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Sample records for mic recovery medium

  1. Development of biological coal gasification (MicGAS Process)

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Walia, D.S.; Srivastava, K.C.

    1994-10-01

    The overall goal of the project is to develop an advanced, clean coal biogasification (MicGAS) Process. The objectives of the research during FY 1993--94 were to: (1) enhance kinetics of methane production (biogasification, biomethanation) from Texas lignite (TxL) by the Mic-1 consortium isolated and developed at ARCTECH, (2) increase coal solids loading, (3) optimize medium composition, and (4) reduce retention time. A closer analysis of the results described here indicate that biomethanation of TxL at >5% solids loading is feasible through appropriate development of nutrient medium and further adaptation of the microorganisms involved in this process. Further understanding of the inhibitory factors and some biochemical manipulations to overcome those inhibitions will hasten the process considerably. Results are discussed on the following: products of biomethanation and enhance of methane production including: bacterial adaptation; effect of nutrient amendment substitutes; effects of solids loading; effect of initial pH of the culture medium; effect of hydrogen donors and carbon balance.

  2. MDS MIC Catalog Inputs

    Science.gov (United States)

    Johnson-Throop, Kathy A.; Vowell, C. W.; Smith, Byron; Darcy, Jeannette

    2006-01-01

    This viewgraph presentation reviews the inputs to the MDS Medical Information Communique (MIC) catalog. The purpose of the group is to provide input for updating the MDS MIC Catalog and to request that MMOP assign Action Item to other working groups and FSs to support the MITWG Process for developing MIC-DDs.

  3. Microorganisms involved in MIC

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Sorensen, K. [Danish Technological Institute (Denmark)

    2011-07-01

    Microbiologically influenced corrosion (MIC) is a widespread problem that is difficult to detect and assess because of its complex mechanism. This paper presents the involvement of microorganisms in MIC. Some of the mechanisms that cause MIC include hydrogen consumption, production of acids, anode-cathode formation and electron shuttling. A classic bio-corrosive microorganism in the oil and gas industry is sulphate-reducing prokaryotes (SRP). Methanogens also increase corrosion rates in metals. Some of the phylogenetic orders detected while studying SRP and methanogens are archaeoglobales, clostridiales, methanosarcinales and methanothermococcus. There were some implications, such as growth of SRP not being correlated with growth of methanogens; methanogens were included in MIC risk assessment. A few examples are used to display how microorganisms are involved in topside corrosion and microbial community in producing wells. From the study, it can be concluded that, MIC risk assessment includes system data and empirical knowledge of the distribution and number of microorganisms in the system.

  4. Determination Of Appropriate Antibiotic In Bacterial Meningitis Of Children Based On MIC

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Noorbakhsh S

    2005-05-01

    sensitive to PNC;Chlora;Ceftria and vanco Resistant to all drugs and high MIC for cefotaxime;CIPRO>32mic/ml. E coli: Pseudomona Aerogenosa:: Ceftriaxon>256mic/ml/ /Genta>0.038mg/ml Imipenem>32mic/ml. Klebsiella; only Sensitive to Cipro Staph .Aureous:Sensitive to Clinda;Cipro;Chlora;Resistant toCeft;PNCand Cotri Conclusion: Most type of N.meningitidis;H.inf and S.pneumonia were sensitive to many drugs. Only minority of them were resistant to Ampicillin but sensitive to chloramphenicol and vice versa. limited number of pneumococcal resistance to penicillin is medium resistance( MIC:0.1-1 .we can treat this resistant type by increasing of penicillin dosage .The others were sensitive to all drugs. Therefore ampicillin and chloramphenicol are the drug of choice in empiric treatment of bacterial meningitis after neonatal period.

  5. Spectrophotometric Determination of Microamounts of Uranium previous Extraction with TBP-MIC

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Vera Palomino, J.; Palomares Delgado, F.; Petrement, J.; Fernandez Cellini, R.

    1962-01-01

    Selective extraction of uranium in nitric acid medium with a mixture of Tbp-MIC (1:10) has been achieved. Aluminium nitrate was used as salting agent. Complexing agents were added in order to avoid extraction of impurities. Extraction conditions have been studied so that extraction is almost practically complete in a single run. (Author) 19 refs

  6. Adsorption of anionic surfactants in limestone medium during oil recovery

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Canbolat, Serhat; Bagci, Suat [Middle East Technical Univ., Dept. of Petroleum and Natural Gas Engineering, Ankara (Turkey)

    2004-07-15

    Foam-forming surfactant performance was evaluated by several experimental methods (interfacial tension, foam stability, corefloods) using commercial surfactants. There is considerable interest in the use of foam-forming surfactants for mobility control in water flood. To provide effective mobility control, the injected surfactant must propagate from the injection well toward the production well. One of the important parameters affecting propagation of foam-forming surfactant through the reservoir is the retention of surfactant due to its adsorption on reservoir rock. The determination of the adsorption of foam-forming surfactants in limestone reservoirs is important for the residual oil recovery efficiency. Adsorption measurements, recovery efficiencies, and surfactant and alkaline flooding experiments carried out with the representative of the selected surfactants alkaline solutions, linear alkyl benzene sulphonic acid (LABSA), sodium lauryl ether sulfate (SLES), and NaOH in a limestone medium. These surfactants were selected with respect to their foaming ability. Calibration curves formed by pH measurements were used to determine the correct adsorption amount of the used surfactants and recovery efficiency of these surfactants compared with base waterflooding. The results showed that LABSA adsorbed more than SLES in limestone reservoirs. The recovery efficiency of SLES was higher than the recovery efficiency of LABSA, and they decreased the recovery efficiency with respect to only the water injection case. (Author)

  7. El cómic español desde 1995

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Díaz de Guereñu, Juan Manuel

    2011-09-01

    Full Text Available In the last fifteen years comic has changed dramatically in Spain. The small size of the comics industry in the Spanish market doesn’t allow comic creators to turn his job into a profession, but the medium has attained prestige, critical attention on the cultural spaces and a place in the bookstores. Those changes are the consequence of some significant facts of the period: after the extinction of former comic magazines, comic books substituted them as the first format for comics edition, and a number of critical fanzines and self-edited fanzines and magazines were published by the authors themselves. Newborn and independent smallpress, more focused on the aesthetic values than on the economic profits of comics edition, have defined the new author comic, often printed in the format of books and associated to the “graphic novel” label.

    En los últimos quince años, el cómic ha cambiado mucho en España. Aunque el escaso peso de la industria del cómic no permite a los autores vivir como profesionales, el medio ha ganado prestigio, atención crítica en las páginas culturales y un lugar en las librerías. Dichos cambios son consecuencia de algunos hechos significativos del periodo: tras la desaparición de las revistas, las sustituyeron cuadernillos o comic-books como soporte fundamental del cómic, y proliferaron revistas críticas de aficionados y fanzines o revistas autoeditadas por los autores. Nuevas editoriales, pequeñas e independientes, más atentas a los valores estéticos que a los comerciales, han definido el nuevo cómic de autor, a menudo identificado con el formato libro y la etiqueta “novela gráfica”.

  8. Dataset on experimental investigation of gum arabic coated alumina nanoparticles for enhanced recovery of nigerian medium crude oil.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Orodu, Oyinkepreye D; Orodu, Kale B; Afolabi, Richard O; Dafe, Eboh A

    2018-08-01

    The dataset in this article are related to an experimental Enhanced Oil Recovery (EOR) scheme involving the use of dispersions containing Gum Arabic coated Alumina Nanoparticles (GCNPs) for Nigerian medium crude oil. The result contained in the dataset showed a 7.18% (5 wt% GCNPs), 7.81% (5 wt% GCNPs), and 5.61% (3 wt% GCNPs) improvement in the recovery oil beyond the water flooding stage for core samples A, B, and C respectively. Also, the improvement in recovery of the medium crude oil by the GCNPs dispersions when compared to Gum Arabic polymer flooding was evident in the dataset.

  9. Experiences on MIC monitoring by electrochemical techniques

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

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

    2002-01-01

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

  10. Evaluation of vancomycin MIC creep in Staphylococcus aureus.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Diaz, Raquel; Ramalheira, Elmano; Afreixo, Vera; Gago, Bruno

    2017-09-01

    Vancomycin is the primary treatment for methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA). However, an increasing proportion of MRSA isolates with high minimum inhibitory concentrations (MICs) within the susceptible range (vancomycin 'MIC creep') is being observed. The aim of this study was to assess the vancomycin MIC distribution for S. aureus isolates over a period of 4 years in Centro Hospitalar Baixo Vouga (Aveiro, Portugal) and to identify differences in vancomycin MIC determined by different susceptibility testing methods. For each S. aureus isolate, the vancomycin MIC was assayed by the VITEK ® 2 automated system and the broth microdilution testing method. The results showed significant differences in vancomycin MIC by different methods (P=0.021, sign test) and did not suggest the presence of vancomycin MIC creep during the study period. Vancomycin MIC creep is a regional problem, therefore it can only be assessed through the evaluation of local susceptibility profiles, and antibiogram based on real MIC assay should be an essential element in local MRSA infection clinical management. Copyright © 2017 International Society for Chemotherapy of Infection and Cancer. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  11. Ranking alloys for susceptibility to MIC

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Scott, P.J.B.; Davies, M.; Goldie, J.

    1991-01-01

    This paper reports that laboratory experiments demonstrate that alloys containing 6 to 9% Mo are susceptible to microbiologically influenced corrosion attack. They also demonstrate that corrosion behavior in batch cultures do not correlate well with standard ferric chloride and pitting potential tests of the same alloys. In recent years, there has been an increasing awareness of the incidence of plant equipment failures caused by microbiologically influenced corrosion (MIC). This has led to the search for suitable testing techniques to look for MIC, which, in turn, has expanded the list of known susceptible alloys. Faced with field failures, the normal response has been to upgrade the alloy of construction. There is, for example, a common belief that the addition of more molybdenum to austenitic stainless steels conveys immunity (or at least increased resistance) to MIC. The basis for this is an extrapolation of localized corrosion data. The supposed correlation between molybdenum content and resistance to MIC has not yet been supported by a comprehensive testing program

  12. The frequent occurrence of MIC

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Graff, Matthias [Gesellschaft fuer Technische Mikrobiologie und Hygieneueberwachung - Dr. Graff und Partner, Stadtweg 9, D-38176 Wendeburg (Germany); Neubert, Volkmar [Institut fuer Materialpruefung und Werkstofftechnik Dr. Doelling und Dr. Neubert GmbH, Freiberger Strasse 1, D-38678 Clausthal-Zellerfeld (Germany)

    2004-07-01

    Microbial induced corrosion (MIC) is not as rare as many materials scientist and corrosion practitioners do believe. It is not an exotic and scarce event, but can be found frequently in many fields of corrosion research, provided that it is looked for. The reason for the relatively few descriptions of MIC cases seems to be the fact, that the microbiological approach is not widely known and applied in the world of materials science. MIC is not so much a corrosion mechanism on its own, but it enhances the corrosion rates of the 'normal' mechanisms to such an extent, that in some cases 'incredible' fast corrosion progress can be observed. The reason is the microorganisms' function as bio-catalysts: Chemical reactions, which are very slow under normal chemical conditions can be highly accelerated by living organisms. Besides that, several microorganisms do produce very corrosive substances which in natural environments do not occur without the activity of microorganisms, e. g. sulfuric or nitric acid. We want to point out, that it can be very worthy to take microbial induced corrosion into account. MIC is not the general answer for all unsolved corrosion problems, but to think about it helps in many corrosion cases as the authors had to experience. The initial indication for the presence of MIC are markedly increased corrosion rates. In the following, some of our 'lessons' are presented as short case studies: Two of them deal with steel corrosion characterized by increased corrosion rates. The third example presents corrosion damage of aluminium structures, where from a technical point of view corrosion was not expected, least of all microbial induced corrosion. (authors)

  13. Wild-type MIC distributions for aminoglycoside and cyclic polypeptide antibiotics used for treatment of Mycobacterium tuberculosis infections.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Juréen, P; Angeby, K; Sturegård, E; Chryssanthou, E; Giske, C G; Werngren, J; Nordvall, M; Johansson, A; Kahlmeter, G; Hoffner, S; Schön, T

    2010-05-01

    The aminoglycosides and cyclic polypeptides are essential drugs in the treatment of multidrug-resistant tuberculosis, underscoring the need for accurate and reproducible drug susceptibility testing (DST). The epidemiological cutoff value (ECOFF) separating wild-type susceptible strains from non-wild-type strains is an important but rarely used tool for indicating susceptibility breakpoints against Mycobacterium tuberculosis. In this study, we established wild-type MIC distributions on Middlebrook 7H10 medium for amikacin, kanamycin, streptomycin, capreomycin, and viomycin using 90 consecutive clinical isolates and 21 resistant strains. Overall, the MIC variation between and within runs did not exceed +/-1 MIC dilution step, and validation of MIC values in Bactec 960 MGIT demonstrated good agreement. Tentative ECOFFs defining the wild type were established for all investigated drugs, including amikacin and viomycin, which currently lack susceptibility breakpoints for 7H10. Five out of seven amikacin- and kanamycin-resistant isolates were classified as susceptible to capreomycin according to the current critical concentration (10 mg/liter) but were non-wild type according to the ECOFF (4 mg/liter), suggesting that the critical concentration may be too high. All amikacin- and kanamycin-resistant isolates were clearly below the ECOFF for viomycin, and two of them were below the ECOFF for streptomycin, indicating that these two drugs may be considered for treatment of amikacin-resistant strains. Pharmacodynamic indices (peak serum concentration [Cmax]/MIC) were more favorable for amikacin and viomycin compared to kanamycin and capreomycin. In conclusion, our data emphasize the importance of establishing wild-type MIC distributions for improving the quality of drug susceptibility testing against Mycobacterium tuberculosis.

  14. Wild-Type MIC Distributions for Aminoglycoside and Cyclic Polypeptide Antibiotics Used for Treatment of Mycobacterium tuberculosis Infections▿

    Science.gov (United States)

    Juréen, P.; Ängeby, K.; Sturegård, E.; Chryssanthou, E.; Giske, C. G.; Werngren, J.; Nordvall, M.; Johansson, A.; Kahlmeter, G.; Hoffner, S.; Schön, T.

    2010-01-01

    The aminoglycosides and cyclic polypeptides are essential drugs in the treatment of multidrug-resistant tuberculosis, underscoring the need for accurate and reproducible drug susceptibility testing (DST). The epidemiological cutoff value (ECOFF) separating wild-type susceptible strains from non-wild-type strains is an important but rarely used tool for indicating susceptibility breakpoints against Mycobacterium tuberculosis. In this study, we established wild-type MIC distributions on Middlebrook 7H10 medium for amikacin, kanamycin, streptomycin, capreomycin, and viomycin using 90 consecutive clinical isolates and 21 resistant strains. Overall, the MIC variation between and within runs did not exceed ±1 MIC dilution step, and validation of MIC values in Bactec 960 MGIT demonstrated good agreement. Tentative ECOFFs defining the wild type were established for all investigated drugs, including amikacin and viomycin, which currently lack susceptibility breakpoints for 7H10. Five out of seven amikacin- and kanamycin-resistant isolates were classified as susceptible to capreomycin according to the current critical concentration (10 mg/liter) but were non-wild type according to the ECOFF (4 mg/liter), suggesting that the critical concentration may be too high. All amikacin- and kanamycin-resistant isolates were clearly below the ECOFF for viomycin, and two of them were below the ECOFF for streptomycin, indicating that these two drugs may be considered for treatment of amikacin-resistant strains. Pharmacodynamic indices (peak serum concentration [Cmax]/MIC) were more favorable for amikacin and viomycin compared to kanamycin and capreomycin. In conclusion, our data emphasize the importance of establishing wild-type MIC distributions for improving the quality of drug susceptibility testing against Mycobacterium tuberculosis. PMID:20237102

  15. mics para la Disfemia

    OpenAIRE

    Pomares Puig, María Pilar

    2015-01-01

    Desde la Facultad de Educación se vienen desarrollando diversas estrategias para fomentar el uso del cómic en distintos niveles escolares y profundizar en el conocimiento del mismo y ampliar la labor de divulgación que realiza la asociación de Unicómic http://unicomic.blogspot.com, centrándonos en los aspectos didácticos. La disfemia es un trastorno de la fluidez verbal y del ritmo del habla caracterizado por disfluencias consistentes en repeticiones y prolongaciones de sonidos y dificultad p...

  16. Vancomycin AUC/MIC and Corresponding Troughs in a Pediatric Population.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kishk, Omayma A; Lardieri, Allison B; Heil, Emily L; Morgan, Jill A

    2017-01-01

    Adult guidelines suggest an area under the curve/minimum inhibitory concentration (AUC/MIC) > 400 corresponds to a vancomycin trough serum concentration of 15 to 20 mg/L for methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus infections, but obtaining these troughs in children are difficult. The primary objective of this study was to assess the likelihood that 15 mg/kg of vancomycin every 6 hours in a child achieves an AUC/MIC > 400. This retrospective chart review included pediatric patients >2 months to AUCs were calculated four times using three pharmacokinetic methods. A total of 36 patients with 99 vancomycin trough serum concentrations were assessed. Baseline characteristics were similar between groups. For troughs in group 1 (n = 55), the probability of achieving an AUC/MIC > 400 ranged from 16.4% to 90.9% with a median trough concentration of 11.4 mg/L, while in group 2 (n = 44) the probability of achieving AUC/MIC > 400 ranged from 15.9% to 54.5% with mean trough concentration of 9.2 mg/L. The AUC/MICs were not similar between the different pharmacokinetic methods used; however, a trapezoidal equation (Method A) yielded the highest correlation coefficient (r 2 = 0.59). When dosing every 6 hours, an AUC/MIC of 400 correlated to a trough serum concentration of 11 mg/L. The probability of achieving an AUC/MIC > 400 using only a trough serum concentration and an MIC with patients receiving 15 mg/kg every 6 hours is variable based on the method used to calculate the AUC. An AUC/MIC of 400 in children correlated to a trough concentration of 11 mg/L using a trapezoidal Method to calculate AUC.

  17. Microbiologically Influenced Corrosion (MIC) in the Oil and Gas Industry

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Skovhus, Torben Lund; Eckert, Rickard

    2015-01-01

    Microbiologically influenced corrosion (MIC) is a serious corrosion threat that impacts the operating integrity and reliability of assets in the oil and gas, maritime, power generation, and other industries. Yet MIC is also commonly misunderstood, leading to ineffective mitigation programs, wasted...... and implement improved mitigation strategies and thereby reduce operating risk. Our experts provide guidance in applying the latest state-of-the-art molecular microbiological methods (MMM) and industry standards to properly diagnose MIC in operating assets and on failed components. With this understanding, MIC...... can be effectively addressed as part of the overall Corrosion Management System (CMS)....

  18. Medium factors on anaerobic production of rhamnolipids by Pseudomonas aeruginosa SG and a simplifying medium for in situ microbial enhanced oil recovery applications.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhao, Feng; Zhou, Jidong; Han, Siqin; Ma, Fang; Zhang, Ying; Zhang, Jie

    2016-04-01

    Aerobic production of rhamnolipid by Pseudomonas aeruginosa was extensively studied. But effect of medium composition on anaerobic production of rhamnolipid by P. aeruginosa was unknown. A simplifying medium facilitating anaerobic production of rhamnolipid is urgently needed for in situ microbial enhanced oil recovery (MEOR). Medium factors affecting anaerobic production of rhamnolipid were investigated using P. aeruginosa SG (Genbank accession number KJ995745). Medium composition for anaerobic production of rhamnolipid by P. aeruginosa is different from that for aerobic production of rhamnolipid. Both hydrophobic substrate and organic nitrogen inhibited rhamnolipid production under anaerobic conditions. Glycerol and nitrate were the best carbon and nitrogen source. The commonly used N limitation under aerobic conditions was not conducive to rhamnolipid production under anaerobic conditions because the initial cell growth demanded enough nitrate for anaerobic respiration. But rhamnolipid was also fast accumulated under nitrogen starvation conditions. Sufficient phosphate was needed for anaerobic production of rhamnolipid. SO4(2-) and Mg(2+) are required for anaerobic production of rhamnolipid. Results will contribute to isolation bacteria strains which can anaerobically produce rhamnolipid and medium optimization for anaerobic production of rhamnolipid. Based on medium optimization by response surface methodology and ions composition of reservoir formation water, a simplifying medium containing 70.3 g/l glycerol, 5.25 g/l NaNO3, 5.49 g/l KH2PO4, 6.9 g/l K2HPO4·3H2O and 0.40 g/l MgSO4 was designed. Using the simplifying medium, 630 mg/l of rhamnolipid was produced by SG, and the anaerobic culture emulsified crude oil to EI24 = 82.5 %. The simplifying medium was promising for in situ MEOR applications.

  19. Wild-type MIC distributions of four fluoroquinolones active against Mycobacterium tuberculosis in relation to current critical concentrations and available pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic data.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Angeby, K A; Jureen, P; Giske, C G; Chryssanthou, E; Sturegård, E; Nordvall, M; Johansson, A G; Werngren, J; Kahlmeter, G; Hoffner, S E; Schön, T

    2010-05-01

    To describe wild-type distributions of the MIC of fluoroquinolones for Mycobacterium tuberculosis in relation to current critical concentrations used for drug susceptibility testing and pharmacokinetic/pharmacodynamic (PK/PD) data. A 96-stick replicator on Middlebrook 7H10 medium was used to define the MICs of ciprofloxacin, ofloxacin, moxifloxacin and levofloxacin for 90 consecutive clinical strains and 24 drug-resistant strains. The MICs were compared with routine BACTEC 460 susceptibility results and with MIC determinations in the BACTEC MGIT 960 system in a subset of strains using ofloxacin as a class representative. PK/PD data for each drug were reviewed in relation to the wild-type MIC distribution. The wild-type MICs of ciprofloxacin, ofloxacin, moxifloxacin and levofloxacin were distributed from 0.125 to 1, 0.25 to 1, 0.032 to 0.5 and 0.125 to 0.5 mg/L, respectively. The MIC data correlated well with the BACTEC 960 MGIT and BACTEC 460 results. PD indices were the most favourable for levofloxacin, followed by moxifloxacin, ofloxacin and ciprofloxacin. We propose S (susceptible) MIC data could shift the ECOFFs for ofloxacin and levofloxacin one dilution upwards. The proposed ECOFFs may be more appropriate if used as clinical breakpoints on Middlebrook 7H10 agar than the current critical concentrations of S

  20. Optimization of culture medium for anaerobic production of rhamnolipid by recombinant Pseudomonas stutzeri Rhl for microbial enhanced oil recovery.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhao, F; Mandlaa, M; Hao, J; Liang, X; Shi, R; Han, S; Zhang, Y

    2014-08-01

    Response surface methodology was employed to enhance the anaerobic production of rhamnolipid by recombinant Pseudomonas stutzeri Rhl. Glycerol is a promising carbon source used to anaerobically produce rhamnolipid. In a Plackett-Burman design, glycerol, KH2 PO4 and yeast extract were significant factors. The proposed optimized medium contained the following: 46·55 g l(-1) glycerol; 3 g l(-1) NaNO3 ; 5·25 g l(-1) K2 HPO4 ·3H2 O; 5·71 g l(-1) KH2 PO4 ; 0·40 g l(-1) MgSO4 ·7H2 O; 0·13 g l(-1) CaCl2 ; 1·0 g l(-1) KCl; 1·0 g l(-1) NaCl; and 2·69 g l(-1) yeast extract. Using this optimized medium, we obtained an anaerobic yield of rhamnolipid of 3·12 ± 0·11 g l(-1) with a 0·85-fold increase. Core flooding test results also revealed that Ps. stutzeri Rhl grown in an optimized medium enhanced the oil recovery efficiency by 15·7%, which was 6·6% higher than in the initial medium. Results suggested that the optimized medium is a promising nutrient source that could effectively mobilize oil by enhancing the in situ production of rhamnolipid. The ex situ application of rhamnolipid for microbial enhanced oil recovery (MEOR) is costly and complex in terms of rhamnolipid production, purification and transportation. Compared with ex situ applications, the in situ production of rhamnolipid in anaerobic oil reservoir is more advantageous for MEOR. This study is the first to report the anaerobic production optimization of rhamnolipid. Results showed that the optimized medium enhanced not only the anaerobic production of rhamnolipid but also crude oil recovery. © 2014 The Society for Applied Microbiology.

  1. MIC in long oil pipelines: diagnosis, treatment and monitoring

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Jenneman, Gary; Harris, Jennifer; Webb, Robert [ConocoPhillips (Canada)

    2011-07-01

    The paper presents the diagnosis, treatment and monitoring of microbial influenced corrosion (MIC) in long oil pipelines. The presence of inorganic solids, bacteria, gases and organic acids in produced water in the oil pipelines causes MIC, which is hard to detect or test and it does not produce any unique type of corrosion. Chemical analysis of water from pig runs is presented in a tabular form and a graphical analysis of pig sludge solids is shown. From the biometabolite analysis, 23 putative hydrocarbon biometabolites were identified and biometabolites for the anaerobic biodegradation of aromatic HC were also detected. Operational considerations include the history of MIC in upstream pipelines, water slugging, and presence of suspended solids, among others. From microbiological, chemical, metallurgical and operational evidence it was suggested that MIC is a likely mechanism. The mitigation program is described and suggestions for successful mitigation measures include removal of oxygen sources, scale inhibitor injection, and increasing CO2 inhibitor concentration.

  2. Effect of medium composition on static and cidal activity of amphotericin B, itraconazole, voriconazole, posaconazole and terbinafine against Aspergillus fumigatus: a multicenter study.

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Tortorano, A.M.; Danaoui, E.; Meletiadis, J.; Mallie, M.; Viviani, M.A.; Piens, M.A.; Rigoni, A.L.; Bastide, J.M.; Grillot, R.

    2002-01-01

    The effect of the medium composition on the fungistatic (MIC) and fungicidal (MLC) activity of amphotericin B, itraconazole, voriconazole, posaconazole and terbinafine against four Aspergillus fumigatus strains has been investigated by four European laboratories. MICs were determined by broth

  3. NICHD Microscopy and Imaging Core (MIC)

    Data.gov (United States)

    Federal Laboratory Consortium — The NICHD Microscopy and Imaging Core (MIC) is designed as a multi-user research facility providing training and instrumentation for high resolution microscopy and...

  4. Peran Public Speaking dalam Kegiatan Open Mic (Studi tentang Peran Public Speaking terhadap Kemampuan Comic dalam Kegiatan Open Mic Komunitas Stand Up Indo Kota Medan)

    OpenAIRE

    Rovis, Disa Yumna

    2016-01-01

    This study, entitled "The Role of Public Speaking on Open Mic Activity". The aim of the research is knowing the public speaking proses and the use of public speaking on the ability of comic on open mic activity. Public speaking theory is used for this research. Descriptive qualitative method is used in this research by nonparticipant observation tecnique through interviewing the comic. Based on this research, open mic activity uses the specific elements of public speaking. They are, the speak...

  5. Prevention for possible microbiologically influenced corrosion (MIC) in RHLWE flush water system

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hsu, T.C.; Jenkins, C.F.

    1995-01-01

    This report is in response to the request to provide a recommendation for the prevention of possible microbiologically influenced corrosion (MIC) for the RHLWE (Replacement High-Level Waste Evaporator) flush water (FW) system. The recent occurrences of MIC at DWPF prompted HLWE to evaluate the possibility of MIC occurring in this 304L stainless steel RHLWE flush water system. Concern was heightened by the fact that the well water used and the other conditions at H-Tank Farm are similar to those at DWPF. However, only one known leak has occurred in the existing 304L evaporator flush water systems in either tank farm (in 1H system), and no MIC Corrosion has been confirmed in the tank farm area. The design of the RHLWE flush water system (completed long before the occurrence of MIC at DWPF) was modeled after the existing evaporator flush water systems and did not specifically include MIC prevention considerations. Therefore, MIC prevention was not specifically considered during the design phase of this flush water system. The system is presently being installed. After an extensive evaluation, a task team concluded that the best biocide to prevent the occurrence of MIC would be NaOH at fairly low concentration. Sodium hydroxide (NaOH) is optimal in this application, because of its effectiveness, low cost, and familiarity to the Operations personnel (see Appendix A). However, it is the opinion of the task group that application should be withheld until MIC corrosion is demonstrated in the system

  6. Anti-MIC2 as a tool in examination of testicular biopsies

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Visfeldt, J; Cortes, D; Thorup, J M

    1999-01-01

    MIC2 is a pseudoautosomal gene localized on X and Y chromosomes. The MIC2 gene product is a glycoprotein expressed on the cell membranes of a number of somatic cells, including Sertoli cells of the testis, but not on the cell membranes of germ cells. In cases of cryptorchidism, a testicular biopsy...... testes which had been cultured in vitro for 7, 14 or 21 days. In all cases the immunohistochemical method with DAKO antibody to the MIC2 gene product was helpful for identification of Sertoli cells and germ cells, and we therefore recommend the use of anti-MIC2 in all testicular biopsies where...

  7. Expanding Banking Services to Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises and Poor Households in the Philippines

    OpenAIRE

    Lamberte, Mario B.

    2001-01-01

    This paper has reviewed existing policies and programs to encourage banks to expand their financial services to micro, small- and medium-sized enterprises (MicSMEs) and poor households. The overall policy environment for promoting microfinance in the Philippines has indeed considerably improved since 1990, and there are signs that banks have favorably responded to it. However, banks still face some constraints in expanding further their financial services to MicSMEs and poor households. This ...

  8. Vancomycin AUC/MIC ratio and 30-day mortality in patients with Staphylococcus aureus bacteremia.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Holmes, Natasha E; Turnidge, John D; Munckhof, Wendy J; Robinson, J Owen; Korman, Tony M; O'Sullivan, Matthew V N; Anderson, Tara L; Roberts, Sally A; Warren, Sanchia J C; Gao, Wei; Howden, Benjamin P; Johnson, Paul D R

    2013-04-01

    A ratio of the vancomycin area under the concentration-time curve to the MIC (AUC/MIC) of ≥ 400 has been associated with clinical success when treating Staphylococcus aureus pneumonia, and this target was recommended by recently published vancomycin therapeutic monitoring consensus guidelines for treating all serious S. aureus infections. Here, vancomycin serum trough levels and vancomycin AUC/MIC were evaluated in a "real-world" context by following a cohort of 182 patients with S. aureus bacteremia (SAB) and analyzing these parameters within the critical first 96 h of vancomycin therapy. The median vancomycin trough level at this time point was 19.5 mg/liter. There was a significant difference in vancomycin AUC/MIC when using broth microdilution (BMD) compared with Etest MIC (medians of 436.1 and 271.5, respectively; P AUC/MIC of ≥ 400 using BMD was not associated with lower 30-day all-cause or attributable mortality from SAB (P = 0.132 and P = 0.273, respectively). However, an alternative vancomycin AUC/MIC of >373, derived using classification and regression tree analysis, was associated with reduced mortality (P = 0.043) and remained significant in a multivariable model. This study demonstrated that we obtained vancomycin trough levels in the target therapeutic range early during the course of therapy and that obtaining a higher vancomycin AUC/MIC (in this case, >373) within 96 h was associated with reduced mortality. The MIC test method has a significant impact on vancomycin AUC/MIC estimation. Clinicians should be aware that the current target AUC/MIC of ≥ 400 was derived using the reference BMD method, so adjustments to this target need to be made when calculating AUC/MIC ratio using other MIC testing methods.

  9. Microbial induced corrosion (MIC) on DHP copper by Desulfovibrio desulfuricans and Bacillus megaterium strains in media simulating heater waters

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zumelzu, E.; Cabezas, C.; Schoebitz, R.; Ugarte, R.; Rodriguez, E.D.; Rios, J.

    2003-01-01

    The complexity and diversity of microbial populations in water heating systems of steam generators make it necessary to study the magnitude of the metabolic activity of bacteria and biofilm development that may lead to degradation of metal components through microbial induced corrosion (MIC). Electrolytes simulating the conditions found in heater water networks were used to induce biofilm formation on DHP copper coupons by Desulfovibrio desulfuricans DSMZ and Bacillus megaterium C10, a commercial strain and an isolate from these waters, respectively. In order to enhance their action, industrial waters enriched with the minimum nutrient content such as sodium lactate and sodium sulphite for the DSMZ strain and glucose, proteose peptone and starch for the C10 strain were employed. Biofilm formation was studied under controlled temperature, time, shaking, pH and concentrations of the media used in this study. Then, the samples were electrochemically tested in an artificial solution of sea water as control medium, based on the hypothesis that the action of an aggressive biofilm/electrolyte medium generates damaged and non-damaged areas on the metal surface, and assuming that the sea water trial can detect the latter. Hence, a higher anodic current was associated with a lower degradation of the metal surface by the action of one of the media under study. All these trials were performed along with bacterial count, scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and atomic absorption spectroscopy (AAS). Furthermore, it was possible to identify under which conditions MIC on DHP copper occurred and complex mechanisms from retention of cations to diffusion processes at the biofilm/tested media interface level were proposed. Surface corrosion by MIC took place on DHP copper; therefore, greater control on the treatment of industrial waters is highly desirable. (author)

  10. Generalidades de Queratitis Micótica

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Manuel Fernando Buitrago Torrado

    2013-12-01

    Full Text Available La queratitis micótica es una importante causa de discapacidad visual en los países desarrollados. En los últimos años ha aumentado su incidencia en países de regiones tropicales, relacionado con el aumento de las conductas de riesgo como el uso indiscriminado de antifúngicos y corticoides oftálmicos en la práctica médica. La confirmación del diagnóstico es necesaria, no sólo en caso de queratitis micótica, sino también en otras enfermedades oculares infecciosas para así iniciar la terapia oportuna y exacta, y evitar el uso innecesario de antimicrobianos. El pronóstico visual de los pacientes dependerá del diagnóstico temprano y el tratamiento médico oportuno

  11. Spectrophotometric Determination of Microamounts of Uranium previous Extraction with TBP-MIC; Determinacion Espectrofotometrica de Microcantidades de Uranio previa extraccin con Metilisobutilcetona-Fosfato de Tributilo

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Vera Palomino, J; Palomares Delgado, F; Petrement, J; Fernandez Cellini, R

    1962-07-01

    Selective extraction of uranium in nitric acid medium with a mixture of Tbp-MIC (1:10) has been achieved. Aluminium nitrate was used as salting agent. Complexing agents were added in order to avoid extraction of impurities. Extraction conditions have been studied so that extraction is almost practically complete in a single run. (Author) 19 refs.

  12. Gene-specific cell labeling using MiMIC transposons.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gnerer, Joshua P; Venken, Koen J T; Dierick, Herman A

    2015-04-30

    Binary expression systems such as GAL4/UAS, LexA/LexAop and QF/QUAS have greatly enhanced the power of Drosophila as a model organism by allowing spatio-temporal manipulation of gene function as well as cell and neural circuit function. Tissue-specific expression of these heterologous transcription factors relies on random transposon integration near enhancers or promoters that drive the binary transcription factor embedded in the transposon. Alternatively, gene-specific promoter elements are directly fused to the binary factor within the transposon followed by random or site-specific integration. However, such insertions do not consistently recapitulate endogenous expression. We used Minos-Mediated Integration Cassette (MiMIC) transposons to convert host loci into reliable gene-specific binary effectors. MiMIC transposons allow recombinase-mediated cassette exchange to modify the transposon content. We developed novel exchange cassettes to convert coding intronic MiMIC insertions into gene-specific binary factor protein-traps. In addition, we expanded the set of binary factor exchange cassettes available for non-coding intronic MiMIC insertions. We show that binary factor conversions of different insertions in the same locus have indistinguishable expression patterns, suggesting that they reliably reflect endogenous gene expression. We show the efficacy and broad applicability of these new tools by dissecting the cellular expression patterns of the Drosophila serotonin receptor gene family. © The Author(s) 2015. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Nucleic Acids Research.

  13. Mic it! microphones, microphone techniques, and their impact on the final mix

    CERN Document Server

    Corbett, Ian

    2014-01-01

    Capture great sound in the first place, and spend less time ""fixing it in the mix"" with Ian Corbett's Mic It! Microphones, Microphone Techniques, and Their Impact on the Final Mix. With his expert guidance, you'll quickly understand essential audio concepts as they relate to microphones and mic techniques, and learn how to apply them to your recording situation. Whether you only ever buy one microphone, are equipping a studio on a budget, or have a vast selection of great mics to use, you'll learn to better use whatever tools you have. Mic It! gives you the background to design and discover

  14. Comparative antianaerobic activities of doripenem determined by MIC and time-kill analysis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Credito, Kim L; Ednie, Lois M; Appelbaum, Peter C

    2008-01-01

    Against 447 anaerobe strains, the investigational carbapenem doripenem had an MIC 50 of 0.125 microg/ml and an MIC 90 of 1 microg/ml. Results were similar to those for imipenem, meropenem, and ertapenem. Time-kill studies showed that doripenem had very good bactericidal activity compared to other carbapenems, with 99.9% killing of 11 strains at 2x MIC after 48 h.

  15. Immune protection of microneme 7 (EmMIC7) against Eimeria maxima challenge in chickens.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Huang, Jingwei; Zhang, Zhenchao; Li, Menghui; Song, Xiaokai; Yan, Ruofeng; Xu, Lixin; Li, Xiangrui

    2015-10-01

    In the present study, the immune protective effects of recombinant microneme protein 7 of Eimeria maxima (rEmMIC7) and a DNA vaccine encoding this antigen (pVAX1-EmMIC7) on experimental challenge were evaluated. Two-week-old chickens were randomly divided into five groups. Experimental groups of chickens were immunized with 100 μg DNA vaccine pVAX1-MIC7 or 200 μg rEmMIC7, while control groups of chickens were injected with pVAX1 plasmid or sterile phosphate buffered saline (PBS). The results showed that the anti-EmMIC7 antibody titres in chickens of both rEmMIC7 and pVAX1-MIC7 groups were significantly higher as compared to PBS and pVAX1 control (P maxima challenge in chickens and it could be an effective antigen candidate for the development of new vaccines against E. maxima.

  16. LDL electronegativa: caracterització fisico-química i biològica en individus normolipèmics i hipercolesterolèmics

    OpenAIRE

    Benítez i Gonzàlez, Sònia

    2002-01-01

    Consultable des del TDX Títol obtingut de la portada digitalitzada L'LDL electronegativa (LDL(-)) és una fracció modificada de l'LDL total present en circulació. Vàries evidències indiquen que l'LDL(-) pot presentar característiques aterogèniques, ja que se suggereix que podria estar mínimament oxidada. En la present tesi s'han estudiat les propietats de l'LDL(-) procedent d'individus normolipèmics (NL) i hipercolesterolèmics (HF). Es van avaluar els següents aspectes: 1) Característiqu...

  17. Comparative Antianaerobic Activities of Doripenem Determined by MIC and Time-Kill Analysis▿

    Science.gov (United States)

    Credito, Kim L.; Ednie, Lois M.; Appelbaum, Peter C.

    2008-01-01

    Against 447 anaerobe strains, the investigational carbapenem doripenem had an MIC50 of 0.125 μg/ml and an MIC90 of 1 μg/ml. Results were similar to those for imipenem, meropenem, and ertapenem. Time-kill studies showed that doripenem had very good bactericidal activity compared to other carbapenems, with 99.9% killing of 11 strains at 2× MIC after 48 h. PMID:17938185

  18. El cómic en España: 1977-2007

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Pablo Vergara Díaz

    2009-07-01

    Full Text Available Este artículo pretende repasar las tres últimas décadas del cómic en España. El estudio se realiza valorando la evolución de la industria del cómic, desde sus inicios durante la dictadura y su expansión con la llegada de la democracia hasta la época actual de dificultades y cambios. El auge del cómic se observa en su relevancia creciente dentro de la prensa, en la aceptación de un público que va madurando con el paso del tiempo y, sobre todo, en las ventas de una industria que tiene que adaptarse a nuevas situaciones.

  19. Support for higher ciprofloxacin AUC 24/MIC targets in treating Enterobacteriaceae bloodstream infection.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zelenitsky, Sheryl A; Ariano, Robert E

    2010-08-01

    Given concerns regarding optimal therapy for serious Gram-negative infections, the goal was to characterize the pharmacodynamics of ciprofloxacin in the context of treating bloodstream infection. Data were collected from the medical records of 178 clinical cases. Blood isolates were retrieved and ciprofloxacin MICs were measured. Forty-two cases in which ciprofloxacin was initiated within 24 h of the positive blood culture were used in the pharmacodynamic analysis. Significant factors with regard to treatment failure were low ciprofloxacin AUC(24)/MIC (P AUC(24) (P = 0.01). AUC(24)/MIC (P = 0.012) and MIC (P = 0.019) were significant variables in multivariate analyses; however, only the former remained significant (P = 0.038) after excluding two cases with ciprofloxacin-resistant isolates. An AUC(24)/MIC breakpoint of 250 was most significant, with cure rates of 91.4% (32/35) and 28.6% (2/7) in patients with values above and below this threshold, respectively (P = 0.001). The risk of ciprofloxacin treatment failure was 27.8 times (95% confidence interval, 2.1-333) greater in those not achieving an AUC(24)/MIC >or=250 (P = 0.011). Monte Carlo simulation of 5000 study subjects predicted that 0.88 of the population would achieve an AUC(24)/MIC >or=250 with standard-dose ciprofloxacin (400 mg intravenously every 12 h). This study confirms the pharmacodynamic parameters of ciprofloxacin that are important for optimizing the treatment of serious infections, particularly the benefits of achieving an AUC(24)/MIC >or=250, rather than the conventional target of >or=125. It also shows the relevance of dose selection in optimizing target attainment, with important differences among pathogens, even those with MICs within the susceptible range.

  20. Sucralose Increases Antimicrobial Resistance and Stimulates Recovery of Escherichia coli Mutants.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Qu, Yilin; Li, Rongyan; Jiang, Mingshan; Wang, Xiuhong

    2017-07-01

    Because of heavy use of antimicrobials, antimicrobial resistance in bacteria has become of great concern. The effect of some widely used food additives such as sucralose on bacteria in the gut and the environment has also drawn increasing attention. In this study, we investigated the interaction between antimicrobials and sucralose impacting antimicrobial resistance and mutation of Escherichia coli (E. coli). To examine antimicrobial resistance and mutation frequency, different subinhibitory concentrations of sucralose were added to cultures of E.coli BW25113 that were then treated with antimicrobials, oxolinic acid, or moxifloxacin. Then the E.coli were assayed for bacterial survival and recovery of mutants resistant to an unrelated antimicrobial, rifampicin. Pre-treatment of E.coli BW25113 with 1/2 minimal inhibitory concentration (MIC) of sucralose increased the survival rate in oxolinic acid or moxifloxacin. A 1/3 MIC of sucralose increased rifampicin-resistant mutation rate of E.coli BW25113 after 72 h, while rifampicin-resistant mutation rate was increased when co-treated with 1/8 MIC, 1/4 MIC, 1/3 MIC sucralose, and oxolinic acid after 24 h. Sucralose can increase the antimicrobial resistance and mutation frequency of E.coli to some antimicrobials.

  1. Anti-MIC2 as a tool in examination of testicular biopsies

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Visfeldt, J; Cortes, Dina; Thorup, J M

    1999-01-01

    MIC2 is a pseudoautosomal gene localized on X and Y chromosomes. The MIC2 gene product is a glycoprotein expressed on the cell membranes of a number of somatic cells, including Sertoli cells of the testis, but not on the cell membranes of germ cells. In cases of cryptorchidism, a testicular biopsy...... transverse section is lower than 1% of the lowest normal age-matched value. Besides Sertoli cells the seminiferous tubules in undescended testes contain only a few germ cells, and it may be difficult to pinpoint the germ cells in small biopsies. Especially in nonpalpable testes their number may be heavily...... reduced. A reliable identification of germ cells may also be difficult in cultures of testicular biopsies from undescended testes. Against this background, we tried the use of an immunohistochemical method with DAKO antibody to the MIC2 gene product (MIC2, 12 E7, code no. M3601) in order to obtain...

  2. General technique for the integration of MIC/MMIC'S with waveguides

    Science.gov (United States)

    Geller, Bernard D. (Inventor); Zaghloul, Amir I. (Inventor)

    1987-01-01

    A technique for packaging and integrating of a microwave integrated circuit (MIC) or monolithic microwave integrated circuit (MMIC) with a waveguide uses a printed conductive circuit pattern on a dielectric substrate to transform impedance and mode of propagation between the MIC/MMIC and the waveguide. The virtually coplanar circuit pattern lies on an equipotential surface within the waveguide and therefore makes possible single or dual polarized mode structures.

  3. High-performance computing on the Intel Xeon Phi how to fully exploit MIC architectures

    CERN Document Server

    Wang, Endong; Shen, Bo; Zhang, Guangyong; Lu, Xiaowei; Wu, Qing; Wang, Yajuan

    2014-01-01

    The aim of this book is to explain to high-performance computing (HPC) developers how to utilize the Intel® Xeon Phi™ series products efficiently. To that end, it introduces some computing grammar, programming technology and optimization methods for using many-integrated-core (MIC) platforms and also offers tips and tricks for actual use, based on the authors' first-hand optimization experience.The material is organized in three sections. The first section, "Basics of MIC", introduces the fundamentals of MIC architecture and programming, including the specific Intel MIC programming environment

  4. Colony formation by sublethally heat-injured Zygosaccharomyces rouxii as affected by solutes in the recovery medium and procedure for sterilizing medium.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Golden, D A; Beuchat, L R

    1990-01-01

    Recovery and colony formation by healthy and sublethally heat-injured cells of Zygosaccharomyces rouxii as influenced by the procedure for sterilizing recovery media (YM agar [YMA], wort agar, cornmeal agar, and oatmeal agar) were investigated. Media were supplemented with various concentrations of glucose, sucrose, glycerol, or sorbitol and sterilized by autoclaving (110 degrees C, 15 min) and by repeated treatment with steam (100 degrees C). An increase in sensitivity was observed when heat-injured cells were plated on glucose-supplemented YMA at an aw of 0.880 compared with aws of 0.933 and 0.998. Colonies which developed from unheated and heated cells on YMA at aws of 0.998 and 0.933 generally exceeded 0.5 mm in diameter within 3.5 to 4 days of incubation at 25 degrees C, whereas colonies formed on YMA at an aw of 0.880 typically did not exceed 0.5 mm in diameter until after 5.5 to 6.5 days of incubation. The number of colonies exceeding 0.5 mm in diameter which were formed by heat-injured cells on YMA at an aw of 0.880 was 2 to 3 logs less than the total number of colonies detected, i.e., on YMA at an aw of 0.933 and using no limits of exclusion based on colony diameter. A substantial portion of cells which survived heat treatment were sublethally injured as evidenced by increased sensitivity to a suboptimum aw (0.880). In no instance was recovery of Z. rouxii significantly affected by medium sterilization procedure when glucose or sorbitol was used as the aw-suppressing solute.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS) PMID:2403251

  5. Colony formation by sublethally heat-injured Zygosaccharomyces rouxii as affected by solutes in the recovery medium and procedure for sterilizing medium.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Golden, D A; Beuchat, L R

    1990-08-01

    Recovery and colony formation by healthy and sublethally heat-injured cells of Zygosaccharomyces rouxii as influenced by the procedure for sterilizing recovery media (YM agar [YMA], wort agar, cornmeal agar, and oatmeal agar) were investigated. Media were supplemented with various concentrations of glucose, sucrose, glycerol, or sorbitol and sterilized by autoclaving (110 degrees C, 15 min) and by repeated treatment with steam (100 degrees C). An increase in sensitivity was observed when heat-injured cells were plated on glucose-supplemented YMA at an aw of 0.880 compared with aws of 0.933 and 0.998. Colonies which developed from unheated and heated cells on YMA at aws of 0.998 and 0.933 generally exceeded 0.5 mm in diameter within 3.5 to 4 days of incubation at 25 degrees C, whereas colonies formed on YMA at an aw of 0.880 typically did not exceed 0.5 mm in diameter until after 5.5 to 6.5 days of incubation. The number of colonies exceeding 0.5 mm in diameter which were formed by heat-injured cells on YMA at an aw of 0.880 was 2 to 3 logs less than the total number of colonies detected, i.e., on YMA at an aw of 0.933 and using no limits of exclusion based on colony diameter. A substantial portion of cells which survived heat treatment were sublethally injured as evidenced by increased sensitivity to a suboptimum aw (0.880). In no instance was recovery of Z. rouxii significantly affected by medium sterilization procedure when glucose or sorbitol was used as the aw-suppressing solute.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

  6. Operational measures for the mitigation of MIC [microbiologically influenced corrosion

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Johnson, C.J.

    1989-01-01

    Although entitled Operational Measure, this section of the workshop encompasses aspects of mitigating MIC by controlling the hydraulic characteristics of a system. In order for operational considerations outside of the chemical treatment program to be effective, the system must be designed, constructed or modified, and maintained with MIC in mind. Since other papers in these proceedings discuss in detail the proper selection of materials, chemical treatments and detection of monitoring techniques, this paper is limited to quidelines for mitigating MIC and its effects by the mechanical design, maintenance and operation of the system. The key concept behind this philosophy is the synergistic relationships among microbes and among microbes and larger biofouling organisms. If the slime formers or other marine organisms can be prevented from attaching to the components, conducive environments for attack by other species is avoided

  7. MIC risk in the Halfdan oil export system quantified with a DNA-based diagnostic tool

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Larsen, Jan; Rasmussen, Kim; Andersen, Kenneth [Maersk Oil (Denmark); Holmkvist, Lars [DTI Oil and Gas (Denmark)

    2011-07-01

    The paper presents the risk involved due to microbial influenced corrosion (MIC) using the halfdan oil export system. With growth of assets, scale and microbial fouling, corrosion and souring have increased. Some of the consequences to operators include, safety issues and loss of production. An example of the effects caused by MIC is the Valhall platform in the Norwegian sector, which was shut down for 80 days. Some of the factors causing bacterial growth and MIC are O2, CO2, and H2S, solids. Consideration of four objectives, corrosive products, microbiological activities, microbes, and spatially associating microbes is very important for diagnosing MIC. The objective of the halfdan study was to investigate the corrosion mechanism in the oil export spool section. Observations show severe pitting inside the pipelines. Suggestions for the operator, including the risk assessment of MIC, are given along with a summary of results. It can be concluded that there is a certain need in the industry to understand and act upon MIC.

  8. Guidelines for destructive examination of potential MIC [microbiologically influenced corrosion]-related failures

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Borenstein, S.S.

    1989-01-01

    Microbiologically influenced corrosion (MIC) is recognized as a major cause of pitting corrosion failures in natural waters. In order to alleviate the problem, it is important to establish the exact cause of corrosion. If there is a possibility that the failure is due to MIC, a particularly careful failure analysis must be conducted. MIC can be misdiagnosed as attack due to conventional chloride crevice/pitting corrosion unless specialized techniques are used. Certain techniques generally must be employed, including a careful visual examination, is situ bacterial sampling of residual water, bacterial analysis for corrosion products, radiographic examinations, and metallographic examinations. Other techniques may be necessary, or may be very helpful in the analysis, including culture growth, scanning electron microscopy, and ultrasonic examinations. Metallographic examinations can reveal MIC characteristics such as selective pitting of one phase in duplex stainless steel weldments. The methods of failure analysis and their importance are addressed, including each of the steps in the nondestructive examinations and destructive analyses

  9. Combustion for Enhanced Recovery of Light Oil at Medium Pressures

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Khoshnevis Gargar, N.

    2014-01-01

    Using conventional production methods, recovery percentages from oil reservoirs range from 5% for difficult oil to 50% for light oil in highly permeable homogeneous reservoirs. To increase the oil recovery factor, enhanced oil recovery (EOR) methods are used. We distinguish EOR that uses chemical

  10. Application of mineral insulated cable (MIC) in Tokamak fusion reactor

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Luo Tianyong; Jiang Jiaming; Cen Yishun

    2014-01-01

    To avoid the instability of plasma and achieve some experimental tasks in Tokamak fusion reactor, many in-vessel coils are designed such as the coils to mitigate the effect of Edge Localized Modes (ELMs coils) and the coils to provide vertical stabilization (VS coils). The in-vessel location presents special challenges in terms of nuclear radiation and temperature, and requires the use of mineral-insulated conductors. The in-vessel coils in ITER are designed to be Mineral-insulated Cable (MIC) with three-layer structures. The inner is hollow-core tube made by OFHC or CuCrZr, the middle is the insulation layer made by Mgo and the outer is the jacket by SS316L or Inconel 718. To control the effect of Edge Localized Modes and vertical instability of plasma, the MIC in-vessel coils shall be used in HL-2M. More details about the application of MIC in Tokamak fusion reactor will be shown in this report. (authors)

  11. Analysis of the Sarcocystis neurona microneme protein SnMIC10: protein characteristics and expression during intracellular development.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hoane, Jessica S; Carruthers, Vernon B; Striepen, Boris; Morrison, David P; Entzeroth, Rolf; Howe, Daniel K

    2003-07-01

    Sarcocystis neurona, an apicomplexan parasite, is the primary causative agent of equine protozoal myeloencephalitis. Like other members of the Apicomplexa, S. neurona zoites possess secretory organelles that contain proteins necessary for host cell invasion and intracellular survival. From a collection of S. neurona expressed sequence tags, we identified a sequence encoding a putative microneme protein based on similarity to Toxoplasma gondii MIC10 (TgMIC10). Pairwise sequence alignments of SnMIC10 to TgMIC10 and NcMIC10 from Neospora caninum revealed approximately 33% identity to both orthologues. The open reading frame of the S. neurona gene encodes a 255 amino acid protein with a predicted 39-residue signal peptide. Like TgMIC10 and NcMIC10, SnMIC10 is predicted to be hydrophilic, highly alpha-helical in structure, and devoid of identifiable adhesive domains. Antibodies raised against recombinant SnMIC10 recognised a protein band with an apparent molecular weight of 24 kDa in Western blots of S. neurona merozoites, consistent with the size predicted for SnMIC10. In vitro secretion assays demonstrated that this protein is secreted by extracellular merozoites in a temperature-dependent manner. Indirect immunofluorescence analysis of SnMIC10 showed a polar labelling pattern, which is consistent with the apical position of the micronemes, and immunoelectron microscopy provided definitive localisation of the protein to these secretory organelles. Further analysis of SnMIC10 in intracellular parasites revealed that expression of this protein is temporally regulated during endopolygeny, supporting the view that micronemes are only needed during host cell invasion. Collectively, the data indicate that SnMIC10 is a microneme protein that is part of the excreted/secreted antigen fraction of S. neurona. Identification and characterisation of additional S. neurona microneme antigens and comparisons to orthologues in other Apicomplexa could provide further insight into the

  12. Comparison of Neisseria gonorrhoeae MICs Obtained by Etest and Agar Dilution for Ceftriaxone, Cefpodoxime, Cefixime and Azithromycin.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gose, Severin; Kong, Carol J; Lee, Yer; Samuel, Michael C; Bauer, Heidi M; Dixon, Paula; Soge, Olusegun O; Lei, John; Pandori, Mark

    2013-10-24

    We evaluated Neisseria gonorrhoeae Etest minimum inhibitory concentrations (MICs) relative to agar dilution MICs for 664 urethral isolates for ceftriaxone (CRO) and azithromycin (AZM), 351 isolates for cefpodoxime (CPD) and 315 isolates for cefixime (CFM). Etest accurately determined CPD, CFM and AZM MICs, but resulted in higher CRO MICs. © 2013. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  13. Threshold SRB populations for MIC of stainless alloys

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Angell, P.; Urbanic, K.; Gendron, T.S.

    1997-12-01

    The three CANDU reactor sites on the Great Lakes exhibit differences in susceptibility to microbially influenced corrosion (MIC) of heat exchanger tubes, despite similar colonization of sulfate-reducing bacteria (SRB). Therefore, it was suspected that bacterial activity, rather than numbers, is responsible for pit initiation. Accelerated corrosion tests are being used to examine the relationship between SRB colonization and pitting activity on stainless alloy heat exchanger tubes. Experimental conditions model those of the natural systems. At present, there appears to be little correlation between bacterial numbers and pit initiation. However, there does appear to be a correlation between bacterial activity (causing a decrease in corrosion potential, as a function of sulfide production), and pit initiation. Data are being collected to develop a model to predict MIC for the CHECWORKS service water module. (author)

  14. A Novel and Validated Protocol for Performing MIC Tests to Determine the Susceptibility of Piscirickettsia salmonis Isolates to Florfenicol and Oxytetracycline

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sergio Contreras-Lynch

    2017-07-01

    Full Text Available This paper presents a validated protocol, using a novel, specifically formulated medium, to perform broth microdilution antimicrobial susceptibility assays of the salmonid bacterial pathogen Piscirickettsia salmonis. The minimum inhibitory concentrations (MIC for florfenicol and oxytetracycline against 58 P. salmonis isolates recovered from various outbreaks occurred in Chilean salmonid farms were determined using this protocol. Normalized resistance interpretation (NRI analysis was applied to these data to calculate appropriate protocol-specific epidemiological cut-off values. These cut-off values allow the isolates to be categorized as either fully susceptible wild type (WT members of this species, or as manifesting reduced susceptibility non-wild type (NWT. The distribution of MIC values of florfenicol was bimodal and the distribution of the normalized values for the putative WT observation had a standard deviation of 0.896 log2 μg mL-1. This analysis calculated a cut-off value of ≤0.25 μg mL-1 and categorized 33 (56% of the isolates as manifesting reduced susceptibility to florfenicol. For the oxytetracycline MIC data the NRI analysis also treated the distribution as bimodal. The distribution of the normalized values for the putative WT observation had a standard deviation of 0.951 log2 μg mL-1. This analysis gave a cut-off value of ≤0.5 μg mL-1 and categorized five isolates (9% as manifesting reduced susceptibility to oxytetracycline. The susceptibility testing protocol developed in this study was capable of generating MIC data from all the isolates tested. On the basis of the precision of the data it generated, and the degree of separation of values for WT and NWT it achieved, it is argued that this protocol has the performance characteristics necessary for it to be considered as a standard protocol.

  15. micROS: a morphable, intelligent and collective robot operating system.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yang, Xuejun; Dai, Huadong; Yi, Xiaodong; Wang, Yanzhen; Yang, Shaowu; Zhang, Bo; Wang, Zhiyuan; Zhou, Yun; Peng, Xuefeng

    2016-01-01

    Robots are developing in much the same way that personal computers did 40 years ago, and robot operating system is the critical basis. Current robot software is mainly designed for individual robots. We present in this paper the design of micROS, a morphable, intelligent and collective robot operating system for future collective and collaborative robots. We first present the architecture of micROS, including the distributed architecture for collective robot system as a whole and the layered architecture for every single node. We then present the design of autonomous behavior management based on the observe-orient-decide-act cognitive behavior model and the design of collective intelligence including collective perception, collective cognition, collective game and collective dynamics. We also give the design of morphable resource management, which first categorizes robot resources into physical, information, cognitive and social domains, and then achieve morphability based on self-adaptive software technology. We finally deploy micROS on NuBot football robots and achieve significant improvement in real-time performance.

  16. Rapid Isolation and Susceptibility Testing of Leptospira spp. Using a New Solid Medium, LVW Agar

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wuthiekanun, Vanaporn; Amornchai, Premjit; Paris, Daniel H.; Langla, Sayan; Thaipadunpanit, Janjira; Chierakul, Wirongrong; Smythe, Lee D.; White, Nicholas J.; Day, Nicholas P. J.; Peacock, Sharon J.

    2013-01-01

    Pathogenic Leptospira spp., the causative agents of leptospirosis, are slow-growing Gram-negative spirochetes. Isolation of Leptospira from clinical samples and testing of antimicrobial susceptibility are difficult and time-consuming. Here, we describe the development of a new solid medium that facilitates more-rapid growth of Leptospira spp. and the use of this medium to evaluate the Etest's performance in determining antimicrobial MICs to drugs in common use for leptospirosis. The medium was developed by evaluating the effects of numerous factors on the growth rate of Leptospira interrogans strain NR-20157. These included the type of base agar, the concentration of rabbit serum (RS), and the concentration and duration of CO2 incubation during the initial period of culture. The highest growth rate of NR-20157 was achieved using a Noble agar base supplemented with 10% RS (named LVW agar), with an initial incubation at 30°C in 5% CO2 for 2 days prior to continuous culture in air at 30°C. These conditions were used to develop the Etest for three species, L. interrogans (NR-20161), L. kirschnerii (NR-20327), and L. borgpetersenii (NR-20151). The MICs were read on day 7 for all samples. The Etest was then performed on 109 isolates of pathogenic Leptospira spp. The MIC90 values for penicillin G, doxycycline, cefotaxime, ceftriaxone, and chloramphenicol were 0.64 units/ml and 0.19, 0.047, 0.5, and 2 μg/ml, respectively. The use of LVW agar, which enables rapid growth, isolation of single colonies, and simple antimicrobial susceptibility testing for Leptospira spp., provides an opportunity for new areas of fundamental and applied research. PMID:23114772

  17. MiMIC: a highly versatile transposon insertion resource for engineering Drosophila melanogaster genes

    Science.gov (United States)

    Venken, Koen J. T.; Schulze, Karen L.; Haelterman, Nele A.; Pan, Hongling; He, Yuchun; Evans-Holm, Martha; Carlson, Joseph W.; Levis, Robert W.; Spradling, Allan C.; Hoskins, Roger A.; Bellen, Hugo J.

    2011-01-01

    We demonstrate the versatility of a collection of insertions of the transposon Minos mediated integration cassette (MiMIC), in Drosophila melanogaster. MiMIC contains a gene-trap cassette and the yellow+ marker flanked by two inverted bacteriophage ΦC31 attP sites. MiMIC integrates almost at random in the genome to create sites for DNA manipulation. The attP sites allow the replacement of the intervening sequence of the transposon with any other sequence through recombinase mediated cassette exchange (RMCE). We can revert insertions that function as gene traps and cause mutant phenotypes to wild type by RMCE and modify insertions to control GAL4 or QF overexpression systems or perform lineage analysis using the Flp system. Insertions within coding introns can be exchanged with protein-tag cassettes to create fusion proteins to follow protein expression and perform biochemical experiments. The applications of MiMIC vastly extend the Drosophila melanogaster toolkit. PMID:21985007

  18. Growing interest in MIC

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Crum, J.R.; Little, B.J.

    1991-01-01

    Although corrosion has not caused a major nuclear accident, it has resulted in degraded nuclear systems and components, unscheduled shut-downs and loss of productivity. From 1981 to 1988, operating and maintenance costs for nuclear plants more than doubled, while plant capacity increased by only 10%. And as nuclear plants age, service water system problems cause losses in capacity. Many corrosion failures in these systems cannot be understood, controlled or prevented using theories based on classic, abiotic corrosion mechanisms. But research has now identified microbiologically influenced corrosion (MIC - corrosion caused by the presence and activities of micro-organisms within biofilms on metals surfaces) as the cause of otherwise unexplained corrosion failures. Some prevention and control measures are examined. (author)

  19. Discrepancy in Vancomycin AUC/MIC Ratio Targeted Attainment Based upon the Susceptibility Testing in Staphylococcus aureus.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Eum, Seenae; Bergsbaken, Robert L; Harvey, Craig L; Warren, J Bryan; Rotschafer, John C

    2016-09-27

    This study demonstrated a statistically significant difference in vancomycin minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) for Staphylococcus aureus between a common automated system (Vitek 2) and the E-test method in patients with S. aureus bloodstream infections. At an area under the serum concentration time curve (AUC) threshold of 400 mg∙h/L, we would have reached the current Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA)/American Society of Health System Pharmacists (ASHP)/Society of Infectious Diseases Pharmacists (SIDP) guideline suggested AUC/MIC target in almost 100% of patients while using the Vitek 2 MIC data; however, we could only generate 40% target attainment while using E-test MIC data ( p AUC of 450 mg∙h/L or greater was required to achieve 100% target attainment using either Vitek 2 or E-test MIC results.

  20. Traducción de cómic americano, superhéroes y chimichangas

    OpenAIRE

    Gonzalbes Valenzuela, Carla

    2015-01-01

    El objetivo de este trabajo es estudiar el proceso de traducción de un cómic americano. Consiste de una traducción de varios fragmentos de un cómic de Marvel de Masacre (Deadpool, en inglés) y un posterior análisis de dicha traducción, en el que se comentan los problemas que han surgido, se explica la solución al problema y se justifican las decisiones tomadas L'objectiu d'aquest treball és estudiar el procés de traducció d'un còmic americà. Consisteix en la traducció de diversos fragments...

  1. [Comparison of four MICS intraocular lenses regarding their rates of neodymium:YAG laser capsulotomy].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Spyridaki, M; Höh, H

    2010-03-01

    The aim of this study was to evaluate the incidence of posterior capsule opacification up to 50 months following 1.7-mm bimanual MICS-cataract surgery. Bimanual MICS cataract surgery was performed in 197 eyes (135 patients) via two 1.7-mm corneal incisions. Four MICS acrylic foldable IOLs were implanted: AcriSmart 48S-5, n = 54 (Acritec GmbH, Hennigsdorf, now AT.Smart 48S Carl-Zeiss-Meditec, AG, Jena, Germany), ThinLens UltraChoice 1.0, n = 53 (Technomed GmbH, Baesweiler, Germany), AcriFlex 46, n = 41 und AcriFlex 48 CSE, n = 7 (Acrimed GmbH, Berlin, now: Lentis L-303, Oculentis GmbH, Berlin, Germany) and CareFlex, n = 43 (w2o Medizintechnik AG, Bruchsal, Germany). Statistical analysis was performed using the Kaplan-Meier technique. High levels of completeness of follow-up rates were: ThinLens 96%, CareFlex 100%, AcriSmart 93%, AcriFlex 92%. The capsulotomy rate was 43.13% for ThinLens within a mean/max. follow-up period of 801/1131 days, 34.88% for CareFlex (565/872 days), 40% for AcriSmart (988/1506 days) and 15.91% for AcriFlex (728/975 days). By limiting the follow-up period to a comparable maximum of 850 days for all four IOLs, our capsulotomy rates were as follows: ThinLens 33.33%, CareFlex 32.56 %, AcriSmart 20.0% and AcriFlex 11.36%. MICS IOLs have higher capsulotomy rates than hydrophobic acrylic lenses and sharp-edged silicone lenses. In literature comparisons MICS-IOLs do not exceed the variance levels of capsulotomy rates of PMMA, hydrophilic acrylic and silicone lenses without sharp edges. Cases of decentration or luxation of MICS-IOLs following Neodym:YAG laser capsulotomy were not detected. Capsulotomy frequency with the CareFlex was statistically significantly higher in comparison to the AcriSmart (Log Rank Mantel Cox Test, p = 0.007) and AcriFlex (log rank Mantel Cox test, p = 0.002). Capsulotomy rates observed varied for the four MICS-IOL-types tested. The posterior capsule opacification frequency of the two best MICS-IOLs (AcriFlex, Acri

  2. Evaluation of vancomycin MIC creep in methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus infections-a systematic review and meta-analysis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Diaz, R; Afreixo, V; Ramalheira, E; Rodrigues, C; Gago, B

    2018-02-01

    Vancomycin is currently the primary option treatment for methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA). However, an increasing number of MRSA isolates with high MICs, within the susceptible range (vancomycin MIC creep), are being reported worldwide. Resorting to a meta-analysis approach, this study aims to assess the evidence of vancomycin MIC creep. We searched for studies in the PubMed database. The inclusion criteria for study eligibility included the possibility of retrieving the reported data values of vancomycin MIC and information concerning the applied MIC methodology. The mean values of vancomycin MICs, of all 29 234 S. aureus isolates reported in the 55 studies included in the meta-analysis, were 1.23 mg/L (95% CI 1.13-1.33) and 1.20 mg/L (95% CI 1.13-1.28) determined by Etest and broth microdilution method, respectively. No significant differences were observed between these two methodologies. We found negative correlation between pooled mean/pooled proportion and time strata. We have found no evidence of the MIC creep phenomenon. Copyright © 2017 European Society of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  3. Balancing vancomycin efficacy and nephrotoxicity: should we be aiming for trough or AUC/MIC?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Patel, Karisma; Crumby, Ashley S; Maples, Holly D

    2015-04-01

    Sixty years later, the question that still remains is how to appropriately utilize vancomycin in the pediatric population. The Infectious Diseases Society of America published guidelines in 2011 that provide guidance for dosing and monitoring of vancomycin in adults and pediatrics. However, goal vancomycin trough concentrations of 15-20 μg/mL for invasive infections caused by methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus were based primarily on adult pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic data that achieved an area under the curve to minimum inhibitory concentration ratio (AUC/MIC) of ≥400. Recent pediatric literature shows that vancomycin trough concentrations needed to achieve the target AUC/MIC are different than the adult goal troughs cited in the guidelines. This paper addresses several thoughts, including the role of vancomycin AUC/MIC in dosing strategies and safety monitoring, consistency in laboratory reporting, and future directions for calculating AUC/MIC in pediatrics.

  4. CoMIC, the hidden dynamics of mitochondrial inner compartments.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cho, Bongki; Sun, Woong

    2017-12-01

    Mitochondria have evolutionarily, functionally and structurally distinct outer- (OMM) and inner-membranes (IMM). Thus, mitochondrial morphology is controlled by independent but coordinated activity of fission and fusion of the OMM and IMM. Constriction and division of the OMM are mediated by endocytosis-like machineries, which include dynamin-related protein 1 with additional cytosolic vesicle scissoring machineries such as actin filament and Dynamin 2. However, structural alteration of the IMM during mitochondrial division has been poorly understood. Recently, we found that the IMM and the inner compartments undergo transient and reversible constriction prior to the OMM division, which we termed CoMIC, Constriction of Mitochondrial Inner Compartment. In this short review, we further discuss the evolutionary perspective and the regulatory mechanism of CoMIC during mitochondrial division. [BMB Reports 2017; 50(12): 597-598].

  5. EL ESTADO DE LA CIENCIA. INVESTIGACIÓN Y CÓMIC

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Michel Matly

    2017-03-01

    Full Text Available La investigación académica sobre el cómic español y latinoamericano es un mundo pequeño, sin memoria, poco organizado e insuficientemente conocido por sus propios miembros. Al contrario de otras disciplinas científicas, existe poca tradición de colaboración, pocas dinámicas de equipo o escuelas de pensamiento identificables como tal. La capitalización de su memoria se enfrenta a dificultades, unas externas, otras internas: los cómics antiguos y descatalogados no han sido conservados en un sistema coherente de bibliotecas y son de difícil acceso; casi no existen revistas indexadas donde publicar; los mismos trabajos científicos sobre el cómic están dispersos y sin indexar, complicando el trabajo de nuevos investigadores. El crecimiento durante estas últimas décadas de dicho sector de investigación abre nuevas oportunidades y a la vez crea nuevas obligaciones. El número creciente de investigadores abre más perspectivas para potenciar núcleos de pensamiento y desarrollar colaboraciones y competiciones, bases del avance científico. Estamos también a tiempo de organizar la bibliografía científica dedicada al cómic en español. En fin, la investigación debe aprender a desarrollar puentes entre los mundos académico y no académico, para encontrar cómo desarrollar una red de publicaciones científicas digitales y beneficiarse del importante trabajo de memoria realizado a través del mundo hispanista por comunidades de apasionados que recuperan y ponen a disposición de los interesados obras antiguas hasta ahora perdidas.

  6. Dielectric recovery mechanism of pressurized carbon dioxide at liquid and supercritical phases

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tanoue, Hiroyuki; Furusato, Tomohiro; Imamichi, Takahiro; Ota, Miyuki; Katsuki, Sunao; Akiyama, Hidenori

    2015-09-01

    Estimates of dielectric recovery rates of supercritical (SC) and liquid carbon dioxide (CO2) were derived with focus on highly-repetitive pulsed power switching mediums. Calculated results suggest that recovery time of SC and liquid CO2 are approximately 50 times shorter than that of water and oils. Prior to 10 µs after breakdown, recovery rates in neither SC nor liquid CO2 reached 100%, though the recovery rate in SC CO2 was higher than that of liquid CO2. To examine causes of recovery rate differences, each dielectric recovery process in SC and liquid CO2 was observed by laser shadowgraph technique. These shadowgraph images suggest two factors explaining dielectric recovery rate differences between these medium conditions: 1) thermodynamic property differences between medium conditions, and 2) differences in the low density region recovery mechanism.

  7. ECONOMIC POTENTIAL RECOVERY – A EUROPEAN CHALLENGE IN THE MEDIUM TERM

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Rãdulescu Andrei

    2012-12-01

    Full Text Available The waves of the worst global financial and economic crisis since World War II have seriously affected the economy of the Euro Area. The first wave of the global crisis determined the worst recession in decades for the member states of the region. At present, the Monetary Union is confronted with the second wave of the crisis – the public debt problem. Despite the efforts adopted and implemented by the European policymakers over the past quarters, the sovereign debt crisis is far from over. Spain has recently become the “favourite target” of the financial markets. Among the consequences of the waves of the crisis for the Euro Area one can mention the potential output decline and the economic divergence (asymmetric evolution of member countries. In this context, the potential output recovery and the relaunch of the real economic convergence process represent the main challenges for the policymakers in the medium run. This paper analyses the evolution of potential GDP of the member countries of European Monetary Union (12. I employ the Hodrick-Prescott methodology on data from the World Bank Database. According to the results, the economic potential of the member states of the Euro Area (12 decreased to the lowest level of the past decades. At the same time, the analysis presents the differences exiting across the member states in terms of potential output. Some countries suffered an important potential output loss over the past quarters (it seems that Greece and Portugal have become asymmetric shocks in the Monetary Union. For these countries, the first wave of the global crisis transformed in a permanent shock. The decline of investments and the depreciation of human capital over the past quarters express a huge probability that potential output is going to maintain at a low level in the Euro Area over the following years. The recovery of potential GDP towards the pre-crisis levels is dependent on a higher participation rate

  8. Is There an Opportunity for Current Chemotherapeutics to Up-regulate MIC-A/B Ligands?

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Kendel Quirk

    2017-10-01

    Full Text Available Natural killer (NK cells are critical effectors of the immune system. NK cells recognize unhealthy cells by specific ligands [e.g., MHC- class I chain related protein A or B (MIC-A/B] for further elimination by cytotoxicity. Paradoxically, cancer cells down-regulate MIC-A/B and evade NK cell’s anticancer activity. Recent data indicate that cellular-stress induces MIC-A/B, leading to enhanced sensitivity of cancer cells to NK cell-mediated cytotoxicity. In this Perspective article, we hypothesize that current chemotherapeutics at sub-lethal, non-toxic dose may promote cellular-stress and up-regulate the expression of MIC-A/B ligands to augment cancer’s sensitivity to NK cell-mediated cytotoxicity. Preliminary data from two human breast cancer cell lines, MDA-MB-231 and T47D treated with clinically relevant therapeutics such as doxorubicin, paclitaxel and methotrexate support the hypothesis. The goal of this Perspective is to underscore the prospects of current chemotherapeutics in NK cell immunotherapy, and discuss potential challenges and opportunities to improve cancer therapy.

  9. The need to assay the real MIC when making the decision to eradicate Staphylococcus aureus with vancomycin

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Hanna Tomczak

    2013-09-01

    Full Text Available Purpose: The aim of the study was a comparison of the MIC (minimal inhibitory concentration evaluated in the automatic system Vitek 2 and the real MIC of vancomycin by the Etest method for S. aureus strains isolated from clinical materials.Material and Methods: Over a twelve-month study period we compared the results obtained with two commercial methods – the automatic system VITEK 2 and the real MIC by Etest – for 359 strains of S. aureus isolated from clinical materials.Results: Most of the strains of S. aureus were cultured from wounds (84, the ear (60 and nose (42. MSSA (methicillin-sensitive Staphylococcus aureus was isolated in 342 cases and MRSA (methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus in 17 cases. The test with the Vitek automatic method showed that vancomycin had MIC values of ≤1.0 μg/ml in more than 96�0and 2.0 μg/ml in over 3�0of cases. Using the Etest technique MIC ≤ 1.0 μg/ml was obtained in only 16.4�0of cases and values of >1.0 μg/ml in 83.6�0of cases.Discussion: In view of such big differences between the MIC values obtained with the two methods the authors suggest that the Etest method of assaying the real MIC is more useful than the automatic method.

  10. Development of biological coal gasification (MicGAS process). Final report, May 1, 1990--May 31, 1995

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    NONE

    1998-12-31

    ARCTECH has developed a novel process (MicGAS) for direct, anaerobic biomethanation of coals. Biomethanation potential of coals of different ranks (Anthracite, bitumious, sub-bitumious, and lignites of different types), by various microbial consortia, was investigated. Studies on biogasification of Texas Lignite (TxL) were conducted with a proprietary microbial consortium, Mic-1, isolated from hind guts of soil eating termites (Zootermopsis and Nasutitermes sp.) and further improved at ARCTECH. Various microbial populations of the Mic-1 consortium carry out the multi-step MicGAS Process. First, the primary coal degraders, or hydrolytic microbes, degrade the coal to high molecular weight (MW) compounds. Then acedogens ferment the high MW compounds to low MW volatile fatty acids. The volatile fatty acids are converted to acetate by acetogens, and the methanogens complete the biomethanation by converting acetate and CO{sub 2} to methane.

  11. En el umbral. El cómic español contemporáneo

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    García, Santiago

    2011-09-01

    Full Text Available These days, when we talk about contemporary Spanish comics, or comics produced primarily in Spain for the Spanish market, we have to contemplate two main trends: the graphic novel and the humor comics. The fall of the traditional industry opened the door to the realization of authoral ambitions that previous generations of artists couldn’t fulfil.

    En la actualidad, cuando hablamos de cómic español contemporáneo, es decir, cuando nos referimos a cómics producidos en España y para el mercado español en primer lugar, tenemos que tener en cuenta dos corrientes principalmente: la novela gráfica y el cómic de humor. La caída de la industria tradicional ha abierto el camino para que se cumplan las aspiraciones autorales que durante décadas tuvieron muchos dibujantes españoles.

  12. High MICs for Vancomycin and Daptomycin and Complicated Catheter-Related Bloodstream Infections with Methicillin-Sensitive Staphylococcus aureus

    Science.gov (United States)

    Viedma, Esther; Chaves, Fernando; Lalueza, Antonio; Fortún, Jesús; Loza, Elena; Pujol, Miquel; Ardanuy, Carmen; Morales, Isabel; de Cueto, Marina; Resino-Foz, Elena; Morales-Cartagena, Alejandra; Rico, Alicia; Romero, María P.; Orellana, María Ángeles; López-Medrano, Francisco; Fernández-Ruiz, Mario; Aguado, José María

    2016-01-01

    We investigated the prognostic role of high MICs for antistaphylococcal agents in patients with methicillin-sensitive Staphylococcus aureus catheter-related bloodstream infection (MSSA CRBSI). We prospectively reviewed 83 episodes from 5 centers in Spain during April 2011–June 2014 that had optimized clinical management and analyzed the relationship between E-test MICs for vancomycin, daptomycin, oxacillin, and linezolid and development of complicated bacteremia by using multivariate analysis. Complicated MSSA CRBSI occurred in 26 (31.3%) patients; MICs for vancomycin and daptomycin were higher in these patients (optimal cutoff values for predictive accuracy = 1.5 μg/mL and 0.5 μg/mL). High MICs for vancomycin (hazard ratio 2.4, 95% CI 1.2–5.5) and daptomycin (hazard ratio 2.4, 95% CI 1.1–5.9) were independent risk factors for development of complicated MSSA CRBSI. Our data suggest that patients with MSSA CRBSI caused by strains that have high MICs for vancomycin or daptomycin are at increased risk for complications. PMID:27192097

  13. Multi-Kepler GPU vs. multi-Intel MIC for spin systems simulations

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bernaschi, M.; Bisson, M.; Salvadore, F.

    2014-10-01

    We present and compare the performances of two many-core architectures: the Nvidia Kepler and the Intel MIC both in a single system and in cluster configuration for the simulation of spin systems. As a benchmark we consider the time required to update a single spin of the 3D Heisenberg spin glass model by using the Over-relaxation algorithm. We present data also for a traditional high-end multi-core architecture: the Intel Sandy Bridge. The results show that although on the two Intel architectures it is possible to use basically the same code, the performances of a Intel MIC change dramatically depending on (apparently) minor details. Another issue is that to obtain a reasonable scalability with the Intel Phi coprocessor (Phi is the coprocessor that implements the MIC architecture) in a cluster configuration it is necessary to use the so-called offload mode which reduces the performances of the single system. As to the GPU, the Kepler architecture offers a clear advantage with respect to the previous Fermi architecture maintaining exactly the same source code. Scalability of the multi-GPU implementation remains very good by using the CPU as a communication co-processor of the GPU. All source codes are provided for inspection and for double-checking the results.

  14. El aprovechamiento del cómic como herramienta didáctica desde el enfoque comunicativo

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Isabel García Martínez

    2015-10-01

    Full Text Available El cómic es un recurso que, en muchos casos, se utiliza de modo anecdótico en el aula y con una función puramente de entretenimiento, sin dar muchas veces la importancia que se merece a lo que muchos consideran el noveno arte. Esta experiencia práctica pretende mostrar la idoneidad y la versatilidad de este medio narrativo en el aula de español como lengua extranjera. Tras un breve acercamiento teórico al uso del cómic en el aula de E/LE, se presentan los resultados de un análisis previo sobre la presencia de cómics en los manuales de E/LE. Las diferentes aplicaciones didácticas que se presentan, dirigidas a diferentes niveles que oscilan desde el nivel B1 hasta el C2, suplen las carencias detectadas en el mencionado análisis, utilizan cómics españoles e hispanoamericanos, y fomentan el uso de las TIC y los álbumes completos.

  15. Efecto del EcoMic® en la emergencia de plántulas de Jatropha curcas (Nota Técnica Effect of EcoMic® on the emergence of Jatropha curcas seedlings (Technical Note

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Yolai Noda

    2012-12-01

    Full Text Available Con el objetivo de estudiar el efecto del EcoMic® en la emergencia de las plántulas de Jatropha curcas, se hizo una prueba de observación en el laboratorio de análisis químico de la Estación Experimental de Pastos y Forrajes «Indio Hatuey». Se usaron semillas recién cosechadas, en dos tratamientos: semillas inoculadas con EcoMic® (T1, y sin inóculo (T2, con cuatro réplicas de 100 semillas cada una. Se utilizó un diseño totalmente aleatorizado y se realizaron 15 observaciones (a los 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15 y 16 días de emergencia. Las medias se compararon a través de un análisis descriptivo. El efecto del T1 fue notable durante todo el período; a partir del cuarto día se observaron 45 plántulas emergidas, lo que representó el 11,2% del total de las tratadas con este biofertilizante, y el último día del estudio había emergido el 96,2%. En el T2 no se observaron plántulas emergidas en ningún momento. Se concluye que el EcoMic® ejerció un efecto positivo en la emergencia de las plántulas de J. curcas al ser utilizado como inóculo en condiciones de laboratorio. Se recomienda realizar estudios pregerminativos para determinar la dormancia en la semilla de Jatropha, teniendo en cuenta el empleo del EcoMic® como uno de los tratamientos.In order to study the effect of EcoMic® on the emergence of Jatropha curcas seedlings, an observation test was conducted in the laboratory of chemical analysis of the Experimental Station of Pastures and Forages «Indio Hatuey». Newly-harvested seeds were used, in two treatments: seeds inoculated with EcoMic® (T1, and without inoculation (T2, with four replications of 100 seeds each. A completely randomized design was used and 15 observations were made (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15 and 16 days after emergence. The means were compared through a descriptive analysis. The effect of T1 was remarkable throughout the period; since the fourth day 45

  16. Macrophage inhibitory cytokine-1 (MIC-1/GDF15 slows cancer development but increases metastases in TRAMP prostate cancer prone mice.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Yasmin Husaini

    Full Text Available Macrophage inhibitory cytokine-1 (MIC-1/GDF15, a divergent member of the TGF-β superfamily, is over-expressed by many common cancers including those of the prostate (PCa and its expression is linked to cancer outcome. We have evaluated the effect of MIC-1/GDF15 overexpression on PCa development and spread in the TRAMP transgenic model of spontaneous prostate cancer. TRAMP mice were crossed with MIC-1/GDF15 overexpressing mice (MIC-1(fms to produce syngeneic TRAMP(fmsmic-1 mice. Survival rate, prostate tumor size, histopathological grades and extent of distant organ metastases were compared. Metastasis of TC1-T5, an androgen independent TRAMP cell line that lacks MIC-1/GDF15 expression, was compared by injecting intravenously into MIC-1(fms and syngeneic C57BL/6 mice. Whilst TRAMP(fmsmic-1 survived on average 7.4 weeks longer, had significantly smaller genitourinary (GU tumors and lower PCa histopathological grades than TRAMP mice, more of these mice developed distant organ metastases. Additionally, a higher number of TC1-T5 lung tumor colonies were observed in MIC-1(fms mice than syngeneic WT C57BL/6 mice. Our studies strongly suggest that MIC-1/GDF15 has complex actions on tumor behavior: it limits local tumor growth but may with advancing disease, promote metastases. As MIC-1/GDF15 is induced by all cancer treatments and metastasis is the major cause of cancer treatment failure and cancer deaths, these results, if applicable to humans, may have a direct impact on patient care.

  17. An investigation of microbial diversity in crude oil & seawater injection systems and microbiologically influenced corrosion (MIC) of linepipe steels under different exposure conditions

    Science.gov (United States)

    AlAbbas, Faisal Mohammed

    reduced the biocorrosion rate by approximately 50%. Neem significantly reduced the contribution of SRB in the corrosion process by minimizing the growth of cells, which subsequently suppressed the production of sulfide, density of sessile cells and development of biofilm. Moreover, the Neem extracts might provide an organic coating that protects the surface against the medium. The work provided by this research will expand the MIC knowledge within the oil and gas industry and will improve monitoring and prevention strategies and direct future research of MIC-related issues, such as microbial injection inhibitors aided with magnetic fields applications and environmentally friendly biocides.

  18. Predominant MIC Mechanisms in the Oil and Gas Industry

    Science.gov (United States)

    literature, terms such as microbial corrosion, biocorrosion, microbially influenced/induced corrosion, and biodegradation are often applied. All descriptions...express that microorganisms (bacteria, archaea, and fungi) influence the corrosion process of a given material. In this chapter, an overview of the common MIC mechanisms encountered in the oil and gas industry is presented.

  19. Management and control of microbiologically influenced corrosion (MIC) in the oil and gas industry - Overview and a North Sea case study

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Skovhus, Torben Lund; Eckert, Richard B; Rodrigues, Edgar

    2017-01-01

    the oil and gas industry has seen regarding MIC research over the past decade. The paper starts out with an overview of where in the process stream MIC occurs - from the oil reservoir to the consumer. Both biotic and abiotic corrosion mechanisms are explained in the context of managing MIC using...... to manage the corrosion threat, operators commonly use models to support decision making. The models use qualitative, semi-quantitative or quantitative measures to help assess the rate of degradation caused by MIC. The paper reviews four existing models for MIC Threat Assessment and describe a new model...

  20. The Relationship Between Vancomycin Trough Concentrations and AUC/MIC Ratios in Pediatric Patients: A Qualitative Systematic Review.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tkachuk, Stacey; Collins, Kyle; Ensom, Mary H H

    2018-04-01

    In adults, the area under the concentration-time curve (AUC) divided by the minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) is associated with better clinical and bacteriological response to vancomycin in patients with methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus who achieve target AUC/MIC ≥ 400. This target is often extrapolated to pediatric patients despite the lack of similar evidence. The impracticalities of calculating the AUC in practice means vancomycin trough concentrations are used to predict the AUC/MIC. This review aimed to determine the relationship between vancomycin trough concentrations and AUC/MIC in pediatric patients. We searched the MEDLINE and Embase databases, the Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, and the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials using the medical subject heading (MeSH) terms vancomycin and AUC and pediatric* or paediatric*. Articles were included if they were published in English and reported a relationship between vancomycin trough concentrations and AUC/MIC. Of 122 articles retrieved, 11 met the inclusion criteria. One trial reported a relationship between vancomycin trough concentrations, AUC/MIC, and clinical outcomes but was likely underpowered. Five studies found troughs 6-10 mg/l were sufficient to attain an AUC/MIC > 400 in most general hospitalized pediatric patients. One study in patients undergoing cardiothoracic surgery found a trough of 18.4 mg/l achieved an AUC/MIC > 400. Two oncology studies reported troughs ≥ 15 mg/l likely attained an AUC/MIC ≥ 400. In critical care patients: one study found a trough of 9 mg/l did not attain the AUC/MIC target; another found 7 mg/l corresponded to an AUC/MIC of 400. Potential vancomycin targets varied based on the population studied but, for general hospitalized pediatric patients, troughs of 6-10 mg/l are likely sufficient to achieve AUC/MIC ≥ 400. For MIC ≥ 2 mg/l, higher troughs are likely necessary to achieve an AUC/MIC ≥ 400. More

  1. Imagen popular de la ciencia transmitida por los cómics

    OpenAIRE

    Gallego Torres, Adriana Patricia

    2007-01-01

    In this work we will be centered in the critical analysis of the popular image of the science transmitted by cómics existing in the market (in the measurement that makes reference to the scientific work).

  2. Ceftaroline efficacy against high-MIC clinical Staphylococcus aureus isolates in an in vitro hollow-fibre infection model.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Singh, Renu; Almutairi, Mashal; Alm, Richard A; Lahiri, Sushmita D; San Martin, Maryann; Chen, April; Ambler, Jane E

    2017-10-01

    The current CLSI and EUCAST clinical susceptible breakpoint for 600 mg q12h dosing of ceftaroline (active metabolite of ceftaroline fosamil) for Staphylococcus aureus is ≤1 mg/L. Efficacy data for S. aureus infections with ceftaroline MIC ≥2 mg/L are limited. This study was designed to generate in-depth pharmacokinetic/pharmacodynamics (PK/PD) understanding of S. aureus isolates inhibited by ≥ 2 mg/L ceftaroline using an in vitro hollow-fibre infection model (HFIM). The PK/PD target of ceftaroline was investigated against 12 diverse characterized clinical MRSA isolates with ceftaroline MICs of 2 or 4 mg/L using q8h dosing for 24 h. These isolates carried substitutions in the penicillin-binding domain (PBD) and/or the non-PBD. Additionally, PD responses of mutants with ceftaroline MICs ranging from 2 to 32 mg/L were evaluated against the mean 600 mg q8h human-simulated dose over 72 h. The mean stasis, 1 log10-kill and 2 log10-kill PK/PD targets were 29%, 32% and 35% f T>MIC, respectively. In addition, these data suggest that the PK/PD target for MRSA is not impacted by the presence of substitutions in the non-PBD commonly found in isolates with ceftaroline MIC values of ≤ 2 mg/L. HFIM studies with 600 mg q8h dosing demonstrated a sustained long-term bacterial suppression for isolates with ceftaroline MICs of 2 and 4 mg/L. Overall, efficacy was demonstrated against a diverse collection of clinical isolates using HFIM indicating the utility of 600 mg ceftaroline fosamil for S. aureus isolates with MIC ≤4 mg/L using q8h dosing. © The Author 2017. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the British Society for Antimicrobial Chemotherapy. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.

  3. Influence of subinhibitory-concentration (sub-MIC Cefetoxime on biofilm formation. SEM study of ESBL-producing Salmonella typhi

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Rahul Narasanna, Manjunath Chavadi, Ajaykumar Oli

    2017-06-01

    Full Text Available Objectives: In the present study, we have analyzed ESBL-producing S. typhi’s capability in forming a significant amount of biofilm on plastic and glass surface, and the influence of cefetoxime on biofilm development at subinhibitory (Sub-MIC concentration. Methods: Nine strains of cefetoxime-mediated ESBL-producing S. typhi were used in the study. S. typhi formed biofilm on plastic and glass materials; it was demonstrated using micro titre plate (MTP and standard test tube methods. Comparative study of the influence of cefetoxime on biofilm formation in its MIC (128 µg/ml and at sub-MIC (64 µg/ml was demonstrated by microtitre plate method. The biofilm production was observed in SEM images, statistical analysis (ANOVA showed significant increase in cell surface and volume due to the influence of Cefetoxime. Results: Of the nine selected isolates, two S. typhi strains, namely BST 51 and BST 130, produced relatively strong biofilm in the presence of cefetoxime at sub-MIC level (64 µg/ml, comparatively weak biofilm formation at MIC level (128 µg/ml. Typical morphological changes were observed in cefetoxime-resistant strains, S. typhi BST 51 and BST 130, in comparison to cefetoxime-sensitive strain S. typhi BST 63 used as a control. We found an increase in surface and volume of a cell in response to cefetoxime and statistical data (ANOVA proved that resistant strains were significantly different from control strains. Conclusion: The above study clearly shows that cefetoxime at sub-MIC level efficiently induces biofilm formation and promotes changes in morphology of the cell. J Microbiol Infect Dis 2017; 7(2: 67-75

  4. Imagen popular de la ciencia transmitida por los cómics

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Gallego, A.P.

    2007-01-01

    Full Text Available In this work we will be centered in the critical analysis of the popular image of the science transmitted by cómics existing in the market (in the measurement that makes reference to the scientific work.

  5. Fast and efficient Drosophila melanogaster gene knock-ins using MiMIC transposons.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Vilain, Sven; Vanhauwaert, Roeland; Maes, Ine; Schoovaerts, Nils; Zhou, Lujia; Soukup, Sandra; da Cunha, Raquel; Lauwers, Elsa; Fiers, Mark; Verstreken, Patrik

    2014-10-08

    Modern molecular genetics studies necessitate the manipulation of genes in their endogenous locus, but most of the current methodologies require an inefficient donor-dependent homologous recombination step to locally modify the genome. Here we describe a methodology to efficiently generate Drosophila knock-in alleles by capitalizing on the availability of numerous genomic MiMIC transposon insertions carrying recombinogenic attP sites. Our methodology entails the efficient PhiC31-mediated integration of a recombination cassette flanked by unique I-SceI and/or I-CreI restriction enzyme sites into an attP-site. These restriction enzyme sites allow for double-strand break-mediated removal of unwanted flanking transposon sequences, while leaving the desired genomic modifications or recombination cassettes. As a proof-of-principle, we mutated LRRK, tau, and sky by using different MiMIC elements. We replaced 6 kb of genomic DNA encompassing the tau locus and 35 kb encompassing the sky locus with a recombination cassette that permits easy integration of DNA at these loci and we also generated a functional LRRK(HA) knock in allele. Given that ~92% of the Drosophila genes are located within the vicinity (MiMIC element, our methodology enables the efficient manipulation of nearly every locus in the fruit fly genome without the need for inefficient donor-dependent homologous recombination events. Copyright © 2014 Vilain et al.

  6. Imagen popular de la ciencia transmitida por los cómics

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Adriana Patricia Gallego-Torres

    2007-01-01

    Full Text Available En este trabajo nos centraremos en el análisis crítico de la imagen popular de la ciencia transmitida por los cómics existentes en el mercado (en la medida que hagan referencia al trabajo científico.

  7. Overexpression of MicA induces production of OmpC-enriched outer membrane vesicles that protect against Salmonella challenge.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Choi, Hyun-Il; Kim, Moonjeong; Jeon, Jinseong; Han, Jin Kwan; Kim, Kwang-Sun

    2017-08-26

    Outer membrane vesicles (OMVs) derived from bacteria are promising candidates for subunit vaccines. Stresses that modulate the composition of outer membrane proteins (OMPs) are important for OMV synthesis. Small RNAs (sRNAs) expressed in response to stress regulate OMPs, although the mechanism underlying sRNA-mediated OMV biogenesis and its utility for developing vaccine platforms remains to be elucidated. Here, we characterized the role of a sRNA, MicA, which regulates OmpA, a major OMP involved in both production of OMVs and reactive immunity against Salmonella challenge. A Salmonella strain overexpressing MicA generated more OMVs than a control strain. In addition, OmpC was the major component of MicA-derived OMV proteins. MicA-derived OMVs induced Th1- and Th17-type immune responses in vitro and reduced Salmonella-mediated lethality in a mouse model. Thus, OmpA-regulatory sRNA-derived OMVs may facilitate production of Salmonella-protective vaccines. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  8. Dual Regulation of the Small RNA MicC and the Quiescent Porin OmpN in Response to Antibiotic Stress in Escherichia coli

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sushovan Dam

    2017-12-01

    Full Text Available Antibiotic resistant Gram-negative bacteria are a serious threat for public health. The permeation of antibiotics through their outer membrane is largely dependent on porin, changes in which cause reduced drug uptake and efficacy. Escherichia coli produces two major porins, OmpF and OmpC. MicF and MicC are small non-coding RNAs (sRNAs that modulate the expression of OmpF and OmpC, respectively. In this work, we investigated factors that lead to increased production of MicC. micC promoter region was fused to lacZ, and the reporter plasmid was transformed into E. coli MC4100 and derivative mutants. The response of micC–lacZ to antimicrobials was measured during growth over a 6 h time period. The data showed that the expression of micC was increased in the presence of β-lactam antibiotics and in an rpoE depleted mutant. Interestingly, the same conditions enhanced the activity of an ompN–lacZ fusion, suggesting a dual transcriptional regulation of micC and the quiescent adjacent ompN. Increased levels of OmpN in the presence of sub-inhibitory concentrations of chemicals could not be confirmed by Western blot analysis, except when analyzed in the absence of the sigma factor σE. We suggest that the MicC sRNA acts together with the σE envelope stress response pathway to control the OmpC/N levels in response to β-lactam antibiotics.

  9. On the mechanism of rapid postirradiation recovery of yeast

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Glazunov, A.V.; Kapul'tsevich, Yu.G.

    1983-01-01

    Rapid postirradiation recovery of diploid yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae is equally effective both in water and in a liquid nutrition medium. In the haploid strains, rapid recovery occurs more readily in the log phase than in the stationary phase of growth. In the diploid strains, rapid recovery is more effective in the log phase than in the stationary phase. Rapid recovery of yeast does not require an additional protein synthesis. Damages induced by UV-light are not sub ected to rapid recovery

  10. Single-Event Latchup Testing of the Micrel MIC4424 Dual Power MOSFET Driver

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pellish, J. A.; Boutte, A.; Kim, H.; Phan, A.; Topper, A.

    2016-01-01

    We conducted 47 exposures of four different MIC4424 devices and did not observe any SEL or high-current events. This included worst-case conditions with a LET of 81 MeV-sq cm/mg, applied voltage of 18.5 V, a case temperature greater than 120 C, and a final fluence of 1x10(exp 7)/sq cm. We also monitored both the outputs for the presence of SETs. While the period of the 1 MHz square wave was slightly altered in some cases, no pulses were added or deleted. 1. Purpose: The purpose of this testing is to characterize the BiCMOS/DMOS Micrel MIC4424 dual, non-inverting MOSFET driver for single-event latchup (SEL) susceptibility. These data will be used for flight lot evaluation purposes. 2. Devices Tested: The MIC4423/4424/4425 family are highly reliable BiCMOS/DMOS buffer/driver MOSFET drivers. They are higher output current versions of the MIC4426/4427/4428. They can survive up to 5V of noise spiking, of either polarity, on the ground pin. They can accept, without either damage or logic upset, up to half an amp of reverse current (either polarity) forced back into their outputs. Primarily intended for driving power MOSFETs, the MIC4423/4424/4425 drivers are suitable for driving other loads (capacitive, resistive, or inductive) which require low-impedance, high peak currents, and fast switching times. Heavily loaded clock lines, coaxial cables, or piezoelectric transducers are some examples. The only known limitation on loading is that total power dissipated in the driver must be kept within the maximum power dissipation limits of the package. Five (5) parts were provided for SEL testing. We prepared four parts for irradiation and reserved one piece as an un-irradiated control. More information about the devices can be found in Table 1. The parts were prepared for testing by removing the lid from the CDIP package to expose the target die. The parts were then soldered to small copper circuit adapter boards for easy handling. These parts are fabricated in a bulk Bi

  11. The anorectic actions of the TGFβ cytokine MIC-1/GDF15 require an intact brainstem area postrema and nucleus of the solitary tract.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Vicky Wang-Wei Tsai

    Full Text Available Macrophage inhibitory cytokine-1 (MIC-1/GDF15 modulates food intake and body weight under physiological and pathological conditions by acting on the hypothalamus and brainstem. When overexpressed in disease, such as in advanced cancer, elevated serum MIC-1/GDF15 levels lead to an anorexia/cachexia syndrome. To gain a better understanding of its actions in the brainstem we studied MIC-1/GDF15 induced neuronal activation identified by induction of Fos protein. Intraperitoneal injection of human MIC-1/GDF15 in mice activated brainstem neurons in the area postrema (AP and the medial (m portion of the nucleus of the solitary tract (NTS, which did not stain with tyrosine hydroxylase (TH. To determine the importance of these brainstem nuclei in the anorexigenic effect of MIC-1/GDF15, we ablated the AP alone or the AP and the NTS. The latter combined lesion completely reversed the anorexigenic effects of MIC-1/GDF15. Altogether, this study identified neurons in the AP and/or NTS, as being critical for the regulation of food intake and body weight by MIC-1/GDF15.

  12. Ecosystem Considerations for Postdisaster Recovery: Lessons from China, Pakistan, and Elsewhere for Recovery Planning in Haiti

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Susan A. Mainka

    2011-03-01

    Full Text Available As the world joins forces to support the people of Haiti on their long road of recovery following the January 2010 earthquake, plans and strategies should take into consideration past experiences from other postdisaster recovery efforts with respect to integrating ecosystem considerations. Sound ecosystem management can both support the medium and long-term needs for recovery as well as help to buffer the impacts of future extreme natural events, which for Haiti are likely to include both hurricanes and earthquakes. An additional challenge will be to include the potential impacts of climate change into ecosystem management strategies.

  13. Performance experimental investigation of novel multifunctional nanohybrids on enhanced oil recovery

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gharibshahi, Reza; Jafari, Arezou; Omidkhah, Mohammadreza; Nezhad, Javad Razavi

    2018-01-01

    The unique characteristics of materials at the nanoscale make them a good candidate to use in the enhanced oil recovery (EOR) processes. Therefore, in this study, the effect of functionalized multi-walled carbon nanotube/silica nanohybrids on the oil recovery factor is investigated experimentally and nanofluids were injected into a glass micromodel for the first time. The nanohybrids synthesized by using sol-gel method. Micromodels as microscale apparatuses considered as 2D porous medium. Because they enable visual observation of phase displacement behavior at the pore scale. Distillated water used as the dispersion medium of nanoparticles for nanofluids preparation. A series of runs designed for flooding operations included water injection, carbon nanotube/water injection and two nanohybrids with different weight of MWCNT to the overall weight of the nanohybrid structure (10% and 70%) into the distilled water. Also, the oil recovery factor was considered as the goal parameter to compare the results. It has been found that functionalized multi-walled carbon nanotube/silica nanohybrids have a great potential in enhanced oil recovery processes. Results showed that addition of nanohybrids into distillate water causes enhancement of sweep efficiency. In other words, the fingering effect decreases and higher surface of porous medium is in contact with the injected fluid. So the higher amount of oil can produce from the porous medium consequently. By injecting nanofluid with 0.1 wt. % of carbon nanotube, the oil recovery factor increases about 11 % in comparison with water injection alone. Also by increasing the weight of MWCNT to the overall weight of the nanohybrid structure from 10% to 70%, the oil recovery factor increases from 35% to 39%.

  14. Novel approaches to microbial enhancement of oil recovery.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kryachko, Yuriy

    2018-01-20

    Microbially enhanced oil recovery (MEOR) was shown to be feasible in a number of laboratory experiments and field trials. However, it has not been widely used in the oil industry because necessary conditions cannot always be easily established in an oil reservoir. Novel approaches to MEOR, which are based on newly discovered biosurfactant-mediated MEOR-mechanisms, are discussed in this review. Particularly, the possibility of combining MEOR with chemical enhancement of oil recovery in heterogeneous oil reservoirs, which involves rock surface wettability shifts and emulsion inversions, is discussed. In wider (centimeter/millimeter-scale) rock pores, the activity of (bio)surfactants and microbial cells attached to oil may allow releasing trapped oil blobs through oil-in-water emulsification. After no more oil can be emulsified, the addition of alkali or surfactants, which turn rock surface oil-wet, may help release oil droplets trapped in narrow (micrometer-scale) pores through coalescence of the droplets and water-in-oil emulsification. Experiments demonstrating the possibility of (bio)surfactant-mediated enhancement of immiscible gas-driven oil recovery are also reviewed. Interestingly, very low (bio)surfactant concentrations were shown to be needed for enhancement of immiscible gas-driven oil recovery. Some possible side effects of MEOR, such as unintended bioplugging and microbially influenced corrosion (MIC), are discussed as well. Crown Copyright © 2017. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  15. Postirradiation recovery dependent on the uvr-1 Locus in Bacillus subtilis

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hadden, C.T.

    1976-01-01

    A mutant (uvr-1) of Bacillus subtilis that is deficient in excision of ultraviolet (uv)-induced pyrimidine dimers from deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) shows a marked increase in ability to survive uv irradiation when plated on amino acid-supplemented agar medium compared with its survival ability when plated on nutrient agar. Since the extent of killing depends on the richness of the plating medium, the effect is considered to be one of growth-dependent lethality. Irradiated stationary phase uvr-1 cells, incubated in liquid medium lacking amino acids required for growth, recover from this sensitivity to rich medium within 3 to 4 h after irradiation. Recovery is greatly reduced in the absence of glucose or in the presence of NaCN, athough it is not completely eliminated. Exponentially growing cells have a limited ability to recover from sensitivity to rich medium. Growth-dependent lethality can also occur in liquid medium. In nutrient broth the ability of irradiated stationary-phase uvr-1 cells to form colonies on defined agar medium decreases during postirradiation incubation, but treatment with chloramphenicol inhibits the loss of colony-forming ability. Recovery from sensitivity to rich media is inhibited by caffeine but not by 6-(p-hydroxyphenylazo)-uracil, an inhibitor of DNA replication. Alkaline sucrose gradient profiles show that conditions allowing recovery also favor maintaining intact DNA strands, whereas DNA strand breakage or degradation is associated with loss of viability

  16. Vehicle recovery and towing guideline

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    NONE

    2010-01-15

    This guideline was developed to provide light and medium duty vehicles operators in the oil and gas industry with a set of best practices for avoiding injury and damage during the recovery of stuck vehicles. The aim of the guideline was to increase awareness of safety issues and promote the safe usage of the vehicles by personnel throughout the petroleum industry and to establish minimum standards of practice for vehicle recovery. The guideline included a step-by-step guide for pulling out a vehicle with a recovery strap as well as vehicle-mounted winch procedures. Pre-job checklists for both procedures were provided. Issues related to the strength rating of vehicle tow hooks and hitch receivers were discussed, as well as some of the hazards associated with steep terrains and heavy mud. The guideline also included recommendations for a vehicle recovery kit with instructions on vehicle recovery, a recovery strap, a recovery hitch and shackle, a collapsible shovel, traffic cones and reflector flares, and a heavy blanket and gloves. 7 refs., 2 tabs., 13 figs.

  17. Macrophage Inhibitory Cytokine-1 (MIC-1 as A Biomarker for Diagnosis 
and Prognosis of Stage I-II Non-small Cell Lung Cancer

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Yuning LIU

    2016-04-01

    Full Text Available Background and objective Increased macrophage inhibitory cytokine-1 (MIC-1, member of transforming growth factor-β (TGF-β superfamily, was found in patients serum with epithelial tumors. Therefore, our aim was to delineate the diagnostic and prognostic value of serum MIC-1 in patients with stage I-II non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC. Methods A total of 152 consecutive patients with stage I–II NSCLC were prospectively enrolled and underwent follow up after total resection of tumor. Serum MIC-1 level was detected in lung cancer patients by ELISA, 48 benign pulmonary disease patients and 105 healthy controls, and was correlated with clinical features and prognosis of patients. Results The level of MIC-1 of NSCLC patients was significantly higher than that of controls (P<0.001 and benign pulmonary disease patients (P<0.001. A threshold of 1,000 pg/mL could be used to diagnose early-stage NSCLC with 70.4% sensitivity and 99.0% specificity. The level of MIC-1 was associated with elder age (P=0.001, female (P=0.03 and T2 (P=0.022. A threshold of 1,465 pg/mL could identify patients with early poor outcome with 72.2% sensitivity and 66.1% specificity. The overall 3-year survival rate in patients with high level of MIC-1 (≥1,465 pg/mL was significantly lower than that of patients with low MIC-1 level (77.6% vs 94.8%. Multivariable Cox regression revealed that a high level of MIC-1 was an independent risk factor for compromised overall survival (HR=3.37, 95%CI: 1.09-10.42, P=0.035. Conclusion High level of serum MIC-1 could be served as a potential biomarker for diagnosis and poorer outcome in patients with early-stage NSCLC.

  18. The ciprofloxacin target AUC : MIC ratio is not reached in hospitalized patients with the recommended dosing regimens.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Haeseker, Michiel; Stolk, Leo; Nieman, Fred; Hoebe, Christian; Neef, Cees; Bruggeman, Cathrien; Verbon, Annelies

    2013-01-01

    The aim of this study was to determine the ciprofloxacin serum concentrations in hospitalized patients and to determine which percentage reached the efficacy target of AUC : MIC > 125. Additionally, the influence of demographic anthropomorphic and clinical parameters on the pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics of ciprofloxacin were investigated. In serum of 80 hospitalized patients ciprofloxacin concentrations were measured with reverse phase high performance liquid chromatography with fluorescence detection. The ciprofloxacin dose was 400-1200 mg day(-1) i.v. in two or three doses depending on renal function and causative bacteria. Pharmacokinetic parameters were calculated with maximum a posteriori Bayesian estimation (MW\\PHARM 3.60). A two compartment open model was used. Mean (± SD) age was 66 (± 17) years, the mean clearance corrected for bodyweight was 0.24 l h(-1) kg(-1) and the mean AUC was 49 mg l(-1) h. Ciprofloxacin clearance and thus AUC were associated with both age and serum creatinine. Of all patients, 21% and 75% of the patients, did not reach the proposed ciprofloxacin AUC : MIC > 125 target with MICs of 0.25 and 0.5 mg l(-1), respectively. A computer simulated increase in the daily dose from 800 mg to 1200 mg, decreased these percentages to 1% and 37%, respectively. A substantial proportion of the hospitalized patients did not reach the target ciprofloxacin AUC : MIC and are suboptimally dosed with recommended doses. Taking into account the increasing resistance to ciprofloxacin worldwide, a ciprofloxacin dose of 1200 mg i.v. daily in patients with normal renal function is necessary to reach the targeted AUC : MIC > 125. © 2012 The Authors. British Journal of Clinical Pharmacology © 2012 The British Pharmacological Society.

  19. Medium Effects on Minimum Inhibitory Concentrations of Nylon-3 Polymers against E. coli

    Science.gov (United States)

    Choi, Heejun; Chakraborty, Saswata; Liu, Runhui; Gellman, Samuel H.; Weisshaar, James C.

    2014-01-01

    Minimum inhibitory concentrations (MICs) against E. coli were measured for three nylon-3 polymers using Luria-Bertani broth (LB), brain-heart infusion broth (BHI), and a chemically defined complete medium (EZRDM). The polymers differ in the ratio of hydrophobic to cationic subunits. The cationic homopolymer is inert against E. coli in BHI and LB, but becomes highly potent in EZRDM. A mixed hydrophobic/cationic polymer with a hydrophobic t-butylbenzoyl group at its N-terminus is effective in BHI, but becomes more effective in EZRDM. Supplementation of EZRDM with the tryptic digest of casein (often found in LB) recapitulates the LB and BHI behavior. Additional evidence suggests that polyanionic peptides present in LB and BHI may form electrostatic complexes with cationic polymers, decreasing activity by diminishing binding to the anionic lipopolysaccharide layer of E. coli. In contrast, two natural antimicrobial peptides show no medium effects. Thus, the use of a chemically defined medium helps to reveal factors that influence antimicrobial potency of cationic polymers and functional differences between these polymers and evolved antimicrobial peptides. PMID:25153714

  20. Relationship between the clinical efficacy and AUC/MIC of intravenous ciprofloxacin in Japanese patients with intraabdominal infections.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ohki, Emiko; Yamagishi, Yuka; Mikamo, Hiroshige

    2013-10-01

    The efficacy of fluoroquinolones (FQs) correlates with the pharmacokinetic/pharmacodynamic (PK-PD) parameter, AUC/MIC. To our knowledge, however, no prospective studies have reported the relationship between FQ efficacy and PK-PD parameters in intraabdominal infection; therefore, we prospectively investigated the relationship between the efficacy of intravenous ciprofloxacin (CPFX IV) and PK-PD parameters. The study included 16 patients diagnosed with peritonitis between 2006 and 2008: 14 patients infected with a single organism and 2 patients infected with more than one organism. Each patient was treated with CPFX IV (300 mg twice daily). The response rate was 56% (9 responders and 7 non-responders). Non-responders were infected with Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and Bacteroides fragilis (6 patients were infected with a single organism and 1 with more than one organism). Plasma drug concentrations were measured 1 h and 2 or 4 h after administration of CPFX IV. AUC for 24 h (AUC(0-24))/MIC values was calculated. The range of AUC(0-24)/MIC values in responders [95.3-3628.4 (geometric mean, 521.6)] was significantly different from that in non-responders [7.0-45.2 (geometric mean, 16.5)] (p = 0.001). The target AUC/MIC value of CPFX IV would be considered to be 45-95 in patients with peritonitis.

  1. Thread-level parallelization and optimization of NWChem for the Intel MIC architecture

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Shan, Hongzhang [Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States); Williams, Samuel [Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States); de Jong, Wibe [Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States); Oliker, Leonid [Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States)

    2015-01-01

    In the multicore era it was possible to exploit the increase in on-chip parallelism by simply running multiple MPI processes per chip. Unfortunately, manycore processors' greatly increased thread- and data-level parallelism coupled with a reduced memory capacity demand an altogether different approach. In this paper we explore augmenting two NWChem modules, triples correction of the CCSD(T) and Fock matrix construction, with OpenMP in order that they might run efficiently on future manycore architectures. As the next NERSC machine will be a self-hosted Intel MIC (Xeon Phi) based supercomputer, we leverage an existing MIC testbed at NERSC to evaluate our experiments. In order to proxy the fact that future MIC machines will not have a host processor, we run all of our experiments in native mode. We found that while straightforward application of OpenMP to the deep loop nests associated with the tensor contractions of CCSD(T) was sufficient in attaining high performance, significant e ort was required to safely and efeciently thread the TEXAS integral package when constructing the Fock matrix. Ultimately, our new MPI+OpenMP hybrid implementations attain up to 65× better performance for the triples part of the CCSD(T) due in large part to the fact that the limited on-card memory limits the existing MPI implementation to a single process per card. Additionally, we obtain up to 1.6× better performance on Fock matrix constructions when compared with the best MPI implementations running multiple processes per card.

  2. Thread-Level Parallelization and Optimization of NWChem for the Intel MIC Architecture

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Shan, Hongzhang; Williams, Samuel; Jong, Wibe de; Oliker, Leonid

    2014-10-10

    In the multicore era it was possible to exploit the increase in on-chip parallelism by simply running multiple MPI processes per chip. Unfortunately, manycore processors' greatly increased thread- and data-level parallelism coupled with a reduced memory capacity demand an altogether different approach. In this paper we explore augmenting two NWChem modules, triples correction of the CCSD(T) and Fock matrix construction, with OpenMP in order that they might run efficiently on future manycore architectures. As the next NERSC machine will be a self-hosted Intel MIC (Xeon Phi) based supercomputer, we leverage an existing MIC testbed at NERSC to evaluate our experiments. In order to proxy the fact that future MIC machines will not have a host processor, we run all of our experiments in tt native mode. We found that while straightforward application of OpenMP to the deep loop nests associated with the tensor contractions of CCSD(T) was sufficient in attaining high performance, significant effort was required to safely and efficiently thread the TEXAS integral package when constructing the Fock matrix. Ultimately, our new MPI OpenMP hybrid implementations attain up to 65x better performance for the triples part of the CCSD(T) due in large part to the fact that the limited on-card memory limits the existing MPI implementation to a single process per card. Additionally, we obtain up to 1.6x better performance on Fock matrix constructions when compared with the best MPI implementations running multiple processes per card.

  3. Localized Intrathecal Delivery of Mesenchymal Stromal Cells Conditioned Medium Improves Functional Recovery in a Rat Model of Spinal Cord Injury

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Dasa Cizkova

    2018-03-01

    Full Text Available It was recently shown that the conditioned medium (CM of mesenchymal stem cells can enhance viability of neural and glial cell populations. In the present study, we have investigated a cell-free approach via CM from rat bone marrow stromal cells (MScCM applied intrathecally (IT for spinal cord injury (SCI recovery in adult rats. Functional in vitro test on dorsal root ganglion (DRG primary cultures confirmed biological properties of collected MScCM for production of neurosphere-like structures and axon outgrowth. Afterwards, rats underwent SCI and were treated with IT delivery of MScCM or vehicle at postsurgical Days 1, 5, 9, and 13, and left to survive 10 weeks. Rats that received MScCM showed significantly higher motor function recovery, increase in spared spinal cord tissue, enhanced GAP-43 expression and attenuated inflammation in comparison with vehicle-treated rats. Spared tissue around the lesion site was infiltrated with GAP-43-labeled axons at four weeks that gradually decreased at 10 weeks. Finally, a cytokine array performed on spinal cord extracts after MScCM treatment revealed decreased levels of IL-2, IL-6 and TNFα when compared to vehicle group. In conclusion, our results suggest that molecular cocktail found in MScCM is favorable for final neuroregeneration after SCI.

  4. Management and control of microbiologically influenced corrosion (MIC) in the oil and gas industry-Overview and a North Sea case study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Skovhus, Torben Lund; Eckert, Richard B; Rodrigues, Edgar

    2017-08-20

    Microbiologically influenced corrosion (MIC) is the terminology applied where the actions of microorganisms influence the corrosion process. In literature, terms such as microbial corrosion, biocorrosion, microbially influenced/induced corrosion, and biodegradation are often applied. MIC research in the oil and gas industry has seen a revolution over the past decade, with the introduction of molecular microbiological methods: (MMM) as well as new industry standards and procedures of sampling biofilm and corrosion products from the process system. This review aims to capture the most important trends the oil and gas industry has seen regarding MIC research over the past decade. The paper starts out with an overview of where in the process stream MIC occurs - from the oil reservoir to the consumer. Both biotic and abiotic corrosion mechanisms are explained in the context of managing MIC using a structured corrosion management (CM) approach. The corrosion management approach employs the elements of a management system to ensure that essential corrosion control activities are carried out in an effective, sustainable, well-planned and properly executed manner. The 3-phase corrosion management approach covering of both biotic and abiotic internal corrosion mechanisms consists of 1) corrosion assessment, 2) corrosion mitigation and 3) corrosion monitoring. Each of the three phases are described in detail with links to recent field cases, methods, industry standards and sampling protocols. In order to manage the corrosion threat, operators commonly use models to support decision making. The models use qualitative, semi-quantitative or quantitative measures to help assess the rate of degradation caused by MIC. The paper reviews four existing models for MIC Threat Assessment and describe a new model that links the threat of MIC in the oil processing system located on an offshore platform with a Risk Based Inspection (RBI) approach. A recent field case highlights and explains

  5. Tree legumes in medium-term fallows: Nz fixation, nitrate recovery ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Legume effects on the fixation of atmospheric N and nitrate recovery were determined in a sub-humid, bi-modal rainfall system. Fallows improved with sesbania (Sesbania sesban) and tephrosia (Tephrosia vogellii) produced more biomass and fixed more N than those fallows improved with pigeonpea (Cajanus cajan) or ...

  6. Quantitative Recovery of Aeromonas hydrophila from Nsukka Sewage

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Sewage samples were analyzed for the recovery of Aeromonas hydrophila. The pH of the samples ranged from 8.2 - 9.6 and the temperature from 20.0 – 28.7. Samples were enriched in alkaline peptone water medium (pH 8.4) before plating on different selective media. Media tested for the recovery of Aeromonas ...

  7. [Efficacy of a multidisciplinary care management program for patients admitted at hospital because of heart failure (ProMIC)].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Domingo, Cristina; Aros, Fernando; Otxandategi, Agurtzane; Beistegui, Idoia; Besga, Ariadna; Latorre, Pedro María

    2018-02-26

    To assess the efficacy of the ProMIC, multidisciplinary program for patients admitted at hospital because of heart failure (HF) programme, in reducing the HF-related readmission rate. Quasi-experimental research with control group. Twelve primary health care centres and 3 hospitals from the Basque Country. Aged 40 years old or above patients admitted for HF with a New York Heart Association functional class II to IV. Patients in the intervention group carried out the ProMIC programme, a structured clinical intervention based on clinical guidelines and on the chronic care model. Control group received usual care. The rate of readmission for HF and health-related quality of life RESULTS: One hundred fifty five patients were included in ProMIC group and 129 in control group. 45 rehospitalisation due to heart failure happened in ProMIC versus 75 in control group (adjusted hazard ratio=0.59, CI 95%: 0.36-0.98; P=.049). There were significant differences in specific quality of life al 6 months. No significant differences were found in rehospitalisation due to all causes, due to cardiovascular causes, visits to emergency room, mortality, the combined variable of these events, the functional capacity or quality of life at 12 months of follow up. ProMIC reduces significantly heart failure rehospitalisation and improve quality of life al 6 months of follow up. No significant differences were found in the rests of variables. Copyright © 2018 The Authors. Publicado por Elsevier España, S.L.U. All rights reserved.

  8. Potentials of plasma NGAL and MIC-1 as biomarker(s in the diagnosis of lethal pancreatic cancer.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sukhwinder Kaur

    Full Text Available Pancreatic cancer (PC is lethal malignancy with very high mortality rate. Absence of sensitive and specific marker(s is one of the major factors for poor prognosis of PC patients. In pilot studies using small set of patients, secreted acute phase proteins neutrophil gelatinase associated lipocalin (NGAL and TGF-β family member macrophage inhibitory cytokine-1 (MIC-1 are proposed as most potential biomarkers specifically elevated in the blood of PC patients. However, their performance as diagnostic markers for PC, particularly in pre-treatment patients, remains unknown. In order to evaluate the diagnostic efficacy of NGAL and MIC-1, their levels were measured in plasma samples from patients with pre-treatment PC patients (n = 91 and compared it with those in healthy control (HC individuals (n = 24 and patients with chronic pancreatitis (CP, n = 23. The diagnostic performance of these two proteins was further compared with that of CA19-9, a tumor marker commonly used to follow PC progression. The levels of all three biomarkers were significantly higher in PC compared to HCs. The mean (± standard deviation, SD plasma NGAL, CA19-9 and MIC-1 levels in PC patients was 111.1 ng/mL (2.2, 219.2 U/mL (7.8 and 4.5 ng/mL (4.1, respectively. In comparing resectable PC to healthy patients, all three biomarkers were found to have comparable sensitivities (between 64%-81% but CA19-9 and NGAL had a higher specificity (92% and 88%, respectively. For distinguishing resectable PC from CP patients, CA19-9 and MIC-1 were most specific (74% and 78% respectively. CA19-9 at an optimal cut-off of 54.1 U/ml is highly specific in differentiating resectable (stage 1/2 pancreatic cancer patients from controls in comparison to its clinical cut-off (37.1 U/ml. Notably, the addition of MIC-1 to CA19-9 significantly improved the ability to distinguish resectable PC cases from CP (p = 0.029. Overall, MIC-1 in combination with CA19-9 improved the diagnostic

  9. AUC/MIC Pharmacodynamic Target Is Not a Good Predictor of Vancomycin Efficacy in Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus Experimental Endocarditis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Castañeda, Ximena; García-de-la-Mària, Cristina; Gasch, Oriol; Pericas, Juan M; Armero, Yolanda; Soy, Dolors; García-González, Javier; Falces, Carlos; Ninot, Salvador; Almela, Manel; Ambrosioni, Juan; Quintana, Eduardo; Vidal, Barbara; Fuster, David; Llopis, Jaume; Soto, Sara; Moreno, Asuncion; Marco, Francesc; Miró, Jose M

    2017-06-01

    The aim of this in vivo study was to compare the efficacy of vancomycin at standard doses (VAN-SD) to that of VAN at adjusted doses (VAN-AD) in achieving a VAN area under the curve/MIC ratio (AUC/MIC) of ≥400 against three methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) strains with different microdilution VAN MICs in an experimental endocarditis model. The valve vegetation bacterial counts after 48 h of VAN therapy were compared, and no differences were observed between the two treatment groups for any of the three strains tested. Overall, for VAN-SD and VAN-AD, the rates of sterile vegetations were 15/45 (33.3%) and 21/49 (42.8%) ( P = 0.343), while the medians (interquartile ranges [IQRs]) for log 10 CFU/g of vegetation were 2 (0 to 6.9) and 2 (0 to 4.5) ( P = 0.384), respectively. In conclusion, this VAN AUC/MIC pharmacodynamic target was not a good predictor of vancomycin efficacy in MRSA experimental endocarditis. Copyright © 2017 American Society for Microbiology.

  10. Evaluation of protective effect of multiantigenic DNA vaccine encoding MIC3 and ROP18 antigen segments of Toxoplasma gondii in mice.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Qu, Daofeng; Han, Jianzhong; Du, Aifang

    2013-07-01

    The high incidence and severe damage caused by Toxoplasma gondii infection clearly indicates the need for the development of a vaccine. In this study, we evaluated the immune responses and protection against toxoplasmosis by immunizing ICR mice with a multiantigenic DNA vaccine. To develop the multiantigenic vaccine, two T. gondii antigens, MIC3 and ROP18, selected on the basis of previous studies were chosen. ICR mice were immunized subcutaneously with PBS, empty pcDNA3.1 vector, pMIC3, pROP18, and pROP18-MIC3, respectively. The results of lymphocyte proliferation assay, cytokine, and antibody determinations showed that mice immunized with pROP18-MIC3 elicited stronger humoral and Th1-type cellular immune responses than those immunized with single-gene plasmids, empty plasmid, or phosphate-buffered saline. After a lethal challenge with the highly virulent T. gondii RH strain, a prolonged survival time in pROP18-MIC3-immunized mice was observed in comparison to control groups. Our study indicates that the introduction of multiantigenic DNA vaccine is more powerful and efficient than single-gene vaccine, and deserves further evaluation and development.

  11. Comparrisson of MICs of ceftioufur and other antimicrobial agents against bacterial pathogens of swine from the United States, Canada and Denmark

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Salmon, S.A.; Watts, J.L.; Case, C.A.

    1995-01-01

    , sulfamethazine, trimethoprim-sulfadiazine (1:19), erythromycin, lincomycin, spectinomycin, lincomycin-spectinomycin (1:8), tilmicosin, and tetracycline. Tilmicosin was only tested against the U.S. isolates. Overall, ceftiofur and enrofloxacin were the most active antimicrobial agents tested against all isolates.......0 and 8.0 mu g/ml, respectively). However, this compound was not active against the remaining U.S. isolates (MIC(90)s, >64.0 mu g/ml), Differences in the MICs from one country to another were not detected with enrofloxacin, ceftiofur, or lincomycin for the strains tested, but variations in the MICs...

  12. Test methods for microbiologically influenced corrosion (MIC) in marine environments

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Little, B.; Wagner, P.; Mansfeld, F.

    1992-01-01

    Electrochemical techniques such as measurements of corrosion and redox potentials, polarization curves, polarization resistance, electrochemical impedance and electrochemical noise have been used to evaluate the impact of marine microorganisms on corrosion processes. Surface analytical techniques including microbiological culturing, scanning electron microscopy, microprobes and microelectrodes have been used to characterize metal surfaces after exposure to marine waters. A combination of electrochemical, surface analytical and microbiological techniques is the most promising approach for determining mechanisms of MIC

  13. In Vitro Activity of Ertapenem versus Ceftriaxone against Neisseria gonorrhoeae Isolates with Highly Diverse Ceftriaxone MIC Values and Effects of Ceftriaxone Resistance Determinants: Ertapenem for Treatment of Gonorrhea?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Golparian, Daniel; Limnios, Athena; Whiley, David; Ohnishi, Makoto; Lahra, Monica M.; Tapsall, John W.

    2012-01-01

    Clinical resistance to the currently recommended extended-spectrum cephalosporins (ESCs), the last remaining treatment options for gonorrhea, is being reported. Gonorrhea may become untreatable, and new treatment options are crucial. We investigated the in vitro activity of ertapenem, relative to ceftriaxone, against N. gonorrhoeae isolates and the effects of ESC resistance determinants on ertapenem. MICs were determined using agar dilution technique or Etest for international reference strains (n = 17) and clinical N. gonorrhoeae isolates (n = 257), which included the two extensively drug-resistant (XDR) strains H041 and F89 and additional isolates with high ESC MICs, clinical ESC resistance, and other types of clinical high-level and multidrug resistance (MDR). Genetic resistance determinants for ESCs (penA, mtrR, and penB) were sequenced. In general, the MICs of ertapenem (MIC50 = 0.032 μg/ml; MIC90 = 0.064 μg/ml) paralleled those of ceftriaxone (MIC50 = 0.032 μg/ml; MIC90 = 0.125 μg/ml). The ESC resistance determinants mainly increased the ertapenem MIC and ceftriaxone MIC at similar levels. However, the MIC ranges for ertapenem (0.002 to 0.125 μg/ml) and ceftriaxone (gonorrhea, particularly for the currently identified ESC-resistant cases and possibly in a dual antimicrobial therapy regimen. However, further knowledge regarding the genetic determinants (and their evolution) conferring resistance to both antimicrobials, and clear correlates between genetic and phenotypic laboratory parameters and clinical treatment outcomes, is essential. PMID:22547617

  14. E. coli encoding blaNDM-5 associated with community-acquired UTI cases with unusual MIC creep like phenomenon against Imipenem.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gajamer, Varsha Rani; Bhattacharjee, Amitabha; Paul, Deepjyoti; Deshamukhya, Chandrayee; Singh, Ashish Kr; Pradhan, Nilu; Tiwari, Hare Krishna

    2018-05-15

    Carbapenemase-producing Escherichia coli are of major clinical concern. The present study aimed to identify NDM-5 producing E.coli associated with community-acquired urinary tract infection, co-harboring ESBL genes and a pattern of imipenem MIC creep. A total of 973 urine samples were collected from females of age between 18-49 diagnosed with UTI. Isolates were identified by standard microbiological procedures. Presence of bla NDM and ESBL genes was determined by PCR assay and sequencing.PCR based replicon typing was performed. Plasmid stability of all bla producers and their transformants study were analyzed by serial passages and MIC creep phenomenon was analysed by studying revertants. Among 34 bla NDM-5 positive E.coli isolates, 21 isolates co harbored bla CTX-M-15 , followed by multiple combinations of genes. The study revealed diverse types of plasmids type viz; HI1, I1, FIA+FIB, FIA and Y. The strains showed progressive plasmid loss after 31 passages.Twenty-eight isolates mostly had MIC value of 0.5μg/ml and 1μg/ml against imipenem, ertapenem and meropenem. However, on studying the MIC creep activity; the MIC was found elevated from 0.5ug/ml to 64μg/ml and from 1μg/ml to 128μg/ml. While analyzing the revertants, MIC of most of the NDM positive isolates was reduced to 16μg/ml after the 30th serial passages. This study observed a unique phenotype of NDM producers which is not been reported earlier. In the current study, the observed phenomenon poses a global threat as these pathogens may evade phenotypic screening by routine laboratories. Copyright © 2018. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

  15. Cómo, cuándo y por qué hicimos un cómic bollo

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Gema Arquero (Project Manager

    2009-01-01

    Full Text Available Este artículo traza un recorrido por distintos aspectos que desempeñaron un papel destacado en la génesis del cómic Salidas de Emergencia. Sus autoras explican la importancia que su situación personal y el contexto político de la España de 2005 tuvieron en la decisión de iniciar su proyecto creativo, situándonos a la vez en las coordenadas culturales en que éste se inscribe. Con ello, también se lleva a cabo un repaso por distintos productos culturales de temática lésbica, con el que se ponen en evidencia las particularidades de este cómic.

  16. Validitas Utrecht-Management Of Identity Commitments Scale (U-MICS) Versi Indonesia: Struktur Faktor, Invariansi Pengukuran Gender, dan Usia

    OpenAIRE

    Muttaqin, Darmawan

    2017-01-01

    The purpose of this study was to examine the psychometric properties of Indonesian version of the U-MICS, a measure three identity dimensions. Participants were 910 adolescents (12-21 years old). The Confirmatory Factor Analyses and Multi-Group Analyses were used to examine the factor structure, gender, and age measurement invariance of Indonesian version of the U-MICS. We further tested the gender and age differences using Multivariate Analysis of Variance. The results indicated that the fac...

  17. Necessity of glycolysis for recovery from ultraviolet killing of Saccharomyces cerevisiae

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Atsuta, J.; Okajima, S.

    1976-01-01

    An inverse relationship was found between uv (2537 A) survival and preirradiation respiratory rate of diploid yeast: Survival was consistently high in cells grown in anaerobic complete medium where only glycolysis was operating, while it was low in cells grown in aerobic glycerin medium where only oxidative phosphorylation was operating; these observations are consistent with the observed shift from the high resistance in logarithmic phase to the lesser resistance in stationary phase in cells grown in aerobic complete medium. Immediate recovery, which was determined by the ratio between split-dose survival and no recovery survival, occurred only in cells having a low respiratory rate and not in cells having a high respiratory rate. Severe suppression of aerobic ATP synthesis during the first hour after irradiation was found only in cells having a high respiratory rate. Otherwise, delayed recovery, which was determined by immediate plating on glycerin medium, was not related to the respiratory rate. These results indicate a low resistance to uv of oxidative phosphorylation in mitochondria existing at the time of irradiation and a high resistance to uv of both glycolysis and oxidative phosphorylation in new mitochondria produced after irradiation. Survival therefore may be dependent on whether irradiated cells can recover from sublethal damage by utilizing ATP produced by glycolysis immediately after irradiation

  18. Predicting functional recovery after acute ankle sprain.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sean R O'Connor

    Full Text Available Ankle sprains are among the most common acute musculoskeletal conditions presenting to primary care. Their clinical course is variable but there are limited recommendations on prognostic factors. Our primary aim was to identify clinical predictors of short and medium term functional recovery after ankle sprain.A secondary analysis of data from adult participants (N = 85 with an acute ankle sprain, enrolled in a randomized controlled trial was undertaken. The predictive value of variables (age, BMI, gender, injury mechanism, previous injury, weight-bearing status, medial joint line pain, pain during weight-bearing dorsiflexion and lateral hop test recorded at baseline and at 4 weeks post injury were investigated for their prognostic ability. Recovery was determined from measures of subjective ankle function at short (4 weeks and medium term (4 months follow ups. Multivariate stepwise linear regression analyses were undertaken to evaluate the association between the aforementioned variables and functional recovery.Greater age, greater injury grade and weight-bearing status at baseline were associated with lower function at 4 weeks post injury (p<0.01; adjusted R square=0.34. Greater age, weight-bearing status at baseline and non-inversion injury mechanisms were associated with lower function at 4 months (p<0.01; adjusted R square=0.20. Pain on medial palpation and pain on dorsiflexion at 4 weeks were the most valuable prognostic indicators of function at 4 months (p< 0.01; adjusted R square=0.49.The results of the present study provide further evidence that ankle sprains have a variable clinical course. Age, injury grade, mechanism and weight-bearing status at baseline provide some prognostic information for short and medium term recovery. Clinical assessment variables at 4 weeks were the strongest predictors of recovery, explaining 50% of the variance in ankle function at 4 months. Further prospective research is required to highlight the factors

  19. Mastite micótica em ruminantes causada por leveduras

    OpenAIRE

    Spanamberg,Andréia; Sanches,Edna Maria Cavallini; Santurio,Janio Morais; Ferreiro,Laerte

    2009-01-01

    A ocorrência de casos esporádicos de mastite causados por microrganismos de origem ambiental pode ser considerada como emergente e as leveduras, os fungos leveduriformes e os filamentosos são alguns dos principais agentes envolvidos. Em relação à mastite micótica, as leveduras são freqüentemente causas de infecções da glândula mamária em animais produtores de leite. A maior parte dos casos ocorre sob a forma de surtos localizados e/ou após tratamento com antimicrobianos. Os principais gêneros...

  20. El vocabulario de las armas en micénico

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Bernabé, Alberto

    2007-12-01

    Full Text Available Systematic analysis of rise, structure, and development of the words referred to weapons in Mycenaean tablets and in first Millennium Greek. The results of application of linguistic or philological methods can so be collated with ones achieved by archaeologists.

    Estudio sistemático de la creación, estructura y desarrollo del vocabulario referido a las armas en las tablillas micénicas y en el griego posterior. Los resultados obtenidos por métodos lingüísticos o filológicos pueden así ser cotejados con los logrados por la arqueología.

  1. MICs of Oxazolidinones for Rhodococcus equi Strains Isolated from Humans and Animals

    OpenAIRE

    Bowersock, Terry L.; Salmon, Sarah A.; Portis, Ellen S.; Prescott, John F.; Robison, Denise A.; Ford, Charles W.; Watts, Jeffrey L.

    2000-01-01

    Eperezolid and linezolid are representatives of a new class of orally active, synthetic antimicrobial agents. The in vitro activity values (MICs) of linezolid, eperezolid, and comparator antibiotics against 102 strains of Rhodococcus equi isolated from humans and animals were determined. Linezolid was more active than eperezolid against the strains tested; premafloxacin was the most active comparator antibiotic.

  2. Clustering, haplotype diversity and locations of MIC-3: a unique root-specific defense-related gene family in upland cotton (Gossypium hirsutum L.)

    Science.gov (United States)

    MIC-3-related genes of cotton (Gossypium spp.) were identified and shown to have root-specific expression, associated with pathogen defense-related function and specifically increased expression in root-knot nematode (RKN) resistant plants after nematode infection. Here we cloned and sequenced MIC-...

  3. Rhodium, iridium and nickel complexes with a 1,3,5-triphenylbenzene tris-MIC ligand. Study of the electronic properties and catalytic activities

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Carmen Mejuto

    2015-12-01

    Full Text Available The coordination versatility of a 1,3,5-triphenylbenzene-tris-mesoionic carbene ligand is illustrated by the preparation of complexes with three different metals: rhodium, iridium and nickel. The rhodium and iridium complexes contained the [MCl(COD] fragments, while the nickel compound contained [NiCpCl]. The preparation of the tris-MIC (MIC = mesoionic carbene complex with three [IrCl(CO2] fragments, allowed the estimation of the Tolman electronic parameter (TEP for the ligand, which was compared with the TEP value for a related 1,3,5-triphenylbenzene-tris-NHC ligand. The electronic properties of the tris-MIC ligand were studied by cyclic voltammetry measurements. In all cases, the tris-MIC ligand showed a stronger electron-donating character than the corresponding NHC-based ligands. The catalytic activity of the tri-rhodium complex was tested in the addition reaction of arylboronic acids to α,β-unsaturated ketones.

  4. Plasma MIC-1 correlates with systemic inflammation but is not an independent determinant of nutritional status or survival in oesophago-gastric cancer.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Skipworth, R J E; Deans, D A C; Tan, B H L; Sangster, K; Paterson-Brown, S; Brown, D A; Hunter, M; Breit, S N; Ross, J A; Fearon, K C H

    2010-02-16

    Macrophage inhibitory cytokine-1(MIC-1) is a potential modulator of systemic inflammation and nutritional depletion, both of which are adverse prognostic factors in oesophago-gastric cancer (OGC). Plasma MIC-1, systemic inflammation (defined as plasma C-reactive protein (CRP) of > or =10 mg l(-1) or modified Glasgow prognostic score (mGPS) of > or =1), and nutritional status were assessed in newly diagnosed OGC patients (n=293). Healthy volunteers (n=35) served as controls. MIC-1 was elevated in patients (median=1371 pg ml(-1); range 141-39 053) when compared with controls (median=377 pg ml(-1); range 141-3786; Pgastric tumours (median=1592 pg ml(-1); range 141-12 643) showed higher MIC-1 concentrations than patients with junctional (median=1337 pg ml(-1); range 383-39 053) and oesophageal tumours (median=1180 pg ml(-1); range 258-31 184; P=0.015). Patients showed a median weight loss of 6.4% (range 0.0-33.4%), and 42% of patients had an mGPS of > or =1 or plasma CRP of > or =10 mg l(-1) (median=9 mg l(-1); range 1-200). MIC-1 correlated positively with disease stage (r(2)=0.217; Pnutritional status or survival in OGC.

  5. Electrodeposition of ruthenium, rhodium and palladium from nitric acid and ionic liquid media: Recovery and surface morphology of the deposits

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Jayakumar, M.; Venkatesan, K.A.; Sudha, R. [Fuel Chemistry Division, Indira Gandhi Centre for Atomic Research, Kalpakkam, Tamil Nadu 603102 (India); Srinivasan, T.G., E-mail: tgs@igcar.gov.com [Fuel Chemistry Division, Indira Gandhi Centre for Atomic Research, Kalpakkam, Tamil Nadu 603102 (India); Vasudeva Rao, P.R. [Fuel Chemistry Division, Indira Gandhi Centre for Atomic Research, Kalpakkam, Tamil Nadu 603102 (India)

    2011-07-15

    Research highlights: {yields} Platinum group metals are man-made noble metals. {yields} Electrochemical recovery of fission platinoids. {yields} Recovery from nitric acid medium. {yields} Recovery from ionic liquid medium. {yields} Platinoids with exotic surface morphologies. - Abstract: Electrodeposition is a promising technique for the recovery of platinum group metals with unique surface morphologies. The electrodeposition of palladium, ruthenium and rhodium from aqueous nitric acid, and non-aqueous 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium chloride ionic liquid medium was studied at stainless steel electrode. The surface morphology and elemental composition of the resultant deposit were probed by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and energy dispersive X-ray (EDS) analysis. Deposits with diverse surface morphologies and metal compositions were obtained by varying the composition of the electrolytic medium and applied potential. The results demonstrate the possibility of tailoring the morphologies of PGMs by controlling the composition and potential needed for electrodeposition.

  6. Gold biorecovery from e-waste: An improved strategy through spent medium leaching with pH modification.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Natarajan, Gayathri; Ting, Yen-Peng

    2015-10-01

    Rapid technological advancement and relatively short life time of electronic goods have resulted in an alarming growth rate of electronic waste which often contains significant quantities of toxic and precious metals. Compared to conventional recovery methods, bioleaching is an environmentally friendly process for metal extraction. Gold was bioleached from electronic scrap materials (ESM) via gold-cyanide complexation using cyanide produced from pure and mixed cultures of cyanogenic bacteria Chromobacterium violaceum, Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Pseudomonas fluorescens. As ESM was toxic to the bacteria, a two-step bioleaching approach was adopted where the solid waste was added to the bacterial culture after it has reached maximum growth and cyanide production during early stationary phase. Pure culture of C. violaceum showed the highest cyanide production, yielding maximum gold recovery of 11.3% at 0.5% w/v pulp density of ESM in two-step bioleaching. At the same pulp density of ESM, spent medium bioleaching using bacterial cell-free metabolites achieved gold recovery of 18%. Recovery increased to 30% when the pH of the spent medium was increased to shift the equilibrium in favor of cyanide ions production. It is demonstrated for the first time that pH modification of spent medium further improved metal solubilization and yielded higher metal recovery (compared to two-step bioleaching). Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  7. Intel Many Integrated Core (MIC) architecture optimization strategies for a memory-bound Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) Goddard microphysics scheme

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mielikainen, Jarno; Huang, Bormin; Huang, Allen H.

    2014-10-01

    The Goddard cloud microphysics scheme is a sophisticated cloud microphysics scheme in the Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) model. The WRF is a widely used weather prediction system in the world. It development is a done in collaborative around the globe. The Goddard microphysics scheme is very suitable for massively parallel computation as there are no interactions among horizontal grid points. Compared to the earlier microphysics schemes, the Goddard scheme incorporates a large number of improvements. Thus, we have optimized the code of this important part of WRF. In this paper, we present our results of optimizing the Goddard microphysics scheme on Intel Many Integrated Core Architecture (MIC) hardware. The Intel Xeon Phi coprocessor is the first product based on Intel MIC architecture, and it consists of up to 61 cores connected by a high performance on-die bidirectional interconnect. The Intel MIC is capable of executing a full operating system and entire programs rather than just kernels as the GPU do. The MIC coprocessor supports all important Intel development tools. Thus, the development environment is familiar one to a vast number of CPU developers. Although, getting a maximum performance out of MICs will require using some novel optimization techniques. Those optimization techniques are discusses in this paper. The results show that the optimizations improved performance of the original code on Xeon Phi 7120P by a factor of 4.7x. Furthermore, the same optimizations improved performance on a dual socket Intel Xeon E5-2670 system by a factor of 2.8x compared to the original code.

  8. APD Properties and Recovery from Radiation Damage

    CERN Document Server

    Baccaro, Stefania; Caruso, S; Cavallari, Francesca; Dafinei, Ioan; Diemoz, Marcella; Emeliantchik, Igor; Festinesi, Armando; Longo, Egidio; Montecchi, Marco; Organtini, Giovanni; Rosi, G

    1997-01-01

    Avalanche photodiodes will be used to detect scintillation light from PWO crystals in the CMS electromagnetic calorimeter. Properties of Hamamatsu APD are reported special attention has been devoted to the study of radiation hardness and room temperature annealing. We found a fast recovery with a time constant of 1.3 days a medium fast recovery with a lifetime of the order of 10 days and indication of a third component with very long time constant of the order of 300 days.

  9. Increased cefepime MIC for enterobacteriacae clinical isolates.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Najafi, Narges; Alikhani, Ahmad; Babamahmoudi, Farhang; Davoudi, Alireza; Ghasemiyan, Roya; Aliyan, Shahriar; Shoujaiifar, Arman

    2013-01-01

    Background : Cefepime was used as empirical treatment in ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP) induced by gram-negative and gram-positive bacteria. This study aimed to determine the antimicrobial susceptibility pattern of cefepime against microorganism causing VAP in Mazandaran, North of Iran. This study was performed on VAP patients diagnosed with clinical pulmonary infection score (CPIS) scores in ICU of two hospitals. For each patient suspected of having VAP, quantitative culture of endotracheal aspiration (QEA) was performed and MIC was determined by micro dilution test. Data were collected and analyzed. Thirty- five cases of enterobacteriaceae were isolated orderly including E coli 13, P. aeruginosa 11, Enterobacter 7 and K. pneumonia 4 cases. All the isolated E. coli, Enterobacter and Klebsiella, 54.5% of P. aeruginosa isolated were fully resistant to cefepime. The results of this study show that cefepime is not a reasonable choice for empirical treatment of nosocomial pneumonia and VAP.

  10. Serum Levels of Human MIC-1/GDF15 Vary in a Diurnal Pattern, Do Not Display a Profile Suggestive of a Satiety Factor and Are Related to BMI.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Vicky Wang-Wei Tsai

    Full Text Available The TGF-b superfamily cytokine MIC-1/GDF15 circulates in the blood of healthy humans. Its levels rise substantially in cancer and other diseases and this may sometimes lead to development of an anorexia/cachexia syndrome. This is mediated by a direct action of MIC-1/GDF15 on feeding centres in the hypothalamus and brainstem. More recent studies in germline gene deleted mice also suggest that this cytokine may play a role in physiological regulation of energy homeostasis. To further characterize the role of MIC-1/GDF15 in physiological regulation of energy homeostasis in man, we have examined diurnal and food associated variation in serum levels and whether variation in circulating levels relate to BMI in human monozygotic twin pairs. We found that the within twin pair differences in serum MIC-1/GDF15 levels were significantly correlated with within twin pair differences in BMI, suggesting a role for MIC-1/GDF15 in the regulation of energy balance in man. MIC-1/GDF15 serum levels altered slightly in response to a meal, but comparison with variation its serum levels over a 24 hour period suggested that these changes are likely to be due to bimodal diurnal variation which can alter serum MIC-1/GDF15 levels by about plus or minus 10% from the mesor. The lack of a rapid and substantial postprandial increase in MIC-1/GDF15 serum levels suggests that MIC1/GDF15 is unlikely to act as a satiety factor. Taken together, our findings suggest that MIC-1/GDF15 may be a physiological regulator of energy homeostasis in man, most probably due to actions on long-term regulation of energy homeostasis.

  11. Nuevos lenguajes para nuevas tecnologías. El cómic, una publicación electrónica de entretenimiento

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Lic. Virginia Luzón Fernández

    1999-01-01

    Full Text Available Hasta hoy día el cómic ha sido concebido como un medio narrativo de comunicación social que comprende gráficos y textos con un desarrollo secuencial y una narrativa interna. Ha estado relacionado con unos códigos particulares y una serie de convenciones expresivas, como los globos. Pero, el cómic de papel que leíamos, coleccionábamos e incluso algunos veneraban, está dejando paso a un nuevo tipo de cómic que nace con el desarrollo de las nuevas tecnologías y encaja a la perfección en la que denominamos, no sólo sociedad de la información, sino también nueva sociedad de la velocidad.

  12. LiF Reduces MICs of Antibiotics against Clinical Isolates of Gram-Positive and Gram-Negative Bacteria

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    H. C. Syed

    2012-01-01

    Full Text Available Antibiotic resistance is an ever-growing problem yet the development of new antibiotics has slowed to a trickle, giving rise to the use of combination therapy to eradicate infections. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the combined inhibitory effect of lithium fluoride (LiF and commonly used antimicrobials on the growth of the following bacteria: Enterococcus faecalis, Staphyloccoccus aureus, Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Acinetobacter baumannii, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Serratia marcescens, and Streptococcus pneumoniae. The in vitro activities of ceftazidime, sulfamethoxazole-trimethoprim, streptomycin, erythromycin, amoxicillin, and ciprofloxacin, doxycycline, alone or combined with LiF were performed by microdilution method. MICs were determined visually following 18–20 h of incubation at 37°C. We observed reduced MICs of antibiotics associated with LiF ranging from two-fold to sixteen-fold. The strongest decreases of MICs observed were for streptomycin and erythromycin associated with LiF against Acinetobacter baumannii and Streptococcus pneumoniae. An eight-fold reduction was recorded for streptomycin against S. pneumoniae whereas an eight-fold and a sixteen-fold reduction were obtained for erythromycin against A. baumannii and S. pneumoniae. This suggests that LiF exhibits a synergistic effect with a wide range of antibiotics and is indicative of its potential as an adjuvant in antibiotic therapy.

  13. Microbial Activation of Bacillus subtilis-Immobilized Microgel Particles for Enhanced Oil Recovery.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Son, Han Am; Choi, Sang Koo; Jeong, Eun Sook; Kim, Bohyun; Kim, Hyun Tae; Sung, Won Mo; Kim, Jin Woong

    2016-09-06

    Microbially enhanced oil recovery involves the use of microorganisms to extract oil remaining in reservoirs. Here, we report fabrication of microgel particles with immobilized Bacillus subtilis for application to microbially enhanced oil recovery. Using B. subtilis isolated from oil-contaminated soils in Myanmar, we evaluated the ability of this microbe to reduce the interfacial tension at the oil-water interface via production of biosurfactant molecules, eventually yielding excellent emulsification across a broad range of the medium pH and ionic strength. To safely deliver B. subtilis into a permeable porous medium, in this study, these bacteria were physically immobilized in a hydrogel mesh of microgel particles. In a core flooding experiment, in which the microgel particles were injected into a column packed with silica beads, we found that these particles significantly increased oil recovery in a concentration-dependent manner. This result shows that a mesh of microgel particles encapsulating biosurfactant-producing microorganisms holds promise for recovery of oil from porous media.

  14. La representación icónica y narrativa de la mujer en el cómic japonés masculino: el shounen manga y el horror manga

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Juan A. García Pacheco

    2012-06-01

    Full Text Available El cómic japonés (Manga es un importante medio de comunicación en su país de origen y, gracias su progresiva expansión internacional, en muchos países occidentales. Gran parte de los estudios de género realizados sobre el cómic japonés se han centrado en las obras dirigidas a una audiencia femenina. El presente artículo analiza un área menos abordada como es la representación de la mujer en el cómic japonés masculino, la cual es estudiada a través de dos métodos de análisis (iconográfico y narrativo en dos tipos de cómics bien definidos en sus características como son el cómic de acción y aventura para adolescentes masculinos (shounen manga y el cómic de terror (horror manga para el público adulto.

  15. Recovery of copper(II) and chromium(III) from nitrate medium with ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    The solvent extraction of copper(II) and chromium(III) from nitrate medium with salicylideneaniline (HL) is studied as a function of various parameters: pH, concentration of salicylideneaniline, contact time and the nature of anoin (nitrate and sulfate) in aqueous phase. Chromium(III) is not extracted by salicylideneaniline ...

  16. Comparison of a radiometric method (BACTEC) and conventional culture media for recovery of mycobacteria from smear-negative specimens

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Morgan, M.A.; Horstmeier, C.D.; DeYoung, D.R.; Roberts, G.D.

    1983-01-01

    The BACTEC system and three conventional media (Middlebrook 7H10, selective Middlebrook 7H11 [S7H11], and Lowenstein-Jensen [LJ] were compared for their mean recovery times and recovery rates of mycobacteria from acid-fast, smear-negative clinical specimens. Of the 71 smear-negative, culture-positive specimens recovered from 2,165 submitted smear-negative cultures, the BACTEC system detected 71.8%, compared with 88.7% for the conventional three-medium system. When media were individually compared, BACTEC medium (Middlebrook 7H12) was more successful in recovering mycobacteria (71.8%) than was LJ (62%), Middlebrook medium 7H10 (55.9%), or Middlebrook S7H11 medium (52.1%). Middlebrook 7H11 medium containing sodium selenate was also evaluated and did not increase the recovery rate or decrease the recovery time of mycobacterial species when compared with LJ, Middlebrook 7H10, S7H11, and 7H12 media. The mean detection time for the BACTEC system was less than that by conventional methods for the seven species of mycobacteria recovered. Detection times for Mycobacterium tuberculosis on the BACTEC system and conventional cultural systems were 13.7 and 26.3 days, respectively

  17. Importance of nutritional status in recovery from acute cholecystitis: benefit from enteral nutrition supplementation including medium chain triglycerides.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nomura, Yukinobu; Inui, Kazuo; Yoshino, Junji; Wakabayashi, Takao; Okushima, Kazumu; Kobayashi, Takashi; Miyoshi, Hironao; Nakamura, Yuta

    2007-09-01

    This study was undertaken to clarify the importance of nutritional status in patients with acute cholecystitis, and also evaluate whether they benefited from enteral nutrition supplementation, including medium-chain triglycerides (MCT), during the convalescent stage. Patients with acute cholecystitis admitted to our hospital between April 1994 and March 2002 were classified into a poor nutrition group (n=40; total serum proteinnutrition group (n=71; >5.0 g/dl). Patients with poor nutrition were significantly more elderly than those with fair nutrition, and had significantly higher serum C-reactive protein (CRP) concentrations. The two groups did not differ significantly with respect to other laboratory data, gender distribution, or medical treatment. We supplemented ordinary meals with enteral nutrition including MCT in 16 patients during the convalescent stage (MCT group). We compared their length of hospital stay and days required to recovery to pre-admission functional status for activities of daily living (ADL) with the same intervals in 16 patients without supplementation (non-MCT group) selected to match for age, gender, and fair or poor nutritional status from among 111 patients. Hospitalizations were significantly longer in the poor nutrition group (43.0+/-2.2 days) than in the fair nutrition group (27.0+/-8.2 days). Significantly more days were required to recover ADL status in the poor nutrition group (12.0+/-7.2 days) than in the fair group (9.4+/-5.2 days). Hospitalizations were significantly shorter in the MCT group (20.1+/-15 days) than in the non-MCT group (35.4+/-12.8 days). Significantly fewer days were required to recover ADL status in the MCT group (10.9+/-7 days) than in the non-MCT group (13.1+/-6.8 days). Administration of enteral nutrition including MCT during convalescence from acute cholecystitis thus appears to promote functional recovery shorten hospital stay.

  18. Comparison of EUCAST and CLSI Reference Microdilution MICs of Eight Antifungal Compounds for Candida auris and Associated Tentative Epidemiological Cutoff Values

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Arendrup, M. C.; Prakash, Anupam; Meletiadis, Joseph

    2017-01-01

    ) and lowest for isavuconazole and anidulafungin (58%/76% to 75% within ±1/±2 dilutions). We found that 90.2%/100% of the isolates were amphotericin B susceptible based on CLSI/EUCAST methods, respectively (i.e., with MICs of ≤1 mg/liter), and 100%/97.6% were fluconazole nonsusceptible by CLSI/EUCAST (MICs > 2......, the estimated ECOFFs were dependent on the method applied for voriconazole (1 to 32) and isavuconazole (0.125 to 4). CLSI and EUCAST MICs were remarkably similar and confirmed uniform fluconazole resistance and variable acquired resistance to the other agents....

  19. Optimizing the updated Goddard shortwave radiation Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) scheme for Intel Many Integrated Core (MIC) architecture

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mielikainen, Jarno; Huang, Bormin; Huang, Allen H.-L.

    2015-05-01

    Intel Many Integrated Core (MIC) ushers in a new era of supercomputing speed, performance, and compatibility. It allows the developers to run code at trillions of calculations per second using the familiar programming model. In this paper, we present our results of optimizing the updated Goddard shortwave radiation Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) scheme on Intel Many Integrated Core Architecture (MIC) hardware. The Intel Xeon Phi coprocessor is the first product based on Intel MIC architecture, and it consists of up to 61 cores connected by a high performance on-die bidirectional interconnect. The co-processor supports all important Intel development tools. Thus, the development environment is familiar one to a vast number of CPU developers. Although, getting a maximum performance out of Xeon Phi will require using some novel optimization techniques. Those optimization techniques are discusses in this paper. The results show that the optimizations improved performance of the original code on Xeon Phi 7120P by a factor of 1.3x.

  20. Selective medium for culture of Mycoplasma hyopneumoniae.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cook, Beth S; Beddow, Jessica G; Manso-Silván, Lucía; Maglennon, Gareth A; Rycroft, Andrew N

    2016-11-15

    The fastidious porcine respiratory pathogen Mycoplasma hyopneumoniae has proven difficult to culture since it was first isolated in 1965. A reliable solid medium has been particularly challenging. Moreover, clinical and pathological samples often contain the fast-growing M. hyorhinis which contaminates and overgrows M. hyopneumoniae in primary culture. The aim of this study was to optimise the culture medium for recovery of M. hyopneumoniae and to devise a medium for selection of M. hyopneumoniae from clinical samples also containing M. hyorhinis. The solid medium devised by Niels Friis was improved by use of Purified agar and incorporation of DEAE-dextran. Addition of glucose or neutralization of acidity in liquid medium with NaOH did not improve the final yield of viable organisms or alter the timing of peak viability. Analysis of the relative susceptibility of M. hyopneumoniae and M. hyorhinis strains to four antimicrobials showed that M. hyopneumoniae is less susceptible than M. hyorhinis to kanamycin. This was consistent in all UK and Danish strains tested. A concentration of 2μg/ml of kanamycin selectively inhibited the growth of all M. hyorhinis tested, while M. hyopneumoniae was able to grow. This forms the basis of an effective selective culture medium for M. hyopneumoniae. Copyright © 2016 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  1. Antimycobacterial activity evaluation and MIC determination of liophilizated hydroalcoholic extracts of Bixa orellana L., Bixaceae

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Renata B. Silva

    Full Text Available Bixa orellana is used in popular medicine against several diseases. Extracts of its fruit, root and leaf presented antimicrobial activity, while seed extract showed negative results. This study aimed at verifying the antimycobacterial activity of B. orellanalyophilized hydroalcoholic extracts over Mycobacterium tuberculosis, and determine the Minimum Inhibitory Concentration against five bacteria. Antimycobacterial activity was determined by diffusion technique, while MIC was assessed by diffusion and colorimetric analysis. MICs were 0.3, 0.5 and 0.2 mg/mL respectively, for leaf, root and stem extracts, against M. tuberculosis. Stem's extract showed 1.2 mg/mL for B. cereus, 1.53 mg/mL for S. aureusand S. typhimurium, 4.50 mg/mL for P. aeruginosaand 8.01 mg/mL for P. mirabillis.Leaf extracts showed 0.66 mg/mL for P. aeruginosa, 0.94 mg/mL for P. mirabillis, 1.88 mg/mL for S. aureus, 3.95 mg/mL for B. cereusand 8.37 mg/mL for S. typhimurium. Root's extracts showed 0.25 mg/mL for P. aeruginosa,0.31 mg/mL for S. aureus, 0.62 mg/mL for S. typhimuriumand 3.00 mg/mL for B. cereusand P. mirabillis. Leaf and stem extracts showed antimycobacterial activity. MICs were lower in colorimetric analysis than in agar diffusion. Extracts revealed bacteriostatic activity against the five bacterial.

  2. Implementation of body area networks based on MICS/WMTS medical bands for healthcare systems.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yuce, Mehmet R; Ho, Chee Keong

    2008-01-01

    A multi-hoping sensor network system has been implemented to monitor physiological parameters from multiple patient bodies by means of medical communication standards MICS (Medical Implant Communication Service) and WMTS (Wireless Medical Telemetry Service). Unlike the other medical sensor networks (they usually use 2.4 GHz ISM band), we used the two medical standards occupying the frequency bands that are mainly assigned to medical applications. The prototype system uses the MICS band (402-405 MHz) between the sensor nodes and a remote central control unit (CCU). And WMTS frequencies (608-614MHz) are used between the CCUs and the remote base stations allowing for a much larger range acting as an intermediate node. The sensor nodes in the prototype can measure up to four body signals (i.e. 4-channel) where one is dedicated to a continuous physiological signal such as ECC/EEG. The system includes firmware and software designs that can provide a long distance data transfer through the internet or a mobile network.

  3. [Effectiveness of Mitral Natural Folding Plasty for Minimally Invasive Cardiac Surgery Mitral Valve Plasty (MICS MVP)].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kondo, Shunichi; Tsuboi, Eitoshi; Rokkaku, Kyu; Irie, Yoshihito; Yokoyama, Hitoshi

    2015-01-01

    We performed 45 cases of Natural folding plasty without leaflet resection for degenerative mitral regurgitation (MR) between September 2005 and July 2014. Twenty cases of 45 were operated by right small intercostal approach (MICS). There was no operative mortality. No patient had greater than mild MR intraoperative transesophageal echocardiography. The median follow-up was 847 (19~1,747) days. One case needed a second pump run performed without complication. One patient had a reoperation performed for recurrent MR 20 months later. Natural folding plasty for degenerative MR with favorable long term out come in our results. This technique is simple and reproducible for most surgeons. Furthermore, with its simplicity and reversibility, we considered it to be suitable for MICS approach.

  4. mic como instrumento didáctico. La narración gráfica en ámbito universitario

    OpenAIRE

    Baile López, Eduard; Maestre-Brotons, Antoni; Ortiz Hernández, Francisco Javier; Rovira-Collado, José; Pomares Puig, María Pilar; Soler-Quílez, Guillermo; Villaverde Pérez, Abel; Bernabé Gallardo, Carlos; Rovira Collado, Joan Miquel; Sánchez Verdú, Ramón; Serna-Rodrigo, Rocío; Vidal Martín-Toledano, Jesús

    2016-01-01

    Mediante la red 3489, se ha pretendido dar, tal como ya se hizo en la convocatòria anterior de Redes de la UA, presencia académica a la labor de estudio y difusión sobre las posibilidades didácticas del cómic que se viene desarrollando desde los núcleos de Unicómic y CLUECA. En este sentido, la memoria pretende ser testimonio del trabajo investigador y docente llevado a cabo por los diversos miembros en el curso académico 2015-2016. A nuestro juicio, hacer recuento del camino recorrido es con...

  5. El cómic en la clase de ELE: una propuesta didáctica

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Alonso Abal, Marina

    2012-06-01

    Full Text Available Suplemento del número 14 de marcoELE (enero - junio de 2012 La presente memoria pretende hacer una reflexión sobre el valor del cómic como herramienta pedagógica. Para ello y, como punto de partida, se plantean tres cuestiones que sirven como eje vertebrador de dicho trabajo. La primera tiene que ver con los motivos de su utilización en la clase de ELE. En dicho apartado, se tratan aspectos como el factor afectivo, lo lúdico, el humor, la interculturalidad, etc., todos ellos presentes en las tiras cómicas y que, tal y como se pone de manifiesto en el segundo bloque, en el que se analiza la finalidad de su explotación en el aula, favorecen un aprendizaje significativo en consonancia con los postulados del MCER y del PCIC. El tercer bloque pretende desarrollar de manera práctica los aspectos teóricos abordados anteriormente. Se presentan tres cómics que se utilizarán como eje central de tres secuencias de actividades, correspondientes a cada uno de los niveles del MCER (A, B, C. En cada secuencia se desarrollarán una serie de actividades para alcanzar un objetivo comunicativo concreto confirmando, así, el valor didáctico de los cómics más allá de la utilización de dicho material como actividad complementaria de revisión al final de la unidad, como una actividad aislada para practicar un determinado contenido lingüístico o como una mera distracción o una excusa para la conversación.

  6. Postantibiotic effect and postantibiotic sub-MIC effect of LTX-109 and mupirocin on Staphylococcus aureus blood isolates.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Saravolatz, L D; Pawlak, J; Martin, H; Saravolatz, S; Johnson, L; Wold, H; Husbyn, M; Olsen, W M

    2017-11-01

    The development of new synthetic antimicrobial peptides like LTX-109 provides a new class of drugs for the treatment of Staphylococcus aureus infections. We evaluated LTX-109 and mupirocin for pharmacodynamic parameters against 10 methicillin-resistant S. aureus isolates. The postantibiotic effect (PAE) is defined as the length of time that bacterial growth is suppressed following a brief exposure to an antibiotic. We also determined the sub-MIC effect (SME) which measures the direct effect of subinhibitory levels on strains that have not previously been exposed to antibiotics. The postantibiotic sub-MIC effect (PA-SME) is a combination of the PAE and SME. LTX-109 had an average PAE of 5·51 h vs 1·04 h for mupirocin. The PA-SME of LTX-109 ranged from 2·51 to 9·33 h as the concentration increased from 0·2 to 0·4 times the minimal inhibitory concentration (MIC). The PA-SME range for mupirocin was 0·93-2·58 h. LTX-109, as compared to mupirocin, demonstrated prolonged time of effect for these pharmacodynamic parameters, which supports persistent activity for several hours after the drug is no longer present or is below the MIC. The pharmacodynamic parameters studied here suggest that LTX-109 is less likely than mupirocin to generate resistance to S. aureus. Resistant bacterial infections continue to be a challenge for clinicians. Identification of antibiotics with pharmacodynamic advantages may be beneficial in the treatment of these infections. An antibiotic with a longer postantibiotic effect may be able to be administered less frequently resulting in improved adherence. In this study, a new synthetic antimicrobial peptide, LTX-109, demonstrated a more prolonged time for LTX-109 than mupirocin against methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus. © 2017 The Society for Applied Microbiology.

  7. Un nuevo enfoque para la explotación del cómic en E/LE

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Consuelo Escudero Medina

    2007-01-01

    Full Text Available En esta ocasión, nos hemos decantado por trabajar con el cómic. Los elementos que configuran este material favorecen sobre todo la motivación del alumno, puesto que no le son ajenos, existen en su cultura.

  8. Optimizing zonal advection of the Advanced Research WRF (ARW) dynamics for Intel MIC

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mielikainen, Jarno; Huang, Bormin; Huang, Allen H.

    2014-10-01

    The Weather Research and Forecast (WRF) model is the most widely used community weather forecast and research model in the world. There are two distinct varieties of WRF. The Advanced Research WRF (ARW) is an experimental, advanced research version featuring very high resolution. The WRF Nonhydrostatic Mesoscale Model (WRF-NMM) has been designed for forecasting operations. WRF consists of dynamics code and several physics modules. The WRF-ARW core is based on an Eulerian solver for the fully compressible nonhydrostatic equations. In the paper, we will use Intel Intel Many Integrated Core (MIC) architecture to substantially increase the performance of a zonal advection subroutine for optimization. It is of the most time consuming routines in the ARW dynamics core. Advection advances the explicit perturbation horizontal momentum equations by adding in the large-timestep tendency along with the small timestep pressure gradient tendency. We will describe the challenges we met during the development of a high-speed dynamics code subroutine for MIC architecture. Furthermore, lessons learned from the code optimization process will be discussed. The results show that the optimizations improved performance of the original code on Xeon Phi 5110P by a factor of 2.4x.

  9. Un nuevo enfoque para la explotación del cómic en E/LE

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Consuelo Escudero Medina

    2012-08-01

    Full Text Available En esta ocasión, nos hemos decantado por trabajar con el cómic.  Los elementos que configuran este material favorecen sobre todo la motivación del alumno, puesto que no le son ajenos, existen en su cultura.

  10. MicROS-drt: supporting real-time and scalable data distribution in distributed robotic systems.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ding, Bo; Wang, Huaimin; Fan, Zedong; Zhang, Pengfei; Liu, Hui

    A primary requirement in distributed robotic software systems is the dissemination of data to all interested collaborative entities in a timely and scalable manner. However, providing such a service in a highly dynamic and resource-limited robotic environment is a challenging task, and existing robot software infrastructure has limitations in this aspect. This paper presents a novel robot software infrastructure, micROS-drt, which supports real-time and scalable data distribution. The solution is based on a loosely coupled data publish-subscribe model with the ability to support various time-related constraints. And to realize this model, a mature data distribution standard, the data distribution service for real-time systems (DDS), is adopted as the foundation of the transport layer of this software infrastructure. By elaborately adapting and encapsulating the capability of the underlying DDS middleware, micROS-drt can meet the requirement of real-time and scalable data distribution in distributed robotic systems. Evaluation results in terms of scalability, latency jitter and transport priority as well as the experiment on real robots validate the effectiveness of this work.

  11. Chulos y novios en viñetas. Cómo dedicarse al cómic (gay y no morir en el intento

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sebas Martín (autor de cómics

    2009-01-01

    Full Text Available Vivir del cómic es, de por sí, un imposible, pero las dificultades se acrecientan si el objetivo de un autor es dedicarse al cómic gay. En este artículo de cariz autobiográfico, se relatan los obstáculos y los éxitos que han marcado la trayectoria profesional de su autor, desde sus inicios, en los años 80, como creador de un fanzine, hasta la proliferación de proyectos que marcan los 2000. Con todo, se traza un recorrido por el panorama cultural e ideológico de la España de las últimas décadas, a través del cual asistimos a la lenta pero constante superación de los prejuicios que aún hoy rodean tanto el género del cómic como el mundo gay.

  12. Damage Recovery in Carrara Marble

    Science.gov (United States)

    Meyer, G.; Brantut, N.; Mitchell, T. M.; Meredith, P. G.

    2017-12-01

    We investigate the effect of confining pressure on the recovery of elastic wave velocities following deformation episodes in Carrara Marble. Dry Carrara Marble cores were deformed in the ductile regime (Pc = 40 MPa) up to 3% axial strain. After deformation, samples were held at constant stress conditions for extended periods of time (5-8 days) whilst continuously recording volumetric strain and seismic wave velocities. The velocity data were used to invert for microcrack densities using an effective medium approach. Finally, thin sections were produced to characterise the microstructures after recovery. During deformation, elastic wave speeds decreased with increasing strain by more than 30% of the value for the intact rock due to the formation of distributed microcracks. Under constant hydrostatic pressure, wave speeds progressively recovered 12-90% of the initial drop, depending on the applied confining pressure. In contrast, the strain recovery (deformation towards the initial shape of the sample) during holding time is negligible (of the order of 10-4). Tests performed under nonhydrostatic (triaxial) stress conditions during recovery showed some time-dependent creep deformation together with very significant recovery of wave velocities. The recovery is interpreted as a progressive reduction in crack density within the sample. The process is highly dependent on confining pressure, which favours it. We propose that the driving process for wave speed recovery is the time-dependent increase of contact area between crack surfaces due to the formation and growth of asperity contacts. We develop a micromechanical model for crack closure driven by asperity creep, which shows a good fit to the experimental data. Most of the recovery is achieved in the initial few hours, implying it is the fastest recovery or healing process, and thus occurs prior to any chemical healing or mineral precipitation. Our data corroborate field observations of post-seismic fault behavior.

  13. Characterization of diode valve in medium voltage dc/dc converter for wind turbines

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Dincan, Catalin Gabriel; Kjær, Philip Carne

    2016-01-01

    This paper proposes a methodology for characterization of medium voltage (MV), medium frequency (MF) rectifier diode valve. The intended application is for 10MW dc/dc converters used in DC offshore wind turbines. Sensitivity to semiconductor component parameter variation, snubber component tolera...... tolerance, influence of temperature and stray capacitance are analyzed. It is concluded that the largest impact on sensitivity is given by reverse recovery charge variation and differences of temperature between adjacent devices....

  14. [Evaluation of the methodological quality of the Rémic (microbiology guidelines - bacteriology and mycology) of the Société française de microbiologie].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fonfrède, Michèle; Couaillac, Jean Paul; Augereau, Christine; De Moüy, Danny; Lepargneur, Jean Pierre; Szymanowicz, Anton; Watine, Joseph

    2011-01-01

    We have evaluated the methodological quality of the Rémic (microbiology guidelines - bacteriology and mycology) of the Société française de microbiologie (edition2007), using to AGREE criteria, which are consensual at an international level, in particular at the the World Health Organisation (WHO) and at the European Union. The methodological quality of the Rémic appears to be sub-optimal. These shortcomings in quality are mainly observed in AGREE domain n° 5 (applicability), in AGREE item n° 5 (patients' opinions were not considered), and in AGREE item n° 23 (conflicts of interest were not declared). The users of the Rémic must be aware of these few methodological shortcomings in order for them to be careful before they put its recommendation in practice. In conclusion, we advise the editors of the Rémic to insert at least a methodological chapter in their next edition.

  15. Towards Porting a Real-World Seismological Application to the Intel MIC Architecture

    OpenAIRE

    V. Weinberg

    2014-01-01

    This whitepaper aims to discuss first experiences with porting an MPI-based real-world geophysical application to the new Intel Many Integrated Core (MIC) architecture. The selected code SeisSol is an application written in Fortran that can be used to simulate earthquake rupture and radiating seismic wave propagation in complex 3-D heterogeneous materials. The PRACE prototype cluster EURORA at CINECA, Italy, was accessed to analyse the MPI-performance of SeisSol on Intel Xeon Phi on both sing...

  16. Production of poly-3-(hydroxybutyrate-co-hydroxyvalerate) by Haloferax mediterranei using rice-based ethanol stillage with simultaneous recovery and re-use of medium salts.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bhattacharyya, Anirban; Saha, Jayeeta; Haldar, Saubhik; Bhowmic, Asit; Mukhopadhyay, Ujjal Kumar; Mukherjee, Joydeep

    2014-03-01

    Haloferax mediterranei holds promise for competitive industrial-scale production of polyhydroxyalkanoate (PHA) because cheap carbon sources can be used thus lowering production costs. Although high salt concentration in production medium permits a non-sterile, low-cost process, salt disposal after process completion is a problem as current environmental standards do not allow total dissolved solids (TDS) above 2000 mg/l in discharge water. As the first objective of this work, the waste product of rice-based ethanol industry, stillage, was used for the production of PHA by H. mediterranei in shake flasks. Utilization of raw stillage led to 71 ± 2% (of dry cell weight) PHA accumulation and 16.42 ± 0.02 g/l PHA production. The product yield coefficient was 0.35 while 0.17 g/l h volumetric productivity was attained. Simultaneous reduction of BOD5 and COD values of stillage by 83% was accomplished. The PHA was isolated by osmotic lysis of cells, purification by sodium dodecyl sulfate and organic solvents. The biopolymer was identified as poly-3-(hydroxybutyrate-co-15.4 mol%-hydroxyvalerate) (PHBV). This first report on utilization of rice-based ethanol stillage for PHBV production by H. mediterranei is currently the most cost effective. As the second objective, directional properties of decanoic acid together with temperature dependence of water solubility in decanoic acid were applied for two-stage desalination of the spent stillage medium. We report for the first time, recovery and re-use of 96% of the medium salts for PHA production thus removing the major bottleneck in the potential application of H. mediterranei for industrial production of PHBV. Final discharge water had TDS content of 670 mg/l.

  17. Department of Energy: MICS (Mathematical Information, and Computational Sciences Division). High performance computing and communications program

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    NONE

    1996-06-01

    This document is intended to serve two purposes. Its first purpose is that of a program status report of the considerable progress that the Department of Energy (DOE) has made since 1993, the time of the last such report (DOE/ER-0536, {open_quotes}The DOE Program in HPCC{close_quotes}), toward achieving the goals of the High Performance Computing and Communications (HPCC) Program. The second purpose is that of a summary report of the many research programs administered by the Mathematical, Information, and Computational Sciences (MICS) Division of the Office of Energy Research under the auspices of the HPCC Program and to provide, wherever relevant, easy access to pertinent information about MICS-Division activities via universal resource locators (URLs) on the World Wide Web (WWW). The information pointed to by the URL is updated frequently, and the interested reader is urged to access the WWW for the latest information.

  18. Disidencia sexual en el cómic alemán contemporáneo: el caso de Ralf König

    OpenAIRE

    Saxe, Facundo

    2016-01-01

    Este trabajo aborda la representación de la sexualidad disidente en el cómic alemán contemporáneo. Se analiza la obra del autor alemán Ralf König desde una perspectiva propia de los estudios queer y la disidencia de sexo-género. A través de un recorrido crítico se conceptualiza la figura del autor en su campo cultural y su proyección vinculada a las sexualidades disidentes en Europa y a la tradición del cómic en Alemania. Como caso paradigmático se realiza un análisis textual d...

  19. Evaluation of MIC Strip Isavuconazole test for susceptibility testing of wild-type and non-wild-type Aspergillus fumigatus isolates

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Arendrup, Maiken Cavling; Verweij, Paul; Nielsen, Henrik Vedel

    2017-01-01

    We evaluated the MIC Strip Isavuconazole test against EUCAST E.Def 9.3 by using 40 wild-type and 39 CYP51A mutant Aspergillus fumigatus strains. The strip full inhibition endpoint (FIE) and 80% growth inhibition endpoint were determined by two independent readers, reader 1 (R1) and R2. The essent......We evaluated the MIC Strip Isavuconazole test against EUCAST E.Def 9.3 by using 40 wild-type and 39 CYP51A mutant Aspergillus fumigatus strains. The strip full inhibition endpoint (FIE) and 80% growth inhibition endpoint were determined by two independent readers, reader 1 (R1) and R2...

  20. An accelerated electrochemical MIC test for stainless alloys

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Gendron, T.S.; Cleland, R.D.

    1994-01-01

    Previous work in our laboratory and elsewhere has suggested that MIC of stainless steels and nickel-base alloys occurs in locally anaerobic regions that support the growth of sulfate reducing bacteria (SRB). The cathodic reaction is provided by oxygen reduction at remote sites. Such a coupling between anode and cathode is difficult to reproduce in the laboratory, but can be simulated indirectly using a double electrochemical cell, as in previous work. A more realistic simulation using a single aerated electrochemical cell has now been developed, in which a second organism (P. aeruginosa) is used to provide an anoxic habitat for SRB growth and possibly a source of organic carbon, within a layer of silt. A bare alloy electrode is used as the oxygen cathode. Tests of this kind using rigorous microbiological procedures have generated pitting corrosion of several alloys in low chloride media simulating freshwater heat exchanger conditions. Similar test procedures are applicable to other environments of interest to this symposium

  1. Glycine-containing selective medium for isolation of Legionellaceae from environmental specimens.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wadowsky, R M; Yee, R B

    1981-11-01

    Glycine, at a final concentration of 0.3%, has been shown to be an excellent selective agent for the isolation of Legionellaceae. Stock cultures of Legionella pneumophila were not inhibited on buffered charcoal-yeast extract agar containing the amino acid. Among the other Legionellaceae tested, only one of two strains of L. dumoffii and two of six strains of L. micdadei were appreciably inhibited. This medium permitted the isolation of L. pneumophila from environmental specimens with marked inhibition of many non-Legionellaceae bacteria. The selectivity of the medium was subsequently improved by the incorporation of vancomycin (5 microgram/ml) and polymyxin B (100 U/ml). This selective medium, glycine-vancomycin-polymyxin B agar, should facilitate the recovery of Legionellaceae from environmental sources.

  2. Optimizing the Betts-Miller-Janjic cumulus parameterization with Intel Many Integrated Core (MIC) architecture

    Science.gov (United States)

    Huang, Melin; Huang, Bormin; Huang, Allen H.-L.

    2015-10-01

    The schemes of cumulus parameterization are responsible for the sub-grid-scale effects of convective and/or shallow clouds, and intended to represent vertical fluxes due to unresolved updrafts and downdrafts and compensating motion outside the clouds. Some schemes additionally provide cloud and precipitation field tendencies in the convective column, and momentum tendencies due to convective transport of momentum. The schemes all provide the convective component of surface rainfall. Betts-Miller-Janjic (BMJ) is one scheme to fulfill such purposes in the weather research and forecast (WRF) model. National Centers for Environmental Prediction (NCEP) has tried to optimize the BMJ scheme for operational application. As there are no interactions among horizontal grid points, this scheme is very suitable for parallel computation. With the advantage of Intel Xeon Phi Many Integrated Core (MIC) architecture, efficient parallelization and vectorization essentials, it allows us to optimize the BMJ scheme. If compared to the original code respectively running on one CPU socket (eight cores) and on one CPU core with Intel Xeon E5-2670, the MIC-based optimization of this scheme running on Xeon Phi coprocessor 7120P improves the performance by 2.4x and 17.0x, respectively.

  3. Optimizing recovery of frozen human peripheral blood mononuclear cells for flow cytometry.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Bo Langhoff Hønge

    Full Text Available Live peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs can be frozen and thawed for later analyses by adding and removing a cryoprotectant, such as dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO. Laboratories across the world use various procedures, but published evidence of optimal thawing procedures is scarce.PBMCs were separated from blood collected from healthy Danish blood donors, and stored at -80°C after adding of DMSO. The essential steps in the thawing procedure were modified and performance was evaluated by flow cytometry with respect to the percentage and total yield of viable PMBCs.The best-performing washing medium was Roswell Park Memorial Institute (RPMI 1640 at 37°C with 20% fetal bovine serum. When using 10 mL washing medium in a 15-mL Falcon tube, samples should be centrifuged for at least 10 minutes at 500 g. We failed to detect any differences between the tested methods of mixing PBMCs with washing medium. Likewise, neither the thawing duration nor centrifugation temperature (20°C and 37°C had any effect. PBMCs could be incubated (rested for up to eight hours in a 37°C 5% CO2 incubator without affecting cell counts, but incubating PBMCs for 16 hours significantly decreased viability and recovery. In general, high viability was not necessarily associated with high recovery.Changing the thawing procedure significantly impacted PBMC viability and live cell recovery. Evaluating both viability and live PBMC recovery are necessary to evaluate method performance. Investigation of differential loss of PBMC subtypes and phenotypic changes during thawing and incubation requires further evaluation.

  4. Sobre el plagi acadèmic a Europa. Un enfocament analític basat en quatre estudis

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Vanja Pupovac

    2008-12-01

    Full Text Available Amb el desenvolupament de les tecnologies de la informació i la comunicació (TIC, el plagi esdevé un problema cada cop més greu en la comunitat acadèmica. Segons els estudis sobre el plagi acadèmic elaborats en universitats de quatre països europeus diferents, l'índex de plagi entre els estudiants és considerablement alt i els estudiants majoritàriament passen per alt o permeten el plagi per la manca de coneixement, la manca de conseqüències o simplement perquè les TIC fan que el plagi sigui fàcil de cometre. Les conclusions dels estudis que es presenten en aquest article indiquen que cal introduir polítiques estrictes contra el plagi a les universitats. Pensem que s'hauria de captar l'atenció del públic sobre el problema del plagi, que s'hauria de debatre en altes esferes i que s'haurien d'aplicar mesures efectives contra el plagi. L'abast del plagi entre estudiants i les seves actituds envers el plagi reben influències de l'entorn cultural i també per l'escenari acadèmic. En comunitats multiculturals, com ara la comunitat europea, és necessari investigar i comparar el comportament acadèmic a diferents països per a establir estàndards equivalents en l'ensenyament arreu d'Europa. Text complet (PDFDossier complet (PDF

  5. Luces y sombras de la amazona de cómic Wonder Woman, la mujer maravilla = Lights and shadows of the comic Wonderwoman

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    M.ª Inmaculada Concepción Marfil Díaz

    2015-06-01

    Full Text Available La mujer constituye una parte determinante que sustenta el tejido social de todas las culturas y, sin embargo, no ha sido protagonista principal en el mundo del cómic de superhéroes. Pero hay excepciones, como Wonder Woman, la Mujer Maravilla. ¿Qué sucede con este personaje que forma trinidad con Batman y Superman sin apenas resonancia en el universo del cómic? ¿Qué relación existe entre el mito y el cómic? ¿Quién crea esta superheroina? Este trabajo es una aproximación al mito de las amazonas junto a la evolución de este personaje de cómic norteamericano.Even though women are crucial to the sustainability of the social fabric in every culture, they have not been the main protagonists in the world of Comic Superheroes. There are, of course, exceptions such as Wonder Woman but, who is this character that, in spite of forming a trinity with Batman and Superman, has hardly had any relevance in the universe of Comics? What is the relationship between the myth and the comic? Who created this Superheroine? This work intends to shed a light on the myth of the Amazons as well as on the evolution of this American comic character.

  6. Application of Intel Many Integrated Core (MIC) accelerators to the Pleim-Xiu land surface scheme

    Science.gov (United States)

    Huang, Melin; Huang, Bormin; Huang, Allen H.

    2015-10-01

    The land-surface model (LSM) is one physics process in the weather research and forecast (WRF) model. The LSM includes atmospheric information from the surface layer scheme, radiative forcing from the radiation scheme, and precipitation forcing from the microphysics and convective schemes, together with internal information on the land's state variables and land-surface properties. The LSM is to provide heat and moisture fluxes over land points and sea-ice points. The Pleim-Xiu (PX) scheme is one LSM. The PX LSM features three pathways for moisture fluxes: evapotranspiration, soil evaporation, and evaporation from wet canopies. To accelerate the computation process of this scheme, we employ Intel Xeon Phi Many Integrated Core (MIC) Architecture as it is a multiprocessor computer structure with merits of efficient parallelization and vectorization essentials. Our results show that the MIC-based optimization of this scheme running on Xeon Phi coprocessor 7120P improves the performance by 2.3x and 11.7x as compared to the original code respectively running on one CPU socket (eight cores) and on one CPU core with Intel Xeon E5-2670.

  7. Thermoelectric Waste Heat Recovery Program for Passenger Vehicles

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Jovovic, Vladimir [Gentherm Incorporated, Azusa, CA (United States)

    2015-12-31

    Gentherm began work in October 2011 to develop a Thermoelectric Waste Energy Recovery System for passenger vehicle applications. Partners in this program were BMW and Tenneco. Tenneco, in the role of TIER 1 supplier, developed the system-level packaging of the thermoelectric power generator. As the OEM, BMW Group demonstrated the TEG system in their vehicle in the final program phase. Gentherm demonstrated the performance of the TEG in medium duty and heavy duty vehicles. Technology developed and demonstrated in this program showed potential to reduce fuel consumption in medium and heavy duty vehicles. In light duty vehicles it showed more modest potential.

  8. Process and installation for heat recovery. Verfahren und Anlage zur Waermerueckgewinnung

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Zeller, M.

    1990-01-10

    The patent describes a method for heat recovery from the warmer of two separately conducted streams of a fluid, whereby heat is recovered through a first heat exchanger in the warmer stream of medium, a heat transfer medium in a transmitting circuit and a second heat exchanger in the cooler stream of fluid, whereby the transmitting circuit includes both heat exchangers, characterized in that the recovered thermic output ({Delta}t.Q) is continuously detected and a regulation of the quantity (Q) of heat transfer medium in this circuit to maximum thermic output is effected. (author) 4 figs., 2 refs.

  9. El cómic en Ecuador, una historia en génesis permanente

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    José Daniel Santibáñez

    2012-09-01

    Full Text Available El presente artículo presenta una síntesis histórica del cómic en Ecuador y las diferentes tendencias temáticas y de uso, a través de su evolución, principalmente en los medios de información de masas. También se exponen los nombres de los cultores de este arte/medio y de los historietistas más reconocidos en el país.

  10. Uso del EcoMic® y el producto bioactivo Pectimorf® en el establecimiento de dos especies forrajeras Use of EcoMic® and the bioactive product Pectimorf® in the establishment of two forage species

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Gertrudis Pentón

    2011-09-01

    Full Text Available Con el objetivo de evaluar el efecto de EcoMic®, Pectimorf® y/o su combinación en el establecimiento de las especies forrajeras Morus alba L. (morera y Sorghum bicolor L. (sorgo, se realizaron dos experimentos. El primero se hizo con M. alba, inoculada o no con HMA, y se evaluaron las variables del rendimiento y la supervivencia de las plantas a los 90 y 240 días. El experimento con S. bicolor se realizó durante 30 días a partir de la siembra, y se evaluó la germinación de las semillas y las variables del rendimiento a los 7, 15 y 30 días. Los tratamientos fueron: testigo, inoculación con HMA, imbibición en Pectimorf, y su combinación. Se empleó un diseño en bloques al azar, con tres repeticiones. Se obtuvo respuesta de la morera a la inoculación con HMA a los 90 días de establecimiento, en términos de peso verde de las raicillas y las raíces, que triplicaron los resultados del testigo. A los 240 días las plantas inoculadas duplicaron el rendimiento del testigo y no hubo diferencias significativas en la supervivencia, en el incremento de biomasa comestible por unidad de área foliar, ni en la relación del sistema asimilativo por unidad de biomasa comestible. En el sorgo, el empleo combinado del Pectimorf® y el EcoMic® produjo un aumento significativo, respecto al testigo, en la germinación de las semillas a los 30 días (89 vs 58%, la altura efectiva (4,04 vs 3,55 cm, el grosor de la base del tallo (0,18 vs 0,15 cm, el área del limbo, el número de hojas abiertas (4 vs 3 y el largo de las hojas. Se concluye que los productos EcoMic® y Pectimorf®, así como su combinación constituyen una alternativa efectiva para el establecimiento de las especies forrajeras estudiadas.In order to evaluate the effect of EcoMic®, Pectimorf® and/or their combination on the establishment of the forage species Morus alba L. (mulberry and Sorghum bicolor L. (sorghum, two trials were conducted. The first one was done with M. alba

  11. MIC damage in a water coolant header for remote process equipment

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Jenkins, C.F.

    1994-01-01

    Stainless steel water piping used to supply coolant for remote chemical separations equipment developed leaks during low flow conditions resulting from an extended interruption of operations. All the leaks occurred at welds in the bottom zone of the pipe, which was blanketed with silt deposits from the unfiltered well water used for cooling. Ultrasonic, radiographic, and metallographic examinations of leak sites revealed worm hole pitting adjacent to the welds. Seepage at the penetrations was strongly acidic and resulted in corrosion on the external pipe surfaces beneath brown crusty deposits which had developed. Analyses of the water and deposits suggest a strong propensity toward microbiologically influenced corrosion (MIC) and fouling

  12. Are Vancomycin Trough Concentrations of 15 to 20 mg/L Associated With Increased Attainment of an AUC/MIC ≥ 400 in Patients With Presumed MRSA Infection?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hale, Cory M; Seabury, Robert W; Steele, Jeffrey M; Darko, William; Miller, Christopher D

    2017-06-01

    To determine whether there is an association between higher vancomycin trough concentrations and attainment of a calculated area under the concentration-time curve (AUC)/minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) ≥400. A retrospective analysis was conducted among vancomycin-treated adult patients with a positive methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) culture. Attainment of a calculated AUC/MIC ≥400 was compared between patients with troughs in the reference range of 15 to 20 mg/L and those with troughs in the following ranges: 20 mg/L. Nephrotoxicity was assessed as a secondary outcome based on corrected average vancomycin troughs over 10 days of treatment. Overall, 226 patients were reviewed and 100 included. Relative to troughs ≥10, patients with vancomycin troughs AUC/MIC ≥400 (odds ratio [OR] 0.27, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.01-0.75). No difference was found in the attainment of an AUC/MIC ≥400 in patients with troughs of 10 to 14.9 mg/L and >20 mg/L when compared to patients with troughs of 15 to 20 mg/L. The mean corrected average vancomycin trough was higher in patients developing nephrotoxicity compared to those who did not (19.5 vs 14.5 mg/L, P AUC/MIC target relative to troughs of 10 to 14.9 mg/L but may increase nephrotoxicity risk.

  13. Coupling of MIC-3 overexpression with the chromosomes 11 and 14 root-knot nematode (RKN) (Meloidogyne incognita) resistance QTLs provides insights into the regulation of the RKN resistance response in Upland cotton (Gossypium hirsutum).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wubben, Martin J; Callahan, Franklin E; Jenkins, Johnie N; Deng, Dewayne D

    2016-09-01

    Genetic analysis of MIC-3 transgene with RKN resistance QTLs provides insight into the resistance regulatory mechanism and provides a framework for testing additional hypotheses. Resistance to root-knot nematode (RKN) (Meloidogyne incognita) in Upland cotton (Gossypium hirsutum) is mediated by two major quantitative trait loci (QTL) located on chromosomes 11 and 14. The MIC-3 (Meloidogyne Induced Cotton3) protein accumulates specifically within the immature galls of RKN-resistant plants that possess these QTLs. Recently, we showed that MIC-3 overexpression in an RKN-susceptible cotton genotype suppressed RKN egg production but not RKN-induced root galling. In this study, the MIC-3 overexpression construct T-DNA in the single-copy transgenic line '14-7-1' was converted into a codominant molecular marker that allowed the marker assisted selection of F2:3 cotton lines, derived from a cross between 14-7-1 and M-240 RNR, having all possible combinations of the chromosomes 11 and 14 QTLs with and without the MIC-3 overexpression construct. Root-knot nematode reproduction (eggs g(-1) root) and severity of RKN-induced root galling were assessed in these lines. We discovered that the addition of MIC-3 overexpression suppressed RKN reproduction in lines lacking both resistance QTLs and in lines having only the chromosome 14 QTL, suggesting an additive effect of the MIC-3 construct with this QTL. In contrast, MIC-3 overexpression did not improve resistance in lines having the single chromosome 11 QTL or in lines having both resistance QTLs, suggesting an epistatic interaction between the chromosome 11 QTL and the MIC-3 construct. Overexpression of MIC-3 did not affect the severity of RKN-induced root galling regardless of QTL genotype. These data provide new insights into the relative order of action of the chromosomes 11 and 14 QTLs and their potential roles in regulating MIC-3 expression as part of the RKN resistance response.

  14. CONSIDERAȚII TEORETICO-METODOLOGICE PRIVIND DESFĂȘURAREA AUTOEDUCAȚIEI ȘCOLARULUI MIC

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Natalia POPA

    2017-07-01

    Full Text Available Analiza literaturii de specialitate, observațiile noastre, rezultatele chestionării și ale conversației cu cadrele didactice demonstrează posibilitățile realizării unei auto/educații de calitate și necesitatea depunerii unui efort intelectual și moral-volitiv atât din partea elevilor, cât și a părinților și pedagogilor în direcția autoinstruirii, autoeducației și învățării pe parcursul vieții. În acest sens a fost elaborată matricea achizițiilor principale ale școlarului mic, care orientează adulții în direcția strategiilor ce pot fi aplicate în stimularea autoeducației școlarului mic.THEORETICAL AND METHODOLOGICAL CONSIDERATIONS ON UNFOLDING PRIMARY SCHOOL CHILDREN SELF-EDUCATIONThe literature analysis, our observations, results of questioning and conversation with teachers demonstrate the possibilities of achieving quality self/education and the need to make an intellectual and moral-volitional effort, both from students, parents and teachers towards self-training, self-education and lifelong learning. In this respect, the matrix of main achievements of small pupil, guiding adults towards strategies that can be applied to stimulate self-education primary school children has been developed.

  15. Absence of methylation of a CpG-rich region at the 5' end of the MIC2 gene on the active X, the inactive X, and the Y chromosome

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Goodfellow, P.J.; Mondello, C.; Darling, S.M.; Pym, B.; Little, P.; Goodfellow, P.N.

    1988-01-01

    The authors have identified and characterized a Hpa II tiny fragment (HTF) island associated with the promoter region of the pseudoautosomal gene MIC2. The MIC2 HTF island is unmethylated on both the active and inactive X chromosome and is similarly unmethylated on the Y chromosome. Unlike the majority of genes borne on the X chromosome, MIC2 fails to undergo X chromosome inactivation. HTF islands associated with X chromosome-liked genes that are inactivated are highly methylated on the inactive or transcriptionally silent homologue. The failure of MIC2 to undergo X chromosome inactivation correlates with the lack of methylation of HTF island at the 5' end of the gene. These results provide further evidence that DNA methylation plays an important role in the phenomenon of X chromosome inactivation

  16. Application of natural antimicrobial compounds for reservoir souring and MIC prevention in offshore oil and gas production systems

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Thomsen, Mette Hedegaard; Skovhus, Torben Lund; Mashietti, Marco

    Offshore oil production facilities are subjectable to internal corrosion, potentially leading to human and environmental risk and significant economic losses. Microbiologically influenced corrosion (MIC) and reservoir souring - sulphide production by sulfate reducing microorganisms in the reservo...

  17. An accelerated electrochemical MIC test for stainless alloys

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Gendron, T.S.; Cleland, R.D.

    1994-11-01

    Previous work in our laboratory and elsewhere has suggested that microbially influenced corrosion (MIC) of stainless steels and nickel-base alloys occurs in locally anaerobic regions that support the growth of sulfate-reducing bacteria (SRB). The cathodic reaction is provided by oxygen reduction at remote sites. Such a coupling between anode and cathode is difficult to reproduce in the laboratory, but can be simulated indirectly using a double electrochemical cell, as in previous work. A more realistic simulation using a single aerated electrochemical cell has now been developed, in which a second organism (P. aeruginosa) is used to provide an anoxic habitat for SRB growth and possible a source of organic carbon, within a layer of silt. A bare alloy electrode is used as the oxygen cathode. Tests of this kind using rigorous microbiological procedures have generated pitting corrosion of several alloys in low chloride media simulating freshwater heat exchanger conditions. This report discusses the adaption of these procedures to study corrosion of nuclear waste containers. (author). 20 refs., 2 tabs., 7 figs

  18. Improved process for the injection of water for secondary recovery of petroleum

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    1967-07-24

    In this process for the secondary recovery of petroleum from the formation, an aqueous displacing medium is injected through an injection well in communication with the formation. In this aqueous medium, a polymer is dissolved and the petroleum is thus displaced toward a producing well also in communication with the formation. The polymer is a liquid organic polymer, substantially linear, water-soluble, and having a resistance characteristic of at least 1.5. The polymer is dissolved in water in sufficient quantity such that the viscosity of the displacing medium is 0.5-15% of the viscosity of the crude oil to be displaced. The displacing medium is substantially free of molecular oxygen.

  19. Combinatorial effect of mutagenesis and medium component optimization on Bacillus amyloliquefaciens antifungal activity and efficacy in eradicating Botrytis cinerea.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Masmoudi, Fatma; Ben Khedher, Saoussen; Kamoun, Amel; Zouari, Nabil; Tounsi, Slim; Trigui, Mohamed

    2017-04-01

    This work is directed towards Bacillus amyloliquefaciens strain BLB371 metabolite production for biocontrol of fungal phytopathogens. In order to maximise antifungal metabolite production by this strain, two approaches were combined: random mutagenesis and medium component optimization. After three rounds of mutagenesis, a hyper active mutant, named M3-7, was obtained. It produces 7 fold more antifungal metabolites (1800AU/mL) than the wild strain in MC medium. A hybrid design was applied to optimise a new medium to enhance antifungal metabolite production by M3-7. The new optimized medium (35g/L of peptone, 32.5g/L of sucrose, 10.5g/L of yeast extract, 2.4g/L of KH 2 PO 4 , 1.3g/L of MgSO 4 and 23mg/L of MnSO 4 ) achieved 1.62 fold enhancement in antifungal compound production (3000AU/mL) by this mutant, compared to that achieved in MC medium. Therefore, combinatory effect of these two approaches (mutagenesis and medium component optimization) allowed 12 fold improvement in antifungal activity (from 250UA/mL to 3000UA/mL). This improvement was confirmed against several phytopathogenic fungi with an increase of MIC and MFC over than 50%. More interestingly, a total eradication of gray mold was obtained on tomato fruits infected by Botrytis cinerea and treated by M3-7, compared to those treated by BLB371. From the practical point of view, combining random mutagenesis and medium optimization could be considered as an excellent tool for obtaining promising biological products useful against phytopathogenic fungi. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier GmbH. All rights reserved.

  20. Fuel retention and recovery in natural and MGI disruptions on KSTAR

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Yu, Y.W.; Hong, S.H.; Yoon, S.W.; Kim, K.P.; Kim, W.C.; Seo, D.C.

    2013-01-01

    Fuel retention and recovery are studied during natural and Massive Gas Injection (MGI) induced disruptions in KSTAR with full graphite wall. The amount of released particles in natural disruptions in 15 s after the discharge is ∼5–10 times higher than that of non-disruption shots, but the difference is only ∼ 2 MGI induced disruptions depends on magnetic field (B t ) and MGI amount. The MGI disruption under a low B t and a medium MGI amount shows shorter thermal quench (TQ) and current quench (CQ), thereby higher fuel recovery. High B t plasma requires higher MGI amount for both disruption mitigation and fuel recovery. A high recovery of 4.2 × 10 22 D (∼0.78 monolayers) is obtained by MGI disruption in KSTAR 2011

  1. Performance Analysis of GFDL's GCM Line-By-Line Radiative Transfer Model on GPU and MIC Architectures

    Science.gov (United States)

    Menzel, R.; Paynter, D.; Jones, A. L.

    2017-12-01

    Due to their relatively low computational cost, radiative transfer models in global climate models (GCMs) run on traditional CPU architectures generally consist of shortwave and longwave parameterizations over a small number of wavelength bands. With the rise of newer GPU and MIC architectures, however, the performance of high resolution line-by-line radiative transfer models may soon approach those of the physical parameterizations currently employed in GCMs. Here we present an analysis of the current performance of a new line-by-line radiative transfer model currently under development at GFDL. Although originally designed to specifically exploit GPU architectures through the use of CUDA, the radiative transfer model has recently been extended to include OpenMP in an effort to also effectively target MIC architectures such as Intel's Xeon Phi. Using input data provided by the upcoming Radiative Forcing Model Intercomparison Project (RFMIP, as part of CMIP 6), we compare model results and performance data for various model configurations and spectral resolutions run on both GPU and Intel Knights Landing architectures to analogous runs of the standard Oxford Reference Forward Model on traditional CPUs.

  2. National and Gender Measurement Invariance of the Utrecht-Management of Identity Commitments Scale (U-MICS): A 10-Nation Study With University Students.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Crocetti, Elisabetta; Cieciuch, Jan; Gao, Cheng-Hai; Klimstra, Theo; Lin, Ching-Ling; Matos, Paula Mena; Morsünbül, Ümit; Negru, Oana; Sugimura, Kazumi; Zimmermann, Grégoire; Meeus, Wim

    2015-12-01

    The purpose of this study was to examine the psychometric properties of the Utrecht-Management of Identity Commitments Scale (U-MICS), a self-report measure aimed at assessing identity processes of commitment, in-depth exploration, and reconsideration of commitment. We tested its factor structure in university students from a large array of cultural contexts, including 10 nations located in Europe (i.e., Italy, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, and Switzerland), Middle East (i.e., Turkey), and Asia (i.e., China, Japan, and Taiwan). Furthermore, we tested national and gender measurement invariance. Participants were 6,118 (63.2% females) university students aged from 18 to 25 years (Mage = 20.91 years). Results indicated that the three-factor structure of the U-MICS fitted well in the total sample, in each national group, and in gender groups. Furthermore, national and gender measurement invariance were established. Thus, the U-MICS can be fruitfully applied to study identity in university students from various Western and non-Western contexts. © The Author(s) 2015.

  3. WASTE HEAT RECOVERY IN HEAT PUMP SYSTEMS: SOLUTION TO REDUCE GLOBAL WARMING

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Y. Baradey

    2015-11-01

    Full Text Available Energy conversion technologies, where waste heat recovery systems are included, have received significant attention in recent years due to reasons that include depletion of fossil fuel, increasing oil prices, changes in climatic conditions, and global warming. For low temperature applications, there are many sources of thermal waste heat, and several recovery systems and potential useful applications have been proposed by researchers [1-4]. In addition, many types of equipment are used to recover waste thermal energy from different systems at low, medium, and high temperature applications, such as heat exchangers, waste heat recovery boiler, thermo-electric generators, and recuperators. In this paper, the focus is on waste heat recovery from air conditioners, and an efficient application of these energy resources. Integration of solar energy with heat pump technologies and major factors that affect the feasibility of heat recovery systems have been studied and reviewed as well. KEYWORDS: waste heat recovery; heat pump.

  4. [Severe diarrhea after the original well-functioning percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy tube was replaced by a Mic-Key button].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jensen, Susanne Wigh; Eriksen, Jan; Kristensen, Kurt

    2006-03-06

    We report two cases of colocutaneous fistula as a complication of percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy (PEG) in small children. Both children developed severe osmotic diarrhoea immediately after the original PEG tube was replaced by a Mic-Key button which subsequently migrated to the colon.

  5. Use of a primary isolation medium for recovery of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus.

    OpenAIRE

    Van Enk, R A; Thompson, K D

    1992-01-01

    Clinical specimens frequently contain methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) isolates in low numbers or mixed with methicillin-susceptible staphylococci, which can obscure MRSA on nonselective media. By using an oxacillin-containing mannitol-salt-based selective and differential medium on 936 respiratory specimens, we recovered 45% more MRSA isolates (29 versus 20) than on nonselective media alone.

  6. Measuring coverage in MNCH: tracking progress in health for women and children using DHS and MICS household surveys.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Attila Hancioglu

    Full Text Available Household surveys are the primary data source of coverage indicators for children and women for most developing countries. Most of this information is generated by two global household survey programmes-the USAID-supported Demographic and Health Surveys (DHS and the UNICEF-supported Multiple Indicator Cluster Surveys (MICS. In this review, we provide an overview of these two programmes, which cover a wide range of child and maternal health topics and provide estimates of many Millennium Development Goal indicators, as well as estimates of the indicators for the Countdown to 2015 initiative and the Commission on Information and Accountability for Women's and Children's Health. MICS and DHS collaborate closely and work through interagency processes to ensure that survey tools are harmonized and comparable as far as possible, but we highlight differences between DHS and MICS in the population covered and the reference periods used to measure coverage. These differences need to be considered when comparing estimates of reproductive, maternal, newborn, and child health indicators across countries and over time and we discuss the implications of these differences for coverage measurement. Finally, we discuss the need for survey planners and consumers of survey results to understand the strengths, limitations, and constraints of coverage measurements generated through household surveys, and address some technical issues surrounding sampling and quality control. We conclude that, although much effort has been made to improve coverage measurement in household surveys, continuing efforts are needed, including further research to improve and refine survey methods and analytical techniques.

  7. Serum levels of human MIC-1/GDF15 vary in a diurnal pattern, do not display a profile suggestive of a satiety factor and are related to BMI

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Tsai, Vicky Wang-Wei; Macia, Laurence; Feinle-Bisset, Christine

    2015-01-01

    The TGF-b superfamily cytokine MIC-1/GDF15 circulates in the blood of healthy humans. Its levels rise substantially in cancer and other diseases and this may sometimes lead to development of an anorexia/cachexia syndrome. This is mediated by a direct action of MIC-1/GDF15 on feeding centres...

  8. Beyond Bushfires: Community, Resilience and Recovery - a longitudinal mixed method study of the medium to long term impacts of bushfires on mental health and social connectedness.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gibbs, Lisa; Waters, Elizabeth; Bryant, Richard A; Pattison, Philippa; Lusher, Dean; Harms, Louise; Richardson, John; MacDougall, Colin; Block, Karen; Snowdon, Elyse; Gallagher, Hugh Colin; Sinnott, Vikki; Ireton, Greg; Forbes, David

    2013-11-04

    Natural disasters represent an increasing threat both in terms of incidence and severity as a result of climate change. Although much is known about individual responses to disasters, much less is known about the social and contextual response and how this interacts with individual trajectories in terms of mental health, wellbeing and social connectedness. The 2009 bushfires in Victoria, Australia caused much loss of life, property destruction, and community disturbance. In order to progress future preparedness, response and recovery, it is crucial to measure and understand the impact of disasters at both individual and community levels. This study aims to profile the range of mental health, wellbeing and social impacts of the Victorian 2009 bushfires over time using multiple methodologies and involving multiple community partners. A diversity of communities including bushfire affected and unaffected will be involved in the study and will include current and former residents (at the time of the Feb 2009 fires). Participants will be surveyed in 2012, 2014 and, funding permitting, in 2016 to map the predictors and outcomes of mental health, wellbeing and social functioning. Ongoing community visits, as well as interviews and focus group discussions in 2013 and 2014, will provide both contextual information and evidence of changing individual and community experiences in the medium to long term post disaster. The study will include adults, adolescents and children over the age of 5. Conducting the study over five years and focussing on the role of social networks will provide new insights into the interplay between individual and community factors and their influence on recovery from natural disaster over time. The study findings will thereby expand understanding of long term disaster recovery needs for individuals and communities.

  9. Moellerella wisconsensis: identification, natural antibiotic susceptibility and its dependency on the medium applied.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Stock, Ingo; Falsen, Enevold; Wiedemann, Bernd

    2003-01-01

    The present study establishes a data compilation on biochemical features and natural antibiotic susceptibilities of Moellerella wisconsensis strains. 17 moellerellae isolated from humans (n = 11), food (n = 5) and water (n = 1) were tested. Identification was carried out using two commercially available systems and conventional tests. MIC determinations of 74 antibiotics were performed applying a microdilution procedure in Cation-adjusted Mueller Hinton broth and IsoSensitest broth. M. wisconsensis was naturally sensitive to doxycycline, minocycline, all tested aminoglycosides, numerous beta-lactams, all fluoroquinolones, folate-pathway inhibitors, chloramphenicol and nitrofurantoin. Natural resistance was found with oxacillin, penicillin G, all tested macrolides, lincomycin, streptogramins, ketolides, glycopeptides, fusidic acid, linezolid and rifampicin. Medium-dependent differences in susceptibility affecting clinical assessment criteria were seen with tetracycline, clindamycin and fosfomycin. From the data of the present study it is possible that some moellerellae are misidentified as Klebsiella pneumoniae subsp. ozaenae.

  10. Plasma MIC-1 and PAPP-a levels are decreased among women presenting to an early pregnancy assessment unit, have fetal viability confirmed but later miscarry.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Tu'uhevaha J Kaitu'u-Lino

    Full Text Available We have recently shown first trimester Macrophage inhibitory cytokine-1 (MIC-1 and Pregnancy Associated Plasma Protein-A (PAPP-A serum concentrations are depressed among asymptomatic women destined to miscarry. Here we examined whether plasma levels of MIC-1 and PAPP-A are depressed among women presenting to an Early Pregnancy Assessment Unit (EPAU, noted to have a confirmed viable fetus, but subsequently miscarry.We performed a prospective cohort study, recruiting 462 women in the first trimester presenting to EPAU and had fetal viability confirmed by ultrasound. We obtained plasma samples on the same day and measured MIC-1, PAPP-A and human chorionic gonadotrophin (hCG, grouping the cohort according to whether they later miscarried or not. To correct for changes in analyte levels across gestation, we expressed the data as Multiples of the normal Median (MoMs.We recruited 462 participants presenting to EPAU at 5-12 weeks gestation. Most (80% presented with symptoms of threatened miscarriage (e.g. abdominal pain, vaginal bleeding. 34 (7.4% subsequently miscarried. Median plasma MIC-1 levels among those who miscarried were 50% of those with ongoing pregnancies (Miscarriage cohort MoM 0.50 (25(th-75(th centiles: 0.29-1.33 vs ongoing pregnancies MoM 1.00 (0.65-1.38; p=0.0025. Median plasma PAPP-A MoMs among those who miscarried was 0.57 (0.00-1.12, significantly lower than those with ongoing pregnancies (MoMs 1.00 (0.59-1.59; p=0.036. Plasma hCG levels were also significantly depressed among those who miscarried compared to those with ongoing pregnancies. However, the performance of MIC-1 as a diagnostic marker to predict miscarriage in this cohort was modest, and not improved with the addition of hCG.MIC-1 and PAPP-A levels are significantly depressed in women presenting to EPAU with ultrasound evidence of fetal viability, but later miscarry. While they are unlikely to be useful as predictive biomarkers in this clinical setting, they probably play

  11. Antibiotic content of selective culture media for isolation of Capnocytophaga species from oral polymicrobial samples.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ehrmann, E; Jolivet-Gougeon, A; Bonnaure-Mallet, M; Fosse, T

    2013-10-01

    In oral microbiome, because of the abundance of commensal competitive flora, selective media with antibiotics are necessary for the recovery of fastidious Capnocytophaga species. The performances of six culture media (blood agar, chocolate blood agar, VCAT medium, CAPE medium, bacitracin chocolate blood agar and VK medium) were compared with literature data concerning five other media (FAA, LB, TSBV, CapR and TBBP media). To understand variable growth on selective media, the MICs of each antimicrobial agent contained in this different media (colistin, kanamycin, trimethoprim, trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole, vancomycin, aztreonam and bacitracin) were determined for all Capnocytophaga species. Overall, VCAT medium (Columbia, 10% cooked horse blood, polyvitaminic supplement, 3·75 mg l(-1) of colistin, 1·5 mg l(-1) of trimethoprim, 1 mg l(-1) of vancomycin and 0·5 mg l(-1) of amphotericin B, Oxoid, France) was the more efficient selective medium, with regard to the detection of Capnocytophaga species from oral samples (P culture, a simple blood agar allowed the growth of all Capnocytophaga species. Nonetheless, in oral samples, because of the abundance of commensal competitive flora, selective media with antibiotics are necessary for the recovery of Capnocytophaga species. The demonstrated superiority of VCAT medium made its use essential for the optimal detection of this bacterial genus. This work showed that extreme caution should be exercised when reporting the isolation of Capnocytophaga species from oral polymicrobial samples, because the culture medium is a determining factor. © 2013 The Society for Applied Microbiology.

  12. Imaging resilience and recovery in alcohol dependence.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Charlet, Katrin; Rosenthal, Annika; Lohoff, Falk W; Heinz, Andreas; Beck, Anne

    2018-05-09

    Resilience and recovery are of increasing importance in the field of alcohol dependence (AD). This paper describes how imaging studies in man can be used to assess the neurobiological correlates of resilience and, if longitudinal, of disease trajectories, progression rates and markers for recovery to inform treatment and prevention options. Original articles on recovery and resilience in alcohol addiction and its neurobiological correlates were identified from 'PubMed' and have been analyzed and condensed within a systematic literature review. Findings deriving from (f)MRI and PET studies have identified links between increased resilience and less task-elicited neural activation within the basal ganglia, and benefits of heightened neural prefrontal cortex (PFC) engagement regarding resilience in a broader sense, namely resilience against relapse in early abstinence of AD. Furthermore, findings consistently propose at least partial recovery of brain glucose metabolism and executive and general cognitive functioning, as well as structural plasticity effects throughout the brain of alcohol-dependent patients during the course of short, medium and long-term abstinence, even when patients only lowered their alcohol consumption to a moderate level. Additionally, specific factors were found that appear to influence these observed brain recovery processes in AD, e.g. genotype-dependent neuronal (re)growth, gender-specific neural recovery effects, critical interfering effects of psychiatric comorbidities, additional smoking or marijuana influences, or adolescent alcohol abuse. Neuroimaging research has uncovered neurobiological markers that appear to be linked to resilience and improved recovery capacities that are furthermore influenced by various factors such as gender or genetics. Consequently, future system-oriented approaches may help to establish a broad neuroscience-based research framework for alcohol dependence. This article is protected by copyright. All rights

  13. Chelsea Boys: paradigmas sexuales de un cómic queer

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Rafael Manuel Mérida Jiménez

    2009-01-01

    Full Text Available Más allá del barrio neoyorquino que da título a este serie de volúmenes –aunque en diálogo tanto con su realidad como con sus representaciones anteriores, como Rear Window, dónde se presenta ya como espacio sexualizado–; y más allá del estereotipo gay que la misma expresión representa, Chelsea Boys aparece como un espacio de ruptura de clichés. En el contexto del cómic gay norteamericano que se repasa en este artículo, constituye una propuesta plural, donde la universalidad de las situaciones que representa superan tanto el localismo como la rigidez estereotípica de algunas creaciones anteriores. En él emerge una comunidad queer a través de cuya representación se plantean cuestiones cruciales en y para la/s realidad/es gays.

  14. Herramienta observacional para el estudio de conductas violentas en un cómic audiovisual

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Zaida Márquez

    2012-01-01

    Full Text Available Abstract This research paper presents a study which aimed to structure a system of categories for observation and description of violent behavior within an audiovisual children program, specifically in cartoons. A chapter of an audiovisual cartoon was chosen as an example. This chapter presented three main female characters in a random fashion in order to be observed by the children. Categories were established using the taxonomic criteria proposed by Anguera (2001 and were made up of various typed behaviors according to levels of response. To identify a stable behavioral pattern, some events were taken as a sample, taking into account one or several behavior registered in the observed sessions. The episode was analyzed by two observers who appreciated the material simultaneously, making two observations, registering the relevant data and contrasting opinions. The researchers determined a set of categories which expressed violent behavior such as: Nonverbal behavior, special behavior, and vocal/verbal behavior. It was concluded that there was a pattern of predominant and stable violent behavior in the cartoon observed. Resumen El presente artículo de investigación presenta un trabajo cuyo objetivo consistió en estructurar un sistema de categorías para la observación y descripción de conductas violentas en un cómic audiovisual (dibujo animado. Se seleccionó como muestra un cómic audiovisual que tiene tres personajes principales femeninos; tomándose de forma aleatoria, para su observación, uno de sus capítulos. Para el establecimiento de las categorías se escogieron como base los criterios taxonómicos propuestos por Anguera (2001, con lo cual se tipificaron las conductas que conforman cada categoría según los niveles de respuesta. Y para identificar un patrón de conducta estable se ha realizado un muestreo de eventos, usando todas las ocurrencias de una o varias conductas que se registraron en las sesiones observadas. El episodio

  15. Comparative Effectiveness of Vancomycin Versus Daptomycin for MRSA Bacteremia With Vancomycin MIC >1 mg/L: A Multicenter Evaluation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Moise, Pamela A; Culshaw, Darren L; Wong-Beringer, Annie; Bensman, Joyce; Lamp, Kenneth C; Smith, Winter J; Bauer, Karri; Goff, Debra A; Adamson, Robert; Leuthner, Kimberly; Virata, Michael D; McKinnell, James A; Chaudhry, Saira B; Eskandarian, Romic; Lodise, Thomas; Reyes, Katherine; Zervos, Marcus J

    2016-01-01

    Clinical studies comparing vancomycin with alternative therapy for methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) bacteremia are limited. The objective of this study was to compare outcomes of early daptomycin versus vancomycin treatment for MRSA bacteremia with high vancomycin MICs in a geographically diverse multicenter evaluation. This nationwide, retrospective, multicenter (N = 11), matched, cohort study compared outcomes of early daptomycin with vancomycin for MRSA bloodstream infection (BSI) with vancomycin MICs 1.5 to 2 µg/mL. Matching variables, based on propensity regression analysis, included age, intensive care unit (ICU), and type of BSI. Outcomes were as follows: (1) composite failure (60-day all-cause mortality, 7-day clinical or microbiologic failure, 30-day BSI relapse, or end-of-treatment failure (EOT; discontinue/change daptomycin or vancomycin because of treatment failure or adverse event]); (2) nephrotoxicity; and (2) day 4 BSI clearance. A total of 170 patients were included. The median (interquartile range) age was 60 years (50-74); the median (range) Acute Physiology and Chronic Health Evaluation II score was 15 (10-18); 31% were in an ICU; and 92% had an infectious disease consultation. BSI types included endocarditis/endovascular (39%), extravascular (55%), and central catheter (6%). The median daptomycin dose was 6 mg/kg, and the vancomycin trough level was 17 mg/L. Overall composite failure was 35% (59 of 170): 15% due to 60-day all-cause mortality, 14% for lack of clinical or microbiologic response by 7 days, and 17% due to failure at end of therapy (discontinue/change because of treatment failure or adverse event). Predictors of composite failure according to multivariate analysis were age >60 years (odds ratio, 3.7; P day 4 bacteremia clearance rates for immunocompromised patients (n = 26) (94% vs 56% for daptomycin vs vancomycin; P = 0.035). Results from this multicenter study provide, for the first time, a geographically diverse

  16. Efficient Execution of Microscopy Image Analysis on CPU, GPU, and MIC Equipped Cluster Systems.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Andrade, G; Ferreira, R; Teodoro, George; Rocha, Leonardo; Saltz, Joel H; Kurc, Tahsin

    2014-10-01

    High performance computing is experiencing a major paradigm shift with the introduction of accelerators, such as graphics processing units (GPUs) and Intel Xeon Phi (MIC). These processors have made available a tremendous computing power at low cost, and are transforming machines into hybrid systems equipped with CPUs and accelerators. Although these systems can deliver a very high peak performance, making full use of its resources in real-world applications is a complex problem. Most current applications deployed to these machines are still being executed in a single processor, leaving other devices underutilized. In this paper we explore a scenario in which applications are composed of hierarchical data flow tasks which are allocated to nodes of a distributed memory machine in coarse-grain, but each of them may be composed of several finer-grain tasks which can be allocated to different devices within the node. We propose and implement novel performance aware scheduling techniques that can be used to allocate tasks to devices. We evaluate our techniques using a pathology image analysis application used to investigate brain cancer morphology, and our experimental evaluation shows that the proposed scheduling strategies significantly outperforms other efficient scheduling techniques, such as Heterogeneous Earliest Finish Time - HEFT, in cooperative executions using CPUs, GPUs, and MICs. We also experimentally show that our strategies are less sensitive to inaccuracy in the scheduling input data and that the performance gains are maintained as the application scales.

  17. Restoration in non nutrient medium: relative importance of some separation genetic markers

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Bezerra, R.J.A.

    1980-01-01

    In order to check whether the increase of celular viability observed in cultures of Escherichia coli and Salmonella typhimurium, irradiated with ultraviolet and incubated in non nutrient medium, would be due to cell multiplication, and/or repair we applied a Statistical Fluctuation Test, based on Poisson Distribution. Utilizing macromolecules in strains that show true liquid holding recovery (LHR) or cell multiplication. Our results show that cell multiplication and not repair occurs in non nutrient medium for E.coli AB2470 (rrecB21), E.coli JG112 (polA1) an in the ΔuvrB mutant of S.typhimurium. In E.coli JG112, the multiplication rate is higher when thymine is added to the non nutrient medium, due to the auxotrophism of this strain. In E.coli lexB30 mutant, we observed repair in non nutrient medium (LHR) and cell multiplication, while in E.coli lexA1 mutant only LHR was observed. Studies of macromolecules degradation indicate that the final products are, probably reutilized by the cells, creating possibility of multiplication and/or repair. (author)

  18. Engine Load Effects on the Energy and Exergy Performance of a Medium Cycle/Organic Rankine Cycle for Exhaust Waste Heat Recovery

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Peng Liu

    2018-02-01

    Full Text Available The Organic Rankine Cycle (ORC has been proved a promising technique to exploit waste heat from Internal Combustion Engines (ICEs. Waste heat recovery systems have usually been designed based on engine rated working conditions, while engines often operate under part load conditions. Hence, it is quite important to analyze the off-design performance of ORC systems under different engine loads. This paper presents an off-design Medium Cycle/Organic Rankine Cycle (MC/ORC system model by interconnecting the component models, which allows the prediction of system off-design behavior. The sliding pressure control method is applied to balance the variation of system parameters and evaporating pressure is chosen as the operational variable. The effect of operational variable and engine load on system performance is analyzed from the aspects of energy and exergy. The results show that with the drop of engine load, the MC/ORC system can always effectively recover waste heat, whereas the maximum net power output, thermal efficiency and exergy efficiency decrease linearly. Considering the contributions of components to total exergy destruction, the proportions of the gas-oil exchanger and turbine increase, while the proportions of the evaporator and condenser decrease with the drop of engine load.

  19. System i Disaster Recovery Planning

    CERN Document Server

    Dolewski, Richard

    2008-01-01

    Mapping out all the preparations necessary for an effective disaster recovery plan and its safeguard-a continuous maintenance program-this guide is aimed at IT managers of small and medium businesses. The opening section covers the initial steps of auditing vulnerability, ranking essential IT functions, and reviewing the storage of tape backups, with the following discussion focused on the elements of the plan itself. The plan includes a mission statement, a definition of disaster, the assignment of staff to teams, methods of compensating for human error, and standards for documenting the step

  20. Characterisation of Ferrosilicon Dense Medium Separation Material

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Waanders, F. B.; Mans, A.

    2003-01-01

    Ferrosilicon is used in the dense medium separation of iron ore at Kumba resources, Sishen, South Africa. Due to high cost and losses that occur during use, maximum recovery by means of magnetic separation is aimed for. The purpose of this project was to determine the characteristics of the unused Fe-Si and then to characterise the changes that occur during storage and use thereof. Scanning electron microscopy was used to determine the composition of each sample, whilst Moessbauer spectroscopy yielded a two-sextet spectrum with hyperfine magnetic field strengths of 20 and 31 T, respectively, for the fresh samples. Additional hematite oxide peaks appeared in the Moessbauer spectra after use of the Fe-Si over a length of time, but this did not result in a dramatic degradation of the medium. No definite changes occurred during correct storage methods. It was, however, found that the biggest loss of Fe-Si was due to the abrasion of the particles, which resulted in the formation of an oxihydroxide froth, during the process.

  1. Heavy Metals Pollution of Alluvial Soil in the Copşa Mică Area

    OpenAIRE

    , D. Popa; , I.M. Prundeanu; , R. Lăcătuşu

    2011-01-01

    The objective of our study was to determine the concentrations of heavy metals (Cd, Cr, Co, Cu, Mn, Ni, Pb, Zn and Fe) from soil samples, which have been previously treated with HNO3 and concentrated HClO4. The study was performed on a series of 24 soil samples and one soil profile, collected from the alluvial soil in the Copşa Mică area. The concentrations of heavy metals were determined using Atomic Absorption Spectrometry. The pH was determined by using the potentiometric method in aqueous...

  2. Minimum inhibitory (MIC) and minimum microbicidal concentration (MMC) of polihexanide and triclosan against antibiotic sensitive and resistant Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli strains

    Science.gov (United States)

    Assadian, Ojan; Wehse, Katrin; Hübner, Nils-Olaf; Koburger, Torsten; Bagel, Simone; Jethon, Frank; Kramer, Axel

    2011-01-01

    Background: An in-vitro study was conducted investigating the antimicrobial efficacy of polihexanide and triclosan against clinical isolates and reference laboratory strains of Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli. Methods: The minimal inhibitory concentration (MIC) and the minimal microbicidal concentration (MMC) were determined following DIN 58940-81 using a micro-dilution assay and a quantitative suspension test following EN 1040. Polihexanide was tested in polyethylene glycol 4000, triclosan in aqueous solutions. Results: Against all tested strains the MIC of polihexanide ranged between 1–2 µg/mL. For triclosan the MICs varied depending on strains ranging between 0.5 µg/mL for the reference strains and 64 µg/mL for two clinical isolates. A logRF >5 without and logRF >3 with 0.2% albumin burden was achieved at 0.6 µg/mL triclosan. One exception was S. aureus strain H-5-24, where a triclosan concentration of 0.6 µg/mL required 1 minute without and 10 minutes with albumin burden to achieve the same logRFs. Polihexanide achieved a logRF >5 without and logRF >3 with albumin burden at a concentration of 0.6 µg/mL within 30 sec. The exception was the North-German epidemic MRSA strain, were an application time of 5 minutes was required. Conclusion: The clinical isolates of E. coli generally showed higher MICs against triclosan, both in the micro-dilution assay as well in the quantitative suspension test than comparable reference laboratory strains. For polihexanide and triclosan strain dependant susceptibility was shown. However, both antimicrobial compounds are effective when used in concentrations common in practice. PMID:22242087

  3. RECYCLING OF PRINTED CIRCUIT BOARDS AIMING SILVER RECOVERY: A HYDROMETALLURGICAL ROUTE STUDY

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Marcos Paulo Kohler Caldas

    2015-06-01

    Full Text Available The aim of this paper is characterize printed circuit board of computers and propose a hydrometallurgical route for silver recovery present in its composition. Initially, the printed circuit board was comminuted in both knife and hammer mills. The comminuted material was characterized by sieve analysis, chemical analysis by inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry (ICP-OES and loss on ignition. Leaching tests were conducted in sulfuric acid, sulfuric acid in an oxidizing medium and nitric acid. The results indicated that the printed circuit board is mainly composed of copper (19.42%. Silver content of 0.045% was found. The route for silver recovery was leaching in sulfuric acid at 75°C for 18 hours. Then, leaching in sulfuric acid at 75°C in an oxidizing medium for 6 hours and nitric acid leaching at room temperature for 2 hours. Through of this route, 96.6% of silver was recovered.

  4. Epidemiological cut-off values for Flavobacterium psychrophilum MIC data generated by a standard test protocol.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Smith, P; Endris, R; Kronvall, G; Thomas, V; Verner-Jeffreys, D; Wilhelm, C; Dalsgaard, I

    2016-02-01

    Epidemiological cut-off values were developed for application to antibiotic susceptibility data for Flavobacterium psychrophilum generated by standard CLSI test protocols. The MIC values for ten antibiotic agents against Flavobacterium psychrophilum were determined in two laboratories. For five antibiotics, the data sets were of sufficient quality and quantity to allow the setting of valid epidemiological cut-off values. For these agents, the cut-off values, calculated by the application of the statistically based normalized resistance interpretation method, were ≤16 mg L(-1) for erythromycin, ≤2 mg L(-1) for florfenicol, ≤0.025 mg L(-1) for oxolinic acid (OXO), ≤0.125 mg L(-1) for oxytetracycline and ≤20 (1/19) mg L(-1) for trimethoprim/sulphamethoxazole. For ampicillin and amoxicillin, the majority of putative wild-type observations were 'off scale', and therefore, statistically valid cut-off values could not be calculated. For ormetoprim/sulphadimethoxine, the data were excessively diverse and a valid cut-off could not be determined. For flumequine, the putative wild-type data were extremely skewed, and for enrofloxacin, there was inadequate separation in the MIC values for putative wild-type and non-wild-type strains. It is argued that the adoption of OXO as a class representative for the quinolone group would be a valid method of determining susceptibilities to these agents. © 2014 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  5. Possibilities of heat energy recovery from greywater systems

    Science.gov (United States)

    Niewitecka, Kaja

    2018-02-01

    Waste water contains a large amount of heat energy which is irretrievably lost, so it is worth thinking about the possibilities of its recovery. It is estimated that in a residential building with full sanitary fittings, about 70% of the total tap water supplied is discharged as greywater and could be reused. The subject of the work is the opportunity to reuse waste water as an alternative source of heat for buildings. For this purpose, the design of heat exchangers used in the process of greywater heat recovery in indoor sewage systems, public buildings as well as in industrial plants has been reviewed. The possibility of recovering heat from waste water transported in outdoor sewage systems was also taken into consideration. An exemplary waste water heat recovery system was proposed, and the amount of heat that could be obtained using a greywater heat recovery system in a residential building was presented. The work shows that greywater heat recovery systems allow for significant savings in preheating hot tap water, and the rate of cost reimbursement depends on the purpose of the building and the type of installation. At the same time, the work shows that one should adjust the construction solutions of heat exchangers and indoor installations in buildings to the quality of the medium flowing, which is greywater.

  6. Recovery of Copper from Slow Cooled Ausmelt Furnace Slag by Floatation

    Science.gov (United States)

    Xue, Ping; Li, Guangqiang; Qin, Qingwei

    Ausmelt furnace slag contains about 0.9% Cu (mass %). With increasing the amount of Ausmelt furnace slag, the recovery of copper from it will produce an enormous economic yield. The recovery of copper by floatation from slow cooled Ausmelt furnace slag was studied in this paper. The phases and composition of the slow cooled slag were analyzed. The factors which affected the copper recovery efficiency such as grinding fineness, pH value of flotation medium, different collectors and floating process were investigated. It was shown that the size distribution of the primary grinding and secondary grinding of middling were 75% for particles less than 0.074mm and 82% for particles less than 0.043mm respectively. The closed-circuit experimental results with butyl xanthate as collector in laboratory showed that the copper grade reached 16.11% and the recovery rate of copper reached 69.90% and the copper grade of tailings was only 0.2%.

  7. Treatment of Source-Separated Blackwater: A Decentralized Strategy for Nutrient Recovery towards a Circular Economy

    OpenAIRE

    Melesse Eshetu Moges; Daniel Todt; Arve Heistad

    2018-01-01

    Using a filter medium for organic matter removal and nutrient recovery from blackwater treatment is a novel concept and has not been investigated sufficiently to date. This paper demonstrates a combined blackwater treatment and nutrient-recovery strategy and establishes mechanisms for a more dependable source of plant nutrients aiming at a circular economy. Source-separated blackwater from a student dormitory was used as feedstock for a sludge blanket anaerobic-baffled reactor. The effluent f...

  8. Anorexia-cachexia syndrome in hepatoma tumour-bearing rats requires the area postrema but not vagal afferents and is paralleled by increased MIC-1/GDF15.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Borner, Tito; Arnold, Myrtha; Ruud, Johan; Breit, Samuel N; Langhans, Wolfgang; Lutz, Thomas A; Blomqvist, Anders; Riediger, Thomas

    2017-06-01

    The cancer-anorexia-cachexia syndrome (CACS) negatively affects survival and therapy success in cancer patients. Inflammatory mediators and tumour-derived factors are thought to play an important role in the aetiology of CACS. However, the central and peripheral mechanisms contributing to CACS are insufficiently understood. The area postrema (AP) and the nucleus tractus solitarii are two important brainstem centres for the control of eating during acute sickness conditions. Recently, the tumour-derived macrophage inhibitory cytokine-1 (MIC-1) emerged as a possible mediator of cancer anorexia because lesions of these brainstem areas attenuated the anorectic effect of exogenous MIC-1 in mice. Using a rat hepatoma tumour model, we examined the roles of the AP and of vagal afferents in the mediation of CACS. Specifically, we investigated whether a lesion of the AP (APX) or subdiaphragmatic vagal deafferentation (SDA) attenuate anorexia, body weight, muscle, and fat loss. Moreover, we analysed MIC-1 levels in this tumour model and their correlation with tumour size and the severity of the anorectic response. In tumour-bearing sham-operated animals mean daily food intake significantly decreased. The anorectic response was paralleled by a significant loss of body weight and muscle mass. APX rats were protected against anorexia, body weight loss, and muscle atrophy after tumour induction. In contrast, subdiaphragmatic vagal deafferentation did not attenuate cancer-induced anorexia or body weight loss. Tumour-bearing rats had substantially increased MIC-1 levels, which positively correlated with tumour size and cancer progression and negatively correlated with food intake. These findings demonstrate the importance of the AP in the mediation of cancer-dependent anorexia and body weight loss and support a pathological role of MIC-1 as a tumour-derived factor mediating CACS, possibly via an AP-dependent action. © 2016 The Authors. Journal of Cachexia, Sarcopenia and Muscle

  9. A differential medium for the enumeration of the spoilage yeast Zygosaccharomyces bailii in wine.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schuller, D; Côrte-Real, M; Leão, C

    2000-11-01

    A collection of yeasts, isolated mostly from spoiled wines, was used in order to develop a differential medium for Zygosaccharomyces bailii. The 118 selected strains of 21 species differed in their origin and resistance to preservatives and belonged to the genera Pichia, Torulaspora, Dekkera, Debaryomyces, Saccharomycodes, Issatchenkia, Kluyveromyces, Kloeckera, Lodderomyces, Schizosaccharomyces, Rhodotorula, Saccharomyces, and Zygosaccharomyces. The design of the culture medium was based on the different ability of the various yeast species to grow in a mineral medium with glucose and formic acid (mixed-substrate medium) as the only carbon and energy sources and supplemented with an acid-base indicator. By manipulating the concentration of the acid and the sugar it was possible to select conditions where only Z. bailii strains gave rise to alkalinization, associated with a color change of the medium (positive response). The final composition of the mixed medium was adjusted as a compromise between the percentage of recovery and selectivity for Z. bailii. This was accomplished by the use of pure or mixed cultures of the yeast strains and applying the membrane filtration methodology. The microbiological analysis of two samples of contaminated Vinho Verde showed that the new medium can be considered as a differential medium to distinguish Z. bailii from other contaminating yeasts, having potential application in the microbiological control of wines and probably other beverages and foods.

  10. Waste heat recovery for offshore applications

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Pierobon, Leonardo; Kandepu, Rambabu; Haglind, Fredrik

    2012-01-01

    vary in the range 20-30%. There are several technologies available for onshore gas turbines (and low/medium heat sources) to convert the waste heat into electricity. For offshore applications it is not economical and practical to have a steam bottoming cycle to increase the efficiency of electricity...... production, due to low gas turbine outlet temperature, space and weight restrictions and the need for make-up water. A more promising option for use offshore is organic Rankine cycles (ORC). Moreover, several oil and gas platforms are equipped with waste heat recovery units to recover a part of the thermal...... energy in the gas turbine off-gas using heat exchangers, and the recovered thermal energy acts as heat source for some of the heat loads on the platform. The amount of the recovered thermal energy depends on the heat loads and thus the full potential of waste heat recovery units may not be utilized...

  11. Webgrafia al voltant del ciberplagi. Referències a la xarxa sobre el ciberplagi acadèmic

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jaume Sureda

    2008-12-01

    Full Text Available En aquest article es proporcionen les fonts de documentació que hi ha a internet i que poden aportar al lector que hi estigui interessat un coneixement més profund de qualsevol de les cares, les arestes i els vèrtexs del polièdric fenomen del plagi acadèmic entre l'alumnat. Text complet (PDFDossier complet (PDF

  12. Feasibility of direct electrochemical recovery of fission platinoids (Ru, Rh, Pd) from nitric acid solution

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Jayakumar, M.; Venkatesan, K.A.; Srinivasan, T.G.; Vasudeva Rao, P.R.

    2010-01-01

    Electrodeposition behavior of ruthenium, rhodium and palladium from nitric acid medium at various applied potentials was studied at stainless steel electrode and the results on the recovery of these fission platinoids are reported in this paper. (author)

  13. Recovery of vancomycin-resistant gram-positive cocci from children.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Green, M; Wadowsky, R M; Barbadora, K

    1990-03-01

    A cross-sectional survey of vancomycin-resistant gram-positive cocci (VRGPC) in the feces of children was initiated after several bacteremic infections with these organisms occurred at our hospital. A selective medium consisting of colistin-nalidixic acid agar, 5% sheep blood, vancomycin (5 mg/liter), and amphotericin B (8 mg/liter) was developed to isolate VRGPC. A single stool specimen submitted to the clinical microbiology laboratory from each of 48 patients was inoculated onto the medium. Plates were incubated at 35 degrees C with 5% carbon dioxide and examined at 24, 48, and 72 h. Susceptibilities were determined by broth microdilution. A total of 14 isolates from 11 of 48 (22%) children were recovered. The density of growth ranged from a single colony to 2+. The VRGPC were identified as Leuconostoc lactis (n = 2), Lactobacillus confusus (n = 4), Enterococcus species (n = 5), and Lactococcus lactis (n = 3). One strain of Lactobacillus confusus was recovered from both the stool and the blood of one of these patients. The MICs of vancomycin were 4 micrograms/ml for one of the isolates, 8 micrograms/ml for four of the isolates, and more than 16 micrograms/ml for the remaining eight isolates. All isolates were susceptible to both penicillin and ampicillin. Only 1 of the 11 children had received prior treatment with vancomycin. We conclude that low concentrations of VRGPC may be common in the gastrointestinal tracts of children.

  14. Minimal inhibitory concentration (MIC determination of disinfectant and/or sterilizing agents

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Priscila Gava Mazzola

    2009-06-01

    Full Text Available Due to the growing number of outbreaks of infection in hospital and nurseries, it becomes essential to set up a sanitation program that indicates that the appropriate chemical agent was chosen for application in the most effective way. Validating the effectiveness of decontamination and disinfection is an important and often challenging task. In order to study and compare the behavior of selected microorganisms, they were submitted to minimal inhibitory concentration (MIC. The MIC intervals, which reduced bacteria populations over 6 log10, were: 59 to 156 mg/L of quaternary ammonium compounds (QACs; 63 to 10000 mg/L of chlorhexidine; 1375 to 3250 mg/L of glutaraldehyde; 39 to 246 mg/L of formaldehyde; 43750 to 87500 mg/L of ethanol; 1250 to 6250 mg/L of iodine in polyvinyl-pyrolidone complexes, 150 to 4491 mg/L of chlorine-releasing-agents (CRAs and 469 to 2500 mg/L of hydrogen peroxide. Chlorhexidine showed non inhibitory activity over germinating spores. A. calcoaceticus showed resistance to the majority of the agents tested, followed by E. cloacae and S. marcescens.Devido ao número crescente de surtos de infecção hospitalar, torna-se proeminente o estabelecimento de um programa de sanitização que liste os agentes químicos a serem empregados e o modo de aplicação mais efetivo. Validação da eficácia de descontaminação é uma tarefa ao mesmo tempo importante e desafiadora. Para estudar e comparar o comportamento dos microrganismos selecionados foram realizados ensaios de concentração inibitória mínima (CIM. A CIM capaz de reduzir o bioburden inicial (>6 log10 foi: 59 - 156 mg/L de quartenários de amônia; 63 - 10000 mg/L de clorexidina, 1375 - 3250 mg/mL de glutaraldeído, 39 - 246 mg/L de formaldeído, 43750 - 87500 mg/L de etanol 1250 - 6250 mg/L de PVPI, 150 - 4491 mg/L de compostos liberadores de cloro e 469 -2500 mg/L de peróxido de hidrogênio.

  15. Evaluation of the effects of storage in two different swab fabrics and under three different transport conditions on recovery of aerobic and anaerobic bacteria

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Roelofsen, E.; Leeuwen, M. van; Meijer-Severs, G.J.; Wilkinson, M.H.F.; Degener, J.E.

    Recovery of six anaerobic and five aerobic pathogens from viscose swabs and polyurethane swabs (Culturette EZ) was evaluated quantitatively, and transport in aerobic dry tubes, aerobic Amies transport medium (Transwab), and anaerobic universal transport medium (Port-a-Cul) was compared. The

  16. Thermal recovery simulation at the pore-network level; Simulacao de recuperacao termica em escala microscopica

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Oliveira, Claudio L.N.; Almeida, Murilo P.; Andrade Junior, Jose S. [Universidade Federal do Ceara (UFC), Fortaleza, CE (Brazil); Herrmann, Hans J. [Eidgenossische Technische Hochschule Zurich (ETHZ), Zurich (Switzerland)

    2008-07-01

    We have investigated the effect of temperature in penetration of an inviscid fluid into a porous media saturated with a very high viscous fluid. Gradient of temperature is applied across the medium. The viscosity of the defending fluid is considered as an exponential-like function with temperature. This scheme represents a small fraction of a heavy oil reservoir where steam injection is applied. The results show that the recovery of the viscous fluid is a hyperbolic tangent function with the difference of temperature, where it has a maximum recovery for high gradient. Our results show, also, that the recovery efficiency can increase substantially with the gradient of temperature. (author)

  17. El cómic como fuente histórica : el falso testimonio de Tintín en el Congo Belga

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Óscar Gual Boronat

    2011-01-01

    Full Text Available A través del estudio de la obra Tintin au Congo del dibujante belga Hergé, tratamos de probar la capacidad del cómic para ser utilizado como fuente histórica. La actual definición de fuente puede englobarlo perfectamente pero es necesaria una demostración práctica. Tras contextualizar dicha historieta pasamos a realizar una lectura atenta de la misma, así como de sus aspectos más polémicos, para a continuación describir el proceso de trabajo del propio Hergé y las influencias de su entorno. Por último, entraremos a debatir cuál es el origen de la historieta como medio y cuál es el método de análisis a la hora de interrogarla históricamente.Through the study of the Belgian cartoonist Hergé's work Tintin au Congo we try to test the ability of comics to be used as a historical source. The current source definition can cover it very well but requires a practical demonstration. After we contextualize this story we make a careful reading of it and of its most controversial features, then we describe the process of Hergé's own work and the influences of their environment. Finally we enter into a discussion about which is the origin of comics as a medium and which is the method of analysis when questioning historically.

  18. THE CHIRONOMIDAE ASSEMBLAGES IN SOMESUL MIC RIVER (ROMANIA DURING 1996 AND 1997

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Maria-Monica Tudorancea

    2001-01-01

    Full Text Available The communities of Chironomidae larvae in the Gilau – Gherla sector of the Somesul Mic River (Transylvania, Romania were studied during 1996 and 1997 in order to compare their species composition and to see if their component species could be good indicators for water quality deterioration. A total of 102 species were recorded, out of which 12 are new records for the Romanian fauna. Four of these species are known only from East Asia and from the North America. Some species such as Chironomus thumi, Microcricotopus bicolor, Dicrotendipes nervosus and Dicrotendipes notatus occurred in organically enriched waters. Other species, such as Cricotopus algarum, Cricotopus bicinctus, Cricotopus tremulus and Cricotopus trifasciatus occurred in both clean and organically polluted water which indicate they are not good bioindicators for water quality deterioration.

  19. Enhanced Recovery in Tight Gas Reservoirs using Maxwell-Stefan Equations

    Science.gov (United States)

    Santiago, C. J. S.; Kantzas, A.

    2017-12-01

    Due to the steep production decline in unconventional gas reservoirs, enhanced recovery (ER) methods are receiving great attention from the industry. Wet gas or liquid rich reservoirs are the preferred ER candidates due to higher added value from natural gas liquids (NGL) production. ER in these reservoirs has the potential to add reserves by improving desorption and displacement of hydrocarbons through the medium. Nevertheless, analysis of gas transport at length scales of tight reservoirs is complicated because concomitant mechanisms are in place as pressure declines. In addition to viscous and Knudsen diffusion, multicomponent gas modeling includes competitive adsorption and molecular diffusion effects. Most models developed to address these mechanisms involve single component or binary mixtures. In this study, ER by gas injection is investigated in multicomponent (C1, C2, C3 and C4+, CO2 and N2) wet gas reservoirs. The competing effects of Knudsen and molecular diffusion are incorporated by using Maxwell-Stefan equations and the Dusty-Gas approach. This model was selected due to its superior properties on representing the physics of multicomponent gas flow, as demonstrated during the presented model validation. Sensitivity studies to evaluate adsorption, reservoir permeability and gas type effects are performed. The importance of competitive adsorption on production and displacement times is demonstrated. In the absence of adsorption, chromatographic separation is negligible. Production is merely dictated by competing effects between molecular and Knudsen diffusion. Displacement fronts travel rapidly across the medium. When adsorption effects are included, molecules with lower affinity to the adsorption sites will be produced faster. If the injected gas is inert (N2), an increase in heavier fraction composition occurs in the medium. During injection of adsorbing gases (CH4 and CO2), competitive adsorption effects will contribute to improved recovery of heavier

  20. Development of selective and differential medium for Shigella sonnei using three carbohydrates (lactose, sorbitol, and xylose) and X-Gal.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Na, G N; Kim, S A; Kwon, O C; Rhee, M S

    2015-08-01

    The aim of this study was to develop a new selective and differential medium for isolating Shigella sonnei (designated 3SD medium). The new medium was based on three carbohydrates (lactose, sorbitol, and xylose) and a chromogenic substrate (5-bromo-4-chloro-3-indolyl-β-D-galactopyranoside, X-Gal). S. sonnei cannot ferment lactose, sorbitol, or xylose, but can ferment X-Gal, which generates turquoise-blue colonies with rough edges. Other bacteria (54 strains of foodborne pathogens and spoilage bacteria) produced visually distinct colonies on 3SD medium (colorless or pink-violet colonies), or their growth was inhibited on 3SD medium. The optimum concentration of 50 mg/L X-Gal was selected because it yielded the highest level of morphological discrimination between S. sonnei and other bacteria, and this concentration was cost-effective. Bile salt concentration optimization was performed using healthy, heat-injured, and acid-injured S. sonnei. The recovery rate differed significantly depending on the bile salt concentration; media containing >1.0 g/L bile salt showed significantly lower recovery of stress-injured cells than medium containing 0.5 g/L bile salt (P<0.05). Growth of all Gram-positive bacteria was inhibited on medium containing 0.5 g/L bile salt; therefore, this concentration was used as the optimal concentration. Previous media used to isolate Shigella spp. (MacConkey, xylose lysine desoxycholate, and Salmonella-Shigella agar) showed poor performance when used to support the growth of injured S. sonnei cells, whereas 3SD medium supported a high growth rate of injured and healthy cells (equivalent to that obtained with nutrient-rich tryptic soy agar). To validate the performance of 3SD medium with real specimens, S. sonnei and other bacteria were spiked into samples such as untreated water, carrot, salad, and oyster. 3SD medium showed superior specificity (100%) and sensitivity (100%) for S. sonnei, and yielded no false-positive or false-negative results

  1. Adaptation of the Utrecht-Management of Identity Commitments Scale (U-MICS) to the measurement of the parental identity domain.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Piotrowski, Konrad

    2018-04-01

    The present studies examined the psychometric properties of the Utrecht-Management of Identity Commitments Scale (U-MICS) adapted to the measurement of identity formation in the parental identity domain. As the parental identity domain has only been studied within the neo-Eriksonian approach to a very limited extent, the aim of these studies was to prepare a short, valid and reliable tool for the measurement of parental identity in order to fill this gap. The associations of commitment, in-depth exploration and reconsideration of commitment in the parental domain with well-being and with other identity constructs were analyzed. The results showed that parental identity formation is associated with mothers' satisfaction with life and trait anxiety and with identity formation in other areas as well. The initial results suggest that the adapted version of the U-MICS is a valid and reliable measure that can be used in future studies on parental identity formation. © 2017 The Author. Scandinavian Journal of Psychology published by Scandinavian Psychological Associations and John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  2. Effect of culture medium, host strain and oxygen transfer on recombinant Fab antibody fragment yield and leakage to medium in shaken E. coli cultures

    Science.gov (United States)

    2013-01-01

    Background Fab antibody fragments in E. coli are usually directed to the oxidizing periplasmic space for correct folding. From periplasm Fab fragments may further leak into extracellular medium. Information on the cultivation parameters affecting this leakage is scarce, and the unpredictable nature of Fab leakage is problematic regarding consistent product recovery. To elucidate the effects of cultivation conditions, we investigated Fab expression and accumulation into either periplasm or medium in E. coli K-12 and E. coli BL21 when grown in different types of media and under different aeration conditions. Results Small-scale Fab expression demonstrated significant differences in yield and ratio of periplasmic to extracellular Fab between different culture media and host strains. Expression in a medium with fed-batch-like glucose feeding provided highest total and extracellular yields in both strains. Unexpectedly, cultivation in baffled shake flasks at 150 rpm shaking speed resulted in higher yield and accumulation of Fabs into culture medium as compared to cultivation at 250 rpm. In the fed-batch medium, extracellular fraction in E. coli K-12 increased from 2-17% of total Fab at 250 rpm up to 75% at 150 rpm. This was partly due to increased lysis, but also leakage from intact cells increased at the lower shaking speed. Total Fab yield in E. coli BL21 in glycerol-based autoinduction medium was 5 to 9-fold higher at the lower shaking speed, and the extracellular fraction increased from ≤ 10% to 20-90%. The effect of aeration on Fab localization was reproduced in multiwell plate by variation of culture volume. Conclusions Yield and leakage of Fab fragments are dependent on expression strain, culture medium, aeration rate, and the combination of these parameters. Maximum productivity in fed-batch-like conditions and in autoinduction medium is achieved under sufficiently oxygen-limited conditions, and lower aeration also promotes increased Fab accumulation into

  3. Multicenter evaluation of MIC distributions for epidemiologic cutoff value definition to detect amphotericin B, posaconazole, and itraconazole resistance among the most clinically relevant species of Mucorales.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Espinel-Ingroff, A; Chakrabarti, A; Chowdhary, A; Cordoba, S; Dannaoui, E; Dufresne, P; Fothergill, A; Ghannoum, M; Gonzalez, G M; Guarro, J; Kidd, S; Lass-Flörl, C; Meis, J F; Pelaez, T; Tortorano, A M; Turnidge, J

    2015-03-01

    Clinical breakpoints (CBPs) have not been established for the Mucorales and any antifungal agent. In lieu of CBPs, epidemiologic cutoff values (ECVs) are proposed for amphotericin B, posaconazole, and itraconazole and four Mucorales species. Wild-type (WT) MIC distributions (organisms in a species-drug combination with no detectable acquired resistance mechanisms) were defined with available pooled CLSI MICs from 14 laboratories (Argentina, Australia, Canada, Europe, India, Mexico, and the United States) as follows: 10 Apophysomyces variabilis, 32 Cunninghamella bertholletiae, 136 Lichtheimia corymbifera, 10 Mucor indicus, 123 M. circinelloides, 19 M. ramosissimus, 349 Rhizopus arrhizus, 146 R. microsporus, 33 Rhizomucor pusillus, and 36 Syncephalastrum racemosum isolates. CLSI broth microdilution MICs were aggregated for the analyses. ECVs comprising ≥95% and ≥97.5% of the modeled populations were as follows: amphotericin B ECVs for L. corymbifera were 1 and 2 μg/ml, those for M. circinelloides were 1 and 2 μg/ml, those for R. arrhizus were 2 and 4 μg/ml, and those for R. microsporus were 2 and 2 μg/ml, respectively; posaconazole ECVs for L. corymbifera were 1 and 2, those for M. circinelloides were 4 and 4, those for R. arrhizus were 1 and 2, and those for R. microsporus were 1 and 2, respectively; both itraconazole ECVs for R. arrhizus were 2 μg/ml. ECVs may aid in detecting emerging resistance or isolates with reduced susceptibility (non-WT MICs) to the agents evaluated. Copyright © 2015, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.

  4. A combined thermodynamic cycle based on methanol dissociation for IC (internal combustion) engine exhaust heat recovery

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Fu, Jianqin; Liu, Jingping; Xu, Zhengxin; Ren, Chengqin; Deng, Banglin

    2013-01-01

    In this paper, a novel approach for exhaust heat recovery was proposed to improve IC (internal combustion) engine fuel efficiency and also to achieve the goal for direct usage of methanol as IC engine fuel. An open organic Rankine cycle system using methanol as working medium is coupled to IC engine exhaust pipe for exhaust heat recovery. In the bottom cycle, the working medium first undergoes dissociation and expansion processes, and is then directed back to IC engine as fuel. As the external bottom cycle and the IC engine main cycle are combined together, this scheme forms a combined thermodynamic cycle. Then, this concept was applied to a turbocharged engine, and the corresponding simulation models were built for both of the external bottom cycle and the IC engine main cycle. On this basis, the energy saving potential of this combined cycle was estimated by parametric analyses. Compared to the methanol vapor engine, IC engine in-cylinder efficiency has an increase of 1.4–2.1 percentage points under full load conditions, while the external bottom cycle can increase the fuel efficiency by 3.9–5.2 percentage points at the working pressure of 30 bar. The maximum improvement to the IC engine global fuel efficiency reaches 6.8 percentage points. - Highlights: • A combined thermodynamic cycle using methanol as working medium for IC engine exhaust heat recovery is proposed. • The external bottom cycle of exhaust heat recovery and IC engine working cycle are combined together. • IC engine fuel efficiency could be improved from both in-cylinder working cycle and external bottom cycle. • The maximum improvement to the IC engine global fuel efficiency reaches 6.8 percentage points at full load

  5. Optimization of rhamnolipid production from Pseudomonas aeruginosa PBS towards application for microbial enhanced oil recovery.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sharma, Rajni; Singh, Jagdish; Verma, Neelam

    2018-01-01

    The present work reveals the potential of biosurfactant producing P. aeruginosa PBS for microbial enhanced oil recovery (MEOR). The biosurfactant production medium and culture conditions were optimized using response surface methodology. The optimization of media components and process parameters was consecutively executed in two sets of experimental runs designed by central composite rotatable design (CCRD). The maximum biosurfactant yield was attained with 2% fresh inoculum of P. aeruginosa PBS in minimal salt medium (pH 7), possessing 2.17% sodium citrate as C-source and 0.5% yeast extract as N-source, after 48 h upon incubation at 30 °C/150 rpm. Under optimum conditions, biosurfactant yield was increased more than threefold and turned out to be 2.65 g/L as compared to 0.82 g/L under previous conditions. The biosurfactant was characterized as a glycolipid comprising of four rhamnolipid homologs (RhaRhaC 10 C 10 , RhaRhaC 8 C 10 , RhaRhaC 12 C 10 /RhaRhaC 10 C 12 , RhaC 10 C 10 ) by thin layer chromatography, fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, nuclear magnetic resonance and mass spectrometry. The produced biosurfactant was highly efficient for oil recovery application showing extreme reduction in surface tension of medium (71.80 to 23.76 mN/m), immense hydrocarbons emulsification capacity (50-60%) and greater stability at wide range of temperature (4-100 °C) and pH (4-10) along with an excellent (56.18 ± 1.59%) additional oil recovery in sand-pack column lab test.

  6. Influence of working fluids on Organic Rankine Cycle for waste heat recovery applications

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Struzyna, Ralf; Eifler, Wolfgang; Steinmill, Jens [Bochum Univ. (Germany). Lehrstuhl fuer Verbrennungsmotoren

    2012-11-01

    More than 50% of the energy contained in fuel is lost due to the loss of heat content to the exhaust gas, the cooling water or the charge air cooler medium. Therefore, one of the most promising attempts to further increase the efficiency of internal combustion engines is waste heat recovery by means of a combined process. The Organic Rankine Cycle (ORC) is a promising process for waste heat recovery systems. The main purpose is to identify suitable working fluids to achieve best system performance. Therefore an analysis of the influence of different working fluids on system output is required. (orig.)

  7. TU-AB-BRC-10: Modeling of Radiotherapy Linac Source Terms Using ARCHER Monte Carlo Code: Performance Comparison of GPU and MIC Computing Accelerators

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Liu, T; Lin, H; Xu, X [Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy, NY (United States); Su, L [John Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD (United States); Shi, C [Saint Vincent Medical Center, Bridgeport, CT (United States); Tang, X [Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, West Harrison, NY (United States); Bednarz, B [University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI (United States)

    2016-06-15

    Purpose: (1) To perform phase space (PS) based source modeling for Tomotherapy and Varian TrueBeam 6 MV Linacs, (2) to examine the accuracy and performance of the ARCHER Monte Carlo code on a heterogeneous computing platform with Many Integrated Core coprocessors (MIC, aka Xeon Phi) and GPUs, and (3) to explore the software micro-optimization methods. Methods: The patient-specific source of Tomotherapy and Varian TrueBeam Linacs was modeled using the PS approach. For the helical Tomotherapy case, the PS data were calculated in our previous study (Su et al. 2014 41(7) Medical Physics). For the single-view Varian TrueBeam case, we analytically derived them from the raw patient-independent PS data in IAEA’s database, partial geometry information of the jaw and MLC as well as the fluence map. The phantom was generated from DICOM images. The Monte Carlo simulation was performed by ARCHER-MIC and GPU codes, which were benchmarked against a modified parallel DPM code. Software micro-optimization was systematically conducted, and was focused on SIMD vectorization of tight for-loops and data prefetch, with the ultimate goal of increasing 512-bit register utilization and reducing memory access latency. Results: Dose calculation was performed for two clinical cases, a Tomotherapy-based prostate cancer treatment and a TrueBeam-based left breast treatment. ARCHER was verified against the DPM code. The statistical uncertainty of the dose to the PTV was less than 1%. Using double-precision, the total wall time of the multithreaded CPU code on a X5650 CPU was 339 seconds for the Tomotherapy case and 131 seconds for the TrueBeam, while on 3 5110P MICs it was reduced to 79 and 59 seconds, respectively. The single-precision GPU code on a K40 GPU took 45 seconds for the Tomotherapy dose calculation. Conclusion: We have extended ARCHER, the MIC and GPU-based Monte Carlo dose engine to Tomotherapy and Truebeam dose calculations.

  8. TU-AB-BRC-10: Modeling of Radiotherapy Linac Source Terms Using ARCHER Monte Carlo Code: Performance Comparison of GPU and MIC Computing Accelerators

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Liu, T; Lin, H; Xu, X; Su, L; Shi, C; Tang, X; Bednarz, B

    2016-01-01

    Purpose: (1) To perform phase space (PS) based source modeling for Tomotherapy and Varian TrueBeam 6 MV Linacs, (2) to examine the accuracy and performance of the ARCHER Monte Carlo code on a heterogeneous computing platform with Many Integrated Core coprocessors (MIC, aka Xeon Phi) and GPUs, and (3) to explore the software micro-optimization methods. Methods: The patient-specific source of Tomotherapy and Varian TrueBeam Linacs was modeled using the PS approach. For the helical Tomotherapy case, the PS data were calculated in our previous study (Su et al. 2014 41(7) Medical Physics). For the single-view Varian TrueBeam case, we analytically derived them from the raw patient-independent PS data in IAEA’s database, partial geometry information of the jaw and MLC as well as the fluence map. The phantom was generated from DICOM images. The Monte Carlo simulation was performed by ARCHER-MIC and GPU codes, which were benchmarked against a modified parallel DPM code. Software micro-optimization was systematically conducted, and was focused on SIMD vectorization of tight for-loops and data prefetch, with the ultimate goal of increasing 512-bit register utilization and reducing memory access latency. Results: Dose calculation was performed for two clinical cases, a Tomotherapy-based prostate cancer treatment and a TrueBeam-based left breast treatment. ARCHER was verified against the DPM code. The statistical uncertainty of the dose to the PTV was less than 1%. Using double-precision, the total wall time of the multithreaded CPU code on a X5650 CPU was 339 seconds for the Tomotherapy case and 131 seconds for the TrueBeam, while on 3 5110P MICs it was reduced to 79 and 59 seconds, respectively. The single-precision GPU code on a K40 GPU took 45 seconds for the Tomotherapy dose calculation. Conclusion: We have extended ARCHER, the MIC and GPU-based Monte Carlo dose engine to Tomotherapy and Truebeam dose calculations.

  9. Assessing the Accuracy of High Resolution Digital Surface Models Computed by PhotoScan® and MicMac® in Sub-Optimal Survey Conditions

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Marion Jaud

    2016-06-01

    Full Text Available For monitoring purposes and in the context of geomorphological research, Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV appear to be a promising solution to provide multi-temporal Digital Surface Models (DSMs and orthophotographs. There are a variety of photogrammetric software tools available for UAV-based data. The objective of this study is to investigate the level of accuracy that can be achieved using two of these software tools: Agisoft PhotoScan® Pro and an open-source alternative, IGN© MicMac®, in sub-optimal survey conditions (rugged terrain, with a large variety of morphological features covering a range of roughness sizes, poor GPS reception. A set of UAV images has been taken by a hexacopter drone above the Rivière des Remparts, a river on Reunion Island. This site was chosen for its challenging survey conditions: the topography of the study area (i involved constraints on the flight plan; (ii implied errors on some GPS measurements; (iii prevented an optimal distribution of the Ground Control Points (GCPs and; (iv was very complex to reconstruct. Several image processing tests are performed with different scenarios in order to analyze the sensitivity of each software package to different parameters (image quality, numbers of GCPs, etc.. When computing the horizontal and vertical errors within a control region on a set of ground reference targets, both methods provide rather similar results. A precision up to 3–4 cm is achievable with these software packages. The DSM quality is also assessed over the entire study area comparing PhotoScan DSM and MicMac DSM with a Terrestrial Laser Scanner (TLS point cloud. PhotoScan and MicMac DSM are also compared at the scale of particular features. Both software packages provide satisfying results: PhotoScan is more straightforward to use but its source code is not open; MicMac is recommended for experimented users as it is more flexible.

  10. Simulation of petroleum recovery in naturally fractured reservoirs: physical process representation

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Paiva, Hernani P.; Miranda Filho, Daniel N. de [Petroleo Brasileiro S.A. (PETROBRAS), Rio de Janeiro, RJ (Brazil); Schiozer, Denis J. [Universidade Estadual de Campinas (UNICAMP), SP (Brazil)

    2012-07-01

    The naturally fractured reservoir recovery normally involves risk especially in intermediate to oil wet systems because of the simulations poor efficiency results under waterflood displacement. Double-porosity models are generally used in fractured reservoir simulation and have been implemented in the major commercial reservoir simulators. The physical processes acting in petroleum recovery are represented in double-porosity models by matrix-fracture transfer functions, therefore commercial simulators have their own implementations, and as a result different kinetics and final recoveries are attained. In this work, a double porosity simulator was built with Kazemi et al. (1976), Sabathier et al. (1998) and Lu et al. (2008) transfer function implementations and their recovery results have been compared using waterflood displacement in oil-wet or intermediate-wet systems. The results of transfer function comparisons have showed recovery improvements in oil-wet or intermediate-wet systems under different physical processes combination, particularly in fully discontinuous porous medium when concurrent imbibition takes place, coherent with Firoozabadi (2000) experimental results. Furthermore, the implemented transfer functions, related to a double-porosity model, have been compared to double-porosity commercial simulator model, as well a discrete fracture model with refined grid, showing differences between them. Waterflood can be an effective recovery method even in fully discontinuous media for oil-wet or intermediate-wet systems where concurrent imbibition takes place with high enough pressure gradients across the matrix blocks. (author)

  11. Elemental and Isotopic Analysis of Uranium Oxide an NIST Glass Standards by FEMTOSECOND-LA-ICP-MIC-MS

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ebert, Chris; Zamzow, Daniel S.; McBay, Eddie H.; Bostick, Debra A.; Bajic, Stanley J.; Baldwin, David P.; Houk, R.S.

    2009-01-01

    The objective of this work was to test and demonstrate the analytical figures of merit of a femtosecond-laser ablation (fs-LA) system coupled with an inductively coupled plasma-multi-ion collector-mass spectrometer (ICP-MIC-MS). The mobile fs-LA sampling system was designed and assembled at Ames Laboratory and shipped to Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), where it was integrated with an ICP-MIC-MS. The test period of the integrated systems was February 2-6, 2009. Spatially-resolved analysis of particulate samples is accomplished by 100-shot laser ablation using a fs-pulsewidth laser and monitoring selected isotopes in the resulting ICP-MS transient signal. The capability of performing high sensitivity, spatially resolved, isotopic analyses with high accuracy and precision and with virtually no sample preparation makes fs-LA-ICP-MIC-MS valuable for the measurement of actinide isotopes at low concentrations in very small samples for nonproliferation purposes. Femtosecond-LA has been shown to generate particles from the sample that are more representative of the bulk composition, thereby minimizing weaknesses encountered in previous work using nanosecond-LA (ns-LA). The improvement of fs- over ns-LA sampling arises from the different mechanisms for transfer of energy into the sample in these two laser pulse-length regimes. The shorter duration fs-LA pulses induce less heating and cause less damage to the sample than the longer ns pulses. This results in better stoichiometric sampling (i.e., a closer correlation between the composition of the ablated particles and that of the original solid sample), which improves accuracy for both intra- and inter-elemental analysis. The primary samples analyzed in this work are (a) solid uranium oxide powdered samples having different 235 U to 238 U concentration ratios, and (b) glass reference materials (NIST 610, 612, 614, and 616). Solid uranium oxide samples containing 235 U in depleted, natural, and enriched abundances were

  12. Toward a Meaningful Definition of Recovery After Hip Fracture: Comparing Two Definitions for Community-Dwelling Older Adults.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Auais, Mohammad; Morin, Suzanne N; Finch, Lois; Ahmed, Sara; Mayo, Nancy

    2018-02-14

    To examine the course of recovery and resulting health-related quality of life (HRQL) after low-trauma hip fracture using 2 different definitions of recovery. Inception cohort with 8 assessments over 1 year. Participants were recruited from a tertiary-care hospital and followed up in the community. Community-dwelling hip fracture patients (N=47, 75% of all eligible; aged ≥65y). Not applicable. Prefracture functional level was used to identify subgroups of participants with similar trajectories of mobility over time. Recovery in functional mobility was defined in 2 ways: the "traditional" definition (return to prefracture level of functional mobility) and a "targeted recovery" definition (ability to climb 10 steps). Both were measured using the Lower Extremity Functional Scale. HRQL was measured using the RAND 36-Item Short-Form Health Survey. Participants were categorized into 3 subgroups with: low, medium, and high prefracture functional abilities. Agreement between the 2 definitions of recovery (quantified using κ coefficient) was strong for the medium group (.81; 95% confidence interval, .56-1.00), weak for the high group (.46; 95% confidence interval, 0.0-.99), and minimal for the low group (.12; 95% confidence interval, 0.0-.328). Contrary to the traditional definition, patients who achieved targeted recovery had statistically and clinically better HRQL than the rest of the cohort throughout the study (estimated average difference of 10.8 points on RAND 36-Item Short-Form Health Survey; 95% confidence interval, 6.67-15.07). The agreement between the 2 definitions of recovery ranged from minimal to strong according to patient group. Using a functional target to define recovery predicted HRQL better. It is vital to consider the definition of recovery carefully for research or clinical practice because it can influence subsequent decisions (eg, endorsing a specific intervention or discharging patients). Copyright © 2018 American Congress of Rehabilitation

  13. Carbon dioxide for enhanced oil recovery in Canada

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    McDonald, S.; Manbybura, F.; Sparks, N.

    1985-01-01

    This paper examines the potential for carbon dioxide as a major miscible solvent in Canada and describes Shell Canada's carbon dioxide exploration efforts over the last few years. Enhanced oil recovery, specifically miscible flooding, has been recognized as a technically and economically feasible method for adding reserves and productive capacity to Canada's light and medium oil. The fiscal regime has been altered by both the federal and provincial governments to encourage miscible flooding development. As a result many projects have been initiated with others being evaluated and designed. This paper analyzes the history and the direction of miscible flooding in the United States, where carbon dioxide is becoming the predominant miscible solvent. The potential for future use of carbon dioxide in Canada is specifically addressed: potential oil recovery solvent supply, and economics. Shell's carbon dioxide exploration play currently underway is also discussed.

  14. Recovery of uranium from uranium bearing black shale

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Das, Amrita; Yadav, Manoj; Singh, Ajay K.

    2016-01-01

    Black shale is the unconventional resource of uranium. Recovery of uranium from black shale has been carried out by the following steps: i) size reduction, ii) leaching of uranium in the aqueous medium, iii) fluoride ion removal, iv) solvent extraction of uranium from the aqueous leach solution, v) scrubbing of the loaded solvent after extraction to remove impurities as much as possible and vi) stripping of uranium from the loaded organic into the aqueous phase. Leaching of black shale has been carried out in hydrochloric acid. Free acidity of the leach solution has been determined by potentiometric titration method. Removal of fluoride ions has been done using sodium chloride. Solvent extraction has been carried out by both tributyl phosphate and alamine-336 as extractants. Scrubbing has been tried with oxalic acid and sulphuric acid. Stripping with sodium carbonate solution has been carried out. Overall recovery of uranium is 95%. (author)

  15. Improved recovery of post-thaw motility and vitality of human spermatozoa cryopreserved in the presence of dithiothreitol.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rao, B; David, G

    1984-10-01

    Semen was collected in the laboratory from nine healthy donors. The concentrations and the percentages of live and motile spermatozoa in all semen samples were within the normal range. Each sample was diluted with citrate-egg yolk-glycerol medium with and without 5 mM dithiothreitol (DTT). Samples were frozen in liquid nitrogen vapor (-70 degrees C) for 7 min and subsequently stored in liquid nitrogen. The effect of DTT in cryopreservation of sperm was determined by comparing percentage of motile and live spermatozoa between controls and DTT-treated post-thaw samples. Percentage of motile spermatozoa was determined by two techniques, laser Doppler velocimetry (LDV) and light microscopy. The percentage of live spermatozoa was measured by microscopic evaluation after staining with eosin-nigrosin. It was shown that the addition of DTT to the freezing medium significantly improved the recovery of motile and live spermatozoa in the post-thaw samples. The mean motility recovery, as measured by LDV, was 44.9% in the controls as compared to 73.9% in the DTT-treated samples. Similarly the mean recovery of live spermatozoa in the controls and DTT-treated samples was 66.5 and 86.6%, respectively. Based on these results, a new hypothesis implicating lipid peroxidation in cryoinjury is proposed. It is also suggested that the use of DTT in the freezing medium may offer an advantage over the commonly used techniques of human sperm cryopreservation.

  16. Review of organic Rankine cycles for internal combustion engine exhaust waste heat recovery

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sprouse, Charles; Depcik, Christopher

    2013-01-01

    Escalating fuel prices and future carbon dioxide emission limits are creating a renewed interest in methods to increase the thermal efficiency of engines beyond the limit of in-cylinder techniques. One promising mechanism that accomplishes both objectives is the conversion of engine waste heat to a more useful form of energy, either mechanical or electrical. This paper reviews the history of internal combustion engine exhaust waste heat recovery focusing on Organic Rankine Cycles since this thermodynamic cycle works well with the medium-grade energy of the exhaust. Selection of the cycle expander and working fluid are the primary focus of the review, since they are regarded as having the largest impact on system performance. Results demonstrate a potential fuel economy improvement around 10% with modern refrigerants and advancements in expander technology. -- Highlights: ► This review article focuses on engine exhaust waste heat recovery works. ► The organic Rankine cycle is superior for low to medium exergy heat sources. ► Working fluid and expander selection strongly influence efficiency. ► Several authors demonstrate viable systems for vehicle installation

  17. Recovery of Muscle Strength After Intact Arthroscopic Rotator Cuff Repair According to Preoperative Rotator Cuff Tear Size.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shin, Sang-Jin; Chung, Jaeyoon; Lee, Juyeob; Ko, Young-Won

    2016-04-01

    The recovery of muscle strength after arthroscopic rotator cuff repair based on the preoperative tear size has not yet been well described. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the recovery period of muscle strength by a serial assessment of isometric strength after arthroscopic rotator cuff repair based on the preoperative tear size. The hypothesis was that muscle strength in patients with small and medium tears would recover faster than that in those with large-to-massive tears. Cohort study; Level of evidence, 3. A total of 164 patients who underwent arthroscopic rotator cuff repair were included. Isometric strength in forward flexion (FF), internal rotation (IR), and external rotation (ER) was evaluated preoperatively and at 6, 12, 18, and 24 months after surgery. Preoperative magnetic resonance imaging scans were assessed to evaluate the quality of the rotator cuff muscle, including fatty infiltration, occupation ratio, and tangent sign. Patient satisfaction as well as visual analog scale (VAS) for pain, American Shoulder and Elbow Surgeons (ASES), and Constant scores were assessed at every follow-up. Muscle strength demonstrated the slowest recovery in pain relief and the restoration of shoulder function. To reach the strength of the uninjured contralateral shoulder in all 3 planes of motion, recovery took 6 months in patients with small tears and 18 months in patients with medium tears. Patients with large-to-massive tears showed continuous improvement in strength up to 18 months; however, they did not reach the strength of the contralateral shoulder at final follow-up. At final follow-up, mean strength in FF, IR, and ER was 113.0%, 118.0%, and 112.6% of the contralateral shoulder in patients with small tears, respectively; 105.0%, 112.1%, and 102.6% in patients with medium tears, respectively; and 87.6%, 89.5%, and 85.2% in patients with large-to-massive tears, respectively. Muscle strength in any direction did not significantly correlate with

  18. Initial steps in the microbially influenced corrosion (MIC) of metallic surfaces in a natural marine environment

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Esteso, M.A.; Estrella, C.N.; Dolores de la Rosa, M.; Martinez-Trujillo, R.; Rosales, B.M.; Podesta, J.J.

    1992-01-01

    Immersion of various metal samples in polluted seawater from Tenerife Harbor was followed by microbial attachment as an intermediate step in fouling development. The purpose of this research was to determine the initial steps in MIC by identifying the different microbial species attached to the respective metal or alloy. Image analysis was used to determine the morphologic changes in the metal surfaces. The corrosion products were determined by X-ray diffraction. The open circuit potentials were measured periodically and their variation with time used to assess the electrochemical behavior in the aforementioned marine environment

  19. La narració gràfica en àmbit universitari. Perspectives didàctiques del còmic i de l’àlbum il·lustrat

    OpenAIRE

    Baile López, Eduard; Rovira-Collado, José; Maestre-Brotons, Antoni; Ortiz Hernández, Francisco Javier; Pomares Puig, María Pilar; Soler-Quílez, Guillermo; Villaverde Pérez, Abel; Sánchez Verdú, Ramón; Serna-Rodrigo, Rocío; Vidal Martín-Toledano, Jesús

    2017-01-01

    Mitjançant la xarxa 3858, s’ha pretés oferir, tal com ja s’ha fet en diverses convocatòries prèvies del programa de xarxes de la Universitat d’Alacant, presència acadèmica a la tasca d’estudi i de difusió sobre les possibilitats didàctiques del còmic que s’està desenvolupant des dels nuclis dels grups Unicòmic i CLUECA. En aquest sentit, la memòria aspira a ser testimoni del treball investigador i docent dut a terme pels membres de la xarxa durant el curs 2016-2017. Al nostre parer, fer recom...

  20. Veneno para la mente: La participación de los especialistas en salud mental en la campaña anti-cómic estadounidense (1940-1960)

    OpenAIRE

    Fernández Sarasola, Ignacio

    2016-01-01

    Entre 1940 y 1960 se desarrolló en Estados Unidos una intensa campaña anti-cómic impulsada por ciudadanos que consideraban que aquellas revistas no solo suponían una mala influencia para sus niños, sino que eran responsables de un incremento en la delincuencia juvenil. Un punto de inflexión se produjo en el momento en que psiquiatras y psicólogos se incorporaron a la citada campaña. Su líder fue Fredric Wertham, un psiquiatra de origen germano que acusó a los cómics de dañar la mente de los n...

  1. UNC-Utah NA-MIC Framework for DTI Fiber Tract Analysis

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Audrey Rose Verde

    2014-01-01

    Full Text Available Diffusion tensor imaging has become an important modality in the field ofneuroimaging to capture changes in micro-organization and to assess white matterintegrity or development. While there exists a number of tractography toolsets,these usually lack tools for preprocessing or to analyze diffusion properties alongthe fiber tracts. Currently, the field is in critical need of a coherent end-to-endtoolset for performing an along-fiber tract analysis, accessible to non-technicalneuroimaging researchers. The UNC-Utah NA-MIC DTI framework represents acoherent, open source, end-to-end toolset for atlas fiber tract based DTI analysisencompassing DICOM data conversion, quality control, atlas building, fibertractography, fiber parameterization, and statistical analysis of diffusionproperties. Most steps utilize graphical user interfaces (GUI to simplifyinteraction and provide an extensive DTI analysis framework for non-technicalresearchers/investigators. We illustrate the use of our framework on a smallsample, cross sectional neuroimaging study of 8 healthy 1-year-old children fromthe Infant Brain Imaging Study (IBIS Network. In this limited test study, weillustrate the power of our method by quantifying the diffusion properties at 1year of age on the genu and splenium fiber tracts.

  2. UNC-Utah NA-MIC framework for DTI fiber tract analysis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Verde, Audrey R; Budin, Francois; Berger, Jean-Baptiste; Gupta, Aditya; Farzinfar, Mahshid; Kaiser, Adrien; Ahn, Mihye; Johnson, Hans; Matsui, Joy; Hazlett, Heather C; Sharma, Anuja; Goodlett, Casey; Shi, Yundi; Gouttard, Sylvain; Vachet, Clement; Piven, Joseph; Zhu, Hongtu; Gerig, Guido; Styner, Martin

    2014-01-01

    Diffusion tensor imaging has become an important modality in the field of neuroimaging to capture changes in micro-organization and to assess white matter integrity or development. While there exists a number of tractography toolsets, these usually lack tools for preprocessing or to analyze diffusion properties along the fiber tracts. Currently, the field is in critical need of a coherent end-to-end toolset for performing an along-fiber tract analysis, accessible to non-technical neuroimaging researchers. The UNC-Utah NA-MIC DTI framework represents a coherent, open source, end-to-end toolset for atlas fiber tract based DTI analysis encompassing DICOM data conversion, quality control, atlas building, fiber tractography, fiber parameterization, and statistical analysis of diffusion properties. Most steps utilize graphical user interfaces (GUI) to simplify interaction and provide an extensive DTI analysis framework for non-technical researchers/investigators. We illustrate the use of our framework on a small sample, cross sectional neuroimaging study of eight healthy 1-year-old children from the Infant Brain Imaging Study (IBIS) Network. In this limited test study, we illustrate the power of our method by quantifying the diffusion properties at 1 year of age on the genu and splenium fiber tracts.

  3. The Poincaré compactification of the MIC-Kepler problem with positive energies

    CERN Document Server

    Iwai, T

    2001-01-01

    The Poincare compactification and the symplectic reduction methods are first reviewed and then used to study the behaviour at infinity of the MIC (McIntosh-Cisneros)-Kepler problem at positive energies. The hyperbolic orbits leave the unstable equilibrium point set at infinity and tend eventually to the stable equilibrium point set at infinity. Both of these equilibrium point sets are diffeomorphic with S/sup 2/, the unit sphere in R/sup 3/. The hyperbolic orbits determine a map of the unstable equilibrium point set to the stable equilibrium point set in such a manner that the initial point (or the limit point as t to - infinity ) of an orbit is mapped to its final point (or the limit point as t to infinity ). This map is found explicitly as a rotation matrix which depends on the energy and the angular momentum of the orbits. (9 refs).

  4. Empirical links between natural mortality and recovery in marine fishes.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hutchings, Jeffrey A; Kuparinen, Anna

    2017-06-14

    Probability of species recovery is thought to be correlated with specific aspects of organismal life history, such as age at maturity and longevity, and how these affect rates of natural mortality ( M ) and maximum per capita population growth ( r max ). Despite strong theoretical underpinnings, these correlates have been based on predicted rather than realized population trajectories following threat mitigation. Here, we examine the level of empirical support for postulated links between a suite of life-history traits (related to maturity, age, size and growth) and recovery in marine fishes. Following threat mitigation (medium time since cessation of overfishing = 20 years), 71% of 55 temperate populations had fully recovered, the remainder exhibiting, on average, negligible change (impaired recovery). Singly, life-history traits did not influence recovery status. In combination, however, those that jointly reflect length-based mortality at maturity, M α , revealed that recovered populations have higher M α , which we hypothesize to reflect local adaptations associated with greater r max But, within populations, the smaller sizes at maturity generated by overfishing are predicted to increase M α , slowing recovery and increasing its uncertainty. We conclude that recovery potential is greater for populations adapted to high M but that temporal increases in M concomitant with smaller size at maturity will have the opposite effect. The recovery metric documented here ( M α ) has a sound theoretical basis, is significantly correlated with direct estimates of M that directly reflect r max , is not reliant on data-intensive time series, can be readily estimated, and offers an empirically defensible correlate of recovery, given its clear links to the positive and impaired responses to threat mitigation that have been observed in fish populations over the past three decades. © 2017 The Author(s).

  5. Role of excision repair in postradiation recovery of biological activity of cellular DNA Bacillus subtilis

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Filippov, V.D.

    1976-01-01

    DNA extracted from UV-irradiated prototroph cells of Bacillus subtilis uvr + (45 sec. of UV light, 20% survivals) has a lowered transforming activity (TA) of markers purB and metB, and a lowered ratio TA pur/TA met. During the subsequent incubation of uvr + cells in glucose-salt medium free of nitrogen sources the TA of markers and the ratio between them increase. No increase is observed during the postradiation incubation under the same conditions or in a nutrition medium of uvr cells, deficient in escision of pyrimidine dimers. The increment of DNA begins approsimately in 30 min. after the beginning of incubation of irradiated uvr cells in nutrition medium. On the basis of these facts it is concluded that neither the replication of damaged DNA nor the postreplication repair, but only excision repair, can provide the recovery of biological (transforming) activity of cellular DNA in Bac. subtilis. The system given might be a suitable model for testing compounds which affect the activity of this process. The well-known inhibitors of dark repair, caffeine, proflavine to inhibit reversibly the initial steps of the process/ and especially acriflavine, delay the recovery of markers of cellular DNA in irradiated uvr + cells. Caffeine is proved to inhibit reversibly the initial steps of the process

  6. Magnetic resonance tomography for focal lesions in the liver using the para-magnetic contrast medium gadolinium DTPA

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hamm, B.; Roemer, T.; Felix, R.; Wolf, K.J.; Klinikum Charlottenburg, Berlin

    1986-01-01

    The use of the para-magnetic contrast medium gadolinium DTPA for magnetic resonance tomography of focal lesions in the liver was investigated in 31 patients. Two dosage schedules of the contrast medium (0.1 and 0.2 mmol/kg body weight) were used with field strengths of 0.35 and 0.5 Tesla. Using T 1 sequences, gadolinium DTPA showed increased signal intensity in the liver and in tumours, but this was significantly more marked in the tumour. On T 1 spin-echo sequences, previously iso-intense lesions became visible after administration of contrast. On the other hand, contrast-enhanced lesions were less well seen on inversion recovery sequences because of a reduction in the contrast between tumour and liver tissue. The contrast between tumour and liver tissue was not improved by gadolinium DTPA in comparison with precontrast inversion recovery sequences and T 2 spin-echo sequences. The perfusion of intra-hepatic tumours could be elucidated by magnetic resonance tomography after the administration of gadolinium DTPA. (orig.) [de

  7. National and gender measurement invariance of the Utrecht-Management of Identity Commitments Scale (U-MICS) : A 10-nation study with university students

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Crocetti, E.; Cieciuch, J.; Gao, C.-H.; Klimstra, T.A.; Lin, C.-L.; Mena de Matos, P.; Morsünbül, U.; Negru, O.; Sugimura, K.; Zimmermann, G.; Meeus, W.H.J.

    2015-01-01

    The purpose of this study was to examine the psychometric properties of the Utrecht-Management of Identity Commitments Scale (U-MICS), a self-report measure aimed at assessing identity processes of commitment, in-depth exploration, and reconsideration of commitment. We tested its factor structure in

  8. National and Gender Measurement Invariance of the Utrecht-Management of Identity Commitments Scale (U-MICS) : A 10-Nation Study With University Students

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Crocetti, Elisabetta; Cieciuch, Jan; Gao, Cheng Hai; Klimstra, Theo; Lin, Ching Ling; Matos, Paula Mena; Morsünbül, Ümit; Negru, Oana; Sugimura, Kazumi; Zimmermann, Grégoire; Meeus, Wim

    2015-01-01

    The purpose of this study was to examine the psychometric properties of the Utrecht-Management of Identity Commitments Scale (U-MICS), a self-report measure aimed at assessing identity processes of commitment, in-depth exploration, and reconsideration of commitment. We tested its factor structure in

  9. ENVIRONMENTALLY BENIGN MITIGATION OF MICROBIOLOGICALLY INFLUENCED CORROSION (MIC)

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    John J. Kilbane II; William Bogan

    2004-01-31

    The overall program objective is to develop and evaluate environmentally benign agents or products that are effective in the prevention, inhibition, and mitigation of microbially influenced corrosion (MIC) in the internal surfaces of metallic natural gas pipelines. The goal is to develop one or more environmentally benign (a.k.a. ''green'') products that can be applied to maintain the structure and dependability of the natural gas infrastructure. The technical approach for this quarter included the fractionation of extracts prepared from several varieties of pepper plants, and using several solvents, by high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). A preliminary determination of antimicrobial activities of the new extracts and fractions using a growth inhibition assay, and evaluation of the extracts ability to inhibit biofilm formation was also performed. The analysis of multiple extracts of pepper plants and fractions of extracts of pepper plants obtained by HPLC illustrated that these extracts and fractions are extremely complex mixtures of chemicals. Gas chromatography-mass spectrometry was used to identify the chemical constituents of these extracts and fractions to the greatest degree possible. Analysis of the chemical composition of various extracts of pepper plants has illustrated the complexity of the chemical mixtures present, and while additional work will be performed to further characterize the extracts to identify bioactive compounds the focus of efforts should now shift to an evaluation of the ability of extracts to inhibit corrosion in mixed culture biofilms, and in pure cultures of bacterial types which are known or believed to be important in corrosion.

  10. Recovery of perchloroethylene scrubbing medium generated in the refabrication of high-temperature gas-cooled reactor fuel

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Judd, M.S.; Van Cleve, J.E. Jr.; Rainey, W.T. Jr.

    1976-11-01

    During the refabrication of high-temperature gas-cooled reactor (HTGR) fuel, perchloroethylene (C 2 Cl 4 ) is used as the nonmoderating scrubbing medium to remove condensable hydrocarbons, carbon soot, and uranium-bearing particulates from the off-gas streams. The process by which the contaminated perchloroethylene is recycled is discussed

  11. [Possibilities and limits of sleep recovery for night-nursing workers].

    Science.gov (United States)

    de Medeiros, Soraya Maria; de Macêdo, Maria Lúcia Azevedo Ferreira; de Oliveira, Jonas Sâmi Albuquerque; Ribeiro, Laiane Medeiros

    2009-03-01

    The present study had the objective of investigating the possibilities/limits of sleep recovery in women workers with medium level in nursing that develop their activities in night shifts in a first-aid clinic at a public hospital in Natal, Rio Grande do Norte, Brazil. This was an analytic study, with a qualitative approach which used the technique of thematic oral history Fifteen women workers with medium level in nursing were interviewed. The following empirical categories were defined: night shift work and night sleep and night rest at work environment Physiological and psychological sufferings are evident on their speech as well as what the lack of sleep causes in health and personal life of these women workers, making the overload of work clear and also the sociocultural imperfections of feminine gender

  12. Leaching of the antimony and accompanying of elements Sb2S3 in the alkaline medium

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Dagmar Remeteiová

    2007-06-01

    Full Text Available This paper presents results of the laboratory investigation of alkaline leaching of stibnite that is an important mineral occuring in the antimony-bearing raw materials. The following components were present in stibnite: Sb2S3, SiO2, ZnS, FeS2. The aim of this study was to establish the effect of composition of the aqueous alkaline leaching medium (1 % NaOH, 1 % NaOH + 1 % Na2S2O3, 1 % NaOH + 1 % Na2S on the recoveries of Sb, Fe, Pb, Zn, Cu, Ni and Hg. The antimony recoveries in the leaching solutions NaOH and NaOH + Na2S2O3 solutions were lower in comparison with the leaching in NaOH + Na2S. The Fe, Pb, Zn recoveries in alkaline solutions were found to decrease in the following order: Fe, Pb, Zn. The mercury recovery in the leaching test with the solution containing 1 % NaOH+1 % Na2S was 3,7 %.

  13. On the optimal design of the disassembly and recovery processes.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Xanthopoulos, A; Iakovou, E

    2009-05-01

    This paper tackles the problem of the optimal design of the recovery processes of the end-of-life (EOL) electric and electronic products, with a special focus on the disassembly issues. The objective is to recover as much ecological and economic value as possible, and to reduce the overall produced quantities of waste. In this context, a medium-range tactical problem is defined and a novel two-phased algorithm is presented for a remanufacturing-driven reverse supply chain. In the first phase, we propose a multicriteria/goal-programming analysis for the identification and the optimal selection of the most 'desirable' subassemblies and components to be disassembled for recovery, from a set of different types of EOL products. In the second phase, a multi-product, multi-period mixed-integer linear programming (MILP) model is presented, which addresses the optimization of the recovery processes, while taking into account explicitly the lead times of the disassembly and recovery processes. Moreover, a simulation-based solution approach is proposed for capturing the uncertainties in reverse logistics. The overall approach leads to an easy-to-use methodology that could support effectively middle level management decisions. Finally, the applicability of the developed methodology is illustrated by its application on a specific case study.

  14. On the optimal design of the disassembly and recovery processes

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Xanthopoulos, A.; Iakovou, E.

    2009-01-01

    This paper tackles the problem of the optimal design of the recovery processes of the end-of-life (EOL) electric and electronic products, with a special focus on the disassembly issues. The objective is to recover as much ecological and economic value as possible, and to reduce the overall produced quantities of waste. In this context, a medium-range tactical problem is defined and a novel two-phased algorithm is presented for a remanufacturing-driven reverse supply chain. In the first phase, we propose a multicriteria/goal-programming analysis for the identification and the optimal selection of the most 'desirable' subassemblies and components to be disassembled for recovery, from a set of different types of EOL products. In the second phase, a multi-product, multi-period mixed-integer linear programming (MILP) model is presented, which addresses the optimization of the recovery processes, while taking into account explicitly the lead times of the disassembly and recovery processes. Moreover, a simulation-based solution approach is proposed for capturing the uncertainties in reverse logistics. The overall approach leads to an easy-to-use methodology that could support effectively middle level management decisions. Finally, the applicability of the developed methodology is illustrated by its application on a specific case study

  15. Recovery of perchloroethylene scrubbing medium generated in the refabrication of high-temperature gas-cooled reactor fuel

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Judd, M.S.; Van Cleve, J.E. Jr.; Rainey, W.T. Jr.

    1976-11-01

    During the refabrication of high-temperature gas-cooled reactor (HTGR) fuel, perchloroethylene (C/sub 2/Cl/sub 4/) is used as the nonmoderating scrubbing medium to remove condensable hydrocarbons, carbon soot, and uranium-bearing particulates from the off-gas streams. The process by which the contaminated perchloroethylene is recycled is discussed.

  16. Kansas Consortium Plug-in Hybrid Medium Duty

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    None, None

    2012-03-31

    On September 30, 2008, the US Department of Energy (DoE), issued a cooperative agreement award, DE-FC26-08NT01914, to the Metropolitan Energy Center (MEC), for a project known as “Kansas Consortium Plug-in Hybrid Medium Duty Certification” project. The cooperative agreement was awarded pursuant to H15915 in reference to H. R. 2764 Congressionally Directed Projects. The original agreement provided funding for The Consortium to implement the established project objectives as follows: (1) to understand the current state of the development of a test protocol for PHEV configurations; (2) to work with industry stakeholders to recommend a medium duty vehicle test protocol; (3) to utilize the Phase 1 Eaton PHEV F550 Chassis or other appropriate PHEV configurations to conduct emissions testing; (4) and to make an industry PHEV certification test protocol recommendation for medium duty trucks. Subsequent amendments to the initial agreement were made, the most significant being a revised Scope of Project Objectives (SOPO) that did not address actual field data since it was not available as originally expected. This project was mated by DOE with a parallel project award given to the South Coast Air Quality Management District (SCAQMD) in California. The SCAQMD project involved designing, building and testing of five medium duty plug-in hybrid electric trucks. SCAQMD had contracted with the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) to manage the project. EPRI provided the required match to the federal grant funds to both the SCAQMD project and the Kansas Consortium project. The rational for linking the two projects was that the data derived from the SCAQMD project could be used to validate the protocols developed by the Kansas Consortium team. At the same time, the consortium team would be a useful resource to SCAQMD in designating their test procedures for emissions and operating parameters and determining vehicle mileage. The years between award of the cooperative

  17. Pathobiological implications of the expression of EGFR, pAkt, NF-κB and MIC-1 in prostate cancer stem cells and their progenies.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Murielle Mimeault

    Full Text Available The progression of prostate cancers (PCs to locally invasive, androgen-independent and metastatic disease states is generally associated with treatment resistance and disease relapse. The present study was undertaken to establish the possibility of using a combination of specific oncogenic products, including epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR, pAkt, nuclear factor-kappaB (NF-κB and macrophage inhibitory cytokine-1 (MIC-1 as biomarkers and therapeutic targets for optimizing the management of patients with localized PC at earlier disease stages. The immunohistochemical and immunofluorescence data have revealed that the expression levels of EGFR, Ser(473-pAkt, NF-κB p65 and MIC-1 proteins were significantly enhanced in the same subset of 76 cases of prostatic adenocarcinoma specimens during the disease progression and these biomarkers were expressed in a small subpopulation of CD133(+ PC cells and the bulk tumor mass of CD133(- PC cells. Importantly, all of these biomarkers were also overexpressed in 80-100% of 30 PC metastasis bone tissue specimens. Moreover, the results have indicated that the EGF-EGFR signaling pathway can provide critical functions for the self-renewal of side population (SP cells endowed with stem cell-like features from highly invasive WPE1-NB26 cells. Of therapeutic interest, the targeting of EGFR, pAkt, NF-κB or MIC-1 was also effective at suppressing the basal and EGF-promoted prostasphere formation by SP WPE1-NB26 cells, inducing disintegration of SP cell-derived prostaspheres and decreasing the viability of SP and non-SP WPE1-NB26 cell fractions. Also, the targeting of these oncogenic products induced the caspase-dependent apoptosis in chemoresistant SP WPE1-NB26 cells and enhanced their sensibility to the cytotoxic effects induced by docetaxel. These findings suggest that the combined use of EGFR, pAkt, NF-κB and/or MIC-1 may represent promising strategies for improving the accuracy of current diagnostic and

  18. Sensitive and selective culture medium for detection of environmental Clostridium difficile isolates without requirement for anaerobic culture conditions.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cadnum, Jennifer L; Hurless, Kelly N; Deshpande, Abhishek; Nerandzic, Michelle M; Kundrapu, Sirisha; Donskey, Curtis J

    2014-09-01

    Effective and easy-to-use methods for detecting Clostridium difficile spore contamination would be useful for identifying environmental reservoirs and monitoring the effectiveness of room disinfection. Culture-based detection methods are sensitive for detecting C. difficile, but their utility is limited due to the requirement of anaerobic culture conditions and microbiological expertise. We developed a low-cost selective broth medium containing thioglycolic acid and l-cystine, termed C. difficile brucella broth with thioglycolic acid and l-cystine (CDBB-TC), for the detection of C. difficile from environmental specimens under aerobic culture conditions. The sensitivity and specificity of CDBB-TC (under aerobic culture conditions) were compared to those of CDBB (under anaerobic culture conditions) for the recovery of C. difficile from swabs collected from hospital room surfaces. CDBB-TC was significantly more sensitive than CDBB for recovering environmental C. difficile (36/41 [88%] versus 21/41 [51%], respectively; P = 0.006). C. difficile latex agglutination, an enzyme immunoassay for toxins A and B or glutamate dehydrogenase, and a PCR for toxin B genes were all effective as confirmatory tests. For 477 total environmental cultures, the specificity of CDBB-TC versus that of CDBB based upon false-positive yellow-color development of the medium without recovery of C. difficile was 100% (0 false-positive results) versus 96% (18 false-positive results), respectively. False-positive cultures for CDBB were attributable to the growth of anaerobic non-C. difficile organisms that did not grow in CDBB-TC. Our results suggest that CDBB-TC provides a sensitive and selective medium for the recovery of C. difficile organisms from environmental samples, without the need for anaerobic culture conditions. Copyright © 2014, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.

  19. Short forms of the Utrecht-Management of Identity Commitments Scale (U-MICS) with the domains of job, romantic relationship, and region.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schubach, Elisabeth; Zimmermann, Julia; Noack, Peter; Neyer, Franz J

    2017-01-01

    The U-MICS is a self-report questionnaire designed to assess the identity dimensions from a domain-specific perspective. The present study reports on the development of a short-form version for the domains of job and romantic relationship in young adults from Germany and extends this scale to include the domain of region (n Sample1  = 95, 84% female, mean age 22.45 years; n Sample2  = 1,795, 71% female, mean age 24.53 years). We found the short form to possess adequate psychometric properties and to demonstrate a factor structure congruent to the long-form version. Regarding validity, the small correlations across domains within dimensions support a domain-specific approach to identity. The associations between the different identity domains with personality traits are similar, indicating a consistent pattern of convergent validity for all domains. We conclude that "region" provides a valuable complement to the established domains that can all be reliably assessed with the U-MICS-Short Form. Copyright © 2016 The Foundation for Professionals in Services for Adolescents. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  20. Liberalismo vs. neo-fascismo: perspectiva sociosemiótica y análisis político del cómic Guerra Civil

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Liber Daniel Cuñarro Conde

    2014-01-01

    Full Text Available La presente investigación analiza desde una perspectiva sociosemiótica y política algunos de los aspectos más relevantes del cómic Guerra Civil de Marvel como expresión de los eventos del 11 de septiembre de 2001 en los Estados Unidos de América. Dicho texto se examina desde los enfoques postulados por Greimas (1966 y Eco (1993. A tal efecto se ha seleccionado un corpus concreto, constituido por los siete ejemplares que representan la historia principal de la serie titulada Civil War, en su lenguaje original. Para lograr la comprensión del programa narrativo del cómic, este estudio proporciona el antetexto y la información pertinente para hacer posible una interpretación de los elementos políticos e ideológicos de la Guerra Civil de Marvel, su relación con la representación alegórica de los hechos históricos y su textualización como expresión simbólica de la sociedad contemporánea.

  1. Mastite micótica em ruminantes causada por leveduras Mycotic mastitis in ruminants caused by yeasts

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Andréia Spanamberg

    2009-02-01

    Full Text Available A ocorrência de casos esporádicos de mastite causados por microrganismos de origem ambiental pode ser considerada como emergente e as leveduras, os fungos leveduriformes e os filamentosos são alguns dos principais agentes envolvidos. Em relação à mastite micótica, as leveduras são freqüentemente causas de infecções da glândula mamária em animais produtores de leite. A maior parte dos casos ocorre sob a forma de surtos localizados e/ou após tratamento com antimicrobianos. Os principais gêneros envolvidos são Candida e Cryptococcus, além de outros como Geotrichum, Pichia e Trichosporon. O objetivo do trabalho é revisar os aspectos gerais sobre a mastite micótica causada por leveduras e fungos leveduriformes, tais como etiologia, causas predisponentes, patogenicidade, diagnóstico, tratamento e profilaxia por meio de uma abordagem cronológica dos primeiros relatos, mas com enfoque principal nos resultados descritos recentemente na literatura veterinária nacional e internacional. O controle da mastite micótica é fundamentado em métodos preventivos, como adequado manejo da ordenha, correta higienização dos equipamentos e das instalações, com a finalidade de reduzir o número de animais acometidos, além de garantir a qualidade e a inocuidade dos produtos lácteos.The veterinary literature registers sporadic cases of infections caused by environmental microorganisms in which the main agents involved are yeasts, yeasts-like and filamentous fungi. In relation to dairy animals, the yeasts are more frequently incriminated as the aetiological agents of mycotic mastitis. Most cases occur under the form of localized outbreaks and / or after treatment with antimicrobial agents. The main genera involved in mastitis are Candida and Cryptococcus, besides others such as Geotrichum, Pichia and Trichosporon. The purpose of this review is to point out the main aspects of mastitis caused by yeasts and yeast-like fungi, such as etiology

  2. Anorexia-cachexia and obesity treatment may be two sides of the same coin: role of the TGF-b superfamily cytokine MIC-1/GDF15.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tsai, V W W; Lin, S; Brown, D A; Salis, A; Breit, S N

    2016-02-01

    Anorexia-cachexia associated with cancer and other diseases is a common and often fatal condition representing a large area of unmet medical need. It occurs most commonly in advanced cancer and is probably a consequence of molecules released by tumour cells, or tumour-associated interstitial or immune cells. These may then act directly on muscle to cause atrophy and/or may cause anorexia, which then leads to loss of both fat and lean mass. Although the aetiological triggers for this syndrome are not well characterized, recent data suggest that MIC-1/GDF15, a transforming growth factor-beta superfamily cytokine produced in large amounts by cancer cells and as a part of other disease processes, may be an important trigger. This cytokine acts on feeding centres in the hypothalamus and brainstem to cause anorexia leading to loss of lean and fat mass and eventually cachexia. In animal studies, the circulating concentrations of MIC-1/GDF15 required to cause this syndrome are similar to those seen in patients with advanced cancer, and at least some epidemiological studies support an association between MIC-1/GDF15 serum levels and measures of nutrition. This article will discuss its mechanisms of central appetite regulation, and the available data linking this action to anorexia-cachexia syndromes that suggest it is a potential target for therapy of cancer anorexia-cachexia and conversely may also be useful for the treatment of severe obesity.

  3. Biological soil crusts across disturbance–recovery scenarios: effect of grazing regime on community dynamics.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Concostrina-Zubiri, L; Huber-Sannwald, E; Martínez, I; Flores Flores, J L; Reyes-Agüero, J A; Escude, A; Belnap, J

    Grazing represents one of the most common disturbances in drylands worldwide, affecting both ecosystem structure and functioning. Despite the efforts to understand the nature and magnitude of grazing effects on ecosystem components and processes, contrasting results continue to arise. This is particularly remarkable for the biological soil crust (BSC) communities (i.e., cyanobacteria, lichens, and bryophytes), which play an important role in soil dynamics. Here we evaluated simultaneously the effect of grazing impact on BSC communities (resistance) and recovery after livestock exclusion (resilience) in a semiarid grassland of Central Mexico. In particular, we examined BSC species distribution, species richness, taxonomical group cover (i.e., cyanobacteria, lichen, bryophyte), and composition along a disturbance gradient with different grazing regimes (low, medium, high impact) and along a recovery gradient with differently aged livestock exclosures (short-, medium-, long-term exclusion). Differences in grazing impact and time of recovery from grazing both resulted in slight changes in species richness; however, there were pronounced shifts in species composition and group cover. We found we could distinguish four highly diverse and dynamic BSC species groups: (1) species with high resistance and resilience to grazing, (2) species with high resistance but low resilience, (3) species with low resistance but high resilience, and (4) species with low resistance and resilience. While disturbance resulted in a novel diversity configuration, which may profoundly affect ecosystem functioning, we observed that 10 years of disturbance removal did not lead to the ecosystem structure found after 27 years of recovery. These findings are an important contribution to our understanding of BCS dynamics from a species and community perspective placed in a land use change context.

  4. Biological soil crusts across disturbance-recovery scenarios: effect of grazing regime on community dynamics

    Science.gov (United States)

    Concostrina-Zubiri, L.; Huber-Sannwald, E.; Martínez, I.; Flores Flores, J. L.; Reyes-Agüero, J. A.; Escudero, A.; Belnap, Jayne

    2014-01-01

    Grazing represents one of the most common disturbances in drylands worldwide, affecting both ecosystem structure and functioning. Despite the efforts to understand the nature and magnitude of grazing effects on ecosystem components and processes, contrasting results continue to arise. This is particularly remarkable for the biological soil crust (BSC) communities (i.e., cyanobacteria, lichens, and bryophytes), which play an important role in soil dynamics. Here we evaluated simultaneously the effect of grazing impact on BSC communities (resistance) and recovery after livestock exclusion (resilience) in a semiarid grassland of Central Mexico. In particular, we examined BSC species distribution, species richness, taxonomical group cover (i.e., cyanobacteria, lichen, bryophyte), and composition along a disturbance gradient with different grazing regimes (low, medium, high impact) and along a recovery gradient with differently aged livestock exclosures (short-, medium-, long-term exclusion). Differences in grazing impact and time of recovery from grazing both resulted in slight changes in species richness; however, there were pronounced shifts in species composition and group cover. We found we could distinguish four highly diverse and dynamic BSC species groups: (1) species with high resistance and resilience to grazing, (2) species with high resistance but low resilience, (3) species with low resistance but high resilience, and (4) species with low resistance and resilience. While disturbance resulted in a novel diversity configuration, which may profoundly affect ecosystem functioning, we observed that 10 years of disturbance removal did not lead to the ecosystem structure found after 27 years of recovery. These findings are an important contribution to our understanding of BCS dynamics from a species and community perspective placed in a land use change context.

  5. Disaster Debris Recovery Database - Recovery

    Data.gov (United States)

    U.S. Environmental Protection Agency — The US EPA Disaster Debris Recovery Database (DDRD) promotes the proper recovery, recycling, and disposal of disaster debris for emergency responders at the federal,...

  6. Recovery in soccer : part ii-recovery strategies.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nédélec, Mathieu; McCall, Alan; Carling, Chris; Legall, Franck; Berthoin, Serge; Dupont, Gregory

    2013-01-01

    In the formerly published part I of this two-part review, we examined fatigue after soccer matchplay and recovery kinetics of physical performance, and cognitive, subjective and biological markers. To reduce the magnitude of fatigue and to accelerate the time to fully recover after completion, several recovery strategies are now used in professional soccer teams. During congested fixture schedules, recovery strategies are highly required to alleviate post-match fatigue, and then to regain performance faster and reduce the risk of injury. Fatigue following competition is multifactorial and mainly related to dehydration, glycogen depletion, muscle damage and mental fatigue. Recovery strategies should consequently be targeted against the major causes of fatigue. Strategies reviewed in part II of this article were nutritional intake, cold water immersion, sleeping, active recovery, stretching, compression garments, massage and electrical stimulation. Some strategies such as hydration, diet and sleep are effective in their ability to counteract the fatigue mechanisms. Providing milk drinks to players at the end of competition and a meal containing high-glycaemic index carbohydrate and protein within the hour following the match are effective in replenishing substrate stores and optimizing muscle-damage repair. Sleep is an essential part of recovery management. Sleep disturbance after a match is common and can negatively impact on the recovery process. Cold water immersion is effective during acute periods of match congestion in order to regain performance levels faster and repress the acute inflammatory process. Scientific evidence for other strategies reviewed in their ability to accelerate the return to the initial level of performance is still lacking. These include active recovery, stretching, compression garments, massage and electrical stimulation. While this does not mean that these strategies do not aid the recovery process, the protocols implemented up until

  7. Recovery of insulin sensitivity and optimal body composition after rapid weight loss in obese dogs fed a high-protein medium-carbohydrate diet.

    Science.gov (United States)

    André, A; Leriche, I; Chaix, G; Thorin, C; Burger, M; Nguyen, P

    2017-06-01

    This study investigated the effects of an experimental high-protein medium-carbohydrate diet (protein level, 46% metabolizable energy, ME). First, postprandial plasma glucose and insulin kinetics were determined in steady-state overweight/obese Beagle dogs (28%-41% excess body weight) for an experimental high-protein medium-carbohydrate diet (protein level, 46% ME) and a commercial high-carbohydrate medium-protein diet (protein level, 24%ME) in obese dogs. Secondly, all the dogs were included in a weight loss programme. They were fed the high-protein medium-carbohydrate diet, and the energy allocation was gradually reduced until they reached their optimal body weight. Insulin sensitivity and body composition were evaluated before and after weight loss using a euglycaemic-hyperinsulinaemic clamp and the deuterium oxide dilution technique respectively. For statistical analysis, linear mixed effect models were used with a significance level of 5%. Postprandial plasma glucose and insulin concentrations were substantially lower with the high-protein medium-carbohydrate diet than the high-carbohydrate medium-protein diet. These differences can be explained mainly by the difference in carbohydrate content between the two diets. Energy restriction (35% lower energy intake than in the obese state) resulted in a 2.23 ± 0.05% loss in body weight/week, and the dogs reached their optimal body weight in 12-16 weeks. Weight loss was associated with a significant increase in insulin sensitivity. The high-protein medium-carbohydrate diet allowed fat-free mass preservation despite a relatively high rate of weekly weight loss. The increase in insulin sensitivity indicated improved control of carbohydrate metabolism, possible due to weight loss and to the nature of the diet. Thus, a high-protein medium-carbohydrate diet is a good nutritional solution for managing the weight of overweight dogs. This diet may improve glycaemic control, which could be beneficial for preventing or

  8. A phase III trial of docetaxel/carboplatin versus mitomycin C/ifosfamide/cisplatin (MIC) or mitomycin C/vinblastine/cisplatin (MVP) in patients with advanced non-small-cell lung cancer: a randomised multicentre trial of the British Thoracic Oncology Group (BTOG1).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Booton, R; Lorigan, P; Anderson, H; Baka, S; Ashcroft, L; Nicolson, M; O'Brien, M; Dunlop, D; O'Byrne, K; Laurence, V; Snee, M; Dark, G; Thatcher, N

    2006-07-01

    Phase III studies suggest that non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients treated with cisplatin-docetaxel may have higher response rates and better survival compared with other platinum-based regimens. We report the final results of a randomised phase III study of docetaxel and carboplatin versus MIC or MVP in patients with advanced NSCLC. Patients with biopsy proven stage III-IV NSCLC not suitable for curative surgery or radiotherapy were randomised to receive four cycles of either DCb (docetaxel 75 mg/m(2), carboplatin AUC 6), or MIC/MVP (mitomycin 6 mg/m(2), ifosfamide 3 g/m(2) and cisplatin 50 mg/m(2) or mitomycin 6 mg/m(2), vinblastine 6 mg/m(2) and cisplatin 50 mg/m(2), respectively), 3 weekly. The primary end point was survival, secondary end points included response rates, toxicity and quality of life. The median follow-up was 17.4 months. Overall response rate was 32% for both arms (partial response = 31%, complete response = 1%); 32% of MIC/MVP and 26% of DCb patients had stable disease. One-year survival was 39% and 35% for DCb and MIC/MVP, respectively. Two-year survival was 13% with both arms. Grade 3/4 neutropenia (74% versus 43%, P MVP. The MIC/MVP arm had significant worsening in overall EORTC score and global health status whereas the DCb arm showed no significant change. The combination of DCb had similar efficacy to MIC/MVP but quality of life was better maintained.

  9. Plug-In Hybrid Medium-Duty Truck Demonstration and Evaluation

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Miyasato, Matt [Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI), Palo Alto, CA (United States); Kosowski, Mark [Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI), Palo Alto, CA (United States)

    2015-10-01

    The Plug-In Hybrid Medium-Duty Truck Demonstration and Evaluation Program was sponsored by the United States Department of Energy (DOE) using American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA) funding. The purpose of the program is to develop a path to migrate plug-in hybrid electric vehicle (PHEV) technology to medium-duty vehicles by demonstrating and evaluating vehicles in diverse applications. The program also provided three production-ready PHEV systems—Odyne Systems, Inc. (Odyne) Class 6 to 8 trucks, VIA Motors, Inc. (VIA) half-ton pickup trucks, and VIA three-quarter-ton vans. The vehicles were designed, developed, validated, produced, and deployed. Data were gathered and tests were run to understand the performance improvements, allow cost reductions, and provide future design changes. A smart charging system was developed and produced during the program. The partnerships for funding included the DOE; the California Energy Commission (CEC); the South Coast Air Quality Management District (SCAQMD); the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI); Odyne; VIA; Southern California Edison; and utility and municipal industry participants. The reference project numbers are DOE FOA-28 award number EE0002549 and SCAQMD contract number 10659.

  10. Experimental Study of Enhancing Oil Recovery with Weak Base Alkaline/Surfactant/Polymer

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Dandan Yin

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available Na2CO3 was used together with surfactant and polymer to form the Alkaline/Surfactant/Polymer (ASP flooding system. Interfacial tension (IFT and emulsification of Dagang oil and chemical solutions were studied in the paper. The experiment results show that the ASP system can form super-low interfacial tension with crude oil and emulsified phase. The stability of the emulsion is enhanced by the Na2CO3, surfactant, and the soap generated at oil/water contact. Six core flooding experiments are conducted in order to investigate the influence of Na2CO3 concentration on oil recovery. The results show the maximum oil recovery can be obtained with 0.3 wt% surfactant, 0.6 wt% Na2CO3, and 2000 mg/L polymer. In a heterogeneous reservoir, the ASP flooding could not enhance the oil recovery by reducing IFT until it reaches the critical viscosity, which indicates expanding the sweep volume is the premise for reducing IFT to enhance oil recovery. Reducing or removing the alkali from ASP system to achieve high viscosity will reduce oil recovery because of the declination of oil displacement efficiency. Weak base ASP alkali can ensure that the whole system with sufficient viscosity can start the medium and low permeability layers and enhance oil recovery even if the IFT only reaches 10−2 mN/m.

  11. Brief report: the Utrecht-Management of Identity Commitments Scale (U-MICS): gender and age measurement invariance and convergent validity of the Turkish version.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Morsunbul, Umit; Crocetti, Elisabetta; Cok, Figen; Meeus, Wim

    2014-08-01

    The purpose of this study was to evaluate the factor structure and convergent validity of the Turkish version of the Utrecht-Management of Identity Commitments Scale (U-MICS). Participants were 1201 (59.6% females) youth aged between 12 and 24 years (M(age) = 17.53 years, SD(age) = 3.25). Results indicated that the three-factor model consisting of commitment, in-depth exploration, and reconsideration of commitment provided a very good fit to the data and applied equally well to boys and girls as well as to three age groups (early adolescents, middle adolescents, and emerging adults). Significant relations between identity processes and self-concept clarity, personality, internalizing and externalizing problem behaviors, and parental relationships supported convergent validity. Thus, the Turkish version of U-MICS is a reliable tool for assessing identity in Turkish-speaking respondents. Copyright © 2014 The Foundation for Professionals in Services for Adolescents. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  12. Brief report: The Utrecht-Management of Identity Commitments Scale (U-MICS) : Gender and age measurement invariance and convergent validity of the Turkish version

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Morsunbul, Umit; Crocetti, Elisabetta; Cok, Figen; Meeus, W.H.J.

    2014-01-01

    The purpose of this study was to evaluate the factor structure and convergent validity of the Turkish version of the Utrecht-Management of Identity Commitments Scale (U-MICS). Participants were 1201 (59.6% females) youth aged between 12 and 24 years (Mage = 17.53 years, SDage = 3.25). Results

  13. Effect of ultrasonic intensity and frequency on oil/heavy-oil recovery from different wettability rocks

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Naderi, K.; Babadagli, T. [Society of Petroleum Engineers, Canadian Section, Calgary, AB (Canada)]|[Alberta Univ., Edmonton, AB (Canada)

    2008-10-15

    This study identified the mechanisms that are responsible for additional oil recovery that is often observed following an earthquake. It focused on the theory that harmonics of low frequency waves create high frequency waves as they penetrate into rock formations. A series of experiments were conducted on oil-wet rocks with high oil viscosities. The objective was to better understand how ultrasonic energy affects oil recovery at core and pore scale. Cylindrical sandstone cores were placed in imbibition cells to examine how the presence of initial water saturation can affect recovery, and how the recovery changes for different oil viscosities. An increase in oil recovery was observed with ultrasonic energy in all cases. The additional recovery with ultrasonic energy lessened as the oil viscosity increased. Ultrasonic intensity and frequency were shown to be critical to the performance, which is important since ultrasonic waves have limited penetration into porous medium. This is a key disadvantage for commercializing this promising process for well stimulation. Therefore, the authors designed a set-up to measure the ultrasonic energy penetration capacity in different media, notably air, water and slurry. The set-up could identify which types of reservoirs are most suitable for ultrasonic application. Imbibition experiments revealed that ultrasonic radiation increases recovery, and is much more significant in oil wet cases, where initial water saturation facilitate oil recovery. Higher frequency showed a higher rate of recovery compared to lower frequency, but the ultimate recovery was not changed substantially. 46 refs., 1 tab., 16 figs.

  14. Medium-Based Design: Extending a Medium to Create an Exploratory Learning Environment

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rick, Jochen; Lamberty, K. K.

    2005-01-01

    This article introduces "medium-based" design -- an approach to creating "exploratory learning environments" using the method of "extending a medium". First, the characteristics of exploratory learning environments and medium-based design are described and grounded in related work. Particular attention is given to "extending a medium" --…

  15. Recovery efficiencies for Burkholderia thailandensis from various aerosol sampling media

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Paul eDabisch

    2012-06-01

    Full Text Available Burkholderia thailandensis is used in the laboratory as a surrogate of the more virulent B. pseudomallei. Since inhalation is believed to be a natural route of infection for B. pseudomallei, many animal studies with B. pseudomallei and B. thailandensis utilize the inhalation route of exposure. The aim of the present study was to quantify the recovery efficiency of culturable B. thailandensis from several common aerosol sampling devices to ensure that collected microorganisms could be reliably recovered post-collection. The sampling devices tested included 25-mm gelatin filters, 25-mm stainless steel disks used in Mercer cascade impactors, and two types of glass impingers. The results demonstrate that while several processing methods tested resulted in significantly lower physical recovery efficiencies than other methods, it was possible to obtain culturable recovery efficiencies for B. thailandensis and physical recovery efficiencies for 1 μm fluorescent spheres of at least 0.95 from all of the sampling media tested given an appropriate sample processing procedure. The results of the present study also demonstrated that the bubbling action of liquid media in all-glass impingers (AGIs can result in physical loss of material from the collection medium, although additional studies are needed to verify the exact mechanisms involved. Overall, the results of this study demonstrate that the collection mechanism as well as the post-collection processing method can significantly affect the recovery from and retention of culturable microorganisms in sampling media, potentially affecting the calculated airborne concentration and any subsequent estimations of risk or dose derived from such data.

  16. Lymphatic recovery of exogenous oleic acid in rats on long chain or specific structured triacylglycerol diets

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Vistisen, Bodil; Mu, Huiling; Høy, Carl-Erik

    2006-01-01

    Specific structured triacylglycerols, MLM (M = medium-chain fatty acid, L = long-chain fatty acid), rapidly deliver energy and long-chain fatty acids to the body and are used for longer periods in human enteral feeding. In the present study rats were fed diets of 10 wt% MLM or LLL (L = oleic acid......% and 45%, respectively). However, the recovery of exogenous 18:1 n-9 was higher after a single bolus of MLM compared with a bolus of LLL in rats on the MLM diet (40% and 24%, respectively, P = 0.009). The recovery of lymphatic 18:1 n-9 of the LLL bolus tended to depend on the diet triacylglycerol...... structure and composition (P = 0.07). This study demonstrated that with a diet containing specific structured triacylglycerol, the lymphatic recovery of 18:1 n-9 after a single bolus of fat was dependent on the triacylglycerol structure of the bolus. This indicates that the lymphatic recovery of long...

  17. A method for seedling recovery in Jatropha curcas after cryogenic exposure of the seeds.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Silva, Rafael de C; Camillo, Julcéia; Scherwinski-Pereira, Jonny E

    2012-03-01

    Actually, the germplasm of Jatropha spp. is conserved as whole plants in field collections. Under this storage method, the genetic resources are exposed to disease, pest and natural hazards such as human error, drought and weather damage. Besides, field genebanks are costly to maintain and with important requirements of trained personnel. Thus, the development of efficient techniques to ensure its safe conservation and regeneration is therefore of paramount importance. In this work we describe a method for Jatropha curcas seeds cryoexposure and seedling recovery after thawed. In a first experiment, an efficient protocol for in vitro plant recovery was carried out using zygotic embryo or seeds with or without coat. In a second experiment, desiccated seeds with or without coat were exposed to liquid nitrogen and evaluated after cryoexposure. Germination percentages were variable among treatments, and seeds demonstrated tolerance to liquid nitrogen exposure under certain conditions. Seeds of J. curcas presented up to 99.6% germination after seed coat removal. Seeds with coat cultured in vitro did not germinate, and were 60% contaminated. The germination of the zygotic embryos was significantly higher in the 1/2 MS medium (93.1%) than in WPM medium (76.2%), but from zygotic embryo, abnormal seedlings reached up to 99%. Seeds with coat exposed to liquid nitrogen showed 60% germination in culture after coat removal with good plant growth, and seeds cryopreserved without coat presented 82% germination, but seedlings showed a reduced vigor and a significant increase in abnormal plants. Seeds cultured in vitro with coat did not germinate, independently of cryoexposure or not. This study reports the first successful in vitro seedling recovery methodology for Jatropha curcas seeds, after a cryopreservation treatment, and is recommended as an efficient procedure for in vitro plant recovery, when seeds are conserved in germplasm banks by low or cryotemperatures.

  18. A method for seedling recovery in Jatropha curcas after cryogenic exposure of the seeds

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Rafael de C. Silva

    2012-03-01

    Full Text Available Actually, the germplasm of Jatropha spp. is conserved as whole plants in field collections. Under this storage method, the genetic resources are exposed to disease, pest and natural hazards such as human error, drought and weather damage. Besides, field genebanks are costly to maintain and with important requirements of trained personnel. Thus, the development of efficient techniques to ensure its safe conservation and regeneration is therefore of paramount importance. In this work we describe a method for Jatropha curcas seeds cryoexposure and seedling recovery after thawed. In a first experiment, an efficient protocol for in vitro plant recovery was carried out using zygotic embryo or seeds with or without coat. In a second experiment, desiccated seeds with or without coat were exposed to liquid nitrogen and evaluated after cryoexposure. Germination percentages were variable among treatments, and seeds demonstrated tolerance to liquid nitrogen exposure under certain conditions. Seeds of J. curcas presented up to 99.6% germination after seed coat removal. Seeds with coat cultured in vitro did not germinate, and were 60% contaminated. The germination of the zygotic embryos was significantly higher in the ½ MS medium (93.1% than in WPM medium (76.2%, but from zygotic embryo, abnormal seedlings reached up to 99%. Seeds with coat exposed to liquid nitrogen showed 60% germination in culture after coat removal with good plant growth, and seeds cryopreserved without coat presented 82% germination, but seedlings showed a reduced vigor and a significant increase in abnormal plants. Seeds cultured in vitro with coat did not germinate, independently of cryoexposure or not. This study reports the first successful in vitro seedling recovery methodology for Jatropha curcas seeds, after a cryopreservation treatment, and is recommended as an efficient procedure for in vitro plant recovery, when seeds are conserved in germplasm banks by low or cryotemperatures.

  19. Liberalismo vs. neo-fascismo: perspectiva sociosemiótica y análisis político del cómic Guerra Civil

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Liber Daniel Cuñarro Conde

    2014-01-01

    Full Text Available La presente investigación analiza desde una perspectiva socios emiótica y política algunos de los aspectos más relevantes del cómic Guerra Civil de Marvel como expresión de los eventos del 11 de septiembre de 2001 en los Estados Unidos de América. Dicho texto se examina desde los enfoques postulados por Greimas (1966 y Eco (1993. A tal efecto se ha seleccionado un corpus concreto, constituido por los siete ejemplares que representan la historia principal de la serie titulada Civil War, en su lenguaje original. Para lograr la comprensión del programa narrativo del cómic, este estudio proporciona el ante texto y la información pertinente para hacer posible una interpretación de los elementos políticos e ideológicos de la Guerra Civil de Marvel, su relación con la representación alegórica de los hechos históricos y su textualización como expresión simbólica de la sociedad contemporánea.

  20. La rentabilidad del cómic en la enseñanza de la cultura en E/LE

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jaume Brines Gandía

    2012-08-01

    Full Text Available El presente trabajo trata sobre el uso del cómic como recurso didáctico en la clase de E/LE para enseñar cultura. Aunque la cultura en la clase de E/LE muchas veces pasa desapercibida, constituye un excelente instrumento para la enseñanza de la lengua extranjera y, sobre todo, para que el futuro aprendiente sepa cómo, cuándo y de qué modo usar la lengua. Antes de desarrollar la presente experiencia práctica, es necesario que tratemos el término cultura y las distintas acepciones que supone.

  1. La rentabilidad del cómic en la enseñanza de la cultura en E/LE

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jaume Brines Gandía

    2012-01-01

    Full Text Available El presente trabajo trata sobre el uso del cómic como recurso didáctico en la clase de E/LE para enseñar cultura. Aunque la cultura en la clase de E/LE muchas veces pasa desapercibida, constituye un excelente instrumento para la enseñanza de la lengua extranjera y, sobre todo, para que el futuro aprendiente sepa cómo, cuándo y de qué modo usar la lengua. Antes de desarrollar la presente experiencia práctica, es necesario que tratemos el término cultura y las distintas acepciones que supone.

  2. Brief report: The Utrecht-Management of Identity Commitments Scale (U-MICS): Gender and age measurement invariance and convergent validity of the Turkish version

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Morsunbul, Umit; Crocetti, Elisabetta; Cok, Figen; Meeus, Wim

    2014-01-01

    The purpose of this study was to evaluate the factor structure and convergent validity of the Turkish version of the Utrecht-Management of Identity Commitments Scale (U-MICS). Participants were 1201 (59.6% females) youth aged between 12 and 24 years (Mage=17.53 years, SDage=3.25). Results indicated

  3. Recovery of waste dyes, pesticides and detergents by using hydrogels prepared by gamma irradiation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ibrahim, M.S.; Abde-Aal, S.E.; Nizam El-Din, H.M.M.

    2000-01-01

    Hydrogels have been prepared by irradiation acrylic acid and glycerol using methanol and water as solvents. Another sample was prepared with methanol only. The application of the prepared two hydrogels used for recovery of some reactive, acid and direct dyes and also recovery two different pesticides and detergents from wastewater were studies. The hydrogels complexes with different pollutants have been isolated and methanol and water as solvent during polymerization has great adsorption towards dyes, pesticides and detergents than sample containing methanol only. The adsorption isotherm capacity of the two hydrogels was studies by the effect of temperature (20,30,40 degree C) on the adsorption capacity through the kinetic studies of adsorption. The adsorption capacity increase with rising temperature and thermodynamic parameters δH, δS and δG were determined. Also, the adsorption capacity is considerably affected by ph values (3,7 and 10). It was found that adsorption capacity increases in acid medium and decreases towards the alkaline medium for both dyes and pesticides, while the irreversible results was shown in case of anionic detergents. Frundlich equation of adsorption isotherm was applied in this work

  4. Polymer as permeability modifier in porous media for enhanced oil recovery

    Science.gov (United States)

    Parsa, Shima; Weitz, David

    2017-11-01

    We use confocal microscopy to directly visualize the changes in morphology and mobilization of trapped oil ganglia within a 3D micromodel of porous media upon polymer flooding. Enhanced oil recovery is achieved in polymer flooding with large molecular weight at concentrations close or higher than a critical concentration of polymer. We also measure the fluctuations of the velocity of the displacing fluid and show that the velocities change upon polymer flooding in the whole medium. The changes in the fluid velocities are heterogeneous and vary in different pores, hence only providing enough pressure gradient across a few of the trapped oil ganglia and mobilize them. Our measurements show that polymer flooding is an effective method for enhancing oil recovery due to retention of polymer on the solid surfaces and changing the resistances of the available paths to water.

  5. CO2 recovery system using solar energy; Taiyo energy wo riyoshita CO2 bunri kaishu system

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Hosho, F; Naito, H; Yugami, H; Arashi, H [Tohoku University, Sendai (Japan)

    1997-11-25

    As a part of studies on chemical absorption process with MEA (monoethanolamine) for CO2 recovery from boiler waste gas in thermal power plants, use of solar heat as MEA regenerating energy was studied. An integrated stationary evacuated concentrator (ISEC) effective as collector in a medium temperature range was used to realize a regenerating temperature range of 100-120degC. ISEC is featured by vacuum insulation, use of selective absorbing membranes for an absorber, a CPC (compound parabolic concentrator)-shaped reflection mirror, and high-efficiency. An MEA regenerator is composed of an ISEC and PG(propylene glycol)-MEA heat exchanger, and circulates PG as heat medium. Heat collection experiment was also made using water instead of MEA. Both batch and continuous systems could supply a heat quantity necessary for MEA regeneration. CO2 concentration in the top of the regenerator rapidly decreased with PG circulation regenerating MEA. As mol ratios of CO2/MEA were compared between before and after regeneration, a recovery rate was estimated to be 59.4% for the batch system. 8 figs., 4 tabs.

  6. 'That proves my point': How mediums reconstrue disconfirmation in medium-sitter interactions.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Enoksen, Anette Einan; Dickerson, Paul

    2018-04-01

    Previous research has examined how the talk of mediums attends to the epistemological status of their readings. Such work has identified that mediums frequently use question-framed propositions that are typically confirmed by the sitter, thereby conferring epistemological status on the medium. This study seeks to investigate what happens when the sitter disconfirms the propositions of the medium. The study focuses on the ways in which such disconfirmation can be responded to such that it is reconstrued as evidence of the psychic nature of the medium's reading. Televised demonstrations of psychic readings involving British and US mediums and their sitters are analysed. The results suggest that mediums rework disconfirmation as proof in several ways: first, by emphasizing the different access that sitter and medium have to knowledge (e.g., about the future); second, as evidence that the medium has access to the actual voice of the deceased (and may therefore mishear what the deceased has said to them); and third, as revealing an important truth that has hitherto been concealed from the sitter. The implications of these findings are considered for cases where speakers bring different and potentially competing, epistemological resources to an interaction. © 2018 The British Psychological Society.

  7. Development of novel Alicyclobacillus spp. isolation medium.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chang, S; Kang, D-H

    2005-01-01

    To develop a new isolation medium with higher recovery rates of Alicyclobacillus spp. SK agar was developed with optimized incubation temperature, pH, acidulant, Tween 80 concentration and divalent cation addition. Results indicate that detection of Alicyclobacillus spp. by SK agar was significantly higher (P > 0.05) than those obtained by K agar, orange serum agar, and potato dextrose agar. Current media used for Alicyclobacillus spp. isolation still resulted in high numbers of false negative products. The sensitivity of SK agar to Alicyclobacillus spp. allows detection of low numbers of Alicyclobacillus spp. and also provides a more higher isolation results compared with currently used media. SK agar will be useful to the fruit juice industry to obtain more accurate numbers of contaminant Alicyclobacillus spp. With this media, false negative samples can be reduced, and the likelihood of exported products being rejected can be greatly reduced.

  8. The effect of ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid on heat resistance and recovery of Clostridium sporogenes PA 3679 spores treated in HTST conditions.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Silla Santos, M H; Torres Zarzo, J

    1997-03-03

    The effect of ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (EDTA) on the heat resistance of Clostridium sporogenes PA 3679 spores was studied. EDTA was added to heating substrates and recovery media in order to establish which stage of the heat treatment registered the greatest EDTA activity. The heating substrates assayed were phosphate buffer (pH 7.0) and white asparagus purée, at natural pH (5.8) and acidified with citric acid and glucono-delta-lactone (GDL) to pH 5.5, 5.0 and 4.5. Recovery of survivors was carried out in MPA3679A medium in various conditions of acidification with citric and GDL (250 and 500 ppm), at pH 7.5 6.5 and 6.0. The results show greater activity of EDTA on spores when it was applied in recovery of heat injured spores, than during heating. The strongest influence of EDTA during heating was found in phosphate buffer (pH 7.0), with the effect being most evident at 121 and 126 degrees C, and in asparagus purée, at 121 degrees C and pH 5.8 rather than acidified. In recovery, the inhibiting activity of EDTA was more evident in spores subjected to more severe heat treatment, either by increasing the exposure time or by raising the temperature to 130 or 135 degrees C. The pH level of the recovery medium also affected the antimicrobial activity of EDTA, which had a greater inhibiting effect at pH 7.5 than at lower pH levels (6.5, 6.0).

  9. Effect of citral and carvacrol on the susceptibility of Listeria monocytogenes and Listeria innocua to antibiotics.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zanini, S F; Silva-Angulo, A B; Rosenthal, A; Rodrigo, D; Martínez, A

    2014-05-01

    The aim of this study was to evaluate the antibiotic susceptibility of Listeria innocua (L. innocua) and Listeria monocytogenes (L. monocytogenes) cells in the presence of citral and carvacrol at sublethal concentrations in an agar medium. The presence of terpenes in the L. monocytogenes and L. innocua culture medium provided a reduction in the minimal inhibitory concentration (MIC) of all the antibiotics tested. These effects were dependent on the concentration of terpenes present in the culture medium. The combination of citral and carvacrol potentiated antibiotic activity by reducing the MIC values of bacitracin and colistin from 32.0 and 128.0 μg ml⁻¹ to 1.0 and 2.0 μg ml⁻¹, respectively. Thus, both Listeria species became more susceptible to these drugs. In this way, the colistin and bacitracin resistance of L. monocytogenes and L. innocua was reversed in the presence of terpenes. Results obtained in this study show that the phytochemicals citral and carvacrol potentiate antibiotic activity, reducing the MIC values of cultured L. monocytogenes and L. innocua. Phytochemicals citral and carvacrol potentiate antibiotic activity of erythromycin, bacitracin and colistin by reducing the MIC values of cultured Listeria monocytogenes and Listeria innocua. This effect in reducing the MIC values of the antibiotics tested in both micro-organisms was increased when natural antimicrobials were combined. This finding indicated that the combination among terpenes and antibiotic may contribute in reducing the required dosage of antibiotics due to the possible effect of terpenes on permeation barrier of the micro-organism cell membrane. © 2014 The Society for Applied Microbiology.

  10. Recovery from schizophrenia and the recovery model.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Warner, Richard

    2009-07-01

    The recovery model refers to subjective experiences of optimism, empowerment and interpersonal support, and to a focus on collaborative treatment approaches, finding productive roles for user/consumers, peer support and reducing stigma. The model is influencing service development around the world. This review will assess whether optimism about outcome from serious mental illness and other tenets of the recovery model are borne out by recent research. Remission of symptoms has been precisely defined, but the definition of 'recovery' is a more diffuse concept that includes such factors as being productive and functioning independently. Recent research and a large, earlier body of data suggest that optimism about outcome from schizophrenia is justified. A substantial proportion of people with the illness will recover completely and many more will regain good social functioning. Outcome is better for people in the developing world. Mortality for people with schizophrenia is increasing but is lower in the developing world. Working appears to help people recover from schizophrenia, and recent advances in vocational rehabilitation have been shown to be effective in countries with differing economies and labor markets. A growing body of research supports the concept that empowerment is an important component of the recovery process. Key tenets of the recovery model - optimism about recovery from schizophrenia, the importance of access to employment and the value of empowerment of user/consumers in the recovery process - are supported by the scientific research. Attempts to reduce the internalized stigma of mental illness should enhance the recovery process.

  11. Avoiding total reduced sulfur (TRS) emissions from sodium sulfite pulping recovery processes

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Norman, J.C.; Sell, N.J.; Ciriacks, J.C.

    1990-01-01

    This paper reports that one of the current trends in paper-making with cellulose pulping is the use of high-yield processes. With yields greater than 65%, these processes include mechanical pulps (groundwood and thermomechanical pulps or TMP), and semichemical types (chemi-TMP or CTMP). Groundwood and TMP make up about 10% of North American pulp production. Semichemical pulp makes up about 7% and is mostly used for corrugating medium. High-yield pulping for linerboard, particularly using the alkaline sulfite process, is also likely to be used in the future. High-yield pulping is based primarily on the sulfite process using mostly sodium-based chemicals. A disadvantage of this process is the unavailability of a recovery system for the inorganic pulping chemicals. Generally, mills have not accepted any particular recovery system for this process. For this and other reasons, sulfite processes constitute only 3-4% of the total North American pulp production. If high-yield processes continue to increase in popularity, a sodium sulfite chemical recovery system will be needed. A number of chemical recovery systems have been developed in the past 30 years for sodium-based sulfite pulping processes, with most of the mills successfully using this process located in Scandinavia

  12. Enhanced oil recovery by nanoparticles injection: Modeling and simulation

    KAUST Repository

    El-Amin, Mohamed; Sun, Shuyu; Salama, Amgad

    2013-01-01

    In the present paper, a mathematical model and numerical simulation to describe the nanoparticles-water suspension imbibes into a water-oil two-phase flow in a porous medium is introduced. We extend the model to include the negative capillary pressure and mixed relative permeabilities correlations to fit with the mixed-wet system. Also, buoyancy and capillary forces as well as Brownian diffusion are considered. Throughout this investigation, we monitor the changing of the fluids and solid properties due to addition of the nanoparticles and check for possible enhancement of the oil recovery process using numerical experiments.

  13. EL CÓMIC COMO RECURSO DIDÁCTICO PARA EL APRENDIZAJE DE LAS ACTIVIDADES FÍSICAS EN EL MEDIO NATURAL EN EL 2º CICLO DE LA EDUCACIÓN PRIMARIA ESPAÑOLA

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Eliseo García Cantó

    2010-01-01

    Full Text Available El presente artículo pretende mostrar la manera de trabajar la competencia lingüística en el segundo ciclo del área de Educación Física en España y más concretamente en los contenidos relacionados con las actividades en la naturaleza, a través de una herramienta motivadora para los niños como es el cómic. El alumnado va a mejorar sus hábitos lectores a través de la lectura del cómic y la realización de su correspondiente ficha de trabajo.

  14. The weak acid preservative sorbic acid inhibits conidial germination and mycelial growth of Aspergillus niger through intracellular acidification

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Plumridge, A.; Hesse, S.J.A.; Watson, A.J.; Lowe, K.C.; Stratford, M.; Archer, D.B.

    2004-01-01

    The growth of the filamentous fungus Aspergillus niger, a common food spoilage organism, is inhibited by the weak acid preservative sorbic acid (trans-trans-2,4-hexadienoic acid). Conidia inoculated at 105/ml of medium showed a sorbic acid MIC of 4.5 mM at pH 4.0, whereas the MIC for the amount of

  15. Isolation, identification and characterization of Bacillus amyloliquefaciens BZ-6, a bacterial isolate for enhancing oil recovery from oily sludge.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liu, Wuxing; Wang, Xiaobing; Wu, Longhua; Chen, Mengfang; Tu, Chen; Luo, Yongming; Christie, Peter

    2012-06-01

    Over 100 biosurfactant-producing microorganisms were isolated from oily sludge and petroleum-contaminated soil from Shengli oil field in north China. Sixteen of the bacterial isolates produced biosurfactants and reduced the surface tension of the growth medium from 71 to treat oily sludge and the recovery efficiencies of oil from oily sludge were determined. The oil recovery efficiencies of different isolates ranged from 39% to 88%. Bacterial isolate BZ-6 was found to be the most efficient strain and the three phases (oil, water and sediment) were separated automatically after the sludge was treated with the culture medium of BZ-6. Based on morphological, physiological characteristics and molecular identification, isolate BZ-6 was identified as Bacillus amyloliquefaciens. The biosurfactant produced by isolate BZ-6 was purified and analyzed by high performance liquid chromatography-electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry. There were four ion peaks representing four different fengycin A homologues. Copyright © 2012. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

  16. Effect of thymol in heating and recovery media on the isothermal and non-isothermal heat resistance of Bacillus spores.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Esteban, Maria-Dolores; Conesa, Raquel; Huertas, Juan-Pablo; Palop, Alfredo

    2015-06-01

    Members of the genus Bacillus include important food-borne pathogen and spoilage microorganisms for food industry. Essential oils are natural products extracted from herbs and spices, which can be used as natural preservatives in many foods because of their antibacterial, antifungal, antioxidant and anti-carcinogenic properties. The aim of this research was to explore the effect of the addition of different concentrations of thymol to the heating and recovery media on the thermal resistance of spores of Bacillus cereus, Bacillus licheniformis and Bacillus subtilis at different temperatures. While the heat resistance was hardly reduced when thymol was present in the heating medium, the effect in the recovery medium was greater, reducing the D100 °C values down to one third for B. subtilis and B. cereus when 0.5 mM thymol was added. This effect was dose dependent and was also observed at other heating temperatures. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  17. Flares on dMe stars: IUE and optical observations of At Mic, and comparison of far-ultraviolet stellar and solar flares

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Bromage, G.E.; Phillips, K.J.H.; Dufton, P.L.; Kingston, A.E.

    1986-01-01

    The paper concerns observations of a large flare event on the dMe star At Mic, detected by the International Ultraviolet Explorer. The far-ultraviolet spectra of the flare is compared with those of other stellar flares, and also with a large solar flare recorded by the Skylab mission in 1973. The quiescent-phase optical and ultraviolet spectrum of the same dMe flare star is discussed. (U.K.)

  18. Arquetipos iconográficos femeninos en el cómic y la animación japonesa para adolescentes masculinos

    OpenAIRE

    López Rodríguez, Francisco Javier; García Pacheco, Juan A.

    2011-01-01

    El cómic japonés (manga) y la animación japonesa (anime) son poderosas industrias culturales que, progresivamente, se han ido expandiendo internacionalmente. A medida que estas obras han ido llegando a los mercados occidentales, la atención de los investigadores se ha fijado en las particularidades expresivas, narrativas y culturales de estos productos. La investigación en género relacionada con el manga y el anime se ha centrado principalmente en las obras destinadas a un público femenino y,...

  19. Remote Sensing Applied to the Study of Fire Regime Attributes and Their Influence on Post-Fire Greenness Recovery in Pine Ecosystems

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Víctor Fernández-García

    2018-05-01

    Full Text Available We aimed to analyze the relationship between fire regime attributes and the post-fire greenness recovery of fire-prone pine ecosystems over the short (2-year and medium (5-year term after a large wildfire, using both a single and a combined fire regime attribute approach. We characterized the spatial (fire size, temporal (number of fires, fire recurrence, and return interval, and magnitude (burn severity of the last fire fire regime attributes throughout a 40-year period with a long-time series of Landsat imagery and ancillary data. The burn severity of the last fire was measured by the dNBR (difference of the Normalized Burn Ratio spectral index, and classified according to the ground reference values of the CBI (Composite Burn Index. Post-fire greenness recovery was obtained through the difference of the NDVI (Normalized Difference Vegetation Index between pre- and post-fire Landsat scenes. The relationship between fire regime attributes (single attributes: fire recurrence, fire return interval, and burn severity; combined attributes: fire recurrence-burn severity and fire return interval-burn severity and post-fire greenness recovery was evaluated using linear models. The results indicated that all the single and combined attributes significantly affected greenness recovery. The single attribute approach showed that high recurrence, short return interval and low severity situations had the highest vegetation greenness recovery. The combined attribute approach allowed us to identify a wider variety of post-fire greenness recovery situations than the single attribute one. Over the short term, high recurrence as well as short return interval scenarios showed the best post-fire greenness recovery independently of burn severity, while over the medium term, high recurrence combined with low severity was the most recovered scenario. This novel combined attribute approach (temporal plus magnitude could be of great value to forest managers in the

  20. Performance of Hitchens-Pike-Todd-Hewitt medium for group B streptococcus screening in pregnant women.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Simone Cristina Castanho Sabaini de Melo

    Full Text Available Group B streptococcus (GBS, which commonly colonizes the female genital tract and rectum, can cause infections in newborns with varying severity, possibly leading to death. The aim of the present study was to evaluate Hitchens-Pike-Todd-Hewitt (HPTH medium performance for GBS screening in pregnant women. A descriptive analytical cross-sectional study was performed with 556 pregnant women, of which 496 were at 35-37 weeks of gestation and 60 were at ≥ 38 weeks of gestation. The study was conducted from September 2011 to March 2014 in northern Paraná, Brazil. Vaginal and anorectal clinical specimens from each pregnant woman were plated on sheep blood agar (SBA and seeded on HPTH medium and Todd-Hewitt enrichment broth. Of the 496 pregnant women at 35-37 weeks of gestation, 141 (28.4% were positive for GBS, based on the combination of the three culture media and clinical specimens. The GBS colonization rates that were detected by each medium were 22.2% for HPTH medium, 21.2% for SBA, and 13.1% for Todd-Hewitt enrichment broth. Of the 60 pregnant women at ≥ 38 weeks of gestation, seven (11.7% were positive for GBS. These results demonstrate that HPTH medium and SBA were more sensitive than Todd-Hewitt enrichment broth for GBS screening in pregnant women and good GBS recovery in culture, indicating that the two media should be used together for vaginal and anorectal specimens.

  1. Application of Biosurfactants Produced by Pseudomonas putida using Crude Palm Oil (CPO) as Substrate for Crude Oil Recovery using Batch Method

    Science.gov (United States)

    Suryanti, V.; Handayani, D. S.; Masykur, A.; Septyaningsih, I.

    2018-03-01

    The application of biosurfactants which have been produced by Pseudomonas putida in nutrient broth medium supplemented with NaCl and crude palm oil (CPO) for oil recovery has been evaluated. The crude and purified biosurfactants have been examined for oil recovery from a laboratory oil-contaminated sand in agitated flask (batch method). Two synthetic surfactants and water as control was also performed for oil recovery as comparisons. Using batch method, the results showed that removing ability of crude oil from the oil-contaminated sand by purified and crude biosurfactants were 79.40±3.10 and 46.84±2.23 %, respectively. On other hand, the recoveries obtained with the SDS, Triton X-100 and water were 94.33±0.47, 74.84±7.39 and 34.42±1.21%respectively.

  2. Análisis de los problemas expresivos del cómic

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    José Luís RODRÍGUEZ BELTRÁN

    2009-11-01

    Full Text Available RESUMEN: Se plantea en este artículo una aproximación a los códigos específicos del cómic que busca principalmente determinar algunas de las relaciones existentes entre los mismos. No se busca, por lo tanto, definir cada uno de estos códigos, tarea ya realizada en numerosos trabajos más extensos que el presente artículo, sino buscar claves que permitan entender por qué algunas historietas presentan una narración fluida y otras, en cambio, resultan de lectura difícil y poco clara. El proceso que se siguió a este efecto fue la realización de un estudio estadístico sobre una muestra de cómics "de calidad". Los criterios para la selección de la muestra residieron fundamentalmente en la eliminación de subproductos, con la intención de dejar aisladas una serie de historietas narradas con efectividad. A continuación, una vez definida la muestra, se trató de convertir en variables bipolares todo aquello que, a juicio del autor y de las referencias consultadas, fuera de importancia como código específico o elemento significativo en una narración de viñetas. El resultado arroja cierta luz sobre la conveniencia o no de usar determinados recursos de modo conjunto, y podría resultar útil como marco de referencia flexible para aquellos interesados en conocer la gramática del cómic más allá de sus elementos constitutivos mínimos.ABSTRACT: This article sets forth an approach to the specific codes of the comic, in which the main aim is to determine some of the relationships existing between them. The objective is thus not to define each one of these codes - a task already performed in numerous studies, more extensive than this article, - but to find keys that will enable us to understand why some comic strips have a fluent series of incidents and others, on the contrary, are difficult to read and not very clear. The process foliowed for this purpose was that of carrying out a statistical study of a sample of "quality" comics. The

  3. Recovery in SoccerPart II—Recovery Strategies

    OpenAIRE

    Nedelec, Mathieu; McCall, Alan; Carling, Chris; Legall, Franck; Berthoin, Serge; Dupont, Grégory

    2013-01-01

    International audience; In the formerly published part I of this two-part review, we examined fatigue after soccer matchplay and recovery kinetics of physical performance, and cognitive, subjective and biological markers. To reduce the magnitude of fatigue and to accelerate the time to fully recover after completion, several recovery strategies are now used in professional soccer teams. During congested fixture schedules, recovery strategies are highly required to alleviate post-match fatigue...

  4. Field experiences using acrolein (2-propenal) for control of SRB and MIC in an offshore production flowline and onshore production facility in Western Australia

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Shield, M.; Charlesworth, M.; Paakkonen, S.

    2006-03-15

    Acrolein, 2-propenal, was evaluated as a microbiocide for control of sulphate-reducing bacteria (SRB) in a sub-sea pipeline and an onshore process plant operated by ChevronTexaco Australia Pty Ltd (CVX) in the North West Shelf (NWS) of Australia. An initial trial compared the efficacy of acrolein with that of a glutaraldehyde, quaternary amine blend (GQB) for control of SRB implicated in microbiologically induced corrosion (MIC) of the sub-sea pipeline. Based on improved performance, acrolein subsequently replaced the GQB for routine microbiocide treatment of the pipeline. In addition, a plant trial assessed the impact of acrolein supplementation of the existing tetrakishydroxy-methyl phosphonium sulphate (THPS) microbiocide programme for control of SRB in process plant operations. This paper overviews both the pipeline and plant trials as well as the programme implementation of acrolein microbiocide for routine pipeline treatment. In addition to an improved performance and safety profile, complete conversion of the microbiocide programme to acrolein is projected to result in direct savings of 40%, with further potential for secondary operational cost savings. on behalf of Ampol and Caltex; and, in 1964, the company discovered oil in commercial quantities on Barrow Island (BWI) off the North West Shelf of Australia. Today, CVX continues hydrocarbon production operations on BWI with over 300 million barrels produced since inception. BWI volumes have been augmented since 1989 through hydrocarbon recovery operations near Thevenard Island (TVI), a small island located 25 km north-north west of Onslow. To date, more than 146 million barrels have been processed through facilities on TVI. With the process plant covering only a small corner of the island, the majority of land mass on TVI is classified as a nature reserve for the protection of plants and animals. Important wildlife found on the island include green and flatback turtles that nest on the islands beaches. In

  5. Separation of fission 99Mo by alpha-benzoin oxime precipitation in nitric medium

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Yamaura, Mitiko; Freitas, Antonio A.; Egute, Nayara dos S.; Camilo, Ruth L.; Araujo, Izilda C.; Forbicini, Christina A.L.G. de O.

    2011-01-01

    Since 2009, the production of generators 99 Mo/ 99 mTc suffers a crisis of global supply due to technical problems of the two reactors which account for 64% of world production of fission 99 Mo. By the project of Brazilian Multipurpose Reactor (RMB), the Brazilian government invests in the construction of the first multipurpose reactor suitable for the domestic production of 99 Mo from LEU targets in order to supply of fission 99 Mo in the coming decades. The IPEN started the research of the technology and production of fission 99 Mo from acid and alkaline dissolutions of Low Enriched Uranium (LEU) targets as well as other used radioisotopes in nuclear medicine. This work is part of the research of the technology of the fission 99 Mo from acid dissolution of the LEU targets that is being developed at the IPEN. In this study the separation of the Mo by precipitation with alpha-benzoin oxime in nitric medium and the recovery by dissolution were investigated. The precipitation studies were performed by batch assays with nitric solution of Mo(VI), containing 99 Mo tracer, and uranyl ions. Influence of concentration of permanganate from 0.03 to 2.5%, dissolution temperature at 30 deg C and 150 deg C and the uranium concentration from 74 g.L -1 to 115 g.L -1 was studied. Results indicated that the precipitation of Mo with alpha-benzoin oxime from nitric medium is highly efficient, and its recovery by dissolution with basic solution of H 2 O 2 gave a high yield. (author)

  6. Recovery from cannabis use disorders: Abstinence versus moderation and treatment-assisted recovery versus natural recovery.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Stea, Jonathan N; Yakovenko, Igor; Hodgins, David C

    2015-09-01

    The present study of recovery from cannabis use disorders was undertaken with 2 primary objectives that address gaps in the literature. The first objective was to provide an exploratory portrait of the recovery process from cannabis use disorders, comparing individuals who recovered naturally with those who were involved in treatment. The second objective was to explore systematically the similarities and differences between abstinence and moderation recoveries. Adults who have recovered from a cannabis use disorder were recruited in the community (N = 119). The abstinence and treatment-assisted participants exhibited higher levels of lifetime cannabis problem severity than the moderation and natural recovery participants, respectively. As well, cognitive factors were identified as the most useful strategies for recovery (e.g., thinking about benefits and negative consequences of cannabis), followed by behavioral factors (e.g., avoidance of triggers for use and high-risk situations). Findings lend further support to the effectiveness of cognitive, motivational, and behavioral strategies as helpful actions and maintenance factors involved in the recovery process. The findings also generally support the idea that cannabis use disorders lie on a continuum of problem severity, with moderation and natural recoveries more likely to occur at the lower end of the continuum and abstinence and treatment-assisted recoveries more likely to occur at the upper end. (c) 2015 APA, all rights reserved).

  7. Repair in schizosaccharomyces pombe as measured by recovery from caffeine enhancement of radiation-induced lethality

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Gentner, N.E.; Werner, M.M.

    1975-01-01

    Inhibition of DNA repair by caffeine is manifested in Schizosaccharomyces pombe wild-type cells as an enhancement of UV- or γ-irradiation-induced lethality. The progress of DNA repair processes involving one or more caffeine-sensitive steps may be conveniently followed by measuring the concomitant decrease of this lethal enhancement effect. By measuring, during post-irradiation incubation, the ability of cells to overcome susceptibility to repair inhibition by caffeine, we have determined the time course and requirements for repair in S. pombe. Recovery began immediately and took 150-200 min after γ-irradiation and more than 500 min after UV-irradiation, for exposures which gave about 10% survival in the absence of caffeine. An incubation medium capable of supporting growth was required for caffeine-sensitive repair; no recovery occurred under liquid holding conditions. Survival curves after various recovery times indicated that a logarithmic phase cell population was homogeneous with respect to caffeine-sensitive repair of both UV- and γ-ray-induced damage. Recovery from caffeine inhibition was compared for cells of different physiological states (logarithmic and stationary phase); although the importance of the physiological state was not the same for the two types of radiation, recovery was found to occur more rapidly in the more radiation-resistant state, in each case. (orig.) [de

  8. Micropropagation of Alstroemeria in liquid medium using slow release of medium components

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Klerk, de G.J.M.; Brugge, ter J.

    2010-01-01

    Alstroemeria rhizomes were micropropagated on semi-solid medium (AM) and in liquid medium (LM). In LM, growth was much enhanced (ca. 70%). Adequate gas exchange was crucial. This was obtained by agitation and in static medium by a sufficient large contact area of the explant and the gaseous

  9. ENVIROMENTALLY BENIGN MITIGATION OF MICROBIOLOGICALLY INFLUENCED CORROSION (MIC)

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    J. Robert Paterek; Gemma Husmillo; Amrutha Daram; Vesna Trbovic

    2003-10-31

    The overall program objective is to develop and evaluate environmentally benign agents or products that are effective in the prevention, inhibition, and mitigation of microbially influenced corrosion (MIC) in the internal surfaces of metallic natural gas pipelines. The goal is to develop one or more environmentally benign (a.k.a. ''green'') products that can be applied to maintain the structure and dependability of the natural gas infrastructure. The technical approach for this quarter includes the application of the method of fractionation of the extracts by high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC); determination of antimicrobial activities of the new extracts and fractions using a growth inhibition assay, and evaluation of the extracts' ability to inhibit biofilm formation. We initiated the delivery system for these new biocides in the test cell and in mixtures of foam components and biocides/anti-biofilms. A total of 51 fractions collected by HPLC from crude extracts that were obtained from three varieties of Capsicum sp. (Serrano, Habanero, Chile de Arbol) were subjected to growth inhibition tests against two SRB strains, D. vulgaris and D. desulfuricans. Five fractions showed growth inhibition against both strains while seven inhibited D. desulfuricans only. The crude extracts did not show growth inhibition on both strains but were proven to be potent in preventing the formation of biofilm. Growth inhibition tests of the same set of crude extracts against Comamonas denitrificans did not show positive results. The fractions will be subjected to biofilm inhibition and dissociation assay as well. The delivery system to be evaluated first was foam. The ''foam pig'' components of surfactants and water were tested with the biocide addition. The first chemical and physical parameters to be tested were pH and surfactants. Tests using the fractionated pepper extracts are progressing rapidly. Gas chromatographic analysis

  10. From recovery values to recovery-oriented practice?

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Dalum, Helle; Pedersen, Inge Kryger; Cunningham, Harry

    2015-01-01

    Introduction: The recovery model has influenced mental health services and fostered new standards for best practice. However, knowledge about how mental health care professionals (HCPs) experience recoveryoriented programs is sparse. Aim/Question: This paper explores HCPs' experiences when...... facilitating a recovery-oriented rehabilitation program. The research question is howdo HCPs experience a change in their attitude and practicewhen applying recovery-oriented programs? Methods: This paper draws on semi-structured in-depth qualitative interviews conducted with 16 HCPs experienced...... in facilitating a recovery-oriented rehabilitation program in either the USA or Denmark. Results: Three themes emerged from the HCPs' reflections on changes in attitudes and practices: “Hopeful Attitude” captures a change in the HCPs' attitude toward a more positive view on the future for clients' living...

  11. Handbook of solid waste disposal: materials and energy recovery

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Pavoni, J L; Heer, Jr, J E; Hagerty, D J

    1975-01-01

    Traditional and innovative solid waste disposal techniques and new developments in materials and energy recovery systems are analyzed. Each method is evaluated in terms of system methodology, controlling process parameters, and process requirements, by-products, economics, and case histories. Medium and high temperature incineration; wet pulping; landfill with leachate recirculation; the Hercules, Inc., system; USBM front-end and back-end systems; pyrolysis; waste heat utilization, the Combustion Power Unit-400; use of refuse as a supplementary fuel; and methane production from anaerobic fermentation systems are considered, as well as sanitary landfilling, incineration, and composting. European solid waste management techniques are evaluated for their applicability to the US.

  12. Recovery of essential nutrients from municipal solid waste – Impact of waste management infrastructure and governance aspects

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Zabaleta, Imanol, E-mail: imanol.zabaleta@eawag.ch [Eawag: Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and Technology, Department of Water and Sanitation in Developing Countries (Sandec), P.O. Box 611, 8600 Dübendorf (Switzerland); Rodic, Ljiljana, E-mail: ljiljana.rodic@gmail.com [Wageningen University, Education and Competence Studies, Wageningen (Netherlands)

    2015-10-15

    Every year 120–140 million tonnes of bio-waste are generated in Europe, most of which is landfilled, incinerated or stabilized and used as covering material in landfill operation. None of these practices enables the recovery of essential nutrients such as phosphorus (P) and nitrogen (N), which are in great demand for agricultural production. Recovery of these nutrients is a matter of international concern considering the non-renewable nature of P sources and the energy intensive production process required for the synthesis of N fertilizers. The objective of this research is to understand the relation between the municipal solid waste management (MSWM) system, both its the physical components and governance aspects, and the recovery of nutrients in Vitoria-Gasteiz (Basque Country) as a benchmark for European medium-size cities. The analysis shows that the existing physical infrastructure and facilities for bio-waste have high potential for nutrient recovery, 49% for N and 83% for P contained in bio-waste. However, governance aspects of the MSWM system such as legislation and user inclusivity play an important role and decrease the actual nutrient recovery to 3.4% and 7.4% for N and P respectively.

  13. Bioconversion of agro-industrial by-products in rhamnolipids toward applications in enhanced oil recovery and bioremediation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gudiña, Eduardo J; Rodrigues, Ana I; Alves, Eliana; Domingues, M Rosário; Teixeira, José A; Rodrigues, Lígia R

    2015-02-01

    In this work, biosurfactant production by a Pseudomonas aeruginosa strain was optimized using low-cost substrates. The highest biosurfactant production (3.2 g/l) was obtained using a culture medium containing corn steep liquor (10% (v/v)) and molasses (10% (w/v)). The biosurfactant reduced the surface tension of water up to 30 mN/m, and exhibited a high emulsifying activity (E24=60%), with a critical micelle concentration as low as 50 mg/l. The biosurfactant produced in this alternative medium was characterized as a mixture of eight different rhamnolipid congeners, being the most abundant the mono-rhamnolipid Rha-C10-C10. However, using LB medium, nine different rhamnolipid congeners were identified, being the most abundant the di-rhamnolipid Rha-Rha-C10-C10. The rhamnolipid mixture produced in the alternative medium exhibited a better performance in removing oil from contaminated sand when compared with two chemical surfactants, suggesting its potential use as an alternative to traditional chemical surfactants in enhanced oil recovery or bioremediation. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  14. Liquid holding recovery kinetics in yeast cells with regard to radiation quality

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kim, Jin Kyu; Lee, Byoung Hun; Petin, Vladislav G.

    2004-01-01

    It is widely accepted that the RBE of ionizing radiation with a high linear energy transfer (LET) is dependent both on the increased probability of primary damage production (physical events) and the reduced ability of a cell for post-irradiation recovery (biological events). A relatively unexpected role of the specific repair pathways in the RBE of high-LET radiation was demonstrated for bacterial, yeast and mammalian cells. It seems to exist a common agreement that high-LET radiations produce more portion of damage that are considered to be irreversible compared with low-LET radiation such as photons. Cellular recovery and repair of radiation-induced DNA double-strand breaks (DSB) could be also dependent upon radiation quality. Studies concerning the rate of the recovery and repair from radiation damage produced with low- and high-LET radiations in cells of various origins on the survival and macromolecular level have also revealed that in general at a high ionization density, these processes may be reduced or even absent. When irradiated yeast cells are held in a liquid non-nutrient media at 30 .deg. C before planting on to a growth medium, their survival increases. This phenomena is known as liquid holding recovery (LHR). A quantitative approach describing the LHR kinetics of the yeast cells was described, which enables the estimation of the probability of the recovery per unit time and the fraction of the irreversible damage. The main goals of this study were (i) to answer the question whether or not high-LET radiation affects the recovery process itself or if it only produces a higher level of severe irreversible damage that cannot be repaired at all; (ii) to elucidate the role of irreversible damage and the probability of recovery in some rad mutants of the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae. In this study, the liquid-holing recovery will serve as an indicator of the cellular repair activity

  15. La imagen y el texto en Le Photographe: una reflexión sobre fotoperiodismo, cómics y traducción

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sabrina Moura Aragao

    2016-11-01

    Full Text Available Este trabajo analiza cómo se produce el conocimiento del otro, es decir, del extranjero, a partir de la imagen y del texto en la traducción al portugués de Brasil del cómic francés “Le Photographe”. La obra está compuesta por dibujos, de Emmanuel Guibert, y de fotografías realizadas por Didier Levèfre que narran el trabajo de los Médicos Sin Fronteras durante la guerra en Afganistán a mediados de los años 1980. La obra fue publicada por primera vez en Francia en 2003 y en Brasil en 2006. Le Photographe constituye un rico material para el análisis gracias a la simultaneidad de discursos: el periodístico y el del cómic, al mismo tiempo que también propicia una reflexión sobre el proceso de traducción, ya que la obra intenta representar una cultura extranjera – la afgana – para franceses (en el contexto original y para brasileños (en el contexto de la traducción, lo que produce distintas representaciones y forma identidades culturales sobre aquel pueblo en los dos contextos de lectura de la obra. De esta manera, en el transcurso de la lectura del original a la traducción se construyen distintos tipos de conocimiento. Cuando analizamos Le Photographe, que se vale de un discurso periodístico y documental con las fotografías y la narración de los hechos de la guerra, nos vemos ante la construcción de “realidades”, y el periodismo tiene, para el sentido común, el poder de mostrar lo “real”. Nos interesa, entonces, investigar y discutir la formación de representaciones de la alteridad y de la “realidad” en el ámbito de los estudios de la traducción de cómics, observando la relación entre imagen y texto propio de este lenguaje y de qué manera el texto original y el traducido contribuyen, o no, para la formación de nuevas identidades culturales acerca del pueblo afgano.

  16. Contractile recovery of microtissues after giant shear events

    Science.gov (United States)

    Morley, Cameron; Bhattacharjee, Tapomoy; Ellison, Sarah; Sawyer, W.; Angelini, Thomas

    Cells are often dispersed in extracellular matrix (ECM) gels like collagen and Matrigel as minimal tissue models. Generally, large-scale contraction of these constructs is observed, in which the degree of contraction of the entire system correlates with cell density and ECM concentration. The freedom to perform diverse mechanical experiments on these contracting constructs is limited by the challenges of handling and supporting these delicate samples. Here, we present a method to create simple cell-ECM constructs that can be manipulated with significantly reduced experimental limitations. We 3D print mixtures of MCF10A cells and ECM (collagen-I and Matrigel) into a 3D growth medium made from jammed microgels. With this approach, we are able to apply shear stresses to the cell constructs times after printing and observe the collective response. Preliminary results reveal that, following shear deformations that exceed 300% and dramatically smear cells and matrix in space, the cells actively re-contract the construct toward the un-sheared construct. These results suggest that new principles of collective recovery can be employed for tissue engineering applications using jammed microgels as a re-configurable support medium.

  17. Uses and abuses of recovery: implementing recovery-oriented practices in mental health systems

    Science.gov (United States)

    Slade, Mike; Amering, Michaela; Farkas, Marianne; Hamilton, Bridget; O'Hagan, Mary; Panther, Graham; Perkins, Rachel; Shepherd, Geoff; Tse, Samson; Whitley, Rob

    2014-01-01

    An understanding of recovery as a personal and subjective experience has emerged within mental health systems. This meaning of recovery now underpins mental health policy in many countries. Developing a focus on this type of recovery will involve transformation within mental health systems. Human systems do not easily transform. In this paper, we identify seven mis-uses (“abuses”) of the concept of recovery: recovery is the latest model; recovery does not apply to “my” patients; services can make people recover through effective treatment; compulsory detention and treatment aid recovery; a recovery orientation means closing services; recovery is about making people independent and normal; and contributing to society happens only after the person is recovered. We then identify ten empirically-validated interventions which support recovery, by targeting key recovery processes of connectedness, hope, identity, meaning and empowerment (the CHIME framework). The ten interventions are peer support workers, advance directives, wellness recovery action planning, illness management and recovery, REFOCUS, strengths model, recovery colleges or recovery education programs, individual placement and support, supported housing, and mental health trialogues. Finally, three scientific challenges are identified: broadening cultural understandings of recovery, implementing organizational transformation, and promoting citizenship. PMID:24497237

  18. Antimicrobial evaluation of new metallic complexes with xylitol active against P. aeruginosa and C. albicans: MIC determination, post-agent effect and Zn-uptake.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Santi, E; Facchin, G; Faccio, R; Barroso, R P; Costa-Filho, A J; Borthagaray, G; Torre, M H

    2016-02-01

    Xylitol (xylH5) is metabolized via the pentose pathway in humans, but it is unsuitable as an energy source for many microorganisms where it produces a xylitol-induced growth inhibition and disturbance in protein synthesis. For this reason, xylitol is used in the prophylaxis of several infections. In the search of better antimicrobial agents, new copper and zinc complexes with xylitol were synthesized and characterized by analytical and spectrosco pic methods: Na2[Cu3(xylH−4)2]·NaCl·4.5H2O (Cu-xyl) and [Zn4(xylH−4)2(H2O)2]·NaCl·3H2O (Zn-xyl). Both copper and zinc complexes presented higher MIC against Pseudomona aeruginosa than the free xylitol while two different behaviors were found against Candida albicans depending on the complex. The growth curves showed that Cu-xyl presented lower activity than the free ligand during all the studied period. In the case of Znxyl the growth curves showed that the inhibition of the microorganism growth in the first stage was equivalent to that of xylitol but in the second stage (after 18 h) Zn-xyl inhibited more. Besides, the PAE (post agent effect)obtained for Zn-xyl and xyl showed that the recovery from the damage of microbial cells had a delay of 14 and 13 h respectively. This behavior could be useful in prophylaxis treatments for infectious diseases where it is important that the antimicrobial effect lasts longer. With the aim to understand the microbiological activities the analysis of the particle size, lipophilicity and Zn uptake was performed.

  19. The Effects of ISM1 Medium on Embryo Quality and Outcomes of IVF/ICSI Cycles.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hassani, Fatemeh; Eftekhari-Yazdi, Poopak; Karimian, Leila; Rezazadeh Valojerdi, Mojtaba; Movaghar, Bahar; Fazel, Mohammad; Fouladi, Hamid Reza; Shabani, Fatemeh; Johansson, Lars

    2013-07-01

    The aim of this study is to investigate the effect of ISM1 culture medium on embryo development, quality and outcomes of in vitro fertilization/intracytoplasmic sperm injection (IVF/ICSI) cycles. This study compares culture medium commonly used in the laboratory setting for oocyte recovery and embryo development with a medium from MediCult. We have assessed the effects of these media on embryo development and newborn characteristics. In this prospective randomized study, fertilized oocytes from patients were randomly assigned to culture in ISM1 (MediCult, cycles: n=293) or routine lab culture medium (G-1TM v5; Vitrolife, cycles: n=290) according to the daily media schedule for oocyte retrieval. IVF or ICSI and embryo transfer were performed with either MediCult media or routine lab media. Embryo quality on days 2/3, cleavage, pregnancy and implantation rates, baby take home rate (BTHR), in addition to the weight and length of newborns were compared between groups. There were similar cleavage rates for ISM1 (86%) vs. G-1TM v5 (88%). We observed a significantly higher percentage of excellent embryos in ISM1 (42.7%) compared to G-1TM v5 (39%, pISM1 had both higher birth weight (3.03 kg) and length (48.8 cm) compared to G-1TM v5 babies that had a birth weight of 2.66 kg and a length of 46.0 cm (pISM1 is a more effective culture medium in generating higher quality embryos, which may be reflected in the characteristics of babies at birth.

  20. Evaluation of a Chromogenic Culture Medium for Isolation of Clostridium difficile within 24 Hours ▿

    Science.gov (United States)

    Perry, John D.; Asir, Kerry; Halimi, Diane; Orenga, Sylvain; Dale, Joanne; Payne, Michelle; Carlton, Ruth; Evans, Jim; Gould, F. Kate

    2010-01-01

    Rapid and effective methods for the isolation of Clostridium difficile from stool samples are desirable to obtain isolates for typing or to facilitate accurate diagnosis of C. difficile-associated diarrhea. We report on the evaluation of a prototype chromogenic medium (ID C. difficile prototype [IDCd]) for isolation of C. difficile. The chromogenic medium was compared using (i) 368 untreated stool samples that were also inoculated onto CLO medium, (ii) 339 stool samples that were subjected to alcohol shock and also inoculated onto five distinct selective agars, and (iii) standardized suspensions of 10 C. difficile ribotypes (untreated and alcohol treated) that were also inoculated onto five distinct selective agars. Two hundred thirty-six isolates of C. difficile were recovered from 368 untreated stool samples, and all but 1 of these strains (99.6%) were recovered on IDCd within 24 h, whereas 74.6% of isolates were recovered on CLO medium after 48 h. Of 339 alcohol-treated stool samples cultured onto IDCd and five other selective agars, C. difficile was recovered from 218 samples using a combination of all media. The use of IDCd allowed recovery of 96.3% of isolates within 24 h, whereas 51 to 83% of isolates were recovered within 24 h using the five other media. Finally, when they were challenged with pure cultures, all 10 ribotypes of C. difficile generated higher colony counts on IDCd irrespective of alcohol pretreatment or duration of incubation. We conclude that IDCd is an effective medium for isolation of C. difficile from stool samples within 24 h. PMID:20739493

  1. Antifungal Activity of the Essential Oil of Cymbopogon citratus (DC Stapf. An in vitro study.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Naiana Braga da Silva

    2017-12-01

    Full Text Available Aim. To evaluate the antifungal potential of the essential oil of Cymbopogon citratus by determining the Minimum Inhibitory Concentration (MIC and the Minimum Fungicidal Concentration (MFC for Candida albicans (ATCC 90029, Candida albicans (CBS 562, Candida tropicalis (ATCC 705 and Candida tropicalis strains (CBS 94, as well as to analyze the possible mechanism of action of the oil through the addition of sorbitol to the culture medium. Methods. For the MIC determination, inocula were previously adjusted through spectrophotometry and 100μL were added to the wells of plates already containing the culture medium and 100μL of the serial dilutions of the oil, incubating them in aerobiosis for 24 hours, with subsequent staining by 1% TCT. For the MFC, 50μL of the supernatant from the MIC assay wells were dripped onto Petri dishes and incubated in aerobiosis for 24 hours. Tests were performed in triplicate and data analysed by descriptive statistics. Results. It was determined that the MIC for C. albicans was 125 μg/mL while MIC for C. tropicalis was 250 μg/mL, with the essential oil presenting fungicidal effect for both analyzed yeasts. Conclusion. The essential oil of Cymbopogon citratus does not act at the cellular wall level and demonstrated an antimicrobial effect on Candida albicans and Candida tropicalis, therefore acting as a fungicide.

  2. Application of Intel Many Integrated Core (MIC) architecture to the Yonsei University planetary boundary layer scheme in Weather Research and Forecasting model

    Science.gov (United States)

    Huang, Melin; Huang, Bormin; Huang, Allen H.

    2014-10-01

    The Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) model provided operational services worldwide in many areas and has linked to our daily activity, in particular during severe weather events. The scheme of Yonsei University (YSU) is one of planetary boundary layer (PBL) models in WRF. The PBL is responsible for vertical sub-grid-scale fluxes due to eddy transports in the whole atmospheric column, determines the flux profiles within the well-mixed boundary layer and the stable layer, and thus provide atmospheric tendencies of temperature, moisture (including clouds), and horizontal momentum in the entire atmospheric column. The YSU scheme is very suitable for massively parallel computation as there are no interactions among horizontal grid points. To accelerate the computation process of the YSU scheme, we employ Intel Many Integrated Core (MIC) Architecture as it is a multiprocessor computer structure with merits of efficient parallelization and vectorization essentials. Our results show that the MIC-based optimization improved the performance of the first version of multi-threaded code on Xeon Phi 5110P by a factor of 2.4x. Furthermore, the same CPU-based optimizations improved the performance on Intel Xeon E5-2603 by a factor of 1.6x as compared to the first version of multi-threaded code.

  3. Recovery of essential nutrients from municipal solid waste--Impact of waste management infrastructure and governance aspects.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zabaleta, Imanol; Rodic, Ljiljana

    2015-10-01

    Every year 120-140 million tonnes of bio-waste are generated in Europe, most of which is landfilled, incinerated or stabilized and used as covering material in landfill operation. None of these practices enables the recovery of essential nutrients such as phosphorus (P) and nitrogen (N), which are in great demand for agricultural production. Recovery of these nutrients is a matter of international concern considering the non-renewable nature of P sources and the energy intensive production process required for the synthesis of N fertilizers. The objective of this research is to understand the relation between the municipal solid waste management (MSWM) system, both its the physical components and governance aspects, and the recovery of nutrients in Vitoria-Gasteiz (Basque Country) as a benchmark for European medium-size cities. The analysis shows that the existing physical infrastructure and facilities for bio-waste have high potential for nutrient recovery, 49% for N and 83% for P contained in bio-waste. However, governance aspects of the MSWM system such as legislation and user inclusivity play an important role and decrease the actual nutrient recovery to 3.4% and 7.4% for N and P respectively. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  4. Tratamiento quirúrgico de un aneurisma micótico en paciente con riñón en herradura por vía retroperitoneal

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ricardo Muñoz-García

    2013-01-01

    Full Text Available Presentamos el caso de un paciente de 73 años diagnosticado de un aneurisma de aorta abdominal micótico que presenta un riñón en herradura. El paciente fue intervenido por vía retroperitoneal, realizándose resección del aneurisma, con postoperatorio irregular, pero finalmente siendo dado de alta sin incidencias y asintomático.

  5. Los insectos como Estrategia Didactica en la enseñanza de la Ecologia, a través del Cómic

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jairo Robles Piñeros

    2013-07-01

    Full Text Available Este trabajo se desarrolló con el objetivo de implementar una estrategia didáctica basada en el estudio de los insectos como organismo tipo, haciendo énfasis en su importancia filogenética y ecológica. Por consiguiente, se abordaron algunos conceptos estructurantes de ecología pertinentes y necesarios en los grados octavos del Instituto Pedagógico Nacional (IPN; se propició un acercamiento a las problemáticas ambientales actuales y se promovió la conservación biológica desde el contexto inmediato. Parallevar a cabo estos objetivos, el proyecto se fundamentó en la realización de un cómic que funcionó como herramienta y recurso educativo que articula conceptos de entomología, ecología, conservación y permitió contribuir en la alfabetización científica del estudiante a través de un lenguaje sencillo y atractivo, hecho que además brindó la posibilidad de abordar la ciencia desde una visión holística y contextual. La finalización del proyecto de investigación permitió la evaluación de la estrategia y la materialización del cómic. El seguimiento realizado posibilitó visualizar la ampliación delas concepciones en uno de los obstáculos en el aprendizaje de las ciencias referido a los conocimientos previos, lo cual desarrolló en los estudiantes actitudes y tendencias positivas frente a los insectos y la naturaleza, su conservación y la responsabilidad inminente con el medio ambiente. El lenguaje cotidiano, promovido por el contexto social y cultural, se concibe como el principal obstáculo epistemológico en la enseñanza de la ecología. El abordaje de conceptos básicos en ecología fue un factor de transformación en las actitudes y percepciones de los estudiantes con respecto a los insectos. En cuanto al cómic, este se mantiene como una herramienta llamativa, eficaz y motivadora para la enseñanza de las temáticas científicas y promueve al estudiante actuar frente a las problemáticas ambientales más pr

  6. Numerical and experimental investigation of dielectric recovery in supercritical N2

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zhang, J; Van Heesch, E J M; Markosyan, A H; Ebert, U; Seeger, M; Van Veldhuizen, E M

    2015-01-01

    A supercritical (SC) nitrogen (N 2 ) switch is designed and tested. The dielectric strength and recovery rate of the SC switch are investigated by experiments. In order to theoretically study the discharge and recovery process of the SC N 2 switch under high repetition rate operation, a numerical model is developed. For SC N 2 with initial parameters of p = 80.9 bar and T = 300 K, the simulation results show that within several nanoseconds after the streamer bridges the switch gap, the spark is fully developed and this time depends on the applied electric field between electrodes. During the whole discharge process, the maximum temperature in the channel is about 20 000 K. About 10 µs after the spark excitation of 200 ns duration, the temperature on the axis decays to T axis  ⩽ 1500 K, mainly contributed by the gas expansion and heat transfer mechanisms. After 100 µs, the dielectric strength of the gap recovers to above half of the cold breakdown voltage due to the temperature decay in the channel. Both experimental and numerical investigations indicate that supercritical fluid is a good insulating medium that has a proved high breakdown voltage and fast recovery speed. (paper)

  7. Evaluation of passive recovery, cold water immersion, and contrast baths for recovery, as measured by game performances markers, between two simulated games of rugby union.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Higgins, Trevor; Cameron, Melainie; Climstein, Mike

    2012-06-11

    ABSTRACT: In team sports, during the competitive season, peak performance in each game is of utmost importance to coaching staff and players. To enhance recovery from training and games a number of recovery modalities have been adopted across professional sporting teams. To date there is little evidence in the sport science literature identifying the benefit of modalities in promoting recovery between sporting competition games. This research evaluated hydrotherapy as a recovery strategy following a simulated game of rugby union and a week of recovery and training, with dependent variables between two simulated games of rugby union evaluated. Twenty-four male players were randomly divided into three groups: one group (n=8) received cold water immersion therapy (2 X 5min at 10oC, whilst one group (n=8) received contrast bath therapy (5 cycles of 10oC/38oC) and the control group (n=8) underwent passive recovery (15mins, thermo neutral environment). The two forms of hydrotherapy were administered following a simulated rugby union game (8 circuits x 11 stations) and after three training sessions. Dependent variables where generated from five physical stations replicating movement characteristics of rugby union and one skilled based station, as well as sessional RPE values between two simulated games of rugby union. No significant differences were identified between groups across simulated games, across dependent variables. Effect size analysis via Cohen's d and ηp2 did identify medium trends between groups. Overall trends indicated that both treatment groups had performance results in the second simulated game above those of the control group of between 2% and 6% across the physical work stations replicating movement characteristics of rugby union. In conclusion, trends in this study may indicate that ice baths and contrasts baths may be more advantageous to athlete's recovery from team sport than passive rest between successive games of rugby union We are pleased to

  8. Medium Duty ARRA Data Reporting and Analysis (Presentation)

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Walkowicz, K.

    2014-06-01

    This project compiles medium-duty (MD) aggregated deployment data and provides the compiled detailed analyses to industry. The U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE's) American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) deployment and demonstration projects are helping to commercialize technologies for all-electric vehicles, electrified accessories, and electric charging infrastructure. Over 3.2 million miles of in-service all-electric MD truck data from 560 different vehicles have been collected since 2011, and usage data from over 1,000 truck electrification sites have been collected since 2013. Through the DOE's Vehicle Technologies Office, NREL is working to analyze real-time data from these deployment and demonstration projects to quantify the benefits: results and summary statistics are made available through the NREL website as quarterly and annual reports; 23 aggregated reports have been published on the performance and operation of these vehicles; and detailed data are being extracted to help further understand battery use and performance.

  9. Selective recovery of molybdenum from spent HDS catalyst using oxidative soda ash leach/carbon adsorption method

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Park, Kyung Ho; Mohapatra, D.; Reddy, B. Ramachandra

    2006-01-01

    The petroleum refining industry makes extensive use of hydroprocessing catalysts. These catalysts contain environmentally critical and economically valuable metals such as Mo, V, Ni and Co. In the present study, a simple hydrometallurgical processing of spent hydrodesulphurization (HDS) catalyst for the recovery of molybdenum using sodium carbonate and hydrogen peroxide mixture was investigated. Recovery of molybdenum was largely dependent on the concentrations of Na 2 CO 3 and H 2 O 2 in the reaction medium, which in turn controls the pH of leach liquor and the presence of Al and Ni as impurities. Under the optimum leaching conditions (40 g L -1 Na 2 CO 3 , 6 vol.% H 2 O 2 , room temperature, 1 h) about 85% recovery of Mo was achieved. The leach liquor was processed by the carbon adsorption method, which selectively adsorbs Mo at pH around 0.75. Desorption of Mo was selective at 15 vol.% NH 4 OH. With a single stage contact, it was found possible to achieve >99%, adsorption and desorption efficiency. Using this method, recovery of molybdenum as MoO 3 product of 99.4% purity was achieved

  10. In vitro susceptibility of contagious ovine digital dermatitis associated Treponema spp. isolates to antimicrobial agents in the UK.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Angell, Joseph W; Clegg, Simon R; Sullivan, Leigh E; Duncan, Jennifer S; Grove-White, Dai H; Carter, Stuart D; Evans, Nicholas J

    2015-12-01

    Contagious ovine digital dermatitis (CODD) is an important cause of infectious lameness in sheep in the UK and Ireland and has a severe impact on the welfare of affected individuals. The three treponemal phylogroups Treponema medium/Treponema vincentii-like, Treponema phagedenis-like and Treponema pedis spirochaetes have been associated with clinical CODD lesions and are considered to be a necessary cause of disease. There are scant data on the antimicrobial susceptibility of the treponemes cultured from CODD lesions. The aim of this study was to determine in vitro the miniumum inhibitory concentration/ minimum bactericidal concentration (MIC/MBC) of antimicrobials used in the sheep industry for isolates of the three CODD associated treponeme phylogroups T. medium/T. vincentii-like, T. phagedenis-like and T. pedis. Twenty treponeme isolates; from 19 sheep with clinical CODD lesions. A microdilution method was used to determine in vitro the MIC/MBC of 10 antimicrobial agents for 20 treponeme isolates (five T. medium/T. vincentii-like, 10 T. phagedenis-like and five T. pedis). The antimicrobials tested were penicillin G, amoxicillin, oxytetracycline, tilmicosin, lincomycin, spectinomycin, tylosin, tildipirosin, tulathromycin and gamithromycin. The treponeme isolates tested showed low MICs and MBCs to all 10 antimicrobials tested. They were most susceptible to gamithromycin and tildipirosin (MIC90: 0.0469 mg/L), and were least susceptible to lincomycin, spectinomycin and oxytetracycline (MIC90: 48 mg/L, 24 mg/L and 3 mg/L, respectively). These data are comparable to in vitro antimicrobial susceptibility data for treponemes cultured from bovine digital dermatitis lesions. Dependent on local licensing, penicillin and tilmicosin appear to be the best candidates for future in vivo studies. © 2015 The Authors. Veterinary Dermatology published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of the ESVD and ACVD.

  11. Recovery of Ra-223 from natural thorium irradiated by protons

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Vasiliev, Aleksandr N.; Ostapenko, Valentina S. [Lomonosov Moscow State Univ. (Russian Federation); Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow-Troitsk (Russian Federation). Inst. for Nuclear Research; Lapshina, Elena V.; Ermolaev, Stanislav V.; Zhuikov, Boris L. [Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow-Troitsk (Russian Federation). Inst. for Nuclear Research; Danilov, Sergey S. [Lomonosov Moscow State Univ. (Russian Federation); Kalmykov, Stepan N. [Lomonosov Moscow State Univ. (Russian Federation); National Research Center ' Kurchatov Institute' (NRC ' Kurchatov Institute' ), Moscow (Russian Federation)

    2016-11-01

    Irradiation of natural thorium with medium-energy protons is considered to be a prospective approach to large-scale production of {sup 225}Ac and {sup 223}Ra. In addition to the earlier-developed method of {sup 225}Ac isolation, the present work focuses on the simultaneous recovery of {sup 223}Ra from the same thorium target. Radiochemical procedure is based on liquid-liquid extraction, cation exchange and extraction chromatography. The procedure provides separation of radium from spallation and fission products generated in the thorium target. High chemical yield (85-90%) and radionuclide purity of {sup 223}Ra (> 99.8% except {sup 224}Ra and {sup 225}Ra isotopes) have been achieved.

  12. Uncovering Recovery: The Resistible Rise of Recovery and Resilience

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    David Harper

    2012-10-01

    Full Text Available Discourses of recovery and resilience have risen to positions of dominance in the mental health field. Models of recovery and resilience enjoy purchase, in both policy and practice, across a range of settings from self-described psychiatric survivors through to mental health charities through to statutory mental health service providers. Despite this ubiquity, there is confusion about what recovery means. In this article we problematize notions of recovery and resilience, and consider what, if anything, should be recovered from these concepts. We focus on three key issues, i individualization, ii the persistence of a deficit model, and iii collective approaches to recovery. Through documentary analysis we consider these issues across third sector organizations, and public and mental health policy. Firstly, definitional debates about recovery reflect wider ideological debates about the nature of mental health. The vagueness of these concepts and implicit assumptions inherent in dominant recovery and resilience discourses render them problematic because they individualize what are social problems. Secondly, these discourses, despite being seen as inherently liberatory are conceptually dependent on a notion of deficit in that talk of “positives” and “strengths” requires the existence of “negatives” and “weaknesses” for these concepts to make sense.  We argue that this does little to substantially transform dominant understandings of psychological distress. Thirdly, these issues combine to impact upon the progressive potential of recovery. It comes to be seen as an individualistic experiential narrative accompaniment to medical understandings where the structural causes of distress are obscured. This in turn impacts upon the potential for recovery to be used to explore more collective, political aspects of emotional distress. Drawing on the work of Fraser, we use this critique to characterize “recovery” as a “struggle for

  13. Building addiction recovery capital through online participation in a recovery community.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bliuc, Ana-Maria; Best, David; Iqbal, Muhammad; Upton, Katie

    2017-11-01

    This study examines how online participation in a community of recovery contributes to personal journeys of recovery. It investigates whether recovery capital building - as indicated by increased levels and quality of online social interactions - and markers of positive identity development predict retention in a recovery program designed around fostering community involvement for early stage recovery addicts. It was predicted that online participation on the group's Facebook page and positive identity development are associated to retention in the program. To map how participants interact online, social network analysis (SNA) based on naturally occurring online data (N = 609) on the Facebook page of a recovery community was conducted. Computerised linguistic analyses evaluated sentiment of the textual data (capturing social identity markers). Linear regression analyses evaluated whether indicators of recovery capital predict program retention. To illustrate the findings in the context of the specific recovery community, presented are two case studies of key participants who moved from the periphery to the centre of the social network. By conducting in-depth interviews with these participants, personal experiences of engagement in the online community of group members who have undergone the most significant changes since joining the community are explored. Retention in the program was determined by a) the number of comment 'likes' and all 'likes' received on the Facebook page; b) position in the social network (degree of centrality); and c) linguistic content around group identity and achievement. Positive online interactions between members of recovery communities support the recovery process through helping participants to develop recovery capital that binds them to groups supportive of positive change. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  14. Biodegradation of isopropanol and acetone under denitrifying conditions by Thauera sp. TK001 for nitrate-mediated microbially enhanced oil recovery.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fida, Tekle Tafese; Gassara, Fatma; Voordouw, Gerrit

    2017-07-15

    Amendment of reservoir fluid with injected substrates can enhance the growth and activity of microbes. The present study used isopropyl alcohol (IPA) or acetone to enhance the indigenous anaerobic nitrate-reducing bacterium Thauera sp. TK001. The strain was able to grow on IPA or acetone and nitrate. To monitor effects of strain TK001 on oil recovery, sand-packed columns containing heavy oil were flooded with minimal medium at atmospheric or high (400psi) pressure. Bioreactors were then inoculated with 0.5 pore volume (PV) of minimal medium containing Thauera sp. TK001 with 25mM of acetone or 22.2mM of IPA with or without 80mM nitrate. Incubation without flow for two weeks and subsequent injection with minimal medium gave an additional 17.0±6.7% of residual oil in place (ROIP) from low-pressure bioreactors and an additional 18.3% of ROIP from the high-pressure bioreactors. These results indicate that acetone or IPA, which are commonly used organic solvents, are good substrates for nitrate-mediated microbial enhanced oil recovery (MEOR), comparable to glucose, acetate or molasses, tested previously. This technology may be used for coupling biodegradation of IPA and/or acetone in waste streams to MEOR where these waste streams are generated in close proximity to an oil field. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  15. Accuracy of the Thermo Fisher Scientific (Sensititre™) dry-form broth microdilution MIC product when testing ceftaroline.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jones, Ronald N; Holliday, Nicole M; Critchley, Ian A

    2015-04-01

    Ceftaroline, the active metabolite of the ceftaroline fosamil pro-drug, was the first advanced-spectrum cephalosporin with potent activity against methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus to be approved by the US Food and Drug Administration for acute bacterial skin and skin structure infections. After 4 years of clinical use, few ceftaroline commercial susceptibility testing devices other than agar diffusion methods (disks and stable gradient) are available. Here, we validate a broth microdilution product (Sensititre™; Thermo Fisher Scientific, Cleveland, OH, USA) that achieved 99.2% essential agreement (manual and automated reading) and 95.3-100.0% categorical agreement, with high reproducibility (98.0-100.0%). Sensititre™ MIC values for ceftaroline, however, were slightly skewed toward an elevated value (0.5 × log2 dilution step), greatest when testing for streptococci and Enterobacteriaceae. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  16. A simple, specific high-throughput enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) for quantitative determination of melatonin in cell culture medium.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Li, Ye; Cassone, Vincent M

    2015-09-01

    A simple, specific, high-throughput enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) for quantitative determination of melatonin was developed for directly measuring melatonin in cell culture medium with 10% FBS. This assay adopts a commercial monoclonal melatonin antibody and melatonin-HRP conjugate, so it can be applied in multiple labs rapidly with low cost compared with commercial RIA and ELISA kits. In addition, the procedure is much simpler with only four steps: 1) sample/conjugate incubation, 2) plate washing, 3) TMB color reaction and 4) reading of results. The standards of the assay cover a wide working range from 100 pg/mL to 10 ng/mL. The sensitivity was 68 pg/mL in cell culture medium with 10% FBS and 26 pg/mL in PBS with as little as 25 μL sample volume. The recovery of melatonin from cell culture medium was 101.0%. The principal cross-reacting compound was 5-methoxytryptophol (0.1%). The variation coefficients of the assay, within and between runs, ranged between 6.68% and 15.76% in cell culture medium. The mean linearity of a series diluted cell culture medium sample was 105% (CV=5%), ranging between 98% and 111%, y=5.5263x+0.0646, R(2)=0.99. The assay enables small research and teaching labs to reliably measure this important neurohormone. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  17. Implementation of an Agent-Based Parallel Tissue Modelling Framework for the Intel MIC Architecture

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Maciej Cytowski

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available Timothy is a novel large scale modelling framework that allows simulating of biological processes involving different cellular colonies growing and interacting with variable environment. Timothy was designed for execution on massively parallel High Performance Computing (HPC systems. The high parallel scalability of the implementation allows for simulations of up to 109 individual cells (i.e., simulations at tissue spatial scales of up to 1 cm3 in size. With the recent advancements of the Timothy model, it has become critical to ensure appropriate performance level on emerging HPC architectures. For instance, the introduction of blood vessels supplying nutrients to the tissue is a very important step towards realistic simulations of complex biological processes, but it greatly increased the computational complexity of the model. In this paper, we describe the process of modernization of the application in order to achieve high computational performance on HPC hybrid systems based on modern Intel® MIC architecture. Experimental results on the Intel Xeon Phi™ coprocessor x100 and the Intel Xeon Phi processor x200 are presented.

  18. From recovery to regulation: an attempt to reconceptualize 'recovery from work'.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zijlstra, F R H; Cropley, M; Rydstedt, L W

    2014-08-01

    The concept of 'recovery' (from work) has quickly gained in importance in the occupational health literature. However, we think that the conceptualization of 'recovery' needs some more attention. Although many authors acknowledge that 'recovery' refers to a 'process', the concept is often treated as a static construct. In this paper, we argue that recovery should be conceptualized as a dynamic construct related to changes in psychophysiological state of the person. We refer to two main theories that have provided a theoretical framework for research in this area: Meijman & Mulder's Effort-Recovery (E-R) model and Hobfoll's Conservation of Resources theory. In particular, the E-R model has been seminal in this area and stresses the element of changing psychophysiological states that has been used for reconceptualising 'recovery'. Various biological rhythms influence these changing psychophysiological states, and thus the level of energy (or effort) a person can mobilize or wants to mobilize. A distinction is made between 'physical fatigue' and 'mental fatigue' and its consequences for recovery. The discrepancy between 'actual state' and 'required state' has been suggested as the basis for 'recovery'. This emphasises that recovery is a dynamic and ongoing process, which also included motivational aspects, in particular as far as mental work is concerned. The capacity to maintain self-regulation of one's psychophysiological state is important in this respect. Thus, we propose that 'recovery' is the continuous process of harmonizing the 'actual state' with the state that is 'required' at that moment. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

  19. Sex-specific responses to winter flooding, spring waterlogging and post-flooding recovery in Populus deltoides.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Miao, Ling-Feng; Yang, Fan; Han, Chun-Yu; Pu, Yu-Jin; Ding, Yang; Zhang, Li-Jia

    2017-05-31

    Winter flooding events are common in some rivers and streams due to dam constructions, and flooding and waterlogging inhibit the growth of trees in riparian zones. This study investigated sex-specific morphological, physiological and ultrastructural responses to various durations of winter flooding and spring waterlogging stresses, and post-flooding recovery characteristics in Populus deltoides. There were no significant differences in the morphological, ultrastructural and the majority of physiological traits in trees subjected to medium and severe winter flooding stresses, suggesting that males and females of P. deltoides were winter flooding tolerant, and insensitive to winter flooding duration. Males were more tolerant to winter flooding stress in terms of photosynthesis and chlorophyll fluorescence than females. Females displayed greater oxidative damage due to flooding stress than males. Males developed more efficient antioxidant enzymatic systems to control reactive oxygen species. Both sexes had similarly strong post-flooding recovery capabilities in terms of plant growth, and physiological and ultrastructural parameters. However, Males had better recovery capabilities in terms of pigment content. These results increase the understanding of poplars's adaptation to winter flooding stress. They also elucidate sex-specific differences in response to flooding stress during the dormant season, and during post-flooding recovery periods.

  20. Autoras contemporáneas en la historieta española. Revisión de la etiqueta ‘cómic femenino’

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Cortijo, Adela

    2011-09-01

    Full Text Available This article, whose title is so generic, does not intend to be an exhaustive and historiographic list of women authoring contemporary Spanish comics. A priori, the deficiencies of the global label “woman comic” are questioned and the representative work of a group of draftswomen and scriptwriters is shown, since the 1980 decade (Madriz, El Cairo and El Víbora to nowadays publications: Laura Pérez-Vernetti, Ana Juan, Ana Miralles, Sonia Pulido and Clara- Tanit. These authors are linked by a generational bond and offer a series of sights, paintstrokes, subjects and diverse plastic styles. The woman production phenomenon is observed along with its reception in ad hoc-collections published by some publishing houses through retrospectives, symposium and exhibitions which are still alerting about the so needed visibility. At the same time, both the atraction and the tendency towards the drawing art and equally the links between comic made by women and the concept related to the author comic, literature and egotistic tales are studied too.

    Este artículo, de título tan genérico, no pretende ser un listado exhaustivo e historiográfico de autoras de historieta contemporánea española. En esta aproximación se cuestionan a priori las deficiencias de la etiqueta global de “cómic femenino”, y se muestra el trabajo representativo de una serie de dibujantes y guionistas mujeres, desde los años ochenta (desde Madriz, El Cairo y El Víbora hasta la actualidad: Laura Pérez-Vernetti, Ana Juan, Ana Miralles, Sonia Pulido y Clara-Tanit. Autoras que se hilvanan en un hilo generacional y que ofrecen una explosión de miradas, de trazos, temas y estilos plásticos distintos. Se observa el fenómeno de la producción femenina y su recepción a través de colecciones ad hoc de algunas casas de edición, de retrospectivas, coloquios y exposiciones, que siguen alertando de la necesidad de una visibilidad

  1. Evaluation of Petrifilm™ Select E. coli Count Plate medium to discriminate antimicrobial resistant Escherichia coli

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jensen Lars

    2008-09-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Screening and enumeration of antimicrobial resistant Escherichia coli directly from samples is needed to identify emerging resistant clones and obtain quantitative data for risk assessment. Aim of this study was to evaluate the performance of 3M™ Petrifilm™ Select E. coli Count Plate (SEC plate supplemented with antimicrobials to discriminate antimicrobial-resistant and non-resistant E. coli. Method A range of E. coli isolates were tested by agar dilution method comparing the Minimal Inhibitory Concentration (MIC for eight antimicrobials obtained by Mueller-Hinton II agar, MacConkey agar and SEC plates. Kappa statistics was used to assess the levels of agreement when classifying strains as resistant, intermediate or susceptible. Results SEC plate showed that 74% of all strains agreed within ± 1 log2 dilution when comparing MICs with Mueller-Hinton II media. High agreement levels were found for gentamicin, ampicillin, chloramphenicol and cefotaxime, resulting in a kappa value of 0.9 and 100% agreement within ± 1 log2 dilution. Significant variances were observed for oxytetracycline and sulphamethoxazole. Further tests showed that the observed discrepancy in classification of susceptibility to oxytetracycline by the two media could be overcome when a plate-dependent breakpoint of 64 mg/L was used for SEC plates. For sulphamethoxazole, SEC plates provided unacceptably high MICs. Conclusion SEC plates showed good agreement with Mueller-Hinton II agar in MIC studies and can be used to screen and discriminate resistant E. coli for ampicillin, cephalothin, streptomycin, chloramphenicol, cefotaxime and gentamicin using CLSI standardized breakpoints, but not for sulphamethoxazole. SEC plates can also be used to discriminate oxytetracycline-resistant E. coli if a plate-dependent breakpoint value of 64 mg/L is used.

  2. Quantifying species recovery and conservation success to develop an IUCN Green List of Species.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Akçakaya, H Resit; Bennett, Elizabeth L; Brooks, Thomas M; Grace, Molly K; Heath, Anna; Hedges, Simon; Hilton-Taylor, Craig; Hoffmann, Michael; Keith, David A; Long, Barney; Mallon, David P; Meijaard, Erik; Milner-Gulland, E J; Rodrigues, Ana S L; Rodriguez, Jon Paul; Stephenson, P J; Stuart, Simon N; Young, Richard P

    2018-03-26

    Stopping declines in biodiversity is critically important, but it is only a first step toward achieving more ambitious conservation goals. The absence of an objective and practical definition of species recovery that is applicable across taxonomic groups leads to inconsistent targets in recovery plans and frustrates reporting and maximization of conservation impact. We devised a framework for comprehensively assessing species recovery and conservation success. We propose a definition of a fully recovered species that emphasizes viability, ecological functionality, and representation; and use counterfactual approaches to quantify degree of recovery. This allowed us to calculate a set of 4 conservation metrics that demonstrate impacts of conservation efforts to date (conservation legacy); identify dependence of a species on conservation actions (conservation dependence); quantify expected gains resulting from conservation action in the medium term (conservation gain); and specify requirements to achieve maximum plausible recovery over the long term (recovery potential). These metrics can incentivize the establishment and achievement of ambitious conservation targets. We illustrate their use by applying the framework to a vertebrate, an invertebrate, and a woody and an herbaceous plant. Our approach is a preliminary framework for an International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Green List of Species, which was mandated by a resolution of IUCN members in 2012. Although there are several challenges in applying our proposed framework to a wide range of species, we believe its further development, implementation, and integration with the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species will help catalyze a positive and ambitious vision for conservation that will drive sustained conservation action. © 2018 The Authors. Conservation Biology published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. on behalf of Society for Conservation Biology.

  3. Performance analysis of diesel engine heat pump incorporated with heat recovery

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Shah, N.N.; Huang, M.J.; Hewitt, N.J.

    2016-01-01

    Highlights: • Diesel engine heat pump with heat recovery. • Water-to-water source heat pump based on R134a. • Possibility for different flow temperature for heat distribution system. • Possible retrofit application in off-gas or weak electricity network area. • Potential to diversify use of fossil fuel, primary energy and CO_2 emission savings. - Abstract: This paper presents experimental study of diesel engine heat pump (DEHP) system to find potential as retrofit technology in off-gas or weak electricity network area to replace existing gas/oil/electric heating system in domestic sector. Test set-up of diesel engine driven water-to-water heat pump system was built which included heat recovery arrangement from the engine coolant & exhaust gas. The system was designed to meet typical house heating demand in Northern Ireland. Performance of DEHP was evaluated to meet house-heating demand at different flow temperature (35, 45, 55 & 65 °C), a typical requirement of underfloor space heating, medium/high temperature radiators and domestic hot water. The performance was evaluated against four-evaporator water inlet temperature (0, 5, 10 & 15 °C) and at three different engine speed 1600, 2000 & 2400 rpm. Experiment results were analysed in terms of heating/cooling capacity, heat recovery, total heat output, primary energy ratio (PER), isentropic efficiency, etc. Test results showed that DEHP is able to meet house-heating demand with help of heat recovery with reduced system size. Heat recovery contributed in a range of 22–39% in total heat output. It is possible to achieve high flow temperature in a range of 74 °C with help of heat recovery. Overall system PER varied in a range of 0.93–1.33. Speed increment and flow temperature has significant impact on heat recovery, total heat output and PER. A case scenario with different flow temperature to match house-heating demand has been presented to show working potential with different heat distribution system

  4. Entornos tecnológicos en el discurso del cómic japonés: Akira, Dragon Head y Gantz

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Manuel García Pérez

    2017-10-01

    Full Text Available El estudio de los contenidos de algunos cómics japoneses puede conducirnos al conocimiento de motivos, temas y estructuras recurrentes. El miedo al Apocalipsis y el recelo al milenarismo forman parte de la aventura literaria de muchas obras Manga donde el texto descriptivo y el texto cinematográfico operan juntos para producir esta clase de sensaciones que el receptor asume como premonitorias. Este recurso explica el miedo también a un entorno tecnológico que ha convertido las democracias reales en una clase de democracias virtuales donde los negocios y los lobbies dominan el caudal de la opinión pública

  5. Stimulation of cytolytic T lymphocytes by azaguanine-resistant mouse tumor cells in selective hat medium

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Snick, J. van; Uyttenhove, C.; Pel, A. van; Boon, T.

    1981-01-01

    Primed syngeneic or umprimed allogeneic mouse spleen cells were stimulated with azaguanine-resistant P815 tumor cells that were killed by the addition of aminopterin to the stimulation medium. The recovery of lymphocytes and their cytolytic activity and specificity were similar to those obtained after stimulation with irradiated cells. This method conveniently replaces the inactivation of stimulatory cells by irradiation or mitomycin treatment. Moreover, it has the advantage of inactivating not only the stimulatory cells but also the tumor cells that often contaminate the spleens of tumor-bearing animals, provided these animals have been inoculated with azaguanine-resistant tumor cell mutants. (Auth.)

  6. Optically induced dielectropheresis sorting with automated medium exchange in an integrated optofluidic device resulting in higher cell viability.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lee, Gwo-Bin; Wu, Huan-Chun; Yang, Po-Fu; Mai, John D

    2014-08-07

    We demonstrated the integration of a microfluidic device with an optically induced dielectrophoresis (ODEP) device such that the critical medium replacement process was performed automatically and the cells could be subsequently manipulated by using digitally projected optical images. ODEP has been demonstrated to generate sufficient forces for manipulating particles/cells by projecting a light pattern onto photoconductive materials which creates virtual electrodes. The production of the ODEP force usually requires a medium that has a suitable electrical conductivity and an appropriate dielectric constant. Therefore, a 0.2 M sucrose solution is commonly used. However, this requires a complicated medium replacement process before one is able to manipulate cells. Furthermore, the 0.2 M sucrose solution is not suitable for the long-term viability of cells. In comparison to conventional manual processes, our automated medium replacement process only took 25 minutes. Experimental data showed that there was up to a 96.2% recovery rate for the manipulated cells. More importantly, the survival rate of the cells was greatly enhanced due to this faster automated process. This newly developed microfluidic chip provided a promising platform for the rapid replacement of the cell medium and this was also the first time that an ODEP device was integrated with other active flow control components in a microfluidic device. By improving cell viability after cell manipulation, this design may contribute to the practical integration of ODEP modules into other lab-on-a-chip devices and biomedical applications in the future.

  7. Perspectivas de la niñez adulta: El cómic como espacio de denuncia desde la marginalidad de sus personajes

    OpenAIRE

    Ana Merino

    2010-01-01

    Este artículo analiza la representación de la niñez en varios cómics iberoamericanos: Mafalda de Quino, Paracuellos de Carlos Jiménez y Socorro de Miguel Rep. En ellos se articula la infancia desde una perspectiva adulta y crítica con la sociedad mostrando una dimensión comprometida que interpela al lector. This article analyzes the representation of childhood in several Latin American comics: Mafalda by Quino, Paracuellos by Carlos Jiménez, and Socorro by Miguel Rep. In these comics, infancy...

  8. Perspectivas de la niñez adulta: el cómic como espacio de denuncia desde la marginalidad de sus personajes

    OpenAIRE

    Merino, Ana

    2010-01-01

    Este artículo analiza la representación de la niñez en varios cómics iberoamericanos: mafalda de quino, paracuellos de carlos jiménez y socorro de miguel rep. En ellos se articula la infancia desde una perspectiva adulta y crítica con la sociedad mostrand This article analyzes the representation of childhood in several latin american comics: mafalda by quino, paracuellos by carlos jiménez, and socorro by miguel rep. In these comics, infancy is articulated from an adult angle critical with ...

  9. Lyophilized microculture susceptibility test for ketoconazole, miconazole, clotrimazole, and griseofulvin against dermatophytes.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Granade, T C; Mothershead, M A; Artis, W M

    1983-07-01

    A lyophilized microculture antimycotic susceptibility testing system for ketoconazole, miconazole, griseofulvin, and clotrimazole is described. Microculture plates were loaded with 100 microliters of medium and 10 microliters of appropriate concentrations of the four antimycotics and were lyophilized to complete dryness. The lyophilized plates were stored at -70 degrees C or 4 degrees C or in a desiccator at 25 degrees C. Samples from each storage condition were rehydrated at 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 8, 10, and 12 months and inoculated with Trichophyton mentagrophytes (Robin) Blanchard ATCC 18748. All of the minimal inhibitory concentrations (MICs) generated from the lyophilized microcultures were within one experimental dilution of MICs derived from fresh microcultures. The ability of reconstituted lyophilized microcultures to consistently produce MICs comparable to MICs derived from fresh microcultures was characterized. Nine dermatophyte isolates were tested five times each over a 70-day period. The MICs derived were reproducible and comparable to MICs determined by freshly prepared microculture tests. Lyophilization of freshly prepared antimycotic-containing microcultures does not alter the MIC resolution of the testing system and provides an effective method of storage of prepared antimycotic tests for ketoconazole, miconazole, clotrimazole, and griseofulvin.

  10. Postantibiotic effects and postantibiotic sub-MIC effects of tilmicosin, erythromycin and tiamulin on erythromycin-resistant Streptococcus suis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Liping; Zhang, Yuanshu

    2009-10-01

    The postantibiotic effects (PAEs) and postantibiotic sub-MIC effects (PA SMEs) of tilmicosin, erythromycin and tiamulin on erythromycin-susceptible and erythromycin-resistant strains of Streptococcus suis (M phenotype) were investigated in vitro. Tilmicosin and tiamulin induced significantly longer PAE and PA SME against both erythromycin-susceptible and erythromycin-resistant strains than did erythromycin. The durations of PAE and PA SMEs were proportional to the concentrations of drugs used for exposure. The PA SMEs were substantially longer than PAEs on S. suis (P<0.05) regardless of the antimicrobial used for exposure. The results indicated that the PAE and PA SME could help in the design of efficient control strategies for infection especially caused by erythromycin-resistant S. suis and that they may provide additional valuable information for the rational drug use in clinical practice.

  11. Performance of a 100V Half-Bridge MOSFET Driver, Type MIC4103, Over a Wide Temperature Range

    Science.gov (United States)

    Patterson, Richard L.; Hammoud, Ahmad

    2011-01-01

    The operation of a high frequency, high voltage MOSFET (metal-oxide semiconductor field-effect transistors) driver was investigated over a wide temperature regime that extended beyond its specified range. The Micrel MIC4103 is a 100V, non-inverting, dual driver that is designed to independently drive both high-side and low-side N-channel MOSFETs. It features fast propagation delay times and can drive 1000 pF load with 10ns rise times and 6 ns fall times [1]. The device consumes very little power, has supply under-voltage protection, and is rated for a -40 C to +125 C junction temperature range. The floating high-side driver of the chip can sustain boost voltages up to 100 V. Table I shows some of the device manufacturer s specification.

  12. Recovery of diverse microbes in high turbidity surface water samples using dead-end ultrafiltration.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mull, Bonnie; Hill, Vincent R

    2012-12-01

    Dead-end ultrafiltration (DEUF) has been reported to be a simple, field-deployable technique for recovering bacteria, viruses, and parasites from large-volume water samples for water quality testing and waterborne disease investigations. While DEUF has been reported for application to water samples having relatively low turbidity, little information is available regarding recovery efficiencies for this technique when applied to sampling turbid water samples such as those commonly found in lakes and rivers. This study evaluated the effectiveness of a DEUF technique for recovering MS2 bacteriophage, enterococci, Escherichia coli, Clostridium perfringens, and Cryptosporidium parvum oocysts in surface water samples having elevated turbidity. Average recovery efficiencies for each study microbe across all turbidity ranges were: MS2 (66%), C. parvum (49%), enterococci (85%), E. coli (81%), and C. perfringens (63%). The recovery efficiencies for MS2 and C. perfringens exhibited an inversely proportional relationship with turbidity, however no significant differences in recovery were observed for C. parvum, enterococci, or E. coli. Although ultrafilter clogging was observed, the DEUF method was able to process 100-L surface water samples at each turbidity level within 60 min. This study supports the use of the DEUF method for recovering a wide array of microbes in large-volume surface water samples having medium to high turbidity. Published by Elsevier B.V.

  13. The effect of salinity, light and temperature in a disposal environment on the recovery of E. coli following exposure to ultraviolet radiation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Chan, Y.Y.; Killick, E.G.

    1995-01-01

    The rates of recovery of E.coli previously exposed to a sub-lethal dose of germicidal u.v. radiation have been investigated. The influence of salinity and temperature on both the rates of dark repair and photoreactivation were investigated in order to assess the relative recovery of disinfected effluent released into coastal waters. The photoreactivation rates followed an Arrhenius relationship for samples reactivated in an isotonic medium and reached a maximum of 52% recovery of the viable cell count present before u.v. treatment. For those cells in a saline environment reactivation was slower and a lower maximum recovery was obtained. Dark repair rates were extremely limited in those cells exposed to the saline environment which was produced from synthetic sea water. A maximum recovery of 8% over a nine hour period was achieved. It is concluded that less reactivation by E.coli is likely within u.v. treated effluent disposed of into coastal environments. The levels of reactivation are however dependent upon the temperature and salinity of those waters. (author)

  14. Improving sample recovery

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Blanchard, R.J.

    1995-09-01

    This Engineering Task Plan (ETP) describes the tasks, i.e., tests, studies, external support and modifications planned to increase the recovery of the recovery of the waste tank contents using combinations of improved techniques, equipment, knowledge, experience and testing to better the recovery rates presently being experienced

  15. Stall Recovery Guidance Algorithms Based on Constrained Control Approaches

    Science.gov (United States)

    Stepanyan, Vahram; Krishnakumar, Kalmanje; Kaneshige, John; Acosta, Diana

    2016-01-01

    Aircraft loss-of-control, in particular approach to stall or fully developed stall, is a major factor contributing to aircraft safety risks, which emphasizes the need to develop algorithms that are capable of assisting the pilots to identify the problem and providing guidance to recover the aircraft. In this paper we present several stall recovery guidance algorithms, which are implemented in the background without interfering with flight control system and altering the pilot's actions. They are using input and state constrained control methods to generate guidance signals, which are provided to the pilot in the form of visual cues. It is the pilot's decision to follow these signals. The algorithms are validated in the pilot-in-the loop medium fidelity simulation experiment.

  16. MIOR - Microbial Improved Oil Recovery. Basics studies on the suitability of microorganisms for improved oil recovery. Final report; MIOR - Microbial Improved Oil Recovery. Grundlagen der Eignung von Mikroorganismen fuer die Verbesserung der Erdoelgewinnung. Abschlussbericht

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Naeveke, R. [Technische Univ. Braunschweig (Germany). Inst. fuer Mikrobiologie; Fischer, K. [Technische Univ. Braunschweig (Germany). Inst. fuer Mikrobiologie; Timmis, K.N. [Gesellschaft fuer Biotechnologische Forschung mbH, Braunschweig (Germany); Yakimov, M. [Gesellschaft fuer Biotechnologische Forschung mbH, Braunschweig (Germany); Kroeger, A. [Gesellschaft fuer Biotechnologische Forschung mbH, Braunschweig (Germany); Bosecker, K. [Bundesanstalt fuer Geowissenschaften und Rohstoffe, Hannover (Germany); Kruckemeyer, I. [Bundesanstalt fuer Geowissenschaften und Rohstoffe, Hannover (Germany); Mengel-Jung, G. [Bundesanstalt fuer Geowissenschaften und Rohstoffe, Hannover (Germany); Bock, M. [Bundesanstalt fuer Geowissenschaften und Rohstoffe, Hannover (Germany); Schink, B. [Konstanz Univ. (Germany). Fachgebiet Mikrobielle Oekologie; Denger, K. [Konstanz Univ. (Germany). Fachgebiet Mikrobielle Oekologie; Kessel, D. [Institut fuer Erdoel- und Erdgasforschung, Clausthal-Zellerfeld (Germany); Amro, M. [Institut fuer Erdoel- und Erdgasforschung, Clausthal-Zellerfeld (Germany); Jacobs, G. [Institut fuer Erdoel- und Erdgasforschung, Clausthal-Zellerfeld (Germany); Hoffmann, G.G. [Institut fuer Erdoel- und Erdgasforschung, Clausthal-Zellerfeld (Germany); Wagner, M. [Erdoel - Erdgas Gommern GmbH (Germany); Ziran, B. [Erdoel - Erdgas Gommern GmbH (Germany); Nowak, H.U. [Erdoel - Erdgas Gommern GmbH (Germany); Eins, I. [Erdoel - Erdgas Gommern GmbH (Germany); Rosenspiess, K. [Erdoel - Erdgas Gommern GmbH (Germany); Lungershausen, D. [Erdoel - Erdgas Gommern GmbH (Germany)

    1996-03-01

    Microbial improved oil recovery (MIOR) is the use of microorganisms or microbial products that are injected into the oil reservoir to improve oil flow. The aim of this project was the application of MIOR in case of clastic reservoir rocks of the type encountered typically in Northern Germany. Microorganisms were concentrated, insolated and characterized from samples that were taken from oil production wells, oil processing facilities and soil contaminated with hydrocarbons. More than 500 bacteria strains were investigated for ability to grow under anaerobic conditions, halotolerance, heat tolerance and production of substances that increase viscosity or are surface active. 39 strains were selected for specific tests and genetic investigations. The two bacteria strains Bacillus licheniformis BNP 29 and Sporohalobacter showed to the capable for MIOR. Dynamic flooding experiments were carried out under realistic reservoir conditions, in order to quantify the ability of the microorganisms to mobilize residual oil in place, as well as to investigate the oil mobilizing mechanisms in more detail. It could be shown that the injectivity and migration of the bacteria in porous media are ensured. The microorganisms are able to grow under reservoir conditions as present in oil reservoirs of Northern Germany. Their application in flooding experiments leads to a significant increase of oil recovery. The most important factors influencing the oil recovery are the reduction of the permeability of the reservoir pores and changes in the wettability because of the bacterial growth. A suitable nutrient medium with an acid buffer was developed for the application of MIOR in sandstone reservoirs. An executive summary is prublished in DGMK-Report 441-2/1. (orig.) [Deutsch] MIOR (microbial improved oil recovery)-Verfahren dienen dazu, den Entoelungsgrad einer Erdoellagerstaette durch den gezielten in-situ-Einsatz von geeigneten Mikroorganismen und deren Stoffwechselprodukten zu erhoehen

  17. Antimicrobial and cytotoxic activity of Marrubium alysson and Retama raetam grown in Tunisia.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hayet, Edziri; Samia, Ammar; Patrick, Groh; Ali, Mahjoub Mohamed; Maha, Mastouri; Laurent, Gutmann; Mighri, Zine; Mahjoub, Laouni

    2007-05-15

    Antibacterial and antifungal activities of extracts obtained from M. alysson, R. raetam were tested using a solid medium technique. We showed that the petroleum ether extract of M. alysson had a Minimum Inhibitory Concentration (MIC) varied from 128 to 2000 microg mL(-1) against different Enterobacteriaceae and antifungal activity against Candida glabrata, Candida albicans, Candida parapsilosis and Candida kreusei with a MIC of 256 microg mL(-1). The ethyl acetate extract of R. raetam showed the best activity against Gram positive organisms with MICs of 128 to 256 microg mL(-1) against methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus but low activity against the different Candida species.

  18. Recovery of tobacco BY-2 cells after high hydrostatic pressure treatment.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kusube, Masataka; Nishino, Takumi; Nishikawa, Yuki; Goto, Masaki; Matsuki, Hitoshi; Iwahashi, Hitoshi

    2010-02-01

    The recovery of Nicotiana tabacum L. cv. Bright Yellow 2 (BY-2) cells in Linsmaire and Skoog medium after treatment at high hydrostatic pressure was investigated using an Evans Blue staining method to discriminate live from dead cells. The survival of BY-2 cells just after the high-pressure treatment at 5 degrees C and 25 degrees C decreased abruptly at pressures higher than 50 MPa and 100 MPa, respectively. Furthermore, almost all of the BY-2 cells treated at 5 degrees C and 25 degrees C recovered pressures below 25 MPa and 75 MPa, respectively. However, no BY-2 cells recovered at pressures above 100 MPa at either temperature.

  19. Recovery of Extracellular Lipolytic Enzymes from Macrophomina phaseolina by Foam Fractionation with Air

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Claudia Schinke

    2013-01-01

    Full Text Available Macrophomina phaseolina was cultivated in complex and simple media for the production of extracellular lipolytic enzymes. Culture supernatants were batch foam fractionated for the recovery of these enzymes, and column design and operation included the use of P 2 frit (porosity 40 to 100 μm, air as sparging gas at variable flow rates, and Triton X-100 added at the beginning or gradually in aliquots. Samples taken at intervals showed the progress of the kinetic and the efficiency parameters. Best results were obtained with the simple medium supernatant by combining the stepwise addition of small amounts of the surfactant with the variation of the air flow rates along the separation. Inert proteins were foamed out first, and the subsequent foamate was enriched in the enzymes, showing estimated activity recovery (R, enrichment ratio (E, and purification factor (P of 45%, 34.7, and 2.9, respectively. Lipases were present in the enriched foamate.

  20. A new model for simulating microbial cyanide production and optimizing the medium parameters for recovering precious metals from waste printed circuit boards.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yuan, Zhihui; Ruan, Jujun; Li, Yaying; Qiu, Rongliang

    2018-04-10

    Bioleaching is a green recycling technology for recovering precious metals from waste printed circuit boards (WPCBs). However, this technology requires increasing cyanide production to obtain desirable recovery efficiency. Luria-Bertani medium (LB medium, containing tryptone 10 g/L, yeast extract 5 g/L, NaCl 10 g/L) was commonly used in bioleaching of precious metal. In this study, results showed that LB medium did not produce highest yield of cyanide. Under optimal culture conditions (25 °C, pH 7.5), the maximum cyanide yield of the optimized medium (containing tryptone 6 g/L and yeast extract 5 g/L) was 1.5 times as high as that of LB medium. In addition, kinetics and relationship of cell growth and cyanide production was studied. Data of cell growth fitted logistics model well. Allometric model was demonstrated effective in describing relationship between cell growth and cyanide production. By inserting logistics equation into allometric equation, we got a novel hybrid equation containing five parameters. Kinetic data for cyanide production were well fitted to the new model. Model parameters reflected both cell growth and cyanide production process. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  1. Human pharmacokinetics of iohexol. A new nonionic contrast medium

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Olsson, B.; Aulie, A.; Sveen, K.; Andrew, E.

    1983-01-01

    The pharmacokinetics of iohexol, a new nonionic, water-soluble contrast medium, have been determined after intravenous injection in 20 healthy volunteers, at four different dose levels (125-500 mg I/kg). The apparent volume of distribution was 0.27 1/kg, indicating distribution in the extracellular water. The biologic half-life was 121 minutes, comparable with that of other intravascular contrast media. Iohexol was excreted completely unmetabolized in the urine, with a 100% recovery 24 hours after injection. A comparison of iohexol and chromium-51 ( 51 Cr)-EDTA clearances indicates that iohexol is mainly excreted by glomerular filtration. The 51 Cr-EDTA clearance was the same when injected separately and concomitantly with iohexol, indicating that glomerular filtration rate is not affected by iohexol. No dose dependency was observed in the investigated parameters t1/2 alpha, t1/2 beta, Vd, ClT or ClR. Iohexol pharmacokinetics are in correspondence with previously reported data on intravascular contrast media

  2. Tracer transfer in consolidated porous medium and fractured porous medium: experimentations and modelling

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Dalla Costa, C.

    2007-07-01

    We try to identify and model physical and chemical mechanisms governing the water flow and the solute transport in fractured consolidated porous medium. An original experimental device was built. The 'cube' consists of an idealized fractured medium reproduced by piling up consolidated porous cubes of 5 cm edge. Meanwhile, columns of the homogeneous consolidated porous medium are studied. The same anionic tracing technique is used in both cases. Using a system analysis approach, we inject concentration pulses in the device to obtain breakthrough curves. After identifying the mass balance and the residence time, we fit the CD and the MIM models to the experimental data. The MIM model is able to reproduce experimental curves of the homogeneous consolidated porous medium better than the CD model. The mobile water fraction is in accordance with the porous medium geometry. The study of the flow rate influence highlights an interference dispersion regime. It was not possible to highlight the observation length influence in this case. On the contrary, we highlight the effect of the observation scale on the fractured and porous medium, comparing the results obtained on a small 'cube' and a big 'cube'. The CD model is not satisfactory in this case. Even if the MIM model can fit the experimental breakthrough curves, it was not possible to obtain unique parameters for the set of experiments. (author)

  3. Recovery of prostacyclin synthesis in vascular smooth muscle cells following self-inactivation and requirement for growth factors

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Bailey, J.M.; Hla, T.T.; Pash, J.M.

    1986-01-01

    The cyclooxygenase enzyme system is a prime example of a metabolic pathway that is regulated by self inactivation. This is believed to occur in part via the irreversible reaction of the endoperoxide intermediate species with the cyclooxygenase enzyme. This inactivation and recovery of activity is similar to the inactivation observed with aspirin which irreversibly acetylates the enzyme. Self inactivation was studied in cultured rat and bovine aorta smooth muscle cells. The production of the prostanoid PGI2 was demonstrated by incubation of a monolayer of cells with 12 μM C-14 labeled arachidonic acid. Products were analyzed by thin layer chromatography and identified by their comigration with authentic standards and confirmed by gas chromatography/mass spectrometry. Preincubation of the cells for 10 minutes with arachidonic acid at concentrations as low as 1 μg/mL inactivated the cells to a second challenge with radiolabeled arachidonic acid. Recovery from self inactivation took place over a three hour time period and was similar to the recovery observed with aspirin pretreatment. Recovery was inhibited by addition of 10 μg/mL cycloheximide to the medium indicating that it involves synthesis of cyclooxygenase protein. Epidermal growth factor was identified as a serum factor responsible for the rapid recovery of cyclooxygenase activity in rat and bovine aorta smooth muscle cells

  4. Rapid Recovery Gene Downregulation during Excess-Light Stress and Recovery in Arabidopsis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Crisp, Peter A; Ganguly, Diep R; Smith, Aaron B; Murray, Kevin D; Estavillo, Gonzalo M; Searle, Iain; Ford, Ethan; Bogdanović, Ozren; Lister, Ryan; Borevitz, Justin O; Eichten, Steven R; Pogson, Barry J

    2017-08-01

    Stress recovery may prove to be a promising approach to increase plant performance and, theoretically, mRNA instability may facilitate faster recovery. Transcriptome (RNA-seq, qPCR, sRNA-seq, and PARE) and methylome profiling during repeated excess-light stress and recovery was performed at intervals as short as 3 min. We demonstrate that 87% of the stress-upregulated mRNAs analyzed exhibit very rapid recovery. For instance, HSP101 abundance declined 2-fold every 5.1 min. We term this phenomenon rapid recovery gene downregulation (RRGD), whereby mRNA abundance rapidly decreases promoting transcriptome resetting. Decay constants ( k ) were modeled using two strategies, linear and nonlinear least squares regressions, with the latter accounting for both transcription and degradation. This revealed extremely short half-lives ranging from 2.7 to 60.0 min for 222 genes. Ribosome footprinting using degradome data demonstrated RRGD loci undergo cotranslational decay and identified changes in the ribosome stalling index during stress and recovery. However, small RNAs and 5'-3' RNA decay were not essential for recovery of the transcripts examined, nor were any of the six excess light-associated methylome changes. We observed recovery-specific gene expression networks upon return to favorable conditions and six transcriptional memory types. In summary, rapid transcriptome resetting is reported in the context of active recovery and cellular memory. © 2017 American Society of Plant Biologists. All rights reserved.

  5. Relationship Between Magnitude of Applied Spin Recovery Moment and Ensuing Number of Recovery Turns

    Science.gov (United States)

    Anglin, Ernie L.

    1967-01-01

    An analytical study has been made to investigate the relationship between the magnitude of the applied spin recovery moment and the ensuing number of turns made during recovery from a developed spin with a view toward determining how to interpolate or extrapolate spin recovery results with regard to determining the amount of control required for a satisfactory recovery. Five configurations were used which are considered to be representative of modern airplanes: a delta-wing fighter, a stub-wing research vehicle, a boostglide configuration, a supersonic trainer, and a sweptback-wing fighter. The results obtained indicate that there is a direct relationship between the magnitude of the applied spin recovery moments and the ensuing number of recovery turns made and that this relationship can be expressed in either simple multiplicative or exponential form. Either type of relationship was adequate for interpolating or extrapolating to predict turns required for recovery with satisfactory accuracy for configurations having relatively steady recovery motions. Any two recoveries from the same developed spin condition can be used as a basis for the predicted results provided these recoveries are obtained with the same ratio of recovery control deflections. No such predictive method can be expected to give satisfactory results for oscillatory recoveries.

  6. The Interstellar Medium

    CERN Document Server

    Lequeux, James

    2005-01-01

    Describing interstellar matter in our galaxy in all of its various forms, this book also considers the physical and chemical processes that are occurring within this matter. The first seven chapters present the various components making up the interstellar matter and detail the ways that we are able to study them. The following seven chapters are devoted to the physical, chemical and dynamical processes that control the behaviour of interstellar matter. These include the instabilities and cloud collapse processes that lead to the formation of stars. The last chapter summarizes the transformations that can occur between the different phases of the interstellar medium. Emphasizing methods over results, "The Interstellar Medium" is written for graduate students, for young astronomers, and also for any researchers who have developed an interest in the interstellar medium.

  7. Postantibiotic effects and postantibiotic sub-MIC effects of tilmicosin, erythromycin and tiamulin on erythromycin-resistant Streptococcus suis

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Liping Wang

    2009-12-01

    Full Text Available The postantibiotic effects (PAEs and postantibiotic sub-MIC effects (PA SMEs of tilmicosin, erythromycin and tiamulin on erythromycin-susceptible and erythromycin-resistant strains of Streptococcus suis (M phenotype were investigated in vitro. Tilmicosin and tiamulin induced significantly longer PAE and PA SME against both erythromycin-susceptible and erythromycin-resistant strains than did erythromycin. The durations of PAE and PA SMEs were proportional to the concentrations of drugs used for exposure. The PA SMEs were substantially longer than PAEs on S. suis (P<0.05 regardless of the antimicrobial used for exposure. The results indicated that the PAE and PA SME could help in the design of efficient control strategies for infection especially caused by erythromycin-resistant S. suis and that they may provide additional valuable information for the rational drug use in clinical practice.

  8. Concept medium programme

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Bjerrum, Peter

    2005-01-01

    The present essay is an attempt to determine the architectural project of the 21st century in relation to a modern conception of space as the medium of architecture, and of sociality as its program......The present essay is an attempt to determine the architectural project of the 21st century in relation to a modern conception of space as the medium of architecture, and of sociality as its program...

  9. Spousal recovery support, recovery experiences, and life satisfaction crossover among dual-earner couples.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Park, YoungAh; Fritz, Charlotte

    2015-03-01

    Research has indicated the importance of recovery from work stress for employee well-being and work engagement. However, very little is known about the specific factors that may support or hinder recovery in the context of dual-earner couples. This study proposes spousal recovery support as a potential resource that dual-earner couples can draw on to enhance their recovery experiences and well-being. It was hypothesized that spousal recovery support would be related to the recipient spouse's life satisfaction via his or her own recovery experiences (i.e., psychological detachment, relaxation, and mastery experiences). The study further investigated the crossover of life satisfaction between working spouses as a potential outcome of recovery processes. Data from 318 full-time employed married couples in South Korea were analyzed using structural equation modeling. Results showed that spousal recovery support was positively related to all 3 recovery experiences of the recipient spouse. Moreover, this recovery support was related to the recipient spouse's life satisfaction via relaxation and mastery experiences. Unexpectedly, psychological detachment was negatively related to life satisfaction, possibly indicating a suppression effect. Life satisfaction crossed over between working spouses. No gender differences were found in the hypothesized paths. Based on these findings, theoretical and practical implications are discussed, and future research directions are presented. PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2015 APA, all rights reserved.

  10. Extension of the AMBER molecular dynamics software to Intel's Many Integrated Core (MIC) architecture

    Science.gov (United States)

    Needham, Perri J.; Bhuiyan, Ashraf; Walker, Ross C.

    2016-04-01

    We present an implementation of explicit solvent particle mesh Ewald (PME) classical molecular dynamics (MD) within the PMEMD molecular dynamics engine, that forms part of the AMBER v14 MD software package, that makes use of Intel Xeon Phi coprocessors by offloading portions of the PME direct summation and neighbor list build to the coprocessor. We refer to this implementation as pmemd MIC offload and in this paper present the technical details of the algorithm, including basic models for MPI and OpenMP configuration, and analyze the resultant performance. The algorithm provides the best performance improvement for large systems (>400,000 atoms), achieving a ∼35% performance improvement for satellite tobacco mosaic virus (1,067,095 atoms) when 2 Intel E5-2697 v2 processors (2 ×12 cores, 30M cache, 2.7 GHz) are coupled to an Intel Xeon Phi coprocessor (Model 7120P-1.238/1.333 GHz, 61 cores). The implementation utilizes a two-fold decomposition strategy: spatial decomposition using an MPI library and thread-based decomposition using OpenMP. We also present compiler optimization settings that improve the performance on Intel Xeon processors, while retaining simulation accuracy.

  11. The recovery imperative: a critical examination of mid-life women's recovery from depression.

    Science.gov (United States)

    O'Brien, Wendy

    2012-08-01

    Australia, like other countries in neo-liberal democracies, is grappling with the gendered health 'problem' of depression. More concerning is the issue of recovery and relapse, with depression being the third largest cause of disability-adjusted life years (DALY). In addition, advanced liberal discourses of health position recovery as an exercise of individual responsibility to return to a functioning and productive norm and prevent recurrence. This moral enterprise of health articulates a 'recovery imperative' which overlooks the gendered context which may have created the conditions for women's depression and may in turn impede their recovery. Drawing on insights from governmentality and feminist post-structuralism, the article critically examines the effects of normalized recovery discourses on women's subjectivities. Data for the study were collected between 2005 and 2007 through in-depth interviews with 31 mid-life Australian women. Three key themes; 'in' recovery, 'eight out of ten' recovered, and recovering the authentic self, illustrate how the 'recovery imperative' may be implicated in perpetuating the cycle of recovery and relapse. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  12. RESEARCHES REGARDING THE INFLUENCE OF RECOVERY MEDIA ON THE IN VITRO DEVELOPMENT CAPACITY OF THE PREIMPLANTATIONAL MOUSE EMBRYO

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    ADA CEAN

    2009-05-01

    Full Text Available Phosphate Bufered Saline with 0.4% BSA and M2 medium are one of the most common media used in embryorecovery. The aim of our paper was to investigate if the recovery media used for the recovery of the mouseembryo is influencing in vitro developmental capacity. As biological material we used 10 used were mousefemales, age 2 months superovulated with 5UI PMSG (Pregnant Mare Serum Gonadotropine and 5 UI hCG(human Corionic Gonadotropine. The embryos used were recovered, by oviduct flushing, at 24 hours from theidentification of the vaginal plug. The majority of the embryos (78.3% were in two cells stage. A total of 123, 2cells embryos were cultivated in M16 medium. The evolution of the embryos was examined at 24, 48 and 72hours interval. The proportion of hatched blastocyst was higher at the embryos recovered with M2 (53.7%compared with the embryos recovered with PBS 0.4% BSA. The difference is statistically very significant(p<0.001. Embryos recovered in M2 media have a higher in vitro developmental capacity compared with theembryos recovered in PBS media supplemented with 0,4% BSA, possibly because of the sodium bicarbonate andlactate used in M2 media for pH regulation.

  13. Battleground Energy Recovery Project

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Bullock, Daniel [USDOE Gulf Coast Clean Energy Application Center, Woodlands, TX (United States)

    2011-12-31

    In October 2009, the project partners began a 36-month effort to develop an innovative, commercial-scale demonstration project incorporating state-of-the-art waste heat recovery technology at Clean Harbors, Inc., a large hazardous waste incinerator site located in Deer Park, Texas. With financial support provided by the U.S. Department of Energy, the Battleground Energy Recovery Project was launched to advance waste heat recovery solutions into the hazardous waste incineration market, an area that has seen little adoption of heat recovery in the United States. The goal of the project was to accelerate the use of energy-efficient, waste heat recovery technology as an alternative means to produce steam for industrial processes. The project had three main engineering and business objectives: Prove Feasibility of Waste Heat Recovery Technology at a Hazardous Waste Incinerator Complex; Provide Low-cost Steam to a Major Polypropylene Plant Using Waste Heat; and Create a Showcase Waste Heat Recovery Demonstration Project.

  14. Survival and Recovery of Methanotrophic Bacteria Starved Under Oxic and Anoxic Conditions

    Science.gov (United States)

    Roslev, Peter; King, Gary M.

    1994-01-01

    The effects of carbon deprivation on survival of methanotrophic bacteria were compared in cultures incubated in the presence and absence of oxygen in the starvation medium. Survival and recovery of the examined methanotrophs were generally highest for cultures starved under anoxic conditions as indicated by poststarvation measurements of methane oxidation, tetrazolium salt reduction, plate counts, and protein synthesis. Methylosinus trichosporium OB3b survived up to 6 weeks of carbon deprivation under anoxic conditions while maintaining a physiological state that allowed relatively rapid (hours) methane oxidation after substrate addition. A small fraction of cells starved under oxic and anoxic conditions (4 and 10%, respectively) survived more than 10 weeks but required several days for recovery on plates and in liquid medium. A non-spore-forming methanotroph, strain WP 12, displayed 36 to 118% of its initial methane oxidation capacity after 5 days of carbon deprivation. Oxidation rates varied with growth history prior to the experiments as well as with starvation conditions. Strain WP 12 starved under anoxic conditions showed up to 90% higher methane oxidation activity and 46% higher protein production after starvation than did cultures starved under oxic conditions. Only minor changes in biomass and niorpholow were seen for methanotrophic bacteria starved tinder anoxic conditions. In contrast, starvation under oxic conditions resulted in morphology changes and an initial 28 to 35% loss of cell protein. These data suggest that methanotrophic bacteria can survin,e carbon deprivation under anoxic conditions by using maintenance energy derived Solelyr from an anaerobic endogenous metabolism. This capability could partly explain a significant potential for methane oxidation in environments not continuously, supporting aerobic methanotrophic growth.

  15. Demonstration of acid and water recovery systems: Applicability and operational challenges in Indian metal finishing SMEs.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Balakrishnan, M; Batra, R; Batra, V S; Chandramouli, G; Choudhury, D; Hälbig, T; Ivashechkin, P; Jain, J; Mandava, K; Mense, N; Nehra, V; Rögener, F; Sartor, M; Singh, V; Srinivasan, M R; Tewari, P K

    2018-07-01

    Diffusion dialysis, acid retardation and nanofiltration plants were acquired from Europe and demonstrated in several Indian metal finishing companies over a three year period. These companies are primarily small and medium enterprises (SMEs). Free acid recovery rate from spent pickling baths using diffusion dialysis and retardation was in the range of 78-86% and 30-70% respectively. With nanofiltration, 80% recovery rate of rinse water was obtained. The demonstrations created awareness among the metal finishing companies to reuse resources (acid/water) from the effluent streams. However, lack of efficient oil separators, reliable chemical analysis and trained personnel as well as high investment cost limit the application of these technologies. Local manufacturing, plant customization and centralized treatment are likely to encourage the uptake of such technologies in the Indian metal finishing sector. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  16. Tattoo: a multifaceted medium of communication

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Christian Wymann

    2010-11-01

    Full Text Available This article suggests the systems theoretical distinction of form/medium as a useful tool for distinguishing social phenomena that might look as if they stem from the same process. This is shown to be the case for the tattoo and tattooing. The tattoo is conceived as a medium of communication through which different forms of communication emerge. Tattooing is one of these forms of communication that shapes the medium in a particular way. The current article sheds a special light on its intricate, communicational constellation, for which the concept of parallax is suggested. Law, medicine and cosmetics as other forms of communication use the medium of tattoo in their own way as well. The form/medium distinction allows us to grasp these different forms of communication, while it shows that they share the tattoo as medium. The article’s ultimate goal is to illustrate that the tattoo figures as a multifaceted medium of communication.

  17. Learning how to recover from job stress: effects of a recovery training program on recovery, recovery-related self-efficacy, and well-being.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hahn, Verena C; Binnewies, Carmen; Sonnentag, Sabine; Mojza, Eva J

    2011-04-01

    This quasi-experimental study evaluated the effects of a recovery training program on recovery experiences (psychological detachment from work, relaxation, mastery experiences, and control during off-job time), recovery-related self-efficacy, and well-being outcomes. The training comprised two sessions held one week apart. Recovery experiences, recovery-related self-efficacy, and well-being outcomes were measured before the training (T1) and one week (T2) and three weeks (T3) after the training. A training group consisting of 48 individuals and a waitlist control group of 47 individuals were compared (N = 95). Analyses of covariance revealed an increase in recovery experiences at T2 and T3 (for mastery only at T2). Recovery-related self-efficacy and sleep quality increased at T2 and T3, perceived stress and state negative affect decreased at T3. No training effects were found for emotional exhaustion.

  18. Catastrophic Incident Recovery: Long-Term Recovery from an Anthrax Event Symposium

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Lesperance, Ann M.

    2008-06-30

    On March 19, 2008, policy makers, emergency managers, and medical and Public Health officials convened in Seattle, Washington, for a workshop on Catastrophic Incident Recovery: Long-Term Recovery from an Anthrax Event. The day-long symposium was aimed at generating a dialogue about restoration and recovery through a discussion of the associated challenges that impact entire communities, including people, infrastructure, and critical systems.

  19. Microtitrimetric determination of a drug content of pharmaceuticals containing olanzapine in non-aqueous medium

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    KANAKAPURA BASAVAIAH

    2009-05-01

    Full Text Available Two simple, rapid, reliable and cost-effective methods based on titrimetry in non-aqueous medium are described for the determination of olanzapine in pharmaceuticals. In these methods, the drug dissolved in the glacial acetic acid was titrated with the acetous perchloric acid with visual and potentiometric end point detection, crystal violet being used as the indicator for visual titration. The methods are applicable over 1-15 mg range of olanzapine. The procedures were applied to determine olanzapine in pharmaceutical products and the results were found to be in a good agreement with those obtained by the reference method. Associated pharmaceutical materials did not interfere. The precision results, expressed by inter-day and intra-day relative standard deviation values, were satisfactory, higher than 2%. The accuracy was satisfactory as well. The methods proved to be suitable for the analysis of olanzapine in bulk drug and in tablets. The accuracy and reliability of the methods were further ascertained by recovery studies via a standard addition technique with percent recoveries in the range 97.51-103.7% with a standard deviation of less than 2%.

  20. Stellar Winds and Dust Avalanches in the AU Mic Debris Disk

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Chiang, Eugene; Fung, Jeffrey, E-mail: echiang@astro.berkeley.edu, E-mail: jeffrey.fung@berkeley.edu [Department of Astronomy, University of California at Berkeley, Campbell Hall, Berkeley, CA 94720-3411 (United States)

    2017-10-10

    We explain the fast-moving, ripple-like features in the edge-on debris disk orbiting the young M dwarf AU Mic. The bright features are clouds of submicron dust repelled by the host star’s wind. The clouds are produced by avalanches: radial outflows of dust that gain exponentially more mass as they shatter background disk particles in collisional chain reactions. The avalanches are triggered from a region a few au across—the “avalanche zone”—located on AU Mic’s primary “birth” ring at a true distance of ∼35 au from the star but at a projected distance more than a factor of 10 smaller: the avalanche zone sits directly along the line of sight to the star, on the side of the ring nearest Earth, launching clouds that disk rotation sends wholly to the southeast, as observed. The avalanche zone marks where the primary ring intersects a secondary ring of debris left by the catastrophic disruption of a progenitor up to Varuna in size, less than tens of thousands of years ago. Only where the rings intersect are particle collisions sufficiently violent to spawn the submicron dust needed to seed the avalanches. We show that this picture works quantitatively, reproducing the masses, sizes, and velocities of the observed escaping clouds. The Lorentz force exerted by the wind’s magnetic field, whose polarity reverses periodically according to the stellar magnetic cycle, promises to explain the observed vertical undulations. The timescale between avalanches, about 10 yr, might be set by time variability of the wind mass loss rate or, more speculatively, by some self-regulating limit cycle.

  1. Picturing recovery: a photovoice exploration of recovery dimensions among people with serious mental illness.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cabassa, Leopoldo J; Nicasio, Andel; Whitley, Rob

    2013-09-01

    Recovery from mental disorders encompasses multiple interrelated dimensions. This study used photovoice to explore how individuals with serious mental illness and a history of substance abuse and homelessness envisioned their recovery. A dimensional recovery model was applied to examine how the interrelationships between recovery dimensions supported consumers' recovery journeys. Photovoice is a participatory research method that empowers people by giving them cameras to document their experiences and inform social action. Sixteen consumers recruited from two supported housing agencies participated in six weekly sessions to which they brought photographs that they took of persons and events in their lives that reflected recovery and wellness and discussed the meaning of the photographs in individual interviews and group sessions. The authors used pile-sorting, grounded theory, and a deductive template-analytic technique to analyze narrative and visual data. Spirituality, life achievements, and receiving and providing support were the most salient themes that emerged from the analysis and illustrate beneficial interrelationships between recovery dimensions. Participants discussed how they relied on their spirituality to support their sobriety and cope with addictions-aspects of clinical recovery. Educational and vocational achievements represented gains in functioning that contributed to increasing self-esteem and self-agency and reducing self-stigma. Social dimensions of recovery, such as receiving and giving support to loved ones, rippled through consumers' lives reducing isolation and enhancing their self-worth. The findings illustrate the value of participatory methods to understand what recovery signified to people with serious mental illness and how understanding the interrelationships between recovery dimensions can inform recovery-oriented services.

  2. Characterization of In-Use Medium Duty Electric Vehicle Driving and Charging Behavior: Preprint

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Duran, A.; Ragatz, A.; Prohaska, R.; Kelly, K.; Walkowicz, K.

    2014-11-01

    The U.S. Department of Energy's American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) deployment and demonstration projects are helping to commercialize technologies for all-electric vehicles (EVs). Under the ARRA program, data from Smith Electric and Navistar medium duty EVs have been collected, compiled, and analyzed in an effort to quantify the impacts of these new technologies. Over a period of three years, the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) has compiled data from over 250 Smith Newton EVs for a total of over 100,000 days of in-use operation. Similarly, data have been collected from over 100 Navistar eStar vehicles, with over 15,000 operating days having been analyzed. NREL has analyzed a combined total of over 4 million kilometers of driving and 1 million hours of charging data for commercial operating medium duty EVs. In this paper, the authors present an overview of medium duty EV operating and charging behavior based on in-use data collected from both Smith and Navistar vehicles operating in the United States. Specifically, this paper provides an introduction to the specifications and configurations of the vehicles examined; discusses the approach and methodology of data collection and analysis, and presents detailed results regarding daily driving and charging behavior. In addition, trends observed over the course of multiple years of data collection are examined, and conclusions are drawn about early deployment behavior and ongoing adjustments due to new and improving technology. Results and metrics such as average daily driving distance, route aggressiveness, charging frequency, and liter per kilometer diesel equivalent fuel consumption are documented and discussed.

  3. Improved NGL recovery designs maximize operating flexibility and product recoveries

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Wilkinson, J.D.; Hudson, H.M.

    1992-01-01

    This paper reports that the historically cyclical nature in the market for ethane and propane has demonstrated the need for flexible natural gas liquids (NGL) recovery plants. NEwly developed and patented processes are now available which can provide ultra-high recovery of ethane (95%+) when demand for ethane is high and provide essentially complete ethane rejection without the normally concomitant reduction in propane recovery. This provides plant operators the flexibility to respond more readily to NGL market conditions, thus maximizing plant operating profits. The new process designs provide this flexibility without increasing utility requirements. In fact, utility consumption is often lower when compared to conventional designs. This same process technology can also be easily retrofit into existing plants with relatively quick payout of the modifications from both recovery and efficiency improvements

  4. Restoration in non nutrient medium: relative importance of some separation genetic markers; Restauracao em meio nao nutriente: importancia relativa de alguns marcadores geneticos de reparacao

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Bezerra, R J.A.

    1981-12-31

    In order to check whether the increase of celular viability observed in cultures of Escherichia coli and Salmonella typhimurium, irradiated with ultraviolet and incubated in non nutrient medium, would be due to cell multiplication, and/or repair we applied a Statistical Fluctuation Test, based on Poisson Distribution. Utilizing macromolecules in strains that show true liquid holding recovery (LHR) or cell multiplication. Our results show that cell multiplication and not repair occurs in non nutrient medium for E.coli AB2470 (rrecB21), E.coli JG112 (polA1) an in the {Delta}uvrB mutant of S.typhimurium. In E.coli JG112, the multiplication rate is higher when thymine is added to the non nutrient medium, due to the auxotrophism of this strain. In E.coli lexB30 mutant, we observed repair in non nutrient medium (LHR) and cell multiplication, while in E.coli lexA1 mutant only LHR was observed. Studies of macromolecules degradation indicate that the final products are, probably reutilized by the cells, creating possibility of multiplication and/or repair. (author).

  5. RECOVERY OF COPPER(II AND CHROMIUM(III FROM NITRATE MEDIUM WITH SALICYLIDENEANILINE DISSOLVED IN 1-OCTANOL

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    A. Guerdouh

    2016-05-01

    Full Text Available The solvent extraction of copper(II and chromium(III from nitrate medium with salicylideneaniline (HL is studied as a function of various parameters: pH, concentration of salicylideneaniline, contact time and the nature of anoin (nitrate and sulfate in aqueous phase. Chromium(III is not extracted by salicylideneaniline  diluted in 1-octanol. Copper(II is only extracted by salicylideneaniline and it was found that the highest extractability achieved to 95% at pH 4.9, The stoichiometry of the extracted species was determined by using the method of slope analysis. Elemental analysis, UV–vis and IR-spectra were used to confirm the structure. It is found that the copper (II is extracted as CuL2.2H2O Their equilibrium constant, distribution coefficient, percentage extraction (%E and free energy are also calculated.

  6. Susceptibility screening of hyphae-forming fungi with a new, easy, and fast inoculum preparation method.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schmalreck, Arno; Willinger, Birgit; Czaika, Viktor; Fegeler, Wolfgang; Becker, Karsten; Blum, Gerhard; Lass-Flörl, Cornelia

    2012-12-01

    In vitro susceptibility testing of clinically important fungi becomes more and more essential due to the rising number of fungal infections in patients with impaired immune system. Existing standardized microbroth dilution methods for in vitro testing of molds (CLSI, EUCAST) are not intended for routine testing. These methods are very time-consuming and dependent on sporulating of hyphomycetes. In this multicentre study, a new (independent of sporulation) inoculum preparation method (containing a mixture of vegetative cells, hyphae, and conidia) was evaluated. Minimal inhibitory concentrations (MIC) of amphotericin B, posaconazole, and voriconazole of 180 molds were determined with two different culture media (YST and RPMI 1640) according to the DIN (Deutsches Institut für Normung) microdilution assay. 24 and 48 h MIC of quality control strains, tested per each test run, prepared with the new inoculum method were in the range of DIN. YST and RPMI 1640 media showed similar MIC distributions for all molds tested. MIC readings at 48 versus 24 h yield 1 log(2) higher MIC values and more than 90 % of the MICs read at 24 and 48 h were within ± 2 log(2) dilution. MIC end point reading (log(2 MIC-RPMI 1640)-log(2 MIC-YST)) of both media demonstrated a tendency to slightly lower MICs with RPMI 1640 medium. This study reports the results of a new, time-saving, and easy-to-perform method for inoculum preparation for routine susceptibility testing that can be applied for all types of spore-/non-spore and hyphae-forming fungi.

  7. A comparison of liquid-holding recovery and photoreactivation in halophilic and non-halophilic bacteria

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Fitt, P.S.; Sharma, N.; Castellanos, G.

    1983-01-01

    The ability of the extreme halophile Halobacterium cutirubrum to recover from the effects of ultraviolet radiation during liquid holding in the dark in non-nutrient medium has been compared with that of (i) a moderately halophilic bacterium (NRC 41227) and (ii) Escherichia coli B. The photoreactivabilities of all three bacteria have also been studied. The extreme halophile was incapable of liquid-holding recovery in these conditions, in marked contrast to both E. coli B and the moderate halophile, and also failed to recover when held in nutrient medium in the dark. These results strongly support the hypothesis that H. cutirubrum lacks DNA excision repair. It was also found that ultraviolet-irradiated H. cutirubrum could be almost completely photoreactivated from any level of survival in the range 10 - 4 -80%, provided exposure to visible light was not delayed, whereas the moderate halophile resembled E. coli B and had a comparatively limited capacity for photoreactivation. (Auth.)

  8. Gravity assisted recovery of liquid xenon at large mass flow rates

    Science.gov (United States)

    Virone, L.; Acounis, S.; Beaupère, N.; Beney, J.-L.; Bert, J.; Bouvier, S.; Briend, P.; Butterworth, J.; Carlier, T.; Chérel, M.; Crespi, P.; Cussonneau, J.-P.; Diglio, S.; Manzano, L. Gallego; Giovagnoli, D.; Gossiaux, P.-B.; Kraeber-Bodéré, F.; Ray, P. Le; Lefèvre, F.; Marty, P.; Masbou, J.; Morteau, E.; Picard, G.; Roy, D.; Staempflin, M.; Stutzmann, J.-S.; Visvikis, D.; Xing, Y.; Zhu, Y.; Thers, D.

    2018-06-01

    We report on a liquid xenon gravity assisted recovery method for nuclear medical imaging applications. The experimental setup consists of an elevated detector enclosed in a cryostat connected to a storage tank called ReStoX. Both elements are part of XEMIS2 (XEnon Medical Imaging System): an innovative medical imaging facility for pre-clinical research that uses pure liquid xenon as detection medium. Tests based on liquid xenon transfer from the detector to ReStoX have been successfully performed showing that an unprecedented mass flow rate close to 1 ton per hour can be reached. This promising achievement as well as future areas of improvement will be discussed in this paper.

  9. Business recovery: an assessment framework.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Stevenson, Joanne R; Brown, Charlotte; Seville, Erica; Vargo, John

    2018-07-01

    This paper presents a Business Recovery Assessment Framework (BRAF) to help researchers and practitioners design robust, repeatable, and comparable studies of business recovery in various post-disruption contexts. Studies assessing business recovery without adequately considering the research aims, recovery definitions, and indicators can produce misleading findings. The BRAF is composed of a series of steps that guide the decisions that researchers need to make to ensure: (i) that recovery is indeed being measured; (ii) that the indicators of recovery that are selected align with the objectives of the study and the definition of recovery; and, where necessary, (iii) that appropriate comparative control variables are in place. The paper draws on a large dataset of business surveys collected following the earthquakes in Canterbury, New Zealand, on 4 September 2010 and 22 February 2011 to demonstrate the varied conclusions that different recovery indicators can produce and to justify the need for a systematic approach to business recovery assessments. © 2018 The Author(s). Disasters © Overseas Development Institute, 2018.

  10. Whole-genome sequencing reveals the mechanisms for evolution of streptomycin resistance in Lactobacillus plantarum.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhang, Fuxin; Gao, Jiayuan; Wang, Bini; Huo, Dongxue; Wang, Zhaoxia; Zhang, Jiachao; Shao, Yuyu

    2018-04-01

    In this research, we investigated the evolution of streptomycin resistance in Lactobacillus plantarum ATCC14917, which was passaged in medium containing a gradually increasing concentration of streptomycin. After 25 d, the minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) of L. plantarum ATCC14917 had reached 131,072 µg/mL, which was 8,192-fold higher than the MIC of the original parent isolate. The highly resistant L. plantarum ATCC14917 isolate was then passaged in antibiotic-free medium to determine the stability of resistance. The MIC value of the L. plantarum ATCC14917 isolate decreased to 2,048 µg/mL after 35 d but remained constant thereafter, indicating that resistance was irreversible even in the absence of selection pressure. Whole-genome sequencing of parent isolates, control isolates, and isolates following passage was used to study the resistance mechanism of L. plantarum ATCC14917 to streptomycin and adaptation in the presence and absence of selection pressure. Five mutated genes (single nucleotide polymorphisms and structural variants) were verified in highly resistant L. plantarum ATCC14917 isolates, which were related to ribosomal protein S12, LPXTG-motif cell wall anchor domain protein, LrgA family protein, Ser/Thr phosphatase family protein, and a hypothetical protein that may correlate with resistance to streptomycin. After passage in streptomycin-free medium, only the mutant gene encoding ribosomal protein S12 remained; the other 4 mutant genes had reverted to the wild type as found in the parent isolate. Although the MIC value of L. plantarum ATCC14917 was reduced in the absence of selection pressure, it remained 128-fold higher than the MIC value of the parent isolate, indicating that ribosomal protein S12 may play an important role in streptomycin resistance. Using the mobile elements database, we demonstrated that streptomycin resistance-related genes in L. plantarum ATCC14917 were not located on mobile elements. This research offers a way of

  11. Effective medium theory for anisotropic metamaterials

    KAUST Repository

    Zhang, Xiujuan

    2015-01-20

    Materials with anisotropic material parameters can be utilized to fabricate many fascinating devices, such as hyperlenses, metasolids, and one-way waveguides. In this study, we analyze the effects of geometric anisotropy on a two-dimensional metamaterial composed of a rectangular array of elliptic cylinders and derive an effective medium theory for such a metamaterial. We find that it is possible to obtain a closed-form analytical solution for the anisotropic effective medium parameters, provided the aspect ratio of the lattice and the eccentricity of the elliptic cylinder satisfy certain conditions. The derived effective medium theory not only recovers the well-known Maxwell-Garnett results in the quasi-static regime, but is also valid beyond the long-wavelength limit, where the wavelength in the host medium is comparable to the size of the lattice so that previous anisotropic effective medium theories fail. Such an advance greatly broadens the applicable realm of the effective medium theory and introduces many possibilities in the design of structures with desired anisotropic material characteristics. A real sample of a recently theoretically proposed anisotropic medium, with a near-zero index to control the flux, is achieved using the derived effective medium theory, and control of the electromagnetic waves in the sample is clearly demonstrated.

  12. AVALIAÇÃO DOS MÉTODOS DE ETEST E MICRODILUIÇÃO EM CALDO PARA O ESTUDO DA SUSCETIBILIDADE DO Sporothrix schenckii COM O ITRACONAZOL

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ana Raquel Mano Meinerz

    2010-06-01

    Full Text Available The frequent occurrence of resistant isolated fungi againstantifungal drugs stimulated advances in the antifungigram techniques,which were standardized by CLSI. However, the methods have been inefficient and impractical to be executed in clinical laboratories. Within this context, commercial techniques have been developed, being ETEST one of them. ETEST has proved to be easier to execute when compared to the techniques approved by the CLSI. This study used the ETEST and the microdilution method, performed according to CLSI, for determining the in vitro susceptibility of isolates of Sporothrix schenckii against itraconazole. The CLSI uses RPMI 1640 medium and the reading of MIC after the period of incubation of 72h at 35ºC. MIC was determined by the ETEST, being Sabouraud dextrose agar used as medium, and the reading performed after 72 hours of incubation at 35ºC. The variance analysis, analyzed by T-paired test, did not demonstrate statistical differences among the CIM values obtained by the microdilution technique in broth (MIC among 0.219 and 0.875 μg/mL and ETEST (MIC among 0.032 and 2.0 μg/mL. However, the correlation coefficient (R was negative, probably because ofthe small number of samples. These results show the necessity offurther studies to assess the application of ETEST to evaluate thesusceptibility of S. schenckii against the itraconazol.

  13. A novel plant-based-sea water culture media for in vitro cultivation and in situ recovery of the halophyte microbiome

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mohamed Y. Saleh

    2017-11-01

    Full Text Available The plant-based-sea water culture medium is introduced to in vitro cultivation and in situ recovery of the microbiome of halophytes. The ice plant (Mesembryanthemum crystallinum was used, in the form of juice and/or dehydrated plant powder packed in teabags, to supplement the natural sea water. The resulting culture medium enjoys the combinations of plant materials as rich source of nutrients and sea water exercising the required salt stress. As such without any supplements, the culture medium was sufficient and efficient to support very good in vitro growth of halotolerant bacteria. It was also capable to recover their in situ culturable populations in the phyllosphere, ecto-rhizosphere and endo-rhizosphere of halophytes prevailing in Lake Mariout, Egypt. When related to the total bacterial numbers measured for Suaeda pruinosa roots by quantitative-PCR, the proposed culture medium increased culturability (15.3–19.5% compared to the conventional chemically-synthetic culture medium supplemented with (11.2% or without (3.8% NaCl. Based on 16S rRNA gene sequencing, representative isolates of halotolerant bacteria prevailed on such culture medium were closely related to Bacillus spp., Halomonas spp., and Kocuria spp. Seed germination tests on 25–50% sea water agar indicated positive interaction of such bacterial isolates with the germination and seedlings’ growth of barley seeds.

  14. A generic transport-reactive model for simulating microbially influenced mineral precipitation in porous medium

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Zhou, J.; Van Turnhout, A.G.; Heimovaara, T.J.; Afanasyev, M.

    2015-01-01

    The spatial and temporal distribution of precipitated minerals is one of the key factors governing various processes in the sub-surface environment, including microbially influenced corrosion (MIC) (Huang, 2002), bio-cementation (van Paassen et al., 2010) and sediment diagenesis (Paraska et al.,

  15. Predicted effects of prescribed burning and harvesting on forest recovery and sustainability in southwest Georgia, USA.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Garten, Charles T

    2006-12-01

    A model-based analysis of the effect of prescribed burning and forest thinning or clear-cutting on stand recovery and sustainability was conducted at Fort Benning, GA, in the southeastern USA. Two experiments were performed with the model. In the first experiment, forest recovery from degraded soils was predicted for 100 years with or without prescribed burning. In the second experiment simulations began with 100 years of predicted stand growth, then forest sustainability was predicted for an additional 100 years under different combinations of prescribed burning and forest harvesting. Three levels of fire intensity (low, medium, and high), that corresponded to 17%, 33%, and 50% consumption of the forest floor C stock by fire, were evaluated at 1-, 2-, and 3-year fire return intervals. Relative to the control (no fire), prescribed burning with a 2- or 3-year return interval caused only a small reduction in predicted steady state soil C stocks (burns did adversely impact forest recovery and sustainability (after harvesting) on less sandy soils, but not on more sandy soils that had greater N availability. Higher intensity and frequency of ground fires increased the chance that tree biomass would not return to pre-harvest levels. Soil N limitation was indicated as the cause of unsustainable forests when prescribed burns were too frequent or too intense to permit stand recovery.

  16. Water Recovery Project

    Data.gov (United States)

    National Aeronautics and Space Administration — The AES Water Recovery Project (WRP) is advancing environmental control and life support systems water recovery technologies to support human exploration beyond low...

  17. EPA Recovery Mapper

    Data.gov (United States)

    U.S. Environmental Protection Agency — The EPA Recovery Mapper is an Internet interactive mapping application that allows users to discover information about every American Recovery and Reinvestment Act...

  18. Effects of salvage logging on soil properties and vegetation recovery in a fire-affected Mediterranean forest: A two year monitoring research.

    Science.gov (United States)

    García-Orenes, F; Arcenegui, V; Chrenková, K; Mataix-Solera, J; Moltó, J; Jara-Navarro, A B; Torres, M P

    2017-05-15

    Post-fire management can have an additional impact on the ecosystem; in some cases, even more severe than the fire. Salvage logging (SL) is a common practice in most fire-affected areas. The management of burnt wood can determine microclimatic conditions and seriously affect soil properties. In some cases, the way of doing it, using heavy machinery, and the vulnerability of soils to erosion and degradation can make this management potentially aggressive to soil. Research was done in "Sierra de Mariola Natural Park" (E Spain). A forest fire (>500ha) occurred in July 2012. In February 2013, SL treatment was applied in a part of the affected forest. Plots for monitoring this effect were installed in this area and in a similar nearby area where no treatment was done, used as control (C). Soil samplings were done immediately after treatment and every 6months during two years. Some soil properties were analysed, including organic matter (OM) content, nitrogen (N) available phosphorous (P) basal soil respiration (BSR), microbial biomass carbon (C mic ), bulk density (BD), water repellency (WR), aggregate stability (AS) and field capacity (FC). SL treatment caused an increase in BD, a decrease of AS, FC, OM and N. In the control area, in general the soil properties remained constant across the 2years of monitoring, and the microbial parameters (BSR and C mic ), initially affected by the fire, recovered faster in C than in the SL area. Plant recovery also showed some differences between treatments. No significant differences were observed in the number of plant species recorded (richness) comparing C versus SL plots, but the number of individuals of each species (evenness) was significantly higher in C plots. In conclusion, we can affirm that for the conditions of this study case, SL had a negative effect on the soil-plant system. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  19. Refrigeration waste heat recovery

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    1983-03-01

    UK Super A Stores was built in 1972 and is part of a small indoor shopping complex linked together by a heated mall. The store has a public floor area of approximately 1,232 m{sup 2} (13,261 ft.{sup 2}) and sells the usual variety of food produce including a large selection of frozen foods. There are five lengths of refrigerated display cabinets with a total area of approximately 78 m{sup 2}. There are also some frozen food storage rooms at the back of the store. This report provides a description of a waste heat recovery system within a medium sized food store. It details how the waste heat that is produced by the conventional frozen food display cabinets, can be reused by the store's space heating system. Recommended uses for this waste heat include: diverting to the loading bays which would make the reheat coil unnecessary, diverting to the front of the shop, and heating the adjacent shopping mall. The CREDA (Conservation and Renewable Energy Demonstration Assistance) program contributed $17,444 towards the total project cost of $30,444. The project was initiated by the store owner, who is now realizing a lower annual fuel consumption, with the resulting financial savings. 11 figs., 1 tab.

  20. Recovery from mental illness

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Petersen, Kirsten Schultz; Friis, Vivi Soegaard; Haxholm, Birthe Lodahl

    2015-01-01

    Mental health services strive to implement a recovery-oriented approach to rehabilitation. Little is known about service users' perception of the recovery approach. The aim is to explore the service user's perspectives on facilitators and barriers associated with recovery. Twelve residents living...

  1. Competições e festivais na Grécia Pré-Helênica: as evidências minóico-micênicas

    OpenAIRE

    Ana Claudia Torralvo

    1997-01-01

    O que conhecemos das competições desportivas e dos festivais durante a Idade do Bronze na Grécia e no Egeu chegou até nós através das imagens representadas sobre os mais diversos suportes, como os afrescos, os relevos, a glíptica e outras manifestações da arte desse período. Neles percebemos algumas atividades físicas que podem caracterizar práticas desportivas: a luta corporal, praticada com luvas de couro, e a corrida, ambas comuns ao universo minóico-micênico. Já a tauromaquia ou salto do ...

  2. An assessment of climate change impacts on micro-hydropower energy recovery in water supply networks

    Science.gov (United States)

    Brady, Jennifer; Patil, Sopan; McNabola, Aonghus; Gallagher, John; Coughlan, Paul; Harris, Ian; Packwood, Andrew; Williams, Prysor

    2015-04-01

    Continuity of service of a high quality water supply is vital in sustaining economic and social development. However, water supply and wastewater treatment are highly energy intensive processes and the overall cost of water provision is rising rapidly due to increased energy costs, higher capital investment requirements, and more stringent regulatory compliance in terms of both national and EU legislation. Under the EU Directive 2009/28/EC, both Ireland and the UK are required to have 16% and 15% respectively of their electricity generated by renewable sources by 2020. The projected impacts of climate change, population growth and urbanisation will place additional pressures on resources, further increasing future water demand which in turn will lead to higher energy consumption. Therefore, there is a need to achieve greater efficiencies across the water industry. The implementation of micro-hydropower turbines within the water supply network has shown considerable viability for energy recovery. This is achieved by harnessing energy at points of high flow or pressure along the network which can then be utilised on site or alternatively sold to the national grid. Micro-hydropower can provide greater energy security for utilities together with a reduction in greenhouse gas emissions. However, potential climate change impacts on water resources in the medium-to-long term currently act as a key barrier to industry confidence as changes in flow and pressure within the network can significantly alter the available energy for recovery. The present study aims to address these uncertainties and quantify the regional and local impacts of climate change on the viability of energy recovery across water infrastructure in Ireland and the UK. Specifically, the research focuses on assessing the potential future effects of climate change on flow rates at multiple pressure reducing valve sites along the water supply network and also in terms of flow at a number of wastewater

  3. Recovery and money management.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rowe, Michael; Serowik, Kristin L; Ablondi, Karen; Wilber, Charles; Rosen, Marc I

    2013-06-01

    Social recovery and external money management are important approaches in contemporary mental health care, but little research has been done on the relationship between the two or on application of recovery principles to money management for people at risk of being assigned a representative payee or conservator. Out of 49 total qualitative interviews, 25 transcripts with persons receiving Social Security insurance or Social Security disability insurance who were at risk of being assigned a money manager were analyzed to assess the presence of recognized recovery themes. The recovery principles of self-direction and responsibility were strong themes in participant comments related to money management. Money management interventions should incorporate peoples' recovery-related motivations to acquire financial management skills as a means to direct and assume responsibility for one's finances. Staff involved in money management should receive training to support client's recovery-related goals. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2013 APA, all rights reserved).

  4. Analysis of Post-Fire Vegetation Recovery in the Mediterranean Basin using MODIS Derived Vegetation Indices

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hawtree, Daniel; San Miguel, Jesus; Sedano, Fernando; Kempeneers, Pieter

    2010-05-01

    The Mediterranean basin region is highly susceptible to wildfire, with approximately 60,000 individual fires and half a million ha of natural vegetation burnt per year. Of particular concern in this region is the impact of repeated wildfires on the ability of natural lands to return to a pre-fire state, and of the possibility of desertification of semi-arid areas. Given these concerns, understanding the temporal patterns of vegetation recovery is important for the management of environmental resources in the region. A valuable tool for evaluating these recovery patterns are vegetation indices derived from remote sensing data. Previous research on post-fire vegetation recovery conducted in this region has found significant variability in recovery times across different study sites. It is unclear what the primary variables are affecting the differences in the rates of recovery, and if any geographic patterns of behavior exist across the Mediterranean basin. This research has primarily been conducted using indices derived from Landsat imagery. However, no extensive analysis of vegetation regeneration for large regions has been published, and assessment of vegetation recovery on the basis of medium-spatial resolution imagery such as that of MODIS has not yet been analyzed. This study examines the temporal pattern of vegetation recovery in a number of fire sites in the Mediterranean basin, using data derived from MODIS 16 -day composite vegetation indices. The intent is to develop a more complete picture of the temporal sequence of vegetation recovery, and to evaluate what additional factors impact variations in the recovery sequence. In addition, this study evaluates the utility of using MODIS derived vegetation indices for regeneration studies, and compares the findings to earlier studies which rely on Landsat data. Wildfires occurring between the years 2000 and 2004 were considered as potential study sites for this research. Using the EFFIS dataset, all wildfires

  5. Tenth oil recovery conference

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sleeper, R.

    1993-01-01

    The Tertiary Oil Recovery Project is sponsored by the State of Kansas to introduce Kansas producers to the economic potential of enhanced recovery methods for Kansas fields. Specific objectives include estimation of the state-wide tertiary oil resource, identification and evaluation of the most applicable processes, dissemination of technical information to producers, occasional collaboration on recovery projects, laboratory studies on Kansas applicable processes, and training of students and operators in tertiary oil recovery methods. Papers have been processed separately for inclusion on the data base

  6. Design and optimization of a large flow rate booster pump in SWRO energy recovery system

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lai, Z N; Wu, P; Wu, D Z; Wang, L Q

    2013-01-01

    Seawater reverse osmosis (SWRO) is a high energy-consumption industry, so energy efficiency is an important issue. Energy recovery systems, which contain a pressure exchanger and a booster pump, are widely used in SWRO plants. As a key part of energy recovery system, the difficulty of designing booster pumps lies in high inlet pressure, high medium causticity and large flow rate. High inlet pressure adds difficulties to seal design, and large flow rate and high efficiency requirement bring high demand for hydraulic design. In this paper, a 625 m 3 /h booster pump is designed and optimized according to the CFD (Computational Fluid Dynamics) simulation results. The impeller and volute is well designed, a new type of high pressure mechanical seal is applied and axial force is well balanced. After optimization based on blade redesign, the efficiency of the pump was improved. The best efficiency reaches more than 85% at design point according to the CFD simulation result

  7. Design and optimization of a large flow rate booster pump in SWRO energy recovery system

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lai, Z. N.; Wu, P.; Wu, D. Z.; Wang, L. Q.

    2013-12-01

    Seawater reverse osmosis (SWRO) is a high energy-consumption industry, so energy efficiency is an important issue. Energy recovery systems, which contain a pressure exchanger and a booster pump, are widely used in SWRO plants. As a key part of energy recovery system, the difficulty of designing booster pumps lies in high inlet pressure, high medium causticity and large flow rate. High inlet pressure adds difficulties to seal design, and large flow rate and high efficiency requirement bring high demand for hydraulic design. In this paper, a 625 m3/h booster pump is designed and optimized according to the CFD (Computational Fluid Dynamics) simulation results. The impeller and volute is well designed, a new type of high pressure mechanical seal is applied and axial force is well balanced. After optimization based on blade redesign, the efficiency of the pump was improved. The best efficiency reaches more than 85% at design point according to the CFD simulation result.

  8. A Case of Onychomycosis Caused by Rhodotorula glutinis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Uludag Altun, Hatice; Meral, Tuba; Turk Aribas, Emel; Gorpelioglu, Canan; Karabicak, Nilgun

    2014-01-01

    Rhodotorula spp. have emerged as opportunistic pathogens, particularly in immunocompromised patients. The current study reports a case of onychomycosis caused by Rhodotorula glutinis in a 74-year-old immunocompetent female. The causative agent was identified as R. glutinis based on the pinkish-orange color; mucoid-appearing yeast colonies on Sabouraud Dextrose Agar at 25°C; morphological evaluation in the Corn Meal-Tween 80 agar; observed oval/round budding yeast at 25°C for 72 hours; no observed pseudohyphae; positive urease activity at 25°C for 4 days; and assimilation features detected by API ID 32C kit and automated Vitek Yeast Biochemical Card 2 system. Antifungal susceptibility test results were as follows: amphotericin B (MIC = 0.5 µg/mL), fluconazole (MIC = 128 µg/mL), itraconazole (MIC = 0.125 µg/mL), voriconazole (MIC = 1 µg/mL), posaconazole (MIC = 0.5 µg/mL), anidulafungin (MIC = 0.5 µg/mL), and caspofungin (MIC = 16 µg/mL). Antifungal therapy was initiated with oral itraconazole at a dose of 400 mg/day; seven-day pulse therapy was planned at intervals of three weeks. Clinical recovery was observed in the clinical evaluation of the patient before the start of the third cure. Although R. glutinis has rarely been reported as the causative agent of onychomycosis, it should be considered.

  9. Citizenship and recovery: two intertwined concepts for civic-recovery.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pelletier, Jean-François; Corbière, Marc; Lecomte, Tania; Briand, Catherine; Corrigan, Patrick; Davidson, Larry; Rowe, Michael

    2015-03-04

    Validation of the psychometric properties of a new measure of citizenship was required for a research project in the province of Quebec, Canada. This study was meant to study the interplay between recovery- and citizenship-oriented supportive employment. As recovery and citizenship were expected to be two related concepts, convergent validity between the Citizenship Measure (CM) and the Recovery Assessment Scale (RAS) was tested. Study objectives were to: 1) conduct exploratory factor analyses on the CM and confirmatory factor analysis on the RAS tools (construct validity), 2) calculate Cronbach's alphas for each dimension emerging from objective 1 (reliability), and 3) calculate correlations between all dimensions from both tools (convergent validity). Data were collected from 174 individuals with serious mental illness, working in social firms. Serious mental illnesses include major depression, schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, obsessive compulsive disorder, panic disorder, post traumatic stress disorder and borderline personality disorder. Five factors emerged from the exploratory factor analysis of the CM, with good reliability. Confirmatory factor analyses showed that the short and the long versions of the RAS present satisfactory results. Finally, the correlation matrix indicated that all dimensions from both tools are significantly correlated, thus confirming their convergent validity. This study confirms the validity and reliability of two tools, CM and RAS. These tools can be used in combination to assess citizenship and recovery, both of which may be combined in the new concept of civic-recovery.

  10. Evaluation of different conditions and culture media for the recovery of Aeromonas spp. from water and shellfish samples.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Latif-Eugenín, F; Beaz-Hidalgo, R; Figueras, M J

    2016-09-01

    To perform a comparative study for determining the optimum culture method (direct plating or enrichment) and medium (ampicillin dextrin agar (ADA), starch ampicillin agar (SAA), bile salts irgasan brilliant green modified (BIBG-m)) for recovering Aeromonas species from water and shellfish samples. By direct culture, Aeromonas was detected in 65% (13/20) of the water samples and in 54·5% (6/11) of the shellfish samples. However, when a pre-enrichment step was included, the number of positive water samples increased to 75% (15/20) and the ones of shellfish to 90·1% (10/11). The enriched culture significantly favoured (P culture medium for detecting Aeromonas from water was ADA. However, no differences were observed in the case of shellfish samples (P > 0·05). Isolation of Aeromonas media from water was favoured (P culture method and medium used influenced the recovery of some Aeromonas species from water and shellfish samples. This fact should be considered in future prevalence studies to avoid overestimating the above mentioned Aeromonas species. © 2016 The Society for Applied Microbiology.

  11. Optical Coronagraphic Spectroscopy of AU Mic: Evidence of Time Variable Colors?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lomax, Jamie R.; Wisniewski, John P.; Roberge, Aki; Donaldson, Jessica K.; Debes, John H.; Malumuth, Eliot M.; Weinberger, Alycia J.

    2018-02-01

    We present coronagraphic long slit spectra of AU Mic’s debris disk taken with the STIS instrument aboard the Hubble Space Telescope. Our spectra are the first spatially-resolved, scattered light spectra of the system’s disk, which we detect at projected distances between approximately 10 and 45 au. Our spectra cover a wavelength range between 5200 and 10200 Å. We find that the color of AU Mic’s debris disk is bluest at small (12–17 au) projected separations. These results both confirm and quantify the findings qualitatively noted by Krist et al. and are different than IR observations that suggested a uniform blue or gray color as a function of projected separation in this region of the disk. Unlike previous literature, which reported that the color of AU Mic’s disk became increasingly more blue as a function of projected separation beyond ∼30 au, we find the disk’s optical color between 35 and 45 au to be uniformly blue on the southeast side of the disk and decreasingly blue on the northwest side. We note that this apparent change in disk color at larger projected separations coincides with several fast, outward moving “features” that are passing through this region of the southeast side of the disk. We speculate that these phenomenon might be related and that the fast moving features could be changing the localized distribution of sub-micron-sized grains as they pass by, thereby reducing the blue color of the disk in the process. We encourage follow-up optical spectroscopic observations of AU Mic to both confirm this result and search for further modifications of the disk color caused by additional fast moving features propagating through the disk.

  12. An extended model for ultrasonic-based enhanced oil recovery with experimental validation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mohsin, Mohammed; Meribout, Mahmoud

    2015-03-01

    This paper suggests a new ultrasonic-based enhanced oil recovery (EOR) model for application in oil field reservoirs. The model is modular and consists of an acoustic module and a heat transfer module, where the heat distribution is updated when the temperature rise exceeds 1 °C. The model also considers the main EOR parameters which includes both the geophysical (i.e., porosity, permeability, temperature rise, and fluid viscosity) and acoustical (e.g., acoustic penetration and pressure distribution in various fluids and mediums) properties of the wells. Extended experiments were performed using powerful ultrasonic waves which were applied for different kind of oils & oil saturated core samples. The corresponding results showed a good matching with those obtained from simulations, validating the suggested model to some extent. Hence, a good recovery rate of around 88.2% of original oil in place (OOIP) was obtained after 30 min of continuous generation of ultrasonic waves. This leads to consider the ultrasonic-based EOR as another tangible solution for EOR. This claim is supported further by considering several injection wells where the simulation results indicate that with four (4) injection wells; the recovery rate may increase up-to 96.7% of OOIP. This leads to claim the high potential of ultrasonic-based EOR as compared to the conventional methods. Following this study, the paper also proposes a large scale ultrasonic-based EOR hardware system for installation in oil fields. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  13. 27 CFR 19.914 - Medium plants.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-04-01

    ... 27 Alcohol, Tobacco Products and Firearms 1 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Medium plants. 19.914... OF THE TREASURY LIQUORS DISTILLED SPIRITS PLANTS Distilled Spirits For Fuel Use Permits § 19.914 Medium plants. Any person wishing to establish a medium plant shall make application for and obtain in...

  14. Brief Report: The Identity Style Inventory (ISI-3) and the Utrecht-Management of Identity Commitments Scale (U-MICS)--Factor Structure, Reliability, and Convergent Validity in French-Speaking University Students

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zimmermann, Gregoire; Mahaim, Elodie Biermann; Mantzouranis, Gregory; Genoud, Philippe A.; Crocetti, Elisabetta

    2012-01-01

    The purpose of this study was to evaluate the factor structure and the reliability of the French versions of the Identity Style Inventory (ISI-3) and the Utrecht-Management of Identity Commitments Scale (U-MICS) in a sample of college students (N = 457, 18-25 years old). Confirmatory factor analyses confirmed the hypothesized three-factor solution…

  15. Performance of a radio link between a base station and a medical implant utilising the MICS standard.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Johansson, Anders J

    2004-01-01

    Modern medical implants are of increasing complexity and with that, the need for fast and flexible communication with them grows. A wireless system is preferable and an inductive link is the most commonly used. But it has the drawback of a very short range, essentially limited to having the external transceiver touching the patient. The Medical Implant Communication System, MICS, is a standard aimed at improving the communication distance. It operates at a higher frequency band between 402 MHz and 405 MHz. We have by simulations and measurements investigated the channel properties of this band and calculated the link performance for a typical implant application. The result is a link speed between a base station and a bedridden patient of 600 kbit bits per second with a bit error rate of 2% in the downlink to the implant and 1 % in the uplink to the base station. Conclusions on the necessary complexity of the base station are also given.

  16. CCD camera eases the control of a soda recovery boiler; CCD-kamera helpottaa soodakattilan valvontaa

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Kinnunen, L.

    2001-07-01

    Fortum Technology has developed a CCD firebox camera, based on semiconductor technology, enduring hard conditions of soda recovery boiler longer than traditional cameras. The firebox camera air- cooled and the same air is pressed over the main lens so it remains clean despite of the alkaline liquor splashing around in the boiler. The image of the boiler is transferred through the main lens, image transfer lens and a special filter, mounted inside the camera tube, into the CCD camera. The first CCD camera system has been in use since 1999 in Sunila pulp mill in Kotka, owned by Myllykoski Oy and Enso Oyj. The mill has two medium-sized soda recovery boilers. The amount of black liquor, formed daily, is about 2000 tons DS, which is more than enough for the heat generation. Even electric power generation exceeds sometimes the demand, so the surplus power can be sold out. Black liquor is sprayed inside the soda recovery boiler with high pressure. The liquor form droplets in the boiler, the temperature of which is over 1000 deg C. A full-hot pile is formed at the bottom of the boiler after burning. The size and shape of the pile effect on the efficiency and the emissions of the boiler. The camera has operated well.

  17. Evaluation of Insulin Medium or Chondrogenic Medium on Proliferation and Chondrogenesis of ATDC5 Cells

    OpenAIRE

    Yao, Yongchang; Zhai, Zhichen; Wang, Yingjun

    2014-01-01

    Background. The ATDC5 cell line is regarded as an excellent cell model for chondrogenesis. In most studies with ATDC5 cells, insulin medium (IM) was used to induce chondrogenesis while chondrogenic medium (CM), which was usually applied in chondrogenesis of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs), was rarely used for ATDC5 cells. This study was mainly designed to investigate the effect of IM, CM, and growth medium (GM) on chondrogenesis of ATDC5 cells. Methods. ATDC5 cells were, respectively, cultured ...

  18. Risk analysis of heat recovery steam generator with semi quantitative risk based inspection API 581

    Science.gov (United States)

    Prayogo, Galang Sandy; Haryadi, Gunawan Dwi; Ismail, Rifky; Kim, Seon Jin

    2016-04-01

    Corrosion is a major problem that most often occurs in the power plant. Heat recovery steam generator (HRSG) is an equipment that has a high risk to the power plant. The impact of corrosion damage causing HRSG power plant stops operating. Furthermore, it could be threaten the safety of employees. The Risk Based Inspection (RBI) guidelines by the American Petroleum Institute (API) 58 has been used to risk analysis in the HRSG 1. By using this methodology, the risk that caused by unexpected failure as a function of the probability and consequence of failure can be estimated. This paper presented a case study relating to the risk analysis in the HRSG, starting with a summary of the basic principles and procedures of risk assessment and applying corrosion RBI for process industries. The risk level of each HRSG equipment were analyzed: HP superheater has a medium high risk (4C), HP evaporator has a medium-high risk (4C), and the HP economizer has a medium risk (3C). The results of the risk assessment using semi-quantitative method of standard API 581 based on the existing equipment at medium risk. In the fact, there is no critical problem in the equipment components. Damage mechanisms were prominent throughout the equipment is thinning mechanism. The evaluation of the risk approach was done with the aim of reducing risk by optimizing the risk assessment activities.

  19. Risk analysis of heat recovery steam generator with semi quantitative risk based inspection API 581

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Prayogo, Galang Sandy; Haryadi, Gunawan Dwi; Ismail, Rifky; Kim, Seon Jin

    2016-01-01

    Corrosion is a major problem that most often occurs in the power plant. Heat recovery steam generator (HRSG) is an equipment that has a high risk to the power plant. The impact of corrosion damage causing HRSG power plant stops operating. Furthermore, it could be threaten the safety of employees. The Risk Based Inspection (RBI) guidelines by the American Petroleum Institute (API) 58 has been used to risk analysis in the HRSG 1. By using this methodology, the risk that caused by unexpected failure as a function of the probability and consequence of failure can be estimated. This paper presented a case study relating to the risk analysis in the HRSG, starting with a summary of the basic principles and procedures of risk assessment and applying corrosion RBI for process industries. The risk level of each HRSG equipment were analyzed: HP superheater has a medium high risk (4C), HP evaporator has a medium-high risk (4C), and the HP economizer has a medium risk (3C). The results of the risk assessment using semi-quantitative method of standard API 581 based on the existing equipment at medium risk. In the fact, there is no critical problem in the equipment components. Damage mechanisms were prominent throughout the equipment is thinning mechanism. The evaluation of the risk approach was done with the aim of reducing risk by optimizing the risk assessment activities.

  20. Risk analysis of heat recovery steam generator with semi quantitative risk based inspection API 581

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Prayogo, Galang Sandy, E-mail: gasandylang@live.com; Haryadi, Gunawan Dwi; Ismail, Rifky [Department of Mechanical Engineering, Diponegoro University, Semarang (Indonesia); Kim, Seon Jin [Department of Mechanical & Automotive Engineering of Pukyong National University (Korea, Republic of)

    2016-04-19

    Corrosion is a major problem that most often occurs in the power plant. Heat recovery steam generator (HRSG) is an equipment that has a high risk to the power plant. The impact of corrosion damage causing HRSG power plant stops operating. Furthermore, it could be threaten the safety of employees. The Risk Based Inspection (RBI) guidelines by the American Petroleum Institute (API) 58 has been used to risk analysis in the HRSG 1. By using this methodology, the risk that caused by unexpected failure as a function of the probability and consequence of failure can be estimated. This paper presented a case study relating to the risk analysis in the HRSG, starting with a summary of the basic principles and procedures of risk assessment and applying corrosion RBI for process industries. The risk level of each HRSG equipment were analyzed: HP superheater has a medium high risk (4C), HP evaporator has a medium-high risk (4C), and the HP economizer has a medium risk (3C). The results of the risk assessment using semi-quantitative method of standard API 581 based on the existing equipment at medium risk. In the fact, there is no critical problem in the equipment components. Damage mechanisms were prominent throughout the equipment is thinning mechanism. The evaluation of the risk approach was done with the aim of reducing risk by optimizing the risk assessment activities.

  1. Microbial Enhanced Oil Recovery and Wettability Research Program. Annual report, FY 1991

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Bala, G.A.; Barrett, K.B.; Eastman, S.L.; Herd, M.D.; Jackson, J.D.; Robertson, E.P.; Thomas, C.P.

    1993-09-01

    This report covers research results for fiscal year 1991 for the Microbial Enhanced Oil Recovery (MEOR) and Wettability Research Program conducted by EG&G Idaho, Inc. at the Idaho National Engineering Laboratory ONEL) for the US Department of Energy Idaho Field Office (DOE-ID). The program is funded by the Assistant Secretary of Fossil Energy, and managed by DOE-ID and the Bartlesville Project Office (BPO). The objectives of this multi-year program are to develop MEOR systems for application to reservoirs containing medium to heavy crude oils and to design and implement an industry cost-shared field demonstration project of the developed technology. An understanding of the controlling mechanisms will first be developed through the use of laboratory scale testing to determine the ability of microbially mediated processes to recover oil under reservoir conditions and to develop the design criteria for scale-up to the field. Concurrently with this work, the isolation and characterization of microbial species collected from various locations including target oil field environments is underway to develop more effective oil recovery systems for specific applications. Research focus includes the study of biogenic product and formation souring processes including mitigation and prevention. Souring research performed in FY 1991 also included the development of microsensor probe technology for the detection of total sulfide in collaboration with the Montana State University Center for Interfacial Microbial Process Engineering (CIMPE). Wettability research is a multi-year collaborative effort with the New Mexico Petroleum Recovery Research Center (NMPRRC) at the New Mexico institute of Mining and Technology, Socorro, NM to evaluate reservoir wettability and its effects on oil recovery. Results from the wettability research will be applied to determine if alteration of wettability is a significant contributing mechanism for MEOR systems.

  2. Recovery of vanadium, and nickel from fly ash produced from heavy oil-fired electrical power station

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Stas, J.; Dahdouh, A.; Al-Chayah, O.

    2006-05-01

    After some preliminary tests, two leaching stages of fly ash to recover vanadium, molybdenum and nickel were selected. A first stage alkaline leaching of fly ash to recover vanadium and molybdenum followed by a second stage sulfuric acid leaching of the residual ash to recover nickel. The impact of some operational parameters (L/S, leaching temperature, mixing time, and agent leaching concentrations) on the recovery of V, Ni was investigated. Conditions of precipitation of V and Mo from alkaline medium and Ni from sulfuric acid solution were established. (author)

  3. Pions in the nuclear medium

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Chanfray, G.

    1996-07-01

    We discuss various aspects of pion physics in the nuclear medium. We first study s-wave pion-nucleus interaction in connection with chiral symmetry restoration and quark condensate in the nuclear medium. We then address the question of p-wave pion-nucleus interaction and collective pionic modes in nuclei and draw the consequences for in medium ππ correlations especially in the scalar-isoscalar channel. We finally discuss the modification of the rho meson mass spectrum at finite density and/or temperature in connection with relativistic heavy ion collisions

  4. Umbilical Cable Recovery Load Analysis

    Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

    YAN Shu-wang; JIA Zhao-lin; FENG Xiao-wei; LI Shi-tao

    2013-01-01

    Umbilical cable is a kind of integrated subsea cable widely used in the exploration and exploitation of oil and gas field.The severe ocean environment makes great challenges to umbilical maintenance and repair work.Damaged umbilical is usually recovered for the regular operation of the offshore production system.Analysis on cables in essence is a two-point boundary problem.The tension load at the mudline must be known first,and then the recovery load and recovery angle on the vessel can be solved by use of catenary equation.The recovery analysis also involves umbilicalsoil interaction and becomes more complicated.Calculation methods for recovery load of the exposed and buried umbilical are established and the relationship between the position of touch down point and the recovery load as well as the recovery angle and recovery load are analyzed.The analysis results provide a theoretical reference for offshore on-deck operation.

  5. Optical recording medium

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Andriech, A.; Bivol, V.; Tridukh, G.; Tsiuleanu, D.

    2002-01-01

    The invention relates of the micro- and optoelectronics, computer engineering ,in particular, to tjhe optical information media and may be used in hilography. Summary of the invention consists in that the optical image recording medium, containing a dielectric substrates, onto one surface of which there are placed in series a transparent electricity conducting layer, a photo sensitive recording layer of chalcogenic glass and a thin film electrode of aluminium, is provided with an optically transparent protective layer, applied into the thin film electrode. The result of the invention consists in excluding the dependence of chemical processes course into the medium upon environmental conditions

  6. Use of soybean vinasses as a germinant medium for a Geobacillus stearothermophilus ATCC 7953 sterilization biological indicator.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dlugokenski, Regina E F; Sella, Sandra R B R; Guizelini, Belquis P; Vandenberghe, Luciana P S; Woiciechowski, Adenise L; Soccol, Carlos R; Minozzo, João C

    2011-04-01

    A novel low-cost medium was developed from by-products and wastes from the ethanol agro-industry to replace commercial media in the production of a steam sterilization biological indicator (BI). Various recovery media were developed using soybean or sugarcane molasses and vinasse to prepare a self-contained BI. Media performance was evaluated by viability and heat resistance (D(121 °C) value) according to regulatory standards. A medium produced with a soybean vinasse ratio of 1:70 (1.4%) (w/v) produced the results, with D(121 °C)=2.9±0.5 min and Usk=12.7±2.1 min. The addition of 0.8% (w/v) yeast extract improved the germination of heat-damaged spores. The pH variation from 6.0 to 7.3 resulted in a gradual increase in the D(121 °C) value. The absence of calcium chloride resulted in a decrease in germination, while no significant differences were observed with starch addition. Soybean vinasses may thus be used as the main component of a culture medium to substitute for commercial media in the production of self-contained biological indicators. The use of ethanol production waste in this biotechnological process realized a reliable performance, minimized the environmental impact, and decreased BI production costs while producing a high quality product. © Springer-Verlag 2011

  7. Digital recovery management: Characterizing recovery-specific social network site participation and perceived benefit.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bergman, Brandon G; Kelly, Nathaniel W; Hoeppner, Bettina B; Vilsaint, Corrie L; Kelly, John F

    2017-06-01

    Research shows that digital social network sites (SNSs) may be valuable platforms to effect health behavior change. Little is known specifically about their ability to help address alcohol and other drug problems. This gap is noteworthy, given that individuals are already participating in existing, recovery-specific SNSs (hereafter referred to as recovery SNSs): online communities with the functionality of conventional SNSs (e.g., Facebook) that focus on substance use disorder (SUD) recovery. For example, InTheRooms.com (ITR) is a large, well-known recovery SNS that is available for free 24 hr/day via website and mobile smartphone applications. It offers recovery tools within a digital social milieu for over 430,000 registered users. To augment the knowledge base on recovery SNS platforms, we conducted an online survey of 123 ITR participants (M = 50.8 years old; 56.9% female; 93.5% White; M = 7.3 years of abstinence, range of 0-30 years; 65% cited alcohol as their primary substance). Respondents engaged with ITR, on average, for about 30 min/day several times each week. Daily meditation prompts and live online video meetings were the most commonly utilized resources. Participants generally endorsed ITR as a helpful platform, particularly with respect to increased abstinence/recovery motivation and self-efficacy. Compared to individuals abstinent for 1 or more years, those abstinent less than 1 year (including nonabstinent individuals) showed similar rates of engagement with ITR activities and similar levels of perceived benefit. Our findings suggest that longitudinal studies are warranted to examine the clinical utility of ITR and other recovery SNSs as SUD treatment adjuncts and/or recovery self-management tools. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2017 APA, all rights reserved).

  8. EFFECT OF GALACTO-OLIGOSACCHARIDES:MALTODEXTRIN MATRICES ON THE RECOVERY OF LACTOBACILLUS PLANTARUM AFTER SPRAY-DRYING

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Natalia eSosa

    2016-05-01

    Full Text Available In this work maltodextrins were added to commercial GOS in a 1:1 ratio and their thermophysical characteristics were analyzed. GOS:MD solutions were then used as matrices during spray-drying of L. plantarum CIDCA 83114. The obtained powders were equilibrated at different relative humidities (RH and stored at 5 and 20ºC for 12 weeks, or at 30ºC for 6 weeks.The Tgs of GOS:MD matrices were about 20-30oC higher than those of GOS at RH within 11 and 52%. A linear relation between the spin-spin relaxation time (T2 and T-Tg parameter was observed for GOS:MD matrices equilibrated at 11, 22, 33 and 44% RH at 5, 20 and 30ºC.Spray-drying of L. plantarum CIDCA 83114 in GOS:MD matrices allowed the recovery of 93% microorganisms. In contrast, only 64% microorganisms were recovered when no MD were included in the dehydration medium. Survival of L. plantarum CIDCA 83114 during storage showed the best performance for bacteria stored at 5oC. In a further step, the slopes of the linear regressions provided information about the rate of microbial inactivation for each storage condition (k values. This information can be useful to calculate the shelf-life of spray-dried starters stored at different temperatures and RH. Using GOS:MD matrices as a dehydration medium enhanced the recovery of L. plantarum CIDCA 83114 after spray-drying. This strategy allowed for the first time the spray-drying stabilization of a potentially probiotic strain in the presence of GOS.

  9. Coupling of MIC-3 overexpression with the chromosome 11 and 14 root-knot nematode (RKN) (Meloidogyne incognita) resistance QTLs provides insights into the regulation of the RKN resistance response in Upland cotton...

    Science.gov (United States)

    High levels of resistance to root-knot nematode (RKN) (Meloidogyne incognita) in Upland cotton (Gossypium hirsutum) is mediated by two major quantitative trait loci (QTL) located on chromosomes 11 and 14. We had previously determined that MIC-3 expression played a direct role in suppressing RKN egg...

  10. Hydrogeology and Aquifer Storage and Recovery Performance in the Upper Floridan Aquifer, Southern Florida

    Science.gov (United States)

    Reese, Ronald S.; Alvarez-Zarikian, Carlos A.

    2007-01-01

    between flow zones is better in southwestern Florida than in southeastern Florida. Vertical hydraulic conductivity in the upper part of the aquifer also may be higher in southeastern Florida because of unconformities present at formation contacts within the aquifer that may be better developed in this area. Recovery efficiencies per cycle varied widely. Eight sites had recovery efficiencies of less than about 10 percent for the first cycle, and three of these sites had not yet achieved recoveries exceeding 10 percent, even after three to five cycles. The highest recovery efficiency achieved per cycle was 94 percent. Three southeastern coastal sites and two southwestern coastal sites have achieved potable water recoveries per cycle exceeding 60 percent. One of the southeastern coastal sites and both of the southwestern coastal sites achieved good recoveries, even with long storage periods (from 174 to 191 days). The high recovery efficiencies for some cycles apparently resulted from water banking?an operational approach whereby an initial cycle with a large recharge volume of water is followed by cycles with much smaller recharge volume. This practice flushes out the aquifer around the well and builds up a buffer zone that can maintain high recovery efficiency in the subsequent cycles. The relative performance of all sites with adequate cycle test data was determined. Performance was arbitrarily grouped into ?high? (greater than 40 percent), ?medium? (between 20 and 40 percent), and ?low? (less than 20 percent) categories based primarily on their cumulative recovery efficiency for the first seven cycles, or projected to seven cycles if fewer cycles were conducted. The ratings of three sites, considered to be borderline, were modified using the overall recharge rate derived from the cumulative recharge volumes. A higher overall recharge rate (greater than 300 million gallons per year) can improve recovery efficiency because of the water-bankin

  11. Effect of Media Modified To Mimic Cystic Fibrosis Sputum on the Susceptibility of Aspergillus fumigatus, and the Frequency of Resistance at One Center.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Stevens, David A; Moss, Richard B; Hernandez, Cathy; Clemons, Karl V; Martinez, Marife

    2016-04-01

    Studies of cystic fibrosis (CF) patient exacerbations attributed toPseudomonas aeruginosainfection have indicated a lack of correlation of outcome within vitrosusceptibility results. One explanation is that the media used for testing do not mimic the airway milieu, resulting in incorrect conclusions. Therefore, media have been devised to mimic CF sputum.Aspergillus fumigatusis the leading fungal pathogen in CF, and susceptibility testing is also used to decide therapeutic choices. We assessed whether media designed to mimic CF sputa would give different fungal susceptibility results than those of classical methods, assaying voriconazole, the most utilized anti-Aspergillusdrug in this setting, and 30 CFAspergillusisolates. The frequency of marked resistance (defined as an MIC of >4 μg/ml) in our CF unit by classical methods is 7%. Studies performed with classical methods and with digested sputum medium, synthetic sputum medium, and artificial sputum medium revealed prominent differences inAspergillussusceptibility results, as well as growth rate, with each medium. Clinical correlative studies are required to determine which results are most useful in predicting outcome. Comparison of MICs with non-CF isolates also indicated the CF isolates were generally more resistant. Copyright © 2016, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.

  12. Mathematical model for the growth of P. aeruginosa and four mutator strains in sub-MIC concentration of Ciprofloxacin

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Philipsen, Kirsten Riber; Christiansen, Lasse Engbo; Madsen, Henrik

    growing under sub-MIC Ciprofloxacin concentration (0.1 μg/ml), in order to describe the growth pattern under the presence of antibiotic. Data available for the modelling process is bioscreen measurements of the bacterial content as a function of time for each bacteria strain growing in LB media...... is that the presence of antibiotic results in selection of mutators in the lungs of CF patients, as these bacteria has a higher fitness under the presence of antibiotics. The goal of this study is to model the growth of P. aeruginosa and four different mutator strains (PAO1 mutT, mutY, mutM and mutM-mutY mutants) when......P. aeruginosa causes very critical and complicated infections, for which treatment is strongly dependent on successful antibiotic treatment. Therefore the evolution of antibiotic resistant P. aeruginosa does have serious consequences. Cystic fibrosis (CF) is characterized by the chronic P...

  13. Collaborative Manufacturing for Small-Medium Enterprises

    Science.gov (United States)

    Irianto, D.

    2016-02-01

    Manufacturing systems involve decisions concerning production processes, capacity, planning, and control. In a MTO manufacturing systems, strategic decisions concerning fulfilment of customer requirement, manufacturing cost, and due date of delivery are the most important. In order to accelerate the decision making process, research on decision making structure when receiving order and sequencing activities under limited capacity is required. An effective decision making process is typically required by small-medium components and tools maker as supporting industries to large industries. On one side, metal small-medium enterprises are expected to produce parts, components or tools (i.e. jigs, fixture, mold, and dies) with high precision, low cost, and exact delivery time. On the other side, a metal small- medium enterprise may have weak bargaining position due to aspects such as low production capacity, limited budget for material procurement, and limited high precision machine and equipment. Instead of receiving order exclusively, a small-medium enterprise can collaborate with other small-medium enterprise in order to fulfill requirements high quality, low manufacturing cost, and just in time delivery. Small-medium enterprises can share their best capabilities to form effective supporting industries. Independent body such as community service at university can take a role as a collaboration manager. The Laboratory of Production Systems at Bandung Institute of Technology has implemented shared manufacturing systems for small-medium enterprise collaboration.

  14. Perspectivas de la niñez adulta: El cómic como espacio de denuncia desde la marginalidad de sus personajes

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ana Merino

    2010-01-01

    Full Text Available Este artículo analiza la representación de la niñez en varios cómics iberoamericanos: Mafalda de Quino, Paracuellos de Carlos Jiménez y Socorro de Miguel Rep. En ellos se articula la infancia desde una perspectiva adulta y crítica con la sociedad mostrando una dimensión comprometida que interpela al lector. This article analyzes the representation of childhood in several Latin American comics: Mafalda by Quino, Paracuellos by Carlos Jiménez, and Socorro by Miguel Rep. In these comics, infancy is articulated from an adult angle critical with society, showing a dimension of commitment appealing to their readership.

  15. Properties of the nuclear medium

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Baldo, M; Burgio, G F

    2012-01-01

    We review our knowledge on the properties of the nuclear medium that have been studied, over many years, on the basis of many-body theory, laboratory experiments and astrophysical observations. Throughout the presentation particular emphasis is placed on the possible relationship and links between the nuclear medium and the structure of nuclei, including the limitations of such an approach. First we consider the realm of phenomenological laboratory data and astrophysical observations and the hints they can give on the characteristics that the nuclear medium should possess. The analysis is based on phenomenological models, that however have a strong basis on physical intuition and an impressive success. More microscopic models are also considered, and it is shown that they are able to give invaluable information on the nuclear medium, in particular on its equation of state. The interplay between laboratory experiments and astrophysical observations is particularly stressed, and it is shown how their complementarity enormously enriches our insights into the structure of the nuclear medium. We then introduce the nucleon–nucleon interaction and the microscopic many-body theory of nuclear matter, with a critical discussion about the different approaches and their results. The Landau–Fermi liquid theory is introduced and briefly discussed, and it is shown how fruitful it can be in discussing the macroscopic and low-energy properties of the nuclear medium. As an illustrative example, we discuss neutron matter at very low density, and it is shown how it can be treated within the many-body theory. The general bulk properties of the nuclear medium are reviewed to indicate at which stage of our knowledge we stand, taking into account the most recent developments both in theory and experiments. A section is dedicated to the pairing problem. The connection with nuclear structure is then discussed, on the basis of the energy density functional method. The possibility of

  16. Disaster recovery using VMware vSphere Replication and vCenter Site Recovery Manager

    CERN Document Server

    GB, Abhilash

    2014-01-01

    This is a step-by-step guide that will help you understand disaster recovery using VMware vSphere Replication 5.5 and VMware vCenter Site Recovery Manager (SRM) 5.5. The topics and configuration procedures are accompanied with relevant screenshots, flowcharts, and logical diagrams that makes grasping the concepts easier. This book is a guide for anyone who is keen on using vSphere Replication or vCenter Site Recovery Manager as a disaster recovery solution. This is an excellent handbook for solution architects, administrators, on-field engineers, and support professionals. Although the book as

  17. Characterizing and modeling the free recovery and constrained recovery behavior of a polyurethane shape memory polymer

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Volk, Brent L; Lagoudas, Dimitris C; Maitland, Duncan J

    2011-01-01

    In this work, tensile tests and one-dimensional constitutive modeling were performed on a high recovery force polyurethane shape memory polymer that is being considered for biomedical applications. The tensile tests investigated the free recovery (zero load) response as well as the constrained displacement recovery (stress recovery) response at extension values up to 25%, and two consecutive cycles were performed during each test. The material was observed to recover 100% of the applied deformation when heated at zero load in the second thermomechanical cycle, and a stress recovery of 1.5–4.2 MPa was observed for the constrained displacement recovery experiments. After the experiments were performed, the Chen and Lagoudas model was used to simulate and predict the experimental results. The material properties used in the constitutive model—namely the coefficients of thermal expansion, shear moduli, and frozen volume fraction—were calibrated from a single 10% extension free recovery experiment. The model was then used to predict the material response for the remaining free recovery and constrained displacement recovery experiments. The model predictions match well with the experimental data

  18. Assessing the additional impact of Process Recovery Communications on Customer Outcomes: A Comprehensive Service Recovery Approach

    OpenAIRE

    Y. VAN VAERENBERGH; B. LARIVIÈRE; I. VERMEIR

    2009-01-01

    Purpose – Services recoveries following service failures not only imply customer recovery opportunities in which customer-company relationships can be restored, they can also result in process improvements (i.e. process recoveries in literature). This paper seeks to identify the additional impact of process recoveries on four customer outcome variables (satisfaction with service recovery, overall satisfaction, repurchase intent and word-of-mouth) by communicating these improvements back to th...

  19. A baseline metabolomic signature is associated with immunological CD4+ T-cell recovery after 36 months of antiretroviral therapy in HIV-infected patients.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rodríguez-Gallego, Esther; Gómez, Josep; Pacheco, Yolanda M; Peraire, Joaquim; Viladés, Consuelo; Beltrán-Debón, Raúl; Mallol, Roger; López-Dupla, Miguel; Veloso, Sergi; Alba, Verónica; Blanco, Julià; Cañellas, Nicolau; Rull, Anna; Leal, Manuel; Correig, Xavier; Domingo, Pere; Vidal, Francesc

    2018-03-13

    Poor immunological recovery in treated HIV-infected patients is associated with greater morbidity and mortality. To date, predictive biomarkers of this incomplete immune reconstitution have not been established. We aimed to identify a baseline metabolomic signature associated with a poor immunological recovery after antiretroviral therapy (ART) to envisage the underlying mechanistic pathways that influence the treatment response. This was a multicentre, prospective cohort study in ART-naive and a pre-ART low nadir (Immunological recovery was defined as reaching CD4 T-cell count at least 250 cells/μl after 36 months of virologically successful ART. We used univariate comparisons, Random Forest test and receiver-operating characteristic curves to identify and evaluate the predictive factors of immunological recovery after treatment. HIV-infected patients with a baseline metabolic pattern characterized by high levels of large high density lipoprotein (HDL) particles, HDL cholesterol and larger sizes of low density lipoprotein particles had a better immunological recovery after treatment. Conversely, patients with high ratios of non-HDL lipoprotein particles did not experience this full recovery. Medium very-low-density lipoprotein particles and glucose increased the classification power of the multivariate model despite not showing any significant differences between the two groups. In HIV-infected patients, a baseline healthier metabolomic profile is related to a better response to ART where the lipoprotein profile, mainly large HDL particles, may play a key role.

  20. the dutch crisis and recovery act: economic recovery and legal crisis

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Jonathan

    THE DUTCH CRISIS AND RECOVERY ACT: ECONOMIC RECOVERY AND. LEGAL CRISIS? J Verschuuren. 1 Introduction. Throughout the world, governments are responding to the financial and economic crisis. Such responses vary from supporting the banking system to adopting economic stimulus packages. The latter ...

  1. BIFIDUM-MEDIUM FOR ISOLATION AND CULTIVATION OF BIFIDOBACTERIA

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    L. V. Domotenko

    2014-01-01

    Full Text Available The comparative evaluation of Bifidum-medium quality (the nutrient medium for cultivation and selection bifidobacteria, dry and Blaurock medium has been performed. It was shown that Bifidum-medium supports the typical growth of the main types of bifidobacteria: Bifidobacterium bifidum, B. breve, B. adolescentis, B. infantis, B. longum. The comparable results for the efficacy and the activity accumulation of acid were obtained in the study of probiotic «bifidumbacterin » using both media. In studies of faecal material the medium concentration of bifidobacteria was found 8.15 lg CFU/g on Bifidum-medium and 6.68 lg CFU/g on Blaurock medium.

  2. Sticking to the “Factual.” Man Ray’s Le Retour à la raison (1923, Marcel Duchamp’s Anémic cinéma (1924–26 and Peter Tscherkassky’s Dream Work (2001

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Gabriele Jutz

    2014-07-01

    Full Text Available The present article seeks to show that, for the Dadaists, film was an unsatisfying medium because as a technically reproduced artifact it counteracted Dada’s sense of immediacy. The focus of my text revolves around the notion of “facticity” inspired by Wieland Herzfelde, for whom Dada represented a reaction to all attempts at disavowing the “factual.” Manifestations of Dada, such as the readymade, live performance, collage, photomontage and not least the photogram, attest to a radically new understanding of realism in art, adhering to an “anti-mimetic concept of realism” (Elsaesser. As I will argue, Dada did not capitulate to film, but made a ‘compromise,’ by exploring different strategies to reinsert the “factual“ into this medium of reproduction. This could be done by (1 turning a screening into a live performance, (2 eliciting a bodily reaction in the spectator, (3 experimenting with hand-made, camera-less devices of film making, and (4 calling to mind the material existence of the cinematic apparatus. What these strategies have in common is to minimalize (although not necessarily to abolish the distance between “reality” and its representation in order to maintain film’s initial tactility, as described by Walter Benjamin in “The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction.” Man Ray’s Le Retour à la raison (1923 and Marcel Duchamp’s Anémic cinéma (1924–26 are prototypes of the Dadaist ‘compromise.’ A similar impetus can be found in a more recent example, Dream Work (2001, the third part of Peter Tscherkassky’s CinemaScope-Trilogy, which explicitly refers to the early days of French experimental film. What these three films, despite their differences, have in common, is to privilege a certain immediacy (be it during the moment of production or during the moment of reception and to include an element of tactility, usually absent from cinematic works.

  3. Recovery of Cd(II), Co(II) and Ni(II) from Chloride Medium by Solvent Extraction Using CYANEX 923 and CYANEX 272 I

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ahmed, M.; El Dessouky, S.I.; El-Nadi, Y.A.; Daoud, J.A.; Saad, E.A.

    2008-01-01

    The paper aims to study the extraction and separation of Cd(II), Co(II) and Ni(II) from their mixtures in hydrochloric acid medium with CYANEX 923 in kerosene. Preliminary investigations showed that only Cd(II) is extracted with CYANEX 923 while Co(II) and Ni(II) are not extracted. Different parameters affecting the extraction of Cd(II) with CYANEX 923 such as hydrochloric acid, hydrogen ion, extractant and metal concentrations, temperature investigations were also investigated. The stoichiometry of the extracted metal species investigated was found to be HCdCl 3 . 2 CYANEX 923. The stripping of the extracted Cd(II) species is obtained with 0.1 M HCl solution. Co(II) was found to be extracted with CYANEX 272 at ph 5.8 leaving Ni(II) in the solution. A developed process for the sequential of Cd(II), Co(II) and Ni(II) from their mixture in hydrochloric acid medium is proposed

  4. Effect of Listeria seeligeri or Listeria welshimeri on Listeria monocytogenes detection in and recovery from buffered Listeria enrichment broth.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dailey, Rachel C; Welch, Lacinda J; Hitchins, Anthony D; Smiley, R Derike

    2015-04-01

    The presence of multiple species of Listeria in regulated food products is not uncommon and can complicate the recovery of Listeria monocytogenes particularly on a non-differentiating medium. The potential complications of Listeria seeligeri and Listeria welshimeri on the recovery of L. monocytogenes from inoculated food test samples using the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's (FDA) selective enrichment procedure was investigated. Post-enrichment enumeration, in the absence of food product, indicates that some L. seeligeri and L. monocytogenes pairings may have population differentials as great as 2.7 ± 0.1 logs with L. seeligeri being the predominant species. A similar observation was noted for L. welshimeri and L. monocytogenes pairings which resulted in population differentials as large as 3.7 ± 0.2 logs with L. welshimeri being the predominant species. Select strain pairings were used to inoculate guacamole, crab meat, broccoli, and cheese with subsequent recovery by the FDA Bacteriological Analytical Manual (BAM) method with 10 colonies per sample selected for confirmation. The presence of L. seeligeri had little effect on the recovery of L. monocytogenes. The presence of L. welshimeri resulted in the failure to recover L. monocytogenes in three out of the four food matrices. This work extends the observation that non-pathogenic species of Listeria can complicate the recovery of L. monocytogenes and that competition during selective enrichment is not limited to the presence of just Listeria innocua. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

  5. Effect of Listeria seeligeri or Listeria welshimeri on Listeria monocytogenes detection in and recovery from buffered Listeria enrichment broth☆

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dailey, Rachel C.; Welch, Lacinda J.; Hitchins, Anthony D.; Smiley, R. Derike

    2016-01-01

    The presence of multiple species of Listeria in regulated food products is not uncommon and can complicate the recovery of Listeria monocytogenes particularly on a non-differentiating medium. The potential complications of Listeria seeligeri and Listeria welshimeri on the recovery of L. monocytogenes from inoculated food test samples using the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's (FDA) selective enrichment procedure was investigated. Post-enrichment enumeration, in the absence of food product, indicates that some L. seeligeri and L. monocytogenes pairings may have population differentials as great as 2.7 ± 0.1 logs with L. seeligeri being the predominant species. A similar observation was noted for L. welshimeri and L. monocytogenes pairings which resulted in population differentials as large as 3.7 ± 0.2 logs with L. welshimeri being the predominant species. Select strain pairings were used to inoculate guacamole, crab meat, broccoli, and cheese with subsequent recovery by the FDA Bacteriological Analytical Manual (BAM) method with 10 colonies per sample selected for confirmation. The presence of L. seeligeri had little effect on the recovery of L. monocytogenes. The presence of L. welshimeri resulted in the failure to recover L. monocytogenes in three out of the four food matrices. This work extends the observation that non-pathogenic species of Listeria can complicate the recovery of L. monocytogenes and that competition during selective enrichment is not limited to the presence of just Listeria innocua. PMID:25475325

  6. Is high recovery more effective than expected recovery in addressing service failure? - a moral judgment perspective

    OpenAIRE

    Chen, Tong; Ma, Ke; Bian, Xuemei; Zheng, Chundong; Devlin, James

    2018-01-01

    In the context of two distinctive consumer categories and two different product settings, this research examines the effects of recovery on recovery performance as a function of consumer moral judgment of service failure. The findings of two studies reveal that consumers' response to recovery anchors on the magnitude of recovery but these responses are adjusted according to consumers' moral judgment of service failure. Specifically, consumers react more positively toward expected recovery tha...

  7. Factores de riesgo en pacientes con sospecha de úlcera corneal micótica en Pinar del Río Risk factors found in patients with possible diagnosis of mycotic corneal ulcer in Pinar del Río province

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Janet González Sotero

    2010-12-01

    Full Text Available OBJETIVOS: Identificar los principales factores de riesgo en pacientes con sospecha de úlcera corneal micótica en la provincia Pinar del Río. MÉTODOS: Se realizó una investigación observacional, analítica de tipo caso-control. La información fue obtenida a través de la revisión de historias clínicas de los pacientes que ingresaron en el Servicio de Oftalmología del Hospital Clinicoquirúrgico "Abel Santamaría Cuadrado" con impresión diagnóstica de úlcera corneal micótica en el periodo comprendido entre el 1 de enero de 2004 y el 30 de noviembre de 2007. Se emplearon como variables edad, sexo, ocupación, tipo de lugar de residencia, antecedente reciente de trauma corneal con materia vegetal, trauma corneal, uso de lentes de contacto, uso de esteroides tópicos, enfermedades sistémicas inmunosupresoras, cirugía ocular previa y enfermedades crónicas de la superficie ocular. Se emplearon medidas de frecuencia y asociación. RESULTADOS: Se determinó que la ocupación, el tipo de lugar de residencia y el antecedente de trauma corneal con materia vegetal constituyen posibles factores de riesgo de la úlcera corneal micótica en esa provincia. La frecuencia de la úlcera corneal micótica fue de un 27 % con respecto al total de pacientes ingresados con diagnóstico de úlcera corneal. El sexo más afectado fue el masculino y el grupo etario el de 38 a 57 años. CONCLUSIONES: El antecedente de trauma corneal con materia vegetal, el lugar de residencia rural y las actividades laborales relacionadas con la manipulación directa de plantas constituyeron factores de riesgo de úlcera corneal micótica en los pacientes estudiados. La frecuencia de la úlcera corneal micótica en el estudio se correspondió con el patrón observado en países con clima cálido y húmedo, especialmente cerca del ecuador. La úlcera corneal micótica es más común en hombres en edades laboralmente activas.OBJECTIVE: To identify the main risk factors in

  8. Mechanisms behind injecting the combination of nano-clay particles and polymer solution for enhanced oil recovery

    Science.gov (United States)

    Khalili Nezhad, Seyyed Shahram; Cheraghian, Goshtasp

    2016-08-01

    Laboratory investigations and field applications have proved injection of polymer solution to be an effective means to improve oil recovery for reservoirs of medium oil viscosity. The incremental oil produced in this case is the result of an increase in areal and vertical sweep efficiencies. Biopolymers and synthetic polymers are the major categories used in the petroleum industry for specific reasons. Biopolymers like xanthan are limited in their application as they are more susceptible to biodegradation. Synthetic polymers like Hydrolyzed PolyAcrylaMide (HPAM) have a much wider application as they are less susceptible to biodegradation. Furthermore, development of nanotechnology has successfully provided technical and economical viable alternatives for present materials. The objective of this study is to investigate the effect of combining clay nanoparticles with polymer solution on oil recovery. This paper includes a history match of both one-dimensional and two-dimensional polymer floods using a three-dimensional numerical model for fluid flow and mass transport. Results indicated that the amount of polymer adsorption decreased when clay nanoparticles were added to the PolyAcrylaMide solution; however, mobility ratio improvement is believed to be the main contributor for the proposed method in order to enhance much oil recovery compared to xanthan flood and HPAM flood.

  9. Recovery Spirituality

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ernest Kurtz

    2015-01-01

    Full Text Available There is growing interest in Alcoholics Anonymous (A.A. and other secular, spiritual, and religious frameworks of long-term addiction recovery. The present paper explores the varieties of spiritual experience within A.A., with particular reference to the growth of a wing of recovery spirituality promoted within A.A. It is suggested that the essence of secular spirituality is reflected in the experience of beyond (horizontal and vertical transcendence and between (connection and mutuality and in six facets of spirituality (Release, Gratitude, Humility, Tolerance, Forgiveness, and a Sense of Being-at-home shared across religious, spiritual, and secular pathways of addiction recovery. The growing varieties of A.A. spirituality (spanning the “Christianizers” and “Seculizers” reflect A.A.’s adaptation to the larger diversification of religious experience and the growing secularization of spirituality across the cultural contexts within which A.A. is nested.

  10. Recovery from a psychiatrist's viewpoint.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Diamond, Ronald J

    2006-09-01

    Recovery is not the same as cure. Recovery from mental illness is the process of having more to life than just illness. It is an ongoing process rather than simply a goal that can be achieved. Recovery from the stigma of mental illness may be as difficult as recovery from the illness itself. Several common, but incorrect, beliefs can interfere with the recovery process. Myths include the belief that the illness has an inherently downhill course, that rehabilitation is useful only after stabilization, and that people with schizophrenia can only work at low-level jobs. People who have schizophrenia have reported that their own process of recovery was helped by their determination to get better, an understanding of the illness, taking personal responsibility, having friends who accept them, an optimistic attitude, and spiritual beliefs that help them find meaning in life.

  11. LEGISLATIVE STUDY ON THE GOVERNMENT REGULATION ON SOME ECONOMIC RECOVERY MEASURES

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    BOSTAN Ionel

    2014-06-01

    Full Text Available This paper addresses the most significant elements related to the direct enactment by the executive authority – following the most difficult moments of the financial crisis (2009-2010 – of some key measures in determining the economic recovery/growth. Special attention is given to the problem of growth strengthening and sustainable competitiveness of small and medium enterprises, as well as to the issue of stimulating the set up and development of micro enterprises by junior entrepreneurs. Considering things from the legal perspective, we also stop upon the legislative measures taken by the Government to support SME access to financial guarantees and credits. Obviously, in the context following the peak of the financial crisis, we took into consideration the regulation on stimulating the development of new jobs and the regime of state aids, as well. This latter issue includes, we believe, the most important references to State aid schemes on stimulating the investments with a major impact in the economy, the ‘de minimis’ aid for the investments made by small and medium-sized enterprises, and also to the issues arising from the implementation of a State aid scheme to support the investments which promote the regional development by creating jobs.

  12. Houston Recovery Initiative: A Rich Case Study of Building Recovery Communities One Voice at a Time.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bitting, Sara; Nash, Angela; Ochoa, Ashley

    2016-01-01

    Recovery from alcohol and drug problems is a process of change through which an individual achieves control and improved quality of life. Recovery is a primary goal for individuals with substance use disorder as it provides hope that treatment and overall health are possible for every individual. More than 23 million Americans are in recovery from addiction to alcohol and other drugs.Recovery-oriented systems of care (ROSC) are networks of community services and peer support that help individuals and families achieve recovery from substances and improve overall health. ROSC is a strengths-based and person-centered model that leverages existing community resources to address the needs of individuals and families as they progress through the journey of recovery. The ROSC model serves as the foundation of the Houston Recovery Initiative (HRI).The purpose of this article is to describe the history, development, and infrastructure of the HRI, which is a volunteer collaboration whose main goal is to educate the community on recovery and broaden the recovery safety net for people with substance use disorder in Houston, Texas. Since 2010, the HRI has grown to include more than 200 agencies across the spectrum of treatment and recovery support services in Houston so as to provide a resource for the community. Herein, we detail efforts to grow the HRI, lessons learned, future plans, and resources needed to move the HRI forward.

  13. Thermo-economic optimization of heat recovery steam generator for a range of gas turbine exhaust temperatures

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Nadir, Mahmoud; Ghenaiet, Adel; Carcasci, Carlo

    2016-01-01

    Highlights: • Thermo-economic optimization of HRSG configurations. • The maximum value of the net present value was targeted for the economic optimization. • Three level HRSG is the best option in respect of power output and high priced medium. • Two level HRSG is the best for net benefit in low and intermediate priced mediums. - Abstract: This paper illustrates the effect of selling price on the optimum design parameters of a heat recovery steam generator (HRSG) and the selection of its ideal configuration for an outlet temperature range of 350–650 °C. The Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO) method was used, considering the steam cycle specific work as an objective to be maximized, the net present value as another objective to be maximized for the economic optimization and a combination of both. Three configurations of heat recovery steam generators are considered with one, two and three pressure levels and a reheat. The results show that, the three pressure level system is the best configuration from a thermodynamic point of view, but with respect to the economical aspect the two pressure levels is the best configuration for the low and medium selling prices (0.04 $/kW h, 0.08 $/kW h and 0.2 $/kW h), whereas the three pressure level configuration would only be interesting for a high selling price of 0.3 $/kW h and a temperature range 450–600 °C. For a temperature of 650 °C, the high cost of the three level system leads to a decrease in the net present value. As the selling price increases the optimized design parameters of the three pressure level HRSG based on economic or thermodynamic optimization are similar. The obtained results are used to elaborate a new correlation relating the net present value with the gas turbine outlet temperature, gas mass flow rate, number of levels of HRSG and selling price.

  14. Effect of culture medium on polymer production and temperature on recovery of polymer produced from newly identified Rhyzopus oryzae ST29

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Tipparat Hongpattarakere

    2008-04-01

    Full Text Available Thermotolerant fungal isolate ST29 was identified by observing on cell morphology and molecular technique based on internal transcribed spacer (ITS gene to be Rhizopus oryzae. Among four culture media tested, the strain exhibited the highest growth in yeast malt extract (YM medium (4.87 g/l, followed by Sabouraud dextrose broth (SDB (4.25 g/l, potato dextrose broth (PDB (4.10 g/l and palm oil mill effluent (POME (3.29 g/l, respectively, after 4 days cultivation at 45oC. However, the strain was found to produce polymer only in POME medium at 45oC, but not in the three synthetic media tested. Effect of temperature on separation of the biopolymer produced by this fungal strain was studied by incubating the culture broth in water bath with temperatures in the range of room temperature to 70oC. The biopolymer was recovered by filtration, centrifugation, and precipitation by adding 4 volumes of 95% ethanol, then freeze-drying. These temperatures therefore had no influence on the biopolymer yields (5.58-5.78 g/l or on biomass yields (2.90-3.29 g/l.

  15. Photonic-resonant left-handed medium

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Shen Jianqi

    2006-01-01

    A new scheme to realize simultaneously negative permittivity and permeability in a coherent atomic vapor medium (photonic-resonant material) via a coherent driving mechanism is suggested. It is verified that the atomic system coherently driven by a strong optical field will give rise to a negative refractive index in certain probe frequency ranges. One of the most remarkable features of the present scheme is such that a slab fabricated by the left-handed vapor medium is an ideal candidate for designing perfect lenses since the photonic-resonant atomic vapor cannot only exhibit an isotropic negative refractive index, but also provide a good impedance match at the air-medium interfaces

  16. DYNAMIC DEFORMATION THE VISCOELASTIC TWOCOMPONENT MEDIUM

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    V. S. Polenov

    2015-01-01

    Full Text Available Summary. In the article are scope harmonious warping of the two-component medium, one component which are represent viscoelastic medium, hereditary properties which are described by the kernel aftereffect Abel integral-differential ratio BoltzmannVolterr, while second – compressible liquid. Do a study one-dimensional case. Use motion equation of two-component medium at movement. Look determination system these equalization in the form of damped wave. Introduce dimensionless coefficient. Combined equations happen to homogeneous system with complex factor relatively waves amplitude in viscoelastic component and in fluid. As a result opening system determinant receive biquadratic equation. Elastic operator express through kernel aftereffect Abel for space Fourier. With the help transformation and symbol series biquadratic equation reduce to quadratic equation. Come to the conclusion that in two-component viscoelastic medium exist two mode sonic waves. As a result solution of quadratic equation be found description advance of waves sonic in viscoelastic two-component medium, which physical-mechanical properties represent complex parameter. Velocity determination advance of sonic waves, attenuation coefficient, mechanical loss tangent, depending on characteristic porous medium and circular frequency formulas receive. Graph dependences of description advance of waves sonic from the temperature logarithm and with the fractional parameter γ are constructed.

  17. Loop transfer recovery for general observer architecture

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Niemann, Hans Henrik; Søgaard-Andersen, Per; Stoustrup, Jakob

    1991-01-01

    A general and concise formulation is given of the loop transfer recovery (LTR) design problem based on recovery errors. Three types of recovery errors are treated: open loop recovery, sensitivity recovery and input-output recovery errors. The three corresponding versions of the asymptotic recovery...... recovery cases. This general recovery formulation covers all known observer based compensator types as special cases. The conditions given in this setting are effectively the aim of all known LTR design methods. The recovery formulation is interpreted in terms of a modelmatching problem as well, which...... is examined by means of the Q-parametrization. It is shown how the general controller obtained by the Q-parametrization can be written as a Luenberger observer based controller. In all cases, n controller states suffice to achieve recovery. The compensators are characterized for errors both on the input...

  18. A Case of Onychomycosis Caused by Rhodotorula glutinis

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Hatice Uludag Altun

    2014-01-01

    Full Text Available Rhodotorula spp. have emerged as opportunistic pathogens, particularly in immunocompromised patients. The current study reports a case of onychomycosis caused by Rhodotorula glutinis in a 74-year-old immunocompetent female. The causative agent was identified as R. glutinis based on the pinkish-orange color; mucoid-appearing yeast colonies on Sabouraud Dextrose Agar at 25°C; morphological evaluation in the Corn Meal-Tween 80 agar; observed oval/round budding yeast at 25°C for 72 hours; no observed pseudohyphae; positive urease activity at 25°C for 4 days; and assimilation features detected by API ID 32C kit and automated Vitek Yeast Biochemical Card 2 system. Antifungal susceptibility test results were as follows: amphotericin B (MIC = 0.5 µg/mL, fluconazole (MIC = 128 µg/mL, itraconazole (MIC = 0.125 µg/mL, voriconazole (MIC = 1 µg/mL, posaconazole (MIC = 0.5 µg/mL, anidulafungin (MIC = 0.5 µg/mL, and caspofungin (MIC = 16 µg/mL. Antifungal therapy was initiated with oral itraconazole at a dose of 400 mg/day; seven-day pulse therapy was planned at intervals of three weeks. Clinical recovery was observed in the clinical evaluation of the patient before the start of the third cure. Although R. glutinis has rarely been reported as the causative agent of onychomycosis, it should be considered.

  19. A Case of Onychomycosis Caused by Rhodotorula glutinis

    Science.gov (United States)

    Uludag Altun, Hatice; Turk Aribas, Emel; Gorpelioglu, Canan; Karabicak, Nilgun

    2014-01-01

    Rhodotorula spp. have emerged as opportunistic pathogens, particularly in immunocompromised patients. The current study reports a case of onychomycosis caused by Rhodotorula glutinis in a 74-year-old immunocompetent female. The causative agent was identified as R. glutinis based on the pinkish-orange color; mucoid-appearing yeast colonies on Sabouraud Dextrose Agar at 25°C; morphological evaluation in the Corn Meal-Tween 80 agar; observed oval/round budding yeast at 25°C for 72 hours; no observed pseudohyphae; positive urease activity at 25°C for 4 days; and assimilation features detected by API ID 32C kit and automated Vitek Yeast Biochemical Card 2 system. Antifungal susceptibility test results were as follows: amphotericin B (MIC = 0.5 µg/mL), fluconazole (MIC = 128 µg/mL), itraconazole (MIC = 0.125 µg/mL), voriconazole (MIC = 1 µg/mL), posaconazole (MIC = 0.5 µg/mL), anidulafungin (MIC = 0.5 µg/mL), and caspofungin (MIC = 16 µg/mL). Antifungal therapy was initiated with oral itraconazole at a dose of 400 mg/day; seven-day pulse therapy was planned at intervals of three weeks. Clinical recovery was observed in the clinical evaluation of the patient before the start of the third cure. Although R. glutinis has rarely been reported as the causative agent of onychomycosis, it should be considered. PMID:25328721

  20. Quality of Recovery after Anesthesia: Validation of the Portuguese Version of the 'Quality of Recovery 15' Questionnaire.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sá, Ana Carolina; Sousa, Gabriela; Santos, Alice; Santos, Cristina; Abelha, Fernando José

    2015-01-01

    The "Quality of Recovery 15" questionnaire is used for the study of quality recovery after anesthesia. The aim of this study was to validate the Portuguese version of "Quality of Recovery 15" questionnaire. After study approval by the institutional ethics committee, an observational and cohort prospective study was conducted on patients scheduled for elective surgery from June to August 2013. The "Quality of Recovery 15" questionnaire was translated in accordance with available guidelines. The "Quality of Recovery 15" Portuguese version was used before surgery (T0) and 24h postoperatively (T1) on 170 patients. Patients who were unable to give informed consent or had cognitive impairment were excluded. Poor quality of recovery was defined for "Quality of Recovery 15" score at T1 lower than the mean "Quality of Recovery 15" score minus 1 standard deviation. Reliability and observer disagreement was assessed using interclass correlation. Non-parametric tests were used for comparisons. There was a negative correlation between "Quality of Recovery 15" score and time spent in the postanesthesia care(p = -0.264, p = 0.004) and length of hospital stay (p = -0.274, p = 0.004). Thirty-two patients (19%) had poor quality of recovery. Patients with poor quality of recovery had more frequently diabetes mellitus and hypertension and they were taking antidepressants drugs more frequently. Patients with poor quality of recovery were more frequently submitted to combined anesthesia and less frequently to general anesthesia and locoregional anesthesia (p = 0.008). The questionnaire had a good internal consistency and test-retest reliability was good. The Portuguese version of the "Quality of Recovery 15" showed a good correlation with the original. This questionnaire appears to be an accurate and reliable assessment for quality of recovery.

  1. Magnetic blocking direct-recovery efficiency

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Whealton, J.H.; Wooten, J.H.; McGaffey, R.W.

    1981-10-01

    The ion recovery efficiency of a transverse magnetic field monochromatic direct recovery device intended for intense neutral beams is examined theoretically by solving a Poisson-Vlasov equation. An optimum in recovery efficiency is obtained for finite ion current density and excess initial speed

  2. Degradation testing of Mg alloys in Dulbecco's modified eagle medium: Influence of medium sterilization.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Marco, Iñigo; Feyerabend, Frank; Willumeit-Römer, Regine; Van der Biest, Omer

    2016-05-01

    This work studies the in vitro degradation of Mg alloys for bioabsorbable implant applications under near physiological conditions. For this purpose, the degradation behaviour of Mg alloys in Dulbecco's modified eagle medium (DMEM) which is a commonly used cell culture medium is analysed. Unfortunately, DMEM can be contaminated by microorganisms, acidifying the medium and accelerating the Mg degradation process by dissolution of protective degradation layers, such as (Mgx,Cay)(PO4)z. In this paper the influence of sterilization by applying UV-C radiation and antibiotics (penicillin/streptomycin) is analysed with two implant material candidates: Mg-Gd and Mg-Ag alloys; and pure magnesium as well as Mg-4Y-3RE as a reference. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  3. Choice of Scottish Gaelic-Medium and Welsh-Medium Education at the Primary and Secondary School Stages: Parent and Pupil Perspectives

    Science.gov (United States)

    O'Hanlon, Fiona

    2015-01-01

    Results are presented of a comparative study of the reasons for parental choice of Scottish Gaelic-medium and Welsh-medium primary education in the year 2000 and of the reasons for pupils' decisions to continue with Gaelic or Welsh-medium education at secondary school in 2007. Parents in both contexts cited the quality of Celtic-medium education…

  4. Recovery of antimony-125 from tin-124 irradiated by neutrons

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Baluev, A.V.; Mityakhina, V.S.; Krasnikov, L.V.; Galkin, B.Ya.; Besnosyuk, V.I.

    2003-01-01

    Separation of 125 Sb from tin using highly basic, medium-basic, and weakly basic ion-exchangers was studied. The best results were obtained for AN-31 weakly basic anion exchanger. The yield of 125 Sb was 95 -98 % of the initial activity, the yield of tin, 98 ± 0.5% of the initial amount. The separation coefficient is 10 6 -10 7 for one cycle. A procedure based on ion exchange was developed. Extraction procedures of separation of 125 Sb from tin were studied. Isoamyl alcohol, ethyl acetate, and di-n-butyl ether were used as extracting agents. The most efficient extracting agent is di-n-butyl ether. Carrier-free radiochemically pure sample of 125 Sb was produced. More than 20 mCi of the target product was recovered. The extraction recovery procedure of 125 Sb has been developed. (author)

  5. Repair of segmental load-bearing bone defect by autologous mesenchymal stem cells and plasma-derived fibrin impregnated ceramic block results in early recovery of limb function.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ng, Min Hwei; Duski, Suryasmi; Tan, Kok Keong; Yusof, Mohd Reusmaazran; Low, Kiat Cheong; Rose, Isa Mohamed; Mohamed, Zahiah; Bin Saim, Aminuddin; Idrus, Ruszymah Bt Hj

    2014-01-01

    Calcium phosphate-based bone substitutes have not been used to repair load-bearing bone defects due to their weak mechanical property. In this study, we reevaluated the functional outcomes of combining ceramic block with osteogenic-induced mesenchymal stem cells and platelet-rich plasma (TEB) to repair critical-sized segmental tibial defect. Comparisons were made with fresh marrow-impregnated ceramic block (MIC) and partially demineralized allogeneic bone block (ALLO). Six New Zealand White female rabbits were used in each study group and three rabbits with no implants were used as negative controls. By Day 90, 4/6 rabbits in TEB group and 2/6 in ALLO and MIC groups resumed normal gait pattern. Union was achieved significantly faster in TEB group with a radiological score of 4.50 ± 0.78 versus ALLO (1.06 ± 0.32), MIC (1.28 ± 0.24), and negative controls (0). Histologically, TEB group scored the highest percentage of new bone (82% ± 5.1%) compared to ALLO (5% ± 2.5%) and MIC (26% ± 5.2%). Biomechanically, TEB-treated tibiae achieved the highest compressive strength (43.50 ± 12.72 MPa) compared to those treated with ALLO (15.15 ± 3.57 MPa) and MIC (23.28 ± 6.14 MPa). In conclusion, TEB can repair critical-sized segmental load-bearing bone defects and restore limb function.

  6. Repair of Segmental Load-Bearing Bone Defect by Autologous Mesenchymal Stem Cells and Plasma-Derived Fibrin Impregnated Ceramic Block Results in Early Recovery of Limb Function

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Min Hwei Ng

    2014-01-01

    Full Text Available Calcium phosphate-based bone substitutes have not been used to repair load-bearing bone defects due to their weak mechanical property. In this study, we reevaluated the functional outcomes of combining ceramic block with osteogenic-induced mesenchymal stem cells and platelet-rich plasma (TEB to repair critical-sized segmental tibial defect. Comparisons were made with fresh marrow-impregnated ceramic block (MIC and partially demineralized allogeneic bone block (ALLO. Six New Zealand White female rabbits were used in each study group and three rabbits with no implants were used as negative controls. By Day 90, 4/6 rabbits in TEB group and 2/6 in ALLO and MIC groups resumed normal gait pattern. Union was achieved significantly faster in TEB group with a radiological score of 4.50 ± 0.78 versus ALLO (1.06 ± 0.32, MIC (1.28 ± 0.24, and negative controls (0. Histologically, TEB group scored the highest percentage of new bone (82% ± 5.1% compared to ALLO (5% ± 2.5% and MIC (26% ± 5.2%. Biomechanically, TEB-treated tibiae achieved the highest compressive strength (43.50 ± 12.72 MPa compared to those treated with ALLO (15.15 ± 3.57 MPa and MIC (23.28 ± 6.14 MPa. In conclusion, TEB can repair critical-sized segmental load-bearing bone defects and restore limb function.

  7. Medium Modifications of Hadrons in Photon Induced Reactions

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Schadmand, S.

    2004-01-01

    Indications for in-medium modifications of hadron properties are reported from photoabsorption and meson production experiments. Strong medium modifications are observed in inclusive photoabsorption experiments and theoretical models investigate the in-medium dynamics of baryon resonances and their coupling to mesons. Recent experiments study the in-medium behavior of scalar and vector mesons where theoretical models expect in-medium modifications of the meson spectral functions that might be connected to partial restoration of chiral symmetry

  8. Course of Recovery from Alcoholism

    Science.gov (United States)

    Venner, Kamilla L.; Matzger, Helen; Forcehimes, Alyssa A.; Moos, Rudolf H.; Feldstein, Sarah W.; Willenbring, Mark L.; Weisner, Constance

    2010-01-01

    This article represents the proceedings of a symposium at the 2005 Research Society on Alcoholism meeting in Santa Barbara, California, organized and chaired by Kamilla L. Venner. This symposium integrated current empirical research on the course of recovery from alcoholism from multiple perspectives, an aim that is consistent with NIAAA's new focus on the process of recovery. The presentations and presenters were as follows: (1) The Role of Community Services and Informal Support on 7-Year Drinking Outcomes in Treated and Untreated Drinkers, by Helen Matzger; (2) The Sequence of Recovery Events in a Native American Sample, by Kamilla L. Venner; (3) Transformational Change in Recovery, by Alyssa A. Forcehimes; (4) Social Settings and Substance Use: Contextual Factors in Recovery, by Rudolf H. Moos; and (5) A Broader View of Change in Drinking Behavior, by discussant Mark L. Willenbring. A theme connecting the presentations was that treatment is but one discrete aspect to recovery and that sustained recovery is often influenced by an individual interaction with others within a social context. Collectively, presentations underscored the need to think more broadly about factors contributing to the remission of alcohol dependence. PMID:16737468

  9. Comparison between two braking control methods integrating energy recovery for a two-wheel front driven electric vehicle

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Itani, Khaled; De Bernardinis, Alexandre; Khatir, Zoubir; Jammal, Ahmad

    2016-01-01

    Highlights: • Comparison between two braking methods for an EV maximizing the energy recovery. • Wheels slip ratio control based on robust sliding mode and ECE R13 control methods. • Regenerative braking control strategy. • Energy recovery of a HESS with respect to road surface type and road condition. - Abstract: This paper presents the comparison between two braking methods for a two-wheel front driven Electric Vehicle maximizing the energy recovery on the Hybrid Energy Storage System. The first method consists in controlling the wheels slip ratio while braking using a robust sliding mode controller. The second method will be based on ECE R13H constraints for an M1 passenger vehicle. The vehicle model used for simulation is a simplified five degrees of freedom model. It is driven by two 30 kW permanent magnet synchronous motor (PMSM) recovering energy during braking phases. Several simulation results for extreme braking conditions will be performed and compared on various road type surfaces using Matlab/Simulink®. For an initial speed of 80 km/h, simulation results demonstrate that the difference of energy recovery efficiency between the two control braking methods is beneficial to the ECE constraints control method and it can vary from 3.7% for high friction road type to 11.2% for medium friction road type. At low friction road type, the difference attains 6.6% due to different reasons treated in the paper. The stability deceleration is also discussed and detailed.

  10. Mapping of moveout in a TTI medium

    KAUST Repository

    Stovas, A.; Alkhalifah, Tariq Ali

    2012-01-01

    To compute moveout in a transversely isotropic medium with tilted symmetry axis is a very complicated problem. We propose to split this problem into two parts. First, to compute the moveout in a corresponding VTI medium. Second, to map the computed moveout to a TTI medium.

  11. Fractional diffusion equation for heterogeneous medium

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Polo L, M. A.; Espinosa M, E. G.; Espinosa P, G.; Del Valle G, E.

    2011-11-01

    The asymptotic diffusion approximation for the Boltzmann (transport) equation was developed in 1950 decade in order to describe the diffusion of a particle in an isotropic medium, considers that the particles have a diffusion infinite velocity. In this work is developed a new approximation where is considered that the particles have a finite velocity, with this model is possible to describe the behavior in an anomalous medium. According with these ideas the model was obtained from the Fick law, where is considered that the temporal term of the current vector is not negligible. As a result the diffusion equation of fractional order which describes the dispersion of particles in a highly heterogeneous or disturbed medium is obtained, i.e., in a general medium. (Author)

  12. El cómic en la enseñanza del español como lengua extranjera

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jorge Catalá Carrasco

    2007-01-01

    Full Text Available La experiencia práctica que voy a relatar pretende mostrar las posibilidades que el cómic tiene, como producto cultural, dentro de las clases de español para extranjeros. Mi relación con las clases de español como lengua extranjera (E/LE se ciñe a estudiantes universitarios de un nivel avanzado, esto es, aquellos que han cursado las clases básicas de gramática y quieren profundizar en la lengua y la cultura hispánicas. Dentro de este marco es donde encuadro la presente experiencia. Los estudiantes con los que he trabajado provienen, en su mayoría, de The University of Georgia en los EE.UU. y cursan un semestre en Valencia (España para perfeccionar el idioma. Mi relación profesional con esta universidad norteamericana data de hace más de 4 años, primero como profesor asistente de español en los EE.UU. y luego como coordinador y profesor dentro del programa académico UGA en España, en Valencia.

  13. El cómic en la enseñanza del español como lengua extranjera

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jorge Catalá Carrasco

    2012-08-01

    Full Text Available La experiencia práctica que voy a relatar pretende mostrar las posibilidades que el cómic tiene, como producto cultural, dentro de las clases de español para extranjeros. Mi relación con las clases de español como lengua extranjera (E/LE se ciñe a estudiantes universitarios de un nivel avanzado, esto es,  aquellos que han cursado las clases básicas de gramática y quieren profundizar en la lengua y la cultura hispánicas. Dentro de este marco es donde encuadro la presente experiencia. Los estudiantes con los que he trabajado provienen, en su mayoría, de The University of Georgia en los EE.UU. y cursan un semestre en Valencia (España para perfeccionar el idioma. Mi relación profesional con esta universidad norteamericana data de hace más de 4 años, primero como profesor asistente de español en los EE.UU. y luego como  coordinador y profesor dentro del programa académico UGA en España, en Valencia.

  14. Optical illusions induced by rotating medium

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zang, XiaoFei; Huang, PengCheng; Zhu, YiMing

    2018-03-01

    Different from the traditional single-function electromagnetic wave rotators (rotate the electromagnetic wavefronts), we propose that rotating medium can be extended to optical illusions such as breaking the diffraction limit and overlapping illusion. Furthermore, the homogeneous but anisotropic rotating medium is simplified by homogeneous and isotropic positive-index materials according to the effective medium theory, which is helpful for future device fabrication. Finite element simulations for the two-dimensional case are performed to demonstrate these properties.

  15. Potato dextrose agar antifungal susceptibility testing for yeasts and molds: evaluation of phosphate effect on antifungal activity of CMT-3.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liu, Yu; Tortora, George; Ryan, Maria E; Lee, Hsi-Ming; Golub, Lorne M

    2002-05-01

    The broth macrodilution method (BMM) for antifungal susceptibility testing, approved by the National Committee for Clinical Laboratory Standards (NCCLS), was found to have deficiencies in testing of the antifungal activity of a new type of antifungal agent, a nonantibacterial chemically modified tetracycline (CMT-3). The high content of phosphate in the medium was found to greatly increase the MICs of CMT-3. To avoid the interference of phosphate in the test, a new method using potato dextrose agar (PDA) as a culture medium was developed. Eight strains of fungi, including five American Type Culture Collection strains and three clinical isolates, were used to determine the MICs of amphotericin B and itraconazole with both the BMM and the PDA methods. The MICs of the two antifungal agents determined with the PDA method showed 99% agreement with those determined with the BMM method within 1 log(2) dilution. Similarly, the overall reproducibility of the MICs with the PDA method was above 97%. Three other antifungal agents, fluconazole, ketoconazole, and CMT-3, were also tested in parallel against yeasts and molds with both the BMM and the PDA methods. The MICs of fluconazole and ketoconazole determined with the PDA method showed 100% agreement within 1 log(2) dilution of those obtained with the BMM method. However, the MICs of CMT-3 determined with the BMM method were as high as 128 times those determined with the PDA method. The effect of phosphate on the antifungal activity of CMT-3 was evaluated by adding Na2HPO4 to PDA in the new method. It was found that the MIC of CMT-3 against a Penicillium sp. increased from 0.5 microg/ml (control) to 2.0 microg/ml when the added phosphate was used at a concentration of 0.8 mg/ml, indicating a strong interference of Na2HPO4 with the antifungal activity of CMT-3. Except for fluconazole, all the other antifungal agents demonstrated clear end points among the yeasts and molds tested. Nevertheless, with its high reproducibility

  16. Mesons in the nuclear Medium

    CERN Document Server

    Kotulla, M

    2006-01-01

    We discuss recent experimental results on the modification of hadron properties in a nuclear medium. Particular emphasis is placed on an $\\omega$ production experiment performed by the CBELSA/TAPS collaboration at the ELSA accelerator. The data shows a smaller $\\omega$ meson mass together with a significant increase of its width in the nuclear medium.

  17. Evaluation of new polymers for enhanced oil recovery; Avaliacao de novos polimeros para recuperacao aumentada de petroleo

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Maia, Ana M.S.; Chagas, Emanuel F.; Costa, Marta; Garcia, Rosangela B. [Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Norte (UFRN), Natal, RN (Brazil)

    2004-07-01

    The main polymers used nowadays for enhanced oil recovery, partially hydrolysed polyacrylamides and xanthan gum, show some limitations, such as low tolerance to salt presence and biological degradation. Therefore, it is necessary the improvement of the polymeric properties. With this goal, a new class of polymers, named 'water-soluble polymers hydrophobically modified' or simply 'amphiphilic polymers', has been developed. In this work, it was obtained a water-soluble acrylamide polymer hydrophobically modified with N,N-dihexyl acrylamide, using the micellar copolymerization technique. After the structural and rheological characterization of the copolymer, its performance in porous medium was evaluated through core flood tests in Botucatu sandstone. In the presence of sodium chloride, the amphiphilic copolymer presented a great increase of viscosity, besides values of resistance factor and of residual resistance factor higher than for the commercial polyacrylamide. This behavior can favor the oil recovery, mainly in high salinity and permeability reservoirs, by improving the water flooding sweep efficiency. (author)

  18. Recovery of uranium from phosphoric acid medium by polymeric composite beads encapsulating organophosphorus extractants

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Singh, D.K.; Yadav, K.K.; Varshney, L.; Singh, H. [Bhabha Atomic Research Centre, Mumbai 400 085 (India)

    2013-07-01

    The present study deals with the preparation and evaluation of the poly-ethersulfone (PES) based composite beads encapsulating synergistic mixture of D2EHPA and Cyanex 923 (at 4:1 mole ratio) for the separation of uranium from phosphoric acid medium. SEM was used for the characterization of the composite materials. Addition of 1% PVA (polyvinyl alcohol) improved the internal morphology and porosity of the beads. Additionally, microscopic examination of the composite bead confirmed central coconut type cavity surrounded by porous polymer layer of the beads through which exchange of metal ions take place. Effect of various experimental variables including aqueous acidity, metal ion concentration in aqueous feed, concentration of organic extractant inside the beads, extractant to polymer ratio, liquid to solid (L/S) ratio and temperature on the extraction of uranium was studied. Increase in acidity (1-6 M), L/S ratio (1- 10), metal ion concentration (0.2-3 g/L U{sub 3}O{sub 8}) and polymer to extractant ratio (1:4 -1:10) led to decrease in extraction of uranium. At 5.5 M (comparable to wet process phosphoric acid concentration) the extraction of uranium was about 85% at L/S ratio 5. Increase in extractant concentration inside the bead resulted in enhanced extraction of metal ion. Increase in temperature in the range of 30 to 50 Celsius degrees increased the extraction, whereas further increase to 70 C degrees led to the decrease in extraction of uranium. Amongst various reagents tested, stripping of uranium was quantitative by 12% Na{sub 2}CO{sub 3} solution. Polymeric beads were found to be stable and reusable up-to 10 cycles of extraction/stripping. (authors)

  19. A review of technologies and performances of thermal treatment systems for energy recovery from waste

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Lombardi, Lidia, E-mail: lidia.lombardi@unicusano.it [Niccolò Cusano University, via Don Carlo Gnocchi, 3, 00166 Rome (Italy); Carnevale, Ennio [Industrial Engineering Department, University of Florence, via Santa Marta, 3, 50129 Florence (Italy); Corti, Andrea [Department of Information Engineering and Mathematics, University of Siena, via Roma, 56, 53100 (Italy)

    2015-03-15

    Highlights: • The topic of energy recovery from waste by thermal treatment is reviewed. • Combustion, gasification and pyrolysis were considered. • Data about energy recovery performances were collected and compared. • Main limitations to high values of energy performances were illustrated. • Diffusion of energy recovery from waste in EU, USA and other countries was discussed. - Abstract: The aim of this work is to identify the current level of energy recovery through waste thermal treatment. The state of the art in energy recovery from waste was investigated, highlighting the differences for different types of thermal treatment, considering combustion/incineration, gasification and pyrolysis. Also different types of wastes – Municipal Solid Waste (MSW), Refuse Derived Fuel (RDF) or Solid Refuse Fuels (SRF) and some typologies of Industrial Waste (IW) (sludge, plastic scraps, etc.) – were included in the analysis. The investigation was carried out mainly reviewing papers, published in scientific journals and conferences, but also considering technical reports, to gather more information. In particular the goal of this review work was to synthesize studies in order to compare the values of energy conversion efficiencies measured or calculated for different types of thermal processes and different types of waste. It emerged that the dominant type of thermal treatment is incineration associated to energy recovery in a steam cycle. When waste gasification is applied, the produced syngas is generally combusted in a boiler to generate steam for energy recovery in a steam cycle. For both the possibilities – incineration or gasification – cogeneration is the mean to improve energy recovery, especially for small scale plants. In the case of only electricity production, the achievable values are strongly dependent on the plant size: for large plant size, where advanced technical solutions can be applied and sustained from an economic point of view, net

  20. Evaluation of a flue gas driven open absorption system for heat and water recovery from fossil fuel boilers

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Wang, Zhenying; Zhang, Xiaoyue; Li, Zhen

    2016-01-01

    Highlights: • Flue gas driven open absorption system that efficiently recovers total heat. • Efficient heat and water recovery for various kinds of fossil fuel boilers. • Heat and water recovery efficiencies increase with moisture content of flue gas. • Temperature requirements for district heat supply and domestic hot water were met. • Experimental system surpasses conventional condensing system in total heat recovery. - Abstract: This paper presents an open absorption system for total heat recovery from fossil fuel boilers using the high temperature flue gas as the regeneration heat source. In this system, liquid desiccant serves as the recycling medium, which absorbs waste heat and moisture contained in the low temperature flue gas in the packed tower and then regenerates in the regenerator by the high temperature flue gas. Water vapor generated in the regenerator gets condensed after releasing heat to the heating water system and the condensing water also gets recycled. The return water collects heat from the solution water heat exchanger, the flue gas water heat exchanger and the condenser respectively and is then used for district heating. Driven by the vapor pressure difference between high humidity flue gas and the liquid desiccant, the heat recovery efficiency of the system is not limited by the dew point of the flue gas, enabling a warmer water to be heated up than the conventional condensing boiler. The performance of this system was analyzed theoretically and experimentally and the results showed that the system operated well for both district heat supply and domestic hot water supply. The system efficiency increased with the moisture content of flue gas and the total heat recovery was about 8.5%, 17.2%, 21.2%, and 9.2% higher than the conventional condensing system in the case of coal fired boiler, fuel oil boiler, natural gas boiler, and coke oven gas boiler, respectively.

  1. Defining recovery in adult bulimia nervosa.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yu, Jessica; Agras, W Stewart; Bryson, Susan

    2013-01-01

    To examine how different definitions of recovery lead to varying rates of recovery, maintenance of recovery, and relapse in bulimia nervosa (BN), end-of-treatment (EOT) and follow-up data were obtained from 96 adults with BN. Combining behavioral, physical, and psychological criteria led to recovery rates between 15.5% and 34.4% at EOT, though relapse was approximately 50%. Combining these criteria and requiring abstinence from binge eating and purging when defining recovery may lead to lower recovery rates than those found in previous studies; however, a strength of this definition is that individuals who meet this criteria have no remaining disordered behaviors or symptoms.

  2. Probabilistic accident sequence recovery analysis

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Stutzke, Martin A.; Cooper, Susan E.

    2004-01-01

    Recovery analysis is a method that considers alternative strategies for preventing accidents in nuclear power plants during probabilistic risk assessment (PRA). Consideration of possible recovery actions in PRAs has been controversial, and there seems to be a widely held belief among PRA practitioners, utility staff, plant operators, and regulators that the results of recovery analysis should be skeptically viewed. This paper provides a framework for discussing recovery strategies, thus lending credibility to the process and enhancing regulatory acceptance of PRA results and conclusions. (author)

  3. Selection of culture medium and conditions for the production of ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    defined medium–A, defined medium-B, synthetic medium, rich medium and industrial medium) showed that the synthetic medium yielded maximum yeast biomass (12.8 g/LDCW) followed by rich medium (11.7 g/L DCW) and defined medium B ...

  4. Digital monitoring of mycelium growth kinetics and vigor of shiitake (Lentinula edodes (Berk. Pegler on agar medium Monitoramento digital do crescimento e vigor do shiitake (Lentinula edodes (Berk. Pegler em meio de cultura

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Renato Mamede de Castro Montini

    2006-03-01

    Full Text Available The mycelium growth kinetics and vigor of shiitake (Lentinula edodes (Berk. Pegler strains LE 96/17, LE 98/51, LE 98/53, and LE 98/56 were studied under different agar medium compositions. The strains were from the mycological collection of the Módulo de Cogumelos, Faculdade de Ciências Agronômicas, Unesp-Botucatu, Brazil. Mycelium fragments from stock cultures were transferred to Petri dishes with Sawdust extract-Dextrose-Agar medium. The area of growth and vigor (density of the mycelia were daily recorded with a digital camera, during incubation, until the complete colonization of the Petri dish. The images were analyzed by the freeware UTHSCSA ImageTool, v. 2.0, developed by the University of Texas Health Science Center, San Antonio. The kinetics of mycelium growth, as measured by the mycelium area (mm², has as a deterministic component an exponential function of Gompertz. The vigor, as evaluated by mycelium color in gray scale, was similar for all strains, reached a maximal value between the 4th and 5th day of incubation and decreased further on. The velocity of growth of L. edodes strains was lower in enriched culture media, while vigor was higher. Digital monitoring permits a objective evaluation of the growth kinetics of L. edodes in vitro.Avaliou-se o crescimento e vigor das linhagens LE 96/17, LE 98/51, LE 98/53 e LE 98/56 de Lentinula edodes (Berk Pegler em diferentes composições de meio de cultura. As linhagens foram provenientes da Micoteca do Módulo de Cogumelos da Faculdade de Ciências Agronômicas, Unesp, Campus de Botucatu. Os isolados foram obtidos por propagação vegetativa, pela transferência asséptica do micélio para o meio de cultura de extrato de serragem-dextrose-ágar. O crescimento e vigor do micélio foi fotografado diariamente com uma câmera digital, durante a incubação, até a colonização total da placa de Petri. As imagens foram analisadas pelo programa UTHSCSA ImageTool (freeware, versão 2

  5. Modular Energy-Efficient and Robust Paradigms for a Disaster-Recovery Process over Wireless Sensor Networks.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Razaque, Abdul; Elleithy, Khaled

    2015-07-06

    Robust paradigms are a necessity, particularly for emerging wireless sensor network (WSN) applications. The lack of robust and efficient paradigms causes a reduction in the provision of quality of service (QoS) and additional energy consumption. In this paper, we introduce modular energy-efficient and robust paradigms that involve two archetypes: (1) the operational medium access control (O-MAC) hybrid protocol and (2) the pheromone termite (PT) model. The O-MAC protocol controls overhearing and congestion and increases the throughput, reduces the latency and extends the network lifetime. O-MAC uses an optimized data frame format that reduces the channel access time and provides faster data delivery over the medium. Furthermore, O-MAC uses a novel randomization function that avoids channel collisions. The PT model provides robust routing for single and multiple links and includes two new significant features: (1) determining the packet generation rate to avoid congestion and (2) pheromone sensitivity to determine the link capacity prior to sending the packets on each link. The state-of-the-art research in this work is based on improving both the QoS and energy efficiency. To determine the strength of O-MAC with the PT model; we have generated and simulated a disaster recovery scenario using a network simulator (ns-3.10) that monitors the activities of disaster recovery staff; hospital staff and disaster victims brought into the hospital. Moreover; the proposed paradigm can be used for general purpose applications. Finally; the QoS metrics of the O-MAC and PT paradigms are evaluated and compared with other known hybrid protocols involving the MAC and routing features. The simulation results indicate that O-MAC with PT produced better outcomes.

  6. Enhancing the auto-flocculation of photosynthetic bacteria to realize biomass recovery in brewery wastewater treatment.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lu, Haifeng; Dong, Shan; Zhang, Guangming; Han, Ting; Zhang, Yuanhui; Li, Baoming

    2018-02-15

    Photosynthetic bacteria (PSB) wastewater treatment technology can simultaneously realize wastewater purification and biomass production. The produced biomass contains high value-added products, which can be used in medical and agricultural industry. However, because of the small size and high electronegativity, PSB are hard to be collected from wastewater, which hampers the commercialization of PSB-based industrial processes. Auto-flocculation is a low cost, energy saving, non-toxic biomass collection method for microbiology. In this work, the influence factors with their optimal levels and mechanism for enhancing the auto-flocculation of PSB were investigated in pure cultivation medium. Then PSB auto-flocculation performance in real brewery wastewater was probed. Results showed that Na + concentration, pH and light intensity were three crucial factors except the initial inoculum sizes and temperature. In the pure medium cultivation system, the optimal condition for PSB auto-flocculation was as follows: pH was 9.5, inoculum size was 420 mg l -1 , Na + concentration was 0.067 mol l -1 , light intensity was 5000 lux, temperature was 30°C. Under the optimal condition, the auto-flocculation ratio and biomass recovery reached 85.0% and 1488 mg l -1 , which improved by 1.67-fold and 2.14-fold compared with the PSB enrichment cultivation conditions, respectively. Mechanism analysis showed that the protein/polysaccharides ratio and absolute Zeta potential value had a liner relationship. For the brewery wastewater treatment, under the above optimal condition, the chemical oxygen demand removal reached 94.3% with the auto-flocculation ratio and biomass recovery of 89.6% and 1510 mg l -1 , which increased 2.75-fold and 2.77-fold, respectively.

  7. Effect of Galacto-Oligosaccharides: Maltodextrin Matrices on the Recovery of Lactobacillus plantarum after Spray-Drying

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sosa, Natalia; Gerbino, Esteban; Golowczyc, Marina A.; Schebor, Carolina; Gómez-Zavaglia, Andrea; Tymczyszyn, E. Elizabeth

    2016-01-01

    In this work maltodextrins were added to commercial galacto-oligosaccharides (GOS) in a 1:1 ratio and their thermophysical characteristics were analyzed. GOS:MD solutions were then used as matrices during spray-drying of Lactobacillus plantarum CIDCA 83114. The obtained powders were equilibrated at different relative humidities (RH) and stored at 5 and 20°C for 12 weeks, or at 30°C for 6 weeks. The Tgs of GOS:MD matrices were about 20–30°C higher than those of GOS at RH within 11 and 52%. A linear relation between the spin-spin relaxation time (T2) and T-Tg parameter was observed for GOS:MD matrices equilibrated at 11, 22, 33, and 44% RH at 5, 20, and 30°C. Spray-drying of L. plantarum CIDCA 83114 in GOS:MD matrices allowed the recovery of 93% microorganisms. In contrast, only 64% microorganisms were recovered when no GOS were included in the dehydration medium. Survival of L. plantarum CIDCA 83114 during storage showed the best performance for bacteria stored at 5°C. In a further step, the slopes of the linear regressions provided information about the rate of microbial inactivation for each storage condition (k values). This information can be useful to calculate the shelf-life of spray-dried starters stored at different temperatures and RH. Using GOS:MD matrices as a dehydration medium enhanced the recovery of L. plantarum CIDCA 83114 after spray-drying. This strategy allowed for the first time the spray-drying stabilization of a potentially probiotic strain in the presence of GOS. PMID:27199918

  8. Heart Attack Recovery FAQs

    Science.gov (United States)

    ... recommendations to make a full recovery. View an animation of a heart attack . Heart Attack Recovery Questions ... Support Network Popular Articles 1 Understanding Blood Pressure Readings 2 Sodium and Salt 3 Heart Attack Symptoms ...

  9. Spatially Dispersed Employee Recovery

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Hvass, Kristian Anders; Torfadóttir, Embla

    2014-01-01

    Employee recovery addresses either employee well-being or management's practices in aiding employees in recovering themselves following a service failure. This paper surveys the cabin crew at a small, European, low-cost carrier and investigates employees' perceptions of management practices to aid...... personnel achieve service recovery. Employee recovery within service research often focuses on front-line employees that work in a fixed location, however a contribution to the field is made by investigating the recovery of spatially dispersed personnel, such as operational personnel in the transport sector......, who have a work place away from a fixed or central location and have minimal management contact. Results suggest that the support employees receive from management, such as recognition, information sharing, training, and strategic awareness are all important for spatially dispersed front...

  10. Ecological and genetic data indicate recovery of the endangered coral Acropora palmata in Los Roques, Southern Caribbean

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zubillaga, A. L.; Márquez, L. M.; Cróquer, A.; Bastidas, C.

    2008-03-01

    The rapid decline of Acropora cervicornis and Acropora palmata has often been linked with coral reef deterioration in the Caribbean; yet, it remains controversial whether these species are currently recovering or still declining. In this study, the status of ten populations of A. palmata in Los Roques National Park (LRNP), Venezuela is presented. Six of these populations showed signs of recovery. Ten 80 m2 belt-transects were surveyed at each of the ten reef sites. Within belt-transects, each colony was measured (maximum diameter and height) and its status (healthy, diseased or injured) was recorded. Populations in recovery were defined by a dominance of small to medium-sized colonies in densities >1 colony per 10 m2, together with 75% undamaged colonies, a low prevalence of diseases (<10%), and a low density of predators (0.25 snails per colony). Based on allozyme analysis of seven polymorphic loci in four populations ( N = 30), a moderate to high-genetic connectivity among these populations ( F ST = 0.048) was found with a predominance of sexual over asexual reproduction ( N* : N = 1; N go : N = 0.93-1). Both ecological and molecular data support a good prognosis for the recovery of this species in Los Roques.

  11. Structuring Disaster Recovery Infrastructure Decisions: Lessons from Boulder County's 2013 Flood Recovery

    Science.gov (United States)

    Clavin, C.; Petropoulos, Z.

    2017-12-01

    Recovery phase decision making processes, as compared to mitigation and response phase decision making processes, require communities make significant financial and capital decisions in the months after a disaster. Collectively, these investments may significantly contribute to the resilience of a community to future hazards. Pre-disaster administrative decisions are well-established within existing planning processes. Post-event recovery requires community decision makers to quickly evaluate technical proposals and manage significant recovery financial resources to ensure their community rebuilds in a manner that will be more resilient to future events. These technical and administrative hurdles in the aftermath of a disaster create a challenging atmosphere to make sound, scientifically-informed decisions leading to resilient recovery. In September 2013, a 1,000-year rain event that resulted in flooding throughout the Front Range of Colorado, significantly impacting Boulder County. While the event is long past, disaster recovery efforts still continue in parts of Boulder County. Boulder County officials formed a county collaborative that adapted the NIST Community Resilience Planning Guide for Buildings and Infrastructure Systems to facilitate a goals-based multi-criteria decision making process. Rather than use hazard-based information to guide infrastructure design, the county's decision process established time-to-recovery goals for infrastructure systems that were used as criteria for project design. This presentation explores the decision-making process employed by Boulder County to specify design standards for resilient rebuilding of infrastructure systems and examine how this infrastructure planning model could be extrapolated to other situations where there is uncertainty regarding future infrastructure design standards.

  12. Amniocar as a proliferative medium for mesenchymal cells

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    V. V. Chestkov

    2014-01-01

    Full Text Available Objectives. To develop the Amniocar nutrient medium that contains fetal calf serum (FCS and growth factors cocktail for mass cultivation of human fibroblasts. To study proliferative activity of the medium on cultures of HUVEC cells of mesenchymal origin and mesenchymal stromal cells, as well as on cell culture of human amniotic fluid.Materials and methods. Determination of the rate of accumulation of the cellular mass and cell morphology in the course of cultivation of cells of various histogenesis in the Amniocar medium and nutrient medium that contains 10 % of FCS.Results. It has been demonstrated that the Amniocar medium is prevalent as compared to the standard DMEM medium with 10 % of FCS by 2 to 5 times for cultivation of skin fibroblasts, HUVEC, and mesenchymal stem cells. The Amniocar medium increased the quantity of endothelial cells that enter mitosis and maintained the culture of HUVEC cells with prolonged passaging in vitro. Clonal cultivation of human amniotic fluid cells in the Amniocar medium secured development of colonies of both fibroblast and epithelial type.Conclusions. Proliferative Amniocar medium is efficient for mass cultivation of various cells of mesenchymal origin and can be used for diagnostic purposes in medical genetics, oncology, etc.

  13. Radon in geological medium

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Hricko, J [GEOCOMPLEX, a.s., Bratislava (Slovakia)

    1996-12-31

    The paper presented deals with behavior of the radon in geological medium and with some results of the radon survey in Bratislava and Kosice regions. 1) The a{sub v} has been detected in the holes 0.80 m deep. The density of observations - 3 reference areas (one represents 20 stations) per 1 km{sup 2}. The radon risk maps in 1:25000 and 1:50000 scales have been compiled. The 56.8% of the project area lies in low radon risk, 37.6% in medium radon risk and 5.6% in high radon risk. Follow-up monitoring of the equivalent volume radon activity (EVRA) at the flats, located in the areas with high radon risk of the surface layer, has showed values several times higher than Slovak limits (Marianka, Raca, Vajnory). The evidence that neotectonic is excellent medium for rising up emanation to the subsurface layer, is shown on the map. The tectonic zone of Liscie udolie in Bratislava-Karlova Ves area has been clearly detected by profile radon survey (a{sub v} > 50 kBq/m{sup 3}). 2) At present, northern half of the area of Kosice in question was covered by radon survey. The low and medium radon risks have been observed here, while localities with high radon risk are small in extent. The part of radon risk and soil permeability map from northern Kosice area is shown. (J.K.) 3 figs., 2 refs.

  14. Radon in geological medium

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hricko, J.

    1995-01-01

    The paper presented deals with behavior of the radon in geological medium and with some results of the radon survey in Bratislava and Kosice regions. 1) The a v has been detected in the holes 0.80 m deep. The density of observations - 3 reference areas (one represents 20 stations) per 1 km 2 . The radon risk maps in 1:25000 and 1:50000 scales have been compiled. The 56.8% of the project area lies in low radon risk, 37.6% in medium radon risk and 5.6% in high radon risk. Follow-up monitoring of the equivalent volume radon activity (EVRA) at the flats, located in the areas with high radon risk of the surface layer, has showed values several times higher than Slovak limits (Marianka, Raca, Vajnory). The evidence that neotectonic is excellent medium for rising up emanation to the subsurface layer, is shown on the map. The tectonic zone of Liscie udolie in Bratislava-Karlova Ves area has been clearly detected by profile radon survey (a v > 50 kBq/m 3 ). 2) At present, northern half of the area of Kosice in question was covered by radon survey. The low and medium radon risks have been observed here, while localities with high radon risk are small in extent. The part of radon risk and soil permeability map from northern Kosice area is shown. (J.K.) 3 figs., 2 refs

  15. Experimental study on electromagnetic-assisted ZnO nanofluid flooding for enhanced oil recovery (EOR).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Adil, Muhammad; Lee, Keanchuan; Mohd Zaid, Hasnah; Ahmad Latiff, Noor Rasyada; Alnarabiji, Mohamad Sahban

    2018-01-01

    Recently, nano-EOR has emerged as a new frontier for improved and enhanced oil recovery (IOR & EOR). Despite their benefits, the nanoparticles tend to agglomerate at reservoir conditions which cause their detachment from the oil/water interface, and are consequently retained rather than transported through a porous medium. Dielectric nanoparticles including ZnO have been proposed to be a good replacement for EOR due to their high melting point and thermal properties. But more importantly, these particles can be polarized under electromagnetic (EM) irradiation, which provides an innovative smart Nano-EOR process denoted as EM-Assisted Nano-EOR. In this study, parameters involved in the oil recovery mechanism under EM waves, such as reducing mobility ratio, lowering interfacial tensions (IFT) and altering wettability were investigated. Two-phase displacement experiments were performed in sandpacks under the water-wet condition at 95°C, with permeability in the range of 265-300 mD. A crude oil from Tapis oil field was employed; while ZnO nanofluids of two different particle sizes (55.7 and 117.1 nm) were prepared using 0.1 wt. % nanoparticles that dispersed into brine (3 wt. % NaCl) along with SDBS as a dispersant. In each flooding scheme, three injection sequential scenarios have been conducted: (i) brine flooding as a secondary process, (ii) surfactant/nano/EM-assisted nano flooding, and (iii) second brine flooding to flush nanoparticles. Compare with surfactant flooding (2% original oil in place/OOIP) as tertiary recovery, nano flooding almost reaches 8.5-10.2% of OOIP. On the other hand, EM-assisted nano flooding provides an incremental oil recovery of approximately 9-10.4% of OOIP. By evaluating the contact angle and interfacial tension, it was established that the degree of IFT reduction plays a governing role in the oil displacement mechanism via nano-EOR, compare to mobility ratio. These results reveal a promising way to employ water-based ZnO nanofluid for

  16. Experimental study on electromagnetic-assisted ZnO nanofluid flooding for enhanced oil recovery (EOR)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ahmad Latiff, Noor Rasyada; Alnarabiji, Mohamad Sahban

    2018-01-01

    Recently, nano-EOR has emerged as a new frontier for improved and enhanced oil recovery (IOR & EOR). Despite their benefits, the nanoparticles tend to agglomerate at reservoir conditions which cause their detachment from the oil/water interface, and are consequently retained rather than transported through a porous medium. Dielectric nanoparticles including ZnO have been proposed to be a good replacement for EOR due to their high melting point and thermal properties. But more importantly, these particles can be polarized under electromagnetic (EM) irradiation, which provides an innovative smart Nano-EOR process denoted as EM-Assisted Nano-EOR. In this study, parameters involved in the oil recovery mechanism under EM waves, such as reducing mobility ratio, lowering interfacial tensions (IFT) and altering wettability were investigated. Two-phase displacement experiments were performed in sandpacks under the water-wet condition at 95°C, with permeability in the range of 265–300 mD. A crude oil from Tapis oil field was employed; while ZnO nanofluids of two different particle sizes (55.7 and 117.1 nm) were prepared using 0.1 wt. % nanoparticles that dispersed into brine (3 wt. % NaCl) along with SDBS as a dispersant. In each flooding scheme, three injection sequential scenarios have been conducted: (i) brine flooding as a secondary process, (ii) surfactant/nano/EM-assisted nano flooding, and (iii) second brine flooding to flush nanoparticles. Compare with surfactant flooding (2% original oil in place/OOIP) as tertiary recovery, nano flooding almost reaches 8.5–10.2% of OOIP. On the other hand, EM-assisted nano flooding provides an incremental oil recovery of approximately 9–10.4% of OOIP. By evaluating the contact angle and interfacial tension, it was established that the degree of IFT reduction plays a governing role in the oil displacement mechanism via nano-EOR, compare to mobility ratio. These results reveal a promising way to employ water-based ZnO nanofluid

  17. Utilizing Geographic Information Systems (GIS) to analyze geographic and demographic patterns related to forensic case recovery locations in Florida.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kolpan, Katharine E; Warren, Michael

    2017-12-01

    This paper highlights how Geographic Information Systems (GIS) can be utilized to analyze biases and patterns related to physical and cultural geography in Florida. Using case recovery locations from the C. Addison Pound Human Identification Laboratory (CAPHIL), results indicate that the majority of CAPHIL cases are recovered from urban areas with medium to low population density and low rates of crime. The results also suggest that more accurate record keeping methods would enhance the data. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  18. Physical processes in the interstellar medium

    CERN Document Server

    Spitzer, Lyman

    2008-01-01

    Physical Processes in the Interstellar Medium discusses the nature of interstellar matter, with a strong emphasis on basic physical principles, and summarizes the present state of knowledge about the interstellar medium by providing the latest observational data. Physics and chemistry of the interstellar medium are treated, with frequent references to observational results. The overall equilibrium and dynamical state of the interstellar gas are described, with discussions of explosions produced by star birth and star death and the initial phases of cloud collapse leading to star formation.

  19. Probing the mechanisms of drug release from amorphous solid dispersions in medium-soluble and medium-insoluble carriers.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sun, Dajun D; Lee, Ping I

    2015-08-10

    The objective of the current study is to mechanistically differentiate the dissolution and supersaturation behaviors of amorphous drugs from amorphous solid dispersions (ASDs) based on medium-soluble versus medium-insoluble carriers under nonsink dissolution conditions through a direct head-to-head comparison. ASDs of indomethacin (IND) were prepared in several polymers which exhibit different solubility behaviors in acidic (pH1.2) and basic (pH7.4) dissolution media. The selected polymers range from water-soluble (e.g., PVP and Soluplus) and water-insoluble (e.g., ethylcellulose and Eudragit RL PO) to those only soluble in an acidic or basic dissolution medium (e.g., Eudragit E100, Eudragit L100, and HPMCAS). At 20wt.% drug loading, DSC and powder XRD analysis confirmed that the majority of incorporated IND was present in an amorphous state. Our nonsink dissolution results confirm that whether the carrier matrix is medium soluble determines the release mechanism of amorphous drugs from ASD systems which has a direct impact on the rate of supersaturation generation, thus in turn affecting the evolution of supersaturation in amorphous systems. For example, under nonsink dissolution conditions, the release of amorphous IND from medium-soluble carriers is governed by a dissolution-controlled mechanism leading to an initial surge of supersaturation followed by a sharp decline in drug concentration due to rapid nucleation and crystallization. In contrast, the dissolution of IND ASD from medium-insoluble carriers is more gradual as drug release is regulated by a diffusion-controlled mechanism by which drug supersaturation is built up gradually and sustained over an extended period of time without any apparent decline. Since several tested carrier polymers can be switched from soluble to insoluble by simply changing the pH of the dissolution medium, the results obtained here provide unequivocal evidence of the proposed transition of kinetic solubility profiles from the

  20. Recovery rates, enhanced oil recovery and technological limits.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Muggeridge, Ann; Cockin, Andrew; Webb, Kevin; Frampton, Harry; Collins, Ian; Moulds, Tim; Salino, Peter

    2014-01-13

    Enhanced oil recovery (EOR) techniques can significantly extend global oil reserves once oil prices are high enough to make these techniques economic. Given a broad consensus that we have entered a period of supply constraints, operators can at last plan on the assumption that the oil price is likely to remain relatively high. This, coupled with the realization that new giant fields are becoming increasingly difficult to find, is creating the conditions for extensive deployment of EOR. This paper provides a comprehensive overview of the nature, status and prospects for EOR technologies. It explains why the average oil recovery factor worldwide is only between 20% and 40%, describes the factors that contribute to these low recoveries and indicates which of those factors EOR techniques can affect. The paper then summarizes the breadth of EOR processes, the history of their application and their current status. It introduces two new EOR technologies that are beginning to be deployed and which look set to enter mainstream application. Examples of existing EOR projects in the mature oil province of the North Sea are discussed. It concludes by summarizing the future opportunities for the development and deployment of EOR.