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Sample records for multi mixture treated

  1. Chemical and microbiological assessments of the multi mixture treated by gamma radiation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Goncalves, Cinthia Graciele

    2008-01-01

    In Brazil, the multi mixture have being used since the eighties as an alternative against severe infantile malnutrition of the poorest population. However, its use is still reason of controversies mainly due to: the presence of anti nutritional factors, the microbiological quality and the nutritional value. Considering the routine use of multi mixture in the region, this work aimed to evaluate samples of multi mixture were collected in the metropolitan area of the City of Belo Horizonte/MG for determining the anti nutritional factors (phytic and oxalic acids), the microbiological quality, the centesimal and mineral composition, and still the induced effect in these factors of the gamma radiation. For the analyses, the samples passed by the process of gamma irradiation at doses of: 2, 4, 6, 8 and 10 kGy and then were evaluated anti nutritional factors (phytic acid and oxalic), the microbiological quality (yeasts and molds, Salmonella, Coagulase positive Staphylococcus, Bacillus cereus, coliform to 45 deg C) to full percentage (moisture, ash, proteins, carbohydrates and lipids) and the efficiency of the method of Paramagnetic Electronic Resonance (EPR) in the detection of irradiated samples. The mineral composition of the samples was carried out by the irradiation by Neutronic Activation. The methods used were searched in literature. The obtained results suggest that the concentration of the phytic and oxalic acids can not be appropriated for the children with severe nutritional deficit and that it would be necessary additional control in their daily ingestion due to the absorption of essential minerals. In general the samples had presented acceptable microbiological quality for consumption, except by one of it. The data of the centesimal and mineral composition, in the usually recommended portions, showed lower concentration than recommended for children. Any significant alteration in phytic and oxalic acids as well as in the centesimal composition were detected

  2. Multi-temperature mixture of fluids

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ruggeri Tommaso

    2009-01-01

    Full Text Available We present a survey on some recent results concerning the different models of a mixture of compressible fluids. In particular we discuss the most realistic case of a mixture when each constituent has its own temperature (MT and we first compare the solutions of this model with the one with a unique common temperature (ST . In the case of Eulerian fluids it will be shown that the corresponding (ST differential system is a principal subsystem of the (MT one. Global behavior of smooth solutions for large time for both systems will also be discussed through the application of the Shizuta-Kawashima condition. Then we introduce the concept of the average temperature of mixture based upon the consideration that the internal energy of the mixture is the same as in the case of a single-temperature mixture. As a consequence, it is shown that the entropy of the mixture reaches a local maximum in equilibrium. Through the procedure of Maxwellian iteration a new constitutive equation for non-equilibrium temperatures of constituents is obtained in a classical limit, together with the Fick's law for the diffusion flux. Finally, to justify the Maxwellian iteration, we present for dissipative fluids a possible approach of a classical theory of mixture with multi-temperature and we prove that the differences of temperatures between the constituents imply the existence of a new dynamical pressure even if the fluids have a zero bulk viscosity.

  3. Multi-objective mixture-based iterated density estimation evolutionary algorithms

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Thierens, D.; Bosman, P.A.N.

    2001-01-01

    We propose an algorithm for multi-objective optimization using a mixture-based iterated density estimation evolutionary algorithm (MIDEA). The MIDEA algorithm is a prob- abilistic model building evolutionary algo- rithm that constructs at each generation a mixture of factorized probability

  4. Efficient and robust relaxation procedures for multi-component mixtures including phase transition

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Han, Ee; Hantke, Maren; Müller, Siegfried

    2017-01-01

    We consider a thermodynamic consistent multi-component model in multi-dimensions that is a generalization of the classical two-phase flow model of Baer and Nunziato. The exchange of mass, momentum and energy between the phases is described by additional source terms. Typically these terms are handled by relaxation procedures. Available relaxation procedures suffer from efficiency and robustness resulting in very costly computations that in general only allow for one-dimensional computations. Therefore we focus on the development of new efficient and robust numerical methods for relaxation processes. We derive exact procedures to determine mechanical and thermal equilibrium states. Further we introduce a novel iterative method to treat the mass transfer for a three component mixture. All new procedures can be extended to an arbitrary number of inert ideal gases. We prove existence, uniqueness and physical admissibility of the resulting states and convergence of our new procedures. Efficiency and robustness of the procedures are verified by means of numerical computations in one and two space dimensions. - Highlights: • We develop novel relaxation procedures for a generalized, thermodynamically consistent Baer–Nunziato type model. • Exact procedures for mechanical and thermal relaxation procedures avoid artificial parameters. • Existence, uniqueness and physical admissibility of the equilibrium states are proven for special mixtures. • A novel iterative method for mass transfer is introduced for a three component mixture providing a unique and admissible equilibrium state.

  5. Multi-Step Time Series Forecasting with an Ensemble of Varied Length Mixture Models.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ouyang, Yicun; Yin, Hujun

    2018-05-01

    Many real-world problems require modeling and forecasting of time series, such as weather temperature, electricity demand, stock prices and foreign exchange (FX) rates. Often, the tasks involve predicting over a long-term period, e.g. several weeks or months. Most existing time series models are inheritably for one-step prediction, that is, predicting one time point ahead. Multi-step or long-term prediction is difficult and challenging due to the lack of information and uncertainty or error accumulation. The main existing approaches, iterative and independent, either use one-step model recursively or treat the multi-step task as an independent model. They generally perform poorly in practical applications. In this paper, as an extension of the self-organizing mixture autoregressive (AR) model, the varied length mixture (VLM) models are proposed to model and forecast time series over multi-steps. The key idea is to preserve the dependencies between the time points within the prediction horizon. Training data are segmented to various lengths corresponding to various forecasting horizons, and the VLM models are trained in a self-organizing fashion on these segments to capture these dependencies in its component AR models of various predicting horizons. The VLM models form a probabilistic mixture of these varied length models. A combination of short and long VLM models and an ensemble of them are proposed to further enhance the prediction performance. The effectiveness of the proposed methods and their marked improvements over the existing methods are demonstrated through a number of experiments on synthetic data, real-world FX rates and weather temperatures.

  6. Reduced detonation kinetics and detonation structure in one- and multi-fuel gaseous mixtures

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fomin, P. A.; Trotsyuk, A. V.; Vasil'ev, A. A.

    2017-10-01

    Two-step approximate models of chemical kinetics of detonation combustion of (i) one-fuel (CH4/air) and (ii) multi-fuel gaseous mixtures (CH4/H2/air and CH4/CO/air) are developed for the first time. The models for multi-fuel mixtures are proposed for the first time. Owing to the simplicity and high accuracy, the models can be used in multi-dimensional numerical calculations of detonation waves in corresponding gaseous mixtures. The models are in consistent with the second law of thermodynamics and Le Chatelier’s principle. Constants of the models have a clear physical meaning. Advantages of the kinetic model for detonation combustion of methane has been demonstrated via numerical calculations of a two-dimensional structure of the detonation wave in a stoichiometric and fuel-rich methane-air mixtures and stoichiometric methane-oxygen mixture. The dominant size of the detonation cell, determines in calculations, is in good agreement with all known experimental data.

  7. Enantiomer-specific analysis of multi-component mixtures by correlated electron imaging-ion mass spectrometry

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Rafiee Fanood, M.M.; Ram, N.B.; Lehmann, C.S.; Powis, I.; Janssen, M.H.M.

    2015-01-01

    Simultaneous, enantiomer-specific identification of chiral molecules in multi-component mixtures is extremely challenging. Many established techniques for single-component analysis fail to provide selectivity in multi-component mixtures and lack sensitivity for dilute samples. Here we show how

  8. Chemical and microbiological assessments of the multi mixture treated by gamma radiation; Avaliacao quimica e microbiologica da multimistura tratada por irradiacao gama

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Goncalves, Cinthia Graciele

    2008-07-01

    In Brazil, the multi mixture have being used since the eighties as an alternative against severe infantile malnutrition of the poorest population. However, its use is still reason of controversies mainly due to: the presence of anti nutritional factors, the microbiological quality and the nutritional value. Considering the routine use of multi mixture in the region, this work aimed to evaluate samples of multi mixture were collected in the metropolitan area of the City of Belo Horizonte/MG for determining the anti nutritional factors (phytic and oxalic acids), the microbiological quality, the centesimal and mineral composition, and still the induced effect in these factors of the gamma radiation. For the analyses, the samples passed by the process of gamma irradiation at doses of: 2, 4, 6, 8 and 10 kGy and then were evaluated anti nutritional factors (phytic acid and oxalic), the microbiological quality (yeasts and molds, Salmonella, Coagulase positive Staphylococcus, Bacillus cereus, coliform to 45 deg C) to full percentage (moisture, ash, proteins, carbohydrates and lipids) and the efficiency of the method of Paramagnetic Electronic Resonance (EPR) in the detection of irradiated samples. The mineral composition of the samples was carried out by the irradiation by Neutronic Activation. The methods used were searched in literature. The obtained results suggest that the concentration of the phytic and oxalic acids can not be appropriated for the children with severe nutritional deficit and that it would be necessary additional control in their daily ingestion due to the absorption of essential minerals. In general the samples had presented acceptable microbiological quality for consumption, except by one of it. The data of the centesimal and mineral composition, in the usually recommended portions, showed lower concentration than recommended for children. Any significant alteration in phytic and oxalic acids as well as in the centesimal composition were detected

  9. Reduced chemical kinetic model of detonation combustion of one- and multi-fuel gaseous mixtures with air

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fomin, P. A.

    2018-03-01

    Two-step approximate models of chemical kinetics of detonation combustion of (i) one hydrocarbon fuel CnHm (for example, methane, propane, cyclohexane etc.) and (ii) multi-fuel gaseous mixtures (∑aiCniHmi) (for example, mixture of methane and propane, synthesis gas, benzene and kerosene) are presented for the first time. The models can be used for any stoichiometry, including fuel/fuels-rich mixtures, when reaction products contain molecules of carbon. Owing to the simplicity and high accuracy, the models can be used in multi-dimensional numerical calculations of detonation waves in corresponding gaseous mixtures. The models are in consistent with the second law of thermodynamics and Le Chatelier's principle. Constants of the models have a clear physical meaning. The models can be used for calculation thermodynamic parameters of the mixture in a state of chemical equilibrium.

  10. Novel and conventional working fluid mixtures for solar Rankine cycles: Performance assessment and multi-criteria selection

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Mavrou, Paschalia; Papadopoulos, Athanasios I.; Stijepovic, Mirko Z.; Seferlis, Panos; Linke, Patrick; Voutetakis, Spyros

    2015-01-01

    This work investigates the performance of working fluid mixtures for use in solar ORC (Organic Rankine Cycle systems) with heat storage employing FPC (Flat Plate Collectors). Several mixtures are considered including conventional choices often utilized in ORC as well as novel mixtures previously designed using advanced computer aided molecular design methods (Papadopoulos et al., 2013). The impact of heat source variability on the ORC performance is assessed for different working fluid mixtures. Solar radiation is represented in detail through actual, hourly averaged data for an entire year. A multi-criteria mixture selection methodology unveils important trade-offs among several important system operating parameters and efficiently highlights optimum operating ranges. Such parameters include the ORC thermal efficiency, the net generated power, the volume ratio across the turbine, the mass flow rate of the ORC working fluid, the evaporator temperature glide, the temperature drop in the storage tank, the ORC total yearly operating duration, the required collector aperture area to generate 1 kW of power and the irreversibility. A mixture of neopentane – 2-fluoromethoxy-2-methylpropane at 70% neopentane is found to be the most efficient in all the considered criteria simultaneously. - Highlights: • Investigation of novel and conventional working fluid mixtures for solar ORCs. • Systematic, multi-criteria assessment methodology for mixture selection. • Simultaneous consideration of multiple important mixture performance criteria. • Effects of year-round solar variability in a solar ORC with heat storage tank

  11. Applications of the Simple Multi-Fluid Model to Correlations of the Vapor-Liquid Equilibrium of Refrigerant Mixtures Containing Carbon Dioxide

    Science.gov (United States)

    Akasaka, Ryo

    This study presents a simple multi-fluid model for Helmholtz energy equations of state. The model contains only three parameters, whereas rigorous multi-fluid models developed for several industrially important mixtures usually have more than 10 parameters and coefficients. Therefore, the model can be applied to mixtures where experimental data is limited. Vapor-liquid equilibrium (VLE) of the following seven mixtures have been successfully correlated with the model: CO2 + difluoromethane (R-32), CO2 + trifluoromethane (R-23), CO2 + fluoromethane (R-41), CO2 + 1,1,1,2- tetrafluoroethane (R-134a), CO2 + pentafluoroethane (R-125), CO2 + 1,1-difluoroethane (R-152a), and CO2 + dimethyl ether (DME). The best currently available equations of state for the pure refrigerants were used for the correlations. For all mixtures, average deviations in calculated bubble-point pressures from experimental values are within 2%. The simple multi-fluid model will be helpful for design and simulations of heat pumps and refrigeration systems using the mixtures as working fluid.

  12. Characterization of Fly and Bottom Ashes Mixtures Treated using Sodium Lauryl Sulphate and Polyvinyl Alcohol

    Science.gov (United States)

    Robert, C. G.; Ayob, A.; Zaki, M. F. Muhammad; Razali, M. E.; Lew, E. V.; Hong, P. Y.

    2018-03-01

    Malaysia promotes coal as an option for solid fuel in electric power generation. Demanding of electricity needs, therefore, has led to increase the coal consumption and thus producing more coal waste products. The disposal of coal waste ashes has been a main concern to power generation station due to the need of disposal sites and operational costs. This study investigates the composition of fly ash (FA) and bottom ash (BA) mixtures with difference component percentage treated with sodium lauryl sulphate (SLS) and polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) at 1.5 and 2.5 wt% solutions and examined in terms of specific gravity, pH, maximum dry density properties, and its surface morphology. Although the chemical composition of the SLS and PVA treated fly and bottom ashes studied in this current work is not altered extensively, significant changes could be observed in its physicochemical properties. Chemically treated fly and bottom ashes mixtures with SLS and PVA at 1.5 wt% solution exhibited specific gravity of 1.97 to 2.92 and high pH values within range of 9.28 to 10.52. The mixture of BA:FA=0:1 ratio depicting high maximum dry density of 1.35 to 1.56 g/cm3 in both SLS and PVA solutions at 1.5 and 2.5 wt%. Scanning electron microscopy image shows distinct surface morphologies of SLS-treated fly and bottom ashes mixture that the particles are packed closely, strongly bonded similar to popcorn shape due to the effect of active silanol groups acted on coal ashes surface with the presence of Al-O/Si-O/other oxides. These findings suggest that higher level of chemical interaction between the fly and bottom ashes particles, significantly enhances pozzolanic reactions such as shear strength, plasticity, cementing properties, and thus other engineering properties.

  13. Characterization of Fly and Bottom Ashes Mixtures Treated using Sodium Lauryl Sulphate and Polyvinyl Alcohol

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Robert C.G.

    2018-01-01

    Full Text Available Malaysia promotes coal as an option for solid fuel in electric power generation. Demanding of electricity needs, therefore, has led to increase the coal consumption and thus producing more coal waste products. The disposal of coal waste ashes has been a main concern to power generation station due to the need of disposal sites and operational costs. This study investigates the composition of fly ash (FA and bottom ash (BA mixtures with difference component percentage treated with sodium lauryl sulphate (SLS and polyvinyl alcohol (PVA at 1.5 and 2.5 wt% solutions and examined in terms of specific gravity, pH, maximum dry density properties, and its surface morphology. Although the chemical composition of the SLS and PVA treated fly and bottom ashes studied in this current work is not altered extensively, significant changes could be observed in its physicochemical properties. Chemically treated fly and bottom ashes mixtures with SLS and PVA at 1.5 wt% solution exhibited specific gravity of 1.97 to 2.92 and high pH values within range of 9.28 to 10.52. The mixture of BA:FA=0:1 ratio depicting high maximum dry density of 1.35 to 1.56 g/cm3 in both SLS and PVA solutions at 1.5 and 2.5 wt%. Scanning electron microscopy image shows distinct surface morphologies of SLS-treated fly and bottom ashes mixture that the particles are packed closely, strongly bonded similar to popcorn shape due to the effect of active silanol groups acted on coal ashes surface with the presence of Al-O/Si-O/other oxides. These findings suggest that higher level of chemical interaction between the fly and bottom ashes particles, significantly enhances pozzolanic reactions such as shear strength, plasticity, cementing properties, and thus other engineering properties.

  14. Mixture distribution in a multi-valve twin-spark ignition engine equipped with high-pressure multi-hole injectors

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Mitroglou, N; Arcoumanis, C; Mori, K; Motoyama, Y

    2006-01-01

    Laser-induced fluorescence has been mainly used to characterise the two-dimensional fuel vapour concentration inside the cylinder of a multi-valve twin-spark ignition engine equipped with high-pressure multi-hole injectors. The effects of injection timing, in-cylinder charge motion and injector tip layout have been quantified. The flexibility in nozzle design of the multi-hole injectors has proven to be a powerful tool in terms of matching overall spray cone angle and number of holes to specific engine configurations. Injection timing was found to control spray impingement on the piston and cylinder wall, thus contributing to quick and efficient fuel evaporation. It was confirmed that in-cylinder charge motion plays a major role in engine's stable operation by assisting in the transportation of the air-fuel mixture towards the ignition locations (i.e. spark-plugs) in the way of a uniformly distributed charge or by preserving stratification of the charge depending on operating mode of the engine

  15. Flow boiling heat transfer coefficients at cryogenic temperatures for multi-component refrigerant mixtures of nitrogen-hydrocarbons

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ardhapurkar, P. M.; Sridharan, Arunkumar; Atrey, M. D.

    2014-01-01

    The recuperative heat exchanger governs the overall performance of the mixed refrigerant Joule-Thomson cryocooler. In these heat exchangers, the non-azeotropic refrigerant mixture of nitrogen-hydrocarbons undergoes boiling and condensation simultaneously at cryogenic temperature. Hence, the design of such heat exchanger is crucial. However, due to lack of empirical correlations to predict two-phase heat transfer coefficients of multi-component mixtures at low temperature, the design of such heat exchanger is difficult.

  16. The effects of the 'key' molar mass on the design of a cascade handling a multi-isotopic mixture

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Raichura, R.C.; Al-Janabi, M.A.M.

    1991-01-01

    The parameters required for describing the characteristics of separating units and cascades handling a multi-isotope mixture are first reviewed from previous work and then expressed in terms of a newly defined parameter called the 'Key' molar mass. The effects of the latter on the operating and economic parameters of a gas centrifuge cascade handling a multi-isotopic mixture are studied. Only cascades of the 'primitive' type, i.e. those in which the feed of a stage is made up of the light and heavy fractions of neighbouring stages, are considered. The costs incurred in obtaining outputs with specified concentrations are then discussed. (author)

  17. A Student’s t Mixture Probability Hypothesis Density Filter for Multi-Target Tracking with Outliers

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liu, Zhuowei; Chen, Shuxin; Wu, Hao; He, Renke; Hao, Lin

    2018-01-01

    In multi-target tracking, the outliers-corrupted process and measurement noises can reduce the performance of the probability hypothesis density (PHD) filter severely. To solve the problem, this paper proposed a novel PHD filter, called Student’s t mixture PHD (STM-PHD) filter. The proposed filter models the heavy-tailed process noise and measurement noise as a Student’s t distribution as well as approximates the multi-target intensity as a mixture of Student’s t components to be propagated in time. Then, a closed PHD recursion is obtained based on Student’s t approximation. Our approach can make full use of the heavy-tailed characteristic of a Student’s t distribution to handle the situations with heavy-tailed process and the measurement noises. The simulation results verify that the proposed filter can overcome the negative effect generated by outliers and maintain a good tracking accuracy in the simultaneous presence of process and measurement outliers. PMID:29617348

  18. A mixture model for robust point matching under multi-layer motion.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jiayi Ma

    Full Text Available This paper proposes an efficient mixture model for establishing robust point correspondences between two sets of points under multi-layer motion. Our algorithm starts by creating a set of putative correspondences which can contain a number of false correspondences, or outliers, in addition to the true correspondences (inliers. Next we solve for correspondence by interpolating a set of spatial transformations on the putative correspondence set based on a mixture model, which involves estimating a consensus of inlier points whose matching follows a non-parametric geometrical constraint. We formulate this as a maximum a posteriori (MAP estimation of a Bayesian model with hidden/latent variables indicating whether matches in the putative set are outliers or inliers. We impose non-parametric geometrical constraints on the correspondence, as a prior distribution, in a reproducing kernel Hilbert space (RKHS. MAP estimation is performed by the EM algorithm which by also estimating the variance of the prior model (initialized to a large value is able to obtain good estimates very quickly (e.g., avoiding many of the local minima inherent in this formulation. We further provide a fast implementation based on sparse approximation which can achieve a significant speed-up without much performance degradation. We illustrate the proposed method on 2D and 3D real images for sparse feature correspondence, as well as a public available dataset for shape matching. The quantitative results demonstrate that our method is robust to non-rigid deformation and multi-layer/large discontinuous motion.

  19. Clinical observation on 96 cases of primary osteoporosis treated with kidney-tonifying and bone-strengthening mixture.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mingyue, Wang; Ling, Gong; Bei, Xia; Junqing, Cao; Peiqing, Zhou; Jie, Hu

    2005-06-01

    To objectively evaluate the therapeutic effect and safety of Mixture for Nourishing Kidney and Strengthening Bone. Among 160 cases of osteoporosis under clinical observation, 96 patients in the treatment group were treated with Mixture for Nourishing Kidney and Strengthening Bone, 32 patients in the control group were given Shen Gu Capsule and 32 patients in the blank group were given no drug in half a year. Observation and determination were conducted on bone mineral density (BMD), clinical symptoms, bone gla protein (BGP), pyridinoline (PYD), estradiol (E2), testosterone (T), blood urea nitrogen (BUN), transaminase and routine test on blood and urine. The comprehensive effect in the treatment group was remarkably superior to that in the control group. The safe and reliable Chinese drug can enhance BMD, promote osteogenesis and inhibit bone absorption, hence treating osteoporosis with marked effect.

  20. Initiation of explosive mixtures having multi-sized structures

    Science.gov (United States)

    Vasil'ev, A. A.; Vasiliev, V. A.; Trotsyuk, A. V.

    2016-10-01

    Theory of strong blast was used as the basis for the experimental method of determining of the energy of source which provides the initiation of combustible mixture. For mono-fuel mixtures the following parameters were experimentally determined at testing: the critical initiation energy of a cylindrical detonation wave in mixtures 2H2+O2 and C2H2+2.5O2 (exploding wire); the critical initiation energy of a spherical detonation in a mixture of C2H2+2.5O2 (electrical discharge). Similarly, for the double-fuel mixtures of acetylene - nitrous oxide - oxygen (having bifurcation cellular structures) the critical initiation energy of spherical wave was determined also. It was found that for the stoichiometric mixture on both fuel components the critical energy of mixture with the bifurcation structure was undervalued by several times in comparison with the value of the critical energy for the mono-fuel mixture, in which the cell size at a given pressure is determined by the large scale of bifurcation cells. This result shows the decrease of the critical energy with an increase of the number of "hot spots", which are the numerous areas of collision of the transverse waves of large and small scales in a mixture with bifurcation properties.

  1. Dissolution and biodegradation of a mixture of immiscible liquids

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Gandhi, P.; Erickson, L.E.; Fan, L.T.

    1994-01-01

    Subsurface contaminants are frequently encountered as mixtures of nonaqueous phase liquids (NAPLs) at sites contaminated by gasoline or coal tar comprising organic mixtures. The leaching of these organic mixtures from the aquifer has been examined with and without biodegradation. The results obtained have been compared with the limiting case of a single component NAPL. Various physical processes involved have been quantified based on the assumptions that liquid-liquid and sorption equilibria are established at the beginning of each flushing; oxygen required for biochemical oxidation is completely consumed by the end of each flushing; and the rate of biochemical oxidation obeys the Monod kinetics for a multi-substrate system, characterized by an oxygen utilization factor. This has given rise to an equilibrium model expressing the mass fraction of any component remaining in the aquifer, its aqueous concentration, and the composition of the NAPL as functions of the number of flushings. The results of the simulation with the model demonstrate that bioremediation can significantly reduce the time necessary for removing the components of intermediate solubility such as xylene. Highly soluble components of the NAPL are mainly removed by the pump-and-treat mechanism while the components of extremely low solubility are unavailable to the microbes as substrates in a multi-component system

  2. Optimal mixture experiments

    CERN Document Server

    Sinha, B K; Pal, Manisha; Das, P

    2014-01-01

    The book dwells mainly on the optimality aspects of mixture designs. As mixture models are a special case of regression models, a general discussion on regression designs has been presented, which includes topics like continuous designs, de la Garza phenomenon, Loewner order domination, Equivalence theorems for different optimality criteria and standard optimality results for single variable polynomial regression and multivariate linear and quadratic regression models. This is followed by a review of the available literature on estimation of parameters in mixture models. Based on recent research findings, the volume also introduces optimal mixture designs for estimation of optimum mixing proportions in different mixture models, which include Scheffé’s quadratic model, Darroch-Waller model, log- contrast model, mixture-amount models, random coefficient models and multi-response model.  Robust mixture designs and mixture designs in blocks have been also reviewed. Moreover, some applications of mixture desig...

  3. Technological and cross-border mixture value chain of science and engineering of multi-integrative mechatronics-integronics-adaptronics

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gheorghe, Gh. Ion; Popan, Gheorghe

    2013-10-01

    This scientific paper presents in national premiere and in original concept of the author, the scientific national and the author's original concept, the technological and cross-border mixture value chain of science and engineering of multi-integrative Mechatronics-Integronics-Adaptronics, as high-tech vector support development, for viability and sustainability of a new intelligent and competitive labour market.

  4. CO2 Removal from Multi-component Gas Mixtures Utilizing Spiral-Wound Asymmetric Membranes

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Said, W.B.; Fahmy, M.F.M.; Gad, F.K.; EI-Aleem, G.A.

    2004-01-01

    A systematic procedure and a computer program have been developed for simulating the performance of a spiral-wound gas permeate for the CO 2 removal from natural gas and other hydrocarbon streams. The simulation program is based on the approximate multi-component model derived by Qi and Henson(l), in addition to the membrane parameters achieved from the binary simulation program(2) (permeability and selectivity). Applying the multi-component program on the same data used by Qi and Henson to evaluate the deviation of the approximate model from the basic transport model, showing results more accurate than those of the approximate model, and are very close to those of the basic transport model, while requiring significantly less than 1 % of the computation time. The program was successfully applied on the data of Salam gas plant membrane unit at Khalda Petroleum Company, Egypt, for the separation of CO 2 from hydrocarbons in an eight-component mixture to estimate the stage cut, residue, and permeate compositions, and gave results matched with the actual Gas Chromatography Analysis measured by the lab

  5. Statistical mechanics of binary mixture adsorption in metal-organic frameworks in the osmotic ensemble

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dunne, Lawrence J.; Manos, George

    2018-03-01

    Although crucial for designing separation processes little is known experimentally about multi-component adsorption isotherms in comparison with pure single components. Very few binary mixture adsorption isotherms are to be found in the literature and information about isotherms over a wide range of gas-phase composition and mechanical pressures and temperature is lacking. Here, we present a quasi-one-dimensional statistical mechanical model of binary mixture adsorption in metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) treated exactly by a transfer matrix method in the osmotic ensemble. The experimental parameter space may be very complex and investigations into multi-component mixture adsorption may be guided by theoretical insights. The approach successfully models breathing structural transitions induced by adsorption giving a good account of the shape of adsorption isotherms of CO2 and CH4 adsorption in MIL-53(Al). Binary mixture isotherms and co-adsorption-phase diagrams are also calculated and found to give a good description of the experimental trends in these properties and because of the wide model parameter range which reproduces this behaviour suggests that this is generic to MOFs. Finally, a study is made of the influence of mechanical pressure on the shape of CO2 and CH4 adsorption isotherms in MIL-53(Al). Quite modest mechanical pressures can induce significant changes to isotherm shapes in MOFs with implications for binary mixture separation processes. This article is part of the theme issue `Modern theoretical chemistry'.

  6. Experimental and theoretical characterization of a multi-wavelength DBD-driven exciplex lamp operated with mercury bromide/rare gas mixtures

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Guivan, Mykola M; Malinina, Antonina A; Brablec, Antonin

    2011-01-01

    Emission spectra from an atmospheric-pressure dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) with HgBr 2 /He or HgBr 2 /Xe/Kr mixtures, as well as the electrical characteristics, were investigated at repetition frequencies of sinusoidal voltage pulses up to 125 kHz. In the spectra, the study revealed radiation from HgBr(B-X, C-X) exciplex molecules, atomic lines of mercury and rare gases, and in mixtures with xenon, radiation of XeBr(B-X, B-A) exciplex molecules. Regularities in the spectral characteristics of the radiation from the gas-discharge plasma were discussed. The electron energy distribution function, the specific energy lost in the processes involving electrons, the electron temperature and density, and the rate constants of elastic and inelastic electron scattering by the components of the working mixture were calculated as functions of the reduced field E/N. The high-frequency atmospheric-pressure barrier discharge in mixtures of mercury dibromide with gases can be used in multi-wavelength exciplex lamps, operating in the UV and visible regions.

  7. Experimental and theoretical characterization of a multi-wavelength DBD-driven exciplex lamp operated with mercury bromide/rare gas mixtures

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Guivan, Mykola M; Malinina, Antonina A [Department of Quantum Electronics, Uzhgorod National University, Pidgirna 46, Uzhgorod 88000 (Ukraine); Brablec, Antonin, E-mail: m_guivan@rambler.ru [Department of Physical Electronics, Masaryk University, Kotlarska 2, Brno 61137 (Czech Republic)

    2011-06-08

    Emission spectra from an atmospheric-pressure dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) with HgBr{sub 2}/He or HgBr{sub 2}/Xe/Kr mixtures, as well as the electrical characteristics, were investigated at repetition frequencies of sinusoidal voltage pulses up to 125 kHz. In the spectra, the study revealed radiation from HgBr(B-X, C-X) exciplex molecules, atomic lines of mercury and rare gases, and in mixtures with xenon, radiation of XeBr(B-X, B-A) exciplex molecules. Regularities in the spectral characteristics of the radiation from the gas-discharge plasma were discussed. The electron energy distribution function, the specific energy lost in the processes involving electrons, the electron temperature and density, and the rate constants of elastic and inelastic electron scattering by the components of the working mixture were calculated as functions of the reduced field E/N. The high-frequency atmospheric-pressure barrier discharge in mixtures of mercury dibromide with gases can be used in multi-wavelength exciplex lamps, operating in the UV and visible regions.

  8. Traditional Mediterranean plants: characterization and use of an essential oils mixture to treat Malassezia otitis externa in atopic dogs.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nardoni, Simona; Pistelli, Luisa; Baronti, Ilenia; Najar, Basma; Pisseri, Francesca; Bandeira Reidel, Rose Vanessa; Papini, Roberto; Perrucci, Stefania; Mancianti, Francesca

    2017-08-01

    Several plants extracts from Mediterranean countries are traditionally employed in skin troubles both in humans and in animals. Malassezia pachydermatis is a lipophylic yeast responsible for otitis externa and dermatitis in dogs and for cutaneous and systemic disease in humans. Five mixtures of essential oils obtained from Mediterranean plants (Citrus paradisi, Salvia sclarea, Ocimum basilicum, Rosmarinus officinalis, Citrus limon, Anthemis nobilis, Lavandula hybrida and Thymus vulgaris) provided with antifungal and/or anti-inflammatory action assayed in vitro, were tested in vivo versus M. pachydermatis to treat once daily for 2 weeks 25 atopic dogs with Malassezia otitis externa. Mixture composed by C. limon 1%, S. sclarea 0,5%, R. officinalis 1%, A. nobilis 0,5% yielded excellent results in all treated dogs. Despite of clinical resolution after all treatments the number of blastospores did not decrease. This study confirms recent findings suggesting a multifactorial alternative approach for the management of canine Malassezia otitis.

  9. Efficacy of mosquito nets treated with a pyrethroid-organophosphorous mixture against Kdr- and Kdr+ malaria vectors (Anopheles gambiae

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Darriet F.

    2003-12-01

    Full Text Available In order to prevent the resistance of Anopheles gambiae s.l. to pyrethroids from spreading too quickly and to lengthen the effectiveness of insecticide impregnated mosquito nets, it has recently been suggested to use mixtures of insecticides that have different modes of action. This study presents the results obtained with tulle mosquito nets treated with bifenthrin (a pyrethroid] and chlorpyrifos-methyl (an organophosphorous both separately and in mixture on two strains of An. gambiae, one sensitive to all insecticides, and the other resistant to pyrethroids. The values of KDt50 and KDt95 and the mortality induced with the mixture of bifenthrin (25 mg/m2 and chlorpyrifos-methyl (4.5 mg/m2 show a significant synergistic effect on the strain of An. gambiae susceptible to insecticides. However, the tested combination does not induce any synergistic effect on the VKPR strain selected with permethrin, but only enhances the effectiveness of the two insecticides taken separately.

  10. Probabilistic mixture-based image modelling

    Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

    Haindl, Michal; Havlíček, Vojtěch; Grim, Jiří

    2011-01-01

    Roč. 47, č. 3 (2011), s. 482-500 ISSN 0023-5954 R&D Projects: GA MŠk 1M0572; GA ČR GA102/08/0593 Grant - others:CESNET(CZ) 387/2010; GA MŠk(CZ) 2C06019; GA ČR(CZ) GA103/11/0335 Institutional research plan: CEZ:AV0Z10750506 Keywords : BTF texture modelling * discrete distribution mixtures * Bernoulli mixture * Gaussian mixture * multi-spectral texture modelling Subject RIV: BD - Theory of Information Impact factor: 0.454, year: 2011 http://library.utia.cas.cz/separaty/2011/RO/haindl-0360244.pdf

  11. Multi-chamber and multi-layer thiol-ene microchip for cell culture

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Tan, H. Y.; Hemmingsen, Mette; Lafleur, Josiane P.

    2014-01-01

    We present a multi-layer and multi-chamber microfluidic chip fabricated using two different thiol-ene mixtures. Sandwiched between the thiol-ene chip layers is a commercially available membrane whose morphology has been altered with coatings of thiol-ene mixtures. Experiments have been conducted ...... with the microchip and shown that the fabricated microchip is suitable for long term cell culture....

  12. Mathematical modelling and numerical resolution of multi-phase compressible fluid flows problems

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lagoutiere, Frederic

    2000-01-01

    This work deals with Eulerian compressible multi-species fluid dynamics, the species being either mixed or separated (with interfaces). The document is composed of three parts. The first parts devoted to the numerical resolution of model problems: advection equation, Burgers equation, and Euler equations, in dimensions one and two. The goal is to find a precise method, especially for discontinuous initial conditions, and we develop non dissipative algorithms. They are based on a downwind finite-volume discretization under some stability constraints. The second part treats of the mathematical modelling of fluids mixtures. We construct and analyse a set of multi-temperature and multi-pressure models that are entropy, symmetrizable, hyperbolic, not ever conservative. In the third part, we apply the ideas developed in the first part (downwind discretization) to the numerical resolution of the partial differential problems we have constructed for fluids mixtures in the second part. We present some numerical results in dimensions one and two. (author) [fr

  13. C-mixture and multi-constraints based genetic algorithm for collaborative data publishing

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Yogesh R. Kulkarni

    2018-04-01

    Full Text Available Due to increasing need of using distributed databases, high demand presents on sharing data to easily update and access the useful information without any interruption. The sharing of distributed databases causes a serious issue of securing information since the databases consist of sensitive personal information. To preserve the sensitive information and at the same time, releasing the useful information, a significant effort is made by the researchers under privacy preserving data publishing that have been receiving considerable attention in recent years. In this work, a new privacy measure, called c-mixture is introduced to maintain the privacy constraint without affecting utility of the database. In order to apply the proposed privacy measure to privacy preserving data publishing, a new algorithm called, CPGEN is developed using genetic algorithm and multi-objective constraints. The proposed multi-objective optimization considered the multiple privacy constraints along with the utility measurement to measure the importance. Also, the proposed CPGEN is adapted to handle the cold-start problem which commonly happened in distributed databases. The proposed algorithm is experimented with adult dataset and quantitative performance is analyzed using generalized information loss and average equivalence class size metric. From the experimentation, we proved that the proposed algorithm maintained the privacy and utility as compared with the existing algorithm. Keywords: Privacy, Utility, Distributed databases, Data publishing, Optimization, Sensitive information

  14. Multi-Objective Optimization of an In situ Bioremediation Technology to Treat Perchlorate-Contaminated Groundwater

    Science.gov (United States)

    The presentation shows how a multi-objective optimization method is integrated into a transport simulator (MT3D) for estimating parameters and cost of in-situ bioremediation technology to treat perchlorate-contaminated groundwater.

  15. Numerical analysis of mass transfer with graphite oxidation in a laminar flow of multi-component gas mixture through a circular tube

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ogawa, Masuro

    1992-10-01

    In the present paper, mass transfer has been numerically studied in a laminar flow through a circular graphite tube to evaluate graphite corrosion rate and generation rate of carbon monoxide during a pipe rupture accident in a high temperature gas cooled reactor. In the analysis, heterogeneous (graphite oxidation and graphite/carbon dioxide reaction) and homogeneous (carbon monoxide combustion) chemical reactions were dealt in the multi-component gas mixture; helium, oxygen, carbon monoxide and carbon dioxide. Multi-component diffusion coefficients were used in a diffusion term. Mass conservation equations of each gas component, mass conservation equation and momentum conservation equations of the gas mixture were solved by using SIMPLE algorism. Chemical reactions between graphite and oxygen, graphite and carbon dioxide, and carbon monoxide combustion were taken into account in the present numerical analysis. An energy equation for the gas mixture was not solved and temperature was held to be constant in order to understand basic mass transfer characteristics without heat transfer. But, an energy conservation equation for single component gas was added to know heat transfer characteristics without mass transfer. The effects of these chemical reactions on the mass transfer coefficients were quantitatively and qualitatively clarified in the range of 50 to 1000 of inlet Reynolds numbers, 0 to 0.5 of inlet oxygen mass fraction and 800 to 1600degC of temperature. (author)

  16. Cell Proliferation on Polyethylene Terephthalate Treated in Plasma Created in SO2/O2 Mixtures

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Nina Recek

    2017-02-01

    Full Text Available Samples of polymer polyethylene terephthalate were exposed to a weakly ionized gaseous plasma to modify the polymer surface properties for better cell cultivation. The gases used for treatment were sulfur dioxide and oxygen of various partial pressures. Plasma was created by an electrodeless radio frequency discharge at a total pressure of 60 Pa. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy showed weak functionalization of the samples’ surfaces with the sulfur, with a concentration around 2.5 at %, whereas the oxygen concentration remained at the level of untreated samples, except when the gas mixture with oxygen concentration above 90% was used. Atomic force microscopy revealed highly altered morphology of plasma-treated samples; however, at high oxygen partial pressures this morphology vanished. The samples were then incubated with human umbilical vein endothelial cells. Biological tests to determine endothelialization and possible toxicity of the plasma-treated polyethylene terephthalate samples were performed. Cell metabolic activity (MTT and in vitro toxic effects of unknown compounds (TOX were assayed to determine the biocompatibility of the treated substrates. The biocompatibility demonstrated a well-pronounced maximum versus gas composition which correlated well with development of the surface morphology.

  17. Multi-Physics Simulation of TREAT Kinetics using MAMMOTH

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    DeHart, Mark; Gleicher, Frederick; Ortensi, Javier; Alberti, Anthony; Palmer, Todd

    2015-11-01

    With the advent of next generation reactor systems and new fuel designs, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has identified the need for the resumption of transient testing of nuclear fuels. DOE has decided that the Transient Reactor Test Facility (TREAT) at Idaho National Laboratory (INL) is best suited for future testing. TREAT is a thermal neutron spectrum nuclear test facility that is designed to test nuclear fuels in transient scenarios. These specific fuels transient tests range from simple temperature transients to full fuel melt accidents. The current TREAT core is driven by highly enriched uranium (HEU) dispersed in a graphite matrix (1:10000 U-235/C atom ratio). At the center of the core, fuel is removed allowing for the insertion of an experimental test vehicle. TREAT’s design provides experimental flexibility and inherent safety during neutron pulsing. This safety stems from the graphite in the driver fuel having a strong negative temperature coefficient of reactivity resulting from a thermal Maxwellian shift with increased leakage, as well as graphite acting as a temperature sink. Air cooling is available, but is generally used post-transient for heat removal. DOE and INL have expressed a desire to develop a simulation capability that will accurately model the experiments before they are irradiated at the facility, with an emphasis on effective and safe operation while minimizing experimental time and cost. At INL, the Multi-physics Object Oriented Simulation Environment (MOOSE) has been selected as the model development framework for this work. This paper describes the results of preliminary simulations of a TREAT fuel element under transient conditions using the MOOSE-based MAMMOTH reactor physics tool.

  18. Thermodynamic analysis and multi-objective optimization of various ORC (organic Rankine cycle) configurations using zeotropic mixtures

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sadeghi, Mohsen; Nemati, Arash; Ghavimi, Alireza; Yari, Mortaza

    2016-01-01

    In this paper, the performance of the ORC (organic Rankine cycle) powered by geothermal water, in three different configurations, including the simple ORC, PTORC (parallel two-stage ORC) and STORC (series two-stage ORC), using zeotrpoic working fluids is investigated from the viewpoints of the energy and exergy. In addition, considering the net power output and TSP (turbine size parameter) as the two objective functions, the multi-objective optimization with the aim of maximizing the first function and minimizing the second one, is performed to determine the optimal values of decision variables including evaporators 1 and 2 pressure, the pinch point temperature difference and the superheating degree. The results show that using zeotropic mixtures as the working fluid instead of a pure fluid such as R245fa, leads to 27.76%, 24.98% and 24.79% improvement in power generation in the simple ORC, PTORC and STORC, respectively and also lower values of TSP. Moreover, it is observed that STORC has the highest amount of net power output and R407A can be selected as the most appropriate working fluid. The optimization results demonstrate that at the final optimum point achieved by Pareto frontier, the values of the objective functions are gained 877 kW and 0.08218 m, respectively. - Highlights: • Three different configurations of ORC powered by geothermal water are analyzed. • The thermodynamic performance of these systems using zeotrpoic mixtures is investigated. • Multi-objective optimization is performed to obtain optimum performance. • The Pareto-frontier is used to automatically select the most promising solutions.

  19. Application of some geometrical and empirical models to excess molar volume for the multi-component mixtures at T = 298.15 K

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Iloukhani, H.; Khanlarzadeh, K.

    2012-01-01

    Highlights: ► Excess molar volume of quartenary mixtures of 1-chlorobutane, 2-chlorobutane, butylamine, and butylacetate was determined. ► The experimental data were correlated by some empirical and semi empirical models. ► A comparison with PFP theory has been successfully applied from binary data. - Abstract: Densities of the quaternary mixture consisting of {1-chlorobutane (1) + 2-chlorobutane (2) + butylamine (3) + butylacetate (4)} and related ternary mixtures of {1-chlorobutane (1) + 2-chlorobutane (2) + butylamine (3)}, {1-chlorobutane (1) + 2-chlorobutane (2) + butylacetate (4)}, {2-chlorobutane (2) + butylamine (3) + butylacetate (4)}, and binary systems of {1-chlorobutane (1) + 2-chlorobutane (2)}, {2-chlorobutane (2) + butylamine (3)}, were measured over the whole range of composition at T = 298.15 K and ambient pressure. Excess molar volumes, V m E , for the mixtures were derived and correlated as a function of mole fraction by using the Redlich–Kister and the Cibulka equations for binary and ternary mixtures, respectively. From the experimental data, partial molar volumes, V m,i and excess partial molar volumes, V m,i E were also calculated for binary systems. The experimental results of the constituted binary mixtures have been used to test the applicability of the Prigogine–Flory–Paterson (PFP) theory. A number of geometrical and empirical equations were also used to verify their ability to predict ternary and quaternary properties from their lower order mixtures. The experimental data were used to evaluate the nature and type of intermolecular interactions in multi-component mixtures.

  20. Portfolio optimization using Mixture Design of Experiments. Scheduling trades within electricity markets

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Oliveira, Francisco Alexandre de; Paiva, Anderson Paulo de; Lima, Jose Wanderley Marangon; Balestrassi, Pedro Paulo; Mendes, Rona Rinston Amaury

    2011-01-01

    Deregulation of the electricity sector has given rise to several approaches to defining optimal portfolios of energy contracts. Financial tools - requiring substantial adjustments - are usually used to determine risk and return. This article presents a novel approach to adjusting the conditional value at risk (CVaR) metric to the mix of contracts on the energy markets; the approach uses Mixture Design of Experiments (MDE). In this kind of experimental strategy, the design factors are treated as proportions in a mixture system considered quite adequate for treating portfolios in general. Instead of using traditional linear programming, the concept of desirability function is here used to combine the multi-response, nonlinear objective functions for mean with the variance of a specific portfolio obtained through MDE. The maximization of the desirability function is implied in the portfolio optimization, generating an efficient recruitment frontier. This approach offers three main contributions: it includes risk aversion in the optimization routine, it assesses interaction between contracts, and it lessens the computational effort required to solve the constrained nonlinear optimization problem. A case study based on the Brazilian energy market is used to illustrate the proposal. The numerical results verify the proposal's adequacy. (author)

  1. Portfolio optimization using Mixture Design of Experiments. Scheduling trades within electricity markets

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Oliveira, Francisco Alexandre de; Paiva, Anderson Paulo de; Lima, Jose Wanderley Marangon; Balestrassi, Pedro Paulo; Mendes, Rona Rinston Amaury [Federal Univ. of Itajuba, Minas Gerais (Brazil)

    2011-01-15

    Deregulation of the electricity sector has given rise to several approaches to defining optimal portfolios of energy contracts. Financial tools - requiring substantial adjustments - are usually used to determine risk and return. This article presents a novel approach to adjusting the conditional value at risk (CVaR) metric to the mix of contracts on the energy markets; the approach uses Mixture Design of Experiments (MDE). In this kind of experimental strategy, the design factors are treated as proportions in a mixture system considered quite adequate for treating portfolios in general. Instead of using traditional linear programming, the concept of desirability function is here used to combine the multi-response, nonlinear objective functions for mean with the variance of a specific portfolio obtained through MDE. The maximization of the desirability function is implied in the portfolio optimization, generating an efficient recruitment frontier. This approach offers three main contributions: it includes risk aversion in the optimization routine, it assesses interaction between contracts, and it lessens the computational effort required to solve the constrained nonlinear optimization problem. A case study based on the Brazilian energy market is used to illustrate the proposal. The numerical results verify the proposal's adequacy. (author)

  2. Closure relations for the multi-species Euler system. Construction and study of relaxation schemes for the multi-species and multi-components Euler systems; Relations de fermeture pour le systeme des equations d'Euler multi-especes. Construction et etude de schemas de relaxation en multi-especes et en multi-constituants

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Dellacherie, St. [CEA Saclay, Dir. de l' Energie Nucleaire DEN/SFNME/LMPE, Lab. de Modelisation Physique et de l' Enrichissement, 91 - Gif sur Yvette (France); Rency, N. [Paris-11 Univ., CNRS UMR 8628, 91 - Orsay (France)

    2001-07-01

    After having recalled the formal convergence of the semi-classical multi-species Boltzmann equations toward the multi-species Euler system (i.e. mixture of gases having the same velocity), we generalize to this system the closure relations proposed by B. Despres and by F. Lagoutiere for the multi-components Euler system (i.e. mixture of non miscible fluids having the same velocity). Then, we extend the energy relaxation schemes proposed by F. Coquel and by B. Perthame for the numerical resolution of the mono-species Euler system to the multi-species isothermal Euler system and to the multi-components isobar-isothermal Euler system. This allows to obtain a class of entropic schemes under a CFL criteria. In the multi-components case, this class of entropic schemes is perhaps a way for the treatment of interface problems and, then, for the treatment of the numerical mixture area by using a Lagrange + projection scheme. Nevertheless, we have to find a good projection stage in the multi-components case. At last, in the last chapter, we discuss, through the study of a dynamical system, about a system proposed by R. Abgrall and by R. Saurel for the numerical resolution of the multi-components Euler system.

  3. Thermodynamics of mixtures of patchy and spherical colloids of different sizes: A multi-body association theory with complete reference fluid information

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bansal, Artee; Valiya Parambathu, Arjun; Asthagiri, D.; Cox, Kenneth R.; Chapman, Walter G.

    2017-04-01

    We present a theory to predict the structure and thermodynamics of mixtures of colloids of different diameters, building on our earlier work [A. Bansal et al., J. Chem. Phys. 145, 074904 (2016)] that considered mixtures with all particles constrained to have the same size. The patchy, solvent particles have short-range directional interactions, while the solute particles have short-range isotropic interactions. The hard-sphere mixture without any association site forms the reference fluid. An important ingredient within the multi-body association theory is the description of clustering of the reference solvent around the reference solute. Here we account for the physical, multi-body clusters of the reference solvent around the reference solute in terms of occupancy statistics in a defined observation volume. These occupancy probabilities are obtained from enhanced sampling simulations, but we also present statistical mechanical models to estimate these probabilities with limited simulation data. Relative to an approach that describes only up to three-body correlations in the reference, incorporating the complete reference information better predicts the bonding state and thermodynamics of the physical solute for a wide range of system conditions. Importantly, analysis of the residual chemical potential of the infinitely dilute solute from molecular simulation and theory shows that whereas the chemical potential is somewhat insensitive to the description of the structure of the reference fluid, the energetic and entropic contributions are not, with the results from the complete reference approach being in better agreement with particle simulations.

  4. Treatment of low-temperature tar-gas mixtures

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Schick, F

    1928-07-04

    Process for the treating and conversion of low-temperature tar-vapor and gas mixtures in the presence of metals or metal oxides as well as bodies of large surface, without previous condensation of the liquid material to be treated, characterized by the treatment taking place with a mixture of desulfurizing metals and metal oxides which, if necessary, are precipitated on carriers and large surface nonmetal cracking catalysts, such as active carbon and silica gel.

  5. Forty Cases of Insomnia Treated by Multi-output Electric Pulsation and Auricular Plaster Therapy

    Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

    Liu Weizhe

    2007-01-01

    @@ The writer has treated 40 cases of insomnia by the method of multi-output electric pulsation in combination with auricular plaster therapy (with a seed of Vaccariae segetalis 王不留行 taped tightly to a particular ear point and pressed) and received satisfactory therapeutic effects. A report follows.

  6. Multi-atlas segmentation for abdominal organs with Gaussian mixture models

    Science.gov (United States)

    Burke, Ryan P.; Xu, Zhoubing; Lee, Christopher P.; Baucom, Rebeccah B.; Poulose, Benjamin K.; Abramson, Richard G.; Landman, Bennett A.

    2015-03-01

    Abdominal organ segmentation with clinically acquired computed tomography (CT) is drawing increasing interest in the medical imaging community. Gaussian mixture models (GMM) have been extensively used through medical segmentation, most notably in the brain for cerebrospinal fluid / gray matter / white matter differentiation. Because abdominal CT exhibit strong localized intensity characteristics, GMM have recently been incorporated in multi-stage abdominal segmentation algorithms. In the context of variable abdominal anatomy and rich algorithms, it is difficult to assess the marginal contribution of GMM. Herein, we characterize the efficacy of an a posteriori framework that integrates GMM of organ-wise intensity likelihood with spatial priors from multiple target-specific registered labels. In our study, we first manually labeled 100 CT images. Then, we assigned 40 images to use as training data for constructing target-specific spatial priors and intensity likelihoods. The remaining 60 images were evaluated as test targets for segmenting 12 abdominal organs. The overlap between the true and the automatic segmentations was measured by Dice similarity coefficient (DSC). A median improvement of 145% was achieved by integrating the GMM intensity likelihood against the specific spatial prior. The proposed framework opens the opportunities for abdominal organ segmentation by efficiently using both the spatial and appearance information from the atlases, and creates a benchmark for large-scale automatic abdominal segmentation.

  7. Antiferromagnetic-ferromagnetic crossover in UO2-TiOx multi-phase systems

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Nakamura, Akio; Tsutsui, Satoshi; Yoshii, Kenji

    2001-01-01

    An antiferromagnetic (AF)-weakly ferromagnetic (WF) crossover has been found for UO 2 -TiO x multi-phase systems, (1-y)UO 2 +yTiO x (y=0.05-0.72, x=0, 1.0, 1.5 and 2.0), when these mixtures are heat treated at high temperature in vacuum. From the powder X-ray diffraction and electron-microprobe analyses, their phase assemblies were as follows: for x=0, 1.0 and 1.5, a heterogeneous two-phase mixture of UO 2 +TiO x ; for x=2.0, that of UO 2 +UTi 2 O 6 for y 0.67 that of UTi 2 O 6 +TiO 2 (plus residual minor UO 2 ). Magnetic susceptibility (χ) of the present UO 2 powder was confirmed to exhibit an antiferromagnetic sharp drop at T N (=30.5 K). In contrast, χ of these multi-phase systems was found to exhibit a sharp upturn at the respective T N , while their T N values remained almost constant with varying y. This χ upturn at T N is most pronounced for UO 2 +Ti-oxide (titania) systems (x=1.0, 1.5 and 2.0) over the wide mixture ratio above y∼0.10. These observations indicate that an AF-WF crossover is induced for these multi-phase systems, plausibly due to the interfacial magnetic modification of UO 2 in contact with the oxide partners

  8. Performance of low pH biofilters treating a paint solvent mixture: Continuous and intermittent loading

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Qi Bing; Moe, William M.

    2006-01-01

    Two biofilters packed with a reticulated polyurethane foam medium were inoculated with a compost-derived enrichment culture grown under acidic conditions (pH 3.0) and then operated over a period lasting 63 days. Both biofilters were supplied with a humidified gas stream containing a five-component mixture of acetone, methyl ethyl ketone, toluene, ethylbenzene, and p-xylene at a total VOC loading rate 80.3 g m -3 h -1 to simulate treatment of air emissions resulting from manufacture of reformulated paint. One biofilter was operated under continuous loading conditions and the other received intermittent loading with contaminants supplied only 8 h/day. Nutrient solution with pH 3.0 was supplied approximately once per week to provide nitrogen and other nutrients. Data are presented which demonstrate that undefined mixed cultures acclimated at low pH can successfully treat paint solvent mixtures in biofilters. The biofilter receiving continuous loading reached high overall removal efficiency (greater than 90% overall removal) 3 weeks after startup, and performance increased over time reaching overall removal in the range of 97-99% after 50 days. Performance of the intermittently loaded biofilter developed more slowly, requiring 6 weeks to stabilize at an overall removal efficiency in excess of 90%. In both biofilters, ketone components were more rapidly degraded than aromatic components, and removal of aromatic compounds was somewhat unstable even after 2 months of biofilter operation. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) revealed that fungi dominated the microbial populations in both biofilters

  9. Aluminium Morphological Modification by Nitrogen-Argon Mixture PIII

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Munnoz-Castro, A.E.; Valencia Alvarado, R.; Penna-Eguiluz, R.; Mercado-Cabrera, A.; Barocio, S.R.; Rodriguez-Mendez, B.G.; Lopez-Callejas, R.; Piedad-Beneitez, A. de la

    2011-01-01

    With incident fluences of ∼ 10 12 atoms/cm 2 aluminium samples have been plasma immersion ion implanted with either pure nitrogen or argon/nitrogen mixtures at temperatures around 450 o C. X-ray diffraction studies have validated the formation of the cubic phase of AlN, in samples treated with both the gas mixtures and pure nitrogen. Likewise, the presence of the hexagonal phase of AlN has been detected when either pure nitrogen or a 70% N/30% Ar mixture have been used. The signature peak of AlN has also been confirmed by the Raman spectroscopy. The maximal microhardness values were found in samples treated with the mixture. The maximal roughness was achieved with the equal part mixture in all cases, although increasing with the implantation pulse width up to a 300 nm peak at 150 μs. The latter critical value remains invariant under the pure nitrogen plasma treatment, provided that implantation periods in the order of 4.5 h are carried out. (author)

  10. Multi Parameter Flow Meter for On-Line Measurement of Gas Mixture Composition

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Egbert van der Wouden

    2015-04-01

    Full Text Available In this paper we describe the development of a system and model to analyze the composition of gas mixtures up to four components. The system consists of a Coriolis mass flow sensor, density, pressure and thermal flow sensor. With this system it is possible to measure the viscosity, density, heat capacity and flow rate of the medium. In a next step the composition can be analyzed if the constituents of the mixture are known. This makes the approach universally applicable to all gasses as long as the number of components does not exceed the number of measured properties and as long as the properties are measured with a sufficient accuracy. We present measurements with binary and ternary gas mixtures, on compositions that range over an order of magnitude in value for the physical properties. Two platforms for analyses are presented. The first platform consists of sensors realized with MEMS fabrication technology. This approach allows for a system with a high level of integration. With this system we demonstrate a proof of principle for the analyses of binary mixtures with an accuracy of 10%. In the second platform we utilize more mature steel sensor technology to demonstrate the potential of this approach. We show that with this technique, binary mixtures can be measured within 1% and ternary gas mixtures within 3%.

  11. Multi-scale processes of beech wood disintegration and pretreatment with 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium acetate/water mixtures.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Viell, Jörn; Inouye, Hideyo; Szekely, Noemi K; Frielinghaus, Henrich; Marks, Caroline; Wang, Yumei; Anders, Nico; Spiess, Antje C; Makowski, Lee

    2016-01-01

    The valorization of biomass for chemicals and fuels requires efficient pretreatment. One effective strategy involves the pretreatment with ionic liquids which enables enzymatic saccharification of wood within a few hours under mild conditions. This pretreatment strategy is, however, limited by water and the ionic liquids are rather expensive. The scarce understanding of the involved effects, however, challenges the design of alternative pretreatment concepts. This work investigates the multi length-scale effects of pretreatment of wood in 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium acetate (EMIMAc) in mixtures with water using spectroscopy, X-ray and neutron scattering. The structure of beech wood is disintegrated in EMIMAc/water mixtures with a water content up to 8.6 wt%. Above 10.7 wt%, the pretreated wood is not disintegrated, but still much better digested enzymatically compared to native wood. In both regimes, component analysis of the solid after pretreatment shows an extraction of few percent of lignin and hemicellulose. In concentrated EMIMAc, xylan is extracted more efficiently and lignin is defunctionalized. Corresponding to the disintegration at macroscopic scale, SANS and XRD show isotropy and a loss of crystallinity in the pretreated wood, but without distinct reflections of type II cellulose. Hence, the microfibril assembly is decrystallized into rather amorphous cellulose within the cell wall. The molecular and structural changes elucidate the processes of wood pretreatment in EMIMAc/water mixtures. In the aqueous regime with >10.7 wt% water in EMIMAc, xyloglucan and lignin moieties are extracted, which leads to coalescence of fibrillary cellulose structures. Dilute EMIMAc/water mixtures thus resemble established aqueous pretreatment concepts. In concentrated EMIMAc, the swelling due to decrystallinization of cellulose, dissolution of cross-linking xylan, and defunctionalization of lignin releases the mechanical stress to result in macroscopic disintegration of

  12. Catalytic Pyrolysis of Waste Plastic Mixture

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sembiring, Ferdianta; Wahyu Purnomo, Chandra; Purwono, Suryo

    2018-03-01

    Inorganic waste especially plastics still become a major problem in many places. Low biodegradability of this materials causes the effort in recycling become very difficult. Most of the municipal solid waste (MSW) recycling facilities in developing country only use composting method to recover the organic fraction of the waste, while the inorganic fraction is still untreated. By pyrolysis, plastic waste can be treated to produce liquid fuels, flammable gas and chars. Reduction in volume and utilization of the liquid and gas as fuel are the major benefits of the process. By heat integration actually this process can become a self-sufficient system in terms of energy demand. However, the drawback of this process is usually due to the diverse type of plastic in the MSW creating low grade of liquid fuel and harmful gases. In this study, the mixture of plastics i.e. polypropylene (PP) and polyethylene terephthalate (PET) is treated using pyrolysis with catalyst in several operating temperature. PET is problematic to be treated using pyrolysis due to wax-like byproduct in liquid which may cause pipe clogging. The catalyst is the mixture of natural zeolite and bentonite which is able to handle PP and PET mixture feed to produce high grade liquid fuels in terms of calorific value and other fuel properties.

  13. DCMDN: Deep Convolutional Mixture Density Network

    Science.gov (United States)

    D'Isanto, Antonio; Polsterer, Kai Lars

    2017-09-01

    Deep Convolutional Mixture Density Network (DCMDN) estimates probabilistic photometric redshift directly from multi-band imaging data by combining a version of a deep convolutional network with a mixture density network. The estimates are expressed as Gaussian mixture models representing the probability density functions (PDFs) in the redshift space. In addition to the traditional scores, the continuous ranked probability score (CRPS) and the probability integral transform (PIT) are applied as performance criteria. DCMDN is able to predict redshift PDFs independently from the type of source, e.g. galaxies, quasars or stars and renders pre-classification of objects and feature extraction unnecessary; the method is extremely general and allows the solving of any kind of probabilistic regression problems based on imaging data, such as estimating metallicity or star formation rate in galaxies.

  14. Structure and thermodynamics of a mixture of patchy and spherical colloids: A multi-body association theory with complete reference fluid information

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Bansal, Artee; Asthagiri, D.; Cox, Kenneth R.; Chapman, Walter G., E-mail: wgchap@rice.edu [Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, Rice University, Houston, Texas 77251 (United States)

    2016-08-21

    A mixture of solvent particles with short-range, directional interactions and solute particles with short-range, isotropic interactions that can bond multiple times is of fundamental interest in understanding liquids and colloidal mixtures. Because of multi-body correlations, predicting the structure and thermodynamics of such systems remains a challenge. Earlier Marshall and Chapman [J. Chem. Phys. 139, 104904 (2013)] developed a theory wherein association effects due to interactions multiply the partition function for clustering of particles in a reference hard-sphere system. The multi-body effects are incorporated in the clustering process, which in their work was obtained in the absence of the bulk medium. The bulk solvent effects were then modeled approximately within a second order perturbation approach. However, their approach is inadequate at high densities and for large association strengths. Based on the idea that the clustering of solvent in a defined coordination volume around the solute is related to occupancy statistics in that defined coordination volume, we develop an approach to incorporate the complete information about hard-sphere clustering in a bulk solvent at the density of interest. The occupancy probabilities are obtained from enhanced sampling simulations but we also develop a concise parametric form to model these probabilities using the quasichemical theory of solutions. We show that incorporating the complete reference information results in an approach that can predict the bonding state and thermodynamics of the colloidal solute for a wide range of system conditions.

  15. Effect of fusion mixture treatment on the surface of low grade natural ruby

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Sakthivel, R., E-mail: velsak_r@yahoo.com; Pradhan, K.C.; Nayak, B.B.; Dash, Tapan; Sahu, R.K.; Mishra, B.K.

    2017-05-01

    Graphical abstract: The colour of low grade natural ruby is enhanced with fusion mixture treatment. Comparative optical absorption and photoluminesence properties of both untreated and treated ruby samples are studied. - Highlights: • Colour of the low grade natural ruby is improved with fusion mixture treatment. • Surface impurities are removed with fusion mixture. • Photoluminescence spectrum of ruby influenced by its Cr{sup 3+} concentration. • X-ray diffraction study confirms the presence of corundum phases in ruby samples. • Treated ruby looks brighter than untreated ruby due to variation in Cr{sup 3+} concentration. - Abstract: Improvement in aesthetic look of low grade natural ruby (gemstone) surface was clearly evident after fusion mixture treatment. Surface impurities of the gemstone were significantly reduced to give it a face lift. The processing consists of heat treatment (1000 °C) of the raw gemstone with fusion mixture (sodium and potassium carbonates), followed by hydrochloric acid digestion (90 °C) and ultrasonic cleaning.Both the untreated and the treated gemstone were characterized by X-ray diffraction, UV–vis spectroscopy (diffuse reflectance),photoluminescence and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. The paper consolidates the results of these studies and presents the effect of the typical chemical treatment (stated above) on the low grade natural ruby. While X-ray diffraction study identifies the occurrence of alumina phase in both the treated and the untreated gemstones, the UV–vis spectra exhibit strong characteristic absorption of Cr{sup 3+}at 400 and 550 nm wavelength for the treated gemstone in contrast to weak absorption observed for the untreated gemstone at such wavelengths, thus showing the beneficial effect of fusion mixture treatment. Peaks observed for the gemstone (for both treated and untreated samples) in the excitation spectra of photoluminescence show a good correlation with observed UV–vis (diffuse reflectance

  16. Equivalence of truncated count mixture distributions and mixtures of truncated count distributions.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Böhning, Dankmar; Kuhnert, Ronny

    2006-12-01

    This article is about modeling count data with zero truncation. A parametric count density family is considered. The truncated mixture of densities from this family is different from the mixture of truncated densities from the same family. Whereas the former model is more natural to formulate and to interpret, the latter model is theoretically easier to treat. It is shown that for any mixing distribution leading to a truncated mixture, a (usually different) mixing distribution can be found so that the associated mixture of truncated densities equals the truncated mixture, and vice versa. This implies that the likelihood surfaces for both situations agree, and in this sense both models are equivalent. Zero-truncated count data models are used frequently in the capture-recapture setting to estimate population size, and it can be shown that the two Horvitz-Thompson estimators, associated with the two models, agree. In particular, it is possible to achieve strong results for mixtures of truncated Poisson densities, including reliable, global construction of the unique NPMLE (nonparametric maximum likelihood estimator) of the mixing distribution, implying a unique estimator for the population size. The benefit of these results lies in the fact that it is valid to work with the mixture of truncated count densities, which is less appealing for the practitioner but theoretically easier. Mixtures of truncated count densities form a convex linear model, for which a developed theory exists, including global maximum likelihood theory as well as algorithmic approaches. Once the problem has been solved in this class, it might readily be transformed back to the original problem by means of an explicitly given mapping. Applications of these ideas are given, particularly in the case of the truncated Poisson family.

  17. Real-time composition determination of gas mixtures

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Lötters, Joost Conrad; van der Wouden, E.J.; Groenesteijn, Jarno; Sparreboom, Wouter; Lammerink, Theodorus S.J.; Wiegerink, Remco J.

    2014-01-01

    We have designed and implemented an analytical calculation model with which we can real-time determine the composition of gas mixtures. The model is based upon a multi-parameter flow measurement system, consisting of a Coriolis and thermal flow sensor, a density meter and a pressure sensor. The

  18. New Improvements in Mixture Self-Shielding Treatment with APOLLO2 Code

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Coste-Delclaux, M.

    2006-01-01

    Full text of the presentation follows: APOLLO2 is a modular multigroup transport code developed at the CEA in Saclay (France). Previously, the self-shielding module could only treat one resonant isotope mixed with moderator isotopes. Consequently, the resonant mixture self-shielding treatment was an iterative one. Each resonant isotope of the mixture was treated separately, the other resonant isotopes of the mixture being then considered as moderator isotopes, that is to say non-resonant isotopes. This treatment could be iterated. Recently, we have developed a new method that consists in treating the resonant mixture as a unique entity. A main feature of APOLLO2 self-shielding module is that some implemented models are very general and therefore very powerful and versatile. We can give, as examples, the use of probability tables in order to describe the microscopic cross-section fluctuations or the TR slowing-down model that can deal with any resonance shape. The self-shielding treatment of a resonant mixture was developed essentially thanks to these two models. The goal of this paper is to describe the improvements on the self-shielding treatment of a resonant mixture and to present, as an application, the calculation of the ATRIUM-10 BWR benchmark. We will conclude by some prospects on remaining work in the self-shielding domain. (author)

  19. Mixture modeling of multi-component data sets with application to ion-probe zircon ages

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sambridge, M. S.; Compston, W.

    1994-12-01

    A method is presented for detecting multiple components in a population of analytical observations for zircon and other ages. The procedure uses an approach known as mixture modeling, in order to estimate the most likely ages, proportions and number of distinct components in a given data set. Particular attention is paid to estimating errors in the estimated ages and proportions. At each stage of the procedure several alternative numerical approaches are suggested, each having their own advantages in terms of efficency and accuracy. The methodology is tested on synthetic data sets simulating two or more mixed populations of zircon ages. In this case true ages and proportions of each population are known and compare well with the results of the new procedure. Two examples are presented of its use with sets of SHRIMP U-238 - Pb-206 zircon ages from Palaeozoic rocks. A published data set for altered zircons from bentonite at Meishucun, South China, previously treated as a single-component population after screening for gross alteration effects, can be resolved into two components by the new procedure and their ages, proportions and standard errors estimated. The older component, at 530 +/- 5 Ma (2 sigma), is our best current estimate for the age of the bentonite. Mixture modeling of a data set for unaltered zircons from a tonalite elsewhere defines the magmatic U-238 - Pb-206 age at high precision (2 sigma +/- 1.5 Ma), but one-quarter of the 41 analyses detect hidden and significantly older cores.

  20. Self-compacting concrete mixtures for road BUILDING

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Tran Tuan My

    2012-10-01

    Therefore, effective concrete road pavements require self-compacting though non-segregating concrete mixtures to comply with the pre-set values of their properties, namely, bending and compressive strength, corrosion resistance, freeze resistance, etc. Acting in cooperation with Department of Technology of Binders and Concretes of MSUCE, NIIMosstroy developed and examined a self-compacting cast concrete mixture designated for durable monolithic road pavements. The composition in question was generated by adding a multi-component modifier into the mix. The modifier was composed of a hyperplasticiser, active (structureless fine and crystalline silica, and a concrete hardening control agent.

  1. Triaxial shear behavior of a cement-treated sand–gravel mixture

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Younes Amini

    2014-10-01

    Full Text Available A number of parameters, e.g. cement content, cement type, relative density, and grain size distribution, can influence the mechanical behaviors of cemented soils. In the present study, a series of conventional triaxial compression tests were conducted on a cemented poorly graded sand–gravel mixture containing 30% gravel and 70% sand in both consolidated drained and undrained conditions. Portland cement used as the cementing agent was added to the soil at 0%, 1%, 2%, and 3% (dry weight of sand–gravel mixture. Samples were prepared at 70% relative density and tested at confining pressures of 50 kPa, 100 kPa, and 150 kPa. Comparison of the results with other studies on well graded gravely sands indicated more dilation or negative pore pressure in poorly graded samples. Undrained failure envelopes determined using zero Skempton's pore pressure coefficient (A¯=0 criterion were consistent with the drained ones. Energy absorption potential was higher in drained condition than undrained condition, suggesting that more energy was required to induce deformation in cemented soil under drained state. Energy absorption increased with increase in cement content under both drained and undrained conditions.

  2. A Two-Stage Layered Mixture Experiment Design for a Nuclear Waste Glass Application-Part 1

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Cooley, Scott K.; Piepel, Gregory F.; Gan, Hao; Kot, Wing; Pegg, Ian L.

    2003-01-01

    A layered experimental design involving mixture variables was generated to support developing property-composition models for high-level waste (HLW) glasses. The design was generated in two stages, each having unique characteristics. Each stage used a layered design having an outer layer, an inner layer, a center point, and some replicates. The layers were defined by single- and multi-variable constraints. The first stage involved 15 glass components treated as mixture variables. For each layer, vertices were generated and optimal design software was used to select alternative subsets of vertices and calculate design optimality measures. Two partial quadratic mixture models, containing 25 terms for the outer layer and 30 terms for the inner layer, were the basis for the optimal design calculations. Distributions of predicted glass property values were plotted and evaluated for the alternative subsets of vertices. Based on the optimality measures and the predicted property distributions, a ''best'' subset of vertices was selected for each layer to form a layered design for the first stage. The design for the second stage was selected to augment the first-stage design. The discussion of the second-stage design begins in this Part 1 and is continued in Part 2 (Cooley and Piepel, 2003b)

  3. Phase Equilibrium Calculations for Multi-Component Polar Fluid Mixtures with tPC-PSAFT

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Karakatsani, Eirini; Economou, Ioannis

    2007-01-01

    The truncated Perturbed-Chain Polar Statistical Associating Fluid Theory (tPC-PSAFT) is applied to a number of different mixtures, including binary, ternary and quaternary mixtures of components that differ substantially in terms of intermolecular interactions and molecular size. In contrast to m...

  4. Toxicological responses of environmental mixtures: Environmental metal mixtures display synergistic induction of metal-responsive and oxidative stress genes in placental cells

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Adebambo, Oluwadamilare A. [Department of Biological Sciences, North Carolina State University (United States); Ray, Paul D. [Department of Environmental Sciences and Engineering, Gillings School of Global Public Health, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill (United States); Shea, Damian [Department of Biological Sciences, North Carolina State University (United States); Fry, Rebecca C., E-mail: rfry@unc.edu [Department of Environmental Sciences and Engineering, Gillings School of Global Public Health, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill (United States)

    2015-12-15

    Exposure to elevated levels of the toxic metals inorganic arsenic (iAs) and cadmium (Cd) represents a major global health problem. These metals often occur as mixtures in the environment, creating the potential for interactive or synergistic biological effects different from those observed in single exposure conditions. In the present study, environmental mixtures collected from two waste sites in China and comparable mixtures prepared in the laboratory were tested for toxicogenomic response in placental JEG-3 cells. These cells serve as a model for evaluating cellular responses to exposures during pregnancy. One of the mixtures was predominated by iAs and one by Cd. Six gene biomarkers were measured in order to evaluate the effects from the metal mixtures using dose and time-course experiments including: heme oxygenase 1 (HO-1) and metallothionein isoforms (MT1A, MT1F and MT1G) previously shown to be preferentially induced by exposure to either iAs or Cd, and metal transporter genes aquaporin-9 (AQP9) and ATPase, Cu{sup 2+} transporting, beta polypeptide (ATP7B). There was a significant increase in the mRNA expression levels of ATP7B, HO-1, MT1A, MT1F, and MT1G in mixture-treated cells compared to the iAs or Cd only-treated cells. Notably, the genomic responses were observed at concentrations significantly lower than levels found at the environmental collection sites. These data demonstrate that metal mixtures increase the expression of gene biomarkers in placental JEG-3 cells in a synergistic manner. Taken together, the data suggest that toxic metals that co-occur may induce detrimental health effects that are currently underestimated when analyzed as single metals. - Highlights: • Toxicogenomic responses of environmental metal mixtures assessed • Induction of ATP7B, HO-1, MT1A, MT1F and MT1G by metal mixtures observed in placental cells • Higher gene induction in response to metal mixtures versus single metal treatments.

  5. Toxicological responses of environmental mixtures: Environmental metal mixtures display synergistic induction of metal-responsive and oxidative stress genes in placental cells

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Adebambo, Oluwadamilare A.; Ray, Paul D.; Shea, Damian; Fry, Rebecca C.

    2015-01-01

    Exposure to elevated levels of the toxic metals inorganic arsenic (iAs) and cadmium (Cd) represents a major global health problem. These metals often occur as mixtures in the environment, creating the potential for interactive or synergistic biological effects different from those observed in single exposure conditions. In the present study, environmental mixtures collected from two waste sites in China and comparable mixtures prepared in the laboratory were tested for toxicogenomic response in placental JEG-3 cells. These cells serve as a model for evaluating cellular responses to exposures during pregnancy. One of the mixtures was predominated by iAs and one by Cd. Six gene biomarkers were measured in order to evaluate the effects from the metal mixtures using dose and time-course experiments including: heme oxygenase 1 (HO-1) and metallothionein isoforms (MT1A, MT1F and MT1G) previously shown to be preferentially induced by exposure to either iAs or Cd, and metal transporter genes aquaporin-9 (AQP9) and ATPase, Cu 2+ transporting, beta polypeptide (ATP7B). There was a significant increase in the mRNA expression levels of ATP7B, HO-1, MT1A, MT1F, and MT1G in mixture-treated cells compared to the iAs or Cd only-treated cells. Notably, the genomic responses were observed at concentrations significantly lower than levels found at the environmental collection sites. These data demonstrate that metal mixtures increase the expression of gene biomarkers in placental JEG-3 cells in a synergistic manner. Taken together, the data suggest that toxic metals that co-occur may induce detrimental health effects that are currently underestimated when analyzed as single metals. - Highlights: • Toxicogenomic responses of environmental metal mixtures assessed • Induction of ATP7B, HO-1, MT1A, MT1F and MT1G by metal mixtures observed in placental cells • Higher gene induction in response to metal mixtures versus single metal treatments

  6. Ignition of alkane-rich FACE gasoline fuels and their surrogate mixtures

    KAUST Repository

    Sarathy, Mani

    2015-01-01

    Petroleum derived gasoline is the most used transportation fuel for light-duty vehicles. In order to better understand gasoline combustion, this study investigated the ignition propensity of two alkane-rich FACE (Fuels for Advanced Combustion Engines) gasoline test fuels and their corresponding PRF (primary reference fuel) blend in fundamental combustion experiments. Shock tube ignition delay times were measured in two separate facilities at pressures of 10, 20, and 40 bar, temperatures from 715 to 1500 K, and two equivalence ratios. Rapid compression machine ignition delay times were measured for fuel/air mixtures at pressures of 20 and 40 bar, temperatures from 632 to 745 K, and two equivalence ratios. Detailed hydrocarbon analysis was also performed on the FACE gasoline fuels, and the results were used to formulate multi-component gasoline surrogate mixtures. Detailed chemical kinetic modeling results are presented herein to provide insights into the relevance of utilizing PRF and multi-component surrogate mixtures to reproduce the ignition behavior of the alkane-rich FACE gasoline fuels. The two FACE gasoline fuels and their corresponding PRF mixture displayed similar ignition behavior at intermediate and high temperatures, but differences were observed at low temperatures. These trends were mimicked by corresponding surrogate mixture models, except for the amount of heat release in the first stage of a two-stage ignition events, when observed. © 2014 The Combustion Institute.

  7. Insecticide mixtures for mosquito net impregnation against malaria vectors

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Corbel V.

    2002-09-01

    Full Text Available Insecticides belonging to the pyrethroid family are the only compounds currently available for the treatment of mosquito nets. Unfortunately, some malaria vector species have developed resistance to pyrethroids and the lack of alternative chemical categories is a great concern. One strategy for resistance management would be to treat mosquito nets with a mixture associating two insecticides having different modes of action. This study presents the results obtained with insecticide mixtures containing several proportions of bifenthrin (a pyrethroid insecticide and carbosulfan (a carbamate insecticide. The mixtures were sprayed on mosquito net samples and their efficacy were tested against a susceptible strain of Anopheles gambiae, the major malaria vector in Africa. A significant synergism was observed with a mixture containing 25 mg/m2 of bifenthrin (half the recommended dosage for treated nets and 6.25 mg/m2 of carbosulfan (about 2 % of the recommended dosage. The observed mortality was significantly more than expected in the absence of any interaction (80 % vs 41 % and the knock-down effect was maintained, providing an effective barrier against susceptible mosquitoes.

  8. Thermodiffusion in Multicomponent Mixtures Thermodynamic, Algebraic, and Neuro-Computing Models

    CERN Document Server

    Srinivasan, Seshasai

    2013-01-01

    Thermodiffusion in Multicomponent Mixtures presents the computational approaches that are employed in the study of thermodiffusion in various types of mixtures, namely, hydrocarbons, polymers, water-alcohol, molten metals, and so forth. We present a detailed formalism of these methods that are based on non-equilibrium thermodynamics or algebraic correlations or principles of the artificial neural network. The book will serve as single complete reference to understand the theoretical derivations of thermodiffusion models and its application to different types of multi-component mixtures. An exhaustive discussion of these is used to give a complete perspective of the principles and the key factors that govern the thermodiffusion process.

  9. Process of treating tars

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Hansen, C; Hempel, H; Weissenburger, H

    1955-05-05

    A process is described for treating tars or tar oils, especially carbonization tars, characterized in that the tars or tar oils are mixed with benzene or light oils which contain no aromatic material or only slight amounts, or with gas oil in such amounts that the asphalt precipitates, and after separation of the precipitated material the mixture is treated with caustic solution for separation of the phenols, and after separation of the phenolate liquor the mixture is subjected to heating for removal of the dilution medium, then the remaining oil can be used as heating oil or it is submitted to distillation for the purpose of recovering a fuel suitable for diesel motors, while the phenolate liquor is worked up into phenols.

  10. Microphase Separation in Oil-Water Mixtures Containing Hydrophilic and Hydrophobic Ions

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Tasios, Nikos; Samin, Sela; van Roij, Rene; Dijkstra, Marjolein

    2017-01-01

    We develop a lattice-based Monte Carlo simulation method for charged mixtures capable of treating dielectric heterogeneities. Using this method, we study oil-water mixtures containing an antagonistic salt, with hydrophilic cations and hydrophobic anions. Our simulations reveal several phases with a

  11. Toxicological Responses of Environmental Mixtures: Environmental Metals Mixtures Display Synergistic Induction of Metal-Responsive and Oxidative Stress Genes in Placental Cells

    Science.gov (United States)

    Adebambo, Oluwadamilare A.; Ray, Paul D.; Shea, Damian; Fry, Rebecca C.

    2016-01-01

    Exposure to elevated levels of the toxic metals inorganic arsenic (iAs) and cadmium (Cd) represents a major global health problem. These metals often occur as mixtures in the environment, creating the potential for interactive or synergistic biological effects different from those observed in single exposure conditions. In the present study, environmental mixtures collected from two waste sites in China and comparable mixtures prepared in the laboratory were tested for toxicogenomic response in placental JEG-3 cells. These cells serve as a model for evaluating cellular responses to exposures during pregnancy. One of the mixtures was predominated by iAs and one by Cd. Six gene biomarkers were measured in order to evaluate the effects from the metals mixtures using dose and time-course experiments including: heme oxygenase 1 (HO-1) and metallothionein isoforms (MT1A, MT1F and MT1G) previously shown to be preferentially induced by exposure to either iAs or Cd, and metal transporter genes aquaporin-9 (AQP9) and ATPase, Cu2+ transporting, beta polypeptide (ATP7B). There was a significant increase in the mRNA expression levels of ATP7B, HO-1, MT1A, MT1F, and MT1G in mixture-treated cells compared to the iAs or Cd only-treated cells. Notably, the genomic responses were observed at concentrations significantly lower than levels found at the environmental collection sites. These data demonstrate that metal mixtures increase the expression of gene biomarkers in placental JEG-3 cells in a synergistic manner. Taken together, the data suggest that toxic metals that co-occur may induce detrimental health effects that are currently underestimated when analyzed as single metals. PMID:26472158

  12. Chemical mixtures: Evaluation of risk for child-specific exposures in a multi-stressor environment

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Pohl, H.R.; Abadin, H.G.

    2008-01-01

    Evaluating the health impact from exposure to chemical mixtures is multifaceted. One component is exposure. Exposure, and consequently risk assessment for mixtures and chemicals in general, are often viewed in terms of a given exposure to a given population at a given location over a given time period. However, environmental exposures are present throughout human lifetime. As a result, an evaluation of risk must include the distinctive characteristics related to chemical exposures which will impact risk depending upon the particular life stage where exposure occurs. Risks to offspring may be associated with unique exposures in utero, during infancy, childhood, or adolescent periods. For example, exposure of infants to anthropogenic chemicals via breast milk may be of concern. The Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry's (ATSDR's) approach to evaluating risks associated with exposure to mixtures of chemicals is presented. In addition to the breast milk issues, indoor exposure to combined air pollutants, drinking water contaminants, and soil and dust contaminants are discussed. The difference between a mixture's risk evaluation for children and adults is in the distinct exposure scenarios resulting from variations in behavior, physiology, and/or pharmacokinetics between adults and children rather than in the method for the specific mixtures evaluation per se

  13. Combination of multi-disciplinary techniques with 125I seeds in treating malignant obstructive jaundice

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Du Xueming; Xu Jianhui; Lang Jianhua; Tian Xiurong; Dong Wei

    2008-01-01

    Objective: To explore the effectiveness and safety of the combined multi-disciplinary techniques with 125 I seeds to treat the malignant obstructive jaundice. Methods: 18 cases:of malignant obstructive jaundice were divided into 2 groups. A group with ERBD technique followed by CT-guided interstitial 125 I seeds implantation, B group with 125 I seeds implantation during the operation and gallbladder-intestine anastomosis later on. After 2 months amelioration (CR, PR,SD, PD) of the obstructive jaundice was observed with inspection of liver functions. Results: All cases were ameliorated with 44% patients in group A and 56% patients in group B, showing no significant statistical difference (P>0.05); and the liver functions were also relieved in both groups with no statistical significance (P>0.05). Conclusion: Multi-disciplinary techniques combined with 125 I seeds implantation is effective in the management of the malignant obstructive jaundice. No significant difference for relief and liver function were found between CT-guided and during operation interstitial 125 I seeds implantations, but it seems more quickly relief or recovery was achieved in the latter. (authors)

  14. Equation of state of strongly coupled plasma mixtures

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    DeWitt, H.E.

    1984-01-01

    Thermodynamic properties of strongly coupled (high density) plasmas of mixtures of light elements have been obtained by Monte Carlo simulations. For an assumed uniform charge background the equation of state of ionic mixtures is a simple extension of the one-component plasma EOS. More realistic electron screening effects are treated in linear response theory and with an appropriate electron dielectric function. Results have been obtained for the ionic pair distribution functions, and for the electric microfield distribution

  15. Robust non-rigid point set registration using student's-t mixture model.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Zhiyong Zhou

    Full Text Available The Student's-t mixture model, which is heavily tailed and more robust than the Gaussian mixture model, has recently received great attention on image processing. In this paper, we propose a robust non-rigid point set registration algorithm using the Student's-t mixture model. Specifically, first, we consider the alignment of two point sets as a probability density estimation problem and treat one point set as Student's-t mixture model centroids. Then, we fit the Student's-t mixture model centroids to the other point set which is treated as data. Finally, we get the closed-form solutions of registration parameters, leading to a computationally efficient registration algorithm. The proposed algorithm is especially effective for addressing the non-rigid point set registration problem when significant amounts of noise and outliers are present. Moreover, less registration parameters have to be set manually for our algorithm compared to the popular coherent points drift (CPD algorithm. We have compared our algorithm with other state-of-the-art registration algorithms on both 2D and 3D data with noise and outliers, where our non-rigid registration algorithm showed accurate results and outperformed the other algorithms.

  16. Antihyperlipidemic Effect of a Polyherbal Mixture in Streptozotocin-Induced Diabetic Rats

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ahmad Ghorbani

    2013-01-01

    Full Text Available The effects of a polyherbal mixture containing Allium sativum, Cinnamomum zeylanicum, Citrullus colocynthis, Juglans regia, Nigella sativa, Olea europaea, Punica granatum, Salvia officinalis, Teucrium polium, Trigonella foenum, Urtica dioica, and Vaccinium arctostaphylos were tested on biochemical parameters in diabetic rats. The animals were randomized into three groups: (1 normal control, (2 diabetic control, and (3 diabetic rats which received diet containing 15% (w/w of this mixture for 4 weeks. Diabetes was induced by intraperitoneal injection of streptozotocin (55 mg/kg. At the end of experiment, the mixture had no significant effect on serum hepatic enzymes, aspartate aminotransferase, and alanine aminotransferase activities. However, the level of fasting blood glucose, water intake, and urine output in treated group was lower than that in diabetic control rats (P<0.01. Also, the levels of triglyceride and total cholesterol in polyherbal mixture treated rats were significantly lower than those in diabetic control group (P<0.05. Our results demonstrated that this polyherbal mixture has beneficial effects on blood glucose and lipid profile and it has the potential to be used as a dietary supplement for the management of diabetes.

  17. Modeling of Multicomponent Mixture Separation Processes Using Hollow fiber Membrane

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Kim, Sin-Ah; Kim, Jin-Kuk; Lee, Young Moo; Yeo, Yeong-Koo [Hanyang University, Seoul (Korea, Republic of)

    2015-02-15

    So far, most of research activities on modeling of membrane separation processes have been focused on binary feed mixture. But, in actual separation operations, binary feed is hard to find and most separation processes involve multicomponent feed mixture. In this work models for membrane separation processes treating multicomponent feed mixture are developed. Various model types are investigated and validity of proposed models are analysed based on experimental data obtained using hollowfiber membranes. The proposed separation models show quick convergence and exhibit good tracking performance.

  18. Influence of high power ultrasound on rheological and foaming properties of model ice-cream mixtures

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Verica Batur

    2010-03-01

    Full Text Available This paper presents research of the high power ultrasound effect on rheological and foaming properties of ice cream model mixtures. Ice cream model mixtures are prepared according to specific recipes, and afterward undergone through different homogenization techniques: mechanical mixing, ultrasound treatment and combination of mechanical and ultrasound treatment. Specific diameter (12.7 mm of ultrasound probe tip has been used for ultrasound treatment that lasted 5 minutes at 100 percent amplitude. Rheological parameters have been determined using rotational rheometer and expressed as flow index, consistency coefficient and apparent viscosity. From the results it can be concluded that all model mixtures have non-newtonian, dilatant type behavior. The highest viscosities have been observed for model mixtures that were homogenizes with mechanical mixing, and significantly lower values of viscosity have been observed for ultrasound treated ones. Foaming properties are expressed as percentage of increase in foam volume, foam stability index and minimal viscosity. It has been determined that ice cream model mixtures treated only with ultrasound had minimal increase in foam volume, while the highest increase in foam volume has been observed for ice cream mixture that has been treated in combination with mechanical and ultrasound treatment. Also, ice cream mixtures having higher amount of proteins in composition had shown higher foam stability. It has been determined that optimal treatment time is 10 minutes.

  19. Removal and recovery of nitrogen and sulfur oxides from gaseous mixtures containing them

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Cooper, H.B.H.

    1984-01-01

    A cyclic process for removing lower valence nitrogen oxides from gaseous mixtures includes treating the mixtures with an aqueous media including alkali metal carbonate and alkali metal bicarbonate and a preoxygen oxidant to form higher valence nitrogen oxides and to capture these oxides as alkali metal salts, expecially nitrites and nitrates, in a carbonate/bicarbonate-containing product aqueous media. Highly selective recovery of nitrates in high purity and yield may then follow, as by crystallization, with the carbonate and bicarbonate alkali metal salts strongly increasing the selectivity and yield of nitrates. The product nitrites are converted to nitrates by oxidation after lowering the product aqueous media pH to below about 9. A cyclic process for removing sulfur oxides from gas mixtures includes treating these mixtures includes treating these mixtures with aqueous media including alkali metal carbonate and alkali metal bicarbonate where the ratio of alkali metal to sulfur dioxide is not less than 2. The sulfur values may be recovered from the resulting carbonate/bicarbonate/-sulfite containing product aqueous media as alkali metal sulfate or sulfite salts which are removed by crystallization from the carbonate-containing product aqueous media. As with the nitrates, the carbonate/bicarbonate system strongly increases yield of sulfate or sulfite during crystallization. Where the gas mixtures include both sulfur dioxide and lower valence nitrogen oxides, the processes for removing lower valence nitrogen oxides and sulfur dioxide may be combined into a single removal/recovery system, or may be effected in sequence

  20. Thermophysical Properties of Fluid Latent Heat Storage Material using Urea-Water Mixture

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hokamura, Taku; Ohkubo, Hidetoshi; Ashizawa, Kiyonori

    This study is concerned with the measurement of thermophysical properties of a urea-water mixture with the aim of adopting the mixture as a latent heat storage material for air-conditioning systems. The urea-water mixture is made of natural substances and has a good fluidity. The urea concentration in the mixture was controlled by measuring the refractive index of the mixture. Being a multi-component substance, a urea-water solution has a liquid-solid co-existent phase on a phase-diagram. Therefore, the liquidus temperature was measured to establish a relationship between the fraction of the solid-phase and temperature. Furthermore, apparent values of specific heat and coefficient of viscosity were measured in the two-phase region where the solid phase is ice. The apparent specific heat and coefficient of viscosity were measure by using an adiabatic calorimeter and a stirring torque meter respectively. The results revealed that the urea-water mixture can probably be used as a latent heat storage material of good fluidity.

  1. A Multi-Fidelity Surrogate Model for the Equation of State for Mixtures of Real Gases

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ouellet, Frederick; Park, Chanyoung; Koneru, Rahul; Balachandar, S.; Rollin, Bertrand

    2017-11-01

    The explosive dispersal of particles is a complex multiphase and multi-species fluid flow problem. In these flows, the products of detonated explosives must be treated as real gases while the ideal gas equation of state is used for the ambient air. As the products expand outward, they mix with the air and create a region where both state equations must be satisfied. One of the most accurate, yet expensive, methods to handle this problem is an algorithm that iterates between both state equations until both pressure and thermal equilibrium are achieved inside of each computational cell. This work creates a multi-fidelity surrogate model to replace this process. This is achieved by using a Kriging model to produce a curve fit which interpolates selected data from the iterative algorithm. The surrogate is optimized for computing speed and model accuracy by varying the number of sampling points chosen to construct the model. The performance of the surrogate with respect to the iterative method is tested in simulations using a finite volume code. The model's computational speed and accuracy are analyzed to show the benefits of this novel approach. This work was supported by the U.S. Department of Energy, National Nuclear Security Administration, Advanced Simulation and Computing Program, as a Cooperative Agreement under the Predictive Science Academic Alliance Program, under Contract No. DE-NA00023.

  2. Method of removing hydrogen sulphide from hot gas mixtures

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Furimsky, E.; Yumura, M.

    1987-12-22

    Hydrogen sulphide can be removed from hot gas mixtures by contacting the hot gas mixture at temperatures in the range of 500-900/sup 0/C with an adsorbent consisting of managanese nodules. The nodules may contain additional calcium cations. In sulphided form, the nodules are catalytically active for hydrogen sulphide decomposition to produce hydrogen. Regeneration of the adsorbent can be accomplished by roasting in an oxidizing atmosphere. The nodules can be used to treat gaseous mixtures containing up to 20% hydrogen sulfide, for example, gases produced during pyrolysis, cracking, coking, and hydrotreating processes. Experiments using the processes described in this patent are also outlined. 6 tabs.

  3. Ethane-xenon mixtures under shock conditions

    Science.gov (United States)

    Flicker, Dawn; Magyar, Rudolph; Root, Seth; Cochrane, Kyle; Mattsson, Thomas

    2015-06-01

    Mixtures of light and heavy elements arise in inertial confinement fusion and planetary science. We present results on the physics of molecular scale mixing through a validation study of equation of state (EOS) properties. Density functional theory molecular dynamics (DFT/QMD) at elevated-temperature and pressure is used to obtain the properties of pure xenon, ethane, and various compressed mixture compositions along their principal Hugoniots. To validate the QMD simulations, we performed high-precision shock compression experiments using Sandia's Z-Machine. A bond tracking analysis of the simulations correlates the sharp rise in the Hugoniot curve with completion of dissociation in ethane. DFT-based simulation results compare well with experimental data and are used to provide insight into the dissociation as a function of mixture composition. Interestingly, we find that the compression ratio for complete dissociation is similar for ethane, Xe-ethane, polymethyl-pentene, and polystyrene, suggesting that a limiting compression exists for C-C bonded systems. Sandia National Laboratories is a multi-program laboratory managed and operated by Sandia Corporation, a wholly owned subsidiary of Lockheed Martin Company, Security Administration under contract DE-AC04-94AL85000.

  4. Cough mixtures: rational or irrational prescribing in Hong Kong?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wong, William C W; Dickinson, James; Chan, Cynthia

    2005-08-01

    To investigate the extent and how cough mixtures are prescribed, and what conditions or specific groups of people would contribute to its prescription in Hong Kong. Using diagnosis and drug data obtained from logbooks submitted by participants in the diploma in family medicine course between 1999 and 2003, we selected and analysed all patients with a diagnosis of cough or cough-related illnesses as well as cough mixtures that were used to treat them. This study confirmed that cough-related illnesses were common in the Hong Kong primary care setting and cough mixtures were used quite liberally irrespective of the patients' age and sex. Combination preparations accounted for over half of the prescriptions and cough mixture was used less in severe cases when antibiotics were given. Private doctors working in the public sector. Given the current health care system, inappropriate and over-prescribing of cough mixtures can be improved by promoting health education and awareness among patients seeking medical help for this common medical condition.

  5. Efficacy of Strobilurin-related and Multi-site Fungicide Mixtures Against Apple Scab

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Emil Rekanović

    2007-01-01

    Full Text Available The efficacy of several fungicide mixtures in controlling Venturia inaequalis in apple was evaluated in field trials. The efficacies of Flint Plus (trifloxystrobin + captan and Tercel (pyraclostrobin+ dithianon in comparison with standard fungicides Zato 50-WG (trifloxystrobin and Stroby + Delan (kresoxim-methyl + dithianon were tested in the localities Mihajlovac, Radmilovac and Landol in 2004 and 2005. Both tested fungicides exhibited high efficacy in controlling apple scab. There were significant differencies in the efficacies of Flint Plus (91.3-98.5% and Zato 50-WG (68.2% and 78.4%; and Tercel (88.7-93.5% and Stroby + Delan (77.9% and 82.1%. Our experiments showed that the investigated fungicide mixtures arehighly effective against V. inaqeulais, even under high disease pressure.

  6. Enzymatic surface hydrolysis of polyamide 6,6 with mixtures of proteolytic and lipolytic enzymes.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Parvinzadeh Gashti, Mazeyar; Assefipour, Reza; Kiumarsi, Amir; Parvinzadeh Gashti, Mahyar

    2013-01-01

    This study investigated the changes induced on nylon 6,6 fabric by a mixture of proteolytic and lipolytic enzymes. Technical measurements were studied including those of Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), thermal gravimetric analysis (TGA), weight loss (WL), bending lengths (BL), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), moisture absorbency (MA), and reflectance spectroscopy (RS). For this purpose, nylon 6,6 fabrics were treated separately with different concentrations of protease and lipase mixtures in solution. The dyeing process was then carried out on the treated fabrics with two reactive and acid dyes. The intensity of major peaks in the FTIR spectra of the protease-treated samples is in favor of chemical changes the polypeptide functional groups in the fabrics. Thermal studies also show a significant decrease in the thermal degradation temperature of the treated polymer at temperatures higher than 400°C. The protease and lipase mixtures decreased the sample weight, while lipase intensified the weight loss comparing with protease. It was observed that the concentration of lipase enzyme had a direct influence on the darkness of dyed samples.

  7. Percutaneous injection of intradiscal space with O2-O3 mixture to treat cervical disc herniation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    He Xiaofeng; Li Yanhao; Lu Wei; Peng Jing; Chen Yong; Shen Peng; Zeng Qingyue; Zhao Jianbo; Wang Jiangyun; Xu Xiaoli; Chen Hanwei; Xin Yongtong

    2005-01-01

    Objective: To evaluate the security and therapeutic effect for the treatment of cervical disc herniation with O 2 -O 3 mixture. Methods: Thirty-two patients with cervical herniated discs verified by MRI were selected in study, and all patients presented the symptoms of upper limb, cervical and shoulder areas pain. The procedure was guided by DSA and their puncture route was defined as the right common cervical artery and trachea clearance. 1.5-3.0 ml O 2 -O 3 mixture gas at (30-50) μg/ml was injected into every herniated disc space and 3-5 ml mixture gas was injected in paraspinal space. Results: Thirty-two patients were followed up from 3 to 32 months after treatment. The therapeutic effect showed that 17 cases (53.1%) had excellent recovery, 8 cases (25.0%) had significant relief of symptoms, and 7 cases (21.9%) got failure in treatment. No serious complication occurred. Conclusion: The therapeutic method developed by using O 2 -O 3 mixture injection in cervical intradiscal space was a safe and effective method for the treatment of the cervical disc herniation. (authors)

  8. Biodegradation of a commercial mixture of the herbicides atrazine and S-metolachlor in a multi-channel packed biofilm reactor.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cabrera-Orozco, Alberto; Galíndez-Nájera, Silvia Patricia; Ruiz-Ordaz, Nora; Galíndez-Mayer, Juvencio; Martínez-Jerónimo, Fernando

    2017-11-01

    Atrazine and S-metolachlor are two of the most widely used herbicides for agricultural purposes; consequently, residues of both compounds and their metabolites had been detected in ground and superficial waters. Unlike atrazine, the complete degradation of metolachlor has not been achieved. Hence, the purpose of this research is to study the biodegradation of a commercial mixture of atrazine and S-metolachlor in a prototype of a multi-channel packed-bed-biofilm reactor (MC-PBR) designed with the aim of solving the problems of pressure drop and oxygen transfer, typically found on this type of bioreactors.Because the removal efficiency of the herbicides was increased when Candida tropicalis was added to the original microbial community isolated, the reactor was inoculated with this enriched community. The operational conditions tested in batch and continuous mode did not affect the removal efficiency of atrazine; however, this was not the case for S-metolachlor. The removal rates and efficiencies showed a notable variation along the MC-PBR operation.

  9. Cement treated recycled crushed concrete and masonry aggregates for pavements

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Xuan, D.X.

    2012-01-01

    This research is focusing on the characterization of the mechanical and deformation properties of cement treated mixtures made of recycled concrete and masonry aggregates (CTMiGr) in relation to their mixture variables. An extensive laboratory investigation was carried out, in which the mechanical

  10. Sparse Multi-Pitch and Panning Estimation of Stereophonic Signals

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Kronvall, Ted; Jakobsson, Andreas; Hansen, Martin Weiss

    2016-01-01

    In this paper, we propose a novel multi-pitch estimator for stereophonic mixtures, allowing for pitch estimation on multi-channel audio even if the amplitude and delay panning parameters are unknown. The presented method does not require prior knowledge of the number of sources present in the mix...

  11. Toxicity of binary mixtures of metals and pyrethroid insecticides to Daphnia magna Straus. Implications for multi-substance risks assessment

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Barata, Carlos [Laboratory of Environmental Toxicology, Universitat Poltiecnica de Catalunya, CN 150 Km 14.5, Terrassa 08220 (Spain)]. E-mail: barata@intexter.upc.edu; Baird, D.J. [National Water Research Institute (Environment Canada) at Canadian Rivers Institute, 10 Bailey Drive, PO Box 45111, University of New Brunswick, Fredericton E3B 6E1, New Brunswick (Canada); Nogueira, A.J.A. [Departamento de Biologia, Universidade de Aveiro, 3810-193 Aveiro (Portugal); Soares, A.M.V.M. [Departamento de Biologia, Universidade de Aveiro, 3810-193 Aveiro (Portugal); Riva, M.C. [Laboratory of Environmental Toxicology, Universitat Poltiecnica de Catalunya, CN 150 Km 14.5, Terrassa 08220 (Spain)

    2006-06-10

    Two different concepts, termed concentration addition (CA) and independent action (IA), describe general relationships between the effects of single substances and their corresponding mixtures allowing calculation of an expected mixture toxicity on the basis of known toxicities of the mixture components. Both concepts are limited to cases in which all substances in a mixture influence the same experimental endpoint, and are usually tested against a 'fixed ratio design' where the mixture ratio is kept constant throughout the studies and the overall concentration of the mixture is systematically varied. With this design, interaction among toxic components across different mixture ratios and endpoints (i.e. lethal versus sublethal) is not assessed. In this study lethal and sublethal (feeding) responses of Daphnia magna individuals to single and binary combinations of similarly and dissimilarly acting chemicals including the metals (cadmium, copper) and the pyrethroid insecticides ({lambda}-cyhalothrin and deltamethrin) were assayed using a composite experimental design to test for interactions among toxic components across mixture effect levels, mixture ratios, lethal and sublethal toxic effects. To account for inter-experiment response variability, in each binary mixture toxicity assay the toxicity of the individual mixture constituents was also assessed. Model adequacy was then evaluated comparing the slopes and elevations of predicted versus observed mixture toxicity curves with those estimated for the individual components. Model predictive abilities changed across endpoints. The IA concept was able to predict accurately mixture toxicities of dissimilarly acting chemicals for lethal responses, whereas the CA concept did so in three out of four pairings for feeding response, irrespective of the chemical mode of action. Interaction effects across mixture effect levels, evidenced by crossing slopes, were only observed for the binary mixture Cd and Cu for

  12. Toxicity of binary mixtures of metals and pyrethroid insecticides to Daphnia magna Straus. Implications for multi-substance risks assessment

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Barata, Carlos; Baird, D.J.; Nogueira, A.J.A.; Soares, A.M.V.M.; Riva, M.C.

    2006-01-01

    Two different concepts, termed concentration addition (CA) and independent action (IA), describe general relationships between the effects of single substances and their corresponding mixtures allowing calculation of an expected mixture toxicity on the basis of known toxicities of the mixture components. Both concepts are limited to cases in which all substances in a mixture influence the same experimental endpoint, and are usually tested against a 'fixed ratio design' where the mixture ratio is kept constant throughout the studies and the overall concentration of the mixture is systematically varied. With this design, interaction among toxic components across different mixture ratios and endpoints (i.e. lethal versus sublethal) is not assessed. In this study lethal and sublethal (feeding) responses of Daphnia magna individuals to single and binary combinations of similarly and dissimilarly acting chemicals including the metals (cadmium, copper) and the pyrethroid insecticides (λ-cyhalothrin and deltamethrin) were assayed using a composite experimental design to test for interactions among toxic components across mixture effect levels, mixture ratios, lethal and sublethal toxic effects. To account for inter-experiment response variability, in each binary mixture toxicity assay the toxicity of the individual mixture constituents was also assessed. Model adequacy was then evaluated comparing the slopes and elevations of predicted versus observed mixture toxicity curves with those estimated for the individual components. Model predictive abilities changed across endpoints. The IA concept was able to predict accurately mixture toxicities of dissimilarly acting chemicals for lethal responses, whereas the CA concept did so in three out of four pairings for feeding response, irrespective of the chemical mode of action. Interaction effects across mixture effect levels, evidenced by crossing slopes, were only observed for the binary mixture Cd and Cu for lethal effects

  13. Generalized modeling of multi-component vaporization/condensation phenomena for multi-phase-flow analysis

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Morita, K.; Fukuda, K.; Tobita, Y.; Kondo, Sa.; Suzuki, T.; Maschek, W.

    2003-01-01

    A new multi-component vaporization/condensation (V/C) model was developed to provide a generalized model for safety analysis codes of liquid metal cooled reactors (LMRs). These codes simulate thermal-hydraulic phenomena of multi-phase, multi-component flows, which is essential to investigate core disruptive accidents of LMRs such as fast breeder reactors and accelerator driven systems. The developed model characterizes the V/C processes associated with phase transition by employing heat transfer and mass-diffusion limited models for analyses of relatively short-time-scale multi-phase, multi-component hydraulic problems, among which vaporization and condensation, or simultaneous heat and mass transfer, play an important role. The heat transfer limited model describes the non-equilibrium phase transition processes occurring at interfaces, while the mass-diffusion limited model is employed to represent effects of non-condensable gases and multi-component mixture on V/C processes. Verification of the model and method employed in the multi-component V/C model of a multi-phase flow code was performed successfully by analyzing a series of multi-bubble condensation experiments. The applicability of the model to the accident analysis of LMRs is also discussed by comparison between steam and metallic vapor systems. (orig.)

  14. Lagged kernel machine regression for identifying time windows of susceptibility to exposures of complex mixtures.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liu, Shelley H; Bobb, Jennifer F; Lee, Kyu Ha; Gennings, Chris; Claus Henn, Birgit; Bellinger, David; Austin, Christine; Schnaas, Lourdes; Tellez-Rojo, Martha M; Hu, Howard; Wright, Robert O; Arora, Manish; Coull, Brent A

    2018-07-01

    The impact of neurotoxic chemical mixtures on children's health is a critical public health concern. It is well known that during early life, toxic exposures may impact cognitive function during critical time intervals of increased vulnerability, known as windows of susceptibility. Knowledge on time windows of susceptibility can help inform treatment and prevention strategies, as chemical mixtures may affect a developmental process that is operating at a specific life phase. There are several statistical challenges in estimating the health effects of time-varying exposures to multi-pollutant mixtures, such as: multi-collinearity among the exposures both within time points and across time points, and complex exposure-response relationships. To address these concerns, we develop a flexible statistical method, called lagged kernel machine regression (LKMR). LKMR identifies critical exposure windows of chemical mixtures, and accounts for complex non-linear and non-additive effects of the mixture at any given exposure window. Specifically, LKMR estimates how the effects of a mixture of exposures change with the exposure time window using a Bayesian formulation of a grouped, fused lasso penalty within a kernel machine regression (KMR) framework. A simulation study demonstrates the performance of LKMR under realistic exposure-response scenarios, and demonstrates large gains over approaches that consider each time window separately, particularly when serial correlation among the time-varying exposures is high. Furthermore, LKMR demonstrates gains over another approach that inputs all time-specific chemical concentrations together into a single KMR. We apply LKMR to estimate associations between neurodevelopment and metal mixtures in Early Life Exposures in Mexico and Neurotoxicology, a prospective cohort study of child health in Mexico City.

  15. Analysis of mixture formation of direct injection gasoline engine; Tonai funsha gasoline engine no kongoki keisei kaiseki

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Kano, M; Saito, K; Basaki, M [Nippon Soken, Inc., Tokyo (Japan); Matsushita, S; Gono, T [Toyota Motor Corp., Aichi (Japan)

    1997-10-01

    On direct injection gasoline engine, in order to achieve good stratified combustion, the extremely advanced control of air-fuel mixture is required. For this purpose, the method of diagnosing the quality of the state of mixture formation in combustion chambers becomes necessary. In this research, the state of air-fuel mixture in the combustion chamber of a TOYOTA D-4 was analyzed in space and time by visualization, A/F multi-point measurement and A/F high response measurement, thus the effects that injection timing, swirl and fuel pressure exerted to mixture formation were elucidated. 3 refs., 17 figs., 1 tab.

  16. A numerical study on the oil retention of R410A and PVE oil mixture in multi heat pump system

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Kim, Hak Soo; Kim, Min Soo [Seoul National University, Seoul (Korea, Republic of)

    2016-04-15

    Predicting an amount of discharged oil from a compressor is necessary to charge the compressor with proper amount of oil. The amount of discharged oil can be predicted by calculating the oil retention amount in each component of a heat pump system. This study suggests a method for calculating the oil retention amount in a heat pump system. In addition, flow pattern of refrigerant and oil mixture in horizontal gas line of refrigerant was ascertained by flow visualization. The oil retention amounts in each component of multi heat pump system were calculated with respect to mass flux of refrigerant, Oil circulation ratio (OCR), length of horizontal and vertical lines. Oil retention amounts in horizontal and vertical gas lines of refrigerant were significant. To validate the model for gas lines of refrigerant, comparison between predicted and experimental oil retention amounts was conducted, and mean absolute percentage error was 15.0%.

  17. Antileishmanial activity of a mixture of Tridax procumbens and Allium sativum in mice.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gamboa-Leon, Rubi; Vera-Ku, Marina; Peraza-Sanchez, Sergio R; Ku-Chulim, Carlos; Horta-Baas, Aurelio; Rosado-Vallado, Miguel

    2014-01-01

    We tested a mixture of Tridax procumbens, known for its direct action against Leishmania mexicana, and Allium sativum, known for its immunomodulatory effect, as an alternative to treat cutaneous leishmaniasis. Acute oral toxicity was tested with the Up-and-Down Procedure (UDP) using a group of healthy mice administered with either T. procumbens or A. sativum extracts and compared with a control group. Liver injury and other parameters of toxicity were determined in mice at day 14. The in vivo assay was performed with mice infected with L. mexicana promastigotes and treated with either a mixture of T. procumbens and A. sativum or each extract separately. The thickness of the mice's footpads was measured weekly. After the 12-week period of infection, blood samples were obtained by cardiac puncture to determine the total IgG, IgG1 and IgG2a immunoglobulins by a noncommercial indirect ELISA. We showed that the mixture of T. procumbens and A. sativum extracts was better at controlling L. mexicana infection while not being toxic when tested in the acute oral toxicity assay in mice. An increase in the ratio of IgG2a/IgG1 indicated a tendency to raise a Th1-type immune response in mice treated with the mixture. The mixture of T. procumbens and A. sativum extracts is a promising natural treatment for cutaneous leishmaniasis and its healing effects make it a good candidate for a possible new phytomedicine. © R. Gamboa-Leon et al., published by EDP Sciences, 2014.

  18. Antileishmanial activity of a mixture of Tridax procumbens and Allium sativum in mice

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Gamboa-Leon Rubi

    2014-01-01

    Full Text Available We tested a mixture of Tridax procumbens, known for its direct action against Leishmania mexicana, and Allium sativum, known for its immunomodulatory effect, as an alternative to treat cutaneous leishmaniasis. Acute oral toxicity was tested with the Up-and-Down Procedure (UDP using a group of healthy mice administered with either T. procumbens or A. sativum extracts and compared with a control group. Liver injury and other parameters of toxicity were determined in mice at day 14. The in vivo assay was performed with mice infected with L. mexicana promastigotes and treated with either a mixture of T. procumbens and A. sativum or each extract separately. The thickness of the mice’s footpads was measured weekly. After the 12-week period of infection, blood samples were obtained by cardiac puncture to determine the total IgG, IgG1 and IgG2a immunoglobulins by a noncommercial indirect ELISA. We showed that the mixture of T. procumbens and A. sativum extracts was better at controlling L. mexicana infection while not being toxic when tested in the acute oral toxicity assay in mice. An increase in the ratio of IgG2a/IgG1 indicated a tendency to raise a Th1-type immune response in mice treated with the mixture. The mixture of T. procumbens and A. sativum extracts is a promising natural treatment for cutaneous leishmaniasis and its healing effects make it a good candidate for a possible new phytomedicine.

  19. A Two-Stage Layered Mixture Experiment Design for a Nuclear Waste Glass Application-Part 2

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Cooley, Scott K.; Piepel, Gregory F.; Gan, Hao; Kot, Wing; Pegg, Ian L.

    2003-01-01

    Part 1 (Cooley and Piepel, 2003a) describes the first stage of a two-stage experimental design to support property-composition modeling for high-level waste (HLW) glass to be produced at the Hanford Site in Washington state. Each stage used a layered design having an outer layer, an inner layer, a center point, and some replicates. However, the design variables and constraints defining the layers of the experimental glass composition region (EGCR) were defined differently for the second stage than for the first. The first-stage initial design involved 15 components, all treated as mixture variables. The second-stage augmentation design involved 19 components, with 14 treated as mixture variables and 5 treated as non-mixture variables. For each second-stage layer, vertices were generated and optimal design software was used to select alternative subsets of vertices for the design and calculate design optimality measures. A model containing 29 partial quadratic mixture terms plus 5 linear terms for the non-mixture variables was the basis for the optimal design calculations. Predicted property values were plotted for the alternative subsets of second-stage vertices and the first-stage design points. Based on the optimality measures and the predicted property distributions, a ''best'' subset of vertices was selected for each layer of the second-stage to augment the first-stage design

  20. Optical Addressing of Multi-Colour Photochromic Material Mixture for Volumetric Display

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hirayama, Ryuji; Shiraki, Atsushi; Naruse, Makoto; Nakamura, Shinichiro; Nakayama, Hirotaka; Kakue, Takashi; Shimobaba, Tomoyoshi; Ito, Tomoyoshi

    2016-08-01

    This is the first study to demonstrate that colour transformations in the volume of a photochromic material (PM) are induced at the intersections of two control light channels, one controlling PM colouration and the other controlling decolouration. Thus, PM colouration is induced by position selectivity, and therefore, a dynamic volumetric display may be realised using these two control lights. Moreover, a mixture of multiple PM types with different absorption properties exhibits different colours depending on the control light spectrum. Particularly, the spectrum management of the control light allows colour-selective colouration besides position selectivity. Therefore, a PM-based, full-colour volumetric display is realised. We experimentally construct a mixture of two PM types and validate the operating principles of such a volumetric display system. Our system is constructed simply by mixing multiple PM types; therefore, the display hardware structure is extremely simple, and the minimum size of a volume element can be as small as the size of a molecule. Volumetric displays can provide natural three-dimensional (3D) perception; therefore, the potential uses of our system include high-definition 3D visualisation for medical applications, architectural design, human-computer interactions, advertising, and entertainment.

  1. Collagen tissue treated with chitosan solution in H2O/CO2 mixtures: Influence of clathrates hydrates on the structure and mechanical properties.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chaschin, Ivan S; Bakuleva, Natalia P; Grigoriev, Timofei E; Krasheninnikov, Sergey V; Nikitin, Lev N

    2017-03-01

    A mixture of water/carbon dioxide is a "green" perspective solvent from the viewpoint of biomedical applications. Clathrate hydrates are formed this solvent under certain conditions and a very interesting question is the impact of clathrates hydrates on the structure and properties of bovine pericardium, which is used in biomedicine, in particular as a main part of biological heart valve prostheses. The aim of the present work is to investigate the influence of clathrates on the structure and mechanical properties of the collagen tissue treated with chitosan in H 2 O/CO 2 mixtures under pressure 3.0-3.5MPa and temperatures 2-4°C. It was first found that the clathrate hydrates in this media due to the strong fluctuations "bomb" collagen tissue of bovine pericardium, which is manifested in the appearance of numerous small gaps (pores) with mean size of 225±25nm and large pores with size of 1-3μ on the surface and within collagen matrices. High porosity leads to averaging characteristics of the organization structure in tissues with different orientation of the collagen fibers. As a result, the mechanical properties of the collagen tissue with a different orientation of the collagen fibrils become similar, which is quite different from their original properties. The structural changes caused by the influence of the environment clathrate hydrates led to a significant decrease of the tensile strength (30-47% in total, p<0.05) and initial elastic moduli (74-83%, p<0.05). However, the final elastic moduli and the maximum tensile virtually unchanged compared to the control. Nevertheless, it was found that the direct deposition of chitosan from the H 2 O/CO 2 mixtures with clathrate improve the mechanical-strength properties of the porous matrices. We believe that these improved mechanical properties are achieved due to particularly deep and uniform impregnation of the collagen matrix with chitosan from its pressurized solutions in H 2 O/CO 2 mixtures. Copyright © 2016

  2. Pine Wood Treated with a Citric Acid and Glycerol Mixture: Biomaterial Performance Improved by a Bio-byproduct

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Gatien Geraud Essoua Essoua

    2016-02-01

    Full Text Available Wood material is a good reservoir for biogenic carbon storage. The use of wood material for outdoor products such as siding in the building construction sector presents limits. These limits are bound to the nature of wood material (hygroscopic property and anatomical structure. They are responsible for the dimensional variation associated with moisture content variations. Fungal attacks and coating layers adhesion on wood surface, are other problems. This research investigated the feasibility of impregnation with environmentally friendly chemicals, i.e., a citric acid-glycerol mixture (CA-G. The anti-swelling efficiency (ASE, hardness, biodegradation, and coating adhesion tests were performed on softwood specimens. ASE results were up to 53%. The equilibrium moisture content of the treated specimens was less than half of the untreated ones. FTIR spectroscopy showed bands at 1720 to 1750 cm-1, indicating the presence of ester bonds, and scanning electron microscopy images confirmed the polymerization and condensation of treatment solution inside the wood structure. Hardness and decay resistance were increased; however, treatment reduces coating adhesion. In conclusion, CA-G represents a promising eco-responsible solution for improving the technical performance of outdoor wood products.

  3. Performance comparison of low-grade ORCs (organic Rankine cycles) using R245fa, pentane and their mixtures based on the thermoeconomic multi-objective optimization and decision makings

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Feng, Yongqiang; Hung, TzuChen; Zhang, Yaning; Li, Bingxi; Yang, Jinfu; Shi, Yang

    2015-01-01

    Based on the thermoeconomic multi-objective optimization and decision makings, considering both exergy efficiency and LEC (levelized energy cost), the performance comparison of low-grade ORCs (organic Rankine cycles) using R245fa, pentane and their mixtures has been investigated. The effects of mass fraction of R245fa and four key parameters on the exergy efficiency and LEC are examined. The Pareto-optimal solutions are selected from the Pareto optimal frontier obtained by NSGA-II algorithm using three decision makings, including Shannon Entropy, LINMAP and TOPSIS. The deviation index is introduced to evaluate different decision makings. Research demonstrates that as the mass fraction of R245fa increasing, the exergy efficiency decreases first and then increases, while LEC presents a reverse trend. The optimum values from TOPSIS decision making are selected as the preferred Pareto-optimal solution for its lowest deviation index. The Pareto-optimal solutions for pentane, R245fa, and 0.5pentane/0.5R245fa in pairs of (exergy efficiency, LEC) are (0.5425, 0.104), (0.5502, 0.111), and (0.5212, 0.108), respectively. The mixture working fluids present lower thermodynamic performance and moderate economic performance than the pure working fluids under the Pareto optimization. - Highlights: • The thermoeconomic comparison between pure and mixture working fluids is investigated. • The Pareto-optimal solutions with bi-objective function using three decision makings are obtained. • The optimum values from TOPSIS decision making are selected as the preferred Pareto-optimal solution. • The mixture yields lower thermodynamic performance and moderate economic performance.

  4. Iterative Mixture Component Pruning Algorithm for Gaussian Mixture PHD Filter

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Xiaoxi Yan

    2014-01-01

    Full Text Available As far as the increasing number of mixture components in the Gaussian mixture PHD filter is concerned, an iterative mixture component pruning algorithm is proposed. The pruning algorithm is based on maximizing the posterior probability density of the mixture weights. The entropy distribution of the mixture weights is adopted as the prior distribution of mixture component parameters. The iterative update formulations of the mixture weights are derived by Lagrange multiplier and Lambert W function. Mixture components, whose weights become negative during iterative procedure, are pruned by setting corresponding mixture weights to zeros. In addition, multiple mixture components with similar parameters describing the same PHD peak can be merged into one mixture component in the algorithm. Simulation results show that the proposed iterative mixture component pruning algorithm is superior to the typical pruning algorithm based on thresholds.

  5. Second-moment sum rules for correlation functions in a classical ionic mixture

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Suttorp, L.G.; Ebeling, W.

    1992-01-01

    The complete set of second-moment sum rules for the correlation functions of arbitrarily high order describing a classical multi-component ionic mixture in equilibrium is derived from the grand-canonical ensemble. The connection of these sum rules with the large-scale behaviour of fluctuations in an

  6. Aerolization During Boron Nanoparticle Multi-Component Fuel Group Burning Studies

    Science.gov (United States)

    2014-02-03

    overall energy density of the multi-component fuel mixture. Boron nanoparticle- doped multi-component hydrocarbon fuels represent a potential high...addressed, Boron nanoparticle- doped multi-component hydrocarbon fuels represent a potential high-efficiency, tactical fuel that could increase thrust...and micron-sized aluminum particles. Combustion and Flame 158(2): 354-368. Gan, Y., Y. S. Lim, and L. Qiao. 2012. Combustion of nanofluid fuels

  7. The use of ethephon and mixtures of ethephon luith inorganic defoliants to defoliate apple nursery trees

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    A. Basak

    2015-06-01

    Full Text Available Ethephon alone and in a mixture with inorganic defoliants was used to defoliate apple nursery trees of three cultivars: Yellow Transparent, McIntosh and Jonathan. The mixture of ethephon with copper sulphate or magnesium chlorate defoliated the trees better than ethophon or inorganic defoliants used seperately in twice as high concentrations as in a mixture. The tress defoliated with the mixtures of defoliants suffered less from frost injury than those treated with only the inorganic defoliants.

  8. Thermo-Chemical Conversion of Microwave Activated Biomass Mixtures

    Science.gov (United States)

    Barmina, I.; Kolmickovs, A.; Valdmanis, R.; Vostrikovs, S.; Zake, M.

    2018-05-01

    Thermo-chemical conversion of microwave activated wheat straw mixtures with wood or peat pellets is studied experimentally with the aim to provide more effective application of wheat straw for heat energy production. Microwave pre-processing of straw pellets is used to provide a partial decomposition of the main constituents of straw and to activate the thermo-chemical conversion of wheat straw mixtures with wood or peat pellets. The experimental study includes complex measurements of the elemental composition of biomass pellets (wheat straw, wood, peat), DTG analysis of their thermal degradation, FTIR analysis of the composition of combustible volatiles entering the combustor, the flame temperature, the heat output of the device and composition of the products by comparing these characteristics for mixtures with unprocessed and mw pre-treated straw pellets. The results of experimental study confirm that mw pre-processing of straw activates the thermal decomposition of mixtures providing enhanced formation of combustible volatiles. This leads to improvement of the combustion conditions in the flame reaction zone, completing thus the combustion of volatiles, increasing the flame temperature, the heat output from the device, the produced heat energy per mass of burned mixture and decreasing at the same time the mass fraction of unburned volatiles in the products.

  9. Autonomous transmission power adaptation for multi-radio multi-channel wireless mesh networks

    CSIR Research Space (South Africa)

    Olwal, TO

    2009-09-01

    Full Text Available Multi-Radio Multi-Channel (MRMC) systems are key to power control problems in WMNs. Previous studies have emphasized through- put maximization in such systems as the main design challenge and transmission power control treated as a secondary issue...

  10. Autonomous transmission power adaptation for multi-radio multi-channel wireless mesh networks

    CSIR Research Space (South Africa)

    Olwal, TO

    2008-09-01

    Full Text Available Multi-Radio Multi-Channel (MRMC) systems are key to power control problems in WMNs. Previous studies have emphasized throughput maximization in such systems as the main design challenge and transmission power control treated as a secondary issue...

  11. Estimation of Multiple Pitches in Stereophonic Mixtures using a Codebook-based Approach

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Hansen, Martin Weiss; Jensen, Jesper Rindom; Christensen, Mads Græsbøll

    2017-01-01

    In this paper, a method for multi-pitch estimation of stereophonic mixtures of multiple harmonic signals is presented. The method is based on a signal model which takes the amplitude and delay panning parameters of the sources in a stereophonic mixture into account. Furthermore, the method is based...... on the extended invariance principle (EXIP), and a codebook of realistic amplitude vectors. For each fundamental frequency candidate in each of the sources, the amplitude estimates are mapped to entries in the codebook, and the pitch and model order are estimated jointly. The performance of the proposed method...

  12. Conditional Density Approximations with Mixtures of Polynomials

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Varando, Gherardo; López-Cruz, Pedro L.; Nielsen, Thomas Dyhre

    2015-01-01

    Mixtures of polynomials (MoPs) are a non-parametric density estimation technique especially designed for hybrid Bayesian networks with continuous and discrete variables. Algorithms to learn one- and multi-dimensional (marginal) MoPs from data have recently been proposed. In this paper we introduce...... two methods for learning MoP approximations of conditional densities from data. Both approaches are based on learning MoP approximations of the joint density and the marginal density of the conditioning variables, but they differ as to how the MoP approximation of the quotient of the two densities...

  13. Efficient numerical methods for simulating surface tension of multi-component mixtures with the gradient theory of fluid interfaces

    KAUST Repository

    Kou, Jisheng

    2015-08-01

    Surface tension significantly impacts subsurface flow and transport, and it is the main cause of capillary effect, a major immiscible two-phase flow mechanism for systems with a strong wettability preference. In this paper, we consider the numerical simulation of the surface tension of multi-component mixtures with the gradient theory of fluid interfaces. Major numerical challenges include that the system of the Euler-Lagrange equations is solved on the infinite interval and the coefficient matrix is not positive definite. We construct a linear transformation to reduce the Euler-Lagrange equations, and naturally introduce a path function, which is proven to be a monotonic function of the spatial coordinate variable. By using the linear transformation and the path function, we overcome the above difficulties and develop the efficient methods for calculating the interface and its interior compositions. Moreover, the computation of the surface tension is also simplified. The proposed methods do not need to solve the differential equation system, and they are easy to be implemented in practical applications. Numerical examples are tested to verify the efficiency of the proposed methods. © 2014 Elsevier B.V.

  14. Detecting Housing Submarkets using Unsupervised Learning of Finite Mixture Models

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Ntantamis, Christos

    association between prices that can be attributed, among others, to unobserved neighborhood effects. In this paper, a model of spatial association for housing markets is introduced. Spatial association is treated in the context of spatial heterogeneity, which is explicitly modeled in both a global and a local....... The identified mixtures are considered as the different spatial housing submarkets. The main advantage of the approach is that submarkets are recovered by the housing prices data compared to submarkets imposed by administrative or geographical criteria. The Finite Mixture Model is estimated using the Figueiredo...

  15. The study on process of recycling uranium in mixture of residue and liquid

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zhang Jie; Shen Weiwei; Hao Jidong; Wu Jiangming

    2014-01-01

    The treat method of mixture of residue and liquid produced from HWR nuclear fuel chemical process using some kind of U_3O_8 powder was studied in this experiment. For recycling the uranium in mixture of residue and liquid, chemical dissolving method, washing and centrifuging method and dilute nitric acid leaching uranium method was contrasted in this test. The merit of dilute nitric acid leaching uranium method is simpler, more effective and higher uranium recycling ratio. Next, dilute nitric acid leaching uranium method was studied systematically. As a result, the main influence factors of uranium recycling ratio is dip sour degree and dip sour temperature. The influence law of factors to uranium recycling ratio and filtering effect was found out also. Along with increasing of dip sour degree and dip sour temperature, uranium recycling ratio increases and speed of filtrate increases also. At last, the process of batch treating mixture of residue and liquid was build and abundant uranium was recycled. (authors)

  16. Mixture

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Silva-Aguilar Martín

    2011-01-01

    Full Text Available Metals are ubiquitous pollutants present as mixtures. In particular, mixture of arsenic-cadmium-lead is among the leading toxic agents detected in the environment. These metals have carcinogenic and cell-transforming potential. In this study, we used a two step cell transformation model, to determine the role of oxidative stress in transformation induced by a mixture of arsenic-cadmium-lead. Oxidative damage and antioxidant response were determined. Metal mixture treatment induces the increase of damage markers and the antioxidant response. Loss of cell viability and increased transforming potential were observed during the promotion phase. This finding correlated significantly with generation of reactive oxygen species. Cotreatment with N-acetyl-cysteine induces effect on the transforming capacity; while a diminution was found in initiation, in promotion phase a total block of the transforming capacity was observed. Our results suggest that oxidative stress generated by metal mixture plays an important role only in promotion phase promoting transforming capacity.

  17. Non-equilibrium quantum dynamics of ultra-cold atomic mixtures: the multi-layer multi-configuration time-dependent Hartree method for bosons

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Krönke, Sven; Cao, Lushuai; Schmelcher, Peter; Vendrell, Oriol

    2013-01-01

    We develop and apply the multi-layer multi-configuration time-dependent Hartree method for bosons, which represents an ab initio method for investigating the non-equilibrium quantum dynamics of multi-species bosonic systems. Its multi-layer feature allows for tailoring the wave function ansatz to describe intra- and inter-species correlations accurately and efficiently. To demonstrate the beneficial scaling and efficiency of the method, we explored the correlated tunneling dynamics of two species with repulsive intra- and inter-species interactions, to which a third species with vanishing intra-species interaction was weakly coupled. The population imbalances of the first two species can feature a temporal equilibration and their time evolution significantly depends on the coupling to the third species. Bosons of the first and second species exhibit a bunching tendency, whose strength can be influenced by their coupling to the third species. (paper)

  18. Dual-Mode Measurement and Theoretical Analysis of Evaporation Kinetics of Binary Mixtures

    Science.gov (United States)

    Song, Hanyu; He, Chi-Ruei; Basdeo, Carl; Li, Ji-Qin; Ye, Dezhuang; Kalonia, Devendra; Li, Si-Yu; Fan, Tai-Hsi

    Theoretical and experimental investigations are presented for the precision measurement of evaporation kinetics of binary mixtures using a quartz crystal resonator. A thin layer of light alcohol mixture including a volatile (methanol) and a much less volatile (1-butanol) components is deployed on top of the resonator. The normal or acoustic mode is to detect the moving liquid-vapor interface due to evaporation with a great spatial precision on the order of microns, and simultaneously the shear mode is used for in-situ detection of point viscosity or concentration of the mixture near the resonator. A one-dimensional theoretical model is developed to describe the underlying mass transfer and interfacial transport phenomena. Along with the modeling results, the transient evaporation kinetics, moving interface, and the stratification of viscosity of the liquid mixture during evaporation are simultaneously measured by the impedance response of the shear and longitudinal waves emitted from the resonator. The system can be used to characterize complicated evaporation kinetics involving multi-component fuels. American Chemical Society Petroleum Research Fund, NSF CMMI-0952646.

  19. Numerical modelling of continuous spin detonation in rich methane-oxygen mixture

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Trotsyuk, A V

    2016-01-01

    A numerical simulation of a two-dimensional structure of the detonation wave (DW) in a rich (equivalence ratio φ=1.5) methane-air mixture at normal initial condition has been conducted. The computations have been performed in a wide range of channel heights. From the analysis of the flow structure and the number of primary transverse waves in the channel, the dominant size of the detonation cell for studied mixture has been determined to be 45÷50 cm. Based on the fundamental studies of multi-front (cellular) structure of the classical propagating DW in methane mixtures, numerical simulation of continuous spin detonation (CSD) of rich (φ=1.2) methane-oxygen mixture has been carried out in the cylindrical detonation chamber (DC) of the rocket-type engine. We studied the global flow structure in DC, and the detailed structure of the front of the rotating DW. Integral characteristics of the detonation process - the distribution of average values of static and total pressure along the length of the DC, and the value of specific impulse have been obtained. The geometric limit of stable existence of CSD has been determined. (paper)

  20. Bonding and structure in dense multi-component molecular mixtures.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Meyer, Edmund R; Ticknor, Christopher; Bethkenhagen, Mandy; Hamel, Sebastien; Redmer, Ronald; Kress, Joel D; Collins, Lee A

    2015-10-28

    We have performed finite-temperature density functional theory molecular dynamics simulations on dense methane, ammonia, and water mixtures (CH4:NH3:H2O) for various compositions and temperatures (2000 K ≤ T ≤ 10,000 K) that span a set of possible conditions in the interiors of ice-giant exoplanets. The equation-of-state, pair distribution functions, and bond autocorrelation functions (BACF) were used to probe the structure and dynamics of these complex fluids. In particular, an improvement to the choice of the cutoff in the BACF was developed that allowed analysis refinements for density and temperature effects. We note the relative changes in the nature of these systems engendered by variations in the concentration ratios. A basic tenet emerges from all these comparisons that varying the relative amounts of the three heavy components (C,N,O) can effect considerable changes in the nature of the fluid and may in turn have ramifications for the structure and composition of various planetary layers.

  1. Quantitative analysis of properties of petroleum mixtures by near infrared spectroscopy; Analise quantitativa de propriedades de misturas de petroleos via espectrofotometria no infravermelho proximo

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Santos, Leila M.; Silva, Elisangela B.; Fortuny, Montserrat; Dariva, Claudio; Santos, Alexandre F. [Universidade Tiradentes (UNIT), Aracaju, SE (Brazil). Instituto de Tecnologia e Pesquisa (ITP); Araujo, Augusto M. [Siemens Brazil, Rio de Janeiro, RJ (Brazil); Coutinho, Raquel C.C. [PETROBRAS, Rio de Janeiro, RJ (Brazil). Centro de Pesquisas (CENPES)

    2008-07-01

    An experimental study is carried out aiming to develop a method of quantitative analysis of properties of petroleum mixtures, such as water and asphaltene contents, heavy oil concentration and viscosity based on the use of a NIR spectrophotometer. A strategy of generation of crude oil mixtures with known properties was developed to help calibrating the NIR spectrophotometer. Petroleum mixtures involving 2 or 3 oils under known ratios were prepared based on a set of different light and heavy Brazilian crude oil samples. Moreover, experimental data of 5 binary mixtures were also assembled into a data set named multi-compound. Results indicated that excellent calibration models can be obtained for binary mixtures with correlation coefficient (R{sup 2}) greater than 99% for water and asphaltene contents, viscosity and heavy oil concentration. For ternary systems, excellent correlations (R{sup 2}>99%) can be attained for asphaltene and heavy oil contents. Finally for the multi-compound data set, the asphaltene content was the only property that resulted in R{sup 2}>99%, which demonstrates the adequacy of the NIR technique for assessing this property. (author)

  2. The efficacy of a steroid mixture for chemoradiotherapy-induced acute mucositis

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Tamamura, Hiroyasu; Ohoguchi, Manabu; Ichioka, Kazuhiro; Ohta, Kiyotaka; Higashi, Kotarou; Tonami, Hisao

    2005-01-01

    Radiotherapy is an important therapeutic tool for malignant tumors in the head and neck and thoracic region. However, radiotherapy has also been known to cause acute mucositis and esophagitis during the early phase of treatment, for which there is no cure to date. A mixture of mucosal protective steroids has been shown to be beneficial in patients with these symptoms receiving radiotherapy alone. The purpose of this study was to examine the efficacy of this agent to treat the mucositis that accompanies chemoradiotherapy. Moreover, the differences between the curative effects were examined retrospectively, according to the region irradiated. Radiotherapy was administered to the head and neck, and thoracic region, and the steroid mixture was prescribed for patients in the radiotherapy alone and chemoradiotherapy groups that exhibited acute radiation-induced mucositis symptoms. We then evaluated daily food consumption, total serum-protein value, serum-albumin value and body weight of the radiation-induced mucositis patients that were treated with the mixture. Moreover, we also examined the efficacy in patients undergoing irradiation of the oral cavity, and of the esophagus (which did not entail irradiation of the oral cavity). Two hundred and fourteen patients treated with the steroid mixture in this study had no treatment-related adverse events. In comparison between the radiotherapy alone and chemoradiotherapy groups, no significant differences were observed for daily food consumption. However, differences were observed for daily food consumption between the groups undergoing irradiation of the oral cavity and irradiation of the esophagus (p=0.0008). In the group experiencing irradiation of the mouth, decreased ability to swallow and digest food associated with the primary disease was also observed. Total serum-protein values, serum-albumin values and body weight exhibited a slight decrease despite the onset of radiation-induced mucositis, compared with the values

  3. New developments in resonant mixture self-shielding treatment with Apollo code and application to Jules Horowitz reactor core calculation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Coste-Delclaux, M.; Aggery, A.; Huot, N.

    2005-01-01

    APOLLO2 is a modular multigroup transport code developed by Cea in Saclay. Until last year, the self-shielding module could only treat one resonant isotope mixed with moderator isotopes. Consequently, the resonant mixture self-shielding treatment was an iterative one. Each resonant isotope of the mixture was treated separately, the other resonant isotopes of the mixture being then considered as moderator isotopes, that is to say non-resonant isotopes. This treatment could be iterated. Last year, we have developed a new method that consists in treating the resonant mixture as a unique entity. A main feature of APOLLO2 self-shielding module is that some implemented models are very general and therefore very powerful and versatile. We can give, as examples, the use of probability tables in order to describe the microscopic cross-section fluctuations or the TR slowing-down model that can deal with any resonance shape. The self-shielding treatment of a resonant mixture was developed essentially thanks to these two models. The calculations of a simplified Jules Horowitz reactor using a Monte-Carlo code (TRIPOLI4) as a reference and APOLLO2 in its standard and improved versions, show that, as far as the effective multiplication factor is concerned, the mixture treatment does not bring an improvement, because the new treatment suppresses compensation between the reaction rate discrepancies. The discrepancy of 300 pcm that appears with the reference calculation is in accordance with the technical specifications of the Jules Horowitz reactor

  4. A mixture of honey bee products ameliorates the genotoxic side effects of cyclophosphamide

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Maha Aly Fahmy

    2015-08-01

    Full Text Available Objective: To evaluate the protective role of a mixture of honey bee products (honey, royal jelly and pollen grains against the genotoxicity induced by the anticancer drug cyclophosphamide (CP. Methods: The study included chromosomal aberration analysis in mice bone marrow cells, induction of morphological sperm abnormalities, DNA fragmentation and histopathological changes induced in liver cells of mice. CP was injected intraperitoneally at the dose of 20 mg/ kg body weight. The mixture of honey bee products was administrated orally for different periods of time 5, 10 and 15 days with a dose exactly equivalent to the daily intake of human beings. Results: The results revealed that honey mixture ameliorated the genotoxic side effects of CP. For chromosomal aberrations the percentage reached 25.20 ± 1.30 for CP treated group, while it reached half of that value 12.30 ± 0.54 in CP-group pretreated with honey mixture for 15 days. Breaks, fragments and multiple aberrations were the most pronounced types of aberrations induced after CP treatment and honey mixture reduced these types of abnormalities. CP induced significant percentage of sperm abnormalities 8.52 ± 0.17 compared to control 3.10 ± 0.10. The percentage of sperm abnormalities reached nearly to the control value in CP- mice treated with honey mixture for 15 days. Honey also reduced the incidence of liver DNA damage induced by CP. The results also indicated that CP had a marked damaging effect on liver tissue including severe dilatation, congestion of main blood vessels and massive infiltration of inflammatory cells with irregular general pattern of the tissue. These effects were greatly ameliorated by using oral administration of honey mixture for different periods of time. Conclusions: The results concluded that honey bee mixture can be used as chemopreventive agent for minimizing the genotoxic side effects of the anticancer drug CP and open the field for its use in many applications.

  5. TH-CD-206-01: Expectation-Maximization Algorithm-Based Tissue Mixture Quantification for Perfusion MRI

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Han, H; Xing, L; Liang, Z; Li, L

    2016-01-01

    Purpose: To investigate the feasibility of estimating the tissue mixture perfusions and quantifying cerebral blood flow change in arterial spin labeled (ASL) perfusion MR images. Methods: The proposed perfusion MR image analysis framework consists of 5 steps: (1) Inhomogeneity correction was performed on the T1- and T2-weighted images, which are available for each studied perfusion MR dataset. (2) We used the publicly available FSL toolbox to strip off the non-brain structures from the T1- and T2-weighted MR images. (3) We applied a multi-spectral tissue-mixture segmentation algorithm on both T1- and T2-structural MR images to roughly estimate the fraction of each tissue type - white matter, grey matter and cerebral spinal fluid inside each image voxel. (4) The distributions of the three tissue types or tissue mixture across the structural image array are down-sampled and mapped onto the ASL voxel array via a co-registration operation. (5) The presented 4-dimensional expectation-maximization (4D-EM) algorithm takes the down-sampled three tissue type distributions on perfusion image data to generate the perfusion mean, variance and percentage images for each tissue type of interest. Results: Experimental results on three volunteer datasets demonstrated that the multi-spectral tissue-mixture segmentation algorithm was effective to initialize tissue mixtures from T1- and T2-weighted MR images. Compared with the conventional ASL image processing toolbox, the proposed 4D-EM algorithm not only generated comparable perfusion mean images, but also produced perfusion variance and percentage images, which the ASL toolbox cannot obtain. It is observed that the perfusion contribution percentages may not be the same as the corresponding tissue mixture volume fractions estimated in the structural images. Conclusion: A specific application to brain ASL images showed that the presented perfusion image analysis method is promising for detecting subtle changes in tissue perfusions

  6. TH-CD-206-01: Expectation-Maximization Algorithm-Based Tissue Mixture Quantification for Perfusion MRI

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Han, H; Xing, L [Stanford University, Palo Alto, CA (United States); Liang, Z [Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, NY (United States); Li, L [City University of New York College of Staten Island, Staten Island, NY (United States)

    2016-06-15

    Purpose: To investigate the feasibility of estimating the tissue mixture perfusions and quantifying cerebral blood flow change in arterial spin labeled (ASL) perfusion MR images. Methods: The proposed perfusion MR image analysis framework consists of 5 steps: (1) Inhomogeneity correction was performed on the T1- and T2-weighted images, which are available for each studied perfusion MR dataset. (2) We used the publicly available FSL toolbox to strip off the non-brain structures from the T1- and T2-weighted MR images. (3) We applied a multi-spectral tissue-mixture segmentation algorithm on both T1- and T2-structural MR images to roughly estimate the fraction of each tissue type - white matter, grey matter and cerebral spinal fluid inside each image voxel. (4) The distributions of the three tissue types or tissue mixture across the structural image array are down-sampled and mapped onto the ASL voxel array via a co-registration operation. (5) The presented 4-dimensional expectation-maximization (4D-EM) algorithm takes the down-sampled three tissue type distributions on perfusion image data to generate the perfusion mean, variance and percentage images for each tissue type of interest. Results: Experimental results on three volunteer datasets demonstrated that the multi-spectral tissue-mixture segmentation algorithm was effective to initialize tissue mixtures from T1- and T2-weighted MR images. Compared with the conventional ASL image processing toolbox, the proposed 4D-EM algorithm not only generated comparable perfusion mean images, but also produced perfusion variance and percentage images, which the ASL toolbox cannot obtain. It is observed that the perfusion contribution percentages may not be the same as the corresponding tissue mixture volume fractions estimated in the structural images. Conclusion: A specific application to brain ASL images showed that the presented perfusion image analysis method is promising for detecting subtle changes in tissue perfusions

  7. Statistical experimental design for saltstone mixtures

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Harris, S.P.; Postles, R.L.

    1991-01-01

    We used a mixture experimental design for determining a window of operability for a process at the Savannah River Site Defense Waste Processing Facility (DWPF). The high-level radioactive waste at the Savannah River Site is stored in large underground carbon steel tanks. The waste consists of a supernate layer and a sludge layer. 137 Cs will be removed from the supernate by precipitation and filtration. After further processing, the supernate layer will be fixed as a grout for disposal in concrete vaults. The remaining precipitate will be processed at the DWPF with treated waste tank sludge and glass-making chemicals into borosilicate glass. The leach rate properties of the supernate grout, formed from various mixes of solidified salt waste, needed to be determined. The effective diffusion coefficients for NO 3 and Cr were used as a measure of leach rate. Various mixes of cement, Ca(OH) 2 , salt, slag and flyash were used. These constituents comprise the whole mix. Thus, a mixture experimental design was used

  8. Mechanism for negative corona current pulse in CO sub 2 -SF sub 6 mixtures

    CERN Document Server

    Zahoranova, A; Simor, M; Cernak, M

    2003-01-01

    Current waveforms of first negative corona pulses have been measured in CO sub 2 -SF sub 6 mixtures over a pressure range extending from 6.65 to 50 kPa and various overvoltages. Effects of changing cathode secondary electron emission were studied using a copper cathode coated by CuI and graphite. For a given set of experimental conditions it is concluded that in the mixtures containing up to 30% of SF sub 6 the negative corona pulse is associated with the formation of a cathode-directed streamer-like ionizing wave in the immediate vicinity of the cathode. This is in contrast to the discharge behaviour in air-SF sub 6 and N sub 2 -SF sub 6 mixtures, where in similar conditions the discharge develops according to a multi-avalanche Townsend mechanism. (rapid communication)

  9. Prediction of vapour-liquid and vapour-liquid-liquid equilibria of nitrogen-hydrocarbon mixtures used in J-T refrigerators

    Science.gov (United States)

    Narayanan, Vineed; Venkatarathnam, G.

    2018-03-01

    Nitrogen-hydrocarbon mixtures are widely used as refrigerants in J-T refrigerators operating with mixtures, as well as in natural gas liquefiers. The Peng-Robinson equation of state has traditionally been used to simulate the above cryogenic process. Multi parameter Helmholtz energy equations are now preferred for determining the properties of natural gas. They have, however, been used only to predict vapour-liquid equilibria, and not vapour-liquid-liquid equilibria that can occur in mixtures used in cryogenic mixed refrigerant processes. In this paper the vapour-liquid equilibrium of binary mixtures of nitrogen-methane, nitrogen-ethane, nitrogen-propane, nitrogen-isobutane and three component mixtures of nitrogen-methane-ethane and nitrogen-methane-propane have been studied with the Peng-Robinson and the Helmholtz energy equations of state of NIST REFPROP and compared with experimental data available in the literature.

  10. Multi-Center Electronic Structure Calculations for Plasma Equation of State

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Wilson, B G; Johnson, D D; Alam, A

    2010-12-14

    We report on an approach for computing electronic structure utilizing solid-state multi-center scattering techniques, but generalized to finite temperatures to model plasmas. This approach has the advantage of handling mixtures at a fundamental level without the imposition of ad hoc continuum lowering models, and incorporates bonding and charge exchange, as well as multi-center effects in the calculation of the continuum density of states.

  11. Effect of pesticide mixture on value of fresh, fermented and pickles cucumbers

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Krystyna WElkner

    2013-12-01

    Full Text Available In years 1998-1999 effects of fungicides (azoxystrobin and copper hydroxide, insecticides (etafenproks and pirimicarb and their mixtures on chemical composition and organoleptic quality of fresh, fermented and pickled cucumbers were studied_ To analyses fruits were taken after 7 and 12 days from treatment. Fresh cucumber fruits after 7 days from treatment with investigated pesticides contained less carbohydrates and ascorbic acids and higher level of nitrates in compare to untreated fruits (control. After 12 days from treatment the differences between treated and untreated fruits dissapeared. Cucumber fruits harvested 7 and 12 days after treatment were processed separately. Quality evaluation of fermented and pickled cucumbers was carried out 4 months after processing. In most of cucumber fruits (7 days after treatment with pesticides treated with pesticides empty cavities were found, and not in control (untreated. Number of cavities was highest in fresh and pickled cucumbers treated with mixture of fungicide and insecticide. In case of fermented cucumbers highest number of empty cavities occurred in fruits treated with fungicide azoxystrobin. Cucumber fruits taken to fermentation process 7 days after day of treatment had darker green colour, lowered haIdness, and larger empty cavities than untreated fruits. In fruits harvested 12 days after pesticides application such differencess were not observed.

  12. SIMULTANEOUS PRETREATMENT OF LIGNOCELLULOSE AND HYDROLYSIS OF STARCH IN MIXTURES TO SUGARS

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Hamzeh Hoseinpour

    2010-11-01

    Full Text Available Mixtures of starch and lignocelluloses are available in many industrial, agricultural, and municipal wastes and residuals. In this work, dilute sulfuric acid was used for simultaneous pretreatment of lignocellulose and hydrolysis of starch, to obtain a maximum amount of fermentable sugar after enzymatic hydrolysis with cellulase and β-glucosidase. The acid treatment was carried out at 70-150°C with 0-1% (v/v acid concentration and 5-15% (w/v solids concentration for 0-40 minutes. Under the optimum conditions, obtained at 130°C, 1% acid, and 7.5% solids loading for 30 min, the starch was almost completely converted to glucose. However, the acid treatment was not successful for efficient hydrolysis of pure cellulose. A mixture of pine softwood and potato as representatives of lignocellulosic and starch components, respectively, were treated at the optimum conditions for acid hydrolysis of starch. The dilute-acid treatment resulted in 1.2, 60.5, and 23.6% hydrolysis of glucan, xylan, and mannan of pine wood and 67% of potato starch to fermentable sugars. After the acid treatment, the solid residue of the mixture was subjected to enzymatic hydrolysis. The enzymatic hydrolysis under the optimum conditions resulted in conversion of 76% of the glucan in the treated softwood. Therefore, using acid treatment of the mixture is a promising process for pretreatment of wood in addition to the hydrolysis of starch.

  13. Corrosion response of nuclear reactor materials to mixtures of decontamination reagents

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Speranzini, R.A.; Burchart, P.A.; Kanhai, K.A.

    1989-01-01

    An experimental study of the corrosiveness of mixtures of citric acid, oxalic acid, and EDTA to nuclear reactor materials was undertaken. Specimens of type 304 stainless steel (SS), type 410 SS, carbon steel (CS) 1018 and A508, and heat-treated alloy 600 were suspended in recirculating mixtures of two or more combinations of citric acid, oxalic acid, and EDTA at temperatures of 90 C or 117 C for 22 hours. The results suggest that removal of oxalic acid from decontamination solutions should lower the corrosiveness of the solutions to nuclear reactor materials, particularly types 304 SS and 410 SS

  14. Treating oil shale

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Dolbear, S H

    1921-01-04

    Oil shale is treated for the separation of the valuable organic compounds, with a view to economy in subsequent destructive distillation, by grinding to powder, mixing with water to form a pulp, adding a small quantity of an oil liquid and aerating the mixture to form a froth containing the organic compounds. If the powdered shale contains sufficient free oil, the addition of oil to the pulp may be dispensed with. In some cases an electrolyte such as sulfuric acid may be added to the pulp.

  15. Statistical experimental design for saltstone mixtures

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Harris, S.P.; Postles, R.L.

    1992-01-01

    The authors used a mixture experimental design for determining a window of operability for a process at the U.S. Department of Energy, Savannah River Site, Defense Waste Processing Facility (DWPF). The high-level radioactive waste at the Savannah River Site is stored in large underground carbon steel tanks. The waste consists of a supernate layer and a sludge layer. Cesium-137 will be removed from the supernate by precipitation and filtration. After further processing, the supernate layer will be fixed as a grout for disposal in concrete vaults. The remaining precipitate will be processed at the DWPF with treated waste tank sludge and glass-making chemicals into borosilicate glass. The leach-rate properties of the supernate grout formed from various mixes of solidified coefficients for NO 3 and chromium were used as a measure of leach rate. Various mixes of cement, Ca(OH) 2 , salt, slag, and fly ash were used. These constituents comprise the whole mix. Thus, a mixture experimental design was used. The regression procedure (PROC REG) in SAS was used to produce analysis of variance (ANOVA) statistics. In addition, detailed model diagnostics are readily available for identifying suspicious observations. For convenience, trillinear contour (TLC) plots, a standard graphics tool for examining mixture response surfaces, of the fitted model were produced using ECHIP

  16. Research of Deformation of Clay Soil Mixtures Mixtures

    OpenAIRE

    Romas Girkontas; Tadas Tamošiūnas; Andrius Savickas

    2014-01-01

    The aim of this article is to determine clay soils and clay soils mixtures deformations during drying. Experiments consisted from: a) clay and clay mixtures bridges (height ~ 0,30 m, span ~ 1,00 m); b) tiles of clay and clay, sand and straw (height, length, wide); c) cylinders of clay; clay and straw; clay, straw and sand (diameter; height). According to the findings recommendations for clay and clay mixtures drying technology application were presented. During the experiment clay bridge bear...

  17. Transport coefficients of hard-sphere mixtures: Theory and Monte Carlo molecular-dynamics calculations for an isotopic mixture

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Erpenbeck, J.J.

    1989-01-01

    The thermal transport properties of mixtures can be formulated in a number of ways, depending on the choice of driving forces for the transport of heat and matter, without violating the Onsager conditions. Here we treat transport in mixtures based on the driving forces -del ln T and -T del(μ/sub a//T), with T the temperature and μ/sub a/ the specific chemical potential, to obtain the Green-Kubo expressions and the Enskog theory for the corresponding transport coefficients which seem most amenable to molecular-dynamics evaluation. The transport properties of a hard-sphere mixture (mass ratio of 0.1, diameter ratio of 1.0, at a volume of three times close-packed volume), calculated by a Monte Carlo, molecular-dynamics method based on the Green-Kubo formulas, are compared with the predictions of the Enskog theory. The long-time behavior of the Green-Kubo time-correlation functions for shear viscosity, thermal conductivity, thermal diffusion, and mutual diffusion are found to be in good agreement with the predictions of mode-coupling theory. Except for viscosity, the contribution of the long-time tails to the transport coefficients is found to be significant. We obtain values, relative to Enskog, of 1.016 +- 0.007 for shear viscosity, 1.218 +- 0.009 for thermal conductivity, 1.267 +- 0.026 for thermal diffusion, and 1.117 +- 0.008 for mutual diffusion

  18. A mixture of extracts from Peruvian plants (black maca and yacon) improves sperm count and reduced glycemia in mice with streptozotocin-induced diabetes.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gonzales, Gustavo F; Gonzales-Castañeda, Cynthia; Gasco, Manuel

    2013-09-01

    We investigated the effect of two extracts from Peruvian plants given alone or in a mixture on sperm count and glycemia in streptozotocin-diabetic mice. Normal or diabetic mice were divided in groups receiving vehicle, black maca (Lepidium meyenii), yacon (Smallanthus sonchifolius) or three mixtures of extracts black maca/yacon (90/10, 50/50 and 10/90%). Normal or diabetic mice were treated for 7 d with each extract, mixture or vehicle. Glycemia, daily sperm production (DSP), epididymal and vas deferens sperm counts in mice and polyphenol content, and antioxidant activity in each extract were assessed. Black maca (BM), yacon and the mixture of extracts reduced glucose levels in diabetic mice. Non-diabetic mice treated with BM and yacon showed higher DSP than those treated with vehicle (p maca/yacon increased DSP, and sperm count in vas deferens and epididymis with respect to non-diabetic and diabetic mice treated with vehicle (p maca, and this was associated with higher antioxidant activity. The combination of two extracts improved glycemic levels and male reproductive function in diabetic mice. Streptozotocin increased 1.43 times the liver weight that was reversed with the assessed plants extracts. In summary, streptozotocin-induced diabetes resulted in reduction in sperm counts and liver damage. These effects could be reduced with BM, yacon and the BM+yacon mixture.

  19. Deciding which chemical mixtures risk assessment methods work best for what mixtures

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Teuschler, Linda K.

    2007-01-01

    The most commonly used chemical mixtures risk assessment methods involve simple notions of additivity and toxicological similarity. Newer methods are emerging in response to the complexities of chemical mixture exposures and effects. Factors based on both science and policy drive decisions regarding whether to conduct a chemical mixtures risk assessment and, if so, which methods to employ. Scientific considerations are based on positive evidence of joint toxic action, elevated human exposure conditions or the potential for significant impacts on human health. Policy issues include legislative drivers that may mandate action even though adequate toxicity data on a specific mixture may not be available and risk assessment goals that impact the choice of risk assessment method to obtain the amount of health protection desired. This paper discusses three important concepts used to choose among available approaches for conducting a chemical mixtures risk assessment: (1) additive joint toxic action of mixture components; (2) toxicological interactions of mixture components; and (3) chemical composition of complex mixtures. It is proposed that scientific support for basic assumptions used in chemical mixtures risk assessment should be developed by expert panels, risk assessment methods experts, and laboratory toxicologists. This is imperative to further develop and refine quantitative methods and provide guidance on their appropriate applications. Risk assessors need scientific support for chemical mixtures risk assessment methods in the form of toxicological data on joint toxic action for high priority mixtures, statistical methods for analyzing dose-response for mixtures, and toxicological and statistical criteria for determining sufficient similarity of complex mixtures

  20. Acid-base titrations by stepwise addition of equal volumes of titrant with special reference to automatic titrations-II Theory of titration of mixtures of acids, polyprotic acids, acids in mixture with weak bases, and ampholytes.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pehrsson, L; Ingman, F; Johansson, S

    A general method for evaluating titration data for mixtures of acids and for acids in mixture with weak bases is presented. Procedures are given that do not require absolute [H]-data, i.e., relative [H]-data may be used. In most cases a very rough calibration of the electrode system is enough. Further, for simple systems, very approximate values of the stability constants are sufficient. As examples, the titration of the following are treated in some detail: a mixture of two acids, a diprotic acid, an acid in presence of its conjugate base, and an ampholyte.

  1. A study on flammability limits of fuel mixtures.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kondo, Shigeo; Takizawa, Kenji; Takahashi, Akifumi; Tokuhashi, Kazuaki; Sekiya, Akira

    2008-07-15

    Flammability limit measurements were made for various binary and ternary mixtures prepared from nine different compounds. The compounds treated are methane, propane, ethylene, propylene, methyl ether, methyl formate, 1,1-difluoroethane, ammonia, and carbon monoxide. The observed values of lower flammability limits of mixtures were found to be in good agreement to the calculated values by Le Chatelier's formula. As for the upper limits, however, some are close to the calculated values but some are not. It has been found that the deviations of the observed values of upper flammability limits from the calculated ones are mostly to lower concentrations. Modification of Le Chatelier's formula was made to better fit to the observed values of upper flammability limits. This procedure reduced the average difference between the observed and calculated values of upper flammability limits to one-third of the initial value.

  2. Multi-objective experimental design for (13)C-based metabolic flux analysis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bouvin, Jeroen; Cajot, Simon; D'Huys, Pieter-Jan; Ampofo-Asiama, Jerry; Anné, Jozef; Van Impe, Jan; Geeraerd, Annemie; Bernaerts, Kristel

    2015-10-01

    (13)C-based metabolic flux analysis is an excellent technique to resolve fluxes in the central carbon metabolism but costs can be significant when using specialized tracers. This work presents a framework for cost-effective design of (13)C-tracer experiments, illustrated on two different networks. Linear and non-linear optimal input mixtures are computed for networks for Streptomyces lividans and a carcinoma cell line. If only glucose tracers are considered as labeled substrate for a carcinoma cell line or S. lividans, the best parameter estimation accuracy is obtained by mixtures containing high amounts of 1,2-(13)C2 glucose combined with uniformly labeled glucose. Experimental designs are evaluated based on a linear (D-criterion) and non-linear approach (S-criterion). Both approaches generate almost the same input mixture, however, the linear approach is favored due to its low computational effort. The high amount of 1,2-(13)C2 glucose in the optimal designs coincides with a high experimental cost, which is further enhanced when labeling is introduced in glutamine and aspartate tracers. Multi-objective optimization gives the possibility to assess experimental quality and cost at the same time and can reveal excellent compromise experiments. For example, the combination of 100% 1,2-(13)C2 glucose with 100% position one labeled glutamine and the combination of 100% 1,2-(13)C2 glucose with 100% uniformly labeled glutamine perform equally well for the carcinoma cell line, but the first mixture offers a decrease in cost of $ 120 per ml-scale cell culture experiment. We demonstrated the validity of a multi-objective linear approach to perform optimal experimental designs for the non-linear problem of (13)C-metabolic flux analysis. Tools and a workflow are provided to perform multi-objective design. The effortless calculation of the D-criterion can be exploited to perform high-throughput screening of possible (13)C-tracers, while the illustrated benefit of multi

  3. Detailed finite element method modeling of evaporating multi-component droplets

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Diddens, Christian, E-mail: C.Diddens@tue.nl

    2017-07-01

    The evaporation of sessile multi-component droplets is modeled with an axisymmetic finite element method. The model comprises the coupled processes of mixture evaporation, multi-component flow with composition-dependent fluid properties and thermal effects. Based on representative examples of water–glycerol and water–ethanol droplets, regular and chaotic examples of solutal Marangoni flows are discussed. Furthermore, the relevance of the substrate thickness for the evaporative cooling of volatile binary mixture droplets is pointed out. It is shown how the evaporation of the more volatile component can drastically decrease the interface temperature, so that ambient vapor of the less volatile component condenses on the droplet. Finally, results of this model are compared with corresponding results of a lubrication theory model, showing that the application of lubrication theory can cause considerable errors even for moderate contact angles of 40°. - Graphical abstract:.

  4. Multi-quantum excitation in optically pumped alkali atom: rare gas mixtures

    Science.gov (United States)

    Galbally-Kinney, K. L.; Rawlins, W. T.; Davis, S. J.

    2014-03-01

    Diode-pumped alkali laser (DPAL) technology offers a means of achieving high-energy gas laser output through optical pumping of the D-lines of Cs, Rb, and K. The exciplex effect, based on weak attractive forces between alkali atoms and polarizable rare gas atoms (Ar, Kr, Xe), provides an alternative approach via broadband excitation of exciplex precursors (XPAL). In XPAL configurations, we have observed multi-quantum excitation within the alkali manifolds which result in infrared emission lines between 1 and 4 μm. The observed excited states include the 42FJ states of both Cs and Rb, which are well above the two-photon energy of the excitation laser in each case. We have observed fluorescence from multi-quantum states for excitation wavelengths throughout the exciplex absorption bands of Cs-Ar, Cs-Kr, and Cs-Xe. The intensity scaling is roughly first-order or less in both pump power and alkali concentration, suggesting a collisional energy pooling excitation mechanism. Collisional up-pumping appears to present a parasitic loss term for optically pumped atomic systems at high intensities, however there may also be excitation of other lasing transitions at infrared wavelengths.

  5. ABSORPTION AND BIOAVAILABILITY OF THE MINERALS IN THE MULTI-MIXTURE FOOD SUPPLEMENT: BIOLOGICAL ASSAY IN RATS

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    E. HELBIG

    2008-12-01

    Full Text Available

    The absorption and bioavailability of the minerals Ca, Fe and Zn in balanced and mineral restricted diets with the addition of the food supplement multi-mixture (MM, was evaluated. A biological assay was carried out for 28 days with recently weaned Wistar rats, using 3 treatments and 8 animals in each group. The diets offered to each group were distributed as follows: CD – Control Diet (AIN-93G; CcD/MM – Control Diet + Supplement 5% MM; DRMIXc/MM – Control Diet with Mineral Restricted + Supplement 5% MM. The animals were monitored for weight; amount of diet consumed and amount of faeces excreted. They were sacrifi ced at the end of the experimental period and the pair of femurs, pancreas and liver removed for the determination of Ca, Fe and Zn. The CcD/MM diet presented absorption of Ca and Fe and bioavailability of Ca, Fe and Zn equal to that of CD, showing no statistical difference between the treatments. However the DRMIXcD/MM diet presented an increase in Ca absorption, equal absorption of Fe and an increase in the bioavailability of Ca, Fe and Zn when compared to CD. It was concluded that when fed on a balanced diet supplemented with 5% MM, there was no increase in the bioavailability of Ca, Fe or Zn, whereas when fed on a mineral defi cient diet, the group of animals that received supplementation with 5% MM, presented greater absorption and bioavailability of these minerals.

  6. Stabilization Of Marine Clay Using Biomass Silica-Rubber Chips Mixture

    Science.gov (United States)

    Marto, Aminaton; Ridzuan Jahidin, Mohammed; Aziz, Norazirah Abdul; Kasim, Fauziah; Zurairahetty Mohd. Yunus, Nor

    2016-11-01

    Marine clay is found widely along the coastal area and had caused expensive solutions in the construction of coastal highways. Hence, soil stabilization was suggested by some consultant to increase the strength of this soil in order to meet the highway construction requirement and also to achieve the specification for the development. Biomass Silica (BS), particularly the SH85 as a non-traditional stabilisation method, has been gaining more interest from the engineers recently. Rubber chips (RC), derived from waste rubber tyres, are considered ‘green’ element and had been used previously in some geotechnical engineering works. This paper presents the effect of using BS and RC as a mixture (BS-RC mixture), to increase the strength of marine clay for highway construction. Samples of marine clay, obtained from the West Coast Expressway project at Teluk Intan, Perak, were oven dried and grind to fine-grained sized. The marine clay was mixed with 9 % by weight proportion of BS- RC; that were 8%-l% and 7%-2%, respectively. For comparison purposes the result of BS-RC was compared to the result of stabilization by using 9% BS only. Laboratory tests were then carried out to determine the Atterberg limits and compaction characteristics of the untreated and treated marine clay. The Unconfined Compressive Strength (UCS) of the untreated and treated marine clays, compacted at the optimum moisture content was later obtained. The treated marine clay was tested at 0, 3 and 7 days curing periods. The results show that the Plasticity Index of BS-RC treated marine clay was lower than the untreated marine clay. From the UCS test results, it is shown that BS-RC mixtures had significantly improved the strength of marine clay. With the same percentage of 9% BS-RC, the increased of BS from 7% to 8% increased the UCS further to about six times more than untreated marine clay soils in 7 days curing period. The strength gained by using BS-RC at 8%-1% is slightly below the strength by

  7. A Comparison of Secondary Polycythemia in Hypogonadal Men Treated with Clomiphene Citrate versus Testosterone Replacement: A Multi-Institutional Study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wheeler, Karen M; Smith, Ryan P; Kumar, Raj A; Setia, Shaan; Costabile, Raymond A; Kavoussi, Parviz K

    2017-04-01

    We evaluated the relative prevalence of secondary polycythemia in hypogonadal men treated with clomiphene citrate or testosterone replacement therapy. In this retrospective, multi-institutional study, we included 188 men who received clomiphene citrate and 175 who received testosterone replacement therapy with symptomatic hypogonadism. The overall prevalence and ORs of secondary polycythemia for clomiphene citrate treatment vs testosterone replacement were primarily measured, as were baseline characteristics. Subset analysis included polycythemia rates for different types of testosterone replacement therapy. Overall, men on testosterone replacement therapy were older than clomiphene citrate treated men (age 51.5 vs 38 years). Men on testosterone replacement had longer treatment duration than clomiphene citrate treated men (19.6 vs 9.2 months). For testosterone replacement therapy and clomiphene citrate the mean change in hematocrit was 3.0% and 0.6%, and the mean change in serum testosterone was 333.1 and 367.6 ng/dl, respectively. The prevalence of polycythemia in men on testosterone replacement was 11.2% vs 1.7% in men on clomiphene citrate (p = 0.0003). This significance remained on logistic regression after correcting for age, site, smoking history and pretreatment hematocrit. The prevalence of polycythemia in men treated with clomiphene citrate was markedly lower than that in men on testosterone replacement therapy. The improvement in absolute serum testosterone levels was similar to that in men on testosterone replacement. There is no significant risk of polycythemia in men treated with clomiphene citrate for hypogonadism. Copyright © 2017 American Urological Association Education and Research, Inc. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  8. Effect of excluded volume interactions on the interfacial properties of colloid-polymer mixtures

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Fortini, A.; Bolhuis, P.G.; Dijkstra, M.

    2008-01-01

    We report a numerical study of equilibrium phase diagrams and interfacial properties of bulk and confined colloid-polymer mixtures using grand canonical Monte Carlo simulations. Colloidal particles are treated as hard spheres, while the polymer chains are described as soft repulsive spheres. The

  9. Secondary organic aerosol from VOC mixtures in an oxidation flow reactor

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ahlberg, Erik; Falk, John; Eriksson, Axel; Holst, Thomas; Brune, William H.; Kristensson, Adam; Roldin, Pontus; Svenningsson, Birgitta

    2017-07-01

    The atmospheric organic aerosol is a tremendously complex system in terms of chemical content. Models generally treat the mixtures as ideal, something which has been questioned owing to model-measurement discrepancies. We used an oxidation flow reactor to produce secondary organic aerosol (SOA) mixtures containing oxidation products of biogenic (α-pinene, myrcene and isoprene) and anthropogenic (m-xylene) volatile organic compounds (VOCs). The resulting volume concentration and chemical composition was measured using a scanning mobility particle sizer (SMPS) and a high-resolution time-of-flight aerosol mass spectrometer (HR-ToF-AMS), respectively. The SOA mass yield of the mixtures was compared to a partitioning model constructed from single VOC experiments. The single VOC SOA mass yields with no wall-loss correction applied are comparable to previous experiments. In the mixtures containing myrcene a higher yield than expected was produced. We attribute this to an increased condensation sink, arising from myrcene producing a significantly higher number of nucleation particles compared to the other precursors. Isoprene did not produce much mass in single VOC experiments but contributed to the mass of the mixtures. The effect of high concentrations of isoprene on the OH exposure was found to be small, even at OH reactivities that previously have been reported to significantly suppress OH exposures in oxidation flow reactors. Furthermore, isoprene shifted the particle size distribution of mixtures towards larger sizes, which could be due to a change in oxidant dynamics inside the reactor.

  10. Multi-Walled Carbon Nanotube Coating on Alkali Treated TiO2 Nanotubes Surface for Improvement of Biocompatibility

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jung-Eun Park

    2018-04-01

    Full Text Available The aim of this study is to enhance the bioactivity of pure titanium using multiple surface treatments for the application of the implant. To form the biofunctional multilayer coating on pure titanium, anodization was conducted to make titanium dioxide nanotubes, then multi-walled carbon nanotubes were coated using a dipping method after an alkali treatment. The surface characteristics at each step were analyzed using a field emission scanning electron microscope and X-ray diffractometer. The effect of the multilayer coating on the biocompatibility was identified using immersion and cytotoxicity tests. Better hydroxyapatite formation was observed on the surface of multilayer-coated pure titanium compared to non-treated pure titanium after immersion in the simulated body fluid. Improvement of biocompatibility by multiple surface treatments was identified through various cytotoxicity tests using osteoblast cells.

  11. General multi-group macroscopic modeling for thermo-chemical non-equilibrium gas mixtures

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Liu, Yen, E-mail: yen.liu@nasa.gov; Vinokur, Marcel [NASA Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, California 94035 (United States); Panesi, Marco; Sahai, Amal [University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, Illinois 61801 (United States)

    2015-04-07

    relaxation model, which can only be applied to molecules, the new model is applicable to atoms, molecules, ions, and their mixtures. Numerical examples and model validations are carried out with two gas mixtures using the maximum entropy linear model: one mixture consists of nitrogen molecules undergoing internal excitation and dissociation and the other consists of nitrogen atoms undergoing internal excitation and ionization. Results show that the original hundreds to thousands of microscopic equations can be reduced to two macroscopic equations with almost perfect agreement for the total number density and total internal energy using only one or two groups. We also obtain good prediction of the microscopic state populations using 5-10 groups in the macroscopic equations.

  12. General multi-group macroscopic modeling for thermo-chemical non-equilibrium gas mixtures

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liu, Yen; Panesi, Marco; Sahai, Amal; Vinokur, Marcel

    2015-04-01

    relaxation model, which can only be applied to molecules, the new model is applicable to atoms, molecules, ions, and their mixtures. Numerical examples and model validations are carried out with two gas mixtures using the maximum entropy linear model: one mixture consists of nitrogen molecules undergoing internal excitation and dissociation and the other consists of nitrogen atoms undergoing internal excitation and ionization. Results show that the original hundreds to thousands of microscopic equations can be reduced to two macroscopic equations with almost perfect agreement for the total number density and total internal energy using only one or two groups. We also obtain good prediction of the microscopic state populations using 5-10 groups in the macroscopic equations.

  13. General multi-group macroscopic modeling for thermo-chemical non-equilibrium gas mixtures.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liu, Yen; Panesi, Marco; Sahai, Amal; Vinokur, Marcel

    2015-04-07

    relaxation model, which can only be applied to molecules, the new model is applicable to atoms, molecules, ions, and their mixtures. Numerical examples and model validations are carried out with two gas mixtures using the maximum entropy linear model: one mixture consists of nitrogen molecules undergoing internal excitation and dissociation and the other consists of nitrogen atoms undergoing internal excitation and ionization. Results show that the original hundreds to thousands of microscopic equations can be reduced to two macroscopic equations with almost perfect agreement for the total number density and total internal energy using only one or two groups. We also obtain good prediction of the microscopic state populations using 5-10 groups in the macroscopic equations.

  14. General multi-group macroscopic modeling for thermo-chemical non-equilibrium gas mixtures

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Liu, Yen; Vinokur, Marcel; Panesi, Marco; Sahai, Amal

    2015-01-01

    relaxation model, which can only be applied to molecules, the new model is applicable to atoms, molecules, ions, and their mixtures. Numerical examples and model validations are carried out with two gas mixtures using the maximum entropy linear model: one mixture consists of nitrogen molecules undergoing internal excitation and dissociation and the other consists of nitrogen atoms undergoing internal excitation and ionization. Results show that the original hundreds to thousands of microscopic equations can be reduced to two macroscopic equations with almost perfect agreement for the total number density and total internal energy using only one or two groups. We also obtain good prediction of the microscopic state populations using 5-10 groups in the macroscopic equations

  15. I-optimal mixture designs

    OpenAIRE

    GOOS, Peter; JONES, Bradley; SYAFITRI, Utami

    2013-01-01

    In mixture experiments, the factors under study are proportions of the ingredients of a mixture. The special nature of the factors in a mixture experiment necessitates specific types of regression models, and specific types of experimental designs. Although mixture experiments usually are intended to predict the response(s) for all possible formulations of the mixture and to identify optimal proportions for each of the ingredients, little research has been done concerning their I-optimal desi...

  16. Heat Source Characterization In A TREAT Fuel Particle Using Coupled Neutronics Binary Collision Monte-Carlo Calculations

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Schunert, Sebastian; Schwen, Daniel; Ghassemi, Pedram; Baker, Benjamin; Zabriskie, Adam; Ortensi, Javier; Wang, Yaqi; Gleicher, Frederick; DeHart, Mark; Martineau, Richard

    2017-04-01

    This work presents a multi-physics, multi-scale approach to modeling the Transient Test Reactor (TREAT) currently prepared for restart at the Idaho National Laboratory. TREAT fuel is made up of microscopic fuel grains (r ˜ 20µm) dispersed in a graphite matrix. The novelty of this work is in coupling a binary collision Monte-Carlo (BCMC) model to the Finite Element based code Moose for solving a microsopic heat-conduction problem whose driving source is provided by the BCMC model tracking fission fragment energy deposition. This microscopic model is driven by a transient, engineering scale neutronics model coupled to an adiabatic heating model. The macroscopic model provides local power densities and neutron energy spectra to the microscpic model. Currently, no feedback from the microscopic to the macroscopic model is considered. TREAT transient 15 is used to exemplify the capabilities of the multi-physics, multi-scale model, and it is found that the average fuel grain temperature differs from the average graphite temperature by 80 K despite the low-power transient. The large temperature difference has strong implications on the Doppler feedback a potential LEU TREAT core would see, and it underpins the need for multi-physics, multi-scale modeling of a TREAT LEU core.

  17. Phylogenetic mixtures and linear invariants for equal input models.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Casanellas, Marta; Steel, Mike

    2017-04-01

    The reconstruction of phylogenetic trees from molecular sequence data relies on modelling site substitutions by a Markov process, or a mixture of such processes. In general, allowing mixed processes can result in different tree topologies becoming indistinguishable from the data, even for infinitely long sequences. However, when the underlying Markov process supports linear phylogenetic invariants, then provided these are sufficiently informative, the identifiability of the tree topology can be restored. In this paper, we investigate a class of processes that support linear invariants once the stationary distribution is fixed, the 'equal input model'. This model generalizes the 'Felsenstein 1981' model (and thereby the Jukes-Cantor model) from four states to an arbitrary number of states (finite or infinite), and it can also be described by a 'random cluster' process. We describe the structure and dimension of the vector spaces of phylogenetic mixtures and of linear invariants for any fixed phylogenetic tree (and for all trees-the so called 'model invariants'), on any number n of leaves. We also provide a precise description of the space of mixtures and linear invariants for the special case of [Formula: see text] leaves. By combining techniques from discrete random processes and (multi-) linear algebra, our results build on a classic result that was first established by James Lake (Mol Biol Evol 4:167-191, 1987).

  18. The nitriding of solution treated A1S1 type 316 stainless steel in ammonia-hydrogen mixtures

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Tyfield, S.P.; Mackway, J.

    1975-08-01

    A study is described of the nitriding of 316 stainless steel in NH 3 /H 2 mixtures between 500 0 C and 800 0 C to examine the application of the rate data, so obtained, to nitriding in molecular nitrogen. The rate of nitriding in NH 3 -H 2 was found to be parabolic, at nitrogen potentials insufficient to produce surface iron nitrodes. The rate determining process is interpreted to be dependent on both chromium nitride precipitation and nitrogen diffusion. It is concluded that the kinetics of nitriding 316 stainless steel in molecular nitrogen between 500 0 C and 800 0 C are not reliably predicted on the basis of accelerated kinetic results produced either by increasing the nitrogen potential by the use of NH 3 /H 2 mixtures or by elevating the temperature as reported elsewhere. (U.K.)

  19. Prospective environmental risk assessment of mixtures in wastewater treatment plant effluents - Theoretical considerations and experimental verification.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Coors, Anja; Vollmar, Pia; Sacher, Frank; Polleichtner, Christian; Hassold, Enken; Gildemeister, Daniela; Kühnen, Ute

    2018-04-14

    The aquatic environment is continually exposed to a complex mixture of chemicals, whereby effluents of wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) are one key source. The aim of the present study was to investigate whether environmental risk assessments (ERAs) addressing individual substances are sufficiently protective for such coincidental mixtures. Based on a literature review of chemicals reported to occur in municipal WWTP effluents and mode-of-action considerations, four different types of mixtures were composed containing human pharmaceuticals, pesticides, and chemicals regulated under REACH. The experimentally determined chronic aquatic toxicity of these mixtures towards primary producers and the invertebrate Daphnia magna could be adequately predicted by the concept of concentration addition, with up to 5-fold overestimation and less than 3-fold underestimation of mixture toxicity. Effluents of a municipal WWTP had no impact on the predictability of mixture toxicity and showed no adverse effects on the test organisms. Predictive ERAs for the individual mixture components based on here derived predicted no effect concentrations (PNECs) and median measured concentrations in WWTP effluents (MC eff ) indicated no unacceptable risk for any of the individual chemicals, while MC eff /PNEC summation indicated a possible risk for multi-component mixtures. However, a refined mixture assessment based on the sum of toxic units at species level indicated no unacceptable risks, and allowed for a safety margin of more than factor 10, not taking into account any dilution of WWTP effluents by surface waters. Individual substances, namely climbazole, fenofibric acid and fluoxetine, were dominating the risks of the investigated mixtures, while added risk due to the mixture was found to be low with the risk quotient being increased by less than factor 2. Yet, uncertainty remains regarding chronic mixture toxicity in fish, which was not included in the present study. The number and

  20. Microscopic Theory of Coupled Slow Activated Dynamics in Glass-Forming Binary Mixtures.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhang, Rui; Schweizer, Kenneth S

    2018-04-05

    The Elastically Collective Nonlinear Langevin Equation theory for one-component viscous liquids and suspensions is generalized to treat coupled slow activated relaxation and diffusion in glass-forming binary sphere mixtures of any composition, size ratio, and interparticle interactions. A trajectory-level dynamical coupling parameter concept is introduced to construct two coupled dynamic free energy functions for the smaller penetrant and larger matrix particle. A two-step dynamical picture is proposed where the first-step process involves matrix-facilitated penetrant hopping quantified in a self-consistent manner based on a temporal coincidence condition. After penetrants dynamically equilibrate, the effectively one-component matrix particle dynamics is controlled by a new dynamic free energy (second-step process). Depending on the time scales associated with the first- and second-step processes, as well as the extent of matrix-correlated facilitation, distinct physical scenarios are predicted. The theory is implemented for purely hard-core interactions, and addresses the glass transition based on variable kinetic criteria, penetrant-matrix coupled activated relaxation, self-diffusion of both species, dynamic fragility, and shear elasticity. Testable predictions are made. Motivated by the analytic ultralocal limit idea derived for pure hard sphere fluids, we identify structure-thermodynamics-dynamics relationships. As a case study for molecule-polymer thermal mixtures, the chemically matched fully miscible polystyrene-toluene system is quantitatively studied based on a predictive mapping scheme. The resulting no-adjustable-parameter results for toluene diffusivity and the mixture glass transition temperature are in good agreement with experiment. The theory provides a foundation to treat diverse dynamical problems in glass-forming mixtures, including suspensions of colloids and nanoparticles, polymer-molecule liquids, and polymer nanocomposites.

  1. Predictive modeling of coupled multi-physics systems: I. Theory

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Cacuci, Dan Gabriel

    2014-01-01

    Highlights: • We developed “predictive modeling of coupled multi-physics systems (PMCMPS)”. • PMCMPS reduces predicted uncertainties in predicted model responses and parameters. • PMCMPS treats efficiently very large coupled systems. - Abstract: This work presents an innovative mathematical methodology for “predictive modeling of coupled multi-physics systems (PMCMPS).” This methodology takes into account fully the coupling terms between the systems but requires only the computational resources that would be needed to perform predictive modeling on each system separately. The PMCMPS methodology uses the maximum entropy principle to construct an optimal approximation of the unknown a priori distribution based on a priori known mean values and uncertainties characterizing the parameters and responses for both multi-physics models. This “maximum entropy”-approximate a priori distribution is combined, using Bayes’ theorem, with the “likelihood” provided by the multi-physics simulation models. Subsequently, the posterior distribution thus obtained is evaluated using the saddle-point method to obtain analytical expressions for the optimally predicted values for the multi-physics models parameters and responses along with corresponding reduced uncertainties. Noteworthy, the predictive modeling methodology for the coupled systems is constructed such that the systems can be considered sequentially rather than simultaneously, while preserving exactly the same results as if the systems were treated simultaneously. Consequently, very large coupled systems, which could perhaps exceed available computational resources if treated simultaneously, can be treated with the PMCMPS methodology presented in this work sequentially and without any loss of generality or information, requiring just the resources that would be needed if the systems were treated sequentially

  2. Liquids and liquid mixtures

    CERN Document Server

    Rowlinson, J S; Baldwin, J E; Buckingham, A D; Danishefsky, S

    2013-01-01

    Liquids and Liquid Mixtures, Third Edition explores the equilibrium properties of liquids and liquid mixtures and relates them to the properties of the constituent molecules using the methods of statistical thermodynamics. Topics covered include the critical state, fluid mixtures at high pressures, and the statistical thermodynamics of fluids and mixtures. This book consists of eight chapters and begins with an overview of the liquid state and the thermodynamic properties of liquids and liquid mixtures, including vapor pressure and heat capacities. The discussion then turns to the thermodynami

  3. A Multi-targeted Approach to Suppress Tumor-Promoting Inflammation

    Science.gov (United States)

    Samadi, Abbas K.; Georgakilas, Alexandros G.; Amedei, Amedeo; Amin, Amr; Bishayee, Anupam; Lokeshwar, Bal L.; Grue, Brendan; Panis, Carolina; Boosani, Chandra S.; Poudyal, Deepak; Stafforini, Diana M.; Bhakta, Dipita; Niccolai, Elena; Guha, Gunjan; Rupasinghe, H.P. Vasantha; Fujii, Hiromasa; Honoki, Kanya; Mehta, Kapil; Aquilano, Katia; Lowe, Leroy; Hofseth, Lorne J.; Ricciardiello, Luigi; Ciriolo, Maria Rosa; Singh, Neetu; Whelan, Richard L.; Chaturvedi, Rupesh; Ashraf, S. Salman; Kumara, HMC Shantha; Nowsheen, Somaira; Mohammed, Sulma I.; Helferich, William G.; Yang, Xujuan

    2015-01-01

    Cancers harbor significant genetic heterogeneity and patterns of relapse following many therapies are due to evolved resistance to treatment. While efforts have been made to combine targeted therapies, significant levels of toxicity have stymied efforts to effectively treat cancer with multi-drug combinations using currently approved therapeutics. We discuss the relationship between tumor-promoting inflammation and cancer as part of a larger effort to develop a broad-spectrum therapeutic approach aimed at a wide range of targets to address this heterogeneity. Specifically, macrophage migration inhibitory factor, cyclooxygenase-2, transcription factor nuclear factor-kappaB, tumor necrosis factor alpha, inducible nitric oxide synthase, protein kinase B, and CXC chemokines are reviewed as important antiinflammatory targets while curcumin, resveratrol, epigallocatechin gallate, genistein, lycopene, and anthocyanins are reviewed as low-cost, low toxicity means by which these targets might all be reached simultaneously. Future translational work will need to assess the resulting synergies of rationally designed antiinflammatory mixtures (employing low-toxicity constituents), and then combine this with similar approaches targeting the most important pathways across the range of cancer hallmark phenotypes. PMID:25951989

  4. Methods and compositions for treating low temperature subterranean well formations

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Chatterji, J.

    1979-08-21

    An aqueous composition is described for treating subterranean formations having temperatures of up to 120 F. The aqueous composition consists of water, a water-soluble organic gelling agent, an oxidizing agent to supply free radicals, and a reducing agent to accelerate the generation of free radicals. Reducing agents are water-soluble metal salts of the halides, sulfates, nitrates or mixtures thereof. Oxidizing agents are water-soluble peroxides, persulfates or mixtures thereof. Gelling agents may be sodium polyacrylate, polyacrylic acid, polysodium-2-acrylamide-3-propylsulfonate polyacrylamides or polymetharylamides that have been hydrolyzed from 0 to 70% and neturalized with ammonium or alkali metal hydroxides; or gums such as guar, locust bean, taaga tragacanth, hydroxyethyl guar, hydroxy-propyl guar, carboxymethyl guar or mixtures thereof. 22 claims.

  5. A general mixture theory. I. Mixtures of spherical molecules

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hamad, Esam Z.

    1996-08-01

    We present a new general theory for obtaining mixture properties from the pure species equations of state. The theory addresses the composition and the unlike interactions dependence of mixture equation of state. The density expansion of the mixture equation gives the exact composition dependence of all virial coefficients. The theory introduces multiple-index parameters that can be calculated from binary unlike interaction parameters. In this first part of the work, details are presented for the first and second levels of approximations for spherical molecules. The second order model is simple and very accurate. It predicts the compressibility factor of additive hard spheres within simulation uncertainty (equimolar with size ratio of three). For nonadditive hard spheres, comparison with compressibility factor simulation data over a wide range of density, composition, and nonadditivity parameter, gave an average error of 2%. For mixtures of Lennard-Jones molecules, the model predictions are better than the Weeks-Chandler-Anderson perturbation theory.

  6. Random summing in a multi-detector counting system measuring mixtures of radionuclides of short and long half-lives

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Oxby, C.B.; Oldroyd, B.; Graham, S.G.

    1979-01-01

    A method is described for correcting a radiation spectrum for the distortion caused by random summing when a multidetector array is used to acquire events from a mixture of radionuclides whose half-lives may be long or short compared with the counting period. With our own counting system it was found that both the resolving time, and the fractions of the energy of a second signal which may be added to that of the immediately previous signal, i.e., the resolving time function, are dependent upon the energies of these two signals. The method requires knowledge of the losses which occur in a multidetector system e.g., live-time error and blocking losses, the variation of the resolving time function with signal energies, a standard spectrum of each radionuclide of the mixture and the fractions of them which constitute the mixture spectrum, the decay constant of each radionuclide, and the fraction of the total events recorded by the system being received by each detector. (orig.)

  7. Methodology for predicting oily mixture properties in the mathematical modeling of molecular distillation

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    M. F. Gayol

    2017-06-01

    Full Text Available A methodology for predicting the thermodynamic and transport properties of a multi-component oily mixture, in which the different mixture components are grouped into a small number of pseudo components is shown. This prediction of properties is used in the mathematical modeling of molecular distillation, which consists of a system of differential equations in partial derivatives, according to the principles of the Transport Phenomena and is solved by an implicit finite difference method using a computer code. The mathematical model was validated with experimental data, specifically the molecular distillation of a deodorizer distillate (DD of sunflower oil. The results obtained were satisfactory, with errors less than 10% with respect to the experimental data in a temperature range in which it is possible to apply the proposed method.

  8. Methodology for predicting oily mixture properties in the mathematical modeling of molecular distillation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Gayol, M.F.; Pramparo, M.C.; Miró Erdmann, S.M.

    2017-01-01

    A methodology for predicting the thermodynamic and transport properties of a multi-component oily mixture, in which the different mixture components are grouped into a small number of pseudo components is shown. This prediction of properties is used in the mathematical modeling of molecular distillation, which consists of a system of differential equations in partial derivatives, according to the principles of the Transport Phenomena and is solved by an implicit finite difference method using a computer code. The mathematical model was validated with experimental data, specifically the molecular distillation of a deodorizer distillate (DD) of sunflower oil. The results obtained were satisfactory, with errors less than 10% with respect to the experimental data in a temperature range in which it is possible to apply the proposed method. [es

  9. Physical, mechanical, and fire properties of oriented strandboard with fire retardant treated veneers

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nadir Ayrilmis; Zeki Candan; Robert White

    2007-01-01

    This study evaluated physical, mechanical and fire properties of oriented strand boards (OSB) covered with fire retardant treated veneers. The beech (Fagus orientalis Lipsky) veneers were treated with either monoammonium phosphate, diammonium phosphate, lime water or a borax/boric acid (1 : 1 by weight) mixture. Physical and mechanical properties of the specimens were...

  10. The Probiotic Mixture VSL#3 Accelerates Gastric Ulcer Healing by Stimulating Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dharmani, Poonam; De Simone, Claudio; Chadee, Kris

    2013-01-01

    Studies assessing the effect and mechanism of probiotics on diseases of the upper gastrointestinal tract (GI) including gastric ulcers are limited despite extensive work and promising results of this therapeutic option for other GI diseases. In this study, we investigated the mechanisms by which the probiotic mixture VSL#3 (a mixture of eight probiotic bacteria including Lactobacilli, Bifidobacteria and Streptococcus species) heals acetic acid induced gastric ulcer in rats. VSL#3 was administered orally at low (6×109 bacteria) or high (1.2×1010 bacteria) dosages from day 3 after ulcer induction for 14 consecutive days. VSL#3 treatments significantly enhanced gastric ulcer healing in a dose-dependent manner. To assess the mechanism(s) whereby VSL#3 exerted its protective effects, we quantified the gene expression of several pro-inflammatory cytokines, protein and expression of stomach mucin-Muc5ac, regulatory cytokine-IL-10, COX-2 and various growth factors. Of all the components examined, only expression and protein production of VEGF was increased 332-fold on day 7 in the ulcerated tissues of animals treated with VSL#3. Predictably, animals treated with VEGF neutralizing antibody significantly delayed gastric ulcer healing in VSL#3 treated animals. This is the first report to demonstrate high efficacy of the probiotic mixture VSL#3 in enhancing gastric ulcer healing. Probiotic efficacy was effective at higher concentrations of VSL#3 by specifically increasing the expression and production of angiogenesis promoting growth factors, primarily VEGF. PMID:23484048

  11. Development of a computational framework on fluid-solid mixture flow simulations for the COMPASS code

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zhang, Shuai; Morita, Koji; Shirakawa, Noriyuki; Yamamoto, Yuichi

    2010-01-01

    The COMPASS code is designed based on the moving particle semi-implicit method to simulate various complex mesoscale phenomena relevant to core disruptive accidents of sodium-cooled fast reactors. In this study, a computational framework for fluid-solid mixture flow simulations was developed for the COMPASS code. The passively moving solid model was used to simulate hydrodynamic interactions between fluid and solids. Mechanical interactions between solids were modeled by the distinct element method. A multi-time-step algorithm was introduced to couple these two calculations. The proposed computational framework for fluid-solid mixture flow simulations was verified by the comparison between experimental and numerical studies on the water-dam break with multiple solid rods. (author)

  12. EFFECTIVNESS OF PURE DIATOMACEUS EARTH AND DIFFERENT MIXTURES OF DIATOMACEUS EARTH WITH PYRETHRINS

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Irma Kalinović

    2011-12-01

    Full Text Available This study shows results of laboratory experiments on stored soft white wheat infested with two stored pest species: rice weevil - Sitophilus oryzae (L., and red flour beetle - Tribolium castaneum (Herbst, treated with different mixtures of Diatomaceus earth (DE and pyrethrins (Diatect V, Diatect II, Bug-B-Gon, Perma-Guard D-20 , and DE without pyrethrins (Protect-It, Perma-Guard and DE from Croatia. The obtained results confirmed that the mixture of DE and pyrethrin and PBO is useful against test-insects and generated significantly higher effectiveness when compared with the results obtained with DE without pyrethrins. Due to the fact that Croatia has the sources of good DE and indigenous Dalmatian pyrethrum, it is possible to develop and produce safe, natural and ecologically acceptable Croatian insecticide by using mixture of DE and pyrethrins, for domestic market and export.

  13. A turbulence model in mixtures. First part: Statistical description of mixture

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Besnard, D.

    1987-03-01

    Classical theory of mixtures gives a model for molecular mixtures. This kind of model is based on a small gradient approximation for concentration, temperature, and pression. We present here a mixture model, allowing for large gradients in the flow. We also show that, with a local balance assumption between material diffusion and flow gradients evolution, we obtain a model similar to those mentioned above [fr

  14. Medicinal plants used to treat Snake bite by Fulani Herdsmen in ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Dr. Ameen

    the use of village surrounding medicinal plants for the treatment of the snake bite. Recent efforts on ... treatment of snake bites. Information .... Snake venoms are complex mixture of enzymatic and .... treated, mode of diagnosis and medicinal.

  15. Computational Fluid Dynamics for nuclear applications: from CFD to multi-scale CMFD

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Yadigaroglu, G.

    2005-01-01

    New trends in computational methods for nuclear reactor thermal-hydraulics are discussed; traditionally, these have been based on the two-fluid model. Although CFD computations for single phase flows are commonplace, Computational Multi-Fluid Dynamics (CMFD) is still under development. One-fluid methods coupled with interface tracking techniques provide interesting opportunities and enlarge the scope of problems that can be solved. For certain problems, one may have to conduct 'cascades' of computations at increasingly finer scales to resolve all issues. The case study of condensation of steam/air mixtures injected from a downward-facing vent into a pool of water and a proposed CMFD initiative to numerically model Critical Heat Flux (CHF) illustrate such cascades. For the venting problem, a variety of tools are used: a system code for system behaviour; an interface-tracking method (Volume of Fluid, VOF) to examine the behaviour of large bubbles; direct-contact condensation can be treated either by Direct Numerical Simulation (DNS) or by analytical methods

  16. Computational Fluid Dynamics for nuclear applications: from CFD to multi-scale CMFD

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Yadigaroglu, G. [Swiss Federal Institute of Technology-Zurich (ETHZ), Nuclear Engineering Laboratory, ETH-Zentrum, CLT CH-8092 Zurich (Switzerland)]. E-mail: yadi@ethz.ch

    2005-02-01

    New trends in computational methods for nuclear reactor thermal-hydraulics are discussed; traditionally, these have been based on the two-fluid model. Although CFD computations for single phase flows are commonplace, Computational Multi-Fluid Dynamics (CMFD) is still under development. One-fluid methods coupled with interface tracking techniques provide interesting opportunities and enlarge the scope of problems that can be solved. For certain problems, one may have to conduct 'cascades' of computations at increasingly finer scales to resolve all issues. The case study of condensation of steam/air mixtures injected from a downward-facing vent into a pool of water and a proposed CMFD initiative to numerically model Critical Heat Flux (CHF) illustrate such cascades. For the venting problem, a variety of tools are used: a system code for system behaviour; an interface-tracking method (Volume of Fluid, VOF) to examine the behaviour of large bubbles; direct-contact condensation can be treated either by Direct Numerical Simulation (DNS) or by analytical methods.

  17. Effect of Spices Mixture and Gamma Irradiation on Sausage Quality

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Anwar, M.M.; Sallam, E.M.

    2015-01-01

    This investigation was carried out to study the effect of spices mixture on reducing the oxidation of fat and to improve the quality and organoleptic characteristics as well as extension of shelf-life of beef sausage. Beef sausages were mixed with three different levels (0.5%, 1.5% and 2.5%) of spices mixture (cardamom, clove, cubeb, laurel leaves, cinnamon, black pepper, rosemary, parpicu, fennel and coriander). The sausages were packed in polyethylene bags and irradiated at 2.5, 5 and 7.5 kGy then stored at 5±1°C for 48 days. Microbiological, biochemical and physical analyses as well as organoleptic evaluation were carried out. Results indicated that increasing the spices level decreased the total bacterial count (TBC), molds, yeasts and psychrophilic bacteria (PB) while total volatile nitrogen (TVN), thiobarbituric acid (TBA), peroxide value (PV) and acid value (AV) were increased in treated samples (1.5% and 2.5%) as compared to control (0.5%). On the other hand, the spices decreased TVN, TBA, PV and AV in treated sausages during cold storage while the physical parameters were increased and the best qualities of cold irradiated sausages were observed at the level 2.5% then 1.5% of spices, and the cooking yield and cooking loss and the organoleptic scores (based on over all acceptability) were better than the control sample (0.5%). The results of spices mixture showed that the level 2.5% can reduce oxidation of fat and improve quality and organoleptic characteristics as well as extension of shelf-life of cold irradiated beef sausage stored for 48 days.

  18. Cytotoxic and antibacterial activity of the mixture of olive oil and lime cream in vitro conditions.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sumer, Zeynep; Yildirim, Gulay; Sumer, Haldun; Yildirim, Sahin

    2013-01-01

    The mixture of olive oil and lime cream has been traditionally used to treat external burns in the region of Hatay/Antakya and middle Anatolia. Olive oil and lime cream have been employed by many physicians to treat many ailments in the past. A limited number of studies have shown the antibacterial effect of olive oil and that it does not have any toxic effect on the skin. But we did not find any reported studies on the mixture of olive oil and lime cream. The aim of this paper is to investigate the cytotoxic and antibacterial activity of olive oil and lime cream individually or/and in combination in vitro conditions, by using disk-diffusion method and in cell culture. The main purpose in using this mixture is usually to clear burns without a trace. Agar overlay, MTT (Cytotoxicity assay) and antibacterial susceptibility tests were used to investigate the cytotoxic and antibacterial activity of olive oil and lime cream. We found that lime cream has an antibacterial activity but also cytotoxic on the fibroblasts. On the other hand olive oil has limited or no antibacterial effect and it has little or no cytotoxic on the fibroblasts. When we combined lime cream and olive oil, olive oil reduced its cytotoxic impact. These results suggest that mixture of olive oil and lime cream is not cytotoxic and has antimicrobial activity.

  19. The Prediction of Surface Tension of Ternary Mixtures at Different Temperatures Using Artificial Neural Networks

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ali Khazaei

    2014-07-01

    Full Text Available In this work, artificial neural network (ANN has been employed to propose a practical model for predicting the surface tension of multi-component mixtures. In order to develop a reliable model based on the ANN, a comprehensive experimental data set including 15 ternary liquid mixtures at different temperatures was employed. These systems consist of 777 data points generally containing hydrocarbon components. The ANN model has been developed as a function of temperature, critical properties, and acentric factor of the mixture according to conventional corresponding-state models. 80% of the data points were employed for training ANN and the remaining data were utilized for testing the generated model. The average absolute relative deviations (AARD% of the model for the training set, the testing set, and the total data points were obtained 1.69, 1.86, and 1.72 respectively. Comparing the results with Flory theory, Brok-Bird equation, and group contribution theory has proved the high prediction capability of the attained model.

  20. Optimization of the composition of the powdered cereal sprouts mixtures

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Tumbas-Šaponjac Vesna T.

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available Sprouts of cereals have received significant attention as functional food due to their nutritional and functional value. Consumption of sprouts has become increasingly popular among people interested in improving and maintaining their health status by changing dietary habits. Cereal grains contain several classes of phytochemicals, i.e. phenolics, chlorophylls, and carotenoids. However, their nutritional and chemical profile is altered and improved during germination. The purpose of this study was to find the best ratio of the powdered wheat (WS, oat (OS and barley (BS sprouts for designing the cereal sprout mixture (CSM with the highest total phenolic content (TPh and antioxidant capacity (AC, using Simplex-Centroid experimental design and response surface methodology (RSM. Single- and multi-response optimizations showed that OS did not contribute to TPh or AC values of CSM and, therefore, was not included in any of the compositions of the optimized CSM. Single-response optimizations showed that the highest TPh was found for CSM containing 82% BS and 18% WS, while the best AC was found for pure BS. The predicted ratio of cereal sprout powders in CSM obtained by multi-response optimization was: 96% BS and 4% WS. This mixture possessed the highest predicted TPh and AC (372.32 mg GAE/100 g, 549.99 μmol TE/100 g, respectively, which was confirmed to be in accordance with the experimental values. Based on the results obtained in this study, a designed CSM is proposed as a convenient ingredient of functional food products, dietary supplements and nutraceuticals.

  1. Multi-Level Contact Oxidation Process Performance When Treating Automobile Painting Wastewater: Pollutant Removal Efficiency and Microbial Community Structures

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Yufang Zhu

    2017-11-01

    Full Text Available This study applied a multi-level contact oxidation process system in a pilot-scale experiment to treat automobile painting wastewater. The experimental wastewater had been pre-treated through a series of physicochemical methods, but the water still contained a high concentration of chemical oxygen demand (COD and had poor biodegradability. After the biological treatment, the COD concentration of effluent could stay below 300 mg/L. The study analyzed the effects of hydraulic residence time (HRT on COD, ammonia nitrogen (NH4+-N, and total nitrogen (TN. The optimal HRT was 8 h; at that time, removal efficiencies of COD, ammonia nitrogen, and total nitrogen were 83.8%, 86.3%, and 65%, respectively. The system also greatly reduced excess sludge production; the removal efficiency was 82.8% with a HRT of 8 h. The study applied high-throughput pyrosequencing technology to evaluate the microbial diversity and community structures in distinct stages of the biological reactor. The relevance between process performance and microbial community structure was analyzed at the phylum and class level. The abundant Firmicutes made a large contribution to improving the biodegradability of painting wastewater through hydrolysis acidification and reducing sludge production through fermentation in the biological reactor.

  2. Multi-Constituent Simulation of Thrombus Deposition.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wu, Wei-Tao; Jamiolkowski, Megan A; Wagner, William R; Aubry, Nadine; Massoudi, Mehrdad; Antaki, James F

    2017-02-20

    In this paper, we present a spatio-temporal mathematical model for simulating the formation and growth of a thrombus. Blood is treated as a multi-constituent mixture comprised of a linear fluid phase and a thrombus (solid) phase. The transport and reactions of 10 chemical and biological species are incorporated using a system of coupled convection-reaction-diffusion (CRD) equations to represent three processes in thrombus formation: initiation, propagation and stabilization. Computational fluid dynamic (CFD) simulations using the libraries of OpenFOAM were performed for two illustrative benchmark problems: in vivo thrombus growth in an injured blood vessel and in vitro thrombus deposition in micro-channels (1.5 mm × 1.6 mm × 0.1 mm) with small crevices (125 μm × 75 μm and 125 μm × 137 μm). For both problems, the simulated thrombus deposition agreed very well with experimental observations, both spatially and temporally. Based on the success with these two benchmark problems, which have very different flow conditions and biological environments, we believe that the current model will provide useful insight into the genesis of thrombosis in blood-wetted devices, and provide a tool for the design of less thrombogenic devices.

  3. Multi-Constituent Simulation of Thrombus Deposition

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wu, Wei-Tao; Jamiolkowski, Megan A.; Wagner, William R.; Aubry, Nadine; Massoudi, Mehrdad; Antaki, James F.

    2017-02-01

    In this paper, we present a spatio-temporal mathematical model for simulating the formation and growth of a thrombus. Blood is treated as a multi-constituent mixture comprised of a linear fluid phase and a thrombus (solid) phase. The transport and reactions of 10 chemical and biological species are incorporated using a system of coupled convection-reaction-diffusion (CRD) equations to represent three processes in thrombus formation: initiation, propagation and stabilization. Computational fluid dynamic (CFD) simulations using the libraries of OpenFOAM were performed for two illustrative benchmark problems: in vivo thrombus growth in an injured blood vessel and in vitro thrombus deposition in micro-channels (1.5 mm × 1.6 mm × 0.1 mm) with small crevices (125 μm × 75 μm and 125 μm × 137 μm). For both problems, the simulated thrombus deposition agreed very well with experimental observations, both spatially and temporally. Based on the success with these two benchmark problems, which have very different flow conditions and biological environments, we believe that the current model will provide useful insight into the genesis of thrombosis in blood-wetted devices, and provide a tool for the design of less thrombogenic devices.

  4. Development of technology for reduction of radiotoxicity of uranium mixture

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kim, Kwangwook; Lee, E. H.; Yang, H. B.

    2012-03-01

    The phase 1 of this research project was carried out as a project entitled 'Development of technology for reduction of actinide radiotoxicity' in 2007 to 2009. Its phase 2 was carried out as a project entitled 'Development of technology for reduction of radiotoxicity of uranium mixture' in 2010 to 2011. Five unit research items to accomplish it such as evaluation of dissolution and aquatic chemistry characteristics of U, TRU, RE, and etc elements evaluation of chemical and electrolytic dissolution characteristics of U and SIMFUEL oxides evaluation of removal of environmentally-detrimental elements, and high purity precipitation of uranium evaluation of salt-free electrolytic decarbonation characteristics, and recovery of used carbonate salt, and development of the process to treat uranium mixture materials and the relevant unit equipments and system with engineering concept. were carried out. The obtained results were as follows. -Evaluation of chemical characteristics of several uranium oxide materials and verification of insolubility properties of TRU oxides in carbonate media -Suggestion of the optimal conditions for dissolutions of uranium and SIMFUEL oxides - Development of technology for co-precipitation of environmentally-detrimental elements - Development of an electrolytic recycle way of used carbonate salt solution - Suggestion of a new conceptual process, named COL process to treat spent nuclear fuel, uranium-bearing wastes with high and low contents

  5. The Use of Computer-Based Image Analysis on Colour Determination of Liquid Smoked Trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss Treated with Different Dry Salt-Sugar Mixtures

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Zayde Ayvaz

    2017-12-01

    Full Text Available In this study, the changes in % yield, dry matter, ash, lipid, protein content, water activity, pH, total volatile basic nitrogen (TVB-N, total viable aerobic count (TVC, yeast and mold count, lactic acid bacteria (LAB, colour parameters and sensorial properties were analysed in rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss exposed to either salt only or two different salt-sugar mixture treatments. For this purpose, three groups were formed. For the first, second and third group, fish samples were treated with only salt (S, salt and sugar blend (WS and salt and brown sugar blend (BS, respectively. Then, the samples were vacuum packaged and stored at +4°C for 3 months. Overall, salt treatments, liquid smoking and cooking as well as storage generally caused remarkable changes in the parameters of interest. However, except for the sensory analysis, not a remarkable change was seen when the three groups were compared among themselves. The results of experienced panelists suggested that group BS samples had superior appearance, taste, odor and texture and therefore expected to be more preferred by the potential consumers.

  6. System and method having multi-tube fuel nozzle with differential flow

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hughes, Michael John; Johnson, Thomas Edward; Berry, Jonathan Dwight; York, William David

    2017-01-03

    A system includes a multi-tube fuel nozzle with a fuel nozzle body and a plurality of tubes. The fuel nozzle body includes a nozzle wall surrounding a chamber. The plurality of tubes extend through the chamber, wherein each tube of the plurality of tubes includes an air intake portion, a fuel intake portion, and an air-fuel mixture outlet portion. The multi-tube fuel nozzle also includes a differential configuration of the air intake portions among the plurality of tubes.

  7. A numerical study of blood flow using mixture theory

    OpenAIRE

    Wu, Wei-Tao; Aubry, Nadine; Massoudi, Mehrdad; Kim, Jeongho; Antaki, James F.

    2014-01-01

    In this paper, we consider the two dimensional flow of blood in a rectangular microfluidic channel. We use Mixture Theory to treat this problem as a two-component system: One component is the red blood cells (RBCs) modeled as a generalized Reiner–Rivlin type fluid, which considers the effects of volume fraction (hematocrit) and influence of shear rate upon viscosity. The other component, plasma, is assumed to behave as a linear viscous fluid. A CFD solver based on OpenFOAM® was developed and ...

  8. Multi-task feature learning by using trace norm regularization

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jiangmei Zhang

    2017-11-01

    Full Text Available Multi-task learning can extract the correlation of multiple related machine learning problems to improve performance. This paper considers applying the multi-task learning method to learn a single task. We propose a new learning approach, which employs the mixture of expert model to divide a learning task into several related sub-tasks, and then uses the trace norm regularization to extract common feature representation of these sub-tasks. A nonlinear extension of this approach by using kernel is also provided. Experiments conducted on both simulated and real data sets demonstrate the advantage of the proposed approach.

  9. Mixture for plugging absorption zones

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Sitinkov, G V; Kovalenko, N G; Makarov, L V; Zinnatulchin, Ts Kh

    1981-01-17

    A mixture is proposed for plugging absorption zones. The mixture contains synthetic polymer and a solvent. So as to increase the penetrability of the mixture through a reduction in its viscosity and an increase in insulation properties, the compound contains either Capron or Neilon as the synthetic polyamide resin polmyer, and concentrated chloride as the solvent. The mixture is prepared in a special AzINMASh-30 unit (acid cart). After the mixture has been produced, it is injected into the borehole by means of an acid cart pump. So as to prevent coaggulation at the point when the mixture in injected into the stratum through tubes, the mixture is placed betwen chemically inert fluids, for example, a clay mortar. The inert and compressed fluids are injected by means of a cementing unit. The entire process of production and application of the mixture is simple and fully automated through the use of well-known equipment.

  10. Effect of hydraulic retention time on the biodegradation of complex phenolic mixture from simulated coal wastewater in hybrid UASB reactors

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Ramakrishnan, Anushuya [Centre for Environmental Science and Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology Bombay, Powai, Mumbai 400076 (India); Gupta, Sudhir Kumar [Centre for Environmental Science and Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology Bombay, Powai, Mumbai 400076 (India)], E-mail: skgupta@iitb.ac.in

    2008-05-01

    This study describes the feasibility of anaerobic treatment of complex phenolics mixture from a simulated synthetic coal wastewater using four identical 13.5 L (effective volume) bench scale hybrid up-flow anaerobic sludge blanket (HUASB) (combining UASB + anaerobic filter) reactors at four different hydraulic retention times (HRT) under mesophilic (27 {+-} 5 {sup o}C) conditions. Synthetic coal wastewater with an average chemical oxygen demand (COD) of 2240 mg/L and phenolics concentration of 752 mg/L was used as substrate. The phenolics contained phenol (490 mg/L); m-, o-, p-cresols (123.0, 58.6, 42 mg/L); 2,4-, 2,5-, 3,4- and 3,5-dimethyl phenols (6.3, 6.3, 4.4 and 21.3 mg/L) as major phenolic compounds. The study demonstrated that at optimum HRT, 24 h, and phenolic loading rate of 0.75 g COD/(m{sup 3}-d), the phenolics and COD removal efficiency of the reactors were 96% and 86%, respectively. Bio-kinetic models were applied to data obtained from experimental studies in hybrid UASB reactor. Grau second-order multi-component substrate removal model was best fitted to the hybrid UASB reactor. The second-order substrate removal rate constant (k{sub 2(s)}) was found as 1.72 h{sup -1} for the hybrid reactor treating complex phenolic mixture. Morphological examination of the sludge revealed rod-type Methanothrix-like, cells to be dominant on the surface.

  11. Effect of hydraulic retention time on the biodegradation of complex phenolic mixture from simulated coal wastewater in hybrid UASB reactors

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ramakrishnan, Anushuya; Gupta, Sudhir Kumar

    2008-01-01

    This study describes the feasibility of anaerobic treatment of complex phenolics mixture from a simulated synthetic coal wastewater using four identical 13.5 L (effective volume) bench scale hybrid up-flow anaerobic sludge blanket (HUASB) (combining UASB + anaerobic filter) reactors at four different hydraulic retention times (HRT) under mesophilic (27 ± 5 o C) conditions. Synthetic coal wastewater with an average chemical oxygen demand (COD) of 2240 mg/L and phenolics concentration of 752 mg/L was used as substrate. The phenolics contained phenol (490 mg/L); m-, o-, p-cresols (123.0, 58.6, 42 mg/L); 2,4-, 2,5-, 3,4- and 3,5-dimethyl phenols (6.3, 6.3, 4.4 and 21.3 mg/L) as major phenolic compounds. The study demonstrated that at optimum HRT, 24 h, and phenolic loading rate of 0.75 g COD/(m 3 -d), the phenolics and COD removal efficiency of the reactors were 96% and 86%, respectively. Bio-kinetic models were applied to data obtained from experimental studies in hybrid UASB reactor. Grau second-order multi-component substrate removal model was best fitted to the hybrid UASB reactor. The second-order substrate removal rate constant (k 2(s) ) was found as 1.72 h -1 for the hybrid reactor treating complex phenolic mixture. Morphological examination of the sludge revealed rod-type Methanothrix-like, cells to be dominant on the surface

  12. Sedimentation stacking diagram of binary colloidal mixtures and bulk phases in the plane of chemical potentials

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Heras, Daniel de las; Schmidt, Matthias

    2015-01-01

    We give a full account of a recently proposed theory that explicitly relates the bulk phase diagram of a binary colloidal mixture to its phase stacking phenomenology under gravity (de las Heras and Schmidt 2013 Soft Matter 9 8636). As we demonstrate, the full set of possible phase stacking sequences in sedimentation-diffusion equilibrium originates from straight lines (sedimentation paths) in the chemical potential representation of the bulk phase diagram. From the analysis of various standard topologies of bulk phase diagrams, we conclude that the corresponding sedimentation stacking diagrams can be very rich, even more so when finite sample height is taken into account. We apply the theory to obtain the stacking diagram of a mixture of nonadsorbing polymers and colloids. We also present a catalog of generic phase diagrams in the plane of chemical potentials in order to facilitate the practical application of our concept, which also generalizes to multi-component mixtures. (paper)

  13. In vitro evaluation of single- and multi-strain probiotics: Inter-species inhibition between probiotic strains, and inhibition of pathogens.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chapman, C M C; Gibson, G R; Rowland, I

    2012-08-01

    Many studies comparing the effects of single- and multi-strain probiotics on pathogen inhibition compare treatments with different concentrations. They also do not examine the possibility of inhibition between probiotic strains with a mixture. We tested the ability of 14 single-species probiotics to inhibit each other using a cross-streak assay, and agar spot test. We then tested the ability of 15 single-species probiotics and 5 probiotic mixtures to inhibit Clostridium difficile, Escherichia coli and S. typhimurium, using the agar spot test. Testing was done with mixtures created in two ways: one group contained component species incubated together, the other group of mixtures was made using component species which had been incubated separately, equalised to equal optical density, and then mixed in equal volumes. Inhibition was observed for all combinations of probiotics, suggesting that when used as such there may be inhibition between probiotics, potentially reducing efficacy of the mixture. Significant inter-species variation was seen against each pathogen. When single species were tested against mixtures, the multi-species preparations displayed significantly (p probiotic species will inhibit each other when incubated together in vitro, in many cases a probiotic mixture was more effective at inhibiting pathogens than its component species when tested at approximately equal concentrations of biomass. This suggests that using a probiotic mixture might be more effective at reducing gastrointestinal infections, and that creating a mixture using species with different effects against different pathogens may have a broader spectrum of action that a single provided by a single strain. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  14. STATISTICAL APPROACH FOR MULTI CRITERIA OPTIMIZATION OF CUTTING PARAMETERS OF TURNING ON HEAT TREATED BERYLLIUM COPPER ALLOY

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    K. DEVAKI DEVI

    2017-08-01

    Full Text Available In machining operations, achieving desired performance features of the machined product, is really a challenging job. Because, these quality features are highly correlated and are expected to be influenced directly or indirectly by the direct effect of process parameters or their interactive effects. This paper presents effective method and to determine optimal machining parameters in a turning operation on heat treated Beryllium copper alloy to minimize the surface roughness, cutting forces and work tool interface temperature along with the maximization of metal removal rate. The scope of this work is extended to Multi Objective Optimization. Response Surface Methodology is opted for preparing the design matrix, generating ANOVA, and optimization. A powerful model would be obtained with high accuracy to analyse the effect of each parameter on the output. The input parameters considered in this work are cutting speed, feed, depth of cut, work material (Annealed and Hardened and tool material (CBN and HSS.

  15. Component effects in mixture experiments

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Piepel, G.F.

    1980-01-01

    In a mixture experiment, the response to a mixture of q components is a function of the proportions x 1 , x 2 , ..., x/sub q/ of components in the mixture. Experimental regions for mixture experiments are often defined by constraints on the proportions of the components forming the mixture. The usual (orthogonal direction) definition of a factor effect does not apply because of the dependence imposed by the mixture restriction, /sup q/Σ/sub i=1/ x/sub i/ = 1. A direction within the experimental region in which to compute a mixture component effect is presented and compared to previously suggested directions. This new direction has none of the inadequacies or errors of previous suggestions while having a more meaningful interpretation. The distinction between partial and total effects is made. The uses of partial and total effects (computed using the new direction) in modification and interpretation of mixture response prediction equations are considered. The suggestions of the paper are illustrated in an example from a glass development study in a waste vitrification program. 5 figures, 3 tables

  16. Responses of the biogas process to pulses of oleate in reactors treating mixtures of cattle and pig manure

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Nielsen, Henrik Bjørn; Ahring, Birgitte Kiær

    2006-01-01

    The effect of oleate on the anaerobic digestion process was investigated. Two thermophilic continuously stirred tank reactors (CSTR) were fed with mixtures of cattle and pig manure with different total solid (TS) and volatile solid (VS) content. The reactors were subjected to increasing pulses...

  17. Effect of soil nursery mixtures and hormone on the growth of Tetrastigma rafflesiae (Miq.) planch

    Science.gov (United States)

    Arshad, Syamsurina; Talip, Noraini; Adam, Jumaat

    2018-04-01

    Tetrastigma rafflesiae (Miq.) Planch is one of the sole host species of parasitic plants in the family Rafflesiaceae. A study was conducted in order to propagate this species using vegetative propagation. This propagation technique was done using stem cuttings and was conducted in the nursery at the National University of Malaysia (UKM). The propagation medium were made using four types of soil nursery mixtures of topsoil, organic matter and sand (7:3:1, 3:2:1, 2:1:1 and 1:1:1), mixture of topsoil, organic matter, sand and three different hormones treatments (0:0:IAA, 0:0:IBA and 0:0:NAA) and without any hormone treatment in basic soil (1:0:0, 0:1:0 and 0:0:1) was treated as a control. Approximately, stem cutting was used in 15 cm length. The base of each cutting was treated with root powdered hormones before being planted in soil. After 180 days of planting, the high number of leaf quantity (>12 leaves) was produced from stem cutting planted in 3:2:1 soil mixtures and the same results was obtained from stem cutting more than 15 cm to 18.78 cm in length, significantly. Soil mixture with 7:3:1 has significantly increased the leaf chlorophyll contents (10.22 nm) and also increased in leaf area index (16.375 cm²). Treatment hormones do not have any significant result in this study. The study has showed that T. rafflesiae can be propagated using cuttings as alternative source of planting materials for conservation purposes.

  18. Experiments with Mixtures Designs, Models, and the Analysis of Mixture Data

    CERN Document Server

    Cornell, John A

    2011-01-01

    The most comprehensive, single-volume guide to conducting experiments with mixtures"If one is involved, or heavily interested, in experiments on mixtures of ingredients, one must obtain this book. It is, as was the first edition, the definitive work."-Short Book Reviews (Publication of the International Statistical Institute)"The text contains many examples with worked solutions and with its extensive coverage of the subject matter will prove invaluable to those in the industrial and educational sectors whose work involves the design and analysis of mixture experiments."-Journal of the Royal S

  19. Semiparametric accelerated failure time cure rate mixture models with competing risks.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Choi, Sangbum; Zhu, Liang; Huang, Xuelin

    2018-01-15

    Modern medical treatments have substantially improved survival rates for many chronic diseases and have generated considerable interest in developing cure fraction models for survival data with a non-ignorable cured proportion. Statistical analysis of such data may be further complicated by competing risks that involve multiple types of endpoints. Regression analysis of competing risks is typically undertaken via a proportional hazards model adapted on cause-specific hazard or subdistribution hazard. In this article, we propose an alternative approach that treats competing events as distinct outcomes in a mixture. We consider semiparametric accelerated failure time models for the cause-conditional survival function that are combined through a multinomial logistic model within the cure-mixture modeling framework. The cure-mixture approach to competing risks provides a means to determine the overall effect of a treatment and insights into how this treatment modifies the components of the mixture in the presence of a cure fraction. The regression and nonparametric parameters are estimated by a nonparametric kernel-based maximum likelihood estimation method. Variance estimation is achieved through resampling methods for the kernel-smoothed likelihood function. Simulation studies show that the procedures work well in practical settings. Application to a sarcoma study demonstrates the use of the proposed method for competing risk data with a cure fraction. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

  20. HSA-based multi-target combination therapy: regulating drugs' release from HSA and overcoming single drug resistance in a breast cancer model.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gou, Yi; Zhang, Zhenlei; Li, Dongyang; Zhao, Lei; Cai, Meiling; Sun, Zhewen; Li, Yongping; Zhang, Yao; Khan, Hamid; Sun, Hongbing; Wang, Tao; Liang, Hong; Yang, Feng

    2018-11-01

    Multi-drug delivery systems, which may be promising solution to overcome obstacles, have limited the clinical success of multi-drug combination therapies to treat cancer. To this end, we used three different anticancer agents, Cu(BpT)Br, NAMI-A, and doxorubicin (DOX), to build human serum albumin (HSA)-based multi-drug delivery systems in a breast cancer model to investigate the therapeutic efficacy of overcoming single drug (DOX) resistance to cancer cells in vivo, and to regulate the drugs' release from HSA. The HSA complex structure revealed that NAMI-A and Cu(BpT)Br bind to the IB and IIA sub-domain of HSA by N-donor residue replacing a leaving group and coordinating to their metal centers, respectively. The MALDI-TOF mass spectra demonstrated that one DOX molecule is conjugated with lysine of HSA by a pH-sensitive linker. Furthermore, the release behavior of three agents form HSA can be regulated at different pH levels. Importantly, in vivo results revealed that the HSA-NAMI-A-Cu(BpT)Br-DOX complex not only increases the targeting ability compared with a combination of the three agents (the NAMI-A/Cu(BpT)Br/DOX mixture), but it also overcomes DOX resistance to drug-resistant breast cancer cell lines.

  1. Perception of trigeminal mixtures.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Filiou, Renée-Pier; Lepore, Franco; Bryant, Bruce; Lundström, Johan N; Frasnelli, Johannes

    2015-01-01

    The trigeminal system is a chemical sense allowing for the perception of chemosensory information in our environment. However, contrary to smell and taste, we lack a thorough understanding of the trigeminal processing of mixtures. We, therefore, investigated trigeminal perception using mixtures of 3 relatively receptor-specific agonists together with one control odor in different proportions to determine basic perceptual dimensions of trigeminal perception. We found that 4 main dimensions were linked to trigeminal perception: sensations of intensity, warmth, coldness, and pain. We subsequently investigated perception of binary mixtures of trigeminal stimuli by means of these 4 perceptual dimensions using different concentrations of a cooling stimulus (eucalyptol) mixed with a stimulus that evokes warmth perception (cinnamaldehyde). To determine if sensory interactions are mainly of central or peripheral origin, we presented stimuli in a physical "mixture" or as a "combination" presented separately to individual nostrils. Results showed that mixtures generally yielded higher ratings than combinations on the trigeminal dimensions "intensity," "warm," and "painful," whereas combinations yielded higher ratings than mixtures on the trigeminal dimension "cold." These results suggest dimension-specific interactions in the perception of trigeminal mixtures, which may be explained by particular interactions that may take place on peripheral or central levels. © The Author 2014. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.

  2. Complex mixtures, complex responses: Assessing pharmaceutical mixtures using field and laboratory approaches

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schoenfuss, Heiko L.; Furlong, Edward T.; Phillips, Patrick J.; Scott, Tia-Marie; Kolpin, Dana W.; Cetkovic-Cvrlje, Marina; Lesteberg, Kelsey E.; Rearick, Daniel C.

    2016-01-01

    Pharmaceuticals are present in low concentrations (pharmaceutical formulation facilities. Using existing concentration data, the authors assessed pharmaceuticals in laboratory exposures of fathead minnows (Pimephales promelas) and added environmental complexity through effluent exposures. In the laboratory, larval and mature minnows were exposed to a simple opioid mixture (hydrocodone, methadone, and oxycodone), an opioid agonist (tramadol), a muscle relaxant (methocarbamol), a simple antidepressant mixture (fluoxetine, paroxetine, venlafaxine), a sleep aid (temazepam), or a complex mixture of all compounds. Larval minnow response to effluent exposure was not consistent. The 2010 exposures resulted in shorter exposed minnow larvae, whereas the larvae exposed in 2012 exhibited altered escape behavior. Mature minnows exhibited altered hepatosomatic indices, with the strongest effects in females and in mixture exposures. In addition, laboratory-exposed, mature male minnows exposed to all pharmaceuticals (except the selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor mixture) defended nest sites less rigorously than fish in the control group. Tramadol or antidepressant mixture exposure resulted in increased splenic T lymphocytes. Only male minnows exposed to whole effluent responded with increased plasma vitellogenin concentrations. Female minnows exposed to pharmaceuticals (except the opioid mixture) had larger livers, likely as a compensatory result of greater prominence of vacuoles in liver hepatocytes. The observed alteration of apical endpoints central to sustaining fish populations confirms that effluents containing waste streams from pharmaceutical formulation facilities can adversely impact fish populations but that the effects may not be temporally consistent. The present study highlights the importance of including diverse biological endpoints spanning levels of biological organization and life stages when assessing contaminant interactions.

  3. Hydrogen storage in microwave-treated multi-walled carbon nanotubes

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Geng, Hong-Zhang [BK21 Physics Division, Department of Energy Science, Center for Nanotubes and Nanostructured Composites, Sungkyunkwan Advanced Institute of Nanotechnology, Sungkyunkwan University, Suwon 440-746 (Korea); School of Materials Science and Engineering, Tianjin Polytechnic University, Tianjin 300160 (China); Kim, Tae Hyung; Lim, Seong Chu; Jeong, Hae-Kyung; Jin, Mei Hua; Jo, Young Woo; Lee, Young Hee [BK21 Physics Division, Department of Energy Science, Center for Nanotubes and Nanostructured Composites, Sungkyunkwan Advanced Institute of Nanotechnology, Sungkyunkwan University, Suwon 440-746 (Korea)

    2010-03-15

    Multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) treated by microwave and heat treatment were used for hydrogen storage. Their storage capacity was measured using a quadruple quartz crystal microbalance in a moisture-free chamber at room temperature and at relatively low pressure (0.5 MPa). Deuterium was also used to monitor the presence of moisture. The hydrogen storage capacity of the microwave-treated MWCNTs was increased to nearly 0.35 wt% over 0.1 wt% for the pristine sample and increased further to 0.4 wt%, with improved stability after subsequent heat-treatment. The increase in the storage capacity by the microwave treatment was mostly attributed to the introduction of micropore surfaces, while the stability improvement after the subsequent heat treatment was related to the removal of functional groups. We also propose a measurement method that eliminates the moisture effect by measuring the storage capacity with hydrogen and deuterium gas. (author)

  4. Oxidation of pharmaceuticals by chlorine dioxide in biologically treated wastewater

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Hey, G.; Grabic, R.; Ledin, A.

    2012-01-01

    Biologically treated wastewater spiked with a mixture of 56 active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) was treated with 0–20mg/L chlorine dioxide (ClO2) solution in laboratory-scale experiments. Wastewater effluents were collected from two wastewater treatment plants in Sweden, one with extended......O2, while in high COD effluent a significant increase in API oxidation was observed after treatment with 8mg/L ClO2. This study illustrates the successful degradation of several APIs during treatment of wastewater effluents with chlorine dioxide....

  5. Enhanced human bone marrow mesenchymal stem cell functions in novel 3D cartilage scaffolds with hydrogen treated multi-walled carbon nanotubes

    Science.gov (United States)

    Holmes, Benjamin; Castro, Nathan J.; Li, Jian; Keidar, Michael; Zhang, Lijie Grace

    2013-09-01

    Cartilage tissue is a nanostructured tissue which is notoriously hard to regenerate due to its extremely poor inherent regenerative capacity and complex stratified architecture. Current treatment methods are highly invasive and may have many complications. Thus, the goal of this work is to use nanomaterials and nano/microfabrication methods to create novel biologically inspired tissue engineered cartilage scaffolds to facilitate human bone marrow mesenchymal stem cell (MSC) chondrogenesis. To this end we utilized electrospinning to design and fabricate a series of novel 3D biomimetic nanostructured scaffolds based on hydrogen (H2) treated multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) and biocompatible poly(L-lactic acid) (PLLA) polymers. Specifically, a series of electrospun fibrous PLLA scaffolds with controlled fiber dimension were fabricated in this study. In vitro MSC studies showed that stem cells prefer to attach in the scaffolds with smaller fiber diameter. More importantly, the MWCNT embedded scaffolds showed a drastic increase in mechanical strength and a compressive Young’s modulus matching to natural cartilage. Furthermore, our MSC differentiation results demonstrated that incorporation of the H2 treated carbon nanotubes and poly-L-lysine coating can induce more chondrogenic differentiations of MSCs than controls. After two weeks of culture, PLLA scaffolds with H2 treated MWCNTs and poly-L-lysine can achieve the highest glycosaminoglycan synthesis, making them promising for further exploration for cartilage regeneration.

  6. Enhanced human bone marrow mesenchymal stem cell functions in novel 3D cartilage scaffolds with hydrogen treated multi-walled carbon nanotubes

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Holmes, Benjamin; Castro, Nathan J; Li Jian; Keidar, Michael; Zhang, Lijie Grace

    2013-01-01

    Cartilage tissue is a nanostructured tissue which is notoriously hard to regenerate due to its extremely poor inherent regenerative capacity and complex stratified architecture. Current treatment methods are highly invasive and may have many complications. Thus, the goal of this work is to use nanomaterials and nano/microfabrication methods to create novel biologically inspired tissue engineered cartilage scaffolds to facilitate human bone marrow mesenchymal stem cell (MSC) chondrogenesis. To this end we utilized electrospinning to design and fabricate a series of novel 3D biomimetic nanostructured scaffolds based on hydrogen (H 2 ) treated multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) and biocompatible poly(L-lactic acid) (PLLA) polymers. Specifically, a series of electrospun fibrous PLLA scaffolds with controlled fiber dimension were fabricated in this study. In vitro MSC studies showed that stem cells prefer to attach in the scaffolds with smaller fiber diameter. More importantly, the MWCNT embedded scaffolds showed a drastic increase in mechanical strength and a compressive Young’s modulus matching to natural cartilage. Furthermore, our MSC differentiation results demonstrated that incorporation of the H 2 treated carbon nanotubes and poly-L-lysine coating can induce more chondrogenic differentiations of MSCs than controls. After two weeks of culture, PLLA scaffolds with H 2 treated MWCNTs and poly-L-lysine can achieve the highest glycosaminoglycan synthesis, making them promising for further exploration for cartilage regeneration. (paper)

  7. Grouting mixture

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Klyusov, A A; Bakshutov, V S; Kulyavtsev, V A

    1980-10-23

    A grouting mixture is proposed for low-temperature boreholes. The mixture contains cement, beta gypsum polyhydrate, and calcium chloride, so as to increase the water resistance and strength properties of expanding brick at conditions from 20 to -5/sup 0/ C, the components are in the following ratios: (by wt.-%): cement, 77.45-88.06; beta gypsum polyhydrate, 9.79-19.36; calcium chloride, 2.15-3.19. Grouting mortar for cold boreholes serves as the cement.

  8. Investigating the Impact of Item Parameter Drift for Item Response Theory Models with Mixture Distributions

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Yoon Soo ePark

    2016-02-01

    Full Text Available This study investigates the impact of item parameter drift (IPD on parameter and ability estimation when the underlying measurement model fits a mixture distribution, thereby violating the item invariance property of unidimensional item response theory (IRT models. An empirical study was conducted to demonstrate the occurrence of both IPD and an underlying mixture distribution using real-world data. Twenty-one trended anchor items from the 1999, 2003, and 2007 administrations of Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS were analyzed using unidimensional and mixture IRT models. TIMSS treats trended anchor items as invariant over testing administrations and uses pre-calibrated item parameters based on unidimensional IRT. However, empirical results showed evidence of two latent subgroups with IPD. Results showed changes in the distribution of examinee ability between latent classes over the three administrations. A simulation study was conducted to examine the impact of IPD on the estimation of ability and item parameters, when data have underlying mixture distributions. Simulations used data generated from a mixture IRT model and estimated using unidimensional IRT. Results showed that data reflecting IPD using mixture IRT model led to IPD in the unidimensional IRT model. Changes in the distribution of examinee ability also affected item parameters. Moreover, drift with respect to item discrimination and distribution of examinee ability affected estimates of examinee ability. These findings demonstrate the need to caution and evaluate IPD using a mixture IRT framework to understand its effect on item parameters and examinee ability.

  9. Investigating the Impact of Item Parameter Drift for Item Response Theory Models with Mixture Distributions.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Park, Yoon Soo; Lee, Young-Sun; Xing, Kuan

    2016-01-01

    This study investigates the impact of item parameter drift (IPD) on parameter and ability estimation when the underlying measurement model fits a mixture distribution, thereby violating the item invariance property of unidimensional item response theory (IRT) models. An empirical study was conducted to demonstrate the occurrence of both IPD and an underlying mixture distribution using real-world data. Twenty-one trended anchor items from the 1999, 2003, and 2007 administrations of Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) were analyzed using unidimensional and mixture IRT models. TIMSS treats trended anchor items as invariant over testing administrations and uses pre-calibrated item parameters based on unidimensional IRT. However, empirical results showed evidence of two latent subgroups with IPD. Results also showed changes in the distribution of examinee ability between latent classes over the three administrations. A simulation study was conducted to examine the impact of IPD on the estimation of ability and item parameters, when data have underlying mixture distributions. Simulations used data generated from a mixture IRT model and estimated using unidimensional IRT. Results showed that data reflecting IPD using mixture IRT model led to IPD in the unidimensional IRT model. Changes in the distribution of examinee ability also affected item parameters. Moreover, drift with respect to item discrimination and distribution of examinee ability affected estimates of examinee ability. These findings demonstrate the need to caution and evaluate IPD using a mixture IRT framework to understand its effects on item parameters and examinee ability.

  10. Metal mixtures in urban and rural populations in the US: The Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis and the Strong Heart Study

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Pang, Yuanjie, E-mail: yuanjie.p@gmail.com [Departments of Epidemiology, Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD 21205 (United States); Peng, Roger D., E-mail: rdpeng@jhu.edu [Departments of Biostatistics, Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD 21205 (United States); Jones, Miranda R., E-mail: mjone132@jhu.edu [Departments of Epidemiology, Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD 21205 (United States); Francesconi, Kevin A., E-mail: kevin.francesconi@uni-graz.at [Institute of Chemistry -Analytical Chemistry, University of Graz, Graz 8010 (Austria); Goessler, Walter, E-mail: walter.goessler@uni-graz.at [Institute of Chemistry -Analytical Chemistry, University of Graz, Graz 8010 (Austria); Howard, Barbara V., E-mail: Barbara.V.Howard@Medstar.net [MedStar Health Research Institute, Hyattsville, MD 20782 (United States); Georgetown-Howard Universities Center for Clinical and Translational Science, Washington, DC 20057 (United States); Umans, Jason G., E-mail: jason.umans@gmail.com [MedStar Health Research Institute, Hyattsville, MD 20782 (United States); Georgetown-Howard Universities Center for Clinical and Translational Science, Washington, DC 20057 (United States); Best, Lyle G., E-mail: lbest@restel.com [Missouri Breaks Industries Research, Inc., Timber Lake, SD 57656 (United States); Guallar, Eliseo, E-mail: eguallar@jhu.edu [Departments of Epidemiology, Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD 21205 (United States); Welch Center for Prevention, Epidemiology and Clinical Research, Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD 21205 (United States); Department of Medicine, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD 21205 (United States); and others

    2016-05-15

    Background: Natural and anthropogenic sources of metal exposure differ for urban and rural residents. We searched to identify patterns of metal mixtures which could suggest common environmental sources and/or metabolic pathways of different urinary metals, and compared metal-mixtures in two population-based studies from urban/sub-urban and rural/town areas in the US: the Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis (MESA) and the Strong Heart Study (SHS). Methods: We studied a random sample of 308 White, Black, Chinese-American, and Hispanic participants in MESA (2000–2002) and 277 American Indian participants in SHS (1998–2003). We used principal component analysis (PCA), cluster analysis (CA), and linear discriminant analysis (LDA) to evaluate nine urinary metals (antimony [Sb], arsenic [As], cadmium [Cd], lead [Pb], molybdenum [Mo], selenium [Se], tungsten [W], uranium [U] and zinc [Zn]). For arsenic, we used the sum of inorganic and methylated species (∑As). Results: All nine urinary metals were higher in SHS compared to MESA participants. PCA and CA revealed the same patterns in SHS, suggesting 4 distinct principal components (PC) or clusters (∑As-U-W, Pb-Sb, Cd-Zn, Mo-Se). In MESA, CA showed 2 large clusters (∑As-Mo-Sb-U-W, Cd-Pb-Se-Zn), while PCA showed 4 PCs (Sb-U-W, Pb-Se-Zn, Cd-Mo, ∑As). LDA indicated that ∑As, U, W, and Zn were the most discriminant variables distinguishing MESA and SHS participants. Conclusions: In SHS, the ∑As-U-W cluster and PC might reflect groundwater contamination in rural areas, and the Cd-Zn cluster and PC could reflect common sources from meat products or metabolic interactions. Among the metals assayed, ∑As, U, W and Zn differed the most between MESA and SHS, possibly reflecting disproportionate exposure from drinking water and perhaps food in rural Native communities compared to urban communities around the US. - Highlights: • We identified and compared environmental sources of urinary metals in MESA and SHS.

  11. Metal mixtures in urban and rural populations in the US: The Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis and the Strong Heart Study

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Pang, Yuanjie; Peng, Roger D.; Jones, Miranda R.; Francesconi, Kevin A.; Goessler, Walter; Howard, Barbara V.; Umans, Jason G.; Best, Lyle G.; Guallar, Eliseo

    2016-01-01

    Background: Natural and anthropogenic sources of metal exposure differ for urban and rural residents. We searched to identify patterns of metal mixtures which could suggest common environmental sources and/or metabolic pathways of different urinary metals, and compared metal-mixtures in two population-based studies from urban/sub-urban and rural/town areas in the US: the Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis (MESA) and the Strong Heart Study (SHS). Methods: We studied a random sample of 308 White, Black, Chinese-American, and Hispanic participants in MESA (2000–2002) and 277 American Indian participants in SHS (1998–2003). We used principal component analysis (PCA), cluster analysis (CA), and linear discriminant analysis (LDA) to evaluate nine urinary metals (antimony [Sb], arsenic [As], cadmium [Cd], lead [Pb], molybdenum [Mo], selenium [Se], tungsten [W], uranium [U] and zinc [Zn]). For arsenic, we used the sum of inorganic and methylated species (∑As). Results: All nine urinary metals were higher in SHS compared to MESA participants. PCA and CA revealed the same patterns in SHS, suggesting 4 distinct principal components (PC) or clusters (∑As-U-W, Pb-Sb, Cd-Zn, Mo-Se). In MESA, CA showed 2 large clusters (∑As-Mo-Sb-U-W, Cd-Pb-Se-Zn), while PCA showed 4 PCs (Sb-U-W, Pb-Se-Zn, Cd-Mo, ∑As). LDA indicated that ∑As, U, W, and Zn were the most discriminant variables distinguishing MESA and SHS participants. Conclusions: In SHS, the ∑As-U-W cluster and PC might reflect groundwater contamination in rural areas, and the Cd-Zn cluster and PC could reflect common sources from meat products or metabolic interactions. Among the metals assayed, ∑As, U, W and Zn differed the most between MESA and SHS, possibly reflecting disproportionate exposure from drinking water and perhaps food in rural Native communities compared to urban communities around the US. - Highlights: • We identified and compared environmental sources of urinary metals in MESA and SHS.

  12. Mechanical properties of PET composites using multi-walled carbon nanotubes functionalized by inorganic and itaconic acids

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    A. May-Pat

    2012-02-01

    Full Text Available Multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs were oxidized by two different acid treatments and further functionalized with itaconic acid (IA. The functionalized MWCNTs were used to fabricate Poly(ethylene terephthalate (PET composites by melt mixing. The presence of functional groups on the surface of the treated MWCNTs was confirmed by infrared spectroscopy and thermogravimetric analysis. The MWCNTs oxidized with a concentrated mixture of HNO3 and H2SO4 exhibited more oxygen containing functional groups (OH, COOH but also suffer larger structural degradation than those oxidized by a mild treatment based on diluted HNO3 followed by H2O2. PET composites were fabricated using the oxidized-only and oxidized followed by functionalization with IA MWCNTs. PET composites fabricated with MWCNT oxidized by mild conditions showed improved tensile strength and failure strain, while harsh MWCNT oxidation render them overly brittle.

  13. Ostwald ripening in two-phase mixtures

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Voorhees, P.W.

    1982-01-01

    Experimental measurements of the temperature of a rapidly solidified solid-liquid mixture have been made over a range of volume fractions solid 0.23 to 0.95. These experiments demonstrate the viability of measuring the change in interfacial curvature with time via precision thermometry. The experimental measurements also indicate that there is no radical change in interface morphology over a wide range of volume fractions solid. A solution to the multi-particle diffusion problem (MDP) has been constructed through the use of potential theory. The solution to the MDP was used to describe the diffusion field within a coarsening two-phase mixture consisting of dispersed spherical second-phase particles. Since this theory is based upon the MDP, interparticle diffusional interactions are specifically included in the treatment. As a result, the theory yields, for the first time, insights into the influence of the local distribution of curvature on a particle's coarsening rate. The effect of interparticle interactions on the collective behavior of an ensemble of coarsening particles was also investigated. It was found that any arbitrary distribution of particle radii will tend to a specific time independent distribution when the particle radii are scaled by the average particle radius. Furthermore, it was determined that with increasing volume fraction of coarsening phase, these time independent distributions become broader and more symmetric. It was also found that the ripening kinetics, as measured by the growth rate of the average particle size, increases by a factor of five upon increasing the volume fraction of coarsening phase from zero to 0.5

  14. Thermo-Economic and Heat Transfer Optimization of Working-Fluid Mixtures in a Low-Temperature Organic Rankine Cycle System

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Oyeniyi A. Oyewunmi

    2016-06-01

    Full Text Available In the present paper, we consider the employment of working-fluid mixtures in organic Rankine cycle (ORC systems with respect to thermodynamic and heat-transfer performance, component sizing and capital costs. The selected working-fluid mixtures promise reduced exergy losses due to their non-isothermal phase-change behaviour, and thus improved cycle efficiencies and power outputs over their respective pure-fluid components. A multi-objective cost-power optimization of a specific low-temperature ORC system (operating with geothermal water at 98 °C reveals that the use of working-fluid-mixtures does indeed show a thermodynamic improvement over the pure-fluids. At the same time, heat transfer and cost analyses, however, suggest that it also requires larger evaporators, condensers and expanders; thus, the resulting ORC systems are also associated with higher costs. In particular, 50% n-pentane + 50% n-hexane and 60% R-245fa + 40% R-227ea mixtures lead to the thermodynamically optimal cycles, whereas pure n-pentane and pure R-245fa have lower plant costs, both estimated as having ∼14% lower costs per unit power output compared to the thermodynamically optimal mixtures. These conclusions highlight the importance of using system cost minimization as a design objective for ORC plants.

  15. Experimental determination of critical data of multi-component mixtures containing potential gasoline additives 2-butanol by a flow-type apparatus

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    He, Maogang; Xin, Nan; Wang, Chengjie; Liu, Yang; Zhang, Ying; Liu, Xiangyang

    2016-01-01

    Graphical abstract: Experimental critical pressures of 2-butanol + hexane + heptane system. - Highlights: • Critical properties of six binary systems and two ternary systems were measured. • Six binary systems containing 2-butanol show non-ideal behavior in their T c –x 1 curves. • Non-ideal behavior of mixtures with 2-butanol relies on azeotropy. • Experimental data for binary systems were fitted well with Redlich–Kister equation. • Critical surfaces of ternary systems were plotted using the Cibulka’s expressions. - Abstract: In this work, we used a flow method for measurement of critical properties of six binary mixtures (2-butanol + cyclohexane, 2-butanol + hexane, 2-butanol + heptane, 2-butanol + octane, 2-butanol + nonane and 2-butanol + decane) and two ternary mixtures (2-butanol + hexane + heptane and 2-butanol + octane + decane). The critical properties were determined by observing the disappearance and reappearance of the gas–liquid phase meniscus in a quartz glass tube. The standard uncertainties of temperatures and pressures for both binary and ternary mixtures were estimated to be less than 0.2 K and 5.2 kPa, respectively. These critical data provide the boundaries of the two-phase regions of the related mixture systems. Six binary systems show non-ideal behaviors in the loci of critical temperatures. We used the Redlich–Kister equations to correlate the critical temperatures and pressures of these systems and listed the binary interaction parameters. The maximum average absolute deviation (AAD) of each binary system between experimental data and calculated results from Redlich–Kister equations is 0.038% for critical temperatures, and 0.244% for critical pressures. Moreover, the two ternary systems were newly reported and correlated by Cibulka’s and Singh’s expressions. The maximum AAD of critical temperatures and critical pressures are 0.103% and 0.433%, respectively.

  16. Spontaneous symmetry breaking of Bose-Fermi mixtures in double-well potentials

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Adhikari, S. K.; Malomed, B. A.; Salasnich, L.; Toigo, F.

    2010-01-01

    We study the spontaneous symmetry breaking (SSB) of a superfluid Bose-Fermi (BF) mixture in a double-well potential (DWP). The mixture is described by the Gross-Pitaevskii equation (GPE) for the bosons, coupled to an equation for the order parameter of the Fermi superfluid, which is derived from the respective density functional in the unitarity limit (a similar model applies to the BCS regime, too). Straightforward SSB in the degenerate Fermi gas loaded into a DWP is impossible, as it requires an attractive self-interaction, and the intrinsic nonlinearity in the Fermi gas is repulsive. Nonetheless, we demonstrate that the symmetry breaking is possible in the mixture with attraction between fermions and bosons, like 40 K and 87 Rb. Numerical results are represented by dependencies of asymmetry parameters for both components on particle numbers of the mixture, N F and N B , and by phase diagrams in the (N F ,N B ) plane, which displays regions of symmetric and asymmetric ground states. The dynamical picture of the SSB, induced by a gradual transformation of the single-well potential into the DWP, is reported too. An analytical approximation is proposed for the case when the GPE for the boson wave function may be treated by means of the Thomas-Fermi (TF) approximation. Under a special linear relationship between N F and N B , the TF approximation allows us to reduce the model to a single equation for the fermionic function, which includes competing repulsive and attractive nonlinear terms. The latter one directly displays the mechanism of the generation of the effective attraction in the Fermi superfluid, mediated by the bosonic component of the mixture.

  17. Nonparametric e-Mixture Estimation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Takano, Ken; Hino, Hideitsu; Akaho, Shotaro; Murata, Noboru

    2016-12-01

    This study considers the common situation in data analysis when there are few observations of the distribution of interest or the target distribution, while abundant observations are available from auxiliary distributions. In this situation, it is natural to compensate for the lack of data from the target distribution by using data sets from these auxiliary distributions-in other words, approximating the target distribution in a subspace spanned by a set of auxiliary distributions. Mixture modeling is one of the simplest ways to integrate information from the target and auxiliary distributions in order to express the target distribution as accurately as possible. There are two typical mixtures in the context of information geometry: the [Formula: see text]- and [Formula: see text]-mixtures. The [Formula: see text]-mixture is applied in a variety of research fields because of the presence of the well-known expectation-maximazation algorithm for parameter estimation, whereas the [Formula: see text]-mixture is rarely used because of its difficulty of estimation, particularly for nonparametric models. The [Formula: see text]-mixture, however, is a well-tempered distribution that satisfies the principle of maximum entropy. To model a target distribution with scarce observations accurately, this letter proposes a novel framework for a nonparametric modeling of the [Formula: see text]-mixture and a geometrically inspired estimation algorithm. As numerical examples of the proposed framework, a transfer learning setup is considered. The experimental results show that this framework works well for three types of synthetic data sets, as well as an EEG real-world data set.

  18. Separating Underdetermined Convolutive Speech Mixtures

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Pedersen, Michael Syskind; Wang, DeLiang; Larsen, Jan

    2006-01-01

    a method for underdetermined blind source separation of convolutive mixtures. The proposed framework is applicable for separation of instantaneous as well as convolutive speech mixtures. It is possible to iteratively extract each speech signal from the mixture by combining blind source separation...

  19. Mixtures of truncated basis functions

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Langseth, Helge; Nielsen, Thomas Dyhre; Rumí, Rafael

    2012-01-01

    In this paper we propose a framework, called mixtures of truncated basis functions (MoTBFs), for representing general hybrid Bayesian networks. The proposed framework generalizes both the mixture of truncated exponentials (MTEs) framework and the mixture of polynomials (MoPs) framework. Similar t...

  20. Possibility of treating Varroa acariasis (Varroa jacobsoni oud with natural substances

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Bacandritsos N.

    2004-01-01

    Full Text Available Bee acariasis, caused by the mite Varroa jacobsoni Oudemans [26], represents a serious problem for apiculture. It is caused primarily due to the application of synthetic chemical miticides, which under certain conditions may result in the parasitism of bees. They become vulnerable to chemical treatment, along with probable deterioration of the quality of honey produced. This assay examines the possibility of treating bee Varroasis with a mixture of thymol, menthol and ethereal oils of eucalyptus and citronella. This mixture, in different doses, was applied to experimental hives and to regular Langstroh hives by means of specially-prepared pieces of moss. The greatest efficacy (89.71-90.20% was found in both hives when the mixture was used in a dosage of 15 grams of thymol to one gram of menthol, 3 ml eucalyptus oil and 1 ml citronella.

  1. Construction of a 21-Component Layered Mixture Experiment Design Using a New Mixture Coordinate-Exchange Algorithm

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Piepel, Gregory F.; Cooley, Scott K.; Jones, Bradley

    2005-01-01

    This paper describes the solution to a unique and challenging mixture experiment design problem involving: (1) 19 and 21 components for two different parts of the design, (2) many single-component and multi-component constraints, (3) augmentation of existing data, (4) a layered design developed in stages, and (5) a no-candidate-point optimal design approach. The problem involved studying the liquidus temperature of spinel crystals as a function of nuclear waste glass composition. The statistical objective was to develop an experimental design by augmenting existing glasses with new nonradioactive and radioactive glasses chosen to cover the designated nonradioactive and radioactive experimental regions. The existing 144 glasses were expressed as 19-component nonradioactive compositions and then augmented with 40 new nonradioactive glasses. These included 8 glasses on the outer layer of the region, 27 glasses on an inner layer, 2 replicate glasses at the centroid, and one replicate each of three existing glasses. Then, the 144 + 40 = 184 glasses were expressed as 21-component radioactive compositions, and augmented with 5 radioactive glasses. A D-optimal design algorithm was used to select the new outer layer, inner layer, and radioactive glasses. Several statistical software packages can generate D-optimal experimental designs, but nearly all of them require a set of candidate points (e.g., vertices) from which to select design points. The large number of components (19 or 21) and many constraints made it impossible to generate the huge number of vertices and other typical candidate points. JMP was used to select design points without candidate points. JMP uses a coordinate-exchange algorithm modified for mixture experiments, which is discussed and illustrated in the paper

  2. [Theoretical modeling and experimental research on direct compaction characteristics of multi-component pharmaceutical powders based on the Kawakita equation].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Si, Guo-Ning; Chen, Lan; Li, Bao-Guo

    2014-04-01

    Base on the Kawakita powder compression equation, a general theoretical model for predicting the compression characteristics of multi-components pharmaceutical powders with different mass ratios was developed. The uniaxial flat-face compression tests of powder lactose, starch and microcrystalline cellulose were carried out, separately. Therefore, the Kawakita equation parameters of the powder materials were obtained. The uniaxial flat-face compression tests of the powder mixtures of lactose, starch, microcrystalline cellulose and sodium stearyl fumarate with five mass ratios were conducted, through which, the correlation between mixture density and loading pressure and the Kawakita equation curves were obtained. Finally, the theoretical prediction values were compared with experimental results. The analysis showed that the errors in predicting mixture densities were less than 5.0% and the errors of Kawakita vertical coordinate were within 4.6%, which indicated that the theoretical model could be used to predict the direct compaction characteristics of multi-component pharmaceutical powders.

  3. Model-based optimization and scale-up of multi-feed simultaneous saccharification and co-fermentation of steam pre-treated lignocellulose enables high gravity ethanol production.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Ruifei; Unrean, Pornkamol; Franzén, Carl Johan

    2016-01-01

    High content of water-insoluble solids (WIS) is required for simultaneous saccharification and co-fermentation (SSCF) operations to reach the high ethanol concentrations that meet the techno-economic requirements of industrial-scale production. The fundamental challenges of such processes are related to the high viscosity and inhibitor contents of the medium. Poor mass transfer and inhibition of the yeast lead to decreased ethanol yield, titre and productivity. In the present work, high-solid SSCF of pre-treated wheat straw was carried out by multi-feed SSCF which is a fed-batch process with additions of substrate, enzymes and cells, integrated with yeast propagation and adaptation on the pre-treatment liquor. The combined feeding strategies were systematically compared and optimized using experiments and simulations. For high-solid SSCF process of SO2-catalyzed steam pre-treated wheat straw, the boosted solubilisation of WIS achieved by having all enzyme loaded at the beginning of the process is crucial for increased rates of both enzymatic hydrolysis and SSCF. A kinetic model was adapted to simulate the release of sugars during separate hydrolysis as well as during SSCF. Feeding of solid substrate to reach the instantaneous WIS content of 13 % (w/w) was carried out when 60 % of the cellulose was hydrolysed, according to simulation results. With this approach, accumulated WIS additions reached more than 20 % (w/w) without encountering mixing problems in a standard bioreactor. Feeding fresh cells to the SSCF reactor maintained the fermentation activity, which otherwise ceased when the ethanol concentration reached 40-45 g L(-1). In lab scale, the optimized multi-feed SSCF produced 57 g L(-1) ethanol in 72 h. The process was reproducible and resulted in 52 g L(-1) ethanol in 10 m(3) scale at the SP Biorefinery Demo Plant. SSCF of WIS content up to 22 % (w/w) is reproducible and scalable with the multi-feed SSCF configuration and model-aided process

  4. MixtureTree annotator: a program for automatic colorization and visual annotation of MixtureTree.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Shu-Chuan Chen

    Full Text Available The MixtureTree Annotator, written in JAVA, allows the user to automatically color any phylogenetic tree in Newick format generated from any phylogeny reconstruction program and output the Nexus file. By providing the ability to automatically color the tree by sequence name, the MixtureTree Annotator provides a unique advantage over any other programs which perform a similar function. In addition, the MixtureTree Annotator is the only package that can efficiently annotate the output produced by MixtureTree with mutation information and coalescent time information. In order to visualize the resulting output file, a modified version of FigTree is used. Certain popular methods, which lack good built-in visualization tools, for example, MEGA, Mesquite, PHY-FI, TreeView, treeGraph and Geneious, may give results with human errors due to either manually adding colors to each node or with other limitations, for example only using color based on a number, such as branch length, or by taxonomy. In addition to allowing the user to automatically color any given Newick tree by sequence name, the MixtureTree Annotator is the only method that allows the user to automatically annotate the resulting tree created by the MixtureTree program. The MixtureTree Annotator is fast and easy-to-use, while still allowing the user full control over the coloring and annotating process.

  5. Inter-Disciplinary Collaboration in Support of the Post-Standby TREAT Mission

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    DeHart, Mark [Idaho National Lab. (INL), Idaho Falls, ID (United States); Baker, Benjamin [Idaho National Lab. (INL), Idaho Falls, ID (United States); Ortensi, Javier [Idaho National Lab. (INL), Idaho Falls, ID (United States); Woolstenhulme, Nicolas [Idaho National Lab. (INL), Idaho Falls, ID (United States); Bess, John [Idaho National Lab. (INL), Idaho Falls, ID (United States); Jensen, Colby [Idaho National Lab. (INL), Idaho Falls, ID (United States); Parry, James [Idaho National Lab. (INL), Idaho Falls, ID (United States); Hill, Tony [Idaho State Univ., Pocatello, ID (United States); Phoenix, William [Walsh Engineering Services, Idaho Falls, ID (United States)

    2016-09-01

    Although analysis methods have advanced significantly in the last two decades, high fidelity multi- physics methods for reactors systems have been under development for only a few years and are not presently mature nor deployed. Furthermore, very few methods provide the ability to simulate rapid transients in three dimensions. Data for validation of advanced time-dependent multi- physics is sparse; at TREAT, historical data were not collected for the purpose of validating three-dimensional methods, let alone multi-physics simulations. Existing data continues to be collected to attempt to simulate the behavior of experiments and calibration transients, but it will be insufficient for the complete validation of analysis methods used for TREAT transient simulations. Hence, a 2018 restart will most likely occur without the direct application of advanced modeling and simulation methods. At present, the current INL modeling and simulation team plans to work with TREAT operations staff in performing reactor simulations with MAMMOTH, in parallel with the software packages currently being used in preparation for core restart (e.g., MCNP5, RELAP5, ABAQUS). The TREAT team has also requested specific measurements to be performed during startup testing, currently scheduled to run from February to August of 2018. These startup measurements will be crucial in validating the new analysis methods in preparation for ultimate application for TREAT operations and experiment design. This document describes the collaboration between modeling and simulation staff and restart, operations, instrumentation and experiment development teams to be able to effectively interact and achieve successful validation work during restart testing.

  6. Process and system for treating waste water

    Science.gov (United States)

    Olesen, Douglas E.; Shuckrow, Alan J.

    1978-01-01

    A process of treating raw or primary waste water using a powdered, activated carbon/aerated biological treatment system is disclosed. Effluent turbidities less than 2 JTU (Jackson turbidity units), zero TOC (total organic carbon) and in the range of 10 mg/l COD (chemical oxygen demand) can be obtained. An influent stream of raw or primary waste water is contacted with an acidified, powdered, activated carbon/alum mixture. Lime is then added to the slurry to raise the pH to about 7.0. A polyelectrolyte flocculant is added to the slurry followed by a flocculation period -- then sedimentation and filtration. The separated solids (sludge) are aerated in a stabilization sludge basin and a portion thereof recycled to an aerated contact basin for mixing with the influent waste water stream prior to or after contact of the influent stream with the powdered, activated carbon/alum mixture.

  7. Macrostructural Treatment of Multi-word Lexical Items

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Alenka Vrbinc

    2011-05-01

    Full Text Available The paper discusses the macrostructural treatment of multi-word lexical items in mono- and bilingual dictionaries. First, the classification of multi-word lexical items is presented, and special attention is paid to the discussion of compounds – a specific group of multi-word lexical items that is most commonly afforded headword status but whose inclusion in the headword list may also depend on spelling. Then the inclusion of multi-word lexical items in monolingual dictionaries is dealt with in greater detail, while the results of a short survey on the inclusion of five randomly chosen multi-word lexical items in seven English monolingual dictionaries are presented. The proposals as to how to treat these five multi-word lexical items in bilingual dictionaries are presented in the section about the inclusion of multi-word lexical items in bilingual dictionaries. The conclusion is that it is most important to take the users’ needs into consideration and to make any dictionary as user friendly as possible.

  8. On Partial Defaults in Portfolio Credit Risk : A Poisson Mixture Model Approach

    OpenAIRE

    Weißbach, Rafael; von Lieres und Wilkau, Carsten

    2005-01-01

    Most credit portfolio models exclusively calculate the loss distribution for a portfolio of performing counterparts. Conservative default definitions cause considerable insecurity about the loss for a long time after the default. We present three approaches to account for defaulted counterparts in the calculation of the economic capital. Two of the approaches are based on the Poisson mixture model CreditRisk+ and derive a loss distribution for an integrated portfolio. The third method treats ...

  9. Nitrogen transfer from forage legumes to nine neighbouring plants in a multi-species grassland

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Pirhofer-Walzl, Karin; Rasmussen, Jim; Jensen, Henning Høgh

    2012-01-01

    Legumes play a crucial role in nitrogen supply to grass-legume mixtures for ruminant fodder. To quantify N transfer from legumes to neighbouring plants in multi-species grasslands we established a grass-legume-herb mixture on a loamy-sandy site in Denmark. White clover (Trifolium repens L.), red...... amounts of N from legumes than dicotyledonous plants which generally have taproots. Slurry application mainly increased N transfer from legumes to grasses. During the growing season the three legumes transferred approximately 40 kg N ha-1 to neighbouring plants. Below-ground N transfer from legumes...

  10. An oxyde mixture fuel containing uranium and plutonium dioxides and process to obtain this oxyde mixture

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hannerz, K.

    1976-01-01

    An oxide-mixture fuel containing uranium and plutonium dioxides having the slage of spherical, or nearly spherical, oxide-mixture particles with a diameter within the range of from 0.2 to 2 mn charactarized in that each oxide-mixture particles is provided with an outer layer comprising mainly UO2, the thickness of which is at least 0.05; whereas the inner portion of the oxide-mixture particles comprises mainly PUO 2

  11. Measurement and correlation of critical properties for binary mixtures and ternary mixtures containing gasoline additives

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Wang, Lipu; Han, Kewei; Xia, Shuqian; Ma, Peisheng; Yan, Fangyou

    2014-01-01

    Highlights: • A high-pressure view cell was used to measure the critical properties of mixtures. • Three binary mixtures’ and three ternary mixtures’ critical properties were reported. • The experimental data of each system covered the whole mole fraction range. • The critical properties of the ternary mixtures were predicted with the PR–WS model. • Empirical equations were used to correlate the experimental results. - Abstract: The critical properties of three binary mixtures and three ternary mixtures containing gasoline additives (including methanol + 1-propanol, heptane + ethanol, heptane + 1-propanol, methanol + 1-propanol + heptane, methanol + 1-propanol + methyl tert-butyl ether (MTBE), and ethanol + heptane + MTBE) were determined by a high-pressure cell. All the critical lines of binary mixtures belong to the type I described by Scott and van Konynenburg. The system of methanol + 1-propanol showed little non-ideal behavior due to their similar molecular structures. The heptane + ethanol and heptane + 1-propanol systems showed visible non-ideal behavior for their great differences in molecular structure. The Peng–Robinson equation of state combined with the Wong–Sandler mixing rule (PR–WS) was applied to correlate the critical properties of binary mixtures. The critical points of the three ternary mixtures were predicted by the PR–WS model with the binary interaction parameters using the procedure proposed by Heidemann and Khalil. The predicted critical temperatures were in good agreement with the experimental values, while the predicted critical pressures differed from the measured values. The experimental values of binary mixtures were fitted well with the Redlich–Kister equation. The critical properties of ternary mixtures were correlated with the Cibulka’s equation, and the critical surfaces were plotted using the Cibulka’s equations

  12. Performance evaluation of Louisiana superpave mixtures.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2008-12-01

    This report documents the performance of Louisiana Superpave mixtures through laboratory mechanistic tests, mixture : volumetric properties, gradation analysis, and early field performance. Thirty Superpave mixtures were evaluated in this : study. Fo...

  13. Constitutive relation of concrete containing meso-structural characteristics

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Li Guo

    Full Text Available A constitutive model of concrete is proposed based on the mixture theory of porous media within thermodynamic framework. By treating concrete as a multi-phase multi-component mixture, we constructed the constitutive functions for elastic, interfacial, and plastic strain energy respectively. A constitutive law of concrete accommodating internal micro-cracks and interfacial boundaries was established. The peak stress predicted with the developed model depends primarily on the volume ratio of aggregate, and the results explain very well reported experimental phenomena. The strain-stress curve under uniaxial loading was found in a good agreement with experimental data for concrete with three different mixing proportions. Keywords: Constitutive model of concrete, Mixture theory of porous media, Meso-structure, Interfacial energy

  14. Application of approximations for joint cumulative k-distributions for mixtures to FSK radiation heat transfer in multi-component high temperature non-LTE plasmas

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Maurente, André; França, Francis H.R.; Miki, Kenji; Howell, John R.

    2012-01-01

    Approximations for joint cumulative k-distribution for mixtures are efficient for full spectrum k-distribution (FSK) computations. These approximations provide reduction of the database that is necessary to perform FSK computation when compared to the direct approach, which uses cumulative k-distributions computed from the spectrum of the mixture, and also less computational expensive when compared to techniques in which RTE's are required to be solved for each component of the mixture. The aim of the present paper is to extend the approximations for joint cumulative k-distributions for non-LTE media. For doing that, a FSK to non-LTE media formulation well-suited to be applied along with approximations for joint cumulative k-distributions is presented. The application of the proposed methodology is demonstrated by solving the radiation heat transfer in non-LTE high temperature plasmas composed of N, O, N 2 , NO, N 2 + and mixtures of these species. The two more efficient approximations, that is, the superposition and multiplication are employed and analyzed.

  15. Dirichlet Process Parsimonious Mixtures for clustering

    OpenAIRE

    Chamroukhi, Faicel; Bartcus, Marius; Glotin, Hervé

    2015-01-01

    The parsimonious Gaussian mixture models, which exploit an eigenvalue decomposition of the group covariance matrices of the Gaussian mixture, have shown their success in particular in cluster analysis. Their estimation is in general performed by maximum likelihood estimation and has also been considered from a parametric Bayesian prospective. We propose new Dirichlet Process Parsimonious mixtures (DPPM) which represent a Bayesian nonparametric formulation of these parsimonious Gaussian mixtur...

  16. Application of simplified desorption method to sorption study. (2) Sorption of neptunium (V) on montmorillonite-based mixtures

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kozai, Naofumi; Ohnuki, Toshihiko

    2013-01-01

    To elucidate the sorption behaviors of radionuclides in multi-mineral systems and the mutual effects of minerals on the sorption, this paper carried out the sorption and desorption experiments of neptunium(V) on montmorillonite-based two-mineral mixtures. The Np sorbed on montmorillonite at pH from 4 to 8 was desorbed with 1M KCl solutions, indicating that the sorption was cation exchange. The Np sorbed on apatite and calcite was nondesorbable with 1M KCl solutions, which is in harmony with the knowledge that Np forms strong complexes with the phosphate groups of apatite and the carbonate groups of calcite. This study utilized these clear distinguishes of the desorption behaviors for examining the two-mineral systems. In montmorillonite-apatite mixtures, the sorption on the montmorillonite was decreased and Np was accumulated on the apatite. In montmorillonite-calcite mixtures, the sorption on the montmorillonite was decreased due to the interference by the calcium and carbonate ions dissolved from calcite while no accumulation of Np to calcite was observed. (author)

  17. An equiratio mixture model for non-additive components : a case study for aspartame/acesulfame-K mixtures

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Schifferstein, H.N.J.

    1996-01-01

    The Equiratio Mixture Model predicts the psychophysical function for an equiratio mixture type on the basis of the psychophysical functions for the unmixed components. The model reliably estimates the sweetness of mixtures of sugars and sugar-alchohols, but is unable to predict intensity for

  18. Terahertz acoustic phonon detection from a compact surface layer of spherical nanoparticles powder mixture of aluminum, alumina and multi-walled carbon nanotube

    Science.gov (United States)

    Abouelsayed, A.; Ebrahim, M. R.; El hotaby, W.; Hassan, S. A.; Al-Ashkar, Emad

    2017-10-01

    We present terahertz spectroscopy study on spherical nanoparticles powder mixture of aluminum, alumina, and MWCNTs induced by surface mechanical attrition treatment (SMAT) of aluminum substrates. Surface alloying of AL, Al2O3 0.95% and MWCNTs 0.05% powder mixture was produced during SMAT process, where a compact surface layer of about 200 μm due to ball bombardment was produced from the mixture. Al2O3 alumina powder played a significant role in MWCNTs distribution on surface, those were held in deformation surface cites of micro-cavities due to SMAT process of Al. The benefits are the effects on resulted optical properties of the surface studied at the terahertz frequency range due to electrical isolation confinement effects and electronic resonance disturbances exerted on Al electronic resonance at the same range of frequencies. THz acoustic phonon around 0.53-0.6 THz (17-20 cm-1) were observed at ambient conditions for the spherical nanoparticles powder mixture of Al, Al2O3 and MWCNTs. These results suggested that the presence of Al2O3 and MWCNTs during SMAT process leads to the optically detection of such acoustic phonon in the THz frequency range.

  19. Selectivity and stability of herbicides and their tank mixtures for the seed yield of sunflower (Helianthus Annuus L.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    G. Delchev

    2016-12-01

    Full Text Available Abstract. The research was conducted during 2012 – 2014 on pellic vertisol soil type. Under investigation were 4 sunflower hybrids (Helianthus annuus L.: hybrid Bacardy (an imitolerant hybrid by ClearField plus technology, hybrid Estiva (an imitolerant hybrid by ClearField technology, hybrid Sumico (a tribenuron-methyl tolerant hybrid by ExpessSun technology and hybrid Arizona (a hybrid by conventional technology. Factor A included the years of investigation. Factor B, herbicides and tank mixtures, included 20 rates. It includes 3 variants by ClearField plus technology, 5 variants by ClearField technology, 5 variants by ExpessSun technology and 7 variants by conventional technology. All variants are on herbicide Gardoprim plus gold 500 SC (Smetolachlor + terbuthylazine – 3.5 l/ha, which treated after sowing before emergence of the sunflower. It is found that the highest seed yield is obtained at herbicide tank mixture Pulsar plus + Stomp aqua by ClearField plus technology. Tank mixture Listego + Dash + Sharpen by ClearField technology and Express + Trend + Select super by ExpressSun technology also lead to obtaining high seed yields. The most unstable are secondary weed infested checks by the fourth technologies for sunflower growing which are treated with soil-applied herbicide Gardoprim plus gold only. Technologically the most valuable are herbicide combination Pulsar plus + Stomp aqua and herbicide Pulsar by ClearField plus technology, tank mixtures Listego + Dash + Sharpen and Listego + Dash by ClearField technology and Express + Trend + Select super and Express + Lactofol B + Select super by ExpressSun technology. Tank mixtures of herbicides Smerch, Pendigan, Wing, Raft, Pledge and Modown with Amalgerol premium by conventional technology have low estimates due to insufficient control of some weeds in sunflower crops.

  20. Effects of Nickel, Chlorpyrifos and Their Mixture on the Dictyostelium discoideum Proteome

    Science.gov (United States)

    Boatti, Lara; Robotti, Elisa; Marengo, Emilio; Viarengo, Aldo; Marsano, Francesco

    2012-01-01

    Mixtures of chemicals can have additive, synergistic or antagonistic interactions. We investigated the effects of the exposure to nickel, the organophosphate insecticide chlorpyrifos at effect concentrations (EC) of 25% and 50% and their binary mixture (Ec25 + EC25) on Dictyostelium discoideum amoebae based on lysosomal membrane stability (LMS). We treated D. discoideum with these compounds under controlled laboratory conditions and evaluated the changes in protein levels using a two-dimensional gel electrophoresis (2DE) proteomic approach. Nickel treatment at EC25 induced changes in 14 protein spots, 12 of which were down-regulated. Treatment with nickel at EC50 resulted in changes in 15 spots, 10 of which were down-regulated. Treatment with chlorpyrifos at EC25 induced changes in six spots, all of which were down-regulated; treatment with chlorpyrifos at EC50 induced changes in 13 spots, five of which were down-regulated. The mixture corresponding to EC25 of each compound induced changes in 19 spots, 13 of which were down-regulated. The data together reveal that a different protein expression signature exists for each treatment, and that only a few proteins are modulated in multiple different treatments. For a simple binary mixture, the proteomic response does not allow for the identification of each toxicant. The protein spots that showed significant differences were identified by mass spectrometry, which revealed modulations of proteins involved in metal detoxification, stress adaptation, the oxidative stress response and other cellular processes. PMID:23443088

  1. GRAVITY PIPELINE TRANSPORT FOR HARDENING FILLING MIXTURES

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Leonid KROUPNIK

    2015-12-01

    Full Text Available In underground mining of solid minerals becoming increasingly common development system with stowing hardening mixtures. In this case the natural ore array after it is replaced by an artificial excavation of solidified filling mixture consisting of binder, aggregates and water. Such a mixture is prepared on the surface on special stowing complexes and transported underground at special stowing pipelines. However, it is transported to the horizons of a few kilometers, which requires a sustainable mode of motion of such a mixture in the pipeline. Hardening stowing mixture changes its rheological characteristics over time, which complicates the calculation of the parameters of pipeline transportation. The article suggests a method of determining the initial parameters of such mixtures: the status coefficient, indicator of transportability, coefficient of hydrodynamic resistance to motion of the mixture. These indicators characterize the mixture in terms of the possibility to transport it through pipes. On the basis of these indicators is proposed methodology for calculating the parameters of pipeline transport hardening filling mixtures in drift mode when traffic on the horizontal part of the mixture under pressure column of the mixture in the vertical part of the backfill of the pipeline. This technique allows stable operation is guaranteed to provide pipeline transportation.

  2. Biological indicators capable of assessing thermal treatment efficiency of hydrocarbon mixture-contaminated soil.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Jiangang; Zhan, Xinhua; Zhou, Lixiang; Lin, Yusuo

    2010-08-01

    In China, there are many special sites for recycling and washing the used drums, which release a variety of C5-C40 hydrocarbon mixture into the soil around the site. The remediation of these contaminated sites by thermal treatment is adopted ubiquitously and needs to be assessed. Here we report the feasibility of biological indicators applied to assess thermal treatment efficiency in such contaminated soil. A series of biological indicators, including seed germination index (SGI), root elongation index (REI), plant growth height, biomass, carbon dioxide evolved (CDE), soil respiration inhibition (SRI) and soil enzymatic activities, were employed to monitor or assess hydrocarbon mixture removal in thermal treated soil. The results showed that residual hydrocarbon mixture content correlated strongly negatively with SGI for sesamum (Sesamum indicum L.), plant height, and biomass for ryegrass (Lolium perenne L.) in the concentration ranges of 0-3990, 0-3170 and 0-2910 mg kg(-1), respectively. In contrast, REI for sesamum was positively correlated with residual hydrocarbon mixture content from 0 to 1860 mg kg(-1). In addition, both CDE and SRI demonstrated that 600 mg kg(-1) of residual hydrocarbon mixture content caused the highest amount of soil carbon dioxide emission and inhabitation of soil respiration. The results of soil enzymes indicated that 1000 mg kg(-1) of residual hydrocarbon mixture content was the threshold value of stimulating or inhibiting the activities of phosphatase and catalase, or completely destroying the activities of dehydrogenase, invertase, and urease. In conclusion, these biological indicators can be used as a meaningful complementation for traditional chemical content measurement in evaluating the environmental risk of the contaminated sites before and after thermal treatment. (c) 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  3. Tree species mapping in tropical forests using multi-temporal imaging spectroscopy: Wavelength adaptive spectral mixture analysis

    Science.gov (United States)

    Somers, B.; Asner, G. P.

    2014-09-01

    The use of imaging spectroscopy for florisic mapping of forests is complicated by the spectral similarity among co-existing species. Here we evaluated an alternative spectral unmixing strategy combining a time series of EO-1 Hyperion images and an automated feature selection in Multiple Endmember Spectral Mixture Analysis (MESMA). The temporal analysis provided a way to incorporate species phenology while feature selection indicated the best phenological time and best spectral feature set to optimize the separability between tree species. Instead of using the same set of spectral bands throughout the image which is the standard approach in MESMA, our modified Wavelength Adaptive Spectral Mixture Analysis (WASMA) approach allowed the spectral subsets to vary on a per pixel basis. As such we were able to optimize the spectral separability between the tree species present in each pixel. The potential of the new approach for floristic mapping of tree species in Hawaiian rainforests was quantitatively assessed using both simulated and actual hyperspectral image time-series. With a Cohen's Kappa coefficient of 0.65, WASMA provided a more accurate tree species map compared to conventional MESMA (Kappa = 0.54; p-value < 0.05. The flexible or adaptive use of band sets in WASMA provides an interesting avenue to address spectral similarities in complex vegetation canopies.

  4. Treated Coconut Coir Pith as Component of Cementitious Materials

    OpenAIRE

    Koňáková, Dana; Vejmelková, Eva; Čáchová, Monika; Siddique, Jamal Akhter; Polozhiy, Kirill; Reiterman, Pavel; Keppert, Martin; Černý, Robert

    2015-01-01

    The presented paper deals with utilization of raw and treated coir pith as potential component of cementitious composites. The studied material is coir pith originating from a coconut production. Its applicability as cement mixture component was assessed in terms of the physical properties of concrete containing different amount of coir pith. Basic physical properties, compressive and bending strength, and hygric transport characteristics as well as thermal properties belong among the studied...

  5. Some properties of explosive mixtures containing peroxides

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zeman, Svatopluk; Trzcinski, Waldemar A.; Matyas, Robert

    2008-01-01

    This study concerns mixtures of triacetone triperoxide (3,3,6,6,9,9-hexamethyl-1,2,4,5,7,8-hexoxonane, TATP) and ammonium nitrate (AN) with added water (W), as the case may be, and dry mixtures of TATP with urea nitrate (UN). Relative performances (RP) of the mixtures and their individual components, relative to TNT, were determined by means of ballistic mortar. The detonation energies, E 0 , and detonation velocities, D, were calculated for the mixtures studied by means of the thermodynamic code CHEETAH. Relationships have been found and are discussed between the RP and the E 0 values related to unit volume of gaseous products of detonation of these mixtures. These relationships together with those between RP and oxygen balance values of the mixtures studied indicate different types of participation of AN and UN in the explosive decomposition of the respective mixtures. Dry TATP/UN mixtures exhibit lower RP than analogous mixtures TATP/AN containing up to 25% of water. Depending on the water content, the TATP/AN mixtures possess higher detonability values than the ANFO explosives. A semi-logarithmic relationship between the D values and oxygen coefficients has been derived for all the mixtures studied at the charge density of 1000 kg m -3 . Among the mixtures studied, this relationship distinguishes several samples of the type of 'tertiary explosives' as well as samples that approach 'high explosives' in their performances and detonation velocities

  6. Some properties of explosive mixtures containing peroxides

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Zeman, Svatopluk [Institute of Energetic Materials, Faculty of Chemical Technology, University of Pardubice, CZ-532 10 Pardubice (Czech Republic)], E-mail: svatopluk.zeman@upce.cz; Trzcinski, Waldemar A. [Institute of Chemistry, Military University of Technology, PL-00-908 Warsaw 49 (Poland); Matyas, Robert [Institute of Energetic Materials, Faculty of Chemical Technology, University of Pardubice, CZ-532 10 Pardubice (Czech Republic)

    2008-06-15

    This study concerns mixtures of triacetone triperoxide (3,3,6,6,9,9-hexamethyl-1,2,4,5,7,8-hexoxonane, TATP) and ammonium nitrate (AN) with added water (W), as the case may be, and dry mixtures of TATP with urea nitrate (UN). Relative performances (RP) of the mixtures and their individual components, relative to TNT, were determined by means of ballistic mortar. The detonation energies, E{sub 0}, and detonation velocities, D, were calculated for the mixtures studied by means of the thermodynamic code CHEETAH. Relationships have been found and are discussed between the RP and the E{sub 0} values related to unit volume of gaseous products of detonation of these mixtures. These relationships together with those between RP and oxygen balance values of the mixtures studied indicate different types of participation of AN and UN in the explosive decomposition of the respective mixtures. Dry TATP/UN mixtures exhibit lower RP than analogous mixtures TATP/AN containing up to 25% of water. Depending on the water content, the TATP/AN mixtures possess higher detonability values than the ANFO explosives. A semi-logarithmic relationship between the D values and oxygen coefficients has been derived for all the mixtures studied at the charge density of 1000 kg m{sup -3}. Among the mixtures studied, this relationship distinguishes several samples of the type of 'tertiary explosives' as well as samples that approach 'high explosives' in their performances and detonation velocities.

  7. Rheology Of MonoSodium Titanate (MST) And Modified Mst (mMST) Mixtures Relevant To The Salt Waste Processing Facility

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Koopman, D. C.; Martino, C. J.; Shehee, T. C.; Poirier, M. R.

    2013-07-31

    The Savannah River National Laboratory performed measurements of the rheology of suspensions and settled layers of treated material applicable to the Savannah River Site Salt Waste Processing Facility. Suspended solids mixtures included monosodium titanate (MST) or modified MST (mMST) at various solid concentrations and soluble ion concentrations with and without the inclusion of kaolin clay or simulated sludge. Layers of settled solids were MST/sludge or mMST/sludge mixtures, either with or without sorbed strontium, over a range of initial solids concentrations, soluble ion concentrations, and settling times.

  8. Rheology Of MonoSodium Titanate (MST) And Modified Mst (mMST) Mixtures Relevant To The Salt Waste Processing Facility

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Koopman, D. C.; Martino, C. J.; Shehee, T. C.; Poirier, M. R.

    2013-01-01

    The Savannah River National Laboratory performed measurements of the rheology of suspensions and settled layers of treated material applicable to the Savannah River Site Salt Waste Processing Facility. Suspended solids mixtures included monosodium titanate (MST) or modified MST (mMST) at various solid concentrations and soluble ion concentrations with and without the inclusion of kaolin clay or simulated sludge. Layers of settled solids were MST/sludge or mMST/sludge mixtures, either with or without sorbed strontium, over a range of initial solids concentrations, soluble ion concentrations, and settling times

  9. Determination of chlorinated hydrocarbons in single and multi component test gases

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Giese, U.; Stenner, H. (Paderborn Univ. (Gesamthochschule) (Germany, F.R.). Angewandte Chemie); Ludwig, E.; Kettrup, A. (Paderborn Univ. (Gesamthochschule) (Germany, F.R.). Angewandte Chemie Gesellschaft fuer Strahlen- und Umweltforschung mbH Muenchen, Neuherberg (Germany, F.R.). Inst. fuer Oekologische Chemie)

    1990-11-01

    For comparing the efficiency of active and diffusive sampling methods two diffusive samplers with different properties were used to determine chlorinated hydrocarbons (CH{sub 2}Cl{sub 2}, CHCl{sub 3}, CCl{sub 4}) in single and multi component test gas mixtures. One of the chosen diffusive samplers can also be used for active sampling. In general, good correlations of all tested methods could be observed in the direct comparison of active and diffusive sampling and in the determination of the efficiencies. During the application of active and diffusive sampling methods in multi component test gases of the analytes possible interferences could not be ascertained. (orig.).

  10. Sparse PDF Volumes for Consistent Multi-Resolution Volume Rendering

    KAUST Repository

    Sicat, Ronell Barrera

    2014-12-31

    This paper presents a new multi-resolution volume representation called sparse pdf volumes, which enables consistent multi-resolution volume rendering based on probability density functions (pdfs) of voxel neighborhoods. These pdfs are defined in the 4D domain jointly comprising the 3D volume and its 1D intensity range. Crucially, the computation of sparse pdf volumes exploits data coherence in 4D, resulting in a sparse representation with surprisingly low storage requirements. At run time, we dynamically apply transfer functions to the pdfs using simple and fast convolutions. Whereas standard low-pass filtering and down-sampling incur visible differences between resolution levels, the use of pdfs facilitates consistent results independent of the resolution level used. We describe the efficient out-of-core computation of large-scale sparse pdf volumes, using a novel iterative simplification procedure of a mixture of 4D Gaussians. Finally, our data structure is optimized to facilitate interactive multi-resolution volume rendering on GPUs.

  11. Simultaneous multi-laser, multi-species trace-level sensing of gas mixtures by rapidly swept continuous-wave cavity-ringdown spectroscopy.

    Science.gov (United States)

    He, Yabai; Kan, Ruifeng; Englich, Florian V; Liu, Wenqing; Orr, Brian J

    2010-09-13

    The greenhouse-gas molecules CO(2), CH(4), and H(2)O are detected in air within a few ms by a novel cavity-ringdown laser-absorption spectroscopy technique using a rapidly swept optical cavity and multi-wavelength coherent radiation from a set of pre-tuned near-infrared diode lasers. The performance of various types of tunable diode laser, on which this technique depends, is evaluated. Our instrument is both sensitive and compact, as needed for reliable environmental monitoring with high absolute accuracy to detect trace concentrations of greenhouse gases in outdoor air.

  12. Long-term performance and stability of a continuous granular airlift reactor treating a high-strength wastewater containing a mixture of aromatic compounds

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Ramos, Carlos; Suárez-Ojeda, María Eugenia; Carrera, Julián, E-mail: julian.carrera@uab.cat

    2016-02-13

    Highlights: • Aerobic biodegradation of a mixture of aromatics is feasible in a granular reactor. • Applied organic loading rate is a key parameter for an optimal reactor performance. • Stable mature aerobic granules were maintained 400 days in a continuous reactor. • Sphingobium, Cytophaga and Comamonas were the main genera in the aerobic granules. - Abstract: Continuous feeding operation of an airlift reactor and its inoculation with mature aerobic granules allowed the successful treatment of a mixture of aromatic compounds (p-nitrophenol, o-cresol and phenol). Complete biodegradation of p-nitrophenol, o-cresol, phenol and their metabolic intermediates was achieved at an organic loading rate of 0.61 g COD L{sup −1} d{sup −1}. Stable granulation was obtained throughout the long-term operation (400 days) achieving an average granule size of 2.0 ± 1 mm and a sludge volumetric index of 26 ± 1 mL g{sup −1} TSS. The identified genera in the aerobic granular biomass were heterotrophic bacteria able to consume aromatic compounds. Therefore, the continuous feeding regimen and the exposure of aerobic granules to a mixture of aromatic compounds make possible to obtain good granulation and high removal efficiency.

  13. Long-term performance and stability of a continuous granular airlift reactor treating a high-strength wastewater containing a mixture of aromatic compounds

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ramos, Carlos; Suárez-Ojeda, María Eugenia; Carrera, Julián

    2016-01-01

    Highlights: • Aerobic biodegradation of a mixture of aromatics is feasible in a granular reactor. • Applied organic loading rate is a key parameter for an optimal reactor performance. • Stable mature aerobic granules were maintained 400 days in a continuous reactor. • Sphingobium, Cytophaga and Comamonas were the main genera in the aerobic granules. - Abstract: Continuous feeding operation of an airlift reactor and its inoculation with mature aerobic granules allowed the successful treatment of a mixture of aromatic compounds (p-nitrophenol, o-cresol and phenol). Complete biodegradation of p-nitrophenol, o-cresol, phenol and their metabolic intermediates was achieved at an organic loading rate of 0.61 g COD L"−"1 d"−"1. Stable granulation was obtained throughout the long-term operation (400 days) achieving an average granule size of 2.0 ± 1 mm and a sludge volumetric index of 26 ± 1 mL g"−"1 TSS. The identified genera in the aerobic granular biomass were heterotrophic bacteria able to consume aromatic compounds. Therefore, the continuous feeding regimen and the exposure of aerobic granules to a mixture of aromatic compounds make possible to obtain good granulation and high removal efficiency.

  14. Structure and dynamics of propylammonium nitrate-acetonitrile mixtures: An intricate multi-scale system probed with experimental and theoretical techniques

    Science.gov (United States)

    Campetella, Marco; Mariani, Alessandro; Sadun, Claudia; Wu, Boning; Castner, Edward W.; Gontrani, Lorenzo

    2018-04-01

    In this article, we report the study of structural and dynamical properties for a series of acetonitrile/propylammonium nitrate mixtures as a function of their composition. These systems display an unusual increase in intensity in their X-ray diffraction patterns in the low-q regime, and their 1H-NMR diffusion-ordered NMR spectroscopy (DOSY) spectra display unusual diffusivities. However, the magnitude of both phenomena for mixtures of propylammonium nitrate is smaller than those observed for ethylammonium nitrate mixtures with the same cosolvent, suggesting that the cation alkyl tail plays an important role in these observations. The experimental X-ray scattering data are compared with the results of molecular dynamics simulations, including both ab initio studies used to interpret short-range interactions and classical simulations to describe longer range interactions. The higher level calculations highlight the presence of a strong hydrogen bond network within the ionic liquid, only slightly perturbed even at high acetonitrile concentration. These strong interactions lead to the symmetry breaking of the NO3 - vibrations, with a splitting of about 88 cm-1 in the ν3 antisymmetric stretch. The classical force field simulations use a greater number of ion pairs, but are not capable of fully describing the longest range interactions, although they do successfully account for the observed concentration trend, and the analysis of the models confirms the nano-inhomogeneity of these kinds of samples.

  15. Structure and dynamics of propylammonium nitrate-acetonitrile mixtures: An intricate multi-scale system probed with experimental and theoretical techniques.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Campetella, Marco; Mariani, Alessandro; Sadun, Claudia; Wu, Boning; Castner, Edward W; Gontrani, Lorenzo

    2018-04-07

    In this article, we report the study of structural and dynamical properties for a series of acetonitrile/propylammonium nitrate mixtures as a function of their composition. These systems display an unusual increase in intensity in their X-ray diffraction patterns in the low-q regime, and their 1 H-NMR diffusion-ordered NMR spectroscopy (DOSY) spectra display unusual diffusivities. However, the magnitude of both phenomena for mixtures of propylammonium nitrate is smaller than those observed for ethylammonium nitrate mixtures with the same cosolvent, suggesting that the cation alkyl tail plays an important role in these observations. The experimental X-ray scattering data are compared with the results of molecular dynamics simulations, including both ab initio studies used to interpret short-range interactions and classical simulations to describe longer range interactions. The higher level calculations highlight the presence of a strong hydrogen bond network within the ionic liquid, only slightly perturbed even at high acetonitrile concentration. These strong interactions lead to the symmetry breaking of the NO 3 - vibrations, with a splitting of about 88 cm -1 in the ν 3 antisymmetric stretch. The classical force field simulations use a greater number of ion pairs, but are not capable of fully describing the longest range interactions, although they do successfully account for the observed concentration trend, and the analysis of the models confirms the nano-inhomogeneity of these kinds of samples.

  16. Criticality characteristics of mixtures of plutonium, silicon dioxide, Nevada tuff, and water

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sanchez, R.; Myers, W.; Hayes, D.

    1997-01-01

    The nuclear criticality characteristics of mixtures of plutonium, silicon dioxide, and water (Part A) or plutonium, silicon dioxide, Nevada Yucca Mountain tuff, and water (Part B) have become of interest because of the appearance of recent papers on the subject. These papers postulate that if excess weapons plutonium is vitrified into a silicate log and buried underground, a self-sustaining neutron chain reaction may develop given sufficient time and interaction with the burial medium. Moreover, given specific geologic actions resulting in postulated configurations, the referenced papers state that nuclear explosions could occur with multi-kiloton yields or yields equivalent to hundreds of tons of TNT

  17. Controlled auto-ignition characteristics of methane-air mixture in a rapid intake compression and expansion machine

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Cho, Gyubaek; Jeong, Dongsoo [Engine Research Team, Eco-Machinery Research Division, Korea Institute of Machinery and Materials, 104 Sinseongno, Yuseong-gu, Daejeon 305-701 (Korea); Moon, Gunfeel [Department of Clean Environmental system, University of Science and Technology, 52 Eoeun-dong, Yuseong-gu, Daejeon (Korea); Bae, Choongsik [Engine Laboratory, Department of Mechanical Engineering, Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology, 373-1 GuSeong-Dong, Yuseong-Gu, Daejeon 305-701 (Korea)

    2010-10-15

    The characteristics of controlled auto-ignition (CAI) were investigated with a methane-air mixture and simulated residual gas, that represents internal exhaust gas recirculation (IEGR). Supply systems were additionally installed on the conventional rapid compression machine (RCM), and this modified machine - a rapid intake compression and expansion machine (RICEM) - was able to simulate an intake stroke for the evaluation of controlled auto-ignition with fuel-air mixture. The fuel-air mixture and the simulated residual gas were introduced separately into the combustion chamber through the spool valves. Various IEGR rates and temperatures of the IEGR gas were tested. The initial reaction and the development in controlled auto-ignition combustion were compared with spark-ignited combustion by visualization with a high-speed digital camera. Under the controlled auto-ignition operation, multi-point ignition and faster combustion were observed. With increasing the temperature of IEGR gas, the auto-ignition timing was advanced and burning duration was shortened. The higher rate of IEGR had the same effects on the combustion of the controlled auto-ignition. However, this trend was reversed with more than 47 per cent of IEGR. (author)

  18. A binary mixture operated heat pump

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hihara, E.; Saito, T.

    1991-01-01

    This paper evaluates the performance of possible binary mixtures as working fluids in high- temperature heat pump applications. The binary mixtures, which are potential alternatives of fully halogenated hydrocarbons, include HCFC142b/HCFC22, HFC152a/HCFC22, HFC134a/HCFC22. The performance of the mixtures is estimated by a thermodynamic model and a practical model in which the heat transfer is considered in heat exchangers. One of the advantages of binary mixtures is a higher coefficient of performance, which is caused by the small temperature difference between the heat-sink/-source fluid and the refrigerant. The mixture HCFC142b/HCFC22 is promising from the stand point of thermodynamic performance

  19. A new decomposition-based computer-aided molecular/mixture design methodology for the design of optimal solvents and solvent mixtures

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Karunanithi, A.T.; Achenie, L.E.K.; Gani, Rafiqul

    2005-01-01

    This paper presents a novel computer-aided molecular/mixture design (CAMD) methodology for the design of optimal solvents and solvent mixtures. The molecular/mixture design problem is formulated as a mixed integer nonlinear programming (MINLP) model in which a performance objective is to be optim......This paper presents a novel computer-aided molecular/mixture design (CAMD) methodology for the design of optimal solvents and solvent mixtures. The molecular/mixture design problem is formulated as a mixed integer nonlinear programming (MINLP) model in which a performance objective...... is to be optimized subject to structural, property, and process constraints. The general molecular/mixture design problem is divided into two parts. For optimal single-compound design, the first part is solved. For mixture design, the single-compound design is first carried out to identify candidates...... and then the second part is solved to determine the optimal mixture. The decomposition of the CAMD MINLP model into relatively easy to solve subproblems is essentially a partitioning of the constraints from the original set. This approach is illustrated through two case studies. The first case study involves...

  20. Thermodynamic derivation of Saha's equation for a multi-temperature plasma

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Morro, Angelo; Romeo, Maurizio

    1988-01-01

    The ionization equilibrium between the constituents of a multi-temperature plasma is investigated within the thermodynamics of fluid mixtures. As a result, a law of mass action is derived that, in the approximation of ideal gases for the constituents, leads to a direct generalization of Saha's equation. The main properties of this generalization are discussed, and contrasted with those of other equations which have appeared in the literature. (author)

  1. Evaluation of mastic in bituminous mixtures

    OpenAIRE

    Silva, Hugo Manuel Ribeiro Dias da; Pais, Jorge C.; Pereira, Paulo A. A.

    2002-01-01

    The efficiency of the asphalt-aggregate bond is one of the key factors which affects the mechanical resistance of bituminous mixtures and a better understanding of its performance allows the behaviour of mixture to be more accurately predicted. The asphalt-aggregate bond depends on the properties of the mastic and the mixture of fine aggregate and bitumen which bonds itself to the larger sized particles within the bituminous mixture. This mastic plays an im-portant role in the asphalt-aggr...

  2. Environmentally relevant pyrethroid mixtures: A study on the correlation of blood and brain concentrations of a mixture of pyrethroid insecticides to motor activity in the rat.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hughes, Michael F; Ross, David G; Starr, James M; Scollon, Edward J; Wolansky, Marcelo J; Crofton, Kevin M; DeVito, Michael J

    2016-06-01

    Human exposure to multiple pyrethroid insecticides may occur because of their broad use on crops and for residential pest control. To address the potential health risk from co-exposure to pyrethroids, it is important to understand their disposition and toxicity in target organs such as the brain, and surrogates such as the blood when administered as a mixture. The objective of this study was to assess the correlation between blood and brain concentrations of pyrethroids and neurobehavioral effects in the rat following an acute oral administration of the pyrethroids as a mixture. Male Long-Evans rats were administered a mixture of β-cyfluthrin, cypermethrin, deltamethrin, esfenvalerate and cis- and trans-permethrin in corn oil at seven dose levels. The pyrethroid with the highest percentage in the dosing solution was trans-permethrin (31% of total mixture dose) while deltamethrin and esfenvalerate had the lowest percentage (3%). Motor activity of the rats was then monitored for 1h. At 3.5h post-dosing, the animals were euthanized and blood and brain were collected. These tissues were extracted and analyzed for parent pyrethroid using HPLC-tandem mass spectrometry. Cypermethrin and cis-permethrin were the predominate pyrethroids detected in blood and brain, respectively, at all dosage levels. The relationship of total pyrethroid concentration between blood and brain was linear (r=0.93). The pyrethroids with the lowest fraction in blood were trans-permethrin and β-cyfluthrin and in brain were deltamethrin and esfenvalerate. The relationship between motor activity of the treated rats and summed pyrethroid blood and brain concentration was described using a sigmoidal Emax model with the Effective Concentration50 being more sensitive for brain than blood. The data suggests summed pyrethroid rat blood concentration could be used as a surrogate for brain concentration as an aid to study the neurotoxic effects of pyrethroids administered as a mixture under the conditions

  3. A comparative study of fungal and bacterial biofiltration treating a VOC mixture

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Estrada, José M.; Hernández, Sergio; Muñoz, Raúl; Revah, Sergio

    2013-01-01

    Highlights: ► Bacterial biofilter showed better EC and ΔP than fungal biofilter. ► The preferential biodegradation order was: propanal > hexanol > MIBK > toluene. ► Propanal partially inhibited the biodegradation of the rest of VOCs. ► The two-stage biofilter showed a higher stability than the individual units. -- Abstract: Bacterial biofilters usually exhibit a high microbial diversity and robustness, while fungal biofilters have been claimed to better withstand low moisture contents and pH values, and to be more efficient coping with hydrophobic volatile organic compounds (VOCs). However, there are only few systematic evaluations of both biofiltration technologies. The present study compared fungal and bacterial biofiltration for the treatment of a VOC mixture (propanal, methyl isobutyl ketone-MIBK, toluene and hexanol) under the same operating conditions. Overall, fungal biofiltration supported lower elimination capacities than its bacterial counterpart (27.7 ± 8.9 vs 40.2 ± 5.4 g C m −3 reactor h −1 ), which exhibited a final pressure drop 60% higher than that of the bacterial biofilter due to mycelial growth. The VOC mineralization ratio was also higher in the bacterial bed (≈63% vs ≈43%). However, the substrate biodegradation preference order was similar for both biofilters (propanal > hexanol > MIBK > toluene) with propanal partially inhibiting the consumption of the rest of the VOCs. Both systems supported an excellent robustness versus 24 h VOC starvation episodes. The implementation of a fungal/bacterial coupled system did not significantly improve the VOC removal performance compared to the individual biofilter performances

  4. A comparative study of fungal and bacterial biofiltration treating a VOC mixture

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Estrada, José M. [Departamento de Procesos y Tecnología, Universidad Autónoma Metropolitana-Cuajimalpa, Artificios 40, Col. Miguel Hidalgo, Delegación Álvaro Obregón (Mexico); Departamento de Ingeniería Química y Tecnología del Medio Ambiente – Universidad de Valladolid, Valladolid (Spain); Hernández, Sergio [Departmento de Procesos e Hidráulica – Universidad Autónoma Metropolitana – Iztapalapa Mexico D.F. Mexico (Mexico); Muñoz, Raúl [Departamento de Ingeniería Química y Tecnología del Medio Ambiente – Universidad de Valladolid, Valladolid (Spain); Revah, Sergio, E-mail: srevah@xanum.uam.mx [Departamento de Procesos y Tecnología, Universidad Autónoma Metropolitana-Cuajimalpa, Artificios 40, Col. Miguel Hidalgo, Delegación Álvaro Obregón (Mexico)

    2013-04-15

    Highlights: ► Bacterial biofilter showed better EC and ΔP than fungal biofilter. ► The preferential biodegradation order was: propanal > hexanol > MIBK > toluene. ► Propanal partially inhibited the biodegradation of the rest of VOCs. ► The two-stage biofilter showed a higher stability than the individual units. -- Abstract: Bacterial biofilters usually exhibit a high microbial diversity and robustness, while fungal biofilters have been claimed to better withstand low moisture contents and pH values, and to be more efficient coping with hydrophobic volatile organic compounds (VOCs). However, there are only few systematic evaluations of both biofiltration technologies. The present study compared fungal and bacterial biofiltration for the treatment of a VOC mixture (propanal, methyl isobutyl ketone-MIBK, toluene and hexanol) under the same operating conditions. Overall, fungal biofiltration supported lower elimination capacities than its bacterial counterpart (27.7 ± 8.9 vs 40.2 ± 5.4 g C m{sup −3} reactor h{sup −1}), which exhibited a final pressure drop 60% higher than that of the bacterial biofilter due to mycelial growth. The VOC mineralization ratio was also higher in the bacterial bed (≈63% vs ≈43%). However, the substrate biodegradation preference order was similar for both biofilters (propanal > hexanol > MIBK > toluene) with propanal partially inhibiting the consumption of the rest of the VOCs. Both systems supported an excellent robustness versus 24 h VOC starvation episodes. The implementation of a fungal/bacterial coupled system did not significantly improve the VOC removal performance compared to the individual biofilter performances.

  5. A multi-objective CFD optimization of liquid fuel spray injection in dry-low-emission gas-turbine combustors

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Asgari, Behrad; Amani, Ehsan

    2017-01-01

    Highlights: •An Eulerian-Lagrangian model for the fuel spray injection is evaluated. •The drop breakup, spray-vortex interaction, and wall-wetting play the key roles. •The injection location and direction are the most important parameters. •The best design candidates are proposed using multi-objective optimizations. •A large central perpendicular injection with high co-rotating swirls is optimal. -- Abstract: The main goal of this research is to investigate the effects of fuel injection strategy on the performance of the premixing chamber of modern Dry-Low-Emission (DLE) Gas-Turbine (GT) combustors. Here, an Eulerian-Lagrangian model for multi-phase multi-component flows is evaluated and used to investigate the effects of different fuel spray design parameters, including the injection location, direction, mass-flow-rate partitioning, and flow Swirl number, on the performance of the premixing chamber. The analysis is enriched by multi-objective optimizations accounting for several goals, including the evaporation efficiency, mixture stratification, entropy generation, and flow recirculation. It is observed that the droplet breakup, spray-vortex interactions, and wall-wetting have significant influences on the performance objectives while the droplet residence time effect is minor. Among the design parameters, the injection location and direction have a profound impact on the droplet breakup which predominately controls the evaporation efficiency. In addition, the interactions between the spray and the two swirling vertices inside the chamber strongly affect the mixture stratification (uniformity), e.g. the location and direction of the injection should not be chosen such that a large proportion of fuel droplets are trapped in the shear layer between the two vortices (otherwise the evaporation efficiency drops significantly) or trapped in the strong outer swirling vortex (if large mixture non-uniformity should be avoided). Finally, the best designs meeting

  6. Gas suspension flows of a moderately dense binary mixture of solid particles in vertical tubes

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Zamankhan, P.; Huotari, J. [VTT Energy, Jyvaeskylae (Finland). Combustion and Conversion Lab.

    1996-12-01

    The turbulent, steady, fully-developed flow of a moderately dense (solid volume faction >>0.001) binary mixture of spherical particles in a gaseous carrier is investigated for the case of flow in a vertical riser. The suspended particles are considered to be in turbulent motion, driven by random aerodynamic forces acting between the particle and the gaseous carrier as well as particle-particle interactive forces. A model is constructed based on the combination of the time-averaged after volume-averaged conservation equations of mass, momentum and mechanical energy of the gas phase in the continuum theory and the corresponding equations for the solid particles obtained using the recently developed Enskog theory for dense multi-component mixtures of slightly inelastic spherical particles. The model properly takes into account the contributions of particle-particle collisions, as well as the fluid-dynamic fluctuating forces on individual particles. To demonstrate the validity of this approach, the fully-developed steady-state mean velocity and concentration distributions of a moderately dense binary mixture of solid particles in a turbulent vertical flow calculated by the present model are compared with available experimental measurements. The results provide a qualitative description of the experimentally observed motion of coarse particles in a fast bed of fine solids. (author)

  7. Multi-step process for concentrating magnetic particles in waste sludges

    Science.gov (United States)

    Watson, John L.

    1990-01-01

    This invention involves a multi-step, multi-force process for dewatering sludges which have high concentrations of magnetic particles, such as waste sludges generated during steelmaking. This series of processing steps involves (1) mixing a chemical flocculating agent with the sludge; (2) allowing the particles to aggregate under non-turbulent conditions; (3) subjecting the mixture to a magnetic field which will pull the magnetic aggregates in a selected direction, causing them to form a compacted sludge; (4) preferably, decanting the clarified liquid from the compacted sludge; and (5) using filtration to convert the compacted sludge into a cake having a very high solids content. Steps 2 and 3 should be performed simultaneously. This reduces the treatment time and increases the extent of flocculation and the effectiveness of the process. As partially formed aggregates with active flocculating groups are pulled through the mixture by the magnetic field, they will contact other particles and form larger aggregates. This process can increase the solids concentration of steelmaking sludges in an efficient and economic manner, thereby accomplishing either of two goals: (a) it can convert hazardous wastes into economic resources for recycling as furnace feed material, or (b) it can dramatically reduce the volume of waste material which must be disposed.

  8. Manufacturing cycle for pure neon-helium mixture production

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Batrakov, B.P.; Kravchenko, V.A.

    1980-01-01

    The manufacturing cycle for pure neon-helium mixture production with JA-300 nitrogen air distributing device has been developed. Gas mixture containing 2-3% of neon-helium mixture (the rest is mainly nitrogen 96-97%) is selected out of the cover of the JA-300 column condensator and enters the deflegmator under the 2.3-2.5 atm. pressure. The diflegmator presents a heat exchange apparatus in which at 78 K liquid nitrogen the condensation of nitrogen from the mixture of gases entering from the JA-300 column takes place. The enriched gas mixture containing 65-70% of neon-helium mixture and 30-35% of nitrogen goes out from the deflegmator. This enriched neon-helium mixture enters the gasgoeder for impure (65-70%) neon-helium mixture. Full cleaning of-neon helium mixture of nitrogen is performed by means of an adsorber. As adsorbent an activated coal has been used. Adsorption occurs at the 78 K temperature of liquid nitrogen and pressure P=0.1 atm. As activated coal cooled down to nitrogen temperature adsorbs nitrogen better than neon and helium, the nitrogen from the mixture is completely adsorbed. Pure neon-helium mixture from the adsorber comes into a separate gasgolder. In one campaign the cycle allows obtaining 2 m 3 of the mixture. The mixture contains 0.14% of nitrogen, 0.01% of oxygen and 0.06% of hydrogen

  9. Treating water-reactive wastes

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lussiez, G.W.

    1993-01-01

    Some compounds and elements, such as lithium hydride, magnesium, sodium, and calcium react violently with water to generate much heat and produce hydrogen. The hydrogen can ignite or even form an explosive mixture with air. Other metals may react rapidly only if they are finely divided. Some of the waste produced at Los Alamos National Laboratory includes these metals that are contaminated with radioactivity. By far the greatest volume of water-reactive waste is lithium hydride contaminated with depleted uranium. Reactivity of the water-reactive wastes is neutralized with an atmosphere of humid nitrogen, which prevents the formation of an explosive mixture of hydrogen and air. When we adjust the temperature of the nitrogen and the humidifier, the nitrogen can be more or less humid, and the rate of reaction can be adjusted and controlled. Los Alamos has investigated the rates of reaction of lithium hydride as a function of the temperature and humidity, and, as anticipated, they in with in temperature and humidity. Los Alamos will investigate other variables. For example, the nitrogen flow will be optimized to conserve nitrogen and yet keep the reaction rates high. Reaction rates will be determined for various forms of lithium waste, from small chips to powder. Bench work will lead to the design of a skid-mounted process for treating wastes. Other water-reactive wastes will also be investigated

  10. The multi-stage proportional chamber in the detection of Cherenkov rings for particle recognition

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sauli, F.

    1979-01-01

    The multi-stage proportional chamber enables very high gains of 10 6 or more to be reached in gaseous mixtures offering a very good quantum efficiency in the far ultra-violet range. This makes it an ideal instrument for detecting and locating the photons emitted by Cerenkov effect in appropriate radiators [fr

  11. [Effect of the sorghum extraction process on the color of the flour and tortillas made from mixtures with lime-treated cornmeal].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Martínez, F; Ciacco, C F; Salinas, Y

    1992-06-01

    The objective of this work was to study the effect of the extrusion process in the color of instant flours and its tortillas prepared with mixtures of commercial instant corn flour. In the extrusion process four flours from two genotypes of sorghum (whole and decorticated sorghum of each genotype) were used. These flours were processed in a single screw Brabender laboratory extruder. In the preparation of sorghum tortillas and sorghum-corn tortillas four flours were selected from the extrusion process. 1) genotype CMSXS 9A: Whole flour extruded with moisture content of 15% and screw rate of 130 rpm, flour from decorticated sorghum with particle size less than 0.420 mm extruded with moisture content of 15% and screw rate of 130 rpm, 2) genotype CMSXS 145: whole flour extruded with moisture content of 18% and screw rate of 170 rpm, decorticated sorghum flour extruded with moisture content of 15% and screw rate of 130 rpm. Also these flours were utilized with mixtures of commercial instant cornflour for the preparation of tortillas. The instant sorghum flours and tortillas from decorticated sorghum (20% = presented whiter color compared to instant whole sorghum flour and its tortillas. The addition of different levels of commercial instant corn flour (10, 20, 30, 40 and 50%) to the instant sorghum flours improved the color of the mixtures of flour and tortillas. This improvement was more pronounced with instant sorghum flour from whole sorghum grain.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

  12. Radiolytic decomposition of water-ethanol mixtures

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Baquey, Charles

    1968-07-01

    This research thesis addresses the study of the behaviour of binary mixtures submitted to ionizing radiations, and notably aims, by studying the case of water-ethanol mixtures, at verifying solutions proposed by previously published works on the origin of hydrogen atoms and of molecular hydrogen, on the intervention of excited atoms, and on the origin of products appearing under radiolysis. The experimental part of this work consists in the dosing of products formed in water-ethanol mixtures irradiated in presence or absence of nitrate, hydrogen, hydrocarbon, acetaldehyde, 2-3 butanediol and nitrite. Results are discussed and interpreted in terms of acetaldehyde efficiency, 2-3 butanediol efficiencies, and hydrocarbon efficiencies in pure ethanol, and in water-ethanol mixtures. The influence of the presence of nitrate ions in mixtures is also discussed

  13. Mixture toxicity of PBT-like chemicals

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Syberg, Kristian; Dai, Lina; Ramskov, Tina

    addition is a suitable model for default estimations of mixture effects. One of the major challenges is therefore how to select specific chemicals for actual mixture toxicity assessments. Persistant chemicals are likely to be present in the environment for an extended period of time, thus increasing...... the likelihood of them being present in environmentally found mixtures. Persistant, bioaccumulative and toxic (PBT) chemicals are therefore a highly relevant group of chemicals to consider for mixture toxicity regulation. The present study evaluates to what extent a number of PBT-like chemicals posess concern...... beyond that of the individual components. Firstly, the effects of three chemicals with PBT-like properties (acetyl cedrene, pyrene and triclosan) was examined on the freshwater snail, Potamopyrgus antipodarum. Secondly, mixture bioaccumulation of the same three chemicals were assessed experimentally...

  14. A Gaussian mixture copula model based localized Gaussian process regression approach for long-term wind speed prediction

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Yu, Jie; Chen, Kuilin; Mori, Junichi; Rashid, Mudassir M.

    2013-01-01

    Optimizing wind power generation and controlling the operation of wind turbines to efficiently harness the renewable wind energy is a challenging task due to the intermittency and unpredictable nature of wind speed, which has significant influence on wind power production. A new approach for long-term wind speed forecasting is developed in this study by integrating GMCM (Gaussian mixture copula model) and localized GPR (Gaussian process regression). The time series of wind speed is first classified into multiple non-Gaussian components through the Gaussian mixture copula model and then Bayesian inference strategy is employed to incorporate the various non-Gaussian components using the posterior probabilities. Further, the localized Gaussian process regression models corresponding to different non-Gaussian components are built to characterize the stochastic uncertainty and non-stationary seasonality of the wind speed data. The various localized GPR models are integrated through the posterior probabilities as the weightings so that a global predictive model is developed for the prediction of wind speed. The proposed GMCM–GPR approach is demonstrated using wind speed data from various wind farm locations and compared against the GMCM-based ARIMA (auto-regressive integrated moving average) and SVR (support vector regression) methods. In contrast to GMCM–ARIMA and GMCM–SVR methods, the proposed GMCM–GPR model is able to well characterize the multi-seasonality and uncertainty of wind speed series for accurate long-term prediction. - Highlights: • A novel predictive modeling method is proposed for long-term wind speed forecasting. • Gaussian mixture copula model is estimated to characterize the multi-seasonality. • Localized Gaussian process regression models can deal with the random uncertainty. • Multiple GPR models are integrated through Bayesian inference strategy. • The proposed approach shows higher prediction accuracy and reliability

  15. A Milk and Ochre Paint Mixture Used 49,000 Years Ago at Sibudu, South Africa

    Science.gov (United States)

    Villa, Paola; Pollarolo, Luca; Degano, Ilaria; Birolo, Leila; Pasero, Marco; Biagioni, Cristian; Douka, Katerina; Vinciguerra, Roberto; Lucejko, Jeannette J.; Wadley, Lyn

    2015-01-01

    Gas chromatography/mass spectrometry, proteomic and scanning electron microscopy with energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (SEM/EDS) analyses of residue on a stone flake from a 49,000 year-old layer of Sibudu (South Africa) indicate a mixture of ochre and casein from milk, likely obtained by killing a lactating wild bovid. Ochre powder production and use are documented in Middle Stone Age South African sites but until now there has been no evidence of the use of milk as a binder. Our analyses show that this ochre-based mixture was neither a hafting adhesive nor a residue left after treating animal skins, but a liquid mixture consisting of a powdered pigment mixed with milk; in other words, a paint medium that could have been applied to a surface or to human skin. The significance of our finds also lies in the fact that it establishes the antiquity of the use of milk as a binder well before the introduction of domestic cattle in South Africa in the first millennium AD. PMID:26125562

  16. A Milk and Ochre Paint Mixture Used 49,000 Years Ago at Sibudu, South Africa.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Paola Villa

    Full Text Available Gas chromatography/mass spectrometry, proteomic and scanning electron microscopy with energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (SEM/EDS analyses of residue on a stone flake from a 49,000 year-old layer of Sibudu (South Africa indicate a mixture of ochre and casein from milk, likely obtained by killing a lactating wild bovid. Ochre powder production and use are documented in Middle Stone Age South African sites but until now there has been no evidence of the use of milk as a binder. Our analyses show that this ochre-based mixture was neither a hafting adhesive nor a residue left after treating animal skins, but a liquid mixture consisting of a powdered pigment mixed with milk; in other words, a paint medium that could have been applied to a surface or to human skin. The significance of our finds also lies in the fact that it establishes the antiquity of the use of milk as a binder well before the introduction of domestic cattle in South Africa in the first millennium AD.

  17. The Huber’s Method-based Gas Concentration Reconstruction in Multicomponent Gas Mixtures from Multispectral Laser Measurements under Noise Overshoot Conditions

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    V. A. Gorodnichev

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available Laser gas analysers are the most promising for the rapid quantitative analysis of gaseous air pollution. A laser gas analysis problem is that there are instable results in reconstruction of gas mixture components concentration under real noise in the recorded laser signal. This necessitates using the special processing algorithms. When reconstructing the quantitative composition of multi-component gas mixtures from the multispectral laser measurements are efficiently used methods such as Tikhonov regularization, quasi-solution search, and finding of Bayesian estimators. These methods enable using the single measurement results to determine the quantitative composition of gas mixtures under measurement noise. In remote sensing the stationary gas formations or in laboratory analysis of the previously selected (when the gas mixture is stationary air samples the reconstruction procedures under measurement noise of gas concentrations in multicomponent mixtures can be much simpler. The paper considers a problem of multispectral laser analysis of stationary gas mixtures for which it is possible to conduct a series of measurements. With noise overshoots in the recorded laser signal (and, consequently, overshoots of gas concentrations determined by a single measurement must be used stable (robust estimation techniques for substantial reducing an impact of the overshoots on the estimate of required parameters. The paper proposes the Huber method to determine gas concentrations in multicomponent mixtures under signal overshoot. To estimate the value of Huber parameter and the efficiency of Huber's method to find the stable estimates of gas concentrations in multicomponent stationary mixtures from the laser measurements the mathematical modelling was conducted. Science & Education of the Bauman MSTU 108 The mathematical modelling results show that despite the considerable difference among the errors of the mixture gas components themselves a character of

  18. Interlaminar improvement of carbon fiber/epoxy composites via depositing mixture of carbon nanotubes and sizing agent

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Fang, Cuiqin [Beijing Key Laboratory of Electrochemical Process and Technology for Materials, Beijing University of Chemical Technology, Beijing 100029 (China); Wang, Julin, E-mail: julinwang@126.com [Beijing Key Laboratory of Electrochemical Process and Technology for Materials, Beijing University of Chemical Technology, Beijing 100029 (China); Zhang, Tao [Beijing Institute of Ancient Architecture, Beijing 100050 (China)

    2014-12-01

    Graphical abstract: - Highlights: • COOH-CNTs can react with sizing agent, and the optimum reaction ratio was 1:20. • Carbon fibers were dipped into the mixture bath of CNTs and sizing agent. • SEM results indicate that fibers surfaces were coated with CNTs and sizing agent. • ILSS was increased by 67.01% for the composites after the mixture coating process. • Single fibers tensile strength was maintained after the deposited process. - Abstract: The effects of deposition to carbon fibers surfaces with mixture of functionalized multi-walled carbon fibers (MWCNTs) and sizing agent were investigated. Relationships between CNTs and sizing agent were studied with Fourier transform infrared spectrometer (FTIR), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and Ubbelohde viscometer. The results revealed that CNTs could react with sizing agent at 120 °C, and optimal reaction occurs when mass ratio was about 1:20. Then, carbon fibers were immersed in mixed aqueous suspension of CNTs and sizing agent with the above ratio dispersed by ultrasonication. According to scanning electron microscope (SEM) observations, fibers surfaces were coated with CNTs and sizing agent. The static contact angle tests indicated wetting performance between fibers and epoxy resin were improved after deposited procedures. Interlaminar shear strength was increased by 67.01% for fibers/epoxy resin composites after mixture deposited process. Moreover, the tensile strength of single fibers after depositing showed a slightly increase compared with that of fibers without depositing layer.

  19. Numerical modelling of multi-vane expander operating conditions in ORC system

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rak, Józef; Błasiak, Przemysław; Kolasiński, Piotr

    2017-11-01

    Multi-vane expanders are positive displacement volumetric machines which are nowadays considered for application in micro-power domestic ORC systems as promising alternative to micro turbines and other volumetric expanders. The multi-vane expander features very simple design, low gas flow capacity, low expansion ratios, an advantageous ratio of the power output to the external dimensions and are insensitive to the negative influence of the gas-liquid mixture expansion. Moreover, the multi-vane expander can be easily hermetically sealed, which is one of the key issues in the ORC system design. A literature review indicates that issues concerning the application of multi-vane expanders in such systems, especially related to operating of multi-vane expander with different low-boiling working fluids, are innovative, not fully scientifically described and have the potential for practical implementation. In this paper the results of numerical investigations on multi-vane expander operating conditions are presented. The analyses were performed on three-dimensional numerical model of the expander in ANSYS CFX software. The numerical model of the expander was validated using the data obtained from the experiment carried out on a lab test-stand. Then a series of computational analysis were performed using expanders' numerical model in order to determine its operating conditions under various flow conditions of different working fluids.

  20. Performance evaluation of open core gasifier on multi-fuels

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Bhoi, P.R.; Singh, R.N.; Sharma, A.M.; Patel, S.R. [Thermo Chemical Conversion Division, Sardar Patel Renewable Energy Research Institute (SPRERI), Vallabh Vidyanagar 388 120, Gujarat (India)

    2006-06-15

    Sardar Patel renewable energy research institute (SPRERI) has designed and developed open core, throat-less, down draft gasifier and installed it at the institute. The gasifier was designed for loose agricultural residues like groundnut shells. The purpose of the study is to evaluate the gasifier on multi-fuels such as babul wood (Prosopis juliflora), groundnut shell briquettes, groundnut shell, mixture of wood (Prosopis juliflora) and groundnut shell in the ratio of 1:1 and cashew nut shell. The gasifier performance was evaluated in terms of fuel consumption rate, calorific value of producer gas and gasification efficiency. Gasification efficiency of babul wood (Prosopis juliflora), groundnut shell briquettes, groundnut shell, mixture of Prosopis juliflora and groundnut shell in the ratio of 1:1 and cashew nut shell were 72%, 66%, 70%, 64%, 70%, respectively. Study revealed that babul wood (Prosopis juliflora), groundnut shell briquettes, groundnut shell, mixture of wood (Prosopis juliflora) and groundnut shell in the ratio of 1:1 and cashew nut shell were satisfactorily gasified in open core down draft gasifier. The study also showed that there was flow problem with groundnut shell. (author)

  1. Efficient exact optimization of multi-objective redundancy allocation problems in series-parallel systems

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Cao, Dingzhou; Murat, Alper; Chinnam, Ratna Babu

    2013-01-01

    This paper proposes a decomposition-based approach to exactly solve the multi-objective Redundancy Allocation Problem for series-parallel systems. Redundancy allocation problem is a form of reliability optimization and has been the subject of many prior studies. The majority of these earlier studies treat redundancy allocation problem as a single objective problem maximizing the system reliability or minimizing the cost given certain constraints. The few studies that treated redundancy allocation problem as a multi-objective optimization problem relied on meta-heuristic solution approaches. However, meta-heuristic approaches have significant limitations: they do not guarantee that Pareto points are optimal and, more importantly, they may not identify all the Pareto-optimal points. In this paper, we treat redundancy allocation problem as a multi-objective problem, as is typical in practice. We decompose the original problem into several multi-objective sub-problems, efficiently and exactly solve sub-problems, and then systematically combine the solutions. The decomposition-based approach can efficiently generate all the Pareto-optimal solutions for redundancy allocation problems. Experimental results demonstrate the effectiveness and efficiency of the proposed method over meta-heuristic methods on a numerical example taken from the literature.

  2. Mixtures of skewed Kalman filters

    KAUST Repository

    Kim, Hyoungmoon; Ryu, Duchwan; Mallick, Bani K.; Genton, Marc G.

    2014-01-01

    Normal state-space models are prevalent, but to increase the applicability of the Kalman filter, we propose mixtures of skewed, and extended skewed, Kalman filters. To do so, the closed skew-normal distribution is extended to a scale mixture class

  3. Gravel-Sand-Clay Mixture Model for Predictions of Permeability and Velocity of Unconsolidated Sediments

    Science.gov (United States)

    Konishi, C.

    2014-12-01

    Gravel-sand-clay mixture model is proposed particularly for unconsolidated sediments to predict permeability and velocity from volume fractions of the three components (i.e. gravel, sand, and clay). A well-known sand-clay mixture model or bimodal mixture model treats clay contents as volume fraction of the small particle and the rest of the volume is considered as that of the large particle. This simple approach has been commonly accepted and has validated by many studies before. However, a collection of laboratory measurements of permeability and grain size distribution for unconsolidated samples show an impact of presence of another large particle; i.e. only a few percent of gravel particles increases the permeability of the sample significantly. This observation cannot be explained by the bimodal mixture model and it suggests the necessity of considering the gravel-sand-clay mixture model. In the proposed model, I consider the three volume fractions of each component instead of using only the clay contents. Sand becomes either larger or smaller particles in the three component mixture model, whereas it is always the large particle in the bimodal mixture model. The total porosity of the two cases, one is the case that the sand is smaller particle and the other is the case that the sand is larger particle, can be modeled independently from sand volume fraction by the same fashion in the bimodal model. However, the two cases can co-exist in one sample; thus, the total porosity of the mixed sample is calculated by weighted average of the two cases by the volume fractions of gravel and clay. The effective porosity is distinguished from the total porosity assuming that the porosity associated with clay is zero effective porosity. In addition, effective grain size can be computed from the volume fractions and representative grain sizes for each component. Using the effective porosity and the effective grain size, the permeability is predicted by Kozeny-Carman equation

  4. Non-chromatographic radioimmunoassay for serum dehydroepiandrosterone using a mixture of antisera

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sekihara, H.; Ohsawa, N.

    1974-01-01

    A simplified method for evaluating serum dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) without chromatography was developed, using mixtures of two different anti-DHEA antisera, anti-3β-hydroxy-Δ 5 antiserum and anti-11-deoxy-17-ketosteroid antiserum, in which cross-reactivity of each antiserum is reduced to a negligible amount. Serum (20 μl) was extracted with 1 ml of n-hexane. One milliliter of 80 percent methanol was added to the n-hexane extract, which was stirred and centrifuged. The n-hexane layer was discarded, and the methanol layer was evaporated to dryness. The residue was incubated with an antiserum mixture containing DHEA-7α- 3 H, pepsin-treated human immune serum globulin and bovine serum albumin. Ammonium sulfate was used to separate free from bound DHEA-7α- 3 H. The accuracy, precision, sensitivity, and specificity were satisfactory. Good agreement was found between the serum DHEA levels obtained by the present radioimmunoassay and those obtained by radioimmunoassay with paper chromatography, making this method suitable for routine use. (U.S.)

  5. Effects of an ethanol-gasoline mixture: results of a 4-week inhalation study in rats.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chu, I; Poon, R; Valli, V; Yagminas, A; Bowers, W J; Seegal, R; Vincent, R

    2005-01-01

    The inhalation toxicity of an ethanol-gasoline mixture was investigated in rats. Groups of 15 male and 15 female rats were exposed by inhalation to 6130 ppm ethanol, 500 ppm gasoline or a mixture of 85% ethanol and 15% gasoline (by volume, 6130 ppm ethanol and 500 ppm gasoline), 6 h a day, 5 days per week for 4 weeks. Control rats of both genders received HEPA/charcoal-filtered room air. Ten males and ten females from each group were killed after 4 weeks of treatment and the remaining rats were exposed to filtered room air for an additional 4 weeks to determine the reversibility of toxic injuries. Female rats treated with the mixture showed growth suppression, which was reversed after 4 weeks of recovery. Increased kidney weight and elevated liver microsomal ethoxyresorufin-O-deethylase (EROD) activity, urinary ascorbic acid, hippuric acid and blood lymphocytes were observed and most of the effects were associated with gasoline exposure. Combined exposure to ethanol and gasoline appeared to exert an additive effect on growth suppression. Inflammation of the upper respiratory tract was observed only in the ethanol-gasoline mixture groups, and exposure to either ethanol and gasoline had no effect on the organ, suggesting that an irritating effect was produced when the two liquids were mixed. Morphology in the adrenal gland was characterized by vacuolation of the cortical area. Although histological changes were generally mild in male and female rats and were reversed after 4 weeks, the changes tended to be more severe in male rats. Brain biogenic amine levels were altered in ethanol- and gasoline-treated groups; their levels varied with respect to gender and brain region. Although no general interactions were observed in the brain neurotransmitters, gasoline appeared to suppress dopamine concentrations in the nucleus accumbens region co-exposed to ethanol. It was concluded that treatment with ethanol and gasoline, at the levels studied, produced mild, reversible

  6. Scaling Properties of Spectra in New Exact Solutions of Rotating, Multi-Component Fireball Hydrodynamics

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Tamás Csörgő

    2018-03-01

    Full Text Available We describe fireballs that rehadronize from a perfect fluid of quark matter, characterized by the lattice QCD equation of state, to a chemically frozen, multi-component mixture, that contains various kinds of observable hadrons. For simplicity and clarity, we apply a non-relativistic approximation to describe the kinematics of this expansion. Unexpectedly, we identify a secondary explosion that may characterize fireball hydrodynamics at the QCD critical point. After rehadronization, the multi-component mixture of hadrons keeps on rotating and expanding together, similarly to a single component fluid. After kinetic freeze-out, the effective temperature T i of the single-particle spectra of hadron type h i is found to be a sum of the kinetic freeze-out temperature T f (that is independent of the hadron type h i and a term proportional to the mass m i of hadron type h i . The coefficient of proportionality to m i is found to be independent of the hadron type h i but to be dependent on the radial flow and vorticity of collective dynamics.

  7. Properties of Direct Coal Liquefaction Residue Modified Asphalt Mixture

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jie Ji

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available The objectives of this paper are to use Direct Coal Liquefaction Residue (DLCR to modify the asphalt binders and mixtures and to evaluate the performance of modified asphalt mixtures. The dynamic modulus and phase angle of DCLR and DCLR-composite modified asphalt mixture were analyzed, and the viscoelastic properties of these modified asphalt mixtures were compared to the base asphalt binder SK-90 and Styrene-Butadiene-Styrene (SBS modified asphalt mixtures. The master curves of the asphalt mixtures were shown, and dynamic and viscoelastic behaviors of asphalt mixtures were described using the Christensen-Anderson-Marasteanu (CAM model. The test results show that the dynamic moduli of DCLR and DCLR-composite asphalt mixtures are higher than those of the SK-90 and SBS modified asphalt mixtures. Based on the viscoelastic parameters of CAM models of the asphalt mixtures, the high- and low-temperature performance of DLCR and DCLR-composite modified asphalt mixtures are obviously better than the SK-90 and SBS modified asphalt mixtures. In addition, the DCLR and DCLR-composite modified asphalt mixtures are more insensitive to the frequency compared to SK-90 and SBS modified asphalt mixtures.

  8. On modeling of structured multiphase mixtures

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Dobran, F.

    1987-01-01

    The usual modeling of multiphase mixtures involves a set of conservation and balance equations of mass, momentum, energy and entropy (the basic set) constructed by an averaging procedure or postulated. The averaged models are constructed by averaging, over space or time segments, the local macroscopic field equations of each phase, whereas the postulated models are usually motivated by the single phase multicomponent mixture models. In both situations, the resulting equations yield superimposed continua models and are closed by the constitutive equations which place restrictions on the possible material response during the motion and phase change. In modeling the structured multiphase mixtures, the modeling of intrinsic motion of grains or particles is accomplished by adjoining to the basic set of field equations the additional balance equations, thereby placing restrictions on the motion of phases only within the imposed extrinsic and intrinsic sources. The use of the additional balance equations has been primarily advocated in the postulatory theories of multiphase mixtures and are usually derived through very special assumptions of the material deformation. Nevertheless, the resulting mixture models can predict a wide variety of complex phenomena such as the Mohr-Coulomb yield criterion in granular media, Rayleigh bubble equation, wave dispersion and dilatancy. Fundamental to the construction of structured models of multiphase mixtures are the problems pertaining to the existence and number of additional balance equations to model the structural characteristics of a mixture. Utilizing a volume averaging procedure it is possible not only to derive the basic set of field equation discussed above, but also a very general set of additional balance equations for modeling of structural properties of the mixture

  9. Viscosities of corium-concrete mixtures

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Seiler, J.M.; Ganzhorn, J.

    1997-01-01

    Severe accidents on nuclear reactors involve many situations such as pools of molten core material, melt spreading, melt/concrete interactions, etc. The word 'corium' designates mixtures of materials issued from the molten core at high temperature; these mixtures involve mainly: UO2, ZrO2, Zr and, in small amounts, Ni, Cr, Ag, In, Cd. These materials, when flowing out of the reactor vessel, may interact with the concrete of the reactor building thus introducing decomposition products of concrete into the original mixture. These decomposition products are mainly: SiO 2 , FeO, MgO, CaO and Al 2 O 3 in different amounts depending on the nature of the concrete being considered. Siliceous concrete is rich in SiO 2 , limestone concrete contains both SiO 2 and CaO. Liquidus temperatures of such mixtures are generally obove 2300 K whereas solidus temperatures are ∝1400 K. (orig.)

  10. PERFORMANCE, CARCASS YIELD AND LITTER QUALITY OF BROILERS RAISED ON LITTERS TREATED WITH MICRO-ORGANISMS

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Dayane Prado da Cruz

    2013-03-01

    Full Text Available The present paper aimed at evaluating the effect of adding beneficial micro-organisms to the litters on litter quality, performance and carcass yield for broilers. A total of 240 one-day chicks were used, and randomly distributed in blocks with four treatments and four replications. The following treatments were carried out in the housing: Treatment 1 – Control with weekly spraying of water on the litters; Treatment 2 – Litter treated with a mixture of inoculated and fermented meal by micro-organisms and weekly spraying of water; Treatment 3 – Litter treated by weekly spraying of micro-organisms; Treatment 4 – Litter treated with the same mixture of meals from treatment two and weekly spraying of micro-organisms. Performance was evaluated by the feed consumption, weight gain, feed conversion, viability and carcass, breast and leg yield. From litter samples, pH, dry matter, ashes and nitrogen were evaluated. No differences were found among the treatments. In the conditions the animals were raised, it can be concluded that the treatment on the litter does not affect performance, carcass yield and quality of the litter for broilers.

  11. A Multi-Actor Dynamic Integrated Assessment Model (MADIAM)

    OpenAIRE

    Weber, Michael

    2004-01-01

    The interactions between climate and the socio-economic system are investigated with a Multi-Actor Dynamic Integrated Assessment Model (MADIAM) obtained by coupling a nonlinear impulse response model of the climate sub-system (NICCS) to a multi-actor dynamic economic model (MADEM). The main goal is to initiate a model development that is able to treat the dynamics of the coupled climate socio-economic system, including endogenous technological change, in a non-equilibrium situation, thereby o...

  12. Estimation of Fuzzy Measures Using Covariance Matrices in Gaussian Mixtures

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Nishchal K. Verma

    2012-01-01

    Full Text Available This paper presents a novel computational approach for estimating fuzzy measures directly from Gaussian mixtures model (GMM. The mixture components of GMM provide the membership functions for the input-output fuzzy sets. By treating consequent part as a function of fuzzy measures, we derived its coefficients from the covariance matrices found directly from GMM and the defuzzified output constructed from both the premise and consequent parts of the nonadditive fuzzy rules that takes the form of Choquet integral. The computational burden involved with the solution of λ-measure is minimized using Q-measure. The fuzzy model whose fuzzy measures were computed using covariance matrices found in GMM has been successfully applied on two benchmark problems and one real-time electric load data of Indian utility. The performance of the resulting model for many experimental studies including the above-mentioned application is found to be better and comparable to recent available fuzzy models. The main contribution of this paper is the estimation of fuzzy measures efficiently and directly from covariance matrices found in GMM, avoiding the computational burden greatly while learning them iteratively and solving polynomial equations of order of the number of input-output variables.

  13. A Novel Application of an Anthelmintic Mixture for Use against Gastrointestinal Parasites of Red Deer (Cervus elaphus

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    P. L. Hughes

    2018-01-01

    Full Text Available A mixture of proprietary anthelmintics delivering 0.5 mg/kg moxidectin, 9.06 mg/kg oxfendazole, 15 mg/kg levamisole, and 0.08 mg/kg selenium on bodyweight basis per os to red deer is investigated. On a deer farm with a history of parasite problems, six weaner red deer were treated orally with a 50/50 mixture of Exodus Pour-On and Oxfen C Plus (Ex/Ox at a dose rate of 1 ml/5 kg bodyweight. Six herd mates were untreated. Eleven days later abomasal worm counts for the untreated deer revealed an arithmetic mean burden of 2,566 Ostertagia-type worms and 300 Trichostrongylus axei. No worms were detected in the abomasa of the treated group. Six yearling red deer were treated with the Ex/Ox combination and sent 39 days later to a slaughter plant where tissue samples were collected for residue analysis. Moxidectin was the only anthelmintic compound to show residues and the concentrations measured were well below maximum residue limits. Laboratory analysis of the Ex/Ox product after six-week storage at ambient temperature indicated good physical and chemical stability. These investigations support the hypothesis that the Ex/Ox combination can be an effective and practical anthelmintic option for use in red deer against a background of widespread gastrointestinal parasite resistance to the registered alternatives.

  14. A large multi-cell threshold gas Cerenkov counter

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Declais, Y.; Aubert, J.J.; Bassompierre, G.; Payre, P.; Thenard, J.M.; Urban, L.

    1980-08-01

    A large multi-cell threshold gas Cerenkov counter consisting of 78 cells has been built for use in a high energy muon scattering experiment at CERN (European Muon Collaboration). It is used with neon, nitrogen or a mixture of those two gases, allowing the pion threshold to be varied between 6 and 20 GeV/c. The sensitive region of the counter has a length of 4.0 m and entrance and exit windows of 1.1 x 2.4 m 2 and 2.4 x 5.0 m 2 , respectively

  15. Consistency of the MLE under mixture models

    OpenAIRE

    Chen, Jiahua

    2016-01-01

    The large-sample properties of likelihood-based statistical inference under mixture models have received much attention from statisticians. Although the consistency of the nonparametric MLE is regarded as a standard conclusion, many researchers ignore the precise conditions required on the mixture model. An incorrect claim of consistency can lead to false conclusions even if the mixture model under investigation seems well behaved. Under a finite normal mixture model, for instance, the consis...

  16. AUTOMATIC REGISTRATION OF MULTI-SOURCE DATA USING MUTUAL INFORMATION

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    E. G. Parmehr

    2012-07-01

    Full Text Available Automatic image registration is a basic step in multi-sensor data integration in remote sensing and photogrammetric applications such as data fusion. The effectiveness of Mutual Information (MI as a technique for automated multi-sensor image registration has previously been demonstrated for medical and remote sensing applications. In this paper, a new General Weighted MI (GWMI approach that improves the robustness of MI to local maxima, particularly in the case of registering optical imagery and 3D point clouds, is presented. Two different methods including a Gaussian Mixture Model (GMM and Kernel Density Estimation have been used to define the weight function of joint probability, regardless of the modality of the data being registered. The Expectation Maximizing method is then used to estimate parameters of GMM, and in order to reduce the cost of computation, a multi-resolution strategy has been used. The performance of the proposed GWMI method for the registration of aerial orthotoimagery and LiDAR range and intensity information has been experimentally evaluated and the results obtained are presented.

  17. Comparison of the thermal stabilization of proteins by oligosaccharides and monosaccharide mixtures: Measurement and analysis in the context of excluded volume theory.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Beg, Ilyas; Minton, Allen P; Islam, Asimul; Hassan, Md Imtaiyaz; Ahmad, Faizan

    2018-06-01

    The thermal stability of apo α-lactalbumin (α-LA) and lysozyme was measured in the presence of mixtures of glucose, fructose, and galactose. Mixtures of these monosaccharides in the appropriate stoichiometric ratio were found to have a greater stabilizing effect on each of the two proteins than equal weight/volume concentrations of di- tri- and tetrasaccharides with identical subunit composition (sucrose, trehalose, raffinose, and stachyose). The excluded volume model for the effect of a single saccharide on the stability of a protein previously proposed by Beg et al. [Biochemistry 54 (2015) 3594] was extended to treat the case of saccharide mixtures. The extended model predicts quantitatively the stabilizing effect of all monosaccharide mixtures on α-LA and lysozyme reported here, as well as previously published results obtained for ribonuclease A [Biophys. Chem. 138 (2008) 120] to within experimental uncertainty. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  18. Easy and flexible mixture distributions

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Fosgerau, Mogens; Mabit, Stefan L.

    2013-01-01

    We propose a method to generate flexible mixture distributions that are useful for estimating models such as the mixed logit model using simulation. The method is easy to implement, yet it can approximate essentially any mixture distribution. We test it with good results in a simulation study...

  19. Reliability assessment of embedded digital system using multi-state function

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Choi, Jong Gyun; Seong, Poong Hyun

    2006-01-01

    This work describes a combinatorial model for estimating the reliability of the embedded digital system by means of multi-state function. This model includes a coverage model for fault-handling techniques implemented in digital systems. The fault-handling techniques make it difficult for many types of components in digital system to be treated as binary state, good or bad. The multi-state function provides a complete analysis of multi-state systems as which the digital systems can be regarded. Through adaptation of software operational profile flow to multi-state function, the HW/SW interaction is also considered for estimation of the reliability of digital system. Using this model, we evaluate the reliability of one board controller in a digital system, Interposing Logic System (ILS), which is installed in YGN nuclear power units 3 and 4. Since the proposed model is a generalized combinatorial model, the simplification of this model becomes the conventional model that treats the system as binary state. This modeling method is particularly attractive for embedded systems in which small sized application software is implemented since it will require very laborious work for this method to be applied to systems with large software

  20. Mixtures and their risk assessment in toxicology.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mumtaz, Moiz M; Hansen, Hugh; Pohl, Hana R

    2011-01-01

    For communities generally and for persons living in the vicinity of waste sites specifically, potential exposures to chemical mixtures are genuine concerns. Such concerns often arise from perceptions of a site's higher than anticipated toxicity due to synergistic interactions among chemicals. This chapter outlines some historical approaches to mixtures risk assessment. It also outlines ATSDR's current approach to toxicity risk assessment. The ATSDR's joint toxicity assessment guidance for chemical mixtures addresses interactions among components of chemical mixtures. The guidance recommends a series of steps that include simple calculations for a systematic analysis of data leading to conclusions regarding any hazards chemical mixtures might pose. These conclusions can, in turn, lead to recommendations such as targeted research to fill data gaps, development of new methods using current science, and health education to raise awareness of residents and health care providers. The chapter also provides examples of future trends in chemical mixtures assessment.

  1. Lessons learned in managing alfalfa-grass mixtures

    Science.gov (United States)

    Grass-alfalfa mixtures have a number of benefits that make them attractive to producers. However, they can be problematic to establish and maintain. Research programs have made progress in understanding the benefits and challenges of alfalfa-grass mixtures. Mixtures may have greater winter survival ...

  2. Bayesian D-Optimal Choice Designs for Mixtures

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    A. Ruseckaite (Aiste); P.P. Goos (Peter); D. Fok (Dennis)

    2014-01-01

    markdownabstract__Abstract__ Consumer products and services can often be described as mixtures of ingredients. Examples are the mixture of ingredients in a cocktail and the mixture of different components of waiting time (e.g., in-vehicle and out-of-vehicle travel time) in a transportation

  3. Separation of organic azeotropic mixtures by pervaporation

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Baker, R.W.

    1991-12-01

    Distillation is a commonly used separation technique in the petroleum refining and chemical processing industries. However, there are a number of potential separations involving azetropic and close-boiling organic mixtures that cannot be separated efficiently by distillation. Pervaporation is a membrane-based process that uses selective permeation through membranes to separate liquid mixtures. Because the separation process is not affected by the relative volatility of the mixture components being separated, pervaporation can be used to separate azetropes and close-boiling mixtures. Our results showed that pervaporation membranes can be used to separate azeotropic mixtures efficiently, a result that is not achievable with simple distillation. The membranes were 5--10 times more permeable to one of the components of the mixture, concentrating it in the permeate stream. For example, the membrane was 10 times more permeable to ethanol than methyl ethyl ketone, producing 60% ethanol permeate from an azeotropic mixture of ethanol and methyl ethyl ketone containing 18% ethanol. For the ethyl acetate/water mixture, the membranes showed a very high selectivity to water (> 300) and the permeate was 50--100 times enriched in water relative to the feed. The membranes had permeate fluxes on the order of 0.1--1 kg/m{sup 2}{center dot}h in the operating range of 55--70{degrees}C. Higher fluxes were obtained by increasing the operating temperature.

  4. Adsorption properties of biologically active derivatives of quaternary ammonium surfactants and their mixtures at aqueous/air interface II. Dynamics of adsorption, micelles dissociation and cytotoxicity of QDLS.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rojewska, Monika; Prochaska, Krystyna; Olejnik, Anna; Rychlik, Joanna

    2014-07-01

    The main aim of our study was analysis of adsorption dynamics of mixtures containing quaternary derivatives of lysosomotropic substance (QDLS). Two types of equimolar mixtures were considered: the ones containing two derivatives of lysosomotropic substances (DMALM-12 and DMGM-12) as well as the catanionic mixtures i.e. the systems containing QDLS and DBSNa. Dynamic surface tension measurements of surfactant mixtures were made. The results suggested that the diffusivity of the mixed system could be treated as the average value of rates of diffusion of individual components, micelles and ion pairs, which are present in the mixtures studied. Moreover, an attempt was made to explain the influence of the presence of micelles in the mixtures on their adsorption dynamics. The compounds examined show interesting biological properties which can be useful, especially for drug delivery in medical treatment. In vitro cytotoxic activities of the mixtures studied towards human cancer cells were evaluated. Most of the mixtures showed a high antiproliferative potential, especially the ones containing DMALM-12. Each cancer cell line used demonstrated different sensitivity to the same dose of the mixtures tested. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  5. Improved perovskite phototransistor prepared using multi-step annealing method

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cao, Mingxuan; Zhang, Yating; Yu, Yu; Yao, Jianquan

    2018-02-01

    Organic-inorganic hybrid perovskites with good intrinsic physical properties have received substantial interest for solar cell and optoelectronic applications. However, perovskite film always suffers from a low carrier mobility due to its structural imperfection including sharp grain boundaries and pinholes, restricting their device performance and application potential. Here we demonstrate a straightforward strategy based on multi-step annealing process to improve the performance of perovskite photodetector. Annealing temperature and duration greatly affects the surface morphology and optoelectrical properties of perovskites which determines the device property of phototransistor. The perovskite films treated with multi-step annealing method tend to form highly uniform, well-crystallized and high surface coverage perovskite film, which exhibit stronger ultraviolet-visible absorption and photoluminescence spectrum compare to the perovskites prepared by conventional one-step annealing process. The field-effect mobilities of perovskite photodetector treated by one-step direct annealing method shows mobility as 0.121 (0.062) cm2V-1s-1 for holes (electrons), which increases to 1.01 (0.54) cm2V-1s-1 for that treated with muti-step slow annealing method. Moreover, the perovskite phototransistors exhibit a fast photoresponse speed of 78 μs. In general, this work focuses on the influence of annealing methods on perovskite phototransistor, instead of obtains best parameters of it. These findings prove that Multi-step annealing methods is feasible to prepared high performance based photodetector.

  6. Method for upgrading diene-containing hydrocarbon mixtures

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Kidwell, L.E. Jr.; Holcomb, D.E.

    1984-05-22

    There is disclosed a method for upgrading of hydrocarbon mixtures, so as to reduce their content of gum precursors such as diolefins and pseudo-diolefins, and provide a resulting product mixture suitable for mild hydrogenation, for use as a motor fuel or as a feed stock to an extraction unit. The process comprises obtaining a hydrocarbon mixture containing about 60-90 wt. % of aromatic components, about 3-40 wt. % of dienes and pseudodienes, and monoolefins, and up to about 6 wt. % of relatively unreactive organic compounds, reacting this mixture with elemental sulfur in the approximate weight ratio of about 5-95 wt. % of the hydrocarbon mixture with about 95-5 wt. % of elemental sulfur, the reaction being carried out at a temperature in the range of 100/sup 0/-150/sup 0/ C. for about 10 minutes to 24 hours with good mixing, removing the unreacted materials by distillation and separating a sulfur-hydrocarbon reaction product to provide the upgraded hydrocarbon mixture.

  7. Intelligent gas-mixture flow sensor

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Lammerink, Theodorus S.J.; Dijkstra, Fred; Houkes, Z.; van Kuijk, J.C.C.; van Kuijk, Joost

    A simple way to realize a gas-mixture flow sensor is presented. The sensor is capable of measuring two parameters from a gas flow. Both the flow rate and the helium content of a helium-nitrogen gas mixture are measured. The sensor exploits two measurement principles in combination with (local)

  8. Multi-parametric MRI at 14T for muscular dystrophy mice treated with AAV vector-mediated gene therapy.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Joshua Park

    Full Text Available The objective of this study was to investigate the efficacy of using quantitative magnetic resonance imaging (MRI as a non-invasive tool for the monitoring of gene therapy for muscular dystrophy. The clinical investigations for this family of diseases often involve surgical biopsy which limits the amount of information that can be obtained due to the invasive nature of the procedure. Thus, other non-invasive tools may provide more opportunities for disease assessment and treatment responses. In order to explore this, dystrophic mdx4cv mice were systemically treated with a recombinant adeno-associated viral (AAV vector containing a codon-optimized micro-dystrophin gene. Multi-parametric MRI of T2, magnetization transfer, and diffusion effects alongside 3-D volume measurements were then utilized to monitor disease/treatment progression. Mice were imaged at 10 weeks of age for pre-treatment, then again post-treatment at 8, 16, and 24 week time points. The efficacy of treatment was assessed by physiological assays for improvements in function and quantification of expression. Tissues from the hindlimbs were collected for histological analysis after the final time point for comparison with MRI results. We found that introduction of the micro-dystrophin gene restored some aspects of normal muscle histology and pathology such as decreased necrosis and resistance to contraction-induced injury. T2 relaxation values showed percentage decreases across all muscle types measured (tibialis anterior, gastrocnemius, and soleus when treated groups were compared to untreated groups. Additionally, the differences between groups were statistically significant for the tibialis anterior as well. The diffusion measurements showed a wider range of percentage changes and less statistical significance while the magnetization transfer effect measurements showed minimal change. MR images displayed hyper-intense regions of muscle that correlated with muscle pathology in

  9. mixtools: An R Package for Analyzing Mixture Models

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Tatiana Benaglia

    2009-10-01

    Full Text Available The mixtools package for R provides a set of functions for analyzing a variety of finite mixture models. These functions include both traditional methods, such as EM algorithms for univariate and multivariate normal mixtures, and newer methods that reflect some recent research in finite mixture models. In the latter category, mixtools provides algorithms for estimating parameters in a wide range of different mixture-of-regression contexts, in multinomial mixtures such as those arising from discretizing continuous multivariate data, in nonparametric situations where the multivariate component densities are completely unspecified, and in semiparametric situations such as a univariate location mixture of symmetric but otherwise unspecified densities. Many of the algorithms of the mixtools package are EM algorithms or are based on EM-like ideas, so this article includes an overview of EM algorithms for finite mixture models.

  10. A field demonstration of the efficacy of bioremediation to treat oiled shorelines following the Sea Empress incident

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Swannell, R.P.J.; Mitchell, D. [AEA Technology Environment, National Environmental Technology Centre, Culham (United Kingdom); Lethbridge, G. [Texaco Ltd., Environment, Health and Safety, Pembroke (GB)] (and others)

    1999-08-01

    Bioremediation was investigated as a method of treating a mixture of Forties Crude Oil and Heavy Fuel Oil stranded on Bullwell Bay, Milford Haven, UK after the grounding of the Sea Empress in 1996. A randomised block design in triplicate was used to test the efficacy of two bioremediation treatments: a weekly application of mineral nutrient dissolved in sea water and a single application of a slow-release fertiliser. Each treatment supplied an equivalent amount of nitrogen and phosphorus. Concentrations of residual hydrocarbon normalised to the biomarker 17{alpha}(H),21{beta}(H)-hopane showed that after two months the oil was significantly (p<0.001) more biodegraded in the treated plots than in the controls. On average, the oil in the nutrient amended plots was 37% more degraded than that found in the controls. There was no evidence that the bioremediation treatment increased the toxicity of the oiled sediment. The results confirm that bioremediation can be used to treat a mixture of crude and heavy fuel oil on a pebble beach. In particular, the data suggest that the application of a slow-release fertiliser alone may be a cost-effective method of treating low-energy, contaminated shorelines after a spill incident. (Author)

  11. A field demonstration of the efficacy of bioremediation to treat oiled shorelines following the Sea Empress incident

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Swannell, R.P.J.; Mitchell, D.; Lethbridge, G.

    1999-01-01

    Bioremediation was investigated as a method of treating a mixture of Forties Crude Oil and Heavy Fuel Oil stranded on Bullwell Bay, Milford Haven, UK after the grounding of the Sea Empress in 1996. A randomised block design in triplicate was used to test the efficacy of two bioremediation treatments: a weekly application of mineral nutrient dissolved in sea water and a single application of a slow-release fertiliser. Each treatment supplied an equivalent amount of nitrogen and phosphorus. Concentrations of residual hydrocarbon normalised to the biomarker 17α(H),21β(H)-hopane showed that after two months the oil was significantly (p<0.001) more biodegraded in the treated plots than in the controls. On average, the oil in the nutrient amended plots was 37% more degraded than that found in the controls. There was no evidence that the bioremediation treatment increased the toxicity of the oiled sediment. The results confirm that bioremediation can be used to treat a mixture of crude and heavy fuel oil on a pebble beach. In particular, the data suggest that the application of a slow-release fertiliser alone may be a cost-effective method of treating low-energy, contaminated shorelines after a spill incident. (Author)

  12. Model structure selection in convolutive mixtures

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Dyrholm, Mads; Makeig, S.; Hansen, Lars Kai

    2006-01-01

    The CICAAR algorithm (convolutive independent component analysis with an auto-regressive inverse model) allows separation of white (i.i.d) source signals from convolutive mixtures. We introduce a source color model as a simple extension to the CICAAR which allows for a more parsimonious represent......The CICAAR algorithm (convolutive independent component analysis with an auto-regressive inverse model) allows separation of white (i.i.d) source signals from convolutive mixtures. We introduce a source color model as a simple extension to the CICAAR which allows for a more parsimonious...... representation in many practical mixtures. The new filter-CICAAR allows Bayesian model selection and can help answer questions like: ’Are we actually dealing with a convolutive mixture?’. We try to answer this question for EEG data....

  13. Numerical modelling of multi-vane expander operating conditions in ORC system

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Rak Józef

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available Multi-vane expanders are positive displacement volumetric machines which are nowadays considered for application in micro-power domestic ORC systems as promising alternative to micro turbines and other volumetric expanders. The multi-vane expander features very simple design, low gas flow capacity, low expansion ratios, an advantageous ratio of the power output to the external dimensions and are insensitive to the negative influence of the gas-liquid mixture expansion. Moreover, the multi-vane expander can be easily hermetically sealed, which is one of the key issues in the ORC system design. A literature review indicates that issues concerning the application of multi-vane expanders in such systems, especially related to operating of multi-vane expander with different low-boiling working fluids, are innovative, not fully scientifically described and have the potential for practical implementation. In this paper the results of numerical investigations on multi-vane expander operating conditions are presented. The analyses were performed on three-dimensional numerical model of the expander in ANSYS CFX software. The numerical model of the expander was validated using the data obtained from the experiment carried out on a lab test-stand. Then a series of computational analysis were performed using expanders' numerical model in order to determine its operating conditions under various flow conditions of different working fluids.

  14. Utilization of cement treated recycled concrete aggregates as base or subbase layer in Egypt

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ahmed Ebrahim Abu El-Maaty Behiry

    2013-12-01

    Full Text Available Recently, environmental protection has a great concern in Egypt where recycling of increased demolition debris has become a viable option to be incorporated into roads applications. An extensive laboratory program is conducted to study the feasibility of using recycled concrete aggregate (RCA mixed with traditional limestone aggregate (LSA which is currently being used in base or subbase applications in Egypt. Moreover, the influence of mixture variables on the mechanical properties of cement treated recycled aggregate (CTRA is investigated. Models to predict the compressive and tensile strengths based on mixture parameters are established. The results show that the adding of RCA improves the mechanical properties of the mixture where the unconfined compressive strength (UCS is taken as an important quality indicator. Variables influencing the UCS such as cement content, curing time, dry density play important roles to determine the performance of CTRA.

  15. "Ich kam unter die Schweizer": Teaching Switzerland as a Multi-Ethnic Society

    Science.gov (United States)

    Baumgartner, Karin

    2012-01-01

    This article describes a five-week module on "Switzerland as a multi-ethnic society" intended to counteract the popular image of Switzerland as a homogenous country concerned mostly with tourism, chocolate, and watches. Instead, the module treats Switzerland through topics such as the definition of identity in a multi-ethnic society, the…

  16. Toxicology of Chemical Mixtures: A Review of Mixtures Assessment

    National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

    Bjarnason, Stephen

    2004-01-01

    .... Recent advances in disciplines such as genomics, proteomics, metabonomics and physiologically-based pharmacokinetic modeling should assist in the hazard assessment of complex chemical mixtures. However, the process of regulatory assessment of these types of exposures will remain both complex and difficult.

  17. Impact of benzo(a)pyrene, Cu and their mixture on the proteomic response of Mytilus galloprovincialis

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Maria, V.L.; Gomes, T.; Barreira, L.; Bebianno, M.J.

    2013-01-01

    subfamily 1G) and energy metabolism (ATP synthase F0 subunit 6 protein and mannose-6-phosphate isomerase) were assigned to all three conditions. Cu exposure alone altered proteins associated with oxidative stress (glutathione-S-transferase) and digestion, growth and remodelling processes (chitin synthase), while the mixture affected only one protein (major vault protein) possibly related to multi drug resistance. Overall, new candidate biomarkers, namely zinc-finger BED domain-containing protein, chitin synthase and major vault protein, were also identified for BaP, Cu and mixture, respectively

  18. Impact of benzo(a)pyrene, Cu and their mixture on the proteomic response of Mytilus galloprovincialis

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Maria, V.L., E-mail: vmaria@ualg.pt [CIMA, Faculty of Sciences and Technology, University of Algarve, Campus de Gambelas, 8005-139 Faro (Portugal); Gomes, T., E-mail: tcgomes@ualg.pt [CIMA, Faculty of Sciences and Technology, University of Algarve, Campus de Gambelas, 8005-139 Faro (Portugal); Barreira, L., E-mail: lbarreir@ualg.pt [CCMAR, Faculty of Sciences and Technology, University of Algarve, Campus de Gambelas, 8005-139 Faro (Portugal); Bebianno, M.J., E-mail: mbebian@ualg.pt [CIMA, Faculty of Sciences and Technology, University of Algarve, Campus de Gambelas, 8005-139 Faro (Portugal)

    2013-11-15

    receptor subfamily 1G) and energy metabolism (ATP synthase F0 subunit 6 protein and mannose-6-phosphate isomerase) were assigned to all three conditions. Cu exposure alone altered proteins associated with oxidative stress (glutathione-S-transferase) and digestion, growth and remodelling processes (chitin synthase), while the mixture affected only one protein (major vault protein) possibly related to multi drug resistance. Overall, new candidate biomarkers, namely zinc-finger BED domain-containing protein, chitin synthase and major vault protein, were also identified for BaP, Cu and mixture, respectively.

  19. The utility of estimating population-level trajectories of terminal wellbeing decline within a growth mixture modelling framework.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Burns, R A; Byles, J; Magliano, D J; Mitchell, P; Anstey, K J

    2015-03-01

    Mortality-related decline has been identified across multiple domains of human functioning, including mental health and wellbeing. The current study utilised a growth mixture modelling framework to establish whether a single population-level trajectory best describes mortality-related changes in both wellbeing and mental health, or whether subpopulations report quite different mortality-related changes. Participants were older-aged (M = 69.59 years; SD = 8.08 years) deceased females (N = 1,862) from the dynamic analyses to optimise ageing (DYNOPTA) project. Growth mixture models analysed participants' responses on measures of mental health and wellbeing for up to 16 years from death. Multi-level models confirmed overall terminal decline and terminal drop in both mental health and wellbeing. However, modelling data from the same participants within a latent class growth mixture framework indicated that most participants reported stability in mental health (90.3 %) and wellbeing (89.0 %) in the years preceding death. Whilst confirming other population-level analyses which support terminal decline and drop hypotheses in both mental health and wellbeing, we subsequently identified that most of this effect is driven by a small, but significant minority of the population. Instead, most individuals report stable levels of mental health and wellbeing in the years preceding death.

  20. Deformation Properties and Fatigue of Bituminous Mixtures

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Frantisek Schlosser

    2013-01-01

    Full Text Available Deformation properties and fatigue performance are important characteristics of asphalt bound materials which are used for construction of pavement layers. Viscoelastic asphalt mixtures are better characterized via dynamic tests. This type of tests allows us to collate materials with regard to axle vibrations which lie usually in the range of 6 Hz–25 Hz for standard conditions. Asphalt modified for heat sensitivity in the range from −20°C to +60°C has significant impact on the overall characteristics of the mixture. Deformation properties are used as inputs for empirical mixture design, and fatigue performance of asphalt mixtures reflects the parameters of functional tests. Master curves convey properties of asphalt mixtures for various conditions and allow us to evaluate them without the need of time expensive testing.

  1. Shear-induced phase changes in mixtures

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Romig, K.D.; Hanley, H.J.M.

    1986-01-01

    A thermodynamic theory to account for the behavior of liquid mixtures exposed to a shear is developed. One consequence of the theory is that shear-induced phase changes are predicted. The theory is based on a thermodynamics that includes specifically the shear rate in the formalism and is applied to mixtures by a straightforward modification of the corresponding states, conformalsolution approach. The approach is general but is used here for a mixture of Lennard-Jones particles with a Lennard-Jones equation of state as a reference fluid. The results are discussed in the context of the Scott and Van Konynenberg phase classification. It is shown that the influence of a shear does affect substantially the type of the phase behavior. Results from the model mixture are equated loosely with those from real polymeric liquids

  2. Cellulose Nanocomposites by Melt Compounding of TEMPO-Treated Wood Fibers in Thermoplastic Starch Matrix

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Aline Cobut

    2014-04-01

    Full Text Available To facilitate melt compounding of cellulose nanofibrils (CNF based composites, wood pulp fibers were subjected to a chemical treatment whereby the fibers were oxidized using 2,2,6,6-tetramethylpiperidine-1-oxyl radical (TEMPO. This treatment introduced negatively charged carboxylate groups to the fibers. TEMPO-treated fibers (TempoF were added to a mixture of amylopectin starch, glycerol, and water. Granules were prepared from this mixture and processed into CNF composites by extrusion. TempoF were easier to process into composites as compared with non-treated pulp fibers (PF. SEM revealed partial disintegration of TempoF during melt processing. Consequently, TempoF gave composites with much better mechanical properties than those of conventional composites prepared from pulp fibers and TPS. Particularly, at 20 wt% TempoF content in the composite, the modulus and strength were much improved. Such a continuous melt processing route, as an alternative to laboratory solvent casting techniques, may promote large-scale production of CNF-based composites as an environmentally friendly alternative to synthetic plastics/composites.

  3. Poisson Mixture Regression Models for Heart Disease Prediction.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mufudza, Chipo; Erol, Hamza

    2016-01-01

    Early heart disease control can be achieved by high disease prediction and diagnosis efficiency. This paper focuses on the use of model based clustering techniques to predict and diagnose heart disease via Poisson mixture regression models. Analysis and application of Poisson mixture regression models is here addressed under two different classes: standard and concomitant variable mixture regression models. Results show that a two-component concomitant variable Poisson mixture regression model predicts heart disease better than both the standard Poisson mixture regression model and the ordinary general linear Poisson regression model due to its low Bayesian Information Criteria value. Furthermore, a Zero Inflated Poisson Mixture Regression model turned out to be the best model for heart prediction over all models as it both clusters individuals into high or low risk category and predicts rate to heart disease componentwise given clusters available. It is deduced that heart disease prediction can be effectively done by identifying the major risks componentwise using Poisson mixture regression model.

  4. Poisson Mixture Regression Models for Heart Disease Prediction

    Science.gov (United States)

    Erol, Hamza

    2016-01-01

    Early heart disease control can be achieved by high disease prediction and diagnosis efficiency. This paper focuses on the use of model based clustering techniques to predict and diagnose heart disease via Poisson mixture regression models. Analysis and application of Poisson mixture regression models is here addressed under two different classes: standard and concomitant variable mixture regression models. Results show that a two-component concomitant variable Poisson mixture regression model predicts heart disease better than both the standard Poisson mixture regression model and the ordinary general linear Poisson regression model due to its low Bayesian Information Criteria value. Furthermore, a Zero Inflated Poisson Mixture Regression model turned out to be the best model for heart prediction over all models as it both clusters individuals into high or low risk category and predicts rate to heart disease componentwise given clusters available. It is deduced that heart disease prediction can be effectively done by identifying the major risks componentwise using Poisson mixture regression model. PMID:27999611

  5. Xanthine-Catechin Mixture Enhances Lithium-Induced Anti-Inflammatory Response in Activated Macrophages In Vitro

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Fernanda Barbisan

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available Lithium (Li is a chemical element used for treating and preventing bipolar disorder (BD and exerts positive effects such as anti-inflammatory effects as well as undesirable side effects. These effects of Li can be influenced by interaction with some nutritional elements. Therefore, we investigated the potential effects of xanthine (caffeine and theobromine and catechin molecules present in some food beverages broadly consumed worldwide, such as coffee and tea, on Li-induced anti-inflammatory effects. In the present study, we concomitantly exposed RAW 264.7 macrophages to Li, isolated xanthine and catechin molecules, and a xanthine-catechin mixture (XC mixture. We evaluated the effects of these treatments on cell proliferation, cell cycle progression, oxidative and antioxidant marker expression, cytokine levels, gene expression, and GSK-3β enzyme expression. Treatment with the XC mixture potentialized Li-induced anti-inflammatory effects by intensification of the following: GSK-3β inhibitory action, lowering effect on proinflammatory cytokines (IL-1β, IL-6, and TNFα, and increase in the levels of IL-10 that is an anti-inflammatory cytokine. Despite the controversial nature of caffeine consumption by BD patients, these results suggested that consumption of caffeine, in low concentrations, mixed with other bioactive molecules along with Li may be safe.

  6. Genipin Cross-Linked Glucose Oxidase and Catalase Multi-enzyme for Gluconic Acid Synthesis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cui, Caixia; Chen, Haibin; Chen, Biqiang; Tan, Tianwei

    2017-02-01

    In this work, glucose oxidase (GOD) and catalase (CAT) were used simultaneously to produce gluconic acid from glucose. In order to reduce the distance between the two enzymes, and therefore improve efficiency, GOD and CAT were cross-linked together using genipin. Improvements in gluconic acid production were due to quick removal of harmful intermediate hydrogen peroxide by CAT. GOD activity was significantly affected by the proportion of CAT in the system, with GOD activity in the cross-linked multi-enzyme (CLME) being 10 times higher than that in an un-cross-linked GOD/CAT mixture. The glucose conversion rate after 15 h using 15 % glucose was also 10 % higher using the CLME than was measured using a GOD/CAT mixture.

  7. Mechanistic and Economical Characteristics of Asphalt Rubber Mixtures

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mena I. Souliman

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available Load associated fatigue cracking is one of the major distress types occurring in flexible pavement systems. Flexural bending beam fatigue laboratory test has been used for several decades and is considered to be an integral part of the new superpave advanced characterization procedure. One of the most significant solutions to prolong the fatigue life for an asphaltic mixture is to utilize flexible materials as rubber. A laboratory testing program was performed on a conventional and Asphalt Rubber- (AR- gap-graded mixtures to investigate the impact of added rubber on the mechanical, mechanistic, and economical attributes of asphaltic mixtures. Strain controlled fatigue tests were conducted according to American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO procedures. The results from the beam fatigue tests indicated that the AR-gap-graded mixtures would have much longer fatigue life compared with the reference (conventional mixtures. In addition, a mechanistic analysis using 3D-Move software coupled with a cost analysis study based on the fatigue performance on the two mixtures was performed. Overall, analysis showed that AR modified asphalt mixtures exhibited significantly lower cost of pavement per 1000 cycles of fatigue life per mile compared to conventional HMA mixture.

  8. Complex mixtures biostudies

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Springer, D.L.

    1987-01-01

    The objective of the project is to identify potential adverse biological activities associated with human exposures to complex organic mixtures (COM) from energy-related industries. Studies to identify the influence of chemical class fractions from a COM on the initiating activity of a known carcinogen, benzo(a)pyrene (BaP), demonstrated that the polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) and nitrogen-containing polycyclic aromatic compound (NPAC) fractions were the most effective inhibitors of initiation. In an effort to determine the contribution of BaP to the initiating activity of the COM, binding of radiolabeled BaP to mouse skin DNA was measured. Results indicated that binding of BaP to DNA decreased in the presence of the COM so that at initiating COM doses, BaP binding was near the limit detection. Addition of unlabeled BaP to the COM at an amount similar to that originally present in the COM did not significantly increase the binding. Studies to determine the rates of disappearance of carcinogenic PAH from the site of application on the skin indicated that half-lives for PAH differed by a factor of about 2. Analytical methods developed to identify PAH from COM which covalently bind to DNA demonstrated that the lower level of detection is approximately 200 picograms. Developmental studies demonstrated that both pregnant rats and mice treated dermally with a high-boiling COM developed fetuses with major malformations including cleft palate, small lungs, edema, and sagittal suture hemorrhages. 3 figures, 5 tables

  9. Principles and practice of mixtures toxicology

    National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

    Mumtaz, Moiz

    2010-01-01

    ... accurate predictions for the adverse effects of mixtures has been limited by the difficulty of acquiring data for all the possible combinations of dose and time that exist even in simple mixtures. Such predictions are also compromised by our use of single-agent toxicity studies since most "realworld" exposures are to mixtures. This has resulted in a variety of approaches (models, protocols, techniques, etc.) to address these issues. These are described in detail in the two dozen chapters of this book along with ca...

  10. Multi-column step-gradient chromatography system for automated ion exchange separations

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Rucker, T.L.

    1985-01-01

    A multi-column step-gradient chromatography system has been designed to perform automated sequential separations of radionuclides by ion exchange chromatography. The system consists of a digital programmer with automatic stream selection valve, two peristaltic pumps, ten columns, and a fraction collector. The automation allows complicated separations of radionuclides to be made with minimal analyst attention and allows for increased productivity and reduced cost of analyses. Results are reported for test separations on mixtures of radionuclides by the system

  11. Bifidobacterium mixture (B longum BB536, B infantis M-63, B breve M-16V) treatment in children with seasonal allergic rhinitis and intermittent asthma.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Miraglia Del Giudice, Michele; Indolfi, Cristiana; Capasso, Michele; Maiello, Nunzia; Decimo, Fabio; Ciprandi, Giorgio

    2017-03-07

    Allergic rhinitis (AR) and allergic asthma are caused by an IgE-mediated inflammatory reaction. Probiotics may exert anti-inflammatory and immune-modulatory activity. Thus, this study aimed at investigating whether a Bifidobacteria mixture could be able to relieve nasal symptoms, and affect quality of life (QoL) in children with AR and intermittent asthma due to Parietaria allergy. The present study was conducted as placebo-controlled, double-blinded, and randomized. Globally, 40 children (18 males; mean age 9 ± 2.2 years) were enrolled. They were treated with probiotics or placebo: 1 sachet/day for 4 weeks. AR symptoms, and QoL were assessed at baseline and after treatment. Use of rescue medications, such as cetirizine syrup and salbutamol spray, was also permitted and recorded. Children treated with probiotic mixture achieved a significant improvement of symptoms (p < 0.005), and QoL ((p < 0.001). Placebo group had worsening of symptoms (p < 0.005) and QoL (p < 0.001). The use of rescue medications was overlapping in the two groups. The intergroup analysis showed that probiotic mixture was significantly superior than placebo for all parameters. The current study demonstrated that a Bifidobacteria mixture was able of significantly improving AR symptoms and QoL in children with pollen-induced AR and intermittent asthma. ClinicalTrials.gov ID NCT02807064 .

  12. Mixtures Estimation and Applications

    CERN Document Server

    Mengersen, Kerrie; Titterington, Mike

    2011-01-01

    This book uses the EM (expectation maximization) algorithm to simultaneously estimate the missing data and unknown parameter(s) associated with a data set. The parameters describe the component distributions of the mixture; the distributions may be continuous or discrete. The editors provide a complete account of the applications, mathematical structure and statistical analysis of finite mixture distributions along with MCMC computational methods, together with a range of detailed discussions covering the applications of the methods and features chapters from the leading experts on the subject

  13. MICROBIAL QUALITY OF HONEY MIXTURE WITH POLLEN

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ján Mareček

    2011-02-01

    Full Text Available Normal 0 21 MicrosoftInternetExplorer4 The aim of this study was evaluation of microbial quality in raw materials (honey, pollen and evaluation of microbial quality in honey mixture with pollen (2.91 % and 3.85 % and also dynamics of microbial groups in honey mixtures with pollen after 14 days storage at the room temperature (approximately 25 °C and in cold store (8 °C. We used dilution plating method for testing of samples. Detections of total plate microbial count (aerobic and anaerobic microorganisms, sporulating bacteria, coliform bacteria, Bifidobacterium sp., Lactobacillus sp. and microscopic fungi were performed. In general, counts of microorganisms decreased in honey mixture with pollen compared to raw pollen and these counts increased compared to natural honey. Total plate count was 5.37 log KTJ.g-1 in pollen; 1.36 log KTJ.g-1 in honey; 2.97 log KTJ.g-1 in honey mixture with 2.91 % pollen and 2.04 log KTJ.g-1 in honey mixture with 3.85 % pollen. Coliform bacteria were detected in pollen (1.77 log KTJ.g-1. Then, we found coliform bacteria in one sample of honey mixtures with pollen (2.91 % - 1.00 log KTJ.g-1.Bifidobacterium species were detected only in raw pollen. We did not findLactobacillus sp. in any of the samples. Microscopic fungi were detected on two cultivating media. Yeasts were present in pollen sample (average 5.39 log KTJ.g-1, honey mixture with 2.91 % pollen (average 2.51 log KTJ.g-1 and honey mixture with 3.85 % pollen (average 1.58 log KTJ.g-1. Filamentous microscopic fungi were detectable in pollen (average 3.38 log KTJ.g-1, in honey (only on one medium: 1.00 log KTJ.g-1, in honey mixture with 2.91 % pollen (average 1.15 log KTJ.g-1 and in honey mixture with 3.85 % pollen (1.71 %. Raw pollen contained microscopic fungi as Absidiasp., Mucor sp., Alternaria sp. andEmericella nidulans. Honey mixture with 2.91 % pollen after storage (14 days contained lower microbial counts when compared with the sample

  14. Convective behaviour in vapour-gas-aerosol mixtures

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Clement, C.F.

    1986-01-01

    Unusual convective behaviour can occur in mixtures of gases and heavy vapour, including stabilization of mixtures hot at the base and 'upside-down' convection in mixtures hot at the top. Previous work produced a criterion for this behaviour which ignored the necessary presence of an aerosol. Modification arising from aerosol condensation is derived and is shown to involve the Lewis and condensation numbers of the mixture, as well as a quantity involving the temperature drop across a boundary layer. It becomes negligible at high temperatures, but can crucially affect the temperature for the onset of unusual behaviour. Aerosol formation produces an asymmetry between the convective forces in boundary layers in which the mixture is being heated and cooled, respectively, for example at the base and roof of a cavity. The convective behaviour discussed could occur in situations relevant to nuclear safety. (author)

  15. Mixture distributions of wind speed in the UAE

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shin, J.; Ouarda, T.; Lee, T. S.

    2013-12-01

    Wind speed probability distribution is commonly used to estimate potential wind energy. The 2-parameter Weibull distribution has been most widely used to characterize the distribution of wind speed. However, it is unable to properly model wind speed regimes when wind speed distribution presents bimodal and kurtotic shapes. Several studies have concluded that the Weibull distribution should not be used for frequency analysis of wind speed without investigation of wind speed distribution. Due to these mixture distributional characteristics of wind speed data, the application of mixture distributions should be further investigated in the frequency analysis of wind speed. A number of studies have investigated the potential wind energy in different parts of the Arabian Peninsula. Mixture distributional characteristics of wind speed were detected from some of these studies. Nevertheless, mixture distributions have not been employed for wind speed modeling in the Arabian Peninsula. In order to improve our understanding of wind energy potential in Arabian Peninsula, mixture distributions should be tested for the frequency analysis of wind speed. The aim of the current study is to assess the suitability of mixture distributions for the frequency analysis of wind speed in the UAE. Hourly mean wind speed data at 10-m height from 7 stations were used in the current study. The Weibull and Kappa distributions were employed as representatives of the conventional non-mixture distributions. 10 mixture distributions are used and constructed by mixing four probability distributions such as Normal, Gamma, Weibull and Extreme value type-one (EV-1) distributions. Three parameter estimation methods such as Expectation Maximization algorithm, Least Squares method and Meta-Heuristic Maximum Likelihood (MHML) method were employed to estimate the parameters of the mixture distributions. In order to compare the goodness-of-fit of tested distributions and parameter estimation methods for

  16. Comparing Multi-Step IMAC and Multi-Step TiO2 Methods for Phosphopeptide Enrichment

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yue, Xiaoshan; Schunter, Alissa; Hummon, Amanda B.

    2016-01-01

    Phosphopeptide enrichment from complicated peptide mixtures is an essential step for mass spectrometry-based phosphoproteomic studies to reduce sample complexity and ionization suppression effects. Typical methods for enriching phosphopeptides include immobilized metal affinity chromatography (IMAC) or titanium dioxide (TiO2) beads, which have selective affinity and can interact with phosphopeptides. In this study, the IMAC enrichment method was compared with the TiO2 enrichment method, using a multi-step enrichment strategy from whole cell lysate, to evaluate their abilities to enrich for different types of phosphopeptides. The peptide-to-beads ratios were optimized for both IMAC and TiO2 beads. Both IMAC and TiO2 enrichments were performed for three rounds to enable the maximum extraction of phosphopeptides from the whole cell lysates. The phosphopeptides that are unique to IMAC enrichment, unique to TiO2 enrichment, and identified with both IMAC and TiO2 enrichment were analyzed for their characteristics. Both IMAC and TiO2 enriched similar amounts of phosphopeptides with comparable enrichment efficiency. However, phosphopeptides that are unique to IMAC enrichment showed a higher percentage of multi-phosphopeptides, as well as a higher percentage of longer, basic, and hydrophilic phosphopeptides. Also, the IMAC and TiO2 procedures clearly enriched phosphopeptides with different motifs. Finally, further enriching with two rounds of TiO2 from the supernatant after IMAC enrichment, or further enriching with two rounds of IMAC from the supernatant TiO2 enrichment does not fully recover the phosphopeptides that are not identified with the corresponding multi-step enrichment. PMID:26237447

  17. Laser Beam Melting of Multi-Material Components

    Science.gov (United States)

    Laumer, Tobias; Karg, Michael; Schmidt, Michael

    First results regarding the realisation of multi-material components manufactured by Laser Beam Melting of polymers and metals are published. For realising composite structures from polymer powders by additive manufacturing, at first relevant material properties regarding compatibility have to be analysed. The paper shows the main requirements for compatibility between different materials and offers first results in form of a compatibility matrix of possible combinations for composite structures. For achieving gradient properties of additively manufactured metal parts by using composite materials the composition of alloying components in the powder and adapted process strategies are varied. As an alternative to atomizing pre-alloyed materials, mixtures of different powders are investigated.

  18. A Variational approach to thin film hydrodynamics of binary mixtures

    KAUST Repository

    Xu, Xinpeng

    2015-02-04

    In order to model the dynamics of thin films of mixtures, solutions, and suspensions, a thermodynamically consistent formulation is needed such that various coexisting dissipative processes with cross couplings can be correctly described in the presence of capillarity, wettability, and mixing effects. In the present work, we apply Onsager\\'s variational principle to the formulation of thin film hydrodynamics for binary fluid mixtures. We first derive the dynamic equations in two spatial dimensions, one along the substrate and the other normal to the substrate. Then, using long-wave asymptotics, we derive the thin film equations in one spatial dimension along the substrate. This enables us to establish the connection between the present variational approach and the gradient dynamics formulation for thin films. It is shown that for the mobility matrix in the gradient dynamics description, Onsager\\'s reciprocal symmetry is automatically preserved by the variational derivation. Furthermore, using local hydrodynamic variables, our variational approach is capable of introducing diffusive dissipation beyond the limit of dilute solute. Supplemented with a Flory-Huggins-type mixing free energy, our variational approach leads to a thin film model that treats solvent and solute in a symmetric manner. Our approach can be further generalized to include more complicated free energy and additional dissipative processes.

  19. Predicting skin permeability from complex chemical mixtures

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Riviere, Jim E.; Brooks, James D.

    2005-01-01

    Occupational and environmental exposure to topical chemicals is usually in the form of complex chemical mixtures, yet risk assessment is based on experimentally derived data from individual chemical exposures from a single, usually aqueous vehicle, or from computed physiochemical properties. We present an approach using hybrid quantitative structure permeation relationships (QSPeR) models where absorption through porcine skin flow-through diffusion cells is well predicted using a QSPeR model describing the individual penetrants, coupled with a mixture factor (MF) that accounts for physicochemical properties of the vehicle/mixture components. The baseline equation is log k p = c + mMF + aΣα 2 H + bΣβ 2 H + sπ 2 H + rR 2 + vV x where Σα 2 H is the hydrogen-bond donor acidity, Σβ 2 H is the hydrogen-bond acceptor basicity, π 2 H is the dipolarity/polarizability, R 2 represents the excess molar refractivity, and V x is the McGowan volume of the penetrants of interest; c, m, a, b, s, r, and v are strength coefficients coupling these descriptors to skin permeability (k p ) of 12 penetrants (atrazine, chlorpyrifos, ethylparathion, fenthion, methylparathion, nonylphenol, ρ-nitrophenol, pentachlorophenol, phenol, propazine, simazine, and triazine) in 24 mixtures. Mixtures consisted of full factorial combinations of vehicles (water, ethanol, propylene glycol) and additives (sodium lauryl sulfate, methyl nicotinate). An additional set of 4 penetrants (DEET, SDS, permethrin, ricinoleic acid) in different mixtures were included to assess applicability of this approach. This resulted in a dataset of 16 compounds administered in 344 treatment combinations. Across all exposures with no MF, R 2 for absorption was 0.62. With the MF, correlations increased up to 0.78. Parameters correlated to the MF include refractive index, polarizability and log (1/Henry's Law Constant) of the mixture components. These factors should not be considered final as the focus of these studies

  20. Mixtures of skewed Kalman filters

    KAUST Repository

    Kim, Hyoungmoon

    2014-01-01

    Normal state-space models are prevalent, but to increase the applicability of the Kalman filter, we propose mixtures of skewed, and extended skewed, Kalman filters. To do so, the closed skew-normal distribution is extended to a scale mixture class of closed skew-normal distributions. Some basic properties are derived and a class of closed skew. t distributions is obtained. Our suggested family of distributions is skewed and has heavy tails too, so it is appropriate for robust analysis. Our proposed special sequential Monte Carlo methods use a random mixture of the closed skew-normal distributions to approximate a target distribution. Hence it is possible to handle skewed and heavy tailed data simultaneously. These methods are illustrated with numerical experiments. © 2013 Elsevier Inc.

  1. Photoionization pathways and thresholds in generation of Lyman-α radiation by resonant four-wave mixing in Kr-Ar mixture

    OpenAIRE

    Oleg A. Louchev; Norihito Saito; Yu Oishi; Koji Miyazaki; Kotaro Okamura; Jumpei Nakamura; Masahiko Iwasaki; Satoshi Wada

    2016-01-01

    We develop a set of analytical approximations for the estimation of the combined effect of various photoionization processes involved in the resonant four-wave mixing generation of ns pulsed Lyman-α (L-α) radiation by using 212.556 nm and 820-845 nm laser radiation pulses in Kr-Ar mixture: (i) multi-photon ionization, (ii) step-wise (2+1)-photon ionization via the resonant 2-photon excitation of Kr followed by 1-photon ionization and (iii) laser-induced avalanche ionization produced by genera...

  2. Adsorption on mixtures of ion exchangers

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Triolo, R.; Lietzke, M.H.

    1979-01-01

    A theoretical study has been made of adsorption on mixtures of ion exchangers. The effect of variables such as the concentration of the ion being adsorbed, the concentration of the supporting electrolyte, loading, the values of the capacities and equilibrium constants for the various exchange processes, and the fraction of each adsorber in the mixture on the observed distribution coefficient has been investigated. A computer program has been written to facilitate the calculation of distribution coefficients for the adsorption of an ion on a given mixture of ion exchangers under a specified set of conditions

  3. Data on acetic acid–methanol–methyl acetate–water mixture analysised by dual packed column Gas Chromatography

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mallaiah Mekala

    2018-06-01

    Full Text Available The composition of multicomponent determination by colorimetric titration is difficult. This complexity is easily overcome by using Gas Chromatography technique instead of wet method for multi-component mixture analysis. In Gas Chromatography, first the standard chart is prepared by using the known amount sample concentration as the reference. Once calibration chart is prepared the unknown sample concentration easily measured by using the standard chart. In the present study a standard calibration chart developed for the four component system of acetic acid–methanol–methyl acetate–water. The samples were taken at various concentrations of all components and different chromatograms obtained under various concentrations respectively. The method of optimization was first carried out to get the sharp peaks of individual components and binary pairs also. By using those conditions, the multi components concentrations were estimated. From the present results, the area under gas chromatogram is linearly varying with mole% of the components compared to mass%. Keywords: Gas Chromatography, Esterification, Calibration, Retention time, Optimization

  4. Studies on the formation of aluminides in heated Nb–Al powder mixtures

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Sina, H.; Iyengar, S.

    2015-04-15

    Highlights: • Combustion initiates with NbAl{sub 3} formation above the melting point of aluminum. • Nb + 3Al samples yield almost 100% NbAl{sub 3} after combustion. • Nb-rich samples yield multi-phase products after heating to 1000 °C. • Reacted Nb-rich samples yield stable phases on reheating. • For NbAl{sub 3}, calculations show ΔH{sub formation} = −153 ± 15, E{sub activation} = 255 ± 26 kJ mol{sup −1}. - Abstract: The formation of aluminides during the heating of Nb–Al powder mixtures with different initial compositions (25, 33.3 and 75 at.% Al) has been studied using a differential scanning calorimeter. The effect of parameters like particle size, compaction and heating rate on the onset temperature of reaction has been determined. The results show that an increase in heating rate leads to an increase in onset temperature for compacted as well as loose powder samples in the particle size range considered. For Al-rich mixtures, compaction increases the onset temperature irrespective of particle size. For all samples, finer aluminum particles and slower heating rates resulted in a decrease in onset temperature while higher aluminum contents in the mixture led to a higher reaction temperature. In Nb-rich samples, compaction led to a decrease in the onset temperatures. NbAl{sub 3} was the first compound to form in all the mixtures, irrespective of the initial composition. After heating to 1000 °C, EDS and XRD analyses confirmed the formation of only NbAl{sub 3} in Al-rich samples and a mixture of NbAl{sub 3} and Nb{sub 2}Al along with unreacted niobium particles in Nb-rich samples. A subsequent heat treatment was necessary to obtain a single aluminide corresponding to the initial composition. These observations can be explained on the basis of niobium dissolution in molten aluminum and subsequent precipitation of NbAl{sub 3} in Al-rich samples and solid state diffusion through Nb{sub 3}Al and Nb{sub 2}Al phases in Nb-rich samples. For Nb

  5. Process of decomposing an oil mixture

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Kubierschky, K

    1917-12-02

    A process is described for the decomposition of oil mixtures, and the like, by means of alcohol, characterized in that the subject mixture is brought into solution in high-grade alcohol, and this solution is washed countercurrent with dilute alcohol.

  6. Separation of alcohols from organic liquid mixtures by pervaporation

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Park, Hyun-Chae

    1993-01-01

    In the chemical industry, distillation is generally the preferred technique to separate a liquid mixture. However some liquid mixtures such as azeotropic mixtures, close-boiling hydrocarbons, and various isomers are difficult to separate by simple distillation. For the separation of these mixtures

  7. pH induced polychromatic UV treatment for the removal of a mixture of SMX, OTC and CIP from water

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Avisar, D.; Lester, Y.; Mamane, H.

    2010-01-01

    Water and wastewater effluents contain a vast range of chemicals in mixtures that have different chemical structures and characteristics. This study presents a treatment technology for the removal of mixtures of antibiotic residues (sulfamethoxazole (SMX), oxtetracycline (OTC) and ciprofloxacin (CIP)) from contaminated water. The treatment combines pH modification of the water to an optimal value, followed by a photolytic treatment using direct polychromatic ultraviolet (UV) irradiation by medium pressure UV lamp. The pH adjustment of the treated water leads to structural modifications of the pollutant's molecule thus may enhance direct photolysis by UV light. Results showed that an increase of water pH from 5 to 7 leads to a decrease in degradation rate of SMX and an increase in degradation rate of OTC and CIP, when studied separately and not in a mixture. Thus, the optimal pH values for UV photodegradation in a mixture, involve initial photolysis at pH 5 and then gradually changing the pH from 5 to 7 during the UV exposure. For example, this resulted in 99% degradation of SMX at pH 5 and enhanced degradation of OTC and CIP from 54% and 26% to 91% and 96% respectively when pH was increased from 5 to 7. Thus the pH induced photolytic treatment has a potential in improving treatment of antibiotics in mixtures.

  8. pH induced polychromatic UV treatment for the removal of a mixture of SMX, OTC and CIP from water

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Avisar, D., E-mail: droravi@post.tau.ac.il [Hydro-chemistry Laboratory, Geography and the Environment, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv 69978 (Israel); Lester, Y. [Hydro-chemistry Laboratory, Geography and the Environment, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv 69978 (Israel); School of Mechanical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv 69978 (Israel); Mamane, H. [School of Mechanical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv 69978 (Israel)

    2010-03-15

    Water and wastewater effluents contain a vast range of chemicals in mixtures that have different chemical structures and characteristics. This study presents a treatment technology for the removal of mixtures of antibiotic residues (sulfamethoxazole (SMX), oxtetracycline (OTC) and ciprofloxacin (CIP)) from contaminated water. The treatment combines pH modification of the water to an optimal value, followed by a photolytic treatment using direct polychromatic ultraviolet (UV) irradiation by medium pressure UV lamp. The pH adjustment of the treated water leads to structural modifications of the pollutant's molecule thus may enhance direct photolysis by UV light. Results showed that an increase of water pH from 5 to 7 leads to a decrease in degradation rate of SMX and an increase in degradation rate of OTC and CIP, when studied separately and not in a mixture. Thus, the optimal pH values for UV photodegradation in a mixture, involve initial photolysis at pH 5 and then gradually changing the pH from 5 to 7 during the UV exposure. For example, this resulted in 99% degradation of SMX at pH 5 and enhanced degradation of OTC and CIP from 54% and 26% to 91% and 96% respectively when pH was increased from 5 to 7. Thus the pH induced photolytic treatment has a potential in improving treatment of antibiotics in mixtures.

  9. Characterization of bioactive mixtures oligogalacturonidos

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Mederos Torres, Yuliem; Hormaza Montenegro, Josefa; Reynaldo Escobar, Ines; Montesino Sequi, Raquel

    2011-01-01

    Oligogalacturonides are pectic oligosaccharides composed of lineal chains of D-galacturonic acid, linked by α (1-4) glycosidic linkage. Oligogalacturonides' mixtures are obtained by enzymatic hydrolysis of pectins of diverse vegetal species. These oligosaccharides unchain a diverse biological activity in plants, which depends mainly on their polymerization degrees. The National Institute of Agricultural Science has a patent technology at national scale that lets to obtain a mixture of oligogalacturonides with different polymerization degree. In this work is presented the characterization of oligogalacturonides by spectrophotometric analysis attending to their uronic acids, reductor sugars, and neutral sugars content. Also the chromatographic profile of samples in study is obtained, using the derivatization with 2-aminobenzamide label and the separation by high pH anion exchange chromatography. It is achieved the separation of at least eight galacturonic acid oligomers with a variable degree of polymerization. On the other hand, the analysis by Fourier transform-infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR) showed that mixtures were composed by galacturonic acid salts. Results indicated that starting from two pectic acids with different characteristics, mixtures of oligogalacturonides of similar chemical composition could be obtained, but they differ in the proportion that they are presented

  10. Improved gas mixtures for gas-filled particle detectors

    Science.gov (United States)

    Christophorou, L.G.; McCorkle, D.L.; Maxey, D.V.; Carter, J.G.

    Improved binary and tertiary gas mixture for gas-filled particle detectors are provided. The components are chosen on the basis of the principle that the first component is one gas or mixture of two gases having a large electron scattering cross section at energies of about 0.5 eV and higher, and the second component is a gas (Ar) having a very small cross section at and below about 0.5 eV; whereby fast electrons in the gaseous mixture are slowed into the energy range of about 0.5 eV where the cross section for the mixture is small and hence the electron mean free path is large. The reduction in both the cross section and the electron energy results in an increase in the drift velocity of the electrons in the gas mixtures over that for the separate components for a range of E/P (pressure-reduced electron field) values. Several gas mixtures are provided that provide faster response in gas-filled detectors for convenient E/P ranges as compared with conventional gas mixtures.

  11. Chemical profiles and pharmacological activities of Chang-Kang-Fang, a multi-herb Chinese medicinal formula, for treating irritable bowel syndrome.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mao, Qian; Shi, Lei; Wang, Zhi-Gang; Luo, Yu-Hui; Wang, Yin-Yu; Li, Xue; Lu, Min; Ju, Jian-Min; Xu, Jin-Di; Kong, Ming; Zhou, Shan-Shan; Shen, Min-Qin; Li, Song-Lin

    2017-04-06

    Chang-Kang-Fang formula (CKF), a multi-herb traditional Chinese medicinal formula, has been clinically used for treatment of irritable bowel syndrome (IBS). The mechanisms of CKF for treating IBS and the components that are responsible for the activities were still unknown. To investigate the chemical profiles and effects of CKF on IBS model. The chemical profiles of CKF were investigated by ultra performance liquid chromatography coupled with quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry (UHPLC-Q/TOF-MS/MS). On colon irritation induced rat neonates IBS model, the influence of CKF on neuropeptides, including substance P (SP), calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP), vasoactive intestinal polypeptide (VIP) and 5-hydroxytryptamine (5-HT), were measured by ELISA, and the effect on intestinal sensitivity was assessed based on the abdominal withdrawal reflex (AWR) scores. In addition, the activities of CKF against acetic acid-induced nociceptive responses and prostigmin methylsulfate triggered intestinal propulsion in mice were also evaluated. 80 components were identified or tentatively assigned from CKF, including 11 alkaloids, 20 flavanoids, 4 monoterpenoids, 9 iridoid glycoside, 9 phenylethanoid glycosides, 10 chromones, 7 organic acid, 3 coumarins, 2 triterpene and 5 other compounds. On IBS rat model, CKF was observed to reduce AWR scores and levels of SP, CGRP, VIP and 5-HT. Moreover, CKF reduced the acetic acid-induced writhing scores at all dosages and reduced the intestinal propulsion ration at dosage of 7.5 and 15.0g/kg/d. CKF could alleviate the symptoms of IBS by modulating the brain-gut axis through increasing the production of neuropeptides such as CGRP, VIP, 5-HT and SP, releasing pain and reversing disorders of intestinal propulsion. Berberine, paeoniflorin, acteoside, flavonoids and chromones may be responsible for the multi-bioactivities of CKF. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

  12. Method for separating gaseous mixtures of isotopes

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Neimann, H.J.; Schuster, E.; Kersting, A.

    1976-01-01

    A gaseous mixture of isotopes is separated by laser excitation of the isotope mixture with a narrow band of wavelengths, molecularly exciting mainly the isotope to be separated and thereby promoting its reaction with its chemical partner which is excited in a separate chamber. The excited isotopes and the chemical partner are mixed, perhaps in a reaction chamber to which the two excited components are conducted by very short conduits. The improvement of this method is the physical separation of the isotope mixture and its partner during excitation. The reaction between HCl and the mixture of 238 UF 6 and 235 UF 6 is discussed

  13. Shear viscosity of liquid mixtures: Mass dependence

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kaushal, Rohan; Tankeshwar, K.

    2002-06-01

    Expressions for zeroth, second, and fourth sum rules of transverse stress autocorrelation function of two component fluid have been derived. These sum rules and Mori's memory function formalism have been used to study shear viscosity of Ar-Kr and isotopic mixtures. It has been found that theoretical result is in good agreement with the computer simulation result for the Ar-Kr mixture. The mass dependence of shear viscosity for different mole fraction shows that deviation from ideal linear model comes even from mass difference in two species of fluid mixture. At higher mass ratio shear viscosity of mixture is not explained by any of the emperical model. (author)

  14. Shear viscosity of liquid mixtures Mass dependence

    CERN Document Server

    Kaushal, R

    2002-01-01

    Expressions for zeroth, second, and fourth sum rules of transverse stress autocorrelation function of two component fluid have been derived. These sum rules and Mori's memory function formalism have been used to study shear viscosity of Ar-Kr and isotopic mixtures. It has been found that theoretical result is in good agreement with the computer simulation result for the Ar-Kr mixture. The mass dependence of shear viscosity for different mole fraction shows that deviation from ideal linear model comes even from mass difference in two species of fluid mixture. At higher mass ratio shear viscosity of mixture is not explained by any of the emperical model.

  15. Complex interactions between phytochemicals. The multi-target therapeutic concept of phytotherapy.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Efferth, Thomas; Koch, Egon

    2011-01-01

    Drugs derived from natural resources represent a significant segment of the pharmaceutical market as compared to randomly synthesized compounds. It is a goal of drug development programs to design selective ligands that act on single disease targets to obtain highly effective and safe drugs with low side effects. Although this strategy was successful for many new therapies, there is a marked decline in the number of new drugs introduced into clinical practice over the past decades. One reason for this failure may be due to the fact that the pathogenesis of many diseases is rather multi-factorial in nature and not due to a single cause. Phytotherapy, whose therapeutic efficacy is based on the combined action of a mixture of constituents, offers new treatment opportunities. Because of their biological defence function, plant secondary metabolites act by targeting and disrupting the cell membrane, by binding and inhibiting specific proteins or they adhere to or intercalate into RNA or DNA. Phytotherapeutics may exhibit pharmacological effects by the synergistic or antagonistic interaction of many phytochemicals. Mechanistic reasons for interactions are bioavailability, interference with cellular transport processes, activation of pro-drugs or deactivation of active compounds to inactive metabolites, action of synergistic partners at different points of the same signalling cascade (multi-target effects) or inhibition of binding to target proteins. "-Omics" technologies and systems biology may facilitate unravelling synergistic effects of herbal mixtures.

  16. Using Big Data Analytics to Address Mixtures Exposure

    Science.gov (United States)

    The assessment of chemical mixtures is a complex issue for regulators and health scientists. We propose that assessing chemical co-occurrence patterns and prevalence rates is a relatively simple yet powerful approach in characterizing environmental mixtures and mixtures exposure...

  17. Nanostructuring effect of multi-walled carbon nanotubes on electrochemical properties of carbon foam as constructive electrode for lead acid battery

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kumar, Rajeev; Kumari, Saroj; Mathur, Rakesh B.; Dhakate, Sanjay R.

    2015-01-01

    In the present study, nanostructuring effect of multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) on electrochemical properties of coal tar pitch (CTP) based carbon foam (CFoam) was investigated. The different weight fractions of MWCNTs were mixed with CTP and foam was developed from the mixture of CTP and MWCNTs by sacrificial template technique and heat treated at 1,400 and 2,500 °C in inert atmosphere. These foams were characterized by scanning electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction, and potentiostat PARSTAT for cyclic voltammetry. It was observed that, bulk density of CFoam increases with increasing MWCNTs content and decreases after certain amount. The MWCNTs influence the morphology of CFoam and increase the width of ligaments as well as surface area. During the heat treatment, stresses exerting at MWCNTs/carbon interface accelerate ordering of the graphene layer which have positive effect on the electrochemical properties of CFoam. The current density increases from 475 to 675 mA/cm2 of 1,400 °C heat treated and 95 to 210 mA/cm2 of 2,500 °C heat-treated CFoam with 1 wt% MWCNTs. The specific capacitance was decreases with increasing the scan rate from 100 to 1,000 mV/s. In case of 1 % MWCNTs content CFoam the specific capacitance at the scan rate 100 mV/s was increased from 850 to 1,250 μF/cm2 and 48 to 340 μF/cm2 of CFoam heat treated at 1,400 °C and 2,500 °C respectively. Thus, the higher value surface area and current density of MWCNTs-incorporated CFoam heat treated to 1,400 °C can be suitable for lead acid battery electrode with improved charging capability.

  18. A Statistical Approach to Optimizing Concrete Mixture Design

    OpenAIRE

    Ahmad, Shamsad; Alghamdi, Saeid A.

    2014-01-01

    A step-by-step statistical approach is proposed to obtain optimum proportioning of concrete mixtures using the data obtained through a statistically planned experimental program. The utility of the proposed approach for optimizing the design of concrete mixture is illustrated considering a typical case in which trial mixtures were considered according to a full factorial experiment design involving three factors and their three levels (33). A total of 27 concrete mixtures with three replicate...

  19. Mixture of Regression Models with Single-Index

    OpenAIRE

    Xiang, Sijia; Yao, Weixin

    2016-01-01

    In this article, we propose a class of semiparametric mixture regression models with single-index. We argue that many recently proposed semiparametric/nonparametric mixture regression models can be considered special cases of the proposed model. However, unlike existing semiparametric mixture regression models, the new pro- posed model can easily incorporate multivariate predictors into the nonparametric components. Backfitting estimates and the corresponding algorithms have been proposed for...

  20. Mixture toxicity revisited from a toxicogenomic perspective.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Altenburger, Rolf; Scholz, Stefan; Schmitt-Jansen, Mechthild; Busch, Wibke; Escher, Beate I

    2012-03-06

    The advent of new genomic techniques has raised expectations that central questions of mixture toxicology such as for mechanisms of low dose interactions can now be answered. This review provides an overview on experimental studies from the past decade that address diagnostic and/or mechanistic questions regarding the combined effects of chemical mixtures using toxicogenomic techniques. From 2002 to 2011, 41 studies were published with a focus on mixture toxicity assessment. Primarily multiplexed quantification of gene transcripts was performed, though metabolomic and proteomic analysis of joint exposures have also been undertaken. It is now standard to explicitly state criteria for selecting concentrations and provide insight into data transformation and statistical treatment with respect to minimizing sources of undue variability. Bioinformatic analysis of toxicogenomic data, by contrast, is still a field with diverse and rapidly evolving tools. The reported combined effect assessments are discussed in the light of established toxicological dose-response and mixture toxicity models. Receptor-based assays seem to be the most advanced toward establishing quantitative relationships between exposure and biological responses. Often transcriptomic responses are discussed based on the presence or absence of signals, where the interpretation may remain ambiguous due to methodological problems. The majority of mixture studies design their studies to compare the recorded mixture outcome against responses for individual components only. This stands in stark contrast to our existing understanding of joint biological activity at the levels of chemical target interactions and apical combined effects. By joining established mixture effect models with toxicokinetic and -dynamic thinking, we suggest a conceptual framework that may help to overcome the current limitation of providing mainly anecdotal evidence on mixture effects. To achieve this we suggest (i) to design studies to

  1. A numerical study of blood flow using mixture theory.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wu, Wei-Tao; Aubry, Nadine; Massoudi, Mehrdad; Kim, Jeongho; Antaki, James F

    2014-03-01

    In this paper, we consider the two dimensional flow of blood in a rectangular microfluidic channel. We use Mixture Theory to treat this problem as a two-component system: One component is the red blood cells (RBCs) modeled as a generalized Reiner-Rivlin type fluid, which considers the effects of volume fraction (hematocrit) and influence of shear rate upon viscosity. The other component, plasma, is assumed to behave as a linear viscous fluid. A CFD solver based on OpenFOAM ® was developed and employed to simulate a specific problem, namely blood flow in a two dimensional micro-channel, is studied. Finally to better understand this two-component flow system and the effects of the different parameters, the equations are made dimensionless and a parametric study is performed.

  2. Efficacy of functional foods mixture in improving hypercholesterolemia, inflammatory and endothelial dysfunction biomarkers-induced by high cholesterol diet.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Al-Muzafar, Hessah Mohammed; Amin, Kamal Adel

    2017-10-06

    Hypercholesterolemia associated with cardiovascular diseases is a global health issue that could be alleviated by functional foods. This study aimed to explore the effects of a high-cholesterol diet on lipid profile, cardiac, inflammatory, and endothelial dysfunction biomarkers, and the possible improvement by functional foods mixture. Male albino rats weighing 100-150 g were randomly divided into four equal groups: 1st control, giving a normal diet; the 2nd received high-cholesterol diet for 8 weeks, the 3rd received the high-cholesterol diet + functional foods mixture, and the 4th administered high-cholesterol diet +atorvastatin (20 mg) orally. The results showed a significant increase in lipid profile and cardiac biomarkers levels (lactate dehydrogenase, creatine kinase and homocystein), also inflammatory markers, as, tumor necrotic factor alpha and chronic reactive proteins were elevated, moreover, vascular adhesion molecule-1 and nitric oxide synthase were disturbed in high-cholesterol diet compared with normal group. While administration of atorvastatin and functional foods mixture ameliorated these alterations. Administration of functional foods mixture and atorvastatin were effective in treating hypercholesterolemia, reduce the risk of inflammation and cardiovascular biomarkers with a high safety margin. These efficiencies may be due to its active ingredient that improve the imbalance in the measured biomarkers.

  3. High resolution conductometry for isotopic assay of deuterium in mixtures of heavy water and light water

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ananthanarayanan, R.; Sahoo, P.; Murali, N.

    2014-01-01

    A PC based high resolution conductivity monitoring technique has been deployed for determination of isotopic purity of heavy water in samples containing heavy water and light water mixtures using pulsating sensor based conductivity monitoring instrument. The technique involves accurate determination of conductivities of a series of specially treated heavy water and light water mixtures of various compositions at a constant solution temperature. The shift in conductivity (Δκ), which is the difference between conductivities of composite mixture after and before the formation of a typical complex compound (boric acid–mannitol complex in this case), shows a smooth and reproducible decreasing trend with increase in percentage composition of heavy water. This relation, which is obtained by appropriate calibration, is used in the software program for direct display of isotopic purity of heavy water. The technique is examined for determination of percentage composition of heavy water in the entire range of concentration (0-100 %) with reasonable precision (relative standard deviation, RSD ≤1.5 %). About 1 mL of sample is required for each analysis and analysis is completed within a couple of minutes after pretreatment of sample. The accuracy in measurement is ≤1.75 %. (author)

  4. Sulphate removal from sodium sulphate-rich brine and recovery of barium as a barium salt mixture.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Vadapalli, Viswanath R K; Zvimba, John N; Mulopo, Jean; Motaung, Solly

    2013-01-01

    Sulphate removal from sodium sulphate-rich brine using barium hydroxide and recovery of the barium salts has been investigated. The sodium sulphate-rich brine treated with different dosages of barium hydroxide to precipitate barium sulphate showed sulphate removal from 13.5 g/L to less than 400 mg/L over 60 min using a barium to sulphate molar ratio of 1.1. The thermal conversion of precipitated barium sulphate to barium sulphide achieved a conversion yield of 85% using coal as both a reducing agent and an energy source. The recovery of a pure mixture of barium salts from barium sulphide, which involved dissolution of barium sulphide and reaction with ammonium hydroxide resulted in recovery of a mixture of barium carbonate (62%) and barium hydroxide (38%), which is a critical input raw material for barium salts based acid mine drainage (AMD) desalination technologies. Under alkaline conditions of this barium salt mixture recovery process, ammonia gas is given off, while hydrogen sulfide is retained in solution as bisulfide species, and this provides basis for ammonium hydroxide separation and recovery for reuse, with hydrogen sulfide also recoverable for further industrial applications such as sulfur production by subsequent stripping.

  5. Modeling phase equilibria for acid gas mixtures using the CPA equation of state. Part II: Binary mixtures with CO2

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Tsivintzelis, Ioannis; Kontogeorgis, Georgios; Michelsen, Michael Locht

    2011-01-01

    In Part I of this series of articles, the study of H2S mixtures has been presented with CPA. In this study the phase behavior of CO2 containing mixtures is modeled. Binary mixtures with water, alcohols, glycols and hydrocarbons are investigated. Both phase equilibria (vapor–liquid and liquid–liqu...

  6. Thermodiffusion in multicomponent n-alkane mixtures.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Galliero, Guillaume; Bataller, Henri; Bazile, Jean-Patrick; Diaz, Joseph; Croccolo, Fabrizio; Hoang, Hai; Vermorel, Romain; Artola, Pierre-Arnaud; Rousseau, Bernard; Vesovic, Velisa; Bou-Ali, M Mounir; Ortiz de Zárate, José M; Xu, Shenghua; Zhang, Ke; Montel, François; Verga, Antonio; Minster, Olivier

    2017-01-01

    Compositional grading within a mixture has a strong impact on the evaluation of the pre-exploitation distribution of hydrocarbons in underground layers and sediments. Thermodiffusion, which leads to a partial diffusive separation of species in a mixture due to the geothermal gradient, is thought to play an important role in determining the distribution of species in a reservoir. However, despite recent progress, thermodiffusion is still difficult to measure and model in multicomponent mixtures. In this work, we report on experimental investigations of the thermodiffusion of multicomponent n -alkane mixtures at pressure above 30 MPa. The experiments have been conducted in space onboard the Shi Jian 10 spacecraft so as to isolate the studied phenomena from convection. For the two exploitable cells, containing a ternary liquid mixture and a condensate gas, measurements have shown that the lightest and heaviest species had a tendency to migrate, relatively to the rest of the species, to the hot and cold region, respectively. These trends have been confirmed by molecular dynamics simulations. The measured condensate gas data have been used to quantify the influence of thermodiffusion on the initial fluid distribution of an idealised one dimension reservoir. The results obtained indicate that thermodiffusion tends to noticeably counteract the influence of gravitational segregation on the vertical distribution of species, which could result in an unstable fluid column. This confirms that, in oil and gas reservoirs, the availability of thermodiffusion data for multicomponent mixtures is crucial for a correct evaluation of the initial state fluid distribution.

  7. Preparation of conducting solid mixtures

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Spokas, J.J.

    1978-01-01

    The application of conducting plastic mixtures to the fundamental problem of radiation dosimetry is briefly reviewed. A particular approach to achieving formulations with the necessary characteristics is described. A number of successful mixtures are defined for a number of different specific dosimetry situations. To obtain high quality stable materials requires intense blending and working of the materials at elevated temperatures. One machine that succeeds in this task is the Shonka plastics mixer-extruder. The Shonka mixer is described in complete detail. The procedures used in preparing representative formulations with this device are presented. A number of properties of successful conducting mixtures so prepared are summarized. The conditions required for molding such material are given. Several special welding methods for specific application with these formulations have been devised and are described

  8. Thermal analysis of pyrotechnic mixture-fireworks, atom-bomb

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Rajendran, Jeya; Thanulingam, T.L.

    2008-01-01

    Sound level produced from two varieties of sound producing fireworks of atom-bomb, cake bomb and thunder bomb were measured. The pyrotechnic mixture, KNO 3 /S/Al(H 3 BO 3 ) of compositions 57.5/19.9/22.1(0.5)% very much similar to commercial atom-bomb were taken and five cake bomb and seven thunder bomb with different net weight of chemicals were manufactured specifically for analysis. Cake bomb with 1g pyrotechnic mixture and thunder bomb with 2g pyrotechnic mixture produce -3 . Ignition temperature of the mixture is above the melting point of the metallic fuel, Al (660 deg C) and self propagating decomposition occurred at high temperature. The pyrotechnic mixture, KNO 3 /S/Al(H 3 BO 3 ) is a safe mixture from accidental factor, static electricity. DSC studies indicate slight formation of potassium nitrite with evolution of NO above 400 deg C. (author)

  9. Budesonide multi-matrix system formulation for treating ulcerative colitis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Prantera, Cosimo; Scribano, Maria Lia

    2014-04-01

    Budesonide is a corticosteroid characterized by high topical activity and low systemic effect associated with fewer glucocorticoid-related adverse events than conventional steroids. Differently from Crohn's disease, no evidence suggests that oral budesonide is effective for the induction of remission of ulcerative colitis (UC). Budesonide multi-matrix (MMX) system is a new oral preparation that, by employing a MMX, provides the release of the drug throughout the entire colon. Its efficacy in inducing UC remission, at a dose of 9 mg, is based on some recent trials. However, in two studies the absolute differences between budesonide MMX and placebo were much lower than the rate of success reported in previous trials with mesalazines. In addition, the therapeutic advantage of budesonide MMX 9 mg over 5-aminosalicylic acid (5-ASA) showed by one study, and the advantage of budesonide MMX over budesonide reported in the other study, was only 5.8 and 4.8%, respectively. The evidence supporting the use of budesonide MMX at a dose of 6 mg for maintenance is weak. Therefore, the effective dosage should be 9 mg also in maintenance, but not for > 4 - 6 months, because a prolonged treatment has showed to increase the rate of side effects.

  10. UTILIZATION OF WASTE PLASTIC BOTTLES IN ASPHALT MIXTURE

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    TAHER BAGHAEE MOGHADDAM

    2013-06-01

    Full Text Available Nowadays, large amounts of waste materials are being produced in the world. One of the waste materials is plastic bottle. Generating disposable plastic bottles is becoming a major problem in many countries. Using waste plastic as a secondary material in construction projects would be a solution to overcome the crisis of producing large amount of waste plastics in one hand and improving the structure’s characteristics such as resistance against cracking on the other hand. This study aimed to investigate the effects of adding plastic bottles in road pavement. Marshall properties as well as specific gravity of asphalt mixture containing different percentages of plastic bottles were evaluated. Besides, Optimum Asphalt Content (OAC was calculated for each percentages of plastic bottles used in the mix. The stiffness and fatigue characteristics of mixture were assessed at OAC value. Results showed that the stability and flow values of asphalt mixture increased by adding waste crushed plastic bottle into the asphalt mixture. Further, it was shown that the bulk specific gravity and stiffness of mixtures increased by adding lower amount of plastic bottles; however, adding higher amounts of plastic resulted in lower specific gravity and mix stiffness. In addition, it was concluded that the mixtures containing waste plastic bottles have lower OAC values compared to the conventional mixture, and this may reduce the amount of asphalt binder can be used in road construction projects. Besides, the mixtures containing waste plastic showed significantly greater fatigue resistance than the conventional mixture.

  11. Curing kinetics of alkyd/melamine resin mixtures

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jovičić Mirjana C.

    2009-01-01

    Full Text Available Alkyd resins are the most popular and useful synthetic resins applied as the binder in protective coatings. Frequently they are not used alone but are modified with other synthetic resins in the manufacture of the coatings. An alkyd/melamine resin mixture is the usual composition for the preparation of coating called 'baking enamel' and it is cured through functional groups of resins at high temperatures. In this paper, curing kinetics of alkyd resins based on castor oil and dehydrated castor oil with melamine resin, has been studied by DSC method with programmed heating and in isothermal mode. The results determined from dynamic DSC curves were mathematically transformed using the Ozawa isoconversional method for obtaining the isothermal data. These results, degree of curing versus time, are in good agreement with those determined by the isothermal DSC experiments. By applying the Ozawa method it is possible to calculate the isothermal kinetic parameters for the alkyd/melamine resin mixtures curing using only calorimetric data obtained by dynamic DSC runs. Depending on the alkyd resin type and ratio in mixtures the values of activation energies of curing process of resin mixtures are from 51.3 to 114 kJ mol-1. The rate constant of curing increases with increasing the content of melamine resin in the mixture and with curing temperature. The reaction order varies from 1.12 to 1.37 for alkyd based on dehydrated castor oil/melamine resin mixtures and from 1.74 to 2.03 for mixtures with alkyd based on castor oil. Based on the results obtained, we propose that dehydrated castor oil alkyd/melamine resin mixtures can be used in practice (curing temperatures from 120 to 160°C.

  12. Performance of an organic Rankine cycle with multicomponent mixtures

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Chaitanya Prasad, G.S.; Suresh Kumar, C.; Srinivasa Murthy, S.; Venkatarathnam, G.

    2015-01-01

    There is a renewed interest in ORC (organic Rankine cycle) systems for power generation using solar thermal energy. Many authors have studied the performance of ORC with different pure fluids as well as binary zeotropic mixtures in order to improve the thermal efficiency. It has not been well appreciated that zeotropic mixtures can also be used to reduce the size and cost of an ORC system. The main objective of this paper is to present mixtures that help reduce the cost while maintaining high thermal efficiency. The proposed method also allows us to design an optimum mixture for a given expander. This new approach is particularly beneficial for designing mixtures for small ORC systems operating with solar thermal energy. A number of examples are presented to demonstrate this concept. - Highlights: • The performance of an ORC operating with different zeotropic multicomponent mixtures is presented. • A thermodynamic method is proposed for the design of multicomponent mixtures for ORC power plants. • High exergy efficiency as well as high volumetric expander work can be achieved with appropriate mixtures. • The method allows design of mixtures that can be used with off-the-shelf positive displacement expanders

  13. SIMULTANEOUS DETERMINATION OF PARACETAMOL AND IBUPROFENE MIXTURES BY HIGH PERFORMANCE LIQUID CHROMATOGRAPHY

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sophi Damayanti

    2010-06-01

    Full Text Available Analytical method for the determination of paracetamol and ibuprofene mixtures has been developed by High Performance Liquid Chromatography using C-18 column and acetinitrile - phosphate buffer pH = 4.5 (75:25 containing 0.075% sodium hexanesulfunate as a mobile phase. The detector was set at 215 nm. Using such conditions, retention time for paracetamol and ibuprofen was 4.89 and 7.11 min, respectively. The recovery for paracetamol and ibuprofen was found to be 101.07± 0.73% and 102.02 ± 1.58%, respectively. The detector limits of the method was 1.30 and 1.60 μg/mL with the relative standard deviation (RSD 0.74 and 1.52% for paracetamol and ibuprofen, respectively.   Keywords: paracetamol, ibuprofen, multi-component, validation, HPLC.

  14. Centrifugal separation of mixture gases

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zhou, M.S.; Chen, W.N.; Yin, Y.T.

    2008-01-01

    An attempt for single centrifugal separation of mixtures with different molecular formula was presented in this paper. The mixtures of SF 6 and CCl 3 F, and SF 6 and CCl 4 were chosen as the processing gases, which were prepared in three mass ratios, 0.5, 0.8 and 0.2, respectively. The separating characteristics such as the overall separation factors and the variation of cuts were studied. (author)

  15. Natural convection in ternary mixtures

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kremer, G.M.; Kai, L.

    1981-01-01

    The field equations for a mixture of a viscous fluid, a deformable solid and a non-viscous fluid are studied, based on a linearized theory proposed by Bowen. The fields of density of each constituent, temperature, velocity of each fluid and displacement of the solid are determined, for steady states flow of the mixture between two parallel planes and between two concentric cylinders which are maintained at diferent temperatures. (Author) [pt

  16. Mixture-mixture design for the fingerprint optimization of chromatographic mobile phases and extraction solutions for Camellia sinensis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Borges, Cleber N; Bruns, Roy E; Almeida, Aline A; Scarminio, Ieda S

    2007-07-09

    A composite simplex centroid-simplex centroid mixture design is proposed for simultaneously optimizing two mixture systems. The complementary model is formed by multiplying special cubic models for the two systems. The design was applied to the simultaneous optimization of both mobile phase chromatographic mixtures and extraction mixtures for the Camellia sinensis Chinese tea plant. The extraction mixtures investigated contained varying proportions of ethyl acetate, ethanol and dichloromethane while the mobile phase was made up of varying proportions of methanol, acetonitrile and a methanol-acetonitrile-water (MAW) 15%:15%:70% mixture. The experiments were block randomized corresponding to a split-plot error structure to minimize laboratory work and reduce environmental impact. Coefficients of an initial saturated model were obtained using Scheffe-type equations. A cumulative probability graph was used to determine an approximate reduced model. The split-plot error structure was then introduced into the reduced model by applying generalized least square equations with variance components calculated using the restricted maximum likelihood approach. A model was developed to calculate the number of peaks observed with the chromatographic detector at 210 nm. A 20-term model contained essentially all the statistical information of the initial model and had a root mean square calibration error of 1.38. The model was used to predict the number of peaks eluted in chromatograms obtained from extraction solutions that correspond to axial points of the simplex centroid design. The significant model coefficients are interpreted in terms of interacting linear, quadratic and cubic effects of the mobile phase and extraction solution components.

  17. Furosemide in preterm infants treated with indomethacin for patent ductus arteriosus.

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Andriessen, P.; Struis, N.C.; Niemarkt, H.; Oetomo, S.B.; Tanke, R.B.; Overmeire, B. Van

    2009-01-01

    OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the effect of furosemide on renal function and water balance in preterm infants treated with indomethacin (3 x 0.2 mg/kg at 12-h intervals) for symptomatic patent ductus arteriosus. Patients and METHODS: We performed a retrospective multi-centre double cohort study in preterm

  18. Generalization of two-phase model with topology microstructure of mixture to Lagrange-Euler methodology

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Vladimir V Chudanov; Alexei A Leonov

    2005-01-01

    Full text of publication follows: One of the mathematical models (hyperbolic type) for describing evolution of compressible two-phase mixtures was offered in [1] to deal with the following applications: interfaces between compressible materials; shock waves in multiphase mixtures; evolution of homogeneous two-phase flows; cavitation in liquids. The basic difficulties of this model was connected to discretization of the non-conservative equation terms. As result, the class of problems concerned with passage of shock waves through fields with a discontinuing profile of a volume fraction was not described by means of this model. A class of schemes that are able to converge to the correct solution of such problems was received in [2] due to a deeper analysis of two-phase model. The technique offered in [2] was implemented on a Eulerian grid via the Godunov scheme. In present paper the additional analysis of two-phase model in view of microstructure of an mixture topology is carried out in Lagrange mass coordinates. As result, the equations averaged over the set of all possible realizations for two-phase mixture are received. The numerical solution is carried out with use of PPM method [3] in two steps: at first - the equations averaged over mass variable are solved; on the second - the solution, found on the previous step, is re-mapped to a fixed Eulerian grid. Such approach allows to expand the proposed technique on two-dimensional (three-dimensional) case, as in the Lagrange variables the Euler equations system is split on two (three) identical subsystems, each of which describes evolution of considered medium in the given direction. The accuracy and robustness of the described procedure are demonstrated on a sequence of the numerical problems. References: (1). R. Saurel, R. Abgrall, A multiphase Godunov method for compressible multi-fluid and multiphase flows, J. Comput. Phys. 150 (1999) 425-467; (2). R. Saurel, R. Abgrall, Discrete equations for physical and

  19. Ein dynamisches Multi-Akteurs-Modell zur integrierten Bewertung des Klimawandels

    OpenAIRE

    Weber, M.

    2004-01-01

    The interactions between climate and the socio-economic system are investigated with a Multi-Actor Dynamic Integrated Assessment Model (MADIAM) obtained by coupling a nonlinear impulse response model of the climate sub-system (NICCS) to a multi-actor dynamic economic model (MADEM). The main goal is to initiate a model development that is able to treat the dynamics of the coupled climate socio-economic system, including endogenous technological change, in a non-equilibrium situation, thereby o...

  20. Efficient radiative transfer in dust grain mixtures

    OpenAIRE

    Wolf, S.

    2002-01-01

    The influence of a dust grain mixture consisting of spherical dust grains with different radii and/or chemical composition on the resulting temperature structure and spectral energy distribution of a circumstellar shell is investigated. The comparison with the results based on an approximation of dust grain parameters representing the mean optical properties of the corresponding dust grain mixture reveal that (1) the temperature dispersion of a real dust grain mixture decreases substantially ...

  1. Improving Students' Understanding of the Connections between the Concepts of Real-Gas Mixtures, Gas Ideal-Solutions, and Perfect-Gas Mixtures

    Science.gov (United States)

    Privat, Romain; Jaubert, Jean-Noël; Moine, Edouard

    2016-01-01

    In many textbooks of chemical-engineering thermodynamics, a gas mixture obeying the fundamental law pV[subscript m] = RT is most often called ideal-gas mixture (in some rare cases, the term perfect-gas mixture can be found). These textbooks also define the fundamental concept of ideal solution which in theory, can be applied indifferently to…

  2. Antiandrogenic activity of phthalate mixtures: Validity of concentration addition

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Christen, Verena; Crettaz, Pierre; Oberli-Schrämmli, Aurelia; Fent, Karl

    2012-01-01

    Phthalates and bisphenol A have very widespread use leading to significant exposure of humans. They are suspected to interfere with the endocrine system, including the androgen, estrogen and the thyroid hormone system. Here we analyzed the antiandrogenic activity of six binary, and one ternary mixture of phthalates exhibiting complete antiandrogenic dose–response curves, and binary mixtures of phthalates and bisphenol A at equi-effective concentrations of EC 10 , EC 25 and EC 50 in MDA-kb2 cells. Mixture activity followed the concentration addition (CA) model with a tendency to synergism at high and antagonism at low concentrations. Isoboles and the toxic unit approach (TUA) confirmed the additive to synergistic activity of the binary mixtures BBP + DBP, DBP + DEP and DEP + BPA at high concentrations. Both methods indicate a tendency to antagonism for the EC 10 mixtures BBP + DBP, BBP + DEP and DBP + DEP, and the EC 25 mixture of DBP + BPA. A ternary mixture revealed synergism at the EC 50 , and weak antagonistic activity at the EC 25 level by the TUA. A mixture of five phthalates representing a human urine composition and reflecting exposure to corresponding parent compounds showed no antiandrogenic activity. Our study demonstrates that CA is an appropriate concept to account for mixture effects of antiandrogenic phthalates and bisphenol A. The interaction indicates a departure from additivity to antagonism at low concentrations, probably due to interaction with the androgen receptor and/or cofactors. This study emphasizes that a risk assessment of phthalates should account for mixture effects by applying the CA concept. -- Highlights: ► Antiandrogenic activity of mixtures of 2 and 3 phthalates are assessed in MDA-kb2 cells. ► Mixture activities followed the concentration addition model. ► A tendency to synergism at high and antagonism at low levels occurred.

  3. Antiandrogenic activity of phthalate mixtures: Validity of concentration addition

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Christen, Verena [University of Applied Sciences Northwestern Switzerland, School of Life Sciences, Gründenstrasse 40, CH-4132 Muttenz (Switzerland); Crettaz, Pierre; Oberli-Schrämmli, Aurelia [Swiss Federal Office of Public Health, Division Chemical Products, 3003 Bern (Switzerland); Fent, Karl, E-mail: karl.fent@bluewin.ch [University of Applied Sciences Northwestern Switzerland, School of Life Sciences, Gründenstrasse 40, CH-4132 Muttenz (Switzerland); Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zürich (ETH Zürich), Department of Environmental Sciences, 8092 Zürich (Switzerland)

    2012-03-01

    Phthalates and bisphenol A have very widespread use leading to significant exposure of humans. They are suspected to interfere with the endocrine system, including the androgen, estrogen and the thyroid hormone system. Here we analyzed the antiandrogenic activity of six binary, and one ternary mixture of phthalates exhibiting complete antiandrogenic dose–response curves, and binary mixtures of phthalates and bisphenol A at equi-effective concentrations of EC{sub 10}, EC{sub 25} and EC{sub 50} in MDA-kb2 cells. Mixture activity followed the concentration addition (CA) model with a tendency to synergism at high and antagonism at low concentrations. Isoboles and the toxic unit approach (TUA) confirmed the additive to synergistic activity of the binary mixtures BBP + DBP, DBP + DEP and DEP + BPA at high concentrations. Both methods indicate a tendency to antagonism for the EC{sub 10} mixtures BBP + DBP, BBP + DEP and DBP + DEP, and the EC{sub 25} mixture of DBP + BPA. A ternary mixture revealed synergism at the EC{sub 50}, and weak antagonistic activity at the EC{sub 25} level by the TUA. A mixture of five phthalates representing a human urine composition and reflecting exposure to corresponding parent compounds showed no antiandrogenic activity. Our study demonstrates that CA is an appropriate concept to account for mixture effects of antiandrogenic phthalates and bisphenol A. The interaction indicates a departure from additivity to antagonism at low concentrations, probably due to interaction with the androgen receptor and/or cofactors. This study emphasizes that a risk assessment of phthalates should account for mixture effects by applying the CA concept. -- Highlights: ► Antiandrogenic activity of mixtures of 2 and 3 phthalates are assessed in MDA-kb2 cells. ► Mixture activities followed the concentration addition model. ► A tendency to synergism at high and antagonism at low levels occurred.

  4. Effect of Fibers on Mixture Design of Stone Matrix Asphalt

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Yanping Sheng

    2017-03-01

    Full Text Available Lignin fibers typically influence the mixture performance of stone matrix asphalt (SMA, such as strength, stability, durability, noise level, rutting resistance, fatigue life, and water sensitivity. However, limited studies were conducted to analyze the influence of fibers on the percent voids in mineral aggregate in bituminous mixture (VMA during the mixture design. This study analyzed the effect of different fibers and fiber contents on the VMA in SMA mixture design. A surface-dry condition method test and Marshall Stability test were applied on the SMA mixture with four different fibers (i.e., flocculent lignin fiber, mineral fiber, polyester fiber, blended fiber. The test results indicated that the bulk specific gravity of SMA mixtures and asphalt saturation decreased with the increasing fiber content, whilst the percent air voids in bituminous mixtures (VV, Marshall Stability and VMA increased. Mineral fiber had the most obvious impact on the bulk specific gravity of bituminous mixtures, while flocculent lignin fiber had a minimal impact. The mixture with mineral fiber and polyester fiber had significant effects on the volumetric properties, and, consequently, exhibited better VMA over the conventional SMA mixture with lignin fiber. Modified fiber content range was also provided, which will widen the utilization of mineral fiber and polyester fiber in the applications of SMA mixtures. The mixture evaluation suggested no statistically significant difference between lignin fiber and polyester fiber on the stability. The mineral fiber required a much larger fiber content to improve the mixture performance than other fibers. Overall, the results can be a reference to guide SMA mixture design.

  5. Mixture Modeling: Applications in Educational Psychology

    Science.gov (United States)

    Harring, Jeffrey R.; Hodis, Flaviu A.

    2016-01-01

    Model-based clustering methods, commonly referred to as finite mixture modeling, have been applied to a wide variety of cross-sectional and longitudinal data to account for heterogeneity in population characteristics. In this article, we elucidate 2 such approaches: growth mixture modeling and latent profile analysis. Both techniques are…

  6. Fibril assembly in whey protein mixtures

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Bolder, S.G.

    2007-01-01

    The objective of this thesis was to study fibril assembly in mixtures of whey proteins. The effect of the composition of the protein mixture on the structures and the resulting phase behaviour was investigated. The current work has shown that beta-lactoglobulin is responsible for the fibril assembly

  7. Process for treating hydrocarbons, etc

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    1933-09-15

    A process is described for treating simultaneously bituminous substances and hydrocarbon oils for the production of low-boiling hydrocarbons and volatilization of the bituminous substances, characterized by the fact that it consists of heating a current of charge constituted by a mixture of the bituminous substances and hydrocarbon oils, to a high temperature, passing the heated current into a zone of extended reaction where the vapors are separated from the liquid or solid residue to favor transformation of the liquid hydrocarbons and volatilization of the bituminous substances, owing to the utilization of a heating agent carried to a high temperature being brought in contact with the heated charge in order to communicate its heat to the charge, while this later presents itself as relatively fine pellet or in the condition of distinct particles, particularly separated from one another.

  8. Systematic study of RPC performances in polluted or varying gas mixtures compositions: an online monitor system for the RPC gas mixture at LHC

    CERN Document Server

    Capeans, M; Mandelli, B

    2012-01-01

    The importance of the correct gas mixture for the Resistive Plate Chamber (RPC) detector systems is fundamental for their correct and safe operation. A small change in the percentages of the gas mixture components can alter the RPC performance and this will rebound on the data quality in the ALICE, ATLAS and CMS experiments at CERN. A constant monitoring of the gas mixture injected in the RPCs would avoid such kind of problems. A systematic study has been performed to understand RPC performances with several gas mixture compositions and in the presence of common gas impurities. The systematic analysis of several RPC performance parameters in different gas mixtures allows the rapid identification of any variation in the RPC gas mixture. A set-up for the online monitoring of the RPC gas mixture in the LHC gas systems is also proposed.

  9. Construction of a 21-Component Layered Mixture Experiment Design

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Piepel, Gregory F.; Cooley, Scott K.; Jones, Bradley

    2004-01-01

    This paper describes the solution to a unique and challenging mixture experiment design problem involving: (1) 19 and 21 components for two different parts of the design, (2) many single-component and multi-component constraints, (3) augmentation of existing data, (4) a layered design developed in stages, and (5) a no-candidate-point optimal design approach. The problem involved studying the liquidus temperature of spinel crystals as a function of nuclear waste glass composition. The statistical objective was to develop an experimental design by augmenting existing glasses with new nonradioactive and radioactive glasses chosen to cover the designated nonradioactive and radioactive experimental regions. The existing 144 glasses were expressed as 19-component nonradioactive compositions and then augmented with 40 new nonradioactive glasses. These included 8 glasses on the outer layer of the region, 27 glasses on an inner layer, 2 replicate glasses at the centroid, and one replicate each of three existing glasses. Then, the 144 + 40 = 184 glasses were expressed as 21-component radioactive compositions and augmented with 5 radioactive glasses. A D-optimal design algorithm was used to select the new outer layer, inner layer, and radioactive glasses. Several statistical software packages can generate D-optimal experimental designs, but nearly all require a set of candidate points (e.g., vertices) from which to select design points. The large number of components (19 or 21) and many constraints made it impossible to generate the huge number of vertices and other typical candidate points. JMP(R) was used to select design points without candidate points. JMP uses a coordinate-exchange algorithm modified for mixture experiments, which is discussed in the paper

  10. Development of fuzzy multi-criteria approach to prioritize locations of treated wastewater use considering climate change scenarios.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chung, Eun-Sung; Kim, Yeonjoo

    2014-12-15

    This study proposed a robust prioritization framework to identify the priorities of treated wastewater (TWW) use locations with consideration of various uncertainties inherent in the climate change scenarios and the decision-making process. First, a fuzzy concept was applied because future forecast precipitation and their hydrological impact analysis results displayed significant variances when considering various climate change scenarios and long periods (e.g., 2010-2099). Second, various multi-criteria decision making (MCDM) techniques including weighted sum method (WSM), Technique for Order of Preference by Similarity to Ideal Solution (TOPSIS) and fuzzy TOPSIS were introduced to robust prioritization because different MCDM methods use different decision philosophies. Third, decision making method under complete uncertainty (DMCU) including maximin, maximax, minimax regret, Hurwicz, and equal likelihood were used to find robust final rankings. This framework is then applied to a Korean urban watershed. As a result, different rankings were obviously appeared between fuzzy TOPSIS and non-fuzzy MCDMs (e.g., WSM and TOPSIS) because the inter-annual variability in effectiveness was considered only with fuzzy TOPSIS. Then, robust prioritizations were derived based on 18 rankings from nine decadal periods of RCP4.5 and RCP8.5. For more robust rankings, five DMCU approaches using the rankings from fuzzy TOPSIS were derived. This framework combining fuzzy TOPSIS with DMCU approaches can be rendered less controversial among stakeholders under complete uncertainty of changing environments. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  11. Exposure to a PBDE/OH-BDE mixture alters juvenile zebrafish (Danio rerio) development.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Macaulay, Laura J; Chernick, Melissa; Chen, Albert; Hinton, David E; Bailey, Jordan M; Kullman, Seth W; Levin, Edward D; Stapleton, Heather M

    2017-01-01

    Polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) and their metabolites (e.g., hydroxylated BDEs [OH-BDEs]) are contaminants frequently detected together in human tissues and are structurally similar to thyroid hormones. Thyroid hormones partially mediate metamorphic transitions between life stages in zebrafish, making this a critical developmental window that may be vulnerable to chemicals disrupting thyroid signaling. In the present study, zebrafish were exposed to 6-OH-BDE-47 (30 nM; 15 μg/L) alone, or to a low-dose (30 μg/L) or high-dose (600 μg/L) mixture of PentaBDEs, 6-OH-BDE-47 (0.5-6 μg/L), and 2,4,6-tribromophenol (5-100 μg/L) during juvenile development (9-23 d postfertilization) and evaluated for developmental endpoints mediated by thyroid hormone signaling. Fish were sampled at 3 time points and examined for developmental and skeletal morphology, apical thyroid and skeletal gene markers, and modifications in swimming behavior (as adults). Exposure to the high-dose mixture resulted in >85% mortality within 1 wk of exposure, despite being below reported acute toxicity thresholds for individual congeners. The low-dose mixture and 6-OH-BDE-47 groups exhibited reductions in body length and delayed maturation, specifically relating to swim bladder, fin, and pigmentation development. Reduced skeletal ossification was also observed in 6-OH-BDE-47-treated fish. Assessment of thyroid and osteochondral gene regulatory networks demonstrated significantly increased expression of genes that regulate skeletal development and thyroid hormones. Overall, these results indicate that exposures to PBDE/OH-BDE mixtures adversely impact zebrafish maturation during metamorphosis. Environ Toxicol Chem 2017;36:36-48. © 2016 SETAC. © 2016 SETAC.

  12. Comparative in vitro inhibition of urinary tract pathogens by single- and multi-strain probiotics.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chapman, C M C; Gibson, G R; Todd, S; Rowland, I

    2013-09-01

    Multi-species probiotic preparations have been suggested as having a wide spectrum of application, although few studies have compared their efficacy with that of individual component strains at equal concentrations. We therefore tested the ability of 4 single probiotics and 4 probiotic mixtures to inhibit the urinary tract pathogens Escherichia coli NCTC 9001 and Enterococcus faecalis NCTC 00775. We used an agar spot test to test the ability of viable cells to inhibit pathogens, while a broth inhibition assay was used to assess inhibition by cell-free probiotic supernatants in both pH-neutralised and non-neutralised forms. In the agar spot test, all probiotic treatments showed inhibition, L. acidophilus was the most inhibitory single strain against E. faecalis, L. fermentum the most inhibitory against E. coli. A commercially available mixture of 14 strains (Bio-Kult(®)) was the most effective mixture, against E. faecalis, the 3-lactobacillus mixture the most inhibitory against E. coli. Mixtures were not significantly more inhibitory than single strains. In the broth inhibition assays, all probiotic supernatants inhibited both pathogens when pH was not controlled, with only 2 treatments causing inhibition at a neutral pH. Both viable cells of probiotics and supernatants of probiotic cultures were able to inhibit growth of two urinary tract pathogens. Probiotic mixtures prevented the growth of urinary tract pathogens but were not significantly more inhibitory than single strains. Probiotics appear to produce metabolites that are inhibitory towards urinary tract pathogens. Probiotics display potential to reduce the incidence of urinary tract infections via inhibition of colonisation.

  13. Electron thermalization in rare gases and their mixtures

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Bronic, I.K.; Kimura, M.

    1996-01-01

    The time evolution and temperature dependence of electron energy distribution functions (EDFs) are studied in pure rare gases (He, Ne, Ar, Kr, Xe) as well as in their mixtures by using solutions of the Boltzmann equation. A clear difference between the gases having the Ramsauer endash Townsend (RT) minimum in the momentum-transfer cross section, (RT gases: Ar, Kr, and Xe), and those without the RT minimum (non-RT gases: He and Ne) is pointed out. The influence of the position and the depth of the RT minimum on the EDF and time evolution is studied for three different initial electron energies. A formula proposed for describing thermalization time in a mixture is tested on (i) a non-RT endash non-RT gas mixture, (ii) a RT endash non-RT mixture and (iii) a RT endash RT gas mixture. The linear combination of the reciprocal thermalization times in gas mixture with the component concentrations as weighting factors is found to be valid for gases with a similar energy dependence of the momentum-transfer cross section, σ m , and also for all rare-gas binary mixtures if the initial electron energy is sufficiently below the RT minimum. Conspicuous deviations from the linear relationship are observed in mixtures of gases whose energy dependence of σ m (or the stopping cross section) are different, and theoretical rationales for these findings are provided. copyright 1996 American Institute of Physics

  14. The Modified Enskog Equation for Mixtures

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Beijeren, H. van; Ernst, M.H.

    1973-01-01

    In a previous paper it was shown that a modified form of the Enskog equation, applied to mixtures of hard spheres, should be considered as the correct extension of the usual Enskog equation to the case of mixtures. The main argument was that the modified Enskog equation leads to linear transport

  15. Mechanism of Phase Formation in the Batch Mixtures for Slag-Bearing Glass Ceramics - 12207

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Stefanovsky, Sergey V.; Stefanovsky, Olga I.; Malinina, Galina A. [SIA Radon, 7th Rostovskii lane 2/14, Moscow 119121 (Russian Federation)

    2012-07-01

    Slag surrogate was produced from chemicals by heating to 900 deg. C and keeping at this temperature for 1 hr. The product obtained was intermixed with either sodium di-silicate (75 wt.% waste loading) or borax (85 wt.% slag loading). The mixtures were heat-treated within a temperature range of 25 to 1300 deg. C. The products were examined by X-ray diffraction and infrared spectroscopy. The products prepared at temperatures of up to 1000 deg. C contained both phase typical of the source slag and intermediate phases as well as phases typical of the materials melted at 1350 deg. C such as nepheline, britholite, magnetite and matrix vitreous phase. Vitrification process in batch mixtures consisting of slag surrogate and either sodium di-silicate or sodium tetraborate runs through formation of intermediate phases mainly silico-phosphates capable to incorporate Sm as trivalent actinides surrogate. Reactions in the batch mixtures are in the whole completed by ∼1000 deg. C but higher temperatures are required to homogenize the products. If in the borate-based system the mechanism is close to simple dissolution of slag constituents in the low viscous borate melt, then in the silicate-based system the mechanism was found to be much complicated and includes re-crystallization during melting with segregation of newly-formed nepheline type phase. (authors)

  16. Toxicity of a binary mixture on Daphnia magna: biological effects of uranium and selenium isolated and in mixture

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zeman, F.

    2008-10-01

    Among the multiple substances that affect freshwater ecosystems, uranium and selenium are two pollutants found worldwide in the environment, alone and in mixture. The aim of this thesis work was to investigate the effect of uranium and selenium mixture on daphnia (Daphnia magna). Studying effects of a mixture requires the assessment of the effect of single substances. Thus, the first experiments were performed on single substance. Acute toxicity data were obtained: EC 50 48h = 0, 39±0, 04 mg.L -1 for uranium and EC 50 48h 1, 86±0, 85 mg.L -1 for selenium. Chronic effects were also studied. Data on fecundity showed an EC 10 reproduction of 14±7 μg. L -1 for uranium and of 215±25 μg. L -1 for selenium. Uranium-selenium mixture toxicity experiments were performed and revealed an antagonistic effect. This study further demonstrates the importance of taking into consideration different elements in binary mixture studies such as the choice of reference models (concentration addition or independent action), statistical method, time exposure and endpoints. Using integrated parameters like energy budget was shown to be an interesting way to better understand interactions. An approach including calculation of chemical speciation in the medium and bioaccumulation measurements in the organism permits assumptions to be made on the nature of possible interactions between mixture components (toxico-dynamic et toxico-kinetic interactions). (author)

  17. In vitro formation of oropharyngeal biofilms on silicone rubber treated with a palladium/tin salt mixture

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Dijk, F; Westerhof, M; Busscher, HJ; van Luyn, MJA; van der Mei, HC

    2000-01-01

    Adhesion of yeasts and bacteria to silicone rubber is one of the first steps in the biodeterioration of indwelling, silicone rubber voice prostheses. In this paper, silicone rubber, so-called "Groningen button," voice prostheses were treated with a colloidal palladium/tin solution to form a thin

  18. Probabilistic classification method on multi wavelength chromatographic data for photosynthetic pigments identification

    Science.gov (United States)

    Prilianti, K. R.; Setiawan, Y.; Indriatmoko, Adhiwibawa, M. A. S.; Limantara, L.; Brotosudarmo, T. H. P.

    2014-02-01

    Environmental and health problem caused by artificial colorant encourages the increasing usage of natural colorant nowadays. Natural colorant refers to the colorant that is derivate from living organism or minerals. Extensive research topic has been done to exploit these colorant, but recent data shows that only 0.5% of the wide range of plant pigments in the earth has been exhaustively used. Hence development of the pigment characterization technique is an important consideration. High-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) is a widely used technique to separate pigments in a mixture and identify it. In former HPLC fingerprinting, pigment characterization was based on a single chromatogram from a fixed wavelength (one dimensional) and discard the information contained at other wavelength. Therefore, two dimensional fingerprints have been proposed to use more chromatographic information. Unfortunately this method leads to the data processing problem due to the size of its data matrix. The other common problem in the chromatogram analysis is the subjectivity of the researcher in recognizing the chromatogram pattern. In this research an automated analysis method of the multi wavelength chromatographic data was proposed. Principal component analysis (PCA) was used to compress the data matrix and Maximum Likelihood (ML) classification was applied to identify the chromatogram pattern of the existing pigments in a mixture. Three photosynthetic pigments were selected to show the proposed method. Those pigments are β-carotene, fucoxanthin and zeaxanthin. The result suggests that the method could well inform the existence of the pigments in a particular mixture. A simple computer application was also developed to facilitate real time analysis. Input of the application is multi wavelength chromatographic data matrix and the output is information about the existence of the three pigments.

  19. Rats' preferences for high fructose corn syrup vs. sucrose and sugar mixtures.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ackroff, Karen; Sclafani, Anthony

    2011-03-28

    High fructose corn syrup (HFCS) has replaced sucrose in many food products, which has prompted research comparing these two sweeteners in rodents. The present study examined the relative palatability of HFCS and sucrose for rats, offering 11% carbohydrate solutions to match the content of common beverages for human consumption. The animals initially preferred HFCS to sucrose but after separate experience with each solution they switched to sucrose preference. Approximating the composition of HFCS with a mixture of fructose and glucose (55:45) yielded a solution that was less attractive than sucrose or HFCS. However, HFCS contains a small amount of glucose polymers, which are very attractive to rats. A 55:42:3 mixture of fructose, glucose and glucose polymers (Polycose) was equally preferred to HFCS and was treated similarly to HFCS in comparisons vs. sucrose. Post-oral effects of sucrose, which is 50% fructose and 50% glucose, may be responsible for the shift in preference with experience. This shift, and the relatively small magnitude of differences in preference for HFCS and sucrose, suggest that palatability factors probably do not contribute to any possible difference in weight gain responses to these sweeteners. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  20. Assessment of multi-chemical pollution in aquatic ecosystems using toxic units: compound prioritization, mixture characterization and relationships with biological descriptors.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ginebreda, Antoni; Kuzmanovic, Maja; Guasch, Helena; de Alda, Miren López; López-Doval, Julio C; Muñoz, Isabel; Ricart, Marta; Romaní, Anna M; Sabater, Sergi; Barceló, Damià

    2014-01-15

    Chemical pollution is typically characterized by exposure to multiple rather than to single or a limited number of compounds. Parent compounds, transformation products and other non-targeted compounds yield mixtures whose composition can only be partially identified by monitoring, while a substantial proportion remains unknown. In this context, risk assessment based on the application of additive ecotoxicity models, such as concentration addition (CA), is rendered somewhat misleading. Here, we show that ecotoxicity risk information can be better understood upon consideration of the probabilistic distribution of risk among the different compounds. Toxic units of the compounds identified in a sample fit a lognormal probability distribution. The parameters characterizing this distribution (mean and standard deviation) provide information which can be tentatively interpreted as a measure of the toxic load and its apportionment among the constituents in the mixture (here interpreted as mixture complexity). Furthermore, they provide information for compound prioritization tailored to each site and enable prediction of some of the functional and structural biological variables associated with the receiving ecosystem. The proposed approach was tested in the Llobregat River basin (NE Spain) using exposure and toxicity data (algae and Daphnia) corresponding to 29 pharmaceuticals and 22 pesticides, and 5 structural and functional biological descriptors related to benthic macroinvertebrates (diversity, biomass) and biofilm metrics (diatom quality, chlorophyll-a content and photosynthetic capacity). Aggregated toxic units based on Daphnia and algae bioassays provided a good indication of the pollution pattern of the Llobregat River basin. Relative contribution of pesticides and pharmaceuticals to total toxic load was variable and highly site dependent, the latter group tending to increase its contribution in urban areas. Contaminated sites' toxic load was typically dominated by

  1. Mechanical properties of multi-walled carbon nanotube/epoxy polysulfide nanocomposite

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Shirkavand Hadavand, Behzad; Mahdavi Javid, Kimya; Gharagozlou, Mehrnaz

    2013-01-01

    Highlights: ► Preparation of epoxy polysulfide nanocomposite. ► Multi-walled carbon nanotubes have been modified and dispersed in epoxy polysulfide matrix. ► Mechanical properties of MWNT/epoxy polysulfide have been studied. - Abstract: In this research, multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) were modified by acid functionalization (H 2 SO 4 :HNO 3 = 1:3 by volume) and then mechanical properties of reinforced epoxy polysulfide resin by the both pure and treated MWNTs have been evaluated. For achieving this goal, different weight percentages of pure and treated MWCNT (0.1–0.3 wt%) were dispersed in the epoxy polysulfide resin separately and then mixed with curing agent. Experimental results have shown significant difference between acid treated and untreated MWCNTs in mechanical properties of epoxy polysulfide nanocomposites. In nanocomposite with 0.1–0.3% acid treated MWCNTs we observed increase of Young’s modulus from 458 to 723 MPa, tensile strength from 5.29 to 8.83 MPa and fracture strain from 0.16% to 0.25%. For understanding the structure and morphology of nanocomposite, the dispersion states were studied using scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and field emission electron microscopy (FESEM). The results showed better dispersion of modified carbon nanotube than unmodified in polymeric matrix

  2. The underlying toxicological mechanism of chemical mixtures: A case study on mixture toxicity of cyanogenic toxicants and aldehydes to Photobacterium phosphoreum

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Tian, Dayong; Lin, Zhifen; Zhou, Xianghong; Yin, Daqiang

    2013-01-01

    Intracellular chemical reaction of chemical mixtures is one of the main reasons that cause synergistic or antagonistic effects. However, it still remains unclear what the influencing factors on the intracellular chemical reaction are, and how they influence on the toxicological mechanism of chemical mixtures. To reveal this underlying toxicological mechanism of chemical mixtures, a case study on mixture toxicity of cyanogenic toxicants and aldehydes to Photobacterium phosphoreum was employed, and both their joint effects and mixture toxicity were observed. Then series of two-step linear regressions were performed to describe the relationships between joint effects, the expected additive toxicities and descriptors of individual chemicals (including concentrations, binding affinity to receptors, octanol/water partition coefficients). Based on the quantitative relationships, the underlying joint toxicological mechanisms were revealed. The result shows that, for mixtures with their joint effects resulting from intracellular chemical reaction, their underlying toxicological mechanism depends on not only their interaction with target proteins, but also their transmembrane actions and their concentrations. In addition, two generic points of toxicological mechanism were proposed including the influencing factors on intracellular chemical reaction and the difference of the toxicological mechanism between single reactive chemicals and their mixtures. This study provided an insight into the understanding of the underlying toxicological mechanism for chemical mixtures with intracellular chemical reaction. - Highlights: • Joint effects of nitriles and aldehydes at non-equitoxic ratios were determined. • A novel descriptor, ligand–receptor interaction energy (E binding ), was employed. • Quantitative relationships for mixtures were developed based on a novel descriptor. • The underlying toxic mechanism was revealed based on quantitative relationships. • Two generic

  3. The underlying toxicological mechanism of chemical mixtures: A case study on mixture toxicity of cyanogenic toxicants and aldehydes to Photobacterium phosphoreum

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Tian, Dayong [State Key Laboratory of Pollution Control and Resource Reuse, College of Environmental Science and Engineering, Tongji University, Shanghai 200092 (China); Department of Chemical and Environmental Engineering, Anyang Institute of Technology, Anyang 455000 (China); Lin, Zhifen, E-mail: lzhifen@tongji.edu.cn [State Key Laboratory of Pollution Control and Resource Reuse, College of Environmental Science and Engineering, Tongji University, Shanghai 200092 (China); Zhou, Xianghong [Department of Public Management, Tongji University, Shanghai 200092 (China); Yin, Daqiang [Key Laboratory of Yangtze River Water Environment, Ministry of Education, College of Environmental Science and Engineering, Tongji University, Shanghai 200092 (China)

    2013-10-15

    Intracellular chemical reaction of chemical mixtures is one of the main reasons that cause synergistic or antagonistic effects. However, it still remains unclear what the influencing factors on the intracellular chemical reaction are, and how they influence on the toxicological mechanism of chemical mixtures. To reveal this underlying toxicological mechanism of chemical mixtures, a case study on mixture toxicity of cyanogenic toxicants and aldehydes to Photobacterium phosphoreum was employed, and both their joint effects and mixture toxicity were observed. Then series of two-step linear regressions were performed to describe the relationships between joint effects, the expected additive toxicities and descriptors of individual chemicals (including concentrations, binding affinity to receptors, octanol/water partition coefficients). Based on the quantitative relationships, the underlying joint toxicological mechanisms were revealed. The result shows that, for mixtures with their joint effects resulting from intracellular chemical reaction, their underlying toxicological mechanism depends on not only their interaction with target proteins, but also their transmembrane actions and their concentrations. In addition, two generic points of toxicological mechanism were proposed including the influencing factors on intracellular chemical reaction and the difference of the toxicological mechanism between single reactive chemicals and their mixtures. This study provided an insight into the understanding of the underlying toxicological mechanism for chemical mixtures with intracellular chemical reaction. - Highlights: • Joint effects of nitriles and aldehydes at non-equitoxic ratios were determined. • A novel descriptor, ligand–receptor interaction energy (E{sub binding}), was employed. • Quantitative relationships for mixtures were developed based on a novel descriptor. • The underlying toxic mechanism was revealed based on quantitative relationships. • Two

  4. Multi-Institutional Experience of Ductal Carcinoma In Situ in Black vs White Patients Treated With Breast-Conserving Surgery and Whole Breast Radiation Therapy

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Nelson, Carl; Bai, Harrison; Neboori, Hanmanth; Takita, Cristiane; Motwani, Sabin; Wright, Jean L.; Hobeika, Georges; Haffty, Bruce G.; Jones, Tiffanie; Goyal, Sharad; Moran, Meena S.

    2012-01-01

    Purpose: Given the paucity of data on racial disparities in ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS), the data from a multi-institutional cohort of DCIS patients treated with breast-conserving surgery and whole breast radiation therapy (RT) were analyzed to determine whether racial disparities or differences exist. Methods and Materials: A total of 533 white and 76 black DCIS patients from 3 university-based cancer centers were uniformly treated with breast-conserving surgery and RT. All patient data were collected and analyzed as a function of race. Results: The median follow-up was 5.2 years. No significant racial differences were seen in tumor size, age at diagnosis, estrogen receptor status, necrosis, or grade (all P>.05). Of the treatment parameters, the RT dose delivered, boost, positive margin rates, frequency of hormone receptor status assessment, and receipt of hormonal therapy for the 2 cohorts did not significantly differ (all P>.05). The local relapse-free survival was similar at 5 years (96.1% and 98.1%, P=.399) and 10 years (92.8% vs 95.8%, P=.360), with no significant overall survival difference at 10 years (94.0% vs 88.9%, P=.290) between the white and black patients, respectively. On multivariate analysis, race was not an independent predictor of local relapse-free survival or overall survival when accounting for age, grade, and margin status. Conclusion: In our large cohort of DCIS patients uniformly treated at 3 institutions with breast conservation without any apparent differences in treatment delivery parameters, we demonstrated that the clinical and pathologic features and local survival outcomes did not differ as a function of race. Our results suggest that when black patients with DCIS are appropriately selected for breast conservation and receive adjuvant RT without racial disparities in the treatment parameters, differences in the outcomes as a function of race do not exist.

  5. Sorption characteristic of coal as regards of gas mixtures emitted in the process of the self-heating of coal

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Wojtacha-Rychter Karolina

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available One of the most challenging tasks in the coal mining sector is the detection of endogenous fire risks. Under field conditions, the distance between the points where samples for the analyses are collected and the actual place where coal self-heating takes place may be quite remote. Coal is a natural sorbent with a diverse character of pore structures which are surrounded by fractures and cleavage planes constituting ideal spaces for the flow and adsorption of gases. The gases (methane, ethane, ethylene, propane, propylene, acetylene, carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide, hydrogen released from the source of fire migrate through the seam and may be subject to adsorption, or they may cause the desorption of gases accumulated in coal. Therefore, the values of reference sample concentrations may be overstated or understated, respectively. The objective of this experimental study was to investigate the adsorption phenomena accompanying the flow of a multi-component gas mixture through a coal bed which may occur in situ. The research was conducted by means of a method based on a series of calorimetric/chromatographic measurements taken to determine the amount of gases released during coal heating at various temperatures under laboratory conditions. Based on the results obtained in the course of the experiments, it was concluded that the amount of gas adsorbed in the seam depends on the type of coal and the gas. Within the multi-component gas mixture, hydrocarbons demonstrated the largest sorption capacity, especially as concerns propylene.

  6. Incineration of spent ion exchange resins in a triphasic mixture at Belgoprocess

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Deckers, J.; Luycx, P.

    2003-01-01

    Up to 1998, spent ion exchange resins have been fed to the incinerator in combination with various other solid combustible wastes at Belgoprocess. However, thanks to sustained efforts to reduce radioactive waste production in all nuclear facilities in Belgium, the annual production of solid combustible waste is now much too small to allow this practice to be continued. Since the incinerator at Belgoprocess is not capable of treating spent ion exchange resins as such, it was decided to adopt the use of foam as a carrier to feed the resins to the incinerator. The mixture is a pseudohomogeneous charged foam, ensuring easy handling and allowing incineration in the existing furance, while a number of additives may be included, such as oil to increase the calorific value of the mixture and accelerate combustion. The first incineration campaign of spent ion exchange resins in a triphasic foam mixture, in conjunction with other liquid and solid combustible wastes, will be started in January 2000. The foam, comprising 70% by weight of resins, 29% by weight of water and 1% by weight of surfactant will be pulverized in the incinerator through an injection lance, at a feed rate of 40 to 100 kg/h. The incinerator and associated off-gas treatment system can be operated at standard conditions. Belgoprocess is the subsidiary of the Belgian national agency for the management of radioactive waste, known by its Dutch and French acronyms, NIRAS and ONDRAF respectively. The company ensures the treatment, conditioning and interim storage of nearly all radioactive waste produced in Belgium. (orig.)

  7. Organic biowastes blend selection for composting industrial eggshell by-product: experimental and statistical mixture design.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Soares, Micaela A R; Andrade, Sandra R; Martins, Rui C; Quina, Margarida J; Quinta-Ferreira, Rosa M

    2012-01-01

    Composting is one of the technologies recommended for pre-treating industrial eggshells (ES) before its application in soils, for calcium recycling. However, due to the high inorganic content of ES, a mixture of biodegradable materials is required to assure a successful procedure. In this study, an adequate organic blend composition containing potato peel (PP), grass clippings (GC) and wheat straw (WS) was determined by applying the simplex-centroid mixture design method to achieve a desired moisture content, carbon: nitrogen ratio and free air space for effective composting of ES. A blend of 56% PP, 37% GC and 7% WS was selected and tested in a self heating reactor, where 10% (w/w) of ES was incorporated. After 29 days of reactor operation, a dry matter reduction of 46% was achieved and thermophilic temperatures were maintained during 15 days, indicating that the blend selected by statistical approach was adequate for composting of ES.

  8. Finite mixture models for the computation of isotope ratios in mixed isotopic samples

    Science.gov (United States)

    Koffler, Daniel; Laaha, Gregor; Leisch, Friedrich; Kappel, Stefanie; Prohaska, Thomas

    2013-04-01

    Finite mixture models have been used for more than 100 years, but have seen a real boost in popularity over the last two decades due to the tremendous increase in available computing power. The areas of application of mixture models range from biology and medicine to physics, economics and marketing. These models can be applied to data where observations originate from various groups and where group affiliations are not known, as is the case for multiple isotope ratios present in mixed isotopic samples. Recently, the potential of finite mixture models for the computation of 235U/238U isotope ratios from transient signals measured in individual (sub-)µm-sized particles by laser ablation - multi-collector - inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (LA-MC-ICPMS) was demonstrated by Kappel et al. [1]. The particles, which were deposited on the same substrate, were certified with respect to their isotopic compositions. Here, we focus on the statistical model and its application to isotope data in ecogeochemistry. Commonly applied evaluation approaches for mixed isotopic samples are time-consuming and are dependent on the judgement of the analyst. Thus, isotopic compositions may be overlooked due to the presence of more dominant constituents. Evaluation using finite mixture models can be accomplished unsupervised and automatically. The models try to fit several linear models (regression lines) to subgroups of data taking the respective slope as estimation for the isotope ratio. The finite mixture models are parameterised by: • The number of different ratios. • Number of points belonging to each ratio-group. • The ratios (i.e. slopes) of each group. Fitting of the parameters is done by maximising the log-likelihood function using an iterative expectation-maximisation (EM) algorithm. In each iteration step, groups of size smaller than a control parameter are dropped; thereby the number of different ratios is determined. The analyst only influences some control

  9. Buffer gas cooling and mixture analysis

    Science.gov (United States)

    Patterson, David S.; Doyle, John M.

    2018-03-06

    An apparatus for spectroscopy of a gas mixture is described. Such an apparatus includes a gas mixing system configured to mix a hot analyte gas that includes at least one analyte species in a gas phase into a cold buffer gas, thereby forming a supersaturated mixture to be provided for spectroscopic analysis.

  10. Multi-Objective Optimization of Organic Rankine Cycle Power Plants Using Pure and Mixed Working Fluids

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jesper G. Andreasen

    2016-04-01

    Full Text Available For zeotropic mixtures, the temperature varies during phase change, which is opposed to the isothermal phase change of pure fluids. The use of such mixtures as working fluids in organic Rankine cycle power plants enables a minimization of the mean temperature difference of the heat exchangers, which is beneficial for cycle performance. On the other hand, larger heat transfer surface areas are typically required for evaporation and condensation when zeotropic mixtures are used as working fluids. In order to assess the feasibility of using zeotropic mixtures, it is, therefore, important to consider the additional costs of the heat exchangers. In this study, we aim at evaluating the economic feasibility of zeotropic mixtures compared to pure fluids. We carry out a multi-objective optimization of the net power output and the component costs for organic Rankine cycle power plants using low-temperature heat at 90 ∘ C to produce electrical power at around 500 kW. The primary outcomes of the study are Pareto fronts, illustrating the power/cost relations for R32, R134a and R32/R134a (0.65/0.35 mole . The results indicate that R32/R134a is the best of these fluids, with 3.4 % higher net power than R32 at the same total cost of 1200 k$.

  11. Health and environmental effects of complex chemical mixtures: proceedings

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    1985-01-01

    The Office of Health and Environmental Research (OHER) of the Department of Energy supports a broad long-term research program on human health and environmental effects from potential exposure to energy-related complex chemical mixtures. The program seeks basic mechanistic data on the effects of complex mixtures at the cellular, molecular, and whole animal levels to aid in predicting human health effects and seeks ecological data on biological and physical transformations in the mixtures, concentrations of the mixtures in various compartments of the environment, and potential routes for human exposure to these mixtures (e.g., food chain). On June 17-18, 1985, OHER held its First Annual Technical Meeting on the Complex Chemical Mixtures Program in Chicago, IL. The primary purpose of the meeting was to enable principal investigators to report the research status and accomplishments of ongoing complex chemical mixture studies supported by OHER. To help focus future research directions round table discussions were conducted.

  12. Distributed model based control of multi unit evaporation systems

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Yudi Samyudia

    2006-01-01

    In this paper, we present a new approach to the analysis and design of distributed control systems for multi-unit plants. The approach is established after treating the effect of recycled dynamics as a gap metric uncertainty from which a distributed controller can be designed sequentially for each unit to tackle the uncertainty. We then use a single effect multi-unit evaporation system to illustrate how the proposed method is used to analyze different control strategies and to systematically achieve a better closed-loop performance using a distributed model-based controller

  13. Toxicity reduction for pharmaceuticals mixture in water by electron beam irradiation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Boiani, Nathalia Fonseca; Tominaga, Flavio Kiyoshi; Borrely, Sueli Ivone

    2015-01-01

    The incorrect disposal of products is committing the environment quality once the aquatic environment is the main vehicle for dispersion of pollutants. Among the highlighted contaminants there are the pharmaceuticals, which are also released to the aquatic environment through the domestic sewage, hospitals and effluents. The monitoring of these pharmaceuticals in the environment has grown, showing many of them as persistent pollutants. Pharmaceuticals from different therapeutic classes have been detected in domestic sewage, surface water and groundwater around the world. Several studies evidenced Fluoxetine Hydrochloride residues in waters. Another important product is the Propranolol, used for heart disease treatments as far as fluoxetine is applied for treating mental diseases. The objective of this study was to apply the radiation processing for the abatement of pollutant in waters. Electron beam accelerator was used during irradiation of the mixture (Propranolol + Fluoxetine Hydrochloride) in aqueous solution. Acute toxicity assays were carried out for Vibrio fischeri marine bacterium, 15 minutes exposure. The results showed that irradiation (2.5kGy and 5.0kGy) enhanced the average effective concentration of the mixture, which means reduction of toxicity (56.34%, 55.70% respectively). Inverse effect was obtained with 7.5 kGy and 10 kGy. (author)

  14. Toxicity reduction for pharmaceuticals mixture in water by electron beam irradiation

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Boiani, Nathalia Fonseca; Tominaga, Flavio Kiyoshi; Borrely, Sueli Ivone, E-mail: flavio_tominaga@hotmail.com, E-mail: sborrely@ipen.br [Instituto de Pesquisas Energeticas e Nucleares (IPEN/CNEN-SP), Sao Paulo, SP (Brazil)

    2015-07-01

    The incorrect disposal of products is committing the environment quality once the aquatic environment is the main vehicle for dispersion of pollutants. Among the highlighted contaminants there are the pharmaceuticals, which are also released to the aquatic environment through the domestic sewage, hospitals and effluents. The monitoring of these pharmaceuticals in the environment has grown, showing many of them as persistent pollutants. Pharmaceuticals from different therapeutic classes have been detected in domestic sewage, surface water and groundwater around the world. Several studies evidenced Fluoxetine Hydrochloride residues in waters. Another important product is the Propranolol, used for heart disease treatments as far as fluoxetine is applied for treating mental diseases. The objective of this study was to apply the radiation processing for the abatement of pollutant in waters. Electron beam accelerator was used during irradiation of the mixture (Propranolol + Fluoxetine Hydrochloride) in aqueous solution. Acute toxicity assays were carried out for Vibrio fischeri marine bacterium, 15 minutes exposure. The results showed that irradiation (2.5kGy and 5.0kGy) enhanced the average effective concentration of the mixture, which means reduction of toxicity (56.34%, 55.70% respectively). Inverse effect was obtained with 7.5 kGy and 10 kGy. (author)

  15. Plasma Treated Multi-Walled Carbon Nanotubes (MWCNTs for Epoxy Nanocomposites

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jie Lian

    2011-12-01

    Full Text Available Plasma nanocoating of allylamine were deposited on the surfaces of multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs to provide desirable functionalities and thus to tailor the surface characteristics of MWCNTs for improved dispersion and interfacial adhesion in epoxy matrices. Plasma nanocoated MWCNTs were characterized using scanning electron microscopy (SEM, high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HR-TEM, surface contact angle, and pH change measurements. Mechanical testing results showed that epoxy reinforced with 1.0 wt % plasma coated MWCNTs increased the tensile strength by 54% as compared with the pure epoxy control, while epoxy reinforced with untreated MWCNTs have lower tensile strength than the pure epoxy control. Optical and electron microscopic images show enhanced dispersion of plasma coated MWCNTs in epoxy compared to untreated MWCNTs. Plasma nanocoatings from allylamine on MWCNTs could significantly enhance their dispersion and interfacial adhesion in epoxy matrices. Simulation results based on the shear-lag model derived from micromechanics also confirmed that plasma nanocoating on MWCNTs significantly improved the epoxy/fillers interface bonding and as a result the increased composite strength.

  16. Shock formation in mixtures of fluids

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Virgopia, N.; Ferraioli, F.

    1987-01-01

    The problem of weak-discontinuity propagation in mixtures of two ideal fluids is examined. The presence of exchenge of momentum reduces or enhances the time for shock formation depending on the machanism with whom the exchange of momentum takes place. Numerical evaluation are also presented for mixtures of nitrogen and oxygen simulating dry-air models

  17. Strength, shrinkage, erodibility and capillary flow characteristics of cement-treated recycled pavement materials

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    William Fedrigo

    2017-09-01

    Full Text Available Full-depth recycling with portland cement (FDR-PC has been widely used for pavement rehabilitation; however, doubts remain regarding factors affecting some properties of the recycled material. Aiming on quantifying the effects of those factors on the strength, drying shrinkage, erodibility, capillary rise and absorption of cement-treated mixtures (CTM of reclaimed asphalt pavement (RAP and graded crushed stone, tests were conducted considering different RAP contents, cement contents, compaction efforts and curing times. Cement addition increased the mixtures strength and reduced their erodibility and capillary flow characteristics, but increased shrinkage. Low cement contents resulted in acceptable strength for CTM, but in high capillary rise and absorption, not being suitable if the layer is exposed to long periods of water soaking. Higher compaction effort led to similar effects as cement addition, counterbalancing low cement contents usage and reducing costs and shrinkage cracking risk. Strength and shrinkage showed higher growth rates at early stages, and then precautions should be taken in order to avoid moisture loss. Increasing RAP content decreased strength; though, RAP effect on the other properties was statistically non-significant, indicating a similar behaviour as CTM without RAP. Considering the studied properties, the mixture with most satisfactory behaviour for field applications was identified. The results highlighted strength is not the only property to be considered when designing FDR-PC mixtures; although presenting acceptable strength, some mixtures may fail due to shrinkage cracking or erosion, when exposed to water content variations. Keywords: Full-depth recycling with cement, Strength, Drying shrinkage, Erodibility, Capillary rise, Absorption

  18. The Stingless Bee Melipona solani Deposits a Signature Mixture and Methyl Oleate to Mark Valuable Food Sources.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Alavez-Rosas, David; Malo, Edi A; Guzmán, Miguel A; Sánchez-Guillén, Daniel; Villanueva-Gutiérrez, Rogel; Cruz-López, Leopoldo

    2017-10-01

    Stingless bees foraging for food improve recruitment by depositing chemical cues on valuable food sites or pheromone marks on vegetation. Using gas chromatography/mass spectrometry and bioassays, we showed that Melipona solani foragers leave a mixture composed mostly of long chain hydrocarbons from their abdominal cuticle plus methyl oleate from the labial gland as a scent mark on rich food sites. The composition of hydrocarbons was highly variable among individuals and varied in proportions, depending on the body part. A wide ratio of compounds present in different body parts of the bees elicited electroantennogram responses from foragers and these responses were dose dependent. Generally, in bioassays, these bees prefer to visit previously visited feeders and feeders marked with extracts from any body part of conspecifics. The mean number of visits to a feeder was enhanced when synthetic methyl oleate was added. We propose that this could be a case of multi-source odor marking, in which hydrocarbons, found in large abundance, act as a signature mixture with attraction enhanced through deposition of methyl oleate, which may indicate a rich food source.

  19. Understanding academic clinicians' intent to treat pediatric obesity.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Frankfurter, Claudia; Cunningham, Charles; Morrison, Katherine M; Rimas, Heather; Bailey, Karen

    2017-02-08

    To examine the extent to which the theory of planned behavior (TPB) predicts academic clinicians' intent to treat pediatric obesity. A multi-disciplinary panel iteratively devised a Likert scale survey based on the constructs of the TPB applied to a set of pediatric obesity themes. A cross-sectional electronic survey was then administered to academic clinicians at tertiary care centers across Canada from January to April 2012. Descriptive statistics were used to summarize demographic and item agreement data. A hierarchical linear regression analysis controlling for demographic variables was conducted to examine the extent to which the TPB subscales predicted intent to treat pediatric obesity. A total of 198 physicians, surgeons, and allied health professionals across Canada (British Columbia, Alberta, Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Nova Scotia, Ontario and Quebec) completed the survey. On step 1, demographic factors accounted for 7.4% of the variance in intent scores. Together in step 2, demographic variables and TPB subscales predicted 56.9% of the variance in a measure of the intent to treat pediatric obesity. Perceived behavioral control, that is, confidence in one's ability to manage pediatric obesity, and subjective norms, congruent with one's context of practice, were the most significant predictors of the intent to treat pediatric obesity. Attitudes and barriers did not predict the intent to treat pediatric obesity in this context. Enhancing self-confidence in the ability to treat pediatric obesity and the existence of supportive treatment environments are important to increase clinician's intent to treat pediatric obesity.

  20. Collective dynamics in dense fluid mixtures

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sinha, S.

    1992-01-01

    This thesis deals with the short wavelength collective dynamics of dense binary fluid mixtures. The analysis shows that at the level of linearized generalized hydrodynamics, the longitudinal modes of the system separates essentially into two parts - one involves the coupling of partial density fluctuations of the two species and the other involves coupling of longitudinal momentum and temperature fluctuations. The authors have shown that the coupling of longitudinal momentum and temperature fluctuations leads to an adequate description of sound propagation in such systems. In particular, they show that structural disorder controls the trapping of sound waves in dense mixtures. The coupling of the partial density fluctuations of the two species leads to a simple description of the partial dynamic structure factors. The results are in agreement with the molecular dynamics simulations of soft sphere mixtures. The partial density fluctuations are the slowest decaying fluctuations on molecular length scales and it turns out that nonlinear coupling of these slow modes leads to important corrections to the long time behavior of the time correlation functions determining the shear viscosity in dense mixtures

  1. Concrete mixture characterization. Cementitious barriers partnership

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Langton, C. [Savannah River Site (SRS), Aiken, SC (United States). Savannah River National Lab. (SRNL); Protiere, Yannick [SIMCO Technologies, Inc., Quebec (Canada)

    2014-12-01

    This report summarizes the characterization study performed on two concrete mixtures used for radioactive waste storage. Both mixtures were prepared with approximately 425 kg of binder. The testing protocol mostly focused on determining the transport properties of the mixtures; volume of permeable voids (porosity), diffusion coefficients, and water permeability were evaluated. Tests were performed after different curing durations. In order to obtain data on the statistical distribution of transport properties, the measurements after 2 years of curing were performed on 10+ samples. Overall, both mixtures exhibited very low tortuosities and permeabilities, a direct consequence of their low water-to-binder ratio and the use of supplementary cementitious materials. The data generated on 2-year old samples showed that porosity, tortuosity and permeability follow a normal distribution. Chloride ponding tests were also performed on test samples. They showed limited chloride ingress, in line with measured transport properties. These test results also showed that both materials react differently with chloride, a consequence of the differences in the binder chemical compositions.

  2. Gas Mixtures for Welding with Micro-Jet Cooling

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Węgrzyn T.

    2015-04-01

    Full Text Available Welding with micro-jet cooling after was tested only for MIG and MAG processes. For micro-jet gases was tested only argon, helium and nitrogen. A paper presents a piece of information about gas mixtures for micro-jet cooling after in welding. There are put down information about gas mixtures that could be chosen both for MAG welding and for micro-jet process. There were given main information about influence of various micro-jet gas mixtures on metallographic structure of steel welds. Mechanical properties of weld was presented in terms of various gas mixtures selection for micro-jet cooling.

  3. Toxicogenomic responses in rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) hepatocytes exposed to model chemicals and a synthetic mixture

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Finne, E.F.; Cooper, G.A.; Koop, B.F.; Hylland, K.; Tollefsen, K.E.

    2007-01-01

    As more salmon gene expression data has become available, the cDNA microarray platform has emerged as an appealing alternative in ecotoxicological screening of single chemicals and environmental samples relevant to the aquatic environment. This study was performed to validate biomarker gene responses of in vitro cultured rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) hepatocytes exposed to model chemicals, and to investigate effects of mixture toxicity in a synthetic mixture. Chemicals used for 24 h single chemical- and mixture exposures were 10 nM 17α-ethinylestradiol (EE2), 0.75 nM 2,3,7,8-tetrachloro-di-benzodioxin (TCDD), 100 μM paraquat (PQ) and 0.75 μM 4-nitroquinoline-1-oxide (NQO). RNA was isolated from exposed cells, DNAse treated and quality controlled before cDNA synthesis, fluorescent labelling and hybridisation to a 16k salmonid microarray. The salmonid 16k cDNA array identified differential gene expression predictive of exposure, which could be verified by quantitative real time PCR. More precisely, the responses of biomarker genes such as cytochrome p4501A and UDP-glucuronosyl transferase to TCDD exposure, glutathione reductase and gammaglutamyl cysteine synthetase to paraquat exposure, as well as vitellogenin and vitelline envelope protein to EE2 exposure validated the use of microarray applied to RNA extracted from in vitro exposed hepatocytes. The mutagenic compound NQO did not result in any change in gene expression. Results from exposure to a synthetic mixture of the same four chemicals, using identical concentrations as for single chemical exposures, revealed combined effects that were not predicted by results for individual chemicals alone. In general, the response of exposure to this mixture led to an average loss of approximately 60% of the transcriptomic signature found for single chemical exposure. The present findings show that microarray analyses may contribute to our mechanistic understanding of single contaminant mode of action as well as

  4. Toxicogenomic responses in rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) hepatocytes exposed to model chemicals and a synthetic mixture

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Finne, E.F. [Norwegian Institute for Water Research, Gaustadalleen 21, N-0349 Oslo (Norway) and University of Oslo, Department of Biology, P.O. Box 1066, Blindern, N-0316 Oslo (Norway)]. E-mail: eivind.finne@niva.no; Cooper, G.A. [Centre for Biomedical Research, University of Victoria, BC V8P5C2 (Canada); Koop, B.F. [Centre for Biomedical Research, University of Victoria, BC V8P5C2 (Canada); Hylland, K. [Norwegian Institute for Water Research, Gaustadalleen 21, N-0349 Oslo (Norway); University of Oslo, Department of Biology, P.O. Box 1066, Blindern, N-0316 Oslo (Norway); Tollefsen, K.E. [Norwegian Institute for Water Research, Gaustadalleen 21, N-0349 Oslo (Norway)

    2007-03-10

    As more salmon gene expression data has become available, the cDNA microarray platform has emerged as an appealing alternative in ecotoxicological screening of single chemicals and environmental samples relevant to the aquatic environment. This study was performed to validate biomarker gene responses of in vitro cultured rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) hepatocytes exposed to model chemicals, and to investigate effects of mixture toxicity in a synthetic mixture. Chemicals used for 24 h single chemical- and mixture exposures were 10 nM 17{alpha}-ethinylestradiol (EE2), 0.75 nM 2,3,7,8-tetrachloro-di-benzodioxin (TCDD), 100 {mu}M paraquat (PQ) and 0.75 {mu}M 4-nitroquinoline-1-oxide (NQO). RNA was isolated from exposed cells, DNAse treated and quality controlled before cDNA synthesis, fluorescent labelling and hybridisation to a 16k salmonid microarray. The salmonid 16k cDNA array identified differential gene expression predictive of exposure, which could be verified by quantitative real time PCR. More precisely, the responses of biomarker genes such as cytochrome p4501A and UDP-glucuronosyl transferase to TCDD exposure, glutathione reductase and gammaglutamyl cysteine synthetase to paraquat exposure, as well as vitellogenin and vitelline envelope protein to EE2 exposure validated the use of microarray applied to RNA extracted from in vitro exposed hepatocytes. The mutagenic compound NQO did not result in any change in gene expression. Results from exposure to a synthetic mixture of the same four chemicals, using identical concentrations as for single chemical exposures, revealed combined effects that were not predicted by results for individual chemicals alone. In general, the response of exposure to this mixture led to an average loss of approximately 60% of the transcriptomic signature found for single chemical exposure. The present findings show that microarray analyses may contribute to our mechanistic understanding of single contaminant mode of action as

  5. Study of blood flow in several benchmark micro-channels using a two-fluid approach

    OpenAIRE

    Wu, Wei-Tao; Yang, Fang; Antaki, James F.; Aubry, Nadine; Massoudi, Mehrdad

    2015-01-01

    It is known that in a vessel whose characteristic dimension (e.g., its diameter) is in the range of 20 to 500 microns, blood behaves as a non-Newtonian fluid, exhibiting complex phenomena, such as shear-thinning, stress relaxation, and also multi-component behaviors, such as the Fahraeus effect, plasma-skimming, etc. For describing these non-Newtonian and multi-component characteristics of blood, using the framework of mixture theory, a two-fluid model is applied, where the plasma is treated ...

  6. Oxidation of Mixed Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients in Biologically Treated Wastewater by ClO2

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Moradas, Gerly; Fick, Jerker; Ledin, Anna

    2011-01-01

    Biologically treated wastewater containing a mixture of 53 active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs)was treated with 0-20 mg/l chlorine dioxide (ClO2) solution. Wastewater effluents were taken from two wastewater treatment plants in Sweden, one with (low COD) and one without (high COD) extended...... removed at 5 mg/l ClO2 dose. Removal of the same APIs from the high COD effluent was observed when the ClO2 dose was increased to 1.25 mg/l and an increase in API removal only after treatment with 8 mg/l ClO2. This illustrates that treatment of wastewater effluents with chlorine dioxide has potential...

  7. Disentangling the developmental and neurobehavioural effects of perinatal exposure to a chemical mixture found in blood of Arctic populations: differential toxicity of mixture components

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Bowers, W.; Nakai, J.; Yagminas, A.; Chu, I.; Moir, D. [Health Canada (Canada)

    2004-09-15

    The current study was designed to evaluate the neurobehavioral effects of perinatal exposure to a chemical mixture that is based on relative concentrations of persistent organic pollutants found in the blood of Canadian Arctic populations and contains 14 PCB congeners, 12 organochlorine pesticides and methyl mercury. This study compared the effects of the complete mixture with the effects of three major components of the mixture (the PCB component, the organochlorine pesticide component, and the methyl mercury component). By examining a range of neurobehavioural functions over development we also determine if specific neurobehavioural disturbances produced by the mixture can be attributed to components of the mixture and if neurobehavioural effects produced by components of the mixture are altered by concurrent exposure to other components in the mixture. Ninety-two nulliparious female Sprague-Dawley rats served as subjects.

  8. Method of extracting iodine from liquid mixtures of iodine, water and hydrogen iodide

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mysels, Karol J.

    1979-01-01

    The components of a liquid mixture consisting essentially of HI, water and at least about 50 w/o iodine are separated in a countercurrent extraction zone by treating with phosphoric acid containing at least about 90 w/o H.sub.3 PO.sub.4. The bottom stream from the extraction zone is substantially completely molten iodine, and the overhead stream contains water, HI, H.sub.3 PO.sub.4 and a small fraction of the amount of original iodine. When the water and HI are present in near-azeotropic proportions, there is particular advantage in feeding the overhead stream to an extractive distillation zone wherein it is treated with additional concentrated phosphoric acid to create an anhydrous HI vapor stream and bottoms which contain at least about 85 w/o H.sub.3 PO.sub.4. Concentration of these bottoms provides phosphoric acid infeed for both the countercurrent extraction zone and for the extractive distillation zone.

  9. Self-flowing underwater concrete mixtures for high rise structures

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Yousri, K.M.

    2005-01-01

    Placement of conventional concrete mixtures in underwater construction results in a high percentage of material loss due to washout of cement paste. This paper presents the influence of anti washout admixture (AWA) on various properties of concrete. Eleven self-flowing concrete (SFC) mixtures using type II cement were proportioned. A combination of low water cement (w/c), high cement contents, anti washout admixtures, fly ash, and silica fume were used to enhance the resistance of fresh concrete to washout. The concrete mixtures proportioned to be highly flow able, self-leveling and cohesive. The water-cementitious materials ratios ranged between 0.356 and 0.392 which correspond a typical underwater concrete mixture. The concrete mixtures were tested for slump, slump flow, washout resistance and compressive strength. The compressive strength of each concrete mixture cast underwater was determined at 3, 7, 28 days and compared with the compressive strength of the same concrete mixture cast in normal condition (in air). Test results indicated that the use of an AWA facilitates the production of flow able concrete mixtures with the added benefit of lower washout loss. Concrete mixture proportioned using Type II cement and fly ash at level of replacement of 15% was found to develop self flowing concrete with better fresh and hardened properties and more resistant to washout. The self-flowing underwater concretes developed a 28-day compressive strengths ranging from 20 to 28 MPa

  10. Bayesian Kernel Mixtures for Counts.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Canale, Antonio; Dunson, David B

    2011-12-01

    Although Bayesian nonparametric mixture models for continuous data are well developed, there is a limited literature on related approaches for count data. A common strategy is to use a mixture of Poissons, which unfortunately is quite restrictive in not accounting for distributions having variance less than the mean. Other approaches include mixing multinomials, which requires finite support, and using a Dirichlet process prior with a Poisson base measure, which does not allow smooth deviations from the Poisson. As a broad class of alternative models, we propose to use nonparametric mixtures of rounded continuous kernels. An efficient Gibbs sampler is developed for posterior computation, and a simulation study is performed to assess performance. Focusing on the rounded Gaussian case, we generalize the modeling framework to account for multivariate count data, joint modeling with continuous and categorical variables, and other complications. The methods are illustrated through applications to a developmental toxicity study and marketing data. This article has supplementary material online.

  11. A constitutive theory of reacting electrolyte mixtures

    Science.gov (United States)

    Costa Reis, Martina; Wang, Yongqi; Bono Maurizio Sacchi Bassi, Adalberto

    2013-11-01

    A constitutive theory of reacting electrolyte mixtures is formulated. The intermolecular interactions among the constituents of the mixture are accounted for through additional freedom degrees to each constituent of the mixture. Balance equations for polar reacting continuum mixtures are accordingly formulated and a proper set of constitutive equations is derived with basis in the Müller-Liu formulation of the second law of thermodynamics. Moreover, the non-equilibrium and equilibrium responses of the reacting mixture are investigated in detail by emphasizing the inner and reactive structures of the medium. From the balance laws and constitutive relations, the effects of molecular structure of constituents upon the fluid flow are studied. It is also demonstrated that the local thermodynamic equilibrium state can be reached without imposing that the set of independent constitutive variables is time independent, neither spatially homogeneous nor null. The resulting constitutive relations presented throughout this work are of relevance to many practical applications, such as swelling of clays, developing of bio and polymeric membranes, and use of electrorheological fluids in industrial processes. The first author acknowledges financial support from National Counsel of Technological and Scientific Development (CNPq) and German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD).

  12. A simple approach to polymer mixture miscibility.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Higgins, Julia S; Lipson, Jane E G; White, Ronald P

    2010-03-13

    Polymeric mixtures are important materials, but the control and understanding of mixing behaviour poses problems. The original Flory-Huggins theoretical approach, using a lattice model to compute the statistical thermodynamics, provides the basic understanding of the thermodynamic processes involved but is deficient in describing most real systems, and has little or no predictive capability. We have developed an approach using a lattice integral equation theory, and in this paper we demonstrate that this not only describes well the literature data on polymer mixtures but allows new insights into the behaviour of polymers and their mixtures. The characteristic parameters obtained by fitting the data have been successfully shown to be transferable from one dataset to another, to be able to correctly predict behaviour outside the experimental range of the original data and to allow meaningful comparisons to be made between different polymer mixtures.

  13. Adsorption of gas mixtures on heterogeneous solid surfaces

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Jaroniec, M; Rudzinski, W

    1977-01-01

    A review of theoretical studies on the physical adsorption from gas mixtures on heterogeneous solid surfaces, mainly by Jaroniec and coworkers, covers the vector notation used in the calculations; adsorption isotherms for multicomponent gases; the generalized integral equation for adsorption of gas mixtures, its numerical and analytical solutions, applied, (e.g., to interpret the experimental adsorption isotherms of ethane/ethylene on Nuxit-AL); thermodynamic relations, applied, (e.g., to calculating isosteric adsorption heats from experimental parameters for the adsorption of propylene from propane/propylene mixtures on Nuxit-AL); and the derivation and use of a simplified integral equation for describing the adsorption from gas mixtures on heterogeneous surfaces. 75 references.

  14. Heat transfer from a high temperature condensable mixture

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Chan, S.H.; Cho, D.H.; Condiff, D.W.

    1980-01-01

    Bulk condensation and heat transfer in a very hot gaseous mixture that contains a vapor component condensable at high temperature are investigated. A general formulation of the problem is presented in various forms. Analytical solutions for three specific cases involving both one- and two-component two-phase mixtures are obtained. It is shown that a detached fog formation is induced by rapid radiative cooling from the mixture. The formation of radiatively induced fog is found to be an interesting and important phenomenon as it not only exhibits unique features different from the conventional diffusion induced fog, but also greatly enhances heat transfer from the mixture to the boundary. (author)

  15. The Viscosity of Organic Liquid Mixtures

    Science.gov (United States)

    Len, C. W.; Trusler, J. P. M.; Vesovic, V.; Wakeham, W. A.

    2006-01-01

    The paper reports measurements of the viscosity and density of two heavy hydrocarbon mixtures, Dutrex and Arab Light Flashed Distillate (ALFD), and of their mixtures with hydrogen. The measurements have been carried out with a vibrating-wire device over a range of temperatures from 399 to 547 K and at pressures up to 20 MPa. Measurements have also been carried out on systems in which hydrogen at different concentrations has been dissolved in the liquids. The measurements have an estimated uncertainty of ±5% for viscosity and ±2% for density and represent the first results on these prototypical heavy hydrocarbons. The results reveal that the addition of hydrogen reduces both the density and viscosity of the original hydrocarbon mixture at a particular temperature and pressure.

  16. Determination of thermal conductivity in foundry mould mixtures

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    G. Solenički

    2010-01-01

    Full Text Available For a thorough understanding of the behaviour of foundry mould mixtures, a good knowledge of thermal properties of mould materials is needed. Laboratory determination of thermal conductivity of mould mixtures enables a better control over scabbing defects which are a major problem in green sand mould mixtures. A special instrument has been designed for that purpose and it is described in this work.

  17. Productivity, botanical composition, and nutritive value of commercial pasture mixtures

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pastures in the northeastern USA often are planted to mixtures of grasses and legumes. There is limited public sector information on the performance of commercial forage mixtures. We evaluated a range of commercial pasture mixtures to determine if the number of species in a mixture affected yield an...

  18. Heat transfer from a high temperature condensable mixture

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Chan, S.H.; Cho, D.H.; Condiff, D.W.

    1978-01-01

    A new development in heat transfer is reported. It is concerned with heat transfer from a gaseous mixture that contains a condensable vapor and is at very high temperature. In the past, heat transfer associated with either a condensable mixture at low temperature or a noncondensable mixture at high temperature has been investigated. The former reduces to the classical problem of fog formation in, say, atmosphere where the rate of condensation is diffusion controlled (molecular or conductive diffusions). In the presence of noncondensable gases, heat transfer to a cooler boundary by this mechanism is known to be drastically reduced. In the latter case, where the high temperature mixture is noncondensable, radiative transfer may become dominant and a vast amount of existing literature exists on this class of problem. A fundamentally different type of problem of relevance to recent advances in open cycle MHD power plants and breeder reactor safety is considered. In the advanced coal-fired power plant using MHD as a topping cycle, a condensable mixture is encountered at temperatures of 2000 to 3000 0 . Condensation of the vaporized slag and seed materials at such a high temperature can take place in the MHD generator channel as well as in the radiant boiler. Similarly, in breeder reactor accident analyses involving hypothetical core disruptive accidents, a UO 2 vapor mixture at 400 0 K or higher is often considered. Since the saturation temperature of UO 2 at one atmosphere is close to 4000 0 K, condensation is also likely at a very high temperature. Accordingly, an objective of the present work is to provide an understanding of heat transfer and condensation mechanics insystems containing a high temperature condensable mixture. The results of the study show that, when a high temperature mixture is in contact with a cooler surface, a thermal boundary layer develops rapidly because of intensive radiative cooling from the mixture

  19. Modeling Phase Equilibria for Acid Gas Mixtures Using the CPA Equation of State. I. Mixtures with H2S

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Tsivintzelis, Ioannis; Kontogeorgis, Georgios; Michelsen, Michael Locht

    2010-01-01

    (water, methanol, and glycols) are modeled assuming presence or not of cross-association interactions. Such interactions are accounted for using either a combining rule or a cross-solvation energy obtained from spectroscopic data. Using the parameters obtained from the binary systems, one ternary......The Cubic-Plus-Association (CPA) equation of state is applied to a large variety of mixtures containing H2S, which are of interest in the oil and gas industry. Binary H2S mixtures with alkanes, CO2, water, methanol, and glycols are first considered. The interactions of H2S with polar compounds...... and three quaternary mixtures are considered. It is shown that overall excellent correlation for binary, mixtures and satisfactory prediction results for multicomponent systems are obtained. There are significant differences between the various modeling approaches and the best results are obtained when...

  20. TEMPERATURE INFLUENCE ON PHASE STABILITY OF ETHANOL-GASOLINE MIXTURES

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Valerian Cerempei

    2011-06-01

    Full Text Available The article investigates phase stability of ethanol-gasoline mixtures depending on their composition, water concentration in ethanol and ethanol-gasoline mixture and temperature. There have been determined the perfect functioning conditions of spark ignition engines fueled with ethanol-gasoline mixtures.

  1. Chlorine disinfection of dye wastewater: Implications for a commercial azo dye mixture

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Vacchi, Francine Inforçato; Albuquerque, Anjaina Fernandes; Vendemiatti, Josiane Aparecida; Morales, Daniel Alexandre; Ormond, Alexandra B.; Freeman, Harold S.; Zocolo, Guilherme Julião; Zanoni, Maria Valnice Boldrin; Umbuzeiro, Gisela

    2013-01-01

    Azo dyes, the most widely used family of synthetic dyes, are often employed as colorants in areas such as textiles, plastics, foods/drugs/cosmetics, and electronics. Following their use in industrial applications, azo dyes have been found in effluents and various receiving waters. Chemical treatment of effluents containing azo dyes includes disinfection using chlorine, which can generate compounds of varying eco/genotoxicity. Among the widely known commercial azo dyes for synthetic fibers is C.I. Disperse Red 1. While this dye is known to exist as a complex mixture, reports of eco/genotoxicity involve the purified form. Bearing in mind the potential for adverse synergistic effects arising from exposures to chemical mixtures, the aim of the present study was to characterize the components of commercial Disperse Red 1 and its chlorine-mediated decoloration products and to evaluate their ecotoxicity and mutagenicity. In conducting the present study, Disperse Red 1 was treated with chlorine gas, and the solution obtained was analyzed with the aid of LC–ESI-MS/MS to identify the components present, and then evaluated for ecotoxicity and mutagenicity, using Daphnia similis and Salmonella/microsome assays, respectively. The results of this study indicated that chlorination of Disperse Red 1 produced four chlorinated aromatic compounds as the main products and that the degradation products were more ecotoxic than the parent dye. These results suggest that a disinfection process using chlorine should be avoided for effluents containing hydrophobic azo dyes such commercial Disperse Red 1. -- Highlights: ► Aqueous solutions of Disperse Red 1 were treated with chlorine. ► The chlorination products of Disperse Red 1 were identified using LC–ESI-MS/MS. ► Daphnia and Salmonella/microsome were employed for eco/genotoxicity testing. ► The chlorinated dye was more mutagenic than the dye itself. ► Chlorination should be avoided in effluents containing azo-dyes.

  2. Decoration of Multi-walled Carbon Nanotubes by Metal ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    The powder patterns of the as-prepared and acid treated MWCNTs are shown by the XRD spectra. The TEM results show the microstructure of the multi-walled carbon nanotubes well decorated with metal nanoparticles (Cu, Fe, Ni) and metal oxides (CuO, Fe2O3, NiO), while the SEM show the surface morphology.

  3. Controlling the dynamics of multi-state neural networks

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Jin, Tao; Zhao, Hong

    2008-01-01

    In this paper, we first analyze the distribution of local fields (DLF) which is induced by the memory patterns in the Q-Ising model. It is found that the structure of the DLF is closely correlated with the network dynamics and the system performance. However, the design rule adopted in the Q-Ising model, like the other rules adopted for multi-state neural networks with associative memories, cannot be applied to directly control the DLF for a given set of memory patterns, and thus cannot be applied to further study the relationships between the structure of the DLF and the dynamics of the network. We then extend a design rule, which was presented recently for designing binary-state neural networks, to make it suitable for designing general multi-state neural networks. This rule is able to control the structure of the DLF as expected. We show that controlling the DLF not only can affect the dynamic behaviors of the multi-state neural networks for a given set of memory patterns, but also can improve the storage capacity. With the change of the DLF, the network shows very rich dynamic behaviors, such as the 'chaos phase', the 'memory phase', and the 'mixture phase'. These dynamic behaviors are also observed in the binary-state neural networks; therefore, our results imply that they may be the universal behaviors of feedback neural networks

  4. Long-term competition between sulfate reducing and methanogenic bacteria in UASB reactors treating volatile fatty acids.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Omil, F; Lens, P; Visser, A; Hulshoff Pol, L W; Lettinga, G

    1998-03-20

    The competition between acetate utilizing methane-producing bacteria (MB) and sulfate-reducing bacteria (SRB) was studied in mesophilic (30 degrees C) upflow anaerobic sludge bed (UASB) reactors (upward velocity 1 m h-1; pH 8) treating volatile fatty acids and sulfate. The UASB reactors treated a VFA mixture (with an acetate:propionate:butyrate ratio of 5:3:2 on COD basis) or acetate as the sole substrate at different COD:sulfate ratios. The outcome of the competition was evaluated in terms of conversion rates and specific methanogenic and sulfidogenic activities. The COD:sulfate ratio was a key factor in the partitioning of acetate utilization between MB and SRB. In excess of sulfate (COD:sulfate ratio lower than 0.67), SRB became predominant over MB after prolonged reactor operation: 250 and 400 days were required to increase the amount of acetate used by SRB from 50 to 90% in the reactor treating, respectively, the VFA mixture or acetate as the sole substrate. The competition for acetate was further studied by dynamic simulations using a mathematical model based on the Monod kinetic parameters of acetate utilizing SRB and MB. The simulations confirmed the long term nature of the competition between these acetotrophs. A high reactor pH (+/-8), a short solid retention time (acetate-utilising SRB to outcompete MB. Copyright 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

  5. Characterization mixtures of thick gypsum with addition of treated waste from laminated plasterboards

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Rodríguez-Orejón, A.

    2014-06-01

    Full Text Available nvironmental protection involves the reuse of construction and demolition waste. In order to improve recycling, waste from laminated plasterboards is used in the cement and laminated gypsum boards manufacture.This article analyzes the use of ground and burnt laminated plasterboard (BLG waste mixed with thick gypsum (TG. Physical-mechanical characterization of superficial hardness and mechanical strength has been performed on different batches of plaster powder materials with different BLG waste particle sizes to determine its suitability. Coarse particle sizes were preferred in order to reduce the waste treatment. From all the mixtures studied, the one with the best results was TG + 5% BLG1.25 which forms a material of higher superficial hardness and strength. The results obtained in the study have proved suitable products for building use (both as renders and as prefabricated elements enabling for a reduction in the consumption of natural resources.La protección del medio ambiente implica la reutilización de los residuos de construcción y demolición. Los residuos de placas de yeso laminado se utilizan en la fabricación de cemento y de placas de yeso laminado. En este artículo se ha estudiado la utilización deresiduos de placa de yeso laminado cocido (YLC mezclado con yeso grueso (YG, realizándose la caracterización físico-mecánica de dureza superficial y resistencias mecánicas, para determinar su idoneidad formando materiales de yeso en polvo con distintas granulometrías de residuos de (YLC, teniendo preferencia por granulometrías gruesas, que reducen el tratamiento del residuo. De las mezclas estudiadas la que mejores resultados ha ofrecido es YG + 5%YLC1,25 formando un material de mayor dureza superficial y resistencia. De los resultados obtenidos en el estudio se puede afirmar que se han conseguido productos aptos para su utilización en edificación posibilitando una reducción del consumo de recursos naturales.

  6. Predicting diffusivities in dense fluid mixtures

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    C. DARIVA

    1999-09-01

    Full Text Available In this work the Enskog solution of the Boltzmann equation, as corrected by Speedy, together with the Weeks-Chandler-Andersen (WCA perturbation theory of liquids is employed in correlating and predicting self-diffusivities of dense fluids. Afterwards this theory is used to estimate mutual diffusion coefficients of solutes at infinite dilution in sub and supercritical solvents. We have also investigated the behavior of Fick diffusion coefficients in the proximity of a binary vapor-liquid critical point since this subject is of great interest for extraction purposes. The approach presented here, which makes use of a density and temperature dependent hard-sphere diameter, is shown to be excellent for predicting diffusivities in dense pure fluids and fluid mixtures. The calculations involved highly nonideal mixtures as well as systems with high molecular asymmetry. The predicted diffusivities are in good agreement with the experimental data for the pure and binary systems. The methodology proposed here makes only use of pure component information and density of mixtures. The simple algebraic relations are proposed without any binary adjustable parameters and can be readily used for estimating diffusivities in multicomponent mixtures.

  7. Modelling of an homogeneous equilibrium mixture model

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Bernard-Champmartin, A.; Poujade, O.; Mathiaud, J.; Mathiaud, J.; Ghidaglia, J.M.

    2014-01-01

    We present here a model for two phase flows which is simpler than the 6-equations models (with two densities, two velocities, two temperatures) but more accurate than the standard mixture models with 4 equations (with two densities, one velocity and one temperature). We are interested in the case when the two-phases have been interacting long enough for the drag force to be small but still not negligible. The so-called Homogeneous Equilibrium Mixture Model (HEM) that we present is dealing with both mixture and relative quantities, allowing in particular to follow both a mixture velocity and a relative velocity. This relative velocity is not tracked by a conservation law but by a closure law (drift relation), whose expression is related to the drag force terms of the two-phase flow. After the derivation of the model, a stability analysis and numerical experiments are presented. (authors)

  8. The effects of LMWOAs on biodegradation of multi-component PAHs in aqueous solution using dual-wavelength fluorimetry

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Wei Xingyuan; Sang Lingzi; Chen Jianing; Zhu Yaxian; Zhang Yong

    2009-01-01

    Biodegradation of dissolved fluorene (Flu), phenanthrene (Ph) and pyrene (Py), three polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), singly or as a mixture of the three, by two bacterial strains, MEBIC 5140 (Mycobacterium flavescens) and MEBIC 5141 (Mycobacterium scrofulaceum), as well as the effects of low molecular weight organic acids (LMWOAs), e.g. malic acid, citric acid and butyric acid on biodegradation of the three PAHs in mineral salts medium aqueous solution were investigated using a newly established dual-wavelength fluorimetric method. The results showed that biodegradation processes can be monitored simultaneously, quickly and simply by dual-wavelength fluorimetry. Both co-metabolism and inhibitory effects were found during the biodegradation of the three PAHs by MEBIC 5140 and MEBIC 5141. Positive effects of butyric acid and negative effects of citric acid on biodegradation of the three PAHs in a mixture were observed. - Biodegradation processes of dissolved multi-component PAHs in a mixture and effects of LMWOAs were investigated using a dual-wavelength fluorimetry.

  9. Hierarchical graphical-based human pose estimation via local multi-resolution convolutional neural network

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhu, Aichun; Wang, Tian; Snoussi, Hichem

    2018-03-01

    This paper addresses the problems of the graphical-based human pose estimation in still images, including the diversity of appearances and confounding background clutter. We present a new architecture for estimating human pose using a Convolutional Neural Network (CNN). Firstly, a Relative Mixture Deformable Model (RMDM) is defined by each pair of connected parts to compute the relative spatial information in the graphical model. Secondly, a Local Multi-Resolution Convolutional Neural Network (LMR-CNN) is proposed to train and learn the multi-scale representation of each body parts by combining different levels of part context. Thirdly, a LMR-CNN based hierarchical model is defined to explore the context information of limb parts. Finally, the experimental results demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed deep learning approach for human pose estimation.

  10. Hierarchical graphical-based human pose estimation via local multi-resolution convolutional neural network

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Aichun Zhu

    2018-03-01

    Full Text Available This paper addresses the problems of the graphical-based human pose estimation in still images, including the diversity of appearances and confounding background clutter. We present a new architecture for estimating human pose using a Convolutional Neural Network (CNN. Firstly, a Relative Mixture Deformable Model (RMDM is defined by each pair of connected parts to compute the relative spatial information in the graphical model. Secondly, a Local Multi-Resolution Convolutional Neural Network (LMR-CNN is proposed to train and learn the multi-scale representation of each body parts by combining different levels of part context. Thirdly, a LMR-CNN based hierarchical model is defined to explore the context information of limb parts. Finally, the experimental results demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed deep learning approach for human pose estimation.

  11. Riemann solvers for multi-component gas mixtures with temperature dependent heat capacities

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Beccantini, A.

    2001-01-01

    This thesis represents a contribution to the development of upwind splitting schemes for the Euler equations for ideal gaseous mixtures and their investigation in computing multidimensional flows in irregular geometries. In the preliminary part we develop and investigate the parameterization of the shock and rarefaction curves in the phase space. Then, we apply them to perform some field-by-field decompositions of the Riemann problem: the entropy-respecting one, the one which supposes that genuinely-non-linear (GNL) waves are both shocks (shock-shock one) and the one which supposes that GNL waves are both rarefactions (rarefaction-rarefaction one). We emphasize that their analysis is fundamental in Riemann solvers developing: the simpler the field-by-field decomposition, the simpler the Riemann solver based on it. As the specific heat capacities of the gases depend on the temperature, the shock-shock field-by-field decomposition is the easiest to perform. Then, in the second part of the thesis, we develop an upwind splitting scheme based on such decomposition. Afterwards, we investigate its robustness, precision and CPU-time consumption, with respect to some of the most popular upwind splitting schemes for polytropic/non-polytropic ideal gases. 1-D test-cases show that this scheme is both precise (exact capturing of stationary shock and stationary contact) and robust in dealing with strong shock and rarefaction waves. Multidimensional test-cases show that it suffers from some of the typical deficiencies which affect the upwind splitting schemes capable of exact capturing stationary contact discontinuities i.e the developing of non-physical instabilities in computing strong shock waves. In the final part, we use the high-order multidimensional solver here developed to compute fully-developed detonation flows. (author)

  12. DURABILITY OF ASPHALT CONCRETE MIXTURES USING DOLOMITE AGGREGATES

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Imad Al-Shalout

    2015-12-01

    Full Text Available This study deals with the durability of asphalt concrete, including the effects of different gradations, compaction temperatures and immersion time on the durability potential of mixtures. The specific objectives of this study are: to investigate the effect of compaction temperature on the mechanical properties of asphalt concrete mixtures; investigate the effect of bitumen content and different aggregate gradations on the durability potential of bituminous mixtures.

  13. A Study on The Mixture of Exponentiated-Weibull Distribution

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Adel Tawfik Elshahat

    2016-12-01

    Full Text Available Mixtures of measures or distributions occur frequently in the theory and applications of probability and statistics. In the simplest case it may, for example, be reasonable to assume that one is dealing with the mixture in given proportions of a finite number of normal populations with different means or variances. The mixture parameter may also be denumerable infinite, as in the theory of sums of a random number of random variables, or continuous, as in the compound Poisson distribution. The use of finite mixture distributions, to control for unobserved heterogeneity, has become increasingly popular among those estimating dynamic discrete choice models. One of the barriers to using mixture models is that parameters that could previously be estimated in stages must now be estimated jointly: using mixture distributions destroys any additive reparability of the log likelihood function. In this thesis, the maximum likelihood estimators have been obtained for the parameters of the mixture of exponentiated Weibull distribution when sample is available from censoring scheme. The maximum likelihood estimators of the parameters and the asymptotic variance covariance matrix have been also obtained. A numerical illustration for these new results is given.

  14. Parameters of Solidifying Mixtures Transporting at Underground Ore Mining

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Golik Vladimir

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available The article is devoted to the problem of providing mining enterprises with solidifying filling mixtures at underground mining. The results of analytical studies using the data of foreign and domestic practice of solidifying mixtures delivery to stopes are given. On the basis of experimental practice the parameters of transportation of solidifying filling mixtures are given with an increase in their quality due to the effect of vibration in the pipeline. The mechanism of the delivery process and the procedure for determining the parameters of the forced oscillations of the pipeline, the characteristics of the transporting processes, the rigidity of the elastic elements of pipeline section supports and the magnitude of vibrator’ driving force are detailed. It is determined that the quality of solidifying filling mixtures can be increased due to the rational use of technical resources during the transportation of mixtures, and as a result the mixtures are characterized by a more even distribution of the aggregate. The algorithm for calculating the parameters of the pipe vibro-transport of solidifying filling mixtures can be in demand in the design of mineral deposits underground mining technology.

  15. Parameters of Solidifying Mixtures Transporting at Underground Ore Mining

    Science.gov (United States)

    Golik, Vladimir; Dmitrak, Yury

    2017-11-01

    The article is devoted to the problem of providing mining enterprises with solidifying filling mixtures at underground mining. The results of analytical studies using the data of foreign and domestic practice of solidifying mixtures delivery to stopes are given. On the basis of experimental practice the parameters of transportation of solidifying filling mixtures are given with an increase in their quality due to the effect of vibration in the pipeline. The mechanism of the delivery process and the procedure for determining the parameters of the forced oscillations of the pipeline, the characteristics of the transporting processes, the rigidity of the elastic elements of pipeline section supports and the magnitude of vibrator' driving force are detailed. It is determined that the quality of solidifying filling mixtures can be increased due to the rational use of technical resources during the transportation of mixtures, and as a result the mixtures are characterized by a more even distribution of the aggregate. The algorithm for calculating the parameters of the pipe vibro-transport of solidifying filling mixtures can be in demand in the design of mineral deposits underground mining technology.

  16. Apparatus comprising trace element dosage and method for treating raw water in biofilter

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    2015-01-01

    the inlet (2) to the outlet (3) or in the reverse direction, - the trace element dosage device (13) is positioned upstream of the porous filter material and microbial biomass and is configured to dose trace element(s) to the water flowing through the filter. A method for treating raw water by microbial......Apparatus for treating raw water in a biofilter The present invention relates to an apparatus in which raw water is treated through microbial activity where microbial activity is controlled by nutrients and other parameters. Some of the nutrients controlling the microbial activity are trace...... elements such as certain metals (Cu, Co, Cr, Mo, Ni, W, Zn or a mixture thereof). The apparatus comprising - a volume provided with an inlet (2) for raw water and an outlet (3) for water having been subjected to microbial activity, a filter and a trace element dosage device (13) are placed in this volume...

  17. Time characteristics of a multi-wire 4πβ-counter

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Miyahara, Hiroshi; Watanabe, Tamaki

    1981-01-01

    In order to examine the time characteristics of a multi-wire 4πβ-counter for the 4πβ-γ coincidence system, measurement was made on the time distributions of the pulses from the individual anodes. The time distribution obtained by each anode was explained mainly by the distribution of primary ionizing position. A similar time distribution was obtained in the case that the alternating wires cathodes, when the individual anodes had the same effective detection region. Spurious pulses were observed in 90% argon plus 10% methane mixture at the end voltage of the plateau region and not methane gas. (author)

  18. Stochastic radiative transfer model for mixture of discontinuous vegetation canopies

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Shabanov, Nikolay V.; Huang, D.; Knjazikhin, Y.; Dickinson, R.E.; Myneni, Ranga B.

    2007-01-01

    Modeling of the radiation regime of a mixture of vegetation species is a fundamental problem of the Earth's land remote sensing and climate applications. The major existing approaches, including the linear mixture model and the turbid medium (TM) mixture radiative transfer model, provide only an approximate solution to this problem. In this study, we developed the stochastic mixture radiative transfer (SMRT) model, a mathematically exact tool to evaluate radiation regime in a natural canopy with spatially varying optical properties, that is, canopy, which exhibits a structured mixture of vegetation species and gaps. The model solves for the radiation quantities, direct input to the remote sensing/climate applications: mean radiation fluxes over whole mixture and over individual species. The canopy structure is parameterized in the SMRT model in terms of two stochastic moments: the probability of finding species and the conditional pair-correlation of species. The second moment is responsible for the 3D radiation effects, namely, radiation streaming through gaps without interaction with vegetation and variation of the radiation fluxes between different species. We performed analytical and numerical analysis of the radiation effects, simulated with the SMRT model for the three cases of canopy structure: (a) non-ordered mixture of species and gaps (TM); (b) ordered mixture of species without gaps; and (c) ordered mixture of species with gaps. The analysis indicates that the variation of radiation fluxes between different species is proportional to the variation of species optical properties (leaf albedo, density of foliage, etc.) Gaps introduce significant disturbance to the radiation regime in the canopy as their optical properties constitute major contrast to those of any vegetation species. The SMRT model resolves deficiencies of the major existing mixture models: ignorance of species radiation coupling via multiple scattering of photons (the linear mixture model

  19. Fundamental measure theory for hard-sphere mixtures: a review

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Roth, Roland

    2010-01-01

    Hard-sphere systems are one of the fundamental model systems of statistical physics and represent an important reference system for molecular or colloidal systems with soft repulsive or attractive interactions in addition to hard-core repulsion at short distances. Density functional theory for classical systems, as one of the core theoretical approaches of statistical physics of fluids and solids, has to be able to treat such an important system successfully and accurately. Fundamental measure theory is up to date the most successful and most accurate density functional theory for hard-sphere mixtures. Since its introduction fundamental measure theory has been applied to many problems, tested against computer simulations, and further developed in many respects. The literature on fundamental measure theory is already large and is growing fast. This review aims to provide a starting point for readers new to fundamental measure theory and an overview of important developments. (topical review)

  20. Nitrous oxide/oxygen mixture for analgesia in adult cancer patients with breakthrough pain: A randomized, double-blind controlled trial.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liu, Q; Gao, L-L; Dai, Y-L; Li, Y-X; Wang, Y; Bai, C-F; Mu, G-X; Chai, X-M; Han, W-J; Zhou, L-J; Zhang, Y-J; Tang, L; Liu, J; Yu, J-Q

    2018-03-01

    The aim of this study was to assess the efficacy of a fixed nitrous oxide/oxygen mixture for the management of breakthrough cancer pain. A double-blind, placebo-controlled, randomized clinical trial was undertaken in the Medical ward of Tumor Hospital of General Hospital of Ningxia Medical University. 240 cancer patients with breakthrough pain were recruited and randomly received a standard pain treatment (morphine sulphate immediate release) plus a pre-prepared nitrous oxide/oxygen mixture, or the standard pain treatment plus oxygen. The primary endpoint measure was the numerical rating scale (NRS) score measured at baseline, 5 and 15 min after the beginning of treatment, and at 5 min post treatment. In all, analysis of pain score (NRS) at 5 min after the beginning of treatment shown a significant decrease in nitrous oxide/oxygen mixture treated patients with 2.8 ± 1.3 versus 5.5 ± 1.2 in controls (p nitrous oxide/oxygen was 2.0 ± 1.1 compared with 5.6 ± 1.3 for oxygen (p nitrous oxide/oxygen mixture was effective in reducing moderate to severe breakthrough pain among patients with cancer. The management of breakthrough cancer pain is always a challenge due to its temporal characteristics of rapid onset, moderate to severe in intensity, short duration (median 30-60 min). Our study find that self-administered nitrous oxide/oxygen mixture was effective in reducing moderate to severe breakthrough cancer pain. © 2017 European Pain Federation - EFIC®.

  1. Effectiveness of Indonesian Essential Oil Mixture of Lemongrass, Cananga, and Patchouli in Relaxation through Inhalation: A Clinical Test on Healthy Woman with High Potential for Stress

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Richard Siahaan

    2014-12-01

    Full Text Available Relaxation is one of many mechanisms for coping with stress. One of the most widely used methods for relaxation is aromatherapy with the application of essential oils. Known for their therapeutic benefits, essential oils can be extracted from various Indonesian native herbs such as lemongrass (sereh wangi or Cymbopogon winterianus, cananga or ylang-ylang (kenanga or Canarium odoratum, and patchouli (nilam or Pogostemon cabin. This study aims to examine the effectiveness of a mixture of Indonesian essential oil made of lemongrass, cananga, and patchouli extracts. Experiment was conducted by asking a number of subjects to inhale the oil mixture and assessing its effectiveness in terms of psychological relaxation by using Visual Analog Scale or VAS and of physical relaxation by examining the subjects’ blood pressure (MAP, pulse frequency, and breathing frequency. The result was then compared with that of lavender oil and with the control group. The study was conducted on 60 healthy women through single-blind clinical trials (before and after using the “intent to treat” approach, followed by a startle test. Participants were divided into three groups: (1 20 participants who were treated with Indonesian essential oil mixture, (2 20 participants who were treated with lavender oil, and (3 20 participants who served as the control group. Psychological relaxation measurement showed that Indonesian essential oil mixture produced the same degree of effectiveness as lavender oil and the control groups did, although both treatments tended to produce better results than the control group did. However, physical relaxation measurement showed that Indonesian essential oil mixture produced a higher degree of effectiveness than lavender oil and tended to produce a better result than the control group did, especially in terms of blood pressure based on MAP scores.

  2. Innovative aspects of protein stability in ionic liquid mixtures.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kumar, Awanish; Venkatesu, Pannuru

    2018-06-01

    Mixtures of ionic liquids (ILs) have attracted our attention because of their extraordinary performances in extraction technologies and in absorbing large amount of CO 2 gas. It has been observed that when two or more ILs are mixed in different proportions, a new solvent is obtained which is much better than that of each component of ILs from which the mixture is obtained. Within a mixture of ILs, several unidentified interactions occur among several ions which give rise to unique solvent properties to the mixture. Herein, in this review, we have highlighted the utilization of the advantageous properties of the IL mixtures in protein stability studies. This approach is exceptional and opens new directions to the use of ILs in biotechnology.

  3. Mixtures and interactions

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Groten, J.P.

    2000-01-01

    Drinking water can be considered as a complex mixture that consists of tens, hundreds or thousands of chemicals of which the composition is qualitatively and quantitatively not fully known. From a public health point of view it is most relevant to answer the question of whether chemicals in drinking

  4. The inhibition of Saccharomyces cerevisiae population during alcoholic fermentation of grape must by octanoic, decanoic and dodecanoic acid mixture

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Baroň Mojmír

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available The inhibition of alcoholic fermentation by octanoic, decanoic and dodecanoic acid mixture was investigated. Middle chain fatty acids (MCFA mixture contained 10 grams of C8:C10:C12 in a ratio of 2:7:1 was dissolved in 100 ml of 70% ethanol, and in such form, it was subsequently applied into the fermenting must samples. A flow cytometry test showed that the 10 mg/L dose of MCFA mixture had a toxic effect on Saccharomyces cerevisiae (45.9% of viable cells compared with the control variant (74.35%. In combination with 60 mg/L of SO2, it had a higher efficiency (3.1% of viable cells than using a dose of SO2 alone (13.9%. Direct counting of yeast cells confirmed a higher concentration of dead cells with a higher concentration of MCFA. A dose of 10 mg/L of MCFA mixture caused the highest percentage of dead yeast after 24 hours (about 60% compared to the control variant without MCFA dosage (about 24%. The results of residues showed that there is no significant quantitative difference between the treated and untreated musts because of fixing of MCFA inside the yeast cells. This method can effectively reduce the cost of production technology for wines with residual sugar and, in general, reduce the dosage of SO2.

  5. Genetic Evidence for Recent Population Mixture in India

    OpenAIRE

    Moorjani, Priya; Thangaraj, Kumarasamy; Patterson, Nick; Lipson, Mark; Loh, Po-Ru; Govindaraj, Periyasamy; Berger, Bonnie; Reich, David; Singh, Lalji

    2013-01-01

    Most Indian groups descend from a mixture of two genetically divergent populations: Ancestral North Indians (ANI) related to Central Asians, Middle Easterners, Caucasians, and Europeans; and Ancestral South Indians (ASI) not closely related to groups outside the subcontinent. The date of mixture is unknown but has implications for understanding Indian history. We report genome-wide data from 73 groups from the Indian subcontinent and analyze linkage disequilibrium to estimate ANI-ASI mixture ...

  6. Treating oil in a maritime environment

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Seebacher, G.

    2002-01-01

    Some details of the International Maritime Organisation's marine pollution regulations are discussed. In simple terms, under IMO regulations oily water must be processed through approved equipment and can be legally discharged if the oil content in the treated effluent is less than 15 ppm. These regulations also make it clear that it is not permitted to use emulsifiers to hide the oil in the effluent. To separate the free oil from water, gravity enhanced separators can be used effectively. With conventional means it is possible to remove free oil from an oily water mixture, to the less than 15 part per million oil content. Conventional IMO certified oil content meters accurately read free oil content in the 0-30 ppm region, to prevent formation of an oil film from treated oily water discharges. Some additional basic rules of thumb worthy of consideration when separating oil from oily water: in general, it is cheaper to prevent oil discharge of oil into the effluent stream than to remove it; emulsifier-enriched lubricating oils emulsify readily and are difficult to remove when present in suspended droplets; the larger the amount of contamination, the greater the difficulty of removing the oil; an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure

  7. Heat and mass transfer prediction of binary refrigerant mixtures condensing in a horizontal microfin tube

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Koyama, Shigeru; Yu, Jian; Ishibashi, Akira

    1999-07-01

    In the face of the phase-out of HCFC22 for its effect on globe environment, the alternative refrigerant has been paid attention in the refrigeration and heat pump industry. In the present stage, it is found that any pure refrigerant is not a good substitute of HCFC22 for the system in use. The authors have to use binary or ternary refrigerant mixtures as the substitute to meet industrial requirement. But until now, although the heat transfer characteristics of the refrigerant mixtures can be measured in experiments and predicted in some degree, the mass transfer characteristics in condensation process, which is a main part in most systems, can not be clarified by both experimental and theoretical methods. In the present study a non-equilibrium model for condensation of binary refrigerant mixtures inside a horizontal microfin tube is proposed. In this model it is assumed that the phase equilibrium is only established at the vapor-liquid interface, while the bulk vapor and the bulk liquid are in non-equilibrium in the same cross section. The mass transfer characteristic in vapor core is obtained from the analogy between mass and momentum transfer. In the liquid layer, the mass fraction distribution is neglected, but the mass transfer coefficient is treated as infinite that can keep a finite value for the mass transfer rate in liquid phase. From the calculation results compared with the experimental ones for the condensation of HFC134a/HCFC123 and HCFC22/CFC114 mixtures, it is found that the calculated heat flux distribution along the tube axis is in good agreement with that of experiment, and the calculated values of condensing length agree well with the experimental ones. Using the present model, the local mass faction distribution, the diffusion mass transfer rate and the mass transfer characteristics in both vapor and liquid phase are demonstrated. From these results, the effect of mass transfer resistance on condensation heat transfer characteristics for binary

  8. Quantifying Ab Initio Equation of State Errors for Hydrogen-Helium Mixtures

    Science.gov (United States)

    Clay, Raymond; Morales, Miguel

    2017-06-01

    In order to produce predictive models of Jovian planets, an accurate equation of state for hydrogen-helium mixtures is needed over pressure and temperature ranges spanning multiple orders of magnitude. While extensive theoretical work has been done in this area, previous controversies regarding the equation of state of pure hydrogen have demonstrated exceptional sensitivity to approximations commonly employed in ab initio calculations. To this end, we present the results of our quantum Monte Carlo based benchmarking studies for several major classes of density functionals. Additionally, we expand upon our published results by considering the impact that ionic finite size effects and density functional errors translate to errors in the equation of state. Sandia National Laboratories is a multi-mission laboratory managed and operated by Sandia Corporation, a wholly owned subsidiary of Lockheed Martin Corporation, for the U.S. Department of Energy's National Nuclear Security Administration under contract DE-AC04-94AL85000.

  9. Efficacy of a multi-component exercise programme and nutritional supplementation on musculoskeletal health in men treated with androgen deprivation therapy for prostate cancer (IMPACT): study protocol of a randomised controlled trial.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Owen, Patrick J; Daly, Robin M; Livingston, Patricia M; Mundell, Niamh L; Dalla Via, Jack; Millar, Jeremy L; Fraser, Steve F

    2017-10-03

    Prostate cancer is the most commonly diagnosed cancer in men in developed countries. Androgen deprivation therapy (ADT) is a systemic treatment shown to increase survival in selected patients with prostate cancer. The use of ADT continues to increase for all stages and grades of prostate cancer despite known treatment-induced adverse effects. The primary aim of this study is to examine the efficacy of a targeted, multi-component resistance and impact-loading exercise programme together with a daily protein-, calcium- and vitamin D-enriched supplement on bone health in men treated with ADT for prostate cancer. Secondary aims are to determine the effects of this intervention on measures of total body and regional body composition, cardiometabolic risk, inflammatory markers, health-related quality of life and cognitive function. This study is a two-arm randomised controlled trial. Men currently treated with ADT for prostate cancer will be randomised to either a 52-week, community-based, exercise training and nutritional supplementation intervention (n = 51) or usual care control (n = 51). Participants will be assessed at baseline, 26 weeks and 52 weeks for all measures. The primary outcome measures are proximal femur and lumbar spine areal bone mineral density (BMD). Secondary outcomes comprise: changes in tibial and radial bone structure and strength, total body and regional body composition, muscle strength and function, as well as cardiometabolic health, catabolic/inflammatory and anabolic/anti-inflammatory cytokines, health-related quality of life and cognitive function. This study investigates whether a multi-component intervention incorporating a targeted bone and muscle-loading programme in combination with a protein-, calcium- and vitamin D-enriched supplement can ameliorate multiple adverse effects of ADT when compared to usual care. The results will contribute to the development of exercise training and nutrition guidelines for optimising overall

  10. Nicotine replacement therapy decision based on fuzzy multi-criteria analysis

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tarmudi, Zamali; Matmali, Norfazillah; Abdullah, Mohd Lazim

    2017-08-01

    It has been observed that Nicotine Replacement Therapy (NRT) is one of the alternatives to control and reduce smoking addiction among smokers. Since the decision to choose the best NRT alternative involves uncertainty, ambiguity factors and diverse input datasets, thus, this paper proposes a fuzzy multi-criteria analysis (FMA) to overcome these issues. It focuses on how the fuzzy approach can unify the diversity of datasets based on NRT's decision-making problem. The analysis done employed the advantage of the cost-benefit criterion to unify the mixture of dataset input. The performance matrix was utilised to derive the performance scores. An empirical example regarding the NRT's decision-making problem was employed to illustrate the proposed approach. Based on the calculations, this analytical approach was found to be highly beneficial in terms of usability. It was also very applicable and efficient in dealing with the mixture of input datasets. Hence, the decision-making process can easily be used by experts and patients who are interested to join the therapy/cessation program.

  11. Fusion-based multi-target tracking and localization for intelligent surveillance systems

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rababaah, Haroun; Shirkhodaie, Amir

    2008-04-01

    In this paper, we have presented two approaches addressing visual target tracking and localization in complex urban environment. The two techniques presented in this paper are: fusion-based multi-target visual tracking, and multi-target localization via camera calibration. For multi-target tracking, the data fusion concepts of hypothesis generation/evaluation/selection, target-to-target registration, and association are employed. An association matrix is implemented using RGB histograms for associated tracking of multi-targets of interests. Motion segmentation of targets of interest (TOI) from the background was achieved by a Gaussian Mixture Model. Foreground segmentation, on other hand, was achieved by the Connected Components Analysis (CCA) technique. The tracking of individual targets was estimated by fusing two sources of information, the centroid with the spatial gating, and the RGB histogram association matrix. The localization problem is addressed through an effective camera calibration technique using edge modeling for grid mapping (EMGM). A two-stage image pixel to world coordinates mapping technique is introduced that performs coarse and fine location estimation of moving TOIs. In coarse estimation, an approximate neighborhood of the target position is estimated based on nearest 4-neighbor method, and in fine estimation, we use Euclidean interpolation to localize the position within the estimated four neighbors. Both techniques were tested and shown reliable results for tracking and localization of Targets of interests in complex urban environment.

  12. Compendium of shock wave data. Section C. Organic compounds excluding hydrocarbons. Section D. Mixtures. Section E. Mixtures and solutions without chemical characterization. Compendium index

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    van Thiel, M.; shaner, J.; Salinas, E.

    1977-06-01

    This volume lists thermodynamic data for organic compounds excluding hydrocarbons, mixtures, and mixtures and solutions without chemical characterization. Alloys and some minerals are included among the mixtures. This volume also contains the index for the three-volume compendium

  13. Assessing variation in life-history tactics within a population using mixture regression models: a practical guide for evolutionary ecologists.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hamel, Sandra; Yoccoz, Nigel G; Gaillard, Jean-Michel

    2017-05-01

    Mixed models are now well-established methods in ecology and evolution because they allow accounting for and quantifying within- and between-individual variation. However, the required normal distribution of the random effects can often be violated by the presence of clusters among subjects, which leads to multi-modal distributions. In such cases, using what is known as mixture regression models might offer a more appropriate approach. These models are widely used in psychology, sociology, and medicine to describe the diversity of trajectories occurring within a population over time (e.g. psychological development, growth). In ecology and evolution, however, these models are seldom used even though understanding changes in individual trajectories is an active area of research in life-history studies. Our aim is to demonstrate the value of using mixture models to describe variation in individual life-history tactics within a population, and hence to promote the use of these models by ecologists and evolutionary ecologists. We first ran a set of simulations to determine whether and when a mixture model allows teasing apart latent clustering, and to contrast the precision and accuracy of estimates obtained from mixture models versus mixed models under a wide range of ecological contexts. We then used empirical data from long-term studies of large mammals to illustrate the potential of using mixture models for assessing within-population variation in life-history tactics. Mixture models performed well in most cases, except for variables following a Bernoulli distribution and when sample size was small. The four selection criteria we evaluated [Akaike information criterion (AIC), Bayesian information criterion (BIC), and two bootstrap methods] performed similarly well, selecting the right number of clusters in most ecological situations. We then showed that the normality of random effects implicitly assumed by evolutionary ecologists when using mixed models was often

  14. Low temperature irradiation of vitrifiable mixtures of unsaturated monomers

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kaetsu, I.; Ito, A.; Hayashi, K.

    1975-01-01

    A specific mixture containing at least one polymerizable unsaturated monomer which is not vitrifiable by itself can advantageously be polymerized by irradiating the mixture at a temperature not higher than 100 0 C above glass transition temperature of the mixture with an ionizing radiation and/or a light. 12 claims, 6 drawings, figures

  15. Thermal signature measurements for ammonium nitrate/fuel mixtures by laser heating

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Nazarian, Ashot; Presser, Cary

    2016-01-01

    Highlights: • LDTR is a useful diagnostic for characterizing AN/fuel mixture thermochemical behavior. • Each AN/fuel mixture thermal signature was different. • AN/fuel mixture signature features were defined by the individual constituents. • Baseline signatures changed after an experiment. - Abstract: Measurements were carried out to obtain thermal signatures of several ammonium nitrate/fuel (ANF) mixtures, using a laser-heating technique referred to as the laser-driven thermal reactor (LDTR). The mixtures were ammonium nitrate (AN)/kerosene, AN/ethylene glycol, AN/paraffin wax, AN/petroleum jelly, AN/confectioner's sugar, AN/cellulose (tissue paper), nitromethane/cellulose, nitrobenzene/cellulose, AN/cellulose/nitromethane, AN/cellulose/nitrobenzene. These mixtures were also compared with AN/nitromethane and AN/diesel fuel oil, obtained from an earlier investigation. Thermograms for the mixtures, as well as individual constituents, were compared to better understand how sample thermal signature changes with mixture composition. This is the first step in development of a thermal-signature database, to be used along with other signature databases, to improve identification of energetic substances of unknown composition. The results indicated that each individual thermal signature was associated unambiguously with a particular mixture composition. The signature features of a particular mixture were shaped by the individual constituent signatures. It was also uncovered that the baseline signature was modified after an experiment due to coating of unreacted residue on the substrate surface and a change in the reactor sphere oxide layer. Thus, care was required to pre-oxidize the sphere prior to an experiment. A minimum sample mass (which was dependent on composition) was required to detect the signature characteristics. Increased laser power served to magnify signal strength while preserving the signature features. For the mixtures examined, the thermal

  16. Capacity management within a multi-agent market-based active distribution network

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Greunsven, J. A. W.; Veldman, E.; Nguyen, P.H.; Slootweg, J.G.; Kamphuis, I.G.

    2012-01-01

    Normal operation of an active distribution network (ADN) requires simultaneous optimization of different objectives of the various involved actors. This results in a multi-objective optimization problem which has not yet been treated completely. This paper considers a particular relationship between

  17. High density thermite mixture for shaped charge ordnance disposal

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Tamer Elshenawy

    2017-10-01

    Full Text Available The effect of thermite mixture based on aluminum and ferric oxides for ammunition neutralization has been studied and tested. Thermochemical calculations have been carried out for different percentage of Al using Chemical Equilibrium Code to expect the highest performance thermite mixture used for shaped charge ordnance disposal. Densities and enthalpy of different formulations have been calculated and demonstrated. The optimized thermite formulation has been prepared experimentally using cold iso-static pressing technique, which exhibited relatively high density and high burning rate thermite mixture. The produced green product compacted powder mixture was tested against small caliber shaped charge bomblet for neutralization. Theoretical and experimental results showed that the prepared thermite mixture containing 33% of aluminum as a fuel with ferric oxide can be successfully used for shaped charge ordnance disposal.

  18. Criticality of mixtures of plutonium and high enriched uranium

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Grolleau, E.; Lein, M.; Leka, G.; Maidou, B.; Klenov, P.

    2003-01-01

    This paper presents a criticality evaluation of moderated homogeneous plutonium-uranium mixtures. The fissile media studied are homogeneous mixtures of plutonium and high enriched uranium in two chemical forms: aqueous mixtures of metal and mixtures of nitrate solutions. The enrichment of uranium considered are 93.2wt.% 235 U and 100wt.% 235 U. The 240 Pu content in plutonium varies from 0wt.% 240 Pu to 12wt.% 240 Pu. The critical parameters (radii and masses of a 20 cm water reflected sphere) are calculated with the French criticality safety package CRISTAL V0. The comparison of the calculated critical parameters as a function of the moderator-to-fuel atomic ratio shows significant ranges in which high enriched uranium systems, as well as plutonium-uranium mixtures, are more reactive than plutonium systems. (author)

  19. Predicting the aquatic risk of realistic pesticide mixtures to species assemblages in Portuguese river basins.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Silva, Emília; Daam, Michiel A; Cerejeira, Maria José

    2015-05-01

    Although pesticide regulatory tools are mainly based on individual substances, aquatic ecosystems are usually exposed to multiple pesticides from their use on the variety of crops within the catchment of a river. This study estimated the impact of measured pesticide mixtures in surface waters from 2002 and 2008 within three important Portuguese river basins ('Mondego', 'Sado' and 'Tejo') on primary producers, arthropods and fish by toxic pressure calculation. Species sensitivity distributions (SSDs), in combination with mixture toxicity models, were applied. Considering the differences in the responses of the taxonomic groups as well as in the pesticide exposures that these organisms experience, variable acute multi-substance potentially affected fractions (msPAFs) were obtained. The median msPAF for primary producers and arthropods in surface waters of all river basins exceeded 5%, the cut-off value used in the prospective SSD approach for deriving individual environmental quality standards. A ranking procedure identified various photosystem II inhibiting herbicides, with oxadiazon having the relatively largest toxic effects on primary producers, while the organophosphorus insecticides, chlorfenvinphos and chlorpyrifos, and the organochloride endosulfan had the largest effects on arthropods and fish, respectively. These results ensure compliance with European legislation with regard to ecological risk assessment and management of pesticides in surface waters. Copyright © 2015. Published by Elsevier B.V.

  20. A fast learning method for large scale and multi-class samples of SVM

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fan, Yu; Guo, Huiming

    2017-06-01

    A multi-class classification SVM(Support Vector Machine) fast learning method based on binary tree is presented to solve its low learning efficiency when SVM processing large scale multi-class samples. This paper adopts bottom-up method to set up binary tree hierarchy structure, according to achieved hierarchy structure, sub-classifier learns from corresponding samples of each node. During the learning, several class clusters are generated after the first clustering of the training samples. Firstly, central points are extracted from those class clusters which just have one type of samples. For those which have two types of samples, cluster numbers of their positive and negative samples are set respectively according to their mixture degree, secondary clustering undertaken afterwards, after which, central points are extracted from achieved sub-class clusters. By learning from the reduced samples formed by the integration of extracted central points above, sub-classifiers are obtained. Simulation experiment shows that, this fast learning method, which is based on multi-level clustering, can guarantee higher classification accuracy, greatly reduce sample numbers and effectively improve learning efficiency.

  1. A statistical approach to optimizing concrete mixture design.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ahmad, Shamsad; Alghamdi, Saeid A

    2014-01-01

    A step-by-step statistical approach is proposed to obtain optimum proportioning of concrete mixtures using the data obtained through a statistically planned experimental program. The utility of the proposed approach for optimizing the design of concrete mixture is illustrated considering a typical case in which trial mixtures were considered according to a full factorial experiment design involving three factors and their three levels (3(3)). A total of 27 concrete mixtures with three replicates (81 specimens) were considered by varying the levels of key factors affecting compressive strength of concrete, namely, water/cementitious materials ratio (0.38, 0.43, and 0.48), cementitious materials content (350, 375, and 400 kg/m(3)), and fine/total aggregate ratio (0.35, 0.40, and 0.45). The experimental data were utilized to carry out analysis of variance (ANOVA) and to develop a polynomial regression model for compressive strength in terms of the three design factors considered in this study. The developed statistical model was used to show how optimization of concrete mixtures can be carried out with different possible options.

  2. A Statistical Approach to Optimizing Concrete Mixture Design

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Shamsad Ahmad

    2014-01-01

    Full Text Available A step-by-step statistical approach is proposed to obtain optimum proportioning of concrete mixtures using the data obtained through a statistically planned experimental program. The utility of the proposed approach for optimizing the design of concrete mixture is illustrated considering a typical case in which trial mixtures were considered according to a full factorial experiment design involving three factors and their three levels (33. A total of 27 concrete mixtures with three replicates (81 specimens were considered by varying the levels of key factors affecting compressive strength of concrete, namely, water/cementitious materials ratio (0.38, 0.43, and 0.48, cementitious materials content (350, 375, and 400 kg/m3, and fine/total aggregate ratio (0.35, 0.40, and 0.45. The experimental data were utilized to carry out analysis of variance (ANOVA and to develop a polynomial regression model for compressive strength in terms of the three design factors considered in this study. The developed statistical model was used to show how optimization of concrete mixtures can be carried out with different possible options.

  3. Simple quantification of surface carboxylic acids on chemically oxidized multi-walled carbon nanotubes

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gong, Hyejin; Kim, Seong-Taek; Lee, Jong Doo; Yim, Sanggyu

    2013-02-01

    The surface of multi-walled carbon nanotube (MWCNT) was chemically oxidized using nitric acid and sulfuric-nitric acid mixtures. Thermogravimetric analysis, transmission electron microscopy and infrared spectroscopy revealed that the use of acid mixtures led to higher degree of oxidation. More quantitative identification of surface carboxylic acids was carried out using X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and acid-base titration. However, these techniques are costly and require very long analysis times to promptly respond to the extent of the reaction. We propose a much simpler method using pH measurements and pre-determined pKa value in order to estimate the concentration of carboxylic acids on the oxidized MWCNT surfaces. The results from this technique were consistent with those obtained from XPS and titration, and it is expected that this simple quantification method can provide a cheap and fast way to monitor and control the oxidation reaction of MWCNT.

  4. Study and assessment of compost of different organic mixtures and effect of organic compost tea on plant diseases

    OpenAIRE

    Znaïdi, Akram; Daami, Megda; Ben Kheder, Mohamed; Mahjoub, Mohamed

    2002-01-01

    Four compost treatments representing different organic mixtures were studied: - Treatment T1: 100% cattle manure - Treatment T2: 80% cattle manure and 20% sheep manure - Treatment T3: 70% cattle manure, 20% sheep manure and 10% poultry manure. - Treatment T4: 50% cattle manure, 20% sheep manure, 20% poultry manure and 10% crushed wheat straw. The results showed that the temperature was higher for the 4th treatment which was richer in carbon than the other treat...

  5. Ion mobilities in Xe/Ne and other rare-gas mixtures

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Piscitelli, D; Pitchford, L C [Centre de Physique des Plasmas et Applications de Toulouse (CPAT), UMR 5002 CNRS, 118 route de Narbonne, 31062 Toulouse (France); Phelps, A V [JILA, University of Colorado and National Institute of Technology, Boulder, Colorado (United States); Urquijo, J de [Centro de Ciencias Fisicas, Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico, Post Office Box 48-3, 62251, 80309-0440 Cuernavaca, Moreno (Mexico); Basurto, E [Departmento de Ciencias Basicas, Universidad Autonoma Metropolitana, 02200 Mexico Distrito Federal (Mexico)

    2003-10-01

    The ion mobility or drift velocity data important for modeling glow discharges in rare gas mixtures are not generally available, nor are the ion-neutral scattering cross sections needed to calculate these data. In this paper we propose a set of cross sections for Xe{sup +} and Ne{sup +} collisions with Xe and Ne atoms. Ion mobilities at 300 K calculated using this cross section set in a Monte Carlo simulation are reported for reduced field strengths, E/N, up to 1500x10{sup -21} V m{sup 2}, in pure gases and in Xe/Ne mixtures containing 5% and 20% Xe/Ne, which are mixtures of interest for plasma display panels (PDPs). The calculated Xe{sup +} mobilities depend strongly on the mixture composition, but the Ne{sup +} mobility varies only slightly with increasing Xe in the mixture over the range studied here. The mobilities in pure gases compare well with available experimental values, and mobilities in gas mixtures at low E/N compare well with our recent measurements which will be published separately. Results from these calculations of ion mobilities are used to evaluate the predictions of Blanc's law and of the mixture rule proposed by Mason and Hahn [Phys. Rev. A 5, 438 (1972)] for determining the ion mobilities in mixtures from a knowledge of the mobilities in each of the pure gases. The mixture rule of Mason and Hahn is accurate to better than 10% at high field strengths over a wide range of conditions of interest for modeling PDPs. We conclude that a good estimate of ion mobilities at high E/N in Xe/Ne and other binary rare gas mixtures can be obtained using this mixture rule combined with known values of mobilities in parent gases and with the Langevin form for mobility of rare gas ions ion in other gases. This conclusion is supported by results in Ar/Ne mixtures which are also presented here.

  6. Approximate thermodynamic state relations in partially ionized gas mixtures

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ramshaw, John D.

    2004-01-01

    Thermodynamic state relations for mixtures of partially ionized nonideal gases are often approximated by artificially partitioning the mixture into compartments or subvolumes occupied by the pure partially ionized constituent gases, and requiring these subvolumes to be in temperature and pressure equilibrium. This intuitively reasonable procedure is easily shown to reproduce the correct thermal and caloric state equations for a mixture of neutral (nonionized) ideal gases. The purpose of this paper is to point out that (a) this procedure leads to incorrect state equations for a mixture of partially ionized ideal gases, whereas (b) the alternative procedure of requiring that the subvolumes all have the same temperature and free electron density reproduces the correct thermal and caloric state equations for such a mixture. These results readily generalize to the case of partially degenerate and/or relativistic electrons, to a common approximation used to represent pressure ionization effects, and to two-temperature plasmas. This suggests that equating the subvolume electron number densities or chemical potentials instead of pressures is likely to provide a more accurate approximation in nonideal plasma mixtures

  7. Multi drug resistant tuberculosis: a challenge in the management of ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Multi drug resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB) will not usually respond to short course chemotherapy. Unless the individual infected with this bug is treated appropriately, they can continue spreading resistant strains in the community and further fuel the tuberculosis epidemic. Diagnosis requires drug sensitivity testing and the ...

  8. Structural and magnetic properties of a mechanochemically activated Ti-Fe2O3 solid mixture

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Cristobal, A.A.; Ramos, C.P.; Bercoff, P.G.; Conconi, S.; Aglietti, E.F.; Botta, P.M.; Lopez, J.M. Porto

    2010-01-01

    The mechanochemical effects on the reactivity and properties of a titanium/hematite powder mixture with molar ratio of 1/2 are investigated. Crystalline-phase structure, composition, hyperfine and magnetic behaviors were analyzed as a function of activation time by means of X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, Moessbauer spectroscopy and vibrating sample magnetometry. The results showed that at relatively short activation times metallic Ti reduces part of the ferric ions, yielding a complex product formed mainly by a mix of two solid solutions Fe 3-x Ti x O 4 (titanomagnetites), both with very different x values (0 < x < 1). Also metallic iron and superparamagnetic hematite particles were detected by Moessbauer spectroscopy. As the mechanical treatment extends the composition of the reactive mixture changes, prevailing in the end the solid solution with higher x value. In contrast, when these activated samples are thermally treated the fraction of the solid solution which is richer in Ti diminishes. This fact produces a significant variation of the saturation magnetization of the obtained material.

  9. Isotope mixtures of hydrogen in vanadium

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Mecking-Schloetensack, P.

    1982-03-01

    The properties of isotope-mixtures of Protium and Deuterium stored in Vanadium have been studied. Protium and Deuterium are existing as interstitial-atoms on tetrahedral sites as well as on octahedral sites in this system. This feature leads to large isotopic-effects between the two isotopes. The dependence of the thermodynamic functions like heat of solution, nonconfigurational entropy, specific heat and ordering temperatures from the composition of the isotope-mixture has been determined. (orig.)

  10. Fission product release from core-concrete mixtures

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Roche, M.F.; Settle, J.; Leibowitz, L.; Johnson, C.E.; Ritzman, R.L.

    1988-01-01

    The objective of this research is to measure the amount of strontium, barium, and lanthanum that is vaporized from core-concrete mixtures. The measurements are being done using a transpiration method. Mixtures of limestone-aggregated concrete, urania doped with a small amount of La, Sr, Ba, and Zr oxides, and stainless steel were vaporized at 2150 K from a zirconia crucible into flowing He-6% H 2 -0.06% H 2 O (a partial molar free energy of oxygen of -420 kJ). The amounts that were vaporized was determined by weight change and by chemical analyses on condensates. The major phases present in the mixture were inferred from electron probe microanalysis (EPM). They were: (1) urania containing calcia and zirconia, (2) calcium zirconate, (3) a calcium magnesium silicate, and (4) magnesia. About 10% of the zirconia crucible was dissolved by the concrete-urania mixture during the experiment, which accounts for the presence of zirconia-containing major phases. To circumvent the problem of zirconia dissolution, we repeated the experiments using mixtures of the limestone-aggregate concrete and the doped urania in molybdenum crucibles. These studies show that thermodynamic calculations of the release of refractory fission products will yield release fractions that are a factor of sixteen too high if the effects of zirconate formation are ignored

  11. Performance evaluation of Louisiana superpave mixtures : tech summary.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2008-12-01

    The primary objective of this research was to evaluate the fundamental engineering : properties and mixture performance of Superpave hot mix asphalt (HMA) mixtures : in Louisiana through laboratory mechanistic tests, aggregate gradation analysis, and...

  12. Gas Mixtures for Welding with Micro-Jet Cooling

    OpenAIRE

    Węgrzyn T.

    2015-01-01

    Welding with micro-jet cooling after was tested only for MIG and MAG processes. For micro-jet gases was tested only argon, helium and nitrogen. A paper presents a piece of information about gas mixtures for micro-jet cooling after in welding. There are put down information about gas mixtures that could be chosen both for MAG welding and for micro-jet process. There were given main information about influence of various micro-jet gas mixtures on metallographic structure of steel welds. Mechani...

  13. Kinetic-sound propagation in dilute gas mixtures

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Campa, A.; Cohen, E.G.D.

    1989-01-01

    Kinetic sound is predicted in dilute disparate-mass binary gas mixtures, propagating exclusively in the light compound and much faster than ordinary sound. It should be detectable by light-scattering experiments, as an extended shoulder in the scattering cross section for large frequencies. As an example, H 2 -Ar mixtures are discussed

  14. Sleep-promoting effects of a GABA/5-HTP mixture: Behavioral changes and neuromodulation in an invertebrate model.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hong, Ki-Bae; Park, Yooheon; Suh, Hyung Joo

    2016-04-01

    This study was to investigate the sleep promoting effects of combined γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA) and 5-hydroxytryptophan (5-HTP), by examining neuronal processes governing mRNA level alterations, as well as assessing neuromodulator concentrations, in a fruit fly model. Behavioral assays were applied to investigate subjective nighttime activity, sleep episodes, and total duration of subjective nighttime sleep of two amino acids and GABA/5-HTP mixture with caffeine treated flies. Also, real-time PCR and HPLC analysis were applied to analyze the signaling pathway. Subjective nighttime activity and sleep patterns of individual flies significantly decreased with 1% GABA treatment in conjunction with 0.1% 5-HTP treatment (pGABA/5-HTP mixture resulted in significant differences between groups related to sleep patterns (40%, plevels of the GABAB receptor (GABAB-R1) and serotonin receptor (5-HT1A), compared to the control group. In addition, GABA/5-HTP mixture significantly increased GABA levels 1h and 12h following treatment (2.1 fold and 1.2 fold higher than the control, respectively) and also increased 5-HTP levels (0 h: 1.01 μg/protein, 12h: 3.45 μg/protein). In this regard, we successfully demonstrated that using a GABA/5-HTP mixture modulates subjective nighttime activity, sleep episodes, and total duration of subjective nighttime sleep to a greater extent than single administration of each amino acid, and that this modulation occurs via GABAergic and serotonergic signaling. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  15. Structural transition of a homopolymer in solvents mixture

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Guettari, Moez; Aschi, Adel; Gomati, Riadh; Gharbi, Abdelhafidh

    2008-01-01

    The present work is aimed at studying the thermodynamic behaviour of a polymer in solvents mixture. Dynamic light scattering is used to measure the hydrodynamic radius of polyvinylpyrrolidone (M w = 360,000 g/mol), in water/methanol solvents mixture, versus the mixed solvents composition at 25 deg. C. Then, we show that the polymer conformation adopts the Coil-Globule-Coil structure when the methanol molar fraction X A is varied. This transition is attributed to solvent quality change which result from water and methanol complex formation. The polymer contraction rate calculated for each composition takes its maximum value at X A = 0.17. Hildebrand theory assuming the solvents mixture as an equivalent solvent was used to analyze the change in mixed solvents quality. These changes can be attributed to dispersive forces in solvents mixture

  16. Influence of different adhesive systems on bond strength of carbon fiber posts used to restore endodontically treated teeth

    OpenAIRE

    Silva, Lorena dos Santos; Reis, Kátia Rodrigues; Ambrosano, Glaucia Maria Bovi; Chuí, Fabíola Mendonça da Silva; Sena, Neylla Teixeira; Carvalhal, Cintia Iara Oda; Oliveira, Jonas Alves de

    2013-01-01

    The aim of this study was to evaluate the influence of three adhesive systems on resinous bonding of carbon fiber posts on roots of endodontically treated bovine incisors. Thirty bovine lower incisors with similar dimensions were selected for this study. The roots were endodontically treated and subsequently prepared for post cementation. The posts were treated with adhesive systems Scotchbond MultiPurpose Plus – 3M chemical cure (Group I), light cure (Group II) and dual cure (Group III). Car...

  17. Plant availability of trace elements in sewage sludge-treated soils: methodology¹

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Giuliano Marchi

    2011-08-01

    Full Text Available Synthetic root exudates were formulated based on the organic acid composition of root exudates derived from the rhizosphere of aseptically grown corn plants, pH of the rhizosphere, and the background chemical matrices of the soil solutions. The synthetic root exudates, which mimic the chemical conditions of the rhizosphere environment where soil-borne metals are dissolved and absorbed by plants, were used to extract metals from sewage-sludge treated soils 16 successive times. The concentrations of Zn, Cd, Ni, Cr, and Cu of the sludge-treated soil were 71.74, 0.21, 15.90, 58.12, and 37.44 mg kg-1, respectively. The composition of synthetic root exudates consisted of acetic, butyric, glutaric, lactic, maleic, propionic, pyruvic, succinic, tartaric, and valeric acids. The organic acid mixtures had concentrations of 0.05 and 0.1 mol L-1 -COOH. The trace elements removed by successive extractions may be considered representative for the availability of these metals to plants in these soils. The chemical speciation of the metals in the liquid phase was calculated; results showed that metals in sludge-treated soils were dissolved and formed soluble complexes with the different organic acid-based root exudates. The most reactive organic acid ligands were lactate, maleate, tartarate, and acetate. The inorganic ligands of chloride and sulfate played insignificant roles in metal dissolution. Except for Cd, free ions did not represent an important chemical species of the metals in the soil rhizosphere. As different metals formed soluble complexes with different ligands in the rhizosphere, no extractor, based on a single reagent would be able to recover all of the potentially plant-available metals from soils; the root exudate-derived organic acid mixtures tested in this study may be better suited to recover potentially plant-available metals from soils than the conventional extractors.

  18. Malabsorption of fructose-sorbitol mixtures. Interactions causing abdominal distress

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Rumessen, J J; Gudmand-Høyer, E

    1987-01-01

    Hydrogen breath tests were performed on 10 healthy adults after they had ingested a mixture of sorbitol and fructose, in which these substances were present in amounts corresponding to the individual absorption capacities. A significant malabsorption of this mixture was evident in 7 of 10 subjects....... The mixture caused mild to severe gastrointestinal distress in five subjects. When the carbohydrates were given separately, symptoms were absent. There was a significant correlation between the individual absorption capacities of fructose and of sorbitol. A mixture containing a similar amount of fructose......, but given as sucrose, and a similar amount of sorbitol was further given to four of the seven subjects showing malabsorption of the fructose-sorbitol mixture. Malabsorption now failed to appear, and symptoms were absent. These findings are of potential importance for the understanding of the physiologic...

  19. Effects of Mixing on Hopper Sedimentation in Clearing Mixtures

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Hjelmager Jensen, Jacob; Saremi, Sina

    2015-01-01

    , and a common perception of turbulence (or at least of mixing) is that it delays sedimentation. Existing measurements of sedimentation rates in a closed-flume experiment, engineered to provide input to a hopper sedimentation model, revealed that turbulence in a clearing mixture is not necessarily associated......Hopper sedimentation is the result of precipitation of typically fine sediment from a homogenous, high-concentration mixture, which is not completely deficient of turbulence. If hopper sedimentation or loading is accomplished through a single-inflow system, or if the irregularity of the inflow...... concentrations is pronounced or simply terminated, then the hopper mixture will clear. Whereas turbulent mixing is redundant, when the mixture is homogeneous, it may take an active role when the mixture is clearing. The role of turbulence on hopper sedimentation has been the focus of several studies...

  20. Determinant of flexible Parametric Estimation of Mixture Cure ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    PROF. OLIVER OSUAGWA

    2015-12-01

    Dec 1, 2015 ... Suitability of four parametric mixture cure models were considered namely; Log .... regression analysis which relies on the ... The parameter of mixture cure fraction model was ..... Stochastic Models of Tumor Latency and Their.