A zonal Galerkin-free POD model for incompressible flows

Science.gov (United States)

Bergmann, Michel; Ferrero, Andrea; Iollo, Angelo; Lombardi, Edoardo; Scardigli, Angela; Telib, Haysam

2018-01-01

A domain decomposition method which couples a high and a low-fidelity model is proposed to reduce the computational cost of a flow simulation. This approach requires to solve the high-fidelity model in a small portion of the computational domain while the external field is described by a Galerkin-free Proper Orthogonal Decomposition (POD) model. We propose an error indicator to determine the extent of the interior domain and to perform an optimal coupling between the two models. This zonal approach can be used to study multi-body configurations or to perform detailed local analyses in the framework of shape optimisation problems. The efficiency of the method to perform predictive low-cost simulations is investigated for an unsteady flow and for an aerodynamic shape optimisation problem.

Control of Cocoa Pod Borer and Phytophthora Pod Rot Using Degradable Plastic Pod Sleeves and a Nematode, Steinernema Carpocapsae

OpenAIRE

Rosmana, Ade; Shepard, Merle; Hebbar, Prakash; Mustari, Anita

2010-01-01

Cocoa pod borer (CPB; Conopomorpha cramerella) and Phytophthora pod rot (PPR; Phytophthora palmivora) are serious pest and disease on cocoa plantations in Indonesia. Both pest and disease have been controlled with limited success using cultural practices such as pruning, frequent harvesting, sanitation, plastic sleeving, and chemical pesticides. An experiment was conducted on cocoa plantings in Pinrang Regency, South Sulawesi during the wet season of 2008/09 to test the effect of pod sleeving...

iPod The Missing Manual

CERN Document Server

Biersdorfer, J D

2010-01-01

With iPod and iTunes, Apple's gotten the world hooked on portable music, pictures, and videos. One thing they haven't delivered, though, is an easy guide for getting the most from your sleek little entertainment center. Enter iPod: The Missing Manual, 5th Edition-a book as breathtaking and satisfying as its subject. Our latest edition thoroughly covers the redesigned iPod Nanos, the video iPod, the tiny Shuffle and the overhauled iTunes 7. Each custom-designed page sports easy-to-follow color graphics, crystal-clear explanations, and guidance on the most useful things your iPod can do. Topic

Pod Characteristics of cocoa (Theobroma cacao L. related to rocoa pod borer resistance.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Agung Wahyu Susilo

2015-04-01

Full Text Available The characteristics of cocoa (Theobroma cacao L. pod related to cocoa pod borer resistance (CPB had been identified in a series of study. The objective of this research is to evaluate the characteristics of cocoa pod using more diverse of genetic background to obtain selection criteria. Genetic materials for this studywere 25 cocoa clones planted in Central Sulawesi for resistance evaluation. Field evaluation of the resistance were assessed by using variable of the percentage of unextractable beans, number of larvae entry and exit holes by which the clones were grouped into 5 groups of resistance. A laboratory works were carried out to assess pod characteristics based on the number of trichomes, granules of tannin and thickness the lignified-tissue of sclerotic layer using micro-technique method at the different level of pod maturity (3.0; 3.5; 4.0 months. Correlation between groups of those variables was analyzed using canonical correlation. The result performed a positive association between the thickness of sclerotic layer at the secondary furrow with the number of entry holes and the number of entry holes through sclerotic layer. The thickness performed a higher value of the coefficient in association with the variables of canonical for pod characteristics 0.59; 0.55; 0.43 and the variables of canonical correlation for CPB resistance 0.54; 0.51; 0.39 that would presenting the characteristics of pod related to CPB resistance in 3.0, 3.5 and 4.0 months of pod maturity. Lignification at sclerotic layer was considered as genotypic expressions due to the thickness at the secondary furrow at 3.0, 3.5 and 4.0 months of pod maturity performed high value of broad-sense heritability i.e. 0.75, 0.89 and 0.92 respectively. A qualitative assessment of the lignification clearly differentiated the resistant clones of ARDACIAR 10 with the susceptible clones of ICCRI 04, KW 516, and KW 564.

NDE reliability and probability of detection (POD) evolution and paradigm shift

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Singh, Surendra [NDE Engineering, Materials and Process Engineering, Honeywell Aerospace, Phoenix, AZ 85034 (United States)

2014-02-18

The subject of NDE Reliability and POD has gone through multiple phases since its humble beginning in the late 1960s. This was followed by several programs including the important one nicknamed “Have Cracks – Will Travel” or in short “Have Cracks” by Lockheed Georgia Company for US Air Force during 1974–1978. This and other studies ultimately led to a series of developments in the field of reliability and POD starting from the introduction of fracture mechanics and Damaged Tolerant Design (DTD) to statistical framework by Bernes and Hovey in 1981 for POD estimation to MIL-STD HDBK 1823 (1999) and 1823A (2009). During the last decade, various groups and researchers have further studied the reliability and POD using Model Assisted POD (MAPOD), Simulation Assisted POD (SAPOD), and applying Bayesian Statistics. All and each of these developments had one objective, i.e., improving accuracy of life prediction in components that to a large extent depends on the reliability and capability of NDE methods. Therefore, it is essential to have a reliable detection and sizing of large flaws in components. Currently, POD is used for studying reliability and capability of NDE methods, though POD data offers no absolute truth regarding NDE reliability, i.e., system capability, effects of flaw morphology, and quantifying the human factors. Furthermore, reliability and POD have been reported alike in meaning but POD is not NDE reliability. POD is a subset of the reliability that consists of six phases: 1) samples selection using DOE, 2) NDE equipment setup and calibration, 3) System Measurement Evaluation (SME) including Gage Repeatability and Reproducibility (Gage R and R) and Analysis Of Variance (ANOVA), 4) NDE system capability and electronic and physical saturation, 5) acquiring and fitting data to a model, and data analysis, and 6) POD estimation. This paper provides an overview of all major POD milestones for the last several decades and discuss rationale for using

A numerical study of scale effects on performance of a tractor type podded propeller

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Choi Jung-Kyu

2014-06-01

Full Text Available In this study, the scale effect on the performance of the podded propeller of tractor type is investigated. Turbulent flow computations are carried out for Reynolds numbers increasing progressively from model scale to full scale using the CFD analysis. The result of the flow calculation for model scale Reynolds numbers agrees well with that of the experiment of a large cavitation tunnel. The existing numerical analysis indicates that the performance of the podded propeller blades is mainly influenced by the advance coefficient and relatively little by the Reynolds number. However, the drag of pod housing with propeller in operation is different from that of pod housing without propeller due to the acceleration and swirl of propeller slipstream which is altered by propeller loading as well as the pressure recovery and friction according to Reynolds number, which suggests that the pod housing drag under the condition of propeller in operation is the key factor of the scale effect on the performance between model and full scale podded propellers. The so called ‘drag ratio’, which is the ratio of pod housing drag to total thrust of podded propeller, increases as the advance coefficient increases due to accelerated flow in the slipstream of the podded propeller. However, the increasing rate of the drag ratio reduces continuously as the Reynolds number increases from model to full scale progressively. The contribution of hydrodynamic forces, which acts on the parts composed of the pod housing with propeller operating in various loading conditions, to the thrust and the torque of the total propeller unit are presented for a range of Reynolds numbers from model to full scales.

iPod the missing manual

CERN Document Server

Biersdorfer, J D

2008-01-01

With the tiny Shuffle, the Nano, the Classic, or the Touch, Apple's gotten the world hooked on portable music, pictures, videos -- and the iPod. One thing they haven't delivered is an easy guide for getting the most from this sleek entertainment center. iPod: The Missing Manual, 7th Edition gives you a no-nonsense view of the latest iPod line, with crystal-clear explanations, easy-to-follow color graphics, and guidance on the most useful things your iPod can do.

TreePOD: Sensitivity-Aware Selection of Pareto-Optimal Decision Trees.

Science.gov (United States)

Muhlbacher, Thomas; Linhardt, Lorenz; Moller, Torsten; Piringer, Harald

2018-01-01

Balancing accuracy gains with other objectives such as interpretability is a key challenge when building decision trees. However, this process is difficult to automate because it involves know-how about the domain as well as the purpose of the model. This paper presents TreePOD, a new approach for sensitivity-aware model selection along trade-offs. TreePOD is based on exploring a large set of candidate trees generated by sampling the parameters of tree construction algorithms. Based on this set, visualizations of quantitative and qualitative tree aspects provide a comprehensive overview of possible tree characteristics. Along trade-offs between two objectives, TreePOD provides efficient selection guidance by focusing on Pareto-optimal tree candidates. TreePOD also conveys the sensitivities of tree characteristics on variations of selected parameters by extending the tree generation process with a full-factorial sampling. We demonstrate how TreePOD supports a variety of tasks involved in decision tree selection and describe its integration in a holistic workflow for building and selecting decision trees. For evaluation, we illustrate a case study for predicting critical power grid states, and we report qualitative feedback from domain experts in the energy sector. This feedback suggests that TreePOD enables users with and without statistical background a confident and efficient identification of suitable decision trees.

Neural network modeling for near wall turbulent flow

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Milano, Michele; Koumoutsakos, Petros

2002-01-01

A neural network methodology is developed in order to reconstruct the near wall field in a turbulent flow by exploiting flow fields provided by direct numerical simulations. The results obtained from the neural network methodology are compared with the results obtained from prediction and reconstruction using proper orthogonal decomposition (POD). Using the property that the POD is equivalent to a specific linear neural network, a nonlinear neural network extension is presented. It is shown that for a relatively small additional computational cost nonlinear neural networks provide us with improved reconstruction and prediction capabilities for the near wall velocity fields. Based on these results advantages and drawbacks of both approaches are discussed with an outlook toward the development of near wall models for turbulence modeling and control

Geometry and Mechanics of Chiral Pod Opening

Science.gov (United States)

Sharon, Eran; Armon, Shahaf; Efrati, Efi; Kupferman, Raz

2012-02-01

We study the geometry and mechanics that drive the opening of Bauhinia seeds pods. The pod valve wall consists of two fibrous layers oriented at ± 45^o with respect to the pod axis. Upon drying, each of the layers shrinks uniaxially, perpendicularly to the fibers orientation. This active deformation turn the valve into an incompatible sheet with reference saddle-like curvature tensor and a flat (Euclidean) reference metric. These two intrinsic properties are incompatible. The shape is, therefore, selected by a stretching-bending competition. Strips cut from the valve tissue and from synthetic model material adopt various helical configurations. We provide analytical expressions for these configurations in the bending and stretching dominated regimes. Surface measurements show the transition from minimal surfaces (narrow limit) to cylindrical ones (wide limit). Finally, we show how plants use these mechanical principles using different tissue architectures.

On a framework for generating PoD curves assisted by numerical simulations

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Subair, S. Mohamed, E-mail: prajagopal@iitm.ac.in; Agrawal, Shweta, E-mail: prajagopal@iitm.ac.in; Balasubramaniam, Krishnan, E-mail: prajagopal@iitm.ac.in; Rajagopal, Prabhu, E-mail: prajagopal@iitm.ac.in [Indian Institute of Technology Madras, Department of Mechanical Engineering, Chennai, T.N. (India); Kumar, Anish; Rao, Purnachandra B.; Tamanna, Jayakumar [Indira Gandhi Centre for Atomic Research, Metallurgy and Materials Group, Kalpakkam, T.N. (India)

2015-03-31

The Probability of Detection (PoD) curve method has emerged as an important tool for the assessment of the performance of NDE techniques, a topic of particular interest to the nuclear industry where inspection qualification is very important. The conventional experimental means of generating PoD curves though, can be expensive, requiring large data sets (covering defects and test conditions), and equipment and operator time. Several methods of achieving faster estimates for PoD curves using physics-based modelling have been developed to address this problem. Numerical modelling techniques are also attractive, especially given the ever-increasing computational power available to scientists today. Here we develop procedures for obtaining PoD curves, assisted by numerical simulation and based on Bayesian statistics. Numerical simulations are performed using Finite Element analysis for factors that are assumed to be independent, random and normally distributed. PoD curves so generated are compared with experiments on austenitic stainless steel (SS) plates with artificially created notches. We examine issues affecting the PoD curve generation process including codes, standards, distribution of defect parameters and the choice of the noise threshold. We also study the assumption of normal distribution for signal response parameters and consider strategies for dealing with data that may be more complex or sparse to justify this. These topics are addressed and illustrated through the example case of generation of PoD curves for pulse-echo ultrasonic inspection of vertical surface-breaking cracks in SS plates.

Geometry and Mechanics in the Opening of Chiral Seed Pods

Science.gov (United States)

Armon, Shahaf; Efrati, Efi; Kupferman, Raz; Sharon, Eran

2011-09-01

We studied the mechanical process of seed pods opening in Bauhinia variegate and found a chirality-creating mechanism, which turns an initially flat pod valve into a helix. We studied configurations of strips cut from pod valve tissue and from composite elastic materials that mimic its structure. The experiments reveal various helical configurations with sharp morphological transitions between them. Using the mathematical framework of “incompatible elasticity,” we modeled the pod as a thin strip with a flat intrinsic metric and a saddle-like intrinsic curvature. Our theoretical analysis quantitatively predicts all observed configurations, thus linking the pod’s microscopic structure and macroscopic conformation. We suggest that this type of incompatible strip is likely to play a role in the self-assembly of chiral macromolecules and could be used for the engineering of synthetic self-shaping devices.

Assessment of Closed Point-of-Dispensing (POD) Preparedness in St. Louis County, Missouri, 2012-2016.

Science.gov (United States)

Rebmann, Terri; Anthony, John; Loux, Travis M; Mulroy, Julia; Sitzes, Rikki

Little is known about closed point-of-dispensing (POD) site preparedness-especially how these entities progress in their preparedness efforts over time. The purpose of this study was to assess the preparedness of a closed POD network. Between 2012 and 2016, 30% to 50% of POD entities in the St. Louis County region were assessed each year, for a total of 138 site evaluations from 62 entities. The assessment tool included 41 components of closed POD preparedness, each scored either 0 = not met or 1 = met. POD preparedness scores could range from 0 to 41. Chi-square tests were conducted to compare the percentage of entities that had each preparedness indicator. A multilevel linear model with a random intercept for each agency was used to model longitudinal changes in closed POD preparedness. POD preparedness scores were higher in 2016 than in 2012 (31.5 vs. 26.5, t = 14.3, p trend in preparedness, and, on average, entities met only 65.4% of the preparedness indicators. Only a third of entities reported hosting a POD exercise at least once every 2 years (32.3%, n = 20). From the multilevel regression, determinants of better POD preparedness include having been assessed more often, employing a business continuity expert, and not being a long-term care agency. Closed POD entities should continue to work toward better preparedness, to better ensure successful deployment. Findings from this study indicate that more frequent assessments likely enhance preparedness at closed POD entities.

Physiological Mechanisms behind Differences in Pod Shattering Resistance in Rapeseed (Brassica napus L. Varieties.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jie Kuai

Full Text Available Pod shattering resistance index (SRI is a key factor affecting the mechanical harvesting of rapeseed. Research on the differences in pod shattering resistance levels of various rapeseed varieties can provide a theoretical basis for varietal breeding and application in mechanical harvesting. The indicators on pod shattering resistance including pod morphology and wall components were evaluated on eight hybrids and open pollinators, respectively, during 2012-2014. The results showed the following: (1 From the current study, SRI varied greatly with variety, and conventional varieties had stronger resistance than hybrid according to the physiological indexes. and (2 Under the experimental conditions, the SRI was linearly related to pod wall weight and the water content in pod walls, and the goodness-of-fit measurements for the regression model of the SRI based on pod wall weight and water content were 0.584** and 0.377*, respectively, reaching the significant level. This illustrated that pod wall weight and the water content in pod walls determined the SRI. (3 Compared with the relative contents of biochemical components in pod walls, the contents of particular biochemical components in pod walls had closer correlations with SRI. Among the biochemical components, the hemicellulose content was the decisive factor for the SRI.

iPod og bobler

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Gram, Nina

2010-01-01

Artiklen undersøger iPod- og mp3-lytning som en æstetiserende handling ved at sammenligne en såkaldt 'iPod-vandring' med den performative byvandring Here Whilst We Walk. Den sammenlignende analyse fungerer som platform for en videre diskussion og undersøgelse af den særlige lytteoplevelse, som de...

Reconstructing see-saw models

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ibarra, Alejandro

2007-01-01

In this talk we discuss the prospects to reconstruct the high-energy see-saw Lagrangian from low energy experiments in supersymmetric scenarios. We show that the model with three right-handed neutrinos could be reconstructed in theory, but not in practice. Then, we discuss the prospects to reconstruct the model with two right-handed neutrinos, which is the minimal see-saw model able to accommodate neutrino observations. We identify the relevant processes to achieve this goal, and comment on the sensitivity of future experiments to them. We find the prospects much more promising and we emphasize in particular the importance of the observation of rare leptonic decays for the reconstruction of the right-handed neutrino masses

Observer POD for radiographic testing

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kanzler, Daniel; Mueller, Christina; Bertovic, Marija [Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin (Germany); Pitkaenen, Jorma [Posiva Oy, Eurajoki (Finland)

2013-07-01

The radiographic testing is an important non-destructive testing method, especially in industrial areas where people could be injured in case of failing of a component. There it is a mighty method to find volumetric defects. As bigger the penetrated length of the defect in the component is, as bigger is the radiographic contrast. The detectability of volumetric defects in its turn is not only depending on the contrast but also on the noise, the defect area and its shape. The currently applied POD approach uses mostly only the contrast and the noise as detection threshold. This does not reflect accurately the results of evaluations by human observers. A new approach is introduced, using the widely applied POD evaluation and additionally a detection threshold depending on the area of the defect. The presentation shows the process of calculating the POD curves with simulated data by the modeling software aRTist and with artificial reference data. This approach was developed within a joint project with the company POSIVA, which is constructing a final depository for high active nuclear fuels in Finland. Radiographic testing is one of the NDT-methods they use to test the electron beam welds of the copper canisters. The copper canisters will be used in the depository as a corrosion barrier within the waste management concept. (Published as a poster session.)

Take control of your iPod

CERN Document Server

Sande, Steve

2009-01-01

Learn a dozen ways to do more with an iPod than just listen to music! Written by gadget-wizard Steve Sande, this 136-page book helps you advance to the next level of iPod mastery. You'll learn basics like charging an iPod and moving music over to it, but most of the book looks at all the other stuff you can do with an iPod: track calendar items and contacts, keep to-do lists, exercise, read ebooks and RSS feeds, listen to podcasts and audiobooks, watch video, view subway maps, back up your hard drive, and much more! (Click Front Matter, just below, to see the complete topic list.) The book

Assessment of molecular contamination in mask pod

Science.gov (United States)

Foray, Jean Marie; Dejaune, Patrice; Sergent, Pierre; Gough, Stuart; Cheung, D.; Davenet, Magali; Favre, Arnaud; Rude, C.; Trautmann, T.; Tissier, Michel; Fontaine, H.; Veillerot, M.; Avary, K.; Hollein, I.; Lerit, R.

2008-04-01

Context/ study Motivation: Contamination and especially Airbone Molecular Contamination (AMC) is a critical issue for mask material flow with a severe and fairly unpredictable risk of induced contamination and damages especially for 193 nm lithography. It is therefore essential to measure, to understand and then try to reduce AMC in mask environment. Mask material flow was studied in a global approach by a pool of European partners, especially within the frame of European MEDEA+ project, so called "MUSCLE". This paper deals with results and assessment of mask pod environment in term of molecular contamination in a first step, then in a second step preliminary studies to reduce mask pod influence and contamination due to material out gassing. Approach and techniques: A specific assessment of environmental / molecular contamination along the supply chain was performed by all partners. After previous work presented at EMLC 07, further studies were performed on real time contamination measurement pod at different sites locations (including Mask manufacturing site, blank manufacturing sites, IC fab). Studies were linked to the main critical issues: cleaning, storage, handling, materials and processes. Contamination measurement campaigns were carried out along the mask supply chain using specific Adixen analyzer in order to monitor in real time organic contaminants (ppb level) in mask pods. Key results would be presented: VOC, AMC and humidity level on different kinds of mask carriers, impact of basic cleaning on pod outgassing measurement (VOC, NH3), and process influence on pod contamination... In a second step, preliminary specific pod conditioning studies for better pod environment were performed based on Adixen vacuum process. Process influence had been experimentally measured in term of molecular outgassing from mask pods. Different AMC experimental characterization methods had been carried out leading to results on a wide range of organic and inorganic

Modeling the X-ray Process, and X-ray Flaw Size Parameter for POD Studies

Science.gov (United States)

Koshti, Ajay M.

2014-01-01

Nondestructive evaluation (NDE) method reliability can be determined by a statistical flaw detection study called probability of detection (POD) study. In many instances, the NDE flaw detectability is given as a flaw size such as crack length. The flaw is either a crack or behaving like a crack in terms of affecting the structural integrity of the material. An alternate approach is to use a more complex flaw size parameter. The X-ray flaw size parameter, given here, takes into account many setup and geometric factors. The flaw size parameter relates to X-ray image contrast and is intended to have a monotonic correlation with the POD. Some factors such as set-up parameters, including X-ray energy, exposure, detector sensitivity, and material type that are not accounted for in the flaw size parameter may be accounted for in the technique calibration and controlled to meet certain quality requirements. The proposed flaw size parameter and the computer application described here give an alternate approach to conduct the POD studies. Results of the POD study can be applied to reliably detect small flaws through better assessment of effect of interaction between various geometric parameters on the flaw detectability. Moreover, a contrast simulation algorithm for a simple part-source-detector geometry using calibration data is also provided for the POD estimation.

EpiPOD : community vaccination and dispensing model user's guide.

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Berry, M.; Samsa, M.; Walsh, D.; Decision and Information Sciences

2009-01-09

EpiPOD is a modeling system that enables local, regional, and county health departments to evaluate and refine their plans for mass distribution of antiviral and antibiotic medications and vaccines. An intuitive interface requires users to input as few or as many plan specifics as are available in order to simulate a mass treatment campaign. Behind the input interface, a system dynamics model simulates pharmaceutical supply logistics, hospital and first-responder personnel treatment, population arrival dynamics and treatment, and disease spread. When the simulation is complete, users have estimates of the number of illnesses in the population at large, the number of ill persons seeking treatment, and queuing and delays within the mass treatment system--all metrics by which the plan can be judged.

Experimental investigation of stresses and deformations of the model of a pod-boiler-prestressed concrete pressure vessel. Pt. 1

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Stoever, R.

1973-01-01

Investigations of elastic models are suitable to obtain independent values for stress states and deformations of thickwalled pressure vessels to check computer programs for three-dimensional elastic calculations. An elastic model of epoxy resin was constructed with the geometry of the pod boiler pressure vessel of the Hartlepool nuclear power station. With this model strains and deformations were measured for internal pressure. The stress states in the neighbourhood of the large vertical openings for the boiler pods and the horizontal gas ducts and at the junction of cylinder and plates were of special interest. Therefore most of the gauges were concentrated in these regions. A considerable number of strain gauges were embedded in the wall. The construction of the model is described in part one and results of the measurements are presented and discussed in part two of this report. (orig.) [de

A comparison of Probability Of Detection (POD) data determined using different statistical methods

Science.gov (United States)

Fahr, A.; Forsyth, D.; Bullock, M.

1993-12-01

Different statistical methods have been suggested for determining probability of detection (POD) data for nondestructive inspection (NDI) techniques. A comparative assessment of various methods of determining POD was conducted using results of three NDI methods obtained by inspecting actual aircraft engine compressor disks which contained service induced cracks. The study found that the POD and 95 percent confidence curves as a function of crack size as well as the 90/95 percent crack length vary depending on the statistical method used and the type of data. The distribution function as well as the parameter estimation procedure used for determining POD and the confidence bound must be included when referencing information such as the 90/95 percent crack length. The POD curves and confidence bounds determined using the range interval method are very dependent on information that is not from the inspection data. The maximum likelihood estimators (MLE) method does not require such information and the POD results are more reasonable. The log-logistic function appears to model POD of hit/miss data relatively well and is easy to implement. The log-normal distribution using MLE provides more realistic POD results and is the preferred method. Although it is more complicated and slower to calculate, it can be implemented on a common spreadsheet program.

iPod The Missing Manual

CERN Document Server

Biersdorfer, J D

2011-01-01

Apple's iPod still has the world hooked on portable music, pictures, videos, movies, and more, but one thing it doesn't have is a manual that helps you can get the most out this amazing device. That's where this book comes in. Get the complete scoop on the latest line of iPods and the latest version of iTunes with the guide that outshines them all-iPod: The Missing Manual. The 10th edition is as useful, satisfying, and reliable as its subject. Teeming with high-quality color graphics, each page helps you accomplish a specific task-everything from managing your media and installing and browsi

POD Analysis of Flow Behind a Four-wing Vortex Generator

Science.gov (United States)

Hosseinali, Mahdi; Wilkins, Stephen; Hall, Joseph

2015-11-01

Wing-tip vortices that persist long after the passage of large aircraft are of major concern to aircraft controllers and are responsible for considerable delays between aircraft take-off times. Understanding these vortices is extremely important, with the ultimate goal to reduce or eliminate delays altogether. Simple theoretical models of vortices can be studied experimentally using a four-wing vortex generator. The cross-stream planes are measured with a two-component Particle Image Velocimetry (PIV) system, and the resulting vector fields were analyzed with a Proper Orthogonal Decomposition (POD) via the method of snapshots. POD analysis will be employed both before and after removing vortex core meandering to investigate the meandering effect on POD modes for a better understanding of it.

Shade tree spatial structure and pod production explain frosty pod rot intensity in cacao agroforests, Costa Rica.

Science.gov (United States)

Gidoin, Cynthia; Avelino, Jacques; Deheuvels, Olivier; Cilas, Christian; Bieng, Marie Ange Ngo

2014-03-01

Vegetation composition and plant spatial structure affect disease intensity through resource and microclimatic variation effects. The aim of this study was to evaluate the independent effect and relative importance of host composition and plant spatial structure variables in explaining disease intensity at the plot scale. For that purpose, frosty pod rot intensity, a disease caused by Moniliophthora roreri on cacao pods, was monitored in 36 cacao agroforests in Costa Rica in order to assess the vegetation composition and spatial structure variables conducive to the disease. Hierarchical partitioning was used to identify the most causal factors. Firstly, pod production, cacao tree density and shade tree spatial structure had significant independent effects on disease intensity. In our case study, the amount of susceptible tissue was the most relevant host composition variable for explaining disease intensity by resource dilution. Indeed, cacao tree density probably affected disease intensity more by the creation of self-shading rather than by host dilution. Lastly, only regularly distributed forest trees, and not aggregated or randomly distributed forest trees, reduced disease intensity in comparison to plots with a low forest tree density. A regular spatial structure is probably crucial to the creation of moderate and uniform shade as recommended for frosty pod rot management. As pod production is an important service expected from these agroforests, shade tree spatial structure may be a lever for integrated management of frosty pod rot in cacao agroforests.

EKSTRAKSI SELULOSA DARI POD HUSK KAKAO MENGGUNAKAN SODIUM HIDROKSIDA

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Gatot Siswo Hutomo

2013-03-01

Full Text Available EKSTRAKSI SELULOSA DARI POD HUSK KAKAO MENGGUNAKAN SODIUMHIDROKSIDA Cellulose Extraction from Cacao Pod Husk Using Sodium Hydroxide Gatot Siswo Hutomo, Djagal Wiseso Marseno, Sri Anggrahini, Supriyanto ABSTRAK Pod husk kakao banyak mengandung komponen kimia seperti pektin, lignin, hemiselulosa dan selulosa serta beberapakomponen yang lain yaitu caffein dan theobromine. Khusus selulosa dapat dilakukan modiÞ kasi sebagai turunanselulosa yang mempunyai banyak fungsi serta dapat diaplikasikan untuk pangan. Penelitian ekstraksi selulosa dari podhusk kakao telah dilakukan. Tujuan penelitian ini adalah untuk memperoleh konsentrasi sodium hidroksida sebagaibahan untuk ekstraksi selulosa dari pod husk kakao. Selulosa pada pod husk kakao terikat sangat kuat dengan lignin,sodium hidroksida akan memutus dengan baik ikatan antara selulosa dengan lignin. Bleaching pada selulosa jugadilakukan dengan menggunakan sodium hipoklorida 3% dan sodium bisulÞ t 3% untuk meningkatkan lightness. SpektraFT-IR dan X-ray juga dilakukan untuk pendeteksian pada selulosa hasil ekstraksi. Hasil ekstraksi selulosa dari pod huskkakao menggunakan sodiumhidroksida 12% menghasilkan rendemen sekitar 26,09% (db dengan kristalinitas 27,14%,kadar abu 6,56% (db, WHC 5,87 g/g dan OHC 2,74 g/g. Dapat disimpulkan bahwa sodium hidroksida 12% adalahkonsentrasi yang paling baik untuk mengekstraksi selulosa dari pod husk kakao.Kata kunci: Selulosa, pod husk, kakao, ekstraksi ABSTRACT Cacao pod husk contains some compounds like pectin, lignin, hemicelluloses and cellulose, and other compounds suchas caffeine and theobromine. Especially for cellulose should be modiÞ ed as derivates which it have multi functionsin food application. Extraction cellulose from pod husk cacao was investigated. The aim of the research was to Þ ndthe concentration of sodium hydroxide for cellulose extraction from pod husk cacao. Bleaching for cellulose werecarried out twice using sodium hypochlorite 3% (oxydator and

A reduced order aerothermodynamic modeling framework for hypersonic vehicles based on surrogate and POD

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Chen Xin

2015-10-01

Full Text Available Aerothermoelasticity is one of the key technologies for hypersonic vehicles. Accurate and efficient computation of the aerothermodynamics is one of the primary challenges for hypersonic aerothermoelastic analysis. Aimed at solving the shortcomings of engineering calculation, computation fluid dynamics (CFD and experimental investigation, a reduced order modeling (ROM framework for aerothermodynamics based on CFD predictions using an enhanced algorithm of fast maximin Latin hypercube design is developed. Both proper orthogonal decomposition (POD and surrogate are considered and compared to construct ROMs. Two surrogate approaches named Kriging and optimized radial basis function (ORBF are utilized to construct ROMs. Furthermore, an enhanced algorithm of fast maximin Latin hypercube design is proposed, which proves to be helpful to improve the precisions of ROMs. Test results for the three-dimensional aerothermodynamic over a hypersonic surface indicate that: the ROMs precision based on Kriging is better than that by ORBF, ROMs based on Kriging are marginally more accurate than ROMs based on POD-Kriging. In a word, the ROM framework for hypersonic aerothermodynamics has good precision and efficiency.

Effect of forage supplementation and alkali treatment of cocoa pod on the utilization of cocoa pod based diets by ruminants

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Smith, O.B.

1987-01-01

Two treatment methods - forage supplementation and chemical treatment - both potentially capable of improving cocoa pod utilization by ruminants were evaluated. Forage supplementation, using Gliricidia sepium of cattle fed a 50% cocoa pod diet yielded no positive results. Consumption of Gliricidia was poor and equalled only 0.2 kg/head/d. Feed intake (4.6 versus 4.8 kg dry matter (DM)/d), growth rate (0.37 versus 0.40 kg/d) and feed/gain (12.7 versus 12.0) for control and test cattle were similar (P>0.05). Chemical treatment using cocoa pod ash solutions (PAS) - a caustic material - was more successful. Rumen digestibility (as determined by the nylon bag technique) of cocoa pods treated with PAS, equivalent in alkalinity to 2 (P 2 ), 4 (P 4 ), 6 (P 6 ) and 8% (P 8 ) NaOH, was linearly improved (P 0.05). Dry matter, ADF and NDF degradabilities increased (P 6 and 55, 46 and 42%, respectively, for P 8 treated samples. Dry matter digestibilities of cocoa pod based diets also increased (P 8 treated) in sheep and to 60% in goats. Nevertheless, treatment with P 8 solutions reduced (P 0.75 in sheep and from 48 to 42 g DM/kg W 0.75 in goats. Feed intake, however, was normal for diets containing P 6 treated cocoa pods (67 and 61 g DM/kg W 0.75 ) for sheep and goats, respectively. Cocoa pod ash for treating cocoa pods should therefore not be stronger than the P 6 level which corresponds in alkalinity to 6% NaOH. (author)

POD evaluation using simulation: A phased array UT case on a complex geometry part

Science.gov (United States)

Dominguez, Nicolas; Reverdy, Frederic; Jenson, Frederic

2014-02-01

The use of Probability of Detection (POD) for NDT performances demonstration is a key link in products lifecycle management. The POD approach is to apply the given NDT procedure on a series of known flaws to estimate the probability to detect with respect to the flaw size. A POD is relevant if and only if NDT operations are carried out within the range of variability authorized by the procedure. Such experimental campaigns require collection of large enough datasets to cover the range of variability with sufficient occurrences to build a reliable POD statistics, leading to expensive costs to get POD curves. In the last decade research activities have been led in the USA with the MAPOD group and later in Europe with the SISTAE and PICASSO projects based on the idea to use models and simulation tools to feed POD estimations. This paper proposes an example of application of POD using simulation on the inspection procedure of a complex -full 3D- geometry part using phased arrays ultrasonic testing. It illustrates the methodology and the associated tools developed in the CIVA software. The paper finally provides elements of further progress in the domain.

ArduiPod Box: a low-cost and open-source Skinner box using an iPod Touch and an Arduino microcontroller.

Science.gov (United States)

Pineño, Oskar

2014-03-01

This article introduces the ArduiPod Box, an open-source device built using two main components (i.e., an iPod Touch and an Arduino microcontroller), developed as a low-cost alternative to the standard operant conditioning chamber, or "Skinner box." Because of its affordability, the ArduiPod Box provides an opportunity for educational institutions with small budgets seeking to set up animal laboratories for research and instructional purposes. A pilot experiment is also presented, which shows that the ArduiPod Box, in spite of its extraordinary simplicity, can be effectively used to study animal learning and behavior.

Detection of Cocoa Pod Borer Infestation Using Sex Pheromone Trap and its Control by Pod Wrapping

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Dian Rahmawati

2017-07-01

Full Text Available Cocoa pod borer (CPB, Conopomorpha cramerella Snellen (Lepidoptera: Gracillariidae is a major pest of cocoa. Detection of the pest infestation using sex pheromone traps in the early growth and development of cocoa pods is important for an early warning system programme. In order to prevent the pest infestation the young pods were wrapped with plastic bags. A research to study the CPB incidence was conducted at cocoa plantations in Banjarharjo and Banjaroya villages, District of Kalibawang; Hargotirto and Hargowilis villages, District of Kokap; and Pagerharjo village, District of Samigaluh, Yogyakarta. The experiments design used RCBD with four treatments (sex pheromone trap, combination of sex pheromone trap and pod wrapping, pod wrapping, and control and five replications. As many as 6 units/ha pheromone traps were installed with a distance of 40 m in between. Results showed that one month prior to the trap installation in the experimental plots there were ripen cocoa pods as many as 9-13%, which were mostly infested by CPB. During the time period of introducting research on August to Desember 2016 there was not rambutan fruits as the CPB host, hence the CPB resource was from infested cocoa pods. The CPB moth trapped as many as 0−7 (1.13 ± 0.14 moths/6 traps/12 observations. The seed damage due to CPB larvae in the pheromone trap treatments (23.98% was relatively similar with the control (20.25%. Seed damage rate in combination treatment of pheromone trap and pod wrapping (0.59% was relatively the same with the pod wrapping (0.20%. The pheromone trap was more usefull for monitoring tool rather than for control, meanwhile pod wrapping was an effective control measure of CPB.   Intisari Penggerek Buah Kakao (PBK, Conopomorpha cramerella Snellen (Lepidoptera: Gracillariidae merupakan salah satu hama utama kakao. Deteksi serangan hama PBK dengan perangkap feromon seks pada awal pertumbuhan dan perkembangan buah kakao penting dilakukan sebagai

Copernicus POD Service: Ready for Sentinel-3

Science.gov (United States)

Peter, H.; Fernández, J.; Escobar, D.; Féménias, P.; Flohrer, C.; Otten, M.

2015-12-01

The Copernicus POD Service is part of the Copernicus PDGS Ground Segment of the Sentinel missions. A GMV-led consortium is operating the Copernicus POD Service being in charge of generating precise orbital products and auxiliary data files for their use as part of the processing chains of the respective Sentinel PDGS. The Sentinel-1, -2 & -3 missions have different but very demanding requirements in terms of orbital accuracy and timeliness. Orbital products in Near Real Time (latency: 30 min), Short Time Critical (1.5 days) and Non-time Critical (20-30 days) are required. The accuracy requirements are very challenging, targeting 5 cm in 3D for Sentinel-1 and 2-3 cm in radial direction for Sentinel-3. Sentinel-3A carries, in addition to a GPS receiver a laser retro reflector and a DORIS receiver. On the one hand, the three different techniques GPS, SLR and DORIS make POD more complex but, on the other hand, it is very helpful to have independent techniques available for validation of the orbit results. The successful POD processing for Sentinel-1A is a good preparation for Sentinel-3A due to the similar demanding orbit accuracy requirements. The Copernicus POD Service is ready for Sentinel-3A and the service will process GPS and SLR data routinely and has the capacity to process DORIS in NTC and reprocessing campaigns. The three independent orbit determination techniques on Sentinel-3 offer big potential for scientific exploitation. Carrying all three techniques together makes the satellite, e.g., very useful for combining all the techniques on observation level as it could only be done for Jason-2 until now. The Sentinel POD Quality Working Group strongly supporting the CPOD Service delivers additional orbit solutions to validate the CPOD results independently. The recommendations from this body guarantee that the CPOD Service is updated following state-of-the-art algorithms, models and conventions. The QWG also focuses on the scientific exploitation of the

Analytic-graphic testing of deformities at the waterworks Pod Bukovcom

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jeèný Miloš

2001-09-01

Full Text Available The paper presents some geodetic measurement results in a frame of deformity survey of the bulk dam at the waterworks Pod Bukovcom nearby Košice. Periodic geodetic position and levelling measurement are realized on the dam since 1999. Testing statistics are applied into the deformity survey. Geodetic data obtained from individual measurements in the geodetic network on the bulk dam at the waterworks Pod Bukovcom are adjusted using Gauss-Markov model. Accuracy analysis by means of using relative and confidence ellipses is complemented to geodetic measurements.

to Cocoa Pod Borer Infestation in Central Sulawesi

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Agung Wahyu Soesilo

2009-12-01

Full Text Available Black pod rot disease (BPRD which is caused by Phytophthora palmivora is one of the main diseases of cocoa cultivations particularly in plantations with wet climate. Black pod rot can develop rapidly under high humidity environments, particularly during rainy seasons. This disease can cause loss of harvest of up to 46.63% in East Java. The various control efforts attempted so far have not resulted in significant improvements. Urea, in addition to functioning as fertilizer, can also produce the ammonia gas which is believed to be able to suppress black pod rot. This research aims to determine the effectiveness of black pod rot control using the combination of lime and urea. This research was conducted from June to September 2013. The materials used in test included sterile soil, black pod rot infected cocoa, urea, and agricultural lime. Observation results showed that ammonia could form from urea. Lime can increase the speed of the formation. The ammonia gas forming from 0.06% urea and 0.3% lime can control the P. palmivora fungus inside the soil. Key words: Pod rot, P. palmivora, urea, lime, ammonia

Flow temporal reconstruction from non time-resolved data part II: practical implementation, methodology validation, and applications

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Legrand, Mathieu; Nogueira, Jose; Lecuona, Antonio [Universidad Carlos III, Department of Thermal and Fluids Engineering, Madrid (Spain); Tachibana, Shigeru [Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, Aerospace Research and Development, Tokyo (Japan); Nauri, Sara [QinetiQ, Design Systems and Services, Farnborough (United Kingdom)

2011-10-15

This paper proposes a method to sort experimental snapshots of a periodic flow using information from the first three POD coefficients. Even in presence of turbulence, phase-average flow fields are reconstructed with this novel technique. The main objective is to identify and track traveling coherent structures in these pseudo periodic flows. This provides a tool for shedding light on flow dynamics and allows for dynamical contents comparison, instead of using mean statistics or traditional point-based correlation techniques. To evaluate the performance of the technique, apart from a laminar test on the relative strength of the POD modes, four additional tests have been performed. In the first of these tests, time-resolved PIV measurements of a turbulent flow with an externally forced main frequency allows to compare real phase-locked average data with reconstructed phase obtained using the technique proposed in the paper. The reconstruction technique is then applied to a set of non-forced, non time-resolved Stereo PIV measurements in an atmospheric burner, under combustion conditions. Besides checking that the reconstruction on different planes matches, there is no indication of the magnitude of the error for the proposed technique. In order to obtain some data regarding this aspect, two additional tests are performed on simulated non-externally forced laminar flows with the addition of a digital filter resembling turbulence (Klein et al. in J Comput Phys 186:652-665, 2003). With this information, the limitation of the technique applicability to periodic flows including turbulence or secondary frequency features is further discussed on the basis of the relative strength of the Proper Orthogonal Decomposition (POD) modes. The discussion offered indicates coherence between the reconstructed results and those obtained in the simulations. In addition, it allows defining a threshold parameter that indicates when the proposed technique is suitable or not. For those

Fish Pectoral Fin Hydrodynamics; Part III: Low Dimensional Models via POD Analysis

Science.gov (United States)

Bozkurttas, M.; Madden, P.

2005-11-01

The highly complex kinematics of the pectoral fin and the resulting hydrodynamics does not lend itself easily to analysis based on simple notions of pitching/heaving/paddling kinematics or lift/drag based propulsive mechanisms. A more inventive approach is needed to dissect the fin gait and gain insight into the hydrodynamic performance of the pectoral fin. The focus of the current work is on the hydrodynamics of the pectoral fin of a bluegill sunfish in steady forward motion. The 3D, time-dependent fin kinematics is obtained via a stereo-videographic technique. We employ proper orthogonal decomposition to extract the essential features of the fin gait and then use CFD to examine the hydrodynamics of simplified gaits synthesized from the POD modes. The POD spectrum shows that the first two, three and five POD modes capture 55%, 67%, and 80% of the motion respectively. The first three modes are in particular highly distinct: Mode-1 is a ``cupping'' motion where the fin cups forward as it is abducted; Mode-2 is an ``expansion'' motion where the fin expands to present a larger area during adduction and finally Mode-3 involves a ``spanwise flick'' of the dorsal edge of the fin. Numerical simulation of flow past fin gaits synthesized from these modes lead to insights into the mechanisms of thrust production; these are discussed in detail.

Jason-1 and Jason-2 POD Using GPS

Science.gov (United States)

Melachroinos, Stavros; Lemoine, Frank G.; Zelensky, Nikita P.; Rowlands, David D.; Luthcke, Scott B.; Beckley, Brian D.

2012-01-01

The Jason-2 satellite, launched in June 2008, is the latest follow-on to the successful Jason-1 altimetry satellite mission launched in December 7, 2001. Both, Jason-2 and Jason-1 are equipped with a GPS dual-frequency receiver, a laser retroreflector array, and a DORIS receiver for precise orbit determination (POD). A series of dynamic and reduced-dynamic Jason-2 orbits computed at NASA GSFC, based on GPS-only data and the std0905 standards, have been completed till cy74through cycle 74 using the IGS05 framework. These orbits, now publicly available, have been shown to agree radially at 1 cm RMS with the GSFC std0905 SLR/DORIS orbits and in comparison with orbits produced by JPL, ESA and CNES. In this paper, we describe the implementation of the IGS08 and repro1 framework for the Jason-2 and Jason-1 GPS POD processing with the NASA GSFC GEODYN software. . In our updated GPS POD, ambiguity fixing and updated time variable and static gravity fields. We also evaluate the implementation of non-tidal and degree-1 loading displacement as forward modeling to the tracking stations. Reduced-dynamic versus dynamic orbit differences are used to characterize the remaining force model errors and TRF instability. In particular, we assess their consistency radially and the stability of the altimeter satellite reference frame in the North/South direction as a proxy to assess the consistency of the reference frame.

Fabrication criteria applicable to Carem pods production

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bianchi, D R; Azzinari, D; Gongora, P; Sabio Calvete, M; Ilarri, M; Perazzo, M; Duarte, J; Duarte, A; Rojas, J; Fleitas, G; Szieber, W C; Vizcaino, P

2012-01-01

In relation CAREM 25 project, PPFAE, CNEA, has been fabricated pods for fuel rods for that reactor. They were used the same fuel rods that to be irradiate and evaluate their behavior with that the same Uranium pellets. The scope of the agreement signed between the authorities of the CNEA and Institutt for Energiteknikk (IFE) in Norway, it contemplated irradiated fuel rods type CAREM fabricated from these fuel pods in the OECD Halden Reactor Project (HRP, venture led by IFE and integrate more than 16 countries). The work contemplates the production of two experimental item fuel pods. From the second item fuel pods will be used in the fuel rods. In this paper we analyze the sequences used; the results obtained and the general conditions for the development of the final process to be applied in the production phase for a reactor CAREM 25 (author)

Non-destructive analysis of rape plant pod by neutron radiography

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Makino-Nakanishi, Tomoko; Inanaga, Shinobu; Kobayashi, Hisao.

1991-01-01

Since the ripening process of the rape plant pod has not been studied well, non-destructive analysis of the pod has been carried out by neutron radiography. From the water distribution in the pod, the formation of pod parenchyma as well as vascular system were clearly observed. During the ripening process of the pod water content and weight of the seed were measured. It was found that at the early stage of the ripening process the water content of the seed became maximum and began to decrease, whereas the weight of each seed was gradually increased throughout the ripening process. Neutron radiography, which shows the water content of the pod, will give the clue to the decrease of the water content of the seed from the middle of the ripening process. (author)

The iPod Revolution: An Exploratory Case Study of the Implementation of an iPod Touch Pilot Program

Science.gov (United States)

Stanfield, Staci A.

2013-01-01

This exploratory case study was designed to investigate the implementation of an iPod touch pilot program in sixth grade science classrooms at an intermediate school in Southeast Texas. More specifically, this study explored the benefits and challenges associated with the utilization of iPod touch devices for students, teachers, and their campus…

Taking Your iPod touch to the Max

CERN Document Server

Sadun, Erica

2010-01-01

Unleash your iPhone and take it to the limit using secret tips and techniques from gadget hacker Erica Sadun. Fast and fun to read, Taking Your iPod touch 4 to the Max is fully updated to show you how get the most out of Apple's new OS 4. You'll find all the best undocumented tricks as well as the most efficient and enjoyable introduction to the iPhone available. Starting with an introduction to iPod touch 4 basics, you'll quickly move on to discover the iPod touch's hidden potential, like how to connect to a TV, get contract-free VOIP, and hack OS 4 so it will run apps on your iPod touch. Fro

A stabilized MFE reduced-order extrapolation model based on POD for the 2D unsteady conduction-convection problem.

Science.gov (United States)

Xia, Hong; Luo, Zhendong

2017-01-01

In this study, we devote ourselves to establishing a stabilized mixed finite element (MFE) reduced-order extrapolation (SMFEROE) model holding seldom unknowns for the two-dimensional (2D) unsteady conduction-convection problem via the proper orthogonal decomposition (POD) technique, analyzing the existence and uniqueness and the stability as well as the convergence of the SMFEROE solutions and validating the correctness and dependability of the SMFEROE model by means of numerical simulations.

POD and PPP with multi-frequency processing

Science.gov (United States)

Roldán, Pedro; Navarro, Pedro; Rodríguez, Daniel; Rodríguez, Irma

2017-04-01

Precise Orbit Determination (POD) and Precise Point Positioning (PPP) are methods for estimating the orbits and clocks of GNSS satellites and the precise positions and clocks of user receivers. These methods are traditionally based on processing the ionosphere-free combination. With this combination, the delay introduced in the signal when passing through the ionosphere is removed, taking advantage of the dependency of this delay with the square of the frequency. It is also possible to process the individual frequencies, but in this case it is needed to properly model the ionospheric delay. This modelling is usually very challenging, as the electron content in the ionosphere experiences important temporal and spatial variations. These two options define the two main kinds of processing: the dual-frequency ionosphere-free processing, typically used in the POD and in certain applications of PPP, and the single-frequency processing with estimation or modelisation of the ionosphere, mostly used in the PPP processing. In magicGNSS, a software tool developed by GMV for POD and PPP, a hybrid approach has been implemented. This approach combines observations from any number of individual frequencies and any number of ionosphere-free combinations of these frequencies. In such a way, the observations of ionosphere-free combination allow a better estimation of positions and orbits, while the inclusion of observations from individual frequencies allows to estimate the ionospheric delay and to reduce the noise of the solution. It is also possible to include other kind of combinations, such as geometry-free combination, instead of processing individual frequencies. The joint processing of all the frequencies for all the constellations requires both the estimation or modelisation of ionospheric delay and the estimation of inter-frequency biases. The ionospheric delay can be estimated from the single-frequency or dual-frequency geometry-free observations, but it is also possible

Pharmacokinetics and Preliminary Safety of Pod-Intravaginal Rings Delivering the Monoclonal Antibody VRC01-N for HIV Prophylaxis in a Macaque Model.

Science.gov (United States)

Zhao, Chunxia; Gunawardana, Manjula; Villinger, Francois; Baum, Marc M; Remedios-Chan, Mariana; Moench, Thomas R; Zeitlin, Larry; Whaley, Kevin J; Bohorov, Ognian; Smith, Thomas J; Anderson, Deborah J; Moss, John A

2017-07-01

The broadly neutralizing antibody (bNAb) VRC01, capable of neutralizing 91% of known human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) isolates in vitro , is a promising candidate microbicide for preventing sexual HIV infection when administered topically to the vagina; however, accessibility to antibody-based prophylactic treatment by target populations in sub-Saharan Africa and other underdeveloped regions may be limited by the high cost of conventionally produced antibodies and the limited capacity to manufacture such antibodies. Intravaginal rings of the pod design (pod-IVRs) delivering Nicotiana -manufactured VRC01 (VRC01-N) over a range of release rates have been developed. The pharmacokinetics and preliminary safety of VRC01-N pod-IVRs were evaluated in a rhesus macaque model. The devices sustained VRC01-N release for up to 21 days at controlled rates, with mean steady-state VRC01-N levels in vaginal fluids in the range of 10 2 to 10 3 μg g -1 being correlated with in vitro release rates. No adverse safety indications were observed. These findings indicate that pod-IVRs are promising devices for the delivery of the candidate topical microbicide VRC01-N against HIV-1 infection and merit further preclinical evaluation. Copyright © 2017 American Society for Microbiology.

Ikon. iPod er kongen over mp3. Hvad er hemmeligheden?

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Dickson, Thomas

2005-01-01

iPod er blevet ikonet for det 21. århundrede. Men iPod var hverken den første mp3-afspiller eller den første veldesignede af slagsen. Før iPod så dagens lys var Bang & Olufsen på banen med sin næsten lige så lækre BeoSound2.......iPod er blevet ikonet for det 21. århundrede. Men iPod var hverken den første mp3-afspiller eller den første veldesignede af slagsen. Før iPod så dagens lys var Bang & Olufsen på banen med sin næsten lige så lækre BeoSound2....

A stabilized MFE reduced-order extrapolation model based on POD for the 2D unsteady conduction-convection problem

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Hong Xia

2017-05-01

Full Text Available Abstract In this study, we devote ourselves to establishing a stabilized mixed finite element (MFE reduced-order extrapolation (SMFEROE model holding seldom unknowns for the two-dimensional (2D unsteady conduction-convection problem via the proper orthogonal decomposition (POD technique, analyzing the existence and uniqueness and the stability as well as the convergence of the SMFEROE solutions and validating the correctness and dependability of the SMFEROE model by means of numerical simulations.

Fruit Pod Extracts as a Source of Nutraceuticals and Pharmaceuticals

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Azrina Azlan

2012-10-01

Full Text Available Fruit pods contain various beneficial compounds that have biological activities and can be used as a source of pharmaceutical and nutraceutical products. Although pods or pericarps are usually discarded when consuming the edible parts of fruits, they contain some compounds that exhibit biological activities after extraction. Most fruit pods included in this review contain polyphenolic components that can promote antioxidant effects on human health. Additionally, anti-inflammatory, antibacterial, antifungal and chemopreventive effects are associated with these fruit pod extracts. Besides polyphenolics, other compounds such as xanthones, carotenoids and saponins also exhibit health effects and can be potential sources of nutraceutical and pharmaceutical components. In this review, information on fruit pods or pericarp of Garcinia mangostana, Ceratonia siliqua, Moringa oleifera, Acacia nilotica, Sapindus rarak and Prosopis cineraria is presented and discussed with regard to their biological activity of the major compounds existing in them. The fruit pods of other ethno- botanical plants have also been reviewed. It can be concluded that although fruit pods are considered as being of no practical use and are often being thrown away, they nevertheless contain compounds that might be useful sources of nutraceutical and other pharmaceutical components.

Moniliophthora roreri, causal agent of cacao frosty pod rot.

Science.gov (United States)

Bailey, Bryan A; Evans, Harry C; Phillips-Mora, Wilbert; Ali, Shahin S; Meinhardt, Lyndel W

2017-12-01

Taxonomy: Moniliophthora roreri (Cif.) H.C. Evans et al. ; Phylum Basidiomycota; Class Agaricomycetes; Order Agaricales; Family Marasmiaceae; Genus Moniliophthora. Biology: Moniliophthora roreri attacks Theobroma and Herrania species causing frosty pod rot. Theobroma cacao (cacao) is the host of major economic concern. Moniliophthora roreri is a hemibiotroph with a long biotrophic phase (45-90 days). Spore masses, of apparent asexual origin, are produced on the pod surface after initiation of the necrotrophic phase. Spores are spread by wind, rain and human activity. Symptoms of the biotrophic phase can include necrotic flecks and, in some cases, pod malformation, but pods otherwise remain asymptomatic. Relationship to Moniliophthora perniciosa: Moniliophthora roreri and Moniliophthora perniciosa, causal agent of witches' broom disease of cacao, are closely related. Their genomes are similar, including many of the genes they carry which are considered to be important in the disease process. Moniliophthora perniciosa, also a hemibiotroph, has a typical basidiomycete lifestyle and morphology, forming clamp connections and producing mushrooms. Basidiospores infect meristematic tissues including flower cushions, stem tips and pods. Moniliophthora roreri does not form clamp connections or mushrooms and infects pods only. Both pathogens are limited to the Western Hemisphere and are a threat to cacao production around the world. Agronomic importance: Disease losses caused by frosty pod rot can reach 90% and result in field abandonment. Moniliophthora roreri remains in the invasive phase in the Western Hemisphere, not having reached Brazil, some islands within the Caribbean and a few specific regions within otherwise invaded countries. The disease can be managed by a combination of cultural (for example, maintenance of tree height and removal of infected pods) and chemical methods. These methods benefit from regional application, but can be cost prohibitive. Breeding for

Inertial Forces from Earthquakes on a Hyperloop Pod

OpenAIRE

Heaton, Thomas H.

2017-01-01

High‐speed transit (1300  km/hr) using pods traveling in evacuated tubes has been proposed. This Short Note addresses how earthquake ground shaking is changed when it is experienced by a high‐speed pod that is confined to a track. In particular, earthquake motions can cause lateral deformations of the tube that cause centripetal forces in the pod. I discuss the nature of these forces for the cases of (1) a tube that crosses a fault offset, (2) a tube that is deformed by traveling waves in the...

Efficacy of screening methods used in breeding for black pod ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

The disease affects the pods, beans, flower cushions, leaves, stems and roots. The objective of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of resistance screening methods used in breeding black pod disease resistance in cocoa. The resistance of cocoa leaves and pods to Phytophthora palmivora was investigated in twenty five ...

efficacy of screening methods used in breeding for black pod

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Administrator

inoculation necessitates waiting until a tree bears pods before its level of resistance to black pod infection can be determined. These methods, therefore, do not offer a quick means of breeding for resistance. Consequently, tests at the seedling stage that provide information about pod resistance are earnestly needed to save ...

Changes in abscisic acid translocation during pod development and senescence in soybeans

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nooden, L.D.; Obermayer, W.R.

1981-01-01

The patterns of abscisic acid circulation between the leaves and the pods change during pod development and monocarpic senescence in soybeans. 14 C-ABA injected into the seed cavity of the most advanced pod moves to less advanced pods and mostly to pods at the same node, but very little travels to the leaves. More of the injected ABA is translocated during early and mid podfill compared with late podfill. This corresponds with the timing of the repressive effect of the more advanced pods on the less advanced pods. 14 C-ABA applied to a small portion of a leaf surface is taken up into that leaf and translocated mainly to the nearest pods but also to the pod cluster below. During late podfill, however, a substantial amount also moves to the pod cluster above. In early podfill, most of the leaf-applied ABA goes to the carpels, while later most travels to the seeds. On a g fresh weight basis, the levels of 14 C-ABA in the seed coats are particularly high, but the embryo axes also contain high levels. Substantial amounts of the 14 C-ABA are converted to a form resembling the glucoside, but relatively little is otherwise metabolized, except in the carpels. (author)

Changes in abscisic acid translocation during pod development and senescence in soybeans

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Nooden, L.D.; Obermayer, W.R. (Michigan Univ., Ann Arbor (USA))

1981-01-01

The patterns of abscisic acid circulation between the leaves and the pods change during pod development and monocarpic senescence in soybeans. /sup 14/C-ABA injected into the seed cavity of the most advanced pod moves to less advanced pods and mostly to pods at the same node, but very little travels to the leaves. More of the injected ABA is translocated during early and mid podfill compared with late podfill. This corresponds with the timing of the repressive effect of the more advanced pods on the less advanced pods. /sup 14/C-ABA applied to a small portion of a leaf surface is taken up into that leaf and translocated mainly to the nearest pods but also to the pod cluster below. During late podfill, however, a substantial amount also moves to the pod cluster above. In early podfill, most of the leaf-applied ABA goes to the carpels, while later most travels to the seeds. On a g fresh weight basis, the levels of /sup 14/C-ABA in the seed coats are particularly high, but the embryo axes also contain high levels. Substantial amounts of the /sup 14/C-ABA are converted to a form resembling the glucoside, but relatively little is otherwise metabolized, except in the carpels.

QTL mapping for resistance to frosty pod and black pod diseases in an f1 population of Theobroma cacao L

Science.gov (United States)

Cacao (Theobroma cacao L.) is a native crop of the Americas; however severe losses due to frosty pod (FP) [Moniliophthora roreri (Cif. and Par.)], and black pod (BP) [Phytophthora palmivora (Butl.) Butl.] have reduced cacao in the Americas to only 13.0% of world production. Agronomic practices to co...

Parameterizing Coefficients of a POD-Based Dynamical System

Science.gov (United States)

Kalb, Virginia L.

2010-01-01

A method of parameterizing the coefficients of a dynamical system based of a proper orthogonal decomposition (POD) representing the flow dynamics of a viscous fluid has been introduced. (A brief description of POD is presented in the immediately preceding article.) The present parameterization method is intended to enable construction of the dynamical system to accurately represent the temporal evolution of the flow dynamics over a range of Reynolds numbers. The need for this or a similar method arises as follows: A procedure that includes direct numerical simulation followed by POD, followed by Galerkin projection to a dynamical system has been proven to enable representation of flow dynamics by a low-dimensional model at the Reynolds number of the simulation. However, a more difficult task is to obtain models that are valid over a range of Reynolds numbers. Extrapolation of low-dimensional models by use of straightforward Reynolds-number-based parameter continuation has proven to be inadequate for successful prediction of flows. A key part of the problem of constructing a dynamical system to accurately represent the temporal evolution of the flow dynamics over a range of Reynolds numbers is the problem of understanding and providing for the variation of the coefficients of the dynamical system with the Reynolds number. Prior methods do not enable capture of temporal dynamics over ranges of Reynolds numbers in low-dimensional models, and are not even satisfactory when large numbers of modes are used. The basic idea of the present method is to solve the problem through a suitable parameterization of the coefficients of the dynamical system. The parameterization computations involve utilization of the transfer of kinetic energy between modes as a function of Reynolds number. The thus-parameterized dynamical system accurately predicts the flow dynamics and is applicable to a range of flow problems in the dynamical regime around the Hopf bifurcation. Parameter

Survey of college students on iPod use and hearing health.

Science.gov (United States)

Danhauer, Jeffrey L; Johnson, Carole E; Byrd, Anne; DeGood, Laura; Meuel, Caitlin; Pecile, Angela; Koch, Lindsey L

2009-01-01

The popularity of personal listening devices (PLDs) including iPods has increased dramatically over the past decade. PLDs allow users to listen to music uninterrupted for prolonged periods and at levels that may pose a risk for hearing loss in some listeners, particularly those using earbud earphones that fail to attenuate high ambient noise levels and necessitate increasing volume for acoustic enjoyment. Earlier studies have documented PLD use by teenagers and adults, but omitted college students, which represent a large segment of individuals who use these devices. This study surveyed college students' knowledge about, experiences with, attitudes toward, and practices and preferences for hearing health and use of iPods and/or other PLDs. The study was designed to help determine the need, content, and preferred format for educational outreach campaigns regarding safe iPod use to college students. An 83-item questionnaire was designed and used to survey college students' knowledge about, experiences with, attitudes toward, and practices/preferences for hearing health and PLD use. The questionnaire assessed Demographics and Knowledge of Hearing Health, iPod Users' Practices and Preferences, Attitudes toward iPod Use, and Reasons for iPod Use. Generally, most college students were knowledgeable about hearing health but could use information about signs of and how to prevent hearing loss. Two-thirds of these students used iPods, but not at levels or for durations that should pose excessive risks for hearing loss when listening in quiet environments. However, most iPod users could be at risk for hearing loss given a combination of common practices. Most of these college students should not be at great risk of hearing loss from their iPods when used conscientiously. Some concern is warranted for a small segment of these students who seemed to be most at risk because they listened to their iPods at high volume levels for long durations using earbuds, and reported that

Control of a HexaPOD treatment couch for robot-assisted radiotherapy.

Science.gov (United States)

Hermann, Christian; Ma, Lei; Wilbert, Jürgen; Baier, Kurt; Schilling, Klaus

2012-10-01

Moving tumors, for example in the vicinity of the lungs, pose a challenging problem in radiotherapy, as healthy tissue should not be irradiated. Apart from gating approaches, one standard method is to irradiate the complete volume within which a tumor moves plus a safety margin containing a considerable volume of healthy tissue. This work deals with a system for tumor motion compensation using the HexaPOD® robotic treatment couch (Medical Intelligence GmbH, Schwabmünchen, Germany). The HexaPOD, carrying the patient during treatment, is instructed to perform translational movements such that the tumor motion, from the beams-eye view of the linear accelerator, is eliminated. The dynamics of the HexaPOD are characterized by time delays, saturations, and other non-linearities that make the design of control a challenging task. The focus of this work lies on two control methods for the HexaPOD that can be used for reference tracking. The first method uses a model predictive controller based on a model gained through system identification methods, and the second method uses a position control scheme useful for reference tracking. We compared the tracking performance of both methods in various experiments with real hardware using ideal reference trajectories, prerecorded patient trajectories, and human volunteers whose breathing motion was compensated by the system.

Teaching Students with Developmental Disabilities to Operate an iPod Touch[R] to Listen to Music

Science.gov (United States)

Kagohara, Debora M.; Sigafoos, Jeff; Achmadi, Donna; van der Meer, Larah; O'Reilly, Mark F.; Lancioni, Giulio E.

2011-01-01

We evaluated an intervention procedure for teaching three students with developmental disabilities to independently operate a portable multimedia device (i.e., an iPod Touch[R]) to listen to music. The intervention procedure included the use of video modeling, which was presented on the same iPod Touch[R] that the students were taught to operate…

Hormones and Pod Development in Oilseed Rape (Brassica napus) 1

Science.gov (United States)

de Bouille, Pierre; Sotta, Bruno; Miginiac, Emile; Merrien, André

1989-01-01

The endogenous levels of several plant growth substances (indole acetic acid, IAA; abscisic acid, ABA; zeatin, Z; zeatin riboside, [9R]Z; isopentenyladenine, iP; and isopentenyladenosine, [9R]iP were measured during pod development of field grown oilseed Rape (Brassica napus L. var oleifera cv Bienvenu) with high performance liquid chromatography and immunoenzymic (enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, ELISA) techniques. Results show that pod development is characterized by high levels of Z and [9R]Z in 3 day old fruits and of IAA on the fourth day. During pod maturation, initially a significant increase of IAA and cytokinins was observed, followed by a progressive rise of ABA levels and a concomitant decline of IAA and cytokinin (except iP) levels. The relationship between hormone levels and development, especially pod number, seed number per pod, and seed weight determination, will be discussed. PMID:16666891

Development of POD from in-service NDI data

Science.gov (United States)

Forsyth, David S.; Fahr, Abbas; Leemans, Dirk V.; McRae, Ken I.

2000-05-01

The economic drive towards using aircraft beyond their initial design life has created a great interest in damage-tolerance (DT) based maintenance. The DT approach relies on routine nondestructive inspections (NDI), and requires that the NDI performance to be quantified in terms probability of detection (POD) to determine the safe inspection intervals. The most common approach for determining NDI POD is to perform inspections on representative components or specimens simulating the actual parts. This approach is practical but can be very expensive. A more economical approach may be to use actual field inspection data to obtain POD. This approach is particularly attractive for airframe inspection techniques, since most airframe structures cannot be easily simulated. There are a number of difficulties with this approach: Firstly, there is usually a very limited amount of field data. This may require special statistical treatment. Secondly, crack growth data must exist to allow the estimation of flaw sizes at the inspection sites at inspection times before the flaws were found. These factors and others affect the confidence in the calculated POD, and must be quantified before POD data of this type can be used. In this work, data from full scale fatigue tests were analyzed, and methods of overcoming the problems of small sample sizes and crack growth data requirements were investigated.

Numerical study of hub taper angle on podded propeller performance

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Islam, M.F.; Veitch, B.; Bose, N.; Liu, P.

2005-01-01

Presently, the majority of podded propulsion systems are of the pulling type, because this type provides better hydrodynamic efficiency than the pushing type. There are several possible explanations for the better overall performance of a puller type podded propulsor. One is related to the difference in hub shape. Puller and pusher propellers have opposite hub taper angles, hence different hub and blade root shape. These differences cause changes in the flow condition and possibly influence the overall performance. The current study focuses on the variation in performance of pusher and puller propellers with the same blade sections, but different hub taper angles. A hyperboloidal low order source doublet steady/unsteady time domain panel method code was modified and used to evaluate effects of hub taper angle on the open water propulsive performance of some fixed pitch screw propellers used in podded propulsion systems. The modified code was first validated against measurements of two model propellers in terms of average propulsive performance and good agreement was found. Major findings include significant effects of hub taper angle on propulsive performance of tapered hub propellers and noticeable effects of hub taper angle on sectional pressure distributions of tapered hub propeller blades. (author)

A Comprehensive Phenotypic Investigation of the "Pod-Shattering Syndrome" in Common Bean.

Science.gov (United States)

Murgia, Maria L; Attene, Giovanna; Rodriguez, Monica; Bitocchi, Elena; Bellucci, Elisa; Fois, Davide; Nanni, Laura; Gioia, Tania; Albani, Diego M; Papa, Roberto; Rau, Domenico

2017-01-01

Seed shattering in crops is a key domestication trait due to its relevance for seed dispersal, yield, and fundamental questions in evolution (e.g., convergent evolution). Here, we focused on pod shattering in common bean ( Phaseolus vulgaris L.), the most important legume crop for human consuption in the world. With this main aim, we developed a methodological pipeline that comprises a thorough characterization under field conditions, including also the chemical composition and histological analysis of the pod valves. The pipeline was developed based on the assumption that the shattering trait itself can be treated in principle as a "syndrome" (i.e., a set of correlated different traits) at the pod level. We characterized a population of 267 introgression lines that were developed ad-hoc to study shattering in common bean. Three main objectives were sought: (1) to dissect the shattering trait into its "components," of level (percentage of shattering pods per plant) and mode (percentage of pods with twisting or non-twisting valves); (2) to test whether shattering is associated to the chemical composition and/or the histological characteristics of the pod valves; and (3) to test the associations between shattering and other plant traits. We can conclude the following: Very high shattering levels can be achieved in different modes; shattering resistance is mainly a qualitative trait; and high shattering levels is correlated with high carbon and lignin contents of the pod valves and with specific histological charaterstics of the ventral sheath and the inner fibrous layer of the pod wall. Our data also suggest that shattering comes with a "cost," as it is associated with low pod size, low seed weight per pod, high pod weight, and low seed to pod-valves ratio; indeed, it can be more exaustively described as a syndrome at the pod level. Our work suggests that the valve chemical composition (i.e., carbon and lignin content) can be used for a high troughput phenotyping

Comparative study on the performance of Pod type waterjet by experiment and computation

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Moon-Chan Kim

2010-03-01

Full Text Available A comparative study between a computation and an experiment has been conducted to predict the performance of a Pod type waterjet for an amphibious wheeled vehicle. The Pod type waterjet has been chosen on the basis of the required specific speed of more than 2500. As the Pod type waterjet is an extreme type of axial flow type waterjet, theoretical as well as experimental works about Pod type waterjets are very rare. The main purpose of the present study is to validate and compare to the experimental results of the Pod type waterjet with the developed CFD in-house code based on the RANS equations. The developed code has been validated by comparing with the experimental results of the well-known turbine problem. The validation also extended to the flush type waterjet where the pressures along the duct surface and also velocities at nozzle area have been compared with experimental results. The Pod type waterjet has been designed and the performance of the designed waterjet system including duct, impeller and stator was analyzed by the previously mentioned in-house CFD Code. The pressure distributions and limiting streamlines on the blade surfaces were computed to confirm the performance of the designed waterjets. In addition, the torque and momentum were computed to find the entire efficiency and these were compared with the model test results. Measurements were taken of the flow rate at the nozzle exit, static pressure at the various sections along the duct and also the nozzle, revolution of the impeller, torque, thrust and towing forces at various advance speeds for the prediction of performance as well as for comparison with the computations. Based on these measurements, the performance was analyzed according to the ITTC96 standard analysis method. The full-scale effective and the delivered power of the wheeled vehicle were estimated for the prediction of the service speed. This paper emphasizes the confirmation of the ITTC96 analysis method and

Model-Based Reconstructive Elasticity Imaging Using Ultrasound

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Salavat R. Aglyamov

2007-01-01

Full Text Available Elasticity imaging is a reconstructive imaging technique where tissue motion in response to mechanical excitation is measured using modern imaging systems, and the estimated displacements are then used to reconstruct the spatial distribution of Young's modulus. Here we present an ultrasound elasticity imaging method that utilizes the model-based technique for Young's modulus reconstruction. Based on the geometry of the imaged object, only one axial component of the strain tensor is used. The numerical implementation of the method is highly efficient because the reconstruction is based on an analytic solution of the forward elastic problem. The model-based approach is illustrated using two potential clinical applications: differentiation of liver hemangioma and staging of deep venous thrombosis. Overall, these studies demonstrate that model-based reconstructive elasticity imaging can be used in applications where the geometry of the object and the surrounding tissue is somewhat known and certain assumptions about the pathology can be made.

NILAI CERNA DAN BIODEGRADASI THEOBROMIN POD KAKAO DENGAN PERLAKUAN FERMENTASI MENGGUNAKAN INOKULUM MULTI MIKROBIA (Digestibility Value and Theobromine Biodegradation of Cocoa Pod with Treatment of Fermentation Using Multi Microbial Inoculum

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Suci Wulandari

2014-07-01

SBP terhadap nilai cerna serat dan biodegradasi theobromin. Pod kakao difermentasi dalam kondisi anaerob pada suhu ruang. Kadar inokulum yang ditambahkan adalah 0; 0,05; dan 0,1 %. Selama fermentasi dilakukan pengambilan sampel pada hari ke-0, 3, dan 6 untuk mengetahui pertumbuhan bakteri selama fermentasi pod kakao, perubahan pH, perubahan nilai cerna, dan degradasi theobromin selama fermentasi, kemudian dilanjutkan dengan isolasi bakteri untuk mengetahui karakteristik isolat bakteri dari pod kakao terfermentasi dengan cara isolat yang diperoleh diuji kemampuannya dalam menghasilkan enzim selulase (CMC-ase dan β-glukoseidase dan kemampuannya dalam mendegradasi theobromin. Hasil penelitian menunjukkan bahwa selama fermentasi pod kakao terjadi kenaikan populasi bakteri asam laktat dan bakteri total, penurunan pH, kenaikan nilai cerna serat, dan penurunan kandungan theobromin dalam pod kakao. Perubahan parameter tersebut lebih nyata terjadi pada pod kakao yang difermentasi dengan kadar air 40% dan diinokulasi dengan SBP® dosis 0,05% dengan lama fermentasi 6 hari. Penurunan theobromin pada pod kakao fermentasi terbesar mencapai 17,02%. Kenaikan nilai cerna serat dan penurunan kandungan theobromin selama fermentasi pod kakao oleh inokulan SBP dikonfirmasi dengan karakteristik isolat-isolat bakteri yang diperoleh dari pod kakao yang terfermentasi. Ada 8 isolat bakteri yang mampu menghasilkan enzim CMC-ase dan β-glukosidase dengan tingkat produksi yang berbeda-beda. Beberapa isolat bakteri juga mampu menurunkan kandungan theobromin dalam kultur cair sampai sebesar 27,07%. Kata kunci: Pod kakao, theobromin, nilai cerna serat, selulase

Dynamic PROOF clusters with PoD: architecture and user experience

Science.gov (United States)

Manafov, Anar

2011-12-01

PROOF on Demand (PoD) is a tool-set, which sets up a PROOF cluster on any resource management system. PoD is a user oriented product with an easy to use GUI and a command-line interface. It is fully automated. No administrative privileges or special knowledge is required to use it. PoD utilizes a plug-in system, to use different job submission front-ends. The current PoD distribution is shipped with LSF, Torque (PBS), Grid Engine, Condor, gLite, and SSH plug-ins. The product is to be extended. We therefore plan to implement a plug-in for AliEn Grid as well. Recently developed algorithms made it possible to efficiently maintain two types of connections: packet-forwarding and native PROOF connections. This helps to properly handle most kinds of workers, with and without firewalls. PoD maintains the PROOF environment automatically and, for example, prevents resource misusage in case when workers idle for too long. As PoD matures as a product and provides more plug-ins, it's used as a standard for setting up dynamic PROOF clusters in many different institutions. The GSI Analysis Facility (GSIAF) is in production since 2007. The static PROOF cluster has been phased out end of 2009. GSIAF is now completely based on PoD. Users create private dynamic PROOF clusters on the general purpose batch farm. This provides an easier resource sharing between interactive local batch and Grid usage. The main user communities are FAIR and ALICE.

Low-dimensional analysis, using POD, for two mixing layer-wake interactions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Braud, Caroline; Heitz, Dominique; Arroyo, Georges; Perret, Laurent; Delville, Joeel; Bonnet, Jean-Paul

2004-01-01

The mixing layer-wake interaction is studied experimentally in the framework of two flow configurations. For the first one, the initial conditions of the mixing layer are modified by using a thick trailing edge, a wake effect is therefore superimposed to the mixing layer from its beginning (blunt trailing edge). In the second flow configuration, a canonical mixing layer is perturbed in its asymptotic region by the wake of a cylinder arranged perpendicular to the plane of the mixing layer. These interactions are analyzed mainly by using two-point velocity correlations and the proper orthogonal decomposition (POD). These two flow configurations differ by the degree of complexity they involve: the former is mainly 2D while the latter is highly 3D. The blunt trailing edge configuration is analyzed by using rakes of hot wire probes. This flow configuration is found to be considerably different when compared to a conventional mixing layer. It appears in particular that the scale of the large structures depends only on the trailing edge thickness and does not grow in its downstream evolution. A criterion, based on POD, is proposed in order to separate wake-mixing layer dominant areas of the downstream evolution of the flow. The complex 3D dynamical behaviour resulting from the interaction between the canonical plane mixing layer and the wake of a cylinder is investigated using data arising from particle image velocimetry measurements. An analysis of the velocity correlations shows different length scales in the regions dominated by wake like structures and shear layer type structures. In order to characterize the particular organization in the plane of symmetry, a POD-Galerkin projection of the Navier-Stokes equations is performed in this plane. This leads to a low-dimensional dynamical system that allows the analysis of the relationship between the dominant frequencies to be performed. A reconstruction of the dominant periodic motion suspected from previous studies is

Algorithm for Stabilizing a POD-Based Dynamical System

Science.gov (United States)

Kalb, Virginia L.

2010-01-01

This algorithm provides a new way to improve the accuracy and asymptotic behavior of a low-dimensional system based on the proper orthogonal decomposition (POD). Given a data set representing the evolution of a system of partial differential equations (PDEs), such as the Navier-Stokes equations for incompressible flow, one may obtain a low-dimensional model in the form of ordinary differential equations (ODEs) that should model the dynamics of the flow. Temporal sampling of the direct numerical simulation of the PDEs produces a spatial time series. The POD extracts the temporal and spatial eigenfunctions of this data set. Truncated to retain only the most energetic modes followed by Galerkin projection of these modes onto the PDEs obtains a dynamical system of ordinary differential equations for the time-dependent behavior of the flow. In practice, the steps leading to this system of ODEs entail numerically computing first-order derivatives of the mean data field and the eigenfunctions, and the computation of many inner products. This is far from a perfect process, and often results in the lack of long-term stability of the system and incorrect asymptotic behavior of the model. This algorithm describes a new stabilization method that utilizes the temporal eigenfunctions to derive correction terms for the coefficients of the dynamical system to significantly reduce these errors.

Pod Mildew on Soybeans Can Mitigate the Damage to the Seed Arising from Field Mold at Harvest Time.

Science.gov (United States)

Liu, Jiang; Deng, Juncai; Zhang, Ke; Wu, Haijun; Yang, Caiqiong; Zhang, Xiaowen; Du, Junbo; Shu, Kai; Yang, Wenyu

2016-12-07

Seedpods are the outermost barrier of legume plants encountered by pests and pathogens, but research on this tissue, especially regarding their chemical constituents, is limited. In the present study, a mildew-index-model-based cluster analysis was used to evaluate and identify groups of soybean genotypes with different organ-specific resistance against field mold. The constituents of soybean pods, including proteins, carbohydrates, fatty acids, and isoflavones, were analyzed. Linear regression and correlation analyses were also conducted between these main pod constituents and the organ-specific mildew indexes of seed (MIS) and pod (MIP). With increases in the contents of infection constituents, such as proteins, carbohydrates, and fatty acids, the MIP increased and the MIS decreased. The MIS decreased with increases in the contents of glycitein (GLE)-type isoflavonoids, which act as antibiotic constituents. Although the infection constituents in the soybean pods caused pod mildew, they also helped mitigate the corresponding seed mildew to a certain extent.

SWJ:39-42 Inheritance of Pod Colour in Cowpea INHERITANCE

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Dr. Ahmed

two additional pod pigmentation genes; one conditions green pods ... Hybridization experiments were conducted in the screen house to study the pattern of inheritance of ... to breeders because its understanding could lead to the development.

Assessment of Drying Characteristics and Texture in Relation with Micromorphological Traits of Carob (Ceratonia silliqua L. Pods and Seeds

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Maja Benković

2016-01-01

Full Text Available Carob tree (Ceratonia siliqua L. is a perennial leguminous evergreen tree native to the coastal regions of the Mediterranean basin and is considered to be an important component of vegetation for economic and environmental reasons. Two constituents of the pod, pulp and seeds, can be used as feed or in food production. In this study, drying characteristics, texture and microstructure of carob pods were studied. Three different carob samples were prepared: whole carob pod, carob pod parts and carob seed. The drying experiments and the modelling showed that carob seeds had the highest drying rate, followed by pod parts and the whole, intact carob fruit. Texture studies showed that the maximum compression force depended on the area of the carob fruit on which compression tests were performed. The seeds showed the highest compression force, followed by the stem zone, the tip and the centre of the fruit. Differences in drying behaviour and texture of carob pods can successfully be interpreted by the micromorphology of the carob pods and seeds. Determining the drying rate, maximum compressive force and micromorphological traits is of great importance for further carob processing (e.g. milling, sieving, carob bean gum production or usage in food or feed products.

Effect of Tara (Caesalpinia spinosa Pod Powder on the Oxidation and Colour Stability of Pork Meat Batter During Chilled Storage

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Monika Skowyra

2015-01-01

Full Text Available The eff ect of dried pods of Caesalpinia spinosa, known as tara, on pH, cooking loss, lipid oxidation, colour stability and texture of model meat systems stored at 4 °C for 21 days was investigated. Tara pod powder showing a potential antioxidant activity was added at 0.02, 0.04 and 0.08 % (by mass directly to the pork batt er and compared with a synthetic antioxidant, butylated hydroxyanisole (BHA and control (no added antioxidants. The addition of tara pod powder at 0.02 % was as effective as BHA (0.02 % in retarding lipid oxidation in pork products during storage. Results showed that redness increased after the addition of tara pod powder. Specifically, 0.02 % of tara pod powder was effective in keeping the red colour of meat batter stored under illumination at 4 °C for 48 h. Hardness of pork products was the lowest in samples manufactured with tara pod powder compared with control. Results highlight the potential of using tara pod powder as natural functional ingredient in the development of pork products with enhanced quality and shelf life.

ThPOD3, a truncated polypeptide from Tamarix hispida, conferred drought tolerance in Escherichia coli.

Science.gov (United States)

Guo, Xiao-Hong; Jiang, Jing; Wang, Bai-Chen; Li, Hui-Yu; Wang, Yu-Cheng; Yang, Chuan-Ping; Liu, Gui-Feng

2010-03-01

The ThPOD1 gene encodes a peroxidase and was isolated from a Tamarix hispida NaCl-stress root cDNA library. We found that ThPOD1 expression could be induced by abiotic stresses such as cold, salt, drought and exogenous abscisic acid. These findings suggested that ThPOD1 might be involved in the plant response to environmental stresses and ABA treatment. To elucidate the function of this gene, recombinant plasmids expressing full-length ThPOD1 as well as ThPOD2 (aa 41-337), and ThPOD3 (aa 73-337) truncated polypeptides were constructed. SDS-PAGE and Western blot analyses of the fusion proteins revealed that the molecular weights of ThPOD1, ThPOD2 and ThPOD3 were approximately 57, approximately 50 and approximately 47 kDa, respectively. Stress assays of E. coli treated with the recombinant plasmids indicated that ThPOD3 could improve resistance to drought stress. This finding could potentially be used to improve plant tolerance to drought stress via gene transfer.

Recovery of carbonates and hydroxides from cocoa pod ash ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Ashes of cocoa pods contain alkali which is traditionally leached out and used to produce 'alata' soap. Ghana's Institute of Industrial Research has tested a pilot plant that produces liquid soap from cocoa pod ash, waste lime (Ca(OH)2), and palm kernel oil by initially converting the potassium carbonate in the leachate to ...

An iPod treatment of amblyopia: an updated binocular approach.

Science.gov (United States)

Hess, Robert F; Thompson, B; Black, J M; Machara, G; Zhang, P; Bobier, W R; Cooperstock, J

2012-02-15

We describe the successful translation of computerized and space-consuming laboratory equipment for the treatment of suppression to a small handheld iPod device (Apple iPod; Apple Inc., Cupertino, California). A portable and easily obtainable Apple iPod display, using current video technology offers an ideal solution for the clinical treatment of suppression. The following is a description of the iPod device and illustrates how a video game has been adapted to provide the appropriate stimulation to implement our recent antisuppression treatment protocol. One to 2 hours per day of video game playing under controlled conditions for 1 to 3 weeks can improve acuity and restore binocular function, including stereopsis in adults, well beyond the age at which traditional patching is used. This handheld platform provides a convenient and effective platform for implementing the newly proposed binocular treatment of amblyopia in the clinic, home, or elsewhere. American Optometric Association.

Effect of urea treatment of cocoa pod on rumen fermentation characteristics in vitro

Science.gov (United States)

Anggraeni, A. S.; Herdian, H.; Sakti, A. A.; Sofyan, A.; Ekaningrum, M.

2017-12-01

Indonesia is a third largest country in the world for cocoa production. A cocoa pod could be utilized as alternative feeds due to their sufficient quantity and availability throughout the year. On the other hand, low nutritional quality such as highly fibrous materials and low protein content usually characterized in agricultural and plantation by-products as it appears on cocoa pod. Ammoniation treatment using urea improve the nutritional quality of feedstuff. The objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of ammoniation treatments on a cocoa pod on in vitro feed fermentation and gas production on ruminal fluid. KA treatment gave highest gas production than other treatment. Total gas production during 48 hours of the cocoa pod was significantly affected by treatments (Pcocoa pod.

SWJ:39-42 Inheritance of Pod Colour in Cowpea INHERITANCE

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Dr. Ahmed

Mustapha & Singh (2008) SWJ:39-42. Inheritance of Pod Colour in Cowpea. INHERITANCE OF POD COLOUR IN. COWPEA (Vigna unguiculata (L.) WALP). * MUSTAPHA, Y1. & SINGH, B. B2. 1 Department of Biological Sciences. Bayero University, Kano Nigeria. 2 Department of Genetics and Plant breeding,. G.B. Pant ...

Low frequency magnetic emissions and resulting induced voltages in a pacemaker by iPod portable music players

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Bassen Howard

2008-02-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Recently, malfunctioning of a cardiac pacemaker electromagnetic, caused by electromagnetic interference (EMI by fields emitted by personal portable music players was highly publicized around the world. A clinical study of one patient was performed and two types of interference were observed when the clinicians placed a pacemaker programming head and an iPod were placed adjacent to the patient's implanted pacemaker. The authors concluded that "Warning labels may be needed to avoid close contact between pacemakers and iPods". We performed an in-vitro study to evaluate these claims of EMI and present our findings of no-effects" in this paper. Methods We performed in-vitro evaluations of the low frequency magnetic field emissions from various models of the Apple Inc. iPod music player. We measured magnetic field emissions with a 3-coil sensor (diameter of 3.5 cm placed within 1 cm of the surface of the player. Highly localized fields were observed (only existing in a one square cm area. We also measured the voltages induced inside an 'instrumented-can' pacemaker with two standard unipolar leads. Each iPod was placed in the air, 2.7 cm above the pacemaker case. The pacemaker case and leads were placed in a saline filled torso simulator per pacemaker electromagnetic compatibility standard ANSI/AAMI PC69:2000. Voltages inside the can were measured. Results Emissions were strongest (≈ 0.2 μT pp near a few localized points on the cases of the two iPods with hard drives. Emissions consisted of 100 kHz sinusoidal signal with lower frequency (20 msec wide pulsed amplitude modulation. Voltages induced in the iPods were below the noise level of our instruments (0.5 mV pp in the 0 – 1 kHz band or 2 mV pp in the 0 – 5 MHz bandwidth. Conclusion Our measurements of the magnitude and the spatial distribution of low frequency magnetic flux density emissions by 4 different models of iPod portable music players. Levels of less than 0.2 �

Resistance of Advanced Soybean Lines to Pod Borrer (Etiella zinckenella

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Heru Kuswantoro

2017-07-01

Full Text Available The increasing and stabilizing of soybean product in Indonesia face many limitations. One of the limiting factors is pod borrer (Etiella zinckenella Treitschke infestation that is able to cause yield loss up to 80%. Objective of the research was to find out some advanced soybean lines that resistant to pod borrer. Design was randomized complete block with three replications. Soybean lines were grown gradualy to ensure the simultanously flowering. The plants were caged at 35 days after planting (DAT and infested with the imago of E. zinckenella at 56 DAT. Results showed that different soybean lines affected imago population, eggs population, larvae population, infected pods and infected seeds. Some genotypes were consistantly resistant to E. zinckenella. The resistance of those genotypes were non preference resistance based on eggs population, larvae population, infected pod and infected seeds. This study discovered nine soybean lines that is resistant to E. zinckenella, so that it can be beneficial for improving soybean resistance to this pest through releasing as a new resistant pod borer variety after tested further in potential yield and genetic x environment interaction trials. In addition, there were three varieties and two germplasm accessions that can be used as gene sources for improving the resistance of the varieties. The three varieties are able to be cultivated directly in field to decrease the E. zinckenella occurrence. 

POD analysis of flow over a backward-facing step forced by right-angle-shaped plasma actuator.

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Bin; Li, Huaxing

2016-01-01

This study aims to present flow control over the backward-facing step with specially designed right-angle-shaped plasma actuator and analyzed the influence of various scales of flow structures on the Reynolds stress through snapshot proper orthogonal decomposition (POD). 2D particle image velocimetry measurements were conducted on region (x/h = 0-2.25) and reattachment zone in the x-y plane over the backward-facing step at a Reynolds number of Re h  = 27,766 (based on step height [Formula: see text] and free stream velocity [Formula: see text]. The separated shear layer was excited by specially designed right-angle-shaped plasma actuator under the normalized excitation frequency St h  ≈ 0.345 along the 45° direction. The spatial distribution of each Reynolds stress component was reconstructed using an increasing number of POD modes. The POD analysis indicated that the flow dynamic downstream of the step was dominated by large-scale flow structures, which contributed to streamwise Reynolds stress and Reynolds shear stress. The intense Reynolds stress localized to a narrow strip within the shear layer was mainly affected by small-scale flow structures, which were responsible for the recovery of the Reynolds stress peak. With plasma excitation, a significant increase was obtained in the vertical Reynolds stress peak. Under the dimensionless frequencies St h  ≈ 0.345 and [Formula: see text] which are based on the step height and momentum thickness, the effectiveness of the flow control forced by the plasma actuator along the 45° direction was ordinary. Only the vertical Reynolds stress was significantly affected.

Black pod: diverse pathogens with a global impact on cocoa yield.

Science.gov (United States)

Guest, David

2007-12-01

ABSTRACT Pathogens of the Straminipile genus Phytophthora cause significant disease losses to global cocoa production. P. megakarya causes significant pod rot and losses due to canker in West Africa, whereas P. capsici and P. citrophthora cause pod rots in Central and South America. The global and highly damaging P. palmivora attacks all parts of the cocoa tree at all stages of the growing cycle. This pathogen causes 20 to 30% pod losses through black pod rot, and kills up to 10% of trees annually through stem cankers. P. palmivora has a complex disease cycle involving several sources of primary inoculum and several modes of dissemination of secondary inoculum. This results in explosive epidemics during favorable environmental conditions. The spread of regional pathogens must be prevented by effective quarantine barriers. Resistance to all these Phytophthora species is typically low in commercial cocoa genotypes. Disease losses can be reduced through integrated management practices that include pruning and shade management, leaf mulching, regular and complete harvesting, sanitation and pod case disposal, appropriate fertilizer application and targeted fungicide use. Packaging these options to improve uptake by smallholders presents a major challenge for the industry.

Seasonal and pod-specific differences in core use areas by resident killer whales in the Northern Gulf of Alaska

Science.gov (United States)

Olsen, Daniel W.; Matkin, Craig O.; Andrews, Russel D.; Atkinson, Shannon

2018-01-01

The resident killer whale is a genetically and behaviorally distinct ecotype of killer whale (Orcinus orca) found in the North Pacific that feeds primarily on Pacific salmon (Oncorhynchus spp .). Details regarding core use areas have been inferred by boat surveys, but are subject to effort bias and weather limitations. To investigate core use areas, 37 satellite tags were deployed from 2006 to 2014 on resident killer whales representing 12 pods in the Northern Gulf of Alaska, and transmissions were received during the months of June to January. Core use areas were identified through utilization distributions using a biased Brownian Bridge movement model. Distinct differences in these core use areas were revealed, and were highly specific to season and pod. In June, July, and August, the waters of Hinchinbrook Entrance and west of Kayak Island were primary areas used, mainly by 3 separate pods. These same pods shifted their focus to Montague Strait in August, September, and October. Port Gravina was a focal area for 2 other pods in June, July, and August, but this was not the case in later months. These pods were responsible for seven of eight documented trips into the deeper fjords of Prince William Sound, yet these fjords were not a focus for most groups of killer whales. The seasonal differences in core use may be a response to the seasonal returns of salmon, though details on specific migration routes and timing for the salmon are limited. We found strong seasonal and pod-specific shifts in patterns between core use areas. Future research should investigate pod differences in diet composition and relationships between core area use and bathymetry.

A biomechanical modeling-guided simultaneous motion estimation and image reconstruction technique (SMEIR-Bio) for 4D-CBCT reconstruction

Science.gov (United States)

Huang, Xiaokun; Zhang, You; Wang, Jing

2018-02-01

Reconstructing four-dimensional cone-beam computed tomography (4D-CBCT) images directly from respiratory phase-sorted traditional 3D-CBCT projections can capture target motion trajectory, reduce motion artifacts, and reduce imaging dose and time. However, the limited numbers of projections in each phase after phase-sorting decreases CBCT image quality under traditional reconstruction techniques. To address this problem, we developed a simultaneous motion estimation and image reconstruction (SMEIR) algorithm, an iterative method that can reconstruct higher quality 4D-CBCT images from limited projections using an inter-phase intensity-driven motion model. However, the accuracy of the intensity-driven motion model is limited in regions with fine details whose quality is degraded due to insufficient projection number, which consequently degrades the reconstructed image quality in corresponding regions. In this study, we developed a new 4D-CBCT reconstruction algorithm by introducing biomechanical modeling into SMEIR (SMEIR-Bio) to boost the accuracy of the motion model in regions with small fine structures. The biomechanical modeling uses tetrahedral meshes to model organs of interest and solves internal organ motion using tissue elasticity parameters and mesh boundary conditions. This physics-driven approach enhances the accuracy of solved motion in the organ’s fine structures regions. This study used 11 lung patient cases to evaluate the performance of SMEIR-Bio, making both qualitative and quantitative comparisons between SMEIR-Bio, SMEIR, and the algebraic reconstruction technique with total variation regularization (ART-TV). The reconstruction results suggest that SMEIR-Bio improves the motion model’s accuracy in regions containing small fine details, which consequently enhances the accuracy and quality of the reconstructed 4D-CBCT images.

A DSP Based POD Implementation for High Speed Multimedia Communications

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Chang Nian Zhang

2002-09-01

Full Text Available In the cable network services, the audio/video entertainment contents should be protected from unauthorized copying, intercepting, and tampering. Point-of-deployment (POD security module, proposed by OpenCableTM, allows viewers to receive secure cable services such as premium subscription channels, impulse pay-per-view, video-on-demand as well as other interactive services. In this paper, we present a digital signal processor (DSP (TMS320C6211 based POD implementation for the real-time applications which include elliptic curve digital signature algorithm (ECDSA, elliptic curve Diffie Hellman (ECDH key exchange, elliptic curve key derivation function (ECKDF, cellular automata (CA cryptography, communication processes between POD and Host, and Host authentication. In order to get different security levels and different rates of encryption/decryption, a CA based symmetric key cryptography algorithm is used whose encryption/decryption rate can be up to 75 Mbps. The experiment results indicate that the DSP based POD implementation provides high speed and flexibility, and satisfies the requirements of real-time video data transmission.

Airborne Multisensor Pod System, Arms control and nonproliferation technologies: Second quarter 1995

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Alonzo, G M; Sanford, N M [eds.

1995-01-01

This issue focuses on the Airborne Multisensor Pod System (AMPS) which is a collaboration of many of the DOE national laboratories to provide a scientific environment to research multiple sensors and the new information that can be derived from them. The bulk of the research has been directed at nonproliferation applications, but it has also proven useful in environmental monitoring and assessment, and land/water management. The contents of this issue are: using AMPS technology to detect proliferation and monitor resources; combining multisensor data to monitor facilities and natural resources; planning a AMPS mission; SAR pod produces images day or night, rain or shine; MSI pod combines data from multiple sensors; ESI pod will analyze emissions and effluents; and accessing AMPS information on the Internet.

Integrated Automatic Test System for Airborne Optoelectronic Pods

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zhang, Z M; Ding, M J; Wang, L

2006-01-01

Based on the introduction of the construction and basic principle of the airborne optoelectronic pod, in accordance with the performance standards of the pod, the total solution scheme of the automatic test system used for testing the combination property is proposed in this paper. The main structure, hardware and software design of the system based on the virtual instruments technology are also discussed in detail. The result of the true run proves the practicality, efficiency, high accuracy and other characteristics of the computer aided testing system based on virtual instruments

iPod touch-assisted instrumentation of the spine: a technical report.

Science.gov (United States)

Jost, Gregory F; Bisson, Erica F; Schmidt, Meic H

2013-12-01

Instrumentation of the spine depends on choosing the correct insertion angles to implant screws. Although modern image guidance facilitates precise instrumentation of the spine, the equipment is costly and availability is limited. Although most surgeons use lateral fluoroscopy to guide instrumentation in the sagittal plane, the lateromedial angulation is often chosen by estimation. To overcome the associated uncertainty, iPod touch-based applications for measuring angles can be used to assist with screw implantation. To evaluate the use of the iPod touch to adjust instruments to the optimal axial insertion angle for placement of pedicle screws in the lumbar spine. Twenty lumbar pedicle screws in 5 consecutive patients were implanted using the iPod touch. The lateromedial angulation was measured on preoperative images and reproduced in the operative field with the iPod touch. The instruments to implant the screws were aligned with the side of the iPod for screw insertion. Actual screw angles were remeasured on postoperative imaging. We collected demographic, clinical, and operative data for each patient. In 16 of 20 screws, the accuracy of implantation was within 3 degrees of the ideal trajectory. The 4 screws with an angle mismatch of 7 to 13 degrees were all implanted at the caudal end of the exposure, where maintaining the planned angulation was impeded by strong muscles pushing medially. iPod touch-assisted instrumentation of the spine is a very simple technique, which, in combination with a lateral fluoroscopy, may guide placement of pedicle screws in the lumbar spine.

Nutrient Digestibility and Metabolizable Energy Content of Whole Pods Fed to Growing Pelibuey Lambs

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Enrique Loyra-Tzab

2013-07-01

Full Text Available The nutrient digestibility, nitrogen balance and in vivo metabolizable energy supply of Mucuna pruriens whole pods fed to growing Pelibuey lambs was investigated. Eight Pelibuey sheep housed in metabolic crates were fed increasing levels of Mucuna pruriens pods: 0 (control, 100 (Mucuna100, 200 (Mucuna200 and 300 (Mucuna300 g/kg dry matter. A quadratic (p0.05 on DM and GE apparent digestibility (p0.05. DM, N and GE apparent digestibility coefficient of M. pruriens whole pods obtained through multiple regression equations were 0.692, 0.457, 0.654 respectively. In vivo DE and ME content of mucuna whole pod were estimated in 11.0 and 9.7 MJ/kg DM. It was concluded that whole pods from M. pruriens did not affect nutrient utilization when included in an mixed diet up to 200 g/kg DM. This is the first in vivo estimation of mucuna whole pod ME value for ruminants.

The Copernicus POD Service and beyond: Scientific exploitation of the orbit-related data and products

Science.gov (United States)

Peter, Heike; Fernández, Jaime; Fernández, Carlos; Féménias, Pierre

2017-04-01

The Copernicus POD (Precise Orbit Determination) Service is part of the Copernicus Processing Data Ground Segment (PDGS) of the Sentinel-1, -2 and -3 missions. A GMV-led consortium is operating the Copernicus POD Service being in charge of generating precise orbital products and auxiliary data files for their use as part of the processing chains of the respective Sentinel PDGS. The orbital products are available through the dedicated Copernicus data hub. The Copernicus POD Service is supported by the Copernicus POD Quality Working Group (QWG) for the validation of the orbit product accuracy. The QWG is delivering independent orbit solutions for the satellites. The cross-comparison of all these orbit solutions is essential to monitor and to improve the orbit accuracy because for Sentinel-1 and -2 this is the only possibility to externally assess the quality of the orbits. Each of the Sentinel-1, -2, and -3 satellites carries dual-frequency GPS receivers delivering the necessary measurements for the precise orbit determination of the satellites. The Sentinel-3 satellites are additionally equipped with a DORIS (Doppler Orbitography and Radiopositioning Integrated by Satellite) receiver and a Laser Retro Reflector for Satellite Laser Ranging. These two additional observation techniques allow for independent validation of the GPS-derived orbit determination results and for studying biases between the different techniques. The scientific exploitation of the orbit determination and the corresponding input data is manifold. Sophisticated satellite macro models improve the modelling of the non-gravitational forces acting on the satellite. On the other hand, comparisons to orbits based on pure empirical modelling of the non-gravitational forces help to sort out deficiencies in the satellite geometry information. The dual-frequency GPS data delivered by the satellites can give valuable input for ionospheric studies important for Space Weather research. So-called kinematic

RESISTANCE OF SOME GROUNDNUT CULTIVARS TO SOYBEAN POD BORER, ETIELLA ZINCKENELLA TREIT. (LEPIDOPTERA: PYRALIDAE

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Dwinardi Apriyanto, Edi Gunawan, dan Tri Sunardi .

2011-11-01

Full Text Available Resistance of some groundnut cultivars to soybean pod borer, Etiella zinckenella Treit. (Lepidoptera: Pyralidae.  Five groundnut cultivars: Badak, Panther, Sima, Gajah, and Simpai, were grown in field in June-August, 2006 to determine their resistance/susceptibility to Etiella zinckenella Treit.  Two local cultivars (big and small seeds were included as comparison (controls. All cultivars were grown in experimental plots arranged in a randomized complete block design (RCBD, replicated three times. The incidence of soybean pod borer and damaged pods were observed at 9, 11, 13 weeks after sowing (WAS at 10 sample plants taken randomly from each plot. All cultivars were harvested at 13 WAS. Number of damaged pods was counted and percentages per plant were calculated. Larvae observed inside pod or in the soil were counted and collected. The seed yield per plant and weight of 100 seeds from 100 sample plants taken randomly at harvest were weighted to nearest gram at 10% water content. Pod toughness (hardness was measured with penetrometer. Resistance level of each cultivar was determined based on cultivar’s means and overall mean and standard deviation of the percentages of damaged pods. Data were analyzed with analysis of variance (ANOVA and means were separated with DMRT. The result revealed that mean percentages of damaged pod differed significantly between cultivars. Seed yield of cultivar Panther, Sima and Badak were significantly higher than those of the other two and local cultivars. Cultivar Panther was categorized as resistant, cultivar Sima and Badak as moderately resistant, while the others as susceptible. The relative resistance of groundnut cultivar seems, at least in part, to correlate with the structural hardness of pod.

Simulation assisted pod of a phased array ultrasonic inspection in manufacturing

Science.gov (United States)

Dominguez, N.; Feuillard, V.; Jenson, F.; Willaume, P.

2012-05-01

The concept of Probability of Detection (POD) is generally used to quantitatively assess performances and reliability of NDT operations for in-service operations related to damage tolerant designs. Application of the POD approach as a metric for manufacturing NDT assessment would also be relevant but the very expensive cost of such campaigns generally prevents us from doing so. However the increase in NDT simulation capability and maturity opens the field for POD demonstrations for manufacturing NDT with the help of simulation. This paper presents the example of an automated phased array ultrasonic testing procedure of Electron Beam Welding on rotative parts, as part of the PICASSO European project. POD is calculated by using the uncertainty propagation approach in CIVA. The peculiarity of uncertainties in automated NDT compared to in-service manual operations is discussed and raises questions on appropriate statistics to be used for this kind of data. Alternative estimation techniques like Box-Cox transform or quantile regression are proposed and evaluated.

Evaluation of Kola-Pod Husk Meal in Broiler Finisher Diets ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Nigeria is the world's largest producer of kola nut. The pod husk, which constitutes over 50% of the kola fruit, has been a farm waste to date. Its crude protein content which is similar to that of maize suggests that it is possible to partially replace maize with pod husk meal (KPHM) in broiler finisher diets. In this study, KPHM ...

Glow experiment documentation of OMS/RCS pods and vertical stabilizer

Science.gov (United States)

1982-01-01

Glow experiment documentation of orbital maneuvering system (OMS) reaction control system (RCS) pods and vertical stabilizer shows chemo-luminescent effect resulting from atomic oxygen impacting the spacecraft and building to the point that the atomic oxygen atoms combine to form molecules of oxygen. Image intensifier on NIKON 35mm camera was used to record glow on vertical tail and OMS pods.

A review of the Phytophthora pod rot disease situation in Ghana ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

The presence of Phytophthora megakarya, which until 1985 was unknown in Ghana, has changed the status of black pod disease of cocoa in the country. Hitherto, only Phytophthora palmivora was known to be present. This paper reviews the Phytophthora pod disease situation, the origin, distribution, incidence and ...

Improving Nutritional Quality of Cocoa Pod ( through Chemical and Biological Treatments for Ruminant Feeding: and Evaluation

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Erika B. Laconi

2015-03-01

Full Text Available Cocoa pod is among the by-products of cocoa (Theobroma cacao plantations. The aim of this study was to apply a number of treatments in order to improve nutritional quality of cocoa pod for feeding of ruminants. Cocoa pod was subjected to different treatments, i.e. C (cocoa pod without any treatment or control, CAm (cocoa pod+1.5% urea, CMo (cocoa pod+3% molasses, CRu (cocoa pod+3% rumen content and CPh (cocoa pod+3% molasses+Phanerochaete chrysosporium inoculum. Analysis of proximate and Van Soest’s fiber fraction were performed on the respective treatments. The pods were then subjected to an in vitro digestibility evaluation by incubation in rumen fluid-buffer medium, employing a randomized complete block design (n = 3 replicates. Further, an in vivo evaluation of the pods (35% inclusion level in total mixed ration was conducted by feeding to young Holstein steers (average body weight of 145±3.6 kg with a 5×5 latin square design arrangement (n = 5 replicates. Each experimental period lasted for 30 d; the first 20 d was for feed adaptation, the next 3 d was for sampling of rumen liquid, and the last 7 d was for measurements of digestibility and N balance. Results revealed that lignin content was reduced significantly when cocoa pod was treated with urea, molasses, rumen content or P. chrysosporium (pCAm>CRu>CMo. Among all treatments, CAm and CPh treatments significantly improved the in vitro dry matter and organic matter digestibility (p<0.05 of cocoa pod. Average daily gain of steers receiving CAm or CPh treatment was significantly higher than that of control (p<0.01 with an increase of 105% and 92%, respectively. Such higher daily gain was concomitant with higher N retention and proportion of N retention to N intake in CAm and CPh treatments than those of control (p<0.05. It can be concluded from this study that treatment with either urea or P. chrysosporium is effective in improving the nutritive value of cocoa pod.

Phytophthora megakarya and P. palmivora, Causal Agents of Black Pod Rot, Induce Similar Plant Defense Responses Late during Infection of Susceptible Cacao Pods

Science.gov (United States)

Ali, Shahin S.; Shao, Jonathan; Lary, David J.; Strem, Mary D.; Meinhardt, Lyndel W.; Bailey, Bryan A.

2017-01-01

Phytophthora megakarya (Pmeg) and Phytophthora palmivora (Ppal) cause black pod rot of Theobroma cacao L. (cacao). Of these two clade 4 species, Pmeg is more virulent and is displacing Ppal in many cacao production areas in Africa. Symptoms and species specific sporangia production were compared when the two species were co-inoculated onto pod pieces in staggered 24 h time intervals. Pmeg sporangia were predominantly recovered from pod pieces with unwounded surfaces even when inoculated 24 h after Ppal. On wounded surfaces, sporangia of Ppal were predominantly recovered if the two species were simultaneously applied or Ppal was applied first but not if Pmeg was applied first. Pmeg demonstrated an advantage over Ppal when infecting un-wounded surfaces while Ppal had the advantage when infecting wounded surfaces. RNA-Seq was carried out on RNA isolated from control and Pmeg and Ppal infected pod pieces 3 days post inoculation to assess their abilities to alter/suppress cacao defense. Expression of 4,482 and 5,264 cacao genes was altered after Pmeg and Ppal infection, respectively, with most genes responding to both species. Neural network self-organizing map analyses separated the cacao RNA-Seq gene expression profiles into 24 classes, 6 of which were largely induced in response to infection. Using KEGG analysis, subsets of genes composing interrelated pathways leading to phenylpropanoid biosynthesis, ethylene and jasmonic acid biosynthesis and action, plant defense signal transduction, and endocytosis showed induction in response to infection. A large subset of genes encoding putative Pr-proteins also showed differential expression in response to infection. A subset of 36 cacao genes was used to validate the RNA-Seq expression data and compare infection induced gene expression patterns in leaves and wounded and unwounded pod husks. Expression patterns between RNA-Seq and RT-qPCR were generally reproducible. The level and timing of altered gene expression was

Hierarchical Bayesian Model for Simultaneous EEG Source and Forward Model Reconstruction (SOFOMORE)

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Stahlhut, Carsten; Mørup, Morten; Winther, Ole

2009-01-01

In this paper we propose an approach to handle forward model uncertainty for EEG source reconstruction. A stochastic forward model is motivated by the many uncertain contributions that form the forward propagation model including the tissue conductivity distribution, the cortical surface, and ele......In this paper we propose an approach to handle forward model uncertainty for EEG source reconstruction. A stochastic forward model is motivated by the many uncertain contributions that form the forward propagation model including the tissue conductivity distribution, the cortical surface...

Dose reconstruction modeling for medical radiation workers

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Choi, Yeong Chull; Cha, Eun Shil; Lee, Won Jin

2017-01-01

Exposure information is a crucial element for the assessment of health risk due to radiation. Radiation doses received by medical radiation workers have been collected and maintained by public registry since 1996. Since exposure levels in the remote past are greater concern, it is essential to reconstruct unmeasured doses in the past using known information. We developed retrodiction models for different groups of medical radiation workers and estimate individual past doses before 1996. Reconstruction models for past radiation doses received by medical radiation workers were developed, and the past doses were estimated. Using these estimates, organ doses should be calculated which, in turn, will be used to explore a wide range of health risks of medical occupational radiation exposure. Reconstruction models for past radiation doses received by medical radiation workers were developed, and the past doses were estimated. Using these estimates, organ doses should be calculated which, in turn, will be used to explore a wide range of health risks of medical occupational radiation exposure.

Dose reconstruction modeling for medical radiation workers

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Choi, Yeong Chull; Cha, Eun Shil; Lee, Won Jin [Dept. of Preventive Medicine, Korea University, Seoul (Korea, Republic of)

2017-04-15

Exposure information is a crucial element for the assessment of health risk due to radiation. Radiation doses received by medical radiation workers have been collected and maintained by public registry since 1996. Since exposure levels in the remote past are greater concern, it is essential to reconstruct unmeasured doses in the past using known information. We developed retrodiction models for different groups of medical radiation workers and estimate individual past doses before 1996. Reconstruction models for past radiation doses received by medical radiation workers were developed, and the past doses were estimated. Using these estimates, organ doses should be calculated which, in turn, will be used to explore a wide range of health risks of medical occupational radiation exposure. Reconstruction models for past radiation doses received by medical radiation workers were developed, and the past doses were estimated. Using these estimates, organ doses should be calculated which, in turn, will be used to explore a wide range of health risks of medical occupational radiation exposure.

Biology and harmfulness of Brassica pod midge (Dasineura brassicae Winn. in winter oilseed rape

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Draga Graora

2015-04-01

Full Text Available The Brassica pod midge (Dasineura brassicae Winn. is an important pest in oilseed rape (Brasica napus L.. It develops two generations per year and overwinters in the larval stage in cocoons in soil. Immigration of the first generation adults lasted from the beginning of April until the end of May. Larvae developed in pods from mid-April to mid-June, causing pod deformation and cracking, which resulted in premature falling out of seeds and yield reduction. Pod damage amounted to 11.6%. The emergence of the second generation adults was detected at the end of May and in the first ten days of June. D. brassicae was found to lay eggs in healthy pods and no correlation was found with the cabbage seed weevil, Ceutorhynchus assimilis Paykull.

FaPOD27 functions in the metabolism of polyphenols in strawberry fruit (Fragaria sp.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Su-Ying eYeh

2014-10-01

Full Text Available The strawberry (Fragaria × ananassa is one of the most preferred fresh fruit worldwide, accumulates numerous flavonoids but has limited shelf life due to excessive tissue softening caused by cell wall degradation. Since lignin is one of the polymers that strengthen plant cell walls and might contribute to some extent to fruit firmness monolignol biosynthesis was studied in strawberry fruit. Cinnamoyl-CoA reductase (CCR, cinnamyl alcohol dehydrogenase (CAD, and a peroxidase (POD27 gene were strongly expressed in red, ripe fruit whereas a second POD gene was primarily expressed in green, immature fruit. Moreover, FaPOD27 transcripts were strongly and constitutively induced in fruits exposed to Agrobacterium infection. Gene expression levels and enzymatic activities of FaCCR and FaCAD were efficiently suppressed through RNAi in FaCCR- and FaCAD-silenced strawberries. Besides, significantly elevated FaPOD transcript levels were detected after agroinfiltration of pBI-FaPOD constructs in fruits. At the same time, levels of G-monomers were considerably reduced in FaCCR-silenced fruits whereas the proportion of both G- and S-monomers decisively decreased in FaCAD-silenced and pBI-FaPOD fruits. Development, firmness, and lignin level of the treated fruits were similar to pBI-intron control fruits, presumably attributed to increased expression levels of FaPOD27 upon agroinfiltration. Additionally, enhanced firmness, accompanied with elevated lignin levels, was revealed in chalcone synthase-deficient fruits (CHS-, independent of down- or up-regulation of individual and combined FaCCR, FaCAD, and FaPOD genes by agroinfiltration, when compared to CHS-/pBI-intron control fruits. These approaches provide further insight into the genetic control of flavonoid and lignin synthesis in strawberries. The results suggest that FaPOD27 is a key gene for lignin biosynthesis in strawberry fruit and thus to improving the firmness of strawberries.

Proximate Composition, Extraction, and Purification of Theobromine from Cacao Pod Husk (Theobroma Cacao L.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Van Tang Nguyen

2017-04-01

Full Text Available The aims of this study were to determine the proximate composition of cacao pod husk as well as the optimal conditions for extraction and purification of theobromine from cacao pod husk. The results indicated that cacao pod husk had high contents of moisture and carbohydrate (87.06% and 11.03% by fresh weight, respectively, but low contents of crude protein, crude lipid, and ash (0.31%, 0.12%, and 1.48% by fresh weight, respectively. The optimal conditions for extraction of theobromine from cacao pod husk were of 70% ethanol, with an extraction time of 90 min, and 1 as the number of extractions. A concentration of 10% by volume of 10% lead acetate solution was the best selection for purification of the crude extracts containing theobromine from cacao pod husk. Under these optimal conditions, theobromine content obtained from cacao pod husk was 6.79 mg/100 g dry weight. The finding from this study is a valuable contribution for obtaining theobromine from an abundant, inexpensive, renewable, and sustainable source for potential application in the nutraceutical, medical, and pharmaceutical industries.

Antioxidant potential of hydrolyzed polyphenolic extracts from tara (Caesalpinia spinosa) pods

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Chambi, F.; Chirinos, R.; Pedreschi Plasencia, R.P.; et al.,

2013-01-01

The antioxidant potential of tara pod extracts rich in gallotannins submitted to chemical hydrolysis was evaluated. The increase in the release of gallic acid from the tara pod extracts during the hydrolysis process reached a maximum ratio of free gallic acid/total phenolics of 94.1% at 20 h, at

Automated comparison of Bayesian reconstructions of experimental profiles with physical models

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Irishkin, Maxim

2014-01-01

In this work we developed an expert system that carries out in an integrated and fully automated way i) a reconstruction of plasma profiles from the measurements, using Bayesian analysis ii) a prediction of the reconstructed quantities, according to some models and iii) an intelligent comparison of the first two steps. This system includes systematic checking of the internal consistency of the reconstructed quantities, enables automated model validation and, if a well-validated model is used, can be applied to help detecting interesting new physics in an experiment. The work shows three applications of this quite general system. The expert system can successfully detect failures in the automated plasma reconstruction and provide (on successful reconstruction cases) statistics of agreement of the models with the experimental data, i.e. information on the model validity. (author) [fr

The effect of peanut pod on performance, small intestine pH and ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Esnart Mukumbo

2018-02-05

Feb 5, 2018 ... insoluble fibre on the growth performance of broilers in this study were probably a result of ... The nitrogen-corrected true metabolisable energy of the peanut pod sample was ... peanut pod sample used in the experiment.

EFFECT OF FERMENTED CACAO POD SUPPLEMENTATION ON SHEEP RUMEN MICROBIAL FERMENTATION

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S. Wulandari

2015-09-01

Full Text Available The objective of this research was to improve beneficial value of cacao pod as sheep feedingredients comprising up to 50% total feed. This research was conducted in two stages. Stage 1 wascacao pod fermentation. Completely randomized design with 3x3 factorial patterns was used in thisstage, in which factor I was microbial inoculum dosage of 0%, 0.05% and 0.1% and factor II wasincubation period of 0, 3 and 6 days. Result demonstrated that six-day fermentation with 0.05%microbial inoculum could lower cacao NDF, ADF and theobromine. The optimum inoculum dosage andfermentation time from stage 1 was applied to stage 2. Stage 2 was rumen microbial fermentation test.This research administrated 3x3 of latin square design. In period I sheep were fed with CF0 (nonfermentedcomplete feed, in period II sheep were given CF 1 (complete feed containing fermentedcacao pod and in period III sheep were given CF2 (fermented complete feed based cacao pod. Resultdemonstrated that pH value of sheep microbial liquid in treatment of CF0, CF1 and CF2 was in normalpH range and did not affect volatile fatty acids (VFA and ammonia. In conclusion, supplementing up to 50% of feed with complete feed containing fermented or non-fermented cacao pod did not affect theprocess of rumen microbial fermentation.

Cocoa Clone Resistant to Phytophthora Palmivora Pod Borer (CPB) in South Sulawesi

OpenAIRE

Sartika Dewi, Vien

2017-01-01

Helopeltis sp. is one of the main pest in cacao plants. Helopeltis sp. Able to decreasing the production of cacao about 50-60%. This research aims to understand the development of Helopeltis sp. investation in five types of clone cocoa. Collected data have done every week for six weeks in five types of clone cocoa which are clone GBT, clone M01, clone 45, clone s2 and clone BB. Every clone chosen 15 pod sampeles fruit with different size of pod following 5-10cm, 11-13cm and ripe pod which use...

Bayesian model selection of template forward models for EEG source reconstruction.

Science.gov (United States)

Strobbe, Gregor; van Mierlo, Pieter; De Vos, Maarten; Mijović, Bogdan; Hallez, Hans; Van Huffel, Sabine; López, José David; Vandenberghe, Stefaan

2014-06-01

Several EEG source reconstruction techniques have been proposed to identify the generating neuronal sources of electrical activity measured on the scalp. The solution of these techniques depends directly on the accuracy of the forward model that is inverted. Recently, a parametric empirical Bayesian (PEB) framework for distributed source reconstruction in EEG/MEG was introduced and implemented in the Statistical Parametric Mapping (SPM) software. The framework allows us to compare different forward modeling approaches, using real data, instead of using more traditional simulated data from an assumed true forward model. In the absence of a subject specific MR image, a 3-layered boundary element method (BEM) template head model is currently used including a scalp, skull and brain compartment. In this study, we introduced volumetric template head models based on the finite difference method (FDM). We constructed a FDM head model equivalent to the BEM model and an extended FDM model including CSF. These models were compared within the context of three different types of source priors related to the type of inversion used in the PEB framework: independent and identically distributed (IID) sources, equivalent to classical minimum norm approaches, coherence (COH) priors similar to methods such as LORETA, and multiple sparse priors (MSP). The resulting models were compared based on ERP data of 20 subjects using Bayesian model selection for group studies. The reconstructed activity was also compared with the findings of previous studies using functional magnetic resonance imaging. We found very strong evidence in favor of the extended FDM head model with CSF and assuming MSP. These results suggest that the use of realistic volumetric forward models can improve PEB EEG source reconstruction. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Effects of light quality on pod elongation in soybean (Glycine max (L.) Merr.) and cowpea (Vigna unguiculata (L.) Walp.).

Science.gov (United States)

Tanaka, Seiya; Ario, Nobuyuki; Nakagawa, Andressa Camila Seiko; Tomita, Yuki; Murayama, Naoki; Taniguchi, Takatoshi; Hamaoka, Norimitsu; Iwaya-Inoue, Mari; Ishibashi, Yushi

2017-06-03

Soybean pods are located at the nodes, where they are in the shadow, whereas cowpea pods are located outside of the leaves and are exposed to sunlight. To compare the effects of light quality on pod growth in soybean and cowpea, we measured the length of pods treated with white, blue, red or far-red light. In both species, pods elongated faster during the dark period than during the light period in all light treatments except red light treatment in cowpea. Red light significantly suppressed pod elongation in soybean during the dark and light periods. On the other hand, the elongation of cowpea pods treated with red light markedly promoted during the light period. These results suggested that the difference in the pod set sites between soybean and cowpea might account for the difference in their red light responses for pod growth.

Impact of Genomics Platform and Statistical Filtering on Transcriptional Benchmark Doses (BMD and Multiple Approaches for Selection of Chemical Point of Departure (PoD.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

A Francina Webster

Full Text Available Many regulatory agencies are exploring ways to integrate toxicogenomic data into their chemical risk assessments. The major challenge lies in determining how to distill the complex data produced by high-content, multi-dose gene expression studies into quantitative information. It has been proposed that benchmark dose (BMD values derived from toxicogenomics data be used as point of departure (PoD values in chemical risk assessments. However, there is limited information regarding which genomics platforms are most suitable and how to select appropriate PoD values. In this study, we compared BMD values modeled from RNA sequencing-, microarray-, and qPCR-derived gene expression data from a single study, and explored multiple approaches for selecting a single PoD from these data. The strategies evaluated include several that do not require prior mechanistic knowledge of the compound for selection of the PoD, thus providing approaches for assessing data-poor chemicals. We used RNA extracted from the livers of female mice exposed to non-carcinogenic (0, 2 mg/kg/day, mkd and carcinogenic (4, 8 mkd doses of furan for 21 days. We show that transcriptional BMD values were consistent across technologies and highly predictive of the two-year cancer bioassay-based PoD. We also demonstrate that filtering data based on statistically significant changes in gene expression prior to BMD modeling creates more conservative BMD values. Taken together, this case study on mice exposed to furan demonstrates that high-content toxicogenomics studies produce robust data for BMD modelling that are minimally affected by inter-technology variability and highly predictive of cancer-based PoD doses.

Sony vs. Apple - iPod launching, a case study of leadership and innovation

OpenAIRE

Camelia Cojocaru; Silviu Cojocaru

2014-01-01

In 1979, Sony launched a portable Walkman range. For nearly a quarter of century, the Sony Walkman was the undisputed market leader and Sony was considered a top innovative company. Then, in 2001, Apple decided to launch the iPod, a new portable player. About 80% of the iPod technical components (e.g. memory, storage media) were produced by various companies within the Sony group. In 2004, iPod sales overtake Sony Walkman globally and become the new market leader in portable players. How was ...

Airborne Multisensor Pod System (AMPS) data management overview

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Wiberg, J.D.; Blough, D.K.; Daugherty, W.R.; Hucks, J.A.; Gerhardstein, L.H.; Meitzler, W.D.; Melton, R.B.; Shoemaker, S.V.

1994-09-01

An overview of the Data Management Plan for the Airborne Multisensor Pod System (AMPS) pro-grain is provided in this document. The Pacific Northwest Laboratory (PNL) has been assigned the responsibility of data management for the program, which includes defining procedures for data management and data quality assessment. Data management is defined as the process of planning, acquiring, organizing, qualifying and disseminating data. The AMPS program was established by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), Office of Arms Control and Non-Proliferation (DOE/AN) and is integrated into the overall DOE AN-10.1 technology development program. Sensors used for collecting the data were developed under the on-site inspection, effluence analysis, and standoff sensor program, the AMPS program interacts with other technology programs of DOE/NN-20. This research will be conducted by both government and private industry. AMPS is a research and development program, and it is not intended for operational deployment, although the sensors and techniques developed could be used in follow-on operational systems. For a complete description of the AMPS program, see {open_quotes}Airborne Multisensor Pod System (AMPS) Program Plan{close_quotes}. The primary purpose of the AMPS is to collect high-quality multisensor data to be used in data fusion research to reduce interpretation problems associated with data overload and to derive better information than can be derived from any single sensor. To collect the data for the program, three wing-mounted pods containing instruments with sensors for collecting data will be flight certified on a U.S. Navy RP-3A aircraft. Secondary objectives of the AMPS program are sensor development and technology demonstration. Pod system integrators and instrument developers will be interested in the performance of their deployed sensors and their supporting data acquisition equipment.

Reconstructing bidimensional scalar field theory models

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Flores, Gabriel H.; Svaiter, N.F.

2001-07-01

In this paper we review how to reconstruct scalar field theories in two dimensional spacetime starting from solvable Scrodinger equations. Theree different Schrodinger potentials are analyzed. We obtained two new models starting from the Morse and Scarf II hyperbolic potencials, the U (θ) θ 2 In 2 (θ 2 ) model and U (θ) = θ 2 cos 2 (In(θ 2 )) model respectively. (author)

Germination success under different treatments and pod sowing depths in six legume species present in olive groves

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Siles, S.; García-Zafra, A.; Torres, J.A.; García-Fuentes, A.; Ruiz-Valenzuela, L.

2017-07-01

This study analysed the germination success of pods of six annual native legumes species: Astragalus hamosus, Medicago minima, Medicago orbicularis, Medicago polymorpha, Medicago rigidula and Scorpiurus muricatus. The use of these species has been proposed as a means of generating and improving herbaceous cover in olive groves. Germination success was studied in terms of the variability in the number of seeds germinated per pod after 18 months at two different sowing depths, on the surface (S) and buried 10 mm (B). Pods were subject to five different pre-germination treatments: chemical scarification, consisting of immersion in sulphuric acid for 15 min (S{sub 1}5) and 20 min (S{sub 2}0), immersion in water for 48 h (W{sub 4}8), pod precooled to -18ºC for one month (P{sub 1}8º) and untreated pods (Con). The results showed that the effectiveness of the different treatments and sowing depths depended on the species, and that there were no problems of ‘sibling-competition’ in any of the treatments or at any of the sowing depths. Species with larger, non-spiralled pods, such as A. hamosus or S. muricatus, or with very loosely spiralled pods such as M. orbicularis, had greater germination rates when buried, mainly in the case of untreated pods and pods that were immersed in sulphuric acid for 20 minutes.

Germination success under different treatments and pod sowing depths in six legume species present in olive groves

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Siles, S.; García-Zafra, A.; Torres, J.A.; García-Fuentes, A.; Ruiz-Valenzuela, L.

2017-01-01

This study analysed the germination success of pods of six annual native legumes species: Astragalus hamosus, Medicago minima, Medicago orbicularis, Medicago polymorpha, Medicago rigidula and Scorpiurus muricatus. The use of these species has been proposed as a means of generating and improving herbaceous cover in olive groves. Germination success was studied in terms of the variability in the number of seeds germinated per pod after 18 months at two different sowing depths, on the surface (S) and buried 10 mm (B). Pods were subject to five different pre-germination treatments: chemical scarification, consisting of immersion in sulphuric acid for 15 min (S 1 5) and 20 min (S 2 0), immersion in water for 48 h (W 4 8), pod precooled to -18ºC for one month (P 1 8º) and untreated pods (Con). The results showed that the effectiveness of the different treatments and sowing depths depended on the species, and that there were no problems of ‘sibling-competition’ in any of the treatments or at any of the sowing depths. Species with larger, non-spiralled pods, such as A. hamosus or S. muricatus, or with very loosely spiralled pods such as M. orbicularis, had greater germination rates when buried, mainly in the case of untreated pods and pods that were immersed in sulphuric acid for 20 minutes.

POD-1/Tcf21 overexpression reduces endogenous SF-1 and StAR expression in rat adrenal cells

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

M. M. França

2015-12-01

Full Text Available During gonad and adrenal development, the POD-1/capsulin/TCF21transcription factor negatively regulates SF-1/NR5A1expression, with higher SF-1 levels being associated with increased adrenal cell proliferation and tumorigenesis. In adrenocortical tumor cells, POD-1 binds to the SF-1 E-box promoter region, decreasing SF-1 expression. However, the modulation of SF-1 expression by POD-1 has not previously been described in normal adrenal cells. Here, we analyzed the basal expression of Pod-1 and Sf-1 in primary cultures of glomerulosa (G and fasciculata/reticularis (F/R cells isolated from male Sprague-Dawley rats, and investigated whether POD-1 overexpression modulates the expression of endogenous Sf-1 and its target genes in these cells. POD-1 overexpression, following the transfection of pCMVMycPod-1, significantly decreased the endogenous levels of Sf-1 mRNA and protein in F/R cells, but not in G cells, and also decreased the expression of the SF-1 target StAR in F/R cells. In G cells overexpressing POD-1, no modulation of the expression of SF-1 targets, StAR and CYP11B2, was observed. Our data showing that G and F/R cells respond differently to ectopic POD-1 expression emphasize the functional differences between the outer and inner zones of the adrenal cortex, and support the hypothesis that SF-1 is regulated by POD-1/Tcf21 in normal adrenocortical cells lacking the alterations in cellular physiology found in tumor cells.

Contribution of pod borer pests to soybean crop production (case in Pondidaha, Konawe District, Southeast Sulawesi)

Science.gov (United States)

Rahayu, M.; Bande, LOS; Hasan, A.; Yuswana, A.; Rinambo, F.

2018-02-01

Soybean (Glycine max L.) is one of the most important crops which production continues to be improved in all areas of soybean cultivation centers in an effort to maintain the availability of soybean foods, including Southeast Sulawesi. The purpose of this study was to analyze the contribution of pod borer pests to soybean crop production. Methods of direct observation were made on observed variables, including species and population of pest pod borer, intensity, and crop production. The result that found four types of pod borer pests are Nezara viridula, Riptortus linearis, Etiella zinckenella, and Leptocorisa acuta, each with a different population and contribution to the intensity of pod damage. The result of path analysis showed that directly population of N. viridula (61.14) and E. zinckenella (66.44) gave positive contribution in increasing pod damage, by 0.332 and 0.502 respectively, while the negative contribution was shown by population of R. linearis and L. acuta. Damage of the pod causes increased production of low soybean is only about 0.202, therefore required appropriate control techniques to control pod borer pests populations in soybean crops.

A 20 MW podded ship underwater electromagnetic signature - the alternative electric field; Signature electromagnetique sous-marine d'un paquebot de 20 MW a pods - le champ electrique alternatif

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Lucas, B.; Henocq, H.; Rannou, C. [Delegation Generale pour l' Armement, DET/GESMA, 75 - Paris (France); Albert, Th.; Harpin, D. [ALSTOM Marine (France); Bourguet, S.; Guerin, P. [Institut de Recherche en Electrotechnique et Electronique de Nantes Atlantique, 44 (France)

2006-03-15

Today, electric podded propulsion is used for many ships, cruise liners and Navy vessels.This propulsion uses high currents in extremely low frequencies (ELFE); currents flow through electrical network, equipment and pods. These alternative currents could generate important underwater electromagnetic field. GESMA has to quantify the level of this field and its impact on the signature of this kind of ship. Then, GESMA carried out electromagnetic measurements using a multi-sensors underwater and autonomous facility named AMI. It was placed on the route of a 20 MW podded ship, at one hundred meters depth from the surface. Especially, AMI observed an alternative radiated electric field... (authors)

Technical Note: Probabilistically constraining proxy age–depth models within a Bayesian hierarchical reconstruction model

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

J. P. Werner

2015-03-01

Full Text Available Reconstructions of the late-Holocene climate rely heavily upon proxies that are assumed to be accurately dated by layer counting, such as measurements of tree rings, ice cores, and varved lake sediments. Considerable advances could be achieved if time-uncertain proxies were able to be included within these multiproxy reconstructions, and if time uncertainties were recognized and correctly modeled for proxies commonly treated as free of age model errors. Current approaches for accounting for time uncertainty are generally limited to repeating the reconstruction using each one of an ensemble of age models, thereby inflating the final estimated uncertainty – in effect, each possible age model is given equal weighting. Uncertainties can be reduced by exploiting the inferred space–time covariance structure of the climate to re-weight the possible age models. Here, we demonstrate how Bayesian hierarchical climate reconstruction models can be augmented to account for time-uncertain proxies. Critically, although a priori all age models are given equal probability of being correct, the probabilities associated with the age models are formally updated within the Bayesian framework, thereby reducing uncertainties. Numerical experiments show that updating the age model probabilities decreases uncertainty in the resulting reconstructions, as compared with the current de facto standard of sampling over all age models, provided there is sufficient information from other data sources in the spatial region of the time-uncertain proxy. This approach can readily be generalized to non-layer-counted proxies, such as those derived from marine sediments.

Teaching Adults with Moderate Intellectual Disability ATM Use via the "iPod"

Science.gov (United States)

Scott, Renee; Collins, Belva; Knight, Victoria; Kleinert, Harold

2013-01-01

Money management can increase independence and access to communities for individuals with disabilities. Although research on computer-based instruction for teaching banking skills to students with intellectual disability is established, the use of portable electronic devices (e.g., iPod) has not been evaluated. iPods may be an effective, portable,…

Sieving Effect of Sorting Machine with Vibration Table Type on Cacao Pod Based Compost

OpenAIRE

Soekarno, Siswoyo; Suharyanto, Edy; Arif, Ahmad Hudi

2009-01-01

Cacao pod is the biggest part (70% of weight) of Cacao, which was not optimaly utilized.Cacao podis one of organic material that can be functioned as an organic fertilizer, such as compost. When utilizedwith right proportion, organic fertilizer is safe for plants and not degrades the soil composition. Compostingprocess is one of utilization form of Cacao pod. The size reduction of cacao pod in the organic fertilizerprocess would help to accelerate the composting process. Smaller particle size...

Model-based image reconstruction in X-ray computed tomography

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Zbijewski, Wojciech Bartosz

2006-01-01

The thesis investigates the applications of iterative, statistical reconstruction (SR) algorithms in X-ray Computed Tomography. Emphasis is put on various aspects of system modeling in statistical reconstruction. Fundamental issues such as effects of object discretization and algorithm

Molecular Diversity Analysis and Genetic Mapping of Pod Shatter Resistance Loci in Brassica carinata L.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Rosy Raman

2017-11-01

Full Text Available Seed lost due to easy pod dehiscence at maturity (pod shatter is a major problem in several members of Brassicaceae family. We investigated the level of pod shatter resistance in Ethiopian mustard (Brassica carinata and identified quantitative trait loci (QTL for targeted introgression of this trait in Ethiopian mustard and its close relatives of the genus Brassica. A set of 83 accessions of B. carinata, collected from the Australian Grains Genebank, was evaluated for pod shatter resistance based on pod rupture energy (RE. In comparison to B. napus (RE = 2.16 mJ, B. carinata accessions had higher RE values (2.53 to 20.82 mJ. A genetic linkage map of an F2 population from two contrasting B. carinata selections, BC73526 (shatter resistant with high RE and BC73524 (shatter prone with low RE comprising 300 individuals, was constructed using a set of 6,464 high quality DArTseq markers and subsequently used for QTL analysis. Genetic analysis of the F2 and F2:3 derived lines revealed five statistically significant QTL (LOD ≥ 3 that are linked with pod shatter resistance on chromosomes B1, B3, B8, and C5. Herein, we report for the first time, identification of genetic loci associated with pod shatter resistance in B. carinata. These characterized accessions would be useful in Brassica breeding programs for introgression of pod shatter resistance alleles in to elite breeding lines. Molecular markers would assist marker-assisted selection for tracing the introgression of resistant alleles. Our results suggest that the value of the germplasm collections can be harnessed through genetic and genomics tools.

A reconstruction of Maxwell model for effective thermal conductivity of composite materials

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Xu, J.Z.; Gao, B.Z.; Kang, F.Y.

2016-01-01

Highlights: • Deficiencies were found in classical Maxwell model for effective thermal conductivity. • Maxwell model was reconstructed based on potential mean-field theory. • Reconstructed Maxwell model was extended with particle–particle contact resistance. • Predictions by reconstructed Maxwell model agree excellently with experimental data. - Abstract: Composite materials consisting of high thermal conductive fillers and polymer matrix are often used as thermal interface materials to dissipate heat generated from mechanical and electronic devices. The prediction of effective thermal conductivity of composites remains as a critical issue due to its dependence on considerably factors. Most models for prediction are based on the analog between electric potential and temperature that satisfy the Laplace equation under steady condition. Maxwell was the first to derive the effective electric resistivity of composites by examining the far-field spherical harmonic solution of Laplace equation perturbed by a sphere of different resistivity, and his model was considered as classical. However, a close review of Maxwell’s derivation reveals that there exist several controversial issues (deficiencies) inherent in his model. In this study, we reconstruct the Maxwell model based on a potential mean-field theory to resolve these issues. For composites made of continuum matrix and particle fillers, the contact resistance among particles was introduced in the reconstruction of Maxwell model. The newly reconstructed Maxwell model with contact resistivity as a fitting parameter is shown to fit excellently to experimental data over wide ranges of particle concentration and mean particle diameter. The scope of applicability of the reconstructed Maxwell model is also discussed using the contact resistivity as a parameter.

Teaching students with developmental disabilities to operate an iPod Touch(®) to listen to music.

Science.gov (United States)

Kagohara, Debora M; Sigafoos, Jeff; Achmadi, Donna; van der Meer, Larah; O'Reilly, Mark F; Lancioni, Giulio E

2011-01-01

We evaluated an intervention procedure for teaching three students with developmental disabilities to independently operate a portable multimedia device (i.e., an iPod Touch(®)) to listen to music. The intervention procedure included the use of video modeling, which was presented on the same iPod Touch(®) that the students were taught to operate to listen to music. Four phases (i.e., baseline, intervention, fading, and follow-up) were arranged in accordance with a delayed multiple-probe across participants design. During baseline, the students performed from 25 to 62.5% of the task analyzed steps correctly. With intervention, all three students correctly performed 80-100% of the steps and maintained this level of performance when video modeling was removed and during follow-up. The findings suggest that the video modeling procedure was effective for teaching the students to independently operate a portable multimedia device to access age-appropriate leisure content. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Nutrient Digestibility and Metabolizable Energy Content of Mucuna pruriens Whole Pods Fed to Growing Pelibuey Lambs.

Science.gov (United States)

Loyra-Tzab, Enrique; Sarmiento-Franco, Luis Armando; Sandoval-Castro, Carlos Alfredo; Santos-Ricalde, Ronald Herve

2013-07-01

The nutrient digestibility, nitrogen balance and in vivo metabolizable energy supply of Mucuna pruriens whole pods fed to growing Pelibuey lambs was investigated. Eight Pelibuey sheep housed in metabolic crates were fed increasing levels of Mucuna pruriens pods: 0 (control), 100 (Mucuna100), 200 (Mucuna200) and 300 (Mucuna300) g/kg dry matter. A quadratic (pMucuna100 and Mucuna200 treatments. Increasing M. pruriens in the diets had no effect (p>0.05) on DM and GE apparent digestibility (pmucuna pod level. This effect was accompanied by a quadratic effect (pMucuna100 and Mucuna200 treatments. Urine-N excretion, GE retention and dietary estimated nutrient supply (metabolizable protein and metabolizable energy) were not affected (p>0.05). DM, N and GE apparent digestibility coefficient of M. pruriens whole pods obtained through multiple regression equations were 0.692, 0.457, 0.654 respectively. In vivo DE and ME content of mucuna whole pod were estimated in 11.0 and 9.7 MJ/kg DM. It was concluded that whole pods from M. pruriens did not affect nutrient utilization when included in an mixed diet up to 200 g/kg DM. This is the first in vivo estimation of mucuna whole pod ME value for ruminants.

Mutation breeding against black pod (Phytophthora pod rot) disease of cacao (Theobroma cacao)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Opeke, L.K.

1977-01-01

Black pod rot disease, caused by Phytophthora palmivora, is an important disease of cacao (Theobroma cacao L.) in Nigeria and other cacao producing countries of West Africa and Latin America. A naturally occurring source of genetic resistance to the disease has not been found. This paper completes the report, the first part of which was published in Induced Mutations in Vegetatively Propagated Plants, IAEA, Vienna (1973). The survivors of the irradiated seedlings reported on in this publication were transplanted to the field along with their controls. When the Phytophthora pod disease season began in 1973, all experimental plants along with the controls were sprayed with active and freshly prepared dense sporangial suspension of P. palmivora. Observations on Phytophthora infection were recorded at two-weekly intervals for three months. Results were pooled for each set of experimental plants, after having confirmed that no marked difference appeared among individual plants of each group. Contrary to the observations recorded at the nursery stage, all experimental plants that showed no infection indicated disease infection levels normally characteristic of the F 3 Amazon cultivar of Cacao in Nigeria. Although the nursery and the field data are difficult to reconcile and interpret, it is suggested that probably temporary disease tolerance/resistance, which some irradiated plants showed at the nursery (seedling) stage, was lost as the plants matured, thus suggesting different resistance factor systems for juvenile and mature cacao trees. (author)

BUMPER: the Bayesian User-friendly Model for Palaeo-Environmental Reconstruction

Science.gov (United States)

Holden, Phil; Birks, John; Brooks, Steve; Bush, Mark; Hwang, Grace; Matthews-Bird, Frazer; Valencia, Bryan; van Woesik, Robert

2017-04-01

We describe the Bayesian User-friendly Model for Palaeo-Environmental Reconstruction (BUMPER), a Bayesian transfer function for inferring past climate and other environmental variables from microfossil assemblages. The principal motivation for a Bayesian approach is that the palaeoenvironment is treated probabilistically, and can be updated as additional data become available. Bayesian approaches therefore provide a reconstruction-specific quantification of the uncertainty in the data and in the model parameters. BUMPER is fully self-calibrating, straightforward to apply, and computationally fast, requiring 2 seconds to build a 100-taxon model from a 100-site training-set on a standard personal computer. We apply the model's probabilistic framework to generate thousands of artificial training-sets under ideal assumptions. We then use these to demonstrate both the general applicability of the model and the sensitivity of reconstructions to the characteristics of the training-set, considering assemblage richness, taxon tolerances, and the number of training sites. We demonstrate general applicability to real data, considering three different organism types (chironomids, diatoms, pollen) and different reconstructed variables. In all of these applications an identically configured model is used, the only change being the input files that provide the training-set environment and taxon-count data.

Prosopis pod production: comparison of North American, South American, Hawaiin, and African germplasm in young plantations

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Felker, P.; Clark, P.R.; Osborn, J.F.; Cannell, G.H.

Prosopis pod production was compared in 3 field trials in southern California, i.e., a typical orchard planting, an irrigation trial, and a heat/drought stress trial. Thirteen species representing North American, South American, Hawaiian, and African germplasm were evaluated. Hawaiian and African accessions were eliminated from the irrigation trial by a minus 5/sup 0/C temperature. The most productive pod producers were P. velutina accessions from southern Arizona. In the fifth season, 5 trees of the most productive accession, i.e., P. velutina 32 had a mean pod production of 7.2 kg/tree with a range of 3.2-12.2 kg/tree. P. chilensis and P. alba trees of the same age were much larger but had less pod production. Trees in the driest irrigation treatment had the greatest pod production. Pod production estimates of 3000-4000 kg/ha were obtained in the dry irrigation treatment by P. velutina 20 which received 370 mm rainfall in the year preceding harvest. 32 references, 1 figure, 6 tables.

PoD: dynamically create and use remote PROOF clusters. A thin client concept.

CERN Multimedia

CERN. Geneva

2012-01-01

PoD’s newly developed “pod-remote” command made it possible for users to utilize a thin client concept. In order to create dynamic PROOF clusters, users are now able to select a remote computer, even behind a firewall, to control a PoD server on...

Right adrenal vein: comparison between adaptive statistical iterative reconstruction and model-based iterative reconstruction.

Science.gov (United States)

Noda, Y; Goshima, S; Nagata, S; Miyoshi, T; Kawada, H; Kawai, N; Tanahashi, Y; Matsuo, M

2018-06-01

To compare right adrenal vein (RAV) visualisation and contrast enhancement degree on adrenal venous phase images reconstructed using adaptive statistical iterative reconstruction (ASiR) and model-based iterative reconstruction (MBIR) techniques. This prospective study was approved by the institutional review board, and written informed consent was waived. Fifty-seven consecutive patients who underwent adrenal venous phase imaging were enrolled. The same raw data were reconstructed using ASiR 40% and MBIR. The expert and beginner independently reviewed computed tomography (CT) images. RAV visualisation rates, background noise, and CT attenuation of the RAV, right adrenal gland, inferior vena cava (IVC), hepatic vein, and bilateral renal veins were compared between the two reconstruction techniques. RAV visualisation rates were higher with MBIR than with ASiR (95% versus 88%, p=0.13 in expert and 93% versus 75%, p=0.002 in beginner, respectively). RAV visualisation confidence ratings with MBIR were significantly greater than with ASiR (pASiR (pASiR (p=0.0013 and 0.02). Reconstruction of adrenal venous phase images using MBIR significantly reduces background noise, leading to an improvement in the RAV visualisation compared with ASiR. Copyright © 2018 The Royal College of Radiologists. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Low-dimensional and Data Fusion Techniques Applied to a Rectangular Supersonic Multi-stream Jet

Science.gov (United States)

Berry, Matthew; Stack, Cory; Magstadt, Andrew; Ali, Mohd; Gaitonde, Datta; Glauser, Mark

2017-11-01

Low-dimensional models of experimental and simulation data for a complex supersonic jet were fused to reconstruct time-dependent proper orthogonal decomposition (POD) coefficients. The jet consists of a multi-stream rectangular single expansion ramp nozzle, containing a core stream operating at Mj , 1 = 1.6 , and bypass stream at Mj , 3 = 1.0 with an underlying deck. POD was applied to schlieren and PIV data to acquire the spatial basis functions. These eigenfunctions were projected onto their corresponding time-dependent large eddy simulation (LES) fields to reconstruct the temporal POD coefficients. This reconstruction was able to resolve spectral peaks that were previously aliased due to the slower sampling rates of the experiments. Additionally, dynamic mode decomposition (DMD) was applied to the experimental and LES datasets, and the spatio-temporal characteristics were compared to POD. The authors would like to acknowledge AFOSR, program manager Dr. Doug Smith, for funding this research, Grant No. FA9550-15-1-0435.

POD NUMBER AND PHOTOSYNTHESIS AS PHYSIOLOGICAL SELECTION CRITERIA IN SOYBEAN (Glycine max L. Merrill BREEDING FOR HIGH YIELD

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

S.M. Sitompul

2015-02-01

Full Text Available Field studies were conducted in two years using 638 F2 and 1185 F3 lines of selected 16 F1 and 15 F2 parent lines (³80 pods plant-1 to evaluate pod number and CO2 exchange rate (CER as selection criteria. Pod and seed number, and seed weight of individual lines were observed during harvesting time, and CER of randomly selected 32 F2 and 30 F3 lines was measured at initial seed filling stage. The selection of F2 lines based on pod number to generate F3 lines increased the average of seed yield by 39%, and pod number by 77% in F3 lines compared with F2 lines. A close relationships was found between seed weight and pod or seed number per plant. Net CER responded sensitively to a reduction of light in a short-term and showed 78% of F2 lines and all F3 lines with maximum CER (Pmax³20 mmolCO2.m-2.s-1. The ratio of pod number per plant and Pmax varied between lines and were used to group lines resulting in close relationships between Pmax and pod number. It is concluded that the use of pod number and CER (Pmax as selection criteria offers an alternative approach in soybean breeding for high yield.

Modelling Spatial Compositional Data: Reconstructions of past land cover and uncertainties

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Pirzamanbein, Behnaz; Lindström, Johan; Poska, Anneli

2018-01-01

In this paper, we construct a hierarchical model for spatial compositional data, which is used to reconstruct past land-cover compositions (in terms of coniferous forest, broadleaved forest, and unforested/open land) for five time periods during the past $6\\,000$ years over Europe. The model...... to a fast MCMC algorithm. Reconstructions are obtained by combining pollen-based estimates of vegetation cover at a limited number of locations with scenarios of past deforestation and output from a dynamic vegetation model. To evaluate uncertainties in the predictions a novel way of constructing joint...... confidence regions for the entire composition at each prediction location is proposed. The hierarchical model's ability to reconstruct past land cover is evaluated through cross validation for all time periods, and by comparing reconstructions for the recent past to a present day European forest map...

Genomic regions, cellular components and gene regulatory basis underlying pod length variations in cowpea (V. unguiculata L. Walp).

Science.gov (United States)

Xu, Pei; Wu, Xinyi; Muñoz-Amatriaín, María; Wang, Baogen; Wu, Xiaohua; Hu, Yaowen; Huynh, Bao-Lam; Close, Timothy J; Roberts, Philip A; Zhou, Wen; Lu, Zhongfu; Li, Guojing

2017-05-01

Cowpea (V. unguiculata L. Walp) is a climate resilient legume crop important for food security. Cultivated cowpea (V. unguiculata L) generally comprises the bushy, short-podded grain cowpea dominant in Africa and the climbing, long-podded vegetable cowpea popular in Asia. How selection has contributed to the diversification of the two types of cowpea remains largely unknown. In the current study, a novel genotyping assay for over 50 000 SNPs was employed to delineate genomic regions governing pod length. Major, minor and epistatic QTLs were identified through QTL mapping. Seventy-two SNPs associated with pod length were detected by genome-wide association studies (GWAS). Population stratification analysis revealed subdivision among a cowpea germplasm collection consisting of 299 accessions, which is consistent with pod length groups. Genomic scan for selective signals suggested that domestication of vegetable cowpea was accompanied by selection of multiple traits including pod length, while the further improvement process was featured by selection of pod length primarily. Pod growth kinetics assay demonstrated that more durable cell proliferation rather than cell elongation or enlargement was the main reason for longer pods. Transcriptomic analysis suggested the involvement of sugar, gibberellin and nutritional signalling in regulation of pod length. This study establishes the basis for map-based cloning of pod length genes in cowpea and for marker-assisted selection of this trait in breeding programmes. © 2016 The Authors. Plant Biotechnology Journal published by Society for Experimental Biology and The Association of Applied Biologists and John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Hydrologic Process Parameterization of Electrical Resistivity Imaging of Solute Plumes Using POD McMC

Science.gov (United States)

Awatey, M. T.; Irving, J.; Oware, E. K.

2016-12-01

Markov chain Monte Carlo (McMC) inversion frameworks are becoming increasingly popular in geophysics due to their ability to recover multiple equally plausible geologic features that honor the limited noisy measurements. Standard McMC methods, however, become computationally intractable with increasing dimensionality of the problem, for example, when working with spatially distributed geophysical parameter fields. We present a McMC approach based on a sparse proper orthogonal decomposition (POD) model parameterization that implicitly incorporates the physics of the underlying process. First, we generate training images (TIs) via Monte Carlo simulations of the target process constrained to a conceptual model. We then apply POD to construct basis vectors from the TIs. A small number of basis vectors can represent most of the variability in the TIs, leading to dimensionality reduction. A projection of the starting model into the reduced basis space generates the starting POD coefficients. At each iteration, only coefficients within a specified sampling window are resimulated assuming a Gaussian prior. The sampling window grows at a specified rate as the number of iteration progresses starting from the coefficients corresponding to the highest ranked basis to those of the least informative basis. We found this gradual increment in the sampling window to be more stable compared to resampling all the coefficients right from the first iteration. We demonstrate the performance of the algorithm with both synthetic and lab-scale electrical resistivity imaging of saline tracer experiments, employing the same set of basis vectors for all inversions. We consider two scenarios of unimodal and bimodal plumes. The unimodal plume is consistent with the hypothesis underlying the generation of the TIs whereas bimodality in plume morphology was not theorized. We show that uncertainty quantification using McMC can proceed in the reduced dimensionality space while accounting for the

Reconstruction of neuronal input through modeling single-neuron dynamics and computations

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Qin, Qing; Wang, Jiang; Yu, Haitao; Deng, Bin; Chan, Wai-lok

2016-01-01

Mathematical models provide a mathematical description of neuron activity, which can better understand and quantify neural computations and corresponding biophysical mechanisms evoked by stimulus. In this paper, based on the output spike train evoked by the acupuncture mechanical stimulus, we present two different levels of models to describe the input-output system to achieve the reconstruction of neuronal input. The reconstruction process is divided into two steps: First, considering the neuronal spiking event as a Gamma stochastic process. The scale parameter and the shape parameter of Gamma process are, respectively, defined as two spiking characteristics, which are estimated by a state-space method. Then, leaky integrate-and-fire (LIF) model is used to mimic the response system and the estimated spiking characteristics are transformed into two temporal input parameters of LIF model, through two conversion formulas. We test this reconstruction method by three different groups of simulation data. All three groups of estimates reconstruct input parameters with fairly high accuracy. We then use this reconstruction method to estimate the non-measurable acupuncture input parameters. Results show that under three different frequencies of acupuncture stimulus conditions, estimated input parameters have an obvious difference. The higher the frequency of the acupuncture stimulus is, the higher the accuracy of reconstruction is.

Reconstruction of neuronal input through modeling single-neuron dynamics and computations

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Qin, Qing; Wang, Jiang; Yu, Haitao; Deng, Bin, E-mail: dengbin@tju.edu.cn; Chan, Wai-lok [School of Electrical Engineering and Automation, Tianjin University, Tianjin 300072 (China)

2016-06-15

Mathematical models provide a mathematical description of neuron activity, which can better understand and quantify neural computations and corresponding biophysical mechanisms evoked by stimulus. In this paper, based on the output spike train evoked by the acupuncture mechanical stimulus, we present two different levels of models to describe the input-output system to achieve the reconstruction of neuronal input. The reconstruction process is divided into two steps: First, considering the neuronal spiking event as a Gamma stochastic process. The scale parameter and the shape parameter of Gamma process are, respectively, defined as two spiking characteristics, which are estimated by a state-space method. Then, leaky integrate-and-fire (LIF) model is used to mimic the response system and the estimated spiking characteristics are transformed into two temporal input parameters of LIF model, through two conversion formulas. We test this reconstruction method by three different groups of simulation data. All three groups of estimates reconstruct input parameters with fairly high accuracy. We then use this reconstruction method to estimate the non-measurable acupuncture input parameters. Results show that under three different frequencies of acupuncture stimulus conditions, estimated input parameters have an obvious difference. The higher the frequency of the acupuncture stimulus is, the higher the accuracy of reconstruction is.

Active numerical model of human body for reconstruction of falls from height.

Science.gov (United States)

Milanowicz, Marcin; Kędzior, Krzysztof

2017-01-01

Falls from height constitute the largest group of incidents out of approximately 90,000 occupational accidents occurring each year in Poland. Reconstruction of the exact course of a fall from height is generally difficult due to lack of sufficient information from the accident scene. This usually results in several contradictory versions of an incident and impedes, for example, determination of the liability in a judicial process. In similar situations, in many areas of human activity, researchers apply numerical simulation. They use it to model physical phenomena to reconstruct their real course over time; e.g. numerical human body models are frequently used for investigation and reconstruction of road accidents. However, they are validated in terms of specific road traffic accidents and are considerably limited when applied to the reconstruction of other types of accidents. The objective of the study was to develop an active numerical human body model to be used for reconstruction of accidents associated with falling from height. Development of the model involved extension and adaptation of the existing Pedestrian human body model (available in the MADYMO package database) for the purposes of reconstruction of falls from height by taking into account the human reaction to the loss of balance. The model was developed by using the results of experimental tests of the initial phase of the fall from height. The active numerical human body model covering 28 sets of initial conditions related to various human reactions to the loss of balance was developed. The application of the model was illustrated by using it to reconstruct a real fall from height. From among the 28 sets of initial conditions, those whose application made it possible to reconstruct the most probable version of the incident was selected. The selection was based on comparison of the results of the reconstruction with information contained in the accident report. Results in the form of estimated

Human eyeball model reconstruction and quantitative analysis.

Science.gov (United States)

Xing, Qi; Wei, Qi

2014-01-01

Determining shape of the eyeball is important to diagnose eyeball disease like myopia. In this paper, we present an automatic approach to precisely reconstruct three dimensional geometric shape of eyeball from MR Images. The model development pipeline involved image segmentation, registration, B-Spline surface fitting and subdivision surface fitting, neither of which required manual interaction. From the high resolution resultant models, geometric characteristics of the eyeball can be accurately quantified and analyzed. In addition to the eight metrics commonly used by existing studies, we proposed two novel metrics, Gaussian Curvature Analysis and Sphere Distance Deviation, to quantify the cornea shape and the whole eyeball surface respectively. The experiment results showed that the reconstructed eyeball models accurately represent the complex morphology of the eye. The ten metrics parameterize the eyeball among different subjects, which can potentially be used for eye disease diagnosis.

POD evaluation for joint angles from inertial and optical motion capturing system

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Shimizu, Kai; Kobayashi, Futoshi; Nakamoto, Hiroyuki; Kojima, Fumio

2016-01-01

It has been recognized that advances in preventive maintenance can improve the sustainment of systems, facilities, and infrastructure. Robot technologies have also received attention for maintenance applications. In order to operate delicate tasks, multi-fingered robot hands have been proposed in cases where human capability is deficient. This paper deals with motion capturing systems for controlling the hand/arm robot remotely. Several types of motion capturing systems have been developed so far. However, it is difficult for individual motion capturing systems to measure precise joint angles of a human arm. Therefore, in this paper, we integrate the inertial motion capturing system with the optical motion capturing system to capture a human arm posture. By evaluating the reliability of each motion capturing system, the integration is carried out. The probability of detection (POD) is applied to evaluate and compare the reliability of datasets measured by each motion capturing system. POD is one of the widely used statistical techniques to determine reliability. We apply the â analysis to determine the POD(a) function from the data set. Based on the POD evaluation, two motion capturing systems are integrated. (author)

Image quality of iterative reconstruction in cranial CT imaging: comparison of model-based iterative reconstruction (MBIR) and adaptive statistical iterative reconstruction (ASiR).

Science.gov (United States)

Notohamiprodjo, S; Deak, Z; Meurer, F; Maertz, F; Mueck, F G; Geyer, L L; Wirth, S

2015-01-01

The purpose of this study was to compare cranial CT (CCT) image quality (IQ) of the MBIR algorithm with standard iterative reconstruction (ASiR). In this institutional review board (IRB)-approved study, raw data sets of 100 unenhanced CCT examinations (120 kV, 50-260 mAs, 20 mm collimation, 0.984 pitch) were reconstructed with both ASiR and MBIR. Signal-to-noise (SNR) and contrast-to-noise (CNR) were calculated from attenuation values measured in caudate nucleus, frontal white matter, anterior ventricle horn, fourth ventricle, and pons. Two radiologists, who were blinded to the reconstruction algorithms, evaluated anonymized multiplanar reformations of 2.5 mm with respect to depiction of different parenchymal structures and impact of artefacts on IQ with a five-point scale (0: unacceptable, 1: less than average, 2: average, 3: above average, 4: excellent). MBIR decreased artefacts more effectively than ASiR (p ASiR was 2 (p ASiR (p ASiR. As CCT is an examination that is frequently required, the use of MBIR may allow for substantial reduction of radiation exposure caused by medical diagnostics. • Model-Based iterative reconstruction (MBIR) effectively decreased artefacts in cranial CT. • MBIR reconstructed images were rated with significantly higher scores for image quality. • Model-Based iterative reconstruction may allow reduced-dose diagnostic examination protocols.

Phenotypic diversity and evaluation of fresh pods of cowpea landraces from Southern Europe.

Science.gov (United States)

Lazaridi, Efstathia; Ntatsi, Georgia; Fernández, Juan A; Karapanos, Ioannis; Carnide, Valdemar; Savvas, Dimitrios; Bebeli, Penelope J

2017-10-01

Cowpea fresh pods are consumed as green vegetables in many countries in Southern Europe. Among cowpea cultivated material, a relatively large number of landraces can be found, maintaining species genetic diversity. To assess the value of these landraces in breeding programs, the characterization and estimation of diversity levels is therefore required. In the present study, an estimation of the diversity and evaluation of cowpea landraces originating from Portugal, Spain and Greece, in terms of their fresh pod traits, was performed, aiming to assist with the problem of low cowpea production in Southern Europe. A notable mean total phenotypic diversity (H T = 0.57) was observed in the whole collection. The Spanish cv. - gr. unguiculata collection exhibited the highest value of total phenotypic diversity (0.56). Landraces did not differ significantly from each other regarding the three countries of origin. Landraces such as Cp4906, Vg60 and BGE038478 presenting higher values of some traits studied could contribute to the breeding of new cowpea varieties for fresh pod production. Positive correlations were observed, indicating the feasibility of breeding for preferable traits regarding fresh pod consumption. The present study has revealed a wide diversity among and within cowpea landraces that could enhance fresh pod production in South European countries. © 2017 Society of Chemical Industry. © 2017 Society of Chemical Industry.

Digestion and ruminal fermentation of cocoa pod silage based ration enriched by gliricidia and calliandra leaves on goats

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Puastuti W

2015-03-01

Full Text Available In term of availability, cacao pod is potential for ruminant feed. According to its nutrients content, cacao pod can be used as feed fiber source. Protein sources materials must be added when cacao pod was ensilaged due to low protein content of this material. The aim of this study was to investigate digestibility value and end products of rumen fermentation of goat fed grass or cacao pod based ration. Randomized block design and 20 heads of lambs (16.95±2.36 kg to evaluated 5 type of rations: R (50% grass + 50% concentrate; S (50% cacao pod silage + 50% concentrate; SG (50% cacao pod-gliricidia silage + 50% concentrate; SK (50% cacao pod-calliandra silage + 50% concentrate dan SC (50% cacao pod-mixture of gliricidia-calliandra silage + 50% concentrate. Feeding trial was conducted for over 15 weeks. Measurements were taken on feed digestibility and rumen-fermentation end-products after 3 weeks of treatments. Results shows that nutrients digestibility was different significantly among the groups of treatments (P<0.05. Digestibillity of organic matter, NDF and energy of R ration was those of higher significantly (P<0.05 than those of other groups. N-ammonia of rumen from goat feed R ration was higher (P<0.05 than other groups. Total VFA and each component were different among the groups (P<0.05, however the value was similar among the groups of cacao pod silage rations. It is concluded that cacao pod silaged based rations enriched by Gliricidia and Calliandra leaves did not produce similar digestibility value and end products of rumen fermentation with grass based ration.

Reduced order model of draft tube flow

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rudolf, P; Štefan, D

2014-01-01

Swirling flow with compact coherent structures is very good candidate for proper orthogonal decomposition (POD), i.e. for decomposition into eigenmodes, which are the cornerstones of the flow field. Present paper focuses on POD of steady flows, which correspond to different operating points of Francis turbine draft tube flow. Set of eigenmodes is built using a limited number of snapshots from computational simulations. Resulting reduced order model (ROM) describes whole operating range of the draft tube. ROM enables to interpolate in between the operating points exploiting the knowledge about significance of particular eigenmodes and thus reconstruct the velocity field in any operating point within the given range. Practical example, which employs axisymmetric simulations of the draft tube flow, illustrates accuracy of ROM in regions without vortex breakdown together with need for higher resolution of the snapshot database close to location of sudden flow changes (e.g. vortex breakdown). ROM based on POD interpolation is very suitable tool for insight into flow physics of the draft tube flows (especially energy transfers in between different operating points), for supply of data for subsequent stability analysis or as an initialization database for advanced flow simulations

Utilization of Mucuna pruriens whole pods to feed lactating hair ewes.

Science.gov (United States)

Peniche-Gonzalez, Irina Nadieska; Sarmiento-Franco, Luis Armando; Santos-Ricalde, Ronald Herve

2018-03-27

Twenty nine Pelibuey × Katahdin hair ewes rearing single lamb were used during 42 days of lactation to evaluate the effect of including the Mucuna pruriens whole pods in the diets of lactating ewes on milk production and offspring performance. Animals were distributed at random into three experimental diets: a control diet without Mucuna (M0), and two more diets with the inclusion of 13 (M13) and 26% (M26), of milled pods of Mucuna pruriens, respectively. Dry matter intake, was not significantly different (P > 0.05) among diets. Milk yield (P > 0.05) was 734, 786, and 694 g/day for diets M0, M13, and M26, respectively. Milk fat (P > 0.05), milk protein (P > 0.05), and milk lactose (P > 0.05) did not differ between treatments. Lambs had similar daily weight gain (P > 0.05) among diets (180, 174, and 171 g/day for diets M0, M13, and M26, respectively). Diets with Mucuna whole pods were 5.6 and 12.9% more profitable (M13 and M26, respectively) than control diet. Under the conditions of this work, Mucuna pruriens whole pods can be included up to 26% in the diets of lactating crossbred hair ewes without negatively affecting their productive performance during the first 6 weeks of lactation.

STS-39: OMS Pod Thruster Removal/Replace

Science.gov (United States)

1991-01-01

Shown is the removal and replacement of the Discovery's orbital maneuvering systems (OMS) pod thruster. The OMS engine will be used to propel Discovery north, off of its previous orbital groundtrack, without changing the spacecraft's altitude. A burn with this lateral effect is known as "out-of-plane."

M-learning education trends are popular in Students through iPod

OpenAIRE

Mr. Jamal Mohammad Aqib; Mr. Mohammad Asim

2012-01-01

This paper examines popularity of i-pod mobile phones which has been increased in the whole world especially in Saudi Arabia. Most of the students are dependent on mobile phone and I-pod is too much popularin new generation. In my preliminary research we found students were more willing to come to school, did more homework and used their iPod’s more than laptops or desktop computers. Students expect a learning environment that accommodates a mobile lifestyle, integrates today’s digital tools,...

Invitro Antibacterial Activity of the Prosopis Juliflora Seed Pods on Some Common Pathogens.

Science.gov (United States)

Tajbakhsh, Saeed; Barmak, Alireza; Vakhshiteh, Faezeh; Gharibi, Marzieh

2015-08-01

Prosopis juliflora is probably the most widespread species of genus Prosopis and it is a good source of compounds that have been shown to be pharmacologically active. This plant has been used as a traditional treatment for several diseases. To investigate the in-vitro antibacterial activity of the P. juliflora seed pods from Bushehr, South West of Iran. In the present study, the antibacterial activity of P. juliflora seed pods extract was tested against Staphylococcus aureus, Staphylococcus epidermidis, Escherichia coli and Pseudomonas aeruginosa. The minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) of the extract was determined for each test microorganism. P. juliflora seed pods extract exhibited antibacterial activity against all four test organisms. The MIC of the extract was 0.312 mg/ml and 0.078 mg/ml for S. aureus and S. epidermidis, respectively and 1.25 mg/ml for both E.coli and P.aeruginosa. P. juliflora seed pods from Bushehr, South West of Iran could be an appropriate source of antibacterial compounds that makes it a promising candidate for further studies.

Sony vs. Apple - iPod launching, a case study of leadership and innovation

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Camelia Cojocaru

2014-12-01

Full Text Available In 1979, Sony launched a portable Walkman range. For nearly a quarter of century, the Sony Walkman was the undisputed market leader and Sony was considered a top innovative company. Then, in 2001, Apple decided to launch the iPod, a new portable player. About 80% of the iPod technical components (e.g. memory, storage media were produced by various companies within the Sony group. In 2004, iPod sales overtake Sony Walkman globally and become the new market leader in portable players. How was this possible? Theoretically, Sony held all conditions for launching the new generation of portable players, but instead, a new company – Apple – completely changed the market.

Effect of pods' position on the protein content in soybean grains at low latitude

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Paulo Victor Gomes Sales

2016-12-01

Full Text Available Soybean grains have a high protein content, which can vary depending on various factors, as the pods' position throughout the plant. In this sense, aiming to study the effect of pods' position on the main stem of the plant for grades of soybean proteins, It has been accomplished in the years 2010 and 2011, a trial with ten soybean cultivars in the experimental area of the Federal University of Tocantins in Palmas. The experimental area was randomized blocks with 30 treatments and three replications. Treatments were arranged in one a split plot, being allocated in Ten cultivars plots (BRS Valuable, P98Y51, P98Y70, P99R03, M8527RR, M8925RR, M9144RR, M8867RR, and TMG103RR, and the sub plots In the pods' position on the plant (upper third, intermediate, and basal third. According to the results, we can conclude that there is variability among the pods' position. The grains located in the median and apical plant showed a trend of higher protein content. Cultivar P98Y70 showed the highest protein value. In the sampling grain for protein quantitation, it is recommended to use grains of pods located at the same position of the plant.

Prosopis pod production - comparison of North American, South American, Hawaiian, and African germplasm in young plantations

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Felker, P.; Clark, P.R.; Osborn, J.F.; Cannell, G.H.

Prosopis pod production was compared in 3 field trials in southern California, i.e., a typical orchard planting, an irrigation trial, and a heat/drought stress trial. Thirteen species representing North American, South American, Hawaiian, and African germplasm were evaluated. Hawaiian and African accessions were eliminated from the irrigation trial by a minus 5/sup 0/C temperature. The most productive pod producers were P. velutina accessions from southern Arizona. In the fifth season, 5 trees of the most productive accession, i.e. P. velutina 32 had a mean pod production of 7.2 kg/tree with a range of 3.2-12.2 kg/tree. P. chilensis and P. alba trees of the same age were much larger but had less pod production. Pod production estimates of 3000-4000 kg/ha were obtained in the dry irrigation treatment by P. velutina 20 which received 370 mm rainfall in the year preceding harvest.

Assessing Women's Preferences and Preference Modeling for Breast Reconstruction Decision-Making.

Science.gov (United States)

Sun, Clement S; Cantor, Scott B; Reece, Gregory P; Crosby, Melissa A; Fingeret, Michelle C; Markey, Mia K

2014-03-01

Women considering breast reconstruction must make challenging trade-offs amongst issues that often conflict. It may be useful to quantify possible outcomes using a single summary measure to aid a breast cancer patient in choosing a form of breast reconstruction. In this study, we used multiattribute utility theory to combine multiple objectives to yield a summary value using nine different preference models. We elicited the preferences of 36 women, aged 32 or older with no history of breast cancer, for the patient-reported outcome measures of breast satisfaction, psychosocial well-being, chest well-being, abdominal well-being, and sexual wellbeing as measured by the BREAST-Q in addition to time lost to reconstruction and out-of-pocket cost. Participants ranked hypothetical breast reconstruction outcomes. We examined each multiattribute utility preference model and assessed how often each model agreed with participants' rankings. The median amount of time required to assess preferences was 34 minutes. Agreement among the nine preference models with the participants ranged from 75.9% to 78.9%. None of the preference models performed significantly worse than the best performing risk averse multiplicative model. We hypothesize an average theoretical agreement of 94.6% for this model if participant error is included. There was a statistically significant positive correlation with more unequal distribution of weight given to the seven attributes. We recommend the risk averse multiplicative model for modeling the preferences of patients considering different forms of breast reconstruction because it agreed most often with the participants in this study.

Verifying three-dimensional skull model reconstruction using cranial index of symmetry.

Science.gov (United States)

Kung, Woon-Man; Chen, Shuo-Tsung; Lin, Chung-Hsiang; Lu, Yu-Mei; Chen, Tzu-Hsuan; Lin, Muh-Shi

2013-01-01

Difficulty exists in scalp adaptation for cranioplasty with customized computer-assisted design/manufacturing (CAD/CAM) implant in situations of excessive wound tension and sub-cranioplasty dead space. To solve this clinical problem, the CAD/CAM technique should include algorithms to reconstruct a depressed contour to cover the skull defect. Satisfactory CAM-derived alloplastic implants are based on highly accurate three-dimensional (3-D) CAD modeling. Thus, it is quite important to establish a symmetrically regular CAD/CAM reconstruction prior to depressing the contour. The purpose of this study is to verify the aesthetic outcomes of CAD models with regular contours using cranial index of symmetry (CIS). From January 2011 to June 2012, decompressive craniectomy (DC) was performed for 15 consecutive patients in our institute. 3-D CAD models of skull defects were reconstructed using commercial software. These models were checked in terms of symmetry by CIS scores. CIS scores of CAD reconstructions were 99.24±0.004% (range 98.47-99.84). CIS scores of these CAD models were statistically significantly greater than 95%, identical to 99.5%, but lower than 99.6% (ppairs signed rank test). These data evidenced the highly accurate symmetry of these CAD models with regular contours. CIS calculation is beneficial to assess aesthetic outcomes of CAD-reconstructed skulls in terms of cranial symmetry. This enables further accurate CAD models and CAM cranial implants with depressed contours, which are essential in patients with difficult scalp adaptation.

Reconstructing plateau icefields: Evaluating empirical and modelled approaches

Science.gov (United States)

Pearce, Danni; Rea, Brice; Barr, Iestyn

2013-04-01

Glacial landforms are widely utilised to reconstruct former glacier geometries with a common aim to estimate the Equilibrium Line Altitudes (ELAs) and from these, infer palaeoclimatic conditions. Such inferences may be studied on a regional scale and used to correlate climatic gradients across large distances (e.g., Europe). In Britain, the traditional approach uses geomorphological mapping with hand contouring to derive the palaeo-ice surface. Recently, ice surface modelling enables an equilibrium profile reconstruction tuned using the geomorphology. Both methods permit derivation of palaeo-climate but no study has compared the two methods for the same ice-mass. This is important because either approach may result in differences in glacier limits, ELAs and palaeo-climate. This research uses both methods to reconstruct a plateau icefield and quantifies the results from a cartographic and geometrical aspect. Detailed geomorphological mapping of the Tweedsmuir Hills in the Southern Uplands, Scotland (c. 320 km2) was conducted to examine the extent of Younger Dryas (YD; 12.9 -11.7 cal. ka BP) glaciation. Landform evidence indicates a plateau icefield configuration of two separate ice-masses during the YD covering an area c. 45 km2 and 25 km2. The interpreted age is supported by new radiocarbon dating of basal stratigraphies and Terrestrial Cosmogenic Nuclide Analysis (TCNA) of in situ boulders. Both techniques produce similar configurations however; the model results in a coarser resolution requiring further processing if a cartographic map is required. When landforms are absent or fragmentary (e.g., trimlines and lateral moraines), like in many accumulation zones on plateau icefields, the geomorphological approach increasingly relies on extrapolation between lines of evidence and on the individual's perception of how the ice-mass ought to look. In some locations this results in an underestimation of the ice surface compared to the modelled surface most likely due to

Carob pod as a feedstock for the production of bioethanol in Mediterranean areas

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Sanchez, S.; Lozano, L.J.; Godinez, C.; Juan, D.; Perez, A.; Hernandez, F.J. [Technical University of Cartagena, Department of Chemical and Environmental Engineering, C/Dr. Fleming S/N, Campus Muralla del Mar, 30202 Cartagena (Spain)

2010-11-15

There is a growing interest worldwide to find out new and cheap carbohydrate sources for production of bioethanol. In this context, carob pod (Ceratonia siliqua) is proposed as an economical source for bioethanol production, especially, in arid regions. The carob tree is an evergreen shrub native to the Mediterranean region, cultivated for its edible seed pods and it is currently being reemphasised as an alternative in dryland areas, because no carbon-enriched lands are necessary. In this work, the global process of ethanol production from carob pod was studied. In a first stage, aqueous extraction of sugars from the pod was conducted, achieving very high yields (>99%) in a short period of time. The process was followed by acid or alkaline hydrolysis of washed pod at different operating conditions, the best results (R = 38.20%) being reached with sulphuric acid (2% v/v) at 90 C, using a L/S (liquid/solid) ratio of 7.5 and shaking at 700 rpm for 420 min. After that, fermentation of hydrolysates were tested at 30 C, 125 rpm, 200 g/L of sugars and 15 g/L of yeast with three different kinds of yeasts. In these conditions a maximum of 95 g/L of ethanol was obtained after 24 h. Finally, the distillation and dehydration of water-bioethanol mixtures was analyzed using the chemical process simulation software CHEMCAD with the aim of estimate the energy requirements of the process. (author)

MO-C-18A-01: Advances in Model-Based 3D Image Reconstruction

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chen, G; Pan, X; Stayman, J; Samei, E

2014-01-01

Recent years have seen the emergence of CT image reconstruction techniques that exploit physical models of the imaging system, photon statistics, and even the patient to achieve improved 3D image quality and/or reduction of radiation dose. With numerous advantages in comparison to conventional 3D filtered backprojection, such techniques bring a variety of challenges as well, including: a demanding computational load associated with sophisticated forward models and iterative optimization methods; nonlinearity and nonstationarity in image quality characteristics; a complex dependency on multiple free parameters; and the need to understand how best to incorporate prior information (including patient-specific prior images) within the reconstruction process. The advantages, however, are even greater – for example: improved image quality; reduced dose; robustness to noise and artifacts; task-specific reconstruction protocols; suitability to novel CT imaging platforms and noncircular orbits; and incorporation of known characteristics of the imager and patient that are conventionally discarded. This symposium features experts in 3D image reconstruction, image quality assessment, and the translation of such methods to emerging clinical applications. Dr. Chen will address novel methods for the incorporation of prior information in 3D and 4D CT reconstruction techniques. Dr. Pan will show recent advances in optimization-based reconstruction that enable potential reduction of dose and sampling requirements. Dr. Stayman will describe a “task-based imaging” approach that leverages models of the imaging system and patient in combination with a specification of the imaging task to optimize both the acquisition and reconstruction process. Dr. Samei will describe the development of methods for image quality assessment in such nonlinear reconstruction techniques and the use of these methods to characterize and optimize image quality and dose in a spectrum of clinical

Research on compressive sensing reconstruction algorithm based on total variation model

Science.gov (United States)

Gao, Yu-xuan; Sun, Huayan; Zhang, Tinghua; Du, Lin

2017-12-01

Compressed sensing for breakthrough Nyquist sampling theorem provides a strong theoretical , making compressive sampling for image signals be carried out simultaneously. In traditional imaging procedures using compressed sensing theory, not only can it reduces the storage space, but also can reduce the demand for detector resolution greatly. Using the sparsity of image signal, by solving the mathematical model of inverse reconfiguration, realize the super-resolution imaging. Reconstruction algorithm is the most critical part of compression perception, to a large extent determine the accuracy of the reconstruction of the image.The reconstruction algorithm based on the total variation (TV) model is more suitable for the compression reconstruction of the two-dimensional image, and the better edge information can be obtained. In order to verify the performance of the algorithm, Simulation Analysis the reconstruction result in different coding mode of the reconstruction algorithm based on the TV reconstruction algorithm. The reconstruction effect of the reconfigurable algorithm based on TV based on the different coding methods is analyzed to verify the stability of the algorithm. This paper compares and analyzes the typical reconstruction algorithm in the same coding mode. On the basis of the minimum total variation algorithm, the Augmented Lagrangian function term is added and the optimal value is solved by the alternating direction method.Experimental results show that the reconstruction algorithm is compared with the traditional classical algorithm based on TV has great advantages, under the low measurement rate can be quickly and accurately recovers target image.

AUTOMATIC TEXTURE RECONSTRUCTION OF 3D CITY MODEL FROM OBLIQUE IMAGES

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J. Kang

2016-06-01

Full Text Available In recent years, the photorealistic 3D city models are increasingly important in various geospatial applications related to virtual city tourism, 3D GIS, urban planning, real-estate management. Besides the acquisition of high-precision 3D geometric data, texture reconstruction is also a crucial step for generating high-quality and visually realistic 3D models. However, most of the texture reconstruction approaches are probably leading to texture fragmentation and memory inefficiency. In this paper, we introduce an automatic framework of texture reconstruction to generate textures from oblique images for photorealistic visualization. Our approach include three major steps as follows: mesh parameterization, texture atlas generation and texture blending. Firstly, mesh parameterization procedure referring to mesh segmentation and mesh unfolding is performed to reduce geometric distortion in the process of mapping 2D texture to 3D model. Secondly, in the texture atlas generation step, the texture of each segmented region in texture domain is reconstructed from all visible images with exterior orientation and interior orientation parameters. Thirdly, to avoid color discontinuities at boundaries between texture regions, the final texture map is generated by blending texture maps from several corresponding images. We evaluated our texture reconstruction framework on a dataset of a city. The resulting mesh model can get textured by created texture without resampling. Experiment results show that our method can effectively mitigate the occurrence of texture fragmentation. It is demonstrated that the proposed framework is effective and useful for automatic texture reconstruction of 3D city model.

The molluscicidal activity of seed pods of Swartzia madagascariensis on Marisa cornuarietis.

Science.gov (United States)

Lwambo, N J; Moyo, H G

1991-10-01

The molluscicidal potency of ground seed pods of Swartzia madagascariensis was tested in the laboratory against Marisa cornuarietis, a well known competitor and/or predator of pulmonate intermediate hosts of schistosomiasis. Results showed that a minimum concentration of 1.6g ground pods/1 was required to cause 100% mortality in M. cornuarietis. This concentration was by far over and above what is required (ie, 100 mg ground pods/1) to kill 10% of the pulmonate hosts of schistosomiasis. It seems that the application of S. madagascariensis at a concentration inimical to pulmonates (ie, 100 mg ground ponds/1 or slightly higher) in habitats where M. cornuarietis is introduced may not adversely affected to competitor snail population. Hence, the prospect of using S. madagascariensis in conjunction with M. cornuarietis against pulmonate snail hosts is conceived and tentatively recommended.

Computationally efficient simulation of unsteady aerodynamics using POD on the fly

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Moreno-Ramos, Ruben [Gulfstream Aerospace Corporation, Savannah, GA 31408 (United States); Vega, José M; Varas, Fernando, E-mail: ruben.morenoramos@altran.com [E.T.S.I. Aeronáutica y del Espacio, Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, E-28040 Madrid (Spain)

2016-12-15

Modern industrial aircraft design requires a large amount of sufficiently accurate aerodynamic and aeroelastic simulations. Current computational fluid dynamics (CFD) solvers with aeroelastic capabilities, such as the NASA URANS unstructured solver FUN3D, require very large computational resources. Since a very large amount of simulation is necessary, the CFD cost is just unaffordable in an industrial production environment and must be significantly reduced. Thus, a more inexpensive, yet sufficiently precise solver is strongly needed. An opportunity to approach this goal could follow some recent results (Terragni and Vega 2014 SIAM J. Appl. Dyn. Syst. 13 330–65; Rapun et al 2015 Int. J. Numer. Meth. Eng. 104 844–68) on an adaptive reduced order model  that combines ‘on the fly’ a standard numerical solver (to compute some representative snapshots), proper orthogonal decomposition (POD) (to extract modes from the snapshots), Galerkin projection (onto the set of POD modes), and several additional ingredients such as projecting the equations using a limited amount of points and fairly generic mode libraries. When applied to the complex Ginzburg–Landau equation, the method produces acceleration factors (comparing with standard numerical solvers) of the order of 20 and 300 in one and two space dimensions, respectively. Unfortunately, the extension of the method to unsteady, compressible flows around deformable geometries requires new approaches to deal with deformable meshes, high-Reynolds numbers, and compressibility. A first step in this direction is presented considering the unsteady compressible, two-dimensional flow around an oscillating airfoil using a CFD solver in a rigidly moving mesh. POD on the Fly gives results whose accuracy is comparable to that of the CFD solver used to compute the snapshots. (paper)

Reconstruction of Consistent 3d CAD Models from Point Cloud Data Using a Priori CAD Models

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Bey, A.; Chaine, R.; Marc, R.; Thibault, G.; Akkouche, S.

2011-09-01

We address the reconstruction of 3D CAD models from point cloud data acquired in industrial environments, using a pre-existing 3D model as an initial estimate of the scene to be processed. Indeed, this prior knowledge can be used to drive the reconstruction so as to generate an accurate 3D model matching the point cloud. We more particularly focus our work on the cylindrical parts of the 3D models. We propose to state the problem in a probabilistic framework: we have to search for the 3D model which maximizes some probability taking several constraints into account, such as the relevancy with respect to the point cloud and the a priori 3D model, and the consistency of the reconstructed model. The resulting optimization problem can then be handled using a stochastic exploration of the solution space, based on the random insertion of elements in the configuration under construction, coupled with a greedy management of the conflicts which efficiently improves the configuration at each step. We show that this approach provides reliable reconstructed 3D models by presenting some results on industrial data sets.

A Taxonomic Reduced-Space Pollen Model for Paleoclimate Reconstruction

Science.gov (United States)

Wahl, E. R.; Schoelzel, C.

2010-12-01

Paleoenvironmental reconstruction from fossil pollen often attempts to take advantage of the rich taxonomic diversity in such data. Here, a taxonomically "reduced-space" reconstruction model is explored that would be parsimonious in introducing parameters needing to be estimated within a Bayesian Hierarchical Modeling context. This work involves a refinement of the traditional pollen ratio method. This method is useful when one (or a few) dominant pollen type(s) in a region have a strong positive correlation with a climate variable of interest and another (or a few) dominant pollen type(s) have a strong negative correlation. When, e.g., counts of pollen taxa a and b (r >0) are combined with pollen types c and d (r logistic generalized linear model (GLM). The GLM can readily model this relationship in the forward form, pollen = g(climate), which is more physically realistic than inverse models often used in paleoclimate reconstruction [climate = f(pollen)]. The specification of the model is: rnum Bin(n,p), where E(r|T) = p = exp(η)/[1+exp(η)], and η = α + β(T); r is the pollen ratio formed as above, rnum is the ratio numerator, n is the ratio denominator (i.e., the sum of pollen counts), the denominator-specific count is (n - rnum), and T is the temperature at each site corresponding to a specific value of r. Ecological and empirical screening identified the model (Spruce+Birch) / (Spruce+Birch+Oak+Hickory) for use in temperate eastern N. America. α and β were estimated using both "traditional" and Bayesian GLM algorithms (in R). Although it includes only four pollen types, the ratio model yields more explained variation ( 80%) in the pollen-temperature relationship of the study region than a 64-taxon modern analog technique (MAT). Thus, the new pollen ratio method represents an information-rich, reduced space data model that can be efficiently employed in a BHM framework. The ratio model can directly reconstruct past temperature by solving the GLM equations

NASA DOE POD NDE Capabilities Data Book

Science.gov (United States)

Generazio, Edward R.

2015-01-01

This data book contains the Directed Design of Experiments for Validating Probability of Detection (POD) Capability of NDE Systems (DOEPOD) analyses of the nondestructive inspection data presented in the NTIAC, Nondestructive Evaluation (NDE) Capabilities Data Book, 3rd ed., NTIAC DB-97-02. DOEPOD is designed as a decision support system to validate inspection system, personnel, and protocol demonstrating 0.90 POD with 95% confidence at critical flaw sizes, a90/95. The test methodology used in DOEPOD is based on the field of statistical sequential analysis founded by Abraham Wald. Sequential analysis is a method of statistical inference whose characteristic feature is that the number of observations required by the procedure is not determined in advance of the experiment. The decision to terminate the experiment depends, at each stage, on the results of the observations previously made. A merit of the sequential method, as applied to testing statistical hypotheses, is that test procedures can be constructed which require, on average, a substantially smaller number of observations than equally reliable test procedures based on a predetermined number of observations.

Cuts of dairy-origin cattle fed mesquite pod meal in replacement of corn

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Marina de Paula Almeida

2017-09-01

Full Text Available This study was carried out in order to assess commercial front and rear cuts of dairy-origin cattle fed mesquite pod meal. Twenty-five non-castrated male bovines (Holstein-Zebu, distributed according to a completely randomized design, with five animals per treatment, were used. The feed contained about 121.2 and 544.98 g kg-1 of crude protein and total digestible nutrients, respectively, and was composed of tifton grass hay, cornmeal, soybean meal, mesquite pod meal and mineral salt. The right half carcass of each animal was separated between the 5th and 6th ribs, in front and rear quarters, from which commercial cuts were obtained. There was no effect (p > 0.05 as to the replacement of corn for mesquite pod meal on the weights and yields of front cuts (shoulder, brisket, chuck, hump and flanks and rear cuts (tenderloin, shank, knuckle, thin flank, flat, eye round, rump tail, top side, cap of rump, rump, cut of rump, striploin, cap of cube roll. Mesquite pod meal can substitute cornmeal in 100% in the concentrate without changes in weight and yield of the commercial front and rear cuts of male bovines of dairy origin.

iPod: un mundo sonoro personalizado para sus consumidores iPod: a Personalized Sound World for its Consumers

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Michael Bull

2010-03-01

Full Text Available Por primera vez desde el nacimiento de la cultura industrializada, más de la mitad de la población es capaz de personalizar cualquier parte de su entorno gracias a un reproductor de MP3 o a través de un teléfono móvil. El consumo de sonidos mediados tecnológicamente durante los siglos XX y XXI representa una forma cada vez más importante de «estar-en-el-mundo»; el «yo» reclama un territorio sonoro móvil a través de una especie de «compuerta sensorial» que le permite filtrar los sonidos que no le interesan y crear el paisaje sonoro que más le satisface. El placer sin límites que supone crear un mundo sonoro móvil de carácter privado plantea, para la teoría urbana y cultural, un conjunto de problemas teóricos que tienen que ver con la relación con los espacios en los que nos movemos, la naturaleza y el significado del espacio público y privado, el potencial de la estetización de lo urbano, y la incomunicación de la ciudad. También cuestiona el conocimiento de las tecnologías que se usan para mediatizar gran parte de la experiencia cotidiana. En este artículo se analiza el uso del iPod como soporte tecnológico para los consumidores. Se basa en las respuestas de más de un millar de usuarios entre 2004-05. Plantea que el uso del iPod puede ser interpretado positivamente si se considera como una forma de toxicidad placentera en la que bajo el mundo «totalmente mediatizado» de los usuarios subyace un anhelo de experiencia no mediatizada –de acceso directo al mundo y a las emociones de cada uno.For the first time in industrialised culture, over fifty percent of the population possesses the ability to privatise whatever environment they might be in through the use of a dedicated MP3 player or through a mobile phone with MP3 capabilities. The consumption of technologically mediated sound in the 20th and 21st centuries represents an increasingly significant mode of ‘being-in-theworld’ in which the ‘self’ claims a

Process design and economic analysis of a hypothetical bioethanol production plant using carob pod as feedstock.

Science.gov (United States)

Sánchez-Segado, S; Lozano, L J; de Los Ríos, A P; Hernández-Fernández, F J; Godínez, C; Juan, D

2012-01-01

A process for the production of ethanol from carob (Ceratonia siliqua) pods was designed and an economic analysis was carried out for a hypothetical plant. The plant was assumed to perform an aqueous extraction of sugars from the pods followed by fermentation and distillation to produce ethanol. The total fixed capital investment for a base case process with a capacity to transform 68,000 t/year carob pod was calculated as 39.61 millon euros (€) with a minimum bioethanol production cost of 0.51 €/L and an internal rate of return of 7%. The plant was found to be profitable at carob pod prices lower than 0.188 €/kg. An increase in the transformation capacity of the plant from 33,880 to 135,450 t/year was calculated to result in an increase in the internal rate of return from 5.50% to 13.61%. The obtained results show that carob pod is a promising alternative source for bioethanol production. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Novel Low Cost 3D Surface Model Reconstruction System for Plant Phenotyping

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Suxing Liu

2017-09-01

Full Text Available Accurate high-resolution three-dimensional (3D models are essential for a non-invasive analysis of phenotypic characteristics of plants. Previous limitations in 3D computer vision algorithms have led to a reliance on volumetric methods or expensive hardware to record plant structure. We present an image-based 3D plant reconstruction system that can be achieved by using a single camera and a rotation stand. Our method is based on the structure from motion method, with a SIFT image feature descriptor. In order to improve the quality of the 3D models, we segmented the plant objects based on the PlantCV platform. We also deducted the optimal number of images needed for reconstructing a high-quality model. Experiments showed that an accurate 3D model of the plant was successfully could be reconstructed by our approach. This 3D surface model reconstruction system provides a simple and accurate computational platform for non-destructive, plant phenotyping.

STS-26 Discovery, Orbiter Vehicle (OV) 103, OMS pod leak repair at KSC

Science.gov (United States)

1988-01-01

At the Kennedy Space Center (KSC), Rockwell manufacturing engineering specialist Claude Willis (left) and Rockwell manufacturing supervisor George Gallagher begin installation of a 'clamshell' device in the left orbital maneuvering system (OMS) pod reaction control system (RCS) of Discovery, Orbiter Vehicle (OV) 103. Gallagher performed the OMS pod nitric acid oxidizer leak repair operation using the two newly cut access ports in the Orbiter's aft bulkhead.

Improving Nutritional Quality of Cocoa Pod (Theobroma cacao) through Chemical and Biological Treatments for Ruminant Feeding: In vitro and In vivo Evaluation.

Science.gov (United States)

Laconi, Erika B; Jayanegara, Anuraga

2015-03-01

Cocoa pod is among the by-products of cocoa (Theobroma cacao) plantations. The aim of this study was to apply a number of treatments in order to improve nutritional quality of cocoa pod for feeding of ruminants. Cocoa pod was subjected to different treatments, i.e. C (cocoa pod without any treatment or control), CAm (cocoa pod+1.5% urea), CMo (cocoa pod+3% molasses), CRu (cocoa pod+3% rumen content) and CPh (cocoa pod+3% molasses+Phanerochaete chrysosporium inoculum). Analysis of proximate and Van Soest's fiber fraction were performed on the respective treatments. The pods were then subjected to an in vitro digestibility evaluation by incubation in rumen fluid-buffer medium, employing a randomized complete block design (n = 3 replicates). Further, an in vivo evaluation of the pods (35% inclusion level in total mixed ration) was conducted by feeding to young Holstein steers (average body weight of 145±3.6 kg) with a 5×5 latin square design arrangement (n = 5 replicates). Each experimental period lasted for 30 d; the first 20 d was for feed adaptation, the next 3 d was for sampling of rumen liquid, and the last 7 d was for measurements of digestibility and N balance. Results revealed that lignin content was reduced significantly when cocoa pod was treated with urea, molasses, rumen content or P. chrysosporium (pCAm>CRu>CMo. Among all treatments, CAm and CPh treatments significantly improved the in vitro dry matter and organic matter digestibility (pcocoa pod. Average daily gain of steers receiving CAm or CPh treatment was significantly higher than that of control (pcocoa pod.

Nutritive composition of soybean by-products and nutrient digestibility of soybean pod husk

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Sompong Sruamsiri

2008-11-01

Full Text Available Soybean by-products (soybean germ, soybean milk residue, soybean hull, soybean pod husk and soybean stem were subjected to proximate analysis, and in vitro digestibility of DM (IVDMD, ADF (IVADFD and NDF (IVNDFD were determined after digesting the by-products in buffered rumen fluid for 24 or 48 h in 2 ANKOMII Daisy Incubators using Completely Randomised Design. Four native cattle (body weight 210 + 13.5 kg were used to determine nutrient digestibility of soybean pod husk. They were randomly assigned by Cross-over Design to receive two roughage sources, i.e. guinea grass and guinea grass + soybean pod husk (60:40 DM basis, in two experimental periods. Guinea grass was harvested on the 35th day after the first cut of the year and used as green forage. Total collection method was used to determine the digestibility coefficients and digestibility by difference was used to calculate nutrient digestibility of soybean pod husk.The nutritive composition showed that soybean germ was highest in CP content (42.27% of DM and EE content (5.07% of DM but lowest in NDF and ADF content (20.09 and 21.53% of DM respectively. The average CP content of soybean straw, soybean stem and soybean pod husk was low (4.91, 4.67 and 5.04% respectively, while ADF content was high (42.76, 38.01 and 42.08% respectively. In vitro digestibility of DM (IVDMD, ADF (IVADFD and NDF (IVNDFD showed that all of them, except soybean stem, can be used as cattle feed, e.g. as supplemented feed or admixture in concentrate feed. Digestibility coefficients of guinea grass were higher in CP, CF and EE when compared to the other groups. The apparent digestibility of CP and CF were highly different (P0.05. The digestibility of nutrients (DM, OM, CP, CF, NFE, NDF and ADF of soybean pod husk were 53.81 + 4.3, 59.69 + 4.6, 42.38 + 3.8, 30.71 + 3.2, 50.74 + 4.3, 75.26 + 4.0, 45.78 + 3.7 and 30.53 + 4.2 % respectively. Soybean pod husk was higher in total digestible nutrients (TDN (51.87 + 3.3 vs

Food Reconstruction Using Isotopic Transferred Signals (FRUITS): A Bayesian Model for Diet Reconstruction

Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

Fernandes, R.; Millard, A.R.; Brabec, Marek; Nadeau, M.J.; Grootes, P.

2014-01-01

Roč. 9, č. 2 (2014), Art . no. e87436 E-ISSN 1932-6203 Institutional support: RVO:67985807 Keywords : ancienit diet reconstruction * stable isotope measurements * mixture model * Bayesian estimation * Dirichlet prior Subject RIV: BB - Applied Statistics, Operational Research Impact factor: 3.234, year: 2014

Ekofisk chalk: core measurements, stochastic reconstruction, network modeling and simulation

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Talukdar, Saifullah

2002-07-01

This dissertation deals with (1) experimental measurements on petrophysical, reservoir engineering and morphological properties of Ekofisk chalk, (2) numerical simulation of core flood experiments to analyze and improve relative permeability data, (3) stochastic reconstruction of chalk samples from limited morphological information, (4) extraction of pore space parameters from the reconstructed samples, development of network model using pore space information, and computation of petrophysical and reservoir engineering properties from network model, and (5) development of 2D and 3D idealized fractured reservoir models and verification of the applicability of several widely used conventional up scaling techniques in fractured reservoir simulation. Experiments have been conducted on eight Ekofisk chalk samples and porosity, absolute permeability, formation factor, and oil-water relative permeability, capillary pressure and resistivity index are measured at laboratory conditions. Mercury porosimetry data and backscatter scanning electron microscope images have also been acquired for the samples. A numerical simulation technique involving history matching of the production profiles is employed to improve the relative permeability curves and to analyze hysteresis of the Ekofisk chalk samples. The technique was found to be a powerful tool to supplement the uncertainties in experimental measurements. Porosity and correlation statistics obtained from backscatter scanning electron microscope images are used to reconstruct microstructures of chalk and particulate media. The reconstruction technique involves a simulated annealing algorithm, which can be constrained by an arbitrary number of morphological parameters. This flexibility of the algorithm is exploited to successfully reconstruct particulate media and chalk samples using more than one correlation functions. A technique based on conditional simulated annealing has been introduced for exact reproduction of vuggy

Historical Post Office Directory Parser (POD Parser Software From the AddressingHistory Project

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Nicola Osborne

2014-07-01

Full Text Available The POD Parser is Python software for parsing the OCR’d (optical character recognised text of digitised historical Scottish Post Office Directories (PODs to produce a consistent structured format for the data and for geocoding each address. The software was developed as part of the AddressingHistory project which sought to combine digitised historic directories with digitised and georeferenced historic maps.  The software has potential for reuse in multiple research contexts where historical post office directory data is relevant, and is therefore particularly of use in historical research into social, economic or demographic trends. The POD Parser is currently designed for use with Scottish directories but is extensible, perhaps with some adaptation, to use with other similarly formatted materials such as the English Trade Directories.

ISAL experiment documentation of vertical tail and OMS pods

Science.gov (United States)

1983-01-01

Investigation of Space Transportation System (STS) Atmospheric Luminosities (ISAL) experiment documentation includes vertical tail and orbital maneuvering system (OMS) pods with surface glow against the blackness of space. This glowing scene was provided by a long duration exposure with a 35mm camera aimed toward the tail of the Earth-orbiting Challenger, Orbiter Vehicle (OV) 099. OV-099 was maneuvered to a 120-nautical-mile altitude and flown with open payload bay (PLB) in the velocity vector for the conducting of a test titled, 'Evaluation of Oxygen Interaction with Materials (EOIM)'. Atomic oxygen within the low orbital environment is known to be extremely reactive when in contact with solid surfaces. In the darkened area between the camera and the glowing OMS pods and vertical stabilizer are two trays of test materials.

Genetic control of the angular leaf spot reaction in common bean leaves and pods

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Jerônimo Constantino Borel

2011-12-01

Full Text Available Information about genetic control of plant reaction to pathogens is essential in plant breeding programs focusing resistance. This study aimed to obtain information about genetic control of the angular leaf spot reaction in leaves and pods from common bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L. line ESAL 686. This line was crossed with cultivars Jalo EEP 558 (resistant, Cornell 49-242 (resistant and Carioca MG (susceptible. Generations F1, F2 and backcrosses (BC11 and BC21 were obtained. In the dry season (2009, parents and respective populations were evaluated for angular leaf spot reaction under field conditions. Disease severity was evaluated on leaves and pods using diagrammatic scales. Severity scores were obtained and mean and variance genetic components were estimated for both. Segregation of F2 generation was analyzed for some crosses. Different genes control angular leaf spot reaction in leaves and pods. Mean and variance components showed predominance of additive effects. Heritability was high, however, was greater on pods than on leaves which indicated that leaf reaction is more influenced by the environment.

Reconstruction of hyperspectral image using matting model for classification

Science.gov (United States)

Xie, Weiying; Li, Yunsong; Ge, Chiru

2016-05-01

Although hyperspectral images (HSIs) captured by satellites provide much information in spectral regions, some bands are redundant or have large amounts of noise, which are not suitable for image analysis. To address this problem, we introduce a method for reconstructing the HSI with noise reduction and contrast enhancement using a matting model for the first time. The matting model refers to each spectral band of an HSI that can be decomposed into three components, i.e., alpha channel, spectral foreground, and spectral background. First, one spectral band of an HSI with more refined information than most other bands is selected, and is referred to as an alpha channel of the HSI to estimate the hyperspectral foreground and hyperspectral background. Finally, a combination operation is applied to reconstruct the HSI. In addition, the support vector machine (SVM) classifier and three sparsity-based classifiers, i.e., orthogonal matching pursuit (OMP), simultaneous OMP, and OMP based on first-order neighborhood system weighted classifiers, are utilized on the reconstructed HSI and the original HSI to verify the effectiveness of the proposed method. Specifically, using the reconstructed HSI, the average accuracy of the SVM classifier can be improved by as much as 19%.

In vitro antioxidant and antimalarial activities of leaves, pods and bark extracts of Acacia nilotica (L.) Del.

Science.gov (United States)

Sadiq, Muhammad Bilal; Tharaphan, Pattamon; Chotivanich, Kesinee; Tarning, Joel; Anal, Anil Kumar

2017-07-18

The emergence of drug resistant malaria is threatening our ability to treat and control malaria in the Southeast Asian region. There is an urgent need to develop novel and chemically diverse antimalarial drugs. This study aimed at evaluating the antimalarial and antioxidant potentials of Acacia nilotica plant extracts. The antioxidant activities of leaves, pods and bark extracts were determined by standard antioxidant assays; reducing power capacity, % lipid peroxidation inhibition and ferric reducing antioxidant power assay. The antimalarial activities of plant extracts against Plasmodium falciparum parasites were determined by the 48 h schizont maturation inhibition assay. Further confirmation of schizonticide activity of extracts was made by extending the incubation period up to 96 h after removing the plant extract residues from parasites culture. Inhibition assays were analyzed by dose-response modelling. In all antioxidant assays, leaves of A. nilotica showed higher antioxidant activity than pods and bark. Antimalarial IC 50 values of leaves, pods and bark extracts were 1.29, 4.16 and 4.28 μg/ml respectively, in the 48 h maturation assay. The IC 50 values determined for leaves, pods and bark extracts were 3.72, 5.41 and 5.32 μg/ml respectively, after 96 h of incubation. All extracts inhibited the development of mature schizont, indicating schizonticide activity against P. falciparum. A. nilotica extracts showed promising antimalarial and antioxidant effects. However, further investigation is needed to isolate and identify the active components responsible for the antimalarial and antioxidant effects.

PREDICTION MODELS OF GRAIN YIELD AND CHARACTERIZATION

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Narciso Ysac Avila Serrano

2009-06-01

Full Text Available With the objective to characterize the grain yield of five cowpea cultivars and to find linear regression models to predict it, a study was developed in La Paz, Baja California Sur, Mexico. A complete randomized blocks design was used. Simple and multivariate analyses of variance were carried out using the canonical variables to characterize the cultivars. The variables cluster per plant, pods per plant, pods per cluster, seeds weight per plant, seeds hectoliter weight, 100-seed weight, seeds length, seeds wide, seeds thickness, pods length, pods wide, pods weight, seeds per pods, and seeds weight per pods, showed significant differences (P≤ 0.05 among cultivars. Paceño and IT90K-277-2 cultivars showed the higher seeds weight per plant. The linear regression models showed correlation coefficients ≥0.92. In these models, the seeds weight per plant, pods per cluster, pods per plant, cluster per plant and pods length showed significant correlations (P≤ 0.05. In conclusion, the results showed that grain yield differ among cultivars and for its estimation, the prediction models showed determination coefficients highly dependable.

Novel multipurpose pod-intravaginal ring for the prevention of HIV, HSV, and unintended pregnancy: Pharmacokinetic evaluation in a macaque model.

Science.gov (United States)

Smith, James M; Moss, John A; Srinivasan, Priya; Butkyavichene, Irina; Gunawardana, Manjula; Fanter, Rob; Miller, Christine S; Sanchez, Debbie; Yang, Flora; Ellis, Shanon; Zhang, Jining; Marzinke, Mark A; Hendrix, Craig W; Kapoor, Amita; Baum, Marc M

2017-01-01

Globally, women bear an uneven burden for sexual HIV acquisition. Results from two clinical trials evaluating intravaginal rings (IVRs) delivering the antiretroviral agent dapivirine have shown that protection from HIV infection can be achieved with this modality, but high adherence is essential. Multipurpose prevention technologies (MPTs) can potentially increase product adherence by offering protection against multiple vaginally transmitted infections and unintended pregnancy. Here we describe a coitally independent, long-acting pod-IVR MPT that could potentially prevent HIV and HSV infection as well as unintended pregnancy. The pharmacokinetics of MPT pod-IVRs delivering tenofovir alafenamide hemifumarate (TAF2) to prevent HIV, acyclovir (ACV) to prevent HSV, and etonogestrel (ENG) in combination with ethinyl estradiol (EE), FDA-approved hormonal contraceptives, were evaluated in pigtailed macaques (N = 6) over 35 days. Pod IVRs were exchanged at 14 days with the only modification being lower ENG release rates in the second IVR. Plasma progesterone was monitored weekly to determine the effect of ENG/EE on menstrual cycle. The mean in vivo release rates (mg d-1) for the two formulations over 30 days ranged as follows: TAF2 0.35-0.40; ACV 0.56-0.70; EE 0.03-0.08; ENG (high releasing) 0.63; and ENG (low releasing) 0.05. Mean peak progesterone levels were 4.4 ± 1.8 ng mL-1 prior to IVR insertion and 0.075 ± 0.064 ng mL-1 for 5 weeks after insertion, suggesting that systemic EE/ENG levels were sufficient to suppress menstruation. The TAF2 and ACV release rates and resulting vaginal tissue drug concentrations (medians: TFV, 2.4 ng mg-1; ACV, 0.2 ng mg-1) may be sufficient to protect against HIV and HSV infection, respectively. This proof of principle study demonstrates that MPT-pod IVRs could serve as a potent biomedical prevention tool to protect women's sexual and reproductive health and may increase adherence to HIV PrEP even among younger high-risk populations.

Novel multipurpose pod-intravaginal ring for the prevention of HIV, HSV, and unintended pregnancy: Pharmacokinetic evaluation in a macaque model.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

James M Smith

Full Text Available Globally, women bear an uneven burden for sexual HIV acquisition. Results from two clinical trials evaluating intravaginal rings (IVRs delivering the antiretroviral agent dapivirine have shown that protection from HIV infection can be achieved with this modality, but high adherence is essential. Multipurpose prevention technologies (MPTs can potentially increase product adherence by offering protection against multiple vaginally transmitted infections and unintended pregnancy. Here we describe a coitally independent, long-acting pod-IVR MPT that could potentially prevent HIV and HSV infection as well as unintended pregnancy. The pharmacokinetics of MPT pod-IVRs delivering tenofovir alafenamide hemifumarate (TAF2 to prevent HIV, acyclovir (ACV to prevent HSV, and etonogestrel (ENG in combination with ethinyl estradiol (EE, FDA-approved hormonal contraceptives, were evaluated in pigtailed macaques (N = 6 over 35 days. Pod IVRs were exchanged at 14 days with the only modification being lower ENG release rates in the second IVR. Plasma progesterone was monitored weekly to determine the effect of ENG/EE on menstrual cycle. The mean in vivo release rates (mg d-1 for the two formulations over 30 days ranged as follows: TAF2 0.35-0.40; ACV 0.56-0.70; EE 0.03-0.08; ENG (high releasing 0.63; and ENG (low releasing 0.05. Mean peak progesterone levels were 4.4 ± 1.8 ng mL-1 prior to IVR insertion and 0.075 ± 0.064 ng mL-1 for 5 weeks after insertion, suggesting that systemic EE/ENG levels were sufficient to suppress menstruation. The TAF2 and ACV release rates and resulting vaginal tissue drug concentrations (medians: TFV, 2.4 ng mg-1; ACV, 0.2 ng mg-1 may be sufficient to protect against HIV and HSV infection, respectively. This proof of principle study demonstrates that MPT-pod IVRs could serve as a potent biomedical prevention tool to protect women's sexual and reproductive health and may increase adherence to HIV PrEP even among younger high

Glow phenomenon surrounding the vertical stabilizer and OMS pods

Science.gov (United States)

1994-01-01

This 35mm frame, photographed as the Space Shuttle Columbia was orbiting Earth during a 'night' pass, documents the glow phenomenon surrounding the vertical stabilizer and the Orbital Maneuvering System (OMS) pods of the spacecraft.

Verifying three-dimensional skull model reconstruction using cranial index of symmetry.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Woon-Man Kung

Full Text Available BACKGROUND: Difficulty exists in scalp adaptation for cranioplasty with customized computer-assisted design/manufacturing (CAD/CAM implant in situations of excessive wound tension and sub-cranioplasty dead space. To solve this clinical problem, the CAD/CAM technique should include algorithms to reconstruct a depressed contour to cover the skull defect. Satisfactory CAM-derived alloplastic implants are based on highly accurate three-dimensional (3-D CAD modeling. Thus, it is quite important to establish a symmetrically regular CAD/CAM reconstruction prior to depressing the contour. The purpose of this study is to verify the aesthetic outcomes of CAD models with regular contours using cranial index of symmetry (CIS. MATERIALS AND METHODS: From January 2011 to June 2012, decompressive craniectomy (DC was performed for 15 consecutive patients in our institute. 3-D CAD models of skull defects were reconstructed using commercial software. These models were checked in terms of symmetry by CIS scores. RESULTS: CIS scores of CAD reconstructions were 99.24±0.004% (range 98.47-99.84. CIS scores of these CAD models were statistically significantly greater than 95%, identical to 99.5%, but lower than 99.6% (p<0.001, p = 0.064, p = 0.021 respectively, Wilcoxon matched pairs signed rank test. These data evidenced the highly accurate symmetry of these CAD models with regular contours. CONCLUSIONS: CIS calculation is beneficial to assess aesthetic outcomes of CAD-reconstructed skulls in terms of cranial symmetry. This enables further accurate CAD models and CAM cranial implants with depressed contours, which are essential in patients with difficult scalp adaptation.

Exercising with an iPod, Friend, or Neither: Which Is Better for Psychological Benefits?

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Plante, Thomas G.; Gustafson, Carissa; Brecht, Carrie; Imberi, Jenny; Sanchez, Jacqueline

2011-01-01

Objective: To examine the role of music and social contact on exercise benefits. Methods: Two hundred twenty-nine (n229) students were randomly assigned to one of 6 conditions: biking alone with iPod or friend in a laboratory, walking alone with iPod or friend outdoors, or biking or walking alone in control conditions. All participants completed…

Computed Tomography Image Quality Evaluation of a New Iterative Reconstruction Algorithm in the Abdomen (Adaptive Statistical Iterative Reconstruction-V) a Comparison With Model-Based Iterative Reconstruction, Adaptive Statistical Iterative Reconstruction, and Filtered Back Projection Reconstructions.

Science.gov (United States)

Goodenberger, Martin H; Wagner-Bartak, Nicolaus A; Gupta, Shiva; Liu, Xinming; Yap, Ramon Q; Sun, Jia; Tamm, Eric P; Jensen, Corey T

The purpose of this study was to compare abdominopelvic computed tomography images reconstructed with adaptive statistical iterative reconstruction-V (ASIR-V) with model-based iterative reconstruction (Veo 3.0), ASIR, and filtered back projection (FBP). Abdominopelvic computed tomography scans for 36 patients (26 males and 10 females) were reconstructed using FBP, ASIR (80%), Veo 3.0, and ASIR-V (30%, 60%, 90%). Mean ± SD patient age was 32 ± 10 years with mean ± SD body mass index of 26.9 ± 4.4 kg/m. Images were reviewed by 2 independent readers in a blinded, randomized fashion. Hounsfield unit, noise, and contrast-to-noise ratio (CNR) values were calculated for each reconstruction algorithm for further comparison. Phantom evaluation of low-contrast detectability (LCD) and high-contrast resolution was performed. Adaptive statistical iterative reconstruction-V 30%, ASIR-V 60%, and ASIR 80% were generally superior qualitatively compared with ASIR-V 90%, Veo 3.0, and FBP (P ASIR-V 60% with respective CNR values of 5.54 ± 2.39, 8.78 ± 3.15, and 3.49 ± 1.77 (P ASIR 80% had the best and worst spatial resolution, respectively. Adaptive statistical iterative reconstruction-V 30% and ASIR-V 60% provided the best combination of qualitative and quantitative performance. Adaptive statistical iterative reconstruction 80% was equivalent qualitatively, but demonstrated inferior spatial resolution and LCD.

Poster - 11: Radiation barrier thickness calculations for the GammaPod

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

La Russa, Daniel; Vandervoort, Eric; Wilkins, David

2016-01-01

A consortium of radiotherapy centers in North America is in the process of evaluating a novel new 60 Co teletherapy device, called the GammaPod™ (Xcision Medical Systems, Columbia Maryland), designed specifically for breast SBRT. The GammaPod consists of 36 collimated 60 Co sources with a total activity of 4320 Ci. The sources are housed in a hemispherical source carrier that rotates during treatment to produce a cylindrically symmetric cone of primary beam spanning 16° – 54° degrees from the horizontal. This unique beam geometry presents challenges when designing or evaluating room shielding for the purposes of meeting regulatory requirements, and for ensuring the safety of staff and the public in surrounding areas. Conventional methods for calculating radiation barrier thicknesses have been adapted so that barrier transmission factors for the GammaPod can be determined from a few relevant distances and characteristics of the primary beam. Simple formalisms have been determined for estimating shielding requirements for primary radiation (with a rotating and non-rotating source carrier), patient-scattered radiation, and leakage radiation. When making worst case assumptions, it was found that conventional barrier thicknesses associated with linac treatment suites are sufficient for shielding all sources of radiation from the GammaPod.

Poster - 11: Radiation barrier thickness calculations for the GammaPod

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

La Russa, Daniel; Vandervoort, Eric; Wilkins, David [Radiation Medicine Program, The Ottawa Hospital (Canada)

2016-08-15

A consortium of radiotherapy centers in North America is in the process of evaluating a novel new {sup 60}Co teletherapy device, called the GammaPod™ (Xcision Medical Systems, Columbia Maryland), designed specifically for breast SBRT. The GammaPod consists of 36 collimated {sup 60}Co sources with a total activity of 4320 Ci. The sources are housed in a hemispherical source carrier that rotates during treatment to produce a cylindrically symmetric cone of primary beam spanning 16° – 54° degrees from the horizontal. This unique beam geometry presents challenges when designing or evaluating room shielding for the purposes of meeting regulatory requirements, and for ensuring the safety of staff and the public in surrounding areas. Conventional methods for calculating radiation barrier thicknesses have been adapted so that barrier transmission factors for the GammaPod can be determined from a few relevant distances and characteristics of the primary beam. Simple formalisms have been determined for estimating shielding requirements for primary radiation (with a rotating and non-rotating source carrier), patient-scattered radiation, and leakage radiation. When making worst case assumptions, it was found that conventional barrier thicknesses associated with linac treatment suites are sufficient for shielding all sources of radiation from the GammaPod.

Grammar-based Automatic 3D Model Reconstruction from Terrestrial Laser Scanning Data

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Yu, Q.; Helmholz, P.; Belton, D.; West, G.

2014-04-01

The automatic reconstruction of 3D buildings has been an important research topic during the last years. In this paper, a novel method is proposed to automatically reconstruct the 3D building models from segmented data based on pre-defined formal grammar and rules. Such segmented data can be extracted e.g. from terrestrial or mobile laser scanning devices. Two steps are considered in detail. The first step is to transform the segmented data into 3D shapes, for instance using the DXF (Drawing Exchange Format) format which is a CAD data file format used for data interchange between AutoCAD and other program. Second, we develop a formal grammar to describe the building model structure and integrate the pre-defined grammars into the reconstruction process. Depending on the different segmented data, the selected grammar and rules are applied to drive the reconstruction process in an automatic manner. Compared with other existing approaches, our proposed method allows the model reconstruction directly from 3D shapes and takes the whole building into account.

A Novel Hybrid Model for Drawing Trace Reconstruction from Multichannel Surface Electromyographic Activity.

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Chen, Yumiao; Yang, Zhongliang

2017-01-01

Recently, several researchers have considered the problem of reconstruction of handwriting and other meaningful arm and hand movements from surface electromyography (sEMG). Although much progress has been made, several practical limitations may still affect the clinical applicability of sEMG-based techniques. In this paper, a novel three-step hybrid model of coordinate state transition, sEMG feature extraction and gene expression programming (GEP) prediction is proposed for reconstructing drawing traces of 12 basic one-stroke shapes from multichannel surface electromyography. Using a specially designed coordinate data acquisition system, we recorded the coordinate data of drawing traces collected in accordance with the time series while 7-channel EMG signals were recorded. As a widely-used time domain feature, Root Mean Square (RMS) was extracted with the analysis window. The preliminary reconstruction models can be established by GEP. Then, the original drawing traces can be approximated by a constructed prediction model. Applying the three-step hybrid model, we were able to convert seven channels of EMG activity recorded from the arm muscles into smooth reconstructions of drawing traces. The hybrid model can yield a mean accuracy of 74% in within-group design (one set of prediction models for all shapes) and 86% in between-group design (one separate set of prediction models for each shape), averaged for the reconstructed x and y coordinates. It can be concluded that it is feasible for the proposed three-step hybrid model to improve the reconstruction ability of drawing traces from sEMG.

4D-PET reconstruction using a spline-residue model with spatial and temporal roughness penalties

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Ralli, George P.; Chappell, Michael A.; McGowan, Daniel R.; Sharma, Ricky A.; Higgins, Geoff S.; Fenwick, John D.

2018-05-01

4D reconstruction of dynamic positron emission tomography (dPET) data can improve the signal-to-noise ratio in reconstructed image sequences by fitting smooth temporal functions to the voxel time-activity-curves (TACs) during the reconstruction, though the optimal choice of function remains an open question. We propose a spline-residue model, which describes TACs as weighted sums of convolutions of the arterial input function with cubic B-spline basis functions. Convolution with the input function constrains the spline-residue model at early time-points, potentially enhancing noise suppression in early time-frames, while still allowing a wide range of TAC descriptions over the entire imaged time-course, thus limiting bias. Spline-residue based 4D-reconstruction is compared to that of a conventional (non-4D) maximum a posteriori (MAP) algorithm, and to 4D-reconstructions based on adaptive-knot cubic B-splines, the spectral model and an irreversible two-tissue compartment (‘2C3K’) model. 4D reconstructions were carried out using a nested-MAP algorithm including spatial and temporal roughness penalties. The algorithms were tested using Monte-Carlo simulated scanner data, generated for a digital thoracic phantom with uptake kinetics based on a dynamic [18F]-Fluromisonidazole scan of a non-small cell lung cancer patient. For every algorithm, parametric maps were calculated by fitting each voxel TAC within a sub-region of the reconstructed images with the 2C3K model. Compared to conventional MAP reconstruction, spline-residue-based 4D reconstruction achieved  >50% improvements for five of the eight combinations of the four kinetics parameters for which parametric maps were created with the bias and noise measures used to analyse them, and produced better results for 5/8 combinations than any of the other reconstruction algorithms studied, while spectral model-based 4D reconstruction produced the best results for 2/8. 2C3K model-based 4D reconstruction generated

[Management of vascular crisis of free flaps after reconstruction of head and neck defects caused by tumor resection].

Science.gov (United States)

Ni, Song; Zhu, Yiming; Li, Dezhi; Liu, Jie; An, Changming; Zhang, Bin; Liu, Shaoyan

2015-11-01

To discuss the management of vascular crisis of free flaps after reconstruction of head and neck defects caused by tumor resection. A total of 259 cases of free flap reconstruction performed in the Cancer Hospital of Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences from 2010 to 2013 were retrospectively analyzed, including 89 cases of anterolateral thigh flaps, 48 cases of radial forearm flaps, 46 free fibula flaps, 5 cases of inferior epigastric artery perforator flaps, 5 cases of free latissimus dorsi flaps, one case of lateral arm flap, and one case of medial femoral flap. The surveillance frequency of free flaps was q1h on post-operative day (POD) 1, q2h on POD 2 and 3, and q4h after POD 3. Vascular crises were reviewed for analysis. The incidence rate of vascular crisis was 8.1% (21/259), with 15 males and 6 females. The average age was 54.8 years old (17-68), and the average time of vascular crisis was 100.8 h post-operation (3-432). There were 7 cases of free jejunum flaps and 14 dermal free flaps. Seven of these 21 cases with vascular crisis were rescued by surgery. The success rate of salvage surgery within 72 hours from the primary operation was 54.5% (6/11), significantly higher than that of salvage surgery performed later than 72 hours from primary operation (10.0%, 1/10, P=0.043). There were 14 cases of flap necrosis, two of which died of local infection. Early detection of vascular crisis can effectively improve the success rate of salvage, so as to avoid the serious consequences caused by free flap necrosis.

A priori motion models for four-dimensional reconstruction in gated cardiac SPECT

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lalush, D.S.; Tsui, B.M.W.; Cui, Lin

1996-01-01

We investigate the benefit of incorporating a priori assumptions about cardiac motion in a fully four-dimensional (4D) reconstruction algorithm for gated cardiac SPECT. Previous work has shown that non-motion-specific 4D Gibbs priors enforcing smoothing in time and space can control noise while preserving resolution. In this paper, we evaluate methods for incorporating known heart motion in the Gibbs prior model. The new model is derived by assigning motion vectors to each 4D voxel, defining the movement of that volume of activity into the neighboring time frames. Weights for the Gibbs cliques are computed based on these open-quotes most likelyclose quotes motion vectors. To evaluate, we employ the mathematical cardiac-torso (MCAT) phantom with a new dynamic heart model that simulates the beating and twisting motion of the heart. Sixteen realistically-simulated gated datasets were generated, with noise simulated to emulate a real Tl-201 gated SPECT study. Reconstructions were performed using several different reconstruction algorithms, all modeling nonuniform attenuation and three-dimensional detector response. These include ML-EM with 4D filtering, 4D MAP-EM without prior motion assumption, and 4D MAP-EM with prior motion assumptions. The prior motion assumptions included both the correct motion model and incorrect models. Results show that reconstructions using the 4D prior model can smooth noise and preserve time-domain resolution more effectively than 4D linear filters. We conclude that modeling of motion in 4D reconstruction algorithms can be a powerful tool for smoothing noise and preserving temporal resolution in gated cardiac studies

Assessment of the impact of modeling axial compression on PET image reconstruction.

Science.gov (United States)

Belzunce, Martin A; Reader, Andrew J

2017-10-01

To comprehensively evaluate both the acceleration and image-quality impacts of axial compression and its degree of modeling in fully 3D PET image reconstruction. Despite being used since the very dawn of 3D PET reconstruction, there are still no extensive studies on the impact of axial compression and its degree of modeling during reconstruction on the end-point reconstructed image quality. In this work, an evaluation of the impact of axial compression on the image quality is performed by extensively simulating data with span values from 1 to 121. In addition, two methods for modeling the axial compression in the reconstruction were evaluated. The first method models the axial compression in the system matrix, while the second method uses an unmatched projector/backprojector, where the axial compression is modeled only in the forward projector. The different system matrices were analyzed by computing their singular values and the point response functions for small subregions of the FOV. The two methods were evaluated with simulated and real data for the Biograph mMR scanner. For the simulated data, the axial compression with span values lower than 7 did not show a decrease in the contrast of the reconstructed images. For span 11, the standard sinogram size of the mMR scanner, losses of contrast in the range of 5-10 percentage points were observed when measured for a hot lesion. For higher span values, the spatial resolution was degraded considerably. However, impressively, for all span values of 21 and lower, modeling the axial compression in the system matrix compensated for the spatial resolution degradation and obtained similar contrast values as the span 1 reconstructions. Such approaches have the same processing times as span 1 reconstructions, but they permit significant reduction in storage requirements for the fully 3D sinograms. For higher span values, the system has a large condition number and it is therefore difficult to recover accurately the higher

Biotechnology for cocoa pod borer resistance in cocoa

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Chaidamsari, T.

2005-01-01

The cocoa tree ( Theobroma cacao L.) produces the beans that are the source of cacao, the basis for chocolate production, and an important commodity crop in South America, West Africa, and Southeast Asia.Cocoa Pod

Allergic contact dermatitis caused by isobornyl acrylate in OmniPod, an innovative tubeless insulin pump.

Science.gov (United States)

Raison-Peyron, Nadia; Mowitz, Martin; Bonardel, Nathalie; Aerts, Olivier; Bruze, Magnus

2018-04-10

The frequency of allergic contact dermatitis caused by (meth)acrylates is increasing worldwide, and isobornyl acrylate (IBOA) has been identified as a culprit sensitizer in FreeStyle Libre, a medical device used by diabetic patients. To report on 4 patients sensitized to IBOA contained in OmniPod, a new, tubeless insulin pump, and to describe the clinical and chemical analytical work-up. Four patients with eczematous skin eruptions after using OmniPod, including 2 with previous adverse skin reactions to FreeStyle Libre, were patch tested with a baseline series and additional (meth)acrylates, including IBOA in several concentrations and/or vehicles. Gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) was used to identify the presence of IBOA in OmniPod. All patients were shown to be sensitized to IBOA. GC-MS identified IBOA in OmniPod, with the highest concentrations being found in the unit itself and not in the adhesive patch. The OmniPod tubeless insulin pump is another source of IBOA, and its use may lead to primary sensitization to this acrylate, or may provoke elicitation of allergic contact dermatitis in previously sensitized patients. Our cases highlight the need to obtain satisfactory cooperation from pharmaceutical companies involved in the manufacture of these widely used medical devices. © 2018 John Wiley & Sons A/S. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Modeling economic costs of disasters and recovery involving positive effects of reconstruction: analysis using a dynamic CGE model

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Xie, W.; Li, N.; Wu, J.-D.; Hao, X.-L.

2013-11-01

Disaster damages have negative effects on economy, whereas reconstruction investments have positive effects. The aim of this study is to model economic causes of disasters and recovery involving positive effects of reconstruction activities. Computable general equilibrium (CGE) model is a promising approach because it can incorporate these two kinds of shocks into a unified framework and further avoid double-counting problem. In order to factor both shocks in CGE model, direct loss is set as the amount of capital stock reduced on supply side of economy; A portion of investments restore the capital stock in existing period; An investment-driven dynamic model is formulated due to available reconstruction data, and the rest of a given country's saving is set as an endogenous variable. The 2008 Wenchuan Earthquake is selected as a case study to illustrate the model, and three scenarios are constructed: S0 (no disaster occurs), S1 (disaster occurs with reconstruction investment) and S2 (disaster occurs without reconstruction investment). S0 is taken as business as usual, and the differences between S1 and S0 and that between S2 and S0 can be interpreted as economic losses including reconstruction and excluding reconstruction respectively. The study showed that output from S1 is found to be closer to real data than that from S2. S2 overestimates economic loss by roughly two times that under S1. The gap in economic aggregate between S1 and S0 is reduced to 3% in 2011, a level that should take another four years to achieve under S2.

Improving head and neck CTA with hybrid and model-based iterative reconstruction techniques

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Niesten, J. M.; van der Schaaf, I. C.; Vos, P. C.; Willemink, MJ; Velthuis, B. K.

2015-01-01

AIM: To compare image quality of head and neck computed tomography angiography (CTA) reconstructed with filtered back projection (FBP), hybrid iterative reconstruction (HIR) and model-based iterative reconstruction (MIR) algorithms. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The raw data of 34 studies were

Reliability of BOD POD Measurements Remains High After a Short-Duration Low-Carbohydrate Diet.

Science.gov (United States)

Greer, Beau Kjerulf; Edsall, Kathleen M; Greer, Anna E

2016-04-01

The purpose of the current study was to determine whether expected changes in body weight via a 3-day low-carbohydrate (LC) diet will disrupt the reliability of air displacement plethysmography measurements via BOD POD. Twenty-four subjects recorded their typical diets for 3 days before BOD POD and 7-site skinfold analyses. Subjects were matched for lean body mass and divided into low-CHO (LC) and control (CON) groups. The LC group was given instruction intended to prevent more than 50 grams/day of carbohydrate consumption for 3 consecutive days, and the CON group replicated their previously recorded diet. Body composition measurements were repeated after dietary intervention. Test-retest reliability measures were significant (p fat percentage in both the LC and the CON groups (rs = .993 and .965, respectively). Likewise, skinfold analysis for body fat percentage reliability was high in both groups (rs = .996 and .997, respectively). There were significant differences between 1st and 2nd BOD POD measurements for body mass (72.9 ± 13.3 vs. 72.1 ± 13.0 kg [M ± SD]) and body volume (69.0 ± 12.7-68.1 ± 12.2 L) in the LC group (p .05) in BOD POD-determined body fat percentage, lean body mass, or fat mass between the 1st and 2nd trial in either group. Body composition measures via BOD POD and 7-site skinfolds remain reliable after 3 days of an LC diet despite significant decreases in body mass.

Effect of Ovule Position within the Pod on the Probability of Seed Production in Bauhinia ungulata (Fabaceae)

Science.gov (United States)

MENA-ALÍ, JORGE I.; ROCHA, OSCAR J.

2004-01-01

• Background and Aims It has been claimed that ovules linearly ordered within a fruit differ in their probabilities of reaching maturity. This was investigated by studying the effect the position of an ovule within the pod has on seed abortion and seed production in Bauhinia ungulata. • Methods Fruits collected during the dry seasons of 1999, 2000 and 2001 were opened, and the number, position and status of each ovule within the fruit were recorded. A GLM model was used to assess the effects of population, tree identity and ovule position within the pod on ovule fertilization, seed abortion, seed damage and seed maturation in two populations of B. ungulata. • Key Results Nearly 30 % of the ovules were not fertilized in 1999; this percentage dropped to 5 % the following two years. Seed abortion (50 %) and seed damage (15 %) were the same every year during the study period. Only 15 % of the initial ovules developed into mature seeds in 1999; this value increased to 35 % in 2000 and 2001. However, seed survivorship was dependent on the position of the ovule within the pod; non-fertilized and early aborted ovules were found more often near the basal end of the ovary. The frequency of seed damage was not affected by position. Mature seeds were found mainly in the stylar half of fruits, where ovules are likely to be fertilized by fast pollen tubes. • Conclusions The pattern of seed production in B. ungulata is non-random but is dependent upon the position of the ovule within the pod. The results suggest that the seeds produced within a fruit might differ in their vigour. PMID:15596452

Evaluation and optimization of ethanol production from carob pod extract by Zymomonas mobilis using response surface methodology.

Science.gov (United States)

Vaheed, Hossein; Shojaosadati, Seyed Abbas; Galip, Hasan

2011-01-01

In this research, ethanol production from carob pod extract (extract) using Zymomonas mobilis with medium optimized by Plackett-Burman (P-B) and response surface methodologies (RSM) was studied. Z. mobilis was recognized as useful for ethanol production from carob pod extract. The effects of initial concentrations of sugar, peptone, and yeast extract as well as agitation rate (rpm), pH, and culture time in nonhydrolyzed carob pod extract were investigated. Significantly affecting variables (P = 0.05) in the model obtained from RSM studies were: weights of bacterial inoculum, initial sugar, peptone, and yeast extract. Acid hydrolysis was useful to complete conversion of sugars to glucose and fructose. Nonhydrolyzed extract showed higher ethanol yield and residual sugar compared with hydrolyzed extract. Ethanol produced (g g(-1) initial sugar, as the response) was not significantly different (P = 0.05) when Z. mobilis performance was compared in hydrolyzed and nonhydrolyzed extract. The maximum ethanol of 0.34 ± 0.02 g g(-1) initial sugar was obtained at 30°C, initial pH 5.2, and 80 rpm, using concentrations (g per 50 mL culture media) of: inoculum bacterial dry weight, 0.017; initial sugar, 5.78; peptone, 0.43; yeast extract, 0.43; and culture time of 36 h.

Toward The identification Of candidate genes involved in black pod disease resistance in Theobroma cacao L.

Science.gov (United States)

Increasing yield, quality and disease resistance are important objectives for cacao breeding programs. Some of the diseases, such as black pod rot (Phytophtora spp), frosty pod (Moniliophthora roreri) and witches’ broom (M. perniciosa), produce significant losses in all or in some of the various pro...

Three Dimensional Dynamic Model Based Wind Field Reconstruction from Lidar Data

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Raach, Steffen; Schlipf, David; Haizmann, Florian; Cheng, Po Wen

2014-01-01

Using the inflowing horizontal and vertical wind shears for individual pitch controller is a promising method if blade bending measurements are not available. Due to the limited information provided by a lidar system the reconstruction of shears in real-time is a challenging task especially for the horizontal shear in the presence of changing wind direction. The internal model principle has shown to be a promising approach to estimate the shears and directions in 10 minutes averages with real measurement data. The static model based wind vector field reconstruction is extended in this work taking into account a dynamic reconstruction model based on Taylor's Frozen Turbulence Hypothesis. The presented method provides time series over several seconds of the wind speed, shears and direction, which can be directly used in advanced optimal preview control. Therefore, this work is an important step towards the application of preview individual blade pitch control under realistic wind conditions. The method is tested using a turbulent wind field and a detailed lidar simulator. For the simulation, the turbulent wind field structure is flowing towards the lidar system and is continuously misaligned with respect to the horizontal axis of the wind turbine. Taylor's Frozen Turbulence Hypothesis is taken into account to model the wind evolution. For the reconstruction, the structure is discretized into several stages where each stage is reduced to an effective wind speed, superposed with a linear horizontal and vertical wind shear. Previous lidar measurements are shifted using again Taylor's Hypothesis. The wind field reconstruction problem is then formulated as a nonlinear optimization problem, which minimizes the residual between the assumed wind model and the lidar measurements to obtain the misalignment angle and the effective wind speed and the wind shears for each stage. This method shows good results in reconstructing the wind characteristics of a three

Frosty pod of cacao: a disease with a limited geographic range but unlimited potential for damage.

Science.gov (United States)

Phillips-Mora, W; Wilkinson, M J

2007-12-01

ABSTRACT Moniliophthora roreri, the cause of frosty pod rot (FP), is a specialized fungal pathogen (family Marasmiaceae) that invades only actively growing pods of cacao, Theobroma cacao, and related species of Theobroma and Herrania. FP damages pods and the commercially important seeds that some of these species produce. M. roreri was confined to northwestern South America until the 1950s. Its appearance in Panama in 1956 signaled a change in its geographic distribution. Now, it is found in 11 countries in tropical America. The fungus is currently in an active dispersal phase, possibly due to an increase in human-mediated spread. FP is more destructive than black pod (Phytophthora spp.) and more dangerous and difficult to control than witches' broom, caused by Moniliophthora (Crinipellis) perniciosa. The aggressiveness of M. roreri, its capacity to survive different environmental conditions, its rapid natural dispersal, its propensity for man-mediated dispersal, and the susceptibility of most commercial cacao genotypes, all indicate that FP presents a substantial threat to cacao cultivation worldwide.

The SENSE-Isomorphism Theoretical Image Voxel Estimation (SENSE-ITIVE) Model for Reconstruction and Observing Statistical Properties of Reconstruction Operators

Science.gov (United States)

Bruce, Iain P.; Karaman, M. Muge; Rowe, Daniel B.

2012-01-01

The acquisition of sub-sampled data from an array of receiver coils has become a common means of reducing data acquisition time in MRI. Of the various techniques used in parallel MRI, SENSitivity Encoding (SENSE) is one of the most common, making use of a complex-valued weighted least squares estimation to unfold the aliased images. It was recently shown in Bruce et al. [Magn. Reson. Imag. 29(2011):1267–1287] that when the SENSE model is represented in terms of a real-valued isomorphism, it assumes a skew-symmetric covariance between receiver coils, as well as an identity covariance structure between voxels. In this manuscript, we show that not only is the skew-symmetric coil covariance unlike that of real data, but the estimated covariance structure between voxels over a time series of experimental data is not an identity matrix. As such, a new model, entitled SENSE-ITIVE, is described with both revised coil and voxel covariance structures. Both the SENSE and SENSE-ITIVE models are represented in terms of real-valued isomorphisms, allowing for a statistical analysis of reconstructed voxel means, variances, and correlations resulting from the use of different coil and voxel covariance structures used in the reconstruction processes to be conducted. It is shown through both theoretical and experimental illustrations that the miss-specification of the coil and voxel covariance structures in the SENSE model results in a lower standard deviation in each voxel of the reconstructed images, and thus an artificial increase in SNR, compared to the standard deviation and SNR of the SENSE-ITIVE model where both the coil and voxel covariances are appropriately accounted for. It is also shown that there are differences in the correlations induced by the reconstruction operations of both models, and consequently there are differences in the correlations estimated throughout the course of reconstructed time series. These differences in correlations could result in meaningful

Discussion of Source Reconstruction Models Using 3D MCG Data

Science.gov (United States)

Melis, Massimo De; Uchikawa, Yoshinori

In this study we performed the source reconstruction of magnetocardiographic signals generated by the human heart activity to localize the site of origin of the heart activation. The localizations were performed in a four compartment model of the human volume conductor. The analyses were conducted on normal subjects and on a subject affected by the Wolff-Parkinson-White syndrome. Different models of the source activation were used to evaluate whether a general model of the current source can be applied in the study of the cardiac inverse problem. The data analyses were repeated using normal and vector component data of the MCG. The results show that a distributed source model has the better accuracy in performing the source reconstructions, and that 3D MCG data allow finding smaller differences between the different source models.

Oviposition Decision of the Weevil Exapion ulicis on Ulex europaeus Depends on External and Internal Pod Cues

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jean-Sébastien Pierre

2013-09-01

Full Text Available Understanding mechanisms underlying insects’ host choice and plant susceptibility is important to the study of plant-insect interactions in general, and in the context of plant invasions. This study investigates the oviposition and feeding choices of the specialist weevil Exapion ulicis on the invasive plant species Ulex europaeus, gorse. To do so, we studied the oviposition and feeding preferences of the weevil in choice experiments, using pods and flowers, respectively, from gorses grown in a common garden. The plants used came from regions with different infestation histories: Brittany and Scotland belong to the native range, where the weevil is present, while Reunion and New Zealand belong to the invasive range, where the weevil was not initially introduced with gorse. Results of these experiments suggest that the oviposition choice of E. ulicis females is driven by cues located at the surface of pods and inside them, including pod size and pod seed content. Feeding-choice experiments showed a different pattern of preference compared to oviposition. Taken together with previous studies, our results reveal that E. ulicis uses several traits to choose its host, including whole-plant traits, flower traits and pod traits.

Modelling the physics in iterative reconstruction for transmission computed tomography

Science.gov (United States)

Nuyts, Johan; De Man, Bruno; Fessler, Jeffrey A.; Zbijewski, Wojciech; Beekman, Freek J.

2013-01-01

There is an increasing interest in iterative reconstruction (IR) as a key tool to improve quality and increase applicability of X-ray CT imaging. IR has the ability to significantly reduce patient dose, it provides the flexibility to reconstruct images from arbitrary X-ray system geometries and it allows to include detailed models of photon transport and detection physics, to accurately correct for a wide variety of image degrading effects. This paper reviews discretisation issues and modelling of finite spatial resolution, Compton scatter in the scanned object, data noise and the energy spectrum. Widespread implementation of IR with highly accurate model-based correction, however, still requires significant effort. In addition, new hardware will provide new opportunities and challenges to improve CT with new modelling. PMID:23739261

Birth-death models and coalescent point processes: the shape and probability of reconstructed phylogenies.

Science.gov (United States)

Lambert, Amaury; Stadler, Tanja

2013-12-01

Forward-in-time models of diversification (i.e., speciation and extinction) produce phylogenetic trees that grow "vertically" as time goes by. Pruning the extinct lineages out of such trees leads to natural models for reconstructed trees (i.e., phylogenies of extant species). Alternatively, reconstructed trees can be modelled by coalescent point processes (CPPs), where trees grow "horizontally" by the sequential addition of vertical edges. Each new edge starts at some random speciation time and ends at the present time; speciation times are drawn from the same distribution independently. CPPs lead to extremely fast computation of tree likelihoods and simulation of reconstructed trees. Their topology always follows the uniform distribution on ranked tree shapes (URT). We characterize which forward-in-time models lead to URT reconstructed trees and among these, which lead to CPP reconstructed trees. We show that for any "asymmetric" diversification model in which speciation rates only depend on time and extinction rates only depend on time and on a non-heritable trait (e.g., age), the reconstructed tree is CPP, even if extant species are incompletely sampled. If rates additionally depend on the number of species, the reconstructed tree is (only) URT (but not CPP). We characterize the common distribution of speciation times in the CPP description, and discuss incomplete species sampling as well as three special model cases in detail: (1) the extinction rate does not depend on a trait; (2) rates do not depend on time; (3) mass extinctions may happen additionally at certain points in the past. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Podagogy: The iPod as a Learning Technology

Science.gov (United States)

Dale, Crispin; Pymm, John M.

2009-01-01

With the growing influence of social media on contemporary society, educators have to adapt to new ways of engaging students in the learning process. The use of iPod technologies, as part of this new breed of social media and associated gadgetry, offers fresh opportunities to enhance the student learning experience. As part of a research project…

Improved magnetic resonance fingerprinting reconstruction with low-rank and subspace modeling.

Science.gov (United States)

Zhao, Bo; Setsompop, Kawin; Adalsteinsson, Elfar; Gagoski, Borjan; Ye, Huihui; Ma, Dan; Jiang, Yun; Ellen Grant, P; Griswold, Mark A; Wald, Lawrence L

2018-02-01

This article introduces a constrained imaging method based on low-rank and subspace modeling to improve the accuracy and speed of MR fingerprinting (MRF). A new model-based imaging method is developed for MRF to reconstruct high-quality time-series images and accurate tissue parameter maps (e.g., T 1 , T 2 , and spin density maps). Specifically, the proposed method exploits low-rank approximations of MRF time-series images, and further enforces temporal subspace constraints to capture magnetization dynamics. This allows the time-series image reconstruction problem to be formulated as a simple linear least-squares problem, which enables efficient computation. After image reconstruction, tissue parameter maps are estimated via dictionary-based pattern matching, as in the conventional approach. The effectiveness of the proposed method was evaluated with in vivo experiments. Compared with the conventional MRF reconstruction, the proposed method reconstructs time-series images with significantly reduced aliasing artifacts and noise contamination. Although the conventional approach exhibits some robustness to these corruptions, the improved time-series image reconstruction in turn provides more accurate tissue parameter maps. The improvement is pronounced especially when the acquisition time becomes short. The proposed method significantly improves the accuracy of MRF, and also reduces data acquisition time. Magn Reson Med 79:933-942, 2018. © 2017 International Society for Magnetic Resonance in Medicine. © 2017 International Society for Magnetic Resonance in Medicine.

Statistical shape model-based reconstruction of a scaled, patient-specific surface model of the pelvis from a single standard AP x-ray radiograph

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Zheng Guoyan [Institute for Surgical Technology and Biomechanics, University of Bern, Stauffacherstrasse 78, CH-3014 Bern (Switzerland)

2010-04-15

Purpose: The aim of this article is to investigate the feasibility of using a statistical shape model (SSM)-based reconstruction technique to derive a scaled, patient-specific surface model of the pelvis from a single standard anteroposterior (AP) x-ray radiograph and the feasibility of estimating the scale of the reconstructed surface model by performing a surface-based 3D/3D matching. Methods: Data sets of 14 pelvises (one plastic bone, 12 cadavers, and one patient) were used to validate the single-image based reconstruction technique. This reconstruction technique is based on a hybrid 2D/3D deformable registration process combining a landmark-to-ray registration with a SSM-based 2D/3D reconstruction. The landmark-to-ray registration was used to find an initial scale and an initial rigid transformation between the x-ray image and the SSM. The estimated scale and rigid transformation were used to initialize the SSM-based 2D/3D reconstruction. The optimal reconstruction was then achieved in three stages by iteratively matching the projections of the apparent contours extracted from a 3D model derived from the SSM to the image contours extracted from the x-ray radiograph: Iterative affine registration, statistical instantiation, and iterative regularized shape deformation. The image contours are first detected by using a semiautomatic segmentation tool based on the Livewire algorithm and then approximated by a set of sparse dominant points that are adaptively sampled from the detected contours. The unknown scales of the reconstructed models were estimated by performing a surface-based 3D/3D matching between the reconstructed models and the associated ground truth models that were derived from a CT-based reconstruction method. Such a matching also allowed for computing the errors between the reconstructed models and the associated ground truth models. Results: The technique could reconstruct the surface models of all 14 pelvises directly from the landmark

Skull Defects in Finite Element Head Models for Source Reconstruction from Magnetoencephalography Signals

Science.gov (United States)

Lau, Stephan; Güllmar, Daniel; Flemming, Lars; Grayden, David B.; Cook, Mark J.; Wolters, Carsten H.; Haueisen, Jens

2016-01-01

Magnetoencephalography (MEG) signals are influenced by skull defects. However, there is a lack of evidence of this influence during source reconstruction. Our objectives are to characterize errors in source reconstruction from MEG signals due to ignoring skull defects and to assess the ability of an exact finite element head model to eliminate such errors. A detailed finite element model of the head of a rabbit used in a physical experiment was constructed from magnetic resonance and co-registered computer tomography imaging that differentiated nine tissue types. Sources of the MEG measurements above intact skull and above skull defects respectively were reconstructed using a finite element model with the intact skull and one incorporating the skull defects. The forward simulation of the MEG signals reproduced the experimentally observed characteristic magnitude and topography changes due to skull defects. Sources reconstructed from measured MEG signals above intact skull matched the known physical locations and orientations. Ignoring skull defects in the head model during reconstruction displaced sources under a skull defect away from that defect. Sources next to a defect were reoriented. When skull defects, with their physical conductivity, were incorporated in the head model, the location and orientation errors were mostly eliminated. The conductivity of the skull defect material non-uniformly modulated the influence on MEG signals. We propose concrete guidelines for taking into account conducting skull defects during MEG coil placement and modeling. Exact finite element head models can improve localization of brain function, specifically after surgery. PMID:27092044

Use of an object model in three dimensional image reconstruction. Application in medical imaging

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Delageniere-Guillot, S.

1993-02-01

Threedimensional image reconstruction from projections corresponds to a set of techniques which give information on the inner structure of the studied object. These techniques are mainly used in medical imaging or in non destructive evaluation. Image reconstruction is an ill-posed problem. So the inversion has to be regularized. This thesis deals with the introduction of a priori information within the reconstruction algorithm. The knowledge is introduced through an object model. The proposed scheme is applied to the medical domain for cone beam geometry. We address two specific problems. First, we study the reconstruction of high contrast objects. This can be applied to bony morphology (bone/soft tissue) or to angiography (vascular structures opacified by injection of contrast agent). With noisy projections, the filtering steps of standard methods tend to smooth the natural transitions of the investigated object. In order to regularize the reconstruction but to keep contrast, we introduce a model of classes which involves the Markov random fields theory. We develop a reconstruction scheme: analytic reconstruction-reprojection. Then, we address the case of an object changing during the acquisition. This can be applied to angiography when the contrast agent is moving through the vascular tree. The problem is then stated as a dynamic reconstruction. We define an evolution AR model and we use an algebraic reconstruction method. We represent the object at a particular moment as an intermediary state between the state of the object at the beginning and at the end of the acquisition. We test both methods on simulated and real data, and we prove how the use of an a priori model can improve the results. (author)

Failure to use routine prevention of disability (POD assessment resulting In permanent disability

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Erika Zoulba

2016-06-01

Full Text Available Disability is one of problems in leprosy or Morbus Hansen (MH, which can cause the patient loose his autonomy and may affect his social relationship with family and community. Disability occurs due to neurological inflammation that can manifest as silent neuritis (which develops without any pain. Silent neuritis can be recognized early with a routine prevention of disability (POD assessment. A 19-year-old male patient was referred from a District General Hospital with a history of numbness and stiffness of his 4th and 5th fingers of his left hand since 1 month before admittance. The patient was refered by Community Health Center (CHC or PUSKESMAS after a one year treatment and RFT. During his treatment at the CHC, no assessment of peripheral nerve or POD had ever been performed. The POD assessment at our hospital demonstrated sensory deficit at some points of assessment on both palms and reduced muscle strength of the first and 5th fingers in both hands. Nerve conduction velocity (NCV performed at the outpatient of Neurology Department, showed multiple mononeuropathy MH with irreversible damage. Nerve damage is still considered reversible when it occurs less than 6 months. In this case, the silent neuritis was not detected early and there was delayed treatment; as showed by NCV which revealed a manifestation of irreversible nerve damage. Routine POD assessment may detect the condition and appropriate treatment may overcome the nerve damage.

Dynamic changes in pod and fungal physiology associated with the shift from biotrophy to necrotrophy during the infection of Theobroma cacao by Moniliophthora roreri

Science.gov (United States)

Where it occurs in South and Central America, M. roreri (Mr) causes a destructive pod disease (frosty pod rot) on Theobroma cacao (cacao). Hand pollinated cacao pods were inoculated with Mr spores in the field and assessed for disease symptoms over a 90 day period. On average, pods showed symptoms o...

Reconstructing Climate Change: The Model-Data Ping-Pong

Science.gov (United States)

Stocker, T. F.

2017-12-01

When Cesare Emiliani, the father of paleoceanography, made the first attempts at a quantitative reconstruction of Pleistocene climate change in the early 1950s, climate models were not yet conceived. The understanding of paleoceanographic records was therefore limited, and scientists had to resort to plausibility arguments to interpret their data. With the advent of coupled climate models in the early 1970s, for the first time hypotheses about climate processes and climate change could be tested in a dynamically consistent framework. However, only a model hierarchy can cope with the long time scales and the multi-component physical-biogeochemical Earth System. There are many examples how climate models have inspired the interpretation of paleoclimate data on the one hand, and conversely, how data have questioned long-held concepts and models. In this lecture I critically revisit a few examples of this model-data ping-pong, such as the bipolar seesaw, the mid-Holocene greenhouse gas increase, millennial and rapid CO2 changes reconstructed from polar ice cores, and the interpretation of novel paleoceanographic tracers. These examples also highlight many of the still unsolved questions and provide guidance for future research. The combination of high-resolution paleoceanographic data and modeling has never been more relevant than today. It will be the key for an appropriate risk assessment of impacts on the Earth System that are already underway in the Anthropocene.

Development of 1 MW-class HTS motor for podded ship propulsion system

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Umemoto, K; Aizawa, K; Yokoyama, M; Yoshikawa, K [Kawasaki Heavy Industries LTD., 673-8666, Hyogo (Japan); Kimura, Y; Izumi, M [Tokyo University of Marine Science Technology, 135-8533, Tokyo (Japan); Ohashi, K; Numano, M [National Maritime Research Institute, 181-0004, Tokyo (Japan); Okumura, K; Yamaguchi, M; Gocho, Y; Kosuge, E, E-mail: umemoto@ati.khi.co.j [Japan Super-conductivity Organization Co. LTD., 135-8533, Tokyo (Japan)

2010-06-01

To reduce fuel consumption and lead to a major reduction of pollution from NOx, SOx and CO{sub 2}, the electric ship propulsion system is one of the most prospective substitutes for conventional ship propulsion systems. In order to spread it, innovative technologies for the improvement of the power transmission are required. The high temperature superconducting technology has the possibility for a drastic reduction of power transmission loss. Recently, electric podded propulsions have become popular for large cruise vessels, icebreakers and chemical tankers because of the flexibility of the equipment arrangement and the stern hull design, and better maneuverability in harbour, etc. In this paper, a 1 MW-class High temperature superconducting (HTS) motor with high efficiency, smaller size and simple structure, which is designed and manufactured for podded propulsion, is reported. For the case of a coastal ship driven by the optimized podded propulsion in which the 1MW HTS motor is equipped, the reductions of fluid dynamic resistance and power transmission losses are demonstrated. The present research and development has been supported by the New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization (NEDO).

Response of chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.) to terminal drought: leaf stomatal conductance, pod abscisic acid concentration, and seed set.

Science.gov (United States)

Pang, Jiayin; Turner, Neil C; Khan, Tanveer; Du, Yan-Lei; Xiong, Jun-Lan; Colmer, Timothy D; Devilla, Rosangela; Stefanova, Katia; Siddique, Kadambot H M

2017-04-01

Flower and pod production and seed set of chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.) are sensitive to drought stress. A 2-fold range in seed yield was found among a large number of chickpea genotypes grown at three dryland field sites in south-western Australia. Leaf water potential, photosynthetic characteristics, and reproductive development of two chickpea genotypes with contrasting yields in the field were compared when subjected to terminal drought in 106kg containers of soil in a glasshouse. The terminal drought imposed from early podding reduced biomass, reproductive growth, harvest index, and seed yield of both genotypes. Terminal drought at least doubled the percentage of flower abortion, pod abscission, and number of empty pods. Pollen viability and germination decreased when the fraction of transpirable soil water (FTSW) decreased below 0.18 (82% of the plant-available soil water had been transpired); however, at least one pollen tube in each flower reached the ovary. The young pods which developed from flowers produced when the FTSW was 0.50 had viable embryos, but contained higher abscisic acid (ABA) concentrations than those of the well-watered plants; all pods ultimately aborted in the drought treatment. Cessation of seed set at the same soil water content at which stomata began to close and ABA increased strongly suggested a role for ABA signalling in the failure to set seed either directly through abscission of developing pods or seeds or indirectly through the reduction of photosynthesis and assimilate supply to the seeds. © The Author 2016. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Society for Experimental Biology.

PENGARUH SUPLEMENTASI RAGI TAPE DAN ENZIM KOMPLEKS DALAM RANSUM YANG MENGANDUNG POD KAKAO TERHADAP PENAMPILAN ITIK BALI UMUR 2-8 MINGGU

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

IDA BAGUS GAGA PARTAMA

2014-06-01

Full Text Available Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk mengetahui pengaruh suplementasi enzim kompleks dan ragi tape dalam ransumyang mengandung pod kakao terhadap penampilan itik bali jantan umur 2-8 minggu, dilakukan di Denpasar,Bali. Rancangan yang dipergunakan dalam penelitian ini adalah rancangan acak lengkap (RAL dengan empatmacam perlakuan dan enam kali ulangan. Tiap ulangan menggunakan 5 ekor itik Bali jantan umur 2 minggu denganberat badan homogen (243±8,05 g. Ke empat perlakuan yang dicobakan, yaitu itik yang diberi ransum basaltanpa penggunaan pod kakao sebagai kontrol (A, ransum dengan 15% tepung pod kakao (B, ransum dengan 15%pod kakao+0,20% ragi tape (C, dan ransum dengan 15% pod kakao+0,20% enzim kompleks (D. Ransum yangdiberikan selama periode penelitian (umur 2-8 minggu disusun dengan kandungan protein kasar 16% dan energitermetabolis 2900 kkal/kg. Ransum dan air minum diberikan ad libitum. Variabel yang diamati adalah: konsumsiransum, air minum, berat badan akhir, pertambahan berat badan, dan feed conversion ratio (FCR. Hasil penelitianmenunjukkan bahwa penggunaan 15% pod kakao (B dalam ransum secara nyata (P0,05 dengankontrol (A. Dari hasil penelitian ini dapat disimpulkan bahwa penggunaan 15% pod kakao dalam ransum itik Balijantan umur 2-8 minggu belum dapat direkomendasikan, dan baru dapat direkomendasikan apabila disuplementasidengan 0,20% ragi tape atau enzim kompleks.

"Growing trees backwards": Description of a stand reconstruction model

Science.gov (United States)

Jonathan D. Bakker; Andrew J. Sanchez Meador; Peter Z. Fule; David W. Huffman; Margaret M. Moore

2008-01-01

We describe an individual-tree model that uses contemporary measurements to "grow trees backward" and reconstruct past tree diameters and stand structure in ponderosa pine dominated stands of the Southwest. Model inputs are contemporary structural measurements of all snags, logs, stumps, and living trees, and radial growth measurements, if available. Key...

Spectrophotometric versus NIR-MIR assessments of cowpea pods for discriminating the impact of freezing.

Science.gov (United States)

Machado, Nelson; Domínguez-Perles, Raúl; Ramos, Ana; Rosa, Eduardo As; Barros, Ana Irna

2017-10-01

Freezing represents an important storage method for vegetal foodstuffs, such as cowpea pods, and thus the impact of this process on the chemical composition of these matrices arises as a prominent issue. In this sense, the phytochemical contents in frozen cowpea pods (i.e. at 6 and 9 months) have been compared with fresh cowpea pods material, with the samples being concomitantly assessed by Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), both mid-infrared (MIR) and near infrared (NIR), aiming to evaluate the potential of these techniques as a rapid tool for the traceability of these matrices. A decrease in phytochemical contents during freezing was observed, allowing the classification of samples according to the freezing period based on such variations. Also, MIR and NIR allowed discrimination of samples: the use of the first derivative demonstrated a better performance for this purpose, whereas the use of the normalized spectra gave the best correlations between the spectra and specific contents. In both cases, NIR displayed the best performance. Freezing of cowpea pods leads to a decrease of phytochemical contents, which can be monitored by FTIR spectroscopy, both within the MIR and NIR ranges, whereas the use of this technique, in tandem with chemometrics, constitutes a suitable methodology for the traceability of these matrices. © 2017 Society of Chemical Industry. © 2017 Society of Chemical Industry.

Conceptualising forensic science and forensic reconstruction. Part I: A conceptual model.

Science.gov (United States)

Morgan, R M

2017-11-01

There has been a call for forensic science to actively return to the approach of scientific endeavour. The importance of incorporating an awareness of the requirements of the law in its broadest sense, and embedding research into both practice and policy within forensic science, is arguably critical to achieving such an endeavour. This paper presents a conceptual model (FoRTE) that outlines the holistic nature of trace evidence in the 'endeavour' of forensic reconstruction. This model offers insights into the different components intrinsic to transparent, reproducible and robust reconstructions in forensic science. The importance of situating evidence within the whole forensic science process (from crime scene to court), of developing evidence bases to underpin each stage, of frameworks that offer insights to the interaction of different lines of evidence, and the role of expertise in decision making are presented and their interactions identified. It is argued that such a conceptual model has value in identifying the future steps for harnessing the value of trace evidence in forensic reconstruction. It also highlights that there is a need to develop a nuanced approach to reconstructions that incorporates both empirical evidence bases and expertise. A conceptual understanding has the potential to ensure that the endeavour of forensic reconstruction has its roots in 'problem-solving' science, and can offer transparency and clarity in the conclusions and inferences drawn from trace evidence, thereby enabling the value of trace evidence to be realised in investigations and the courts. Copyright © 2017 The Author. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

The Intracellular Localization of the Vanillin Biosynthetic Machinery in Pods of Vanilla planifolia.

Science.gov (United States)

Gallage, Nethaji J; Jørgensen, Kirsten; Janfelt, Christian; Nielsen, Agnieszka J Z; Naake, Thomas; Dunski, Eryk; Dalsten, Lene; Grisoni, Michel; Møller, Birger Lindberg

2018-02-01

Vanillin is the most important flavor compound in the vanilla pod. Vanilla planifolia vanillin synthase (VpVAN) catalyzes the conversion of ferulic acid and ferulic acid glucoside into vanillin and vanillin glucoside, respectively. Desorption electrospray ionization mass spectrometry imaging (DESI-MSI) of vanilla pod sections demonstrates that vanillin glucoside is preferentially localized within the mesocarp and placental laminae whereas vanillin is preferentially localized within the mesocarp. VpVAN is present as the mature form (25 kDa) but, depending on the tissue and isolation procedure, small amounts of the immature unprocessed form (40 kDa) and putative oligomers (50, 75 and 100 kDa) may be observed by immunoblotting using an antibody specific to the C-terminal sequence of VpVAN. The VpVAN protein is localized within chloroplasts and re-differentiated chloroplasts termed phenyloplasts, as monitored during the process of pod development. Isolated chloroplasts were shown to convert [14C]phenylalanine and [14C]cinnamic acid into [14C]vanillin glucoside, indicating that the entire vanillin de novo biosynthetic machinery converting phenylalanine to vanillin glucoside is present in the chloroplast.

Ecology of the cocoa pod borer, Conopomorpha cramerella (Lepidoptera: Gracillariidae), a major pest for the cocoa industry

Science.gov (United States)

Conopomorpha cramerella, the cocoa pod borer (CPB), has been known to damage cocoa pods for more than 100 years, but information on the ecology of this species is scant in the scientific literature. That which does exist is scattered in obscure local journals, not readily accessible, and often unve...

Bayesian Multi-Energy Computed Tomography reconstruction approaches based on decomposition models

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cai, Caifang

2013-01-01

Multi-Energy Computed Tomography (MECT) makes it possible to get multiple fractions of basis materials without segmentation. In medical application, one is the soft-tissue equivalent water fraction and the other is the hard-matter equivalent bone fraction. Practical MECT measurements are usually obtained with polychromatic X-ray beams. Existing reconstruction approaches based on linear forward models without counting the beam poly-chromaticity fail to estimate the correct decomposition fractions and result in Beam-Hardening Artifacts (BHA). The existing BHA correction approaches either need to refer to calibration measurements or suffer from the noise amplification caused by the negative-log pre-processing and the water and bone separation problem. To overcome these problems, statistical DECT reconstruction approaches based on non-linear forward models counting the beam poly-chromaticity show great potential for giving accurate fraction images.This work proposes a full-spectral Bayesian reconstruction approach which allows the reconstruction of high quality fraction images from ordinary polychromatic measurements. This approach is based on a Gaussian noise model with unknown variance assigned directly to the projections without taking negative-log. Referring to Bayesian inferences, the decomposition fractions and observation variance are estimated by using the joint Maximum A Posteriori (MAP) estimation method. Subject to an adaptive prior model assigned to the variance, the joint estimation problem is then simplified into a single estimation problem. It transforms the joint MAP estimation problem into a minimization problem with a non-quadratic cost function. To solve it, the use of a monotone Conjugate Gradient (CG) algorithm with suboptimal descent steps is proposed.The performances of the proposed approach are analyzed with both simulated and experimental data. The results show that the proposed Bayesian approach is robust to noise and materials. It is also

Environmentally friendly biosorbents (husks, pods and seeds) from Moringa oleifera for Pb(II) removal from contaminated water.

Science.gov (United States)

Tavares, Fernanda Oliveira; Pinto, Laura Adriane de Moraes; Bassetti, Fátima de Jesus; Vieira, Marcelo Fernandes; Bergamasco, Rosângela; Vieira, Angélica Marquetotti Salcedo

2017-12-01

Lead is a heavy metal considered highly toxic, responsible for causing several health problems as well as being extremely harmful to fauna and flora. Given this fact, several techniques have been studied for the removal of this metal from contaminated water, in which stands out adsorption. In this sense, the objective of this study was to evaluate the potential of lead(II) biosorption from contaminated water by seed husks, seeds and pods of Moringa oleifera Lam (moringa). Biomass was characterized by energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, Scanning Electron Microscopy and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy analyses. From the studied parameters, the optimal conditions obtained for the three analyzed biosorbents are: 30 min to equilibrium, pH 6 and 25°C temperature. The pseudo-second-order kinetic model was the best fitted to the experimental data for the three evaluated biosorbents. Regarding the adsorption isotherms, the model that best fitted to the experimental data for seed and seed husk was that proposed by Freundlich, and for the pod the Langmuir model. The analysis of the obtained thermodynamic data showed that the adsorption process is favorable and of exothermic nature. Through the results it was concluded that the evaluated biosorbents are efficient in lead(II) biosorption.

Expediting model-based optoacoustic reconstructions with tomographic symmetries

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lutzweiler, Christian; Deán-Ben, Xosé Luís; Razansky, Daniel

2014-01-01

Purpose: Image quantification in optoacoustic tomography implies the use of accurate forward models of excitation, propagation, and detection of optoacoustic signals while inversions with high spatial resolution usually involve very large matrices, leading to unreasonably long computation times. The development of fast and memory efficient model-based approaches represents then an important challenge to advance on the quantitative and dynamic imaging capabilities of tomographic optoacoustic imaging. Methods: Herein, a method for simplification and acceleration of model-based inversions, relying on inherent symmetries present in common tomographic acquisition geometries, has been introduced. The method is showcased for the case of cylindrical symmetries by using polar image discretization of the time-domain optoacoustic forward model combined with efficient storage and inversion strategies. Results: The suggested methodology is shown to render fast and accurate model-based inversions in both numerical simulations andpost mortem small animal experiments. In case of a full-view detection scheme, the memory requirements are reduced by one order of magnitude while high-resolution reconstructions are achieved at video rate. Conclusions: By considering the rotational symmetry present in many tomographic optoacoustic imaging systems, the proposed methodology allows exploiting the advantages of model-based algorithms with feasible computational requirements and fast reconstruction times, so that its convenience and general applicability in optoacoustic imaging systems with tomographic symmetries is anticipated

Bean Pod Mottle Virus (BPMV) (Genus Comovirus ): A Limiting ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

The reactions of twenty soybean varieties to infection with Bean Pod Mottle Virus (BPMV) (Genus Comovirus) disease were studied for 2 consecutive years in the Department of Crop Science University of Nigeria, Nsukka Farm (Latitude 060 25N; Longitude 070 24N; attitude 447.26 m above sea level). Factorial arrangement ...

Effects of Prosopis laevigata pods on growth performance, ruminal ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

UASLP

2016-10-27

Oct 27, 2016 ... (P. juliflora), pods replacing forages at 30% of total diet did not affect growth ... The processing of diets was manual. ... Blood samples were centrifuged (3400 g x 15 min) and serum was stored at −20◦ .... improvements in the rumen fermentative process commonly induce increments of microbial N synthesis.

Model-based iterative reconstruction for reduction of radiation dose in abdominopelvic CT: comparison to adaptive statistical iterative reconstruction.

Science.gov (United States)

Yasaka, Koichiro; Katsura, Masaki; Akahane, Masaaki; Sato, Jiro; Matsuda, Izuru; Ohtomo, Kuni

2013-12-01

To evaluate dose reduction and image quality of abdominopelvic computed tomography (CT) reconstructed with model-based iterative reconstruction (MBIR) compared to adaptive statistical iterative reconstruction (ASIR). In this prospective study, 85 patients underwent referential-, low-, and ultralow-dose unenhanced abdominopelvic CT. Images were reconstructed with ASIR for low-dose (L-ASIR) and ultralow-dose CT (UL-ASIR), and with MBIR for ultralow-dose CT (UL-MBIR). Image noise was measured in the abdominal aorta and iliopsoas muscle. Subjective image analyses and a lesion detection study (adrenal nodules) were conducted by two blinded radiologists. A reference standard was established by a consensus panel of two different radiologists using referential-dose CT reconstructed with filtered back projection. Compared to low-dose CT, there was a 63% decrease in dose-length product with ultralow-dose CT. UL-MBIR had significantly lower image noise than L-ASIR and UL-ASIR (all pASIR and UL-ASIR (all pASIR in diagnostic acceptability (p>0.65), or diagnostic performance for adrenal nodules (p>0.87). MBIR significantly improves image noise and streak artifacts compared to ASIR, and can achieve radiation dose reduction without severely compromising image quality.

Joint model of motion and anatomy for PET image reconstruction

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Qiao Feng; Pan Tinsu; Clark, John W. Jr.; Mawlawi, Osama

2007-01-01

Anatomy-based positron emission tomography (PET) image enhancement techniques have been shown to have the potential for improving PET image quality. However, these techniques assume an accurate alignment between the anatomical and the functional images, which is not always valid when imaging the chest due to respiratory motion. In this article, we present a joint model of both motion and anatomical information by integrating a motion-incorporated PET imaging system model with an anatomy-based maximum a posteriori image reconstruction algorithm. The mismatched anatomical information due to motion can thus be effectively utilized through this joint model. A computer simulation and a phantom study were conducted to assess the efficacy of the joint model, whereby motion and anatomical information were either modeled separately or combined. The reconstructed images in each case were compared to corresponding reference images obtained using a quadratic image prior based maximum a posteriori reconstruction algorithm for quantitative accuracy. Results of these studies indicated that while modeling anatomical information or motion alone improved the PET image quantitation accuracy, a larger improvement in accuracy was achieved when using the joint model. In the computer simulation study and using similar image noise levels, the improvement in quantitation accuracy compared to the reference images was 5.3% and 19.8% when using anatomical or motion information alone, respectively, and 35.5% when using the joint model. In the phantom study, these results were 5.6%, 5.8%, and 19.8%, respectively. These results suggest that motion compensation is important in order to effectively utilize anatomical information in chest imaging using PET. The joint motion-anatomy model presented in this paper provides a promising solution to this problem

Performance of A Horizontal Cylinder Type Rotary Dryer for Drying Process ofOrganic Compost from Solid Waste Cocoa Pod

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sukrisno Widyotomo

2008-07-01

Full Text Available Cocoa pod husk is the bigest component of cocoa pod, about 70% of total ht of mature pod, and to potentially used as organic compost source. Poten tial solid waste of cocoa pod husk from a cocoa processing centre is about 15— 22 m3/ha/year. A cocoa plantation needs about 20—30 ton/ha/year of organic matters. One of important steps in compos processing technology of cocoa pod solid waste is drying process. Organic compost with 20% moisture content is more easy in handling, application, storage and distribution. Indonesian Coffee and Cocoa Research Institute has designed and tested a horizontal cylinder type rotary dryer for drying process of organic compos from solid waste cocoa pod with kerosene burner as energy sources. The objective of this research is to study performance of a horizontal cylinder type rotary dryer using kerosene burner as energy source for drying process of organic compost from solid waste cocoa pod. The material used was solid waste cocoa pod with 70—75% moisture content (wet basis, 70% size particle larger than 4.76 mm, and 30% size particle less than 4.76 mm, 690—695 kg/m3 bulk density. Drying process temperatures treatment were 60OC, 80OC, and 100OC, and cylinder rotary speed treatments were 7 rpm, 10 rpm, dan 16 rpm. The results showed that dryer had capacity about 102—150 kg/h depend on drying temperature and cylinder rotary speed. Optimum operation condition at 100OC drying temperature, and 10 rpm cylinder rotary speed with drying time to reach final moisture content of 20% was 1,6 h, capacity 136,14 kg/ h, bulk density 410 kg/m3, porocity 45,15%, kerosene consumption as energy source was 2,57 l/h, and drying efficiency 68,34%. Key words : cocoa, drying, rotary dryer, compost, waste

Reconstructing building mass models from UAV images

KAUST Repository

Li, Minglei

2015-07-26

We present an automatic reconstruction pipeline for large scale urban scenes from aerial images captured by a camera mounted on an unmanned aerial vehicle. Using state-of-the-art Structure from Motion and Multi-View Stereo algorithms, we first generate a dense point cloud from the aerial images. Based on the statistical analysis of the footprint grid of the buildings, the point cloud is classified into different categories (i.e., buildings, ground, trees, and others). Roof structures are extracted for each individual building using Markov random field optimization. Then, a contour refinement algorithm based on pivot point detection is utilized to refine the contour of patches. Finally, polygonal mesh models are extracted from the refined contours. Experiments on various scenes as well as comparisons with state-of-the-art reconstruction methods demonstrate the effectiveness and robustness of the proposed method.

Photorealistic large-scale urban city model reconstruction.

Science.gov (United States)

Poullis, Charalambos; You, Suya

2009-01-01

The rapid and efficient creation of virtual environments has become a crucial part of virtual reality applications. In particular, civil and defense applications often require and employ detailed models of operations areas for training, simulations of different scenarios, planning for natural or man-made events, monitoring, surveillance, games, and films. A realistic representation of the large-scale environments is therefore imperative for the success of such applications since it increases the immersive experience of its users and helps reduce the difference between physical and virtual reality. However, the task of creating such large-scale virtual environments still remains a time-consuming and manual work. In this work, we propose a novel method for the rapid reconstruction of photorealistic large-scale virtual environments. First, a novel, extendible, parameterized geometric primitive is presented for the automatic building identification and reconstruction of building structures. In addition, buildings with complex roofs containing complex linear and nonlinear surfaces are reconstructed interactively using a linear polygonal and a nonlinear primitive, respectively. Second, we present a rendering pipeline for the composition of photorealistic textures, which unlike existing techniques, can recover missing or occluded texture information by integrating multiple information captured from different optical sensors (ground, aerial, and satellite).

Effect of Pleurotus ostreatus fermentation on cocoa pod husk ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Cocoa pod husk (CPH) is a major agro-industrial residue in Ghana with a potential value as a low-cost unconventional feedstuff for livestock. However, its effective use is limited by poor nutrient composition, mainly due to its high lignocellulose or fibre and also low protein levels. White–rot fungi such as Pleurotus species ...

Application of a Pod Exercise to University Education Programs

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kristen Dietz

2016-12-01

Full Text Available This paper offers a novel method and subsequent partnership to engage and teach university students. Prior to 11 September 2001 or 9/11, much of the public safety readiness responsibility was limited to a few government officials. Today, public safety is much more widely managed. For this effort, we developed a strategic partnership between state and local government and Purdue University that provides an improved environment for learning and for public health and safety. By using an exercise deployment Strategic National Stockpile (SNS in a Point of Distribution (POD exercise, our efforts with partnering between state and local government and the university provide benefits and opportunities to each. Simultaneously, we tested a full scale POD mass prophylaxis response to an anthrax attack through teaching and training university students who also gain valuable internship-like experience. The ongoing relationship between government and the university's student talent can benefit all in developing paths for future research and data analysis expected of academia and of improving public safety and responsiveness of government.

Sensing of complex buildings and reconstruction into photo-realistic 3D models

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Heredia Soriano, F.J.

2012-01-01

The 3D reconstruction of indoor and outdoor environments has received an interest only recently, as companies began to recognize that using reconstructed models is a way to generate revenue through location-based services and advertisements. A great amount of research has been done in the field of

Equilibrium and kinetic studies of Remazol Black B dye sorption by cocoa pod husk waste

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tan Ton Siang; Mohd Azmier Ahmad

2010-01-01

Preparation of the activated carbons from cocoa pod husk (CPH) waste by physical activation was carried out for the removal of Remazol Black B (RBB) reactive dye from aqueous solutions. The effects of various process parameters i.e., temperature, initial RBB concentration and contact time on the adsorption capacity of activated carbon were investigated in batch system. Langmuir isotherm showed better fit than Freundlich and Temkin isotherms. The kinetic model for RBB adsorption follows pseudo-first-order kinetics. (author)

Bayesian hierarchical models for regional climate reconstructions of the last glacial maximum

Science.gov (United States)

Weitzel, Nils; Hense, Andreas; Ohlwein, Christian

2017-04-01

Spatio-temporal reconstructions of past climate are important for the understanding of the long term behavior of the climate system and the sensitivity to forcing changes. Unfortunately, they are subject to large uncertainties, have to deal with a complex proxy-climate structure, and a physically reasonable interpolation between the sparse proxy observations is difficult. Bayesian Hierarchical Models (BHMs) are a class of statistical models that is well suited for spatio-temporal reconstructions of past climate because they permit the inclusion of multiple sources of information (e.g. records from different proxy types, uncertain age information, output from climate simulations) and quantify uncertainties in a statistically rigorous way. BHMs in paleoclimatology typically consist of three stages which are modeled individually and are combined using Bayesian inference techniques. The data stage models the proxy-climate relation (often named transfer function), the process stage models the spatio-temporal distribution of the climate variables of interest, and the prior stage consists of prior distributions of the model parameters. For our BHMs, we translate well-known proxy-climate transfer functions for pollen to a Bayesian framework. In addition, we can include Gaussian distributed local climate information from preprocessed proxy records. The process stage combines physically reasonable spatial structures from prior distributions with proxy records which leads to a multivariate posterior probability distribution for the reconstructed climate variables. The prior distributions that constrain the possible spatial structure of the climate variables are calculated from climate simulation output. We present results from pseudoproxy tests as well as new regional reconstructions of temperatures for the last glacial maximum (LGM, ˜ 21,000 years BP). These reconstructions combine proxy data syntheses with information from climate simulations for the LGM that were

Phytophthora megakarya and P. palmivora, closely related causal agents of cacao black pod induce similar reactions when infecting pods of a susceptible cacao genotype

Science.gov (United States)

Phytophthora megakarya (Pmeg) and Phytophthora palmivora (Ppal) cause black pod rot of Theobroma cacao. Of these two clade 4 species; Pmeg is more virulent and is displacing Ppal on cacao in many cacao production areas in Africa. To understand the advantages Pmeg has over Ppal, we compared symptom...

A Hybrid Model Based on Wavelet Decomposition-Reconstruction in Track Irregularity State Forecasting

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Chaolong Jia

2015-01-01

Full Text Available Wavelet is able to adapt to the requirements of time-frequency signal analysis automatically and can focus on any details of the signal and then decompose the function into the representation of a series of simple basis functions. It is of theoretical and practical significance. Therefore, this paper does subdivision on track irregularity time series based on the idea of wavelet decomposition-reconstruction and tries to find the best fitting forecast model of detail signal and approximate signal obtained through track irregularity time series wavelet decomposition, respectively. On this ideology, piecewise gray-ARMA recursive based on wavelet decomposition and reconstruction (PG-ARMARWDR and piecewise ANN-ARMA recursive based on wavelet decomposition and reconstruction (PANN-ARMARWDR models are proposed. Comparison and analysis of two models have shown that both these models can achieve higher accuracy.

Use of a model for 3D image reconstruction

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Delageniere, S.; Grangeat, P.

1991-01-01

We propose a software for 3D image reconstruction in transmission tomography. This software is based on the use of a model and of the RADON algorithm developed at LETI. The introduction of a markovian model helps us to enhance contrast and straitened the natural transitions existing in the objects studied, whereas standard transform methods smoothe them

Automated reconstruction of 3D models from real environments

Science.gov (United States)

Sequeira, V.; Ng, K.; Wolfart, E.; Gonçalves, J. G. M.; Hogg, D.

This paper describes an integrated approach to the construction of textured 3D scene models of building interiors from laser range data and visual images. This approach has been implemented in a collection of algorithms and sensors within a prototype device for 3D reconstruction, known as the EST (Environmental Sensor for Telepresence). The EST can take the form of a push trolley or of an autonomous mobile platform. The Autonomous EST (AEST) has been designed to provide an integrated solution for automating the creation of complete models. Embedded software performs several functions, including triangulation of the range data, registration of video texture, registration and integration of data acquired from different capture points. Potential applications include facilities management for the construction industry and creating reality models to be used in general areas of virtual reality, for example, virtual studios, virtualised reality for content-related applications (e.g., CD-ROMs), social telepresence, architecture and others. The paper presents the main components of the EST/AEST, and presents some example results obtained from the prototypes. The reconstructed model is encoded in VRML format so that it is possible to access and view the model via the World Wide Web.

UROX 2.0: an interactive tool for fitting atomic models into electron-microscopy reconstructions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Siebert, Xavier; Navaza, Jorge

2009-01-01

UROX is software designed for the interactive fitting of atomic models into electron-microscopy reconstructions. The main features of the software are presented, along with a few examples. Electron microscopy of a macromolecular structure can lead to three-dimensional reconstructions with resolutions that are typically in the 30–10 Å range and sometimes even beyond 10 Å. Fitting atomic models of the individual components of the macromolecular structure (e.g. those obtained by X-ray crystallography or nuclear magnetic resonance) into an electron-microscopy map allows the interpretation of the latter at near-atomic resolution, providing insight into the interactions between the components. Graphical software is presented that was designed for the interactive fitting and refinement of atomic models into electron-microscopy reconstructions. Several characteristics enable it to be applied over a wide range of cases and resolutions. Firstly, calculations are performed in reciprocal space, which results in fast algorithms. This allows the entire reconstruction (or at least a sizeable portion of it) to be used by taking into account the symmetry of the reconstruction both in the calculations and in the graphical display. Secondly, atomic models can be placed graphically in the map while the correlation between the model-based electron density and the electron-microscopy reconstruction is computed and displayed in real time. The positions and orientations of the models are refined by a least-squares minimization. Thirdly, normal-mode calculations can be used to simulate conformational changes between the atomic model of an individual component and its corresponding density within a macromolecular complex determined by electron microscopy. These features are illustrated using three practical cases with different symmetries and resolutions. The software, together with examples and user instructions, is available free of charge at http://mem.ibs.fr/UROX/

Pod systems: an equivariant ordinary differential equation approach to dynamical systems on a spatial domain

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Elmhirst, Toby; Stewart, Ian; Doebeli, Michael

2008-01-01

We present a class of systems of ordinary differential equations (ODEs), which we call 'pod systems', that offers a new perspective on dynamical systems defined on a spatial domain. Such systems are typically studied as partial differential equations, but pod systems bring the analytic techniques of ODE theory to bear on the problems, and are thus able to study behaviours and bifurcations that are not easily accessible to the standard methods. In particular, pod systems are specifically designed to study spatial dynamical systems that exhibit multi-modal solutions. A pod system is essentially a linear combination of parametrized functions in which the coefficients and parameters are variables whose dynamics are specified by a system of ODEs. That is, pod systems are concerned with the dynamics of functions of the form Ψ(s, t) = y 1 (t) φ(s; x 1 (t)) + ··· + y N (t) φ(s; x N (t)), where s in R n is the spatial variable and φ: R n × R d → R. The parameters x i in R d and coefficients y i in R are dynamic variables which evolve according to some system of ODEs, x-dot i = G i (x, y) and y-dot i = H i (x, y), for i = 1, ..., N. The dynamics of Ψ in function space can then be studied through the dynamics of the x and y in finite dimensions. A vital feature of pod systems is that the ODEs that specify the dynamics of the x and y variables are not arbitrary; restrictions on G i and H i are required to guarantee that the dynamics of Ψ in function space are well defined (that is, that trajectories are unique). One important restriction is symmetry in the ODEs which arises because Ψ is invariant under permutations of the indices of the (x i , y i ) pairs. However, this is not the whole story, and the primary goal of this paper is to determine the necessary structure of the ODEs explicitly to guarantee that the dynamics of Ψ are well defined

Proper orthogonal decomposition-based estimations of the flow field from particle image velocimetry wall-gradient measurements in the backward-facing step flow

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nguyen, Thien Duy; Wells, John Craig; Mokhasi, Paritosh; Rempfer, Dietmar

2010-01-01

In this paper, particle image velocimetry (PIV) results from the recirculation zone of a backward-facing step flow, of which the Reynolds number is 2800 based on bulk velocity upstream of the step and step height (h = 16.5 mm), are used to demonstrate the capability of proper orthogonal decomposition (POD)-based measurement models. Three-component PIV velocity fields are decomposed by POD into a set of spatial basis functions and a set of temporal coefficients. The measurement models are built to relate the low-order POD coefficients, determined from an ensemble of 1050 PIV fields by the 'snapshot' method, to the time-resolved wall gradients, measured by a near-wall measurement technique called stereo interfacial PIV. These models are evaluated in terms of reconstruction and prediction of the low-order temporal POD coefficients of the velocity fields. In order to determine the estimation coefficients of the measurement models, linear stochastic estimation (LSE), quadratic stochastic estimation (QSE), principal component regression (PCR) and kernel ridge regression (KRR) are applied. We denote such approaches as LSE-POD, QSE-POD, PCR-POD and KRR-POD. In addition to comparing the accuracy of measurement models, we introduce multi-time POD-based estimations in which past and future information of the wall-gradient events is used separately or combined. The results show that the multi-time estimation approaches can improve the prediction process. Among these approaches, the proposed multi-time KRR-POD estimation with an optimized window of past wall-gradient information yields the best prediction. Such a multi-time KRR-POD approach offers a useful tool for real-time flow estimation of the velocity field based on wall-gradient data

Development of kairomone based control programs for cocoa pod borer

Science.gov (United States)

The Cocoa Pod Borer moth presents a unique opportunity to develop host volatile attractants for control strategies for the following reasons. First, knowing what volatiles are critical for host finding by females will allow for development of mass trapping and/or attract and kill strategies to cont...

Influence of radiation damage repair inhibitor on superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT) and peroxidase (POD) in different sensitive crops

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Song Daojun; Xu Dengyi; Wan Zhaoliang; He Shoulin

1997-01-01

The activities of superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT) and peroxidase (POD) were affected remarkably by 60 Co γ-ray irradiation and radiation damage repair inhibitor (Caf, EDTA). SOD, CAT and POD activities showed the similar change pattern in both soybean (sensitive to radiation) and Brassica napus L. (resistant to radiation) seedlings in all treatments. After reaching the maximum value, SOD activity decreased with the increase of doses. CAT activity had the same change pattern as that of SOD in soybean, while with Brassica napus L., CAT activity remained relatively steady from 300 Gy to 1000 Gy. And POD activity increased with the increase of doses. Compared with H 2 O-treatments, CaF, EDAT post-treatments obviously enhanced SOD, CAT and POD activities. With all the treatments, the three enzyme activities were higher in Brassica napus L. than those in soybean seedlings

Reconstruction of missing daily streamflow data using dynamic regression models

Science.gov (United States)

Tencaliec, Patricia; Favre, Anne-Catherine; Prieur, Clémentine; Mathevet, Thibault

2015-12-01

River discharge is one of the most important quantities in hydrology. It provides fundamental records for water resources management and climate change monitoring. Even very short data-gaps in this information can cause extremely different analysis outputs. Therefore, reconstructing missing data of incomplete data sets is an important step regarding the performance of the environmental models, engineering, and research applications, thus it presents a great challenge. The objective of this paper is to introduce an effective technique for reconstructing missing daily discharge data when one has access to only daily streamflow data. The proposed procedure uses a combination of regression and autoregressive integrated moving average models (ARIMA) called dynamic regression model. This model uses the linear relationship between neighbor and correlated stations and then adjusts the residual term by fitting an ARIMA structure. Application of the model to eight daily streamflow data for the Durance river watershed showed that the model yields reliable estimates for the missing data in the time series. Simulation studies were also conducted to evaluate the performance of the procedure.

Performance measurement of PSF modeling reconstruction (True X) on Siemens Biograph TruePoint TrueV PET/CT.

Science.gov (United States)

Lee, Young Sub; Kim, Jin Su; Kim, Kyeong Min; Kang, Joo Hyun; Lim, Sang Moo; Kim, Hee-Joung

2014-05-01

The Siemens Biograph TruePoint TrueV (B-TPTV) positron emission tomography (PET) scanner performs 3D PET reconstruction using a system matrix with point spread function (PSF) modeling (called the True X reconstruction). PET resolution was dramatically improved with the True X method. In this study, we assessed the spatial resolution and image quality on a B-TPTV PET scanner. In addition, we assessed the feasibility of animal imaging with a B-TPTV PET and compared it with a microPET R4 scanner. Spatial resolution was measured at center and at 8 cm offset from the center in transverse plane with warm background activity. True X, ordered subset expectation maximization (OSEM) without PSF modeling, and filtered back-projection (FBP) reconstruction methods were used. Percent contrast (% contrast) and percent background variability (% BV) were assessed according to NEMA NU2-2007. The recovery coefficient (RC), non-uniformity, spill-over ratio (SOR), and PET imaging of the Micro Deluxe Phantom were assessed to compare image quality of B-TPTV PET with that of the microPET R4. When True X reconstruction was used, spatial resolution was RC with True X reconstruction was higher than that with the FBP method and the OSEM without PSF modeling method on the microPET R4. The non-uniformity with True X reconstruction was higher than that with FBP and OSEM without PSF modeling on microPET R4. SOR with True X reconstruction was better than that with FBP or OSEM without PSF modeling on the microPET R4. This study assessed the performance of the True X reconstruction. Spatial resolution with True X reconstruction was improved by 45 % and its % contrast was significantly improved compared to those with the conventional OSEM without PSF modeling reconstruction algorithm. The noise level was higher than that with the other reconstruction algorithm. Therefore, True X reconstruction should be used with caution when quantifying PET data.

Phenolic composition, antioxidant, anti-wrinkles and tyrosinase inhibitory activities of cocoa pod extract.

Science.gov (United States)

Karim, Azila Abdul; Azlan, Azrina; Ismail, Amin; Hashim, Puziah; Abd Gani, Siti Salwa; Zainudin, Badrul Hisyam; Abdullah, Nur Azilah

2014-10-07

Cocoa pod is an outer part of cocoa fruits being discarded during cocoa bean processing. Authors found out that data on its usage in literature as cosmetic materials was not recorded in vast. In this study, cocoa pod extract was investigated for its potential as a cosmetic ingredient. Cocoa pod extract (CPE) composition was accomplished using UHPLC. The antioxidant capacity were measured using scavenging assay of 1,2-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH), β-carotene bleaching assay (BCB) and ferric reducing antioxidant power (FRAP). Inhibiting effect on skin degradation enzymes was carried out using elastase and collagenase assays. The skin whitening effect of CPE was determined based on mushroom tyrosinase assay and sun screening effect (UV-absorbance at 200-400 nm wavelength). LC-MS/MS data showed the presence of carboxylic acid, phenolic acid, fatty acid, flavonoids (flavonol and flavones), stilbenoids and terpenoids in CPE. Results for antioxidant activity exhibited that CPE possessed good antioxidant activity, based on the mechanism of the assays compared with ascorbic acid (AA) and standardized pine bark extract (PBE); DPPH: AA > CPE > PBE; FRAP: PBE > CPE > AA; and BCB: BHT > CPE > PBE. Cocoa pod extract showed better action against elastase and collagenase enzymes in comparison with PBE and AA. Higher inhibition towards tyrosinase enzyme was exhibited by CPE than kojic acid and AA, although lower than PBE. CPE induced proliferation when tested on human fibroblast cell at low concentration. CPE also exhibited a potential as UVB sunscreen despite its low performance as a UVA sunscreen agent. Therefore, the CPE has high potential as a cosmetic ingredient due to its anti-wrinkle, skin whitening, and sunscreen effects.

Identification of dominant structures and their flow dynamics in the turbulent two-phase flow using POD technique

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Munir, Shahzad; Siddiqui, Muhammad Israr; Heikal, Morgan; Aziz, Abdul Rashid Abdul [Universiti Teknologi PETRONAS, Bander Seri Iskandar (Malaysia); Sercey, Guillaume de [University of Brighton, Brighton (United Kingdom)

2015-11-15

The Proper orthogonal decomposition (POD) method has seen increasingly used in the last two decades and has a lot of applications for the comparison of experimental and numerically simulated data. The POD technique is often used to extract information about coherent structures dominating the flow. The two-dimensional and two-component instantaneous velocity fields of both liquid and gas phases of a slug flow were obtained by Particle image velocimetry (PIV) combined with Laser induced fluorescence (LIF). POD was applied to the velocity fields of both phases separately to identify the coherent flow structures. We focused on POD eigenmodes and their corresponding energy contents of both liquid and gas phases. The sum of first few eigenmodes that contain maximum turbulent kinetic energy of the flow represents the coherent structures. In the case of liquid phase the first eigenmode contained 42% of the total energy, while in the gas phase the decaying energy distribution was flat. The POD results showed that the coefficient of mode 1 for the liquid phase oscillated between positive and negative values and had the highest amplitude. For the visualization of coherent motion different linear combinations of eigenmodes for liquid and gas phases were used. The phenomena of turbulent bursting events associated with Q2 events (low momentum fluid moving away from the wall) and Q4 events (high momentum flow moving towards the wall) were also discussed to assess its contribution in turbulence production.

APPLICATION OF 3D MODELING IN 3D PRINTING FOR THE LOWER JAW RECONSTRUCTION

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Yu. Yu. Dikov

2015-01-01

Full Text Available Aim of study: improvement of functional and aesthetic results of microsurgery reconstructions of the lower jaw due to the use of the methodology of 3D modeling and 3D printing. Application of this methodology has been demonstrated on the example of treatment of 4 patients with locally distributed tumors of the mouth cavity, who underwent excision of the tumor with simultaneous reconstruction of the lower jaw with revascularized fibular graft.Before, one patient has already undergo segmental resection of the lower jaw with the defect replacement with the avascular ileac graft and a reconstruction plate. Then, a relapse of the disease and lysis of the graft has developed with him. Modeling of the graft according to the shape of the lower jaw was performed by making osteotomies of the bone part of the graft using three-dimensional virtual models created by computed tomography data. Then these 3D models were printed with a 3D printer of plastic with the scale of 1:1 with the fused deposition modeling (FDM technology and were used during the surgery in the course of modeling of the graft. Sterilizing of the plastic model was performed in the formalin chamber.This methodology allowed more specific reconstruction of the resected fragment of the lower jaw and get better functional and aesthetic results and prepare patients to further dental rehabilitation. Advantages of this methodology are the possibility of simultaneous performance of stages of reconstruction and resection and shortening of the time of surgery.

Engine Power Turbine and Propulsion Pod Arrangement Study

Science.gov (United States)

Robuck, Mark; Zhang, Yiyi

2014-01-01

A study has been conducted for NASA Glenn Research Center under contract NNC10BA05B, Task NNC11TA80T to identify beneficial arrangements of the turboshaft engine, transmissions and related systems within the propulsion pod nacelle of NASA's Large Civil Tilt-Rotor 2nd iteration (LCTR2) vehicle. Propulsion pod layouts were used to investigate potential advantages, disadvantages, as well as constraints of various arrangements assuming front or aft shafted engines. Results from previous NASA LCTR2 propulsion system studies and tasks performed by Boeing under NASA contracts are used as the basis for this study. This configuration consists of two Fixed Geometry Variable Speed Power Turbine Engines and related drive and rotor systems (per nacelle) arranged in tilting nacelles near the wing tip. Entry-into-service (EIS) 2035 technology is assumed for both the engine and drive systems. The variable speed rotor system changes from 100 percent speed for hover to 54 percent speed for cruise by the means of a two speed gearbox concept developed under previous NASA contracts. Propulsion and drive system configurations that resulted in minimum vehicle gross weight were identified in previous work and used here. Results reported in this study illustrate that a forward shafted engine has a slight weight benefit over an aft shafted engine for the LCTR2 vehicle. Although the aft shafted engines provide a more controlled and centered CG (between hover and cruise), the length of the long rotor shaft and complicated engine exhaust arrangement outweighed the potential benefits. A Multi-Disciplinary Analysis and Optimization (MDAO) approach for transmission sizing was also explored for this study. This tool offers quick analysis of gear loads, bearing lives, efficiencies, etc., through use of commercially available RomaxDESIGNER software. The goal was to create quick methods to explore various concept models. The output results from RomaxDESIGNER have been successfully linked to Boeing

A Pore Scale Flow Simulation of Reconstructed Model Based on the Micro Seepage Experiment

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jianjun Liu

2017-01-01

Full Text Available Researches on microscopic seepage mechanism and fine description of reservoir pore structure play an important role in effective development of low and ultralow permeability reservoir. The typical micro pore structure model was established by two ways of the conventional model reconstruction method and the built-in graphics function method of Comsol® in this paper. A pore scale flow simulation was conducted on the reconstructed model established by two different ways using creeping flow interface and Brinkman equation interface, respectively. The results showed that the simulation of the two models agreed well in the distribution of velocity, pressure, Reynolds number, and so on. And it verified the feasibility of the direct reconstruction method from graphic file to geometric model, which provided a new way for diversifying the numerical study of micro seepage mechanism.

Effects of acute and 2-hour postphysical activity on the estimation of body fat made by the bod pod.

Science.gov (United States)

Harrop, Bradley J; Woodruff, Sarah J

2015-06-01

The Bod Pod has been found to be reliable/valid against several criterion methods, including hydrostatic weighing and dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry, and under different conditions, such as clothing, dehydrated states, and body temperature changes. However, questions remain regarding the effects of an acute bout of exercise. Therefore, the purpose was to determine the effects of an acute bout of exercise on the estimations made by the Bod Pod. Participants (15 men and 22 women) were of age 18-27 years and were currently exercising. Baseline Bod Pod measures were completed followed by a 30-minute cycling trial at 75% of maximum heart rate. Bod Pod measures were taken immediately after exercise and 2 hours after exercise. Differences between men and women were found at baseline between height (p temperature (p temperature (p estimate of %BF, and continues to affect the prediction 2 hours after exercise in women.

Low-order dynamical system model of a fully developed turbulent channel flow

Science.gov (United States)

Hamilton, Nicholas; Tutkun, Murat; Cal, Raúl Bayoán

2017-06-01

the recalibration scheme, the integration time of the dynamical system can be extended to arbitrarily large values provided that modified initial conditions are offered to the system. The low-order dynamical system composed with 28 modes employing periodic recalibration reconstructs the spatially averaged Reynolds stresses with similar accuracy as the POD-based turbulence description. Data-driven reduced order models like the one undertaken here are widely implemented for control applications, derive all necessary parameters directly from the input, and compute predictions of system dynamics efficiently. The speed, flexibility, and portability of the reduced order model come at the cost of strict data requirements; the model identification requires simultaneous realizations of mode coefficients and their time derivatives, which may be difficult to achieve in some investigations.

Reverse Kinematic Analysis and Uncertainty Analysis of the Space Shuttle AFT Propulsion System (APS) POD Lifting Fixture

Science.gov (United States)

Brink, Jeffrey S.

2005-01-01

The space shuttle Aft Propulsion System (APS) pod requires precision alignment to be installed onto the orbiter deck. The Ground Support Equipment (GSE) used to perform this task cannot be manipulated along a single Cartesian axis without causing motion along the other Cartesian axes. As a result, manipulations required to achieve a desired motion are not intuitive. My study calculated the joint angles required to align the APS pod, using reverse kinematic analysis techniques. Knowledge of these joint angles will allow the ground support team to align the APS pod more safely and efficiently. An uncertainty analysis was also performed to estimate the accuracy associated with this approach and to determine whether any inexpensive modifications can be made to further improve accuracy.

Writing consumer identities through the iPod

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Kampf, Constance Elizabeth

How do web 2.0 and mobile technologies affect the available means for interaction between consumers and corporations? What are the implications for communicating corporate social responsibility? Gee (1996:6) states that “When we write or read, speak or listen, we coordinate and are coordinated...... the potential and implications of mobile technologies for the communication of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR). The Good Guide iPod application is a mini third party database of product rankings in terms of social responsibility towards consumer health, environmental impact and social effects...

Role of rheology in reconstructing slab morphology in global mantle models

Science.gov (United States)

Bello, Léa; Coltice, Nicolas; Tackley, Paul; Müller, Dietmar

2015-04-01

Reconstructing the 3D structure of the Earth's mantle has been a challenge for geodynamicists for about 40 years. Although numerical models and computational capabilities have incredibly progressed, parameterizations used for modeling convection forced by plate motions are far from being Earth-like. Among the set of parameters, rheology is fundamental because it defines in a non-linear way the dynamics of slabs and plumes, and the organization of the lithosphere. Previous studies have employed diverse viscosity laws, most of them being temperature and depth dependent with relatively small viscosity contrasts. In this study, we evaluate the role of the temperature dependence of viscosity (variations up to 6 orders of magnitude) on reconstructing slab evolution in 3D spherical models of convection driven by plate history models. We also investigate the importance of pseudo-plasticity in such models. We show that strong temperature dependence of viscosity combined with pseudo-plasticity produce laterally and vertically continuous slabs, and flat subduction where trench retreat is fast (North, Central and South America). Moreover, pseudo-plasticity allows a consistent coupling between imposed plate motions and global convection, which is not possible with temperature-dependent viscosity only. However, even our most sophisticated model is not able to reproduce unambiguously stagnant slabs probably because of the simplicity of material properties we use here. The differences between models employing different viscosity laws are very large, larger than the differences between two models with the same rheology but using two different plate reconstructions or initial conditions.

A Graph-Based Approach for 3D Building Model Reconstruction from Airborne LiDAR Point Clouds

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Bin Wu

2017-01-01

Full Text Available 3D building model reconstruction is of great importance for environmental and urban applications. Airborne light detection and ranging (LiDAR is a very useful data source for acquiring detailed geometric and topological information of building objects. In this study, we employed a graph-based method based on hierarchical structure analysis of building contours derived from LiDAR data to reconstruct urban building models. The proposed approach first uses a graph theory-based localized contour tree method to represent the topological structure of buildings, then separates the buildings into different parts by analyzing their topological relationships, and finally reconstructs the building model by integrating all the individual models established through the bipartite graph matching process. Our approach provides a more complete topological and geometrical description of building contours than existing approaches. We evaluated the proposed method by applying it to the Lujiazui region in Shanghai, China, a complex and large urban scene with various types of buildings. The results revealed that complex buildings could be reconstructed successfully with a mean modeling error of 0.32 m. Our proposed method offers a promising solution for 3D building model reconstruction from airborne LiDAR point clouds.

identification of common bean genotypes with dual leaf and pod ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

ACSS

2018-02-08

Feb 8, 2018 ... IDENTIFICATION OF COMMON BEAN GENOTYPES WITH DUAL LEAF AND. POD RESISTANCE TO COMMON BACTERIAL BLIGHT DISEASE IN UGANDA. B.M.E. ALLADASSI, S.T. NKALUBO1, C. MUKANKUSI2, H.N. KAYAGA, P. GIBSON, R. EDEMA,. C.A. URREA3, J.D. KELLY4 and P.R. RUBAIHAYO.

78 FR 25623 - Importation of Fresh Beans, Shelled or in Pods, From Jordan Into the Continental United States

Science.gov (United States)

2013-05-02

.... APHIS-2012-0042] RIN 0579-AD69 Importation of Fresh Beans, Shelled or in Pods, From Jordan Into the... commercial shipments of fresh beans, shelled or in pods (French, green, snap, and string), from Jordan into the continental United States. As a condition of entry, the beans would have to be produced in...

The importance of nodule CO2 fixation for the efficiency of symbiotic nitrogen fixation in pea at vegetative growth and during pod formation.

Science.gov (United States)

Fischinger, Stephanie Anastasia; Schulze, Joachim

2010-05-01

Nodule CO2 fixation is of pivotal importance for N2 fixation. The process provides malate for bacteroids and oxaloacetate for nitrogen assimilation. The hypothesis of the present paper was that grain legume nodules would adapt to higher plant N demand and more restricted carbon availability at pod formation through increased nodule CO2 fixation and a more efficient N2 fixation. Growth, N2 fixation, and nodule composition during vegetative growth and at pod formation were studied in pea plants (Pisum sativum L.). In parallel experiments, 15N2 and 13CO2 uptake, as well as nodule hydrogen and CO2 release, was measured. Plants at pod formation showed higher growth rates and N2 fixation per plant when compared with vegetative growth. The specific activity of active nodules was about 25% higher at pod formation. The higher nodule activity was accompanied by higher amino acid concentration in nodules and xylem sap with a higher share of asparagine. Nodule 13CO2 fixation was increased at pod formation, both per plant and per 15N2 fixed unit. However, malate concentration in nodules was only 40% of that during vegetative growth and succinate was no longer detectable. The data indicate that increased N2 fixation at pod formation is connected with strongly increased nodule CO2 fixation. While the sugar concentration in nodules at pod formation was not altered, the concentration of organic acids, namely malate and succinate, was significantly lower. It is concluded that strategies to improve the capability of nodules to fix CO2 and form organic acids might prolong intensive N2 fixation into the later stages of pod formation and pod filling in grain legumes.

A Hierarchical Building Segmentation in Digital Surface Models for 3D Reconstruction

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Yiming Yan

2017-01-01

Full Text Available In this study, a hierarchical method for segmenting buildings in a digital surface model (DSM, which is used in a novel framework for 3D reconstruction, is proposed. Most 3D reconstructions of buildings are model-based. However, the limitations of these methods are overreliance on completeness of the offline-constructed models of buildings, and the completeness is not easily guaranteed since in modern cities buildings can be of a variety of types. Therefore, a model-free framework using high precision DSM and texture-images buildings was introduced. There are two key problems with this framework. The first one is how to accurately extract the buildings from the DSM. Most segmentation methods are limited by either the terrain factors or the difficult choice of parameter-settings. A level-set method are employed to roughly find the building regions in the DSM, and then a recently proposed ‘occlusions of random textures model’ are used to enhance the local segmentation of the buildings. The second problem is how to generate the facades of buildings. Synergizing with the corresponding texture-images, we propose a roof-contour guided interpolation of building facades. The 3D reconstruction results achieved by airborne-like images and satellites are compared. Experiments show that the segmentation method has good performance, and 3D reconstruction is easily performed by our framework, and better visualization results can be obtained by airborne-like images, which can be further replaced by UAV images.

Space Shuttle AFRSI OMS pod environment test using model 81-0 test fixture in the Ames Research Center 9x7-foot supersonic wind tunnel (OS-314A/B/C)

Science.gov (United States)

Collette, J. G. R.

1984-01-01

A test was conducted in the NASA/Ames Research Center 9x7-foot Supersonic Wind Tunnel to help resolve an anomaly that developed during the STS-6 orbiter flight wherein sections of the Advanced Flexible Reusable Surface Insulation (AFRSI) covering the OMS pods suffered some damage. A one-third scale two-dimensional shell structure model of an OMS pod cross-section was employed to support the test articles. These consisted of 15 AFRSI blanket panels form-fitted over the shell structures for exposure to simulated flight conditions. Of six baseline blankets, two were treated with special surface coatings. Two other panels were configured with AFRSI sections removed from the OV099 orbiter vehicle after the STS-6 flight. Seven additional specimens incorporated alternative designs and repairs. Following a series of surface pressure calibration runs, the specimens were exposed to simulated ascent and entry dynamic pressure profiles. Entry conditions included the use of a vortex generator to evaluate the effect of shed vortices on the AFRSI located in the area of concern.

CT angiography after carotid artery stenting: assessment of the utility of adaptive statistical iterative reconstruction and model-based iterative reconstruction

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kuya, Keita; Shinohara, Yuki; Fujii, Shinya; Ogawa, Toshihide [Tottori University, Division of Radiology, Department of Pathophysiological Therapeutic Science, Faculty of Medicine, Yonago (Japan); Sakamoto, Makoto; Watanabe, Takashi [Tottori University, Division of Neurosurgery, Department of Brain and Neurosciences, Faculty of Medicine, Yonago (Japan); Iwata, Naoki; Kishimoto, Junichi [Tottori University, Division of Clinical Radiology Faculty of Medicine, Yonago (Japan); Kaminou, Toshio [Osaka Minami Medical Center, Department of Radiology, Osaka (Japan)

2014-11-15

Follow-up CT angiography (CTA) is routinely performed for post-procedure management after carotid artery stenting (CAS). However, the stent lumen tends to be underestimated because of stent artifacts on CTA reconstructed with the filtered back projection (FBP) technique. We assessed the utility of new iterative reconstruction techniques, such as adaptive statistical iterative reconstruction (ASIR) and model-based iterative reconstruction (MBIR), for CTA after CAS in comparison with FBP. In a phantom study, we evaluated the differences among the three reconstruction techniques with regard to the relationship between the stent luminal diameter and the degree of underestimation of stent luminal diameter. In a clinical study, 34 patients who underwent follow-up CTA after CAS were included. We compared the stent luminal diameters among FBP, ASIR, and MBIR, and performed visual assessment of low attenuation area (LAA) in the stent lumen using a three-point scale. In the phantom study, stent luminal diameter was increasingly underestimated as luminal diameter became smaller in all CTA images. Stent luminal diameter was larger with MBIR than with the other reconstruction techniques. Similarly, in the clinical study, stent luminal diameter was larger with MBIR than with the other reconstruction techniques. LAA detectability scores of MBIR were greater than or equal to those of FBP and ASIR in all cases. MBIR improved the accuracy of assessment of stent luminal diameter and LAA detectability in the stent lumen when compared with FBP and ASIR. We conclude that MBIR is a useful reconstruction technique for CTA after CAS. (orig.)

CT angiography after carotid artery stenting: assessment of the utility of adaptive statistical iterative reconstruction and model-based iterative reconstruction

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kuya, Keita; Shinohara, Yuki; Fujii, Shinya; Ogawa, Toshihide; Sakamoto, Makoto; Watanabe, Takashi; Iwata, Naoki; Kishimoto, Junichi; Kaminou, Toshio

2014-01-01

Follow-up CT angiography (CTA) is routinely performed for post-procedure management after carotid artery stenting (CAS). However, the stent lumen tends to be underestimated because of stent artifacts on CTA reconstructed with the filtered back projection (FBP) technique. We assessed the utility of new iterative reconstruction techniques, such as adaptive statistical iterative reconstruction (ASIR) and model-based iterative reconstruction (MBIR), for CTA after CAS in comparison with FBP. In a phantom study, we evaluated the differences among the three reconstruction techniques with regard to the relationship between the stent luminal diameter and the degree of underestimation of stent luminal diameter. In a clinical study, 34 patients who underwent follow-up CTA after CAS were included. We compared the stent luminal diameters among FBP, ASIR, and MBIR, and performed visual assessment of low attenuation area (LAA) in the stent lumen using a three-point scale. In the phantom study, stent luminal diameter was increasingly underestimated as luminal diameter became smaller in all CTA images. Stent luminal diameter was larger with MBIR than with the other reconstruction techniques. Similarly, in the clinical study, stent luminal diameter was larger with MBIR than with the other reconstruction techniques. LAA detectability scores of MBIR were greater than or equal to those of FBP and ASIR in all cases. MBIR improved the accuracy of assessment of stent luminal diameter and LAA detectability in the stent lumen when compared with FBP and ASIR. We conclude that MBIR is a useful reconstruction technique for CTA after CAS. (orig.)

POD- Mapping and analysis of hydroturbine exit flow dynamics

Science.gov (United States)

Kjeldsen, Morten; Finstad, Pal Henrik

2012-11-01

Pairwise radial dynamic measurements of the swirling draft tube flow have been made at the 25 MW Svorka power plant in Surnadal operating at 48% load at 6 radial and 7 angular positions. The data is analyzed with traditional methods as well as with POD. The measurements were made in the turbine draft tube/exit flow in an axial measurement plane about 1200mm downstream the turbine runner. The draft tube diameter in the measurement plane is about 1300mm. The flow rate during measurements was close to 5.8m3/s. Two probes were used; both of length Le=700 mm and made of stainless steel with an outer diameter of Do=20 mm and inner diameter Di=4mm. At the end of each probe a full bridge cylindrical KULITE xcl152, 0-3.5, was mounted. 90 seconds samples at 10 kS/s were taken. The POD analysis largely follows that of Tutkun et al. (see e.g. AIAA J., 45,5,2008). The analysis shows that 26% of the pressure pulsation energy can be addressed to azimuthal mode 1. The work has been supported by Energy Norway.

Hybrid light transport model based bioluminescence tomography reconstruction for early gastric cancer detection

Science.gov (United States)

Chen, Xueli; Liang, Jimin; Hu, Hao; Qu, Xiaochao; Yang, Defu; Chen, Duofang; Zhu, Shouping; Tian, Jie

2012-03-01

Gastric cancer is the second cause of cancer-related death in the world, and it remains difficult to cure because it has been in late-stage once that is found. Early gastric cancer detection becomes an effective approach to decrease the gastric cancer mortality. Bioluminescence tomography (BLT) has been applied to detect early liver cancer and prostate cancer metastasis. However, the gastric cancer commonly originates from the gastric mucosa and grows outwards. The bioluminescent light will pass through a non-scattering region constructed by gastric pouch when it transports in tissues. Thus, the current BLT reconstruction algorithms based on the approximation model of radiative transfer equation are not optimal to handle this problem. To address the gastric cancer specific problem, this paper presents a novel reconstruction algorithm that uses a hybrid light transport model to describe the bioluminescent light propagation in tissues. The radiosity theory integrated with the diffusion equation to form the hybrid light transport model is utilized to describe light propagation in the non-scattering region. After the finite element discretization, the hybrid light transport model is converted into a minimization problem which fuses an l1 norm based regularization term to reveal the sparsity of bioluminescent source distribution. The performance of the reconstruction algorithm is first demonstrated with a digital mouse based simulation with the reconstruction error less than 1mm. An in situ gastric cancer-bearing nude mouse based experiment is then conducted. The primary result reveals the ability of the novel BLT reconstruction algorithm in early gastric cancer detection.

PROOF on the Cloud for ALICE using PoD and OpenNebula

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Berzano, D; Bagnasco, S; Brunetti, R; Lusso, S

2012-01-01

In order to optimize the use and management of computing centres, their conversion to cloud facilities is becoming increasingly popular. In a medium to large cloud facility, many different virtual clusters may concur for the same resources: unused resources can be freed either by turning off idle virtual machines, or by lowering resources assigned to a virtual machine at runtime. PROOF, a ROOT-based parallel and interactive analysis framework, is officially endorsed in the computing model of the ALICE experiment as complementary to the Grid, and it has become very popular over the last three years. The locality of PROOF-based analysis facilities forces system administrators to scavenge resources, yet the chaotic nature of user analysis tasks deems them unstable and inconstantly used, making PROOF a typical use-case for HPC cloud computing. Currently, PoD dynamically and easily provides a PROOF-enabled cluster by submitting agents to a job scheduler. Unfortunately, a Tier-2 does not comfortably share the same queue between interactive and batch jobs, due to the very large average time to completion of the latter: an elastic cloud approach would enable interactive virtual machines to temporarily subtract resources to the batch ones, without a noticeable impact on them. In this work we describe our setup of a dynamic PROOF-based cloud analysis facility based on PoD and OpenNebula, orchestrated by a simple and lightweight control daemon that makes virtualization transparent for the user.

A Comparison of Manual Neuronal Reconstruction from Biocytin Histology or 2-Photon Imaging: Morphometry and Computer Modeling

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Arne Vladimir Blackman

2014-07-01

Full Text Available Accurate 3D reconstruction of neurons is vital for applications linking anatomy and physiology. Reconstructions are typically created using Neurolucida after biocytin histology (BH. An alternative inexpensive and fast method is to use freeware such as Neuromantic to reconstruct from fluorescence imaging (FI stacks acquired using 2-photon laser-scanning microscopy during physiological recording. We compare these two methods with respect to morphometry, cell classification, and multicompartmental modeling in the NEURON simulation environment. Quantitative morphological analysis of the same cells reconstructed using both methods reveals that whilst biocytin reconstructions facilitate tracing of more distal collaterals, both methods are comparable in representing the overall morphology: automated clustering of reconstructions from both methods successfully separates neocortical basket cells from pyramidal cells but not BH from FI reconstructions. BH reconstructions suffer more from tissue shrinkage and compression artifacts than FI reconstructions do. FI reconstructions, on the other hand, consistently have larger process diameters. Consequently, significant differences in NEURON modeling of excitatory post-synaptic potential (EPSP forward propagation are seen between the two methods, with FI reconstructions exhibiting smaller depolarizations. Simulated action potential backpropagation (bAP, however, is indistinguishable between reconstructions obtained with the two methods. In our hands, BH reconstructions are necessary for NEURON modeling and detailed morphological tracing, and thus remain state of the art, although they are more labor intensive, more expensive, and suffer from a higher failure rate. However, for a subset of anatomical applications such as cell type identification, FI reconstructions are superior, because of indistinguishable classification performance with greater ease of use, essentially 100% success rate, and lower cost.

78 FR 69285 - Importation of Fresh Beans, Shelled or in Pods, From Jordan Into the Continental United States

Science.gov (United States)

2013-11-19

.... APHIS-2012-0042] RIN 0579-AD69 Importation of Fresh Beans, Shelled or in Pods, From Jordan Into the... shipments of fresh beans, shelled or in pods (French, green, snap, and string), from Jordan into the continental United States. As a condition of entry, the beans must be produced in accordance with a systems...

Quantitative trait locus (QTL) analysis of pod related traits in different ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Administrator

2011-09-26

Sep 26, 2011 ... assistant breeding selection. Key words: Soybean, pod traits, QTL, different environments. INTRODUCTION. Yield related traits in soybean are generally controlled by multiple genes and environmental dependent (Kwon and. Torrie, 1964). Epigenetics of genes controlling these traits also affect the yield.

Radioprotective effect of Tamarindus indica pod extract in Swiss albino mice exposed to whole body electron beam radiation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nandini, S.; Suchetha Kumari, N.; Ganesh Sanjeev; D'sa, Prima

2013-01-01

The objective of the study was to investigate the radioprotective effect of Tamarindus indica pod extract against radiation induced damage.The effect of 100 mg of hydroalcoholic extract of Tamarindus indica pod was studied in Swiss albino mice exposed to 6 Gy whole body electron beam radiation. Treatment of mice with extract for 15 days before irradiation reduced the symptoms of radiation sickness when compared with the untreated irradiated group. The irradiated animals showed an elevation in lipid peroxidation and reduction in glutathione, total antioxidants and antioxidant enzymes such as glutathione peroxidase and catalase activities. Radiation induced mice has shown micronucleus in the bone marrow cells. Treatment of mice with Tamarindus indica pod extract before irradiation caused a significant reduction in lipid peroxidation followed by significant elevation in reduced glutathione, total antioxidants, glutathione peroxidase and catalase activity. It also showed a reduction in the micronucleus formation in bone marrow cells. Results indicate that the radioprotective activity of Tamarindus indica pod extract may be due to free radical scavenging attributed as a result of increased antioxidant level in mice. (author)

Influence of the position of detached cocoa pod inoculated with ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

An experiment was conducted at the Cocoa Research Institute of Ghana (CRIG) to determine if there were any interactions between Phytophthora infection at the distal, proximal and mid-region positions of cocoa pods. The number and size of lesions in nine different cocoa clones were counted and measured at the three ...

Biotechnology for cocoa pod borer resistance in cocoa

OpenAIRE

Chaidamsari, T.

2005-01-01

The cocoa tree ( Theobroma cacao L.) produces the beans that are the source of cacao, the basis for chocolate production, and an important commodity crop in South America, West Africa, and Southeast Asia.Cocoa Pod Borer (CPB,( Conopomorpha cramerella)has been the single most important limiting factor for cacao production in Southeast Asia.So far, there has been no single cost effective and environmentally safe way to control this pest.This thesis describes the first steps in a biotechnologica...

Effect of feeding Acacia nilotica pod meal on hematobiochemical profile and fecal egg count in goats

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jitendra Kumar Paswan

2016-12-01

Full Text Available Aim: This study was conducted to observe the effect of feeding Acacia nilotica pod meal on hematobiochemical profile and gastrointestinal parasitic load in growing goats. Materials and Methods: To experiment was conducted for a period of 3-month on 24 male goats (3½ month old, average body weight [BW] 6.50±1.50 kg, distributed into four groups of six animals each. The experimental animals were fed graded level of A. nilotica pod meal (0%, 10%, 20% and 30% mixed in concentrate mixture equivalent to tannin concentration of 0%, 1.91%, 3.82% and 5.73% in the total mixed ration I, II, III and IV, respectively, but ad libitum measured quantity of green sorghum fodder (Sorghum bicolor feeding. The blood samples were collected from experimental goats during the feeding experiment for the examination of different hematological indices and serum biochemical profile to know the overall health status of animals and standard method was followed to analyze the samples. Fecal sample was collected directly from the anus of goats by inserting middle finger and kept the samples in labeled polythene bag. Further fresh sample was processed and examined by McMaster Technique for eggs per gram and oocysts per gram. It gives accurate information regarding severity of infection. Results: The feeding of babul pod meal did not address significant changes about the hematological parameters among various treatment groups. The lymphocyte count was significantly higher (p=0.07 in T3 group as compared to control and increase with increase in level of babul pod meal in the diet. Blood urea nitrogen (BUN level was 4.86 and 6.59% lower in T1 and T2 group as compared to control and inversely proportional with level of supplement in ration. The decrease in BUN reflected good dietary protein metabolism happened in animals supplemented with babul pod meal. Serum creatinine level was significantly lower (p<0.01 in T2 group as compared to control. The creatinine level was 20

Hierarchical model generation for architecture reconstruction using laser-scanned point clouds

Science.gov (United States)

Ning, Xiaojuan; Wang, Yinghui; Zhang, Xiaopeng

2014-06-01

Architecture reconstruction using terrestrial laser scanner is a prevalent and challenging research topic. We introduce an automatic, hierarchical architecture generation framework to produce full geometry of architecture based on a novel combination of facade structures detection, detailed windows propagation, and hierarchical model consolidation. Our method highlights the generation of geometric models automatically fitting the design information of the architecture from sparse, incomplete, and noisy point clouds. First, the planar regions detected in raw point clouds are interpreted as three-dimensional clusters. Then, the boundary of each region extracted by projecting the points into its corresponding two-dimensional plane is classified to obtain detailed shape structure elements (e.g., windows and doors). Finally, a polyhedron model is generated by calculating the proposed local structure model, consolidated structure model, and detailed window model. Experiments on modeling the scanned real-life buildings demonstrate the advantages of our method, in which the reconstructed models not only correspond to the information of architectural design accurately, but also satisfy the requirements for visualization and analysis.

Reticle inspection equipment productivity increase using SEMI specification for reticle and pod management

Science.gov (United States)

Taylor, Ron; Downey, Jack; Wood, Jeffrey; Lin, Yen-Hung; Bugata, Bharathi; Fan, Dongsheng; Hess, Carl; Wylie, Mark

2016-10-01

In this work, the SEMI specification for reticle and pod management (E109) with internal reticle library support has been integrated for the first time on KLA-Tencor's TeronTM and TeraScanTM reticle inspection tools. Manufacturing Execution System scheduling reticle jobs and Automated Material Handling System scheduling to transfer pods simultaneously have also been integrated and tested. GLOBALFOUNDRIES collaboratively worked with KLA-Tencor to successfully implement these capabilities. Both library and non-library scenarios have been demonstrated for comparison in a real production environment resulting in productivity increase of approximately 29% by making use of the library. Reticle re-qualification test cases were used for the comparison in this work.

Simple method of modelling of digital holograms registering and their optical reconstruction

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Evtikhiev, N N; Cheremkhin, P A; Krasnov, V V; Kurbatova, E A; Molodtsov, D Yu; Porshneva, L A; Rodin, V G

2016-01-01

The technique of modeling of digital hologram recording and image optical reconstruction from these holograms is described. The method takes into account characteristics of the object, digital camera's photosensor and spatial light modulator used for digital holograms displaying. Using the technique, equipment can be chosen for experiments for obtaining good reconstruction quality and/or holograms diffraction efficiency. Numerical experiments were conducted. (paper)

Computed tomography depiction of small pediatric vessels with model-based iterative reconstruction

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Koc, Gonca; Courtier, Jesse L.; Phelps, Andrew; Marcovici, Peter A.; MacKenzie, John D. [UCSF Benioff Children' s Hospital, Department of Radiology and Biomedical Imaging, San Francisco, CA (United States)

2014-07-15

Computed tomography (CT) is extremely important in characterizing blood vessel anatomy and vascular lesions in children. Recent advances in CT reconstruction technology hold promise for improved image quality and also reductions in radiation dose. This report evaluates potential improvements in image quality for the depiction of small pediatric vessels with model-based iterative reconstruction (Veo trademark), a technique developed to improve image quality and reduce noise. To evaluate Veo trademark as an improved method when compared to adaptive statistical iterative reconstruction (ASIR trademark) for the depiction of small vessels on pediatric CT. Seventeen patients (mean age: 3.4 years, range: 2 days to 10.0 years; 6 girls, 11 boys) underwent contrast-enhanced CT examinations of the chest and abdomen in this HIPAA compliant and institutional review board approved study. Raw data were reconstructed into separate image datasets using Veo trademark and ASIR trademark algorithms (GE Medical Systems, Milwaukee, WI). Four blinded radiologists subjectively evaluated image quality. The pulmonary, hepatic, splenic and renal arteries were evaluated for the length and number of branches depicted. Datasets were compared with parametric and non-parametric statistical tests. Readers stated a preference for Veo trademark over ASIR trademark images when subjectively evaluating image quality criteria for vessel definition, image noise and resolution of small anatomical structures. The mean image noise in the aorta and fat was significantly less for Veo trademark vs. ASIR trademark reconstructed images. Quantitative measurements of mean vessel lengths and number of branches vessels delineated were significantly different for Veo trademark and ASIR trademark images. Veo trademark consistently showed more of the vessel anatomy: longer vessel length and more branching vessels. When compared to the more established adaptive statistical iterative reconstruction algorithm, model

Computed tomography depiction of small pediatric vessels with model-based iterative reconstruction

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Koc, Gonca; Courtier, Jesse L.; Phelps, Andrew; Marcovici, Peter A.; MacKenzie, John D.

2014-01-01

Computed tomography (CT) is extremely important in characterizing blood vessel anatomy and vascular lesions in children. Recent advances in CT reconstruction technology hold promise for improved image quality and also reductions in radiation dose. This report evaluates potential improvements in image quality for the depiction of small pediatric vessels with model-based iterative reconstruction (Veo trademark), a technique developed to improve image quality and reduce noise. To evaluate Veo trademark as an improved method when compared to adaptive statistical iterative reconstruction (ASIR trademark) for the depiction of small vessels on pediatric CT. Seventeen patients (mean age: 3.4 years, range: 2 days to 10.0 years; 6 girls, 11 boys) underwent contrast-enhanced CT examinations of the chest and abdomen in this HIPAA compliant and institutional review board approved study. Raw data were reconstructed into separate image datasets using Veo trademark and ASIR trademark algorithms (GE Medical Systems, Milwaukee, WI). Four blinded radiologists subjectively evaluated image quality. The pulmonary, hepatic, splenic and renal arteries were evaluated for the length and number of branches depicted. Datasets were compared with parametric and non-parametric statistical tests. Readers stated a preference for Veo trademark over ASIR trademark images when subjectively evaluating image quality criteria for vessel definition, image noise and resolution of small anatomical structures. The mean image noise in the aorta and fat was significantly less for Veo trademark vs. ASIR trademark reconstructed images. Quantitative measurements of mean vessel lengths and number of branches vessels delineated were significantly different for Veo trademark and ASIR trademark images. Veo trademark consistently showed more of the vessel anatomy: longer vessel length and more branching vessels. When compared to the more established adaptive statistical iterative reconstruction algorithm, model

Model simulations and proxy-based reconstructions for the European region in the past millennium (Invited)

Science.gov (United States)

Zorita, E.

2009-12-01

One of the objectives when comparing simulations of past climates to proxy-based climate reconstructions is to asses the skill of climate models to simulate climate change. This comparison may accomplished at large spatial scales, for instance the evolution of simulated and reconstructed Northern Hemisphere annual temperature, or at regional or point scales. In both approaches a 'fair' comparison has to take into account different aspects that affect the inevitable uncertainties and biases in the simulations and in the reconstructions. These efforts face a trade-off: climate models are believed to be more skillful at large hemispheric scales, but climate reconstructions are these scales are burdened by the spatial distribution of available proxies and by methodological issues surrounding the statistical method used to translate the proxy information into large-spatial averages. Furthermore, the internal climatic noise at large hemispheric scales is low, so that the sampling uncertainty tends to be also low. On the other hand, the skill of climate models at regional scales is limited by the coarse spatial resolution, which hinders a faithful representation of aspects important for the regional climate. At small spatial scales, the reconstruction of past climate probably faces less methodological problems if information from different proxies is available. The internal climatic variability at regional scales is, however, high. In this contribution some examples of the different issues faced when comparing simulation and reconstructions at small spatial scales in the past millennium are discussed. These examples comprise reconstructions from dendrochronological data and from historical documentary data in Europe and climate simulations with global and regional models. These examples indicate that the centennial climate variations can offer a reasonable target to assess the skill of global climate models and of proxy-based reconstructions, even at small spatial scales

Gaussian mixture models and semantic gating improve reconstructions from human brain activity

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sanne eSchoenmakers

2015-01-01

Full Text Available Better acquisition protocols and analysis techniques are making it possible to use fMRI to obtain highly detailed visualizations of brain processes. In particular we focus on the reconstruction of natural images from BOLD responses in visual cortex. We expand our linear Gaussian framework for percept decoding with Gaussian mixture models to better represent the prior distribution of natural images. Reconstruction of such images then boils down to probabilistic inference in a hybrid Bayesian network. In our set-up, different mixture components correspond to different character categories. Our framework can automatically infer higher-order semantic categories from lower-level brain areas. Furthermore the framework can gate semantic information from higher-order brain areas to enforce the correct category during reconstruction. When categorical information is not available, we show that automatically learned clusters in the data give a similar improvement in reconstruction. The hybrid Bayesian network leads to highly accurate reconstructions in both supervised and unsupervised settings.

Natural and Experimental Poisoning of Cattle by Enterolobium contortisiliquum Pods (Fabaceae Mimosoideae in Central-Western Brazil

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Fábio de Souza Mendonça

2009-01-01

Full Text Available Enterolobium contortisiliquum pods are commonly identified as being the cause of abortions and photosensitivity in cattle. This paper describes the clinical and pathological aspects of a natural outbreak of hepatogenous photosensitization by the pods of E. contortisiliquum in Brazil and the results of experimental poisoning in three bovines. The history of natural poisoning was obtained at the site of the outbreak. Clinical examinations were carried out and hepatic enzymes were analyzed. A post-mortem examination was carried out at the outbreak location on a cow that had died. Several samples were collected from the animal's internal organs to carry out histopathological examinations. E. contortisiliquum pods were given to cows in order to reproduce the disease. The natural poisonings were characterized by photosensitization and aborted young. Enterolobium photosensitization was not experimentally reproduced, but the animals fell sick and recovered after 52 days.

Assessing Women’s Preferences and Preference Modeling for Breast Reconstruction Decision Making

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Clement S. Sun, MS

2014-03-01

Conclusions: We recommend the risk-averse multiplicative model for modeling the preferences of patients considering different forms of breast reconstruction because it agreed most often with the participants in this study.

Tree spatial structure, host composition and resource availability influence mirid density or black pod prevalence in cacao agroforests in Cameroon.

Science.gov (United States)

Gidoin, Cynthia; Babin, Régis; Bagny Beilhe, Leïla; Cilas, Christian; ten Hoopen, Gerben Martijn; Bieng, Marie Ange Ngo

2014-01-01

Combining crop plants with other plant species in agro-ecosystems is one way to enhance ecological pest and disease regulation mechanisms. Resource availability and microclimatic variation mechanisms affect processes related to pest and pathogen life cycles. These mechanisms are supported both by empirical research and by epidemiological models, yet their relative importance in a real complex agro-ecosystem is still not known. Our aim was thus to assess the independent effects and the relative importance of different variables related to resource availability and microclimatic variation that explain pest and disease occurrence at the plot scale in real complex agro-ecosystems. The study was conducted in cacao (Theobroma cacao) agroforests in Cameroon, where cocoa production is mainly impacted by the mirid bug, Sahlbergella singularis, and black pod disease, caused by Phytophthora megakarya. Vegetation composition and spatial structure, resource availability and pest and disease occurrence were characterized in 20 real agroforest plots. Hierarchical partitioning was used to identify the causal variables that explain mirid density and black pod prevalence. The results of this study show that cacao agroforests can be differentiated on the basis of vegetation composition and spatial structure. This original approach revealed that mirid density decreased when a minimum number of randomly distributed forest trees were present compared with the aggregated distribution of forest trees, or when forest tree density was low. Moreover, a decrease in mirid density was also related to decreased availability of sensitive tissue, independently of the effect of forest tree structure. Contrary to expectations, black pod prevalence decreased with increasing cacao tree abundance. By revealing the effects of vegetation composition and spatial structure on mirids and black pod, this study opens new perspectives for the joint agro-ecological management of cacao pests and diseases at the

An analytical reconstruction model of the spread-out Bragg peak using laser-accelerated proton beams.

Science.gov (United States)

Tao, Li; Zhu, Kun; Zhu, Jungao; Xu, Xiaohan; Lin, Chen; Ma, Wenjun; Lu, Haiyang; Zhao, Yanying; Lu, Yuanrong; Chen, Jia-Er; Yan, Xueqing

2017-07-07

With the development of laser technology, laser-driven proton acceleration provides a new method for proton tumor therapy. However, it has not been applied in practice because of the wide and decreasing energy spectrum of laser-accelerated proton beams. In this paper, we propose an analytical model to reconstruct the spread-out Bragg peak (SOBP) using laser-accelerated proton beams. Firstly, we present a modified weighting formula for protons of different energies. Secondly, a theoretical model for the reconstruction of SOBPs with laser-accelerated proton beams has been built. It can quickly calculate the number of laser shots needed for each energy interval of the laser-accelerated protons. Finally, we show the 2D reconstruction results of SOBPs for laser-accelerated proton beams and the ideal situation. The final results show that our analytical model can give an SOBP reconstruction scheme that can be used for actual tumor therapy.

Dietary fibre concentrate from Chilean algarrobo (Prosopis chilensis (Mol.) Stuntz) pods: purification and characterization.

Science.gov (United States)

Estévez, Ana María; Figuerola, Fernando; Bernuy, Enrique; Sáenz, Carmen

2014-12-01

Prosopis species are generally fast-growing, drought-resistant, nitrogen-fixing trees or shrubs. Fruits of Prosopis spp are indehiscent pods, where pericarp is formed by the epicarp, light brown in colour, and fibrous nature; the mesocarp known as pulp, which is rich in sugars; and the endocarp. The aim of this work was to obtain a fibre concentrate from the pods of Prosopis chilensis Mol. (Stuntz) and to determine the chemical, physical, and technological properties of the pod flour (PF) and of a fibre concentrate or pod purified flour (PPF). Acetone, ethanol, and water at different conditions of time and temperature were used in the purification process. PF showed 53.7 g/100 g of total sugar content, 4.2 g/100 g of reducing sugar content, 41.8 g/100 g of total dietary fibre, 35.8 g/100 g of insoluble fibre, and 6.0 g/100 g of soluble fibre content. The PPF has a total sugar content of 3.8 g/100 g, reducing sugar content of 2.2 g/100 g, total dietary fibre content of 80.8 g/100 g, insoluble fibre content of 75.1 g/100 g, and soluble fibre content of 5.7 g/100 g. The scanning electron microscopy analysis showed the existence of voids in the structure of PPF flour, which reveals the efficiency of the purification process with a high decrease in the total sugar content. © The Author(s) 2013 Reprints and permissions: sagepub.co.uk/journalsPermissions.nav.

Program POD; A computer code to calculate nuclear elastic scattering cross sections with the optical model and neutron inelastic scattering cross sections by the distorted-wave born approximation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ichihara, Akira; Kunieda, Satoshi; Chiba, Satoshi; Iwamoto, Osamu; Shibata, Keiichi; Nakagawa, Tsuneo; Fukahori, Tokio; Katakura, Jun-ichi

2005-07-01

The computer code, POD, was developed to calculate angle-differential cross sections and analyzing powers for shape-elastic scattering for collisions of neutron or light ions with target nucleus. The cross sections are computed with the optical model. Angle-differential cross sections for neutron inelastic scattering can also be calculated with the distorted-wave Born approximation. The optical model potential parameters are the most essential inputs for those model computations. In this program, the cross sections and analyzing powers are obtained by using the existing local or global parameters. The parameters can also be inputted by users. In this report, the theoretical formulas, the computational methods, and the input parameters are explained. The sample inputs and outputs are also presented. (author)

Nutrient utilization and rumen metabolism in sheep fed Prosopis juliflora pods and Cenchrus grass.

Science.gov (United States)

Chaturvedi, Om Hari; Sahoo, Artabandhu

2013-01-01

The present study was conducted to evaluate the effect of replacement of Prosopis juliflora pods (PJP) in the concentrate mixture fed to sheep along with Cenchrus grass (CG). Twenty four adult Malpura rams (3-5 years, 45.4 ± 4.26 kg) were randomly divided into three equal groups on the basis of age and live weight (LW). Mature green Prosopis juliflora pods were collected, dried and ground to replace concentrate mixture at 0 (G1), 30% (G2) or 40% (G3). Cenchrus grass was offered ad libitum whereas the concentrate mixture was fed at the rate of 1% LW. Nutrient digestibility did not differ among the groups while N balance data showed reduced utilization in G3. However, the animals in G1, G2 and G3 maintained LW and their nutritional profile indicated surplus of energy and protein with comparable feed value of all the three diets. Rumen pH decreased and volatile fatty acids increased (P Prosopis juliflora pods can replace concentrate mixture up to 40% in sheep feeding without any adverse effect on nutrient intake and utilization as well as rumen fermentation characteristics.

iPod tours: a new approach to induction

OpenAIRE

Mawson, M.

2007-01-01

This article is based on a presentation given at a conference organized by cpd 25 in April 2007; “The Library in the Interactive Environment: Practical use of technology to improve the student experience”. It describes the development and creation of an iPod induction tour for the Main Library at Sheffield University, with input from students. It also discusses the use and evaluation of the tour, and concludes by describing how the Library is using the experience to consider other technologie...

Anisotropic modeling and joint-MAP stitching for improved ultrasound model-based iterative reconstruction of large and thick specimens

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Almansouri, Hani [Purdue University; Venkatakrishnan, Singanallur V. [ORNL; Clayton, Dwight A. [ORNL; Polsky, Yarom [ORNL; Bouman, Charles [Purdue University; Santos-Villalobos, Hector J. [ORNL

2018-04-01

One-sided non-destructive evaluation (NDE) is widely used to inspect materials, such as concrete structures in nuclear power plants (NPP). A widely used method for one-sided NDE is the synthetic aperture focusing technique (SAFT). The SAFT algorithm produces reasonable results when inspecting simple structures. However, for complex structures, such as heavily reinforced thick concrete structures, SAFT results in artifacts and hence there is a need for a more sophisticated inversion technique. Model-based iterative reconstruction (MBIR) algorithms, which are typically equivalent to regularized inversion techniques, offer a powerful framework to incorporate complex models for the physics, detector miscalibrations and the materials being imaged to obtain high quality reconstructions. Previously, we have proposed an ultrasonic MBIR method that signifcantly improves reconstruction quality compared to SAFT. However, the method made some simplifying assumptions on the propagation model and did not disucss ways to handle data that is obtained by raster scanning a system over a surface to inspect large regions. In this paper, we propose a novel MBIR algorithm that incorporates an anisotropic forward model and allows for the joint processing of data obtained from a system that raster scans a large surface. We demonstrate that the new MBIR method can produce dramatic improvements in reconstruction quality compared to SAFT and suppresses articfacts compared to the perviously presented MBIR approach.

3D Surface Reconstruction for Lower Limb Prosthetic Model using Radon Transform

Science.gov (United States)

Sobani, S. S. Mohd; Mahmood, N. H.; Zakaria, N. A.; Razak, M. A. Abdul

2018-03-01

This paper describes the idea to realize three-dimensional surfaces of objects with cylinder-based shapes where the techniques adopted and the strategy developed for a non-rigid three-dimensional surface reconstruction of an object from uncalibrated two-dimensional image sequences using multiple-view digital camera and turntable setup. The surface of an object is reconstructed based on the concept of tomography with the aid of performing several digital image processing algorithms on the two-dimensional images captured by a digital camera in thirty-six different projections and the three-dimensional structure of the surface is analysed. Four different objects are used as experimental models in the reconstructions and each object is placed on a manually rotated turntable. The results shown that the proposed method has successfully reconstruct the three-dimensional surface of the objects and practicable. The shape and size of the reconstructed three-dimensional objects are recognizable and distinguishable. The reconstructions of objects involved in the test are strengthened with the analysis where the maximum percent error obtained from the computation is approximately 1.4 % for the height whilst 4.0%, 4.79% and 4.7% for the diameters at three specific heights of the objects.

InstrumentationPod (IPOD) User Guide

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Parker, Robert F. [Los Alamos National Lab. (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States)

2014-06-12

This document describes the Instrumentation Pod (IPOD) and its operation and use. The IPOD is a low-power detector system comprising a 3He tube with preamp for neutron detection, a microcontroller-based data acquisition system, a GPS receiver for locationdetermination and time-synchronization, and power filtering and protection. The IPOD is intended to be bolted to the top of Dual-Use Casks stored at Baikal-1 in Kazakhstan in order to maintain continuity of knowledge of the materials stored within the cask. The data acquisition system receives pulses from the neutron-detection preamp, combines this information with other sensor data, and stores the result on two SD cards that are part of the data acquisition system. Firmware in the data acquisition system controls collection and storing of the data and enables configuration of the acquisition parameters.

Management of Podrot, Oil Content, and Pod Weight of Benniseed ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

... yield at the highest plant population of 250,000 plants/ha in the 1st and 2nd seasons. However, yield were highest at combination of 60kg/ha and 250,000 plants/ha in all the seasons investigated. Keywords: Management , Podrot, Oil content, Pod Weight, Benniseed, Ultisols Discovery and Innovation Vol. 19 (3) 2007: pp.

User evaluations offer promise for pod-intravaginal ring as a drug delivery platform: A mixed methods study of acceptability and use experiences.

Science.gov (United States)

Guthrie, Kate M; Rosen, Rochelle K; Vargas, Sara E; Getz, Melissa L; Dawson, Lauren; Guillen, Melissa; Ramirez, Jaime J; Baum, Marc M; Vincent, Kathleen L

2018-01-01

Effective HIV prevention requires efficient delivery of safe and efficacious drugs and optimization of user adherence. The user's experiences with the drug, delivery system, and use parameters are critical to product acceptability and adherence. Prevention product developers have the opportunity to directly control a drug delivery system and its impact on acceptability and adherence, as well as product efficacy. Involvement of potential users during preclinical design and development can facilitate this process. We embedded a mixed methods user evaluation study into a safety and pharmacokinetics (PK) trial of a pod-intravaginal ring delivering antiretroviral agents. Women enrolled in two cohorts, ultimately evaluating the safety/PK of a pod-IVRs delivering TDF-alone, TDF-FTC, and/or TDF-FTC-MVC. A 7-day use period was targeted for each pod-IVR, regardless of drug or drug combination. During the clinical study, participants provided both quantitative (i.e., survey) and qualitative (i.e., in-depth interview) data capturing acceptability, perceptibility, and adherence behaviors. Initial sexual and reproductive health history surveys, daily diaries, a final acceptability and willingness to use survey, and a qualitative in-depth interview comprised the user evaluation data for each pod-IVR experienced by the participants. Overall, the majority of participants (N = 10) reported being willing to use the pod-IVR platform for HIV prevention should it advance to market. Confidence to use the pod-IVR (e.g., insertion, removal) was high. There were no differences noted in the user experience of the pod-IVR platform; that is, whether the ring delivered TDF-alone, TDF-FTC, or TDF-FTC-MVC, users' experiences of the ring were similar and acceptable. Participants did report specific experiences, both sensory and behavioral, that impacted their use behaviors with respect to the ring, and which could ultimately impact acceptability and adherence. These experiences, and user

Model-based image reconstruction for four-dimensional PET

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Li Tianfang; Thorndyke, Brian; Schreibmann, Eduard; Yang Yong; Xing Lei

2006-01-01

Positron emission tonography (PET) is useful in diagnosis and radiation treatment planning for a variety of cancers. For patients with cancers in thoracic or upper abdominal region, the respiratory motion produces large distortions in the tumor shape and size, affecting the accuracy in both diagnosis and treatment. Four-dimensional (4D) (gated) PET aims to reduce the motion artifacts and to provide accurate measurement of the tumor volume and the tracer concentration. A major issue in 4D PET is the lack of statistics. Since the collected photons are divided into several frames in the 4D PET scan, the quality of each reconstructed frame degrades as the number of frames increases. The increased noise in each frame heavily degrades the quantitative accuracy of the PET imaging. In this work, we propose a method to enhance the performance of 4D PET by developing a new technique of 4D PET reconstruction with incorporation of an organ motion model derived from 4D-CT images. The method is based on the well-known maximum-likelihood expectation-maximization (ML-EM) algorithm. During the processes of forward- and backward-projection in the ML-EM iterations, all projection data acquired at different phases are combined together to update the emission map with the aid of deformable model, the statistics is therefore greatly improved. The proposed algorithm was first evaluated with computer simulations using a mathematical dynamic phantom. Experiment with a moving physical phantom was then carried out to demonstrate the accuracy of the proposed method and the increase of signal-to-noise ratio over three-dimensional PET. Finally, the 4D PET reconstruction was applied to a patient case

Quality Analysis on 3d Buidling Models Reconstructed from Uav Imagery

Science.gov (United States)

Jarzabek-Rychard, M.; Karpina, M.

2016-06-01

Recent developments in UAV technology and structure from motion techniques have effected that UAVs are becoming standard platforms for 3D data collection. Because of their flexibility and ability to reach inaccessible urban parts, drones appear as optimal solution for urban applications. Building reconstruction from the data collected with UAV has the important potential to reduce labour cost for fast update of already reconstructed 3D cities. However, especially for updating of existing scenes derived from different sensors (e.g. airborne laser scanning), a proper quality assessment is necessary. The objective of this paper is thus to evaluate the potential of UAV imagery as an information source for automatic 3D building modeling at LOD2. The investigation process is conducted threefold: (1) comparing generated SfM point cloud to ALS data; (2) computing internal consistency measures of the reconstruction process; (3) analysing the deviation of Check Points identified on building roofs and measured with a tacheometer. In order to gain deep insight in the modeling performance, various quality indicators are computed and analysed. The assessment performed according to the ground truth shows that the building models acquired with UAV-photogrammetry have the accuracy of less than 18 cm for the plannimetric position and about 15 cm for the height component.

QUALITY ANALYSIS ON 3D BUIDLING MODELS RECONSTRUCTED FROM UAV IMAGERY

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

M. Jarzabek-Rychard

2016-06-01

Full Text Available Recent developments in UAV technology and structure from motion techniques have effected that UAVs are becoming standard platforms for 3D data collection. Because of their flexibility and ability to reach inaccessible urban parts, drones appear as optimal solution for urban applications. Building reconstruction from the data collected with UAV has the important potential to reduce labour cost for fast update of already reconstructed 3D cities. However, especially for updating of existing scenes derived from different sensors (e.g. airborne laser scanning, a proper quality assessment is necessary. The objective of this paper is thus to evaluate the potential of UAV imagery as an information source for automatic 3D building modeling at LOD2. The investigation process is conducted threefold: (1 comparing generated SfM point cloud to ALS data; (2 computing internal consistency measures of the reconstruction process; (3 analysing the deviation of Check Points identified on building roofs and measured with a tacheometer. In order to gain deep insight in the modeling performance, various quality indicators are computed and analysed. The assessment performed according to the ground truth shows that the building models acquired with UAV-photogrammetry have the accuracy of less than 18 cm for the plannimetric position and about 15 cm for the height component.

Utilization of cocoa pod husk waste as potential adsorbents for Remazol Brilliant Violet 5R removal

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tan Tong Siang; Mohd Azmier Ahmad

2010-01-01

Removal of Remazol Brilliant Violet 5R (RBV5R) dye from aqueous solution by adsorption onto activated carbon produced from cocoa pod husk (CPH) waste was investigated. Adsorption isotherms were derived at 30 degree Celsius on the basis of batch analysis. Isotherm data were treated according to Langmuir and Freundlich models. Kinetics of adsorption was followed by in situ UV-spectroscopy and the data were treated according to pseudo-first-order and pseudo-second-order models. The fits of experimental data to these equations were examined. It was found that the adsorption process by RVB5R dye onto activated carbon (AC) follows the Freundlich and pseudo-first-order model. (author)

Data-Driven Neural Network Model for Robust Reconstruction of Automobile Casting

Science.gov (United States)

Lin, Jinhua; Wang, Yanjie; Li, Xin; Wang, Lu

2017-09-01

In computer vision system, it is a challenging task to robustly reconstruct complex 3D geometries of automobile castings. However, 3D scanning data is usually interfered by noises, the scanning resolution is low, these effects normally lead to incomplete matching and drift phenomenon. In order to solve these problems, a data-driven local geometric learning model is proposed to achieve robust reconstruction of automobile casting. In order to relieve the interference of sensor noise and to be compatible with incomplete scanning data, a 3D convolution neural network is established to match the local geometric features of automobile casting. The proposed neural network combines the geometric feature representation with the correlation metric function to robustly match the local correspondence. We use the truncated distance field(TDF) around the key point to represent the 3D surface of casting geometry, so that the model can be directly embedded into the 3D space to learn the geometric feature representation; Finally, the training labels is automatically generated for depth learning based on the existing RGB-D reconstruction algorithm, which accesses to the same global key matching descriptor. The experimental results show that the matching accuracy of our network is 92.2% for automobile castings, the closed loop rate is about 74.0% when the matching tolerance threshold τ is 0.2. The matching descriptors performed well and retained 81.6% matching accuracy at 95% closed loop. For the sparse geometric castings with initial matching failure, the 3D matching object can be reconstructed robustly by training the key descriptors. Our method performs 3D reconstruction robustly for complex automobile castings.

Data in support of proteome analysis of gynophores and early swelling pods of peanut (Arachis hypogaea L.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Han Xia

2015-12-01

Full Text Available Different from most of other plants, peanut (Arachis hypogaea L. is a typical geocarpic species which flowering and forming pegs (gynophores above the ground. Pegs penetrate into soil for embryo and pod development. To investigate the molecular mechanism of geocarpy feature of peanut, the proteome profiles of aerial grown gynophores (S1, subterranean unswollen gynophores (S2, and gynophores that had just started to swell into pods (S3 were analyzed by combining 1 DE with nano LC–MS/MS approaches. The proteomic data provided valuable information for understanding pod development of peanut. The data described here can be found in the PRIDE Archive using the reference number PXD002579-81. A more comprehensive analysis of this data may be obtained from the article in BMC Plant Biology (Zhao et al., 2015 [1].

Impact of digital intraoral scan strategies on the impression accuracy using the TRIOS Pod scanner.

Science.gov (United States)

Müller, Philipp; Ender, Andreas; Joda, Tim; Katsoulis, Joannis

2016-04-01

Little information is available on the impact of different scan strategies on the accuracy of full-arch scans with intraoral scanners. The aim of this in-vitro study was to investigate the trueness and precision of full-arch maxillary digital impressions comparing three scan strategies. Three scan strategies (A, B, and C) were applied each five times on one single model (A, first buccal surfaces, return from occlusal-palatal; B, first occlusal-palatal, return buccal; C, S-type one-way). The TRIOS Pod scanner (3shape, Copenhagen, Denmark) with a color detector was used for these digital impressions. A cast of a maxillary dentate jaw was fabricated and scanned with an industrial reference scanner. This full-arch data record was digitally superimposed with the test scans (trueness) and within-group comparison was performed for each group (precision). The values within the 90/10 percentiles from the digital superimposition were used for calculation and group comparisons with nonparametric tests (ANOVA, post-hoc Bonferroni). The trueness (mean ± standard deviation) was 17.9 ± 16.4 μm for scan strategy A, 17.1 ± 13.7 μm for B, and 26.8 ± 14.7 μm for C without statistically significant difference. The precision was lowest for scan strategy A (35.0 ± 51.1 μm) and significantly different to B (7.9 ± 5.6 μm) and C (8.5 ± 6.3 μm). Scan strategy B may be recommended as it provides the highest trueness and precision in full-arch scans and therefore minimizes inaccuracies in the final reconstruction.

SU-C-BRB-06: Dosimetric Impact of Breast Contour Reconstruction Errors in GammaPod Stereotactic Radiotherapy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Niu, Y; Becker, S; Mutaf, Y; Yu, C

2016-01-01

Purpose: The first GammaPod™ unit, a dedicated prone stereotactic treatment device for early stage breast cancer, has been installed and commissioned at University of Maryland School of Medicine. The objective of this study was to investigate potential dosimetric impact of inaccurate breast contour. Methods: In GammaPod treatments, patient’s beast is immobilized by a breast cup device (BCID) throughout the entire same-day imaging and treatment procedure. 28 different BICD sizes are available to accommodate patients with varying breast sizes. A mild suction helps breast tissue to conform to the shape of the cup with selected size. In treatment planning, dose calculation utilizes previously calculated dose distributions for available cup geometry rather than the breast shape from CT image. Patient CT images with breast cups indicate minor geometric discrepancy between the matched shape of the cup and the breast contour, i.e., the contour size is larger or smaller. In order to investigate the dosimetric impact of these discrepancies, we simulated such discrepancies and reassessed the dose to target as well as skin. Results: In vicinity of skin, hot/cold spots were found when matched cup size was smaller/larger than patient’s breast after comparing the corrected dose profiles from Monte Carlo simulation with the planned dose from TPS. The overdosing/underdosing of target could yield point dose differences as large as 5% due to these setup errors (D95 changes within 2.5%). Maximal skin dose was overestimated/underestimated up to 25%/45% when matched cup size was larger/smaller than real breast contour. Conclusion: The dosimetric evaluation suggests substantial underdosing/overdosing with inaccurate cup geometry during planning, which is acceptable for current clinical trial. Further studies are needed to evaluate such impact to treating small volume close to skin.

SU-C-BRB-06: Dosimetric Impact of Breast Contour Reconstruction Errors in GammaPod Stereotactic Radiotherapy

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Niu, Y [Xcision Medical Systems LLC, Columbia, MD (United States); Becker, S; Mutaf, Y [University Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD (United States); Yu, C [Xcision Medical Systems LLC, Columbia, MD (United States); University Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD (United States)

2016-06-15

Purpose: The first GammaPod™ unit, a dedicated prone stereotactic treatment device for early stage breast cancer, has been installed and commissioned at University of Maryland School of Medicine. The objective of this study was to investigate potential dosimetric impact of inaccurate breast contour. Methods: In GammaPod treatments, patient’s beast is immobilized by a breast cup device (BCID) throughout the entire same-day imaging and treatment procedure. 28 different BICD sizes are available to accommodate patients with varying breast sizes. A mild suction helps breast tissue to conform to the shape of the cup with selected size. In treatment planning, dose calculation utilizes previously calculated dose distributions for available cup geometry rather than the breast shape from CT image. Patient CT images with breast cups indicate minor geometric discrepancy between the matched shape of the cup and the breast contour, i.e., the contour size is larger or smaller. In order to investigate the dosimetric impact of these discrepancies, we simulated such discrepancies and reassessed the dose to target as well as skin. Results: In vicinity of skin, hot/cold spots were found when matched cup size was smaller/larger than patient’s breast after comparing the corrected dose profiles from Monte Carlo simulation with the planned dose from TPS. The overdosing/underdosing of target could yield point dose differences as large as 5% due to these setup errors (D95 changes within 2.5%). Maximal skin dose was overestimated/underestimated up to 25%/45% when matched cup size was larger/smaller than real breast contour. Conclusion: The dosimetric evaluation suggests substantial underdosing/overdosing with inaccurate cup geometry during planning, which is acceptable for current clinical trial. Further studies are needed to evaluate such impact to treating small volume close to skin.

NASAL-Geom, a free upper respiratory tract 3D model reconstruction software

Science.gov (United States)

Cercos-Pita, J. L.; Cal, I. R.; Duque, D.; de Moreta, G. Sanjuán

2018-02-01

The tool NASAL-Geom, a free upper respiratory tract 3D model reconstruction software, is here described. As a free software, researchers and professionals are welcome to obtain, analyze, improve and redistribute it, potentially increasing the rate of development, and reducing at the same time ethical conflicts regarding medical applications which cannot be analyzed. Additionally, the tool has been optimized for the specific task of reading upper respiratory tract Computerized Tomography scans, and producing 3D geometries. The reconstruction process is divided into three stages: preprocessing (including Metal Artifact Reduction, noise removal, and feature enhancement), segmentation (where the nasal cavity is identified), and 3D geometry reconstruction. The tool has been automatized (i.e. no human intervention is required) a critical feature to avoid bias in the reconstructed geometries. The applied methodology is discussed, as well as the program robustness and precision.

Scapular flap for maxillectomy defect reconstruction and preliminary results using three-dimensional modeling.

Science.gov (United States)

Modest, Mara C; Moore, Eric J; Abel, Kathryn M Van; Janus, Jeffrey R; Sims, John R; Price, Daniel L; Olsen, Kerry D

2017-01-01

Discuss current techniques utilizing the scapular tip and subscapular system for free tissue reconstruction of maxillary defects and highlight the impact of medical modeling on these techniques with a case series. Case review series at an academic hospital of patients undergoing maxillectomy + thoracodorsal scapula composite free flap (TSCF) reconstruction. Three-dimensional (3D) models were used in the last five cases. 3D modeling, surgical, functional, and aesthetic outcomes were reviewed. Nine patients underwent TSCF reconstruction for maxillectomy defects (median age = 43 years; range, 19-66 years). Five patients (55%) had a total maxillectomy (TM) ± orbital exenteration, whereas four patients (44%) underwent subtotal palatal maxillectomy. For TM, the contralateral scapula tip was positioned with its natural concavity recreating facial contour. The laterally based vascular pedicle was ideally positioned for facial vessel anastomosis. For subtotal-palatal defect, an ipsilateral flap was harvested, but inset with the convex surface facing superiorly. Once 3D models were available from our anatomic modeling lab, they were used for intraoperative planning of the last five patients. Use of the model intraoperatively improved efficiency and allowed for better contouring/plating of the TSCF. At last follow-up, all patients had good functional outcomes. Aesthetic outcomes were more successful in patients where 3D-modeling was used (100% vs. 50%). There were no flap failures. Median follow-up >1 month was 5.2 months (range, 1-32.7 months). Reconstruction of maxillectomy defects is complex. Successful aesthetic and functional outcomes are critical to patient satisfaction. The TSCF is a versatile flap. Based on defect type, choosing laterality is crucial for proper vessel orientation and outcomes. The use of internally produced 3D models has helped refine intraoperative contouring and flap inset, leading to more successful outcomes. 4. Laryngoscope, 127:E8-E14

Fast implementations of reconstruction-based scatter compensation in fully 3D SPECT image reconstruction

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kadrmas, Dan J.; Karimi, Seemeen S.; Frey, Eric C.; Tsui, Benjamin M.W.

1998-01-01

Accurate scatter compensation in SPECT can be performed by modelling the scatter response function during the reconstruction process. This method is called reconstruction-based scatter compensation (RBSC). It has been shown that RBSC has a number of advantages over other methods of compensating for scatter, but using RBSC for fully 3D compensation has resulted in prohibitively long reconstruction times. In this work we propose two new methods that can be used in conjunction with existing methods to achieve marked reductions in RBSC reconstruction times. The first method, coarse-grid scatter modelling, significantly accelerates the scatter model by exploiting the fact that scatter is dominated by low-frequency information. The second method, intermittent RBSC, further accelerates the reconstruction process by limiting the number of iterations during which scatter is modelled. The fast implementations were evaluated using a Monte Carlo simulated experiment of the 3D MCAT phantom with 99m Tc tracer, and also using experimentally acquired data with 201 Tl tracer. Results indicated that these fast methods can reconstruct, with fully 3D compensation, images very similar to those obtained using standard RBSC methods, and in reconstruction times that are an order of magnitude shorter. Using these methods, fully 3D iterative reconstruction with RBSC can be performed well within the realm of clinically realistic times (under 10 minutes for 64x64x24 image reconstruction). (author)

AUTOMATED RECONSTRUCTION OF WALLS FROM AIRBORNE LIDAR DATA FOR COMPLETE 3D BUILDING MODELLING

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Y. He

2012-07-01

Full Text Available Automated 3D building model generation continues to attract research interests in photogrammetry and computer vision. Airborne Light Detection and Ranging (LIDAR data with increasing point density and accuracy has been recognized as a valuable source for automated 3D building reconstruction. While considerable achievements have been made in roof extraction, limited research has been carried out in modelling and reconstruction of walls, which constitute important components of a full building model. Low point density and irregular point distribution of LIDAR observations on vertical walls render this task complex. This paper develops a novel approach for wall reconstruction from airborne LIDAR data. The developed method commences with point cloud segmentation using a region growing approach. Seed points for planar segments are selected through principle component analysis, and points in the neighbourhood are collected and examined to form planar segments. Afterwards, segment-based classification is performed to identify roofs, walls and planar ground surfaces. For walls with sparse LIDAR observations, a search is conducted in the neighbourhood of each individual roof segment to collect wall points, and the walls are then reconstructed using geometrical and topological constraints. Finally, walls which were not illuminated by the LIDAR sensor are determined via both reconstructed roof data and neighbouring walls. This leads to the generation of topologically consistent and geometrically accurate and complete 3D building models. Experiments have been conducted in two test sites in the Netherlands and Australia to evaluate the performance of the proposed method. Results show that planar segments can be reliably extracted in the two reported test sites, which have different point density, and the building walls can be correctly reconstructed if the walls are illuminated by the LIDAR sensor.

Image quality in children with low-radiation chest CT using adaptive statistical iterative reconstruction and model-based iterative reconstruction.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jihang Sun

Full Text Available OBJECTIVE: To evaluate noise reduction and image quality improvement in low-radiation dose chest CT images in children using adaptive statistical iterative reconstruction (ASIR and a full model-based iterative reconstruction (MBIR algorithm. METHODS: Forty-five children (age ranging from 28 days to 6 years, median of 1.8 years who received low-dose chest CT scans were included. Age-dependent noise index (NI was used for acquisition. Images were retrospectively reconstructed using three methods: MBIR, 60% of ASIR and 40% of conventional filtered back-projection (FBP, and FBP. The subjective quality of the images was independently evaluated by two radiologists. Objective noises in the left ventricle (LV, muscle, fat, descending aorta and lung field at the layer with the largest cross-section area of LV were measured, with the region of interest about one fourth to half of the area of descending aorta. Optimized signal-to-noise ratio (SNR was calculated. RESULT: In terms of subjective quality, MBIR images were significantly better than ASIR and FBP in image noise and visibility of tiny structures, but blurred edges were observed. In terms of objective noise, MBIR and ASIR reconstruction decreased the image noise by 55.2% and 31.8%, respectively, for LV compared with FBP. Similarly, MBIR and ASIR reconstruction increased the SNR by 124.0% and 46.2%, respectively, compared with FBP. CONCLUSION: Compared with FBP and ASIR, overall image quality and noise reduction were significantly improved by MBIR. MBIR image could reconstruct eligible chest CT images in children with lower radiation dose.

Muon reconstruction with a geometrical model in JUNO

Science.gov (United States)

Genster, C.; Schever, M.; Ludhova, L.; Soiron, M.; Stahl, A.; Wiebusch, C.

2018-03-01

The Jiangmen Neutrino Underground Observatory (JUNO) is a 20 kton liquid scintillator detector currently under construction near Kaiping in China. The physics program focuses on the determination of the neutrino mass hierarchy with reactor anti-neutrinos. For this purpose, JUNO is located 650 m underground with a distance of 53 km to two nuclear power plants. As a result, it is exposed to a muon flux that requires a precise muon reconstruction to make a veto of cosmogenic backgrounds viable. Established muon tracking algorithms use time residuals to a track hypothesis. We developed an alternative muon tracking algorithm that utilizes the geometrical shape of the fastest light. It models the full shape of the first, direct light produced along the muon track. From the intersection with the spherical PMT array, the track parameters are extracted with a likelihood fit. The algorithm finds a selection of PMTs based on their first hit times and charges. Subsequently, it fits on timing information only. On a sample of through-going muons with a full simulation of readout electronics, we report a spatial resolution of 20 cm of distance from the detector's center and an angular resolution of 1.6o over the whole detector. Additionally, a dead time estimation is performed to measure the impact of the muon veto. Including the step of waveform reconstruction on top of the track reconstruction, a loss in exposure of only 4% can be achieved compared to the case of a perfect tracking algorithm. When including only the PMT time resolution, but no further electronics simulation and waveform reconstruction, the exposure loss is only 1%.

Mid- and long-term runoff predictions by an improved phase-space reconstruction model

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hong, Mei; Wang, Dong; Wang, Yuankun; Zeng, Xiankui; Ge, Shanshan; Yan, Hengqian; Singh, Vijay P.

2016-01-01

In recent years, the phase-space reconstruction method has usually been used for mid- and long-term runoff predictions. However, the traditional phase-space reconstruction method is still needs to be improved. Using the genetic algorithm to improve the phase-space reconstruction method, a new nonlinear model of monthly runoff is constructed. The new model does not rely heavily on embedding dimensions. Recognizing that the rainfall–runoff process is complex, affected by a number of factors, more variables (e.g. temperature and rainfall) are incorporated in the model. In order to detect the possible presence of chaos in the runoff dynamics, chaotic characteristics of the model are also analyzed, which shows the model can represent the nonlinear and chaotic characteristics of the runoff. The model is tested for its forecasting performance in four types of experiments using data from six hydrological stations on the Yellow River and the Yangtze River. Results show that the medium-and long-term runoff is satisfactorily forecasted at the hydrological stations. Not only is the forecasting trend accurate, but also the mean absolute percentage error is no more than 15%. Moreover, the forecast results of wet years and dry years are both good, which means that the improved model can overcome the traditional ‘‘wet years and dry years predictability barrier,’’ to some extent. The model forecasts for different regions are all good, showing the universality of the approach. Compared with selected conceptual and empirical methods, the model exhibits greater reliability and stability in the long-term runoff prediction. Our study provides a new thinking for research on the association between the monthly runoff and other hydrological factors, and also provides a new method for the prediction of the monthly runoff. - Highlights: • The improved phase-space reconstruction model of monthly runoff is established. • Two variables (temperature and rainfall) are incorporated

Mid- and long-term runoff predictions by an improved phase-space reconstruction model

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Hong, Mei [Research Center of Ocean Environment Numerical Simulation, Institute of Meteorology and oceanography, PLA University of Science and Technology, Nanjing (China); Wang, Dong, E-mail: wangdong@nju.edu.cn [Key Laboratory of Surficial Geochemistry, Ministry of Education, Department of Hydrosciences, School of Earth Sciences and Engineering, Collaborative Innovation Center of South China Sea Studies, State Key Laboratory of Pollution Control and Resource Reuse, Nanjing University, Nanjing 210093 (China); Wang, Yuankun; Zeng, Xiankui [Key Laboratory of Surficial Geochemistry, Ministry of Education, Department of Hydrosciences, School of Earth Sciences and Engineering, Collaborative Innovation Center of South China Sea Studies, State Key Laboratory of Pollution Control and Resource Reuse, Nanjing University, Nanjing 210093 (China); Ge, Shanshan; Yan, Hengqian [Research Center of Ocean Environment Numerical Simulation, Institute of Meteorology and oceanography, PLA University of Science and Technology, Nanjing (China); Singh, Vijay P. [Department of Biological and Agricultural Engineering Zachry Department of Civil Engineering, Texas A & M University, College Station, TX 77843 (United States)

2016-07-15

In recent years, the phase-space reconstruction method has usually been used for mid- and long-term runoff predictions. However, the traditional phase-space reconstruction method is still needs to be improved. Using the genetic algorithm to improve the phase-space reconstruction method, a new nonlinear model of monthly runoff is constructed. The new model does not rely heavily on embedding dimensions. Recognizing that the rainfall–runoff process is complex, affected by a number of factors, more variables (e.g. temperature and rainfall) are incorporated in the model. In order to detect the possible presence of chaos in the runoff dynamics, chaotic characteristics of the model are also analyzed, which shows the model can represent the nonlinear and chaotic characteristics of the runoff. The model is tested for its forecasting performance in four types of experiments using data from six hydrological stations on the Yellow River and the Yangtze River. Results show that the medium-and long-term runoff is satisfactorily forecasted at the hydrological stations. Not only is the forecasting trend accurate, but also the mean absolute percentage error is no more than 15%. Moreover, the forecast results of wet years and dry years are both good, which means that the improved model can overcome the traditional ‘‘wet years and dry years predictability barrier,’’ to some extent. The model forecasts for different regions are all good, showing the universality of the approach. Compared with selected conceptual and empirical methods, the model exhibits greater reliability and stability in the long-term runoff prediction. Our study provides a new thinking for research on the association between the monthly runoff and other hydrological factors, and also provides a new method for the prediction of the monthly runoff. - Highlights: • The improved phase-space reconstruction model of monthly runoff is established. • Two variables (temperature and rainfall) are incorporated

Marketingový plán fitness centra Expreska Jiřího z Poděbrad

OpenAIRE

Štěchová, Kristýna

2016-01-01

Title: The marketing plan of fitness center Expreska Jiřího z Poděbrad. Objectives: The main aim of the dimploma thesis is to construct a marketing plan for fitness center Expreska Jiřího z Poděbrad for the year 2017. The proposed marketing strategy, including the implementation plan will be directed to achieve marketing and business goals of the organization. Methods: For analysis of the microenvironment is used Porter matrix. Analysis of macroenvironment is done with the help of PEST analys...

3D Volumetric Modeling and Microvascular Reconstruction of Irradiated Lumbosacral Defects After Oncologic Resection

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Emilio Garcia-Tutor

2016-12-01

Full Text Available Background: Locoregional flaps are sufficient in most sacral reconstructions. However, large sacral defects due to malignancy necessitate a different reconstructive approach, with local flaps compromised by radiation and regional flaps inadequate for broad surface areas or substantial volume obliteration. In this report, we present our experience using free muscle transfer for volumetric reconstruction in such cases, and demonstrate 3D haptic models of the sacral defect to aid preoperative planning.Methods: Five consecutive patients with irradiated sacral defects secondary to oncologic resections were included, surface area ranging from 143-600cm2. Latissimus dorsi-based free flap sacral reconstruction was performed in each case, between 2005 and 2011. Where the superior gluteal artery was compromised, the subcostal artery was used as a recipient vessel. Microvascular technique, complications and outcomes are reported. The use of volumetric analysis and 3D printing is also demonstrated, with imaging data converted to 3D images suitable for 3D printing with Osirix software (Pixmeo, Geneva, Switzerland. An office-based, desktop 3D printer was used to print 3D models of sacral defects, used to demonstrate surface area and contour and produce a volumetric print of the dead space needed for flap obliteration. Results: The clinical series of latissimus dorsi free flap reconstructions is presented, with successful transfer in all cases, and adequate soft-tissue cover and volume obliteration achieved. The original use of the subcostal artery as a recipient vessel was successfully achieved. All wounds healed uneventfully. 3D printing is also demonstrated as a useful tool for 3D evaluation of volume and dead-space.Conclusion: Free flaps offer unique benefits in sacral reconstruction where local tissue is compromised by irradiation and tumor recurrence, and dead-space requires accurate volumetric reconstruction. We describe for the first time the use of

RECONSTRUCTION OF HUMAN LUNG MORPHOLOGY MODELS FROM MAGNETIC RESONANCE IMAGES

Science.gov (United States)

Reconstruction of Human Lung Morphology Models from Magnetic Resonance ImagesT. B. Martonen (Experimental Toxicology Division, U.S. EPA, Research Triangle Park, NC 27709) and K. K. Isaacs (School of Public Health, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC 27514)

3D Fractal reconstruction of terrain profile data based on digital elevation model

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Huang, Y.M.; Chen, C.-J.

2009-01-01

Digital Elevation Model (DEM) often makes it difficult for terrain reconstruction and data storage due to the failure in acquisition of details with higher resolution. If original terrain of DEM can be simulated, resulting in geographical details can be represented precisely while reducing the data size, then an effective reconstruction scheme is essential. This paper adopts two sets of real-world 3D terrain profile data to proceed data reducing, i.e. data sampling randomly, then reconstruct them through 3D fractal reconstruction. Meanwhile, the quantitative and qualitative difference generated from different reduction rates were evaluated statistically. The research results show that, if 3D fractal interpolation method is applied to DEM reconstruction, the higher reduction rate can be obtained for DEM of larger data size with respect to that of smaller data size under the assumption that the entire terrain structure is still maintained.

A singular K-space model for fast reconstruction of magnetic resonance images from undersampled data.

Science.gov (United States)

Luo, Jianhua; Mou, Zhiying; Qin, Binjie; Li, Wanqing; Ogunbona, Philip; Robini, Marc C; Zhu, Yuemin

2017-12-09

Reconstructing magnetic resonance images from undersampled k-space data is a challenging problem. This paper introduces a novel method of image reconstruction from undersampled k-space data based on the concept of singularizing operators and a novel singular k-space model. Exploring the sparsity of an image in the k-space, the singular k-space model (SKM) is proposed in terms of the k-space functions of a singularizing operator. The singularizing operator is constructed by combining basic difference operators. An algorithm is developed to reliably estimate the model parameters from undersampled k-space data. The estimated parameters are then used to recover the missing k-space data through the model, subsequently achieving high-quality reconstruction of the image using inverse Fourier transform. Experiments on physical phantom and real brain MR images have shown that the proposed SKM method constantly outperforms the popular total variation (TV) and the classical zero-filling (ZF) methods regardless of the undersampling rates, the noise levels, and the image structures. For the same objective quality of the reconstructed images, the proposed method requires much less k-space data than the TV method. The SKM method is an effective method for fast MRI reconstruction from the undersampled k-space data. Graphical abstract Two Real Images and their sparsified images by singularizing operator.

Model-based respiratory motion compensation for emission tomography image reconstruction

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Reyes, M; Malandain, G; Koulibaly, P M; Gonzalez-Ballester, M A; Darcourt, J

2007-01-01

In emission tomography imaging, respiratory motion causes artifacts in lungs and cardiac reconstructed images, which lead to misinterpretations, imprecise diagnosis, impairing of fusion with other modalities, etc. Solutions like respiratory gating, correlated dynamic PET techniques, list-mode data based techniques and others have been tested, which lead to improvements over the spatial activity distribution in lungs lesions, but which have the disadvantages of requiring additional instrumentation or the need of discarding part of the projection data used for reconstruction. The objective of this study is to incorporate respiratory motion compensation directly into the image reconstruction process, without any additional acquisition protocol consideration. To this end, we propose an extension to the maximum likelihood expectation maximization (MLEM) algorithm that includes a respiratory motion model, which takes into account the displacements and volume deformations produced by the respiratory motion during the data acquisition process. We present results from synthetic simulations incorporating real respiratory motion as well as from phantom and patient data

Glow experiment documentation of OMS/RCS pod and vertical stabilizer

Science.gov (United States)

1982-01-01

Glow experiment documentation of one of the orbital maneuvering system (OMS) reaction control system (RCS) pods and a portion of the vertical stabilizer shows chemoluminescent effectresulting from atomic oxygen impacting the spacecraft and building to the point that the atomic oxygen atoms combine to form molecules of oxygen. The Image Intensifier on NIKON 35mm camera was used to record the glow.

Sieving Effect of Sorting Machine with Vibration Table Type on Cacao Pod Based Compost

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Siswoyo Soekarno

2009-10-01

Full Text Available Cacao pod is the biggest part (70% of weight of Cacao, which was not optimaly utilized.Cacao podis one of organic material that can be functioned as an organic fertilizer, such as compost. When utilizedwith right proportion, organic fertilizer is safe for plants and not degrades the soil composition. Compostingprocess is one of utilization form of Cacao pod. The size reduction of cacao pod in the organic fertilizerprocess would help to accelerate the composting process. Smaller particle size would faster interacting withenvironment, so the composting process would be well accelerated if compared to the material with biggersize. Chopping machine of Cacao pod is used to cut the biomass to be small particle in order to be able tobe utilized as some important necessity, i.e. fertilizer or farm animals feed. However, Varies compost sizewas one of the problems faced in the composting process. Therefore, the sorting process was needed tobe done after chopping process, so the compost size became uniform and fulfill the user demand. Thisresearch was aimed at knowing the slope effect of sorting machine and rotation speed (RPM. The methodused in analyzing the results of this research was comparing the treatment factors, which are shown withhistogram. As the super small size of compost recommended for applying in the fertilizing process, so theoptimum treatment combination for having high mass fraction of SS compost grade was achieved at 12oslope of sieve table and 1400 RPM motor rotation speed. As bigger the particle densities of the compostsize as smaller the compost porosity. Mass loss was very low at all treatment combination with the valuearound 0.43-1.33%, so the sieving efficiency can be said very high.

The potential of legume pods as supplements to low quality roughages

African Journals Online (AJOL)

The potential of legume pods as supplements to low quality roughages. A.T. Ngwa, I.V. Nsahlai, M.L.K. Bonsi. Abstract. (South African J of Animal Science, 2000, 30, Supplement 1: 107-108). Full Text: EMAIL FREE FULL TEXT EMAIL FREE FULL TEXT · DOWNLOAD FULL TEXT DOWNLOAD FULL TEXT.

Effect of Moringa oleifera (Lam.) pods as feed additive on egg ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Sohail Ahmad

2017-10-06

Oct 6, 2017 ... of these active ingredients is inhibition of pathogenic microbes and endotoxins in the gut and enhanced pancreatic activity .... The supernatant was removed and dried in a water bath. When the .... fed with different levels of Moringa oleifera pod meal ..... Effect of boiling and storage on beta-carotene content.

Combining Ability of Pod Yield and Related Traits of Groundnut (Arachis hypogaea L. under Salinity Stress

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Md. Abul Kalam Azad

2014-01-01

Full Text Available A study was performed using 6×6 F1 diallel population without reciprocals to assess the mode of inheritance of pod yield and related traits in groundnut with imposed salinity stress. Heterosis was found for pod number and yield. Data on general and specific combining ability (gca and sca indicated additive and nonadditive gene actions. The gca: sca ratios were much less than unity suggesting predominant role of nonadditive gene effects. Cultivars “Binachinabadam-2” and “Dacca-1” and mutant M6/25/64-82 had the highest, second highest, and third highest pod number, as well as gca values, respectively. These two cultivars and another mutant M6/15/70-19 also had the highest, second highest, and third highest pod yield, as well as gca values, respectively. Therefore, “Dacca-1”, “Binachinabadam-2”, M6/25/64-82, and M6/15/70-19 could be used as source of salinity tolerance. Cross combinations showing high sca effects arising from parents with high and low gca values for any trait indicate the influence of nonadditive genes on their expression. Parents of these crosses can be used for biparental mating or reciprocal recurrent selection for developing high yielding varieties. Crosses with high sca effects having both parents with good gca effects could be exploited by pedigree breeding to get transgressive segregants.

Application of a Laplace transform pair model for high-energy x-ray spectral reconstruction.

Science.gov (United States)

Archer, B R; Almond, P R; Wagner, L K

1985-01-01

A Laplace transform pair model, previously shown to accurately reconstruct x-ray spectra at diagnostic energies, has been applied to megavoltage energy beams. The inverse Laplace transforms of 2-, 6-, and 25-MV attenuation curves were evaluated to determine the energy spectra of these beams. The 2-MV data indicate that the model can reliably reconstruct spectra in the low megavoltage range. Experimental limitations in acquiring the 6-MV transmission data demonstrate the sensitivity of the model to systematic experimental error. The 25-MV data result in a physically realistic approximation of the present spectrum.

Who profits from innovation in global value chains? A study of the iPod and notebook PCs

OpenAIRE

Jason Dedrick; Kenneth L. Kraemer; Greg Linden

2010-01-01

This article analyzes the distribution of financial value from innovation in the global supply chains of iPods and notebook computers. We find that Apple has captured a great deal of value from the innovation embodied in the iPod, while notebook makers capture a more modest share of the value from PC innovation. In order to understand these differences, we employ concepts from theories of innovation and industrial organization, finding significant roles for industry evolution, complementary a...

Integrated Main Propulsion System Performance Reconstruction Process/Models

Science.gov (United States)

Lopez, Eduardo; Elliott, Katie; Snell, Steven; Evans, Michael

2013-01-01

The Integrated Main Propulsion System (MPS) Performance Reconstruction process provides the MPS post-flight data files needed for postflight reporting to the project integration management and key customers to verify flight performance. This process/model was used as the baseline for the currently ongoing Space Launch System (SLS) work. The process utilizes several methodologies, including multiple software programs, to model integrated propulsion system performance through space shuttle ascent. It is used to evaluate integrated propulsion systems, including propellant tanks, feed systems, rocket engine, and pressurization systems performance throughout ascent based on flight pressure and temperature data. The latest revision incorporates new methods based on main engine power balance model updates to model higher mixture ratio operation at lower engine power levels.

Bias in iterative reconstruction of low-statistics PET data: benefits of a resolution model

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Walker, M D; Asselin, M-C; Julyan, P J; Feldmann, M; Matthews, J C [School of Cancer and Enabling Sciences, Wolfson Molecular Imaging Centre, MAHSC, University of Manchester, Manchester M20 3LJ (United Kingdom); Talbot, P S [Mental Health and Neurodegeneration Research Group, Wolfson Molecular Imaging Centre, MAHSC, University of Manchester, Manchester M20 3LJ (United Kingdom); Jones, T, E-mail: matthew.walker@manchester.ac.uk [Academic Department of Radiation Oncology, Christie Hospital, University of Manchester, Manchester M20 4BX (United Kingdom)

2011-02-21

Iterative image reconstruction methods such as ordered-subset expectation maximization (OSEM) are widely used in PET. Reconstructions via OSEM are however reported to be biased for low-count data. We investigated this and considered the impact for dynamic PET. Patient listmode data were acquired in [{sup 11}C]DASB and [{sup 15}O]H{sub 2}O scans on the HRRT brain PET scanner. These data were subsampled to create many independent, low-count replicates. The data were reconstructed and the images from low-count data were compared to the high-count originals (from the same reconstruction method). This comparison enabled low-statistics bias to be calculated for the given reconstruction, as a function of the noise-equivalent counts (NEC). Two iterative reconstruction methods were tested, one with and one without an image-based resolution model (RM). Significant bias was observed when reconstructing data of low statistical quality, for both subsampled human and simulated data. For human data, this bias was substantially reduced by including a RM. For [{sup 11}C]DASB the low-statistics bias in the caudate head at 1.7 M NEC (approx. 30 s) was -5.5% and -13% with and without RM, respectively. We predicted biases in the binding potential of -4% and -10%. For quantification of cerebral blood flow for the whole-brain grey- or white-matter, using [{sup 15}O]H{sub 2}O and the PET autoradiographic method, a low-statistics bias of <2.5% and <4% was predicted for reconstruction with and without the RM. The use of a resolution model reduces low-statistics bias and can hence be beneficial for quantitative dynamic PET.

"Growing trees backwards": Description of a stand reconstruction model (P-53)

Science.gov (United States)

Jonathan D. Bakker; Andrew J. Sanchez Meador; Peter Z. Fule; David W. Huffman; Margaret M. Moore

2008-01-01

We describe an individual-tree model that uses contemporary measurements to "grow trees backward" and reconstruct past tree diameters and stand structure in ponderosa pine dominated stands of the Southwest. Model inputs are contemporary structural measurements of all snags, logs, stumps, and living trees, and radial growth measurements, if available. Key...

Unsteady effects at the interface between impeller-vaned diffuser in a low pressure centrifugal compressor

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mihai Leonida NICULESCU

2013-03-01

Full Text Available In this paper, Proper Orthogonal Decomposition (POD is applied to the analysis of the unsteady rotor-stator interaction in a low-pressure centrifugal compressor. Numerical simulations are carried out through finite volumes method using the Unsteady Reynolds-Averaged Navier-Stokes Equations (URANS model. Proper Orthogonal Decomposition allows an accurate reconstruction of flow field using only a small number of modes; therefore, this method is one of the best tools for data storage. The POD results and the data obtained by the Adamczyk decomposition are compared. Both decompositions show the behavior of unsteady rotor-stator interaction, but the POD modes allow quantifying better the numerical errors.

Analysis of PWR control rod ejection accident with the coupled code system SKETCH-INS/TRACE by incorporating pin power reconstruction model

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nakajima, T.; Sakai, T.

2010-01-01

The pin power reconstruction model was incorporated in the 3-D nodal kinetics code SKETCH-INS in order to produce accurate calculation of three-dimensional pin power distributions throughout the reactor core. In order to verify the employed pin power reconstruction model, the PWR MOX/UO_2 core transient benchmark problem was analyzed with the coupled code system SKETCH-INS/TRACE by incorporating the model and the influence of pin power reconstruction model was studied. SKETCH-INS pin power distributions for 3 benchmark problems were compared with the PARCS solutions which were provided by the host organisation of the benchmark. SKETCH-INS results were in good agreement with the PARCS results. The capability of employed pin power reconstruction model was confirmed through the analysis of benchmark problems. A PWR control rod ejection benchmark problem was analyzed with the coupled code system SKETCH-INS/ TRACE by incorporating the pin power reconstruction model. The influence of pin power reconstruction model was studied by comparing with the result of conventional node averaged flux model. The results indicate that the pin power reconstruction model has significant effect on the pin powers during transient and hence on the fuel enthalpy

Cowpea fresh pods - a new legume for the market: assessment of their quality and dietary characteristics of 37 cowpea accessions grown in southern Europe.

Science.gov (United States)

Karapanos, Ioannis; Papandreou, Anastasia; Skouloudi, Marianna; Makrogianni, Despoina; Fernández, Juan A; Rosa, Eduardo; Ntatsi, Georgia; Bebeli, Penelope J; Savvas, Dimitrios

2017-10-01

Cowpea is traditionally cultivated in some regions of southern Europe for its dried seeds; however, there is a scarcity of information on the quality and dietary characteristics of fresh pods, which are occasionally used in folk diets. This paper aims at covering this gap in knowledge, thereby contributing to the dissemination of fresh cowpea pods as a novel product for the market. The quality and dietary characteristics of pods from 37 accessions (Vigna unguiculata ssp. unguiculata and ssp. sesquipedalis) grown in southern Europe were assessed in an attempt to provide information on pod quality and nutritional properties and to identify relationships between quality traits and accession origin. Pods from the sesquipedalis accessions were heavier and larger, and reached commercial maturity 2 days later, than those from the unguiculata accessions. There were also large differences in the quality and dietary characteristics of the accessions. The pods of most accessions were rich in proteins, chlorophylls, carotenoids and phenolics, and showed high antioxidant activity and low concentrations of nitrates and raffinose-family oligosaccharides. Cluster analysis based on quality, dietary or antinutritional traits did not reveal any apparent grouping among the accessions. All the quality characteristics were independent of accession origin and subspecies. Most of the accessions produced fresh pods of good quality and high dietary value, suitable for introduction in the market and/or for use as valuable genetic material for the development of new improved varieties. © 2017 Society of Chemical Industry. © 2017 Society of Chemical Industry.

Alkylating efficiency of sodium azide on pod yield, nut size and ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Mutation has been utilised to improve growth and yield of many food crops, but only little effort has been made to ascertain the nutritional advantages in such improved crops. The present study evaluates the alkylating efficiency of sodium azide of different concentrations on pod yield, nut size and nutritional composition of ...

Examining iPod Use by Texas Agricultural Science and Technology Teachers

Science.gov (United States)

Murphrey, Theresa Pesl; Miller, Kimberly A.; Roberts, T. Grady

2009-01-01

The purpose of this study was to establish baseline data regarding the adoption of iPods and similar technologies by agricultural science and technology teachers. The population consisted of all agricultural science and technology teachers in Texas. A sample of 310 was randomly drawn from the population. Study findings reveal that while…

Improved quantitative 90 Y bremsstrahlung SPECT/CT reconstruction with Monte Carlo scatter modeling.

Science.gov (United States)

Dewaraja, Yuni K; Chun, Se Young; Srinivasa, Ravi N; Kaza, Ravi K; Cuneo, Kyle C; Majdalany, Bill S; Novelli, Paula M; Ljungberg, Michael; Fessler, Jeffrey A

2017-12-01

In 90 Y microsphere radioembolization (RE), accurate post-therapy imaging-based dosimetry is important for establishing absorbed dose versus outcome relationships for developing future treatment planning strategies. Additionally, accurately assessing microsphere distributions is important because of concerns for unexpected activity deposition outside the liver. Quantitative 90 Y imaging by either SPECT or PET is challenging. In 90 Y SPECT model based methods are necessary for scatter correction because energy window-based methods are not feasible with the continuous bremsstrahlung energy spectrum. The objective of this work was to implement and evaluate a scatter estimation method for accurate 90 Y bremsstrahlung SPECT/CT imaging. Since a fully Monte Carlo (MC) approach to 90 Y SPECT reconstruction is computationally very demanding, in the present study the scatter estimate generated by a MC simulator was combined with an analytical projector in the 3D OS-EM reconstruction model. A single window (105 to 195-keV) was used for both the acquisition and the projector modeling. A liver/lung torso phantom with intrahepatic lesions and low-uptake extrahepatic objects was imaged to evaluate SPECT/CT reconstruction without and with scatter correction. Clinical application was demonstrated by applying the reconstruction approach to five patients treated with RE to determine lesion and normal liver activity concentrations using a (liver) relative calibration. There was convergence of the scatter estimate after just two updates, greatly reducing computational requirements. In the phantom study, compared with reconstruction without scatter correction, with MC scatter modeling there was substantial improvement in activity recovery in intrahepatic lesions (from > 55% to > 86%), normal liver (from 113% to 104%), and lungs (from 227% to 104%) with only a small degradation in noise (13% vs. 17%). Similarly, with scatter modeling contrast improved substantially both visually and in

Isolation and identification of mycoparasitic isolates of Trichoderma asperellum with potential for suppression of black pod disease of cacao in Cameroon

Science.gov (United States)

Alternative measures to chemical fungicides are needed to control Phytophthora megakarya, the main causal agent of black pod diseasein Central and West Africa. Precolonized plate and detached cacao pod assays were used to screen fungal isolates for mycoparasitismon P. megakarya. Of over 200 isolates...

Evaluation of the glycemic effect of Ceratonia siliqua pods (Carob on a streptozotocin-nicotinamide induced diabetic rat model

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mousa A. Qasem

2018-05-01

glucose (FBG, oral glucose tolerance test, biochemistry, insulin and hemostatic model assessment were assessed. Pancreases was harvested for histopathology. Results Carob demonstrated a FRAP value of 3191.67 ± 54.34 µmoL Fe++ and IC50 of DPPH of 11.23 ± 0.47 µg mL−1. In vitro, carob was non-toxic on hepatocytes and pancreatic β-cells. In acute oral toxicity, liver and kidney functions and their histological sections showed no abnormalities. Carob exerted an in vitro inhibitory effect against α-amylase and α-glucosidase with IC50 of 92.99 ± 0.22 and 97.13 ± 4.11 µg mL−1, respectively. In diabetic induced rats, FBG of CS1000 was significantly less than diabetic control. Histological pancreatic sections of CS1000 showed less destruction of β-cells than CS500 and diabetic control. Conclusion Carob pod did not cause acute systemic toxicity and showed in vitro antioxidant effects. On the other hand, inhibiting α-amylase and α-glucosidase was evident. Interestingly, a high dose of carob exhibits an in vivo antihyperglycemic activity and warrants further in-depth study to identify the potential carob extract composition.

Reconstruction of binary geological images using analytical edge and object models

Science.gov (United States)

Abdollahifard, Mohammad J.; Ahmadi, Sadegh

2016-04-01

Reconstruction of fields using partial measurements is of vital importance in different applications in geosciences. Solving such an ill-posed problem requires a well-chosen model. In recent years, training images (TI) are widely employed as strong prior models for solving these problems. However, in the absence of enough evidence it is difficult to find an adequate TI which is capable of describing the field behavior properly. In this paper a very simple and general model is introduced which is applicable to a fairly wide range of binary images without any modifications. The model is motivated by the fact that nearly all binary images are composed of simple linear edges in micro-scale. The analytic essence of this model allows us to formulate the template matching problem as a convex optimization problem having efficient and fast solutions. The model has the potential to incorporate the qualitative and quantitative information provided by geologists. The image reconstruction problem is also formulated as an optimization problem and solved using an iterative greedy approach. The proposed method is capable of recovering the image unknown values with accuracies about 90% given samples representing as few as 2% of the original image.

A Case of Heel Reconstruction with a Reverse Sural Artery Flap in a Hemophilia B Patient

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Byung Kwon Lee

2012-03-01

Full Text Available Hemophilia B is a rare blood coagulation disorder. Complications such as bleeding and hematoma can cause necrosis of flaps, wound disruption, and the disturbance of wound healing. In particular, guidelines for flap operations in hemophilia B patients have still not been defined, and case reports are rare. We reconstructed the heel of a 41-year-old male hemophilia B patient using a reverse sural artery flap operation. The patient presented with mild hemophilia, having 27% of the normal value of coagulation factor IX. Coagulation and the changing value of the coagulation factor were regularly measured, and 70% of the normal value of coagulation factor IX was maintained through the injection of recombinant coagulation factors and antihemorrhagics. Hematoma developed twice (postoperative day [POD] 5 and POD 7 and in each case the hematoma was removed. Injections of recombinant coagulation factors and antihemorrhagics were continuously administered until postoperative week 2. When the coagulation factors were within normal ranges. In this article, a hemophilia B patient underwent reverse sural artery flap surgery and the healing progress was analyzed. We conclude that higher than baseline levels of coagulation factors are needed for successful healing in reverse sural artery flap surgery.

FIRST PRISMATIC BUILDING MODEL RECONSTRUCTION FROM TOMOSAR POINT CLOUDS

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Y. Sun

2016-06-01

Full Text Available This paper demonstrates for the first time the potential of explicitly modelling the individual roof surfaces to reconstruct 3-D prismatic building models using spaceborne tomographic synthetic aperture radar (TomoSAR point clouds. The proposed approach is modular and works as follows: it first extracts the buildings via DSM generation and cutting-off the ground terrain. The DSM is smoothed using BM3D denoising method proposed in (Dabov et al., 2007 and a gradient map of the smoothed DSM is generated based on height jumps. Watershed segmentation is then adopted to oversegment the DSM into different regions. Subsequently, height and polygon complexity constrained merging is employed to refine (i.e., to reduce the retrieved number of roof segments. Coarse outline of each roof segment is then reconstructed and later refined using quadtree based regularization plus zig-zag line simplification scheme. Finally, height is associated to each refined roof segment to obtain the 3-D prismatic model of the building. The proposed approach is illustrated and validated over a large building (convention center in the city of Las Vegas using TomoSAR point clouds generated from a stack of 25 images using Tomo-GENESIS software developed at DLR.

Bayesian image reconstruction in SPECT using higher order mechanical models as priors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lee, S.J.; Gindi, G.; Rangarajan, A.

1995-01-01

While the ML-EM (maximum-likelihood-expectation maximization) algorithm for reconstruction for emission tomography is unstable due to the ill-posed nature of the problem, Bayesian reconstruction methods overcome this instability by introducing prior information, often in the form of a spatial smoothness regularizer. More elaborate forms of smoothness constraints may be used to extend the role of the prior beyond that of a stabilizer in order to capture actual spatial information about the object. Previously proposed forms of such prior distributions were based on the assumption of a piecewise constant source distribution. Here, the authors propose an extension to a piecewise linear model--the weak plate--which is more expressive than the piecewise constant model. The weak plate prior not only preserves edges but also allows for piecewise ramplike regions in the reconstruction. Indeed, for the application in SPECT, such ramplike regions are observed in ground-truth source distributions in the form of primate autoradiographs of rCBF radionuclides. To incorporate the weak plate prior in a MAP approach, the authors model the prior as a Gibbs distribution and use a GEM formulation for the optimization. They compare quantitative performance of the ML-EM algorithm, a GEM algorithm with a prior favoring piecewise constant regions, and a GEM algorithm with the weak plate prior. Pointwise and regional bias and variance of ensemble image reconstructions are used as indications of image quality. The results show that the weak plate and membrane priors exhibit improved bias and variance relative to ML-EM techniques

A method for climate and vegetation reconstruction through the inversion of a dynamic vegetation model

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Garreta, Vincent; Guiot, Joel; Hely, Christelle [CEREGE, UMR 6635, CNRS, Universite Aix-Marseille, Europole de l' Arbois, Aix-en-Provence (France); Miller, Paul A.; Sykes, Martin T. [Lund University, Department of Physical Geography and Ecosystems Analysis, Geobiosphere Science Centre, Lund (Sweden); Brewer, Simon [Universite de Liege, Institut d' Astrophysique et de Geophysique, Liege (Belgium); Litt, Thomas [University of Bonn, Paleontological Institute, Bonn (Germany)

2010-08-15

Climate reconstructions from data sensitive to past climates provide estimates of what these climates were like. Comparing these reconstructions with simulations from climate models allows to validate the models used for future climate prediction. It has been shown that for fossil pollen data, gaining estimates by inverting a vegetation model allows inclusion of past changes in carbon dioxide values. As a new generation of dynamic vegetation model is available we have developed an inversion method for one model, LPJ-GUESS. When this novel method is used with high-resolution sediment it allows us to bypass the classic assumptions of (1) climate and pollen independence between samples and (2) equilibrium between the vegetation, represented as pollen, and climate. Our dynamic inversion method is based on a statistical model to describe the links among climate, simulated vegetation and pollen samples. The inversion is realised thanks to a particle filter algorithm. We perform a validation on 30 modern European sites and then apply the method to the sediment core of Meerfelder Maar (Germany), which covers the Holocene at a temporal resolution of approximately one sample per 30 years. We demonstrate that reconstructed temperatures are constrained. The reconstructed precipitation is less well constrained, due to the dimension considered (one precipitation by season), and the low sensitivity of LPJ-GUESS to precipitation changes. (orig.)

Fast parallel algorithm for three-dimensional distance-driven model in iterative computed tomography reconstruction

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chen Jian-Lin; Li Lei; Wang Lin-Yuan; Cai Ai-Long; Xi Xiao-Qi; Zhang Han-Ming; Li Jian-Xin; Yan Bin

2015-01-01

The projection matrix model is used to describe the physical relationship between reconstructed object and projection. Such a model has a strong influence on projection and backprojection, two vital operations in iterative computed tomographic reconstruction. The distance-driven model (DDM) is a state-of-the-art technology that simulates forward and back projections. This model has a low computational complexity and a relatively high spatial resolution; however, it includes only a few methods in a parallel operation with a matched model scheme. This study introduces a fast and parallelizable algorithm to improve the traditional DDM for computing the parallel projection and backprojection operations. Our proposed model has been implemented on a GPU (graphic processing unit) platform and has achieved satisfactory computational efficiency with no approximation. The runtime for the projection and backprojection operations with our model is approximately 4.5 s and 10.5 s per loop, respectively, with an image size of 256×256×256 and 360 projections with a size of 512×512. We compare several general algorithms that have been proposed for maximizing GPU efficiency by using the unmatched projection/backprojection models in a parallel computation. The imaging resolution is not sacrificed and remains accurate during computed tomographic reconstruction. (paper)

2-D Fused Image Reconstruction approach for Microwave Tomography: a theoretical assessment using FDTD Model.

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Bindu, G; Semenov, S

2013-01-01

This paper describes an efficient two-dimensional fused image reconstruction approach for Microwave Tomography (MWT). Finite Difference Time Domain (FDTD) models were created for a viable MWT experimental system having the transceivers modelled using thin wire approximation with resistive voltage sources. Born Iterative and Distorted Born Iterative methods have been employed for image reconstruction with the extremity imaging being done using a differential imaging technique. The forward solver in the imaging algorithm employs the FDTD method of solving the time domain Maxwell's equations with the regularisation parameter computed using a stochastic approach. The algorithm is tested with 10% noise inclusion and successful image reconstruction has been shown implying its robustness.

Evaluation of the metabolizable energy value for growing lambs of the Mucuna pruriens seed and the whole pod.

Science.gov (United States)

García-Galván, Adan; Belmar-Casso, Roberto; Sarmiento-Franco, Luis; Sandoval-Castro, Carlos Alfredo

2012-04-01

Whole pod and seeds of velvet bean (Mucuna pruriens) were included in diets for growing sheep used to validate previously estimated ME values of 9.7 MJ and 12.6 MJ for whole pod and seed respectively. Twenty-four lambs, 15 females and nine males of 18.7 ± 2.4 kg average weight, were allocated in three treatments using a completely randomized block design with eight replicates per treatment. Each group was given a diet with a ratio of 60% of Napier grass (Pennisetum purpureum) and 40% of a supplement with the addition of 0%, 50% whole pod or 66% of M. pruriens seeds, for TI, TII and TIII respectively. Diets were formulated to meet the requirements for 100-g daily live weight gain (LWG). The total dry matter intake (836 g a(-1) d(-1), forage + supplement), LWG (90 g a(-1) d(-1)) and feed conversion (9.66 kg DM/kg LWG) of lambs from TIII were lower (P 0.05) between TI and TII in the three evaluated variables. The ME values of whole pod and seeds of M. pruriens used in this work were validated. It was concluded that M. pruriens can be included as a component in diets for growing sheep, as a partial replacement of conventional feedstuffs.

Relative efficacy of cocoa pod husk-based compost on growth and ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

The effect of cocoa pod husk-based compost on growth and nutrient uptake of cocoa seedlings was compared with conventional NPK 15-15-15 fertilizer at the nursery in a randomized complete block design experiment. Poly bags were filled with either top soil or compost alone, and also with mixtures of top soil, compost ...

Atmospheric inverse modeling via sparse reconstruction

Science.gov (United States)

Hase, Nils; Miller, Scot M.; Maaß, Peter; Notholt, Justus; Palm, Mathias; Warneke, Thorsten

2017-10-01

Many applications in atmospheric science involve ill-posed inverse problems. A crucial component of many inverse problems is the proper formulation of a priori knowledge about the unknown parameters. In most cases, this knowledge is expressed as a Gaussian prior. This formulation often performs well at capturing smoothed, large-scale processes but is often ill equipped to capture localized structures like large point sources or localized hot spots. Over the last decade, scientists from a diverse array of applied mathematics and engineering fields have developed sparse reconstruction techniques to identify localized structures. In this study, we present a new regularization approach for ill-posed inverse problems in atmospheric science. It is based on Tikhonov regularization with sparsity constraint and allows bounds on the parameters. We enforce sparsity using a dictionary representation system. We analyze its performance in an atmospheric inverse modeling scenario by estimating anthropogenic US methane (CH4) emissions from simulated atmospheric measurements. Different measures indicate that our sparse reconstruction approach is better able to capture large point sources or localized hot spots than other methods commonly used in atmospheric inversions. It captures the overall signal equally well but adds details on the grid scale. This feature can be of value for any inverse problem with point or spatially discrete sources. We show an example for source estimation of synthetic methane emissions from the Barnett shale formation.

Neuronal vacuolation of the trigeminal nuclei in goats caused by ingestion of Prosopis juliflora pods (mesquite beans).

Science.gov (United States)

Tabosa, I M; Souza, J C; Graça, D L; Barbosa-Filho, J M; Almeida, R N; Riet-Correa, F

2000-06-01

Three groups of 6 goats each were fed a ration containing 30, 60, or 90%, on a dry matter base, of Prosopis juliflora pods. A control group of 4 goats ingested only the basic ration. Two hundred and ten days after the start of the experiment 3 goats that ingested 60% pods in and 4 that ingested 90% had mandibular tremors, mainly during chewing. All animals were killed after 270 d of ingestion. No gross lesions were observed. Histologic lesions were characterized by fine vacuolation of the pericaryon of neurons from the trigeminal nuclei. Occasionally neurons of the oculomotor nuclei were also affected. Wallerian degeneration was occasionally observed in the mandibular and trigeminal nerves. Denervation atrophy of the masseter, temporal, hypoglossus, genioglossus, styloglossus, medial pterygoid and lateral pterygoid muscles was seen. The clinical signs from feeding the P juliflora pods were caused by a selective toxicity to neurons of some cranial nerve nuclei.

Weighted regularized statistical shape space projection for breast 3D model reconstruction.

Science.gov (United States)

Ruiz, Guillermo; Ramon, Eduard; García, Jaime; Sukno, Federico M; Ballester, Miguel A González

2018-05-02

The use of 3D imaging has increased as a practical and useful tool for plastic and aesthetic surgery planning. Specifically, the possibility of representing the patient breast anatomy in a 3D shape and simulate aesthetic or plastic procedures is a great tool for communication between surgeon and patient during surgery planning. For the purpose of obtaining the specific 3D model of the breast of a patient, model-based reconstruction methods can be used. In particular, 3D morphable models (3DMM) are a robust and widely used method to perform 3D reconstruction. However, if additional prior information (i.e., known landmarks) is combined with the 3DMM statistical model, shape constraints can be imposed to improve the 3DMM fitting accuracy. In this paper, we present a framework to fit a 3DMM of the breast to two possible inputs: 2D photos and 3D point clouds (scans). Our method consists in a Weighted Regularized (WR) projection into the shape space. The contribution of each point in the 3DMM shape is weighted allowing to assign more relevance to those points that we want to impose as constraints. Our method is applied at multiple stages of the 3D reconstruction process. Firstly, it can be used to obtain a 3DMM initialization from a sparse set of 3D points. Additionally, we embed our method in the 3DMM fitting process in which more reliable or already known 3D points or regions of points, can be weighted in order to preserve their shape information. The proposed method has been tested in two different input settings: scans and 2D pictures assessing both reconstruction frameworks with very positive results. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Deep sequencing analysis of the transcriptomes of peanut aerial and subterranean young pods identifies candidate genes related to early embryo abortion.

Science.gov (United States)

Chen, Xiaoping; Zhu, Wei; Azam, Sarwar; Li, Heying; Zhu, Fanghe; Li, Haifen; Hong, Yanbin; Liu, Haiyan; Zhang, Erhua; Wu, Hong; Yu, Shanlin; Zhou, Guiyuan; Li, Shaoxiong; Zhong, Ni; Wen, Shijie; Li, Xingyu; Knapp, Steve J; Ozias-Akins, Peggy; Varshney, Rajeev K; Liang, Xuanqiang

2013-01-01

The failure of peg penetration into the soil leads to seed abortion in peanut. Knowledge of genes involved in these processes is comparatively deficient. Here, we used RNA-seq to gain insights into transcriptomes of aerial and subterranean pods. More than 2 million transcript reads with an average length of 396 bp were generated from one aerial (AP) and two subterranean (SP1 and SP2) pod libraries using pyrosequencing technology. After assembly, sets of 49 632, 49 952 and 50 494 from a total of 74 974 transcript assembly contigs (TACs) were identified in AP, SP1 and SP2, respectively. A clear linear relationship in the gene expression level was observed between these data sets. In brief, 2194 differentially expressed TACs with a 99.0% true-positive rate were identified, among which 859 and 1068 TACs were up-regulated in aerial and subterranean pods, respectively. Functional analysis showed that putative function based on similarity with proteins catalogued in UniProt and gene ontology term classification could be determined for 59 342 (79.2%) and 42 955 (57.3%) TACs, respectively. A total of 2968 TACs were mapped to 174 KEGG pathways, of which 168 were shared by aerial and subterranean transcriptomes. TACs involved in photosynthesis were significantly up-regulated and enriched in the aerial pod. In addition, two senescence-associated genes were identified as significantly up-regulated in the aerial pod, which potentially contribute to embryo abortion in aerial pods, and in turn, to cessation of swelling. The data set generated in this study provides evidence for some functional genes as robust candidates underlying aerial and subterranean pod development and contributes to an elucidation of the evolutionary implications resulting from fruit development under light and dark conditions. © 2012 The Authors Plant Biotechnology Journal © 2012 Society for Experimental Biology, Association of Applied Biologists and Blackwell Publishing Ltd.

Efficacy of transversus abdominis plane block with liposomal bupivacaine during open abdominal wall reconstruction.

Science.gov (United States)

Fayezizadeh, Mojtaba; Majumder, Arnab; Neupane, Ruel; Elliott, Heidi L; Novitsky, Yuri W

2016-09-01

Transversus abdominis plane block (TAPb) is an analgesic adjunct used for abdominal surgical procedures. Liposomal bupivacaine (LB) demonstrates prolonged analgesic effects, up to 72 hours. We evaluated the analgesic efficacy of TAPb using LB for patients undergoing open abdominal wall reconstruction (AWR). Fifty patients undergoing AWR with TAPb using LB (TAP-group) were compared with a matched historical cohort undergoing AWR without TAPb (control group). Outcome measures included postoperative utilization of morphine equivalents, numerical rating scale pain scores, time to oral narcotics, and length of stay (LOS). Cohorts were matched demographically. No complications were associated with TAPb or LB. TAP-group evidenced significantly reduced narcotic requirements on operative day (9.5 mg vs 16.5 mg, P = .004), postoperative day (POD) 1 (26.7 mg vs 39.5 mg, P = .01) and POD2 (29.6 mg vs 40.7 mg, P = .047) and pain scores on operative day (5.1 vs 7.0, P consumption and improved pain control. TAPb allowed for earlier discontinuation of intravenous narcotics and shorter LOS. Intraoperative TAPb with LB appears to be an effective adjunct for perioperative analgesia in patients undergoing open AWR. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Development of acoustic model-based iterative reconstruction technique for thick-concrete imaging

Science.gov (United States)

Almansouri, Hani; Clayton, Dwight; Kisner, Roger; Polsky, Yarom; Bouman, Charles; Santos-Villalobos, Hector

2016-02-01

Ultrasound signals have been used extensively for non-destructive evaluation (NDE). However, typical reconstruction techniques, such as the synthetic aperture focusing technique (SAFT), are limited to quasi-homogenous thin media. New ultrasonic systems and reconstruction algorithms are in need for one-sided NDE of non-homogenous thick objects. An application example space is imaging of reinforced concrete structures for commercial nuclear power plants (NPPs). These structures provide important foundation, support, shielding, and containment functions. Identification and management of aging and degradation of concrete structures is fundamental to the proposed long-term operation of NPPs. Another example is geothermal and oil/gas production wells. These multi-layered structures are composed of steel, cement, and several types of soil and rocks. Ultrasound systems with greater penetration range and image quality will allow for better monitoring of the well's health and prediction of high-pressure hydraulic fracturing of the rock. These application challenges need to be addressed with an integrated imaging approach, where the application, hardware, and reconstruction software are highly integrated and optimized. Therefore, we are developing an ultrasonic system with Model-Based Iterative Reconstruction (MBIR) as the image reconstruction backbone. As the first implementation of MBIR for ultrasonic signals, this paper document the first implementation of the algorithm and show reconstruction results for synthetically generated data.1

Development of Acoustic Model-Based Iterative Reconstruction Technique for Thick-Concrete Imaging

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Almansouri, Hani [Purdue University; Clayton, Dwight A [ORNL; Kisner, Roger A [ORNL; Polsky, Yarom [ORNL; Bouman, Charlie [Purdue University; Santos-Villalobos, Hector J [ORNL

2016-01-01

Ultrasound signals have been used extensively for non-destructive evaluation (NDE). However, typical reconstruction techniques, such as the synthetic aperture focusing technique (SAFT), are limited to quasi-homogenous thin media. New ultrasonic systems and reconstruction algorithms are in need for one-sided NDE of non-homogenous thick objects. An application example space is imaging of reinforced concrete structures for commercial nuclear power plants (NPPs). These structures provide important foundation, support, shielding, and containment functions. Identification and management of aging and degradation of concrete structures is fundamental to the proposed long-term operation of NPPs. Another example is geothermal and oil/gas production wells. These multi-layered structures are composed of steel, cement, and several types of soil and rocks. Ultrasound systems with greater penetration range and image quality will allow for better monitoring of the well's health and prediction of high-pressure hydraulic fracturing of the rock. These application challenges need to be addressed with an integrated imaging approach, where the application, hardware, and reconstruction software are highly integrated and optimized. Therefore, we are developing an ultrasonic system with Model-Based Iterative Reconstruction (MBIR) as the image reconstruction backbone. As the first implementation of MBIR for ultrasonic signals, this paper document the first implementation of the algorithm and show reconstruction results for synthetically generated data.

Development of Acoustic Model-Based Iterative Reconstruction Technique for Thick-Concrete Imaging

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Almansouri, Hani [Purdue University; Clayton, Dwight A [ORNL; Kisner, Roger A [ORNL; Polsky, Yarom [ORNL; Bouman, Charlie [Purdue University; Santos-Villalobos, Hector J [ORNL

2015-01-01

Ultrasound signals have been used extensively for non-destructive evaluation (NDE). However, typical reconstruction techniques, such as the synthetic aperture focusing technique (SAFT), are limited to quasi-homogenous thin media. New ultrasonic systems and reconstruction algorithms are in need for one-sided NDE of non-homogenous thick objects. An application example space is imaging of reinforced concrete structures for commercial nuclear power plants (NPPs). These structures provide important foundation, support, shielding, and containment functions. Identification and management of aging and degradation of concrete structures is fundamental to the proposed long-term operation of NPPs. Another example is geothermal and oil/gas production wells. These multi-layered structures are composed of steel, cement, and several types of soil and rocks. Ultrasound systems with greater penetration range and image quality will allow for better monitoring of the well s health and prediction of high-pressure hydraulic fracturing of the rock. These application challenges need to be addressed with an integrated imaging approach, where the application, hardware, and reconstruction software are highly integrated and optimized. Therefore, we are developing an ultrasonic system with Model-Based Iterative Reconstruction (MBIR) as the image reconstruction backbone. As the first implementation of MBIR for ultrasonic signals, this paper document the first implementation of the algorithm and show reconstruction results for synthetically generated data.

Cowpea pod (Vigna unguiculata) biomass as a low-cost biosorbent for removal of Pb(II) ions from aqueous solution.

Science.gov (United States)

Guyo, U; Moyo, M

2017-01-01

The use of cowpea pod (CPP) biomass for the removal of Pb(II) ions from aqueous solution was investigated. The effects of factors such as dosage concentration (0.2 to 1.6 g L -1 ), pH (2 to 8), contact time (5 to 120 min), metal ion concentrations (10 to 80 mg L -1 ) and temperature (20 to 50 °C) were examined through batch studies. The biosorption data conformed best to the Langmuir model at the three working temperatures (20, 30 and 40 °C) as revealed by the correlation coefficients (R 2 ) which were greater than 0.940. The maximum sorption capacity of the CPP for Pb(II) was 32.96 mg g -1 at 313 K. Furthermore, the kinetic data fitted well to the pseudo-second-order model as it had the lowest sum of square error (SSE) values and correlation coefficients close to unity (R 2  > 0.999). The thermodynamic parameters (ΔG°, ΔS° and ΔH°) showed that the biosorption process was spontaneous, feasible and endothermic. The results obtained in the present study indicated that cowpea pod biomass could be used for the effective removal of Pb(II) from aqueous solution.

Transcriptome Analysis of Calcium- and Hormone-Related Gene Expressions during Different Stages of Peanut Pod Development

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Yan; Meng, Jingjing; Yang, Sha; Guo, Feng; Zhang, Jialei; Geng, Yun; Cui, Li; Wan, Shubo; Li, Xinguo

2017-01-01

Peanut is one of the calciphilous plants. Calcium serves as a ubiquitous central hub in a large number of signaling pathways. In the field, free calcium ion (Ca2+)-deficient soil can result in unfilled pods. Four pod stages were analyzed to determine the relationship between Ca2+ excretion and pod development. Peanut shells showed Ca2+ excretion at all four stages; however, both the embryo of Stage 4 (S4) and the red skin of Stage 3 (S3) showed Ca2+ absorbance. These results showed that embryo and red skin of peanut need Ca2+ during development. In order to survey the relationship among calcium, hormone and seed development from gene perspective, we further analyzed the seed transcriptome at Stage 2 (S2), S3, and S4. About 70 million high quality clean reads were generated, which were assembled into 58,147 unigenes. By comparing these three stages, total 4,457 differentially expressed genes were identified. In these genes, 53 Ca2+ related genes, 40 auxin related genes, 15 gibberellin genes, 20 ethylene related genes, 2 abscisic acid related genes, and 7 cytokinin related genes were identified. Additionally, a part of them were validated by qRT-PCR. Most of their expressions changed during the pod development. Since some reports showed that Ca2+ signal transduction pathway is involved in hormone regulation pathway, these results implied that peanut seed development might be regulated by the collaboration of Ca2+ signal transduction pathway and hormone regulation pathway. PMID:28769950

Transcriptome Analysis of Calcium- and Hormone-Related Gene Expressions during Different Stages of Peanut Pod Development

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Yan Li

2017-07-01

Full Text Available Peanut is one of the calciphilous plants. Calcium serves as a ubiquitous central hub in a large number of signaling pathways. In the field, free calcium ion (Ca2+-deficient soil can result in unfilled pods. Four pod stages were analyzed to determine the relationship between Ca2+ excretion and pod development. Peanut shells showed Ca2+ excretion at all four stages; however, both the embryo of Stage 4 (S4 and the red skin of Stage 3 (S3 showed Ca2+ absorbance. These results showed that embryo and red skin of peanut need Ca2+ during development. In order to survey the relationship among calcium, hormone and seed development from gene perspective, we further analyzed the seed transcriptome at Stage 2 (S2, S3, and S4. About 70 million high quality clean reads were generated, which were assembled into 58,147 unigenes. By comparing these three stages, total 4,457 differentially expressed genes were identified. In these genes, 53 Ca2+ related genes, 40 auxin related genes, 15 gibberellin genes, 20 ethylene related genes, 2 abscisic acid related genes, and 7 cytokinin related genes were identified. Additionally, a part of them were validated by qRT-PCR. Most of their expressions changed during the pod development. Since some reports showed that Ca2+ signal transduction pathway is involved in hormone regulation pathway, these results implied that peanut seed development might be regulated by the collaboration of Ca2+ signal transduction pathway and hormone regulation pathway.

MODE OF INHERITANCE OF POD SPININESS IN OKRA (Abelmoschus esculentus (L. Moench

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Adil Hassan Ahmed Abdelmageed

2009-10-01

Full Text Available The mode of inheritance of spininess in okra was investigated. Two okra cultivars, namely ‘Khartoumia spiny’ and the Indian cultivar ‘Pusa Sawani’ were used in this study. The two parents were self pollinated for three successive generations to fix the character under study. Crosses were made between ‘Khartoumia spiny’ and ‘Pusa Sawani’, and reciprocal F1’s, F2’s and all possible backcrosses were derived from the initial crosses. No reciprocal differences were found between F1 and F2 generation for pod spininess. Segregation in the crosses between the local cultivar ‘Khartoumia spiny’ and the Indian cultivar ‘Pusa Sawani’ indicated that the presence of spines on pods was controlled by single gene, with incomplete dominance.

Improved convergence of gradient-based reconstruction using multi-scale models

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cunningham, G.S.; Hanson, K.M.; Koyfman, I.

1996-01-01

Geometric models have received increasing attention in medical imaging for tasks such as segmentation, reconstruction, restoration, and registration. In order to determine the best configuration of the geometric model in the context of any of these tasks, one needs to perform a difficult global optimization of an energy function that may have many local minima. Explicit models of geometry, also called deformable models, snakes, or active contours, have been used extensively to solve image segmentation problems in a non-Bayesian framework. Researchers have seen empirically that multi-scale analysis is useful for convergence to a configuration that is near the global minimum. In this type of analysis, the image data are convolved with blur functions of increasing resolution, and an optimal configuration of the snake is found for each blurred image. The configuration obtained using the highest resolution blur is used as the solution to the global optimization problem. In this article, the authors use explicit models of geometry for a variety of Bayesian estimation problems, including image segmentation, reconstruction and restoration. The authors introduce a multi-scale approach that blurs the geometric model, rather than the image data, and show that this approach turns a global, highly nonquadratic optimization into a sequence of local, approximately quadratic problems that converge to the global minimum. The result is a deterministic, robust, and efficient optimization strategy applicable to a wide variety of Bayesian estimation problems in which geometric models of images are an important component

Utilization of Cacao Pod Husk (Theobroma cacao l.) as Activated Carbon and Catalyst in Biodiesel Production Process from Waste Cooking Oil

Science.gov (United States)

Rachmat, Devita; Johar Mawarani, Lizda; Dewi Risanti, Doty

2018-01-01

Cocoa pod husk (Theobroma cacao l.) is a waste from cocoa beans processing. In this research we employ cocoa pod husk as activated carbon to decrease the value of FFA (Free Fatty Acid) in waste cooking oil and as K2CO3 catalyst in biodiesel production process from waste cooking oil. Cocoa pod husk was crusched and grounded into powder that passed thorugh 60 mesh-screen. As activated carbon, cocoa pod husk was firstly carbonized at three variant temperatures i.e 250°C, 300°C and 350°C. The activation process was done using HCl 2M as activator. Based on the results of XRD and FTIR, the carbonization at all variant temperatures does not cause a significant changes in terms of crystallite structure and water content. The pore of activated carbon started to form in sample that was carbonized at 350°C resulting in pore diameter of 5.14644 nm. This result was supported by the fact that the ability of this activated carbon in reducing the FFA of waste cooking oil was the most pronounced one, i.e. up to 86.7% of FFA. It was found that the performance of cocoa pod husk’s activated carbon in reducing FFA is more effective than esterification using H2SO4 which can only decrease 80.8%. On the other hand, the utilization as K2CO3 catalyst was carried out by carbonization at temperature 650°C and extraction using aquadest solvent. The extraction of cocoa pod husk produced 7.067% K2CO3 catalyst. According to RD results the fraction of K2CO3 compound from the green catalysts is the same as the commercial (SAP, 99%) that is ≥ 60%. From the obtained results, the best yield percentage was obtained using K2CO3 catalyst from cacao pod husk extract, i.e. 73-85%. To cope with biodiesel conversion efficiency, a two-step process consisting pretreatment with activated carbon carbonized at 350°C and esterification with K2CO3 from cocoa pod husk catalyst was developed. This two-step process could reach a high conversion of 85%. From the results it was clear that the produced

Short term effect of aqueous extracts of root, pod, and stem of ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

MICHAEL HORSFALL

Telfairia occidentalis root, pod and stem aqueous extracts on rats. ... drug (Eseyin et al., 2007). Telfairia ... have a regenerative effect on the destroyed testicular ... histology induced by quinine therapy (Nwangwa et .... hepatic cell and increase in serum level of ALP has ..... Screening and Acute Toxicity Evaluation of. Telfairia ...

A Powder Delivery System (PoDS) for Mars in situ Science

Science.gov (United States)

Bryson, C.; Blake, D.; Saha, C.; Sarrazin, P.

2004-12-01

Many instruments proposed for in situ Mars science investigations work best with fine-grained samples of rocks or soils. Such instruments include the mineral analyzer CheMin [1] and any instrument that requires samples having high surface areas (e.g., mass spectrometers, organic analyzers, etc). The Powder Delivery System (PoDS) is designed to deliver powders of selected grain sizes from a sample acquisition device such as an arm-deployed robotic driller or corer to an instrument suite located on the body of a rover/lander. PoDS is capable of size-selective sampling of crushed rocks, soil or drill powder for delivery to instruments that require specific grain sizes (e.g. 5-50 mg of less than150 micron powder for CheMin). Sample material is transported as an aerosol of particles and gas by vacuum advection. In the laboratory a venturi pump driven by compressed air provides the impulse. On Mars, the ambient atmosphere is a source of CO2 that can be captured and compressed by adsorption pumping during diurnal temperature cycling [2]. The lower atmospheric pressure on the surface of Mars (7 torr) will affect fundamental parameters of gas-particle interaction such as Reynolds, Stocks and Knudsen numbers [3]. However, calculations show that the PoDS will operate under both Martian and terrestrial atmospheric conditions. Cyclone separators with appropriate particle size selection ranges remove particles from the aerosol stream. The vortex flow inside the cyclone causes grains larger than a specific size to be collected, while smaller grains remain entrained in the gas. Cyclones are very efficient inertial and centrifugal particle separators with cut sizes (d50) as low as 4 microns. Depending on the particle size ranges desired, a series of cyclones with descending cut sizes may be used, the simplest case being a single cyclone for particle deposition without mass separation. Transmission / membrane filters of appropriate pore sizes may also be used to collect powder from

Sub-component modeling for face image reconstruction in video communications

Science.gov (United States)

Shiell, Derek J.; Xiao, Jing; Katsaggelos, Aggelos K.

2008-08-01

Emerging communications trends point to streaming video as a new form of content delivery. These systems are implemented over wired systems, such as cable or ethernet, and wireless networks, cell phones, and portable game systems. These communications systems require sophisticated methods of compression and error-resilience encoding to enable communications across band-limited and noisy delivery channels. Additionally, the transmitted video data must be of high enough quality to ensure a satisfactory end-user experience. Traditionally, video compression makes use of temporal and spatial coherence to reduce the information required to represent an image. In many communications systems, the communications channel is characterized by a probabilistic model which describes the capacity or fidelity of the channel. The implication is that information is lost or distorted in the channel, and requires concealment on the receiving end. We demonstrate a generative model based transmission scheme to compress human face images in video, which has the advantages of a potentially higher compression ratio, while maintaining robustness to errors and data corruption. This is accomplished by training an offline face model and using the model to reconstruct face images on the receiving end. We propose a sub-component AAM modeling the appearance of sub-facial components individually, and show face reconstruction results under different types of video degradation using a weighted and non-weighted version of the sub-component AAM.

From GCode to STL: Reconstruct Models from 3D Printing as a Service

Science.gov (United States)

Baumann, Felix W.; Schuermann, Martin; Odefey, Ulrich; Pfeil, Markus

2017-12-01

The authors present a method to reverse engineer 3D printer specific machine instructions (GCode) to a point cloud representation and then a STL (Stereolithography) file format. GCode is a machine code that is used for 3D printing among other applications, such as CNC routers. Such code files contain instructions for the 3D printer to move and control its actuator, in case of Fused Deposition Modeling (FDM), the printhead that extrudes semi-molten plastics. The reverse engineering method presented here is based on the digital simulation of the extrusion process of FDM type 3D printing. The reconstructed models and pointclouds do not accommodate for hollow structures, such as holes or cavities. The implementation is performed in Python and relies on open source software and libraries, such as Matplotlib and OpenCV. The reconstruction is performed on the model’s extrusion boundary and considers mechanical imprecision. The complete reconstruction mechanism is available as a RESTful (Representational State Transfer) Web service.

Mirror-Imaged Rapid Prototype Skull Model and Pre-Molded Synthetic Scaffold to Achieve Optimal Orbital Cavity Reconstruction.

Science.gov (United States)

Park, Sung Woo; Choi, Jong Woo; Koh, Kyung S; Oh, Tae Suk

2015-08-01

Reconstruction of traumatic orbital wall defects has evolved to restore the original complex anatomy with the rapidly growing use of computer-aided design and prototyping. This study evaluated a mirror-imaged rapid prototype skull model and a pre-molded synthetic scaffold for traumatic orbital wall reconstruction. A single-center retrospective review was performed of patients who underwent orbital wall reconstruction after trauma from 2012 to 2014. Patients were included by admission through the emergency department after facial trauma or by a tertiary referral for post-traumatic orbital deformity. Three-dimensional (3D) computed tomogram-based mirror-imaged reconstruction images of the orbit and an individually manufactured rapid prototype skull model by a 3D printing technique were obtained for each case. Synthetic scaffolds were anatomically pre-molded using the skull model as guide and inserted at the individual orbital defect. Postoperative complications were assessed and 3D volumetric measurements of the orbital cavity were performed. Paired samples t test was used for statistical analysis. One hundred four patients with immediate orbital defect reconstructions and 23 post-traumatic orbital deformity reconstructions were included in this study. All reconstructions were successful without immediate postoperative complications, although there were 10 cases with mild enophthalmos and 2 cases with persistent diplopia. Reoperations were performed for 2 cases of persistent diplopia and secondary touchup procedures were performed to contour soft tissue in 4 cases. Postoperative volumetric measurement of the orbital cavity showed nonsignificant volume differences between the damaged orbit and the reconstructed orbit (21.35 ± 1.93 vs 20.93 ± 2.07 cm(2); P = .98). This protocol was extended to severe cases in which more than 40% of the orbital frame was lost and combined with extensive soft tissue defects. Traumatic orbital reconstruction can be optimized and

Comparison of adaptive statistical iterative reconstruction (ASiRTM) and model-based iterative reconstruction (VeoTM) for paediatric abdominal CT examinations: an observer performance study of diagnostic image quality

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hultenmo, Maria; Caisander, Haakan; Mack, Karsten; Thilander-Klang, Anne

2016-01-01

The diagnostic image quality of 75 paediatric abdominal computed tomography (CT) examinations reconstructed with two different iterative reconstruction (IR) algorithms-adaptive statistical IR (ASiR TM ) and model-based IR (Veo TM )-was compared. Axial and coronal images were reconstructed with 70 % ASiR with the Soft TM convolution kernel and with the Veo algorithm. The thickness of the reconstructed images was 2.5 or 5 mm depending on the scanning protocol used. Four radiologists graded the delineation of six abdominal structures and the diagnostic usefulness of the image quality. The Veo reconstruction significantly improved the visibility of most of the structures compared with ASiR in all subgroups of images. For coronal images, the Veo reconstruction resulted in significantly improved ratings of the diagnostic use of the image quality compared with the ASiR reconstruction. This was not seen for the axial images. The greatest improvement using Veo reconstruction was observed for the 2.5 mm coronal slices. (authors)

Effectiveness of Sex Pheromone in Controlling Cocoa Pod Borer, Conopomorpha cramerella (Snell.

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Endang Sulistyowati

2014-08-01

Full Text Available Cocoa pod borer (CPB, Conopomorpha cramerella  nell. is a dangerous pest of cocoa which seriously reduce cocoa production mainly in Southeast Asia and Pasific. Prevention of CPB attack can be done by pod sleeving to prevent CPBs lay eggs on pod, or reduction of source of CPB infestation by using pheromone or kairomone as attractant in an insect trap. A preliminary research using sex pheromone has been conducted at endemic cocoa area infested by CPB in East Java. The objective of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of sex pheromonesin controlling CPB. Trial was arranged by randomized completely block design in four treatments and four blocks as replication. Four densities trap/ha (0, 4, 8, and 12 traps/ha were used as a treatments. Sex pheromone trap consisted of synthetic pheromone (lure and sticky liner was hanged on 0.5 m above the cocoa canopy. The results showed that the number of CPB captured during four months was significantly decreased. The number of CPB captured per trap during the first two months in the treatment of 0, 4, 8 and 12 traps/ha were 0, 6.5, 4.72, and 5.58 CPBs, respectively. Four months after treatment, the number of CPB captured in the respective treatments was reduced to 0, 0.25, 0.6, and 0.96 CPBs. Estimate calculation on yield loss due to CPB attack showed that before treatment the yield loss ranged 37.4—45.6%, however six months after treatment, the yield loss in treatment plots decreased to 9.4—21%, whereas on control 38.47%. Use of sex pheromones to attract CPB at a density of 4 traps/ha reduced yield losses due to CPB damage by 67.7%. The significant correlation betweenthe number of CPB captured with the damage intensity followed regression equation of Y = - 0,00044X + 0,32059. Use of sex pheromone for monitoring or masstrapping of CPB, as a component in IPM of CPB is promising, due to its nature for specific target, environmentally friendly, effectiveness, and economic values

The iPod binocular home-based treatment for amblyopia in adults: efficacy and compliance.

Science.gov (United States)

Hess, Robert F; Babu, Raiju Jacob; Clavagnier, Simon; Black, Joanna; Bobier, William; Thompson, Benjamin

2014-09-01

Occlusion therapy for amblyopia is predicated on the idea that amblyopia is primarily a disorder of monocular vision; however, there is growing evidence that patients with amblyopia have a structurally intact binocular visual system that is rendered functionally monocular due to suppression. Furthermore, we have found that a dichoptic treatment intervention designed to directly target suppression can result in clinically significant improvement in both binocular and monocular visual function in adult patients with amblyopia. The fact that monocular improvement occurs in the absence of any fellow eye occlusion suggests that amblyopia is, in part, due to chronic suppression. Previously the treatment has been administered as a psychophysical task and more recently as a video game that can be played on video goggles or an iPod device equipped with a lenticular screen. The aim of this case-series study of 14 amblyopes (six strabismics, six anisometropes and two mixed) ages 13 to 50 years was to investigate: 1. whether the portable video game treatment is suitable for at-home use and 2. whether an anaglyphic version of the iPod-based video game, which is more convenient for at-home use, has comparable effects to the lenticular version. The dichoptic video game treatment was conducted at home and visual functions assessed before and after treatment. We found that at-home use for 10 to 30 hours restored simultaneous binocular perception in 13 of 14 cases along with significant improvements in acuity (0.11 ± 0.08 logMAR) and stereopsis (0.6 ± 0.5 log units). Furthermore, the anaglyph and lenticular platforms were equally effective. In addition, the iPod devices were able to record a complete and accurate picture of treatment compliance. The home-based dichoptic iPod approach represents a viable treatment for adults with amblyopia. © 2014 The Authors. Clinical and Experimental Optometry © 2014 Optometrists Association Australia.

In vitro fermentation characteristics and effective utilisable crude protein in leaves and green pods of Moringa stenopetala and Moringa oleifera cultivated at low and mid-altitudes.

Science.gov (United States)

Melesse, A; Steingass, H; Boguhn, J; Rodehutscord, M

2013-06-01

This study was conducted to assess the in vitro nutrient digestibility and utilisation of leaves and green pods of two Moringa species in supplementing the feed of ruminant animals during the dry season. Samples were analysed for proximate nutrients using official methods. The metabolisable energy (ME), organic matter digestibility (OMD) and effective utilisable crude protein (uCP) were estimated using the Hohenheim in vitro gas test method. Gas volume in Moringa stenopetala leaves and green pods was generally higher than those of Moringa oleifera. Gas volume for leaves was similar between low and mid-altitudes but was higher for green pods at mid-altitude. M. stenopetala leaves contained significantly higher ME (9.8 MJ/kg DM) and OMD (75%) than those of M. oleifera. Similarly, M. stenopetala green pods had higher ME and OMD values than those of M. oleifera. For green pods, the ME and OMD values were significantly higher at mid-altitude than those at low altitude although these values for leaves were similar between both altitudes. Moringa oleifera leaves had higher effective uCP than those of M. stenopetala. Nevertheless, the effective uCP was higher for green pods of M. stenopetala than those of M. oleifera. The effective uCP for leaves cultivated at mid-altitude was slightly higher than those at low altitude. This study suggested that leaves and green pods could be used as alternative energy and protein supplements for tropical ruminants, particularly during dry periods. It was further concluded that leaves were generally better in nutrient compositions and in vitro nutrient digestibility characteristics than green pods. © 2012 Blackwell Verlag GmbH.

Jurema preta (Mimosa tenuiflora pods in the diet of lambs

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Maiza Araújo Cordão

2017-07-01

Full Text Available Evaluated partial substitution of commonly used concentrate mixture by jurema preta (Mimosa tenuiflora pods (JPP in the diet of Santa Inês lambs of according to a randomized complete block design with three treatments (0, 10 and 20% concentrate substitution, in a 40:60 concentrate: roughage fodder diet and six replications, using 18 non-castrated Santa Inês male lambs with initial body weight of 20.28±1.18 kg. Analyzed variables were apparent coefficients of digestibility and/or daily donsumption of dry matter (CDDM and CDM, organic matter (CDOM and COM, neutral detergent fiber (CDNDF and CNDF, acid detergent fiber (CDADF and CADF, crude protein (CDCP and CCP, crude energy (CDCE only, ether extract (CDEE and CEE, total carbohydrates (CDTCH and CTCH, non fibrous carbohydrates (CDNFC and CNFC, metabolizable energy (CME and water (IH2O, mean daily body weight gain (MDBWG and food conversion (FC. There were no effects (P>0.05 of JPP on digestibility, except for the quadratic effect (P0.05, consumption of CP, NDF, ADF and EE increased linearly, while CNFC decreased linearly. Jurema preta pods can be included in the diet of lambs and may contribute to the sustainability of the sheep activity in the semiarid region of northeast Brazil.

Application of rape pod sealants to reduce adverse environmental impacts.

Science.gov (United States)

Bauša, Laimis; Steponavičius, Dainius; Jotautienė, Eglė; Kemzūraitė, Aurelija; Zaleckas, Ernestas

2018-04-01

Rape (Brassica napus L.) is a major global oilseed crop characterized by its high potential as an alimentary oil and in biodiesel production. The two most popular pod sealants (PS) used to reduce rape pod shattering are products in the pinolene range (di-1-p-menthene) and latex polymer products. Reports on the effective preservation of seed yield by these products are fairly contradictory. With this in mind, an experimental PS (PS4) that contained the active agents acrylic and trisiloxane was developed. Comparative experimental trials of the developed PS4 and three other PS (PS1, PS2 and PS3) containing active agents that are generally used for sealant production were conducted. The studies showed that the static and dynamic surface tension of PS4 was the lowest at the same concentration (2.0 g kg -1 ), consequently demonstrating the lowest spray drift. The chemical substances from PS had not penetrated the rape seeds in any of the PSs. The results indicate that treatment with PS4 exerts a beneficial effect in reducing rape seed yield loss (68-104 kg ha -1 in 2014 and 194-305 kg ha -1 in 2015) compared to other investigated PS. © 2017 Society of Chemical Industry. © 2017 Society of Chemical Industry.

Model-based iterative reconstruction and adaptive statistical iterative reconstruction: dose-reduced CT for detecting pancreatic calcification

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yasaka, Koichiro; Katsura, Masaki; Akahane, Masaaki; Sato, Jiro; Matsuda, Izuru; Ohtomo, Kuni

2016-01-01

Iterative reconstruction methods have attracted attention for reducing radiation doses in computed tomography (CT). To investigate the detectability of pancreatic calcification using dose-reduced CT reconstructed with model-based iterative construction (MBIR) and adaptive statistical iterative reconstruction (ASIR). This prospective study approved by Institutional Review Board included 85 patients (57 men, 28 women; mean age, 69.9 years; mean body weight, 61.2 kg). Unenhanced CT was performed three times with different radiation doses (reference-dose CT [RDCT], low-dose CT [LDCT], ultralow-dose CT [ULDCT]). From RDCT, LDCT, and ULDCT, images were reconstructed with filtered-back projection (R-FBP, used for establishing reference standard), ASIR (L-ASIR), and MBIR and ASIR (UL-MBIR and UL-ASIR), respectively. A lesion (pancreatic calcification) detection test was performed by two blinded radiologists with a five-point certainty level scale. Dose-length products of RDCT, LDCT, and ULDCT were 410, 97, and 36 mGy-cm, respectively. Nine patients had pancreatic calcification. The sensitivity for detecting pancreatic calcification with UL-MBIR was high (0.67–0.89) compared to L-ASIR or UL-ASIR (0.11–0.44), and a significant difference was seen between UL-MBIR and UL-ASIR for one reader (P = 0.014). The area under the receiver-operating characteristic curve for UL-MBIR (0.818–0.860) was comparable to that for L-ASIR (0.696–0.844). The specificity was lower with UL-MBIR (0.79–0.92) than with L-ASIR or UL-ASIR (0.96–0.99), and a significant difference was seen for one reader (P < 0.01). In UL-MBIR, pancreatic calcification can be detected with high sensitivity, however, we should pay attention to the slightly lower specificity

Model-based iterative reconstruction and adaptive statistical iterative reconstruction: dose-reduced CT for detecting pancreatic calcification.

Science.gov (United States)

Yasaka, Koichiro; Katsura, Masaki; Akahane, Masaaki; Sato, Jiro; Matsuda, Izuru; Ohtomo, Kuni

2016-01-01

Iterative reconstruction methods have attracted attention for reducing radiation doses in computed tomography (CT). To investigate the detectability of pancreatic calcification using dose-reduced CT reconstructed with model-based iterative construction (MBIR) and adaptive statistical iterative reconstruction (ASIR). This prospective study approved by Institutional Review Board included 85 patients (57 men, 28 women; mean age, 69.9 years; mean body weight, 61.2 kg). Unenhanced CT was performed three times with different radiation doses (reference-dose CT [RDCT], low-dose CT [LDCT], ultralow-dose CT [ULDCT]). From RDCT, LDCT, and ULDCT, images were reconstructed with filtered-back projection (R-FBP, used for establishing reference standard), ASIR (L-ASIR), and MBIR and ASIR (UL-MBIR and UL-ASIR), respectively. A lesion (pancreatic calcification) detection test was performed by two blinded radiologists with a five-point certainty level scale. Dose-length products of RDCT, LDCT, and ULDCT were 410, 97, and 36 mGy-cm, respectively. Nine patients had pancreatic calcification. The sensitivity for detecting pancreatic calcification with UL-MBIR was high (0.67-0.89) compared to L-ASIR or UL-ASIR (0.11-0.44), and a significant difference was seen between UL-MBIR and UL-ASIR for one reader (P = 0.014). The area under the receiver-operating characteristic curve for UL-MBIR (0.818-0.860) was comparable to that for L-ASIR (0.696-0.844). The specificity was lower with UL-MBIR (0.79-0.92) than with L-ASIR or UL-ASIR (0.96-0.99), and a significant difference was seen for one reader (P < 0.01). In UL-MBIR, pancreatic calcification can be detected with high sensitivity, however, we should pay attention to the slightly lower specificity.

Experimental POD measurement using ultrasonic phased arrays for incorporating nondestructive testes in probabilistic failure analyses

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kurz, Jochen H.; Dobmann, Gerd; Juengert, Anne; Dugan, Sandra; Roos, Eberhard

2011-01-01

In nuclear facilities, nondestructive tests are carried out during construction and during inspections. The type and extent of the tests are specified in the KTA rules. All tests must be qualified. In the past, the qualifications were made by extensive performance demonstrations of the test teams and equipment, which were judged by experts. This provided primarily pragmatic information on fault detection performance. In the USA, qualification of EPRI test teams also includes testing of test pieces with hidden (unknown) defects, of which a certain percentage must be detected. There is still a lack of information on the probability of detection (POD), in the form of POD curves, of specific defects in given test situations, using specifically selected testing techniques. Quantification of POD and the integration of relevant data in the probabilistic evaluation chain is one of the key goals of a research project whose first results are presented here. The concept of the project and first results of ultrasonic tests are presented. Defect distributions in the test pieces, experiment planning, and test specifications are gone into more closely. One of the most important goals is the specification of the residual uncertainty of components failure on the basis of the investigations. An outlook is presented for this.

A comparison of tissue preparation methods for protein extraction of cocoa (Theobroma cacao L. pod

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Ascensión Martínez-Márquez

2017-04-01

Full Text Available Cocoa, Theobroma cacao L. is one of the main tropical industrial crops. Cocoa has a very high level of interfering substances, such as polysaccharides and phenolic compounds that could prevent the isolation of suitable protein. Efficient methods of protein extraction are a priority to successfully apply proteomic analyses. We compared and evaluated two methods (A and B of tissue preparation for total protein extract by phenol/SDS extraction protocol. The difference in the application of the two methods was that extensively washed dry powder of pod tissue were made in Method A, whereas that crude extract were prepared Method B. Extracted proteins were examined using one-dimensional electrophoresis (1-D. Results show that each extraction method isolated a unique subset of cocoa pod proteome. Principal component analysis showed little variation in the data obtained using Method A, while that in Methods B showed no low reproducibility, thus demonstrating that Method A is a reliable for preparing cocoa pod proteins. The protocol is expected to be applicable to other recalcitrant plant tissues and to be of interest to laboratories involved in plant proteomics analyses. A combination of extraction approaches is recommended for increasing proteome coverage when using gel-based isolation techniques.

Modeling fiber Bragg grating device networks in photomechanical polymer optical fibers

Science.gov (United States)

Lanska, Joseph T.; Kuzyk, Mark G.; Sullivan, Dennis M.

2015-09-01

We report on the modeling of fiber Bragg grating (FBG) networks in poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) polymer fibers doped with azo dyes. Our target is the development of Photomechanical Optical Devices (PODs), comprised of two FBGs in series, separated by a Fabry-Perot cavity of photomechanical material. PODs exhibit photomechanical multi-stability, with the capacity to access multiple length states for a fixed input intensity when a mechanical shock is applied. Using finite-difference time-domain (FDTD) numerical methods, we modeled the photomechanical response of both Fabry-Perot and Bragg-type PODs in a single polymer optical fiber. The polymer fiber was modeled as an instantaneous Kerr-type nonlinear χ(3) material. Our model correctly predicts the essential optical features of FBGs as well as the photomechanical multi-stability of nonlinear Fabry-Perot cavity-based PODs. Networks of PODs may provide a framework for smart shape-shifting materials and fast optical computation where the decision process is distributed over the entire network. In addition, a POD can act as memory, and its response can depend on input history. Our models inform and will accelerate targeted development of novel Bragg grating-based polymer fiber device networks for a variety of applications in optical computing and smart materials.

Association mapping for #Phytophthora# pod rot resistance in a cacao (#Theobroma cacao# L.) population grown in farmers' field

OpenAIRE

Efombagn, Mousseni Ives Bruno; Sounigo, Olivier; Courtois, Brigitte; Fouet, Olivier; Jeanneau, Mélanie; Lemainque, Arnaud; Pavek, Sylvana; Lanaud, Claire

2016-01-01

Phytophthora pod rot (PPR) caused by the specie Phytophthora megakarya is an important disease of cacao tree. Association mapping identified markers linked to PPR resistance in a cacao population of 260 trees planted under high disease pressure in a single plantation in a farmer's field. These cacao trees were derived from both selfing and full-sib progenies. The resistance traits were assessed through field observations of the natural pod attacks of the disease on the trunk (PRTnk) or the ca...

Dynamic concision for three-dimensional reconstruction of human organ built with virtual reality modelling language (VRML)*

Science.gov (United States)

Yu, Zheng-yang; Zheng, Shu-sen; Chen, Lei-ting; He, Xiao-qian; Wang, Jian-jun

2005-01-01

This research studies the process of 3D reconstruction and dynamic concision based on 2D medical digital images using virtual reality modelling language (VRML) and JavaScript language, with a focus on how to realize the dynamic concision of 3D medical model with script node and sensor node in VRML. The 3D reconstruction and concision of body internal organs can be built with such high quality that they are better than those obtained from the traditional methods. With the function of dynamic concision, the VRML browser can offer better windows for man-computer interaction in real-time environment than ever before. 3D reconstruction and dynamic concision with VRML can be used to meet the requirement for the medical observation of 3D reconstruction and have a promising prospect in the fields of medical imaging. PMID:15973760

Enhanced capital-asset pricing model for the reconstruction of bipartite financial networks

Science.gov (United States)

Squartini, Tiziano; Almog, Assaf; Caldarelli, Guido; van Lelyveld, Iman; Garlaschelli, Diego; Cimini, Giulio

2017-09-01

Reconstructing patterns of interconnections from partial information is one of the most important issues in the statistical physics of complex networks. A paramount example is provided by financial networks. In fact, the spreading and amplification of financial distress in capital markets are strongly affected by the interconnections among financial institutions. Yet, while the aggregate balance sheets of institutions are publicly disclosed, information on single positions is mostly confidential and, as such, unavailable. Standard approaches to reconstruct the network of financial interconnection produce unrealistically dense topologies, leading to a biased estimation of systemic risk. Moreover, reconstruction techniques are generally designed for monopartite networks of bilateral exposures between financial institutions, thus failing in reproducing bipartite networks of security holdings (e.g., investment portfolios). Here we propose a reconstruction method based on constrained entropy maximization, tailored for bipartite financial networks. Such a procedure enhances the traditional capital-asset pricing model (CAPM) and allows us to reproduce the correct topology of the network. We test this enhanced CAPM (ECAPM) method on a dataset, collected by the European Central Bank, of detailed security holdings of European institutional sectors over a period of six years (2009-2015). Our approach outperforms the traditional CAPM and the recently proposed maximum-entropy CAPM both in reproducing the network topology and in estimating systemic risk due to fire sales spillovers. In general, ECAPM can be applied to the whole class of weighted bipartite networks described by the fitness model.

Preliminary phytochemical and elemental analysis of aqueous and fractionated pod extracts of Acacia nilotica (Thorn mimosa

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Mohammed Shaibu Auwal

2014-06-01

Full Text Available Acacia nilotica (Thorn mimosa is used locally for various medicinal purposes by traditionalists and herbalists in northeastern Nigeria. Plants products have been used since ancient times in the management of various conditions. The bark of A. nilotica has been reported to be used traditionally to manage diabetes, dysentery, leprosy, ulcers, cancers, tumor of the eye, ear and testicles, induration of liver and spleen and also in treatment of various condylomas. The objective of this study is to determine the phytochemical and elemental constituents of the extracts of A. nilotica pods. Flame emission and atomic absorption spectrometry were also used to determine the presence or absence of micro- and macro-elements in the extracts. Phytochemical analysis of the aqueous, ethyl acetate and N-butanol fractionated portions of the pod extracts of A. nilotica revealed the presence of tannins, saponins, flavonoids, carbohydrate, whereas carbohydrates and tannins were the only constituent in the residue portion. Anthraquinones, alkaloids, terpene and steroids were not present in the extracts. The elemental screening revealed the presence of iron, potassium, manganese, zinc, calcium, phosphorous, magnesium, sodium, cadmium and copper. Lead, arsenic and molybdenum were not detected in the pod.

CT of the chest with model-based, fully iterative reconstruction: comparison with adaptive statistical iterative reconstruction.

Science.gov (United States)

Ichikawa, Yasutaka; Kitagawa, Kakuya; Nagasawa, Naoki; Murashima, Shuichi; Sakuma, Hajime

2013-08-09

The recently developed model-based iterative reconstruction (MBIR) enables significant reduction of image noise and artifacts, compared with adaptive statistical iterative reconstruction (ASIR) and filtered back projection (FBP). The purpose of this study was to evaluate lesion detectability of low-dose chest computed tomography (CT) with MBIR in comparison with ASIR and FBP. Chest CT was acquired with 64-slice CT (Discovery CT750HD) with standard-dose (5.7 ± 2.3 mSv) and low-dose (1.6 ± 0.8 mSv) conditions in 55 patients (aged 72 ± 7 years) who were suspected of lung disease on chest radiograms. Low-dose CT images were reconstructed with MBIR, ASIR 50% and FBP, and standard-dose CT images were reconstructed with FBP, using a reconstructed slice thickness of 0.625 mm. Two observers evaluated the image quality of abnormal lung and mediastinal structures on a 5-point scale (Score 5 = excellent and score 1 = non-diagnostic). The objective image noise was also measured as the standard deviation of CT intensity in the descending aorta. The image quality score of enlarged mediastinal lymph nodes on low-dose MBIR CT (4.7 ± 0.5) was significantly improved in comparison with low-dose FBP and ASIR CT (3.0 ± 0.5, p = 0.004; 4.0 ± 0.5, p = 0.02, respectively), and was nearly identical to the score of standard-dose FBP image (4.8 ± 0.4, p = 0.66). Concerning decreased lung attenuation (bulla, emphysema, or cyst), the image quality score on low-dose MBIR CT (4.9 ± 0.2) was slightly better compared to low-dose FBP and ASIR CT (4.5 ± 0.6, p = 0.01; 4.6 ± 0.5, p = 0.01, respectively). There were no significant differences in image quality scores of visualization of consolidation or mass, ground-glass attenuation, or reticular opacity among low- and standard-dose CT series. Image noise with low-dose MBIR CT (11.6 ± 1.0 Hounsfield units (HU)) were significantly lower than with low-dose ASIR (21.1 ± 2.6 HU, p standard-dose FBP CT (16.6 ± 2.3 HU, p 70%, MBIR can provide

Segmentation-DrivenTomographic Reconstruction

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Kongskov, Rasmus Dalgas

such that the segmentation subsequently can be carried out by use of a simple segmentation method, for instance just a thresholding method. We tested the advantages of going from a two-stage reconstruction method to a one stage segmentation-driven reconstruction method for the phase contrast tomography reconstruction......The tomographic reconstruction problem is concerned with creating a model of the interior of an object from some measured data, typically projections of the object. After reconstructing an object it is often desired to segment it, either automatically or manually. For computed tomography (CT...

Fusion of intraoperative force sensoring, surface reconstruction and biomechanical modeling

Science.gov (United States)

Röhl, S.; Bodenstedt, S.; Küderle, C.; Suwelack, S.; Kenngott, H.; Müller-Stich, B. P.; Dillmann, R.; Speidel, S.

2012-02-01

Minimally invasive surgery is medically complex and can heavily benefit from computer assistance. One way to help the surgeon is to integrate preoperative planning data into the surgical workflow. This information can be represented as a customized preoperative model of the surgical site. To use it intraoperatively, it has to be updated during the intervention due to the constantly changing environment. Hence, intraoperative sensor data has to be acquired and registered with the preoperative model. Haptic information which could complement the visual sensor data is still not established. In addition, biomechanical modeling of the surgical site can help in reflecting the changes which cannot be captured by intraoperative sensors. We present a setting where a force sensor is integrated into a laparoscopic instrument. In a test scenario using a silicone liver phantom, we register the measured forces with a reconstructed surface model from stereo endoscopic images and a finite element model. The endoscope, the instrument and the liver phantom are tracked with a Polaris optical tracking system. By fusing this information, we can transfer the deformation onto the finite element model. The purpose of this setting is to demonstrate the principles needed and the methods developed for intraoperative sensor data fusion. One emphasis lies on the calibration of the force sensor with the instrument and first experiments with soft tissue. We also present our solution and first results concerning the integration of the force sensor as well as accuracy to the fusion of force measurements, surface reconstruction and biomechanical modeling.

Efficient methodologies for system matrix modelling in iterative image reconstruction for rotating high-resolution PET

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ortuno, J E; Kontaxakis, G; Rubio, J L; Santos, A [Departamento de Ingenieria Electronica (DIE), Universidad Politecnica de Madrid, Ciudad Universitaria s/n, 28040 Madrid (Spain); Guerra, P [Networking Research Center on Bioengineering, Biomaterials and Nanomedicine (CIBER-BBN), Madrid (Spain)], E-mail: juanen@die.upm.es

2010-04-07

A fully 3D iterative image reconstruction algorithm has been developed for high-resolution PET cameras composed of pixelated scintillator crystal arrays and rotating planar detectors, based on the ordered subsets approach. The associated system matrix is precalculated with Monte Carlo methods that incorporate physical effects not included in analytical models, such as positron range effects and interaction of the incident gammas with the scintillator material. Custom Monte Carlo methodologies have been developed and optimized for modelling of system matrices for fast iterative image reconstruction adapted to specific scanner geometries, without redundant calculations. According to the methodology proposed here, only one-eighth of the voxels within two central transaxial slices need to be modelled in detail. The rest of the system matrix elements can be obtained with the aid of axial symmetries and redundancies, as well as in-plane symmetries within transaxial slices. Sparse matrix techniques for the non-zero system matrix elements are employed, allowing for fast execution of the image reconstruction process. This 3D image reconstruction scheme has been compared in terms of image quality to a 2D fast implementation of the OSEM algorithm combined with Fourier rebinning approaches. This work confirms the superiority of fully 3D OSEM in terms of spatial resolution, contrast recovery and noise reduction as compared to conventional 2D approaches based on rebinning schemes. At the same time it demonstrates that fully 3D methodologies can be efficiently applied to the image reconstruction problem for high-resolution rotational PET cameras by applying accurate pre-calculated system models and taking advantage of the system's symmetries.

Phase Error Modeling and Its Impact on Precise Orbit Determination of GRACE Satellites

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jia Tu

2012-01-01

Full Text Available Limiting factors for the precise orbit determination (POD of low-earth orbit (LEO satellite using dual-frequency GPS are nowadays mainly encountered with the in-flight phase error modeling. The phase error is modeled as a systematic and a random component each depending on the direction of GPS signal reception. The systematic part and standard deviation of random part in phase error model are, respectively, estimated by bin-wise mean and standard deviation values of phase postfit residuals computed by orbit determination. By removing the systematic component and adjusting the weight of phase observation data according to standard deviation of random component, the orbit can be further improved by POD approach. The GRACE data of 1–31 January 2006 are processed, and three types of orbit solutions, POD without phase error model correction, POD with mean value correction of phase error model, and POD with phase error model correction, are obtained. The three-dimensional (3D orbit improvements derived from phase error model correction are 0.0153 m for GRACE A and 0.0131 m for GRACE B, and the 3D influences arisen from random part of phase error model are 0.0068 m and 0.0075 m for GRACE A and GRACE B, respectively. Thus the random part of phase error model cannot be neglected for POD. It is also demonstrated by phase postfit residual analysis, orbit comparison with JPL precise science orbit, and orbit validation with KBR data that the results derived from POD with phase error model correction are better than another two types of orbit solutions generated in this paper.

Efficiency of Acacia Tortillis Plant Pod Shell as a Low Cost and Available Adsorbent for the Removal of Phenol

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Hossien JafariMansoorian

2015-05-01

Full Text Available The presence of nondegradable toxic compounds such as phenol in the environment has nowadays led to many health and environmental problems. The present empirical study was conducted on the lab scale to evaluate the efficiency of Acacia tortillis pod shell as a new alternative and low cost adsorbent for removing phenol from aqueous solutions. The experiment was performed in a batch system and the effects of important operation variables including initial phenol concentrations of 0.5, 1, 2, 4, 8, 16, 32, and 64 mg/l, absorbent doses of 0.1, 0.2, 0.4, 0.8, and 1.6g/l in predetermined mesh sizes (ranging over 30-60 and 60-100, pH levels of 2, 4, 6, 8, 10, and 12, and contact times of 10, 20, 30, 40, 50, and 60 min were evaluated. Finally, the Freundlich and Langmuir adsorption isotherms were determined in order to describe the relationship between the colored solution and the absorbent. Results showed that the highest phenol absorption efficiency achieved was above 95% which was obtained with an optimum pH level of 2, an optimum absorbent dose of 0.2 g/l, and a mesh size of 60-100 for a contact time of 10 minutes and at a low pollutant concentration. Increasing phenol concentration increased its removal efficiency but this removal rate was lower at extreme concentrations. Also, the adsorption process was found to be more compatible with the Freundlich model. Based on the results obtained, the pod shells of Acacia tortillis pod shell may be claimed to be an effective, efficient, and cheap absorbent for the removal of phenol from aqueous solutions.

Immediate, but Not Delayed, Microsurgical Skull Reconstruction Exacerbates Brain Damage in Experimental Traumatic Brain Injury Model

Science.gov (United States)

Lau, Tsz; Kaneko, Yuji; van Loveren, Harry; Borlongan, Cesario V.

2012-01-01

Moderate to severe traumatic brain injury (TBI) often results in malformations to the skull. Aesthetic surgical maneuvers may offer normalized skull structure, but inconsistent surgical closure of the skull area accompanies TBI. We examined whether wound closure by replacement of skull flap and bone wax would allow aesthetic reconstruction of the TBI-induced skull damage without causing any detrimental effects to the cortical tissue. Adult male Sprague-Dawley rats were subjected to TBI using the controlled cortical impact (CCI) injury model. Immediately after the TBI surgery, animals were randomly assigned to skull flap replacement with or without bone wax or no bone reconstruction, then were euthanized at five days post-TBI for pathological analyses. The skull reconstruction provided normalized gross bone architecture, but 2,3,5-triphenyltetrazolium chloride and hematoxylin and eosin staining results revealed larger cortical damage in these animals compared to those that underwent no surgical maneuver at all. Brain swelling accompanied TBI, especially the severe model, that could have relieved the intracranial pressure in those animals with no skull reconstruction. In contrast, the immediate skull reconstruction produced an upregulation of the edema marker aquaporin-4 staining, which likely prevented the therapeutic benefits of brain swelling and resulted in larger cortical infarcts. Interestingly, TBI animals introduced to a delay in skull reconstruction (i.e., 2 days post-TBI) showed significantly reduced edema and infarcts compared to those exposed to immediate skull reconstruction. That immediate, but not delayed, skull reconstruction may exacerbate TBI-induced cortical tissue damage warrants a careful consideration of aesthetic repair of the skull in TBI. PMID:22438975

Simultaneous EEG Source and Forward Model Reconstruction (SOFOMORE) using a Hierarchical Bayesian Approach

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Stahlhut, Carsten; Mørup, Morten; Winther, Ole

2011-01-01

We present an approach to handle forward model uncertainty for EEG source reconstruction. A stochastic forward model representation is motivated by the many random contributions to the path from sources to measurements including the tissue conductivity distribution, the geometry of the cortical s...

Some blood indices in finisher broiler chickens fed cocoa pod husk ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

The dietary effects of pre-treated cocoa pod husk (CPH) on some blood indices of 21-day old COBB-500 finisher broiler chicks were evaluated in a 35-day experiment with a completely randomized design. The birds were allotted to seven treatments (diets) having 0-g kg-1, 100- g kg-1, 200-g kg-1 and 300-g kg-1 of either ...

Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome: Is It Time to Rename PCOS to HA-PODS?

Science.gov (United States)

Khadilkar, Suvarna Satish

2016-04-01

The term polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS) came into existence 80 years ago. Pathophysiology of PCOS remains ill understood despite extensive research in this field. It is now accepted that the manifestations of PCOS are not confined to the reproductive dysfunction, and there are endocrine-metabolic implications to PCOS with several consequences to female health. PCOS is a misnomer as ovaries do not contain epithelial cysts, but they are actually antral follicles. Moreover, the name PCOS neither reflects the hyperandrogenism which is essential for diagnosis nor the metabolic derangements. While various authors have expressed the need for change of the name, a suitable new option has not yet been established. This review aims to analyse the current understanding of pathophysiology of PCOS and addresses to the controversies associated with its diagnosis and nomenclature. The name "Hyperandrogenic Persistent Ovulatory Dysfunction Syndrome or HA-PODS" is proposed here to overcome diagnostic pitfalls of previous nomenclature. This new name will help formulate appropriate treatment and promote consistency in research as well. Further categorizations of HA-PODS are also discussed in the article.

3D reconstruction of a patient-specific surface model of the proximal femur from calibrated x-ray radiographs: A validation study

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zheng Guoyan; Schumann, Steffen

2009-01-01

Twenty-three femurs (one plastic bone and twenty-two cadaver bones) with both nonpathologic and pathologic cases were considered to validate a statistical shape model based technique for three-dimensional (3D) reconstruction of a patient-specific surface model from calibrated x-ray radiographs. The 3D reconstruction technique is based on an iterative nonrigid registration of the features extracted from a statistically instantiated 3D surface model to those interactively identified from the radiographs. The surface models reconstructed from the radiographs were compared to the associated ground truths derived either from a 3D CT-scan reconstruction method or from a 3D laser-scan reconstruction method and an average error distance of 0.95 mm were found. Compared to the existing works, our approach has the advantage of seamlessly handling both nonpathologic and pathologic cases even when the statistical shape model that we used was constructed from surface models of nonpathologic bones.

Developing the Inundu fast-jet electronics test and evaluation pod

CSIR Research Space (South Africa)

Jamison, Kevin

2015-09-01

Full Text Available modifications. The pod’s radio-frequency (RF) antenna is pointed towards the target despite aircraft manoeuvres using a gimbal. To steer the gimbal, the pod incorporates a combined satellite navigation and inertial navigation system (INS) that, coupled... the ECU operational environment. The performance of the ECU can be evaluated and verified at this level. To verify the pod’s performance in flight, its compatibility with the Hawker Hunter aircraft and to measure the internal environment...

Evaluation of an intact, an ACL-deficient, and a reconstructed human knee joint finite element model.

Science.gov (United States)

Vairis, Achilles; Stefanoudakis, George; Petousis, Markos; Vidakis, Nectarios; Tsainis, Andreas-Marios; Kandyla, Betina

2016-02-01

The human knee joint has a three-dimensional geometry with multiple body articulations that produce complex mechanical responses under loads that occur in everyday life and sports activities. Understanding the complex mechanical interactions of these load-bearing structures is of use when the treatment of relevant diseases is evaluated and assisting devices are designed. The anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) in the knee is one of four main ligaments that connects the femur to the tibia and is often torn during sudden twisting motions, resulting in knee instability. The objective of this work is to study the mechanical behavior of the human knee joint and evaluate the differences in its response for three different states, i.e., intact, ACL-deficient, and surgically treated (reconstructed) knee. The finite element models corresponding to these states were developed. For the reconstructed model, a novel repair device was developed and patented by the author in previous work. Static load cases were applied, as have already been presented in a previous work, in order to compare the calculated results produced by the two models the ACL-deficient and the surgically reconstructed knee joint, under the exact same loading conditions. Displacements were calculated in different directions for the load cases studied and were found to be very close to those from previous modeling work and were in good agreement with experimental data presented in literature. The developed finite element model for both the intact and the ACL-deficient human knee joint is a reliable tool to study the kinematics of the human knee, as results of this study show. In addition, the reconstructed human knee joint model had kinematic behavior similar to the intact knee joint, showing that such reconstruction devices can restore human knee stability to an adequate extent.

Validity and Reliability of Gait and Postural Control Analysis Using the Tri-axial Accelerometer of the iPod Touch.

Science.gov (United States)

Kosse, Nienke M; Caljouw, Simone; Vervoort, Danique; Vuillerme, Nicolas; Lamoth, Claudine J C

2015-08-01

Accelerometer-based assessments can identify elderly with an increased fall risk and monitor interventions. Smart devices, like the iPod Touch, with built-in accelerometers are promising for clinical gait and posture assessments due to easy use and cost-effectiveness. The aim of the present study was to establish the validity and reliability of the iPod Touch for gait and posture assessment. Sixty healthy participants (aged 18-75 years) were measured with an iPod Touch and stand-alone accelerometer while they walked under single- and dual-task conditions, and while standing in parallel and semi-tandem stance with eyes open, eyes closed and when performing a dual task. Cross-correlation values (CCV) showed high correspondence of anterior-posterior and medio-lateral signal patterns (CCV's ≥ 0.88). Validity of gait parameters (foot contacts, index of harmonicity, and amplitude variability) and standing posture parameters [root mean square of accelerations, median power frequency (MPF) and sway area] as indicated by intra-class correlation (ICC) was high (ICC = 0.85-0.99) and test-retest reliability was good (ICC = 0.81-0.97), except for MPF (ICC = 0.59-0.87). Overall, the iPod Touch obtained valid and reliable measures of gait and postural control in healthy adults of all ages under different conditions. Additionally, smart devices have the potential to be used for clinical gait and posture assessments.

Reconstructing exposures from biomarkers using exposure-pharmacokinetic modeling--A case study with carbaryl.

Science.gov (United States)

Brown, Kathleen; Phillips, Martin; Grulke, Christopher; Yoon, Miyoung; Young, Bruce; McDougall, Robin; Leonard, Jeremy; Lu, Jingtao; Lefew, William; Tan, Yu-Mei

2015-12-01

Sources of uncertainty involved in exposure reconstruction for short half-life chemicals were characterized using computational models that link external exposures to biomarkers. Using carbaryl as an example, an exposure model, the Cumulative and Aggregate Risk Evaluation System (CARES), was used to generate time-concentration profiles for 500 virtual individuals exposed to carbaryl. These exposure profiles were used as inputs into a physiologically based pharmacokinetic (PBPK) model to predict urinary biomarker concentrations. These matching dietary intake levels and biomarker concentrations were used to (1) compare three reverse dosimetry approaches based on their ability to predict the central tendency of the intake dose distribution; and (2) identify parameters necessary for a more accurate exposure reconstruction. This study illustrates the trade-offs between using non-iterative reverse dosimetry methods that are fast, less precise and iterative methods that are slow, more precise. This study also intimates the necessity of including urine flow rate and elapsed time between last dose and urine sampling as part of the biomarker sampling collection for better interpretation of urinary biomarker data of short biological half-life chemicals. Resolution of these critical data gaps can allow exposure reconstruction methods to better predict population-level intake doses from large biomonitoring studies. Published by Elsevier Inc.

Molecular Characterization of Resistant Accessions of Cocoa (Theobroma cocoa L.) to Phytophthora Pod Rot Selected on-Farm in Côte-d’Ivoire.

Science.gov (United States)

Cocoa is (Theobroma cacao L.) is a significant agricultural commodity in Côted’Ivoire which ranks 1st in the world cocoa export. Phytophthora pod rot (Ppr)also call Black pod is the most widespread disease of cocoa. Lost due to this disease depends on the species of the pathogen and vary globally fr...

Integrating the iPod Touch in K-12 Education: Visions and Vices

Science.gov (United States)

Banister, Savilla

2010-01-01

Advocates of ubiquitous computing have long been documenting classroom benefits of one-to-one ratios of students to handheld or laptop computers. The recent sophisticated capabilities of the iPod Touch, iPhone, and iPad have encouraged further speculation on exactly how K-12 teaching and learning might be energized by such devices. This paper…

Coronary artery plaques: Cardiac CT with model-based and adaptive-statistical iterative reconstruction technique

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Scheffel, Hans; Stolzmann, Paul; Schlett, Christopher L.; Engel, Leif-Christopher; Major, Gyöngi Petra; Károlyi, Mihály; Do, Synho; Maurovich-Horvat, Pál; Hoffmann, Udo

2012-01-01

Objectives: To compare image quality of coronary artery plaque visualization at CT angiography with images reconstructed with filtered back projection (FBP), adaptive statistical iterative reconstruction (ASIR), and model based iterative reconstruction (MBIR) techniques. Methods: The coronary arteries of three ex vivo human hearts were imaged by CT and reconstructed with FBP, ASIR and MBIR. Coronary cross-sectional images were co-registered between the different reconstruction techniques and assessed for qualitative and quantitative image quality parameters. Readers were blinded to the reconstruction algorithm. Results: A total of 375 triplets of coronary cross-sectional images were co-registered. Using MBIR, 26% of the images were rated as having excellent overall image quality, which was significantly better as compared to ASIR and FBP (4% and 13%, respectively, all p < 0.001). Qualitative assessment of image noise demonstrated a noise reduction by using ASIR as compared to FBP (p < 0.01) and further noise reduction by using MBIR (p < 0.001). The contrast-to-noise-ratio (CNR) using MBIR was better as compared to ASIR and FBP (44 ± 19, 29 ± 15, 26 ± 9, respectively; all p < 0.001). Conclusions: Using MBIR improved image quality, reduced image noise and increased CNR as compared to the other available reconstruction techniques. This may further improve the visualization of coronary artery plaque and allow radiation reduction.

From the iPod to the Smartphone: Navigating the Spaces of the City

OpenAIRE

Michael Bull

2013-01-01

The Apple iPod and before that the Sony Walkman are inherently technologies of sonic control; the placing of headphones around the ears permits a dramatic reorganization of the user’s soundworld, in effect empowering the ears of the user. Technology thus transforms the power of the senses.

Analyzing historical land use changes using a Historical Land Use Reconstruction Model: a case study in Zhenlai County, northeastern China

Science.gov (United States)

Yang, Yuanyuan; Zhang, Shuwen; Liu, Yansui; Xing, Xiaoshi; de Sherbinin, Alex

2017-01-01

Historical land use information is essential to understanding the impact of anthropogenic modification of land use/cover on the temporal dynamics of environmental and ecological issues. However, due to a lack of spatial explicitness, complete thematic details and the conversion types for historical land use changes, the majority of historical land use reconstructions do not sufficiently meet the requirements for an adequate model. Considering these shortcomings, we explored the possibility of constructing a spatially-explicit modeling framework (HLURM: Historical Land Use Reconstruction Model). Then a three-map comparison method was adopted to validate the projected reconstruction map. The reconstruction suggested that the HLURM model performed well in the spatial reconstruction of various land-use categories, and had a higher figure of merit (48.19%) than models used in other case studies. The largest land use/cover type in the study area was determined to be grassland, followed by arable land and wetland. Using the three-map comparison, we noticed that the major discrepancies in land use changes among the three maps were as a result of inconsistencies in the classification of land-use categories during the study period, rather than as a result of the simulation model. PMID:28134342

Model-centric software architecture reconstruction

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Stoermer, C.; Rowe, A.; O'Brien, L.; Verhoef, C.

2006-01-01

Much progress has been achieved in defining methods, techniques, and tools for software architecture reconstruction (SAR). However, less progress has been achieved in constructing reasoning frameworks from existing systems that support organizations in architecture analysis and design decisions.

POD analysis of the instability mode of a low-speed streak in a laminar boundary layer

Science.gov (United States)

Deng, Si-Chao; Pan, Chong; Wang, Jin-Jun; Rinoshika, Akira

2017-12-01

The instability of one single low-speed streak in a zero-pressure-gradient laminar boundary layer is investigated experimentally via both hydrogen bubble visualization and planar particle image velocimetry (PIV) measurement. A single low-speed streak is generated and destabilized by the wake of an interference wire positioned normal to the wall and in the upstream. The downstream development of the streak includes secondary instability and self-reproduction process, which leads to the generation of two additional streaks appearing on either side of the primary one. A proper orthogonal decomposition (POD) analysis of PIV measured velocity field is used to identify the components of the streak instability in the POD mode space: for a sinuous/varicose type of POD mode, its basis functions present anti-symmetric/symmetric distributions about the streak centerline in the streamwise component, and the symmetry condition reverses in the spanwise component. It is further shown that sinuous mode dominates the turbulent kinematic energy (TKE) through the whole streak evolution process, the TKE content first increases along the streamwise direction to a saturation value and then decays slowly. In contrast, varicose mode exhibits a sustained growth of the TKE content, suggesting an increasing competition of varicose instability against sinuous instability.

Qualitative Phytochemical Analysis and Microbial Inhibitory Activities of Pacific Rain Tree (Samanea saman (Jacq. Merr. Pods

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

James Kennard S. Jacob

2016-08-01

Full Text Available Background: Crop diseases and human health are always at stake and the emerging problem on the use of synthetic anti-pathogens and medicine is one of the most difficult to combat. The first step towards determining such capabilities among plants is to determine their phytochemicals. Methods: Eight preliminary phytochemical tests was done on Samanea saman which includes, test for alkaloids saponins, flavonoids, tannins, glycosides, steroids, terpenoids and resins. Powdered pods were subjected to ethanol and aqueous extraction. Extracts were also tested for its antifungal and anti-microbial properties against Fusarium oxysporum, E. coli and S. aureus, respectively. Results: Out of the eight phytochemical tests done, seven (7 were found to be present both on the ethanol and aqueous extracts namely, alkaloids, saponins, tannins, glycosides, steroids, terpenoids and resins. However, flavonoids is absent. The statistical results exhibited that there is a significant difference on the inhibitory effects against in-vitro bioassay of Fusarium oxysporum which is known to cause crop wilts and the two bacterial pathogens E. coli and S. aureus. Conclusions: The presence of such phytochemicals in Samanea saman pods revealed that it can be a basis of new, natural and non-synthetic treatments. This finding suggests that its pods can be used as antibacterial and antifungal source.

Model-based iterative reconstruction technique for radiation dose reduction in chest CT: comparison with the adaptive statistical iterative reconstruction technique

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Katsura, Masaki; Matsuda, Izuru; Akahane, Masaaki; Sato, Jiro; Akai, Hiroyuki; Yasaka, Koichiro; Kunimatsu, Akira; Ohtomo, Kuni [University of Tokyo, Department of Radiology, Graduate School of Medicine, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo (Japan)

2012-08-15

To prospectively evaluate dose reduction and image quality characteristics of chest CT reconstructed with model-based iterative reconstruction (MBIR) compared with adaptive statistical iterative reconstruction (ASIR). One hundred patients underwent reference-dose and low-dose unenhanced chest CT with 64-row multidetector CT. Images were reconstructed with 50 % ASIR-filtered back projection blending (ASIR50) for reference-dose CT, and with ASIR50 and MBIR for low-dose CT. Two radiologists assessed the images in a blinded manner for subjective image noise, artefacts and diagnostic acceptability. Objective image noise was measured in the lung parenchyma. Data were analysed using the sign test and pair-wise Student's t-test. Compared with reference-dose CT, there was a 79.0 % decrease in dose-length product with low-dose CT. Low-dose MBIR images had significantly lower objective image noise (16.93 {+-} 3.00) than low-dose ASIR (49.24 {+-} 9.11, P < 0.01) and reference-dose ASIR images (24.93 {+-} 4.65, P < 0.01). Low-dose MBIR images were all diagnostically acceptable. Unique features of low-dose MBIR images included motion artefacts and pixellated blotchy appearances, which did not adversely affect diagnostic acceptability. Diagnostically acceptable chest CT images acquired with nearly 80 % less radiation can be obtained using MBIR. MBIR shows greater potential than ASIR for providing diagnostically acceptable low-dose CT images without severely compromising image quality. (orig.)

Virtual 3-D Facial Reconstruction

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Martin Paul Evison

2000-06-01

Full Text Available Facial reconstructions in archaeology allow empathy with people who lived in the past and enjoy considerable popularity with the public. It is a common misconception that facial reconstruction will produce an exact likeness; a resemblance is the best that can be hoped for. Research at Sheffield University is aimed at the development of a computer system for facial reconstruction that will be accurate, rapid, repeatable, accessible and flexible. This research is described and prototypical 3-D facial reconstructions are presented. Interpolation models simulating obesity, ageing and ethnic affiliation are also described. Some strengths and weaknesses in the models, and their potential for application in archaeology are discussed.

Pod-Car Concept 2030 : Interior design for an autonomous car

OpenAIRE