency spectroscopy methods provides a powerful method for measuring the fine structure of atomic and molecular systems. The fast beam makes possible measurements in which two separated oscillatory fields are used to obtain resonance lines whose widths are less than the natural line width due to the lifetimes of the states. The separated oscillatory field lines have, in addition, a number of features which make possible measurements with greater precision and less sensitivity to systematic errors. The fast beam also makes accessible multiple photon radiofrequency transitions whose line width is intrinsically narrower than that of the single photon transitions and which offer great potential for high precision measurements. This report focuses on the techniques and their promise. Recent measurements of the fine structure of H and He + are used as illustrations

Integrated Transport Planning Framework Involving Combined Utility Regret Approach

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Wang, Yang; Monzon, Andres; Di Ciommo, Floridea

2014-01-01

Sustainable transport planning requires an integrated approach involving strategic planning, impact analysis, and multicriteria evaluation. This study aimed at relaxing the utility-based decision-making assumption by newly embedding anticipated-regret and combined utility regret decision mechanisms...... in a framework for integrated transport planning. The framework consisted of a two-round Delphi survey, integrated land use and transport model for Madrid, and multicriteria analysis. Results show that (a) the regret-based ranking has a similar mean but larger variance than the utility-based ranking does, (b......) the least-regret scenario forms a compromise between the desired and the expected scenarios, (c) the least-regret scenario can lead to higher user benefits in the short term and lower user benefits in the long term, (d) the utility-based, the regret-based, and the combined utility- and regret...

RELAP5 simulation of surge line break accident using combined and best estimate plus uncertainty approaches

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kristof, Marian; Kliment, Tomas; Petruzzi, Alessandro; Lipka, Jozef

2009-01-01

Licensing calculations in a majority of countries worldwide still rely on the application of combined approach using best estimate computer code without evaluation of the code models uncertainty and conservative assumptions on initial and boundary, availability of systems and components and additional conservative assumptions. However best estimate plus uncertainty (BEPU) approach representing the state-of-the-art in the area of safety analysis has a clear potential to replace currently used combined approach. There are several applications of BEPU approach in the area of licensing calculations, but some questions are discussed, namely from the regulatory point of view. In order to find a proper solution to these questions and to support the BEPU approach to become a standard approach for licensing calculations, a broad comparison of both approaches for various transients is necessary. Results of one of such comparisons on the example of the VVER-440/213 NPP pressurizer surge line break event are described in this paper. A Kv-scaled simulation based on PH4-SLB experiment from PMK-2 integral test facility applying its volume and power scaling factor is performed for qualitative assessment of the RELAP5 computer code calculation using the VVER-440/213 plant model. Existing hardware differences are identified and explained. The CIAU method is adopted for performing the uncertainty evaluation. Results using combined and BEPU approaches are in agreement with the experimental values in PMK-2 facility. Only minimal difference between combined and BEPU approached has been observed in the evaluation of the safety margins for the peak cladding temperature. Benefits of the CIAU uncertainty method are highlighted.

FAST DISCRETE CURVELET TRANSFORM BASED ANISOTROPIC FEATURE EXTRACTION FOR IRIS RECOGNITION

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Amol D. Rahulkar

2010-11-01

Full Text Available The feature extraction plays a very important role in iris recognition. Recent researches on multiscale analysis provide good opportunity to extract more accurate information for iris recognition. In this work, a new directional iris texture features based on 2-D Fast Discrete Curvelet Transform (FDCT is proposed. The proposed approach divides the normalized iris image into six sub-images and the curvelet transform is applied independently on each sub-image. The anisotropic feature vector for each sub-image is derived using the directional energies of the curvelet coefficients. These six feature vectors are combined to create the resultant feature vector. During recognition, the nearest neighbor classifier based on Euclidean distance has been used for authentication. The effectiveness of the proposed approach has been tested on two different databases namely UBIRIS and MMU1. Experimental results show the superiority of the proposed approach.

A low thermal mass fast gas chromatograph and its implementation in fast gas chromatography mass spectrometry with supersonic molecular beams.

Science.gov (United States)

Fialkov, Alexander B; Moragn, Mati; Amirav, Aviv

2011-12-30

A new type of low thermal mass (LTM) fast gas chromatograph (GC) was designed and operated in combination with gas chromatography mass spectrometry (GC-MS) with supersonic molecular beams (SMB), including GC-MS-MS with SMB, thereby providing a novel combination with unique capabilities. The LTM fast GC is based on a short capillary column inserted inside a stainless steel tube that is resistively heated. It is located and mounted outside the standard GC oven on its available top detector port, while the capillary column is connected as usual to the standard GC injector and supersonic molecular beam interface transfer line. This new type of fast GC-MS with SMB enables less than 1 min full range temperature programming and cooling down analysis cycle time. The operation of the fast GC-MS with SMB was explored and 1 min full analysis cycle time of a mixture of 16 hydrocarbons in the C(10)H(22) up to C(44)H(90) range was achieved. The use of 35 mL/min high column flow rate enabled the elution of C(44)H(90) in less than 45 s while the SMB interface enabled splitless acceptance of this high flow rate and the provision of dominant molecular ions. A novel compound 9-benzylazidanthracene was analyzed for its purity and a synthetic chemistry process was monitored for the optimization of the chemical reaction yield. Biodiesel was analyzed in jet fuel (by both GC-MS and GC-MS-MS) in under 1 min as 5 ppm fatty acid methyl esters. Authentic iprodion and cypermethrin pesticides were analyzed in grapes extract in both full scan mode and fast GC-MS-MS mode in under 1 min cycle time and explosive mixture including TATP, TNT and RDX was analyzed in under 1 min combined with exhibiting dominant molecular ion for TATP. Fast GC-MS with SMB is based on trading GC separation for speed of analysis while enhancing the separation power of the MS via the enhancement of the molecular ion in the electron ionization of cold molecules in the SMB. This paper further discusses several features of

Intermittent fasting: A “new” historical strategy for controlling seizures?

Science.gov (United States)

Hartman, Adam L.; Rubenstein, James E.; Kossoff, Eric H.

2013-01-01

Summary In antiquity, fasting was a treatment for epilepsy and a rationale for the ketogenic diet (KD). Preclinical data indicate the KD and intermittent fasting do not share identical anticonvulsant mechanisms. We implemented an intermittent fasting regimen in six children with an incomplete response to a KD. Three patients adhered to the combined intermittent fasting/KD regimen for 2 months and four had transient improvement in seizure control, albeit with some hunger-related adverse reactions. PMID:23206889

Contraband detection with fast neutrons

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Buffler, Andy E-mail: abuffler@science.uct.ac.za

2004-11-01

Recent terror events and the increase in the trade of illicit drugs have fuelled the exploration of the use of fast neutrons as probes for the detection of hidden contraband, especially explosives, in packages ranging in size from small mail items to cargo containers. The various approaches using fast neutrons for contraband detection, presently under development, are reviewed. The role that a neutron system might play in the non-intrusive interrogation of airline luggage is discussed.

New Substrate-Guided Method of Predicting Slow Conducting Isthmuses of Ventricular Tachycardia: Preliminary Analysis to the Combined Use of Voltage Limit Adjustment and Fast-Fourier Transform Analysis.

Science.gov (United States)

Kuroki, Kenji; Nogami, Akihiko; Igarashi, Miyako; Masuda, Keita; Kowase, Shinya; Kurosaki, Kenji; Komatsu, Yuki; Naruse, Yoshihisa; Machino, Takeshi; Yamasaki, Hiro; Xu, Dongzhu; Murakoshi, Nobuyuki; Sekiguchi, Yukio; Aonuma, Kazutaka

2018-04-01

Several conducting channels of ventricular tachycardia (VT) can be identified using voltage limit adjustment (VLA) of substrate mapping. However, the sensitivity or specificity to predict a VT isthmus is not high by using VLA alone. This study aimed to evaluate the efficacy of the combined use of VLA and fast-Fourier transform analysis to predict VT isthmuses. VLA and fast-Fourier transform analyses of local ventricular bipolar electrograms during sinus rhythm were performed in 9 postinfarction patients who underwent catheter ablation for a total of 13 monomorphic VTs. Relatively higher voltage areas on an electroanatomical map were defined as high voltage channels (HVCs), and relatively higher fast-Fourier transform areas were defined as high-frequency channels (HFCs). HVCs were classified into full or partial HVCs (the entire or >30% of HVC can be detectable, respectively). Twelve full HVCs were identified in 7 of 9 patients. HFCs were located on 7 of 12 full HVCs. Five VT isthmuses (71%) were included in the 7 full HVC+/HFC+ sites, whereas no VT isthmus was found in the 5 full HVC+/HFC- sites. HFCs were identical to 9 of 16 partial HVCs. Eight VT isthmuses (89%) were included in the 9 partial HVC+/HFC+ sites, whereas no VT isthmus was found in the 7 partial HVC+/HFC- sites. All HVC+/HFC+ sites predicted VT isthmus with a sensitivity of 100% and a specificity of 80%. Combined use of VLA and fast-Fourier transform analysis may be a useful method to detect VT isthmuses. © 2018 American Heart Association, Inc.

Safety approach and R and D program for future french sodium-cooled fast reactors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Beils, Stephane; Carluec, Bernard; Devictor, Nicolas; Fiorini, Gian Luigi; Sauvage, Jean Francois

2011-01-01

This paper presents briefly the safety approach as well as the R and D program that is underway to support the deployment of future French Sodium-Cooled fast Reactors (SFRs): A) Safety objectives and principles for future reactors. The content of the first section reflects the works of AREVA, CEA, and EDF concerning the safety orientations for the future reactors. The availability of such orientations and requirements for the SFRs has to allow introducing and managing the process that will lead to the detailed definition of the safety approach, to the selection of the corresponding safety options, and to the identification and motivation of the supporting R and D. B) Strategy and roadmap in support of the R and D for future SFRs. This section describes the R and D program led jointly by CEA, EDF, and AREVA, which has been developed with the objectives to be able to preliminarily define, by 2012, the safety orientations for the future SFRs, and to deduce from them the characteristics of the ASTRID prototype. (author)

Sensitivity and Resolution Enhanced Solid-State NMR for Paramagnetic Systems and Biomolecules under Very Fast Magic Angle Spinning

KAUST Repository

Parthasarathy, Sudhakar

2013-09-17

Recent research in fast magic angle spinning (MAS) methods has drastically improved the resolution and sensitivity of NMR spectroscopy of biomolecules and materials in solids. In this Account, we summarize recent and ongoing developments in this area by presenting (13)C and (1)H solid-state NMR (SSNMR) studies on paramagnetic systems and biomolecules under fast MAS from our laboratories. First, we describe how very fast MAS (VFMAS) at the spinning speed of at least 20 kHz allows us to overcome major difficulties in (1)H and (13)C high-resolution SSNMR of paramagnetic systems. As a result, we can enhance both sensitivity and resolution by up to a few orders of magnitude. Using fast recycling (∼ms/scan) with short (1)H T1 values, we can perform (1)H SSNMR microanalysis of paramagnetic systems on the microgram scale with greatly improved sensitivity over that observed for diamagnetic systems. Second, we discuss how VFMAS at a spinning speed greater than ∼40 kHz can enhance the sensitivity and resolution of (13)C biomolecular SSNMR measurements. Low-power (1)H decoupling schemes under VFMAS offer excellent spectral resolution for (13)C SSNMR by nominal (1)H RF irradiation at ∼10 kHz. By combining the VFMAS approach with enhanced (1)H T1 relaxation by paramagnetic doping, we can achieve extremely fast recycling in modern biomolecular SSNMR experiments. Experiments with (13)C-labeled ubiquitin doped with 10 mM Cu-EDTA demonstrate how effectively this new approach, called paramagnetic assisted condensed data collection (PACC), enhances the sensitivity. Lastly, we examine (13)C SSNMR measurements for biomolecules under faster MAS at a higher field. Our preliminary (13)C SSNMR data of Aβ amyloid fibrils and GB1 microcrystals acquired at (1)H NMR frequencies of 750-800 MHz suggest that the combined use of the PACC approach and ultrahigh fields could allow for routine multidimensional SSNMR analyses of proteins at the 50-200 nmol level. Also, we briefly discuss the

An integrated approach to the biomechanics and motor control of cricket fast bowling techniques.

Science.gov (United States)

Glazier, Paul S; Wheat, Jonathan S

2014-01-01

To date, scientific investigations into the biomechanical aspects of cricket fast bowling techniques have predominantly focused on identifying the mechanical factors that may predispose fast bowlers to lower back injury with a relative paucity of research being conducted on the technical features that underpin proficient fast bowling performance. In this review paper, we critique the scientific literature examining fast bowling performance. We argue that, although many published investigations have provided some useful insights into the biomechanical factors that contribute to a high ball release speed and, to a lesser extent, bowling accuracy, this research has not made a substantive contribution to knowledge enhancement and has only had a very minor influence on coaching practice. To significantly enhance understanding of cricket fast bowling techniques and, therefore, have greater impact on practice, we recommend that future scientific research adopts an interdisciplinary focus, integrating biomechanical measurements with the analytical tools and concepts of dynamical systems motor control theory. The use of qualitative (topological) analysis techniques, in particular, promises to increase understanding of the coordinative movement patterns that define 'technique' in cricket fast bowling and potentially help distinguish between functional and dysfunctional aspects of technique for individual fast bowlers.

High-power direct diode laser output by spectral beam combining

Science.gov (United States)

Tan, Hao; Meng, Huicheng; Ruan, Xu; Du, Weichuan; Wang, Zhao

2018-03-01

We demonstrate a spectral beam combining scheme based on multiple mini-bar stacks, which have more diode laser combining elements, to increase the combined diode laser power and realize equal beam quality in both the fast and slow axes. A spectral beam combining diode laser output of 1130 W is achieved with an operating current of 75 A. When a 9.6 X de-magnifying telescope is introduced between the output mirror and the diffraction grating, to restrain cross-talk among diode laser emitters, a 710 W spectral beam combining diode laser output is achieved at the operating current of 70 A, and the beam quality on the fast and slow axes of the combined beam is about 7.5 mm mrad and 7.3 mm mrad respectively. The power reduction is caused by the existence of a couple resonator between the rear facet of the diode laser and the fast axis collimation lens, and it should be eliminated by using diode laser chips with higher front facet transmission efficiency and a fast axis collimation lens with lower residual reflectivity.

A DIFFERENT APPROACH OF COMPETITIVEIMPORTANCE-PERFORMANCE ANALYSIS: THE CASE OF YOUNG ROMANIANS' PREFERENCE FOR A LOCAL FAST-FOOD

OpenAIRE

ELENA-NICOLETA UNTARU; ANA ISPAS

2014-01-01

In a competitive market, if one uses the traditional Importance- Performance Analysis (IPA) to evaluate service performance without considering the service level of competitors, misleading results may be obtained for managers responsible for developing improvement strategies. The purpose of this paper is to present a different approach of the Competitive Importance- Performance Analysis (CIPA) in order to evaluate the attributes that explain the preference of young people for a local fast-foo...

Fast Whole-Engine Stirling Analysis

Science.gov (United States)

Dyson, Rodger W.; Wilson, Scott D.; Tew, Roy C.; Demko, Rikako

2007-01-01

An experimentally validated approach is described for fast axisymmetric Stirling engine simulations. These simulations include the entire displacer interior and demonstrate it is possible to model a complete engine cycle in less than an hour. The focus of this effort was to demonstrate it is possible to produce useful Stirling engine performance results in a time-frame short enough to impact design decisions. The combination of utilizing the latest 64-bit Opteron computer processors, fiber-optical Myrinet communications, dynamic meshing, and across zone partitioning has enabled solution times at least 240 times faster than previous attempts at simulating the axisymmetric Stirling engine. A comparison of the multidimensional results, calibrated one-dimensional results, and known experimental results is shown. This preliminary comparison demonstrates that axisymmetric simulations can be very accurate, but more work remains to improve the simulations through such means as modifying the thermal equilibrium regenerator models, adding fluid-structure interactions, including radiation effects, and incorporating mechanodynamics.

Initial Report of the Fast Timing Working Group

CERN Document Server

CMS Collaboration

2016-01-01

A preliminary set of results highlighting the unique capabilities of fast-timing for resolving information from individual collisions at the High-Luminosity LHC (HL- LHC) is presented. These results explore the possibilities made available by using fast timing to enhance the reconstruction and physics capabilities of the CMS detector in terms of pileup mitigation and searches for new physics. Fast timing applications in calorimetry, for electromagnetic showers, and for MIPs, to time-tag tracks, are demonstrated as are first examples of what is possible with their combination.

A data-driven prediction method for fast-slow systems

Science.gov (United States)

Groth, Andreas; Chekroun, Mickael; Kondrashov, Dmitri; Ghil, Michael

2016-04-01

In this work, we present a prediction method for processes that exhibit a mixture of variability on low and fast scales. The method relies on combining empirical model reduction (EMR) with singular spectrum analysis (SSA). EMR is a data-driven methodology for constructing stochastic low-dimensional models that account for nonlinearity and serial correlation in the estimated noise, while SSA provides a decomposition of the complex dynamics into low-order components that capture spatio-temporal behavior on different time scales. Our study focuses on the data-driven modeling of partial observations from dynamical systems that exhibit power spectra with broad peaks. The main result in this talk is that the combination of SSA pre-filtering with EMR modeling improves, under certain circumstances, the modeling and prediction skill of such a system, as compared to a standard EMR prediction based on raw data. Specifically, it is the separation into "fast" and "slow" temporal scales by the SSA pre-filtering that achieves the improvement. We show, in particular that the resulting EMR-SSA emulators help predict intermittent behavior such as rapid transitions between specific regions of the system's phase space. This capability of the EMR-SSA prediction will be demonstrated on two low-dimensional models: the Rössler system and a Lotka-Volterra model for interspecies competition. In either case, the chaotic dynamics is produced through a Shilnikov-type mechanism and we argue that the latter seems to be an important ingredient for the good prediction skills of EMR-SSA emulators. Shilnikov-type behavior has been shown to arise in various complex geophysical fluid models, such as baroclinic quasi-geostrophic flows in the mid-latitude atmosphere and wind-driven double-gyre ocean circulation models. This pervasiveness of the Shilnikow mechanism of fast-slow transition opens interesting perspectives for the extension of the proposed EMR-SSA approach to more realistic situations.

An approach to combining heuristic and qualitative reasoning in an expert system

Science.gov (United States)

Jiang, Wei-Si; Han, Chia Yung; Tsai, Lian Cheng; Wee, William G.

1988-01-01

An approach to combining the heuristic reasoning from shallow knowledge and the qualitative reasoning from deep knowledge is described. The shallow knowledge is represented in production rules and under the direct control of the inference engine. The deep knowledge is represented in frames, which may be put in a relational DataBase Management System. This approach takes advantage of both reasoning schemes and results in improved efficiency as well as expanded problem solving ability.

A survey of approaches combining safety and security for industrial control systems

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kriaa, Siwar; Pietre-Cambacedes, Ludovic; Bouissou, Marc; Halgand, Yoran

2015-01-01

The migration towards digital control systems creates new security threats that can endanger the safety of industrial infrastructures. Addressing the convergence of safety and security concerns in this context, we provide a comprehensive survey of existing approaches to industrial facility design and risk assessment that consider both safety and security. We also provide a comparative analysis of the different approaches identified in the literature. - Highlights: • We raise awareness of safety and security convergence in numerical control systems. • We highlight safety and security interdependencies for modern industrial systems. • We give a survey of approaches combining safety and security engineering. • We discuss the potential of the approaches to model safety and security interactions

Constraint satisfaction adaptive neural network and heuristics combined approaches for generalized job-shop scheduling.

Science.gov (United States)

Yang, S; Wang, D

2000-01-01

This paper presents a constraint satisfaction adaptive neural network, together with several heuristics, to solve the generalized job-shop scheduling problem, one of NP-complete constraint satisfaction problems. The proposed neural network can be easily constructed and can adaptively adjust its weights of connections and biases of units based on the sequence and resource constraints of the job-shop scheduling problem during its processing. Several heuristics that can be combined with the neural network are also presented. In the combined approaches, the neural network is used to obtain feasible solutions, the heuristic algorithms are used to improve the performance of the neural network and the quality of the obtained solutions. Simulations have shown that the proposed neural network and its combined approaches are efficient with respect to the quality of solutions and the solving speed.

Why do fearful facial expressions elicit behavioral approach? Evidence from a combined approach-avoidance implicit association test.

Science.gov (United States)

Hammer, Jennifer L; Marsh, Abigail A

2015-04-01

Despite communicating a "negative" emotion, fearful facial expressions predominantly elicit behavioral approach from perceivers. It has been hypothesized that this seemingly paradoxical effect may occur due to fearful expressions' resemblance to vulnerable, infantile faces. However, this hypothesis has not yet been tested. We used a combined approach-avoidance/implicit association test (IAT) to test this hypothesis. Participants completed an approach-avoidance lever task during which they responded to fearful and angry facial expressions as well as neutral infant and adult faces presented in an IAT format. Results demonstrated an implicit association between fearful facial expressions and infant faces and showed that both fearful expressions and infant faces primarily elicit behavioral approach. The dominance of approach responses to both fearful expressions and infant faces decreased as a function of psychopathic personality traits. Results suggest that the prosocial responses to fearful expressions observed in most individuals may stem from their associations with infantile faces. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2015 APA, all rights reserved).

Fast facts: The availability and accessibility of nutrition information in fast food chains.

Science.gov (United States)

Wellard, Lyndal; Glasson, Colleen; Chapman, Kathy; Miller, Caroline

2011-12-01

Nutrition information at the point-of-sale assists consumers to make informed fast food choices. This study provides a baseline measure of the availability and accessibility of nutrition information in fast food outlets in Australia, filling a gap in the literature. An in-store observational survey was conducted in 222 outlets of five fast food chains in five states. The Australian websites for each chain were surveyed for nutrition information. At least some nutrition information was available in 66% of outlets. The availability of information was higher in lower socioeconomic areas. Significantly less information was available in signatory chains of the self-regulatory marketing code. Information provided was generally incomplete; only one outlet (0.5%) provided information for all food and beverage items. In some instances information was old. Information was more available for 'healthier' products and less available for meal combinations. Information was provided on all chains' websites, however it was sometimes difficult to locate. While most outlets surveyed made some nutrition information available to consumers, it was generally incomplete. Fast food chains should provide comprehensive, up-to-date information for all menu items. Chains should also ensure their staff members are adequately trained in providing nutrition information.

System design considerations for fast-neutron interrogation systems

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Micklich, B.J.; Curry, B.P.; Fink, C.L.; Smith, D.L.; Yule, T.J.

1993-01-01

Nonintrusive interrogation techniques that employ fast neutrons are of interest because of their sensitivity to light elements such as carbon, nitrogen, and oxygen. The primary requirement of a fast-neutron inspection system is to determine the value of atomic densities, or their ratios, over a volumetric grid superimposed on the object being interrogated. There are a wide variety of fast-neutron techniques that can provide this information. The differences between the various nuclear systems can be considered in light of the trade-offs relative to the performance requirements for each system's components. Given a set of performance criteria, the operational requirements of the proposed nuclear systems may also differ. For instance, resolution standards will drive scanning times and tomographic requirements, both of which vary for the different approaches. We are modelling a number of the fast-neutron interrogation techniques currently under consideration, to include Fast Neutron Transmission Spectroscopy (FNTS), Pulsed Fast Neutron Analysis (PFNA), and its variant, 14-MeV Associated Particle Imaging (API). The goals of this effort are to determine the component requirements for each technique, identify trade-offs that system performance standards impose upon those component requirements, and assess the relative advantages and disadvantages of the different approaches. In determining the component requirements, we will consider how they are driven by system performance standards, such as image resolution, scanning time, and statistical uncertainty. In considering the trade-offs between system components, we concentrate primarily on those which are common to all approaches, for example: source characteristics versus detector array requirements. We will then use the analysis to propose some figures-of-merit that enable performance comparisons between the various fast-neutron systems under consideration. The status of this ongoing effort is presented

Profiles of fast ions that are accelerated by high harmonic fast waves in the National Spherical Torus Experiment

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Liu, D; Heidbrink, W W; Podesta, M; Ruskov, E; Bell, R E; Fredrickson, E D; Medley, S S; Harvey, R W

2010-01-01

Combined neutral beam injection and high-harmonic fast-wave (HHFW) heating accelerate deuterium fast ions in the National Spherical Torus Experiment (NSTX). With 1.1 MW of HHFW power, the neutron emission rate is about three times larger than in the comparison discharge without HHFW heating. Acceleration of fast ions above the beam injection energy is evident on an E||B type neutral particle analyzer (NPA), a 4-chord solid state neutral particle analyzer (SSNPA) array and a 16-channel fast-ion D-alpha (FIDA) diagnostic. The accelerated fast ions observed by the NPA and SSNPA diagnostics mainly come from passive charge exchange reactions at the edge due to the NPA/SSNPA localization in phase space. The spatial profile of accelerated fast ions that is measured by the FIDA diagnostic is much broader than in conventional tokamaks because of the multiple resonance layers and large orbits in NSTX. The fast-ion distribution function calculated by the CQL3D Fokker-Planck code differs from the measured spatial profile, presumably because the current version of CQL3D uses a zero-banana-width model. In addition, compressional Alfven eigenmode activity is stronger during the HHFW heating and it may affect the fast-ion spatial profile.

Fast harmonic field mapper

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Au, R.; Fowler, M.; Hanawa, H.; Riedel, J.; Qua, Z.G.

1984-01-01

In early 1983 it was decided to mount coils on arms separated by 120 degrees and buck them out so that the third harmonic dphi/dt component would be cancelled and thus the first and second field harmonics could be very accurately measured. The original intention was to do as others had done, namely, use fast ADC's to read the voltages, and computer process the result to get the Fourier components. However, because of the 100 to 1 dynamic range of the fast ADC's and the likelihood that noise would be a problem, the authors decided to do things differently. Using a fast Fourier transform analyzer was considered, but this instrument is very expensive, so they decided to use a completely electronic analog approach: The authors decided to use active bandpass filters to render the harmonic components

Physical and technical aspects of lead cooled fast reactors safety

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Orlov, V.V.; Smirnov, V.S.; Filin, A.I.

2001-01-01

The safety analysis of lead-cooled fast reactors has been performed for the well-developed concept of BREST-OD-300 reactor. The most severe accidents have been considered. An ultimate design-basis accident has been defined as an event resulting from an external impact and involving a loss of leak-tightness of the lead circuit, loss of forced circulation of lead and loss of heat sink to the secondary circuit, failure of controls and of reactor scram with resultant insertion of total reactivity margin, etc. It was assumed in accident analysis that the protective feature available for accident mitigation was only reactivity feedback on the changes in the temperatures of the reactor core elements and coolant flow rate, and in some cases also actuation of passive protections of threshold action in response to low flow rate and high coolant temperature at the core outlet. It should be noted that the majority of the analyzed accidents could be overcame even without initiation of the above protections. It has been demonstrated that a combination of inherent properties of lead coolant, nitride fuel, physical and design features of fast reactors will ensure natural safety of BREST and are instrumental for avoiding by a deterministic approach the accidents associated with a significant release of radioactivity and requiring evacuation of people in any credible initiating event and a combination of events. (author)

Formulation of Fast-Dissolving Tablets of Promethazine Theoclate ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Purpose: To optimize and formulate promethazine theoclate fast-dissolving tablets that offer a suitable approach to the treatment of nausea and vomiting. Method: The solubility of promethazine theoclate was increased by formulating it as a fast-dissolving tablet containing β-cyclodextrin, crospovidone, and camphor, using ...

Fast pulse beam generation systems for electron accelerators

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Koontz, R.F.

1977-01-01

The fast pulse beam generation system to supply the SLAC storage ring, SPEAR, by the two one nanosecond bunch electron beam pulses is described. Generation of these pulses is accomplished with a combination of a fast pulsed grided gun and a synchronized transverse beam chopper. Fast gun based on spherical cathode-grid assembly has output current up to 2As. Fast pulse amplifier system can handle trains of short pulses with repetition rates up to 40 MHz during the 1.6 μs normal accelerating time. Chopping deflector system consists of a resonant coaxial line with the deflecting plates. The resonator frequency is 39.667 MHz. A schematic diagram of the resonant system is shown. The fast beam pickup system has a one hundred picosecond rise time overrall. Fast beam generation and chopper systems permit to generate almost any short or single bunch beam profile needed for experiments

Narrow linewidth operation of a spectral beam combined diode laser bar.

Science.gov (United States)

Zhu, Zhanda; Jiang, Menghua; Cheng, Siqi; Hui, Yongling; Lei, Hong; Li, Qiang

2016-04-20

Our experiment is expected to provide an approach for realizing ultranarrow linewidth for a spectral beam combined diode laser bar. The beams of a diode laser bar are combined in a fast axis after a beam transformation system. With the help of relay optics and a transform lens with a long focal length of 1.5 m, the whole wavelength of a spectral combined laser bar can be narrowed down to 0.48 nm from more than 10 nm. We have achieved 56.7 W cw from a 19-element single bar with an M2 of 1.4  (in horizontal direction)×11.6  (in vertical direction). These parameters are good evidence that all the beams from the diode laser bar are combined together to increase the brightness.

On establishing constitutive equations for use in design of high-temperature fast-reactor structures

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Pugh, C.E.

1978-01-01

The presentation describes the approach being used to establish constitutive equations for wide use in the design of fast breeder reactor (FBR) components in the US. The approach combines exploratory experiments, constitutive model studies, studies of computational techniques, and tests of simple structural configurations. Short-time (elastic-plastic) behavior, long-time (creep) behavior, and their interactions are considered, and some of the background to equations now identified for use in current FBR design applications involving three structural alloys is discussed. Comments are also given on current efforts aimed at identifying improved constitutive equations for these alloys and on properties data required for design applications. References are cited which have addressed the status of the process at various times. (Auth.)

Integration of biomass fast pyrolysis and precedent feedstock steam drying with a municipal combined heat and power plant

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kohl, Thomas; Laukkanen, Timo P.; Järvinen, Mika P.

2014-01-01

Biomass fast pyrolysis (BFP) is a promising pre-treatment technology for converting biomass to transport fuel and in the future also for high-grade chemicals. BFP can be integrated with a municipal combined heat and power (CHP) plant. This paper shows the influence of BFP integration on a CHP plant's main parameters and its effect on the energetic and environmental performance of the connected district heating network. The work comprises full- and part-load operation of a CHP plant integrated with BFP and steam drying. It also evaluates different usage alternatives for the BFP products (char and oil). The results show that the integration is possible and strongly beneficial regarding energetic and environmental performance. Offering the possibility to provide lower district heating loads, the operation hours of the plant can be increased by up to 57%. The BFP products should be sold rather than applied for internal use as this increases the district heating network's primary energy efficiency the most. With this integration strategy future CHP plants can provide valuable products at high efficiency and also can help to mitigate global CO 2 emissions. - Highlights: • Part load simulation of a cogeneration plant integrated with biomas fast pyrolysis. • Analysis of energetic and environmental performance. • Assessment of different uses of the pyrolysis products

Advanced In-Service Inspection Approaches Applied to the Phenix Fast Breeder Reactor

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Guidez, J.; Martin, L.; Dupraz, R.

2006-01-01

The safety upgrading of the Phenix plant undertaken between 1994 and 1997 involved a vast inspection programme of the reactor, the external storage drum and the secondary sodium circuits in order to meet the requirements of the defence-in-depth safety approach. The three lines of defence were analysed for every safety related component: demonstration of the quality of design and construction, appropriate in-service inspection and controlling the consequences of an accident. The in-service reactor block inspection programme consisted in controlling the core support structures and the high-temperature elements. Despite the fact that limited consideration had been given to inspection constraints during the design stage of the reactor in the 1960's, as compared to more recent reactor projects such as the European Fast Reactor (EFR), all the core support line elements were able to be inspected. The three following main operations are described: Ultrasonic inspection of the upper hangers of the main vessel, using small transducers able to withstand temperatures of 130 deg. C, Inspection of the conical shell supporting the core dia-grid. A specific ultrasonic method and a special implementation technique were used to control the under sodium structure welds, located up to several meters away from the scan surface. Remote inspection of the hot pool structures, particularly the core cover plug after partial sodium drainage of the reactor vessel. Other inspections are also summarized: control of secondary sodium circuit piping, intermediate heat exchangers, primary sodium pumps, steam generator units and external storage drum. The pool type reactor concept, developed in France since the 1960's, presents several favourable safety and operational features. The feedback from the Phenix plant also shows real potential for in-service inspection. The design of future generation IV sodium fast reactors will benefit from the experience acquired from the Phenix plant. (authors)

Application of direct agglutination test (DAT) and fast agglutination screening test (FAST) for sero-diagnosis of visceral leishmaniasis in endemic area of Minas Gerais, Brazil

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Silva, Eduardo S.; Schoone, Gerard J.; Gontijo, Celia M. F.; Brazil, Reginaldo P.; Pacheco, Raquel S.; Schallig, Henk D. F. H.

2005-01-01

The direct agglutination test (DAT) has proved to be a very important sero-diagnostic tool combining high levels of intrinsic validity and ease of performance. Otherwise, fast agglutination screening test (FAST) utilises only one serum dilution making the test very suitable for the screening of

FAST: FAST Analysis of Sequences Toolbox

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Travis J. Lawrence

2015-05-01

Full Text Available FAST (FAST Analysis of Sequences Toolbox provides simple, powerful open source command-line tools to filter, transform, annotate and analyze biological sequence data. Modeled after the GNU (GNU’s Not Unix Textutils such as grep, cut, and tr, FAST tools such as fasgrep, fascut, and fastr make it easy to rapidly prototype expressive bioinformatic workflows in a compact and generic command vocabulary. Compact combinatorial encoding of data workflows with FAST commands can simplify the documentation and reproducibility of bioinformatic protocols, supporting better transparency in biological data science. Interface self-consistency and conformity with conventions of GNU, Matlab, Perl, BioPerl, R and GenBank help make FAST easy and rewarding to learn. FAST automates numerical, taxonomic, and text-based sorting, selection and transformation of sequence records and alignment sites based on content, index ranges, descriptive tags, annotated features, and in-line calculated analytics, including composition and codon usage. Automated content- and feature-based extraction of sites and support for molecular population genetic statistics makes FAST useful for molecular evolutionary analysis. FAST is portable, easy to install and secure thanks to the relative maturity of its Perl and BioPerl foundations, with stable releases posted to CPAN. Development as well as a publicly accessible Cookbook and Wiki are available on the FAST GitHub repository at https://github.com/tlawrence3/FAST. The default data exchange format in FAST is Multi-FastA (specifically, a restriction of BioPerl FastA format. Sanger and Illumina 1.8+ FastQ formatted files are also supported. FAST makes it easier for non-programmer biologists to interactively investigate and control biological data at the speed of thought.

Intermittent fasting combined with calorie restriction is effective for weight loss and cardio-protection in obese women

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Klempel Monica C

2012-11-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Intermittent fasting (IF; severe restriction 1 d/week facilitates weight loss and improves coronary heart disease (CHD risk indicators. The degree to which weight loss can be enhanced if IF is combined with calorie restriction (CR and liquid meals, remains unknown. Objective This study examined the effects of IF plus CR (with or without a liquid diet on body weight, body composition, and CHD risk. Methods Obese women (n = 54 were randomized to either the IFCR-liquid (IFCR-L or IFCR-food based (IFCR-F diet. The trial had two phases: 1 2-week weight maintenance period, and 2 8-week weight loss period. Results Body weight decreased more (P = 0.04 in the IFCR-L group (3.9 ± 1.4 kg versus the IFCR-F group (2.5 ± 0.6 kg. Fat mass decreased similarly (P P = 0.04 in the IFCR-L (19 ± 10%; 20 ± 9%, respectively versus the IFCR-F group (8 ± 3%; 7 ± 4%, respectively. LDL peak particle size increased (P Conclusion These findings suggest that IF combined with CR and liquid meals is an effective strategy to help obese women lose weight and lower CHD risk.

Extending the XFEM approach for fast transient three-dimensional crack propagation in ductile materials

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Pelee-De-Saint-Maurice, Romains

2014-01-01

This PhD thesis presents numerical methods is dedicated to three-dimensional crack propagation in the framework of fast explicit structural dynamics using EUROPLEXUS software (currently abbreviated EPX, co-owned by CEA and EC/JRC). An approach based on the well-known XFEM method is proposed, representing the crack through level set functions. Special care is given to the update of the level set functions from the propagation velocity expressed on the crack edge, since the most widely used method based on the solution of Hamilton-Jacobi equations lacks robustness for fast transient crack propagations, even when level-sets are computed on an auxiliary regular finite difference grid. It is therefore chosen instead to implement a 3D approximated geometric method to update both level-sets. As far as failure mechanics is concerned, a local stress criterion on the edge of the crack, first developed by Haboussa et al., gives characteristic parameters of the material fracture. Mechanical equivalent quantities (strain, deformation) around the crack front are weighted by a Gaussian function, which gives more importance to Gauss integration points located near the crack tip. The maximum of the equivalent stress tensor near the crack tip gives the direction of the crack, and the Kanninen equation gives the crack velocity. Besides, because of the discontinuous displacement field, the numerical integration for elements cut by the crack yields performance issues. Increasing the number of quadrature points is CPU time consuming and quite hard to handle if it is chosen to change the number of points only for elements in the vicinity of the crack. Another approach tested here consists in keeping constant the number and position of quadrature points and modifying their weights in cut elements to obtain an accurate integration of several reference discontinuous fields. The proposed methods are tested and validated on significant examples, both two-dimensional, to ensure the backward

A Preliminary Report on Combined Penoscrotal and Perineal Approach for Placement of Penile Prosthesis with Corporal Fibrosis

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

John P. Brusky

2008-01-01

Full Text Available Purpose. This paper aims at describing the combined penoscrotal and perineal approach for placement of penile prosthesis in cases of severe corporal fibrosis and scarring. Materials and methods. Three patients with extensive corporal fibrosis underwent penile prosthesis placement via combined penoscrotal and perineal approach from 1997 to 2006. Follow-up ranged from 15 to 129 months. Results. All patients underwent successful implantation of semirigid penile prosthesis. There were no short- or long-term complications. Conclusions. Results on combined penoscrotal and perineal approach to penile prosthetic surgery in this preliminary series of patients suggest that it is a safe technique and increases the chance of successful outcome in the surgical management of severe corporal fibrosis.

Current status and perspective of advanced loop type fast reactor in fast reactor cycle technology development project

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Niwa, Hajime; Aoto, Kazumi; Morishita, Masaki

2007-01-01

After selecting the combination of the sodium-cooled fast reactor (SFR) with oxide fuel, the advanced aqueous reprocessing and the simplified pelletizing fuel fabrication as the most promising concept of FR cycle system, 'Feasibility Study on Commercialized Fast Reactor Cycle Systems' was finalized in 2006. Instead, a new project, Fast Reactor Cycle Technology Development Project (FaCT Project) was launched in Japan focusing on development of the selected concepts. This paper describes the current status and perspective of the advanced loop type SFR system in the FaCT Project, especially on the design requirements, current design as well as the related innovative technologies together with the development road-map. Some considerations on advantages of the advanced loop type design are also described. (authors)

Fasting inhibits hepatic stellate cells activation and potentiates anti-cancer activity of Sorafenib in hepatocellular cancer cells.

Science.gov (United States)

Lo Re, Oriana; Panebianco, Concetta; Porto, Stefania; Cervi, Carlo; Rappa, Francesca; Di Biase, Stefano; Caraglia, Michele; Pazienza, Valerio; Vinciguerra, Manlio

2018-02-01

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) has a poor outcome. Most HCCs develop in the context of liver fibrosis and cirrhosis caused by chronic inflammation. Short-term fasting approaches enhance the activity of chemotherapy in preclinical cancer models, other than HCC. Multi-tyrosine kinase inhibitor Sorafenib is the mainstay of treatment in HCC. However, its benefit is frequently short-lived. Whether fasting can alleviate liver fibrosis and whether combining fasting with Sorafenib is beneficial remains unknown. A 24 hr fasting (2% serum, 0.1% glucose)-induced changes on human hepatic stellate cells (HSC) LX-2 proliferation/viability/cell cycle were assessed by MTT and flow cytometry. Expression of lypolysaccharide (LPS)-induced activation markers (vimentin, αSMA) was evaluated by qPCR and immunoblotting. Liver fibrosis and inflammation were evaluated in a mouse model of steatohepatitis exposed to cycles of fasting, by histological and biochemical analyses. A 24 hr fasting-induced changes were also analyzed on the proliferation/viability/glucose uptake of human HCC cells exposed to Sorafenib. An expression panel of genes involved in survival, inflammation, and metabolism was examined by qPCR in HCC cells exposed to fasting and/or Sorafenib. Fasting decreased the proliferation and the activation of HSC. Repeated cycles of short term starvation were safe in mice but did not improve fibrosis. Fasting synergized with Sorafenib in hampering HCC cell growth and glucose uptake. Finally, fasting normalized the expression levels of genes which are commonly altered by Sorafenib in HCC cells. Fasting or fasting-mimicking diet diets should be evaluated in preclinical studies as a mean to potentiate the activity of Sorafenib in clinical use. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

FBRDLR: Fast blind reconstruction approach with dictionary learning regularization for infrared microscopy spectra

Science.gov (United States)

Liu, Tingting; Liu, Hai; Chen, Zengzhao; Chen, Yingying; Wang, Shengming; Liu, Zhi; Zhang, Hao

2018-05-01

Infrared (IR) spectra are the fingerprints of the molecules, and the spectral band location closely relates to the structure of a molecule. Thus, specimen identification can be performed based on IR spectroscopy. However, spectrally overlapping components prevent the specific identification of hyperfine molecular information of different substances. In this paper, we propose a fast blind reconstruction approach for IR spectra, which is based on sparse and redundant representations over a dictionary. The proposed method recovers the spectrum with the discrete wavelet transform dictionary on its content. The experimental results demonstrate that the proposed method is superior because of the better performance when compared with other state-of-the-art methods. The method the authors used remove the instrument aging issue to a large extent, thus leading the reconstruction IR spectra a more convenient tool for extracting features of an unknown material and interpreting it.

Prioritizing the refactoring need for critical component using combined approach

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Rajni Sehgal

2018-10-01

Full Text Available One of the most promising strategies that will smooth out the maintainability issues of the software is refactoring. Due to lack of proper design approach, the code often inherits some bad smells which may lead to improper functioning of the code, especially when it is subject to change and requires some maintenance. A lot of studies have been performed to optimize the refactoring strategy which is also a very expensive process. In this paper, a component based system is considered, and a Fuzzy Multi Criteria Decision Making (FMCDM model is proposed by combining subjective and objective weights to rank the components as per their urgency of refactoring. Jdeodorant tool is used to detect the code smells from the individual components of a software system. The objective method uses the Entropy approach to rank the component having the code smell. The subjective method uses the Fuzzy TOPSIS approach based on decision makers’ judgement, to identify the critically and dependency of these code smells on the overall software. The suggested approach is implemented on component-based software having 15 components. The constitute components are ranked based on refactoring requirements.

Fast reactor fuel design and development

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bishop, J.F.W.; Chamberlain, A.; Holmes, J.A.G.

1977-01-01

Fuel design parameters for oxide and carbide fast reactor fuels are reviewed in the context of minimising the total uranium demands for a combined thermal and fast reactor system. The major physical phenomena conditioning fast reactor fuel design, with a target of high burn-up, good breeding and reliable operation, are characterised. These include neutron induced void swelling, irradiation creep, pin failure modes, sub-assembly structural behaviour, behaviour of defect fuel, behaviour of alternative fuel forms. The salient considerations in the commercial scale fabrication and reprocessing of the fuels are reviewed, leading to the delineation of possible routes for the manufacture and reprocessing of Commercial Reactor fuel. From the desiderata and restraints arising from Surveys, Performance and Manufacture, the problems posed to the Designer are considered, and a narrow range of design alternatives is proposed. The paper concludes with a consideration of the development areas and the conceptual problems for fast reactors associated with those areas

Fast digital recorders of signal shaping

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Meleshko, E.A.

1997-01-01

Methodology of fast digital registration and pulse signals through fast-action analog-to-digital converters is considered. Systems of digital recorders: sampling and storage devices and operational memory units are described. Main attention is paid to developing parallel analog-to-digital converters, making it possible to bring the conversion frequencies up to several gigahertzes are described. Parallel-sequential analog-to-digital converters, combining high action with increased accuracy are also considered. Concrete examples of designing universal and specialized digital signal recorders, applied in experimental physics, are presented. 44 refs., 12 figs

Combination TLD/TED dose assessment

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Parkhurst, M.A.

1992-11-01

During the early 1980s, an appraisal of dosimetry programs at US Department of Energy (DOE) facilities identified a significant weakness in dose assessment in fast neutron environments. Basing neutron dose equivalent on thermoluminescence dosimeters (TLDS) was not entirely satisfactory for environments that had not been well characterized. In most operational situations, the dosimeters overrespond to neutrons, and this overresponse could be further exaggerated with changes in the neutron quality factor (Q). Because TLDs are energy dependent with an excellent response to thermal and low-energy neutrons but a weak response to fast neutrons, calibrating the dosimetry system to account for mixed and moderated neutron energy fields is a difficult and seldom satisfactory exercise. To increase the detection of fast neutrons and help improve the accuracy of dose equivalent determinations, a combination dosimeter was developed using TLDs to detect thermal and low-energy neutrons and a track-etch detector (TED) to detect fast neutrons. By combining the albedo energy response function of the TLDs with the track detector elements, the dosimeter can nearly match the fluence-to-dose equivalent conversion curve. The polymer CR-39 has neutron detection characteristics superior to other materials tested. The CR-39 track detector is beta and gamma insensitive and does not require backscatter (albedo) from the body to detect the exposure. As part of DOE's Personnel Neutron and Upgrade Program, we have been developing a R-39 track detector over the past decade to address detection and measurement of fast neutrons. Using CR-39 TEDs in combination with TLDs will now allow us to detect the wide spectrum of occupational neutron energies and assign dose equivalents much more confidently

Physical studies of fast ignition in China

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

He, X T; Cai, Hong-bo; Wu, Si-zhong; Cao, Li-hua; Zhang, Hua; He, Ming-qing; Chen, Mo; Wu, Jun-feng; Zhou, Cang-tao; Zhou, Wei-Min; Shan, Lian-qiang; Wang, Wei-wu; Zhang, Feng; Bi, Bi; Zhao, Zong-qing; Gu, Yu-qiu; Zhang, Bao-han; Wang, Wei; Fang, Zhi-heng; Lei, An-le

2015-01-01

Fast ignition approach to inertial confinement fusion is one of the important goals today, in addition to central hot spot ignition in China. The SG-IIU and PW laser facilities are coupled to investigate the hot spot formation for fast ignition. The SG-III laser facility is almost completed and will be coupled with tens kJ PW lasers for the demonstration of fast ignition. In recent years, for physical studies of fast ignition, we have been focusing on the experimental study of implosion symmetry, M-band radiation preheating and mixing, advanced fast ignition target design, and so on. In addition, the modeling capabilities and code developments enhanced our ability to perform the hydro-simulation of the compression implosion, and the particle-in-cell (PIC) and hybrid-PIC simulation of the generation, transport and deposition of relativistic electron beams. Considerable progress has been achieved in understanding the critical issues of fast ignition. (paper)

Medical image compression with fast Hartley transform

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Paik, C.H.; Fox, M.D.

1988-01-01

The purpose of data compression is storage and transmission of images with minimization of memory for storage and bandwidth for transmission, while maintaining robustness in the presence of transmission noise or storage medium errors. Here, the fast Hartley transform (FHT) is used for transformation and a new thresholding method is devised. The FHT is used instead of the fast Fourier transform (FFT), thus providing calculation at least as fast as that of the fastest algorithm of FFT. This real numbered transform requires only half the memory array space for saving of transform coefficients and allows for easy implementation on very large-scale integrated circuits because of the use of the same formula for both forward and inverse transformation and the conceptually straightforward algorithm. Threshold values were adaptively selected according to the correlation factor of each block of equally divided blocks of the image. Therefore, this approach provided a coding scheme that included maximum information with minimum image bandwidth. Overall, the results suggested that the Hartley transform adaptive thresholding approach results in improved fidelity, shorter decoding time, and greater robustness in the presence of noise than previous approaches

Fast Food Combos Make Type A Lunches

Science.gov (United States)

Stashower, Gloria

1974-01-01

Clark County school district in Las Vegas, Nevada, has combination lunches available for high school students that meet Type A nutrition requirements but which resemble the commercial fast food menus teenagers prefer. (MLF)

Microstructural evolution in fast-neutron-irradiated austenitic stainless steels

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Stoller, R.E.

1987-12-01

The present work has focused on the specific problem of fast-neutron-induced radiation damage to austenitic stainless steels. These steels are used as structural materials in current fast fission reactors and are proposed for use in future fusion reactors. Two primary components of the radiation damage are atomic displacements (in units of displacements per atom, or dpa) and the generation of helium by nuclear transmutation reactions. The radiation environment can be characterized by the ratio of helium to displacement production, the so-called He/dpa ratio. Radiation damage is evidenced microscopically by a complex microstructural evolution and macroscopically by density changes and altered mechanical properties. The purpose of this work was to provide additional understanding about mechanisms that determine microstructural evolution in current fast reactor environments and to identify the sensitivity of this evolution to changes in the He/dpa ratio. This latter sensitivity is of interest because the He/dpa ratio in a fusion reactor first wall will be about 30 times that in fast reactor fuel cladding. The approach followed in the present work was to use a combination of theoretical and experimental analysis. The experimental component of the work primarily involved the examination by transmission electron microscopy of specimens of a model austenitic alloy that had been irradiated in the Oak Ridge Research Reactor. A major aspect of the theoretical work was the development of a comprehensive model of microstructural evolution. This included explicit models for the evolution of the major extended defects observed in neutron irradiated steels: cavities, Frank faulted loops and the dislocation network. 340 refs., 95 figs., 18 tabs

Nucleic Acid Amplification Testing and Sequencing Combined with Acid-Fast Staining in Needle Biopsy Lung Tissues for the Diagnosis of Smear-Negative Pulmonary Tuberculosis.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Faming Jiang

Full Text Available Smear-negative pulmonary tuberculosis (PTB is common and difficult to diagnose. In this study, we investigated the diagnostic value of nucleic acid amplification testing and sequencing combined with acid-fast bacteria (AFB staining of needle biopsy lung tissues for patients with suspected smear-negative PTB.Patients with suspected smear-negative PTB who underwent percutaneous transthoracic needle biopsy between May 1, 2012, and June 30, 2015, were enrolled in this retrospective study. Patients with AFB in sputum smears were excluded. All lung biopsy specimens were fixed in formalin, embedded in paraffin, and subjected to acid-fast staining and tuberculous polymerase chain reaction (TB-PCR. For patients with positive AFB and negative TB-PCR results in lung tissues, probe assays and 16S rRNA sequencing were used for identification of nontuberculous mycobacteria (NTM. The sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value (PPV, negative predictive value (NPV, and diagnostic accuracy of PCR and AFB staining were calculated separately and in combination.Among the 220 eligible patients, 133 were diagnosed with TB (men/women: 76/57; age range: 17-80 years, confirmed TB: 9, probable TB: 124. Forty-eight patients who were diagnosed with other specific diseases were assigned as negative controls, and 39 patients with indeterminate final diagnosis were excluded from statistical analysis. The sensitivity, specificity, PPV, NPV, and accuracy of histological AFB (HAFB for the diagnosis of smear-negative were 61.7% (82/133, 100% (48/48, 100% (82/82, 48.5% (48/181, and 71.8% (130/181, respectively. The sensitivity, specificity, PPV, and NPV of histological PCR were 89.5% (119/133, 95.8% (46/48, 98.3% (119/121, and 76.7% (46/60, respectively, demonstrating that histological PCR had significantly higher accuracy (91.2% [165/181] than histological acid-fast staining (71.8% [130/181], P < 0.001. Parallel testing of histological AFB staining and PCR showed the

Image-Based Airborne Sensors: A Combined Approach for Spectral Signatures Classification through Deterministic Simulated Annealing

Science.gov (United States)

Guijarro, María; Pajares, Gonzalo; Herrera, P. Javier

2009-01-01

The increasing technology of high-resolution image airborne sensors, including those on board Unmanned Aerial Vehicles, demands automatic solutions for processing, either on-line or off-line, the huge amountds of image data sensed during the flights. The classification of natural spectral signatures in images is one potential application. The actual tendency in classification is oriented towards the combination of simple classifiers. In this paper we propose a combined strategy based on the Deterministic Simulated Annealing (DSA) framework. The simple classifiers used are the well tested supervised parametric Bayesian estimator and the Fuzzy Clustering. The DSA is an optimization approach, which minimizes an energy function. The main contribution of DSA is its ability to avoid local minima during the optimization process thanks to the annealing scheme. It outperforms simple classifiers used for the combination and some combined strategies, including a scheme based on the fuzzy cognitive maps and an optimization approach based on the Hopfield neural network paradigm. PMID:22399989

Combination approaches with immune checkpoint blockade in cancer therapy

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Maarten Swart

2016-11-01

Full Text Available In healthy individuals, immune checkpoint molecules prevent autoimmune responses and limit immune cell-mediated tissue damage. Tumors frequently exploit these molecules to evade eradication by the immune system. Over the past years, immune checkpoint blockade of cytotoxic T lymphocyte antigen-4 (CTLA-4 and programmed death-1 (PD-1 emerged as promising strategies to activate anti-tumor cytotoxic T cell responses. Although complete regression and long-term survival is achieved in some patients, not all patients respond. This review describes promising, novel combination approaches involving immune checkpoint blockade, aimed at increasing response-rates to the single treatments.

The FAST-T approach for operational, real time, short term hydrological forecasting: Results from the Betania Hydropower Reservoir case study

Science.gov (United States)

Domínguez, Efraín; Angarita, Hector; Rosmann, Thomas; Mendez, Zulma; Angulo, Gustavo

2013-04-01

A viable quantitative hydrological forecasting service is a combination of technological elements, personnel and knowledge, working together to establish a stable operational cycle of forecasts emission, dissemination and assimilation; hence, the process for establishing such system usually requires significant resources and time to reach an adequate development and integration in order to produce forecasts with acceptable levels of performance. Here are presented the results of this process for the recently implemented Operational Forecast Service for the Betania's Hydropower Reservoir - or SPHEB, located at the Upper-Magdalena River Basin (Colombia). The current scope of the SPHEB includes forecasting of water levels and discharge for the three main streams affluent to the reservoir, for lead times between +1 to +57 hours, and +1 to +10 days. The core of the SPHEB is the Flexible, Adaptive, Simple and Transient Time forecasting approach, namely FAST-T. This comprises of a set of data structures, mathematical kernel, distributed computing and network infrastructure designed to provide seamless real-time operational forecast and automatic model adjustment in case of failures in data transmission or assimilation. Among FAST-T main features are: an autonomous evaluation and detection of the most relevant information for the later configuration of forecasting models; an adaptively linearized mathematical kernel, the optimal adaptive linear combination or OALC, which provides a computationally simple and efficient algorithm for real-time applications; and finally, a meta-model catalog, containing prioritized forecast models at given stream conditions. The SPHEB is at present feed by the fraction of hydrological monitoring network installed at the basin that has telemetric capabilities via NOAA-GOES satellites (8 stages, approximately 47%) with data availability of about a 90% at one hour intervals. However, there is a dense network of 'conventional' hydro

Fast estimate of Hartley entropy in image sharpening

Science.gov (United States)

Krbcová, Zuzana; Kukal, Jaromír.; Svihlik, Jan; Fliegel, Karel

2016-09-01

Two classes of linear IIR filters: Laplacian of Gaussian (LoG) and Difference of Gaussians (DoG) are frequently used as high pass filters for contextual vision and edge detection. They are also used for image sharpening when linearly combined with the original image. Resulting sharpening filters are radially symmetric in spatial and frequency domains. Our approach is based on the radial approximation of unknown optimal filter, which is designed as a weighted sum of Gaussian filters with various radii. The novel filter is designed for MRI image enhancement where the image intensity represents anatomical structure plus additive noise. We prefer the gradient norm of Hartley entropy of whole image intensity as a measure which has to be maximized for the best sharpening. The entropy estimation procedure is as fast as FFT included in the filter but this estimate is a continuous function of enhanced image intensities. Physically motivated heuristic is used for optimum sharpening filter design by its parameter tuning. Our approach is compared with Wiener filter on MRI images.

Fasting: Benefits and probable health harmfulness from the Islamic perspective

OpenAIRE

Mahdi Ebrahimi; Saeedeh Behrooznia

2015-01-01

Fasting is a form of Islamic worship to approach God.  There is a direct relationship between fasting, abstaining from eating and drinking, and an individual’s health as well as his ill-health. Therefore, it is of utmost importance in the Islamic perspective to weigh the spiritual benefits achieved through fasting against its probable harmfulness to an individual’s health. Regarding fasting, the Islamic perspective is based on spiritual and social goals whose achievement centers around fas...

Preliminary examination of the applicability of imaging plates to fast neutron radiography

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Matsubayashi, Masahito; Hibiki, Takashi; Mishima, Kaichiro; Yoshii, Koji; Okamoto, Koji

2001-01-01

Fast neutron radiography is an attractive non-destructive inspection technique because of the excellent penetration characteristics of fast neutrons in matter. However, the difficulty of detecting fast neutrons reduces this attractive feature. As an experiment to overcome the difficulty, imaging plates were applied to fast neutron radiography. A simple combination of two sheets of imaging plates and a sheet of polyethylene as a proton emitter was examined with the (fast neutron, thermal neutron and gamma ray) FTG discriminator proposed by Yoneda et al. . The experimental results showed that the method could be applicable to fast neutron radiography with effective discrimination of γ-rays

Is carbohydrate mouth rinsing a novel approach to maintain exercise performance during Ramadan fasting?

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Ahmad Munir Che Muhamed

2014-12-01

Full Text Available About a decade ago, carbohydrate mouth rinsing was shown to enhance endurance exercise performance. This improvement was more pronounced in a fasted compared to a fed state, suggesting that the ergogenic effect of carbohydrate mouth rinse is dependent on endogenous carbohydrate storage. Hence, indirectly highlights the potential use of carbohydrate mouth rinse as a potential strategy to mitigate the adverse effects of exercise during Ramadan fasting. To date, only one study has been carried out to explore the potential benefit of carbohydrate mouth rinse on exercise performance during Ramadan fasting. This single observation showed that a 10-km time trial performance was enhanced when performing mouth rinsing with either a carbohydrate or a placebo solution as compared with not performing mouth rinsing. While one study had acknowledged that the practice of mouth rinsing do have a positive effect on exercise performance during Ramadan fasting, future studies is warranted in order to have a better understanding on the underlying mechanisms associated with carbohydrate mouth rinsing during Ramadan fasting.

Combination of Evidence with Different Weighting Factors: A Novel Probabilistic-Based Dissimilarity Measure Approach

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mengmeng Ma

2015-01-01

Full Text Available To solve the invalidation problem of Dempster-Shafer theory of evidence (DS with high conflict in multisensor data fusion, this paper presents a novel combination approach of conflict evidence with different weighting factors using a new probabilistic dissimilarity measure. Firstly, an improved probabilistic transformation function is proposed to map basic belief assignments (BBAs to probabilities. Then, a new dissimilarity measure integrating fuzzy nearness and introduced correlation coefficient is proposed to characterize not only the difference between basic belief functions (BBAs but also the divergence degree of the hypothesis that two BBAs support. Finally, the weighting factors used to reassign conflicts on BBAs are developed and Dempster’s rule is chosen to combine the discounted sources. Simple numerical examples are employed to demonstrate the merit of the proposed method. Through analysis and comparison of the results, the new combination approach can effectively solve the problem of conflict management with better convergence performance and robustness.

Combined time-varying forecast based on the proper scoring approach for wind power generation

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Chen, Xingying; Jiang, Yu; Yu, Kun

2017-01-01

Compared with traditional point forecasts, combined forecast have been proposed as an effective method to provide more accurate forecasts than individual model. However, the literature and research focus on wind-power combined forecasts are relatively limited. Here, based on forecasting error...... distribution, a proper scoring approach is applied to combine plausible models to form an overall time-varying model for the next day forecasts, rather than weights-based combination. To validate the effectiveness of the proposed method, real data of 3 years were used for testing. Simulation results...... demonstrate that the proposed method improves the accuracy of overall forecasts, even compared with a numerical weather prediction....

Combined Yamamoto approach for simultaneous estimation of adsorption isotherm and kinetic parameters in ion-exchange chromatography.

Science.gov (United States)

Rüdt, Matthias; Gillet, Florian; Heege, Stefanie; Hitzler, Julian; Kalbfuss, Bernd; Guélat, Bertrand

2015-09-25

Application of model-based design is appealing to support the development of protein chromatography in the biopharmaceutical industry. However, the required efforts for parameter estimation are frequently perceived as time-consuming and expensive. In order to speed-up this work, a new parameter estimation approach for modelling ion-exchange chromatography in linear conditions was developed. It aims at reducing the time and protein demand for the model calibration. The method combines the estimation of kinetic and thermodynamic parameters based on the simultaneous variation of the gradient slope and the residence time in a set of five linear gradient elutions. The parameters are estimated from a Yamamoto plot and a gradient-adjusted Van Deemter plot. The combined approach increases the information extracted per experiment compared to the individual methods. As a proof of concept, the combined approach was successfully applied for a monoclonal antibody on a cation-exchanger and for a Fc-fusion protein on an anion-exchange resin. The individual parameter estimations for the mAb confirmed that the new approach maintained the accuracy of the usual Yamamoto and Van Deemter plots. In the second case, offline size-exclusion chromatography was performed in order to estimate the thermodynamic parameters of an impurity (high molecular weight species) simultaneously with the main product. Finally, the parameters obtained from the combined approach were used in a lumped kinetic model to simulate the chromatography runs. The simulated chromatograms obtained for a wide range of gradient lengths and residence times showed only small deviations compared to the experimental data. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Supply chain design approaches for supply chain resilience: A qualitative study of South African fast-moving consumer goods grocery manufacturers

OpenAIRE

Assilah Agigi; Wesley Niemann; Theuns Kotzé

2016-01-01

Orientation: In today’s globalised and complex business environment, firms are ever more vulnerable to supply chain disruptions, originating both internally and externally from the supply chain. Supply chain resilience minimises the impact of a disruption through design approaches, which allows the supply chain to respond appropriately to disruptive events. Research purpose: This article investigated the supply chain risks faced by grocery manufacturers in the South African fast-moving co...

What Is Required to End the AIDS Epidemic as a Public Health Threat by 2030? The Cost and Impact of the Fast-Track Approach.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

John Stover

Full Text Available In 2011 a new Investment Framework was proposed that described how the scale-up of key HIV interventions could dramatically reduce new HIV infections and AIDS-related deaths in low and middle income countries by 2015. This framework included ambitious coverage goals for prevention and treatment services for 2015, resulting in a reduction of new HIV infections by more than half, in line with the goals of the declaration of the UN High Level Meeting in June 2011. However, the approach suggested a leveling in the number of new infections at about 1 million annually-far from the UNAIDS goal of ending AIDS by 2030. In response, UNAIDS has developed the Fast-Track approach that is intended to provide a roadmap to the actions required to achieve this goal. The Fast-Track approach is predicated on a rapid scale-up of focused, effective prevention and treatment services over the next 5 years and then maintaining a high level of programme implementation until 2030. Fast-Track aims to reduce new infections and AIDS-related deaths by 90% from 2010 to 2030 and proposes a set of biomedical, behavioral and enabling intervention targets for 2020 and 2030 to achieve that goal, including the rapid scale-up initiative for antiretroviral treatment known as 90-90-90. Compared to a counterfactual scenario of constant coverage for all services at early-2015 levels, the Fast-Track approach would avert 18 million HIV infections and 11 million deaths from 2016 to 2030 globally. This paper describes the analysis that produced these targets and the estimated resources needed to achieve them in low- and middle-income countries. It indicates that it is possible to achieve these goals with a significant push to achieve rapid scale-up of key interventions between now and 2020. The annual resources required from all sources would rise to US$7.4Bn in low-income countries, US$8.2Bn in lower middle-income countries and US$10.5Bn in upper-middle-income-countries by 2020 before

High-intensity interval training or continuous training, combined or not with fasting, in obese or overweight women with cardiometabolic risk factors: study protocol for a randomised clinical trial.

Science.gov (United States)

De Lorenzo, Andrea; Van Bavel, Diogo; de Moraes, Roger; Tibiriça, Eduardo V

2018-04-28

Physical inactivity and increased caloric intake play important roles in the pathophysiology of obesity. Increasing physical activity and modifying eating behaviours are first-line interventions, frequently hampered by lack of time to exercise and difficulties in coping with different diets. High-intensity interval training (HIIT) may be a time-efficient method compared with moderate-intensity continuous training (CT). Conversely, diets with a fasting component may be more effective than other complex and restrictive diets, as it essentially limits caloric intake to a specified period without major diet composition changes. Therefore, the combination of HIIT and fasting may provide incremental benefits in terms of effectiveness and time efficiency in obese and sedentary populations. The aim of this study is to determine the effect of HIIT versus CT, combined or not with fasting, on microcirculatory function, cardiometabolic parameters, anthropometric indices, cardiorespiratory fitness and quality of life in a population of sedentary overweight or obese women with cardiometabolic risk factors. Sedentary women aged 30-50 years, with a body mass index ≥25 kg/m 2 and cardiometabolic risk factors, will be randomised to HIIT performed in the fasting state, HIIT performed in the fed state, CT in the fasting state or CT in the fed state. Cardiometabolic parameters, anthropometric indices, cardiorespiratory fitness, quality of life and microvascular function (cutaneous capillary density and microvascular reactivity evaluated by laser speckle contrast imaging) will be evaluated before initiation of the interventions and 16 weeks thereafter. The trial complies with the Declaration of Helsinki and has been approved by the local ethics committee (Instituto Nacional de Cardiologia, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil). All patients provide written informed consent before enrolment and randomisation. The study's results will be disseminated to the healthcare community by publications and

French approach in fuel pin modelling for fast reactors

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Pascard, R [CEA-Centre de Fontenay-aux-Roses, Fontenay-aux-Roses (France)

1979-12-01

The purpose of this paper is to present the general philosophy on the problem of fuel modelling now prevailing in France after a twelve years period of tremendously increasing knowledge on fuel behavior. When the Rapsodie fuel pin was designed in 1962 , little was known about the behavior of a mixed oxide fuel pin under fast flux ; but a large body of knowledge on UO{sub 2} behavior in thermal reactor was available together with some sparse irradiation results on (U Pu)O{sub 2} in French experimental reactors. The performances assigned to the pin were then rather modest in rating (400 w/cm) and in burnup (30,000 MWd/t). The AISI 316 steel in solution annealed state was chosen as cladding material. The clad itself was supposed to deform by thermal creep due to fission gas pressure (100% release), and was affected consequently by a strain limit criteria. The importance of clad temperature ({approx}650 deg.) was considered only in connection with thermal creep, the possibility of a chemical reaction between mixed oxide and clad being at that time hardly suspected. Rapsodie had only been at full power for a few months when appeared the evidence of stainless steel swelling under a fast neutrons flux. This swelling was observed on Rapsodie pins as soon as they experienced sufficient neutrons dose, roughly one year later. This entirely new problem came immediately in the front stage (and is still of major importance today), and was at the origin of the change from the Rapsodie to the Fortissimo core in order to accelerate materials testing versus void swelling by multiplying the flux by a factor two. Even with unforeseen swelling, the design of the Rapsodie and later on Fortissimo pin, allowed not only to reach the goal burnup, but to increase it steadily to roughly 100,000 MWd/t. Since then, the French approach in fuel pin design has still retained something of its original simplicity, and technological efficiency, attitude which is justified by the following

A new approach to protein enzymatic digestion for fast protein identification by matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry

Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

Dyčka, Filip; Laštovičková, Markéta; Bobálová, Janette

2008-01-01

Roč. 102, č. 15 (2008), s967-s968 ISSN 1803-2389. [Meeting on Chemistry and Life /4./. Brno, 09.09.2008-11.09.2008] R&D Projects: GA AV ČR IAA600040701 Institutional research plan: CEZ:AV0Z40310501 Keywords : enzymatic digest ion * fast approach Subject RIV: CB - Analytical Chemistry, Separation

ATLAS Fast Physics Monitoring: TADA

CERN Document Server

AUTHOR|(INSPIRE)INSPIRE-00375930; The ATLAS collaboration; Elsing, Markus

2017-01-01

The ATLAS experiment at the LHC is recording data from proton-proton collisions with 13 TeV center-of-mass energy since spring 2015. The collaboration is using a fast physics monitoring framework (TADA) to automatically perform a broad range of fast searches for early signs of new physics and to monitor the data quality across the year with the full analysis level calibrations applied to the rapidly growing data.TADA is designed to provide fast feedback directly after the collected data has been fully calibrated and processed at the Tier-0, the CERN Data Center. The system can monitor a large range of physics channels, offline data quality and physics performance quantities nearly final analysis level object calibrations. TADA output is available on a website accessible by the whole collaboration that gets updated twice a day with the data from newly processed runs. Hints of potentially interesting physics signals or performance issues identified in this way are reported to be followed up by physics or combin...

ATLAS Fast Physics Monitoring: TADA

CERN Document Server

Elsing, Markus; The ATLAS collaboration; Sabato, Gabriele; Kamioka, Shusei; Nairz, Armin Michael; Moyse, Edward; Gumpert, Christian

2016-01-01

The ATLAS Experiment at the LHC is recording data from proton-proton collisions with 13 TeV center-of-mass energy since spring 2015. The collaboration is using a fast physics monitoring framework (TADA) to automatically perform a broad range of fast searches for early signs of new physics and to monitor the data quality across the year with the full analysis level calibrations applied to the rapidly growing data. TADA is designed to provide fast feedback directly after the collected data has been fully calibrated and processed at the Tier-0. The system can monitor a large range of physics channels, offline data quality and physics performance quantities nearly final analysis level object calibrations. TADA output is available on a website accessible by the whole collaboration that gets updated twice a day with the data from newly processed runs. Hints of potentially interesting physics signals or performance issues identified in this way are reported to be followed up by physics or combined performance groups...

Fast reactor system factors affecting reprocessing plant design

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Allardice, R.H.; Pugh, O.

1982-01-01

The introduction of a commercial fast reactor electricity generating system is very dependent on the availability of an efficient nuclear fuel cycle. Selection of fuel element constructional materials, the fuel element design approach and the reactor operation have a significant influence on the technical feasibility and efficiency of the reprocessing and waste management plants. Therefore the fast reactor processing plant requires liaison between many design teams -reactor, fuel design, reprocessing and waste management -often with different disciplines and conflicting objectives if taken in isolation and an optimised approach to determining several key parameters. A number of these parameters are identified and the design approach discussed in the context of the reprocessing plant. Radiological safety and its impact on design is also briefly discussed. (author)

Comet Methy-sens and DNMTs transcriptional analysis as a combined approach in epigenotoxicology

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Alessio Perotti

2015-05-01

In conclusion, our data demonstrate that Comet Methy-sens, in combination with the analysis of transcriptional levels of DNA methyl transferases, represents a simple and multifunctional approach to implement biomonitoring studies on epigenotoxicological effects of known and unknown xenobiotics.

Against all odds: Tales of survival and growth of the Foundational Approaches in Science Teaching (FAST) project

Science.gov (United States)

Yamamoto, Karen Kina

This study examines the dynamics of survival and growth of curricular and instructional innovations. It focuses on the Foundational Approaches in Science Teaching (FAST) project, a long-term survivor of reform in science education. Key questions guiding this study include: (1) How did the FAST project survive over the past 30 years? (2) What elements are essential for long-term survival and growth of an innovative science program? (3) Why did the project continue to survive amidst several waves of educational reform? The core of my conceptual framework is that the odds of survival and growth of curricular and instructional innovations are increased by the extent to which resources, theory-based curriculum development processes, and professional development strategies are not only incorporated into but also interdependent within a project. With this framework as a guide, the main methods of data collection were document analysis, interviews, and observations. FAST, developed by the University of Hawaii's Curriculum Research and Development Group (CRDG), consists of a sequential and interdisciplinary middle and high school science program for students in grades 6-10. According to the results of this study, the project was able to survive by receiving constant organizational support from CRDG and a steady source of State funding through the university since 1966; it also retained a relatively small but stable staff of highly qualified project personnel. Formulated on a discipline-based theory that values development of students' intellectual capacities as the platform for curriculum research, design, and development, the FAST project translated this vision of science education into key elements of an innovative program that survived and thrived: (1) an interdisciplinary program consisting of physical, biological, and earth sciences; inquiry as content and process; history and philosophy of science; and links between and among sciences, technology, and society; and (2

BFL: a node and edge betweenness based fast layout algorithm for large scale networks

Science.gov (United States)

Hashimoto, Tatsunori B; Nagasaki, Masao; Kojima, Kaname; Miyano, Satoru

2009-01-01

Background Network visualization would serve as a useful first step for analysis. However, current graph layout algorithms for biological pathways are insensitive to biologically important information, e.g. subcellular localization, biological node and graph attributes, or/and not available for large scale networks, e.g. more than 10000 elements. Results To overcome these problems, we propose the use of a biologically important graph metric, betweenness, a measure of network flow. This metric is highly correlated with many biological phenomena such as lethality and clusters. We devise a new fast parallel algorithm calculating betweenness to minimize the preprocessing cost. Using this metric, we also invent a node and edge betweenness based fast layout algorithm (BFL). BFL places the high-betweenness nodes to optimal positions and allows the low-betweenness nodes to reach suboptimal positions. Furthermore, BFL reduces the runtime by combining a sequential insertion algorim with betweenness. For a graph with n nodes, this approach reduces the expected runtime of the algorithm to O(n2) when considering edge crossings, and to O(n log n) when considering only density and edge lengths. Conclusion Our BFL algorithm is compared against fast graph layout algorithms and approaches requiring intensive optimizations. For gene networks, we show that our algorithm is faster than all layout algorithms tested while providing readability on par with intensive optimization algorithms. We achieve a 1.4 second runtime for a graph with 4000 nodes and 12000 edges on a standard desktop computer. PMID:19146673

Fast Bayesian Inference in Dirichlet Process Mixture Models.

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Lianming; Dunson, David B

2011-01-01

There has been increasing interest in applying Bayesian nonparametric methods in large samples and high dimensions. As Markov chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) algorithms are often infeasible, there is a pressing need for much faster algorithms. This article proposes a fast approach for inference in Dirichlet process mixture (DPM) models. Viewing the partitioning of subjects into clusters as a model selection problem, we propose a sequential greedy search algorithm for selecting the partition. Then, when conjugate priors are chosen, the resulting posterior conditionally on the selected partition is available in closed form. This approach allows testing of parametric models versus nonparametric alternatives based on Bayes factors. We evaluate the approach using simulation studies and compare it with four other fast nonparametric methods in the literature. We apply the proposed approach to three datasets including one from a large epidemiologic study. Matlab codes for the simulation and data analyses using the proposed approach are available online in the supplemental materials.

A combined rheology and time domain NMR approach for determining water distributions in protein blends

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Dekkers, Birgit L.; Kort, de Daan W.; Grabowska, Katarzyna J.; Tian, Bei; As, Van Henk; Goot, van der Atze Jan

2016-01-01

We present a combined time domain NMR and rheology approach to quantify the water distribution in a phase separated protein blend. The approach forms the basis for a new tool to assess the microstructural properties of phase separated biopolymer blends, making it highly relevant for many food and

Radiation therapy with fast neutrons: A review

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jones, D.T.L.; Wambersie, A.

2007-01-01

Because of their biological effects fast neutrons are most effective in treating large, slow-growing tumours which are resistant to conventional X-radiation. Patients are treated typically 3-4 times per week for 4-5 weeks (sometimes in combination with X-radiation) for a variety of conditions such as carcinomas of the head and neck, salivary gland, paranasal sinus and breast; soft tissue, bone and uterine sarcomas and malignant melanomas. It is estimated that about 27,000 patients have undergone fast neutron therapy to date

Mass spectrometric studies of fast pyrolysis of cellulose

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Degenstein, John; Hurt, Matt; Murria, Priya; Easton, McKay; Choudhari, Harshavardhan; Yang, Linan; Riedeman, James; Carlsen, Mark; Nash, John; Agrawal, Rakesh; Delgass, W.; Ribeiro, Fabio; Kenttämaa, Hilkka

2015-01-01

A fast pyrolysis probe/linear quadrupole ion trap mass spectrometer combination was used to study the primary fast pyrolysis products (those that first leave the hot pyrolysis surface) of cellulose, cellobiose, cellotriose, cellotetraose, cellopentaose, and cellohexaose, as well as of cellobiosan, cellotriosan, and cellopentosan, at 600°C. Similar products with different branching ratios were found for the oligosaccharides and cellulose, as reported previously. However, identical products (with the exception of two) with similar branching ratios were measured for cellotriosan (and cellopentosan) and cellulose. This result demonstrates that cellotriosan is an excellent small-molecule surrogate for studies of the fast pyrolysis of cellulose and also that most fast pyrolysis products of cellulose do not originate from the reducing end. Based on several observations, the fast pyrolysis of cellulose is suggested to initiate predominantly via two competing processes: the formation of anhydro-oligosaccharides, such as cellobiosan, cellotriosan, and cellopentosan (major route), and the elimination of glycolaldehyde (or isomeric) units from the reducing end of oligosaccharides formed from cellulose during fast pyrolysis.

Fast and accurate three-dimensional point spread function computation for fluorescence microscopy.

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Jizhou; Xue, Feng; Blu, Thierry

2017-06-01

The point spread function (PSF) plays a fundamental role in fluorescence microscopy. A realistic and accurately calculated PSF model can significantly improve the performance in 3D deconvolution microscopy and also the localization accuracy in single-molecule microscopy. In this work, we propose a fast and accurate approximation of the Gibson-Lanni model, which has been shown to represent the PSF suitably under a variety of imaging conditions. We express the Kirchhoff's integral in this model as a linear combination of rescaled Bessel functions, thus providing an integral-free way for the calculation. The explicit approximation error in terms of parameters is given numerically. Experiments demonstrate that the proposed approach results in a significantly smaller computational time compared with current state-of-the-art techniques to achieve the same accuracy. This approach can also be extended to other microscopy PSF models.

Fasting or caloric restriction for healthy aging.

Science.gov (United States)

Anton, Stephen; Leeuwenburgh, Christiaan

2013-10-01

Aging is associated with a host of biological changes that contribute to a progressive decline in cognitive and physical function, ultimately leading to a loss of independence, and increased risk of mortality. To date, prolonged caloric restriction (i.e., a reduction in caloric intake without malnutrition) is the only non-genetic intervention that has consistently been found to extend both mean and maximal life span across a variety of species. Most individuals have difficulty sustaining prolonged caloric restriction, which has led to a search for alternative approaches that can produce similar to benefits as caloric restriction. A growing body of evidence indicates that fasting periods and intermittent fasting regimens in particular can trigger similar biological pathways as caloric restriction. For this reason, there is increasing scientific interest in further exploring the biological and metabolic effects of intermittent fasting periods, as well as whether long-term compliance may be improved by this type of dietary approach. This special will highlight the latest scientific findings related to the effects of both caloric restriction and intermittent fasting across various species including yeast, fruit flies, worms, rodents, primates, and humans. A specific emphasis is placed on translational research with findings from basic bench to bedside reviewed and practical clinical implications discussed. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Combining genomic and proteomic approaches for epigenetics research

Science.gov (United States)

Han, Yumiao; Garcia, Benjamin A

2014-01-01

Epigenetics is the study of changes in gene expression or cellular phenotype that do not change the DNA sequence. In this review, current methods, both genomic and proteomic, associated with epigenetics research are discussed. Among them, chromatin immunoprecipitation (ChIP) followed by sequencing and other ChIP-based techniques are powerful techniques for genome-wide profiling of DNA-binding proteins, histone post-translational modifications or nucleosome positions. However, mass spectrometry-based proteomics is increasingly being used in functional biological studies and has proved to be an indispensable tool to characterize histone modifications, as well as DNA–protein and protein–protein interactions. With the development of genomic and proteomic approaches, combination of ChIP and mass spectrometry has the potential to expand our knowledge of epigenetics research to a higher level. PMID:23895656

When fast is better: protein folding fundamentals and mechanisms from ultrafast approaches.

Science.gov (United States)

Muñoz, Victor; Cerminara, Michele

2016-09-01

Protein folding research stalled for decades because conventional experiments indicated that proteins fold slowly and in single strokes, whereas theory predicted a complex interplay between dynamics and energetics resulting in myriad microscopic pathways. Ultrafast kinetic methods turned the field upside down by providing the means to probe fundamental aspects of folding, test theoretical predictions and benchmark simulations. Accordingly, experimentalists could measure the timescales for all relevant folding motions, determine the folding speed limit and confirm that folding barriers are entropic bottlenecks. Moreover, a catalogue of proteins that fold extremely fast (microseconds) could be identified. Such fast-folding proteins cross shallow free energy barriers or fold downhill, and thus unfold with minimal co-operativity (gradually). A new generation of thermodynamic methods has exploited this property to map folding landscapes, interaction networks and mechanisms at nearly atomic resolution. In parallel, modern molecular dynamics simulations have finally reached the timescales required to watch fast-folding proteins fold and unfold in silico All of these findings have buttressed the fundamentals of protein folding predicted by theory, and are now offering the first glimpses at the underlying mechanisms. Fast folding appears to also have functional implications as recent results connect downhill folding with intrinsically disordered proteins, their complex binding modes and ability to moonlight. These connections suggest that the coupling between downhill (un)folding and binding enables such protein domains to operate analogically as conformational rheostats. © 2016 The Author(s).

The Geant4-Based ATLAS Fast Electromagnetic Shower Simulation

CERN Document Server

Barberio, E; Butler, B; Cheung, S L; Dell'Acqua, A; Di Simone, A; Ehrenfeld, W; Gallas, M V; Glasow, A; Hughes, E; Marshall, Z; Müller, J; Placakyte, R; Rimoldi, A; Savard, P; Tsulaia, V; Waugh, A; Young, C C; 10th ICATPP Conference on Astroparticle, Particle, Space Physics, Detectors and Medical Physics Applications

2008-01-01

We present a three-pronged approach to fast electromagnetic shower simulation in ATLAS. Parameterisation is used for high-energy, shower libraries for medium-energy, and an averaged energy deposition for very low-energy particles. We present a comparison between the fast simulation and full simulation in an ATLAS Monte Carlo production.

An Analytical Approach for Fast Recovery of the LSI Properties in Magnetic Particle Imaging

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Hamed Jabbari Asl

2016-01-01

Full Text Available Linearity and shift invariance (LSI characteristics of magnetic particle imaging (MPI are important properties for quantitative medical diagnosis applications. The MPI image equations have been theoretically shown to exhibit LSI; however, in practice, the necessary filtering action removes the first harmonic information, which destroys the LSI characteristics. This lost information can be constant in the x-space reconstruction method. Available recovery algorithms, which are based on signal matching of multiple partial field of views (pFOVs, require much processing time and a priori information at the start of imaging. In this paper, a fast analytical recovery algorithm is proposed to restore the LSI properties of the x-space MPI images, representable as an image of discrete concentrations of magnetic material. The method utilizes the one-dimensional (1D x-space imaging kernel and properties of the image and lost image equations. The approach does not require overlapping of pFOVs, and its complexity depends only on a small-sized system of linear equations; therefore, it can reduce the processing time. Moreover, the algorithm only needs a priori information which can be obtained at one imaging process. Considering different particle distributions, several simulations are conducted, and results of 1D and 2D imaging demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed approach.

Intermittent fasting combined with supplementation with Ayurvedic herbs reduces anxiety in middle aged female rats by anti-inflammatory pathways.

Science.gov (United States)

Singh, Harpal; Kaur, Taranjeet; Manchanda, Shaffi; Kaur, Gurcharan

2017-08-01

Intermittent fasting-dietary restriction (IF-DR) is an increasingly popular intervention to promote healthy aging and delay age associated decline in brain functions. Also, the use of herbal interventions is gaining attention due to their non-pharmacological approach to treat several abnormalities and promote general health with least side effects. The present study was aimed to investigate the synergistic effects of IF-DR regimen with herbal supplementation on anxiety-like behavior and neuroinflammation in middle aged female rats. We used dried leaf powder of Withania somnifera and dried stem powder of Tinospora cordifolia for our study. The rats were divided into three groups: (1) Control group fed ad libitum (AL); (2) rats deprived of food for full day and fed ad libitum on every alternate day (IF-DR); and (3) IF-DR and herbal extract (DRH) group in which rats were fed ad libitum with herbal extract supplemented diet, every alternate day. Post regimen, the rats were tested for anxiety-like behavior and further used for study of key inflammatory molecules (NFκB, Iba1, TNFα, IL-1β, IL-6) and glial marker (GFAP) in hippocampus and piriform cortex regions of brain. The study was further extended to explore the effect of DRH regimen on stress response protein (HSP70) and calcium dependent regulators of synaptic plasticity (CaMKIIα, Calcineurin). Our data demonstrated that DRH regimen reduced anxiety-like behavior in middle age female rats and associated neuroinflammation by ameliorating key inflammatory cytokines and modulated stress response. The present data may provide scientific validation for anxiolytic and anti-inflammatory potential of herbal intervention combined with short term IF-DR regimen.

Combined method for the fast determination of pure beta emitting radioisotopes in food samples

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kabai, Eva; Savkin, Birgit; Mehlsam, Isabell; Poppitz-Spuhler, Angela

2017-01-01

Fast radioanalytical methods are essential for a rapid response of decision makers. A fast method for the simultaneous determination of the pure beta emitting radionuclides 89 Sr/ 90 Sr and 99 Tc in food samples was developed. It includes the precipitation of fat and proteins with trichloroacetic acid for milk and dairy products and microwave digestion for other food products, followed by an anion exchange step to separate strontium from technetium. The purification steps for strontium and technetium are done using Sr-resin and TEVA-resin, respectively. Typical chemical yields are around 70 % for both radionuclides. The whole determination takes only around 20 h. (author)

Quicksilver: Fast predictive image registration - A deep learning approach.

Science.gov (United States)

Yang, Xiao; Kwitt, Roland; Styner, Martin; Niethammer, Marc

2017-09-01

This paper introduces Quicksilver, a fast deformable image registration method. Quicksilver registration for image-pairs works by patch-wise prediction of a deformation model based directly on image appearance. A deep encoder-decoder network is used as the prediction model. While the prediction strategy is general, we focus on predictions for the Large Deformation Diffeomorphic Metric Mapping (LDDMM) model. Specifically, we predict the momentum-parameterization of LDDMM, which facilitates a patch-wise prediction strategy while maintaining the theoretical properties of LDDMM, such as guaranteed diffeomorphic mappings for sufficiently strong regularization. We also provide a probabilistic version of our prediction network which can be sampled during the testing time to calculate uncertainties in the predicted deformations. Finally, we introduce a new correction network which greatly increases the prediction accuracy of an already existing prediction network. We show experimental results for uni-modal atlas-to-image as well as uni-/multi-modal image-to-image registrations. These experiments demonstrate that our method accurately predicts registrations obtained by numerical optimization, is very fast, achieves state-of-the-art registration results on four standard validation datasets, and can jointly learn an image similarity measure. Quicksilver is freely available as an open-source software. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Combined transnasal and transoral endoscopic approach to a transsphenoidal encephalocele in an infant.

Science.gov (United States)

Tan, Sien Hui; Mun, Kein Seong; Chandran, Patricia Ann; Manuel, Anura Michelle; Prepageran, Narayanan; Waran, Vicknes; Ganesan, Dharmendra

2015-07-01

This paper reports an unusual case of a transsphenoidal encephalocele and discusses our experience with a minimally invasive management. To the best of our knowledge, we present the first case of a combined endoscopic transnasal and transoral approach to a transsphenoidal encephalocele in an infant. A 17-day-old boy, who was referred for further assessment of upper airway obstruction, presented with respiratory distress and feeding difficulties. Bronchoscopy and imaging revealed a transsphenoidal encephalocele. At the age of 48 days, he underwent a combined endoscopic transnasal and transoral excision of the nasal component of the encephalocele. This approach, with the aid of neuronavigation, allows good demarcation of the extra-cranial neck of the transsphenoidal encephalocele. We were able to cauterize and carefully dissect the sac prior to excision. The defect of the neck was clearly visualized, and Valsalva manoeuvre was performed to exclude any CSF leak. As the defect was small, it was allowed to heal by secondary intention. The patient's recovery was uneventful, and he tolerated full feeds orally on day 2. Postoperative imaging demonstrated no evidence of recurrence of the nasal encephalocele. Endoscopic follow-up showed good healing of the mucosa and no cerebrospinal fluid leak. The surgical management of transsphenoidal encephalocele in neonates and infants is challenging. We describe a safe technique with low morbidity in managing such a condition. The combined endoscopic transnasal and transoral approach with neuronavigation is a minimally invasive, safe and feasible alternative, even for children below 1 year of age.

Streamlined sample cleanup using combined dispersive solid-phase extraction and in-vial filtration for analysis of pesticides and environmental pollutants in shrimp

Science.gov (United States)

A new method of sample preparation was developed and is reported for the first time. The approach combines in-vial filtration with dispersive solid-phase extraction (d-SPE) in a fast and convenient cleanup of QuEChERS (quick, easy, cheap, effective, rugged, and safe) extracts. The method was appli...

Degradation of 2,4-dichlorophenol using combined approach based on ultrasound, ozone and catalyst.

Science.gov (United States)

Barik, Arati J; Gogate, Parag R

2017-05-01

The present work investigates the application of ultrasound and ozone operated individually and in combination with catalyst (ZnO and CuO) for establishing the possible synergistic effects for the degradation of 2,4-dichlorophenol. The dependency of extent of degradation on the operating parameters like temperature (over the range of 30-36°C), initial pH (3-9), catalyst as ZnO (loading of 0.025-0.15g/L) and CuO (loading of 0.02-0.1g/L) and initial concentration of 2,4-DCP (20-50ppm) has been established to maximize the efficacy of ultrasound (US) induced degradation. Using only US, the maximum degradation of 2,4-DCP obtained was 28.85% under optimized conditions of initial concentration as 20ppm, pH of 5 and temperature of 34°C. Study of effect of ozone flow rate for approach of only ozone revealed that maximum degradation was obtained at 400mg/h ozone flow rate. The combined approaches such as US+O 3 , US+ZnO, US+CuO, O 3 +ZnO, O 3 +CuO, US+O 3 +ZnO and US+O 3 +CuO have been subsequently investigated under optimized conditions and observed to be more efficient as compared to individual approaches. The maximum extent of degradation for the combined operation of US+O 3 (400mg/h)+ZnO (0.1g/L) and US+O 3 (400mg/h)+CuO (0.08g/L) has been obtained as 95.66% and 97.03% respectively. The degradation products of 2,4-DCP have been identified using GC-MS analysis and the toxicity analysis has also been performed based on the anti-microbial activity test (agar-well diffusion method) for the different treatment strategies. The present work has conclusively established that the combined approach of US+O 3 +CuO was the most efficient treatment scheme resulting in near complete degradation of 2,4-DCP with production of less toxic intermediates. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Two-dimensional fast marching for geometrical optics.

Science.gov (United States)

Capozzoli, Amedeo; Curcio, Claudio; Liseno, Angelo; Savarese, Salvatore

2014-11-03

We develop an approach for the fast and accurate determination of geometrical optics solutions to Maxwell's equations in inhomogeneous 2D media and for TM polarized electric fields. The eikonal equation is solved by the fast marching method. Particular attention is paid to consistently discretizing the scatterers' boundaries and matching the discretization to that of the computational domain. The ray tracing is performed, in a direct and inverse way, by using a technique introduced in computer graphics for the fast and accurate generation of textured images from vector fields. The transport equation is solved by resorting only to its integral form, the transport of polarization being trivial for the considered geometry and polarization. Numerical results for the plane wave scattering of two perfectly conducting circular cylinders and for a Luneburg lens prove the accuracy of the algorithm. In particular, it is shown how the approach is capable of properly accounting for the multiple scattering occurring between the two metallic cylinders and how inverse ray tracing should be preferred to direct ray tracing in the case of the Luneburg lens.

Effects of sex, age, and fasting conditions on plasma lipidomic profiles of fasted Sprague-Dawley rats.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kosuke Saito

Full Text Available Circulating lipid molecules reflect biological processes in the body and, thus, are useful tools for preclinical estimation of the efficacy and safety of newly developed drugs. However, background information on profiles of circulating lipid molecules in preclinical animal models is limited. Therefore, we examined the effects of multiple factors such as sex (fasted male vs. female, age (fasted 10 vs. 30 weeks old, and feeding conditions (feeding vs. fasting, 16 vs. 22 hr fasting, 10 AM vs. 4 PM blood collection, on the global profiles of lipid molecules in plasma from Sprague-Dawley rats by using a lipidomic approach. Our assay platform determined 262 lipid molecules (68 phospholipids, 20 sphingolipids, 138 neutral lipids, and 36 polyunsaturated fatty acids and their metabolites in rat plasma. Multivariate discriminant analysis (orthogonal partial least squares discriminant analysis and heat maps of statistically significant lipid molecules revealed that the plasma lipid profiles in rats are predominantly influenced by feeding conditions, followed by sex and age. In addition, the fasting duration (16 vs. 22 hr fasting or the time of blood collection (10 AM vs. 4 PM blood collection has limited or no contribution on the profiles of lipid molecules in rat plasma. Our results provide useful, fundamental information for exploring and validating biomarkers in future preclinical studies and may help to establish regulatory standards for such studies.

Estimation of raw material performance in mammalian cell culture using near infrared spectra combined with chemometrics approaches.

Science.gov (United States)

Lee, Hae Woo; Christie, Andrew; Liu, Jun Jay; Yoon, Seongkyu

2012-01-01

Understanding variability in raw materials and their impacts on product quality is of critical importance in the biopharmaceutical manufacturing processes. For this purpose, several spectroscopic techniques have been studied for raw material characterization, providing fast and nondestructive ways to measure quality of raw materials. However, investigations of correlation between spectra of raw materials and cell culture performance have been scarce due to their complexity and uncertainty. In this study, near-infrared spectra and bioassays of multiple soy hydrolysate lots manufactured by different vendors were analyzed using chemometrics approaches in order to address variability of raw materials as well as correlation between raw material properties and corresponding cell culture performance. Principal component analysis revealed that near-infrared spectra of different soy lots contain enough physicochemical information about soy hydrolysates to allow identification of lot-to-lot variability as well as vendor-to-vendor differences. The identified compositional variability was further analyzed in order to estimate cell growth and protein production of two mammalian cell lines under the condition of varying soy dosages using partial least square regression combined with optimal variable selection. The performance of the resulting models demonstrates the potential of near-infrared spectroscopy as a robust lot selection tool for raw materials while providing a biological link between chemical composition of raw materials and cell culture performance. Copyright © 2012 American Institute of Chemical Engineers (AIChE).

TIPS Placement via Combined Transjugular and Transhepatic Approach for Cavernous Portal Vein Occlusion: Targeted Approach

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Natanel Jourabchi

2013-01-01

Full Text Available Purpose. We report a novel technique which aided recanalization of an occluded portal vein for transjugular intrahepatic portosystemic shunt (TIPS creation in a patient with symptomatic portal vein thrombosis with cavernous transformation. Some have previously considered cavernous transformation a contraindication to TIPS. Case Presentation. 62-year-old man with chronic pancreatitis, portal vein thrombosis, portal hypertension and recurrent variceal bleeding presents with melena and hematemesis. The patient was severely anemic, hemodynamically unstable, and required emergent portal decompression. Attempts to recanalize the main portal vein using traditional transjugular access were unsuccessful. After percutaneous transhepatic right portal vein access and navigation of a wire through the occluded main portal vein, an angioplasty balloon was inflated at the desired site of shunt takeoff. The balloon was targeted and punctured from the transjugular approach, and a wire was passed into the portal system. TIPS placement then proceeded routinely. Conclusion. Although occlusion of the portal vein increases difficulty of performing TIPS, it should not be considered an absolute contraindication. We have described a method for recanalizing an occluded portal vein using a combined transhepatic and transjugular approach for TIPS. This approach may be useful to relieve portal hypertension in patients who fail endoscopic and/or surgical therapies.

Fast and accurate grid representations for atom-based docking with partner flexibility.

Science.gov (United States)

de Vries, Sjoerd J; Zacharias, Martin

2017-06-30

Macromolecular docking methods can broadly be divided into geometric and atom-based methods. Geometric methods use fast algorithms that operate on simplified, grid-like molecular representations, while atom-based methods are more realistic and flexible, but far less efficient. Here, a hybrid approach of grid-based and atom-based docking is presented, combining precalculated grid potentials with neighbor lists for fast and accurate calculation of atom-based intermolecular energies and forces. The grid representation is compatible with simultaneous multibody docking and can tolerate considerable protein flexibility. When implemented in our docking method ATTRACT, grid-based docking was found to be ∼35x faster. With the OPLSX forcefield instead of the ATTRACT coarse-grained forcefield, the average speed improvement was >100x. Grid-based representations may allow atom-based docking methods to explore large conformational spaces with many degrees of freedom, such as multiple macromolecules including flexibility. This increases the domain of biological problems to which docking methods can be applied. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Application of the combinative particle size reduction technology H 42 to produce fast dissolving glibenclamide tablets.

Science.gov (United States)

Salazar, Jaime; Müller, Rainer H; Möschwitzer, Jan P

2013-07-16

Standard particle size reduction techniques such as high pressure homogenization or wet bead milling are frequently used in the production of nanosuspensions. The need for micronized starting material and long process times are their evident disadvantages. Combinative particle size reduction technologies have been developed to overcome the drawbacks of the standard techniques. The H 42 combinative technology consists of a drug pre-treatment by means of spray-drying followed by standard high pressure homogenization. In the present paper, spray-drying process parameters influencing the diminution effectiveness, such as drug and surfactant concentration, were systematically analyzed. Subsequently, the untreated and pre-treated drug powders were homogenized for 20 cycles at 1500 bar. For untreated, micronized glibenclamide, the particle size analysis revealed a mean particle size of 772 nm and volume-based size distribution values of 2.686 μm (d50%) and 14.423 μm (d90%). The use of pre-treated material (10:1 glibenclamide/docusate sodium salt ratio spray-dried as ethanolic solution) resulted in a mean particle size of 236 nm and volume-based size distribution values of 0.131 μm (d50%) and 0.285 μm (d90%). These results were markedly improved compared to the standard process. The nanosuspensions were further transferred into tablet formulations. Wet granulation, freeze-drying and spray-drying were investigated as downstream methods to produce dry intermediates. Regarding the dissolution rate, the rank order of the downstream processes was as follows: Spray-drying>freeze-drying>wet granulation. The best drug release (90% within 10 min) was obtained for tablets produced with spray-dried nanosuspension containing 2% mannitol as matrix former. In comparison, the tablets processed with micronized glibenclamide showed a drug release of only 26% after 10 min. The H 42 combinative technology could be successfully applied in the production of small drug nanocrystals. A

Fast-fashion: systematic literature review and research agenda

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Lívia Juliana Silva Solino

2015-09-01

Full Text Available The fast-fashion (FF is considered an approach and phenomenon of global influence that suit the requirements of a constantly changing and demanding market, since it is a business model resulting of a mixture of fast manufacturing, flexibility, low cost and agile retail approaches. Within this context, this research by a systematic literature review seeks to answer how the FF has been addressed in scientific studies published until the year 2013. Through the review, a total of 82 texts was analysed, among them articles, dissertations and theses. The research method employed is characterized as descriptive, regarding the objectives, and as qualitative and quantitative, on the approach. After conducting the classification of the material, it was possible to understand the state-of-the-art, and thus set a holistic concept and the appropriate term for the FF. As well as propose a research agenda with new approaches for future studies within the relevant topic.

The Performance of LBP and NSVC Combination Applied to Face Classification

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mohammed Ngadi

2016-01-01

Full Text Available The growing demand in the field of security led to the development of interesting approaches in face classification. These works are interested since their beginning in extracting the invariant features of the face to build a single model easily identifiable by classification algorithms. Our goal in this article is to develop more efficient practical methods for face detection. We present a new fast and accurate approach based on local binary patterns (LBP for the extraction of the features that is combined with the new classifier Neighboring Support Vector Classifier (NSVC for classification. The experimental results on different natural images show that the proposed method can get very good results at a very short detection time. The best precision obtained by LBP-NSVC exceeds 99%.

A combined segmenting and non-segmenting approach to signal quality estimation for ambulatory photoplethysmography

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wander, J D; Morris, D

2014-01-01

Continuous cardiac monitoring of healthy and unhealthy patients can help us understand the progression of heart disease and enable early treatment. Optical pulse sensing is an excellent candidate for continuous mobile monitoring of cardiovascular health indicators, but optical pulse signals are susceptible to corruption from a number of noise sources, including motion artifact. Therefore, before higher-level health indicators can be reliably computed, corrupted data must be separated from valid data. This is an especially difficult task in the presence of artifact caused by ambulation (e.g. walking or jogging), which shares significant spectral energy with the true pulsatile signal. In this manuscript, we present a machine-learning-based system for automated estimation of signal quality of optical pulse signals that performs well in the presence of periodic artifact. We hypothesized that signal processing methods that identified individual heart beats (segmenting approaches) would be more error-prone than methods that did not (non-segmenting approaches) when applied to data contaminated by periodic artifact. We further hypothesized that a fusion of segmenting and non-segmenting approaches would outperform either approach alone. Therefore, we developed a novel non-segmenting approach to signal quality estimation that we then utilized in combination with a traditional segmenting approach. Using this system we were able to robustly detect differences in signal quality as labeled by expert human raters (Pearson’s r = 0.9263). We then validated our original hypotheses by demonstrating that our non-segmenting approach outperformed the segmenting approach in the presence of contaminated signal, and that the combined system outperformed either individually. Lastly, as an example, we demonstrated the utility of our signal quality estimation system in evaluating the trustworthiness of heart rate measurements derived from optical pulse signals. (paper)

Combined supra-transorbital keyhole approach for treatment of delayed intraorbital encephalocele: A minimally invasive approach for an unusual complication of decompressive craniectomy

Science.gov (United States)

di Somma, Lucia; Iacoangeli, Maurizio; Nasi, Davide; Balercia, Paolo; Lupi, Ettore; Girotto, Riccardo; Polonara, Gabriele; Scerrati, Massimo

2016-01-01

Background: Intraorbital encephalocele is a rare entity characterized by the herniation of cerebral tissue inside the orbital cavity through a defect of the orbital roof. In patients who have experienced head trauma, intraorbital encephalocele is usually secondary to orbital roof fracture. Case Description: We describe here a case of a patient who presented an intraorbital encephalocele 2 years after severe traumatic brain injury, treated by decompressive craniectomy and subsequent autologous cranioplasty, without any evidence of orbital roof fracture. The encephalocele removal and the subsequent orbital roof reconstruction were performed by using a modification of the supraorbital keyhole approach, in which we combine an orbital osteotomy with a supraorbital minicraniotomy to facilitate view and access to both the anterior cranial fossa and orbital compartment and to preserve the already osseointegrated autologous cranioplasty. Conclusions: The peculiarities of this case are the orbital encephalocele without an orbital roof traumatic fracture, and the combined minimally invasive approach used to fix both the encephalocele and the orbital roof defect. Delayed intraorbital encephalocele is probably a complication related to an unintentional opening of the orbit during decompressive craniectomy through which the brain herniated following the restoration of physiological intracranial pressure gradients after the bone flap repositioning. The reconstruction of the orbital roof was performed by using a combined supra-transorbital minimally invasive approach aiming at achieving adequate surgical exposure while preserving the autologous cranioplasty, already osteointegrated. To the best of our knowledge, this approach has not been previously used to address intraorbital encephalocele. PMID:26862452

Angular approach combined to mechanical model for tool breakage detection by eddy current sensors

OpenAIRE

Ritou , Mathieu; Garnier , Sébastien; Furet , Benoît; Hascoët , Jean-Yves

2014-01-01

International audience; The paper presents a new complete approach for Tool Condition Monitoring (TCM) in milling. The aim is the early detection of small damages so that catastrophic tool failures are prevented. A versatile in-process monitoring system is introduced for reliability concerns. The tool condition is determined by estimates of the radial eccentricity of the teeth. An adequate criterion is proposed combining mechanical model of milling and angular approach. Then, a new solution i...

Fast-food exposure around schools in urban Adelaide.

Science.gov (United States)

Coffee, Neil T; Kennedy, Hannah P; Niyonsenga, Theo

2016-12-01

To assess whether exposure to fast-food outlets around schools differed depending on socio-economic status (SES). Binary logistic regression was used to investigate the presence and zero-inflated Poisson regression was used for the count (due to the excess of zeroes) of fast food within 1000 m and 15000 m road network buffers around schools. The low and middle SES tertiles were combined due to a lack of significant variation as the 'disadvantaged' group and compared with the high SES tertile as the 'advantaged' group. School SES was expressed using the 2011 Australian Bureau of Statistics, socio-economic indices for areas, index of relative socio-economic disadvantage. Fast-food data included independent takeaway food outlets and major fast-food chains. Metropolitan Adelaide, South Australia. A total of 459 schools were geocoded to the street address and 1000 m and 1500 m road network distance buffers calculated. There was a 1·6 times greater risk of exposure to fast food within 1000 m (OR=1·634; 95 % 1·017, 2·625) and a 9·5 times greater risk of exposure to a fast food within 1500 m (OR=9·524; 95 % CI 3·497, 25·641) around disadvantaged schools compared with advantaged schools. Disadvantaged schools were exposed to more fast food, with more than twice the number of disadvantaged schools exposed to fast food. The higher exposure to fast food near more disadvantaged schools may reflect lower commercial land cost in low-SES areas, potentially creating more financially desirable investments for fast-food developers.

Combined object-oriented approach for development of process control systems

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Antonova, I.; Batchkova, I.

2013-01-01

Full text: The traditional approaches for development of software control system in automation an information technology based on a directly code creation are no longer effective and successful enough. The response to these challenges is the Model Driven Engineering (MDE) or its counter part in the field of architectures Model Driven Architecture (MDA). One of the most promising approach supporting MDE and MDA is UML. It does not specify a methodology for software or system design but aims to provide an integrated modeling framework for structural, functional and behavior descriptions. The success of UML in many object-oriented approaches led to an idea of applying UML to design of multi agent systems. The approach proposed in this paper applies modified Harmony methodology and is based on the combined use of UML profile for system engineering, IEC61499 standard and FIPA standard protocols. The benefits of object-oriented paradigm and the models of IEC61499 standard are extended with UML/SysML and FIPA notations. The development phases are illustrated with the UML models of a simple process control system. The main benefits of using the proposed approach can be summarized as: it provides consistency in the syntax and underlying semantics; increases the potential and likelihood of reuse; supports the whole software development life cycle in the field of process control. Including the SysML features, based on extended activity and parametric diagrams, flow ports and items to the proposed approach opens the possibilities for modeling of continuous system and support the development in field of process control. Another advantage, connected to the UML/MARTE profile is the possibility for analysis of the designed system and detailed design of the hardware and software platform of the modeled application. Key words: object-oriented modeling, control system, UML, SysML, IEC 61499

Obesity and the environment: regulating the growth of fast food outlets

OpenAIRE

Public Health England

2013-01-01

A ‘healthy people, healthy places’ briefing. This briefing summarises the importance of action on obesity and a specific focus on fast food takeaways, and outlines the regulatory and other approaches that can be taken at local level. Th briefing paper addresses the opportunities to limit the number of fast food takeaways (especially near schools) and ways in which fast food offers can be made healthier.

Fast Detection Method in Cooperative Cognitive Radio Networks

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Zhengyi Li

2010-01-01

Full Text Available Cognitive Radio (CR technology improves the utilization of spectrum highly via opportunistic spectrum sharing, which requests fast detection as the spectrum utilization is dynamic. Taking into consideration the characteristic of wireless channels, we propose a fast detection scheme for a cooperative cognitive radio network, which consists of multiple CRs and a central control office. Specifically, each CR makes individual detection decision using the sequential probability ratio test combined with Neyman Pearson detection with respect to a specific observation window length. The proposed method upper bounds the detection delay. In addition, a weighted K out of N fusion rule is also proposed for the central control office to reach fast global decision based on the information collected from CRs, with more weights assigned for CRs with good channel conditions. Simulation results show that the proposed scheme can achieve fast detection while maintaining the detection accuracy.

Neighborhood fast food availability and fast food consumption.

Science.gov (United States)

Oexle, Nathalie; Barnes, Timothy L; Blake, Christine E; Bell, Bethany A; Liese, Angela D

2015-09-01

Recent nutritional and public health research has focused on how the availability of various types of food in a person's immediate area or neighborhood influences his or her food choices and eating habits. It has been theorized that people living in areas with a wealth of unhealthy fast-food options may show higher levels of fast-food consumption, a factor that often coincides with being overweight or obese. However, measuring food availability in a particular area is difficult to achieve consistently: there may be differences in the strict physical locations of food options as compared to how individuals perceive their personal food availability, and various studies may use either one or both of these measures. The aim of this study was to evaluate the association between weekly fast-food consumption and both a person's perceived availability of fast-food and an objective measure of fast-food presence - Geographic Information Systems (GIS) - within that person's neighborhood. A randomly selected population-based sample of eight counties in South Carolina was used to conduct a cross-sectional telephone survey assessing self-report fast-food consumption and perceived availability of fast food. GIS was used to determine the actual number of fast-food outlets within each participant's neighborhood. Using multinomial logistic regression analyses, we found that neither perceived availability nor GIS-based presence of fast-food was significantly associated with weekly fast-food consumption. Our findings indicate that availability might not be the dominant factor influencing fast-food consumption. We recommend using subjective availability measures and considering individual characteristics that could influence both perceived availability of fast food and its impact on fast-food consumption. If replicated, our findings suggest that interventions aimed at reducing fast-food consumption by limiting neighborhood fast-food availability might not be completely effective

Serum Lipid Profile: Fasting or Non-fasting?

OpenAIRE

Nigam, P. K.

2010-01-01

Serum lipid profile has now become almost a routine test. It is usually done in fasting state due to certain limitations in non-fasting serum sample. In the recent past efforts have been made to simplify blood sampling by replacing fasting lipid profile with non-fasting lipid profile. However, fasting specimen is preferred if cardiovascular risk assessment is based on total cholesterol, LDL cholesterol or non-HDL cholesterol. A lot has yet to be done in this area. Till then we have to believe...

Combining Statistical Methodologies in Water Quality Monitoring in a Hydrological Basin - Space and Time Approaches

OpenAIRE

Costa, Marco; A. Manuela Gonçalves

2012-01-01

In this work are discussed some statistical approaches that combine multivariate statistical techniques and time series analysis in order to describe and model spatial patterns and temporal evolution by observing hydrological series of water quality variables recorded in time and space. These approaches are illustrated with a data set collected in the River Ave hydrological basin located in the Northwest region of Portugal.

A combined vision-inertial fusion approach for 6-DoF object pose estimation

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Juan; Bernardos, Ana M.; Tarrío, Paula; Casar, José R.

2015-02-01

The estimation of the 3D position and orientation of moving objects (`pose' estimation) is a critical process for many applications in robotics, computer vision or mobile services. Although major research efforts have been carried out to design accurate, fast and robust indoor pose estimation systems, it remains as an open challenge to provide a low-cost, easy to deploy and reliable solution. Addressing this issue, this paper describes a hybrid approach for 6 degrees of freedom (6-DoF) pose estimation that fuses acceleration data and stereo vision to overcome the respective weaknesses of single technology approaches. The system relies on COTS technologies (standard webcams, accelerometers) and printable colored markers. It uses a set of infrastructure cameras, located to have the object to be tracked visible most of the operation time; the target object has to include an embedded accelerometer and be tagged with a fiducial marker. This simple marker has been designed for easy detection and segmentation and it may be adapted to different service scenarios (in shape and colors). Experimental results show that the proposed system provides high accuracy, while satisfactorily dealing with the real-time constraints.

Nucleic Acid Amplification Testing and Sequencing Combined with Acid-Fast Staining in Needle Biopsy Lung Tissues for the Diagnosis of Smear-Negative Pulmonary Tuberculosis.

Science.gov (United States)

Jiang, Faming; Huang, Weiwei; Wang, Ye; Tian, Panwen; Chen, Xuerong; Liang, Zongan

2016-01-01

Smear-negative pulmonary tuberculosis (PTB) is common and difficult to diagnose. In this study, we investigated the diagnostic value of nucleic acid amplification testing and sequencing combined with acid-fast bacteria (AFB) staining of needle biopsy lung tissues for patients with suspected smear-negative PTB. Patients with suspected smear-negative PTB who underwent percutaneous transthoracic needle biopsy between May 1, 2012, and June 30, 2015, were enrolled in this retrospective study. Patients with AFB in sputum smears were excluded. All lung biopsy specimens were fixed in formalin, embedded in paraffin, and subjected to acid-fast staining and tuberculous polymerase chain reaction (TB-PCR). For patients with positive AFB and negative TB-PCR results in lung tissues, probe assays and 16S rRNA sequencing were used for identification of nontuberculous mycobacteria (NTM). The sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value (PPV), negative predictive value (NPV), and diagnostic accuracy of PCR and AFB staining were calculated separately and in combination. Among the 220 eligible patients, 133 were diagnosed with TB (men/women: 76/57; age range: 17-80 years, confirmed TB: 9, probable TB: 124). Forty-eight patients who were diagnosed with other specific diseases were assigned as negative controls, and 39 patients with indeterminate final diagnosis were excluded from statistical analysis. The sensitivity, specificity, PPV, NPV, and accuracy of histological AFB (HAFB) for the diagnosis of smear-negative were 61.7% (82/133), 100% (48/48), 100% (82/82), 48.5% (48/181), and 71.8% (130/181), respectively. The sensitivity, specificity, PPV, and NPV of histological PCR were 89.5% (119/133), 95.8% (46/48), 98.3% (119/121), and 76.7% (46/60), respectively, demonstrating that histological PCR had significantly higher accuracy (91.2% [165/181]) than histological acid-fast staining (71.8% [130/181]), P pulmonary tuberculosis. For patients with positive histological AFB and

Combined Tensor Fitting and TV Regularization in Diffusion Tensor Imaging Based on a Riemannian Manifold Approach.

Science.gov (United States)

Baust, Maximilian; Weinmann, Andreas; Wieczorek, Matthias; Lasser, Tobias; Storath, Martin; Navab, Nassir

2016-08-01

In this paper, we consider combined TV denoising and diffusion tensor fitting in DTI using the affine-invariant Riemannian metric on the space of diffusion tensors. Instead of first fitting the diffusion tensors, and then denoising them, we define a suitable TV type energy functional which incorporates the measured DWIs (using an inverse problem setup) and which measures the nearness of neighboring tensors in the manifold. To approach this functional, we propose generalized forward- backward splitting algorithms which combine an explicit and several implicit steps performed on a decomposition of the functional. We validate the performance of the derived algorithms on synthetic and real DTI data. In particular, we work on real 3D data. To our knowledge, the present paper describes the first approach to TV regularization in a combined manifold and inverse problem setup.

Gender differences in purchase intentions and reasons for meal selection among fast food customers – Opportunities for healthier and more sustainable fast food

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Lassen, Anne Dahl; Lehmann, Charlotte; Andersen, Elisabeth Wreford

2016-01-01

and their purchase intentions. Based on this background, possible opportunities toward implementing healthier and more sustainable fast food options are discussed. Data were collected at three fast food restaurants from different parts of Denmark among randomly selected customers (aged 15 or above). The customers......Understanding the factors that influence food selection and dietary behavior is fundamental to support the successful translation of dietary goals into consumer behavior. The present study aims to identify gender differences in fast food consumers’ reasons for actual fast food meal selection...... were approached after having ordered their meal. They filled out a questionnaire on reasons for their actual fast food meal selection and purchase intentions in relation to four hypothesized burger menus, including a regular beef burger menu, a wholegrain beef burger menu, a nutrition labeled beef...

One-trial overshadowing: Evidence for fast specific fear learning in humans.

Science.gov (United States)

Haesen, Kim; Beckers, Tom; Baeyens, Frank; Vervliet, Bram

2017-03-01

Adaptive defensive actions necessitate a fear learning system that is both fast and specific. Fast learning serves to minimize the number of threat confrontations, while specific learning ensures that the acquired fears are tied to threat-relevant cues only. In Pavlovian fear conditioning, fear acquisition is typically studied via repetitive pairings of a single cue with an aversive experience, which is not optimal for the examination of fast specific fear learning. In this study, we adopted the one-trial overshadowing procedure from basic learning research, in which a combination of two visual cues is presented once and paired with an aversive electrical stimulation. Using on-line shock expectancy ratings, skin conductance reactivity and startle reflex modulation as indices of fear learning, we found evidence of strong fear after a single conditioning trial (fast learning) as well as attenuated fear responding when only half of the trained stimulus combination was presented (specific learning). Moreover, specificity of fear responding tended to correlate with levels of state and trait anxiety. These results suggest that one-trial overshadowing can be used as a model to study fast specific fear learning in humans and individual differences therein. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Modification of concomitant drug release from oil vehicles using drug-prodrug combinations to achieve sustained balanced analgesia after joint installation

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Thing, Mette; Jensen, Sabrine Smedegaard; Larsen, Claus Selch

2012-01-01

Intra-articular injection of two drugs in a sustained drug delivery system combining the use of lipophilic solution with the prodrug approach may provide efficient and prolonged postoperative pain treatment after arthroscopic procedures. In the present study, the concomitant release of N...... using buffer. In both release models, the use of ropivacaine-prodrug combination provided concomitant release from the oil into synovial fluid with ropivacaine being released faster than naproxen. The use of lipophilic prodrugs that are converted fast to the parent drug in synovial fluid seems...

Identifying factors associated with fast food consumption among adolescents in Beijing China using a theory-based approach.

Science.gov (United States)

Ma, R; Castellanos, D C; Bachman, J

2016-07-01

China is in the midst of the nutrition transition with increasing rates of obesity and dietary changes. One contributor is the increase in fast food chains within the country. The purpose of this study was to develop a theory-based instrument that explores influencing factors of fast food consumption in adolescents residing in Beijing, China. Cross-sectional study. Value expectancy and theory of planned behaviour were utilised to explore influencing factors of fast food consumption in the target population. There were 201 Chinese adolescents between the ages of 12 and 18. Cronbach's alpha correlation coefficients were used to examine internal reliability of the theory-based questionnaire. Bivariate correlations and a MANOVA were utilised to determine the relationship between theory-based constructs, body mass index (BMI)-for-age and fast food intake frequency as well as to determine differences in theory-based scores among fast food consumption frequency groupings. The theory-based questionnaire showed good reliability. Furthermore, there was a significant difference in the theory-based subcategory scores between fast food frequency groups. A significant positive correlation was observed between times per week fast food was consumed and each theory-based subscale score. Using BMI-for-age of 176 participants, 81% were normal weight and 19% were considered overweight or obese. Results showed consumption of fast food to be on average 1.50 ± 1.33 per week. The relationship between BMI-for-age and times per week fast food was consumed was not significant. As the nutrition transition continues and fast food chains expand, it is important to explore factors effecting fast food consumption in China. Interventions targeting influencing factors can be developed to encourage healthy dietary choice in the midst of this transition. Copyright © 2016. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

The fast tracker processor for hadronic collider triggers

CERN Document Server

Annovi, A; Bardi, A; Carosi, R; Dell'Orso, Mauro; D'Onofrio, M; Giannetti, P; Iannaccone, G; Morsani, F; Pietri, M; Varotto, G

2000-01-01

Perspective for precise and fast track reconstruction in future hadronic collider experiments are addressed. We discuss the feasibility of a pipelined highly parallelized processor dedicated to the implementation of a very fast algorithm. The algorithm is based on the use of a large bank of pre-stored combinations of trajectory points (patterns) for extremely complex tracking systems. The CMS experiment at LHC is used as a benchmark. Tracking data from the events selected by the level-1 trigger are sorted and filtered by the Fast Tracker processor at a rate of 100 kHz. This data organization allows the level-2 trigger logic to reconstruct full resolution traces with transverse momentum above few GeV and search secondary vertexes within typical level-2 times. 15 Refs.

Fast Physics Testbed for the FASTER Project

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Lin, W.; Liu, Y.; Hogan, R.; Neggers, R.; Jensen, M.; Fridlind, A.; Lin, Y.; Wolf, A.

2010-03-15

This poster describes the Fast Physics Testbed for the new FAst-physics System Testbed and Research (FASTER) project. The overall objective is to provide a convenient and comprehensive platform for fast turn-around model evaluation against ARM observations and to facilitate development of parameterizations for cloud-related fast processes represented in global climate models. The testbed features three major components: a single column model (SCM) testbed, an NWP-Testbed, and high-resolution modeling (HRM). The web-based SCM-Testbed features multiple SCMs from major climate modeling centers and aims to maximize the potential of SCM approach to enhance and accelerate the evaluation and improvement of fast physics parameterizations through continuous evaluation of existing and evolving models against historical as well as new/improved ARM and other complementary measurements. The NWP-Testbed aims to capitalize on the large pool of operational numerical weather prediction products. Continuous evaluations of NWP forecasts against observations at ARM sites are carried out to systematically identify the biases and skills of physical parameterizations under all weather conditions. The highresolution modeling (HRM) activities aim to simulate the fast processes at high resolution to aid in the understanding of the fast processes and their parameterizations. A four-tier HRM framework is established to augment the SCM- and NWP-Testbeds towards eventual improvement of the parameterizations.

Evaluation of a fast single-photon avalanche photodiode for measurement of early transmitted photons through diffusive media.

Science.gov (United States)

Mu, Ying; Valim, Niksa; Niedre, Mark

2013-06-15

We tested the performance of a fast single-photon avalanche photodiode (SPAD) in measurement of early transmitted photons through diffusive media. In combination with a femtosecond titanium:sapphire laser, the overall instrument temporal response time was 59 ps. Using two experimental models, we showed that the SPAD allowed measurement of photon-density sensitivity functions that were approximately 65% narrower than the ungated continuous wave case at very early times. This exceeds the performance that we have previously achieved with photomultiplier-tube-based systems and approaches the theoretical maximum predicted by time-resolved Monte Carlo simulations.

Portion sizes and obesity: responses of fast-food companies.

Science.gov (United States)

Young, Lisa R; Nestle, Marion

2007-07-01

Because the sizes of food portions, especially of fast food, have increased in parallel with rising rates of overweight, health authorities have called on fast-food chains to decrease the sizes of menu items. From 2002 to 2006, we examined responses of fast-food chains to such calls by determining the current sizes of sodas, French fries, and hamburgers at three leading chains and comparing them to sizes observed in 1998 and 2002. Although McDonald's recently phased out its largest offerings, current items are similar to 1998 sizes and greatly exceed those offered when the company opened in 1955. Burger King and Wendy's have increased portion sizes, even while health authorities are calling for portion size reductions. Fast-food portions in the United States are larger than in Europe. These observations suggest that voluntary efforts by fast-food companies to reduce portion sizes are unlikely to be effective, and that policy approaches are needed to reduce energy intake from fast food.

Enhanced Model for Fast Ignition

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Mason, Rodney J. [Research Applications Corporation, Los Alamos, NM (United States)

2010-10-12

Laser Fusion is a prime candidate for alternate energy production, capable of serving a major portion of the nation's energy needs, once fusion fuel can be readily ignited. Fast Ignition may well speed achievement of this goal, by reducing net demands on laser pulse energy and timing precision. However, Fast Ignition has presented a major challenge to modeling. This project has enhanced the computer code ePLAS for the simulation of the many specialized phenomena, which arise with Fast Ignition. The improved code has helped researchers to understand better the consequences of laser absorption, energy transport, and laser target hydrodynamics. ePLAS uses efficient implicit methods to acquire solutions for the electromagnetic fields that govern the accelerations of electrons and ions in targets. In many cases, the code implements fluid modeling for these components. These combined features, "implicitness and fluid modeling," can greatly facilitate calculations, permitting the rapid scoping and evaluation of experiments. ePLAS can be used on PCs, Macs and Linux machines, providing researchers and students with rapid results. This project has improved the treatment of electromagnetics, hydrodynamics, and atomic physics in the code. It has simplified output graphics, and provided new input that avoids the need for source code access by users. The improved code can now aid university, business and national laboratory users in pursuit of an early path to success with Fast Ignition.

Transcriptional and chromatin regulation during fasting – The genomic era

Science.gov (United States)

Goldstein, Ido; Hager, Gordon L.

2015-01-01

An elaborate metabolic response to fasting is orchestrated by the liver and is heavily reliant upon transcriptional regulation. In response to hormones (glucagon, glucocorticoids) many transcription factors (TFs) are activated and regulate various genes involved in metabolic pathways aimed at restoring homeostasis: gluconeogenesis, fatty acid oxidation, ketogenesis and amino acid shuttling. We summarize the recent discoveries regarding fasting-related TFs with an emphasis on genome-wide binding patterns. Collectively, the summarized findings reveal a large degree of co-operation between TFs during fasting which occurs at motif-rich DNA sites bound by a combination of TFs. These new findings implicate transcriptional and chromatin regulation as major determinants of the response to fasting and unravels the complex, multi-TF nature of this response. PMID:26520657

Cultivation of phagotrophic algae with waste activated sludge as a fast approach to reclaim waste organics.

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Cong; Xiao, Suo; Ju, Lu-Kwang

2016-03-15

Substantial energy is reserved in waste activated sludge (WAS) organics but much of it is difficult to recover because the solid organics require long time to solubilize. In this work we introduced the new approach of recovering WAS organics into the biomass of phagotrophic algae. Phagotrophic algae have the unique ability to grow by ingesting insoluble organic particles including microbial cells. This phagotrophic ability renders the solubilization of WAS organics unnecessary and makes this approach remarkably fast. The approach consists of two stages: a short anaerobic digestion treatment followed by the algal growth on treated WAS. The short anaerobic digestion was exploited to release discrete bacteria from WAS flocs. Phagotrophic algae could then grow rapidly with the released bacteria as well as the solubilized nutrients in the treated WAS. The results showed that WAS organics could be quickly consumed by phagotrophic algae. Among all studied conditions the highest WAS volatile solids (VS) reduction was achieved with 72 h anaerobic digestion and 24 h algal growth. In this optimal process, 28% of WAS VS was reduced, and 41% and 20% of the reduced VS were converted into algal biomass and lipids, respectively. In comparison, only 18% WAS VS were reduced after the same time of aerobic digestion without algae addition. Through this approach, the amount of WAS organics requiring further treatment for final disposal is significantly reduced. With the production of significant amounts of algal biomass and lipids, WAS treatment is expected to be more economical and sustainable in material recycling. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Fast-food marketing strategies and their impact on childhood obesity

OpenAIRE

Herédia, Afonso; Hipólito, João; Nunes, Odete; Ribeiro, Luisa; Moura, Tatiana; Laneiro, Tito

2017-01-01

Overweight and obesity are growing health problems in children. The increase in fast-food consumption has greatly contributed to this phenomenon. Children are a frequent target for fast-food advertising, and the television is one of the most used marketing channels. We assessed the frequency of fast-food ingestion, television viewing time and body mass index (BMI) in children from 8 to 12 years of age. A quantitative approach was followed, using a self-report questionnaire. The sample was com...

Translucent Radiosity: Efficiently Combining Diffuse Inter-Reflection and Subsurface Scattering.

Science.gov (United States)

Sheng, Yu; Shi, Yulong; Wang, Lili; Narasimhan, Srinivasa G

2014-07-01

It is hard to efficiently model the light transport in scenes with translucent objects for interactive applications. The inter-reflection between objects and their environments and the subsurface scattering through the materials intertwine to produce visual effects like color bleeding, light glows, and soft shading. Monte-Carlo based approaches have demonstrated impressive results but are computationally expensive, and faster approaches model either only inter-reflection or only subsurface scattering. In this paper, we present a simple analytic model that combines diffuse inter-reflection and isotropic subsurface scattering. Our approach extends the classical work in radiosity by including a subsurface scattering matrix that operates in conjunction with the traditional form factor matrix. This subsurface scattering matrix can be constructed using analytic, measurement-based or simulation-based models and can capture both homogeneous and heterogeneous translucencies. Using a fast iterative solution to radiosity, we demonstrate scene relighting and dynamically varying object translucencies at near interactive rates.

Gas Cooled Fast Reactors: Recent advances and prospects

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Poette, C.; Guedeney, P.; Stainsby, R.; Mikityuk, K.; Knol, S.

2013-01-01

Gas Cooled Fast Reactors: Conclusion - GFR: an attractive longer term option allowing to combine Fast spectrum & Helium coolant benefits; • Innovative SiC fuel cladding solutions were found; • A first design confirming the encouraging potential of the reactor system Design improvements are nevertheless recommended and interesting tracks have been identified (core & system design, DHR system); • The GFR requires large R&D needs to confirm its potential (fuel & core materials, specific Helium technology); • ALLEGRO prototype studies are the first step and are drawing the R&D priorities

Ensemble approach combining multiple methods improves human transcription start site prediction

LENUS (Irish Health Repository)

Dineen, David G

2010-11-30

Abstract Background The computational prediction of transcription start sites is an important unsolved problem. Some recent progress has been made, but many promoters, particularly those not associated with CpG islands, are still difficult to locate using current methods. These methods use different features and training sets, along with a variety of machine learning techniques and result in different prediction sets. Results We demonstrate the heterogeneity of current prediction sets, and take advantage of this heterogeneity to construct a two-level classifier (\\'Profisi Ensemble\\') using predictions from 7 programs, along with 2 other data sources. Support vector machines using \\'full\\' and \\'reduced\\' data sets are combined in an either\\/or approach. We achieve a 14% increase in performance over the current state-of-the-art, as benchmarked by a third-party tool. Conclusions Supervised learning methods are a useful way to combine predictions from diverse sources.

Pharmacological approaches to the management of type 2 diabetes in fasting adults during Ramadan

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

AlMaatouq MA

2012-05-01

Full Text Available Mohamed A AlMaatouqEndocrine Unit, Department of Medicine, College of Medicine and King Khalid University Hospital, King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi ArabiaAbstract: More than 50 million Muslims throughout the world with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM fast for one lunar month (Ramadan each year. Health care providers within and outside the Muslim world need to be aware of the nature of these partial days of fasting and their risks (and potential benefits to people with T2DM, and need to provide Ramadan-adjusted diabetes care. Hypoglycemia during the fasting days represents the greatest health risk for these patients; hence, diabetes-related pharmacotherapy needs to be tailored and adjusted with this risk in mind. With limited trial data available, this review proposes practical modifications to the usual pre-Ramadan antidiabetic regimens that are based on pathophysiological principles, clinical trial evidence (where available, expert opinion, and extended practical experience. Individualization of care is paramount in this regard to take into consideration the patient and societal, cultural, and economic variables.Keywords: type 2 diabetes mellitus, Ramadan, fasting, hypoglycemia, oral antidiabetic agents, insulin

Prosthetic component segmentation with blur compensation: a fast method for 3D fluoroscopy.

Science.gov (United States)

Tarroni, Giacomo; Tersi, Luca; Corsi, Cristiana; Stagni, Rita

2012-06-01

A new method for prosthetic component segmentation from fluoroscopic images is presented. The hybrid approach we propose combines diffusion filtering, region growing and level-set techniques without exploiting any a priori knowledge of the analyzed geometry. The method was evaluated on a synthetic dataset including 270 images of knee and hip prosthesis merged to real fluoroscopic data simulating different conditions of blurring and illumination gradient. The performance of the method was assessed by comparing estimated contours to references using different metrics. Results showed that the segmentation procedure is fast, accurate, independent on the operator as well as on the specific geometrical characteristics of the prosthetic component, and able to compensate for amount of blurring and illumination gradient. Importantly, the method allows a strong reduction of required user interaction time when compared to traditional segmentation techniques. Its effectiveness and robustness in different image conditions, together with simplicity and fast implementation, make this prosthetic component segmentation procedure promising and suitable for multiple clinical applications including assessment of in vivo joint kinematics in a variety of cases.

3D ultrasound-CT registration of the liver using combined landmark-intensity information

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lange, Thomas; Schlag, Peter M.; Papenberg, Nils; Heldmann, Stefan; Modersitzki, Jan; Fischer, Bernd; Lamecker, Hans

2009-01-01

An important issue in computer-assisted surgery of the liver is a fast and reliable transfer of preoperative resection plans to the intraoperative situation. One problem is to match the planning data, derived from preoperative CT or MR images, with 3D ultrasound images of the liver, acquired during surgery. As the liver deforms significantly in the intraoperative situation non-rigid registration is necessary. This is a particularly challenging task because pre- and intraoperative image data stem from different modalities and ultrasound images are generally very noisy. One way to overcome these problems is to incorporate prior knowledge into the registration process. We propose a method of combining anatomical landmark information with a fast non-parametric intensity registration approach. Mathematically, this leads to a constrained optimization problem. As distance measure we use the normalized gradient field which allows for multimodal image registration. A qualitative and quantitative validation on clinical liver data sets of three different patients has been performed. We used the distance of dense corresponding points on vessel center lines for quantitative validation. The combined landmark and intensity approach improves the mean and percentage of point distances above 3 mm compared to rigid and thin-plate spline registration based only on landmarks. The proposed algorithm offers the possibility to incorporate additional a priori knowledge - in terms of few landmarks - provided by a human expert into a non-rigid registration process. (orig.)

Fasting - the ultimate diet?

Science.gov (United States)

Johnstone, A M

2007-05-01

Adult humans often undertake acute fasts for cosmetic, religious or medical reasons. For example, an estimated 14% of US adults have reported using fasting as a means to control body weight and this approach has long been advocated as an intermittent treatment for gross refractory obesity. There are unique historical data sets on extreme forms of food restriction that give insight into the consequences of starvation or semi-starvation in previously healthy, but usually non-obese subjects. These include documented medical reports on victims of hunger strike, famine and prisoners of war. Such data provide a detailed account on how the body adapts to prolonged starvation. It has previously been shown that fasting for the biblical period of 40 days and 40 nights is well within the overall physiological capabilities of a healthy adult. However, the specific effects on the human body and mind are less clearly documented, either in the short term (hours) or in the longer term (days). This review asks the following three questions, pertinent to any weight-loss therapy, (i) how effective is the regime in achieving weight loss, (ii) what impact does it have on psychology? and finally, (iii) does it work long-term?

Effects of Intermittent Fasting, Caloric Restriction, and Ramadan Intermittent Fasting on Cognitive Performance at Rest and During Exercise in Adults.

Science.gov (United States)

Cherif, Anissa; Roelands, Bart; Meeusen, Romain; Chamari, Karim

2016-01-01

The aim of this review was to highlight the potent effects of intermittent fasting on the cognitive performance of athletes at rest and during exercise. Exercise interacts with dietary factors and has a positive effect on brain functioning. Furthermore, physical activity and exercise can favorably influence brain plasticity. Mounting evidence indicates that exercise, in combination with diet, affects the management of energy metabolism and synaptic plasticity by affecting molecular mechanisms through brain-derived neurotrophic factor, an essential neurotrophin that acts at the interface of metabolism and plasticity. The literature has also shown that certain aspects of physical performance and mental health, such as coping and decision-making strategies, can be negatively affected by daylight fasting. However, there are several types of intermittent fasting. These include caloric restriction, which is distinct from fasting and allows subjects to drink water ad libitum while consuming a very low-calorie food intake. Another type is Ramadan intermittent fasting, which is a religious practice of Islam, where healthy adult Muslims do not eat or drink during daylight hours for 1 month. Other religious practices in Islam (Sunna) also encourage Muslims to practice intermittent fasting outside the month of Ramadan. Several cross-sectional and longitudinal studies have shown that intermittent fasting has crucial effects on physical and intellectual performance by affecting various aspects of bodily physiology and biochemistry that could be important for athletic success. Moreover, recent findings revealed that immunological variables are also involved in cognitive functioning and that intermittent fasting might impact the relationship between cytokine expression in the brain and cognitive deficits, including memory deficits.

The fast slow TDPAC spectrometer

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cekic, B.; Koicki, S.; Manasijevic, M.; Ivanovic, N.; Koteski, V.; Milosevic, Z.; Radisavljevic, I.; Cavor, J.; Novakovic, N.; Marjanovic, D.

2001-01-01

A 2-BaF 2 detector - fast slow time spectrometer for time differential perturbed angular correlations (TDPAC) experiments is described. This apparatus has been developed in the Group for Hyperfine Interactions in the Institute for Nuclear Sciences in VINCA. The excellent time resolution combined with high efficiency offered by these detectors enables one high counting rate performance and is operating in the wide temperature range 78-1200 K. (author)

A combined analytic-numeric approach for some boundary-value problems

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mustafa Turkyilmazoglu

2016-02-01

Full Text Available A combined analytic-numeric approach is undertaken in the present work for the solution of boundary-value problems in the finite or semi-infinite domains. Equations to be treated arise specifically from the boundary layer analysis of some two and three-dimensional flows in fluid mechanics. The purpose is to find quick but accurate enough solutions. Taylor expansions at either boundary conditions are computed which are next matched to the other asymptotic or exact boundary conditions. The technique is applied to the well-known Blasius as well as Karman flows. Solutions obtained in terms of series compare favorably with the existing ones in the literature.

Fasting for weight loss: an effective strategy or latest dieting trend?

Science.gov (United States)

Johnstone, A

2015-05-01

With the increasing obesity epidemic comes the search for effective dietary approaches for calorie restriction and weight loss. Here I examine whether fasting is the latest 'fad diet' as portrayed in popular media and discuss whether it is a safe and effective approach or whether it is an idiosyncratic diet trend that promotes short-term weight loss, with no concern for long-term weight maintenance. Fasting has long been used under historical and experimental conditions and has recently been popularised by 'intermittent fasting' or 'modified fasting' regimes, in which a very low-calorie allowance is allowed, on alternate days (ADF) or 2 days a week (5:2 diet), where 'normal' eating is resumed on non-diet days. It is a simple concept, which makes it easy to follow with no difficult calorie counting every other day. This approach does seem to promote weight loss, but is linked to hunger, which can be a limiting factor for maintaining food restriction. The potential health benefits of fasting can be related to both the acute food restriction and chronic influence of weight loss; the long-term effect of chronic food restriction in humans is not yet clear, but may be a potentially interesting future dietary strategy for longevity, particularly given the overweight epidemic. One approach does not fit all in the quest to achieve body weight control, but this could be a dietary strategy for consideration. With the obesity epidemic comes the search for dietary strategies to (i) prevent weight gain, (ii) promote weight loss and (iii) prevent weight regain. With over half of the population of the United Kingdom and other developed countries being collectively overweight or obese, there is considerable pressure to achieve these goals, from both a public health and a clinical perspective. Certainly not one dietary approach will solve these complex problems. Although there is some long-term success with gastric surgical options for morbid obesity, there is still a requirement

Partial maxillectomy for ameloblastoma of the maxilla with infratemporal fossa involvement: A combined endoscopic endonasal and transoral approach.

Science.gov (United States)

Guha, A; Hart, L; Polachova, H; Chovanec, M; Schalek, P

2018-02-21

Ameloblastoma represents the most common epithelial odontogenic tumor. Because of the proximity of the maxillary tumors to the orbit and skull base, it should be managed as radically as possible. Maxillectomy, mainly via the transfacial or transoral approach, represents the most common type of surgical procedure. Drawback of these approaches is limited control of the superiomedial extent of the tumour in the paranasal area. We report the use of a combined endoscopic endonasal and transoral approach to manage maxillary plexiform ameloblastoma in a 48-year-old male patient. A combined endoscopic endonasal and transoral approach enabled the radical removal of tumour with a 1.5cm margin of radiographically intact bone with good control from both intrasinusal and intraoral aspects. Adequate visualization of the extent of the lesion (e.g. orbit, infratemporal fossa, anterior cranial base) had been achieved. Non-complicated healing was achieved. This technique of partial maxillectomy led to very good aesthetic and functional results. No recurrence had been noted during review appointments. The combination of endoscopic endonasal and transoral approach for a partial maxillectomy allows sufficient reduction of the defect, thus eliminating the necessity for reconstruction and reducing the morbidity associated with it. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.

The Fast-Casual Conundrum: Fast-Casual Restaurant Entrées Are Higher in Calories than Fast Food.

Science.gov (United States)

Schoffman, Danielle E; Davidson, Charis R; Hales, Sarah B; Crimarco, Anthony E; Dahl, Alicia A; Turner-McGrievy, Gabrielle M

2016-10-01

Frequently eating fast food has been associated with consuming a diet high in calories, and there is a public perception that fast-casual restaurants (eg, Chipotle) are healthier than traditional fast food (eg, McDonald's). However, research has not examined whether fast-food entrées and fast-casual entrées differ in calorie content. The purpose of this study was to determine whether the caloric content of entrées at fast-food restaurants differed from that found at fast-casual restaurants. This study was a cross-sectional analysis of secondary data. Calorie information from 2014 for lunch and dinner entrées for fast-food and fast-casual restaurants was downloaded from the MenuStat database. Mean calories per entrée between fast-food restaurants and fast-casual restaurants and the proportion of restaurant entrées that fell into different calorie ranges were assessed. A t test was conducted to test the hypothesis that there was no difference between the average calories per entrée at fast-food and fast-casual restaurants. To examine the difference in distribution of entrées in different calorie ranges between fast-food and fast-casual restaurants, χ(2) tests were used. There were 34 fast-food and 28 fast-casual restaurants included in the analysis (n=3,193 entrées). Fast-casual entrées had significantly more calories per entrée (760±301 kcal) than fast-food entrées (561±268; Prestaurants to determine whether the energy content or nutrient density of full meals (ie, entrées with sides and drinks) differs between fast-casual restaurants and fast-food restaurants. Calorie-conscious consumers should consider the calorie content of entrée items before purchase, regardless of restaurant type. Copyright © 2016 Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

An approach for investigation of secure access processes at a combined e-learning environment

Science.gov (United States)

Romansky, Radi; Noninska, Irina

2017-12-01

The article discuses an approach to investigate processes for regulation the security and privacy control at a heterogenous e-learning environment realized as a combination of traditional and cloud means and tools. Authors' proposal for combined architecture of e-learning system is presented and main subsystems and procedures are discussed. A formalization of the processes for using different types resources (public, private internal and private external) is proposed. The apparatus of Markovian chains (MC) is used for modeling and analytical investigation of the secure access to the resources is used and some assessments are presented.

High-definition velocity-space tomography of fast-ion dynamics

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Salewski, Mirko; Geiger, B.; Jacobsen, A.S.

2016-01-01

Velocity-space tomography of the fast-ion distribution function in a fusion plasma is usually a photon-starved tomography method due to limited optical access and signal-to-noise ratio of fast-ion Dα (FIDA) spectroscopy as well as the strive for high-resolution images. In high-definition tomography...... information to reconstruct where in velocity space the measurements and the simulation disagree. This alternative approach is demonstrated for four-view as well as for two-view FIDA measurements. The high-definition tomography tools allow us to study fast ions in sawtoothing plasmas and the formation of NBI...

Some basic concepts of fast breeder reactor safeguards

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tkharev, E.; Walford, F.J.

1987-04-01

The range of discussion topics of this report is restricted to a few key areas of safeguards importance at Fast Breeder Reactors (FBR) only. The differences between thermal and fast reactors that may have safeguards significance in the case of FBRs are listed. The FBR principles of design are mentioned. The relevant safeguards objectives and criteria are given. The fundamental issues for safeguarding FBR are treated. An outline safeguards approach is presented. Model inspection activities are mentioned. 4 figs

Analysis of Electrically Large Antennas using Fast Physical Optics

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Borries, Oscar Peter; Viskum, Hans-Henrik; Meincke, Peter

2015-01-01

accelerated Physical Optics (Fast-PO) and show that this approach allows for a timely and accurate solution of realistic designs. Several examples, ranging from canonical tests of the scaling of the method against the wavelength to real-life applications, illustrate the performance of the approach in practice....

FastBit: an efficient indexing technology for accelerating data-intensive science

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wu Kesheng

2005-01-01

FastBit is a software tool for searching large read-only datasets. It organizes user data in a column-oriented structure which is efficient for on-line analytical processing (OLAP), and utilizes compressed bitmap indices to further speed up query processing. Analyses have proven the compressed bitmap index used in FastBit to be theoretically optimal for onedimensional queries. Compared with other optimal indexing methods, bitmap indices are superior because they can be efficiently combined to answer multi-dimensional queries whereas other optimal methods can not. In this paper, we first describe the searching capability of FastBit, then briefly highlight two applications that make extensive use of FastBit, namely Grid Collector and DEX

FastBit: An Efficient Indexing Technology For AcceleratingData-Intensive Science

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Wu, Kesheng

2005-06-27

FastBit is a software tool for searching large read-only data sets. It organizes user data in a column-oriented structure which is efficient for on-line analytical processing (OLAP), and utilizes compressed bitmap indices to further speed up query processing. Analyses have proven the compressed bitmap index used in FastBit to be theoretically optimal for one-dimensional queries. Compared with other optimal indexing methods, bitmap indices are superior because they can be efficiently combined to answer multi-dimensional queries whereas other optimal methods cannot. In this paper, we first describe the searching capability of FastBit, then briefly highlight two applications that make extensive use of FastBit, namely Grid Collector and DEX.

FastBit: an efficient indexing technology for accelerating data-intensive science

Science.gov (United States)

Wu, Kesheng

2005-01-01

FastBit is a software tool for searching large read-only datasets. It organizes user data in a column-oriented structure which is efficient for on-line analytical processing (OLAP), and utilizes compressed bitmap indices to further speed up query processing. Analyses have proven the compressed bitmap index used in FastBit to be theoretically optimal for onedimensional queries. Compared with other optimal indexing methods, bitmap indices are superior because they can be efficiently combined to answer multi-dimensional queries whereas other optimal methods can not. In this paper, we first describe the searching capability of FastBit, then briefly highlight two applications that make extensive use of FastBit, namely Grid Collector and DEX.

The Development of a 3D LADAR Simulator Based on a Fast Target Impulse Response Generation Approach

Science.gov (United States)

Al-Temeemy, Ali Adnan

2017-09-01

A new laser detection and ranging (LADAR) simulator has been developed, using MATLAB and its graphical user interface, to simulate direct detection time of flight LADAR systems, and to produce 3D simulated scanning images under a wide variety of conditions. This simulator models each stage from the laser source to data generation and can be considered as an efficient simulation tool to use when developing LADAR systems and their data processing algorithms. The novel approach proposed for this simulator is to generate the actual target impulse response. This approach is fast and able to deal with high scanning requirements without losing the fidelity that accompanies increments in speed. This leads to a more efficient LADAR simulator and opens up the possibility for simulating LADAR beam propagation more accurately by using a large number of laser footprint samples. The approach is to select only the parts of the target that lie in the laser beam angular field by mathematically deriving the required equations and calculating the target angular ranges. The performance of the new simulator has been evaluated under different scanning conditions, the results showing significant increments in processing speeds in comparison to conventional approaches, which are also used in this study as a point of comparison for the results. The results also show the simulator's ability to simulate phenomena related to the scanning process, for example, type of noise, scanning resolution and laser beam width.

The fast tracker processor for hadron collider triggers

CERN Document Server

Annovi, A; Bardi, A; Carosi, R; Dell'Orso, Mauro; D'Onofrio, M; Giannetti, P; Iannaccone, G; Morsani, E; Pietri, M; Varotto, G

2001-01-01

Perspectives for precise and fast track reconstruction in future hadron collider experiments are addressed. We discuss the feasibility of a pipelined highly parallel processor dedicated to the implementation of a very fast tracking algorithm. The algorithm is based on the use of a large bank of pre-stored combinations of trajectory points, called patterns, for extremely complex tracking systems. The CMS experiment at LHC is used as a benchmark. Tracking data from the events selected by the level-1 trigger are sorted and filtered by the Fast Tracker processor at an input rate of 100 kHz. This data organization allows the level-2 trigger logic to reconstruct full resolution tracks with transverse momentum above a few GeV and search for secondary vertices within typical level-2 times. (15 refs).

Fast imaging applications in the Nuclear Test Program

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lear, R.

1983-01-01

Applications of fast imaging employ both streak cameras and fast framing techniques. Image intensifier tubes are gated to provide fast two-dimensional shutters of 2 to 3 ns duration with shatter ratios of greater than 10 6 and resolution greater than 10 4 pixels. Shutters of less than 1 ns have been achieved with experimental tubes. Characterization data demonstrate the importance of tube and pulser design. Streak cameras are used to simultaneously record temporal and intensity information from up to 200 spatial points. Streak cameras are combined with remote readout for downhole uses and are coupled to fiber optic cables for uphole uses. Optical wavelength multiplexing is being studied as a means of compressing additional image data onto optical fibers. Performance data demonstrate trade-offs between image resolution and system sensitivity

A Benders decomposition approach for a combined heat and power economic dispatch

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Abdolmohammadi, Hamid Reza; Kazemi, Ahad

2013-01-01

Highlights: • Benders decomposition algorithm to solve combined heat and power economic dispatch. • Decomposing the CHPED problem into master problem and subproblem. • Considering non-convex heat-power feasible region efficiently. • Solving 4 units and 5 units system with 2 and 3 co-generation units, respectively. • Obtaining better or as well results in terms of objective values. - Abstract: Recently, cogeneration units have played an increasingly important role in the utility industry. Therefore the optimal utilization of multiple combined heat and power (CHP) systems is an important optimization task in power system operation. Unlike power economic dispatch, which has a single equality constraint, two equality constraints must be met in combined heat and power economic dispatch (CHPED) problem. Moreover, in the cogeneration units, the power capacity limits are functions of the unit heat productions and the heat capacity limits are functions of the unit power generations. Thus, CHPED is a complicated optimization problem. In this paper, an algorithm based on Benders decomposition (BD) is proposed to solve the economic dispatch (ED) problem for cogeneration systems. In the proposed method, combined heat and power economic dispatch problem is decomposed into a master problem and subproblem. The subproblem generates the Benders cuts and master problem uses them as a new inequality constraint which is added to the previous constraints. The iterative process will continue until upper and lower bounds of the objective function optimal values are close enough and a converged optimal solution is found. Benders decomposition based approach is able to provide a good framework to consider the non-convex feasible operation regions of cogeneration units efficiently. In this paper, a four-unit system with two cogeneration units and a five-unit system with three cogeneration units are analyzed to exhibit the effectiveness of the proposed approach. In all cases, the

A simple network agreement-based approach for combining evidences in a heterogeneous sensor network

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Raúl Eusebio-Grande

2015-12-01

Full Text Available In this research we investigate how the evidences provided by both static and mobile nodes that are part of a heterogenous sensor network can be combined to have trustworthy results. A solution relying on a network agreement-based approach was implemented and tested.

Fast superconducting magnetic field switch

Science.gov (United States)

Goren, Yehuda; Mahale, Narayan K.

1996-01-01

The superconducting magnetic switch or fast kicker magnet is employed with electron stream or a bunch of electrons to rapidly change the direction of flow of the electron stream or bunch of electrons. The apparatus employs a beam tube which is coated with a film of superconducting material. The tube is cooled to a temperature below the superconducting transition temperature and is subjected to a constant magnetic field which is produced by an external dc magnet. The magnetic field produced by the dc magnet is less than the critical field for the superconducting material, thus, creating a Meissner Effect condition. A controllable fast electromagnet is used to provide a magnetic field which supplements that of the dc magnet so that when the fast magnet is energized the combined magnetic field is now greater that the critical field and the superconducting material returns to its normal state allowing the magnetic field to penetrate the tube. This produces an internal field which effects the direction of motion and of the electron stream or electron bunch. The switch can also operate as a switching mechanism for charged particles.

Fast superconducting magnetic field switch

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Goren, Y.; Mahale, N.K.

1996-01-01

The superconducting magnetic switch or fast kicker magnet is employed with electron stream or a bunch of electrons to rapidly change the direction of flow of the electron stream or bunch of electrons. The apparatus employs a beam tube which is coated with a film of superconducting material. The tube is cooled to a temperature below the superconducting transition temperature and is subjected to a constant magnetic field which is produced by an external dc magnet. The magnetic field produced by the dc magnet is less than the critical field for the superconducting material, thus, creating a Meissner Effect condition. A controllable fast electromagnet is used to provide a magnetic field which supplements that of the dc magnet so that when the fast magnet is energized the combined magnetic field is now greater that the critical field and the superconducting material returns to its normal state allowing the magnetic field to penetrate the tube. This produces an internal field which effects the direction of motion and of the electron stream or electron bunch. The switch can also operate as a switching mechanism for charged particles. 6 figs

ATLAS fast physics monitoring: TADA

Science.gov (United States)

Sabato, G.; Elsing, M.; Gumpert, C.; Kamioka, S.; Moyse, E.; Nairz, A.; Eifert, T.; ATLAS Collaboration

2017-10-01

The ATLAS experiment at the LHC has been recording data from proton-proton collisions with 13 TeV center-of-mass energy since spring 2015. The collaboration is using a fast physics monitoring framework (TADA) to automatically perform a broad range of fast searches for early signs of new physics and to monitor the data quality across the year with the full analysis level calibrations applied to the rapidly growing data. TADA is designed to provide fast feedback directly after the collected data has been fully calibrated and processed at the Tier-0. The system can monitor a large range of physics channels, offline data quality and physics performance quantities. TADA output is available on a website accessible by the whole collaboration. It gets updated twice a day with the data from newly processed runs. Hints of potentially interesting physics signals or performance issues identified in this way are reported to be followed up by physics or combined performance groups. The note reports as well about the technical aspects of TADA: the software structure to obtain the input TAG files, the framework workflow and structure, the webpage and its implementation.

Fast breeder reactor research

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1975-01-01

Full text: The meeting was attended by 15 participants from seven countries and two international organizations. The Eighth Annual Meeting of the International Working Group on Fast Reactors (IWGFR) was attended by representatives from France, Fed. Rep. Germany, Italy, Japan, United Kingdom, Union of Soviet Socialist Republics and the United States of America - countries that have made significant progress in developing the technology and physics of sodium cooled fast reactors and have extensive national programmes in this field - as well as by representatives of the Commission of the European Communities and the IAEA. The design of fast-reactor power plants is a more difficult task than developing facilities with thermal reactors. Different reactor kinetics and dynamics, a hard neutron spectrum, larger integral doses of fuel and structural material irradiation, higher core temperatures, the use of an essentially novel coolant, and, as a result of all these factors, the additional reliability and safety requirements that are imposed on the planning and operation of sodium cooled fast reactors - all these factors pose problems that can be solved comprehensively only by countries with a high level of scientific and technical development. The exchange of experience between these countries and their combined efforts in solving the fundamental problems that arise in planning, constructing and operating fast reactors are promoting technical progress and reducing the relative expenditure required for various studies on developing and introducing commercial fast reactors. For this reason, the meeting concentrated on reviewing and discussing national fast reactor programmes. The situation with regard to planning, constructing and operating fast experimental and demonstration reactors in the countries concerned, the experience accumulated in operating them, the difficulties arising during operation and ways of over-coming them, the search for optimal designs for the power

Fast and accurate approaches for large-scale, automated mapping of food diaries on food composition tables

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Lamarine, Marc; Hager, Jörg; Saris, Wim H M

2018-01-01

the EuroFIR resource. Two approaches were tested: the first was based solely on food name similarity (fuzzy matching). The second used a machine learning approach (C5.0 classifier) combining both fuzzy matching and food energy. We tested mapping food items using their original names and also an English...... not lead to any improvements compared to the fuzzy matching. However, it could increase substantially the recall rate for food items without any clear equivalent in the FCTs (+7 and +20% when mapping items using their original or English-translated names). Our approaches have been implemented as R packages...... and are freely available from GitHub. Conclusion: This study is the first to provide automated approaches for large-scale food item mapping onto FCTs. We demonstrate that both high precision and recall can be achieved. Our solutions can be used with any FCT and do not require any programming background...

KINETIC MODEL OF ELECTRIC-DISCHARGE СО2-LASER WITH FAST FLOW

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

V. V. Nevdakh

2013-01-01

Full Text Available The paper presents a kinetic model of CW electric-discharge CO2-laser with fast flow. Expressions linking a non-saturated gain ratio, saturation intensity and output power of the fast-flow laser with excitation rates and relaxation times of laser levels have been obtained in the paper. The paper demonstrates that the higher excitation and flow rates or higher saturation intensity provide considerably higher specific output power of the fast-flow CO2-laser in comparison with a sealed-off CO2-laser. While maintaining a steady discharge the same output power of the fast-flow CO2-laser may be obtained under various discharge conditions and combinations of fast flow rate, gas mixture composition and active media temperature.

Charge exchange spectroscopy as a fast ion diagnostic on TEXTOR

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Delabie, E.; Jaspers, R. J. E.; Hellermann, M. G. von; Nielsen, S. K.; Marchuk, O.

2008-01-01

An upgraded charge exchange spectroscopy diagnostic has been taken into operation at the TEXTOR tokamak. The angles of the viewing lines with the toroidal magnetic field are close to the pitch angles at birth of fast ions injected by one of the neutral beam injectors. Using another neutral beam for active spectroscopy, injected counter the direction in which fast ions injected by the first beam are circulating, we can simultaneously measure a fast ion tail on the blue wing of the D α spectrum while the beam emission spectrum is Doppler shifted to the red wing. An analysis combining the two parts of the spectrum offers possibilities to improve the accuracy of the absolute (fast) ion density profiles. Fast beam modulation or passive viewing lines cannot be used for background subtraction on this diagnostic setup and therefore the background has to be modeled and fitted to the data together with a spectral model for the slowing down feature. The analysis of the fast ion D α spectrum obtained with the new diagnostic is discussed.

Divide and conquer approach to quantum Hamiltonian simulation

Science.gov (United States)

Hadfield, Stuart; Papageorgiou, Anargyros

2018-04-01

We show a divide and conquer approach for simulating quantum mechanical systems on quantum computers. We can obtain fast simulation algorithms using Hamiltonian structure. Considering a sum of Hamiltonians we split them into groups, simulate each group separately, and combine the partial results. Simulation is customized to take advantage of the properties of each group, and hence yield refined bounds to the overall simulation cost. We illustrate our results using the electronic structure problem of quantum chemistry, where we obtain significantly improved cost estimates under very mild assumptions.

Finite Time Fault Tolerant Control for Robot Manipulators Using Time Delay Estimation and Continuous Nonsingular Fast Terminal Sliding Mode Control.

Science.gov (United States)

Van, Mien; Ge, Shuzhi Sam; Ren, Hongliang

2016-04-28

In this paper, a novel finite time fault tolerant control (FTC) is proposed for uncertain robot manipulators with actuator faults. First, a finite time passive FTC (PFTC) based on a robust nonsingular fast terminal sliding mode control (NFTSMC) is investigated. Be analyzed for addressing the disadvantages of the PFTC, an AFTC are then investigated by combining NFTSMC with a simple fault diagnosis scheme. In this scheme, an online fault estimation algorithm based on time delay estimation (TDE) is proposed to approximate actuator faults. The estimated fault information is used to detect, isolate, and accommodate the effect of the faults in the system. Then, a robust AFTC law is established by combining the obtained fault information and a robust NFTSMC. Finally, a high-order sliding mode (HOSM) control based on super-twisting algorithm is employed to eliminate the chattering. In comparison to the PFTC and other state-of-the-art approaches, the proposed AFTC scheme possess several advantages such as high precision, strong robustness, no singularity, less chattering, and fast finite-time convergence due to the combined NFTSMC and HOSM control, and requires no prior knowledge of the fault due to TDE-based fault estimation. Finally, simulation results are obtained to verify the effectiveness of the proposed strategy.

Pediatric FAST and elevated liver transaminases: An effective screening tool in blunt abdominal trauma.

Science.gov (United States)

Sola, Juan E; Cheung, Michael C; Yang, Relin; Koslow, Starr; Lanuti, Emma; Seaver, Chris; Neville, Holly L; Schulman, Carl I

2009-11-01

The current standard for the evaluation of children with blunt abdominal trauma (BAT) consists of physical examination, screening lab values, and computed tomography (CT) scan. We sought to determine if the focused assessment with sonography for trauma (FAST) combined with elevated liver transaminases (AST/ALT) could be used as a screening tool for intra-abdominal injury (IAI) in pediatric patients with BAT. Registry data at a level 1 trauma center was retrospectively reviewed from 1991-2007. Data collected on BAT patients under the age of 16 y included demographics, injury mechanism, ISS, GCS, imaging studies, serum ALT and AST levels, and disposition. AST and ALT were considered positive if either one was >100 IU/L. Overall, 3171 cases were identified. A total of 1008 (31.8%) patients received CT scan, 1148 (36.2%) had FAST, and 497 (15.7%) patients received both. Of the 497 patients, 400 (87.1%) also had AST and ALT measured. FAST was 50% sensitive, 91% specific, with a positive predictive value (PPV) of 68%, negative predictive value (NPV) of 83%, and accuracy of 80%. Combining FAST with elevated AST or ALT resulted in a statistically significant increase in all measures (sensitivity 88%, specificity 98%, PPV 94%, NPV 96%, accuracy 96%). FAST combined with AST or ALT > 100 IU/L is an effective screening tool for IAI in children following BAT. Pediatric patients with a negative FAST and liver transaminases < 100 IU/L should be observed rather than subjected to the radiation risk of CT.

Minimization of the LCA impact of thermodynamic cycles using a combined simulation-optimization approach

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Brunet, Robert; Cortés, Daniel; Guillén-Gosálbez, Gonzalo; Jiménez, Laureano; Boer, Dieter

2012-01-01

This work presents a computational approach for the simultaneous minimization of the total cost and environmental impact of thermodynamic cycles. Our method combines process simulation, multi-objective optimization and life cycle assessment (LCA) within a unified framework that identifies in a systematic manner optimal design and operating conditions according to several economic and LCA impacts. Our approach takes advantages of the complementary strengths of process simulation (in which mass, energy balances and thermodynamic calculations are implemented in an easy manner) and rigorous deterministic optimization tools. We demonstrate the capabilities of this strategy by means of two case studies in which we address the design of a 10 MW Rankine cycle modeled in Aspen Hysys, and a 90 kW ammonia-water absorption cooling cycle implemented in Aspen Plus. Numerical results show that it is possible to achieve environmental and cost savings using our rigorous approach. - Highlights: ► Novel framework for the optimal design of thermdoynamic cycles. ► Combined use of simulation and optimization tools. ► Optimal design and operating conditions according to several economic and LCA impacts. ► Design of a 10MW Rankine cycle in Aspen Hysys, and a 90kW absorption cycle in Aspen Plus.

Minimization of the LCA impact of thermodynamic cycles using a combined simulation-optimization approach

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Brunet, Robert; Cortes, Daniel [Departament d' Enginyeria Quimica, Escola Tecnica Superior d' Enginyeria Quimica, Universitat Rovira i Virgili, Campus Sescelades, Avinguda Paisos Catalans 26, 43007 Tarragona (Spain); Guillen-Gosalbez, Gonzalo [Departament d' Enginyeria Quimica, Escola Tecnica Superior d' Enginyeria Quimica, Universitat Rovira i Virgili, Campus Sescelades, Avinguda Paisos Catalans 26, 43007 Tarragona (Spain); Jimenez, Laureano [Departament d' Enginyeria Quimica, Escola Tecnica Superior d' Enginyeria Quimica, Universitat Rovira i Virgili, Campus Sescelades, Avinguda Paisos Catalans 26, 43007 Tarragona (Spain); Boer, Dieter [Departament d' Enginyeria Mecanica, Escola Tecnica Superior d' Enginyeria, Universitat Rovira i Virgili, Campus Sescelades, Avinguda Paisos Catalans 26, 43007, Tarragona (Spain)

2012-12-15

This work presents a computational approach for the simultaneous minimization of the total cost and environmental impact of thermodynamic cycles. Our method combines process simulation, multi-objective optimization and life cycle assessment (LCA) within a unified framework that identifies in a systematic manner optimal design and operating conditions according to several economic and LCA impacts. Our approach takes advantages of the complementary strengths of process simulation (in which mass, energy balances and thermodynamic calculations are implemented in an easy manner) and rigorous deterministic optimization tools. We demonstrate the capabilities of this strategy by means of two case studies in which we address the design of a 10 MW Rankine cycle modeled in Aspen Hysys, and a 90 kW ammonia-water absorption cooling cycle implemented in Aspen Plus. Numerical results show that it is possible to achieve environmental and cost savings using our rigorous approach. - Highlights: Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer Novel framework for the optimal design of thermdoynamic cycles. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer Combined use of simulation and optimization tools. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer Optimal design and operating conditions according to several economic and LCA impacts. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer Design of a 10MW Rankine cycle in Aspen Hysys, and a 90kW absorption cycle in Aspen Plus.

Greater impairment of postprandial triacylglycerol than glucose response in metabolic syndrome subjects with fasting hyperglycaemia.

Science.gov (United States)

Jackson, Kim G; Walden, Charlotte M; Murray, Peter; Smith, Adrian M; Minihane, Anne M; Lovegrove, Julie A; Williams, Christine M

2013-08-01

Studies have started to question whether a specific component or combinations of metabolic syndrome (MetS) components may be more important in relation to cardiovascular disease risk. Our aim was to examine the impact of the presence of raised fasting glucose as a MetS component on postprandial lipaemia. Men classified with the MetS underwent a sequential test meal investigation, in which blood samples were taken at regular intervals after a test breakfast (t=0 min) and lunch (t=330 min). Lipids, glucose and insulin were measured in the fasting and postprandial samples. MetS subjects with 3 or 4 components were subdivided into those without (n=34) and with (n=23) fasting hyperglycaemia (≥5.6 mmol/l), irrespective of the combination of components. Fasting lipids and insulin were similar in the two groups, with glucose significantly higher in the men with glucose as a MetS component (Pcurve (AUC) and incremental AUC (P ≤0.016) for the postprandial triacylglycerol (TAG) response in men with fasting hyperglycaemia. Greater glucose AUC (Pglucose to be an important predictor of the postprandial TAG and glucose response. Our data analysis has revealed a greater impairment of postprandial TAG than glucose response in MetS subjects with raised fasting glucose. The worsening of postprandial lipaemic control may contribute to the greater CVD risk reported in individuals with MetS component combinations which include hyperglycaemia. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Water vapor as a perspective coolant for fast reactors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kalafati, D.D.; Petrov, S.I.

1978-01-01

Based on analysis of foreign projects of nuclear power plants with steam-cooled fast reactors, it is shown that low breeding ratio and large doubling time were caused by using nickel alloys, high vapor pressure and small volume heat release. The possibility is shown of obtaining doubling time in the necessary limits of T 2 =10-12 years when the above reasons for steam-cooled reactors are eliminated. Favourable combination of thermophysical and thermodynamic properties of water vapor makes it perspective coolant for power fast reactors

Spatially continuous approach to the description of incoherencies in fast reactor accident analysis

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Luck, L.B.

1976-12-01

A generalized cell-type approach is developed in which individual subassemblies are represented as a unit. By appropriate characterization of the results of separate detailed investigations, spatial variations within a cell are represented as a superposition. The advantage of this approach is that costly detailed cell-type information is generated only once or a very few times. Spatial information obtained by the cell treatment is properly condensed in order to drastically reduce the transient computation time. Approximate treatments of transient phenomena are developed based on the use of distributions of volume and reactivity worth with temperature and other reactor parameters. Incoherencies during transient are physically dependent on the detailed variations in the initial state. Therefore, stationary volumetric distributions which contain in condensed form the detailed initial incoherency information provides a proper basis for the transient treatment. Approximate transient volumetric distributions are generated by a suitable transformation of the stationary distribution to reflect the changes in the transient temperature field. Evaluation of transient changes is based on results of conventional uniform channel calculations and a superposition of lateral variations as they are derived from prior cell investigations. Specific formulations are developed for the treatment of reactivity feedback. Doppler and sodium expansion reactivity feedback is related to condensed temperature-worth distributions. Transient evaluation of the worth distribution is based on the relation between stationary and transient volumetric distributions, which contains the condensed temperature field information. Coolant voiding is similarly treated with proper distribution information. Results show that the treatments developed for the transient phase up to and including sodium boiling constitute a fast and effective simulation of inter- and intra-subassembly incoherence effects

A prospect of fast reactor and related fuel cycle in Japan

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Nagata, Takashi [Japan Atomic Energy Agency, Ibaraki (Japan)

2009-04-15

JAEA has launched a new project 'Fast Reactor Cycle Technology Development'(FaCT) in cooperation with electric utilities. In this FaCT project, a combination of 'the Japanese sodium cooled loop type fast reactor with oxide fuel, the advanced aqueous reprocessing, and the simplified palletizing fuel fabrication systems' is adopted, where many innovative technologies with technical challenging issues are actively used in order to provide significant improvements in economic competitiveness, and enhancement of safety and reliability, sustainability, and nonproliferation. Fast reactor cycle technology will provide harmonic solutions for global issues of energy resources and environments, and is expected to contribute to sustainable development of the future society. Therefore, it was selected as one of key technologies of national importance in the third term (JPY2006-2010) 'Science and Technology Basic Plan' in March 2006 in Japan. The 'Nuclear Energy National Plan' in August 2006 states start up of a demonstration FR by around 2025 and deployment of a commercial FR before 2050, and start operating fuel cycle facilities when these reactors achieve consistency. Accordingly, we will decide about the adoption of innovative technologies by judging their applicability by 2010, and present the conceptual designs of commercial and demonstration FR cycle facilities by 2015 with the R and D plans to realize. In developing the FR cycle, 5 Party council, which consists of MEXt, MITI, electricity utilities, manufacturers, and JAEA, was established in July 2006 for moving forward on the commercialization smoothly. In this framework, users' requirements for the future R and D, a scenario of transition from light water reactor cycle to sodium cooled FR cycle, international collaboration, development schedule, demonstration steps, and so on are discussed. In this presentation, a prospect concerning the system design features of JSFR and a

A prospect of fast reactor and related fuel cycle in Japan

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nagata, Takashi

2009-01-01

JAEA has launched a new project 'Fast Reactor Cycle Technology Development'(FaCT) in cooperation with electric utilities. In this FaCT project, a combination of 'the Japanese sodium cooled loop type fast reactor with oxide fuel, the advanced aqueous reprocessing, and the simplified palletizing fuel fabrication systems' is adopted, where many innovative technologies with technical challenging issues are actively used in order to provide significant improvements in economic competitiveness, and enhancement of safety and reliability, sustainability, and nonproliferation. Fast reactor cycle technology will provide harmonic solutions for global issues of energy resources and environments, and is expected to contribute to sustainable development of the future society. Therefore, it was selected as one of key technologies of national importance in the third term (JPY2006-2010) 'Science and Technology Basic Plan' in March 2006 in Japan. The 'Nuclear Energy National Plan' in August 2006 states start up of a demonstration FR by around 2025 and deployment of a commercial FR before 2050, and start operating fuel cycle facilities when these reactors achieve consistency. Accordingly, we will decide about the adoption of innovative technologies by judging their applicability by 2010, and present the conceptual designs of commercial and demonstration FR cycle facilities by 2015 with the R and D plans to realize. In developing the FR cycle, 5 Party council, which consists of MEXt, MITI, electricity utilities, manufacturers, and JAEA, was established in July 2006 for moving forward on the commercialization smoothly. In this framework, users' requirements for the future R and D, a scenario of transition from light water reactor cycle to sodium cooled FR cycle, international collaboration, development schedule, demonstration steps, and so on are discussed. In this presentation, a prospect concerning the system design features of JSFR and a summary of the above R and D progresses for

Oral combination therapy: repaglinide plus metformin for treatment of type 2 diabetes.

Science.gov (United States)

Raskin, P

2008-12-01

Type 2 diabetes is characterized by decreases in insulin secretion and insulin sensitivity. Several classes of oral antidiabetic medications are currently approved for the treatment of type 2 diabetes. A stepwise treatment approach from monotherapy to combination therapy is traditionally used; however, the frequency of treatment failure with monotherapy has resulted in a move towards earlier treatment with combination therapies that target the two principal defects in glycaemic control. One such combination regimen is repaglinide (a prandial glucose regulator that increases insulin release) plus metformin (an insulin sensitizer that inhibits hepatic glucose output, increases peripheral glucose uptake and utilization and minimizes weight gain). Findings from several clinical trials have shown that combination therapy with repaglinide plus metformin is well tolerated and results in greater reductions of haemoglobin A(1c) and fasting plasma glucose values compared with either monotherapy. Repaglinide may also provide a more suitable alternative to combination therapy with sulphonylureas and metformin because of its reduced propensity for hypoglycaemia. The combination regimen of repaglinide plus metformin should therefore be considered as a valuable option in the management of patients with type 2 diabetes when monotherapy is no longer adequate.

Two-dimensional Fast ESPRIT Algorithm for Linear Array SAR Imaging

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Zhao Yi-chao

2015-10-01

Full Text Available The linear array Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR system is a popular research tool, because it can realize three-dimensional imaging. However, owning to limitations of the aircraft platform and actual conditions, resolution improvement is difficult in cross-track and along-track directions. In this study, a twodimensional fast Estimation of Signal Parameters by Rotational Invariance Technique (ESPRIT algorithm for linear array SAR imaging is proposed to overcome these limitations. This approach combines the Gerschgorin disks method and the ESPRIT algorithm to estimate the positions of scatterers in cross and along-rack directions. Moreover, the reflectivity of scatterers is obtained by a modified pairing method based on “region growing”, replacing the least-squares method. The simulation results demonstrate the applicability of the algorithm with high resolution, quick calculation, and good real-time response.

Progress reports for Gen IV sodium fast reactor activities FY 2007

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cahalan, J. E.; Tentner, A. M.

2007-01-01

An important goal of the US DOE Sodium Fast Reactor (SFR) program is to develop the technology necessary to increase safety margins in future fast reactor systems. Although no decision has been made yet about who will build the next demonstration fast reactor, it seems likely that the construction team will include a combination of international companies, and the safety design philosophy for the reactor will reflect a consensus of the participating countries. A significant amount of experience in the design and safety analysis of Sodium Fast Reactors (SFR) using oxide fuel has been developed in both Japan and France during last few decades. In the US, the traditional approach to reactor safety is based on the principle of defense-in-depth, which is usually expressed in physical terms as multiple barriers to release of radioactive material (e.g. cladding, reactor vessel, containment building), but it is understood that the 'barriers' may consist of active systems or even procedures. As implemented in a reactor design, defense-in-depth is classed in levels of safety. Level 1 includes measures to specify and build a reliable design with significant safety margins that will perform according to the intentions of the designers. Level 2 consists of additional design measures, usually active systems, to protect against unlikely accidental events that may occur during the life of the plant. Level 3 design measures are intended to protect the public in the event of an extremely unlikely accident not foreseen to occur during the plant's life. All of the design measures that make up the first three levels of safety are within the design basis of the plant. Beyond Level 3, and beyond the normal design basis, there are accidents that are not expected to occur in a whole generation of plants, and it is in this class that severe accidents, i.e. accidents involving core melting, are included. Beyond design basis measures to address severe accidents are usually identified as being

Efficient Minimum-Phase Prefilter Computation Using Fast QL-Factorization

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Hansen, Morten; Christensen, Lars P.B.

2009-01-01

This paper presents a novel approach for computing both the minimum-phase filter and the associated all-pass filter in a computationally efficient way using the fast QL-factorization. A desirable property of this approach is that the complexity is independent on the size of the matrix which is QL...

Is Combining Child Labour and School Education the Right Approach? Investigating the Cambodian Case

Science.gov (United States)

Kim, Chae-Young

2009-01-01

The paper considers whether letting children combine work and school is a valid and effective approach in Cambodia. Policy makers' suggestions that child labour should be allowed to some extent due to household poverty appear ungrounded as no significant relation between children's work and household poverty is found while arranging school…

A Unified Simulation Approach for the Fast Outage Capacity Evaluation over Generalized Fading Channels

KAUST Repository

Rached, Nadhir B.

2016-01-06

The outage capacity (OC) is among the most important performance metrics of communication systems over fading channels. The evaluation of the OC, when equal gain combining (EGC) or maximum ratio combining (MRC) diversity techniques are employed, boils down to computing the cumulative distribution function (CDF) of the sum of channel envelopes (equivalently amplitudes) for EGC or channel gains (equivalently squared enveloped/ amplitudes) for MRC. Closed-form expressions of the CDF of the sum of many generalized fading variates are generally unknown and constitute open problems. We develop a unified hazard rate twisting Importance Sampling (IS) based approach to efficiently estimate the CDF of the sum of independent arbitrary variates. The proposed IS estimator is shown to achieve an asymptotic optimality criterion, which clearly guarantees its efficiency. Some selected simulation results are also shown to illustrate the substantial computational gain achieved by the proposed IS scheme over crude Monte Carlo simulations.

ProbFAST: Probabilistic Functional Analysis System Tool

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Oliveira Thiago YK

2010-03-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background The post-genomic era has brought new challenges regarding the understanding of the organization and function of the human genome. Many of these challenges are centered on the meaning of differential gene regulation under distinct biological conditions and can be performed by analyzing the Multiple Differential Expression (MDE of genes associated with normal and abnormal biological processes. Currently MDE analyses are limited to usual methods of differential expression initially designed for paired analysis. Results We proposed a web platform named ProbFAST for MDE analysis which uses Bayesian inference to identify key genes that are intuitively prioritized by means of probabilities. A simulated study revealed that our method gives a better performance when compared to other approaches and when applied to public expression data, we demonstrated its flexibility to obtain relevant genes biologically associated with normal and abnormal biological processes. Conclusions ProbFAST is a free accessible web-based application that enables MDE analysis on a global scale. It offers an efficient methodological approach for MDE analysis of a set of genes that are turned on and off related to functional information during the evolution of a tumor or tissue differentiation. ProbFAST server can be accessed at http://gdm.fmrp.usp.br/probfast.

ProbFAST: Probabilistic functional analysis system tool.

Science.gov (United States)

Silva, Israel T; Vêncio, Ricardo Z N; Oliveira, Thiago Y K; Molfetta, Greice A; Silva, Wilson A

2010-03-30

The post-genomic era has brought new challenges regarding the understanding of the organization and function of the human genome. Many of these challenges are centered on the meaning of differential gene regulation under distinct biological conditions and can be performed by analyzing the Multiple Differential Expression (MDE) of genes associated with normal and abnormal biological processes. Currently MDE analyses are limited to usual methods of differential expression initially designed for paired analysis. We proposed a web platform named ProbFAST for MDE analysis which uses Bayesian inference to identify key genes that are intuitively prioritized by means of probabilities. A simulated study revealed that our method gives a better performance when compared to other approaches and when applied to public expression data, we demonstrated its flexibility to obtain relevant genes biologically associated with normal and abnormal biological processes. ProbFAST is a free accessible web-based application that enables MDE analysis on a global scale. It offers an efficient methodological approach for MDE analysis of a set of genes that are turned on and off related to functional information during the evolution of a tumor or tissue differentiation. ProbFAST server can be accessed at http://gdm.fmrp.usp.br/probfast.

Focusing light through dynamical samples using fast continuous wavefront optimization.

Science.gov (United States)

Blochet, B; Bourdieu, L; Gigan, S

2017-12-01

We describe a fast continuous optimization wavefront shaping system able to focus light through dynamic scattering media. A micro-electro-mechanical system-based spatial light modulator, a fast photodetector, and field programmable gate array electronics are combined to implement a continuous optimization of a wavefront with a single-mode optimization rate of 4.1 kHz. The system performances are demonstrated by focusing light through colloidal solutions of TiO 2 particles in glycerol with tunable temporal stability.

X-ray exposures given with various combinations of film and screen

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Schlenker, R.A.; Kirsh, I.E.

A comparison of entrance exposure doses of patients for various film and screen combinations and xeroradiographs showed that moderate speed screen and film gave exposures 4 to 7 times greater than fast film and screen and that xeroradiographs produced exposures 20 to 40 times greater than fast film and screen. Xeroradiographs produced table top incident exposures which exceeded Illinois Department of Health limits, while conventional film-screen combinations did not. (U.S.)

DC Voltage Droop Control Implementation in the AC/DC Power Flow Algorithm: Combinational Approach

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Akhter, F.; Macpherson, D.E.; Harrison, G.P.

2015-01-01

of operational flexibility, as more than one VSC station controls the DC link voltage of the MTDC system. This model enables the study of the effects of DC droop control on the power flows of the combined AC/DC system for steady state studies after VSC station outages or transient conditions without needing...... to use its complete dynamic model. Further, the proposed approach can be extended to include multiple AC and DC grids for combined AC/DC power flow analysis. The algorithm is implemented by modifying the MATPOWER based MATACDC program and the results shows that the algorithm works efficiently....

Fast Convolution Module (Fast Convolution Module)

National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

Bierens, L

1997-01-01

This report describes the design and realisation of a real-time range azimuth compression module, the so-called 'Fast Convolution Module', based on the fast convolution algorithm developed at TNO-FEL...

Effects of Ramadan Fasting on the Regulation of Inflammation

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Safieh Ebrahimi

2016-03-01

Full Text Available The month of Ramadan, as a model of intermittent fasting, is a valuable opportunity to investigate the effects of dietary modifications on human metabolism. Fasting improves insulin sensitivity, reduces atherogenic risk, oxidative stress, and inflammation. Inflammation plays a key role in the pathogenesis of different disorders including atherosclerosis, metabolic syndrome and cardiovascular diseases. Ramadan fasting can positively modulate cardiovascular risks and improves the metabolic syndrome features through suppression of inflammatory responses. In this review we attempt to present recent studies that addressed the regulatory role(s of this nutritional status on inflammation in patients with inflammatory diseases. These studies suggest that the anti-inflammatory effect of fasting is significant and could be considered as a complementary therapeutic approach in treatment of inflammatory disorders in patients.Keywords: Ramadan fasting, Inflammation, Metabolic syndrome, Cardiovascular diseaseAbstract Abstract Abstract Abstract Abstract Abstract Abstract Abstract Abstract Abstract Abstract Abstract Abstract Abstract Abstract Abstract Abstract Abstract Abstract

Rapid determination of floral aroma compounds of lilac blossom by fast gas chromatography combined with surface acoustic wave sensor.

Science.gov (United States)

Oh, Se Yeon; Shin, Hyun Du; Kim, Sung Jean; Hong, Jongki

2008-03-07

A novel analytical method using fast gas chromatography combined with surface acoustic wave sensor (GC/SAW) has been developed for the detection of volatile aroma compounds emanated from lilac blossom (Syringa species: Syringa vulgaris variginata and Syringa dilatata). GC/SAW could detect and quantify various fragrance emitted from lilac blossom, enabling to provide fragrance pattern analysis results. The fragrance pattern analysis could easily characterize the delicate differences in aromas caused by the substantial difference of chemical composition according to different color and shape of petals. Moreover, the method validation of GC/SAW was performed for the purpose of volatile floral actual aroma analysis, achieving a high reproducibility and excellent sensitivity. From the validation results, GC/SAW could serve as an alternative analytical technique for the analysis of volatile floral actual aroma of lilac. In addition, headspace solid-phase microextraction (HS-SPME) GC-MS was employed to further confirm the identification of fragrances emitted from lilac blossom and compared to GC/SAW.

Antiviral Combination Approach as a Perspective to Combat Enterovirus Infections.

Science.gov (United States)

Galabov, Angel S; Nikolova, Ivanka; Vassileva-Pencheva, Ralitsa; Stoyanova, Adelina

2015-01-01

Human enteroviruses distributed worldwide are causative agents of a broad spectrum of diseases with extremely high morbidity, including a series of severe illnesses of the central nervous system, heart, endocrine pancreas, skeleton muscles, etc., as well as the common cold contributing to the development of chronic respiratory diseases, including the chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. The above mentioned diseases along with the significantly high morbidity and mortality in children, as well as in the high-risk populations (immunodeficiencies, neonates) definitely formulate the chemotherapy as the main tool for the control of enterovirus infections. At present, clinically effective antivirals for use in the treatment of enteroviral infection do not exist, in spite of the large amount of work carried out in this field. The main reason for this is the development of drug resistance. We studied the process of development of resistance to the strongest inhibitors of enteroviruses, WIN compounds (VP1 protein hydrophobic pocket blockers), especially in the models in vivo, Coxsackievirus B (CV-B) infections in mice. We introduced the tracing of a panel of phenotypic markers (MIC50 value, plaque shape and size, stability at 50℃, pathogenicity in mice) for characterization of the drug-mutants (resistant and dependent) as a very important stage in the study of enterovirus inhibitors. Moreover, as a result of VP1 RNA sequence analysis performed on the model of disoxaril mutants of CVB1, we determined the molecular basis of the drug-resistance. The monotherapy courses were the only approach used till now. For the first time in the research for anti-enterovirus antivirals our team introduced the testing of combination effect of the selective inhibitors of enterovirus replication with different mode of action. This study resulted in the selection of a number of very effective in vitro double combinations with synergistic effect and a broad spectrum of sensitive

Combined free-stream disturbance measurements and receptivity studies in hypersonic wind tunnels by means of a slender wedge probe and direct numerical simulation

Science.gov (United States)

Wagner, Alexander; Schülein, Erich; Petervari, René; Hannemann, Klaus; Ali, Syed R. C.; Cerminara, Adriano; Sandham, Neil D.

2018-05-01

Combined free-stream disturbance measurements and receptivity studies in hypersonic wind tunnels were conducted by means of a slender wedge probe and direct numerical simulation. The study comprises comparative tunnel noise measurements at Mach 3, 6 and 7.4 in two Ludwieg tube facilities and a shock tunnel. Surface pressure fluctuations were measured over a wide range of frequencies and test conditions including harsh test environments not accessible to measurement techniques such as pitot probes and hot-wire anemometry. Quantitative results of the tunnel noise are provided in frequency ranges relevant for hypersonic boundary layer transition. In combination with the experimental studies, direct numerical simulations of the leading-edge receptivity to fast and slow acoustic waves were performed for the slender wedge probe at conditions corresponding to the experimental free-stream conditions. The receptivity to fast acoustic waves was found to be characterized by an early amplification of the induced fast mode. For slow acoustic waves an initial decay was found close to the leading edge. At all Mach numbers, and for all considered frequencies, the leading-edge receptivity to fast acoustic waves was found to be higher than the receptivity to slow acoustic waves. Further, the effect of inclination angles of the acoustic wave with respect to the flow direction was investigated. The combined numerical and experimental approach in the present study confirmed the previous suggestion that the slow acoustic wave is the dominant acoustic mode in noisy hypersonic wind tunnels.

Fast Radio Bursts from Extragalactic Light Sails

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Lingam, Manasvi [John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, Harvard University, 29 Oxford Street, Cambridge, MA 02138 (United States); Loeb, Abraham, E-mail: manasvi@seas.harvard.edu [Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, 60 Garden Street, Cambridge, MA 02138 (United States)

2017-03-10

We examine the possibility that fast radio bursts (FRBs) originate from the activity of extragalactic civilizations. Our analysis shows that beams used for powering large light sails could yield parameters that are consistent with FRBs. The characteristic diameter of the beam emitter is estimated through a combination of energetic and engineering constraints, and both approaches intriguingly yield a similar result that is on the scale of a large rocky planet. Moreover, the optimal frequency for powering the light sail is shown to be similar to the detected FRB frequencies. These “coincidences” lend some credence to the possibility that FRBs might be artificial in origin. Other relevant quantities, such as the characteristic mass of the light sail, and the angular velocity of the beam, are also derived. By using the FRB occurrence rate, we infer upper bounds on the rate of FRBs from extragalactic civilizations in a typical galaxy. The possibility of detecting fainter signals is briefly discussed, and the wait time for an exceptionally bright FRB event in the Milky Way is estimated.

Fast Radio Bursts from Extragalactic Light Sails

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lingam, Manasvi; Loeb, Abraham

2017-01-01

We examine the possibility that fast radio bursts (FRBs) originate from the activity of extragalactic civilizations. Our analysis shows that beams used for powering large light sails could yield parameters that are consistent with FRBs. The characteristic diameter of the beam emitter is estimated through a combination of energetic and engineering constraints, and both approaches intriguingly yield a similar result that is on the scale of a large rocky planet. Moreover, the optimal frequency for powering the light sail is shown to be similar to the detected FRB frequencies. These “coincidences” lend some credence to the possibility that FRBs might be artificial in origin. Other relevant quantities, such as the characteristic mass of the light sail, and the angular velocity of the beam, are also derived. By using the FRB occurrence rate, we infer upper bounds on the rate of FRBs from extragalactic civilizations in a typical galaxy. The possibility of detecting fainter signals is briefly discussed, and the wait time for an exceptionally bright FRB event in the Milky Way is estimated.

Combined action of ionizing radiation with another factor: common rules and theoretical approach

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kim, Jin Kyu; Roh, Changhyun; Komarova, Ludmila N.; Petin, Vladislav G.

2013-01-01

Two or more factors can simultaneously make their combined effects on the biological objects. This study has focused on theoretical approach to synergistic interaction due to the combined action of radiation and another factor on cell inactivation. A mathematical model for the synergistic interaction of different environmental agents was suggested for quantitative prediction of irreversibly damaged cells after combined exposures. The model takes into account the synergistic interaction of agents and based on the supposition that additional effective damages responsible for the synergy are irreversible and originated from an interaction of ineffective sub lesions. The experimental results regarding the irreversible component of radiation damage of diploid yeast cells simultaneous exposed to heat with ionizing radiation or UV light are presented. A good agreement of experimental results with model predictions was demonstrated. The importance of the results obtained for the interpretation of the mechanism of synergistic interaction of various environmental factors is discussed. (author)

Combined action of ionizing radiation with another factor: common rules and theoretical approach

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kim, Jin Kyu; Roh, Changhyun, E-mail: jkkim@kaeri.re.kr [Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute, Jeongeup (Korea, Republic of); Komarova, Ludmila N.; Petin, Vladislav G., E-mail: vgpetin@yahoo.com [Medical Radiological Research Center, Obninsk (Russian Federation)

2013-07-01

Two or more factors can simultaneously make their combined effects on the biological objects. This study has focused on theoretical approach to synergistic interaction due to the combined action of radiation and another factor on cell inactivation. A mathematical model for the synergistic interaction of different environmental agents was suggested for quantitative prediction of irreversibly damaged cells after combined exposures. The model takes into account the synergistic interaction of agents and based on the supposition that additional effective damages responsible for the synergy are irreversible and originated from an interaction of ineffective sub lesions. The experimental results regarding the irreversible component of radiation damage of diploid yeast cells simultaneous exposed to heat with ionizing radiation or UV light are presented. A good agreement of experimental results with model predictions was demonstrated. The importance of the results obtained for the interpretation of the mechanism of synergistic interaction of various environmental factors is discussed. (author)

Intermittent fasting combined with calorie restriction is effective for weight loss and cardio-protection in obese women.

Science.gov (United States)

Klempel, Monica C; Kroeger, Cynthia M; Bhutani, Surabhi; Trepanowski, John F; Varady, Krista A

2012-11-21

Intermittent fasting (IF; severe restriction 1 d/week) facilitates weight loss and improves coronary heart disease (CHD) risk indicators. The degree to which weight loss can be enhanced if IF is combined with calorie restriction (CR) and liquid meals, remains unknown. This study examined the effects of IF plus CR (with or without a liquid diet) on body weight, body composition, and CHD risk. Obese women (n = 54) were randomized to either the IFCR-liquid (IFCR-L) or IFCR-food based (IFCR-F) diet. The trial had two phases: 1) 2-week weight maintenance period, and 2) 8-week weight loss period. Body weight decreased more (P = 0.04) in the IFCR-L group (3.9 ± 1.4 kg) versus the IFCR-F group (2.5 ± 0.6 kg). Fat mass decreased similarly (P < 0.0001) in the IFCR-L and IFCR-F groups (2.8 ± 1.2 kg and 1.9 ± 0.7 kg, respectively). Visceral fat was reduced (P < 0.001) by IFCR-L (0.7 ± 0.5 kg) and IFCR-F (0.3 ± 0.5 kg) diets. Reductions in total and LDL cholesterol levels were greater (P = 0.04) in the IFCR-L (19 ± 10%; 20 ± 9%, respectively) versus the IFCR-F group (8 ± 3%; 7 ± 4%, respectively). LDL peak particle size increased (P < 0.01), while heart rate, glucose, insulin, and homocysteine decreased (P < 0.05), in the IFCR-L group only. These findings suggest that IF combined with CR and liquid meals is an effective strategy to help obese women lose weight and lower CHD risk.

Fast neutron dosimetry. Progress report, July 1, 1979-June 30, 1980

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Attix, F.H.

1980-01-01

Progress is reported in: the development and testing of new gas mixtures more suitable for fast neutron dosimetry using the common A150-type Tissue-equivalent plastic ion chambers; comparison of photon doses determined with a graphite-walled proportional counter and with paired dosimeters irradiated by 14.8-MeV neutrons; a detector for the direct measurement of LET distributions from irradiation with fast neutrons; LET distributions from fast neutron irradiation of TE-plastic and graphite measured in a cylindrically symmetric geometry; progress in development of a tandem fast neutron and 60 Co gamma ray source irradiation facility; an approach to the correlation of cellular response with lineal energy; calculated and measured HTO atmospheric dispersion rates within meters of a release site; application of cavity theory to fast neutrons; and fast neutron dosimetry by thermally stimulated currents in Al 2 O 3

High Charge PHIN Photo Injector at CERN with Fast Phase switching within the Bunch Train for Beam Combination

CERN Document Server

Csatari Divall, M; Bolzon, B; Bravin, E; Chevallay, E; Dabrowski, A; Doebert, S; Drozdy, A; Fedosseev, V; Hessler, C; Lefevre, T; Livesley, S; Losito, R; Olvegaard, M; Petrarca, M; Rabiller, A N; Egger, D; Mete, O

2011-01-01

The high charge PHIN photo-injector was developed within the framework of the European CARE program to provide an alternative to the drive beam thermionic gun in the CTF3 (CLIC Test Facility) at CERN. In PHIN 1908 electron bunches are delivered with bunch spacing of 1.5 GHz and 2.33 nC charge per bunch. Furthermore the drive beam generated by CTF3 requires several fast 180 deg phase-shifts with respect to the 1.5 GHz bunch repetition frequency in order to allow the beam combination scheme developed at CTF3. A total of 8 subtrains, each 140 ns long and shifted in phase with respect to each other, have to be produced with very high phase and amplitude stability. A novel fiber modulator based phase-switching technique developed on the laser system provides this phase-shift between two consecutive pulses much faster and cleaner than the base line scheme, where a thermionic electron gun and sub-harmonic bunching are used. The paper describes the fiber-based switching system and the measurements verifying the schem...

A combined approach for the enhancement and segmentation of mammograms using modified fuzzy C-means method in wavelet domain

OpenAIRE

Srivastava, Subodh; Sharma, Neeraj; Singh, S. K.; Srivastava, R.

2014-01-01

In this paper, a combined approach for enhancement and segmentation of mammograms is proposed. In preprocessing stage, a contrast limited adaptive histogram equalization (CLAHE) method is applied to obtain the better contrast mammograms. After this, the proposed combined methods are applied. In the first step of the proposed approach, a two dimensional (2D) discrete wavelet transform (DWT) is applied to all the input images. In the second step, a proposed nonlinear complex diffusion based uns...

Solid-phase extraction with the metal-organic framework MIL-101(Cr) combined with direct analysis in real time mass spectrometry for the fast analysis of triazine herbicides.

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Xianjiang; Xing, Jiawei; Chang, Cuilan; Wang, Xin; Bai, Yu; Yan, Xiuping; Liu, Huwei

2014-06-01

MIL-101(Cr) is an excellent metal-organic framework with high surface area and nanoscale cavities, making it promising in solid-phase extraction. Herein, we used MIL-101(Cr) as a solid-phase extraction packing material combined with fast detection of direct analysis in real time mass spectrometry (DART-MS) for the analysis of triazine herbicides. After systematic optimization of the operation parameters, including the gas temperature of DART, the moving speed of the 1D platform, solvent for desorption, amount of MIL-101(Cr) extraction time, eluent volume and salt concentration, this method can realize the simultaneous detection of five kinds of triazine herbicides. The limits of detection were 0.1∼0.2 ng/mL and the linear ranges covered more than two orders of magnitude with the quantitation limits of 0.5∼1 ng/mL. Moreover, the developed method has been applied for the analysis of lake water samples and the recoveries for spiked analytes were in the range of 85∼110%. These results showed that solid-phase extraction with metal-organic frameworks is an efficient sample preparation approach for DART-MS analysis and could find more applications in environmental analysis. © 2014 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

A phenomenological approach for the analysis of combined fatigue and creep

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bui-Quoc, T.; Biron, A.

1982-01-01

An approach is proposed for the life prediction, under cumulative damage conditions, for fatigue and for creep. An interaction effect is introduced to account for a modification in the material behavior due to previous loading. A predictive technique is then developed which is applied to several materials for fatigue and which could potentially be used for creep. With due consideration to the similarity of the formulation for both phenomena, the analysis for the combination of fatigue and creep is then carried out through a straightforward sequential use of the two damage functions. Several patterns are studied without and with an interaction effect. (orig.)

A DFT + DMFT approach for nanosystems

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Turkowski, Volodymyr; Kabir, Alamgir; Nayyar, Neha; Rahman, Talat S, E-mail: vturkows@mail.ucf.ed [Department of Physics, University of Central Florida, Orlando, FL 32816 (United States)

2010-11-24

We propose a combined density-functional-theory-dynamical-mean-field-theory (DFT + DMFT) approach for reliable inclusion of electron-electron correlation effects in nanosystems. Compared with the widely used DFT + U approach, this method has several advantages, the most important of which is that it takes into account dynamical correlation effects. The formalism is illustrated through different calculations of the magnetic properties of a set of small iron clusters (number of atoms 2 {<=} N {<=} 5). It is shown that the inclusion of dynamical effects leads to a reduction in the cluster magnetization (as compared to results from DFT + U) and that, even for such small clusters, the magnetization values agree well with experimental estimations. These results justify confidence in the ability of the method to accurately describe the magnetic properties of clusters of interest to nanoscience. (fast track communication)

A DFT + DMFT approach for nanosystems

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Turkowski, Volodymyr; Kabir, Alamgir; Nayyar, Neha; Rahman, Talat S

2010-01-01

We propose a combined density-functional-theory-dynamical-mean-field-theory (DFT + DMFT) approach for reliable inclusion of electron-electron correlation effects in nanosystems. Compared with the widely used DFT + U approach, this method has several advantages, the most important of which is that it takes into account dynamical correlation effects. The formalism is illustrated through different calculations of the magnetic properties of a set of small iron clusters (number of atoms 2 ≤ N ≤ 5). It is shown that the inclusion of dynamical effects leads to a reduction in the cluster magnetization (as compared to results from DFT + U) and that, even for such small clusters, the magnetization values agree well with experimental estimations. These results justify confidence in the ability of the method to accurately describe the magnetic properties of clusters of interest to nanoscience. (fast track communication)

Japanese experience with clinical trails of fast neutrons

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tsunemoto, H.; Arai, T.; Morita, S.; Ishikawa, T.; Aoki, Y.; Takada, N.; Kamata, S.

1982-01-01

Between November, 1975 and November, 1981, 825 patients were treated with 30 MeV (d-Be) neutrons at the National Institute of Radiological Sciences, Chiba. At the Institute of Medical Science, Tokyo, 302 patients were referred to the Radiation Therapy department and were treated with 16 MeV (d-Be) neutrons. The emphasis of these clinical trials with fast neutrons was placed on the estimation of the effect of fast neutrons for locally advanced cancers or radioresistant cancers, and on evaluation of the rate of complication of normal tissues following irradiaton with fast neutrons. Results were evaluated for patients with previously untreated cancer; local control of the tumor was observed in 59.1%. Complications requiring medical care developed in only 32 patients. Patients who had received pre- or postoperative irradiation were excluded from this evaluation. Late reaction of soft tissue seemed to be more severe than that observed with photon beams. The results also suggest that for carcinoma of the larynx, esophagus, uterine cervix, Pancoasts's tumor of the lung and osteosarcoma, fast neutrons were considered to be effectively applied in this randomized clinical trial. For carcinoma of the larynx, a fast nuetron boost was effectively delivered, although an interstitial implant was necessarily combined with fast neutrons for carcinoma of the tongue. The cumulative survival rate of the patients with carcinoma of the esophagus treated with fast neutrons was 26% compared to the survival rate of 10.5% obtained using photons. This was supported by evidence from the pathological studies that showed that the tumor cells which had deeply invaded into the esophagus were effectively destroyed when fast neutrons were applied

A Hybrid Computational Intelligence Approach Combining Genetic Programming And Heuristic Classification for Pap-Smear Diagnosis

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Tsakonas, Athanasios; Dounias, Georgios; Jantzen, Jan

2001-01-01

The paper suggests the combined use of different computational intelligence (CI) techniques in a hybrid scheme, as an effective approach to medical diagnosis. Getting to know the advantages and disadvantages of each computational intelligence technique in the recent years, the time has come...

Variation across individuals and items determine learning outcomes from fast mapping.

Science.gov (United States)

Coutanche, Marc N; Koch, Griffin E

2017-11-01

An approach to learning words known as "fast mapping" has been linked to unique neurobiological and behavioral markers in adult humans, including rapid lexical integration. However, the mechanisms supporting fast mapping are still not known. In this study, we sought to help change this by examining factors that modulate learning outcomes. In 90 subjects, we systematically manipulated the typicality of the items used to support fast mapping (foils), and quantified learners' inclination to employ semantic, episodic, and spatial memory through the Survey of Autobiographical Memory (SAM). We asked how these factors affect lexical competition and recognition performance, and then asked how foil typicality and lexical competition are related in an independent dataset. We find that both the typicality of fast mapping foils, and individual differences in how different memory systems are employed, influence lexical competition effects after fast mapping, but not after other learning approaches. Specifically, learning a word through fast mapping with an atypical foil led to lexical competition, while a typical foil led to lexical facilitation. This effect was particularly evident in individuals with a strong tendency to employ semantic memory. We further replicated the relationship between continuous foil atypicality and lexical competition in an independent dataset. These findings suggest that semantic properties of the foils that support fast mapping can influence the degree and nature of subsequent lexical integration. Further, the effects of foils differ based on an individual's tendency to draw-on the semantic memory system. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

The use of the spectral method within the fast adaptive composite grid method

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

McKay, S.M.

1994-12-31

The use of efficient algorithms for the solution of partial differential equations has been sought for many years. The fast adaptive composite grid (FAC) method combines an efficient algorithm with high accuracy to obtain low cost solutions to partial differential equations. The FAC method achieves fast solution by combining solutions on different grids with varying discretizations and using multigrid like techniques to find fast solution. Recently, the continuous FAC (CFAC) method has been developed which utilizes an analytic solution within a subdomain to iterate to a solution of the problem. This has been shown to achieve excellent results when the analytic solution can be found. The CFAC method will be extended to allow solvers which construct a function for the solution, e.g., spectral and finite element methods. In this discussion, the spectral methods will be used to provide a fast, accurate solution to the partial differential equation. As spectral methods are more accurate than finite difference methods, the ensuing accuracy from this hybrid method outside of the subdomain will be investigated.

Fast neutron radiation inactivation of Bacillus subtilis: Absorbed dose determination

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Song Lingli; Zheng Chun; Ai Zihui; Li Junjie; Dai Shaofeng

2011-01-01

In this paper, fast neutron inactivation effects of Bacillus subtilis were investigated with fission fast neutrons from CFBR-II reactor of INPC (Institute of Nuclear Physics and Chemistry) and mono-energetic neutrons from the Van de Graaff accelerator at Peking University. The method for determining the absorbed dose in the Bacillus subtilis suspension contained in test tubes is introduced. The absorbed dose, on account of its dependence on the volume and the form of confined state, was determined by combined experiments and Monte Carlo method. Using the calculation results of absorbed dose, the fast neutron inactivation effects on Bacillus subtilis were studied. The survival rates and absorbed dose curve was constructed. (authors)

Research of three-dimensional transient reactivity feedback in fast reactor

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Xu Li; Shi Gong; Ma Dayuan; Yu Hong

2013-01-01

To solve the three-dimensional time-spatial kinetics feedback problems in fast reactor, a mathematical model of the direct reactivity feedback was proposed. Based on the NAS code for fast reactor and the reactivity feedback mechanism, a feedback model which combined the direct reactivity feedback and feedback reflected by the cross section variation was provided for the transient calculation. Furthermore, the fast reactor group collapsing system was added to the code, thus the real time group collapsing calculation could be realized. The isothermal elevated temperature test of CEFR was simulated by using the code. By comparing the calculation result with the test result of the temperature reactivity coefficient, the validity of the model and the code is verified. (authors)

Fast fourier algorithms in spectral computation and analysis of vibrating machines

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Farooq, U.; Hafeez, T.; Khan, M.Z.; Amir, M.

2001-01-01

In this work we have discussed Fourier and its history series, relationships among various Fourier mappings, Fourier coefficients, transforms, inverse transforms, integrals, analyses, discrete and fast algorithms for data processing and analysis of vibrating systems. The evaluation of magnitude of the source signal at transmission time, related coefficient matrix, intensity, and magnitude at the receiving end (stations). Matrix computation of Fourier transform has been explained, and applications are presented. The fast Fourier transforms, new computational scheme. have been tested with an example. The work also includes digital programs for obtaining the frequency contents of time function. It has been explained that how the fast Fourier algorithms (FFT) has decreased computational work by several order of magnitudes and split the spectrum of a signal into two (even and odd modes) at every successive step. That fast quantitative processing for discrete Fourier transforms' computations as well as signal splitting and combination provides an efficient. and reliable tool for spectral analyses. Fourier series decompose the given variable into a sum of oscillatory functions each having a specific frequency. These frequencies, with their corresponding amplitude and phase angles, constitute the frequency contents of the original time functions. These fast processing achievements, signals decomposition and combination may be carried out by the principle of superposition and convolution for, even, signals of different frequencies. Considerable information about a machine or a structure can be derived from variable speed and frequency tests. (author)

A unified simulation approach for the fast outage capacity evaluation over generalized fading channels

KAUST Repository

Rached, Nadhir B.

2015-06-14

The outage capacity (OC) is among the most important performance metrics of communication systems over fading channels. The evaluation of the OC, when Equal Gain Combining (EGC) or Maximum Ratio Combining (MRC) diversity techniques are employed, boils down to computing the Cumulative Distribution Function (CDF) of the sum of channel envelopes (equivalently amplitudes) for EGC or channel gain (equivalently squared enveloped/amplitudes) for MRC. Closed-form expressions of the CDF of the sum of many generalized fading variates are generally unknown and constitute open problems. In this paper, we develop a unified hazard rate twisting Importance Sampling (IS) based approach to efficiently estimate the CDF of the sum of independent arbitrary variates. The proposed IS estimator is shown to achieve an asymptotic optimality criterion, which clearly guarantees its efficiency. Some selected simulation results are also shown to illustrate the substantial computational gain achieved by the proposed IS scheme over crude Monte-Carlo simulations.

Fast Reactors and Nuclear Nonproliferation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Avrorina, E.N.; Chebeskovb, A.N.

2013-01-01

Conclusion remarks: 1. Fast reactor start-up with U-Pu fuel: – dependent on thermal reactors, – no needs in U enrichment, – needs in SNF reprocessing, – Pu is a little suitable for NED, – practically impossible gun-type NED, – difficulties for implosion-type NED: necessary tests, advanced technologies, etc. – Pu in blankets is similar to WPu by isotopic composition, – Use of blanket for production isotopes (e.g. 233 U), – Combined reprocessing of SNF: altogether blanket and core, – Blanket elimination: decrease in Pu production – No pure Pu separation. 2. Fast reactor start-up with U fuel: - Needs in both U enrichment and SNF reprocessing, - Independent of thermal reactors, - Good Pu bred in the core let alone blankets, - NED of simple gun-type design, - Increase of needs in SWU, - Increased demands in U supply. 3. Fast reactors for export: - Uranium shortage, - To replace thermal reactors in future, - No blankets (depends on the country, though), - Fuel supply and SNF take back, - International centers for rendering services of NFC. Time has come to remove from FRs and their NFC the label unfairly identifying them as the most dangerous installations of nuclear power from the standpoint of being a proliferation problem

Phytophagous insects on native and non-native host plants: combining the community approach and the biogeographical approach.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kim Meijer

Full Text Available During the past centuries, humans have introduced many plant species in areas where they do not naturally occur. Some of these species establish populations and in some cases become invasive, causing economic and ecological damage. Which factors determine the success of non-native plants is still incompletely understood, but the absence of natural enemies in the invaded area (Enemy Release Hypothesis; ERH is one of the most popular explanations. One of the predictions of the ERH, a reduced herbivore load on non-native plants compared with native ones, has been repeatedly tested. However, many studies have either used a community approach (sampling from native and non-native species in the same community or a biogeographical approach (sampling from the same plant species in areas where it is native and where it is non-native. Either method can sometimes lead to inconclusive results. To resolve this, we here add to the small number of studies that combine both approaches. We do so in a single study of insect herbivory on 47 woody plant species (trees, shrubs, and vines in the Netherlands and Japan. We find higher herbivore diversity, higher herbivore load and more herbivory on native plants than on non-native plants, generating support for the enemy release hypothesis.

Fast FIB-milled Electron-transparent Microchips for in situ TEM Investigations

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Lei, Anders; Petersen, Dirch Hjorth; Kallesøe, Christian

In this work we present a fast approach to 50 nm resolution structures defined in a generic TEM-chip template in few minutes. While creating complex electrical and NEMS circuits for a specific insitu TEM experiment can be a cumbersome process, microchips with 100 nm thin flakes of single crystall......In this work we present a fast approach to 50 nm resolution structures defined in a generic TEM-chip template in few minutes. While creating complex electrical and NEMS circuits for a specific insitu TEM experiment can be a cumbersome process, microchips with 100 nm thin flakes of single...

A novel approach for fast scanning of nuclear emulsions with continuous motion of the microscope stage

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Aleksandrov, A., E-mail: andrey@na.infn.it [INFN sezione di Napoli, I-80125 Napoli (Italy); LPI - Lebedev Physical Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences, RUS-119991 Moscow (Russian Federation); Tioukov, V. [INFN sezione di Napoli, I-80125 Napoli (Italy)

2013-08-01

Nuclear emulsions have been used in particle physics experiments for many decades because of their unique spatial resolution. The use of nuclear emulsions as precise tracking detectors in large experiments has recently been made possible due to advances in the production of emulsion films and to the development of very fast automatic scanning devices. The present scanning speed of the European Scanning System (ESS), which has been developed within the OPERA Collaboration, is about 20 cm{sup 2}/h. In addition to the scanning of OPERA films, the ESS is used for other applications with ever-growing demands for scanning speed, such as the muon radiography of volcanoes. In order to further increase the scanning speed of the ESS, we are testing a novel approach different from the standard stop-and-go motion of the microscope stage in the horizontal plane. Indeed we perform data acquisition with the stage moving at constant speed, using an objective lens with wide field of view. Unlike the implementation realized in Japan where the movement of objective lens and stage are synchronized to pile up images of the same view in a vertical stack, in this approach only the stage is moving horizontally. Thus images at different depths are not fully overlapped and special care is needed in the reconstruction. This approach can give a substantial increase in the scanning speed, especially for thin emulsion layers and wide field of view. In this paper we demonstrate that, after applying special corrections, the emulsion data quality can be as good as with the standard stop-and-go approach. This technique allows to double the scanning speed of the ESS, bringing it to 40 cm{sup 2}/h without any hardware modification.

Combined Simulated Annealing and Genetic Algorithm Approach to Bus Network Design

Science.gov (United States)

Liu, Li; Olszewski, Piotr; Goh, Pong-Chai

A new method - combined simulated annealing (SA) and genetic algorithm (GA) approach is proposed to solve the problem of bus route design and frequency setting for a given road network with fixed bus stop locations and fixed travel demand. The method involves two steps: a set of candidate routes is generated first and then the best subset of these routes is selected by the combined SA and GA procedure. SA is the main process to search for a better solution to minimize the total system cost, comprising user and operator costs. GA is used as a sub-process to generate new solutions. Bus demand assignment on two alternative paths is performed at the solution evaluation stage. The method was implemented on four theoretical grid networks of different size and a benchmark network. Several GA operators (crossover and mutation) were utilized and tested for their effectiveness. The results show that the proposed method can efficiently converge to the optimal solution on a small network but computation time increases significantly with network size. The method can also be used for other transport operation management problems.

Improved Multilevel Fast Multipole Method for Higher-Order discretizations

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Borries, Oscar Peter; Meincke, Peter; Jorgensen, Erik

2014-01-01

The Multilevel Fast Multipole Method (MLFMM) allows for a reduced computational complexity when solving electromagnetic scattering problems. Combining this with the reduced number of unknowns provided by Higher-Order discretizations has proven to be a difficult task, with the general conclusion b...

Fast Fingerprint Classification with Deep Neural Network

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Michelsanti, Daniel; Guichi, Yanis; Ene, Andreea-Daniela

2018-01-01

. In this work we evaluate the performance of two pre-trained convolutional neural networks fine-tuned on the NIST SD4 benchmark database. The obtained results show that this approach is comparable with other results in the literature, with the advantage of a fast feature extraction stage....

Fast neutron dosimetry. Progress report, July 1, 1979-June 30, 1980

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Attix, F.H.

1980-01-01

Progress is reported in: the development and testing of new gas mixtures more suitable for fast neutron dosimetry using the common A150-type Tissue-equivalent plastic ion chambers; comparison of photon doses determined with a graphite-walled proportional counter and with paired dosimeters irradiated by 14.8-MeV neutrons; a detector for the direct measurement of LET distributions from irradiation with fast neutrons; LET distributions from fast neutron irradiation of TE-plastic and graphite measured in a cylindrically symmetric geometry; progress in development of a tandem fast neutron and /sup 60/Co gamma ray source irradiation facility; an approach to the correlation of cellular response with lineal energy; calculated and measured HTO atmospheric dispersion rates within meters of a release site; application of cavity theory to fast neutrons; and fast neutron dosimetry by thermally stimulated currents in Al/sub 2/O/sub 3/. (GHT)

Design Method for Fast Switching Seat Valves for Digital Displacement Machines

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Roemer, Daniel Beck; Johansen, Per; Pedersen, Henrik C.

2014-01-01

corresponding to the piston movement, which has been shown to facilitate superior part load efficiency combined with high bandwidth compared to traditional displacement machines. However, DD machines need fast switching on-off valves with low pressure loss for efficient operation, especially in fast rotating......Digital Displacement (DD) machines are upcoming technology where the displacement of each pressure chamber is controlled electronically by use of two fast switching seat valves. The effective displacement and operation type (pumping/motoring) may be controlled by manipulating the seat valves...... method for DD seat valves are presented, taking into account the significant aspects related to obtaining efficient DD valves with basis in a given DD machine specifications. The seat area is minimized and the stroke length is minimized to obtain fast switching times while considering the pressure loss...

Factors related to reduction in the consumption of fast food: application of the theory-based approaches

Science.gov (United States)

Zeinab, Jalambadani; Gholamreza, Garmaroudi; Mehdi, Yaseri; Mahmood, Tavousi; Korush, Jafarian

2017-01-01

Background The Trans-Theoretical model (TTM) and Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB) may be promising models for understanding and predicting reduction in the consumption of fast food. The aim of this study was to examine the applicability of the Trans-Theoretical model (TTM) and the additional predictive role of the subjective norms and perceived behavioural control in predicting reduction consumption of fast food in obese Iranian adolescent girls. Materials and Methods. A cross sectional study design was conducted among twelve randomly selected schools in Sabzevar, Iran from 2015 to 2017. Four hundred eighty five randomly selected students consented to participate in the study. Hierarchical regression models used to predict the role of important variables that can influence the reduction in the consumption of fast food among students. using SPSS version 22. Results Variables Perceived behavioural control (r=0.58, Pconsumption of fast food. Significance for public health The Ministries of Education and Public Health should cooperate in supporting the below-mentioned formal and non-formal school, family and community nutritional education and activities. Lastly, the Ministry of Public Health should conduct programmes with restaurant owners on healthy Iranian food and its hygienic presentation and promotion, to enhance their ability to compete with fast-food restaurants. PMID:29071252

Fast online Monte Carlo-based IMRT planning for the MRI linear accelerator

Science.gov (United States)

Bol, G. H.; Hissoiny, S.; Lagendijk, J. J. W.; Raaymakers, B. W.

2012-03-01

The MRI accelerator, a combination of a 6 MV linear accelerator with a 1.5 T MRI, facilitates continuous patient anatomy updates regarding translations, rotations and deformations of targets and organs at risk. Accounting for these demands high speed, online intensity-modulated radiotherapy (IMRT) re-optimization. In this paper, a fast IMRT optimization system is described which combines a GPU-based Monte Carlo dose calculation engine for online beamlet generation and a fast inverse dose optimization algorithm. Tightly conformal IMRT plans are generated for four phantom cases and two clinical cases (cervix and kidney) in the presence of the magnetic fields of 0 and 1.5 T. We show that for the presented cases the beamlet generation and optimization routines are fast enough for online IMRT planning. Furthermore, there is no influence of the magnetic field on plan quality and complexity, and equal optimization constraints at 0 and 1.5 T lead to almost identical dose distributions.

Fast and Reliable Mouse Picking Using Graphics Hardware

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Hanli Zhao

2009-01-01

Full Text Available Mouse picking is the most commonly used intuitive operation to interact with 3D scenes in a variety of 3D graphics applications. High performance for such operation is necessary in order to provide users with fast responses. This paper proposes a fast and reliable mouse picking algorithm using graphics hardware for 3D triangular scenes. Our approach uses a multi-layer rendering algorithm to perform the picking operation in linear time complexity. The objectspace based ray-triangle intersection test is implemented in a highly parallelized geometry shader. After applying the hardware-supported occlusion queries, only a small number of objects (or sub-objects are rendered in subsequent layers, which accelerates the picking efficiency. Experimental results demonstrate the high performance of our novel approach. Due to its simplicity, our algorithm can be easily integrated into existing real-time rendering systems.

Ideas for fast accelerator model calibration

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Corbett, J.

1997-05-01

With the advent of a simple matrix inversion technique, measurement-based storage ring modeling has made rapid progress in recent years. Using fast computers with large memory, the matrix inversion procedure typically adjusts up to 10 3 model variables to fit the order of 10 5 measurements. The results have been surprisingly accurate. Physics aside, one of the next frontiers is to simplify the process and to reduce computation time. In this paper, the authors discuss two approaches to speed up the model calibration process: recursive least-squares fitting and a piecewise fitting approach

ANALYSIS OF COMBINED UAV-BASED RGB AND THERMAL REMOTE SENSING DATA: A NEW APPROACH TO CROWD MONITORING

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

S. Schulte

2017-08-01

Full Text Available Collecting vast amount of data does not solely help to fulfil information needs related to crowd monitoring, it is rather important to collect data that is suitable to meet specific information requirements. In order to address this issue, a prototype is developed to facilitate the combination of UAV-based RGB and thermal remote sensing datasets. In an experimental approach, image sensors were mounted on a remotely piloted aircraft and captured two video datasets over a crowd. A group of volunteers performed diverse movements that depict real world scenarios. The prototype is deriving the movement on the ground and is programmed in MATLAB. This novel detection approach using combined data is afterwards evaluated against detection algorithms that only use a single data source. Our tests show that the combination of RGB and thermal remote sensing data is beneficial for the field of crowd monitoring regarding the detection of crowd movement.

Multiport Combined Endoscopic Approach to Nonembolized Juvenile Nasopharyngeal Angiofibroma with Parapharyngeal Extension: An Emerging Concept

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Tiruchy Narayanan Janakiram

2016-01-01

Full Text Available Background. Surgical approaches to the parapharyngeal space (PPS are challenging by virtue of deep location and neurovascular content. Juvenile Nasopharyngeal Angiofibroma (JNA is a formidable hypervascular tumor that involves multiple compartments with increase in size. In tumors with extension to parapharyngeal space, the endonasal approach was observed to be inadequate. Combined Endoscopic Endonasal Approaches and Endoscopic Transoral Surgery (EEA-ETOS approach has provided a customized alternative of multicorridor approach to access JNA for its safe and efficient resection. Methods. The study demonstrates a case series of patients of JNA with prestyloid parapharyngeal space extension operated by endoscopic endonasal and endoscopic transoral approach for tumor excision. Results. The multiport EEA-ETOS approach was used to provide wide exposure to access JNA in parapharyngeal space. No major complications were observed. No conversion to external approach was required. Postoperative morbidity was low and postoperative scans showed no residual tumor. A one-year follow-up was maintained and there was no evidence of disease recurrence. Conclusion. Although preliminary, our experience demonstrates safety and efficacy of multiport approach in providing access to multiple compartments, facilitating total excision of JNA in selected cases.

Fast Bayesian approach for modal identification using forced vibration data considering the ambient effect

Science.gov (United States)

Ni, Yan-Chun; Zhang, Feng-Liang

2018-05-01

Modal identification based on vibration response measured from real structures is becoming more popular, especially after benefiting from the great improvement of the measurement technology. The results are reliable to estimate the dynamic performance, which fits the increasing requirement of different design configurations of the new structures. However, the high-quality vibration data collection technology calls for a more accurate modal identification method to improve the accuracy of the results. Through the whole measurement process of dynamic testing, there are many aspects that will cause the rise of uncertainty, such as measurement noise, alignment error and modeling error, since the test conditions are not directly controlled. Depending on these demands, a Bayesian statistical approach is developed in this work to estimate the modal parameters using the forced vibration response of structures, simultaneously considering the effect of the ambient vibration. This method makes use of the Fast Fourier Transform (FFT) of the data in a selected frequency band to identify the modal parameters of the mode dominating this frequency band and estimate the remaining uncertainty of the parameters correspondingly. In the existing modal identification methods for forced vibration, it is generally assumed that the forced vibration response dominates the measurement data and the influence of the ambient vibration response is ignored. However, ambient vibration will cause modeling error and affect the accuracy of the identified results. The influence is shown in the spectra as some phenomena that are difficult to explain and irrelevant to the mode to be identified. These issues all mean that careful choice of assumptions in the identification model and fundamental formulation to account for uncertainty are necessary. During the calculation, computational difficulties associated with calculating the posterior statistics are addressed. Finally, a fast computational algorithm

Development of fast neutron radiography system based on portable neutron generator

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Yi, Chia Jia, E-mail: gei-i-kani@hotmail.com; Nilsuwankosit, Sunchai, E-mail: sunchai.n@chula.ac.th [Department of Nuclear Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Chulalongkorn University, Phayathai Rd., Patumwan, Bangkok, THAILAND 10330 (Thailand)

2016-01-22

Due to the high installation cost, the safety concern and the immobility of the research reactors, the neutron radiography system based on portable neutron generator is proposed. Since the neutrons generated from a portable neutron generator are mostly the fast neutrons, the system is emphasized on using the fast neutrons for the purpose of conducting the radiography. In order to suppress the influence of X-ray produced by the neutron generator, a combination of a shielding material sandwiched between two identical imaging plates is used. A binary XOR operation is then applied for combining the information from the imaging plates. The raw images obtained confirm that the X-ray really has a large effect and that XOR operation can help enhance the effect of the neutrons.

New method of fast simulation for a hadron calorimeter response

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kul'chitskij, Yu.; Sutiak, J.; Tokar, S.; Zenis, T.

2003-01-01

In this work we present the new method of a fast Monte-Carlo simulation of a hadron calorimeter response. It is based on the three-dimensional parameterization of the hadronic shower obtained from the ATLAS TILECAL test beam data and GEANT simulations. A new approach of including the longitudinal fluctuations of hadronic shower is described. The obtained results of the fast simulation are in good agreement with the TILECAL experimental data

Global marginal stability of TAEs in the presence of fast ions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Villard, L.; Brunner, S.; Vaclavik, J.

1994-09-01

The global stability of toroidicity-induced Alfven eigenmodes (TAEs) in the presence of fast ions in realistic tokamak fusion-grade plasmas is analyzed with a global, perturbative approach. Volume averaged fast particle betas for marginal stability are obtained and analyzed for a wide range of plasma parameters such as the fast ion radial density profile width, the ratio of birth velocity to the Alfven velocity on axis and the bulk plasma beta. The different stability behaviour of two types of TAEs ('internal' or 'external') is evidenced. (author) 19 figs., 22 refs

Methods to determine fast-ion distribution functions from multi-diagnostic measurements

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Jacobsen, Asger Schou; Salewski, Mirko

-ion diagnostic views, it is possible to infer the distribution function using a tomography approach. Several inversion methods for solving this tomography problem in velocity space are implemented and compared. It is found that the best quality it obtained when using inversion methods which penalise steep......Understanding the behaviour of fast ions in a fusion plasma is very important, since the fusion-born alpha particles are expected to be the main source of heating in a fusion power plant. Preferably, the entire fast-ion velocity-space distribution function would be measured. However, no fast...

Global Practical Stabilization and Tracking for an Underactuated Ship - A Combined Averaging and Backstepping Approach

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kristin Y. Pettersen

1999-10-01

Full Text Available We solve both the global practical stabilization and tracking problem for an underactuated ship, using a combined integrator backstepping and averaging approach. Exponential convergence to an arbitrarily small neighbourhood of the origin and of the reference trajectory, respectively, is proved. Simulation results are included.

Fast wave current drive in DIII-D

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Petty, C.C.; Callis, R.W.; Chiu, S.C.; deGrassie, J.S.; Forest, C.B.; Freeman, R.L.; Gohil, P.; Harvey, R.W.; Ikezi, H.; Lin-Liu, Y.-R.

1995-02-01

The non-inductive current drive from fast Alfven waves launched by a directional four-element antenna was measured in the DIII-D tokamak. The fast wave frequency (60 MHz) was eight times the deuterium cyclotron frequency at the plasma center. An array of rf pickup loops at several locations around the torus was used to verify the directivity of the four-element antenna. Complete non-inductive current drive was achieved using a combination of fast wave current drive (FWCD) and electron cyclotron current drive (ECCD) in discharges for which the total plasma current was inductively ramped down from 400 to 170 kA. For discharges with steady plasma current, up to 110 kA of FWCD was inferred from an analysis of the loop voltage, with a maximum non-inductive current (FWCD, ECCD, and bootstrap) of 195 out of 310 kA. The FWCD efficiency increased linearly with central electron temperature. For low current discharges, the FWCD efficiency was degraded due to incomplete fast wave damping. The experimental FWCD was found to agree with predictions from the CURRAY ray-tracing code only when a parasitic loss of 4% per pass was included in the modeling along with multiple pass damping

Gene prediction in metagenomic fragments: A large scale machine learning approach

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Morgenstern Burkhard

2008-04-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Metagenomics is an approach to the characterization of microbial genomes via the direct isolation of genomic sequences from the environment without prior cultivation. The amount of metagenomic sequence data is growing fast while computational methods for metagenome analysis are still in their infancy. In contrast to genomic sequences of single species, which can usually be assembled and analyzed by many available methods, a large proportion of metagenome data remains as unassembled anonymous sequencing reads. One of the aims of all metagenomic sequencing projects is the identification of novel genes. Short length, for example, Sanger sequencing yields on average 700 bp fragments, and unknown phylogenetic origin of most fragments require approaches to gene prediction that are different from the currently available methods for genomes of single species. In particular, the large size of metagenomic samples requires fast and accurate methods with small numbers of false positive predictions. Results We introduce a novel gene prediction algorithm for metagenomic fragments based on a two-stage machine learning approach. In the first stage, we use linear discriminants for monocodon usage, dicodon usage and translation initiation sites to extract features from DNA sequences. In the second stage, an artificial neural network combines these features with open reading frame length and fragment GC-content to compute the probability that this open reading frame encodes a protein. This probability is used for the classification and scoring of gene candidates. With large scale training, our method provides fast single fragment predictions with good sensitivity and specificity on artificially fragmented genomic DNA. Additionally, this method is able to predict translation initiation sites accurately and distinguishes complete from incomplete genes with high reliability. Conclusion Large scale machine learning methods are well-suited for gene

Modifiable Combining Functions

OpenAIRE

Cohen, Paul; Shafer, Glenn; Shenoy, Prakash P.

2013-01-01

Modifiable combining functions are a synthesis of two common approaches to combining evidence. They offer many of the advantages of these approaches and avoid some disadvantages. Because they facilitate the acquisition, representation, explanation, and modification of knowledge about combinations of evidence, they are proposed as a tool for knowledge engineers who build systems that reason under uncertainty, not as a normative theory of evidence.

Development of a supercritical fluid chromatography method with ultraviolet and mass spectrometry detection for the characterization of biomass fast pyrolysis bio oils.

Science.gov (United States)

Crepier, Julien; Le Masle, Agnès; Charon, Nadège; Albrieux, Florian; Heinisch, Sabine

2017-08-11

The characterization of complex mixtures is a challenging issue for the development of innovative processes dedicated to biofuels and bio-products production. The huge number of compounds present in biomass fast pyrolysis oils combined with the large diversity of chemical functions represent a bottleneck as regards analytical technique development. For the extensive characterization of complex samples, supercritical fluid chromatography (SFC) can be alternative to usual separation techniques such as gas (GC) or liquid chromatography (LC). In this study, an approach is proposed to define the best conditions for the SFC separation of a fast pyrolysis bio-oil. This approach was based on SFC data obtained directly from the bio-oil itself instead of selecting model compounds as usually done. SFC conditions were optimized by using three specific, easy-to-use and quantitative criteria aiming at maximizing the separation power. Polar stationary phases (ethylpyridine bonded silica) associated to a mix of acetonitrile and water as polarity modifier provided the best results, with more than 120 peaks detected in SFC-UV. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Japanese experience with clinical trials of fast neutrons

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tsunemoto, H.; Arai, T.; Morita, S.; Ishikawa, T.; Aoki, Y.; Takada, N.; Kamata, S.

1982-01-01

Between November, 1975 and November, 1981, 825 patients were treated with 30 MeV (d-Be) neutrons at the National Institute of Radiological Sciences, Chiba. At the Institute of Medical Science, Tokyo, 302 patients were referred to the Radiation Therapy department and were treated with 16 MeV (d-Be) neutrons. The emphasis of these clinical trials with fast neutrons was placed on the estimation of the effect of fast neutrons for locally advanced cancers or radioresistant cancers, and on evaluation of the rate of complication of normal tissues following irradiation with fast neutrons. Results were evaluated for patients with previously untreated cancer; local control of the tumor was observed in 59.1%. Complications requiring medical care developed in only 32 patients. Late reaction of soft tissue seemed to be more severe than that observed with photon beams. The results also suggest that for carcinoma of the larynx, esophagus, uterine cervix, Pancoast's tumor of the lung and osteosarcoma, fast neutrons were considered to be effectively applied in this randomized clinical trial. For carcinoma of the larynx, a fast neutron boost was effectively delivered, although an interstitial implant was necessarily combined with fast neutrons for carcinoma of the tongue. The cumulative survival rate of the patients with carcinoma of the esophagus treated with fast neutrons of 26% compared to the survival rate of 10.5% obtained using photons. The results also indicate that local control and relief of the symptom related to Pancoast's tumor of the lung seemed to be better with neutrons than with photons. For patients suffering from osteosarcoma, the surgical procedures preserving the function of the leg and arm were studied according to the better local control rate of the tumor following fast neutron beam therapy

Recognition of chemical entities: combining dictionary-based and grammar-based approaches

Science.gov (United States)

2015-01-01

Background The past decade has seen an upsurge in the number of publications in chemistry. The ever-swelling volume of available documents makes it increasingly hard to extract relevant new information from such unstructured texts. The BioCreative CHEMDNER challenge invites the development of systems for the automatic recognition of chemicals in text (CEM task) and for ranking the recognized compounds at the document level (CDI task). We investigated an ensemble approach where dictionary-based named entity recognition is used along with grammar-based recognizers to extract compounds from text. We assessed the performance of ten different commercial and publicly available lexical resources using an open source indexing system (Peregrine), in combination with three different chemical compound recognizers and a set of regular expressions to recognize chemical database identifiers. The effect of different stop-word lists, case-sensitivity matching, and use of chunking information was also investigated. We focused on lexical resources that provide chemical structure information. To rank the different compounds found in a text, we used a term confidence score based on the normalized ratio of the term frequencies in chemical and non-chemical journals. Results The use of stop-word lists greatly improved the performance of the dictionary-based recognition, but there was no additional benefit from using chunking information. A combination of ChEBI and HMDB as lexical resources, the LeadMine tool for grammar-based recognition, and the regular expressions, outperformed any of the individual systems. On the test set, the F-scores were 77.8% (recall 71.2%, precision 85.8%) for the CEM task and 77.6% (recall 71.7%, precision 84.6%) for the CDI task. Missed terms were mainly due to tokenization issues, poor recognition of formulas, and term conjunctions. Conclusions We developed an ensemble system that combines dictionary-based and grammar-based approaches for chemical named

Recognition of chemical entities: combining dictionary-based and grammar-based approaches.

Science.gov (United States)

Akhondi, Saber A; Hettne, Kristina M; van der Horst, Eelke; van Mulligen, Erik M; Kors, Jan A

2015-01-01

The past decade has seen an upsurge in the number of publications in chemistry. The ever-swelling volume of available documents makes it increasingly hard to extract relevant new information from such unstructured texts. The BioCreative CHEMDNER challenge invites the development of systems for the automatic recognition of chemicals in text (CEM task) and for ranking the recognized compounds at the document level (CDI task). We investigated an ensemble approach where dictionary-based named entity recognition is used along with grammar-based recognizers to extract compounds from text. We assessed the performance of ten different commercial and publicly available lexical resources using an open source indexing system (Peregrine), in combination with three different chemical compound recognizers and a set of regular expressions to recognize chemical database identifiers. The effect of different stop-word lists, case-sensitivity matching, and use of chunking information was also investigated. We focused on lexical resources that provide chemical structure information. To rank the different compounds found in a text, we used a term confidence score based on the normalized ratio of the term frequencies in chemical and non-chemical journals. The use of stop-word lists greatly improved the performance of the dictionary-based recognition, but there was no additional benefit from using chunking information. A combination of ChEBI and HMDB as lexical resources, the LeadMine tool for grammar-based recognition, and the regular expressions, outperformed any of the individual systems. On the test set, the F-scores were 77.8% (recall 71.2%, precision 85.8%) for the CEM task and 77.6% (recall 71.7%, precision 84.6%) for the CDI task. Missed terms were mainly due to tokenization issues, poor recognition of formulas, and term conjunctions. We developed an ensemble system that combines dictionary-based and grammar-based approaches for chemical named entity recognition, outperforming

Safety Design Criteria of Indian Sodium Cooled Fast Reactors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Pillai, P.; Chellapandi, P.; Chetal, S.C.; Vasudeva Rao, P.R.

2013-01-01

• Important feedback has been gained through the design and safety review of PFBR. • The safety criteria document prepared by AERB and IGCAR would provide important input to prepare the dedicated document for the Sodium cooled Fast Reactors at the national and international level. • A common approach with regard to safety, among countries pursuing fast reactor program, is desirable. • Sharing knowledge and experimental facilities on collaborative basis. • Evolution of strong safety criteria – fundamental to assure safety

Fast algorithms for transport models. Final report, June 1, 1993--May 31, 1994

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Manteuffel, T.

1994-12-01

The focus of this project is the study of multigrid and multilevel algorithms for the numerical solution of Boltzmann models of the transport of neutral and charged particles. In previous work a fast multigrid algorithm was developed for the numerical solution of the Boltzmann model of neutral particle transport in slab geometry assuming isotropic scattering. The new algorithm is extremely fast in the thick diffusion limit; the multigrid v-cycle convergence factor approaches zero as the mean-free-path between collisions approaches zero, independent of the mesh. Also, a fast multilevel method was developed for the numerical solution of the Boltzmann model of charged particle transport in the thick Fokker-Plank limit for slab geometry. Parallel implementations were developed for both algorithms

Simple and ultra-fast recognition and quantitation of compounded monoclonal antibodies: Application to flow injection analysis combined to UV spectroscopy and matching method.

Science.gov (United States)

Jaccoulet, E; Schweitzer-Chaput, A; Toussaint, B; Prognon, P; Caudron, E

2018-09-01

Compounding of monoclonal antibody (mAbs) constantly increases in hospital. Quality control (QC) of the compounded mAbs based on quantification and identification is required to prevent potential errors and fast method is needed to manage outpatient chemotherapy administration. A simple and ultra-fast (less than 30 s) method using flow injection analysis associated to least square matching method issued from the analyzer software was performed and evaluated for the routine hospital QC of three compounded mAbs: bevacizumab, infliximab and rituximab. The method was evaluated through qualitative and quantitative parameters. Preliminary analysis of the UV absorption and second derivative spectra of the mAbs allowed us to adapt analytical conditions according to the therapeutic range of the mAbs. In terms of quantitative QC, linearity, accuracy and precision were assessed as specified in ICH guidelines. Very satisfactory recovery was achieved and the RSD (%) of the intermediate precision were less than 1.1%. Qualitative analytical parameters were also evaluated in terms of specificity, sensitivity and global precision through a matrix of confusion. Results showed to be concentration and mAbs dependant and excellent (100%) specificity and sensitivity were reached within specific concentration range. Finally, routine application on "real life" samples (n = 209) from different batch of the three mAbs complied with the specifications of the quality control i.e. excellent identification (100%) and ± 15% of targeting concentration belonging to the calibration range. The successful use of the combination of second derivative spectroscopy and partial least square matching method demonstrated the interest of FIA for the ultra-fast QC of mAbs after compounding using matching method. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Advanced liquid metal fast breeder reactor designs

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sayles, C.W.

1978-01-01

Fast Breeder reactor power plants in the 1000-1200 MW(e) range are being built overseas and are being designed in this country. While these reactors have many characteristics in common, a variety of different approaches have been adopted for some of the major features. Some of those alternatives are discussed

Advantages and limitations of the use of optogenetic approach in studying fast-scale spike encoding.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Aleksey Malyshev

Full Text Available Understanding single-neuron computations and encoding performed by spike-generation mechanisms of cortical neurons is one of the central challenges for cell electrophysiology and computational neuroscience. An established paradigm to study spike encoding in controlled conditions in vitro uses intracellular injection of a mixture of signals with fluctuating currents that mimic in vivo-like background activity. However this technique has two serious limitations: it uses current injection, while synaptic activation leads to changes of conductance, and current injection is technically most feasible in the soma, while the vast majority of synaptic inputs are located on the dendrites. Recent progress in optogenetics provides an opportunity to circumvent these limitations. Transgenic expression of light-activated ionic channels, such as Channelrhodopsin2 (ChR2, allows induction of controlled conductance changes even in thin distant dendrites. Here we show that photostimulation provides a useful extension of the tools to study neuronal encoding, but it has its own limitations. Optically induced fluctuating currents have a low cutoff (~70 Hz, thus limiting the dynamic range of frequency response of cortical neurons. This leads to severe underestimation of the ability of neurons to phase-lock their firing to high frequency components of the input. This limitation could be worked around by using short (2 ms light stimuli which produce membrane potential responses resembling EPSPs by their fast onset and prolonged decay kinetics. We show that combining application of short light stimuli to different parts of dendritic tree for mimicking distant EPSCs with somatic injection of fluctuating current that mimics fluctuations of membrane potential in vivo, allowed us to study fast encoding of artificial EPSPs photoinduced at different distances from the soma. We conclude that dendritic photostimulation of ChR2 with short light pulses provides a powerful tool to

An evaluation of fast reactor blankets

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Oosterkamp, W.J.

1974-01-01

A comparative study of different types of fast reactor radial blankets is presented. Included are blankets of fertile material UO 2 , THO 2 and Th-metal blankets of pure reflectors C, BeO, Ni and combinations of reflecting and fertile blankets. The results for 1000MWe cores indicate that there is no incentive to use other than fertile blankets. The most favorable fertile material is thorium due to the prospective higher price of U-233

The Effect of Fast Food Globalisation on Students' Food Choice

OpenAIRE

Ijeoma Chinyere Ukonu

2016-01-01

This research seeks to investigate how the globalisation of fast food has affected students' food choice. A mixed method approach was used in this research; basically involving quantitative and qualitative methods. The quantitative method uses a self-completion questionnaire to randomly sample one hundred and four students; while the qualitative method uses a semi structured interview technique to survey four students on their knowledge and choice to consume fast food. A cross tabulation of v...

Fast, Accurate Memory Architecture Simulation Technique Using Memory Access Characteristics

OpenAIRE

小野, 貴継; 井上, 弘士; 村上, 和彰

2007-01-01

This paper proposes a fast and accurate memory architecture simulation technique. To design memory architecture, the first steps commonly involve using trace-driven simulation. However, expanding the design space makes the evaluation time increase. A fast simulation is achieved by a trace size reduction, but it reduces the simulation accuracy. Our approach can reduce the simulation time while maintaining the accuracy of the simulation results. In order to evaluate validity of proposed techniq...

The combined theoretical and experimental approach to arrive at optimum parameters in friction stir welding

Science.gov (United States)

Jagadeesha, C. B.

2017-12-01

Even though friction stir welding was invented long back (1991) by TWI England, till now there has no method or procedure or approach developed, which helps to obtain quickly optimum or exact parameters yielding good or sound weld. An approach has developed in which an equation has been derived, by which approximate rpm can be obtained and by setting range of rpm ±100 or 50 rpm over approximate rpm and by setting welding speed equal to 60 mm/min or 50 mm/min one can conduct FSW experiment to reach optimum parameters; one can reach quickly to optimum parameters, i.e. desired rpm, and welding speed, which yield sound weld by the approach. This approach can be effectively used to obtain sound welds for all similar and dissimilar combinations of materials such as Steel, Al, Mg, Ti, etc.

Near midplane scintillator-based fast ion loss detector on DIII-D.

Science.gov (United States)

Chen, X; Fisher, R K; Pace, D C; García-Muñoz, M; Chavez, J A; Heidbrink, W W; Van Zeeland, M A

2012-10-01

A new scintillator-based fast-ion loss detector (FILD) installed near the outer midplane of the plasma has been commissioned on DIII-D. This detector successfully measures coherent fast ion losses produced by fast-ion driven instabilities (≤500 kHz). Combined with the first FILD at ∼45° below the outer midplane [R. K. Fisher, et al., Rev. Sci. Instrum. 81, 10D307 (2010)], the two-detector system measures poloidal variation of losses. The phase space sensitivity of the new detector (gyroradius r(L) ∼ [1.5-8] cm and pitch angle α ∼ [35°-85°]) is calibrated using neutral beam first orbit loss measurements. Since fast ion losses are localized poloidally, having two FILDs at different poloidal locations allows for the study of losses over a wider range of plasma shapes and types of loss orbits.

Fast Disintegrating Combination Tablet of Taste Masked Levocetrizine Dihydrochloride and Montelukast Sodium: Formulation Design, Development, and Characterization

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

M. M. Gupta

2014-01-01

Full Text Available The aim of this study was to prepare fast disintegrating combination tablet of taste masked Levocetrizine dihydrochloride and Montelukast sodium by using direct compression method. To prevent bitter taste and unacceptable odour of the Levocetrizine dihydrochloride drug, the drug was taste masked with ion exchange resins like Kyron-T-104 and Tulsion-412. Among the two resins, Kyron-T-104 was selected for further studies because of high drug loading capacity, low cost, and better drug release profile. An ion exchange resin complex was prepared by the batch technique and various parameters; namely, resin activation, drug: resin ratio, pH, temperature, and stirring time, and swelling time were optimized to successfully formulate the tasteless drug resin complex (DRC. The tablets were prepared using microcrystalline cellulose (MCC PH 102 as diluent along with crospovidone (CP, croscarmellose sodium (CCM, and sodium starch glycolate (SSG as a superdisintegrants. The tablets were evaluated for weight variation, hardness, friability, wetting time, water absorption ratio, disintegration time (DT, and dissolution study and it was concluded that the tablet formulation prepared with 2% SSG + CCS showed better disintegration time in comparison with other formulation and good drug release. The stability studies were carried out for the optimized batch for three months and it showed acceptable results.

An approach for real-time fast point positioning of the BeiDou Navigation Satellite System using augmentation information

Science.gov (United States)

Tu, Rui; Zhang, Rui; Zhang, Pengfei; Liu, Jinhai; Lu, Xiaochun

2018-07-01

This study proposes an approach to facilitate real-time fast point positioning of the BeiDou Navigation Satellite System (BDS) based on regional augmentation information. We term this as the precise positioning based on augmentation information (BPP) approach. The coordinates of the reference stations were highly constrained to extract the augmentation information, which contained not only the satellite orbit clock error correlated with the satellite running state, but also included the atmosphere error and unmodeled error, which are correlated with the spatial and temporal states. Based on these mixed augmentation corrections, a precise point positioning (PPP) model could be used for the coordinates estimation of the user stations, and the float ambiguity could be easily fixed for the single-difference between satellites. Thus, this technique provided a quick and high-precision positioning service. Three different datasets with small, medium, and large baselines (0.6 km, 30 km and 136 km) were used to validate the feasibility and effectiveness of the proposed BPP method. The validations showed that using the BPP model, 1–2 cm positioning service can be provided in a 100 km wide area after just 2 s of initialization. Thus, as the proposed approach not only capitalized on both PPP and RTK but also provided consistent application, it can be used for area augmentation positioning.

Pharmacokinetics and bioavailability of oxycodone and acetaminophen following single-dose administration of MNK-795, a dual-layer biphasic IR/ER combination formulation, under fed and fasted conditions

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Devarakonda K

2014-08-01

Full Text Available Krishna Devarakonda,1 Terri Morton,1 Rachel Margulis,2 Michael Giuliani,3 Thomas Barrett4 1Clinical Pharmacology and Pharmacokinetics, 2Clinical Operations, 3Research and Development, 4Clinical Affairs, Mallinckrodt Inc., Hazelwood, MO, USA Background: XARTEMIS™ XR (formerly MNK-795 is a combination oxycodone (OC and acetaminophen (APAP analgesic with both immediate-release and extended-release (ER components (ER OC/APAP. The tablets are designed with gastric-retentive ER oral delivery technology that releases the ER component at a controlled rate in the upper gastrointestinal tract. Because consumption of food has demonstrated an impact on the pharmacokinetics (PK of some marketed products using gastric-retentive ER oral delivery technology, a characterization of the effects of fed (high- and low-fat diets versus fasted conditions on the PK of ER OC/APAP was performed. Methods: This Phase I study used an open-label randomized single-dose three-period six-sequence crossover single-center design. Healthy adult participants (n=48 were randomized to receive two tablets of ER OC/APAP under three conditions: following a high-fat meal; following a low-fat meal; and fasted. Plasma concentration versus time data from predose throughout designated times up to 48 hours postdose was used to estimate the PK parameters of oxycodone and APAP. Results: Thirty-one participants completed all three treatment periods. Both oxycodone and APAP were rapidly absorbed under fasted conditions. Total oxycodone and APAP exposures (area under the plasma drug concentration-time curve [AUC] from ER OC/APAP were not significantly affected by food, and minimal changes to maximum observed plasma concentration for oxycodone and APAP were also noted. However, food marginally delayed the time to maximum observed plasma concentration of oxycodone and APAP. There was no indication that tolerability was affected by food. Conclusion: The findings from this study suggest that ER OC

Delivering advanced therapies: the big pharma approach.

Science.gov (United States)

Tarnowski, J; Krishna, D; Jespers, L; Ketkar, A; Haddock, R; Imrie, J; Kili, S

2017-09-01

After two decades of focused development and some recent clinical successes, cell and gene therapy (CGT) is emerging as a promising approach to personalized medicines. Genetically engineered cells as a medical modality are poised to stand alongside or in combination with small molecule and biopharmaceutical approaches to bring new therapies to patients globally. Big pharma can have a vital role in industrializing CGT by focusing on diseases with high unmet medical need and compelling genetic evidence. Pharma should invest in manufacturing and supply chain solutions that deliver reproducible, high-quality therapies at a commercially viable cost. Owing to the fast pace of innovation in this field proactive engagement with regulators is critical. It is also vital to understand the needs of patients all along the patient care pathway and to establish product pricing that is accepted by prescribers, payers and patients.

Factors related to reduction in the consumption of fast food: application of the theory-based approaches.

Science.gov (United States)

Zeinab, Jalambadani; Gholamreza, Garmaroudi; Mehdi, Yaseri; Mahmood, Tavousi; Korush, Jafarian

2017-09-21

The Trans-Theoretical model (TTM) and Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB) may be promising models for understanding and predicting reduction in the consumption of fast food. The aim of this study was to examine the applicability of the Trans-Theoretical model (TTM) and the additional predictive role of the subjective norms and perceived behavioural control in predicting reduction consumption of fast food in obese Iranian adolescent girls. A cross sectional study design was conducted among twelve randomly selected schools in Sabzevar, Iran from 2015 to 2017. Four hundred eighty five randomly selected students consented to participate in the study. Hierarchical regression models used to predict the role of important variables that can influence the reduction in the consumption of fast food among students. using SPSS version 22. Variables Perceived behavioural control (r=0.58, Pbehavioural processes of change (r=0.09, P=0.145), were not significant. The study demonstrated that the TTM (except the experiential and behavioural processes of change) focusing on the perceived behavioural control and subjective norms are useful models for reduction in the consumption of fast food.

Environmental sensitivity studies for Gen-IV roadmap fast reactor scenario

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jeong, Chang Joon

2004-03-01

The environmental effect of the self-sufficient fast reactor scenario, which is considered as one of the full fissile plutonium and transuranic recycle scenario in Gen-IV roadmap, has been analyzed by using the dynamic analysis method. Through the parametric calculations for the fast reactor deployment time and capacity, the environmental effects of the fuel cycle for important parameters such as the amount of spent fuel and the combined amounts of plutonium and minor actinides were estimated and compared to those of the once-through LWR fuel cycle. The results of the sensitivity calculations showed that an early deployment of the fast reactor with a high capacity can reduce the accumulation of spent fuel by up to 37%. Furthermore, the recycling of plutonium and minor actinides can reduce the key repository parameter (long term decay heat). Therefore the favorable environmental effects can be expected with the implementation of the symbiotic fast reactor scenario

Combined perventricular septal defect closure and patent ductus arteriosus ligation via the lower ministernotomy approach.

Science.gov (United States)

Voitov, Alexey; Omelchenko, Alexander; Gorbatykh, Yuriy; Bogachev-Prokophiev, Alexander; Karaskov, Alexander

2018-02-01

Over the past decade, minimally invasive approaches have been advocated for surgical correction of congenital defects to reduce costs related to hospitalization and for improved cosmesis. Minimal skin incisions and partial sternotomy reduce surgical trauma, however these techniques might not be successful in treating a number of congenital pathological conditions, particularly for combined congenital defects. We focused on cases with a combined presentation of ventricular septal defect and patent ductus arteriosus. We studied 12 infants who successfully underwent surgical treatment for a combined single-stage ventricular septal defect and patent ductus arteriosus closure through a lower ministernotomy without using cardiopulmonary bypass and X-rays. No intraoperative and early postoperative complications or mortality were noted. Postoperative echocardiography did not reveal residual shunts. The proposed technique is safe and reproducible in infants. © Crown copyright 2017.

Evaluating the Uncertainty in Exchange Parameters Determined from Off-Resonance R1ρ Relaxation Dispersion for Systems in Fast Exchange

Science.gov (United States)

Bothe, Jameson R.; Stein, Zachary W.; Al-Hashimi, Hashim M.

2014-01-01

Spin relaxation in the rotating frame (R1ρ) is a powerful NMR technique for characterizing fast microsecond timescale exchange processes directed toward short-lived excited states in biomolecules. At the limit of fast exchange, only kex = k1 + k−1 and Φıx = pGpE(Δω)2 can be determined from R1ρ data limiting the ability to characterize the structure and energetics of the excited state conformation. Here, we use simulations to examine the uncertainty with which exchange parameters can be determined for two state systems in intermediate-to-fast exchange using off-resonance R1ρ relaxation dispersion. R1ρ data computed by solving the Bloch-McConnell equations reveals small but significant asymmetry with respect to offset (R1ρ(ΔΩ) ≠ R1ρ(−ΔΩ)), which is a hallmark of slow-to-intermediate exchange, even under conditions of fast exchange for free precession chemical exchange line broadening (kex/Δω > 10). A grid search analysis combined with bootstrap and Monte-Carlo based statistical approaches for estimating uncertainty in exchange parameters reveals that both the sign and magnitude of Δω can be determined at a useful level of uncertainty for systems in fast exchange (kex/Δω exchange parameters. Results from simulations are complemented by analysis of experimental R1ρ data measured in three nucleic acid systems with exchange processes occurring on the slow (kex/Δω = 0.2; pE = ~ 0.7%), fast (kex/Δω = ~10–16; pE = ~13%) and very fast (kex = 39,000 s−1) chemical shift timescales. PMID:24819426

Combined computational and experimental approach to improve the assessment of mitral regurgitation by echocardiography.

Science.gov (United States)

Sonntag, Simon J; Li, Wei; Becker, Michael; Kaestner, Wiebke; Büsen, Martin R; Marx, Nikolaus; Merhof, Dorit; Steinseifer, Ulrich

2014-05-01

Mitral regurgitation (MR) is one of the most frequent valvular heart diseases. To assess MR severity, color Doppler imaging (CDI) is the clinical standard. However, inadequate reliability, poor reproducibility and heavy user-dependence are known limitations. A novel approach combining computational and experimental methods is currently under development aiming to improve the quantification. A flow chamber for a circulatory flow loop was developed. Three different orifices were used to mimic variations of MR. The flow field was recorded simultaneously by a 2D Doppler ultrasound transducer and Particle Image Velocimetry (PIV). Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) simulations were conducted using the same geometry and boundary conditions. The resulting computed velocity field was used to simulate synthetic Doppler signals. Comparison between PIV and CFD shows a high level of agreement. The simulated CDI exhibits the same characteristics as the recorded color Doppler images. The feasibility of the proposed combination of experimental and computational methods for the investigation of MR is shown and the numerical methods are successfully validated against the experiments. Furthermore, it is discussed how the approach can be used in the long run as a platform to improve the assessment of MR quantification.

Irradiation Testing Vehicles for Fast Reactors from Open Test Assemblies to Closed Loops

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Sienicki, James J. [Argonne National Lab. (ANL), Argonne, IL (United States); Grandy, Christopher [Argonne National Lab. (ANL), Argonne, IL (United States)

2016-12-15

A review of irradiation testing vehicle approaches and designs that have been incorporated into past Sodium-Cooled Fast Reactors (SFRs) or envisioned for incorporation has been carried out. The objective is to understand the essential features of the approaches and designs so that they can inform test vehicle designs for a future U.S. Fast Test Reactor. Fast test reactor designs examined include EBR-II, FFTF, JOYO, BOR-60, PHÉNIX, JHR, and MBIR. Previous designers exhibited great ingenuity in overcoming design and operational challenges especially when the original reactor plant’s mission changed to an irradiation testing mission as in the EBRII reactor plant. The various irradiation testing vehicles can be categorized as: Uninstrumented open assemblies that fit into core locations; Instrumented open test assemblies that fit into special core locations; Self-contained closed loops; and External closed loops. A special emphasis is devoted to closed loops as they are regarded as a very desirable feature of a future U.S. Fast Test Reactor. Closed loops are an important technology for irradiation of fuels and materials in separate controlled environments. The impact of closed loops on the design of fast reactors is also discussed in this report.

A Novel Fast and Secure Approach for Voice Encryption Based on DNA Computing

Science.gov (United States)

Kakaei Kate, Hamidreza; Razmara, Jafar; Isazadeh, Ayaz

2018-06-01

Today, in the world of information communication, voice information has a particular importance. One way to preserve voice data from attacks is voice encryption. The encryption algorithms use various techniques such as hashing, chaotic, mixing, and many others. In this paper, an algorithm is proposed for voice encryption based on three different schemes to increase flexibility and strength of the algorithm. The proposed algorithm uses an innovative encoding scheme, the DNA encryption technique and a permutation function to provide a secure and fast solution for voice encryption. The algorithm is evaluated based on various measures including signal to noise ratio, peak signal to noise ratio, correlation coefficient, signal similarity and signal frequency content. The results demonstrate applicability of the proposed method in secure and fast encryption of voice files

Solar Assisted Fast Pyrolysis: A Novel Approach of Renewable Energy Production

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mohammad U. H. Joardder

2014-01-01

Full Text Available Biofuel produced by fast pyrolysis from biomass is a promising candidate. The heart of the system is a reactor which is directly or indirectly heated to approximately 500°C by exhaust gases from a combustor that burns pyrolysis gas and some of the by-product char. In most of the cases, external biomass heater is used as heating source of the system while internal electrical heating is recently implemented as source of reactor heating. However, this heating system causes biomass or other conventional forms of fuel consumption to produce renewable energy and contributes to environmental pollution. In order to overcome these, the feasibility of incorporating solar energy with fast pyrolysis has been investigated. The main advantages of solar reactor heating include renewable source of energy, comparatively simpler devices, and no environmental pollution. A lab scale pyrolysis setup has been examined along with 1.2 m diameter parabolic reflector concentrator that provides hot exhaust gas up to 162°C. The study shows that about 32.4% carbon dioxide (CO2 emissions and almost one-third portion of fuel cost are reduced by incorporating solar heating system. Successful implementation of this proposed solar assisted pyrolysis would open a prospective window of renewable energy.

Delirium in the fast-track surgery setting

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Krenk, Lene; Rasmussen, Lars S; Kehlet, Henrik

2012-01-01

Postoperative delirium (PD) and postoperative cognitive dysfunction (POCD) are two separate syndromes of cognitive decline after major surgery, especially in the elderly. Pathogenesis is multifactorial with some common risk factors, and to reduce the risk, a multimodal approach is necessary. The ....... In conclusion, the fast-track methodology may reduce the incidence of postoperative cognitive decline after surgery........ The fast-track methodology is becoming a well-established perioperative care regime with possible preventive effects for postoperative cognitive decline, including reduced pain and use of opioids, and early mobilisation with early discharge (≤3 days) to preoperative environment after total hip....../knee arthroplasty (THA/TKA). The fast-track set-up seems to be associated with a lower frequency of PD and early POCD after THA/TKA. Thus, in a series of 225 patients ≥60 years, no cases of PD were seen and the incidence of POCD was reduced by more than 50% at 1 week postoperatively compared to previous studies...

Fast ignition schemes for inertial confinement fusion

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Deutsch, C.

2003-01-01

The controlled production of a local hot spot in super-compressed deuterium + tritium fuel is examined in details. Relativistic electron beams (REB) in the MeV and proton beams in the few tens MeV energy range produced by PW-lasers are respectively considered. A strong emphasis is given to the propagation issues due to large density gradients in the outer core of compressed fuel. A specific attention is also paid to the final and complete particle stopping resulting in hot spot generation as well as to the interplay of collective vs. particle stopping at the entrance channel on the low density side in plasma target. Moreover, REB production and fast acceleration mechanisms are also given their due attention. Proton fast ignition looks promising as well as the wedged (cone angle) approach circumventing most of transport uncertainties between critical layer and hot spot. Global engineering perspectives for fast ignition scenario (FIS) driven inertial confinement fusion are also detailed. (author)

Hybrid massively parallel fast sweeping method for static Hamilton–Jacobi equations

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Detrixhe, Miles, E-mail: mdetrixhe@engineering.ucsb.edu [Department of Mechanical Engineering (United States); University of California Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, CA, 93106 (United States); Gibou, Frédéric, E-mail: fgibou@engineering.ucsb.edu [Department of Mechanical Engineering (United States); University of California Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, CA, 93106 (United States); Department of Computer Science (United States); Department of Mathematics (United States)

2016-10-01

The fast sweeping method is a popular algorithm for solving a variety of static Hamilton–Jacobi equations. Fast sweeping algorithms for parallel computing have been developed, but are severely limited. In this work, we present a multilevel, hybrid parallel algorithm that combines the desirable traits of two distinct parallel methods. The fine and coarse grained components of the algorithm take advantage of heterogeneous computer architecture common in high performance computing facilities. We present the algorithm and demonstrate its effectiveness on a set of example problems including optimal control, dynamic games, and seismic wave propagation. We give results for convergence, parallel scaling, and show state-of-the-art speedup values for the fast sweeping method.

Hybrid massively parallel fast sweeping method for static Hamilton–Jacobi equations

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Detrixhe, Miles; Gibou, Frédéric

2016-01-01

The fast sweeping method is a popular algorithm for solving a variety of static Hamilton–Jacobi equations. Fast sweeping algorithms for parallel computing have been developed, but are severely limited. In this work, we present a multilevel, hybrid parallel algorithm that combines the desirable traits of two distinct parallel methods. The fine and coarse grained components of the algorithm take advantage of heterogeneous computer architecture common in high performance computing facilities. We present the algorithm and demonstrate its effectiveness on a set of example problems including optimal control, dynamic games, and seismic wave propagation. We give results for convergence, parallel scaling, and show state-of-the-art speedup values for the fast sweeping method.

A Bi-Level Optimization Approach to Charging Load Regulation of Electric Vehicle Fast Charging Stations Based on a Battery Energy Storage System

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Yan Bao

2018-01-01

Full Text Available Fast charging stations enable the high-powered rapid recharging of electric vehicles. However, these stations also face challenges due to power fluctuations, high peak loads, and low load factors, affecting the reliable and economic operation of charging stations and distribution networks. This paper introduces a battery energy storage system (BESS for charging load control, which is a more user-friendly approach and is more robust to perturbations. With the goals of peak-shaving, total electricity cost reduction, and minimization of variation in the state-of-charge (SOC range, a BESS-based bi-level optimization strategy for the charging load regulation of fast charging stations is proposed in this paper. At the first level, a day-ahead optimization strategy generates the optimal planned load curve and the deviation band to be used as a reference for ensuring multiple control objectives through linear programming, and even for avoiding control failure caused by insufficient BESS energy. Based on this day-ahead optimal plan, at a second level, real-time rolling optimization converts the control process to a multistage decision-making problem. The predictive control-based real-time rolling optimization strategy in the proposed model was used to achieve the above control objectives and maintain battery life. Finally, through a horizontal comparison of two control approaches in each case study, and a longitudinal comparison of the control robustness against different degrees of load disturbances in three cases, the results indicated that the proposed control strategy was able to significantly improve the charging load characteristics, even with large disturbances. Meanwhile, the proposed approach ensures the least amount of variation in the range of battery SOC and reduces the total electricity cost, which will be of a considerable benefit to station operators.

The Integral Fast Reactor: A practical approach to waste management

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Laidler, J.J.

1993-01-01

This report discusses development of the method for pyroprocessing of spent fuel from the Integral Fast Reactor (or Advanced Liquid Metal Reactor). The technology demonstration phase, in which recycle will be demonstrated with irradiated fuel from the EBR-II reactor has been reached. Methods for recovering actinides from spent LWR fuel are at an earlier stage of development but appear to be technically feasible at this time, and a large-scale demonstration of this process has begun. The utilization of fully compatible processes for recycling valuable spent fuel materials promises to provide substantial economic incentives for future applications of the pyroprocessing technology

A novel combined interventional radiologic and hepatobiliary surgical approach to a complex traumatic hilar biliary stricture

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Rachel E. NeMoyer

Full Text Available Introduction: Benign strictures of the biliary system are challenging and uncommon conditions requiring a multidisciplinary team for appropriate management. Presentation of case: The patient is a 32-year-old male that developed a hilar stricture as sequelae of a gunshot wound. Due to the complex nature of the stricture and scarring at the porta hepatis a combined interventional radiologic and surgical approach was carried out to approach the hilum of the right and left hepatic ducts. The location of this stricture was found by ultrasound guidance intraoperatively using a balloon tipped catheter placed under fluoroscopy in the interventional radiology suite prior to surgery. This allowed the surgeons to select the line of parenchymal transection for best visualization of the stricture. A left hepatectomy was performed, the internal stent located and the right hepatic duct opened tangentially to allow a side-to-side Roux-en-Y hepaticojejunostomy (a Puestow-like anastomosis. Discussion: Injury to the intrahepatic biliary ductal confluence is rarely fatal, however, the associated injuries lead to severe morbidity as seen in this example. Management of these injuries poses a considerable challenge to the surgeon and treating physicians. Conclusion: Here we describe an innovative multi-disciplinary approach to the repair of this rare injury. Keywords: Combined approach, Interventional radiology, Hepatobiliary surgery, Complex traumatic hilar biliary stricture, Case report

A combined MOIP-MCDA approach to building and screening atmospheric pollution control strategies in urban regions.

Science.gov (United States)

Mavrotas, George; Ziomas, Ioannis C; Diakouaki, Danae

2006-07-01

This article presents a methodological approach for the formulation of control strategies capable of reducing atmospheric pollution at the standards set by European legislation. The approach was implemented in the greater area of Thessaloniki and was part of a project aiming at the compliance with air quality standards in five major cities in Greece. The methodological approach comprises two stages: in the first stage, the availability of several measures contributing to a certain extent to reducing atmospheric pollution indicates a combinatorial problem and favors the use of Integer Programming. More specifically, Multiple Objective Integer Programming is used in order to generate alternative efficient combinations of the available policy measures on the basis of two conflicting objectives: public expenditure minimization and social acceptance maximization. In the second stage, these combinations of control measures (i.e., the control strategies) are then comparatively evaluated with respect to a wider set of criteria, using tools from Multiple Criteria Decision Analysis, namely, the well-known PROMETHEE method. The whole procedure is based on the active involvement of local and central authorities in order to incorporate their concerns and preferences, as well as to secure the adoption and implementation of the resulting solution.

A Combined MOIP-MCDA Approach to Building and Screening Atmospheric Pollution Control Strategies in Urban Regions

Science.gov (United States)

Mavrotas, George; Ziomas, Ioannis C.; Diakouaki, Danae

2006-07-01

This article presents a methodological approach for the formulation of control strategies capable of reducing atmospheric pollution at the standards set by European legislation. The approach was implemented in the greater area of Thessaloniki and was part of a project aiming at the compliance with air quality standards in five major cities in Greece. The methodological approach comprises two stages: in the first stage, the availability of several measures contributing to a certain extent to reducing atmospheric pollution indicates a combinatorial problem and favors the use of Integer Programming. More specifically, Multiple Objective Integer Programming is used in order to generate alternative efficient combinations of the available policy measures on the basis of two conflicting objectives: public expenditure minimization and social acceptance maximization. In the second stage, these combinations of control measures (i.e., the control strategies) are then comparatively evaluated with respect to a wider set of criteria, using tools from Multiple Criteria Decision Analysis, namely, the well-known PROMETHEE method. The whole procedure is based on the active involvement of local and central authorities in order to incorporate their concerns and preferences, as well as to secure the adoption and implementation of the resulting solution.

A combined data mining approach using rough set theory and case-based reasoning in medical datasets

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mohammad Taghi Rezvan

2014-06-01

Full Text Available Case-based reasoning (CBR is the process of solving new cases by retrieving the most relevant ones from an existing knowledge-base. Since, irrelevant or redundant features not only remarkably increase memory requirements but also the time complexity of the case retrieval, reducing the number of dimensions is an issue worth considering. This paper uses rough set theory (RST in order to reduce the number of dimensions in a CBR classifier with the aim of increasing accuracy and efficiency. CBR exploits a distance based co-occurrence of categorical data to measure similarity of cases. This distance is based on the proportional distribution of different categorical values of features. The weight used for a feature is the average of co-occurrence values of the features. The combination of RST and CBR has been applied to real categorical datasets of Wisconsin Breast Cancer, Lymphography, and Primary cancer. The 5-fold cross validation method is used to evaluate the performance of the proposed approach. The results show that this combined approach lowers computational costs and improves performance metrics including accuracy and interpretability compared to other approaches developed in the literature.

Scalable force directed graph layout algorithms using fast multipole methods

KAUST Repository

Yunis, Enas Abdulrahman

2012-06-01

We present an extension to ExaFMM, a Fast Multipole Method library, as a generalized approach for fast and scalable execution of the Force-Directed Graph Layout algorithm. The Force-Directed Graph Layout algorithm is a physics-based approach to graph layout that treats the vertices V as repelling charged particles with the edges E connecting them acting as springs. Traditionally, the amount of work required in applying the Force-Directed Graph Layout algorithm is O(|V|2 + |E|) using direct calculations and O(|V| log |V| + |E|) using truncation, filtering, and/or multi-level techniques. Correct application of the Fast Multipole Method allows us to maintain a lower complexity of O(|V| + |E|) while regaining most of the precision lost in other techniques. Solving layout problems for truly large graphs with millions of vertices still requires a scalable algorithm and implementation. We have been able to leverage the scalability and architectural adaptability of the ExaFMM library to create a Force-Directed Graph Layout implementation that runs efficiently on distributed multicore and multi-GPU architectures. © 2012 IEEE.

Neighborhood fast food restaurants and fast food consumption: a national study.

Science.gov (United States)

Richardson, Andrea S; Boone-Heinonen, Janne; Popkin, Barry M; Gordon-Larsen, Penny

2011-07-08

Recent studies suggest that neighborhood fast food restaurant availability is related to greater obesity, yet few studies have investigated whether neighborhood fast food restaurant availability promotes fast food consumption. Our aim was to estimate the effect of neighborhood fast food availability on frequency of fast food consumption in a national sample of young adults, a population at high risk for obesity. We used national data from U.S. young adults enrolled in wave III (2001-02; ages 18-28) of the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (n = 13,150). Urbanicity-stratified multivariate negative binomial regression models were used to examine cross-sectional associations between neighborhood fast food availability and individual-level self-reported fast food consumption frequency, controlling for individual and neighborhood characteristics. In adjusted analysis, fast food availability was not associated with weekly frequency of fast food consumption in non-urban or low- or high-density urban areas. Policies aiming to reduce neighborhood availability as a means to reduce fast food consumption among young adults may be unsuccessful. Consideration of fast food outlets near school or workplace locations, factors specific to more or less urban settings, and the role of individual lifestyle attitudes and preferences are needed in future research.

Neighborhood fast food restaurants and fast food consumption: A national study

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Gordon-Larsen Penny

2011-07-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Recent studies suggest that neighborhood fast food restaurant availability is related to greater obesity, yet few studies have investigated whether neighborhood fast food restaurant availability promotes fast food consumption. Our aim was to estimate the effect of neighborhood fast food availability on frequency of fast food consumption in a national sample of young adults, a population at high risk for obesity. Methods We used national data from U.S. young adults enrolled in wave III (2001-02; ages 18-28 of the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (n = 13,150. Urbanicity-stratified multivariate negative binomial regression models were used to examine cross-sectional associations between neighborhood fast food availability and individual-level self-reported fast food consumption frequency, controlling for individual and neighborhood characteristics. Results In adjusted analysis, fast food availability was not associated with weekly frequency of fast food consumption in non-urban or low- or high-density urban areas. Conclusions Policies aiming to reduce neighborhood availability as a means to reduce fast food consumption among young adults may be unsuccessful. Consideration of fast food outlets near school or workplace locations, factors specific to more or less urban settings, and the role of individual lifestyle attitudes and preferences are needed in future research.

The effect of fast-food restaurants on childhood obesity: a school level analysis.

Science.gov (United States)

Alviola, Pedro A; Nayga, Rodolfo M; Thomsen, Michael R; Danforth, Diana; Smartt, James

2014-01-01

We analyze, using an instrumental variable approach, the effect of the number of fast-food restaurants on school level obesity rates in Arkansas. Using distance to the nearest major highway as an instrument, our results suggest that exposure to fast-food restaurants can impact weight outcomes. Specifically, we find that the number of fast-food restaurants within a mile from the school can significantly affect school level obesity rates. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Prognostic factors in invasive bladder carcinoma treated by combined modality protocol (organ-sparing approach)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Matos, Tadeja; Cufer, Tanja; Cervek, Jozica; Borstnar, Simona; Kragelj, Borut; Zumer-Pregelj, Mirjana

2000-01-01

Purpose: The results of bladder sparing approach for the treatment of muscle-invasive bladder cancer, using a combination of transurethral resection (TUR), chemotherapy, and radiotherapy, are encouraging. The survival of patients treated by this method is similar to the survival of patients treated by radical cystectomy. The aim of our study was to find out which pretreatment characteristics influence the survival of patients treated by organ sparing approach that would enable us to identify the patients most suitable for this type of treatment. Methods and Materials: The prognostic value of different factors, such as age, gender, performance status, hemoglobin level, clinical stage, histologic grade, presence of obstructive uropathy, and completeness of TUR, has been studied in 105 patients with invasive bladder cancer, who received a bladder sparing treatment in the period from 1988 to 1995. They were treated with a combination of TUR, followed by 2-4 cycles of methotrexate, cisplatinum, and vinblastine polychemotherapy. In complete responders the treatment was completed by radiotherapy (50 Gy to the bladder and 40 Gy to the regional lymph nodes), whereas nonresponders underwent cystectomy whenever feasible. Results: Our study has confirmed an independent prognostic value of performance status, histologic grade, and obstructive uropathy, for the disease-specific survival (DSS) of bladder cancer patients treated by a conservative approach. We believe that performance status best reflects the extent of disease and exerts significant influence on the extent and course of treatment, while obstructive uropathy is a good indicator of local spread of the disease, better than clinical T-stage. Our finding that histologic grade is one of the strongest prognostic factors shows that tumor biology also is a very important prognostic factor in patients treated by conservative approach. Conclusion: Patients with muscle-invasive bladder cancer who are most likely to benefit

Spondylolysis in fast bowlers: principles of prevention and a survey of awareness among cricket coaches.

Science.gov (United States)

Bell, P A

1992-01-01

Back injury in general, and spondylolysis in particular, represents a serious threat to the fast bowler. Hereditary factors, poor technique, overuse, and poor preparation for fast bowling may combine to produce the 'at risk' bowler. Three first-class county coaches were interviewed to establish a level of awareness of the lesion, with an emphasis on preparation of fast bowlers and the roles of technique alteration and bowling prescription in reducing the risk of back injury. PMID:1490223

Multi-UAV Flight using Virtual Structure Combined with Behavioral Approach

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kownacki Cezary

2016-06-01

Full Text Available Implementations of multi-UAV systems can be divided mainly into two different approaches, centralised system that synchronises positions of each vehicle by a ground station and an autonomous system based on decentralised control, which offers more flexibility and independence. Decentralisation of multi-UAV control entails the need for information sharing between all vehicles, what in some cases could be problematic due to a significant amount of data to be sent over the wireless network. To improve the reliability and the throughput of information sharing inside the formation of UAVs, this paper proposes an approach that combines virtual structure with a leader and two flocking behaviours. Each UAV has assigned different virtual migration point referenced to the leader's position which is simultaneously the origin of a formation reference frame. All migration points create together a virtual rigid structure. Each vehicle uses local behaviours of cohesion and repulsion respectively, to track its own assigned point in the structure and to avoid a collision with the previous UAV in the structure. To calculate parameters of local behaviours, each UAV should know position and attitude of the leader to define the formation reference frame and also the actual position of the previous UAV in the structure. Hence, information sharing can be based on a chain of local peer-to-peer communication between two consecutive vehicles in the structure. In such solution, the information about the leader could be sequentially transmitted from one UAV to another. Numerical simulations were prepared and carried out to verify the effectiveness of the presented approach. Trajectories recorded during those simulations show collective, coherence and collision-free flights of the formation created with five UAVs.

Modified Lip Repositioning with Esthetic Crown Lengthening: A Combined Approach to Treating Excessive Gingival Display.

Science.gov (United States)

Sánchez, Isis M; Gaud-Quintana, Sadja; Stern, Jacob K

Lip repositioning surgery to address excessive gingival display induced by different etiologies has received major attention recently. Several techniques and variations have been reported, including myotomy or repositioning of the levator labii superioris muscle, Le Fort impaction, maxillary gingivectomies, botulinum toxin injections, and lip stabilization. This study reports a case of excessive gingival display treated by a modified combined approach. A 25-year-old woman with a 4- to 8-mm gingival display when smiling caused by a combination of short clinical crowns induced by an altered passive eruption and hypermobility of the upper lip underwent a staged esthetic crown-lengthening procedure followed by a modified lip repositioning technique. A description of the technique and a comparison with other modes of therapy is discussed. This modified approach for treating the hypermobile lip included a bilateral removal of a partial-thickness strip of mucosa from the maxillary buccal vestibule without severing the muscle, leaving the midline frenum intact and suturing the lip mucosa to the mucogingival line. The narrower vestibule and increased tooth length resulted in a symmetric and pleasing gingival display when smiling that remained stable over time. With proper diagnosis and sequence of therapy, modified lip repositioning surgery combined with esthetic crown lengthening can be used predictably to treat excessive gingival display and enhance smile esthetics.

A generic approach for expanding homolog-targeted residue screening of sulfonamides using a fast matrix separation and class-specific fragmentation-dependent acquisition with a hybrid quadrupole-linear ion trap mass spectrometer

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Huang Chunlin; Guo Bin; Wang Xiaoying; Li Jie; Zhu Weitao; Chen Bo; Ouyang Shan; Yao Shouzhuo

2012-01-01

Highlights: ► Generic homolog-targeted screening approach for multi-residual sulfonamide analogs. ► Single-tube extraction/partitioning-multifunction adsorption cleanup for direct injection. ► Class-specific fragmentation for expanding coverage of N 4 -acetyl and N-OH metabolites. ► PreS–IDA–EPI in LC–QqLIT for simultaneous screening and confirmation of real samples. - Abstract: A generic and efficient homolog-targeted approach was used to expand screening and detection of target class of sulfonamides and structural analogs, based on a fast single-tube extraction/partitioning-multifunction adsorption cleanup (SEP/MAC) for class-specific fragmentation-dependent acquisition with a liquid chromatography–hybrid triple-quadrupole linear ion trap mass spectrometer (LC–QqLIT). By combining the two-stage process conducted in a single tube as one-pot protocol, the straightforward SEP/MAC procedure was optimized to offer clean extracts with reasonable recovery (71–109% with RSDs 4 -acetyl and hydroxylamine metabolites plus their possible dimers. Moreover, the PreS-triggered automatically enhanced product ion spectral acquisition enabled simultaneous screening, profiling and confirmation of an unlimited number of analytes belonging to the sulfonamide class within a single analysis. The validation and application results of the generic SEP/MAC-based LC–QqLIT strategy consistently demonstrated favorable performances with acceptable accuracy (67–116%), precision (RSDs −1 ) to meet the acceptance criteria for all the sulfonamide–tissue combinations. Thus, the integration of the matrix-independent SEP/MAC procedure and the multiparameter matching algorithm with the unit-resolution LC–QqLIT instrument can serve as a valuable semi-targeted discovery strategy for rapid screening and reliable quantitative/confirmatory analysis of real samples.

Fast wave current drive on ITER in the presence of energetic alphas

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mau, T.K.

1989-01-01

The impact of energetic alpha particle wave absorption on the range of frequencies for efficient fast wave current drive in an ITER-like fusion reactor core is investigated. The energetic alpha damping decrement is calculated, using an exact slowing down distribution function, and compared to electron and fuel ion damping over a wide range of frequencies. A combination of strong alpha damping and edge electron absorption in the higher ion harmonic regime limits efficient core fast wave current drive to the lower harmonics (1=2.3). However, high frequency fast waves may be employed to generate current in the outer plasma region. 11 refs., 7 figs

The digital backend of FAST

Science.gov (United States)

Yu, Xinying; Zhang, Xia; Duan, Ran; li, di; Hao, Jie

2015-08-01

The receiver system is an important part of FAST (Five-hundred-meter Aperture Spherical Radio Telescope) and plays a key role in determining the performance of the telescope.This research covers three major aspects: establishment of system synchronization and timestamps, field-programmable gate array (FPGA)-based data transmission and analysis, and the rear receiver monitoring system. We intend to combine the use of GPS and a frequency standard instrument with network access to Unix timestamps to form actual timestamps. The data are stored with timestamps that contain integer and fractional seconds to be precise and headers, which are primarily intended to distinguish the data from each other.The data analysis procedures includes converting the timestamp information to real-time information, and merging the 8 channels’ data conversion results into frequency and energy data using corresponding conversion formulae. We must develop tailored monitoring software for the FAST receiver to customize the data format and perform data transmission. Signals on the front-end and back-end of the receiver can be monitored and controlled by adjusting the parameters on the software to increase the flexibility of the receiver.Most operations are performed on FPGA board, which can be shown from the figure, including the analog-to-digital conversion (ADC), fast Fourier transform (FFT), and pulse per second (1PPS) and Unix timestamp access operations.When analog data arrive, we initialize two ADCs at a sampling rate of 3Gsps, following by 8-channel FFT parallel processing.In collaboration with the Institute of Automation, we have developed a custom FPGA board which we call "FDB"("FAST Digital Backend"). The board is integrated with two Virtex-6 and one Virtex-5 high-speed Xilinx chips. The main function of the two Virtex-6 devices is to run the FFT and PFB programs, whereas the main function of Virtex-5 is configuration of the board.This research is indispensable for realizing the

Fast simulation of transport and adaptive permeability estimation in porous media

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Berre, Inga

2005-07-01