Spherical zonal components of cosmic ray between Forbush decreases

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Takahashi, Hachiro; Yahagi, Naohiro; Nagashima, Kazuo.

1974-01-01

Two examples are added to the previous report on the zonal harmonic components of cosmic ray in the space between planets by the three dimensional analysis of anisotropy of cosmic ray. Remarkable Forbush decreases occurred in region I during the period from March 20th to April 11th, 1966 and in region II during the period from August 29th to September 11th, 1966. The data used for analysis are the neutron components that have been informed from cosmic ray observation stations in the world. Power type and power exponential type differential rigidity spectra G(P) were used to find isotropic components. The change of the isotropic component a 0 0 was similar to the change of the neutron intensity in Deep River. The southnorth anisotropic phenomenon of cosmic ray intensity was recognized. The anisotropy in the opposite direction to the southnorth anisotropic phenomenon reported by Nagashima et al. was recognized markedly during the period from March 26th to 30th. These tendencies were checked by comparing with the data from the cosmic ray observation stations located near both poles of the earth. McMurdo and Mawson near the south pole, and Thule and Alert near the north pole were selected. The results of analysis were confirmed with these data. Further, the results of the previous report were checked by using the data from the stations near both poles, namely Thule, Resolute Bay, and Mawson. The good coincidence was confirmed on the anisotropic components. (Iwakiri, K.)

Global Lightning Response to Forbush Decreases in Short-term

Science.gov (United States)

Li, H.; Wu, Q.; Wang, C.

2017-12-01

During the past three decades, particular scientific attention has been drawn to the potential link between solar activities and global climate change. How the sun modulates the climate has always been controversial. There are three relatively widely accepted mechanisms illustrating this process: the total solar irradiance (TSI), the solar ultraviolet radiation (SUR), and the space weather mechanisms. As for space weather mechanism, the sun influences the microphysical process in cloud by modulating the cosmic ray flux and thus changes the cloud cover, which finally affects the earth's radiation balance. Unfortunately, the lack of related observations and some opposite research results make this mechanism rather debatable. In order to provide possible evidence for space weather mechanism, we study the influence of Forbush decreases (FDs) of galactic cosmic ray on global lightning activities, which to some extent represents the basic process of cosmic ray-atmospheric coupling. We use the daily lightning counts from 1998 to 2014 observed by LIS sensor aboard the TRMM satellite. Considering the "diurnal distribution" (occurring more in the afternoon than in the morning) and the "seasonal distribution" (occurring more in summer than in winter) of lightning activities as well as the 49-day precession of TRMM satellite, the daily lightning counts show an intricate periodic fluctuation. We propose a 3-step approach - latitude zone limitation, orbit branch selection and local time normalization - to eliminate it. As for FDs, we select them by checking the hourly neutron counts variation of each month of 17 years obtained from the Oulu Cosmic Ray Station. During the selection, we choose the FDs which are "strong" (decrease more than 6%) and "standard" (strongly decrease in a few hours to one day and gradually recover in about one week) to diminish the meteorological influence and other possible disturbance. For both case study and temporal superposition of several cases

Measurements of Forbush decreases at Mars: both by MSL on ground and by MAVEN in orbit

Science.gov (United States)

Guo, Jingnan; Lillis, Robert; Wimmer-Schweingruber, Robert F.; Zeitlin, Cary; Simonson, Patrick; Rahmati, Ali; Posner, Arik; Papaioannou, Athanasios; Lundt, Niklas; Lee, Christina O.; Larson, Davin; Halekas, Jasper; Hassler, Donald M.; Ehresmann, Bent; Dunn, Patrick; Böttcher, Stephan

2018-04-01

The Radiation Assessment Detector (RAD), on board Mars Science Laboratory's (MSL) Curiosity rover, has been measuring ground level particle fluxes along with the radiation dose rate at the surface of Mars since August 2012. Similar to neutron monitors at Earth, RAD sees many Forbush decreases (FDs) in the galactic cosmic ray (GCR) induced surface fluxes and dose rates. These FDs are associated with coronal mass ejections (CMEs) and/or stream/corotating interaction regions (SIRs/CIRs). Orbiting above the Martian atmosphere, the Mars Atmosphere and Volatile EvolutioN (MAVEN) spacecraft has also been monitoring space weather conditions at Mars since September 2014. The penetrating particle flux channels in the solar energetic particle (SEP) instrument onboard MAVEN can also be employed to detect FDs. For the first time, we study the statistics and properties of a list of FDs observed in-situ at Mars, seen both on the surface by MSL/RAD and in orbit detected by the MAVEN/SEP instrument. Such a list of FDs can be used for studying interplanetary coronal mass ejections (ICME) propagation and SIR evolution through the inner heliosphere. The magnitudes of different FDs can be well-fitted by a power-law distribution. The systematic difference between the magnitudes of the FDs within and outside the Martian atmosphere may be mostly attributed to the energy-dependent modulation of the GCR particles by both the pass-by ICMEs/SIRs and the Martian atmosphere.

Severe geomagnetic storms and Forbush decreases: interplanetary relationships reexamined

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

R. P. Kane

2010-02-01

Full Text Available Severe storms (Dst and Forbush decreases (FD during cycle 23 showed that maximum negative Dst magnitudes usually occurred almost simultaneously with the maximum negative values of the Bz component of interplanetary magnetic field B, but the maximum magnitudes of negative Dst and Bz were poorly correlated (+0.28. A parameter Bz(CP was calculated (cumulative partial Bz as sum of the hourly negative values of Bz from the time of start to the maximum negative value. The correlation of negative Dst maximum with Bz(CP was higher (+0.59 as compared to that of Dst with Bz alone (+0.28. When the product of Bz with the solar wind speed V (at the hour of negative Bz maximum was considered, the correlation of negative Dst maximum with VBz was +0.59 and with VBz(CP, 0.71. Thus, including V improved the correlations. However, ground-based Dst values have a considerable contribution from magnetopause currents (several tens of nT, even exceeding 100 nT in very severe storms. When their contribution is subtracted from Dst(nT, the residue Dst* representing true ring current effect is much better correlated with Bz and Bz(CP, but not with VBz or VBz(CP, indicating that these are unimportant parameters and the effect of V is seen only through the solar wind ram pressure causing magnetopause currents. Maximum negative Dst (or Dst* did not occur at the same hour as maximum FD. The time evolutions of Dst and FD were very different. The correlations were almost zero. Basically, negative Dst (or Dst* and FDs are uncorrelated, indicating altogether different mechanism.

The Analytical Diffusion-Expansion Model for Forbush Decreases Caused by Flux Ropes

Science.gov (United States)

Dumbovic, M.; Temmer, M.

2017-12-01

Identification and tracking of interplanetary coronal mass ejections (ICMEs) throughout the heliosphere is a growingly important aspect of space weather research. One of the "signatures" of ICME passage is the corresponding Forbush decrease (FD), a short term decrease in the galactic cosmic ray flux. These depressions are observed at the surface of the Earth for over 50 years, by several spacecraft in interplanetary space in the past couple of decades, and recently also on Mars' surface with Curiosity rover. In order to use FDs as ICME signatures efficiently, it is important to model ICME interaction with energetic particles by taking into account ICME evolution and constraining the model with observational data. We present an analytical diffusion-expansion FD model ForbMod which is based on the widely used approach of the initially empty, closed magnetic structure (i.e. flux rope) which fills up slowly with particles by perpendicular diffusion. The model is restricted to explain only the depression caused by the magnetic structure of the ICME and not of the associated shock. We use remote CME observations and a 3D reconstruction method (the Graduated Cylindrical Shell method) to constrain initial and boundary conditions of the FD model and take into account CME evolutionary properties by incorporating flux rope expansion. Several options of flux rope expansion are regarded as the competing mechanism to diffusion which can lead to different FD characteristics. This project has received funding from the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under the Marie Skłodowska-Curie grant agreement No 745782.

An Analytical Diffusion–Expansion Model for Forbush Decreases Caused by Flux Ropes

Science.gov (United States)

Dumbović, Mateja; Heber, Bernd; Vršnak, Bojan; Temmer, Manuela; Kirin, Anamarija

2018-06-01

We present an analytical diffusion–expansion Forbush decrease (FD) model ForbMod, which is based on the widely used approach of an initially empty, closed magnetic structure (i.e., flux rope) that fills up slowly with particles by perpendicular diffusion. The model is restricted to explaining only the depression caused by the magnetic structure of the interplanetary coronal mass ejection (ICME). We use remote CME observations and a 3D reconstruction method (the graduated cylindrical shell method) to constrain initial boundary conditions of the FD model and take into account CME evolutionary properties by incorporating flux rope expansion. Several flux rope expansion modes are considered, which can lead to different FD characteristics. In general, the model is qualitatively in agreement with observations, whereas quantitative agreement depends on the diffusion coefficient and the expansion properties (interplay of the diffusion and expansion). A case study was performed to explain the FD observed on 2014 May 30. The observed FD was fitted quite well by ForbMod for all expansion modes using only the diffusion coefficient as a free parameter, where the diffusion parameter was found to correspond to an expected range of values. Our study shows that, in general, the model is able to explain the global properties of an FD caused by a flux rope and can thus be used to help understand the underlying physics in case studies.

The connection of the interplanetary magnetic field turbulence and rigidity spectrum of Forbush decrease of the galactic cosmic ray intensity

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wawrzynczak, A; Alania, M V

2015-01-01

We analyze the temporal changes in the rigidity spectrum of Forbush decrease (Fd) of the galactic cosmic ray (GCR) intensity observed in November 2004. We compute the rigidity spectrum in two energy ranges based on the daily data from the worldwide network of neutron monitors and Nagoya ground muon telescope. We demonstrate that the changes in the rigidity spectrum of Fd are linked to the evolution/decay of the interplanetary magnetic field (IMF) turbulence during various phases of the Fd. We analyze the time-evolution of the state of the turbulence of the IMF in various frequency ranges during the Fd. Performed analysis show that the decrease of the exponent ν of the Power Spectral Density (PSD ∝ f −ν , where f is frequency) of the IMF turbulence with decreasing frequency lead to the soft rigidity spectrum of Fd for GCR particles with relatively higher energies. (paper)

Rigidity spectrum of Forbush decrease calculated by neutron monitors data corrected and uncorrected for geomagnetic disturbances

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Alania, M V; Wawrzynczak, A; Sdobnov, V E; Kravtsova, M V

2013-01-01

Forbush decreases (Fd) of the galactic cosmic ray (GCR) intensity and geomagnetic storms are observed almost at the same time. Geomagnetic storm is a reason of significant disturbances of the magnetic cut off rigidity causing the distortion of the time profile of the Fd of the GCR intensity. We show some differences in the temporal changes of the rigidity spectra of Fd calculated by neutron monitors experimental data corrected and uncorrected for the changes of the geomagnetic cut off rigidity. Nevertheless, the general features of the temporal changes of the rigidity spectrum of Fd maintain as it was found in our previous investigations. Namely, at the beginning phase of Fd rigidity spectrum is relatively soft and gradually becomes hard up to reaching the minimum level of the GCR intensity; then the rigidity spectrum gradually becomes soft during the recovery phase of Fd. We also confirm that for the established temporal profiles of the rigidity spectrum of Fd a structural changes of the interplanetary magnetic field turbulence in the range of frequencies, 10 −-6 ÷10 −-5 Hz are responsible.

Cosmic ray decreases affect atmospheric aerosols and clouds

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Svensmark, Henrik; Bondo, Torsten; Svensmark, J.

2009-01-01

Close passages of coronal mass ejections from the sun are signaled at the Earth's surface by Forbush decreases in cosmic ray counts. We find that low clouds contain less liquid water following Forbush decreases, and for the most influential events the liquid water in the oceanic atmosphere can...... diminish by as much as 7%. Cloud water content as gauged by the Special Sensor Microwave/Imager (SSM/I) reaches a minimum ≈7 days after the Forbush minimum in cosmic rays, and so does the fraction of low clouds seen by the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) and in the International...

RELATIVE CONTRIBUTION OF THE MAGNETIC FIELD BARRIER AND SOLAR WIND SPEED IN ICME-ASSOCIATED FORBUSH DECREASES

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bhaskar, Ankush; Vichare, Geeta; Subramanian, Prasad

2016-01-01

We study 50 cosmic-ray Forbush decreases (FDs) from the Oulu neutron monitor data during 1997–2005 that were associated with Earth-directed interplanetary coronal mass ejections (ICMEs). Such events are generally thought to arise due to the shielding of cosmic rays by a propagating diffusive barrier. The main processes at work are the diffusion of cosmic rays across the large-scale magnetic fields carried by the ICME and their advection by the solar wind. In an attempt to better understand the relative importance of these effects, we analyze the relationship between the FD profiles and those of the interplanetary magnetic field (B) and the solar wind speed (V sw ). Over the entire duration of a given FD, we find that the FD profile is generally (anti)correlated with the B and V sw profiles. This trend holds separately for the FD main and recovery phases too. For the recovery phases, however, the FD profile is highly anti-correlated with the V sw profile, but not with the B profile. While the total duration of the FD profile is similar to that of the V sw profile, it is significantly longer than that of the B profile. Using the convection–diffusion model, a significant contribution of advection by solar wind is found during the recovery phases of the FD.

RELATIVE CONTRIBUTION OF THE MAGNETIC FIELD BARRIER AND SOLAR WIND SPEED IN ICME-ASSOCIATED FORBUSH DECREASES

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Bhaskar, Ankush; Vichare, Geeta [Indian Institute of Geomagnetism, Kalamboli Highway, New Panvel, Navi Mumbai 410218 (India); Subramanian, Prasad, E-mail: ankushbhaskar@gmail.com [Indian Institute of Science Education and Research, Dr. Homi Bhabha Road, Pashan, Pune 411008 (India)

2016-09-10

We study 50 cosmic-ray Forbush decreases (FDs) from the Oulu neutron monitor data during 1997–2005 that were associated with Earth-directed interplanetary coronal mass ejections (ICMEs). Such events are generally thought to arise due to the shielding of cosmic rays by a propagating diffusive barrier. The main processes at work are the diffusion of cosmic rays across the large-scale magnetic fields carried by the ICME and their advection by the solar wind. In an attempt to better understand the relative importance of these effects, we analyze the relationship between the FD profiles and those of the interplanetary magnetic field (B) and the solar wind speed (V {sub sw}). Over the entire duration of a given FD, we find that the FD profile is generally (anti)correlated with the B and V {sub sw} profiles. This trend holds separately for the FD main and recovery phases too. For the recovery phases, however, the FD profile is highly anti-correlated with the V {sub sw} profile, but not with the B profile. While the total duration of the FD profile is similar to that of the V {sub sw} profile, it is significantly longer than that of the B profile. Using the convection–diffusion model, a significant contribution of advection by solar wind is found during the recovery phases of the FD.

A Numerical Study of Forbush Decreases with a 3D Cosmic-Ray Modulation Model Based on an SDE Approach

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Luo, Xi; Feng, Xueshang [SIGMA Weather Group, State Key Laboratory of Space Weather, National Space Science Center, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100190 (China); Potgieter, Marius S. [Centre for Space Research, North-West University, Potchefstroom 2520 (South Africa); Zhang, Ming [Department of Physics and Space Sciences, Florida Institute of Technology, 150 West University Boulevard, Melbourne, FL 32901 (United States)

2017-04-10

Based on the reduced diffusion mechanism for producing Forbush decreases (Fds) in the heliosphere, we constructed a three-dimensional (3D) diffusion barrier, and by incorporating it into a stochastic differential equation (SDE) based time-dependent, cosmic-ray transport model, a 3D numerical model for simulating Fds is built and applied to a period of relatively quiet solar activity. This SDE model generally corroborates previous Fd simulations concerning the effects of the solar magnetic polarity, the tilt angle of the heliospheric current sheet (HCS), and cosmic-ray particle energy. Because the modulation processes in this 3D model are multi-directional, the barrier’s geometrical features affect the intensity profiles of Fds differently. We find that both the latitudinal and longitudinal extent of the barrier have relatively fewer effects on these profiles than its radial extent and the level of decreased diffusion inside the disturbance. We find, with the 3D approach, that the HCS rotational motion causes the relative location from the observation point to the HCS to vary, so that a periodic pattern appears in the cosmic-ray intensity at the observing location. Correspondingly, the magnitude and recovery time of an Fd change, and the recovering intensity profile contains oscillation as well. Investigating the Fd magnitude variation with heliocentric radial distance, we find that the magnitude decreases overall and, additionally, that the Fd magnitude exhibits an oscillating pattern as the radial distance increases, which coincides well with the wavy profile of the HCS under quiet solar modulation conditions.

Effects of cosmic ray decreases on cloud microphysics

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Svensmark, J.; Enghoff, M. B.; Svensmark, H.

2012-01-01

Using cloud data from MODIS we investigate the response of cloud microphysics to sudden decreases in galactic cosmic radiation – Forbush decreases – and find responses in effective emissivity, cloud fraction, liquid water content, and optical thickness above the 2–3 sigma level 6–9 days after...... the minimum in atmospheric ionization and less significant responses for effective radius and cloud condensation nuclei (... of the signal of 3.1 sigma. We also see a correlation between total solar irradiance and strong Forbush decreases but a clear mechanism connecting this to cloud properties is lacking. There is no signal in the UV radiation. The responses of the parameters correlate linearly with the reduction in the cosmic ray...

Effects of cosmic ray decreases on cloud microphysics

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Svensmark, J.; Enghoff, M. B.; Svensmark, H.

2012-01-01

the minimum in atmospheric ionization and less significant responses for effective radius and cloud condensation nuclei (total significance...... of the signal of 3.1 sigma. We also see a correlation between total solar irradiance and strong Forbush decreases but a clear mechanism connecting this to cloud properties is lacking. There is no signal in the UV radiation. The responses of the parameters correlate linearly with the reduction in the cosmic ray......Using cloud data from MODIS we investigate the response of cloud microphysics to sudden decreases in galactic cosmic radiation – Forbush decreases – and find responses in effective emissivity, cloud fraction, liquid water content, and optical thickness above the 2–3 sigma level 6–9 days after...

Detectability of changes in cosmic-ray counting rate measured with the Liulin detector

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Malusek, A.; Kubancak, J.; Ambrozova, I.

2011-05-01

Experimental data are needed to improve and validate models predicting the dynamics of solar particle events because the mechanisms of processes leading to the acceleration of solar energetic particles are not yet fully understood. The aim of this work was to examine whether the spectrometer of deposited energy, Liulin, positioned at the Lomnický štít mountain observatory can collect such data. Decision thresholds and detection limits for the increase or decrease in the average number of particles detected by Liulin were determined for a period in February 2011. The changes in counts corresponding to the decision thresholds and detection limits relative to the average number of detected particles were about 17% and 33%, respectively. The Forbush decrease with a maximum change of about 6.8%, which started on February 18, was detectable neither during the 10-minute acquisition time nor during any other, longer period. Statistical analysis showed that an acquisition time about 7 hours would be needed to detect a 5% decrease. As this time was shorter than the duration of the Forbush decrease (about 56 hours), we theorize that the current placement of the Liulin detector inside a living room shielded by a thick concrete ceiling may have had an adverse impact on the detectability of the the cosmic ray counting rate decrease. To test this hypothesis, we recommend positioning the Liulin detector outside the main observatory building.. (author)

Precursors of the Forbush Decrease on 2006 December 14 Observed with the Global Muon Detector Network (GMDN)

Science.gov (United States)

Fushishita, A.; Kuwabara, T.; Kato, C.; Yasue, S.; Bieber, J. W.; Evenson, P.; Da Silva, M. R.; Dal Lago, A.; Schuch, N. J.; Tokumaru, M.; Duldig, M. L.; Humble, J. E.; Sabbah, I.; Jassar, H. K. Al; Sharma, M. M.; Munakata, K.

2010-06-01

We analyze the precursor of a Forbush decrease (FD) observed with the Global Muon Detector Network on 2006 December 14. An intense geomagnetic storm is also recorded during this FD with the peak Kp index of 8+. By using the "two-dimensional map" of the cosmic ray intensity produced after removing the contribution from the diurnal anisotropy, we succeed in extracting clear signatures of the precursor. A striking feature of this event is that a weak loss-cone (LC) signature is first recorded more than a day prior to the storm sudden commencement (SSC) onset. This suggests that the LC precursor appeared only 7 hr after the coronal mass ejection eruption from the Sun, when the interplanetary (IP) shock driven by the interplanetary coronal mass ejection was located at 0.4 AU from the Sun. We find the precursor being successively observed with multiple detectors in the network according to the Earth's spin and confirmed that the precursor continuously exists in space. The long lead time (15.6 hr) of this precursor which is almost twice the typical value indicates that the interplanetary magnetic field (IMF) was more quiet in this event than a typical power spectrum assumed for the IMF turbulence. The amplitude (-6.45%) of the LC anisotropy at the SSC onset is more than twice the FD size, indicating that the maximum intensity depression behind the IP shock is much larger than the FD size recorded at the Earth in this event. We also find the excess intensity from the sunward IMF direction clearly observed during ~10 hr preceding the SSC onset. It is shown that this excess intensity is consistent with the measurement of the particles accelerated by the head-on collisions with the approaching shock. This is the first detailed observation of the precursor due to the shock reflected particles with muon detectors.

PRECURSORS OF THE FORBUSH DECREASE ON 2006 DECEMBER 14 OBSERVED WITH THE GLOBAL MUON DETECTOR NETWORK (GMDN)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Fushishita, A.; Kato, C.; Yasue, S.; Munakata, K.; Kuwabara, T.; Bieber, J. W.; Evenson, P.; Da Silva, M. R.; Lago, A. Dal; Schuch, N. J.; Tokumaru, M.; Duldig, M. L.; Humble, J. E.; Sabbah, I.; Al Jassar, H. K.; Sharma, M. M.

2010-01-01

We analyze the precursor of a Forbush decrease (FD) observed with the Global Muon Detector Network on 2006 December 14. An intense geomagnetic storm is also recorded during this FD with the peak Kp index of 8+. By using the 'two-dimensional map' of the cosmic ray intensity produced after removing the contribution from the diurnal anisotropy, we succeed in extracting clear signatures of the precursor. A striking feature of this event is that a weak loss-cone (LC) signature is first recorded more than a day prior to the storm sudden commencement (SSC) onset. This suggests that the LC precursor appeared only 7 hr after the coronal mass ejection eruption from the Sun, when the interplanetary (IP) shock driven by the interplanetary coronal mass ejection was located at 0.4 AU from the Sun. We find the precursor being successively observed with multiple detectors in the network according to the Earth's spin and confirmed that the precursor continuously exists in space. The long lead time (15.6 hr) of this precursor which is almost twice the typical value indicates that the interplanetary magnetic field (IMF) was more quiet in this event than a typical power spectrum assumed for the IMF turbulence. The amplitude (-6.45%) of the LC anisotropy at the SSC onset is more than twice the FD size, indicating that the maximum intensity depression behind the IP shock is much larger than the FD size recorded at the Earth in this event. We also find the excess intensity from the sunward IMF direction clearly observed during ∼10 hr preceding the SSC onset. It is shown that this excess intensity is consistent with the measurement of the particles accelerated by the head-on collisions with the approaching shock. This is the first detailed observation of the precursor due to the shock reflected particles with muon detectors.

Quantitative understanding of Forbush decrease drivers based on shock-only and CME-only models using global signature of February 14, 1978 event

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Raghav, Anil; Lotekar, Ajay [University Department of Physics, University of Mumbai, Vidyanagari, Santacruz (E), Mumbai-400098 (India); Bhaskar, Ankush; Vichare, Geeta; Yadav, Virendra, E-mail: raghavanil1984@gmail.com, E-mail: ankushbhaskar@gmail.com, E-mail: ablotekar@gmail.com, E-mail: vicharegeeta@gmail.com, E-mail: virendray.iig@gmail.com [Indian Institute of Geomagnetism, Plot 5, Sector 18, New Panvel, Navi Mumbai-410218 (India)

2014-10-01

We have studied the Forbush decrease (FD) event that occurred on February 14, 1978 using 43 neutron monitor observatories to understand the global signature of FD. We have studied rigidity dependence of shock amplitude and total FD amplitude. We have found almost the same power law index for both shock phase amplitude and total FD amplitude. Local time variation of shock phase amplitude and maximum depression time of FD have been investigated which indicate possible effect of shock/CME orientation. We have analyzed rigidity dependence of time constants of two phase recovery. Time constants of slow component of recovery phase show rigidity dependence and imply possible effect of diffusion. Solar wind speed was observed to be well correlated with slow component of FD recovery phase. This indicates solar wind speed as possible driver of recovery phase. To investigate the contribution of interplanetary drivers, shock and CME in FD, we have used shock-only and CME-only models. We have applied these models separately to shock phase and main phase amplitudes respectively. This confirms presently accepted physical scenario that the first step of FD is due to propagating shock barrier and second step is due to flux rope of CME/magnetic cloud.

Quantitative understanding of Forbush decrease drivers based on shock-only and CME-only models using global signature of February 14, 1978 event

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Raghav, Anil; Lotekar, Ajay; Bhaskar, Ankush; Vichare, Geeta; Yadav, Virendra

2014-01-01

We have studied the Forbush decrease (FD) event that occurred on February 14, 1978 using 43 neutron monitor observatories to understand the global signature of FD. We have studied rigidity dependence of shock amplitude and total FD amplitude. We have found almost the same power law index for both shock phase amplitude and total FD amplitude. Local time variation of shock phase amplitude and maximum depression time of FD have been investigated which indicate possible effect of shock/CME orientation. We have analyzed rigidity dependence of time constants of two phase recovery. Time constants of slow component of recovery phase show rigidity dependence and imply possible effect of diffusion. Solar wind speed was observed to be well correlated with slow component of FD recovery phase. This indicates solar wind speed as possible driver of recovery phase. To investigate the contribution of interplanetary drivers, shock and CME in FD, we have used shock-only and CME-only models. We have applied these models separately to shock phase and main phase amplitudes respectively. This confirms presently accepted physical scenario that the first step of FD is due to propagating shock barrier and second step is due to flux rope of CME/magnetic cloud

The response of clouds and aerosols to cosmic ray decreases

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Svensmark, J.; Enghoff, Martin Andreas Bødker; Shaviv, N. J.

2016-01-01

A method is developed to rank Forbush Decreases (FDs) in the galactic cosmic ray radiation according to their expected impact on the ionization of the lower atmosphere. Then a Monte Carlo bootstrap based statistical test is formulated to estimate the significance of the apparent response in physi......A method is developed to rank Forbush Decreases (FDs) in the galactic cosmic ray radiation according to their expected impact on the ionization of the lower atmosphere. Then a Monte Carlo bootstrap based statistical test is formulated to estimate the significance of the apparent response...... in physical and micro-physical cloud parameters to FDs. The test is subsequently applied to one ground based and three satellite based datasets. Responses (> 95%) to FDs are found in the following parameters of the analyzed datasets. AERONET: Ångström exponent (cloud condensation nuclei changes), SSM...... with the strength of the FDs, and the signs and magnitudes of the responses agree with model based expectations. The effect is mainly seen in liquid clouds. An impact through changes in UV driven photo chemistry is shown to be negligible and an impact via UV absorption in the stratosphere is found to have no effect...

Letter to the EditorForbush precursory increase and shock-associated particles on 20 October 1989

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

A. Struminsky

2002-08-01

Full Text Available Strong interplanetary disturbances may affect cosmic ray protons tremendously with energies less than 1 GeV, increasing their intensity by hundreds of percents, but they are not so effective for protons of higher energies. This energy limit is crucial to understand processes of cosmic ray propagation and acceleration in the heliosphere. The Forbush pre-increase and the effect of shock-associated particles observed on 20 October 1989 illustrate the problem. This is a rare event, when the energies of shock-associated particles measured by the GOES-7 satellite spread continuously to the neutron monitor energies. The Forbush pre-increase could be attributed to a single reflection of galactic cosmic rays from the magnetic wall observed at 12:00 UT. It had a very hard spectrum with maximum energy of modulation more than 10 GeV. The spectrum of shock-associated particles was soft and their maximum energy was less than 1 GeV. The problem of shock acceleration versus trapping is discussed for the 20 October 1989 event. It is argued that the shock-associated particles were accelerated near the flare site and then propagated to the Earth inside the trap between two magnetic walls at 12:00 UT and 17:00 UT.Key words. Interplanetary physics (cosmic rays; energetic particles; interplanetary magnetic fields

Forbush decreases on November 6-12, 2004 observed by the Muon Detector Network

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Savian, Jairo Francisco; Schuch, Nelson Jorge [Southern Regional Space Research Center, CRSPE/INPE-MCT, Santa Maria, RS (Brazil); Silva, Marlos Rockenbach da; Lago, Alisson dal; Echer, Ezequiel; Vieira, Luis Eduardo Antunes; Gonzalez, Walter Demetrio [National Institute for Space Research, INPE-MCT, Sao Jose dos Campos, SP (Brazil); Munakata, Kazuoki, E-mail: savian@lacesm.ufsm.br, E-mail: njschuch@lacesm.ufsm.br, E-mail: marlos@dge.inpe.br, E-mail: dallago@dge.inpe.br, E-mail: eecher@dge.inpe.br, E-mail: vieira-le@uol.com.br, E-mail: gonzalez@dge.inpe.br, E-mail: kmuna00@shinshu-u.ac.jp [Physics Department, Shinshu University, Matsumoto, (Japan)

2007-07-01

In this paper we study the relationship between interplanetary coronal mass ejections (ICMEs) and the muon count rate decreases detected of the muon detector network on November 6-12, 2004. The muon detector network is composed by the detectors installed at Nagoya (Japan), Hobart (Australia) and the prototype detector installed at the 'Observatorio Espacial do Sul - OES/CRSPE/INPE-MCT', located in Sao Martinho da Serra, RS, Brazil. With the muon count rate observed by the muon detector network, we will be able to observe, in the future, the direction in which a given ICME moves, and with that, we will be able to calculate their angle of incidence on the Earth. Also, with this muon network, we will be able to send alerts of up to 12 hours before the arrival of a shock or an ICME. The space weather forecast method using cosmic rays will be a very important tool because it provides a forecast with good antecedence. (author)

Study of solar activity by measuring cosmic rays with a water Cherenkov detector

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bahena Bias, Angelica; Villasenor, Luis

2011-01-01

We report on an indirect study of solar activity by using the Forbush effect which consists on the anti-correlation between the intensity of solar activity and the intensity of secondary cosmic radiation detected at ground level at the Earth. We have used a cylindrical water Cherenkov detector to measure the rate of arrival of secondary cosmic rays in Morelia Mich., Mexico, at 1950 m.a.s.l. We describe the analysis required to unfold the effect of atmospheric pressure and the search for Forbush decreases in our data, the latter correspond to more than one year of continuous data collection.

Interplanetary Coronal Mass Ejections detected by HAWC

Science.gov (United States)

Lara, Alejandro

The High Altitude Water Cherenkov (HAWC) observatory is being constructed at the volcano Sierra Negra (4100 m a.s.l.) in Mexico. HAWC’s primary purpose is the study of both: galactic and extra-galactic sources of high energy gamma rays. HAWC will consist of 300 large water Cherenkov detectors (WCD), instrumented with 1200 photo-multipliers. The Data taking has already started while construction continues, with the completion projected for late 2014. The HAWC counting rate will be sensitive to cosmic rays with energies above the geomagnetic cutoff of the site (˜ 8 GV). In particular, HAWC will detect solar energetic particles known as Ground Level Enhancements (GLEs), and the effects of Coronal Mass Ejections on the galactic cosmic ray flux, known as Forbush Decreases. In this paper, we present a description of the instrument and its response to interplanetary coronal mass ejections, and other solar wind large scale structures, observed during the August-December 2013 period.

Influence of cosmic radiation on aerosol and cloud formation over short time periods

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Bondo, Torsten

in the atmosphere affect aerosol and cloud creation and whether it is realistic to observe Forbush decrease events in climate data. The thesis involves a theoretical examination of the ionization caused by Forbush decreases based on studies of hourly neutron monitor data and muon telescope data as proxies...... distribution of stable nucleated clusters, the model takes condensation and coagulation into account and includes various loss mechanisms. This model is used to investigate the growth of aerosols into cloud condensation nuclei size particles and to study the influence of nucleation rates and background vapour...... resolution satellite data and aerosol ground based measurements are presented. Here it is observed that significant decreases in the angstrom exponent from AERONET aerosols and cloud liquid water from satellites take place after the largest Forbush decreases. The timescales of this indicate...

The solar modulation of galactic comic rays as described by a time-dependent drift model

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Le Roux, J.A.

1990-09-01

The modulation process is understood to be an interaction between cosmic rays and the solar wind. The heliosphere and the observed modulation of cosmic rays in the heliosphere was reviewed and the time-dependence nature of the long-term modulation of cosmic rays highligted. A two-dimensional time-dependent drift model that describes the long-term modulation of cosmic-rays is presented. Application of the time-dependent drift model during times of increased solar activity showed that drift should be reduced during such periods. Isolated Forbush decreases were also studied in an effort to explain some observed trends in the properties of the Forbush decrease as a function of radial distance. The magnitude of the Forbush decrease and its recovery time were therefore studied as a function of radial distance in the equatorial plane. 154 refs., 95 figs., 1 tab

Three dimensional analysis of cosmic ray intensity variation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yasue, Shin-ichi; Mori, Satoru; Nagashima, Kazuo.

1974-01-01

Three dimensional analysis of cosmic ray anisotropy and its time variation was performed. This paper describes the analysis of the Forbush decrease in Jan. 1968 to investigate by comparing the direction of the magnetic field in interplanetary space and the direction of the reference axis for cosmic ray anisotropy. New anisotropy becomes dominant at the time of Forbush decrease because the anisotropy of cosmic ray in calm state is wiped out. Such anisotropy produces intensity variation in neutron monitors on the ground. The characteristic parameters of three dimensional anisotropy can be determined from theoretical value and observed intensity. Analyzed data were taken for 6 days from Jan. 25 to Jan. 30, 1968, at Deep River. The decrease of intensity at Deep River was seen for several hours from 11 o'clock (UT), Jan. 26, just before The Forbush decrease. This may be due to the loss cone. The Forbush decrease began at 19 o'clock, Jan. 26, and the main phase continued to 5 o'clock in the next morning. The spectrum of variation was Psup(-0.5). The time variations of the magnetic field in interplanetary space and the reference axis of cosmic ray anisotropy are shown for 15 hours. The average directions of both are almost in coincidence. The spatial distribution of cosmic ray near the earth may be expressed by the superposition of axial symmetrical distribution along a reference axis and its push-out to the direction of 12 o'clock. It is considered that the direction of magnetic force line and the velocity of solar wind correspond to the direction of the reference axis and the magnitude of anisotropy in the direction of 12 o'clock, respectively. (Kato, T.)

Space weather and dangerous phenomena on the Earth: principles of great geomagnetic storms forcasting by online cosmic ray data

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

L. I. Dorman

2005-11-01

Full Text Available According to NOAA space weather scales, geomagnetic storms of scales G5 (3-h index of geomagnetic activity Kp=9, G4 (Kp=8 and G3 (Kp=7 are dangerous for satellites, aircrafts, and even for technology on the ground (influence on power systems, on spacecraft operations, on HF radio-communications and others. We show on the basis of statistical data, that these geomagnetic storms, mostly accompanied by cosmic ray (CR Forbush-decreases, are also dangerous for people's health on spacecraft and on the ground (increasing the rate of myocardial infarctions, brain strokes and car accident road traumas. To prevent these serious damages it is very important to forecast dangerous geomagnetic storms. Here we consider the principles of using CR measurements for this aim: to forecast at least 10-15h before the sudden commencement of great geomagnetic storms accompanied by Forbush-decreases, by using neutron monitor muon telescope worldwide network online hourly data. We show that for this forecast one may use the following features of CR intensity variations connected with geomagnetic storms accompanied by Forbush-decreases: 1 CR pre-increase, 2 CR pre-decrease, 3 CR fluctuations, 4 change in the 3-D CR anisotropy.

Transient Perturbations and their Effects in the Heliosphere, the Geo ...

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

tures of transient perturbations related to space weather effects. Relation- ships between ... or health (e.g., see Kudela et al. 2000). Spacecraft systems ... storms. Precursors to Forbush decreases are of practical interest as possible predictors ...

Prospects for detecting decreasing exoplanet frequency with main-sequence age using PLATO

Science.gov (United States)

Veras, D.; Brown, D. J. A.; Mustill, A. J.; Pollacco, D.

2017-09-01

The space mission PLATO will usher in a new era of exoplanetary science by expanding our current inventory of transiting systems and constraining host star ages, which are currently highly uncertain. This capability might allow PLATO to detect changes in planetary system architecture with time, particularly because planetary scattering due to Lagrange instability may be triggered long after the system was formed. Here, we utilize previously published instability time-scale prescriptions to determine PLATO's capability to detect a trend of decreasing planet frequency with age for systems with equal- mass planets. For two-planet systems, our results demonstrate that PLATO may detect a trend for planet masses which are at least as massive as super-Earths. For systems with three or more planets, we link their initial compactness to potentially detectable frequency trends in order to aid future investigations when these populations will be better characterized.

Discuss the technology for decrease the detection limit of NaI(Tl) gamma spectrometer

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Guo Xiaobin; Qu Guopu; Liu Zhiying; Wang Hongyan; Wang Lieming

2011-01-01

The radioelement species is complex and quantity is few after nuclear explosion, thus it is hard to tell the difference when using the Nal (TI) Gamma spectrometer detection due to several kinds of the peak of nuclide overlapped in the scattering region. So there is a high demand for spectrometer stability, energy resolution, solution spectrum and minimum detective activity. The paper analysed the influenced factors to Nal (TI) Gamma spectrometer and the measures of detection limit decrease by experiments and MCNP simulation, which proposed the methods to reduce background through shielding in order to improve minimum detective activity. The experiment shows that choosing reasonable shielding can reduce the background effectively and improve the spectrometer low level radioactive detect ability. (authors)

Decreasing of the detection limit for gamma-ray Spectrometry with the influence of sample treatment

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Karami, M.; Sadighzadeh, A.; Asgharizadeh, F.; Sardari, D.; Tavassoli, A.; Arbabi, A.; Hochaghani, O.

2009-01-01

Full text: In this study the ash method has been applied for environmental sample treatment in order to decrease of the detection limit in gamma-ray spectrometry for low level radioactivity measurements. Detection limit in gamma ray spectrometry is the smallest expectation value of the net counting rate that can be detected on given probabilities. The environmental test samples have been changed into ash using a suitable oven. The heating were made under controlled temperature to avoid the escape of some radionuclides such as radiocaesium. The ash samples were measured by high resolution gamma-ray spectrometry system. (author)

Multi-spacecraft observations of ICMEs propagating beyond Earth orbit during MSL/RAD flight and surface phases

Science.gov (United States)

von Forstner, J.; Guo, J.; Wimmer-Schweingruber, R. F.; Hassler, D.; Temmer, M.; Vrsnak, B.; Čalogović, J.; Dumbovic, M.; Lohf, H.; Appel, J. K.; Heber, B.; Steigies, C. T.; Zeitlin, C.; Ehresmann, B.; Jian, L. K.; Boehm, E.; Boettcher, S. I.; Burmeister, S.; Martin-Garcia, C.; Brinza, D. E.; Posner, A.; Reitz, G.; Matthiae, D.; Rafkin, S. C.; weigle, G., II; Cucinotta, F.

2017-12-01

The propagation of interplanetary coronal mass ejections (ICMEs) between Earth's orbit (1 AU) and Mars ( 1.5 AU) has been studied with their propagation speed estimated from both measurements and simulations. The enhancement of the magnetic fields related to ICMEs and their shock fronts cause so-called Forbush decreases, which can be detected as a reduction of galactic cosmic rays measured on-ground or on a spacecraft. We have used galactic cosmic ray (GCR) data from in-situ measurements at Earth, from both STEREO A and B as well as the GCR measurement by the Radiation Assessment Detector (RAD) instrument onboard Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) on the surface of Mars as well as during its flight to Mars in 2011-2012. A set of ICME events has been selected during the periods when Earth (or STEREO A or B) and MSL locations were nearly aligned on the same side of the Sun in the ecliptic plane (so-called opposition phase). Such lineups allow us to estimate the ICMEs' transit times between 1 AU and the MSL location by estimating the delay time of the corresponding Forbush decreases measured at each location. We investigate the evolution of their propagation speeds after passing Earth's orbit and find that the deceleration of ICMEs due to their interaction with the ambient solar wind continues beyond 1 AU. The results are compared to simulation data obtained from two CME propagation models, namely the Drag-Based Model (DBM) and the WSA-ENLIL plus cone model.

Unusually low-amplitude anisotropic wave-train events of cosmic ray ...

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

Solar diurnal variation of CR intensity shows a large day-to-day variability. This variability appears even in the case of ... without accompanying geomagnetic distur- bances or Forbush decrease indicate that they are not due to solar activity on the .... is still not clearly understood. 2. Data analysis. Daily variation, sometimes ...

Studies in cosmic rays

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bemalkhedkar, M.M.

1974-03-01

The investigation of the diurnal variation in the cosmic ray intensity on individual days has revealed a new class of diurnal variation showing a maximum around 09 hour direction in the interplanetary space. It is shown to occur during the recovery phase of Forbush decreases as well as during quiet periods. The rigidity spectrum of the anomalous diurnal variation has an exponent around zero, the same as that for the average diurnal variation exhibiting maximum around 18 hours in the interplanetary space. It is shown that the Forbush decreases associated with the diurnal variation exhibiting morning maximum, are 27 day recurrent in nature and are preceded by east limb solar flares on most of the occasions. A qualitative model of the transient modulation by solar corotating corpuscular streams of enhanced solar wind velocity, emanating from the active regions on the solar disc, is proposed to explain the anomalous diurnal anisotropy in the recovery phase of 27 day recurrent Forbush decreases. From this model, the cosmic ray diffusion coefficients, parallel and perpendicular to the interplanetary magnetic field inside the corotating stream, are derived and compared with the average values. To investigate the possibility of determining the energy spectra of cosmic ray intensity variations from a single station, a continuous record of neutron multiplicity spectrum has been obtained for the period October, 1967 - October, 1971, using the Gulmarg neutron monitor. The average multiplicity spectrum in the Gulmarg neutron monitor shows a mean multiplicity approximately equal to 1.4 for 12 Boron-tri-fluoride counters and is an increasing function of the number of counters used. The mean multiplicity measured in various other neutron monitors, when normalized to the cutoff rigidity of Gulmurg (11.91 GV), shows a systematic increase with the altitude of the station. (author)

Impact of strong geomagnetic storms on total ozone at southern higher middle latitudes

Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

Laštovička, Jan; Križan, Peter

2009-01-01

Roč. 53, č. 1 (2009), s. 151-156 ISSN 0039-3169 R&D Projects: GA MŠk 1P05OC030 Grant - others:European Commission(XE) COST 724 Institutional research plan: CEZ:AV0Z30420517 Keywords : ozone * Southern Hemisphere * geomagnetic storms * Forbush decreases of cosmic rays Subject RIV: DG - Athmosphere Sciences, Meteorology Impact factor: 1.000, year: 2009

Decrease in the ability to detect elevated lung thallium due to delay in commencing imaging after exercise

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rothendler, J.A.; Boucher, C.A.; Strauss, H.W.; Pohost, G.M.; Okada, R.D.

1985-01-01

Post-exercise elevation of the lung/myocardial thallium ratio and a high lung clearance rate between initial and delayed images have been reported to be markers for exercise-induced left ventricular (LV) dysfunction associated with coronary artery disease (CAD). The authors performed thallium exercise tests on 60 patients, 42 with CAD, in order to determine the effect of delaying initial imaging on detection of elevated lung thallium. In addition to images obtained at 2 minutes and at 2 hours after exercise, 18-minute images were also obtained to simulate such a delay. Because of rapid isotope clearance in those with initially elevated lung activity, there was decreased sensitivity of both the initial lung/myocardial ratio and lung thallium clearance for detecting CAD, using the 18-minute image as the initial post exercise study. They conclude that initial imaging should be done in the anterior view early after exercise to optimize detection of elevated lung thallium

High-sensitivity detection of polysaccharide using phosphodiesters quaternary ammonium salt as probe by decreased resonance light scattering.

Science.gov (United States)

Chen, Zhanguang; Liu, Guoliang; Chen, Maohuai; Wu, Mingyao

2009-07-15

Phosphodiesters quaternary ammonium salt (PQAS) displayed quite intense light scattering in aqueous solution under the optimum condition. In addition, the resonance light scattering (RLS) signal of PQAS was remarkably decreased after adding trace amount polysaccharide with the maximum peak located at 391 nm. It was found that the decreased RLS intensity of the PQAS-PPGL system (DeltaI(RLS)) was in proportion to PPGL concentration in the range of 0.1-30 ng mL(-1), with a lower detection limit of 0.05 ng mL(-1). Based on this rare decreased RLS phenomenon, the novel method of the determination of purified polysaccharide of Gracilaria Lemaneiformis (PPGL) at nanogram level was proposed in this contribution. The proposed approach was used to determine purified polysaccharide extracted from Gracilaria Lemaneiformis with satisfactory results. Compared with the reported polysaccharide assays, this proposed method has good selectivity, high sensitivity and is especially simple and convenient. Moreover, the mechanism of the reaction between PQAS and polysaccharide was investigated by RLS, fluorescence, and fluorescence lifetime spectra.

LISA Pathfinder test-mass charging during galactic cosmic-ray flux short-term variations

Science.gov (United States)

Grimani, C.; Fabi, M.; Lobo, A.; Mateos, I.; Telloni, D.

2015-02-01

Metal free-floating test masses aboard the future interferometers devoted to gravitational wave detection in space are charged by galactic and solar cosmic rays with energies \\gt 100 MeV/n. This process represents one of the main sources of noise in the lowest frequency band (\\lt 10-3 Hz) of these experiments. We study here the charging of the LISA Pathfinder (LISA-PF) gold-platinum test masses due to galactic cosmic-ray (GCR) protons and helium nuclei with the Fluka Monte Carlo toolkit. Projections of the energy spectra of GCRs during the LISA-PF operations in 2015 are considered. This work was carried out on the basis of the solar activity level and solar polarity epoch expected for LISA-PF. The effects of GCR short-term variations are evaluated here for the first time. Classical Forbush decreases, GCR variations induced by the Sun rotation, and fluctuations in the LISA-PF frequency bandwidth are discussed.

The interaction of a very large interplanetary magnetic cloud with the magnetosphere and with cosmic rays

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lepping, R.P.; Burlaga, L.F.; Ogilvie, K.W.; Tsurutani, B.T.; Lazarus, A.J.; Evans, D.S.; Klein, L.W.

1991-01-01

A large interplanetary magnetic cloud has been observed in the mid-December 1982 data from ISEE 3. It is estimated to have a heliocentric radial extent of approx-gt 0.4 AU, making it one of the largest magnetic clouds yet observed at 1 AU. The magnetic field measured throughout the main portion of the cloud was fairly tightly confined to a plane as it changed direction by 174 degree while varying only moderately in magnitude. Throughout nearly the entire duration of the cloud's passage, IMP 8 was located in the Earth's dawn magnetosheath providing observations of this cloud's interaction with the bow shock and magnetopause; the cloud is shown to maintain its solar wind characteristics during the interaction. Near the end of the cloud passage, at 0806 UT on December 17, ISEE 3 (and IMP 8 at nearly the same time) observed an oblique fast forward interplanetary shock closely coincident in time with a geomagnetic storm sudden commencement. The shock, moving much faster than the cloud (radial speeds of 700 and 390 km/s, respectively, on the average), was in the process of overtaking the cloud. The index Dst decreased monotonically by ∼ 130 nT during the 2-day cloud passage by the Earth and was well correlated with the B z component of the interplanetary magnetic field. There was no significant decrease in the cosmic ray intensity recorded by ground-based neutron monitors at this time of rather strong, smoothly changing fields. However, a Forbush decrease did occur immediately after the interplanetary shock, during a period of significant field turbulence. Thus a large, smooth, interplanetary helical magnetic field configuration engulfing the Earth does not necessarily deflect cosmic rays sufficiently to cause a Forbush decrease, but there is a suggestion that such a decrease may be caused by particle scattering by turbulent magnetic fields

Prognostic implications of post-stress ejection fraction decrease detected by gated SPECT in the absence of stress-induced perfusion abnormalities

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Dona, Manjola; Massi, Lucia; Settimo, Leonardo; Bartolini, Matteo; Gianni, Gianluca; Pupi, Alberto; Sciagra, Roberto [University of Florence, Nuclear Medicine Unit, Department of Clinical Physiopathology, Florence (Italy)

2011-03-15

The prognostic meaning of a post-stress ejection fraction (EF) decrease detected by perfusion gated SPECT is still unclear. We therefore followed up patients with post-stress EF decrease in the absence of stress-induced perfusion abnormalities. We prospectively enrolled 57 consecutive patients with post-stress EF drop {>=} 5 EF units and summed difference score (SDS) {<=} 1. They were followed up for more than 1 year and their outcome was compared with a group of sex- and age-matched controls with the same SDS but without EF decrease. During follow-up there were 13 events (1 cardiac death, 1 non-fatal myocardial infarction, 1 congestive heart failure and 10 late revascularizations). In the control group we registered six events. There was a significant difference (p < 0.0001) between the event-free survival curves of the two groups. The event rate of patients with post-stress EF decrease {>=} 5 EF units is relatively high and is significantly worse than that of a control group of patients with similarly normal SDS but without EF changes. Therefore, a post-stress EF decrease without stress-induced perfusion abnormalities should be cautiously interpreted. (orig.)

The Status of the ARGO Experiment at YBJ

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Aielli, G. [Dipartimento di Fisica dell' Universita ' Tor Vergata' di Roma and INFN Sezione di Roma2 (Italy); Bacci, C. [Dipartimento di Fisica dell' Universita ' Roma Tre' di Roma and INFN Sezione di Roma3 (Italy); Bartoli, B. [Dipartimento di Fisica dell' Universita di Napoli and INFN Sezione di Napoli (Italy); Bernardini, P. [Dipartimento di Fisica dell' Universita di Lecce and INFN Sezione di Lecce (Italy); Bi, X.J. [Key Laboratory of Particle Astrophyics, Institute of High Energy Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, Beijing (China); Bleve, C. [Dipartimento di Fisica dell' Universita di Lecce and INFN Sezione di Lecce (Italy); Bussino, S. [Dipartimento di Fisica dell' Universita ' Roma Tre' di Roma and INFN Sezione di Roma3 (Italy); Calabrese Melcarne, A.K. [Dipartimento di Fisica dell' Universita di Lecce and INFN Sezione di Lecce (Italy); Camarri, P. [Dipartimento di Fisica dell' Universita ' Tor Vergata' di Roma and INFN Sezione di Roma2 (Italy); Campana, D. [Dipartimento di Fisica dell' Universita di Napoli and INFN Sezione di Napoli (Italy); Cao, Z. [Key Laboratory of Particle Astrophyics, Institute of High Energy Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, Beijing (China); Cardarelli, R. [Dipartimento di Fisica dell' Universita ' Tor Vergata' di Roma and INFN Sezione di Roma2 (Italy); Catalanotti, S.; Cavaliere, S. [Dipartimento di Fisica dell' Universita di Napoli and INFN Sezione di Napoli (Italy); Celio, P. [Dipartimento di Fisica dell' Universita ' Roma Tre' di Roma and INFN Sezione di Roma3 (Italy); Chen, S.Z.; Cheng, N. [Key Laboratory of Particle Astrophyics, Institute of High Energy Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, Beijing (China); Creti, P. [Dipartimento di Fisica dell' Universita di Lecce and INFN Sezione di Lecce(Italy); Cui, S.W. [Hebei Normal University, Shijiazhuang 050016, Hebei (China)] (and others)

2007-04-15

The ARGO-YBJ experiment, located at Yangbajing, Tibet, China, performed by a wide Sino-Italian collaboration, is designed to study cosmic rays, sub-TeV gamma ray sources and GeV Gamma Ray Burst (GRB) emission in the northern hemisphere, by means of detecting small size EAS (Extensive Air Shower) using a full coverage RPC (Resistive Plate Chamber) carpet. The central carpet of the detector is installed and put into operation to date, with 1900m{sup 2} of the carpet already operating since December 2004. With a trigger multiplicity of {>=}60 hits, corresponding to a primary mode energy of 2 TeV, the angular resolution of EAS measurements is < 1{sup o} for showers with more than 500 recorded hits. We report the preliminary results of data taking performed during 2005: the all-sky survey for gamma ray sources and the search for GRBs, as well as the cosmic ray spectrum up to about 100 TeV. The Forbush decrease of the cosmic ray flux during January, 2005 is observed using the ARGO data.

Observed Decrease of North American Winter Temperature Variability

Science.gov (United States)

Rhines, A. N.; Tingley, M.; McKinnon, K. A.; Huybers, P. J.

2015-12-01

There is considerable interest in determining whether temperature variability has changed in recent decades. Model ensembles project that extratropical land temperature variance will detectably decrease by 2070. We use quantile regression of station observations to show that decreasing variability is already robustly detectable for North American winter during 1979--2014. Pointwise trends from GHCND stations are mapped into a continuous spatial field using thin-plate spline regression, resolving small-scales while providing uncertainties accounting for spatial covariance and varying station density. We find that variability of daily temperatures, as measured by the difference between the 95th and 5th percentiles, has decreased markedly in winter for both daily minima and maxima. Composites indicate that the reduced spread of winter temperatures primarily results from Arctic amplification decreasing the meridional temperature gradient. Greater observed warming in the 5th relative to the 95th percentile stems from asymmetric effects of advection during cold versus warm days; cold air advection is generally from northerly regions that have experienced greater warming than western or southwestern regions that are generally sourced during warm days.

Cosmic ray variations of solar origin in relation to human physiological state during the December 2006 solar extreme events

Science.gov (United States)

Papailiou, M.; Mavromichalaki, H.; Vassilaki, A.; Kelesidis, K. M.; Mertzanos, G. A.; Petropoulos, B.

2009-02-01

There is an increasing amount of evidence linking biological effects to solar and geomagnetic disturbances. A series of studies is published referring to the changes in human physiological responses at different levels of geomagnetic activity. In this study, the possible relation between the daily variations of cosmic ray intensity, measured by the Neutron Monitor at the Cosmic Ray Station of the University of Athens (http://cosray.phys.uoa.gr) and the average daily and hourly heart rate variations of persons, with no symptoms or hospital admission, monitored by Holter electrocardiogram, is considered. This work refers to a group of persons admitted to the cardiological clinic of the KAT Hospital in Athens during the time period from 4th to 24th December 2006 that is characterized by extreme solar and geomagnetic activity. A series of Forbush decreases started on 6th December and lasted until the end of the month and a great solar proton event causing a Ground Level Enhancement (GLE) of the cosmic ray intensity on 13th December occurred. A sudden decrease of the cosmic ray intensity on 15th December, when a geomagnetic storm was registered, was also recorded in Athens Neutron Monitor station (cut-off rigidity 8.53 GV) with amplitude of 4%. It is noticed that during geomagnetically quiet days the heart rate and the cosmic ray intensity variations are positively correlated. When intense cosmic ray variations, like Forbush decreases and relativistic proton events produced by strong solar phenomena occur, cosmic ray intensity and heart rate get minimum values and their variations, also, coincide. During these events the correlation coefficient of these two parameters changes and follows the behavior of the cosmic ray intensity variations. This is only a small part of an extended investigation, which has begun using data from the year 2002 and is still in progress.

Space weather monitoring with neutron monitor measurements

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Steigies, Christian [Christian-Albrechts-Universitaet zu Kiel (Germany)

2013-07-01

Space Weather affects many areas of the modern society, advance knowledge about space weather events is important to protect personnel and infrastructure. Cosmic Rays (CR) measurements by ground-based Neutron Monitors are influenced by Coronal Mass Ejections (CME), the intensity of the ever present Cosmic Rays is reduced in a Forbush decrease (Fd). In the case of very energetic CMEs, the measured intensity can be significantly increased in a Ground Level Enhancement (GLE). By detecting the anisotropy of the CR environment, a CME can be detected hours before it arrives at Earth. During a GLE the high-energy particles from the Sun can be detected before the more abundant lower energy particles arrive at Earth, thus allowing to take protective measures. Since the beginning of the Neutron Monitor Database (NMDB) project, which has been started in 2008 with funding from the European Commission, real-time data from Neutron Monitors around the world has been made available through one web-portal. We have more than doubled the number of stations providing data since the start of the project to now over 30 stations. The effectiveness of the ALERT applications which are based on NMDB data has been shown by the recent GLE71. We present different applications through which the measurements and different data products are accessible.

Survival Advantage Associated with Decrease in Stage at Detection from Stage IIIC to Stage IIIA Epithelial Ovarian Cancer

Science.gov (United States)

Lefringhouse, Jason; Pavlik, Edward; Miller, Rachel; DeSimone, Christopher; Ueland, Frederick; Kryscio, Richard; van Nagell, J. R.

2014-01-01

Objective. The aim of this study was to document the survival advantage of lowering stage at detection from Stage IIIC to Stage IIIA epithelial ovarian cancer. Methods. Treatment outcomes and survival were evaluated in patients with Stage IIIA and Stage IIIC epithelial ovarian cancer treated from 2000 to 2009 at the University of Kentucky Markey Cancer Center (UKMCC) and SEER institutions. Results. Cytoreduction to no visible disease (P < 0.0001) and complete response to platinum-based chemotherapy (P < 0.025) occurred more frequently in Stage IIIA than in Stage IIIC cases. Time to progression was shorter in patients with Stage IIIC ovarian cancer (17 ± 1 months) than in those with Stage II1A disease (36 ± 8 months). Five-year overall survival (OS) improved from 41% in Stage IIIC patients to 60% in Stage IIIA patients treated at UKMCC and from 37% to 56% in patients treated at SEER institutions for a survival advantage of 19% in both data sets. 53% of Stage IIIA and 14% of Stage IIIC patients had NED at last followup. Conclusions. Decreasing stage at detection from Stage IIIC to stage IIIA epithelial ovarian cancer is associated with a 5-year survival advantage of nearly 20% in patients treated by surgical tumor cytoreduction and platinum-based chemotherapy. PMID:25254047

The Pierre Auger Observatory scaler mode for the study of solar activity modulation of galactic cosmic rays

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Abreu, P.; /Lisbon, LIFEP /Lisbon, IST; Aglietta, M.; /Turin Observ. /Turin U. /INFN, Turin; Ahn, E.J.; /Fermilab; Allard, D.; /APC, Paris; Allekotte, I.; /Centro Atomico Bariloche /Balseiro Inst., San Carlos de Bariloche; Allen, J.; /New York U.; Alvarez Castillo, J.; /Mexico U.; Alvarez-Muniz, J.; /Santiago de Compostela U.; Ambrosio, M.; /Naples U. /INFN, Naples; Aminaei, A.; /Nijmegen U., IMAPP; Anchordoqui, L.; /Wisconsin U., Milwaukee /Lisbon, LIFEP /Lisbon, IST

2011-01-01

Since data-taking began in January 2004, the Pierre Auger Observatory has been recording the count rates of low energy secondary cosmic ray particles for the self-calibration of the ground detectors of its surface detector array. After correcting for atmospheric effects, modulations of galactic cosmic rays due to solar activity and transient events are observed. Temporal variations related with the activity of the heliosphere can be determined with high accuracy due to the high total count rates. In this study, the available data are presented together with an analysis focused on the observation of Forbush decreases, where a strong correlation with neutron monitor data is found.

Average features of cosmic ray variation associated with sudden commencement of magnetic storm

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wada, Masami; Suda, Tomoshige.

1980-01-01

In order to obtain average features of cosmic ray variation associated with a passage of shock front in space, superposed epoch analysis of cosmic ray intensity with respect to the time of occurrence of sudden commencement (SC) of magnetic storm during solar cycle 20, 1964 - 1975, is carried out for hundreds of SC. When SC's are distributed evenly over the day, the onset in cosmic ray decrease is seen clearly within one hour of SC, followed by a sharp decrease in the intensity, but without any precursory fluctuation. The magnitude distribution and the rigidity spectrum for maximum depression show the features of Forbush decrease (FD). Superposed epoch analysis is also applied to solar wind and the interplanetary magnetic field data, and their relation to cosmic ray variation is studied. Effects of the superposition of the isotropic and anisotropic variations on the time profile of cosmic ray intensity observed at a station are discussed. (author)

Periodontal Disease and Decreased Kidney Function in Japanese Elderly

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Iwasaki, Masanori; Taylor, George W.; Nesse, Willem; Vissink, Arjan; Yoshihara, Akihiro; Miyazaki, Hideo

Background: Early detection of decreased kidney function can help prevent the progression of kidney disease to kidney failure and cardiovascular events. Potentially significant associations between kidney function and periodontal disease have been reported in cross-sectional studies. However, no

OKN-007 decreases free radical levels in a preclinical F98 rat glioma model.

Science.gov (United States)

Coutinho de Souza, Patricia; Smith, Nataliya; Atolagbe, Oluwatomisin; Ziegler, Jadith; Njoku, Charity; Lerner, Megan; Ehrenshaft, Marilyn; Mason, Ronald P; Meek, Bill; Plafker, Scott M; Saunders, Debra; Mamedova, Nadezda; Towner, Rheal A

2015-10-01

Free radicals are associated with glioma tumors. Here, we report on the ability of an anticancer nitrone compound, OKN-007 [Oklahoma Nitrone 007; a disulfonyl derivative of α-phenyl-tert-butyl nitrone (PBN)] to decrease free radical levels in F98 rat gliomas using combined molecular magnetic resonance imaging (mMRI) and immunospin-trapping (IST) methodologies. Free radicals are trapped with the spin-trapping agent, 5,5-dimethyl-1-pyrroline N-oxide (DMPO), to form DMPO macromolecule radical adducts, and then further tagged by immunospin trapping by an antibody against DMPO adducts. In this study, we combined mMRI with a biotin-Gd-DTPA-albumin-based contrast agent for signal detection with the specificity of an antibody for DMPO nitrone adducts (anti-DMPO probe), to detect in vivo free radicals in OKN-007-treated rat F98 gliomas. OKN-007 was found to significantly decrease (P free radical levels detected with an anti-DMPO probe in treated animals compared to untreated rats. Immunoelectron microscopy was used with gold-labeled antibiotin to detect the anti-DMPO probe within the plasma membrane of F98 tumor cells from rats administered anti-DMPO in vivo. OKN-007 was also found to decrease nuclear factor erythroid 2-related factor 2, inducible nitric oxide synthase, 3-nitrotyrosine, and malondialdehyde in ex vivo F98 glioma tissues via immunohistochemistry, as well as decrease 3-nitrotyrosine and malondialdehyde adducts in vitro in F98 cells via ELISA. The results indicate that OKN-007 effectively decreases free radicals associated with glioma tumor growth. Furthermore, this method can potentially be applied toward other types of cancers for the in vivo detection of macromolecular free radicals and the assessment of antioxidants. Copyright © 2015. Published by Elsevier Inc.

Transient phenomena in cosmic ray intensity during extreme events

Science.gov (United States)

Agarwal, Rekha; Mishra, Rajesh K.

2008-04-01

In the present work an analysis has been made of the extreme events occurring during July 2005. Specifically, a rather intense Forbush decrease was observed at different neutron monitors all over the world during 16 July 2005. An effort has been made to study the effect of this unusual event on cosmic ray intensity as well as various solar and interplanetary plasma parameters. It is noteworthy that during 11 to 18 July 2005 the solar activity ranged from low to very active. Especially low levels occurred on 11, 15, and 17 July whereas high levels took place on 14 and 16 July 2005. The Sun is observed to be active during 11 to 18 July 2005, the interplanetary magnetic field intensity lies within 15 nT, and solar wind velocity was limited to ˜500 kms-1. The geomagnetic activity during this period remains very quiet, the Kp index did not exceed 5, the disturbance storm time Dst index remains ˜-70 nT and no sudden storm commencement has been detected during this period. It is noted that for the majority of the hours, the north/south component of the interplanetary magnetic field, Bz, remains negative, and the cosmic ray intensity increases and shows good/high correlation with Bz, as the polarity of Bz tends to shift from negative to positive values, the intensity decreases and shows good/high anti-correlation with Bz. The cosmic ray intensity tends to decrease with increase of interplanetary magnetic field strength (B) and shows anti-correlation for the majority of the days.

New Measurements of Suprathermal Ions, Energetic Particles, and Cosmic Rays in the Outer Heliosphere from the New Horizons PEPSSI Instrument

Science.gov (United States)

Hill, M. E.; Kollmann, P.; McNutt, R. L., Jr.; Stern, A.; Weaver, H. A., Jr.; Young, L. A.; Olkin, C.; Spencer, J. R.

2017-12-01

During the period from January 2012 to December 2017 the New Horizons spacecraft traveled from 22 to 41 AU from the Sun, making nearly continuous interplanetary plasma and particle measurements utilizing the SWAP and PEPSSI instruments. We report on newly extended measurements from PEPSSI (Pluto Energetic Particle Spectrometer Science Investigation) that now bring together suprathermal particles above 2 keV/nuc (including interstellar pickup ions), energetic particles with H, He, and O composition from 30 keV to 1 MeV, and cosmic rays above 65 MeV (with effective count-rate-limited upper energy of 1 GeV). Such a wide energy range allows us to look at the solar wind structures passing over the spacecraft, the energetic particles that are often accelerated by these structures, and the suppression of cosmic rays resulting from the increased turbulence inhibiting cosmic ray transport to the spacecraft position (i.e., Forbush decreases). This broad perspective provides simultaneous, previously unattainable diagnostics of outer heliospheric particle dynamics and acceleration. Besides the benefit of being recent, in-ecliptic measurements, unlike the historic Voyager 1 and 2 spacecraft, these PEPSSI observations are also totally unique in the suprathermal range; in this region only PEPSSI can span the suprathermal range, detecting a population that is a linchpin to understanding the outer heliosphere.

Solar and interplanetary activities of isolated and non-isolated coronal mass ejections

Science.gov (United States)

Bendict Lawrance, M.; Shanmugaraju, A.; Moon, Y.-J.; Umapathy, S.

2017-07-01

We report our results on comparison of two halo Coronal Mass Ejections (CME) associated with X-class flares of similar strength (X1.4) but quite different in CME speed and acceleration, similar geo-effectiveness but quite different in Solar Energetic Particle (SEP) intensity. CME1 (non-isolated) was associated with a double event in X-ray flare and it was preceded by another fast halo CME of speed = 2684 km/s (pre-CME) associated with X-ray flare class X5.4 by 1 h from the same location. Since this pre-CME was more eastern, interaction with CME1 and hitting the earth were not possible. This event (CME1) has not suffered the cannibalism since pre-CME has faster speed than post-CME. Pre-CME plays a very important role in increasing the intensity of SEP and Forbush Decrease (FD) by providing energetic seed particles. So, the seed population is the major difference between these two selected events. CME2 (isolated) was a single event. We would like to address on the kinds of physical conditions related to such CMEs and their associated activities. Their associated activities such as, type II bursts, SEP, geomagnetic storm and FD are compared. The following results are obtained from the analysis. (1) The CME leading edge height at the start of metric/DH type II bursts are 2 R⊙/ 4 R⊙ for CME1, but 2 R⊙/ 2.75 R⊙ for CME2. (2) Peak intensity of SEP event associated with the two CMEs are quite different: 6530 pfu for CME1, but 96 pfu for CME2. (3) The Forbush decrease occurred with a minimum decrease of 9.98% in magnitude for CME1, but 6.90% for CME2. (4) These two events produced similar intense geomagnetic storms of intensity of Dst index -130 nT. (5) The maximum southward magnetic fields corresponding to Interplanetary CME (ICME) of these two events are nearly the same, but there is difference in Sheath Bz maximum (-14.2, -6.9 nT). (6) The time-line chart of the associated activities of two CMEs show some difference in the time delay between the onsets of

Long-term Modulation of Cosmic Ray Intensity in relation to Sunspot ...

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

it should be more closely connected with cosmic ray modulation than with other solar characteristics (sunspot numbers or coronal emission intensity). The intensity of galactic cosmic rays varies inversely with sunspot numbers, having their maximum intensity at the minimum of the 11-year sunspot cycle (Forbush 1954, 1958) ...

The Effect of Police Response Time on Crime Detection

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Blanes i Vidal, Jordi; Kirchmaier, Tom

preferred estimate, a 10% increase in response time leads to a 4.6 percentage points decrease in the likelihood of detection. A faster response time also decreases the number of days that it takes for the police to detect a crime, conditional on eventual detection. We find stronger effects for thefts than...

Decreased growth rate of P. falciparum blood stage parasitemia with age in a holoendemic population.

Science.gov (United States)

Pinkevych, Mykola; Petravic, Janka; Chelimo, Kiprotich; Vulule, John; Kazura, James W; Moormann, Ann M; Davenport, Miles P

2014-04-01

In malaria holoendemic settings, decreased parasitemia and clinical disease is associated with age and cumulative exposure. The relative contribution of acquired immunity against various stages of the parasite life cycle is not well understood. In particular, it is not known whether changes in infection dynamics can be best explained by decreasing rates of infection, or by decreased growth rates of parasites in blood. Here, we analyze the dynamics of Plasmodium falciparum infection after treatment in a cohort of 197 healthy study participants of different ages. We use both polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and microscopy detection of parasitemia in order to understand parasite growth rates and infection rates over time. The more sensitive PCR assay detects parasites earlier than microscopy, and demonstrates a higher overall prevalence of infection than microscopy alone. The delay between PCR and microscopy detection is significantly longer in adults compared with children, consistent with slower parasite growth with age. We estimated the parasite multiplication rate from delay to PCR and microscopy detections of parasitemia. We find that both the delay between PCR and microscopy infection as well as the differing reinfection dynamics in different age groups are best explained by a slowing of parasite growth with age.

Thermo-optical Characterization of Photothermal Optical Phase Shift Detection in Extended-Nano Channels and UV Detection of Biomolecules.

Science.gov (United States)

Shimizu, Hisashi; Miyawaki, Naoya; Asano, Yoshihiro; Mawatari, Kazuma; Kitamori, Takehiko

2017-06-06

The expansion of microfluidics research to nanofluidics requires absolutely sensitive and universal detection methods. Photothermal detection, which utilizes optical absorption and nonradiative relaxation, is promising for the sensitive detection of nonlabeled biomolecules in nanofluidic channels. We have previously developed a photothermal optical phase shift (POPS) detection method to detect nonfluorescent molecules sensitively, while a rapid decrease of the sensitivity in nanochannels and the introduction of an ultraviolet (UV) excitation system were issues to be addressed. In the present study, our primary aim is to characterize the POPS signal in terms of the thermo-optical properties and quantitatively evaluate the causes for the decrease in sensitivity. The UV excitation system is then introduced into the POPS detector to realize the sensitive detection of nonlabeled biomolecules. The UV-POPS detection system is designed and constructed from scratch based on a symmetric microscope. The results of simulations and experiments reveal that the sensitivity decreases due to a reduction of the detection volume, dissipation of the heat, and cancellation of the changes in the refractive indices. Finally, determination of the concentration of a nonlabeled protein (bovine serum albumin) is performed in a very thin 900 nm deep nanochannel. As a result, the limit of detection (LOD) is 2.3 μM (600 molecules in the 440 attoliter detection volume), which is as low as that previously obtained for our visible POPS detector. UV-POPS detection is thus expected be a powerful technique for the study of biomolecules, including DNAs and proteins confined in nanofluidic channels.

Decreasing Fires in Mediterranean Europe.

Science.gov (United States)

Turco, Marco; Bedia, Joaquín; Di Liberto, Fabrizio; Fiorucci, Paolo; von Hardenberg, Jost; Koutsias, Nikos; Llasat, Maria-Carmen; Xystrakis, Fotios; Provenzale, Antonello

2016-01-01

Forest fires are a serious environmental hazard in southern Europe. Quantitative assessment of recent trends in fire statistics is important for assessing the possible shifts induced by climate and other environmental/socioeconomic changes in this area. Here we analyse recent fire trends in Portugal, Spain, southern France, Italy and Greece, building on a homogenized fire database integrating official fire statistics provided by several national/EU agencies. During the period 1985-2011, the total annual burned area (BA) displayed a general decreasing trend, with the exception of Portugal, where a heterogeneous signal was found. Considering all countries globally, we found that BA decreased by about 3020 km2 over the 27-year-long study period (i.e. about -66% of the mean historical value). These results are consistent with those obtained on longer time scales when data were available, also yielding predominantly negative trends in Spain and France (1974-2011) and a mixed trend in Portugal (1980-2011). Similar overall results were found for the annual number of fires (NF), which globally decreased by about 12600 in the study period (about -59%), except for Spain where, excluding the provinces along the Mediterranean coast, an upward trend was found for the longer period. We argue that the negative trends can be explained, at least in part, by an increased effort in fire management and prevention after the big fires of the 1980's, while positive trends may be related to recent socioeconomic transformations leading to more hazardous landscape configurations, as well as to the observed warming of recent decades. We stress the importance of fire data homogenization prior to analysis, in order to alleviate spurious effects associated with non-stationarities in the data due to temporal variations in fire detection efforts.

Decreasing Fires in Mediterranean Europe.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Marco Turco

Full Text Available Forest fires are a serious environmental hazard in southern Europe. Quantitative assessment of recent trends in fire statistics is important for assessing the possible shifts induced by climate and other environmental/socioeconomic changes in this area. Here we analyse recent fire trends in Portugal, Spain, southern France, Italy and Greece, building on a homogenized fire database integrating official fire statistics provided by several national/EU agencies. During the period 1985-2011, the total annual burned area (BA displayed a general decreasing trend, with the exception of Portugal, where a heterogeneous signal was found. Considering all countries globally, we found that BA decreased by about 3020 km2 over the 27-year-long study period (i.e. about -66% of the mean historical value. These results are consistent with those obtained on longer time scales when data were available, also yielding predominantly negative trends in Spain and France (1974-2011 and a mixed trend in Portugal (1980-2011. Similar overall results were found for the annual number of fires (NF, which globally decreased by about 12600 in the study period (about -59%, except for Spain where, excluding the provinces along the Mediterranean coast, an upward trend was found for the longer period. We argue that the negative trends can be explained, at least in part, by an increased effort in fire management and prevention after the big fires of the 1980's, while positive trends may be related to recent socioeconomic transformations leading to more hazardous landscape configurations, as well as to the observed warming of recent decades. We stress the importance of fire data homogenization prior to analysis, in order to alleviate spurious effects associated with non-stationarities in the data due to temporal variations in fire detection efforts.

Experience with dynamic reinforcement rates decreases resistance to extinction.

Science.gov (United States)

Craig, Andrew R; Shahan, Timothy A

2016-03-01

The ability of organisms to detect reinforcer-rate changes in choice preparations is positively related to two factors: the magnitude of the change in rate and the frequency with which rates change. Gallistel (2012) suggested similar rate-detection processes are responsible for decreases in responding during operant extinction. Although effects of magnitude of change in reinforcer rate on resistance to extinction are well known (e.g., the partial-reinforcement-extinction effect), effects of frequency of changes in rate prior to extinction are unknown. Thus, the present experiments examined whether frequency of changes in baseline reinforcer rates impacts resistance to extinction. Pigeons pecked keys for variable-interval food under conditions where reinforcer rates were stable and where they changed within and between sessions. Overall reinforcer rates between conditions were controlled. In Experiment 1, resistance to extinction was lower following exposure to dynamic reinforcement schedules than to static schedules. Experiment 2 showed that resistance to presession feeding, a disruptor that should not involve change-detection processes, was unaffected by baseline-schedule dynamics. These findings are consistent with the suggestion that change detection contributes to extinction. We discuss implications of change-detection processes for extinction of simple and discriminated operant behavior and relate these processes to the behavioral-momentum based approach to understanding extinction. © 2016 Society for the Experimental Analysis of Behavior.

Average properties of cosmic ray diffusion in solar wind streams

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Morfill, G.; Richter, A.K.; Scholer, M.

1979-01-01

Applying a superposed epoch analysis to the Mariner 5 plasma and magnetic field observations of 13 corotating high speed solar wind streams, we obtain the average azimuthal distribution of all relevant parameters of the background interplanetary medium, as well as those of superimposed Alfven waves. Using these measurements in model calculations allows us to determine the radial and azimuthal variation of the background and fluctuation parameters between 1 and 5 AU, and thus to calculate the cosmic ray diffusion coefficient kappa from the plasma and field properties. The calculation of kappa assumes that quasi-linear wave-particle interaction theory is applicable, and that the Alfven waves responsible for the scattering are propagating in the azimuthally varying solar wind according to geometrical optics. The consequences of these calculations regarding the occurrence of solar wind stream associated Forbush decreases are discussed

A multiplex single nucleotide polymorphism typing assay for detecting mutations that result in decreased fluoroquinolone susceptibility in Salmonella enterica serovars Typhi and Paratyphi A.

LENUS (Irish Health Repository)

Song, Yajun

2010-08-01

OBJECTIVES: Decreased susceptibility to fluoroquinolones has become a major problem for the successful therapy of human infections caused by Salmonella enterica, especially the life-threatening typhoid and paratyphoid fevers. METHODS: By using Luminex xTAG beads, we developed a rapid, reliable and cost-effective multiplexed genotyping assay for simultaneously detecting 11 mutations in gyrA, gyrB and parE of S. enterica serovars Typhi and Paratyphi A that result in nalidixic acid resistance (Nal(R)) and\\/or decreased susceptibility to fluoroquinolones. RESULTS: This assay yielded unambiguous single nucleotide polymorphism calls on extracted DNA from 292 isolates of Salmonella Typhi (Nal(R) = 223 and Nal(S) = 69) and 106 isolates of Salmonella Paratyphi A (Nal(R) = 24 and Nal(S) = 82). All of the 247 Nal(R) Salmonella Typhi and Salmonella Paratyphi A isolates were found to harbour at least one of the target mutations, with GyrA Phe-83 as the most common one (143\\/223 for Salmonella Typhi and 18\\/24 for Salmonella Paratyphi A). We also identified three GyrB mutations in eight Nal(S) Salmonella Typhi isolates (six for GyrB Phe-464, one for GyrB Leu-465 and one for GyrB Asp-466), and mutations GyrB Phe-464 and GyrB Asp-466 seem to be related to the decreased ciprofloxacin susceptibility phenotype in Salmonella Typhi. This assay can also be used directly on boiled single colonies. CONCLUSIONS: The assay presented here would be useful for clinical and reference laboratories to rapidly screen quinolone-resistant isolates of Salmonella Typhi and Salmonella Paratyphi A, and decipher the underlying genetic changes for epidemiological purposes.

Evolution of a Coronal Mass Ejection from the Sun to Mercury, Venus, Earth and Beyond

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Y.; Shen, C.; Liu, J.; Mengjiao, X.; Guo, J.

2017-12-01

A clear magnetic cloud was observed by Messenger at Mercury. By using coronagraph images from SOHO/LASCO and STEREO/COR and the in-situ data from Wind near the Earth, we estimated its propgation velocity and identified the possible CME candidate in the corona and its counterpart recorded by Venus Express near Venus. By applying the CME's DIPS (Deflection in InterPlanetary Space) model, we show that the CME's arrivals at the three different heliocentric distance can be well reproduced. By extending the trajectory of the CME to the orbitor of Mars, we predict the arrival of the CME at Mars, which is in agreement with a significant Forbush decrease observed by MSL. We use uniformly-twisted force-free flux rope model to fit the in-situ measurements at Mercury, Venus and the Earth to study the evolution of the magnetic flux rope, and find that both axial magnetic flux and twist significantly decreased, suggesting that a significant erosion process was on-going and might change the averaged twist of the magnetic flux rope.

Epidemiologic Evidence That Excess Body Weight Increases Risk of Cervical Cancer by Decreased Detection of Precancer.

Science.gov (United States)

Clarke, Megan A; Fetterman, Barbara; Cheung, Li C; Wentzensen, Nicolas; Gage, Julia C; Katki, Hormuzd A; Befano, Brian; Demarco, Maria; Schussler, John; Kinney, Walter K; Raine-Bennett, Tina R; Lorey, Thomas S; Poitras, Nancy E; Castle, Philip E; Schiffman, Mark

2018-04-20

Purpose Obesity has been inconsistently linked to increased cervical cancer incidence and mortality; however, the effect of obesity on cervical screening has not been explored. We investigated the hypothesis that increased body mass might decrease detection of cervical precancer and increase risk of cervical cancer even in women undergoing state-of-the-art screening. Methods We conducted a retrospective cohort study of 944,227 women age 30 to 64 years who underwent cytology and human papillomavirus DNA testing (ie, cotesting) at Kaiser Permanente Northern California (January 2003 to December 2015). Body mass index was categorized as normal/underweight (< 25 kg/m 2 ), overweight (25 to < 30 kg/m 2 ), or obese (≥ 30 kg/m 2 ). We estimated 5-year cumulative risks of cervical precancer and cancer by category of body mass index using logistic Weibull survival models. Results We observed lower risk of cervical precancer (n = 4,489) and higher risk of cervical cancer (n = 490) with increasing body mass index. Specifically, obese women had the lowest 5-year risk of precancer (0.51%; 95% CI, 0.48% to 0.54% v 0.73%; 95% CI, 0.70% to 0.76% in normal/underweight women; P trend < .001). In contrast, obese women had the highest 5-year risk of cancer (0.083%; 95% CI, 0.072% to 0.096% v 0.056%; 95% CI, 0.048% to 0.066% in normal/underweight women; P trend < .001). Results were consistent in subgroups defined by age (30 to 49 v 50 to 64 years), human papillomavirus status (positive v negative), and histologic subtype (glandular v squamous). Approximately 20% of cervical cancers could be attributed to overweight or obesity in the women in our study who underwent routine cervical screening. Conclusion In this large, screened population, overweight and obese women had an increased risk of cervical cancer, likely because of underdiagnosis of cervical precancer. Improvements in equipment and/or technique to assure adequate sampling and visualization of women with elevated body mass

A physiological increase of insulin in the olfactory bulb decreases detection of a learned aversive odor and abolishes food odor-induced sniffing behavior in rats.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Pascaline Aimé

Full Text Available Insulin is involved in multiple regulatory mechanisms, including body weight and food intake, and plays a critical role in metabolic disorders such as obesity and diabetes. An increasing body of evidence indicates that insulin is also involved in the modulation of olfactory function. The olfactory bulb (OB contains the highest level of insulin and insulin receptors (IRs in the brain. However, a role for insulin in odor detection and sniffing behavior remains to be elucidated. Using a behavioral paradigm based on conditioned olfactory aversion (COA to isoamyl-acetate odor, we demonstrated that an intracerebroventricular (ICV injection of 14 mU insulin acutely decreased olfactory detection of fasted rats to the level observed in satiated animals. In addition, whereas fasted animals demonstrated an increase in respiratory frequency upon food odor detection, this effect was absent in fasted animals receiving a 14 mU insulin ICV injection as well as in satiated animals. In parallel, we showed that the OB and plasma insulin levels were increased in satiated rats compared to fasted rats, and that a 14 mU insulin ICV injection elevated the OB insulin level of fasted rats to that of satiated rats. We further quantified insulin receptors (IRs distribution and showed that IRs are preferentially expressed in the caudal and lateral parts of the main OB, with the highest labeling found in the mitral cells, the main OB projection neurons. Together, these data suggest that insulin acts on the OB network to modulate olfactory processing and demonstrate that olfactory function is under the control of signals involved in energy homeostasis regulation and feeding behaviors.

Relations between Scots pine needle element concentrations and decreased needle longevity along pollution gradients

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lamppu, Jukka; Huttunen, Satu

2003-01-01

Deceased needle longevity was related to increased heavy metal concentrations. - Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.) shoots were sampled along transects near one urban pollution source and two smelters. Needle Mg, P and K concentrations decreased from the second to the fourth age class linearly with needle survival along the urban pollution gradient. Still, over 80% of the average concentration of these nutrients remained in the fourth needle age class. Decreased needle longevity was closely related to the increased heavy metal concentrations near the smelters. Near the urban pollution source, it was related to the increased annual needle mass and the increased needle nutrient concentrations. Decreased Mn accumulation along with needle age was detected near all pollution sources. Leaching of Mn from needles and especially from soil as a cause of decreased needle concentrations is discussed

Salient features, response and operation of Lead-Free Gulmarg Neutron Monitor

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mufti, S.; Chatterjee, S.; Ishtiaq, P.M.; Darzi, M.A.; Mir, T.A.; Shah, G.N.

2016-01-01

Lead-Free Gulmarg Neutron Monitor (LFGNM) provides continuous ground level intensity measurements of atmospheric secondary neutrons produced in interactions of primary cosmic rays with the Earth's constituent atmosphere. We report the LFGNM detector salient features and simulation of its energy response for 10"−"1"1 MeV to 10"4 MeV energy incident neutrons using the FLUKA Monte Carlo package. An empirical calibration of the LFGNM detector carried out with a Pu–Be neutron source for maximising its few MeV neutron counting sensitivity is also presented. As an illustration of its functionality a single representative transient solar modulation event recorded by LFGNM depicting Forbush decrease in integrated neutron data for which the geospace consequences are well known is also presented. Performance of LFGNM under actual observation conditions for effectively responding to transient solar modulation is seen to compare well with other world-wide conventional neutron monitors.

Decreased outer membrane permeability in imipenem-resistant mutants of Pseudomonas aeruginosa.

OpenAIRE

Trias, J; Dufresne, J; Levesque, R C; Nikaido, H

1989-01-01

The outer membrane of imipenem-resistant mutants of Pseudomonas aeruginosa was shown to have decreased permeability to imipenem but not to cephaloridine. These experiments were performed with intact cells and liposomes containing imipenem-hydrolyzing beta-lactamase derived from Pseudomonas maltophilia, in both cases utilizing an imipenem concentration of 50 microM. In contrast, liposome swelling assays using imipenem at 8 mM detected no significant difference between the imipenem-resistant mu...

Multiple-Symbol Detection Of Multiple-Trellis-Coded MDPSK

Science.gov (United States)

Divsalar, Dariush; Simon, Marvin K.; Shahshahani, Mehrdad M.

1991-01-01

In proposed scheme for detection and decoding of multiple-trellis-coded multilevel differential-phase-shift-keyed (MDPSK) radio signals, observation time for differential detection extended from conventional 2 to larger number of symbol periods. Decreases rate of error in differential detection of uncoded MDPSK by increasing number of symbol periods.

Acoustic detection of pneumothorax

Science.gov (United States)

Mansy, Hansen A.; Royston, Thomas J.; Balk, Robert A.; Sandler, Richard H.

2003-04-01

This study aims at investigating the feasibility of using low-frequency (pneumothorax detection were tested in dogs. In the first approach, broadband acoustic signals were introduced into the trachea during end-expiration and transmitted waves were measured at the chest surface. Pneumothorax was found to consistently decrease pulmonary acoustic transmission in the 200-1200-Hz frequency band, while less change was observed at lower frequencies (ppneumothorax states (pPneumothorax was found to be associated with a preferential reduction of sound amplitude in the 200- to 700-Hz range, and a decrease of sound amplitude variation (in the 300 to 600-Hz band) during the respiration cycle (pPneumothorax changed the frequency and decay rate of percussive sounds. These results imply that certain medical conditions may be reliably detected using appropriate acoustic measurements and analysis. [Work supported by NIH/NHLBI #R44HL61108.

Disease prevalence and the index of detectability: a survey of studies of lung cancer detection by chest radiography

Science.gov (United States)

Kundel, Harold L.

2000-04-01

A survey of 12 studies of lung cancer detection with cancer prevalence ranging from 0.9 to 476 cancers per 1000 showed that the unit-slope index of detectability, d', decreased from a high value of 3.9 at low prevalence to 1.4 at high prevalence. A proposed explanation is that the readers are operating on an ROC curve with a slope that is less than unity approximating 0.6. On such a curve, a shift to more stringent criteria that occurs with decreasing prevalence in order to minimize false positives, would result in a increased unity- slope d'.

Small target pre-detection with an attention mechanism

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Yuehuan; Zhang, Tianxu; Wang, Guoyou

2002-04-01

We introduce the concept of predetection based on an attention mechanism to improve the efficiency of small-target detection by limiting the image region of detection. According to the characteristics of small-target detection, local contrast is taken as the only feature in predetection and a nonlinear sampling model is adopted to make the predetection adaptive to detect small targets with different area sizes. To simplify the predetection itself and decrease the false alarm probability, neighboring nodes in the sampling grid are used to generate a saliency map, and a short-term memory is adopted to accelerate the `pop-out' of targets. We discuss the fact that the proposed approach is simple enough in computational complexity. In addition, even in a cluttered background, attention can be led to targets in a satisfying few iterations, which ensures that the detection efficiency will not be decreased due to false alarms. Experimental results are presented to demonstrate the applicability of the approach.

Brief communication Decreasing fires in a Mediterranean region (1970–2010, NE Spain

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

M. Turco

2013-03-01

Full Text Available We analyse the recent evolution of fires in Catalonia (north-eastern Iberian Peninsula, a typical Mediterranean region. We examine a homogeneous series of forest fires in the period 1970–2010. During this period, more than 9000 fire events greater than 0.5 ha were recorded, and the total burned area was more than 400 kha. Our analysis shows that both the burned area and number of fire series display a decreasing trend. Superposed onto this general decrease, strong oscillations on shorter time scales are evident. After the large fires of 1986 and 1994, the increased effort in fire prevention and suppression could explain part of the decreasing trend. Although it is often stated that fires have increased in Mediterranean regions, the higher efficiency in fire detection could have led to spurious trends and misleading conclusions.

Computer-aided detection in computed tomography colonography. Current status and problems with detection of early colorectal cancer

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Morimoto, Tsuyoshi; Nakijima, Yasuo; Iinuma, Gen; Arai, Yasuaki; Shiraishi, Junji; Moriyama, Noriyuki; Beddoe, G.

2008-01-01

The aim of this study was to evaluate the usefulness of computer-aided detection (CAD) in diagnosing early colorectal cancer using computed tomography colonography (CTC). A total of 30 CTC data sets for 30 early colorectal cancers in 30 patients were retrospectively reviewed by three radiologists. After primary evaluation, a second reading was performed using CAD findings. The readers evaluated each colorectal segment for the presence or absence of colorectal cancer using five confidence rating levels. To compare the assessment results, the sensitivity and specificity with and without CAD were calculated on the basis of the confidence rating, and differences in these variables were analyzed by receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis. The average sensitivities for the detection without and with CAD for the three readers were 81.6% and 75.6%, respectively. Among the three readers, only one reader improved sensitivity with CAD compared to that without. CAD decreased specificity in all three readers. CAD detected 100% of protruding lesions but only 69.2% of flat lesions. On ROC analysis, the diagnostic performance of all three readers was decreased by use of CAD. Currently available CAD with CTC does not improve diagnostic performance for detecting early colorectal cancer. An improved CAD algorithm is required for detecting fiat lesions and reducing the false-positive rate. (author)

Decreased dopamine activity predicts relapse in methamphetamine abusers

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Wang G. J.; Wang, G.-J.; Smith, L.; Volkow, N.D.; Telang, F.; Logan, J.; Tomasi, D.; Wong, C.T.; Hoffman, W.; Jayne, M.; Alia-Klein, N.; Thanos, P.; Fowler, J.S.

2011-01-20

Studies in methamphetamine (METH) abusers showed that the decreases in brain dopamine (DA) function might recover with protracted detoxification. However, the extent to which striatal DA function in METH predicts recovery has not been evaluated. Here we assessed whether striatal DA activity in METH abusers is associated with clinical outcomes. Brain DA D2 receptor (D2R) availability was measured with positron emission tomography and [{sup 11}C]raclopride in 16 METH abusers, both after placebo and after challenge with 60 mg oral methylphenidate (MPH) (to measure DA release) to assess whether it predicted clinical outcomes. For this purpose, METH abusers were tested within 6 months of last METH use and then followed up for 9 months of abstinence. In parallel, 15 healthy controls were tested. METH abusers had lower D2R availability in caudate than in controls. Both METH abusers and controls showed decreased striatal D2R availability after MPH and these decreases were smaller in METH than in controls in left putamen. The six METH abusers who relapsed during the follow-up period had lower D2R availability in dorsal striatum than in controls, and had no D2R changes after MPH challenge. The 10 METH abusers who completed detoxification did not differ from controls neither in striatal D2R availability nor in MPH-induced striatal DA changes. These results provide preliminary evidence that low striatal DA function in METH abusers is associated with a greater likelihood of relapse during treatment. Detection of the extent of DA dysfunction may be helpful in predicting therapeutic outcomes.

Decreased dopamine activity predicts relapse in methamphetamine abusers

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wang, G.J.; Smith, L.; Volkow, N.D.; Telang, F.; Logan, J.; Tomasi, D.; Wong, C.T.; Hoffman, W.; Jayne, M.; Alia-Klein, N.; Thanos, P.; Fowler, J.S.

2011-01-01

Studies in methamphetamine (METH) abusers showed that the decreases in brain dopamine (DA) function might recover with protracted detoxification. However, the extent to which striatal DA function in METH predicts recovery has not been evaluated. Here we assessed whether striatal DA activity in METH abusers is associated with clinical outcomes. Brain DA D2 receptor (D2R) availability was measured with positron emission tomography and ( 11 C)raclopride in 16 METH abusers, both after placebo and after challenge with 60 mg oral methylphenidate (MPH) (to measure DA release) to assess whether it predicted clinical outcomes. For this purpose, METH abusers were tested within 6 months of last METH use and then followed up for 9 months of abstinence. In parallel, 15 healthy controls were tested. METH abusers had lower D2R availability in caudate than in controls. Both METH abusers and controls showed decreased striatal D2R availability after MPH and these decreases were smaller in METH than in controls in left putamen. The six METH abusers who relapsed during the follow-up period had lower D2R availability in dorsal striatum than in controls, and had no D2R changes after MPH challenge. The 10 METH abusers who completed detoxification did not differ from controls neither in striatal D2R availability nor in MPH-induced striatal DA changes. These results provide preliminary evidence that low striatal DA function in METH abusers is associated with a greater likelihood of relapse during treatment. Detection of the extent of DA dysfunction may be helpful in predicting therapeutic outcomes.

Decreased Soil Nitrification Rate with Addition of Biochar to Acid Soils

Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

Shiyu LI; Xiangshu DONG; Dandan LIU; Li LIU; Feifei HE

2017-01-01

This study was conducted to investigate the effects of mixed biochar on the nitrification rate in acidic soils. A 15N tracer experiment with (15NH4)2SO4 was conducted to determine the nitrification rates of 4 acidic agricultural soils with pH 4.03-6.02in Yunnan Province, Southern China. The accumulation of 15N-NO3 - and nitrification rates decreased with the addition of biochar at the end of incubation, suggesting that biochar could be a nitrification inhibitor in acidic fertilized soil. Nitrification rates in soil with pH 4.03 were evidently lower than those in soil with pH 4.81 -6.02 with or without biochar. Decreased nitrification rates were detected in the acidic soils with biochar. Soil pH controlled nitrification more than biochar in certain strongly acidic soils.

Opening a Window on ICME-driven GCR Modulation in the Inner Solar System

Science.gov (United States)

Winslow, Reka M.; Schwadron, Nathan A.; Lugaz, Noé; Guo, Jingnan; Joyce, Colin J.; Jordan, Andrew P.; Wilson, Jody K.; Spence, Harlan E.; Lawrence, David J.; Wimmer-Schweingruber, Robert F.; Mays, M. Leila

2018-04-01

Interplanetary coronal mass ejections (ICMEs) often cause Forbush decreases (Fds) in the flux of galactic cosmic rays (GCRs). We investigate how a single ICME, launched from the Sun on 2014 February 12, affected GCR fluxes at Mercury, Earth, and Mars. We use GCR observations from MESSENGER at Mercury, ACE/LRO at the Earth/Moon, and MSL at Mars. We find that Fds are steeper and deeper closer to the Sun, and that the magnitude of the magnetic field in the ICME magnetic ejecta as well as the “strength” of the ICME sheath both play a large role in modulating the depth of the Fd. Based on our results, we hypothesize that (1) the Fd size decreases exponentially with heliocentric distance, and (2) that two-step Fds are more common closer to the Sun. Both hypotheses will be directly verifiable by the upcoming Parker Solar Probe and Solar Orbiter missions. This investigation provides the first systematic study of the changes in GCR modulation as a function of distance from the Sun using nearly contemporaneous observations at Mercury, Earth/Moon, and Mars, which will be critical for validating our physical understanding of the modulation process throughout the heliosphere.

The Alpha value decrease when the annual individual effective dose decreases?

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sordi, Gian M.; Marchiusi, Thiago; Sousa, Jefferson de J.

2008-01-01

A recent IAEA publication tells that a few entities took different alpha values for maxima individual doses. Beyond to disregard the international agencies, that recommend only one alpha value for each country, the alpha values decreases when the individual doses decreases and the practice happens exactly the conversely as we will show in this paper. We will prove that the alpha value increase when the maximum individual doses decreases in a four different manner. The first one we call the theoretical conception and it is linked to the emergent of the ALARA policy and to the purpose that led to the 3/10 of the annual limits, for to decrease the individual doses as a first resort and a 1/10 as a last resort. The second prove will be based in a small mine example used in the ICRP publication number 55 concerning to the optimization and the quantitative decision-aiding techniques in radiological protection where we will determine the alpha value ranges in which each radiological protection options becomes the analytical solution. The third prove will be based in the determination of the optimized thickness example of a plane shielding for a radiation source exposed in the ICRP publication number 37. We will use, also, the numerical example provided there. Eventually, as four prove we will show that the alpha value dos not only increases with the maximum individual dose decrease, but also, with the shielding geometry. (author)

Scutellaria barbata attenuates diabetic retinopathy by preventing retinal inflammation and the decreased expression of tight junction protein

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Xi-Yu Mei

2017-06-01

Full Text Available AIM: To observe the attenuation of ethanol extract of Herba Scutellaria barbata (SE against diabetic retinopathy (DR and its engaged mechanism. METHODS: C57BL/6J mice were intraperitoneally injected with streptozotocin (STZ, 55 mg/kg for 5 consecutive days to induce diabetes. The diabetic mice were orally given with SE (100, 200 mg/kg for 1mo at 1mo after STZ injection. Blood-retinal barrier (BRB breakdown was detected by using Evans blue permeation assay. Real-time polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR, Western blot and immunofluorescence staining were used to detect mRNA and protein expression. Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA was used to detect serum contents of tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α and interleukin (IL-1β. RESULTS: SE (100, 200 mg/kg reversed the breakdown of BRB in STZ-induced diabetic mice. The decreased expression of retinal claudin-1 and claudin-19, which are both tight junction (TJ proteins, was reversed by SE. SE decreased the increased serum contents and retinal mRNA expression of TNF-α and IL-1β. SE also decreased the increased retinal expression of intercellular cell adhesion molecule-1 (ICAM-1. SE reduced the increased phosphorylation of nuclear factor kappa B (NFκB p65 and its subsequent nuclear translocation in retinas from STZ-induced diabetic mice. Results of Western blot and retinal immunofluorescence staining of ionized calcium-binding adapter molecule 1 (Iba1 demonstrated that SE abrogated the activation of microglia cells in STZ-induced diabetic mice. CONCLUSION: SE attenuates the development of DR by inhibiting retinal inflammation and restoring the decreased expression of TJ proteins including claudin-1 and claudin-19.

Decreased levels of matrix metalloproteinase-2 in root-canal exudates during root canal treatment.

Science.gov (United States)

Pattamapun, Kassara; Handagoon, Sira; Sastraruji, Thanapat; Gutmann, James L; Pavasant, Prasit; Krisanaprakornkit, Suttichai

2017-10-01

To determine the matrix metalloproteinase-2 (MMP-2) levels in root-canal exudates from teeth undergoing root-canal treatment. The root-canal exudates from six teeth with normal pulp and periradicular tissues that required intentional root canal treatment for prosthodontic reasons and from twelve teeth with pulp necrosis and asymptomatic apical periodontitis (AAP) were sampled with paper points for bacterial culture and aspirated for the detection of proMMP-2 and active MMP-2 by gelatin zymography and the quantification of MMP-2 levels by ELISA. By gelatin zymography, both proMMP-2 and active MMP-2 were detected in the first collection of root-canal exudates from teeth with pulp necrosis and AAP, but not from teeth with normal pulp, and their levels gradually decreased and disappeared at the last collection. Consistently, ELISA demonstrated a significant decrease in MMP-2 levels in the root-canal exudates of teeth with pulp necrosis and AAP following root canal procedures (papical lesions, similar to the clinical application of MMP-8 as a biomarker. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Adjunctive aids for the detection of oral premalignancy

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

D Charanya

2016-01-01

Full Text Available Early detection of cancer greatly decreases the morbidity and mortality rates and thereby increases the 5-year survival rates. In developing countries like India where the disease is highly prevalent focus is mainly on decreasing the mortality rates which can be easily achieved by detection at an asymptomatic stage. Visual examination has been the standard screening method for screening oral cancer through several decades, and it is well known that conventional visual examination is limited to subjective interpretation and cannot be easily achieved in certain anatomical sites. As a solution to all these adjunctive techniques have emerged, and it has been widely used. An effort is made through this paper to review the most commonly used adjunctive aids for the detection of premalignancy and cancer.

Appetite - decreased

Science.gov (United States)

Loss of appetite; Decreased appetite; Anorexia ... Any illness can reduce appetite. If the illness is treatable, the appetite should return when the condition is cured. Loss of appetite can cause weight ...

Carbon filter property detection with thermal neutron technique

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Deng Zhongbo; Han Jun; Li Wenjie

2003-01-01

The paper discussed the mechanism that the antigas property of the carbon filter will decrease because of its carbon bed absorbing water from the air while the carbon filter is being stored, and introduced the principle and method of detection the amount of water absorption with thermal neutron technique. Because some certain relation between the antigas property of the carbon filter and the amount of water absorption exists, the decrease degree of the carbon filter antigas property can be estimated through the amount of water absorption, offering a practicable facility technical pathway to quickly non-destructively detect the carbon filter antigas property

Alcoholic Hepatitis Markedly Decreases the Capacity for Urea Synthesis.

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Emilie Glavind

Full Text Available Data on quantitative metabolic liver functions in the life-threatening disease alcoholic hepatitis are scarce. Urea synthesis is an essential metabolic liver function that plays a key regulatory role in nitrogen homeostasis. The urea synthesis capacity decreases in patients with compromised liver function, whereas it increases in patients with inflammation. Alcoholic hepatitis involves both mechanisms, but how these opposite effects are balanced remains unclear. Our aim was to investigate how alcoholic hepatitis affects the capacity for urea synthesis. We related these findings to another measure of metabolic liver function, the galactose elimination capacity (GEC, as well as to clinical disease severity.We included 20 patients with alcoholic hepatitis and 7 healthy controls. The urea synthesis capacity was quantified by the functional hepatic nitrogen clearance (FHNC, i.e., the slope of the linear relationship between the blood α-amino nitrogen concentration and urea nitrogen synthesis rate during alanine infusion. The GEC was determined using blood concentration decay curves after intravenous bolus injection of galactose. Clinical disease severity was assessed by the Glasgow Alcoholic Hepatitis Score and Model for End-Stage Liver Disease (MELD score.The FHNC was markedly decreased in the alcoholic hepatitis patients compared with the healthy controls (7.2±4.9 L/h vs. 37.4±6.8 L/h, P<0.01, and the largest decrease was observed in those with severe alcoholic hepatitis (4.9±3.6 L/h vs. 9.9±4.9 L/h, P<0.05. The GEC was less markedly reduced than the FHNC. A negative correlation was detected between the FHNC and MELD score (rho = -0.49, P<0.05.Alcoholic hepatitis markedly decreases the urea synthesis capacity. This decrease is associated with an increase in clinical disease severity. Thus, the metabolic failure in alcoholic hepatitis prevails such that the liver cannot adequately perform the metabolic up-regulation observed in other stressful

In-vitro studies of change in edge detection with changes in bone density

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Pocock, N.; Noakes, K.; Griffiths, M.

1999-01-01

Full text: Dual energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA) requires edge detection software to identify the skeletal regions for quantitation of bone mineral density (BMD) and bone mineral content (BMC). As bone mass decreases, the detection of bone edges becomes more difficult and this potentially could cause errors in DXA estimations of areal BMD or BMC. To address this issue, we have used an in-vitro model to study the effects of 'bone loss' on calculated bone area, BMD and BMC. Multiple vertebral phantoms, of equal cross-sectional area but incrementally decreased areal BMD, were constructed using calcium sulphate hemihydrate. The weight of each phantom vertebra, measured accurately using an electronic balance, was used as an index of its true 'bone mass equivalent' (BME). The phantoms were scanned and analysed in the lumbar spine mode using a Lunar DPX-L (L) and Hologic QDR-1000 (H). The changes in BME were compared to changes in measured area, BMC and areal BMD. The results demonstrate that, in an in-vitro model, as bone mass decreases, measured bone area and consequently BMC will decrease as the edge detection algorithms have greater difficulty in detecting the true edges. In conclusion, in an in-vitro model, the DXA edge detection algorithms will underestimate bone area as bone mass decreases. This has potential implications for monitoring changes in bone mass in vivo

Interpreting the gamma statistic in phylogenetic diversification rate studies: a rate decrease does not necessarily indicate an early burst.

Science.gov (United States)

Fordyce, James A

2010-07-23

Phylogenetic hypotheses are increasingly being used to elucidate historical patterns of diversification rate-variation. Hypothesis testing is often conducted by comparing the observed vector of branching times to a null, pure-birth expectation. A popular method for inferring a decrease in speciation rate, which might suggest an early burst of diversification followed by a decrease in diversification rate is the gamma statistic. Using simulations under varying conditions, I examine the sensitivity of gamma to the distribution of the most recent branching times. Using an exploratory data analysis tool for lineages through time plots, tree deviation, I identified trees with a significant gamma statistic that do not appear to have the characteristic early accumulation of lineages consistent with an early, rapid rate of cladogenesis. I further investigated the sensitivity of the gamma statistic to recent diversification by examining the consequences of failing to simulate the full time interval following the most recent cladogenic event. The power of gamma to detect rate decrease at varying times was assessed for simulated trees with an initial high rate of diversification followed by a relatively low rate. The gamma statistic is extraordinarily sensitive to recent diversification rates, and does not necessarily detect early bursts of diversification. This was true for trees of various sizes and completeness of taxon sampling. The gamma statistic had greater power to detect recent diversification rate decreases compared to early bursts of diversification. Caution should be exercised when interpreting the gamma statistic as an indication of early, rapid diversification.

Interpreting the gamma statistic in phylogenetic diversification rate studies: a rate decrease does not necessarily indicate an early burst.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

James A Fordyce

Full Text Available BACKGROUND: Phylogenetic hypotheses are increasingly being used to elucidate historical patterns of diversification rate-variation. Hypothesis testing is often conducted by comparing the observed vector of branching times to a null, pure-birth expectation. A popular method for inferring a decrease in speciation rate, which might suggest an early burst of diversification followed by a decrease in diversification rate is the gamma statistic. METHODOLOGY: Using simulations under varying conditions, I examine the sensitivity of gamma to the distribution of the most recent branching times. Using an exploratory data analysis tool for lineages through time plots, tree deviation, I identified trees with a significant gamma statistic that do not appear to have the characteristic early accumulation of lineages consistent with an early, rapid rate of cladogenesis. I further investigated the sensitivity of the gamma statistic to recent diversification by examining the consequences of failing to simulate the full time interval following the most recent cladogenic event. The power of gamma to detect rate decrease at varying times was assessed for simulated trees with an initial high rate of diversification followed by a relatively low rate. CONCLUSIONS: The gamma statistic is extraordinarily sensitive to recent diversification rates, and does not necessarily detect early bursts of diversification. This was true for trees of various sizes and completeness of taxon sampling. The gamma statistic had greater power to detect recent diversification rate decreases compared to early bursts of diversification. Caution should be exercised when interpreting the gamma statistic as an indication of early, rapid diversification.

Stop signals decrease choices for palatable foods through decreased food evaluation

Science.gov (United States)

Veling, Harm; Aarts, Henk; Stroebe, Wolfgang

2013-01-01

The present study explores whether presenting specific palatable foods in close temporal proximity of stop signals in a go/no-go task decreases subsequent evaluations of such foods among participants with a relatively high appetite. Furthermore, we tested whether any decreased evaluations could mediate subsequent food choice. Participants first received a go/no-go task in which palatable foods were consistently linked to go cues or no-go cues within participants. Next, evaluation of the palatable foods was measured as well as food choice. Replicating previous work, results show that among participants with a relatively high appetite palatable foods associated with no-go cues are less often chosen as snacks compared to when these foods are associated with go cues, whereas this manipulation did not affect participants with a relatively low appetite. Moreover, this effect was completely mediated by decreased evaluation of the palatable foods that had been associated with the no-go cues, whereas evaluation of the foods associated with go cues did not mediate this effect. Results further showed that the devaluation effect of foods associated with no-go cues was independent of the amount of pairings (4 vs. 12 vs. 24) with the no-go cues. The current findings suggest that decreased food evaluation is a mechanism that explains effects of stop signals on food choice. PMID:24324451

Individual differences in conflict detection during reasoning.

Science.gov (United States)

Frey, Darren; Johnson, Eric D; De Neys, Wim

2018-05-01

Decades of reasoning and decision-making research have established that human judgment is often biased by intuitive heuristics. Recent "error" or bias detection studies have focused on reasoners' abilities to detect whether their heuristic answer conflicts with logical or probabilistic principles. A key open question is whether there are individual differences in this bias detection efficiency. Here we present three studies in which co-registration of different error detection measures (confidence, response time and confidence response time) allowed us to assess bias detection sensitivity at the individual participant level in a range of reasoning tasks. The results indicate that although most individuals show robust bias detection, as indexed by increased latencies and decreased confidence, there is a subgroup of reasoners who consistently fail to do so. We discuss theoretical and practical implications for the field.

Decreasing Relative Risk Premium

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Hansen, Frank

relative risk premium in the small implies decreasing relative risk premium in the large, and decreasing relative risk premium everywhere implies risk aversion. We finally show that preferences with decreasing relative risk premium may be equivalently expressed in terms of certain preferences on risky......We consider the risk premium demanded by a decision maker with wealth x in order to be indifferent between obtaining a new level of wealth y1 with certainty, or to participate in a lottery which either results in unchanged present wealth or a level of wealth y2 > y1. We define the relative risk...... premium as the quotient between the risk premium and the increase in wealth y1–x which the decision maker puts on the line by choosing the lottery in place of receiving y1 with certainty. We study preferences such that the relative risk premium is a decreasing function of present wealth, and we determine...

Development of eddy current sensor for detecting defect on ferromagnetic material

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Choi, Duck Su; Lee, Hyang Beom

2002-01-01

In this paper, the eddy current sensor is developed for observing the ability of detecting defect on ferromagnetic material with variation of frequency and velocity. In order to research the characteristics on eddy current sensor. The circuit which is designed for processing detected voltage is developed and differential frequency is used for eddy current sensor to detect defect with variation of frequency. The ability of eddy current sensor to detect defects is studied with variation of velocity adjusted by rotating the circular plate. This study shows that the ability of eddy current sensor for detecting defect is increased and decreased by frequency. This fact means that the sensor has its best ability at a certain frequency. And the ability of eddy current sensor by velocity is decreased by increased velocity. Therefore, the eddy current sensor has to be developed with consideration of its operation velocity and frequency.

Ammonia causes decreased brain monoamines in fathead minnows (Pimephales promelas)

Science.gov (United States)

Ronan, Patrick J.; Gaikowski, Mark P.; Hamilton, Steven J.; Buhl, Kevin J.; Summers, Cliff H.

2007-01-01

Hyperammonemia, arising from variety of disorders, leads to severe neurological dysfunction. The mechanisms of ammonia toxicity in brain are not completely understood. This study investigated the effects of ammonia on monoaminergic systems in brains of fathead minnows (Pimephales promelas). Fish serve as a good model system to investigate hyperammonemic effects on brain function since no liver manipulations are necessary to increase endogenous ammonia concentrations. Using high performance liquid chromatography with electrochemical detection, monoamines and some associated metabolites were measured from whole brain homogenate. Adult males were exposed for 48 h to six different concentrations of ammonia (0.01–2.36 mg/l unionized) which bracketed the 96-h LC50 for this species. Ammonia concentration-dependent decreases were found for the catecholamines (norepinephrine and dopamine) and the indoleamine serotonin (5-HT). After an initial increase in the 5-HT precursor 5-hydroxytryptophan it too decreased with increasing ammonia concentrations. There were also significant increases in the 5-HIAA/5-HT and DOPAC/DA ratios, often used as measures of turnover. There were no changes in epinephrine (Epi) or monoamine catabolites (DOPAC, 5-HIAA) at any ammonia concentrations tested. Results suggest that ammonia causes decreased synthesis while also causing increased release and degradation. Increased release may underlie behavioral reactions to ammonia exposure in fish. This study adds weight to a growing body of evidence demonstrating that ammonia leads to dysfunctional monoaminergic systems in brain which may underlie neurological symptoms associated with human disorders such as hepatic encephalopathy.

Method of detecting failed fuels

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ishizaki, Hideaki; Suzumura, Takeshi.

1982-01-01

Purpose: To enable the settlement of the temperature of an adequate filling high temperature pure water by detecting the outlet temperature of a high temperature pure water filling tube to a fuel assembly to control the heating of the pure water and detecting the failed fuel due to the sampling of the pure water. Method: A temperature sensor is provided at a water tube connected to a sipping cap for filling high temperature pure water to detect the temperature of the high temperature pure water at the outlet of the tube, and the temperature is confirmed by a temperature indicator. A heater is controlled on the basis of this confirmation, an adequate high temperature pure water is filled in the fuel assembly, and the pure water is replaced with coolant. Then, it is sampled to settle the adequate temperature of the high temperature coolant used for detecting the failure of the fuel assembly. As a result, the sipping effect does not decrease, and the failed fuel can be precisely detected. (Yoshihara, H.)

Magnetic-field-induced decrease of the spin Peltier effect in Pt/Y3Fe5O12 system at room temperature

Science.gov (United States)

Itoh, Ryuichi; Iguchi, Ryo; Daimon, Shunsuke; Oyanagi, Koichi; Uchida, Ken-ichi; Saitoh, Eiji

2017-11-01

We report the observation of magnetic-field-induced decrease of the spin Peltier effect (SPE) in a junction of a paramagnetic metal Pt and a ferrimagnetic insulator Y3Fe5O12 (YIG) at room temperature. For driving the SPE, spin currents are generated via the spin Hall effect from applied charge currents in the Pt layer, and injected into the adjacent thick YIG film. The resultant temperature modulation is detected by a commonly used thermocouple attached to the Pt/YIG junction. The output of the thermocouple shows sign reversal when the magnetization is reversed and linearly increases with the applied current, demonstrating the detection of the SPE signal. We found that the SPE signal decreases with the magnetic field. The observed decreasing rate was found to be comparable to that of the spin Seebeck effect (SSE), suggesting the dominant and similar contribution of the low-energy magnons in the SPE as in the SSE.

Radiation-induced progressive decreasing in the expression of reverse transcriptase gene of hEST2 and telomerase activity

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zhu Hanneng; Chen Wenying; Xiong Sidong

2000-01-01

Telomerase is a ribonucleoprotein complex that adds heximeric repeats called telomeres to the growing ends of chromosomal DNA. Telomerase activity is present in a vast majority of tumors but is repressed in most normal tissues. Human telomerase catalytic subunit gene (hEST2) reverse transcriptase (RT) segment was cloned by PCR according to the sequence published in GeneBank. PCR was used to investigate the expression of the hEST2 RT segment in diverse tumors as well as in various normal tissues. Results indicated that hEST2 RT segment was detectable in tumor cells lines but not in normal cells and tissues. In order to identify the relationship between telomerase and the biological effect of radiation injury, HeLa cells, KB cells and A431 cells were employed to measure the change in telomerase activity after 60 Co-ray irradiation at RNA level and protein level. Quantitative PCR determined that expression of hEST2 RT segment that encodes seven motifs of the human telomeras decreased with increasing dosage of radiation. In addition, a PCR-based telomeric repeat amplification protocol was used to assay telomerase activity after exposure to radiation. The results strongly support the experiments we had made: Telomerase activity decreases with increasing dosage of radiation. We conclude that detection of the hEST2 RT segment by Northern blotting is a new method for detecting telomerase activity. Furthermore, radiation can cause a dose-dependent decrease in telomerase activity. The effect of radiation on telomerase is one possible reason for the death of cancer cells after irradiation. (author)

Response of epiphytic lichen communities to decreasing ammonia air concentrations in a moderately polluted area of The Netherlands

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sparrius, Laurens B.

2007-01-01

Decreasing local ammonia air concentrations in a moderately polluted area in The Netherlands were accompanied by a rapid increase in nitrogen-sensitive species (acidophytes) and a decline of nitrogen-tolerant macrolichens (nitrophytes). This paper presents data on the relationship between nitrophyte abundance and species abundance for three ecological groups of epiphytic lichens: nitrophytes (positively correlated with ammonia), acidophytes (negatively correlated) and neutrophytes (which have an optimum at medium concentrations) and suggests ammonia dependent optimum curves for these groups. In this study neutrophytes were found to die-off massively at sites with a decrease of the ammonia air concentration over the period 1996-2003. - Lichens can be used to detect both increasing and decreasing ammonia air concentrations

Anomalies in the detection of change: When changes in sample size are mistaken for changes in proportions.

Science.gov (United States)

Fiedler, Klaus; Kareev, Yaakov; Avrahami, Judith; Beier, Susanne; Kutzner, Florian; Hütter, Mandy

2016-01-01

Detecting changes, in performance, sales, markets, risks, social relations, or public opinions, constitutes an important adaptive function. In a sequential paradigm devised to investigate detection of change, every trial provides a sample of binary outcomes (e.g., correct vs. incorrect student responses). Participants have to decide whether the proportion of a focal feature (e.g., correct responses) in the population from which the sample is drawn has decreased, remained constant, or increased. Strong and persistent anomalies in change detection arise when changes in proportional quantities vary orthogonally to changes in absolute sample size. Proportional increases are readily detected and nonchanges are erroneously perceived as increases when absolute sample size increases. Conversely, decreasing sample size facilitates the correct detection of proportional decreases and the erroneous perception of nonchanges as decreases. These anomalies are however confined to experienced samples of elementary raw events from which proportions have to be inferred inductively. They disappear when sample proportions are described as percentages in a normalized probability format. To explain these challenging findings, it is essential to understand the inductive-learning constraints imposed on decisions from experience.

Administration of growth hormone in selectively protein-deprived rats decreases BMD and bone strength.

Science.gov (United States)

Ammann, Patrick; Brennan, Tara C; Mekraldi, Samia; Aubert, Michel L; Rizzoli, René

2010-06-01

Isocaloric protein undernutrition is associated with decreased bone mass and decreased bone strength, together with lower IGF-I levels. It remains unclear whether administration of growth hormone (GH) corrects these alterations in bone metabolism. Six-month-old female rats were fed isocaloric diets containing either 2.5% or 15% casein for 2 weeks. Bovine growth hormone (bGH, 0.5 or 2.5mg/kg of body weight) or vehicle was then administered as subcutaneous injections, twice daily, to rats on either diet for 4 weeks. At the proximal tibia, analysis of bone mineral density (BMD), maximal load and histomorphometry were performed. In addition, urinary deoxypyridinoline, plasma osteocalcin and IGF-I concentrations were measured. Weight was monitored weekly. bGH caused a dose-dependent increase in plasma IGF-I regardless of the dietary protein content. However, bGH dose-dependently decreased BMD and bone strength in rats fed the low-protein diet. There was no significant effect of bGH on BMD in rats fed the normal protein diet within this short-term treatment period, however bone formation as detected by histomorphometry was improved in this group but not the low-protein group. Osteoclast surface was increased in the low-protein bGH-treated animals only. Changes in bone turnover markers were detectable under both normal and low-protein diets. These results emphasize the major importance of dietary protein intake in the bone response to short-term GH administration, and highlight the need for further investigation into the effects of GH treatment in patients with reduced protein intake. Copyright 2010 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Replica Node Detection Using Enhanced Single Hop Detection with Clonal Selection Algorithm in Mobile Wireless Sensor Networks

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

L. S. Sindhuja

2016-01-01

Full Text Available Security of Mobile Wireless Sensor Networks is a vital challenge as the sensor nodes are deployed in unattended environment and they are prone to various attacks. One among them is the node replication attack. In this, the physically insecure nodes are acquired by the adversary to clone them by having the same identity of the captured node, and the adversary deploys an unpredictable number of replicas throughout the network. Hence replica node detection is an important challenge in Mobile Wireless Sensor Networks. Various replica node detection techniques have been proposed to detect these replica nodes. These methods incur control overheads and the detection accuracy is low when the replica is selected as a witness node. This paper proposes to solve these issues by enhancing the Single Hop Detection (SHD method using the Clonal Selection algorithm to detect the clones by selecting the appropriate witness nodes. The advantages of the proposed method include (i increase in the detection ratio, (ii decrease in the control overhead, and (iii increase in throughput. The performance of the proposed work is measured using detection ratio, false detection ratio, packet delivery ratio, average delay, control overheads, and throughput. The implementation is done using ns-2 to exhibit the actuality of the proposed work.

Decreasing Serial Cost Sharing

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Hougaard, Jens Leth; Østerdal, Lars Peter

The increasing serial cost sharing rule of Moulin and Shenker [Econometrica 60 (1992) 1009] and the decreasing serial rule of de Frutos [Journal of Economic Theory 79 (1998) 245] have attracted attention due to their intuitive appeal and striking incentive properties. An axiomatic characterization...... of the increasing serial rule was provided by Moulin and Shenker [Journal of Economic Theory 64 (1994) 178]. This paper gives an axiomatic characterization of the decreasing serial rule...

Decreasing serial cost sharing

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Hougaard, Jens Leth; Østerdal, Lars Peter Raahave

2009-01-01

The increasing serial cost sharing rule of Moulin and Shenker (Econometrica 60:1009-1037, 1992) and the decreasing serial rule of de Frutos (J Econ Theory 79:245-275, 1998) are known by their intuitive appeal and striking incentive properties. An axiomatic characterization of the increasing serial...... rule was provided by Moulin and Shenker (J Econ Theory 64:178-201, 1994). This paper gives an axiomatic characterization of the decreasing serial rule....

Computer-aided detection of pulmonary nodules: influence of nodule characteristics on detection performance

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Marten, K.; Engelke, C.; Seyfarth, T.; Grillhoesl, A.; Obenauer, S.; Rummeny, E.J.

2005-01-01

AIM: To evaluate prospectively the influence of pulmonary nodule characteristics on detection performances of a computer-aided diagnosis (CAD) tool and experienced chest radiologists using multislice CT (MSCT). MATERIALS AND METHODS: MSCT scans of 20 consecutive patients were evaluated by a CAD system and two independent chest radiologists for presence of pulmonary nodules. Nodule size, position, margin, matrix characteristics, vascular and pleural attachments and reader confidence were recorded and data compared with an independent standard of reference. Statistical analysis for predictors influencing nodule detection or reader performance included chi-squared, retrograde stepwise conditional logistic regression with odds ratios and nodule detection proportion estimates (DPE), and ROC analysis. RESULTS: For 135 nodules, detection rates for CAD and readers were 76.3, 52.6 and 52.6%, respectively; false-positive rates were 0.55, 0.25 and 0.15 per examination, respectively. In consensus with CAD the reader detection rate increased to 93.3%, and the false-positive rate dropped to 0.1/scan. DPEs for nodules ≤5 mm were significantly higher for ICAD than for the readers (p<0.05). Absence of vascular attachment was the only significant predictor of nodule detection by CAD (p=0.0006-0.008). There were no predictors of nodule detection for reader consensus with CAD. In contrast, vascular attachment predicted nodule detection by the readers (p=0.0001-0.003). Reader sensitivity was higher for nodules with vascular attachment than for unattached nodules (sensitivities 0.768 and 0.369; 95% confidence intervals=0.651-0.861 and 0.253-0.498, respectively). CONCLUSION: CAD increases nodule detection rates, decreases false-positive rates and compensates for deficient reader performance in detection of smallest lesions and of nodules without vascular attachment

Nanomaterials application in electrochemical detection of heavy metals

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Aragay, Gemma; Merkoçi, Arben

2012-01-01

Highlights: ► We review the recent trends in the application of nanomaterials for electrochemical detection of heavy metals. ► Different types of nanomaterials including metal nanoparticles, different carbon nanomaterials or nanochannels have been applied on the electrochemical analysis of heavy metals in various sensing formats/configurations. ► The great properties of nanomaterials allow the new devices to show advantages in terms of sensing performance (i.e. increase the sensitivity, decrease the detection limits and improve the stability). ► Between the various electrochemical techniques, voltammetric and potentiometric based ones are particularly taking interesting advantages by the incorporation of new nanomaterials due to the improved electrocatalytic properties beside the increase of the sensor's transducing area. - Abstract: Recent trends in the application of nanomaterials for electrochemical detection of heavy metals are shown. Various nanomaterials such as nanoparticles, nanowires, nanotubes, nanochannels, graphene, etc. have been explored either as modifiers of electrodes or as new electrode materials with interest to be applied in electrochemical stripping analysis, ion-selective detection, field-effect transistors or other indirect heavy metals (bio)detection alternatives. The developed devices have shown increased sensitivity and decreased detection limits between other improvements of analytical performance data. The phenomena behind nanomaterials responses are also discussed and some typical responses data of the developed systems either in standard solutions or in real samples are given. The developed nanomaterials based electrochemical systems are giving new inputs to the existing devices or leading to the development of novel heavy metal detection tools with interest for applications in field such as diagnostics, environmental and safety and security controls or other industries.

A study of density modulation index in the inner heliospheric solar wind during solar cycle 23

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bisoi, Susanta Kumar; Janardhan, P.; Ingale, M.; Subramanian, P.; Ananthakrishnan, S.; Tokumaru, M.; Fujiki, K.

2014-01-01

The ratio of the rms electron density fluctuations to the background density in the solar wind (density modulation index, ε N ≡ ΔN/N) is of vital importance for understanding several problems in heliospheric physics related to solar wind turbulence. In this paper, we have investigated the behavior of ε N in the inner heliosphere from 0.26 to 0.82 AU. The density fluctuations ΔN have been deduced using extensive ground-based observations of interplanetary scintillation at 327 MHz, which probe spatial scales of a few hundred kilometers. The background densities (N) have been derived using near-Earth observations from the Advanced Composition Explorer. Our analysis reveals that 0.001 ≲ ε N ≲ 0.02 and does not vary appreciably with heliocentric distance. We also find that ε N declines by 8% from 1998 to 2008. We discuss the impact of these findings on problems ranging from our understanding of Forbush decreases to the behavior of the solar wind dynamic pressure over the recent peculiar solar minimum at the end of cycle 23.

COMPARISON OF BACKGROUND SUBTRACTION, SOBEL, ADAPTIVE MOTION DETECTION, FRAME DIFFERENCES, AND ACCUMULATIVE DIFFERENCES IMAGES ON MOTION DETECTION

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Dara Incam Ramadhan

2018-02-01

Full Text Available Nowadays, digital image processing is not only used to recognize motionless objects, but also used to recognize motions objects on video. One use of moving object recognition on video is to detect motion, which implementation can be used on security cameras. Various methods used to detect motion have been developed so that in this research compared some motion detection methods, namely Background Substraction, Adaptive Motion Detection, Sobel, Frame Differences and Accumulative Differences Images (ADI. Each method has a different level of accuracy. In the background substraction method, the result obtained 86.1% accuracy in the room and 88.3% outdoors. In the sobel method the result of motion detection depends on the lighting conditions of the room being supervised. When the room is in bright condition, the accuracy of the system decreases and when the room is dark, the accuracy of the system increases with an accuracy of 80%. In the adaptive motion detection method, motion can be detected with a condition in camera visibility there is no object that is easy to move. In the frame difference method, testing on RBG image using average computation with threshold of 35 gives the best value. In the ADI method, the result of accuracy in motion detection reached 95.12%.

Decreased stability of DNA in cells treated with alkylating agents

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Frankfurt, O.S. (Cedars Medical Center, Miami, FL (United States))

1990-12-01

A modified highly sensitive procedure for the evaluation of DNA damage in individual cells treated with alkylating agents is reported. The new methodology is based on the amplification of single-strandedness in alkylated DNA by heating in the presence of Mg{sup 2+}. Human ovarian carcinoma cells A2780 were treated with nitrogen mustard (HN2), fixed in methanol, and stained with monoclonal antibody (MOAB) F7-26 generated against HN2-treated DNA. Binding of MOAB was measured by flow cytometry with indirect immunofluorescence. Intensive binding of MOAB to control and drug-treated cells was observed after heating in Tris buffer supplemented with MgCl{sub 2}. Thus, the presence of phosphates and MgCl{sub 2} during heating was necessary for the detection of HN2-induced changes in DNA stability. Fluorescence of HN2-treated cells decreased to background levels after treatment with single-strand-specific S{sub 1} nuclease. MOAB F7-26 interacted with single-stranded regions in DNA and did not bind to dsDNA or other cellular antigens. It is suggested that alkylation of guanines decreased the stability of the DNA molecule and increased the access of MOAB F7-26 to deoxycytidines on the opposite DNA strand.

Is decreased diameter of renal pelvis in prone position an indicator of successful pyeloplasty?

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sharma, Gyanendra; Sharma, Anshu; Leung, Vivian Yee-Fong; Chu, Winnie Chiu-Wing

2016-01-01

To evaluate patients who had undergone pyeloplasty for pelviureteric junction obstruction, by measuring the anteroposterior diameter (APD) of the renal pelvis in supine and prone positions, and determine whether a decrease in APD in prone position can exclude obstruction in dilated renal system. From January 2012 to December 2013, patients who had undergone pyeloplasty were evaluated by ultrasound in two centers. The difference of APD of the renal pelvis in supine and prone positions was obtained. Correlation was made with the pre- and post-pyeloplasty renal function by radionuclide renogram. There were 42 patients (31 males, 11 females; age range 5 months to 18 years). Residual hydronephrosis was detected in 41 patients of whom 35 patients (85%) showed decrease in APD by >10% in prone position. These patients and the one without hydronephrosis showed either no deterioration or improvement in renal function. Six patients (15%) showed either no change or increase in APD in prone position. Three patients (7.5%) were confirmed to have decrease in renal function indicating obstruction. Three patients (7.5%) showed no deterioration of renal function, but sluggish drainage on radionuclide renogram. Demonstration of decreased APD of renal pelvis in prone position by ultrasound is useful to differentiate obstructed from non-obstructed dilated renal system, and it correctly identified 85% candidates with successful pyeloplasty. In patients with no decrease or increase in APD at prone position, further follow-up is recommended to rule out obstruction

Possibilities for decreasing detection limits of analytical methods for determination of transformation products of unsymmetrical dimethylhydrazine in environmental samples

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Bulat Kenessov

2015-12-01

Full Text Available Most rockets of middle and heavy class launched from Kazakhstan, Russia, China and other countries still use highly toxic unsymmetrical dimethylhydrazine (UDMH as a liquid propellant. Study of migration, distribution and accumulation of UDMH transformation products in environment and human health impact assessment of space rocket activity are currently complicated due to the absence of analytical methods allowing detection of trace concentrations of these compounds in analyzed samples. This paper reviews methods and approaches, which can be applied for development of such methods. Detection limits at a part-per-trillion (ppt level may be achieved using most selective and sensitive methods based on gas or liquid chromatography in combination of tandem or high-resolution mass spectrometry. In addition, 1000-fold concentration of samples or integrated sample preparation methods, e.g., dynamic headspace extraction, are required. Special attention during development and application of such methods must be paid to purity of laboratory air, reagents, glassware and analytical instruments.

A Novel On-Chip Impedance Sensor for the Detection of Particle Contamination in Hydraulic Oil

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Hongpeng Zhang

2017-08-01

Full Text Available A novel impedance sensor based on a microfluidic chip is presented. The sensor consists of two single-layer coils and a straight micro-channel, and can detect, not only ferromagnetic and non-ferromagnetic particles in oil as an inductive sensor, but also, water droplets and air bubbles in oil as a capacitive sensor. The experiments are carried out at different excitation frequencies, number of coil turns and particle sizes. For the inductance detection, the inductance signals are found to increase with the excitation frequency and the noise is constant; both the inductance signals and the noise increase with the number of coil turns, but because the noise increases at a faster rate than the signal, the signal-to-noise ratio decreases with the number of coil turns. We demonstrate the successful detection of 40 μm iron particles and 110 μm copper particles using the coil with 20 turns at the excitation frequency of 2 MHz. For the capacitance detection, capacitance signals decrease with the excitation frequency and the noise is constant; the capacitance signals decrease with the number of coil turns, while the noise increases, thus, the signal-to-noise ratio decreases with the number of coil turns. We can detect 100 μm water droplets and 180 μm bubbles successfully using the coil with 20 turns at the excitation frequency of 0.3 MHz.

Decreased Rac1 Cardiac Expression in Nitrofen-Induced Diaphragmatic Hernia.

Science.gov (United States)

Nakamura, Hiroki; Zimmer, Julia; Puri, Prem

2018-02-01

 The high incidence of cardiac malformations in humans and animal models with congenital diaphragmatic hernia (CDH) is well known. The hypoplasia of left heart is common among fetuses with CDH and has been identified as a poor prognostic factor. However, the precise mechanisms underlying cardiac maldevelopment in CDH are not fully understood. Ras-related C3 botulinum toxin substrate 1 (Rac1) plays a key role in cardiomyocyte polarity and embryonic heart development. Deficiency of Rac1 is reported to impair elongation and cytoskeletal organization of cardiomyocytes, resulting in congenital cardiac defects. We designed this study to test the hypothesis that Rac1 expression is downregulated in the developing hearts of rats with nitrofen-induced CDH.  Following ethical approval (REC1103), time-pregnant Sprague Dawley rats received nitrofen or vehicle on gestational day 9 (D9). Fetuses were sacrificed on D18 and D21 and divided into CDH and control (CTRL) ( n  = 6 for each group and time point). Quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR), Western blotting, and confocal-immunofluorescence microscopy were performed to detect cardiac gene and protein expression of Rac1.  qRT-PCR and Western blot analysis revealed that Rac1 expression was significantly decreased in the CDH group compared with controls ( p  Rac1 cardiac expression was markedly decreased in the CDH group compared with controls.  Decreased cardiac Rac1 expression in the nitrofen-induced CDH suggests that Rac1 deficiency during morphogenesis may impair structural cardiac remodeling, resulting in congenital cardiac defects. Georg Thieme Verlag KG Stuttgart · New York.

Fluorescence detection of dental calculus

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gonchukov, S; Sukhinina, A; Vdovin, Yu; Biryukova, T

2010-01-01

This work is devoted to the optimization of fluorescence dental calculus diagnostics in optical spectrum. The optimal wavelengths for fluorescence excitation and registration are determined. Two spectral ranges 620 – 645 nm and 340 – 370 nm are the most convenient for supra- and subgingival calculus determination. The simple implementation of differential method free from the necessity of spectrometer using was investigated. Calculus detection reliability in the case of simple implementation is higher than in the case of spectra analysis at optimal wavelengths. The use of modulated excitation light and narrowband detection of informative signal allows us to decrease essentially its diagnostic intensity even in comparison with intensity of the low level laser dental therapy

Fluorescence detection of dental calculus

Science.gov (United States)

Gonchukov, S.; Biryukova, T.; Sukhinina, A.; Vdovin, Yu

2010-11-01

This work is devoted to the optimization of fluorescence dental calculus diagnostics in optical spectrum. The optimal wavelengths for fluorescence excitation and registration are determined. Two spectral ranges 620 - 645 nm and 340 - 370 nm are the most convenient for supra- and subgingival calculus determination. The simple implementation of differential method free from the necessity of spectrometer using was investigated. Calculus detection reliability in the case of simple implementation is higher than in the case of spectra analysis at optimal wavelengths. The use of modulated excitation light and narrowband detection of informative signal allows us to decrease essentially its diagnostic intensity even in comparison with intensity of the low level laser dental therapy.

Fluoxetine Decreases the Proliferation and Adipogenic Differentiation of Human Adipose-Derived Stem Cells

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Bo Kyung Sun

2015-07-01

Full Text Available Fluoxetine was originally developed as an antidepressant, but it has also been used to treat obesity. Although the anti-appetite effect of fluoxetine is well-documented, its potential effects on human adipose-derived stem cells (ASCs or mature adipocytes have not been investigated. Therefore, we investigated the mechanisms underlying the inhibitory effects of fluoxetine on the proliferation of ASCs. We also investigated its inhibitory effect on adipogenic differentiation. Fluoxetine significantly decreased ASC proliferation, and signal transduction PCR array analysis showed that it increased expression of autophagy-related genes. In addition, fluoxetine up-regulated SQSTM1 and LC3B protein expression as detected by western blotting and immunofluorescence. The autophagy inhibitor, 3-methyladenine (3-MA, significantly attenuated fluoxetine-mediated effects on ASC proliferation and SQSTM1/LC3B expression. In addition, 3-MA decreased the mRNA expression of two autophagy-related genes, beclin-1 and Atg7, in ASCs. Fluoxetine also significantly inhibited lipid accumulation and down-regulated the levels of PPAR-γ and C/EBP-α in ASCs. Collectively, these results indicate that fluoxetine decreases ASC proliferation and adipogenic differentiation. This is the first in vitro evidence that fluoxetine can reduce fat accumulation by inhibiting ASC proliferation and differentiation.

Fluoxetine Decreases the Proliferation and Adipogenic Differentiation of Human Adipose-Derived Stem Cells

Science.gov (United States)

Sun, Bo Kyung; Kim, Ji Hye; Choi, Joon-Seok; Hwang, Sung-Joo; Sung, Jong-Hyuk

2015-01-01

Fluoxetine was originally developed as an antidepressant, but it has also been used to treat obesity. Although the anti-appetite effect of fluoxetine is well-documented, its potential effects on human adipose-derived stem cells (ASCs) or mature adipocytes have not been investigated. Therefore, we investigated the mechanisms underlying the inhibitory effects of fluoxetine on the proliferation of ASCs. We also investigated its inhibitory effect on adipogenic differentiation. Fluoxetine significantly decreased ASC proliferation, and signal transduction PCR array analysis showed that it increased expression of autophagy-related genes. In addition, fluoxetine up-regulated SQSTM1 and LC3B protein expression as detected by western blotting and immunofluorescence. The autophagy inhibitor, 3-methyladenine (3-MA), significantly attenuated fluoxetine-mediated effects on ASC proliferation and SQSTM1/LC3B expression. In addition, 3-MA decreased the mRNA expression of two autophagy-related genes, beclin-1 and Atg7, in ASCs. Fluoxetine also significantly inhibited lipid accumulation and down-regulated the levels of PPAR-γ and C/EBP-α in ASCs. Collectively, these results indicate that fluoxetine decreases ASC proliferation and adipogenic differentiation. This is the first in vitro evidence that fluoxetine can reduce fat accumulation by inhibiting ASC proliferation and differentiation. PMID:26204837

Decreasing asthma morbidity

African Journals Online (AJOL)

1994-12-12

Dec 12, 1994 ... Apart from the optimal use of drugs, various supplementary methods have been tested to decrease asthma morbidity, usually in patients from reiatively affluent socio-economic backgrounds. A study of additional measures taken in a group of moderate to severe adult asthmatics from very poor socio- ...

Decreased expression of LamB and Odp1 complex is crucial for antibiotic resistance in Escherichia coli.

Science.gov (United States)

Lin, Xiang-min; Yang, Man-jun; Li, Hui; Wang, Chao; Peng, Xuan-Xian

2014-02-26

We previously revealed a negative regulation of LamB in chlortetracycline-resistant Escherichia coli strain. In the present study, we first showed that the negative regulation, which was characterized by decreased abundance of LamB with elevated growth of its gene-deleted mutant in medium with antibiotics, was a general response in resistance to different classes of antibiotics using 2-DE based proteomics or/and genetically gene-deletion mutant of LamB. Then, we revealed the interaction of LamB and Odp1 which catalyzes the overall conversion of pyruvate to acetyl-CoA and CO2, and found the decrease of the complex in antibiotic-resistant strains with a minimum inhibitory concentration dose-dependent manner. Further spectrofluorometry assay indicated that LamB served as a porin to influx an antibiotic. Finally, we showed that the decreased expression of LamB and Odp1 was detected in almost of all 34 multidrug-resistant strains, which suggested that LamB and Odp1 were biomarkers for identification of antibiotic-resistant E. coli. Our results indicated that the interaction of an outer membrane protein with an energy metabolic enzyme constructed an efficient pathway to resist antibiotics. These findings provide novel insights into the mechanisms of antibiotic resistance. Our data indicate that the negative regulation by LamB is widely detected in antibiotic-resistant E. coli. LamB serves as a porin to influx an antibiotic and is interacted with Odp1. The complex decreases in antibiotic-resistant strains with a MIC dose-dependent manner. Our findings indicate that interaction of outer membrane protein with energy metabolic enzyme constructs an efficient pathway to resist antibiotics and provides novel insights into the mechanisms of antibiotic resistance. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Rate modulation detection thresholds for cochlear implant users.

Science.gov (United States)

Brochier, Tim; McKay, Colette; McDermott, Hugh

2018-02-01

The perception of temporal amplitude modulations is critical for speech understanding by cochlear implant (CI) users. The present study compared the ability of CI users to detect sinusoidal modulations of the electrical stimulation rate and current level, at different presentation levels (80% and 40% of the dynamic range) and modulation frequencies (10 and 100 Hz). Rate modulation detection thresholds (RMDTs) and amplitude modulation detection thresholds (AMDTs) were measured and compared to assess whether there was a perceptual advantage to either modulation method. Both RMDTs and AMDTs improved with increasing presentation level and decreasing modulation frequency. RMDTs and AMDTs were correlated, indicating that a common processing mechanism may underlie the perception of rate modulation and amplitude modulation, or that some subject-dependent factors affect both types of modulation detection.

Detecting Seismic Events Using a Supervised Hidden Markov Model

Science.gov (United States)

Burks, L.; Forrest, R.; Ray, J.; Young, C.

2017-12-01

We explore the use of supervised hidden Markov models (HMMs) to detect seismic events in streaming seismogram data. Current methods for seismic event detection include simple triggering algorithms, such as STA/LTA and the Z-statistic, which can lead to large numbers of false positives that must be investigated by an analyst. The hypothesis of this study is that more advanced detection methods, such as HMMs, may decreases false positives while maintaining accuracy similar to current methods. We train a binary HMM classifier using 2 weeks of 3-component waveform data from the International Monitoring System (IMS) that was carefully reviewed by an expert analyst to pick all seismic events. Using an ensemble of simple and discrete features, such as the triggering of STA/LTA, the HMM predicts the time at which transition occurs from noise to signal. Compared to the STA/LTA detection algorithm, the HMM detects more true events, but the false positive rate remains unacceptably high. Future work to potentially decrease the false positive rate may include using continuous features, a Gaussian HMM, and multi-class HMMs to distinguish between types of seismic waves (e.g., P-waves and S-waves). Acknowledgement: Sandia National Laboratories is a multi-mission laboratory managed and operated by National Technology and Engineering Solutions of Sandia, LLC., a wholly owned subsidiary of Honeywell International, Inc., for the U.S. Department of Energy's National Nuclear Security Administration under contract DE-NA-0003525.SAND No: SAND2017-8154 A

A cosmic ray-climate link and cloud observations

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Dunne Eimear M.

2012-11-01

Full Text Available Despite over 35 years of constant satellite-based measurements of cloud, reliable evidence of a long-hypothesized link between changes in solar activity and Earth’s cloud cover remains elusive. This work examines evidence of a cosmic ray cloud link from a range of sources, including satellite-based cloud measurements and long-term ground-based climatological measurements. The satellite-based studies can be divided into two categories: (1 monthly to decadal timescale analysis and (2 daily timescale epoch-superpositional (composite analysis. The latter analyses frequently focus on sudden high-magnitude reductions in the cosmic ray flux known as Forbush decrease events. At present, two long-term independent global satellite cloud datasets are available (ISCCP and MODIS. Although the differences between them are considerable, neither shows evidence of a solar-cloud link at either long or short timescales. Furthermore, reports of observed correlations between solar activity and cloud over the 1983–1995 period are attributed to the chance agreement between solar changes and artificially induced cloud trends. It is possible that the satellite cloud datasets and analysis methods may simply be too insensitive to detect a small solar signal. Evidence from ground-based studies suggests that some weak but statistically significant cosmic ray-cloud relationships may exist at regional scales, involving mechanisms related to the global electric circuit. However, a poor understanding of these mechanisms and their effects on cloud makes the net impacts of such links uncertain. Regardless of this, it is clear that there is no robust evidence of a widespread link between the cosmic ray flux and clouds.

The sensitivity of tests to detect in vivo platelet activation induced by ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

No influence on the results of the platelet function tests was found. Tile only test capable of detecting limited injury to the endothelium was the measurement of plasma PF4: The mean platelet life-span (MPLS) shortened, mean platelet density decreased, the circulating platelet aggregate ratio decreased, and plasma levels ...

Detection of microbial contamination in platelets

Science.gov (United States)

Berg, Tracy L.; Leparc, German; Huffman, Debra E.; Gennaccaro, Angela L.; Garcia-Lopez, Alicia; Klungness, Greta; Stephans, Christie; Garcia-Rubio, Luis H.

2005-03-01

In the United States, approximately 100 patients develop fatal sepsis associated with platelet transfusions every year. Current culture methods take 24-48 hours to acquire results, which in turn decrease the shelf life of platelets. Many of the microorganisms that contaminate platelets can replicate easily at room temperature, which is the necessary storage temperature to keep platelets functional. Therefore, there is a need for in-situ quality control assessment of the platelet quality. For this purpose, a real time spectrophotometric technique has been developed. The Spectral Acquisition Processing Detection (SAPD) method, comprised of a UV-vis spectrophotometer and modeling algorithms, is a rapid method that can be performed prior to platelet transfusion to decrease the risk of bacterial infection to patients. The SAPD method has been used to determine changes in cell suspensions, based on size, shape, chemical composition and internal structure. Changes in these cell characteristics can in turn be used to determine microbial contamination, platelet aging and other physiologic changes. Detection limits of this method for platelet suspensions seeded with bacterial contaminants were identified to be less than 100 cfu/ml of sample. Bacterial counts below 1000 cfu/ml are not considered clinically significant. The SAPD method can provide real-time identification of bacterial contamination of platelets affording patients an increased level of safety without causing undue strain on laboratory budgets or personnel while increasing the time frame that platelets can be used by dramatically shortening contaminant detection time.

Fault Detection and Isolation for Wind Turbine Electric Pitch System

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Zhu, Jiangsheng; Ma, Kuichao; Hajizadeh, Amin

2017-01-01

This paper presents a model-based fault detection and isolation scheme applied on electric pitch system of wind turbines. Pitch system is one of the most critical components due to its effect on the operational safety and the dynamics of wind turbines. Faults in this system should be precisely...... detected to prevent failures and decrease downtime. To detect faults of electric pitch actuators and sensors, an extended kalman filter (EKF) based multiple model adaptive estimation (MMAE) designed to estimate the states of the system. The proposed method is demonstrated in case studies. The simulation...

Applicability of viscosity measurement to the detection of irradiated peppers

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hayashi, T.; Todoriki, S.; Kohyama, K.

1996-01-01

Starch is degraded by ionising radiation, resulting in a decrease in viscosity. The viscosities of black and white peppers which contain large amounts of starch are reduced by irradiation so, therefore, viscosity measurement has been proposed as a method to detect the irradiation treatment of these food products. Although detection of irradiated spices by thermoluminescence measurement has been established, it is useful to establish the viscosity measuring technique for detecting irradiated peppers, as this method is carried out widely in the laboratories of food controlling authorities and food processing companies. (author)

Statistical analysis of DNT detection using chemically functionalized microcantilever arrays

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Bosco, Filippo; Bache, M.; Hwu, E.-T.

2012-01-01

The need for miniaturized and sensitive sensors for explosives detection is increasing in areas such as security and demining. Micrometer sized cantilevers are often used for label-free detection, and have previously been reported to be able to detect explosives. However, only a few measurements...... on the chemically treated surfaces results in significant bending of the cantilevers and in a decrease of their resonant frequencies. We present averaged measurements obtained from up to 72 cantilevers being simultaneously exposed to the same sample. Compared to integrated reference cantilevers with non...

Mean platelet volume is decreased in adults with active lupus disease

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Guillermo Delgado-García

Full Text Available ABSTRACT Background: Only a few biomarkers are available for assessing disease activity in systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE. Mean platelet volume (MPV has been recently studied as an inflammatory biomarker. It is currently unclear whether MPV may also play a role as a biomarker of disease activity in adult patients with SLE. Objective: We investigated the association between MPV and disease activity in adult patients with SLE. Methods: In this retrospective study, we compared two groups of adult patients divided according to disease activity (36 per group. Subjects were age- and gender-matched. Results: MPV was significantly decreased with respect to those of inactive patients (7.16 ± 1.39 vs. 8.16 ± 1.50, p = 0.005. At a cutoff level of 8.32 fL, MPV has a sensitivity of 86% and a specificity of 41% for the detection of disease activity. A modest positive correlation was found between MPV and albumin (r = 0.407, p = 0.001, which in turn is inversely associated with disease activity. Conclusions: In summary, MPV is decreased in adult patients with active lupus disease, and positively correlated with albumin, another biomarker of disease activity. Prospective studies are needed to evaluate the prognostic value of this biomarker.

Mean platelet volume is decreased in adults with active lupus disease.

Science.gov (United States)

Delgado-García, Guillermo; Galarza-Delgado, Dionicio Ángel; Colunga-Pedraza, Iris; Borjas-Almaguer, Omar David; Mandujano-Cruz, Ilse; Benavides-Salgado, Daniel; Martínez-Granados, Rolando Jacob; Atilano-Díaz, Alexandro

Only a few biomarkers are available for assessing disease activity in systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). Mean platelet volume (MPV) has been recently studied as an inflammatory biomarker. It is currently unclear whether MPV may also play a role as a biomarker of disease activity in adult patients with SLE. We investigated the association between MPV and disease activity in adult patients with SLE. In this retrospective study, we compared two groups of adult patients divided according to disease activity (36 per group). Subjects were age- and gender-matched. MPV was significantly decreased with respect to those of inactive patients (7.16±1.39 vs. 8.16±1.50, p=0.005). At a cutoff level of 8.32fL, MPV has a sensitivity of 86% and a specificity of 41% for the detection of disease activity. A modest positive correlation was found between MPV and albumin (r=0.407, p=0.001), which in turn is inversely associated with disease activity. In summary, MPV is decreased in adult patients with active lupus disease, and positively correlated with albumin, another biomarker of disease activity. Prospective studies are needed to evaluate the prognostic value of this biomarker. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Editora Ltda. All rights reserved.

A Novel Congestion Detection Scheme in TCP Over OBS Networks

KAUST Repository

Shihada, Basem; Ho, Pin-Han; Zhang, Qiong

2009-01-01

This paper introduces a novel congestion detection scheme for high-bandwidth TCP flows over optical burst switching (OBS) networks, called statistical additive increase multiplicative decrease (SAIMD). SAIMD maintains and analyzes a number

TMTI Task 1.6 Genetic Engineering Methods and Detection

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Slezak, T; Lenhoff, R; Allen, J; Borucki, M; Vitalis, E; Gardner, S

2009-12-04

A large number of GE techniques can be adapted from other microorganisms to biothreat bacteria and viruses. Detection of GE in a microorganism increases in difficulty as the size of the genetic change decreases. In addition to the size of the engineered change, the consensus genomic sequence of the microorganism can impact the difficulty of detecting an engineered change in genomes that are highly variable from strain to strain. This problem will require comprehensive databases of whole genome sequences for more genetically variable biothreat bacteria and viruses. Preliminary work with microarrays for detecting synthetic elements or virulence genes and analytic bioinformatic approaches for whole genome sequence comparison to detect genetic engineering show promise for attacking this difficult problem but a large amount of future work remains.

[Why is bread consumption decreasing?].

Science.gov (United States)

Rolland, M F; Chabert, C; Serville, Y

1977-01-01

In France bread plays a very special and ambivalent role among our foodstuffs because of the considerable drop in its consumption, its alleged harmful effects on our health and the respect in which it is traditionally held. More than half the 1 089 adults interviewed in this study say they have decreased their consumption of bread in the last 10 years. The reasons given vary according to age, body weight and urbanization level. The main reasons given for this restriction are the desire to prevent or reduce obesity, the decrease in physical activity, the general reduction in food consumption and the possibility of diversifying foods even further. Moreover, the decreasing appeal of bread in relation to other foods, as well as a modification in the structure of meals, in which bread becomes less useful to accompany other food, accentuate this loss of attraction. However, the respect for bread as part of the staple diet remains very acute as 95 p. 100 of those interviewed express a reluctance to throw bread away, more for cultural than economic reasons. Mechanization and urbanization having brought about a decrease in energy needs, the most common alimentary adaptation is general caloric restriction by which glucids, and especially bread, are curtailed.

Heterozygous deficiency of endoglin decreases insulin and hepatic triglyceride levels during high fat diet.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Daniel Beiroa

Full Text Available Endoglin is a transmembrane auxiliary receptor for transforming growth factor-beta (TGF-beta that is predominantly expressed on proliferating endothelial cells. It plays a wide range of physiological roles but its importance on energy balance or insulin sensitivity has been unexplored. Endoglin deficient mice die during midgestation due to cardiovascular defects. Here we report for first time that heterozygous endoglin deficiency in mice decreases high fat diet-induced hepatic triglyceride content and insulin levels. Importantly, these effects are independent of changes in body weight or adiposity. At molecular level, we failed to detect relevant changes in the insulin signalling pathway at basal levels in liver, muscle or adipose tissues that could explain the insulin-dependent effect. However, we found decreased triglyceride content in the liver of endoglin heterozygous mice fed a high fat diet in comparison to their wild type littermates. Overall, our findings indicate that endoglin is a potentially important physiological mediator of insulin levels and hepatic lipid metabolism.

A Teacher-Focused Intervention to Decrease PE Students' Amotivation by Increasing Need Satisfaction and Decreasing Need Frustration.

Science.gov (United States)

Cheon, Sung Hyeon; Reeve, Johnmarshall; Song, Yong-Gwan

2016-06-01

Intervention-induced gains in need satisfaction decrease PE students' amotivation. The present study adopted a dual-process model to test whether an intervention could also decrease need frustration and hence provide a second supplemental source to further decrease students' PE amotivation. Using an experimental, longitudinal research design, 19 experienced PE teachers (9 experimental, 10 control) and their 1,017 students participated in an intervention program to help teachers become both more autonomy supportive and less controlling. Multilevel repeated measures analyses showed that students of teachers in the experimental group reported greater T2, T3, and T4 perceived autonomy support, need satisfaction, and engagement and lesser T2, T3, and T4 perceived teacher control, need frustration, and amotivation than did students of teachers in the control group. Multilevel structural equation modeling analyses confirmed the hypothesized dual-process model in which both intervention-induced increases in need satisfaction and intervention-induced decreases need frustration decreased students' end-of-semester amotivation. We discuss the theoretical and practical implications of this new finding on the dual antecedents of diminished amotivation.

Hunting the unknown: White-box database leakage detection

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Costante, E.; Hartog, den J.I.; Petkovic, M.; Etalle, S.; Pechenizkiy, M.; Atluri, V.; Pernul, G.

2014-01-01

Data leakage causes significant losses and privacy breaches worldwide. In this paper we present a white-box data leakage detection system to spot anomalies in database transactions. We argue that our approach represents a major leap forward w.r.t. previous work because: i) it significantly decreases

Decreases in Smoking-Related Cancer Mortality Rates Are Associated with Birth Cohort Effects in Korean Men.

Science.gov (United States)

Jee, Yon Ho; Shin, Aesun; Lee, Jong-Keun; Oh, Chang-Mo

2016-12-05

Background: This study aimed to examine trends in smoking-related cancer mortality rates and to investigate the effect birth cohort on smoking-related cancer mortality in Korean men. Methods: The number of smoking-related cancer deaths and corresponding population numbers were obtained from Statistics Korea for the period 1984-2013. Joinpoint regression analysis was used to detect changes in trends in age-standardized mortality rates. Birth-cohort specific mortality rates were illustrated by 5 year age groups. Results: The age-standardized mortality rates for oropharyngeal decreased from 2003 to 2013 (annual percent change (APC): -3.1 (95% CI, -4.6 to -1.6)) and lung cancers decreased from 2002 to 2013 (APC -2.4 (95% CI -2.7 to -2.2)). The mortality rates for esophageal declined from 1994 to 2002 (APC -2.5 (95% CI -4.1 to -0.8)) and from 2002 to 2013 (APC -5.2 (95% CI -5.7 to -4.7)) and laryngeal cancer declined from 1995 to 2013 (average annual percent change (AAPC): -3.3 (95% CI -4.7 to -1.8)). By the age group, the trends for the smoking-related cancer mortality except for oropharyngeal cancer have changed earlier to decrease in the younger age group. The birth-cohort specific mortality rates and age-period-cohort analysis consistently showed that all birth cohorts born after 1930 showed reduced mortality of smoking-related cancers. Conclusions: In Korean men, smoking-related cancer mortality rates have decreased. Our findings also indicate that current decreases in smoking-related cancer mortality rates have mainly been due to a decrease in the birth cohort effect, which suggest that decrease in smoking rates.

Accurate decisions in an uncertain world: collective cognition increases true positives while decreasing false positives.

Science.gov (United States)

Wolf, Max; Kurvers, Ralf H J M; Ward, Ashley J W; Krause, Stefan; Krause, Jens

2013-04-07

In a wide range of contexts, including predator avoidance, medical decision-making and security screening, decision accuracy is fundamentally constrained by the trade-off between true and false positives. Increased true positives are possible only at the cost of increased false positives; conversely, decreased false positives are associated with decreased true positives. We use an integrated theoretical and experimental approach to show that a group of decision-makers can overcome this basic limitation. Using a mathematical model, we show that a simple quorum decision rule enables individuals in groups to simultaneously increase true positives and decrease false positives. The results from a predator-detection experiment that we performed with humans are in line with these predictions: (i) after observing the choices of the other group members, individuals both increase true positives and decrease false positives, (ii) this effect gets stronger as group size increases, (iii) individuals use a quorum threshold set between the average true- and false-positive rates of the other group members, and (iv) individuals adjust their quorum adaptively to the performance of the group. Our results have broad implications for our understanding of the ecology and evolution of group-living animals and lend themselves for applications in the human domain such as the design of improved screening methods in medical, forensic, security and business applications.

Cascade Convolutional Neural Network Based on Transfer-Learning for Aircraft Detection on High-Resolution Remote Sensing Images

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Bin Pan

2017-01-01

Full Text Available Aircraft detection from high-resolution remote sensing images is important for civil and military applications. Recently, detection methods based on deep learning have rapidly advanced. However, they require numerous samples to train the detection model and cannot be directly used to efficiently handle large-area remote sensing images. A weakly supervised learning method (WSLM can detect a target with few samples. However, it cannot extract an adequate number of features, and the detection accuracy requires improvement. We propose a cascade convolutional neural network (CCNN framework based on transfer-learning and geometric feature constraints (GFC for aircraft detection. It achieves high accuracy and efficient detection with relatively few samples. A high-accuracy detection model is first obtained using transfer-learning to fine-tune pretrained models with few samples. Then, a GFC region proposal filtering method improves detection efficiency. The CCNN framework completes the aircraft detection for large-area remote sensing images. The framework first-level network is an image classifier, which filters the entire image, excluding most areas with no aircraft. The second-level network is an object detector, which rapidly detects aircraft from the first-level network output. Compared with WSLM, detection accuracy increased by 3.66%, false detection decreased by 64%, and missed detection decreased by 23.1%.

Sequential measurements of cosmic-ray neutron spectrum and dose rate at sea level in Sendai, Japan

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nakamura, Takashi; Nunomiya, Tomoya; Abe, Shigeru; Terunuma, Kazutaka; Suzuki, Hiroyuki

2005-01-01

The cosmic-ray neutron energy spectrum and dose rate were measured sequentially for two years from April 2001 up to March 2003 by using three neutron detectors, a 3 He-loaded multi-moderator detector (Bonner ball), 12.7 cm diameter by 12.7 cm long NE213 organic liquid scintillator, and high-sensitivity rem (dose equivalent) counter at the Kawauchi campus of Tohoku University in Sendai, Japan of geomagnetic latitude, 29degN, and cutoff rigidity, 10.43 GV. The neutron spectrum has three major peaks, thermal energy peak, evaporation peak around 1 MeV and cascade peak around 100 MeV. The ambient neutron dose equivalent rates measured by the rem counter, and the Bonner ball keep almost constant values of 4.0 and 6.5 (nSv/h), respectively, throughout this time period, after atmospheric pressure correction, and it often decreased about 30% after a large Solar Flare, that is called as the Forbush decrease. The total neutron flux was also obtained by the Bonner ball measurements to be 7.5x10 -3 (ncm -2 ·s -1 ) in average. The altitude variation of neutron flux and dose was also investigated by comparing the measured results with other results measured at Mt. Fuji area and aboard an airplane, where the cutoff rigidities are similar. (author)

An Algorithm for Pedestrian Detection in Multispectral Image Sequences

Science.gov (United States)

Kniaz, V. V.; Fedorenko, V. V.

2017-05-01

The growing interest for self-driving cars provides a demand for scene understanding and obstacle detection algorithms. One of the most challenging problems in this field is the problem of pedestrian detection. Main difficulties arise from a diverse appearances of pedestrians. Poor visibility conditions such as fog and low light conditions also significantly decrease the quality of pedestrian detection. This paper presents a new optical flow based algorithm BipedDetet that provides robust pedestrian detection on a single-borad computer. The algorithm is based on the idea of simplified Kalman filtering suitable for realization on modern single-board computers. To detect a pedestrian a synthetic optical flow of the scene without pedestrians is generated using slanted-plane model. The estimate of a real optical flow is generated using a multispectral image sequence. The difference of the synthetic optical flow and the real optical flow provides the optical flow induced by pedestrians. The final detection of pedestrians is done by the segmentation of the difference of optical flows. To evaluate the BipedDetect algorithm a multispectral dataset was collected using a mobile robot.

Detection of bitterness-Suppression using a taste sensor

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Iiyama, Satoru; Ezaki, Shu; Toko, Kiyoshi

2008-01-01

We tried to detect the suppression of bitterness with a taste sensor. Quinine hydrochloride, which has a positive charge usually cause large potential change of negatively, charged membranes of the sensor. The potential change was decreased by sour substances such as acetic acid. The decrease of the potential change of response implies a decrease in the intensity of bitterness. Contrary to this, response of the sensor to sodium picrate, which has a negative charge, was diminished by sodium salts of organic acids. As the hydrophobicity of organic acids increased, the suppression of bitterness also increased. The present study is expected to provide a new quantitative technique to measure the strength of bitterness of foods and drugs in place of sensory evaluation. (author)

Detection of Leaks in Water Mains Using Ground Penetrating Radar

OpenAIRE

Alaa Al Hawari; Mohammad Khader; Tarek Zayed; Osama Moselhi

2016-01-01

Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR) is one of the most effective electromagnetic techniques for non-destructive non-invasive subsurface features investigation. Water leak from pipelines is the most common undesirable reason of potable water losses. Rapid detection of such losses is going to enhance the use of the Water Distribution Networks (WDN) and decrease threatens associated with water mains leaks. In this study, GPR approach was developed to detect leaks by implementing an appropriate imagin...

Aged blood factors decrease cellular responses associated with delayed gingival wound repair.

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María Paz Saldías

Full Text Available Aging is a gradual biological process characterized by a decrease in cell and organism functions. Gingival wound healing is one of the impaired processes found in old rats. Here, we studied the in vivo wound healing process using a gingival repair rat model and an in vitro model using human gingival fibroblast for cellular responses associated to wound healing. To do that, we evaluated cell proliferation of both epithelial and connective tissue cells in gingival wounds and found decreased of Ki67 nuclear staining in old rats when compared to their young counterparts. We next evaluated cellular responses of primary gingival fibroblast obtained from young subjects in the presence human blood serum of individuals of different ages. Eighteen to sixty five years old masculine donors were classified into 3 groups: "young" from 18 to 22 years old, "middle-aged" from 30 to 48 years old and "aged" over 50 years old. Cell proliferation, measured through immunofluorescence for Ki67 and flow cytometry for DNA content, was decreased when middle-aged and aged serum was added to gingival fibroblast compared to young serum. Myofibroblastic differentiation, measured through alpha-smooth muscle actin (α-SMA, was stimulated with young but not middle-aged or aged serum both the protein levels and incorporation of α-SMA into actin stress fibers. High levels of PDGF, VEGF, IL-6R were detected in blood serum from young subjects when compared to middle-aged and aged donors. In addition, the pro-inflammatory cytokines MCP-1 and TNF were increased in the serum of aged donors. In old rat wound there is an increased of staining for TNF compared to young wound. Moreover, healthy gingiva (non injury shows less staining compared to a wound site, suggesting a role in wound healing. Moreover, serum from middle-aged and aged donors was able to stimulate cellular senescence in young cells as determined by the expression of senescence associated beta-galactosidase and histone H2

A new wireless detection device for the in-situ identification of Salmonella Typhimurium

Science.gov (United States)

Chai, Yating; Wikle, Howard C.; Park, Mi-kyung; Horikawa, Shin; Hong, Xie; Chin, Bryan A.

2013-05-01

This paper presents a new device and method for the in-situ detection of Salmonella Typhimurium on tomato surfaces. This real-time in-situ detection was accomplished with phage-based magnetoelastic (ME) biosensors on fresh food surfaces. The E2 phage from a landscape phage library serves as the bio-recognition element that has the capability of binding specifically with S. Typhimurium. This mass-sensitive ME biosensor is wirelessly actuated into mechanical resonance by an externally applied time-varying magnetic field. When the biosensor binds with S. Typhimurium, the mass of the sensor increases, resulting in a decrease in the sensor's resonant frequency. Until now, ME sensors had to be collected from the tomato surface where they are exposed to S. Typhimurium and inserted into a measurement coil for the detection of the bacterium. In contrast, the newly designed test device allows the whole detection process to take place directly on the tomato. Changes in resonant frequency over time due to the accumulation of S. Typhimurium on the sensor were measured and are presented. Real-time in-situ detection of 20 minutes was achieved. In addition, this new methodology effectively decreases the measurement error and enables the simultaneous detection of multiple pathogens.

Actinomycin D synergistically enhances the cytotoxicity of CDDP on KB cells by activating P53 via decreasing P53-MDM2 complex.

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Lin; Pang, Xiao-Cong; Yu, Zi-Ru; Yang, Sheng-Qian; Liu, Ai-Lin; Wang, Jin-Hua; Du, Guan-Hua

2017-06-01

The aim of this study is to investigate the synergism of low dose of actinomycin D (LDActD) to the cytotoxicity of cisplatin (CDDP) on KB cells. The role of P53 reactivation by LDActD in the synergism and its mechanism were further studied. Cell viability was determined by MTT assay. Apoptosis was determined by AnnexinV-FITC/PI staining. Mitochondrial membrane potential (MMP) was detected by JC-1 staining. Expression of proteins was detected by Western blotting (WB) and/or immunofluorescence (IF). Molecular docking of actinomycin D (ACTD) to Mouse double minute 2 homolog (MDM2) and Mouse double minute 2 homolog X (MDMX). MDMX was analyzed by Discovery Studio. The content of P53-MDM2 complex was detected by ELISA assay. The cytotoxicity of CDDP was increased by the combination of LDActD in kinds of cancer cells. Molecular docking showed strong interaction between ACTD and MDM2/MDMX. Meanwhile, LDActD significantly decreased P53-MDM2 complex. Significant increase of the apoptotic activity by the combination therapy in KB cells is P53 upregulated modulator of apoptosis (PUMA) dependent. In addition to the decrease in MMP, LDActD increased P53 regulated protein and decreased BCL-XL in KB cells. LDActD efficiently enhanced the cytotoxicity of CDDP in cancer cells and induced P53-PUMA-dependent and mitochondria-mediated apoptosis in KB cells. The reactivation of P53 was probably achieved by disturbing the interaction of P53 and MDM2/MDMX.

Long-Range Neutron Detection

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Peurrung, A.J.; Stromswold, D.C.; Hansen, R.R.; Reeder, P.L.; Barnett, D.S.

1999-01-01

A neutron detector designed for detecting neutron sources at distances of 50 to 100 m has been constructed and tested. This detector has a large surface area (1 m 2 ) to enhance detection efficiency, and it contains a collimator and shielding to achieve direction sensitivity and reduce background. An unusual feature of the detector is that it contains no added moderator, such as polyethylene, to moderate fast neutrons before they reach the 3 He detector. As a result, the detector is sensitive mainly to thermal neutrons. The moderator-free design reduces the weight of the detector, making it more portable, and it also aids in achieving directional sensitivity and background reduction. Test results show that moderated fission-neutron sources of strength about 3 x 10 5 n/s can be detected at a distance out to 70 m in a counting time of 1000 s. The best angular resolution of the detector is obtained at distances of 30 m or less. As the separation .distance between the source and detector increases, the contribution of scattered neutrons to the measured signal increases with a resultant decrease in the ability to detect the direction to a distant source. Applications for which the long-range detector appears to be suitable include detecting remote neutron sources (including sources in moving vehicles) and monitoring neutron storage vaults for the intrusion of humans and the effects they make on the detected neutron signal. Also, the detector can be used to measure waste for the presence of transuranic material in the presence of high gamma-ray background. A test with a neutron source (3 x 10 5 n/s) in a vehicle showed that the detector could readily measure an increase in count rate at a distance of 10 m for vehicle speeds up to 35 mph (the highest speed tested). These results. indicate that the source should be detectable at this distance at speeds up to 55 mph

P53 Is Involved in a Three-Dimensional Architecture-Mediated Decrease in Chemosensitivity in Colon Cancer.

Science.gov (United States)

He, Jianming; Liang, Xi; Luo, Fen; Chen, Xuedan; Xu, Xueqing; Wang, Fengchao; Zhang, Zhenping

2016-01-01

Three-dimensional (3D) culture models represent a better approximation of solid tumor tissue architecture, especially cell adhesion, in vivo than two-dimensional (2D) cultures do. Here, we explored the role of architecture in chemosensitivity to platinum in colon cancer. Under the 3D culture condition, colon cancer cells formed multicellular spheroids, consisting of layers of cells. 3D cultures displayed significantly decreased sensitivity to platinum compared with 2D cultures. Platinum increased p53 in a dose-dependent and time-dependent manner. There was no detectable difference in basal p53 levels between 3D cultures and 2D cultures but cisplatin induced less p53 in both HCT116 3D cultures and LoVo 3D cultures. It was not due to cisplatin concentration because cisplatin induced similar γ-H2AX in 3D vs 2D. Knockdown of p53 significantly decreased sensitivity to platinum in 3D cultures. Knockdown of p53 decreased cleaved caspase 3 and apoptosis induced by cisplatin. These findings indicate that 3D architecture confers decreased chemosensitivity to platinum and p53 is involved in the mechanism. Knockdown of p53 decreased cisplatin's induction of c-Jun N-terminal kinase 1/2 (JNK1/2) activation, whereas inhibition of JNK1/2 activation increased chemosensitivity. Inhibition of p38 activation decreased cisplatin's induction of p53, but no difference in p38 activation by cisplatin was observed between 2D cultures and 3D cultures. Taken together, our results suggest that p53 is involved in a 3D architecture-mediated decrease in chemosensitivity to platinum in colon cancer. Mitogen-activated protein kinases (JNK1/2 and p38) do not play a dominant role in the mechanism.

Decreases in Smoking-Related Cancer Mortality Rates Are Associated with Birth Cohort Effects in Korean Men

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Yon Ho Jee

2016-12-01

Full Text Available Background: This study aimed to examine trends in smoking-related cancer mortality rates and to investigate the effect birth cohort on smoking-related cancer mortality in Korean men. Methods: The number of smoking-related cancer deaths and corresponding population numbers were obtained from Statistics Korea for the period 1984–2013. Joinpoint regression analysis was used to detect changes in trends in age-standardized mortality rates. Birth-cohort specific mortality rates were illustrated by 5 year age groups. Results: The age-standardized mortality rates for oropharyngeal decreased from 2003 to 2013 (annual percent change (APC: −3.1 (95% CI, −4.6 to −1.6 and lung cancers decreased from 2002 to 2013 (APC −2.4 (95% CI −2.7 to −2.2. The mortality rates for esophageal declined from 1994 to 2002 (APC −2.5 (95% CI −4.1 to −0.8 and from 2002 to 2013 (APC −5.2 (95% CI −5.7 to −4.7 and laryngeal cancer declined from 1995 to 2013 (average annual percent change (AAPC: −3.3 (95% CI −4.7 to −1.8. By the age group, the trends for the smoking-related cancer mortality except for oropharyngeal cancer have changed earlier to decrease in the younger age group. The birth-cohort specific mortality rates and age-period-cohort analysis consistently showed that all birth cohorts born after 1930 showed reduced mortality of smoking-related cancers. Conclusions: In Korean men, smoking-related cancer mortality rates have decreased. Our findings also indicate that current decreases in smoking-related cancer mortality rates have mainly been due to a decrease in the birth cohort effect, which suggest that decrease in smoking rates.

Prognostic Significance of Preterm Isolated Decreased Fetal Movement

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ertuğrul Karahanoğlu

2017-12-01

Full Text Available Objective: Our aim is to evaluate the prognostic significance of isolated, preterm decreased fetal movement following normal initial full diagnostic workup. Study design: A retrospective observational study was conducted at a tertiary centre. The applied protocol was approved by the Medical Research Ethics Department of the hospital where the research was conducted. Obstetrics outcomes of preterm- and term-decreased fetal movement were compared following an initial, normal diagnostic work up. Evaluated outcomes were birth weight, mode of delivery, stillbirth rate, induction of labour, development of gestational hypertension, small for gestational age and oligohydramnios, polyhydramnios during the follow up period. Result: Obstetric complications related to placental insufficiency develops more frequently for decreased fetal movement in preterm cases with respect to that of in term cases. Following the diagnosis of decreased fetal movement, pregnancy hypertension occurred in 17% of preterm decreased fetal movement cases and in 4.7% of term decreased fetal movement cases. Fetal growth restriction developed in 6.6% of preterm decreased fetal movement and in 2.3% of term decreased fetal movement. Amniotic fluid abnormalities more frequently developed in preterm decreased fetal movement. Conclusion: Following an initial normal diagnostic workup, preterm decreased fetal movement convey a higher risk for the development of pregnancy complications associated with placental insufficiency. The patient should be monitored closely and management protocols must be developed for initial normal diagnostic workups in cases of preterm decreased fetal movement.

Decrease of Perivascular Adipose Tissue Browning Is Associated With Vascular Dysfunction in Spontaneous Hypertensive Rats During Aging

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ling-Ran Kong

2018-04-01

Full Text Available Functional perivascular adipose tissue (PVAT is necessary to maintain vascular physiology through both mechanical support and endocrine or paracrine ways. PVAT shows a brown adipose tissue (BAT-like feature and the browning level of PVAT is dependent on the anatomic location and species. However, it is not clear whether PVAT browning is involved in the vascular tone regulation in spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHRs. In the present study, we aimed to illustrate the effect of aging on PVAT browning and subsequent vasomotor reaction in SHRs. Herein we utilized histological staining and western blot to detect the characteristics of thoracic PVAT (tPVAT in 8-week-old and 16-week-old SHR and Wistar-Kyoto (WKY rats. We also detected vascular reactivity analysis to determine the effect of tPVAT on vasomotor reaction during aging. The results showed that tPVAT had a similar phenotype to BAT, including smaller adipocyte size and positive uncoupling protein-1 (UCP1 staining. Interestingly, the tPVAT of 8-week-old SHR showed increased BAT phenotypic marker expression compared to WKY, whereas the browning level of tPVAT had a more dramatic decrease from 8 to 16 weeks of age in SHR than age-matched WKY rats. The vasodilation effect of tPVAT on aortas had no significant difference in 8-week-old WKY and SHR, whereas this effect is obviously decreased in 16-week-old SHR compared to WKY. In contrast, tPVAT showed a similar vasoconstriction effect in 8- or 16-week-old WKY and SHR rats. Moreover, we identified an important vasodilator adenosine, which regulates adipocyte browning and may be a potential PVAT-derived relaxing factor. Adenosine is dramatically decreased from 8 to 16 weeks of age in the tPVAT of SHR. In summary, aging is associated with a decrease of tPVAT browning and adenosine production in SHR rats. These may result in attenuated vasodilation effect of the tPVAT in SHR during aging.

Simvastatin decreases steroid production in the H295R cell line and decreases steroids and FSH in female rats

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Jensen, Anna Guldvang; Hansen, Cecilie Hurup; Weisser, Johan J

2015-01-01

.10-0.13μM for SV and from 0.019-0.055μM for SVA. In rats, SV decreased progestagens in ovaries, brain and plasma, and plasma FSH in the M (72.4% decrease) and H group (76.6% decrease). Because progestagens and gonadotropins are major players in fertility, administration of SV might exert negative effects...

Detection of intracavitary masses on gated scans: a phantom study

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cho, B.; Yasuda, Tsunehiro; Moore, R.H.; Boucher, C.A.; Strauss, H.W.

1987-01-01

A series of 1.5, 2.0 and 3.0 cm diameter paraffin balls were placed on a 3 cm tether within a simulated left ventricular balloon phantom to determine the maximal balloon volume that permitted identification of the lesion. When images were recorded with the phantom stationary, the lesions could be detected at 100, 280 and 360 ml volumes, respectively. When the phantom was set in motion with a fixed 80 ml stroke volume, the lesions were detected at 120, 320 and 360 ml, respectively. These findings suggest that gating does not decrease lesion detection even when the lesion is freely mobile, and a 1.5 cm lesion would be difficult to detect in an enlarged ventricle, but 2 and 3 cm lesions could be detected even in the presence of moderate ventricular enlargement. (author)

Decreased miR-128 and increased miR-21 synergistically cause podocyte injury in sepsis.

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Shanshan; Wang, Jun; Zhang, Zengdi; Miao, Hongjun

2017-08-01

Glomerular podocytes are injured in sepsis. We studied, in a sepsis patient, whether microRNAs (miRNAs) play a role in the podocyte injury. Podocytes were cultured and treated with lipopolysaccharide (LPS). Filtration barrier function of podocyte was analyzed with albumin influx assay. Nephrin level was analyzed with reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) and western blot. MiRNAs were detected using miRNAs PCR Array and in situ hybridization. MiRNA target sites were evaluated with luciferase reporter assays. LPS impaired the filtration barrier function of podocytes. MiR-128 level was decreased and miR-21 level was increased in podocytes in vitro and in the sepsis patient. The decrease in miR-128 was sufficient to induce the loss of nephrin and the impairment of filtration barrier function, while the increase of miR-21 exacerbated the process. Snail and phosphatase and tensin homolog (PTEN) were identified as the targets of miR-128 and miR-21. Decreased miR-128 induced Snail expression, and the increased miR-21 stabilized Snail by regulating the PTEN/Akt/GSK3β pathway. Supplementation of miR-128 and inhibition of miR-21 suppressed Snail expression and prevented the podocyte injury induced by LPS. Our study suggests that decreased miR-128 and increased miR-21 synergistically cause podocyte injury and are the potential therapeutic targets in sepsis.

Benazepril hydrochloride improves diabetic nephropathy and decreases proteinuria by decreasing ANGPTL-4 expression.

Science.gov (United States)

Xue, Lingyu; Feng, Xiaoqing; Wang, Chuanhai; Zhang, Xuebin; Sun, Wenqiang; Yu, Kebo

2017-10-04

This study aimed to investigate the effects of benazepril hydrochloride (BH) on proteinuria and ANGPTL-4 expression in a diabetic nephropathy (DN) rat model. A total of 72 Wistar male rats were randomly divided into three groups: normal control (NC), DN group and BH treatment (BH) groups. The DN model was induced by streptozotocin (STZ). Weight, glucose, proteinuria, biochemical indicators and the kidney weight index were examined at 8, 12 and 16 weeks. In addition, ANGPTL-4 protein and mRNA expressions were assessed by immunohistochemistry and qRT-PCR, respectively. Relationships between ANGPTL-4 and biochemical indicators were investigated using Spearman analysis. Weight was significantly lower but glucose levels were significantly higher in both the DN and BH groups than in the NC group (P Benazepril hydrochloride improves DN and decreases proteinuria by decreasing ANGPTL-4 expression.

Decrease in benzodiazepine receptor binding in a patient with Angelman syndrome detected by iodine-123 iomazenil and single-photon emission tomography

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Odano, Ikuo; Anezaki, Toshiharu; Ohkubo, Masaki; Yonekura, Yoshiharu; Onishi, Yoshihiro; Inuzuka, Takashi; Takahashi, Makoto; Tsuji, Shoji

1996-01-01

A receptor mapping technique using iodine-123 iomazenil and single-photon emission tomography (SPET) was employed to examine benzodiazepine receptor binding in a patient with Angelman syndrome (AS). AS is characterized by developmental delay, seizures, inappropriate laughter and ataxic movement. In this entity there is a cytogenic deletion of the proximal long arm of chromosome 15q11-q13, where the gene encoding the GABA A receptor β3 subunit (GABRB3) is located. Since the benzodiazepine receptor is constructed as a receptor-ionophore complex that contains the GABA A receptor, it is a suitable marker for GABA-ergic synapsis. To determine whether benzodiazepine receptor density, which indirectly indicates changes in GABA A receptor density, is altered in the brain in patients with AS, we investigated a 27-year-old woman with AS using 123 I-iomazenil and SPET. Receptor density was quantitatively assessed by measuring the binding potential using a simplified method. Regional cerebral blood flow was also measured with N-isopropyl-p- 123 iodoamphetamine. We demonstrated that benzodiazepiine receptor density is severely decreased in the cerebellum, and mildly decreased in the frontal and temporal cortices and basal ganglia, a result which is considered to indicate decreased GABA A receptor density in these regions. Although the deletion of GABRB3 was not observed in the present study, we indirectly demonstrated the disturbance of inhibitory neurotransmission mediated by the GABA A receptor in the investigated patient. 123 I-iomazenil with SPET was useful to map benzodiazepine receptors, which indicate GABA A receptor distribution and their density. (orig.)

Colorimetric detection of trace copper ions based on catalytic leaching of silver-coated gold nanoparticles.

Science.gov (United States)

Lou, Tingting; Chen, Lingxin; Chen, Zhaopeng; Wang, Yunqing; Chen, Ling; Li, Jinhua

2011-11-01

A colorimetric, label-free, and nonaggregation-based silver coated gold nanoparticles (Ag/Au NPs) probe has been developed for detection of trace Cu(2+) in aqueous solution, based on the fact that Cu(2+) can accelerate the leaching rate of Ag/Au NPs by thiosulfate (S(2)O(3)(2-)). The leaching of Ag/Au NPs would lead to dramatic decrease in the surface plasmon resonance (SPR) absorption as the size of Ag/Au NPs decreased. This colorimetric strategy based on size-dependence of nanoparticles during their leaching process provided a highly sensitive (1.0 nM) and selective detection toward Cu(2+), with a wide linear detection range (5-800 nM) over nearly 3 orders of magnitude. The cost-effective probe allows rapid and sensitive detection of trace Cu(2+) ions in water samples, indicating its potential applicability for the determination of copper in real samples.

Combining item and bulk material loss-detection uncertainties

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Eggers, R.F.

1982-01-01

Loss detection requirements, such as five formula kilograms with 99% probability of detection, which apply to the sum of losses from material in both item and bulk form, constitute a special problem for the nuclear material statistician. Requirements of this type are included in the Material Control and Accounting Reform Amendments described in the Advance Notice of Proposed Rule Making (Federal Register, 46(175):45144-46151). Attribute test sampling of items is the method used to detect gross defects in the inventory of items in a given control unit. Attribute sampling plans are designed to detect a loss of a specificed goal quantity of material with a given probability. In contrast to the methods and statistical models used for item loss detection, bulk material loss detection requires all the material entering and leaving a control unit to be measured and the calculation of a loss estimator that will be tested against an appropriate alarm threshold. The alarm threshold is determined from an estimate of the error inherent in the components of the loss estimator. In this paper a simple grahical method of evaluating the combined capabilities of bulk material loss detection methods and item attribute testing procedures will be described. Quantitative results will be given for several cases, indicating how a decrease in the precision of the item loss detection method tends to force an increase in the precision of the bulk loss detection procedure in order to meet the overall detection requirement. 4 figures

Solar Modulation of Atmospheric Cosmic Radiation:. Comparison Between In-Flight and Ground-Level Measurements

Science.gov (United States)

Iles, R. H. A.; Taylor, G. C.; Jones, J. B. L.

January 2000 saw the start of a collaborative study involving the Mullard Space Science Laboratory, Virgin Atlantic Airways, the Civil Aviation Authority and the National Physical Laboratory in a program to investigate the cosmic radiation exposure to aircrew. The study has been undertaken in view of EU Directive 96/291 (May 2000) which requires the assessment of the level of radiation exposure to aircrew. The project's aims include validation of radiation dose models and evaluation of space weather effects on atmospheric cosmic radiation levels, in particular those effects not accounted for by the models. Ground level measurements are often used as a proxy for variations in cosmic radiation dose levels at aircraft altitudes, especially during Forbush Decreases (FDs) and Solar Energetic Particle (SEP) events. Is this estimation realistic and does the ground level data accurately represent what is happening at altitude? We have investigated the effect of a FD during a flight from Hong Kong to London Heathrow on the 15th July 2000 and compared count rate and dose measurements with simultaneous variations measured at ground level. We have also compared the results with model outputs.

Evaluation of super intense geomagnetic storms and related structures of the interplanetary medium through the observation of cosmic rays of high energy surface; Analise de tempestades geomagneticas super intensas e de estruturas do meio interplanetario relacionadas, atraves da observacao de raios cosmicos de superficie de alta energia

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Savian, Jairo Francisco; Schuch, Nelson J., E-mail: savian@lacesm.ufsm.br, E-mail: njschuch@lacesm.ufsm.br [Centro Regional Sul de Pesquisas Espaciais - CRSPE/INPE-MCT, Santa Maria, RS (Brazil); Silva, Marlos Rockenbach da; Lago, Alisson dal; Gonzalez, Walter Demetrio, E-mail: marlos@dge.inpe.br, E-mail: dallago@dge.inpe.br, E-mail: gonzalez@dge.inpe.br [Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas Espaciais - INPE-MCT, Sao Jose dos Campos, SP (Brazil); Munakata, Kazuoki [Physics Department, Shinshu University, Matsumoto (Japan)

2005-04-15

It is believed that the physical mechanism responsible for the transference of energy from the solar wind to the Earth magnetosphere is the reconnection between the interplanetary magnetic field and the terrestrial magnetic field (Tsurutani and Gonzalez, 1997). The necessary criterion for a intense geomagnetic storms to occur, Dst < -100nT, is the existence of a dawn-dusk interplanetary electric field larger than 5 mV/m, for a period larger than 3 hours. Cosmic rays have been studied as a natural phenomenon that can tell much about both Earth's environment in space and distant astrophysical processes (Jokipii, 2000). A solar disturbance propagating away from the Sun affects the pre-existing population of galactic cosmic rays in a number of ways. The most famous one is known as the 'Forbush decrease', which is a suppression of ground cosmic-ray counts observed during geomagnetic disturbances. The objective of this work is to study the response of the Southern Space Observatory ground Muon Telescope observations, installed in Sao Martinho da Serra, RS, Brazil, to 3 super intense geomagnetic storms, combining observation provided by L1 satellites and ground detectors. (author)

Ship Detection Using Transfer Learned Single Shot Multi Box Detector

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Nie Gu-Hong

2017-01-01

Full Text Available Ship detection in satellite images is a challenging task. In this paper, we introduce a transfer learned Single Shot MultiBox Detector (SSD for ship detection. To this end, a state-of-the-art object detection model pre-trained from a large number of natural images was transfer learned for ship detection with limited labeled satellite images. To the best of our knowledge, this could be one of the first studies which introduce SSD into ship detection on satellite images. Experiments demonstrated that our method could achieve 87.9% AP at 47 FPS using NVIDIA TITAN X. In comparison with Faster R-CNN, 6.7% AP improvement could be achieved. Effects of the observation resolution has also been studied with the changing input sizes among 300 × 300, 600 × 600 and 900 × 900. It has been noted that the detection accuracy declined sharply with the decreasing resolution that is mainly caused by the missing small ships.

Apparatus for detecting leakage of liquid sodium

Science.gov (United States)

Himeno, Yoshiaki

1978-01-01

An apparatus for detecting the leakage of liquid sodium includes a cable-like sensor adapted to be secured to a wall of piping or other equipment having sodium on the opposite side of the wall, and the sensor includes a core wire electrically connected to the wall through a leak current detector and a power source. An accidental leakage of the liquid sodium causes the corrosion of a metallic layer and an insulative layer of the sensor by products resulted from a reaction of sodium with water or oxygen in the atmospheric air so as to decrease the resistance between the core wire and the wall. Thus, the leakage is detected as an increase in the leaking electrical current. The apparatus is especially adapted for use in detecting the leakage of liquid sodium from sodium-conveying pipes or equipment in a fast breeder reactor.

Automatic detection of suspicious behavior of pickpockets with track-based features in a shopping mall

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Bouma, H.; Baan, J.; Burghouts, G.J.; Eendebak, P.T.; Huis, J.R. van; Dijk, J.; Rest, J.H.C. van

2014-01-01

Proactive detection of incidents is required to decrease the cost of security incidents. This paper focusses on the automatic early detection of suspicious behavior of pickpockets with track-based features in a crowded shopping mall. Our method consists of several steps: pedestrian tracking, feature

Automatic Detection of Vehicles Using Intensity Laser and Anaglyph Image

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Hideo Araki

2006-12-01

Full Text Available In this work is presented a methodology to automatic car detection motion presents in digital aerial image on urban area using intensity, anaglyph and subtracting images. The anaglyph image is used to identify the motion cars on the expose take, because the cars provide red color due the not homology between objects. An implicit model was developed to provide a digital pixel value that has the specific propriety presented early, using the ratio between the RGB color of car object in the anaglyph image. The intensity image is used to decrease the false positive and to do the processing to work into roads and streets. The subtracting image is applied to decrease the false positives obtained due the markings road. The goal of this paper is automatically detect motion cars presents in digital aerial image in urban areas. The algorithm implemented applies normalization on the left and right images and later form the anaglyph with using the translation. The results show the applicability of proposed method and it potentiality on the automatic car detection and presented the performance of proposed methodology.

Spontaneous entropy decrease and its statistical formula

OpenAIRE

Xing, Xiu-San

2007-01-01

Why can the world resist the law of entropy increase and produce self-organizing structure? Does the entropy of an isolated system always only increase and never decrease? Can be thermodymamic degradation and self-organizing evolution united? How to unite? In this paper starting out from nonequilibrium entropy evolution equation we proved that a new entropy decrease could spontaneously emerge in nonequilibrium system with internal attractive interaction. This new entropy decrease coexists wit...

An Anomaly Detection Algorithm of Cloud Platform Based on Self-Organizing Maps

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jun Liu

2016-01-01

Full Text Available Virtual machines (VM on a Cloud platform can be influenced by a variety of factors which can lead to decreased performance and downtime, affecting the reliability of the Cloud platform. Traditional anomaly detection algorithms and strategies for Cloud platforms have some flaws in their accuracy of detection, detection speed, and adaptability. In this paper, a dynamic and adaptive anomaly detection algorithm based on Self-Organizing Maps (SOM for virtual machines is proposed. A unified modeling method based on SOM to detect the machine performance within the detection region is presented, which avoids the cost of modeling a single virtual machine and enhances the detection speed and reliability of large-scale virtual machines in Cloud platform. The important parameters that affect the modeling speed are optimized in the SOM process to significantly improve the accuracy of the SOM modeling and therefore the anomaly detection accuracy of the virtual machine.

Dipyridamole thallium imaging for detecting cardiac involvement in patients with systemic sclerosis (scleroderma)

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ishida, Yoshio; Matsubara, Noboru; Tani, Akihiro; Morozumi, Takakazu; Hori, Masatsugu; Kitabatake, Akira; Kamada, Takenobu; Kimura, Kazufumi; Kozuka, Takahiro (Osaka Univ. (Japan). Faculty of Medicine)

1990-02-01

Dipyridamole thallium-201 imaging was carried out in 21 patients with progressive systemic sclerosis (PSS) to assess its value in detecting impaired myocardium and coronary microcirculation associated with PSS. Depending upon the degree of cardiac function, the patients were classified as having either ejection fraction of 50% or more (Group I, n=17) or less than 50% (Group II, n=4). In Group I, four patients had transient defect in which perfusion defects were seen on early images but not seen on delayed images; three had reverse redistribution in which defects were not seen on early images but seen on delayed images; and three had persistent defects which were seen on both early and delayed images. A decreased washout of thallium-201 was seen in 9 patients. In an analysis of both perfusion defects and washout rate, 13 patients (76%) in Group I were found to have abnormal findings. This suggests that disturbed coronary microcirculation or impaired myocardium may frequently develop even when EF is normal. All of the patients categorized as having a decreased cardiac function (Group II) had perfusion defect, suggesting the presence of myocardial fibrosis. In PSS, deterioration of cardiac function seemed to be associated with progression of myocardial fibrosis. Dipyridamole thallium imaging may be a sensitive method for detecting cardiac lesions in PSS. It also has the potential for detecting decreased coronary flow reserve or slightly impaired myocardium even without decreased EF. (N.K.).

Continuous detection of weak sensory signals in afferent spike trains: the role of anti-correlated interspike intervals in detection performance.

Science.gov (United States)

Goense, J B M; Ratnam, R

2003-10-01

An important problem in sensory processing is deciding whether fluctuating neural activity encodes a stimulus or is due to variability in baseline activity. Neurons that subserve detection must examine incoming spike trains continuously, and quickly and reliably differentiate signals from baseline activity. Here we demonstrate that a neural integrator can perform continuous signal detection, with performance exceeding that of trial-based procedures, where spike counts in signal- and baseline windows are compared. The procedure was applied to data from electrosensory afferents of weakly electric fish (Apteronotus leptorhynchus), where weak perturbations generated by small prey add approximately 1 spike to a baseline of approximately 300 spikes s(-1). The hypothetical postsynaptic neuron, modeling an electrosensory lateral line lobe cell, could detect an added spike within 10-15 ms, achieving near ideal detection performance (80-95%) at false alarm rates of 1-2 Hz, while trial-based testing resulted in only 30-35% correct detections at that false alarm rate. The performance improvement was due to anti-correlations in the afferent spike train, which reduced both the amplitude and duration of fluctuations in postsynaptic membrane activity, and so decreased the number of false alarms. Anti-correlations can be exploited to improve detection performance only if there is memory of prior decisions.

Minimizing Detection Probability Routing in Ad Hoc Networks Using Directional Antennas

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Towsley Don

2009-01-01

Full Text Available In a hostile environment, it is important for a transmitter to make its wireless transmission invisible to adversaries because an adversary can detect the transmitter if the received power at its antennas is strong enough. This paper defines a detection probability model to compute the level of a transmitter being detected by a detection system at arbitrary location around the transmitter. Our study proves that the probability of detecting a directional antenna is much lower than that of detecting an omnidirectional antenna if both the directional and omnidirectional antennas provide the same Effective Isotropic Radiated Power (EIRP in the direction of the receiver. We propose a Minimizing Detection Probability (MinDP routing algorithm to find a secure routing path in ad hoc networks where nodes employ directional antennas to transmit data to decrease the probability of being detected by adversaries. Our study shows that the MinDP routing algorithm can reduce the total detection probability of deliveries from the source to the destination by over 74%.

Detection of human muscle glycogen by natural abundance 13C NMR

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Avison, M.J.; Rothman, D.L.; Nadel, E.; Shulman, R.G.

1988-01-01

Natural abundance 13 C nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy was used to detect signals from glycogen in the human gastrocnemius muscle. The reproducibility of the measurement was demonstrated, and the ability to detect dynamic changes was confirmed by measuring a decrease in muscle glycogen levels after exercise and its subsequent repletion. Single frequency gated 1 H decoupling was used to obtain decoupled natural abundance 13 C NMR spectra of the C-1 position of muscle glycogen

Decreasing relative risk premium

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Hansen, Frank

2007-01-01

such that the corresponding relative risk premium is a decreasing function of present wealth, and we determine the set of associated utility functions. We find a new characterization of risk vulnerability and determine a large set of utility functions, closed under summation and composition, which are both risk vulnerable...

Epidural morphine and detomidine decreases postoperative hindlimb lameness in horses after bilateral stifle arthroscopy.

Science.gov (United States)

Goodrich, Laurie R; Nixon, Alan J; Fubini, Susan L; Ducharme, Norm G; Fortier, Lisa A; Warnick, Lorin D; Ludders, John W

2002-01-01

To determine whether preoperative epidural administration of morphine and detomidine would decrease postoperative lameness after bilateral stifle arthroscopy in horses. Prospective clinical controlled study. Eight adult horses that had bilateral arthroscopic procedures, including drilling of cartilage and subchondral bone within the femoropatellar joints. Horses were randomly separated into 2 groups. Preoperatively, 4 horses were administered a combination of epidural morphine (0.2 mg/kg) and detomidine (30 microg/kg), and 4 horses were administered an equivalent volume of epidural saline (0.9% NaCl) solution. Postoperative pain was assessed using 6 video recordings made at hourly intervals of each horse at a walk. Assessments began 1 hour after recovery from anesthesia. The recordings were scrambled out of sequence and evaluated by 3 observers, unaware of treatment groups, who scored lameness from 0 to 4. Lameness scores of the 2 groups of horses were compared using a Wilcoxon's rank sum test. Heart and respiratory rates were also measured at each hourly interval and compared between groups using a repeated-measures ANOVA; statistical significance was set at P detomidine significantly decreased lameness and heart rates after bilateral stifle arthroscopy. The greatest decrease was detected at hours 1 and 2 after recovery from anesthesia. We conclude that horses undergoing a painful arthroscopic procedure of the stifle joint benefit from the administration of preoperative epidural morphine and detomidine. Preoperative epidural administration of detomidine and morphine may be useful in decreasing postoperative pain after stifle arthroscopy as well as pain associated with other painful disorders involving the stifle joint, such as septic arthritis and trauma. Copyright 2002 by The American College of Veterinary Surgeons

Multiple-channel detection of cellular activities by ion-sensitive transistors

Science.gov (United States)

Machida, Satoru; Shimada, Hideto; Motoyama, Yumi

2018-04-01

An ion-sensitive field-effect transistor to record cellular activities was demonstrated. This field-effect transistor (bio transistor) includes cultured cells on the gate insulator instead of gate electrode. The bio transistor converts a change in potential underneath the cells into variation of the drain current when ion channels open. The bio transistor has high detection sensitivity to even minute variations in potential utilizing a subthreshold swing region. To open ion channels, a reagent solution (acetylcholine) was added to a human-originating cell cultured on the bio transistor. The drain current was successfully decreased with the addition of acetylcholine. Moreover, we attempted to detect the opening of ion channels using a multiple-channel measurement circuit containing several bio transistors. As a consequence, the drain current distinctly decreased only after the addition of acetylcholine. We confirmed that this measurement system including bio transistors enables to observation of cellular activities sensitively and simultaneously.

(Automated) software modularization using community detection

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Hansen, Klaus Marius; Manikas, Konstantinos

2015-01-01

The modularity of a software system is known to have an effect on, among other, development effort, change impact, and technical debt. Modularizing a specific system and evaluating this modularization is, however, challenging. In this paper, we apply community detection methods to the graph...... of class dependencies in software systems to find optimal modularizations through communities. We evaluate this approach through a study of 111 Java systems contained in the Qualitas Corpus. We found that using the modularity function of Newman with an Erdős-Rényi null-model and using the community...... detection algorithm of Reichardt and Bornholdt improved community quality for all systems, that coupling decreased for 99 of the systems, and that coherence increased for 102 of the systems. Furthermore, the modularity function correlates with existing metrics for coupling and coherence....

A novel nanoprobe for the sensitive detection of Francisella tularensis

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kim, Ji-eun; Seo, Youngmin; Jeong, Yoon [Department of Bionano Technology, Graduate School, Hanyang University, Seoul 133-791 (Korea, Republic of); Hwang, Mintai P. [Center for Biomaterials, Korea Institute of Science and Technology, Seoul 136-791 (Korea, Republic of); Hwang, Jangsun [Department of Bionano Technology, Graduate School, Hanyang University, Seoul 133-791 (Korea, Republic of); Choo, Jaebum; Hong, Jong Wook [Department of Bionano Technology, Graduate School, Hanyang University, Seoul 133-791 (Korea, Republic of); Department of Bionano Engineering, Hanyang University ERICA, Ansan 426-791 (Korea, Republic of); Jeon, Jun Ho; Rhie, Gi-eun [Division of High-risk Pathogen Research, Center for Infectious Disease, Korea National Institute of Health, Cheongju 363-951 (Korea, Republic of); Choi, Jonghoon, E-mail: jonghchoi@hanyang.ac.kr [Department of Bionano Technology, Graduate School, Hanyang University, Seoul 133-791 (Korea, Republic of); Department of Bionano Engineering, Hanyang University ERICA, Ansan 426-791 (Korea, Republic of)

2015-11-15

Highlights: • We prepare apoferritin nanoprobes decorated with antibodies and nanoparticles. • We examine nanoprobes for the sensitive detection of Francisella tularensis. • 10-fold decrease of minimum concentration of pathogen was achieved. • Simultaneous detection of multiple high-risk pathogens was obtained. - Abstract: Francisella tularensis is a human zoonotic pathogen and the causative agent of tularemia, a severe infectious disease. Given the extreme infectivity of F. tularensis and its potential to be used as a biological warfare agent, a fast and sensitive detection method is highly desirable. Herein, we construct a novel detection platform composed of two units: (1) Magnetic beads conjugated with multiple capturing antibodies against F. tularensis for its simple and rapid separation and (2) Genetically-engineered apoferritin protein constructs conjugated with multiple quantum dots and a detection antibody against F. tularensis for the amplification of signal. We demonstrate a 10-fold increase in the sensitivity relative to traditional lateral flow devices that utilize enzyme-based detection methods. We ultimately envision the use of our novel nanoprobe detection platform in future applications that require the highly-sensitive on-site detection of high-risk pathogens.

A novel nanoprobe for the sensitive detection of Francisella tularensis

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kim, Ji-eun; Seo, Youngmin; Jeong, Yoon; Hwang, Mintai P.; Hwang, Jangsun; Choo, Jaebum; Hong, Jong Wook; Jeon, Jun Ho; Rhie, Gi-eun; Choi, Jonghoon

2015-01-01

Highlights: • We prepare apoferritin nanoprobes decorated with antibodies and nanoparticles. • We examine nanoprobes for the sensitive detection of Francisella tularensis. • 10-fold decrease of minimum concentration of pathogen was achieved. • Simultaneous detection of multiple high-risk pathogens was obtained. - Abstract: Francisella tularensis is a human zoonotic pathogen and the causative agent of tularemia, a severe infectious disease. Given the extreme infectivity of F. tularensis and its potential to be used as a biological warfare agent, a fast and sensitive detection method is highly desirable. Herein, we construct a novel detection platform composed of two units: (1) Magnetic beads conjugated with multiple capturing antibodies against F. tularensis for its simple and rapid separation and (2) Genetically-engineered apoferritin protein constructs conjugated with multiple quantum dots and a detection antibody against F. tularensis for the amplification of signal. We demonstrate a 10-fold increase in the sensitivity relative to traditional lateral flow devices that utilize enzyme-based detection methods. We ultimately envision the use of our novel nanoprobe detection platform in future applications that require the highly-sensitive on-site detection of high-risk pathogens

Magical thinking decreases across adulthood.

Science.gov (United States)

Brashier, Nadia M; Multhaup, Kristi S

2017-12-01

Magical thinking, or illogical causal reasoning such as superstitions, decreases across childhood, but almost no data speak to whether this developmental trajectory continues across the life span. In four experiments, magical thinking decreased across adulthood. This pattern replicated across two judgment domains and could not be explained by age-related differences in tolerance of ambiguity, domain-specific knowledge, or search for meaning. These data complement and extend findings that experience, accumulated over decades, guides older adults' judgments so that they match, or even exceed, young adults' performance. They also counter participants' expectations, and cultural sayings (e.g., "old wives' tales"), that suggest that older adults are especially superstitious. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2017 APA, all rights reserved).

Background area effects on feature detectability in CT and uncorrelated noise

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Swensson, R.G.; Judy, P.F.

1987-01-01

Receiver operating characteristic curve measures of feature detectability decrease substantially when the surrounding area of uniform-noise background is small relative to that of the feature itself. The effect occurs with both fixed and variable-level backgrounds, but differs in form for CT and uncorrelated noise. Cross-correlation image calculations can only predict these effects by treating feature detection as the discrimination of a local change (a ''feature'') from the estimated level of an assumed-uniform region of background

Airborne rhinovirus detection and effect of ultraviolet irradiation on detection by a semi-nested RT-PCR assay

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Rudnick Stephen

2003-01-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Rhinovirus, the most common cause of upper respiratory tract infections, has been implicated in asthma exacerbations and possibly asthma deaths. Although the method of transmission of rhinoviruses is disputed, several studies have demonstrated that aerosol transmission is a likely method of transmission among adults. As a first step in studies of possible airborne rhinovirus transmission, we developed methods to detect aerosolized rhinovirus by extending existing technology for detecting infectious agents in nasal specimens. Methods We aerosolized rhinovirus in a small aerosol chamber. Experiments were conducted with decreasing concentrations of rhinovirus. To determine the effect of UV irradiation on detection of rhinoviral aerosols, we also conducted experiments in which we exposed aerosols to a UV dose of 684 mJ/m2. Aerosols were collected on Teflon filters and rhinovirus recovered in Qiagen AVL buffer using the Qiagen QIAamp Viral RNA Kit (Qiagen Corp., Valencia, California followed by semi-nested RT-PCR and detection by gel electrophoresis. Results We obtained positive results from filter samples that had collected at least 1.3 TCID50 of aerosolized rhinovirus. Ultraviolet irradiation of airborne virus at doses much greater than those used in upper-room UV germicidal irradiation applications did not inhibit subsequent detection with the RT-PCR assay. Conclusion The air sampling and extraction methodology developed in this study should be applicable to the detection of rhinovirus and other airborne viruses in the indoor air of offices and schools. This method, however, cannot distinguish UV inactivated virus from infectious viral particles.

Detection of angina-related coronary artery in patients with unstable angina pectoris by using 123I-BMIPP myocardial scintigraphy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Oka, Toshiaki; Inoue, Seiji; Asano, Ryuta; Handa, Atsushi; Iguchi, Nobuo; Sumiyoshi, Tetsuya; Hosoda, Saichi; Kobayashi, Hideki; Kusakabe, Kiyoko.

1996-01-01

To evaluate the diagnostic accuracy of detection of angina-related coronary arteries in patients with unstable angina pectoris. Twenty patients with unstable angina pectoris underwent 123 I-BMIPP scintigraphy at rest. A mean duration from last anginal attack to 123 I-BMIPP scintigraphy was 4.8±3.2 days. Seventeen of 20 angina-related coronary territories were detected by reduced 123 -BMIPP uptake. The sensitivity and specificity for detection of angina-related coronary arteries were 85% and 95%, respectively. The decrease in myocardial uptake of 123 I-BMIPP agreed with the decrease in regional wall motion by using ultrasonic echocardiography. 123 I-BMIPP scintigraphy may be useful for detection of angina-related coronary artery in a routine clinical examination in patients with unstable angina pectoris. (author)

Down-regulated resistin level in consequence of decreased neutrophil counts in untreated Grave's disease.

Science.gov (United States)

Peng, Ying; Qi, Yicheng; Huang, Fengjiao; Chen, Xinxin; Zhou, Yulin; Ye, Lei; Wang, Weiqing; Ning, Guang; Wang, Shu

2016-11-29

Resistin, belongs to cysteine-rich secretory protein, is mainly produced by circulating leukocytes, such as neutrophils monocytes and macrophages in humans. To date, few but controversial studies have reported about resistin concentrations in hyperthyroid patients, especially in Graves' disease (GD). We undertaked a controlled, prospective study to explore the serum resistin concentration in GD patients before and after -MMI treatment. In addition, we also investigated the main influencing factor on serum resistin level and discuessed the potential role of serum resistin plays in GD patients. 39 untreated GD (uGD) patients, including 8 males and 31 females, were enrolled in our investigation. All of these patients were prescribed with MMI treatment, in addition to 25 healthy controls. Anthropometric parameters and hormone assessment were measured. Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay was used to detect serum resistin concentration in different stages of GD patients. Furthermore, neutrophil cell line NB4 with or without T3 treatment to detect the effect of thyroid hormones on resistin expression. The serum resistin level and neutrophil counts in untreated GD patients were significantly declined. And all of these parameters were recovered to normal after MMI treatment in ethyroid GD (eGD) and TRAb-negative conversion (nGD) patients. Resistin concentration exhibited a negative correlation with FT3 and FT4, but a positive correlation with absolute number of neutrophiles in uGD patients, whereas did not correlate with thyroid autoimmune antibodies and BMI. Neutrophile cell line, NB4, produced decreased expression of resistin when stimulated with T3. Our study showed a decrease of serum resistin level in GD patients and we suggested that the serum resistin might primarily secreted from circulating neutrophils and down-regulated by excessive thyroid hormones in GD patients.

Decrease in TSH Receptor Autoantibodies during Antithyroid Treatment

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Christensen, Niels Juel; Habekost, Gurli; Bratholm, Palle

2011-01-01

that TRAb decrease significantly during treatment with antithyroid drugs. This decrease during treatment cannot be explained by Heg RNA, which remains unchanged. Cdk1 mRNA decreased significantly during treatment to values below values obtained in normal subjects. Thus both Heg RNA and Cdk1 mRNA may...

Nocodazole treatment decreases expression of pluripotency markers Nanog and Oct4 in human embryonic stem cells

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Kallas, Ade; Pook, Martin; Maimets, Martti

2011-01-01

in the expression of transcription markers Nanog and Oct4 as well as SSEA-3 and SSEA-4 in human embryonic cells after their treatment with nocodazole. Multivariate permeabilised-cell flow cytometry was applied for characterising the expression of Nanog and Oct4 during different cell cycle phases. Among untreated h......ESC we detected Nanog-expressing cells, which also expressed Oct4, SSEA-3 and SSEA-4. We also found another population expressing SSEA-4, but without Nanog, Oct4 and SSEA-3 expression. Nocodazole treatment resulted in a decrease of cell population positive for all four markers Nanog, Oct4, SSEA-3, SSEA-4....... Nocodazole-mediated cell-cycle arrest was accompanied by higher rate of apoptosis and upregulation of p53. Twenty-four hours after the release from nocodazole block, the cell cycle of hESC normalised, but no increase in the expression of transcription markers Nanog and Oct4 was detected. In addition...

FahamecV1:A Low Cost Automated Metaphase Detection System

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

H. Yilmaz

2017-12-01

Full Text Available In this study, FahamecV1 is introduced and investigated as a low cost and high accuracy solution for metaphase detection. Chromosome analysis is performed at the metaphase stage and high accuracy and automated detection of the metaphase stage plays an active role in decreasing analysis time. FahamecV1 includes an optic microscope, a motorized microscope stage, an electronic control unit, a camera, a computer and a software application. Printing components of the motorized microscope stage (using a 3D printer is of the main reasons for cost reduction. Operations such as stepper motor calibration, are detection, focusing, scanning, metaphase detection and saving of coordinates into a database are automatically performed. To detect metaphases, a filter named Metafilter is developed and applied. Average scanning time per preparate is 77 sec/cm2. True positive rate is calculated as 95.1%, true negative rate is calculated as 99.0% and accuracy is calculated as 98.8%.

The effect of faulty local detectors on a detection network

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mirjalily, G.; Emadi, S.

2002-01-01

Distributed detection theory has received increasing attention recently. Development of multiple sensors for signal detection results in improved performance and increased reliability. in a detection network, each local sensor decides locally whether a signal is detected or not. The local decisions are sent to the fusion center, where the final decision is made. In this paper, a theoretic approach is considered to data fusion when one of the sensors is faulty. If the fusion center does not have any knowledge of this fault, the performance of the system is different than its normal performance. The changes in the error probabilities depend on the type of the fault and on the threshold value of the fission center test. We derived some expressions of the changes in the values of error probabilities. For some type of faults, the system false alarm probability increases significantly, whereas for some other faults, the system detection probability decreases significantly. To illustrate the results, a numerical example is also given

Near-infrared laser, time domain, breast tumour detection system

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Joblin, A.J.

1996-01-01

Full text: The use of near-infrared laser, time domain techniques have been proposed for some time now as an alternative to X-ray mammography, as a means of mass screening for breast disease. The great driving force behind this research has been that near-infrared photons are a non-ionising radiation, which affords a greater degree of patient safety than when using X-rays. This would mean that women at risk of breast disease could be screened with a near-infrared laser imaging system, much more regularly than with an X-ray mammography system, which should allow for the earlier detection and treatment of breast disease. This paper presents a theoretical investigation of the performance of a near-infrared, time domain breast imaging system. The performance of the imaging system is characterised by the resolution and contrast parameters, which were studied using a numerical finite difference calculation method. The finite difference method is used to solve the diffusion equation for the photon transport through the inhomogeneous breast tissue medium. Optimal performance was found to be obtained with short photon times of flight. However the signal to noise ratio decreases rapidly as the photon time of flight is decreased. The system performance will therefore be limited by the noise equivalent power of the time resolved detection system, which is the signal incident on the time resolved detection system which gives a signal to noise ratio of 1:1. Photon times of flight shorter than 500 ps are not practical with current technology, which places limits on the resolution and contrast. The photon signal throughput can be increased by increasing the size of the laser beam width, by increasing the size of the aperture stop of the detector, by increasing the laser pulse duration or decreasing the detector time resolution. Best system performance is found by optimising these parameters for a given time gating and detector system characteristic (NEP). It was found that the

Simultaneous detection of pH changes and histamine release from oxyntic glands in isolated stomach.

Science.gov (United States)

Bitziou, Eleni; O'Hare, Danny; Patel, Bhavik Anil

2008-11-15

Real-time simultaneous detection of changes in pH and levels of histamine over the oxyntic glands of guinea pig stomach have been investigated. An iridium oxide pH microelectrode was used in a potentiometric mode to record the pH decrease associated with acid secretion when the sensor approached the isolated tissue. A boron-doped diamond (BDD) microelectrode was used in an amperometric mode to detect histamine when the electrode was placed over the tissue. Both sensors provided stable and reproducible responses that were qualitatively consistent with the signaling mechanism for acid secretion at the stomach. Simultaneous measurements in the presence of pharmacological treatments produced significant variations in the signals obtained by both sensors. As the H2 receptor antagonist cimetidine was perfused to the tissue, histamine levels increased that produced an increase in the signal of the BDD electrode whereas the pH sensor recorded a decrease in acid secretion as expected. Addition of acetylcholine (ACh) stimulated additional acid secretion detected with the pH microelectrode whereas the BDD sensor recorded the histamine levels decreasing significantly. This result shows that the primary influence of ACh is directly on the parietal cell receptors rather then the ECL cell receptors of the oxyntic glands. These results highlight the power of this simultaneous detection technique in the monitoring and diagnosis of physiological significant signaling mechanisms and pathways.

Indirect photometric detection of boron cluster anions electrophoretically separated in methanol.

Science.gov (United States)

Vítová, Lada; Fojt, Lukáš; Vespalec, Radim

2014-04-18

3,5-Dinitrobenzoate and picrate are light absorbing anions pertinent to indirect photometric detection of boron cluster anions in buffered methanolic background electrolytes (BGEs). Tris(hydroxymethyl)aminomethane and morpholine have been used as buffering bases, which eliminated baseline steps, and minimized the baseline noise. In methanolic BGEs, mobilities of boron cluster anions depend on both ionic constituents of the BGE buffer. This dependence can be explained by ion pair interaction of detected anions with BGE cations, which are not bonded into ion pairs with the BGE anions. The former ion pair interaction decreases sensitivity of the indirect photometric detection. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Real-time driver fatigue detection based on face alignment

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Tao, Huanhuan; Zhang, Guiying; Zhao, Yong; Zhou, Yi

2017-07-01

The performance and robustness of fatigue detection largely decrease if the driver with glasses. To address this issue, this paper proposes a practical driver fatigue detection method based on face alignment at 3000 FPS algorithm. Firstly, the eye regions of the driver are localized by exploiting 6 landmarks surrounding each eye. Secondly, the HOG features of the extracted eye regions are calculated and put into SVM classifier to recognize the eye state. Finally, the value of PERCLOS is calculated to determine whether the driver is drowsy or not. An alarm will be generated if the eye is closed for a specified period of time. The accuracy and real-time on testing videos with different drivers demonstrate that the proposed algorithm is robust and obtain better accuracy for driver fatigue detection compared with some previous method.

An Android malware detection system based on machine learning

Science.gov (United States)

Wen, Long; Yu, Haiyang

2017-08-01

The Android smartphone, with its open source character and excellent performance, has attracted many users. However, the convenience of the Android platform also has motivated the development of malware. The traditional method which detects the malware based on the signature is unable to detect unknown applications. The article proposes a machine learning-based lightweight system that is capable of identifying malware on Android devices. In this system we extract features based on the static analysis and the dynamitic analysis, then a new feature selection approach based on principle component analysis (PCA) and relief are presented in the article to decrease the dimensions of the features. After that, a model will be constructed with support vector machine (SVM) for classification. Experimental results show that our system provides an effective method in Android malware detection.

Decreased seasonal mesor of platelet 3H-imipramine binding in depression

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

DeMet, E.M.; Reist, C.; Bell, K.M.; Gerner, R.H.; Chicz-DeMet, A.; Warren, S.; Wu, J.

1991-01-01

Seasonal cycles of platelet 3 H-imipramine binding were compared in 49 endogenous unipolar depressed patients and 20 normal volunteers. A significant sinusoidal component was detected in the Bmax of binding in both patients and controls with similar amplitudes and seasonal peaks. However, the yearly average (mesor) of the patient group was significantly lower (20.0%) than that of the normal controls. The results support earlier claims of a diminished platelet binding in endogenous depression and indicate that this decrease was still evident in the presence of a 48.2% (controls) to 65.8% (patients) seasonal variation. Control Bmax values were normally distributed about a best-fit mean (cosinor fit). In contrast, patient values appeared to be bimodally distributed with one mode that was similar to controls and one mode that was substantially lower. In general, psychiatric symptoms failed to distinguish between patients with high and low platelet binding and no correlation was found between Bmax and severity of illness (HAM-D)

Rat Pial Microvascular Changes During Cerebral Blood Flow Decrease and Recovery: Effects of Cyanidin Administration

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Teresa Mastantuono

2018-05-01

Full Text Available The reactive oxygen species (ROS are known to play a major role in many pathophysiological conditions, such as ischemia and reperfusion injury. The present study was aimed to evaluate the in vivo cyanidin (anthocyanin effects on damages induced by rat pial microvascular hypoperfusion-reperfusion injury by cerebral blood flow decrease (CBFD and subsequent cerebral blood flow recovery (CBFR. In particular, the main purpose was to detect changes in ROS production after cyanidin administration. Rat pial microvasculature was investigated using fluorescence microscopy through a cranial window (closed; Strahler's method was utilized to define the geometric features of pial vessels. ROS production was investigated in vivo by 2′-7′-dichlorofluorescein-diacetate assay and neuronal damage was measured on isolated brain sections by 2,3,5-triphenyltetrazolium chloride staining. After 30 min of CBFD, induced by bilateral common carotid artery occlusion, and 60 min of CBFR, rats showed decrease of arteriolar diameter and capillary perfusion; furthermore, increase in microvascular leakage and leukocyte adhesion was observed. Conversely, cyanidin administration induced dose-related arteriolar dilation, reduction in microvascular permeability as well as leukocyte adhesion when compared to animals subjected to restriction of cerebral blood flow; moreover, capillary perfusion was protected. ROS generation increase and marked neuronal damage were detected in animals subjected to CBFD and CBFR. On the other hand, cyanidin was able to reduce ROS generation and neuronal damage. In conclusion, cyanidin treatment showed dose-related protective effects on rat pial microcirculation during CBFD and subsequent CBFR, inducing arteriolar dilation by nitric oxide release and inhibiting ROS formation, consequently preserving the blood brain barrier integrity.

Selective Excitation of Lamb-Waves for Damage Detection in Composites

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Petculescu, G.; Krishnaswamy, S.; Achenbach, J. D.

2006-03-01

Sensors based on periodic arrays of coherent piezoelectric sources (comb design) are used to selectively excite and detect Lamb waves in aluminum and AS4/3601 unidirectional carbon-epoxy plates. 110 μm PVDF film poled in the thickness direction is used as piezoelectric material. An algorithm to eliminate the effect of coupling in amplitude measurements, using individual Lamb modes excited/detected by the same transducer pair, is described. A multiple-impact test showing a decrease in amplitude and group velocity as damage progresses is used as an example.

Impact of an Early Decrease in Systolic Blood Pressure on The Risk of Contrast-Induced Nephropathy after Percutaneous Coronary Intervention.

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Li, Hualong; Huang, Shuijin; He, Yiting; Liu, Yong; Liu, Yuanhui; Chen, Jiyan; Zhou, Yingling; Tan, Ning; Duan, Chongyang; Chen, Pingyan

2016-02-01

The early postprocedural period was thought to be the rush hour of contrast media excretion, causing rapid and prolonged renal hypoperfusion, which was the critical time window for contrast-induced nephropathy (CIN). 349 consecutive patients were enrolled into the study. The relation between an early postprocedural decrease in systolic blood pressure (SBP) and the risk of CIN was assessed using multivariate logistic regression. A postprocedural decrease in SBP was observed in 63% of patients and CIN developed in 28 (8.0%) patients. The CIN group had a lower postprocedural SBP (114.5±13.5 vs. 123.7±15.6mmHg, P=0.003) and a greater postprocedural decrease in SBP (16.2±19.1 vs. 5.9±18.7mmHg, P=0.005) than the no-CIN group. ROC analysis revealed that the optimum cutoff value for the SBP decrease in detecting CIN was >10mmHg (sensitivity 60.7%, specificity 59.5%, AUC=0.66). Multivariate logistic regression analysis found that a postprocedural decrease in SBP >10mmHg was a significant independent predictor of CIN (OR 2.368, 95%CI: 1.043-5.379, P=0.039), after adjustment for other risk factors. An early moderate postprocedural decrease in SBP may increase the risk of CIN in patients undergoing PCI. Copyright © 2015. Published by Elsevier B.V.

Effects of ocular aberrations on contrast detection in noise.

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Liang, Bo; Liu, Rong; Dai, Yun; Zhou, Jiawei; Zhou, Yifeng; Zhang, Yudong

2012-08-06

We use adaptive optics (AO) techniques to manipulate the ocular aberrations and elucidate the effects of these ocular aberrations on contrast detection in a noisy background. The detectability of sine wave gratings at frequencies of 4, 8, and 16 circles per degree (cpd) was measured in a standard two-interval force-choice staircase procedure against backgrounds of various levels of white noise. The observer's ocular aberrations were either corrected with AO or left uncorrected. In low levels of external noise, contrast detection thresholds are always lowered by AO correction, whereas in high levels of external noise, they are generally elevated by AO correction. Higher levels of external noise are required to make this threshold elevation observable when signal spatial frequencies increase from 4 to 16 cpd. The linear-amplifier-model fit shows that mostly sampling efficiency and equivalent noise both decrease with AO correction. Our findings indicate that ocular aberrations could be beneficial for contrast detection in high-level noises. The implications of these findings are discussed.

Detection of early caries by laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy

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Sasazawa, Shuhei; Kakino, Satoko; Matsuura, Yuji

2015-07-01

To improve sensitivity of dental caries detection by laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS) analysis, it is proposed to utilize emission peaks in the ultraviolet. We newly focused on zinc whose emission peaks exist in ultraviolet because zinc exists at high concentration in the outer layer of enamel. It was shown that by using ratios between heights of an emission peak of Zn and that of Ca, the detection sensitivity and stability are largely improved. It was also shown that early caries are differentiated from healthy part by properly setting a threshold in the detected ratios. The proposed caries detection system can be applied to dental laser systems such as ones based on Er:YAG-lasers. When ablating early caries part by laser light, the system notices the dentist that the ablation of caries part is finished. We also show the intensity of emission peaks of zinc decreased with ablation with Er:YAG laser light.

A Novel Photoelectrochemical Biosensor for Tyrosinase and Thrombin Detection

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Jiexia Chen

2016-01-01

Full Text Available A novel photoelectrochemical biosensor for step-by-step assay of tyrosinase and thrombin was fabricated based on the specific interactions between the designed peptide and the target enzymes. A peptide chain with a special sequence which contains a positively charged lysine-labeled terminal, tyrosine at the other end and a cleavage site recognized by thrombin between them was designed. The designed peptide can be fixed on surface of the CdTe quantum dots (QDs-modified indium-tin oxide (ITO electrode through electrostatic attraction to construct the photoelectrochemical biosensor. The tyrosinase target can catalyze the oxidization of tyrosine by oxygen into ortho-benzoquinone residues, which results in a decrease in the sensor photocurrent. Subsequently, the cleavage site could be recognized and cut off by another thrombin target, restoring the sensor photocurrent. The decrease or increase of photocurrent in the sensor enables us to assay tyrosinase and thrombin. Thus, the detection of tyrosinase and thrombin can be achieved in the linear range from 2.6 to 32 μg/mL and from 4.5 to 100 μg/mL with detection limits of 1.5 μg/mL and 1.9 μg/mL, respectively. Most importantly, this strategy shall allow us to detect different classes of enzymes simultaneously by designing various enzyme-specific peptide substrates.

A Novel Photoelectrochemical Biosensor for Tyrosinase and Thrombin Detection

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Chen, Jiexia; Liu, Yifan; Zhao, Guang-Chao

2016-01-01

A novel photoelectrochemical biosensor for step-by-step assay of tyrosinase and thrombin was fabricated based on the specific interactions between the designed peptide and the target enzymes. A peptide chain with a special sequence which contains a positively charged lysine-labeled terminal, tyrosine at the other end and a cleavage site recognized by thrombin between them was designed. The designed peptide can be fixed on surface of the CdTe quantum dots (QDs)-modified indium-tin oxide (ITO) electrode through electrostatic attraction to construct the photoelectrochemical biosensor. The tyrosinase target can catalyze the oxidization of tyrosine by oxygen into ortho-benzoquinone residues, which results in a decrease in the sensor photocurrent. Subsequently, the cleavage site could be recognized and cut off by another thrombin target, restoring the sensor photocurrent. The decrease or increase of photocurrent in the sensor enables us to assay tyrosinase and thrombin. Thus, the detection of tyrosinase and thrombin can be achieved in the linear range from 2.6 to 32 μg/mL and from 4.5 to 100 μg/mL with detection limits of 1.5 μg/mL and 1.9 μg/mL, respectively. Most importantly, this strategy shall allow us to detect different classes of enzymes simultaneously by designing various enzyme-specific peptide substrates. PMID:26805846

Decrease in effective electron mobility in the channel of a metal-oxide-semiconductor transistor as the gate length is decreased

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Frantsuzov, A. A.; Boyarkina, N. I.; Popov, V. P.

2008-01-01

Effective electron mobility μ eff in channels of metal-oxide-semiconductor transistors with a gate length L in the range of 3.8 to 0.34 μm was measured; the transistors were formed on wafers of the silicon-oninsulator type. It was found that μ eff decreases as L is decreased. It is shown that this decrease can be accounted for by the effect of series resistances of the source and drain only if it is assumed that there is a rapid increase in these resistances as the gate voltage is decreased. This assumption is difficult to substantiate. A more realistic model is suggested; this model accounts for the observed decrease in μ eff as L is decreased. The model implies that zones with a mobility lower than that in the middle part of the channel originate at the edges of the gate. An analysis shows that, in this case, the plot of the dependence of 1/μ eff on 1/L should be linear, which is exactly what is observed experimentally. The use of this plot makes it possible to determine both the electron mobility μ 0 in the middle part of the channel and the quantity A that characterizes the zones with lowered mobility at the gate’s edges.

Alcohol detection using carbon nanotubes acoustic and optical sensors

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Penza, M.; Cassano, G.; Aversa, P.; Antolini, F.; Cusano, A.; Cutolo, A.; Giordano, M.; Nicolais, L.

2004-09-01

We demonstrate the integration of single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) onto quartz crystal microbalance (QCM) and standard silica optical fiber (SOF) sensor for alcohol detection at room temperature. Different transducing mechanisms have been used in order to outline the sensing properties of this class of nanomaterials, in particular the attention has been focused on two key parameters in sensing applications: mass and refractive index changes due to gas absorption. Here, Langmuir-Blodgett (LB) films consisting of tangled bundles of SWCNTs without surfactant molecules have been successfully transferred onto QCM and SOF. Mass-sensitive 10MHz QCM SWCNTs sensor exhibited a resonant frequency decreasing upon tested alcohols exposure; also the normalized optoelectronic signal (λ=1310nm) of the refractive index-sensitive SOF SWCNTs sensor was found to decrease upon alcohols ambient. Highly sensitive, repeatable and reversible responses of the QCM and SOF SWCNTs sensors indicate that the detection, at room temperature, in a wide mmHg vapor pressures range of alcohols and potentially other volatile organic compounds is feasible.

Mastery Learning and the Decreasing Variability Hypothesis.

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Livingston, Jennifer A.; Gentile, J. Ronald

1996-01-01

This report results from studies that tested two variations of Bloom's decreasing variability hypothesis using performance on successive units of achievement in four graduate classrooms that used mastery learning procedures. Data do not support the decreasing variability hypothesis; rather, they show no change over time. (SM)

Automated seizure detection systems and their effectiveness for each type of seizure.

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Ulate-Campos, A; Coughlin, F; Gaínza-Lein, M; Fernández, I Sánchez; Pearl, P L; Loddenkemper, T

2016-08-01

Epilepsy affects almost 1% of the population and most of the approximately 20-30% of patients with refractory epilepsy have one or more seizures per month. Seizure detection devices allow an objective assessment of seizure frequency and a treatment tailored to the individual patient. A rapid recognition and treatment of seizures through closed-loop systems could potentially decrease morbidity and mortality in epilepsy. However, no single detection device can detect all seizure types. Therefore, the choice of a seizure detection device should consider the patient-specific seizure semiologies. This review of the literature evaluates seizure detection devices and their effectiveness for different seizure types. Our aim is to summarize current evidence, offer suggestions on how to select the most suitable seizure detection device for each patient and provide guidance to physicians, families and researchers when choosing or designing seizure detection devices. Further, this review will guide future prospective validation studies. Copyright © 2016. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

Decreased blood riboflavin levels are correlated with defective expression of RFT2 gene in gastric cancer

Science.gov (United States)

Eli, Maynur; Li, De-Sheng; Zhang, Wei-Wei; Kong, Bing; Du, Chen-Song; Wumar, Maimaitiaili; Mamtimin, Batur; Sheyhidin, Ilyar; Hasim, Ayshamgul

2012-01-01

AIM: To investigate the relationship between blood riboflavin levels and riboflavin transporter 2 (RFT2) gene expression in gastric carcinoma (GC) development. METHODS: High-performance liquid chromatography was used to detect blood riboflavin levels in patients with GC. Real-time fluorogenic quantitative polymerase chain reaction and immunohistochemistry were used to analyze the expression of RFT2 mRNA and protein in samples from 60 GC patients consisting of both tumor and normal tissue. RESULTS: A significant decrease in the RFT2 mRNA levels was detected in GC samples compared with those in the normal mucous membrane (0.398 ± 0.149 vs 1.479 ± 0.587; P = 0.040). Tumors exhibited low RFT2 protein expression (75%, 16.7%, 8.3% and 0% for no RFT2 staining, weak staining, medium staining and strong staining, respectively), which was significantly lower than that in the normal mucous membrane (10%, 16.7%, 26.7% and 46.7% for no RFT2 staining, weak staining, medium staining and strong staining, respectively; P riboflavin levels were reverse correlated with development of GC (1.2000 ± 0.97 569 ng/mL in high tumor stage patients vs 2.5980 ± 1.31 129 ng/mL in low tumor stage patients; P riboflavin levels with defective expression of RFT2 protein was found in GC patients (χ2 = 2.619; P = 0.019). CONCLUSION: Defective expression of RFT2 is associated with the development of GC and this may represent a mechanism underlying the decreased plasma riboflavin levels in GC. PMID:22791947

Evaluating the Use of Tissue Oximetry to Decrease Intensive Unit Monitoring for Free Flap Breast Reconstruction.

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Ricci, Joseph A; Vargas, Christina R; Ho, Olivia A; Lin, Samuel J; Tobias, Adam M; Lee, Bernard T

2017-07-01

Postoperative free flap care has historically required intensive monitoring for 24 hours in an intensive care unit. Continuous monitoring with tissue oximetry has allowed earlier detection of vascular compromise, decreasing flap loss and improving salvage. This study aims to identify whether a fast-track postoperative paradigm can be safely used with tissue oximetry to decrease intensive monitoring and costs. All consecutive microsurgical breast reconstructions performed at a single institution were reviewed (2008-2014) and cases requiring return to the operating room were identified. Data evaluated included patient demographics, the take back time course, and complications of flap loss and salvage. A cost-benefit analysis was performed to analyse the utility of a postoperative intensive monitoring setting. There were 900 flaps performed and 32 required an unplanned return to the operating room. There were 16 flaps that required a reexploration within the first 24 hours; the standard length of intensive unit monitoring. After 4 hours, there were 7 flaps (44%) detected by tissue oximetry for reexploration. After 15 hours of intensive monitoring postoperatively, cost analysis revealed that the majority (15/16; 94%) of failing flaps had been identified and the cost of identifying each subsequent failing flap exceeded the cost of another hour of intensive monitoring. The postoperative paradigm for microsurgical flaps has historically required intensive unit monitoring. Using tissue oximetry, a fast-track pathway can reduce time spent in an intensive monitoring setting from 24 to 15 hours with significant cost savings and minimal risk of missing a failing free flap.

The response of soil and stream chemistry to decreases in acid deposition in the Catskill Mountains, New York, USA.

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McHale, Michael R; Burns, Douglas A; Siemion, Jason; Antidormi, Michael R

2017-10-01

The Catskill Mountains have been adversely impacted by decades of acid deposition, however, since the early 1990s, levels have decreased sharply as a result of decreases in emissions of sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxides. This study examines trends in acid deposition, stream-water chemistry, and soil chemistry in the southeastern Catskill Mountains. We measured significant reductions in acid deposition and improvement in stream-water quality in 5 streams included in this study from 1992 to 2014. The largest, most significant trends were for sulfate (SO 4 2- ) concentrations (mean trend of -2.5 μeq L -1 yr -1 ); hydrogen ion (H + ) and inorganic monomeric aluminum (Al im ) also decreased significantly (mean trends of -0.3 μeq L -1 yr -1 for H + and -0.1 μeq L -1 yr -1 for Al im for the 3 most acidic sites). Acid neutralizing capacity (ANC) increased by a mean of 0.65 μeq L -1 yr -1 for all 5 sites, which was 4 fold less than the decrease in SO 4 2- concentrations. These upward trends in ANC were limited by coincident decreases in base cations (-1.3 μeq L -1 yr -1 for calcium + magnesium). No significant trends were detected in stream-water nitrate (NO 3 - ) concentrations despite significant decreasing trends in NO 3 - wet deposition. We measured no recovery in soil chemistry which we attributed to an initially low soil buffering capacity that has been further depleted by decades of acid deposition. Tightly coupled decreasing trends in stream-water silicon (Si) (-0.2 μeq L -1 yr -1 ) and base cations suggest a decrease in the soil mineral weathering rate. We hypothesize that a decrease in the ionic strength of soil water and shallow groundwater may be the principal driver of this apparent decrease in the weathering rate. A decreasing weathering rate would help to explain the slow recovery of stream pH and ANC as well as that of soil base cations. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

A prescription fraud detection model.

Science.gov (United States)

Aral, Karca Duru; Güvenir, Halil Altay; Sabuncuoğlu, Ihsan; Akar, Ahmet Ruchan

2012-04-01

Prescription fraud is a main problem that causes substantial monetary loss in health care systems. We aimed to develop a model for detecting cases of prescription fraud and test it on real world data from a large multi-center medical prescription database. Conventionally, prescription fraud detection is conducted on random samples by human experts. However, the samples might be misleading and manual detection is costly. We propose a novel distance based on data-mining approach for assessing the fraudulent risk of prescriptions regarding cross-features. Final tests have been conducted on adult cardiac surgery database. The results obtained from experiments reveal that the proposed model works considerably well with a true positive rate of 77.4% and a false positive rate of 6% for the fraudulent medical prescriptions. The proposed model has the potential advantages including on-line risk prediction for prescription fraud, off-line analysis of high-risk prescriptions by human experts, and self-learning ability by regular updates of the integrative data sets. We conclude that incorporating such a system in health authorities, social security agencies and insurance companies would improve efficiency of internal review to ensure compliance with the law, and radically decrease human-expert auditing costs. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

An Unsupervised Algorithm for Change Detection in Hyperspectral Remote Sensing Data Using Synthetically Fused Images and Derivative Spectral Profiles

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Youkyung Han

2017-01-01

Full Text Available Multitemporal hyperspectral remote sensing data have the potential to detect altered areas on the earth’s surface. However, dissimilar radiometric and geometric properties between the multitemporal data due to the acquisition time or position of the sensors should be resolved to enable hyperspectral imagery for detecting changes in natural and human-impacted areas. In addition, data noise in the hyperspectral imagery spectrum decreases the change-detection accuracy when general change-detection algorithms are applied to hyperspectral images. To address these problems, we present an unsupervised change-detection algorithm based on statistical analyses of spectral profiles; the profiles are generated from a synthetic image fusion method for multitemporal hyperspectral images. This method aims to minimize the noise between the spectra corresponding to the locations of identical positions by increasing the change-detection rate and decreasing the false-alarm rate without reducing the dimensionality of the original hyperspectral data. Using a quantitative comparison of an actual dataset acquired by airborne hyperspectral sensors, we demonstrate that the proposed method provides superb change-detection results relative to the state-of-the-art unsupervised change-detection algorithms.

Distraction decreases prefrontal oxygenation: A NIRS study.

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Ozawa, Sachiyo; Hiraki, Kazuo

2017-04-01

When near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) is used to measure emotion-related cerebral blood flow (CBF) changes in the prefrontal cortex regions, the functional distinction of CBF changes is often difficult because NIRS is unable to measure neural activity in deeper brain regions that play major roles in emotional processing. The CBF changes could represent cognitive control of emotion and emotional responses to emotional materials. Supposing that emotion-related CBF changes in the prefrontal cortex regions during distraction are emotional responses, we examined whether oxygenated hemoglobin (oxyHb) decreases. Attention-demanding tasks cause blood flow decreases, and we thus compared the effects of visually paced tapping with different tempos, on distraction. The results showed that the oxyHb level induced by emotional stimulation decreased with fast-tempo tapping significantly more than slow-tempo tapping in ventral medial prefrontal cortex regions. Moreover, a Global-Local task following tapping showed significantly greater local-minus-global response time (RT) difference scores in the fast- and mid-tempo condition compared with those in the slow-tempo, suggesting an increased attentional focus, and decreased negative emotion. The overall findings indicate that oxyHb changes in a relatively long distraction task, as measured by NIRS, are associated with emotional responses, and oxyHb can be decreased by successfully performing attention-demanding distraction tasks. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

The population impact of HPV/cytology cervical cotesting at 3-year intervals: reduced cervical cancer risk and decreased yield of precancer per screen

Science.gov (United States)

Silver, Michelle I.; Schiffman, Mark; Fetterman, Barbara; Poitras, Nancy; Gage, Julia C.; Wentzensen, Nicolas; Lorey, Thomas; Kinney, Walter; Castle, Philip E.

2016-01-01

Background Cervical screening aims to detect and treat precancer to prevent cervical cancer mortality and morbidity, while minimizing overtreatment of benign human papillomavirus (HPV) infections and related minor abnormalities. HPV/cytology cotesting at extended 5-year intervals is now a recommended screening strategy in the US, but the interval extension is controversial. We studied the impact of a decade of an alternative, 3-year cotesting, on rates of precancer and cancer at Kaiser Permanente Northern California. We also considered the effect on screening efficiency, defined as numbers of cotests/colposcopy visits needed to detect a precancer. Methods Two cohorts were defined. The “open cohort” included all women screened at least once during the study period; >1 million cotests were performed. In a fixed “long-term screening cohort”, we considered the cumulative impact of repeated screening at 3-year intervals by restricting to women first cotested in 2003–4 (i.e., no women entering screening later were added to this group). Results Detection of CIN3/AIS increased in the open cohort (2004–6, 82.0/100,000 women screened; 2007–9, 140.6/100,000; and 2010–12, 126.0/100,000); cancer diagnoses were unchanged. In the long-term screening cohort, detection of CIN3/AIS increased then decreased to the original level (2004–6, 80.5/100,000; 2007–9, 118.6/100,000; and 2010–2, 84.9/100,000). Cancer diagnoses decreased. Seen in terms of screening efficiency, the number of colposcopies performed todetect a single CIN3/AIS increased in the cohort with repeat screening. Conclusion Repeated cotesting at a 3-year interval eventually lowers population rates of precancer and cancer; however, a greater number of colposcopies is required to detect a single precancer. PMID:27657992

Insulin-induced decrease in protein phosphorylation in rat adipocytes not explained by decreased A-kinase activity

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Egan, J.J.; Greenberg, A.S.; Chang, M.K.; Londos, C.

1987-01-01

In isolated rat adipocytes, insulin inhibits lipolysis to a greater extent than would be predicted by the decrease in (-/+)cAMP activity ratio of cAMP-dependent protein kinase [A-kinase], from which it was speculated that insulin promotes the dephosphorylation of hormone-sensitive lipase. They have examined the phosphorylation state of cellular proteins under conditions of varying A-kinase activities in the presence and absence of insulin. Protein phosphorylation was determined by SDS-PAGE electrophoresis of extracts from 32 P-loaded cells; glycerol and A-kinase activity ratios were measured in the cytosolic extracts from control, non-radioactive cells. Increased protein phosphorylation in general occurred over the same range of A-kinase activity ratios, 0.1-0.3, associated with increased glycerol release. The insulin-induced decrease in lipolysis was associated with a decrease in the 32 P content of several proteins, an effect not explained by the modest reduction in A-kinase activity by insulin. This effect of insulin on protein phosphorylation was lost as the A-kinase activity ratios exceeded 0.5. The results suggest that insulin promotes the dephosphorylation of those adipocyte proteins which are subject to phosphorylation by A-kinase

Age-related decrease of 11C-N-methylspiperone in vivo binding to human striatum detected by PET

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Iyo, Masaomi; Yamasaki, Toshiro; Fukuda, Hiroshi

1989-01-01

The effect of aging on 11 C-N-methylspiperone binding to living human striatum was demonstrated using positron emission tomography. The ll normal volunteers (22 to 72 years old) participated in this study. The uptake of 11 C-N-methylspiperone in the brain following intravenous injection was highest in the striatum in individual subject. And the uptake in the striatum only gradually increased until the end of the study. The uptake of 11 C-N-methylspiperone in cerebellum peaked within 10 minutes following injection and then rapidly dropped. The association rate constant 'k 3 ' was calculated from the slope of the radioactivity-ratio of striatum to cerebellum versus the equivalent time. The equivalent time was calculated from the radioactivity of cerebellum as an input function. The exponential decrease of the k 3 value with aging was observed. The k 3 value of the youngest subject (22 years old, male) was 0.035/min, while that of the oldest one (72 years old, male) was found to be 0.020/min. These data suggested that the dopaminergic activity through D2 dopamine receptors reduces with aging in human striatum. (author)

Awe, uncertainty, and agency detection.

Science.gov (United States)

Valdesolo, Piercarlo; Graham, Jesse

2014-01-01

Across five studies, we found that awe increases both supernatural belief (Studies 1, 2, and 5) and intentional-pattern perception (Studies 3 and 4)-two phenomena that have been linked to agency detection, or the tendency to interpret events as the consequence of intentional and purpose-driven agents. Effects were both directly and conceptually replicated, and mediational analyses revealed that these effects were driven by the influence of awe on tolerance for uncertainty. Experiences of awe decreased tolerance for uncertainty, which, in turn, increased the tendency to believe in nonhuman agents and to perceive human agency in random events.

Use of biofuels in road transport decreases

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Segers, R.

2011-01-01

The use of biofuels decreased from 3.5 percent, for all gasoline and diesel used by road transport in 2009, to 2 percent in 2010. Particularly the use of biodiesel decreased, dropping from 3.5 to 1.5 percent. The use of biogasoline remained stable, catering for 3 percent of all gasoline use. [nl

Decreasing child mortality, spatial clustering and decreasing disparity in North-Western Burkina Faso.

Science.gov (United States)

Becher, Heiko; Müller, Olaf; Dambach, Peter; Gabrysch, Sabine; Niamba, Louis; Sankoh, Osman; Simboro, Seraphin; Schoeps, Anja; Stieglbauer, Gabriele; Yé, Yazoume; Sié, Ali

2016-04-01

Within relatively small areas, there exist high spatial variations of mortality between villages. In rural Burkina Faso, with data from 1993 to 1998, clusters of particularly high child mortality were identified in the population of the Nouna Health and Demographic Surveillance System (HDSS), a member of the INDEPTH Network. In this paper, we report child mortality with respect to temporal trends, spatial clustering and disparity in this HDSS from 1993 to 2012. Poisson regression was used to describe village-specific child mortality rates and time trends in mortality. The spatial scan statistic was used to identify villages or village clusters with higher child mortality. Clustering of mortality in the area is still present, but not as strong as before. The disparity of child mortality between villages has decreased. The decrease occurred in the context of an overall halving of child mortality in the rural area of Nouna HDSS between 1993 and 2012. Extrapolated to the Millennium Development Goals target period 1990-2015, this yields an estimated reduction of 54%, which is not too far off the aim of a two-thirds reduction. © 2016 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Silencing of the rotavirus NSP4 protein decreases the incidence of biliary atresia in murine model.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jiexiong Feng

Full Text Available Biliary atresia is a common disease in neonates which causes obstructive jaundice and progressive hepatic fibrosis. Our previous studies indicate that rotavirus infection is an initiator in the pathogenesis of experimental biliary atresia (BA through the induction of increased nuclear factor-kappaB and abnormal activation of the osteopontin inflammation pathway. In the setting of rotavirus infection, rotavirus nonstructural protein 4 (NSP4 serves as an important immunogen, viral protein 7 (VP7 is necessary in rotavirus maturity and viral protein 4 (VP4 is a virulence determiner. The purpose of the current study is to clarify the roles of NSP4, VP7 and VP4 in the pathogenesis of experimental BA. Primary cultured extrahepatic biliary epithelia were infected with Rotavirus (mmu18006. Small interfering RNA targeting NSP4, VP7 or VP4 was transfected before rotavirus infection both in vitro and in vivo. We analyzed the incidence of BA, morphological change, morphogenesis of viral particles and viral mRNA and protein expression. The in vitro experiments showed NSP4 silencing decreased the levels of VP7 and VP4, reduced viral particles and decreased cytopathic effect. NSP4-positive cells had strongly positive expression of integrin subunit α2. Silencing of VP7 or VP4 partially decreased epithelial injury. Animal experiments indicated after NSP4 silencing, mouse pups had lower incidence of BA than after VP7 or VP4 silencing. However, 33.3% of VP4-silenced pups (N = 6 suffered BA and 50% of pups (N = 6 suffered biliary injury after VP7 silencing. Hepatic injury was decreased after NSP4 or VP4 silencing. Neither VP4 nor VP7 were detected in the biliary ducts after NSP4. All together, NSP4 silencing down-regulates VP7 and VP4, resulting in decreased incidence of BA.

On-site detection of packaged squid freshness

Science.gov (United States)

Ahmad, Noor Azizah; Heng, Lee Yook; Salam, Faridah; Hanifah, Sharina Abu

2018-04-01

The development of indicator label for detection of total volatile basic nitrogen (TVB-N) is described. Dye extract from edible plants containing anthocyanins was immobilized onto iota-carrageenan as polymer matrix. TVB-N detection worked based on pH increase as the basic deterioration volatile amines generated in the package headspace. Results showed that the indicator label has changed color from blue to green after 12 hours of storage at ambient conditions. The TVB-N value was 38.9648 mg /100 g which is exceeded of acceptability level for seafood products. The pH value of squid flesh has also increased during storage. The colour values of L * and a * negative increases while b* negative decrease with increasing storage time. The indicator label is potentially used as freshness indicator for squid at ambient conditions.

Decreasing incidence rates of bacteremia

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Nielsen, Stig Lønberg; Pedersen, C; Jensen, T G

2014-01-01

BACKGROUND: Numerous studies have shown that the incidence rate of bacteremia has been increasing over time. However, few studies have distinguished between community-acquired, healthcare-associated and nosocomial bacteremia. METHODS: We conducted a population-based study among adults with first......-time bacteremia in Funen County, Denmark, during 2000-2008 (N = 7786). We reported mean and annual incidence rates (per 100,000 person-years), overall and by place of acquisition. Trends were estimated using a Poisson regression model. RESULTS: The overall incidence rate was 215.7, including 99.0 for community......-acquired, 50.0 for healthcare-associated and 66.7 for nosocomial bacteremia. During 2000-2008, the overall incidence rate decreased by 23.3% from 254.1 to 198.8 (3.3% annually, p incidence rate of community-acquired bacteremia decreased by 25.6% from 119.0 to 93.8 (3.7% annually, p

Detection and measurement of antioxidant capacity in human sera

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bognar, G.; Koeteles, G.J.; Otos, M.

1998-01-01

The total antioxidant capacity of human sera was measured by the Randox TAS assay and an average value of 1.55 mmol/L was found from 87 healthy adult persons. Exogenous antioxidant added to the blood could be measured additively. Upon X-irradiation of whole blood samples, the antioxidant value decreased down to 1 Gy linearly. Further decrease after higher doses, however, could not be detected. Reductions of radiation-induced human lymphocyte micronucleus frequency as a cytogenetic end-point were observed upon increasing the exogenous antioxidant level in serum with a water-soluble form of alpha-tocopherol, or a plant extract from Sylibum marianum L. in vitro. (author)

Analysis of Android Device-Based Solutions for Fall Detection

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Eduardo Casilari

2015-07-01

Full Text Available Falls are a major cause of health and psychological problems as well as hospitalization costs among older adults. Thus, the investigation on automatic Fall Detection Systems (FDSs has received special attention from the research community during the last decade. In this area, the widespread popularity, decreasing price, computing capabilities, built-in sensors and multiplicity of wireless interfaces of Android-based devices (especially smartphones have fostered the adoption of this technology to deploy wearable and inexpensive architectures for fall detection. This paper presents a critical and thorough analysis of those existing fall detection systems that are based on Android devices. The review systematically classifies and compares the proposals of the literature taking into account different criteria such as the system architecture, the employed sensors, the detection algorithm or the response in case of a fall alarms. The study emphasizes the analysis of the evaluation methods that are employed to assess the effectiveness of the detection process. The review reveals the complete lack of a reference framework to validate and compare the proposals. In addition, the study also shows that most research works do not evaluate the actual applicability of the Android devices (with limited battery and computing resources to fall detection solutions.

Analysis of Android Device-Based Solutions for Fall Detection.

Science.gov (United States)

Casilari, Eduardo; Luque, Rafael; Morón, María-José

2015-07-23

Falls are a major cause of health and psychological problems as well as hospitalization costs among older adults. Thus, the investigation on automatic Fall Detection Systems (FDSs) has received special attention from the research community during the last decade. In this area, the widespread popularity, decreasing price, computing capabilities, built-in sensors and multiplicity of wireless interfaces of Android-based devices (especially smartphones) have fostered the adoption of this technology to deploy wearable and inexpensive architectures for fall detection. This paper presents a critical and thorough analysis of those existing fall detection systems that are based on Android devices. The review systematically classifies and compares the proposals of the literature taking into account different criteria such as the system architecture, the employed sensors, the detection algorithm or the response in case of a fall alarms. The study emphasizes the analysis of the evaluation methods that are employed to assess the effectiveness of the detection process. The review reveals the complete lack of a reference framework to validate and compare the proposals. In addition, the study also shows that most research works do not evaluate the actual applicability of the Android devices (with limited battery and computing resources) to fall detection solutions.

Analysis of Android Device-Based Solutions for Fall Detection

Science.gov (United States)

Casilari, Eduardo; Luque, Rafael; Morón, María-José

2015-01-01

Falls are a major cause of health and psychological problems as well as hospitalization costs among older adults. Thus, the investigation on automatic Fall Detection Systems (FDSs) has received special attention from the research community during the last decade. In this area, the widespread popularity, decreasing price, computing capabilities, built-in sensors and multiplicity of wireless interfaces of Android-based devices (especially smartphones) have fostered the adoption of this technology to deploy wearable and inexpensive architectures for fall detection. This paper presents a critical and thorough analysis of those existing fall detection systems that are based on Android devices. The review systematically classifies and compares the proposals of the literature taking into account different criteria such as the system architecture, the employed sensors, the detection algorithm or the response in case of a fall alarms. The study emphasizes the analysis of the evaluation methods that are employed to assess the effectiveness of the detection process. The review reveals the complete lack of a reference framework to validate and compare the proposals. In addition, the study also shows that most research works do not evaluate the actual applicability of the Android devices (with limited battery and computing resources) to fall detection solutions. PMID:26213928

Patient-Specific Circulating Tumor DNA Detection during Neoadjuvant Chemotherapy in Triple-Negative Breast Cancer.

Science.gov (United States)

Riva, Francesca; Bidard, Francois-Clement; Houy, Alexandre; Saliou, Adrien; Madic, Jordan; Rampanou, Aurore; Hego, Caroline; Milder, Maud; Cottu, Paul; Sablin, Marie-Paule; Vincent-Salomon, Anne; Lantz, Olivier; Stern, Marc-Henri; Proudhon, Charlotte; Pierga, Jean-Yves

2017-03-01

In nonmetastatic triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) patients, we investigated whether circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) detection can reflect the tumor response to neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NCT) and detect minimal residual disease after surgery. Ten milliliters of plasma were collected at 4 time points: before NCT; after 1 cycle; before surgery; after surgery. Customized droplet digital PCR (ddPCR) assays were used to track tumor protein p53 ( TP53 ) mutations previously characterized in tumor tissue by massively parallel sequencing (MPS). Forty-six patients with nonmetastatic TNBC were enrolled. TP53 mutations were identified in 40 of them. Customized ddPCR probes were validated for 38 patients, with excellent correlation with MPS ( r = 0.99), specificity (≥2 droplets/assay), and sensitivity (at least 0.1%). At baseline, ctDNA was detected in 27/36 patients (75%). Its detection was associated with mitotic index ( P = 0.003), tumor grade ( P = 0.003), and stage ( P = 0.03). During treatment, we observed a drop of ctDNA levels in all patients but 1. No patient had detectable ctDNA after surgery. The patient with rising ctDNA levels experienced tumor progression during NCT. Pathological complete response (16/38 patients) was not correlated with ctDNA detection at any time point. ctDNA positivity after 1 cycle of NCT was correlated with shorter disease-free ( P < 0.001) and overall ( P = 0.006) survival. Customized ctDNA detection by ddPCR achieved a 75% detection rate at baseline. During NCT, ctDNA levels decreased quickly and minimal residual disease was not detected after surgery. However, a slow decrease of ctDNA level during NCT was strongly associated with shorter survival. © 2016 American Association for Clinical Chemistry.

Isothermal amplification detection of nucleic acids by a double-nicked beacon.

Science.gov (United States)

Shi, Chao; Zhou, Meiling; Pan, Mei; Zhong, Guilin; Ma, Cuiping

2016-03-01

Isothermal and rapid amplification detection of nucleic acids is an important technology in environmental monitoring, foodborne pathogen detection, and point-of-care clinical diagnostics. Here we have developed a novel method of isothermal signal amplification for single-stranded DNA (ssDNA) detection. The ssDNA target could be used as an initiator, coupled with a double-nicked molecular beacon, to originate amplification cycles, achieving cascade signal amplification. In addition, the method showed good specificity and strong anti-jamming capability. Overall, it is a one-pot and isothermal strand displacement amplification method without the requirement of a stepwise procedure, which greatly simplifies the experimental procedure and decreases the probability of contamination of samples. With its advantages, the method would be very useful to detect nucleic acids in point-of-care or field use. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Intracranial contrast transit times on digital subtraction angiography decrease more in patients with delayed intraparenchymal hemorrhage after Pipeline.

Science.gov (United States)

Brunozzi, Denise; Shakur, Sophia F; Charbel, Fady T; Alaraj, Ali

2018-04-01

Background Pipeline embolization devices (PEDs) are used for endovascular treatment of cerebral aneurysms but can be associated with delayed ipsilateral intraparenchymal hemorrhage (DIPH). Changes in intracranial hemodynamics after PED are poorly understood. Objective Here, we assess hemodynamic changes after PED in patients and compare these changes in patients with and without DIPH (DIPH+ and DIPH-). Methods Records of patients with distal internal carotid artery (ICA) aneurysms treated with PED at our institution between 2012 and 2017 were retrospectively reviewed. Regions of interest were selected proximally to PED over the cavernous ICA and distally over the middle cerebral artery (MCA), and then transit times were determined using syngo iFlow software (Siemens). Ratio of MCA to ICA transit time was compared before, after treatment, and at follow-up. Ratios were also compared between DIPH+ and DIPH- subgroups. Correlations between aneurysm size, age, and ratios were investigated. Results Fifty-three patients were included. The ratio of MCA to ICA transit time decreased significantly after PED deployment (1.13 vs. 1.22, p transit time decreases following PED treatment and decreases more in patients with DIPH. These contrast transit time changes can be detected in real time immediately after PED deployment.

Disruptive chemical doping in a ferritin-based iron oxide nanoparticle to decrease r2 and enhance detection with T1-weighted MRI.

Science.gov (United States)

Clavijo Jordan, M Veronica; Beeman, Scott C; Baldelomar, Edwin J; Bennett, Kevin M

2014-01-01

Inorganic doping was used to create flexible, paramagnetic nanoparticle contrast agents for in vivo molecular magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) with low transverse relaxivity (r2). Most nanoparticle contrast agents formed from superparamagnetic metal oxides are developed with high r2. While sensitive, they can have limited in vivo detection due to a number of constraints with T2 or T2*-weighted imaging. T1-weighted imaging is often preferred for molecular MRI, but most T1-shortening agents are small chelates with low metal payload or are nanoparticles that also shorten T2 and limit the range of concentrations detectable with T1-weighting. Here we used tungsten and iron deposition to form doped iron oxide crystals inside the apoferritin cavity to form a WFe nanoparticle with a disordered crystal and un-coupled atomic magnetic moments. The atomic magnetic moments were thus localized, resulting in a principally paramagnetic nanoparticle. The WFe nanoparticles had no coercivity or saturation magnetization at 5 K and sweeping up to ± 20,000 Oe, while native ferritin had a coercivity of 3000 Oe and saturation at ± 20,000 Oe. This tungsten-iron crystal paramagnetism resulted in an increased WFe particle longitudinal relaxivity (r1) of 4870 mm(-1) s(-1) and a reduced transverse relaxivity (r2) of 9076 mm(-1) s(-1) compared with native ferritin. The accumulation of the particles was detected with T1-weighted MRI in concentrations from 20 to 400 nm in vivo, both injected in the rat brain and targeted to the rat kidney glomerulus. The WFe apoferritin nanoparticles were not cytotoxic up to 700 nm particle concentrations, making them potentially important for targeted molecular MRI. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Subcentimeter Pulmonary Nodules Detected in Patients with Sarcoma

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Michelle S. Ginsberg

2000-01-01

Full Text Available Background. Subcentimeter pulmonary nodules are being detected with increasing frequency in patients with sarcoma due to the greater use of chest CT, the advent of helical (spiral CT scanning and multidetector scanners, and the attendant decrease in image section thickness.Assessing the clinical significance of these pulmonary nodules is of particular importance in sarcoma patients, due to the frequent occurrence of pulmonary metastasis from sarcomas.

Investigation of disturbed earth detection in the very long wavelength infrared (VLWIR)

Science.gov (United States)

Ewing, K. J.; Sanghera, J. S.

2014-05-01

Undisturbed soil generally consists of larger silica particles where the smaller particles have been removed from the surface by weathering, i.e., rain. Large silica particles exhibit a significant reflectance in the 7 - 12 μm spectral region called the Reststrahlen band. It has been demonstrated that the Reststrahlen band intensity is proportional to the particle size distribution of silica in the soil; as the proportion of small to large silica particles increases the Reststrahlen band also decreases in intensity. When soil is disturbed, for example when an object is buried, the distribution of silica particles is changed such that the "new" surface consists of a greater proportion of small to large silica particles. The increased number of small silica particles decreases the intensity of the Reststrahlen band therefore enabling detection of buried objects by imaging in the 7 - 12 μm spectral range. There is a second reflectance band in the 17 - 25 μm spectral region which has not been used for detection of buried objects. We investigate the behavior of this second Reststrahlen band for disturbed earth and evaluate its use for enhanced detection of buried objects when combined with the first Reststrahlen band.

Microphone detected ionacoustic signal from metals

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Dioszeghy, T.; Szoekefalvi-Nagy, Z.; Biro, T.

1986-12-01

An experimental system for studying the radiation-induced acoustic signal generated by a modulated 2 MeV He + ion beam in metals is described. For detection, a closed cell on the rear side of the copper or aluminium sample, a half-inch condenser microphone, and a lock-in amplifier were employed. The signal was found to be proportional to beam current and particle energy, and inversely proportional to cell length. A decrease of the signal magnitude and an increase of the phase delay with increasing modulation frequency and sample thickness were also observed. (author)

Biomarker detection for disease diagnosis using cost-effective microfluidic platforms.

Science.gov (United States)

Sanjay, Sharma T; Fu, Guanglei; Dou, Maowei; Xu, Feng; Liu, Rutao; Qi, Hao; Li, XiuJun

2015-11-07

Early and timely detection of disease biomarkers can prevent the spread of infectious diseases, and drastically decrease the death rate of people suffering from different diseases such as cancer and infectious diseases. Because conventional diagnostic methods have limited application in low-resource settings due to the use of bulky and expensive instrumentation, simple and low-cost point-of-care diagnostic devices for timely and early biomarker diagnosis is the need of the hour, especially in rural areas and developing nations. The microfluidics technology possesses remarkable features for simple, low-cost, and rapid disease diagnosis. There have been significant advances in the development of microfluidic platforms for biomarker detection of diseases. This article reviews recent advances in biomarker detection using cost-effective microfluidic devices for disease diagnosis, with the emphasis on infectious disease and cancer diagnosis in low-resource settings. This review first introduces different microfluidic platforms (e.g. polymer and paper-based microfluidics) used for disease diagnosis, with a brief description of their common fabrication techniques. Then, it highlights various detection strategies for disease biomarker detection using microfluidic platforms, including colorimetric, fluorescence, chemiluminescence, electrochemiluminescence (ECL), and electrochemical detection. Finally, it discusses the current limitations of microfluidic devices for disease biomarker detection and future prospects.

Origin of transient cosmic ray intensity variations

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Duggal, S.P.; Pomerantz, M.A.

1977-01-01

A new approach to determining the solar progenitor of transient cosmic ray intensity variations has revealed that in a statistical sense, solar flares, heretofore regarded as the predominant source of the modulation, actually do not precede the reduction in flux observed at earth. Superposed epoch analysis of the cosmic ray data with respect to the time of occurrence of all 379 solar flares of importance (Imp) < or =2 observed during solar cycle 20 (1964-1974 inclusive) shows that the onset of a decrease in the composite nucleonic intensity at polar stations occurs prior to the zero day (i.e., time of the flare) well before the arrival in the vicinity of earth of the associated solar plasma. The statistical significance of this result is confirmed by comparing the pooled variance determined from Chree analysis of an equal number of random epochs with that of the curve representing the flare epochs. Subdivision of the latter into three groups according to the heliographic longitude of the flares shows that whereas eastern flares might be associated with cosmic ray decreases, central (30degree to -30degree) and western flares cannot be thus related. A similar analysis of all flares of Imp< or =2 that occurred in a selected set of 24 extraordinary flare-rich active centers during 1964--1974 confirms these results and shows that the observed cosmic ray intensity decrease is, in fact, associated with the central meridian passage ( +- 1 day) of the active regions. Thus earlier conclusions concerning relationships between the heliolongitude of flares and their apparent effectiveness in producing Forbush decreases require reevaluation. The specific feature associated with solar active centers that is actually the principal source of transient modulations remanins to be identified

Solar activity and heliosphere-wide cosmic ray modulation in mid-1982

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cliver, E.W.; Mihalov, J.D.; Sheeley, N.R. Jr.; Howard, R.A.; Koomen, M.J.; Schwenn, R.

1987-01-01

A major episode of flare activity in June and July 1982 was accompaniedby a pair of heliosphere-wide cosmic ray modulation events. In each case, a large Forbush decrease (FD) at earth was followed in turn by apparently related decreases at Pioneer 11 (P11) and Pioneer 10 (P10). The Pioneer spacecraft were separated by --155 0 in ecliptic longitude. We reviewed white light coronagraph and near-sun (≤1 AU) satellite data to identify plausible solar origins of these modulation events. The first widespread intensity decrease (FD 1) can be attributed to the combined effects of a backside flare on June 3 from solar active region 18382/18383, located 23 0 in ecliptic longitude from Pioneer 10, and a visible disk flare from 18405 on June 6, when this region was 9 0 from Pioneer 11. The second widespread modulation event during this period (FD 2) may be linked to flares from active region 18474 on July 12 and 22. The July 12 flare was located 34 0 in azimuth from Pioneer 11, and the July 22 flare was 24 0 from Pioneer 10. Since even fast shocks would take --1 month to propagate to Pioneer 11 (12 AU) and --2 months to reach Pioneer 10 (28 AU) in mid-1982, these ''one-to-one'' associations must be regarded with caution. The processes of entrainment and coalescence can cause a given traveling interplanetary disturbance to lose its identify enroute to the outer heliosphere. The fact that we were able to identify plausible solar flare candidates for each of the four Forbushlike decreases observed at the Pioneer satellites (two each at P10 and P11), however, removes the need to invoke a chock from a single flare as the sole cause of either FD 1 (at both P10 and P11) or FD 2

Prion protein-deficient mice exhibit decreased CD4 T and LTi cell numbers and impaired spleen structure.

Science.gov (United States)

Kim, Soochan; Han, Sinsuk; Lee, Ye Eun; Jung, Woong-Jae; Lee, Hyung Soo; Kim, Yong-Sun; Choi, Eun-Kyoung; Kim, Mi-Yeon

2016-01-01

The cellular prion protein is expressed in almost all tissues, including the central nervous system and lymphoid tissues. To investigate the effects of the prion protein in lymphoid cells and spleen structure formation, we used prion protein-deficient (Prnp(0/0)) Zürich I mice generated by inactivation of the Prnp gene. Prnp(0/0) mice had decreased lymphocytes, in particular, CD4 T cells and lymphoid tissue inducer (LTi) cells. Decreased CD4 T cells resulted from impaired expression of CCL19 and CCL21 in the spleen rather than altered chemokine receptor CCR7 expression. Importantly, some of the white pulp regions in spleens from Prnp(0/0) mice displayed impaired T zone structure as a result of decreased LTi cell numbers and altered expression of the lymphoid tissue-organizing genes lymphotoxin-α and CXCR5, although expression of the lymphatic marker podoplanin and CXCL13 by stromal cells was not affected. In addition, CD3(-)CD4(+)IL-7Rα(+) LTi cells were rarely detected in impaired white pulp in spleens of these mice. These data suggest that the prion protein is required to form the splenic white pulp structure and for development of normal levels of CD4 T and LTi cells. Copyright © 2015. Published by Elsevier GmbH.

Neutron detection and applications using a BC454/BGO array

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Miller, M.C.; Biddle, R.S.; Bourret, S.C.

1998-01-01

Neutron detection and multiplicity counting has been investigated using a boron-loaded plastic scintillator (BC454)/bismuth germanate (BGO) phoswich detector array. Boron-loaded plastic combines neutron moderation (H) and detection ( 10 B) at the molecular level, thereby physically coupling increasing detection efficiency and decreasing die-away time with detector volume. Separation of the phoswich response into its plastic scintillator and bismuth germanate components was accomplished on an event-by-event basis using custom integrator and timing circuits, enabling a prompt coincidence requirement between the BC454 and BGO to be used to identify neutron captures. In addition, a custom time-tag module was used to provide a time for each detector event. Time-correlation analysis was subsequently performed on the filtered event stream to obtain shift-register-type singles and doubles count rates

Neutron detection and applications using a BC454/BGO array

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Miller, M.C.; Biddle, R.S.; Bourret, S.C.; Byrd, R.C.; Ensslin, N.; Feldman, W.C.; Kuropatwinski, J.J.; Longmire, J.L.; Krick, M.S.; Mayo, D.R.; Russo, P.A.; Sweet, M.R

1999-02-11

Neutron detection and multiplicity counting has been investigated using a boron-loaded plastic scintillator/bismuth germanate phoswich detector array. The boron-loaded plastic combines neutron moderation (H) and detection ({sup 10}B) at the molecular level, thereby physically coupling increasing detection efficiency and decreasing die-away time with detector volume. Separation of the phoswich response into its plastic scintillator and bismuth germanate components was accomplished on an event-by-event basis using custom integrator and timing circuits, enabling a prompt coincidence requirement between the BC454 and BGO to be used to identify neutron captures. In addition, a custom time-tag module was used to provide a time for each detector event. Time-correlation analysis was subsequently performed on the filtered event stream to obtain shift-register-type singles and doubles count rates.

Neutron detection and applications using a BC454/BGO array

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Miller, M.C.; Biddle, R.S.; Bourret, S.C.; Byrd, R.C.; Ensslin, N.; Feldman, W.C.; Kuropatwinski, J.J.; Longmire, J.L.; Krick, M.S.; Mayo, D.R.; Russo, P.A.; Sweet, M.R.

1999-01-01

Neutron detection and multiplicity counting has been investigated using a boron-loaded plastic scintillator/bismuth germanate phoswich detector array. The boron-loaded plastic combines neutron moderation (H) and detection ( 10 B) at the molecular level, thereby physically coupling increasing detection efficiency and decreasing die-away time with detector volume. Separation of the phoswich response into its plastic scintillator and bismuth germanate components was accomplished on an event-by-event basis using custom integrator and timing circuits, enabling a prompt coincidence requirement between the BC454 and BGO to be used to identify neutron captures. In addition, a custom time-tag module was used to provide a time for each detector event. Time-correlation analysis was subsequently performed on the filtered event stream to obtain shift-register-type singles and doubles count rates

Detection of colloidal silver chloride near solubility limit

Science.gov (United States)

Putri, K. Y.; Adawiah, R.

2018-03-01

Detection of nanoparticles in solution has been made possible by several means; one of them is laser-induced breakdown detection (LIBD). LIBD is able to distinguish colloids of various sizes and concentrations. This technique has been used in several solubility studies. In this study, the formation of colloids in a mixed system of silver nitrate and sodium chloride was observed by acoustic LIBD. Silver chloride has low solubility limit, therefore LIBD measurement is appropriate. Silver and chloride solutions with equal concentrations, set at below and above the solubility of silver chloride as the expected solid product, were mixed and the resulting colloids were observed. The result of LIBD measurement showed that larger particles were present as more silver and chloride introduced. However, once the concentrations exceeded the solubility limit of silver chloride, the detected particle size seemed to be decreasing, hence suggested the occurrence of coprecipitation process. This phenomenon indicated that the ability of LIBD to detect even small changes in colloid amounts might be a useful tool in study on formation and stability of colloids, i.e. to confirm whether nanoparticles synthesis has been successfully performed and whether the system is stable or not.

Traffic Congestion Detection System through Connected Vehicles and Big Data

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Néstor Cárdenas-Benítez

2016-04-01

Full Text Available This article discusses the simulation and evaluation of a traffic congestion detection system which combines inter-vehicular communications, fixed roadside infrastructure and infrastructure-to-infrastructure connectivity and big data. The system discussed in this article permits drivers to identify traffic congestion and change their routes accordingly, thus reducing the total emissions of CO2 and decreasing travel time. This system monitors, processes and stores large amounts of data, which can detect traffic congestion in a precise way by means of a series of algorithms that reduces localized vehicular emission by rerouting vehicles. To simulate and evaluate the proposed system, a big data cluster was developed based on Cassandra, which was used in tandem with the OMNeT++ discreet event network simulator, coupled with the SUMO (Simulation of Urban MObility traffic simulator and the Veins vehicular network framework. The results validate the efficiency of the traffic detection system and its positive impact in detecting, reporting and rerouting traffic when traffic events occur.

Traffic Congestion Detection System through Connected Vehicles and Big Data.

Science.gov (United States)

Cárdenas-Benítez, Néstor; Aquino-Santos, Raúl; Magaña-Espinoza, Pedro; Aguilar-Velazco, José; Edwards-Block, Arthur; Medina Cass, Aldo

2016-04-28

This article discusses the simulation and evaluation of a traffic congestion detection system which combines inter-vehicular communications, fixed roadside infrastructure and infrastructure-to-infrastructure connectivity and big data. The system discussed in this article permits drivers to identify traffic congestion and change their routes accordingly, thus reducing the total emissions of CO₂ and decreasing travel time. This system monitors, processes and stores large amounts of data, which can detect traffic congestion in a precise way by means of a series of algorithms that reduces localized vehicular emission by rerouting vehicles. To simulate and evaluate the proposed system, a big data cluster was developed based on Cassandra, which was used in tandem with the OMNeT++ discreet event network simulator, coupled with the SUMO (Simulation of Urban MObility) traffic simulator and the Veins vehicular network framework. The results validate the efficiency of the traffic detection system and its positive impact in detecting, reporting and rerouting traffic when traffic events occur.

Frost decreases content of sugars, ascorbic acid and some quercetin glycosides but stimulates selected carotenes in Rosa canina hips.

Science.gov (United States)

Cunja, Vlasta; Mikulic-Petkovsek, Maja; Zupan, Anka; Stampar, Franci; Schmitzer, Valentina

2015-04-15

Primary and secondary metabolites of Rosa canina hips were determined by HPLC/MS during ripening and after frost damage. Rose hips were harvested six times from the beginning of September until the beginning of December. Color parameters a*, b* and L* decreased during maturation. Glucose and fructose were the predominant sugars representing up to 92% total sugars, and citric acid was the major organic acid detected in rose hips (constituting up to 58% total organic acids). Total sugar and ascorbic acid content significantly decreased after frost damage; from 42.2 to 25.9 g 100 g(-1) DW for sugars and from 716.8 to 176.0 mg 100 g(-1) DW for ascorbic acid. Conversely, β-carotene and lycopene levels increased in frostbitten rose hips to 22.1 and 113.2 mg 100 g(-1) DW, respectively. In addition to cyanidin-3-glucoside (highest level in hips was 125.7 μg 100 g (-1) DW), 45 different phenolic compounds have been identified. The most abundant were proanthocyanidins (their levels amounted up to 90% of total flavanol content) and their content showed no significant differences during maturation. The levels of catechin, phloridzin, flavanones and several quercetin glycosides were highest on the first three sampling dates and decreased after frost. Antioxidant capacity similarly decreased in frostbitten rose hips. Total phenolic content increased until the third sampling and decreased on later samplings. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier GmbH. All rights reserved.

Detection Range Estimation of UV Spectral Band Laser Radar

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

V. A. Gorodnichev

2014-01-01

Full Text Available Recently, has come into existence an interest in the systems operating in the ultra-violet (UF band of wavelengths, which use other spectral information (coefficients of reflection or radiation in UF range about location objects, than laser systems in the visible, near or average infrared bands. Thus, a point is not only to receive additional (in another spectral range information on location objects. Laser radiation in the UF spectral band of 0.315 – 0.4 microns is safer than laser radiation with the wavelengths of 0.38 – 1.4 microns.The work presents a comparative estimation of the detection systems range of laser radars in the UV and visible spectral bands for the following wavelengths of radiation:- UF band: 0.266 microns (the fourth harmonic of YAG-laser activated by neodymium ions, 0.308 microns (the XeCl-excimer laser, 0.355 microns (the third harmonic of YAG-laser activated by neodymium ions;- visible band: 0.532 microns (the second harmonic of YAG-laser activated by neodymium ions.Results of calculations show that for the horizontal pathway in the terrestrial atmosphere at the selected radiation wavelengths a detection range is in the range of 2510m – 5690 m.The maximum range of detection corresponds to the visible spectral band. A sweep range decreases with transition to the UF band. This is caused by the fact that with transition to the UF band there is a rise of atmosphere attenuation (generally, because of absorption by ozone, this effect being smoothed by reducing background radiation.In the UF band a wavelength of 0.355 microns is the most acceptable. For this wavelength a detection range is about 1,5 times less (in comparison with the visible band of 0.532 microns. However, this is the much more eye-safe wavelength. With transition to the UV band a detection range decreases not that much and can be compensated by changing parameters of transmitting or receiving channels of laser radar.

Test accuracy at different cut-offs when plasma concentrations of metabolic indicators are used to detect decreased fertility in dairy cows (Poster topic 01, Poster 27, p. 193)

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Lomander, H; Gustafsson, H; Svensson, C

and BHBA were calculated and compared to each cow’s fertility status, measured as anestrous (ANEST) and delayed first AI (DFAI). Positive and negative predictive values (PV+; PV-) were calculated considering different levels of decreased fertility. Strata-specific Se and Sp and associations between test...... are used to predict decreased fertility in dairy cows. However, the accuracy and the usefulness of the tests could be influenced by cow-level factors as well as the prevalence of decreased fertility....

Decreased Identification of Vesicoureteral Reflux: A Cautionary Tale

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Aslam Hyder Qureshi

2017-08-01

Full Text Available AimTo find the trend in patient’s visits to our centers for vesicoureteral reflux (VUR. We hypothesize that VUR diagnosis and hence possible nephropathy recognition may be diminishing because of changing practice patterns.MethodsData were extracted from electronic medical records for new and follow-up patients aged 0–18 years with ICD-9/10 codes to correspond with VUR, VUR unilateral, VUR bilateral, and VUR with reflux nephropathy, as well as new patients with diagnoses of urinary tract infections (UTI and pyelonephritis at two major pediatric centers from 2012 to 2015. Figures and statistics to reflect absolute clinic visits and annual trends were created with SPSS 2010. Linear regression was applied.ResultsAnnually, Le Bonheur Children’s Hospital and Nationwide Children’s Hospital experienced an average decrease of 13 and 17% in total VUR visits, and an average decrease of 22 and 27% in VUR nephropathy visits, respectively, for each institution. Patient visits for UTIs were reduced an average of 16% annually in both centers. Linear regression demonstrated that number of patients (patients/year ± SE decreased annually 69 ± 19 (P = 0.02, 7 ± 2 (P = 0.02, and 67 ± 25 (P = 0.04 for VUR, VUR nephropathy, and UTI, respectively.ConclusionWe conclude that the decreased number of VUR and VUR nephropathy cases identified in subspecialty clinics (Nephrology/Urology at two major children’s hospitals reflect a possible decreased identification of VUR. This trend may also be due to decreased referral of low grade cases of VUR. We cannot conclude that “undifferentiated UTI” referrals increased concomitantly to account for the decreased VUR as our data reflects a decreased trend in those visits as well. We suggest that clinicians following the American Academy of Pediatrics guidelines ensure that all UTI are accounted for and surveillance is appropriately escalated for recurrent UTI or abnormal imaging results.

No evidence for an item limit in change detection.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Shaiyan Keshvari

Full Text Available Change detection is a classic paradigm that has been used for decades to argue that working memory can hold no more than a fixed number of items ("item-limit models". Recent findings force us to consider the alternative view that working memory is limited by the precision in stimulus encoding, with mean precision decreasing with increasing set size ("continuous-resource models". Most previous studies that used the change detection paradigm have ignored effects of limited encoding precision by using highly discriminable stimuli and only large changes. We conducted two change detection experiments (orientation and color in which change magnitudes were drawn from a wide range, including small changes. In a rigorous comparison of five models, we found no evidence of an item limit. Instead, human change detection performance was best explained by a continuous-resource model in which encoding precision is variable across items and trials even at a given set size. This model accounts for comparison errors in a principled, probabilistic manner. Our findings sharply challenge the theoretical basis for most neural studies of working memory capacity.

Remote detection device and detection method therefor

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kogure, Sumio; Yoshida, Yoji; Matsuo, Takashiro; Takehara, Hidetoshi; Kojima, Shinsaku.

1997-01-01

The present invention provides a non-destructive detection device for collectively, efficiently and effectively conducting maintenance and detection for confirming the integrity of a nuclear reactor by way of a shielding member for shielding radiation rays generated from an objective portion to be detected. Namely, devices for direct visual detection using an under water TV camera as a sensor, an eddy current detection using a coil as a sensor and each magnetic powder flow detection are integrated and applied collectively. Specifically, the visual detection by using the TV camera and the eddy current flaw detection are adopted together. The flaw detection with magnetic powder is applied as a means for confirming the results of the two kinds of detections by other method. With such procedures, detection techniques using respective specific theories are combined thereby enabling to enhance the accuracy for the evaluation of the detection. (I.S.)

The response of soil and stream chemistry to decreases in acid deposition in the Catskill Mountains, New York, USA

Science.gov (United States)

McHale, Michael; Burns, Douglas A.; Siemion, Jason; Antidormi, Michael

2017-01-01

The Catskill Mountains have been adversely impacted by decades of acid deposition, however, since the early 1990s, levels have decreased sharply as a result of decreases in emissions of sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxides. This study examines trends in acid deposition, stream-water chemistry, and soil chemistry in the southeastern Catskill Mountains. We measured significant reductions in acid deposition and improvement in stream-water quality in 5 streams included in this study from 1992 to 2014. The largest, most significant trends were for sulfate (SO42−) concentrations (mean trend of −2.5 μeq L−1 yr−1); hydrogen ion (H+) and inorganic monomeric aluminum (Alim) also decreased significantly (mean trends of −0.3 μeq L−1 yr−1 for H+ and −0.1 μeq L−1 yr−1 for Alim for the 3 most acidic sites). Acid neutralizing capacity (ANC) increased by a mean of 0.65 μeq L−1 yr−1 for all 5 sites, which was 4 fold less than the decrease in SO42−concentrations. These upward trends in ANC were limited by coincident decreases in base cations (−1.3 μeq L−1 yr−1 for calcium + magnesium). No significant trends were detected in stream-water nitrate (NO3−) concentrations despite significant decreasing trends in NO3− wet deposition. We measured no recovery in soil chemistry which we attributed to an initially low soil buffering capacity that has been further depleted by decades of acid deposition. Tightly coupled decreasing trends in stream-water silicon (Si) (−0.2 μeq L−1 yr−1) and base cations suggest a decrease in the soil mineral weathering rate. We hypothesize that a decrease in the ionic strength of soil water and shallow groundwater may be the principal driver of this apparent decrease in the weathering rate. A decreasing weathering rate would help to explain the slow recovery of stream pH and ANC as well as that of soil base cations.

Thermal animal detection system (TADS)

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Desholm, M

2003-03-01

This report presents data from equipment tests and software development for the Thermal Animal Detection System (TADS) development project: 'Development of a method for estimating collision frequency between migrating birds and offshore wind turbines'. The technical tests were performed to investigate the performance of remote controlling, video file compression tool and physical stress of the thermal camera when operating outdoors and under the real time vibration conditions at a 2 MW turbine. Furthermore, experimental tests on birds were performed to describe the decreasing detectability with distance on free flying birds, the performance of the thermal camera during poor visibility, and finally, the performance of the thermal sensor software developed for securing high -quality data. In general, it can be concluded that the thermal camera and its related hardware and software, the TADS, are capable of recording migrating birds approaching the rotating blades of a turbine, even under conditions with poor visibility. If the TADS is used in a vertical viewing scenario it would comply with the requirements for a setup used for estimating the avian collision frequency at offshore wind turbines. (au)

A Decline in Response Variability Improves Neural Signal Detection during Auditory Task Performance.

Science.gov (United States)

von Trapp, Gardiner; Buran, Bradley N; Sen, Kamal; Semple, Malcolm N; Sanes, Dan H

2016-10-26

The detection of a sensory stimulus arises from a significant change in neural activity, but a sensory neuron's response is rarely identical to successive presentations of the same stimulus. Large trial-to-trial variability would limit the central nervous system's ability to reliably detect a stimulus, presumably affecting perceptual performance. However, if response variability were to decrease while firing rate remained constant, then neural sensitivity could improve. Here, we asked whether engagement in an auditory detection task can modulate response variability, thereby increasing neural sensitivity. We recorded telemetrically from the core auditory cortex of gerbils, both while they engaged in an amplitude-modulation detection task and while they sat quietly listening to the identical stimuli. Using a signal detection theory framework, we found that neural sensitivity was improved during task performance, and this improvement was closely associated with a decrease in response variability. Moreover, units with the greatest change in response variability had absolute neural thresholds most closely aligned with simultaneously measured perceptual thresholds. Our findings suggest that the limitations imposed by response variability diminish during task performance, thereby improving the sensitivity of neural encoding and potentially leading to better perceptual sensitivity. The detection of a sensory stimulus arises from a significant change in neural activity. However, trial-to-trial variability of the neural response may limit perceptual performance. If the neural response to a stimulus is quite variable, then the response on a given trial could be confused with the pattern of neural activity generated when the stimulus is absent. Therefore, a neural mechanism that served to reduce response variability would allow for better stimulus detection. By recording from the cortex of freely moving animals engaged in an auditory detection task, we found that variability

A Multipoint Method for Detecting Genotyping Errors and Mutations in Sibling-Pair Linkage Data

OpenAIRE

Douglas, Julie A.; Boehnke, Michael; Lange, Kenneth

2000-01-01

The identification of genes contributing to complex diseases and quantitative traits requires genetic data of high fidelity, because undetected errors and mutations can profoundly affect linkage information. The recent emphasis on the use of the sibling-pair design eliminates or decreases the likelihood of detection of genotyping errors and marker mutations through apparent Mendelian incompatibilities or close double recombinants. In this article, we describe a hidden Markov method for detect...

Nondestructive detection of an undesirable metallic phase, T.sub.1, during processing of aluminum-lithium alloys

Science.gov (United States)

Buck, Otto; Bracci, David J.; Jiles, David C.; Brasche, Lisa J. H.; Shield, Jeffrey E.; Chumbley, Leonard S.

1990-08-07

A method is disclosed for detecting the T.sub.1 phase in aluminum-lithium alloys through simultaneous measurement of conductivity and hardness. In employing eddy current to measure conductivity, when the eddy current decreases with aging of the alloy, while the hardness of the material continues to increase, the presence of the T.sub.1 phase may be detected.

The population impact of human papillomavirus/cytology cervical cotesting at 3-year intervals: Reduced cervical cancer risk and decreased yield of precancer per screen.

Science.gov (United States)

Silver, Michelle I; Schiffman, Mark; Fetterman, Barbara; Poitras, Nancy E; Gage, Julia C; Wentzensen, Nicolas; Lorey, Thomas; Kinney, Walter K; Castle, Philip E

2016-12-01

The objective of cervical screening is to detect and treat precancer to prevent cervical cancer mortality and morbidity while minimizing overtreatment of benign human papillomavirus (HPV) infections and related minor abnormalities. HPV/cytology cotesting at extended 5-year intervals currently is a recommended screening strategy in the United States, but the interval extension is controversial. In the current study, the authors examined the impact of a decade of an alternative, 3-year cotesting, on rates of precancer and cancer at Kaiser Permanente Northern California. The effect on screening efficiency, defined as numbers of cotests/colposcopy visits needed to detect a precancer, also was considered. Two cohorts were defined. The "open cohort" included all women screened at least once during the study period; > 1 million cotests were performed. In a fixed "long-term screening cohort," the authors considered the cumulative impact of repeated screening at 3-year intervals by restricting the cohort to women first cotested in 2003 through 2004 (ie, no women entering screening later were added to this group). Detection of cervical intraepithelial neoplasia 3/adenocarcinoma in situ (CIN3/AIS) increased in the open cohort (2004-2006: 82.0/100,000 women screened; 2007-2009: 140.6/100,000 women screened; and 2010-2012: 126.0/100,000 women screened); cancer diagnoses were unchanged. In the long-term screening cohort, the detection of CIN3/AIS increased and then decreased to the original level (2004-2006: 80.5/100,000 women screened; 2007-2009: 118.6/100,000 women screened; and 2010-2012: 84.9./100,000 women screened). The number of cancer diagnoses was found to decrease. When viewed in terms of screening efficiency, the number of colposcopies performed to detect a single case of CIN3/AIS increased in the cohort with repeat screening. Repeated cotesting at a 3-year interval eventually lowers population rates of precancer and cancer. However, a greater number of

Is April to July runoff really decreasing in the Western United States?

Science.gov (United States)

Wahl, Kenneth L.

1991-01-01

Global warming has been the topic of a great deal of heated discussion and debate in recent years, both in the lay press and in scientific journals. The debate is about whether we are beginning to detect signs of a buildup of greenhouse gases on a global scale. A major part of the debate concerns the possible effects on climate and on the future availability of water resources. The ongoing drought in California has added impetus to the debate, serving notice of the serious consequences of any prolonged decrease in the availability of adequate water supplies. This paper has three primary objectives: (1) To evaluate the ramifications of using fractional runoff rather than total runoff to define trends in runoff; (2) to analyze additional streamflow data for the presence and extent of trends in annual and seasonal runoff volume for the conterminous Western United States; and (3) to examine the influence of the current California drought on indicators of trend.

Understanding interferometry for micro-cantilever displacement detection

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Alexander von Schmidsfeld

2016-06-01

Full Text Available Interferometric displacement detection in a cantilever-based non-contact atomic force microscope (NC-AFM operated in ultra-high vacuum is demonstrated for the Michelson and Fabry–Pérot modes of operation. Each mode is addressed by appropriately adjusting the distance between the fiber end delivering and collecting light and a highly reflective micro-cantilever, both together forming the interferometric cavity. For a precise measurement of the cantilever displacement, the relative positioning of fiber and cantilever is of critical importance. We describe a systematic approach for accurate alignment as well as the implications of deficient fiber–cantilever configurations. In the Fabry–Pérot regime, the displacement noise spectral density strongly decreases with decreasing distance between the fiber-end and the cantilever, yielding a noise floor of 24 fm/Hz0.5 under optimum conditions.

Detection, prevention, and rehabilitation of amblyopia.

Science.gov (United States)

Spiritus, M

1997-10-01

The necessity of visual preschool screening for reducing the prevalence of amblyopia is widely accepted. The beneficial results of large-scale screening programs conducted in Scandinavia are reported. Screening monocular visual acuity at 3.5 to 4 years of age appears to be an excellent basis for detecting and treating amblyopia and an acceptable compromise between the pitfalls encountered in screening younger children and the cost-to-benefit ratio. In this respect, several preschoolers' visual acuity charts have been evaluated. New recently developed small-target random stereotests and binocular suppression tests have also been developed with the aim of correcting the many false negatives (anisometropic amblyopia or bilateral high ametropia) induced by the usual stereotests. Longitudinal studies demonstrate that correction of high refractive errors decreases the risk of amblyopia and does not impede emmetropization. The validity of various photoscreening and videoscreening procedures for detecting refractive errors in infants prior to the onset of strabismus or amblyopia, as well as alternatives to conventional occlusion therapy, is discussed.

Highly selective and sensitive method for Cu2 + detection based on chiroptical activity of L-Cysteine mediated Au nanorod assemblies

Science.gov (United States)

Abbasi, Shahryar; Khani, Hamzeh

2017-11-01

Herein, we demonstrated a simple and efficient method to detect Cu2 + based on amplified optical activity in the chiral nanoassemblies of gold nanorods (Au NRs). L-Cysteine can induce side-by-side or end-to-end assembly of Au NRs with an evident plasmonic circular dichroism (PCD) response due to coupling between surface plasmon resonances (SPR) of Au NRs and the chiral signal of L-Cys. Because of the obvious stronger plasmonic circular dichrosim (CD) response of the side-by-side assembly compared with the end-to-end assemblies, SS assembled Au NRs was selected as a sensitive platform and used for Cu2 + detection. In the presence of Cu2 +, Cu2 + can catalyze O2 oxidation of cysteine to cystine. With an increase in Cu2 + concentration, the L-Cysteine-mediated assembly of Au NRs decreased because of decrease in the free cysteine thiol groups, and the PCD signal decreased. Taking advantage of this method, Cu2 + could be detected in the concentration range of 20 pM-5 nM. Under optimal conditions, the calculated detection limit was found to be 7 pM.

Video x-ray progressive scanning: new technique for decreasing x-ray exposure without decreasing image quality during cardiac catheterization

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Holmes, D.R. Jr.; Bove, A.A.; Wondrow, M.A.; Gray, J.E.

1986-01-01

A newly developed video x-ray progressive scanning system improves image quality, decreases radiation exposure, and can be added to any pulsed fluoroscopic x-ray system using a video display without major system modifications. With use of progressive video scanning, the radiation entrance exposure rate measured with a vascular phantom was decreased by 32 to 53% in comparison with a conventional fluoroscopic x-ray system. In addition to this substantial decrease in radiation exposure, the quality of the image was improved because of less motion blur and artifact. Progressive video scanning has the potential for widespread application to all pulsed fluoroscopic x-ray systems. Use of this technique should make cardiac catheterization procedures and all other fluoroscopic procedures safer for the patient and the involved medical and paramedical staff

Effect of image quality on calcification detection in digital mammography

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Warren, Lucy M.; Mackenzie, Alistair; Cooke, Julie; Given-Wilson, Rosalind M.; Wallis, Matthew G.; Chakraborty, Dev P.; Dance, David R.; Bosmans, Hilde; Young, Kenneth C.

2012-01-01

(AFROC) area decreased from 0.84 to 0.63 and the ROC area decreased from 0.91 to 0.79 (p 0.05). It was additionally found that lower threshold gold thickness from CDMAM analysis implied better cluster detection. The measured threshold gold thickness passed the acceptable limit set in the EU standards for all image qualities except half dose CR. However, calcification detection varied significantly between image qualities. This suggests that the current EU guidelines may need revising. Conclusions: Microcalcification detection was found to be sensitive to detector and dose used. Standard measurements of image quality were a good predictor of microcalcification cluster detection.

Effect of image quality on calcification detection in digital mammography.

Science.gov (United States)

Warren, Lucy M; Mackenzie, Alistair; Cooke, Julie; Given-Wilson, Rosalind M; Wallis, Matthew G; Chakraborty, Dev P; Dance, David R; Bosmans, Hilde; Young, Kenneth C

2012-06-01

This study aims to investigate if microcalcification detection varies significantly when mammographic images are acquired using different image qualities, including: different detectors, dose levels, and different image processing algorithms. An additional aim was to determine how the standard European method of measuring image quality using threshold gold thickness measured with a CDMAM phantom and the associated limits in current EU guidelines relate to calcification detection. One hundred and sixty two normal breast images were acquired on an amorphous selenium direct digital (DR) system. Microcalcification clusters extracted from magnified images of slices of mastectomies were electronically inserted into half of the images. The calcification clusters had a subtle appearance. All images were adjusted using a validated mathematical method to simulate the appearance of images from a computed radiography (CR) imaging system at the same dose, from both systems at half this dose, and from the DR system at quarter this dose. The original 162 images were processed with both Hologic and Agfa (Musica-2) image processing. All other image qualities were processed with Agfa (Musica-2) image processing only. Seven experienced observers marked and rated any identified suspicious regions. Free response operating characteristic (FROC) and ROC analyses were performed on the data. The lesion sensitivity at a nonlesion localization fraction (NLF) of 0.1 was also calculated. Images of the CDMAM mammographic test phantom were acquired using the automatic setting on the DR system. These images were modified to the additional image qualities used in the observer study. The images were analyzed using automated software. In order to assess the relationship between threshold gold thickness and calcification detection a power law was fitted to the data. There was a significant reduction in calcification detection using CR compared with DR: the alternative FROC (AFROC) area decreased from

Shot Boundary Detection in Soccer Video using Twin-comparison Algorithm and Dominant Color Region

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Matko Šarić

2008-06-01

Full Text Available The first step in generic video processing is temporal segmentation, i.e. shot boundary detection. Camera shot transitions can be either abrupt (e.g. cuts or gradual (e.g. fades, dissolves, wipes. Sports video is one of the most challenging domains for robust shot boundary detection. We proposed a shot boundary detection algorithm for soccer video based on the twin-comparison method and the absolute difference between frames in their ratios of dominant colored pixels to total number of pixels. With this approach the detection of gradual transitions is improved by decreasing the number of false positives caused by some camera operations. We also compared performances of our algorithm and the standard twin-comparison method.

Decreases in Human Semen Quality with Age Among Healthy Men

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Eskenazi, B.; Wyrobek, A.J.; Kidd, S.A.; Moore, L.; Young, S.S.; Moore, D.

2001-12-01

The objective of this report is to characterize the associations between age and semen quality among healthy active men after controlling for identified covariates. Ninety-seven healthy, nonsmoking men between 22 and 80 years without known fertility problems who worked for or retired from a large research laboratory. There was a gradual decrease in all semen parameters from 22-80 years of age. After adjusting for covariates, volume decreased 0.03 ml per year (p = 0.001); sperm concentration decreased 2.5% per year (p = 0.005); total count decreased 3.6% per year of age (p < 0.001); motility decreased 0.7% per year (P < 0.001); progressive motility decreased 3.1% per year (p < 0.001); and total progressively motile sperm decreased 4.8% per year (p < 0.001). In a group of healthy active men, semen volume, sperm concentration, total sperm count, and sperm motility decrease continuously between 22-80 years of age, with no evidence of a threshold.

The new Athens Center applied to Space Weather Forecasting

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mavromichalaki, H.; Sarlanis, C.; Souvatzoglou, G.; Mariatos, G.; Gerontidou, M.; Plainaki, C.; Papaioannou, A.; Tatsis, S.; Belov, A.; Eroshenko, E.; Yanke, V.

2006-01-01

The Sun provides most of the initial energy driving space weather and modulates the energy input from sources outside the solar system, but this energy undergoes many transformations within the various components of the solar-terrestrial system, which is comprised of the solar wind, magnetosphere and radiation belts, the ionosphere, and the upper and lower atmospheres of Earth. This is the reason why an Earth's based neutron monitor network can be used in order to produce a real time forecasting of space weather phenomena.Since 2004 a fully functioned new data analysis Center in real-time is in operation in Neutron Monitor Station of Athens University (ANMODAP Center) suitable for research applications. It provides a multi sided use of twenty three neutron monitor stations distributing in all world and operating in real-time given crucial information on space weather phenomena. In particular, the ANMODAP Center can give a preliminary alert of ground level enhancements (GLEs) of solar cosmic rays which can be registered around 20 to 30 minutes before the main part of lower energy particles. Therefore these energetic solar cosmic rays provide the advantage of forth warning. Moreover, the monitoring of the precursors of cosmic rays gives a forehand estimate on that kind of events should be expected (geomagnetic storms and/or Forbush decreases)

Selective electrochemical detection of dopamine in a microfluidic channel on carbon nanoparticulate electrodes.

Science.gov (United States)

Rozniecka, Ewa; Jonsson-Niedziolka, Martin; Celebanska, Anna; Niedziolka-Jonsson, Joanna; Opallo, Marcin

2014-06-07

There is a continuous need for the construction of detection systems in microfluidic devices. In particular, electrochemical detection allows the separation of signals from the analyte and interfering substances in the potential domain. Here, a simple microfluidic device for the sensitive and selective determination of dopamine in the presence of interfering substances was constructed and tested. It employs a carbon nanoparticulate electrode allowing the separation of voltammetric signals of dopamine and common interfering substances (ascorbic acid and acetaminophen) both in quiescent conditions and in flow due to the electrocatalytic effect. These voltammograms were also successfully simulated. The limit of detection of dopamine detected by square wave voltammetry in 1 mM solutions of interfering substances in phosphate buffered saline is about 100 nM. In human serum a clear voltammetric signal could be seen for a 200 nM solution, sufficient to detect dopamine in the cerebral fluid. Flow injection analysis allows a decrease in the limit of detection down to 3.5 nM.

Serologic markers for detecting malaria in areas of low endemicity, Somalia, 2008.

Science.gov (United States)

Bousema, Teun; Youssef, Randa M; Cook, Jackie; Cox, Jonathan; Alegana, Victor A; Amran, Jamal; Noor, Abdisalan M; Snow, Robert W; Drakeley, Chris

2010-03-01

Areas in which malaria is not highly endemic are suitable for malaria elimination, but assessing transmission is difficult because of lack of sensitivity of commonly used methods. We evaluated serologic markers for detecting variation in malaria exposure in Somalia. Plasmodium falciparum or P. vivax was not detected by microscopy in cross-sectional surveys of samples from persons during the dry (0/1,178) and wet (0/1,128) seasons. Antibody responses against P. falciparum or P. vivax were detected in 17.9% (179/1,001) and 19.3% (202/1,044) of persons tested. Reactivity against P. falciparum was significantly different between 3 villages (p<0.001); clusters of seroreactivity were present. Distance to the nearest seasonal river was negatively associated with P. falciparum (p = 0.028) and P. vivax seroreactivity (p = 0.016). Serologic markers are a promising tool for detecting spatial variation in malaria exposure and evaluating malaria control efforts in areas where transmission has decreased to levels below the detection limit of microscopy.

Guilt decreasing marketing communication: an unexplored appeal

OpenAIRE

B. BUSACCA; SOSCIA I; PITRELLI E

2007-01-01

The phenomenon of guilt is relevant to a variety of consumption situations and practitioners around the world have continued to use it as a communication appeal. Marketing literature demonstrated that guilt as a distinct emotion can be aroused by advertising. Nevertheless, the capacity of advertising to decrease guilt was neglected by marketing scholars and the aim of this research is to assess the role of the guilt decreasing appeal in reducing anticipated guilt. Findings demonstrate the eff...

Decreased autophosphorylation of EGF receptor in insulin-deficient diabetic rats

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Okamoto, M.; Kahn, C.R.; Maron, R.; White, M.F.

1988-01-01

The authors have previously reported that despite an increase in receptor concentration, there is a decrease in autophosphorylation and tyrosine kinase activity of the insulin receptor in insulin-deficient diabetic rats. To determine if other tyrosine kinases might be altered, they have studied the epidermal growth factor (EGF) receptor kinase in wheat germ agglutinin-purified, Triton X-100-solubilized liver membranes from streptozotocin (STZ)-induced diabetic rats and the insulin-deficient BB rat. They find that autophosphorylation of EGF receptor is decreased in proportion to the severity of the diabetic state in STZ rats with a maximal decrease of 67%. A similar decrease in autophosphorylation was observed in diabetic BB rats that was partially normalized by insulin treatment. Separation of tryptic phosphopeptides by reverse-phase high-performance liquid chromatography revealed a decrease in labeling at all sites of autophosphorylation. A parallel decrease in EGF receptor phosphorylation was also found by immunoblotting with an antiphosphotyrosine antibody. EGF receptor concentration, determined by Scatchard analysis of 125 I-labeled EGF binding, was decreased by 39% in the STZ rat and 27% in the diabetic BB rat. Thus autophosphorylation of EGF receptor, like that of the insulin receptor, is decreased in insulin-deficient rat liver. In the case of EGF receptor, this is due in part to a decrease in receptor number and in part to a decrease in the specific activity of the kinase

Fetal movement detection based on QRS amplitude variations in abdominal ECG recordings.

Science.gov (United States)

Rooijakkers, M J; de Lau, H; Rabotti, C; Oei, S G; Bergmans, J W M; Mischi, M

2014-01-01

Evaluation of fetal motility can give insight in fetal health, as a strong decrease can be seen as a precursor to fetal death. Typically, the assessment of fetal health by fetal movement detection relies on the maternal perception of fetal activity. The percentage of detected movements is strongly subject dependent and with undivided attention of the mother varies between 37% to 88%. Various methods to assist in fetal movement detection exist based on a wide spectrum of measurement techniques. However, these are typically unsuitable for ambulatory or long-term observation. In this paper, a novel method for fetal motion detection is presented based on amplitude and shape changes in the abdominally recorded fetal ECG. The proposed method has a sensitivity and specificity of 0.67 and 0.90, respectively, outperforming alternative fetal ECG-based methods from the literature.

Development of detection methods for irradiated foods - Development of detection method for radiolytic products of irradiated foods

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kim, Kyong Su; Lee, Eun Ryong; Hong, Hae Jung [Chosun University, Kwangju (Korea)

2000-07-01

Meats, nuts, legumes and cereals were irradiated with {sup 60}Co {gamma}-ray. The detection methods included the fat extraction from samples, isolation of hydrocarbons and 2-alkylcyclobutanones by florisil column chromatography and analyses of GC-FID and GC/MS analyzers. Concentrations of hydrocarbons and 2-clobutanones increased with the irradiation dose in meat, nuts, legumes and cereals. In nuts (sesame seeds, black sesame seeds, perilla seeds, pine nuts and peanuts), legumes (white beans, black soybeans, yellow bean sprout soybeans, mouse-eyed soybeans, mung beans, kidney beans and small red beans) and cereals (brown rice, corns and wheat), 8-heptadecene and 1,7-hexadecadiene originated from oleic acid and 6,9-heptadecadiene and 1,7,10-hexadecatriene induced from linoleic acids were the major hydrocarbons due to the composition of fatty acids. Concentrations of radiation-induced hydrocarbons in nuts were slightly reduced and hydrocarbons were still significantly detectable, during 6 months at -18 deg. C. In meats and nuts, 2-(5'-tetradecenyl)cyclobutanone formed from oleic acid was found in most. 2-Dodecylcyclobutanone was detected in a large amount. The concentrations of radiation-induced 2-alkylcyclobutanones in meats slightly decreased, but relatively constant during 6 months at -18 deg. C. 62 refs., 45 figs., 25 tabs. (Author)

Spatial-temporal event detection in climate parameter imagery.

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

McKenna, Sean Andrew; Gutierrez, Karen A.

2011-10-01

Previously developed techniques that comprise statistical parametric mapping, with applications focused on human brain imaging, are examined and tested here for new applications in anomaly detection within remotely-sensed imagery. Two approaches to analysis are developed: online, regression-based anomaly detection and conditional differences. These approaches are applied to two example spatial-temporal data sets: data simulated with a Gaussian field deformation approach and weekly NDVI images derived from global satellite coverage. Results indicate that anomalies can be identified in spatial temporal data with the regression-based approach. Additionally, la Nina and el Nino climatic conditions are used as different stimuli applied to the earth and this comparison shows that el Nino conditions lead to significant decreases in NDVI in both the Amazon Basin and in Southern India.

A geometric proof of confluence by decreasing diagrams

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Klop, J.W.; Oostrom, V. van; Vrijer, R. de

The criterion for confluence using decreasing diagrams is a generalization of several well-known confluence criteria in abstract rewriting, such as the strong confluence lemma. We give a new proof of the decreasing diagram theorem based on a geometric study of in finite reduction diagrams, arising

Decreased NAA in gray matter is correlated with decreased availability of acetate in white matter in postmortem multiple sclerosis cortex.

Science.gov (United States)

Li, S; Clements, R; Sulak, M; Gregory, R; Freeman, E; McDonough, J

2013-11-01

Multiple sclerosis (MS) is an inflammatory neurodegenerative disease of the central nervous system (CNS) which leads to progressive neurological disability. Our previous studies have demonstrated mitochondrial involvement in MS cortical pathology and others have documented decreased levels of the neuronal mitochondrial metabolite N-acetyl aspartate (NAA) in the MS brain. While NAA is synthesized in neurons, it is broken down in oligodendrocytes into aspartate and acetate. The resulting acetate is incorporated into myelin lipids, linking neuronal mitochondrial function to oligodendrocyte-mediated elaboration of myelin lipids in the CNS. In the present study we show that treating human SH-SY5Y neuroblastoma cells with the electron transport chain inhibitor antimycin A decreased levels of NAA as measured by HPLC. To better understand the significance of the relationship between mitochondrial function and levels of NAA and its breakdown product acetate on MS pathology we then quantitated the levels of NAA and acetate in MS and control postmortem tissue blocks. Regardless of lesion status, we observed that levels of NAA were decreased 25 and 32 % in gray matter from parietal and motor cortex in MS, respectively, compared to controls. Acetate levels in adjacent white matter mirrored these decreases as evidenced by the 36 and 45 % reduction in acetate obtained from parietal and motor cortices. These data suggest a novel mechanism whereby mitochondrial dysfunction and reduced NAA levels in neurons may result in compromised myelination by oligodendrocytes due to decreased availability of acetate necessary for the synthesis of myelin lipids.

The Expression of the Zonula Adhaerens Protein PLEKHA7 Is Strongly Decreased in High Grade Ductal and Lobular Breast Carcinomas.

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Jean-Christophe Tille

Full Text Available PLEKHA7 is a junctional protein, which participates in a complex that stabilizes E-cadherin at the zonula adhaerens. Since E-cadherin is involved in epithelial morphogenesis, signaling, and tumor progression, we explored PLEKHA7 expression in cancer. PLEKHA7 expression was assessed in invasive ductal and lobular carcinomas of the breast by immunohistochemistry, immunofluorescence and quantitative RT-PCR. PLEKHA7 was detected at epithelial junctions of normal mammary ducts and lobules, and of tubular and micropapillary structures within G1 and G2 ductal carcinomas. At these junctions, the localization of PLEKHA7 was along the circumferential belt (zonula adhaerens, and only partially overlapping with that of E-cadherin, p120ctn and ZO-1, as shown previously in rodent tissues. PLEKHA7 immunolabeling was strongly decreased in G3 ductal carcinomas and undetectable in lobular carcinomas. PLEKHA7 mRNA was detected in both ductal and lobular carcinomas, with no observed correlation between mRNA levels and tumor type or grade. In summary, PLEKHA7 is a junctional marker of epithelial cells within tubular structures both in normal breast tissue and ductal carcinomas, and since PLEKHA7 protein but not mRNA expression is strongly decreased or lost in high grade ductal carcinomas and in lobular carcinomas, loss of PLEKHA7 is a newly characterized feature of these carcinomas.

CAN CHILD-CARE SUPPORT POLICIES HALT DECREASING FERTILITY?

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Masaya Yasuoka

2013-04-01

Full Text Available Some earlier papers examine whether child allowances can raise fertility or not in an endogenous fertility model with a defined contribution pension system. They derive that a child allowance can raise fertility. This paper is aimed at deriving the level of child allowances or education subsidies to make the pension system sustainable. A child allowance can raise fertility instantaneously. However, in the long run, fertility might continue decreasing and the pension system might not be sustainable if less child allowance is provided. In a defined benefit system, tax burdens for pension benefits are heavy in an aging society with fewer children. A heavy tax burden reduces the household income and then decreases fertility. Therefore, child allowances must be provided to halt decreasing fertility in the long run. Nevertheless, given parametric conditions, education subsidy of more than a certain level can not halt the decrease of fertility in the long run.

Electrochemical detection of specific DNA and respiratory activity of Escherichia coli

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yamanaka, Keiichiro; Ikeuchi, Tomohiko; Saito, Masato; Nagatani, Naoki; Tamiya, Eiichi

2012-01-01

We present two rapid and simplified detection methods for Escherichia coli involving the use of a hand-held potentiostat and a disposable screen-printed carbon electrode. E. coli is one of the indicator organisms used to access for food safety. Commonly, microbiological culture techniques take more than one day to yield results and therefore, a simple, cost-effective, in situ detection system is required for testing food safety. This report describes two complementary techniques for high- and low-sensitivity detection of E. coli. High-sensitivity detection relies upon quantification of DNA amplification by using polymerase chain reaction (PCR), while the simplified, low-sensitivity detection can be obtained through measurement of oxygen consumption due to respiration; importantly, both techniques utilize the same type of electrode. The former entails mixing the PCR mixture with Hoechst, an electro-active DNA intercalator, and then, measuring the oxidation current. Binding of Hoechst molecules to the amplified DNA causes the peak current to decrease because of the slow diffusion of the Hoechst-amplified DNA complex to the electrode surface. The results showed that the oxidation peak current of Hoechst decreased depending on the number of E. coli cells added to the PCR mixture as the template for amplification, and the sensitivity of the method was as low as a single bacterium. Oxygen consumption was detected by direct measurement of the cell-containing culture medium. This method required only 10 μL to be applied on the screen-printed electrode, and the reduction in oxygen current was clearly observed within 30 min when a minimum of 1 × 10 5 cells were present. These results were obtained without purifying the culture, and the samples were applied onto the electrode without any surface modifications. The techniques describes in this report are versatile, because they require the same type of electrode, have simplistic nature, use a hand-held potentiostat, and have

ALLOPURINOL DOES NOT DECREASE BLOOD PRESSURE OR PREVENT THE DEVELOPMENT OF HYPERTENSION IN THE DOCA-SALT RAT MODEL

Science.gov (United States)

Szasz, Theodora; Linder, A. Elizabeth; Davis, Robert P.; Burnett, Robert; Fink, Gregory D.; Watts, Stephanie W.

2010-01-01

Reactive oxygen species (ROS) play an important role in the pathogenesis of hypertension, disease in which ROS levels and markers of oxidative stress are increased. Xanthine oxidase (XO) is a ROS-producing enzyme the activity of which may increase during hypertension. Studies on XO inhibition effects on BP have yielded controversial results. We hypothesized that XO inhibition would decrease BP or attenuate the development of DOCA-salt hypertension. We administered the XO inhibitor, allopurinol (50 mg/kg/day, orally) or its vehicle to rats during the established or development stages of DOCA-salt hypertension. We validated XO inhibition by HPLC measurements of XO metabolites in urine, serum and tissues demonstrating decrease in products, increase in substrates and detection of the active metabolite of allopurinol, oxypurinol. We monitored BP continuously via radiotelemetry and performed gross evaluations of target organs of hypertension. Allopurinol treatment did not impact the course of DOCA-salt hypertension, regardless of the timing of administration. Aside from a significant decrease in pulse pressure in allopurinol-treated rats, no positive differences were observed between the allopurinol and the vehicle-treated rats. We conclude that XO does not play an important role in the development or maintenance of hypertension in the rat DOCA-salt hypertension model. PMID:20881613

LANDSAT-8 OPERATIONAL LAND IMAGER CHANGE DETECTION ANALYSIS

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W. Pervez

2017-05-01

Full Text Available This paper investigated the potential utility of Landsat-8 Operational Land Imager (OLI for change detection analysis and mapping application because of its superior technical design to previous Landsat series. The OLI SVM classified data was successfully classified with regard to all six test classes (i.e., bare land, built-up land, mixed trees, bushes, dam water and channel water. OLI support vector machine (SVM classified data for the four seasons (i.e., spring, autumn, winter, and summer was used to change detection results of six cases: (1 winter to spring which resulted reduction in dam water mapping and increases of bushes; (2 winter to summer which resulted reduction in dam water mapping and increase of vegetation; (3 winter to autumn which resulted increase in dam water mapping; (4 spring to summer which resulted reduction of vegetation and shallow water; (5 spring to autumn which resulted decrease of vegetation; and (6 summer to autumn which resulted increase of bushes and vegetation . OLI SVM classified data resulted higher overall accuracy and kappa coefficient and thus found suitable for change detection analysis.

Detection of human influence on sea-level pressure.

Science.gov (United States)

Gillett, Nathan P; Zwiers, Francis W; Weaver, Andrew J; Stott, Peter A

2003-03-20

Greenhouse gases and tropospheric sulphate aerosols--the main human influences on climate--have been shown to have had a detectable effect on surface air temperature, the temperature of the free troposphere and stratosphere and ocean temperature. Nevertheless, the question remains as to whether human influence is detectable in any variable other than temperature. Here we detect an influence of anthropogenic greenhouse gases and sulphate aerosols in observations of winter sea-level pressure (December to February), using combined simulations from four climate models. We find increases in sea-level pressure over the subtropical North Atlantic Ocean, southern Europe and North Africa, and decreases in the polar regions and the North Pacific Ocean, in response to human influence. Our analysis also indicates that the climate models substantially underestimate the magnitude of the sea-level pressure response. This discrepancy suggests that the upward trend in the North Atlantic Oscillation index (corresponding to strengthened westerlies in the North Atlantic region), as simulated in a number of global warming scenarios, may be too small, leading to an underestimation of the impacts of anthropogenic climate change on European climate.

A Comparison between Radiolabeled Fluorodeoxyglucose Uptake and Hyperpolarized 13C-Labeled Pyruvate Utilization as Methods for Detecting Tumor Response to Treatment

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Timothy H. Witney

2009-06-01

Full Text Available Detection of early tumor responses to treatment can give an indication of clinical outcome. Positron emission tomography measurements of the uptake of the glucose analog, [18F] 2-fluoro-2-deoxy-d-glucose (FDG, have demonstrated their potential for detecting early treatment response in the clinic. We have shown recently that 13C magnetic resonance spectroscopy and spectroscopic imaging measurements of the uptake and conversion of hyperpolarized [1-13C]pyruvate into [1-13C]lactate can be used to detect treatment response in a murine lymphoma model. The present study compares these magnetic resonance measurements with changes in FDG uptake after chemotherapy. A decrease in FDG uptake was found to precede the decrease in flux of hyperpolarized 13C label between pyruvate and lactate, both in tumor cells in vitro and in tumors in vivo. However, the magnitude of the decrease in FDG uptake and the decrease in pyruvate to lactate flux was comparable at 24 hours after drug treatment. In cells, the decrease in FDG uptake was shown to correlate with changes in plasma membrane expression of the facilitative glucose transporters, whereas the decrease in pyruvate to lactate flux could be explained by an increase in poly(ADP-ribose polymerase activity and subsequent depletion of the NAD(H pool. These results show that measurement of flux between pyruvate and lactate may be an alternative to FDG-positron emission tomography for imaging tumor treatment response in the clinic.

Detection of movement intention from single-trial movement-related cortical potentials

Science.gov (United States)

Niazi, Imran Khan; Jiang, Ning; Tiberghien, Olivier; Feldbæk Nielsen, Jørgen; Dremstrup, Kim; Farina, Dario

2011-10-01

Detection of movement intention from neural signals combined with assistive technologies may be used for effective neurofeedback in rehabilitation. In order to promote plasticity, a causal relation between intended actions (detected for example from the EEG) and the corresponding feedback should be established. This requires reliable detection of motor intentions. In this study, we propose a method to detect movements from EEG with limited latency. In a self-paced asynchronous BCI paradigm, the initial negative phase of the movement-related cortical potentials (MRCPs), extracted from multi-channel scalp EEG was used to detect motor execution/imagination in healthy subjects and stroke patients. For MRCP detection, it was demonstrated that a new optimized spatial filtering technique led to better accuracy than a large Laplacian spatial filter and common spatial pattern. With the optimized spatial filter, the true positive rate (TPR) for detection of movement execution in healthy subjects (n = 15) was 82.5 ± 7.8%, with latency of -66.6 ± 121 ms. Although TPR decreased with motor imagination in healthy subject (n = 10, 64.5 ± 5.33%) and with attempted movements in stroke patients (n = 5, 55.01 ± 12.01%), the results are promising for the application of this approach to provide patient-driven real-time neurofeedback.

Detection of microRNAs in frozen tissue sections by fluorescence in situ hybridization using locked nucleic acid probes and tyramide signal amplification

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Silahtaroglu, Asli; Nolting, Dorrit; Andersen, Lars Dyrskjøt

2007-01-01

been shown to increase detection sensitivity in FISH, combining these techniques into one protocol significantly decreases the time needed for miRNA detection in cryosections, while simultaneously retaining high detection sensitivity. Starting with fixation of the tissue sections, this miRNA FISH...

Effect of decreasing dietary phosphorus supply on net recycling of inorganic phosphate in lactating dairy cows.

Science.gov (United States)

Puggaard, L; Kristensen, N B; Sehested, J

2011-03-01

Five ruminally cannulated lactating Holstein cows, fitted with permanent indwelling catheters in the mesenteric vein, hepatic vein, portal vein, and an artery were used to study intestinal absorption and net recycling of inorganic phosphate (P(i)) to the gastrointestinal tract. Treatments were low P (LP; 2.4 g of P/kg of DM) and high P (HP; 3.4 g of P/kg of DM). The dietary total P (tP) concentrations were obtained by replacing 0.50% calcium carbonate in the LP diet with 0.50% monocalcium phosphate in the HP diet. Diets were fed for 14 d and cows were sampled on d 14 in each period. Cows were fed restrictively, resulting in equal dry matter intakes as well as milk, fat, and protein yields between treatments. Net P(i) recycling (primarily salivary) was estimated as the difference between net portal plasma flux (net absorption of P(i)) and apparently digested tP (feed - fecal tP difference). Phosphorus intake, apparently digested tP, and fecal tP excretion decreased with LP. An effect of decreased tP intake on net portal plasma flux of P(i) could not be detected. However, despite numerically minute net fluxes across the liver, the net splanchnic flux of P(i) was less in LP compared with that in HP. Though arterial plasma P(i) concentration decreased, net P(i) recycling was not decreased when tP intake was decreased, and recycling of P(i) was maintained at the expense of deposition of P(i) in bones. Data are not consistent with salivary P(i) secretion being the primary regulator of P(i) homeostasis at low tP intakes. On the contrary, maintaining salivary P(i) recycling at low tP intakes indicates that rumen function was prioritized at the expense of bone P reserves. Copyright © 2011 American Dairy Science Association. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Decreasing transobturator sling groin pain without decreasing efficacy using TVT-Abbrevo.

Science.gov (United States)

Shaw, Jonathan S; Jeppson, Peter C; Rardin, Charles R

2015-09-01

Groin pain following a transobturator (TO) midurethral sling is not uncommon and can be difficult to manage. We sought to determine if decreasing the mesh burden in the groin would decrease pain. The primary objective was to compare the incidence of post-operative groin pain following placement of full-length TVT-Obturator versus the shorter TVT-Abbrevo. Secondarily, we aimed to compare the efficacy between both devices 6 months after surgery. This is a retrospective cohort study of all women who underwent a TO midurethral sling by the division of urogynecology at one institution between 1 January 2007 and 31 October 2013. Charts were reviewed and the incidence of post-operative groin pain in the two groups dichotomized as present or absent and compared using a Chi-squared test. Validated questionnaire scores of the groups were compared using t tests. There were 125 patients who received a TVT-Obturator and 100 patients who received a TVT-Abbrevo. No differences in demographic data were present between the groups. Twelve patients (9.6 %) in the TVT-Obturator group and 1 patient (1 %) in the TVT-Abbrevo group experienced bothersome groin pain (P value = 0.007). The complete pre- and 6-month post-operative ISI, UDI-6 and PFIQ-7 scores were available for 76 (61 %), 47 (38 %), and 45 (36 %) patients following TVT-Obturator and 57 (57 %), 30 (30 %), and 28 (28 %) following TVT-Abbrevo treatment. At 6 months the mean improvement in questionnaire scores for the TVT-Obturator and TVT-Abbrevo groups were as follows: 5.0 and 5.1 for ISI (P value = 0.9), 8.3 and 7.9 for UDI-6 (P value = 0.8), and 4.8 and 6.1 for PFIQ-7 (P value = 0.4). Use of TVT-Abbrevo reduces post-operative groin pain compared with the full-length TVT-Obturator, without any reduction in efficacy.

Detection of Fundus Lesions Using Classifier Selection

Science.gov (United States)

Nagayoshi, Hiroto; Hiramatsu, Yoshitaka; Sako, Hiroshi; Himaga, Mitsutoshi; Kato, Satoshi

A system for detecting fundus lesions caused by diabetic retinopathy from fundus images is being developed. The system can screen the images in advance in order to reduce the inspection workload on doctors. One of the difficulties that must be addressed in completing this system is how to remove false positives (which tend to arise near blood vessels) without decreasing the detection rate of lesions in other areas. To overcome this difficulty, we developed classifier selection according to the position of a candidate lesion, and we introduced new features that can distinguish true lesions from false positives. A system incorporating classifier selection and these new features was tested in experiments using 55 fundus images with some lesions and 223 images without lesions. The results of the experiments confirm the effectiveness of the proposed system, namely, degrees of sensitivity and specificity of 98% and 81%, respectively.

An Improved Topology-Potential-Based Community Detection Algorithm for Complex Network

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Zhixiao Wang

2014-01-01

Full Text Available Topology potential theory is a new community detection theory on complex network, which divides a network into communities by spreading outward from each local maximum potential node. At present, almost all topology-potential-based community detection methods ignore node difference and assume that all nodes have the same mass. This hypothesis leads to inaccuracy of topology potential calculation and then decreases the precision of community detection. Inspired by the idea of PageRank algorithm, this paper puts forward a novel mass calculation method for complex network nodes. A node’s mass obtained by our method can effectively reflect its importance and influence in complex network. The more important the node is, the bigger its mass is. Simulation experiment results showed that, after taking node mass into consideration, the topology potential of node is more accurate, the distribution of topology potential is more reasonable, and the results of community detection are more precise.

Robust Vehicle Detection in Aerial Images Based on Cascaded Convolutional Neural Networks.

Science.gov (United States)

Zhong, Jiandan; Lei, Tao; Yao, Guangle

2017-11-24

Vehicle detection in aerial images is an important and challenging task. Traditionally, many target detection models based on sliding-window fashion were developed and achieved acceptable performance, but these models are time-consuming in the detection phase. Recently, with the great success of convolutional neural networks (CNNs) in computer vision, many state-of-the-art detectors have been designed based on deep CNNs. However, these CNN-based detectors are inefficient when applied in aerial image data due to the fact that the existing CNN-based models struggle with small-size object detection and precise localization. To improve the detection accuracy without decreasing speed, we propose a CNN-based detection model combining two independent convolutional neural networks, where the first network is applied to generate a set of vehicle-like regions from multi-feature maps of different hierarchies and scales. Because the multi-feature maps combine the advantage of the deep and shallow convolutional layer, the first network performs well on locating the small targets in aerial image data. Then, the generated candidate regions are fed into the second network for feature extraction and decision making. Comprehensive experiments are conducted on the Vehicle Detection in Aerial Imagery (VEDAI) dataset and Munich vehicle dataset. The proposed cascaded detection model yields high performance, not only in detection accuracy but also in detection speed.

The efficacy of using computer-aided detection (CAD) for detection of breast cancer in mammography screening: a systematic review.

Science.gov (United States)

Henriksen, Emilie L; Carlsen, Jonathan F; Vejborg, Ilse Mm; Nielsen, Michael B; Lauridsen, Carsten A

2018-01-01

Background Early detection of breast cancer (BC) is crucial in lowering the mortality. Purpose To present an overview of studies concerning computer-aided detection (CAD) in screening mammography for early detection of BC and compare diagnostic accuracy and recall rates (RR) of single reading (SR) with SR + CAD and double reading (DR) with SR + CAD. Material and Methods PRISMA guidelines were used as a review protocol. Articles on clinical trials concerning CAD for detection of BC in a screening population were included. The literature search resulted in 1522 records. A total of 1491 records were excluded by abstract and 18 were excluded by full text reading. A total of 13 articles were included. Results All but two studies from the SR vs. SR + CAD group showed an increased sensitivity and/or cancer detection rate (CDR) when adding CAD. The DR vs. SR + CAD group showed no significant differences in sensitivity and CDR. Adding CAD to SR increased the RR and decreased the specificity in all but one study. For the DR vs. SR + CAD group only one study reported a significant difference in RR. Conclusion All but two studies showed an increase in RR, sensitivity and CDR when adding CAD to SR. Compared to DR no statistically significant differences in sensitivity or CDR were reported. Additional studies based on organized population-based screening programs, with longer follow-up time, high-volume readers, and digital mammography are needed to evaluate the efficacy of CAD.

Presymptomatic detection of Parkinson's disease.

Science.gov (United States)

Jenner, P

1993-01-01

Presymptomatic detection of Parkinson's disease is necessary if neuroprotective therapies are to be utilized in its treatment. Various methods (PET, electrophysiology, enzyme assays, olfactory function) may be applicable but none has been rigorously evaluated. Other possible approaches are now considered. Plasma HVA levels (pHVA) in the presence of debrisoquine may reflect cerebral dopamine function. However, there are no detectable differences in pHVA between newly diagnosed and untreated parkinsonian patients and control subjects. Compensatory increases in dopamine turnover may mask a decrease in pHVA in the early stages of the disease. So, at present this technique could not be used as a diagnostic tool. Post-mortem studies of brain in Parkinson's disease may provide clues to biochemical markers indicative of nigral pathology. Mitochondrial complex I activity is reduced in substantia nigra in Parkinson's disease and it was reported also to be markedly reduced in blood platelets. However, subsequent studies suggest that the difference in platelet complex I activity is too small to be diagnostic of Parkinson's disease. There are also selective reductions in brain glutathione levels in Parkinson's disease restricted to substantia nigra, which do not occur in other neurodegenerative disorders and are not due to drug treatment. Importantly, in incidental Lewy body disease (preclinical Parkinson's disease) nigral glutathione levels are reduced to the same degree as in advanced Parkinson's disease. So, some peripheral index of altered glutathione function may be valuable in the early detection of the disease process.

Effect of image quality on calcification detection in digital mammography

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Warren, Lucy M.; Mackenzie, Alistair; Cooke, Julie; Given-Wilson, Rosalind M.; Wallis, Matthew G.; Chakraborty, Dev P.; Dance, David R.; Bosmans, Hilde; Young, Kenneth C. [National Co-ordinating Centre for the Physics of Mammography, Royal Surrey County Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, Guildford GU2 7XX, United Kingdom and Department of Physics, Faculty of Engineering and Physical Sciences, University of Surrey, Guildford, GU2 7XH (United Kingdom); Jarvis Breast Screening and Diagnostic Centre, Guildford GU1 1LJ (United Kingdom); Department of Radiology, St. George' s Healthcare NHS Trust, Tooting, London SW17 0QT (United Kingdom); Cambridge Breast Unit, Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, Cambridge CB2 0QQ, United Kingdom and NIHR Cambridge Biomedical Research Centre, Cambridge CB2 0QQ (United Kingdom); Department of Radiology, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15210 (United States); National Co-ordinating Centre for the Physics of Mammography, Royal Surrey County Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, Guildford GU2 7XX, United Kingdom and Department of Physics, Faculty of Engineering and Physical Sciences, University of Surrey, Guildford GU2 7XH (United Kingdom); University Hospitals Leuven, Herestraat 49, 3000 Leuven (Belgium); National Co-ordinating Centre for the Physics of Mammography, Royal Surrey County Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, Guildford GU2 7XX, United Kingdom and Department of Physics, Faculty of Engineering and Physical Sciences, University of Surrey, Guildford GU2 7XH (United Kingdom)

2012-06-15

(AFROC) area decreased from 0.84 to 0.63 and the ROC area decreased from 0.91 to 0.79 (p < 0.0001). This corresponded to a 30% drop in lesion sensitivity at a NLF equal to 0.1. Detection was also sensitive to the dose used. There was no significant difference in detection between the two image processing algorithms used (p > 0.05). It was additionally found that lower threshold gold thickness from CDMAM analysis implied better cluster detection. The measured threshold gold thickness passed the acceptable limit set in the EU standards for all image qualities except half dose CR. However, calcification detection varied significantly between image qualities. This suggests that the current EU guidelines may need revising. Conclusions: Microcalcification detection was found to be sensitive to detector and dose used. Standard measurements of image quality were a good predictor of microcalcification cluster detection.

Subliminal stimulation and somatosensory signal detection.

Science.gov (United States)

Ferrè, Elisa Raffaella; Sahani, Maneesh; Haggard, Patrick

2016-10-01

Only a small fraction of sensory signals is consciously perceived. The brain's perceptual systems may include mechanisms of feedforward inhibition that protect the cortex from subliminal noise, thus reserving cortical capacity and conscious awareness for significant stimuli. Here we provide a new view of these mechanisms based on signal detection theory, and gain control. We demonstrated that subliminal somatosensory stimulation decreased sensitivity for the detection of a subsequent somatosensory input, largely due to increased false alarm rates. By delivering the subliminal somatosensory stimulus and the to-be-detected somatosensory stimulus to different digits of the same hand, we show that this effect spreads across the sensory surface. In addition, subliminal somatosensory stimulation tended to produce an increased probability of responding "yes", whether the somatosensory stimulus was present or not. Our results suggest that subliminal stimuli temporarily reduce input gain, avoiding excessive responses to further small inputs. This gain control may be automatic, and may precede discriminative classification of inputs into signals or noise. Crucially, we found that subliminal inputs influenced false alarm rates only on blocks where the to-be-detected stimuli were present, and not on pre-test control blocks where they were absent. Participants appeared to adjust their perceptual criterion according to a statistical distribution of stimuli in the current context, with the presence of supraliminal stimuli having an important role in the criterion-setting process. These findings clarify the cognitive mechanisms that reserve conscious perception for salient and important signals. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Clinical significance of plasma atrial natriuretic factor and endothelin detection in hyperthyroidism and hypothyroidism

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zhu Yalin; Huo Ying; Pan Yunlong

2005-01-01

Plasma at rial natriuretic factor (ANF) and endothelin (ET) were detected by RIA in 58 cases of hyperthyroidism and 47 cases of hypothyroidism. Before the ANF and ET concentration of untreatment hyperthyroid patients was much higher than that of treatment hyperthyroid patients, hypothyroid patients before and after treatment and the normal group (P 3 and FT 4 . Compared with the normal group, ANF concentration in treatment hyperthyroid patients, hypothyroid patients before and after treatment was no significantly different (P>0.05), but that in hypothyroid patients before treatment was significantly decreased compared with hypothyroid patients after treatment (P 0.05), but that in hypothyroid patients before treatment was significantly decreased compared with others (P<0.01 and P<0.05). Detection of ANF and ET level may be have a role in supplementary diagnosis and curative effect observation of hyperthyroidism and hypothyroidism. (authors)

Detection and quantification of Sapovirus in bivalve molluscs from Galicia (NW Spain.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jesus L Romalde

2014-06-01

SaV was detected in 30 of the 168 samples (17,85%. There was no significant difference between the two Rías in terms of detections, although it was observed a seasonality increment of positive samples from November 2011 until April 2012 in both Rías due to the rainy season and the decrease of seawater temperature. Total quantification ranged between 103 and 105 copies of viral RNA/g of digestive tissue (c/g, being mussels the specie with lower main quantification (3,1 x 104 c/g and clams the species with higher medium rates (2,0 x 105 c/g. This represents the first study out of Japan in which human Sapovirus was detected and quantified into human food intended for consumption.

Can Diuretics Decrease Your Potassium Level?

Science.gov (United States)

... of low potassium? Can diuretics decrease your potassium level? Answers from Sheldon G. Sheps, M.D. Yes, ... your urine. This can lead to low potassium levels in your blood (hypokalemia). Signs and symptoms of ...

Decreased Siglec-9 Expression on Natural Killer Cell Subset Associated With Persistent HBV Replication

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Di Zhao

2018-05-01

Full Text Available Siglec-9 is an MHC-independent inhibitory receptor selectively expressed on CD56dim NK cells. Its role in infection diseases has not been investigated yet. Here, we studied the potential regulatory roles of NK Siglec-9 in the pathogenesis of chronic hepatitis B (CHB infection. Flow cytometry evaluated the expression of Siglec-9 and other receptors on peripheral NK cells. Immunofluorescence staining was used to detect Siglec-9 ligands on liver biopsy tissues and cultured hepatocyte cell lines. Siglec-9 blocking assay was carried out and cytokine synthesis and CD107a degranulation was detected by flow cytometry. Compared to healthy donors, CHB patients had decreased Siglec-9+ NK cells, which reversely correlated with serum hepatitis B e antigen and HBV DNA titer. Siglec-9 expression on NK cells from patients achieving sustained virological response recovered to the level of normal donors. Neutralization of Siglec-9 restored cytokine synthesis and degranulation of NK cells from CHB patients. Immunofluorescence staining showed increased expression of Siglec-9 ligands in liver biopsy tissues from CHB patients and in hepatocyte cell lines infected with HBV or stimulated with inflammatory cytokines (IL-6 or TGF-β. These findings identify Siglec-9 as a negative regulator for NK cells contributing to HBV persistence and the intervention of Siglec-9 signaling might be of potentially translational significance.

Price of forest chips decreasing

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hakkila, P.

2001-01-01

Use of forest chips was studied in 1999 in the national Puuenergia (Wood Energy) research program. Wood combusting heating plants were questioned about are the main reasons restricting the increment of the use of forest chips. Heating plants, which did not use forest chips at all or which used less than 250 m 3 (625 bulk- m 3 ) in 1999 were excluded. The main restrictions for additional use of forest chips were: too high price of forest chips; lack of suppliers and/or uncertainty of deliveries; technical problems of reception and processing of forest chips; insufficiency of boiler output especially in winter; and unsatisfactory quality of chips. The price of forest chips becomes relatively high because wood biomass used for production of forest chips has to be collected from wide area. Heavy equipment has to be used even though small fragments of wood are processed, which increases the price of chips. It is essential for forest chips that the costs can be pressed down because competition with fossil fuels, peat and industrial wood residues is hard. Low market price leads to the situation in which forest owner gets no price of the raw material, the entrepreneurs operate at the limit of profitability and renovation of machinery is difficult, and forest chips suppliers have to sell the chips at prime costs. Price of forest chips has decreased significantly during the past decade. Nominal price of forest chips is now lower than two decades ago. The real price of chips has decreased even more than the nominal price, 35% during the past decade and 20% during the last five years. Chips, made of small diameter wood, are expensive because the price includes the felling costs and harvesting is carried out at thinning lots. Price is especially high if chips are made of delimbed small diameter wood due to increased the work and reduced amount of chips. The price of logging residue chips is most profitable because cutting does not cause additional costs. Recovery of chips is

Decreasing Plagiarism: What Works and What Doesn't

Science.gov (United States)

Houtman, Anne M.; Walker, Sean

2010-01-01

The authors tested the predictions of a game theory model of plagiarism, using a test population of student papers submitted to an online plagiarism detection program, over five semesters in a non-majors biology course with multiple sections and high enrollment. Consistent with the model, as the probability of detection and the penalty if caught…

Population Based Screening for Prostate Cancer: assessment of diagnostic tools and cancers detected

NARCIS (Netherlands)

J.B.W. Rietbergen (John)

1998-01-01

textabstractOver the past decade, considerable debate has occurred over the question whether or not to screen asymptomatic men for prostate cancer. It is unknown whether early detection and treatment of the disease will decrease the disease specific mortality. On theoretical grounds screening may

Super-Resolution Community Detection for Layer-Aggregated Multilayer Networks

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Dane Taylor

2017-09-01

Full Text Available Applied network science often involves preprocessing network data before applying a network-analysis method, and there is typically a theoretical disconnect between these steps. For example, it is common to aggregate time-varying network data into windows prior to analysis, and the trade-offs of this preprocessing are not well understood. Focusing on the problem of detecting small communities in multilayer networks, we study the effects of layer aggregation by developing random-matrix theory for modularity matrices associated with layer-aggregated networks with N nodes and L layers, which are drawn from an ensemble of Erdős–Rényi networks with communities planted in subsets of layers. We study phase transitions in which eigenvectors localize onto communities (allowing their detection and which occur for a given community provided its size surpasses a detectability limit K^{*}. When layers are aggregated via a summation, we obtain K^{*}∝O(sqrt[NL]/T, where T is the number of layers across which the community persists. Interestingly, if T is allowed to vary with L, then summation-based layer aggregation enhances small-community detection even if the community persists across a vanishing fraction of layers, provided that T/L decays more slowly than O(L^{-1/2}. Moreover, we find that thresholding the summation can, in some cases, cause K^{*} to decay exponentially, decreasing by orders of magnitude in a phenomenon we call super-resolution community detection. In other words, layer aggregation with thresholding is a nonlinear data filter enabling detection of communities that are otherwise too small to detect. Importantly, different thresholds generally enhance the detectability of communities having different properties, illustrating that community detection can be obscured if one analyzes network data using a single threshold.

Super-Resolution Community Detection for Layer-Aggregated Multilayer Networks.

Science.gov (United States)

Taylor, Dane; Caceres, Rajmonda S; Mucha, Peter J

2017-01-01

Applied network science often involves preprocessing network data before applying a network-analysis method, and there is typically a theoretical disconnect between these steps. For example, it is common to aggregate time-varying network data into windows prior to analysis, and the trade-offs of this preprocessing are not well understood. Focusing on the problem of detecting small communities in multilayer networks, we study the effects of layer aggregation by developing random-matrix theory for modularity matrices associated with layer-aggregated networks with N nodes and L layers, which are drawn from an ensemble of Erdős-Rényi networks with communities planted in subsets of layers. We study phase transitions in which eigenvectors localize onto communities (allowing their detection) and which occur for a given community provided its size surpasses a detectability limit K * . When layers are aggregated via a summation, we obtain [Formula: see text], where T is the number of layers across which the community persists. Interestingly, if T is allowed to vary with L , then summation-based layer aggregation enhances small-community detection even if the community persists across a vanishing fraction of layers, provided that T/L decays more slowly than ( L -1/2 ). Moreover, we find that thresholding the summation can, in some cases, cause K * to decay exponentially, decreasing by orders of magnitude in a phenomenon we call super-resolution community detection. In other words, layer aggregation with thresholding is a nonlinear data filter enabling detection of communities that are otherwise too small to detect. Importantly, different thresholds generally enhance the detectability of communities having different properties, illustrating that community detection can be obscured if one analyzes network data using a single threshold.

Hyperglycemia decreases expression of 14-3-3 proteins in an animal model of stroke.

Science.gov (United States)

Jeon, Seong-Jun; Sung, Jin-Hee; Koh, Phil-Ok

2016-07-28

Diabetes is a severe metabolic disorder and a major risk factor for stroke. Stroke severity is worse in patients with diabetes compared to the non-diabetic population. The 14-3-3 proteins are a family of conserved acidic proteins that are ubiquitously expressed in cells and tissues. These proteins are involved in many cellular processes including metabolic pathways, signal transduction, protein trafficking, protein synthesis, and cell cycle control. This study investigated 14-3-3 proteins expression in the cerebral cortex of animals with diabetes, cerebral ischemic injury and a combination of both diabetes and cerebral ischemic injury. Diabetes was induced by intraperitoneal injection of streptozotocin (40mg/kg) in adult male rats. After 4 weeks of treatment, middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAO) was performed for the induction of focal cerebral ischemia and cerebral cortex tissue was collected 24h after MCAO. We confirmed that diabetes increases infarct volume following MCAO compared to non-diabetic animals. In diabetic animals with MCAO injury, reduction of 14-3-3 β/α, 14-3-3 ζ/δ, 14-3-3 γ, and 14-3-3 ε isoforms was detected. The expression of these proteins was significantly decreased in diabetic animals with MCAO injury compared to diabetic-only and MCAO-only animals. Moreover, Western blot analysis ascertained the decreased expression of 14-3-3 family proteins in diabetic animals with MCAO injury, including β/α, ζ/δ, γ, ε, τ, and η isoforms. These results show the changes of 14-3-3 proteins expression in streptozotocin-induced diabetic animals with MCAO injury. Thus, these findings suggest that decreases in 14-3-3 proteins might be involved in the regulation of 14-3-3 proteins under the presence of diabetes following MCAO. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Decreased mitochondrial DNA content in blood samples of patients with stage I breast cancer

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Xia, Peng; An, Han-Xiang; Dang, Cheng-Xue; Radpour, Ramin; Kohler, Corina; Fokas, Emmanouil; Engenhart-Cabillic, Rita; Holzgreve, Wolfgang; Zhong, Xiao Yan

2009-01-01

Alterations of mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) have been implicated in carcinogenesis. We developed an accurate multiplex quantitative real-time PCR for synchronized determination of mtDNA and nuclear DNA (nDNA). We sought to investigate whether mtDNA content in the peripheral blood of breast cancer patients is associated with clinical and pathological parameters. Peripheral blood samples were collected from 60 patients with breast cancer and 51 age-matched healthy individuals as control. DNA was extracted from peripheral blood for the quantification of mtDNA and nDNA, using a one-step multiplex real-time PCR. A FAM labeled MGB probe and primers were used to amplify the mtDNA sequence of the ATP 8 gene, and a VIC labeled MGB probe and primers were employed to amplify the glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate-dehydrogenase gene. mtDNA content was correlated with tumor stage, menstruation status, and age of patients as well as lymph node status and the expression of estrogen receptor (ER), progesterone receptor (PR) and Her-2/neu protein. The content of mtDNA in stage I breast cancer patients was significantly lower than in other stages (overall P = 0.023). Reduced mtDNA was found often in post menopausal cancer group (P = 0.024). No difference in mtDNA content, in regards to age (p = 0.564), lymph node involvement (p = 0.673), ER (p = 0.877), PR (p = 0.763), and Her-2/neu expression (p = 0.335), was observed. Early detection of breast cancer has proved difficult and current detection methods are inadequate. In the present study, decreased mtDNA content in the peripheral blood of patients with breast cancer was strongly associated with stage I. The use of mtDNA may have diagnostic value and further studies are required to validate it as a potential biomarker for early detection of breast cancer

Plagiarism by Adult Learners Online: A case study in detection and remediation

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Christine Jocoy

2006-06-01

Full Text Available Detecting and combating plagiarism from Web-based sources is a concern for administrators and instructors involved in online distance education. In this paper, we quantify copy-and-paste plagiarism among adult learners in an online geography course offered through Penn State’s World Campus Geographic Information Systems (GIS certificate program. We also evaluate the effectiveness of an “expectation management” strategy intended to discourage adult learners from unintentional violations. We found that while manual methods detected plagiarism in only about 3 percent of assignments, Turnitin.com revealed a 13 percent plagiarism rate among the same assignments. Our attempts to increase awareness and manage expectations decreased infractions measurably, but not significantly. In contrast, Turnitin.com substantially improved our ability to detect infractions. We conclude that raising awareness and managing expectations about plagiarism may be worthwhile, but is no substitute for systematic detection and vigilant enforcement, even among adult learners.

Digital quadrature phase detection

Science.gov (United States)

Smith, J.A.; Johnson, J.A.

1992-05-26

A system for detecting the phase of a frequency or phase modulated signal that includes digital quadrature sampling of the frequency or phase modulated signal at two times that are one quarter of a cycle of a reference signal apart, determination of the arctangent of the ratio of a first sampling of the frequency or phase modulated signal to the second sampling of the frequency or phase modulated signal, and a determination of quadrant in which the phase determination is increased by 2[pi] when the quadrant changes from the first quadrant to the fourth quadrant and decreased by 2[pi] when the quadrant changes from the fourth quadrant to the first quadrant whereby the absolute phase of the frequency or phase modulated signal can be determined using an arbitrary reference convention. 6 figs.

Thermal animal detection system (TADS)

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Desholm, M.

2003-03-01

This report presents data from equipment tests and software development for the Thermal Animal Detection System (TADS) development project: 'Development of a method for estimating collision frequency between migrating birds and offshore wind turbines'. The technical tests were performed to investigate the performance of remote controlling, video file compression tool and physical stress of the thermal camera when operating outdoors and under the real time vibration conditions at a 2 MW turbine. Furthermore, experimental tests on birds were performed to describe the decreasing detectability with distance on free flying birds, the performance of the thermal camera during poor visibility, and finally, the performance of the thermal sensor software developed for securing high -quality data. In general, it can be concluded that the thermal camera and its related hardware and software, the TADS, are capable of recording migrating birds approaching the rotating blades of a turbine, even under conditions with poor visibility. If the TADS is used in a vertical viewing scenario it would comply with the requirements for a setup used for estimating the avian collision frequency at offshore wind turbines. (au)

Spatiotemporal Change Detection Using Landsat Imagery: the Case Study of Karacabey Flooded Forest, Bursa, Turkey

Science.gov (United States)

Akay, A. E.; Gencal, B.; Taş, İ.

2017-11-01

This short paper aims to detect spatiotemporal detection of land use/land cover change within Karacabey Flooded Forest region. Change detection analysis applied to Landsat 5 TM images representing July 2000 and a Landsat 8 OLI representing June 2017. Various image processing tools were implemented using ERDAS 9.2, ArcGIS 10.4.1, and ENVI programs to conduct spatiotemporal change detection over these two images such as band selection, corrections, subset, classification, recoding, accuracy assessment, and change detection analysis. Image classification revealed that there are five significant land use/land cover types, including forest, flooded forest, swamp, water, and other lands (i.e. agriculture, sand, roads, settlement, and open areas). The results indicated that there was increase in flooded forest, water, and other lands, while the cover of forest and swamp decreased.

A Novel Approach to Detect Faults Occurring During Power Swings by Abrupt Change of Impedance Trajectory

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Khodaparast, Jalal; Khederzadeh, M.; Silva, Filipe Miguel Faria da

2017-01-01

The main purpose of power swing blocking is to distinguish faults from power swings. However, faults occurred during a power swing should still be detected and cleared promptly. This paper proposes an index based on detecting abrupt jump of impedance trajectory by utilization of the predicting...... of Taylor expansion is used to decrease the corrugation effect of impedance estimation and increase the reliability of the proposed method. Furthermore, in order to increase the selectivity of the proposed method, the proposed index is armed with phase comparison logic to detect internal faults...

Detection probability of least tern and piping plover chicks in a large river system

Science.gov (United States)

Roche, Erin A.; Shaffer, Terry L.; Anteau, Michael J.; Sherfy, Mark H.; Stucker, Jennifer H.; Wiltermuth, Mark T.; Dovichin, Colin M.

2014-01-01

Monitoring the abundance and stability of populations of conservation concern is often complicated by an inability to perfectly detect all members of the population. Mark-recapture offers a flexible framework in which one may identify factors contributing to imperfect detection, while at the same time estimating demographic parameters such as abundance or survival. We individually color-marked, recaptured, and re-sighted 1,635 federally listed interior least tern (Sternula antillarum; endangered) chicks and 1,318 piping plover (Charadrius melodus; threatened) chicks from 2006 to 2009 at 4 study areas along the Missouri River and investigated effects of observer-, subject-, and site-level covariates suspected of influencing detection. Increasing the time spent searching and crew size increased the probability of detecting both species regardless of study area and detection methods were not associated with decreased survival. However, associations between detection probability and the investigated covariates were highly variable by study area and species combinations, indicating that a universal mark-recapture design may not be appropriate.

Simvastatin and asymmetric dimethylarginine-homocysteine metabolic pathways in patients with newly detected severe hypercholesterolemia.

Science.gov (United States)

Vladimirova-Kitova, Ludmila G; Deneva, Tania I

2010-01-01

The idea that statin therapy decreases asymmetric dimethylarginine through lowering low-density lipoprotein cholesterol levels seems logic. However, controversy exists in the literature concerning this issue. This study compares the effect of moderate (40 mg) to high (80 mg) simvastatin doses on asymmetric dimethylarginine levels in patients with newly detected severe hypercholesterolemia (after targeted LDL levels of or = 7.5 mmol/L and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol > or = 4.9 mmol/L). Asymmetric dimethylarginine levels were determined by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, total homocystein by the high performance liquid chromatography method. A statistically significant decrease exists in total cholesterol, triglycerides, low-density lipoprotein cholesterol and apolipoprotein-B levels as well as apolipoprotein-B/apolipoprotein-A1 index following one month of 40 mg simvastatin therapy (P homocystein levels were also decreased but the difference was not significant (p = 0.571; p = 0.569). A dose-dependent effect was established comparing the influence of moderate (40 mg) to high (80 mg) simvastatin doses on the tested atherogenic biomarkers (lipid profile, apolipoprotein-A1, apolipoprotein-B). Asymmetric dimethylarginine and total homocystein levels showed a statistically significant decrease with 80 mg simvastatin (p homocysteine in contrast to high dose (80 mg) after targeted LDL of < or = 2.6 mmol/L levels are reached in patients with newly detected severe hypercholesterolemia.

Detection of BCG bacteria using a magnetoresistive biosensor: A step towards a fully electronic platform for tuberculosis point-of-care detection.

Science.gov (United States)

Barroso, Teresa G; Martins, Rui C; Fernandes, Elisabete; Cardoso, Susana; Rivas, José; Freitas, Paulo P

2018-02-15

Tuberculosis is one of the major public health concerns. This highly contagious disease affects more than 10.4 million people, being a leading cause of morbidity by infection. Tuberculosis is diagnosed at the point-of-care by the Ziehl-Neelsen sputum smear microscopy test. Ziehl-Neelsen is laborious, prone to human error and infection risk, with a limit of detection of 10 4 cells/mL. In resource-poor nations, a more practical test, with lower detection limit, is paramount. This work uses a magnetoresistive biosensor to detect BCG bacteria for tuberculosis diagnosis. Herein we report: i) nanoparticle assembly method and specificity for tuberculosis detection; ii) demonstration of proportionality between BCG cell concentration and magnetoresistive voltage signal; iii) application of multiplicative signal correction for systematic effects removal; iv) investigation of calibration effectiveness using chemometrics methods; and v) comparison with state-of-the-art point-of-care tuberculosis biosensors. Results present a clear correspondence between voltage signal and cell concentration. Multiplicative signal correction removes baseline shifts within and between biochip sensors, allowing accurate and precise voltage signal between different biochips. The corrected signal was used for multivariate regression models, which significantly decreased the calibration standard error from 0.50 to 0.03log 10 (cells/mL). Results show that Ziehl-Neelsen detection limits and below are achievable with the magnetoresistive biochip, when pre-processing and chemometrics are used. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Automatic detection of suspicious behavior of pickpockets with track-based features in a shopping mall

OpenAIRE

Bouma, H.; Baan, J.; Burghouts, G.J.; Eendebak, P.T.; Huis, J.R. van; Dijk, J.; Rest, J.H.C. van

2014-01-01

Proactive detection of incidents is required to decrease the cost of security incidents. This paper focusses on the automatic early detection of suspicious behavior of pickpockets with track-based features in a crowded shopping mall. Our method consists of several steps: pedestrian tracking, feature computation and pickpocket recognition. This is challenging because the environment is crowded, people move freely through areas which cannot be covered by a single camera, because the actual snat...

Evaluation of whole genome amplified DNA to decrease material expenditure and increase quality

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Marie Bækvad-Hansen

2017-06-01

Discussion: Whole genome amplified DNA samples from dried blood spots is well suited for array genotyping and produces robust and reliable genotype data. However, the amplification process introduces additional noise to the data, making detection of structural variants such as copy number variants difficult. With this study, we explore ways of optimizing the amplification protocol in order to reduce noise and increase data quality. We found, that the amplification process was very robust, and that changes in amplification time or temperature did not alter the genotyping calls or quality of the array data. Adding additional replicates of each sample also lead to insignificant changes in the array data. Thus, the amount of noise introduced by the amplification process was consistent regardless of changes made to the amplification protocol. We also explored ways of decreasing material expenditure by reducing the spot size or the amplification reaction volume. The reduction did not affect the quality of the genotyping data.

Real-time DNA Amplification and Detection System Based on a CMOS Image Sensor.

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Tiantian; Devadhasan, Jasmine Pramila; Lee, Do Young; Kim, Sanghyo

2016-01-01

In the present study, we developed a polypropylene well-integrated complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS) platform to perform the loop mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP) technique for real-time DNA amplification and detection simultaneously. An amplification-coupled detection system directly measures the photon number changes based on the generation of magnesium pyrophosphate and color changes. The photon number decreases during the amplification process. The CMOS image sensor observes the photons and converts into digital units with the aid of an analog-to-digital converter (ADC). In addition, UV-spectral studies, optical color intensity detection, pH analysis, and electrophoresis detection were carried out to prove the efficiency of the CMOS sensor based the LAMP system. Moreover, Clostridium perfringens was utilized as proof-of-concept detection for the new system. We anticipate that this CMOS image sensor-based LAMP method will enable the creation of cost-effective, label-free, optical, real-time and portable molecular diagnostic devices.

Detection of non-natural springtime precipitation change over northern South America

Science.gov (United States)

Barkhordarian, A.; Behrangi, A.; Mechoso, C. R.

2017-12-01

Here we determine whether the climate over South America has changed as a result of human activity since the beginning of the industrial revolution. To this end, we assess whether the observed changes are likely to have been due to natural (internal) variability alone, and if not, whether they are consistent with what models simulate as response to anthropogenic and natural forcing. Internal variability is estimated using 12,000-year control runs derived from CMIP5 archive. Results indicate that, in the past decades, trends in springtime (ASO, August-October) precipitation over South America have a magnitude that is beyond the estimated range due to natural (internal) variability or natural forcings alone. Evidence for the presence of an external driving factor is clearly detectable in the observed precipitation record (with less than 5% risk of error). The regression results illustrate the concerted emergence of an anthropogenic signal consistent with greenhouse gas (GHG) in observed decreasing 30-year trends of precipitation ending in 1998 and later on. In addition, the fingerprint of land-use-change signal is detectable in the observed precipitation decrease over 1983-2012. While the influence of GHG signal is detectable in precipitation, an observed decrease up to 10 mm/decade drying over the Amazon region, is much larger than the changes simulated by global and regional climate models as response to GHG forcing. We further show that the projected increasing trend of vapor pressure deficit (VPD), an indicator of background aridity, by the climate models with GHG forcing is much smaller than that observed over the Amazon rainforest. This may imply that models may underestimate the resulting reductions in forest CO2 uptake that could function as a positive feedback to rising temperature and reducing precipitation. Taking the ensemble of 23 IPCC models as a crude metric of probabilities, we further show that with 19 out of 24 models the effect of GS signal

Chronic unpredictable stress decreases expression of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) in mouse ovaries: relationship to oocytes developmental potential.

Science.gov (United States)

Wu, Li-Min; Hu, Mei-Hong; Tong, Xian-Hong; Han, Hui; Shen, Ni; Jin, Ren-Tao; Wang, Wei; Zhou, Gui-Xiang; He, Guo-Ping; Liu, Yu-Sheng

2012-01-01

Brain-derived neurotropic factor (BDNF) was originally described in the nervous system but has been shown to be expressed in ovary tissues recently, acting as a paracrine/autocrine regulator required for developments of follicles and oocytes. Although it is generally accepted that chronic stress impairs female reproduction and decreases the expression of BDNF in limbic structures of central nervous system, which contributes to mood disorder. However, it is not known whether chronic stress affects oocytes developments, nor whether it affects expression of BDNF in ovary. Mice were randomly assigned into control group, stressed group, BDNF-treated group and BDNF-treated stressed group. The chronic unpredictable mild stress model was used to produce psychosocial stress in mice, and the model was verified by open field test and hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis activity. The methods of immunohistochemistry and western blotting were used to detect BDNF protein level and distribution. The number of retrieved oocytes, oocyte maturation, embryo cleavage and the rates of blastocyst formation after parthenogenetic activation were evaluated. Chronic unpredictable stress decreased the BDNF expression in antral follicles, but didn't affect the BDNF expression in primordial, primary and secondary follicles. Chronic unpredictable stress also decreased the number of retrieved oocytes and the rate of blastocyst formation, which was rescued by exogenous BDNF treatment. BDNF in mouse ovaries may be related to the decreased number of retrieved oocytes and impaired oocytes developmental potential induced by chronic unpredictable stress.

Chronic unpredictable stress decreases expression of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF in mouse ovaries: relationship to oocytes developmental potential.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Li-Min Wu

Full Text Available BACKGROUND: Brain-derived neurotropic factor (BDNF was originally described in the nervous system but has been shown to be expressed in ovary tissues recently, acting as a paracrine/autocrine regulator required for developments of follicles and oocytes. Although it is generally accepted that chronic stress impairs female reproduction and decreases the expression of BDNF in limbic structures of central nervous system, which contributes to mood disorder. However, it is not known whether chronic stress affects oocytes developments, nor whether it affects expression of BDNF in ovary. METHODS: Mice were randomly assigned into control group, stressed group, BDNF-treated group and BDNF-treated stressed group. The chronic unpredictable mild stress model was used to produce psychosocial stress in mice, and the model was verified by open field test and hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA axis activity. The methods of immunohistochemistry and western blotting were used to detect BDNF protein level and distribution. The number of retrieved oocytes, oocyte maturation, embryo cleavage and the rates of blastocyst formation after parthenogenetic activation were evaluated. RESULTS: Chronic unpredictable stress decreased the BDNF expression in antral follicles, but didn't affect the BDNF expression in primordial, primary and secondary follicles. Chronic unpredictable stress also decreased the number of retrieved oocytes and the rate of blastocyst formation, which was rescued by exogenous BDNF treatment. CONCLUSION: BDNF in mouse ovaries may be related to the decreased number of retrieved oocytes and impaired oocytes developmental potential induced by chronic unpredictable stress.

Waveguide-Based Biosensors for Pathogen Detection

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Nile Hartman

2009-07-01

Full Text Available Optical phenomena such as fluorescence, phosphorescence, polarization, interference and non-linearity have been extensively used for biosensing applications. Optical waveguides (both planar and fiber-optic are comprised of a material with high permittivity/high refractive index surrounded on all sides by materials with lower refractive indices, such as a substrate and the media to be sensed. This arrangement allows coupled light to propagate through the high refractive index waveguide by total internal reflection and generates an electromagnetic wave—the evanescent field—whose amplitude decreases exponentially as the distance from the surface increases. Excitation of fluorophores within the evanescent wave allows for sensitive detection while minimizing background fluorescence from complex, “dirty” biological samples. In this review, we will describe the basic principles, advantages and disadvantages of planar optical waveguide-based biodetection technologies. This discussion will include already commercialized technologies (e.g., Corning’s EPIC® Ô, SRU Biosystems’ BIND™, Zeptosense®, etc. and new technologies that are under research and development. We will also review differing assay approaches for the detection of various biomolecules, as well as the thin-film coatings that are often required for waveguide functionalization and effective detection. Finally, we will discuss reverse-symmetry waveguides, resonant waveguide grating sensors and metal-clad leaky waveguides as alternative signal transducers in optical biosensing.

Partial shadowing detection based on equivalent thermal voltage monitoring for PV module diagnostics

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Sera, Dezso; Teodorescu, Remus; Rodriguez, Pedro

2009-01-01

Partial shadowing of photovoltaic systems can overproportionally reduce the energy yield and lead to early ageing and failure of the shadowed cells. Large area shadows are relatively easy to detect due to the eminent power reduction and decrease of fill factor. However, small area partial shadows...

Paper-based archiving of biological samples from fish for detecting betanodavirus.

Science.gov (United States)

Navaneeth Krishnan, A; Bhuvaneswari, T; Ezhil Praveena, P; Jithendran, K P

2016-07-01

This study was carried out to evaluate the efficiency of the Flinders Technology Associates (FTA(®)) card (Whatman(®)) as a sampling device and storage platform for RNA from betanodavirus-infected biological samples (viz., larvae, broodstock, cell culture supernatants and rearing seawater spiked with infected materials). The study showed that FTA cards can be used to detect betanodaviruses by reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). The diagnostic efficiency of RT-PCR from all sample types on FTA cards decreased after 21 days of storage at 4 °C, although the virus could be detected up to 28 days by nested RT-PCR. The FTA card protocol thus provides a supplementary method for quick and easy collection of samples, preservation of RNA on a dry storage basis, and detection of betanodavirus-infected fish.

Long-term detection of Parkinsonian tremor activity from subthalamic nucleus local field potentials.

Science.gov (United States)

Houston, Brady; Blumenfeld, Zack; Quinn, Emma; Bronte-Stewart, Helen; Chizeck, Howard

2015-01-01

Current deep brain stimulation paradigms deliver continuous stimulation to deep brain structures to ameliorate the symptoms of Parkinson's disease. This continuous stimulation has undesirable side effects and decreases the lifespan of the unit's battery, necessitating earlier replacement. A closed-loop deep brain stimulator that uses brain signals to determine when to deliver stimulation based on the occurrence of symptoms could potentially address these drawbacks of current technology. Attempts to detect Parkinsonian tremor using brain signals recorded during the implantation procedure have been successful. However, the ability of these methods to accurately detect tremor over extended periods of time is unknown. Here we use local field potentials recorded during a deep brain stimulation clinical follow-up visit 1 month after initial programming to build a tremor detection algorithm and use this algorithm to detect tremor in subsequent visits up to 8 months later. Using this method, we detected the occurrence of tremor with accuracies between 68-93%. These results demonstrate the potential of tremor detection methods for efficacious closed-loop deep brain stimulation over extended periods of time.

Prostatic specific antigen for prostate cancer detection

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Lucas Nogueira

2009-10-01

Full Text Available Prostate-specific antigen (PSA has been used for prostate cancer detection since 1994. PSA testing has revolutionized our ability to diagnose, treat, and follow-up patients. In the last two decades, PSA screening has led to a substantial increase in the incidence of prostate cancer (PC. This increased detection caused the incidence of advanced-stage disease to decrease at a dramatic rate, and most newly diagnosed PC today are localized tumors with a high probability of cure. PSA screening is associated with a 75% reduction in the proportion of men who now present with metastatic disease and a 32.5% reduction in the age-adjusted prostate cancer mortality rate through 2003. Although PSA is not a perfect marker, PSA testing has limited specificity for prostate cancer detection, and its appropriate clinical application remains a topic of debate. Due to its widespread use and increased over-detection, the result has been the occurrence of over-treatment of indolent cancers. Accordingly, several variations as regards PSA measurement have emerged as useful adjuncts for prostate cancer screening. These procedures take into consideration additional factors, such as the proportion of different PSA isoforms (free PSA, complexed PSA, pro-PSA and B PSA, the prostate volume (PSA density, and the rate of change in PSA levels over time (PSA velocity or PSA doubling time. The history and evidence underlying each of these parameters are reviewed in the following article.

Prostatic specific antigen for prostate cancer detection.

Science.gov (United States)

Nogueira, Lucas; Corradi, Renato; Eastham, James A

2009-01-01

Prostate-specific antigen (PSA) has been used for prostate cancer detection since 1994. PSA testing has revolutionized our ability to diagnose, treat, and follow-up patients. In the last two decades, PSA screening has led to a substantial increase in the incidence of prostate cancer (PC). This increased detection caused the incidence of advanced-stage disease to decrease at a dramatic rate, and most newly diagnosed PC today are localized tumors with a high probability of cure. PSA screening is associated with a 75% reduction in the proportion of men who now present with metastatic disease and a 32.5% reduction in the age-adjusted prostate cancer mortality rate through 2003. Although PSA is not a perfect marker, PSA testing has limited specificity for prostate cancer detection, and its appropriate clinical application remains a topic of debate. Due to its widespread use and increased over-detection, the result has been the occurrence of over-treatment of indolent cancers. Accordingly, several variations as regards PSA measurement have emerged as useful adjuncts for prostate cancer screening. These procedures take into consideration additional factors, such as the proportion of different PSA isoforms (free PSA, complexed PSA, pro-PSA and B PSA), the prostate volume (PSA density), and the rate of change in PSA levels over time (PSA velocity or PSA doubling time). The history and evidence underlying each of these parameters are reviewed in the following article.

Decrease in tropospheric O3 levels in the Northern Hemisphere observed by IASI

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

C. Wespes

2018-05-01

Full Text Available In this study, we describe the recent changes in the tropospheric ozone (O3 columns measured by the Infrared Atmospheric Sounding Interferometer (IASI, onboard the Metop satellite, during the first 9 years of operation (January 2008 to May 2017. Using appropriate multivariate regression methods, we differentiate significant linear trends from other sources of O3 variations captured by IASI. The geographical patterns of the adjusted O3 trends are provided and discussed on the global scale. Given the large contribution of the natural variability in comparison with that of the trend (25–85 % vs. 15–50 %, respectively to the total O3 variations, we estimate that additional years of IASI measurements are generally required to detect the estimated O3 trends with high precision. Globally, additional 6 months to 6 years of measurements, depending on the regions and the seasons, are needed to detect a trend of |5| DU decade−1. An exception is interestingly found during summer at mid- and high latitudes of the Northern Hemisphere (NH; ∼ 40 to ∼ 75° N, where the large absolute fitted trend values (∼ |0.5| DU yr−1 on average combined with the small model residuals (∼ 10 % allow for detection of a band-like pattern of significant negative trends. Despite no consensus in terms of tropospheric O3 trends having been reached from the available independent datasets (UV or IR satellites, O3 sondes, aircrafts, ground-based measurements, etc. for the reasons that are discussed in the text, this finding is consistent with the reported decrease in O3 precursor emissions in recent years, especially in Europe and USA. The influence of continental pollution on that latitudinal band is further investigated and supported by the analysis of the O3–CO relationship (in terms of correlation coefficient, regression slope and covariance that we found to be the strongest at northern midlatitudes in summer.

Comparison of digital mammography and digital breast tomosynthesis in the detection of architectural distortion.

Science.gov (United States)

Dibble, Elizabeth H; Lourenco, Ana P; Baird, Grayson L; Ward, Robert C; Maynard, A Stanley; Mainiero, Martha B

2018-01-01

To compare interobserver variability (IOV), reader confidence, and sensitivity/specificity in detecting architectural distortion (AD) on digital mammography (DM) versus digital breast tomosynthesis (DBT). This IRB-approved, HIPAA-compliant reader study used a counterbalanced experimental design. We searched radiology reports for AD on screening mammograms from 5 March 2012-27 November 2013. Cases were consensus-reviewed. Controls were selected from demographically matched non-AD examinations. Two radiologists and two fellows blinded to outcomes independently reviewed images from two patient groups in two sessions. Readers recorded presence/absence of AD and confidence level. Agreement and differences in confidence and sensitivity/specificity between DBT versus DM and attendings versus fellows were examined using weighted Kappa and generalised mixed modeling, respectively. There were 59 AD patients and 59 controls for 1,888 observations (59 × 2 (cases and controls) × 2 breasts × 2 imaging techniques × 4 readers). For all readers, agreement improved with DBT versus DM (0.61 vs. 0.37). Confidence was higher with DBT, p = .001. DBT achieved higher sensitivity (.59 vs. .32), p .90). DBT achieved higher positive likelihood ratio values, smaller negative likelihood ratio values, and larger ROC values. DBT decreases IOV, increases confidence, and improves sensitivity while maintaining high specificity in detecting AD. • Digital breast tomosynthesis decreases interobserver variability in the detection of architectural distortion. • Digital breast tomosynthesis increases reader confidence in the detection of architectural distortion. • Digital breast tomosynthesis improves sensitivity in the detection of architectural distortion.

Variability of individual genetic load: consequences for the detection of inbreeding depression.

Science.gov (United States)

Restoux, Gwendal; Huot de Longchamp, Priscille; Fady, Bruno; Klein, Etienne K

2012-03-01

Inbreeding depression is a key factor affecting the persistence of natural populations, particularly when they are fragmented. In species with mixed mating systems, inbreeding depression can be estimated at the population level by regressing the average progeny fitness by the selfing rate of their mothers. We applied this method using simulated populations to investigate how population genetic parameters can affect the detection power of inbreeding depression. We simulated individual selfing rates and genetic loads from which we computed fitness values. The regression method yielded high statistical power, inbreeding depression being detected as significant (5 % level) in 92 % of the simulations. High individual variation in selfing rate and high mean genetic load led to better detection of inbreeding depression while high among-individual variation in genetic load made it more difficult to detect inbreeding depression. For a constant sampling effort, increasing the number of progenies while decreasing the number of individuals per progeny enhanced the detection power of inbreeding depression. We discuss the implication of among-mother variability of genetic load and selfing rate on inbreeding depression studies.

The improvement of the detection power of a U-shaped DC plasma

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

DRAGAN MARKOVIC

2001-04-01

Full Text Available Optimization of the operating parameters of U-shpaed DC arc plasma and spectrometer parameters has been undertaken to explore the possibilities of improving its detection power. It is demonstrated, with a U-shaped arc as an example, that the limits of detection, in addition to well-defined parameters as described by Boumans and Winge, depend on the signal integration time. It is shown that with increasing integration time, the limits of detection are decreased within some limits and that the precision and concentration sensitivity are improved as well. A mathematical expression for the dependence of the detection limit on the integration time is presented. To increase the reliability of the measurement of the mentioned parameters, the working conditions were optimized for the following analytes: Ag, Al, Au, Cr, Fe, Mn, Ni, Pb, Pd, Pt, and V. The obtained limits of detection are comparable or better than those obtained by ICP for the elements studied. Itwas estimed that the possibility exists for their further improvement up to 10 times.

Dim small targets detection based on self-adaptive caliber temporal-spatial filtering

Science.gov (United States)

Fan, Xiangsuo; Xu, Zhiyong; Zhang, Jianlin; Huang, Yongmei; Peng, Zhenming

2017-09-01

To boost the detect ability of dim small targets, this paper began by using improved anisotropy for background prediction (IABP), followed by target enhancement by improved high-order cumulates (HQS). Finally, on the basis of image pre-processing, to address the problem of missed and wrong detection caused by fixed caliber of traditional pipeline filtering, this paper used targets' multi-frame movement correlation in the time-space domain, combined with the scale-space theory, to propose a temporal-spatial filtering algorithm which allows the caliber to make self-adaptive changes according to the changes of the targets' scale, effectively solving the detection-related issues brought by unchanged caliber and decreased/increased size of the targets. Experiments showed that the improved anisotropic background predication could be loyal to the true background of the original image to the maximum extent, presenting a superior overall performance to other background prediction methods; the improved HQS significantly increased the signal-noise ratio of images; when the signal-noise ratio was lower than 2.6 dB, this detection algorithm could effectively eliminate noise and detect targets. For the algorithm, the lowest signal-to-noise ratio of the detectable target is 0.37.

Detection of electron beam irradiated crude drugs by electron spin resonance (ESR)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yamaoki, Rumi; Kimura, Shojiro; Aoki, Kenji; Nishimoto, Susumu

2007-01-01

Perillae Herba, Sennae Folium, Cinnamomi Cortex, Phellodendri Cortex, Ginseng Radix, Glycyrrhizae Radix, Paeoniae Radix, and Zingiberis Rhizoma were irradiated with electron beam (5 MeV) and organic radicals were detected by ESR measurement, before and after irradiation (10 kGy). A single line spectrum was detected at around g=2.005 in non-irradiated crude drugs, and radical concentrations were high in the leaf varieties of crude drugs. After irradiation, the signal intensity around g=2.005 increased, and a new subsignal was detected as a 3 mT shoulder of this signal. Broad, asymmetrically divided signals were also detected in irradiated root varieties of crude drugs. The free radical localized on the organic components of irradiated crude drugs tended to decrease with the water content. After irradiation, signal intensity reduced and reached a steady state after about 1 to 2 months. However, specificity of the ESR signal shape appearing after irradiation continued to be detectable for 6 months in leaf varieties and for a year in bark and root varieties of crude drugs. Consequently, it was concluded that ESR could be applied as an initial screening procedure to detect irradiated crude drugs. (author)

SNIa detection in the SNLS photometric analysis using Morphological Component Analysis

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Möller, A.; Ruhlmann-Kleider, V.; Neveu, J.; Palanque-Delabrouille, N. [Irfu, SPP, CEA Saclay, F-91191 Gif sur Yvette cedex (France); Lanusse, F.; Starck, J.-L., E-mail: anais.moller@cea.fr, E-mail: vanina.ruhlmann-kleider@cea.fr, E-mail: francois.lanusse@cea.fr, E-mail: jeremy.neveu@cea.fr, E-mail: nathalie.palanque-delabrouille@cea.fr, E-mail: jstarck@cea.fr [Laboratoire AIM, UMR CEA-CNRS-Paris 7, Irfu, SAp, CEA Saclay, F-91191 Gif sur Yvette cedex (France)

2015-04-01

Detection of supernovae (SNe) and, more generally, of transient events in large surveys can provide numerous false detections. In the case of a deferred processing of survey images, this implies reconstructing complete light curves for all detections, requiring sizable processing time and resources. Optimizing the detection of transient events is thus an important issue for both present and future surveys. We present here the optimization done in the SuperNova Legacy Survey (SNLS) for the 5-year data deferred photometric analysis. In this analysis, detections are derived from stacks of subtracted images with one stack per lunation. The 3-year analysis provided 300,000 detections dominated by signals of bright objects that were not perfectly subtracted. Allowing these artifacts to be detected leads not only to a waste of resources but also to possible signal coordinate contamination. We developed a subtracted image stack treatment to reduce the number of non SN-like events using morphological component analysis. This technique exploits the morphological diversity of objects to be detected to extract the signal of interest. At the level of our subtraction stacks, SN-like events are rather circular objects while most spurious detections exhibit different shapes. A two-step procedure was necessary to have a proper evaluation of the noise in the subtracted image stacks and thus a reliable signal extraction. We also set up a new detection strategy to obtain coordinates with good resolution for the extracted signal. SNIa Monte-Carlo (MC) generated images were used to study detection efficiency and coordinate resolution. When tested on SNLS 3-year data this procedure decreases the number of detections by a factor of two, while losing only 10% of SN-like events, almost all faint ones. MC results show that SNIa detection efficiency is equivalent to that of the original method for bright events, while the coordinate resolution is improved.

Decreasing Physical Inactivity in the Veterans Health Administration Employee Population.

Science.gov (United States)

Schult, Tamara M; Schmunk, Sandra K; Awosika, Ebi R

2016-12-01

The aim of this study was to describe a comprehensive approach to decrease physical inactivity in the Veterans Health Administration (VHA) employee population. The approach included (1) initiatives to decrease physical inactivity in the workplace; (2) two operational surveys to assess system-wide service provision; and (3) two national employee surveys. From 2010 to 2012, 86 employee fitness centers were completed in VA medical centers. A grants program (2010 to 2015) funded smaller projects designed to decrease physical inactivity in the workplace. Projects involved the provision of equipment to decrease sedentary behaviors, including stability balls, treadmill and sit-to-stand desks, stairwell projects, and funding for on-site fitness classes, bicycle racks, and outdoor par courses and walking paths among others. A comprehensive approach to decrease physical inactivity in VHA employees was successful. Overall, self-reported, age-adjusted physical inactivity in VHA employees decreased from 25.3% in 2010 to 16.1% in 2015.

Does fertility decrease household consumption?

OpenAIRE

Jungho Kim; Henriette Engelhardt; Alexia Fürnkranz-Prskawetz; Arnstein Aassve

2009-01-01

This paper presents an empirical analysis of the relationship between fertility and a direct measure of poverty for Indonesia, a country, which has experienced unprecedented economic growth and sharp fertility declines over recent decades. It focuses on illustrating the sensitivity of the effect of fertility on household consumption with respect to the equivalence scale by applying the propensity score matching method. The analysis suggests that a newborn child decreases household consumption...

Fullerenol C{sub 60}(OH){sub 24} nanoparticles decrease relaxing effects of dimethyl sulfoxide on rat uterus spontaneous contraction

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Slavic, Marija, E-mail: marija17@ibiss.bg.ac.rs [University of Belgrade, Department for Physiology, Institute for Biological Research ' Sinisa Stankovic' (IBISS) (Serbia); Djordjevic, Aleksandar [University of Novi Sad, Department of Chemistry, Biochemistry and the Environment, Faculty of Sciences (Serbia); Radojicic, Ratko [University of Belgrade, Faculty of Biology (Serbia); Milovanovic, Slobodan [University of East Sarajevo, Department of Pharmacology, Faculty of Medicine at Foca (Bosnia and Herzegowina); Orescanin-Dusic, Zorana [University of Belgrade, Department for Physiology, Institute for Biological Research ' Sinisa Stankovic' (IBISS) (Serbia); Rakocevic, Zlatko [University of Belgrade, Institute for Nuclear Sciences ' Vinca' (Serbia); Spasic, Mihajlo B.; Blagojevic, Dusko [University of Belgrade, Department for Physiology, Institute for Biological Research ' Sinisa Stankovic' (IBISS) (Serbia)

2013-05-15

Dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) is a widely used solvent and cryoprotectant that can cause impaired blood flow, reduction in intracranial pressure, tissue edema, inflammatory reactions, inhibition of vascular smooth muscle cell migration and proliferation, processes which can lead to atherosclerosis of the coronary, peripheral and cerebral circulation. Although the adverse effects are rare when DMSO is administered in clinically established concentrations, there is no safe antagonist for an overdose. In this work, we treated isolated spontaneous and calcium-induced contractile active rat uteri (Wistar, virgo intacta), with DMSO and fullerenol C{sub 60}(OH){sub 24} nanoparticle (FNP) in DMSO. FNP is a water-soluble derivative of fullerene C{sub 60}. Its size is a 1.1 nm in diameter and is a very promising candidate for a drug carrier in nanomedicine. FNP also displays free radical scavenging activity. DMSO decreased both spontaneous and calcium-induced contractions. In contrast, FNP only decreased spontaneous contraction. FNP decreased copper-zinc superoxide dismutase activity and prevented the DMSO-induced increase in glutathione reductase activity. Atomic force microscopy detected that FNP aggregated with calcium ions. Our results indicate that FNP has properties that make it a good candidate to be a modulator of DMSO activity which could minimize side effects of the latter.

Novel top-contact monolayer pentacene-based thin-film transistor for ammonia gas detection.

Science.gov (United States)

Mirza, Misbah; Wang, Jiawei; Li, Dexing; Arabi, S Atika; Jiang, Chao

2014-04-23

We report on the fabrication of an organic field-effect transistor (OFET) of a monolayer pentacene thin film with top-contact electrodes for the aim of ammonia (NH3) gas detection by monitoring changes in its drain current. A top-contact configuration, in which source and drain electrodes on a flexible stamp [poly(dimethylsiloxane)] were directly contacted with the monolayer pentacene film, was applied to maintain pentacene arrangement ordering and enhance the monolayer OFET detection performance. After exposure to NH3 gas, the carrier mobility at the monolayer OFET channel decreased down to one-third of its original value, leading to a several orders of magnitude decrease in the drain current, which tremendously enhanced the gas detection sensitivity. This sensitivity enhancement to a limit of the 10 ppm level was attributed to an increase of charge trapping in the carrier channel, and the amount of trapped states was experimentally evaluated by the threshold voltage shift induced by the absorbed NH3 molecular analyte. In contrast, a conventional device with a 50-nm-thick pentacene layer displayed much higher mobility but lower response to NH3 gas, arising from the impediment of analyte penetrating into the conductive channel, owing to the thick pentacene film.

Water Feature Extraction and Change Detection Using Multitemporal Landsat Imagery

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Komeil Rokni

2014-05-01

Full Text Available Lake Urmia is the 20th largest lake and the second largest hyper saline lake (before September 2010 in the world. It is also the largest inland body of salt water in the Middle East. Nevertheless, the lake has been in a critical situation in recent years due to decreasing surface water and increasing salinity. This study modeled the spatiotemporal changes of Lake Urmia in the period 2000–2013 using the multi-temporal Landsat 5-TM, 7-ETM+ and 8-OLI images. In doing so, the applicability of different satellite-derived indexes including Normalized Difference Water Index (NDWI, Modified NDWI (MNDWI, Normalized Difference Moisture Index (NDMI, Water Ratio Index (WRI, Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI, and Automated Water Extraction Index (AWEI were investigated for the extraction of surface water from Landsat data. Overall, the NDWI was found superior to other indexes and hence it was used to model the spatiotemporal changes of the lake. In addition, a new approach based on Principal Components of multi-temporal NDWI (NDWI-PCs was proposed and evaluated for surface water change detection. The results indicate an intense decreasing trend in Lake Urmia surface area in the period 2000–2013, especially between 2010 and 2013 when the lake lost about one third of its surface area compared to the year 2000. The results illustrate the effectiveness of the NDWI-PCs approach for surface water change detection, especially in detecting the changes between two and three different times, simultaneously.

Detection of IgE insulin antibody with radioallergosorbent test

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Nakagawa, S; Nakayama, H; Sasaki, T; Watanabe, T; Aoki, S [Hokkaido Univ., Sapporo (Japan). 2. Dept. of Medicine; Saito, N [Sapporo Railway Hospital (Japan). Dept. of Medicine

1978-01-01

An in vitro method for detecting IgE insulin antibody using the principle of the radioallergosorbent test (RAST) is described. In six patients with insulin allergy, the RAST values were higher than in normal persons or insulin-treated diabetics without insulin allergy. No differences were observed between normal persons and insulin-treated diabetics without insulin allergy. Moreover, it was observed that in one patient treated with highly purified insulin, there was a gradual decrease of RAST value parallel to the radioinsulin binding activity and clinical allergic symptoms. The RAST value of insulin is slightly inhibited by non-IgE antibodies and is, therefore, a semiquantitative value. However, the RAST is simple to perform and reproducible; it is therefore very useful in the detection of IgE insulin antibodies.

Detection of IgE insulin antibody with radioallergosorbent test

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nakagawa, S.; Nakayama, H.; Sasaki, T.; Watanabe, T.; Aoki, S.; Saito, N.

1978-01-01

An in vitro method for detecting IgE insulin antibody using the principle of the radioallergosorbent test (RAST) is described. In six patients with insulin allergy, the RAST values were higher than in normal persons or insulin-treated diabetics without insulin allergy. No differences were observed between normal persons and insulin-treated diabetics without insulin allergy. Moreover, it was observed that in one patient treated with highly purified insulin, there was a gradual decrease of RAST value parallel to the radioinsulin binding activity and clinical allergic symptoms. The RAST value of insulin is slightly inhibited by non-IgE antibodies and is, therefore, a semiquantitative value. However, the RAST is simple to perform and reproducible; it is therefore very useful in the detection of IgE insulin antibodies. (orig.) [de

Detection of Fetal Abnormalities Based on Three Dimensional Nuchal Translucency

CERN Document Server

Lai, Khin Wee

2013-01-01

Ultrasound (US) prenatal screening has been proposed as the most effective technique for Trisomy 21 early assessment. Assessment of Nuchal Translucency (NT) offers promising non-invasive method for fetal abnormalities detection up to 75%. Nevertheless, current clinician practice of NT examination by locating the sonogram calipers on 2D US image requires highly trained and competent operators by adhering to a standard tedious protocol; therefore it is prone to errors and hence it decreases the reliability in intra- and inter-observer repeatability. This Brief provides the basic knowledge regarding Trisomy 21 diseases and its existing detection methods. The restrictions and disadvantages of each method are discussed accordingly. Therefore, a non-invasive early detection method using 3D ultrasound reconstruction of Nuchal Translucency is introduced. This new method for 3D NT assessments has an edge over the previous 2D methods, and entails the composite function in visualizing the explicit internal marker struct...

Evaluation of the efficacy of a portable LIBS system for detection of CWA on surfaces.

Science.gov (United States)

L'Hermite, D; Vors, E; Vercouter, T; Moutiers, G

2016-05-01

Laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS) is a laser-based optical technique particularly suited for in situ surface analysis. A portable LIBS instrument was tested to detect surface chemical contamination by chemical warfare agents (CWAs). Test of detection of surface contamination was carried out in a toxlab facility with four CWAs, sarin (GB), lewisite (L1), mustard gas (HD), and VX, which were deposited on different substrates, wood, concrete, military green paint, gloves, and ceramic. The CWAs were detected by means of the detection of atomic markers (As, P, F, Cl, and S). The LIBS instrument can give a direct response in terms of detection thanks to an integrated interface for non-expert users or so called end-users. We have evaluated the capability of automatic detection of the selected CWAs. The sensitivity of our portable LIBS instrument was confirmed for the detection of a CWA at surface concentrations above 15 μg/cm(2). The simultaneous detection of two markers may lead to a decrease of the number of false positive.

A Broad-Spectrum Infection Diagnostic that Detects Pathogen-Associated Molecular Patterns (PAMPs) in Whole Blood

OpenAIRE

Cartwright, Mark; Rottman, Martin; Shapiro, Nathan I.; Seiler, Benjamin; Lombardo, Patrick; Gamini, Nazita; Tomolonis, Julie; Watters, Alexander L.; Waterhouse, Anna; Leslie, Dan; Bolgen, Dana; Graveline, Amanda; Kang, Joo H.; Didar, Tohid; Dimitrakakis, Nikolaos

2016-01-01

Background: Blood cultures, and molecular diagnostic tests that directly detect pathogen DNA in blood, fail to detect bloodstream infections in most infected patients. Thus, there is a need for a rapid test that can diagnose the presence of infection to triage patients, guide therapy, and decrease the incidence of sepsis. Methods: An Enzyme-Linked Lectin-Sorbent Assay (ELLecSA) that uses magnetic microbeads coated with an engineered version of the human opsonin, Mannose Binding Lectin, contai...

Porous silicon biosensor for the detection of autoimmune diseases

Science.gov (United States)

Jane, Andrew O.; Szili, Endre J.; Reed, Joanne H.; Gordon, Tom P.; Voelcker, Nicolas H.

2007-12-01

Advances in porous silicon (pSi) technology have led to the development of new sensitive biosensors. The unique optical properties of pSi renders the material a perfect candidate for optical transducers exploiting photoluminescence or white light interference effects. The ability of biosensors exploiting these transduction mechanisms to quickly and accurately detect biological target molecules affords an alternative to current bioassays such as enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISAs). Here, we present a pSi biosensor that was developed to detect antibodies against the autoimmune protein La. This protein is associated with autoimmune diseases including rheumatic disorders, systematic lupus erythematosus (SLE) and Sjogren's syndrome (SS). A fast and sensitive detection platform such as the one described here can be applied to the rapid diagnosis of these debilitating autoimmune diseases. The immobilisation of the La protein onto pSi films gave a protein receptor-decorated sensor matrix. A cascade of immunological reactions was then initiated to detect anti-La antibody on the functionalised pSi surface. In the presence of o-phenylenediamine (OPD), horseradish peroxidase (HRP)/H IIO II catalysed the formation of an oxidised radical species that accelerated pSi corrosion. pSi corrosion was detected as a blue-shift in the generated interference pattern, corresponding to a decrease in the effective optical thickness (EOT) of the pSi film. Compared to an ELISA, the pSi biosensor could detect the anti-La antibody at a similar concentration (500 - 125 ng/ml). Furthermore, we found that the experimental process can be significantly shortened resulting in detection of the anti-La antibody in 80 minutes compared to a minimum of 5 hours required for ELISA.

Sensor to detect endothelialization on an active coronary stent

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Coffey Arthur C

2010-11-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background A serious complication with drug-eluting coronary stents is late thrombosis, caused by exposed stent struts not covered by endothelial cells in the healing process. Real-time detection of this healing process could guide physicians for more individualized anti-platelet therapy. Here we present work towards developing a sensor to detect this healing process. Sensors on several stent struts could give information about the heterogeneity of healing across the stent. Methods A piezoelectric microcantilever was insulated with parylene and demonstrated as an endothelialization detector for incorporation within an active coronary stent. After initial characterization, endothelial cells were plated onto the cantilever surface. After they attached to the surface, they caused an increase in mass, and thus a decrease in the resonant frequencies of the cantilever. This shift was then detected electrically with an LCR meter. The self-sensing, self-actuating cantilever does not require an external, optical detection system, thus allowing for implanted applications. Results A cell density of 1300 cells/mm2 on the cantilever surface is detected. Conclusions We have developed a self-actuating, self-sensing device for detecting the presence of endothelial cells on a surface. The device is biocompatible and functions reliably in ionic liquids, making it appropriate for implantable applications. This sensor can be placed along the struts of a coronary stent to detect when the struts have been covered with a layer of endothelial cells and are no longer available surfaces for clot formation. Anti-platelet therapy can be adjusted in real-time with respect to a patient's level of healing and hemorrhaging risks.

Low tube voltage CT for improved detection of pancreatic cancer: detection threshold for small, simulated lesions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Holm, Jon; Loizou, Louiza; Albiin, Nils; Kartalis, Nikolaos; Leidner, Bertil; Sundin, Anders

2012-01-01

Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma is associated with dismal prognosis. The detection of small pancreatic tumors which are still resectable is still a challenging problem. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of decreasing the tube voltage from 120 to 80 kV on the detection of pancreatic tumors. Three scanning protocols was used; one using the standard tube voltage (120 kV) and current (160 mA) and two using 80 kV but with different tube currents (500 and 675 mA) to achieve equivalent dose (15 mGy) and noise (15 HU) as that of the standard protocol. Tumors were simulated into collected CT phantom images. The attenuation in normal parenchyma at 120 kV was set at 130 HU, as measured previously in clinical examinations, and the tumor attenuation was assumed to differ 20 HU and was set at 110HU. By scanning and measuring of iodine solution with different concentrations the corresponding tumor and parenchyma attenuation at 80 kV was found to be 185 and 219 HU, respectively. To objectively evaluate the differences between the three protocols, a multi-reader multi-case receiver operating characteristic study was conducted, using three readers and 100 cases, each containing 0–3 lesions. The highest reader averaged figure-of-merit (FOM) was achieved for 80 kV and 675 mA (FOM = 0,850), and the lowest for 120 kV (FOM = 0,709). There was a significant difference between the three protocols (p < 0,0001), when making an analysis of variance (ANOVA). Post-hoc analysis (students t-test) shows that there was a significant difference between 120 and 80 kV, but not between the two levels of tube currents at 80 kV. We conclude that when decreasing the tube voltage there is a significant improvement in tumor conspicuity

Subacute stress and chronic stress interact to decrease intestinal barrier function in rats.

Science.gov (United States)

Lauffer, Adriana; Vanuytsel, Tim; Vanormelingen, Christophe; Vanheel, Hanne; Salim Rasoel, Shadea; Tóth, Joran; Tack, Jan; Fornari, Fernando; Farré, Ricard

2016-01-01

Psychological stress increases intestinal permeability, potentially leading to low-grade inflammation and symptoms in functional gastrointestinal disorders. We assessed the effect of subacute, chronic and combined stress on intestinal barrier function and mast cell density. Male Wistar rats were allocated to four experimental groups (n = 8/group): 1/sham; 2/subacute stress (isolation and limited movement for 24 h); 3/chronic crowding stress for 14 days and 4/combined subacute and chronic stress. Jejunum and colon were collected to measure: transepithelial electrical resistance (TEER; a measure of epithelial barrier function); gene expression of tight junction molecules; mast cell density. Plasma corticosterone concentration was increased in all three stress conditions versus sham, with highest concentrations in the combined stress condition. TEER in the jejunum was decreased in all stress conditions, but was significantly lower in the combined stress condition than in the other groups. TEER in the jejunum correlated negatively with corticosterone concentration. Increased expression of claudin 1, 5 and 8, occludin and zonula occludens 1 mRNAs was detected after subacute stress in the jejunum. In contrast, colonic TEER was decreased only after combined stress, and the expression of tight junction molecules was unaltered. Increased mast cell density was observed in the chronic and combined stress condition in the colon only. In conclusion, our data show that chronic stress sensitizes the gastrointestinal tract to the effects of subacute stress on intestinal barrier function; different underlying cellular and molecular alterations are indicated in the small intestine versus the colon.

Pedestrian detection in infrared image using HOG and Autoencoder

Science.gov (United States)

Chen, Tianbiao; Zhang, Hao; Shi, Wenjie; Zhang, Yu

2017-11-01

In order to guarantee the safety of driving at night, vehicle-mounted night vision system was used to detect pedestrian in front of cars and send alarm to prevent the potential dangerous. To decrease the false positive rate (FPR) and increase the true positive rate (TPR), a pedestrian detection method based on HOG and Autoencoder (HOG+Autoencoder) was presented. Firstly, the HOG features of input images were computed and encoded by Autoencoder. Then the encoded features were classified by Softmax. In the process of training, Autoencoder was trained unsupervised. Softmax was trained with supervision. Autoencoder and Softmax were stacked into a model and fine-tuned by labeled images. Experiment was conducted to compare the detection performance between HOG and HOG+Autoencoder, using images collected by vehicle-mounted infrared camera. There were 80000 images for training set and 20000 for the testing set, with a rate of 1:3 between positive and negative images. The result shows that when TPR is 95%, FPR of HOG+Autoencoder is 0.4%, while the FPR of HOG is 5% with the same TPR.

Traffic Congestion Detection System through Connected Vehicles and Big Data

OpenAIRE

Néstor Cárdenas-Benítez; Raúl Aquino-Santos; Pedro Magaña-Espinoza; José Aguilar-Velazco; Arthur Edwards-Block; Aldo Medina Cass

2016-01-01

This article discusses the simulation and evaluation of a traffic congestion detection system which combines inter-vehicular communications, fixed roadside infrastructure and infrastructure-to-infrastructure connectivity and big data. The system discussed in this article permits drivers to identify traffic congestion and change their routes accordingly, thus reducing the total emissions of CO2 and decreasing travel time. This system monitors, processes and stores large amounts of data, which ...

Paeoniflorin improves cardiac function and decreases adverse postinfarction left ventricular remodeling in a rat model of acute myocardial infarction

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Chen H

2018-04-01

Full Text Available Hengwen Chen,* Yan Dong,* Xuanhui He, Jun Li, Jie Wang Guang’anmen Hospital, China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences, Beijing, China *These authors contributed equally to this work Background: Paeoniflorin (PF is the active component of Paeonia lactiflora Pall. or Paeonia veitchii Lynch. This study was, therefore, aimed to evaluate the improvement and mechanism of the PF on ventricular remodeling in rats with acute myocardial infarction (AMI. Materials and methods: In this study, AMI model was established by ligating the anterior descending coronary artery in Wistar rats. After 4 weeks gavage of PF, the apparent signs and the left ventricle weight index of Wistar rats were observed. The left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF was evaluated by Doppler ultrasonography. Changes in cardiac morphology were observed by pathologic examination, and apoptosis was observed by the terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase dUTP nick end labeling assay. In addition, enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay was used to detect the expression of tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α, interleukin-6 (IL-6 interleukin-10 (IL-10 and brain natriuretic peptide (BNP. Immunohistochemistry and Western blot method were applied to detect Caspase-3 and Caspase-9. Results: Compared with the model control, the survival conditions of rats in all treatment groups were generally improved after PF treatment. LVEF was significantly increased, and both left ventricular end-diastolic inner diameter and left ventricular end-systolic inner diameter were significantly reduced. Moreover, pathologic examination showed that the myocardium degeneration of the rats treated with PF was decreased, including neater arrangement, more complete myofilament, more uniform gap and less interstitial collagen fibers. Furthermore, the mitochondrial structure of cardiomyocytes was significantly improved. The ultrastructure was clear, and the arrangement of myofilament was more regular. Also, the expression of

Network hydraulics inclusion in water quality event detection using multiple sensor stations data.

Science.gov (United States)

Oliker, Nurit; Ostfeld, Avi

2015-09-01

Event detection is one of the current most challenging topics in water distribution systems analysis: how regular on-line hydraulic (e.g., pressure, flow) and water quality (e.g., pH, residual chlorine, turbidity) measurements at different network locations can be efficiently utilized to detect water quality contamination events. This study describes an integrated event detection model which combines multiple sensor stations data with network hydraulics. To date event detection modelling is likely limited to single sensor station location and dataset. Single sensor station models are detached from network hydraulics insights and as a result might be significantly exposed to false positive alarms. This work is aimed at decreasing this limitation through integrating local and spatial hydraulic data understanding into an event detection model. The spatial analysis complements the local event detection effort through discovering events with lower signatures by exploring the sensors mutual hydraulic influences. The unique contribution of this study is in incorporating hydraulic simulation information into the overall event detection process of spatially distributed sensors. The methodology is demonstrated on two example applications using base runs and sensitivity analyses. Results show a clear advantage of the suggested model over single-sensor event detection schemes. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

A Generic Method for Fungal Spore Detection: The use of a monoclonal antibody and surface plasmon resonance

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Skottrup, Peter; Hearty, Stephen; Frøkiær, Hanne

2005-01-01

This study describes a biosensing principle for detection of fungal spores using surface plasmon resonance (SPR). The approach involves the use of a monoclonal antibody (mab) and a SPR sensor for label-free detection of the model organism Puccinia striiformis f.sp. tritici (Pst) a biotrophic fungus...... causing wheat yellow rust. We have developed mabs towards intact whole spores and used a subtractive inhibition format for detection of spores in solution. The antibody was incubated with different spore concentrations and the remaining free antibody was quantified using a BIAcore® 3000 sensor. Decreasing...

Using biogenic sulfur gases as remotely detectable biosignatures on anoxic planets.

Science.gov (United States)

Domagal-Goldman, Shawn D; Meadows, Victoria S; Claire, Mark W; Kasting, James F

2011-06-01

We used one-dimensional photochemical and radiative transfer models to study the potential of organic sulfur compounds (CS(2), OCS, CH(3)SH, CH(3)SCH(3), and CH(3)S(2)CH(3)) to act as remotely detectable biosignatures in anoxic exoplanetary atmospheres. Concentrations of organic sulfur gases were predicted for various biogenic sulfur fluxes into anoxic atmospheres and were found to increase with decreasing UV fluxes. Dimethyl sulfide (CH(3)SCH(3), or DMS) and dimethyl disulfide (CH(3)S(2)CH(3), or DMDS) concentrations could increase to remotely detectable levels, but only in cases of extremely low UV fluxes, which may occur in the habitable zone of an inactive M dwarf. The most detectable feature of organic sulfur gases is an indirect one that results from an increase in ethane (C(2)H(6)) over that which would be predicted based on the planet's methane (CH(4)) concentration. Thus, a characterization mission could detect these organic sulfur gases-and therefore the life that produces them-if it could sufficiently quantify the ethane and methane in the exoplanet's atmosphere.

Biological Threats Detection Technologies

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bartoszcze, M.

2007-01-01

Among many decisive factors, which can have the influence on the possibility of decreases the results of use biological agents should be mentioned obligatory: rapid detection and identification of biological factor used, the proper preventive treatment and the medical management. The aims of identification: to identify the factor used, to estimate the area of contamination, to evaluate the possible countermeasure efforts (antibiotics, disinfectants) and to assess the effectiveness of the decontamination efforts (decontamination of the persons, equipment, buildings, environment etc.). The objects of identification are: bacteria and bacteria's spores, viruses, toxins and genetically modified factors. The present technologies are divided into: based on PCR techniques (ABI PRISM, APSIS, BIOVERIS, RAPID), immuno (BADD, RAMP, SMART) PCR and immuno techniques (APDS, LUMINEX) and others (BDS2, LUNASCAN, MALDI). The selected technologies assigned to field conditions, mobile and stationary laboratories will be presented.(author)

FORMATION, SURVIVAL, AND DETECTABILITY OF PLANETS BEYOND 100 AU

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Veras, Dimitri; Crepp, Justin R.; Ford, Eric B.

2009-01-01

Direct imaging searches have begun to detect planetary and brown dwarf companions and to place constraints on the presence of giant planets at large separations from their host star. This work helps to motivate such planet searches by predicting a population of young giant planets that could be detectable by direct imaging campaigns. Both the classical core accretion and the gravitational instability model for planet formation are hard pressed to form long-period planets in situ. Here, we show that dynamical instabilities among planetary systems that originally formed multiple giant planets much closer to the host star could produce a population of giant planets at large (∼ 10 2 -10 5 AU) separations. We estimate the limits within which these planets may survive, quantify the efficiency of gravitational scattering into both stable and unstable wide orbits, and demonstrate that population analyses must take into account the age of the system. We predict that planet scattering creates detectable giant planets on wide orbits that decreases in number on timescales of ∼ 10 Myr. We demonstrate that several members of such populations should be detectable with current technology, quantify the prospects for future instruments, and suggest how they could place interesting constraints on planet formation models.

MICROSLEEPS AND THEIR DETECTION FROM THE BIOLOGICAL SIGNALS

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Martin Holub

2017-12-01

Full Text Available Microsleeps (MS are a frequently discussed topic due to their fatal consequences. Their detection is necessary for the purpose of sleep laboratories, where they provide an option for the quantifying rate of sleep deprivation level and objective evaluation of subjective sleepiness. Many studies are dealing with this topic for automotive usage to design a fatigue countermeasure device. We made a research of recent attitude to the development of the automated MS detection methods. We created an overview of several MS detection approaches based on the measurement of biological signals. We also summarized the changes in EEG, EOG and ECG signals, which have been published over the last few years. The reproducible changes in the entire EEG spectrum, primarily with the increased activity of delta and theta, were noticed during a transition to fatigue. There were observed changes of blinking rate and reduction of eye movements during the fatigue tasks. MS correspond with variations in the autonomic regulation of the cardiovascular function, which can be quantified by HRV parameters. The decrease in HR, VLF, and LF/HF before falling asleep was revealed. EEG signal, especially its slow wave activity, considered to be the most predictive and reliable for the level of alertness. In spite of the detection from EEG signal is the most common method, EOG based approaches can also be very efficient and more driver-friendly. Besides, the signal processing in the time domain can improve the detection accuracy of the short events like MS.

A century of change in Kenya's mammal communities: increased richness and decreased uniqueness in six protected areas.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Anikó B Tóth

Full Text Available The potential for large-scale biodiversity losses as a result of climate change and human impact presents major challenges for ecology and conservation science. Governments around the world have established national parks and wildlife reserves to help protect biodiversity, but there are few studies on the long-term consequences of this strategy. We use Kenya as a case study to investigate species richness and other attributes of mammal communities in 6 protected areas over the past century. Museum records from African expeditions that comprehensively sampled mammals from these same areas in the early 1900's provide a baseline for evaluating changes in species richness and community structure over time. We compare species lists assembled from archived specimens (1896-1950 to those of corresponding modern protected areas (1950-2013. Species richness in Kenya was stable or increased at 5 out of 6 sites from historical to modern times. Beta-diversity, in contrast, decreased across all sites. Potential biases such as variable historical vs. modern collection effort and detection of small-bodied, rare, and low-visibility species do not account for the observed results. We attribute the pattern of decreased beta diversity primarily to increased site occupancy by common species across all body size classes. Despite a decrease in land area available to wildlife, our data do not show the extinctions predicted by species-area relationships. Moreover, the results indicate that species-area curves based solely on protected areas could underestimate diversity because they do not account for mammal species whose ranges extend beyond protected area boundaries. We conclude that the 6 protected areas have been effective in preserving species richness in spite of continuing conversion of wild grasslands to cropland, but the overall decrease in beta diversity indicates a decline in the uniqueness of mammal communities that historically characterized Kenya's varied

Do socioeconomic mortality differences decrease with rising age?

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Rasmus Hoffmann

2005-08-01

Full Text Available The impact of SES on mortality is an established finding in mortality research. I examine, whether this impact decreases with age. Most research finds evidence for this decrease but it is unknown whether the decline is due to mortality selection. My data come from the US-HRS Study and includes 9376 persons aged 59+, which are followed over 8 years. The variables allow a time varying measurement of SES, health and behavior. Event-history-analysis is applied to analyze mortality differentials. My results show that socioeconomic mortality differences are stable across ages whereas they decline clearly with decreasing health. The first finding that health rather than age is the equalizer combined with the second finding of unequally distributed health leads to the conclusion that in old age, the impact of SES is transferred to health and is stable across ages.

Protein A Detection Based on Quantum Dots-Antibody Bioprobe Using Fluorescence Coupled Capillary Electrophoresis

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Lin Qiu

2014-01-01

Full Text Available In this report, fluorescence detection coupled capillary electrophoresis (CE-FL was used to detect Protein A. Antibody was first labeled with Cy5 and then mixed with quantum dots (QDs to form QDs-antibody bioprobe. Further, we observed fluorescence resonance energy transfer (FRET from QDs donor to Cy5 acceptor. The bioprobe was formed and brought QDs and Cy5 close enough to allow FRET to occur. After adding protein A, the FRET system was broken and caused the FRET signal to decrease. Thus, a new method for the determination of protein A was proposed based on the FRET signal changes. This study provides a new trail of thought for the detection of protein.

A New Detecting Technology for External Anticorrosive Coating Defects of Pipelines Based on Ultrasonic Guided Wave

Science.gov (United States)

Liu, Shujun; Zuo, Yonggang; Zhang, Zhen

2018-01-01

The external anticorrosive coating is the shelter for preventing steel pipelines from Corrosive damage. A number of pipelines face severe corrosive problems for the performance decrease of the coating, especially during long-term services, which usually led to safety accidents. To solve the detection problem about the defect of anticorrosive layer for pipeline, a new detection method for anticorrosive layer of pipelines based on Ultrasonic Guided Wave was proposed in the paper. The results from the investigation show a possibility of using the Ultrasonic Guided Wave method for detecting the damage of pipeline’s External Anticorrosive Coating.

A graphene-based electrochemical sensor for sensitive detection of paracetamol

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kang, Xinhuang; Wang, Jun; Wu, Hong; Liu, Jun; Aksay, Ilhan A.; Lin, Yuehe

2010-05-15

An electrochemical sensor based on the electrocatalytic activity of functionalized graphene for sensitive detection of paracetamol is presented. The electrochemical behaviors of paracetamol on graphene-modified glassy carbon electrodes (GCEs) were investigated by cyclic voltammetry and square-wave voltammetry. The results showed that the graphene-modified electrode exhibited excellent electrocatalytic activity to paracetamol. A quasi-reversible redox process of paracetamol at the modified electrode was obtained, and the over-potential of paracetamol decreased significantly compared with that at the bare GCE. Such electrocatalytic behavior of graphene is attributed to its unique physical and chemical properties, e.g., subtle electronic characteristics, attractive π–π interaction, and strong adsorptive capability. The sensor shows great promise for simple, sensitive, and quantitative detection of paracetamol.

Cancer molecular markers: A guide to cancer detection and management.

Science.gov (United States)

Nair, Meera; Sandhu, Sardul Singh; Sharma, Anil Kumar

2018-02-08

Cancer is generally caused by the molecular alterations which lead to specific mutations. Advances in molecular biology have provided an impetus to the study of cancers with valuable prognostic and predictive significance. Over the hindsight various attempts have been undertaken by scientists worldwide, in the management of cancer; where, we have witnessed a number of molecular markers which allow the early detection of cancers and lead to a decrease in its mortality rate. Recent advances in oncology have led to the discovery of cancer markers that has allowed early detection and targeted therapy of tumors. In this context, current review provides a detail outlook on various molecular markers for diagnosis, prognosis and management of therapeutic response in cancer patients. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Improved cancer detection in automated breast ultrasound by radiologists using Computer Aided Detection

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zelst, J.C.M. van; Tan, T.; Platel, B.; Jong, M. de; Steenbakkers, A.; Mourits, M.; Grivegnee, A.; Borelli, C.; Karssemeijer, N.; Mann, R.M.

2017-01-01

Objective: To investigate the effect of dedicated Computer Aided Detection (CAD) software for automated breast ultrasound (ABUS) on the performance of radiologists screening for breast cancer. Methods: 90 ABUS views of 90 patients were randomly selected from a multi-institutional archive of cases collected between 2010 and 2013. This dataset included normal cases (n = 40) with >1 year of follow up, benign (n = 30) lesions that were either biopsied or remained stable, and malignant lesions (n = 20). Six readers evaluated all cases with and without CAD in two sessions. CAD-software included conventional CAD-marks and an intelligent minimum intensity projection of the breast tissue. Readers reported using a likelihood-of-malignancy scale from 0 to 100. Alternative free-response ROC analysis was used to measure the performance. Results: Without CAD, the average area-under-the-curve (AUC) of the readers was 0.77 and significantly improved with CAD to 0.84 (p = 0.001). Sensitivity of all readers improved (range 5.2–10.6%) by using CAD but specificity decreased in four out of six readers (range 1.4–5.7%). No significant difference was observed in the AUC between experienced radiologists and residents both with and without CAD. Conclusions: Dedicated CAD-software for ABUS has the potential to improve the cancer detection rates of radiologists screening for breast cancer.

Improved cancer detection in automated breast ultrasound by radiologists using Computer Aided Detection

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Zelst, J.C.M. van, E-mail: Jan.vanZelst@radboudumc.nl [Radboud University Medical Center, Department of Radiology and Nuclear Medicine, Nijmegen (Netherlands); Tan, T.; Platel, B. [Radboud University Medical Center, Department of Radiology and Nuclear Medicine, Nijmegen (Netherlands); Jong, M. de [Jeroen Bosch Medical Centre, Department of Radiology, ‘s-Hertogenbosch (Netherlands); Steenbakkers, A. [Radboud University Medical Center, Department of Radiology and Nuclear Medicine, Nijmegen (Netherlands); Mourits, M. [Jeroen Bosch Medical Centre, Department of Radiology, ‘s-Hertogenbosch (Netherlands); Grivegnee, A. [Jules Bordet Institute, Department of Radiology, Brussels (Belgium); Borelli, C. [Catholic University of the Sacred Heart, Department of Radiological Sciences, Rome (Italy); Karssemeijer, N.; Mann, R.M. [Radboud University Medical Center, Department of Radiology and Nuclear Medicine, Nijmegen (Netherlands)

2017-04-15

Objective: To investigate the effect of dedicated Computer Aided Detection (CAD) software for automated breast ultrasound (ABUS) on the performance of radiologists screening for breast cancer. Methods: 90 ABUS views of 90 patients were randomly selected from a multi-institutional archive of cases collected between 2010 and 2013. This dataset included normal cases (n = 40) with >1 year of follow up, benign (n = 30) lesions that were either biopsied or remained stable, and malignant lesions (n = 20). Six readers evaluated all cases with and without CAD in two sessions. CAD-software included conventional CAD-marks and an intelligent minimum intensity projection of the breast tissue. Readers reported using a likelihood-of-malignancy scale from 0 to 100. Alternative free-response ROC analysis was used to measure the performance. Results: Without CAD, the average area-under-the-curve (AUC) of the readers was 0.77 and significantly improved with CAD to 0.84 (p = 0.001). Sensitivity of all readers improved (range 5.2–10.6%) by using CAD but specificity decreased in four out of six readers (range 1.4–5.7%). No significant difference was observed in the AUC between experienced radiologists and residents both with and without CAD. Conclusions: Dedicated CAD-software for ABUS has the potential to improve the cancer detection rates of radiologists screening for breast cancer.

A nonsense mutation causing decreased levels of insulin receptor mRNA: Detection by a simplified technique for direct sequencing of genomic DNA amplified by the polymerase chain reaction

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kadowaki, T.; Kadowaki, H.; Taylor, S.I.

1990-01-01

Mutations in the insulin receptor gene can render the cell resistant to the biological action of insulin. The authors have studied a patient with leprechaunism (leprechaun/Minn-1), a genetic syndrome associated with intrauterine growth retardation and extreme insulin resistance. Genomic DNA from the patient was amplified by the polymerase chain reaction catalyzed by Thermus aquaticus (Taq) DNA polymerase, and the amplified DNA was directly sequenced. A nonsense mutations was identified at codon 897 in exon 14 in the paternal allele of the patient's insulin receptor gene. Levels of insulin receptor mRNA are decreased to <10% of normal in Epstein-Barr virus-transformed lymphoblasts and cultured skin fibroblasts from this patient. Thus, this nonsense mutation appears to cause a decrease in the levels of insulin receptor mRNA. In addition, they have obtained indirect evidence that the patient's maternal allele of the insulin receptor gene contains a cis-acting dominant mutation that also decreases the level of mRNA, but by a different mechanism. The nucleotide sequence of the entire protein-coding domain and the sequences of the intron-exon boundaries for all 22 exons of the maternal allele were normal. Presumably, the mutation in the maternal allele maps elsewhere in the insulin receptor gene. Thus, they conclude that the patient is a compound heterozygote for two cis-acting dominant mutations in the insulin receptor gene: (i) a nonsense mutation in the paternal allel that reduces the level of insulin receptor mRNA and (ii) an as yet unidentified mutation in the maternal allele that either decreases the rate of transcription or decreases the stability of the mRNA

Decreasing size of radiosensitive capsules from micro to nano, and its increased antitumor effect and decreasing adverse effect

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Harada, S.; Ehara, S.; Ishii, K.; Yamazaki, H.; Matsuyama, S.; Sato, Takahiro; Kamiya, Tomihiro; Sera, K.; Saito, Y.

2012-01-01

We have been developing microcapsules that release anticancer drug with response to radiation. We attempted to decrease the diameter of capsules. Then, two categories were tested in VIVO in C3He mice: (1) the antitumor effect in combination with radiation and subcutaneously injected nanocapsules, (2) the kidnetics of nanocapsules when they were injected intravenously. Microcapsules were produced by spraying a mixture of 3.0 % hyaluronic acid, 2.0 % alginate, 3.0 % H 2 O 2 , and 0.3 mmol carboplatin (Pt containing anticancer drug) onto a mixture of vibrated 0.3 mol FeCl 2 and 0.15 mol CaCl 2 . The antitumor effect was measured by measuring tumor diameter every day. The kinetics of microcapsules were expressed as the numbers of capsules in 5 views (25 x 25 μm) of micro PIXE camera and Pt concentration of quantiative PIXE. The generated microcapsules 752 ± 64 nm, which were significantly downsized relative to previous capsules. The accumulations of capsules in lungs, liver, and kidneys were decreased by downsizing, whereas those of tumors were increased. By adjusting Pt concentration in tumor, there were no significant differences in antitumor effect between not downsized and downsized microcapsules with combination with radiation. Decreased trapping of downsized microcapsules to lungs, liver, and kidneys, also increased trapping in tumors will lead to new targeted chemoradiotherapy via intravenous injection of microcapsules. (author)

Detection of Mycoplasma hyopneumoniae in naturally infected gilts over time.

Science.gov (United States)

Takeuti, Karine L; de Barcellos, David E S N; de Lara, Anne C; Kunrath, Cintia F; Pieters, Maria

2017-05-01

Mycoplasma hyopneumoniae causes a chronic respiratory infection in pigs and its transmission occurs mainly by direct contact and by vertical transmission (sow-to-piglet). The objective of this study was to assess the detection dynamics and persistence of M. hyopneumoniae natural infection in replacement gilts. Forty-four twenty-day-old gilts were selected from a M. hyopneumoniae positive farm and followed up to one day prior to their first weaning. Laryngeal swabs were collected every 30days, starting at day 20, for M. hyopneumoniae detection by real-time PCR, resulting in 12 samplings. Piglets born to selected females were sampled via laryngeal swabs one day prior to weaning to evaluate sow-to-piglet transmission. The M. hyopneumoniae prevalence was estimated at each one of the 12 samplings in gilts and a multiple comparison test and Bonferroni correction were performed. Bacterial detection in gilts started at 110days of age (doa) and a significant increase (phyopneumoniae prevalence remained above 20% from 140 to 230 doa, decreasing thereafter. However, it did not reach 0% at any sampling after 110 doa. In this study, M. hyopneumoniae was not detected in piglets sampled prior to weaning. The M. hyopneumoniae detection pattern showed that in natural infections, gilts were positive for M. hyopneumoniae for one to three months, but occasionally long-term detection may occur. Moreover, the lack of M. hyopneumoniae detection throughout the study in 18.2% of gilts indicated the existence of negative subpopulations in positive herds. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Asthma causes inflammation of human pulmonary arteries and decreases vasodilatation induced by prostaglandin I2 analogs.

Science.gov (United States)

Foudi, Nabil; Badi, Aouatef; Amrane, Mounira; Hodroj, Wassim

2017-12-01

Asthma is a chronic inflammatory disease associated with increased cardiovascular events. This study assesses the presence of inflammation and the vascular reactivity of pulmonary arteries in patients with acute asthma. Rings of human pulmonary arteries obtained from non-asthmatic and asthmatic patients were set up in organ bath for vascular tone monitoring. Reactivity was induced by vasoconstrictor and vasodilator agents. Protein expression of inflammatory markers was detected by western blot. Prostanoid releases and cyclic adenosine monophosphate (cAMP) levels were quantified using specific enzymatic kits. Protein expression of cluster of differentiation 68, intercellular adhesion molecule-1, vascular cell adhesion molecule-1, and cyclooxygenase-2 was significantly increased in arteries obtained from asthmatic patients. These effects were accompanied by an alteration of vasodilatation induced by iloprost and treprostinil, a decrease in cAMP levels and an increase in prostaglandin (PG) E 2 and PGI 2 synthesis. The use of forskolin (50 µmol/L) has restored the vasodilatation and cAMP release. No difference was observed between the two groups in reactivity induced by norepinephrine, angiotensin II, PGE 2 , KCl, sodium nitroprusside, and acetylcholine. Acute asthma causes inflammation of pulmonary arteries and decreases vasodilation induced by PGI 2 analogs through the impairment of cAMP pathway.

Aging causes decreased resistance to multiple stresses and a failure to activate specific stress response pathways

Science.gov (United States)

Bergsma, Alexis L.; Senchuk, Megan M.; Van Raamsdonk, Jeremy M.

2016-01-01

In this work, we examine the relationship between stress resistance and aging. We find that resistance to multiple types of stress peaks during early adulthood and then declines with age. To dissect the underlying mechanisms, we use C. elegans transcriptional reporter strains that measure the activation of different stress responses including: the heat shock response, mitochondrial unfolded protein response, endoplasmic reticulum unfolded protein response, hypoxia response, SKN-1-mediated oxidative stress response, and the DAF-16-mediated stress response. We find that the decline in stress resistance with age is at least partially due to a decreased ability to activate protective mechanisms in response to stress. In contrast, we find that any baseline increase in stress caused by the advancing age is too mild to detectably upregulate any of the stress response pathways. Further exploration of how worms respond to stress with increasing age revealed that the ability to mount a hormetic response to heat stress is also lost with increasing age. Overall, this work demonstrates that resistance to all types of stress declines with age. Based on our data, we speculate that the decrease in stress resistance with advancing age results from a genetically-programmed inactivation of stress response pathways, not accumulation of damage. PMID:27053445

Aging causes decreased resistance to multiple stresses and a failure to activate specific stress response pathways.

Science.gov (United States)

Dues, Dylan J; Andrews, Emily K; Schaar, Claire E; Bergsma, Alexis L; Senchuk, Megan M; Van Raamsdonk, Jeremy M

2016-04-01

In this work, we examine the relationship between stress resistance and aging. We find that resistance to multiple types of stress peaks during early adulthood and then declines with age. To dissect the underlying mechanisms, we use C. elegans transcriptional reporter strains that measure the activation of different stress responses including: the heat shock response, mitochondrial unfolded protein response, endoplasmic reticulum unfolded protein response, hypoxia response, SKN-1-mediated oxidative stress response, and the DAF-16-mediated stress response. We find that the decline in stress resistance with age is at least partially due to a decreased ability to activate protective mechanisms in response to stress. In contrast, we find that any baseline increase in stress caused by the advancing age is too mild to detectably upregulate any of the stress response pathways. Further exploration of how worms respond to stress with increasing age revealed that the ability to mount a hormetic response to heat stress is also lost with increasing age. Overall, this work demonstrates that resistance to all types of stress declines with age. Based on our data, we speculate that the decrease in stress resistance with advancing age results from a genetically-programmed inactivation of stress response pathways, not accumulation of damage.

Direct Electrical Detection of Iodine Gas by a Novel Metal-Organic-Framework-Based Sensor.

Science.gov (United States)

Small, Leo J; Nenoff, Tina M

2017-12-27

High-fidelity detection of iodine species is of utmost importance to the safety of the population in cases of nuclear accidents or advanced nuclear fuel reprocessing. Herein, we describe the success at using impedance spectroscopy to directly detect the real-time adsorption of I 2 by a metal-organic framework zeolitic imidazolate framework (ZIF)-8-based sensor. Methanolic suspensions of ZIF-8 were dropcast onto platinum interdigitated electrodes, dried, and exposed to gaseous I 2 at 25, 40, or 70 °C. Using an unoptimized sensor geometry, I 2 was readily detected at 25 °C in air within 720 s of exposure. The specific response is attributed to the chemical selectivity of the ZIF-8 toward I 2 . Furthermore, equivalent circuit modeling of the impedance data indicates a >10 5 × decrease in ZIF-8 resistance when 116 wt % I 2 is adsorbed by ZIF-8 at 70 °C in air. This irreversible decrease in resistance is accompanied by an irreversible loss in the long-range crystallinity, as evidenced by X-ray diffraction and infrared spectroscopy. Air, argon, methanol, and water were found to produce minimal changes in ZIF-8 impedance. This report demonstrates how selective I 2 adsorption by ZIF-8 can be leveraged to create a highly selective sensor using >10 5 × changes in impedance response to enable the direct electrical detection of environmentally relevant gaseous toxins.

Aerial Neutron Detection: Neutron Signatures for Nonproliferation and Emergency Response Applications

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Maurer, Richard J.; Stampahar, Thomas G.; Smith, Ethan X.; Mukhopadhyay, Sanjoy; Wolff, Ronald S.; Rourke, Timothy J.; LeDonne, Jeffrey P.; Avaro, Emanuele; Butler, D. Andre; Borders, Kevin L.; Stampahar, Jezabel; Schuck, William H.; Selfridge, Thomas L.; McKissack, Thomas M.; Duncan, William W.; Hendricks, Thane J.

2012-10-17

From 2007 to the present, the Remote Sensing Laboratory has been conducting a series of studies designed to expand our fundamental understanding of aerial neutron detection with the goal of designing an enhanced sensitivity detection system for long range neutron detection. Over 35 hours of aerial measurements in a helicopter were conducted for a variety of neutron emitters such as neutron point sources, a commercial nuclear power reactor, nuclear reactor spent fuel in dry cask storage, depleted uranium hexafluoride and depleted uranium metal. The goals of the project were to increase the detection sensitivity of our instruments such that a 5.4 × 104 neutron/second source could be detected at 100 feet above ground level at a speed of 70 knots and to enhance the long-range detection sensitivity for larger neutron sources, i.e., detection ranges above 1000 feet. In order to increase the sensitivity of aerial neutron detection instruments, it is important to understand the dynamics of the neutron background as a function of altitude. For aerial neutron detection, studies have shown that the neutron background primarily originates from above the aircraft, being produced in the upper atmosphere by galactic cosmic-ray interactions with air molecules. These interactions produce energetic neutrons and charged particles that cascade to the earth’s surface, producing additional neutrons in secondary collisions. Hence, the neutron background increases as a function of altitude which is an impediment to long-range neutron detection. In order to increase the sensitivity for long range detection, it is necessary to maintain a low neutron background as a function of altitude. Initial investigations show the variation in the neutron background can be decreased with the application of a cosmic-ray shield. The results of the studies along with a representative data set are presented.

Sample preparation and detection device for infectious agents

Science.gov (United States)

Miles, Robin R.; Wang, Amy W.; Fuller, Christopher K.; Lemoff, Asuncion V.; Bettencourt, Kerry A.; Yu, June

2003-06-10

A sample preparation and analysis device which incorporates both immunoassays and PCR assays in one compact, field-portable microchip. The device provides new capabilities in fluid and particle control which allows the building of a fluidic chip with no moving parts, thus decreasing fabrication cost and increasing the robustness of the device. The device can operate in a true continuous (not batch) mode. The device incorporates magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) pumps to move the fluid through the system, acoustic mixing and fractionation, dielectropheretic (DEP) sample concentration and purification, and on-chip optical detection capabilities.

Detecting topology in a nearly flat spherical universe

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Weeks, Jeffrey; Lehoucq, Roland; Uzan, Jean-Philippe

2003-01-01

When the density parameter is close to unity, the universe has a large curvature radius independent of its being hyperbolic or spherical, or in the limiting case of an infinite curvature radius, flat. Whatever the curvature, the universe may have either a simply connected or a multiply connected topology. In the flat case, the topology scale is arbitrary, and there is no a priori reason for this scale to be of the same order as the size of the observable universe. In the hyperbolic case, any nontrivial topology would almost surely be on a length scale too large to detect. In the spherical case, in contrast, the topology could easily occur on a detectable scale. The present paper shows how, in the spherical case, the assumption of a nearly flat universe simplifies the algorithms for detecting a multiply connected topology, but also reduces the amount of topology that can be seen. This is of primary importance for the upcoming cosmic microwave background data analysis. This paper shows that for spherical spaces one may restrict the search to diametrically opposite pairs of circles in the circles-in-the-sky method and still detect the cyclic factor in the standard factorization of the holonomy group. This vastly decreases the algorithm's run time. If the search is widened to include pairs of candidate circles whose centres are almost opposite and whose relative twist varies slightly, then the cyclic factor along with a cyclic subgroup of the general factor may also be detected. Unfortunately, the full holonomy group is, in general, unobservable in a nearly flat spherical universe, and so a full six-parameter search is unnecessary. Crystallographic methods could also potentially detect the cyclic factor and a cyclic subgroup of the general factor, but nothing else

Detecting topology in a nearly flat spherical universe

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Weeks, Jeffrey [15 Farmer St, Canton NY 13617-1120 (United States); Lehoucq, Roland [CE-Saclay, DSM/DAPNIA/Service d' Astrophysique, F-91191 Gif sur Yvette Cedex (France); Uzan, Jean-Philippe [Institut d' Astrophysique de Paris, GReCO, CNRS-FRE 2435, 98 bis, Bd Arago, 75014 Paris (France)

2003-04-21

When the density parameter is close to unity, the universe has a large curvature radius independent of its being hyperbolic or spherical, or in the limiting case of an infinite curvature radius, flat. Whatever the curvature, the universe may have either a simply connected or a multiply connected topology. In the flat case, the topology scale is arbitrary, and there is no a priori reason for this scale to be of the same order as the size of the observable universe. In the hyperbolic case, any nontrivial topology would almost surely be on a length scale too large to detect. In the spherical case, in contrast, the topology could easily occur on a detectable scale. The present paper shows how, in the spherical case, the assumption of a nearly flat universe simplifies the algorithms for detecting a multiply connected topology, but also reduces the amount of topology that can be seen. This is of primary importance for the upcoming cosmic microwave background data analysis. This paper shows that for spherical spaces one may restrict the search to diametrically opposite pairs of circles in the circles-in-the-sky method and still detect the cyclic factor in the standard factorization of the holonomy group. This vastly decreases the algorithm's run time. If the search is widened to include pairs of candidate circles whose centres are almost opposite and whose relative twist varies slightly, then the cyclic factor along with a cyclic subgroup of the general factor may also be detected. Unfortunately, the full holonomy group is, in general, unobservable in a nearly flat spherical universe, and so a full six-parameter search is unnecessary. Crystallographic methods could also potentially detect the cyclic factor and a cyclic subgroup of the general factor, but nothing else.

Early detection of degraded A14-125I-insulin in human fibroblasts by the use of high performance liquid chromatography

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Stentz, F.B.; Harris, H.L.; Kitabchi, A.E.

1983-01-01

We studied the metabolism of A14-125I-insulin in intact human fibroblasts using high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) to detect and separate its early degradation products. The high resolving power of HPLC enabled us to separate what has been considered ''intact insulin'' by Sephadex G-50 chromatography or TCA precipitability into two additional peaks that had decreased biochemical properties with respect to immunoprecipitability and receptor binding but not decreased TCA precipitability. We conclude that human fibroblast is capable of metabolizing insulin within 2 min at 37 degrees C into intermediate molecules that can be detected by HPLC but not by TCA precipitability or molecular sieve chromatography

Influence on ultrasonic incident angle and defect detection sensitivity by cast stainless steel structure

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kurozumi, Y.

2004-01-01

It is well known that ultrasonic waves are affected strongly by macro-structures in cast stainless steel, as in the primary pipe or other components in pressurized water reactors (PWRs). In this work, ultrasonic refractive angles and defect detection sensitivities are investigated at different incident angles to cast stainless steel. The aims of the investigation are to clarify the transmission of ultrasonic waves in cast stainless steel and to contribute to the transducer design. The results are that ultrasonic refractive angles in cast stainless steel shift towards the 45-degree direction with respect to the direction of dendritic structures by 11.8 degrees at the maximum and that the sensitivity of transducer for inner surface breaking cracks increases with decreasing incident angle. However, in an ultrasonic inspection of actual welds at smaller incident angles, a trade-off occurs between increased defect detection sensitivity and decreased defect discrimination capability due to intense false signals produced by non-defective features. (orig.)

[Automated detection of estrus and mastitis in dairy cows].

Science.gov (United States)

de Mol, R M

2001-02-15

The development and test of detection models for oestrus and mastitis in dairy cows is described in a PhD thesis that was defended in Wageningen on June 5, 2000. These models were based on sensors for milk yield, milk temperature, electrical conductivity of milk, and cow activity and concentrate intake, and on combined processing of the sensor data. The models alert farmers to cows that need attention, because of possible oestrus or mastitis. A first detection model for cows, milked twice a day, was based on time series models for the sensor variables. A time series model describes the dependence between successive observations. The parameters of the time series models were fitted on-line for each cow after each milking by means of a Kalman filter, a mathematical method to estimate the state of a system on-line. The Kalman filter gives the best estimate of the current state of a system based on all preceding observations. This model was tested for 2 years on two experimental farms, and under field conditions on four farms over several years. A second detection model, for cow milked in an automatic milking system (AMS), was based on a generalization of the first model. Two data sets (one small, one large) were used for testing. The results for oestrus detection were good for both models. The results for mastitis detection were varying (in some cases good, in other cases moderate). Fuzzy logic was used to classify mastitis and oestrus alerts with both detection models, to reduce the number of false positive alerts. Fuzzy logic makes approximate reasoning possible, where statements can be partly true or false. Input for the fuzzy logic model were alerts from the detection models and additional information. The number of false positive alerts decreased considerably, while the number of detected cases remained at the same level. These models make automated detection possible in practice.

The background influence of cadmium detection in saline water using PGNAA technique

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Daqian Hei; Zhou Jiang; Hongtao Wang; Jiatong Li

2016-01-01

In order to solve the background influence of cadmium detection in saline water using prompt gamma neutron activation analysis (PGNAA) technique, a series experiments have been designed and carried out. Furthermore, a method based on internal standard was used to correct the neutron self-shielding effect, and the background influence has been decreased sequentially. The results showed a good linear relationship between the characteristic peak counts and the concentrations of cadmium after the neutron self-shielding correction. And in the detection of saline water by PGNAA technique, the proposed methodology can be used to reduce the influence of background with the self-shielding effect correction. (author)

Effects of previous surgery on the detection of sentinel nodes in women with vulvar cancer.

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Ennik, T.A.; Allen, D.G; Bekkers, R.L.M.; Hyde, S.E.; Grant, P.T.

2011-01-01

BACKGROUND: There is a growing interest to apply the sentinel node (SN) procedure in the treatment of vulvar cancer. Previous vulvar surgery might disrupt lymphatic patterns and thereby decrease SN detection rates, lengthen scintigraphic appearance time (SAT), and increase SN false-negative rate.

Improved patient specific seizure detection during pre-surgical evaluation.

LENUS (Irish Health Repository)

Chua, Eric C-P

2011-04-01

There is considerable interest in improved off-line automated seizure detection methods that will decrease the workload of EEG monitoring units. Subject-specific approaches have been demonstrated to perform better than subject-independent ones. However, for pre-surgical diagnostics, the traditional method of obtaining a priori data to train subject-specific classifiers is not practical. We present an alternative method that works by adapting the threshold of a subject-independent to a specific subject based on feedback from the user.

Possibility of oil film detection on the ice cover of the sea surface

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Levin, I.M.; Radomyslskaya, T.M.; Osadchy, V.J.; Rybalka, N.N.; Klementieva, N.Y.; Zhou, J.; Li, Z.

2009-01-01

Ice cover in the Arctic regions makes the application of traditional remote methods of environmental monitoring difficult, and can also prevent the use of probes or other measurement tools. This paper presented a method of detecting oil pollution on ice-covered sea surfaces. The method was able to detect oil films on the lower ice-water boundary from above and below under both natural and artificial illumination. Pollution was detected when the sensor signal, the apparent contrast of oil-ice, and signal-noise ratio exceeded corresponding threshold values. A standard TV system at a low altitude was used to detect oil pollution on pure crystalline ice with a snow cover from 0.6 to 0.8 meters to several meters thick. At higher altitudes, the contrast in oil and water decreased due to the presence of atmospheric haze. Underwater pulsed-laser imaging systems were used to detect oil pollution when ice was covered by with soot, dust, aquatic plants, and phytoplankton pigments. It was concluded that both methods can be used to detect oil on the water-ice boundary. 10 refs., 1 tab., 5 figs

Aerosol detection efficiency in inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry

Science.gov (United States)

Hubbard, Joshua A.; Zigmond, Joseph A.

2016-05-01

An electrostatic size classification technique was used to segregate particles of known composition prior to being injected into an inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometer (ICP-MS). Size-segregated particles were counted with a condensation nuclei counter as well as sampled with an ICP-MS. By injecting particles of known size, composition, and aerosol concentration into the ICP-MS, efficiencies of the order of magnitude aerosol detection were calculated, and the particle size dependencies for volatile and refractory species were quantified. Similar to laser ablation ICP-MS, aerosol detection efficiency was defined as the rate at which atoms were detected in the ICP-MS normalized by the rate at which atoms were injected in the form of particles. This method adds valuable insight into the development of technologies like laser ablation ICP-MS where aerosol particles (of relatively unknown size and gas concentration) are generated during ablation and then transported into the plasma of an ICP-MS. In this study, we characterized aerosol detection efficiencies of volatile species gold and silver along with refractory species aluminum oxide, cerium oxide, and yttrium oxide. Aerosols were generated with electrical mobility diameters ranging from 100 to 1000 nm. In general, it was observed that refractory species had lower aerosol detection efficiencies than volatile species, and there were strong dependencies on particle size and plasma torch residence time. Volatile species showed a distinct transition point at which aerosol detection efficiency began decreasing with increasing particle size. This critical diameter indicated the largest particle size for which complete particle detection should be expected and agreed with theories published in other works. Aerosol detection efficiencies also displayed power law dependencies on particle size. Aerosol detection efficiencies ranged from 10- 5 to 10- 11. Free molecular heat and mass transfer theory was applied, but

Change Detection in High-Resolution Remote Sensing Images Using Levene-Test and Fuzzy Evaluation

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, G. H.; Wang, H. B.; Fan, W. F.; Liu, Y.; Liu, H. J.

2018-04-01

High-resolution remote sensing images possess complex spatial structure and rich texture information, according to these, this paper presents a new method of change detection based on Levene-Test and Fuzzy Evaluation. It first got map-spots by segmenting two overlapping images which had been pretreated, extracted features such as spectrum and texture. Then, changed information of all map-spots which had been treated by the Levene-Test were counted to obtain the candidate changed regions, hue information (H component) was extracted through the IHS Transform and conducted change vector analysis combined with the texture information. Eventually, the threshold was confirmed by an iteration method, the subject degrees of candidate changed regions were calculated, and final change regions were determined. In this paper experimental results on multi-temporal ZY-3 high-resolution images of some area in Jiangsu Province show that: Through extracting map-spots of larger difference as the candidate changed regions, Levene-Test decreases the computing load, improves the precision of change detection, and shows better fault-tolerant capacity for those unchanged regions which are of relatively large differences. The combination of Hue-texture features and fuzzy evaluation method can effectively decrease omissions and deficiencies, improve the precision of change detection.

New Monitoring System to Detect a Radioactive Material in Motion

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Boudergui, Karim; Kondrasovs, Vladimir; Coulon, Romain; Corre, Gwenole; Normand, Stephane

2013-06-01

Illegal radioactive material transportation detection, by terrorist for example, is problematic in urban public transportation. Academics and industrials systems include Radiation Portal Monitor (RPM) to detect radioactive matters transported in vehicles or carried by pedestrians. However, today's RPMs are not able to efficiently detect a radioactive material in movement. Due to count statistic and gamma background, false alarms may be triggered or at the contrary a radioactive material not detected. The statistical false alarm rate has to be as low as possible in order to limit useless intervention especially in urban mass transportation. The real-time approach depicted in this paper consists in using a time correlated detection technique in association with a sensor network. It is based on several low-cost and large area plastic scintillators and a digital signal processing designed for signal reconstruction from the sensor network. The number of sensors used in the network can be adapted to fit with applications requirements or cost. The reconstructed signal is improved by comparing other approaches. This allows us to increase the device speed that has to be scanned while decreasing the risk of false alarm. In the framework of a project called SECUR-ED Secured Urban Transportation - European Demonstration, this prototype system will be used during an experiment in the Milan urban mass transportation. (authors)

Comparing the effects of age on amplitude modulation and frequency modulation detection.

Science.gov (United States)

Wallaert, Nicolas; Moore, Brian C J; Lorenzi, Christian

2016-06-01

Frequency modulation (FM) and amplitude modulation (AM) detection thresholds were measured at 40 dB sensation level for young (22-28 yrs) and older (44-66 yrs) listeners with normal audiograms for a carrier frequency of 500 Hz and modulation rates of 2 and 20 Hz. The number of modulation cycles, N, varied between 2 and 9. For FM detection, uninformative AM at the same rate as the FM was superimposed to disrupt excitation-pattern cues. For both groups, AM and FM detection thresholds were lower for the 2-Hz than for the 20-Hz rate, and AM and FM detection thresholds decreased with increasing N. Thresholds were higher for older than for younger listeners, especially for FM detection at 2 Hz, possibly reflecting the effect of age on the use of temporal-fine-structure cues for 2-Hz FM detection. The effect of increasing N was similar across groups for both AM and FM. However, at 20 Hz, older listeners showed a greater effect of increasing N than younger listeners for both AM and FM. The results suggest that ageing reduces sensitivity to both excitation-pattern and temporal-fine-structure cues for modulation detection, but more so for the latter, while sparing temporal integration of these cues at low modulation rates.

Upregulation of microRNA-320 decreases the risk of developing steroid-induced avascular necrosis of femoral head by inhibiting CYP1A2 both in vivo and in vitro.

Science.gov (United States)

Wei, Ji-Hua; Luo, Qun-Qiang; Tang, Yu-Jin; Chen, Ji-Xia; Huang, Chun-Lan; Lu, Ding-Gui; Tang, Qian-Li

2018-06-20

Steroid-induced avascular necrosis of femoral head (SANFH) occurs frequently in patients receiving high-dose steroid treatment for these underlying diseases. The target of this study is to investigate the effect of microRNA-320 (miR-320) on SANFH by targeting CYP1A2. CYP1A2 expression was detected using immunohistochemistry. Specimens were collected from patients with SANFH and femoral neck fracture. Seventy rats were assigned into seven groups. The targeting relationship between miR-320 and CYP1A2 was verified by bioinformatics website and dual luciferase reporter gene assay. RT-qPCR and Western blot analysis were used to detect miR-320 and CYP1A2 expressions. The enzymatic activity of CYP1A2 was detected by fluorescence spectrophotometry. Hemorheology and microcirculation were measured in rats. MiR-320 expression decreased and CYP1A2 expression and enzymatic activity increased in SANFH patients compared to those with femoral neck fracture. CYP1A2 was the target gene of miR-320. Hemorheology and microcirculation results showed that up-regulated expression of CYP1A2 promoted the development of SANFH while increased expression of miR-320 inhibited the development of SANFH. Compared with the SANFH group, the SANFH + miR-320 mimic group showed increased miRNA-320 expression, and decreased CYP1A2 expression and enzymatic activity. Opposite results were found in the SANFH + miR-320 inhibitor group. The SANFH + miR-320 inhibitor + pCR-CYP1A2_KO group showed decreased miRNA-320 expression and the SANFH + pCR-CYP1A2_KO group showed decreased CYP1A2 expression and enzymatic activity. Our findings provide evidences that miR-320 might inhibit the development of SANFH by targeting CYP1A2. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Computer-aided-detection marker value and breast density in the detection of invasive lobular carcinoma

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Destounis, Stamatia; Hanson, Sarah; Roehrig, Jimmy

2007-01-01

Invasive Lobular Carcinoma (ILC) is frequently a mammographic and diagnostic dilemma; thus any additional information that CAD (Computer-Aided Detection) systems can give radiologists may be helpful. Our study was to evaluate the role of CAD numeric values as indicators of malignancy and the effect of breast density in the diagnosis of ILC. Eighty consecutive biopsy-proven ILC cases with CAD (ImageChecker registered , Hologic vertical stroke R2, Santa Clara, CA, versions 2.3, 3.1, 3.2, 5.0, 5.2) diagnosed between June 2002 and December 2004 were retrospectively reviewed. Data included: BIRADS registered breast density, whether CAD marked the cancer at diagnosis year or years prior, and lesion type. Study mammograms underwent additional CAD scans (Image Checker registered V5.3, V8.0, V8.1) to obtain a numeric value associated with each marker, low values represent increasingly suspicious features. CAD correctly marked 65% (52/80) of ILC cases, detection was found to decrease with increased breast density. Numeric values of CAD marks at sites of carcinoma showed median score of 171 (range 0 - 1121). The CAD marker may potentially be used as an additional indicator of suspicious lesion features in all breast densities and higher likelihood that an area on the mammogram requires further investigation. (orig.)

CTP (Cochlin-tomoprotein) detection in the profuse fluid leakage (gusher) from cochleostomy.

Science.gov (United States)

Ikezono, Tetsuo; Sugizaki, Kazuki; Shindo, Susumu; Sekiguchi, Satomi; Pawankar, Ruby; Baba, Shunkichi; Yagi, Toshiaki

2010-08-01

By testing 125 samples, we confirmed that Cochlin-tomoprotein (CTP) is present in the perilymph, not in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF). Perilymph and CSF exist in two distinct compartments, even in the case of a malformed inner ear with a bony defect in the lamina cribrosa, as described here. Cochleostomy might have suddenly decreased the perilymph pressure, allowing the influx of CSF into the inner ear resulting in profuse fluid leakage, first perilymph then CSF. The first purpose of this study was to further confirm the specificity of the perilymph-specific protein CTP that we reported recently. Secondly, we assessed the nature of the fluid leakage from the cochleostomy using the CTP detection test. A standardized CTP detection test was performed on 65 perilymph and 60 CSF samples. Samples of profuse fluid leakage collected from cochleostomy during cochlear implantation surgery of one patient with branchio-oto-renal (BOR) syndrome were also tested by the CTP detection test. CTP was detected in 60 of 65 perilymph samples but not in any of the CSF samples. The leaked fluid was shown to contain CTP, i.e. perilymph, at the outset, and then the CTP detection signals gradually disappeared as time elapsed.

Decrease in zinc adsorption onto soil in the presence of EPS-rich and EPS-poor Pseudomonas aureofaciens.

Science.gov (United States)

Drozdova, O Yu; Pokrovsky, O S; Lapitskiy, S A; Shirokova, L S; González, A G; Demin, V V

2014-12-01

The adsorption of Zn onto the humic and illuvial horizons of the podzol soil in the presence of soil bacteria was studied using a batch-reactor technique as a function of the pH (from 2 to 9) and the Zn concentration in solution (from 0.076mM to 0.760mM). Exopolysaccharides-forming aerobic heterotrophs Pseudomonas aureofaciens were added at 0.1 and 1.0gwetL(-1) concentrations to two different soil horizons, and Zn adsorption was monitored as a function of the pH and the dissolved-Zn concentration. The pH-dependent adsorption edge demonstrated more efficient Zn adsorption by the humic horizon than the mineral horizon at otherwise similar soil concentrations. The Zn adsorption onto the EPS-poor strain was on slightly lower than that onto EPS-rich bacteria. Similar differences in the adsorption capacities between the soil and bacteria were also detected by "langmuirian" constant-pH experiments conducted in soil-Zn and bacteria-Zn binary systems. The addition of 0.1gwetL(-1)P. aureofaciens to a soil-bacteria system (4gdryL(-1)soil) resulted in statistically significant decrease in the adsorption yield, which was detectable from both the pH-dependent adsorption edge and the constant-pH isotherm experiments. Increasing the amount of added bacteria to 1gwetL(-1) further decreased the overall adsorption in the full range of the pH. This decrease was maximal for the EPS-rich bacteria and minimal for the EPS-poor bacteria (a factor of 2.8 and 2.2 at pH=6.9, respectively). These observations in binary and ternary systems were further rationalized by linear-programming modeling of surface equilibria that revealed the systematic differences in the number of binding sites and the surface-adsorption constant of zinc onto the two soil horizons with and without bacteria. The main finding of this work is that the adsorption of Zn onto the humic soil-bacteria system is lower than that in pure, bacteria-free soil systems. This difference is statistically significant (psoil particles

Automation of Classical QEEG Trending Methods for Early Detection of Delayed Cerebral Ischemia: More Work to Do.

Science.gov (United States)

Wickering, Ellis; Gaspard, Nicolas; Zafar, Sahar; Moura, Valdery J; Biswal, Siddharth; Bechek, Sophia; OʼConnor, Kathryn; Rosenthal, Eric S; Westover, M Brandon

2016-06-01

The purpose of this study is to evaluate automated implementations of continuous EEG monitoring-based detection of delayed cerebral ischemia based on methods used in classical retrospective studies. We studied 95 patients with either Fisher 3 or Hunt Hess 4 to 5 aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage who were admitted to the Neurosciences ICU and underwent continuous EEG monitoring. We implemented several variations of two classical algorithms for automated detection of delayed cerebral ischemia based on decreases in alpha-delta ratio and relative alpha variability. Of 95 patients, 43 (45%) developed delayed cerebral ischemia. Our automated implementation of the classical alpha-delta ratio-based trending method resulted in a sensitivity and specificity (Se,Sp) of (80,27)%, compared with the values of (100,76)% reported in the classic study using similar methods in a nonautomated fashion. Our automated implementation of the classical relative alpha variability-based trending method yielded (Se,Sp) values of (65,43)%, compared with (100,46)% reported in the classic study using nonautomated analysis. Our findings suggest that improved methods to detect decreases in alpha-delta ratio and relative alpha variability are needed before an automated EEG-based early delayed cerebral ischemia detection system is ready for clinical use.

Impact of number of repeated scans on model observer performance for a low-contrast detection task in computed tomography.

Science.gov (United States)

Ma, Chi; Yu, Lifeng; Chen, Baiyu; Favazza, Christopher; Leng, Shuai; McCollough, Cynthia

2016-04-01

Channelized Hotelling observer (CHO) models have been shown to correlate well with human observers for several phantom-based detection/classification tasks in clinical computed tomography (CT). A large number of repeated scans were used to achieve an accurate estimate of the model's template. The purpose of this study is to investigate how the experimental and CHO model parameters affect the minimum required number of repeated scans. A phantom containing 21 low-contrast objects was scanned on a 128-slice CT scanner at three dose levels. Each scan was repeated 100 times. For each experimental configuration, the low-contrast detectability, quantified as the area under receiver operating characteristic curve, [Formula: see text], was calculated using a previously validated CHO with randomly selected subsets of scans, ranging from 10 to 100. Using [Formula: see text] from the 100 scans as the reference, the accuracy from a smaller number of scans was determined. Our results demonstrated that the minimum number of repeated scans increased when the radiation dose level decreased, object size and contrast level decreased, and the number of channels increased. As a general trend, it increased as the low-contrast detectability decreased. This study provides a basis for the experimental design of task-based image quality assessment in clinical CT using CHO.

Routine detection of calcium-binding proteins following their adsorption to nitrocellulose membrane filters

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hincke, M.T.

1988-01-01

A routine semiquantitative procedure which permits soluble calcium-binding proteins to be detected following their adsorption to nitrocellulose membrane filters by liquid scintillation counting of specifically bound 45 Ca is described. Proteins with high affinity for calcium such as calmodulin and troponin can be detected with a detection threshold of about 2 μg per 400 μl. Modifications to decrease this limit are feasible and are discussed. This technique should allow calcium-binding proteins of unknown function to be assayed during their purification. It was necessary to treat solutions containing 45 Ca with chelex-100 in order to prevent loss of calcium binding which occurred as the decay product (SC 3+ ) accumulated, suggesting that all studies utilizing 45 Ca as a tracer should evaluate possible interference by this ion

High resolution modelling of the decreasing Arctic sea ice

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Madsen, K. S.; Rasmussen, T. A. S.; Blüthgen, Jonas

2012-01-01

The Arctic sea ice cover has been rapidly decreasing and thinning over the last decade, with minimum ice extent in 2007 and almost as low extent in 2011. This study investigates two aspects of the decreasing ice cover; first the large scale thinning and changing dynamics of the polar sea ice, and...

Behaviour of large-area avalanche photodiodes under intense magnetic fields for VUV- visible- and X-ray photon detection

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Fernandes, L.M.P.; Antognini, A.; Boucher, M.; Conde, C.A.N.; Huot, O.; Knowles, P.; Kottmann, F.; Ludhova, L.; Mulhauser, F.; Pohl, R.; Schaller, L.A.; Santos, J.M.F. dos; Taqqu, D.; Veloso, J.F.C.A.

2003-01-01

The behaviour of large-area avalanche photodiodes for X-rays, visible and vacuum-ultra-violet (VUV) light detection in magnetic fields up to 5 T is described. For X-rays and visible light detection, the photodiode pulse amplitude and energy resolution were unaffected from 0 to 5 T, demonstrating the insensitivity of this type of detector to strong magnetic fields. For VUV light detection, however, the photodiode relative pulse amplitude decreases with increasing magnetic field intensity reaching a reduction of about 24% at 5 T, and the energy resolution degrades noticeably with increasing magnetic field

Long none coding RNA HOTTIP/HOXA13 act as synergistic role by decreasing cell migration and proliferation in Hirschsprung disease

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Xie, Hua; Zhu, Dongmei; Xu, Cao; Zhu, Hairong; Chen, Pingfa; Li, Hongxing; Liu, Xiang; Xia, Yankai; Tang, Weibing

2015-01-01

Long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) have been confirmed to be associated with various human diseases. However, whether they are associated with Hirschsprung disease (HSCR) progression remains unclear. In this study, we designed the experiment to explore the relationship between lncRNA HOTTIP and HOXA13, and their pathogenicity to HSCR. Quantitative real-time PCR and Western blot were performed to detect the levels of lncRNA, mRNAs, and proteins in colon tissues from 79 patients with HSCR and 79 controls. Small RNA interference transfection was used to study the function experiments in human 293T and SK-N-BE cell lines. The cell viability and activities were detected by the transwell assays, CCK8 assay, and flow cytometry, respectively. LncRNA HOTTIP and HOXA13 were significantly down-regulated in HSCR compared to the controls. Meanwhile, the declined extent of their expression levels makes sense between two main phenotype of HSCR. SiRNA-mediated knock-down of HOTTIP or HOXA13 correlated with decreased levels of each other and both reduced the cell migration and proliferation without affecting cell apoptosis or cell cycle. Our study demonstrates that aberrant reduction of HOTTIP and HOXA13, which have a bidirectional regulatory loop, may play an important role in the pathogenesis of HSCR. - Highlights: • LncRNA HOTTIP and HOXA13 are both down-regulated in HSCR. • HOTTIP and HOXA13 can regulate each other in 293T and SK-N-BE(2) cell lines. • Both HOTTIP and HOXA13 can decrease cell migration and proliferation

Long none coding RNA HOTTIP/HOXA13 act as synergistic role by decreasing cell migration and proliferation in Hirschsprung disease

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Xie, Hua; Zhu, Dongmei; Xu, Cao; Zhu, Hairong; Chen, Pingfa; Li, Hongxing [Department of Pediatric Surgery, State Key Laboratory of Reproductive Medicine, Nanjing Children' s Hospital Affiliated Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing 210008 (China); Key Laboratory of Modern Toxicology (Nanjing Medical University), Institute of Toxicology, School of Public Health, Nanjing Medical University, Ministry of Education, Nanjing 211166 (China); Liu, Xiang [Department of Pediatric Surgery, Anhui Provincial Children' s Hospital, Anhui 230000 (China); Xia, Yankai [Department of Pediatric Surgery, State Key Laboratory of Reproductive Medicine, Nanjing Children' s Hospital Affiliated Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing 210008 (China); Key Laboratory of Modern Toxicology (Nanjing Medical University), Institute of Toxicology, School of Public Health, Nanjing Medical University, Ministry of Education, Nanjing 211166 (China); Tang, Weibing, E-mail: twbcn@njmu.com [Department of Pediatric Surgery, State Key Laboratory of Reproductive Medicine, Nanjing Children' s Hospital Affiliated Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing 210008 (China); Key Laboratory of Modern Toxicology (Nanjing Medical University), Institute of Toxicology, School of Public Health, Nanjing Medical University, Ministry of Education, Nanjing 211166 (China)

2015-08-07

Long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) have been confirmed to be associated with various human diseases. However, whether they are associated with Hirschsprung disease (HSCR) progression remains unclear. In this study, we designed the experiment to explore the relationship between lncRNA HOTTIP and HOXA13, and their pathogenicity to HSCR. Quantitative real-time PCR and Western blot were performed to detect the levels of lncRNA, mRNAs, and proteins in colon tissues from 79 patients with HSCR and 79 controls. Small RNA interference transfection was used to study the function experiments in human 293T and SK-N-BE cell lines. The cell viability and activities were detected by the transwell assays, CCK8 assay, and flow cytometry, respectively. LncRNA HOTTIP and HOXA13 were significantly down-regulated in HSCR compared to the controls. Meanwhile, the declined extent of their expression levels makes sense between two main phenotype of HSCR. SiRNA-mediated knock-down of HOTTIP or HOXA13 correlated with decreased levels of each other and both reduced the cell migration and proliferation without affecting cell apoptosis or cell cycle. Our study demonstrates that aberrant reduction of HOTTIP and HOXA13, which have a bidirectional regulatory loop, may play an important role in the pathogenesis of HSCR. - Highlights: • LncRNA HOTTIP and HOXA13 are both down-regulated in HSCR. • HOTTIP and HOXA13 can regulate each other in 293T and SK-N-BE(2) cell lines. • Both HOTTIP and HOXA13 can decrease cell migration and proliferation.

Did liberalising bar hours decrease traffic accidents?

Science.gov (United States)

Green, Colin P; Heywood, John S; Navarro, Maria

2014-05-01

Legal bar closing times in England and Wales have historically been early and uniform. Recent legislation liberalised closing times with the object of reducing social problems thought associated with drinking to "beat the clock." Indeed, using both difference in difference and synthetic control approaches we show that one consequence of this liberalisation was a decrease in traffic accidents. This decrease is heavily concentrated among younger drivers. Moreover, we provide evidence that the effect was most pronounced in the hours of the week directly affected by the liberalisation: late nights and early mornings on weekends. This evidence survives a series of robustness checks and suggests at least one socially positive consequence of extending bar hours. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

ATP-loading 201Tl myocardial SPECT for the detection of ischemic heart disease

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Fujinaga, Tsuyoshi; Yamazaki, Sayaka; Hara, Masatada; Umezawa, Chiaki; Okamura, Tetsuo; Murata, Hajime; Maruno, Hirotaka; Onoguchi, Masahisa.

1993-01-01

To evaluate the usefulness for the detection of ischemic heart disease, ATP myocrdial SPECT was performed in 35 patients (mean; 59±9.4 years) with angina pectoris or old myocardial infarction. Coronary angiography (CAG) was performed in all patients. The ultra-short half-life of ATP required a continuous infusion for its use. ATP was infused intravenously at a rate of 0.16 mg/kg/min for 5 min, with 201 Tl injection taking place at 3 min. Myocardial SPECT imaging was begun 5 min and 4 hr later after the end of ATP infusion. ATP caused a significant decrease in arterial blood pressure (p 201 Tl myocardial SPECT for the detection of coronary artery disease (CAD) was evaluated using CAG as a golden standard. The sensitivity and specificity for CAD detection were 82% and 90%, respectively. ATP myocardial SPECT is a promising new test for the detection of ischemic heart disease. (author)

Detecting Historical Vegetation Changes in the Dunhuang Oasis Protected Area Using Landsat Images

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Xiuxia Zhang

2017-09-01

Full Text Available Abstract: Given its proximity to an artificial oasis, the Donghu Nature Reserve in the Dunhuang Oasis has faced environmental pressure and vegetation disturbances in recent decades. Satellite vegetation indices (VIs can be used to detect such changes in vegetation if the satellite images are calibrated to surface reflectance (SR values. The aim of this study was to select a suitable VI based on the Landsat Climate Data Record (CDR products and the absolute radiation-corrected results of Landsat L1T images to detect the spatio-temporal changes in vegetation for the Donghu Reserve during 1986–2015. The results showed that the VI difference (ΔVI images effectively reduced the changes in the source images. Compared with the other VIs, the soil-adjusted vegetation index (SAVI displayed greater robustness to atmospheric effects in the two types of SR images and was more responsive to vegetation changes caused by human factors. From 1986 to 2015, the positive changes in vegetation dominated the overall change trend, with changes in vegetation in the reserve decreasing during 1990–1995, increasing until 2005–2010, and then decreasing again. The vegetation changes were mainly distributed at the edge of the artificial oasis outside the reserve. The detected changes in vegetation in the reserve highlight the increased human pressure on the reserve.

Two-photon spin generation and detection

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Miah, M Idrish

2009-01-01

A time- and polarization-resolved two-photon pump-probe investigation is performed in lightly doped GaAs. We generate spin-polarized electrons in bulk GaAs at various temperatures using right-circularly polarized two-photon excitation and detect them by probing the spin-dependent transmission of the sample. The spin polarization (P) of conduction band electrons, as measured using probe pulses with the same (right) and opposite (left) circular polarization, is measured in dependences of pump-probe delay (Δt), lattice temperature (T L ), doping density (n) as well as of the excess photon energy ΔE 2ω = ℎ2ω - E g , where E g is the band gap energy. P is found to be decayed with Δt and enhanced with the decrease in T L or the increase in n. It is also found that P decreases with the increase in ΔE 2ω and depolarizes rapidly for ΔE 2ω > ΔE SO , where ΔE SO is the spin-orbit splitting energy. The results demonstrate that due to a much longer absorption depth highly polarized spins can be generated optically by two-photon pumping of bulk semiconductors.

Allopurinol does not decrease blood pressure or prevent the development of hypertension in the deoxycorticosterone acetate-salt rat model.

Science.gov (United States)

Szasz, Theodora; Linder, A Elizabeth; Davis, Robert P; Burnett, Robert; Fink, Gregory D; Watts, Stephanie W

2010-12-01

Reactive oxygen species play an important role in the pathogenesis of hypertension, disease in which reactive oxygen species levels and markers of oxidative stress are increased. Xanthine oxidase (XO) is a reactive oxygen species-producing enzyme the activity of which may increase during hypertension. Studies on XO inhibition effects on blood pressure have yielded controversial results. We hypothesized that XO inhibition would decrease blood pressure or attenuate the development of deoxycorticosterone acetate (DOCA)-salt hypertension. We administered the XO inhibitor, allopurinol (50 mg/kg per day, orally) or its vehicle to rats during the established or development stages of DOCA-salt hypertension. We validated XO inhibition by high-performance liquid chromatography measurements of XO metabolites in urine, serum, and tissues demonstrating a decrease in products, increase in substrates, and detection of the active metabolite of allopurinol, oxypurinol. We monitored blood pressure continuously through radiotelemetry and performed gross evaluations of target organs of hypertension. Allopurinol treatment did not impact the course of DOCA-salt hypertension regardless of the timing of administration. Aside from a significant decrease in pulse pressure in allopurinol-treated rats, no positive differences were observed between the allopurinol and the vehicle-treated rats. We conclude that XO does not play an important role in the development or maintenance of hypertension in the rat DOCA-salt hypertension model.

Quantitative analysis of the self-absorption and reemission effects on the emission spectrum of photoluminescence in right-angle excitation—detection configuration

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wang Zhen-Hua; Wu Yu-E; Zhang Xin-Zheng; Yun Zhi-Qiang; Li Wei; Xu Jing-Jun

2013-01-01

A theoretical approach based on differential radiative transport is proposed to quantitatively analyze the self-absorption and reemission effects on the emission spectrum for right angle excitation—detection photoluminescence measurements, and the wavelength dependence of the reemission effect is taken into account. Simulations and experiments are performed using rhodamine 6G solutions in ethanol as model samples. It is shown that the self-absorption effect is the dominant effect on the detected spectrum by inducing pseudo red-shift and reducing total intensity; whereas the reemission effect partly compensates for signal decrease and also results in an apparent signal gain at the wavelengths without absorption. Both effects decrease with the decrease in the sample concentration and the propagation distance of the emission light inside the sample. We therefore suggest that diluted solutions are required for accurate photoluminescence spectrum measurements and photoluminescence-based measurements

Autoimmune Response Confers Decreased Cardiac Function in ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

inflammatory response; rather, autoimmune response would keep affecting decreased heart function in. RHD patients who ... untreated children. Nearly 30 - 45 % of the affected children could ..... Technology Department of Anhui Province (PR.

Reagent-loaded plastic microfluidic chips for detecting homocysteine

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Suk, Ji Won; Jang, Jae-Young; Cho, Jun-Hyeong

2008-01-01

This report describes the preliminary study on plastic microfluidic chips with pre-loaded reagents for detecting homocysteine (Hcy). All reagents needed in an Hcy immunoassay were included in a microfluidic chip to remove tedious assay steps. A simple and cost-effective bonding method was developed to realize reagent-loaded microfluidic chips. This technique uses an intermediate layer between two plastic substrates by selectively patterning polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) on the embossed surface of microchannels and fixing the substrates under pressure. Using this bonding method, the competitive immunoassay for SAH, a converted form of Hcy, was performed without any damage to reagents in chips, and the results showed that the fluorescent signal from antibody antigen binding decreased as the SAH concentration increased. Based on the SAH immunoassay, whole immunoassay steps for Hcy detection were carried out in plastic microfluidic chips with all necessary reagents. These experiments demonstrated the feasibility of the Hcy immunoassay in microfluidic devices

Defeating crypsis: detection and learning of camouflage strategies.

Science.gov (United States)

Troscianko, Jolyon; Lown, Alice E; Hughes, Anna E; Stevens, Martin

2013-01-01

Camouflage is perhaps the most widespread defence against predators in nature and an active area of interdisciplinary research. Recent work has aimed to understand what camouflage types exist (e.g. background matching, disruptive, and distractive patterns) and their effectiveness. However, work has almost exclusively focused on the efficacy of these strategies in preventing initial detection, despite the fact that predators often encounter the same prey phenotype repeatedly, affording them opportunities to learn to find those prey more effectively. The overall value of a camouflage strategy may, therefore, reflect both its ability to prevent detection by predators and resist predator learning. We conducted four experiments with humans searching for hidden targets of different camouflage types (disruptive, distractive, and background matching of various contrast levels) over a series of touch screen trials. As with previous work, disruptive coloration was the most successful method of concealment overall, especially with relatively high contrast patterns, whereas potentially distractive markings were either neutral or costly. However, high contrast patterns incurred faster decreases in detection times over trials compared to other stimuli. In addition, potentially distractive markings were sometimes learnt more slowly than background matching markings, despite being found more readily overall. Finally, learning effects were highly dependent upon the experimental paradigm, including the number of prey types seen and whether subjects encountered targets simultaneously or sequentially. Our results show that the survival advantage of camouflage strategies reflects both their ability to avoid initial detection (sensory mechanisms) and predator learning (perceptual mechanisms).

Decreased expression of endogenous feline leukemia virus in cat lymphomas: a case control study.

Science.gov (United States)

Krunic, Milica; Ertl, Reinhard; Hagen, Benedikt; Sedlazeck, Fritz J; Hofmann-Lehmann, Regina; von Haeseler, Arndt; Klein, Dieter

2015-04-10

Cats infected with exogenous feline leukemia virus (exFeLV) have a higher chance of lymphoma development than uninfected cats. Furthermore, an increased exFeLV transcription has been detected in lymphomas compared to non-malignant tissues. The possible mechanisms of lymphoma development by exFeLV are insertional mutagenesis or persistent stimulation of host immune cells by viral antigens, bringing them at risk for malignant transformation. Vaccination of cats against exFeLV has in recent years decreased the overall infection rate in most countries. Nevertheless, an increasing number of lymphomas have been diagnosed among exFeLV-negative cats. Endogenous feline leukemia virus (enFeLV) is another retrovirus for which transcription has been observed in cat lymphomas. EnFeLV provirus elements are present in the germline of various cat species and share a high sequence similarity with exFeLV but, due to mutations, are incapable of producing infectious viral particles. However, recombination between exFeLV and enFeLV could produce infectious particles. We examined the FeLV expression in cats that have developed malignant lymphomas and discussed the possible mechanisms that could have induced malignant transformation. For expression analysis we used next-generation RNA-sequencing (RNA-Seq) and for validation reverse transcription quantitative PCR (RT-qPCR). First, we showed that there was no expression of exFeLV in all samples, which eliminates the possibility of recombination between exFeLV and enFeLV. Next, we analyzed the difference in expression of three enFeLV genes between control and lymphoma samples. Our analysis showed an average of 3.40-fold decreased viral expression for the three genes in lymphoma compared to control samples. The results were confirmed by RT-qPCR. There is a decreased expression of enFeLV genes in lymphomas versus control samples, which contradicts previous observations for the exFeLV. Our results suggest that a persistent stimulation of host

An Extreme Mountain Ultra-Marathon Decreases the Cost of Uphill Walking and Running.

Science.gov (United States)

Vernillo, Gianluca; Savoldelli, Aldo; Skafidas, Spyros; Zignoli, Andrea; La Torre, Antonio; Pellegrini, Barbara; Giardini, Guido; Trabucchi, Pietro; Millet, Grégoire P; Schena, Federico

2016-01-01

Purpose: To examine the effects of the world's most challenging mountain ultramarathon (MUM, 330 km, cumulative elevation gain of +24,000 m) on the energy cost and kinematics of different uphill gaits. Methods: Before (PRE) and immediately after (POST) the competition, 19 male athletes performed three submaximal 5-min treadmill exercise trials in a randomized order: walking at 5 km·h -1 , +20%; running at 6 km·h -1 , +15%; and running at 8 km·h -1 , +10%. During the three trials, energy cost was assessed using an indirect calorimetry system and spatiotemporal gait parameters were acquired with a floor-level high-density photoelectric cells system. Results: The average time of the study participants to complete the MUM was 129 h 43 min 48 s (range: 107 h 29 min 24 s to 144 h 21 min 0 s). Energy costs in walking (-11.5 ± 5.5%, P running condition decreased between PRE and POST, with a reduction both in the heart rate (-11.3, -10.0, and -9.3%, respectively) and oxygen uptake only for the walking condition (-6.5%). No consistent and significant changes in the kinematics variables were detected ( P -values from 0.10 to 0.96). Conclusion: Though fatigued after completing the MUM, the subjects were still able to maintain their uphill locomotion patterns noted at PRE. The decrease (improvement) in the energy costs was likely due to the prolonged and repetitive walking/running, reflecting a generic improvement in the mechanical efficiency of locomotion after ~130 h of uphill locomotion rather than constraints imposed by the activity on the musculoskeletal structure and function.

Decrease of bacterial spoilage of bread by low-dose irradiation of its flour

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Farkas, J.; Andrassy, E.

1981-01-01

A variant of Bacillus subtilis causing the ''rope'' defect of bread was isolated from spoiled bread and the heat resistance of its spores was investigated in a liquid medium similar in its composition to the soluble part of the bread dough. The spores almost completely survived a 64-min heat treatment at 25 0 C and only slightly more than one log-cycle destruction was observed after 30 min at 99.5 0 C. The radiation destruction of freeze-dried spores proved to be exponential in the 0 - 8.0 kGy dose range studied, and it showed a D 10 value of 1.9 kGy. Gamma irradiation considerably decreased the heat resistance of the surviving spores against moist heat. The dormancy of spores was also significantly decreased, by 1.0 kGy or higher doses. Baking trials were performed with untreated and irradiated (0.75 and 1.5 kGy) flour samples within two weeks and after two months of post-irradiation storage of wheat flour. The shelf-life of bread prepared from irradiated flour was longer by 50% than that of the control at 30 0 C. Development of surviving ''ropy'' spores into colonies inside the bread proved to be easily detectable by triphenyl-tetrazolium-chloride on the basis of their dehydrogenase activity. The favourable microbiological effect of radiation treatment of wheat flour did not diminish during its two-month post-irradiation storage. Organoleptic quality of the flour and that of the bread were not affected by the 0.75 kGy dose. Off-flavour formation was induced by the 1.5 kGy dose, which diminished, however, in the bread-making procedure. (author)

Low velocity target detection based on time-frequency image for high frequency ground wave radar

Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

YAN Songhua; WU Shicai; WEN Biyang

2007-01-01

The Doppler spectral broadening resulted from non-stationary movement of target and radio-frequency interference will decrease the veracity of target detection by high frequency ground wave(HEGW)radar.By displaying the change of signal energy on two dimensional time-frequency images based on time-frequency analysis,a new mathematical morphology method to distinguish target from nonlinear time-frequency curves is presented.The analyzed results from the measured data verify that with this new method the target can be detected correctly from wide Doppler spectrum.

Effect of tributyltin (TBT) on ATP levels in human natural killer (NK) cells: relationship to TBT-induced decreases in NK function.

Science.gov (United States)

Dudimah, Fred D; Odman-Ghazi, Sabah O; Hatcher, Frank; Whalen, Margaret M

2007-01-01

The purpose of this study was to investigate the role that tributyltin (TBT)-induced decreases in ATP levels may play in TBT-induced decreases in the tumor lysing (lytic) function of natural killer (NK) cells. NK cells are a subset of lymphocytes that act as an initial immune defense against tumor cells and virally infected cells. TBT is an environmental contaminant that has been detected in human blood, which has been shown to interfere with ATP synthesis. Previous studies have shown that TBT is able to decrease very significantly the lytic function of NK cells. In this study NK cells were exposed to various concentrations of TBT and to two other compounds that interfere with ATP synthesis (rotenone a complex I inhibitor and oligomycin an ATP synthase inhibitor) for various lengths of time before determining the levels of ATP and lytic function. Exposures of NK cells to 10, 25, 50 and 100 nm TBT did not significantly reduce ATP levels after 24 h. However, these same exposures caused significant decreases in cytotoxic function. Studies of brief 1 h exposures to a range of TBT, rotenone and oligomycin concentrations followed by 24 h, 48 h and 6 day periods in compound-free media prior to assaying for ATP levels or cytotoxic function showed that each of the compounds caused persistent decreases in ATP levels and lytic function of NK cells. Exposures to 0.05-5 microm rotenone or oligomycin for 1 h reduced ATP levels by 20-25% but did not have any measurable effect on the ability of NK cells to lyse tumor cells. ATP levels were also decreased by about 20-25% after 24 h or 48 h exposures to rotenone or oligomycin (0.5 microm ), and the lytic function was decreased by about 50%. The results suggest that TBT-induced decreases in ATP levels were not responsible for the loss of cytotoxic function seen at 1 h and 24 h. However, TBT-induced decreases of NK-ATP levels may be at least in part responsible for losses of NK-cytotoxic function seen after 48 h and 6 day exposures

utilization of some physical methods for detection of some irradiated foods

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mohammed, I.A.S

2007-01-01

the present investigation was carried out to establish a detection method for irradiated black pepper and marjoram using thermoluminescence (TL) and wheat, cinnamon and ginger using viscosity measurement. all samples were packed in polyethylene bags then irradiated at 5,10 and 15 kGy for black pepper, marjoram, cinnamon and ginger. wheat was irradiated at 1,2 and 3 kGy. all samples were stored for eight months at room temperature. results indicated that irradiation treatment caused markedly increasing in TL intensity for irradiated black pepper and marjoram while irradiation treatment decreased apparent viscosity of wheat flour, cinnamon and ginger powder, post irradiation and during storage. therefore, it could be concluded that the TL analysis can be used to detect irradiated black pepper and marjoram, also viscosity measurement can be used to detect irradiate wheat flour, cinnamon and ginger powder than non-irradiated ones after irradiation process and also during 8 months of storage at ambient temperature

Biomolecule detection using a silicon nanoribbon: accumulation mode versus inversion mode

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Elfstroem, Niklas; Linnros, Jan

2008-01-01

Silicon nanoribbons were fabricated using standard optical lithography from silicon on insulator material with top silicon layer thicknesses of 100, 60 and 45 nm. Electrically these work as Schottky-barrier field-effect transistors and, depending on the substrate voltage, electron or hole injection is possible. The current through the nanoribbon is extremely sensitive to charge changes at the oxidized top surface and can be used for biomolecule detection in a liquid. We show that for detection of streptavidin molecules the response is larger in the accumulation mode than in the inversion mode, although not leading to higher detection sensitivity due to increased noise. The effect is attributed to the location in depth of the conducting channel, which for holes is closer to the screened surface charges of the biomolecules. Furthermore, the response increases for decreasing silicon thickness in both the accumulation mode and the inversion mode. The results are verified qualitatively and quantitatively through a two-dimensional simulation model on a cross section along the nanoribbon device

Detection of the specific binding on protein microarrays by oblique-incidence reflectivity difference method

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lu, Heng; Wen, Juan; Wang, Xu; Yuan, Kun; Lu, Huibin; Zhou, Yueliang; Jin, Kuijuan; Yang, Guozhen; Li, Wei; Ruan, Kangcheng

2010-01-01

The specific binding between Cy5-labeled goat anti-mouse Immunoglobulin G (IgG) and mouse IgG with a concentration range from 625 to 10 4 µg ml −1 has been detected successfully by the oblique-incidence reflectivity difference (OI-RD) method in each procedure of microarray fabrication. The experimental data prove that the OI-RD method can be employed not only to distinguish the different concentrations in label-free fashion but also to detect the antibody–antigen capture. In addition, the differential treatment of the OI-RD signals can decrease the negative influences of glass slide as the microarray upholder. Therefore the OI-RD technique has promising applications for the label-free and high-throughput detection of protein microarrays

Task-related signal decrease on functional magnetic resonance imaging

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hara, Yoshie; Nakamura, Mitsugu; Tamaki, Norihiko; Tamura, Shogo; Kitamura, Junji

2001-01-01

An atypical pattern of signal change was identified on functional magnetic resonance (fMR) imaging in pathologic patients. Three normal volunteers and 34 patients with pathologic lesions near the primary motor cortex underwent fMR imaging with echo-planar imaging while performing a hand motor task. Signal intensities were evaluated with the z-score method, and the time course and changes of the signal intensity were calculated. Nine of the 34 patients with pathologic lesions displayed a significant task-related signal reduction in motor-related areas. They also presented a conventional task-related signal increase in other motor-related areas. The time courses of the increase and decrease were the inverse of each other. There was no significant difference between rates of signal increase and decrease. Our findings suggest that this atypical signal decrease is clinically significant, and that impaired vascular reactivity and altered oxygen metabolism could contribute to the task-related signal reduction. Brain areas showing such task-related signal decrease should be preserved at surgery. (author)

Robust Vehicle Detection under Various Environments to Realize Road Traffic Flow Surveillance Using an Infrared Thermal Camera

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Yoichiro Iwasaki

2015-01-01

Full Text Available To realize road traffic flow surveillance under various environments which contain poor visibility conditions, we have already proposed two vehicle detection methods using thermal images taken with an infrared thermal camera. The first method uses pattern recognition for the windshields and their surroundings to detect vehicles. However, the first method decreases the vehicle detection accuracy in winter season. To maintain high vehicle detection accuracy in all seasons, we developed the second method. The second method uses tires’ thermal energy reflection areas on a road as the detection targets. The second method did not achieve high detection accuracy for vehicles on left-hand and right-hand lanes except for two center-lanes. Therefore, we have developed a new method based on the second method to increase the vehicle detection accuracy. This paper proposes the new method and shows that the detection accuracy for vehicles on all lanes is 92.1%. Therefore, by combining the first method and the new method, high vehicle detection accuracies are maintained under various environments, and road traffic flow surveillance can be realized.

Robust vehicle detection under various environments to realize road traffic flow surveillance using an infrared thermal camera.

Science.gov (United States)

Iwasaki, Yoichiro; Misumi, Masato; Nakamiya, Toshiyuki

2015-01-01

To realize road traffic flow surveillance under various environments which contain poor visibility conditions, we have already proposed two vehicle detection methods using thermal images taken with an infrared thermal camera. The first method uses pattern recognition for the windshields and their surroundings to detect vehicles. However, the first method decreases the vehicle detection accuracy in winter season. To maintain high vehicle detection accuracy in all seasons, we developed the second method. The second method uses tires' thermal energy reflection areas on a road as the detection targets. The second method did not achieve high detection accuracy for vehicles on left-hand and right-hand lanes except for two center-lanes. Therefore, we have developed a new method based on the second method to increase the vehicle detection accuracy. This paper proposes the new method and shows that the detection accuracy for vehicles on all lanes is 92.1%. Therefore, by combining the first method and the new method, high vehicle detection accuracies are maintained under various environments, and road traffic flow surveillance can be realized.

Robust Vehicle Detection under Various Environments to Realize Road Traffic Flow Surveillance Using an Infrared Thermal Camera

Science.gov (United States)

Iwasaki, Yoichiro; Misumi, Masato; Nakamiya, Toshiyuki

2015-01-01

To realize road traffic flow surveillance under various environments which contain poor visibility conditions, we have already proposed two vehicle detection methods using thermal images taken with an infrared thermal camera. The first method uses pattern recognition for the windshields and their surroundings to detect vehicles. However, the first method decreases the vehicle detection accuracy in winter season. To maintain high vehicle detection accuracy in all seasons, we developed the second method. The second method uses tires' thermal energy reflection areas on a road as the detection targets. The second method did not achieve high detection accuracy for vehicles on left-hand and right-hand lanes except for two center-lanes. Therefore, we have developed a new method based on the second method to increase the vehicle detection accuracy. This paper proposes the new method and shows that the detection accuracy for vehicles on all lanes is 92.1%. Therefore, by combining the first method and the new method, high vehicle detection accuracies are maintained under various environments, and road traffic flow surveillance can be realized. PMID:25763384

Modafinil decreases anxiety-like behaviour in zebrafish

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Adrian Johnson

2017-02-01

Full Text Available Modafinil (2-((diphenylmethylsulfinylacetamide, a selective dopamine and norepinephrine transporter inhibitor, is most commonly prescribed for narcolepsy but has gained recent interest for treating a variety of disorders. Zebrafish (Danio rerio are becoming a model of choice for pharmacological and behavioural research. To investigate the behavioural effects of modafinil on anxiety, we administered doses of 0, 2, 20, and 200 mg/L for 30 minutes then tested zebrafish in the novel approach test. In this test, the fish was placed into a circular arena with a novel object in the center and motion-tracking software was used to quantify the time the fish spent in the outer area of the arena (thigmotaxis zone, middle third of the arena (transition zone and center of the arena, as well as total distance traveled, immobility and meandering. Modafinil caused a decrease in time spent in the thigmotaxis zone and increased time spent in the transition zone across all doses. Modafinil did not significantly alter the time spent in the center zone (near the novel object, the distance moved, meandering, or the duration of time spent immobile. We also validated this test as a measure of anxiety with the administration of ethanol (1% which decreased time spent in the thigmotaxis zone and increased time spent in the transition zone. These results suggest that modafinil decreases anxiety-like behaviour in zebrafish.

Growth of nanocrystalline silicon thin film with layer-by-layer technique for fast photo-detecting applications

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lin, C.-Y.; Fang, Y.-K.; Chen, S.-F.; Lin, P.-C.; Lin, C.-S.; Chou, T.-H; Hwang, J.S.; Lin, K.I.

2006-01-01

High mobility nanocrystalline silicon (nc-Si) films with layer-by-layer technique for fast photo-detecting applications were studied. The structure and morphology of films were studied by means of XRD, micro-Raman scattering, SEM and AFM. The Hall mobility and absorption properties have been investigated and found they were seriously affected by the number of layers in growing, i.e., with increasing of layer number, Hall mobility increased but absorption coefficient decreased. The optimum layer number of nc-Si films for fast near-IR photo-detecting is 7 with film thickness of 1400 nm, while that for fast visible photo-detecting is 17 with film thickness of 3400 nm

Improved multi-stage neonatal seizure detection using a heuristic classifier and a data-driven post-processor.

Science.gov (United States)

Ansari, A H; Cherian, P J; Dereymaeker, A; Matic, V; Jansen, K; De Wispelaere, L; Dielman, C; Vervisch, J; Swarte, R M; Govaert, P; Naulaers, G; De Vos, M; Van Huffel, S

2016-09-01

After identifying the most seizure-relevant characteristics by a previously developed heuristic classifier, a data-driven post-processor using a novel set of features is applied to improve the performance. The main characteristics of the outputs of the heuristic algorithm are extracted by five sets of features including synchronization, evolution, retention, segment, and signal features. Then, a support vector machine and a decision making layer remove the falsely detected segments. Four datasets including 71 neonates (1023h, 3493 seizures) recorded in two different university hospitals, are used to train and test the algorithm without removing the dubious seizures. The heuristic method resulted in a false alarm rate of 3.81 per hour and good detection rate of 88% on the entire test databases. The post-processor, effectively reduces the false alarm rate by 34% while the good detection rate decreases by 2%. This post-processing technique improves the performance of the heuristic algorithm. The structure of this post-processor is generic, improves our understanding of the core visually determined EEG features of neonatal seizures and is applicable for other neonatal seizure detectors. The post-processor significantly decreases the false alarm rate at the expense of a small reduction of the good detection rate. Copyright © 2016 International Federation of Clinical Neurophysiology. Published by Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Running as Interoceptive Exposure for Decreasing Anxiety Sensitivity: Replication and Extension.

Science.gov (United States)

Sabourin, Brigitte C; Stewart, Sherry H; Watt, Margo C; Krigolson, Olav E

2015-01-01

A brief, group cognitive behavioural therapy with running as the interoceptive exposure (IE; exposure to physiological sensations) component was effective in decreasing anxiety sensitivity (AS; fear of arousal sensations) levels in female undergraduates (Watt et al., Anxiety and Substance Use Disorders: The Vicious Cycle of Comorbidity, 201-219, 2008). Additionally, repeated exposure to running resulted in decreases in cognitive (i.e., catastrophic thoughts) and affective (i.e., feelings of anxiety) reactions to running over time for high AS, but not low AS, participants (Sabourin et al., "Physical exercise as interoceptive exposure within a brief cognitive-behavioral treatment for anxiety-sensitive women", Journal of Cognitive Psychotherapy, 22:302-320, 2008). A follow-up study including the above-mentioned intervention with an expanded IE component also resulted in decreases in AS levels (Sabourin et al., under review). The goals of the present process study were (1) to replicate the original process study, with the expanded IE component, and (2) to determine whether decreases in cognitive, affective, and/or somatic (physiological sensations) reactions to running would be related to decreases in AS. Eighteen high AS and 10 low AS participants completed 20 IE running trials following the 3-day group intervention. As predicted, high AS participants, but not low AS participants, experienced decreases in cognitive, affective, and somatic reactions to running over time. Furthermore, decreases in cognitive and affective, but not in somatic, reactions to running were related to decreases in AS levels. These results suggest that the therapeutic effects of repeated exposure to running in decreasing sensitivity to anxiety-related sensations are not related to decreasing the experience of somatic sensations themselves. Rather, they are related to altering the cognitive and affective reactions to these sensations.

Bilateral Pulvinar Signal Intensity Decrease on T2-Weighted Images in Patients with Aspartylglucosaminuria

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Autti, T.; Loennqvist, T.; Joensuu, R.

2008-01-01

Background: Aspartylglucosaminuria (AGU) is an autosomal recessive lysosomal disease caused by deficiency of aspartylglucosaminidase. A thalamic T2 signal intensity decrease is associated with lysosomal diseases. Purpose: To investigate thalamic signal intensity in AGU by performing a retrospective review of brain magnetic resonance (MR) imaging studies of AGU patients. Material and Methods: A total of 25 MR examinations were available for 11 patients aged between 3 and 32 years (four patients underwent bone marrow transplantation). Of these, 13 examinations were performed after bone marrow transplantation. Five patients had from two to six examinations, and six patients had one examination each. In every patient, the diagnosis of AGU was confirmed by blood and urine tests. Eighteen examinations were performed with a 1.0T imager including dual spin-echo T2 and proton density (PD) axial and coronal images, and 10 examinations also included T1-weighted images. Seven examinations were performed with a 1.5T imager including turbo spin-echo axial and coronal T2-weighted images and axial fluid-attenuated inversion recovery (FLAIR) images; three examinations included T1-weighted three-dimensional magnetization-prepared rapid acquisition gradient-echo (3D MPRAGE) images. The signal intensity of the thalamus and pulvinar in every sequence was compared to that of the putamina. Results: In AGU, thalamic alterations were first detectable on T2-weighted images (25 examinations in 11 patients) from the age of 3 years 6 months, showing decreased signal intensity in 21 of 24 examinations. T1-weighted images (13 examinations) showed slightly increased thalamic signal intensity in five out of seven examinations from the age of 7 years, and PD images (19 examinations) showed decreased signal intensity from the age of 16 years (three examinations). The pulvinar showed decreased signal intensity on spin-echo T2-weighted images for 14 of 18 examinations or on FLAIR sequences for seven

Medical Image Tamper Detection Based on Passive Image Authentication.

Science.gov (United States)

Ulutas, Guzin; Ustubioglu, Arda; Ustubioglu, Beste; V Nabiyev, Vasif; Ulutas, Mustafa

2017-12-01

Telemedicine has gained popularity in recent years. Medical images can be transferred over the Internet to enable the telediagnosis between medical staffs and to make the patient's history accessible to medical staff from anywhere. Therefore, integrity protection of the medical image is a serious concern due to the broadcast nature of the Internet. Some watermarking techniques are proposed to control the integrity of medical images. However, they require embedding of extra information (watermark) into image before transmission. It decreases visual quality of the medical image and can cause false diagnosis. The proposed method uses passive image authentication mechanism to detect the tampered regions on medical images. Structural texture information is obtained from the medical image by using local binary pattern rotation invariant (LBPROT) to make the keypoint extraction techniques more successful. Keypoints on the texture image are obtained with scale invariant feature transform (SIFT). Tampered regions are detected by the method by matching the keypoints. The method improves the keypoint-based passive image authentication mechanism (they do not detect tampering when the smooth region is used for covering an object) by using LBPROT before keypoint extraction because smooth regions also have texture information. Experimental results show that the method detects tampered regions on the medical images even if the forged image has undergone some attacks (Gaussian blurring/additive white Gaussian noise) or the forged regions are scaled/rotated before pasting.

Memantine Can Reduce Ethanol-Induced Caspase-3 Activity and Apoptosis in H4 Cells by Decreasing Intracellular Calcium.

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Xiaolong; Chen, Jiajun; Wang, Hongbo; Yu, Hao; Wang, Changliang; You, Jiabin; Wang, Pengfei; Feng, Chunmei; Xu, Guohui; Wu, Xu; Zhao, Rui; Zhang, Guohua

2017-08-01

Caspase-3 activation and apoptosis are associated with various neurodegenerative disorders. Calcium activation is an important factor in promoting apoptosis. We, therefore, assessed the role of intracellular calcium in ethanol-induced activation of caspase-3 in H4 human neuroglioma cells and the protective effect of the NMDA receptor antagonist, memantine, on ethanol-induced apoptosis in H4 cells. H4 cells were treated with 100 mM EtOH (in culture medium) for 2 days. For interaction studies, cells were treated with memantine (4 μM), EDTA (1 mM), or BAPTA-AM (10 μM) before treatment with EtOH. Knockdown of the gene encoding the NR1 subunit of the NMDA receptor was performed using RNAi. Apoptosis was detected by Annexin V-FITC/PI staining and flow cytometry. Cell viability was detected using an MTS cell proliferation kit. Fluorescence dual wavelength spectrophotometry was used to determine the intracellular calcium concentration. The levels of NR1, caspase-3, IP3R1, and SERCA1 proteins were detected by western blotting. NR1, IP3R1, and SERCA1 mRNA levels were detected by qPCR. We observed increased expression of NR1, IP3R1, SERCA1, and increased intracellular levels of calcium ions in H4 cells exposed to ethanol. In addition, the calcium chelators, EDTA and BAPTA, and RNAi disruption of the NMDA receptor reduced ethanol-induced caspase-3 activation in H4 cells. Memantine treatment reduced the ethanol-induced increase of intracellular calcium, caspase-3 activation, apoptosis, and the ethanol-induced decrease in cell viability. Our results indicate that ethanol-induced caspase-3 activation and apoptosis are likely to be dependent on cytosolic calcium levels and that they can be reduced by memantine treatment.

Decreased adrenoceptor stimulation in heart failure rats reduces NGF expression by cardiac parasympathetic neurons.

Science.gov (United States)

Hasan, Wohaib; Smith, Peter G

2014-04-01

Postganglionic cardiac parasympathetic and sympathetic nerves are physically proximate in atrial cardiac tissue allowing reciprocal inhibition of neurotransmitter release, depending on demands from central cardiovascular centers or reflex pathways. Parasympathetic cardiac ganglion (CG) neurons synthesize and release the sympathetic neurotrophin nerve growth factor (NGF), which may serve to maintain these close connections. In this study we investigated whether NGF synthesis by CG neurons is altered in heart failure, and whether norepinephrine from sympathetic neurons promotes NGF synthesis. NGF and proNGF immunoreactivity in CG neurons in heart failure rats following chronic coronary artery ligation was investigated. NGF immunoreactivity was decreased significantly in heart failure rats compared to sham-operated animals, whereas proNGF expression was unchanged. Changes in neurochemistry of CG neurons included attenuated expression of the cholinergic marker vesicular acetylcholine transporter, and increased expression of the neuropeptide vasoactive intestinal polypeptide. To further investigate norepinephrine's role in promoting NGF synthesis, we cultured CG neurons treated with adrenergic receptor (AR) agonists. An 82% increase in NGF mRNA levels was detected after 1h of isoproterenol (β-AR agonist) treatment, which increased an additional 22% at 24h. Antagonist treatment blocked isoproterenol-induced increases in NGF transcripts. In contrast, the α-AR agonist phenylephrine did not alter NGF mRNA expression. These results are consistent with β-AR mediated maintenance of NGF synthesis in CG neurons. In heart failure, a decrease in NGF synthesis by CG neurons may potentially contribute to reduced connections with adjacent sympathetic nerves. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

The Role of Luminance and Chromaticity on Symmetry Detection

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Chia-Ching Wu

2011-05-01

Full Text Available We investigated the effect of luminance and chromaticity on symmetry detection with the noise masking paradigm. In each trial, a random dot noise mask was presented in both intervals. A symmetric target was randomly presented in one interval while a random dot control was presented in the other. The orientation of the symmetric axis of the target was either 45°or −45° diagonal. The task of the observer was to determine which interval contained a symmetric target. The dots in both the target and the mask was painted with 1 to 4 colors selected from white, black, red, green, blue and yellow. We measured the target density threshold at various noise densities. Our results showed that when the number of the colors in the images was equal, the thresholds were lower in the luminance conditions than in the chromaticity conditions. In addition, the thresholds decreased with the increment of the number of the colors in the images. This suggests that (1 the luminance symmetry detection mechanism is more sensitive than chromaticity one and (2 that, contrasted to the prediction of an uncertainty model, the diversity in color facilitates symmetry detection.

A note on inverses of non-decreasing Lévy processes

NARCIS (Netherlands)

J.A. Ferreira

2001-01-01

textabstractWe show that, apart from deterministic processes, compound Poisson processes with exponential jumps are the only (shifted) non-decreasing Lévy processes whose inverses are also (shifted) non-decreasing Lévy processes.

The current status of the GRAPES-3 extensive air shower experiment

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gupta, S.K.; Antia, H.M.; Dugad, S.R.; Goswami, U.D.; Hayashi, Y.; Iyer, A.; Ito, N.; Jagadeesan, P.; Jain, A.; Karthikeyan, S.; Kawakami, S.; Minamino, M.; Mohanty, P.K.; Morris, S.D.; Nayak, P.K.; Nonaka, T.; Oshima, A.; Rao, B.S.; Ravindran, K.C.; Tanaka, H.

2009-01-01

The GRAPES-3 is a dense extensive air shower array operating with ∼400 scintillator detectors and it also contains a 560 m 2 tracking muon detector (E μ >1GeV), at Ooty in India. 25% of scintillator detectors are instrumented with two fast photomultiplier tubes (PMTs) for extending the dynamic range to ∼5x10 3 particles m -2 . The scintillators, signal processing electronics and data recording systems were fabricated in-house to cut costs and optimize performance. The muon multiplicity distribution of the EAS is used to probe the composition of primary cosmic rays below the 'knee', with an overlap with direct measurements. Search for multi-TeV γ-rays from point sources is done with the aid of the muon detector. A good angular resolution of 0.7 deg. at 30 TeV, is measured from the shadow of the Moon on the isotropic flux of cosmic rays. A sensitive limit on the diffuse flux of 100 TeV γ-rays is placed by using muon detector to filter the charged cosmic ray background. A tracking muon detector allows sensitive measurements on coronal mass ejections and solar flares through Forbush decrease events. We have major expansion plans to enhance the sensitivity of the GRAPES-3 experiment in the areas listed above.

Possible cosmic effects on growth rythms observed in M. bovis BGG ''Praha'' in the years 1964 to 1976

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sula, L.; Krivsky, L.

1977-01-01

Over a period of 12 years the variability was observed of the growth of the Mycobacterium bovis BCG Praha strain. The total weight of the biomass, the number of live embryos, acidoresistance, the morphology, the lipid, protein and polysaccharide contents were studied. The protein and polysaccharide contents varied within the range of 39 to 41% and 16 to 18%. Acidoresistance and micromorphology did not show any significant changes. Changes were observed in the biomass yields in the individual batches of the BCG strain. These changes did not have a cyclic character but recurred in short intervals and no appropriate explanation was found for their occurrence. The correlation was studied between the growth of the biomass and solar activity and the effect was studied of short solar activity on the subsequent trend of the weight curve of medium dry BCG. It was found that following solar proton flares the weight curve tended to increase in a greater number of cases. The Forbush effect was used in the study. It was found in 145 (68%) cases that in the following days an increase occurred in the medium-dry weight of the BCG while in 68 cases (32%) the weight curve showed a decreasing trend. It thus appears that the level of cosmic radiation could influence the curve of the medium-dry weight of the BCG. (J.P.)

Using a Nonaversive Procedure to Decrease Refusals.

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Spooner, Fred; And Others

1990-01-01

A nonaversive technique was used to teach a severely handicapped woman to decrease her refusals. The technique employed precision teaching via precise daily measurement strategies, environmental analysis, and a focus on building appropriate behavior. (JDD)

Selection of a quench detection system for the ITER CS magnet

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Coatanea, Marc; Duchateau, Jean-Luc; Lacroix, Benoit; Nicollet, Sylvie; Rodriguez-Mateos, Felix; Topin, Frederic

2011-01-01

At variance with most of the existing superconducting systems operating in the world, the ITER central solenoid (CS) magnet is a fast pulsed system. This peculiarity creates a specific situation regarding the quench detection system, as a small resistive signal associated with a quench has to be discriminated from the high inductive signals imposed by the plasma scenario. The quench detection is based on an inductive compensation built from three adjacent double pancakes. The ITER protection rules for a superconducting magnet impose to respect the so-called maximum hot spot temperature criterion of 250 K in the quenched cable at the end of the fast discharge. A careful analysis of the residual inductive signals in the detection voltage shows that a blanking of the quench detection cannot be avoided during the early times of the plasma discharge (i.e. during 3.5 s). It is demonstrated that this blanking is, however, acceptable while fulfilling the hot spot criterion because the plasma initiation phase (PIP) is very similar to a fast safety discharge and corresponds to a fast decrease of the modules currents, which is favourable for the magnet protection.

Study of relationship between MUF correlation and detection sensitivity of statistical analysis

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tamura, Toshiaki; Ihara, Hitoshi; Yamamoto, Yoichi; Ikawa, Koji

1989-11-01

Various kinds of statistical analysis are proposed to NRTA (Near Real Time Materials Accountancy) which was devised to satisfy the timeliness goal of one of the detection goals of IAEA. It will be presumed that different statistical analysis results will occur between the case of considered rigorous error propagation (with MUF correlation) and the case of simplified error propagation (without MUF correlation). Therefore, measurement simulation and decision analysis were done using flow simulation of 800 MTHM/Y model reprocessing plant, and relationship between MUF correlation and detection sensitivity and false alarm of statistical analysis was studied. Specific character of material accountancy for 800 MTHM/Y model reprocessing plant was grasped by this simulation. It also became clear that MUF correlation decreases not only false alarm but also detection probability for protracted loss in case of CUMUF test and Page's test applied to NRTA. (author)

Role of hypotension in decreasing cerebral blood flow in porcine endotoxemia

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Miller, C.F.; Breslow, M.J.; Shapiro, R.M.; Traystman, R.J.

1987-01-01

The role of reduced arterial blood pressure (MAP) in decreasing cerebral blood flow (CBF) during endotoxemia was studied in pentobarbital-anesthetized pigs. Microspheres were used to measure regional CBF changes during MAP manipulations in animals with and without endotoxin. Endotoxin decreased MAP to 50 mmHg and decreased blood flow to the cortex and cerebellum without affecting cerebral cortical oxygen consumption (CMRo 2 ). Elevating MAP from 50 to 70 mmHg during endotoxemia with norepinephrine did not change cortical blood flow or CMRo 2 but increased cerebellar blood flow. Brain stem blood flow was not affected by endotoxin or norepinephrine. When MAP was decreased to 50 mmHg by hemorrhage without endotoxin, no change in blood flow to cortex, cerebellum, or brain stem was observed from base-line levels. These results suggest that decreased MAP below a lower limit for cerebral autoregulation does not account for the decreased CBF observed after endotoxin

Decreased plasma thiol antioxidant barrier and selenoproteins as potential biomarkers for ongoing methylmercury intoxication and an individual protective capacity.

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Usuki, Fusako; Fujimura, Masatake

2016-04-01

Manifestation of methylmercury (MeHg) toxicity depends on individual susceptibility to MeHg, as well as MeHg burden level. Therefore, biomarkers that reflect the protective capacity against MeHg are needed. The critical role of oxidative stress in the pathogenesis of MeHg cytotoxicity has been demonstrated. Because MeHg has high affinity for selenohydryl groups, sulfhydryl groups, and selenides, and causes posttranscriptional defects in selenoenzymes, proteins with selenohydryl and sulfhydryl groups should play a critical role in mediating MeHg-induced oxidative stress. Here, plasma oxidative stress markers and selenoproteins were investigated in MeHg-intoxicated rats showing neuropathological changes after 4 weeks of MeHg exposure. The thiol antioxidant barrier (-SHp) level significantly decreased 2 weeks after MeHg exposure, which is an early stage at which no systemic oxidative stress, histopathological changes, or clinical signs were detected. Diacron reactive oxidant metabolite (d-ROM) levels significantly increased 3 weeks after MeHg exposure, indicating the occurrence of systemic oxidative stress. Rats treated with lead acetate or cadmium chloride showed no changes in levels of -SHp and d-ROM. Selenoprotein P1 abundance significantly decreased in MeHg-treated rats, whereas it significantly increased in rats treated with Pb or Cd. Plasma selenium-dependent glutathione peroxidase (GPx3) activity also significantly decreased after MeHg exposure, whereas plasma non-selenoenzyme glutathione reductase activity significantly increased in MeHg-treated rats. The results suggest that decreased capacity of -SHp and selenoproteins (GPx3 and selenoprotein P) can be useful biomarkers of ongoing MeHg cytotoxicity and the individual protective capacity against the MeHg body burden.

[Demand for and the Development of Detection Techniques for Source of Schistosome Infection in China].

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Shi-ping; He, Xin; Zhou, Yun-fei

2015-12-01

Schistosomiasis is a type of zoonotic parasitosis that severely impairs human health. Rapid detection of infection sources is a key to the control of schistosomiasis. With the effective control of schistosomiasis in China, the detection techniques for infection sources have also been developed. The rate and the intensity of infection among humans and livestocks have been significantly decreased in China, as the control program has entered the transmission control stage in most of the endemic areas. Under this situation, the traditional etiological diagnosing techniques and common immunological methods can not afford rapid detection of infection sources of schistosomiasis. Instead, we are calling for detection methods with higher sensitivity, specificity and stability while being less time-consuming, more convenient and less costing. In recent years, many improved or novel detection methods have been applied for the epidemiological surveillance of schistosomiasis, such as the automatic scanning microscopic image acquisition system, PCR-ELISA, immunosensors, loop-mediated isothermal amplification, etc. The development of new monitoring techniques can facilitate rapid detection of schistosome infection sources in endemic areas.

Active Intervention Can Decrease Burnout In Ed Nurses.

Science.gov (United States)

Wei, Rong; Ji, Hong; Li, Jianxin; Zhang, Liyao

2017-03-01

The aim of this study was to evaluate whether active intervention can decrease job burnout and improve performance among ED nurses. This study was carried out in the emergency departments of 3 hospitals randomly selected from 8 comprehensive high-level hospitals in Jinan, China. A total of 102 nurses were enrolled and randomly divided into control and intervention groups. For 6 months, nurses in intervention groups were treated with ordinary treatment plus comprehensive management, whereas nurses in the control group were treated with ordinary management, respectively. Questionnaires were sent and collected at baseline and at the end of the study. The Student t test was used to evaluate the effect of comprehensive management in decreasing burnout. All ED nurses showed symptoms of job burnout at different levels. Our data indicated that comprehensive management significantly decreased emotional exhaustion and depersonalization (P burnout in ED nurses and contribute to relieving work-related stress and may further protect against potential mental health problems. Copyright © 2016 Emergency Nurses Association. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Biomolecular detection using a metal semiconductor field effect transistor

Science.gov (United States)

Estephan, Elias; Saab, Marie-Belle; Buzatu, Petre; Aulombard, Roger; Cuisinier, Frédéric J. G.; Gergely, Csilla; Cloitre, Thierry

2010-04-01

In this work, our attention was drawn towards developing affinity-based electrical biosensors, using a MESFET (Metal Semiconductor Field Effect Transistor). Semiconductor (SC) surfaces must be prepared before the incubations with biomolecules. The peptides route was adapted to exceed and bypass the limits revealed by other types of surface modification due to the unwanted unspecific interactions. As these peptides reveal specific recognition of materials, then controlled functionalization can be achieved. Peptides were produced by phage display technology using a library of M13 bacteriophage. After several rounds of bio-panning, the phages presenting affinities for GaAs SC were isolated; the DNA of these specific phages were sequenced, and the peptide with the highest affinity was synthesized and biotinylated. To explore the possibility of electrical detection, the MESFET fabricated with the GaAs SC were used to detect the streptavidin via the biotinylated peptide in the presence of the bovine Serum Albumin. After each surface modification step, the IDS (current between the drain and the source) of the transistor was measured and a decrease in the intensity was detected. Furthermore, fluorescent microscopy was used in order to prove the specificity of this peptide and the specific localisation of biomolecules. In conclusion, the feasibility of producing an electrical biosensor using a MESFET has been demonstrated. Controlled placement, specific localization and detection of biomolecules on a MESFET transistor were achieved without covering the drain and the source. This method of functionalization and detection can be of great utility for biosensing application opening a new way for developing bioFETs (Biomolecular Field-Effect Transistor).

Humic substances interfere with detection of pathogenic prion protein

Science.gov (United States)

Smith, Christen B.; Booth, Clarissa J.; Wadzinski, Tyler J.; Legname, Giuseppe; Chappell, Rick; Johnson, Christopher J.; Pedersen, Joel A.

2014-01-01

Studies examining the persistence of prions (the etiological agent of transmissible spongiform encephalopathies) in soil require accurate quantification of pathogenic prion protein (PrPTSE) extracted from or in the presence of soil particles. Here, we demonstrate that natural organic matter (NOM) in soil impacts PrPTSE detection by immunoblotting. Methods commonly used to extract PrPTSE from soils release substantial amounts of NOM, and NOM inhibited PrPTSE immunoblot signal. The degree of immunoblot interference increased with increasing NOM concentration and decreasing NOM polarity. Humic substances affected immunoblot detection of prion protein from both deer and hamsters. We also establish that after interaction with humic acid, PrPTSE remains infectious to hamsters inoculated intracerebrally, and humic acid appeared to slow disease progression. These results provide evidence for interactions between PrPTSE and humic substances that influence both accurate measurement of PrPTSE in soil and disease transmission.

Influence of defects on diamond detection properties

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tromson, Dominique

2000-01-01

This work focuses on the study of the influence of defects on the detection properties of diamond. Devices are fabricated using natural as well as synthetic diamond samples grown using the plasma enhanced chemical vapour deposition (CVD). Optical studies with infrared and Raman spectrometry are used to characterise the material properties as well as thermoluminescence and thermally stimulated current measurements. These thermally stimulated analyses reveal the presence of several trapping levels with emission temperatures below or near room temperature as well as an important level near 550 K. The influence of these defects on the alpha and X-ray detector responses is studied as a function of the initial state of the detectors (thermal treatment, irradiation) and of the measurement conditions (time, temperature). The results show a significant correlation between the charged state of traps, namely filled or empty and the response of the detectors. It appears that filling and emptying the traps respectively enhances the sensitivity and stability of detection devices to be used at room temperature and decreases the detection properties at higher temperature. Localised measurements are also used to study the spatial inhomogeneity of natural and CVD diamond samples from the 2D mapping of the detector responses. Non uniformity are attributed to a non-isotropic distribution of defects in natural diamonds. By comparing the detector responses to the topographical map of CVD samples a correlation appears between grains and grain boundaries with the variation of the detector sensitivity. Devices fabricated for detection applications with CVD samples are presented and namely for the monitoring and profiling of synchrotron beams as well as dose rate measurements in harsh environments. (author) [fr

Response of Syntrophic Propionate Degradation to pH Decrease and Microbial Community Shifts in an UASB Reactor.

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, Liguo; Ban, Qiaoying; Li, Jianzheng; Jha, Ajay Kumar

2016-08-28

The effect of pH on propionate degradation in an upflow anaerobic sludge blanket (UASB) reactor containing propionate as a sole carbon source was studied. Under influent propionate of 2,000 mg/l and 35ºC, propionate removal at pH 7.5-6.8 was above 93.6%. Propionate conversion was significantly inhibited with stepwise pH decrease from pH 6.8 to 6.5, 6.0, 5.5, 5.0, 4.5, and then to 4.0. After long-term operation, the propionate removal at pH 6.5-4.5 maintained an efficiency of 88.5%-70.1%, whereas propionate was hardly decomposed at pH 4.0. Microbial composition analysis showed that propionate-oxidizing bacteria from the genera Pelotomaculum and Smithella likely existed in this system. They were significantly reduced at pH ≤5.5. The methanogens in this UASB reactor belonged to four genera: Methanobacterium, Methanospirillum, Methanofollis, and Methanosaeta. Most detectable hydrogenotrophic methanogens were able to grow at low pH conditions (pH 6.0-4.0), but the acetotrophic methanogens were reduced as pH decreased. These results indicated that propionate-oxidizing bacteria and acetotrophic methanogens were more sensitive to low pH (5.5-4.0) than hydrogenotrophic methanogens.

Collagenase mRNA Overexpression and Decreased Extracellular Matrix Components Are Early Events in the Pathogenesis of Emphysema.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Fabíola S Z Robertoni

Full Text Available To describe the progression of parenchymal remodeling and metalloproteinases gene expression in earlier stages of emphysema, mice received porcine pancreatic elastase (PPE instillation and Control groups received saline solution. After PPE instillation (1, 3, 6 hours, 3 and 21 days we measured the mean linear intercept, the volume proportion of types I and III collagen, elastin, fibrillin and the MMP-1, -8, -12 and -13 gene expression. We observed an initial decrease in type I (at the 3rd day and type III collagen (from the 6th hour until the 3rd day, in posterior time points in which we detected increased gene expression for MMP-8 and -13 in PPE groups. After 21 days, the type III collagen fibers increased and the type I collagen values returned to similar values compared to control groups. The MMP-12 gene expression was increased in earlier times (3 and 6 hours to which we detected a reduced proportion of elastin (3 days in PPE groups, reinforcing the already established importance of MMP-12 in the breakdown of ECM. Such findings will be useful to better elucidate the alterations in ECM components and the importance of not only metalloelastase but also collagenases in earlier emphysema stages, providing new clues to novel therapeutic targets.

Administration of Bifidobacterium breve Decreases the Production of TNF-α in Children with Celiac Disease.

Science.gov (United States)

Klemenak, Martina; Dolinšek, Jernej; Langerholc, Tomaž; Di Gioia, Diana; Mičetić-Turk, Dušanka

2015-11-01

Increasing evidence suggests that not only genetics, but also environmental factors like gut microbiota dysbiosis play an important role in the pathogenesis of celiac disease (CD). The aim of our study was to investigate the effect of two probiotic strains Bifidobacterium breve BR03 and B. breve B632 on serum production of anti-inflammatory cytokine interleukin 10 (IL-10) and pro-inflammatory cytokine tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α) in children with CD. The study was a double-blinded, placebo-controlled trial that included 49 children with CD on gluten-free diet (GFD) randomized into two groups and 18 healthy children in the control group. The first group (24 children with CD) daily received B. breve BR03 and B632 (2 × 10(9) colony-forming units) and the second group (25 children with CD) received placebo for 3 months. TNF-α levels were significantly decreased in the first group after receiving B. breve for 3 months. On follow-up, 3 months after receiving probiotics, TNF-α levels increased again. Children with CD who were on GFD for less than 1 year showed similar baseline TNF-α levels as children who were on GFD for more than 1 year. IL-10 levels were in all groups of patients below detection level. Probiotic intervention with B. breve strains has shown a positive effect on decreasing the production of pro-inflammatory cytokine TNF-α in children with CD on GFD.

The electrophysiological correlate of saliency: evidence from a figure-detection task.

Science.gov (United States)

Straube, Sirko; Fahle, Manfred

2010-01-11

Although figure-ground segregation in a natural environment usually relies on multiple cues, we experience a coherent figure without usually noticing the individual single cues. It is still unclear how various cues interact to achieve this unified percept and whether this interaction depends on task demands. Studies investigating the effect of cue combination on the human EEG are still lacking. In the present study, we combined psychophysics, ERP and time-frequency analysis to investigate the interaction of orientation and spatial frequency as visual cues in a figure detection task. The figure was embedded in a matrix of Gabor elements, and we systematically varied figure saliency by changing the underlying cue configuration. We found a strong correlation between the posterior P2 amplitude and the perceived saliency of the figure: the P2 amplitude decreased with increasing saliency. Analogously, the power of the theta-band decreased for more salient figures. At longer latencies, the posterior P3 component was modulated in amplitude and latency, possibly reflecting increased decision confidence at higher saliencies. In conclusion, when the cue composition (e.g. one or two cues) or cue strength is changed in a figure detection task, first differences in the electrophysiological response reflect the perceived saliency and not directly the underlying cue configuration.

Decreasing dialysis catheter rates by creating a multidisciplinary dialysis access program.

Science.gov (United States)

Rosenberry, Patricia M; Niederhaus, Silke V; Schweitzer, Eugene J; Leeser, David B

2018-03-01

Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services have determined that chronic dialysis units should have 45%. A multidisciplinary program was established with goals of decreasing catheter rates in order to decrease central line-associated bloodstream infections, decrease mortality associated with central line-associated bloodstream infection, decrease hospital days, and provide savings to the healthcare system. We collected the catheter rates within three dialysis centers served over a 5-year period. Using published data surrounding the incidence and related costs of central line-associated bloodstream infection and mortality per catheter day, the number of central line-associated bloodstream infection events, the costs, and the related mortality could be determined prior to and after the initiation of the dialysis access program. An organized dialysis access program resulted in a 82% decrease in the number of central venous catheter days which lead to a concurrent reduction in central line-associated bloodstream infection and deaths. As a result of creating an access program, central venous catheter rates decreased from an average rate of 45% to 8%. The cost savings related to the program was calculated to be over US$5 million. The decrease in the number of mortalities is estimated to be between 13 and 27 patients. We conclude that a formalized access program decreases catheter rates, central line-associated bloodstream infection, and the resultant hospitalizations, mortality, and costs. Areas with high hemodialysis catheter rates should develop access programs to better serve their patient population.

Low-Cost Resonant Cavity Raman Gas Probe for Multi-Gas Detection

Science.gov (United States)

Thorstensen, J.; Haugholt, K. H.; Ferber, A.; Bakke, K. A. H.; Tschudi, J.

2014-12-01

Raman based gas sensing can be attractive in several industrial applications, due to its multi-gas sensing capabilities and its ability to detect O_2 and N_2. In this article, we have built a Raman gas probe, based on low-cost components, which has shown an estimated detection limit of 0.5 % for 30 second measurements of N_2 and O_2. While this detection limit is higher than that of commercially available equipment, our estimated component cost is approximately one tenth of the price of commercially available equipment. The use of a resonant Fabry-Pérot cavity increases the scattered signal, and hence the sensitivity, by a factor of 50. The cavity is kept in resonance using a piezo-actuated mirror and a photodiode in a feedback loop. The system described in this article was made with minimum-cost components to demonstrate the low-cost principle. However, it is possible to decrease the detection limit using a higher-powered (but still low-cost) laser and improving the collection optics. By applying these improvements, the detection limit and estimated measurement precision will be sufficient for e.g. the monitoring of input gases in combustion processes, such as e.g. (bio-)gas power plants. In these processes, knowledge about gas compositions with 0.1 % (absolute) precision can help regulate and optimize process conditions. The system has the potential to provide a low-cost, industrial Raman sensor that is optimized for specific gas-detection applications.

Decreased prefrontal cortical dopamine transmission in alcoholism.

Science.gov (United States)

Narendran, Rajesh; Mason, Neale Scott; Paris, Jennifer; Himes, Michael L; Douaihy, Antoine B; Frankle, W Gordon

2014-08-01

Basic studies have demonstrated that optimal levels of prefrontal cortical dopamine are critical to various executive functions such as working memory, attention, inhibitory control, and risk/reward decisions, all of which are impaired in addictive disorders such as alcoholism. Based on this and imaging studies of alcoholism that have demonstrated less dopamine in the striatum, the authors hypothesized decreased dopamine transmission in the prefrontal cortex in persons with alcohol dependence. To test this hypothesis, amphetamine and [11C]FLB 457 positron emission tomography were used to measure cortical dopamine transmission in 21 recently abstinent persons with alcohol dependence and 21 matched healthy comparison subjects. [11C]FLB 457 binding potential, specific compared to nondisplaceable uptake (BPND), was measured in subjects with kinetic analysis using the arterial input function both before and after 0.5 mg kg-1 of d-amphetamine. Amphetamine-induced displacement of [11C]FLB 457 binding potential (ΔBPND) was significantly smaller in the cortical regions in the alcohol-dependent group compared with the healthy comparison group. Cortical regions that demonstrated lower dopamine transmission in the alcohol-dependent group included the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, medial prefrontal cortex, orbital frontal cortex, temporal cortex, and medial temporal lobe. The results of this study, for the first time, unambiguously demonstrate decreased dopamine transmission in the cortex in alcoholism. Further research is necessary to understand the clinical relevance of decreased cortical dopamine as to whether it is related to impaired executive function, relapse, and outcome in alcoholism.

Decreased sound tolerance: hyperacusis, misophonia, diplacousis, and polyacousis.

Science.gov (United States)

Jastreboff, Pawel J; Jastreboff, Margaret M

2015-01-01

Definitions, potential mechanisms, and treatments for decreased sound tolerance, hyperacusis, misophonia, and diplacousis are presented with an emphasis on the associated physiologic and neurophysiological processes and principles. A distinction is made between subjects who experience these conditions versus patients who suffer from them. The role of the limbic and autonomic nervous systems and other brain systems involved in cases of bothersome decreased sound tolerance is stressed. The neurophysiological model of tinnitus is outlined with respect to how it may contribute to our understanding of these phenomena and their treatment. © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

An integrated logit model for contamination event detection in water distribution systems.

Science.gov (United States)

Housh, Mashor; Ostfeld, Avi

2015-05-15

The problem of contamination event detection in water distribution systems has become one of the most challenging research topics in water distribution systems analysis. Current attempts for event detection utilize a variety of approaches including statistical, heuristics, machine learning, and optimization methods. Several existing event detection systems share a common feature in which alarms are obtained separately for each of the water quality indicators. Unifying those single alarms from different indicators is usually performed by means of simple heuristics. A salient feature of the current developed approach is using a statistically oriented model for discrete choice prediction which is estimated using the maximum likelihood method for integrating the single alarms. The discrete choice model is jointly calibrated with other components of the event detection system framework in a training data set using genetic algorithms. The fusing process of each indicator probabilities, which is left out of focus in many existing event detection system models, is confirmed to be a crucial part of the system which could be modelled by exploiting a discrete choice model for improving its performance. The developed methodology is tested on real water quality data, showing improved performances in decreasing the number of false positive alarms and in its ability to detect events with higher probabilities, compared to previous studies. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Detection of Antibodies in Blood Plasma Using Bioluminescent Sensor Proteins and a Smartphone.

Science.gov (United States)

Arts, Remco; den Hartog, Ilona; Zijlema, Stefan E; Thijssen, Vito; van der Beelen, Stan H E; Merkx, Maarten

2016-04-19

Antibody detection is of fundamental importance in many diagnostic and bioanalytical assays, yet current detection techniques tend to be laborious and/or expensive. We present a new sensor platform (LUMABS) based on bioluminescence resonance energy transfer (BRET) that allows detection of antibodies directly in solution using a smartphone as the sole piece of equipment. LUMABS are single-protein sensors that consist of the blue-light emitting luciferase NanoLuc connected via a semiflexible linker to the green fluorescent acceptor protein mNeonGreen, which are kept close together using helper domains. Binding of an antibody to epitope sequences flanking the linker disrupts the interaction between the helper domains, resulting in a large decrease in BRET efficiency. The resulting change in color of the emitted light from green-blue to blue can be detected directly in blood plasma, even at picomolar concentrations of antibody. Moreover, the modular architecture of LUMABS allows changing of target specificity by simple exchange of epitope sequences, as demonstrated here for antibodies against HIV1-p17, hemagglutinin (HA), and dengue virus type I. The combination of sensitive ratiometric bioluminescent detection and the intrinsic modularity of the LUMABS design provides an attractive generic platform for point-of-care antibody detection that avoids the complex liquid handling steps associated with conventional immunoassays.

Early non-destructive biofouling detection and spatial distribution: Application of oxygen sensing optodes

KAUST Repository

Farhat, Nadia

2015-06-11

Biofouling is a serious problem in reverse osmosis/nanofiltration (RO/NF) applications, reducing membrane performance. Early detection of biofouling plays an essential role in an adequate anti-biofouling strategy. Presently, fouling of membrane filtration systems is mainly determined by measuring changes in pressure drop, which is not exclusively linked to biofouling. Non-destructive imaging of oxygen concentrations (i) is specific for biological activity of biofilms and (ii) may enable earlier detection of biofilm accumulation than pressure drop. The objective of this study was to test whether transparent luminescent planar O2 optodes, in combination with a simple imaging system, can be used for early non-destructive biofouling detection. This biofouling detection is done by mapping the two-dimensional distribution of O2 concentrations and O2 decrease rates inside a membrane fouling simulator (MFS). Results show that at an early stage, biofouling development was detected by the oxygen sensing optodes while no significant increase in pressure drop was yet observed. Additionally, optodes could detect spatial heterogeneities in biofouling distribution at a micro scale. Biofilm development started mainly at the feed spacer crossings. The spatial and quantitative information on biological activity will lead to better understanding of the biofouling processes, contributing to the development of more effective biofouling control strategies.

Detection of elliptical contours

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Blokland, J.A.K.

1987-01-01

This dissertation describes the quantitation of myocardial perfusion defects in planar thallium-201 scintigrams. To be able to quantify the distribution of 201 Tl in the myocardium as imaged by the scintigram, accurate delineation of the target object is a prerequisite. The distribution of the radionuclide within the contour of the left ventricle can be described by application of circumferential profiles. By comparing the computed circumferential profile with those of normal subjects, humans with no evidence of coronary artery disease, segments of the left ventricle with decreased bloodflow can be detected. In practice there is no real standard to compare with, and due to noise and biological variations, it is not always possible to make a definite decision regarding the presence of a defect in the distribution of the radionuclide. The value and limitations of the developed quantification procedure are discussed. Some future developments are suggested. 108 refs.; 57 figs.; 5 tabs

BMT decreases HFD-induced weight gain associated with decreased preadipocyte number and insulin secretion.

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Saeed Katiraei

Full Text Available Experimental bone marrow transplantation (BMT in mice is commonly used to assess the role of immune cell-specific genes in various pathophysiological settings. The application of BMT in obesity research is hampered by the significant reduction in high-fat diet (HFD-induced obesity. We set out to characterize metabolic tissues that may be affected by the BMT procedure and impair the HFD-induced response. Male C57BL/6 mice underwent syngeneic BMT using lethal irradiation. After a recovery period of 8 weeks they were fed a low-fat diet (LFD or HFD for 16 weeks. HFD-induced obesity was reduced in mice after BMT as compared to HFD-fed control mice, characterized by both a reduced fat (-33%; p<0.01 and lean (-11%; p<0.01 mass, while food intake and energy expenditure were unaffected. As compared to control mice, BMT-treated mice had a reduced mature adipocyte volume (approx. -45%; p<0.05 and reduced numbers of preadipocytes (-38%; p<0.05 and macrophages (-62%; p<0.05 in subcutaneous, gonadal and visceral white adipose tissue. In BMT-treated mice, pancreas weight (-46%; p<0.01 was disproportionally decreased. This was associated with reduced plasma insulin (-68%; p<0.05 and C-peptide (-37%; p<0.01 levels and a delayed glucose clearance in BMT-treated mice on HFD as compared to control mice. In conclusion, the reduction in HFD-induced obesity after BMT in mice is at least partly due to alterations in the adipose tissue cell pool composition as well as to a decreased pancreatic secretion of the anabolic hormone insulin. These effects should be considered when interpreting results of experimental BMT in metabolic studies.

Combining voxel-based morphometry and diffusion tensor imaging to detect age-related brain changes.

Science.gov (United States)

Lehmbeck, Jan T; Brassen, Stefanie; Weber-Fahr, Wolfgang; Braus, Dieter F

2006-04-03

The present study combined optimized voxel-based morphometry and diffusion tensor imaging to detect age-related brain changes. We compared grey matter density maps (grey matter voxel-based morphometry) and white matter fractional anisotropy maps (diffusion tensor imaging-voxel-based morphometry) between two groups of 17 younger and 17 older women. Older women exhibited reduced white matter fractional anisotropy as well as decreased grey matter density most prominently in the frontal, limbic, parietal and temporal lobes. A discriminant analysis identified four frontal and limbic grey and white matter areas that separated the two groups most effectively. We conclude that grey matter voxel-based morphometry and diffusion tensor imaging voxel-based morphometry are well suited for the detection of age-related changes and their combination provides high accuracy when detecting the neural correlates of aging.

Do patients' information needs decrease over the course of radiotherapy?

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Douma, Kirsten F. L.; Koning, Caro C. E.; Zandbelt, Linda C.; de Haes, Hanneke C. J. M.; Smets, Ellen M. A.

2012-01-01

We aimed to investigate if cancer patients' information needs decrease during radiotherapy and if so, which patient, consultation and radiation oncologist characteristics are associated with a decrease in information needs over time. In this longitudinal study, patients (n = 104) completed a

Magnetic Bead Based Immunoassay for Autonomous Detection of Toxins

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kwon, Y; Hara, C A; Knize, M G; Hwang, M H; Venkatesteswaran, K S; Wheeler, E K; Bell, P M; Renzi, R F; Fruetel, J A; Bailey, C G

2008-05-01

As a step towards toward the development of a rapid, reliable analyzer for bioagents in the environment, we are developing an automated system for the simultaneous detection of a group of select agents and toxins. To detect toxins, we modified and automated an antibody-based approach previously developed for manual medical diagnostics that uses fluorescent eTag{trademark} reporter molecules and is suitable for highly multiplexed assays. Detection is based on two antibodies binding simultaneously to a single antigen, one of which is labeled with biotin while the other is conjugated to a fluorescent eTag{trademark} through a cleavable linkage. Aqueous samples are incubated with the mixture of antibodies along with streptavidin-coated magnetic beads coupled to a photo-activatable porphyrin complex. In the presence of antigen, a molecular complex is formed where the cleavable linkage is held in proximity to the photoactivable group. Upon excitation at 680 nm, free radicals are generated, which diffuse and cleave the linkage, releasing the eTags{trademark}. Released eTags{trademark} are analyzed using capillary gel electrophoresis with laser-induced fluorescence detection. Limits of detection for ovalbumin and botulinum toxoid individually were 4 ng/mL (or 80 pg) and 16 ng/mL (or 320 pg), respectively, using the manual assay. In addition, we demonstrated the use of pairs of antibodies from different sources in a single assay to decrease the rate of false positives. Automation of the assay was demonstrated on a flow-through format with higher LODs of 125 ng/mL (or 2.5 ng) each of a mixture of ovalbumin and botulinum toxoid. This versatile assay can be easily modified with the appropriate antibodies to detect a wide range of toxins and other proteins.

Signal anomaly detection and characterization

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Morgenstern, V.M.; Upadhyaya, B.R.; Gloeckler, O.

1988-08-01

As part of a comprehensive signal validation system, we have developed a signal anomaly detector, without specifically establishing the cause of the anomaly. A signal recorded from process instrumentation is said to have an anomaly, if during steady-state operation, the deviation in the level of the signal, its root-mean-square (RMS) value, or its statistical distribution changes by a preset value. This deviation could be an unacceptable increase or a decrease in the quantity being monitored. An anomaly in a signal may be characterized by wideband or single-frequency noise, bias error, pulse-type error, nonsymmetric behavior, or a change in the signal bandwidth. Various signatures can be easily computed from data samples and compared against specified threshold values. We want to point out that in real processes, pulses can appear with different time widths, and at different rates of change of the signal. Thus, in characterizing an anomaly as a pulse-type, the fastest pulse width is constrained by the signal sampling interval. For example, if a signal is sampled at 100 Hz, we will not be able to detect pulses occurring at kHz rates. Discussion with utility and Combustion Engineering personnel indicated that it is not practical to detect pulses having a narrow time width. 9 refs., 11 figs., 8 tabs

Novel vehicle detection system based on stacked DoG kernel and AdaBoost

Science.gov (United States)

Kang, Hyun Ho; Lee, Seo Won; You, Sung Hyun

2018-01-01

This paper proposes a novel vehicle detection system that can overcome some limitations of typical vehicle detection systems using AdaBoost-based methods. The performance of the AdaBoost-based vehicle detection system is dependent on its training data. Thus, its performance decreases when the shape of a target differs from its training data, or the pattern of a preceding vehicle is not visible in the image due to the light conditions. A stacked Difference of Gaussian (DoG)–based feature extraction algorithm is proposed to address this issue by recognizing common characteristics, such as the shadow and rear wheels beneath vehicles—of vehicles under various conditions. The common characteristics of vehicles are extracted by applying the stacked DoG shaped kernel obtained from the 3D plot of an image through a convolution method and investigating only certain regions that have a similar patterns. A new vehicle detection system is constructed by combining the novel stacked DoG feature extraction algorithm with the AdaBoost method. Experiments are provided to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed vehicle detection system under different conditions. PMID:29513727

Detection Range of Airborne Magnetometers in Magnetic Anomaly Detection

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Chengjing Li

2015-11-01

Full Text Available Airborne magnetometers are utilized for the small-range search, precise positioning, and identification of the ferromagnetic properties of underwater targets. As an important performance parameter of sensors, the detection range of airborne magnetometers is commonly set as a fixed value in references regardless of the influences of environment noise, target magnetic properties, and platform features in a classical model to detect airborne magnetic anomalies. As a consequence, deviation in detection ability analysis is observed. In this study, a novel detection range model is proposed on the basis of classic detection range models of airborne magnetometers. In this model, probability distribution is applied, and the magnetic properties of targets and the environment noise properties of a moving submarine are considered. The detection range model is also constructed by considering the distribution of the moving submarine during detection. A cell-averaging greatest-of-constant false alarm rate test method is also used to calculate the detection range of the model at a desired false alarm rate. The detection range model is then used to establish typical submarine search probabilistic models. Results show that the model can be used to evaluate not only the effects of ambient magnetic noise but also the moving and geomagnetic features of the target and airborne detection platform. The model can also be utilized to display the actual operating range of sensor systems.

Real-time, in-situ detection of volatile profiles for the prevention of aflatoxin fungal contamination in pistachios

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Bond, Tiziana C. [Lawrence Livermore National Lab. (LLNL), Livermore, CA (United States). Center of Micro and Nano Technology, Material Engineering Division; Chang, Allan [Lawrence Livermore National Lab. (LLNL), Livermore, CA (United States). Center of Micro and Nano Technology, Material Engineering Division; Zhou, Jenny [Lawrence Livermore National Lab. (LLNL), Livermore, CA (United States). Center of Micro and Nano Technology, Material Engineering Division

2017-10-18

The objective in this project is to provide a proof of concept will demonstrate the feasibility of a Raman, in-situ warning system for detecting and removing developing fungal hot spots from pistachio stockpiles and transit containers, thus decreasing human health risks and product loss as a result of contamination. The proposed project has the following goals: to calibrate the Raman fingerprinting of biomarkers, standalone and in premixed samples, to build a database with the vibrational profiles distinctive to the signatures of the bouquet emitted by the contaminated pistachios; to test the improvement in the detection of the detectable markers with enhanced Raman on a small probe.

Detection of Human Ig G Using Photoluminescent Porous Silicon Interferometer.

Science.gov (United States)

Cho, Bomin; Kim, Seongwoong; Woo, Hee-Gweon; Kim, Sungsoo; Sohn, Honglae

2015-02-01

Photoluminescent porous silicon (PSi) interferometers having dual optical properties, both Fabry-Pérot fringe and photolumincence (PL), have been developed and used as biosensors for detection of Human Immunoglobin G (Ig G). PSi samples were prepared by electrochemical etching of p-type silicon under white light exposure. The surface of PSi was characterized using a cold field emission scanning electron microscope. The sensor system studied consisted of a single layer of porous silicon modified with Protein A. The system was probed with various fragments of aqueous human immunoglobin G (Ig G) analyte. Both reflectivity and PL were simultaneously measured under the exposure of human Ig G. An increase of optical thickness and decrease of PL were obtained under the exposure of human Ig G. Detection limit of 500 fM was observed for the human Ig G.

Graphene oxide and DNA aptamer based sub-nanomolar potassium detecting optical nanosensor

Science.gov (United States)

Datta, Debopam; Sarkar, Ketaki; Mukherjee, Souvik; Meshik, Xenia; Stroscio, Michael A.; Dutta, Mitra

2017-08-01

Quantum-dot (QD) based nanosensors are frequently used by researchers to detect small molecules, ions and different biomolecules. In this article, we present a sensor complex/system comprised of deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) aptamer, gold nanoparticle and semiconductor QD, attached to a graphene oxide (GO) flake for detection of potassium. As reported herein, it is demonstrated that QD-aptamer-quencher nanosensor functions even when tethered to GO, opening the way to future applications where sensing can be accomplished simultaneously with other previously demonstrated applications of GO such as serving as a nanocarrier for drug delivery. Herein, it is demonstrated that the DNA based thrombin binding aptamer used in this study undergoes the conformational change needed for sensing even when the nanosensor complex is anchored to the GO. Analysis with the Hill equation indicates the interaction between aptamer and potassium follows sigmoidal Hill kinetics. It is found that the quenching efficiency of the optical sensor is linear with the logarithm of concentration from 1 pM to 100 nM and decreases for higher concentration due to unavailability of aptamer binding sites. Such a simple and sensitive optical aptasensor with minimum detection capability of 1.96 pM for potassium ion can also be employed in-vitro detection of different physiological ions, pathogens and disease detection methods.

Decreased HIV diversity after allogeneic stem cell transplantation of an HIV-1 infected patient: a case report

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Thielen Alexander

2010-03-01

Full Text Available Abstract The human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1 coreceptor use and viral evolution were analyzed in blood samples from an HIV-1 infected patient undergoing allogeneic stem cell transplantation (SCT. Coreceptor use was predicted in silico from sequence data obtained from the third variable loop region of the viral envelope gene with two software tools. Viral diversity and evolution was evaluated on the same samples by Bayesian inference and maximum likelihood methods. In addition, phenotypic analysis was done by comparison of viral growth in peripheral blood mononuclear cells and in a CCR5 (R5-deficient T-cell line which was controlled by a reporter assay confirming viral tropism. In silico coreceptor predictions did not match experimental determinations that showed a consistent R5 tropism. Anti-HIV directed antibodies could be detected before and after the SCT. These preexisting antibodies did not prevent viral rebound after the interruption of antiretroviral therapy during the SCT. Eventually, transplantation and readministration of anti-retroviral drugs lead to sustained increase in CD4 counts and decreased viral load to undetectable levels. Unexpectedly, viral diversity decreased after successful SCT. Our data evidence that only R5-tropic virus was found in the patient before and after transplantation. Therefore, blocking CCR5 receptor during stem cell transplantation might have had beneficial effects and this might apply to more patients undergoing allogeneic stem cell transplantation. Furthermore, we revealed a scenario of HIV-1 dynamic different from the commonly described ones. Analysis of viral evolution shows the decrease of viral diversity even during episodes with bursts in viral load.

Defeating crypsis: detection and learning of camouflage strategies.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jolyon Troscianko

Full Text Available Camouflage is perhaps the most widespread defence against predators in nature and an active area of interdisciplinary research. Recent work has aimed to understand what camouflage types exist (e.g. background matching, disruptive, and distractive patterns and their effectiveness. However, work has almost exclusively focused on the efficacy of these strategies in preventing initial detection, despite the fact that predators often encounter the same prey phenotype repeatedly, affording them opportunities to learn to find those prey more effectively. The overall value of a camouflage strategy may, therefore, reflect both its ability to prevent detection by predators and resist predator learning. We conducted four experiments with humans searching for hidden targets of different camouflage types (disruptive, distractive, and background matching of various contrast levels over a series of touch screen trials. As with previous work, disruptive coloration was the most successful method of concealment overall, especially with relatively high contrast patterns, whereas potentially distractive markings were either neutral or costly. However, high contrast patterns incurred faster decreases in detection times over trials compared to other stimuli. In addition, potentially distractive markings were sometimes learnt more slowly than background matching markings, despite being found more readily overall. Finally, learning effects were highly dependent upon the experimental paradigm, including the number of prey types seen and whether subjects encountered targets simultaneously or sequentially. Our results show that the survival advantage of camouflage strategies reflects both their ability to avoid initial detection (sensory mechanisms and predator learning (perceptual mechanisms.

Domain similarity based orthology detection.

Science.gov (United States)

Bitard-Feildel, Tristan; Kemena, Carsten; Greenwood, Jenny M; Bornberg-Bauer, Erich

2015-05-13

Orthologous protein detection software mostly uses pairwise comparisons of amino-acid sequences to assert whether two proteins are orthologous or not. Accordingly, when the number of sequences for comparison increases, the number of comparisons to compute grows in a quadratic order. A current challenge of bioinformatic research, especially when taking into account the increasing number of sequenced organisms available, is to make this ever-growing number of comparisons computationally feasible in a reasonable amount of time. We propose to speed up the detection of orthologous proteins by using strings of domains to characterize the proteins. We present two new protein similarity measures, a cosine and a maximal weight matching score based on domain content similarity, and new software, named porthoDom. The qualities of the cosine and the maximal weight matching similarity measures are compared against curated datasets. The measures show that domain content similarities are able to correctly group proteins into their families. Accordingly, the cosine similarity measure is used inside porthoDom, the wrapper developed for proteinortho. porthoDom makes use of domain content similarity measures to group proteins together before searching for orthologs. By using domains instead of amino acid sequences, the reduction of the search space decreases the computational complexity of an all-against-all sequence comparison. We demonstrate that representing and comparing proteins as strings of discrete domains, i.e. as a concatenation of their unique identifiers, allows a drastic simplification of search space. porthoDom has the advantage of speeding up orthology detection while maintaining a degree of accuracy similar to proteinortho. The implementation of porthoDom is released using python and C++ languages and is available under the GNU GPL licence 3 at http://www.bornberglab.org/pages/porthoda .

Hydrogel based QCM aptasensor for detection of avian influenza virus.