Improving the Keeping Quality and Vase Life of Cut Alstroemeria Flowers by Pre and Post-harvest Salicylic Acid Treatments

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Elnaz SOLEIMANY-FARD

2013-08-01

Full Text Available Keeping quality and length of vase life are important factors for evaluation of cut flowers quality, for both domestic and export markets. Studding the effect of pre- and post-harvest salicylic acid applications on keeping quality and vase life of cut alstroemeria flowers during vase period is the approach taken. Aqueous solutions of salicylic acid at 0.0 (with distilled water, 1, 2 and 3 mM were sprayed to run-off (approximately 500 mL per plant, about two weeks before flowers harvest. The cut flowers were harvested in the early morning and both of cut flowers treated (sprayed and untreated were kept in vase solutions containing salicylic acid at 0.0 (with distilled water, 1, 2 and 3 mM. Sucrose at 4% was added to all treatments as a base solution. The changes in relative fresh weight, water uptake, water loss, water balance, total chlorophyll content and vase life were estimated during vase period. The results showed that the relative fresh weight, water uptake, water balance, total chlorophyll content and vase life decreased significantly while the water loss increased significantly during experiment for all treatments. A significant difference between salicylic acid and control treatments in all measured parameters is observed. During vase period, the salicylic acid treatments maintained significantly a more favourable relative fresh weight, water uptake, water balance, total chlorophyll content and supressed significantly water loss, as compared to control treatment. Also, the results showed that the using salicylic acid increased significantly the vase life cut alstroemeria flowers, over control. The highest values of measured parameters were found when plants were treated by pre + post-harvest application of salicylic acid at 3 mM. The result revealed that the quality attributes and vase life of cut alstroemeria flowers were improved by the use of salicylic acid treatment.

Quality of life and communication in orthognathic treatment.

Science.gov (United States)

Catt, Susan L; Ahmad, Sofia; Collyer, Jeremy; Hardwick, Lauren; Shah, Nahush; Winchester, Lindsay

2018-06-01

The primary aim was to determine what, if any, relationships exist between communication and quality of life in patients receiving orthognathic treatment since this has not been explored. A secondary aim was to compare the Quality of Life (QoL) of a pre-treatment sample with those at 2 years post-surgery. A cross-sectional questionnaire method was used. Outpatient clinics providing orthognathic treatment at four UK hospital sites. Two separate samples of pre-treatment (n = 73) and 2-year post-surgery (n = 78) patients participated in the study. At clinic appointments, all eligible patients were invited to complete the Orthognathic Quality of Life Questionnaire (OQLQ), a previously validated condition-specific quality of life measure. At the same time, participants at the 2-year post-surgery stage also completed a second short questionnaire, the Communication Assessment Tool-Team (CAT-T), where they rated the quality of communication they had received during treatment. One hundred and fifty-one complete responses were received. The average age was 24.5 years (S.D. 9.77) and the majority (67%) were female in both groups. Statistically significant associations were found between QoL and quality of communication in the treated sample. Findings also showed a comparatively poorer QoL for the pre-treatment participants. This reduced QoL was more pronounced in females than males for all aspects except dentofacial appearance. There was an improvement in QoL for patients at 2 years post-surgery compared to pre-treatment. There is an association between QoL and quality of communication as reported by participants at 2 years post-surgery. These novel findings are similar to outcomes in other patient settings such as oncology, but further investigation is required to establish the direction of cause and effect.

Multicentre validation of IMRT pre-treatment verification: Comparison of in-house and external audit

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jornet, Núria; Carrasco, Pablo; Beltrán, Mercè; Calvo, Juan Francisco; Escudé, Lluís; Hernández, Victor; Quera, Jaume; Sáez, Jordi

2014-01-01

Background and purpose: We performed a multicentre intercomparison of IMRT optimisation and dose planning and IMRT pre-treatment verification methods and results. The aims were to check consistency between dose plans and to validate whether in-house pre-treatment verification results agreed with those of an external audit. Materials and methods: Participating centres used two mock cases (prostate and head and neck) for the intercomparison and audit. Compliance to dosimetric goals and total number of MU per plan were collected. A simple quality index to compare the different plans was proposed. We compared gamma index pass rates using the centre’s equipment and methodology to those of an external audit. Results: While for the prostate case, all centres fulfilled the dosimetric goals and plan quality was homogeneous, that was not the case for the head and neck case. The number of MU did not correlate with the plan quality index. Pre-treatment verifications results of the external audit did not agree with those of the in-house measurements for two centres: being within tolerance for in-house measurements and unacceptable for the audit or the other way round. Conclusions: Although all plans fulfilled dosimetric constraints, plan quality is highly dependent on the planner expertise. External audits are an excellent tool to detect errors in IMRT implementation and cannot be replaced by intercomparison using results obtained by centres

NAGC Pre-K-Grade 12 Gifted Education Programming Standards: A Guide to Planning and Implementing High-Quality Services

Science.gov (United States)

Johnsen, Susan K., Ed.

2012-01-01

The new Pre-K-Grade 12 Gifted Education Programming Standards should be part of every school district's repertoire of standards to ensure that the learning needs of advanced students are being met. "NAGC Pre-K-Grade 12 Gifted Education Programming Standards: A Guide to Planning and Implementing High-Quality Services" details six standards that…

EFFECT OF PRE-TREATMENT ON THE DRYING KINETICS AND PRODUCT QUALITY OF STAR FRUIT SLICES

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CHING LIK HII

2014-02-01

Full Text Available Start fruit (Avverhoa carambola is rich in nutrients and contains dietary antioxidants which are beneficial to human health. Currently, the commercial potential of this fruit has not been fully explored especially in its dried form. The objectives of this research were to investigate the effect of pre-treatment on the drying kinetics and product quality of star fruit slices. The various pre-treatment methods investigated were hot water blanching and dipping in sugar solution. The star fruit was cut into thin slices (5 mm for drying (60°C-80°C using a hot air ventilated oven. Mathematical modelling showed that the Page model was able to describe the moisture diffusion process during drying. Effective diffusivity values were found within the order reported for most food materials (10-8-10-12 m2/s. A decreasing trend in shrinkage ratios was observed with decreasing moisture ratios which corresponds to the greater rate of moisture removal especially at the falling rate period. Overall colour changes were more significant in the blanched samples which could be due to the non-enzymatic browning.

Silane pre-treatments on copper and aluminium

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Deflorian, F.; Rossi, S.; Fedrizzi, L.

2006-01-01

A large part of aluminium products are coated with an organic layer in order to improve the corrosion resistance. Copper surfaces are also sometimes protected with an organic coating to improve the durability or the aesthetic properties. Examples of industrial applications are household appliances and heat exchanger components. For these applications it is not rare to have the industrial need to treat at the same time components made of aluminium and copper. In order to extend the service life of the organic coated copper a specific surface pre-treatment is often required. Nevertheless, probably because of the limited market of this application, no specific pre-treatments for copper are industrially developed, with the exception of cleaning procedures, but simply extensions of existing pre-treatments optimised for other metals (aluminium, zinc) are used. The application of silane pre-treatments as adhesion promoters for organic coated metals is remarkably increasing in the last decade, because silanes offer very good performance together with high environmental compatibility. The idea is therefore to try to develop a specific silane based pre-treatment for copper. The starting point is the existing silane products for aluminium, optimising the composition and the application conditions (concentration, temperature, pH of the bath, etc.) in order to develop a high performance copper alloy pre-treatment increasing the protective properties and the adhesion of a successively applied organic coating. Moreover these pre-treatments could be used for aluminium alloys too and therefore could be suggested for multi-metals components. The deposits were analysed using FTIR spectroscopy and optical and electron microscopic observations. A careful electrochemical characterisation, mainly by electrochemical impedance spectroscopy measurements (EIS) was carried out to highlight the presence of silane and to evaluate the performance of the different deposits. In order to study an

Effect of copper surface pre-treatment on the properties of CVD grown graphene

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Min-Sik Kim

2014-12-01

Full Text Available Here, we report the synthesis of high quality monolayer graphene on the pre-treated copper (Cu foil by chemical vapor deposition method. The pre-treatment process, which consists of pre-annealing in a hydrogen ambient, followed by diluted nitric acid etching of Cu foil, helps in removing impurities. These impurities include native copper oxide and rolling lines that act as a nucleation center for multilayer graphene. Raman mapping of our graphene grown on pre-treated Cu foil primarily consisted of ∼98% a monolayer graphene with as compared to 75 % for the graphene grown on untreated Cu foil. A high hydrogen flow rate during the pre-annealing process resulted in an increased I2D/IG ratio of graphene up to 3.55. Uniform monolayer graphene was obtained with a I2D/IG ratio and sheet resistance varying from 1.84 – 3.39 and 1110 – 1290 Ω/□, respectively.

How the detector resolution affects the clinical significance of SBRT pre-treatment quality assurance results.

Science.gov (United States)

Bruschi, A; Esposito, M; Pini, S; Ghirelli, A; Zatelli, G; Russo, S

2017-12-01

Aim of this work was to study how the detector resolution can affect the clinical significance of SBRT pre-treatment volumetric modulated arc therapy (VMAT) verification results. Three detectors (PTW OCTAVIUS 4D 729, 1500 and 100 SRS) used in five configurations with different resolution were compared: 729, 729 merged, 1500, 1500 merged and 1000 SRS. Absolute local gamma passing rates of 3D pre-treatment quality assurance (QA) were evaluated for 150 dose distributions in 30 plans. Five different kinds of error were introduced in order to establish the detection sensitivity of the three devices. Percentage dosimetric differences were evaluated between planned dosevolume histogram (DVH) and patients' predicted DVH calculated by PTW DVH 4D® software. The mean gamma passing rates and the standard deviations were 92.4% ± 3.7%, 94.6% ± 1.8%, 95.3% ± 4.2%, 97.4% ± 2.5% and 97.6% ± 1.4 respectively for 729, 729 merged, 1500, 1500 merged and 1000 SRS with 2% local dose/2mm criterion. The same trend was found on the sensitivity analysis: using a tight gamma analysis criterion (2%L/1mm) only the 1000 SRS detected every kind of error, while 729 and 1500 merged detected three and four kinds of error respectively. Regarding dose metrics extracted from DVH curves, D50% was within the tolerance level in more than 90% of cases only for the 1000 SRS. The detector resolution can significantly affect the clinical significance of SBRT pre-treatment verification results. The choice of a detector with resolution suitable to the investigated field size is of main importance to avoid getting false positive. Copyright © 2017 Associazione Italiana di Fisica Medica. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Removal of dissolved organic matter in municipal effluent with ozonation, slow sand filtration and nanofiltration as high quality pre-treatment option for artificial groundwater recharge.

Science.gov (United States)

Linlin, Wu; Xuan, Zhao; Meng, Zhang

2011-04-01

In the paper the combination process of ozonation, slow sand filtration (SSF) and nanofiltration (NF) was investigated with respect to dissolved organic matter (DOM) removal as high quality pre-treatment option for artificial groundwater recharge. With the help of ozonation leading to breakdown of the large organic molecules, SSF preferentially removes soluble microbial by-product-like substances and DOM with molecular weight (MW) less than 1.0 kDa. NF, however, removes aromatic, humic acid-like and fulvic acid-like substances efficiently and specially removes DOM with MW above 1.0 kDa. The residual DOM of the membrane permeate is dominated by small organics with MW 500 Da, which can be further reduced by the aquifer treatment, despite of the very low concentration. Consequently, the O(3)/SSF/NF system offers a complementary process in DOM removal. Dissolved organic carbon (DOC) and trihalomethane formation potential (THMFP) can be reduced from 6.5±1.1 to 0.7±0.3 mg L(-1) and from 267±24 to 52±6 μg L(-1), respectively. The very low DOC concentration of 0.6±0.2 mg L(-1) and THMFP of 44±4 μg L(-1) can be reached after the aquifer treatment. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Multi-centre audit of VMAT planning and pre-treatment verification.

Science.gov (United States)

Jurado-Bruggeman, Diego; Hernández, Victor; Sáez, Jordi; Navarro, David; Pino, Francisco; Martínez, Tatiana; Alayrach, Maria-Elena; Ailleres, Norbert; Melero, Alejandro; Jornet, Núria

2017-08-01

We performed a multi-centre intercomparison of VMAT dose planning and pre-treatment verification. The aims were to analyse the dose plans in terms of dosimetric quality and deliverability, and to validate whether in-house pre-treatment verification results agreed with those of an external audit. The nine participating centres encompassed different machines, equipment, and methodologies. Two mock cases (prostate and head and neck) were planned using one and two arcs. A plan quality index was defined to compare the plans and different complexity indices were calculated to check their deliverability. We compared gamma index pass rates using the centre's equipment and methodology to those of an external audit (global 3D gamma, absolute dose differences, 10% of maximum dose threshold). Log-file analysis was performed to look for delivery errors. All centres fulfilled the dosimetric goals but plan quality and delivery complexity were heterogeneous and uncorrelated, depending on the manufacturer and the planner's methodology. Pre-treatment verifications results were within tolerance in all cases for gamma 3%-3mm evaluation. Nevertheless, differences between the external audit and in-house measurements arose due to different equipment or methodology, especially for 2%-2mm criteria with differences up to 20%. No correlation was found between complexity indices and verification results amongst centres. All plans fulfilled dosimetric constraints, but plan quality and complexity did not correlate and were strongly dependent on the planner and the vendor. In-house measurements cannot completely replace external audits for credentialing. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Effect of safe environmental pre and post harvest treatments and irradiation on handling of some fruits

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nawito, M.A.A.

2008-01-01

The present study was carried out during two successive seasons of 2005 and 2006 seasons on M ontakhab El-Kanater g uavas and H achiya p ersimmons.two different experiments were studied, the first one for pre harvest and second post harvest. Regarding pre harvest experiment,hand or chemical flower thinning by urea or ethrel and date of fruit picking (maturity) were evaluated on both guavas and persimmons.All flower thinning treatments increased fruit set,total yield,average fruit weight and decreased fruit abscission.However,a great effect on fruit quality and chemical compositions were also found with flower thinning treatments. Chemical flower thinning was more effective than hand thinning in improving yield and quality in M ontakhab El-Kanater g uavas and H achiya p ersimmons. However,early maturation(120 and 150 days for guava and persimmon respect.) produced poor fruit quality.Whereas, medium maturity(130 and 180 days for guava and persimmon respect.) produced fruit with high quality.However,late picking(140 and 210 days for guava and persimmon respect.) produced fruits with less marketability. On the other side, post harvest treatments including irradiation of fruits with or without pre-cooling process at 0.2,0.4,and 0.8 K.Gy for guavas and 1.5, 2.5 and 3.5 K.Gy for persimmons. Also,hot water at 45 degree C, fungicide at 0.5 and 1.0 g/L.and ethanol vapor at 25 and 50% were evaluated on both fruits. The obtained data were evaluated on discarded fruits %, weight loss %, fruit firmness,fruit marketability, total soluble solids,acidity,L-ascorbic acid (guava), tannins (persimmon), total sugars and fruit respiration. All supplementary refrigeration treatments improved fruit quality during cold storage but ethanol vapor either 25 or 50 % were more effective than other treatments

Effect of safe environmental pre and post harvest treatments and irradiation on handling of some fruits

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Nawito, M A.A. [National Center for Radiation Research and Technology, Atomic Energy Authority, Cairo (Egypt)

2008-07-01

The present study was carried out during two successive seasons of 2005 and 2006 seasons on{sup M}ontakhab El-Kanater{sup g}uavas and{sup H}achiya{sup p}ersimmons.two different experiments were studied, the first one for pre harvest and second post harvest. Regarding pre harvest experiment,hand or chemical flower thinning by urea or ethrel and date of fruit picking (maturity) were evaluated on both guavas and persimmons.All flower thinning treatments increased fruit set,total yield,average fruit weight and decreased fruit abscission.However,a great effect on fruit quality and chemical compositions were also found with flower thinning treatments. Chemical flower thinning was more effective than hand thinning in improving yield and quality in {sup M}ontakhab El-Kanater{sup g}uavas and {sup H}achiya{sup p}ersimmons. However,early maturation(120 and 150 days for guava and persimmon respect.) produced poor fruit quality.Whereas, medium maturity(130 and 180 days for guava and persimmon respect.) produced fruit with high quality.However,late picking(140 and 210 days for guava and persimmon respect.) produced fruits with less marketability. On the other side, post harvest treatments including irradiation of fruits with or without pre-cooling process at 0.2,0.4,and 0.8 K.Gy for guavas and 1.5, 2.5 and 3.5 K.Gy for persimmons. Also,hot water at 45 degree C, fungicide at 0.5 and 1.0 g/L.and ethanol vapor at 25 and 50% were evaluated on both fruits. The obtained data were evaluated on discarded fruits %, weight loss %, fruit firmness,fruit marketability, total soluble solids,acidity,L-ascorbic acid (guava), tannins (persimmon), total sugars and fruit respiration. All supplementary refrigeration treatments improved fruit quality during cold storage but ethanol vapor either 25 or 50 % were more effective than other treatments.

Selected chemical composition changes in microwave-convective dried parsley leaves affected by ultrasound and steaming pre-treatments - An optimization approach.

Science.gov (United States)

Dadan, Magdalena; Rybak, Katarzyna; Wiktor, Artur; Nowacka, Malgorzata; Zubernik, Joanna; Witrowa-Rajchert, Dorota

2018-01-15

Parsley leaves contain a high amount of bioactive components (especially lutein), therefore it is crucial to select the most appropriate pre-treatment and drying conditions, in order to obtain high quality of dried leaves, which was the aim of this study. The optimization was done using response surface methodology (RSM) for the following factors: microwave power (100, 200, 300W), air temperature (20, 30, 40°C) and pre-treatment variant (ultrasound, steaming and dipping as a control). Total phenolic content (TPC), antioxidant activity, chlorophyll and lutein contents (using UPLC-PDA) were determined in dried leaves. The analysed responses were dependent on the applied drying parameters and the pre-treatment type. The possibility of ultrasound and steam treatment application was proven and the optimal processing conditions were selected. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Ethephon As a Potential Abscission Agent for Table Grapes: Effects on Pre-Harvest Abscission, Fruit Quality, and Residue

Science.gov (United States)

Ferrara, Giuseppe; Mazzeo, Andrea; Matarrese, Angela M. S.; Pacucci, Carmela; Trani, Antonio; Fidelibus, Matthew W.; Gambacorta, Giuseppe

2016-01-01

Some plant growth regulators, including ethephon, can stimulate abscission of mature grape berries. The stimulation of grape berry abscission reduces fruit detachment force (FDF) and promotes the development of a dry stem scar, both of which could facilitate the production of high quality stemless fresh-cut table grapes. The objective of this research was to determine how two potential abscission treatments, 1445 and 2890 mg/L ethephon, affected FDF, pre-harvest abscission, fruit quality, and ethephon residue of Thompson Seedless and Crimson Seedless grapes. Both ethephon treatments strongly induced abscission of Thompson Seedless berries causing >90% pre-harvest abscission. Lower ethephon rates, a shorter post-harvest interval, or berry retention systems such as nets, would be needed to prevent excessive pre-harvest losses. The treatments also slightly affected Thompson Seedless berry skin color, with treated fruit being darker, less uniform in color, and with a more yellow hue than non-treated fruit. Ethephon residues on Thompson Seedless grapes treated with the lower concentration of ethephon were below legal limits at harvest. Ethephon treatments also promoted abscission of Crimson Seedless berries, but pre-harvest abscission was much lower (≅49%) in Crimson Seedless compared to Thompson Seedless. Treated fruits were slightly darker than non-treated fruits, but ethephon did not affect SSC, acidity, or firmness of Crimson Seedless, and ethephon residues were below legal limits. PMID:27303407

Sludge pre-treatment with pulsed electric fields

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kopplow, O.; Barjenbruch, M.; Heinz, V.

2003-07-01

The anaerobic stabilization process depends - among others - on the bio-availability of organic carbon. Through pre-treatment of the sludge which leads to the destruction of micro-organisms and to the setting-free of cell content substances (disintegration), the carbon can be microbially converted better and faster. Moreover, effects on the digestion are likely. However, only little experience is available in the sludge treatment with pulsed electric fields. Laboratory-scale digestion tests have been run to analyse the influence of pulsed electric fields on the properties of sludge, anaerobic degradation, sludge water reload and foaming of digesters. The results will be compared with those of other disintegration methods (high pressure homogenise, thermal treatment). The effect of pre-treatment on the sludge is shown by the COD release. Degrees of disintegration have been achieved up to 20%. The specific energy input was high. The energy consumption has been decreased by initial improvements (pre-heating to 55{sup o}C). The filament bacteria were partially destroyed. The foam reduction in the digesters was marginal. The anaerobic degradation performance has been improved in every case. The degradation rate of organic matter increased about 9%. Due to the increase of degradation, there is a higher reload of the sludge-water with COD and nitrogen compounds. (author)

Influence of Pre-trimethylindium flow treatment on blue light emitting diode

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Xu, Bing; Zhao, Jun Liang; Dai, Hai Tao; Wang, Shu Guo; Lin, Ray-Ming; Chu, Fu-Chuan; Huang, Chou-Hsiung; Yu, Sheng-Fu; Sun, Xiao Wei

2014-01-01

The effects of Pre-trimethylindium (TMIn) flow treatment prior to quantum well growth on blue light emitting diode properties were investigated. High-resolution X-ray diffraction indicated that Pre-TMIn flow treatment did not change the composition of indium in quantum wells, but influenced electrical and optical properties of blue light emitting diode. Electroluminescence exhibited redshift with increasing TMIn treatment time. Though, the forward voltage became a little larger with longer Pre-TMIn treatment time due to the slight phase separation and indium aggregation, the efficiency droop of the device was improved effectively. - Highlights: • Pre-trimethylindium treatment can lead to longer wavelength. • External quantum efficiency can be improved effectively. • Electrical properties are not decreased using Pre-trimethylindium treatment

Influence of Pre-trimethylindium flow treatment on blue light emitting diode

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Xu, Bing; Zhao, Jun Liang [Tianjin Key Laboratory of Low Dimensional Materials Physics and Preparing Technology, School of Science, Tianjin University, Tianjin 300072 (China); Dai, Hai Tao, E-mail: htdai@tju.edu.cn [Tianjin Key Laboratory of Low Dimensional Materials Physics and Preparing Technology, School of Science, Tianjin University, Tianjin 300072 (China); Wang, Shu Guo [Tianjin Key Laboratory of Low Dimensional Materials Physics and Preparing Technology, School of Science, Tianjin University, Tianjin 300072 (China); Lin, Ray-Ming, E-mail: rmlin@mail.cgu.edu.tw [Graduate Institute of Electronic Engineering and Green Technology Research Center, Chang Gung University, Taoyuan 333, Taiwan (China); Chu, Fu-Chuan; Huang, Chou-Hsiung [Graduate Institute of Electronic Engineering and Green Technology Research Center, Chang Gung University, Taoyuan 333, Taiwan (China); Yu, Sheng-Fu [Institute of Microelectronics and Department of Electrical Engineering, Center for Micro/Nano Science and Technology, Advanced Optoelectronic Technology Center, National Cheng Kung University, Tainan 70101, Taiwan (China); Sun, Xiao Wei, E-mail: xwsun@sustc.edu.cn [South University of Science and Technology of China, Shenzhen, Guangdong (China)

2014-01-31

The effects of Pre-trimethylindium (TMIn) flow treatment prior to quantum well growth on blue light emitting diode properties were investigated. High-resolution X-ray diffraction indicated that Pre-TMIn flow treatment did not change the composition of indium in quantum wells, but influenced electrical and optical properties of blue light emitting diode. Electroluminescence exhibited redshift with increasing TMIn treatment time. Though, the forward voltage became a little larger with longer Pre-TMIn treatment time due to the slight phase separation and indium aggregation, the efficiency droop of the device was improved effectively. - Highlights: • Pre-trimethylindium treatment can lead to longer wavelength. • External quantum efficiency can be improved effectively. • Electrical properties are not decreased using Pre-trimethylindium treatment.

Pre-incubation of porcine semen reduces the incidence of polyspermy on embryos derived from low quality oocytes

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Cláudio Francisco Brogni

2016-06-01

Full Text Available ABSTRACT: The main cause of low efficiency of in vitro produced porcine embryos is the high polyspermic penetration rates at fertilization, which is aggravated in low quality oocytes. Experiment 1 evaluated the embryo development in high and low quality oocytes. Experiment 2 evaluated the embryo development and quality of low quality oocytes fertilized with sperm pre-incubated during 0h (control, 0.5h, 1h and 1.5h. Experiment 3 investigated fertilization and monospermic rates of the same groups of Experiment 2. Experiment 4 evaluated embryo development, cell density, fertilization and monospermic rates of high quality oocytes using semen pre incubated during the best time observed in the previous experiments. Cleavage and blastocyst rates were analyzed by chi-square test, and remaining data by ANOVA and Tukey test (P≤0.05. The cleavage (74.8 vs 51.7% and blastocyst (33.7 vs 9.8% rates were greater in oocytes of high versus low quality, with no differences in cell density. Fertilization rates (65.6 to 79.5% were not influenced by pre-incubation time. However, semen pre-incubation during 1.5h increased monospermic penetration (53.3% and cleavage rates (92.5% in low quality oocytes. Blastocyst rate was improved with 1.5h of semen pre incubation; however they were still lower than that observed with high quality control oocytes. Ultimately, pre-incubation did not influence fertilization, monospermic penetration, embryo development rates, nor cell density in oocytes of high quality. Low-quality porcine oocytes resulted in better rates of embryo development if in vitro fertilized with sperm pre-incubated for 1.5 hour.

Effects of pre-treatment technologies on quantity and quality of source-sorted municipal organic waste for biogas recovery

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Hansen, Trine Lund; Jansen, J.l.C.; Davidsson, Å.

2007-01-01

, collection bag material (plastic or paper) and easily degradable organic matter. Furthermore, the particle size of the biomass was related to the pre-treatment technology. The content of plastic in the biomass depended both on the actual collection bag material used in the system and the pre......Source-sorted municipal organic waste collected from different dwelling types in five Danish cities and pre-treated at three different plants was sampled and characterized several times during one year to investigate the origin of any differences in composition of the pre-treated waste introduced...... by city, pre-treatment technology, dwelling type or annual season. The investigated pre-treatment technologies were screw press, disc screen and shredder + magnet. The average quantity of pre-treated organic waste (biomass) produced from the incoming waste varied between the investigated pre...

Effects of pre-harvest methyl jasmonate treatment on post-harvest ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

... quality and bioactive compounds of three different Japanese plums under storage conditions. Materials and Methods: The effects of pre-harvest methyl jasmonate treatment (MeJA) on weight loss, color characteristics (L*, C* and h°), firmness, soluble solids content (SSC), titratable acidity (TA), total phenolics (TP) and total ...

Process Control of Pre-Sowing Seed Treatment by Pulsed Electric Field

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Starodubtseva Galina Petrovna

2018-03-01

Full Text Available Presented paper investigates the application of a line voltage changer to an installation for pre-sowing seed treatment by pulsed electric field (PEF in order to increase the sowing quality of seeds and to suppress pathogenic microflora. The installation comprises an AC voltage regulator, a high voltage source, a voltage inverter, a working chamber for seed treatment, a control unit, and current and voltage sensors. The proposed installation differs from the existing apparatuses as it automatically provides the transformation of the pulsed electric field parameters by constant monitoring of power processes in a layer of treated seeds and feedback sending to the control unit. Seed treatment efficiency depends on the dose being determined by the parameters of electric field, namely, intensity in the seed layer, pulse duration, pulse repetition frequency, and seed treatment time. The parameters of rational treatment were determined, and the minimum treatment dose was calculated on the basis of results from the laboratory tests on the effect of pulsed electric field on sowing qualities of winter wheat seeds. It was experimentally confirmed that the proposed installation provides automatic transformation of electric field parameters depending on the changes taking place in the seed layer on the example of seeds with different moisture content maintaining the necessary treatment dose, ensuring the stability and repeatability of results.

Effect of different periods of pre-slaughter stress on the quality of the Nile tilapia meat

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Pedro Luiz de CASTRO

2016-01-01

Full Text Available Abstract The study was carried out with the objective of evaluating the influence of pre-slaughter stress on meat quality of Nile tilapia (O. niloticus for 10 days of storage in ice. 75 whole fish were used eviscerated, with average weight and length of 825.75 ± 101.59 g and 28.25 ± 0.81 cm, respectively. The treatments consisted of time in which the animals underwent pre-slaughter hypoxia, being 0, 3 and 6 minutes. Rigor mortis and muscle pH were assessed besides the application of the Quality Index Method and analysis of total protein and blood glucose. Rigor mortis did not differ among treatments during the storage period, and after three hours all animals were in rigor stage. The muscle pH values varied widely during the study period, observing higher values on the third day of storage. Sensory analysis showed that after 10 days the tilapia from the different treatments did not differ in the evaluated quality parameters similarly, there was no difference regarding the evaluated blood biochemical parameters Thus, hypoxia of 6 minutes pre-slaughter does not influence the rigor mortis, muscle pH, qualitative perception of the meat quality, total protein and blood glucose of Nile tilapia.

Effect of different periods of pre-slaughter stress on the quality of the Nile tilapia meat

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Pedro Luiz de CASTRO

Full Text Available Abstract The study was carried out with the objective of evaluating the influence of pre-slaughter stress on meat quality of Nile tilapia (O. niloticus for 10 days of storage in ice. 75 whole fish were used eviscerated, with average weight and length of 825.75 ± 101.59 g and 28.25 ± 0.81 cm, respectively. The treatments consisted of time in which the animals underwent pre-slaughter hypoxia, being 0, 3 and 6 minutes. Rigor mortis and muscle pH were assessed besides the application of the Quality Index Method and analysis of total protein and blood glucose. Rigor mortis did not differ among treatments during the storage period, and after three hours all animals were in rigor stage. The muscle pH values varied widely during the study period, observing higher values on the third day of storage. Sensory analysis showed that after 10 days the tilapia from the different treatments did not differ in the evaluated quality parameters similarly, there was no difference regarding the evaluated blood biochemical parameters Thus, hypoxia of 6 minutes pre-slaughter does not influence the rigor mortis, muscle pH, qualitative perception of the meat quality, total protein and blood glucose of Nile tilapia.

Influence of gamma rays and some pre and post harvest treatments on behavior of some fruits during cold storage

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mahmoud, M.M.

2008-01-01

Apricot fruits usually harvested relatively mature but hard enough to withstand-post harvest handling through the marketing chain. These fruits have considerably lower edible quality than tree-ripened fruit. Fruit quality can be improved by delaying harvest least until physiological maturation is completed on the tree (Bonghi et al. 1999) Apricots containing 11% soluble solids concentration, or higher are in high demand by consumers, as fruit have developed considerable taste, aroma and handling for long distance markets. (Kader, 1999). These fruit will be highly perishable, so rapid cold storage to the lowest safe temperature and supplementary treatments (Mc Donald et al, 1999) such as irradiation with the recommend doses (Sillano et al, 1994) or pre-storage heat treatments will be necessary to retard ripening (mainly softening) during 1-2 weeks post harvest life necessary for distribution to distant markets (Mc Donald et al 1999). Therefore, one can conclude that spraying Canino apricot and Dessert Red peach trees with calcium chloride at 5% or Soya bean oil at 2% showed beneficial effects as pre harvest treatments where they increased fruit firmness and improved fruit quality and prolonged storage and marketing periods as well as decreasing weight loss and percentage of discarded fruits. In addition, spaying Manfaloti pomegrates trees with CaCl 2 solution at 7.5% or Soya bean oil at 4% gained the same results.As for the post harvest treatments, results indicated that subjecting Canino apricots and Dessert Red peaches to gamma radiation at 0.5 K.Gy and pomegrates to 1.0 K.Gy proved to be the best treatments where they reduced respiration rate and loss in fruit weight and improved fruit quality and prolonged both storage and marketing periods

SBR treatment of olive mill wastewaters: dilution or pre-treatment?

Science.gov (United States)

Farabegoli, G; Chiavola, A; Rolle, E

2012-01-01

The olive-oil extraction industry is an economically important activity for many countries of the Mediterranean Sea area, with Spain, Greece and Italy being the major producers. This activity, however, may represent a serious environmental problem due to the discharge of highly polluted effluents, usually referred to as 'olive mill wastewaters' (OMWs). They are characterized by high values of chemical oxygen demand (COD) (80-300 g/L), lipids, total polyphenols (TPP), tannins and other substances difficult to degrade. An adequate treatment before discharging is therefore required to reduce the pollutant load. The aim of the present paper was to evaluate performances of a biological process in a sequencing batch reactor (SBR) fed with pre-treated OMWs. Pre-treatment consisted of a combined acid cracking (AC) and granular activated carbon (GAC) adsorption process. The efficiency of the system was compared with that of an identical SBR fed with the raw wastewater only diluted. Combined AC and GAC adsorption was chosen to be used prior to the following biological process due to its capability of providing high removal efficiencies of COD and TPP and also appreciable improvement of biodegradability. Comparing results obtained with different influents showed that best performances of the SBR were obtained by feeding it with raw diluted OMWs (dOMWs) and at the lowest dilution ratio (1:25): in this case, the removal efficiencies were 90 and 76%, as average, for COD and TPP, respectively. Feeding the SBR with either the pre-treated or the raw dOMWs at 1:50 gave very similar values of COD reduction (74%); however, an improvement of the TPP removal was observed in the former case.

VA residential substance use disorder treatment program providers' perceptions of facilitators and barriers to performance on pre-admission processes.

Science.gov (United States)

Ellerbe, Laura S; Manfredi, Luisa; Gupta, Shalini; Phelps, Tyler E; Bowe, Thomas R; Rubinsky, Anna D; Burden, Jennifer L; Harris, Alex H S

2017-04-04

In the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), residential treatment programs are an important part of the continuum of care for patients with a substance use disorder (SUD). However, a limited number of program-specific measures to identify quality gaps in SUD residential programs exist. This study aimed to: (1) Develop metrics for two pre-admission processes: Wait Time and Engagement While Waiting, and (2) Interview program management and staff about program structures and processes that may contribute to performance on these metrics. The first aim sought to supplement the VA's existing facility-level performance metrics with SUD program-level metrics in order to identify high-value targets for quality improvement. The second aim recognized that not all key processes are reflected in the administrative data, and even when they are, new insight may be gained from viewing these data in the context of day-to-day clinical practice. VA administrative data from fiscal year 2012 were used to calculate pre-admission metrics for 97 programs (63 SUD Residential Rehabilitation Treatment Programs (SUD RRTPs); 34 Mental Health Residential Rehabilitation Treatment Programs (MH RRTPs) with a SUD track). Interviews were then conducted with management and front-line staff to learn what factors may have contributed to high or low performance, relative to the national average for their program type. We hypothesized that speaking directly to residential program staff may reveal innovative practices, areas for improvement, and factors that may explain system-wide variability in performance. Average wait time for admission was 16 days (SUD RRTPs: 17 days; MH RRTPs with a SUD track: 11 days), with 60% of Veterans waiting longer than 7 days. For these Veterans, engagement while waiting occurred in an average of 54% of the waiting weeks (range 3-100% across programs). Fifty-nine interviews representing 44 programs revealed factors perceived to potentially impact performance in

Waste washing pre-treatment of municipal and special waste.

Science.gov (United States)

Cossu, Raffaello; Lai, Tiziana; Pivnenko, Kostyantyn

2012-03-15

Long-term pollution potential in landfills is mainly related to the quality of leachate. Waste can be conveniently treated prior to landfilling with an aim to minimizing future emissions. Washing of waste represents a feasible pre-treatment method focused on controlling the leachable fraction of residues and relevant impact. In this study, non-recyclable plastics originating from source segregation, mechanical-biological treated municipal solid waste (MSW), bottom ash from MSW incineration and automotive shredder residues (ASR) were treated and the removal efficiency of washing pre-treatment prior to landfilling was evaluated. Column tests were performed to simulate the behaviour of waste in landfill under aerobic and anaerobic conditions. The findings obtained revealed how waste washing treatment (WWT) allowed the leachability of contaminants from waste to be reduced. Removal rates exceeding 65% were obtained for dissolved organic carbon (DOC), chemical oxygen demand (COD) and Total Kjeldahl Nitrogen (TKN). A percentage decrease of approximately 60% was reached for the leachable fraction of chlorides, sulphates, fluoride and metals, as proved by a reduction in electric conductivity values (70%). Copyright © 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Establishing High-Quality Prostate Brachytherapy Using a Phantom Simulator Training Program

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Thaker, Nikhil G. [Department of Radiation Oncology, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, Texas (United States); Kudchadker, Rajat J. [Department of Radiation Physics, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, Texas (United States); Swanson, David A. [Department of Urology, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, Texas (United States); Albert, Jeffrey M. [Department of Radiation Oncology, Banner Health, Loveland/Greeley, Colorado (United States); Mahmood, Usama; Pugh, Thomas J.; Boehling, Nicholas S. [Department of Radiation Oncology, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, Texas (United States); Bruno, Teresa L. [Department of Radiation Physics, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, Texas (United States); Prestidge, Bradley R. [Department of Radiation Oncology, Bon Secours Health System, Norfolk, Virginia (United States); Crook, Juanita M. [Department of Radiation Oncology, Cancer Center for the Southern Interior, Kelowna, British Columbia (Canada); Cox, Brett W.; Potters, Louis [Department of Radiation Medicine, North Shore-LIJ Health System, New Hyde Park, New York (United States); Moran, Brian J. [Chicago Prostate Center, Westmont, Illinois (United States); Keyes, Mira [Department of Radiation Oncology, British Columbia Cancer Agency, Vancouver Center, Vancouver, British Columbia (Canada); Kuban, Deborah A. [Department of Radiation Oncology, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, Texas (United States); Frank, Steven J., E-mail: sjfrank@mdanderson.org [Department of Radiation Oncology, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, Texas (United States)

2014-11-01

Purpose: To design and implement a unique training program that uses a phantom-based simulator to teach the process of prostate brachytherapy (PB) quality assurance and improve the quality of education. Methods and Materials: Trainees in our simulator program were practicing radiation oncologists, radiation oncology residents, and fellows of the American Brachytherapy Society. The program emphasized 6 core areas of quality assurance: patient selection, simulation, treatment planning, implant technique, treatment evaluation, and outcome assessment. Using the Iodine 125 ({sup 125}I) preoperative treatment planning technique, trainees implanted their ultrasound phantoms with dummy seeds (ie, seeds with no activity). Pre- and postimplant dosimetric parameters were compared and correlated using regression analysis. Results: Thirty-one trainees successfully completed the simulator program during the period under study. The mean phantom prostate size, number of seeds used, and total activity were generally consistent between trainees. All trainees met the V100 >95% objective both before and after implantation. Regardless of the initial volume of the prostate phantom, trainees' ability to cover the target volume with at least 100% of the dose (V100) was not compromised (R=0.99 pre- and postimplant). However, the V150 had lower concordance (R=0.37) and may better reflect heterogeneity control of the implant process. Conclusions: Analysis of implants from this phantom-based simulator shows a high degree of consistency between trainees and uniformly high-quality implants with respect to parameters used in clinical practice. This training program provides a valuable educational opportunity that improves the quality of PB training and likely accelerates the learning curve inherent in PB. Prostate phantom implantation can be a valuable first step in the acquisition of the required skills to safely perform PB.

Establishing High-Quality Prostate Brachytherapy Using a Phantom Simulator Training Program

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Thaker, Nikhil G.; Kudchadker, Rajat J.; Swanson, David A.; Albert, Jeffrey M.; Mahmood, Usama; Pugh, Thomas J.; Boehling, Nicholas S.; Bruno, Teresa L.; Prestidge, Bradley R.; Crook, Juanita M.; Cox, Brett W.; Potters, Louis; Moran, Brian J.; Keyes, Mira; Kuban, Deborah A.; Frank, Steven J.

2014-01-01

Purpose: To design and implement a unique training program that uses a phantom-based simulator to teach the process of prostate brachytherapy (PB) quality assurance and improve the quality of education. Methods and Materials: Trainees in our simulator program were practicing radiation oncologists, radiation oncology residents, and fellows of the American Brachytherapy Society. The program emphasized 6 core areas of quality assurance: patient selection, simulation, treatment planning, implant technique, treatment evaluation, and outcome assessment. Using the Iodine 125 ( 125 I) preoperative treatment planning technique, trainees implanted their ultrasound phantoms with dummy seeds (ie, seeds with no activity). Pre- and postimplant dosimetric parameters were compared and correlated using regression analysis. Results: Thirty-one trainees successfully completed the simulator program during the period under study. The mean phantom prostate size, number of seeds used, and total activity were generally consistent between trainees. All trainees met the V100 >95% objective both before and after implantation. Regardless of the initial volume of the prostate phantom, trainees' ability to cover the target volume with at least 100% of the dose (V100) was not compromised (R=0.99 pre- and postimplant). However, the V150 had lower concordance (R=0.37) and may better reflect heterogeneity control of the implant process. Conclusions: Analysis of implants from this phantom-based simulator shows a high degree of consistency between trainees and uniformly high-quality implants with respect to parameters used in clinical practice. This training program provides a valuable educational opportunity that improves the quality of PB training and likely accelerates the learning curve inherent in PB. Prostate phantom implantation can be a valuable first step in the acquisition of the required skills to safely perform PB

Quality and Characteristics of the North Carolina Pre-Kindergarten Program: 2011-2012 Statewide Evaluation

Science.gov (United States)

Peisner-Feinberg, Ellen; Schaaf, Jennifer; Hildebrandt, Lisa; LaForett, Dore

2013-01-01

The North Carolina Pre-Kindergarten Program (NC Pre-K) is a state-funded initiative for at-risk 4-year-olds, designed to provide a high quality, classroom-based educational program during the year prior to kindergarten entry. Children are eligible for NC Pre-K based on age, family income (at or below 75% of state median income), and other risk…

Non-invasive pre-lens tear film assessment with high-speed videokeratoscopy.

Science.gov (United States)

Llorens-Quintana, Clara; Mousavi, Maryam; Szczesna-Iskander, Dorota; Iskander, D Robert

2018-02-01

To evaluate the effect of two types of daily contact lenses (delefilcon A and omafilcon A) on the tear film and establish whether it is dependent on pre-corneal tear film characteristics using a new method to analyse high-speed videokeratoscopy recordings, as well as to determine the sensitivity of the method in differentiating between contact lens materials on eye. High-speed videokeratoscopy recordings were analysed using a custom made automated algorithm based on a fractal dimension approach that provides a set of parameters directly related to tear film stability. Fifty-four subjects participated in the study. Baseline measurements, in suppressed and natural blinking conditions, were taken before subjects were fitted with two different daily contact lenses and after four hours of contact lens wear. The method for analysing the stability of the tear film provides alternative parameters to the non-invasive break up time to assess the quality of the pre-corneal and pre-lens tear film. Both contact lenses significantly decreased the quality of the tear film in suppressed and natural blinking conditions (pfilm characteristics were not correlated with the decrease in pre-lens tear film quality. High-speed videokeratoscopy equipped with an automated method to analyse the dynamics of the tear film is able to distinguish between contact lens materials in vivo. Incorporating the assessment of pre-lens tear film to the clinical practice could aid improving contact lens fitting and understand contact lens comfort. Copyright © 2017 British Contact Lens Association. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Increasing Water System Efficiency with Ultrafiltration Pre-treatment in Power Plants

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Majamaa, Katariina; Suarez, Javier; Gasia Eduard

2012-09-01

Water demineralization with reverse osmosis (RO) membranes has a long and successful history in water treatment for power plants. As the industry strives for more efficient, reliable and compact water systems, pressurized hollow-fiber ultrafiltration (UF) has become an increasingly appealing pre-treatment technology. Compared to conventional, non- membrane based pretreatments, ultrafiltration offers higher efficiency in the removal of suspended solids, microorganisms and colloidal matter, which are all common causes for operational challenges experienced in the RO systems. In addition, UF is more capable of handling varying feed water qualities and removes the risk of particle carry-over often seen with conventional filtration techniques. Ultrafiltration is a suitable treatment technology for various water types from surface waters to wastewater, and the more fluctuating or challenging the feed water source is, the better the benefits of UF are seen compared to conventional pretreatments. Regardless of the feed water type, ultrafiltration sustains a constant supply of high quality feed water to downstream RO, allowing a more compact and cost efficient RO system design with improved operational reliability. A detailed focus on the design and operational aspects and experiences of two plants is provided. These examples demonstrate both economical UF operation and tangible impact of RO process improvement. Experience from these plants can be leveraged to new projects. (authors)

Gambling Disorder: Exploring Pre-treatment and In-treatment Dropout Predictors. A UK Study.

Science.gov (United States)

Ronzitti, Silvia; Soldini, Emiliano; Smith, Neil; Clerici, Massimo; Bowden-Jones, Henrietta

2017-12-01

The aim of this study was to identify predictors of treatment dropout in a sample of gamblers attending a specialist clinic for gambling disorder. We analysed data on 846 treatment-seeking pathological gamblers. Firstly, we investigated differences in socio-demographic and clinical variables between treatment completers and pre-treatment dropouts, as well as between treatment completers and during-treatment dropouts. Subsequently, variables were entered into a multinomial logistic regression model to identify significant predictors of pre-treatment and in-treatment dropout. Overall, 44.8% of clients did not complete the treatment: 27.4% dropped out before starting it, while 17.4% dropped out during the treatment. Younger age and use of drugs were associated with pre-treatment dropout, while family history of gambling disorder, a lower PGSI score, and being a smoker were related with in-treatment dropout. Our findings suggest that pre-treatment dropouts differ from in-treatment dropouts, and, thus, further research will benefit from considering these groups separately. In addition, this newly gained knowledge will also be helpful in increasing treatment retention in specific subgroups of problem gamblers.

Enhancement of quality in chemical inquiry by pre-university students.

NARCIS (Netherlands)

van Rens, L.; Pilot, A.; van Dijk, H.

2005-01-01

Our pre-university chemistry students face problems achieving sufficient quality in chemical inquiry. To try to enhance the quality of student performance in chemical inquiry, Dutch pre-university chemistry students (age 17) carried out an authentic research project on 'Diffusion of ions in

Enhancement of quality in chemical inquiry by pre-university students

NARCIS (Netherlands)

van Rens, L.; Pilot, A.; van Dijk, H.

2004-01-01

Our pre-university chemistry students face problems achieving sufficient quality in chemical inquiry. To try to enhance the quality of student performance in chemical inquiry, Dutch pre-university chemistry students (age 17) carried out an authentic research project on 'Diffusion of ions in

Are pre-treatment psychological characteristics influenced by pre-surgical orthodontics?

Science.gov (United States)

Cunningham, S J; Gilthorpe, M S; Hunt, N P

2001-12-01

A number of investigations have looked at psychological changes occurring in association with orthognathic treatment. However, most of these studies have used a pre-surgery questionnaire as the baseline measurement. There is little data relating to the true baseline, i.e. that prior to any active treatment. Until this aspect is investigated, it is not possible to assume that pre-surgery is an acceptable baseline. This questionnaire based study aimed to assess changes in six psychological outcome measures between T1 (prior to any active treatment) and T2 (following pre-surgical orthodontics/prior to surgery). The outcome variables were: state anxiety, trait anxiety, depression, self-esteem, body image, and facial body image. Sixty-two patients (39 females and 23 males) completed both questionnaires. The results showed that intervention, in the form of orthodontic treatment, had a minimal effect on the chosen psychometric outcome variables. There was a significant reduction in satisfaction with body image amongst patients who initially reported mild to moderate dental/facial problems, whilst a moderate increase in satisfaction occurred in those patients reporting severe conditions initially. Also of note were significant increases in state anxiety amongst older patients whilst trait anxiety showed greater increases in females than males.

A novel approach to detect KRAS/BRAF mutation for colon cancer: Highly sensitive simultaneous detection of mutations and simple pre-treatment without DNA extraction.

Science.gov (United States)

Suzuki, Shun-Ichi; Matsusaka, Satoshi; Hirai, Mitsuharu; Shibata, Harumi; Takagi, Koichi; Mizunuma, Nobuyuki; Hatake, Kiyohiko

2015-07-01

It has been reported that colon cancer patients with KRAS and BRAF mutations that lie downstream of epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) acquire resistance against therapy with anti‑EGFR antibodies, cetuximab and panitumumab. On the other hand, some reports say KRAS codon 13 mutation (p.G13D) has lower resistance against anti-EGFR antibodies, thus there is a substantial need for detection of specific KRAS mutations. We have established a state-of-the-art measurement system using QProbe (QP) method that allows simultaneous measurement of KRAS codon 12/13, p.G13D and BRAF mutation, and compared this method against Direct Sequencing (DS) using 182 specimens from colon cancer patients. In addition, 32 biopsy specimens were processed with a novel pre-treatment method without DNA purification in order to detect KRAS/BRAF. As a result of KRAS mutation measurement, concordance rate between the QP method and DS method was 81.4% (144/177) except for the 5 specimens that were undeterminable. Among them, 29 specimens became positive with QP method and negative with DS method. BRAF was measured with QP method only, and the mutation detection rate was 3.9% (6/153). KRAS measurement using a simple new pre-treatment method without DNA extraction resulted in 31 good results out of 32, all of them matching with the DS method. We have established a simple but highly sensitive simultaneous detection system for KRAS/BRAF. Moreover, introduction of the novel pre-treatment technology eliminated the inconvenient DNA extraction process. From this research achievement, we not only anticipate quick and accurate results returned in the clinical field but also contribution in improving the test quality and work efficiency.

SU-E-T-776: Use of Quality Metrics for a New Hypo-Fractionated Pre-Surgical Mesothelioma Protocol

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Richardson, S; Mehta, V

2015-01-01

Purpose: The “SMART” (Surgery for Mesothelioma After Radiation Therapy) approach involves hypo-fractionated radiotherapy of the lung pleura to 25Gy over 5 days followed by surgical resection within 7. Early clinical results suggest that this approach is very promising, but also logistically challenging due to the multidisciplinary involvement. Due to the compressed schedule, high dose, and shortened planning time, the delivery of the planned doses were monitored for safety with quality metric software. Methods: Hypo-fractionated IMRT treatment plans were developed for all patients and exported to Quality Reports™ software. Plan quality metrics or PQMs™ were created to calculate an objective scoring function for each plan. This allows for an objective assessment of the quality of the plan and a benchmark for plan improvement for subsequent patients. The priorities of various components were incorporated based on similar hypo-fractionated protocols such as lung SBRT treatments. Results: Five patients have been treated at our institution using this approach. The plans were developed, QA performed, and ready within 5 days of simulation. Plan Quality metrics utilized in scoring included doses to OAR and target coverage. All patients tolerated treatment well and proceeded to surgery as scheduled. Reported toxicity included grade 1 nausea (n=1), grade 1 esophagitis (n=1), grade 2 fatigue (n=3). One patient had recurrent fluid accumulation following surgery. No patients experienced any pulmonary toxicity prior to surgery. Conclusion: An accelerated course of pre-operative high dose radiation for mesothelioma is an innovative and promising new protocol. Without historical data, one must proceed cautiously and monitor the data carefully. The development of quality metrics and scoring functions for these treatments allows us to benchmark our plans and monitor improvement. If subsequent toxicities occur, these will be easy to investigate and incorporate into the

SU-E-T-776: Use of Quality Metrics for a New Hypo-Fractionated Pre-Surgical Mesothelioma Protocol

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Richardson, S; Mehta, V [Swedish Cancer Institute, Seattle, WA (United States)

2015-06-15

Purpose: The “SMART” (Surgery for Mesothelioma After Radiation Therapy) approach involves hypo-fractionated radiotherapy of the lung pleura to 25Gy over 5 days followed by surgical resection within 7. Early clinical results suggest that this approach is very promising, but also logistically challenging due to the multidisciplinary involvement. Due to the compressed schedule, high dose, and shortened planning time, the delivery of the planned doses were monitored for safety with quality metric software. Methods: Hypo-fractionated IMRT treatment plans were developed for all patients and exported to Quality Reports™ software. Plan quality metrics or PQMs™ were created to calculate an objective scoring function for each plan. This allows for an objective assessment of the quality of the plan and a benchmark for plan improvement for subsequent patients. The priorities of various components were incorporated based on similar hypo-fractionated protocols such as lung SBRT treatments. Results: Five patients have been treated at our institution using this approach. The plans were developed, QA performed, and ready within 5 days of simulation. Plan Quality metrics utilized in scoring included doses to OAR and target coverage. All patients tolerated treatment well and proceeded to surgery as scheduled. Reported toxicity included grade 1 nausea (n=1), grade 1 esophagitis (n=1), grade 2 fatigue (n=3). One patient had recurrent fluid accumulation following surgery. No patients experienced any pulmonary toxicity prior to surgery. Conclusion: An accelerated course of pre-operative high dose radiation for mesothelioma is an innovative and promising new protocol. Without historical data, one must proceed cautiously and monitor the data carefully. The development of quality metrics and scoring functions for these treatments allows us to benchmark our plans and monitor improvement. If subsequent toxicities occur, these will be easy to investigate and incorporate into the

Effects of rigor status during high-pressure processing on the physical qualities of farm-raised abalone (Haliotis rufescens).

Science.gov (United States)

Hughes, Brianna H; Greenberg, Neil J; Yang, Tom C; Skonberg, Denise I

2015-01-01

High-pressure processing (HPP) is used to increase meat safety and shelf-life, with conflicting quality effects depending on rigor status during HPP. In the seafood industry, HPP is used to shuck and pasteurize oysters, but its use on abalones has only been minimally evaluated and the effect of rigor status during HPP on abalone quality has not been reported. Farm-raised abalones (Haliotis rufescens) were divided into 12 HPP treatments and 1 unprocessed control treatment. Treatments were processed pre-rigor or post-rigor at 2 pressures (100 and 300 MPa) and 3 processing times (1, 3, and 5 min). The control was analyzed post-rigor. Uniform plugs were cut from adductor and foot meat for texture profile analysis, shear force, and color analysis. Subsamples were used for scanning electron microscopy of muscle ultrastructure. Texture profile analysis revealed that post-rigor processed abalone was significantly (P abalone meat was more tender than pre-rigor processed meat, and post-rigor processed foot meat was lighter in color than pre-rigor processed foot meat, suggesting that waiting for rigor to resolve prior to processing abalones may improve consumer perceptions of quality and market value. © 2014 Institute of Food Technologists®

Effectiveness of different pre-treatments in recovering pre-burial isotopic ratios of charred plants.

Science.gov (United States)

Brinkkemper, O; Braadbaart, F; van Os, B; van Hoesel, A; van Brussel, A A N; Fernandes, R

2018-02-15

Isotopic analysis of archaeological charred plant remains offers useful archaeological information. However, adequate sample pre-treatment protocols may be necessary to provide a contamination-free isotopic signal while limiting sample loss and achieving a high throughput. Under these constraints, research was undertaken to compare the performance of different pre-treatment protocols. Charred archaeological plant material was selected for isotopic analysis (δ 13 C and δ 15 N values) by isotope ratio mass spectrometry from a variety of plant species, time periods and soil conditions. Preservation conditions and the effectiveness of cleaning protocols were assessed through Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and X-ray fluorescence (XRF) spectrometry. An acid-base-acid protocol, successfully employed in radiocarbon dating, was used to define a contamination-free isotopic reference. Acid-base-acid isotopic measurements were compared with those obtained from untreated material and an acid-only protocol. The isotopic signals of untreated material and the acid-only protocol typically did not differ more than 1‰ from those of the acid-base-acid reference. There were no significant isotopic offsets between acid-base-acid and acid-only or untreated samples. Sample losses in the acid-base-acid protocol were on average 50 ± 17% (maximum = 98.4%). Elemental XRF measurements showed promising results in the detection of more contaminated samples albeit with a high rate of false positives. For the large range of preservation conditions described in the study, untreated charred plant samples, water cleaned of sediments, provide reliable stable isotope ratios of carbon and nitrogen. The use of pre-treatments may be necessary under different preservation conditions or more conservative measurement uncertainties should be reported. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

[Quality Management and Quality Specifications of Laboratory Tests in Clinical Studies--Challenges in Pre-Analytical Processes in Clinical Laboratories].

Science.gov (United States)

Ishibashi, Midori

2015-01-01

The cost, speed, and quality are the three important factors recently indicated by the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare (MHLW) for the purpose of accelerating clinical studies. Based on this background, the importance of laboratory tests is increasing, especially in the evaluation of clinical study participants' entry and safety, and drug efficacy. To assure the quality of laboratory tests, providing high-quality laboratory tests is mandatory. For providing adequate quality assurance in laboratory tests, quality control in the three fields of pre-analytical, analytical, and post-analytical processes is extremely important. There are, however, no detailed written requirements concerning specimen collection, handling, preparation, storage, and shipping. Most laboratory tests for clinical studies are performed onsite in a local laboratory; however, a part of laboratory tests is done in offsite central laboratories after specimen shipping. As factors affecting laboratory tests, individual and inter-individual variations are well-known. Besides these factors, standardizing the factors of specimen collection, handling, preparation, storage, and shipping, may improve and maintain the high quality of clinical studies in general. Furthermore, the analytical method, units, and reference interval are also important factors. It is concluded that, to overcome the problems derived from pre-analytical processes, it is necessary to standardize specimen handling in a broad sense.

Particle counter as a tool to control pre-hydrolyzed coagulant dosing and rapid filtration efficiency in a conventional treatment system.

Science.gov (United States)

Gumińska, Jolanta; Kłos, Marcin

2015-01-01

Filtration efficiency in a conventional water treatment system was analyzed in the context of pre-hydrolyzed coagulant overdosing. Two commercial coagulants of different aluminum speciation were tested. A study was carried out at a water treatment plant supplied with raw water of variable quality. The lack of stability of water quality caused many problems with maintaining the optimal coagulant dose. The achieved results show that the type of coagulant had a very strong influence on the effectiveness of filtration resulting from the application of an improper coagulant dose. The overdosing of high basicity coagulant (PAC85) caused a significant increase of fine particles in the outflow from the sedimentation tanks, which could not be retained in the filter bed due to high surface charge and the small size of hydrolysis products. When using a coagulant of lower basicity (PAC70), it was much easier to control the dose of coagulant and to adjust it to the changing water quality.

Effect of pre-cooling and heat treatment on antioxidant enzymes ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Effect of pre-cooling and heat treatment on antioxidant enzymes profile of mango and banana. ... In banana, pre-cooling treatment (8 ºC) and heat treatment followed by cooling reduced CAT activity in peel and pulp, whereas POX activity increased. Pre-cooling and heat treatments altered normal homeostasis of these fruits, ...

Predicting Treatment Response for Oppositional Defiant and Conduct Disorder Using Pre-treatment Adrenal and Gonadal Hormones.

Science.gov (United States)

Shenk, Chad E; Dorn, Lorah D; Kolko, David J; Susman, Elizabeth J; Noll, Jennie G; Bukstein, Oscar G

2012-12-01

Variations in adrenal and gonadal hormone profiles have been linked to increased rates of oppositional defiant disorder (ODD) and conduct disorder (CD). These relationships suggest that certain hormone profiles may be related to how well children respond to psychological treatments for ODD and CD. The current study assessed whether pre-treatment profiles of adrenal and gonadal hormones predicted response to psychological treatment of ODD and CD. One hundred five children, 6 - 11 years old, participating in a randomized, clinical trial provided samples for cortisol, testosterone, dehydroepiandrosterone, and androstenedione. Diagnostic interviews of ODD and CD were administered up to three years post-treatment to track treatment response. Group-based trajectory modeling identified two trajectories of treatment response: 1) a High-response trajectory where children demonstrated lower rates of an ODD or CD diagnosis throughout follow-up, and 2) a Low-response trajectory where children demonstrated higher rates of an ODD or CD diagnosis throughout follow-up. Hierarchical logistic regression predicting treatment response demonstrated that children with higher pre-treatment concentrations of testosterone were four times more likely to be in the Low-response trajectory. No other significant relationship existed between pre-treatment hormone profiles and treatment response. These results suggest that higher concentrations of testosterone are related to how well children diagnosed with ODD or CD respond to psychological treatment over the course of three years.

Improvement of quantum efficiency in green light-emitting diodes with pre-TMIn flow treatment

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lee, Ya-Ju; Chen, Yi-Ching; Lu, Tien-Chang

2011-01-01

The effects of pre-trimethlyindium (TMIn) flow on the improved electrical characteristics and highly stable temperature properties of InGaN green light-emitting diodes (LEDs) are discussed. For the LED sample with a pre-TMIn flow treatment, the tunnelling of injected carriers associated with threading defects is significantly reduced, which promotes the diffusion-recombination of injected carriers, as well as the overall emission efficiency of the LED. In addition, the pre-TMIn flow treatment evidently reduces the dependence of external quantum efficiency on temperature and efficiency droop of green LEDs. As a result, we conclude that the pre-TMIn flow treatment is a promising scheme for the improvement of output performance of InGaN-based green LEDs.

Anaerobic digestion of organic by-products from meat-processing industry. The effect of pre-treatments and co-digestion

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Luste, S.

2011-07-01

Anaerobic digestion is a multi-beneficial biological treatment during which micro-organisms degrade organic material producing biogas (i.e. methane) and stabilised end-product (i.e. digestate). Methane is a versatile renewable energy source and digestate can be used as an organic fertiliser and/or soil improver. Because of the increasing consumption and tightening environment and health legislation, production of organic wastes suitable for anaerobic digestion increases. Animal by-products (ABP) from the meat-processing industry are often rendered (contaminated material), used as feedstock (in fur breeding), or composted. However, ABPs studied could not be utilised in fodder or in animal food production and have currently been rendered or directed to composting, despite being mostly considered unsuitable for composting. Many ABPs are energy-rich, wet and pasty materials and suitable for the anaerobic digestion process. Moreover, suitable pre-treatment to hydrolyse solid materials and/or co-digestion of two or several materials may improve the anaerobic digestion with ultimate goal to increase the methane production, stabilisation and reusability of digestate. The case chosen for more detailed research was that of a middle-sized Finnish meat-processing industry. The aim of the thesis was to evaluate the feasibility of different ABPs presently available for treatment as raw material for anaerobic digestion. Another objective was to enhance the anaerobic digestion process via specific pre-treatments and co-digestion cases with the ultimate aim to increase the methane production and the quality of the digestate. The general goal was to observe the overall process from the perspective of real-circumstances in Finland to rise to needs in practice and to produce exploitable information for adopting sustainable development locally and case-specifically into practice via versatile anaerobic digestion technology. The ABPs studied were highly bio-degradable and especially

Quality and Characteristics of the North Carolina Pre-Kindergarten Program: 2011-2012 Statewide Evaluation. Executive Summary

Science.gov (United States)

Peisner-Feinberg, Ellen; Schaaf, Jennifer; Hildebrandt, Lisa; LaForett, Dore

2013-01-01

The North Carolina Pre-Kindergarten Program (NC Pre-K) is a state-funded initiative for at-risk 4-year-olds, designed to provide a high quality, classroom-based educational program during the year prior to kindergarten entry. Children are eligible for NC Pre-K based on age, family income (at or below 75% of state median income), and other risk…

Condition-specific Quality of Life Assessment at Each Stage of Class III Surgical Orthodontic Treatment -A Prospective Study.

Science.gov (United States)

Tachiki, Chie; Nishii, Yasushi; Takaki, Takashi; Sueishi, Kenji

2018-01-01

Surgical orthodontic treatment has been reported to improve oral health-related quality of life (OHRQL). Such treatment comprises three stages: pre-surgical orthodontic treatment; orthognathic surgery; and post-surgical orthodontic treatment. Most studies have focused on change in OHRQL between before and after surgery. However, it is also necessary to evaluate OHRQL at the pre-surgical orthodontic treatment stage, as it may be negatively affected by dental decompensation compared with at pre-treatment. The purpose of this prospective study was to investigate the influence of surgical orthodontic treatment on QOL by assessing change in condition-specific QOL at each stage of treatment in skeletal class III cases. Twenty skeletal class III patients requiring surgical orthodontic treatment were enrolled in the study. Each patient completed the Orthognathic Quality of Life Questionnaire (OQLQ), which was developed for patients with dentofacial deformity. Its items are grouped into 4 domains: "social aspects of dentofacial deformity"; "facial esthetics"; "oral function"; and "awareness of dentofacial esthetics". The questionnaire was completed at the pre-treatment, pre-surgical orthodontic treatment, and post-surgical orthodontic treatment stages. The results revealed a significant worsening in scores between at pre-treatment and pre-surgical orthodontic treatment in the domains of facial esthetics and oral function (ppre-surgical orthodontic and post-surgical orthodontic treatment in all domains except awareness of dentofacial esthetics (ppre-surgical orthodontic treatment stage. Significant correlations were also observed between improvement in upper and lower lip difference, soft tissue pogonion protrusion, and ANB angle and improvement in OQLQ scores at the post-surgical orthodontic treatment stage. These results indicate that morphologic change influences OHRQL in patients undergoing surgical orthodontic treatment not only after surgery, but also during pre

Evaluation and performance of arccheck and film using gamma criteria in pre-treatment quality assurance of stereotactic ablative radiotherapy

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Prabhakar Ramachandran

2017-01-01

Full Text Available Aim: The aim of this study is to assess the use of ArcCHECK (AC as an alternative method to replace film dosimetry for pre-treatment quality assurance (QA of three-dimensional conformal radiation therapy, intensity-modulated radiation therapy (IMRT, and volumetric-modulated arc therapy (VMAT stereotactic ablative radiotherapy (SABR treatment plans. Materials and Methods: Twenty-five patients with a varied diagnosis of lung, spine, sacrum, sternum, ribs, scapula, and femur undergoing SABR were selected for this study. Pre-treatment QA was performed for all the patients using ionization chamber and film dosimetry. Measurements were also carried out on an AC phantom. The planned and measured doses from the AC device and EBT3 films were compared using four different gamma criteria: 2%/2 mm, 3%/2 mm, 3%/1 mm, and 3%/3 mm. Results: The mean gamma passing rates at 3%/3 mm for all non-spine SABR cases were 98.79 ± 0.96 and 99.27 ± 1.03 with AC and films, respectively. The mean passing rates at 3%/2 mm for AC and films were 98.76 ± 0.42 and 99.43 ± 0.27 respectively for spine VMAT SABR, and 87.15 ± 2.45 and 99.79 ± 0.14 respectively for spine IMRT SABR. In the case of spine tumors, the gamma criterion was tightened due to the proximity of spinal cord to the planning target volume. Our results show that AC provides good results for all VMAT SABR plans. Conclusion: The AC results at 3%/3 mm were in good agreement with film dosimetry for most cases. We observed a significant reduction in QA time on using AC for SABR QA. This study showed that AC results are comparable to film dosimetry for all studied sites except for spine IMRT SABR.

Pre-eclampsia Diagnosis and Treatment Options: A Review of Published Economic Assessments.

Science.gov (United States)

Zakiyah, Neily; Postma, Maarten J; Baker, Philip N; van Asselt, Antoinette D I

2015-10-01

Pre-eclampsia is a pregnancy complication affecting both mother and fetus. Although there is no proven effective method to prevent pre-eclampsia, early identification of women at risk of pre-eclampsia could enhance appropriate application of antenatal care, management and treatment. Very little is known about the cost effectiveness of these and other tests for pre-eclampsia, mainly because there is no clear treatment path. The aim of this study was to provide a comprehensive overview of the existing evidence on the health economics of screening, diagnosis and treatment options in pre-eclampsia. We searched three electronic databases (PubMed, EMBASE and the Cochrane Library) for studies on screening, diagnosis, treatment or prevention of pre-eclampsia, published between 1994 and 2014. Only full papers written in English containing complete economic assessments in pre-eclampsia were included. From an initial total of 138 references, six papers fulfilled the inclusion criteria. Three studies were on the cost effectiveness of treatment of pre-eclampsia, two of which evaluated magnesium sulphate for prevention of seizures and the third evaluated the cost effectiveness of induction of labour versus expectant monitoring. The other three studies were aimed at screening and diagnosis, in combination with subsequent preventive measures. The two studies on magnesium sulphate were equivocal on the cost effectiveness in non-severe cases, and the other study suggested that induction of labour in term pre-eclampsia was more cost effective than expectant monitoring. The screening studies were quite diverse in their objectives as well as in their conclusions. One study concluded that screening is probably not worthwhile, while two other studies stated that in certain scenarios it may be cost effective to screen all pregnant women and prophylactically treat those who are found to be at high risk of developing pre-eclampsia. This study is the first to provide a comprehensive overview

Pre-treatment of biofuels for power production. Final report (1998). K. Joule 3 - OPTEB, Task: No. 19/20

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Jensen, P.A.; Sander, B.; Dam-Johansen, K.

1999-10-01

Co-firing of straw and coal on existing pulverised coal fired power plants may cause problems with deposition, corrosion, deactivation of SCR catalysts and impedes the utilisation of the fly ash, because of the high chlorine and potassium content of straw. Experiments with co-combustion of straw and coal on boilers plants have shown, that when maximal 20% of straw on a thermal basis is applied the most serious problems is the deactivation of high dust SCR catalysts and the deterioration of fly ash quality. The objective of this work was to evaluate a large-scale pre-treatment process for straw. The process applies pyrolysis at a moderate temperature, where the alkaline is retained in the char. The char is then washed and char and pyrolysis gasses can be co-fired with coal without causing serious problems. Fundamental laboratory studies as well as technical investigations were conducted to evaluate the pre-treatment concept. The laboratory studies were mainly done to improve the understanding of potassium and chlorine release during pyrolysis and the extraction of char with water. Some work were also done with respect to particle characterisation, straw pyrolysis kinetic and straw char combustion. The technical evaluation of a plant with 20 tons/hour capacity included investigations of possible reactor technologies, waste water handling, power efficiency and investment costs. Based on the laboratory experiments a pyrolysis temperature of 500 to 600 deg. C is recommended for the pre-treatment process. A high degree of pyrolysis is obtained without a significant release of potassium to the gas, but a release of 30 to 60% of the chlorine can not be avoided. Extraction of potassium from char with water is a two-step process, where the first step is a fast dissolution of potassium salts and the second step is a slow release of potassium from the interior of the char particle. A high potassium removal during char wash could not be obtained for all types of char within

Quality assurance of pre-operative assessment--a review of quality assurance activities related to pre-operative assessment in nine hospitals in The Netherlands

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Klazinga, N. S.; Helsloot, R.

1989-01-01

Pre-operative assessment of patients for surgery is one of the most prevalent topics for quality assurance by peer-review in Dutch hospitals. This article describes the experiences with pre-operative assessment in nine hospitals. It is discussed why preoperative assessment is performed, what tests

Seed quality preservation advantage of gamma irradiation seed pre-treatment during long term storage in soybean

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Guha, Sameer Kumar; Sumedha; Singh, Bhupinder

2014-01-01

The experiment was conducted to analyse the effect of gamma irradiation seed pre-treatment on insect damage and quality preservation of soybean seeds during long term storage at ambient temperature (27-42 ℃) and relative humidity (50-95%). Freshly harvested seeds of soybean (cv. Pusa-9814) were treated with control (0), 0.01, 0.05, 0.5, 1.0, 3.0, 5.0 kGy gamma radiation on a Gamma irradiator (Gamma Chamber 5000, 60 Co source, activity 12000 Ci, BRIT, Mumbai, India) at the Nuclear Research Laboratory, IARI, New Delhi and were stored over one year in cotton cloth bags under ambient conditions. Protein and oil per cent and fatty acid profile was measured in freshly harvested zero time unirradiated control, aged unirradiated control and other treatments of ionizing radiation. Seed oil was extracted through the soxhlet extraction method and oil profiling was done by gas chromatography. Change in saturated and unsaturated fatty acids like palmitic, stearic, oleic, linolic, linolenic acid and oleic to linoleic ratio was measured. Oil content of unirradiated stored seeds compared to that of the freshly harvested control was lower. However, radiation in general, helped in maintaining a higher seed oil during storage when compared with that of the aged unirradiated control and was insignificantly reduced over the fresh unirrradiated control. Further, gamma irradiation treatment did not yield any adverse affect on the seed protein even after prolonged storage. The results reveal a reduced rate of lipid degradation and improved seed hardness over untreated control with no significant change in fatty acid profile of the irradiated and the unirradiated seeds over a long term storage period. (author)

Eldecalcitol normalizes bone turnover markers regardless of their pre-treatment levels.

Science.gov (United States)

Shiraki, Masataka; Saito, Hitoshi; Matsumoto, Toshio

2012-09-01

Three-year treatment with eldecalcitol has been shown to improve lumbar and total hip bone mineral density (BMD), decrease bone turnover markers, and lower the incidences of vertebral and wrist fractures in patients with osteoporosis more than with treatment with alfacalcidol under vitamin D repletion. The purpose of this study was to determine whether there was a risk of eldecalcitol causing severely suppressed bone turnover in osteoporosis patients with low pre-treatment levels of bone turnover markers. Post-hoc analysis was conducted on the data from a 3-year, randomized, double-blind, active-comparator, clinical trial of eldecalcitol versus alfacalcidol under vitamin D repletion conducted in Japan. Enrolled patients with baseline measurements of bone turnover markers were stratified into tertiles according to their pre-treatment levels of serum bone-specific alkaline phosphatase, serum procollagen type I N-terminal propeptide, or urinary collagen-N-telopeptide. Eldecalcitol treatment rapidly reduced bone turnover markers, and kept them within the normal range. However, in the patients whose baseline values for bone turnover were low, eldecalcitol treatment did not further reduce bone turnover markers during the 3-year treatment period. Further long-term observation may be required to reach the conclusion. CLINICALTRIALS.GOV NUMBER: NCT00144456. Eldecalcitol normalizes, but does not overly suppress, bone turnover regardless of baseline levels of bone turnover markers. Thus, it is unlikely that eldecalcitol treatment will increase the risk of severely suppressed bone turnover and therefore deterioration of bone quality, at least for a treatment duration of 3 years.

Pre-treatment of oil palm fronds biomass for gasification

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Sulaiman Shaharin Anwar

2017-01-01

Full Text Available Oil Palm Fronds (OPF has been proven as one of the potential types of biomass feedstock for power generation. The low ash content and high calorific value are making OPF an attractive source for gasification. The objective of this study is to investigate the effects of pre-treatments of OPF residual on gasification. The pre-treatments included the briquetting process and extensive drying of OPF which are studied separately. In briquetting process, the OPF were mixed with some portions of paper as an additives, leaflets, and water, to form a soupy slurry. The extensive drying of OPF needs to cut down OPF in 4–6 cm particle size and left to dry in the oven at 150°C for 24 hours. Gasification process was carried out at the end of each of the pre-treated processes. It was found that the average gas composition obtained from briquetting process was 8.07%, 2.06%, 0.54%,and 11.02% for CO, H2, CH4, and CO2 respectively. A good composition of syngas was produced from extensive dried OPF, as 16.48%, 4.03%, 0.91%,and 11.15% for CO, H2, CH4, and CO2 contents respectively. It can be concluded that pre-treatments improved the physical characteristics of biomass. The bulk density of biomass can be increased by briquetting but the stability of the structure is depending on the composition of briquette formulation. Furthermore, the stability of gasification process also depended on briquette density, mechanical strength, and formulation.

Effect of ultrasound pre-treatment on the physicochemical composition of Agave durangensis leaves and potential enzyme production.

Science.gov (United States)

Contreras-Hernández, M G; Ochoa-Martínez, L A; Rutiaga-Quiñones, J G; Rocha-Guzmán, N E; Lara-Ceniceros, T E; Contreras-Esquivel, J C; Prado Barragán, L A; Rutiaga-Quiñones, O M

2018-02-01

Approximately 1 million tons of agave plants are processed annually by the Mexican tequila and mezcal industry, generating vast amounts of agroindustrial solid waste. This type of lignocellulosic biomass is considered to be agroindustrial residue, which can be used to produce enzymes, giving it added value. However, the structure of lignocellulosic biomass makes it highly recalcitrant, and results in relatively low yield when used in its native form. The aim of this study was to investigate an effective pre-treatment method for the production of commercially important hydrolytic enzymes. In this work, the physical and chemical modification of Agave durangensis leaves was analysed using ultrasound and high temperature as pre-treatments, and production of enzymes was evaluated. The pre-treatments resulted in modification of the lignocellulosic structure and composition; the ultrasound pre-treatment improved the production of inulinase by 4 U/mg and cellulase by 0.297 U/mg, and thermal pre-treatment improved β-fructofuranosidase by 30 U/mg. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Evaluation of a metal artifact reduction algorithm applied to post-interventional flat detector CT in comparison to pre-treatment CT in patients with acute subarachnoid haemorrhage

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mennecke, Angelika; Svergun, Stanislav; Doerfler, Arnd; Struffert, Tobias; Scholz, Bernhard; Royalty, Kevin

2017-01-01

Metal artefacts can impair accurate diagnosis of haemorrhage using flat detector CT (FD-CT), especially after aneurysm coiling. Within this work we evaluate a prototype metal artefact reduction algorithm by comparison of the artefact-reduced and the non-artefact-reduced FD-CT images to pre-treatment FD-CT and multi-slice CT images. Twenty-five patients with acute aneurysmal subarachnoid haemorrhage (SAH) were selected retrospectively. FD-CT and multi-slice CT before endovascular treatment as well as FD-CT data sets after treatment were available for all patients. The algorithm was applied to post-treatment FD-CT. The effect of the algorithm was evaluated utilizing the pre-post concordance of a modified Fisher score, a subjective image quality assessment, the range of the Hounsfield units within three ROIs, and the pre-post slice-wise Pearson correlation. The pre-post concordance of the modified Fisher score, the subjective image quality, and the pre-post correlation of the ranges of the Hounsfield units were significantly higher for artefact-reduced than for non-artefact-reduced images. Within the metal-affected slices, the pre-post slice-wise Pearson correlation coefficient was higher for artefact-reduced than for non-artefact-reduced images. The overall diagnostic quality of the artefact-reduced images was improved and reached the level of the pre-interventional FD-CT images. The metal-unaffected parts of the image were not modified. (orig.)

Evaluation of a metal artifact reduction algorithm applied to post-interventional flat detector CT in comparison to pre-treatment CT in patients with acute subarachnoid haemorrhage

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Mennecke, Angelika; Svergun, Stanislav; Doerfler, Arnd; Struffert, Tobias [University of Erlangen-Nuremberg, Department of Neuroradiology, Erlangen (Germany); Scholz, Bernhard [Siemens Healthcare GmbH, Forchheim (Germany); Royalty, Kevin [Siemens Medical Solutions, USA, Inc., Hoffman Estates, IL (United States)

2017-01-15

Metal artefacts can impair accurate diagnosis of haemorrhage using flat detector CT (FD-CT), especially after aneurysm coiling. Within this work we evaluate a prototype metal artefact reduction algorithm by comparison of the artefact-reduced and the non-artefact-reduced FD-CT images to pre-treatment FD-CT and multi-slice CT images. Twenty-five patients with acute aneurysmal subarachnoid haemorrhage (SAH) were selected retrospectively. FD-CT and multi-slice CT before endovascular treatment as well as FD-CT data sets after treatment were available for all patients. The algorithm was applied to post-treatment FD-CT. The effect of the algorithm was evaluated utilizing the pre-post concordance of a modified Fisher score, a subjective image quality assessment, the range of the Hounsfield units within three ROIs, and the pre-post slice-wise Pearson correlation. The pre-post concordance of the modified Fisher score, the subjective image quality, and the pre-post correlation of the ranges of the Hounsfield units were significantly higher for artefact-reduced than for non-artefact-reduced images. Within the metal-affected slices, the pre-post slice-wise Pearson correlation coefficient was higher for artefact-reduced than for non-artefact-reduced images. The overall diagnostic quality of the artefact-reduced images was improved and reached the level of the pre-interventional FD-CT images. The metal-unaffected parts of the image were not modified. (orig.)

Pre-harvest methyl jasmonate treatment enhances cauliflower chemoprotective attributes without a loss in postharvest quality.

Science.gov (United States)

Ku, Kang Mo; Choi, Jeong-Hee; Kushad, Mosbah M; Jeffery, Elizabeth H; Juvik, John A

2013-06-01

Methyl jasmonate (MeJA) treatment can significantly increase glucosinolate (GS) concentrations in Brassica vegetables and potentially enhance anticancer bioactivity. Although MeJA treatment may promote ethylene biosynthesis, which can be detrimental to postharvest quality, there are no previous reports of its effect on cauliflower postharvest quality. To address this, cauliflower curds in field plots were sprayed with either 0.1 % Triton X-100 (control) or 500 μM MeJA solutions four days prior to harvest, then stored at 4 °C. Tissue subsamples were collected after 0, 10, 20, and 30 days of postharvest storage and assayed for visual color change, ethylene production, GS concentrations, and extract quinone reductase inductive activity. MeJA treatment increased curd GS concentrations of glucoraphanin, glucobrassicin, and neoglucobrassicin by 1.5, 2.4, and 4.6-fold over controls, respectively. MeJA treated cauliflower showed significantly higher quinone reductase activity, a biomarker for anticancer bioactivity, without reducing visual color and postharvest quality for 10 days at 4 °C storage.

Quality Measures in Pre-Analytical Phase of Tissue Processing: Understanding Its Value in Histopathology.

Science.gov (United States)

Rao, Shalinee; Masilamani, Suresh; Sundaram, Sandhya; Duvuru, Prathiba; Swaminathan, Rajendiran

2016-01-01

Quality monitoring in histopathology unit is categorized into three phases, pre-analytical, analytical and post-analytical, to cover various steps in the entire test cycle. Review of literature on quality evaluation studies pertaining to histopathology revealed that earlier reports were mainly focused on analytical aspects with limited studies on assessment of pre-analytical phase. Pre-analytical phase encompasses several processing steps and handling of specimen/sample by multiple individuals, thus allowing enough scope for errors. Due to its critical nature and limited studies in the past to assess quality in pre-analytical phase, it deserves more attention. This study was undertaken to analyse and assess the quality parameters in pre-analytical phase in a histopathology laboratory. This was a retrospective study done on pre-analytical parameters in histopathology laboratory of a tertiary care centre on 18,626 tissue specimens received in 34 months. Registers and records were checked for efficiency and errors for pre-analytical quality variables: specimen identification, specimen in appropriate fixatives, lost specimens, daily internal quality control performance on staining, performance in inter-laboratory quality assessment program {External quality assurance program (EQAS)} and evaluation of internal non-conformities (NC) for other errors. The study revealed incorrect specimen labelling in 0.04%, 0.01% and 0.01% in 2007, 2008 and 2009 respectively. About 0.04%, 0.07% and 0.18% specimens were not sent in fixatives in 2007, 2008 and 2009 respectively. There was no incidence of specimen lost. A total of 113 non-conformities were identified out of which 92.9% belonged to the pre-analytical phase. The predominant NC (any deviation from normal standard which may generate an error and result in compromising with quality standards) identified was wrong labelling of slides. Performance in EQAS for pre-analytical phase was satisfactory in 6 of 9 cycles. A low incidence

Laboratory Report on Performance Evaluation of Key Constituents during Pre-Treatment of High Level Waste Direct Feed

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Huber, Heinz J.

2013-06-24

The analytical capabilities of the 222-S Laboratory are tested against the requirements for an optional start up scenario of the Waste Treatment and Immobilization Plant on the Hanford Site. In this case, washed and in-tank leached sludge would be sent directly to the High Level Melter, bypassing Pretreatment. The sludge samples would need to be analyzed for certain key constituents in terms identifying melter-related issues and adjustment needs. The analyses on original tank waste as well as on washed and leached material were performed using five sludge samples from tanks 241-AY-102, 241-AZ-102, 241-AN-106, 241-AW-105, and 241-SY-102. Additionally, solid phase characterization was applied to determine the changes in mineralogy throughout the pre-treatment steps.

Laboratory Report on Performance Evaluation of Key Constituents during Pre-Treatment of High Level Waste Direct Feed

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Huber, Heinz J.

2013-01-01

The analytical capabilities of the 222-S Laboratory are tested against the requirements for an optional start up scenario of the Waste Treatment and Immobilization Plant on the Hanford Site. In this case, washed and in-tank leached sludge would be sent directly to the High Level Melter, bypassing Pretreatment. The sludge samples would need to be analyzed for certain key constituents in terms identifying melter-related issues and adjustment needs. The analyses on original tank waste as well as on washed and leached material were performed using five sludge samples from tanks 241-AY-102, 241-AZ-102, 241-AN-106, 241-AW-105, and 241-SY-102. Additionally, solid phase characterization was applied to determine the changes in mineralogy throughout the pre-treatment steps

Process performance assessment of advanced anaerobic digestion of sewage sludge including sequential ultrasound-thermal (55 °C) pre-treatment.

Science.gov (United States)

Neumann, Patricio; Barriga, Felipe; Álvarez, Claudia; González, Zenón; Vidal, Gladys

2018-03-15

The aim of this study was to evaluate the performance and digestate quality of advanced anaerobic digestion of sewage sludge including sequential ultrasound-thermal (55 °C) pre-treatment. Both stages of pre-treatment contributed to chemical oxygen demand (COD) solubilization, with an overall factor of 11.4 ± 2.2%. Pre-treatment led to 19.1, 24.0 and 29.9% increased methane yields at 30, 15 and 7.5 days solid retention times (SRT), respectively, without affecting process stability or accumulation of intermediates. Pre-treatment decreased up to 4.2% water recovery from the digestate, but SRT was a more relevant factor controlling dewatering. Advanced digestion showed 2.4-3.1 and 1.5 logarithmic removals of coliforms and coliphages, respectively, and up to a 58% increase in the concentration of inorganics in the digestate solids compared to conventional digestion. The COD balance of the process showed that the observed increase in methane production was proportional to the pre-treatment solubilization efficiency. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Surface pre-treatment for barrier coatings on polyethylene terephthalate

Science.gov (United States)

Bahre, H.; Bahroun, K.; Behm, H.; Steves, S.; Awakowicz, P.; Böke, M.; Hopmann, Ch; Winter, J.

2013-02-01

Polymers have favourable properties such as light weight, flexibility and transparency. Consequently, this makes them suitable for food packaging, organic light-emitting diodes and flexible solar cells. Nonetheless, raw plastics do not possess sufficient barrier functionality against oxygen and water vapour, which is of paramount importance for most applications. A widespread solution is to deposit thin silicon oxide layers using plasma processes. However, silicon oxide layers do not always fulfil the requirements concerning adhesion and barrier performance when deposited on films. Thus, plasma pre-treatment is often necessary. To analyse the influence of a plasma-based pre-treatment on barrier performance, different plasma pre-treatments on three reactor setups were applied to a very smooth polyethylene terephthalate film before depositing a silicon oxide barrier layer. In this paper, the influence of oxygen and argon plasma pre-treatments towards the barrier performance is discussed examining the chemical and topological change of the film. It was observed that a short one-to-ten-second plasma treatment can reduce the oxygen transmission rate by a factor of five. The surface chemistry and the surface topography change significantly for these short treatment times, leading to an increased surface energy. The surface roughness rises slowly due to the development of small spots in the nanometre range. For very long treatment times, surface roughness of the order of the barrier layer's thickness results in a complete loss of barrier properties. During plasma pre-treatment, the trade-off between surface activation and roughening of the surface has to be carefully considered.

Surface pre-treatment for barrier coatings on polyethylene terephthalate

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bahre, H; Böke, M; Winter, J; Bahroun, K; Behm, H; Hopmann, Ch; Steves, S; Awakowicz, P

2013-01-01

Polymers have favourable properties such as light weight, flexibility and transparency. Consequently, this makes them suitable for food packaging, organic light-emitting diodes and flexible solar cells. Nonetheless, raw plastics do not possess sufficient barrier functionality against oxygen and water vapour, which is of paramount importance for most applications. A widespread solution is to deposit thin silicon oxide layers using plasma processes. However, silicon oxide layers do not always fulfil the requirements concerning adhesion and barrier performance when deposited on films. Thus, plasma pre-treatment is often necessary. To analyse the influence of a plasma-based pre-treatment on barrier performance, different plasma pre-treatments on three reactor setups were applied to a very smooth polyethylene terephthalate film before depositing a silicon oxide barrier layer. In this paper, the influence of oxygen and argon plasma pre-treatments towards the barrier performance is discussed examining the chemical and topological change of the film. It was observed that a short one-to-ten-second plasma treatment can reduce the oxygen transmission rate by a factor of five. The surface chemistry and the surface topography change significantly for these short treatment times, leading to an increased surface energy. The surface roughness rises slowly due to the development of small spots in the nanometre range. For very long treatment times, surface roughness of the order of the barrier layer's thickness results in a complete loss of barrier properties. During plasma pre-treatment, the trade-off between surface activation and roughening of the surface has to be carefully considered. (paper)

Optimisation of dilute acid pre-treatment of artisan rice hulls for ethanol production

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lopez, Yoney; Martin, Carlos; Gullon, Beatriz; Parajo, Juan Carlos

2011-01-01

Rice hulls are potential low-cost feedstocks for fuel ethanol production in many countries. In this work, the dilute-acid pre-treatment of artisan rice hulls was investigated using a central composite rotatable experimental design. The experimental variables were temperature (140-210 C), biomass load (5-20%) and sulphuric acid concentration (0.5-1.5 g per 100 g of reaction mixture). A total of 16 experimental runs, including a 23-plan, two replicates at the central point and six star points, were carried out. Low temperatures were found to be favourable for the hydrolysis of xylan and of the easily hydrolyzable glucan fraction. High glucose formation (up to 15.3 g/100 g), attributable to starch hydrolysis, was detected in the hydrolysates obtained under the least severe pre-treatment conditions. Using the experimental results, several models for predicting the effect of the operational conditions on the yield of pretreated solids, xylan and glucan conversion upon pre-treatment, and on enzymatic convertibility of cellulose were developed. Optimum results were predicted for the conversion of easily-hydrolyzable glucan in the material pretreated at 140.7 C, and for the enzymatic saccharification of cellulose in the material pretreated at 169 C. These results suggested the use of two-step acid hydrolysis as future pre-treatment strategy for artisan rice hulls. Key words: Dilute acid hydrolysis, enzymatic hydrolysis, pre-treatment, rice hulls. (author)

ESTIMATION OF EFFICIENCY OF MACHINERY FOR PRE-SOWING TREATMENT OF RADISH SEEDS FOR SEED PRODUCTION

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

S. M. Sirota

2016-01-01

Full Text Available The results of pre-sowing treatment of radish seeds aimed at increasing of seed production, yield and its productivity in protected area are presented. The density fractionation of radish seeds by gravity separator is recommended for improvement of planting material quality and increasing of utilization efficiency of frame area.

Comparison of pre-treatment and post-treatment use of selenium in retinal ischemia reperfusion injury

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Alper Yazici

2015-04-01

Full Text Available AIM: To investigate the effects of selenium in rat retinal ischemia reperfusion (IR model and compare pre-treatment and post-treatment use. METHODS: Selenium pre-treatment group (n=8 was treated with intraperitoneal (i.p. selenium 0.5 mg/kg for 7d and terminated 24h after the IR injury. Selenium post-treatment group (n=8 was treated with i.p. selenium 0.5 mg/kg for 7d after the IR injury with termination at the end of the 7d period. Sham group (n=8 received i.p. saline injections identical to the selenium volume for 7d with termination 24h after the IR injury. Control group (n=8 received no intervention. Main outcome measures were retina superoxide dismutase (SOD, glutathione (GSH, total antioxidant status (TAS, malondialdehyde (MDA, DNA fragmentation levels, and immunohistological apoptosis evaluation. RESULTS: Compared to the Sham group, selenium pre-treatment had a statistical difference in all parameters except SOD. Post-treatment selenium also resulted in statistical differences in all parameters except the MDA levels. When comparing selenium groups, the pre-treatment selenium group had a statistically higher success in reduction of markers of cell damage such as MDA and DNA fragmentation. In contrast, the post-selenium treatment group had resulted in statistically higher levels of GSH. Histologically both selenium groups succeeded to limit retinal thickening and apoptosis. Pre-treatment use was statistically more successful in decreasing apoptosis in ganglion cell layer compared to post-treatment use. CONCLUSION: Selenium was successful in retinal protection in IR injuries. Pre-treatment efficacy was superior in terms of prevention of tissue damage and apoptosis.

Mechanism of waste biomass pyrolysis: Effect of physical and chemical pre-treatments

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Das, Oisik; Sarmah, Ajit K.

2015-01-01

To impart usability in waste based biomass through thermo-chemical reactions, several physical and chemical pre-treatments were conducted to gain an insight on their mode of action, effect on the chemistry and the change in thermal degradation profiles. Two different waste biomasses (Douglas fir, a softwood and hybrid poplar, a hardwood) were subjected to four different pre-treatments, namely, hot water pre-treatment, torrefaction, acid (sulphuric acid) and salt (ammonium phosphate) doping. Post pre-treatments, the changes in the biomass structure, chemistry, and thermal makeup were studied through electron microscopy, atomic absorption/ultra violet spectroscopy, ion exchange chromatography, and thermogravimetry. The pre-treatments significantly reduced the amounts of inorganic ash, extractives, metals, and hemicellulose from both the biomass samples. Furthermore, hot water and torrefaction pre-treatment caused mechanical disruption in biomass fibres leading to smaller particle sizes. Torrefaction of Douglas fir wood yielded more solid product than hybrid poplar. Finally, the salt pre-treatment increased the activation energies of the biomass samples (especially Douglas fir) to a great extent. Thus, salt pre-treatment was found to bestow thermal stability in the biomass. - Highlights: • Pre-treatments reduce ash, extractives, alkalines and hemicellulose from biomass. • Torrefaction of Douglas fir yields more solid product than hybrid poplar. • Salt pretreatment significantly increases the activation energy of biomass. • Acid and salt pretreatment bestows thermal stability in biomass.

Mechanism of waste biomass pyrolysis: Effect of physical and chemical pre-treatments

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Das, Oisik [Department of Biological Systems Engineering, Washington State University, Pullman 99164-6120, WA (United States); Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Auckland, Auckland 1142 (New Zealand); Sarmah, Ajit K., E-mail: a.sarmah@auckland.ac.nz [Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Auckland, Auckland 1142 (New Zealand)

2015-12-15

To impart usability in waste based biomass through thermo-chemical reactions, several physical and chemical pre-treatments were conducted to gain an insight on their mode of action, effect on the chemistry and the change in thermal degradation profiles. Two different waste biomasses (Douglas fir, a softwood and hybrid poplar, a hardwood) were subjected to four different pre-treatments, namely, hot water pre-treatment, torrefaction, acid (sulphuric acid) and salt (ammonium phosphate) doping. Post pre-treatments, the changes in the biomass structure, chemistry, and thermal makeup were studied through electron microscopy, atomic absorption/ultra violet spectroscopy, ion exchange chromatography, and thermogravimetry. The pre-treatments significantly reduced the amounts of inorganic ash, extractives, metals, and hemicellulose from both the biomass samples. Furthermore, hot water and torrefaction pre-treatment caused mechanical disruption in biomass fibres leading to smaller particle sizes. Torrefaction of Douglas fir wood yielded more solid product than hybrid poplar. Finally, the salt pre-treatment increased the activation energies of the biomass samples (especially Douglas fir) to a great extent. Thus, salt pre-treatment was found to bestow thermal stability in the biomass. - Highlights: • Pre-treatments reduce ash, extractives, alkalines and hemicellulose from biomass. • Torrefaction of Douglas fir yields more solid product than hybrid poplar. • Salt pretreatment significantly increases the activation energy of biomass. • Acid and salt pretreatment bestows thermal stability in biomass.

Effect of pre-drying treatments on solution-coated organic thin films for active-matrix organic light-emitting diodes

Science.gov (United States)

Shin, Dongkyun; Hong, Ki-Young; Park, Jongwoon

2017-12-01

Due to capillary rise, organic thin films fabricated by solution coating exhibit the concave thickness profile. It is found that the thickness and emission uniformities within pixels vary depending sensitively on the pre-drying treatment that has been done before hard bake. We investigate its effect on the film quality by varying the temperature, time, pressure, fluid flow-related solute concentration, and evaporation-related solvent. To this end, we carry out spin coatings of a non-aqueous poly(N-vinylcarbazole) (PVK) for a hole transporting blanket layer. With a low-boiling-point (BP) organic solvent, the pre-drying makes no significant impact on the thickness profiles. With a high-BP organic solvent, the PVK films pre-dried in a vacuum for a sufficient time exhibit very uniform light emission in the central region, but non-emission phenomenon near the perimeter of pixels. It is addressed that such a non-emission phenomenon can be suppressed to some extent by decreasing the vacuum pressure. However, the rapid evaporation by heat conduction during the pre-drying degrades the thickness uniformity due to a rapid microflow of solute from the edge to the center. No further enhancement in the thickness uniformity is obtained by varying the solute concentration and using a mixture of low- and high-BP solvents.

Comparative Study of Pre-Germination Treatments and their Effects ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

FIRST LADY

of leaves (10.05) respectively. Pre-germination treatments of seeds soaked in running water (SRW) for 24 hours were found to be more effective in seedlings growth and biomass production. Keywords: Tectona grandis, pre-germination treatment, seed dormancy, seedling growth. Introduction. Tectona grandis is one of the ...

Sleep disorders in high school and pre-university students.

Science.gov (United States)

Rocha, Célia R S; Rossini, Sueli; Reimão, Rubens

2010-12-01

Adolescence is a period in which youngsters have to make choices such as applying for university. The selection process is competitive, and it brings distress and anxiety, risk factors for the appearance of sleep disorders. To verify the occurrence of sleep disorders in third-year high school and pre-university students. This cross-sectional descriptive study comprised a sample of 529 students (M=241, F=288) from three public schools, four private schools and two pre-university courses - a middle-class neighborhood in the city of São Paulo - aged between 16 and 19 years old. We used the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) - a standardized questionnaire. The participants (52.9%) took about 30 minutes to fall asleep, with an average of 306.4 minutes asleep, moderate daytime sleepiness (n=243, 45.9%) and indisposition (n=402, 75.9%) to develop the activities. The scores (M and F) were similar regarding problems that affect sleep. The investigated population showed sleep disorders and poor sleep quality.

Hydrolysis of Miscanthus for bioethanol production using dilute acid presoaking combined with wet explosion pre-treatment and enzymatic treatment

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Sørensen, Annette; Teller, Philip Johan; Hilstrøm, Troels

2008-01-01

xylose prior to wet explosion. The acid presoaking extracted 63.2% xylose and 5.2% glucose. Direct enzymatic hydrolysis of the presoaked biomass was found to give only low sugar yields of 24-26% glucose. Wet explosion is a pre-treatment method that combines wet-oxidation and steam explosion. The effect...... of wet explosion on non-presoaked and presoaked Miscanthus was investigated using both atmospheric air and hydrogen peroxide as the oxidizing agent. All wet explosion pre-treatments showed to have a disrupting effect on the lignocellulosic biomass, making the sugars accessible for enzymatic hydrolysis......Miscanthus is a high yielding bioenergy crop. In this study we used acid presoaking, wet explosion, and enzymatic hydrolysis to evaluate the combination of the different pre-treatment methods for bioethanol production with Miscanthus. Acid presoaking is primarily carried out in order to remove...

MBR technology: a promising approach for the (pre-)treatment of hospital wastewater.

Science.gov (United States)

Beier, S; Cramer, C; Mauer, C; Köster, S; Schröder, H Fr; Pinnekamp, J

2012-01-01

Membrane bioreactor (MBR) technology is a very reliable and extensively tested solution for biological wastewater treatment. Nowadays, separate treatment of highly polluted wastewater streams especially from hospitals and other health care facilities is currently under investigation worldwide. In this context, the MBR technology will play a decisive role because an effluent widely cleaned up from solids and nutrients is absolutely mandatory for a subsequent further elimination of organic trace pollutants. Taking hospital wastewater as an example, the aim of this study was to investigate to what extent MBR technology is an adequate 'pre-treatment' solution for further elimination of trace pollutants. Therefore, we investigated - within a 2-year period - the performance of a full-scale hospital wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) equipped with a MBR by referring to conventional chemical and microbiological standard parameters. Furthermore, we measured the energy consumption and tested different operating conditions. According to our findings the MBR treatment of the hospital wastewater was highly efficient in terms of the removal of solids and nutrients. Finally, we did not observe any major adverse effects on the operation and performance of the MBR system which potentially could derive from the composition of the hospital wastewater. In total, the present study proved that MBR technology is a very efficient and reliable treatment approach for the treatment of highly polluted wastewater from hospitals and can be recommended as a suitable pre-treatment solution for further trace pollutant removal.

Influence of electrochemical pre-treatment on highly reactive carbon nitride thin films deposited on stainless steel for electrochemical applications

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Benchikh, A.; Debiemme-Chouvy, C.; Cachet, H.; Pailleret, A.; Saidani, B.; Beaunier, L.; Berger, M.H.

2012-01-01

In this work, a-CNx films prepared by DC magnetron sputtering on stainless steel substrate have been investigated as electrode materials. While their wide potential window was confirmed as a property shared by boron doped diamond (BDD) electrodes, their electrochemical activity with respect to fast and reversible redox systems, [Ru(NH 3 ) 6 ] 3+/2+ , [Fe(CN) 6 ] 3−/4− and [IrCl 6 ] 2−/3− , was assessed by Electrochemical Impedance Spectroscopy (EIS) after cathodic or anodic electrochemical pre-treatments or for as grown samples. It was shown for the three systems that electrochemical reactivity of the a-CNx films was improved after the cathodic pre-treatment and degraded after the anodic one, the apparent heterogeneous rate constant k 0app being decreased by at least one order of magnitude for the latter case. A high k 0app value of 0.11 cm s −1 for [IrCl 6 ] 2−/3− was obtained, close to the highest values found for BDD electrodes.

APPLICATION OF CHLORINE DIOXIDE FOR PRE-MILKING TREATMENT OF COW UDDER AND DEVELOPMENT OF MEDICATION FOR POST-MILKING TREATMENT OF DUGS OF COW UDDER

OpenAIRE

Komarov V. Y.

2015-01-01

In the present article the main research results of investigation of the means of pre-milking and postmilking treatment of cow udder and dugs are presented. The treatment of cow udder dugs produces great effect on the milk quality, the incidence level of mastitis of cows in the herd, extension and pathogenic agents transmission from sick to healthy animals; and also udder treatment provides hygienic protection of udder dugs. Tree concentrations of detergent of chloride dioxide were tested. Wh...

Microwave-Assisted Alkali Pre-Treatment, Densification and Enzymatic Saccharification of Canola Straw and Oat Hull.

Science.gov (United States)

Agu, Obiora S; Tabil, Lope G; Dumonceaux, Tim

2017-03-26

The effects of microwave-assisted alkali pre-treatment on pellets' characteristics and enzymatic saccharification for bioethanol production using lignocellulosic biomass of canola straw and oat hull were investigated. The ground canola straw and oat hull were immersed in distilled water, sodium hydroxide and potassium hydroxide solutions at two concentrations (0.75% and 1.5% w/v) and exposed to microwave radiation at power level 713 W and three residence times (6, 12 and 18 min). Bulk and particle densities of ground biomass samples were determined. Alkaline-microwave pre-treated and untreated samples were subjected to single pelleting test in an Instron universal machine, pre-set to a load of 4000 N. The measured parameters, pellet density, tensile strength and dimensional stability were evaluated and the results showed that the microwave-assisted alkali pre-treated pellets had a significantly higher density and tensile strength compared to samples that were untreated or pre-treated by microwave alone. The chemical composition analysis showed that microwave-assisted alkali pre-treatment was able to disrupt and break down the lignocellulosic structure of the samples, creating an area of cellulose accessible to cellulase reactivity. The best enzymatic saccharification results gave a high glucose yield of 110.05 mg/g dry sample for canola straw ground in a 1.6 mm screen hammer mill and pre-treated with 1.5% NaOH for 18 min, and a 99.10 mg/g dry sample for oat hull ground in a 1.6 mm screen hammer mill and pre-treated with 0.75% NaOH for 18 min microwave-assisted alkali pre-treatments. The effects of pre-treatment results were supported by SEM analysis. Overall, it was found that microwave-assisted alkali pre-treatment of canola straw and oat hull at a short residence time enhanced glucose yield.

Study on the pre-treatment of oxidized zinc ore prior to flotation

Science.gov (United States)

He, Dong-sheng; Chen, Yun; Xiang, Ping; Yu, Zheng-jun; Potgieter, J. H.

2018-02-01

The pre-treatment of zinc oxide bearing ores with high slime content is important to ensure that resources are utilized optimally. This paper reports an improved process using hydrocyclone de-sliming, dispersion reagents, and magnetic removal of iron minerals for the pre-treatment of zinc oxide ore with a high slime and iron content, and the benefits compared to traditional technologies are shown. In addition, this paper investigates the damage related to fine slime and iron during zinc oxide flotation, the necessity of using hydrocyclone de-sliming together with dispersion reagents to alleviate the influence of slime, and interactions among hydrocyclone de-sliming, reagent dispersion, and magnetic iron removal. Results show that under optimized operating conditions the entire beneficiation technology results in a flotation concentrate with a Zn grade of 34.66% and a recovery of 73.41%.

Dosimetric pre-treatment verification of IMRT using an EPID; clinical experience

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zijtveld, Mathilda van; Dirkx, Maarten L.P.; Boer, Hans C.J. de; Heijmen, Ben J.M.

2006-01-01

Background and purpose: In our clinic a QA program for IMRT verification, fully based on dosimetric measurements with electronic portal imaging devices (EPID), has been running for over 3 years. The program includes a pre-treatment dosimetric check of all IMRT fields. During a complete treatment simulation at the linac, a portal dose image (PDI) is acquired with the EPID for each patient field and compared with a predicted PDI. In this paper, the results of this pre-treatment procedure are analysed, and intercepted errors are reported. An automated image analysis procedure is proposed to limit the number of fields that need human intervention in PDI comparison. Materials and methods: Most of our analyses are performed using the γ index with 3% local dose difference and 3 mm distance to agreement as reference values. Scalar parameters are derived from the γ values to summarize the agreement between measured and predicted 2D PDIs. Areas with all pixels having γ values larger than one are evaluated, making decisions based on clinically relevant criteria more straightforward. Results: In 270 patients, the pre-treatment checks revealed four clinically relevant errors. Calculation of statistics for a group of 75 patients showed that the patient-averaged mean γ value inside the field was 0.43 ± 0.13 (1 SD) and only 6.1 ± 6.8% of pixels had a γ value larger than one. With the proposed automated image analysis scheme, visual inspection of images can be avoided in 2/3 of the cases. Conclusion: EPIDs may be used for high accuracy and high resolution routine verification of IMRT fields to intercept clinically relevant dosimetric errors prior to the start of treatment. For the majority of fields, PDI comparison can fully rely on an automated procedure, avoiding excessive workload

Pre-slaughter stress and pork quality

Science.gov (United States)

Stajković, S.; Teodorović, V.; Baltić, M.; Karabasil, N.

2017-09-01

Stress is an inevitable consequence of handling of animals for slaughter. Stress conditions during transport, lairage and at slaughter induce undesirable effects on the end quality of meat such as pale, soft, exudative meat and dark firm dry meat. Hence, it is very important to define appropriate parameters for objective assessment of level of stress. Attempts to define measures of stress have been difficult and no physiological parameter has been successfully used to evaluate stress situations. One physiological change in swine associated with animal handling stress and with pork quality is an increase in blood lactate concentration. Plasma cortisol was thought to be an appropriate indicator of stress, but the concentration was not consistently changed by different stressors. Therefore, finding alternative parameters reacting to stressors, such as acute phase proteins, would be of great value for the objective evaluation of level of stress and meat quality. As the stress during pre-slaughter handling is unavoidable, the final goal is to improve transport and slaughter conditions for the animal and, as a consequence, meat quality and animal welfare.

Ultrasound pre-treatment for anaerobic digestion improvement.

Science.gov (United States)

Pérez-Elvira, S; Fdz-Polanco, M; Plaza, F I; Garralón, G; Fdz-Polanco, F

2009-01-01

Prior research indicates that ultrasounds can be used in batch reactors as pre-treatment before anaerobic digestion, but the specific energy required at laboratory-scale is too high. This work evaluates both the continuous ultrasound device performance (efficiency and solubilisation) and the operation of anaerobic digesters continuously fed with sonicated sludge, and presents energy balance considerations. The results of sludge solubilisation after the sonication treatment indicate that, applying identical specific energy, it is better to increase the power than the residence time. Working with secondary sludge, batch biodegradability tests show that by applying 30 kWh/m3 of sludge, it is possible to increase biogas production by 42%. Data from continuous pilot-scale anaerobic reactors (V=100 L) indicate that operating with a conventional HRT=20 d, a reactor fed with pre-treated sludge increases the volatile solids removal and the biogas production by 25 and 37% respectively. Operating with HRT=15 d, the removal efficiency is similar to the obtained with a reactor fed with non-hydrolysed sludge at HTR=20 d, although the specific biogas productivity per volume of reactor is higher for the pretreated sludge. Regarding the energy balance, although for laboratory-scale devices it is negative, full-scale suppliers state a net generation of 3-10 kW per kW of energy used.

Evaluation of focused ultrasound algorithms: Issues for reducing pre-focal heating and treatment time.

Science.gov (United States)

Yiannakou, Marinos; Trimikliniotis, Michael; Yiallouras, Christos; Damianou, Christakis

2016-02-01

Due to the heating in the pre-focal field the delay between successive movements in high intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU) are sometimes as long as 60s, resulting to treatment time in the order of 2-3h. Because there is generally a requirement to reduce treatment time, we were motivated to explore alternative transducer motion algorithms in order to reduce pre-focal heating and treatment time. A 1 MHz single element transducer with 4 cm diameter and 10 cm focal length was used. A simulation model was developed that estimates the temperature, thermal dose and lesion development in the pre-focal field. The simulated temperature history that was combined with the motion algorithms produced thermal maps in the pre-focal region. Polyacrylimde gel phantom was used to evaluate the induced pre-focal heating for each motion algorithm used, and also was used to assess the accuracy of the simulation model. Three out of the six algorithms having successive steps close to each other, exhibited severe heating in the pre-focal field. Minimal heating was produced with the algorithms having successive steps apart from each other (square, square spiral and random). The last three algorithms were improved further (with small cost in time), thus eliminating completely the pre-focal heating and reducing substantially the treatment time as compared to traditional algorithms. Out of the six algorithms, 3 were successful in eliminating the pre-focal heating completely. Because these 3 algorithms required no delay between successive movements (except in the last part of the motion), the treatment time was reduced by 93%. Therefore, it will be possible in the future, to achieve treatment time of focused ultrasound therapies shorter than 30 min. The rate of ablated volume achieved with one of the proposed algorithms was 71 cm(3)/h. The intention of this pilot study was to demonstrate that the navigation algorithms play the most important role in reducing pre-focal heating. By evaluating in

Sleep disorders in high school and pre-university students

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Célia R.S. Rocha

2010-12-01

Full Text Available Adolescence is a period in which youngsters have to make choices such as applying for university. The selection process is competitive, and it brings distress and anxiety, risk factors for the appearance of sleep disorders. OBJECTIVE: To verify the occurrence of sleep disorders in third-year high school and pre-university students. METHOD: This cross-sectional descriptive study comprised a sample of 529 students (M=241, F=288 from three public schools, four private schools and two pre-university courses - a middle-class neighborhood in the city of São Paulo - aged between 16 and 19 years old. We used the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI - a standardized questionnaire. RESULTS: The participants (52.9% took about 30 minutes to fall asleep, with an average of 306.4 minutes asleep, moderate daytime sleepiness (n=243, 45.9% and indisposition (n=402, 75.9% to develop the activities. The scores (M and F were similar regarding problems that affect sleep. CONCLUSION: The investigated population showed sleep disorders and poor sleep quality.

An experimental study on the effect of aqueous hypophosphite pre-treatment used on an Al-alloy substrate before electroless Ni plating

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Szirmai, G.; Toeroek, T.I.

2009-01-01

Complete text of publication follows. A new surface pre-treatment method is under development for electroless nickel plating, which appears to be an effective and environmentally benign treatment for the following deposition of a sound and high quality surface nickel coating with good adhesion. The aluminium substrate is immersed in a mildly acidic solution (lactic acid) of sodium hypophosphite in order to modify the passive surface and make it suitable for the reductive chemical precipitation of the nickel-phosphorus nuclei from the electroless nickel plating bath. During this novel pre-treatment procedure the surface adsorption of the hypophosphite anions might play an important role, therefore, several advanced surface testing and analytical techniques (SEM-EPMA-EDXRS, TEM, XPS) were applied in order to monitor and characterize the surface reactions and adsorption phenomena taking place during the pre-treatment. For the XPS study a home built XPS machine was applied.The Al excited XPS (studying P 2s, P 2p, O 1s, C 1s, Al 2p, Ni 2p photoelectron lines) proved to be one of the most powerful technique in the identification of the chemical species formed and present on the surfaces examined in this study. Acknowledgements One of the authors J.T. is indebted for the support of the Hungarian Science Foundation OTKA: (No K67873).

Clinical outcomes of primary palatoplasty in pre-school-aged cleft palate children in Srinagarind hospital: quality of life.

Science.gov (United States)

Pradubwong, Suteera; Mongkholthawornchai, Siriporn; Keawkhamsean, Natda; Patjanasoontorn, Niramol; Chowchuen, Bowornsilp

2014-10-01

Cleft lips and cleft palates are common congenital anomalies, which affects facial appearance, speech, hearing, teeth alignment and other structures. Craniofacial anomalies and speech disorders are crucial problems in the preschool-aged children (5-6 years old), when they start attending school and become more engaged in the community. This condition, which differentiates them from other students, can lead to teasing or mocking which can cause low-self esteem, an inferiority complex, andfoster bad relationships with friends. Missing class in order to receive treatment and other additional care can affect a student's learning, development and overall-quality of life. The purpose of this research was to study the quality of life in preschool-aged cleftpalate children and satisfaction with their level of speech. This was a retrospective, descriptive study. The data were collected by reviewing medical records of patients with cleft lip and cleft palate aged 5-6 years old who underwent operation and treatment with the Tawanchai Center at Srinagarind Hospital. There were 39patients in this study. Data collection was conducted for 5 months (June to October 2013). The research instruments were: (1) General Demographic Questionnaire, (2) Quality of Life Questionnaire with 5 Domains, and (3) the Satisfaction of Speech Questionnaire. The descriptive statistics, percentages and the standard deviation were analyzed in the present study. The findings revealedfamily information pertaining to CLP treatment and the impact it has on consumption, speech training, hearing test, development, dental treatment, communication skills, participation, referral treatment as well as the quality ofcoordinationfor advanced treatment. The present study revealed that all ofthe aforementioned criteria were met at a high level. Moreover the child's sickness had only a moderate impact on family life. In conclusion, the overall satisfaction was at a very high level. It was concluded that the

Diagnostic accuracy of pre-treatment biopsy for grading cutaneous mast cell tumours in dogs.

Science.gov (United States)

Shaw, T; Kudnig, S T; Firestone, S M

2018-06-01

Mast cell tumours (MCTs) are common tumours of the canine skin, and are estimated to represent up to 20% of all skin tumours in dogs. Tumour grade has a major impact on the incidence of local recurrence and metastatic potential. In addition to helping the clinician with surgical planning, knowledge of the tumour grade also assists in proper prognostication and client education. For pre-treatment biopsies to be useful, there must exist a high level of correlation between the histopathological grade obtained from the pre-treatment biopsy and the actual histopathological grade from the excisional biopsy. The aim of this study was to determine concordance of tumour grade between various biopsy techniques (wedge, punch, needle core) and the "gold standard" excisional biopsy method. We found an overall concordance rate of 96% based on the Patnaik grading system, and an overall concordance rate of 92% based on the Kiupel grading system. The accuracy of the various biopsy techniques (wedge, punch and needle core) when compared with excisional biopsy was 92%, 100% and 100%, respectively, based on the Patnaik grading system, and 90%, 95% and 100%, respectively, based on the Kiupel grading system. Of the cases with discordant results, the pre-treatment biopsies tended to underestimate the grade of the tumour. Based on these results, we conclude that pre-treatment biopsies are sufficiently accurate for differentiating low-grade from high-grade MCTs, regardless of biopsy technique or tumour location. © 2017 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Pre-hospital treatment of acute poisonings in Oslo

Science.gov (United States)

Heyerdahl, Fridtjof; Hovda, Knut E; Bjornaas, Mari A; Nore, Anne K; Figueiredo, Jose CP; Ekeberg, Oivind; Jacobsen, Dag

2008-01-01

Background Poisoned patients are often treated in and discharged from pre-hospital health care settings. Studies of poisonings should therefore not only include hospitalized patients. Aims: To describe the acutely poisoned patients treated by ambulance personnel and in an outpatient clinic; compare patients transferred to a higher treatment level with those discharged without transfer; and study the one-week mortality after pre-hospital discharge. Methods A one-year multi-centre study with prospective inclusion of all acutely poisoned patients ≥ 16 years of age treated in ambulances, an outpatient clinic, and hospitals in Oslo. Results A total of 3757 health service contacts from 2997 poisoning episodes were recorded: 1860 were treated in ambulances, of which 15 died and 750 (40%) were discharged without transfer; 956 were treated in outpatient clinic, of which 801 (84%) were discharged without transfer; and 941 episodes were treated in hospitals. Patients discharged alive after ambulance treatment were mainly poisoned by opiates (70%), were frequently comatose (35%), had respiratory depression (37%), and many received naloxone (49%). The majority of the patients discharged from the outpatient clinic were poisoned by ethanol (55%), fewer were comatose (10%), and they rarely had respiratory depression (4%). Among the hospitalized, pharmaceutical poisonings were most common (58%), 23% were comatose, and 7% had respiratory depression. Male patients comprised 69% of the pre-hospital discharges, but only 46% of the hospitalized patients. Except for one patient, who died of a new heroin overdose two days following discharge from an ambulance, there were no deaths during the first week after the poisonings in the 90% of the pre-hospital discharged patients with known identity. Conclusion More than half of the poisoned patients treated in pre-hospital treatment settings were discharged without transfer to higher levels. These poisonings were more often caused by drug and

Pre-hospital treatment of acute poisonings in Oslo

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Nore Anne K

2008-11-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Poisoned patients are often treated in and discharged from pre-hospital health care settings. Studies of poisonings should therefore not only include hospitalized patients. Aims: To describe the acutely poisoned patients treated by ambulance personnel and in an outpatient clinic; compare patients transferred to a higher treatment level with those discharged without transfer; and study the one-week mortality after pre-hospital discharge. Methods A one-year multi-centre study with prospective inclusion of all acutely poisoned patients ≥ 16 years of age treated in ambulances, an outpatient clinic, and hospitals in Oslo. Results A total of 3757 health service contacts from 2997 poisoning episodes were recorded: 1860 were treated in ambulances, of which 15 died and 750 (40% were discharged without transfer; 956 were treated in outpatient clinic, of which 801 (84% were discharged without transfer; and 941 episodes were treated in hospitals. Patients discharged alive after ambulance treatment were mainly poisoned by opiates (70%, were frequently comatose (35%, had respiratory depression (37%, and many received naloxone (49%. The majority of the patients discharged from the outpatient clinic were poisoned by ethanol (55%, fewer were comatose (10%, and they rarely had respiratory depression (4%. Among the hospitalized, pharmaceutical poisonings were most common (58%, 23% were comatose, and 7% had respiratory depression. Male patients comprised 69% of the pre-hospital discharges, but only 46% of the hospitalized patients. Except for one patient, who died of a new heroin overdose two days following discharge from an ambulance, there were no deaths during the first week after the poisonings in the 90% of the pre-hospital discharged patients with known identity. Conclusion More than half of the poisoned patients treated in pre-hospital treatment settings were discharged without transfer to higher levels. These poisonings were more often

Improving enzymatic saccharification of cassava stem using peroxide and microwave assisted pre-treatment techniques

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sudha A.

2017-01-01

Full Text Available The effectiveness of microwave assisted alkali (MAA and alkaline hydrogen peroxide (AHP pre-treatment methods in improving the enzymatic saccharification of cassava stem was investigated. Ground cassava stems were by MAA method by varying microwave power, NaOH concentration and pre-treatment time. AHP method was performed at various H2O2 concentrations, pre-treatment temperatures and times. The results showed that reducing sugar yield was higher from MAA pretreated stem when compared with AHP pre-treatment, which demonstrated that MAA pre-treatment was effective in releasing sugars. SEM studies on the pre-treated samples revealed extensive distortion of fibres in MAA pre-treated than AHP pre-treated samples, which showed pores and cracks in the fibrous structure. Spectral studies showed the change in the chemical structure of pre-treated samples. The work revealed that the studied pre-treatment methods were effective in improving the enzymatic saccharification of cassava stem.

Effects of Pre and Post-Rigor Marinade Injection on Some Quality Parameters of Longissimus Dorsi Muscles

Science.gov (United States)

Fadıloğlu, Eylem Ezgi; Serdaroğlu, Meltem

2018-01-01

Abstract This study was conducted to evaluate the effects of pre and post-rigor marinade injections on some quality parameters of Longissimus dorsi (LD) muscles. Three marinade formulations were prepared with 2% NaCl, 2% NaCl+0.5 M lactic acid and 2% NaCl+0.5 M sodium lactate. In this study marinade uptake, pH, free water, cooking loss, drip loss and color properties were analyzed. Injection time had significant effect on marinade uptake levels of samples. Regardless of marinate formulation, marinade uptake of pre-rigor samples injected with marinade solutions were higher than post rigor samples. Injection of sodium lactate increased pH values of samples whereas lactic acid injection decreased pH. Marinade treatment and storage period had significant effect on cooking loss. At each evaluation period interaction between marinade treatment and injection time showed different effect on free water content. Storage period and marinade application had significant effect on drip loss values. Drip loss in all samples increased during the storage. During all storage days, lowest CIE L* value was found in pre-rigor samples injected with sodium lactate. Lactic acid injection caused color fade in pre-rigor and post-rigor samples. Interaction between marinade treatment and storage period was found statistically significant (p<0.05). At day 0 and 3, the lowest CIE b* values obtained pre-rigor samples injected with sodium lactate and there were no differences were found in other samples. At day 6, no significant differences were found in CIE b* values of all samples. PMID:29805282

In-hospital mortality after pre-treatment with antiplatelet agents or oral anticoagulants and hematoma evacuation of intracerebral hematomas.

Science.gov (United States)

Stein, Marco; Misselwitz, Björn; Hamann, Gerhard F; Kolodziej, Malgorzata; Reinges, Marcus H T; Uhl, Eberhard

2016-04-01

Pre-treatment with antiplatelet agents is described to be a risk factor for mortality after spontaneous intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH). However, the impact of antithrombotic agents on mortality in patients who undergo hematoma evacuation compared to conservatively treated patients with ICH remains controversial. This analysis is based on a prospective registry for quality assurance in stroke care in the State of Hesse, Germany. Patients' data were collected between January 2008 and December 2012. Only patients with the diagnosis of spontaneous ICH were included (International Classification of Diseases 10th Revision codes I61.0-I61.9). Predictors of in-hospital mortality were determined by univariate analysis. Predictors with Phematoma evacuation (odds ratio [OR]: 2.5; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.24-4.97; P=0.010) compared to patients without antiplatelet pre-treatment treatment (OR: 0.9; 95% CI: 0.79-1.09; P=0.376). In conclusion a higher rate of in-hospital mortality after pre-treatment with antiplatelet agents in combination with hematoma evacuation after spontaneous ICH was observed in the presented cohort. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Viral persistence in surface and drinking water: Suitability of PCR pre-treatment with intercalating dyes.

Science.gov (United States)

Prevost, B; Goulet, M; Lucas, F S; Joyeux, M; Moulin, L; Wurtzer, S

2016-03-15

After many outbreaks of enteric virus associated with consumption of drinking water, the study of enteric viruses in water has increased significantly in recent years. In order to better understand the dynamics of enteric viruses in environmental water and the associated viral risk, it is necessary to estimate viral persistence in different conditions. In this study, two representative models of human enteric viruses, adenovirus 41 (AdV 41) and coxsackievirus B2 (CV-B2), were used to evaluate the persistence of enteric viruses in environmental water. The persistence of infectious particles, encapsidated genomes and free nucleic acids of AdV 41 and CV-B2 was evaluated in drinking water and surface water at different temperatures (4 °C, 20 °C and 37 °C). The infectivity of AdV 41 and CV-B2 persisted for at least 25 days, whatever the water temperature, and for more than 70 days at 4 °C and 20 °C, in both drinking and surface water. Encapsidated genomes persisted beyond 70 days, whatever the water temperature. Free nucleic acids (i.e. without capsid) also were able to persist for at least 16 days in drinking and surface water. The usefulness of a detection method based on an intercalating dye pre-treatment, which specifically targets preserved particles, was investigated for the discrimination of free and encapsidated genomes and it was compared to virus infectivity. Further, the resistance of AdV 41 and CV-B2 against two major disinfection treatments applied in drinking water plants (UV and chlorination) was evaluated. Even after the application of UV rays and chlorine at high doses (400 mJ/cm(2) and 10 mg.min/L, respectively), viral genomes were still detected with molecular biology methods. Although the intercalating dye pre-treatment had little use for the detection of the effects of UV treatment, it was useful in the case of treatment by chlorination and less than 1 log10 difference in the results was found as compared to the infectivity measurements

Impact of ozonation, anion exchange resin and UV/H2O2 pre-treatments to control fouling of ultrafiltration membrane for drinking water treatment.

Science.gov (United States)

Pramanik, Biplob Kumar; Pramanik, Sagor Kumar; Sarker, Dipok Chandra; Suja, Fatihah

2017-06-01

The effects of ozonation, anion exchange resin (AER) and UV/H 2 O 2 were investigated as a pre-treatment to control organic fouling (OF) of ultrafiltration membrane in the treatment of drinking water. It was found that high molecular weight (MW) organics such as protein and polysaccharide substances were majorly responsible for reversible fouling which contributed to 90% of total fouling. The decline rate increased with successive filtration cycles due to deposition of protein content over time. All pre-treatment could reduce the foulants of a Ultrafiltration membrane which contributed to the improvement in flux, and there was a greater improvement of flux by UV/H 2 O 2 (61%) than ozonation (43%) which in turn was greater than AER (23%) treatment. This was likely due to the effective removal/breakdown of high MW organic content. AER gave greater removal of biofouling potential components (such as biodegradable dissolved organic carbon and assimilable organic carbon contents) compared to UV/H 2 O 2 and ozonation treatment. Overall, this study demonstrated the potential of pre-treatments for reducing OF of ultrafiltration for the treatment of drinking water.

A Conversation on Data Mining Strategies in LC-MS Untargeted Metabolomics: Pre-Processing and Pre-Treatment Steps

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Fidele Tugizimana

2016-11-01

Full Text Available Untargeted metabolomic studies generate information-rich, high-dimensional, and complex datasets that remain challenging to handle and fully exploit. Despite the remarkable progress in the development of tools and algorithms, the “exhaustive” extraction of information from these metabolomic datasets is still a non-trivial undertaking. A conversation on data mining strategies for a maximal information extraction from metabolomic data is needed. Using a liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS-based untargeted metabolomic dataset, this study explored the influence of collection parameters in the data pre-processing step, scaling and data transformation on the statistical models generated, and feature selection, thereafter. Data obtained in positive mode generated from a LC-MS-based untargeted metabolomic study (sorghum plants responding dynamically to infection by a fungal pathogen were used. Raw data were pre-processed with MarkerLynxTM software (Waters Corporation, Manchester, UK. Here, two parameters were varied: the intensity threshold (50–100 counts and the mass tolerance (0.005–0.01 Da. After the pre-processing, the datasets were imported into SIMCA (Umetrics, Umea, Sweden for more data cleaning and statistical modeling. In addition, different scaling (unit variance, Pareto, etc. and data transformation (log and power methods were explored. The results showed that the pre-processing parameters (or algorithms influence the output dataset with regard to the number of defined features. Furthermore, the study demonstrates that the pre-treatment of data prior to statistical modeling affects the subspace approximation outcome: e.g., the amount of variation in X-data that the model can explain and predict. The pre-processing and pre-treatment steps subsequently influence the number of statistically significant extracted/selected features (variables. Thus, as informed by the results, to maximize the value of untargeted metabolomic data

Effect of pre-treatments on seed germination of Parkia biglobosa ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Effect of pre-treatments on seed germination of Parkia biglobosa (Benth) ... There has been emphasis on the use of indigenous tree species to check land ... out to investigate the most effective pre-sowing treatments to break seed dormancy and to ... Matured seeds of P. biglobosa were collected from farmers at Mbalagh ...

Optimization of Saccharification Conditions of Lignocellulosic Biomass under Alkaline Pre-Treatment and Enzymatic Hydrolysis

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Rafał Łukajtis

2018-04-01

Full Text Available Pre-treatment is a significant step in the production of second-generation biofuels from waste lignocellulosic materials. Obtaining biofuels as a result of fermentation processes requires appropriate pre-treatment conditions ensuring the highest possible degree of saccharification of the feed material. An influence of the following process parameters were investigated for alkaline pre-treatment of Salix viminalis L.: catalyst concentration (NaOH, temperature, pre-treatment time and granulation. For this purpose, experiments were carried out in accordance to the Box-Behnken design for four factors. In the saccharification process of the pre-treated biomass, cellulolytic enzymes immobilized on diatomaceous earth were used. Based on the obtained results, a mathematical model for the optimal conditions of alkaline pre-treatment prediction is proposed. The optimal conditions of alkaline pre-treatment are established as follows: granulation 0.75 mm, catalyst concentration 7%, pre-treatment time 6 h and temperature 65 °C if the saccharification efficiency and cost analysis are considered. An influence of the optimized pre-treatment on both the chemical composition and structural changes for six various lignocellulosic materials (energetic willow, energetic poplar, beech, triticale, meadow grass, corncobs was investigated. SEM images of raw and pre-treated biomass samples are included in order to follow the changes in the biomass structure during hydrolysis.

Pre-operative imaging of rectal cancer and its impact on surgical performance and treatment outcome.

Science.gov (United States)

Beets-Tan, R G H; Lettinga, T; Beets, G L

2005-08-01

To discuss the ability of pre-operative MRI to have a beneficial effect on surgical performance and treatment outcome in patients with rectal cancer. A description on how MRI can be used as a tool so select patients for differentiated neoadjuvant treatment, how it can be used as an anatomical road map for the resection of locally advanced cases, and how it can serve as a tool for quality assurance of both the surgical procedure and overall patient management. As an illustration the proportion of microscopically complete resections of the period 1993-1997, when there was no routine pre-operative imaging, is compared to that of the period 1998-2002, when pre-operative MR imaging was standardized. The proportion of R0 resections increased from 92.5 to 97% (p=0.08) and the proportion of resections with a lateral tumour free margin of >1mm increased from 84.4 to 92.1% (p=0.03). The incomplete resections in the first period were mainly due to inadequate surgical management of unsuspected advanced or bulky tumours, whereas in the second period insufficient consideration was given to extensive neoadjuvant treatment when the tumour was close to or invading the mesorectal fascia on MR. There are good indications that in our setting pre-operative MR imaging, along with other improvements in rectal cancer management, had a beneficial effect on patient outcome. Audit and discussion of the incomplete resections can lead to an improved operative and perioperative management.

Statistical Quality Assessment of Pre-fried Carrots Using Multispectral Imaging

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Sharifzadeh, Sara; Clemmensen, Line Katrine Harder; Løje, Hanne

2013-01-01

Multispectral imaging is increasingly being used for quality assessment of food items due to its non-invasive benefits. In this paper, we investigate the use of multispectral images of pre-fried carrots, to detect changes over a period of 14 days. The idea is to distinguish changes in quality from...

[Pre- and post-surgical orthodontic treatment of mandibular asymmetry and prognathism].

Science.gov (United States)

Chen, Song; Chen, Yang-xi; Hu, Jing

2005-01-01

The purpose of this study was to analyze the pre- and post surgical orthodontic treatment of mandibular asymmetry and prognathism in our hospital, and to summarize some helpful experiences for future clinical work. The data were derived from 21 adults aged from 19 - 28 years who had severe mandibular asymmetry and prognathism. The ANB angle of all patients is from -3 degrees to -8 degrees. The value of wits of all patients is from -7 mm to -14 mm. The deviation of chin point of all patients is from 3 mm to 7 mm. The duration of pre- and post-surgical orthodontic treatment was 10-20 months (mean 18 months) and 5-10 months (mean 7.5 months), respectively. The keys in pre-surgical orthodontic treatment include (1) three dimensional dental decompensation; (2) arch form and transverse discrepancy correction; (3) model surgery and the splint making. The main objective of post surgical orthodontic treatment is to detail the occlusion. Pre- and post surgical orthodontic treatment is essential for the orthognathic treatment of patients with mandibular asymmetry and prognathism.

Influence of ultrasonication and Fenton oxidation pre-treatment on rheological characteristics of wastewater sludge.

Science.gov (United States)

Pham, T T H; Brar, S K; Tyagi, R D; Surampalli, R Y

2010-01-01

The effect of ultrasonication and Fenton oxidation as physico-chemical pre-treatment processes on the change of rheology of wastewater sludge was investigated in this study. Pre-treated and raw sludges displayed non-Newtonian rheological behaviour with shear thinning as well as thixotropic properties for total solids ranging from 10 g/L to 40 g/L. The rheological models, namely, Bingham plastic, Casson law, NCA/CMA Casson, IPC Paste, and power law were also studied to characterize flow of raw and pre-treated sludges. Among all rheological models, the power law was more prominent in describing the rheology of the sludges. Pre-treatment processes resulted in a decrease in pseudoplasticity of sludge due to the decrease in consistency index K varying from 42.4 to 1188, 25.6 to 620.4 and 52.5 to 317.9; and increase in flow behaviour index n changing from 0.5 to 0.35, 0.62 to 0.55 and 0.63 to 0.58, for RS, UlS and FS, respectively at solids concentration 10-40 g/L. The correlation between improvement of biodegradability and dewaterability, decrease in viscosity, and change in particle size as a function of sludge pre-treatment process was also investigated. Fenton oxidation facilitated sludge filterability resulting in capillary suction time values which were approximately 50% of the raw sludges, whereas ultrasonication with high input energy deteriorated the filterability. Biodegradability was also enhanced by the pre-treatment processes and the maximum value was obtained (64%, 77% and 73% for raw, ultrasonicated and Fenton oxidized sludges, respectively) at total solids concentration of 25 g/L. Hence, pre-treatment of wastewater sludge modified the rheological properties so that: (1) the flowability of sludge was improved for transport through the treatment train (via pipes and pumps); (2) the dewaterability of wastewater sludge was enhanced for eventual disposal and; (3) the assimilation of nutrients by microorganisms for further value-addition was increased.

Effect of torrefaction pre-treatment on physical and combustion characteristics of biomass composite briquette from rice husk and banana residue

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Amira Atan Nor

2018-01-01

Full Text Available Biomass is an alternative renewable energy sources that can generates energy almost same as fossil fuel. The depletion sources of fossil fuel had increase the potential use of biomass energy. In Malaysia, rice husk and banana residues are abundantly left and not treated with proper disposal method which later may contribute to environment and health problems. Thus the development of biomass composite briquette made from rice husk and banana residue is one of the potential ways to reduce the problems and hence may contribute the better way to treat the waste by recycling the waste into a form of biomass product. The biomass briquettes are used for thermal applications because it can produce a complete combustion as it has a consistent quality and high burning efficiency. However, the quality of the biomass briquette can be added by application of torrefaction pre-treatment method. Torrefaction is a thermal method that can produce more high quality of the briquette with high calorific value, high fixed carbon content, low volatile matter, and low ash content. This study was conducted to assess the physical and combustion characteristic of the biomass briquette from rice husk and banana residue which was produced through torrefaction process. The biomass briquette, were densified by using hot press machine with temperature of 180°C for about 30 minutes. The briquette produce are 150 μm in particle size with varies in mixing ratio of rice husk to banana residue which are 100:0, 80:20 and 60:40. After the briquetting process, the biomass fuel briquettes have been undergoes parameter testing and the data have been analysed. Result showed the best biomass briquette is developed from torrefied rice husk and banana residue mixed at ratio of 60:40. Moreover, SEM image reveal that torrefaction pre-treatment has shrinkage the fibres size which confirming the thermal stability of the briquette.

Laser speckle technique to study the effect of chemical pre-treatment on the quality of minimally processed apples

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Minz, Preeti D; Nirala, A K

2016-01-01

In the present study, the laser speckle technique has been used for the quality evaluation of chemically treated cut apples. Chemical pre-treatment includes 1% (w/v) solution of citric acid (CA), sodium chloride (SC), and a combination of CA and sodium chloride (CS). The variation in weight loss, respiration rate, total soluble solids (TSS), titratable acidity (TA), and absorbance of chemically treated cut apples stored at 5 °C was monitored for 11 d. The speckle grain size was calculated by an autocovariance method from the speckled images of freshly cut chemically treated apples. The effect of chemicals on TSS and the TA content variation of the cut apples were well correlated to the linear speckle grain size. Circular degree of polarization confirms the presence of a small scatterer and hence Rayleigh diffusion region. For all the treated cut apples, a decrease in the concentration of small particles nearly after the mid-period of storage results in the fast decay of circular degree of polarization. For non-invasive and fast analysis of the chemical constituent of fruits during minimal processing, the laser speckle can be practically used in the food industry. (paper)

Laser speckle technique to study the effect of chemical pre-treatment on the quality of minimally processed apples

Science.gov (United States)

Minz, Preeti D.; Nirala, A. K.

2016-04-01

In the present study, the laser speckle technique has been used for the quality evaluation of chemically treated cut apples. Chemical pre-treatment includes 1% (w/v) solution of citric acid (CA), sodium chloride (SC), and a combination of CA and sodium chloride (CS). The variation in weight loss, respiration rate, total soluble solids (TSS), titratable acidity (TA), and absorbance of chemically treated cut apples stored at 5 °C was monitored for 11 d. The speckle grain size was calculated by an autocovariance method from the speckled images of freshly cut chemically treated apples. The effect of chemicals on TSS and the TA content variation of the cut apples were well correlated to the linear speckle grain size. Circular degree of polarization confirms the presence of a small scatterer and hence Rayleigh diffusion region. For all the treated cut apples, a decrease in the concentration of small particles nearly after the mid-period of storage results in the fast decay of circular degree of polarization. For non-invasive and fast analysis of the chemical constituent of fruits during minimal processing, the laser speckle can be practically used in the food industry.

Inhibition of ethanol-producing yeast and bacteria by degradation products produced during pre-treatment of biomass

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Klinke, H.B.; Thomsen, A.B.; Ahring, Birgitte Kiær

2004-01-01

for ethanol fermentation. The resulting hydrolyzsates contain substances inhibitory to fermentation-depending on both the raw material (biomass) and the pre-treatment applied. An overview of the inhibitory effect on ethanol production by yeast and bacteria is presented. Apart from furans formed by sugar......An overview of the different inhibitors formed by pre-treatment of lignocellulosic materials and their inhibition of ethanol production in yeast and bacteria is given. Different high temperature physical pre-treatment methods are available to render the carbohydrates in lignocellulose accessible...... degradation, phenol monomers from lignin degradation are important co-factors in hydrolysate inhibition, and inhibitory effects of these aromatic compounds on different ethanol producing microorganisms is reviewed. The furans and phenols generally inhibited growth and ethanol production rate (Q...

Performance of seeds Crambe exposed to pre-germination treatments

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rocha Cardoso, Rebeca; Costa Nobre, Danubia Aparecida; Santos de Souza David, Andreia Marcia; Ribeiro Amaro, Hugo Tiago; Borghetti, Renato Antonio; Costa, Marcia Regina

2014-01-01

Encouraging the production and use of biodiesel, seeds of crambe today constitute one of the best options for the supply of raw material, is also an excellent alternative for autumn-winter crop rotation order. The aim of this study was to evaluate the efficiency of combined pre-germination treatments on the seed behavior of Crambe. From a seed sample of FMS Brilhante cultivar, an experimental design completely randomized with a 2 x 5 factorial arrangement was performed. it was formed from combination of two structural conditions, seeds with or without pericarp, and treatments with or without giberelic acid, being: control (no treatment); seeds pre-soaked in distilled water for 24 hours as control; and seeds pre-soaked in gibberellic acid at 4 % at different concentrations (400, 500 and 600 mg.L"-1). Water content, first count germination, germination, seedling emergence and emergence rate index were determined. From these results it is concluded that removal of the pericarp in seed of Crambe, cultivar FMS brilhante, accelerated the germination rate, however, decreased your final percentage. The pre-soaking in gibberellic acid (400, 500 and 600 mg L"-1) for 24 hours, increased the germination and seed vigor crambe with pericarp.

pre-germination treatments in castor seeds, cultivar IAC 226

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Costa Nobre, Danubia Aparecida; Gomes Damascena, Joyce; Marcia, Andreia; Santos de Souza, David; Pereira dos Santos, Marlucia; Rodrigues Pereira, Adriana; Goncalves Pereira, Cassio

2013-01-01

The present study aimed to evaluate the efficiency of different pre-germination treatments in castor beans, IAC 226. The experimental design was completely randomized in a factorial 4 x 4 (four temperatures and four immersion times), with four replications. Pre-germination treatments were: immersion in water at room temperature (25 Celsius degrade) and immersion in hot water at temperatures of 60, 70 and 80 Celsius degrade for 2, 4, 6 and 8 minutes. Water content of the seeds was determined before treatments. Before and after each treatment, seeds were subjected to germination test; 20-30 Celsius degrade alternating temperature, determining the percentages of normal and abnormal seedlings, dormant and dead seeds. Independent of time, immersion in 70 Celsius degrade, water was the most efficient treatment for accelerating germination of castor bean cultivar IAC 226.

Influences of mechanical pre-treatment on the non-biological treatment of municipal wastewater by forward osmosis

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Hey, Tobias; Zarebska, Agata; Bajraktari, Niada

2016-01-01

municipal wastewater treatment without the biological treatment step, including the effects of different pre-treatment configurations, e.g., direct membrane filtration before forward osmosis. Forward osmosis was tested using raw wastewater and wastewater subjected to different types of mechanical pre-treatment......, e.g., microsieving and microfiltration permeation, as a potential technology for municipal wastewater treatment. Forward osmosis was performed using thin-film-composite, Aquaporin Inside(TM) and HTI membranes with NaCl as the draw solution. Both types of forward osmosis membranes were tested......-sized wastewater treatment plants....

Perceptions of Pre-Service Teachers on Student Burnout, Occupational Anxiety and Faculty Life Quality

Science.gov (United States)

Türkoglu, Muhammet Emin; Cansoy, Ramazan

2017-01-01

Perceptions of pre-service teachers on burnout, occupational anxiety and faculty life quality were investigated in this research. The research group consisted of 461 pre-service teachers in total studying at Afyon Kocatepe University faculty of education. "Maslach Burnout Inventory-Student Form," "Faculty Life Quality Scale"…

Pre-harvest calcium sulfate application improves postharvest quality ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

The quality of cut rose flowers at the postharvest stage is affected by pre-harvest conditions. The present study was conducted to examine the possible involvement of calcium sulfate (CaSO4) in regulation of rose flower senescence. Roses (Rosa hybrida L.) cultivars 'Cool Water' and 'Pretty Blinda', were treated with either ...

Quality of MR thermometry during palliative MR-guided high-intensity focused ultrasound (MR-HIFU) treatment of bone metastases

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Lam, Mie K; Huisman, Merel; Nijenhuis, Robbert J; van den Bosch, Maurice; Viergever, Max A; Moonen, Chrit Tw; Bartels, LW

2015-01-01

BACKGROUND: Magnetic resonance (MR)-guided high-intensity focused ultrasound has emerged as a clinical option for palliative treatment of painful bone metastases, with MR thermometry (MRT) used for treatment monitoring. In this study, the general image quality of the MRT was assessed in terms of

Comparison of pre- and post-levothyroxine high-sensitivity c-reactive protein and fetuin-a levels in subclinical hypothyroidism

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Oktay Bilgir

2015-02-01

Full Text Available OBJECTIVE: The objective of this trial was to determine the levels of inflammatory markers, high-sensitivity C-reactive protein and fetuin-A pre- and post-levothyroxine treatment in cases of subclinical hypothyroidism. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A total of 32 patients with a diagnosis of subclinical hypothyroidism and a control group of 30 healthy individuals were tested for high-sensitivity C-reactive protein and fetuin-A, followed by the administration of 50 µg of levothyroxine in the patient group for 3 months. During the post-treatment stage, high-sensitivity C-reactive protein and fetuin-A levels in the patient group were re-assessed and compared with pre-treatment values. RESULTS: Pre-treatment levels of both high-sensitivity C-reactive protein and fetuin-A were observed to be higher in the patient group than in the control group. The decrease in high-sensitivity C-reactive protein levels during the post-treatment stage was not statistically significant. However, the decrease observed in post-treatment fetuin-A levels was found to be statistically significant. CONCLUSION: The decrease in fetuin-A levels in subclinical hypothyroidism cases indicates that levothyroxine treatment exerts anti-inflammatory and anti-apoptotic effects. Although the decrease in high-sensitivity C-reactive protein levels was statistically non-significant, it is predicted to reach significance with sustained treatment.

The design of a novel, environmentally improved cotton pre-treatment proces

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Bouwhuis, G.H. (Gerrit)

2011-01-01

The scope of this thesis of Gerrit Bouwhuis, lecturer at Saxion Research Centre for Design and Technology in Enschede is the development of a new industrial applicable pre-treatment process for cotton based on catalysis. The pre-treatment generally consists of desizing, scouring and bleaching. These

Modification of Bi:YIG film properties by substrate surface ion pre-treatment

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Shaposhnikov, A.N.; Prokopov, A.R.; Karavainikov, A.V.; Berzhansky, V.N.; Mikhailova, T.V.; Kotov, V.A.; Balabanov, D.E.; Sharay, I.V.; Salyuk, O.Y.; Vasiliev, M.; Golub, V.O.

2014-01-01

Highlights: • Effects of substrates ion beam treatment on magnetoptical properties Bi:YIG films. • Substrate surface damage results in sign inversion of the magneto-optical effects. • Atomically smooth films growth takes place on low energy ions treated substrates. • High energy ions treatment results in selective nucleation mechanism of the growth. - Abstract: The effect of a controlled ion beam pre-treatment of (1 1 1)-oriented Gd 3 Ga 5 O 12 substrates on the magneto-optical properties and surface morphology of the ultrathin bismuth-substituted yttrium–iron garnet films with a composition Bi 2.8 Y 0.2 Fe 5 O 12 was studied. It has been shown that the observed sign inversion of magneto-optical effects (Faraday rotation and magnetic circular dichroism) observed in films that were deposited on the GGG substrate pre-treated by 1 keV and 4 keV Ar + ion beams is a result of the substrate surface amorphization caused by the ion bombardment

Pre-treatment and membrane ultrafiltration using treated palm oil mill effluent (POME

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Wong Pui Wah

2002-11-01

Full Text Available Treatment of palm oil mill effluent (POME has always been a topic of research in Malaysia. This effluent that is extremely rich in organic content needs to be properly treated to minimize environmental hazards before it is released into watercourses. The common practice for treating POME in Malaysia involves a combination of aerobic and anaerobic methods. The purpose of tertiary treatment is to allow the treated water to be reused in the mill operations for other purposes such as feed water. The proposed treatment will also ensure the industry to meet a more stringent discharge standard in terms of the BOD, COD and nitrogen values. In this study membrane ultrafiltration is used as the tertiary treatment method. Before the actual membrane operation was conducted, the samples were pre-treated using three separate method namely filtration, centrifugation and coagulation. It was found that the combination of filtrationultrafiltration treatment POME produced the best-treated sample quality in terms of pollutant contents elimination, namely % BOD, % COD and % nitrogen removal.

Effect of biological and coagulation pre-treatments to control organic and biofouling potential components of ultrafiltration membrane in the treatment of lake water.

Science.gov (United States)

Pramanik, Biplob Kumar; Kajol, Annaduzzaman; Suja, Fatihah; Md Zain, Shahrom

2017-03-01

Biological aerated filter (BAF), sand filtration (SF), alum and Moringa oleifera coagulation were investigated as a pre-treatment for reducing the organic and biofouling potential component of an ultrafiltration (UF) membrane in the treatment of lake water. The carbohydrate content was mainly responsible for reversible fouling of the UF membrane compared to protein or dissolved organic carbon (DOC) content. All pre-treatment could effectively reduce these contents and led to improve the UF filterability. Both BAF and SF markedly led to improvement in flux than coagulation processes, and alum gave greater flux than M. oleifera. This was attributed to the effective removal and/or breakdown of high molecular weight (MW) organics by biofilters. BAF led to greater improvement in flux than SF, due to greater breakdown of high MW organics, and this was also confirmed by the attenuated total reflection-Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy analysis. Coagulation processes were ineffective in removing biofouling potential components, whereas both biofilters were very effective as shown by the reduction of low MW organics, biodegradable dissolved organic carbon and assimilable organic carbon contents. This study demonstrated the potential of biological pre-treatments for reducing organic and biofouling potential component and thus improving flux for the UF of lake water treatment.

Patient Satisfaction with Physician Discussions of Treatment Impact on Fertility, Menopause and Sexual Health among Pre-menopausal Women with Cancer

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Maura Scanlon, Anne Blaes, Melissa Geller, Navneet S Majhail, Bruce Lindgren, Tufia Haddad

2012-01-01

Full Text Available PURPOSE: Pre-menopausal women with cancer are at risk of therapy-associated infertility, premature menopause, and sexual dysfunction. However, it is unknown whether oncologists adequately address these risks during treatment planning. We conducted a study to evaluate physician-patient discussions addressing the impact of cancer treatment and actual treatment effects on fertility, menopause status, and general sexual health.METHODS: A questionnaire was administered in four oncology clinics specializing in breast, gynecologic, general hematology-oncology, and blood and marrow transplantation (BMT cancer care at a single institution. Eligible participants were pre-menopausal at the time of diagnosis and either actively receiving or within 24 months from completion of treatment. Participants completed the questionnaire at enrollment and at 1-year follow-up.RESULTS: Of the 104 eligible women, a majority were satisfied with the quality (68% and length (66% of reproductive health discussions, with the highest satisfaction levels in the gynecologic cancer clinic (85% and the lowest levels in the BMT clinic (53%. Fertility preservation was desired by 20% of women, including some >40 years old. Women were more interested in discussing treatment impact on menopause status and sexual health than fertility. Rates of discussions on treatment impact on sexual health were low despite 77% of women reporting severe sexual dysfunction at 1-year follow-up.CONCLUSIONS: One-third of women are dissatisfied with the quality and length of discussions regarding the impact of cancer treatment on reproductive health. There is notably inadequate counseling on the effect of treatment on fertility in women > 40 and on sexual function in all women. Oncologists must offer better resources and improve communication on the effect of treatment on reproductive health to pre-menopausal women with cancer.

Mechanical pre-treatment for enzymatically enhanced energy efficient TMP; Mekanisk foerbehandling av flis foer effektiv enzymatisk paaverkan vid energieffektiv TMP tillverkning

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Viforr, Silvia

2008-11-15

Thermomechanical pulp (TMP) processes are high energy demanding. This together with the high energy prices of nowadays results in significant costs, why less energy demanding processes are wished. This project has evaluated the potential for energy reductions in a TMP process by a mechanical pre-treatment of the wood chips combined with an enzymatic modification based on a cellulase mixture. The structure of the wood was opened up by the mechanical pre-treatment making it easier for the enzymes to penetrate into the pre-treated wood material. The enzymatic treatment was then run at optimum standard conditions. The EU project - Ecotarget 2004-2008 (www.ecotarget.com) have studied different types of enzymes that could be used for pre-treatment of wood chips in order to save energy during TMP processes. Based on these studies cellulose enzyme was recommended to be used at pre-treatment experiment performed by the Vaermeforsk project. Due to the fact that the Ecotarget-project has also been run during 2008 with activities involving enzymes, the steering board of the Vaermeforsk project took the decision to co-ordinate the experiments from both of the projects. This co-operation increased the funds and also the number of experiments for both of the projects. The experimental results from this project showed that energy reductions at a given tensile index could be achieved if gently mechanical pre-treated wood chips were enzymatically treated. An intensive mechanical pre-treatment gave negative effects on both fibre length and tear index while the light scattering coefficient was promoted, probably due to the fibre shortening. Enzymatic modification of mechanically pre-treated chips showed a favourable modification of the fibres, even regarding the fibre shortening, if compared to mechanical pre-treated chips only. The effects of cellulases was however not as expected, why a high amount of cellulases was used. Other types of enzymes which could attack the primary wall of

Effect of thermal, chemical and thermo-chemical pre-treatments to enhance methane production

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Rafique, Rashad; Nizami, Abdul-Sattar; Murphy, Jerry D.; Kiely, Gerard [Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University College Cork (Ireland); Poulsen, Tjalfe Gorm [Department of Biotechnology, Chemistry and Environmental Engineering, Aalborg University (Denmark); Asam, Zaki-ul-Zaman [Department of Civil Engineering, National University of Ireland Galway (Ireland)

2010-12-15

The rise in oil price triggered the exploration and enhancement of various renewable energy sources. Producing biogas from organic waste is not only providing a clean sustainable indigenous fuel to the number of on-farm digesters in Europe, but also reducing the ecological and environmental deterioration. The lignocellulosic substrates are not completely biodegraded in anaerobic digesters operating at commercial scale due to their complex physical and chemical structure, which result in meager energy recovery in terms of methane yield. The focus of this study is to investigate the effect of pre-treatments: thermal, thermo-chemical and chemical pre-treatments on the biogas and methane potential of dewatered pig manure. A laboratory scale batch digester is used for these pre-treatments at different temperature range (25 C-150 C). Results showed that thermo-chemical pretreatment has high effect on biogas and methane potential in the temperature range (25-100 C). Maximum enhancement is observed at 70 C with increase of 78% biogas and 60% methane production. Thermal pretreatment also showed enhancement in the temperature range (50-10 C), with maximum enhancement at 100 C having 28% biogas and 25% methane increase. (author)

Effects of hydrothermal pre-treatments on Giant reed (Arundo donax) methane yield

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Di Girolamo, Giuseppe; Grigatti, Marco; Barbanti, Lorenzo

2013-01-01

/20min, 180°C/10min and 180°C/20min. Conversely, the eight pre-treatments with H2SO4 catalyst incurred a methanogenic inhibition in association with high SO42- concentration in the hydrolysate, known to enhance sulphate reducing bacteria. Furfurals were also detected in the hydrolysate of five strong...

Pre-analytic process control: projecting a quality image.

Science.gov (United States)

Serafin, Mark D

2006-09-26

Within the health-care system, the term "ancillary department" often describes the laboratory. Thus, laboratories may find it difficult to define their image and with it, customer perception of department quality. Regulatory requirements give laboratories who so desire an elegant way to address image and perception issues--a comprehensive pre-analytic system solution. Since large laboratories use such systems--laboratory service manuals--I describe and illustrate the process for the benefit of smaller facilities. There exist resources to help even small laboratories produce a professional service manual--an elegant solution to image and customer perception of quality.

The effect of thermal pre-treatment of titanium hydride (TiH2) powder in argon condition

Science.gov (United States)

Franciska P., L.; Erryani, Aprilia; Annur, Dhyah; Kartika, Ika

2018-04-01

Titanium hydride (TiH2) powders are used to enhance the foaming process in the formation of a highly porous metallic material with a cellular structure. But, the low temperature of hydrogen release is one of its problems. The present study, different thermal pre-treatment temperatures were employed to investigate the decomposition behavior of TiH2 to retard or delay a hydrogen gas release process during foaming. As a foaming agent, TiH2 was subjected to various heat treatments prior at 450 and 500°C during 2 hours in argon condition. To study the formation mechanism, the thermal behavior of titanium hydride and hydrogen release are investigated by thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) and differential thermal analysis (DTA). The morphology of pre-treated titanium hydride powders were examined using Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) while unsure mapping and elemental composition of the pre-treated powders processed by Energy Dispersive Spectroscopy (EDS). To study the phase formation was characterized by X-ray diffraction analysis (XRD). In accordance with the results, an increase in pre-treatment temperature of TiH2 to higher degrees are changing the process of releasing hydrogen from titanium hydride powder. DTA/TGA results showed that thermal pre-treatment TiH2 at 450°C, released the hydrogen gas at 560°C in heat treatment when foaming process. Meanwhile, thermal pre-treatment in TiH2 at 500°C, released the hydrogen gas at 670°C when foaming process. There is plenty of direct evidence for the existence of oxide layers that showed by EDS analysis obtained in SEM. As oxygen is a light element and qualitative proof shows that the higher pre-treatment temperature produces more and thicker oxygen layers on the surface of the TiH2 powder particles. It might the thickness of oxide layer are different from different pre-treatment temperatures, which leading to the differences in the decomposition temperature. But from SEM result that oxidation of the powder does not

Pre-Pregnancy Weight Status Is Associated with Diet Quality and Nutritional Biomarkers during Pregnancy.

Science.gov (United States)

Shin, Dayeon; Lee, Kyung Won; Song, Won O

2016-03-11

Although the positive association between pre-pregnancy overweight and obesity with excessive gestational weight gain is well known, it is not clear how pre-pregnancy weight status is associated with gestational weight gain through maternal diet during pregnancy. This study aimed to examine the relationship between pre-pregnancy weight status and diet quality and maternal nutritional biomarkers during pregnancy. Our study included 795 U.S. pregnant women from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, 2003-2012. Pre-pregnancy body mass index (BMI) was calculated based on self-reported pre-pregnancy weight and height. The cutoff points of pregnancy was assessed by the Healthy Eating Index (HEI)-2010 based on a 24-h recall. Multivariable logistic regressions were used to estimate the odds ratios (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI). For all pregnant women included in this study, the mean HEI-2010 (±standard error of the mean (SEM)) was 50.7 (±0.9). Women with obese pre-pregnancy BMI demonstrated significantly lower HEI-2010 compared to those with underweight and normal pre-pregnancy BMI, respectively. In an unadjusted model, women with pre-pregnancy obesity BMI had increased odds for being in the lowest tertile of HEI-2010 (33.4 ± 0.5) compared to those with underweight pre-pregnancy BMI (OR 5.0; 95% CI 2.2-11.4). The inverse association between pre-pregnancy overweight and obesity status and diet quality during pregnancy persisted even after we controlled for physical activity levels (adjusted OR (AOR) 3.8; 95% CI 1.2-11.7, AOR 5.4; 95% CI 2.0-14.5, respectively). Serum folate concentration (ng/mL) was significantly higher in underweight women compared to overweight women (23.4 ± 1.7 vs. 17.0 ± 0.8, p pregnancy weight status and diet quality and maternal nutritional biomarkers during pregnancy. Poor diet quality as measured by HEI-2010 was shown among overweight and obese women. Nutrition education and interventions need to be targeted to those

How to conduct External Quality Assessment Schemes for the pre-analytical phase?

Science.gov (United States)

Kristensen, Gunn B B; Aakre, Kristin Moberg; Kristoffersen, Ann Helen; Sandberg, Sverre

2014-01-01

In laboratory medicine, several studies have described the most frequent errors in the different phases of the total testing process, and a large proportion of these errors occur in the pre-analytical phase. Schemes for registration of errors and subsequent feedback to the participants have been conducted for decades concerning the analytical phase by External Quality Assessment (EQA) organizations operating in most countries. The aim of the paper is to present an overview of different types of EQA schemes for the pre-analytical phase, and give examples of some existing schemes. So far, very few EQA organizations have focused on the pre-analytical phase, and most EQA organizations do not offer pre-analytical EQA schemes (EQAS). It is more difficult to perform and standardize pre-analytical EQAS and also, accreditation bodies do not ask the laboratories for results from such schemes. However, some ongoing EQA programs for the pre-analytical phase do exist, and some examples are given in this paper. The methods used can be divided into three different types; collecting information about pre-analytical laboratory procedures, circulating real samples to collect information about interferences that might affect the measurement procedure, or register actual laboratory errors and relate these to quality indicators. These three types have different focus and different challenges regarding implementation, and a combination of the three is probably necessary to be able to detect and monitor the wide range of errors occurring in the pre-analytical phase.

A comprehensive review on pre-treatment strategy for lignocellulosic food industry waste: Challenges and opportunities.

Science.gov (United States)

Ravindran, Rajeev; Jaiswal, Amit Kumar

2016-01-01

Lignocellulose is a generic term used to describe plant biomass. It is the most abundant renewable carbon resource in the world and is mainly composed of lignin, cellulose and hemicelluloses. Most of the food and food processing industry waste are lignocellulosic in nature with a global estimate of up to 1.3 billion tons/year. Lignocellulose, on hydrolysis, releases reducing sugars which is used for the production of bioethanol, biogas, organic acids, enzymes and biosorbents. However, structural conformation, high lignin content and crystalline cellulose hinder its use for value addition. Pre-treatment strategies facilitate the exposure of more cellulose and hemicelluloses for enzymatic hydrolysis. The present article confers about the structure of lignocellulose and how it influences enzymatic degradation emphasising the need for pre-treatments along with a comprehensive analysis and categorisation of the same. Finally, this article concludes with a detailed discussion on microbial/enzymatic inhibitors that arise post pre-treatment and strategies to eliminate them. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Pre-Radiotherapy dental evaluation criteria and treatment needs of oral side effects after head and neck radiotherapy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gonzalez-Arriagada, Wilfredo Alejandro; Santos-Silva, Alan Roger; Carvalho de Andrade, Marco Aurelio; De Andrade Elias, Rogerio; Ajudarte Lopes, Marcio

2010-01-01

The objective of this review is to present pre-radiotherapy evaluation criteria and the main needs for treatment of these patients after the radiation therapy. Were revised articles in English, Spanish and Portuguese language between 1995 and 2009 indexed in Pubmed and Scielo. The keywords were oral cancer and radiotherapy, complications in head and neck radiotherapy, oral pre-radiotherapy evaluation.The adverse complications of radiotherapy in head and neck area could be temporary or late. The late effects, such as radiation caries and osteorradionecrosis could be directly associated with the fact that previous dental evaluation was not performed and can severely affect the post-operatory quality of life. The participation of the dentist in the multidisciplinary team and dental evaluation of the patients that will receive radiotherapy in the head and neck area are of vital importance to improve the post-operatory quality of life of these patients

Modification of Bi:YIG film properties by substrate surface ion pre-treatment

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Shaposhnikov, A.N.; Prokopov, A.R.; Karavainikov, A.V.; Berzhansky, V.N.; Mikhailova, T.V. [Taurida National V.I. Vernadsky University, Vernadsky Avenue, 4, Simferopol, 95007 (Ukraine); Kotov, V.A. [V.A. Kotelnikov Institute of Radio Engineering and Electronics, RAS, 11 Mohovaya Street, Moscow, 125009 (Russian Federation); Balabanov, D.E. [Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology, Dolgoprudny, 141700 (Russian Federation); Sharay, I.V.; Salyuk, O.Y. [Institute of Magnetism, NAS of Ukraine, 03142, Kiev (Ukraine); Vasiliev, M. [Electron Science Research Institute, Edith Cowan University, 270 Joondalup Drive, Joondalup 6027 (Australia); Golub, V.O., E-mail: v_o_golub@yahoo.com [Institute of Magnetism, NAS of Ukraine, 03142, Kiev (Ukraine)

2014-07-01

Highlights: • Effects of substrates ion beam treatment on magnetoptical properties Bi:YIG films. • Substrate surface damage results in sign inversion of the magneto-optical effects. • Atomically smooth films growth takes place on low energy ions treated substrates. • High energy ions treatment results in selective nucleation mechanism of the growth. - Abstract: The effect of a controlled ion beam pre-treatment of (1 1 1)-oriented Gd{sub 3}Ga{sub 5}O{sub 12} substrates on the magneto-optical properties and surface morphology of the ultrathin bismuth-substituted yttrium–iron garnet films with a composition Bi{sub 2.8}Y{sub 0.2}Fe{sub 5}O{sub 12} was studied. It has been shown that the observed sign inversion of magneto-optical effects (Faraday rotation and magnetic circular dichroism) observed in films that were deposited on the GGG substrate pre-treated by 1 keV and 4 keV Ar{sup +} ion beams is a result of the substrate surface amorphization caused by the ion bombardment.

Radiation pre-treatment of seed imparts metabolic stability and quality protection during storage under accelerated aging

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sumedha; Singh, Bhupinder; Singhal, R.K.

2014-01-01

Quality of seed is known to deteriorate due to unfavoured temperature and relative humidity during accelerated aging. Protecting the seed quality during storage is thus a priority challenge for the seed industry till the seeds end up with the end user. Gamma radiation treatment has been shown to improve source to sink transport of photosynthates during terminal heat stress in cereals. An experiment was conducted to measure seed irradiation induced biochemical changes in groundnut cultivar TG-37A stored under accelerated aging at 45±2 ℃ and 95-100 % humidity for 0, 5, 10, 15, 20 and 40 days to aging. The gamma irradiation doses were control (0), 0.005, 0.025, 0.1, 0.5 and 1.0 kGy. Seed samples were periodically evaluated for oil and fatty acid profile by the soxhlet extraction method and gas chromatography mass spectroscopy respectively. Here alike earlier studies variation in fatty acid profile of seed was used as an indicator of seed health under harsh storage conditions of accelerated aging. In the majority of plant species having oil rich seeds, the lipids that are at risk of auto-oxidation contain oleic (18:1), linoleic (18:2) and linolenic (18:3) fatty acid chain. Degree of unsaturation has a significant influence on degree of degradation. Decreased total lipid content in aged sunflower seeds have been reported. Auto-oxidation of unsaturated fatty acids was noticed, especially for linoleic acid in seed of oil crop after seven years of storage. Our results showed radiation treatment did not cause any significant change in oleic (C18:1), linoleic acids (C18:2) and linolenic (C18:3) acid content of seeds. This shows that gamma radiation essentially slows down the lipid peroxidation which essentially protects membrane permeability and reduces the rate of seed deterioration at high temperature and RH. Radiation treatment imparts metabolic stability in seeds during storage under accelerated aging conditions. (author)

Classroom Quality at Pre-kindergarten and Kindergarten and Children’s Social Skills and Behavior Problems

Science.gov (United States)

Broekhuizen, Martine L.; Mokrova, Irina L.; Burchinal, Margaret R.; Garrett-Peters, Patricia T.

2016-01-01

Focusing on the continuity in the quality of classroom environments as children transition from preschool into elementary school, this study examined the associations between classroom quality in pre-kindergarten and kindergarten and children’s social skills and behavior problems in kindergarten and first grade. Participants included 1175 ethnically-diverse children (43% African American) living in low-wealth rural communities of the US. Results indicated that children who experienced higher levels of emotional and organizational classroom quality in both pre-kindergarten and kindergarten demonstrated better social skills and fewer behavior problems in both kindergarten and first grade comparing to children who did not experience higher classroom quality. The examination of the first grade results indicated that the emotional and organizational quality of pre-kindergarten classrooms was the strongest predictor of children’s first grade social skills and behavior problems. The study results are discussed from theoretical, practical, and policy perspectives. PMID:26949286

Effect of storage temperature and osmotic pre-treatment with alternative solutes on the shelf-life of gilthead seabream (Sparus aurata fillets

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Theofania N. Tsironi

2017-01-01

Osmotic pre-treatment led to significant shelf-life extension of fillets, in terms of microbial growth, chemical changes and organoleptic deterioration. The pre-treatment with the alternative solutes led to depression of the freezing point (−1.8, −2.6, −3.2 and −3.5 °C for the untreated samples and the osmotically pre-treated with HDM, HDM + treh and HDM + gluc, respectively. TVB-N values were higher in untreated samples, followed by osmotically treated fillets, mainly at higher storage temperatures (i.e. 10 and 15 °C. Based on the mathematical models for sensory evaluation scoring, the shelf-life was 12, 19, 22 and 22 days at 0 °C for untreated and osmotically pre-treated with HDM, HDM + treh and HDM + gluc fish slices, respectively, while the respective values at −3 °C were 21, 35, 38 and 38 days. The alternative solutes had no significant effect on the quality and shelf-life of pre-treated fish fillet during storage at refrigerated conditions.

Comparison of MLC error sensitivity of various commercial devices for VMAT pre-treatment quality assurance.

Science.gov (United States)

Saito, Masahide; Sano, Naoki; Shibata, Yuki; Kuriyama, Kengo; Komiyama, Takafumi; Marino, Kan; Aoki, Shinichi; Ashizawa, Kazunari; Yoshizawa, Kazuya; Onishi, Hiroshi

2018-05-01

The purpose of this study was to compare the MLC error sensitivity of various measurement devices for VMAT pre-treatment quality assurance (QA). This study used four QA devices (Scandidos Delta4, PTW 2D-array, iRT systems IQM, and PTW Farmer chamber). Nine retrospective VMAT plans were used and nine MLC error plans were generated for all nine original VMAT plans. The IQM and Farmer chamber were evaluated using the cumulative signal difference between the baseline and error-induced measurements. In addition, to investigate the sensitivity of the Delta4 device and the 2D-array, global gamma analysis (1%/1, 2%/2, and 3%/3 mm), dose difference (1%, 2%, and 3%) were used between the baseline and error-induced measurements. Some deviations of the MLC error sensitivity for the evaluation metrics and MLC error ranges were observed. For the two ionization devices, the sensitivity of the IQM was significantly better than that of the Farmer chamber (P < 0.01) while both devices had good linearly correlation between the cumulative signal difference and the magnitude of MLC errors. The pass rates decreased as the magnitude of the MLC error increased for both Delta4 and 2D-array. However, the small MLC error for small aperture sizes, such as for lung SBRT, could not be detected using the loosest gamma criteria (3%/3 mm). Our results indicate that DD could be more useful than gamma analysis for daily MLC QA, and that a large-area ionization chamber has a greater advantage for detecting systematic MLC error because of the large sensitive volume, while the other devices could not detect this error for some cases with a small range of MLC error. © 2018 The Authors. Journal of Applied Clinical Medical Physics published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. on behalf of American Association of Physicists in Medicine.

High Pressure Processing Treatment of Fresh-Cut Carrots: Effect of Presoaking in Calcium Salts on Quality Parameters

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Yong Yu

2018-01-01

Full Text Available Effect of high pressure (HP treatment (200–600 MPa; 0–20 min on quality of fresh-cut carrot slices was evaluated after presoaking in selected calcium salt solutions (1% calcium chloride, 1% calcium lactate, 1% calcium gluconate, and distilled water as control for one hour. Results showed that calcium chloride (CaCl2 solution pretreatment was most effective for preserving the hardness of carrot slices at 400 and 600 MPa and this treatment also resulted in the least amount of color change in carrots, followed by calcium lactate, gluconate, and control pretreatments. The average sensory evaluation scores during 9 days of refrigerated storage at 4°C in control, CaCl2, calcium lactate, and calcium gluconate presoaking treatments followed by HP treatment were 6.4 ± 0.5, 8.0 ± 0.5, 7.8 ± 0.4, and 7.6 ± 0.3, respectively, on a zero to 9 scale for quality.

40 CFR 141.717 - Pre-filtration treatment toolbox components.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-07-01

... surface water or GWUDI source. (c) Bank filtration. Systems receive Cryptosporidium treatment credit for... paragraph. Systems using bank filtration when they begin source water monitoring under § 141.701(a) must... 40 Protection of Environment 22 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Pre-filtration treatment toolbox...

Treatment Foster Care Pre-Service Trainings: Changes in Parenting Attitudes and Fostering Readiness

Science.gov (United States)

Strickler, Amy; Trunzo, Annette C.; Kaelin, Michael S.

2018-01-01

Background: Pre-service training of treatment parents is a requirement for all foster care models to ensure safety and well-being of children in care. Researchers theorize treatment parents benefit more from enhanced pre-service trainings; however, no rigorous studies exist indicating the effectiveness of these trainings for treatment parents.…

Characterization of lignin during oxidative and hydrothermal pre-treatment processes of wheat straw and corn stover.

Science.gov (United States)

Kaparaju, Prasad; Felby, Claus

2010-05-01

The objective of the study was to characterize and map changes in lignin during hydrothermal and wet explosion pre-treatments of wheat straw and corn stover. Chemical composition, microscopic (atomic force microscopy and scanning electron microscopy) and spectroscopic (attenuated total reflectance Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, ATR-FTIR) analyses were performed. Results showed that both pre-treatments improved the cellulose and lignin content with substantial removal of hemicellulose in the pre-treated biomasses. These values were slightly higher for hydrothermal compared to wet explosion pre-treatment. ATR-FTIR analyses also confirmed these results. Microscopic analysis showed that pre-treatments affected the biomass by partial difibration. Lignin deposition on the surface of the hydrothermally pre-treated fibre was very distinct while severe loss of fibril integrity was noticed with wet exploded fibre. The present study thus revealed that the lignin cannot be removed by the studied pre-treatments. However, both pre-treatments improved the accessibility of the biomass towards enzymatic hydrolysis. Copyright 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Antisense pre-treatment increases gene therapy efficacy in dystrophic muscles.

Science.gov (United States)

Peccate, Cécile; Mollard, Amédée; Le Hir, Maëva; Julien, Laura; McClorey, Graham; Jarmin, Susan; Le Heron, Anita; Dickson, George; Benkhelifa-Ziyyat, Sofia; Piétri-Rouxel, France; Wood, Matthew J; Voit, Thomas; Lorain, Stéphanie

2016-08-15

In preclinical models for Duchenne muscular dystrophy, dystrophin restoration during adeno-associated virus (AAV)-U7-mediated exon-skipping therapy was shown to decrease drastically after six months in treated muscles. This decline in efficacy is strongly correlated with the loss of the therapeutic AAV genomes, probably due to alterations of the dystrophic myofiber membranes. To improve the membrane integrity of the dystrophic myofibers at the time of AAV-U7 injection, mdx muscles were pre-treated with a single dose of the peptide-phosphorodiamidate morpholino (PPMO) antisense oligonucleotides that induced temporary dystrophin expression at the sarcolemma. The PPMO pre-treatment allowed efficient maintenance of AAV genomes in mdx muscles and enhanced the AAV-U7 therapy effect with a ten-fold increase of the protein level after 6 months. PPMO pre-treatment was also beneficial to AAV-mediated gene therapy with transfer of micro-dystrophin cDNA into muscles. Therefore, avoiding vector genome loss after AAV injection by PPMO pre-treatment would allow efficient long-term restoration of dystrophin and the use of lower and thus safer vector doses for Duchenne patients. © The Author 2016. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.

The Effectiveness of Stress Management Program on Quality of Life among Methadone Maintenance Treatment Members

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

s Zarei

2014-11-01

Full Text Available Objective: The aim of present study was to investigate the effectiveness of stress management program on quality of life among methadone maintenance treatment members. Method: In this pre-test, post-test experimental study, 30 individual who referred to Saba MMT center in Pakdasht were randomly divided into experimental group (n=15 participants and control group (n=15 participants. The experimental group was undergone ten 90 minutes sessions of stress management program and the control group didn’t receive any treatment program. Quality of life questionnaire (SF-36 was administered. Result: The results showed that the mean sf-36 score in the experimental group had significant higher increased in comparison of control group. Conclusion: It can be concluded stress management program is effective on increasing of quality of life among methadone maintenance treatment members.

Improving the sludge disintegration efficiency of sonication by combining with alkalization and thermal pre-treatment methods.

Science.gov (United States)

Şahinkaya, S; Sevimli, M F; Aygün, A

2012-01-01

One of the most serious problems encountered in biological wastewater treatment processes is the production of waste activated sludge (WAS). Sonication, which is an energy-intensive process, is the most powerful sludge pre-treatment method. Due to lack of information about the combined pre-treatment methods of sonication, the combined pre-treatment methods were investigated and it was aimed to improve the disintegration efficiency of sonication by combining sonication with alkalization and thermal pre-treatment methods in this study. The process performances were evaluated based on the quantities of increases in soluble chemical oxygen demand (COD), protein and carbohydrate. The releases of soluble COD, carbohydrate and protein by the combined methods were higher than those by sonication, alkalization and thermal pre-treatment alone. Degrees of sludge disintegration in various options of sonication were in the following descending order: sono-alkalization > sono-thermal pre-treatment > sonication. Therefore, it was determined that combining sonication with alkalization significantly improved the sludge disintegration and decreased the required energy to reach the same yield by sonication. In addition, effects on sludge settleability and dewaterability and kinetic mathematical modelling of pre-treatment performances of these methods were investigated. It was proven that the proposed model accurately predicted the efficiencies of ultrasonic pre-treatment methods.

Improved mechanical properties of retorted carrots by ultrasonic pre-treatments.

Science.gov (United States)

Day, Li; Xu, Mi; Øiseth, Sofia K; Mawson, Raymond

2012-05-01

The use of ultrasound pre-processing treatment, compared to blanching, to enhance mechanical properties of non-starchy cell wall materials was investigated using carrot as an example. The mechanical properties of carrot tissues were measured by compression and tensile testing after the pre-processing treatment prior to and after retorting. Carrot samples ultrasound treated for 10 min at 60 °C provided a higher mechanical strength (P<0.05) to the cell wall structure than blanching for the same time period. With the addition of 0.5% CaCl(2) in the pre-treatment solution, both blanching and ultrasound treatment showed synergistic effect on enhancing the mechanical properties of retorted carrot pieces. At a relatively short treatment time (10 min at 60 °C) with the use of 0.5% CaCl(2), ultrasound treatment achieved similar enhancement to the mechanical strength of retorted carrots to blanching for a much longer time period (i.e. 40 min). The mechanism involved appears to be related to the stress responses present in all living plant matter. However, there is a need to clarify the relative importance of the potential stress mechanisms in order to get a better understanding of the processing conditions likely to be most effective. The amount of ultrasound treatment required is likely to involve low treatment intensities and there are indications from the structural characterisation and mechanical property analyses that the plant cell wall tissues were more elastic than that accomplished using low temperature long time blanching. Crown Copyright © 2011. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Acitretin treatment in (pre)malignant skin disorders of renal transplant recipients: Histologic and immunohistochemical effects.

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Smit, J.V.; Sevaux, R.G.L. de; Blokx, W.A.M.; Kerkhof, P.C.M. van de; Hoitsma, A.J.; Jong, E.M.G.J. de

2004-01-01

BACKGROUND: The incidence of (pre)malignant skin lesions after renal transplantation is high. Acitretin treatment appears to decrease the number of new squamous cell carcinomas and ameliorates the aspect and reduces the number of actinic keratoses. However, no histologic and immunohistochemical

Children enrolled in public pre-K: the relation of family life, neighborhood quality, and socioeconomic resources to early competence.

Science.gov (United States)

Barbarin, Oscar; Bryant, Donna; McCandies, Terry; Burchinal, Margaret; Early, Diane; Clifford, Richard; Pianta, Robert; Howes, Carollee

2006-04-01

This article presents data on the family and social environments of 501 children enrolled in public sponsored pre-K in 5 states and tests the relation of these resources to child competence. Structured interviews and questionnaires provide information from parents about the family's social and economic status. Direct assessments and teacher reports provide data on children's literacy, numeracy, and behavioral problems. A majority of the children served in public pre-K lived in poverty and showed decrements in language but not in other domains. A socioeconomic resource factor consisting of parental education, household income, and material need predicted all domains of children's functioning. Children from households high in socioeconomic resources entered pre-K with more well developed language and math skill but fewer behavioral problems than their disadvantaged peers. Neighborhood quality status was related to language competence and mother's marital status to math competence. Neighborhood quality and income level may have their impact on child competence through their relation to dyadic quality and the health and the psychological well-being of the parents. Copyright 2006 APA, all rights reserved.

One year follow-up reveals no difference in quality of life between high dose and conventional dose radiation: a quality of life assessment of RTOG 94-05

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kachnic, L.A.; Scott, C.; Ginsberg, R.; Pisansky, T.; Martenson, J.; Komaki, R.; Okawara, G.; Rosenthal, S.; Kelsen, D.; Minsky, B.

2001-01-01

Purpose: This study evaluated and compared the quality of life (QOL) outcomes for patients with esophageal cancer receiving combined modality therapy (CMT) with conventional dose radiation (RT) vs. high dose RT as used in RTOG study 94-05. Materials and Methods: Between June 12, 1995 and July 1, 1999, 236 patients with cT1-4NxM0 esophageal cancers were randomized on RTOG 94-05 to conventional dose (CD) CMT: 50.4 Gy RT + concurrent 5-FU and cisplatin administered on weeks 1 and 5 and repeated 4 weeks post RT vs. high dose (HD) CMT: 64.8 Gy RT + the same chemotherapy. QOL was assessed using the Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy (FACT) - Head and Neck (version 2). This questionnaire was administered to patients pre-treatment, post-treatment, at 8 months from the start of CMT, at 1 year and at 6-month intervals to year 5. Results: Of 209 eligible protocol patients, 169 (81%) participated in the pre-treatment QOL component of RTOG 94-05 (83 in the HD arm and 86 in the CD arm). The principle reason for non-participation was institutional error. The distribution of pre-treatment characteristics by participation in QOL assessment was similar in both treatment arms. African-Americans, patients with ≥ 10% weight loss, and patients with low performance status were significantly less likely to complete QOL forms (p=0.04, p=0.01 and p=0.004 respectively). Baseline QOL parameters were similar in the two treatment arms. Pulmonary symptoms were the most significant pre-treatment dysfunction reported. Female gender and ≥10% pre-treatment weight loss correlated with pre-treatment total QOL scores. Women reported lower overall QOL as well as worse physical and emotional well-being in the HD arm as compared to the CD arm (p=0.07, p=0.01 and p=0.03 respectively). Patients with ≥10% weight loss reported decreased QOL in nearly all domains in both treatment groups, although more pronounced in the 64.8 Gy arm. Treatment arm assignment, age, performance status, tumor size and

Detrimental effects of rat mesenchymal stromal cell pre-treatment in a model of acute kidney rejection

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Martina eSeifert

2012-07-01

Full Text Available Mesenchymal stromal cells (MSC have shown immunomodulatory and tissue repair potential including partial tolerance induction by pre-treatment of donor-specific cells in a rat heart transplantation model. Very recently, we could show that autologous MSC attenuated ischemia reperfusion injury in a highly mismatched donor-recipient rat kidney transplant model. Therefore, we investigated donor-specific MSC pre-treatment in this rat kidney transplantation model to study whether graft function could be improved, or if tolerance could be induced.Donor- and recipient-type MSC or PBS as a control were injected i.v. four days before kidney transplantation. Mycophenolate mofetil (MMF immunosuppression (20 mg/kg body weight was applied for 7 days. Kidney grafts and spleens were harvested between days 8-10 and analyzed by quantitative RT-PCR and immunohistology. In addition, creatinine levels in the blood were measured and serum was screened for the presence of donor-specific antibodies.Surprisingly, application of both donor- and recipient-specific MSC resulted in enhanced humoral immune responses verified by intragraft B cell infiltration and complement factor C4d deposits. Moreover, signs of inflammation and rejection were generally enhanced in both MSC-treated groups relative to PBS control group. Additionally, pre-treatment with donor-specific MSC significantly enhanced the level of donor-specific antibody formation when compared with PBS- or recipient-MSC-treated groups. Pre-treatment with both MSC types resulted in a higher degree of kidney cortex tissue damage and elevated creatinine levels at the time point of rejection. Thus, MSC pre-sensitization in this model impairs the allograft outcome.Our data from this pre-clinical kidney transplantation model indicate that pre-operative MSC administration may not be optimal in kidney transplantation and caution must be exerted before moving forward with clinical studies in order to avoid adverse effects.

Will Public Pre-K Really Close Achievement Gaps? Gaps in Prekindergarten Quality between Students and across States

Science.gov (United States)

Valentino, Rachel

2018-01-01

Publicly funded pre-K is often touted as a means to narrow achievement gaps, but this goal is less likely to be achieved if poor and/or minority children do not, at a minimum, attend equal quality pre-K as their non-poor, non-minority peers. In this paper, I find large "quality gaps" in public pre-K between poor, minority students and…

Application of ceramic membranes for seawater reverse osmosis (SWRO) pre-treatment

KAUST Repository

Hamad, Juma

2013-05-30

Low-pressure (microfiltration/ultrafiltration (MF/UF)) membranes are being increasingly used as pre-treatment, prior to seawater reverse osmosis (SWRO). The objective of pre-treatment before reverse osmosis (RO) membranes is to remove undesirable and particulate fouling materials (algae, suspended and colloidal particles). Also, a pre-treatment barrier reduces organics and provides better feed water quality for RO membranes. MF and UF pre-treatment prior to SWRO provides Low Silt Density Index (SDI) values recommended for RO operation. Ceramic membranes are more attractive as they made of more chemically resistant materials, which allow for more stable operation and aggressive backwashing (BW) and cleaning. A pilot plant with a monolith ceramic MF membrane (0.1 μm pore size) from METAWATER was used to carry out the study. Red Sea water pumped from a distance of 700 m offshore from Thuwal (Kingdom of Saudi Arabia) was used as feed water. The pilot plant was operated automatically at constant flux of 150 LMH that involved BW, air flushing and forward flushing at the end of filtration cycle. Seawater permeates were used for hydraulic BW, while sodium hypochlorite, citric acid and sodium hydroxide were used for chemical cleaning (CIP) to restore the membrane permeability after use. Filtration cycles of 2.5 h were adopted for initial experiments. Aggressive BW flux of 1,800 LMH for 15 s, air flushing of 4 bars for 10 s and forward flushing of 300 LMH for 40 s were applied for regular membrane hydraulic cleaning. The increase of membrane resistances over time was monitored. Further studies were also performed by using Anopore ceramic membranes AAO100 (pore sizes of 0.1 μm) using a constant pressure bench-scale set-up. The feed water and permeate were analysed using an SDI unit, flow cytometre (FCM) and liquid chromatography with organic carbon detection (LC-OCD). The results showed that ceramic membrane filtration reduced the SDI15 of seawater from 6.1 to 2.1 which

Peracetic acid oxidation as an alternative pre-treatment for the anaerobic digestion of waste activated sludge.

Science.gov (United States)

Appels, Lise; Van Assche, Ado; Willems, Kris; Degrève, Jan; Van Impe, Jan; Dewil, Raf

2011-03-01

Anaerobic digestion is generally considered to be an economic and environmentally friendly technology for treating waste activated sludge, but has some limitations, such as the time it takes for the sludge to be digested and also the ineffectiveness of degrading the solids. Various pre-treatment technologies have been suggested to overcome these limitations and to improve the biogas production rate by enhancing the hydrolysis of organic matter. This paper studies the use of peracetic acid for disintegrating sludge as a pre-treatment of anaerobic digestion. It has been proved that this treatment effectively leads to a solubilisation of organic material. A maximum increase in biogas production by 21% is achieved. High dosages of PAA lead to a decrease in biogas production. This is due to the inhibition of the anaerobic micro-organisms by the high VFA-concentrations. The evolution of the various VFAs during digestion is studied and the observed trends support this hypothesis. Copyright © 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Pre-treatment of Used-Cooking Oil as Feed Stocks of Biodiesel Production by Using Activated Carbon and Clay Minerals

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Rudy Syah Putra

2014-02-01

Full Text Available Many low-cost feedstock i.e. used-cooking oil (UCO for the production of biodiesel fuel (BDF has contained a large amount of water and high proportion of free fatty acids (FFAs. Therefore, a pre-treatment process to reduce the water content (<0.1 wt.% and FFAs (<2.0 wt.% were necessary in order to avoid an undesirable side reactions, such as saponification, which could lead to serious problem of product separation and low fatty acid methyl ester (FAME yield. . In this study, a pre-treatment process of used cooking oil as a feedstock for the production of BDF by using various adsorbents such as Activated Carbon (AC and various clay minerals, for example Smectite (S, Bentonite (B, Kaolinite (K, and Powdered Earthenware (PE were evaluated. The oil obtained from pre-treatment was compared with oil without pre-treatment process. In this study, we reported a basic difference in material ability to the oil, depending on the adsorption condition with respect to the physico-chemical parameters, e.g. refractive index (R, density (ρ, FFAs, and water content (W. The results showed that the water content and FFAs in the oil has decreased when using AC as an adsorbent compared with clay minerals. However, the refractive index of oil has similar with the oil without pre-treatment process as well; meanwhile, the density of oil has increased after the pre-treatment process by using clay minerals.

Hydrogen–argon plasma pre-treatment for improving the anti-corrosion properties of thin Al2O3 films deposited using atomic layer deposition on steel

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Härkönen, Emma; Potts, Stephen E.; Kessels, Wilhelmus M.M.; Díaz, Belén; Seyeux, Antoine; Światowska, Jolanta; Maurice, Vincent; Marcus, Philippe; Radnóczi, György; Tóth, Lajos; Kariniemi, Maarit; Niinistö, Jaakko; Ritala, Mikko

2013-01-01

The effect of H 2 –Ar plasma pre-treatment prior to thermal atomic layer deposition (ALD) and plasma-enhanced atomic layer deposition (PEALD) of Al 2 O 3 films on steel for corrosion protection was investigated. Time-of-flight secondary ion mass spectrometry and transmission electron microscopy were used to observe the changes in the interface. The electrochemical properties of the samples were studied with polarization measurements, and the coating porosities were calculated from the polarization results for easier comparison of the coatings. Prior to thermal ALD the plasma pre-treatment was observed to reduce the amount of impurities at the interface and coating porosity by 1–3 orders of magnitude. The anti-corrosion properties of the PEALD coatings could also be improved by the pre-treatment. However, exposure of the pre-treatment plasma activated steel surface to oxygen plasma species in PEALD led to facile oxide layer formation in the interface. The oxide layer formed this way was thicker than the native oxide layer and appeared to be detrimental to the protective properties of the coating. The best performance for PEALD Al 2 O 3 coatings was achieved when, after the plasma pre-treatment, the surface was given time to regrow a thin protective interfacial oxide prior to exposure to the oxygen plasma. The different effects that thermal and plasma-enhanced ALD have on the substrate-coating interface were compared. The reactivity of the oxygen precursor was shown to have a significant influence on substrate surface in the early stages of film growth and thereafter also on the overall quality of the protective film. - Highlights: • Influence of H 2 –Ar plasma pre-treatment to ALD coatings on steel was studied. • The pre-treatment modified the coating–substrate interface composition and thickness. • The pre-treatment improved the barrier properties of the coatings

Development and validation of a new virtual source model for portal image prediction and treatment quality control

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chabert, Isabelle

2015-01-01

Intensity-Modulated Radiation Therapy (IMRT), require extensive verification procedures to ensure the correct dose delivery. Electronic Portal Imaging Devices (EPIDs) are widely used for quality assurance in radiotherapy, and also for dosimetric verifications. For this latter application, the images obtained during the treatment session can be compared to a pre-calculated reference image in order to highlight dose delivery errors. The quality control performance depends (1) on the accuracy of the pre-calculated reference image (2) on the ability of the tool used to compare images to detect errors. These two key points were studied during this PhD work. We chose to use a Monte Carlo (MC)-based method developed in the laboratory and based on the DPGLM (Dirichlet process generalized linear model) de-noising technique to predict high-resolution reference images. A model of the studied linear accelerator (linac Synergy, Elekta, Crawley, UK) was first developed using the PENELOPE MC codes, and then commissioned using measurements acquired in the Hopital Nord of Marseille. A 71 Go phase space file (PSF) stored under the flattening filter was then analyzed to build a new kind of virtual source model based on correlated histograms (200 Mo). This new and compact VSM is as much accurate as the PSF to calculate dose distributions in water if histogram sampling is based on adaptive method. The associated EPID modelling in PENELOPE suggests that hypothesis about linac primary source were too simple and should be reconsidered. The use of the VSM to predict high-resolution portal images however led to excellent results. The VSM associated to the linac and EPID MC models were used to detect errors in IMRT treatment plans. A preliminary study was conducted introducing on purpose treatment errors in portal image calculations (primary source parameters, phantom position and morphology changes). The γ-index commonly used in clinical routine appears to be less effective than the �

SONO-OXIDATIVE PRE-TREATMENT OF WASTE ACTIVATED SLUDGE BEFORE ANAEROBIC BIODEGRADATION

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S. Şahinkaya

Full Text Available Abstract The effects of sonication, potassium ferrate (K2FeO4 oxidation and their simultaneous combination (called "sono-oxidative pre-treatment" on chemical properties and anaerobic digestion of waste activated sludge (WAS were investigated and compared comprehensively. Based on chemical parameters, the optimum operating conditions were found to be 0.3 g K2FeO4/g total solids (TS dosage for 2-h individual K2FeO4 oxidation, 0.50 W/mL ultrasonic power density for 10-min individual sonication and, lastly, the combination of 2.5-min sonication at 0.75 W/mL ultrasonic power density with 2-h chemical oxidation at 0.3 g K2FeO4/g TS dosage for sono-oxidative pre-treatment. The disintegration efficiencies of these methods under the optimized conditions were in the following descending order: 37.8% for sono-oxidative pre-treatment > 26.3% for sonication > 13.1% for K2FeO4 oxidation. The influences of these methods on anaerobic biodegradability were tested with the biochemical methane potential assay. It was seen that the cumulative methane production increased by 9.2% in the K2FeO4 oxidation reactor, 15.8% in the sonicated reactor and 18.6% in the reactor with sono-oxidative pre-treatment, compared to the control (untreated reactor.

Good quality of life outcomes after treatment of prosthetic joint infection with debridement and prosthesis retention.

Science.gov (United States)

Aboltins, Craig; Dowsey, Michelle; Peel, Trish; Lim, Wen K; Choong, Peter

2016-05-01

Patients treated for early prosthetic joint infection (PJI) with surgical debridement and prosthesis retention have a rate of successful infection eradication that is similar to patients treated with the traditional approach of prosthesis exchange. It is therefore important to consider other outcomes after prosthetic joint infection treatment that may influence management decisions, such as quality of life (QOL). Our aim was to describe infection cure rates and quality of life for patients with prosthetic joint infection treated with debridement and prosthesis retention and to determine if treatment with this approach was a risk factor for poor quality of life outcomes. Prospectively collected pre and post-arthroplasty data were available for 2,134 patients, of which PJI occurred in 41. For patients treated for prosthetic joint infection, the 2-year survival free of treatment failure was 87% (95%CI 84-89). Prosthetic joint infection cases treated with debridement and retention had a similar improvement from pre-arthroplasty to 12-months post-arthroplasty as patients without PJI in QOL according to the SF-12 survey. Prosthetic joint infection treated with debridement and retention was not a risk factor for poor quality of life on univariate or multivariate analysis. Prosthetic joint infection treated with debridement and prosthesis retention results in good cure rates and quality of life. Further studies are required that directly compare quality of life for different surgical approaches for prosthetic joint infection to better inform management decisions. © 2015 Orthopaedic Research Society. Published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Orthop Res 34:898-902, 2016. © 2015 Orthopaedic Research Society. Published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Surface analysis of CdTe after various pre-contact treatments

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Waters, D.M. [Univ. of California, Santa Cruz, CA (United States). Dept. of Physics; Niles, D.; Gessert, T.A.; Albin, D.; Rose, D.H.; Sheldon, P. [National Renewable Energy Lab., Golden, CO (United States)

1998-09-01

The authors present surface analysis of close-spaced sublimated (CSS) CdTe after various pre-contact treatments. Methods include Auger electron spectroscopy (AES), x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), and grazing-incidence x-ray diffraction (GI-XRD). XPS and GI-XRD analyses of the surface residue left by the solution-based CdCl{sub 2} treatment do not indicate the presence of a significant amount of CdCl{sub 2}. In addition, the solubility properties and relatively high thermal stability of the residue suggest the presence of the oxychloride Cd{sub 3}Cl{sub 2}O{sub 2} rather than CdCl{sub 2} as the major chlorine-containing component. Of the methods tested for their effectiveness in removing the residue, only HNO{sub 3} etches removed all detectable traces of chlorine from the surface.

Time dependent pre-treatment EPID dosimetry for standard and FFF VMAT.

Science.gov (United States)

Podesta, Mark; Nijsten, Sebastiaan M J J G; Persoon, Lucas C G G; Scheib, Stefan G; Baltes, Christof; Verhaegen, Frank

2014-08-21

Methods to calibrate Megavoltage electronic portal imaging devices (EPIDs) for dosimetry have been previously documented for dynamic treatments such as intensity modulated radiotherapy (IMRT) using flattened beams and typically using integrated fields. While these methods verify the accumulated field shape and dose, the dose rate and differential fields remain unverified. The aim of this work is to provide an accurate calibration model for time dependent pre-treatment dose verification using amorphous silicon (a-Si) EPIDs in volumetric modulated arc therapy (VMAT) for both flattened and flattening filter free (FFF) beams. A general calibration model was created using a Varian TrueBeam accelerator, equipped with an aS1000 EPID, for each photon spectrum 6 MV, 10 MV, 6 MV-FFF, 10 MV-FFF. As planned VMAT treatments use control points (CPs) for optimization, measured images are separated into corresponding time intervals for direct comparison with predictions. The accuracy of the calibration model was determined for a range of treatment conditions. Measured and predicted CP dose images were compared using a time dependent gamma evaluation using criteria (3%, 3 mm, 0.5 sec). Time dependent pre-treatment dose verification is possible without an additional measurement device or phantom, using the on-board EPID. Sufficient data is present in trajectory log files and EPID frame headers to reliably synchronize and resample portal images. For the VMAT plans tested, significantly more deviation is observed when analysed in a time dependent manner for FFF and non-FFF plans than when analysed using only the integrated field. We show EPID-based pre-treatment dose verification can be performed on a CP basis for VMAT plans. This model can measure pre-treatment doses for both flattened and unflattened beams in a time dependent manner which highlights deviations that are missed in integrated field verifications.

Pre-treatment social anxiety severity moderates the impact of mindfulness-based stress reduction and aerobic exercise.

Science.gov (United States)

Jazaieri, Hooria; Lee, Ihno A; Goldin, Philippe R; Gross, James J

2016-06-01

We examined whether social anxiety severity at pre-treatment would moderate the impact of mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) or aerobic exercise (AE) for generalized social anxiety disorder. MBSR and AE produced equivalent reductions in weekly social anxiety symptoms. Improvements were moderated by pre-treatment social anxiety severity. Mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) and aerobic exercise (AE) are effective in reducing symptoms of social anxiety. Pre-treatment social anxiety severity can be used to inform treatment recommendations. Both MBSR and AE produced equivalent reductions in weekly levels of social anxiety symptoms. MBSR appears to be most effective for patients with lower pre-treatment social anxiety symptom severity. AE appears to be most effective for patients with higher pre-treatment social anxiety symptom severity. © 2015 The British Psychological Society.

Pilot scale digestion of source-sorted household waste as a tool for evaluation of different pre-sorting and pre-treatment strategies

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Svärd, Å; Gruvberger, C.; Aspegren, H.

2002-01-01

Pilot scale digestion of the organic fraction of source-sorted household waste from Sweden and Denmark was performed during one year. The study includes 17 waste types with differences in originating municipality, housing type, kitchen wrapping, sack type, pre-treatment method and season. The pilot...... scale digestion has been carried out in systems with a 35-litres digester connected to a 77-litres gas tank. Four rounds of digestion were performed including start-up periods, full operation periods for evaluation and post-digestion periods without feeding. Different pre-sorting and pre-treatment...

Connecting Lignin-Degradation Pathway with Pre-Treatment Inhibitor Sensitivity of Cupriavidus necator

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Wang, W. [National Renewable Energy Lab. (NREL), Golden, CO (United States); Yang, S. [National Renewable Energy Lab. (NREL), Golden, CO (United States); Hunsinger, G. B. [National Renewable Energy Lab. (NREL), Golden, CO (United States); Pienkos, P. T. [National Renewable Energy Lab. (NREL), Golden, CO (United States); Johnson, D. K. [National Renewable Energy Lab. (NREL), Golden, CO (United States)

2014-05-27

In order to produce lignocellulosic biofuels economically, the complete release of monomers from the plant cell wall components, cellulose, hemicellulose, and lignin, through pre-treatment and hydrolysis (both enzymatic and chemical), and the efficient utilization of these monomers as carbon sources, is crucial. In addition, the identification and development of robust microbial biofuel production strains that can tolerate the toxic compounds generated during pre-treatment and hydrolysis is also essential. In this work, Cupriavidus necator was selected due to its capabilities for utilizing lignin monomers and producing polyhydroxylbutyrate (PHB), a bioplastic as well as an advanced biofuel intermediate. We characterized the growth kinetics of C. necator in pre-treated corn stover slurry as well as individually in the pre-sence of 11 potentially toxic compounds in the saccharified slurry. We found that C. necator was sensitive to the saccharified slurry produced from dilute acid pre-treated corn stover. Five out of 11 compounds within the slurry were characterized as toxic to C. necator, namely ammonium acetate, furfural, hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF), benzoic acid, and p-coumaric acid. Aldehydes (e.g., furfural and HMF) were more toxic than the acetate and the lignin degradation products benzoic acid and p-coumaric acid; furfural was identified as the most toxic compound. Although toxic to C. necator at high concentration, ammonium acetate, benzoic acid, and p-coumaric acid could be utilized by C. necator with a stimulating effect on C. necator growth. Consequently, the lignin degradation pathway of C. necator was reconstructed based on genomic information and literature. The efficient conversion of intermediate catechol to downstream products of cis,cis-muconate or 2-hydroxymuconate-6-semialdehyde may help improve the robustness of C. necator to benzoic acid and p-coumaric acid as well as improve PHB productivity.

Pre-germination treatments on palm tree seeds

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Maitê dos Santos Ribeiro

2015-12-01

Full Text Available Palm tree seeds present slow and uneven germination. Therefore, the objective of this research was to evaluate the efficiency of pre-germination treatments in promoting germination and early seedling growth of palm tree (Euterpe edulis Martius. Treatments were: control, immersion in GA3 solution, exposure to ethylene, water immersion, H2SO4 immersion, mechanical scarification, stratification for 30 days at 10 °C, and scarification followed by stratification. Soaking seeds in gibberellic acid (GA3; 2000 µL L-1 for 24 h or their exposure to ethylene (1000 µL L-1 for 24 h are effective for promoting emergence, which started 30 days after seed treatment, and for early seedling growth of palm tree.

[Pre- and post-surgical orthodontic treatment for skeletal open bite].

Science.gov (United States)

Zhou, Y; Hu, W; Sun, Y

2001-05-01

To Study the principles and rules of pre- and post-surgical orthodontic treatment for skeletal open bite patients. Thirty-two surgically treated open bite cases were analyzed, of which 9 were males, and 23 were females, aged from 16 to 38. Open bite was from 1 to 8.5 mm, average was 4 mm. 31 patients were Class III malocclusion, while 1 patient was Class II malocclusion. 1. Totally 21 patients were treated with orthodontics before and after orthognathic surgery, while 8 patients had pre-surgical orthodontics only, and other 3 had post-surgical orthodontics only. The duration for pre-surgical orthodontics was from 4 to 33 months, average was 12 months. The duration for post-surgical orthodontics was from 3 to 17 months, average was 8.5 months. 2. Presurgical orthodontic treatment included: Alignment of arches, decompensation of incisors, avoiding extrusion of incisors, and slight expansion of arches for coordination of arches. 3. Post-surgical orthodontic treatment included: Closure of residual spaces in the arches, realignment of arches, vertical elastics and Class II or III intermaxillary elastics. Skeletal open bites require combined orthodontic-orthognathic surgery for optimal and esthetical pleasing results.

Enhanced biogas production from anaerobic co-digestion of pig slurry and horse manure with mechanical pre-treatment.

Science.gov (United States)

Lopes, Madalena; Baptista, Patrícia; Duarte, Elizabeth; Moreira, António L N

2018-01-02

Enhanced biogas production from anaerobic co-digestion of pig slurry and horse manure with mechanical pre-treatment. In this study, co-digestion of horse manure and pig slurry was investigated in a continuously stirred tank reactor, with a mechanical pre-treatment. Experiments were conducted at 37°C, with hydraulic retention times of 23 days and increasing shares of horse manure, corresponding to different horse manure to pig slurry ratios (HM:PS) equal to 0:100, 10:90, 13:87 and 20:80, in terms of percentage of inlet volatile solids (%VS inlet). The results show that the best synergetic effect between the microbial consortia of pig slurry and the high Carbon to Nitrogen ratio (C/N) of horse manure is obtained for the mixture of 20:80%VS inlet, yielding the highest specific methane production (SMP = 142.6 L kg TCOD -1 ) and the highest soluble chemical oxygen demand (SCOD) reduction (68.5%), due to the high volatile dissolved solids content and soluble chemical oxygen demand to total chemical oxygen demand ratio (SCOD/TCOD). Thus, co-digestion of horse manure and pig slurry is shown to be a promising approach for biogas production and as a waste treatment solution. Furthermore, the analysis provides a methodology for the pre-treatment of these substrates and to investigate into the best combination for improved biogas production.

Improvement of the galvanized coating quality of high strength dual phase steels by pre-electroplating nickel layer

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Zhong, N. [Institute of Marine Materials Science and Engineering, Shanghai Maritime University, Shanghai 200135 (China); Zhang, K. [Institute of Concrete Pumps Machinery R and D, Sany Heavy Industry Co., Ltd. 410100 (China); Li, J. [Baoshan Iron and Steel Co., Ltd, Shanghai 201900 (China); Hu, W.B. [State Key Laboratory of Metal Matrix Composites, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200240 (China)

2011-03-15

Galvanized dual phase steel sheets are used extensively in the industrial applications because of their excellent mechanical properties and superior corrosion resistance, but the segregation of alloying elements and the formation of oxides on the steel surface often have a deleterious effect on coating adhesion during the galvanizing process. In order to improve the coating quality, a nickel layer was pre-electroplated on the steel substrate before galvanizing and it's found that there is an improvement in the coating quality. The coating microstructures were investigated by scanning electron microscopy together with energy dispersive X-ray spectroscope, glow discharge optical emission spectroscope and X-ray diffractions. The experimental results show that the compact Ni{sub 3}Zn{sub 22} intermetallic layer formed at the zinc/nickel interface during the galvanizing process, prohibiting the nucleation and the growth of the {zeta}-Zn phase layer and resulting in the improvement of the zinc coating adhesion. (Copyright copyright 2011 Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH and Co. KGaA, Weinheim)

Sterols indicate water quality and wastewater treatment efficiency.

Science.gov (United States)

Reichwaldt, Elke S; Ho, Wei Y; Zhou, Wenxu; Ghadouani, Anas

2017-01-01

As the world's population continues to grow, water pollution is presenting one of the biggest challenges worldwide. More wastewater is being generated and the demand for clean water is increasing. To ensure the safety and health of humans and the environment, highly efficient wastewater treatment systems, and a reliable assessment of water quality and pollutants are required. The advance of holistic approaches to water quality management and the increasing use of ecological water treatment technologies, such as constructed wetlands and waste stabilisation ponds (WSPs), challenge the appropriateness of commonly used water quality indicators. Instead, additional indicators, which are direct measures of the processes involved in the stabilisation of human waste, have to be established to provide an in-depth understanding of system performance. In this study we identified the sterol composition of wastewater treated in WSPs and assessed the suitability of human sterol levels as a bioindicator of treatment efficiency of wastewater in WSPs. As treatment progressed in WSPs, the relative abundance of human faecal sterols, such as coprostanol, epicoprostanol, 24-ethylcoprostanol, and sitostanol decreased significantly and the sterol composition in wastewater changed significantly. Furthermore, sterol levels were found to be correlated with commonly used wastewater quality indicators, such as BOD, TSS and E. coli. Three of the seven sterol ratios that have previously been used to track sewage pollution in the environment, detected a faecal signal in the effluent of WSPs, however, the others were influenced by high prevalence of sterols originating from algal and fungal activities. This finding poses a concern for environmental assessment studies, because environmental pollution from waste stabilisation ponds can go unnoticed. In conclusion, faecal sterols and their ratios can be used as reliable indicators of treatment efficiency and water quality during wastewater

Free ammonia pre-treatment of secondary sludge significantly increases anaerobic methane production.

Science.gov (United States)

Wei, Wei; Zhou, Xu; Wang, Dongbo; Sun, Jing; Wang, Qilin

2017-07-01

Energy recovery in the form of methane from sludge/wastewater is restricted by the poor and slow biodegradability of secondary sludge. An innovative pre-treatment technology using free ammonia (FA, i.e. NH 3 ) was proposed in this study to increase anaerobic methane production. The solubilisation of secondary sludge was significantly increased after FA pre-treatment at up to 680 mg NH 3 -N/L for 1 day, under which the solubilisation (i.e. 0.4 mg SCOD/mg VS; SCOD: soluble chemical oxygen demand; VS: volatile solids) was >10 times higher than that without FA pre-treatment (i.e. 0.03 mg SCOD/mg VS). Biochemical methane potential assays showed that FA pre-treatment at above 250 mg NH 3 -N/L is effective in improving anaerobic methane production. The highest improvement in biochemical methane potential (B 0 ) and hydrolysis rate (k) was achieved at FA concentrations of 420-680 mg NH 3 -N/L, and was determined as approximately 22% (from 160 to 195 L CH 4 /kg VS added) and 140% (from 0.22 to 0.53 d -1 ) compared to the secondary sludge without pre-treatment. More analysis revealed that the FA induced improvement in B 0 and k could be attributed to the rapidly biodegradable substances rather than the slowly biodegradable substances. Economic and environmental analyses showed that the FA-based technology is economically favourable and environmentally friendly. Since this FA technology aims to use the wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) waste (i.e. anaerobic digestion liquor) to enhance methane production from the WWTPs, it will set an example for the paradigm shift of the WWTPs from 'linear economy' to 'circular economy'. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

APLIKASI THERMAL PRE-TREATMENT LIMBAH TANAMAN JAGUNG (Zea mays SEBAGAI CO·SUBSTRAT PADA PROSES ANAEROBIK DIGESTI UNTUK PRODUKSI BIOGAS

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Darwin Darwin

2016-04-01

Full Text Available Thermal pre-treatment was given on corn stover in the purpose of breaking the lignin content; thus, it may help anaerobic microorganisms to convert polymer including cellulose and hemicelluloses into biogas. This study aimed to investigate the effects of thermal pre-treatment on corn stover in anaerobic digestion process related to the production of biogas as well as digestion process efficiency. This research was carried out by utilizing batch reactors where the temperature was maintained at mesophilic conditions above room temperature (33 ± 2 oC. Based on the result, it was known that thermal pre-treatment given on the corn stover may enhance anaerobic digestion process for biogas production at the first 10 days. This condition reduced the time of lag phase during anaerobic digestion. The biogas production of corn stover given thermal pre-treatment was slow at 26 days where their average total production were 12,412.5 mL,12,310 mL at 15 and 25 minutes thermal pre-treatment, respectively while biogas production of non pre-treated corn stover was 12,557 mL. The highest daily biogas production was accomplished by corn stover that was given thermal pre-treatment at 25 minutes (915 mL. Corn stover given with 15 minutes thermal pre-treatment also generated higher daily biogas production at day 9 (772.5 mL compared with corn stover that was not pre-treated (405 mL. This research also revealed that corn stover given thermal pre-treatment reached higher biogas yield compared with non pre-treated corn stover where their biogas yield were 670.39, 690.65 mL/g volatile solids added at 15 and 25 minutes thermal pre- treatment respectively, and 456.37 mL/g volatile solids added of non pre-treated corn stover. Keywords: Thermal pre-treatment, corn stover, anaerobic digestion, biogas   ABSTRAK Thermal pre-treatment diberikan pada limbah tanaman jagung dengan tujuan untuk memecahkan kandungan lignin yang terdapat pada limbah tanaman jagung sehingga memudahkan

Obesity and pre-hypertension in family medicine: Implications for quality improvement

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Anderson Gregory J

2007-12-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background. Prevention of pre-hypertension is an important goal for primary care patients. Obesity is a risk factor for hypertension, but has not been addressed for pre-hypertension in primary care populations. The objective of this study was to assess the degree to which obesity independently is associated with risk for pre-hypertension in family medicine patients. Methods. This study was a retrospective analysis of information abstracted from medical records of 707 adult patients. Multivariable logistic regression was used to test the relationship between body mass index (BMI and pre-hypertension, after adjustment for comorbidity and demographic characteristics. Pre-hypertension was defined as systolic pressure between 120 and 139 mm Hg or diastolic pressure between 80 and 89 mm Hg. Results. In our sample, 42.9% of patients were pre-hypertensive. Logistic regression analysis revealed that, in comparison to patients with normal body mass, patients with BMI > 35 had higher adjusted odds of being pre-hypertensive (OR = 4.5, CI 2.55–8.11, p Conclusion. In our sample of family medicine patients, elevated BMI is a risk factor for pre-hypertension, especially BMI > 35. This relationship appears to be independent of age, gender, marital status and comorbidity. Weight loss intervention for obese patients, including patient education or referral to weight loss programs, might be effective for prevention of pre-hypertension and thus should be considered as a potential quality indicator.

Effect of pre-harvest fruit bagging on post-harvest quality of guava cv. Swarupkathi

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Md. Mokter Hossain

2018-04-01

The investigation was carried out at Germplasm Centre (BAU-GPC, Bangladesh Agricultural University, during March to July 2016 in order to investigate the effect of pre-harvest fruit bagging on post-harvest quality of guava cv. Swarupkathi. Four different bagging materials viz. brown paper bag, white paper bag, white polythene bag, black polythene bag included for the study and uncovered fruits were used as control treatment. The experiment was laid out in randomized complete block design with three replications. Fruit bagging treatments showed significant effects on different parameters studied. It was observed that fruit size, fruit weight, vitamin C concentration, and moisture content increased due to fruit bagging. Fruits were gained maximum in size (6.59 cm length, 5.86 cm diameter and weight (164.26 g under white paper bag followed by white polythene bag (131.3g. The skin color of fruits was very attractive in case of white paper bag than that of other treatments. Total soluble solid concentration of the fruit was found maximum (12.33% Brix under brown paper bag while maximum vitamin C concentration (162.14 mg 100 g-1 was recorded under white paper bag. Uncovered fruits showed maximum total sugar, non-reducing sugar, reducing sugar concentrations (10.13%, 6.05%, 4.08%, respectively.The results revealed that fruit bagging in general, improved the growth and quality of guava fruits as compared to control. Among the various fruit covering materials, white paper bag was found to be the best for overall improvement of physical and chemical quality of guava cv. Swarupkathi. [Fundam Appl Agric 2018; 3(1.000: 363-371

Assessments of whole body scan images (PCI) obtained in patients undergoing treatment of radioiodine (pre and post-treatment)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Costa, Fernanda Karolina Mendonca da; Lopes Filho, Ferdinand de Jesus; Vieira, Jose Wilson; Souza, Milena Thays Barbosa de

2014-01-01

Nuclear medicine is a medical specialty used for diagnosis and therapy of some diseases. For the treatment of differentiated thyroid carcinoma (papillary and follicular) Radioiodine therapy is employed, in order to eliminate the rest of thyroid tissue after removal of the thyroid (thyroidectomy). In radioiodine therapy is used radioisotope iodine-131 ( 131 I) as Sodium Iodide (NaI). The amount of the activity (dose) of 131 I administered is generally the responsibility of nuclear medicine, which is based on an image Research Length of the patient (pre-dose therapy PCI). PCI is also used after treatment (post-PCI therapeutic dose) to evaluate possible metastasis. The purpose of this study was to investigate the distribution of biokinetic 131 I at length and in some organs of the patient, in order to note any similarity. Exams PCI pre-dose and post-dose were analyzed, the anterior and posterior projections of ten patients. Contours in these images (ROI - Region Of Interest) were made in the whole body and in areas with high uptake of 131 I. The total score was used in the calculation to obtain the percentage distribution of 13I in the organs of the patient. The results showed that there similarity on the biodistribution of 131 I between pre-dose and post-dose PCI. Therefore, it was found that it is valuable images of PCI pre-dose therapy as a way to assist the nuclear medicine physician in choosing the best activity to be administered to the patient in order to minimize the dose to adjacent organs. (author)

Identification of clinical biomarkers for pre-analytical quality control of blood samples.

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Kang, Hyun Ju; Jeon, Soon Young; Park, Jae-Sun; Yun, Ji Young; Kil, Han Na; Hong, Won Kyung; Lee, Mee-Hee; Kim, Jun-Woo; Jeon, Jae-Pil; Han, Bok Ghee

2013-04-01

Pre-analytical conditions are key factors in maintaining the high quality of biospecimens. They are necessary for accurate reproducibility of experiments in the field of biomarker discovery as well as achieving optimal specificity of laboratory tests for clinical diagnosis. In research at the National Biobank of Korea, we evaluated the impact of pre-analytical conditions on the stability of biobanked blood samples by measuring biochemical analytes commonly used in clinical laboratory tests. We measured 10 routine laboratory analytes in serum and plasma samples from healthy donors (n = 50) with a chemistry autoanalyzer (Hitachi 7600-110). The analyte measurements were made at different time courses based on delay of blood fractionation, freezing delay of fractionated serum and plasma samples, and at different cycles (0, 1, 3, 6, 9) of freeze-thawing. Statistically significant changes from the reference sample mean were determined using the repeated-measures ANOVA and the significant change limit (SCL). The serum levels of GGT and LDH were changed significantly depending on both the time interval between blood collection and fractionation and the time interval between fractionation and freezing of serum and plasma samples. The glucose level was most sensitive only to the elapsed time between blood collection and centrifugation for blood fractionation. Based on these findings, a simple formula (glucose decrease by 1.387 mg/dL per hour) was derived to estimate the length of time delay after blood collection. In addition, AST, BUN, GGT, and LDH showed sensitive responses to repeated freeze-thaw cycles of serum and plasma samples. These results suggest that GGT and LDH measurements can be used as quality control markers for certain pre-analytical conditions (eg, delayed processing or repeated freeze-thawing) of blood samples which are either directly used in the laboratory tests or stored for future research in the biobank.

THE INFLUENCE OF PRE-HEAT TREATMENT ON WHITE CAST IRONS PLASTICITY

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T. M. Myronova

2013-11-01

Full Text Available Purpose. The development of heat treatment modes of white cast irons for structure changes in their eutectic constituent, namely in disturbing the monolithic structure of ledeburite colonies cementite structure and eutectic net continuity. Also the mentioned heat treatment modes are targeted to the eutectic net shift for the most suitable position from the point of plastic deforming. Methodology. The hypoeutectic white cast irons with 2.92…3.35 % carbon content and additionally alloyed by 3.18 % vanadium have been used as the research materials. The mentioned alloys have been pre-heat treated and hot twist tested. Findings. The research results showed that the carbide net breaking by plastic deforming leads to cast irons mechanical properties increasing but has difficulties in implementation due to the white cast irons low plasticity. The influence of different pre-heat treatment modes on structure and plasticity of white hypoeutectic cast irons have been investigated. They include the isotherm soaking under the different temperatures as well as multiply soakings and thermo-cycling. The influence of eutectic level, as well as pre heat treatment modes on different composition white cast irons hot plasticity have been investigated. Originality. It was determined that the heat treatment, which leads to double α→γ recrystallization under 860 – 950 °С and reperlitization under 720-680 °С results in significant increase of plasticity, as well as in un-alloyed and alloyed by vanadium white cast irons. It takes place due to carbide matrix phase separation in ledeburite colonies by new phase boundaries forming especially due to carbide transformations under vanadium alloying. Practical value. The implementation of pre-heat treatment with phase recrystallization resulted in hypoeutectic white cast irons plasticity increasing. The obtained level of cast iron plasticity corresponds to the one of carbide class steels, which ensures the successful

Quality of life and anxiety in women with breast cancer before and after treatment

Science.gov (United States)

Villar, Raquel Rey; Fernández, Salvador Pita; Garea, Carmen Cereijo; Pillado, Mª Teresa Seoane; Barreiro, Vanesa Balboa; Martín, Cristina González

2017-01-01

ABSTRACT Objectives: to determine the quality of life and anxiety in patients with breast cancer and the changes they experience after treatments. Method: prospective study. Breast cancer statistics (n=339, confidence=95%, accuracy= ± 5.32%). The quality of life questionnaires (QLQ) used were QLQ C-30 and QLQ Br23, and the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI) was used for anxiety. A multivariate analysis was performed to identify variables associated with baseline quality of life and anxiety as well as pre- and post-treatment differences. Authorization was obtained from the Ethics Committee, and informed consent was provided by all patients. Results: the baseline quality of life dimensions with the lowest score were future prospects (46.0/100) and sexual enjoyment (55.7/100). The dimensions with the highest score were body image (94.2/100) and role (93.3/100). The most disturbing symptoms were insomnia, fatigue and concern about hair loss. After treatment, the dimensions of physical function, role, body image, financial concerns and symptomatology worsened, whereas emotional function and future prospects improved. Severe anxiety presented as a state (48.6%) and as a trait (18.2%). The highest baseline state anxiety was associated with married-widowed status and anxiolytic medication. The greatest trait anxiety was associated with an inactive work situation, anxiolytic medication, breast swelling and advanced stage at diagnosis. After treatment, anxiety significantly decreased. Conclusions: After treatment, the quality of life score was positively modified, while state and trait anxiety decreased. PMID:29267541

Treatment Integrity in a Home-Based Pre-Reading Intervention Programme

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van Otterloo, Sandra G.; van der Leij, Aryan; Veldkamp, Esther

2006-01-01

Treatment integrity is an underexposed issue in the phonological awareness intervention research. The current study assessed the integrity of treatment of the families (N = 32) participating in the experimental condition of a home-based pre-reading intervention study. The participating kindergartners were all genetically at risk for developing…

Response surface methodology for the optimization of sludge solubilization by ultrasonic pre-treatment

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Zheng, Mingyue; Zhang, Xiaohui; Lu, Peng; Cao, Qiguang; Yuan, Yuan; Yue, Mingxing; Fu, Yiwei; Wu, Libin

2018-02-01

The present study examines the optimization of the ultrasonic pre-treatment conditions with response surface experimental design in terms of sludge disintegration efficiency (solubilisation of organic components). Ultrasonic pre-treatment for the maximum solubilization with residual sludge enhanced the SCOD release. Optimization of the ultrasonic pre-treatment was conducted through a Box-Behnken design (three variables, a total of 17 experiments) to determine the effects of three independent variables (power, residence time and TS) on COD solubilization of sludge. The optimal COD was obtained at 17349.4mg/L, when the power was 534.67W, the time was 10.77, and TS was 2%, while the SE of this condition was 28792J/kg TS.

Need of patient-specific quality assurance and pre-treatment verification program for special plans in radiotherapy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ravichandran, Ramamoorthy; Bhasi, Saju; Binukumar, J.P.; Davis, C.A.

2011-01-01

Accuracy in planned radiation dose delivery in cancer treatments becomes necessary in the advent of complex treatment delivery options with newer technology using medical linear accelerators, which makes patient management very crucial. Treatment outcome in an individual patient therefore depends on the professional involvement of staff and execution accuracy of planned procedure. Therefore, this article has addressed an important problem. International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and International Commission on Radiological Protection (ICRP) reported mis-administrations of radiation dose, the nature of their occurrence and complexity of situations. Lack of adequate quality assurance (QA) program or failure in their routine applications, complacency in attention, lack of knowledge, overconfidence, pressures of time, lack of resources and failures in communication are some of the general human causes of errors. A recent report enumerated misadministration of radiation doses under the heading 'harming instead of healing' delivery of wrong doses in small field treatment plans with stereotactic equipment' was mostly highlighted

Effect of high pressure treatment on microbiological quality of Indian white prawn (Fenneropenaeus indicus) during chilled storage.

Science.gov (United States)

Ginson, J; Panda, Satyen Kumar; Bindu, J; Kamalakanth, C K; Srinivasa Gopal, T K

2015-04-01

High pressure treatment of 250 MPa for 6 min at 25 °C was applied to headless Indian white prawn (Fenneropenaeus indicus) to evaluate changes in microbiological characteristics of the species during chilled storage. Changes in load of mesophilic bacteria, psychrotrophic bacteria, proteolytic bacteria, Enterobacteriaceae, Pseudomonas spp., H2S producing bacteria, lactic acid bacteria, Brochothrix thermosphacta and yeast & mold were estimated in pressurized and un-pressurized samples during chilled storage. All microbes were reduced significantly after high pressure treatment and there was significant difference in microbial quality of control and high pressure treated samples in the entire duration of chilled storage (p high pressure treated samples. In high pressure treated sample, no lag phase (λ) was observed for psychrotrophic bacteria, H2S producing bacteria, B. thermosphacta, Pseudomonas spp. and lactic acid bacteria; however, other bacteria showed a reduced lag phase during chilled storage. Kinetic parameter such as specific growth rate (μmax) in high pressure treated samples was significantly reduced in most of the bacterial groups except for psychrotrophic bacteria, Enterobacteriaceae and lactic acid bacteria. Mesophilic bacterial count of control samples crossed the marginal limit of acceptability on 12th day and unacceptable limit on 18th day of storage, whereas high pressure treated samples never breached the acceptability limit during entire duration of chilled storage. The present study indicated that application of high pressure processing can be used to improve microbial quality of Indian white prawn and extend the chilled storage life. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Effect of education intervention on the quality and long-term outcomes of root canal treatment in general practice.

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Koch, M; Wolf, E; Tegelberg, Å; Petersson, K

2015-07-01

To compare the technical quality and long-term outcomes of root canal treatment by general practitioners of a Swedish Public Dental Service, before and after an endodontic education including Ni-Ti rotary technique (NiTiR). A random sample was compiled, comprising one root filled tooth from each of 830 patients, treated by 69 general practitioners participating in the education: 414 teeth root filled in 2002, pre-education, using primarily stainless steel instrumentation and filling by lateral compaction, and 416 teeth root filled post-education (2005), using mainly NiTiR and single-cone obturation. Follow-up radiographs taken in 2009 were evaluated alongside immediate post-filling radiographs from 2002 to 2005. The density and length of the root fillings were registered. Periapical status was assessed by the Periapical Index (PAI), using two definitions of disease: apical periodontitis (AP) (PAI 3 + 4 + 5) and definite AP (PAI 4 + 5). Tooth survival was registered. Root fillings pre- and post-education were compared using chi-square and Fisher's exact tests. Crude extraction rates per 100 years were calculated for comparison of tooth survival. Explanatory variables (type of tooth, root filling quality, periapical status, marginal bone loss, type and quality of coronal restoration) in relation to the dependent variable (AP at follow-up) were analysed by multivariable logistic regression. Follow-up data were available for 229 (55%) of teeth treated pre- and 288 (69%) treated post-education: both tooth survival (P < 0.001) and root filling quality were significantly higher (P < 0.001) in the latter. However, there was no corresponding improvement in periapical status. Both pre- and post-education, root fillings with definite AP on completion of treatment had significantly higher odds of AP or definite AP at follow-up. For teeth treated post-education, inadequate root filling quality was significantly associated with AP at follow-up. Despite a higher tooth survival

Radioprotection by caffeine pre-treatment and post-treatment in the bone marrow chromosomes of mice given whole-body γ-irradiation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Farooqi, Z.; Kesavan, P.C.

1992-01-01

The effect of caffeine given as pre- and post-treatment in mice exposed to whole-body γ-irradiation (1.5 Gy 60 Co γ-rays) was studied. The pre-treatment was either acute or chronic. The acute dose (5 mg/kg and 15 mg/kg body weight) was in the form of an injection given intraperitoneally, 30 min before irradiation. The chronic administration was in the form of caffeine solution (4.208x10 -3 M and 7.72x10 -4 M) contained in drinking water for 5 weeks prior to radiation exposure. The acute pre-treatment with caffeine reduced the radiation-induced frequency of chromosomal aberrations discernibly, whereas chronic pre-treatment afforded a much more significant degree of radioprotection. The caffeine post-treatment (5 mg/kg and 15 mg/kg body weight) was given in the form of an intraperitoneal injection to the mice immediately following whole-body γ-irradiation. It is noted that both post-treatment concentrations of caffeine also significantly reduced the frequency of chromosomal aberrations induced by γ-rays. These data are briefly discussed in terms of possible mechanistic considerations. (author). 33 refs.; 3 tabs

Radioprotection by caffeine pre-treatment and post-treatment in the bone marrow chromosomes of mice given whole-body [gamma]-irradiation

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Farooqi, Z.; Kesavan, P.C. (Jawaharlal Nehru Univ., New Delhi (India). School of Life Sciences)

1992-10-01

The effect of caffeine given as pre- and post-treatment in mice exposed to whole-body [gamma]-irradiation (1.5 Gy [sup 60]Co [gamma]-rays) was studied. The pre-treatment was either acute or chronic. The acute dose (5 mg/kg and 15 mg/kg body weight) was in the form of an injection given intraperitoneally, 30 min before irradiation. The chronic administration was in the form of caffeine solution (4.208x10[sup -3] M and 7.72x10[sup -4] M) contained in drinking water for 5 weeks prior to radiation exposure. The acute pre-treatment with caffeine reduced the radiation-induced frequency of chromosomal aberrations discernibly, whereas chronic pre-treatment afforded a much more significant degree of radioprotection. The caffeine post-treatment (5 mg/kg and 15 mg/kg body weight) was given in the form of an intraperitoneal injection to the mice immediately following whole-body [gamma]-irradiation. It is noted that both post-treatment concentrations of caffeine also significantly reduced the frequency of chromosomal aberrations induced by [gamma]-rays. These data are briefly discussed in terms of possible mechanistic considerations. (author). 33 refs.; 3 tabs.

Previously unclassified bacteria dominate during thermophilic and mesophilic anaerobic pre-treatment of primary sludge.

Science.gov (United States)

Pervin, Hasina M; Batstone, Damien J; Bond, Philip L

2013-06-01

Thermophilic biological pre-treatment enables enhanced anaerobic digestion for treatment of wastewater sludges but, at present, there is limited understanding of the hydrolytic-acidogenic microbial composition and its contribution to this process. In this study, the process was assessed by comparing the microbiology of thermophilic (50-65 °C) and mesophilic (35 °C) pre-treatment reactors treating primary sludge. A full-cycle approach for the 16S rRNA genes was applied in order to monitor the diversity of bacteria and their abundance in a thermophilic pre-treatment reactor treating primary sludge. For the thermophilic pre-treatment (TP), over 90% of the sequences were previously undetected and these had less than 97% sequence similarity to cultured organisms. During the first 83 days, members of the Betaproteobacteria dominated the community sequences and a newly designed probe was used to monitor a previously unknown bacterium affiliated with the genus Brachymonas. Between days 85 and 183, three phylotypes that affiliated with the genera Comamonas, Clostridium and Lysobacter were persistently dominant in the TP community, as revealed by terminal-restriction fragment length polymorphism (T-RFLP). Hydrolytic and fermentative functions have been speculated for these bacteria. Mesophilic pre-treatment (MP) and TP communities were different but they were both relatively dynamic. Statistical correlation analysis and the function of closely allied reference organisms indicated that previously unclassified bacteria dominated the TP community and may have been functionally involved in the enhanced hydrolytic performance of thermophilic anaerobic pre-treatment. This study is the first to reveal the diversity and dynamics of bacteria during anaerobic digestion of primary sludge. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier GmbH. All rights reserved.

Effect of various pre-treatments on the ultrafiltration of sweet cheese whey at about 55 degrees C

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Hiddink, J; De Boer, R; Nooy, P F.C.

1981-11-01

The permeate flux at 55 degrees C during ultrafiltration of Gouda cheese whey (5.5% TS and 11% TS) can be readily manipulated by applying pre-treatments based on inactivation or removal of calcium. The following pre-treatments were carried out: clarification, decalcificication, desalting, pre-heating at 45, 55, and 60 degrees C for 30 minutes, pre-heating at 55 degrees C for 30 minutes combined with pH adjustment to pH 7.5, 4.5 and 3.0 and preheating at 55 degrees C for 30 minutes (coupled with addition of sodum hexametaphosphate. In particular decalification, clarification and pH adjustment to 7.5 or 3.0 gave high permeate fluxes, while pre- heating for 30 minutes resulted in a moderate flux. The pretreatment not only affects the permeate flux but also the composition and properties of the whey protein concentrate. A high ash content, which also reflects a high calcium and phosphorous content, was obtained with a pretreatment based on pH 7 5, while low ash contents were achieved by desalting and clarification. The solubility of the protein was reduced to some 60-70% if the pH of the pre-treated whey was brought to 3.0 or 7.5. Furthermore, it appeared that the influence of the type of membrane - a tubular and a plate-and-frame module were used - was of minor importance as far as the retention or the composition of the whey protein concentrate was concerned. However, the permeate flux of the two types of equipment was different. Under the applied process conditions the tubular system tended to give a higher permeate flux than did the plate-and-frame system, but the energy consumption of the former was considerably higher. (Refs. 25).

Overcoming the Recalcitrance for the Conversion of Kenaf Pulp to Glucose via Microwave-Assisted Pre-Treatment Processes

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Miguel A. Hurtado

2011-02-01

Full Text Available This study evaluates the pre-treatment of cellulose from kenaf plant to yield sugar precursors for the production of ethanol or butanol for use as biofuel additives. In order to convert the crystalline cellulosic form to the amorphous form that can undergo enzymatic hydrolysis of the glycosidic bond to yield sugars, kenaf pulp samples were subjected to two different pre-treatment processes. In the acid pre-treatment, the pulp samples were treated with 37.5% hydrochloric acid in the presence of FeCl3 at 50 °C or 90 °C whereas in the alkaline method, the pulp samples were treated with 25% sodium hydroxide at room temperature and with 2% or 5% sodium hydroxide at 50 °C. Microwave-assisted NaOH-treatment of the cellulose was also investigated and demonstrated to be capable of producing high glucose yield without adverse environmental impact by circumventing the use of large amounts of concentrated acids i.e., 83–85% phosphoric acid employed in most digestion processes. The treated samples were digested with the cellulase enzyme from Trichoderma reesei. The amount of glucose produced was quantified using the QuantichromTM glucose bioassay for assessing the efficiency of glucose production for each of the treatment processes. The microwave-assisted alkaline pre-treatment processes conducted at 50 °C were found to be the most effective in the conversion of the crystalline cellulose to the amorphous form based on the significantly higher yields of sugar produced by enzymatic hydrolysis compared to the untreated sample.

Quality Assurance: Adapting SERVQUAL to Measure the Perceived Quality of Pre-Service Teachers' Teaching Practice Experience

Science.gov (United States)

Oliver, Henry; Koeberg, Jeremy

2013-01-01

This article describes a work in progress study which extends traditional quality assurance mechanisms through the application of the SERVQUAL instrument. It assesses the difference between pre-service teacher expectations and actual experience during a Teaching Practice period. Anecdotal evidence points to students being the recipients of poor…

The effect of dilute acid pre-treatment process in bioethanol production from durian (Durio zibethinus) seeds waste

Science.gov (United States)

Ghazali, K. A.; Salleh, S. F.; Riayatsyah, T. M. I.; Aditiya, H. B.; Mahlia, T. M. I.

2016-03-01

Lignocellulosic biomass is one of the promising feedstocks for bioethanol production. The process starts from pre-treatment, hydrolysis, fermentation, distillation and finally obtaining the final product, ethanol. The efficiency of enzymatic hydrolysis of cellulosic biomass depends heavily on the effectiveness of the pre-treatment step which main function is to break the lignin structure of the biomass. This work aims to investigate the effects of dilute acid pre-treatment on the enzymatic hydrolysis of durian seeds waste to glucose and the subsequent bioethanol fermentation process. The yield of glucose from dilute acid pre-treated sample using 0.6% H2SO4 and 5% substrate concentration shows significant value of 23.4951 g/L. Combination of dilute acid pre-treatment and enzymatic hydrolysis using 150U of enzyme able to yield 50.0944 g/L of glucose content higher compared to normal pre-treated sample of 8.1093 g/L. Dilute acid pre-treatment sample also shows stable and efficient yeast activity during fermentation process with lowest glucose content at 2.9636 g/L compared to 14.7583g/L for normal pre-treated sample. Based on the result, it can be concluded that dilute acid pre-treatment increase the yield of ethanol from bioethanol production process.

Classroom quality at pre-kindergarten and kindergarten and children's social skills and behavior problems

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Broekhuizen, Martine L.; Mokrova, Irina L.; Burchinal, Margaret R.; Garrett-Peters, Patricia T.

2016-01-01

Focusing on the continuity in the quality of classroom environments as children transition from preschool into elementary school, this study examined the associations between classroom quality in pre-kindergarten and kindergarten and children's social skills and behavior problems in kindergarten and

Mechanical and Non-Destructive Study of CFRP Adhesive Bonds Subjected to Pre-Bond Thermal Treatment and De-Icing Fluid Contamination

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Paweł H. Malinowski

2018-04-01

Full Text Available Composite materials are commonly used in many branches of industry. One of the effective methods to join the carbon fibre reinforced polymer (CFRP parts includes the use of adhesives. There is a search on effective methods for quality assurance of bonded parts. In the research here reported the influence of surface pre-bond modification on the adhesive bonds of CFRP plates has been analyzed. Adherends surface modifications, to include defects affecting the bonding quality, were obtained through surface thermal treatment, surface contamination with de-icing fluid and a combination of both the previously described treatments. Characterization of bonded joints was performed by means of mechanical testing, ultrasounds and electromechanical impedance (EMI measurements. The study here proposed has also the aim to evaluate the ability of different destructive and non-destructive techniques to assess the quality of the bonds. While mechanical tests were strongly affected by the surface modifications, results obtained ultrasound and EMI test have demonstrate only a limited ability of these techniques to differentiate between the different samples. In fact, ultrasounds did not show any changes in the bondline, due to pre-bond modifications. However, this technique was able to detect delamination in CFRP for one of the samples thermally treated at 280 °C. Electromechanical impedance (EMI measurements showed similar behavior as mechanical tests for samples thermally treated at 260 °C and 280 °C, and for the sample whose surface modification was made with a combination of thermally and de-icing fluid treatments.

Is Inconsistent Pre-treatment Bedtime Related to CPAP Non-Adherence?

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Sawyer, Amy M.; King, Tonya S.; Sawyer, Douglas A.; Rizzo, Albert

2014-01-01

Lack of adherence to continuous positive airway pressure therapy (CPAP) limits the effectiveness of treatment of obstructive sleep apnea (OSA). We hypothesized that an irregular bedtime would be negatively related to regular use of CPAP treatment. If so, modifying bedtime schedule may address the persistent problem of inconsistent CPAP use in adults with OSA. In a prospective longitudinal study, we examined whether inconsistent self-reported bedtime before initiation of CPAP treatment, operationalized as bedtime variability, was (1) different among those adherent (≥ 4 hours per night) and non-adherent to CPAP treatment at one week and one month; and/or (2) was related to one-week and one-month CPAP use when other variables were accounted for. Consecutively-recruited newly-diagnosed OSA adults (N=79) completed sleep diaries prior to CPAP treatment. One-week and one-month objective CPAP use data were collected. Pre-treatment bedtime variability was different among CPAP non-adherers and adherers at one month and was a significant predictor of non-adherence at one month in multivariate analyses. The odds of one-month CPAP non-adherence were 3.5 times greater in those whose pre-treatment bedtimes varied by >75 minutes. Addressing sleep schedule prior to CPAP initiation may be an opportunity to improve CPAP adherence. PMID:25353159

Fibrillation of Aspen by Alkaline Cold Pre-treatment and Vibration Milling

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Kärt KÄRNER

2016-09-01

Full Text Available In this article an attempt to fibrillate aspen bleached chemi-thermo mechanical pulp (BCTMP fibre in an environmentally friendly way is reported. The effects of various NaOH, KOH, urea and ethanol aqueous solutions at lowered temperature were tested for pre-treatment. The pre-treatment was followed by vibration milling aiming to peel off outer cell wall layers and to fibrillate S2 layer of the aspen wood fibre. The effects of the treatments were evaluated by scanning electron microscopy (SEM. The results show that it is possible to fibrillate BCTMP aspen fibres by using alkaline aqueous solutions at low temperatures followed by a mechanical treatment. A strong dependence on fibrillation of cellulose on temperature, time and alkali concentration was established.DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5755/j01.ms.22.3.7412

Effect of high hydrostatic pressure on overall quality parameters of watermelon juice.

Science.gov (United States)

Liu, Y; Zhao, X Y; Zou, L; Hu, X S

2013-06-01

High hydrostatic pressure as a kind of non-thermal processing might maintain the quality of thermo-sensitive watermelon juice. So, the effect of high hydrostatic pressure treatment on enzymes and quality of watermelon juice was investigated. After high hydrostatic pressure treatment, the activities of polyphenol oxidase, peroxidase, and pectin methylesterase of juice decreased significantly with the pressure (P  0.05). No significant difference was observed in lycopene and total phenolics after high hydrostatic pressure treatment when compared to the control (P > 0.05). Cloudiness and viscosity increased with pressure (P  0.05). a*- and b*-value both unchanged after high hydrostatic pressure treatment (P > 0.05) while L*-value increased but the values had no significant difference among treated juices. Browning degree after high hydrostatic pressure treatment decreased with increase in pressure and treatment time (P hydrostatic pressure had little effect on color of juice. The results of this study demonstrated the efficacy of high hydrostatic pressure in inactivating enzymes and maintaining the quality of watermelon juice.

The use of high impact practices (HIPs) on chemistry lesson design and implementation by pre-service teachers

Science.gov (United States)

Chamrat, Suthida; Apichatyotin, Nattaya; Puakanokhirun, Kittaporn

2018-01-01

The quality of lesson design is essential to learning effectiveness. Research shows some characteristics of lessons have strong effect on learning which were grouped into "High Impact Practices or HIPs. This research aims to examine the use of HIPs on chemistry lesson design as a part of Teaching Science Strand in Chemistry Concepts course. At the first round of lesson design and implementing in classroom, 14 chemistry pre-services teachers freely selected topics, designed and implemented on their own ideas. The lessons have been reflected by instructors and their peers. High Impact Practices were overtly used as the conceptual framework along with the After-Action Review and Reflection (AARR). The selected High Impact practice in this study consisted of 6 elements: well-designed lesson, vary cognitive demand/academic challenge, students center approach, opportunity of students to reflect by discussion or writing, the assignment of project based learning or task, and the lesson reflects pre-service teachers' Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge (TPACK). The second round, pre-service teachers were encouraged to explicitly used 6 High Impact Practices in cooperated with literature review specified on focused concepts for bettering designed and implemented lessons. The data were collected from 28 lesson plans and 28 classroom observations to compare and discuss between the first and second lesson and implementation. The results indicated that High Impact Practices effect on the quality of delivered lesson. However, there are some elements that vary on changes which were detailed and discussed in this research article.

Controlled retting of hemp fibres: Effect of hydrothermal pre-treatmen tand enzymatic retting on the mechanical properties of unidirectiona lhemp/epoxy composites

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Liu, Ming; Silva, Diogo Alexandre Santos; Fernando, Dinesh

2016-01-01

The objective of this work was to investigate the use of hydrothermal pre-treatment and enzymatic retting to remove non-cellulosic compounds and thus improve the mechanical properties of hemp fibre/epoxy composites. Hydrothermal pre-treatment at 100 kPa and 121 °C combined with enzymatic retting...... produced fibres with the highest ultimate tensile strength (UTS) of 780 MPa. Compared to untreated fibres, this combined treatment exhibited a positive effect on the mechanical properties of hemp fibre/epoxy composites, resulting in high quality composites with low porosity factor (αpf) of 0.08.Traditional...

Boiler feedwater quality improvement by replacing conventional pre-treatment with advanced membrane systems

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Doll, Bernhard [Process Systems Pall GmbH, Dreieich (Germany). Marketing; Venkatadri, Ramraj [Pall Corporation, Port Washington, NY (United States). Global Marketing Energy

2013-09-01

Two case studies in different application fields highlight significant economical and operational improvements that were achieved by replacing conventional water treatment technologies by highly-sophisticated membrane systems. The first case study deals with boiler feedwater in a power plant, focusing on the challenges faced as well as the direct and indirect benefits gained by the new system within a utility station. The second case study deals with the conventional water treatment scheme for groundwater from 13 wells at a major oil sands facility. Operational performance as well as the cost improvements gained in both cases will be presented. (orig.)

Pre-analytical sample quality: metabolite ratios as an intrinsic marker for prolonged room temperature exposure of serum samples.

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Gabriele Anton

Full Text Available Advances in the "omics" field bring about the need for a high number of good quality samples. Many omics studies take advantage of biobanked samples to meet this need. Most of the laboratory errors occur in the pre-analytical phase. Therefore evidence-based standard operating procedures for the pre-analytical phase as well as markers to distinguish between 'good' and 'bad' quality samples taking into account the desired downstream analysis are urgently needed. We studied concentration changes of metabolites in serum samples due to pre-storage handling conditions as well as due to repeated freeze-thaw cycles. We collected fasting serum samples and subjected aliquots to up to four freeze-thaw cycles and to pre-storage handling delays of 12, 24 and 36 hours at room temperature (RT and on wet and dry ice. For each treated aliquot, we quantified 127 metabolites through a targeted metabolomics approach. We found a clear signature of degradation in samples kept at RT. Storage on wet ice led to less pronounced concentration changes. 24 metabolites showed significant concentration changes at RT. In 22 of these, changes were already visible after only 12 hours of storage delay. Especially pronounced were increases in lysophosphatidylcholines and decreases in phosphatidylcholines. We showed that the ratio between the concentrations of these molecule classes could serve as a measure to distinguish between 'good' and 'bad' quality samples in our study. In contrast, we found quite stable metabolite concentrations during up to four freeze-thaw cycles. We concluded that pre-analytical RT handling of serum samples should be strictly avoided and serum samples should always be handled on wet ice or in cooling devices after centrifugation. Moreover, serum samples should be frozen at or below -80°C as soon as possible after centrifugation.

Influence of pre-treatments on the desorption isotherm ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Influence of pre-treatments on the desorption isotherm characteristics of plaintain. P-N T Johnson. Full Text: EMAIL FULL TEXT EMAIL FULL TEXT · DOWNLOAD FULL TEXT DOWNLOAD FULL TEXT · http://dx.doi.org/10.4314/gjs.v39i1.15851 · AJOL African Journals Online. HOW TO USE AJOL... for Researchers · for ...

A fast transfer-free synthesis of high-quality monolayer graphene on insulating substrates by a simple rapid thermal treatment.

Science.gov (United States)

Wu, Zefei; Guo, Yanqing; Guo, Yuzheng; Huang, Rui; Xu, Shuigang; Song, Jie; Lu, Huanhuan; Lin, Zhenxu; Han, Yu; Li, Hongliang; Han, Tianyi; Lin, Jiangxiazi; Wu, Yingying; Long, Gen; Cai, Yuan; Cheng, Chun; Su, Dangsheng; Robertson, John; Wang, Ning

2016-02-07

The transfer-free synthesis of high-quality, large-area graphene on a given dielectric substrate, which is highly desirable for device applications, remains a significant challenge. In this paper, we report on a simple rapid thermal treatment (RTT) method for the fast and direct growth of high-quality, large-scale monolayer graphene on a SiO2/Si substrate from solid carbon sources. The stack structure of a solid carbon layer/copper film/SiO2 is adopted in the RTT process. The inserted copper film does not only act as an active catalyst for the carbon precursor but also serves as a "filter" that prevents premature carbon dissolution, and thus, contributes to graphene growth on SiO2/Si. The produced graphene exhibits a high carrier mobility of up to 3000 cm(2) V(-1) s(-1) at room temperature and standard half-integer quantum oscillations. Our work provides a promising simple transfer-free approach using solid carbon sources to obtain high-quality graphene for practical applications.

Quality of life and anxiety in women with breast cancer before and after treatment

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Raquel Rey Villar

2017-12-01

Full Text Available ABSTRACT Objectives: to determine the quality of life and anxiety in patients with breast cancer and the changes they experience after treatments. Method: prospective study. Breast cancer statistics (n=339, confidence=95%, accuracy= ± 5.32%. The quality of life questionnaires (QLQ used were QLQ C-30 and QLQ Br23, and the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI was used for anxiety. A multivariate analysis was performed to identify variables associated with baseline quality of life and anxiety as well as pre- and post-treatment differences. Authorization was obtained from the Ethics Committee, and informed consent was provided by all patients. Results: the baseline quality of life dimensions with the lowest score were future prospects (46.0/100 and sexual enjoyment (55.7/100. The dimensions with the highest score were body image (94.2/100 and role (93.3/100. The most disturbing symptoms were insomnia, fatigue and concern about hair loss. After treatment, the dimensions of physical function, role, body image, financial concerns and symptomatology worsened, whereas emotional function and future prospects improved. Severe anxiety presented as a state (48.6% and as a trait (18.2%. The highest baseline state anxiety was associated with married-widowed status and anxiolytic medication. The greatest trait anxiety was associated with an inactive work situation, anxiolytic medication, breast swelling and advanced stage at diagnosis. After treatment, anxiety significantly decreased. Conclusions: After treatment, the quality of life score was positively modified, while state and trait anxiety decreased.

Whole genome HBV deletion profiles and the accumulation of preS deletion mutant during antiviral treatment

Science.gov (United States)

2012-01-01

Background Hepatitis B virus (HBV), because of its error-prone viral polymerase, has a high mutation rate leading to widespread substitutions, deletions, and insertions in the HBV genome. Deletions may significantly change viral biological features complicating the progression of liver diseases. However, the clinical conditions correlating to the accumulation of deleted mutants remain unclear. In this study, we explored HBV deletion patterns and their association with disease status and antiviral treatment by performing whole genome sequencing on samples from 51 hepatitis B patients and by monitoring changes in deletion variants during treatment. Clone sequencing was used to analyze preS regions in another cohort of 52 patients. Results Among the core, preS, and basic core promoter (BCP) deletion hotspots, we identified preS to have the highest frequency and the most complex deletion pattern using whole genome sequencing. Further clone sequencing analysis on preS identified 70 deletions which were classified into 4 types, the most common being preS2. Also, in contrast to the core and BCP regions, most preS deletions were in-frame. Most deletions interrupted viral surface epitopes, and are possibly involved in evading immuno-surveillance. Among various clinical factors examined, logistic regression showed that antiviral medication affected the accumulation of deletion mutants (OR = 6.81, 95% CI = 1.296 ~ 35.817, P = 0.023). In chronic carriers of the virus, and individuals with chronic hepatitis, the deletion rate was significantly higher in the antiviral treatment group (Fisher exact test, P = 0.007). Particularly, preS2 deletions were associated with the usage of nucleos(t)ide analog therapy (Fisher exact test, P = 0.023). Dynamic increases in preS1 or preS2 deletions were also observed in quasispecies from samples taken from patients before and after three months of ADV therapy. In vitro experiments demonstrated that preS2 deletions alone

Storage and pre-neutron-activation-analysis treatment for trace-element analysis in urine

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Blotcky, A.J.; Rack, E.P.

1985-01-01

The problems regarding storage and pre-neutron-activation-analysis treatment for the elements aluminum, calcium, vanadium, selenium, copper, iodine, zinc, manganese, and magnesium in a urine matrix are reviewed. The type of collection and storage procedure and pre-neutron activation analysis treatment of urine depend on the specific trace element; that is, its inherent physical and chemical properties. Specifically polyethylene in teflon containers are the most suitable for general determinations. Whether any preservative is added would depend upon the stability of the trace element and its tendency for surface adsorption. Preferably, preservatives should contain no radioactivatable elements for maximum efficacy. Freeze drying or packing urine shipments under dry ice needs to be explored on an individual basis. Each pre- or post-neutron activation analysis treatment is specific and optimized for the trace element analyzed

Effects of chemical-physical pre-treatment processes on hemp fibres for reinforcement of composites and textiles

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Thomsen, Anne Belinda; Thygesen, Anders; Bohn, Vibeke

2006-01-01

Retted hemp fibres were treated using chemical-physical pre-treatments and the material was characterised chemically in order to evaluate the effect of the pre-treatments, respectively, wet oxidation (WO), hydrothermal treatment (HT) and steam explosion (STEX). Process variables were addition...

The Responsiveness of Patients' Quality of Life to Dental Caries Treatment-A Prospective Study.

Science.gov (United States)

Yeh, Ding-Yu; Kuo, Hsiao-Ching; Yang, Yi-Hsin; Ho, Pei-Shan

2016-01-01

The objective of this study was to determine the responsiveness of oral health-related quality of life (OHRQoL) (oral health impact profile [OHIP] and oral impact on daily performance [OIDP]) and health-related quality of life (HRQoL) (World Health Organization quality of life scale, brief [WHOQOL-BREF]) in dental caries restoration treatment. The study also aimed to assess the influence of treatment on the responsiveness of patients' quality of life (QoL). A total of 126 patients (aged 16-40 years) received dental caries restoration treatment with a 2-week follow-up and pre- and posttreatment interviews by questionnaire. Patients were assessed for their perceptions of OHRQoL and HRQoL by using the OHIP, OIDP, and WHOQOL-BREF measures. The responsiveness of all outcome measurements was assessed by effect size (ES). Stepwise multiple regression analysis was used to examine the association with the responsiveness of all outcome measurements. Significant differences were found between OIDP (ES = 0.39), OHIP (ES = 0.54), and WHOQOL-BREF (ES = 0.13) with regard to pretreatment and posttreatment (p-values: caries status at baseline were significantly associated with responsiveness by all measurements. This study suggests that dental caries treatment moderately improves OHRQoL, but is less related to HRQoL. Furthermore, the number of dental caries and restoration are important factors affecting the improvement of patients' perceived OHRQoL.

Pre-treatment with a sinus node blockade, ivabradine, before coronary CT angiography

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Lambrechtsen, J; Egstrup, K

2013-01-01

To evaluate whether a simple pre-treatment regimen of sinus node inhibition by ivabradine taken at home for only 1 day resulted in a lower pre-scanning heart rate (HR) and reduced the need for intravenous beta-blockers (BB) prior to coronary computed tomography angiography (CTA)....

Endorectal high dose rate brachytherapy quality assurance

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Devic, S.; Vuong, T.; Evans, M.; Podgorsak, E.

2008-01-01

We describe our quality assurance method for preoperative high dose rate (HDR) brachytherapy of endorectal tumours. Reproduction of the treatment planning dose distribution on a daily basis is crucial for treatment success. Due to the cylindrical symmetry, two types of adjustments are necessary: applicator rotation and dose distribution shift along the applicator axis. (author)

Pre-treatment child and family characteristics as predictors of outcome in cognitive behavioural therapy for youth anxiety disorders

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Lundkvist-Houndoumadi, Irene; Hougaard, Esben; Thastum, Mikael

2014-01-01

BACKGROUND: Cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) has been found to be effective for children and adolescents (6-18 years) with anxiety disorders, but the non-response rate is high-a fact that may argue for the importance of studies on pre-treatment characteristics of children and their families...... that predict treatment outcome. AIMS: To provide a systematic review of clinical and demographic pre-treatment child and family predictors of treatment outcome in CBT for anxiety disorders in youth. METHOD: A systematic literature search was conducted based on electronic databases (PsycINFO, Embase and Pub......Med), and retrieved studies were analysed according to the box-score method of counting significant findings. RESULTS: 24 studies with a sample size ≥ 60 were located. Most studies dealt with the following predictors: child age, gender, comorbidity, symptom severity and parental psychopathology. There was some...

Criteria-based audit of quality of care to women with severe pre-eclampsia and eclampsia in a referral hospital in Accra, Ghana.

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Joyce L Browne

Full Text Available Severe pre-eclampsia and eclampsia are one of the major causes of maternal mortality globally. Reducing maternal morbidity and mortality demands optimizing quality of care. Criteria-based audits are a tool to define, assess and improve quality of care. The aim of this study was to determine applicability of a criteria-based audit to assess quality of care delivered to women with severe hypertensive disorders in pregnancy, and to assess adherence to protocols and quality of care provided at a regional hospital in Accra, Ghana.Checklists for management of severe preeclampsia, hypertensive emergency and eclampsia were developed in an audit cycle based on nine existing key clinical care protocols. Fifty cases were audited to assess quality of care, defined as adherence to protocols. Analysis was stratified for complicated cases, defined as (imminent eclampsia, perinatal mortality and/or one or more WHO maternal near miss C-criteria.Mean adherence to the nine protocols ranged from 15-85%. Protocols for 'plan for delivery' and 'magnesium sulphate administration' were best adhered to (85%, followed by adherence to protocols for 'eclampsia' (64%, 'severe pre-eclampsia at admission' (60%, 'severe pre-eclampsia ward follow-up' (53% and 'hypertensive emergency' (53%. Protocols for monitoring were least adhered to (15%. No difference was observed for severe disease. Increased awareness, protocol-based training of staff, and clear task assignment were identified as contributors to better adherence.A criteria-based audit is an effective tool to determine quality of care, identify gaps in standard of care, and allow for monitoring and evaluation in a health facility, ultimately resulting in improved quality of care provided and reduced maternal morbidity and mortality. In our audit, good adherence was observed for plan for delivery and treatment with magnesium sulphate. Substandard adherence to a number of protocols was identified, and points towards

Implication of Abscisic Acid on Ripening and Quality in Sweet Cherries: Differential Effects during Pre- and Post-harvest

Science.gov (United States)

Tijero, Verónica; Teribia, Natalia; Muñoz, Paula; Munné-Bosch, Sergi

2016-01-01

Sweet cherry, a non-climacteric fruit, is usually cold-stored during post-harvest to prevent over-ripening. The aim of the study was to evaluate the role of abscisic acid (ABA) on fruit growth and ripening of this fruit, considering as well its putative implication in over-ripening and effects on quality. We measured the endogenous concentrations of ABA during the ripening of sweet cherries (Prunus avium L. var. Prime Giant) collected from orchard trees and in cherries exposed to 4°C and 23°C during 10 days of post-harvest. Furthermore, we examined to what extent endogenous ABA concentrations were related to quality parameters, such as fruit biomass, anthocyanin accumulation and levels of vitamins C and E. Endogenous concentrations of ABA in fruits increased progressively during fruit growth and ripening on the tree, to decrease later during post-harvest at 23°C. Cold treatment, however, increased ABA levels and led to an inhibition of over-ripening. Furthermore, ABA levels positively correlated with anthocyanin and vitamin E levels during pre-harvest, but not during post-harvest. We conclude that ABA plays a major role in sweet cherry development, stimulating its ripening process and positively influencing quality parameters during pre-harvest. The possible influence of ABA preventing over-ripening in cold-stored sweet cherries is also discussed. PMID:27200070

EFFECTS OF PRE-GERMINATION TREATMENTS AND STORAGE ON GERMINATION OF Astronium fraxinifolium SCHOTT (ANACARDIACEAE DIASPORES

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Lílian de Lima Braga

2014-06-01

Full Text Available http://dx.doi.org/10.5902/1980509814577The goal of this study was to evaluate the germination and the storage capacity of Astronium fraxinifolium diaspores. Six pre-germination treatments were used in the experiment: control treatment (intact diaspores; diaspores immersed in water at room temperature (25º C for 5 min; diaspores immersed in water at 70° C for 5 min; diaspores immersed in water at 100° C for 5 min; diaspores immersed in sodium hypochlorite solution (1:1000 for 2 min; and diaspores mechanically scarified with sandpaper #80. To evaluate storage conditions, we tested two different types of packaging (permeable paper bag and transparent glass jar and two environmental conditions (cold chamber and room conditions, resulting in four treatments. The germination tests were performed for zero (control and 60, 120, 180, 240, 300 and 360 days after storage. The effects of different treatments on germination and storage of diaspores were evaluated by ANOVA, followed by Tukey test. Regarding to pre-germination treatments, high germination rates were observed in the hypochlorite (98.0 ± 4.22%, control (97.0 ± 4.83%, water at room temperature (96.0 ± 6.99% and water at 70º C (83.0 ± 29.08% treatments. Thus, Astronium fraxinifolium diaspores do not present dormancy. During storage, the diaspores remained viable throughout the study period with high germination rates, except for the treatment in paper bags placed in the cold chamber, in which the diaspores lost their viability in the eighth month of storage. Therefore, this is not a recommended storage method for this species.

Factors which influence on force of boxers` and footballers` shots on the stage of base pre-treatment

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Nikitenko S.A.

2011-02-01

Full Text Available On the stage of base pre-treatment factors which influence on force of shots the hands of boxers and feet of footballers as a criterion of competition activity efficiency are certain. Connections are certain between force of shots by hands and feet. The objective test of the specialized sense determination of boxers` and footballers` shots is offered. It is recommended to develop maximal and explosive force of all parts of sportsman body at implementation preparatory exercises with the further transfer of physical qualities on implementation of the special exercises.

Effects of glycyrrhizin pre-treatment on transient ischemic brain ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Effects of glycyrrhizin pre-treatment on transient ischemic brain injury in mice. ... on transient ischemic brain injury in mice. Chiyeon Lim, Sehyun Lim, Young-Jun Lee, Bokcheul Kong, Byoungho Lee, Chang-Hyun Kim, Buyeo Kim, Suin Cho ... induced brain damage. Keywords: Glycyrrhizin, licorice, stroke, apoptosis ...

Automation and Intensity Modulated Radiation Therapy for Individualized High-Quality Tangent Breast Treatment Plans

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Purdie, Thomas G.; Dinniwell, Robert E.; Fyles, Anthony; Sharpe, Michael B.

2014-01-01

Purpose: To demonstrate the large-scale clinical implementation and performance of an automated treatment planning methodology for tangential breast intensity modulated radiation therapy (IMRT). Methods and Materials: Automated planning was used to prospectively plan tangential breast IMRT treatment for 1661 patients between June 2009 and November 2012. The automated planning method emulates the manual steps performed by the user during treatment planning, including anatomical segmentation, beam placement, optimization, dose calculation, and plan documentation. The user specifies clinical requirements of the plan to be generated through a user interface embedded in the planning system. The automated method uses heuristic algorithms to define and simplify the technical aspects of the treatment planning process. Results: Automated planning was used in 1661 of 1708 patients receiving tangential breast IMRT during the time interval studied. Therefore, automated planning was applicable in greater than 97% of cases. The time for treatment planning using the automated process is routinely 5 to 6 minutes on standard commercially available planning hardware. We have shown a consistent reduction in plan rejections from plan reviews through the standard quality control process or weekly quality review multidisciplinary breast rounds as we have automated the planning process for tangential breast IMRT. Clinical plan acceptance increased from 97.3% using our previous semiautomated inverse method to 98.9% using the fully automated method. Conclusions: Automation has become the routine standard method for treatment planning of tangential breast IMRT at our institution and is clinically feasible on a large scale. The method has wide clinical applicability and can add tremendous efficiency, standardization, and quality to the current treatment planning process. The use of automated methods can allow centers to more rapidly adopt IMRT and enhance access to the documented

Anaerobic digestion and co-digestion of slaughterhouse waste (SHW): influence of heat and pressure pre-treatment in biogas yield.

Science.gov (United States)

Cuetos, M J; Gómez, X; Otero, M; Morán, A

2010-10-01

Mesophilic anaerobic digestion (34+/-1 degrees C) of pre-treated (for 20 min at 133 degrees C, >3 bar) slaughterhouse waste and its co-digestion with the organic fraction of municipal solid waste (OFMSW) have been assessed. Semi-continuously-fed digesters worked with a hydraulic retention time (HRT) of 36 d and organic loading rates (OLR) of 1.2 and 2.6 kg VS(feed)/m(3)d for digestion and co-digestion, respectively, with a previous acclimatization period in all cases. It was not possible to carry out an efficient treatment of hygienized waste, even less so when OFMSW was added as co-substrate. These digesters presented volatile fatty acids (VFA), long chain fatty acids (LCFA) and fats accumulation, leading to instability and inhibition of the degradation process. The aim of applying a heat and pressure pre-treatment to promote splitting of complex lipids and nitrogen-rich waste into simpler and more biodegradable constituents and to enhance biogas production was not successful. These results indicate that the temperature and the high pressure of the pre-treatment applied favoured the formation of compounds that are refractory to anaerobic digestion. The pre-treated slaughterhouse wastes and the final products of these systems were analyzed by FTIR and TGA. These tools verified the existence of complex nitrogen-containing polymers in the final effluents, confirming the formation of refractory compounds during pre-treatment. (c) 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Pre-dialysis patients' perceived autonomy, self-esteem and labor participation: associations with illness perceptions and treatment perceptions. A cross-sectional study.

Science.gov (United States)

Jansen, Daphne L; Grootendorst, Diana C; Rijken, Mieke; Heijmans, Monique; Kaptein, Ad A; Boeschoten, Elisabeth W; Dekker, Friedo W

2010-12-08

Compared to healthy people, patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD) participate less in paid jobs and social activities. The aim of the study was to examine a) the perceived autonomy, self-esteem and labor participation of patients in the pre-dialysis phase, b) pre-dialysis patients' illness perceptions and treatment perceptions, and c) the association of these perceptions with autonomy, self-esteem and labor participation. Patients (N = 109) completed questionnaires at home. Data were analysed using bivariate and multivariate analyses. The results showed that the average autonomy levels were not very high, but the average level of self-esteem was rather high, and that drop out of the labor market already occurs during the pre-dialysis phase. Positive illness and treatment beliefs were associated with higher autonomy and self-esteem levels, but not with employment. Multiple regression analyses revealed that illness and treatment perceptions explained a substantial amount of variance in autonomy (17%) and self-esteem (26%). The perception of less treatment disruption was an important predictor. Patient education on possibilities to combine CKD and its treatment with activities, including paid work, might stimulate positive (realistic) beliefs and prevent or challenge negative beliefs. Interventions focusing on these aspects may assist patients to adjust to CKD, and ultimately prevent unnecessary drop out of the labor market.

A Feasible and Effective Post-Treatment Method for High-Quality CH3NH3PbI3 Films and High-Efficiency Perovskite Solar Cells

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Yaxiao Jiang

2018-01-01

Full Text Available The morphology control of CH3NH3PbI3 (MAPbI3 thin-film is crucial for the high-efficiency perovskite solar cells, especially for their planar structure devices. Here, a feasible and effective post-treatment method is presented to improve the quality of MAPbI3 films by using methylamine (CH3NH2 vapor. This post-treatment process is studied thoroughly, and the perovskite films with smooth surface, high preferential growth orientation and large crystals are obtained after 10 s treatment in MA atmosphere. It enhances the light absorption, and increases the recombination lifetime. Ultimately, the power conversion efficiency (PCE of 15.3% for the FTO/TiO2/MAPbI3/spiro-OMeTAD/Ag planar architecture solar cells is achieved in combination with this post-treatment method. It represents a 40% improvement in PCE compared to the best control cell. Moreover, the whole post-treatment process is simple and cheap, which only requires some CH3NH2 solution in absolute ethanol. It is beneficial to control the reaction rate by changing the volume of the solution. Therefore, we are convinced that the post-treatment method is a valid and essential approach for the fabrication of high-efficiency perovskite solar cells.

Quality of life of patients undergoing surgery by videolaparoscopy for GERD treatment.

Science.gov (United States)

Andrade, Francisco José Cavalcante; de Almeida, Eliete Rodrigues; dos Santos, Maria Teresa Botti Rodrigues; Soares-Filho, Eurípedes; Lopes, João Batista; Veras e Silva, Roberto Cavalcante

2012-01-01

Gastroesophageal reflux disease is a chronic disease of high prevalence in Western countries, with negative effects on quality of life. Surgery is indicated for patients with intolerance to continuous medication, prolonged treatment or control, or in complicated forms of the disease. To evaluate the quality of life of patients undergoing surgery by videolaparoscopy for gastroesophageal reflux disease treatment. Sample comprised 43 patients of both genders (mean age = 51.4 years). For quality of life evaluation was made using the questionnaire Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease Health Related Quality of Life, translated and validated into Portuguese. Data were analyzed by Epi Info version 3.5.1, using Duncan test and Pearson's correlation coefficient, with 5% for null hypothesis (p ≤ 0.05). Over 50% of participants showed good quality of life (scores quality of life and high level of satisfaction with their postoperative condition.

Age-related changes in pre- and post-conization HPV genotype distribution among women with high-grade cervical intraepithelial neoplasia.

Science.gov (United States)

Giannella, Luca; Fodero, Cristina; Boselli, Fausto; Rubino, Teresa; Mfuta, Kabala; Prandi, Sonia

2017-04-01

To assess the effect of age on pre- and post-conization HPV genotype distribution. The present retrospective observational study included consecutive women with high-grade cervical intraepithelial neoplasia who underwent conization at the Cervical Cancer Screening Centre of Reggio Emilia, Italy, and University Hospital of Modena, Italy, between February 1, 2012, and October 31, 2014. Pre-conization and 6-month post-conization HPV genotyping results were compared between four age groups (<30, 30-39, 40-49, and ≥50 years) and age-related changes in the HPV genotypes present were evaluated. There were 162 patients included. The lowest occurrence of pre-conization high-risk and probable high-risk HPV genotypes was observed among patients aged at least 50 years when compared with younger patients (P=0.017). Conversely, women aged at least 50 years exhibited the highest level of post-conization high-risk and probable high-risk HPV genotypes (P=0.043). Additionally, an increasing incidence of recording identical pre- and post-conization HPV genotypes was associated with increasing age (P=0.024), as was increasing post-treatment recurrence of cervical intraepithelial neoplasia grade 2+ (P=0.030). The presence of high-risk and probable high-risk HPV genotypes was lowest among older patients before conization and was highest among these patients post-conization; post-treatment HPV clearance decreased with age and increasing age could be a risk factor for post-conization recurrence. © 2017 International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics.

Effect of low temperature thermal pre-treatment on the solubilization of organic matter, pathogen inactivation and mesophilic anaerobic digestion of poultry sludge.

Science.gov (United States)

Ruiz-Espinoza, Juan E; Méndez-Contreras, Juan M; Alvarado-Lassman, Alejandro; Martínez-Delgadillo, Sergio A

2012-01-01

Treatment of poultry industry effluents produces wastewater sludge with high levels of organic compounds and pathogenic microorganisms. In this research, the thermal pre-treatment of poultry slaughterhouse sludge (PSS) was evaluated for low temperatures in combination with different exposure times as a pre-hydrolysis strategy to improve the anaerobic digestion process. Organic compounds solubilization and inactivation of pathogenic microorganisms were evaluated after treatment at 70, 80 or 90°C for 30, 60 or 90 min. The results showed that 90°C and 90 min were the most efficient conditions for solubilization of the organic compounds (10%). In addition, the bacteria populations and the more resistant structures, such as helminth eggs (HE), were completely inactivated. Finally, the thermal pre-treatment applied to the sludge increased methane yield by 52% and reduced hydraulic retention time (HRT) by 52%.

Shell-life and microbiological quality of lamb meat as effected by high pressure, irradiation and combination treatments

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Paul, Pushpa; Chawla, S.P.; Thomas, Paul; Kesavan, P.C.; Arya, R.N.; Fotedar, R.

1997-01-01

The effect of gamma irradiation (1.0 kGy) and high hydrostatic pressure (220 MPa for 30 min), either alone or in combination on the shelf-life of minced lamb meat stored at 0-3 deg C have been investigated. Untreated control samples initially have total microbial counts of 10 5 CFU/g, 10 2 CFU/g of coliforms and 10 4 CFU/g of Staphylococcus spp. Coliforms are eliminated by all the treatments. Staphylococcus spp. however, are reduced only by 1 log cycle when treated with either irradiation alone or high pressure alone and this flora is a mixture of mannitol fermenting and mannitol non-fermenting species. In samples subjected to the combination treatment Staphylococcus spp. appears only after 3 weeks of storage and all are mannitol non-fermenting. On the basis of microbiological and sensory quality the shelf life of control sample is less than 1 week. All treated meat samples have shelf life of 3 weeks but only combination treated samples are free from potentially pathogenic Staphylococcus spp. The results demonstrate the potential application of low dose irradiation combined with high pressure treatment for shelf-life enhancement and microbial safety of meat and meat products. (author)

Pre-treatment of Biomass By Rolling - A Combined Experimental and Numerical Analysis

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Hansen, Klaus Schütt; Ravn, Christian; Nielsen, Emil Krabbe

2017-01-01

Pre-treatment of bulk straw material by rolling is studied as a possible method to prepare for subsequent biogas production. A combined experimental and theoretical study is presented. A pilot rolling mill with a double screw feeder is designed and constructed for crushing of bulk straw. Experime...... process window for pre-treatment of wheat straw by roll pressing varying the feed, the roll gap, the roll speed and the moisture content of the bulk straw.......Pre-treatment of bulk straw material by rolling is studied as a possible method to prepare for subsequent biogas production. A combined experimental and theoretical study is presented. A pilot rolling mill with a double screw feeder is designed and constructed for crushing of bulk straw....... Experiments show that the roll speed and the roll reduction should be chosen within a specific range depending on the injection screw speed to avoid blocking or insufficient compaction. A mechanical testing procedure of the bulk straw material including closed die compaction testing as well as simple...

Control of Pre-treatment for Carbon Nanotube Synthesis Using Proton Ion Beam Irradiation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kim, Y. H.; Kim, D. W.; Lee, S. M.; Kim, W. J.

2008-04-01

The carbon nanotubes are the next generation material in fuel storage system, the gas sensor, the life science sensor or the nano-size transistor, the stiffener and the heat dissipation field. For use at appropriate position in various field, it must be developed that control technique makes carbon nanotubes with high performance synthesized at appropriate location. The density of the carbon nanotube is 1 - 2g/cm3 with aluminum (2 - 3g/cm3) to be light, the elastic modulus is the level where as many of as 30 - 50 times of iron's elastic modulus and thermal conductivity is similar to the diamond, electric conductivity is high as well above the metal. Generally, many researchers have tried to synthesize the carbon nanotubes of mm length unit using the hydrogen and porous substrate, which play a role of more activating the catalyst. The proton beam which consist of H+ was able to directly inject the hydrogen into target materials such as Ni, Co, Fe as well as transfer high activation energy to them. so we were able to carry out feasibility of controlling the porosity of thin film and substrate to synthesize carbon nanotubes. The pre-treatment method of existing which is used generally heat treatment and the ammonia controls has generated island of catalyst which has increased the surface to react the hydrocarbon. However, pre-treatment method of existing caused the random nuclear creation so it was hard to control the island size of catalyst. It was not enough to understand the porous effect against synthesis of carbon nanotubes deduced from altering various substrates. In this report, it is possible investigate how hydrogen and the porous effect influence on growth of carbon nanotubes through controlling the nuclear creation of catalysts directly and the porosity of them using proton beam

Effects of finishing diet and pre-slaughter fasting time on meat quality in crossbred pigs

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K. PARTANEN

2008-12-01

Full Text Available The effects of the carbohydrate composition of finishing diet (fed from 80 to 107 kg of body weight and the length of pre-slaughter fasting on pork quality were studied in a 2 × 2 factorial experiment with 80 crossbred pigs. The control finishing diet was based on barley and soybean meal, and the fibrous finishing diet was based on barley, barley fibre, faba beans, and rapeseed cake. These diets contained 465 and 362 g starch and 177 and 250 g dietary fibre per kg, respectively. The fasting times of 25 and 41 h were obtained by giving the pigs their last meal at different times. Longer fasting lowered the glycolytic potential of the longissimus lumborum muscle (P = 0.01, whereas the finishing diet had no effect. Different muscles responded differently to the treatments. Longer fasting increased the ultimate pH of the semimembranosus muscle (P = 0.02, but did not affect that of the longissimus lumborum and semispinalis capitis muscles. The finishing diets did not affect the ultimate pH of the investigated muscles. A diet × fasting time interaction was seen in the lightness of the semimembranosus muscle (P = 0.05. The fibrous diet resulted in darker meat than the control diet did in pigs that were fasted for 25 h (P < 0.05. Longer fasting darkened the meat colour in pigs fed the fibrous diet (P < 0.05 but not in those fed the control diet. The meat from the semispinalis capitis muscle was darker in pigs fed the fibrous than those fed the control diet (P = 0.04. The treatments did not affect the colour of the longissimus lumborum muscle. Longer fasting decreased drip loss from the meat of pigs fed the control diet (P < 0.05. The eating quality of the pork was not influenced by the finishing diets or the fasting time. The pigs also grew equally fast on both finishing diets. In conclusion, a moderate alteration in the carbohydrate composition of a finishing diet or longer pre-slaughter fasting can have some effects on pork quality in crossbred pigs

Pre-treatment attachment anxiety predicts change in depressive symptoms in women who complete day hospital treatment for anorexia and bulimia nervosa.

Science.gov (United States)

Keating, Leah; Tasca, Giorgio A; Bissada, Hany

2015-03-01

Individuals with eating disorders are prone to depressive symptoms. This study examines whether depressive symptoms can change in women who complete intensive day treatment for anorexia and bulimia nervosa (BN), and whether these changes are associated with pre-treatment attachment insecurity. Participants were 141 women with anorexia nervosa restricting type (n = 24), anorexia nervosa binge purge type (n = 30), and BN (n = 87) who completed a day hospital treatment programme for eating disorders. They completed a pre-treatment self-report measure of attachment, and a pre-treatment and post-treatment self-report measure of depressive symptoms. Participants experienced significant reductions in depressive symptoms at post-treatment. Eating disorder diagnosis was not related to these improvements. However, participants lower in attachment anxiety experienced significantly greater improvement in depressive symptoms than those who were higher in attachment anxiety. These results suggest that clinicians may tailor eating disorders treatments to patients' attachment patterns and focus on their pre-occupation with relationships and affect regulation to improve depressive symptoms. That depressive symptoms can decrease in women who complete day hospital treatment for anorexia and BN. That improvements in depressive symptoms do not vary according to eating disorder diagnosis in these women. That patients who complete treatment and who have higher attachment anxiety experience less improvements in depressive symptoms compared to those lower in attachment anxiety. That clinicians may attend to aspects of attachment anxiety, such as need for approval and up-regulation of emotions, to improve depressive symptoms in female patients with eating disorders. © 2014 The British Psychological Society.

Alcohol expectancies pre-and post-alcohol use disorder treatment: Clinical implications.

Science.gov (United States)

Coates, Jason M; Gullo, Matthew J; Feeney, Gerald F X; Young, Ross McD; Dingle, Genevieve A; Connor, Jason P

2018-05-01

Modification of elevated positive expectations of alcohol consumption (alcohol outcome expectancies; AOEs) is a key feature of Cognitive Behaviour Therapy (CBT) approaches to Alcohol Use Disorders (AUDs). Despite extensive research supporting the efficacy of CBT for AUD, few studies have examined AOE change. This study aimed to assess AOE change following completion of CBT for AUD and its association with drinking behaviour. One-hundred and seventy-five patients who completed a 12-week CBT program for AUD were administered the Drinking Expectancy Questionnaire (DEQ) at pre-treatment assessment and upon completion of treatment. Abstinence was achieved by 108 (61.7%) of completing patients. For patients who lapsed, the mean proportion of abstinent days was 93%. DEQ scales assessing expectations of positive alcohol effects on tension reduction, assertiveness, and cognitive enhancement were significantly lower post-treatment (pscale. Greater percentage of abstinent days over treatment was associated with lower pre-and post-treatment tension reduction expectancy scores (p<0.05). Drinking during treatment was associated with smaller changes in expectations of negative effects of alcohol on mood (p<0.05). Individuals who completed CBT treatment for AUD showed significant AOE change. Tension reduction and affective change expectancies may be particularly important for abstinence and useful markers of lapse risk. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Use of high-intensity sonication for pre-treatment of biological tissues prior to multielemental analysis by total reflection X-ray fluorescence spectrometry

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

De La Calle, Inmaculada; Costas, Marta; Cabaleiro, Noelia; Lavilla, Isela; Bendicho, Carlos

2012-01-01

In this work, two ultrasound-based procedures are developed for sample preparation prior to determination of P, K, Ca, Cr, Mn, Fe, Ni, Cu, Zn, As, Se and Sr in biological tissues by total reflection X-ray fluorescence spectrometry. Ultrasound-assisted extraction by means of a cup-horn sonoreactor and ultrasonic-probe slurry sampling were compared with a well-established procedure such as magnetic agitation slurry sampling. For that purpose, seven certified reference materials and different real samples of animal tissue were used. Similar accuracy and precision is obtained with the three sample preparation approaches tried. Limits of detection were dependent on both the sample matrix and the sample pre-treatment used, best values being achieved with ultrasound-assisted extraction. Advantages of ultrasound-assisted extraction include reduced sample handling, decreased contamination risks (neither addition of surfactants nor use of foreign objects inside the extraction vial), simpler background (no solid particles onto the sample carrier) and improved recovery for some elements such as P. A mixture of 10% v/v HNO 3 + 20–40% v/v HCl was suitable for extraction from biological tissues. - Highlights: ► We implement high-intensity sonication for pre-treatment of biological tissues. ► Multielemental analysis is performed by total reflection X-ray spectrometry. ► Ultrasound-based procedures are developed and compared to conventional slurry preparation. ► Features such as background, recovery and sample handling are favored by using ultrasonic extraction.

The 3R anthracite clean coal technology: Economical conversion of brown coal to anthracite type clean coal by low temperature carbonization pre-treatment process

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Someus Edward

2006-01-01

Full Text Available The preventive pre-treatment of low grade solid fuels is safer, faster, better, and less costly vs. the "end-of-the-pipe" post treatment solutions. The "3R" (Recycle-Reduce-Reuse integrated environment control technology provides preventive pre-treatment of low grade solid fuels, such as brown coal and contaminated solid fuels to achieve high grade cleansed fuels with anthracite and coke comparable quality. The goal of the 3R technology is to provide cost efficient and environmentally sustainable solutions by preventive pre-treatment means for extended operations of the solid fuel combustion power plants with capacity up to 300 MWe power capacities. The 3R Anthracite Clean Coal end product and technology may advantageously be integrated to the oxyfuel-oxy-firing, Foster Wheeler anthracite arc-fired utility type boiler and Heat Pipe Reformer technologies in combination with CO2 capture and storage programs. The 3R technology is patented original solution. Advantages. Feedstock flexibility: application of pre-treated multi fuels from wider fuel selection and availability. Improved burning efficiency. Technology flexibility: efficient and advantageous inter-link to proven boiler technologies, such as oxyfuel and arcfired boilers. Near zero pollutants for hazardous-air-pollutants: preventive separation of halogens and heavy metals into small volume streams prior utilization of cleansed fuels. >97% organic sulphur removal achieved by the 3R thermal pre-treatment process. Integrated carbon capture and storage (CCS programs: the introduction of monolitic GHG gas is improving storage safety. The 3R technology offers significant improvements for the GHG CCS conditions. Cost reduction: decrease of overall production costs when all real costs are calculated. Improved safety: application of preventive measures. For pre-treatment a specific purpose designed, developed, and patented pyrolysis technology used, consisting of a horizontally arranged externally

USE OF NANOTECHNOLOGY PRE-TREATMENT IN AUTOMOTIVE PAINTING LINE

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Alberto Nei Carvalho Costa

2012-09-01

Full Text Available The current safety requirements, environmental impacts and performance have been ledding the automotive industry to search for new alternatives, not just for new car bodies materials, also for new sheet surface treatments as well, used in the painting process in order to fit simultaneous, environmental requirements and corrosion resistance maintenance, that are the key feature guarantees offered by automakers and are also vital to the durability of the vehicle. This fact is of great importance considering that, besides the various types of steels and their metalic coatings, another factor that directly influences the corrosion resistance is the painting system used. Within this context, the GMB, in partnership with CSN, has been performing several works by adding the knowledge of the supplier to automotive technology. An example of this partnership we have the present study, which aimed to, comparatively, evaluate the corrosion resistance of two systems of painted galvanized steel, the first one with pre-treatment based on a traditional phosphate, and the another one based on a nano-ceramic film. In this study, was found out that materials with pre-treatment based on results of nanotechnology showed similar corrosion resistance comparing the phosphatized materials in a traditional way.

Pre-existing mutations in reverse transcriptase of hepatitis B virus in treatment-naive Chinese patients with chronic hepatitis B.

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Jie Xu

Full Text Available High rate of viral replication and lacking of proofreading activity in hepatitis B virus (HBV polymerase lead to the generation of mutations in HBV virus. Mutations in the reverse transcriptase (RT region of HBV polymerase are demonstrated to be strongly associated with drug resistance during antiviral treatment. However, the presence of mutations as well as its clinical significance in treatment-naïve hepatitis patients (defined as pre-existing mutations need to be further investigated. In the present study, a total of 168 serum samples from treatment-naive chronic hepatitis B (CHB patients were collected, and the RT region of HBV polymerase was sequenced. The results showed that pre-existing mutations in the RT region of HBV polymerase were detected in 43 of 168 (25.6% treatment-naive CHB patients within which there were no well-characterized primary nucleotide analogs (NAs resistance sites. Three dominant sites at rt191, rt207 and rt226 were found mutant in 7(16.28%, 8(18.60%, and 14(32.56% samples respectively among these 43 patients. No significant correlation was found between pre-existing mutations and gender, age, HBV genotype, ALT, HBeAg or HBV DNA loads. However, patients with pre-existing RT mutations under HBeAg sero-negative status exhibited decreased HBV DNA loads, which contributed to the decreased HBV DNA loads in the total HBeAg sero-negative patients. The above investigation indicated that there was a prevalence of pre-existing mutations in RT region of HBV polymerase which might affect the serum HBV DNA level in treatment-naive CHB patients. Its effects on the occurrence of NAs resistance and the prognosis after treatment need to be further investigated.

Improvement of Haramay Fiber by Pre-treatment of Retting Process withPhosphoric Acid

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kuntari-Sasas; Neni-Rustini Eriawati

2000-01-01

Haramay as bast fiber contains of cellulose fiber as the main part, mixedwith hemi cellulose, pectin, and lignin as binding material for cellulosefiber to keep it together in the bundle form. For textile material, this bastfiber has to be freed from its binding material, called as retting process,before subjecting to scouring, dyeing and finishing process in textileindustry. In the retting process the dissolve of binding material can be doneeither by using enzyme in bio technology or extraction with strong alkalinecondition in common technology. Using sodium hydroxide for dissolving thebinding material can be carried out easily with good dissolving ability, butcan render the strength retention of the cellulose fiber. Pre-treatment ofthe bast fiber with phosphoric acid (H 3 PO 4 ), is expected to hydrolyze someof the binding materials that can not be dissolved in alkaline condition,including natural pigment that colored the fiber with creamy white. In thisstudy, the pre-treatment process before retting with phosphoric acid wascarried out in various condition, such as concentration of phosphoric acid (5ml/l- 25 ml/l), time and temperature of pre-treatment (1-3 hours at 50 o C or12-24 hours at room temperature), followed by neutralization in dilutealkaline. The retting process was carried out by means of scouring in variousconcentration of sodium hydroxide (NaOH 38 o Be, 10 ml/l-30 m/l), and then wascontinued with bleaching process in hydrogen peroxide solution. Aftercarrying out those experiment, the bast fiber that called haramay wassubjected to testing for weight reduction, strength retention and degree ofwhiteness. From the testing results it is concluded that pre-treatment withphosphoric acid can increase the weight reduction, strength retention ortenacity and degree of whiteness of haramay fiber compared to the oneswithout pre-treatment with phosphoric acid. The best result was obtained bypre-treatment with 5 ml/l H 3 PO 4 at 50 o C for 2 hours, continued by

Pre-Irradiation Chemotherapy in High Risk Medulloblastoma

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Abd-El-Aal, H.

2006-01-01

Rationale: The present study evaluates the effect of pre-irradiation chemotherapy in pediatric patients with high risk medulloblastoma. Twenty-four (24) pediatric patients attended the pediatric unit of Kasr-EI-Aini Center of Radiation Oncology and Nuclear Medicine (NEMROCK) from January 2000 to January 2003. Patients and Methods: Our patients were 13 boys and II girls aged 3-12 years with a median of 6.5 years. According to Chang staging system 6 cases had T2, 14 cases had T3 A and 4 cases had T3 B, 20 cases were M0, 3 cases were M I and I case was M2. All patients were treated by initial surgery, 2 cycles of pre-irradiation chemotherapy followed by craniospinal radiation then by 4 cycles of post-radiation chemotherapy. Results: Fifteen out of the 20 patients with M0 had objective response (10CR + 5PR) and no one had disease progression after pre-irradiation chemotherapy. Among 4 patients with M0 disease, 2 patients had PR and 2 had S.D. There was no disease progression among patients who received pre-irradiation chemotherapy. The 3-year overall survival and 3-year progression-free survival; (PFS) were 50% and 51 %, respectively, Myelosuppression was the main toxic effect observed during pre-irradiation chemotherapy; however, there was no delay or interruption of craniospinal irradiation. Conclusion: Pre-irradiation chemotherapy is effective in high risk medulloblastoma and is associated with acceptable side effects. The delay in craniospinal irradiation (CSI) for about 5 weeks to receive 2 courses of chemotherapy will not significantly increase disease progression. Multiple cycles of post-irradiation chemotherapy can be given safely after C51. A larger number of patients and longer follow-up is needed to confirm the results

Tailoring degradation of AZ31 alloy by surface pre-treatment and electrospun PCL fibrous coating

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Hanas, T. [Medical Materials Laboratory, Indian Institute of Technology Madras, Chennai 600036 (India); School of Nano Science and Technology, National Institute of Technology Calicut, Calicut, Kerala 673601 (India); Sampath Kumar, T.S., E-mail: tssk@iitm.ac.in [Medical Materials Laboratory, Indian Institute of Technology Madras, Chennai 600036 (India); Perumal, Govindaraj; Doble, Mukesh [Department of Biotechnology - Bhupat and Jyoti Mehta School of Biosciences, Indian Institute of Technology Madras, Chennai 600036 (India)

2016-08-01

AZ31 magnesium alloy was coated with polycaprolactone (PCL) nano-fibrous layer using electrospinning technique so as to control degradation in physiological environment. Before coating, the alloy was treated with HNO{sub 3} to have good adhesion between the coating and substrate. To elucidate the role of pre-treatment and coating, samples only with PCL coating as well as HNO{sub 3} treatment only were prepared for comparison. Best coating adhesion of 4B grade by ASTM D3359–09 tape test was observed for pre-treated samples. The effect of coating on in vitro degradation and biomineralization was studied using supersaturated simulated body fluid (SBF 5 ×). The weight loss and corrosion results obtained by immersion test showed that the combination of HNO{sub 3} pre-treatment and PCL coating is very effective in controlling the degradation rate and improving bioactivity. Cytotoxicity studies using L6 cells showed that PCL coated sample has better cell adhesion and proliferation compared to uncoated samples. Nano-fibrous PCL coating combined with prior acid treatment seems to be a promising method to tailor degradation rate with enhanced bioactivity of Mg alloys. - Highlights: • PCL electrospun coating on HNO{sub 3} pre-treated AZ31 alloy controls biodegradation. • Acid pre-treatment stabilizes the substrate - coating interface. • Electrospun porous coating improves biomineralization. • Coating similar to extracellular matrix enhances cell adhesion.

Cytokine-induced depression during IFN-α treatment: the role of IL-6 and sleep quality

Science.gov (United States)

Prather, Aric A.; Rabinovitz, Mordechai; Pollock, Bruce G.; Lotrich, Francis E.

2009-01-01

Depressive symptoms, poor sleep quality, and systemic markers of inflammation (e.g. interleukin (IL)-6) are frequently associated. Interferon-alpha (IFN-α) therapy results in major depressive disorder (MDD) in some people, offering the possibility to elucidate the relationship of MDD to sleep and inflammation during treatment. In particular, delineating the temporal relations among these factors could help inform their causal relationships. To this end, a cohort of 95 non-depressed hepatitis C patients was followed prospectively for four consecutive months during IFN-α therapy. We found that higher pre-treatment levels of circulating IL-6 predicted incidence of MDD (X2(1)=7.7; psleep quality may be risk factors for IFN-α induced depression. Furthermore, these findings highlight the complex temporal relationships that exist among sleep, depression, and inflammation, and support the need for further prospective investigations to elucidate the dynamics that underlie depression during IFN-α treatment. PMID:19615438

PRE-FEASIBILITY STUDY FOR TREATMENT WETLAND APPLICATION FOR WASTEWATER TREATMENT IN DISPERSED DEVELOPMENT

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Magdalena Gajewska

2016-07-01

Full Text Available The aim of the paper is to present the conducted analyses of pre-feasibility study of different approaches for wastewater management in a settlement of 180 persons. In the assessment both technical and economic aspects were analyzed. The costs were calculated for three different and, at the same time, most popular as well as possible technical solutions like: (i construction of local wastewater treatment plant with gravitational and pressurized networks, (ii construction of single family wastewater treatment plants, (iii construction of sealed septic tanks. Carried out analyses of investment and maintenance costs revealed that at the stage of construction the most expensive is local sewer network with treatment plant, while the construction of a single family treatment plant has similar cost regardless of the technology used. When the long term operation and investment cost are accounted the most economical reasonable solution is the application of wetland treatment for household wastewater treatment.

Effect of different pre-sowing tillage on quantity and quality of parsnip (Pastinaca sativa L. root yield in ridge cultivation

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Mirosław Konopiński

2012-12-01

Full Text Available Parsnip is a very valuable vegetable due to its nutritional value and dietetic quality. It is moreover herbal raw material abundant in active substances. The yield quality of vegetables greatly depends on thorough pre-sowing soil tillage. The present study aimed at evaluating the influence of different presowing soil tillage (medium-deep ploughing, cultivating and plant growing methods, flat or ridge cultivation, on the yield of parsnip and some biometric traits of its roots. The field experiment was carried out in 1999, 2000 and 2002 on lessive soil with the granulometric composition corresponding to medium silty loam. The parsnip cultivar 'Półdługi Biały' was the experimental plant species. The cultivation of parsnip on ridges had a significant influence on increased total yield of roots and decreased yield of small roots, as compared to flat cultivation. A significant increase in unit weight of the root and its diameter in the top part was also recorded in the latter type of cultivation. Spring pre-sowing tillage had no significant effect on parsnip yields. An increasing trend was observed only for total and marketable root yield in the ploughed plots. When parsnip is grown on lessive soil (which has an unstable structure, plants cultivated on ridges after spring pre-sowing plough are the most beneficial treatment combination.

Endoscopic bursectomy for the treatment of septic pre-patellar bursitis: a case series.

Science.gov (United States)

Dillon, John P; Freedman, Ilan; Tan, James S M; Mitchell, David; English, Shaun

2012-07-01

Operative treatment for septic pre-patellar bursitis generally involves open debridement in addition to an extended course of intravenous antibiotics. Skin necrosis and wound breakdown are potential complications of this procedure in addition to scar sensitivity and a prolonged recovery. We report endoscopic bursectomy for the treatment of septic pre-patellar bursitis in eight patients over a 3-year period. All patients had microbiological confirmation of an infective process. The average age was 36 years (23-68 years). The average hospital stay was 6 days (4-9 days). No patient had a recurrence or complained of tenderness or hypoaesthesia around their wound. No patient experienced wound complications or skin necrosis. The average return to work time was 18 days (7-22 days). We conclude that endoscopic bursectomy is a safe and effective treatment for septic pre-patellar bursitis with a shortened hospital stay and a quicker return to work than conventional open debridement.

Orthodontic Class II:1 treatment-efficiency and outcome quality of Herbst-multibracket appliance therapy.

Science.gov (United States)

Bock, N; Ruehl, J; Ruf, S

2017-12-08

The aim of this retrospective investigation was to assess the efficiency and outcome quality of Class II:1 treatment (Tx). The investigation is based on the evaluation of all Class II:1 patients that ever (1986-2014) started Tx with a Herbst appliance and subsequently a multibracket appliance (MBA) at the study center. Study casts from before Tx, after Herbst-MBA Tx, and (if available) after ≥ 24 months of retention were evaluated using the Peer Assessment Rating (PAR) index, the Ahlgren scale, and standard occlusal variables. In total, 526 Class II:1 patients with a mean pre-Tx age of 14.4 years (range 9.8-44.4) had received Herbst-MBA Tx; 18 patients discontinued Tx before completion. For 240 patients, data from ≥ 24 months of retention were available. The pre-Tx PAR score of 32.4 ± 8.83 was reduced to 8.0 ± 4.51 during Tx. A slight increase to 8.8 ± 5.11 occurred during retention. The percentage of patients which could be assigned to the category "greatly improved" was 62% after Tx and 57% after retention; only 2-3% had to be assigned to the category "worse/no different." The outcome ratings according to the Ahlgren scale revealed 17% excellent, 35% good, 45% satisfactory, and 3% unsuccessful results. Class II:1 Tx using Herbst-MBA is an efficient approach in orthodontic care. During a mean active Tx period of 2 years, high-quality results can be obtained in the majority of patients. The present investigation is the first to investigate a large unselected cohort of consecutive Herbst-MBA patients to determine representative data on the efficiency and the outcome quality of this Tx approach.

High ca-hardness treatment program of secondary cooling system in HANARO

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Park, Y. C.; Woo, J. S.; Ryu, J. S.; Cho, Y. K.; Jeon, B. J.

2002-01-01

The secondary cooling water in HANARO had been treated with a low ca-hardness treatment program. The program has now been altered to a high ca-hardness treatment program to reduce the consumption of service water and the maintenance cost. After the alteration of the water treatment method, the water quality of the secondary cooling system is maintained below the limit of water quality control as same as before the alteration. This means indirectly that the secondary cooling system is not much affected by the water quality. To confirm this fact, it is necessary to analyze the effects of corrosion, scale, sludgy and slime that the water qualities are directly interfered with the secondary cooling system. We analyzed the deteriorating effects with a water monitoring equipment connected to the secondary cooling system to measure the monitoring parameters every 6 months. As a result, it is confirmed through this examination that the effects are maintained below the control limits and the high ca-hardness treatment program is applicable to treatment of the water quality of the secondary cooling system in HANARO

Quality of life and treatment adherence in Parkinson’s disease patients

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Sara Mínguez-Mínguez

2015-07-01

Full Text Available Quality of life and adherence to treatment are parameters of high relevance in those patients with chronic diseases. The aim of this study was to ascertain the quality of life and adherence to treatment of Parkinson’s disease patients. To this end, we performed a cross sectional study in patients diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease who belong to one of Albacete’s associations of patients and their families. The PDQ-39 and Morisky-Green questioners were used to determine the quality of life and adherence to treatment for a sample of 95 patients. Our data showed an average score of 33.47% in the PDQ-39, being the worst score domains mobility and bodily discomfort. On the other hand, a 31.6% of the patients were classified as adherent to treatment. The main factor associated with adequate adherence is the importance given to the medication by the patient. We found no association between adherence and quality of life.

Pre-dialysis patients' perceived autonomy, self-esteem and labor participation: associations with illness perceptions and treatment perceptions. A cross-sectional study

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Kaptein Ad A

2010-12-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Compared to healthy people, patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD participate less in paid jobs and social activities. The aim of the study was to examine a the perceived autonomy, self-esteem and labor participation of patients in the pre-dialysis phase, b pre-dialysis patients' illness perceptions and treatment perceptions, and c the association of these perceptions with autonomy, self-esteem and labor participation. Methods Patients (N = 109 completed questionnaires at home. Data were analysed using bivariate and multivariate analyses. Results The results showed that the average autonomy levels were not very high, but the average level of self-esteem was rather high, and that drop out of the labor market already occurs during the pre-dialysis phase. Positive illness and treatment beliefs were associated with higher autonomy and self-esteem levels, but not with employment. Multiple regression analyses revealed that illness and treatment perceptions explained a substantial amount of variance in autonomy (17% and self-esteem (26%. The perception of less treatment disruption was an important predictor. Conclusions Patient education on possibilities to combine CKD and its treatment with activities, including paid work, might stimulate positive (realistic beliefs and prevent or challenge negative beliefs. Interventions focusing on these aspects may assist patients to adjust to CKD, and ultimately prevent unnecessary drop out of the labor market.

Analysis of particulate matter in anthropized areas characterized by the presence of crude oil pre-treatment plants: The case study of the Agri Valley (Southern Italy)

Science.gov (United States)

Trippetta, Serena; Caggiano, Rosa; Telesca, Luciano

2013-10-01

Simultaneous measurements of PM10, PM2.5 and PM1 (i.e., aerosol particles with aerodynamic diameter less than 10, 2.5 and 1 μm, respectively) daily mass concentrations and daily particle number concentration were performed for the first time in Agri Valley (Basilicata Region - Southern Italy) from July to November 2011. This area is characterized by anthropogenic activities having high potential environmental and human health impacts. In fact, the Agri Valley houses the largest European on-shore reservoir and the largest crude oil pre-treatment plant within an anthropized area. The PM measurements were analyzed combining an innovative statistical methodology, the Singular Spectral Analysis, with forecast models and remote sensing observations. Our findings show that most of the PM collected was made up of particles in the fine and sub-micrometric fractions (i.e., PM2.5 and PM1, respectively) very likely originated by common anthropogenic sources. Moreover, PM2.5 and PM1 daily mass concentrations were characterized by a slightly increasing trend that could be related to the contribution of local sources, such as the crude oil pre-treatment plant, whose combustion processes also produce the emission of particles mainly in the fine and sub-micrometric size ranges. The integrated use of model forecasts, satellite observations and in-situ measurements shows that the only PM10 exceedance was affected by the contribution of Saharan dust, while the three PM2.5 exceedances were mainly due to local anthropogenic sources. Finally, the analysis of the PM10 and PM2.5 Air Quality Index (AQI) values shows that air quality was always “good” with respect to PM10 and “moderate” with respect to PM2.5 suggesting that fine particles, if they will be not kept under control, should represent a real problem also posing health risks to the population living close to the crude oil pre-treatment plant.

The Effect of Each Other Perceived Service Quality and Institutional Image In Pre - sc hool Education

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Ebru Sönmez Karapınar

2015-12-01

Full Text Available Main purpose of this study is to examine the effect of service quality and dimensions of perceived institutional image; and effect of perceived institutional image and perceived service quality in pre-school education facilities. Two models were developed for that purpose. Perceived service quality was evaluated in five dimensions (empathy, reliability, responsiveness, assurance and tangibles and perceived institutional image was evaluated in four dimensions (quality image institutional communication, social image and institutional perspective. Influence of independent variable on dependent variable was mentioned in both of two models. Sample of the study consists of 250 families who use service provided by pre-schools in Kayseri. Data was collected by the way of a questionnaire which formed in the basis of two scales named as “servperf scale” and “institutional image scale”. Factor analysis, KMO test and regression analysis were used in order to test data. Findings indicate that there was a positive affect each other perceived service quality and perceived institutional image.

Treatment with magnesium sulphate in pre-term birth

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Wolf, Hans; Hegaard, H K; Greisen, G

2012-01-01

Premature birth increases a child's risk of cerebral palsy and death. The aim of this work is to investigate the association between treatment with magnesium sulphate during premature deliveries and infants' cerebral palsy and mortality through a meta-analysis of observational studies....... A comprehensive search of the Cochrane Library, EMBASE and the PubMed database from their inceptions to 1 October, 2010 using the keywords 'magnesium sulphate, children/infant/pre-term/premature and cerebral palsy/mortality/morbidity/adverse effects/outcome' identified 11 reports of observational studies. Two...... authors working independently extracted the data. A meta-analysis of the data found an association between magnesium sulphate treatment and a significantly reduced risk of mortality (RR 0.73; 95% CI 0.61-0.89) and cerebral palsy (OR 0.64; 95% CI 0.47-0.89). Antenatal treatment with magnesium sulphate...

Improving microbiological safety and maintaining sensory and nutritional quality of pre-cut tomato and carrot by gamma irradiation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mohácsi-Farkas, Cs.; Nyirő-Fekete, B.; Daood, H.; Dalmadi, I.; Kiskó, G.

2014-01-01

commodities. - Highlights: • 1 kGy dose improves sufficiently the microbial safety of pre-cut tomato and carrot. • Low-dose radiation treatment eliminates Listeria monocytogenes from pre-cut produce. • 1 kGy dose does not diminish significantly the organoleptic quality. • Low-dose irradiation causes tolerable losses even in the most sensitive vitamins

Treatment for overweight Mexican American children: impact on quality of life

Science.gov (United States)

Childhood overweight is a serious health problem occurring in especially high rates among Mexican Americans. Although there is empirical support for behaviorally based treatments for pediatric overweight, there is limited evidence that treatment increases children's quality of life (QOL). Our obje...

Effect of the pre-treatment on the performance of MBR, Berghausen WWTP. Germany

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Medhat A.E. Moustafa

2011-06-01

Full Text Available Pilot scale experiments were carried out to examine the effect of the pre-treatment methods on the performance of MBR. The PURON® MBR module was used in this study. In order to investigate the effect of pre-treatment on the behaviour of membrane, samples were withdrawn at different locations in Berghausen WWTP. During the first period samples have been collected directly from the main source as raw sewage to determine its main characteristics. During the second period samples have been screened with screening 1 mm filter material to prevent debris from damaging the membrane. During the third phase samples have been taken after the primary settling tank to have the benefits of filtering out unwanted trash, removing scum and floating debris. The study showed that the membrane bio-reactor filters out nearly all solids, the pre-treatment has a positive effect on the MBR performance, and the pre-sedimentation is more effective than fine screening. Moreover, aeration is considered as one of the intrinsic parameters in both hydraulic and biological process performances because of its ability to maintain solids in suspension, scours the membrane surface, limits fouling, and provide oxygen to the biomass, which results in a better biodegradability.

Pre-treatment predictors and in-treatment factors associated with change in avoidant and dependent personality disorder traits among patients with social phobia.

Science.gov (United States)

Borge, Finn-Magnus; Hoffart, Asle; Sexton, Harold; Martinsen, Egil; Gude, Tore; Hedley, Liv Margaret; Abrahamsen, Gun

2010-01-01

We examined changes in avoidant and dependent personality disorder dimensions, and pre-treatment and in-treatment factors associated with such changes in 77 patients, randomized to medication-free residential cognitive (CT) or residential interpersonal therapy for social phobia. Personality disorders and personality dimensions according to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition (DSM-IV) were assessed at pre-treatment and at one-year post-treatment. Both treatments were associated with a decrease in avoidant and dependent personality dimensions; dependent dimension decreased more in CT. Changes in cognitive factors predicted changes in both personality dimensions, whereas changes in symptoms or interpersonal factors did not. Change in the cognitive factor estimated cost was the most powerful predictor in the avoidant dimension, as it was the only predictor that remained significant in the forward regression analyses. Change in the cognitive factor estimated cost, and treatment were the most powerful predictors of change in the dependent dimension. Pre-treatment use of anxiolytics predicted larger changes in both PD dimensions.

Effects of pre-and postharvest lighting on quality and shelf life of fresh-cut lettuce

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Woltering, E.J.; Witkowska, I.M.

2016-01-01

The effects of pre-and postharvest lighting on quality and shelf life of fresh-cut lettuce was investigated. Lettuce was grown under different light intensities (120 and 250 μmol m^-2 s^-1 PAR from fluorescent tubes) and quality at harvest and subsequent postharvest

Radiopaque marker motion during pre-treatment CBCT as a predictor of intra-fractional prostate movement

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bernchou, Uffe; Brink, Carsten; Agergaard, Soeren N.

2013-01-01

The intra-fractional movement of the prostate constitutes a hindrance for the reduction of the planning target volume margin for prostate cancer patients. Monitoring the movement of the prostate during treatment is a promising but in most centres not feasible solution. However, the projection images of the pre-treatment cone-beam computed tomography (CBCT) provide information about the motion of the target immediately preceding the treatment. This motion information can be extracted from any standard CBCT scan which is available in many institutions. In this study we measure the motion of the prostate during the pre-treatment CBCT and investigate whether this motion is correlated with the intra-fractional movement of the prostate. Material and methods: Pre- and post-treatment CBCT scans were made during a number of the fractions (average 11 range 8-12) for 13 prostate cancer patients during the radiation treatment course. The displacement of the post-treatment CBCT scans relative to the pre-treatment position was used to assess the intra-fractional motion. Automated image analysis was used to track the 2D position of radiopaque markers in the projection images of the scans. The most probable 3D trajectory of the markers during the CBCT scan was estimated based on a probability density function which was established for each individual scan. Results: The accuracy of the tracking algorithm was found satisfactory and the motion of the markers during the CBCT scans was successfully extracted from the projection images. This motion was generally small and uncorrelated with the subsequent intra-fractional movement of the prostate. The correlation coefficients were - 0.05, 0.07, and - 0.05 in the LR, AP, and CC direction, respectively. Conclusion: It is tempting to exploit the pre-treatment CBCT to predict the intra-fractional movement of the prostate but, unfortunately, we have found no correlation between the intra-fractional movement and the motion of the prostate

Comparative Effects of Biomass Pre-Treatments for Direct and Indirect Transesterification to Enhance Microalgal Lipid Recovery

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ghasemi Naghdi, Forough; Thomas-Hall, Skye R.; Durairatnam, Reuben; Pratt, Steven; Schenk, Peer M.

2014-01-01

Microalgal lipid recovery for biodiesel production is currently considered suboptimal, but pre-treatment of algal biomass, the use of solvent mixtures and the positioning of transesterification can lead to increased yields. Here, the effect of various reportedly successful pre-treatments and solvent mixtures were directly compared to each other and combined with direct and indirect transesterification methods using the oleaginous microalga Tetraselmis sp. M8. Microwave and thermal pre-treatments were applied and the total lipid and fatty acid methyl ester (FAME) recoveries were investigated. The application of pre-treatments increased FAME recovery through indirect transesterification when a Soxhlet system was used but they had no significant effect for direct transesterification. Gravimetric analyses of total lipids revealed that lipid recovery was highest when utilizing the chloroform-based Bligh and Dyer extraction method; however, FAME yield was the highest when applying a Soxhlet system utilizing a solvent mixture of hexane–ethanol (3:1). Total lipid recovery did not necessarily correlate with the recovery of FAMEs. The highest FAME recovery was achieved from thermal or microwave pre-treated biomass followed by indirect transesterification through Soxhlet extraction. FAME recovery could be more than doubled (increase of up to 171%) under these conditions. We conclude that a simple thermal pre-treatment (80°C for 10 min) in combination with solvent mixture extraction through indirect transesterification may present a cost-effective and scalable option for large-scale lipid extraction from microalgae.

Comparative effects of biomass pre-treatments for direct and indirect transesterification to enhance microalgal lipid recovery

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Forough eGhasemi Naghdi

2014-12-01

Full Text Available Microalgal lipid recovery for biodiesel production is currently considered suboptimal, but pre-treatment of algal biomass, the use of solvent mixtures and the positioning of transesterification can lead to increased yields. Here, the effect of various reportedly successful pre-treatments and solvent mixtures were directly compared to each other and combined with direct and indirect transesterification methods using the oleaginous microalga Tetraselmis sp. M8. Microwave and thermal pre-treatments were applied and the total lipid and fatty acid methyl ester (FAME recoveries were investigated. The application of pre-treatments increased FAME recovery through indirect transesterification when a Soxhlet system was used but they had no significant effect for direct transesterification. Gravimetric analyses of total lipids revealed that lipid recovery was highest when utilizing the chloroform-based Bligh and Dyer extraction method; however FAME yield was the highest when applying a Soxhlet system utilizing a solvent mixture of hexane-ethanol (3:1. Total lipid recovery did not necessarily correlate with the recovery of FAMEs. The highest FAME recovery was achieved from thermal or microwave pre-treated biomass followed by indirect transesterification through Soxhlet extraction. FAME recovery could be more than doubled (increase of up to 171% under these conditions. We conclude that a simple thermal pre-treatment (80°C for 10 min in combination with solvent mixture extraction through indirect transesterification may present a cost-effective and scalable option for large-scale lipid extraction from microalgae.

Comparative Effects of Biomass Pre-Treatments for Direct and Indirect Transesterification to Enhance Microalgal Lipid Recovery

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ghasemi Naghdi, Forough; Thomas-Hall, Skye R.; Durairatnam, Reuben [Algae Biotechnology Laboratory, School of Agriculture and Food Sciences, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD (Australia); Pratt, Steven [School of Chemical Engineering, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD (Australia); Schenk, Peer M., E-mail: p.schenk@uq.edu.au [Algae Biotechnology Laboratory, School of Agriculture and Food Sciences, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD (Australia)

2014-12-04

Microalgal lipid recovery for biodiesel production is currently considered suboptimal, but pre-treatment of algal biomass, the use of solvent mixtures and the positioning of transesterification can lead to increased yields. Here, the effect of various reportedly successful pre-treatments and solvent mixtures were directly compared to each other and combined with direct and indirect transesterification methods using the oleaginous microalga Tetraselmis sp. M8. Microwave and thermal pre-treatments were applied and the total lipid and fatty acid methyl ester (FAME) recoveries were investigated. The application of pre-treatments increased FAME recovery through indirect transesterification when a Soxhlet system was used but they had no significant effect for direct transesterification. Gravimetric analyses of total lipids revealed that lipid recovery was highest when utilizing the chloroform-based Bligh and Dyer extraction method; however, FAME yield was the highest when applying a Soxhlet system utilizing a solvent mixture of hexane–ethanol (3:1). Total lipid recovery did not necessarily correlate with the recovery of FAMEs. The highest FAME recovery was achieved from thermal or microwave pre-treated biomass followed by indirect transesterification through Soxhlet extraction. FAME recovery could be more than doubled (increase of up to 171%) under these conditions. We conclude that a simple thermal pre-treatment (80°C for 10 min) in combination with solvent mixture extraction through indirect transesterification may present a cost-effective and scalable option for large-scale lipid extraction from microalgae.

Circulating LH/hCG receptor (LHCGR may identify pre-treatment IVF patients at risk of OHSS and poor implantation

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Chambers Anne E

2011-12-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Successful pregnancy via in vitro fertilization (IVF depends on the recovery of an adequate number of healthy oocytes and on blastocyst implantation following uterine transfer. Two hormones, LH and hCG, utilize a common LH/hCG receptor (LHCGR, variations in which have profound implications in human reproduction. Soluble LHCGR (sLHCGR is released from experimental cell lines and placental explants and it can be detected in the follicular fluid and serum. Methods To evaluate the impact of circulating soluble LHCGR (sLHCGR in fertility treatment, we measured sLHCGR and LH-sLHCGR complex in serum from women seeking IVF using specifically developed quantitative enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISA. Following an IVF cycle of treatment, patients were grouped according to oocyte yield into low (lower than or equal to 7 oocytes, intermediate (8-14 oocytes and high (greater than or equal to 15 oocytes responders and pregnancy outcome noted. Results Pre-treatment sLHCGR identified many women at risk of ovarian hyperstimulation. Low levels of sLHCGR were associated with pregnancy in both high and low responders but sLHCGR did not significantly affect the treatment outcome of intermediate responders. Low responders who failed to become pregnant had high levels of circulating sLHCGR bound to LH (LH-sLHCGR. Conclusions Pre-treatment measurement of sLHCGR could be used to tailor individual fertility treatment programs and improve outcomes by avoiding ovarian hyperstimulation and poor embryo implantation.

A method of quality audit for treatment planning system for intracavitary HDR brachytherapy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sharma, S.D.; Vandana, S.; Philomina, A.; Kannan, S.; Rituraj, U.

2007-01-01

High dose rate brachytherapy is a multipurpose modality. Quality audit (QAu) is an independent examination and evaluation of quality assurance activities and results of an institution. Both clinical and physical aspects of patient treatments must be subjected to careful control and planning to achieve a high degree of accuracy in radiation therapy treatments. Comprehensive quality assurance (QA) programmes should be established to cover all steps from dose prescription to dose delivery. These programmes should include detailed internal checks performed by the radiotherapy centres and external audits made by independent bodies. A systematic and independent examination and evaluation to determine whether quality activities and results comply with planned arrangements and whether the arrangements are implemented effectively and are suitable to achieve objectives is called quality audit. One purpose of a quality audit (QAu) is to evaluate the need for improvement or corrective action

A method for evaluating treatment quality using in vivo EPID dosimetry and statistical process control in radiation therapy.

Science.gov (United States)

Fuangrod, Todsaporn; Greer, Peter B; Simpson, John; Zwan, Benjamin J; Middleton, Richard H

2017-03-13

Purpose Due to increasing complexity, modern radiotherapy techniques require comprehensive quality assurance (QA) programmes, that to date generally focus on the pre-treatment stage. The purpose of this paper is to provide a method for an individual patient treatment QA evaluation and identification of a "quality gap" for continuous quality improvement. Design/methodology/approach A statistical process control (SPC) was applied to evaluate treatment delivery using in vivo electronic portal imaging device (EPID) dosimetry. A moving range control chart was constructed to monitor the individual patient treatment performance based on a control limit generated from initial data of 90 intensity-modulated radiotherapy (IMRT) and ten volumetric-modulated arc therapy (VMAT) patient deliveries. A process capability index was used to evaluate the continuing treatment quality based on three quality classes: treatment type-specific, treatment linac-specific, and body site-specific. Findings The determined control limits were 62.5 and 70.0 per cent of the χ pass-rate for IMRT and VMAT deliveries, respectively. In total, 14 patients were selected for a pilot study the results of which showed that about 1 per cent of all treatments contained errors relating to unexpected anatomical changes between treatment fractions. Both rectum and pelvis cancer treatments demonstrated process capability indices were less than 1, indicating the potential for quality improvement and hence may benefit from further assessment. Research limitations/implications The study relied on the application of in vivo EPID dosimetry for patients treated at the specific centre. Sampling patients for generating the control limits were limited to 100 patients. Whilst the quantitative results are specific to the clinical techniques and equipment used, the described method is generally applicable to IMRT and VMAT treatment QA. Whilst more work is required to determine the level of clinical significance, the

Physico-chemical pre-treatment for drinking water

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hassanien, W. A. M.

2004-08-01

The objective of this work is to attempt to improve the quality of town water by application of alternating current, direct current and magnetic field to raw water as pre-treatment to enhance the coagulation and flocculation. The design and operation for these processes and the evaluation there of have been mentioned. Treatment generally requires application of electric current Ac or Dc (0.1-1.0 A) for residence current time 2-12 minutes, or application of magnetic field (20-400 mt). The measurement of turbidity and total suspended solids (TSS) of raw water were determined before and after treatment to obtain the efficiency of turbidity and TSS removal. Total bacteria count was determined using standard plate count method. Most probable number (MPN) technique was used to determine the number of coliform organisms that were present in water to obtain the efficiency of water purification. The results obtain revealed that treatment by Ac and Dc electric current gave turbidity removal efficiency in the range 40-81%, 17-76% and TSS in the range 37-61%, 9-57%, respectively. Coagulation of natural colloids and other material suspended in water is faster in water impacted by an electric current. When alum and polymer was used as coagulant together with Ac electric current, clarification rate was greater by 1.8-2.4 times in Damira 2001; 1.5-3.3 times by poly aluminum chloride together with Ac electric current ; 2.4-4.5 times by alum and poly diallyl dimethyl ammonium chloride together with Dc electric current in Damira 2002. The mortality efficiency of total bacteria count was 57-83% and of total coliform was 58-93% when exposed to electric current for an extended residence current times between 2 to 11 minutes. The mortality efficiency of total bacteria count was 60-85%, and of total coliform was 53-95% when exposed to current between 0.16-0.60 A at constant current time. The results obtained from physical and chemical analysis of raw water and water treated by Ac, Dc

Physico-chemical pre-treatment for drinking water

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Hassanien, W A. M. [Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Education, University of Khartoum, Khartoum (Sudan)

2004-08-01

The objective of this work is to attempt to improve the quality of town water by application of alternating current, direct current and magnetic field to raw water as pre-treatment to enhance the coagulation and flocculation. The design and operation for these processes and the evaluation there of have been mentioned. Treatment generally requires application of electric current Ac or Dc (0.1-1.0 A) for residence current time 2-12 minutes, or application of magnetic field (20-400 mt). The measurement of turbidity and total suspended solids (TSS) of raw water were determined before and after treatment to obtain the efficiency of turbidity and TSS removal. Total bacteria count was determined using standard plate count method. Most probable number (MPN) technique was used to determine the number of coliform organisms that were present in water to obtain the efficiency of water purification. The results obtain revealed that treatment by Ac and Dc electric current gave turbidity removal efficiency in the range 40-81%, 17-76% and TSS in the range 37-61%, 9-57%, respectively. Coagulation of natural colloids and other material suspended in water is faster in water impacted by an electric current. When alum and polymer was used as coagulant together with Ac electric current, clarification rate was greater by 1.8-2.4 times in Damira 2001; 1.5-3.3 times by poly aluminum chloride together with Ac electric current ; 2.4-4.5 times by alum and poly diallyl dimethyl ammonium chloride together with Dc electric current in Damira 2002. The mortality efficiency of total bacteria count was 57-83% and of total coliform was 58-93% when exposed to electric current for an extended residence current times between 2 to 11 minutes. The mortality efficiency of total bacteria count was 60-85%, and of total coliform was 53-95% when exposed to current between 0.16-0.60 A at constant current time. The results obtained from physical and chemical analysis of raw water and water treated by Ac, Dc

Viability of the World Health Organization quality of life measure to assess changes in quality of life following treatment for alcohol use disorder.

Science.gov (United States)

Kirouac, Megan; Stein, Elizabeth R; Pearson, Matthew R; Witkiewitz, Katie

2017-11-01

Quality of life is an outcome often examined in treatment research contexts such as biomedical trials, but has been studied less often in alcohol use disorder (AUD) treatment. The importance of considering QoL in substance use treatment research has recently been voiced, and measures of QoL have been administered in large AUD treatment trials. Yet, the viability of popular QoL measures has never been evaluated in AUD treatment samples. Accordingly, the present manuscript describes a psychometric examination of and prospective changes in the World Health Organization Quality of Life measure (WHOQOL-BREF) in a large sample (N = 1383) of patients with AUD recruited for the COMBINE Study. Specifically, we examined the construct validity (via confirmatory factor analyses), measurement invariance across time, internal consistency reliability, convergent validity, and effect sizes of post-treatment changes in the WHOQOL-BREF. Confirmatory factor analyses of the WHOQOL-BREF provided acceptable fit to the current data and this model was invariant across time. Internal consistency reliability was excellent (α > .9) for the full WHOQOL-BREF for each timepoint; the WHOQOL-BREF had good convergent validity, and medium effect size improvements were found in the full COMBINE sample across time. These findings suggest that the WHOQOL-BREF is an appropriate measure to use in samples with AUD, that the WHOQOL-BREF scores may be examined over time (e.g., from pre- to post-treatment), and the WHOQOL-BREF may be used to assess improvements in quality of life in AUD research.

Pre-treatment step with Leuconostoc mesenteroides or L. pseudomesenteroides strains removes furfural from Zymomonas mobilis ethanolic fermentation broth.

Science.gov (United States)

Hunter, William J; Manter, Daniel K

2014-10-01

Furfural is an inhibitor of growth and ethanol production by Zymomonas mobilis. This study used a naturally occurring (not GMO) biological pre-treatment to reduce that amount of furfural in a model fermentation broth. Pre-treatment involved inoculating and incubating the fermentation broth with strains of Leuconostoc mesenteroides or Leuconostoc pseudomesenteroides. The Leuconostoc strains converted furfural to furfuryl alcohol without consuming large amounts of dextrose in the process. Coupling this pre-treatment to ethanolic fermentation reduced furfural in the broth and improved growth, dextrose uptake and ethanol formation. Pre-treatment permitted ethanol formation in the presence of 5.2 g L(-1) furfural, which was otherwise inhibitive. The pre-treatment and presence of the Leuconostoc strains in the fermentation broth did not interfere with Z. mobilis ethanolic fermentation or the amounts of ethanol produced. The method suggests a possible technique for reducing the effect that furfural has on the production of ethanol for use as a biofuel. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

TU-FG-201-03: Automatic Pre-Delivery Verification Using Statistical Analysis of Consistencies in Treatment Plan Parameters by the Treatment Site and Modality

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Liu, S; Wu, Y; Chang, X; Li, H; Yang, D

2016-01-01

Purpose: A novel computer software system, namely APDV (Automatic Pre-Delivery Verification), has been developed for verifying patient treatment plan parameters right prior to treatment deliveries in order to automatically detect and prevent catastrophic errors. Methods: APDV is designed to continuously monitor new DICOM plan files on the TMS computer at the treatment console. When new plans to be delivered are detected, APDV checks the consistencies of plan parameters and high-level plan statistics using underlying rules and statistical properties based on given treatment site, technique and modality. These rules were quantitatively derived by retrospectively analyzing all the EBRT treatment plans of the past 8 years at authors’ institution. Therapists and physicists will be notified with a warning message displayed on the TMS computer if any critical errors are detected, and check results, confirmation, together with dismissal actions will be saved into database for further review. Results: APDV was implemented as a stand-alone program using C# to ensure required real time performance. Mean values and standard deviations were quantitatively derived for various plan parameters including MLC usage, MU/cGy radio, beam SSD, beam weighting, and the beam gantry angles (only for lateral targets) per treatment site, technique and modality. 2D-based rules of combined MU/cGy ratio and averaged SSD values were also derived using joint probabilities of confidence error ellipses. The statistics of these major treatment plan parameters quantitatively evaluate the consistency of any treatment plans which facilitates automatic APDV checking procedures. Conclusion: APDV could be useful in detecting and preventing catastrophic errors immediately before treatment deliveries. Future plan including automatic patient identify and patient setup checks after patient daily images are acquired by the machine and become available on the TMS computer. This project is supported by the

TU-FG-201-03: Automatic Pre-Delivery Verification Using Statistical Analysis of Consistencies in Treatment Plan Parameters by the Treatment Site and Modality

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Liu, S; Wu, Y; Chang, X; Li, H; Yang, D [Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO (United States)

2016-06-15

Purpose: A novel computer software system, namely APDV (Automatic Pre-Delivery Verification), has been developed for verifying patient treatment plan parameters right prior to treatment deliveries in order to automatically detect and prevent catastrophic errors. Methods: APDV is designed to continuously monitor new DICOM plan files on the TMS computer at the treatment console. When new plans to be delivered are detected, APDV checks the consistencies of plan parameters and high-level plan statistics using underlying rules and statistical properties based on given treatment site, technique and modality. These rules were quantitatively derived by retrospectively analyzing all the EBRT treatment plans of the past 8 years at authors’ institution. Therapists and physicists will be notified with a warning message displayed on the TMS computer if any critical errors are detected, and check results, confirmation, together with dismissal actions will be saved into database for further review. Results: APDV was implemented as a stand-alone program using C# to ensure required real time performance. Mean values and standard deviations were quantitatively derived for various plan parameters including MLC usage, MU/cGy radio, beam SSD, beam weighting, and the beam gantry angles (only for lateral targets) per treatment site, technique and modality. 2D-based rules of combined MU/cGy ratio and averaged SSD values were also derived using joint probabilities of confidence error ellipses. The statistics of these major treatment plan parameters quantitatively evaluate the consistency of any treatment plans which facilitates automatic APDV checking procedures. Conclusion: APDV could be useful in detecting and preventing catastrophic errors immediately before treatment deliveries. Future plan including automatic patient identify and patient setup checks after patient daily images are acquired by the machine and become available on the TMS computer. This project is supported by the

High-Protein and High-Dietary Fiber Breakfasts Result in Equal Feelings of Fullness and Better Diet Quality in Low-Income Preschoolers Compared with Their Usual Breakfast.

Science.gov (United States)

Kranz, Sibylle; Brauchla, Mary; Campbell, Wayne W; Mattes, Rickard D; Schwichtenberg, Amy J

2017-03-01

Background: In the United States, 17% of children are currently obese. Increasing feelings of fullness may prevent excessive energy intake, lead to better diet quality, and promote long-term maintenance of healthy weight. Objective: The purpose of this study was to develop a fullness-rating tool (aim 1) and to determine whether a high-protein (HP), high-fiber (HF), and combined HP and HF (HPHF) breakfast increases preschoolers' feelings of fullness before (pre) and after (post) breakfast and pre-lunch, as well as their diet quality, as measured by using a composite diet quality assessment tool, the Revised Children's Diet Quality Index (aim 2). Methods: Children aged 4 and 5 y ( n = 41; 22 girls and 19 boys) from local Head Start centers participated in this randomized intervention trial. Sixteen percent of boys and 32% of girls were overweight or obese. After the baseline week, children rotated through four 1-wk periods of consuming ad libitum HP (19-20 g protein), HF (10-11 g fiber), HPHF (19-21 g protein, 10-12 g fiber), or usual (control) breakfasts. Food intake at breakfast was estimated daily, and for breakfast, lunch, and snack on day 3 of each study week Student's t tests and ANOVA were used to determine statistical differences. Results: Children's post-breakfast and pre-lunch fullness ratings were ≥1 point higher than those of pre-breakfast (aim 1). Although children consumed, on average, 65 kcal less energy during the intervention breakfasts ( P diet quality (12%) was calculated for the HP and HF breakfasts ( P diet quality. Serving HP or HF breakfasts may be valuable in improving diet quality without lowering feelings of satiation or satiety. This trial was registered at clinicaltrials.gov as NCT02122224. © 2017 American Society for Nutrition.

Effects of thermo-chemical pre-treatment on anaerobic biodegradability and hydrolysis of lignocellulosic biomass

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Fernandes, T.; Klaasse Bos, G.J.; Zeeman, G.; Sanders, J.P.M.; Lier, van J.B.

2009-01-01

The effects of different thermo-chemical pre-treatment methods were determined on the biodegradability and hydrolysis rate of lignocellulosic biomass. Three plant species, hay, straw and bracken were thermo-chemically pre-treated with calcium hydroxide, ammonium carbonate and maleic acid. After

Pre-treatment of substrates for biogas production - A systems analysis; Foerbehandling av biogassubstrat i systemanalys

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Carlsson, My; Holmstroem, David; Lagerkvist, Anders; Bisaillon, Mattias

2013-09-01

The present expansion of biogas capacity responds to a growing demand for renewable vehicle fuels. Biodegradable wastes are attractive substrates and are also prioritized in national policy. The full potential of the substrates can rarely be used however. This is partly due to impurities, or the availability or degradation speed may be limiting the biogas yield. In both cases there is a need of pre-treatments. This work deals with the system impacts of pre-treatment aiming to remove impurities in food waste and pre-treatments aiming to improve the biogas yield of horse manure and ley. In the latter case steam explosion and extrusion were the treatments studied. Gas yields and the plant and system impacts on energy, climate and economic were studied. The system includes the biogas plant as well as the impact in supplementary systems for heat and power production. The three named substrates were identified to be highly prioritised due to their total potential and the improvements possible in its realisation. Existing information from literature and contacts has form the data basis, with the addition of a few supplementary analyses of substrates. The project has been operated by the authors with participation of a group of facility operators and external reviewers. Four plants have been visited during the study. Operators of digestion plants and all interested in developing the efficiency of biogas plants are the main target group for the study. The rate that the potential yield of food waste can be utilised depends largely on how efficiently contaminants can be separated without loss of substrate. In this case the separation degree has the main impact on the economy, but not a pronounced climate effect. For all types of pre-treatments the water content of substrates is important, a higher water content is detrimental to economy, energy demand and climate impact. For both the energy balance and the climate impact the generation of vehicle fuel has a large impact. An

Effect of sample pre-treatment on the determination of steroid esters in hair of bovine calves

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Aqai, P.; Stolker, A.A.M.; Lasaroms, J.J.P.

2009-01-01

The effect of three sample pre-treatment steps, washing, cutting and grinding on the determination of steroid esters in hair is studied. The study is performed by using hair samples obtained after pour-on application of steroid esters to bovine calves. After sample pre-treatment the hair is treated

Optimized coupling of a submerged membrane electro-bioreactor with pre-anaerobic reactors containing anode electrodes for wastewater treatment and fouling reduction

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Nader Taghipour

2017-09-01

Full Text Available In this paper, the performance of a submerged membrane electro-bioreactor with pre-anaerobic reactors containing anode electrodes (SMEBR+ was compared with that of a membrane bioreactor (MBR in municipal wastewater treatment. The new design idea of the SMEBR+ was based on applications of direct current (DC on the anode and cathode electrodes. The pilot study was divided into 2 stages and operated for 48 days. In Stage I, the MBR was continuously operated for 24 days without the application of electrodes. In Stage II, the SMEBR+ was continuously operated for 24 days, while aluminum electrodes and an intermittent DC were working with an operational mode of 2 min ON/4 min OFF at a constant voltage of 1.4 V. The results indicated that membrane fouling was reduced by nearly 22.02% in the SMEBR+ compared to the MBR. The results also showed that the SMEBR+ increased the quality of effluent to the extent that high removals of NH3+-N, PO43−-P, and chemical oxygen demand (COD were 98%, 76%, and 90%, respectively. This system, in comparison with those proposed in other studies, showed a suitable improvement in biological treatments, considering the high removal of NH3+-N. Therefore, SMEBR+ can be considered as a promising treatment alternative to the conventional MBR.

Optical monitoring systems for thermal spray processes: droplets behavior and substrate pre-treatments

Science.gov (United States)

Kawaguchi, Y.; Kobayashi, N.; Yamagata, Y.; Miyazaki, F.; Yamasaki, M.; Tanaka, J.; Muraoka, K.

2017-11-01

Thermal spray is a technique to form molten droplets using either plasma- or combustion-heating, which impinge upon substrates to form coating layers for various purposes, such as anti-corrosion and anti-wear layers. Although it is an established technique having a history of more than a century, operations of spray guns together with preparing suitable substrate surfaces for obtaining good coating layers still rely on experienced technicians. Because of the necessity of meeting more and more stringent requirements for coating quality and cost from customers, there has been a strong need to try to monitor spray processes, so as to obtain the best possible spray coating layers. The basic requirements for such monitoring systems are *reasonably cheap, *easy operation for laypersons, *easy access to targets to be investigated, and *an in-situ capability. The purpose of the present work is to provide suitable optical monitoring systems for (1) droplets behavior and (2) substrate pre-treatments. For the former (1), the first result was already presented at the 17th laser-aided plasma diagnostics meeting (LAPD17) in 2015 in Sapporo, and the results of its subsequent applications into real spray environments are shown in this article in order to validate the previous proposal. Topic (2) is new in the research program, and the proof-of-principle experiment for the proposed method yielded a favorable result. Based on this positive result, an overall strategy is being planned to fulfill the final objective of the optical monitoring of substrate pre-treatments. Details of these two programs (1) and (2) together with the present status are described.

Investigations of interfaces formed between bis-1,2-(triethoxysilyl)ethane (BTSE) and aluminum after different Forest Product Laboratory pre-treatment times

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Teo, M.; Kim, J.; Wong, P.C.; Wong, K.C.; Mitchell, K.A.R

2004-01-15

The adhesion performance of bis-1,2-(triethoxysilyl)ethane (BTSE) coatings on high-purity aluminum surfaces, which have been subjected to a Forest Products Laboratory (FPL) pre-treatment for different times, has been assessed with secondary-ion mass spectrometry (SIMS), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). After coating, SIMS measurement of the ratio of peak intensities at 71 to 70 amu is used to identify the direct Al-O-Si bonding. The overall strength of the silane adhesion is assessed by comparing measurements of the Si 2p signals before and after application of an ultrasonic rinse to the coated sample. For the shorter FPL pre-treatment times (<10 min), substantial BTSE adsorption occurs on less-firmly anchored parts of the oxide which can be removed by the sonication test. The optimal adhesive bonding is indicated by these more microscopic studies to occur with the pre-treatments in the 10-25 min range, and this is in close correspondence with the normal FPL recipe that has been identified by performance in macroscopic tests. Pre-treatments longer than 25 min modify the surface topography further and give less direct Al-O-Si bonding, although the total BTSE adsorption is essentially constant and the adhesion remains strong enough to survive the sonication test.

Growth of high quality Bi2Sr2CaCu2Oy single crystals by the modified vertical Bridgman method

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nagashima, O.; Tanaka, H.; Echizen, Y.; Kishida, S.

2004-01-01

We grew Bi 2 Sr 2 CaCu 2 O y (Bi-2212) single crystals by the modified vertical Bridgman (VB) method, and investigated their characteristics in order to clarify the optimum growth conditions for obtaining high-quality Bi-2212 single crystals. The Bi-2212 single crystals were grown changing pulling rates or using starting materials after pre-treatments. We found that the superconducting critical temperature (T c ) of the single crystal prepared at a slow growth rate of 0.25 mm/h was about 88 K and that the single crystals were a Bi-2212 single phase. Moreover, the single crystals grown using the starting materials pre-treated in Ar and O 2 atmospheres, had the T c of about 88 and 86 K, respectively. In addition, both of single crystals were Bi-2212 single phase

Effect of pre-sowing treatments on seed germination and seedling ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Pre-sowing treatments were evaluated for Tetracarpidium conophorum. Mechanically scarified T. conophorum seeds soaked in indole acetic acid for 24 h yielded 90% seed germination. Smoked- and sun-dried seeds for 14 days yielded 73 and 33.3% seed germination, respectively. Poorest values were obtained from acid ...

Effect of some pre-treatments on the adsorption of methylene blue by Balkaya lignite

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Karaca, S.; Guerses, A.; Bayrak, R.

2004-01-01

In this study, the effects of some pre-treatments, such as HCl treatment, demineralization and pyrolysis, under a CO 2 atmosphere at different temperatures on the adsorption of methylene blue by Balkaya lignite were investigated. The adsorption capacities of the samples were determined before and after these pre-treatments. In addition, the removals of pyritic and organic sulfur and ash contents for the same coal samples were also defined. It was found that the adsorption capacities of the samples decreased after these pre-treatments. The decrease in adsorption capacity with pyrolysis can be attributed to the changes in surface morphology and/or pore size distribution of the coal samples. On the other hand, the observed decrease in adsorption capacity with removal of carbonates and silicates shows that these minerals have an important effect on methylene blue adsorption, and the adsorption considerably occurs through electrostatic interactions. In addition, the obtained results showed that the organic sulfur presence in the coal matrix have a positive effect on the methylene blue adsorption

Pre-treatment Social Anxiety Severity Moderates the Impact of Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction and Aerobic Exercise

Science.gov (United States)

Jazaieri, Hooria; Lee, Ihno A.; Goldin, Philippe R.; Gross, James J.

2015-01-01

We examined whether social anxiety severity at pre-treatment would moderate the impact of Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) or Aerobic Exercise (AE) for generalized social anxiety disorder. MBSR and AE produced equivalent reductions in weekly social anxiety symptoms. Improvements were moderated by pre-treatment social anxiety severity. PMID:25684277

Ultrasound assisted biogas production from co-digestion of wastewater sludges and agricultural wastes: Comparison with microwave pre-treatment.

Science.gov (United States)

Aylin Alagöz, B; Yenigün, Orhan; Erdinçler, Ayşen

2018-01-01

This study investigates the effect of ultrasonication and microwave sludge disintegration/pre-treatment techniques on the anaerobic co-digestion efficiency of wastewater sludges with olive and grape pomaces. The effects of both co-digestion and sludge pre-treatment techniques were evaluated in terms of the organic removal efficiency and the biogas production. The "co-digestion" of wastewater sludge with both types of pomaces was revealed to be a much more efficient way for the biogas production compared to the single (mono) sludge digestion. The ultrasonication and microwave pre-treatments applied to the sludge samples caused to a further increase in biogas and methane yields. Based on applied specific energies, ultrasonication pre-treatment was found much more effective than microwave irradiation. The specific energy applied in microwave pre-treatment (87,000kj/kgTS) was almost 9 times higher than that of used in ultrasonication (10,000kj/kgTS), resulting only 10-15% increases in biogas/methane yield. Co-digestion of winery and olive industry residues with pre-treated wastewater sludges appears to be a suitable technique for waste management and energy production. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

[Outcome-quality of treatment for headache on primary care conditions].

Science.gov (United States)

Lang, E; Eisele, R; Jankowsky, H; Kastner, S; Bickel, A; Martus, P; Neundörfer, B

2000-12-01

Little is known about the outcome-quality of treatment for headache on primary care conditions in Germany. All physicians (2100) of middle franconia, a bavarian greater district with 1,6 Mio. inhabitants, involved in outpatient management were asked to include consecutively patients in the study which suffer from migraine (at least 2 attacks/month) and/or tension type headache (at least 8 days/month) of at least 4 weeks duration. Before and after a 6 months interval patients documented the following outcome data in a questionnaire: pain intensity during the last attack (numeric rating scale), pain dependent disability (Brief Pain Inventory, German version), health related quality of life (SF-36, German version) and depressivity (Allgemeine Depressionsskala). The pain chronification state (Mainz Pain Staging System) has been assessed by the physician. Therapy was not standardized and included the natural spectrum of medicamental and non-medicamental therapy of headache. Agreement of therapy with recommendations of the "Arzneimittelkommission der Deutschen Aerzteschaft" has been assessed. 24 physicians participated in the study. Pre-post-data of 80 patients (46+/-14 y) could be analysed. Initially 67% were classified in pain chronification state I, 27% in state II and 6% in state III. Medicamental therapy agreed with recommendations in approximately 50% of patients, non-medicamental therapy has been used rarely. The pain intensity, pain dependent disability, depression and quality of life improved significantly. 45% and 55% of patients improved in at least 2 of 6 outcome-parameters by 30% of baseline value or by half standard deviation of the corresponding pre-post-differences, respectively. The latter outcome-measure reflects a medium effect size. On primary care conditions about 50% of patients suffering from migraine and/or tension type headache (predominantly low chronification stae) perceive a therapy effect that corresponds to a medium effect size.

Pre-treatment with intravenous granisetron to alleviate pain on propofol injection: A double-blind, randomized, controlled trial

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Ahsan Ahmed

2012-01-01

Full Text Available Background: Propofol is one of the widely used intravenous (i.v. anaesthetics, although pain on injection still remains a considerable concern for the anaesthesiologists. A number of techniques has been tried to minimize propofol-induced pain with variable results. Recently, a 5-HT 3 antagonist, ondansetron pre-treatment, has been shown to reduce propofol-induced pain. The aim of our randomized, placebo-controlled, double-blinded study was to determine whether pre-treatment with intravenous granisetron, which is routinely used in our practice for prophylaxis of post-operative nausea and vomiting, would reduce propofol-induced pain. Methods: Eighty-two women, aged 18-50 years, American society of Anaesthesiologist grading (ASA I-II, scheduled for various surgeries under general anaesthesia were randomly assigned to one of the two groups. One group received 2 mL 0.9% sodium chloride while the other group received 2 mL granisetron (1 mg/mL, and were accompanied by manual venous occlusion for 1 min. Then, 2 mL propofol was injected through the same cannula. Patients were asked by a blinded investigator to score the pain on injection of propofol with a four-point scale: 0=no pain, 1=mild pain, 2=moderate pain, 3=severe pain. Results: Twenty-four patients (60% complained of pain in the group pre-treated with normal saline as compared with six (15% in the group pre-treated with granisetron. Pain was reduced significantly in the granisetron group (P<0.05. Severity of pain was also lesser in the granisetron group compared with the placebo group (2.5% vs. 37.5%. Conclusion: We conclude that pre-treatment with granisetron along with venous occlusion for 1 min for prevention of propofol-induced pain was highly successful.

SU-F-T-234: Quality Improvements in the Electronic Medical Record of Patients Treated with High Dose-Rate Brachytherapy

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Diener, T [Cleveland State University, Cleveland, OH (United States); Wilkinson, D [Cleveland Clinic Foundation, Cleveland, OH (United States)

2016-06-15

Purpose: To improve workflow efficiency and patient safety by assessing the quality control documentation for HDR brachytherapy within our Electronic Medical Record System (Mosaiq). Methods: A list of parameters based on NRC regulations, our quality management program (QMP), recommendations of the ACR and the American Brachytherapy Society, and HDR treatment planning risks identified in our previous FMEA study was made. Next, the parameter entries were classified according to the type of data input—manual, electronic, or both. Manual entry included the electronic Brachytherapy Treatment Record (BTR) and pre-treatment Mosaiq Assessments list. Oncentra Treatment Reports (OTR) from the Oncentra Treatment Control System constituted the electronic data. The OTR includes a Pre-treatment Report for each fraction, and a Treatment Summary Report at the completion of treatment. Each entry was then examined for appropriateness and completeness of data; adjustments and additions as necessary were then made. Results: Ten out of twenty-one recorded treatment parameters were identified to be documented within both the BTR and OTR. Of these ten redundancies, eight were changed from recorded values to a simple checklist in the BTR to avoid recording errors. The other redundancies were kept in both documents due to their value to ensuring patient safety. An edit was made to the current BTR quality assessment; this change revises the definition of a medical event in accordance with ODH Regulation 3701:1-58-101. One addition was made to the current QMP documents regarding HDR. This addition requires a physician to be present through the duration of HDR treatment in accordance with ODH Regulation 3701:1-58-59; Paragraph (F); Section (2); Subsection (a). Conclusion: Careful examination of HDR documentation that originates from different sources can help to improve the accuracy and reliability of the documents. In addition, there may be a small improvement in efficiency due to

Studies on some quantitative characters in the M2 generation in jute (Corchorus olitorius L.) originating after pre-irradiation treatments with hydroxylamine and pre- and post-irradiation treatments with colchicine

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bose, S.; Chakrabarti, C.C.; Banerjee, B.

1977-01-01

Studies on quantitative characters have been made on M 2 mutants like - slender plants with many branches and oval shaped leaves, plants with bifurcation at the base of the stem, stout dwarf plants with many branches, slender plants with many branches, small, slender plants with lesser number of branches, slender, tall plants with many branches, tall plants with crincked leaves and many branches and in the bulk type having many branches and tall habit. The bulk types originated after pre-irradiation treatment with hydroxylamine, colchicine and post-irradiation treatment with colchicine and the mutants originated after pre-irradiation treatment with hydroxylamine and distilled water. The quantitative characters taken into consideration were plant height, basal diameter, number of nodes per plant, number pods per plant, number of seeds per pod and 100 seed weight. (author)

Patterns of pre-treatment drug abuse, drug treatment history and characteristics of addicts in methadone maintenance treatment in Iran

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Shekarchizadeh Hajar

2012-06-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Opiates are the main drugs of abuse, and Methadone Maintenance Treatment (MMT is the most widely administered drug addiction treatment program in Iran. Our study aimed to investigate patterns of pre-treatment drug abuse, addiction treatment history and characteristics of patients in MMT in Tehran. Methods We applied a stratified cluster random sampling technique and conducted a cross-sectional survey utilizing a standard patient characteristic and addiction history form with patients (n = 810 in MMT. The Chi-square test and t-test served for statistical analyses. Results A clear majority of the participants were men (96%, more than 60% of whom were between 25 and 44 years of age, educated (89% had more than elementary education, and employed (>70%. The most commonly reported main drugs of abuse prior to MMT entry were opium (69% and crystalline heroin (24%. The patients’ lifetime drug experience included opium (92%, crystalline heroin (28%, cannabis (16%, amphetamines (15%, and other drugs (33%. Crystalline heroin abusers were younger than opium users, had begun abusing drugs earlier, and reported a shorter history of opiate addiction. Conclusion Opium and crystalline heroin were the main drugs of abuse. A high rate of addiction using more dangerous opiate drugs such as crystalline heroin calls for more preventive efforts, especially among young men.

Patterns of pre-treatment drug abuse, drug treatment history and characteristics of addicts in methadone maintenance treatment in Iran

Science.gov (United States)

2012-01-01

Background Opiates are the main drugs of abuse, and Methadone Maintenance Treatment (MMT) is the most widely administered drug addiction treatment program in Iran. Our study aimed to investigate patterns of pre-treatment drug abuse, addiction treatment history and characteristics of patients in MMT in Tehran. Methods We applied a stratified cluster random sampling technique and conducted a cross-sectional survey utilizing a standard patient characteristic and addiction history form with patients (n = 810) in MMT. The Chi-square test and t-test served for statistical analyses. Results A clear majority of the participants were men (96%), more than 60% of whom were between 25 and 44 years of age, educated (89% had more than elementary education), and employed (>70%). The most commonly reported main drugs of abuse prior to MMT entry were opium (69%) and crystalline heroin (24%). The patients’ lifetime drug experience included opium (92%), crystalline heroin (28%), cannabis (16%), amphetamines (15%), and other drugs (33%). Crystalline heroin abusers were younger than opium users, had begun abusing drugs earlier, and reported a shorter history of opiate addiction. Conclusion Opium and crystalline heroin were the main drugs of abuse. A high rate of addiction using more dangerous opiate drugs such as crystalline heroin calls for more preventive efforts, especially among young men. PMID:22676557

Improved performance of AlGaN/GaN HEMT by N2O plasma pre-treatment

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mi Min-Han; Zhang Kai; Zhao Sheng-Lei; Wang Chong; Zhang Jin-Cheng; Ma Xiao-Hua; Hao Yue

2015-01-01

The influence of an N 2 O plasma pre-treatment technique on characteristics of AlGaN/GaN high electron mobility transistor (HEMT) prepared by using a plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD) system is presented. After the plasma treatment, the peak transconductance (g m ) increases from 209 mS/mm to 293 mS/mm. Moreover, it is observed that the reverse gate leakage current is lowered by one order of magnitude and the drain current dispersion is improved in the plasma-treated device. From the analysis of frequency-dependent conductance, it can be seen that the trap state density (D T ) and time constant (τ T ) of the N 2 O-treated device are smaller than those of a non-treated device. The results indicate that the N 2 O plasma pre-pretreatment before the gate metal deposition could be a promising approach to enhancing the performance of the device. (paper)

Pre- and Peri-/Post-Compaction Follistatin Treatment Increases In Vitro Production of Cattle Embryos.

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Guo Zhenhua

Full Text Available Our previous studies demonstrated that maternal (oocyte derived follistatin (FST expression is positively associated with bovine oocyte competence and exogenous follistatin treatment during the pre-compaction period of development (d 1-3 post insemination is stimulatory to bovine early embryogenesis in vitro [blastocyst rates and cell numbers/allocation to trophectoderm (TE]. In the present study, bovine embryos were treated with exogenous follistatin during d 1-3, d 4-7 and d 1-7 post insemination to test the hypothesis that embryotropic effects of exogenous follistatin are specific to the pre-compaction period (d 1-3 of early embryogenesis. Follistatin treatment during d 4-7 (peri-/post-compaction period of embryo culture increased proportion of embryos reaching blastocyst and expanded blastocyst stage and total cell numbers compared to controls, but blastocyst rates and total cell numbers were lower than observed following d 1-3 (pre-compaction follistatin treatment. Follistatin supplementation during d 1-7 of embryo culture increased development to blastocyst and expanded blastocyst stages and blastocyst total cell numbers compared to d 1-3 and d 4-7 follistatin treatment and untreated controls. A similar increase in blastocyst CDX2 mRNA and protein (TE cell marker was observed in response to d 1-3, d 4-7 and d 1-7 follistatin treatment. However, an elevation in blastocyst BMP4 protein (TE cell regulator was observed in response to d 1-3 and d 1-7, but not d 4-7 (peri-/post-compaction follistatin treatment. In summary, our study revealed the potential utility of follistatin treatment for increasing the success rate of in vitro embryo production in cattle. Such results also expand our understanding of the embryotropic actions of follistatin and demonstrate that follistatin actions on blastocyst development and cell allocation to the TE layer are not specific to the pre-compaction period.

Instrument for assessing the quality of mobile emergency pre-hospital care: content validation

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Rodrigo Assis Neves Dantas

2015-06-01

Full Text Available OBJECTIVES To validate an instrument to assess quality of mobile emergency pre-hospital care. METHOD A methodological study where 20 professionals gave their opinions on the items of the proposed instrument. The analysis was performed using Kappa test (K and Content Validity Index (CVI, considering K> 0.80 and CVI ≥ 0.80. RESULTS Three items were excluded from the instrument: Professional Compensation; Job Satisfaction and Services Performed. Items that obtained adequate K and CVI indexes and remained in the instrument were: ambulance conservation status; physical structure; comfort in the ambulance; availability of material resources; user/staff safety; continuous learning; safety demonstrated by the team; access; welcoming; humanization; response time; costumer privacy; guidelines on care; relationship between professionals and costumers; opportunity for costumers to make complaints and multiprofessional conjunction/actuation. CONCLUSION The instrument to assess quality of care has been validated and may contribute to the evaluation of pre-hospital care in mobile emergency services.

Pennsylvania Pre-K Counts: End of Year Report, 2009-2010

Science.gov (United States)

Pennsylvania Department of Education, 2010

2010-01-01

Pennsylvania Pre-K Counts was created to provide research-based, high quality pre-kindergarten opportunities to at-risk children across the commonwealth by leveraging the existing early education services in schools, Keystone STARS child care programs, Head Start, and licensed nursery schools. The standards are high and the accountability…

Investigation of Surface Pre-Treatment Methods for Wafer-Level Cu-Cu Thermo-Compression Bonding

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Koki Tanaka

2016-12-01

Full Text Available To increase the yield of the wafer-level Cu-Cu thermo-compression bonding method, certain surface pre-treatment methods for Cu are studied which can be exposed to the atmosphere before bonding. To inhibit re-oxidation under atmospheric conditions, the reduced pure Cu surface is treated by H2/Ar plasma, NH3 plasma and thiol solution, respectively, and is covered by Cu hydride, Cu nitride and a self-assembled monolayer (SAM accordingly. A pair of the treated wafers is then bonded by the thermo-compression bonding method, and evaluated by the tensile test. Results show that the bond strengths of the wafers treated by NH3 plasma and SAM are not sufficient due to the remaining surface protection layers such as Cu nitride and SAMs resulting from the pre-treatment. In contrast, the H2/Ar plasma–treated wafer showed the same strength as the one with formic acid vapor treatment, even when exposed to the atmosphere for 30 min. In the thermal desorption spectroscopy (TDS measurement of the H2/Ar plasma–treated Cu sample, the total number of the detected H2 was 3.1 times more than the citric acid–treated one. Results of the TDS measurement indicate that the modified Cu surface is terminated by chemisorbed hydrogen atoms, which leads to high bonding strength.

Justification for inter-fraction correction of catheter movement in fractionated high dose-rate brachytherapy treatment of prostate cancer

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Simnor, Tania; Li, Sonia; Lowe, Gerry; Ostler, Peter; Bryant, Linda; Chapman, Caroline; Inchley, Dave; Hoskin, Peter J.

2009-01-01

Background and purpose: Fractionated high dose-rate (HDR) brachytherapy in the treatment of prostate cancer relies on reproducible catheter positions for each fraction to ensure adequate tumour coverage while minimising dose to normal tissues. Peri-prostatic oedema may cause caudal displacement of the catheters relative to the prostate gland between fractions. This can be corrected for by changing source dwell positions or by physical re-advancement of catheters before treatment. Materials and methods: Data for 20 consecutive monotherapy patients receiving three HDR fractions of 10.5 Gy per fraction over 2 days were analysed retrospectively. Pre-treatment CT scans were used to assess the effect of catheter movement between fractions on implant quality, with and without movement correction. Implant quality was evaluated using dosimetric parameters. Results: Compared to the first fraction (f1) the mean inter-fraction caudal movement relative to the prostate base was 7.9 mm (f2) (range 0-21 mm) and 3.9 mm (f3) (range 0-25.5 mm). PTV D90% was reduced without movement correction by a mean of 27.8% (f2) and 32.3% (f3), compared with 5.3% and 5.1%, respectively, with catheter movement correction. Dose to 2 cc of the rectum increased by a mean of 0.69 (f2) and 0.76 Gy (f3) compared with an increase of 0.03 and 0.04 Gy, respectively, with correction. The urethra V12 also increased by a mean of 0.36 (f2) and 0.39 Gy (f3) compared with 0.06 and 0.16 Gy, respectively, with correction. Conclusions: Inter-fraction correction for catheter movement using pre-treatment imaging is critical to maintain the quality of an implant. Without movement correction there is significant risk of tumour under-dosage and normal tissue over-dosage. The findings of this study justify additional imaging between fractions in order to carry out correction.

Quality assurance of radiotherapy in cancer treatment. Toward improvement of patient safety and quality of care

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ishikura, Satoshi

2008-01-01

The process of radiotherapy (RT) is complex and involves understanding of the principles of medical physics, radiobiology, radiation safety, dosimetry, radiation treatment planning, simulation and interaction of radiation with other treatment modalities. Each step in the integrated process of RT needs quality control and quality assurance (QA) to prevent errors and to give high confidence that patients will receive the prescribed treatment correctly. Recent advances in RT, including intensity-modulated and image-guided RT, focus on the need for a systematic RTQA program that balances patient safety and quality with available resources. It is necessary to develop more formal error mitigation and process analysis methods, such as failure mode and effect analysis, to focus available QA resources optimally on process components. External audit programs are also effective. The International Atomic Energy Agency has operated both an on-site and off-site postal dosimetry audit to improve practice and to assure the dose from RT equipment. Several countries have adopted a similar approach for national clinical auditing. In addition, clinical trial QA has a significant role in enhancing the quality of care. The Advanced Technology Consortium has pioneered the development of an infrastructure and QA method for advanced technology clinical trials, including credentialing and individual case review. These activities have an impact not only on the treatment received by patients enrolled in clinical trials, but also on the quality of treatment administered to all patients treated in each institution, and have been adopted globally; by the USA, Europe and Japan also. (author)

Quality assurance of radiotherapy in cancer treatment: toward improvement of patient safety and quality of care.

Science.gov (United States)

Ishikura, Satoshi

2008-11-01

The process of radiotherapy (RT) is complex and involves understanding of the principles of medical physics, radiobiology, radiation safety, dosimetry, radiation treatment planning, simulation and interaction of radiation with other treatment modalities. Each step in the integrated process of RT needs quality control and quality assurance (QA) to prevent errors and to give high confidence that patients will receive the prescribed treatment correctly. Recent advances in RT, including intensity-modulated and image-guided RT, focus on the need for a systematic RTQA program that balances patient safety and quality with available resources. It is necessary to develop more formal error mitigation and process analysis methods, such as failure mode and effect analysis, to focus available QA resources optimally on process components. External audit programs are also effective. The International Atomic Energy Agency has operated both an on-site and off-site postal dosimetry audit to improve practice and to assure the dose from RT equipment. Several countries have adopted a similar approach for national clinical auditing. In addition, clinical trial QA has a significant role in enhancing the quality of care. The Advanced Technology Consortium has pioneered the development of an infrastructure and QA method for advanced technology clinical trials, including credentialing and individual case review. These activities have an impact not only on the treatment received by patients enrolled in clinical trials, but also on the quality of treatment administered to all patients treated in each institution, and have been adopted globally; by the USA, Europe and Japan also.

Questa Baseline and Pre-Mining Ground-Water Quality Investigation. 25. Summary of Results and Baseline and Pre-Mining Ground-Water Geochemistry, Red River Valley, Taos County, New Mexico, 2001-2005

Science.gov (United States)

Nordstrom, D. Kirk

2008-01-01

Active and inactive mine sites are challenging to remediate because of their complexity and scale. Regulations meant to achieve environmental restoration at mine sites are equally challenging to apply for the same reasons. The goal of environmental restoration should be to restore contaminated mine sites, as closely as possible, to pre-mining conditions. Metalliferous mine sites in the Western United States are commonly located in hydrothermally altered and mineralized terrain in which pre-mining concentrations of metals were already anomalously high. Typically, those pre-mining concentrations were not measured, but sometimes they can be reconstructed using scientific inference. Molycorp?s Questa molybdenum mine in the Red River Valley, northern New Mexico, is located near the margin of the Questa caldera in a highly mineralized region. The State of New Mexico requires that ground-water quality standards be met on closure unless it can be shown that potential contaminant concentrations were higher than the standards before mining. No ground water at the mine site had been chemically analyzed before mining. The aim of this investigation, in cooperation with the New Mexico Environment Department (NMED), is to infer the pre-mining ground-water quality by an examination of the geologic, hydrologic, and geochemical controls on ground-water quality in a nearby, or proximal, analog site in the Straight Creek drainage basin. Twenty-seven reports contain details of investigations on the geological, hydrological, and geochemical characteristics of the Red River Valley that are summarized in this report. These studies include mapping of surface mineralogy by Airborne Visible-Infrared Imaging Spectrometry (AVIRIS); compilations of historical surface- and ground- water quality data; synoptic/tracer studies with mass loading and temporal water-quality trends of the Red River; reaction-transport modeling of the Red River; environmental geology of the Red River Valley; lake

Optimization of the pre-aging treatment for an AA6022 alloy at various temperatures and holding times

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ding, Lipeng; He, Yang; Wen, Zhang; Zhao, Pizhi; Jia, Zhihong; Liu, Qing

2015-01-01

The effect of pre-aging at four different temperatures and three holding times on the natural aging and the bake hardening response of an AA6022 alloys were studied by Vickers microhardness measurement, tensile test, differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) analysis and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). It was revealed that pre-aging immediately after quenching is effective in suppressing the natural aging and improving the bake hardening response (BHR), which is attributed to the readily formation of Cluster(2) during pre-aging treatment as well as depressing of Cluster(1). The optimum pre-aging treatments were exploited as: 80 °C for 8 h; 100 °C for 3 h; 130 °C for 20 min and 170 °C for 5 min. By considering the practical process requirement pre-aging at 100 °C for 3 h gives a better BHR without impairing the formability in T4P temper, which has the potential to be used in industrial production. - Highlights: • Pre-aging treatment improves T4 hardness and BHR by modifying the cluster forming. • The suitable holding time for each pre-aging temperature is given. • The optimum pre-aging process of 100 °C for 3 h is suggested

The Assessment of Diet Quality and Its Effects on Health Outcomes Pre-pregnancy and during Pregnancy.

Science.gov (United States)

Martin, Julie C; Zhou, Shao J; Flynn, Angela C; Malek, Lenka; Greco, Rebecca; Moran, Lisa

2016-03-01

Overweight and obesity pre pregnancy or during pregnancy is associated with an increased risk for maternal obstetric and fetal complications. Diet is one modifiable risk factor that women may be motivated to improve. General healthy eating guidelines, micronutrient sufficiency and macronutrient quantity and quality are important nutrition considerations pre and during pregnancy. With regards to specific nutrients, health authorities have recommendations for folate and/or iodine supplementation; but not consistently for iron and omega-3 despite evidence for their association with health outcomes. There are modest additional requirements for energy and protein, but not fat or carbohydrate, in mid-late pregnancy. Diet indices and dietary pattern analysis are additional tools or methodologies used to assess diet quality. These tools have been used to determine dietary intakes and patterns and their association with pregnancy complications and birth outcomes pre or during pregnancy. Women who may unnecessarily resist foods due to fear of food contamination from listeriosis and methylmercury may limit their diet quality and a balanced approached is required. Dietary intake may also vary according to certain population characteristics. Additional support for women who are younger, less educated, overweight and obese, from socially disadvantaged areas, smokers and those who unnecessarily avoid healthy foods, is required to achieve a higher quality diet and optimal lifestyle peri conception. Thieme Medical Publishers 333 Seventh Avenue, New York, NY 10001, USA.

Pre-treatment of waste fuel with low-speed shredding and screening for fluidized bed incineration; Foerbehandling av avfallsbraensle foer fluidbaeddpannor med laangsamtgaaende valskross och saekerhetssiktning

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Hermansson, Sven; Victoren, Anders; Niklasson, Fredrik; Jones, Frida

2013-09-01

In FB combustion of waste, an important cost factor is the pre-treatment of the waste fuel. The most common method of final levigation of the waste fuel is using hammer mills, which crushes the fuel with high force and high rotational speed. The advantage of the powerful hammer mill is, however, also a disadvantage. The fraction of fines becomes large, and the method is experienced to cause high maintenance costs and problems with accidental fires. A plausible alternative to the hammer mill is the shredder. The rotational speed of the shreeder is lower, while it cutting and slicing the waste fuel instead of grinding it. The shredder is, therefore, expected to yield less wear and tear, lower electricity consumption and less accidental fires. On the other hand, the shreeder may yield a higher fraction of oversized fuel particles, which could cause problems in the combustion, especially in smaller FB-plants with one single fuel supply conveyor. In this project, the framing of question has been if low-speed shredding in combination with screening of over sizes fuel particles, may function for smaller FB plants with one single fuel supplying conveyor. The aim of the project has been to support FB plant owners and manufacturers for independent comparision of the different fuel pre-treatment methods, via pre-treatment and combustions trials and economical comparisons. The concept of lowspeed shreddning and screening has been compared economically with a traditional hammer mill system and a shredding system designed for a larger FB plant. Moreover, combustion trials have been carried out with shredded and screened fuel, and hammer milled fuel, in two smaller parallel FB furnaces with one single fuel supplying conveyor per furnace. The fuels were analysed for particle size distribution and composition, and the operation during the combustion trial was evaluated. The economical evaluation of the new pre-treatment concept, with lowspeed shredding and screening, yielded an

Stability of heparin blood samples during transport based on defined pre-analytical quality goals

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Jensen, Esther A; Stahl, Marta; Brandslund, Ivan

2008-01-01

BACKGROUND: In many countries and especially in Scandinavia, blood samples drawn in primary healthcare are sent to a hospital laboratory for analysis. The samples are exposed to various conditions regarding storage time, storage temperature and transport form. As these factors can have a severe...... impact on the quality of results, we wanted to study which combination of transport conditions could fulfil our pre-defined goals for maximum allowable error. METHODS: Samples from 406 patients from nine general practitioners (GPs) in two Danish counties were sent to two hospitals for analyses, during......, centrifuged and separated at the doctor's office within 45-60 min. This sample was considered as the best estimate of a comparison value. RESULTS: The pre-set quality goals were fulfilled for all the investigated components for samples transported to hospital by courier either as whole blood or as "on gel...

Integration of educational methods and physical settings: design guidelines for High/Scope methodology in pre-schools

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Shirin Izadpanah

2014-06-01

Full Text Available Quality design and appropriate space organization in preschool settings can support preschool children's educational activities. Although the relationship between the well-being and development of children and physical settings has been emphasized by many early childhood researchers, there is still a need for theoretical design guidelines that are geared towards the improvement of this issue. This research focuses on High/Scope education and aims to shape a theoretical guideline that raises teachers' awareness about the potential of learning spaces and guides them to improve the quality of the physical spaces. To create a theoretical framework, reliable sources are investigated in the light of High/Scope education and the requirements of pre-school children educational spaces. Physical space characteristics, the preschool child's requirements and High/Scope methodology identified design inputs, design considerations and recommendations that shape the final guideline for spatial arrangement in a High/Scope setting are integrated. Discussions and suggestions in this research benefit both designers and High/ Scope teaching staff. Results help High/Scope teaching staff increase the quality of a space in an educational setting without having an architectural background. The theoretical framework of the research allows designers to consider key features and users' possible activities in High/ Scope settings and shape their designs accordingly.

The use of mixed-integer programming for inverse treatment planning with pre-defined field segments

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bednarz, Greg; Michalski, Darek; Houser, Chris; Huq, M. Saiful; Xiao Ying; Rani, Pramila Anne; Galvin, James M.

2002-01-01

Complex intensity patterns generated by traditional beamlet-based inverse treatment plans are often very difficult to deliver. In the approach presented in this work the intensity maps are controlled by pre-defining field segments to be used for dose optimization. A set of simple rules was used to define a pool of allowable delivery segments and the mixed-integer programming (MIP) method was used to optimize segment weights. The optimization problem was formulated by combining real variables describing segment weights with a set of binary variables, used to enumerate voxels in targets and critical structures. The MIP method was compared to the previously used Cimmino projection algorithm. The field segmentation approach was compared to an inverse planning system with a traditional beamlet-based beam intensity optimization. In four complex cases of oropharyngeal cancer the segmental inverse planning produced treatment plans, which competed with traditional beamlet-based IMRT plans. The mixed-integer programming provided mechanism for imposition of dose-volume constraints and allowed for identification of the optimal solution for feasible problems. Additional advantages of the segmental technique presented here are: simplified dosimetry, quality assurance and treatment delivery. (author)

Accelerating target discovery using pre-competitive open science-patients need faster innovation more than anyone else.

Science.gov (United States)

Low, Eric; Bountra, Chas; Lee, Wen Hwa

2016-01-01

We are experiencing a new era enabled by unencumbered access to high quality data through the emergence of open science initiatives in the historically challenging area of early stage drug discovery. At the same time, many patient-centric organisations are taking matters into their own hands by participating in, enabling and funding research. Here we present the rationale behind the innovative partnership between the Structural Genomics Consortium (SGC)-an open, pre-competitive pre-clinical research consortium and the research-focused patient organisation Myeloma UK to create a new, comprehensive platform to accelerate the discovery and development of new treatments for multiple myeloma.

Fungicidal Effects of Plasma and Radio-Wave Pre-treatments on Seeds of Grain Crops and Legumes

Science.gov (United States)

Filatova, Irina; Azharonok, Viktor; Shik, Alexander; Antoniuk, Alexandra; Terletskaya, Natalia

An influence of RF plasma and RF electromagnetic field pre-treatments on level of fungal infection of some important agricultural plants has been studied. It is shown that pre-sowing plasma and radio-wave seeds treatments contribute to their germination enhancement and plant productivity improvement owing to stimulative and fungicidal effect of plasma and RF electromagnetic field irradiation.

Study of the quality characteristics in cold-smoked salmon (Salmo salar) originating from pre- or post-rigor raw material.

Science.gov (United States)

Birkeland, S; Akse, L

2010-01-01

Improved slaughtering procedures in the salmon industry have caused a delayed onset of rigor mortis and, thus, a potential for pre-rigor secondary processing. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of rigor status at time of processing on quality traits color, texture, sensory, microbiological, in injection salted, and cold-smoked Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar). Injection of pre-rigor fillets caused a significant (Prigor processed fillets; however, post-rigor (1477 ± 38 g) fillets had a significant (P>0.05) higher fracturability than pre-rigor fillets (1369 ± 71 g). Pre-rigor fillets were significantly (Prigor fillets (37.8 ± 0.8) and had significantly lower (Prigor processed fillets. This study showed that similar quality characteristics can be obtained in cold-smoked products processed either pre- or post-rigor when using suitable injection salting protocols and smoking techniques. © 2010 Institute of Food Technologists®

Quality of Life: Domains for Understanding Maths Anxiety in First Year Pre-Service Teachers through Identity Work

Science.gov (United States)

Wilson, Sue

2016-01-01

Mathematics anxiety in primary pre-service teachers' affects their future teaching of mathematics and achievement of students. Data collected via Critical Incident Technique were used to investigate this anxiety as perceived and identified by first year pre-service teachers. This paper proposes the application of the Quality of Life conceptual…

Molecular mass distribution and epitopes of the beta lactoglobulin submitted to hydrolysis pre-transglutaminase treatment

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Villas-Boas, M.B.; Zollner, R.L.; Netto, F.M.; Paes Leme, A.F.; Benede, S.; Molina, E.

2012-01-01

Full text: The β-Lactoglobulin (β-Lg) is a whey protein with important nutritional proper ties but very resistant to pepsin digestion and consequently highly antigenic. This protein can be modified by transglutaminase (TG) although it is required a pretreatment to increase their susceptibility to the TG action. In the present study the hydrolysis pre-TG treatment was used to improve the TG accessibility on β-Lg and the MM distribution and antigenic fragments were evaluated. For pre-TG treatment, the β-Lg (Davisco Inc.) was hydrolyzed with bromelain (3% of β-Lg w/w in distilled water; 25 U enzyme g 1 of substrate, pH 7.5, 240 min) and then polymerized by TG (7% hydrolysate, 10U TG g 1 protein, 50 C/180 min). The samples were evaluated by SDS-PAGE/tricine and by RP-nanoUPLC (nanoAcquity UPLC, Waters) coupled with nano-electrospray tandem mass spectrometry on a Q-Tof Ultima API mass spectrometer (MicroMass/Waters) at LNBio. The products were also submitted to pepsin digestion and the peptide identification was performed by RP-HPLC-tandem mass spectrometry (RP-HPLC-MS/MS, Brucker) with support from CIAL. The β-Lg hydrolysed by bromelain and polymerized by TG had a broad MM distribution. The intact mass analysis indicated that the non modified βLg -A showed 18.362 Da and the non modified βLg -B 18.274 Da, which is in agreement with the theoretical corresponding masses. The use of bromelain pre-TG treatment resulted in polymers with MM from 61.052 to 67.654 Da, although some non modified protein was still present. In addition, the non modified β-Lg showed fragments that present high antigenicity (such as Leu 95 - Leu 104 , Asp 95 - Phe 105 , Tyr 42 - Leu 54 , lle 29 - Val 41 ), previously identified as IgE-binding epitopes. After hydrolysis following by TG treatment the fragment Tyr 42 - Leu 54 was still present, however the other fragments that were observed in the non modified β-Lg were not detected by LC-MS/MS, suggesting that structural change occurred in

Effects of pre-fermentation and pulsed-electric-field treatment of primary sludge in microbial electrochemical cells.

Science.gov (United States)

Ki, Dongwon; Parameswaran, Prathap; Popat, Sudeep C; Rittmann, Bruce E; Torres, César I

2015-11-01

The aim of this study was to investigate the combination of two technologies - pulsed electric field (PEF) pre-treatment and semi-continuous pre-fermentation of primary sludge (PS) - to produce volatile fatty acids (VFAs) as the electron donor for microbial electrolysis cells (MECs). Pre-fermentation with a 3-day solids retention time (SRT) led to the maximum generation of VFAs, with or without pretreatment of the PS through pulsed-electric-fields (PEF). PEF treatment before fermentation enhanced the accumulation of the preferred VFA, acetate, by 2.6-fold. Correspondingly, MEC anodes fed with centrate from 3-day pre-fermentation of PEF-treated PS had a maximum current density ∼3.1 A/m(2), which was 2.4-fold greater than the control pre-fermented centrate. Over the full duration of batch MEC experiments, using pre-fermented centrate led to successful performance in terms of Coulombic efficiency (95%), Coulombic recovery (80%), and COD-removal efficiency (85%). Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

SU-F-T-351: Establishing a Workflow for IMRT Pre-Treatment Reviews for NRG-GY006 Clinical Trial

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Giaddui, T [Sidney Kimmel Cancer Center, Thomas Jefferson University, Philadelphia, PA (United States); Li, N; Moore, K; Mell, L [University of California, San Diego, San Diego, CA (United States); Curry, K [MIM Software, Inc., Clevealand, OH (United States); Leath, C [University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL (United States); Kunos, C [Northeastern Ohio University College, Clevealand, OH (United States); Xiao, Y [University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA (United States)

2016-06-15

Purpose: To establish a workflow for NRG-GY006 IMRT pre-treatment reviews, incorporating advanced radiotherapy technologies being evaluated as part of the clinical trial. Methods: Pre-Treatment reviews are required for every IMRT case as part of NRG-GY006 (a randomized phase II trial of radiation therapy and cisplatin alone or in combination with intravenous triapine in women with newly diagnosed bulky stage I B2, stage II, IIIB, or IVA cancer of the uterine cervix or stage II-IVA vaginal cancer. The pretreatment review process includes structures review and generating an active bone marrow(ABM)- to be used as an avoidance structure during IMRT optimization- and evaluating initial IMRT plan quality using knowledgeengineering based planning (KBP). Institutions will initially submit their simulation CT scan, structures file and PET/CT to IROC QA center for generating ABM. The ABM will be returned to the institution for use in planning. Institutions will then submit an initial IMRT plan for review and will receive information back following implementation of a KBP algorithm, for use in re-optimization, before submitting the final IMRT used for treatment. Results: ABM structure is generated using MIM vista software (Version 6.5, MIM corporation, Inc.). Here, the planning CT and the diagnostic PET/CT are fused and a sub threshold structure is auto segmented above the mean value of the SUV of the bone marrow. The generated ABM were compared with those generated with other software system (e.g. Velocity, Varian) and Dice coefficient (reflects the overlap of structures) ranged between 80 – 90% was achieved. A KBP model was built in Varian Eclipse TPS using the RapidPlan KBP software to perform plan quality assurance. Conclusion: The workflow for IMRT pretreatment reviews has been established. It represents a major improvement of NRG Oncology clinical trial quality assurance and incorporates the latest radiotherapy technologies as part of NCI clinical trials. This project

SU-F-T-351: Establishing a Workflow for IMRT Pre-Treatment Reviews for NRG-GY006 Clinical Trial

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Giaddui, T; Li, N; Moore, K; Mell, L; Curry, K; Leath, C; Kunos, C; Xiao, Y

2016-01-01

Purpose: To establish a workflow for NRG-GY006 IMRT pre-treatment reviews, incorporating advanced radiotherapy technologies being evaluated as part of the clinical trial. Methods: Pre-Treatment reviews are required for every IMRT case as part of NRG-GY006 (a randomized phase II trial of radiation therapy and cisplatin alone or in combination with intravenous triapine in women with newly diagnosed bulky stage I B2, stage II, IIIB, or IVA cancer of the uterine cervix or stage II-IVA vaginal cancer. The pretreatment review process includes structures review and generating an active bone marrow(ABM)- to be used as an avoidance structure during IMRT optimization- and evaluating initial IMRT plan quality using knowledgeengineering based planning (KBP). Institutions will initially submit their simulation CT scan, structures file and PET/CT to IROC QA center for generating ABM. The ABM will be returned to the institution for use in planning. Institutions will then submit an initial IMRT plan for review and will receive information back following implementation of a KBP algorithm, for use in re-optimization, before submitting the final IMRT used for treatment. Results: ABM structure is generated using MIM vista software (Version 6.5, MIM corporation, Inc.). Here, the planning CT and the diagnostic PET/CT are fused and a sub threshold structure is auto segmented above the mean value of the SUV of the bone marrow. The generated ABM were compared with those generated with other software system (e.g. Velocity, Varian) and Dice coefficient (reflects the overlap of structures) ranged between 80 – 90% was achieved. A KBP model was built in Varian Eclipse TPS using the RapidPlan KBP software to perform plan quality assurance. Conclusion: The workflow for IMRT pretreatment reviews has been established. It represents a major improvement of NRG Oncology clinical trial quality assurance and incorporates the latest radiotherapy technologies as part of NCI clinical trials. This project

Impact of biological activated carbon pre-treatment on the hydrophilic fraction of effluent organic matter for mitigating fouling in microfiltration.

Science.gov (United States)

Pramanik, Biplob Kumar; Roddick, Felicity A; Fan, Linhua

2017-07-24

The hydrophilic (HPI) fraction of effluent organic matter, which has protein and carbohydrate contents, has a high propensity to foul low-pressure membranes. Biological activated carbon (BAC) filtration was examined as a pre-treatment for reducing the fouling of a microfiltration (MF) membrane (0.1 µm PVDF) by the HPI organic fraction extracted from a biologically treated secondary effluent (BTSE). Although the BAC removed less dissolved organic carbon, carbohydrate and protein from the HPI fraction than the granular activated carbon treatment which was used for comparison, it led to better improvement in permeate flux. This was shown to be due to the removal/breakdown of the HPI fraction resulting in less deposition of these organics on the membrane, many components of which are high molecular weight biopolymers (such as protein and carbohydrate molecules) through biodegradation and adsorption of those molecules on the biofilm and activated carbon. This study established the potential of BAC pre-treatment for reducing the HPI fouling of the membrane and thus improving the performance for the MF of BTSE for water reclamation.

Environmentally friendly hybrid coatings for corrosion protection: silane based pre-treatments and nanostructured waterborne coatings

OpenAIRE

Fedel, Michele

2009-01-01

This thesis considers a nanotechnology approach based on the production of metals pre-treatments and organic coatings (a complete protection system at all) designed from the nanoscale. The final aim is to develop protection systems with improved corrosion protection properties and a low environmental impact. In particular, multifunctional silane hybrid molecules were used to design sol-gel pre-treatments for metals and to modify the inner structure of UV curable waterborne organic coatings...

Pre-treatment technology for electrochemical detection of heavy metal lead and cadmium in food

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ke YAN

2015-04-01

Full Text Available Wet digestion is used as the pre-treatment technology for the electrochemical detection of heavy metals in food, and the complete wet digestion condition of food sample is optimized by electrochemical experiments. The results show that the experimental samples can be digested completely using the Nitric acid-hydrogen peroxide system and is not pre-digested after adding 10 mL nitric acid at 120~140 ℃ and adding 10~15 mL of hydrogen peroxide during the heating process. The correlation coefficient of electrochemical detect is 0.99 for digestion solution of the samples, and the recovery of standard addition is 82%~115%. Wet digestion as a pre-treatment technology of food samples. It can digest sample fully and meet the requirements of electrochemical detection.

Pain and quality of life of children and adolescents with osteogenesis imperfecta over a bisphosphonate treatment cycle.

Science.gov (United States)

Tsimicalis, Argerie; Boitor, Madalina; Ferland, Catherine E; Rauch, Frank; Le May, Sylvie; Carrier, Jaimie Isabel; Ngheim, Tracy; Bilodeau, Claudette

2018-06-01

The objective was to describe the pain and quality of life among children and adolescents with any osteogenesis imperfecta (OI) type over one intravenous bisphosphonate treatment cycle from a child and parental perspective. A prospective, observational study was conducted, where children and adolescents evaluated their pain intensity, location, and quality, as well as quality of life before, 1 week after treatment, and 6 months later. Quality of life was also evaluated from the parental perspective at the same three time points. Thirty-three child/parent dyads participated. The results showed that pain intensity on the 0-10 self-report scale after the Zoledronate infusion (median = 0, range = 0-6) was not different from pre (median = 2, range = 0-10) and 6-months post-scores (median = 2, range = 0-8) (p = 0.170). Children and adolescents with OI reported experiencing pain mainly in the ankles and the anterior and posterior shoulders. They selected evaluative pain descriptors such as uncomfortable (n = 16, 48%) and annoying (n = 13, 39%). Children and adolescents' functioning and quality of life did not change significantly across the bisphosphonate treatment cycle (p = 0.326), parents perceived an improvement immediately after the treatment compared to before (p = 0.016). Children and adolescents with OI experience mild, yet complex pain localized across several body areas. There is little fluctuation in the pain intensity and functioning of children with OI undergoing bisphosphonate treatment. What is Known: • Acute and chronic musculoskeletal pain remains a major issue in OI. • Pain has a negative impact on quality of life. What is New: • New and unpublished methods and findings describing the pain and quality of life of children and adolescents with OI over one intravenous bisphosphonate treatment cycle from a child- and parental-proxy perspective. • Children and adolescents with OI experience pain intensity that is mild, yet

The Chemical Background for Sensory Quality

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Zhang, Shujuan

compounds and consequently change the sensory quality in wine which provide the useful information of wine quality management to winemakers to as well as knowledge on the behaviour of wine oxidation. Additional, studies focused on understanding the development of volatiles during accelerated cheese ripening......In the food industry, high sensory quality and stability of products are crucial factors for consumer satisfaction and market shares. Sensory quality is normally being evaluated by two major approaches: instrumental (volatile and nonvolatile compounds) approach and sensory approach by trained...... and sensory methods in understanding the pre-fermentation treatment on sensory quality of wine (Study 3). In Study 4, the RATA method was used to provide the intensity of significant sensory descriptors that discriminate the significant differences between chocolate samples. Part three step by step moves...

Improving chocolate flavor in poor-quality cocoa almonds by enzymatic treatment.

Science.gov (United States)

Oliveira, Hilana Salete Silva; Mamede, Maria Eugênia Oliveira; Góes-Neto, Aristóteles; Koblitz, Maria Gabriela Bello

2011-01-01

This paper proposes a method to enzymatically treat poor-quality cocoa almonds (known as "slate") to ensure the formation of chocolate flavor precursors. The production of flavor precursors improves the quality of these almonds, which are usually responsible for the low quality of the liquor produced. Proteases and carboxypeptidases from different sources were tested under various conditions. The different treatments were evaluated by chemical analysis (hydrolysis efficiency) and sensory analysis of the treated material compared to good-quality cocoa almonds. The results show that it is possible, through the use of microbial enzymes, to generate the mixture of compounds that will release, after roasting, the characteristic chocolate flavor in poor-quality almonds. However, it is necessary to optimize the conditions of enzymatic treatment to obtain better results and thus establish a process that can be used for industrial purposes for manufacturing cocoa and chocolate. The basidiomycete Moniliophtora perniciosa is the causative agent of witches' broom disease (WBD) of the cocoa tree, whose seeds are the source of chocolate. It is the most important phytopathological problem of cocoa-producing areas of the American continent, and has decimated the Brazilian cocoa industry. In Bahia (Brazil), M. perniciosa was identified in 1989 and, as a consequence of its spreading, the annual production of cocoa almonds dropped from 450,000 to 90,000 tons within 12 y, reducing export values from an all-time high of about US$ 1 billion to 110 million. The high incidence of WBD incapacitates Brazil to produce enough cocoa almonds even for the internal market, leading the country to import low-quality cocoa almonds mainly from African countries. Our work proposes an enzymatic treatment to increase the quality of that cocoa almonds and, consequently, to improve the quality of the chocolate produced and consumed in the country. © 2011 Institute of Food Technologists®

Effect of biological activated carbon pre-treatment to control organic fouling in the microfiltration of biologically treated secondary effluent.

Science.gov (United States)

Pramanik, Biplob Kumar; Roddick, Felicity A; Fan, Linhua

2014-10-15

Biological activated carbon (BAC) filtration was investigated as a pre-treatment for reducing the organic fouling of a microfiltration membrane (0.1 μm polyvinylidene fluoride) in the treatment of a biologically treated secondary effluent (BTSE) from a municipal wastewater treatment plant. BAC treatment of the BTSE resulted in a marked improvement in permeate flux, which was attributed to the effective removal of organic foulants and particulates. Although the BAC removed significantly less dissolved organic carbon than the granular activated carbon (GAC) treatment which was used as a control for comparison, it led to a markedly greater flux. This was attributed to the effective removal of the very high molecular weight substances such as biopolymers by the BAC through biodegradation and adsorption of those molecules on the biofilm. Size exclusion chromatography showed the BAC treatment led to approximately 30% reduction in these substances, whereas the GAC did not greatly remove these molecules. The BAC treatment led to a greater reduction of loosely-attached and firmly-attached membrane surface foulant, and this was confirmed by attenuated total reflection-fourier transform infrared spectroscopy analysis. This study demonstrated the potential of BAC pre-treatment for reducing organic fouling and thus improving flux for the microfiltration of BTSE. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Psychosocial Quality-of-Life, Lifestyle and Adiposity: A Longitudinal Study in Pre-schoolers (Ballabeina Study).

Science.gov (United States)

Michels, Nathalie; Susi, Kriemler; Marques-Vidal, Pedro M; Nydegger, Andreas; Puder, Jardena J

2016-06-01

In obesity prevention, understanding psychosocial influences in early life is pivotal. Reviews reported contradictory results and a lack of longitudinal studies focusing on underlying lifestyle factors. This study tested whether psychosocial Quality-Of-Life (QOL) was associated with pre-schoolers' lifestyle and adiposity changes over one school year and whether lifestyle moderated the latter. It was hypothesised that QOL might not impact adiposity in everybody but that this might depend on preceding lifestyle. Longitudinal data from 291 Swiss pre-schoolers (initially 3.9-6.3 years) was available. The following measures were used in longitudinal regressions: psychosocial QOL by PedsQL, adiposity (BMI z-score, waist, fat%), diet (food frequency), sedentary time and accelerometer-based activity. Concerning lifestyle, low psychosocial QOL was only related to unfavourable changes in diet (less fruit β = 0.21 and more fat intake β = -0.28) and lower physical activity (β = 0.21). Longitudinal QOL-adiposity relations appeared only after moderation by lifestyle factors (beta-range 0.13-0.67). Low psychosocial QOL was associated with increased adiposity in children with an unhealthy diet intake or high sedentary time. By contrast, low psychosocial QOL was associated with decreasing adiposity in high fruit consumers or more physically active pre-schoolers. Results emphasise the need for testing moderation in the QOL-adiposity relation. An unhealthy diet can be a vulnerability factor and high physical activity a protective factor in QOL-related adiposity. Consequently, QOL and lifestyle should be targeted concurrently in multi-factorial obesity prevention. The environment should be an 'activity encouraging, healthy food zone' that minimises opportunities for stress-induced eating. In addition, appropriate stress coping skills should be acquired.

Pre-admission antibiotics for suspected cases of meningococcal disease.

Science.gov (United States)

Sudarsanam, Thambu D; Rupali, Priscilla; Tharyan, Prathap; Abraham, Ooriapadickal Cherian; Thomas, Kurien

2017-06-14

2.15; N = 477; 18 clinical failures; moderate-quality evidence), or neurological sequelae (RR 1.29, 95% CI 0.63 to 2.62; N = 477; 29 with sequelae; low-quality evidence). No adverse effects of treatment were reported. Estimated treatment costs were similar. No data were available on disease burden due to sequelae. We found no reliable evidence to support the use pre-admission antibiotics for suspected cases of non-severe meningococcal disease. Moderate-quality evidence from one RCT indicated that single intramuscular injections of ceftriaxone and long-acting chloramphenicol were equally effective, safe, and economical in reducing serious outcomes. The choice between these antibiotics should be based on affordability, availability, and patterns of antibiotic resistance.Further RCTs comparing different pre-admission antibiotics, accompanied by intensive supportive measures, are ethically justified in people with less severe illness, and are needed to provide reliable evidence in different clinical settings.

Amelioration of rCBF and PbtO2 following TBI at high altitude by hyperbaric oxygen pre-conditioning.

Science.gov (United States)

Hu, Shengli; Li, Fei; Luo, Haishui; Xia, Yongzhi; Zhang, Jiuquan; Hu, Rong; Cui, Gaoyu; Meng, Hui; Feng, Hua

2010-03-01

Hypobaric hypoxia at high altitude can lead to brain damage and pre-conditioning with hyperbaric oxygen (HBO) can reduce ischemic/hypoxic brain injury. This study investigates the effects of high altitude on traumatic brain injury (TBI) and examines the neuroprotection provided by HBO preconditioning against TBI. Rats were randomly divided into four groups: HBO pre-conditioning group (HBOP, n=10), high altitude group (HA, n=10), plain control group (PC, n=10) and plain sham operation group (sham, n=10). All groups were subjected to head trauma by weight drop device except for the sham group. Rats from each group were examined for neurological function, regional cerebral blood flow (rCBF) and brain tissue oxygen pressure (PbtO(2)) and were killed for analysis by transmission electron microscope. The score of neurological deficits in the HA group was highest, followed by the HBOP group and the PC group, respectively. Both rCBF and PbtO(2) were the lowest in the HA group. Brain morphology and structure seen via the transmission electron microscope was diminished in the HA group, while fewer pathological injuries occurred in the HBOP and PC groups. High altitude aggravates TBI significantly and HBO pre-conditioning can attenuate TBI in rats at high altitude by improvement of rCBF and PbtO(2). Pre-treatment with HBO might be beneficial for people traveling to high altitude locations.

Optimization of O3 as Pre-Treatment and Chemical Enhanced Backwashing in UF and MF Ceramic Membranes for the Treatment of Secondary Wastewater Effluent and Red Sea Water

KAUST Repository

Herrera, Catalina

2011-12-12

Ceramic membranes have proven to have many advantages over polymeric membranes. Some of these advantages are: resistance against extreme pH, higher permeate flux, less frequent chemical cleaning, excellent backwash efficiency and longer lifetime. Other main advantage is the use of strong chemical agent such as Ozone (O3), to perform membrane cleaning. Ozone has proven to be a good disinfection agent, deactivating bacteria and viruses. Ozone has high oxidation potential and high reactivity with natural organic matter (NOM). Several studies have shown that combining ozone to MF/UF systems could minimize membrane fouling and getting higher operational fluxes. This work focused on ozone – ceramic membrane filtration for treating wastewater effluent and seawater. Effects of ozone as a pre – treatment or chemical cleaning with ceramic membrane filtration were identified in terms of permeate flux and organic fouling. Ozonation tests were done by adjusting O3 dose with source water, monitoring flux decline and membrane fouling. Backwashing availability and membrane recovery rate were also analyzed. Two types of MF/UF ceramics membranes (AAO and TAMI) were used for this study. When ozone dosage was higher in the source water, membrane filtration improved in performance, resulting in a reduced flux decline. In secondary wastewater effluent, raw source water declined up to 77% of normalized flux, while with O3 as pre – treatment, source water at its higher O3 dose, flux decreased only 33% of normalized flux. For seawater, membrane performance increase from declining to 37% of its final normalized flux to 21%, when O3 as a pre – treatment was used. Membrane recovery rate also improved even with low O3 dose, as an example, with 8 mg/L irreversible fouling decreases from 58% with no ozone addition to 29% for secondary wastewater effluent treatment. For seawater treatment, irreversible fouling decreased from 37% with no ozone addition to 21% at 8 mg/L, proving ozone is a

Quality Measures for the Care of Patients with Insomnia

Science.gov (United States)

Edinger, Jack D.; Buysse, Daniel J.; Deriy, Ludmila; Germain, Anne; Lewin, Daniel S.; Ong, Jason C.; Morgenthaler, Timothy I.

2015-01-01

The American Academy of Sleep Medicine (AASM) commissioned five Workgroups to develop quality measures to optimize management and care for patients with common sleep disorders including insomnia. Following the AASM process for quality measure development, this document describes measurement methods for two desirable outcomes of therapy, improving sleep quality or satisfaction, and improving daytime function, and for four processes important to achieving these goals. To achieve the outcome of improving sleep quality or satisfaction, pre- and post-treatment assessment of sleep quality or satisfaction and providing an evidence-based treatment are recommended. To realize the outcome of improving daytime functioning, pre- and post-treatment assessment of daytime functioning, provision of an evidence-based treatment, and assessment of treatment-related side effects are recommended. All insomnia measures described in this report were developed by the Insomnia Quality Measures Workgroup and approved by the AASM Quality Measures Task Force and the AASM Board of Directors. The AASM recommends the use of these measures as part of quality improvement programs that will enhance the ability to improve care for patients with insomnia. Citation: Edinger JD, Buysse DJ, Deriy L, Germain A, Lewin DS, Ong JC, Morgenthaler TI. Quality measures for the care of patients with insomnia. J Clin Sleep Med 2015;11(3):311–334. PMID:25700881

Pre-treatment Predictors of Dropout from Prolonged Exposure Therapy in Patients with Chronic Posttraumatic Stress Disorder and Comorbid Substance Use Disorders

Science.gov (United States)

Belleau, Emily L.; Chin, Eu Gene; Wanklyn, Sonya G.; Zambrano-Vazquez, Laura; Schumacher, Julie A.; Coffey, Scott F.

2017-01-01

Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and substance use disorders (SUDs) are commonly co-occurring disorders associated with more adverse consequences than PTSD alone. Prolonged exposure therapy (PE) is one of the most efficacious treatments for PTSD. However, among individuals with PTSD-SUD, 35–62% of individuals drop out of trauma-focused exposure treatments. Thus, it is important to identify predictors of PTSD treatment dropout among substance abusers with PTSD in order to gain information about adapting treatment strategies to enhance retention and outcomes. The current study explored pre-treatment predictors of early termination from PE treatment in a sample of 85 individuals receiving concurrent treatment for PTSD and a SUD in a residential treatment facility as part of a randomized controlled trial. The results indicated that less education and more anxiety sensitivity uniquely predicted PE treatment dropout. Demographic variables, PTSD severity, SUD severity, mental health comorbidities, and emotion regulation difficulties did not predict treatment dropout. These results suggest that adding pre-treatment interventions that address anxiety sensitivity, and promote social adjustment and cognitive flexibility, could possibly improve PE retention rates in clients with high anxiety or low education. PMID:28147254

Pre-Session Satiation as a Treatment for Stereotypy During Group Activities.

Science.gov (United States)

Rispoli, Mandy; Camargo, Síglia Hoher; Neely, Leslie; Gerow, Stephanie; Lang, Russell; Goodwyn, Fara; Ninci, Jennifer

2014-05-01

Individuals with developmental disabilities may engage in automatically reinforced behaviors that may interfere with learning opportunities. Manipulation of motivating operations has been shown to reduce automatically maintained behavior in some individuals. Considering behavioral indicators of satiation may assist in identifying the point at which an abolishing operation has begun to effect behavior. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effects of pre-session satiation of automatic reinforcement on subsequent levels of stereotypy and activity engagement during group activities for three males ages 5 to 13 years with developmental disabilities. Following functional analyses with analogue conditions, an alternating treatment design compared a pre-session access to stereotypy condition with a no-pre-session access condition prior to group activity sessions. Results indicated that pre-session satiation of the putative reinforcer produced by stereotypy was effective in decreasing stereotypy and increasing activity engagement during subsequent group activities for all participants. These findings add to the literature supporting the effectiveness of abolishing operations to decrease automatically maintained stereotypy. © The Author(s) 2013.

Use of chemical pre-treatment based chromic acid; Uso de pre-tratamento quimico a base de acido cromico. Beneficios versus desvantagens

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Campos, Paulo Henrique Leite [TENARIS CONFAB S.A., Pindamonhangaba, SP (Brazil); Bibiano, Paulo de Tarso [SOCO-RIL do Brasil S.A., Pindamonhangaba, SP (Brazil); Koebsch, Andre; Mollica, Eduardo de Oliveira [PETROBRAS, Rio de Janeiro, RJ (Brazil)

2005-07-01

In this work were going compared the polyethylene and FBE coatings performances in triple layer for tubes done with and without the presence of the pre-treatment chemist with chromic acid of the tube surface. The performance test chosen for accomplishes the comparison was the cathodic disbondment and hot water soak, for being this the test that has objective to improve the performance with the chromic acid application. The obtained results were going extracted of a factory database of TENARIS CONFAB S.A. in Pindamonhangaba - Sao Paulo. The adopted technical specification like reference for the tried coatings belonged to PETROBRAS S.A. Were compared also tests results of jobs using chromate and jobs that were not used pre-treatment. (author)

Barley Seed Germination/Root Elongation Toxicity Test For Evaluation Of Sludge Pre-Treatment

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Eriksson, Eva; Kusk, Kresten Ole; Barrett Sørensen, Mie

Application of sludge from wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) on agricultural land is an approach for nutrient recycling that rise challenges due to recalcitrant and harmful pollutants. In this study we assessed the feasibility of a seed germination test to evaluate sludge ecotoxicity and compared...... germination responses from two test parameters, root elongation and seed germination (sprouts elongation) of the barley (Hordeum vulgare). 2nd objective was to evaluate sewage sludge pre-treatments at batch-scale of sludge samples from two WWTPs using anaerobic digestion, and thermal and ozonation pre......-treatments. Glyphosate and eco-labelled soil were used as references. Inhibition of germination of seeds exposed to the glyphosate and sludge was registered and thus germination was successfully applied for sludge ecotoxicity assessment, and using the root elongation as the end-point was both faster and more precise...

Stress perception among patients in pre-colonoscopy period and those undergoing chemotherapy treatment

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Graziela de Souza Alves da Silva

2015-05-01

Full Text Available Objective: comparing the perception of stress among patients with colorectal cancer undergoing chemotherapy with those in pre-colonoscopy period. Methods: a comparative descriptive study developed with 144 people receiving chemotherapy and 100 patients in the pre-colonoscopy period, using biosocial and clinical data, Stress Assessment Tool and Perceived Stress Scale. Results: a predominance of females (73%, aged over 65 (50% were predominant for the pre-colonoscopy period patients. In patients receiving chemotherapy, gender parity with ages ranging from 40-64 years (68.1% was observed. Pre-colonoscopy patients showed higher perceived stress compared to those receiving chemotherapy (p <0.001. Conclusion: the phase of diagnostic definition represents greater stress to patients in comparison to period of treatment, even despite the characteristic manifestations of chemotherapy.

Pre-anthesis high temperature acclimation alleviates the negative effects of postanthesis heat stress on stem stored carbohydrates remobilization and grain starch accumulation in wheat

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Wang, Xiao; Cai, Jian; Liu, Fulai

2012-01-01

The potential role of pre-anthesis high temperature acclimation in alleviating the negative effects of post-anthesis heat stress on stem stored carbohydrate remobilization and grain starch accumulation in wheat was investigated. The treatments included no heat-stress (CC), heat stress at pre...... had much higher starch content, and caused less modified B-type starch granule size indicators than the CH plants. Our results indicated that, compared with the non-acclimated plants, the pre-anthesis high temperature acclimation effectively enhanced carbohydrate remobilization from stems to grains...

SU-F-T-225: Is It Time to Have Pre-Configured Therapeutic Beams Available in Commercial Treatment Planning Systems?

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ding, G

2016-01-01

Purpose: Commissioning radiation beams requires considerable effort to obtain the beam data for beam configuration in a commercial treatment planning system. With the advances in technology, the manufacturer of accelerators now has the ability to adjust radiation beam parameters to meet pre-determined specifications with high precision. This study aims to illustrate the feasibility of making pre-configured radiation beams available in commercial treatment planning systems. Methods: In recent years, Varian has made a set of measured beam data from the TrueBeam accelerator available to users. Although the beam data are provided as “suggestive data” without warranty, the commissioned data measured by users have been shown to be in excellent agreement with the data set provided when the beams from the installed Linacs were adjusted to meet the beam specifications. An unofficial survey among Varian Linac TrueBeam users shows that the suggestive data set has been used with validation by users in some clinics. This indicates that radiation beams from a specified Linac can be standardized and pre-configured in a treatment planning system. Results: Two newly installed Varian TrueBeam accelerators at two different centers were examined in which one set of commissioned beam data was obtained from measurements performed by an independent physics consulting company and the other was measured by local physicists in the department. All beams from both accelerators were tuned to meet the manufacturer’s specifications. Discrepancies of less than 1% were found between the commissioned beam data from both accelerators and the suggestive data set provided by Varian. Conclusion: It may be feasible that radiation beams can be pre-configured in commercial treatment planning systems. The radiation beam users will perform the beam validation and end-to-end tests instead of configuring beams. This framework can increase both the efficiency and the accuracy in commercial radiation

Effect of single- and two-cycle high hydrostatic pressure treatments on water properties, physicochemical and microbial qualities of minimally processed squids (todarodes pacificus).

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, Yifeng; Jiao, Shunshan; Lian, Zixuan; Deng, Yun; Zhao, Yanyun

2015-05-01

This study investigated the effect of single- and two-cycle high hydrostatic pressure (HHP) treatments on water properties, physicochemical, and microbial qualities of squids (Todarodes pacificus) during 4 °C storage for up to 10 d. Single-cycle treatments were applied at 200, 400, or 600 MPa for 20 min (S-200, S-400, and S-600), and two-cycle treatments consisted of two 10 min cycles at 200, 400, or 600 MPa, respectively (T-200, T-400, and T-600). HHP-treated samples had higher (P pressure level caused no significant difference in water state of squids. The two-cycle HHP treatment was more effective in controlling total volatile basic nitrogen, pH, and total plate counts (TPC) of squids during storage, in which TPC of S-600 and T-600 was 2.9 and 1.8 log CFU/g at 10 d, respectively, compared with 7.5 log CFU/g in control. HHP treatments delayed browning discoloration of the squids during storage, and the higher pressure level and two-cycle HHP were more effective. Water properties highly corresponded with color and texture indices of squids. This study demonstrated that the two-cycle HHP treatment was more effective in controlling microbial growth and quality deterioration while having similar impact on the physicochemical and water properties of squids in comparison with the single-cycle treatment, thus more desirable for extending shelf-life of fresh squids. © 2015 Institute of Food Technologists®

The effect of lime pre-treatments of date palm leaves on delignification and in vitro rumen degradability

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Ghorbani, M.; Ahmadi, F.; Rajaee Rad, A.; Zamiri, M.J.; Cone, J.W.; Polikarpov, I.

2017-01-01

Experiments were conducted to determine the effect of lime pre-treatment on the chemical composition and in vitro rumen degradability of date palm leaves (DPL). Lime pre-treatments, with or without oxygen supply, were applied for 1, 2 and 3 weeks at 25 and 40 °C. Lime was neutralized by the

Quality assurance in cancer management. Impact of quality standards on treatment accuracy: The experience of the EORTC

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bernier, J.

1997-01-01

There is thus a need to ensure that the same quality of treatment is offered to all cancer patients in Europe. A research of this kind must be aimed at identifying which steps in the complex treatment processes are more error prove, which of those can most effectively be corrected, and which procedures could be taken over by countries, or individual centers to monitor themselves the quality of their treatment procedures. To achieve this goals, the EORTC Radiotherapy Co-operative Group has put a major effort in the development of two Quality Assurance programs: the Physics Audit program (PAQ) and in the Assurance of Protocol Compliance Program (APCP). In the PAO, a first survey conducted in 1986, on the radiotherapy infrastructure in European Centers participating in clinical trials showed that 20% of the centers encountered difficulties to comply with the EORTC requirements due to imbalance in staff or equipment. Besides radiotherapy infrastructure, the beam output was checked in 50 centers: a major problem was detected in 30% of the checked electron beams. Dosimetric recommendations were sent out to all radio-oncology departments active in the EORTC and a mailed measurement procedure was developed for the verification of the beam output in photon beams. The EORTC Radiotherapy Group has demonstrated that multicenter QA programs permit, through the pooling of a large number of data, auditing by specialists of implemented Quality Standards both in radiation physics and in clinical oncology, contributing to the basis for the development of harmonized quality procedures and standards in the therapeutic management of cancer. This type of QA program should also foster the interaction between several medical disciplines and promote the application of Quality Standards in community level hospitals. Current efforts are also put forth to develop common research instruments, such as the processing of database and MRI or CT-scan images through teleconferencing and the set up

Rain events and their effect on effluent quality studied at a full scale activated sludge treatment plant.

Science.gov (United States)

Wilén, B M; Lumley, D; Mattsson, A; Mino, T

2006-01-01

The effect of rain events on effluent quality dynamics was studied at a full scale activated sludge wastewater treatment plant which has a process solution incorporating pre-denitrification in activated sludge with post-nitrification in trickling filters. The incoming wastewater flow varies significantly due to a combined sewer system. Changed flow conditions have an impact on the whole treatment process since the recirculation to the trickling filters is set by the hydraulic limitations of the secondary settlers. Apart from causing different hydraulic conditions in the plant, increased flow due to rain or snow-melting, changes the properties of the incoming wastewater which affects process performance and effluent quality, especially the particle removal efficiency. A comprehensive set of on-line and laboratory data were collected and analysed to assess the impact of rain events on the plant performance.

Use of pre-pulse in laser spot welding of materials with high optical reflection

Science.gov (United States)

Mys, Ihor; Geiger, Manfred

2003-11-01

Laser micro welding has become a standard manufacturing technique, particularly in industry sectors, such as automotive and aerospace electronics or medical devices, where the requirements for strength, miniaturization and temperature resistance are constantly rising. So far the use of laser micro welding is limited due to the fluctuation of the quality of the welded joints, because the welding results for material with high optical reflection and thermal conductivity, such as copper and copper alloys, depend very strongly on the condition of the material surface. This paper presents investigations on the use of a laser pre-pulse in spot welding of electronic materials with Nd:YAG laser. In order to achieve reproducible joining results two strategies are followed-up. The first one utilizes a reflection-based process control for measuring the reflection during the short pre-pulse. The intensity of the reflected light is used to calculate an appropriated welding pulse power, which corresponds to the measured relative absorption. Adjustment of laser parameters according to the condition of the surface is done in real time before laser main pulse. A second possibility for the stabilization of copper welding is the employment of a short and powerful laser pre-pulse before laser main pulse. This pre-pulse affects the workpiece surface and creates more reproducible absorption conditions for the main pulse, independent from the initial situation on material surface.

Effects of laser peening treatment on high cycle fatigue and crack propagation behaviors in austenitic stainless steel

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Masaki, Kiyotaka; Ochi, Yasuo; Matsumura, Takashi; Ikarashi, Takaaki; Sano, Yuji

2010-01-01

Laser peening without protective coating (LPwC) treatment is one of surface enhancement techniques using an impact wave of high pressure plasma induced by laser pulse irradiation. High compressive residual stress was induced by the LPwC treatment on the surface of low-carbon type austenitic stainless steel SUS316L. The affected depth reached about 1mm from the surface. High cycle fatigue tests with four-points rotating bending loading were carried out to confirm the effects of the LPwC treatment on fatigue strength and surface fatigue crack propagation behaviors. The fatigue strength was remarkably improved by the LPwC treatment over the whole regime of fatigue life up to 10 8 cycles. Specimens with a pre-crack from a small artificial hole due to fatigue loading were used for the quantitative study on the effect of the LPwC treatment. The fracture mechanics investigation on the pre-cracked specimens showed that the LPwC treatment restrained the further propagation of the pre-crack if the stress intensity factor range ΔK on the crack tip was less than 7.6 MPa√m. Surface cracks preferentially propagated into the depth direction as predicted through ΔK analysis on the crack by taking account of the compressive residual stresses due to the LPwC treatment. (author)

Lignite pre-treatment and its effect on bio-stimulative properties of respective lignite humic acids

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Vlckova, Z.; Grasset, L.; Antosova, B.; Pekar, M.; Kucerik, J. [Brno University of Technology, Brno (Czech Republic). Faculty of Chemistry

2009-09-15

Humic acids originating from South-Moravian lignite were subjected to a comparative study with the aim to assess the alteration of their physico-chemical properties after various lignite pre-treatments. Physical modification was achieved with two organic acids, such as acetic acid and citric acid and chemical modification by nitric acid and hydrogene peroxide in various concentrations. Elemental analysis, solid-state NMR, GC-MS analysis of polyols and size exclusion chromatography were carried out for chemical-physical characterization of obtained humic acids. Their biological effect, in form of potassium and ammonium humates, was tested on maize (Zea mays) seedlings. In these tests, potassium humates achieved far better overall results than ammonium humates. Results were inter-correlated in order to appraise the influence of humic acids physical and chemical properties on biological activity. Surprisingly, fractions with the lowest molecular size (0-35 kDa) showed no correlation with bioactivity results (Pearson coefficient from 0.05 to -0.4). On the contrary, middle-sized fractions (35-175 kDa) showed highly significant positive correlation (Pearson coefficient up to 0.92) and the highest molecular-size-fractions (275-350 kDa) showed negative correlation (Pearson coefficient up to -0.75). These findings were identical for both potassium and ammonium humates. No connection was found between bioactivity of humates and polyols content which was remarkably high; it reached 150 mg per g of humic acids in the most extreme case of 5% hydrogene peroxide pre-treatment. In the final analysis, the preparation mode bore pivotal responsibility for the control of humic acids biological effect and showed the best results for potassium humates obtained from lignite pre-treated by acetic acid and by 2% hydrogen peroxide.

Treatment efficacy, treatment failures and selection of macrolide resistance in patients with high load of Mycoplasma genitalium during treatment of male urethritis with josamycin.

Science.gov (United States)

Guschin, Alexander; Ryzhikh, Pavel; Rumyantseva, Tatiana; Gomberg, Mikhail; Unemo, Magnus

2015-02-03

Azithromycin has been widely used for Mycoplasma genitalium treatment internationally. However, the eradication efficacy has substantially declined recent decade. In Russia, josamycin (another macrolide) is the recommended first-line treatment for M. genitalium infections, however, no data regarding treatment efficacy with josamycin and resistance in M. genitalium infections have been internationally published. We examined the M. genitalium prevalence in males attending an STI clinic in Moscow, Russia from December 2006 to January 2008, investigated treatment efficacy with josamycin in male urethritis, and monitored the M. genitalium DNA eradication dynamics and selection of macrolide resistance in M. genitalium during this treatment. Microscopy and real-time PCRs were used to diagnose urethritis and non-viral STIs, respectively, in males (n = 320). M. genitalium positive patients were treated with recommended josamycin regimen and treatment efficacy was monitored using quantitative real-time PCR. Macrolide resistance mutations were identified using sequencing of the 23S rRNA gene. Forty-seven (14.7%) males were positive for M. genitalium only and most (85.1%) of these had symptoms and signs of urethritis. Forty-six (97.9%) males agreed to participate in the treatment efficacy monitoring. All the pre-treatment M. genitalium specimens had wild-type 23S rRNA. The elimination of M. genitalium DNA was substantially faster in patients with lower pre-treatment M. genitalium load, and the total eradication rate was 43/46 (93.5%). Of the six patients with high pre-treatment M. genitalium load, three (50%) remained positive post-treatment and these positive specimens contained macrolide resistance mutations in the 23S rRNA gene, i.e., A2059G (n = 2) and A2062G (n = 1). M. genitalium was a frequent cause of male urethritis in Moscow, Russia. The pre-treatment M. genitalium load might be an effective predictor of eradication efficacy with macrolides (and possibly

Pre-Treatment with Amifostine Protects against Cyclophosphamide-Induced Disruption of Taste in Mice

Science.gov (United States)

Mukherjee, Nabanita; Carroll, Brittany L.; Spees, Jeffrey L.; Delay, Eugene R.

2013-01-01

Cyclophosphamide (CYP), a commonly prescribed chemotherapy drug, has multiple adverse side effects including alteration of taste. The effects on taste are a cause of concern for patients as changes in taste are often associated with loss of appetite, malnutrition, poor recovery and reduced quality of life. Amifostine is a cytoprotective agent that was previously shown to be effective in preventing chemotherapy-induced mucositis and nephrotoxicity. Here we determined its ability to protect against chemotherapy-induced damage to taste buds using a mouse model of CYP injury. We conducted detection threshold tests to measure changes in sucrose taste sensitivity and found that administration of amifostine 30 mins prior to CYP injection protected against CYP-induced loss in taste sensitivity. Morphological studies showed that pre-treatment with amifostine prevented CYP-induced reduction in the number of fungiform taste papillae and increased the number of taste buds. Immunohistochemical assays for markers of the cell cycle showed that amifostine administration prevented CYP-induced inhibition of cell proliferation and also protected against loss of mature taste cells after CYP exposure. Our results indicate that treatment of cancer patients with amifostine prior to chemotherapy may improve their sensitivity for taste stimuli and protect the taste system from the detrimental effects of chemotherapy. PMID:23626702

Pre-treatment with amifostine protects against cyclophosphamide-induced disruption of taste in mice.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Nabanita Mukherjee

Full Text Available Cyclophosphamide (CYP, a commonly prescribed chemotherapy drug, has multiple adverse side effects including alteration of taste. The effects on taste are a cause of concern for patients as changes in taste are often associated with loss of appetite, malnutrition, poor recovery and reduced quality of life. Amifostine is a cytoprotective agent that was previously shown to be effective in preventing chemotherapy-induced mucositis and nephrotoxicity. Here we determined its ability to protect against chemotherapy-induced damage to taste buds using a mouse model of CYP injury. We conducted detection threshold tests to measure changes in sucrose taste sensitivity and found that administration of amifostine 30 mins prior to CYP injection protected against CYP-induced loss in taste sensitivity. Morphological studies showed that pre-treatment with amifostine prevented CYP-induced reduction in the number of fungiform taste papillae and increased the number of taste buds. Immunohistochemical assays for markers of the cell cycle showed that amifostine administration prevented CYP-induced inhibition of cell proliferation and also protected against loss of mature taste cells after CYP exposure. Our results indicate that treatment of cancer patients with amifostine prior to chemotherapy may improve their sensitivity for taste stimuli and protect the taste system from the detrimental effects of chemotherapy.

Treatment of advanced laryngeal cancer and quality of life. Systematic review.

Science.gov (United States)

García-León, Francisco Javier; García-Estepa, Raúl; Romero-Tabares, Antonio; Gómez-Millán Borrachina, Jaime

The objective was the comparison of the quality of life in patients with advanced laryngeal cancer treated with organ preservation versus surgical treatment. We performed a systematic review in the databases MedLine, EMBASE, and PubMed (2014 1991) and Web of Science (2012 - 2014). The search terms were: Laryngeal cancer, organ preservation, chemotherapy, laryngectomy, treatment outcomes and quality of life. Systematic reviews, meta-analysis, reports of health technology assessment and comparative studies with control group, published in Spanish, French or English were included. The selection and quality assessment was made by two researchers. The criteria of the Cochrane Collaboration were used to assess the risk of bias and Scottish Intercollegiate Guidelines Network (SIGN) for the level of evidence. Of the 208 studies identified in the search, three were included a clinical trial and two observational studies, with a total of 211 patients. Quality and level of evidence was low. The results were contradictory, on occasion they favoured surgery, and on other occasions chemotherapy, but in general there were no statistical differences between the treatments. The studies were heterogeneous, with different methodology, undersized, limitations in quality with high risk of bias and use of different measurement scales. There are not enough studies of quality to establish differences in the quality of life in patients with advanced laryngeal cancer according to the treatment received. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier España, S.L.U. and Sociedad Española de Otorrinolaringología y Cirugía de Cabeza y Cuello. All rights reserved.

Comparison of Pre and Post-Treatment Orexin A Levels in Patients with Subclinical Hypothyroidism

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Muhammed Erdal

2010-01-01

Full Text Available Aim: Subclinical hypothyroidism is a clinical condition mostly observed in women, the prevalence of which increases by age. Sleepiness and appetite problems are observed in subclinical hypothyroidism. Orexins play a role in the physiological regulations like the stabilization of cardiovascular functions and the sleep-alert cycle. Similarities in the physiological regulation areas of orexins and the clinical findings of hypothyroidism were influential in the planning of this research. Additionally, homosisteine, which is influential on the cardiovascular system and the plasma level of which changes by eating (as is the case with orexins, was also analyzed. Besides, the change in the lipid profiles of the patients was also observed. Material and Methods: Nineteen pre-menopausal female patients (mean age=39.58±12.58, mean BMI= 26.7±4.9 included in this study. Following 12 hours fasting blood samples were taken from brachial vein. All patients were given 50µg/day L-T4 TSH levels were examined in every 4-6 weeks to adjust the L-T4 doses. When euthyroidism was ensured, a re-evaluation was made 4 months later. Results:  Pre-treatment plasma orexin A levels of 19 patients with pre-menopausal subclinical hypothyroidism increased significantly following a treatment of l-tiroxin for 4 months (pre-treatment orexin level median=1.20 mg/dl (mean: 1.33±0.28 post-treatment median=1.82 mg/dl (mean: 1.70±0.42 p=0.007. A significant change in the level of plasma total homosisteine and lipid profile was not detected. Conclusions: Advanced studies are needed to study the physiological effects of orexin levels in cases with subclinical hypothyroidism and the possible benefits in treatment.

Effect of ultrasound, low-temperature thermal and alkali pre-treatments on waste activated sludge rheology, hygienization and methane potential.

Science.gov (United States)

Ruiz-Hernando, M; Martín-Díaz, J; Labanda, J; Mata-Alvarez, J; Llorens, J; Lucena, F; Astals, S

2014-09-15

Waste activated sludge is slower to biodegrade under anaerobic conditions than is primary sludge due to the glycan strands present in microbial cell walls. The use of pre-treatments may help to disrupt cell membranes and improve waste activated sludge biodegradability. In the present study, the effect of ultrasound, low-temperature thermal and alkali pre-treatments on the rheology, hygienization and biodegradability of waste activated sludge was evaluated. The optimum condition of each pre-treatment was selected based on rheological criteria (reduction of steady state viscosity) and hygienization levels (reduction of Escherichia coli, somatic coliphages and spores of sulfite-reducing clostridia). The three pre-treatments were able to reduce the viscosity of the sludge, and this reduction was greater with increasing treatment intensity. However, only the alkali and thermal conditioning allowed the hygienization of the sludge, whereas the ultrasonication did not exhibit any notorious effect on microbial indicators populations. The selected optimum conditions were as follows: 27,000 kJ/kg TS for the ultrasound, 80 °C during 15 min for the thermal and 157 g NaOH/kg TS for the alkali. Afterward, the specific methane production was evaluated through biomethane potential tests at the specified optimum conditions. The alkali pre-treatment exhibited the greatest methane production increase (34%) followed by the ultrasonication (13%), whereas the thermal pre-treatment presented a methane potential similar to the untreated sludge. Finally, an assessment of the different treatment scenarios was conducted considering the results together with an energy balance, which revealed that the ultrasound and alkali treatments entailed higher costs. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Impact of early childhood caries and its treatment under general anesthesia on orofacial function and quality of life : A prospective comparative study.

Science.gov (United States)

Collado, V; Pichot, H; Delfosse, C; Eschevins, C; Nicolas, E; Hennequin, M

2017-05-01

Early Childhood Caries (ECC) has become a major public health concern worldwide, mostly affecting children from disadvantaged families in increasingly severe forms. This condition has been frequently reported to alter children's nutrition, growth and general development. It negatively impacts their quality of life, through painful episodes and severe eating difficulties. While this period is crucial for oral praxes development, the impact of dental state on oro-facial functions is poorly documented. This study evaluated the impact of ECC and its treatment under general anesthesia on oro-facial functions and quality of life in pre-school children. The dysfunction and quality of life scores from 25 children with ECC were evaluated before treatment (T0), one month (T1) and three months after treatment (T2), using the Nordic Orofacial Test-Screening (NOT-S) and the Early Childhood Oral Health Impact Scale (ECOHIS), respectively, in comparison with 16 caries-free children. The number and extent of inter-arch dental contacts were also observed. The pre-operative higher NOT-S score observed in children with ECC decreased to reach the control level at T2. The mastication item was the most affected in the ECC group throughout the study. Their mean ECOHIS score also significantly decreased post-operatively and differences remaining between both groups were no longer clinically relevant. In addition, in children with ECC, values of functional inter-arch surfaces tended to increase over the follow-up period. Oro-facial functions and quality of life, altered by ECC, could be restored through a conservative treatment approach. Relations between dental state, orofacial functions and particularly chewing, and nutrition should be investigated further.

Recent quality of ultra large rotor shafts

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Suzuki, Akira; Kinoshita, Shushi; Morita, Kikuo; Kikuchi, Hideo; Takada, Masayoshi

1983-01-01

Large size and high quality are required for rotor shafts accompanying recent trend of thermal and nuclear power generation toward large capacity. As for the low pressure rotor shafts for large capacity turbines, the disks and a shaft tend to be made into one body instead of conventional shrink fit construction, because of the experience of rotor accidents and the improvement of reliability. Therefore the ingots required become more and more large, and excellent production techniques are required for steel making, forging and heat treatment. Kobe Steel Ltd. have made about 20 large generator shafts from 420 t and 500 t ingots, and confirmed their stable high quality. Also a one-body low pressure rotor of 2600 mm diameter was made for trial, and its quality was examined. It was confirmed that the effect of forging and heat treatment was given sufficiently, and the production techniques for super-large one-body rotors were established. In steel making, vacuum degassing was applied twice to decrease hydrogen content, and VV restriction forging and pre-stage treatment were carried out. The properties of large rotors are reported. (Kako, I.)

Integrating Antiretroviral Strategies for Human Immunodeficiency Virus Prevention: Post- and Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis and Early Treatment.

Science.gov (United States)

Grant, Robert M; Smith, Dawn K

2015-12-01

Best practices for integrating human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) testing and antiretroviral interventions for prevention and treatment are suggested based on research evidence and existing normative guidance. The goal is to provide high-impact prevention services during periods of substantial risk. Antiretroviral medications are recommended for postexposure prophylaxis (PEP), pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP), and treatment of HIV infection. We reviewed research evidence and current normative guidelines to identify best practices for integrating these high-impact prevention strategies. More sensitive HIV tests used for screening enable earlier diagnosis and treatment of HIV infection, more appropriate counseling, and help limit drug resistance. A fully suppressive PEP regimen should be initiated based on exposure history or physical findings when sensitive diagnostic testing is delayed or not available and antibody tests are negative. Transitions from PEP to PrEP are often warranted because HIV exposure events may continue to occur. This algorithmic approach to integrating PEP, PrEP, and early treatment decisions may increase the uptake of these interventions by a greater number and diversity of knowledgeable healthcare providers.

Case report: pre-eruptive intra-coronal radiolucencies revisited.

LENUS (Irish Health Repository)

Counihan, K P

2012-08-01

Pre-eruptive intra-coronal radiolucency (PEIR) describes a radiolucent lesion located in the coronal dentine, just beneath the enamel-dentine junction of unerupted teeth. The prevalence of this lesion varies depending on the type and quality of radiographic exposure and age of patients used for assessment. The aetiology of pre-eruptive intra-coronal radiolucent lesions is not fully understood, but published clinical and histological evidence suggest that these lesions are resorptive in nature. Issues around the diagnosis, treatment planning and clinical management of this lesion are explored using previously unreported cases.

Effects of bran pre-hydration on functional characteristics and bread baking quality of bran and flour blends

Science.gov (United States)

The effect of bran pre-hydration on the composition and bread baking quality was determined using bran and flour of two wheat varieties. Bran was hydrated in sodium acetate buffer (50 mM, pH 5.3) to 50% moisture at 25 or 55°C for 1.5 or 12 h. The soluble sugar content in bran increased with pre-hydr...

Increased viability and resilience of haemolymph cells in blue mussels following pre-treatment with acute high-dose gamma irradiation

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Jaeschke, B. [Stockholm University (Sweden)

2014-07-01

In an initial experiment, blue mussels (Mytilus edulis) were exposed to a range of acute high doses of gamma radiation in the laboratory. Haemolymph was extracted and the haemocytes (blood cells) were scored for cell viability (% living cells) under a microscope, directly after irradiation (0.04, 0.4 or 4 Gy) and again after a subsequent treatment with hydrogen peroxide in vitro (final H{sub 2}O{sub 2} conc.: 0.2 μM). Cell viability in controls (0 Gy) was approximately 100% and no cell death was observable from radiation exposure alone. When treated with H{sub 2}O{sub 2} a decrease in cell viability was seen across all treatments, however this decrease in viability was reduced with increasing radiation pre-treatment (0 Gy = 53%; 0.04 Gy = 66%; 0.4 Gy = 75%; 4 Gy = 83%). To investigate the mechanism for this therapeutic effect observed, the experiment was repeated. Using mussels from a different location, the same, but more extensive method of irradiation (0[control], 0.04, 0.4 Gy, 5 or 40 Gy) and H{sub 2}O{sub 2} treatment was used. Additional haemolymph sub-samples were taken for analysis of catalase concentration. In this second experiment, viability of cells from controls was only 62%, indicating the mussels were in a poorer condition than those of the previous experiment. The lowest level of radiation exposure (0.04 Gy) further decreased the viability (56%). However, at higher doses the viability was increased compared to control, which then gradually declined with increasing dose (0.4 Gy = 75%; 5 Gy = 72%; 40 Gy = 65%). Catalase analysis demonstrated a complimentary pattern of activity of the antioxidant in the haemolymph, directly correlating with radiation dose (0 Gy = 0.2 U; 0.04 Gy = 0.1 U; 0.4 Gy = 1.3 U; 5 Gy = 0.9 U; 40 Gy = 0.1 Gy). Treatment with H{sub 2}O{sub 2} decreased cell viability across all treatments, but no pattern between radiation treatments was discernable. The results indicate that an acute dose of radiation not only has negligible

Pre-Service Teachers: An Analysis of Reading Instruction in High Needs Districts Dual Language Classrooms

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Michael Whitacre

2013-01-01

Full Text Available Pre-service teachers need opportunities to apply theory and connect to best practices as they teach in classroom settings be it, whole or small group. For many pre-service teachers often times their experience is limited to simply watching instruction or working with small groups of students (Pryor & Kuhn, 2004. The student teaching experience is a critical component of the teacher preparation program. Through the use of the English Language Learner Classroom Observation Instrument (ELLCOI, and researcher observation the hope is that these will aid in bringing to light the instructional activities used by pre-service teachers during reading instruction with ELLs. This study explores how pre-service bilingual teachers connect theory into practice by examining their instruction in the following categories: Instructional Practices, Interactive Teaching, English-Language Development, and Content Specific to Reading as listed in The English Language Learner Classroom Observation Instrument (ELLCOI developed by Haager, Gersten, Baker, and Graves (2003. To capture these instructional events video tape recordings of eight South Texas pre-service teachers were taken during a reading language arts lesson in order to observe instruction in high need districts’ dual language/bilingual classrooms. Data were compiled to capture the nature and quality of instruction on key essential elements, as well as reading instructional practices specific to the teaching/learning process in the dual language classroom. The findings portray the results of the ELLCOI with bilingual/ESL pre- service teachers and how they make sense of their instructional practices as a means to instruction in one-way dual language public school classrooms.

Pre-coating of LSCM perovskite with metal catalyst for scalable high performance anodes

KAUST Repository

Boulfrad, Samir

2013-07-01

In this work, a highly scalable technique is proposed as an alternative to the lab-scale impregnation method. LSCM-CGO powders were pre-coated with 5 wt% of Ni from nitrates. After appropriate mixing and adequate heat treatment, coated powders were then dispersed into organic based vehicles to form a screen-printable ink which was deposited and fired to form SOFC anode layers. Electrochemical tests show a considerable enhancement of the pre-coated anode performances under 50 ml/min wet H2 flow with polarization resistance decreased from about 0.60cm2 to 0.38 cm2 at 900 C and from 6.70 cm2 to 1.37 cm2 at 700 C. This is most likely due to the pre-coating process resulting in nano-scaled Ni particles with two typical sizes; from 50 to 200 nm and from 10 to 40 nm. Converging indications suggest that the latter type of particle comes from solid state solution of Ni in LSCM phase under oxidizing conditions and exsolution as nanoparticles under reducing atmospheres. Copyright © 2013, Hydrogen Energy Publications, LLC. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Pre-treatment step with Leuconostoc mesenteroides or L. pseudomesenteroides strains removes furfural from Zymomonas mobilis ethanolic fermentation broth

Science.gov (United States)

Furfural (furan-2-carboxaldehyde), formed during dilute acid hydrolysis of biomass, is an inhibitor of growth and ethanol production by Zymomonas mobilis. The present study used a biological pre-treatment to reduce that amount of furfural in a model biofuel fermentation broth. The pre-treatment in...

Fungal bio-treatment of spruce wood with Trametes versicolor for pitch control: Influence on extractive contents, pulping process parameters, paper quality and effluent toxicity

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Beek, van T.A.; Kuster, B.; Claassen, F.W.; Tienvieri, T.; Bertaud, F.; Lennon, G.; Petit-Concil, M.; Sierra-Alvarez, R.

2007-01-01

Lipophilic low molar-mass constituents in wood chips for the paper industry result in low quality pulp, pitch deposition, and effluent toxicity. New biotechnological solutions such as fungal pre-treatment of wood chips can reduce pitch problems. This laboratory-scale study focuses on the potential

Research on the sewage treatment in high altitude region based on Lhasa Sewage Treatment Plant

Science.gov (United States)

Xu, Jin; Li, Shuwen

2017-12-01

Sewage treatment is of great significance to enhance environmental quality, consolidate pollution prevention and ecological protection, and ensure sustainable economic and social development in high altitude region. However, there are numerous difficulties in sewage treatment due to the alpine climate, the relatively low economic development level, and the backward operation and management styles, etc. In this study, the characteristics of influent quality in the sewage treatment plant in Lhasa are investigated by analysing the influent BOD5/COD and BOD5/TN, comparing key indexes recorded from 2014 to 2016 with the hinterland. Results show that the concentration of influent COD, BOD5, NH3-N and SS in the Lhasa sewage treatment plant, in which the sewage belongs to low-concentration urban sewage, is smaller than that in the domestic sewage treatment plants in the mainland. The concentration ratio of BOD5/COD and BOD5/TN is below 0.4 and 4, which indicates that the biodegradation is poor and the carbon sources are in bad demand. The consequences obtained play a vital role in the design, operation and management of sewage treatment plants in high altitude region.

Impact of mechanical, chemical and enzymatic pre-treatments on the methane yield from the anaerobic digestion of switchgrass

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Frigon, Jean-Claude; Mehta, Punita; Guiot, Serge R.

2012-01-01

The conversion of cellulosic crops into biofuels, including methane, is receiving a lot of attention lately. Panicum vergatum, or switchgrass, is a warm season perennial grass well adapted to grow in North America. Different pre-treatments were tested in 0.5 l batch reactors, at 35 °C, in order to enhance the methane production from switchgrass, including temperature, sonication, alkalinization and autoclaving. The methane production on the basis of volatile solids (VS) added to the fermentation were 112.4 ± 8.4, 132.5 ± 9.7 and 139.8 ml g −1 after 38 days of incubation for winter harvested switchgrass (WHS) after grinding, grinding with alkalinization, and grinding with alkalinization and autoclaving, respectively. The methane production was higher for fresh summer harvested switchgrass (SHS), with a production of 256.6 ± 8.2 ml g −1 VS after mulching, alkalinization and autoclaving. The methane production from SHS was improved by 29 and 42% when applying lignin (LiP) or manganese peroxidase (MnP), at 202.1 ± 9.8 and 222.9 ± 22.5 ml g −1 VS, respectively. The combination of an alkali pre-treatment with the MnP increased the methane production furthermore at 297.7 ml g −1 VS. The use of pectinases without chemical pre-treatment showed promising yields at 287.4 and 239.5 ml g −1 VS for pectate-lyase and poly-galacturonase, respectively. An estimation of the methane yield per hectare of crop harvested resulted in net energy production of 29.8, 49.7 and 78.1 GJ for winter harvested switchgrass, mulched and pretreated summer harvested switchgrass, respectively. Switchgrass represents an interesting candidate as a lignocellulosic crop for methane production. -- Highlights: ► Switchgrass is a model energy crops for biofuels production. ► This study evaluated different pre-treatments to enhance methane production. ► Pre-treatments increase significantly the methane produced from switchgrass. ► Enzymatic pre-treatments were superior to physical and

Pavement Pre- and Post-Treatment Performance Models Using LTPP Data

OpenAIRE

Lu, Pan; Tolliver, Denver

2012-01-01

This paper determines that pavement performance in International Roughness Index (IRI) is affected by exogenous interventions such as pavement age, precipitation level, freeze-thaw level, and lower level preservation maintenance strategies. An exponential function of pavement age was used to represent pavement IRI performance curves. Moreover, this paper demonstrates a method which calculates short-term post-pavement performance models from maintenance effect models and pre-treatment performa...

Effects of pre-germinated brown rice treatment high-fat diet-induced metabolic syndrome in C57BL/6J mice.

Science.gov (United States)

Yen, Hsueh-Wei; Lin, Hui-Li; Hao, Chi-Long; Chen, Fu-Chih; Chen, Chun-Yun; Chen, Jia-Hao; Shen, Kuo-Ping

2017-05-01

To investigate using pre-germinated brown rice (PGBR) to treat metabolic syndrome, we fed one group of mice standard-regular-diet (SRD) for 20 weeks and another group of mice high-fat-diet (HFD) for 16 weeks. We subdivided them into HFD group and HFD + PGBR group whose dietary carbohydrate was replaced with PGBR for 4 weeks. The HFD group gained more weight, had higher blood pressure, heart rate, blood glucose and lipids, liver levels of TG, feces TG and bile acid, lower adipose levels of adipocytokine, lower skeletal muscle IR, IRS-1, IRS-2, PI3 K, Akt/PKB, GLUT-1, GLUT-4, GCK and PPAR-γ; higher liver SREBP-1, SCD-1, FAS, HMGCR, LDLR, CYP7α1 and PPAR-α, and higher adipose SREBP-1, SCD-1, FAS, and lower adipose PPAR-α and adiponectin. The HFD + PGBR group had clearly improved blood pressure, biochemical parameters and above proteins expressions. PGBR successful treatment of metabolic syndrome was achieved through improvements in glucose and lipid synthesis and metabolism.

SU-E-J-149: Establishing the Relationship Between Pre-Treatment Lung Ventilation, Dose, and Toxicity Outcome

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mistry, N; D'Souza, W; Sornsen de Koste, J; Senan, S

2014-01-01

Purpose: Recently, there has been an interest in incorporating functional information in treatment planning especially in thoracic tumors. The rationale is that healthy lung regions need to be spared from radiation if possible to help achieve better control on toxicity. However, it is still unclear whether high functioning regions need to be spared or have more capacity to deal with the excessive radiation as compared to the compromised regions of the lung. Our goal with this work is to establish the tools by which we can establish a relationship between pre-treatment lung function, dose, and radiographic outcomes of lung toxicity. Methods: Treatment planning was performed using a single phase of a 4DCT scan, and follow-up anatomical CT scans were performed every 3 months for most patients. In this study, we developed the pipeline of tools needed to analyze such a large dataset, while trying to establish a relationship between function, dose, and outcome. Pre-treatment lung function was evaluated using a recently published technique that evaluates Fractional Regional Ventilation (FRV). All images including the FRV map and the individual follow-up anatomical CT images were all spatially matched to the planning CT using a diffusion based Demons image registration algorithm. Change in HU value was used as a metric to capture the effects of lung toxicity. To validate the findings, a radiologist evaluated the follow-up anatomical CT images and scored lung toxicity. Results: Initial experience in 1 patient shows a relationship between the pre-treatment lung function, dose and toxicity outcome. The results are also correlated to the findings by the radiologist who was blinded to the analysis or dose. Conclusion: The pipeline we have established to study this enables future studies in large retrospective studies. However, the tools are dependent on the fidelity of 4DCT reconstruction for accurate evaluation of regional ventilation. Patent Pending for the technique

Full utilization of silt density index (SDI) measurements for seawater pre-treatment

KAUST Repository

Wei, Chunhai

2012-07-01

In order to clarify the fouling mechanism during silt density index (SDI) measurements of seawater in the seawater reverse osmosis (SWRO) desalination process, 11 runs were conducted under constant-pressure (207kPa) dead-end filtration mode according to the standard protocol for SDI measurement, in which two kinds of 0.45μm membranes of different material and seawater samples from the Mediterranean including raw seawater and seawater pre-treated by coagulation followed by sand filtration (CSF) and coagulation followed by microfiltration (CMF) technologies were tested. Fouling mechanisms based on the constant-pressure filtration equation were fully analyzed. For all runs, only t/(V/A)∼t showed very good linearity (correlation coefficient R 2>0.99) since the first moment of the filtration, indicating that standard blocking rather than cake filtration was the dominant fouling mechanism during the entire filtration process. The very low concentration of suspended solids rejected by MF of 0.45μm in seawater was the main reason why a cake layer was not formed. High turbidity removal during filtration indicated that organic colloids retained on and/or adsorbed in membrane pores governed the filtration process (i.e., standard blocking) due to the important contribution of organic substances to seawater turbidity in this study. Therefore the standard blocking coefficient k s, i.e., the slope of t/(V/A)∼t, could be used as a good fouling index for seawater because it showed good linearity with feed seawater turbidity. The correlation of SDI with k s and feed seawater quality indicated that SDI could be reliably used for seawater with low fouling potential (SDI 15min<5) like pre-treated seawater in this study. From both k s and SDI, the order of fouling potential was raw seawater>seawater pre-treated by CSF>seawater pre-treated by CMF, indicating the better performance of CMF than CSF. © 2012 Elsevier B.V.

Assessing the application and downstream effects of pulsed mode ultrasound as a pre-treatment for alum coagulation.

Science.gov (United States)

Al-Juboori, Raed A; Aravinthan, Vasantha; Yusaf, Talal; Bowtell, Leslie

2016-07-01

The application of pulsed mode ultrasound (PMU) as a pre-treatment for alum coagulation was investigated at various alum dosages and pH levels. The effects of the treatments on turbidity and dissolved organic carbon (DOC) removal and residual Al were evaluated. Response surface methodology (RSM) was utilized to optimize the operating conditions of the applied treatments. The results showed that PMU pre-treatment increased turbidity and DOC removal percentages from maximum of 96.6% and 43% to 98.8% and 52%, respectively. It also helped decrease the minimum residual Al from 0.100 to 0.094 ppm. The multiple response optimization was carried out using the desirability function. A desirability value of >0.97 estimated respective turbidity removal, DOC removal and Al residual of 89.24%, 45.66% and ∼ 0.1 ppm for coagulation (control) and 90.61%, >55% and ∼ 0 for coagulation preceded by PMU. These figures were validated via confirmatory experiments. PMU pre-treatment increased total coliform removal from 80% to >98% and decreased trihalomethane formation potential (THMFP) from 250 to 200 ppb CH3Cl. Additionally, PMU application prior to coagulation improved the settleability of sludge due to the degassing effects. The results of this study confirms that PMU pre-treatment can significantly improve coagulation performance. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Effects of Pre-germination Treatment on the Phytate and Phenolic Contents of Almond Nuts

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Liang Lin Lin

2017-05-01

Full Text Available This study examined if pre-germination altered the water content and water activity, contents of phytate, total phenolic, (±-catechin, quercetin and total antioxidant capacity of almond  (Prunus dulciskernel. Raw almond kernels were submerged for 15 hours in water, 0.02 mol dm-3 phosphate buffer solution (pH 5.0 and 0.02 mol dm-3 phosphate buffer solution (pH 7.0 at 25 and 40ºC, respectively. The content and activity of water in the kernels before and after the pre-germination treatments were measured by oven drying and dew point water analysis, respectively. The total phenolic and phytic acid contents of the kernels were quantified by using Folin-Ciocalteu and a published spectrophotometric assay, respectively. (±-Catechin and quercetin contents in the almond kernels were determined using gas-chromatography mass spectrometry. The total antioxidant capacity of the kernels were measured by 2,2’-diphenyl-1- picrylhydrazyl assay. Treatment with water, PBS pH 5 and PBS pH 7 significantly increased the water, total phenolic, (±-catechin contents and total antioxidant capacity of the almond kernels regardless of the treatment temperatures (25 or 40°C. The phytic acid and quercetin contents were significantly elevated after the  three treatments at 40°C. The total phenolic, (±-catechin, quercetin and phytate contents in the almond kernels contributed significantly to its antioxidant property. Our results suggested that the phytochemical compositions of the almond kernels changed during pre-germination. The temperature and pH of the medium exert differential influence on the phytochemical compositions of the pre-germinated almond kernels.

Molecular mass distribution and epitopes of the beta lactoglobulin submitted to hydrolysis pre-transglutaminase treatment

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Villas-Boas, M.B.; Zollner, R.L.; Netto, F.M. [Universidade Estadual de Campinas (UNICAMP), SP (Brazil); Paes Leme, A.F. [Laboratorio Nacional de Luz Sincrotron (LNLS), Campinas, SP (Brazil); Benede, S.; Molina, E. [Universidad Autonoma de Madrid (Spain)

2012-07-01

Full text: The {beta}-Lactoglobulin ({beta}-Lg) is a whey protein with important nutritional proper ties but very resistant to pepsin digestion and consequently highly antigenic. This protein can be modified by transglutaminase (TG) although it is required a pretreatment to increase their susceptibility to the TG action. In the present study the hydrolysis pre-TG treatment was used to improve the TG accessibility on {beta}-Lg and the MM distribution and antigenic fragments were evaluated. For pre-TG treatment, the {beta}-Lg (Davisco Inc.) was hydrolyzed with bromelain (3% of {beta}-Lg w/w in distilled water; 25 U enzyme g{sup 1} of substrate, pH 7.5, 240 min) and then polymerized by TG (7% hydrolysate, 10U TG g{sup 1} protein, 50 C/180 min). The samples were evaluated by SDS-PAGE/tricine and by RP-nanoUPLC (nanoAcquity UPLC, Waters) coupled with nano-electrospray tandem mass spectrometry on a Q-Tof Ultima API mass spectrometer (MicroMass/Waters) at LNBio. The products were also submitted to pepsin digestion and the peptide identification was performed by RP-HPLC-tandem mass spectrometry (RP-HPLC-MS/MS, Brucker) with support from CIAL. The {beta}-Lg hydrolysed by bromelain and polymerized by TG had a broad MM distribution. The intact mass analysis indicated that the non modified {beta}Lg -A showed 18.362 Da and the non modified {beta}Lg -B 18.274 Da, which is in agreement with the theoretical corresponding masses. The use of bromelain pre-TG treatment resulted in polymers with MM from 61.052 to 67.654 Da, although some non modified protein was still present. In addition, the non modified {beta}-Lg showed fragments that present high antigenicity (such as Leu{sub 95} - Leu{sub 104}, Asp{sub 95} - Phe{sub 105}, Tyr{sub 42} - Leu{sub 54}, lle{sub 29} - Val{sub 41}), previously identified as IgE-binding epitopes. After hydrolysis following by TG treatment the fragment Tyr{sub 42} - Leu{sub 54} was still present, however the other fragments that were observed in the non

Allergic contact dermatitis from ophthalmic products: can pre-treatment with sodium lauryl sulfate increase patch test sensitivity?

Science.gov (United States)

Corazza, Monica; Virgili, Annarosa

2005-05-01

In patients suspected of allergic contact dermatitis because of topical ophthalmic medicaments, patch tests performed with patients' own products are often negative. The irritant anionic surfactant sodium lauryl sulfate (SLS) may alter the stratum corneum and increase antigen penetration. Pre-treatment of the skin with SLS 0.5% for 24 h was performed in the sites of patch tests with patients' own products in 15 selected patients. In patients previously negative to their own products tested with conventional patch tests, SLS pre-treatment showed 6 new relevant positive reactions and induced a stronger positive reaction in 1 patient. SLS pre-treatment could be proposed as an alternative promising method, which may increase sensitivity of patch tests with patients' own products.

Study of thermal pre-treatment on anaerobic digestion of slaughterhouse waste by TGA-MS and FTIR spectroscopy.

Science.gov (United States)

Rodríguez-Abalde, Ángela; Gómez, Xiomar; Blanco, Daniel; Cuetos, María José; Fernández, Belén; Flotats, Xavier

2013-12-01

Thermogravimetric analysis coupled to mass spectrometry (TGA-MS) and Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) were used to describe the effect of pasteurization as a hygienic pre-treatment of animal by-products over biogas production. Piggery and poultry meat wastes were used as substrates for assessing the anaerobic digestion under batch conditions at mesophilic range. Poultry waste was characterized by high protein and carbohydrate content, while piggery waste presented a major fraction of fat and lower carbohydrate content. Results from anaerobic digestion tests showed a lower methane yield for the pre-treated poultry sample. TGA-MS and FTIR spectroscopy allowed the qualitative identification of recalcitrant nitrogen-containing compounds in the pre-treated poultry sample, produced by Maillard reactions. In the case of piggery waste, the recalcitrant compounds were not detected and its biodegradability test reported higher methane yield and production rates. TGA-MS and FTIR spectroscopy were demonstrated to be useful tools for explaining results obtained by anaerobic biodegradability test and in describing the presence of inhibitory problems.

Effectiveness of a pre-treatment snack on the uptake of mass treatment for schistosomiasis in Uganda

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Muhumuza, Simon; Olsen, Annette; Katahoire, Anne

2014-01-01

-treatment snack on uptake of mass treatment.Methods and Findings:In a cluster randomized trial carried out in Jinja district, Uganda, 12 primary schools were randomized into two groups; one received education messages for schistosomiasis prevention for two months prior to mass treatment, while the other......, in addition to the education messages, received a pre-treatment snack shortly before mass treatment. Four weeks after mass treatment, uptake of praziquantel was assessed among a random sample of 595 children in the snack schools and 689 children in the non-snack schools as the primary outcome. The occurrence...... of side effects and the prevalence and mean intensity of Schistosoma mansoni infection were determined as the secondary outcomes. Uptake of praziquantel was higher in the snack schools, 93.9% (95% CI 91.7%-95.7%), compared to that in the non-snack schools, 78.7% (95% CI 75.4%-81.7%) (p = 0...

The role of pre-treatment proactive coping skills in successful weight management

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Vinkers, Charlotte D. W.; Adriaanse, Marieke A.; Kroese, Floor M.; de Ridder, Denise T. D.

2014-01-01

Objectives: Proactive coping encompasses future-oriented self-regulatory skills that help people prepare for future difficulties before they occur, such as planning and monitoring. The aim of the present study was to examine the interplay between pre-treatment proactive coping skills and expected

Sheep pre-slaughter handling practices and their effect on meat quality

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Francisco Gerardo Ríos-Rincón

2013-06-01

Full Text Available Aspects related to ovine production systems in Mexico were revisited, as well as the relationship between the transport and the ante-mortem handling with ovine welfare and pre slaughter operations. Animals stress evaluation is fundamental importance for this process, where the observation of animal behavior is basic to determinate and understands the scope of this biological phenomenon. Finally, we make reference to two of the main meat quality attributes that can be affected as consequence of non-appropriated handling practice and operations that implies the un-knowledge of animal conduct. The conclusion is that the handling practices previous to slaughter of ovine specie had a considerable influence on carcass quality. In Mexico is important to focus the cattle research on the productive systems improvement in consideration to animal welfare in the different productive process steps.

Anaerobic co-digestion of municipal organic wastes and pre-treatment to enhance biogas production from waste.

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Chenxi; Champagne, Pascale; Anderson, Bruce C

2014-01-01

Co-digestion and pre-treatment have been recognized as effective, low-cost and commercially viable approaches to reduce anaerobic digestion process limitations and improve biogas yields. In our previous batch-scale study, fat, oil, and grease (FOG) was investigated as a suitable potential co-substrate, and thermo-chemical pre-treatment (TCPT) at pH = 10 and 55 °C improved CH4 production from FOG co-digestions. In this project, co-digestions with FOG were studied in bench-scale two-stage thermophilic semi-continuous flow co-digesters with suitable TCPT (pH = 10, 55 °C). Overall, a 25.14 ± 2.14 L/d (70.2 ± 1.4% CH4) biogas production was obtained, which was higher than in the two-stage system without pre-treatment. The results could provide valuable fundamental information to support full-scale investigations of anaerobic co-digestion of municipal organic wastes.

Drivers of microbial community composition in mesophilic and thermophilic temperature-phased anaerobic digestion pre-treatment reactors.

Science.gov (United States)

Pervin, Hasina M; Dennis, Paul G; Lim, Hui J; Tyson, Gene W; Batstone, Damien J; Bond, Philip L

2013-12-01

Temperature-phased anaerobic digestion (TPAD) is an emerging technology that facilitates improved performance and pathogen destruction in anaerobic sewage sludge digestion by optimising conditions for 1) hydrolytic and acidogenic organisms in a first-stage/pre-treatment reactor and then 2) methogenic populations in a second stage reactor. Pre-treatment reactors are typically operated at 55-65 °C and as such select for thermophilic bacterial communities. However, details of key microbial populations in hydrolytic communities and links to functionality are very limited. In this study, experimental thermophilic pre-treatment (TP) and control mesophilic pre-treatment (MP) reactors were operated as first-stages of TPAD systems treating activated sludge for 340 days. The TP system was operated sequentially at 50, 60 and 65 °C, while the MP rector was held at 35 °C for the entire period. The composition of microbial communities associated with the MP and TP pre-treatment reactors was characterised weekly using terminal-restriction fragment length polymorphism (T-RFLP) supported by clone library sequencing of 16S rRNA gene amplicons. The outcomes of this approach were confirmed using 454 pyrosequencing of gene amplicons and fluorescence in-situ hybridisation (FISH). TP associated bacterial communities were dominated by populations affiliated to the Firmicutes, Thermotogae, Proteobacteria and Chloroflexi. In particular there was a progression from Thermotogae to Lutispora and Coprothermobacter and diversity decreased as temperature and hydrolysis performance increased. While change in the composition of TP associated bacterial communities was attributable to temperature, that of MP associated bacterial communities was related to the composition of the incoming feed. This study determined processes driving the dynamics of key microbial populations that are correlated with an enhanced hydrolytic functionality of the TPAD system. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights

Effect of high-temperature pre-precipitation on microstructure and properties of 7055 aluminum alloy

Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

陈康华; 黄兰萍

2003-01-01

The near-solvus pre-precipitation following higher temperature solution treatment was performed on 7055 aluminum alloy. The effect of the pre-precipitation on the microstructure, age hardening and stress corrosion cracking of 7055 alloy was investigated. The optical and transmission electron microscopy results show that the near-solvus pre-precipitation can be limited to grain boundary and enhance the discontinuity of grain boundary precipitates in the sequent age. The stress corrosion cracking resistance of aged 7055 alloys could be improved with non-deteriorated strength and plasticity via the pre-precipitation.

High-pressure treatment for shelf-life extension and quality improvement of oysters cooked in a traditional Taiwanese oyster omelet.

Science.gov (United States)

Lai, Kung-Ming; Chi, Hsin-Yi; Hsu, Kuo-Chiang

2010-01-01

Whole oysters were processed using high-pressure (HP) treatment at 250 and 300 MPa for 0 to 10 min and stored at 4 degrees Celsius for up to 28 days. HP-treated oysters and untreated oysters were evaluated for lipid oxidation, growth of microorganisms, and sensory characteristics after cooking at 160 degrees Celsius for 90 s. Microbial counts after HP treatment revealed that the bacterial load was initially reduced at all pressures. HP-treated oysters had significantly higher pH and moisture (P oysters during storage. HP treatment increased lipid oxidation with unpleasant odor during storage compared with the control. HP treatment decreased redness but did not significantly affect the brightness and yellowness of cooked oysters. From tests of mechanical properties, 300 MPa-treated oysters after cooking had significantly increased toughness as measured by cutting force. HP-treated oysters after cooking received higher quality scores than did the control during the storage trial. Results indicated that 300 MPa for 2 min is the optimum HP treatment that results in oysters most acceptable for oyster omelets during storage at 4 degrees Celsius, and this treatment may extend the shelf life of these oysters to 21 days.

Pre-slaughter sound levels and pre-slaughter handling from loading at the farm till slaughter influence pork quality.

Science.gov (United States)

Vermeulen, L; Van de Perre, V; Permentier, L; De Bie, S; Verbeke, G; Geers, R

2016-06-01

This study investigates the relationship between sound levels, pre-slaughter handling during loading and pork quality. Pre-slaughter variables were investigated from loading till slaughter. A total of 3213 pigs were measured 30 min post-mortem for pH(30LT) (M. Longissimus thoracis). First, a sound level model for the risk to develop PSE meat was established. The difference in maximum and mean sound level during loading, mean sound level during lairage and mean sound level prior to stunning remained significant within the model. This indicated that sound levels during loading had a significant added value to former sound models. Moreover, this study completed the global classification checklist (Vermeulen et al., 2015a) by developing a linear mixed model for pH(30LT) and PSE prevalence, with the difference in maximum and mean sound level measured during loading, the feed withdrawal period and the difference in temperature during loading and lairage. Hence, this study provided new insights over previous research where loading procedures were not included. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Pre-treatment risk stratification of prostate cancer patients: A critical review.

Science.gov (United States)

Rodrigues, George; Warde, Padraig; Pickles, Tom; Crook, Juanita; Brundage, Michael; Souhami, Luis; Lukka, Himu

2012-04-01

The use of accepted prostate cancer risk stratification groups based on prostate-specific antigen, T stage and Gleason score assists in therapeutic treatment decision-making, clinical trial design and outcome reporting. The utility of integrating novel prognostic factors into an updated risk stratification schema is an area of current debate. The purpose of this work is to critically review the available literature on novel pre-treatment prognostic factors and alternative prostate cancer risk stratification schema to assess the feasibility and need for changes to existing risk stratification systems. A systematic literature search was conducted to identify original research publications and review articles on prognostic factors and risk stratification in prostate cancer. Search terms included risk stratification, risk assessment, prostate cancer or neoplasms, and prognostic factors. Abstracted information was assessed to draw conclusions regarding the potential utility of changes to existing risk stratification schema. The critical review identified three specific clinically relevant potential changes to the most commonly used three-group risk stratification system: (1) the creation of a very-low risk category; (2) the splitting of intermediate-risk into a low- and high-intermediate risk groups; and (3) the clarification of the interface between intermediate- and high-risk disease. Novel pathological factors regarding high-grade cancer, subtypes of Gleason score 7 and percentage biopsy cores positive were also identified as potentially important risk-stratification factors. Multiple studies of prognostic factors have been performed to create currently utilized prostate cancer risk stratification systems. We propose potential changes to existing systems.

A safe inexpensive method to isolate high quality plant and fungal ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

STORAGESEVER

2008-08-18

Aug 18, 2008 ... quality DNA from plant and fungal species. This method uses potassium acetate to remove proteins and polysaccharides in an SDS extraction buffer. Further DNA purification is achieved using a low salt. CTAB treatment. This SDS/CTAB protocol was used to isolate high quality genomic DNA subject to.

On the changing electrochemical behaviour of boron-doped diamond surfaces with time after cathodic pre-treatments

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Salazar-Banda, Giancarlo R.; Andrade, Leonardo S.; Nascente, Pedro A.P.; Pizani, Paulo S.; Rocha-Filho, Romeu C.; Avaca, Luis A.

2006-01-01

The electrochemical response of the Fe(CN) 6 4-/3- redox couple on boron-doped diamond (BDD) electrodes immediately after a cathodic pre-treatment and as a function of time exposed to atmospheric conditions is reported here. After this pre-treatment the electrode exhibits a changing electrochemical behaviour, i.e., a loss of the reversibility for the Fe(CN) 6 4-/3- redox couple as a function of time. Raman spectra showed that neither important bulk structural differences nor significant changes in the sp 2 /sp 3 content are introduced into the BDD film by the cathodic pre-treatment indicating that H-terminated sites play an important role in the electrochemical response of the electrodes. Thus, the changing behaviour reflected by a progressive decrease of the electron transfer rate with time must be associated to a loss of superficial hydrogen due to oxidation by oxygen from the air, as confirmed by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) analysis. Moreover, it was also found that this changing electrochemical behaviour is inversely proportional to the doping level, suggesting that the boron content has a stabilizing effect on the H-terminated surface. These results point out the necessity of doing the cathodic pre-treatment just before the electrochemical experiments are carried out in order to ensure reliable and reproducible results

Quality of life of women undergoing treatment for cervical cancer

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Francieli Ana Dallabrida

2014-04-01

Full Text Available This study aimed to evaluate the quality of life of women with cervical cancer. This is a cross-sectional, descriptive study developed with 43 women undergoing oncological treatment assisted at an Oncology High Complexity Center, in the Southern region of Brazil. The instrument used was the European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer – Quality of Life Questionnaire Core-30, and the data were analyzed through descriptive statistics. The average age was 54.6 years old. Married women prevailed (53.4%, with incomplete elementary education (72.1% and income from one to two minimum wages (62.8%. Quality of Life was considered very satisfactory. According to the development scales and emotional functioning, the result was from regular to satisfactory. The most frequent symptoms were fatigue, lack of appetite and pain. There is a need of structure of public health policies, for preventing cervical cancer in the most vulnerable population.

Rescue pre-operative treatment with Lugol's solution in uncontrolled Graves' disease.

Science.gov (United States)

Calissendorff, Jan; Falhammar, Henrik

2017-05-01

Graves' disease is a common cause of hyperthyroidism. Three therapies have been used for decades: pharmacologic therapy, surgery and radioiodine. In case of adverse events, especially agranulocytosis or hepatotoxicity, pre-treatment with Lugol's solution containing iodine/potassium iodide to induce euthyroidism before surgery could be advocated, but this has rarely been reported. All patients hospitalised due to uncontrolled hyperthyroidism at the Karolinska University Hospital 2005-2015 and treated with Lugol's solution were included. All electronic files were carefully reviewed manually, with focus on the cause of treatment and admission, demographic data, and effects of iodine on thyroid hormone levels and pulse frequency. Twenty-seven patients were included. Lugol's solution had been chosen due to agranulocytosis in 9 (33%), hepatotoxicity in 2 (7%), other side effects in 11 (41%) and poor adherence to medication in 5 (19%). Levels of free T4, free T3 and heart rate decreased significantly after 5-9 days of iodine therapy (free T4 53-20 pmol/L, P  = 0.0002; free T3 20-6.5 pmol/L, P  = 0.04; heart rate 87-76 beats/min P  = 0.0007), whereas TSH remained unchanged. Side effects were noted in 4 (15%) (rash n  = 2, rash and vomiting n  = 1, swelling of fingers n  = 1). Thyroidectomy was performed in 26 patients (96%) and one was treated with radioiodine; all treatments were without serious complications. Treatment of uncontrolled hyperthyroidism with Lugol's solution before definitive treatment is safe and it decreases thyroid hormone levels and heart rate. Side effects were limited. Lugol's solution could be recommended pre-operatively in Graves' disease with failed medical treatment, especially if side effects to anti-thyroid drugs have occurred. © 2017 The authors.

Effect of heterogeneous Fenton-like pre-treatment on anaerobic granular sludge performance and microbial community for the treatment of traditional Chinese medicine wastewater

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Su, Chengyuan, E-mail: suchengyuan2008@126.com [School of Environment and Resources, Guangxi Normal University, 15 Yucai Road, Guilin 541004 (China); School of Municipal and Environmental Engineering, Harbin Institute of Technology, 73 Huanghe Road, Harbin 150090 (China); Li, Weiguang [School of Municipal and Environmental Engineering, Harbin Institute of Technology, 73 Huanghe Road, Harbin 150090 (China); Lu, Yuxiang; Chen, Menglin; Huang, Zhi [School of Environment and Resources, Guangxi Normal University, 15 Yucai Road, Guilin 541004 (China)

2016-08-15

Highlights: • Rhein has metabolic or physiological toxicity on methanogens in anaerobic granular sludge. • TCM wastewater containing rhein can be successfully treated by the combined treatment. • The productions of the EPS of granular sludge increased after pre-treatment. • Methanoregula, Methanobacterium, Methanosphaerula were predominant in the DC reactor after pre-treatment. - Abstract: The effect of a heterogeneous Fenton-like pre-treatment on the anaerobic processes, characteristics and microbial community of sludge was investigated for traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) wastewater containing rhein. When the concentrations of rhein were 50 mg/L and 100 mg/L, the toxic effect was physiological toxicity for anaerobic granular sludge. Using a single double circle (DC) reactor for the treatment of TCM wastewater containing rhein at concentrations of 15–20 mg/L, the chemical oxygen demand (COD) removal rate was 69%, and coenzyme F{sub 420} was nearly undetectable in the 3D-excitation-emission matrix (EEM) spectra of soluble microbial products (SMP). The abundances of Methanoregula, Methanobacterium, Methanosphaerula were only 5.57%, 2.39% and 1.08% in the DC reactor, respectively. TCM wastewater containing rhein could be successfully treated by the combination of the heterogeneous Fenton-like pre-treatment and the DC reactor processes, and the COD removal rate reached 95%. Meanwhile, the abundances of Methanoregula, Methanobacterium, Methanosphaerula increased to 22.5%, 18.5%, and 13.87%, respectively. For the bacterial community, the abundance of Acidobacteria-Gp6 decreased from 6.99% to 1.07%, while the abundances of Acidobacteria-Gp1 and Acidobacteria-Gp2 increased from 1.61% to 6.55% and from 1.28% to 5.87%, respectively.

SU-F-T-260: Using Portal Image Device for Pre-Treatment QA in Volumetric Modulated Arc Plans with Flattening Filter Free (FFF) Beams

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Qu, H; Qi, P; Yu, N; Xia, P [The Cleveland Clinic Foundation, Cleveland, OH (United States)

2016-06-15

Purpose: To implement and validate a method of using electronic portal image device (EPID) for pre-treatment quality assurance (QA) of volumetric modulated arc therapy (VMAT) plans using flattering filter free (FFF) beams for stereotactic body radiotherapy (SBRT). Methods: On Varian Edge with 6MV FFF beam, open field (from 2×2 cm to 20×20 cm) EPID images were acquired with 200 monitor unit (MU) at the image device to radiation source distance of 150cm. With 10×10 open field and calibration unit (CU) provided by vendor to EPID image pixel, a dose conversion factor was determined by dividing the center dose calculated from the treatment planning system (TPS) to the corresponding CU readout on the image. Water phantom measured beam profile and the output factors for various field sizes were further correlated to those of EPID images. The dose conversion factor and correction factors were then used for converting the portal images to the planner dose distributions of clinical fields. A total of 28 VMAT fields of 14 SBRT plans (8 lung, 2 prostate, 2 liver and 2 spine) were measured. With 10% low threshold cutoff, the delivered dose distributions were compared to the reference doses calculated in water phantom from the TPS. A gamma index analysis was performed for the comparison in percentage dose difference/distance-to-agreement specifications. Results: The EPID device has a linear response to the open fields with increasing MU. For the clinical fields, the gamma indices between the converted EPID dose distributions and the TPS calculated 2D dose distributions were 98.7%±1.1%, 94.0%±3.4% and 70.3%±7.7% for the criteria of 3%/3mm, 2%/2mm and 1%/1mm, respectively. Conclusion: Using a portal image device, a high resolution and high accuracy portal dosimerty was achieved for pre-treatment QA verification for SBRT VMAT plans with FFF beams.

Effect of ultrasonic pre-treatment of thermomechanical pulp on hydrogen peroxide bleaching

Science.gov (United States)

Loranger, E.; Charles, A.; Daneault, C.

2012-12-01

Ultrasound pre-treatments of softwood TMP had been carried to evaluate its impact on the efficiency of hydrogen peroxide bleaching. The trials were performed after a factorial design of experiment using frequency, power and time as variables. The experiments were conducted in an ultrasonic bath and then bleached with hydrogen peroxide. Measurements such as brightness, L*A*B* color system coordinate, residual hydrogen peroxide and metal content were evaluated on bleached pulp. The results indicate that the effect of ultrasonic treatment on brightness was dependent on the ultrasound frequency used; the brightness increased slightly at 68 kHz and decreased at 40 and 170 kHz. These results were correlated to the ultrasound effect on the generation of transition metals (copper, iron and manganese) which are responsible for catalytic decomposition of hydrogen peroxide. The influence of metal interference was minimized by using a chelating agent such as diethylene triamine pentaacetic acid (DTPA). With the results obtained in this study we have identified a set of option conditions, e.g. 1000 W, 40 kHz, 1.5 % consistency and 0.2% addition of DTPA prior to the bleaching stage (after ultrasonic pre-treatment) who improve brightness by 2.5 %ISO.

A case of recurrent depressive disorder presenting with Alice in Wonderland syndrome: psychopathology and pre- and post-treatment FDG-PET findings.

Science.gov (United States)

Yokoyama, Tatsushi; Okamura, Tsuyoshi; Takahashi, Miwako; Momose, Toshimitsu; Kondo, Shinsuke

2017-04-27

Alice in Wonderland syndrome (AIWS) is a rare neuropsychiatric syndrome that typically manifests in distortion of extrapersonal visual image, altered perception of one's body image, and a disturbed sense of the passage of distance and time. Several conditions have been reported to contribute to AIWS, although its biological basis is still unknown. Here, we present the first case demonstrating a clear concurrence of recurrent depressive disorder and AIWS. The clinical manifestations and pre- and post-treatment fluorodeoxyglucose positron-emission tomographic (FDG-PET) images provide insights into the psychopathological and biological basis of AIWS. We describe a 63-year-old Japanese male who developed two distinct episodes of major depression concurrent with AIWS. In addition to typical AIWS perceptual symptoms, he complained of losing the ability to intuitively grasp the seriousness of news and the value of money, which implies disturbance of high-order cognition related to estimating magnitude and worth. Both depression and AIWS remitted after treatment in each episode. Pre-treatment FDG-PET images showed significant hypometabolism in the frontal cortex and hypermetabolism in the occipital and parietal cortex. Post-treatment images showed improvement of these abnormalities. The clinical co-occurrence of depressive episodes and presentation of AIWS can be interpreted to mean that they have certain functional disturbances in common. In view of incapacity, indifference, devitalization, altered perception of one's body image, and disturbed sense of time and space, the features of AIWS analogous to those of psychotic depression imply a common psychopathological basis. These high-order brain dysfunctions are possibly associated with the metabolic abnormalities in visual and parietotemporal association cortices that we observed on the pre- and post-treatment FDG-PET images in this case, while the hypometabolism in the frontal cortex is probably associated with depressive

Effect of Modified Pre-Milking Sanitizing Approaches on Raw Milk Quality Obtained from the Dairy Farmers of Tawau Area, Sabah

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sim Kheng Yuen

2016-01-01

Full Text Available The aim of the study was to investigate the raw milk hygiene and quality among the small holder dairy farmers in Tawau area. A total of 216 samples were collected from the respective dairy farmers and milk collecting centre located at Mile 15, Tawau. Preliminary results indicated that the quality of the raw milks obtained at farm level contained were inferior with high bacteria load (> than 107 CFU/ml. The total coliform (2.9-3.8 CFU/mL and Staphylococcus count (2.3-3.6 CFU/mL were relatively high in certain samples. However, none of the food borne pathogens was found. Trace back study revealed that the causes of contamination were attributed by poor hygienic handling among the dairy farmers and insufficient for immediate chilling of raw milk. A significant reduction in bacteria load was observed if the raw milk chilled immediately at farm. The implementation of modified pre-milking sanitizing practices improved the microbiology quality of the raw milks obtained from respective dairy farms. Future study will focus more on the effect of prolong storage towards the microbiological quality of raw milk.

The validation of the standard Chinese version of the European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer Quality of Life Core Questionnaire 30 (EORTC QLQ-C30 in pre-operative patients with brain tumor in China

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Zhang Hong-ying

2011-04-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Health related quality of life (HRQOL has increasingly emphasized on cancer patients. The psychometric properties of the standard Chinese version of the European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer Quality of Life Core Questionnaire 30 (EORTC QLQ-C30, version 3.0 in brain tumor patients wasn't proven, and there was no baseline HRQOL in brain tumor patients prior to surgery. Methods The questionnaire EORTC QLQ-C30 (version 3.0 was administered at three time points: T1, the first or the second day that patients were hospitalized after the brain tumor suspected or diagnosed by MRI or CT; T2, 1 to 2 days after T1, (T1 and T2 were both before surgery; T3, the day before discharge. Clinical variables included disease histologic types, cognitive function, and Karnofsky Performance Status. Results Cronbach's alpha coefficients for multi-item scales were greater than .70 and multitrait scaling analysis showed that most of the item-scale correlation coefficients met the standards of convergent and discriminant validity, except for the cognitive functioning scale. All scales and items exhibited construct validity. Score changes over peri-operation were observed in physical and role functioning scales. Compared with mixed cancer patients assessed after surgery but before adjuvant treatment, brain tumor patients assessed pre-surgery presented better function and fewer symptoms. Conclusions The standard Chinese version of the EORTC QLQ-C30 was overall a valid instrument to assess HRQOL in brain tumor patients in China. The baseline HRQOL in brain tumor patients pre-surgery was better than that in mixed cancer patients post-surgery. Future study should modify cognitive functioning scale and examine test-retest reliability and response validity.

Impact analysis of different chemical pre-treatments on colour of apple discs during drying process

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jasmina Lukinac

2009-01-01

Full Text Available The main purpose of this study was to compare colour changes of chemically pre-treated dried apple discs. Changes were observed by chromameter in L*a*b* colour model by using Minolta chromameter CR-400 and by image analysis system in RGB colour model. Apple discs variety "Gold Rush" were pre-treated and dried in laboratory tray drier at drying temperature 70 °C and at airflow velocity of 1.5 ms-1. Different chemical pre-treatments were applied on apple discs (dipping in 0.5% ascorbic acid solution; 0.3% L–cysteine solution; 0.1% 4–hexyl resorcinol solution and 1% sodium metabisulphite solution. Mean values of colour parameters, colour changes and correlation coefficients for apple discs were calculated for both colour models. The analysis showed statistically significant influence of pre-treatment method on total colour changes for both chosen colour models of dried apples. Calculated correlation coefficient between colour changes for used models was found to be 0.894. According to colour characteristics the best results were achieved when samples were pre-treated with 0.5% ascorbic acid solution. According to calculated results it was found that image analysis method as well as colorimetric method can be used to observe the colour changes on dried apple discs.

Sleep disorders in high school and pre-university students

OpenAIRE

Célia R.S. Rocha; Sueli Rossini; Rubens Reimão

2010-01-01

Adolescence is a period in which youngsters have to make choices such as applying for university. The selection process is competitive, and it brings distress and anxiety, risk factors for the appearance of sleep disorders. Objective: To verify the occurrence of sleep disorders in third-year high school and pre-university students. Method: This cross-sectional descriptive study comprised a sample of 529 students (M=241, F=288) from three public schools, four private schools and two pre-univer...

Use of principal components analysis (PCA) on estuarine sediment datasets: The effect of data pre-treatment

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Reid, M.K.; Spencer, K.L.

2009-01-01

Principal components analysis (PCA) is a multivariate statistical technique capable of discerning patterns in large environmental datasets. Although widely used, there is disparity in the literature with respect to data pre-treatment prior to PCA. This research examines the influence of commonly reported data pre-treatment methods on PCA outputs, and hence data interpretation, using a typical environmental dataset comprising sediment geochemical data from an estuary in SE England. This study demonstrated that applying the routinely used log (x + 1) transformation skewed the data and masked important trends. Removing outlying samples and correcting for the influence of grain size had the most significant effect on PCA outputs and data interpretation. Reducing the influence of grain size using granulometric normalisation meant that other factors affecting metal variability, including mineralogy, anthropogenic sources and distance along the salinity transect could be identified and interpreted more clearly. - Data pre-treatment can have a significant influence on the outcome of PCA.

Assessment of Osmotic Pre-Drying Treatment on Drying Rates of Fresh Tomato Fruits

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

P. A. Idah

2014-06-01

Full Text Available The aim of this work is to investigate the influence of osmotic pre-drying treatments on drying rates of tomato (Lycopersiconesculentum at various drying temperatures. Fresh Roma tomato fruit samples were sliced to a thickness of 5 mm and the seeds were removed. Weight of 300 g was measured for each of the three replicates and immersed in a hypertonic solution of sucrose of different concentrations 40 and 60 oBrix each held for osmotic duration of 1 and 2 hours, drained for 10 min and then dried at 50, 60, and 70 oC in a mechanical dryer. Control samples were also weighed 300 g per replicate and dried at 50, 60, and 70 oC without pre-drying treatment. The initial moisture content of fresh tomato used was 94.5% (wb. Moisture loss of each sample was monitored and recorded hourly until the product has reached the desired final moisture content (≤ 7%.The data collected were subjected to statistical analysis of variance (ANOVA and Duncan New Multiple range tests (DNMRT to ascertain the level of significance differences between the individual treatments and their interaction at p ≤ 0.05.The results show that at all the drying temperatures used, the control tomato samples exhibited the fastest drying rate with an average of 35.2 g/hr, samples pre-treated at 40 oBrix has an average drying rate of 26.6 g/hr, while samples pre-treated at 60 oBrix has the slowest drying rate of 25.2 g/hr. It was also revealed that samples subjected to 1 hour osmotic time have faster drying rates than those treated for 2 hours osmotic time.

Pre- and Postoperative Chemotherapy in Localized Extremity Soft Tissue Sarcoma: A European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer Expert Survey.

Science.gov (United States)

Rothermundt, Christian; Fischer, Galina F; Bauer, Sebastian; Blay, Jean-Yves; Grünwald, Viktor; Italiano, Antoine; Kasper, Bernd; Kollár, Attila; Lindner, Lars H; Miah, Aisha; Sleijfer, Stefan; Stacchiotti, Silvia; Putora, Paul Martin

2018-04-01

The management of localized extremity soft tissue sarcomas (STS) is challenging and the role of pre- and postoperative chemotherapy is unclear and debated among experts. Medical oncology experts of the European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer Soft Tissue and Bone Sarcoma Group were asked to participate in this survey on the use of pre- and postoperative chemotherapy in STS. Experts from 12 centers in Belgium, France, Germany, Great Britain, Italy, Switzerland, and The Netherlands agreed to participate and provided their treatment algorithm. Answers were converted into decision trees based on the objective consensus methodology. The decision trees were used as a basis to identify consensus and discrepancies. Several criteria used for decision-making in extremity STS were identified: chemosensitivity, fitness, grading, location, and size. In addition, resectability and resection status were relevant in the pre- and postoperative setting, respectively. Preoperative chemotherapy is considered in most centers for marginally resectable tumors only. Yet, in some centers, neoadjuvant chemotherapy is used routinely and partially combined with hyperthermia. Although most centers do not recommend postoperative chemotherapy, some offer this treatment on a regular basis. Radiotherapy is an undisputed treatment modality in extremity STS. Due to lacking evidence on the utility of pre- and postoperative chemotherapy in localized extremity STS, treatment strategies vary considerably among European experts. The majority recommended neoadjuvant chemotherapy for marginally resectable grade 2-3 tumors; the majority did not recommend postoperative chemotherapy in any setting. The management of localized extremity soft tissue sarcomas (STS) is challenging and the role of pre- and postoperative chemotherapy is unclear and debated among experts. This study analyzed the decision-making process among 12 European experts on systemic therapy for STS. A wide range of

Correlation between pre-treatment quasispecies complexity and treatment outcome in chronic HCV genotype 3a.

LENUS (Irish Health Repository)

Moreau, Isabelle

2012-02-03

Pre-treatment HCV quasispecies complexity and diversity may predict response to interferon based anti-viral therapy. The objective of this study was to retrospectively (1) examine temporal changes in quasispecies prior to the start of therapy and (2) investigate extensively quasispecies evolution in a group of 10 chronically infected patients with genotype 3a, treated with pegylated alpha2a-Interferon and ribavirin. The degree of sequence heterogeneity within the hypervariable region 1 was assessed by analyzing 20-30 individual clones in serial serum samples. Genetic parameters, including amino acid Shannon entropy, Hamming distance and genetic distance were calculated for each sample. Treatment outcome was divided into (1) sustained virological responders (SVR) and (2) treatment failure (TF). Our results indicate, (1) quasispecies complexity and diversity are lower in the SVR group, (2) quasispecies vary temporally and (3) genetic heterogeneity at baseline can be use to predict treatment outcome. We discuss the results from the perspective of replicative homeostasis.

Exenatide Treatment Alone Improves β-Cell Function in a Canine Model of Pre-Diabetes.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Viorica Ionut

Full Text Available Exenatide's effects on glucose metabolism have been studied extensively in diabetes but not in pre-diabetes.We examined the chronic effects of exenatide alone on glucose metabolism in pre-diabetic canines.After 10 weeks of high-fat diet (HFD, adult dogs received one injection of streptozotocin (STZ, 18.5 mg/kg. After induction of pre-diabetes, while maintained on HFD, animals were randomized to receive either exenatide (n = 7 or placebo (n = 7 for 12 weeks. β-Cell function was calculated from the intravenous glucose tolerance test (IVGTT, expressed as the acute insulin response, AIRG, the oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT, insulinogenic index and the graded-hyperglycemic clamp (clamp insulinogenic index. Whole-body insulin sensitivity was assessed by the IVGTT. At the end of the study, pancreatic islets were isolated to assess β-cell function in vitro.OGTT: STZ caused an increase in glycemia at 120 min by 22.0% (interquartile range, IQR, 31.5% (P = 0.011. IVGTT: This protocol also showed a reduction in glucose tolerance by 48.8% (IQR, 36.9% (P = 0.002. AIRG decreased by 54.0% (IQR, 40.7% (P = 0.010, leading to mild fasting hyperglycemia (P = 0.039. Exenatide, compared with placebo, decreased body weight (P<0.001 without altering food intake, fasting glycemia, insulinemia, glycated hemoglobin A1c, or glucose tolerance. Exenatide, compared with placebo, increased both OGTT- (P = 0.040 and clamp-based insulinogenic indexes (P = 0.016, improved insulin secretion in vitro (P = 0.041, but had no noticeable effect on insulin sensitivity (P = 0.405.In pre-diabetic canines, 12-week exenatide treatment improved β-cell function but not glucose tolerance or insulin sensitivity. These findings demonstrate partial beneficial metabolic effects of exenatide alone on an animal model of pre-diabetes.

Extended-release naltrexone for pre-release prisoners: A randomized trial of medical mobile treatment

Science.gov (United States)

Gordon, Michael S.; Vocci, Frank J.; Fitzgerald, Terrence T.; O'Grady, Kevin E.; O'Brien, Charles P.

2017-01-01

Background Extended-release naltrexone (XR-NTX), is an effective treatment for opioid use disorder but is rarely initiated in US prisons or with criminal justice populations. Mobile treatment for chronic diseases have been implemented in a variety of settings. Mobile treatment may provide an opportunity to expand outreach to parolees to surmount barriers to traditional clinic treatment. Methods Male and female prisoners (240) with pre-incarceration histories of opioid use disorder who are within one month of release from prison will be enrolled in this randomized clinical trial. Participants are randomized to one of two study arms: 1) [XR-NTX-OTx] One injection of long-acting naltrexone in prison, followed by 6 monthly injections post-release at a community opioid treatment program; or 2) [XR-NTX+ MMTx] One injection of long-acting naltrexone in prison followed by 6 monthly injections post-release at the patient's place of residence utilizing mobile medical treatment. The primary outcomes are: treatment adherence; opioid use; criminal activity; re-arrest; reincarceration; and HIV risk-behaviors. Results We describe the background and rationale for the study, its aims, hypotheses, and study design. Conclusions The use of long-acting injectable naltrexone may be a promising form of treatment for pre-release prisoners. Finally, as many individuals in the criminal justice system drop out of treatment, this study will assess whether treatment at their place of residence will improve adherence and positively affect treatment outcomes. PMID:28011389

Extended-release naltrexone for pre-release prisoners: A randomized trial of medical mobile treatment.

Science.gov (United States)

Gordon, Michael S; Vocci, Frank J; Fitzgerald, Terrence T; O'Grady, Kevin E; O'Brien, Charles P

2017-02-01

Extended-release naltrexone (XR-NTX), is an effective treatment for opioid use disorder but is rarely initiated in US prisons or with criminal justice populations. Mobile treatment for chronic diseases has been implemented in a variety of settings. Mobile treatment may provide an opportunity to expand outreach to parolees to surmount barriers to traditional clinic treatment. Male and female prisoners (240) with pre-incarceration histories of opioid use disorder who are within one month of release from prison will be enrolled in this randomized clinical trial. Participants are randomized to one of two study arms: 1) [XR-NTX-OTx] One injection of long-acting naltrexone in prison, followed by 6 monthly injections post-release at a community opioid treatment program; or 2) [XR-NTX+ MMTx] One injection of long-acting naltrexone in prison followed by 6 monthly injections post-release at the patient's place of residence utilizing mobile medical treatment. The primary outcomes are: treatment adherence; opioid use; criminal activity; re-arrest; reincarceration; and HIV risk-behaviors. We describe the background and rationale for the study, its aims, hypotheses, and study design. The use of long-acting injectable naltrexone may be a promising form of treatment for pre-release prisoners. Finally, as many individuals in the criminal justice system drop out of treatment, this study will assess whether treatment at their place of residence will improve adherence and positively affect treatment outcomes. ClinicalTrials.gov: NCT02867124. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Highly purified water production technology. The influence of water purity on steam quality

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ganter, J.

1975-01-01

The fundamental question related to high-pressure steam generation, intended for powering steam turbines, concerns steam production conditions based on constant quality standards. The characteristics of water (salinity, silica concentration) are indicated for a given steam quality as a function of the pressure. Two processes for the purification of feedwater for high pressure boilers are described: a treatment using precoated cellulose or resin filters and a treatment using mixed-bed ion exchangers. When ultrapure water is required, the demineralized water is filtred using microfiltration and ultrafiltration processes [fr

Analysis of covariance with pre-treatment measurements in randomized trials under the cases that covariances and post-treatment variances differ between groups.

Science.gov (United States)

Funatogawa, Takashi; Funatogawa, Ikuko; Shyr, Yu

2011-05-01

When primary endpoints of randomized trials are continuous variables, the analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) with pre-treatment measurements as a covariate is often used to compare two treatment groups. In the ANCOVA, equal slopes (coefficients of pre-treatment measurements) and equal residual variances are commonly assumed. However, random allocation guarantees only equal variances of pre-treatment measurements. Unequal covariances and variances of post-treatment measurements indicate unequal slopes and, usually, unequal residual variances. For non-normal data with unequal covariances and variances of post-treatment measurements, it is known that the ANCOVA with equal slopes and equal variances using an ordinary least-squares method provides an asymptotically normal estimator for the treatment effect. However, the asymptotic variance of the estimator differs from the variance estimated from a standard formula, and its property is unclear. Furthermore, the asymptotic properties of the ANCOVA with equal slopes and unequal variances using a generalized least-squares method are unclear. In this paper, we consider non-normal data with unequal covariances and variances of post-treatment measurements, and examine the asymptotic properties of the ANCOVA with equal slopes using the variance estimated from a standard formula. Analytically, we show that the actual type I error rate, thus the coverage, of the ANCOVA with equal variances is asymptotically at a nominal level under equal sample sizes. That of the ANCOVA with unequal variances using a generalized least-squares method is asymptotically at a nominal level, even under unequal sample sizes. In conclusion, the ANCOVA with equal slopes can be asymptotically justified under random allocation. Copyright © 2011 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Berry ripening, pre-processing and thermal treatments affect the phenolic composition and antioxidant capacity of grape (Vitis vinifera L.) juice.

Science.gov (United States)

Genova, Giuseppe; Tosetti, Roberta; Tonutti, Pietro

2016-01-30

Grape juice is an important dietary source of health-promoting antioxidant molecules. Different factors may affect juice composition and nutraceutical properties. The effects of some of these factors (harvest time, pre-processing ethylene treatment of grapes and juice thermal pasteurization) were here evaluated, considering in particular the phenolic composition and antioxidant capacity. Grapes (Vitis vinifera L., red-skinned variety Sangiovese) were collected twice in relation to the technological harvest (TH) and 12 days before TH (early harvest, EH) and treated with gaseous ethylene (1000 ppm) or air for 48 h. Fresh and pasteurized (78 °C for 30 min) juices were produced using a water bath. Three-way analysis of variance showed that the harvest date had the strongest impact on total polyphenols, hydroxycinnamates, flavonols, and especially on total flavonoids. Pre-processing ethylene treatment significantly increased the proanthocyanidin, anthocyanin and flavan-3-ol content in the juices. Pasteurization induced a significant increase in anthocyanin concentration. Antioxidant capacity was enhanced by ethylene treatment and pasteurization in juices from both TH and EH grapes. These results suggest that an appropriate management of grape harvesting date, postharvest and processing may lead to an improvement in nutraceutical quality of juices. Further research is needed to study the effect of the investigated factors on juice organoleptic properties. © 2015 Society of Chemical Industry.

Effect on Al:MO{sub 2}/In{sub 0.53}Ga{sub 0.47}As interface (M = Hf, Zr) of trimethyl-aluminum pre-treatment during atomic layer deposition

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Lamperti, A., E-mail: alessio.lamperti@mdm.imm.cnr.it [Laboratorio MDM, IMM-CNR, via C. Olivetti 2, 20864 Agrate Brianza, MB (Italy); Molle, A.; Cianci, E.; Wiemer, C.; Spiga, S. [Laboratorio MDM, IMM-CNR, via C. Olivetti 2, 20864 Agrate Brianza, MB (Italy); Fanciulli, M. [Laboratorio MDM, IMM-CNR, via C. Olivetti 2, 20864 Agrate Brianza, MB (Italy); Dipartimento di Scienza dei Materiali, Università di Milano-Bicocca, Milano (Italy)

2014-07-31

For the fabrication of n-type metal–oxide–semiconductor field-effect transistor based on high mobility III–V compound semiconductors as channel materials, a major requirement is the integration of high quality gate oxides on top of the III–V substrates. A detailed knowledge of the interface between the oxide layer and the substrate is mandatory to assess the relevance of interdiffusion and related defects, which are detrimental. Here we grow high dielectric constant (k) Al:MO{sub 2} (M = Hf, Zr) gate materials on In{sub 0.53}Ga{sub 0.47}As substrates by atomic layer deposition, after an Al{sub 2}O{sub 3} pre-treatment based on trimethylaluminum is performed to properly passivate the substrate surface. Time of flight secondary ion mass spectrometry depth profiles reveal not only the film integrity and the chemical composition of the high-k oxide but also well elucidate the effect of the Al{sub 2}O{sub 3} pre-treatment on Al:MO{sub 2}/In{sub 0.53}Ga{sub 0.47}As interface. Even though the chemical profile is well defined in both cases, a broader interface is detected for Al:ZrO{sub 2}. X-ray photoemission spectroscopy evidenced the presence of As{sup 3+} states in Al:ZrO{sub 2} only. Accordingly, preliminary capacitance–voltage measurements point out to a better field effect modulation in the capacitor incorporating Al:HfO{sub 2}. Based on the above considerations Al:HfO{sub 2} looks as a preferred candidate with respect to Al:ZrO{sub 2} for the integration on top of In{sub 0.53}Ga{sub 0.47}As substrates. - Highlights: • Al:MO{sub 2} (M = Hf, Zr) thin films are grown on In{sub 0.53}Ga{sub 0.47}As substrates. • Trimethylaluminum (TMA) pre-treatment properly passivates the substrate surface. • ToF-SIMS depth profiles reveal the chemical composition of the high-k films. • Depth profiles well elucidate the effect of TMA on Al:MO{sub 2}/In{sub 0.53}Ga{sub 0.47}As substrates. • XPS evidences the presence of As{sup 3+} state in Al:ZrO{sub 2}/In{sub 0

[Variation of water DOC during the process of pre-pressure and coagulation sedimentation treatment].

Science.gov (United States)

Chen, Wen-Jing; Cong, Hai-Bing; Xu, Ya-Jun; Wang, Wei; Jiang, Xin-Yue; Liu, Yu-Jiao

2014-07-01

The aim of the study was to explore whether the pre-pressure and coagulation sedimentation process would result in algal cell disruption, leading to increased dissolved organic carbon (DOC) in water, based on which, the pressure application mode would be optimized and safe and efficient pre-pressure algae removal process would be obtained. The changes in DOC during the process of pre-pressure and preoxidation treatment, the distribution of molecular weight in water as well as the removal efficiency of algae, turbidity and DOC after coagulation and sedimentation were investigated. The results showed that the DOC in water did not increase but decreased, and the molecular weight decreased after treated with 0.5-0.8 MPa pressure. While KMnO4 and NaClO pre-oxidation both increased the DOC, in the meanwhile, the distribution of molecular weight showed no obvious change. After the pre-pressure coagulation and sedimentation process, the removal rate of algae was 96.23% and that of DOC was 29. 11%, which was by 10% - 30% higher than the rate of pre-oxidation coagulation and sedimentation process.

Effect of salicylic acid treatment on postharvest quality, antioxidant activities, and free polyamines of asparagus.