International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Shen, Zhixiong; Lang, Andreas
2016-01-01
Using an uncontaminated fast component is a key for improving the reliability of quartz OSL dating for many deposits. So far no approach to extract the fast component of quartz OSL has routinely been adopted for dating practice. Key challenges for extracting fast components are (1) the difficulty of finding a unique solution in curve-fitting deconvolution of OSL decay curves and (2) the relatively poor dating precision when using experimental fast component extraction. Here, a simple mathematic solution for fast component extraction is presented that is not relying on curve-fitting deconvolution and can easily be adopted into routine dating practices. By using specifically selected data points from smoothed OSL decay curves, the precision of equivalent doses calculated using the extracted fast component can be improved over equivalent doses calculated using bulk OSL. The fast component extraction is tested on a group of age-constrained samples containing both insufficiently bleached and sufficiently bleached deposits. Fast component OSL ages are as accurate as bulk OSL ages for the sufficiently bleached deposits, but more accurate for samples where bulk OSL is affected by insufficient bleaching. We also demonstrate how using a curve smoothing procedure can improve dating precision in case of both sufficiently and insufficiently bleached deposits. - Highlights: • A simple mathematical method to extract quartz OSL fast component is presented. • The method can be adopted in D_e calculation programs for routine extraction. • The method leads to an increase in accuracy and precision of D_e. • The method works for relatively dim samples with low signal-to-noise ratios.
Beam extraction control systems of the fast-cycling synchrotron
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Toumanian, A.; Zapolski, N.; Nickogosian, V.; Ananian, A.; Kazarian, A.; Khoetsian, M.; Agababian, A.; Matevosian, A.
1992-01-01
A compact system controlling the extraction of different beams (gamma, electron, synchrotron radiation) in single and simultaneous operation modes at high electromagnetic disturbances level based on using one computer of IBM PC/AT type is described. (author)
Design of fast extraction system for the KEK proton synchrotron
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
McCarthy, J.D.; Kimura, Yoshitaka.
1975-03-01
A fast beam extraction system is designed for the KEK 12 GeV Proton Synchrotron. The extraction is performed by the multi-turn beam shaving method in which hyper thin electrostatic septum inflectors are used as shaving elements. The beam loss and the emittance of the extracted beam are analyzed numerically as a function of thickness of the electrostatic septum wires. Specifications of the extraction elements, electrostatic septa, fast and slow bumps, and septum magnets, are given for the configuration of the designed system. (auth.)
Husen, Saikhu Akhmad; Winarni, Dwi; Khaleyla, Firas; Kalqutny, Septian Hary; Ansori, Arif Nur Muhammad
2017-09-01
This study aimed to explore the activity of pericarp extract of mangosteen (Garcinia mangostana L.). Mangosteen pericarp contains various active compounds which are beneficial for human health. In-vivo antioxidant assay of pericarp extract was carried out using 3-4 month male mice of strain BALB/c weighed 30-40 g. The mice were divided into two groups: normal control (KN) group and STZ-induced diabetic group. STZ induction was performed using multiple low-dose method 30 mg/kg body weight treated daily for five consecutive days. Diabetic group was separated into two subgroups: diabetic control (KD), metformin control (KM), and crude extract treatment subgroups. The fasting blood glucose and the cholesterol level were measured before and after lard treatment, we also did it on the first, seventh, and fourteenth day of mangosteen pericarp crude extract treatment. The mice were treated with mangosteen pericarp crude extract for 14 days. The MDA level of the fasting blood serum was measured. The body weight and fasting blood cholesterol level before and after lard treatment were analyzed by t-test, whereas, the fasting blood cholesterol and the MDA level were analyzed using one-way variant analysis continued with Duncan test. The correlation between the increasing body weight and the fasting blood cholesterol level was determined by Pearson correlation test. The results of the study showed that the administration of mangosteen pericarp crude extract was able to reduce the fasting blood cholesterol and the malondialdehide level significantly.
Fast betatron tune controller for circulating beam in a synchrotron
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Endo, Takuyuki; Hatanaka, Kichiji; Sato, Kenji
1997-01-01
When rf quadrupole (RFQ) electric field is applied to the circulating beam in a synchrotron, an equation of motion is reduced to Mathieu's Equation. A new analytical method to obtain an approximate solution has been developed, while a numerical computation was usually applied. Translating the behavior of approximate solution into terms of an RFQ electric field and betatron oscillation, a fast tune control can be achieved by rapid tuning of both amplitude and frequency of rf voltage. This process could be applied to suppress a tune shift caused by a space charge effect and to control a slow beam extraction with a low ripple. We have started another analytical computation using Hamiltonian with perturbation of RFQ and the results of this computation also suggest that it is applicable to slow beam extraction. The fast tune controller has been constructed and the beam test will be performed at HIMAC synchrotron in cooperation of RCNP and NIRS. (author)
Fast-extraction modulators for Los Alamos Scientific LaboratorY Proton Storage Ring
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Nunnally, W.C.; Hudgings, D.W.; Sarjeant, W.J.
1980-01-01
The development of a short-bunch mode fast-extraction modulator for the LASL proton storage ring has made necessary the design and development of a resonant transformer charging circuit and the design of a new FIB line circuit to provide bipolar pulse outputs with low prepulse, postpulse, and an optimum high-voltage switch environments. The systems are now being developed to operate reliably at the high-average powers required. The short-bunch mode fast-extraction modulator prototype is presently operating. The initial construction of the long-bunch mode fast-extraction modulator prototype is under way, with results expected within the year
Fast control and data acquisition in the neutral beam test facility
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Luchetta, A.; Manduchi, G.; Taliercio, C.
2014-01-01
Highlights: • The paper describes the fast control and data acquisition in the ITER neutral beam test facility. • The usage of real time control in ion beam generation and extraction is proposed. • Real time management of breakdowns is described. • The implementation of event-driven data acquisition is reported. - Abstract: Fast control and data acquisition are required in the ion source test bed of the ITER neutral beam test facility, referred to as SPIDER. Fast control will drive the operation of the power supply systems with particular reference to special asynchronous events, such as the breakdowns. These are short-circuits among grids or between grids and vessel that can occur repeatedly during beam operation. They are normal events and, as such, they will be managed by the fast control system. Cycle time associated to such fast control is down to hundreds of microseconds. Fast data acquisition is required when breakdowns occur. Event-driven data acquisition is triggered in real time by fast control at the occurrence of each breakdown. Pre- and post-event samples are acquired, allowing capturing information on transient phenomena in a whole time-window centered on the event. Sampling rate of event-driven data acquisition is up to 5 MS/s. Fast data acquisition may also be independent of breakdowns as in the case of the cavity ring-down spectroscopy where data chunks are acquired at 100 MS/s in bursts of 1.5 ms every 100 ms and are processed in real time to produce derived measurements. The paper after the description of the SPIDER fast control and data acquisition application will report the system design based on commercially available hardware and the MARTe and MDSplus software frameworks. The results obtained by running a full prototype of the fast control and data acquisition system are also reported and discussed. They demonstrate that all SPIDER fast control and data acquisition requirements can be met in the prototype solution
Fast control and data acquisition in the neutral beam test facility
Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)
Luchetta, A., E-mail: adriano.luchetta@igi.cnr.it; Manduchi, G.; Taliercio, C.
2014-05-15
Highlights: • The paper describes the fast control and data acquisition in the ITER neutral beam test facility. • The usage of real time control in ion beam generation and extraction is proposed. • Real time management of breakdowns is described. • The implementation of event-driven data acquisition is reported. - Abstract: Fast control and data acquisition are required in the ion source test bed of the ITER neutral beam test facility, referred to as SPIDER. Fast control will drive the operation of the power supply systems with particular reference to special asynchronous events, such as the breakdowns. These are short-circuits among grids or between grids and vessel that can occur repeatedly during beam operation. They are normal events and, as such, they will be managed by the fast control system. Cycle time associated to such fast control is down to hundreds of microseconds. Fast data acquisition is required when breakdowns occur. Event-driven data acquisition is triggered in real time by fast control at the occurrence of each breakdown. Pre- and post-event samples are acquired, allowing capturing information on transient phenomena in a whole time-window centered on the event. Sampling rate of event-driven data acquisition is up to 5 MS/s. Fast data acquisition may also be independent of breakdowns as in the case of the cavity ring-down spectroscopy where data chunks are acquired at 100 MS/s in bursts of 1.5 ms every 100 ms and are processed in real time to produce derived measurements. The paper after the description of the SPIDER fast control and data acquisition application will report the system design based on commercially available hardware and the MARTe and MDSplus software frameworks. The results obtained by running a full prototype of the fast control and data acquisition system are also reported and discussed. They demonstrate that all SPIDER fast control and data acquisition requirements can be met in the prototype solution.
Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)
Muraoka, Ryo; Nakanishi, Tetsuya, E-mail: nakanishi.tetsuya@nihon-u.ac.jp
2017-02-21
A feedback control of the spill structure for the slow beam extraction from the medical synchrotron using a fast quadruple and radio frequency (RF)-knockout (QAR method) is studied to obtain the designed spill structure. In addition the feed-forward control is used so that the feedback control is performed effectively. In this extraction method, the spill of several ms are extracted continuously with an interval time of less than 1 ms. Beam simulation showed that a flat spill structure was effectively obtained with feed-forward and feedback control system as well as a step-wise structure which is useful for the shortening of an irradiation time in a spot scanning operation. The effect of current ripples from main quadruple magnet's power supplies could be also reduced with the feedback control application.
Development of alternate extractant systems for fast reactor fuel cycle
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Vasudeva Rao, P.R.; Suresh, A.; Venkatesan, K.A.; Srinivasan, T.G.; Raj, Baldev
2007-01-01
Due to the limitations of TBP in processing of high burn-up, Pu-rich fast reactor fuels, there is a need to develop alternate extractants for fast reactor fuel processing. In this context, our Centre has been examining the suitability of alternate tri-alkyl phosphates. Third phase formation in the extraction of Th(IV) by TBP, tri-n-amyl phosphate (TAP) and tri-2-methyl-butyl phosphate (T2MBP) from nitric acid media has been investigated under various conditions to derive conclusions on their application for extraction of Pu at macro levels. The chemical and radiolytic degradation of tri-n-amyl-phosphate (TAP) diluted in normal paraffin hydrocarbon (NPH) in the presence of nitric acid has been investigated by the measurement of plutonium retention in organic phase. The potential application of room temperature ionic liquids (RTILs) for reprocessing of spent nuclear fuel has been explored. Extraction of uranium (VI) and palladium (II) from nitric acid medium by commercially available RTIL and tri-n-butyl phosphate solution in RTIL have been studied and the feasibility of electrodeposition of uranium as uranium oxide (UO 2 ) and palladium (II) as metallic palladium from the loaded organic phase have been demonstrated. This paper describes results of the above studies and discusses the suitability of the systems for fast reactor fuel reprocessing. (authors)
Tevatron extraction microcomputer
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Chapman, L.; Finley, D.A.; Harrison, M.; Merz, W.
1985-06-01
Extraction in the Fermilab Tevatron is controlled by a multi-processor Multibus microcomputer system called QXR (Quad eXtraction Regulator). QXR monitors several analog beam signals and controls three sets of power supplies: the ''bucker'' and ''pulse'' magnets at a rate of 5760 Hz, and the ''QXR'' magnets at 720 Hz. QXR supports multiple slow spills (up to a total of 35 seconds) with multiple fast pulses intermixed. It linearizes the slow spill and bucks out the high frequency components. Fast extraction is done by outputting a variable pulse waveform. Closed loop learning techniques are used to improve performance from cycle to cycle for both slow and fast extraction. The system is connected to the Tevatron clock system so that it can track the machine cycle. QXR is also connected to the rest of the Fermilab control system, ACNET. Through ACNET, human operators and central computers can monitor and control extraction through communications with QXR. The controls hardware and software both employ some standard and some specialized components. This paper gives an overview of QXR as a control system; another paper summarizes performance
Fast Extraction Kicker for the Accelerator Test Facility
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
De Santis, Stefano; Urakawa, Junji; Naito, Takashi
2007-01-01
We present the results of a study for the design of a fast extraction kicker to be installed in the Accelerator Test Facility ring at KEK. This activity is carried on in the framework of the ATF2 project, which will be built on the KEK Tsukuba campus as an extension of the existing ATF, taking advantage of the worlds smallest normalized emittance achieved there. ATF2's primary goal is to operate as a test facility and establish the hardware and beam handling technologies envisaged for the International Linear Collider. In particular, the fast extraction kicker object of the present paper is an important component of the ILC damping rings, since its rise and fall time define the minimum distance between bunches and ultimately the damping rings length itself. Building on the initial results presented at EPAC '06, we report on the present status of the kicker design and define the minimum characteristics for pulsers and other subsystems. In addition to the original scheme with multiple stripline modules producing a total deflection of 5 mrad, we also investigated a scheme with a single kicker module for a reduced deflection of 1 mrad placed inside a closed orbit bump, which takes the electron closer to the extraction septum
Tevatron extraction microcomputer
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Chapman, L.; Finley, D.A.; Harrison, M.; Merz, W.; Batavia, IL)
1985-01-01
Extraction in the Fermilab Tevatron is controlled by a multi-processor Multibus microcomputer system called QXR (Quad eXtraction Regulator). QXR monitors several analog beam signals and controls three sets of power supplies: the ''bucker'' and ''pulse'' magnets at a rate of 5760 Hz, and the ''QXR'' magnets at 720 Hz. QXR supports multiple slow spills (up to a total of 35 seconds) with multiple fast pulses intermixed. It linearizes the slow spill and bucks out the high frequency components. Fast extraction is done by outputting a variable pulse waveform. Closed loop learning techniques are used to improve performance from cycle to cycle for both slow and fast extraction. The system is connected to the Tevatron clock system so that it can track the machine cycle. QXR is also connected to the rest of the Fermilab control system, ACNET. Through ACNET, human operators and central computers can monitor and control extraction through communications with QXR. The controls hardware and software both employ some standard and some specialized components. This paper gives an overview of QXR as a control system; another paper (1) summarizes performance
A FAST AND ROBUST ALGORITHM FOR ROAD EDGES EXTRACTION FROM LIDAR DATA
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
K. Qiu
2016-06-01
Full Text Available Fast mapping of roads plays an important role in many geospatial applications, such as infrastructure planning, traffic monitoring, and driver assistance. How to extract various road edges fast and robustly is a challenging task. In this paper, we present a fast and robust algorithm for the automatic road edges extraction from terrestrial mobile LiDAR data. The algorithm is based on a key observation: most roads around edges have difference in elevation and road edges with pavement are seen in two different planes. In our algorithm, we firstly extract a rough plane based on RANSAC algorithm, and then multiple refined planes which only contains pavement are extracted from the rough plane. The road edges are extracted based on these refined planes. In practice, there is a serious problem that the rough and refined planes usually extracted badly due to rough roads and different density of point cloud. To eliminate the influence of rough roads, the technology which is similar with the difference of DSM (digital surface model and DTM (digital terrain model is used, and we also propose a method which adjust the point clouds to a similar density to eliminate the influence of different density. Experiments show the validities of the proposed method with multiple datasets (e.g. urban road, highway, and some rural road. We use the same parameters through the experiments and our algorithm can achieve real-time processing speeds.
Considerations on a new fast extraction kicker concept for SPS
Barnes, M
2010-01-01
An alternative extraction kicker concept is investigated for the SPS, based on open C-type kickers and a fast-bumper system. The beam is moved into the kicker gap some tens of ms before extraction. The concept is illustrated in detail with the LSS4 extraction from the SPS – very similar parameters and considerations apply to LSS6. A similar concept could also be conceived for injection but is more difficult due to the larger beam size. The technical issues are presented and the potential impact on the machine impedance outlined.
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Asad, M.; Munir, T.A.; Afzal, N.
2011-01-01
Objectives: To evaluate the hypoglycaemic and anti-platelet aggregation effect of aqueous methanol extract of Acacia Nilotica (AN) leaves compared with glyburide on streptozotocin induced diabetic rats. Methods: Diabetes mellitus was induced in 90 out of 120 albino rats by administering 50 mg/kg body weight (b.w) streptozotocin and was confirmed by measuring fasting blood glucose level >200 mg/dL on fourth post-induction day. The rats were equally divided into 4 groups, A (normal control), B (diabetic control), C (diabetic rats treated with AN extract) and group D (diabetic rats treated with glyburide). The rats of group C and D were given 300 mg/kg b.w AN extract and 900 mu gm/kg b.w glyburide respectively for 3 weeks. Blood glucose was measured by gluco meter, platelet aggregation by Dia-Med method and insulin and b-thrombo globulin by ELISA technique. Results: A significant increase (p<0.05) in fasting blood glucose, b-thrombo globulin and platelet aggregation and a significant decrease (p<0.05) in insulin levels was observed in streptozotocin induced diabetic rats than the normal controls. The rats treated with AN extract and glyburide showed a significant decrease (p<0.05) in fasting blood glucose and increase (p<0.05) in insulin levels than the diabetic control rats. However, the levels in both the treatment groups remained significantly different than the normal controls. A significant decrease (p<0.05) in b-thrombo globulin levels was seen in diabetic rats treated with glyburide than the diabetic control rats and diabetic rats treated with AN extract. Conclusions: AN leaves extract result into hypoglycaemic and anti-platelet aggregation activity in diabetic rats as that of glyburide. (author)
Synchronous timing of multi-energy fast beam extraction during a single AGS cycle
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Gabusi, J.; Naase, S.
1985-01-01
Synchronous triggering of fast beams is required because the field of Kicker Magnets must rise within the open space between one beam bunch and the next. Within the Brookhaven AGS, Fast Extracted Beam (FEB) triggering combines nominal timing, based on beam energy with bunch-to-bunch synchronization, based on the accelerating rf waveform. During beam acceleration, a single bunch is extracted at 22 GeV/c and within the same AGS cycle, the remaining eleven bunches are extracted at 28.4 GeV/c. When the single bunch is extracted, a ''hole'', which is left in the remaining circulating beam, can appear in random locations within the second extraction during successive AGS cycles. To overcome this problem, a synchronous rf/12 counting scheme and logic circuitry are used to keep track of the bunch positions relative to each other, and to place the ''hole'' in any desired location within the second extraction. The rf/12 signal is used also to synchronize experimenters triggers
Blind Extraction of Chaotic Signals by Using the Fast Independent Component Analysis Algorithm
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Hong-Bin, Chen; Jiu-Chao, Feng; Yong, Fang
2008-01-01
We report the results of using the fast independent component analysis (FastICA) algorithm to realize blind extraction of chaotic signals. Two cases are taken into consideration: namely, the mixture is noiseless or contaminated by noise. Pre-whitening is employed to reduce the effect of noise before using the FastICA algorithm. The correlation coefficient criterion is adopted to evaluate the performance, and the success rate is defined as a new criterion to indicate the performance with respect to noise or different mixing matrices. Simulation results show that the FastICA algorithm can extract the chaotic signals effectively. The impact of noise, the length of a signal frame, the number of sources and the number of observed mixtures on the performance is investigated in detail. It is also shown that regarding a noise as an independent source is not always correct
Non-local Fast Extraction from the CERN SPS at 100 and 440 GeV
Velotti, F M; Bartmann, W; Carlier, E; Cornelis, K; Efthymiopoulos, I; Goddard, B; Jensen, L K; Kain, V; Kowalska, M; Mertens, V; Steerenberg, R
2013-01-01
The Long Straight Section 2 (LSS2) of the CERN SPS is connected with the North Area (NA), to which the beam to date has always been extracted using a resonant extraction technique. For new proposed short- and long-baseline neutrino experiments, a fast single turn extraction to this experimental area is required. As there are no kickers in LSS2, and the integration of any new kickers with the existing electrostatic septum would be problematic, a solution has been developed to fast extract the beam using non-local extraction with other SPS kickers. Two different kicker systems have been used, the injection kicker in LSS1 and the stronger extraction kicker in LSS6 to extract 100 and 440 GeV beam, respectively. For both solutions a large emittance beam was extracted after 5 or 9 full betatron periods. The concept and simulation details are presented with the analysis of the aperture and beam loss considerations and experimental results collected during a series of beam tests.
Enhanced subject-specific resting-state network detection and extraction with fast fMRI.
Akin, Burak; Lee, Hsu-Lei; Hennig, Jürgen; LeVan, Pierre
2017-02-01
Resting-state networks have become an important tool for the study of brain function. An ultra-fast imaging technique that allows to measure brain function, called Magnetic Resonance Encephalography (MREG), achieves an order of magnitude higher temporal resolution than standard echo-planar imaging (EPI). This new sequence helps to correct physiological artifacts and improves the sensitivity of the fMRI analysis. In this study, EPI is compared with MREG in terms of capability to extract resting-state networks. Healthy controls underwent two consecutive resting-state scans, one with EPI and the other with MREG. Subject-level independent component analyses (ICA) were performed separately for each of the two datasets. Using Stanford FIND atlas parcels as network templates, the presence of ICA maps corresponding to each network was quantified in each subject. The number of detected individual networks was significantly higher in the MREG data set than for EPI. Moreover, using short time segments of MREG data, such as 50 seconds, one can still detect and track consistent networks. Fast fMRI thus results in an increased capability to extract distinct functional regions at the individual subject level for the same scan times, and also allow the extraction of consistent networks within shorter time intervals than when using EPI, which is notably relevant for the analysis of dynamic functional connectivity fluctuations. Hum Brain Mapp 38:817-830, 2017. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Feature extraction from mammographic images using fast marching methods
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Bottigli, U.; Golosio, B.
2002-01-01
Features extraction from medical images represents a fundamental step for shape recognition and diagnostic support. The present work faces the problem of the detection of large features, such as massive lesions and organ contours, from mammographic images. The regions of interest are often characterized by an average grayness intensity that is different from the surrounding. In most cases, however, the desired features cannot be extracted by simple gray level thresholding, because of image noise and non-uniform density of the surrounding tissue. In this work, edge detection is achieved through the fast marching method (Level Set Methods and Fast Marching Methods, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 1999), which is based on the theory of interface evolution. Starting from a seed point in the shape of interest, a front is generated which evolves according to an appropriate speed function. Such function is expressed in terms of geometric properties of the evolving interface and of image properties, and should become zero when the front reaches the desired boundary. Some examples of application of such method to mammographic images from the CALMA database (Nucl. Instr. and Meth. A 460 (2001) 107) are presented here and discussed
Panofsky magnet for the beam extraction from the synchrotron using a fast Q-magnet and RF-knockout
Masubuchi, S.; Nakanishi, T.
2011-12-01
The fast control of the beam spill extracted from a synchrotron is a key function for the spot scanning irradiation in cancer therapy application. The authors propose an extraction method which uses the quadruple field of fast response, as well as the RF-knockout. A Panofsky magnet was developed as a quadruple magnet, with a frequency response of around 10 kHz. The Panofsky magnet has a rectangular beam aperture and plate coils attached to the pole face. A model magnet has been manufactured with ferrite, and static and dynamic magnetic fields were measured. From the measurement we observed that the effects of eddy current in the plate coils were large and the uniformity of the magnetic field gradient in the beam aperture was worse than ±5% with a plate thickness of 0.02 cm and a frequency of current of 10 kHz. For the future, in a detailed design the eddy current effects have to be taken into account.
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Bergeonneau, Philippe
1978-01-01
The liquid-liquid extraction (also named solvent-based extraction) is a very important technique for the reprocessing of irradiated nuclear fuels. This research thesis is based on the use of a laboratory centrifugal extractor which allows interesting conditions to be achieved: fast transfer due to an intense solution mixing, very short duration of contact between solutions. Thus, after a report of a bibliographical study on chemical mechanisms of extraction, on the composition of extracted species, on extraction kinetics, and on centrifugal extractors, this thesis reports the design, fabrication and use of a centrifugal extractor: presentation of fundamental principles, description and characteristics (materials, hydrodynamic operation test and problems, prototype). It reports studies of fast transfer kinetics: mathematical processing, result interpretation, results and discussions of extraction kinetics for nitric acid, uranium VI and IV, plutonium IV, neptunium IV, and comparison of the different extraction kinetics
Song, Weitao; Zhang, Yiqun; Li, Guijie; Chen, Haiyan; Wang, Hui; Zhao, Qi; He, Dong; Zhao, Chun; Ding, Lan
2014-01-15
This paper presented a fast, simple and green sample pretreatment method for the extraction of 8 carbamate pesticides in rice. The carbamate pesticides were extracted by microwave assisted water steam extraction method, and the extract obtained was immediately applied on a C18 solid phase extraction cartridge for clean-up and concentration. The eluate containing target compounds was finally analysed by high performance liquid chromatography with mass spectrometry. The parameters affecting extraction efficiency were investigated and optimised. The limits of detection ranging from 1.1 to 4.2ngg(-1) were obtained. The recoveries of 8 carbamate pesticides ranged from 66% to 117% at three spiked levels, and the inter- and intra-day relative standard deviation values were less than 9.1%. Compared with traditional methods, the proposed method cost less extraction time and organic solvent. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Yan Chunhua; Jia Jiangtao; Liao Chunsheng; Wang Mingwen; Li Biaoguo; Xu Guangxian
1996-01-01
The article investigated a fast EDXRF analysis method by radioisotope excited ( 241 Am) employing a high-purity germanium detector in rare earth separation process by solvent extraction. Applying the method, hydrochloride aqueous samples of SeEuGd/Tb/Dy separation processes were off-line analyzed. Comparative results measured by ICP were also given out. The results show that the method can be used for a wide rare earth concentration range with low error. Being fast, effective, precise and non-destructive, it can be used for on-line analysis to detect and control rare earth separation process by solvent extraction
The fast extraction kicker power supply for the main ring of J-PARC
Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)
Koseki, Kunio, E-mail: kunio.koseki@kek.jp
2013-11-21
An effect induced by parasitic inductance in a pulsed power supply for a fast extraction kicker was studied. The parasitic inductance in high voltage capacitors for a low impedance pulse forming network disturbs a sharp rise of an excitation current. A high voltage capacitor with a coaxial structure to minimize the parasitic inductance is proposed. The effectiveness was confirmed experimentally. An impedance mismatch by a leakage inductance of a pulse transformer in a transmission line was studied. The effect is serious at the flat-top period of the excitation current. By introducing a compensation circuit, which is composed by a capacitor and a resistor, impedance matching was established. The pulsed power supply for the fast extraction kicker was operated at a charging voltage of 30 kV. A required rise time of less than 1.1 μs was achieved. The flatness was also confirmed to be in an acceptable value of less than 1%. -- Highlights: ●An effect by parasitic inductance of the energy storage capacitor of the PFN was studied. ●A faster rise time was achieved by introducing a coaxial structure for the PFN capacitor. ●An impedance mismatch by a leakage inductance of a pulse transformer was studied. ●Serious deterioration of the pulsed waveform was cured by a compensation circuit. ●The pulsed power supply for the fast extraction kicker was developed and operated successfully.
The Septum Magnet System of the New Fast Extraction Channel of the SPS at CERN
Balhan, B; Rizzo, A; Weterings, W
2004-01-01
In the Long Straight Section LSS4 of the Super Proton Synchrotron (SPS) at CERN, a new fast extraction system has been installed in order to extract the beam to ring 2 of the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) and the CERN Neutrino to Gran Sasso facility (CNGS). The system consists of horizontal closed orbit bumper magnets, extraction kicker magnets, enlarged aperture quadrupoles and six conventional DC electromagnetic septum magnets (MSE). A protection element (TPSG) has been placed immediately upstream of the first septum coil. The septum magnets and TPSG are mounted on a single mobile retractable support girder. The MSE septa are connected by a so-called plug-in system to a rigid water-cooled bus-bar, powered by water-cooled cables. The whole system is kept at the required vacuum pressure by ion pumps attached to separate pumping modules. In this note we present the design features and parameters of the MSE septum magnets, describe the function of the related main equipment elements, briefly report on the control...
Application of reflective memory network in Tokamak fast controller
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Weng Chuqiao; Zhang Ming; Liu Rui; Zheng Wei; Zhuang Ge
2014-01-01
A specific application of reflective memory network in Tokamak fast controller was introduced in this paper. The PMC-5565 reflective memory card and ACC-5565 network hub were used to build a reflective memory real-time network to test its real- time function. The real-time, rapidity and determinacy of the time delay for fast controller controlling power device under the reflective memory network were tested in the LabVIEW RT real-time operation system. Depending on the reflective memory technology, the data in several fast controllers were synchronized, and multiple control tasks using a single control task were finished. The experiment results show that the reflective memory network can meet the real-time requirements for fast controller to perform the feedback control over devices. (authors)
Role of ethanol leaf extracts of Ficus glumosa on fasting blood ...
African Journals Online (AJOL)
Normal saline 5ml/kg, 100mg/kg, 200mg/kg and 400mg/kg of Ficus glumosa ethanol leaves extract respectively via ip while Group V received insulin 6 iu/kg. Fasting blood sugar levels were measured at one day intervals for 7 days. Rats were sacrifice for the Serum liver enzymes and liver tissue for th analysis on the 7 day.
Role of ethanol leaf extracts of Ficus Glumosa on fasting blood ...
African Journals Online (AJOL)
Normal saline 5ml/kg, 100mg/kg, 200mg/kg and 400mg/kg of Ficus glumosa ethanol leaves extract respectively via ip while Group V received insulin 6 iu/kg. Fasting blood sugar levels were measured at one day intervals for 7 days. Rats were sacrifice for the Serum liver enzymes and liver the tissue for analysis on the 7 day ...
Mohamed, T; Oikawa, S; Iwasaki, Y; Mizunuma, Y; Takehana, K; Endoh, D; Kurosawa, T; Sato, H
2004-04-01
This study was designed to monitor lipid profile in the portal and hepatic blood of cows with fasting-induced hepatic lipidosis, and to compare the results with those in the jugular blood. The work was also carried out to investigate bile acid (BA) in these vessels, and further to investigate BA extraction rate in the liver. Five cows were equipped with catheters in the portal, hepatic and jugular veins (day 0), fasted for 4 days (day 1-day 4) and then refed (day 5-day 11). Before morning feeding, blood was sampled before, during and after fasting from the catheterized vessels. In the portal blood, the concentration of non-esterified fatty acids (NEFA) showed a progressive increase and at day 5 there was an approximate twofold rise. Increased NEFA concentrations were also found similarly in the other two veins. At day 5, beta-hydroxybutyrate (BHBA) in the portal, hepatic and jugular blood rose to 197, 190 and 186% of the pre-fasting value, respectively. However, the concentrations of NEFA and BHBA in the three veins gradually returned to pre-fasting concentration during the refeeding period. Compared with the pre-fasting value at day 0, the content of liver triglyceride (TG) increased significantly at day 5 (P hepatic extraction rate of BA dropped from 3.1 times pre-fasting to 2.2 times during fasting. There were no significant differences in the concentrations of glucose, TG, total cholesterol, cholesterol esters, free cholesterol and phospholipids. The results of the current study show that metabolic alterations occur in the portal, hepatic and jugular veins during induction of hepatic lipidosis in cows, and mostly metabolites, with exception of BA concentration, run parallel. The decreased BA extraction rate in the liver of fasted cows was considered to reflect hepatic cell impairment caused by TG accumulation. Hopefully, the findings, at least in part, contribute to the explanation of the pathophysiology of hepatic lipidosis in dairy cows.
Engineering Design of ITER Prototype Fast Plant System Controller
Goncalves, B.; Sousa, J.; Carvalho, B.; Rodrigues, A. P.; Correia, M.; Batista, A.; Vega, J.; Ruiz, M.; Lopez, J. M.; Rojo, R. Castro; Wallander, A.; Utzel, N.; Neto, A.; Alves, D.; Valcarcel, D.
2011-08-01
The ITER control, data access and communication (CODAC) design team identified the need for two types of plant systems. A slow control plant system is based on industrial automation technology with maximum sampling rates below 100 Hz, and a fast control plant system is based on embedded technology with higher sampling rates and more stringent real-time requirements than that required for slow controllers. The latter is applicable to diagnostics and plant systems in closed-control loops whose cycle times are below 1 ms. Fast controllers will be dedicated industrial controllers with the ability to supervise other fast and/or slow controllers, interface to actuators and sensors and, if necessary, high performance networks. Two prototypes of a fast plant system controller specialized for data acquisition and constrained by ITER technological choices are being built using two different form factors. This prototyping activity contributes to the Plant Control Design Handbook effort of standardization, specifically regarding fast controller characteristics. Envisaging a general purpose fast controller design, diagnostic use cases with specific requirements were analyzed and will be presented along with the interface with CODAC and sensors. The requirements and constraints that real-time plasma control imposes on the design were also taken into consideration. Functional specifications and technology neutral architecture, together with its implications on the engineering design, were considered. The detailed engineering design compliant with ITER standards was performed and will be discussed in detail. Emphasis will be given to the integration of the controller in the standard CODAC environment. Requirements for the EPICS IOC providing the interface to the outside world, the prototype decisions on form factor, real-time operating system, and high-performance networks will also be discussed, as well as the requirements for data streaming to CODAC for visualization and
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.
Teixeira, Leonel Silva; Vieira, Heulla Pereira; Windmöller, Cláudia Carvalhinho; Nascentes, Clésia Cristina
2014-02-01
A fast and accurate method based on ultrasound-assisted extraction in a cup-horn sonoreactor was developed to determine the total content of Cd, Co, Cr, Cu, Mn, Ni, Pb and Zn in organic fertilizers by fast sequential flame atomic absorption spectrometry (FS FAAS). Multivariate optimization was used to establish the optimal conditions for the extraction procedure. An aliquot containing approximately 120 mg of the sample was added to a 500 µL volume of an acid mixture (HNO3/HCl/HF, 5:3:3, v/v/v). After a few minutes, 500 µL of deionized water was added and eight samples were simultaneously sonicated for 10 min at 50% amplitude, allowing a sample throughput of 32 extractions per hour. The performance of the method was evaluated with a certified reference material of sewage sludge (CRM 029). The precision, expressed as the relative standard deviation, ranged from 0.58% to 5.6%. The recoveries of analytes were found to 100%, 109%, 96%, 92%, 101%, 104% and 102% for Cd, Cr, Cu, Mn, Ni, Pb and Zn, respectively. The linearity, limit of detection and limit of quantification were calculated and the values obtained were adequate for the quality control of organic fertilizers. The method was applied to the analysis of several commercial organic fertilizers and organic wastes used as fertilizers, and the results were compared with those obtained using the microwave digestion procedure. A good agreement was found between the results obtained by microwave and ultrasound procedures with recoveries ranging from 80.4% to 117%. Two organic waste samples were not in accordance with the Brazilian legislation regarding the acceptable levels of contaminants. © 2013 Published by Elsevier B.V.
Status of fast reactor control rod development in the United Kingdom
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Kelly, B.T.
1984-01-01
The two large fast reactors constructed in the United Kingdom, that is the Dounreay Fast Reactor (DFR) and the Prototype Fast Reactor (PFR) differed substantially in their control systems. DFR was controlled by variation of the neutron leakage from the core while PFR uses conventional control rods containing neutron absorbing materials. This paper describes the development of the PFR control systems, the progressive design of the control systems for the prototype Civil Fast Reactor (CFR) and the supporting research and development programmes. (author)
An Optimal Control Modification to Model-Reference Adaptive Control for Fast Adaptation
Nguyen, Nhan T.; Krishnakumar, Kalmanje; Boskovic, Jovan
2008-01-01
This paper presents a method that can achieve fast adaptation for a class of model-reference adaptive control. It is well-known that standard model-reference adaptive control exhibits high-gain control behaviors when a large adaptive gain is used to achieve fast adaptation in order to reduce tracking error rapidly. High gain control creates high-frequency oscillations that can excite unmodeled dynamics and can lead to instability. The fast adaptation approach is based on the minimization of the squares of the tracking error, which is formulated as an optimal control problem. The necessary condition of optimality is used to derive an adaptive law using the gradient method. This adaptive law is shown to result in uniform boundedness of the tracking error by means of the Lyapunov s direct method. Furthermore, this adaptive law allows a large adaptive gain to be used without causing undesired high-gain control effects. The method is shown to be more robust than standard model-reference adaptive control. Simulations demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed method.
Lu, Shan; Zhang, Hanmo
2016-01-01
To meet the requirement of autonomous orbit determination, this paper proposes a fast curve fitting method based on earth ultraviolet features to obtain accurate earth vector direction, in order to achieve the high precision autonomous navigation. Firstly, combining the stable characters of earth ultraviolet radiance and the use of transmission model software of atmospheric radiation, the paper simulates earth ultraviolet radiation model on different time and chooses the proper observation band. Then the fast improved edge extracting method combined Sobel operator and local binary pattern (LBP) is utilized, which can both eliminate noises efficiently and extract earth ultraviolet limb features accurately. And earth's centroid locations on simulated images are estimated via the least square fitting method using part of the limb edges. Taken advantage of the estimated earth vector direction and earth distance, Extended Kalman Filter (EKF) is applied to realize the autonomous navigation finally. Experiment results indicate the proposed method can achieve a sub-pixel earth centroid location estimation and extremely enhance autonomous celestial navigation precision.
CONTINOUS EXTRACTED BEAM IN THE AGS FAST EXTERNAL BEAM LINE
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
GLENN, J.W.; TSOUPAS, N.; BROWN, K.A.; BIRYUKOV, V.M.
2001-01-01
A method to split off a few percent of the 6 x 10 13 AGS beam delivered to the Slow External Beam (SEB) lines and send it down the Fast External Beam line (FEB) has been developed. The mission is to feed a counter experiment off the FEB that directly measures the neutrino mass using the muon storage ring. The use of normal thin septum splitters would have an excessive loss overhead and been optically difficult. The AGS Slow Extraction uses a third integer resonance with sextuple strength so the resonance width is a few percent of the beam width. This results in a low density tail which will be clipped by a bent crystal and deflected into the FEB channel. This clipping off of the tail should reduce losses in the SEB transport line. Details of modeled orbits, particle distribution and extraction trajectories into and out off the crystal will be given
Cyclotrons with fast variable and/or multiple energy extraction
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
C. Baumgarten
2013-10-01
Full Text Available We discuss the possibility in principle of stripping extraction in combination with reverse bends in isochronous separate-sector cyclotrons (and/or fixed field alternating gradient accelerators. If one uses reverse bends between the sectors (instead of or in combination with drifts and places stripper foils at the sector exit edges, the stripped beam has a reduced bending radius and it should be able to leave the cyclotron within the range of the valley—even if the beam is stripped at less than full energy. We are especially interested in stripping of H_{2}^{+}, as it doubles the charge to mass ratio of the ions. However the method could be applied to other ions or ionized molecules as well. For the production of proton beams by stripping extraction of an H_{2}^{+} beam, we discuss possible designs for three types of machines: First, a low-energy cyclotron for the simultaneous production of several beams at multiple energies—for instance 15, 30, and 70 MeV—thus allowing beam delivery on several isotope production targets. In this case it can be an advantage to have a strong energy dependence of the direction of the extracted beam. Second, we consider a fast variable-energy proton machine for cancer therapy that should allow extraction (of the complete beam at all energies in the range of about 70 MeV to about 250 MeV into the same beam line. Third, we consider a high-intensity high-energy machine, where the main design goals are extraction with low losses, low activation of components, and high reliability. Especially if such a machine is considered for an accelerator driven system (ADS, this extraction mechanism has advantages: Beam trips by the failure of electrostatic elements could be avoided and the turn separation would be less critical, which allows operation at lower main cavity voltages. This would in turn reduce the number of rf trips. The price that has to be paid for these advantages is an increase in size and/or field
Garlic intake lowers fasting blood glucose: meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.
Hou, Li-qiong; Liu, Yun-hui; Zhang, Yi-yi
2015-01-01
Garlic is a common spicy flavouring agent also used for certain therapeutic purposes. Garlic's effects on blood glucose have been the subject of many clinical and animal studies, however, studies reporting hypoglycemic effects of garlic in humans are conflicting. A comprehensive literature search was conducted to identify relevant trials of garlic or garlic extracts on markers of glycemic control [fasting blood glucose (FBG), postprandial glucose (PPG), glycosylated haemoglobin (HbA1c)]. A meta-analysis of the effect of garlic intake on human was done to assess garlic's effectiveness in lowering glucose levels. Two reviewers extracted data from each of the identified studies. Seven eligible randomized controlled trials with 513 subjects were identified. Pooled analyses showed that garlic intake results in a statistically significant lowering in FBG [SMD=-1.67; 95% CI (-2.80, -0.55), p=0.004]. Our pooled analyses did not include PPG control and HbA1c outcomes. Because only 1 study included in the meta-analysis reported PPG variables and only 2 studies reported HbA1c variables. In conclusion, the current meta-analysis showed that the administration of garlic resulted in a significant reduction in FBG concentrations. More trials are needed to investigate the effectiveness of garlic on HbA1c and PPG.
Determination of Terpenoid Content in Pine by Organic Solvent Extraction and Fast-GC Analysis
Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)
Harman-Ware, Anne E., E-mail: anne.ware@nrel.gov; Sykes, Robert [National Bioenergy Center, National Renewable Energy Laboratory, Golden, CO (United States); Peter, Gary F. [School of Forest Resources and Conservation, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL (United States); Davis, Mark [National Bioenergy Center, National Renewable Energy Laboratory, Golden, CO (United States)
2016-01-25
Terpenoids, naturally occurring compounds derived from isoprene units present in pine oleoresin, are a valuable source of chemicals used in solvents, fragrances, flavors, and have shown potential use as a biofuel. This paper describes a method to extract and analyze the terpenoids present in loblolly pine saplings and pine lighter wood. Various extraction solvents were tested over different times and temperatures. Samples were analyzed by pyrolysis-molecular beam mass spectrometry before and after extractions to monitor the extraction efficiency. The pyrolysis studies indicated that the optimal extraction method used a 1:1 hexane/acetone solvent system at 22°C for 1 h. Extracts from the hexane/acetone experiments were analyzed using a low thermal mass modular accelerated column heater for fast-GC/FID analysis. The most abundant terpenoids from the pine samples were quantified, using standard curves, and included the monoterpenes, α- and β-pinene, camphene, and δ-carene. Sesquiterpenes analyzed included caryophyllene, humulene, and α-bisabolene. Diterpenoid resin acids were quantified in derivatized extractions, including pimaric, isopimaric, levopimaric, palustric, dehydroabietic, abietic, and neoabietic acids.
Determination of Terpenoid Content in Pine by Organic Solvent Extraction and Fast-GC Analysis
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Harman-Ware, Anne E.; Sykes, Robert; Peter, Gary F.; Davis, Mark
2016-01-01
Terpenoids, naturally occurring compounds derived from isoprene units present in pine oleoresin, are a valuable source of chemicals used in solvents, fragrances, flavors, and have shown potential use as a biofuel. This paper describes a method to extract and analyze the terpenoids present in loblolly pine saplings and pine lighter wood. Various extraction solvents were tested over different times and temperatures. Samples were analyzed by pyrolysis-molecular beam mass spectrometry before and after extractions to monitor the extraction efficiency. The pyrolysis studies indicated that the optimal extraction method used a 1:1 hexane/acetone solvent system at 22°C for 1 h. Extracts from the hexane/acetone experiments were analyzed using a low thermal mass modular accelerated column heater for fast-GC/FID analysis. The most abundant terpenoids from the pine samples were quantified, using standard curves, and included the monoterpenes, α- and β-pinene, camphene, and δ-carene. Sesquiterpenes analyzed included caryophyllene, humulene, and α-bisabolene. Diterpenoid resin acids were quantified in derivatized extractions, including pimaric, isopimaric, levopimaric, palustric, dehydroabietic, abietic, and neoabietic acids.
A new license plate extraction framework based on fast mean shift
Pan, Luning; Li, Shuguang
2010-08-01
License plate extraction is considered to be the most crucial step of Automatic license plate recognition (ALPR) system. In this paper, a region-based license plate hybrid detection method is proposed to solve practical problems under complex background in which existing large quantity of disturbing information. In this method, coarse license plate location is carried out firstly to get the head part of a vehicle. Then a new Fast Mean Shift method based on random sampling of Kernel Density Estimate (KDE) is adopted to segment the color vehicle images, in order to get candidate license plate regions. The remarkable speed-up it brings makes Mean Shift segmentation more suitable for this application. Feature extraction and classification is used to accurately separate license plate from other candidate regions. At last, tilted license plate regulation is used for future recognition steps.
Design of a fast runback feature for PRISM control
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Wagner, W.K.; Rhow, S.K.; Daniel, W.R.; Dayal, Y.; Gaubatz, D.C.
1988-01-01
The nine power reactor inherently safe modules (PRISM) are controlled and their operation coordinated by a hierarchical, distributed, digital plant control system (PCS). This paper describes the fast runback features of the PCS. Fast runback consists of PCS directed reactor module shutdown with accompanying reductions of coolant flows. Analyses have shown that the PCS fast runback adequately terminates duty cycle events initiated in the balance of plant and the steam generating system, results in lower thermal shock to the reactor than scram, and reduces the number of scrams by approximately a factor of five
Robust fast controller design via nonlinear fractional differential equations.
Zhou, Xi; Wei, Yiheng; Liang, Shu; Wang, Yong
2017-07-01
A new method for linear system controller design is proposed whereby the closed-loop system achieves both robustness and fast response. The robustness performance considered here means the damping ratio of closed-loop system can keep its desired value under system parameter perturbation, while the fast response, represented by rise time of system output, can be improved by tuning the controller parameter. We exploit techniques from both the nonlinear systems control and the fractional order systems control to derive a novel nonlinear fractional order controller. For theoretical analysis of the closed-loop system performance, two comparison theorems are developed for a class of fractional differential equations. Moreover, the rise time of the closed-loop system can be estimated, which facilitates our controller design to satisfy the fast response performance and maintain the robustness. Finally, numerical examples are given to illustrate the effectiveness of our methods. Copyright © 2017 ISA. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
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.
Slow extraction control system of HIRFL-CSR
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Liu Wufeng; Qiao Weimin; Yuan Youjin; Mao Ruishi; Zhao Tiecheng
2013-01-01
For heavy-ion radiotherapy, HIRFL-CSR (Heavy Ion Research Facility in Lanzhou-Cooler Storage Ring) needs a long term uniform ion beam extraction from HIRFL-CSR main ring to high energy beam transport line to meet the requirement of heavy-ion radiotherapy's ion beam. Slow extraction control system uses the synchronous signal of HIRFL-CSR control system's timing system to realize process control. When the synchronous event data of HIRFL-CSR control system's timing system trigger controlling and changing data (frequency value, tune value, voltage value), the waveform generator will generate waveform by frequency value, tune value and voltage value, and will amplify the generated waveform by power amplifier to electrostatic deflector to achieve RF-KO slow extraction. The synchronous event receiver of slow extraction system is designed by using FPGA and optical fiber interface to keep high transmission speed and anti-jamming. HIRFL-CSR's running for heavy-ion radiotherapy and ten thousand seconds long period slow extraction experiments show that slow extraction control system is workable and can meet the requirement of heavy-ion radiotherapy's ion beam. (authors)
Asymmetric anode and cathode extraction structure fast recovery diode
Xie, Jiaqiang; Ma, Li; Gao, Yong
2018-05-01
This paper presents an asymmetric anode structure and cathode extraction fast and soft recovery diode. The device anode is partial-heavily doped and partial-lightly doped. The P+ region is introduced into the cathode. Firstly, the characteristics of the diode are simulated and analyzed. Secondly, the diode was fabricated and its characteristics were tested. The experimental results are in good agreement with the simulation results. The results show that, compared with the P–i–N diode, although the forward conduction characteristic of the diode is declined, the reverse recovery peak current is reduced by 47%, the reverse recovery time is shortened by 20% and the softness factor is doubled. In addition, the breakdown voltage is increased by 10%. Project supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 51177133).
Intermittent fasting: a "new" historical strategy for controlling seizures?
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.
Caldas, Sergiane Souza; Soares, Bruno Meira; Abreu, Fiamma; Castro, Ítalo Braga; Fillmann, Gilberto; Primel, Ednei Gilberto
2018-03-01
This paper reports the development of an analytical method employing vortex-assisted matrix solid-phase dispersion (MSPD) for the extraction of diuron, Irgarol 1051, TCMTB (2-thiocyanomethylthiobenzothiazole), DCOIT (4,5-dichloro-2-n-octyl-3-(2H)-isothiazolin-3-one), and dichlofluanid from sediment samples. Separation and determination were performed by liquid chromatography tandem-mass spectrometry. Important MSPD parameters, such as sample mass, mass of C18, and type and volume of extraction solvent, were investigated by response surface methodology. Quantitative recoveries were obtained with 2.0 g of sediment sample, 0.25 g of C18 as the solid support, and 10 mL of methanol as the extraction solvent. The MSPD method was suitable for the extraction and determination of antifouling biocides in sediment samples, with recoveries between 61 and 103% and a relative standard deviation lower than 19%. Limits of quantification between 0.5 and 5 ng g -1 were obtained. Vortex-assisted MPSD was shown to be fast and easy to use, with the advantages of low cost and reduced solvent consumption compared to the commonly employed techniques for the extraction of booster biocides from sediment samples. Finally, the developed method was applied to real samples. Results revealed that the developed extraction method is effective and simple, thus allowing the determination of biocides in sediment samples.
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Khattak, S. P.; Rafique, S.; Inayat, F.; Ahmad, B.
2015-01-01
A natural dye extracted from the roots of alkanet (Alkanna tinctoria) was applied on cotton fabric by pad-steam dyeing technique. The study was designed to evaluate the colour fastness and tensile properties of dyed cotton after using various mordants, cationizing agents, UV absorbers and crosslinkers with this natural dye. Metallic mordants included aluminium sulphate, copper sulphate, ferric chloride, potassium dichromate and hydrated potassium aluminum sulphate or alum. Alkanet root extract produced variety of green shades with different dyeing auxiliaries. Better wash, light, crocking fastness; good colour coordinates such as chroma, hue, colour strength and increase in tensile strength was accomplished with post-mordanting of CuSO/sub 4/. Cationization of cotton with quaternary ammonium compound (both pre-treatment and post-treatment) and post-finishing with soft polyurethane emulsion has enhanced the fastness properties, tensile strength as well as relative colour strength (K/S) , whereas, reactive UV absorber based on oxalanilide and heterocyclic compound as UV absorber greatly increased the light fastness of alkanet dyed cotton. Crosslinkers applied with alkanet dye on cotton (methylolation product based on glyoxalmonourein, modified dimethyloldihydroxyethylene urea, modified dihydroxy ethylene urea) also improved the fastness but could not bring further development in the shade and K/S value of the dyed sample. (author)
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Anisimov, V.I.; Pavlovich, V.B.; Smetanin, E.Ya.; Glazunov, N.V.; Shklyar, L.I.; Dubrovskii, V.G.; Serov, A.V.; Zakharkin, B.S.; Konorchenko, V.D.; Korotkov, I.A.; Neumoev, N.V.; Renard, E.V.
1992-01-01
While acknowledging the bold and persistent efforts of U.S. and Russian specialists to develop the concept of pyrochemical reprocessing of spent nuclear fuel from fast reactors on remote-controlled equipment for removal of actinides from the fission products one should recognize that the tasks of reprocessing such fuel can be handled only by using water-extraction technology, especially since the known Purex process continues to be improved to the point that a single-cycle scheme may be developed. This article presents results of pilot studies conducted in hot cells using multistage extractors in continuous counterflow operation; data on various extractor types used in reprocessing spent mixed oxide nuclear fuel; advantages and disadvantages of centrifugal and pulsed column extractor; comparison of column-type and centrifugal extractors; and extraction process
Intermittent fasting: A “new” historical strategy for controlling seizures?
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.
Kianbakht, Saeed; Khalighi-Sigaroodi, Farahnaz; Dabaghian, Fataneh Hashem
2013-01-01
Advanced type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) needing insulin therapy is common. Most conventional anti-hyperglycemic drugs have limited efficacies and significant side effects, so that better anti-hyperglycemic agents are needed. Urtica dioica L. (nettle) leaves have insulin secretagogue, PPARgamma agonistic, and alpha-glucosidase inhibitory effects. Moreover, nettle leaves are used in traditional medicine as an anti-hyperglycemic agent to treat diabetes mellitus. Thus, efficacy and safety of nettle in the treatment of patients with advanced type 2 diabetes mellitus needing insulin were studied. In this randomized double-blind placebo-controlled clinical trial, we evaluated the effects of taking nettle leaf extract (one 500 mg capsule every 8 hours for 3 months) combined with the conventional oral anti-hyperglycemic drugs on the blood levels of fasting glucose, postprandial glucose, glycosylated hemoglobin (HbA1c), creatinine and liver enzymes SGOT and SGPT, and systolic and diastolic blood pressures in 46 patients and compared with the placebo group (n = 46). At the endpoint, the extract lowered the blood levels of fasting glucose, 2 hours postprandial glucose, and HbA1c significantly (p 0.05) compared with placebo. Nettle may safely improve glycemic control in type 2 diabetic patients needing insulin therapy.
Intermittent fasting: A “new” historical strategy for controlling seizures?
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
Fast beam cut-off method in RF-knockout extraction for spot-scanning
Furukawa, T
2002-01-01
An irradiation method with magnetic scanning has been developed in order to provide accurate irradiation even for an irregular target shape. The scanning method has strongly required a lower ripple of the beam spill and a faster response to beam-on/off in slow extraction from a synchrotron ring. At HIMAC, RF-knockout extraction has utilized a bunched beam to reduce the beam-spill ripple. Therefore, particles near the resonance can be spilled out from the separatrices by synchrotron oscillation as well as by a transverse RF field. From this point of view, a fast beam cut-off method has been proposed and verified by both simulations and experiments. The maximum delay from the beam cut-off signal to beam-off has been improved to around 60 mu s from 700 mu s by a usual method. Unwanted dose has been considerably reduced by around a factor of 10 compared with that by the usual method.
Development of a fast voltage control method for electrostatic accelerators
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Lobanov, Nikolai R.; Linardakis, Peter; Tsifakis, Dimitrios
2014-01-01
The concept of a novel fast voltage control loop for tandem electrostatic accelerators is described. This control loop utilises high-frequency components of the ion beam current intercepted by the image slits to generate a correction voltage that is applied to the first few gaps of the low- and high-energy acceleration tubes adjoining the high voltage terminal. New techniques for the direct measurement of the transfer function of an ultra-high impedance structure, such as an electrostatic accelerator, have been developed. For the first time, the transfer function for the fast feedback loop has been measured directly. Slow voltage variations are stabilised with common corona control loop and the relationship between transfer functions for the slow and new fast control loops required for optimum operation is discussed. The main source of terminal voltage instabilities, which are due to variation of the charging current caused by mechanical oscillations of charging chains, has been analysed
DEFF Research Database (Denmark)
Haugaard, Steen B; Andersen, Ove; Hansen, Birgitte R
2005-01-01
In healthy, nondiabetic individuals with insulin resistance, fasting insulin is inversely correlated to the posthepatic insulin clearance rate (MCRi) and the hepatic insulin extraction (HEXi). We investigated whether similar early mechanisms to facilitate glucose homeostasis exist in nondiabetic...... endogenous insulin secretion, which was estimated by deconvolution of C-peptide concentrations. Hepatic extraction of insulin was calculated as 1 minus the ratio of fasting posthepatic insulin delivery rate to fasting endogenous insulin secretion rate. Compared with controls, LIPO displayed increased fasting...... insulin (130%, P Hepatic extraction of insulin was similar between groups (LIPO, 55%; controls, 57%; P > .8). In LIPO, HEXi and MCRi correlated inversely with fasting insulin (r = -0.56, P
Pyrochemical reprocessing of molten salt fast reactor fuel: focus on the reductive extraction step
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Rodrigues Davide
2015-12-01
Full Text Available The nuclear fuel reprocessing is a prerequisite for nuclear energy to be a clean and sustainable energy. In the case of the molten salt reactor containing a liquid fuel, pyrometallurgical way is an obvious way. The method for treatment of the liquid fuel is divided into two parts. In-situ injection of helium gas into the fuel leads to extract the gaseous fission products and a part of the noble metals. The second part of the reprocessing is performed by ‘batch’. It aims to recover the fissile material and to separate the minor actinides from fission products. The reprocessing involves several chemical steps based on redox and acido-basic properties of the various elements contained in the fuel salt. One challenge is to perform a selective extraction of actinides and lanthanides in spent liquid fuel. Extraction of actinides and lanthanides are successively performed by a reductive extraction in liquid bismuth pool containing metallic lithium as a reductive reagent. The objective of this paper is to give a description of the several steps of the reprocessing retained for the molten salt fast reactor (MSFR concept and to present the initial results obtained for the reductive extraction experiments realized in static conditions by contacting LiF-ThF4-UF4-NdF3 with a lab-made Bi-Li pool and for which extraction efficiencies of 0.7% for neodymium and 14.0% for uranium were measured. It was concluded that in static conditions, the extraction is governed by a kinetic limitation and not by the thermodynamic equilibrium.
Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)
Masaumi Nakahara; Yuichi Sano; Kazunori Nomura; Tadahiro Washiya; Jun Komaki [Japan Atomic Energy Agency, 4-33 Muramatsu, Tokai-mura, Naka-gun, Ibaraki, 319-1194 (Japan)
2008-07-01
The behavior of Np in single cycle extraction processes using tri-n-butylphosphate (TBP) as an extractant for U, Pu and Np co-recovery was investigated as a part of NEXT (New Extraction System for Transuranium) process. Two approaches for Np co-recovery with U and Pu were carried out with irradiated MOX fuel from fast reactor 'JOYO'; one was the counter current experiment using a feed solution with a high HNO{sub 3} concentration and the other used a scrubbing solution with a high HNO{sub 3} concentration. Experimental results showed that the leakage of Np to the raffinate were 0.986 % and 5.96 % under the condition of high HNO{sub 3} concentration in the feed solution and scrubbing solution, respectively. The simulation results based on these experiments indicated that most of Np could be extracted and co-recovered with U and Pu, just by increasing HNO{sub 3} concentrations in the feed and scrubbing solution on the single cycle extraction process. (authors)
Fuel reprocessing of the fast molten salt reactor: actinides et lanthanides extraction
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Jaskierowicz, S.
2012-01-01
The fuel reprocessing of the molten salt reactor (Gen IV concept) is a multi-steps process in which actinides and lanthanides extraction is performed by a reductive extraction technique. The development of an analytic model has showed that the contact between the liquid fuel LiF-ThF 4 and a metallic phase constituted of Bi-Li provide firstly a selective and quantitative extraction of actinides and secondly a quantitative extraction of lanthanides. The control of this process implies the knowledge of saline phase properties. Studies of the physico-chemical properties of fluoride salts lead to develop a technique based on potentiometric measurements to evaluate the fluoro-acidity of the salts. An acidity scale was established in order to classify the different fluoride salts considered. Another electrochemical method was also developed in order to determine the solvation properties of solutes in fluoride F- environment (and particularly ThF 4 by F-) in reductive extraction technique, a metallic phase is also involved. A method to prepare this phase was developed by electro-reduction of lithium on a bismuth liquid cathode in LiCl-LiF melt. This technique allows to accurately control the molar fraction of lithium introduced into the liquid bismuth, which is a main parameter to obtain an efficient extraction. (author)
Global fast dynamic terminal sliding mode control for a quadrotor UAV.
Xiong, Jing-Jing; Zhang, Guo-Bao
2017-01-01
A control method based on global fast dynamic terminal sliding mode control (TSMC) technique is proposed to design the flight controller for performing the finite-time position and attitude tracking control of a small quadrotor UAV. Firstly, the dynamic model of the quadrotor is divided into two subsystems, i.e., a fully actuated subsystem and an underactuated subsystem. Secondly, the dynamic flight controllers of the quadrotor are formulated based on global fast dynamic TSMC, which is able to guarantee that the position and velocity tracking errors of all system state variables converge to zero in finite-time. Moreover, the global fast dynamic TSMC is also able to eliminate the chattering phenomenon caused by the switching control action and realize the high precision performance. In addition, the stabilities of two subsystems are demonstrated by Lyapunov theory, respectively. Lastly, the simulation results are given to illustrate the effectiveness and robustness of the proposed control method in the presence of external disturbances. Copyright © 2016 ISA. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
AFCI : Co-extraction impacts on LWR and fast reactor fuel cycles
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Taiwo, T. A.; Szakalay, F. J.; Kim, T. K.; Hill, R. N.; Nuclear Engineering Division
2007-01-01
A systematic investigation of the impact of the co-extraction COEXTM process on reactor performance has been performed. The proliferation implication of the process was also evaluated using the critical mass, radioactivity, decay heat and neutron and gamma source rates and gamma doses as indicators. The use of LWR-spent-uranium-based MOX fuel results in a higher initial plutonium content requirement in an LWR MOX core than if natural uranium based MOX fuel is used (by about 1%); the plutonium for both cases is derived from the spent LWR spent fuel. More transuranics are consequently discharged in the spent fuel of the MOX core. The presence of U-236 in the initial fuel was also found to result in higher content of Np-237 in the spent MOX fuel and less consumption of Pu-238 and Am-241 in the MOX core. The higher quantities of Np-237 (factor of 5), Pu-238 (20%) and Am-241 (14%) decrease the effective repository utilization, relative to the use of natural uranium in the PWR MOX core. Additionally, the minor actinides continue to accumulate in the fuel cycle, even if the U-Pu co-extraction products are continuously recycled in the PWR cores, and thus a solution is required for the minor actinides. The utilization of plutonium derived from LWR spent fuel versus weapons-grade plutonium for the startup core of a 1,000 MWT advanced burner fast reactor (ABR) increases the TRU content by about 4%. Differences are negligible for the equilibrium recycle core. The impact of using reactor spent uranium instead of depleted uranium was found to be relatively smaller in the fast reactor (TRU content difference less than 0.4%). The critical masses of the co-extraction products were found to be higher than that of weapons-grade plutonium and the decay heat and radiation sources of the materials (products) were also found to be generally higher than that of weapons-grade plutonium (WG-Pu) in the transuranics content range of 0.1 to 1.0 in the heavy-metal. The magnitude of the
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Carolina Tenorio
2012-03-01
Full Text Available The heterogeneity of color distribution between sapwood and heartwood limits the market for wood from fast-growth plantations of tropical species. Wood color is associated with wood extractives contents. This study presents the relationship between wood color parameters measured by the CIELab color system and total amount of extractives and phenolic-type extractives in ethanol-toluene and hot water extracts of wood from two fast-growth plantation species. The results demonstrated that the difference in sapwood and hardwood color in Vochysia guatemalensis and Acacia mangium is caused by lower concentrations of extractives in sapwood of both species. Additionally, variations in total extractive and phenolic content have different effects on the color parameters (L*, a* and b* of both species studied. In Vochysia guatemalensis wood, parameter L* decreases as total extractive and phenolic content increases; however, parameter a* increases as the content of extractives and phenols increases. In Acacia mangium, the amount of phenols showed no relationship with the color parameters. The ethanol-toluene total extractive content, however, shows a relationship with several color parameters. An increase in the content of total extractives in water and ethanol-toluene increases parameter a*, but decreases parameter L*.
Effect of Ramadan fasting on glycemic control in patients with Type 2 diabetes.
Norouzy, A; Mohajeri, S M R; Shakeri, S; Yari, F; Sabery, M; Philippou, E; Varasteh, A-R; Nematy, M
2012-09-01
Although Muslim patients with Type 2 diabetes may be exempt from fasting during Ramadan for medical reasons, a high proportion of them fast. To investigate the association between Ramadan fasting and glycemic control in patients with Type 2 diabetes. A prospective cohort clinical trial was designed. Eighty-eight patients with Type 2 diabetes (45 male, 43 female, age 51±10 yr) who opted to fast for at least 10 days during the month of Ramadan were recruited. Fasting blood samples were taken at the beginning and end of Ramadan, and 1 month after Ramadan, to assess fasting blood glucose (FBG), fasting insulin, full blood count, glycated hemoglobin (HbA(1c)) and fasting lipid profile. Insulin resistance was estimated using the homeostatic model assessment. Anthropometrics and blood pressure were also measured. There was a significant deterioration in FBG and HbA(1c) (p=0.002 and p≤0.001, respectively) and significant improvements in HDL and LDL cholesterol and body mass index after Ramadan (pRamadan (9.4±2% at the end of Ramadan vs 8.4±2.5% 1 month after Ramadan; pRamadan deteriorated the glycemic control in Type 2 diabetes patients. This was more evident in patients using oral hypoglycemic medication than diet- controlled patients. However, Ramadan fasting had small positive effects on lipid profile and body weight.
A fast PID controller Design for Modern PLC for Process Control Application
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Mirza, A.; Nafis, A.; Anees, R.M.; Idris, S.
2004-01-01
PID is the most widely used control scheme in the process industry. Pill controllers are utilized for the control of such varied parameters as pressure, flow, temperature, etc. One characteristic of these parameters is that they posses slow dynamics. Most of the available digital controllers can manipulate only a single parameter- multiple controllers are required for control of more than one parameter. The Fast PID Controller for Modem PLC (Programmable Logic Controller) developed by the authors, provides control of several parameters at a time (through a single Pill control element), enhanced programmability including variable sampling period, parameter monitoring and data storage, which may be easily implemented in a PLC. (author)
Schellen, A.; Ooms, B.; Lagemaat, D. van de; Vreeken, R.; Dongen, W.D. van
2003-01-01
A generic method was developed for the fast determination of a wide range of drugs in serum or plasma. The methodology comprises generic solid-phase extraction, on-line coupled to gradient HPLC with tandem mass spectrometric detection (SPE-LC-MS/MS). The individual components of the SPE-LC-MS/MS
Three-dimensional multi-terminal superconductive integrated circuit inductance extraction
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Fourie, Coenrad J; Wetzstein, Olaf; Kunert, Jürgen; Ortlepp, Thomas
2011-01-01
Accurate inductance calculations are critical for the design of both digital and analogue superconductive integrated circuits, and three-dimensional calculations are gaining importance with the advent of inductive biasing, inductive coupling and sky plane shielding for RSFQ cells. InductEx, an extraction programme based on the three-dimensional calculation software FastHenry, was proposed earlier. InductEx uses segmentation techniques designed to accurately model the geometries of superconductive integrated circuit structures. Inductance extraction for complex multi-terminal three-dimensional structures from current distributions calculated by FastHenry is discussed. Results for both a reflection plane modelling an infinite ground plane and a finite segmented ground plane that allows inductive elements to extend over holes in the ground plane are shown. Several SQUIDs were designed for and fabricated with IPHT's 1 kA cm −2 RSFQ1D niobium process. These SQUIDs implement a number of loop structures that span different layers, include vias, inductively coupled control lines and ground plane holes. We measured the loop inductance of these SQUIDs and show how the results are used to calibrate the layer parameters in InductEx and verify the extraction accuracy. We also show that, with proper modelling, FastHenry can be fast enough to be used for the extraction of typical RSFQ cell inductances.
Controlling multi-bunches by a fast phase switching
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Decker, F.J.; Jobe, R.K.; Merminga, N.; Thompson, K.A.
1990-09-01
In linear accelerators with two or more bunches the beam loading of one bunch will influence the energy and energy spread the following bunches. This can be corrected by quickly changing the phase of a traveling wave-structure, so that each bunch receives a slightly different net phase. At the SLAC Linear Collider (SLC) three bunches, two (e + ,e - ) for the high energy collisions and one (e - -scavenger) for producing positrons should sit at different phases, due to their different tasks. The two e - -bunches are extracted from the damping ring at the same cycle time about 60 ns apart. Fast phase switching of the RF to the bunch length compressor in the Ring-To-Linac (RTL) section can produce the necessary advance of the scavenger bunch (about 6 degree in phase). This allows a low energy spread of this third bunch at the e + -production region at 2/3 of the linac length, while the other bunches are not influenced. The principles and possible other applications of this fast phase switching as using it for multi-bunches, as well as the experimental layout for the actual RTL compressor are presented
[Effect of a dehydrated extract of nopal (Opuntia ficus indica Mill.) on blood glucose].
Frati-Munari, A C; de León, C; Ariza-Andraca, R; Bañales-Ham, M B; López-Ledesma, R; Lozoya, X
1989-01-01
To assess if a dehydrated extract of nopal stems retains the effect on glycemia of the entire nopal stems two experiments were performed. A. Six patients with type II diabetes mellitus in fasting condition received 30 capsules containing 10.1 +/- 0.3 g of the extract, and serum glucose levels were measured hourly from 0 to 180 minutes. B. Six healthy volunteers received 30 capsules with the extract followed by 74 g of dextrose orally. Serum glucose measurements were made in a similar fashion. In each experiment a control test with empty capsules was performed. Nopal extract did not reduce fasting glycemia in diabetic subjects. Nevertheless, the extract diminished the increase of serum glucose which followed a dextrose load. Peak serum glucose was 20.3 +/- 18.2 mg/dl (X +/- SD) lower in the test with nopal than in the control one (P less than 0.025). Dehydrated extract of nopal (Opuntia ficus-indica Mill) did not show acute hypoglycemic effect, although could attenuate postprandial hyperglycemia.
Muhammad, Pir; Liu, Jia; Xing, Rongrong; Wen, Yanrong; Wang, Yijia; Liu, Zhen
2017-12-01
Determination of specific target compounds in agriculture food and natural plant products is essential for many purposes; however, it is often challenging due to the complexity of the sample matrices. Herein we present a new approach called plasmonic affinity sandwich assay for the facile and rapid probing of glucose and fructose in plant tissues. The approach mainly relies on molecularly imprinted plasmonic extraction microprobes, which were prepared on gold-coated acupuncture needles via boronate affinity controllable oriented surface imprinting with the target monosaccharide as the template molecules. An extraction microprobe was inserted into plant tissues under investigation, which allowed for the specific extraction of glucose or fructose from the tissues. The glucose or fructose molecules extracted on the microprobe were labeled with boronic acid-functionalized Raman-active silver nanoparticles, and thus affinity sandwich complexes were formed on the microprobes. After excess Raman nanotags were washed away, the microprobe was subjected to Raman detection. Upon being irradiated with a laser beam, surface plasmon on the gold-coated microprobes was generated, which further produced plasmon-enhanced Raman scattering of the silver-based nanotags and thereby provided sensitive detection. Apple fruits, which contain abundant glucose and fructose, were used as a model of plant tissues. The approach exhibited high specificity, good sensitivity (limit of detection, 1 μg mL -1 ), and fast speed (the whole procedure required only 20 min). The spatial distribution profiles of glucose and fructose within an apple were investigated by the developed approach. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Dashan Zhang
2016-04-01
Full Text Available The development of image sensor and optics enables the application of vision-based techniques to the non-contact dynamic vibration analysis of large-scale structures. As an emerging technology, a vision-based approach allows for remote measuring and does not bring any additional mass to the measuring object compared with traditional contact measurements. In this study, a high-speed vision-based sensor system is developed to extract structure vibration signals in real time. A fast motion extraction algorithm is required for this system because the maximum sampling frequency of the charge-coupled device (CCD sensor can reach up to 1000 Hz. Two efficient subpixel level motion extraction algorithms, namely the modified Taylor approximation refinement algorithm and the localization refinement algorithm, are integrated into the proposed vision sensor. Quantitative analysis shows that both of the two modified algorithms are at least five times faster than conventional upsampled cross-correlation approaches and achieve satisfactory error performance. The practicability of the developed sensor is evaluated by an experiment in a laboratory environment and a field test. Experimental results indicate that the developed high-speed vision-based sensor system can extract accurate dynamic structure vibration signals by tracking either artificial targets or natural features.
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Saikhu Akhmad Husen
2017-01-01
Full Text Available The objectives of this study were to determine the effect of various fractions of mangosteen (Garcinia mangostana pericarp extract to the changes of the fasting blood cholesterol and serum malondialdehyde (MDA levels on diabetic mice (Mus musculus. Thirty 3-4 months old male mice strain BALB/c, weight 20-30 g were divided into six groups. The first group was KN as a non diabetic control group, KD as a diabetic control, KM as a group of diabetic mice treated with metformin, and NP, SP, and P as the treatment groups that were treated by using three different fractions from mangosteen pericarp extract, non polar, semi polar, and polar respectively. The induction of Diabetes mellitus was done by the injection of STZ, and the mice were given a high fat diet treatment to induce the hiperlipidemia condition using lard for three weeks. The blood cholesterol levels were measured in all groups before and after the injection of lard, and day 1, 7, and 14 of treatment as well. The serum MDA level as the indicator of lipid peroxidation were measured by using QuantiChrom TBARS Assay Kit (DTBA-100. The data of cholesterol levels were statistically analyzed by t-test, while the data of serum MDA levels were analyzed by variance analysis followed by Duncan test. The results showed that the polar fraction of mangosteen pericarp had effect to decrease the fasting blood cholesterol level in mice, however the non polar and semi polar fraction had no simmilar effect. All of the fractions has shown significant effect to decrease the serum MDA level in mice. Key words: cholesterol, diabetes mellitus, Garcinia mangostana, malondialdehyde (mda, obesity.
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 statistical model of uplink inter-cell interference with slow and fast power control mechanisms
Tabassum, Hina; Yilmaz, Ferkan; Dawy, Zaher; Alouini, Mohamed-Slim
2013-01-01
Uplink power control is in essence an interference mitigation technique that aims at minimizing the inter-cell interference (ICI) in cellular networks by reducing the transmit power levels of the mobile users while maintaining their target received signal quality levels at base stations. Power control mechanisms directly impact the interference dynamics and, thus, affect the overall achievable capacity and consumed power in cellular networks. Due to the stochastic nature of wireless channels and mobile users' locations, it is important to derive theoretical models for ICI that can capture the impact of design alternatives related to power control mechanisms. To this end, we derive and verify a novel statistical model for uplink ICI in Generalized-K composite fading environments as a function of various slow and fast power control mechanisms. The derived expressions are then utilized to quantify numerically key network performance metrics that include average resource fairness, average reduction in power consumption, and ergodic capacity. The accuracy of the derived expressions is validated via Monte-Carlo simulations. Results are generated for multiple network scenarios, and insights are extracted to assess various power control mechanisms as a function of system parameters. © 1972-2012 IEEE.
A statistical model of uplink inter-cell interference with slow and fast power control mechanisms
Tabassum, Hina
2013-09-01
Uplink power control is in essence an interference mitigation technique that aims at minimizing the inter-cell interference (ICI) in cellular networks by reducing the transmit power levels of the mobile users while maintaining their target received signal quality levels at base stations. Power control mechanisms directly impact the interference dynamics and, thus, affect the overall achievable capacity and consumed power in cellular networks. Due to the stochastic nature of wireless channels and mobile users\\' locations, it is important to derive theoretical models for ICI that can capture the impact of design alternatives related to power control mechanisms. To this end, we derive and verify a novel statistical model for uplink ICI in Generalized-K composite fading environments as a function of various slow and fast power control mechanisms. The derived expressions are then utilized to quantify numerically key network performance metrics that include average resource fairness, average reduction in power consumption, and ergodic capacity. The accuracy of the derived expressions is validated via Monte-Carlo simulations. Results are generated for multiple network scenarios, and insights are extracted to assess various power control mechanisms as a function of system parameters. © 1972-2012 IEEE.
Control rod studies in small and medium sized fast reactors
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
John, T.M.; Mohanakrishnan, P.; Mahalakshmi, B.; Singh, R.S.
1988-01-01
Control rods are the primary safety mechanism in the operation of fast reactors. Neutronic parameters associated with the control rods have to be evaluated precisely for studying the behaviour of the reactor under various operating conditions. Control rods are strong neutron absorbers discretely distributed in the reactor core. Accurate estimation of control rod parameters demand, in principle transport theory solutions in exact geometry. But computer codes for such evaluations usually consume exorbitantly large computer time and memory for even a single parameter evaluation. During the design of reactors, evaluation of these parameters will be required for many configurations of control rods. In this paper, the method used at Indira Gandhi Centre for Atomic Research for estimating the parameters associated with control rods is presented. Diffusion theory solutions were used for computations. A scheme using three dimensional geometry represented by triangular meshes and diffusion theory solutions in few energy groups for control rod parameter evaluation is presented. This scheme was employed in estimating the control rod parameters in a 500 Mw(e) fast reactor. Error due to group collapsing is estimated by comparing with 25 group calculations in three dimensions for typical cases. (author). 5 refs, 4 figs, 3 tabs
Catecholamine levels in a Ramadan fasting model in rats: a case control study
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Pakize Gamze Erten Bucaktepe
2016-07-01
Full Text Available Eating habits as well as physical exercise are very important for a healthy lifespan. Ramadan-type fasting, which is food and water avoidance during the daylight period for four weeks, has drawn attention due to its positive impacts on metabolism and health. The aim of this study was to compare the blood and urine catecholamine (CA levels in fasting and non-fasting rats, in terms of stress response. A total of 20 male rats were randomly divided into a fasting group and a control group. Four weeks later, blood and urine samples were taken after decapitation. Analysis of CAs was done using high-performance liquid chromatography with florescence detection (HPLC-FLD. The dopamine (DA, adrenaline (ADR and noradrenaline (NA blood and urine concentrations were found to be higher in the fasting group compared to the control group, but the difference was statistically significant only for the blood DA levels (p < 0.05. In the fasting group, the blood values of ADR and NA correlated with each other but not with the DA levels, whereas there was correlation among the urine levels of DA, ADR and NA. In the control group, the blood and urine values of DA, ADR and NA correlated with each other. The differences observed in the blood and urine CAs indicate a specific regulation of CAs in Ramadan-type fasting, which needs to be investigated thoroughly in future studies.
Research on Precision Tracking on Fast Steering Mirror and Control Strategy
Di, Lin; Yi-ming, Wu; Fan, Zhu
2018-01-01
Fast steering mirror is a device used for controlling the beam direction precisely. Due to the short travel of the push-pull FSM, a compound fast steering mirror system driven by both limited-angle voice coil motor and push-pull FSM together is proposed. In the compound FSM system, limited-angle voice coil motor quickly swings at wide angle, while the push-pull FSM do high frequency movement in a small range, which provides the system with the high bandwidth and long travel. In the control strategy, the method of combining feed-forward control in Kalman filtering with auto-disturbance rejection control is used to improve trajectory tracking accuracy. The simulation result shows that tracking accuracy measured by the compound method can be improved by more than 5 times than that of the conventional PID.
Overview of environmental control aspects for the gas-cooled fast reactor
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Nolan, A.M.
1981-05-01
Environmental control aspects relating to release of radionuclides have been analyzed for the Gas-Cooled Fast Reactor (GCFR). Information on environmental control systems was obtained for the most recent GCFR designs, and was used to evaluate the adequacy of these systems. The GCFR has been designed by the General Atomic Company as an alternative to other fast breeder reactor designs, such as the Liquid Metal Fast Breeder Reactor (LMFBR). The GCFR design includes mixed oxide fuel and helium coolant. The environmental impact of expected radionuclide releases from normal operation of the GCFR was evaluated using estimated collective dose equivalent commitments resulting from 1 year of plant operation. The results were compared to equivalent estimates for the Light Water Reactor (LWR) and High-Temperature Gas-Cooled Reactor (HTGR). A discussion of uncertainties in system performances, tritium production rates, and radiation quality factors for tritium is included
High-Resolution Fast-Neutron Spectrometry for Arms Control and Treaty Verification
Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)
David L. Chichester; James T. Johnson; Edward H. Seabury
2012-07-01
Many nondestructive nuclear analysis techniques have been developed to support the measurement needs of arms control and treaty verification, including gross photon and neutron counting, low- and high-resolution gamma spectrometry, time-correlated neutron measurements, and photon and neutron imaging. One notable measurement technique that has not been extensively studied to date for these applications is high-resolution fast-neutron spectrometry (HRFNS). Applied for arms control and treaty verification, HRFNS has the potential to serve as a complimentary measurement approach to these other techniques by providing a means to either qualitatively or quantitatively determine the composition and thickness of non-nuclear materials surrounding neutron-emitting materials. The technique uses the normally-occurring neutrons present in arms control and treaty verification objects of interest as an internal source of neutrons for performing active-interrogation transmission measurements. Most low-Z nuclei of interest for arms control and treaty verification, including 9Be, 12C, 14N, and 16O, possess fast-neutron resonance features in their absorption cross sections in the 0.5- to 5-MeV energy range. Measuring the selective removal of source neutrons over this energy range, assuming for example a fission-spectrum starting distribution, may be used to estimate the stoichiometric composition of intervening materials between the neutron source and detector. At a simpler level, determination of the emitted fast-neutron spectrum may be used for fingerprinting 'known' assemblies for later use in template-matching tests. As with photon spectrometry, automated analysis of fast-neutron spectra may be performed to support decision making and reporting systems protected behind information barriers. This paper will report recent work at Idaho National Laboratory to explore the feasibility of using HRFNS for arms control and treaty verification applications, including simulations
Fast Coordinated Control of DFIG Wind Turbine Generators for Low and High Voltage Ride-Through
DEFF Research Database (Denmark)
Wang, Yun; Wu, Qiuwei; Xu, Honghua
2014-01-01
This paper presents a fast coordinated control scheme of the rotor side converter (RSC), the DC chopper and the grid side converter (GSC) of doubly fed induction generator (DFIG) wind turbine generators (WTGs) which is to improve the low voltage ride through (LVRT) and high voltage ride through...... were proposed considering the characteristics of the DFIG WTGs during voltage changes. The fast coordinated control of RSC and GSC were developed based on the characteristic analysis in order to realize efficient LVRT and HVRT of the DFIG WTGs. The proposed fast coordinated control schemes were...
Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)
Pesic, M; Antic, D [Boris Kidric Institute of Nuclear Sciences Vinca, Belgrade (Yugoslavia)
1983-07-01
The fundamental activities for safeguard of radiation control and safety and the necessary staff for them for fast reactor plant are shown. The basic systems for the plant radiation control are counted, especially with regards to poisoning of some fuel materials. The particular characteristics of the plant radiation control determined by the fast reactor are pointed out. (author)
Design of extraction system in BRing at HIAF
Ruan, Shuang; Yang, Jiancheng; Zhang, Jinquan; Shen, Guodong; Ren, Hang; Liu, Jie; Shangguan, Jingbing; Zhang, Xiaoying; Zhang, Jingjing; Mao, Lijun; Sheng, Lina; Yin, Dayu; Wang, Geng; Wu, Bo; Yao, Liping; Tang, Meitang; Cai, Fucheng; Chen, Xiaoqiang
2018-06-01
The Booster Ring (BRing), which is the key part of HIAF (High Intensity heavy ion Accelerator Facility) complex at IMP (Institute of Modern Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences), can provide uranium (A / q = 7) beam with a wide extraction energy range of 200-800 MeV/u. To fulfill a flexible beam extraction for multi-purpose experiments, both fast and slow extraction systems will be accommodated in the BRing. The fast extraction system is used for extracting short bunched beam horizontally in single-turn. The slow extraction system is used to provide quasi-continuous beam by the third order resonance and RF-knockout scheme. To achieve a compact structure, the two extraction systems are designed to share the same extraction channel. The general design of the fast and slow extraction systems and simulation results are discussed in this paper.
Periodic boundary conditions and the error-controlled fast multipole method
Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)
Kabadshow, Ivo
2012-08-22
The simulation of pairwise interactions in huge particle ensembles is a vital issue in scientific research. Especially the calculation of long-range interactions poses limitations to the system size, since these interactions scale quadratically with the number of particles. Fast summation techniques like the Fast Multipole Method (FMM) can help to reduce the complexity to O(N). This work extends the possible range of applications of the FMM to periodic systems in one, two and three dimensions with one unique approach. Together with a tight error control, this contribution enables the simulation of periodic particle systems for different applications without the need to know and tune the FMM specific parameters. The implemented error control scheme automatically optimizes the parameters to obtain an approximation for the minimal runtime for a given energy error bound.
An analysis of control scheme and test results of fast feedback power supply
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Gupta, Shivam Kumar; Gupta, C.N.; Shah, Kunal; Makwana, Moti
2017-01-01
Real time Plasma Position Control is essential for obtaining long duration plasma in tokamaks. For that purpose four external coils has been installed in toroidal direction. Magnetic field of these coils interact with the plasma and tries to keep it radially stable in vacuum vessel to avoid direct contact of plasma to wall of tokamak. A fast feedback power supply has been installed in Aditya Tokamak which is able to set the appropriate current in either direction and current magnitude in external coils on the fast scale. In this paper, an analysis of control scheme and testing of Fast Feedback Power Supply (FFPS) has been described. FFPS is IGBT based H-bridge inverter programmable power supply
Alabbood, Majid H; Ho, Kenneth W; Simons, Mary R
Ramadan fasting is one of the five pillars of Islam. People with diabetes are exempted from fasting according to Islamic rules. However, many people with diabetes wish to fast. Physicians are asked frequently by their patients about their ability to fast and the possible impact of fasting on their glycaemic control. Studies about the effect of Ramadan on people with insulin-treated diabetes are scarce. This review aims to provide clinicians with the best recommendations for their patients with insulin-treated diabetes who wish to fast. Four databases (Medline, EMBASE, Scopus and PubMed) were searched using the following MeSH terms and keywords: "insulin dependent diabetes mellitus", "type 1 diabetes mellitus", 'Ramadan' "and" "fasting". In addition, a hand search of key journals and reference lists was performed. Sixteen full text articles were selected for review and critical analysis. All of the included studies except one found improvement or no change in glycaemic control parameters during Ramadan fasting. The incidence of major complications were negligible. Minor hypoglycaemic events were reported in some studies but did not adversely affect fasting. Postprandial hyperglycaemia was a major concern in other studies. However, the incidence of severe hyperglycaemia and diabetic ketoacidosis were trivial. Ramadan fasting is feasible for insulin dependent diabetic patient who wish to fast. Clinicians should advise their patients about the importance of adequate glycaemic control before Ramadan and frequent glucose monitoring during fasting. Certain types of Insulin seem to be more beneficial than other. Copyright © 2016 Diabetes India. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Subba Rao, R.V.
2016-01-01
CORAL (COmpact facility for Reprocessing of Advanced fuels in Lead cell) is an experimental facility for demonstrating the reprocessing of irradiated fast reactor fuels discharged from the Fast Breeder Test Reactor (FBTR). The objective of the reprocessing plant is to achieve nuclear grade plutonium and uranium oxides with minimum process waste volumes. The process flow sheet for the reprocessing of spent Fast Reactor Fuel consists of Transport of spent fuel, Chopping, Dissolution, Feed conditioning, Solvent Extraction cycle, Partitioning Cycle and Re-conversion of Plutonium nitrate and uranium nitrate to respective oxides. The efficiency and performance of the plant to achieve desired objective depends on the analyses of various species in the different steps adopted during reprocessing of fuels. The analytical requirements in the plant can be broadly classified as 1. Process control Analyses (Analyses which effect the performance of the plant- PCA); 2. Plant control Analyses (Analyses which indicates efficiency of the plant-PLCA); 3. Nuclear Material Accounting samples (Analyses which has bearing on nuclear material accounting in the plant - NUMAC) and Quality control Analyses (Quality of the input bulk chemicals as well as products - QCA). The analytical methods selected are based on the duration of analyses, precision and accuracies required for each type analytical requirement classified earlier. The process and plant control analyses requires lower precision and accuracies as compared to NUMAC analyses, which requires very high precision accuracy. The time taken for analyses should be as lower as possible for process and plant control analyses as compared to NUMAC analyses. The analytical methods required for determining U and Pu in process and plant samples from FRFR will be different as compared to samples from TRFR (Thermal Reactor Fuel Reprocessing) due to higher Pu to U ratio in FRFR as compared TRFR and they should be such that they can be easily
Application of hafnium hydride control rod to large sodium cooled fast breeder reactor
Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)
Ikeda, Kazumi, E-mail: kazumi_ikeda@mfbr.mhi.co.jp [Mitsubishi FBR Systems, Inc., 34-17, Jingumae 2-Chome, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo 150-0001 (Japan); Moriwaki, Hiroyuki, E-mail: hiroyuki_moriwaki@mfbr.mhi.co.jp [Mitsubishi FBR Systems, Inc., 34-17, Jingumae 2-Chome, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo 150-0001 (Japan); Ohkubo, Yoshiyuki, E-mail: yoshiyuki_okubo@mfbr.mhi.co.jp [Mitsubishi FBR Systems, Inc., 34-17, Jingumae 2-Chome, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo 150-0001 (Japan); Iwasaki, Tomohiko, E-mail: tomohiko.iwasaki@qse.tohoku.ac.jp [Department of Quantum Science and Energy Engineering, Tohoku University, Aoba, Aramaki, Aoba-ku, Sendai-shi, Miyagi-ken 980-8579 (Japan); Konashi, Kenji, E-mail: konashi@imr.tohoku.ac.jp [Institute for Materials Research, Tohoku University, Narita-cho, Oarai-machi, Higashi-Ibaraki-gun, Ibaraki-ken 311-1313 (Japan)
2014-10-15
Highlights: • Application of hafnium hydride control rod to large sodium cooled fast breeder reactor. • This paper treats application of an innovative hafnium hydride control rod to a large sodium cooled fast breeder reactor. • Hydrogen absorption triples the reactivity worth by neutron spectrum shift at H/Hf ratio of 1.3. • Lifetime of the control rod quadruples because produced daughters of hafnium isotopes are absorbers. • Nuclear and thermal hydraulic characteristics of the reactor are as good as or better than B-10 enriched boron carbide. - Abstract: This study treats the feasibility of long-lived hafnium hydride control rod in a large sodium-cooled fast breeder reactor by nuclear and thermal analyses. According to the nuclear calculations, it is found that hydrogen absorption of hafnium triples the reactivity by the neutron spectrum shift at the H/Hf ratio of 1.3, and a hafnium transmutation mechanism that produced daughters are absorbers quadruples the lifetime due to a low incineration rate of absorbing nuclides under irradiation. That is to say, the control rod can function well for a long time because an irradiation of 2400 EFPD reduces the reactivity by only 4%. The calculation also reveals that the hafnium hydride control rod can apply to the reactor in that nuclear and thermal characteristics become as good as or better than 80% B-10 enriched boron carbide. For example, the maximum linear heat rate becomes 3% lower. Owing to the better power distribution, the required flow rate decreases approximately by 1%. Consequently, it is concluded on desk analyses that the long lived hafnium hydride control rod is feasible in the large sodium-cooled fast breeder reactor.
Fast-acting nuclear reactor control device
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Kotlyar, O.M.; West, P.B.
1993-01-01
A fast-acting nuclear reactor control device is described for controlling a safety control rod within the core of a nuclear reactor, the reactor controlled by a reactor control system, the device comprising: a safety control rod drive shaft and an electromagnetic clutch co-axial with the drive shaft operatively connected to the safety control rod for driving and positioning the safety control rod within or without the reactor core during reactor operation, the safety rod being oriented in a substantially vertical position to allow the rod to fall into the reactor core under the influence of gravity during shutdown of the reactor; the safety control rod drive shaft further operatively connected to a hydraulic pump such that operation of the drive shaft simultaneously drives and positions the safety control rod and operates the hydraulic pump such that a hydraulic fluid is forced into an accumulator, filling the accumulator with oil for the storage and supply of primary potential energy for safety control rod insertion such that the release of potential energy in the accumulator causes hydraulic fluid to flow through the hydraulic pump, converting the hydraulic pump to a hydraulic motor having speed and power capable of full length insertion and high speed driving of the safety control rod into the reactor core; a solenoid valve interposed between the hydraulic pump and the accumulator, said solenoid valve being a normally open valve, actuated to close when the safety control rod is out of the reactor during reactor operation; and further wherein said solenoid opens in response to a signal from the reactor control system calling for shutdown of the reactor and rapid insertion of the safety control rod into the reactor core, such that the opening of the solenoid releases the potential energy in the accumulator to place the safety control rod in a safe shutdown position
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Jinyue Yu
2017-08-01
Full Text Available Green tea or green tea extract (GT/GTE has been demonstrated to reduce insulin resistance and improve glycemic control. However, evidence for this health beneficial effect is inconsistent. This systematic review evaluated the effect of GT/GTE on insulin resistance and glycemic control in people with pre-diabetes/type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM. Ovid MEDLINE, Embase, AMED, Web of Science, and the Cochrane Library were searched up to April 2017 for randomised controlled trials of participants with pre-diabetes or T2DM, where the intervention was GT/GTE. Meta-analysis was performed to assess the standardised mean difference (SMD in biomarkers of insulin resistance and glycemic control between GT/GTE and placebo groups. Six studies (n=382 were pooled into random-effects meta-analysis. Overall, no differences were found between GT/GTE and the placebo for glycosylated hemoglobin (HbA1c: SMD, −0.32; 95% confidence interval [CI], −0.86 to 0.23, homeostatic model assessment for insulin resistance (HOMA-IR: SMD, 0.10; 95% CI, −0.17 to 0.38, fasting insulin (SMD, −0.25; 95% CI, −0.64 to 0.15, and fasting glucose (SMD, −0.10; 95% CI, −0.50 to 0.30. No evidence support the consumption of GT/GTE could reduce the levels of HbA1c, HOMA-IR, fasting insulin, or fasting glucose in people with pre-diabetes/T2DM. However, the studies included were small and of varying quality.
Instrumentation and control of future sodium cooled fast reactors - Design improvements
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Madhusoodanan, K.; Sakthivel, M.; Chellapandi, P.
2013-06-01
India's fast reactor program started with the 40 MWt Fast Breeder Test Reactor. 500 MWe Prototype Fast Breeder Reactor (PFBR) is currently under construction at Kalpakkam. Safety of PFBR is enhanced by improved design features of I and C system. Since the design of Instrumentation and control (I and C) of PFBR, considerable improvements in terms of advancement in technology and indigenization has taken place. Further improvements in I and C is proposed for solving many of the difficulties faced during the design and construction phases of PFBR. Design improvements proposed are covered in this paper which will make the implementation and maintenance of I and C of future SFRs easier. (authors)
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Svoboda, K.; Kyrs, M.
1994-04-01
The measurement of activity of 90 Sr during its fast isolation by extraction with cobalt dicarbollide and Slovafol 909 in a nitrobenzene-carbon tetrachloride mixed solvent and re-extraction with 0.15 M Chelaton IV at pH 10.2 was investigated. The use of a liquid scintillator allows the effect of the 90 Y beta activity to be eliminated more efficiently than if the evaporation residue is measured with a solid scintillator. Traces of dicarbollide, nitrobenzene and CCl 4 passed into the aqueous solution exert an unfavorable effect by shifting the spectral curve of the 90 Sr+ 90 Y beta radiation towards lower energies, the shift being dependent on the concentration of the above interferents in the aqueous phase. This effect can be eliminated by extracting the aqueous phase with the same volume of octyl alcohol or amyl acetate; while removing the organic interferents, this extraction brings about no apparent loss of strontium. (author). 3 tabs., 7 figs., 5 refs
Damm, Irina; Enger, Eileen; Chrubasik-Hausmann, Sigrun; Schieber, Andreas; Zimmermann, Benno F
2016-08-01
Fast methods for the extraction and analysis of various secondary metabolites from cocoa products were developed and optimized regarding speed and separation efficiency. Extraction by pressurized liquid extraction is automated and the extracts are analyzed by rapid reversed-phase ultra high-performance liquid chromatography and normal-phase high-performance liquid chromatography methods. After extraction, no further sample treatment is required before chromatographic analysis. The analytes comprise monomeric and oligomeric flavanols, flavonols, methylxanthins, N-phenylpropenoyl amino acids, and phenolic acids. Polyphenols and N-phenylpropenoyl amino acids are separated in a single run of 33 min, procyanidins are analyzed by normal-phase high-performance liquid chromatography within 16 min, and methylxanthins require only 6 min total run time. A fourth method is suitable for phenolic acids, but only protocatechuic acid was found in relevant quantities. The optimized methods were validated and applied to 27 dark chocolates, one milk chocolate, two cocoa powders and two food supplements based on cocoa extract. © 2016 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Castro, R.; Romero, J.A.; Vega, J.; Nieto, J.; Ruiz, M.; Sanz, D.; Barrera, E.; De Arcas, G.
2014-01-01
Highlights: • Implementation of a soft real-time control system based on EPICS technology. • High data throughput system control implementation. • GPU technology applied to fast control. • EPICS fast control based solution. • Fast control and data acquisition in Linux. - Abstract: For new control systems development, ITER distributes CODAC Core System that is a software package based on Linux RedHat, and includes EPICS (Experimental Physics and Industrial Control System) as software control system solution. EPICS technology is being widely used for implementing control systems in research experiments and it is a very well tested technology, but presents important lacks to meet fast control requirements. To manage and process massive amounts of acquired data, EPICS requires additional functions such as: data block oriented transmissions, links with speed-optimized data buffers and synchronization mechanisms not based on system interruptions. This EPICS limitation turned out clearly during the development of the Fast Plant System Controller Prototype for ITER based on PXIe platform. In this work, we present a solution that, on the one hand, is completely compatible and based on EPCIS technology, and on the other hand, extends EPICS technology for implementing high performance fast control systems with soft-real time characteristics. This development includes components such as: data acquisition, processing, monitoring, data archiving, and data streaming (via network and shared memory). Additionally, it is important to remark that this system is compatible with multiple Graphics Processing Units (GPUs) and is able to integrate MatLab code through MatLab engine connections. It preserves EPICS modularity, enabling system modification or extension with a simple change of configuration, and finally it enables parallelization based on data distribution to different processing components. With the objective of illustrating the presented solution in an actual
On-line control of a liquid-liquid extraction column by the modal control method
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Bonnefoi, P.; Poujol, A.; Zwingelstein, G.; Dargier, C.; Rouyer, H.
1977-02-01
The application of modal analysis to the on-line control of a liquid-liquid extraction column is presented. This process is used in reprocessing for U purification. U in the aqueous acid phase is extracted by a solvent flowing at counter-current. The process is described by 4 nonlinear equations and gives the U and acid concentrations in the two phases. An approximative model is established adapted to the control of the column. Some results of a numerical simulation are given when a single mode is controled. They show that a single sensor allows a good control [fr
Seismic appraisal test of control rod drive mechanism of China experiment fast reactor
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Song Qing; Yang Hongyi; Jing Yueqing; Wen Jing; Liu Guijuan; Sun Lei
2008-01-01
The structure of the control rod drive mechanism in pool type sodium-cooled fast reactor is the characterized by long, thin, and geometric nonlinearity, and the seismic load is multiple activation. The anti-seismic evaluation is always paid great attention by the countries developing the technology worldwide. This article introduces the seismic appraisal test of the control rod drive mechanism of China Experimental Fast Reactor (CEFR) performed on a seismic platform which is vertical shaft style and multiple activation. The result of the test shows the structural integrity and the function of the control rod drive mechanism could meet the design requirements of the earthquake intensity. (authors)
Analysis of the servo-spill control for slow beam extraction
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Sato, Hikaru; Toyama, Takeshi; Marutsuka, Katsumi; Shirakata, Masashi.
1994-01-01
This report describes an analysis of servo-spill control system for the slow beam extraction from the KEK PS. Transfer function of extraction process is derived from measurement of the closed-loop characteristic using measured frequency response of each equipment. Result indicates the restriction of the present servo-spill control and give a guide line for the improvement. (author)
Sun, Hui; Lai, Jia-Ping; Chen, Fang; Zhu, De-Rong
2015-02-01
A simple, fast, and universal suspension polymerization method was used to synthesize the molecularly imprinted microspheres (MIMs) for the topical anesthetic benzocaine (BZC). The desired diameter (10-20 μm) and uniform morphology of the MIMs were obtained easily by changing one or more of the synthesis conditions, including type and amount of surfactant, stirring rate, and ratio of organic to water phase. The MIMs obtained were used as a molecular-imprinting solid-phase-extraction (MISPE) material for extraction of BZC in human serum and fish tissues. The MISPE results revealed that the BZC in these biosamples could be enriched effectively after the MISPE operation. The recoveries of BZC on MIMs cartridges were higher than 90% (n = 3). Finally, an MISPE-HPLC method with UV detection was developed for highly selective extraction and fast detection of trace BZC in human serum and fish tissues. The developed method could also be used for the enrichment and detection of BZC in other complex biosamples.
Evaluation and application of a fast module in a PLC based interlock and control system
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Zaera-Sanz, M
2009-01-01
The LHC Beam Interlock system requires a controller performing a simple matrix function to collect the different beam dump requests. To satisfy the expected safety level of the Interlock, the system should be robust and reliable. The PLC is a promising candidate to fulfil both aspects but too slow to meet the expected response time which is of the order of μseconds. Siemens has introduced a 'so called' fast module (FM352-5 Boolean Processor). It provides independent and extremely fast control of a process within a larger control system using an onboard processor, a Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA), to execute code in parallel which results in extremely fast scan times. It is interesting to investigate its features and to evaluate it as a possible candidate for the beam interlock system. This paper publishes the results of this study. As well, this paper could be useful for other applications requiring fast processing using a PLC.
Rapid-L Operator-Free Fast Reactor Concept Without Any Control Rods
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Kambe, Mitsuru; Tsunoda, Hirokazu; Mishima, Kaichiro; Iwamura, Takamichi
2003-01-01
The 200-kW(electric) uranium-nitride-fueled lithium-cooled fast reactor concept 'RAPID-L' to achieve highly automated reactor operation has been demonstrated. RAPID-L is designed for a lunar base power system. It is one of the variants of the RAPID (Refueling by All Pins Integrated Design) fast reactor concept, which enables quick and simplified refueling. The essential feature of the RAPID concept is that the reactor core consists of an integrated fuel assembly instead of conventional fuel subassemblies. In this small-size reactor core, 2700 fuel pins are integrated and encased in a fuel cartridge. Refueling is conducted by replacing a fuel cartridge. The reactor can be operated without refueling for up to 10 yr.Unique challenges in reactivity control systems design have been addressed in the RAPID-L concept. The reactor has no control rod but involves the following innovative reactivity control systems: lithium expansion modules (LEM) for inherent reactivity feedback, lithium injection modules (LIM) for inherent ultimate shutdown, and lithium release modules (LRM) for automated reactor startup. All these systems adopt 6 Li as a liquid poison instead of B 4 C rods. In combination with LEMs, LIMs, and LRMs, RAPID-L can be operated without an operator. This reactor concept is also applicable to the terrestrial fast reactors. In this paper, the RAPID-L reactor concept and its transient characteristics are presented
Afandi, B; Kaplan, W; Al Hassani, N; Hadi, S; Mohamed, A
2017-07-01
Even though patients with type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM) are exempted from fasting, the vast majority elect to fast against the advice of their healthcare providers. We have previously reported the incidence of wide fluctuations in blood glucose (BG) along with "unrecognized" severe hypoglycemia during Ramadan fasting in adolescents with T1DM. This report compares the continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) data during fasting in adolescents with T1DM according to their Pre-Ramadan diabetes control. Children and adolescents with T1DM who intended to fast the month of Ramadan were asked to wear the CGM during fasting for a minimum of 3 days. Hypoglycemia, hyperglycemia, and severe hyperglycemia were identified as BG 300 mg/dL (16.7 mmol/L) respectively, while normoglycemia was identified as BG 70-200 mg/dL (3.9-11.1 mmol/L). Patients were categorized as well-controlled (Group 1) and poorly controlled (Group 2) if the pre-fasting HbA1C was ≤8% (64 mmol/mol) and >8%, respectively. We compared the mean BG and the percentages of time spent in hypoglycemia, hyperglycemia, and severe hyperglycemia between the two groups using Chi-square (significant difference when P value was fasting. Our data suggest that optimal glycemic control before Ramadan may reduce the potential risks associated with fasting and minimize glucose fluctuation.
Sunil, V; Shree, Nitya; Venkataranganna, M V; Bhonde, Ramesh R; Majumdar, Mala
2017-05-01
In recent years, obesity and diabetes have become the epidemic mainly due to fast food and lifestyle changes. Several herbs have been claimed to control diabetes and obesity. However, there are a few which control both. Our aim was to evaluate the anti-diabetic and anti-obesity activity of methanolic extract of Memecylon umbellatum (MU) in alleviation of insulin resistance (IR). Diet induced obese (DIO) mice model was developed by feeding the mice on high fat diet (HFD) for 10 weeks resulting in hyperglycemia, obesity and IR. 250mg/kg body weight of extract was administered orally daily for 8 weeks. Fasting glucose and body weight were monitored throughout the experiment. At the end of the study, serum parameters, histological examinations and gene expression pattern were analyzed. There was a significant reduction in fasting glucose levels, body weight and triglycerides. Improvement in the glucose tolerance and amelioration of insulin resistance was observed as revealed by reduction in serum IL6, serum oxidised LDL, histological sections of liver and subcutaneous adipose. Gene expression studies demonstrated the anti-inflammatory activity of the extract by down regulating IL6, PAI1 and ApoB gene expression as compared to the untreated HFD control. Our results demonstrate for the first time that oral administration of methanolic extract of MU in DIO mice leads to reduction in hyperglycemia, body weight, triglycerides and ameliorates insulin resistance. Further, mechanism of action of the extract needs to be investigated by purifying the extract and analyzing the active ingredient playing the major role. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.
COSMO-RS-based extractant screening for phenol extraction as model system
Burghoff, B.; Goetheer, E.L.V.; Haan, A.B. de
2008-01-01
The focus of this investigation is the development of a fast and reliable extractant screening approach. Phenol extraction is selected as the model process. A quantum chemical conductor-like screening model for real solvents (COSMO-RS) is combined with molecular design considerations. For this
Design of Measurement and Control System of Composite Fast Transfer Switch Based on PLC
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
ZHANG Hong-yi
2017-06-01
Full Text Available The fast transfer switch gets more extensive application in the power supply system along with the raising of power supply requirement for continuity and reliability in the sensitivity loads such as in airport,military place,hospital and large scale industrial production line. Therefore it is important that how to make fast transfer switch run safely and reliably. The paper expatiated the structure and principle of a fast transfer switch based on mechanical and electronic compound technology,and,according to the basic requirement and the characteristic of the fast transfer switch,a PLC mastered measuring and controlling system has been designed to raise the operation reliability of the fast transfer switch.
Flight Research into Simple Adaptive Control on the NASA FAST Aircraft
Hanson, Curtis E.
2011-01-01
A series of simple adaptive controllers with varying levels of complexity were designed, implemented and flight tested on the NASA Full-Scale Advanced Systems Testbed (FAST) aircraft. Lessons learned from the development and flight testing are presented.
Voluntary Fasting to Control Post-Ramadan Weight Gain among Overweight and Obese Women
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Suriani Ismail
2015-01-01
Full Text Available Objectives: This study aimed to examine the effectiveness of an Islamic voluntary fasting intervention to control post-Ramadan weight gain. Methods: This study was conducted between July and November 2011. Two weight loss intervention programmes were developed and implemented among groups of overweight or obese Malay women living in the Malaysian cities of Putrajaya and Seremban: a standard programme promoting control of food intake according to national dietary guidelines (group B and a faith-based programme promoting voluntary fasting in addition to the standard programme (group A. Participants’ dietary practices (i.e., voluntary fasting practices, frequency of fruit/vegetable consumption per week and quantity of carbohydrates/protein consumed per day, body mass index (BMI, blood pressure, fasting blood high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C and total cholesterol (TC:HDL-C ratio were assessed before Ramadan and three months post-Ramadan. Results: Voluntary fasting practices increased only in group A (P <0.01. Additionally, the quantity of protein/carbohydrates consumed per day, mean diastolic pressure and TC:HDL-C ratio decreased only in group A (P <0.01, 0.05, 0.02 and <0.01, respectively. Frequency of fruit/vegetable consumption per week, as well as HDL-C levels, increased only in group A (P = 0.03 and <0.01, respectively. Although changes in BMI between the groups was not significant (P = 0.08, BMI decrease among participants in group A was significant (P <0.01. Conclusion: Control of post-Ramadan weight gain was more evident in the faith-based intervention group. Healthcare providers should consider faith-based interventions to encourage weight loss during Ramadan and to prevent post-Ramadan weight gain among patients.
Voluntary Fasting to Control Post-Ramadan Weight Gain among Overweight and Obese Women
Ismail, Suriani; Shamsuddin, Khadijah; Latiff, Khalib A.; Saad, Hazizi A.; Majid, Latifah A.; Othman, Fadlan M.
2015-01-01
Objectives: This study aimed to examine the effectiveness of an Islamic voluntary fasting intervention to control post-Ramadan weight gain. Methods: This study was conducted between July and November 2011. Two weight loss intervention programmes were developed and implemented among groups of overweight or obese Malay women living in the Malaysian cities of Putrajaya and Seremban: a standard programme promoting control of food intake according to national dietary guidelines (group B) and a faith-based programme promoting voluntary fasting in addition to the standard programme (group A). Participants’ dietary practices (i.e., voluntary fasting practices, frequency of fruit/vegetable consumption per week and quantity of carbohydrates/protein consumed per day), body mass index (BMI), blood pressure, fasting blood high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) and total cholesterol (TC):HDL-C ratio were assessed before Ramadan and three months post-Ramadan. Results: Voluntary fasting practices increased only in group A (P <0.01). Additionally, the quantity of protein/carbohydrates consumed per day, mean diastolic pressure and TC:HDL-C ratio decreased only in group A (P <0.01, 0.05, 0.02 and <0.01, respectively). Frequency of fruit/vegetable consumption per week, as well as HDL-C levels, increased only in group A (P = 0.03 and <0.01, respectively). Although changes in BMI between the groups was not significant (P = 0.08), BMI decrease among participants in group A was significant (P <0.01). Conclusion: Control of post-Ramadan weight gain was more evident in the faith-based intervention group. Healthcare providers should consider faith-based interventions to encourage weight loss during Ramadan and to prevent post-Ramadan weight gain among patients. PMID:25685394
The New SPS Extraction Channel for LHC and CNGS
Goddard, B; Schröder, G; Weterings, W; Uythoven, J
2000-01-01
The Large Hadron Collider (LHC) and CERN Neutrino to Gran Sasso (CNGS) projects require the construction of a new fast-extraction system in the long straight section LSS4 of the Super Proton Synchrotron (SPS) at CERN. A conventional DC septum magnet will be used, in conjunction with the installation of horizontal and vertical extraction bumpers, main quadrupoles with enlarged apertures, extraction kicker magnets and additional hardware protection, instrumentation, controls and electronics. The extraction channel must be able to accept the bright LHC proton beam at 450 GeV/c, and also the high intensity, large emittance fixed target CNGS proton beam at the nominal 400 GeV/c extraction momentum. This paper describes the extraction channel to be installed in 2003, and shows how the requirements for both the LHC and CNGS project can be met.
Extent of pyrolysis impacts on fast pyrolysis biochar properties.
Brewer, Catherine E; Hu, Yan-Yan; Schmidt-Rohr, Klaus; Loynachan, Thomas E; Laird, David A; Brown, Robert C
2012-01-01
A potential concern about the use of fast pyrolysis rather than slow pyrolysis biochars as soil amendments is that they may contain high levels of bioavailable C due to short particle residence times in the reactors, which could reduce the stability of biochar C and cause nutrient immobilization in soils. To investigate this concern, three corn ( L.) stover fast pyrolysis biochars prepared using different reactor conditions were chemically and physically characterized to determine their extent of pyrolysis. These biochars were also incubated in soil to assess their impact on soil CO emissions, nutrient availability, microorganism population growth, and water retention capacity. Elemental analysis and quantitative solid-state C nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy showed variation in O functional groups (associated primarily with carbohydrates) and aromatic C, which could be used to define extent of pyrolysis. A 24-wk incubation performed using a sandy soil amended with 0.5 wt% of corn stover biochar showed a small but significant decrease in soil CO emissions and a decrease in the bacteria:fungi ratios with extent of pyrolysis. Relative to the control soil, biochar-amended soils had small increases in CO emissions and extractable nutrients, but similar microorganism populations, extractable NO levels, and water retention capacities. Corn stover amendments, by contrast, significantly increased soil CO emissions and microbial populations, and reduced extractable NO. These results indicate that C in fast pyrolysis biochar is stable in soil environments and will not appreciably contribute to nutrient immobilization. Copyright © by the American Society of Agronomy, Crop Science Society of America, and Soil Science Society of America, Inc.
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Gryazev, V.M.; Gadzhiev, G.I.; Alekseev, I.N.
1979-01-01
Under a contract with the International Atomic Energy Agency, the V.I. Lenin Atomic Reactor Research Institute is currently carrying out a study of ways of organizing a nuclear materials accounting and control system for the BOR-60 fast reactor. Some results of this study are presented in the paper. The special physical and technological features of fast reactors create additional difficulties in safeguards systems and give rise to a number of new possibilities for the illicit removal of nuclear materials. These questions are discussed with reference to the BOR-60 reactor but the conclusions are probably applicable to all fast reactors. The proposed accounting and control system is based on non-destructive measurements of the amount of fissile materials in the operating fuel assemblies and screened bundles of the reactor, on the independent control of the principal facility parameters (a list of which is given) and on an automated information collection and evaluation system. Visual means of inspection can be very effective in fast reactor safeguards systems, especially for controlling storage, but they are not used with the BOR-60 reactor. (author)
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Han Seok Choi
2018-01-01
Conclusion: The present study suggests that ginseng berry extract has the potential to improve glucose metabolism in human, especially in those with fasting glucose level of 110 mg/dL or higher. For a more meaningful benefit, further research in people with higher blood glucose levels is required.
DEFF Research Database (Denmark)
Falkenby, Lasse Gaarde; Such-Sanmartín, Gerard; Larsen, Martin Røssel
2014-01-01
min speLC-MS/MS experiment. Analysis by selected reaction monitoring by speLC-SRM-MS/MS of distinct peptides derived from the blood proteins IGF1, IGF2, IBP2, and IBP3 demonstrated protein quantification with CV values below 10% across 96 replicates. The speLC-MS/MS system is ideally suited for fast......The high peptide sequencing speed provided by modern hybrid tandem mass spectrometers enables the utilization of fast liquid chromatographic (LC) separation techniques. We present a robust solid-phase extraction/capillary LC system (speLC) for 5-10 min separation of semicomplex peptide mixtures...
Pixel extraction based integral imaging with controllable viewing direction
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Ji, Chao-Chao; Deng, Huan; Wang, Qiong-Hua
2012-01-01
We propose pixel extraction based integral imaging with a controllable viewing direction. The proposed integral imaging can provide viewers three-dimensional (3D) images in a very small viewing angle. The viewing angle and the viewing direction of the reconstructed 3D images are controlled by the pixels extracted from an elemental image array. Theoretical analysis and a 3D display experiment of the viewing direction controllable integral imaging are carried out. The experimental results verify the correctness of the theory. A 3D display based on the integral imaging can protect the viewer’s privacy and has huge potential for a television to show multiple 3D programs at the same time. (paper)
The Booster to AGS beam transfer fast kicker systems
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Zhang, W.; Bunicci, J.; Soukas, A.V.; Zhang, S.Y.
1992-01-01
The Brookhaven AGS Booster has a very successful commissioning period in June 1991. The third phase of that commissioning was a beam extraction test. The Booster extraction fast kicker (F3) deflected a 1.2 GeV proton beam from the Booster circulating orbit into the extraction septum aperture, partially down the extraction line to a temporary beam stop. Now, the Booster is committed to the AGS operations program for both heavy ion and proton beams. Thus, the Booster extraction and the corresponding AGS injection systems must operate routinely up to a pulse repetition frequency of 7.5 Hertz, and up to a beam energy of 1.5 Gev. The injection fast kicker is located in the A5 section of the AGS ring and is used to deflect the proton or heavy ion beam into its final AGS closed orbit. A distinctive feature of the AGS injection fast kicker modulators is the tail-bitting function required for proton beam injection. This enables the system to produce a fast current fall time to go along with the high current pulse amplitude with a fast rise time. The AGS injection fast kicker system has three pulse modulators, and each modulator consists of two thyratrons. The main PFN thyratrons switch on the current, and the tail bitting thyratrons are used to force the magnet current to decrease rapidly. Two digital pulse delay generators are used to align the main thyratrons and the tail bitting thyratrons respectively. The system has been tested and installed. The final commissioning of the Booster to AGS beam transfer line and injection is currently being undertaken. In this article, the system design, realization techniques and performance data will be presented
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Muhammad Adil Khan
2018-05-01
Full Text Available The electric powered wheelchair (EPW is an essential assistive tool for people with serious injuries or disability. This manuscript describes the validation of applied research for reducing the charging time of an electric wheelchair using a hybrid electric system (HES composed of a supercapacitor (SC bank and a lithium-ion battery with a fuzzy logic controller (FLC-based fast charging system for Li-ion batteries and a fuzzy logic-based intelligent energy management system (FLIEMS for controlling the power flow within the HES. The fast charging FLC was designed to drive the voltage difference (Vd among the different cells of a multi-cell battery and the cell voltage (Vc of an individual cell. These parameters (voltage difference and cell voltage were used as input voltages to reduce the charge time and activate a bypass equalization (BPE scheme. BPE was introduced in this paper so that the battery operates within the safe voltage range. For SC/Li-ion HES, the FLIEMS presented in this paper controls the bi-directional power flow to smooth the power extracted from Li-ion batteries. Moreover, a dual active bridge isolated bidirectional DC converter (DAB-IBDC was used for power conversion. The DAB-IBDC presented in this paper has the characteristics of galvanic isolation, and high power conversion efficiency compared to the conventional converter circuits due to the reduced reverse power flow and current stresses.
Fast flux test facility noise data management
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Thie, J.A.
1988-01-01
An extensive collection of spectra from an automated data collection system at the Fast Flux Facility has features from neutron data extracted and managed by database software. Inquiry techniques, including screening, applied to database results show the influences of control rods on wideband noise and, more generally, abilities to detect diverse types of off-normal noise. Uncovering a temporary 0.1-Hz resonance shift gave additional diagnostic information on a 13-Hz mechanical motion characterized by the interference of two resonances. The latter phenomenon is discussed generically for possible application to other reactor types. (author)
Liu, Ping; Li, Guodong; Liu, Xinggao
2015-09-01
Control vector parameterization (CVP) is an important approach of the engineering optimization for the industrial dynamic processes. However, its major defect, the low optimization efficiency caused by calculating the relevant differential equations in the generated nonlinear programming (NLP) problem repeatedly, limits its wide application in the engineering optimization for the industrial dynamic processes. A novel highly effective control parameterization approach, fast-CVP, is first proposed to improve the optimization efficiency for industrial dynamic processes, where the costate gradient formulae is employed and a fast approximate scheme is presented to solve the differential equations in dynamic process simulation. Three well-known engineering optimization benchmark problems of the industrial dynamic processes are demonstrated as illustration. The research results show that the proposed fast approach achieves a fine performance that at least 90% of the computation time can be saved in contrast to the traditional CVP method, which reveals the effectiveness of the proposed fast engineering optimization approach for the industrial dynamic processes. Copyright © 2015 ISA. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Application of MEMS Accelerometers and Gyroscopes in Fast Steering Mirror Control Systems
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Jing Tian
2016-03-01
Full Text Available In a charge-coupled device (CCD-based fast steering mirror (FSM tracking control system, high control bandwidth is the most effective way to enhance the closed-loop performance. However, the control system usually suffers a great deal from mechanical resonances and time delays induced by the low sampling rate of CCDs. To meet the requirements of high precision and load restriction, fiber-optic gyroscopes (FOGs are usually used in traditional FSM tracking control systems. In recent years, the MEMS accelerometer and gyroscope are becoming smaller and lighter and their performance have improved gradually, so that they can be used in a fast steering mirror (FSM to realize the stabilization of the line-of-sight (LOS of the control system. Therefore, a tentative approach to implement a CCD-based FSM tracking control system, which uses MEMS accelerometers and gyroscopes as feedback components and contains an acceleration loop, a velocity loop and a position loop, is proposed. The disturbance suppression of the proposed method is the product of the error attenuation of the acceleration loop, the velocity loop and the position loop. Extensive experimental results show that the MEMS accelerometers and gyroscopes can act the similar role as the FOG with lower cost for stabilizing the LOS of the FSM tracking control system.
Control rod homogenization in heterogeneous sodium-cooled fast reactors
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Andersson, Mikael
2016-01-01
The sodium-cooled fast reactor is one of the candidates for a sustainable nuclear reactor system. In particular, the French ASTRID project employs an axially heterogeneous design, proposed in the so-called CFV (low sodium effect) core, to enhance the inherent safety features of the reactor. This thesis focuses on the accurate modeling of the control rods, through the homogenization method. The control rods in a sodium-cooled fast reactor are used for reactivity compensation during the cycle, power shaping, and to shutdown the reactor. In previous control rod homogenization procedures, only a radial description of the geometry was implemented, hence the axially heterogeneous features of the CFV core could not be taken into account. This thesis investigates the different axial variations the control rod experiences in a CFV core, to determine the impact that these axial environments have on the control rod modeling. The methodology used in this work is based on previous homogenization procedures, the so-called equivalence procedure. The procedure was newly implemented in the PARIS code system in order to be able to use 3D geometries, and thereby be take axial effects into account. The thesis is divided into three parts. The first part investigates the impact of different neutron spectra on the homogeneous control-rod cross sections. The second part investigates the cases where the traditional radial control-rod homogenization procedure is no longer applicable in the CFV core, which was found to be 5-10 cm away from any material interface. In the third part, based on the results from the second part, a 3D model of the control rod is used to calculate homogenized control-rod cross sections. In a full core model, a study is made to investigate the impact these axial effects have on control rod-related core parameters, such as the control rod worth, the capture rates in the control rod, and the power in the adjacent fuel assemblies. All results were compared to a Monte
Cheng, Jun; Zhang, Jun; Tian, Jinwen
2015-12-01
Based on deep analysis of the LiveWire interactive boundary extraction algorithm, a new algorithm focusing on improving the speed of LiveWire algorithm is proposed in this paper. Firstly, the Haar wavelet transform is carried on the input image, and the boundary is extracted on the low resolution image obtained by the wavelet transform of the input image. Secondly, calculating LiveWire shortest path is based on the control point set direction search by utilizing the spatial relationship between the two control points users provide in real time. Thirdly, the search order of the adjacent points of the starting node is set in advance. An ordinary queue instead of a priority queue is taken as the storage pool of the points when optimizing their shortest path value, thus reducing the complexity of the algorithm from O[n2] to O[n]. Finally, A region iterative backward projection method based on neighborhood pixel polling has been used to convert dual-pixel boundary of the reconstructed image to single-pixel boundary after Haar wavelet inverse transform. The algorithm proposed in this paper combines the advantage of the Haar wavelet transform and the advantage of the optimal path searching method based on control point set direction search. The former has fast speed of image decomposition and reconstruction and is more consistent with the texture features of the image and the latter can reduce the time complexity of the original algorithm. So that the algorithm can improve the speed in interactive boundary extraction as well as reflect the boundary information of the image more comprehensively. All methods mentioned above have a big role in improving the execution efficiency and the robustness of the algorithm.
FEATURE EXTRACTION FOR EMG BASED PROSTHESES CONTROL
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
R. Aishwarya
2013-01-01
Full Text Available The control of prosthetic limb would be more effective if it is based on Surface Electromyogram (SEMG signals from remnant muscles. The analysis of SEMG signals depend on a number of factors, such as amplitude as well as time- and frequency-domain properties. Time series analysis using Auto Regressive (AR model and Mean frequency which is tolerant to white Gaussian noise are used as feature extraction techniques. EMG Histogram is used as another feature vector that was seen to give more distinct classification. The work was done with SEMG dataset obtained from the NINAPRO DATABASE, a resource for bio robotics community. Eight classes of hand movements hand open, hand close, Wrist extension, Wrist flexion, Pointing index, Ulnar deviation, Thumbs up, Thumb opposite to little finger are taken into consideration and feature vectors are extracted. The feature vectors can be given to an artificial neural network for further classification in controlling the prosthetic arm which is not dealt in this paper.
Fast digital feedback control systems for accelerator RF system using FPGA
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Bagduwal, Pritam Singh; Sharma, Dheeraj; Tiwari, Nitesh; Lad, M.; Hannurkar, P.R.
2012-01-01
Feedback control system plays important role for proper injection and acceleration of beam in particle accelerators by providing the required amplitude and phase stability of RF fields in accelerating structures. Advancement in the field of digital technology enables us to develop fast digital feedback control system for RF applications. Digital Low Level RF (LLRF) system offers the inherent advantages of Digital System like flexibility, adaptability, good repeatability and reduced long time drift errors compared to analog system. To implement the feedback control algorithm, I/Q control scheme is used. By properly sampling the down converted IF signal using fast ADC we get accurate feedback signal and also eliminates the need of two separate detectors for amplitude and phase detection. Controller is implemented in Vertex-4 FPGA. Codes for control algorithms which controls the amplitude and phase in all four quadrants with good accuracy are written in the VHDL. I/Q modulator works as common actuator for both amplitude and phase correction. Synchronization between RF, LO and ADC clock is indispensable and has been achieved by deriving the clock and LO signal from RF signal itself. Control system has been successfully tested in lab with phase and amplitude stability better then ±1% and ±1° respectively. High frequency RF signal is down converted to IF using the super heterodyne technique. Super heterodyne principal not only brings the RF signal to the Low IF frequency at which it can be easily processed but also enables us to use the same hardware and software for other RF frequencies with some minor modification. (author)
DEFF Research Database (Denmark)
Jensen, Niels B.s.; Jokumsen, Kirsten Væver; Villadsen, John
1999-01-01
with chloroform at -25 degrees C ensures a total permeability of the cellular membrane towards the metabolites of interest as well as the inactivation of enzymes liable to alter their levels. The final step of the procedure consists in a solid phase extraction using columns with a high affinity for phosphorylated...... to -35 degrees C, bringing about a fast and complete stop of all metabolic activity. In contrast to yeast the metabolites leak out of the cells when these are brought into contact with methanol and are present in the medium and in the biomass after the quenching. A liquid-liquid extraction...
Fuel cycle facility control system for the Integral Fast Reactor Program
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Benedict, R.W.; Tate, D.A.
1993-01-01
As part of the Integral Fast Reactor (IFR) Fuel Demonstration, a new distributed control system designed, implemented and installed. The Fuel processes are a combination of chemical and machining processes operated remotely. To meet this special requirement, the new control system provides complete sequential logic control motion and positioning control and continuous PID loop control. Also, a centralized computer system provides near-real time nuclear material tracking, product quality control data archiving and a centralized reporting function. The control system was configured to use programmable logic controllers, small logic controllers, personal computers with touch screens, engineering work stations and interconnecting networks. By following a structured software development method the operator interface was standardized. The system has been installed and is presently being tested for operations
ATCA/AXIe compatible board for fast control and data acquisition in nuclear fusion experiments
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Batista, A.J.N.; Leong, C.; Bexiga, V.; Rodrigues, A.P.; Combo, A.; Carvalho, B.B.; Fortunato, J.; Correia, M.; Teixeira, J.P.; Teixeira, I.C.; Sousa, J.; Gonçalves, B.; Varandas, C.A.F.
2012-01-01
Highlights: ► High performance board for fast control and data acquisition. ► Large IO channel number per board with galvanic isolation. ► Optimized for high reliability and availability. ► Targeted for nuclear fusion experiments with long duration discharges. ► To be used on the ITER Fast Plant System Controller prototype. - Abstract: An in-house development of an Advanced Telecommunications Computing Architecture (ATCA) board for fast control and data acquisition, with Input/Output (IO) processing capability, is presented. The architecture, compatible with the ATCA (PICMG 3.4) and ATCA eXtensions for Instrumentation (AXIe) specifications, comprises a passive Rear Transition Module (RTM) for IO connectivity to ease hot-swap maintenance and simultaneously to increase cabling life cycle. The board complies with ITER Fast Plant System Controller (FPSC) guidelines for rear IO connectivity and redundancy, in order to provide high levels of reliability and availability to the control and data acquisition systems of nuclear fusion devices with long duration plasma discharges. Simultaneously digitized data from all Analog to Digital Converters (ADC) of the board can be filtered/decimated in a Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA), decreasing data throughput, increasing resolution, and sent through Peripheral Component Interconnect (PCI) Express to multi-core processors in the ATCA shelf hub slots. Concurrently the multi-core processors can update the board Digital to Analog Converters (DAC) in real-time. Full-duplex point-to-point communication links between all FPGAs, of peer boards inside the shelf, allow the implementation of distributed algorithms and Multi-Input Multi-Output (MIMO) systems. Support for several timing and synchronization solutions is also provided. Some key features are onboard ADC or DAC modules with galvanic isolation, Xilinx Virtex 6 FPGA, standard Dual Data Rate (DDR) 3 SODIMM memory, standard CompactFLASH memory card, Intelligent
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Fereidoun Azizi
2013-07-01
Full Text Available The aim of this article is to review health-related aspects of Ramadan fasting in normal individuals and diabetics. During fasting days of Ramadan, glucose homeostasis is maintained by meal taken bepore dawn and by liver glycogen stores. Changes in serum lipids are variable and defend on the quality and quantity of food consumption and changes in weight. Compliant, well controlled type 2 diabetics may observe Ramadan fasting; but fasting is not recommended for type 1, non complaint, poorly controlled and pregnant diabetics. Although Ramadan fasting is safe for all healthy individuals and well controlled diabetics, those with uncontrolled diabetics and diabetics with complications should consult physicians and follow scientific recommendations.
Sound Control-Flow Graph Extraction for Java Programs with Exceptions
Amighi, A.; de Carvalho Gomes, Pedro; Gurov, Dilian; Huisman, Marieke; Eleftherakis, George; Hinchey, Mike; Holcombe, Mike
2012-01-01
We present an algorithm to extract control-flow graphs from Java bytecode, considering exceptional flows. We then establish its correctness: the behavior of the extracted graphs is shown to be a sound over-approximation of the behavior of the original programs. Thus, any temporal safety property
Fast Coordinated Control of DFIG Wind Turbine Generators for Low and High Voltage Ride-Through
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Yun Wang
2014-06-01
Full Text Available This paper presents a fast coordinated control scheme of the rotor side converter (RSC, the Direct Current (DC chopper and the grid side converter (GSC of doubly fed induction generator (DFIG wind turbine generators (WTGs to improve the low voltage ride through (LVRT and high voltage ride through (HVRT capability of the DFIG WTGs. The characteristics of DFIG WTGs under voltage sags and swells were studied focusing on the DFIG WTG stator flux and rotor voltages during the transient periods of grid voltage changes. The protection schemes of the rotor crowbar circuit and the DC chopper circuit were proposed considering the characteristics of the DFIG WTGs during voltage changes. The fast coordinated control of RSC and GSC were developed based on the characteristic analysis in order to realize efficient LVRT and HVRT of the DFIG WTGs. The proposed fast coordinated control schemes were verified by time domain simulations using Matlab-Simulink.
Versatile synchronized real-time MEG hardware controller for large-scale fast data acquisition
Sun, Limin; Han, Menglai; Pratt, Kevin; Paulson, Douglas; Dinh, Christoph; Esch, Lorenz; Okada, Yoshio; Hämäläinen, Matti
2017-05-01
Versatile controllers for accurate, fast, and real-time synchronized acquisition of large-scale data are useful in many areas of science, engineering, and technology. Here, we describe the development of a controller software based on a technique called queued state machine for controlling the data acquisition (DAQ) hardware, continuously acquiring a large amount of data synchronized across a large number of channels (>400) at a fast rate (up to 20 kHz/channel) in real time, and interfacing with applications for real-time data analysis and display of electrophysiological data. This DAQ controller was developed specifically for a 384-channel pediatric whole-head magnetoencephalography (MEG) system, but its architecture is useful for wide applications. This controller running in a LabVIEW environment interfaces with microprocessors in the MEG sensor electronics to control their real-time operation. It also interfaces with a real-time MEG analysis software via transmission control protocol/internet protocol, to control the synchronous acquisition and transfer of the data in real time from >400 channels to acquisition and analysis workstations. The successful implementation of this controller for an MEG system with a large number of channels demonstrates the feasibility of employing the present architecture in several other applications.
NetCDF based data archiving system applied to ITER Fast Plant System Control prototype
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Castro, R.; Vega, J.; Ruiz, M.; De Arcas, G.; Barrera, E.; López, J.M.; Sanz, D.; Gonçalves, B.; Santos, B.; Utzel, N.; Makijarvi, P.
2012-01-01
Highlights: ► Implementation of a data archiving solution for a Fast Plant System Controller (FPSC) for ITER CODAC. ► Data archiving solution based on scientific NetCDF-4 file format and Lustre storage clustering. ► EPICS control based solution. ► Tests results and detailed analysis of using NetCDF-4 and clustering technologies on fast acquisition data archiving. - Abstract: EURATOM/CIEMAT and Technical University of Madrid (UPM) have been involved in the development of a FPSC (Fast Plant System Control) prototype for ITER, based on PXIe (PCI eXtensions for Instrumentation). One of the main focuses of this project has been data acquisition and all the related issues, including scientific data archiving. Additionally, a new data archiving solution has been developed to demonstrate the obtainable performances and possible bottlenecks of scientific data archiving in Fast Plant System Control. The presented system implements a fault tolerant architecture over a GEthernet network where FPSC data are reliably archived on remote, while remaining accessible to be redistributed, within the duration of a pulse. The storing service is supported by a clustering solution to guaranty scalability, so that FPSC management and configuration may be simplified, and a unique view of all archived data provided. All the involved components have been integrated under EPICS (Experimental Physics and Industrial Control System), implementing in each case the necessary extensions, state machines and configuration process variables. The prototyped solution is based on the NetCDF-4 (Network Common Data Format) file format in order to incorporate important features, such as scientific data models support, huge size files management, platform independent codification, or single-writer/multiple-readers concurrency. In this contribution, a complete description of the above mentioned solution is presented, together with the most relevant results of the tests performed, while focusing in the
An integrated approach to the biomechanics and motor control of cricket fast bowling techniques.
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.
Antioxidant capacity and phytochemical content of Cyphostemma glaucophilla Aqueous Leaf Extract
E. Ojogbane; O. F. C. Nwodo; O. E. Yakubu; O. Abbah
2015-01-01
Cyphostemma glaucophilla is used in the treatment of several degenerative diseases. Phytochemical analyses was carried out on aqueous leaves extract and the anti oxidant activity were investigated using albino rats, which were divided into five groups of five animals each. Group A received (0.85% NaCl; 5ml/kg) control while single daily oral doses of 10, 15, 20, 25mg/kg body weight of extract were administered to groups B, C, D and E for 21 days respectively. Animals were fasted overnight and...
Wang, Kun; Lin, Kunde; Huang, Xinwen; Chen, Meng
2017-06-21
The purpose of this study was to develop and validate a simple, fast, and specific extraction method for the analysis of 64 antibiotics from nine classes (including sulfonamides, quinolones, tetracyclines, macrolides, lincosamide, nitrofurans, β-lactams, nitromidazoles, and cloramphenicols) in chicken eggs. Briefly, egg samples were simply extracted with a mixture of acetonitrile-water (90:10, v/v) and 0.1 mol·L -1 Na 2 EDTA solution assisted with ultrasonic. The extract was centrifuged, condensed, and directly analyzed on a liquid chromatography coupled to tandem mass spectrometry. Compared with conventional cleanup methods (passing through solid phase extract cartridges), the established method demonstrated comparable efficiencies in eliminating matrix effects and higher or equivalent recoveries for most of the target compounds. Typical validation parameters including specificity, linearity, matrix effect, limits of detection (LODs) and quantification (LOQs), the decision limit, detection capability, trueness, and precision were evaluated. The recoveries of target compounds ranged from 70.8% to 116.1% at three spiking levels (5, 20, and 50 μg·kg -1 ), with relative standard deviations less than 14%. LODs and LOQs were in the ranges of 0.005-2.00 μg·kg -1 and 0.015-6.00 μg·kg -1 for all of the antibiotics, respectively. A total of five antibiotics were successfully detected in 22 commercial eggs from local markets. This work suggests that the method is suitable for the analysis of multiclass antibiotics in eggs.
The control system for SSRF injection and extraction
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Yuan Qibing; Gu Ming; Wang Ruiping; Cheng Zhihao; Fan Xuerong; Zhu Haijun
2007-01-01
This paper introduces the injection and extraction control system design for SSRF, which is a distributed control system aimed at stability and reliability of the pulse power supplies, PPS (Personnel Protection System) and MPS (Machine Protection System). The hardware environment is mainly based on PLC (Programmable Logic Controller), and ARM (Advanced RISC Machine) is also applied for studying stability of the power supplies. WinCC and EPICS (Experimental Physics and Industrial Control System) have been selected as the platforms of SCADA (Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition). For unifying the interfacing to the control computer, all front-end equipments are connected via Industrial Ethernet. (authors)
Ultrasound assisted extraction of bioactive compounds
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Helena Drmić
2010-01-01
Full Text Available Many novel and innovative techniques are nowadays researched and explored in order to replace or improve classical, thermal processing technologies. One of newer technique is technique of minimal food processing, under what we assume ultrasound processing. Ultrasound technology can be very useful for minimal food processing because transmission of acoustic energy through product is fast and complete, which allows reduction in total processing time, and therefore lower energy consumption. Industrial processing is growing more and more waste products, and in desire of preservation of global recourses and energy efficiency, several ways of active compounds extraction techniques are now explored. The goal is to implement novel extraction techniques in food and pharmaceutical industry as well in medicine. Ultrasound assisted extraction of bioactive compounds offers increase in yield, and reduction or total avoiding of solvent usage. Increase in temperature of treatment is controlled and restricted, thereby preserving extracted bioactive compounds. In this paper, several methods of ultrasound assisted extraction of bioactive compounds from plant materials are shown. Ultrasound can improve classic mechanisms of extraction, and thereby offer novel possibilities of commercial extraction of desired compounds. Application of sonochemistry (ultrasound chemistry is providing better yield in desired compounds and reduction in treatment time.
van Ophem, S.; Berkhoff, Arthur P.
2016-01-01
For broadband active noise control applications with a rapidly changing primary path, it is desirable to find algorithms with a rapid convergence, a fast tracking performance, and a low computational cost. Recently, a promising algorithm has been presented, called the fast-array Kalman filter, which
Ophem, S. van; Berkhoff, A.P.
2016-01-01
Summary For broadband active noise control applications with a rapidly changing primary path, it is desirable to find algorithms with a rapid convergence, a fast tracking performance, and a low computational cost. Recently, a promising algorithm has been presented, called the fast-array Kalman
Anti-Obesity Effects of Onion Extract in Zucker Diabetic Fatty Rats
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Kiharu Igarashi
2012-10-01
Full Text Available Anti-obesity effects of onion extract were determined in obesity and diabetes-prone Zucker diabetic fatty rats by measuring the efficacy of markers concerned with diabetes and obesity. Body and adipose tissue weights in 5% of onion extract-fed group were found to be significantly lower than the control group without onion extract. Fasting blood glucose and HOMA-IR levels were also improved, although the serum insulin and leptin levels did not show any remarkable difference. Serum triglyceride and free fatty acid levels in both the 3% and 5%-fed group were found to be reduced compared to the control group. Additionally the feeding of the onion extract increased the glucose tolerance. These results suggest that dietary onion extract is beneficial for improving diabetes by decreasing lipid levels. We also examined differentiation ability of rat white preadipocyte cells using the onion extract and its sulfur-containing components. Cycloalliin, S-methyl-l-cysteine, S-propyl-l-cysteine sulfoxide, dimethyl trisulfide, especially S-methyl-l-cysteine sulfoxide were reported to be effective in inhibiting formation of oil drop in the cells, suggesting that these compounds may be involved in the anti-obesity effect of the onion extract.
Note on difference spectra for fast extraction of global image information.
CSIR Research Space (South Africa)
Van Wyk, BJ
2007-06-01
Full Text Available FOR FAST EXTRACTION OF GLOBAL IMAGE INFORMATION. B.J van Wyk* M.A. van Wyk* and F. van den Bergh** * c29c55c48c51c46c4bc03 c36c52c58c57c4bc03 c24c49c55c4cc46c44c51c03 c37c48c46c4bc51c4cc46c44c4fc03 c2cc51c56c57c4cc57c58c57c48c03 c4cc51c03 c28c4fc48c...46c57c55c52c51c4cc46c56c03 c0bc29cb6c36c24c37c2cc28c0cc03 c44c57c03 c57c4bc48c03 c37c56c4bc5ac44c51c48c03 c38c51c4cc59c48c55c56c4cc57c5cc03 c52c49c03 Technology, Private Bag X680, Pretoria 0001. ** Remote Sensing Research Group, Meraka Institute...
Controlling type I error rate for fast track drug development programmes.
Shih, Weichung J; Ouyang, Peter; Quan, Hui; Lin, Yong; Michiels, Bart; Bijnens, Luc
2003-03-15
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Modernization Act of 1997 has a Section (No. 112) entitled 'Expediting Study and Approval of Fast Track Drugs' (the Act). In 1998, the FDA issued a 'Guidance for Industry: the Fast Track Drug Development Programs' (the FTDD programmes) to meet the requirement of the Act. The purpose of FTDD programmes is to 'facilitate the development and expedite the review of new drugs that are intended to treat serious or life-threatening conditions and that demonstrate the potential to address unmet medical needs'. Since then many health products have reached patients who suffered from AIDS, cancer, osteoporosis, and many other diseases, sooner by utilizing the Fast Track Act and the FTDD programmes. In the meantime several scientific issues have also surfaced when following the FTDD programmes. In this paper we will discuss the concept of two kinds of type I errors, namely, the 'conditional approval' and the 'final approval' type I errors, and propose statistical methods for controlling them in a new drug submission process. Copyright 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Methods for reactor physics calculations for control rods in fast reactors
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Grimstone, M.J.; Rowlands, J.L.
1988-12-01
The IAEA Specialists' Meeting on ''Methods for Reactor Physics Calculations for Control Rods in Fast Reactors'' was held in Winfrith, United Kingdom, on 6-8 December, 1988. The meeting was attended by 23 participants from nine countries. The purpose of the meeting was to review the current calculational methods and their accuracy as assessed by theoretical studies and comparisons with measurements, and then to identify the requirements for improved methods or additional studies and comparisons. The control rod properties or effects to be considered were their reactivity worths, their effect on the power distribution through the core, and the reaction rates and energy deposition both within and adjacent to the rods. The meeting was divided into five sessions, in the first of which each national delegation presented a brief overview of their programme of work on calculational methods for fast reactor control rods. In the next three sessions a total of seventeen papers were presented describing calculational methods and assessments of their accuracy. The final session was a discussion to draw conclusions regarding the current status of methods and the further developments and validation work required. A separate abstract was prepared for each of the 23 papers presented at the meeting. Refs, figs and tabs
Instrumentation and control of the fast breeder reactors
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Juengst, U.
1982-01-01
Generally the Liquid Metal Fast Breeder Reactor (LMFBR) in comparison to the Leight Water Reactors hasn't exceptionally different requirements to the instrumentation and control systems. There fore the paper restricts itself to outline the peculiarities of LMFBR's exemplified at the design of the German Breeder SNR-300 beeing under construction. The special sodium instrumentation for temperature level, flow and pressure in the main systems is described. The automatic control system enabled the plant to follow the bad demand of the grid immidiately. The nuclear power production itself is stabilized by inherent coefficients of the core. An exceptional high reliability of the shut down systems is necessary; there fore all LMFBR's have two completely independant and diverse shut down systems. In the SNR-300 also the control of decay heat removal and the active safety systems for enclosure of radioactivity are distributed to two independent and diverse plant protection systems (PPS) so that the first system covered the accidents due to internal events and the second systems managed the external events such as earthquake and aircraft crash. (orig.)
On a mean field game optimal control approach modeling fast exit scenarios in human crowds
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
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.
Wang, Liping; Duan, Haotian; Jiang, Jiebing; Long, Jiakun; Yu, Yingjia; Chen, Guiliang; Duan, Gengli
2017-09-01
A new, simple, and fast infrared-assisted self enzymolysis extraction (IRASEE) approach for the extraction of total flavonoid aglycones (TFA) mainly including baicalein, wogonin, and oroxylin A from Scutellariae Radix is presented to enhance extraction yield. Extraction enzymolysis temperature, enzymolysis liquid-to-solid ratio, enzymolysis pH, enzymolysis time and infrared power, the factors affecting IRASEE procedure, were investigated in a newly designed, temperature-controlled infrared-assisted extraction (TC-IRAE) system to acquire the optimum analysis conditions. The results illustrated that IRASEE possessed great advantages in terms of efficiency and time compared with other conventional extraction techniques. Furthermore, the mechanism of IRASEE was preliminarily explored by observing the microscopic change of the samples surface structures, studying the main chemical compositions change of the samples before and after extraction and investigating the kinetics and thermodynamics at three temperature levels during the IRASEE process. These findings revealed that IRASEE can destroy the surface microstructures to accelerate the mass transfer and reduce the activation energy to intensify the chemical process. This integrative study presents a simple, rapid, efficient, and environmental IRASEE method for TFA extraction which has promising prospects for other similar herbal medicines. Graphical Abstract ᅟ.
A New Fast Nonsingular Terminal Sliding Mode Control for a Class of Second-Order Uncertain Systems
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Linjie Xin
2016-01-01
Full Text Available This paper considers the robust and adaptive nonsingular terminal sliding mode (NTSM control for a class of second-order uncertain systems. First, a new fast NTSM was proposed which had global fast convergence rate in the sliding phase. Then, a new form of robust NTSM controller was designed to handle a wider class of second-order uncertain systems. Moreover, an exponential-decline switching gain was introduced for chattering suppression. After that, a double sliding surfaces control scheme was constructed to combine the NTSM control with the adaptive technique. The benefit is that a strict demonstration can be given for the stagnation problem in the stability analysis of NTSM. Finally, a case study for tracking control of a variable-length pendulum was performed to verify the proposed controllers.
Digital extraction of interference fringe contours
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Mastin, G.A.; Ghiglia, D.C.
1985-01-01
Two basic techniques for extracting interferogram contours have been discussed. The first is a global contour extracton technique based on the fast Fourier transform. The second extracts individual contours with a thinning algorithm using logical neighborhood transformations
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
A Ahangarpour
2013-06-01
Full Text Available Introduction: Diabetes Mellitus is a growing health problem in all over the world. Arctium Lappa has been used therapeutically in Europe, North America and Asia. Antioxidants and antidiabetic compounds have been found in the root of Arctium Lappa. This study intends to investigate the effects of Arctium Lappa root aqueous extract on glucose, insulin levels and Fasting Insulin Resistance Index in female rats with high sucrose diet. Methods: 40 female Wistar rats weighting 150-250(g were applied. After having a diet induced by sucrose 50% in drinking water for 5 weeks, the animals were randomly divided into two groups of control, sucrose induced, and three groups of sucrose induced along with Arctium Lappa root aqueous extract (50,100,200 mg/Kg (8 rats in each group. Treatment by extracts was used during 2 weeks (i.p. and 24 hours after the last treatment, heart blood samples were gathered. After Blood samples were centrifuged, fasting plasma glucose (12 h was determined by kit and fasting insulin concentration was assayed by Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (Elisa methods. Result: Glucose levels, insulin and FIRI in sucrose group significantly increased in comparison with control group. Glucose levels in aqueous extract groups; 50 mg/kg (116.14±16.64mg/dl and 200 mg/kg (90.66±22.58 mg/dl in comparison with sucrose group (140.5±18.73 mg/dl significantly decreased. Insulin level and FIRI in all of aqueous extract groups were significantly decreased (P<0.001 in comparison with sucrose group. Conclusions: Arctium Lappa root aqueous extracts in animal model has revealed significant decrease in blood glucose and insulin levels.
Li, Zhongbo; Huang, Danni; Fu, Chinfai; Wei, Biwen; Yu, Wenjia; Deng, Chunhui; Zhang, Xiangmin
2011-09-16
In this study, core-shell magnetic mesoporous microspheres with C18-functionalized interior pore-walls were synthesized through coating Fe(3)O(4) microspheres with a mesoporous inorganic-organic hybrid layer with a n-octadecyltriethoxysilane (C18TES) and tetraethyl orthosilicate (TEOS) as the silica source and cetyltrimethylammonia bromide (CTAB) as a template. The obtained C18-functionalized Fe(3)O(4)@mSiO(2) microspheres possess numerous C18 groups anchored in the interior pore-walls, large surface area (274.7 m(2)/g, high magnetization (40.8 emu/g) and superparamagnetism, uniform mesopores (4.1 nm), which makes them ideal absorbents for simple, fast, and efficient extraction and enrichment of hydrophobic organic compounds in water samples. Several kinds of phthalates were used as the model hydrophobic organic compounds to systematically evaluate the performance of the C18-functionalized Fe(3)O(4)@mSiO(2) microspheres in extracting hydrophobic molecules by using a gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. Various parameters, including eluting solvent, the amounts of absorbents, extraction time and elution time were optimized. Hydrophobic extraction was performed in the interior pore of magnetic mesoporous microspheres, and the materials had the anti-interference ability to macromolecular proteins, which was also investigated in the work. Under the optimized conditions, C18-functionalized Fe(3)O(4)@mSiO(2) microspheres were successfully used to analyze the real water samples. The results indicated that this novel method was fast, convenient and efficient for the target compounds and could avoid being interfered by macromolecules. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
Multivariable PD controller design for fast chaos synchronization of Lur'e systems
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Wen, Guilin; Wang, Qing-Guo; He, Yong; Ye, Zhen
2007-01-01
In this Letter, a strategy for fast master-slave synchronization is proposed for Lur'e systems under PD control based on the free-weighting matrix approach and the S-procedure. The purpose of the derivative action is to improve the closed-loop stability and speed synchronization response. The proposed strategy covers the existing result for the proportional control alone as a special case. This approach is illustrated by the Chua's chaotic circuit system
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Aamir Razaq
Full Text Available Highly porous polypyrrole (PPy-nanocellulose paper sheets have been evaluated as inexpensive and disposable electrochemically controlled three-dimensional solid phase extraction materials. The composites, which had a total anion exchange capacity of about 1.1 mol kg(-1, were used for extraction and subsequent release of negatively charged fluorophore tagged DNA oligomers via galvanostatic oxidation and reduction of a 30-50 nm conformal PPy layer on the cellulose substrate. The ion exchange capacity, which was, at least, two orders of magnitude higher than those previously reached in electrochemically controlled extraction, originated from the high surface area (i.e. 80 m(2 g(-1 of the porous composites and the thin PPy layer which ensured excellent access to the ion exchange material. This enabled the extractions to be carried out faster and with better control of the PPy charge than with previously employed approaches. Experiments in equimolar mixtures of (dT(6, (dT(20, and (dT(40 DNA oligomers showed that all oligomers could be extracted, and that the smallest oligomer was preferentially released with an efficiency of up to 40% during the reduction of the PPy layer. These results indicate that the present material is very promising for the development of inexpensive and efficient electrochemically controlled ion-exchange membranes for batch-wise extraction of biomolecules.
Repeated extraction of DNA from FTA cards
DEFF Research Database (Denmark)
Stangegaard, Michael; Ferrero, Laura; Børsting, Claus
2011-01-01
Extraction of DNA using magnetic bead based techniques on automated DNA extraction instruments provides a fast, reliable and reproducible method for DNA extraction from various matrices. However, the yield of extracted DNA from FTA-cards is typically low. Here, we demonstrate that it is possible...... to repeatedly extract DNA from the processed FTA-disk. The method increases the yield from the nanogram range to the microgram range....
Study on the extraction of rare earth elements in liquid bismuth
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Harada, M.; Adachi, M.; Kai, Y.; Koike, K.
1987-01-01
Three factors, which are important for the extraction of rare earth elements in liquid bismuth - molten salt system, were studied, i. e., the equilibrium distribution of neodymium, samarium and bismuth between molten LiCl - liquid Bi-Li alloys, the extraction rate of rare earths, and the characteristics of the extractor with drop dispersion. The rare earth elements were extracted through redox reactions. In high range of Li-mole fraction in the alloy phase, X Li , the distribution of neodymium and bismuth in the salt phase markedly increased as X Li increased. The anomalous increase is attributed to the formation of the compound comprised of Nd, Li, Bi and oxygen in the salt phase. The redox reaction processes were very fast and the extraction rates for rare earths are controlled by the diffusion processes of the solute and the metallic lithium. The process for the formation of liquid metal drops in the continuous phase is predictable from semiempirical correlations reported for aqueous solution - organic solvent systems. The height of droplet bed being accumulated on drop settling portion is predictable from the coalescence time of single drop to a flat metal interface. The coalescence of metal drop to clean interface was very fast. The extractor type of liquid metal dispersion in molten salt is suitable for the extraction process in the fuel reprocessing of MSR or MSBR. (author)
The ITER Fast Plant System Controller ATCA prototype Real-Time Software Architecture
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Carvalho, B.B.; Santos, B.; Carvalho, P.F.; Neto, A.; Boncagni, L.; Batista, A.J.N.; Correia, M.; Sousa, J.; Gonçalves, B.
2013-01-01
Highlights: ► High performance ATCA systems for fast control and data acquisition. ► IEEE1588 timing system and synchronization. ► Plasma control algorithms. ► Real-time control software frameworks. ► Targeted for nuclear fusion experiments with long duration discharges. -- Abstract: IPFN is developing a prototype Fast Plant System Controller (FPSC) based in ATCA embedded technologies dedicated to ITER CODAC data acquisition and control tasks in the sub-millisecond range. The main goal is to demonstrate the usability of the ATCA standard and its enhanced specifications for the high speed, very high density parallel data acquisition needs of the most demanding ITER tokamak plasma Instrumentation and Control (I and C) systems. This effort included the in-house development of a new family of high performance ATCA I/O and timing boards. The standard ITER software system CODAC Core System (CCS) v3.1, with the control based in the EPICS system does not cover yet the real-time requirements fulfilled by this hardware, so a new set of software components was developed for this specific platform, attempting to integrate and leverage the new features in CSS, for example the Multithreaded Application Real Time executor (MARTe) software framework, the new Data Archiving Network (DAN) solution, an ATCA IEEE-1588-2008 timing interface, and the Intelligent Platform Management Interface (IPMI) for system monitoring and remote management. This paper presents the overall software architecture for the ATCA FPSC, as well a discussion on the ITER constrains and design choices and finally a detailed description of the software components already developed
The ITER Fast Plant System Controller ATCA prototype Real-Time Software Architecture
Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)
Carvalho, B.B., E-mail: bernardo@ipfn.ist.utl.pt [Associacao EURATOM/IST Instituto de Plasmas e Fusao Nuclear, Instituto Superior Tecnico, Universidade Tecnica de Lisboa, P-1049-001 Lisboa (Portugal); Santos, B.; Carvalho, P.F.; Neto, A. [Associacao EURATOM/IST Instituto de Plasmas e Fusao Nuclear, Instituto Superior Tecnico, Universidade Tecnica de Lisboa, P-1049-001 Lisboa (Portugal); Boncagni, L. [Associazione Euratom-ENEA sulla Fusione, Frascati Research Centre, Division of Fusion Physics, Frascati, Rome (Italy); Batista, A.J.N.; Correia, M.; Sousa, J.; Gonçalves, B. [Associacao EURATOM/IST Instituto de Plasmas e Fusao Nuclear, Instituto Superior Tecnico, Universidade Tecnica de Lisboa, P-1049-001 Lisboa (Portugal)
2013-10-15
Highlights: ► High performance ATCA systems for fast control and data acquisition. ► IEEE1588 timing system and synchronization. ► Plasma control algorithms. ► Real-time control software frameworks. ► Targeted for nuclear fusion experiments with long duration discharges. -- Abstract: IPFN is developing a prototype Fast Plant System Controller (FPSC) based in ATCA embedded technologies dedicated to ITER CODAC data acquisition and control tasks in the sub-millisecond range. The main goal is to demonstrate the usability of the ATCA standard and its enhanced specifications for the high speed, very high density parallel data acquisition needs of the most demanding ITER tokamak plasma Instrumentation and Control (I and C) systems. This effort included the in-house development of a new family of high performance ATCA I/O and timing boards. The standard ITER software system CODAC Core System (CCS) v3.1, with the control based in the EPICS system does not cover yet the real-time requirements fulfilled by this hardware, so a new set of software components was developed for this specific platform, attempting to integrate and leverage the new features in CSS, for example the Multithreaded Application Real Time executor (MARTe) software framework, the new Data Archiving Network (DAN) solution, an ATCA IEEE-1588-2008 timing interface, and the Intelligent Platform Management Interface (IPMI) for system monitoring and remote management. This paper presents the overall software architecture for the ATCA FPSC, as well a discussion on the ITER constrains and design choices and finally a detailed description of the software components already developed.
The aims of the current study were to investigate the presence of carcinogenic and mutagenic heterocyclic aromatic amines (HAAs) in chicken burgers (CBs) and chicken nuggets (CNs) purchased from fast food restaurants and the effects of green tea extract addition (GTE) to the covering material as wel...
Adaptive Hybrid Visual Servo Regulation of Mobile Robots Based on Fast Homography Decomposition
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Chunfu Wu
2015-01-01
Full Text Available For the monocular camera-based mobile robot system, an adaptive hybrid visual servo regulation algorithm which is based on a fast homography decomposition method is proposed to drive the mobile robot to its desired position and orientation, even when object’s imaging depth and camera’s position extrinsic parameters are unknown. Firstly, the homography’s particular properties caused by mobile robot’s 2-DOF motion are taken into account to induce a fast homography decomposition method. Secondly, the homography matrix and the extracted orientation error, incorporated with the desired view’s single feature point, are utilized to form an error vector and its open-loop error function. Finally, Lyapunov-based techniques are exploited to construct an adaptive regulation control law, followed by the experimental verification. The experimental results show that the proposed fast homography decomposition method is not only simple and efficient, but also highly precise. Meanwhile, the designed control law can well enable mobile robot position and orientation regulation despite the lack of depth information and camera’s position extrinsic parameters.
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Asad, M.; Munir, T.A.; Nadeem, A.
2011-01-01
To consider new hypoglycaemic, anti-hyperlipidaemic and anti-platelet aggregation sources, aqueous methanol extract of Acacia Nilotica (AN) leaves was investigated in streptozotocin induced diabetic rats. Methods: Diabetes mellitus was induced in 90 out of 120 male albino rats by administering 50 mg/Kg body weight (bw) streptozotocin intraperitoneal y, and was confirmed by measuring fasting blood glucose level >200 mg/dL on fourth post-induction day. The rats were equally divided into 4 groups, A (normal control), B (diabetic control), C (diabetics rats treated with plant extract) and group D (diabetics rats treated with glyburide). The rats of group C and D were given single dose of 300 mg/Kg bw, An extract, and 900 micro g/Kg bw glyburide respectively for 3 weeks. Blood glucose levels were measured by gluco meter, platelet aggregation by Dia Med method, beta-thrombo globulin and insulin by ELISA technique, and lipid components were measured by enzymatic calorimetric method. Results: Significant differences (p<0.05) were noticed in blood glucose, serum insulin, platelet aggregation and triglyceride levels in diabetic rats treated with AN extract and glyburide as compared to diabetic controlled rats. A significant difference (p<0.05) in beta-thrombo globulin and LDL levels was also noticed in rats treated with glyburide than the diabetic controlled rats. The levels of fasting blood glucose, beta-thrombo globulin and platelet aggregation were significantly reduced (p<0.05) in diabetic rats treated with glyburide than AN extract treated rats. Conclusions: Administration of AN leaves extract showed hypoglycaemic and anti-platelet aggregation activity in diabetic rats as that of glyburide. (author)
New Spill Control for the Slow Extraction in the Multi-Cycling SPS
Kain, Verena; Effinger, Ewald
2016-01-01
The flux of particles slow extracted with the 1/3 integer resonance from the Super Proton Synchrotron at CERN was previously controlled with a servo-spill feedback system which acted on the horizontal tune such as to keep the spill rate as constant as possible during the whole extraction time. The current in two servo-quadrupoles was modulated as a function of the difference between the measured and the desired spill rate. With servo quadrupoles at a single location in the SPS ring and the SPS in multi-cycling mode, the trajectory of the slow extracted beam was seen to change from cycle to cycle depending on the current applied by the servo feedback. Hence this system was replaced by a feed-forward tune correction using the main SPS quadrupoles. In this way the spill control can now be guaranteed without changing the trajectory of the extracted beam. This paper presents the algorithm and implementation in the control system and summarizes the advantages of the new approach. The obtained spill characteristics ...
Aqueous Extracts of Hibiscus sabdariffa Calyces to Control Aichi Virus.
D'Souza, Doris H; Dice, Lezlee; Davidson, P Michael
2016-06-01
Aqueous Hibiscus sabdariffa extracts possess antimicrobial properties with limited information available on their antiviral effects. Aichi virus (AiV) is an emerging foodborne pathogen that causes gastroenteritis. Vaccines are currently unavailable to prevent their disease transmission. The objective of this study was to determine the antiviral effects of aqueous H. sabdariffa extracts against AiV. AiV at ~5 log PFU/ml was incubated with undiluted (200 mg/ml), 1:1 (100 mg/ml) or 1:5 (40 mg/ml) diluted aqueous hibiscus extract (pH 3.6), phosphate-buffered saline (pH 7.2 as control), or malic acid (pH 3.0, acid control) at 37 °C over 24 h. Treatments were stopped by serially diluting in cell-culture media containing fetal bovine serum and titers were determined using plaque assays on confluent Vero cells. Each treatment was replicated thrice and assayed in duplicate. AiV did not show any significant reduction with 1:1 (100 mg/ml) or 1:5 (40 mg/ml) diluted aqueous hibiscus extracts or malic acid after 0.5, 1, or 2 h at 37 °C. However, AiV titers were reduced to non-detectable levels after 24 h with all the three tested concentrations, while malic acid showed only 0.93 log PFU/ml reduction after 24 h. AiV was reduced by 0.5 and 0.9 log PFU/ml with undiluted extracts (200 mg/ml) after 2 and 6 h, respectively. AiV treated with 1:1 (100 mg/ml) and 1:5 (40 mg/ml) diluted extracts showed a minimal ~0.3 log PFU/ml reduction after 6 h. These extracts show promise to reduce AiV titers mainly through alteration of virus structure, though higher concentrations may have improved effects.
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.
ITER Fast Plant System Controller prototype based on PXIe platform
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Ruiz, M.; Vega, J.; Castro, R.; Sanz, D.; López, J.M.; Arcas, G. de; Barrera, E.; Nieto, J.; Gonçalves, B.; Sousa, J.; Carvalho, B.; Utzel, N.; Makijarvi, P.
2012-01-01
Highlights: ► Implementation of Fast Plant System Controller (FPSC) for ITER CODAC. ► Efficient data acquisition and data movement using EPICS. ► Performance of PCIe technologies in the implementation of FPSC. - Abstract: The ITER Fast Plant System Controller (FPSC) is based on embedded technologies. The FPSC will be devoted to both data acquisition tasks (sampling rates higher than 1 kHz) and control purposes (feedback loop actuators). Some of the essential requirements of these systems are: (a) data acquisition and data preprocessing; (b) interfacing with different networks and high speed links (Plant Operation Network, timing network based on IEEE1588, synchronous data transference and streaming/archiving networks); and (c) system setup and operation using EPICS (Experimental Physics and Industrial Control System) process variables. CIEMAT and UPM have implemented a prototype of FPSC using a PXIe (PCI eXtension for Instrumentation) form factor in a R and D project developed in two phases. The paper presents the main features of the two prototypes developed that have been named alpha and beta. The former was implemented using LabVIEW development tools as it was focused on modeling the FPSC software modules, using the graphical features of LabVIEW applications, and measuring the basic performance in the system. The alpha version prototype implements data acquisition with time-stamping, EPICS monitoring using waveform process variables (PVs), and archiving. The beta version prototype is a complete IOC implemented using EPICS with different software functional blocks. These functional blocks are integrated and managed using an ASYN driver solution and provide the basic functionalities required by ITER FPSC such as data acquisition, data archiving, data pre-processing (using both CPU and GPU) and streaming.
Biotechnology for uranium extraction and environmental control
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Natarajan, K.A.
2012-01-01
India is looking forward to augmenting mining and extraction of uranium mineral for its nuclear energy needs. Being a radio-active mineral, mining and processing of uranium ore deposits need be carried out in an environmentally acceptable fashion. In this respect, a biotechnological approach holds great promise since it is environment-friendly, cost-effective and energy-efficient. There are several types of microorganisms which inhabit uranium ore bodies and biogenesis plays an important role in the mineralisation and transport of uranium-bearing minerals under the earth's crust. Uranium occurrences in India are only meagre and it becomes essential to tap effectively all the available resources. Uraninite and pitchblende occurring along with sulfide mineralisation such as pyrite are ideal candidates for bioleaching. Acidithiobacillus ferrooxidans present ubiquitously in the ore deposits can be isolated, cultured and utilised to bring about efficient acidic dissolution of uranium. Many such commercial attempts to extract uranium from even lean ores using acidophilic autotrophic bacteria have been made in different parts of the world. Anaerobes such a Geobacter and Sulfate Reducing Bacteria (SRB) can be effectively used in uranium mining for environmental control. Radioactive uranium mined wastes and tailing dumps can be cleaned and protected using microorganisms. In this lecture use of biotechnology in uranium extraction and bioremediation is illustrated with practical examples. Applicability of environment-friendly biotechnology for mining and extraction of uranium from Indian deposits is outlined. Commercial potentials for bioremediation in uranium-containing wastes are emphasised. (author)
Characterization of rue extract and its potential for controlling rice blast
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Karinna Bannach Reis
2015-12-01
Full Text Available Abstract: The objective of this work was to purify and standardize the rue (Ruta graveolens extract and evaluate its effect on Magnaporthe oryzae as an alternative to the integrated management of rice blast. The drug was characterized, the liquid extract was obtained, and the methodology for quantifying the standard markers psoralen and bergapten was validated. Rue extract and the markers, solely or in combination, were assayed in vitro, as well as in greenhouse conditions, for their ability to suppress leaf blast, by the evaluation of mycelial growth, conidial germination, and appressorium formation. Rue extract inhibited M. oryzae mycelial growth (100%, conidial germination (LD50=0.237 mg, and the appressorium formation (LD50=0.121 mg; besides, the extract reduced leaf blast severity by 80.84%. Fluorescence microscopy showed that rue extract did not damage M. oryzae cell wall and plasma membrane, indicating another mode of action. Rue extract has a great potential for controlling rice leaf blast.
Control of yam tuber rot with leaf extracts of Xylopia aethiopica and ...
African Journals Online (AJOL)
JOHN
Investigation was carried out to test the potency of some plant extracts for the control of yam tuber rot caused by Fusarium ... The extracts of suppressed the growth of these fungi in culture ..... Methodolgy for analysis of Vegetable drug. Practical.
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Sajad Arshadi
2015-12-01
Full Text Available Background/objective: The purpose of the present study was to evaluate the effect of fenugreek seed extract in combination with swimming exercise compared to glibenclamide consumption on type 2 diabetic rats. Design: The acute toxicity test was carried out to choose the safe doses and identify the toxicity effects of the fenugreek seed extract. To investigate the hypoglycemic effect of the extract and its effect in combination with swimming training, 80 Wistar Kyoto male streptozotocin-induced diabetic rats were divided randomly into eight groups: diabetic control (C; fenugreek seed extract 0.8 g/kg (F1; fenugreek extract 1.6 g/kg (F2; swimming training (S; swimming training plus fenugreek extract 0.8 g/kg (SF1; swimming training plus fenugreek extract 1.6 g/kg (SF2; glibenclamide (G and swimming training plus glibenclamide (SG. The rats were orally administrated with the treatments once a day with the respective treatment, and the training groups were subjected to swimming training every day for 60 min. Fasting blood samples were collected to measure fasting blood glucose, lipid profile, adiponectin, leptin, and insulin concentrations. Results: The results obtained from acute toxicity study showed no toxicity effect of fenugreek seed extract on the tested dose. Biochemical analysis showed significant improvements in all of the groups compared to the control group (p<0.05. Plasma insulin concentration and insulin resistance (HOMA-IR was significantly reduced in treated groups compared with the diabetic control group. Plasma leptin were significantly decreased in treated groups compared with the control group; while adiponectin had markedly increased (p<0.05. Conclusion: The findings suggest that fenugreek seed consuming, alongside swimming exercise, has a strong therapeutic effect on the improvement of diabetic parameters.
(Azadirachta indica) seed extract for tick control in Small
African Journals Online (AJOL)
Dr. Matayo David
... extract for tick control in Small East African and Toggenburg female goat kids in Tanzania ... adoption rate by the local traditional small-scale resource poor farmers, etc.) (de Castro ..... SAS Institute Inc., Cary, North California. Saxena, R.C. ...
The timing of control signals underlying fast point-to-point arm movements.
Ghafouri, M; Feldman, A G
2001-04-01
It is known that proprioceptive feedback induces muscle activation when the facilitation of appropriate motoneurons exceeds their threshold. In the suprathreshold range, the muscle-reflex system produces torques depending on the position and velocity of the joint segment(s) that the muscle spans. The static component of the torque-position relationship is referred to as the invariant characteristic (IC). According to the equilibrium-point (EP) hypothesis, control systems produce movements by changing the activation thresholds and thus shifting the IC of the appropriate muscles in joint space. This control process upsets the balance between muscle and external torques at the initial limb configuration and, to regain the balance, the limb is forced to establish a new configuration or, if the movement is prevented, a new level of static torques. Taken together, the joint angles and the muscle torques generated at an equilibrium configuration define a single variable called the EP. Thus by shifting the IC, control systems reset the EP. Muscle activation and movement emerge following the EP resetting because of the natural physical tendency of the system to reach equilibrium. Empirical and simulation studies support the notion that the control IC shifts and the resulting EP shifts underlying fast point-to-point arm movements are gradual rather than step-like. However, controversies exist about the duration of these shifts. Some studies suggest that the IC shifts cease with the movement offset. Other studies propose that the IC shifts end early in comparison to the movement duration (approximately, at peak velocity). The purpose of this study was to evaluate the duration of the IC shifts underlying fast point-to-point arm movements. Subjects made fast (hand peak velocity about 1.3 m/s) planar arm movements toward different targets while grasping a handle. Hand forces applied to the handle and shoulder/elbow torques were, respectively, measured from a force sensor placed
Controlling microwave signals by means of slow and fast light effects in SOA-EA structures
DEFF Research Database (Denmark)
Sales, Salvador; Öhman, Filip; Capmany, José
2007-01-01
We present a novel scheme for the control of microwave signals in the optical domain. We propose the use of alternating amplifying and absorbing sections to implement phase control by using fast and slow light effects in semiconductors. The potential benefits from the proposed semiconductor optic...
The potential of papaya leaf extract in controlling Ganoderma boninense
Tay, Z. H.; Chong, K. P.
2016-06-01
Basal Stem Rot (BSR) disease causes significant losses to the oil palm industry. Numerous controls have been applied in managing the disease but no conclusive result was reported. This study investigated the antifungal potential of papaya leaf extracts against Ganoderma boninense, the causal pathogen of BSR. Among the five different solvents tested in extraction of compounds from papaya leaf, methanol and acetone gave the highest yield. In vitro antifungal activity of the methanol and acetone extracts were evaluated against G. boninense using agar dilution at four concentrations: 5 mg mL-1, 15 mg mL-1, 30 mg mL-1and 45 mg mL-1. The results indicated a positive correlation between the concentration of leaf extracts and the inhibition of G. boninense. ED50 of methanol and acetone crude extracts were determined to be 32.016 mg mL-1and 65.268 mg mL-1, respectively. The extracts were later semi-purified using solid phase extraction (SPE) and the nine bioactive compounds were identified: decanoic acid, 2-methyl-, Z,Z-10-12-Hexadecadien-1-ol acetate, dinonanoin monocaprylin, 2-chloroethyl oleate, phenol,4-(1-phenylethyl)-, phenol,2,4-bis(1-phenylethyl)-, phenol-2-(1-phenylethyl)-, ethyl iso-allocholate and 1- monolinoleoylglycerol trimethylsilyl ether. The findings suggest that papaya leaf extracts have the ability to inhibit the growth of G. boninense, where a higher concentration of the extract exhibits better inhibition effects.
Evaluation and standardisation of fast analytical techniques for destructive radwaste control
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
De Simone, A.; Troiani, F.
2001-01-01
The document describes the work programme carried out by the Laboratorio Nazionale per la 'Caratterizzazione dei Refit Radioattivi', in the frame of the European research project Destructive Radwaste Control. The main tasks of the research work were the evaluation of fast sample pre-treatment procedures and the development of chromatographic methods coupled to fast nuclide detection by Liquid Scintillation Counting. In order to test the High Performance Ion Chromatograph (HPIC) coupled to the Liquid Scintillation Counter (LSC) on high salt content solutions, synthetic cement solutions have been prepared and spiked with several β-emitters hard to be measured with non-destructive analyses, along with other radionuclides important for the determination of the radiological inventory in radwastes. As the validation tests for the new analytical methods involved the manipulation of radioactive solutions, a remote area for HPIC-LSC apparatus has been designed and performed, in order to operate in safe conditions. According to the research programme, fast analytical methods for the chemical separation and radionuclide detection of the radioactive elements of interest, have been developed and qualified. From the results of the work, some protocols of analysis have been defined: they contain all information about operative conditions for HPIC-LSC apparatus, field of applicability, chemical and radioactive detection limits [it
Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)
Uraisakul, Kanok [Rajamangala University of Technology Suvarnabhumi Phranakhonsiayathaya, Hantra Campus, Phranakhonsiayathaya (Thailand); Piadang, Nattaya [Office of Atoms for Peace, Bangkok (Thailand)
2006-09-15
A usages of herb extracts by stream integrated rith micro-organism to control insect pests and phytophagus mites by biological control was compared with insecticide to investigate the responses of chili tree and kieffer lime tree. Moreover, herb extracts were tested in controlling insect pests. Herb extracts were selected from many effective kinds such as: Azadirachta indica, Hyptis suaveolens, Citronella grass, Eucalyptus, Stemona, Galangal, Zingiber, cassumunar Roxb. Chronmolaena oderatum, Derris elyptica, Ginger, Annona seed, Malueraca sp., Andrographis paniculata, Veronia aquarrosa, Garlic, Thevetia peruviana, and Tobacco. The experiment was set at Herb Laboratory Ayutthaya Campus, Rajamangala University of Technology, Suvarnabhumi during August 2004 to June 2006. From testing herb extracts at 100 ppm. On Chili germination, the result was that the Chromolaena extracts made highest germination of 69.50%, Citronella grass at 500 ppm., made highest germination of chili seed at 86.00% within 12 days. Garlic extracts could kill 75.90% of aphids in 24 hrs., maximized in this experiments. Malueraca extracts at 500 ppm. Could kill 92.65% of chili aphids similar to the activity of insecticides action in 24 hrs. However at 5,000 ppm. It found that chemical treatment gave difference results from herbal treatments. Annona extracts could kill 64.58% of chili aphids better that others treatments. There are 18 treatment of time at 6 hrs. , 15 hrs., and 24 hrs., respectively. The results found that at 6 hrs., Kelthane could kill 93.75% of red spider mite. At 15 hrs. Stemona could kill 95.50% of red spider mite. At 24 hrs. Stemona or Chromolaena could kill 100% of red spider mite equally, Chrolaena could kill more than 83% of chili thrips at 24 hrs. Annona extracts could harvest the maximum of fruit fresh weight and numbers of fruits. After cutting leaves for producing new leaves, spraying herbal extracts was not different in statistic; however, Eucalyptus extracts, Neem plus
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Uraisakul, Kanok; Piadang, Nattaya
2006-09-01
A usages of herb extracts by stream integrated rith micro-organism to control insect pests and phytophagus mites by biological control was compared with insecticide to investigate the responses of chili tree and kieffer lime tree. Moreover, herb extracts were tested in controlling insect pests. Herb extracts were selected from many effective kinds such as: Azadirachta indica, Hyptis suaveolens, Citronella grass, Eucalyptus, Stemona, Galangal, Zingiber, cassumunar Roxb. Chronmolaena oderatum, Derris elyptica, Ginger, Annona seed, Malueraca sp., Andrographis paniculata, Veronia aquarrosa, Garlic, Thevetia peruviana, and Tobacco. The experiment was set at Herb Laboratory Ayutthaya Campus, Rajamangala University of Technology, Suvarnabhumi during August 2004 to June 2006. From testing herb extracts at 100 ppm. On Chili germination, the result was that the Chromolaena extracts made highest germination of 69.50%, Citronella grass at 500 ppm., made highest germination of chili seed at 86.00% within 12 days. Garlic extracts could kill 75.90% of aphids in 24 hrs., maximized in this experiments. Malueraca extracts at 500 ppm. Could kill 92.65% of chili aphids similar to the activity of insecticides action in 24 hrs. However at 5,000 ppm. It found that chemical treatment gave difference results from herbal treatments. Annona extracts could kill 64.58% of chili aphids better that others treatments. There are 18 treatment of time at 6 hrs. , 15 hrs., and 24 hrs., respectively. The results found that at 6 hrs., Kelthane could kill 93.75% of red spider mite. At 15 hrs. Stemona could kill 95.50% of red spider mite. At 24 hrs. Stemona or Chromolaena could kill 100% of red spider mite equally, Chrolaena could kill more than 83% of chili thrips at 24 hrs. Annona extracts could harvest the maximum of fruit fresh weight and numbers of fruits. After cutting leaves for producing new leaves, spraying herbal extracts was not different in statistic; however, Eucalyptus extracts, Neem plus
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Strušnik, Dušan; Golob, Marjan; Avsec, Jurij
2016-01-01
Graphical abstract: Control of the amount of the pumped gases through extraction tubes. The connecting locations interconnect the extraction tubes for STC gas pumping. The extraction tubes are fitted with 3 control valves to control the amount of the pumped gas depending on the temperature of the pumped gas. The amount of the pumped gas increases through the extraction tubes, where the pumped gases are cooler and decreases, at the same time, through the extraction tubes, where the pumped gases are warmer. As a result, pumping of a larger amount of NCG is ensured and of a smaller amount of CG, given that the NCG concentration is the highest on the colder places. This way, the total amount of the pumped gases from the STC can be reduced, the SEPS operates more efficiently and consumes less energy for its operation. - Highlights: • Impact of non-condensable gas on heat transfer in a steam turbine condenser. • The ejector system is optimised by selecting a Laval nozzle diameter. • Simulation model of the control of the amount of pumped gases through extraction tubes. • Neural network and fuzzy logic systems used to control gas extraction rate. • Simulation model was designed by using real process data from the thermal power plant. - Abstract: The paper describes the impact of non-condensable gas (NCG) on heat transfer in a steam turbine condenser (STC) and modelling of the steam ejector pump system (SEPS) by controlling the gas extraction rate through extraction tubes. The ideal connection points for the NCG extraction from the STC are identified by analysing the impact of the NCG on the heat transfer and measuring the existing system at a thermal power plant in Slovenia. A simulation model is designed using the Matlab software and Simulink, Neural Net Work, Fuzzy Logic and Curve Fitting Toolboxes, to control gas extraction rate through extraction tubes of the gas pumped from the STC, thus optimising the operation of the steam ejector pump system (SEPS). The
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Dang Van Mien, H.; Irving, E.; Rousseau, I.
1982-01-01
Motivated by the limitations inherent in the standard approach, a new model reference multivariable adaptive control method is described. This latter control method utilizes as a design tool a simple vector difference equation of the controlled system. The adaptive control method is of the series-parallel direct reference model type and the adjustment algorithm is the standard least squares estimation technics with hyperstability conditions, controlled convergence speed forgetting, regularization and threshold operations. Numerical results are presented which illustrate the interest of the latter approach. The precise problem which has been tackled is the control of the steam generator of the second fast breeder French nuclear reactor called Super-Phenix. After a short description of the plant and its responses at different loads, the principles and the performances of the standard technique control scheme which has been adopted are discussed [fr
Lantana Sp. leaf extracts for the control of Oulema Pectoralis Pest
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Ros Anita Ahmad Ramli; Nashriyah Mat; Salmah Moosa; Norimah Yusof; Zainab Harun; Maizatul Akmam Mohd Nasir; Misman Sumin; Rusli Zakaria
2006-01-01
This laboratory study was carried out to examine the effect of Lantana sp. leaf extracts on Oulema pectoralis mortality. Oulema pectoralis, the flower eating yellow beetle, is one of the most important pest of orchid. As this beetle feeds on orchid flower, the yield loss is 100 % due to zero tolerance to damage. Two different types of extraction were conducted, extraction with water and with organic solvent (ethanol). Five solutions of Lantana sp. extract were evaluated for their effectiveness against beetles. Water extract was prepared at concentrations of 5 % w/v, 10 % w/v and 20 % w/v; whilst organic solvent (ethanol) extract was prepared at concentrations of 5 % w/v and 10 % w/v. Ten replications were done for each treatment. Five adult O. pectoralis were placed on orchid flower painted with 1 mL test solution inside a glass beaker. Results showed that solution of Lantana sp. leaf extract was effective in controlling O. pectoralis beetle on orchid flower even at concentration as low as 10 % w/v (100 g of leaves blended with 1 litre of water or ethanol). (Author)
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Hua Tong
2018-03-01
Full Text Available The dynamics of a supercooled liquid near the glass transition is characterized by two-step relaxation, fast β and slow α relaxations. Because of the apparently disordered nature of glassy structures, there have been long debates over whether the origin of drastic slowing-down of the α relaxation accompanied by heterogeneous dynamics is thermodynamic or dynamic. Furthermore, it has been elusive whether there is any deep connection between fast β and slow α modes. To settle these issues, here we introduce a set of new structural order parameters characterizing sterically favored structures with high local packing capability, and then access structure-dynamics correlation by a novel nonlocal approach. We find that the particle mobility is under control of the static order parameter field. The fast β process is controlled by the instantaneous order parameter field locally, resulting in short-time particle-scale dynamics. Then the mobility field progressively develops with time t, following the initial order parameter field from disorder to more ordered regions. As is well known, the heterogeneity in the mobility field (dynamic heterogeneity is maximized with a characteristic length ξ_{4}, when t reaches the relaxation time τ_{α}. We discover that this mobility pattern can be predicted solely by a spatial coarse graining of the initial order parameter field at t=0 over a length ξ without any dynamical information. Furthermore, we find a relation ξ∼ξ_{4}, indicating that the static length ξ grows coherently with the dynamic one ξ_{4} upon cooling. This further suggests an intrinsic link between τ_{α} and ξ: the growth of the static length ξ is the origin of dynamical slowing-down. These we confirm for the first time in binary glass formers both in two and three spatial dimensions. Thus, a static structure has two intrinsic characteristic lengths, particle size and ξ, which control dynamics in local and nonlocal manners, resulting
Tong, Hua; Tanaka, Hajime
2018-01-01
The dynamics of a supercooled liquid near the glass transition is characterized by two-step relaxation, fast β and slow α relaxations. Because of the apparently disordered nature of glassy structures, there have been long debates over whether the origin of drastic slowing-down of the α relaxation accompanied by heterogeneous dynamics is thermodynamic or dynamic. Furthermore, it has been elusive whether there is any deep connection between fast β and slow α modes. To settle these issues, here we introduce a set of new structural order parameters characterizing sterically favored structures with high local packing capability, and then access structure-dynamics correlation by a novel nonlocal approach. We find that the particle mobility is under control of the static order parameter field. The fast β process is controlled by the instantaneous order parameter field locally, resulting in short-time particle-scale dynamics. Then the mobility field progressively develops with time t , following the initial order parameter field from disorder to more ordered regions. As is well known, the heterogeneity in the mobility field (dynamic heterogeneity) is maximized with a characteristic length ξ4, when t reaches the relaxation time τα. We discover that this mobility pattern can be predicted solely by a spatial coarse graining of the initial order parameter field at t =0 over a length ξ without any dynamical information. Furthermore, we find a relation ξ ˜ξ4, indicating that the static length ξ grows coherently with the dynamic one ξ4 upon cooling. This further suggests an intrinsic link between τα and ξ : the growth of the static length ξ is the origin of dynamical slowing-down. These we confirm for the first time in binary glass formers both in two and three spatial dimensions. Thus, a static structure has two intrinsic characteristic lengths, particle size and ξ , which control dynamics in local and nonlocal manners, resulting in the emergence of the two
Fast electron current density profile and diffusion studies during LHCD in PBX-M
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Jones, S.E.; Kesner, J.; Luckhardt, S.; Paoletti, F.
1993-08-01
Successful current profile control experiments using lower hybrid current drive (LCHD) clearly require knowledge of (1) the location of the driven fast electrons and (2) the ability to maintain that location from spreading due to radial diffusion. These issues can be addressed by examining the data from the hard x-ray camera on PBX-M, a unique diagnostic producing two-dimensional, time resolved tangential images of fast electron bremsstrahlung. Using modeling, these line-of-sight images are inverted to extract a radial fast electron current density profile. We note that ''hollow'' profiles have been observed, indicative of off-axis current drive. These profiles can then be used to calculate an upper bound for an effective fast electron diffusion constant: assuming an extremely radially narrow lower hybrid absorption profile and a transport model based on Rax and Moreau, a model fast electron current density profile is calculated and compared to the experimentally derived profile. The model diffusion constant is adjusted until a good match is found. Applied to steady-state quiescent modes on PBX-M, we obtain an upper limit for an effective diffusion constant of about D*=1.1 m 2 /sec
Quantification of steroid conjugates using fast atom bombardment mass spectrometry
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Gaskell, S.J.
1990-01-01
Fast atom bombardment/mass spectrometry or liquid secondary ion mass spectrometry provides the capability for direct analysis of steroid conjugates (sulfates, glucuronides) without prior hydrolysis or derivatization. During the analysis of biologic extracts, limitations on the sensitivity of detection arise from the presence of co-extracted material which may suppress or obscure the analyte signal. A procedure is described for the quantitative determination of dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate in serum which achieved selective isolation of the analyte using immunoadsorption extraction and highly specific detection using tandem mass spectrometry. A stable isotope-labeled analog [( 2H2]dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate) was used as internal standard. Fast atom bombardment of dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate yielded abundant [M-H]- ions that fragmented following collisional activation to give HSO4-; m/z 97. During fast atom bombardment/tandem mass spectrometry of serum extracts, a scan of precursor ions fragmenting to give m/z 97 detected dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate and the [2H2]-labeled analog with a selectivity markedly superior to that observed using conventional mass spectrometry detection. Satisfactory agreement was observed between quantitative data obtained in this way and data obtained by gas chromatography/mass spectrometry of the heptafluorobutyrates of dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate and [2H2]dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate obtained by direct derivatization. 21 refs
Yan, G J; He, X K; Cao, Z D; Fu, S J
2015-01-21
This study investigated the effects of fasting and feeding on the fast-start escape swimming performance of juvenile southern catfish Silurus meridionalis, a sit-and-wait forager that encounters extreme fasting and famine frequently during its lifespan. Ten to 30 days of fasting resulted in no significant change in most of the variables measured in the fast-start response except a 20-30% decrease in the escape distance during the first 120 ms (D 120ms ) relative to the control group (48 h after feeding). The ratio of the single-bend (SB) response (lower energetic expenditure) to the double-bend (DB) response increased significantly from 0% in the control group to 75 and 82·5% in the 20 and 30 day fasting groups, respectively. Satiated feeding (25% of body mass) resulted in a significantly lower (36·6%) maximum linear velocity (V max ) and a significantly lower (43·3%) D 120ms than in non-fed fish (control group, 48 h after feeding). Half-satiated feeding (12·5% of body mass), however, showed no significant effects on any of the measured variables of the fast-start response relative to control fish. It is suggested that the increase in the ratio of SB:DB responses with fasting in S. meridionalis may reflect a trade-off between energy conservation and maintaining high V max , while variables of fast-start performance were more sensitive to feeding than fasting might be an adaptive strategy to their foraging mode and food availability in their habitat. © 2015 The Fisheries Society of the British Isles.
Allaf, Tamara; Tomao, Valérie; Ruiz, Karine; Chemat, Farid
2013-01-01
The instant controlled pressure drop (DIC) technology enabled both the extraction of essential oil and the expansion of the matrix itself which improved solvent extraction. The sequential use of DIC and Ultrasound Assisted Extraction (UAE) triggered complementary actions materialized by supplementary effects. We visualized these combination impacts by comparing them to standard techniques: Hydrodistillation (HD) and Solvent Extraction (SE). First, the extraction of orange peel Essential Oils (EO) was achieved by HD during 4h and DIC process (after optimization) during 2 min; EO yields was 1.97 mg/g dry material (dm) with HD compared to 16.57 mg/g d m with DIC. Second, the solid residue was recovered to extract antioxidant compounds (naringin and hesperidin) by SE and UAE. Scanning electron microscope showed that after HD the recovered solid shriveled as opposite to DIC treatment which expanded the product structure. HPLC analyses showed that the best kinetics and yields of naringin and hesperidin extraction was when DIC and UAE are combined. Indeed, after 1h of extraction, DIC treated orange peels with UAE were 0.825 ± 1.6 × 10(-2)g/g of dry material (dm) for hesperidin and 6.45 × 10(-2) ± 2.3 × 10(-4)g/g d m for naringin compared to 0.64 ± 2.7 × 10(-2)g/g of dry material (dm) and 5.7 × 10(-2) ± 1.6 × 10(-3)g/g d m, respectively with SE. By combining DIC to UAE, it was possible to enhance kinetics and yields of antioxidant extraction. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
Salvo, Andrea; La Torre, Giovanna Loredana; Di Stefano, Vita; Capocchiano, Valentina; Mangano, Valentina; Saija, Emanuele; Pellizzeri, Vito; Casale, Katia Erminia; Dugo, Giacomo
2017-04-15
A fast reversed-phase UPLC method was developed for squalene determination in Sicilian pistachio samples that entry in the European register of the products with P.D.O. In the present study the SPE procedure was optimized for the squalene extraction prior to the UPLC/PDA analysis. The precision of the full analytical procedure was satisfactory and the mean recoveries were 92.8±0.3% and 96.6±0.1% for 25 and 50mgL -1 level of addition, respectively. Selected chromatographic conditions allowed a very fast squalene determination; in fact it was well separated in ∼0.54min with good resolution. Squalene was detected in all the pistachio samples analyzed and the levels ranged from 55.45-226.34mgkg -1 . Comparing our results with those of other studies it emerges that squalene contents in P.D.O. Sicilian pistachio samples, generally, were higher than those measured for other samples of different geographic origins. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
A nonrandomized controlled clinical pilot trial on 8 wk of intermittent fasting (24 h/wk).
Kessler, Christian S; Stange, Rainer; Schlenkermann, Maike; Jeitler, Michael; Michalsen, Andreas; Selle, Antonia; Raucci, Franca; Steckhan, Nico
2018-02-01
The aim of the study was to evaluate whether intermittent fasting (IF) is an effective preventive measure, and whether it is feasible for healthy volunteers under every day conditions. A nonrandomized controlled clinical trial on IF was performed with healthy volunteers over a period of 8 wk, and a subsequent 4-mo follow-up. Outcomes were assessed at baseline, after 8 wk, and after 6 mo. Volunteers who were not interested in fasting served as a control group. Participants in the fasting group were asked to continue their regular nutritional habits on the nonfasting days, whereas the control group maintained their habitual nutrition throughout the whole period. Outcomes included changes of metabolic parameters (insulin, glucose, insulin resistance, insulin-like growth factor-1, brain-derived neurotropic factor, lipids, liver enzymes, hemoglobin A1c) and coagulation markers; bioelectrical impedance analysis; body mass index; abdominal girth; blood pressure; general quality of life (five-item World Health Organization Well-Being Index [WHO-5] questionnaire), as well as mood and anxiety (Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale [HADS], Profile of Mood States, Flourishing-Scale, visual analog scale, Likert scales). The intervention consisted of a fasting day, which was repeated every week for 8 wk, with abstinence from solid food between 00:00 and 23:59 at minimum and a maximum caloric intake of 300 kcal on each fasting day. A per-protocol analysis was performed. P < 0.05 was considered significant. Thirty-six volunteers were included; 22 allocated themselves to the fasting group, and 14 to the control group. Thirty-three data sets were included in the final analysis. Although significant in-group changes were observed in both groups for a number of outcomes after 8 wk and 6 mo, no significant between-group differences were observed for any outcome other than overall body fat mass after 8 wk as well as for the HADS total score and the WHO-5 total score after 6
Ahmed, Naeema; Rashid, Amir; Naveed, Abdul Khaliq; Bashir, Qudsia
2016-02-01
To assess the effects of hepatitis C virus infection in the first 5 years on fasting glucose, fasting insulin and peripheral insulin resistance. The case-control study was conducted at the Army Medical College, Rawalpindi, from December 2011 to November 2012, and comprised subjects recruited from a government hospital in Rawalpindi. The subjects included known cases of hepatitis C virus infection for at least 5 years, and normal healthy controls. Fasting blood samples of all the subjects were collected and analysed for serum fasting insulin and serum fasting glucose levels. Homeostatic model assessment-Insulin resistance was calculated SPSS 11 was used for statistical analysis. Of the 30 subjects, 20(66.6%) were cases, while 10(33.3%) were controls. Serum fasting glucose mean level in cases was 89.55±9.53 compared to 84.40±9.80 in the controls (p=0.188). The mean serum fasting insulin in controls was 7.52±3.23 and 6.79±3.30 in cases (p=0.567). Homeostatic model assessment-Insulin resistance level in controls was 1.60±0.76 and In the cases it was 1.49±0.74 (p=0.695). Peripheral insulin resistance and development of type 2 diabetes as a complication of hepatitis C virus infection was not likely at least within the first five years of infection.
Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)
Tanguy, J [Commissariat a l' Energie Atomique, Saclay (France). Centre d' Etudes Nucleaires
1968-03-01
A study is made of a particles produced by thick sources, using either diffused junction or surface barrier semiconductor detectors for controlling continuously the plutonium extraction process. For this, a presenting apparatus is described in which the solutions to be analyzed flow in contact with the detector protected by a thin mica membrane. A method is described which gives a precise recording of the spectra and which thus allows the separation of two or more {alpha} emitters present in the same solution. This method has been applied to the measurement of {sup 239}Pu in the the presence of {sup 241}Am with an accuracy of {+-}5 per cent. In the second part of the report is considered the detection of plutonium in solutions of {beta} - {gamma} emitting fission products. Pile-up is reduced by using a fast amplification chain associated to totally depleted thin detectors. Under these conditions a few mg of {sup 239}Pu can be detected in solutions of fission products having an activity of 100 curies/liter. A method is given for discriminating {alpha} and {beta} particles, it is based on the difference in the collection times for the charges liberated by these particles in the detector. (author) [French] On etudie la detection de particules {alpha} issues de sources epaisses par detecteurs semiconducteurs a jonction diffusee ou a barriere de surface pour le controle continu du procede d'extraction du plutonium. A cet effet on decrit un appareil presentateur dans lequel les solutions a analyser circulent au contact du detecteur protege par une membrane mince de mica. On decrit une methode qui permet par le trace precis des spectres de separer deux ou plusieurs emetteurs {alpha} presents dans une meme solution. Cette methode a ete appliquee a la mesure du {sup 239}Pu en presence de {sup 241}Am avec une precision de {+-} 5 pour cent. Dans la deuxieme partie on traite de la detection du plutonium dans des solutions de produits de fission emetteurs {beta} and {gamma}. On
Monge-Rojas, Rafael; Smith-Castro, Vanessa; Colón-Ramos, Uriyoán; Aragón, M Catalina; Herrera-Raven, Francisco
2013-01-01
The aim of this study was to identify psychosocial factors that influence fast-food consumption in urban and rural Costa Rican adolescents. A self-administered questionnaire designed for the study asked about sociodemographic information, frequency of fast-food consumption, meaning of "fast food," location of purchase, and psychosocial correlates. Five psychosocial factors were extracted by using principal components analysis with Varimax rotation method and eigenvalues. Descriptive statistics and a hierarchical linear regression model were used to predict the frequency of fast-food consumption. Responses from 400 adolescents (ages 12-17 y) reveal that daily consumption of fast food was 1.8 times more frequently mentioned by rural adolescents compared with urban youth. Urban and rural differences were found in the way adolescents classified fast foods (rural adolescents included more traditional foods like chips, sandwiches, and Casado-a dish consisting of rice, black beans, plantains, salad, and a meat), and in purchasing locations (rural adolescents identified neighborhood convenience stores as fast-food restaurants). Living in rural areas, convenience and availability of foods, and the presence of external loci of control were predictors of a higher frequency of fast-food consumption, whereas health awareness predicted a lower frequency. The development of interventions to reduce fast-food consumption in Costa Rican adolescents should consider not only convenience, but also the availability of these foods where adolescents are more exposed, particularly in rural areas. Interventions such as improving the convenience of healthy fast foods available in school canteens and neighborhood stores, policies to increase the price of unhealthy fast food, and activities to provide adolescents with the skills to increase self-efficacy and reduce the effect of external loci of control are recommended. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Specialists' meeting on advanced controls for fast reactors, Argonne, Illinois, USA June 20-22, 1989
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
1989-01-01
The Specialists' Meeting on ''Advanced Controls for Fast Reactors'' was held in Argonne, Illinois, USA, from June 20 to 22, 1989. The meeting was sponsored by the International Atomic Energy Agency on the recommendation of the IAEA International Working Group on Fast Reactors and was hosted by Argonne National Laboratory and the US Department of Energy. It was attended by 20 participants and observers from Argentina, France, Germany, Japan, India, the USSR, the United Kingdom, the United States of America, and the IAEA. The purpose of the meeting was to provide an opportunity for participating countries to review and discuss their views on design and technology for advanced control in fast reactors. During the meeting papers were presented by the participants on behalf of their countries and organizations. Presentations were followed by open discussions on the subjects covered by the papers and summaries of the discussions were drafted. After the formal sessions were completed, a final discussion session was held and summaries, general conclusions and recommendations were approved by consensus. A separate abstract was prepared for each of the 22 papers presented at this meeting. Refs, figs, tabs, diagrams and photos
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Sedigheh Asgary
2012-01-01
Full Text Available Background: Carthamus tinctorius L. (Compositae has been used in Iranian traditional medicine for treatment of diabetes. In this study, anti-diabetic effect of its hydroalcoholic extract was compared with that of glibenclamide. Methods: Male white Wistar rats were randomly allocated into four groups of six each: nondiabetic control; diabetic control; diabetic treated with hydroalcoholic extract of Carthamus tinctorius (200 mg kg -1 BW; diabetic rats treated with glibenclamide (0.6 mg kg -1 BW. Alloxan was administered (120 mg kg -1 BW, intraperitoneally to induce diabetes. Fasting blood samples were collected three times, before injection of alloxan, two weeks and six weeks after injection of alloxan and fasting blood sugar (FBS, Hb A1C, insulin, cholesterol, LDL-C, HDL-C, VLDL-C, triglyceride, alkaline phosphatase (ALP, alanine aminotransferase (ALT and aspartate aminotransferase (AST were measured each time. Results: FBS, triglyceride, cholesterol, LDL-C and VLDL-C had a meaningful decrease in diabetic rats treated with Carthamus tinctorius and diabetic rats treated with glibenclamide as compared with diabetic rats with no treatment. Insulin level increased significantly in diabetic groups received treatment (glibenclamide or Carthamus tinctorius L in comparison with diabetic group with no treatment. The histological study revealed size of islets of Langerhans enlarged significantly consequentially as compared with diabetic rats with no treatment. The extract appeared non toxic as evidenced by normal levels of AST, ALP and ALT. Effects of administrating glibenclamide or extract of Carthamus tinctorius L on all biochemical parameters discussed above showed no difference and both tend to bring the values to near normal. Conclusion: These results suggested that the hydroalcoholic extract of Carthamus tinctorius possesses beneficial effect on treatment of diabetes.
Islamic fasting and oral health and diseases
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
A Javadzadeh Blouri
2014-12-01
Full Text Available Fasting is a religious obligation, which can be challenging for individuals with oral conditions due to its stringent code of conduct. Moreover, food abstinence during fasting can restrict oral feeding even further in patients whose nutrition has been already compromised. Previous research has mainly concentrated on oral hygiene and gum health, disregarding orodental conditions and diseases. This highlights the importance of further research in this regard. In this paper, we intended to clarify the correlation between fasting and oral injections, bleeding following tooth extraction, and brushing to overcome common misconceptions which indicate the breach of religious disciplines under such circumstances. We also aimed to determine the grave effects of fasting on health in case of severe immunological deficiencies, chronic oral ulcers and certain drug administration protocols for those with rigid religious beliefs.
Tayyem, Reema F; Bawadi, Hiba A; Shehadah, Ihab; Bani-Hani, Kamal E; Takruri, Hamed; Al-Jaberi, Tareq; Heath, Dennis D
2018-01-27
Background: The effects of consuming fast foods, sweets and beverages on the development of colorectal cancer (CRC) are unclear. The aim of this case-control study was to assess possible associations between the consumption of different fast foods, sweets and beverages and CRC risk in a Jordanian population. Methods: Two hundred and twenty diagnosed CRC cases and 281 controls were enrolled. Diet history was obtained using a validated quantitative questionnaire. Results: Consumption of some types of fast food, and particularly falafel, was associated with an increased risk of developing CRC. Elevated risk was found for potato and corn chips with an AOR of 4.36 (95%CI: 1.24-15.28) for daily consumption and 3.33 (95%CI: 1.00-11.11) for ≥5 servings/week. Consuming 1-2 or >5 servings per week of fried potatoes or 2-3 servings per week of chicken in sandwiches also increased the risk while exposure to fresh tomato juice and hot pepper sauce on a monthly basis appeared to exert a protective effect. Conclusions: Consumption of fried fast food items was significantly linked with an increased risk of developing CRC in Jordan. Creative Commons Attribution License
A simple and fast method for extraction and quantification of cryptophyte phycoerythrin
DEFF Research Database (Denmark)
Thoisen, Christina Vinum; Hansen, Benni Winding; Nielsen, Søren Laurentius
2017-01-01
The microalgal pigment phycoerythrin (PE) is of commercial interest as natural colorant in food and cosmetics, as well as fluoroprobes for laboratory analysis. Several methods for extraction and quantification of PE are available but they comprise typically various extraction buffers, repetitive...... freeze-thaw cycles and liquid nitrogen, making extraction procedures more complicated. A simple method for extraction of PE from cryptophytes is described using standard laboratory materials and equipment. Filters with the cryptophyte were frozen (−80 °C) and added phosphate buffer for extraction at 4 °C...... followed by absorbance measurement. The cryptophyte Rhodomonas salina was used as a model organism. •Simple method for extraction and quantification of phycoerythrin from cryptophytes. •Minimal usage of equipment and chemicals, and low labor costs. •Applicable for industrial and biological purposes....
LPV Control for the Full Region Operation of a Wind Turbine Integrated with Synchronous Generator
Grigoriadis, Karolos M.; Nyanteh, Yaw D.
2015-01-01
Wind turbine conversion systems require feedback control to achieve reliable wind turbine operation and stable current supply. A robust linear parameter varying (LPV) controller is proposed to reduce the structural loads and improve the power extraction of a horizontal axis wind turbine operating in both the partial load and the full load regions. The LPV model is derived from the wind turbine state space models extracted by FAST (fatigue, aerodynamics, structural, and turbulence) code linearization at different operating points. In order to assure a smooth transition between the two regions, appropriate frequency-dependent varying scaling parametric weighting functions are designed in the LPV control structure. The solution of a set of linear matrix inequalities (LMIs) leads to the LPV controller. A synchronous generator model is connected with the closed LPV control loop for examining the electrical subsystem performance obtained by an inner speed control loop. Simulation results of a 1.5 MW horizontal axis wind turbine model on the FAST platform illustrates the benefit of the LPV control and demonstrates the advantages of this proposed LPV controller, when compared with a traditional gain scheduling PI control and prior LPV control configurations. Enhanced structural load mitigation, improved power extraction, and good current performance were obtained from the proposed LPV control. PMID:25884036
LPV Control for the Full Region Operation of a Wind Turbine Integrated with Synchronous Generator
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Guoyan Cao
2015-01-01
Full Text Available Wind turbine conversion systems require feedback control to achieve reliable wind turbine operation and stable current supply. A robust linear parameter varying (LPV controller is proposed to reduce the structural loads and improve the power extraction of a horizontal axis wind turbine operating in both the partial load and the full load regions. The LPV model is derived from the wind turbine state space models extracted by FAST (fatigue, aerodynamics, structural, and turbulence code linearization at different operating points. In order to assure a smooth transition between the two regions, appropriate frequency-dependent varying scaling parametric weighting functions are designed in the LPV control structure. The solution of a set of linear matrix inequalities (LMIs leads to the LPV controller. A synchronous generator model is connected with the closed LPV control loop for examining the electrical subsystem performance obtained by an inner speed control loop. Simulation results of a 1.5 MW horizontal axis wind turbine model on the FAST platform illustrates the benefit of the LPV control and demonstrates the advantages of this proposed LPV controller, when compared with a traditional gain scheduling PI control and prior LPV control configurations. Enhanced structural load mitigation, improved power extraction, and good current performance were obtained from the proposed LPV control.
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Kazak, V.G.; Agnelov, A.I.; Zajtsev, P.M.
1995-01-01
Content of 16 ecologically controlled chemical element (among them Cd, Sr, Th, U, V, Y) in solid and liquid phases of extraction phosphorus acid (EPA) production is determined. These elements are recommended to control by Scientific research institute of human ecology and environment to establish their extraction coefficients to phosphogypsum and EPA and optimal variant of production of ecologically sate phosphorus fertilizers. X-ray fluorescent, atomic-absorption and polarographic methods are used for analysis these elements
Mofidi, Zahra; Norouzi, Parviz; Sajadian, Masumeh; Ganjali, Mohammad Reza
2018-04-01
A novel, simple, and inexpensive analytical technique based on flat sheet supported liquid membrane microextraction coupled with fast Fourier transform stripping cyclic voltammetry on a reduced graphene oxide carbon paste electrode was used for the extraction and online determination of diclofenac in whole blood. First, diclofenac was extracted from blood samples using a polytetrafluoroethylene membrane impregnated with 1-octanol and then into an acceptor solution, subsequently it was oxidized on a carbon paste electrode modified with reduced graphene oxide nanosheets. The optimal values of the key parameters influencing the method were as follows: scan rate, 6 V/s; stripping potential, 200 mV; stripping time, 5 s; pH of the sample solution, 5; pH of the acceptor solution,7; and extraction time, 240 min. The calibration curves were plotted for the whole blood samples and the method was found to have a good linearity within the range of 1-25 μg/mL with a determination coefficient of 0.99. The limits of detection and quantification were 0.1 and 1.0 μg/mL, respectively. Using this coupled method, the extraction and determination were merged into one step. Accordingly, the speed of detection for sensitive determination of diclofenac in complex samples, such as blood, increased considerably. © 2018 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.
Chen, Zhongxian; Yu, Haitao; Wen, Cheng
2014-01-01
The goal of direct drive ocean wave energy extraction system is to convert ocean wave energy into electricity. The problem explored in this paper is the design and optimal control for the direct drive ocean wave energy extraction system. An optimal control method based on internal model proportion integration differentiation (IM-PID) is proposed in this paper though most of ocean wave energy extraction systems are optimized by the structure, weight, and material. With this control method, the heavy speed of outer heavy buoy of the energy extraction system is in resonance with incident wave, and the system efficiency is largely improved. Validity of the proposed optimal control method is verified in both regular and irregular ocean waves, and it is shown that IM-PID control method is optimal in that it maximizes the energy conversion efficiency. In addition, the anti-interference ability of IM-PID control method has been assessed, and the results show that the IM-PID control method has good robustness, high precision, and strong anti-interference ability. PMID:25152913
Chen, Zhongxian; Yu, Haitao; Wen, Cheng
2014-01-01
The goal of direct drive ocean wave energy extraction system is to convert ocean wave energy into electricity. The problem explored in this paper is the design and optimal control for the direct drive ocean wave energy extraction system. An optimal control method based on internal model proportion integration differentiation (IM-PID) is proposed in this paper though most of ocean wave energy extraction systems are optimized by the structure, weight, and material. With this control method, the heavy speed of outer heavy buoy of the energy extraction system is in resonance with incident wave, and the system efficiency is largely improved. Validity of the proposed optimal control method is verified in both regular and irregular ocean waves, and it is shown that IM-PID control method is optimal in that it maximizes the energy conversion efficiency. In addition, the anti-interference ability of IM-PID control method has been assessed, and the results show that the IM-PID control method has good robustness, high precision, and strong anti-interference ability.
A simple and fast method for extraction and quantification of cryptophyte phycoerythrin
Thoisen, Christina; Hansen, Benni Winding; Nielsen, S?ren Laurentius
2017-01-01
The microalgal pigment phycoerythrin (PE) is of commercial interest as natural colorant in food and cosmetics, as well as fluoroprobes for laboratory analysis. Several methods for extraction and quantification of PE are available but they comprise typically various extraction buffers, repetitive freeze-thaw cycles and liquid nitrogen, making extraction procedures more complicated. A simple method for extraction of PE from cryptophytes is described using standard laboratory materials and equip...
Neighborhood fast food restaurants and fast food consumption: a national study.
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.
A simple and fast method for extraction and quantification of cryptophyte phycoerythrin.
Thoisen, Christina; Hansen, Benni Winding; Nielsen, Søren Laurentius
2017-01-01
The microalgal pigment phycoerythrin (PE) is of commercial interest as natural colorant in food and cosmetics, as well as fluoroprobes for laboratory analysis. Several methods for extraction and quantification of PE are available but they comprise typically various extraction buffers, repetitive freeze-thaw cycles and liquid nitrogen, making extraction procedures more complicated. A simple method for extraction of PE from cryptophytes is described using standard laboratory materials and equipment. The cryptophyte cells on the filters were disrupted at -80 °C and added phosphate buffer for extraction at 4 °C followed by absorbance measurement. The cryptophyte Rhodomonas salina was used as a model organism. •Simple method for extraction and quantification of phycoerythrin from cryptophytes.•Minimal usage of equipment and chemicals, and low labor costs.•Applicable for industrial and biological purposes.
Digitally Controlled Point of Load Converter with Very Fast Transient Response
DEFF Research Database (Denmark)
Jakobsen, Lars Tønnes; Andersen, Michael Andreas E.
2007-01-01
voltage mode control and very fast transient response. The DiSOM modulator is combined with a digital PID compensator algorithm is implemented in a hybrid CPLD/FPGA and is used to control a synchronous Buck converter, which is used in typical Point of Load applications. The computational time is only......This paper presents a new Digital Self-Oscillating Modulator (DiSOM) that allows the duty cycle to be changed instantly. The DiSOM modulator is shown to have variable switching that is a function of the duty cycle. Compared to a more traditional digital PWM modulator based on a counter...... and comparator the DiSOM modulator allows the sampling frequency of the output voltage control loop to be higher than the switching frequency of the power converter, typically a DC/DC converter. The features of the DiSOM modulator makes it possible to design a digitally controlled DC/DC converter with linear...
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Moeko Noguchi-Shinohara
Full Text Available The aim of this study was to evaluate the safety, tolerability and pharmacokinetics of single dose of Melissa officinalis extract which contained rosmarinic acid, including food-effects in healthy individuals. A total of eleven healthy individuals were randomly assigned to treatment arms in the two studies [Study 1 (fasted state and Study 2 (fed state]. Rosmarinic acid in serum was measured by a coulometric detection method using High-Performance Liquid Chromatography electrochemical detector. The serum concentration of total rosmarinic acid peaked at 1 hour after administration of Melissa officinalis extract containing 500mg rosmarinic acid in fasted state, with a maximum serum concentration 162.20 nmol/ L. The area under the curve for intact rosmarinic acid was calculated from the serum concentration-time profile to be 832.13 nmol • hour/ L. Food intake increases area under the curve and delayed time at which the maximum serum concentration. Rosmarinic acid supplementation did not affect liver, kidney, or blood cell function parameters. No adverse event was reported by any of the participants due to the study treatment. Single dose of Melissa officinalis extract containing 500 mg rosmarinic acid appears to be safe and tolerable in healthy individuals. Food intake increased the exposure of rosmarinic acid and delayed absorption of rosmarinic acid in healthy individuals.
Grapefruit extract activity in the control of rose powdery mildew and black spot.
Wojdyła, A T
2001-01-01
Efficacy of grapefruit extract (a.i. of Biosept 33 SL) in the control of Sphaerotheca pannosa var. rosae and Diplocarpon rosae on roses was investigated during 1998-1999. The extract was applied as plant spray in concentrations from 0.017 to 0.099%. First treatment of rose shrubs was done when visible disease symptoms occurred on leaves and spraying was repeated 3 (in plastic tunnel) or 10-times (in the field) at weekly intervals. In the second experiment roses with visible powdery mildew symptoms were sprayed once with grapefruit extract. Leaves were sampled one or 7 days after the extract application and germination of spores of S. pannosa var. rosae on potato dextrose agar was evaluated. In the next experiment roses grown under plastic tunnel were sprayed once with the tested preparation. After 24 hours leaves were collected and appearance of fungal hyphae and spores of S. pannosa var. rosae was studied in scanning electron microscope. In the control of S. pannosa var. rosae grapefruit extract at conc. 0.066% was as effective as triforine (standard) applied at 0.027%. Reduction of concentration resulted in the decreased efficacy of the tested preparation. Spores of S. pannosa var. rosae collected one day after grapefruit extract application germinated in about 5%. Analyses of spore vitality 6 days letter showed that only about 15% of conidia could germinated on PDA agar. In contrary, spores from untreated leaves germinated in about 95%. Scanning electrone microscope analysis of leaves taken from plants protected with grapefruit extract showed that most of hyphae were separated from leaf surface. Almost all hyphae and spores were degenerated. In the control of D. rosae the preparation in all tested concentrations gave satisfactory results but was less effective than triforine.
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.
Comparative analyses of diffusion coefficients for different extraction processes from thyme
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Petrovic Slobodan S.
2012-01-01
Full Text Available This work was aimed to analyze kinetics and mass transfer phenomena for different extraction processes from thyme (Thymus vulgaris L. leaves. Different extraction processes with ethanol were studied: Soxhlet extraction and ultrasound-assisted batch extraction on the laboratory scale as well as pilot plant batch extraction with mixing. The extraction processes with ethanol were compared to the process of supercritical carbon dioxide extraction performed at 10 MPa and 40°C. Experimental data were analyzed by mathematical model derived from the Fick’s second law to determine and compare diffusion coefficients in the periods of constant and decreasing extraction rate. In the fast extraction period, values of diffusion coefficients were one to three orders of magnitude higher compared to those determined for the period of slow extraction. The highest diffusion coefficient was reported for the fast extraction period of supercritical fluid extraction. In the case of extraction processes with ethanol, ultrasound, stirring and extraction temperature increase enhanced mass transfer rate in the washing phase. On the other hand, ultrasound contributed the most to the increase of mass transfer rate in the period of slow extraction.
DEFF Research Database (Denmark)
McCloskey, Douglas; Utrilla, Jose; Naviaux, Robert K.
2015-01-01
, we develop a fast-filtration method using pressuredriven Swinnex filters. We show that the method is fast enough to provide an accurate snapshot of intracellular metabolism, reduces matrix interference from the media to improve the number of compounds that can be detected, and is applicable...... to anaerobic and aerobic liquid cultures grown in a variety of culturing systems. Furthermore, we apply the fast filtration method to investigate differences in the absolute intracellular metabolite levels of anaerobic cultures grown in minimal and complex media....
Li, S P; Qiao, C F; Chen, Y W; Zhao, J; Cui, X M; Zhang, Q W; Liu, X M; Hu, D J
2013-10-25
Root of Panax notoginseng (Burk.) F.H. Chen (Sanqi in Chinese) is one of traditional Chinese medicines (TCMs) based functional food. Saponins are the major bioactive components. The shortage of reference compounds or chemical standards is one of the main bottlenecks for quality control of TCMs. A novel strategy, i.e. standardized reference extract based qualification and single calibrated components directly quantitative estimation of multiple analytes, was proposed to easily and effectively control the quality of natural functional foods such as Sanqi. The feasibility and credibility of this methodology were also assessed with a developed fast HPLC method. Five saponins, including ginsenoside Rg1, Re, Rb1, Rd and notoginsenoside R1 were rapidly separated using a conventional HPLC in 20 min. The quantification method was also compared with individual calibration curve method. The strategy is feasible and credible, which is easily and effectively adapted for improving the quality control of natural functional foods such as Sanqi. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
Advanced control system for the Integral Fast Reactor fuel pin processor
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Lau, L.D.; Randall, P.F.; Benedict, R.W.; Levinskas, D.
1993-01-01
A computerized control system has been developed for the remotely-operated fuel pin processor used in the Integral Fast Reactor Program, Fuel Cycle Facility (FCF). The pin processor remotely shears cast EBR- reactor fuel pins to length, inspects them for diameter, straightness, length, and weight, and then inserts acceptable pins into new sodium-loaded stainless-steel fuel element jackets. Two main components comprise the control system: (1) a programmable logic controller (PLC), together with various input/output modules and associated relay ladder-logic associated computer software. The PLC system controls the remote operation of the machine as directed by the OCS, and also monitors the machine operation to make operational data available to the OCS. The OCS allows operator control of the machine, provides nearly real-time viewing of the operational data, allows on-line changes of machine operational parameters, and records the collected data for each acceptable pin on a central data archiving computer. The two main components of the control system provide the operator with various levels of control ranging from manual operation to completely automatic operation by means of a graphic touch screen interface
Effects of fast neutrons on chromatin: dependence on chromatin structure
Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)
Radu, L. [Dept. of Molecular Genetics, V. Babes National Inst., Bd. Timisoara, Bucharest (Romania); Constantinescu, B. [Dept. of Cyclotron, H. Hulubei National Inst., Bucharest (Romania); Gazdaru, D. [Dept. of Biophysics, Physics Faculty, Univ. of Bucharest (Romania)
2002-07-01
The effects of fast neutrons (10-100 Gy) on chromatin extracted from normal (liver of Wistar rats) and tumor (Walker carcinosarcoma maintained on Wistar rats) tissues were compared. The spectroscopic assays used were (i) chromatin intrinsic fluorescence, (ii) time-resolved fluorescence of chromatin-proflavine complexes, and (iii) fluorescence resonance energy transfer (FRET) between dansyl chloride and acridine orange coupled to chromatin. For both normal and tumor chromatin, the intensity of intrinsic fluorescence specific for acidic and basic proteins decreased with increasing dose. The relative contributions of the excited-state lifetime of proflavine bound to chromatin were reduced upon fast-neutron irradiation, indicating a decrease in the proportion of chromatin DNA available for ligand binding. The Forster energy transfer efficiencies were also modified by irradiation. These effects were larger for chromatin from tumor tissue. In the range 0-100 Gy, fast neutrons induced alterations in DNA and acidic and basic proteins, as well as in global chromatin structure. The radiosensitivity of chromatin extracted from tumor tissue seems to be higher than that of chromatin extracted from normal tissue, probably because of its higher euchromatin (loose)-heterochromatin (compact) ratio. (author)
Effects of fast neutrons on chromatin: dependence on chromatin structure
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Radu, L.; Constantinescu, B.; Gazdaru, D.
2002-01-01
The effects of fast neutrons (10-100 Gy) on chromatin extracted from normal (liver of Wistar rats) and tumor (Walker carcinosarcoma maintained on Wistar rats) tissues were compared. The spectroscopic assays used were (i) chromatin intrinsic fluorescence, (ii) time-resolved fluorescence of chromatin-proflavine complexes, and (iii) fluorescence resonance energy transfer (FRET) between dansyl chloride and acridine orange coupled to chromatin. For both normal and tumor chromatin, the intensity of intrinsic fluorescence specific for acidic and basic proteins decreased with increasing dose. The relative contributions of the excited-state lifetime of proflavine bound to chromatin were reduced upon fast-neutron irradiation, indicating a decrease in the proportion of chromatin DNA available for ligand binding. The Forster energy transfer efficiencies were also modified by irradiation. These effects were larger for chromatin from tumor tissue. In the range 0-100 Gy, fast neutrons induced alterations in DNA and acidic and basic proteins, as well as in global chromatin structure. The radiosensitivity of chromatin extracted from tumor tissue seems to be higher than that of chromatin extracted from normal tissue, probably because of its higher euchromatin (loose)-heterochromatin (compact) ratio. (author)
Extraction of 152Gd from HFIR control plates
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Kohring, M.W.
1986-01-01
The primary method of 153 Gd production at the Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL) research reactors since 1980 has been the irradiation of a natural europium oxide powder (Eu 2 O 3 ) followed by the chemical extraction of the gadolinium fraction. The specific activity of the resulting source is 45 to 50 Ci/g with a radiochemical purity of > 99.99%. A potential alternative method involves the extraction of gadolinium from the europium-bearing region of highly radioactive, spent control plates used in the High Flux Isotope Reactor (HFIR), followed by neutron irradiation. This alternative to the traditional process is attractive in that chemical separation of the europium and gadolinium occurs before the 153 Gd production irradiation, thus reducing process and decay losses and, most significantly, the gadolinium is highly enriched in the parent isotope, 152 Gd. Investigation into the usefulness of the gadolinium isotopes contained in spent HFIR control plates began in the late 1960s. However, separation of the gadolinium from the europium to the purity levels required for a marketable specific activity could not be attained. Due to the recent increase in 153 Gd demand and separation process improvements, research into this valuable source of parent material was resurrected
A Comparative Study of Analog Voltage-mode Control Methods for Ultra-Fast Tracking Power Supplies
DEFF Research Database (Denmark)
Høyerby, Mikkel Christian Wendelboe; Andersen, Michael Andreas E.
2007-01-01
This paper presents a theoretical and experimental comparison of the standard PWM/PID voltage-mode control method for single-phase buck converters with two highperformance self-oscillating (a.k.a. sliding mode) control methods. The application considered is ultra-fast tracking power supplies...... (UFTPSs) for RF power amplifiers, where the switching converter needs to track a varying reference voltage precisely and quickly while maintaining low output impedance. The small-signal analyses performed on the different controllers show that the hysteretic-type controller can achieve the highest loop...
Experimental and numerical investigation of the Fast-SAGD process
Shin, Hyundon
The SAGD process has been tested in the field, and is now in a commercial stage in Western Canadian oil sands areas. The Fast-SAGD method can partly solve the drilling difficulty and reduce costs in a SAGD operation requiring paired parallel wells one above the other. This method also enhances the thermal efficiency in the reservoir. In this research, the reservoir parameters and operating conditions for the SAGD and Fast-SAGD processes are investigated by numerical simulation in the three Alberta oil sands areas. Scaled physical model experiments, which are operated by an automated process control system, are conducted under high temperature and high pressure conditions. The results of the study indicate that the shallow Athabasca-type reservoir, which is thick with high permeability (high kxh), is a good candidate for SAGD application, whereas Cold Lake- and Peace River-type reservoirs, which are thin with low permeability, are not as good candidates for conventional SAGD implementation. The simulation results indicate improved energy efficiency and productivity in most cases for the Fast-SAGD process; in those cases, the project economics were enhanced compared to the SAGD process. Both Cold Lake- and Peace River-type reservoirs are good candidates for a Fast-SAGD application rather than a conventional SAGD application. This new process demonstrates improved efficiency and lower costs for extracting heavy oil from these important reservoirs. A new economic indicator, called simple thermal efficiency parameter (STEP), was developed and validated to evaluate the performance of a SAGD project. STEP is based on cumulative steam-oil ratio (CSOR), calendar day oil rate (CDOR) and recovery factor (RF) for the time prior to the steam-oil ratio (SOR) attaining 4. STEP can be used as a financial metric quantitatively as well as qualitatively for this type of thermal project. An automated process control system was set-up and validated, and has the capability of
2015-01-01
Single molecule fluorescence spectroscopy holds the promise of providing direct measurements of protein folding free energy landscapes and conformational motions. However, fulfilling this promise has been prevented by technical limitations, most notably, the difficulty in analyzing the small packets of photons per millisecond that are typically recorded from individual biomolecules. Such limitation impairs the ability to accurately determine conformational distributions and resolve sub-millisecond processes. Here we develop an analytical procedure for extracting the conformational distribution and dynamics of fast-folding proteins directly from time-stamped photon arrival trajectories produced by single molecule FRET experiments. Our procedure combines the maximum likelihood analysis originally developed by Gopich and Szabo with a statistical mechanical model that describes protein folding as diffusion on a one-dimensional free energy surface. Using stochastic kinetic simulations, we thoroughly tested the performance of the method in identifying diverse fast-folding scenarios, ranging from two-state to one-state downhill folding, as a function of relevant experimental variables such as photon count rate, amount of input data, and background noise. The tests demonstrate that the analysis can accurately retrieve the original one-dimensional free energy surface and microsecond folding dynamics in spite of the sub-megahertz photon count rates and significant background noise levels of current single molecule fluorescence experiments. Therefore, our approach provides a powerful tool for the quantitative analysis of single molecule FRET experiments of fast protein folding that is also potentially extensible to the analysis of any other biomolecular process governed by sub-millisecond conformational dynamics. PMID:25988351
Optimal Orientation Planning and Control Deviation Estimation on FAST Cable-Driven Parallel Robot
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Hui Li
2014-03-01
Full Text Available The paper is devoted theoretically to the optimal orientation planning and control deviation estimation of FAST cable-driven parallel robot. Regarding the robot characteristics, the solutions are obtained from two constrained optimizations, both of which are based on the equilibrium of the cabin and the attention on force allocation among 6 cable tensions. A kind of control algorithm is proposed based on the position and force feedbacks. The analysis proves that the orientation control depends on force feedback and the optimal tension solution corresponding to the planned orientation. Finally, the estimation of orientation deviation is given under the limit range of tension errors.
In vitro toxicity and control of Meloidogyne incognita in soybean by rosemary extract
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Mônica Anghinoni Müller
2016-02-01
Full Text Available The control of nematodes in plants can be challenging, and there is a need for alternative, environmentally conscious methods for their management. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effect of rosemary extract (Rosmarinus officinalis on the in vitro toxicity and control of Meloidogyne incognita in CD 206 and CD 215 soybean cultivars. Using an in vitro assay, 500 M. incognita eggs per plate were observed for 15 days after incubation with rosemary extract at concentrations of 1%, 5%, and 10%. Soybean plants were studied under greenhouse conditions, and starting at V3 stage, were sprayed weekly with the same concentration of rosemary extract for 64 days. Three days after the first treatment, each soybean plant was inoculated with 1800 eggs and 400 second-stage juveniles (J2. At the end of this essay, number of eggs and J2 in the roots and soil, number of galls, and the reproduction factor (RF were evaluated. Our results showed that in the in vitro assay, rosemary extract reduced the number of M. incognita eggs that hatched. Under greenhouse conditions, the CD 206 cultivar showed a 48% reduction in the number of galls, as well as fewer eggs in the soil and a lower RF. Similarly, in the CD 215 cultivar, the number of eggs was reduced and the RF was lower. These results indicate the potential for rosemary extract to control M. incognita in soybean crops.
Asgharinezhad, Ali Akbar; Ebrahimzadeh, Homeira
2016-01-01
One of the considerable and disputable areas in analytical chemistry is a single-step simultaneous extraction of acidic and basic pollutants. In this research, a simple and fast coextraction of acidic and basic pollutants (with different polarities) with the aid of magnetic dispersive micro-solid phase extraction based on mixed hemimicelles assembly was introduced for the first time. Cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB)-coated Fe3O4 nanoparticles as an efficient sorbent was successfully applied to adsorb 4-nitrophenol and 4-chlorophenol as two acidic and chlorinated aromatic amines as basic model compounds. Using a central composite design methodology combined with desirability function approach, the optimal experimental conditions were evaluated. The opted conditions were pH = 10; concentration of CTAB = 0.86 mmol L(-1); sorbent amount = 55.5 mg; sorption time = 11.0 min; no salt addition to the sample, type, and volume of the eluent = 120 μL methanol containing 5% acetic acid and 0.01 mol L(-1) HCl; and elution time = 1.0 min. Under the optimum conditions, detection limits and linear dynamic ranges were achieved in the range of 0.05-0.1 and 0.25-500 μg L(-1), respectively. The percent of extraction recoveries and relative standard deviations (n = 5) were in the range of 71.4-98.0 and 4.5-6.5, respectively. The performance of the optimized method was certified by coextraction of other acidic and basic compounds. Ultimately, the applicability of the method was successfully confirmed by the extraction and determination of the target analytes in various water samples, and satisfactory results were obtained.
FAST and SAFE Passive Safety Devices for Sodium-cooled Fast Reactor
Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)
Hartanto, Donny; Kim, Chihyung; Kim, In-Hyung; Kim, Yonghee [KAIST, Daejeon (Korea, Republic of)
2015-05-15
The major factor is the impact of the neutron spectral hardening. The second factor that affects the CVR is reduced capture by the coolant when the coolant voiding occurs. To improve the CVR, many ideas and concepts have been proposed, which include introduction of an internal blanket, spectrum softening, or increasing the neutron leakage. These ideas may reduce the CVR, but they deteriorate the neutron economy. Another potential solution is to adopt a passive safety injection device such as the ARC (autonomous reactivity control) system, which is still under development. In this paper, two new concepts of passive safety devices are proposed. The devices are called FAST (Floating Absorber for Safety at Transient) and SAFE (Static Absorber Feedback Equipment). Their purpose is to enhance the negative reactivity feedback originating from the coolant in fast reactors. SAFE is derived to balance the positive reactivity feedback due to sodium coolant temperature increases. It has been demonstrated that SAFE allows a low-leakage SFR to achieve a self-shutdown and self-controllability even though the generic coolant temperature coefficient is quite positive and the coolant void reactivity can be largely managed by the new FAST device. It is concluded that both FAST and SAFE devices will improve substantially the fast reactor safety and they deserve more detailed investigations.
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Suhail Ahmed; Shamas-Ud-Zuha; Abdul Ghafoor; Ejaz, M.
1978-01-01
The mechanism of extraction has been investigated by partition, slope analysis and loading-ratio data. The results obtained give a picture of the mechanism of extraction of FeCl 4 - ions in relation to the hydration and solvation of the compound extracted. The possible formula of the extracted species is (DPPM)sub(3)Hsub(3)Osup(+)(Hsub(2)O)sub(n)-FeClsub(4)sup(-). In dilute aqueous hydrochloric acid systems the influence of the concentration of a number of salts with cations of different electrical potentials (Ze/r), on iron(III) extraction, has been studied. Splitting of the organic phases occurs at high acid and/or high salt concentrations. The phenomenon is explained on the basis of the variability of the hydration number. Investigations have been made to understand the parameters controlling the extraction of the metal and it is shown that the extraction offers a simple, fast and selective separation method of iron from solutions. (author)
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Samira L. Abdalla
Full Text Available ABSTRACT: An aqueous leaf extract of the medicinal species Kalanchoe gastonis-bonnieri (here denominated KGB has been found to be effective as an antimicrobial agent against canine oral cavity bacteria in in vitro assays. In this study, we investigated the effect of topic oral administration of KGB on the development of dental biofilm in Beagle dogs. The experiments were performed with an experimental group (0.2% of KGB extract, a negative control group (0.9% of saline solution and a positive control group (0.12% chlorhexidine. Each treatment was sprayed into the oral cavity daily for 28 days. Thirty Beagle dogs with similar characteristics and kept under the same management and diet were used. The measurement of dental plaque and calculus was performed using a computerized analytical method. The phenolic profile of KGB extract was analyzed by HPLC-DAD. KGB extract at 0.2% showed efficacy in controlling the formation of plaque compared to the negative control group, and dental calculus in relation to the negative and positive control groups. A significant difference was observed among these three groups. Peaks attributed to flavonoids and phenolic acids were identified in the HPLC-DAD chromatogram of the KGB extract. The presence of these substances could be related to the activity observed. Our findings demonstrate that treatment with KGB is effective in controlling periodontal disease in dogs, providing new insights into the medicinal properties of this plant. KGB extract has a potential use as a supplemental agent in pharmaceutical products for the prevention of periodontal disease.
FFTF [Fast Flux Test Facility] performance measurements for safety, productivity and control
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Newland, D.J.; Praetorius, P.R.; Tomaszewski, T.A.
1987-05-01
A useful set of performance measurements for Safety, Productivity and Control has evolved at the Fast Flux Test Facility (FFTF). In response to declining budgets and the resulting need to safely manage a manpower rampdown, an ''Early Warning System'' was developed in 1984. Its purpose was to monitor the effects of the staffing rampdown such that appropriate remedial action could be taken to correct adverse trends before a significant problem occurred. 1 tab
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Tullett, J.D.
1990-01-01
P Benoist has developed a method for calculating cross-sections for Fast Reactor control rods and their followers described by a single homogenised region (the Equivalent Parameter Method). When used in a diffusion theory calculation, these equivalent cross-sections should give the same rod worth as one would obtain from a transport theory calculation with a heterogeneous description of the control rod and the follower. In this report, Benoist's theory is described, and a comprehensive set of tests is presented. These tests show that the method gives very good results over a range of geometries and control rod positions for a model fast reactor core. (author)
Definition of a Robust Supervisory Control Scheme for Sodium-Cooled Fast Reactors
Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)
Ponciroli, R.; Passerini, S.; Vilim, R. B.
2016-04-17
In this work, an innovative control approach for metal-fueled Sodium-cooled Fast Reactors is proposed. With respect to the classical approach adopted for base-load Nuclear Power Plants, an alternative control strategy for operating the reactor at different power levels by respecting the system physical constraints is presented. In order to achieve a higher operational flexibility along with ensuring that the implemented control loops do not influence the system inherent passive safety features, a dedicated supervisory control scheme for the dynamic definition of the corresponding set-points to be supplied to the PID controllers is designed. In particular, the traditional approach based on the adoption of tabulated lookup tables for the set-point definition is found not to be robust enough when failures of the implemented SISO (Single Input Single Output) actuators occur. Therefore, a feedback algorithm based on the Reference Governor approach, which allows for the optimization of reference signals according to the system operating conditions, is proposed.
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
You Wenzhi; Xing Guangxuan; Long Maoxiong; Zhang Jianmin; Zhou Qin; Chen Fuping; Ye Lingfeng
1998-01-01
The author mainly described the working condition of the automatic control system of high uranium concentration solvent extraction with pulse sieve-plate column on a large scale test. The use of the automatic instrument and meter, automatic control circuit, and the best feedback control point of the solvent extraction processing with pulse sieve-plate column are discussed in detail. The writers point out the success of this experiment on automation, also present some questions that should be cared for the automatic control, instruments and meters in production in the future
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Donomae, Takako; Katsuyama, Kozo; Tachi, Yoshiaki; Maeda, Koji; Yamamoto, Masaya; Soga, Tomonori
2011-01-01
Research and development of a long-life control rod for fast reactors is being conducted at Joyo. One of the challenges in developing a long-life control rod is the restraint of absorber-cladding mechanical interaction (ACMI). First, a helium-bonding rod was selected as a control rod for the experimental fast reactor Joyo, which is the first liquid metal fast reactor in Japan. Its lifetime was limited by ACMI, which is induced by the swelling and relocation of B 4 C pellets. To restrain ACMI, a shroud tube was inserted into the gap between the B 4 C pellets and the cladding tube. However, once B 4 C pellets cracked and broke into small fragments, relocation occurred. After this, the narrow gap closed immediately as the degree of B 4 C pellet swelling increased. To solve this problem, the gap was widened during design, and sodium was selected as the bonding material instead of helium to restrain the increase in pellet temperature. Irradiation testing of the modified sodium-bonding control rod confirmed that ACMI would be restrained by the shroud tube regardless of the occurrence of B 4 C pellet relocation. As a result of these improvements, the estimated lifetime of the control rod at Joyo was doubled. In this paper, the results of postirradiation examination are reported. (author)
Semi-Global Filtering of Airborne LiDAR Data for Fast Extraction of Digital Terrain Models
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Xiangyun Hu
2015-08-01
Full Text Available Automatic extraction of ground points, called filtering, is an essential step in producing Digital Terrain Models from airborne LiDAR data. Scene complexity and computational performance are two major problems that should be addressed in filtering, especially when processing large point cloud data with diverse scenes. This paper proposes a fast and intelligent algorithm called Semi-Global Filtering (SGF. The SGF models the filtering as a labeling problem in which the labels correspond to possible height levels. A novel energy function balanced by adaptive ground saliency is employed to adapt to steep slopes, discontinuous terrains, and complex objects. Semi-global optimization is used to determine labels that minimize the energy. These labels form an optimal classification surface based on which the points are classified as either ground or non-ground. The experimental results show that the SGF algorithm is very efficient and able to produce high classification accuracy. Given that the major procedure of semi-global optimization using dynamic programming is conducted independently along eight directions, SGF can also be paralleled and sped up via Graphic Processing Unit computing, which runs at a speed of approximately 3 million points per second.
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Zuidmeer-Jongejan Laurian
2012-03-01
Full Text Available Abstract The FAST project (Food Allergy Specific Immunotherapy aims at the development of safe and effective treatment of food allergies, targeting prevalent, persistent and severe allergy to fish and peach. Classical allergen-specific immunotherapy (SIT, using subcutaneous injections with aqueous food extracts may be effective but has proven to be accompanied by too many anaphylactic side-effects. FAST aims to develop a safe alternative by replacing food extracts with hypoallergenic recombinant major allergens as the active ingredients of SIT. Both severe fish and peach allergy are caused by a single major allergen, parvalbumin (Cyp c 1 and lipid transfer protein (Pru p 3, respectively. Two approaches are being evaluated for achieving hypoallergenicity, i.e. site-directed mutagenesis and chemical modification. The most promising hypoallergens will be produced under GMP conditions. After pre-clinical testing (toxicology testing and efficacy in mouse models, SCIT with alum-absorbed hypoallergens will be evaluated in phase I/IIa and IIb randomized double-blind placebo-controlled (DBPC clinical trials, with the DBPC food challenge as primary read-out. To understand the underlying immune mechanisms in depth serological and cellular immune analyses will be performed, allowing identification of novel biomarkers for monitoring treatment efficacy. FAST aims at improving the quality of life of food allergic patients by providing a safe and effective treatment that will significantly lower their threshold for fish or peach intake, thereby decreasing their anxiety and dependence on rescue medication.
2012-01-01
The FAST project (Food Allergy Specific Immunotherapy) aims at the development of safe and effective treatment of food allergies, targeting prevalent, persistent and severe allergy to fish and peach. Classical allergen-specific immunotherapy (SIT), using subcutaneous injections with aqueous food extracts may be effective but has proven to be accompanied by too many anaphylactic side-effects. FAST aims to develop a safe alternative by replacing food extracts with hypoallergenic recombinant major allergens as the active ingredients of SIT. Both severe fish and peach allergy are caused by a single major allergen, parvalbumin (Cyp c 1) and lipid transfer protein (Pru p 3), respectively. Two approaches are being evaluated for achieving hypoallergenicity, i.e. site-directed mutagenesis and chemical modification. The most promising hypoallergens will be produced under GMP conditions. After pre-clinical testing (toxicology testing and efficacy in mouse models), SCIT with alum-absorbed hypoallergens will be evaluated in phase I/IIa and IIb randomized double-blind placebo-controlled (DBPC) clinical trials, with the DBPC food challenge as primary read-out. To understand the underlying immune mechanisms in depth serological and cellular immune analyses will be performed, allowing identification of novel biomarkers for monitoring treatment efficacy. FAST aims at improving the quality of life of food allergic patients by providing a safe and effective treatment that will significantly lower their threshold for fish or peach intake, thereby decreasing their anxiety and dependence on rescue medication. PMID:22409908
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Sanda, T.; Azekura, K.
1983-01-01
A model for calculating the power distribution and the control rod worth in fast reactors has been developed. This model is based on the influence function method. The characteristics of the model are as follows: Influence functions for any changes in the control rod insertion ratio are expressed by using an influence function for an appropriate control rod insertion in order to reduce the computer memory size required for the method. A control rod worth is calculated on the basis of a one-group approximation in which cross sections are generated by bilinear (flux-adjoint) weighting, not the usual flux weighting, in order to reduce the collapse error. An effective neutron multiplication factor is calculated by adjoint weighting in order to reduce the effect of the error in the one-group flux distribution. The results obtained in numerical examinations of a prototype fast reactor indicate that this method is suitable for on-line core performance evaluation because of a short computing time and a small memory size
Ngamukote, Sathaporn; Khannongpho, Teerawat; Siriwatanapaiboon, Marent; Sirikwanpong, Sukrit; Dahlan, Winai; Adisakwattana, Sirichai
2016-12-29
To investigate the effect of Moringa Oleifera leaf extract (MOLE) on plasma glucose concentration and antioxidant status in healthy volunteers. A randomized crossover design was used in this study. Healthy volunteers were randomly assigned to receive either 200 mL of warm water (10 cases) or 200 mL of MOLE (500 mg dried extract, 10 cases). Blood samples were drawn at 0, 30, 60, 90, and 120 min for measuring fasting plasma glucose (FPG), ferric reducing ability of plasma (FRAP), Trolox equivalent antioxidant capacity (TEAC) and malondialdehyde (MDA). FPG concentration was not signifificantly different between warm water and MOLE. The consumption of MOLE acutely improved both FRAP and TEAC, with increases after 30 min of 30 μmol/L FeSO 4 equivalents and 0.18 μmol/L Trolox equivalents, respectively. The change in MDA level from baseline was signifificantly lowered after the ingestion of MOLE at 30, 60, and 90 min. In addition, FRAP level was negatively correlated with plasma MDA level after an intake of MOLE. MOLE increased plasma antioxidant capacity without hypoglycemia in human. The consumption of MOLE may reduce the risk factors associated with chronic degenerative diseases.
Extracting Structure from Optical Flow Using the Fast Error Search Technique
National Research Council Canada - National Science Library
Srinivasan, Sridar
1998-01-01
...) of an optical flow field, using fast partial search. For each candidate location on a discrete sampling of the image area, we generate a linear system of equations for determining the remaining unknowns, viz...
Zarzycki, Paweł K; Zarzycka, Magdalena B; Clifton, Vicki L; Adamski, Jerzy; Głód, Bronisław K
2011-08-19
The goal of this paper is to demonstrate the separation and detection capability of eco-friendly micro-TLC technique for the classification of spirulina and selected herbs from pharmaceutical and food products. Target compounds were extracted using relatively low-parachor liquids. A number of the spirulina samples which originated from pharmaceutical formulations and food products, were isolated using a simple one step extraction with small volume of methanol, acetone or tetrahydrofuran. Herb samples rich in chlorophyll dyes were analyzed as reference materials. Quantitative data derived from micro-plates under visible light conditions and after iodine staining were explored using chemometrics tools including cluster analysis and principal components analysis. Using this method we could easily distinguish genuine spirulina and non-spirulina samples as well as fresh from expired commercial products and furthermore, we could identify some biodegradation peaks appearing on micro-TLC profiles. This methodology can be applied as a fast screening or fingerprinting tool for the classification of genuine spirulina and herb samples and in particular may be used commercially for the rapid quality control screening of products. Furthermore, this approach allows low-cost fractionation of target substances including cyanobacteria pigments in raw biological or environmental samples for preliminary chemotaxonomic investigations. Due to the low consumption of the mobile phase (usually less than 1 mL per run), this method can be considered as environmentally friendly analytical tool, which may be an alternative for fingerprinting protocols based on HPLC machines and simple separation systems involving planar micro-fluidic or micro-chip devices. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Dong Shengguo; Ma Hongsheng; Zhao Lixia
2008-01-01
The present research concerns in the design and adjustment of replacing sub- assembly machine control system of China Experimental Fast Reactor. The design of replacing subassembly machine control system adopts some electric equipments, such as programmable controllers, digital DC drivers. The designed control system was adjusted on the test bed. The results indicate that the operation of the control system is steady and reliable, and designed control system can meet the needs of the design specification. (authors)
Mathew, Sweety; Krug, Susanne; Skurk, Thomas; Halama, Anna; Stank, Antonia; Artati, Anna; Prehn, Cornelia; Malek, Joel A; Kastenmüller, Gabi; Römisch-Margl, Werner; Adamski, Jerzy; Hauner, Hans; Suhre, Karsten
2014-06-06
High-throughput screening techniques that analyze the metabolic endpoints of biological processes can identify the contributions of genetic predisposition and environmental factors to the development of common diseases. Studies applying controlled physiological challenges can reveal dysregulation in metabolic responses that may be predictive for or associated with these diseases. However, large-scale epidemiological studies with well controlled physiological challenge conditions, such as extended fasting periods and defined food intake, pose logistic challenges. Culturally and religiously motivated behavioral patterns of life style changes provide a natural setting that can be used to enroll a large number of study volunteers. Here we report a proof of principle study conducted within a Muslim community, showing that a metabolomics study during the Holy Month of Ramadan can provide a unique opportunity to explore the pre-prandial and postprandial response of human metabolism to nutritional challenges. Up to five blood samples were obtained from eleven healthy male volunteers, taken directly before and two hours after consumption of a controlled meal in the evening on days 7 and 26 of Ramadan, and after an over-night fast several weeks after Ramadan. The observed increases in glucose, insulin and lactate levels at the postprandial time point confirm the expected physiological response to food intake. Targeted metabolomics further revealed significant and physiologically plausible responses to food intake by an increase in bile acid and amino acid levels and a decrease in long-chain acyl-carnitine and polyamine levels. A decrease in the concentrations of a number of phospholipids between samples taken on days 7 and 26 of Ramadan shows that the long-term response to extended fasting may differ from the response to short-term fasting. The present study design is scalable to larger populations and may be extended to the study of the metabolic response in defined patient
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Hoefler, F.
2002-01-01
Full text: Accelerated solvent extraction (ASE) is a modern extraction technique that significantly streamlines sample preparation. A common organic solvent as well as water is used as extraction solvent at elevated temperature and pressure to increase extraction speed and efficiency. The entire extraction process is fully automated and performed within 15 minutes with a solvent consumption of 18 ml for a 10 g sample. For many matrices and for a variety of solutes, ASE has proven to be equivalent or superior to sonication, Soxhlet, and reflux extraction techniques while requiring less time, solvent and labor. First ASE has been applied for the extraction of environmental hazards from solid matrices. Within a very short time ASE was approved by the U.S. EPA for the extraction of BNAs, PAHs, PCBs, pesticides, herbicides, TPH, and dioxins from solid samples in method 3545. Especially for the extraction of dioxins the extraction time with ASE is reduced to 20 minutes in comparison to 18 h using Soxhlet. In food analysis ASE is used for the extraction of pesticide and mycotoxin residues from fruits and vegetables, the fat determination and extraction of vitamins. Time consuming and solvent intensive methods for the extraction of additives from polymers as well as for the extraction of marker compounds from herbal supplements can be performed with higher efficiencies using ASE. For the analysis of chemical weapons the extraction process and sample clean-up including derivatization can be automated and combined with GC-MS using an online ASE-APEC-GC system. (author)
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Koga, Isao; Masuoka, Ryuzo.
1979-01-01
Purpose: To prevent fuel element failures during power conditioning by removing liquid absorbents in poison tubes of control rods in a fast power up step and extracting control rods to slightly increase power in a medium power up step. Constitution: A plurality of poison tubes are disposed in a coaxial or plate-like arrangement and divided into a region capable of compensating the reactivity from the initial state at low temperature to 40% power operation and a region capable of compensating the reactivity in the power up above 40% power operation. Soluble poisons are used as absorbers in the poison tubes corresponding to above 40% power operation and they are adapted to be removed independently from the driving of control rods. The poison tubes filled with the soluble absorbers are responsible for the changes in the reactivity from the initial state at low temperature to the medium power region and the reactivity control is conducted by the elimination of liquid absorbers from the poison tubes. In the succeeding slight power up region above the medium power, power up is proceeding by extracting the control rods having remaining poison tubes filled with solid or liquid absorbers. (Seki, T.)
The future of the Fast Breeder
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Lefevre, J.C.
1990-01-01
Fast Breeder Reactors (FBRs) can produce more fissile nuclei than they consume whilst, at the same time, generating energy using fast neutrons. By conversion of uranium isotope 238 into a fissionable fuel, FBRs provide over 60 times more energy than can be extracted from the uranium reserves by thermal reactors. Their development is therefore an essential objective in the next century, particularly for those industrialised countries that have little or no energy resources of their own. The European countries which have been engaged in the development of FBRs for more than 25 years have decided to collaborate in an advanced design, the European Fast Reactor (EFR) which uses the best of previous national projects and draws on extensive operating experience from FBR plants in Europe. The naturally safe characteristics and technological features of sodium-cooled Fast Reactors will be fully utilised in an EFR design which meets the same safety level as the Light Water Reactors (LWRs). Owing to technical progress and series construction effect, the EFR is expected to achieve competitiveness with contemporary LWRs with the higher capital cost of the Fast Reactor offset by its markedly lower fuel cycle cost. (author)
Role of therapeutic fasting in women's health: An overview
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Pradeep M.K Nair
2016-01-01
Full Text Available Fasting is a therapeutic tool practiced since millennia by different cultures and medical systems heterogeneously. PubMed and Google Scholar search engines were searched using the keywords “fasting,” “intermittent fasting,” “calorie restriction,” “women's health,” “women's disorders,” “fasting and aging,” and “fasting and health.” All the animal and human studies which address women's health and disorders were included in the review. Fasting has shown to improve the reproductive and mental health. It also prevents as well as ameliorates cancers and musculoskeletal disorders which are common in middle-aged and elderly women. The present studies available have limitations such as majority of the studies are preclinical studies and human studies are with lesser sample size. Future studies should address this gap by designing medically supervised fasting techniques to extract better evidence. Nevertheless, fasting can be prescribed as a safe medical intervention as well as a lifestyle regimen which can improve women's health in many folds.
A Fuzzy-PI control to extract an optimal power from wind turbine
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Aissaoui, Abdel Ghani; Tahour, Ahmed; Essounbouli, Najib; Nollet, Frédéric; Abid, Mohamed; Chergui, Moulay Idriss
2013-01-01
Highlights: ► We model the wind energy conversion system (WECS) based on the PMSG. ► We present the vector control of permanent magnet synchronous generator (PMSG). ► A speed control strategy is developed to extract maximal wind power. ► A Fuzzy-PI speed controller is proposed to overcome the WECS nonlinearity problem. ► Simulation results show the effectiveness of the proposed control strategy. - Abstract: In this article we develop the overall model of the wind energy conversion systems (WECSs) structure based on the permanent magnet synchronous generator (PMSG), and propose a study of the electrical parts (permanent magnet synchronous machine and static converter). Our study is developed on a wind conversion system in order to produce optimum power (to extract the maximal wind power). The speed control of all machine-turbine at optimal values can provide a valuable service and useful for the management and generation of power network to which the turbine is connected. The main drawback is that the WECS is highly nonlinear, and thus a nonlinear control strategy is required. An adaptive Fuzzy-PI speed controller is proposed to overcome this problem. Simulation results are given to show the effectiveness of this control strategy. Conclusions are summarized in the last section.
DEFF Research Database (Denmark)
SUN, BO; Dragicevic, Tomislav; Vasquez, Juan Carlos
2015-01-01
This paper applies a hierarchical control for a fast charging station (FCS) composed of paralleled PWM rectifier and dedicated paralleled multiple flywheel energy storage systems (FESSs), in order to mitigate peak power shock on grid caused by sudden connection of electrical vehicle (EV) chargers...
Power supply for control and instrumentation in Fast Breeder Test Reactor
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Raghavan, K.; Shanmugam, T.K.
1977-01-01
The design and operation of the four 'no-break' power supplies for control and instrumentation in the Fast Breeder Test Reactor (FBTR), Kalpakkam, are described. Interruptions in the power supplies are eliminated by redundancy and battery back-up source while voltage dips and transients are taken care by automatic regulation system. The four power supplies are : (1) 24 V D.C. exclusively for neutronic and safety circuits, (2) 48 V D.C. for control logic indication lamps and solenoid valves, (3) 220 V D.C. for switchgear control, control room emergency lighting and D.C. flushing oil pump for the turbine and (4) 220 V A.C. single-phase 50 H/Z for computers and electronics of control and instrumentation. Stationary lead-acid batteries (lead antimony type) in floating mode operation with rectifier/charger are used for emergency back-up. All these power supplies are fed by 415 V, 3-phase, 50 HZ emergency supply buses which are provided with diesel generator back-up. Static energy conversion system (in preference to mechanical rotation system) is used for A.C. to D.C. and also for A.C. to A.C. conversion. (M.G.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, controlled stepping drive for D2 filament ejection
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Amenda, W.; Lang, R.S.
1985-01-01
Centrifugal pellet injectors are required to refuel plasma machines. The pellet feed into the centrifuge should, if possible, be direct to keep the exit angle divergence small. The D 2 filaments used are first stored in a cryostat and then rapidly transported to the intake region of the centrifuge. An intermittent drive for fast, controlled ejection of D 2 filaments is described here. Mean filament speed of up to 0.6 m/s per step (1.2 mm) are achieved for the centrifugal pellet injector which refuels the ASDEX tokamak at Garching. The timing of the (81) step shifts can be synchronized with the rotor motion. The drive allows rates of up to 50 pellets per second. The drive method also seems to be suitable for direct feeding of other known centrifugal pellet injectors
Dyeing of white and indigo dyed cotton fabrics with Mimosa tenuiflora extract
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Gökhan Erkan
2014-04-01
Full Text Available Mimosa tenuiflora extract has been used in food industry as an additive and in textile and leather industry as a colorant. Two types of fabrics, ready to be dyed white and indigo dyed fabrics, were dyed with M. tenuiflora extract. The fabrics were mordanted after dyeing with six different metal salts. Colorimetric evaluations of fabrics were carried out by spectrophotometer. Colour fastness to washing, rubbing and light were performed. Colour strength of fabrics was calculated from Kubelka–Munk formula. Highest vividness (C∗ values were obtained by Ni mordant. Moderate fastness values were observed. However poor wet rubbing fastness values were observed in the case of indigo dyed fabrics due to lack of good wet rubbing fastness of indigo itself.
Schellen, Anniek; Ooms, Bert; van de Lagemaat, Dick; Vreeken, Rob; van Dongen, William D
2003-05-25
A generic method was developed for the fast determination of a wide range of drugs in serum or plasma. The methodology comprises generic solid-phase extraction, on-line coupled to gradient HPLC with tandem mass spectrometric detection (SPE-LC-MS/MS). The individual components of the SPE-LC-MS/MS system were optimized in an integrated approach to maximize the application range and minimize the method development time. The optimized generic SPE-LC-MS/MS protocol was evaluated for 11 drugs with different physicochemical properties. Good quantification for 10 out of 11 of the pharmaceuticals in serum or plasma could be readily achieved. The quantitative assays gave recoveries better than 95%, lower quantification limits of 0.2-2.0 ng/ml, acceptable precision and accuracy and good linearity over 2-4 orders of magnitude. Carry-over was determined to be in the range of 0.02-0.10%, without optimization.
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Khan, I.; Bukhari, S. G. A.; Ahmad, W.; Rubbab,; Junaid, M.
2013-01-01
Objectives: To compare the efficacy of ibuprofen and acetaminophen in reducing postoperative third molar extraction pain in patients reporting to Armed Forces Institute of Dentistry. Study design: Randomized controlled trial. Place and duration of study: The study was carried out on patients who presented for surgical removal of impacted teeth at Armed Forces Institute of Dentistry Rawalpindi (AFID) from February 2008 to March 2--9 at the Department of Oral Surgery, Armed Forces Institute of Dentistry Rawalpindi. Patients and methods: One hundred and forty patients requiring surgical removal of mandibular impacted teeth were equally divided into two groups. Surgical extraction of third molar tooth was performed under local anesthesia. Patients in group A were given ibuprofen and in group B were given acetaminophen at 6 hourly intervals. First dose was given 3 hours postoperatively. Each patient rated pain on a visual analog scale at baseline and then at 12, 24, 48 and 72 hours postoperatively. Results: There was statistically significant difference (p=0.025) during first 12 hours with ibuprofen group showing better efficacy but afterwards there was no significant difference in the efficacy of both drugs. Conclusions: Ibuprofen is more effective in controlling severe third molar extraction pain as compared to acetaminophen but has similar efficacy in controlling moderate pain. (author)
Software for Extracting 3D - MSSTs
DEFF Research Database (Denmark)
Somchaipeng, Kerawit; Sporring, Jon; Kreiborg, Sven
2003-01-01
The deep structure of an image is investigated, and a Multi-Scale Singularity Tree (MSST) is constructed based on the pair-wise annihilations of critical points. This report contains two main contributions. Firstly, we describe a fast, simple, and robust method of extracting feature lines from data...... sets of up to four dimen- sions, which we apply in order to extract critical paths from scale-spaces. Secondly, we investigate the extracting of MSSTs using either support regions or extrema partitions. Given an image, both methods produce a binary tree that mathematically represents the topological...
Ahangarpour, Akram; Mohammadian, Maryam; Dianat, Mahin
2012-01-01
Background: Urtica dioica has been used as antihypertensive, antihyperlipidemic and antidiabetic herbal medicine. The purpose of this study was to study the effect of hydroalcoholic extract of Urtica dioica on fructose-induced insulin resistance rats. Methods: Forty male Wistar rats were randomly divided into five groups including control, fructose, extract 50, extract 100 and extract 200. The control rat received vehicle, the fructose and extract groups received fructose 10% for eight weeks. The extract groups received single daily injection of vehicle, 50, 100 or 200 mg/kg/day for the two weeks. Blood glucose, insulin, last fasting insulin resistance index (FIRI), serum triglyceride (TG), low-density lipoprotein (LDL), very low-density lipoprotein (VLDL), high-density lipoprotein (HDL), alanin trasaminase (AST) and alkaline phosphatase (ALP), leptin and LDL/HDL ratio were determined. Results: Compared to control group, daily administration of fructose was associated with significant increase in FIRI, blood glucose and insulin, significant decrease in lepin, and no significant change in TG, HDL, LDL, LDL/HDL ratio, VLDL, ALT, and ALP. The extract significantly decreased serum glucose, insulin, LDL and leptin, and LDL/HDL ratio and FIRI. It also significantly increased serum TG, VLDL, and AST, but did not change serum ALP. Conclusion: We suggest that Urtica dioica extract, by decreasing serum glucose, and FIRI, may be useful to improve type 2 diabetes mellitus. Also, by positive effect on lipid profile and by decreasing effect on leptin, it may improve metabolic syndrome. PMID:23115450
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Akram Ahangarpour
2012-09-01
Full Text Available Background: Urtica dioica has been used as antihypertensive, antihyperlipidemic and antidiabetic herbal medicine. The purpose of this study was to study the effect of hydroalcoholic extract of Urtica dioica on fructose-induced insulin resistance rats. Methods: Forty male Wistar rats were randomly divided into five groups including control, fructose, extract 50, extract 100 and extract 200. The control rat received vehicle, the fructose and extract groups received fructose 10% for eight weeks. The extract groups received single daily injection of vehicle, 50, 100 or 200 mg/kg/day for the two weeks. Blood glucose, insulin, last fasting insulin resistance index (FIRI, serum triglyceride (TG, low-density lipoprotein (LDL, very low-density lipoprotein (VLDL, high-density lipoprotein (HDL, alanin trasaminase (AST and alkaline phosphatase (ALP, leptin and LDL/HDL ratio were determined.Results: Compared to control group, daily administration of fructose was associated with significant increase in FIRI, blood glucose and insulin, significant decrease in lepin, and no significant change in TG, HDL, LDL, LDL/HDL ratio, VLDL, ALT, and ALP. The extract significantly decreased serum glucose, insulin, LDL and leptin, and LDL/HDL ratio and FIRI. It also significantly increased serum TG, VLDL, and AST, but did not change serum ALP.Conclusion: We suggest that Urtica dioica extract, by decreasing serum glucose, and FIRI, may be useful to improve type 2 diabetes mellitus. Also, by positive effect on lipid profile and by decreasing effect on leptin, it may improve metabolic syndrome.
Fast Nonconvex Model Predictive Control for Commercial Refrigeration
DEFF Research Database (Denmark)
Hovgaard, Tobias Gybel; Larsen, Lars F. S.; Jørgensen, John Bagterp
2012-01-01
in fewer than 5 or so iterations. We employ a fast convex quadratic programming solver to carry out the iterations, which is more than fast enough to run in real-time. We demonstrate our method on a realistic model, with a full year simulation, using real historical data. These simulations show substantial...... cost savings, and reveal how the method exhibits sophisticated response to real-time variations in electricity prices. This demand response is critical to help balance real-time uncertainties associated with large penetration of intermittent renewable energy sources in a future smart grid....
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Kawashima, Hideo.
1977-01-01
A fast-slow logic system has been made for use in multi-detector experiments in nuclear physics such as particle-gamma and particle-particle coincidence experiments. The system consists of a fast logic system and a slow logic system. The fast logic system has a function of fast coincidences and provides timing signals for the slow logic system. The slow logic system has a function of slow coincidences and a routing control of input analog signals to the ADCs. (auth.)
Irradiation of lithium aluminate and tritium extraction
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Roth, E.; Abassin, J.J.; Botter, F.; Briec, M.; Chenebault, P.; Masson, M.; Rasneur, B.; Roux, N.
1984-12-01
After preselection of the preparation procedures, following short irradiations, γ LiAl0 2 samples submitted to 2.10 19 fast neutrons cm -2 and 1.5 10 20 thermal neutrons cm -2 fluences experienced no apparent damage. Post-irradiation tritium extraction from samples irradiated to 2.10 17 neutrons/cm 2 in quartz ampoules produced mostly tritiated water. When in-pile experiments are performed the sample container material influences greatly the measured ratio of tritium gas to tritiated water - Stainless steel capsules yield more T 2 gas than quartz capsules probably because of a reduction process. Difficulties in interpretation arise from adsoption of tritiated water on the measuring lines. Both experiments showed that much faster extraction rates are obtained from small grain size samples than from large ones at the same open porosity. If diffusion in the grains controls the extraction rates, apparent D values vary from 10 -16 to 1.5 10 -15 cm 2 S -1 in the temperature range explored. Around 500 0 C small grain samples reached equilibrium tritium concentration of a few mCi in 4 hours. Such values are suitable for a blanket concept
Real-Time Attitude Control Algorithm for Fast Tumbling Objects under Torque Constraint
Tsuda, Yuichi; Nakasuka, Shinichi
This paper describes a new control algorithm for achieving any arbitrary attitude and angular velocity states of a rigid body, even fast and complicated tumbling rotations, under some practical constraints. This technique is expected to be applied for the attitude motion synchronization to capture a non-cooperative, tumbling object in such missions as removal of debris from orbit, servicing broken-down satellites for repairing or inspection, rescue of manned vehicles, etc. For this objective, we have introduced a novel control algorithm called Free Motion Path Method (FMPM) in the previous paper, which was formulated as an open-loop controller. The next step of this consecutive work is to derive a closed-loop FMPM controller, and as the preliminary step toward the objective, this paper attempts to derive a conservative state variables representation of a rigid body dynamics. 6-Dimensional conservative state variables are introduced in place of general angular velocity-attitude angle representation, and how to convert between both representations are shown in this paper.
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Villacís-Aldaz Luis Alfredo
2017-05-01
Full Text Available The antifungal effect of five plant extracts: nettle (Urtica dioica, chamomile (Chamaemelum nobile, frame (Artemisia vulgaris, lavender (Lavandula officinalis and chamico (Datura ferox were evaluated at laboratory level for control of anthracnose (Colletotrichum acutatum of the tree tomato (Solanum betaceum, using two methods of extraction (maceration and steam trapping, in the results obtained, statistical differences were observed in the percentage of inhibition of mycelial growth of the fungus, the treatment with lavender extract obtained by the steam trapping method presented the greatest efficiency for anthracnose control (66.23%. The other treatments tested also showed effectiveness against the anthracnose pathogen in the following order of inhibition: chamomile (52.78%, frame (21.63, chamico (24.14%, nettle (12.94, the ability of various species to inhibit certain fungal diseases, taking into account the different content of secondary metabolites that have each of the plant species, constituting new clean production alternatives that reduce the use of chemical pesticides for the control of fungal diseases.
Optimal Coordinated Control of Power Extraction in LES of a Wind Farm with Entrance Effects
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Jay P. Goit
2016-01-01
Full Text Available We investigate the use of optimal coordinated control techniques in large eddy simulations of wind farm boundary layer interaction with the aim of increasing the total energy extraction in wind farms. The individual wind turbines are considered as flow actuators, and their energy extraction is dynamically regulated in time, so as to optimally influence the flow field. We extend earlier work on wind farm optimal control in the fully-developed regime (Goit and Meyers 2015, J. Fluid Mech. 768, 5–50 to a ‘finite’ wind farm case, in which entrance effects play an important role. For the optimal control, a receding horizon framework is employed in which turbine thrust coefficients are optimized in time and per turbine. Optimization is performed with a conjugate gradient method, where gradients of the cost functional are obtained using adjoint large eddy simulations. Overall, the energy extraction is increased 7% by the optimal control. This increase in energy extraction is related to faster wake recovery throughout the farm. For the first row of turbines, the optimal control increases turbulence levels and Reynolds stresses in the wake, leading to better wake mixing and an inflow velocity for the second row that is significantly higher than in the uncontrolled case. For downstream rows, the optimal control mainly enhances the sideways mean transport of momentum. This is different from earlier observations by Goit and Meyers (2015 in the fully-developed regime, where mainly vertical transport was enhanced.
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
P.A.F.R. MELO
Full Text Available ABSTRACT Recent research reports the importance of preserving plants in Brazilian semiarid regions, in this context, the scientific literature has reported different pharmacological studies from plant extracts with an antifungal potential, coming from forest species that can contribute as a control and management strategy in the transmission of phytopathogens. This study aimed to evaluate the effect of biotech treatments in controlling the transmission of Colletotrichum sp. in seeds of S. obtusifolium. In this study, 100 seeds were subjected to the following preventive treatments: fungicide Captan®, extract of Caesalpinia ferrea Mart. Ex. Tul., and biological control with Trichoderma spp. The biological control with Trichoderma spp. and the alternative control using C. ferrea extract provided a greater protection to seeds and seedlings of S. obtusifolium facing the transmissibility of Colletotrichum sp.The treatment based on plant extract is more efficient for this purpose only in large seeds and does not interfere on the germination percentage and speed. Therefore it is necessary to perform other studies with Trichoderma spp. and C. ferrea extract to test different doses of these products.
DEFF Research Database (Denmark)
Wang, Haojie; Han, Minxiao; Han, Renke
2018-01-01
This paper proposes a decentralized current-sharing control strategy to endow fast transient response to paralleled DC-DC converters systems, such as DC microgrids or distributed power systems. The proposed controller consist of two main control loops: an external voltage droop control for current......-sharing proposes and an internal current loop. The external droop control loop is designed as a voltage loop with embedded virtual impedance, which avoids the use of a slow voltage loop and a separate extra virtual impedance loop that may limit the system bandwidth. The internal current loop, thanks...... and the proposed embedded-virtual-impedance based I-V droop. In order to compare the dynamic response performances between two droop controllers, their state-space models have been developed and analyzed in this paper. The results show that the dynamic response of the I-V droop control is faster than...
Extraction of gadolinium from high flux isotope reactor control plates
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Kohring, M.W.
1987-04-01
Gadolinium-153 is an important radioisotope used in the diagnosis of various bone disorders. Recent medical and technical developments in the detection and cure of osteoporosis, a bone disease affecting an estimated 50 million people, have greatly increased the demand for this isotope. The Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) has produced 153 Gd since 1980 primarily through the irradiation of a natural europium-oxide powder followed by the chemical separation of the gadolinium fraction from the europium material. Due to the higher demand for 153 Gd, an alternative production method to supplement this process has been investigated. This process involves the extraction of gadolinium from the europium-bearing region of highly radioactive, spent control plates used at the High Flux Isotope Reactor (HFIR) with a subsequent re-irradiation of the extracted material for the production of the 153 Gd. Based on the results of experimental and calculational analyses, up to 25 grams of valuable gadolinium (≥60% enriched in 152 Gd) resides in the europium-bearing region of the HFIR control components of which 70% is recoverable. At a specific activity yield of 40 curies of 153 Gd for each gram of gadolinium re-irradiated, 700 one-curie sources can be produced from each control plate assayed
On the actual controlling of standards concerning the 'fast breeder reactor'
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Rengeling, H.W.
1978-01-01
If the decision of the OVG Muenster to present the case to the Federal Constitutional Court asking whether Article 7 of the atomic energy law corresponds to the constitution or not, as far as the article allows the licensing of a fast breeder reactor, two problems arise: The legal question in how far the actual controlling of standards is to be preceeded by a statement of facts given by the court of first instance, and the problem behind concerning the responsibility of decision. The Federal Constitutional Court should accept the responsibility of decision to be borne by it. (orig.) [de
Fast and reliable control of steering mirrors with application to free-space communication
Ibrir, Salim; Su, Chun-Yi; Ooi, Boon S.; Alouini, Mohamed-Slim
2018-01-01
After modeling a laser beam pointing system actuated by a piezo-electric fast steering mirror (FSM), an observer-based linear feedback controller is developed to correct the position of the laser spot communicated by the position sensing detector (PSD). The modeling and the control actions have been considered with and without the hysteresis effect induced by the piezoelectric actuators of the FSM. The design of the feedback is given through the solution of parametric matrix inequalities. It was found that the integral feedback design is very efficient in handling input and system uncertainty. The linearity of the observer-based feedback has facilitated both the real-time implementation of the control strategy and the proof of stability using dynamic-output feedbacks.
DEFF Research Database (Denmark)
Teodorescu, Remus; Ruiz, Alberto Parera; Cirstea, Marcian
2008-01-01
The paper describes a new holistic approach to the modeling of integrated renewable energy systems. The method is using the DK5 modeling/design environment from Celoxica and is based on the new Handel-C programming language. The goal of the work carried out was to achieve a combined model...... containing a Xilinx Spartan II FPGA and was successfully experimentally tested. This approach enables the design and fast hardware implementation of efficient controllers for Distributed Energy Resource (DER) hybrid systems....... of a photovoltaic energy system and a wind power system, which would allow an optimized holistic digital control system design, followed by rapid prototyping of the controller into a single Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA). Initially, the system was simulated using Matlab / Simulink, to create a reference...
Fast and reliable control of steering mirrors with application to free-space communication
Ibrir, Salim
2018-03-15
After modeling a laser beam pointing system actuated by a piezo-electric fast steering mirror (FSM), an observer-based linear feedback controller is developed to correct the position of the laser spot communicated by the position sensing detector (PSD). The modeling and the control actions have been considered with and without the hysteresis effect induced by the piezoelectric actuators of the FSM. The design of the feedback is given through the solution of parametric matrix inequalities. It was found that the integral feedback design is very efficient in handling input and system uncertainty. The linearity of the observer-based feedback has facilitated both the real-time implementation of the control strategy and the proof of stability using dynamic-output feedbacks.
DEFF Research Database (Denmark)
Sun, Bo; Dragicevic, Tomislav; Freijedo Fernandez, Francisco Daniel
2016-01-01
This paper proposes a control strategy for plugin electric vehicle (PEV) fast charging station (FCS) equipped with a flywheel energy storage system (FESS). The main role of the FESS is not to compromise the predefined charging profile of PEV battery during the provision of a hysteresis-type active...
Parameter extraction of different fuel cell models with transferred adaptive differential evolution
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Gong, Wenyin; Yan, Xuesong; Liu, Xiaobo; Cai, Zhihua
2015-01-01
To improve the design and control of FC (fuel cell) models, it is important to extract their unknown parameters. Generally, the parameter extraction problems of FC models can be transformed as nonlinear and multi-variable optimization problems. To extract the parameters of different FC models exactly and fast, in this paper, we propose a transferred adaptive DE (differential evolution) framework, in which the successful parameters of the adaptive DE solving previous problems are properly transferred to solve new optimization problems in the similar problem-domains. Based on this framework, an improved adaptive DE method (TRADE, in short) is presented as an illustration. To verify the performance of our proposal, TRADE is used to extract the unknown parameters of two types of fuel cell models, i.e., PEMFC (proton exchange membrane fuel cell) and SOFC (solid oxide fuel cell). The results of TRADE are also compared with those of other state-of-the-art EAs (evolutionary algorithms). Even though the modification is very simple, the results indicate that TRADE can extract the parameters of both PEMFC and SOFC models exactly and fast. Moreover, the V–I characteristics obtained by TRADE agree well with the simulated and experimental data in all cases for both types of fuel cell models. Also, it improves the performance of the original adaptive DE significantly in terms of both the quality of final solutions and the convergence speed in all cases. Additionally, TRADE is able to provide better results compared with other EAs. - Highlights: • A framework of transferred adaptive differential evolution is proposed. • Based on the framework, an improved differential evolution (TRADE) is presented. • TRADE obtains very promising results to extract the parameters of PEMFC and SOFC models
Model-Based Evolution of a Fast Hybrid Fuzzy Adaptive Controller for a Pneumatic Muscle Actuator
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Alexander Hošovský
2012-07-01
Full Text Available Pneumatic artificial muscle-based robotic systems usually necessitate the use of various nonlinear control techniques in order to improve their performance. Their robustness to parameter variation, which is generally difficult to predict, should also be tested. Here a fast hybrid adaptive control is proposed, where a conventional PD controller is placed into the feedforward branch and a fuzzy controller is placed into the adaptation branch. The fuzzy controller compensates for the actions of the PD controller under conditions of inertia moment variation. The fuzzy controller of Takagi-Sugeno type is evolved through a genetic algorithm using the dynamic model of a pneumatic muscle actuator. The results confirm the capability of the designed system to provide robust performance under the conditions of varying inertia.
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Toshio, S.; Kazuo, A.
1983-01-01
A model for calculating the power distribution and the control rod worth in fast reactors has been developed. This model is based on the influence function method. The characteristics of the model are as follows: 1. Influence functions for any changes in the control rod insertion ratio are expressed by using an influence function for an appropriate control rod insertion in order to reduce the computer memory size required for the method. 2. A control rod worth is calculated on the basis of a one-group approximation in which cross sections are generated by bilinear (flux-adjoint) weighting, not the usual flux weighting, in order to reduce the collapse error. 3. An effective neutron multiplication factor is calculated by adjoint weighting in order to reduce the effect of the error in the one-group flux distribution. The results obtained in numerical examinations of a prototype fast reactor indicate that this method is suitable for on-line core performance evaluation because of a short computing time and a small memory size
Przygoda, K
2011-01-01
This dissertation covers the recent research and development (R&D) activities of control systems for the fast frequency tuners of TESLA cavities and predicts the implications foreseen for large scale machines such as the FLASH and the planned XFEL. In particular, the framework of the presented activities is the effort toward the: 1. R&D of the driving circuit, 2. R&D of the control algorithm, 3. R&D of the control system. The main result of these activities is the permanent installation of the target piezo control system and its commissioning for 40 cavities divided into 5 accelerating modules at the DESY FLASH facility. The author’s contribution was the study of possible designs of high-voltage, high-current power amplifiers, used for driving the fast frequency tuners, shows that several parameters of such a device needs to be considered. The most important parameter is the input and output power estimation. This arises from the fact that the estimation is the most crucial issue for both po...
DEFF Research Database (Denmark)
Kafka, Jan Robert; Geschke, Oliver; Skaarup, Steen
2011-01-01
We present a straightforward method for fast prototyping of microelectrode arrays in the highly conductive polymer poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) (PEDOT). Microelectrode arrays were produced by electrical resistance-controlled microdrilling through an insulating polymer layer (TOPAS® 5013...... approach the steady state currents predicted from modeling, but at a much slower rate than expected. This is shown to be caused by the use of electroactive PEDOT electrodes. Subtraction of the latter contribution gives approach to steady state currents within a few seconds, which is in very good agreement...
Effectiveness of preemptive lysine clonixinate in tooth extraction: A randomized controlled trial.
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Pedro Aravena
2013-12-01
Full Text Available Aim: To evaluate the effectiveness of prophylaxis with single-dose analgesic clonixinate lysine (CL 125mg in patients undergoing tooth extraction. Methods: A double-blind randomized placebo-controlled trial. Were included in the study patients ASA I and II with dental extraction indication in the city of Valdivia, Chile in October 2012. Were randomly assigned in two groups: the treatment group received a doses of 125mg of CL fifteen minutes before the surgery, and a control group who received placebo. Both groups used a CL as a rescue analgesic. Using a survey, patients reported the degree of pain via a visual analog scale (VAS during the first day, at 24 and 48 hours after surgery. In addition, registered the number of CL capsules consumed as a ransom for 3 days after the surgery. We compared the analgesic effect observed in (VAS and the number of additional analgesic consumption between the two groups using t-test (p<0.05. Results: Fifty-four patients were operated and there was no statistically significant difference between the pain scores between the two groups. Premedication patients reported the use of equal number of rescue capsules comparing with the control group. Conclusion: CL analgesic prophylaxis proved no more effective in reducing pain after tooth extraction when comparing to the use of placebo in a postoperative doses.
Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)
Tanguy, J. [Commissariat a l' Energie Atomique, Saclay (France). Centre d' Etudes Nucleaires
1968-03-01
A study is made of a particles produced by thick sources, using either diffused junction or surface barrier semiconductor detectors for controlling continuously the plutonium extraction process. For this, a presenting apparatus is described in which the solutions to be analyzed flow in contact with the detector protected by a thin mica membrane. A method is described which gives a precise recording of the spectra and which thus allows the separation of two or more {alpha} emitters present in the same solution. This method has been applied to the measurement of {sup 239}Pu in the the presence of {sup 241}Am with an accuracy of {+-}5 per cent. In the second part of the report is considered the detection of plutonium in solutions of {beta} - {gamma} emitting fission products. Pile-up is reduced by using a fast amplification chain associated to totally depleted thin detectors. Under these conditions a few mg of {sup 239}Pu can be detected in solutions of fission products having an activity of 100 curies/liter. A method is given for discriminating {alpha} and {beta} particles, it is based on the difference in the collection times for the charges liberated by these particles in the detector. (author) [French] On etudie la detection de particules {alpha} issues de sources epaisses par detecteurs semiconducteurs a jonction diffusee ou a barriere de surface pour le controle continu du procede d'extraction du plutonium. A cet effet on decrit un appareil presentateur dans lequel les solutions a analyser circulent au contact du detecteur protege par une membrane mince de mica. On decrit une methode qui permet par le trace precis des spectres de separer deux ou plusieurs emetteurs {alpha} presents dans une meme solution. Cette methode a ete appliquee a la mesure du {sup 239}Pu en presence de {sup 241}Am avec une precision de {+-} 5 pour cent. Dans la deuxieme partie on traite de la detection du plutonium dans des solutions de produits de fission emetteurs {beta} and {gamma
The algorithm of fast image stitching based on multi-feature extraction
Yang, Chunde; Wu, Ge; Shi, Jing
2018-05-01
This paper proposed an improved image registration method combining Hu-based invariant moment contour information and feature points detection, aiming to solve the problems in traditional image stitching algorithm, such as time-consuming feature points extraction process, redundant invalid information overload and inefficiency. First, use the neighborhood of pixels to extract the contour information, employing the Hu invariant moment as similarity measure to extract SIFT feature points in those similar regions. Then replace the Euclidean distance with Hellinger kernel function to improve the initial matching efficiency and get less mismatching points, further, estimate affine transformation matrix between the images. Finally, local color mapping method is adopted to solve uneven exposure, using the improved multiresolution fusion algorithm to fuse the mosaic images and realize seamless stitching. Experimental results confirm high accuracy and efficiency of method proposed in this paper.
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Hakkı Oğuz Kazancıoğlu
2013-03-01
Full Text Available Objective: To assess the hemostatic efficacy of a new local hemostatic agent, Ankaferd Blood Stopper (ABS, for the control of bleeding following tooth extraction in hemophiliacs. Materials and Methods: Simple tooth extractions were performed in 27 hemophilia A patients. In the treatment group (n=17 local hemostasis was achieved via application of ABS to the extraction sockets, whereas in the control group (n=10 local hemostasis was achieved via direct packing with gauze. Results: In all, 57 (21 primary and 36 permanent teeth extractions were performed in 27 hemophilia A patients. There were no significant differences in age or factor VIII level distribution between the 2 groups (p>0.05. The most significant clinical difference between the groups was associated with the use of ABS; those in the treatment group had significantly shorter duration of bleeding (p=0.002. Conclusion: This is the first study to evaluate the efficacy of ABS for the control of bleeding following tooth extraction in hemophiliacs. ABS can be considered an alternative local hemostatic agent for reducing clotting factor concentrates in hemophilia patients.
Design Considerations of Fast Kicker Systems for High Intensity Proton Accelerators
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Zhang, W.; Sandberg, J.; Parson, W.M.; Walstrom, P.; Murray, M.M.; Cook, E.; Hartouni, E.
2001-01-01
In this paper, we discuss the specific issues related to the design of the Fast Kicker Systems for high intensity proton accelerators. To address these issues in the preliminary design stage can be critical since the fast kicker systems affect the machine lattice structure and overall design parameters. Main topics include system architecture, design strategy, beam current coupling, grounding, end user cost vs. system cost, reliability, redundancy and flexibility. Operating experience with the Alternating Gradient Synchrotron injection and extraction kicker systems at Brookhaven National Laboratory and their future upgrade is presented. Additionally, new conceptual designs of the extraction kicker for the Spallation Neutron Source at Oak Ridge and the Advanced Hydrotest Facility at Los Alamos are discussed
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Rizana Fauzi
2015-06-01
Full Text Available Induction Motor in Electrical drive system at a accelleration speed for example in electric cars have a hard speed setting is set on a wide range, causing an inconvenience for motorists and a fast response is required any change of speed. It is necessary for good system performance in control motor speed and torque at low speed or fast speed response, which is operated by Indirect Field Oriented Control (IFOC. Speed control on IFOC methods should be better to improving the performance of rapid response in the induction motor. In this paper presented a method of incorporation of Fuzzy Logic Controller and Backstepping (Fuzzy-Backstepping to improve the dynamically response speed and torque in Induction Motor on electric car, so we get smoothness at any speed change and braking as well as maximum torque of induction motor. Test results showed that Fuzzy-Backstepping can increase the response to changes speed in electric car. System testing is done with variations of the reference point setting speed control system, the simulation results of the research showed that the IFOC method is not perfect in terms of induction motor speed regulation if it’s not use speed control. Fuzzy-Backstepping control is needed which can improve the response of output, so that the induction motor has a good performance, small oscillations when start working up to speed reference. Keywords: Fuzzy-Backstepping, IFOC, induction motor
Feature Extraction Using Fractal Codes
B.A.M. Schouten (Ben); P.M. de Zeeuw (Paul)
1999-01-01
htmlabstractFast and successful searching for an object in a multimedia database is a highly desirable functionality. Several approaches to content based retrieval for multimedia databases can be found in the literature [9,10,12,14,17]. The approach we consider is feature extraction. A feature can
Real Time Computer for Plugging Indicator Control of Prototype Fast Breeder Reactor
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Manimaran, M.; Manoj, P.; Shanmugam, A.; Murali, N.; Satya Murty, S.A.V.
2013-06-01
Prototype Fast Breeder Reactor (PFBR) is in the advanced stage of construction at Kalpakkam, India. Liquid sodium is used as coolant to transfer the heat produced in the reactor core to steam water circuit. Impurities present in the sodium are removed using purification circuit. Plugging indicator is a device used to measure the purity of the sodium. Versa Module Europa bus based Real Time Computer (RTC) system is used for plugging indicator control. Hot standby architecture consisting of dual redundant RTC system with switch over logic system is the configuration adopted to achieve fault tolerance. Plugging indicator can be controlled in two modes namely continuous and discontinuous mode. Software based Proportional-Integral-Derivative (PID) algorithms are developed for plugging indicator control wherein the set point changes dynamically for every scan interval of the RTC system. Set points and PID constants are kept as configurable in runtime in order to control the process in very efficient manner, which calls for reliable communication between RTC system and control station, hence TCP/IP protocol is adopted. Performance of the RTC system for plugging indicator control was thoroughly studied in the laboratory by simulating the inputs and monitored the control outputs. The control outputs were also monitored for different PID constants. Continuous and discontinuous mode plots were generated. (authors)
DEFF Research Database (Denmark)
Sakamuri, Jayachandra N.; Hansen, Anca Daniela; Altin, Müfit
2017-01-01
Increased penetration of offshore wind power plants (OWPPs) demands frequency control services from them. Overloading the wind turbine, for few seconds after the under frequency event, to utilize its kinetic energy seems promising option for fast primary frequency control. Two methods...
Zoccali, Mariosimone; Giuffrida, Daniele; Dugo, Paola; Mondello, Luigi
2017-10-01
Recently, supercritical fluid chromatography coupled to mass spectrometry has gained attention as a fast and useful technology applied to the carotenoids analysis. However, no reports are available in the literature on the direct online extraction and determination by supercritical fluid extraction with chromatography and mass spectrometry. The aim of this research was the development of an online method coupling supercritical fluid extraction and supercritical fluid chromatography for a detailed targeted native carotenoids characterization in red habanero peppers. The online nature of the system, compared to offline approaches, improves run-to-run precision, enables the setting of batch-type applications, and reduces the risks of sample contamination. The extraction has been optimized using different temperatures, starting from 40°C up to 80°C. Multiple extractions, until depletion, were performed on the same sample to evaluate the extraction yield. The range of the first extraction yield, carried out at 80°C, which was the best extraction temperature, was 37.4-65.4%, with a %CV range of 2-12. Twenty-one targeted analytes were extracted and identified by the developed methodology in less than 17 min, including free, monoesters, and diesters carotenoids, in a very fast and efficient way. Quantification of the β-carotene was carried out by using the optimized conditions. © 2017 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Kaats GR
2017-07-01
Full Text Available Gilbert R Kaats,1 Robert B Leckie,2 Nate Mrvichin,1 Sidney J Stohs3 1Integrative Health Technologies, Inc., 2R.B. Leckie Research Consultants, San Antonio, TX, 3Creighton University Medical Center, Omaha, NE, USA Abstract: Using a placebo-controlled double-blinded 30-day protocol, 40 overweight adults were asked to consume a chocolate-flavored chew 15–30 min before their two largest meals of the day. The chews contained either a placebo or an “active” product (100 mg of a bitter orange extract, standardized to 51.5 mg p-synephrine. Subjects completed a 13-item Weight Control Support Scale (WCSS containing eating control, energy level, and palatability subscales daily throughout the study. All 40 subjects completed the study. No adverse effects were reported in either the placebo or active groups. As compared to placebo, subjects consuming the active product reported statistically more (p≤0.001 positive responses on the WCSS as well as on each of the three subscales. This study suggests that, as compared to a placebo control, consuming a chew containing bitter orange extract (51.5 mg p-synephrine 15–30 min before the two largest meals of the day resulted in a statistically significant greater and more positive response to eating/appetite control and a weight-control support scale. Keywords: bitter orange extract, p-synephrine, Citrus aurantium, appetite suppression, energy, safety
Direct detection of saponins in crude extracts of soapnuts by FTIR.
Almutairi, Meshari Saad; Ali, Muhammad
2015-01-01
Direct detection of saponins in soapnuts (Sapindus mukorossi) using Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy is investigated in this project. Potassium bromide powder was mixed with extracted powder of soapnuts and compressed to a thin pellet for examination process. The outcome of the FTIR spectra of saponin demonstrated characteristic triterpenoid saponin absorptions of OH, C = O, C-H, and C = C, while the glycoside linkages to the sapogenins were indicated by the absorptions of C-O. The significance of this study is that saponin absorption peaks are directly detectable in crude aqueous and 95% ethanol extracts of soapnuts powder using FTIR spectroscopy, thereby eliminating the need of further expensive and exhaustive purification steps. The extracts of soapnuts were screened for saponins along with controls by phytochemical tests, and advanced spectroscopic techniques such as ultra fast liquid chromatography and ultra performance liquid chromatography quadrupole-time of flight-mass spectrometry were also implemented to validate the saponins.
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Takamura, Naoko
2001-01-01
Using MR velocity mapping, we studied measurements azygos (A) and portal venous blood flow (P) under fasting and postprandial conditions in 7 healthy controls (C) and 10 cirrhotics (LC). Fasting A in LC was higher than that in C. Fasting P in C was higher than that in LC. Variability of repeated measuring A and P was low in C and LC. A postprandial increase of A in LC was higher than that in C. Fasting A/P ratio in LC was higher than that in C. Our results suggest that MR velocity mapping is expected as the reproducible method for monitoring the hemodynamic change in the azygos and portal venous system. (author)
Control rod shadowing and anti-shadowing effects in a large gas-cooled fast reactor
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Girardin, G.; Chawla, R.; Rimpault, G.; Coddington, P.
2007-01-01
An investigation of control rod shadowing and anti-shadowing (interaction) effects has been carried out in the context of a design study of the control rod pattern for the large 2400 MWth Generation IV Gas-cooled Fast Reactor (GFR). For the calculations, the deterministic code system ERANOS-2.0 has been used, in association with a full core model including a European Fast Reactor (EFR)-type pattern for the control rods. More specifically, the core contains a total of 33 control (CSD) and safety (DSD) rods implemented in three banks: -1) a first bank of 6 CSD rods, placed at 64 cm from core centre in the inner fuel zone (Pu content 16.3 % vol.), -2) a safety bank consisting of 9 DSD rods, at an average distance of 118 cm, and -3) a third bank with 18 CSD rods, placed at 171 cm, i.e. at the interface between the inner and outer (Pu content 19.2 % vol.) core regions. Each control rod has been modelled as a homogeneous material containing 90%-enriched B 4 C, steel and helium. Considerable shadowing effects have been observed between the first bank and the safety bank, as also between individual rods within the first bank. Large anti-shadowing effects take place in an even greater number of the studied rod configurations. The largest interaction is between the two CSD banks, the anti-shadowing value being 46% in this case, implying that the total rod worth is increased by a factor of almost 2 when compared to the sum of the individual bank values. Additional investigations have been performed, in particular the computation of the first order eigenvalue and the eigenvalue separation. The main finding is that the interactions are lower when one of the control rod banks is located at a radial position corresponding to half the core radius. (authors)
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Harada, Makoto; Adachi, Motonari; Kai, Yuichi; Koike, Kenichi
1987-01-01
The equilibrium distributions of neodymium and samarium between molten LiCl and liquid Bi-Li alloy were measured in a wide range of Li-mole fraction in the alloy phase, X Li . These lanthanide elements were extracted through redox reactions. In high X Li range, X Li > 0.03, the distributions of neodymium and bismuth in the salt phase increased markedly. The anomalous increase is attributed to the formation of the compound comprized of Nd, Li, Bi and oxygen in the salt phase. The reaction processes in samarium and neodymium were very fast and the extraction rates are controlled by the diffusion processes of the solutes and metallic lithium. (author)
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Carmen Verónica Martín Vasallo
2017-07-01
Full Text Available Molluscs have become a serious problem for vegetable crops, especially the species Praticolella griseola (Pfeiffer. Therefore, the objective was to evaluate the percentage of mortality of the plant extracts on P. griseola in both laboratory and field conditions. An "in vitro" assay was performed with vegetable extracts of maguey (Furcraea hexapetala (Jacq. Family: Agavaceae, spiny güirito (Solanum globiferum L., Family: Solanaceae, chili pepper (Capsicum frutescens L., Solanaceae, cardon (Euphorbia lactea Haw., Family: Euphorbiaceae. When evaluating three concentrations of the extract of each botanical species, a completely randomized design was used in "in vitro" conditions and random blocks on the field. The extraction of the chili pepper extract was carried out using the fruit baking method, the S. globiferum was obtained from the milling of the dried fruits and the F. hexapetala and E. lactea were obtained through the fragmentation of stalks. Extracts of F. hexapetala, S. globiferum, C. frutescens, E. lactea, are alternatives to be used by producers in the control of P. griseola. The highest percentages of mortality are reached with the extracts of C. frutescens and S. globiferum at 72 hours of application.
Extraction of antioxidants from spruce (Picea abies) bark using eco-friendly solvents.
Co, Michelle; Fagerlund, Amelie; Engman, Lars; Sunnerheim, Kerstin; Sjöberg, Per J R; Turner, Charlotta
2012-01-01
Antioxidants are known to avert oxidation processes and they are found in trees and other plant materials. Tree bark is a major waste product from paper pulp industries; hence it is worthwhile to develop an extraction technique to extract the antioxidants. To develop a fast and environmentally sustainable extraction technique for the extraction of antioxidants from bark of spruce (Picea abies) and also to identify the extracted antioxidants that are abundant in spruce bark. A screening experiment that involved three different techniques was conducted to determine the best technique to extract antioxidants. The antioxidant capacity of the extracts was determined with DPPH (2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl) assay. Pressurised fluid extraction (PFE) turned out to be the best technique and a response surface design was therefore utilised to optimise PFE. Furthermore, NMR and HPLC-DAD-MS/MS were applied to identify the extracted antioxidants. PFE using water and ethanol as solvent at 160 and 180°C, respectively, gave extracts of the highest antioxidant capacity. Stilbene glucosides such as isorhapontin, piceid and astringin were identified in the extracts. The study has shown that PFE is a fast and environmentally sustainable technique, using water and ethanol as solvent for the extraction of antioxidants from spruce bark. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Design of node record for fast active reflector
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Wu Wenqing; Luo Mingcheng; Tang Pengyi; Liu Jiajing; Wang Jian
2014-01-01
Active Reflector is the one of the innovations of Five hundred meter Aperture Spherical Telescope (FAST) whose performance touches on that of the overall telescope. Therefore a real time control system is needed by the Active Reflector System. In this paper, a new record type-node record is designed for EPICS-based active reflector control system of FAST, according to more than 2000 controlled node, which will be convenient for node management of IOC and prove the reusage of IOC codes. The record type is used in design of active reflector control system of FAST Miyun model. (authors)
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Masoud Mozafari
2015-03-01
Full Text Available Background: Some species of Allium family are known to have antihypertensive, anti-diabetic, and lipid lowering effects. Objectives: This study aimed to examine the possible mechanisms of antihypertensive, anti-diabetic, and anti-lipid activities of Allium eriophyllum which grows in Fars province, Iran in a rat model of simultaneous type 2 diabetes and renal hypertension. Materials and Methods: This study was conducted on six groups of male Spargue-Dawley rats each containing 8 - 10 animals, including a sham-control, a diabetic, a renal hypertensive, and three simultaneously hypertensive–diabetic groups receiving vehicle or 30 or 100 mg/kg/day hydroalcoholic extract of Allium eriophyllum. Four weeks after induction of diabetes, renal hypertension was induced and the animals started receiving the vehicle or extract for the subsequent four weeks. Afterwards, blood pressure, fasting blood sugar, serum cholesterol, triglyceride, and markers of oxidative stress were measured, and isolated studies were performed on aortic rings. Results: Systolic blood pressure, heart rate, fasting blood sugar, maximal response, and effective concentrations 50 (EC50 of phenylephrine and acetylcholine of the hypertensive-diabetic group receiving vehicle were significantly higher compared to those of the sham-control group, and treatment with the extract led to a significant reduction in these variables. Moreover, serum superoxide dismutase and glutathione reductase and maximal response of acetylcholine were significantly lower in the hypertensive-diabetic group receiving vehicle in comparison to the sham-control group, and treatment with the extract significantly reduced these variables. Conclusions: The present study findings indicated that antihypertensive, anti-diabetic, and anti-lipid effects of the extract might be partly due to its antioxidant mechanism. It was also revealed that its antihypertensive effects may be additionally mediated by improving the release
Compact wireless control network protocol with fast path switching
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Yasutaka Kawamoto
2017-08-01
Full Text Available Sensor network protocol stacks require the addition or adjustment of functions based on customer requirements. Sensor network protocols that require low delay and low packet error rate (PER, such as wireless control networks, often adopt time division multiple access (TDMA. However, it is difficult to add or adjust functions in protocol stacks that use TDMA methods. Therefore, to add or adjust functions easily, we propose NES-SOURCE, a compact wireless control network protocol with a fast path-switching function. NES-SOURCE is implemented using carrier sense multiple access/collision avoidance (CSMA/CA rather than TDMA. Wireless control networks that use TDMA prevent communication failure by duplicating the communication path. If CSMA/CA networks use duplicate paths, collisions occur frequently, and communication will fail. NES-SOURCE switches paths quickly when communication fails, which reduces the effect of communication failures. Since NES-SOURCE is implemented using CSMA/CA rather than TDMA, the implementation scale is less than one-half that of existing network stacks. Furthermore, since NES-SOURCE’s code complexity is low, functions can be added or adjusted easily and quickly. Communication failures occur owing to changes in the communication environment and collisions. Experimental results demonstrate that the proposed NES-SOURCE’s path-switching function reduces the amount of communication failures when the communication environment changes owing to human movement and others. Furthermore, we clarify the relationships among the probability of a changing communication environment, the collision occurrence rate, and the PER of NES-SOURCE.
DEFF Research Database (Denmark)
Rezkalla, Michel M.N.; Marinelli, Mattia; Pertl, Michael
2016-01-01
Traditionally the electricity generation is based on rotating synchronous machines which provide inertia to the power system.The increasing share of converter connected energy sources reduces the available rotational inertia in the power system leading to faster frequency dynamics, which may cause...... more critical frequency excursions. Both, virtual inertia and fast primary control could serve as a solution to improvefrequency stability, however, their respective impacts on the system have different consequences, so that the trade-off is not straightforward. This study presents a comparative...... analysis of virtual inertiaand a fast primary control algorithms with respect to rate of change of frequency (ROCOF), frequency nadir and steady state value considering the effect of the dead time which is carried out by a sensitivity analysis. The investigation shows that the virtual inertia controller...
DEFF Research Database (Denmark)
Nielsen, Kristian Fog; Thrane, Ulf
2001-01-01
The paper presents a fast method for trichothecene profiling and chemotaxonomic studies in species of Fusarium, Stachybotrys, Trichoderma and Memnoniella. Micro scale extracted crude Fusarium extracts were derivatised using pentafluoropropionic anhydride and analysed by gas chromatography...
Plant extracts, metaldehyde and saline solutions on the population control of Bradybaena similaris
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Junir Antonio Lutinski
2016-08-01
Full Text Available ABSTRACT: This study aimed to test the efficiency of plant extracts, metaldehyde and saline solutions, as alternatives to the population control of the snail Bradybaena similaris , and to investigate the effect of the plant extracts in reducing the damage of the snail on Brassica oleracea . The experiments were performed at the Entomology Laboratory of the Universidade Comunitária da Região de Chapecó (Unochapecó, using a random experimental design with nine treatments in triplicate. Five adult individuals of B. similaris were subjected to each trial, totaling 135 snails. The following treatments were tested: cinnamon ( Melia azedarach , timbó ( Ateleia glazioveana , rosemary ( Rosmarinus officinalis , mate herb ( Ilex paraguariensis , two concentrations of metaldehyde (3% and 5%, two concentrations of salt solution (5% and 10 %, and a control treatment (distilled water. To evaluate the survival of B. similaris it was checked the treatments every 24 hours, over four consecutive days. The results revealed that the two concentrations of metaldehyde were fully efficient, that the saline solution (10% had and intermediate efficiency, and that all other treatments were not effective. The treatment with the M. azedarach extract induced a higher consumption of B. oleracea , while the saline solution at 10% and the extracts of R. officinalis and I. paraguariensis inhibited leaf consumption.
Manufacture of electrostatic septum for extracting particle beam
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Tokumoto, Shuichi
1979-01-01
In the main ring of National Laboratory for High Energy Physics, fast and slow extractions of accelerated proton beam are carried out by using electrostatic septa. The electrostatic septum is an apparatus to deflect beam by an electrostatic field, basically composed of a couple of parallel plate electrodes installed in a vacuum chamber. The electrostatic septum is required to satisfy the following two conditions: it must be very thin and flat to reduce the loss of extracted beam, and sufficiently high electric field must be generated to deflect beam in a limited length. The structure and manufacture of electrostatic septa are described. The manufacturing is explained by dividing a septum into an anode and a cathode, terminals introducing high voltage, a vacuum chamber, and high voltage circuit. The performance is also described on the experiments for no-beam condition and beam extraction. Beam extraction has been carried out over 1500 hours thus far, the average beam intensity being 1 x 10 12 ppp, and extraction efficiency more than 90%. There have been no serious failure to affect the performance nor metal wire breakage. They have satisfied their purposes, being used for both fast and slow extractions. Presently, lengthening of the electrostatic field region is being planned to increase the length of the septa to 1.5 m per unit. (Wakatsuki, Y.)
Kim, Minjoo; Kim, Minkyung; Han, Ji Yun; Lee, Sang-Hyun; Jee, Sun Ha; Lee, Jong Ho
2017-03-01
To determine differences between peripheral blood mononuclear cells and the plasma metabolites in patients with impaired fasting glucose or type 2 diabetes and healthy controls. In all, 65 nononobese patients (aged 30-70 years) with impaired fasting glucose or type 2 diabetes and 65 nonobese sex-matched healthy controls were included, and fasting peripheral blood mononuclear cell and plasma metabolomes were profiled. The diabetic or impaired fasting glucose patients showed higher circulating and peripheral blood mononuclear cell lipoprotein phospholipase A 2 activities, high-sensitivity C-reactive protein and tumour necrosis factor-α than controls. Compared with controls, impaired fasting glucose or diabetic subjects showed increases in 11 peripheral blood mononuclear cell metabolites: six amino acids (valine, leucine, methionine, phenylalanine, tyrosine and tryptophan), l-pyroglutamic acid, two fatty acid amides containing palmitic amide and oleamide and two lysophosphatidylcholines. In impaired fasting glucose or diabetic patients, peripheral blood mononuclear cell lipoprotein phospholipase A 2 positively associated with peripheral blood mononuclear cell lysophosphatidylcholines and circulating inflammatory markers, including tumour necrosis factor-α, high-sensitivity C-reactive protein and lipoprotein phospholipase A 2 activities. In plasma metabolites between patients and healthy controls, we observed significant increases in only three amino acids (proline, valine and leucine) and decreases in only five lysophosphatidylcholines. This study demonstrates significant differences in the peripheral blood mononuclear cell metabolome in patients with impaired fasting glucose or diabetes compared with healthy controls. These differences were greater than those observed in the plasma metabolome. These data suggest peripheral blood mononuclear cells as a useful tool to better understand the inflammatory pathophysiology of diabetes.
Hypoglycaemic activity of ethanolic leaf extract and fractions of ...
African Journals Online (AJOL)
Holarrhena floribunda is a common plant that has traditionally been used in Africa to treat many diseases such as fever, dysentery, sterility and diabetes. This study was set out to evaluate the hypoglycaemic properties of ethanolic leaf extract of Holarrhena floribunda and various fractions of this extract in normal fasted and ...
MODELING OF SUPERCRITICAL FLUID EXTRACTION KINETIC OF FLAXSEED OIL BY DIFFUSION CONTROL METHOD
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Emir Zafer HOŞGÜN
2013-06-01
Full Text Available In this study, Flaxseed oil was extracted by Supercritical Carbondioxide Extraction, and extractionkinetics was modelled using diffusion controlled method.The effect of process parameters, such as pressure (20, 35, 55 MPa, temperature (323 and 343 K, and CO2 flow rate (1 and 3 L CO2 /min on the extraction yield and effective diffusivity (De was investigated. The effective diffusion coefficient varied between 2.4 x10-12 and 10.8 x10-12 m2s-1 for the entire range of experiments and increased with the pressure and flow rate. The model fitted well theexperimental data (ADD varied between 2.35 and 7.48%.
New Software for the Fast Estimation of Population Recombination Rates (FastEPRR in the Genomic Era
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Feng Gao
2016-06-01
Full Text Available Genetic recombination is a very important evolutionary mechanism that mixes parental haplotypes and produces new raw material for organismal evolution. As a result, information on recombination rates is critical for biological research. In this paper, we introduce a new extremely fast open-source software package (FastEPRR that uses machine learning to estimate recombination rate ρ (=4Ner from intraspecific DNA polymorphism data. When ρ>10 and the number of sampled diploid individuals is large enough (≥50, the variance of ρFastEPRR remains slightly smaller than that of ρLDhat. The new estimate ρcomb (calculated by averaging ρFastEPRR and ρLDhat has the smallest variance of all cases. When estimating ρFastEPRR, the finite-site model was employed to analyze cases with a high rate of recurrent mutations, and an additional method is proposed to consider the effect of variable recombination rates within windows. Simulations encompassing a wide range of parameters demonstrate that different evolutionary factors, such as demography and selection, may not increase the false positive rate of recombination hotspots. Overall, accuracy of FastEPRR is similar to the well-known method, LDhat, but requires far less computation time. Genetic maps for each human population (YRI, CEU, and CHB extracted from the 1000 Genomes OMNI data set were obtained in less than 3 d using just a single CPU core. The Pearson Pairwise correlation coefficient between the ρFastEPRR and ρLDhat maps is very high, ranging between 0.929 and 0.987 at a 5-Mb scale. Considering that sample sizes for these kinds of data are increasing dramatically with advances in next-generation sequencing technologies, FastEPRR (freely available at http://www.picb.ac.cn/evolgen/ is expected to become a widely used tool for establishing genetic maps and studying recombination hotspots in the population genomic era.
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Radu, L.; Constantinescu, B.; Gostian, O.
1994-01-01
Wistar rats bearing Walker carcinosarcoma were treated with thiotepa (1 mg) and lomustine (3 mg) cytostatics and with each of these cytostatics associated with estradiol hormone (0.15 mg). The extracted chromatins were subjected to fast neutrons (d(13 MeV)+Be thick target) at 30-100 Gy doses. The parameters estimated at chromatin samples were: the tyrosine and tryptophan intrinsic fluorescence, the fluorescence of chromatin - ethidium bromide complexes and thermal transition. A different and specific susceptibility to fast neutrons was observed in treated chromatin samples, when compared with controls. The chromatin acidic proteins destruction was greater in the case of estradiol - thiotepa association. (Author)
Feature extraction using fractal codes
B.A.M. Ben Schouten; Paul M. de Zeeuw
1999-01-01
Fast and successful searching for an object in a multimedia database is a highly desirable functionality. Several approaches to content based retrieval for multimedia databases can be found in the literature [9,10,12,14,17]. The approach we consider is feature extraction. A feature can be seen as a
powdery leaf extracts for control of root knot nematode in african ...
African Journals Online (AJOL)
journal
Synthetic chemicals have been used to control plant pathogenic nematodes in the farmers fields. These chemicals, though valued for their effectiveness, are costly and may constitute health hazards to farm households and the environment. Reducing these situations in the farms through use of natural plant extracts is one of ...
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Asad, M.; Shah, S. S.
2015-01-01
Objectives: To compare the duration and effects of aqueous methanol Acacia-nilotica leaves extract and glibenclamide as hypoglycaemic and hypolipidaemic activity in diabetic rats. Methods: The experimental study was conducted at Shifa International Hospital in collaboration with National Institute of Health, Islamabad, from September 2010 to August 2011.Male Sprague Dawley albino rats were taken and divided into 8 equal groups. Groups I and II were the normal and diabetic control rats. Diabetes mellitus was induced in group II to VIII by administering 110 mg/kg body weight alloxan and at day 4, fasting blood glucose level of >200 mg/dl confirmed diabetes. Acacia-nilotica leaves extract was given to group III, IV and V and glibenclamide to group VI to VIII for a period of 1-3 weeks. Blood samples were analysed for lipid profile using enzymatic calorimetric method and serum insulin by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay on days 0, 7, 14, and 21. Results: There were 64 rats in the study, with 8(12.5 percent) in each group. Statistically significant decreases in fasting blood glucose, total cholesterol, triglyceride, phospholipids, low density lipoprotein, very low density lipoprotein and an increase in high density lipoprotein and serum insulin levels were observed in diabetic rats compared to diabetic controls after 2 weeks of treatment with plant extract and glibenclamide (p<0.05 each).When plant extract and drug treated diabetic rats were compared, a significant difference in the levels of blood glucose, insulin, total cholesterol and triglyceride levels were noted after 2 and 3 weeks of treatment. Conclusion: Acacia-nilotica leaves extract resulted in hypoglycaemic and hypolipidaemic effect in alloxan-induced diabetic rats similar to glibenclamide. (author)
Sliding Mode Control of DFIG Wind Turbines with a Fast Exponential Reaching Law
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Linyun Xiong
2017-11-01
Full Text Available This paper proposes a novel sliding mode control (SMC technique for doubly fed induction generators (DFIGs based on the fast exponential reaching law (FERL. The proposed FERL-based SMC is capable of reducing to a large extent the chattering phenomena existing in the sliding stage. Meanwhile, the reaching stage is accelerated with the introduction of an adaptive gain. The proposed method is employed in a DFIG-based wind energy conversion system (WECS for direct power control (DPC. The FERL-based DPC approach is tested with simulations conducted in Matlab/Simulink under the scenarios of unbalanced grid voltage, grid fault conditions and highly unstable wind speed accompanied by an experimental study. The simulations and experimental results reveal the better performance of the proposed control method in active/reactive power tracking and dc-link voltage maintenance.
Evaluation of Four Automated Protocols for Extraction of DNA from FTA Cards
Stangegaard, Michael; Børsting, Claus; Ferrero-Miliani, Laura; Frank-Hansen, Rune; Poulsen, Lena; Hansen, Anders J; Morling, Niels
2013-01-01
Extraction of DNA using magnetic bead-based techniques on automated DNA extraction instruments provides a fast, reliable, and reproducible method for DNA extraction from various matrices. Here, we have compared the yield and quality of DNA extracted from FTA cards using four automated extraction protocols on three different instruments. The extraction processes were repeated up to six times with the same pieces of FTA cards. The sample material on the FTA cards was either blood or buccal cell...
Temperature control characteristics analysis of lead-cooled fast reactor with natural circulation
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Yang, Minghan; Song, Yong; Wang, Jianye; Xu, Peng; Zhang, Guangyu
2016-01-01
Highlights: • The LFR temperature control system are analyzed with frequency domain method. • The temperature control compensator is designed according to the frequency analysis. • Dynamic simulation is performed by SIMULINK and RELAP5-HD. - Abstract: Lead-cooled Fast Reactor (LFR) with natural circulation in primary system is among the highlights in advance nuclear reactor research, due to its great superiority in reactor safety and reliability. In this work, a transfer function matrix describing coolant temperature dynamic process, obtained by Laplace transform of the one-dimensional system dynamic model is developed in order to investigate the temperature control characteristics of LFR. Based on the transfer function matrix, a close-loop coolant temperature control system without compensator is built. The frequency domain analysis indicates that the stability and steady-state of the temperature control system needs to be improved. Accordingly, a temperature compensator based on Proportion–Integration and feed-forward is designed. The dynamic simulation of the whole system with the temperature compensator for core power step change is performed with SIMULINK and RELAP5-HD. The result shows that the temperature compensator can provide superior coolant temperature control capabilities in LFR with natural circulation due to the efficiency of the frequency domain analysis method.
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Oh, Seung-Jin; Choi, Gyung-Goo; Kim, Joo-Sik
2015-01-01
To produce a bio-oil having a high concentration of furfural, corn stover was fast-pyrolyzed using ZnCl 2 in a fluidized bed reactor at 330–430 °C. The effects of various parameters such as reaction temperature, water- and acid-washing prior to pyrolysis, and ZnCl 2 content on the product and furfural yields were investigated. Moreover, solvent extraction was conducted using toluene at different mass ratios of bio-oil/toluene to recover furfural from the obtained bio-oil. The maximum yield of bio-oil was 59 wt%. The bio-oil mainly comprised acetic acid, α-hydroxyketones, and furfural. The maximum furfural yield was 11.5 wt% when the feed material was water-washed, impregnated with 18.5 wt% ZnCl 2 , and pyrolyzed. Although acid-washing removed alkali and alkaline earth metals much more efficiently than water-washing, water-washing was better than acid-washing for the furfural production. Toluene extraction was very effective to recover furfural from bio-oil. The maximum recovery rate (82%) was achieved at a bio-oil/toluene ratio of 1:4. - Highlights: • Corn stover pretreated and impregnated with ZnCl 2 was successfully pyrolyzed. • Furfural was recovered from bio-oil by extraction using toluene. • Water-washing was better than acid-washing for the furfural production. • The highest furfural yield was 11.5 wt% of the product. • The highest furfural recovery rate was 82%
Benchmark test of evaluated nuclear data files for fast reactor neutronics application
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Chiba, Go; Hazama, Taira; Iwai, Takehiko; Numata, Kazuyuki
2007-07-01
A benchmark test of the latest evaluated nuclear data files, JENDL-3.3, JEFF-3.1 and ENDF/B-VII.0, has been carried out for fast reactor neutronics application. For this benchmark test, experimental data obtained at fast critical assemblies and fast power reactors are utilized. In addition to comparing of numerical solutions with the experimental data, we have extracted several cross sections, in which differences between three nuclear data files affect significantly numerical solutions, by virtue of sensitivity analyses. This benchmark test concludes that ENDF/B-VII.0 predicts well the neutronics characteristics of fast neutron systems rather than the other nuclear data files. (author)
Antunes, Pedro; Viana, Paula; Vinhas, Tereza; Capelo, J L; Rivera, J; Gaspar, Elvira M S M
2008-05-30
Pressurized liquid extraction (PLE) applying three extraction cycles, temperature and pressure, improved the efficiency of solvent extraction when compared with the classical Soxhlet extraction. Polychlorinated-p-dioxins (PCDDs), polychlorinated dibenzofurans (PCDFs) and dioxin-like PCBs (coplanar polychlorinated biphenyls (Co-PCBs)) in two Certified Reference Materials [DX-1 (sediment) and BCR 529 (soil)] and in two contaminated environmental samples (sediment and soil) were extracted by ASE and Soxhlet methods. Unlike data previously reported by other authors, results demonstrated that ASE using n-hexane as solvent and three extraction cycles, 12.4 MPa (1800 psi) and 150 degrees C achieves similar recovery results than the classical Soxhlet extraction for PCDFs and Co-PCBs, and better recovery results for PCDDs. ASE extraction, performed in less time and with less solvent proved to be, under optimized conditions, an excellent extraction technique for the simultaneous analysis of PCDD/PCDFs and Co-PCBs from environmental samples. Such fast analytical methodology, having the best cost-efficiency ratio, will improve the control and will provide more information about the occurrence of dioxins and the levels of toxicity and thereby will contribute to increase human health.
Solvent Extraction of Furfural From Biomass
Humphrey, M. F.
1984-01-01
Solvent-extraction method reduces energy required to remove furfural produced during acid hydrolysis of biomass. Acid hydrolysis performed in vessel containing both solvents and reacting ingredients. With intimate contact between solvents and aqueous hydrolyis liqour, furfural removed form liquor almost as fast as it forms.
Changes of serum alkaline phosphatase isoenzymes in fasted rats.
Wada, H; Niwa, N; Hayakawa, T; Tsuge, H
1996-10-01
Changes of serum alkaline phosphatase (sALP) isoenzymes under fasting conditions were examined using polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (PAGE), amino-acids (L-phenylalanine (L-Phe), L-homoarginine (L-HArg)) inhibition and wheat germ agglutinin (WGA) treatment. The sALP of non-fasted rats was separated into three bands (S1, S2, S3) by PAGE. The molecular weight (M.W.) of S1 corresponded to that of an isoenzyme found in the ileum. By the addition of L-Phe, the staining intensity of S1 was weakened, S2 and S3 remained unchanged and the total activity of the isoenzymes extracted from intestine decreased. On the other hand, the activity of isoenzymes extracted from kidney and bone decreased by the addition of L-HArg. Therefore, S1 was judged to be derived from intestine. The activities of total sALP and S1 decreased from 16 h of fasting. Total sALP activity and sALP activity of the supernatant prepared by WGA treatment decreased, whereas the ALP activity of the precipitate (difference between total sALP activity and supernatant sALP activity) did not change. The activity band of the precipitate corresponded to that of S3 by PAGE. Therefore, S3 was judged to be derived from bone. In conclusion, under fasting conditions, the activity of S1 decreased while the activities of S2 and S3 remained unchanged.
Laatar, Rabeb; Baccouch, Rym; Borji, Rihab; Kachouri, Hiba; Rebai, Haithem; Sahli, Sonia
2016-11-01
Our purpose was to compare the effects of Ramadan fasting on postural control in elderly fallers and non-fallers. The protocol involved twenty-four healthy old volunteer males divided into two groups: fallers (mean age = 75.43 ± 5.26 years, weight = 67.25 ± 5.30 kg and height = 1.65 ± 0.02 m) and non-fallers (mean age = 72.3 ± 6.42 years, weight = 65.5 ± 6.15 kg and height = 1.64 ± 0.03 m). Participants performed a simple reaction time test (SRT) and a postural control protocol on four different occasions: one week before Ramadan (BR), during the second (SWR) and the fourth week (FWR) of Ramadan and three weeks after Ramadan (AR). Center of pressure (CoP) parameters [the CoP medial-lateral length (CoP X ), and the CoP antero-posterior length (CoP Y )] were assessed using a force platform under two surface conditions: Firm surface and Foam surface. The results showed that Ramadan fasting influences similarly fallers and non-fallers. In fact, for both groups, the CoP X and the CoP Y values increased significantly during the SWR and the FWR compared to BR. These CoP parameters decreased significantly in the Firm surface conditions in the FWR. Moreover, the CoP parameters were significantly higher during the FWR and AR in comparison with BR in the Foam surface conditions. However, the amplitude of increase of the CoP [X] % and the CoP [Y] % (ΔCoP [X] % and ΔCoP [Y] %) between BR and the SWR was significantly higher in the fallers than non-fallers. The SRT of elderly fallers and non-fallers was significantly higher in the SWR and in the FWR compared to BR. In conclusion, Ramadan fasting alters similarly postural control of elderly fallers and non-fallers, but the amplitude (ΔCoP [X] % and ΔCoP [Y] %) of this alteration seems to be more pronounced in fallers than non-fallers. A probable beginning of adaptation occurs at the FWR. However, three weeks seems to be insufficient to recover postural control alterations due to Ramadan
Zarzycki, Paweł K; Slączka, Magdalena M; Zarzycka, Magdalena B; Bartoszuk, Małgorzata A; Włodarczyk, Elżbieta; Baran, Michał J
2011-11-01
This paper is a continuation of our previous research focusing on development of micro-TLC methodology under temperature-controlled conditions. The main goal of present paper is to demonstrate separation and detection capability of micro-TLC technique involving simple analytical protocols without multi-steps sample pre-purification. One of the advantages of planar chromatography over its column counterpart is that each TLC run can be performed using non-previously used stationary phase. Therefore, it is possible to fractionate or separate complex samples characterized by heavy biological matrix loading. In present studies components of interest, mainly steroids, were isolated from biological samples like fish bile using single pre-treatment steps involving direct organic liquid extraction and/or deproteinization by freeze-drying method. Low-molecular mass compounds with polarity ranging from estetrol to progesterone derived from the environmental samples (lake water, untreated and treated sewage waters) were concentrated using optimized solid-phase extraction (SPE). Specific bands patterns for samples derived from surface water of the Middle Pomerania in northern part of Poland can be easily observed on obtained micro-TLC chromatograms. This approach can be useful as simple and non-expensive complementary method for fast control and screening of treated sewage water discharged by the municipal wastewater treatment plants. Moreover, our experimental results show the potential of micro-TLC as an efficient tool for retention measurements of a wide range of steroids under reversed-phase (RP) chromatographic conditions. These data can be used for further optimalization of SPE or HPLC systems working under RP conditions. Furthermore, we also demonstrated that micro-TLC based analytical approach can be applied as an effective method for the internal standard (IS) substance search. Generally, described methodology can be applied for fast fractionation or screening of the
Plant extracts in the control of Phytophthora cryptogea.
Orlikowski, L B
2001-01-01
Grapefruit extract at dose 40 micrograms/cm3 inhibited Phytophtora cryptogea linear growth about 50% and almost completely suppressed zoosporangia formation. Drenching of gerbera plants with the extract at dose 165 micrograms/cm3 reduced population density of the pathogen about 70% and this high efficacy was noted at least one month after application. Treatment of gerberas with grapefruit extract resulted in protection of about 50% of plants against the pathogen. Biological activity of purple coneflower extract was lower than extract from grapefruit. Significant decrease of population density of the pathogen during the first 5 days and increase of gerbera healthy stand was observed, however, in peat treated with that extract.
Ender, Joerg; Borger, Michael Andrew; Scholz, Markus; Funkat, Anne-Kathrin; Anwar, Nadeem; Sommer, Marcus; Mohr, Friedrich Wilhelm; Fassl, Jens
2008-07-01
The authors compared the safety and efficacy of a newly developed fast-track concept at their center, including implementation of a direct admission postanesthetic care unit, to standard perioperative management. All fast-track patients treated within the first 6 months of implementation of our direct admission postanesthetic care unit were matched via propensity scores and compared with a historical control group of patients who underwent cardiac surgery prior to fast-track implementation. A total of 421 fast-track patients were matched successfully to 421 control patients. The two groups of patients had a similar age (64 +/- 13 vs. 64 +/- 12 yr for fast-track vs. control, P = 0.45) and European System for Cardiac Operative Risk Evaluation-predicted risk of mortality (4.8 +/- 6.1% vs. 4.6 +/- 5.1%, P = 0.97). Fast-track patients had significantly shorter times to extubation (75 min [45-110] vs. 900 min [600-1140]), as well as shorter lengths of stay in the postanesthetic or intensive care unit (4 h [3.0-5] vs. 20 h [16-25]), intermediate care unit (21 h [17-39] vs. 26 h [19-49]), and hospital (10 days [8-12] vs. 11 days [9-14]) (expressed as median and interquartile range, all P operations.
Development of pulsed plate columns for fast reactor fuel reprocessing
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Jenkins, J.A.; Logsdail, D.H.; Lyall, E.; Myers, P.E.; Partridge, B.A.
1987-01-01
The UK Atomic Energy Authority has undertaken a development programme on solvent extraction equipment for reprocessing fast reactor fuels. As part of this programme a solvent extraction pilot plant has been built at Harwell in which a variety of flowsheet conditions can be simulated using the system uranyl nitrate/nitric acid (UN/HNO 3 ) - 20% tri-n-butyl phosphate in odourless kerosene (TBP/OK). The main purpose of present pilot plant operations is to study the performance of pulsed plate columns, with the following specific objectives: to measure the volumetric throughput capacity of the columns, - to study the effect of scale-up of column diameter on U mass transfer performance, - to provide hydraulic and mass transfer data for a dynamic simulation model of pulsed column operation, - to develop and test instruments and ancillary equipment. This poster describes the pilot plant and is illustrated by experimental data, with particular reference to an external settler for controlling the removal of aqueous phase from columns operated with the aqueous phase dispersed
Chung, Hoi Sung; Gopich, Irina V; McHale, Kevin; Cellmer, Troy; Louis, John M; Eaton, William A
2011-04-28
Recently developed statistical methods by Gopich and Szabo were used to extract folding and unfolding rate coefficients from single-molecule Förster resonance energy transfer (FRET) data for proteins with kinetics too fast to measure waiting time distributions. Two types of experiments and two different analyses were performed. In one experiment bursts of photons were collected from donor and acceptor fluorophores attached to a 73-residue protein, α(3)D, freely diffusing through the illuminated volume of a confocal microscope system. In the second, the protein was immobilized by linkage to a surface, and photons were collected until one of the fluorophores bleached. Folding and unfolding rate coefficients and mean FRET efficiencies for the folded and unfolded subpopulations were obtained from a photon by photon analysis of the trajectories using a maximum likelihood method. The ability of the method to describe the data in terms of a two-state model was checked by recoloring the photon trajectories with the extracted parameters and comparing the calculated FRET efficiency histograms with the measured histograms. The sum of the rate coefficients for the two-state model agreed to within 30% with the relaxation rate obtained from the decay of the donor-acceptor cross-correlation function, confirming the high accuracy of the method. Interestingly, apparently reliable rate coefficients could be extracted using the maximum likelihood method, even at low (rate coefficients and mean FRET efficiencies were also obtained in an approximate procedure by simply fitting the FRET efficiency histograms, calculated by binning the donor and acceptor photons, with a sum of three-Gaussian functions. The kinetics are exposed in these histograms by the growth of a FRET efficiency peak at values intermediate between the folded and unfolded peaks as the bin size increases, a phenomenon with similarities to NMR exchange broadening. When comparable populations of folded and unfolded
Adaptation of fast responding power supply for radial position control in SST-1
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Sharma, Dinesh Kumar; Patel, Kiritkumar B.; Singh, Akhilesh Kumar; Dhongde, Jasraj
2013-01-01
A high current, fast responding power supply was installed in 2005 for vertical stabilization of elongated plasmas in SST-1 tokamak. Presently, during initial experiments of SST-1 tokamak the need for radial control during current build-up was envisaged. For this purpose the existing power supply was suitable and the same was re-commissioned and control adaptations were carried as per experimental requirements. This paper highlights the capabilities of the power supply and details the modifications in the control interfaces and test programs for the radial control purpose. Details of the operation of the power supply along with control interfaces with performance measurements are provided. The re-commissioning provided an opportunity in the trouble shooting methods and sequential operation of the system. With the operational use on the actual coil the mutual effects are understood better and appropriate test programs are prepared. The power supply provided satisfactory performance for the intended use. In additional the system is suitable to simulate a plasma current loop to enable the testing and calibration of Rogowski coil used for plasma current measurement. (author)
Villacís-Aldaz Luis Alfredo; León-Gordon Olguer; Santana-Mayorga Rita; Mangui-Tobar José; Carranza Galo; Pazmiño-Miranda Pilar
2017-01-01
The antifungal effect of five plant extracts: nettle (Urtica dioica), chamomile (Chamaemelum nobile), frame (Artemisia vulgaris), lavender (Lavandula officinalis) and chamico (Datura ferox) were evaluated at laboratory level for control of anthracnose (Colletotrichum acutatum) of the tree tomato (Solanum betaceum), using two methods of extraction (maceration and steam trapping), in the results obtained, statistical differences were observed in the percentage of inhibition of mycelial growth o...
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.
Control of temperature distribution in a supercritical gas extraction tower
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Yoshida, M.; Matsumoto, S.; Honda, G.; Iwama, T.; Suzuki, Y.; Odagiri, S.
1989-01-01
A control scheme recently proposed by the authors is applied to the control of axial temperature distribution in a bench-scale supercritical-gas extractor. The extraction unit is constructed from a packed column 3 m long covered by a coaxial cylindrical casing. Although the actual structure of the extractor is very complicated, it is modeled by a simple double-pipe and therefore its mathematical model can be described by a pair of partial differential equations. The models are reduced to a lumped parameter system with a finite dimension by use of the finite Fourier transform technique. The controller is designed on the basis of the reduced model. An extended Kalman filter is used to estimate simultaneously the state variables and the unknown parameters. The results demonstrate that both the state estimation and the controller performance are satisfactory. This implies that the control scheme is very robust in spite of the incompleteness of the model used
Fast-ion stabilization of tokamak plasma turbulence
Di Siena, A.; Görler, T.; Doerk, H.; Poli, E.; Bilato, R.
2018-05-01
A significant reduction of the turbulence-induced anomalous heat transport has been observed in recent studies of magnetically confined plasmas in the presence of a significant fast-ion fractions. Therefore, the control of fast-ion populations with external heating might open the way to more optimistic scenarios for future fusion devices. However, little is known about the parameter range of relevance of these fast-ion effects which are often only highlighted in correlation with substantial electromagnetic fluctuations. Here, a significant fast ion induced stabilization is also found in both linear and nonlinear electrostatic gyrokinetic simulations which cannot be explained with the conventional assumptions based on pressure profile and dilution effects. Strong wave-fast particle resonant interactions are observed for realistic parameters where the fast particle trace approximation clearly failed and explained with the help of a reduced Vlasov model. In contrast to previous interpretations, fast particles can actively modify the Poisson field equation—even at low fast particle densities where dilution tends to be negligible and at relatively high temperatures, i.e. T < 30T e . Further key parameters controlling the role of the fast ions are identified in the following and various ways of further optimizing their beneficial impact are explored. Finally, possible extensions into the electromagnetic regime are briefly discussed and the relevance of these findings for ITER standard scenarios is highlighted.
Fast breeder reactors an engineering introduction
Judd, A M
1981-01-01
Fast Breeder Reactors: An Engineering Introduction is an introductory text to fast breeder reactors and covers topics ranging from reactor physics and design to engineering and safety considerations. Reactor fuels, coolant circuits, steam plants, and control systems are also discussed. This book is comprised of five chapters and opens with a brief summary of the history of fast reactors, with emphasis on international and the prospect of making accessible enormous reserves of energy. The next chapter deals with the physics of fast reactors and considers calculation methods, flux distribution,
Some aspects of fast reactor economics
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Kazachkovskij, O.D.
1996-01-01
Expedient approach to evaluation of economic efficiency of fast reactors is discussed. It is concluded that determination of electric power generation cost should be based on the fact, that plutonium cost is dictated only by expenses for its extraction from the spent fuel. The cost of the first critical load is not included into capital investments, and investment charges should be sufficiently lower, than standard ones. 5 refs
Hypoglycemic effect of the hydroalcoholic extract of leaves of Averrhoa carambola L. (Oxalidaceae
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Edilene B. Ferreira
Full Text Available The effect of the oral treatment (20 mg/kg x day with the hydroalcoholic extract of leaves of Averrhoa carambola L. (HELAC on fasting glycemia (15 h was examined. For this purpose, rats that received vehicle (Control group or HELAC (HELAC group during 15 days were compared. HELAC group showed lower fasting glycemia (p<0.05. In contrast, livers from HELAC group showed higher (p<0.05 glucose production from L-alanine (5 mM. This effect was mediated, at least part of it, by an activation of the catabolism of L-alanine inferred by the increased hepatic urea (p<0.05 and L-lactate (p<0.05 production. Differently of L-alanine, the glucose production from L-glutamine (5 mM, L-lactate (2 mM and glycerol (2 mM was similar (Control group vs. HELAC group. In addition, the HELAC treatment did not change the glucose uptake in soleus muscles, inferred by the incorporation of [14C]-glucose to glycogen (glycogen synthesis and [14C]-lactate production. Thus, we can conclude that the reduction of fasting glycemia promoted by the treatment with HELAC was not mediated by an inhibition of hepatic gluconeogenesis and/or an increased glucose uptake by muscles.
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Nieto, J.; Sanz, D.; Guillén, P.; Esquembri, S.; Arcas, G. de; Ruiz, M.; Vega, J.; Castro, R.
2016-01-01
Highlights: • To test an image acquisition and processing system for Camera Link devices based in a FPGA, compliant with ITER fast controllers. • To move data acquired from the set NI1483-NIPXIe7966R directly to a NVIDIA GPU using NVIDIA GPUDirect RDMA technology. • To obtain a methodology to include GPUs processing in ITER Fast Plant Controllers, using EPICS integration through Nominal Device Support (NDS). - Abstract: The two dominant technologies that are being used in real time image processing are Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA) and Graphical Processor Unit (GPU) due to their algorithm parallelization capabilities. But not much work has been done to standardize how these technologies can be integrated in data acquisition systems, where control and supervisory requirements are in place, such as ITER (International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor). This work proposes an architecture, and a development methodology, to develop image acquisition and processing systems based on FPGAs and GPUs compliant with ITER fast controller solutions. A use case based on a Camera Link device connected to an FPGA DAQ device (National Instruments FlexRIO technology), and a NVIDIA Tesla GPU series card has been developed and tested. The architecture proposed has been designed to optimize system performance by minimizing data transfer operations and CPU intervention thanks to the use of NVIDIA GPUDirect RDMA and DMA technologies. This allows moving the data directly between the different hardware elements (FPGA DAQ-GPU-CPU) avoiding CPU intervention and therefore the use of intermediate CPU memory buffers. A special effort has been put to provide a development methodology that, maintaining the highest possible abstraction from the low level implementation details, allows obtaining solutions that conform to CODAC Core System standards by providing EPICS and Nominal Device Support.
Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)
Nieto, J., E-mail: jnieto@sec.upm.es [Grupo de Investigación en Instrumentación y Acústica Aplicada, Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, Crta. Valencia Km-7, Madrid 28031 (Spain); Sanz, D.; Guillén, P.; Esquembri, S.; Arcas, G. de; Ruiz, M. [Grupo de Investigación en Instrumentación y Acústica Aplicada, Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, Crta. Valencia Km-7, Madrid 28031 (Spain); Vega, J.; Castro, R. [Asociación EURATOM/CIEMAT para Fusión, Madrid (Spain)
2016-11-15
Highlights: • To test an image acquisition and processing system for Camera Link devices based in a FPGA, compliant with ITER fast controllers. • To move data acquired from the set NI1483-NIPXIe7966R directly to a NVIDIA GPU using NVIDIA GPUDirect RDMA technology. • To obtain a methodology to include GPUs processing in ITER Fast Plant Controllers, using EPICS integration through Nominal Device Support (NDS). - Abstract: The two dominant technologies that are being used in real time image processing are Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA) and Graphical Processor Unit (GPU) due to their algorithm parallelization capabilities. But not much work has been done to standardize how these technologies can be integrated in data acquisition systems, where control and supervisory requirements are in place, such as ITER (International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor). This work proposes an architecture, and a development methodology, to develop image acquisition and processing systems based on FPGAs and GPUs compliant with ITER fast controller solutions. A use case based on a Camera Link device connected to an FPGA DAQ device (National Instruments FlexRIO technology), and a NVIDIA Tesla GPU series card has been developed and tested. The architecture proposed has been designed to optimize system performance by minimizing data transfer operations and CPU intervention thanks to the use of NVIDIA GPUDirect RDMA and DMA technologies. This allows moving the data directly between the different hardware elements (FPGA DAQ-GPU-CPU) avoiding CPU intervention and therefore the use of intermediate CPU memory buffers. A special effort has been put to provide a development methodology that, maintaining the highest possible abstraction from the low level implementation details, allows obtaining solutions that conform to CODAC Core System standards by providing EPICS and Nominal Device Support.
Gastroprotective effects of flavonoids in plant extracts.
Zayachkivska, O S; Konturek, S J; Drozdowicz, D; Konturek, P C; Brzozowski, T; Ghegotsky, M R
2005-03-01
The purpose of this paper is to overview the relations between plant-originated substances and their bioactivity measured in terms of antioxidant, cytoprotective and antiulcer activities. In addition, we assessed whether these compounds are capable of affecting the gastric mucosal lesions induced by absolute ethanol applied intragastrically (i.g.). The following plant-originated flavonoid substances were considered; Solon (Sophoradin extract), Amaranth seed extract, grapefruit-seed extract (GSE) and capsaicin (extract of chilly pepper). The area of gastric mucosa lesions and gastric blood flow were measured in rats with ethanol-induced lesions without (control) and with one of the tested substances without and with capsaicin denervation of afferent nerves or administration of L-nitro-arginine (L-NNA), an inhibitor of nitric oxide synthase (NOS). Male Wistar rats, weighing 180-220 g fasted for 24 h before the study where used 100% ethanol was applied i.g. to induce gastric lesions, whose area was determined by planimetry. Gastric blood flow was assessed using electrolytic regional blood flowmeter. All tested plant-originated substances afforded gastroprotection against ethanol-induced damage and this was accompanied by increase in gastric microcirculation, both changes being reversed by pretreatment with neurotoxic dose of capsaicin or by pretreatment with L-NNA. We conclude that plant-originated flavonoid substances are highly gastroprotective probably due to enhancement of the expression of constitutive NOS and release of NO and neuropeptides such as calcitonin gene related peptide (CGRP) released from sensory afferent nerves increasing gastric microcirculation.
Antiulcer activity of the chloroform extract of Bauhinia purpurea leaf.
Hisam, Elly Ezlinda Abdul; Zakaria, Zainul Amiruddin; Mohtaruddin, Norhafizah; Rofiee, Mohd Salleh; Hamid, Hasiah Ab; Othman, Fezah
2012-12-01
Bauhinia purpurea L. (Fabaceae) is a native plant species of many Asian countries, including Malaysia and India. In India, the root, stem, bark, and leaf of B. purpurea are used to treat various ailments, including ulcers and stomach cancer. In an attempt to establish its pharmacological potential, we studied the antiulcer activity of lipid-soluble extract of B. purpurea obtained via extraction of air-dried leaves using chloroform. The rats were administered the chloroform extract (dose range of 100-1000 mg/kg) orally after 24 h fasting. They were subjected to the absolute ethanol- and indomethacin-induced gastric ulcer, and pyloric ligation assays after 30 min. The acute toxicity study was conducted using a single oral dose of 5000 mg/kg extract and the rats were observed for the period of 14 days. omeprazole (30 mg/kg) was used as the standard control. At 5000 mg/kg, the extract produced no sign of toxicity in rats. The extract exhibited significant (p < 0.05) dose-dependent antiulcer activity for the ethanol-induced model. The extract also significantly (p < 0.05) increased the gastric wall mucus production and pH of gastric content, while significantly (p < 0.05) reducing the total volume and total acidity of the gastric content in the pylorus ligation assay. The extract possesses antiulcer, antisecretory and cytoprotective activities, which could be attributed to its flavonoid and tannin content. These findings provide new information regarding the potential of lipid-soluble compounds of B. purpurea for the prevention and treatment of gastric ulcers.
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Tsuchihashi, Toshio; Maki, Toshio; Suzuki, Takeshi
1997-01-01
The fast inversion recovery (fast IR) pulse sequence was evaluated. We compared the fast fluid attenuated inversion recovery (fast FLAIR) pulse sequence in which inversion time (TI) was established as equal to the water null point for the purpose of the water-suppressed T 2 -weighted image, with the fast short TI inversion recovery (fast STIR) pulse sequence in which TI was established as equal to the fat null point for purpose of fat suppression. In the fast FLAIR pulse sequence, the water null point was increased by making TR longer. In the FLAIR pulse sequence, the longitudinal magnetization contrast is determined by TI. If TI is increased, T 2 -weighted contrast improves in the same way as increasing TR for the SE pulse sequence. Therefore, images should be taken with long TR and long TI, which are longer than TR and longer than the water null point. On the other hand, the fat null point is not affected by TR in the fast STIR pulse sequence. However, effective TE was affected by variation of the null point. This increased in proportion to the increase in effective TE. Our evaluation indicated that the fast STIR pulse sequence can control the extensive signals from fat in a short time. (author)
ANTIMICROBIAL ACTION OF THE LEAF EXTRACT OF MORINGA OLEIFERA LAM.
Pal, Saroj K.; Mukherjee, Pulok K.; Saha, Kakali; Pal, M.; Saha, B.P.
1995-01-01
The ethnolic extract of the leaves of Moringa oleifera Lam. (Fam. Moringaceae) was tested for antimicrobial activities against Gram Positive – Bacillus cereus, Bacillus subtilis Staphylococcus aureus, Sarcina lutea: Gram negative – Escherichia coli and Acid fast Mycobacterium phlei. Significant antimicrobial activity of the extract was found in this study. PMID:22556699
High Voltage, Fast-Switching Module for Active Control of Magnetic Fields and Edge Plasma Currents
Ziemba, Timothy; Miller, Kenneth; Prager, James; Slobodov, Ilia
2016-10-01
Fast, reliable, real-time control of plasma is critical to the success of magnetic fusion science. High voltage and current supplies are needed to mitigate instabilities in all experiments as well as disruption events in large scale tokamaks for steady-state operation. Silicon carbide (SiC) MOSFETs offer many advantages over IGBTs including lower drive energy requirements, lower conduction and switching losses, and higher switching frequency capabilities; however, these devices are limited to 1.2-1.7 kV devices. As fusion enters the long-pulse and burning plasma eras, efficiency of power switching will be important. Eagle Harbor Technologies (EHT), Inc. developing a high voltage SiC MOSFET module that operates at 10 kV. This switch module utilizes EHT gate drive technology, which has demonstrated the ability to increase SiC MOSFET switching efficiency. The module will allow more rapid development of high voltage switching power supplies at lower cost necessary for the next generation of fast plasma feedback and control. EHT is partnering with the High Beta Tokamak group at Columbia to develop detailed high voltage module specifications, to ensure that the final product meets the needs of the fusion science community.
Astrid (fast breeder nuclear reactor)
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
2014-01-01
This document presents ASTRID (Advanced Sodium Technological Reactor for Industrial Demonstration), a French project of sodium-cooled fast breeder reactor, fourth generation reactor which should be fuelled by uranium 238 rather than uranium 235, and should therefore need less extracted natural uranium to produce electricity. The operation principle of fast breeder reactors is described. They notably directly consume plutonium, allow an easier radioactive waste management as they transform long life radioactive elements into shorter life elements by transmutation. The regeneration process is briefly described, and the various operation modes are evoked (iso-generator, sub-generator, and breeder). Some peculiarities of sodium-cooled reactors are outlined. The Astrid operation principle is described, its main design innovations outlined. Various challenges are discussed regarding safety of supply and waste processing, and the safety of future reactors. Major actors are indicated: CEA, Areva, EDF, SEIV Alcen, Toshiba, Rolls Royce, and Comex. Some key data are indicated: expected lifetime, expected availability rate, cost. The projected site is Marcoule and fast breeder reactors operated or under construction in the world are indicated. The document also proposes an overview of the background and evolution of reactors of 4. generation
A Fast Algorithm of Cartographic Sounding Selection
Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)
SUI Haigang; HUA Li; ZHAO Haitao; ZHANG Yongli
2005-01-01
An effective strategy and framework that adequately integrate the automated and manual processes for fast cartographic sounding selection is presented. The important submarine topographic features are extracted for important soundings selection, and an improved "influence circle" algorithm is introduced for sounding selection. For automatic configuration of soundings distribution pattern, a special algorithm considering multi-factors is employed. A semi-automatic method for solving the ambiguous conflicts is described. On the basis of the algorithms and strategies a system named HGIS for fast cartographic sounding selection is developed and applied in Chinese Marine Safety Administration Bureau (CMSAB). The application experiments show that the system is effective and reliable. At last some conclusions and the future work are given.
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Peidong Liang
2016-01-01
Full Text Available We have developed a new discrete-time algorithm of stiffness extraction from muscle surface electromyography (sEMG collected from human operator’s arms and have applied it for antidisturbance control in robot teleoperation. The variation of arm stiffness is estimated from sEMG signals and transferred to a telerobot under variable impedance control to imitate human motor control behaviours, particularly for disturbance attenuation. In comparison to the estimation of stiffness from sEMG, the proposed algorithm is able to reduce the nonlinear residual error effect and to enhance robustness and to simplify stiffness calibration. In order to extract a smoothing stiffness enveloping from sEMG signals, two enveloping methods are employed in this paper, namely, fast linear enveloping based on low pass filtering and moving average and amplitude monocomponent and frequency modulating (AM-FM method. Both methods have been incorporated into the proposed stiffness variance estimation algorithm and are extensively tested. The test results show that stiffness variation extraction based on the two methods is sensitive and robust to attenuation disturbance. It could potentially be applied for teleoperation in the presence of hazardous surroundings or human robot physical cooperation scenarios.
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Kambe, Mitsuru; Tsunoda, Hirokazu; Mishima, Kaichiro; Iwamura, Takamichi
2002-01-01
The 200 kWe uranium-nitride fueled lithium cooled fast reactor concept 'RAPID-L' to achieve highly automated reactor operation has been demonstrated. RAPID-L is designed for Lunar base power system. It is one of the variants of RAPID (Refueling by All Pins Integrated Design), fast reactor concept, which enable quick and simplified refueling. The essential feature of RAPID concept is that the reactor core consists of an integrated fuel assembly instead of conventional fuel subassemblies. In this small size reactor core, 2700 fuel pins are integrated altogether and encased in a fuel cartridge. Refueling is conducted by replacing a fuel cartridge. The reactor can be operated without refueling for up to 10 years. Unique challenges in reactivity control systems design have been attempted in RAPID-L concept. The reactor has no control rod, but involves the following innovative reactivity control systems: Lithium Expansion Modules (LEM) for inherent reactivity feedback, Lithium Injection Modules (LIM) for inherent ultimate shutdown, and Lithium Release Modules (LRM) for automated reactor startup. All these systems adopt lithium-6 as a liquid poison instead of B 4 C rods. In combination with LEMs, LIMs and LRMs, RAPID-L can be operated without operator. This is the first reactor concept ever established in the world. This reactor concept is also applicable to the terrestrial fast reactors. In this paper, RAPID-L reactor concept and its transient characteristics are presented. (authors)
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Zar Chi Thent
2012-01-01
Full Text Available Although Piper sarmentosum (PS is known to possess the antidiabetic properties, its efficacy towards diabetic cardiovascular tissues is still obscured. The present study aimed to observe the electron microscopic changes on the cardiac tissue and proximal aorta of experimental rats treated with PS extract. Thirty-two male Sprague-Dawley rats were divided into four groups: untreated control group (C, PS-treated control group (CTx, untreated diabetic group (D, and PS-treated diabetic group (DTx. Intramuscular injection of streptozotocin (STZ, 50 mg/kg body weight was given to induce diabetes. Following 28 days of diabetes induction, PS extract (0.125 g/kg body weight was administered orally for 28 days. Body weight, fasting blood glucose, and urine glucose levels were measured at 4-week interval. At the end of the study, cardiac tissues and the aorta were viewed under transmission electron microscope (TEM. DTx group showed increase in body weight and decrease in fasting blood glucose and urine glucose level compared to the D group. Under TEM study, DTx group showed lesser ultrastructural degenerative changes in the cardiac tissues and the proximal aorta compared to the D group. The results indicate that PS restores ultrastructural integrity in the diabetic cardiovascular tissues.
Modulatory effect of Morinda lucida aqueous stem bark extract on ...
African Journals Online (AJOL)
Modulatory effect of Morinda lucida aqueous stem bark extract on blood glucose and lipid profile in alloxan-induced diabetic rats. ... 8th day of oral extract treatments while the blood samples for the lipid assays of were obtained directly from heart chambers through cardiac puncture on the 8th day after an overnight fasting.
Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)
Li, Runbing [National Institute of Standards and Technology, Gaithersburg, Maryland 20899 (United States); State Key Laboratory of Magnetic Resonance and Atomic and Molecular Physics, Wuhan Institute of Physics and Mathematics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wuhan 430071 (China); Center for Cold Atom Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wuhan 430071 (China); Zhu, Chengjie [National Institute of Standards and Technology, Gaithersburg, Maryland 20899 (United States); School of Physics Science and Engineering, Tongji University, Shanghai 200092 (China); Deng, L.; Hagley, E. W. [National Institute of Standards and Technology, Gaithersburg, Maryland 20899 (United States)
2014-10-20
We demonstrate a fast, all-optical polarization gate in a room-temperature atomic medium. Using a Polarization-Selective-Kerr-Phase-Shift (PSKPS) technique, we selectively write a π phase shift to one circularly-polarized component of a linearly-polarized input signal field. The output signal field maintains its original strength but acquires a 90° linear polarization rotation, demonstrating fast, high-fidelity, dynamically-controlled polarization gate operation. The intensity of the polarization-switching field used in this PKSPK-based polarization gate operation is only 2 mW/cm{sup 2}, which would be equivalent to 0.5 nW of light power (λ = 800 nm) confined in a typical commercial photonic hollow-core fiber. This development opens a realm of possibilities for potential future extremely low light level telecommunication and information processing systems.
Namazi, N; Esfanjani, A T; Heshmati, J; Bahrami, A
2011-08-01
Type 2 diabetes is a metabolic disorder that is strongly associated with cardiovascular risk. Inflammation is a potential risk factor for cardiovascular disease. In this study, hydro alcoholic extract of Nettle (Urtica dioica) on insulin sensitivity and some inflammatory indicators in type 2 diabetic patients were studied. A randomized double-blind clinical trial on 50 men and women with type 2 diabetes was done for 8 weeks. Patients were adjusted by age, sex and duration of diabetes, then randomly divided into two groups, an intervention and control group. They received, 100 mg kg-1nettle extract or placebo in three portions a day for 8 weeks. Interleukin 6 (IL-6), Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha (TNF-alpha), High Sensitive C-Reactive protein (hs-CRP) and Fasting Insulin concentration were measured. Insulin Sensitivity was calculated, at the beginning and the end of the study. The data were analyzed by SPSS version 18, pnettle has decreasing effects on IL-6 and hs-CRP in patients with type 2 diabetes after eight weeks intervention.
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
Fast analysis of spectral data using neural networks
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Roach, C.M.
1992-01-01
Fast analysis techniques are highly desirable in experiments where measurements are recorded at high rates. In fusion experiments the processing required to obtain plasma parameters is usually orders of magnitude slower than the data acquisition. Spectroscopic diagnostics suffer greatly from this problem. The extraction of plasma parameters from a measured spectrum typically corresponds to a nonlinear mapping between distinct multi-dimensional spaces. Where no analytic expression for the mapping exists, conventional analysis methods (e.g. least squares) are usually iterative and therefore slow. With this concern in mind a fast spectral analysis method involving neural networks has been investigated. (author) 6 refs., 3 figs
Aqueous CO2 vs. aqueous extraction of soils as a preparative procedure for acute toxicity testing
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Yates, G.W.; Burks, S.L.
1994-01-01
This study was to determine if contaminated soils extracted with supercritical CO 2 (SFE) would yield different results from soils extracted with an aqueous media. Soil samples from an abandoned oil refinery were subjected to aqueous and SFE extraction. Uncontaminated control sites were compared with contaminated sites. Each extract was analyzed for 48 hour acute Ceriodaphnia LC50s and Microtox reg-sign EC50s. Comparisons were then made between the aqueous extracts and the SFE extracts. An additional study was made with HPLC chromatographs of the SFE contaminated site extracts to determine if there was a correlation between LC50 results and peak area of different sections of the chromatograph. The 48 hour Ceriodaphnia LC50 of one contaminated site showed a significant increase in toxicity with the supercritical extract compared to the aqueous extract. All contaminated sites gave toxic responses with the supercritical procedure. The Microtox reg-sign assay showed a toxic response with 2 of the 3 contaminated sites for both aqueous and SFE extracts. Results indicate that the Ceriodaphnia assays were more sensitive than Microtox reg-sign to contaminants found in the refinery soil. SFE controls did not show adverse effects with the Ceriodaphnia, but did have a slight effect with Microtox reg-sign. The best correlation (r 2 > 0.90) between the Ceriodaphnia LC50s and the peak areas of the chromatographs was obtained for sections with an estimated log K ow of 1 to 5. SFE extraction provided a fast, efficient and inexpensive method of collecting and testing moderately non-polar to strongly non-polar organic contaminants from contaminated soils
Study on the extraction kinetics of U(IV) extraction with neutral phosphoric extractant
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Lin Zhou; Liao Shishu; Li Zhou
1995-04-01
The extraction kinetics of U(IV) in the diisooctyl isobutylphosphonate system has been studied by using the single drop method. The effects of the concentrations of U(IV), HCl and extractant on the extraction rate have been examined. In a certain HCl concentration, the extraction rate equation has been acquired and in the condition of various HCl concentration the extraction rate of U(IV) is proportional to [HCl 1.51 . The effect of operation temperature was also examined, and the calculated apparent activation energy is equal to 23.24 kJ/mol. From the experimental results, the extraction reaction process and the rate-controlling step have been deduced. (4 figs., 5 tabs.)
Factors Controlling Redox Speciation of Plutonium and Neptunium in Extraction Separation Processes
Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)
Paulenova, Alena [Principal Investigator; Vandegrift, III, George F. [Collaborator
2013-09-24
The objective of the project was to examine the factors controlling redox speciation of plutonium and neptunium in UREX+ extraction in terms of redox potentials, redox mechanism, kinetics and thermodynamics. Researchers employed redox-speciation extractions schemes in parallel to the spectroscopic experiments. The resulting distribution of redox species w studied uring spectroscopic, electrochemical, and spectro-electrochemical methods. This work reulted in collection of data on redox stability and distribution of redox couples in the nitric acid/nitrate electrolyte and the development of redox buffers to stabilize the desired oxidation state of separated radionuclides. The effects of temperature and concentrations on the redox behavior of neptunium were evaluated.
Chemical analysis and quality control of Ginkgo biloba leaves, extracts, and phytopharmaceuticals
Beek, van T.A.; Montoro, P.
2009-01-01
The chemical analysis and quality control of Ginkgo leaves, extracts, phytopharmaceuticals and some herbal supplements is comprehensively reviewed. The review is an update of a similar, earlier review in this journal [T.A. van Beek, J. Chromatogr. A 967 (2002) 21¿55]. Since 2001 over 3000 papers on
Musenga, Alessandro; Cowan, David A
2013-05-03
We describe a sensitive, comprehensive and fast screening method based on liquid chromatography-high resolution mass spectrometry for the detection of a large number of analytes in sports samples. UHPLC coupled to high resolution mass spectrometry with polarity switching capability is applied for the rapid screening of a large number of analytes in human urine samples. Full scan data are acquired alternating both positive and negative ionisation. Collision-induced dissociation with positive ionisation is also performed to produce fragment ions to improve selectivity for some analytes. Data are reviewed as extracted ion chromatograms based on narrow mass/charge windows (±5ppm). A simple sample preparation method was developed, using direct enzymatic hydrolysis of glucuronide conjugates, followed by solid phase extraction with mixed mode ion-exchange cartridges. Within a 10min run time (including re-equilibration) the method presented allows for the analysis of a large number of analytes from most of the classes in the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) Prohibited List, including anabolic agents, β2-agonists, hormone antagonists and modulators, diuretics, stimulants, narcotics, glucocorticoids and β-blockers, and does so while meeting the WADA sensitivity requirements. The high throughput of the method and the fast sample pre-treatment reduces analysis cost and increases productivity. The method presented has been used for the analysis of over 5000 samples in about one month and proved to be reliable. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
Fast cat-eye effect target recognition based on saliency extraction
Li, Li; Ren, Jianlin; Wang, Xingbin
2015-09-01
Background complexity is a main reason that results in false detection in cat-eye target recognition. Human vision has selective attention property which can help search the salient target from complex unknown scenes quickly and precisely. In the paper, we propose a novel cat-eye effect target recognition method named Multi-channel Saliency Processing before Fusion (MSPF). This method combines traditional cat-eye target recognition with the selective characters of visual attention. Furthermore, parallel processing enables it to achieve fast recognition. Experimental results show that the proposed method performs better in accuracy, robustness and speed compared to other methods.
Development of a signal-extraction scheme for resonant sideband extraction
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Kokeyama, K; Kawazoe, F; Sugamoto, A; Somiya, K; Sato, S; Kawamura, S
2008-01-01
As a future plan, an advanced gravitational-wave detector will employ an optical configuration of resonant sideband extraction (RSE), achieved with an additional mirror at the signal-detection port of the power-recycled Fabry-Perot Michelson interferometer. To control the complex coupled cavity system, one of the most important design issues is how to extract the longitudinal control signals of the cavities. We have developed a new signal-extraction scheme which provides an appropriate sensing matrix. The new method uses two sets of sidebands: one of the sideband components satisfies the critical coupling condition for the RSE interferometer and reaches the signal-extraction port, and the other sideband is completely reflected by the Michelson interferometer. They provide a diagonalized sensing matrix and enable the RSE control to be robust
The Effect of Aqueous Root Extract of Watherian Indica on ...
African Journals Online (AJOL)
It consists of a well-defined mixture of flavonoids, saponins, sugars, alkaloids and mucilage. Both in vitro and in vivo experiments of the aqueous extract were done. The study to determine the in vivo effect of aqueous root extract of the shrub was on the gastrointestinal transit in conscious rats. In the in vivo experiment, fasted ...
Protective Effect of Momordica charantia Fruit Extract on Hyperglycaemia-Induced Cardiac Fibrosis
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Razif Abas
2014-01-01
Full Text Available In diabetes mellitus, cardiac fibrosis is characterized by increase in the deposition of collagen fibers. The present study aimed to observe the effect of Momordica charantia (MC fruit extract on hyperglycaemia-induced cardiac fibrosis. Diabetes was induced in the male Sprague-Dawley rats with a single intravenous injection of streptozotocin (STZ. Following 4 weeks of STZ induction, the rats were subdivided (n = 6 into control group (Ctrl, control group treated with MC (Ctrl-MC, diabetic untreated group (DM-Ctrl, diabetic group treated with MC (DM-MC, and diabetic group treated with 150 mg/kg of metformin (DM-Met. Administration of MC fruit extract (1.5 g/kg body weight in diabetic rats for 28 days showed significant increase in the body weight and decrease in the fasting blood glucose level. Significant increase in cardiac tissues superoxide dismutase (SOD, glutathione contents (GSH, and catalase (CAT was observed following MC treatment. Hydroxyproline content was significantly reduced and associated morphological damages reverted to normal. The decreased expression of type III and type IV collagens was observed under immunohistochemical staining. It is concluded that MC fruit extract possesses antihyperglycemic, antioxidative, and cardioprotective properties which may be beneficial in the treatment of diabetic cardiac fibrosis.
Azmi, Muhammad Bilal; Qureshi, Shamim A; Ahmed, Syed Danish Haseen; Mudassir, Hina Akram; Imtiaz, Fauzia; Rais, Sumera; Khan, Auwais Ahmed; Ahsan, Muhammad
2018-03-01
Present work seeks to investigate the biochemical parameters in terms of hypoglycemic and hypolipidemic effects of hydro-methanolic roots extract (HyMREt) of Rauwolfia serpentina in type 1 (alloxan induced) diabetic mice. Animals were divided into seven groups, four control groups, and three were test groups (HyMREt at 50, 100, & 150mg/kg). Each treatment was repeated for 14 days regularly in all seven respective groups and afterwards the body weights, fasting blood glucose (FBG), insulin, and serum lipid levels were determined. Total body weights of diabetic mice treated with HyMREt extract were dose dependently (pserpentina.
Fast reactors and nonproliferation
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Orlov, V.V.
1997-01-01
1.Three aspects of nonproliferation relevant to nuclear power are: Pu buildup in NPP spent fuel cooling ponds (∼ 104 t in case of consumption of ∼ 107 t cheap uranium). Danger of illegal radiochemical extraction of Pu for weapons production; Pu extraction from NPP fuel at the plants available in nuclear countries, its burning along with weapon-grade Pu in NPP reactors or in special-purpose burners; increased hazard of nuclear weapons sprawl with breeders and closed fuel cycle technology spreading all over the world. 2.The latter is one of major obstacles to creation of large-scale nuclear power. 3.Nuclear power of the first stage using 235 U will be able to meet the demands of certain fuel-deficient countries and regions, replacing ∼ 5-10% of conventional fuels in the global consumption for a number of decades. 4.Fast reactors of the first generation and the currently employed fuel technology are far from exhausting their potential for solving economic problems and meeting the challenges of safety, radioactive waste and nonproliferation. Development of large-scale nuclear power will become an option accepted by society for solving energy problems in the following century, provided a breeder technology is elaborated and demonstrated in the next 15-20 years, which would comply with the totality of the following requirement: full internal Pu breeding deterministic elimination of severe accidents involving fuel damage and high radioactivity releases: fast runaway, loss of coolant, fires, steam and hydrogen explosions, etc.; reaching a balance between radioactive wastes disposed of and uranium mined in terms of radiation hazard; technology of closed fuel cycle preventing its use for Pu extraction and permitting physical protection from fuel thefts;economic competitiveness of nuclear power for most of countries and regions, i.e. primarily the cost of NPPs with fat reactors is to be below the cost of modern LWR plants, etc
Rate phenomena in uranium extraction by amines
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Coleman, C.F.; McDowell, W.J.
1979-01-01
Kinetics studies and other rate measurements are reviewed in the amine extraction of uranium and of some other related and associated metal ions. Equilibration is relatively fast in the uranium sulfate systems most important to uranium hydrometallurgy. Significantly slow equilibration has been encountered in some other systems. Most of the recorded rate information, both qualitative and quantitative, has come from exploratory and process-development work, while some kinetics studies have been directed specifically toward elucidation of extraction mechanisms. 71 references
Impact of short‐term, repeated water fasting on the weight of mice
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Zahra Mishmast
2014-09-01
Full Text Available Introduction: Caloric restriction is a strategy applied for weight loss. Water fasting is a popular way for obesity treatment. However, little is known about the impact of water fasting on weight. Therefore, this study was conducted to investigate the effect of short-term, repeated water fasting on the weight of mice. Methods: In this study, the physiological effect of short-term, repeated water fasting on the weight of female mice was evaluated. At 6 weeks of age, mice were randomly assigned to either repeated-fasting or control group (fed ad libitum. Each group consisted of twenty mice. As the fasting period started, the repeated-fasting group had access to only water; animals had free access to food and water on non-fasting days. Body weight of each group before, during, and after the fasting period was recorded. Results: Body weight of the fasting group significantly decreased, unlike the control group. However, the fasting group gained weight rapidly after being re-fed and became significantly heavier than mice in the control group (P
Lammers, Laureen A; Achterbergh, Roos; van Schaik, Ron H N; Romijn, Johannes A; Mathôt, Ron A A
2017-10-01
Short-term fasting can alter drug exposure but it is unknown whether this is an effect of altered oral bioavailability and/or systemic clearance. Therefore, the aim of our study was to assess the effect of short-term fasting on oral bioavailability and systemic clearance of different drugs. In a randomized, controlled, crossover trial, 12 healthy subjects received a single administration of a cytochrome P450 (CYP) probe cocktail, consisting of caffeine (CYP1A2), metoprolol (CYP2D6), midazolam (CYP3A4), omeprazole (CYP2C19) and warfarin (CYP2C9), on four occasions: an oral (1) and intravenous (2) administration after an overnight fast (control) and an oral (3) and intravenous (4) administration after 36 h of fasting. Pharmacokinetic parameters of the probe drugs were analyzed using the nonlinear mixed-effects modeling software NONMEM. Short-term fasting increased systemic caffeine clearance by 17% (p = 0.04) and metoprolol clearance by 13% (p < 0.01), whereas S-warfarin clearance decreased by 19% (p < 0.01). Fasting did not affect bioavailability. The study demonstrates that short-term fasting alters CYP-mediated drug metabolism in a non-uniform pattern without affecting oral bioavailability.
Multistage feature extraction for accurate face alignment
Zuo, F.; With, de P.H.N.
2004-01-01
We propose a novel multistage facial feature extraction approach using a combination of 'global' and 'local' techniques. At the first stage, we use template matching, based on an Edge-Orientation-Map for fast feature position estimation. Using this result, a statistical framework applying the Active
Efficacy of four plant extracts in the control of root rot disease of ...
African Journals Online (AJOL)
Garcinia cola) and neem (Azadirachta indica) extracts in the control of root rot of cowpea caused by Pythium aphanidermatum was carried out in vitro and in the field (in vivo). They were evaluated for their antifungal activity over P.
Radioimmunoassay of extracted glucagon compared with three non-extraction assays
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Schenck, H. von; Nilsson, O.R.
1981-01-01
Radioimmunoassay of glucagon was performed with three different antisera, i.e. E7, 30K and 4305, all directed against the carboxyl-terminal region of glucagon and thus avoiding co-determination of glucagon-like polypeptides from the gut. Plasma samples from five healthy people subjected to various A-cell stimulation and suppression tests were used and immunoreactive glucagon assessed with the three antisera. Aliquots from all plasma samples were also extracted with acetone and glucagon re-assessed with antiserum E7. Even though all four baseline glucagon concentrations obtained were different, the glucagon profiles were comparable after superimposing the baselines. The differences in baseline concentrations of immunoreactive glucagon seem due to the interference of 'big plasma glucagon', a still unidentified factor in the E7 and 30K assays that can be precipitated by acetone. Since acetone extraction yielded the lowest baselines without altering the glucagon profiles, it is suggsted that the baseline glucagon concentrations of acetone-extracted plasma reflect the physiological level of the biologically active hormone. Using antiserum E7, our own antiserum, the normal range of glucagon values in acetone-extracted plasma samples from 22 healthy, fasting people of both sexes was 42+-16 ng/l (mean +- 2 S.D.). These values agree well with those obtained by other assay techniques. (Auth.)
Study on the Extraction and Application of Natural Dyestuff from Onion Skin
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Nwe Yee Win; Moe Moe Swe
2010-12-01
The revival of the use of natural dyes on textiles is due to the increased environmental pollution today. Because of their non-toxic, biodegradable properties and health hazards associated with the synthetic dyes, there is a global interest in natural dyed textiles. This research mainly focuses on the extraction and application of natural dyestuff from onion skin which can be easily collected in Myanmar. The objectives of this study are to extract natural dyestuff from onion skin by studying the effect of dye extraction mediums, to study the optimum dye extraction condition, and to study the fastness properties on dyed sample material. Preliminary phytochemical tests are performed to determine the compounds present in the onion skin. The best dye extraction method is determined by using four types of extraction mediums.Then the determination of dye extraction conditions is investigated by studying the effect of extraction time and solvent ratio on dye yield percent. After that the dye powder extract is applied on cotton fabrics by using different types of fixing agents. Among them, the most suitable type of mordant with onion skin dyestuff is selected for further study. Fastness properties on dyed cotton fabrics such as light, rubbing and washing are carried out. And then the range of colour developed on dyed materials is studied by CIE L*a* b* colour coordinates
Optimal control of fast and high-fidelity quantum state transfer in spin-1/2 chains
Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)
Zhang, Xiong-Peng [School of Physics, Beijing Institute of Technology, Beijing 100081 (China); Shao, Bin, E-mail: sbin610@bit.edu.cn [School of Physics, Beijing Institute of Technology, Beijing 100081 (China); Hu, Shuai; Zou, Jian [School of Physics, Beijing Institute of Technology, Beijing 100081 (China); Wu, Lian-Ao [Department of Theoretical Physics and History of Science, The Basque Country University (EHU/UPV), PO Box 644, 48080 Bilbao (Spain); Ikerbasque, Basque Foundation for Science, 48011 Bilbao (Spain)
2016-12-15
Spin chains are promising candidates for quantum communication and computation. Using quantum optimal control (OC) theory based on the Krotov method, we present a protocol to perform quantum state transfer with fast and high fidelity by only manipulating the boundary spins in a quantum spin-1/2 chain. The achieved speed is about one order of magnitude faster than that is possible in the Lyapunov control case for comparable fidelities. Additionally, it has a fundamental limit for OC beyond which optimization is not possible. The controls are exerted only on the couplings between the boundary spins and their neighbors, so that the scheme has good scalability. We also demonstrate that the resulting OC scheme is robust against disorder in the chain.
Forsyth, Ann; Wall, Melanie; Larson, Nicole; Story, Mary; Neumark-Sztainer, Dianne
2012-01-01
This population-based study examined whether residential or school neighborhood access to fast food restaurants is related to adolescents’ eating frequency of fast food. A classroom-based survey of racially/ethnically diverse adolescents (n=2,724) in 20 secondary schools in Minneapolis/St. Paul, Minnesota was used to assess eating frequency at five types of fast food restaurants. Black, Hispanic, and Native American adolescents lived near more fast food restaurants than white and Asian adolescents and also ate at fast food restaurants more often. After controlling for individual-level socio-demographics, adolescent males living near high numbers fast food restaurants ate more frequently from these venues compared to their peers. PMID:23064515
Modified source of a fast neutral atom beam with a controlled energy
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Gostev, V.A.; Elakhovskij, D.V.; Khakhaev, A.D.
1980-01-01
A source of a metastable helium atom beam with a controlled energy based on a phenomenon of resonant ion neutralization on the surface of a solid body is described. The neutral particle energy control is carried out by changing ion velocities before their transformation into metastable atoms. The results of experiments with a modified construction of atomic beam source are stated. These experiments were conducted to find the possibilities to control velocities of atoms in a flow as well as to elucidate the peculiarities of operation of a collimator-converter of this construction. Dependences of a halfwidth of the ion velocity distribution function on the ion source parameters have been investigated. The possibility for particle energy control in a collimated flow of fast neutral. atoms has been experimentally shown, it is also shown that a mean value of atom energy in a beam coincides with a value of mean energy of ions from which atoms are produced by the resonant neutralization method; the construction of the source provides the possibility to realize the method of ''overtaking beams'' for neutral atoms and as a result of this to give a possibility for studying atom-atom collisions in a wide energy range at relatively high densities of flows
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Manjusha Choudhary
2014-01-01
Full Text Available Aim: The present study was carried out to investigate the hypoglycemic effects of the aqueous and ethanolic extracts of Sesbania sesban (SS (Merr. roots, which is widely used in inflammation, fever, ulcers, leucoderma and diabetes in various parts of India. Materials and Methods: SS extracts were administered orally at doses (500 and 1000 mg/kg to normal and streptozotocin (STZ induced Type-2 diabetic mice. The fasting blood glucose (FBG, biochemical parameters in serum viz., blood glucose, serum insulin, cholesterol, triglyceride (TG, high-density lipoprotein (HDL cholesterol, urea, creatinine and total protein, change in body weight, internal organs weight, food intake, water intake and glycogen level in liver were performed for the evaluation of hypoglycemic effects. Results: Both doses of aqueous and ethanolic SS extracts caused a marked decrease of FBG in STZ induced Type-2 diabetic mice. Both extracts decreased the cholesterol, TG, urea, creatinine level and increased the insulin, HDL cholesterol and total protein level. Decrease in body weight and glycogen level induced by STZ was restored. Increase in water and food intake induced by STZ was decreased. Conclusions: The results suggest that aqueous and ethanolic extracts of SS may have hypoglycemic potential for the Type-2 diabetes and support the traditional use of the roots of plant as a hypoglycemic agent.
Yan, Fulong; Guelbenzu, Gonzalo; Calabretta, Nicola
2018-01-01
We present a novel hybrid DCN based on flow-controlled fast optical switches. Results show packet loss < 1.4E-5 and latency < 2.4μs for 100,000 servers (0.3 load). Costs and power consumptions are also compared with current technologies.
NSRL Extraction Bump Control in the Booster
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Brennan, L.
2008-01-01
Due to inadequacies in the user interface of the booster orbit control system, a number of new tools were developed. The first priority was an accurate calculation of the winding currents given specific displacements at each extraction septa. Next, the physical limits of the power supplies (±600 amps) needed to be taken into account. In light of this limit, a system is developed that indicates to the user what the allowed values of one bump parameter are once the other two have been specified. Finally, techniques are developed to account for the orbit behavior once power supplies are requested to exceed their ±600 amp limit. This includes a recalculation of bump parameters and a calculation of the amplitude of the residuals. Following this, possible areas for further development are outlined. These techniques were computationally developed in Mathematica and tested in the Methodical Accelerator Design (MAD) program before they were implemented into the control system. At the end, a description of the implementation of these techniques in a new interface is described. This includes a depiction of the appearance and functionality of the graphical user interface, a description of the input and output flow, and an outline of how each important calculation is performed
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Flora V. Romeo
2015-06-01
Full Text Available Pomegranate (Punica granatum L. peel and sumac (Rhus coriaria L. fruit and leaf extracts were chemically characterized and their ability to inhibit table grape (cv. Italia rots caused by Botrytis cinerea was evaluated on artificially inoculated berries. Different extraction methods were applied and extracts were characterized through Ultra Fast High Performance Liquid Chromatography coupled to Photodiode array detector and Electrospray ionization Mass spectrometer (UPLC-PDA-ESI/MSn for their phenol and anthocyanin contents. The concentrated pomegranate peel extract (PGE-C was the richest in phenols (66.97 g gallic acid equivalents/kg while the concentrated sumac extract from fruits (SUF-C showed the highest anthocyanin amount (171.96 mg cyanidin 3-glucoside equivalents/kg. Both phenolic and anthocyanin profile of pomegranate and sumac extracts were quite different: pomegranate extract was rich in cyanidin 3-glucoside, pelargonidin 3-glucoside and ellagic acid derivatives, while sumac extract was characterized by 7-methyl-cyanidin 3-galactoside and gallic acid derivatives. The concentrated extracts from both pomegranate peel and sumac leaves significantly reduced the development of Botrytis rots. In particular, the extract from pomegranate peel completely inhibited the pathogen at different intervals of time (0, 12, and 24 h between treatment and pathogen inoculation on fruits maintained at 22–24 °C and high relative humidity (RH. This extract may represent a valuable alternative to control postharvest fungal rots in view of its high efficacy because of the low cost of pomegranate peel, which is a waste product of processing factories.
Health effects of intermittent fasting: hormesis or harm? A systematic review.
Horne, Benjamin D; Muhlestein, Joseph B; Anderson, Jeffrey L
2015-08-01
Intermittent fasting, alternate-day fasting, and other forms of periodic caloric desistance are gaining popularity in the lay press and among animal research scientists. Whether clinical evidence exists for or is strong enough to support the use of such dietary regimens as health interventions is unclear. This review sought to identify rigorous, clinically relevant research studies that provide high-quality evidence that therapeutic fasting regimens are clinically beneficial to humans. A systematic review of the published literature through January 2015 was performed by using sensitive search strategies to identify randomized controlled clinical trials that evaluated the effects of fasting on either clinically relevant surrogate outcomes (e.g., weight, cholesterol) or actual clinical event endpoints [e.g., diabetes, coronary artery disease (CAD)] and any other studies that evaluated the effects of fasting on clinical event outcomes. Three randomized controlled clinical trials of fasting in humans were identified, and the results were published in 5 articles, all of which evaluated the effects of fasting on surrogate outcomes. Improvements in weight and other risk-related outcomes were found in the 3 trials. Two observational clinical outcomes studies in humans were found in which fasting was associated with a lower prevalence of CAD or diabetes diagnosis. No randomized controlled trials of fasting for clinical outcomes were identified. Clinical research studies of fasting with robust designs and high levels of clinical evidence are sparse in the literature. Whereas the few randomized controlled trials and observational clinical outcomes studies support the existence of a health benefit from fasting, substantial further research in humans is needed before the use of fasting as a health intervention can be recommended. © 2015 American Society for Nutrition.
Zhaleh Shadman; Mahdieh Akhoundan; Mohsen Khoshniat Nikoo
2014-01-01
Although several studies have investigated the effects of Ramadan fasting on diabetic patients, the exact impacts on diabetes control have not been well elucidated yet. There are neither precise quantitative criteria nor clear guidelines regarding Ramadan fasting for diabetic patients. This review aimed to discuss the results of previous studies. The neglected points in performed studies should be considered in the design and interpretation of future research related to Ramadan fasting in dia...
Effect of flash release treatment on phenolic extraction and wine composition.
Morel-Salmi, Cécile; Souquet, Jean-Marc; Bes, Magali; Cheynier, Véronique
2006-06-14
The flash release (FR) process, consisting of rapidly heating the grapes and then applying strong vacuum, has been proposed to increase the polyphenol content of red wines. Its impact on polyphenol extraction kinetics and on the polyphenol composition of red juice and wines was studied over two seasons on different grape varieties (Grenache, Mourvedre, Carignan). The FR process allows fast extraction of all phenolic compounds (hydroxycinnamic acids, flavonols, anthocyanins, catechins, proanthocyanidins) and can be used to produce polyphenol-enriched grape juices. However, the concentration of all polyphenols dramatically decreased throughout fermentation when pressing was achieved immediately after FR. The FR wines made with pomace maceration were also enriched in polyphenols compared to the corresponding control wines. Increasing the duration of high-temperature exposure in the FR treatment further increased extraction of phenolic compounds but also accelerated their conversion to derived species. The tannin-to-anthocyanin ratio was particularly low in the wine fermented in the liquid phase, higher after FR than in the control, and even higher after longer heating. FR resulted in an increased tannin-to-anthocyanin ratio and an increased conversion of anthocyanins to tannin-anthocyanin adducts showing the same color properties as anthocyanins. The tannin-to-anthocyanin ratio was particularly low in the wine fermented in the liquid phase that also contained larger amounts of orange sulfite bleaching-resistant pigments.
Electron beam extraction from a HVPES
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Marghitu, S.; Cramariuc, R.; Nicolescu, I.; Niculescu, M.
1996-01-01
The results of the research concerning the extraction system of the fast electrons from a cold cathode high voltage glow discharge plasma electron source (HVPES) are presented. For using the electron beam in a more flexible way, that is changing the shape of the minimum cross-section, (or beam cross-over), of the beam in a sample S frontal plane, without perturbing the discharge parameters, some modifications to a reference internal geometry were tested. Finally, a geometry was found in which the discharge volume may be separated in two parts, one, 'a discharge space', filled with plasma and fast electrons and another, 'working space', occupied specially by the fast electron beam. In this new geometry the electrical discharge parameters, I d - discharge current, U d - discharge voltage, were the same as for the reference geometry. (authors)
2016-12-14
Cinnamon Extract, and Metformin as Initial Treatment for Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus : A Randomized, Controlled Trial. Paul Crawford, MD Clinical Investigation...Title: “Cinnamon Bark, Water-Soluble Cinnamon Extract, and Metformin as Initial Treatment for Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus : A Randomized, Controlled...as initial treatment for Type 2 diabetes mellitus : A randomized, controlled trial. IRB #: FWH20110004H Principal Investigator (PI) Rank / Civ
SNS EXTRACTION KICKER POWER SUPPLY PROTOTYPE TEST
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
MI, J.L.; SANDBERG, J.; SANDERS, R.; SOUKAS, A.; ZHANG, W.
2000-01-01
The SNS (Spallation Neutron Source) accumulator ring Extraction System consists of a Fast kicker and a Lambertson Septum magnet. The proposed design will use 14 kicker magnets powered by an Extraction Kicker Power Supply System. They will eject the high power beam from the SNS accumulator ring into RTBT (Ring to Target Beam Tunnel) through a Lambertson Septum magnet. This paper describes some test results of the SNS Extraction Kicker power supply prototype. The high repetition rate of 60 pulse per second operation is the challenging part of the design. In the prototype testing, a 3 kA damp current of 700ns pulse-width, 200 nS rise time and 60 Hz repetition rate at 32 kV PFN operation voltage has been demonstrated. An Extraction kicker power supply system design diagram is depicted
Mason, Ashley E; Epel, Elissa S; Kristeller, Jean; Moran, Patricia J; Dallman, Mary; Lustig, Robert H; Acree, Michael; Bacchetti, Peter; Laraia, Barbara A; Hecht, Frederick M; Daubenmier, Jennifer
2016-04-01
We evaluated changes in mindful eating as a potential mechanism underlying the effects of a mindfulness-based intervention for weight loss on eating of sweet foods and fasting glucose levels. We randomized 194 obese individuals (M age = 47.0 ± 12.7 years; BMI = 35.5 ± 3.6; 78% women) to a 5.5-month diet-exercise program with or without mindfulness training. The mindfulness group, relative to the active control group, evidenced increases in mindful eating and maintenance of fasting glucose from baseline to 12-month assessment. Increases in mindful eating were associated with decreased eating of sweets and fasting glucose levels among mindfulness group participants, but this association was not statistically significant among active control group participants. Twelve-month increases in mindful eating partially mediated the effect of intervention arm on changes in fasting glucose levels from baseline to 12-month assessment. Increases in mindful eating may contribute to the effects of mindfulness-based weight loss interventions on eating of sweets and fasting glucose levels.
Accelerating Memory-Access-Limited HPC Applications via Novel Fast Data Compression, Phase II
National Aeronautics and Space Administration — A fast-paced continual increase on the ratio of CPU to memory speed feeds an exponentially growing limitation for extracting performance from HPC systems. Breaking...
Accelerating Memory-Access-Limited HPC Applications via Novel Fast Data Compression, Phase I
National Aeronautics and Space Administration — A fast-paced continual increase on the ratio of CPU to memory speed feeds an exponentially growing limitation for extracting performance from HPC systems. Ongoing...
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Dao-Rui Yu
2016-09-01
Full Text Available Objective: To evaluate the effects of galangal extract on cognitive dysfunction and nerve pathological change in rats with diabetic encephalopathy. Methods: Sixty male SD rats were given high sugar and fat diet except the control group. Fifty days later, the animals were injected with STZ 30 mg/kg through intraperitoneal to establish type 2 diabetes model. Rats were divided into control group, model group, Metformin group, oxiracetam group, galangal extract high and low dose group. After 4-week administration, Morris water maze was utilized to investigate the effects of different galangal extract on learning and memory ability in rats. After behavioral testing, the blood sugar level was detected. Meanwhile, spectrophotometer was used to measure the superoxide dismutase (SOD activity and maleic dialdehyde (MDA content of brain tissue. HE staining was used to observe the morphological changes in the hippocampus. Results: Galangal extract can significantly reduce swimming time and swimming distance of diabetic encephalopathy rat model, lower fasting blood glucose while increase body weight. At the same time, SOD activity and MDA content of rat brain were reduced. The morphology of neurons in hippocampus was improved and neuronal nuclear condensation was reduced correspondingly. Conclusions: Galangal extract can significantly improve cognitive ability in diabetic rats, reduce hippocampal pathological changes and have some prevention or treatment effects on of diabetes encephalopathy
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Fridlund, P.S.
1985-01-01
The FAST-M Cost Estimating Model is a parametric model designed to determine the costs associated with mining and subterranean operations. It is part of the FAST (Freiman Analysis of Systems Techniques) series of parametric models developed by Freiman Parametric Systems, Inc. The rising cost of fossil fuels has created a need for a method which could be used to determine and control costs in mining and subterranean operations. FAST-M fills this need and also provides scheduling information. The model works equally well for a variety of situations including underground vaults for hazardous waste storage, highway tunnels, and mass transit tunnels. In addition, costs for above ground structures and equipment can be calculated. The input for the model may be on a macro or a micro level. This allows the model to be used at various stages in a project. On the macro level, only general conditions and specifications need to be known. On the micro level, the smallest details may be included. As with other FAST models, reference cases are used to more accurately predict costs and scheduling. This paper will address how the model can be used for a variety of subterranean purposes
Han, Jae Woo; Shim, Sang Hee; Jang, Kyoung Soo; Choi, Yong Ho; Dang, Quang Le; Kim, Hun; Choi, Gyung Ja
2018-02-01
As an alternative to synthetic pesticides, natural materials such as plant extracts and microbes have been considered to control plant diseases. In this study, methanol extracts of 120 plants were explored for in vivo antifungal activity against Rhizoctonia solani, Botrytis cinerea, Phytophthora infestans, Puccinia triticina, and Blumeria graminis f. sp. hordei. Of the 120 plant extracts, eight plant extracts exhibited a disease control efficacy of more than 90% against at least one of five plant diseases. In particular, a methanol extract of Curcuma zedoaria rhizomes exhibited strong activity against wheat leaf rust caused by P. triticina. When the C. zedoaria methanol extracts were partitioned with various solvents, the layers of n-hexane, methylene chloride, and ethyl acetate showed disease control values of 100, 80, and 43%, respectively, against wheat leaf rust. From the C. zedoaria rhizome extracts, an antifungal substance was isolated and identified as a sesquiterpene ketolactone based on the mass and nuclear magnetic resonance spectral data. The active compound controlled the development of rice sheath blight, wheat leaf rust, and tomato late blight. Considering the in vivo antifungal activities of the sesquiterpene ketolactone and the C. zedoaria extracts, these results suggest that C. zedoaria can be used as a potent fungicide in organic agriculture.
The Low-Level Control System for the CERN PS Multi-Turn Extraction Kickers
Schipper, J; Boucly, C; Carlier, E; Fowler, T; Gaudillet, H; Noulibos, R; Sermeus, L
2010-01-01
To reduce the beam losses when preparing high intensity proton beam for the CERN Neutrino to Gran Sasso (CNGS) facility, a new Multi-Turn extraction (MTE) scheme has been implemented in the PS, to replace the present Continuous Transfer (CT) to the SPS. Industrial off-the-shelf components have been used for the low-level part of the MTE kicker control system. National Instruments PXI systems are used to control the high voltage pulse generators and a SIEMENS programmable logic controller (PLC) handles the centralised oil cooling and gas insulation sub-systems
Special power supply and control system for the gas-cooled fast reactor-core flow test loop
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Hudson, T.L.
1981-09-01
The test bundle in the Gas-Cooled Fast Reactor-Core Flow Test Loop (GCFR-CFTL) requires a source of electrical power that can be controlled accurately and reliably over a wide range of steady-state and transient power levels and skewed power distributions to simulate GCFR operating conditions. Both ac and dc power systems were studied, and only those employing silicon-controlled rectifiers (SCRs) could meet the requirements. This report summarizes the studies, tests, evaluations, and development work leading to the selection. it also presents the design, procurement, testing, and evaluation of the first 500-kVa LMPL supply. The results show that the LMPL can control 60-Hz sine wave power from 200 W to 500 kVA
Fast and error-resilient coherent control in an atomic vapor
He, Yizun; Wang, Mengbing; Zhao, Jian; Qiu, Liyang; Wang, Yuzhuo; Fang, Yami; Zhao, Kaifeng; Wu, Saijun
2017-04-01
Nanosecond chirped pulses from an optical arbitrary waveform generator is applied to both invert and coherently split the D1 line population of potassium vapor within a laser focal volume of 2X105 μ m3. The inversion fidelity of f>96%, mainly limited by spontaneous emission during the nanosecond pulse, is inferred from both probe light transmission and superfluorescence emission. The nearly perfect inversion is uniformly achieved for laser intensity varying over an order of magnitude, and is tolerant to detuning error of more than 1000 times the D1 transition linewidth. We further demonstrate enhanced intensity error resilience with multiple chirped pulses and ``universal composite pulses''. This fast and robust coherent control technique should find wide applications in the field of quantum optics, laser cooling, and atom interferometry. This work is supported by National Key Research Program of China under Grant No. 2016YFA0302000, and NNSFC under Grant No. 11574053.
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Kawanishi, H.; Hajima, R.; Sekimura, N.; Arai, Y.; Ishino, S.
1988-01-01
Precipitation behavior has been studied using a carbon extraction replica technique in Ti-modified Type 316 stainless steels (JPCA-2) and 9Cr-2Mo ferritic/martensitic steels (JFMS) irradiated to 8.1x10 24 n/m 2 at 873 and 673 K, respectively, in the experimental fast breeder reactor JOYO. Precipitate identification and compositional analysis were carried out on extracted replicas. The results were compared to those from the as-received steel and a control which had been given the same thermal as-treatment as the specimens received during irradiations. Carbides, Ti-sulphides and phosphides were precipitated in JPCA-2. Precipitate observed in JFMS included carbides, Laves-phases and phosphides. The precipitates in both steels were concluded to be stable under irradiation except for MC and M 6 C in JPCA-2. Small MC particles were found precipitated in JPCA-2 during both irradiation and aging. Irradiation proved to promote the precipitation of M 6 C in JPCA-2. (orig.)
Fast copper extraction from printed circuit boards using supercritical carbon dioxide.
Calgaro, C O; Schlemmer, D F; da Silva, M D C R; Maziero, E V; Tanabe, E H; Bertuol, D A
2015-11-01
Technological development and intensive marketing support the growth in demand for electrical and electronic equipment (EEE), for which printed circuit boards (PCBs) are vital components. As these devices become obsolete after short periods, waste PCBs present a problem and require recycling. PCBs are composed of ceramics, polymers, and metals, particularly Cu, which is present in highest percentages. The aim of this study was to develop an innovative method to recover Cu from the PCBs of old mobile phones, obtaining faster reaction kinetics by means of leaching with supercritical CO2 and co-solvents. The PCBs from waste mobile phones were characterized, and evaluation was made of the reaction kinetics during leaching at atmospheric pressure and using supercritical CO2 with H2O2 and H2SO4 as co-solvents. The results showed that the PCBs contained 34.83 wt% of Cu. It was found that the supercritical extraction was 9 times faster, compared to atmospheric pressure extraction. After 20 min of supercritical leaching, approximately 90% of the Cu contained in the PCB was extracted using a 1:20 solid:liquid ratio and 20% of H2O2 and H2SO4 (2.5 M). These results demonstrate the efficiency of the process. Therefore the supercritical CO2 employment in the PCBs recycling is a promising alternative and the CO2 is environmentally acceptable and reusable. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Krylov, V.I.; Sorokin, S.V.
1998-01-01
The dynamics of a Euler-Bernoulli beam with a time-and-space dependent bending stiffness is studied. The , problem is considered in connection with the application of noise control using smart structures. It is shown that a control for the vibrations of the beam can be achieved by varying the bending stiffness. The technique of direct separation of fast and slow motion coupled with a Green's function method is used to analyze the dynamics of the beam with high-frequency modulation of the stiffness
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
B. Von H. Kasselmann
2001-12-01
Full Text Available The aim of the study was to determine whether locus of control can be used as a predictive measure to differentiate between effective and less effective franchisees. The locus of control inventory of Schepers (1994; 1995 was used for measuring locus of control. Relevant measurements were obtained in respect of a sample of 160 restaurants of a fast-food franchise. Opsomming Die studiedoelwit was om te bepaal of lokus van beheer as maatstafaangewend kan word om tussen doeltreffende en minder doeltreffende konsessiehouers te onderskei. Die lokus van beheer-vraelys van Schepers (1994; 1995 is in die meting van lokus van beheer gebruik. Die tersaaklike metings is verkry ten opsigte van'n steekproefvan 160 restaurante van n konsessiemaatskappy in die kitsvoedselbedryf.
Fast Dynamic Simulation-Based Small Signal Stability Assessment and Control
Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)
Acharya, Naresh [General Electric Company, Fairfield, CT (United States); Baone, Chaitanya [General Electric Company, Fairfield, CT (United States); Veda, Santosh [General Electric Company, Fairfield, CT (United States); Dai, Jing [General Electric Company, Fairfield, CT (United States); Chaudhuri, Nilanjan [General Electric Company, Fairfield, CT (United States); Leonardi, Bruno [General Electric Company, Fairfield, CT (United States); Sanches-Gasca, Juan [General Electric Company, Fairfield, CT (United States); Diao, Ruisheng [Pacific Northwest National Lab. (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States); Wu, Di [Pacific Northwest National Lab. (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States); Huang, Zhenyu [Pacific Northwest National Lab. (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States); Zhang, Yu [Pacific Northwest National Lab. (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States); Jin, Shuangshuang [Pacific Northwest National Lab. (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States); Zheng, Bin [Pacific Northwest National Lab. (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States); Chen, Yousu [Pacific Northwest National Lab. (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States)
2014-12-31
Power grid planning and operation decisions are made based on simulation of the dynamic behavior of the system. Enabling substantial energy savings while increasing the reliability of the aging North American power grid through improved utilization of existing transmission assets hinges on the adoption of wide-area measurement systems (WAMS) for power system stabilization. However, adoption of WAMS alone will not suffice if the power system is to reach its full entitlement in stability and reliability. It is necessary to enhance predictability with "faster than real-time" dynamic simulations that will enable the dynamic stability margins, proactive real-time control, and improve grid resiliency to fast time-scale phenomena such as cascading network failures. Present-day dynamic simulations are performed only during offline planning studies, considering only worst case conditions such as summer peak, winter peak days, etc. With widespread deployment of renewable generation, controllable loads, energy storage devices and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles expected in the near future and greater integration of cyber infrastructure (communications, computation and control), monitoring and controlling the dynamic performance of the grid in real-time would become increasingly important. The state-of-the-art dynamic simulation tools have limited computational speed and are not suitable for real-time applications, given the large set of contingency conditions to be evaluated. These tools are optimized for best performance of single-processor computers, but the simulation is still several times slower than real-time due to its computational complexity. With recent significant advances in numerical methods and computational hardware, the expectations have been rising towards more efficient and faster techniques to be implemented in power system simulators. This is a natural expectation, given that the core solution algorithms of most commercial simulators were developed
Very fast kicker for accelerator applications
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Grishanov, B.I.; Podgorny, F.V.; Shiltsev, V.D.
1996-11-01
We describe a very fast counter traveling wave kicker with a full pulse width of about 7 ns. Successful test experiment has been done with hi-tech semiconductor technology FET pulse generator with a MHz- range repetition rates and maximum kick strength of the order of 3 G·m. Further. increase of the strength seems to be quite possible with the FET pursers, that makes the kicker to be very useful tool for bunch-by-bunch injection/extraction and other accelerator applications
Peres, Lucas L S; Sobreiro, Ana I; Couto, Irys F S; Silva, Rosicléia M; Pereira, Fabricio F; Heredia-Vieira, Silvia C; Cardoso, Claudia A L; Mauad, Munir; Scalon, Silvana P Q; Verza, Sandra S; Mussury, Rosilda M
2017-11-22
Successive applications of insecticides to control Plutella xylostella L. (Lepidoptera: Plutellidae) have resulted in the emergence of resistant populations of this insect. A novel control measure for this target insect could be the use of botanical insecticides derived from plant tissues. Hence, we experimentally tested aqueous extracts of Alibertia edulis (Rich.), Alibertia intermedia (Mart.), and Alibertia sessilis (Vell.) K. Schum. found in the Brazilian savannah in order to investigate their potential to disrupt the life cycle of P. xylostella . Aqueous extracts of the leaves of A. intermedia and A. sessilis negatively affected the development of P. xylostella in all stages of the life cycle, prolonging the larval stage and causing mortality in the larval or pupal stages. Treatments with A. intermedia and A. sessilis extracts caused the lowest fecundity and the number of hatched larvae. The harmful effects of these aqueous extracts on the life cycle of P. xylostella may be attributable to the flavonoids and other phenolic compounds present in A. intermedia and A. sessilis . These aqueous botanical extracts are low in toxicity when compared to non-aqueous pesticides, and may emerge as an effective approach for control of populations of P. xylostella .
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Lucas L. S. Peres
2017-11-01
Full Text Available Successive applications of insecticides to control Plutella xylostella L. (Lepidoptera: Plutellidae have resulted in the emergence of resistant populations of this insect. A novel control measure for this target insect could be the use of botanical insecticides derived from plant tissues. Hence, we experimentally tested aqueous extracts of Alibertia edulis (Rich., Alibertia intermedia (Mart., and Alibertia sessilis (Vell. K. Schum. found in the Brazilian savannah in order to investigate their potential to disrupt the life cycle of P. xylostella. Aqueous extracts of the leaves of A. intermedia and A. sessilis negatively affected the development of P. xylostella in all stages of the life cycle, prolonging the larval stage and causing mortality in the larval or pupal stages. Treatments with A. intermedia and A. sessilis extracts caused the lowest fecundity and the number of hatched larvae. The harmful effects of these aqueous extracts on the life cycle of P. xylostella may be attributable to the flavonoids and other phenolic compounds present in A. intermedia and A. sessilis. These aqueous botanical extracts are low in toxicity when compared to non-aqueous pesticides, and may emerge as an effective approach for control of populations of P. xylostella.
Impact of intermittent fasting on glucose homeostasis.
Varady, Krista A
2016-07-01
This article provides an overview of the most recent human trials that have examined the impact of intermittent fasting on glucose homeostasis. Our literature search retrieved one human trial of alternate day fasting, and three trials of Ramadan fasting published in the past 12 months. Current evidence suggests that 8 weeks of alternate day fasting that produces mild weight loss (4% from baseline) has no effect on glucose homeostasis. As for Ramadan fasting, decreases in fasting glucose, insulin, and insulin resistance have been noted after 4 weeks in healthy normal weight individuals with mild weight loss (1-2% from baseline). However, Ramadan fasting may have little impact on glucoregulatory parameters in women with polycystic ovarian syndrome who failed to observe weight loss. Whether intermittent fasting is an effective means of regulating glucose homeostasis remains unclear because of the scarcity of studies in this area. Large-scale, longer-term randomized controlled trials will be required before the use of fasting can be recommended for the prevention and treatment of metabolic diseases.
Control of protein synthesis in cell-free extracts of sea urchin embryos
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Hansen, L.J.; Huang, W.I.; Jagus, R.
1986-01-01
Although the increase in protein synthesis that occurs after fertilization of sea urchin eggs results from increased utilization of stored maternal mRNA, the underlying mechanism is unknown. The authors have prepared cell-free extracts from S.purpuratus and A.puctulata unfertilized eggs and 2-cell embryos that retain the protein synthetic differences observed in vivo. The method is based on that of Dr. Alina Lopo. 35 S methionine incorporation is linear during a 30 min incubation and is 10-20 fold higher in extracts from 2-cell embryos than unfertilized eggs. Addition of purified mRNA does not stimulate these systems, suggesting a regulatory mechanism other than mRNA masking. Addition of rabbit reticulocyte ribosomal salt wash stimulated protein synthesis in extracts from eggs but not embryos, suggesting deficiencies in translational components in unfertilized eggs. Mixing of egg and embryo lysates indicated the presence of a weak protein synthesis inhibitor in eggs. Translational control in developing sea urchin embryos thus appears to be complex, involving both stimulatory and inhibitory factors
Review of clinical results of fast neutron therapy in the USA
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Peters, L.J.; Maor, M.H.; Laramore, G.E.; Griffin, T.W.; Hendrickson, F.R.
1986-01-01
Fast neutron radiotherapy in the United States is entering a new era in which dedicated hospital-based generators with isocentric beam capability are replacing treatment facilities based on fixed beams extracted from physics accelerators. All available clinical data, however, come from the older facilities. The majority of randomized trials conducted in the U.S. have used neutrons in a mixed schedule with photons, in which the aim was to deliver two-fifths of the total dose with neutrons; the neutron dose per fraction was set as the estimated equivalent of 2 Gy photons in terms of late normal tissue injury. Overall treatment time was held constant compared with the control photon therapy regimens (usually 6-8 weeks). Random studies of this type showed no evidence of a therapeutic gain in the treatment of advanced primary carcinomas of the head and neck, lung, uterine cervix, or pancreas. Based on a reassessment of all the available clinical and radiobiological data, and taking advantage of the greater technical flexibility offered by hospital-based facilities, the strategy of fast neutron therapy for future trials has been changed. In these trials neutrons are being used in a 12 fraction, 4 week regimen to treat gross disease, with elective therapy given wherever possible using low LET irradiation. Concomitantly, research is proceeding to define predictors of tumor response to high LET radiations in order to better select patients for fast neutron radiotherapy
DEFF Research Database (Denmark)
Orskov, C; Jeppesen, J; Madsbad, S
1991-01-01
We investigated the major products of proglucagon (PG) processing in plasma in the fasting state, after intravenous arginine and after an oral glucose load in noninsulin-dependent diabetics (NIDDM) and in weight matched controls using specific radioimmunoassays and analytical gel filtration...... integrated incremental responses after intravenous arginine were identical in the two groups. After oral glucose the insulin concentrations in plasma were lower and the concentrations of all proglucagon products were higher in the NIDDM group compared to the control group. The gel filtration analysis showed....... In the fasting state the glucagonlike peptide-1 (GLP-1) immunoreactivity was significantly elevated in the NIDDM group compared with the control group. Both after intravenous arginine and after an oral glucose load a rise in the plasma concentrations of all immunoreactive moieties measured was seen. All...
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Yong-Ki Kim
2015-12-01
Full Text Available In order to control seed-borne diseases, we obtained extracts from commercial fermented food products of Kimchi, Gochujang, Doenjang, Ganjang and Makgeolli and their suppressive effects against seed-borne diseases were studied. In addition, the suppressive effects of bacterial strains isolated from the fermented foods were screened in vitro and in vivo. Among fifty food extracts, twenty food-extracts suppressed more than 92% incidence of seedling rots in vitro and seven food extracts increased 58.3-66.8% of healthy seedling in the greenhouse. Among 218 isolates from the fermented foods, 29 isolates showing high antifungal activity against seven seed-borne fungal pathogens were selected. Among 29 isolates, 13 isolates significantly reduced seedling rot and increased healthy seedlings. Sixteen isolates with high antifungal activity and suppressive effect against sesame seedling rots were identified by 16S rRNA sequencing. Fourteen of sixteen isolates were identified as Bacillus spp. and the other two isolates from Makgeolli were identified as Saccharomyces cerevisiae. It was confirmed that B. amyloliquifaciens was majority in the effective bacterial population of Korean fermented foods. In addition, when the bioformulations of the two selected effective microorganisms, B. amyloliquifacien Gcj2-1 and B. amyloliquifacien Gcj3-1, were prepared in powder forms using bentonite, kaolin, talc and zeolite, talc- and kaolin-bioformulation showed high control efficacy against sesame seed-borne disease, followed by zeolite-bioformulation. Meanwhile control efficacy of each bentonite-bioformulation of B. amyloliquifacien Gcj2-1 and B. amyloliquifacien Gcj3-1 was lower than that of bacterial suspension of them. It was found that the selected effective microorganisms from Korean fermented foods were effective for controlling seed-borne diseases of sesame in vitro and in the greenhouse. We think that Korean fermented food extracts and useful microorganisms
Concept for ELENA Extraction and Beam Transfer Elements
Borburgh, J; Balhan, B; Barna, D; Bartmann, W; Fowler, T; Pricop, V; Sermeus, L; Vanbavinckhove, G
2013-01-01
In 2011 the ELENA decelerator was approved as a CERN project. Initially one extraction was foreseen, which should use a kicker and a magnetic septum which can be recuperated from an earlier installation. Since then a second extraction has been approved and a new solution was studied using only electric fields to extract the beam. This will be achieved by fast pulsing a separator, allowing single-bunch but also a full single-turn extraction from ELENA towards the experiments. The extraction and transfer requirements of ELENA are described, followed by the principal differences between the magnetic and electric field concepts. The design of electrostatic focussing and bending devices for the transfer lines will be presented. Finally the field quality which can be achieved with the separator and the concept of its power supply will be discussed.
Qazi, Nasreen; Khan, Rafeeq Alam; Rizwani, Ghazala H; Feroz, Zeeshan
2014-03-01
Diabetes mellitus is a major threat to present and future generations. The role of herbal medication has emerged as a safe alternative to currently available medication due to its decreased potential to produce side effects, hence effect of Carthamus tinctorius was observed on fasting blood glucose and insulin levels in alloxan induced diabetic rabbits. Thirty five healthy male rabbits were divided into 5 groups with 7 rabbits in each (Normal control, diabetic control, diabetic treated with glibenclamide, diabetic treated with Carthamus tinctorius extract at doses of 200 and 300mg/kg of body weight). Drug and extract were given orally for 30 days and the values for blood glucose levels were observed after 15(th) and 30(th) day of treatment by using standard reagent kits provided by Human Germany. While insulin levels were checked at the end of the study by using Architect i1000 by Abbott Diagnostics USA. Animals were also observed for any gross toxicity during the study. Results revealed that Carthamus tinctorius has significant hypoglycemic effect at 200mg/kg and 300mg/kg doses as compared to diabetic control group. Insulin levels were significantly increased in Glibenclamide treated as well as Carthamus tinctorius treated groups as compared to diabetic control.
Electron beam extraction from a HVPES
Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)
Marghitu, S; Cramariuc, R [Accelerators Laboratory, Institute of Physics and Technology for Radiation Devices, PO Box MG-06, R-76900 Bucharest (Romania); Nicolescu, I; Niculescu, M [Institute of Research and Design for Electrical Engineering, ICPE - Electrostatica, Splaiul Unirii 313, Sect. 3, R-74204 Bucharest (Romania)
1997-12-31
The results of the research concerning the extraction system of the fast electrons from a cold cathode high voltage glow discharge plasma electron source (HVPES) are presented. For using the electron beam in a more flexible way, that is changing the shape of the minimum cross-section, (or beam cross-over), of the beam in a sample S frontal plane, without perturbing the discharge parameters, some modifications to a reference internal geometry were tested. Finally, a geometry was found in which the discharge volume may be separated in two parts, one, `a discharge space`, filled with plasma and fast electrons and another, `working space`, occupied specially by the fast electron beam. In this new geometry the electrical discharge parameters, I{sub d} - discharge current, U{sub d} - discharge voltage, were the same as for the reference geometry. (authors) 5 refs., 4 figs., 3 tabs.
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Ghally, S.E.; Abdel Kawy, F.K; Abd-alla, M.S; Mohamed, S.A.
2005-01-01
In This work two plant species: fruits of chinaberry, Melia azedarach and leaves of Duranta plumieri were chosen to study the efficiency of these plant extracts with concentrations from 2 to 6 % (w/v) for the first and from 15 to 25% (w/v) for the second with joint action of gamma radiation at 200 Gy in controlling potato tuber moth Ph. operculella. It was noticed that, the solved used have no effect on the larval development. Percent pupation was adversely affected by increasing the concentration of plant extracts. Also the reduction in adult emergence was increased with increasing treatments used. The gradual increase in susceptibility of insect larvae to plant extract was noticed as the dose of gamma irradiation applied. The sex ratio of the resulting adults was not affected at all concentrations used. Duranta extracts have a slight effects on all the stages of Ph. operculella. Percent pupation was 19.54% with Melia fruits extract at concentration 5%, while it was 45.05% with Duranta leaves extract at 15% concentration. Finally Duranta extract had a little toxicity against Ph. operculella comparing with another extract
Determination of 8 Synthetic Food Dyes by Solid Phase Extraction ...
African Journals Online (AJOL)
Keywords: Synthetic colors, Food, Fruit flavored drinks, Solid phase extraction, RP-HPLC. Tropical Journal of ..... food dyes by thin-layer chromatography-fast atom bombardment ... food dyes in soft drinks containing natural pigments by.
Pepe, Giacomo; Sommella, Eduardo; Manfra, Michele; De Nisco, Mauro; Tenore, Gian Carlo; Scopa, Antonio; Sofo, Adriano; Marzocco, Stefania; Adesso, Simona; Novellino, Tiziana; Campiglia, Pietro
2015-01-15
Fresh cut vegetables represent a widely consumed food worldwide. Among these, lettuce (Lactuca sativa L.) is one of the most popular on the market. The growing interest for this "healthy" food is related to the content of bioactive compounds, especially polyphenols, that show many beneficial effects. In this study, we report the anti-inflammatory and antioxidant potential of polyphenols extracted from lettuce (var. Maravilla de Verano), in J774A.1 macrophages stimulated with Escherichia coli lipopolysaccharide (LPS). Lettuce extract significantly decreased reactive oxygen species, nitric oxide release, inducible nitric oxide synthase and cycloxygenase-2 expression. A detailed quali/quantitative profiling of the polyphenolic content was carried out, obtaining fast separation (10 min), good retention time and peak area repeatability, (RSD% 0.80 and 8.68, respectively) as well as linearity (R(2)⩾ 0.999) and mass accuracy (⩽ 5 ppm). Our results show the importance in the diet of this cheap and popular food for his healthy properties. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Evaluation of a Pomegranate Peel Extract as an Alternative Means to Control Olive Anthracnose.
Pangallo, Sonia; Nicosia, Maria G Li Destri; Agosteo, Giovanni E; Abdelfattah, Ahmed; Romeo, Flora V; Cacciola, Santa O; Rapisarda, Paolo; Schena, Leonardo
2017-12-01
Olive anthracnose is caused by different species of Colletotrichum spp. and may be regarded as the most damaging disease of olive fruit worldwide, greatly affecting quality and quantity of the productions. A pomegranate peel extract (PGE) proved very effective in controlling the disease. The extract had a strong in vitro fungicidal activity against Colletotrichum acutatum sensu stricto, was very effective in both preventive and curative trials with artificially inoculated fruit, and induced resistance in treated olive tissues. In field trials, PGE was significantly more effective than copper, which is traditionally used to control the disease. The highest level of protection was achieved by applying the extract in the early ascending phase of the disease outbreaks because natural rots were completely inhibited with PGE at 12 g/liter and were reduced by 98.6 and by 93.0% on plants treated with PGE at 6 and 3 g/liter, respectively. Two treatments carried out 30 and 15 days before the expected epidemic outbreak reduced the incidence of the disease by 77.6, 57.0, and 51.8%, depending on the PGE concentration. The analysis of epiphytic populations showed a strong antimicrobial activity of PGE, which sharply reduced both fungal and bacterial populations. Because PGE was obtained from a natural matrix using safe chemicals and did not have any apparent phytotoxic effect on treated olive fruit, it may be regarded as a safe and effective natural antifungal preparation to control olive anthracnose and improve olive productions.
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
A new concept for the control of a slow-extracted beam in a line with rotational optics, 2
Benedikt, Michael; Pullia, M
1999-01-01
For pt.I see ibid., vol.430, p.512-22, 1999. The current trend in hadron therapy is towards high-precision, conformal scanning of tumours with a `pencil' beam of light ions or protons, delivered by a synchrotron using slow extraction. The particular shape of the slow- extracted beam segment in phase space and the need to vary the beam size in a lattice with rotating optical elements create a special problem for the design of the extraction transfer line and gantry. The design concept presented in this report is based on telescope modules with integer- pi phase advances in both transverse planes. The beam size in the plane of the extraction is controlled by altering the phase advance and hence the rotation of the extracted beam segment in phase space. The vertical beam size is controlled by stepping the vertical betatron amplitude function over a range of values and passing the changed beam size from `hand-to-hand' through the telescope modules to the various treatment rooms. In the example given, a combined p...
A New Concept for the Control of a Slow-Extracted Beam in a Line with Rotational Optics, 2
Benedikt, Michael; Pullia, M
1999-01-01
The current trend in hadrontherapy is towards high-precision, conformal scanning of tumours with a 'pencil' beam of light ions, or protons, delivered by a synchrotron using slow-extraction. The particular shape of the slow-extracted beam segment in phase space and the need to vary the beam size in a lattice with rotating optical elements create a special problem for the design of the extraction transfer line and gantry. The design concept presented in this report is based on telescope modules with integer-p phase advances in both transverse planes. The beam size in the plane of the extraction is controlled by altering the phase advance and hence the rotation of the extracted beam segment in phase space. The vertical beam size is controlled by stepping the vertical betatron amplitude function over a range of values and passing the changed beam size from 'hand-to-hand' through the telescope modules to the various treatment rooms. In the example given, a combined phase-shifter and 'stepper', at a point close to ...
Enhanced thermal expansion control rod drive lines for improving passive safety of fast reactors
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Edelmann, M.; Baumann, W.; Kuechle, M.; Kussmaul, G.; Vaeth, W.; Bertram, A.
1992-01-01
The paper presents a device for increasing the thermal expansion effect of control rod drive lines on negative reactivity feedback in fast reactors. The enhanced thermal expansion of this device can be utilized for both passive rod drop and forced insertion of absorbers in unprotected transients, e.g. ULOF. In this way the reactor is automatically brought into a permanently subcritical state and temperatures are kept well below the boiling point of the coolant. A prototype of such a device called ATHENa (German: Shut-down by THermal Expansion of Na) is presently under construction and will be tested. The paper presents the principle, design features and thermal properties of ATHENs as well as results of reactor dynamics calculations of ULOF's for EFR with enhanced thermal expansion control rod drive lines. (author)
Injection and extraction techniques in circular accelerators
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Tang Jingyu
2008-01-01
Injection and extraction are usually the key systems in circular accelerators. They play important roles in transferring the beam from one stage acceleration to the other or to experimental stations. It is also in the injection and extraction regions where beam losses happen mostly. Due to the tight space and to reduce the perturbation to the circulating orbit, the devices are usually designed to meet special requirements such as compactness, small stray field, fast rise time or fall time, etc. Usual injection and extraction devices include septum magnets, kicker magnets, electrostatic deflectors, slow bump magnets and strippers. In spite of different accelerators and specification for the injection and extraction devices, many techniques are shared in the design and manufacturing. This paper gives a general review on the techniques employed in the major circular accelerators in China. (authors)
Preliminary study of extraction of heavy metals in sediments under pH-controlled conditions
Kao, M.
2012-12-01
The arsenic ingestion not only increases the risk of developing cancer of the skin, internal organs and lungs but also causes a peripheral vascular gangrene disease known as black-foot disease. It is crucial to determine the arsenic source for managing groundwater resources properly. The study area, Tsengwen Creek watershed, is in the middle of Chianan Plain, which has been identified with problems of high arsenic content in groundwater. According to the results of BCR extraction procedure conducting on core sediments, it is interesting that arsenic content extracted by deionized water is significantly higher than that extracted with the first step of BCR, which is 0.11 mol/L acetic acid. It is believed that deionized water can only extract metals adsorbing on mineral surface without strong chemical bonding and acetic acid can extract those in the forms both of adsorption and carbonate. Even though arsenic is scarcely associated with carbonates, the deionized water can obviously extract much more arsenic than acid solution. Therefore, desorption of arsenic is possible to be controlled by a strong pH-dependent reaction. For the preliminary analysis, a laboratory experiment was performed to evaluated desorption of metals with pH control in this study. The solutions with different values of pH are simply adjusted with sodium hydroxide (NaOH). Ten sediment samples were collected from aquifers in Tsengwen Creek watershed. To simulate an isolated system like groundwater in aquifer, these sediments were extracted with solutions of pH=7, 8, 9 and 10 in a container purged by nitrogen gas. The results demonstrate that arsenic does show significant enrichment in solution of pH=10 and vanadium shares the similar property with arsenic. On the contrary, the other selected metals of cadmium, copper, nickel and cobalt have no similar enrichment in high-pH extraction solution; especially, nickel and cobalt are highly enriched in deionized water. These are possibly caused by the
Solvent extraction of irradiated neptunium targets. I. Valence stabilization
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Thompson, G.H.; Thompson, M.C.
1977-01-01
Solvent extraction of 237 Np and 238 Pu from irradiated neptunium is being investigated as a possible replacement for the currently used anion exchange process at the Savannah River Plant. Solvent extraction would reduce separations costs and waste volume and increase the production rate. The major difficulty in solvent extraction processing is maintaining neptunium and plutonium in the extractable IV or VI valence states during initial extraction. This study investigated the stability of these states. Results show that: The extractable M(IV) valence states of neptunium and plutonium are mutually unstable in plant dissolver solution (2 g/l 237 Np, 0.4 g/l 238 Pu, 1.2M Al 3+ , 4.6M NO 3 - , and 1M H + ). The reaction rates producing inextractable species from extractable M(IV) or M(VI) are fast enough that greater than or equal to 99.9 percent extractable species in 237 Np-- 238 Pu mixtures cannot be maintained for a practicable processing period
Aziz, Abdul Rashid; Che Muhamad, Ahmad Munir; Roslan, Siti Raifana; Ghulam Mohamed, Nazirah; Singh, Rabindarjeet; Chia, Michael Yong Hwa
2017-01-01
This study examines the effects of Ramadan fasting on sprint performance during prolonged intermittent exercise in trained Muslim footballers, under controlled pre-exercise conditions. A within-group, cross-over study design with two non-fasted or Control trials performed before (i.e., CON1) and after (CON2) the Ramadan month, and with the Ramadan-fasted (RAM) trials performed within the Ramadan month. After familiarization, 14 players completed a modified 60-min (4 × 15-min exercise blocks interspersed with 3-min intervals) of the Loughborough Intermittent Shuttle Test (mLIST) of fixed speeds of walking, jogging, running, but with all-out effort sprints. During the interval periods, capillary blood glucose and blood lactate measures were taken, rectal and skin temperatures were recorded and maximal voluntary isometric contractions (MVIC) of the dominant leg and hand-grip were performed to provide some indication to the cause(s) of ‘fatigue’ during exercise. Players were provided with standardized 24-h pre-packed meals prior to all trials. Sleep hours were objectively assessed and perceived training loads were monitored and these were equivalent between RAM and CON trials. Sprint times throughout mLIST were significantly faster in both CON1 and CON2 as compared to RAM trials (all P performance in RAM was observed as early as during the first 15-min of the mLIST. Blood markers, MVIC and thermoregulatory results were not substantially different between both CON and RAM trials. In conclusion, despite similarities in dietary intake, sleeping hours and training loads between conditions, results still indicate that Ramadan fasting had an adverse effect on prolonged intermittent performance. Nocebo effects plays a dominant role during exercise in the Ramadan-fasted state. PMID:29910364
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Abdul Rashid Aziz
2017-01-01
Full Text Available This study examines the effects of Ramadan fasting on sprint performance during prolonged intermittent exercise in trained Muslim footballers, under controlled pre-exercise conditions. A within-group, cross-over study design with two non-fasted or Control trials performed before (i.e., CON1 and after (CON2 the Ramadan month, and with the Ramadan-fasted (RAM trials performed within the Ramadan month. After familiarization, 14 players completed a modified 60-min (4 × 15-min exercise blocks interspersed with 3-min intervals of the Loughborough Intermittent Shuttle Test (mLIST of fixed speeds of walking, jogging, running, but with all-out effort sprints. During the interval periods, capillary blood glucose and blood lactate measures were taken, rectal and skin temperatures were recorded and maximal voluntary isometric contractions (MVIC of the dominant leg and hand-grip were performed to provide some indication to the cause(s of ‘fatigue’ during exercise. Players were provided with standardized 24-h pre-packed meals prior to all trials. Sleep hours were objectively assessed and perceived training loads were monitored and these were equivalent between RAM and CON trials. Sprint times throughout mLIST were significantly faster in both CON1 and CON2 as compared to RAM trials (all P < 0.017; d = small to moderate, and this poorer performance in RAM was observed as early as during the first 15-min of the mLIST. Blood markers, MVIC and thermoregulatory results were not substantially different between both CON and RAM trials. In conclusion, despite similarities in dietary intake, sleeping hours and training loads between conditions, results still indicate that Ramadan fasting had an adverse effect on prolonged intermittent performance. Nocebo effects plays a dominant role during exercise in the Ramadan-fasted state.
Design and Analysis of the Power Control System of the Fast Zero Energy Reactor FR-0
Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)
Schuh, N J.H.
1966-12-15
This report describes the power control by means of the fine-control rod and the design of the control system of the fast zero energy reactor FR-0 located in Studsvik, Sweden. System requirements and some operational conditions were used as design criteria. Manual and automatic control is possible. Variable electronic end-stops for the control rod have been designed, because of the special construction of the reactor and control rod. Noise in the control system caused by the reactor, detector and electronics caused disturbances of the control system at the lower power levels. The noise power-spectrum was measured. Statistical design methods, using the measured noise power spectrum, were used to design filters, which will reduce the influence of the noise at the lower power levels. Root Loci sketches and Bode diagrams were used for stability analyses. The system was simulated on an analogue computer, taking into account even nonlinearities of the control system and noise. Typical cases of reactor operation were simulated and stability analysis performed.
Design and Analysis of the Power Control System of the Fast Zero Energy Reactor FR-0
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Schuh, N.J.H.
1966-12-01
This report describes the power control by means of the fine-control rod and the design of the control system of the fast zero energy reactor FR-0 located in Studsvik, Sweden. System requirements and some operational conditions were used as design criteria. Manual and automatic control is possible. Variable electronic end-stops for the control rod have been designed, because of the special construction of the reactor and control rod. Noise in the control system caused by the reactor, detector and electronics caused disturbances of the control system at the lower power levels. The noise power-spectrum was measured. Statistical design methods, using the measured noise power spectrum, were used to design filters, which will reduce the influence of the noise at the lower power levels. Root Loci sketches and Bode diagrams were used for stability analyses. The system was simulated on an analogue computer, taking into account even nonlinearities of the control system and noise. Typical cases of reactor operation were simulated and stability analysis performed
Design of fast kickers for the ISABELLE beam abort system
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Nawrocky, R.J.; Montemurro, P.A.; Baron, J.
1981-01-01
The ISA beam abort (extraction) system must be highly efficient, in the sense of producing minimum beam loss, and reliable to prevent serious damage to accelerator components by the circulating high-energy beams. Since the stored beams will be debunched, the low-loss requirement can be met only with ultra-thin extraction septa and/or fast-acting kickers. This paper examines the design of the ISA extraction kickers subject to a set of extraction channel constraints and a given maximum working voltage. Expressions are derived for determining system parameters for both a lumped parameter magnet and a delay-line magnet. Using these relationships, design parameters are worked out for several possible system configurations. The paper also describes the construction of a full-scale prototype module of the kicker and summarizes the preliminary test results obtained with the module
Optimal control of energy extraction in LES of large wind farms
Meyers, Johan; Goit, Jay; Munters, Wim
2014-11-01
We investigate the use of optimal control combined with Large-Eddy Simulations (LES) of wind-farm boundary layer interaction for the increase of total energy extraction in very large ``infinite'' wind farms and in finite farms. We consider the individual wind turbines as flow actuators, whose energy extraction can be dynamically regulated in time so as to optimally influence the turbulent flow field, maximizing the wind farm power. For the simulation of wind-farm boundary layers we use large-eddy simulations in combination with an actuator-disk representation of wind turbines. Simulations are performed in our in-house pseudo-spectral code SP-Wind. For the optimal control study, we consider the dynamic control of turbine-thrust coefficients in the actuator-disk model. They represent the effect of turbine blades that can actively pitch in time, changing the lift- and drag coefficients of the turbine blades. In a first infinite wind-farm case, we find that farm power is increases by approximately 16% over one hour of operation. This comes at the cost of a deceleration of the outer layer of the boundary layer. A detailed analysis of energy balances is presented, and a comparison is made between infinite and finite farm cases, for which boundary layer entrainment plays an import role. The authors acknowledge support from the European Research Council (FP7-Ideas, Grant No. 306471). Simulations were performed on the computing infrastructure of the VSC Flemish Supercomputer Center, funded by the Hercules Foundation and the Flemish Govern.
SurfCut: Free-Boundary Surface Extraction
Algarni, Marei Saeed Mohammed
2016-09-15
We present SurfCut, an algorithm for extracting a smooth simple surface with unknown boundary from a noisy 3D image and a seed point. In contrast to existing approaches that extract smooth simple surfaces with boundary, our method requires less user input, i.e., a seed point, rather than a 3D boundary curve. Our method is built on the novel observation that certain ridge curves of a front propagated using the Fast Marching algorithm are likely to lie on the surface. Using the framework of cubical complexes, we design a novel algorithm to robustly extract such ridge curves and form the surface of interest. Our algorithm automatically cuts these ridge curves to form the surface boundary, and then extracts the surface. Experiments show the robustness of our method to errors in the data, and that we achieve higher accuracy with lower computational cost than comparable methods. © Springer International Publishing AG 2016.
Rosende, María; Beesley, Luke; Moreno-Jimenez, Eduardo; Miró, Manuel
2016-02-01
An automatic in-vitro bioaccessibility test based upon dynamic microcolumn extraction in a programmable flow setup is herein proposed as a screening tool to evaluate bio-char based remediation of mine soils contaminated with trace elements as a compelling alternative to conventional phyto-availability tests. The feasibility of the proposed system was evaluated by extracting the readily bioaccessible pools of As, Pb and Zn in two contaminated mine soils before and after the addition of two biochars (9% (w:w)) of diverse source origin (pine and olive). Bioaccessible fractions under worst-case scenarios were measured using 0.001 mol L(-1) CaCl2 as extractant for mimicking plant uptake, and analysis of the extracts by inductively coupled optical emission spectrometry. The t-test of comparison of means revealed an efficient metal (mostly Pb and Zn) immobilization by the action of olive pruning-based biochar against the bare (control) soil at the 0.05 significance level. In-vitro flow-through bioaccessibility tests are compared for the first time with in-vivo phyto-toxicity assays in a microcosm soil study. By assessing seed germination and shoot elongation of Lolium perenne in contaminated soils with and without biochar amendments the dynamic flow-based bioaccessibility data proved to be in good agreement with the phyto-availability tests. Experimental results indicate that the dynamic extraction method is a viable and economical in-vitro tool in risk assessment explorations to evaluate the feasibility of a given biochar amendment for revegetation and remediation of metal contaminated soils in a mere 10 min against 4 days in case of phyto-toxicity assays. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Maria Alejandra Fajardo-Mejía
2016-09-01
Full Text Available Damping-off is considered one of the most limiting phytosanitary problems in conifer seedling production because it may cause massive damage or total plant death in short time periods. This pathology is caused by a complex of microorganisms, the most common of which are Fusarium spp. and Rhizoctonia spp. This study evaluated the effect of growth substrates and plant extracts at different concentrations on germination and incidence of disease in Pinus tecunumanii plants. The plants were inoculated with the damping-off pathogen Fusarium oxysporum and treatments were applied in a completely randomized design with a factorial arrangement of 4x2x3. This corresponded to four substrates (pine bark, rice hull, coconut husk and sandy soil (4:1; two plant extracts (Matricaria chamomilla and Datura stramonium, andthree concentrations of each extract (Control concentration: 0%, Concentration 1: 50 % and Concentration 2: Undiluted. Each treatment had three repetitions, with 25 plants per repetition. The growth substrates affected germination; the most effective of these were sandy soil (4:1 and pine bark, with 90% and 92% germination at day 20, respectively. No significant difference was observed between the germination obtained with these substrates and that obtained with coconut husk after day 19. Meanwhile, all of the extracts had a significant effect on controlling the disease when they were combined with the substrates, with the exception of coconut husk. With this last substrate the incidence of disease was lower than 4% without the application of plant extracts; this indicates that coconut husk discourages the development of the disease on its own.
DEFF Research Database (Denmark)
Sun, Bo; Dragicevic, Tomislav; Quintero, Juan Carlos Vasquez
2015-01-01
Plug-in electrical vehicles will play a critical role in future smart grid and sudden connection of electrical vehicles chargers may cause huge power-peaks with high slew-rates on grid. In order to cope with this issue, this paper applies a distributed cooperative control for fast charging station...... with dedicated paralleled flywheel-based energy storage system. The distributed DC-bus signaling method is employed in the power coordination of grid and flywheel converters, and a distributed secondary controller generates DC voltage correction term to adjust the local voltage set-point through a dynamic...... consensus based voltage observer by communicating with its neighbors. The control system can realize the power balancing and DC voltage regulation with low reliance on communications. Finally, real-time hardware-in-the-loop results have been reported in order to verify the feasibility of proposed approach....
A fast learning method for large scale and multi-class samples of SVM
Fan, Yu; Guo, Huiming
2017-06-01
A multi-class classification SVM(Support Vector Machine) fast learning method based on binary tree is presented to solve its low learning efficiency when SVM processing large scale multi-class samples. This paper adopts bottom-up method to set up binary tree hierarchy structure, according to achieved hierarchy structure, sub-classifier learns from corresponding samples of each node. During the learning, several class clusters are generated after the first clustering of the training samples. Firstly, central points are extracted from those class clusters which just have one type of samples. For those which have two types of samples, cluster numbers of their positive and negative samples are set respectively according to their mixture degree, secondary clustering undertaken afterwards, after which, central points are extracted from achieved sub-class clusters. By learning from the reduced samples formed by the integration of extracted central points above, sub-classifiers are obtained. Simulation experiment shows that, this fast learning method, which is based on multi-level clustering, can guarantee higher classification accuracy, greatly reduce sample numbers and effectively improve learning efficiency.
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Anjar Mahardian Kusuma
2016-12-01
Full Text Available Hypercholesterolemia is a disease associated with high levels of cholesterol and LDL levels in the blood. Utilization of the commercial drugs can be given; however apart from the expensive price, adverse side effects might occur. It makes people choose alternative medication with herbal medicine through the use of natural materials. This study aimed to determine the effect of the combination of mangosteen peel extract-extract of roselle calyx and mangosteen peel extract-extract the ant nest plant as lowering cholesterol and triglyceride levels in male rats. The method used in this study was a laboratory experimental method using device posttest only control group design (simple experimental design. This study used 25 male rats of Wistar strain, divided into 5 groups; Group I: group without treatment, group II: control group solvent (NaCMC 1%, group III: positive control group (Simvastatin, Group IV: combination group mangosteen peel extract (200 mg / kg - extract of roselle calyx (250 mg / kg, group V: group combination of mangosteen peel extract 200 mg / kg - extract anthill (270 mg / kg. Induction of cholesterol in rats using quail egg yolk (10 ml / kg. The results showed that there was no significant difference in cholesterol and triglycerides between the combination of both extracts of mangosteen peel with a positive control (p<0,05.
Horvatovich, P; Miesch, M; Hasselmann, C; Marchioni, E
2000-01-01
Supercritical carbon dioxide can be used to carry out a selective and fast extraction (30 min) of volatile hydrocarbons and 2-alkylcyclobutanones contained in irradiated foods. After elimination of the traces of triglycerides still contained in the extracts on a silica column, the compounds were
Ionization signals from diamond detectors in fast-neutron fields
Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)
Weiss, C. [European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN), Geneva (Switzerland); CIVIDEC Instrumentation, Wien (Austria); Frais-Koelbl, H. [University of Applied Sciences, Wiener Neustadt (Austria); Griesmayer, E.; Kavrigin, P. [CIVIDEC Instrumentation, Wien (Austria); Vienna University of Technology, Wien (Austria)
2016-09-15
In this paper we introduce a novel analysis technique for measurements with single-crystal chemical vapor deposition (sCVD) diamond detectors in fast-neutron fields. This method exploits the unique electronic property of sCVD diamond sensors that the signal shape of the detector current is directly proportional to the initial ionization profile. In fast-neutron fields the diamond sensor acts simultaneously as target and sensor. The interaction of neutrons with the stable isotopes {sup 12}C and {sup 13}C is of interest for fast-neutron diagnostics. The measured signal shapes of detector current pulses are used to identify individual types of interactions in the diamond with the goal to select neutron-induced reactions in the diamond and to suppress neutron-induced background reactions as well as γ-background. The method is verified with experimental data from a measurement in a 14.3 MeV neutron beam at JRC-IRMM, Geel/Belgium, where the {sup 13}C(n, α){sup 10}Be reaction was successfully extracted from the dominating background of recoil protons and γ-rays and the energy resolution of the {sup 12}C(n, α){sup 9}Be reaction was substantially improved. The presented analysis technique is especially relevant for diagnostics in harsh radiation environments, like fission and fusion reactors. It allows to extract the neutron spectrum from the background, and is particularly applicable to neutron flux monitoring and neutron spectroscopy. (orig.)
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Effie Viguiliouk
Full Text Available Tree nut consumption has been associated with reduced diabetes risk, however, results from randomized trials on glycemic control have been inconsistent.To provide better evidence for diabetes guidelines development, we conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials to assess the effects of tree nuts on markers of glycemic control in individuals with diabetes.MEDLINE, EMBASE, CINAHL, and Cochrane databases through 6 April 2014.Randomized controlled trials ≥3 weeks conducted in individuals with diabetes that compare the effect of diets emphasizing tree nuts to isocaloric diets without tree nuts on HbA1c, fasting glucose, fasting insulin, and HOMA-IR.Two independent reviewer's extracted relevant data and assessed study quality and risk of bias. Data were pooled by the generic inverse variance method and expressed as mean differences (MD with 95% CI's. Heterogeneity was assessed (Cochran Q-statistic and quantified (I2.Twelve trials (n = 450 were included. Diets emphasizing tree nuts at a median dose of 56 g/d significantly lowered HbA1c (MD = -0.07% [95% CI:-0.10, -0.03%]; P = 0.0003 and fasting glucose (MD = -0.15 mmol/L [95% CI: -0.27, -0.02 mmol/L]; P = 0.03 compared with control diets. No significant treatment effects were observed for fasting insulin and HOMA-IR, however the direction of effect favoured tree nuts.Majority of trials were of short duration and poor quality.Pooled analyses show that tree nuts improve glycemic control in individuals with type 2 diabetes, supporting their inclusion in a healthy diet. Owing to the uncertainties in our analyses there is a need for longer, higher quality trials with a focus on using nuts to displace high-glycemic index carbohydrates.ClinicalTrials.gov NCT01630980.
Antiradical activity of Paulownia tomentosa (Scrophulariaceae) extracts.
Smejkal, Karel; Holubova, Pavla; Zima, Ales; Muselik, Jan; Dvorska, Margita
2007-06-27
Paulownia tomentosa is a large indecidous tree planted mostly for its fast growing wood and decorative purposes. The tree is also used in traditional Chinese medicine. As a part of our study of natural polyphenols, the fruits of Paulownia tomentosa were extracted by EtOH and than subjected to liquid/liquid extraction. Fractions were analysed by TLC and HPLC to determine presence of phenolic substances. We identified and quantified acteoside (1) and isoacteoside (2) in the EtOAc and n-BuOH extracts; mimulone (3) and diplacone (4) in the MeOH extract. To determine the antiradical activity of extracts we used the anti DPPH and peroxynitrite assays. The activity was expressed as Trolox C equivalents, IC50 for DPPH scavenging and a time dependency course was established. The polyphenols content was determined; results were expressed as gallic acid equivalents. Using these methods we found the fractions of the n-BuOH, EtOAc and MeOH extracts that display antiradical activity, which could be exploited as potential pharmaceuticals.
Antiradical Activity of Paulownia tomentosa (Scrophulariaceae Extracts
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Karel Smejkal
2007-06-01
Full Text Available Paulownia tomentosa is a large indecidous tree planted mostly for its fast growing wood and decoratative purposes. The tree is also used in traditional Chinese medicine. As a part of our study of natural polyphenols, the fruits of Paulownia tomentosa were extracted by EtOH and than subjected to liquid/liquid extraction. Fractions were analysed by TLC and HPLC to determine presence of phenolic substantaces. We identified and quantified acteoside (1 and isoacteoside (2 in the EtOAc and n-BuOH extracts; mimulone (3 and diplacone (4 in the MeOH extract. To determine the antiradical activity of extracts we used the anti DPPH and peroxynitrite assays. The activity was expressed as Trolox C equivalents, IC50 for DPPH scavenging and a time dependency course was established. The polyphenols content was determined; results were expressed as gallic acid equivalents. Using these methods we found the fractions of the n-BuOH, EtOAc and MeOH extracts that display antiradical activity, which could be exploited as potential pharmaceuticals.
Dodds, Pennie; Wolfenden, Luke; Chapman, Kathy; Wellard, Lyndal; Hughes, Clare; Wiggers, John
2014-02-01
Labelling of food from fast food restaurants at point-of-purchase has been suggested as one strategy to reduce population energy consumption and contribute to reductions in obesity prevalence. The aim of this study was to examine the effects of energy and single traffic light labelling systems on the energy content of child and adult intended food purchases. The study employed a randomised controlled trial design. English speaking parents of children aged between three and 12 years were recruited from an existing research cohort. Participants were mailed one of three hypothetical fast food menus. Menus differed in their labelling technique – either energy labels, single traffic light labels, or a no-label control. Participants then completed a telephone survey which assessed intended food purchases for both adult and child. The primary trial outcome was total energy of intended food purchase. A total of 329 participants completed the follow-up telephone interview. Eighty-two percent of the energy labelling group and 96% of the single traffic light labelling group reported noticing labelling information on their menu. There were no significant differences in total energy of intended purchases of parents, or intended purchases made by parents for children, between the menu labelling groups, or between menu labelling groups by socio-demographic subgroups. This study provided no evidence to suggest that energy labelling or single traffic light labelling alone were effective in reducing the energy of fast food items selected from hypothetical fast food menus for purchase. Additional complementary public health initiatives promoting the consumption of healthier foods identified by labelling, and which target other key drivers of menu item selection in this setting may be required.
Vibration extraction based on fast NCC algorithm and high-speed camera.
Lei, Xiujun; Jin, Yi; Guo, Jie; Zhu, Chang'an
2015-09-20
In this study, a high-speed camera system is developed to complete the vibration measurement in real time and to overcome the mass introduced by conventional contact measurements. The proposed system consists of a notebook computer and a high-speed camera which can capture the images as many as 1000 frames per second. In order to process the captured images in the computer, the normalized cross-correlation (NCC) template tracking algorithm with subpixel accuracy is introduced. Additionally, a modified local search algorithm based on the NCC is proposed to reduce the computation time and to increase efficiency significantly. The modified algorithm can rapidly accomplish one displacement extraction 10 times faster than the traditional template matching without installing any target panel onto the structures. Two experiments were carried out under laboratory and outdoor conditions to validate the accuracy and efficiency of the system performance in practice. The results demonstrated the high accuracy and efficiency of the camera system in extracting vibrating signals.
Development and operation of fast protection for KSTAR
Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)
Hong, Jaesic, E-mail: hjaesic@nfri.re.kr; Lee, Woongryol; Lee, Taegu; Han, Hyunsun; Han, Sang-Hee; Park, Kaprai
2016-11-15
Highlights: • The evolution of KSTAR machine interlock system. • The evolution of KSTAR fast interlock. • The fast interlock interface. • The operation results of the fast interlock. - Abstract: Protection for the Korea superconducting tokamak advanced research (KSTAR) is somewhat more complicated than for the previous tokomak generation. External reasons for this increased complexity are the initial and maintenance costs, and internal reasons relate to various characteristics of the tokamak and long pulse operation. KSTAR has two protection mechanisms: the device protection system protects damage to superconducting coils etc. from events within the other systems, and the fast protection system protects the internal vacuum vessel components against damage from heating and the long pulse plasma. The fast protection system initially contained the plasma control system (PCS), central control system (CCS), and the heating devices. In 2012, a fast interlock interface was implemented for PCS fail-safe. This detected the absence of plasma current using the diagnostic signals and discharge operation gate windows of the timing synchronized system (TSS), and activates the operation gates and heating stop from the CCS. Additional fast interlock logic was implemented to reduce damage to the plasma facing components (PFC) and other materials by overheating and improper operational state of heating systems after starting the discharge sequence. However, the fast interlock interface system has failed to protect the heating during PCS malfunctions since 2013. This paper introduces the KSTAR protection system, and describes the fast protection interface, with testing and operational results, then discusses future plans for a more effective and safer protection system.
Herrero, Miguel; Ibáñez, Elena; Cifuentes, Alejandro; Señoráns, Javier
2004-08-27
In this work, different extracts from the microalga Spirulina platensis are obtained using pressurized liquid extraction (PLE) and four different solvents (hexane, light petroleum, ethanol and water). Different extraction temperatures (115 and 170 degrees C) were tested using extraction times ranging from 9 to 15 min. The antioxidant activity of the different extracts is determined by means of an in vitro assay using a free radical method. Moreover, a new and fast method is developed using micellar electrokinetic chromatography with diode array detection (MEKC-DAD) to provide a preliminary analysis on the composition of the extracts. This combined application (i.e., in vitro assays plus MEKC-DAD) allowed the fast characterization of the extracts based on their antioxidant activity and the UV-vis spectra of the different compounds found in the extracts. To our knowledge, this work shows for the first time the great possibilities of the combined use of PLE-in vitro assay-MEKC-DAD to investigate natural sources of antioxidants.
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Nurhani Kasuan; Zuraida Muhammad; Zakiah Yusoff; Mohd Hezri Fazalul Rahiman; Mohd Nasir Taib; Zaibunnisa Abdul Haiyee
2013-01-01
An automated steam distillation was successfully used to extract volatiles from Citrus hystrix D.C (Kaffir lime) peels. The automated steam distillation integrated with robust temperature control can commercially produce large amount of essential oil with efficient heating system. Objective of this study is to quantify the oil production rate using automated steam distillation and analyze the composition of volatiles in Kaffir lime peels oil at different controlled and uncontrolled temperature conditions. From the experimentation, oil extraction from Kaffir lime peels only took approximately less than 3 hours with amount of oil yield was 13.4 % more than uncontrolled temperature. The identified major compounds from Kaffir lime peels oil were sabinene, β-pinene, limonene, α-pinene, camphene, myrcene, terpinen-4-ol, α-terpineol, linalool, terpinolene and citronellal which are considered to have good organoleptic quality. In contrast with uncontrolled temperature, oil analysis revealed that some important volatile compounds were absent such as terpinolene, linalool, terpinen-4-ol due to thermal degradation effect from fast heating of extracted material. (author)
Fast computational scheme for feedback control of high current fusion tokamaks
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Dong, J.Q.; Khayrutdinov, R.; Azizov, E.; Jardin, S.
1992-01-01
An accurate and fast numerical model of tokamak plasma evolution is presented. In this code (DINA) the equilibrium problem of plasmas with free boundaries in externally changing magnetic fields is solved simultaneously with the plasma transport equation. The circuit equations are solved for the vacuum vessel and passive and active coils. The code includes pellet injection, neutral beam heating, auxiliary heating, and alpha particle heating. Bootstrap and beam-driven plasma currents are accounted for. An inverse variable technique is utilized to obtain the coordinates of the equilibrium magnetic surfaces. This numerical algorithm permits to determine the flux coordinates very quickly and accurately. The authors show that using the fully resistive MHD analysis the region of stability (to vertical motions) is wider than using the rigid displacement model. Comparing plasma motions with the same gain, it is seen that the plasma oscillates more in the rigid analysis than in the MHD analysis. They study the influence of the pick up coil's location and the possibility of control of the plasma vertical position. They use a simple modification of the standard control law that enables the control of the plasma with pick up coils located at any position. This flexibility becomes critical in the design of future complex high current tokamak systems. The fully resistive MHD model permits to obtain accurate estimates of the plasma response. This approach yields computational time savings of one to two orders of magnitude with respect to other existing MHD models. In this sense, conventional numerical algorithms do not provide suitable models for application of modern control techniques into real time expert systems. The proposed inverse variable technique is rather suitable for incorporation in a comprehensive expert system for feedback control of fusion tokamaks in real time
Development of fast ignition integrated interconnecting code (FI3) for fast ignition scheme
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Nagatomo, H.; Johzaki, T.; Mima, K.; Sunahara, A.; Nishihara, K.; Izawa, Y.; Sakagami, H.; Nakao, Y.; Yokota, T.; Taguchi, T.
2005-01-01
The numerical simulation plays an important role in estimating the feasibility and performance of the fast ignition. There are two key issues in numerical analysis for the fast ignition. One is the controlling the implosion dynamics to form a high density core plasma in non-spherical implosion, and the other is heating core plasma efficiency by the short pulse high intense laser. From initial laser irradiation to final fusion burning, all the physics are coupling strongly in any phase, and they must be solved consistently in computational simulation. However, in general, it is impossible to simulate laser plasma interaction and radiation hydrodynamics in a single computational code, without any numerical dissipation, special assumption or conditional treatment. Recently, we have developed 'Fast Ignition Integrated Interconnecting code' (FI 3 ) which consists of collective Particle-in-Cell code, Relativistic Fokker-Planck hydro code, and 2-dimensional radiation hydrodynamics code. And those codes are connecting with each other in data-flow bases. In this paper, we will present detail feature of the FI 3 code, and numerical results of whole process of fast ignition. (author)
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Keck, O.
1984-01-01
Nowadays the fast-breeder reactor is a negative symbol of advanced technology which is getting out of control and, due to its complexity, is incomprehensible for politicians and therefore by-passes the established order. The author lists the most important decisions over state aid to the fast-breeder-reactors up until the mid-seventies and uses documents from the appropriate advisory bodies as reference. He was also aided by interviews with those directly involved with the project. The empirical facts forces us to discard our traditional view of the relationship between state and industry with regard to advanced technology. The author explains that it is impossible to find any economic value in the fast-breeder reactor. The insight gained through this project allows him to draw conclusions which apply to all aspects of state aid to advanced technology. (orig.) [de
Fast-track aquifer characterization and bioremediation of groundwater
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Owen, S.B.; Erskine, J.A.; Adkisson, C.
1995-01-01
A short duration step-drawdown pumping test has been used to characterize a highly permeable aquifer contaminated with petroleum hydrocarbons in support of an in situ, closed loop extraction and reinjection bioremediation system for groundwater. The short-term pumping test produces a manageable quantity of contaminated groundwater while yielding a range of values for transmissivity and specific yield parameters. This range of aquifer coefficients is used in an analytical model to estimate a range of groundwater extraction rates that provide a suitable radius of influence for the extraction and reinjection system. A multi-enzyme complex catalyzed bioremediation process has been used to aerobically degrade petroleum hydrocarbons. Enzymes, amino acids, and biosurfactants are supplied to the extracted groundwater to significantly speed up the degradation by naturally occurring bacteria. During the process, amino acids promote the rapid growth of the microbial population while enzymes and bacteria attach to hydrocarbons forming a transformation state complex that degrades to fatty acids, carbon dioxide, and water. This paper presents a case study of a fast-track bioremediation using pumping test data, analytical modeling, and an enzyme technology
Kawanishi, H.; Hajima, R.; Sekimura, N.; Arai, Y.; Ishino, S.
1988-07-01
Precipitation behavior has been studied using a carbon extraction replica technique in Ti-modified Type 316 stainless steels (JPCA-2) and 9Cr-2Mo ferritic/martensitic steels (JFMS) irradiated to 8.1 × 10 24 n/m 2 at 873 and 673 K, respectively, in the experimental fast breeder reactor JOYO. Precipitate identification and compositional analysis were carried out on extracted replicas. The results were compared to those from the as-received steel and a control which had been given the same thermal as-treatment as the specimens received during irradiations. Carbides, Ti-sulphides and phosphides were precipitated in JPCA-2. Precipitate observed in JFMS included carbides, Laves-phases and phosphides. The precipitates in both steels were concluded to be stable under irradiation except for MC and M 6C in JPCA-2. Small MC particles were found precipitated in JPCA-2 during both irradiation and aging. Irradiation proved to promote the precipitation of M 6C in JPCA-2.
Fast neutron therapy in advanced malignant tumour treatment
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Avinc, A.
1998-01-01
In this report the fast neutron therapy applications were examined by thoroughly consideration of the fast neutron sources and the interactions of the fast neutron by the medium. The efficacy of fast neutron radiotherapy with that of patients with locally advanced tumours were compared. Radiological data indicate that fast neutrons could bring benefit in the treatment of some tumour types especially salivary glands, paranasal sinuses, soft tissue sarcomas, prostatic adenocarcinomas, palliative treatment of melanoma and rectum. There is a significant improvement in local/regional control for the neutron group, but no improvement in the survival. The neutron therapy is suggested through which this benefit could be achieved
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Ansarifar, G.R.; Nasrabadi, M.N.; Hassanvand, R.
2016-01-01
Highlights: • We present a S.M.C. system based on the S.M.O for control of a fast reactor power. • A S.M.O has been developed to estimate the density of delayed neutron precursor. • The stability analysis has been given by means Lyapunov approach. • The control system is guaranteed to be stable within a large range. • The comparison between S.M.C. and the conventional PID controller has been done. - Abstract: In this paper, a nonlinear controller using sliding mode method which is a robust nonlinear controller is designed to control a fast nuclear reactor. The reactor core is simulated based on the point kinetics equations and one delayed neutron group. Considering the limitations of the delayed neutron precursor density measurement, a sliding mode observer is designed to estimate it and finally a sliding mode control based on the sliding mode observer is presented. The stability analysis is given by means Lyapunov approach, thus the control system is guaranteed to be stable within a large range. Sliding Mode Control (SMC) is one of the robust and nonlinear methods which have several advantages such as robustness against matched external disturbances and parameter uncertainties. The employed method is easy to implement in practical applications and moreover, the sliding mode control exhibits the desired dynamic properties during the entire output-tracking process independent of perturbations. Simulation results are presented to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed controller in terms of performance, robustness and stability.
Chen, Xiao-Hong; Zhao, Yong-Gang; Shen, Hao-Yu; Zhou, Li-Xin; Pan, Sheng-Dong; Jin, Mi-Cong
2014-06-13
A novel, simple and sensitive method based on the use of magnetic dispersive solid-phase extraction (M-dSPE) procedure combined with ultra-fast liquid chromatography-tandem quadrupole mass spectrometry (UFLC-MS/MS) was developed to determine seven synthetic pigments (tartrazine, amaranth, carmine, sunset yellow, allura red, brilliant blue and erythrosine) in wines and soft drinks. An amino-functionalized low degrees of cross-linking magnetic polymer (NH2-LDC-MP) was synthesized via suspension polymerization, and characterized by transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The NH2-LDC-MP was used as the M-dSPE sorbent to remove the matrix from the solution, and the main factors affecting the extraction were investigated in detail. The obtained results demonstrated the higher extraction capacity of NH2-LDC-MP with recoveries between 84.0 and 116.2%. The limits of quantification (LOQs) for the seven synthetic pigments were between 1.51 and 5.0μg/L in wines and soft drinks. The developed M-dSPE UFLC-MS/MS method had been successfully applied to the real wines and soft drinks for food-safety risk monitoring in Zhejiang Province, China. The results showed that sunset yellow was in three out of thirty soft drink samples (2.95-42.6μg/L), and erythrosine in one out of fifteen dry red wine samples (3.22μg/L), respectively. It was confirmed that the NH2-LDC-MP was a kind of highly effective M-dSPE materials for the pigments analyses. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
Li, Chenying; Sadraie, Badri; Steckhan, Nico; Kessler, Christian; Stange, Rainer; Jeitler, Michael; Michalsen, Andreas
2017-10-01
There is increasing experimental evidence for beneficial effects of calorie restriction and intermittent fasting in type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). In humans, prolonged fasting is established as a health-promoting complementary treatment in Europe and claimed to improve metabolism by a complex hormetic response. We aimed to investigate effects of a one-week fasting period compared to usual care in T2DM by means of a pilot trial. Patients with manifest T2DM medically treated with oral hypoglycemic agents and/or insulin were randomly assigned to a 7-day fasting program followed by dietary advice or to usual care and dietary advice only. Fasting was performed according to the method of Buchinger with a nutritional energy intake of 300kcal/day by liquids only and stepwise re-introduction of solid food thereafter. Outcomes were assessed baseline and after 4 months. Of 46 enrolled participants, 32 (n=16 each group) completed the trial and were included for final analyses. Fasting was well accepted, there were no serious adverse events. After 4 months mean weight decreased by 3.5 kg and 2.0 kg in the fasting vs. control group (p=0.03) paralleled by greater reduction of abdominal circumference (p=0.001). Fasting led to a significant decrease of systolic/diastolic blood pressure (p=0.01; p=0.003) and increased quality-of-life (p=0.04), while for HbA 1c , insulin and HOMA-index only non-significant improvements were observed. Results of this study suggest that prolonged fasting is feasible and might have beneficial clinical effects. The effectiveness of fasting should be proved in larger confirmatory trials that include intermittent fasting in follow-ups to enable more pronounced and long-term effects. © Georg Thieme Verlag KG Stuttgart · New York.
Caltech computer scientists develop FAST protocol to speed up Internet
2003-01-01
"Caltech computer scientists have developed a new data transfer protocol for the Internet fast enough to download a full-length DVD movie in less than five seconds. The protocol is called FAST, standing for Fast Active queue management Scalable Transmission Control Protocol" (1 page).
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Esra' Shishtar
Full Text Available Despite the widespread use of ginseng in the management of diabetes, supporting evidence of its anti-hyperglycemic efficacy is limited, necessitating the need for evidence-based recommendations for the potential inclusion of ginseng in diabetes management.To elucidate the effect of ginseng on glycemic control in a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials in people with and without diabetes.MEDLINE, EMBASE, CINAHL and the Cochrane Library (through July 3, 2013.Randomized controlled trials ≥30 days assessing the glycemic effects of ginseng in people with and without diabetes.Relevant data were extracted by 2 independent reviewers. Discrepancies were resolved by consensus. The Heyland Methodological Quality Score and the Cochrane risk of bias tool were used to assess study quality and risk of bias respectively.Sixteen trials were included, in which 16 fasting blood glucose (n = 770, 10 fasting plasma insulin (n = 349, 9 glycated hemoglobin (n = 264, and 7 homeostasis model assessment of insulin resistance (n = 305 comparisons were reported. Ginseng significantly reduced fasting blood glucose compared to control (MD = -0.31 mmol/L [95% CI: -0.59 to -0.03], P = 0.03. Although there was no significant effect on fasting plasma insulin, glycated hemoglobin, or homeostasis model assessment of insulin resistance, a priori subgroup analyses did show significant reductions in glycated hemoglobin in parallel compared to crossover trials (MD = 0.22% [95%CI: 0.06 to 0.37], P = 0.01.Most trials were of short duration (67% trials<12wks, and included participants with a relatively good glycemic control (median HbA1c non-diabetes = 5.4% [2 trials]; median HbA1c diabetes = 7.1% [7 trials].Ginseng modestly yet significantly improved fasting blood glucose in people with and without diabetes. In order to address the uncertainty in our effect estimates and provide better assessments of ginseng's anti
Tritium control in fusion reactor materials: A model for Tritium Extracting System
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Zucchetti, Massimo; Utili, Marco; Nicolotti, Iuri; Ying, Alice; Franza, Fabrizio; Abdou, Mohamed
2015-01-01
Highlights: • A modeling work has been performed to address these issues in view of its utilization for the TES (Tritium Extraction System), in the case of the HCPB TBM and for a Molecular sieve as adsorbent material. • A computational model has been setup and tested in this paper. • The results of experimental measurement of fundamental parameters such as mass transfer coefficients have been implemented in the model. • It turns out the capability to model the extraction process of gaseous tritium compounds and to estimate the breakthrough curves of the two main tritium gaseous species (H2 and HT). - Abstract: In fusion reactors, tritium is bred by lithium isotopes inside the blanket and then extracted. However, tritium can contaminate the reactor structures, and can be eventually released into the environment. Tritium in reactor components should therefore be kept under close control throughout the fusion reactor lifetime, bearing in mind the risk of accidents, the need for maintenance and the detritiation of dismantled reactor components before their re-use or disposal. A modeling work has been performed to address these issues in view of its utilization for the TES (Tritium Extraction System), in the case of the HCPB TBM and for a molecular sieve as adsorbent material. A computational model has been setup and tested. The results of experimental measurement of fundamental parameters such as mass transfer coefficients have been implemented in the model. It turns out the capability of the model to describe the extraction process of gaseous tritium compounds and to estimate the breakthrough curves of the two main tritium gaseous species (H2 and HT).
Tritium control in fusion reactor materials: A model for Tritium Extracting System
Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)
Zucchetti, Massimo [DENERG, Politecnico di Torino (Italy); Utili, Marco, E-mail: marco.utili@enea.it [ENEA UTIS – C.R. Brasimone, Bacino del Brasimone, Camugnano, BO (Italy); Nicolotti, Iuri [DENERG, Politecnico di Torino (Italy); Ying, Alice [University of California Los Angeles (UCLA), Los Angeles, CA (United States); Franza, Fabrizio [Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, Karlsruhe (Germany); Abdou, Mohamed [University of California Los Angeles (UCLA), Los Angeles, CA (United States)
2015-10-15
Highlights: • A modeling work has been performed to address these issues in view of its utilization for the TES (Tritium Extraction System), in the case of the HCPB TBM and for a Molecular sieve as adsorbent material. • A computational model has been setup and tested in this paper. • The results of experimental measurement of fundamental parameters such as mass transfer coefficients have been implemented in the model. • It turns out the capability to model the extraction process of gaseous tritium compounds and to estimate the breakthrough curves of the two main tritium gaseous species (H2 and HT). - Abstract: In fusion reactors, tritium is bred by lithium isotopes inside the blanket and then extracted. However, tritium can contaminate the reactor structures, and can be eventually released into the environment. Tritium in reactor components should therefore be kept under close control throughout the fusion reactor lifetime, bearing in mind the risk of accidents, the need for maintenance and the detritiation of dismantled reactor components before their re-use or disposal. A modeling work has been performed to address these issues in view of its utilization for the TES (Tritium Extraction System), in the case of the HCPB TBM and for a molecular sieve as adsorbent material. A computational model has been setup and tested. The results of experimental measurement of fundamental parameters such as mass transfer coefficients have been implemented in the model. It turns out the capability of the model to describe the extraction process of gaseous tritium compounds and to estimate the breakthrough curves of the two main tritium gaseous species (H2 and HT).
Heimerdinger, Arli; Olivo, Clair J; Molento, Marcelo B; Agnolin, Carlos A; Ziech, Magnos F; Scaravelli, Luciene Fernanda B; Skonieski, Fernando R; Both, José F; Charão, Pablo S
2006-01-01
The objective of this study was to determine the effect of lemongrass (Cymbopogon citratus) alcoholic extracts on the control of Boophilus microplus in naturally infested Holstein cows. Twelve animals were allocated in three groups of four animals. Group 1 was treated with amitraz at 0.025%, Group 2 was treated with lemongrass extracts at 1.36% and Group 3 with the same product at 2.72% of the plant. Engorged ticks were evaluated on animals with length superior to 4.0 mm, before (mean of days -3, -2, -1) and at 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 and 14 days after treatment. The mean efficacy of amitraz was 97.93%. Lemongrass extract at 2.72% reduced tick infestation by 40.3, 46.6 and 41.5% on day 3, 7 and 14 post-treatment, respectively.
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Ha Ki-Chan
2012-02-01
Full Text Available Abstracts Background Standardized Korean red ginseng extract has become the best-selling influenza-like illness (ILI remedy in Korea, yet much controversy regarding the efficacy of the Korean red ginseng (KRG in reducing ILI incidence remains. The aim of the study is to assess the efficacy of the KRG extract on the ILI incidence in healthy adults. Methods/Design We will conduct a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study at the onset of the influenza seasons. A total of 100 subjects 30-70 years of age will be recruited from the general populations. The subjects will be instructed to take 9 capsules per day of either the KRG extract or a placebo for a period of 3 months. The primary outcome measure is to assess the frequency of ILI onset in participated subjects. Secondary variable measures will be included severity and duration of ILI symptoms. The ILI symptoms will be scored by subjects using a 4-point scale. Discussion This study is a randomized placebo controlled trial to evaluate the efficacy of the KRG extract compared to placebo and will be provided valuable new information about the clinical and physiological effects of the KRG extract on reduction of ILI incidence including flu and upper respiratory tract infections. The study has been pragmatically designed to ensure that the study findings can be implemented into clinical practice if KRG extract can be shown to be an effective reduction strategy in ILI incidence. Trial Registration NCT01478009.
Vanysacker, L.; Declerck, S.A.J.; Hellemans, B.; De Meester, L.; Vankelecom, I.; Declerck, P.
2010-01-01
The effectiveness of three commercially available direct DNA isolation kits (Mobio, Fast, Qiagen) and one published direct DNA extraction protocol (Bead) for extracting bacterial DNA from different types of activated sludge was investigated and mutually compared. The DNA quantity and purity were
Extragalactic dispersion measures of fast radio bursts
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Xu, Jun; Han, J. L.
2015-01-01
Fast radio bursts show large dispersion measures, much larger than the Galactic dispersion measure foreground. Therefore, they evidently have an extragalactic origin. We investigate possible contributions to the dispersion measure from host galaxies. We simulate the spatial distribution of fast radio bursts and calculate the dispersion measures along the sightlines from fast radio bursts to the edge of host galaxies by using the scaled NE2001 model for thermal electron density distributions. We find that contributions to the dispersion measure of fast radio bursts from the host galaxy follow a skew Gaussian distribution. The peak and the width at half maximum of the dispersion measure distribution increase with the inclination angle of a spiral galaxy, to large values when the inclination angle is over 70°. The largest dispersion measure produced by an edge-on spiral galaxy can reach a few thousand pc cm −3 , while the dispersion measures from dwarf galaxies and elliptical galaxies have a maximum of only a few tens of pc cm −3 . Notice, however, that additional dispersion measures of tens to hundreds of pc cm −3 can be produced by high density clumps in host galaxies. Simulations that include dispersion measure contributions from the Large Magellanic Cloud and the Andromeda Galaxy are shown as examples to demonstrate how to extract the dispersion measure from the intergalactic medium. (paper)
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.
Developmental validation of the PowerPlex(®) ESI 16/17 Fast and PowerPlex(®) ESX 16/17 Fast Systems.
McLaren, Robert S; Bourdeau-Heller, Jeanne; Patel, Jaynish; Thompson, Jonelle M; Pagram, Jenny; Loake, Thomas; Beesley, David; Pirttimaa, Markus; Hill, Carolyn R; Duewer, David L; Kline, Margaret C; Butler, John M; Storts, Douglas R
2014-11-01
The PowerPlex(®) ESI 16 Fast, ESI 17 Fast, ESX 16 Fast, and ESX 17 Fast Systems represent faster cycling versions (50min or less) of the PowerPlex(®) ESI and ESX Systems released by Promega in 2009 to accommodate the ENFSI and EDNAP groups' call for new STR multiplexes for Europe. In addition to amplification of purified DNA samples, these new faster cycling systems allow for direct amplification from single-source blood and buccal samples deposited on FTA(®) and nonFTA paper as well as from SwabSolution™ extracts of buccal swabs without the need for purification and quantitation. There are no changes to the autosomal primer pair sequences in the PowerPlex(®) ESI Fast and ESX Fast Systems compared to the original multiplexes, and full concordance at all autosomal loci and amelogenin was observed with data generated previously with the original PowerPlex(®) ESI and ESX Systems. This paper describes the developmental validation study performed on these new fast systems following guidelines issued by the Scientific Working Group on DNA Analysis Methods (SWGDAM) and those of the DNA Advisory Board (DAB). Validation data demonstrate that these systems are sensitive for detecting low levels of DNA while also being capable of generating robust profiles from the high amount of input DNA present in direct-amplification samples. These systems are also tolerant to both high concentrations of PCR inhibitors as well as to slight variations in the final concentration of master mix and primer pair present in the amplification reaction that might be encountered due to pipetting error. The results of this validation study demonstrate that these systems may be used on multiple thermal cyclers and capillary electrophoresis platforms. Copyright © 2014 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ireland Ltd.. All rights reserved.
Dorri, Mojtaba; Shahrabi, Shokufeh; Navabazam, Alireza
2012-02-01
Chlorhexidine is broadly prescribed by clinicians for treating extraction socket wounds; however, studies have reported adverse effects for chlorhexidine. Persica, a herbal antibacterial agent, could be an alternative for chlorhexidine. The aim of this randomised controlled trial was to investigate the effects of persica and chlorhexidine on alveolar bone healing following tooth extraction in rats. Eighteen Wistar rats were randomly allocated to three study groups: 0.2% chlorhexidine, 10% persica and controls (tap water). The rats were mouth-rinsed for 14 days. On day 8, the mandibular right first molars of all the rats were extracted. On day 21, the rats were euthanized and histological slides of their extraction sockets were prepared. The amount of new bone formation and the number of inflammatory cells in the extraction socket for each rat were recorded. Data were analysed using linear regression and Mann-Whitney tests. There was no significant difference between the control group and the intervention groups in terms of new bone formation and inflammatory cell count. The mean new bone formation was significantly higher in the persica group than in the chlorhexidine group. There was a significant association between new bone formation and inflammatory cell count in the entire sample. In conclusion, there were no significant differences between rinsing with tap water and rinsing with 0.2% chlorhexidine and 10% persica in enhancing extraction socket wound healing in rats. Extraction socket wound healing in rats was better enhanced with 10% persica than 0.2% chlorhexidine.
Diamond Light Source Booster fast orbit feedback system
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Gayadeen, S.; Duncan, S.R.; Christou, C.; Heron, M.T.; Rowland, J.
2012-01-01
The Fast Orbit Feedback system that has been installed on the Diamond Light Source Storage ring has been replicated on the Booster synchrotron in order to provide a test bed for the development of the Storage Ring controller design. To realise this the Booster is operated in DC mode. The electron beam is regulated in two planes using the Fast Orbit Feedback system, which takes the beam position from 22 beam position monitors for each plane, and calculates offsets to 44 corrector power supplies at a sample rate of 10 kHz. This paper describes the design and realization of the controller for the Booster Fast Orbit Feedback, presents results from the implementation and considers future development
A novel technique to extract events from access control system and locate persons
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Vincent, M.; Vaidyanathan, Mythili; Patidar, Suresh Chandra; Prabhakara Rao, G.
2011-01-01
Indira Gandhi Centre for Atomic Research houses many laboratories which handle radioactive materials and classified materials. Protection and accounting of men and material and critical facilities are important aspect of nuclear security. Access Control System (ACS) is used to enhance the protective measures against elevated threat environment. Access control system hardware consists of hand geometry readers, RFID readers, Controllers, Electromagnetic door locks, Turnstiles, fiber cable laying and termination etc. Access Control System controls and monitors the people accessing the secured facilities. Access Control System generates events on: 1. Showing of RFID card, 2. Rotation of turnstile, 3. Download of valid card numbers, 4. Generation of alarms etc. Access control system turnstiles are located in main entrance of a facility, entrance of inside laboratory and door locks are fixed on secured facilities. Events are stored in SQL server database. From the events stored in database a novel technique is developed to extract events and list the persons in a particular facility, list all entry/exit events on one day, list the first in and last out entries. This paper discusses the complex multi level group by queries and software developed to extract events from database, locate persons and generate reports. Software is developed as a web application in ASP.Net and query is written in SQL. User can select the doors, type of events and generate reports. Reports are generated using the master data stored about employees RFID cards and events data stored in tables. Four types of reports are generated 1. Plant Emergency Report, 2. Locate User Report, 3. Entry - Exit Report, 4. First in Last out Report. To generate plant emergency report for whole plant only events generated in outer gates have to be considered. To generate plant emergency report for inside laboratory, events generated in entrance gates have to be ignored. (author)
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Souza, A.W.A. de.
1979-08-01
The determination of time dependent flux is made in a fast reactor with the core embraced by a perfect reflector. The fuel burnup is taken in account establishing a nonlinear diffusion problem. A stable numeric scheme is done and the integration of two limit cases is obtained. Finally, one possibility of reactor control through the variation between two cases is discussed. (E.G.) [pt
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Taame Berhanu
2017-01-01
Full Text Available This investigation was aimed at introducing natural dye extracted from the bark of Cassia Singueana plant for dyeing chrome tanned sheep skin crust leather. The colorant was extracted by aqueous extraction and its strength evaluated using UV-Visible spectroscopy. The extraction with the highest strength (3.9 at λmax of 400 nm was obtained at temperature of 95°C, concentration of 60 g/l, and time of 60 minutes. The possibility of using aloe vera juice and mango bark extract as natural mordants for leather coloration was investigated. Dyeing was conducted with and without mordant using different combinations of temperature, time, pH, and concentration of mordants. All three mordanting techniques were evaluated. The color strength (K/S, CIE L⁎a⁎b⁎ values, and fastness properties (light, rubbing, and perspiration of dyed leather samples were evaluated using appropriate instruments and according to international standards. Majority of samples exhibited that fastness result was in the range of good-excellent. Significantly better color fastness was obtained in case of leather samples premordanted with aloe vera. This study leads to the conclusion that dye extracted from bark of Cassia singueana can be used as colorant for tanned leather with the selected natural mordants.
Skeleton extraction based on the topology and Snakes model
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Yuanxue Cai
Full Text Available A new skeleton line extraction method based on topology and flux is proposed by analyzing the distribution characteristics of the gradient vector field in the Snakes model. The distribution characteristics of the skeleton line are accurately obtained by calculating the eigenvalues of the critical points and the flux of the gradient vector field. Then the skeleton lines can be effectively extracted. The results also show that there is no need for the pretreatment or binarization of the target image. The skeleton lines of complex gray images such as optical interference patterns can be effectively extracted by using this method. Compared to traditional methods, this method has many advantages, such as high extraction accuracy and fast processing speed. Keywords: Skeleton, Snakes model, Topology, Photoelasticity image
Aggregate modeling of fast-acting demand response and control under real-time pricing
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Chassin, David P.; Rondeau, Daniel
2016-01-01
Highlights: • Demand elasticity for fast-acting demand response load under real-time pricing. • Validated first-principles logistic demand curve matches random utility model. • Logistic demand curve suitable for diversified aggregate loads market-based transactive control systems. - Abstract: This paper develops and assesses the performance of a short-term demand response (DR) model for utility load control with applications to resource planning and control design. Long term response models tend to underestimate short-term demand response when induced by prices. This has two important consequences. First, planning studies tend to undervalue DR and often overlook its benefits in utility demand management program development. Second, when DR is not overlooked, the open-loop DR control gain estimate may be too low. This can result in overuse of load resources, control instability and excessive price volatility. Our objective is therefore to develop a more accurate and better performing short-term demand response model. We construct the model from first principles about the nature of thermostatic load control and show that the resulting formulation corresponds exactly to the Random Utility Model employed in economics to study consumer choice. The model is tested against empirical data collected from field demonstration projects and is shown to perform better than alternative models commonly used to forecast demand in normal operating conditions. The results suggest that (1) existing utility tariffs appear to be inadequate to incentivize demand response, particularly in the presence of high renewables, and (2) existing load control systems run the risk of becoming unstable if utilities close the loop on real-time prices.
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Zhou Jiao-Jiao
2011-11-01
Full Text Available Abstract Background Laparoscopy-assisted surgery, fast-track perioperative treatment are both increasingly used in colorectal cancer treatment, for their short-time benefits of enhanced recovery and short hospital stays. However, the benefits of the integration of the Laparoscopy-assisted surgery, fast-track perioperative treatment, and even with the Xelox chemotherapy, are still unknown. In this study, the three treatments integration is defined as "Fast Track Multi-Discipline Treatment Model" for colorectal cancer and this model extends the benefits to the whole treatment process of colorectal cancer. The main purpose of the study is to explore the feasibility of "Fast Track Multi-Discipline Treatment" model in treatment of colorectal cancer. Methods The trial is a prospective randomized controlled study with 2 × 2 balanced factorial design. Patients eligible for the study will be randomized to 4 groups: (I Laparoscopic surgery with fast track perioperative treatment and Xelox chemotherapy; (II Open surgery with fast track perioperative treatment and Xelox chemotherapy; (III Laparoscopic surgery with conventional perioperative treatment and mFolfox6 chemotherapy; (IV Open surgery with conventional perioperative treatment and mFolfox6 chemotherapy. The primary endpoint of this study is the hospital stays. The secondary endpoints are the quality of life, chemotherapy related adverse events, surgical complications and hospitalization costs. Totally, 340 patients will be enrolled with 85 patients in each group. Conclusions The study initiates a new treatment model "Fast Track Multi-Discipline Treatment" for colorectal cancer, and will provide feasibility evidence on the new model "Fast Track Multi-Discipline Treatment" for patients with colorectal cancer. Trial registration ClinicalTrials.gov: NCT01080547
Fast calculation of the `ILC norm' in iterative learning control
Rice, Justin K.; van Wingerden, Jan-Willem
2013-06-01
In this paper, we discuss and demonstrate a method for the exploitation of matrix structure in computations for iterative learning control (ILC). In Barton, Bristow, and Alleyne [International Journal of Control, 83(2), 1-8 (2010)], a special insight into the structure of the lifted convolution matrices involved in ILC is used along with a modified Lanczos method to achieve very fast computational bounds on the learning convergence, by calculating the 'ILC norm' in ? computational complexity. In this paper, we show how their method is equivalent to a special instance of the sequentially semi-separable (SSS) matrix arithmetic, and thus can be extended to many other computations in ILC, and specialised in some cases to even faster methods. Our SSS-based methodology will be demonstrated on two examples: a linear time-varying example resulting in the same ? complexity as in Barton et al., and a linear time-invariant example where our approach reduces the computational complexity to ?, thus decreasing the computation time, for an example, from the literature by a factor of almost 100. This improvement is achieved by transforming the norm computation via a linear matrix inequality into a check of positive definiteness - which allows us to further exploit the almost-Toeplitz properties of the matrix, and additionally provides explicit upper and lower bounds on the norm of the matrix, instead of the indirect Ritz estimate. These methods are now implemented in a MATLAB toolbox, freely available on the Internet.
Accelerator Technology: Injection and Extraction Related Hardware: Kickers and Septa
Barnes, M J; Mertens, V
2013-01-01
This document is part of Subvolume C 'Accelerators and Colliders' of Volume 21 'Elementary Particles' of Landolt-Börnstein - Group I 'Elementary Particles, Nuclei and Atoms'. It contains the the Section '8.7 Injection and Extraction Related Hardware: Kickers and Septa' of the Chapter '8 Accelerator Technology' with the content: 8.7 Injection and Extraction Related Hardware: Kickers and Septa 8.7.1 Fast Pulsed Systems (Kickers) 8.7.2 Electrostatic and Magnetic Septa
DEFF Research Database (Denmark)
Fuchs, David; Jensen, Henrik; Pedersen-Bjergaard, Stig
2015-01-01
A simple to construct and operate, "dip-in" electromembrane extraction (EME) probe directly coupled to electrospray ionization-mass spectrometry (ESI-MS) for rapid extraction and real time analysis of various analytes was developed. The setup demonstrated that EME-MS can be used as a viable...... alternative to conventional protein precipitation followed by liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS) for studying drug metabolism. Comparison of EME-MS with LC-MS for drug metabolism analysis demonstrated for the first time that real time extraction of analytes by EME is possible. Metabolism kinetics...... offering a significant time saving as compared to conventional LC-MS where laborious protein precipitation or other sample pretreatments are required before analysis. This makes the developed EME-MS setup a highly promising sample preparation method for various kinds of applications where fast and real-time...
Effects of methanol leaf extracts of Loranthus micranthus Linn from ...
African Journals Online (AJOL)
blood glucose, lipid profile and other biochemical indices of diabetic rats. Methods: The ... Diabetes mellitus is a disease of metabolic origin which is .... Fasting blood sugar level after ..... (Iridaceae) leaf extract in ICR mice fed high fat diet.
Yassa, Hanan Dawood; Tohamy, Adel Fathy
2014-06-01
Medicinal plants attract growing interest in the therapeutic management of Diabetes mellitus. Moringa oleifera is a remarkably nutritious vegetable with several antioxidant properties. The present study assessed the possible antioxidant and antidiabetic effects of an aqueous extract of M. oleifera leaves in treating streptozotocin-induced diabetic albino rats. The antidiabetic effects of aqueous extract of M. oleifera leaves were assessed histomorphometrically, ultrastructurally and biochemically. Fasting plasma glucose (FPG) was monitored and morphometric measurements of β-cells of islets of Langerhans (modified Gomori's stain) and collagen fibers (Mallory's trichrome stain) were performed. The antioxidant effects of M. oleifera leaves were determined by measuring the reduced glutathione and lipid peroxidation product, malondialdehyde, in pancreatic tissue. M. oleifera treatment significantly ameliorated the altered FPG (from 380% to 145%), reduced glutathione (from 22% to 73%) and malondialdehyde (from 385% to 186%) compared to control levels. The histopathological damage of islet cells was also markedly reversed. Morphometrically, M. oleifera significantly increased the areas of positive purple modified Gomori stained β-cells (from 60% to 91%) and decreased the area percentage of collagen fibers (from 199% to 120%) compared to control values. Experimental findings clearly indicate the potential benefits of using the aqueous extract of M. oleifera leaves as a potent antidiabetic treatment. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier GmbH. All rights reserved.
BaHammam, Ahmed S; Pandi-Perumal, Seithikurippu R; Alzoghaibi, Mohammed A
2016-01-01
We hypothesized that if we control for lifestyle changes during Ramadan, Ramadan Islamic intermittent fasting (IF) reduces oxidative stress. This study was conducted to examine the effect of Islamic IF during and outside of Ramadan on the circadian changes in lipid peroxidation marker malondialdehyde (MDA) during and outside while controlling for potential confounders. Serum MDA concentration was measured in eight healthy male volunteers at baseline (BL), after fasting for 1 week before Ramadan (BL fasting), and during Ramadan. Blood samples were drawn at 22:00, 02:00, 04:00, 06:00, and 11:00. The participants were admitted to the sleep laboratory and monitored for 24 h on the day of the measurements. In the laboratory, each participant received meals of fixed compositions and caloric contents based on their ideal body weights. Light exposure, physical activity, and total sleep duration were uniformly maintained during the three study periods. The participants had a mean age of 26.6 ± 4.9 years and a mean body mass index of 23.7 ± 3.5 kg/m(2). No significant changes were observed in MDA levels and blood glucose during BL, BL fasting, or Ramadan. In this pilot study, under conditions of fixed sleep-wake schedules and caloric intake, Ramadan IF does not alter serum MDA levels in healthy subjects. Larger studies are needed to confirm these findings.
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Cíntia Grendene Lima
2008-03-01
Full Text Available Extracts of plants with insecticidal activity were tested on the control of Microtheca ochroloma (Col.: Chrysomelidae, an important insect-pest of Brassicaceae, in the larval and adult phases. Two 3-day-old larvae, kept under laboratory conditions (25ºC temperature, 70% relative humidity and 14 hours of photophase, were placed in a glass tube with a leaf of Chinese cabbage (Brassica chinensis previously treated with aqueous extracts (10% p/v of chinaberry leaf (Melia azedarach, chinaberry branch, and tobacco powder (Nicotiana tabacum. The same procedure was repeated in two assays with adult insects. In the first assay, all the previously-mentioned extracts were used, in addition to DalNeem (commercial product of Azadirachta indica. In the second, the insects were exposed to extracts of tabasco pepper fruits (Capsicum frutescens, Surinam cherry (Eugenia unifl ora, jambolan (Syzygium cuminii and eucalyptus leaves (Eucalyptus sp.. All the tests consisted of 10 insects per treatment, with five repetitions in the first test using adult insects and six repetitions in the others. Observations were made daily up to the fifth day, aiming to evaluate the mortality of the insects. All the tested extracts resulted in an effective control of the larvae of M. ochroloma. In relation to the adult insects, only the extracts of tobacco powder and DalNeem showed effective control.
Neighborhood fast food availability and fast food consumption.
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?
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...
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Frey, W.; Ghoshroy, S.; Cottingham, J.G.
1982-01-01
The fast extraction kicker magnet for the AGS is powered by a novel pulse generator. A pulse forming network (PFN) is discharged into nearly 100% mismatched load. The pulser delivers a current pulse of 3000 amperes peak pulse with a 2% flat-top ripple into a 1.4 μ H single turn ferrite core magnet. The pulse is 2.8 μsec wide with a 180 nsec rise time, at a 0.5 to 1.5 pps repetition rate. The pulse rise time is required to provide clean extraction of the 28 GeV proton beam by bringing the kicker magnet field up to 1.25 kG within the 220 nsec space between proton bunches in the machine. The pulser is mounted adjacent to the kicker magnet in the AGS ring. The thyratron's characteristics are not affected by the ionizing radiation environment during operation of the AGS
A new concept for the control of a slow-extracted beam in a line with rotational optics: Part II
Benedikt, Michael; Pullia, M
1999-01-01
The current trend in hadrontherapy is towards high-precision, conformal scanning of tumours with a 'pencil' beam of light ions or protons, delivered by a synchrotron using slow extraction. The particular shape of the slow-extracted beam segment in phase space and the need to vary the beam size in a lattice with rotating optical elements create a special problem for the design of the extraction transfer line and gantry. The design concept presented in this report is based on telescope modules with integer-pi phase advances in both transverse planes. The beam size in the plane of the extraction is controlled by altering the phase advance and hence the rotation of the extracted beam segment in phase space. The vertical beam size is controlled by stepping the vertical betatron amplitude function over a range of values and passing the changed beam size from 'hand-to-hand' through the telescope modules to the various treatment rooms. In the example given, a combined phase shifter and 'stepper', at a point close to ...
Comparison of RNA extraction methods from biofilm samples of Staphylococcus epidermidis
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
França Angela
2011-12-01
Full Text Available Abstract Background Microbial biofilms are communities of bacteria adhered to a surface and surrounded by an extracellular polymeric matrix. Biofilms have been associated with increased antibiotic resistance and tolerance to the immune system. Staphylococcus epidermidis is the major bacterial species found in biofilm-related infections on indwelling medical devices. Obtaining high quality mRNA from biofilms is crucial to validate the transcriptional measurements associated with the switching to the biofilm mode of growth. Therefore, we selected three commercially available RNA extraction kits with distinct characteristics, including those using silica membrane or organic extraction methods, and enzymatic or mechanical cell lysis, and evaluated the RNA quality obtained from two distinct S. epidermidis bacterial biofilms. Results RNA extracted using the different kits was evaluated for quantity, purity, integrity, and functionally. All kits were able to extract intact and functional total RNA from the biofilms generated from each S. epidermidis strain. The results demonstrated that the kit based on mechanical lysis and organic extraction (FastRNA® Pro Blue was the only one that was able to isolate pure and large quantities of RNA. Normalized expression of the icaA virulence gene showed that RNA extracted with PureLink™ had a significant lower concentration of icaA mRNA transcripts than the other kits tested. Conclusions When working with complex samples, such as biofilms, that contain a high content extracellular polysaccharide and proteins, special care should be taken when selecting the appropriate RNA extraction system, in order to obtain accurate, reproducible, and biologically significant results. Among the RNA extraction kits tested, FastRNA® Pro Blue was the best option for both S. epidermidis biofilms used.
Sparsity-based shrinkage approach for practicability improvement of H-LBP-based edge extraction
Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)
Zhao, Chenyi [School of Physics, Northeast Normal University, Changchun 130024 (China); Qiao, Shuang, E-mail: qiaos810@nenu.edu.cn [School of Physics, Northeast Normal University, Changchun 130024 (China); Sun, Jianing, E-mail: sunjn118@nenu.edu.cn [School of Mathematics and Statistics, Northeast Normal University, Changchun 130024 (China); Zhao, Ruikun; Wu, Wei [Jilin Cancer Hospital, Changchun 130021 (China)
2016-07-21
The local binary pattern with H function (H-LBP) technique enables fast and efficient edge extraction in digital radiography. In this paper, we reformulate the model of H-LBP and propose a novel sparsity-based shrinkage approach, in which the threshold can be adapted to the data sparsity. Using this model, we upgrade fast H-LBP framework and apply it to real digital radiography. The experiments show that the method improved using the new shrinkage approach can avoid elaborately artificial modulation of parameters and possess greater robustness in edge extraction compared with the other current methods without increasing processing time. - Highlights: • An novel sparsity-based shrinkage approach for edge extraction on digital radiography is proposed. • The threshold of SS-LBP can be adaptive to the data sparsity. • SS-LBP is the development of AH-LBP and H-LBP. • Without boosting processing time and losing processing efficiency, SS-LBP can avoid elaborately artificial modulation of parameters provides. • SS-LBP has more robust performance in edge extraction compared with the existing methods.
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Girardin, G.; Rimpault, G.; Morin, F.; Bosq, J.C.; Coddington, P.; Mikityuk, K.; Chawla, R.
2008-01-01
The present paper is related to the design and neutronic characterization of the principal control assembly system for the reference large (2400 MWth) Generation IV gas-cooled fast reactor (GFR), which makes use of ceramic-ceramic (CERCER) plate-type fuel-elements with (U-Pu) carbide fuel contained within a SiC inert matrix. For the neutronic calculations, the deterministic code system ERANOS-2.0 has been used, in association with a full core model including a European fast reactor (EFR)-type pattern for the control assemblies as a starting point. More specifically, the core contains a total of 33 control (control system device: CSD) and safety (diverse safety device: DSD) assemblies implemented in three banks. In the design of the new control assembly system, particular attention was given to the heat generation within the assemblies, so that both neutronic and thermal-hydraulic constraints could be appropriately accounted for. The thermal-hydraulic calculations have been performed with the code COPERNIC, significant coolant mass flow rates being found necessary to maintain acceptable cladding temperatures of the absorber pins. Complementary to the design study, neutronic investigations have been performed to assess the impact of the control assemblies in the GFR core in greater detail (rod interactions, shift of the flux, peaking factors, etc.). Thus, considerable shadowing effects have been observed between the first bank and the safety bank, as also between individual assemblies within the first bank. Large anti-shadowing effects also occur, the most prominent being that between the two CSD banks, where the total assembly worth is almost doubled in comparison to the sum of the individual values. Additional investigations have been performed and, in this context, it has been found that computation of the first-order eigenvalue and the eigenvalue separation is a robust tool to anticipate control assembly interactions in a large fast-spectrum core. One interesting
A fast automatic power control circuit for a small form-factor pluggable laser diode drive
Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)
Wang Huan; Wang Zhigong; Xu Jian; Miao Peng; Li Wei [Institute of RF- and OE-ICs, Southeast University, Nanjing 210096 (China); Luo Yin; Yang Siyong, E-mail: wanghuan@seu.edu.c [Jiangsu Sino-Chip OE-IC Co. Ltd, Nanjing 210016 (China)
2010-06-15
A fast automatic power control (APC) circuit for a laser diode driver (LDD) has been implemented in a 0.6-{mu}m BiCMOS process. The APC circuit adopts double-loops and variable-bandwidth techniques to achieve a turn-on time of < 400 {mu}s for most kinds of TOSAs. Thus, it meets the small form-factor pluggable (SFP) agreement. Such techniques make a good tradeoff between stability, accuracy, turn-on time, noise and convenience. The measured results indicate that the APC circuit is suitable for SFP LDD. (semiconductor integrated circuits)
Safety of fast track surgery in pancreaticoduodenectomy: a Meta-analysis
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
LI Weinan
2017-01-01
Full Text Available ObjectiveTo investigate the safety and clinical effect of fast track surgery in pancreaticoduodenectomy, one of the most complex surgeries in general surgery. MethodsThe Chinese and foreign databases were searched for articles on the application of fast tract surgery in pancreaticoduodenectomy published from January 1994 to April 2016. Two researchers evaluated the quality of the articles which met the inclusion criteria and extracted related data. Stata 12.0 software was used to analyze the overall incidence rate of complications and the incidence rates of pancreatic leakage and gastrointestinal emptying disorder, and the Begg rank correlation test and Egger linear regression method were used to investigate publication bias. ResultsThe fast track surgery group had a significantly lower overall incidence rate of complications than the conventional group (RR=0.748, 95%CI: 0.680-0.824, P<0.001. There was no significant difference in the incidence rate of pancreatic leakage between the two groups (RR=0.894, 95%CI:0.734-1.089, P=0.266. The fast track surgery group had a significantly lower incidence rate of gastrointestinal emptying disorder than the conventional group (RR=0.520, 95%CI:0.400-0.670, P<0.001. ConclusionFast track surgery is safe and effective in pancreaticoduodenectomy, but the application of some measures in fast track surgery still needs more medical evidence.
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Bianca Morejón
2018-01-01
Full Text Available The mosquito species Aedes aegypti is the primary vector of dengue, chikungunya, and Zika infections worldwide. Since effective vaccines or drugs are not available for the prevention and/or treatment of these pathologies, vector control has been adopted as the main approach to reduce their transmission. To control Aedes populations, the most commonly used tool is the application of chemical insecticides and, despite their effectiveness, indiscriminate use of these chemicals has led to high operational costs, appearance of resistant populations, and adverse nontarget effects. Plant-derived insecticides may be an eco-friendly, cost-effective, and safe biocontrol alternative. The present study was carried out to evaluate the larvicidal activity of leaf extracts of Ambrosia arborescens and green-synthesized silver nanoparticles (AgNPs using aqueous extracts obtained from this plant against third instar larvae of Ae. aegypti. To test this, larvae were exposed for 24 h to the aqueous plant extract at 1500, 3000, 4500, and 6000 ppm and the plant-synthesized AgNPs at 0.2, 0.3, 0.4, and 0.5 ppm. In laboratory assays, AgNPs were more toxic (LC50 = 0.28 ppm; LC90 = 0.43 ppm than the plant extract (LC50 = 1844.61 ppm; LC90 = 6043.95 ppm. These results suggest that A. arborescens aqueous extract and green-synthesized silver nanoparticles produced from those extracts have the potential to be developed into suitable alternative tools useful for the control of Ae. aegypti populations.
Prolonged fasting impairs neural reactivity to visual stimulation.
Kohn, N; Wassenberg, A; Toygar, T; Kellermann, T; Weidenfeld, C; Berthold-Losleben, M; Chechko, N; Orfanos, S; Vocke, S; Laoutidis, Z G; Schneider, F; Karges, W; Habel, U
2016-01-01
Previous literature has shown that hypoglycemia influences the intensity of the BOLD signal. A similar but smaller effect may also be elicited by low normal blood glucose levels in healthy individuals. This may not only confound the BOLD signal measured in fMRI, but also more generally interact with cognitive processing, and thus indirectly influence fMRI results. Here we show in a placebo-controlled, crossover, double-blind study on 40 healthy subjects, that overnight fasting and low normal levels of glucose contrasted to an activated, elevated glucose condition have an impact on brain activation during basal visual stimulation. Additionally, functional connectivity of the visual cortex shows a strengthened association with higher-order attention-related brain areas in an elevated blood glucose condition compared to the fasting condition. In a fasting state visual brain areas show stronger coupling to the inferior temporal gyrus. Results demonstrate that prolonged overnight fasting leads to a diminished BOLD signal in higher-order occipital processing areas when compared to an elevated blood glucose condition. Additionally, functional connectivity patterns underscore the modulatory influence of fasting on visual brain networks. Patterns of brain activation and functional connectivity associated with a broad range of attentional processes are affected by maturation and aging and associated with psychiatric disease and intoxication. Thus, we conclude that prolonged fasting may decrease fMRI design sensitivity in any task involving attentional processes when fasting status or blood glucose is not controlled.
Extraction and separation studies of uranium(VI) with tris-(2-ethyl hexyl) phosphate
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Sundaramurthi, N.M.; Desai, G.S.; Shinde, V.M.
1990-01-01
A solvent extraction method is proposed for the extraction and separation of uranium from salicylate media using tris-(2-ethyl hexyl) phosphate dissolved in xylene as an extractant. The optimum conditions were evaluated from a critical study of pH, salicylate concentration, extractant concentration, period of equilibration and diluent. The method permits the separation of uranium from thorium, cerium, titanium, zirconium, hafnium, copper, vanadium and chromium from binary mixtures and is applicable to the analysis of uranium in synthetic samples. The method is precise, accurate, fast and selective. (author) 5 refs.; 2 tabs
Aloe arborescens aqueous gel extract alters the activities of key ...
African Journals Online (AJOL)
Mogale
2011-05-16
May 16, 2011 ... glucose uptake by fat and muscle cells; 3) altering the activity of some ... aqueous A. arborescens leaf gel extract on fasting blood glucose levels, insulin ..... weight loss of treated diabetic rats as compared to untreated alloxan ...
SISAK liquid-liquid extraction experiments with preseparated 257Rf
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Omtvedt, Jon Petter; Alstad, J.; Breivik, H.; Dyve, J.E.; Eberhardt, K.; Folden III, C.M.; Ginter, T.; Gregorich, K.E.; Hult, E.A.; Johansson, M.; Kirbach, U.W.; Lee, D.M.; Mendel, M.; Nahler, A.; Ninov, V.; Omtvedt, L.A.; Patin, J.B.; Skarnemark, G.; Stavsetra, L.; Sudowe, R.; Wiehl, N.; Wierczinski, B.; Wilk, P.A.; Zielinski, P.M.; Kratz, J.V.; Trautmann, N.; Nitsche, H.; Hoffman, D.C.
2002-01-01
The SISAK liquid-liquid extraction system was used to extract 4.0-s 257Rf. The 257Rf was produced in the reaction 208Pb(50Ti, 1n)257Rf with 237-MeV beam energy on target, separated in the Berkeley Gas-filled Separator (BGS) and transferred to a gas jet using the Recoil Transfer Chamber (RTC). The activity delivered by the gas jet was dissolved in 6-M HNO3 and Rf was extracted into 0.25-M dibutyl-phosphoric acid in toluene. This was the first time a transactinide, i.e., an element with Z >= 104, was extracted and unequivocally identified by the SISAK system. Thus, this pilot experiment demonstrates that the fast liquid-liquid extraction system SISAK, in combination with liquidscintillation detectors, can be used for investigating the chemical properties of the transactinides. The extraction result is in accordance with the behaviour shown by the Rf group IV homologues Zr and Hf
Observaton of tunneling of slow and fast electromagnetic modes in coupled periodic waveguides
DEFF Research Database (Denmark)
Ha, Sangwoo; Sukhorukov, Andrey A.; Lavrinenko, Andrei
2011-01-01
We report the experimental observation of tunneling of slow and fast electromagnetic modes in coupled periodic waveguides shifted longitudinally by half of modulation period. According to the symmetry analysis, such a coupler supports two electromagnetic modes with exactly matched slow or fast...... group velocities but different phase velocities for frequencies close to the edge of the photonic band. We confirm the predicted properties of the modes by directly extracting their dispersion and group velocities from the near-field measurements using specialized Bloch-wave spectral analysis method....
Self-excited vibration control for axially fast excited beam by a time delay state feedback
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Hamdi, Mustapha; Belhaq, Mohamed
2009-01-01
This work examines the control of self-excited vibration of a simply-supported beam subjected to an axially high-frequency excitation. The investigation of the resonant cases are not considered in this paper. The control is implemented via a corrective position feedback with time delay. The objective of this control is to eliminate the undesirable self-excited vibrations with an appropriate choice of parameters. The issue of stability is also addressed in this paper. Using the technique of direct partition of motion, the dynamic of discretized equations is separated into slow and fast components. The multiple scales method is then performed on the slow dynamic to obtain a slow flow for the amplitude and phase. Analysis of this slow flow provides analytical approximations locating regions in parameters space where undesirable self-excited vibration can be eliminated. A numerical study of these regions is performed on the original discretized system and compared to the analytical prediction showing a good agreement.
Concept and canons of fasting in Ayurveda
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H Shripathi Adiga
2013-03-01
Full Text Available Ayurveda, manoeuvres mankind to head a healthy life in order to pursue four-fold bliss. With a view to combat physical and mental annoyances, classics have explicated two-fold therapeutic modalities; langhana/depletion and brihmana/nourishing. Upavasa /fasting is one among ten depletion therapies explained. It is envisioned at all three levels of Ayurvedic therapies- rational/objectively planned, psychological, and spiritual. Fasting is reckoned to be refraining from all forms of food intake for a given period, under supervision of a qualified physician. Acharya Charaka advocates fasting in diseases of milder intensity, in those due to aama (metabolic toxin, after purificatory procedures. Fasting person should avoid beautifying oneself, day sleep, sexual acts, and feasting prior and ulterior to fasting. Fasting is contraindicated in very young, elderly, emaciated, pregnant lady, and shortly after strenuous exercise. The principle avers that fasting kindles metabolic/digestive fire which, in absence of food, brings about paachana of vitiated doshas, thereby riposting health. Sound fasting ensues proper elimination of excretory wastes, clear belch, sweat, and taste for food. Benefits of fasting include lucidity of sense organs, lightness of body and mind, control of diseases, and enthusiasm. Yoga Shastra describes fasting with respect to three levels of food: physical, impressions, and associations and a means to unite three bodies: astral, physical, and causal. Ayurveda thus advocates fasting depending upon the dosha, agni, vaya, kala, and bala of the individual, as a preventive as well as therapeutic modality.
Koulman, A; Bos, R; Medarde, M; Pras, N; Quax, WJ
2001-01-01
A new GC-MS method for monitoring lignans was developed to study the variation in plants and elucidate the biosynthetic steps. A simple and fast extraction procedure for lyophilised plant material was developed, giving a lignan-rich extract. A GC-MS method was set up using an apolar WCOT fused
Fast tracking in paediatric cardiac anaesthesia : an update.
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Lake Carol
2002-01-01
Full Text Available A care plan in which cardiac surgical patients progress quickly through the perioperative course to hospital discharge is often referred to as a Fast Track. Such care plans have been used extensively in adult cardiac patients but are also applicable to paediatric patients. Although no randomised controlled trials are available to document a reduction in hospital costs and avoidance of iatrogenic complications with paediatric fast tracks, many healthcare administrators encourage their use. Fast Track clinical guidelines usually include same day surgery, use of short- acting anaesthetic drugs, early extubation, effective pain management, and reduced intensive care unit stays. These protocols are certainly appropriate for simple procedures such as repair of atrial or ventricular septal defects or ligation of a patent ductus arteriosus. However, many paediatric cardiac anaesthesiologists consider that all paediatric patients without significant pulmonary or residual cardiac pathology can be managed using expedited postoperative protocols. Essential components in a "fast track" protocol include use of minimally invasive surgical techniques, modified ultrafiltration during cardiopulmonary bypass, transoesophageal echocardiography to evaluate the cardiac repair, and postoperative pain control. Using such techniques, 80-90% of paediatric patients can be extubated in the operating room or within 2-4 hours postoperatively. Despite the opinions of recognised experts, an appropriately sized and powered multicentre, controlled, randomised, prospective study is still needed to conclusively document the efficiency and effectiveness of the Fast Track in paediatric cardiac patients.
Almeneessier, Aljohara S; Bahammam, Ahmed S; Sharif, Munir M; Bahammam, Salman A; Nashwan, Samar Z; Pandi Perumal, Seithikurippu R; Cardinali, Daniel P; Alzoghaibi, Mohammad
2017-01-01
We hypothesized that if we control for food composition, caloric intake, light exposure, sleep schedule, and exercise, intermittent fasting would not influence the circadian pattern of melatonin. Therefore, we designed this study to assess the effect of intermittent fasting on the circadian pattern of melatonin. Eight healthy volunteers with a mean age of 26.6 ± 4.9 years and body mass index of 23.7 ± 3.5 kg/m 2 reported to the Sleep Disorders Center (the laboratory) on four occasions: (1) adaptation, (2) 4 weeks before Ramadan while performing Islamic intermittent fasting for 1 week (fasting outside Ramadan [FOR]), (3) 1 week before Ramadan (nonfasting baseline [BL]), and (4) during the 2 nd week of Ramadan while fasting ( Ramadan ). The plasma levels of melatonin were measured using enzyme-linked immunoassays at 22:00, 02:00, 04:00, 06:00, and 11:00 h. The light exposure, meal composition, energy expenditure, and sleep schedules remained the same while the participants stayed at the laboratory. The melatonin levels followed the same circadian pattern during the three monitoring periods (BL, FOR, and Ramadan ). The peak melatonin level was at 02:00 h and the trough level was at 11:00 h in all studied periods. Lower melatonin levels at 22:00 h were found during fasting compared to BL. Cosinor analysis revealed no significant changes in the acrophase of melatonin levels. In this preliminary report, under controlled conditions of light exposure, meal composition, energy expenditure, and sleep-wake schedules, intermittent fasting has no significant influence on the circadian pattern of melatonin.
Hofmann, D; Hecker, M; Völp, A
2003-03-01
To investigate if extracts from dried ivy leaves (Hedera helix L.) are effective in the treatment of chronic airway obstruction in children suffering from bronchial asthma. Systematic review of trials documented in the literature with re-analysis of original data. 5 randomized controlled trials investigating the efficacy of ivy leaf extract preparations in chronic bronchitis, 3 of which were conducted in children and met our selection criteria. One compared ivy leaf extract cough drops to placebo, one compared suppositories to drops and one tested syrup against drops. Body-plethysmographic and spirometric measures. Drops were significantly superior to placebo in reducing airway resistance (primary outcome measure; p = 0.04 two-sided) and descriptively superior in all other 'objective' measures. For syrup and suppositories, at least 54%, resp. 35% of the effect against placebo were preserved. The trials included in this review indicate that ivy leaf extract preparations have effects with respect to an improvement of respiratory functions of children with chronic bronchial asthma, but more far-reaching conclusions can hardly be drawn because of a meagre database, including the fact that only one primary trial included a placebo control. Further research, particularly into the long-term efficacy of the herbal extract, is needed.
Hypoglycemic and hypolipidemic activity of aqueous leaf extract of Passiflora suberosa L
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Hasani Prabodha Sudasinghe
2018-02-01
Full Text Available Leaves of Passiflora suberosa L. (Family: Passifloraceae; common name: wild passion fruit, devil’s pumpkin are used in Sri Lankan traditional medicine for treating diabetes. The present study investigated the in vivo ability of P. suberosa leaves to manage blood sugar status and associated cholesterol levels. Mechanisms of action and toxicity were also determined. Phytochemical screening of aqueous extracts of P. suberosa leaves and carbohydrate content of the leaves were determined according to previously published methods. In two group of male mice (n = 9, effects on fasting and random blood glucose levels (BGLs of different acute doses (0, 25, 50, 100 and 200 mg/kg of the aqueous leaf extract (ALE were evaluated at 1, 3, and 5 h post-treatment. In another set of mice, the fasting BGL was evaluated following treatment of 0 or 50 mg/kg ALE (dose prescribed in traditional medicine for 30 consecutive days. The lipid profile, some mechanism of ALE action (diaphragm glucose uptake, glycogen content in the liver and skeletal muscles and its toxicity (behavioural observation, food and water intake, hepatoxicity were also assessed following 30-day treatment. However, sucrose and glucose tolerance tests and intestinal glucose uptake were conducted to determine portion of mechanisms of action following single dose of 50 mg/kg ALE. Phytochemical screening revealed the presence of alkaloids, unsaturated sterols, triterpenes, saponins, flavonoids, tannins and proanthocyanidins. Carbohydrate content of the leaves was 12.97%. The maximum hypoglycemic effect was observed after 4 h of 50 and 100 mg/kg ALE administration. The extract decreased fasting BGL (18% following an oral sucrose challenge and inhibited (79% glucose absorption from the intestine. Correspondingly, the levels of glycogen in the liver (61% and in the skeletal muscles (57% were found be higher than that of the control group. The levels of total cholesterol (17% and tri
Xu, Min; Zhang, Lei; Yue, Hong-Shui; Pang, Hong-Wei; Ye, Zheng-Liang; Ding, Li
2017-10-01
To establish an on-line monitoring method for extraction process of Schisandrae Chinensis Fructus, the formula medicinal material of Yiqi Fumai lyophilized injection by combining near infrared spectroscopy with multi-variable data analysis technology. The multivariate statistical process control (MSPC) model was established based on 5 normal batches in production and 2 test batches were monitored by PC scores, DModX and Hotelling T2 control charts. The results showed that MSPC model had a good monitoring ability for the extraction process. The application of the MSPC model to actual production process could effectively achieve on-line monitoring for extraction process of Schisandrae Chinensis Fructus, and can reflect the change of material properties in the production process in real time. This established process monitoring method could provide reference for the application of process analysis technology in the process quality control of traditional Chinese medicine injections. Copyright© by the Chinese Pharmaceutical Association.
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Solange Monteiro de Toledo Piza Gomes Carneiro
2007-03-01
Full Text Available O nim, Azadirachta indica, vem sendo estudado nos últimos anos para o controle de fitopatógenos. O objetivo deste trabalho foi avaliar o efeito do óleo, do extrato de sementes e do extrato de folhas de nim no controle do oídio do feijoeiro, em casa de vegetação. Uma formulação comercial de óleo emulsionável de nim foi testada em concentrações entre 0,25 e 2,0%, em aplicações antes ou após o surgimento dos sintomas da doença. O extrato de sementes foi produzido em laboratório por meio da trituração das sementes em água destilada, sendo pulverizado 48 horas antes ou 24 horas após a inoculação do patógeno. Avaliou-se, após o surgimento dos sintomas, a eficiência de uma formulação comercial de extrato de folhas, nas concentrações de 0,25 e 0,5%. Verificou-se que o óleo de nim foi eficiente para o controle da doença quando aplicado antes ou depois do surgimento dos sintomas. O extrato de sementes controlou a doença nas três concentrações testadas. Por outro lado, o extrato de folhas não foi eficiente no controle do oídio do feijoeiro.The neem, Azadirachta indica, has been studied in the last years for the use in controlling plant pathogens. The objective of this work was to evaluate the effect of the neem oil, seed kernel extract and leaf extract on the control of the powdery mildew of the bean plant under green house conditions. The emulsified neem oil was tested for concentrations between 0.25 and 2.0% and sprayed before or after the appearance of the symptoms of the disease. The seed kernel extract was produced under laboratory conditions by grinding the kernels in distilled water, which was sprayed 48 hours before or 24 hours after the inoculation of the pathogen. It was also evaluated the efficiency of a commercial leaf extract at the concentrations of 0.25 and 0.5% which was sprayed after the appearance of the symptoms. The results of this work showed that the neem oil was efficient in the control of the
How Lovebirds Maneuver Rapidly Using Super-Fast Head Saccades and Image Feature Stabilization.
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Daniel Kress
Full Text Available Diurnal flying animals such as birds depend primarily on vision to coordinate their flight path during goal-directed flight tasks. To extract the spatial structure of the surrounding environment, birds are thought to use retinal image motion (optical flow that is primarily induced by motion of their head. It is unclear what gaze behaviors birds perform to support visuomotor control during rapid maneuvering flight in which they continuously switch between flight modes. To analyze this, we measured the gaze behavior of rapidly turning lovebirds in a goal-directed task: take-off and fly away from a perch, turn on a dime, and fly back and land on the same perch. High-speed flight recordings revealed that rapidly turning lovebirds perform a remarkable stereotypical gaze behavior with peak saccadic head turns up to 2700 degrees per second, as fast as insects, enabled by fast neck muscles. In between saccades, gaze orientation is held constant. By comparing saccade and wingbeat phase, we find that these super-fast saccades are coordinated with the downstroke when the lateral visual field is occluded by the wings. Lovebirds thus maximize visual perception by overlying behaviors that impair vision, which helps coordinate maneuvers. Before the turn, lovebirds keep a high contrast edge in their visual midline. Similarly, before landing, the lovebirds stabilize the center of the perch in their visual midline. The perch on which the birds land swings, like a branch in the wind, and we find that retinal size of the perch is the most parsimonious visual cue to initiate landing. Our observations show that rapidly maneuvering birds use precisely timed stereotypic gaze behaviors consisting of rapid head turns and frontal feature stabilization, which facilitates optical flow based flight control. Similar gaze behaviors have been reported for visually navigating humans. This finding can inspire more effective vision-based autopilots for drones.
Li, Tianlin; Zhang, Zhuomin; Zhang, Lan; Huang, Xinjian; Lin, Junwei; Chen, Guonan
2009-12-01
An improved fast method for extraction of steroidal saponins in Tribulus terrestris based on the use of focus microwave-assisted extraction (FMAE) is proposed. Under optimized conditions, four steroidal saponins were extracted from Tribulus terrestris and identified by GC-MS, which are Tigogenin (TG), Gitogenin (GG), Hecogenin (HG) and Neohecogenin (NG). One of the most important steroidal saponins, namely TG was quantified finally. The recovery of TG was in the range of 86.7-91.9% with RSDTribulus terrestris from different areas of occurrence. The difference in chromatographic characteristics of steroidal saponins was proved to be related to the different areas of occurrence. The results showed that FMAE-GC-MS is a simple, rapid, solvent-saving method for the extraction and determination of steroidal saponins in Tribulus terrestris.
Use of fast reactors for actinide transmutation
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
1993-03-01
The management of radioactive waste is one of the key issues in today's discussions on nuclear energy, especially the long term disposal of high level radioactive wastes. The recycling of plutonium in liquid metal fast breeder reactors (LMFBRs) would allow 'burning' of the associated extremely long life transuranic waste, particularly actinides, thus reducing the required isolation time for high level waste from tens of thousands of years to hundreds of years for fission products only. The International Working Group on Fast Reactors (IWGFR) decided to include the topic of actinide transmutation in liquid metal fast breeder reactors in its programme. The IAEA organized the Specialists Meeting on Use of Fast Breeder Reactors for Actinide Transmutation in Obninsk, Russian Federation, from 22 to 24 September 1992. The specialists agree that future progress in solving transmutation problems could be achieved by improvements in: Radiochemical partitioning and extraction of the actinides from the spent fuel (at least 98% for Np and Cm and 99.9% for Pu and Am isotopes); technological research and development on the design, fabrication and irradiation of the minor actinides (MAs) containing fuels; nuclear constants measurement and evaluation (selective cross-sections, fission fragments yields, delayed neutron parameters) especially for MA burners; demonstration of the feasibility of the safe and economic MA burner cores; knowledge of the impact of maximum tolerable amount of rare earths in americium containing fuels. Refs, figs and tabs
Triglyceride kinetics in fasted and fed E.coli septic rats
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Lanza-Jacoby, S.; Tabares, A.
1990-01-01
The mechanism for the development of hypertriglyceridemia during gram-negative sepsis was studies by examining the liver production and clearance of very-low-density lipoprotein (VLDL) triglyceride (TG). To assess the liver output and peripheral clearance the kinetics of VLDL-TG were determined by a constant intravenous infusion of [2- 3 H] glycerol-labeled VLDL in fasted control, fasted E. coli-treated, fed control, and fed E.coli-treated rats. Lewis inbred rats, 275-300 g, were made septic with 8 x 10 7 live E.coli colonies per 100 g body weight. Twenty-four hours following E.coli injection serum TG of fasted E.coli-treated rats was elevated by 170% which was attributed to a 67% decrease in the clearance rate of VLDL-TG in fasted E.coli-treated rats compared with their fasted controls. The secretion of VLDL-TG declined by 31% in the livers of the fasted E.coli-treated rats which was accompanied by a 2-fold increase in the composition of liver TG. In a second series of experiments control and E.coli-treated rats were fed intragastrically (IG) a balanced solution containing glucose plus fat as the sources of nonprotein calories. Serum TG were 26% lower in the fed E.coli-treated rats because the clearance rate increased by 86%. The secretion of TG in the fed septic rats increased by 40% but this difference was not significant. In the septic rat the ability to clear triglycerides from the plasma depends upon the nutritional state
Measurement control design and performance assessment in the Integral Fast Reactor fuel cycle
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Orechwa, Y.; Bucher, R.G.
1994-01-01
The Integral Fast Reactor (IFR)--consisting of a metal fueled and liquid metal cooled reactor together with an attendant fuel cycle facility (FCF)--is currently undergoing a phased demonstration of the closed fuel cycle at Argonne National Laboratory. The recycle technology is pyrometalurgical based with incomplete fission product separation and all transuranics following plutonium for recycle. The equipment operates in batch mode at 500 to 1,300 C. The materials are highly radioactive and pyrophoric, thus the FCF requires remote operation. Central to the material control and accounting system for the FCF are the balances for mass measurements. The remote operation of the balances limits direct adjustment. The radiation environment requires that removal and replacement of the balances be minimized. The uniqueness of the facility precludes historical data for design and performance assessment. To assure efficient operation of the facility, the design of the measurement control system has called for procedures which assess the performance of the balances in great detail and will support capabilities for the correction of systematic changes in the performance of the balances through software
Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)
Dirkx, M L.P.; Kroonwijk, M; De Boer, J C.J.; Heijmen, B J.M. [Nederlands Kanker Inst. ` Antoni van Leeuwenhoekhuis` , Amsterdam (Netherlands)
1995-12-01
The MM50 Racetrack Microtron, suited for sophisticated three-dimensional computer-controlled conformal radiotherapy techniques, is a complex treatment unit in various respects. Therefore, for a number of gantry angles, daily quality control of the absolute output and the profiles of the scanned photon beams in mandatory. A fast method for these daily checks, based on dosimetric measurements with the Philips SRI-100 Electronic Portal Imaging Device, has been developed and tested. Open beams are checked for four different gantry angles; for gantry angle 0, a wedged field is checked as well. The fields are set up one after another under full computer control. Performing and analyzing the measurements takes about ten minutes. The applied EPID has favourable characteristics for dosimetric quality control measurements: absolute measurements reproduce within 0.5% (1 SD) and the reproducibility of a relative (2-D) fluence profile is 0.2% (1 SD). The day-to-day sensitivity stability over a period of a month is 0.6% (1 SD). EPID-signals are within 0.2% linear with the applied dose. The 2-D fluence profile of the 25 MV photon beam of the MM50 is very stable in time: during a period of one year, a maximum fluctuation of 2.6% was observed. Once, a deviation in the cGy/MU-value of 6% was detected. Only because of the performed morning quality control checks with the EPID, erroneous dose delivery to patients could be avoided; there is no interlock in the MM50-system that would have prevented patient treatment. Based on our experiences and on clinical requirements regarding the acceptability of deviations of beam characteristics, a protocol has been developed including action levels for additional investigations. Studies on the application of the SRI-100 for in vivo dosimetry on the MM50 have been started.
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Dirkx, M.L.P.; Kroonwijk, M.; De Boer, J.C.J.; Heijmen, B.J.M.
1995-01-01
The MM50 Racetrack Microtron, suited for sophisticated three-dimensional computer-controlled conformal radiotherapy techniques, is a complex treatment unit in various respects. Therefore, for a number of gantry angles, daily quality control of the absolute output and the profiles of the scanned photon beams in mandatory. A fast method for these daily checks, based on dosimetric measurements with the Philips SRI-100 Electronic Portal Imaging Device, has been developed and tested. Open beams are checked for four different gantry angles; for gantry angle 0, a wedged field is checked as well. The fields are set up one after another under full computer control. Performing and analyzing the measurements takes about ten minutes. The applied EPID has favourable characteristics for dosimetric quality control measurements: absolute measurements reproduce within 0.5% (1 SD) and the reproducibility of a relative (2-D) fluence profile is 0.2% (1 SD). The day-to-day sensitivity stability over a period of a month is 0.6% (1 SD). EPID-signals are within 0.2% linear with the applied dose. The 2-D fluence profile of the 25 MV photon beam of the MM50 is very stable in time: during a period of one year, a maximum fluctuation of 2.6% was observed. Once, a deviation in the cGy/MU-value of 6% was detected. Only because of the performed morning quality control checks with the EPID, erroneous dose delivery to patients could be avoided; there is no interlock in the MM50-system that would have prevented patient treatment. Based on our experiences and on clinical requirements regarding the acceptability of deviations of beam characteristics, a protocol has been developed including action levels for additional investigations. Studies on the application of the SRI-100 for in vivo dosimetry on the MM50 have been started
NCC-RANSAC: a fast plane extraction method for 3-D range data segmentation.
Qian, Xiangfei; Ye, Cang
2014-12-01
This paper presents a new plane extraction (PE) method based on the random sample consensus (RANSAC) approach. The generic RANSAC-based PE algorithm may over-extract a plane, and it may fail in case of a multistep scene where the RANSAC procedure results in multiple inlier patches that form a slant plane straddling the steps. The CC-RANSAC PE algorithm successfully overcomes the latter limitation if the inlier patches are separate. However, it fails if the inlier patches are connected. A typical scenario is a stairway with a stair wall where the RANSAC plane-fitting procedure results in inliers patches in the tread, riser, and stair wall planes. They connect together and form a plane. The proposed method, called normal-coherence CC-RANSAC (NCC-RANSAC), performs a normal coherence check to all data points of the inlier patches and removes the data points whose normal directions are contradictory to that of the fitted plane. This process results in separate inlier patches, each of which is treated as a candidate plane. A recursive plane clustering process is then executed to grow each of the candidate planes until all planes are extracted in their entireties. The RANSAC plane-fitting and the recursive plane clustering processes are repeated until no more planes are found. A probabilistic model is introduced to predict the success probability of the NCC-RANSAC algorithm and validated with real data of a 3-D time-of-flight camera-SwissRanger SR4000. Experimental results demonstrate that the proposed method extracts more accurate planes with less computational time than the existing RANSAC-based methods.
Methodology for Extraction of Remaining Sodium of Used Sodium Containers
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Jung, Minhwan; Kim, Jongman; Cho, Youngil; Jeong, Jiyoung
2014-01-01
Sodium used as a coolant in the SFR (Sodium-cooled Fast Reactor) reacts easily with most elements due to its high reactivity. If sodium at high temperature leaks outside of a system boundary and makes contact with oxygen, it starts to burn and toxic aerosols are produced. In addition, it generates flammable hydrogen gas through a reaction with water. Hydrogen gas can be explosive within the range of 4.75 vol%. Therefore, the sodium should be handled carefully in accordance with standard procedures even though there is a small amount of target sodium remainings inside the containers and drums used for experiment. After the experiment, all sodium experimental apparatuses should be dismantled carefully through a series of draining, residual sodium extraction, and cleaning if they are no longer reused. In this work, a system for the extraction of the remaining sodium of used sodium drums has been developed and an operation procedure for the system has been established. In this work, a methodology for the extraction of remaining sodium out of the used sodium container has been developed as one of the sodium facility maintenance works. The sodium extraction system for remaining sodium of the used drums was designed and tested successfully. This work will contribute to an establishment of sodium handling technology for PGSFR. (Prototype Gen-IV Sodium-cooled Fast Reactor)
The effect of Ramadan fasting on sirtuin and visfatin levels.
Engin-Ustun, Yaprak; Caglayan, Emel Kiyak; Kara, Mustafa; Gocmen, Ayse Yesim; Polat, M Fevzi; Aktulay, Ayla
2016-03-01
Our aim was to determine how Ramadan fasting effects serum Human NAD-dependent deacetylase sirtuin 1 (SIRT1/SIR2L1) and visfatin levels during pregnancy. Thirty-six patients were included in this case-control study. The patient group consisted of 18 pregnant women who were Ramadan fasting. Another healthy 18 pregnant women with matching pregnancy weeks and ages formed the control group. Blood samples were obtained from the patients for biochemical analyses and serum adipokine level measurements. The mean sirtuin and visfatin levels in fasting pregnant women were 2.87 ± 0.95 and 60.18 ± 19.49 ng/mL, respectively, while the mean serum sirtuin and visfatin levels in the control group was determined to be 4.28 ± 1.45 and 23.26 ± 6.18 ng/mL, respectively. A statistically significant difference was determined between the groups ( p = 0.002, p = 0.0001). A correlation analysis provided a negative correlation between number of fasting days and sirtuin levels ( r = 0.45, p = 0.005) and a positive correlation with visfatin levels ( r = 0.73, p = 0.0001). As a result, while the serum sirtuin 1 level of pregnant women decreased due to fasting in Ramadan, we determined that their visfatin levels increased and this increase was in correlation with the days of fasting.
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Somaye Javidanpour
2012-12-01
Full Text Available There is some report about the hypoglycemic effect of Juglans rejia L. leaf in alloxan induced diabetic rats and hypoglycemic effect of its fruit peel administered intra peritoneally. Thirty male Wistar rats divided into five groups, to evaluate the hypoglycemic and pancreas β-cells regenerative effects of oral methanolic extracts of leaf and fruit peel of walnut. Rats were made diabetic by intravenous (IV injection of 50 mg kg-1 streptozotocin (STZ. Negative control group did not get STZ and any treatment. Positive control, leaf extract, peel extract and insulin groups were treated orally by extract solvent, 200 mg kg-1 leaf extract, 200 mg kg-1 peel extract and 5 IU kg-1 of subcutaneous neutral protamine Hagedorn (NPH insulin, respectively. Four weeks later, blood was collected for biochemical analysis and pancreases were removed for β-cells counts in histological sections. Diabetes leads to increase of fast blood sugar (FBS and HbA1c, and decrease of β-cell number and insulin. FBS decreased only in leaf extract group. HbA1c decreased in leaf extract and insulin groups. The β-cells number increased in leaf and peel extract groups. Insulin increased moderately in all treatment groups. We showed the proliferative properties of leaves and peel of Juglans regia L. methanolic extract in STZ- induced diabetic rats, which was accompanied by hypoglycemic effect of leaf extract.