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  1. Scaling symmetry and scalar hairy Lifshitz black holes

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Hyun, Seungjoon [Department of Physics, College of Science, Yonsei University, Seoul 120-749 (Korea, Republic of); Jeong, Jaehoon [Institute of Theoretical Physics, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, 54124, Thessaloniki (Greece); Park, Sang-A; Yi, Sang-Heon [Department of Physics, College of Science, Yonsei University, Seoul 120-749 (Korea, Republic of)

    2015-10-15

    By utilizing the scaling symmetry of the reduced action for planar black holes, we obtain the corresponding conserved charge. We use the conserved charge to find the generalized Smarr relation of static hairy planar black holes in various dimensions. Our results not only reproduce the relation in the various known cases but also give the new relation in the Lifshitz planar black holes with the scalar hair.

  2. [Induction of hairy roots of Panax ginseng and studies on suitable culture condition of ginseng hairy roots].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhao, Shou-Jing; Li, Chang-Yu; Qian, Yan-Chun; Luo, Xiao-Pei; Zhang, Xin; Wang, Xue-Song; Kang, Bo-Yu

    2004-03-01

    Rd in hairy root clone R9923 was determined by the HPLC. The total ginsenosides content in the hairy toot clone R9923 came up to 15.2 mg/g. The suitable culture conditions for ginseng hairy roots growing were 1/2 MS liquid medium (30 g/L glucose), in a shaker at 110 r/min, changing the culture solution at 2 weeks and subculture time 4 weeks. In the liquid fermented culture of 2L medium, the yield of the hairy roots could amount to 270.10 g in 4 weeks. The industrial production of ginsenosides has been preliminarily realized. Effect factors on biomass and ginsenosides content such as culture volume, inoculation, in steps cultural technology at the scale-up process of hairy roots culture were also explorated. Our results have laid a foundation for defining optimum culture manner for large-scale cultivation and large-scale production of ginsenosides.

  3. Hairy maggot of Chrysomya villeneuvi (Diptera: Calliphoridae), a fly species of forensic importance.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sukontason, Kom; Sukontason, Kabkaew L; Piangjai, Somsak; Chaiwong, Tarinee; Boonchu, Noppawan; Kurahashi, Hiromu

    2003-11-01

    We reported on the hairy maggot of Chrysomya villeneuvi Patton, collected from a human corpse in Thailand. Although the general morphology of the third instar closely resembled the more common hairy maggot blow fly, Chrysomya rufifacies (Macquart), the spines along the tubercles of each body segment could be used as a feature to distinguish between these species, with those of C. villeneuri bearing sharp-ended spines that encircle the entire tubercle. Not only has the resemblance of a hairy appearance between C. villeneuvi and C. rufifacies larvae been documented but also their similarity in predacious feeding behavior. The differentiation between these two species is necessary for post-mortem interval estimation in the corpse.

  4. Hairy ears; Revisited

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Daifullah Al Aboud

    2014-04-01

    Full Text Available Hair can grow in areas which are not usually hairy in human skin. The Online Mendelian Inheritance in Man (OMIM (http:// www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/omimhave some entries in this regards. These include ( %139600 – HAIRY ELBOWS, #605130 – HAIRY ELBOWS, SHORT STATURE, FACIAL DYSMORPHISM, AND DEVELOPMENTAL DELAY, 139630 – HAIRY NOSE TIP, 139500 – HAIRY EARS, and 425500 – HAIRY EARS, Y-LINKED. Hairy ears, (Fig. 1, are uncommon trait and it is rare to see a person with very long hair on the ears.

  5. Scale up of 2,4-dichlorophenol removal from aqueous solutions using Brassica napus hairy roots

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Angelini, Vanina A. [Departamento de Biologia Molecular, FCEFQN, Universidad Nacional de Rio Cuarto, 5800 Rio Cuarto, Cordoba (Argentina); Orejas, Joaquin [Facultad de Ingenieria, Universidad Nacional de Rio Cuarto, 5800 Rio Cuarto, Cordoba (Argentina); Medina, Maria I. [Departamento de Biologia Molecular, FCEFQN, Universidad Nacional de Rio Cuarto, 5800 Rio Cuarto, Cordoba (Argentina); Agostini, Elizabeth, E-mail: eagostini@exa.unrc.edu.ar [Departamento de Biologia Molecular, FCEFQN, Universidad Nacional de Rio Cuarto, 5800 Rio Cuarto, Cordoba (Argentina)

    2011-01-15

    Research highlights: {yields}B. napus hairy roots were effectively used for a large scale removal of 2,4-DCP. {yields} High removal efficiencies were obtained (98%) in a short time (30 min). {yields} Roots were re-used for six consecutive cycles with high efficiency. {yields} Post removal solutions showed no toxicity. {yields} This method could be used for continuous and safe treatment of phenolic effluents. - Abstract: Chlorophenols are harmful pollutants, frequently found in the effluents of several industries. For this reason, many environmental friendly technologies are being explored for their removal from industrial wastewaters. The aim of the present work was to study the scale up of 2,4-dichlorophenol (2,4-DCP) removal from synthetic wastewater, using Brassica napus hairy roots and H{sub 2}O{sub 2} in a discontinuous stirred tank reactor. We have analyzed some operational conditions, because the scale up of such process was poorly studied. High removal efficiencies were obtained (98%) in a short time (30 min). When roots were re-used for six consecutive cycles, 2,4-DCP removal efficiency decreased from 98 to 86%, in the last cycle. After the removal process, the solutions obtained from the reactor were assessed for their toxicity using an acute test with Lactuca sativa L. seeds. Results suggested that the treated solution was less toxic than the parent solution, because neither inhibition of lettuce germination nor effects in root and hypocotyl lengths were observed. Therefore, we provide evidence that Brassica napus hairy roots could be effectively used to detoxify solutions containing 2,4-DCP and they have considerable potential for a large scale removal of this pollutant. Thus, this study could help to design a method for continuous and safe treatment of effluents containing chlorophenols.

  6. Scale up of 2,4-dichlorophenol removal from aqueous solutions using Brassica napus hairy roots

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Angelini, Vanina A.; Orejas, Joaquin; Medina, Maria I.; Agostini, Elizabeth

    2011-01-01

    Research highlights: →B. napus hairy roots were effectively used for a large scale removal of 2,4-DCP. → High removal efficiencies were obtained (98%) in a short time (30 min). → Roots were re-used for six consecutive cycles with high efficiency. → Post removal solutions showed no toxicity. → This method could be used for continuous and safe treatment of phenolic effluents. - Abstract: Chlorophenols are harmful pollutants, frequently found in the effluents of several industries. For this reason, many environmental friendly technologies are being explored for their removal from industrial wastewaters. The aim of the present work was to study the scale up of 2,4-dichlorophenol (2,4-DCP) removal from synthetic wastewater, using Brassica napus hairy roots and H 2 O 2 in a discontinuous stirred tank reactor. We have analyzed some operational conditions, because the scale up of such process was poorly studied. High removal efficiencies were obtained (98%) in a short time (30 min). When roots were re-used for six consecutive cycles, 2,4-DCP removal efficiency decreased from 98 to 86%, in the last cycle. After the removal process, the solutions obtained from the reactor were assessed for their toxicity using an acute test with Lactuca sativa L. seeds. Results suggested that the treated solution was less toxic than the parent solution, because neither inhibition of lettuce germination nor effects in root and hypocotyl lengths were observed. Therefore, we provide evidence that Brassica napus hairy roots could be effectively used to detoxify solutions containing 2,4-DCP and they have considerable potential for a large scale removal of this pollutant. Thus, this study could help to design a method for continuous and safe treatment of effluents containing chlorophenols.

  7. Hairy cell leukemia-variant

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Quadri, Mohammad I.; Al-Sheikh, Iman H.

    2001-01-01

    Hairy cell leukaemia variant is a very rare chronic lymphoproliferative disorder and is closely related to hairy cell leukemia. We hereby describe a case of hairy cell leukaemia variant for the first time in Saudi Arabia. An elderly Saudi man presented with pallor, massive splenomegaly, and moderate hepatomegaly. Hemoglobin was 7.7 g/dl, Platelets were 134 x109/l and white blood count was 140x10 9/l with 97% being abnormal lymphoid cells with cytoplasmic projections. The morphology, cytochemistry, and immunophenotype of the lymphoid cells were classical of hairy cell leukaemia variant. The bone marrow was easily aspirated and findings were consistent with hairy cell leukaemia variant. (author)

  8. An efficient hairy root culture system for Withania somnifera (L.) Dunal

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    ... the presence of acetosyringone (100 µM) attained a higher frequency (88%) of hairy root induction. By adopting this protocol, we could utilize the hairy root culture for industrial scale production of withanolides. Keywords: Leaf explant, Agrobacterium rhizogenes, Withania somnifera, co-cultivation period, acetosyringone.

  9. Elicitation of Valerenic Acid in the Hairy Root Cultures of Valeriana ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Purpose: To investigate the effect of magnesium and calcium as abiotic elicitors on Valeriana officinalis hairy roots for scale-up production of valerenic acid. Methods: Hairy roots were established in different explants of Valeriana officinalis via a mikimopine type strain of Agrobacterium rhizogenes 'A13'. Transgenic status of ...

  10. Scale-Up of Agrobacterium rhizogenes-Mediated Hairy Root Cultures of Rauwolfia serpentina: A Persuasive Approach for Stable Reserpine Production.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mehrotra, Shakti; Srivastava, Vikas; Goel, Manoj K; Kukreja, Arun K

    2016-01-01

    Roots of Rauwolfia serpentina, also known as "Sarpagandha" possess high pharmaceutical value due to the presence of reserpine and other medicinally important terpene indole alkaloids. Ever increasing commercial demand of R. serpentina roots is the major reason behind the unsystematic harvesting and fast decline of the species from its natural environment. Considering Agrobacterium rhizogenes-mediated hairy root cultures as an alternative source for the production of plant-based secondary metabolites, the present optimized protocol offers a commercially feasible method for the production of reserpine, the most potent alkaloid from R. serpentina roots. This end-to-end protocol presents the establishment of hairy root culture from the leaf explants of R. serpentina through the infection of A. rhizogenes strain A4 in liquid B5 culture medium and its up-scaling in a 5 L bench top, mechanically agitated bioreactor. The transformed nature of roots was confirmed through PCR-based rol A gene amplification in genomic DNA of putative hairy roots. The extraction and quantification of reserpine in bioreactor grown roots has been done using monolithic reverse phase high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC).

  11. Hairy AdS solitons

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Anabalón, Andrés; Astefanesei, Dumitru; Choque, David

    2016-01-01

    We construct exact hairy AdS soliton solutions in Einstein-dilaton gravity theory. We examine their thermodynamic properties and discuss the role of these solutions for the existence of first order phase transitions for hairy black holes. The negative energy density associated to hairy AdS solitons can be interpreted as the Casimir energy that is generated in the dual filed theory when the fermions are antiperiodic on the compact coordinate.

  12. Hairy AdS solitons

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Anabalón, Andrés, E-mail: andres.anabalon@uai.cl [Departamento de Ciencias, Facultad de Artes Liberales and Facultad de Ingeniería y Ciencias, Universidad Adolfo Ibáñez, Av. Padre Hurtado 750, Viña del Mar (Chile); Astefanesei, Dumitru, E-mail: dumitru.astefanesei@pucv.cl [Instituto de Física, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Valparaíso, Casilla 4059, Valparaíso (Chile); Choque, David, E-mail: brst1010123@gmail.com [Instituto de Física, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Valparaíso, Casilla 4059, Valparaíso (Chile); Universidad Técnica Federico Santa María, Av. España 1680, Valparaíso (Chile)

    2016-11-10

    We construct exact hairy AdS soliton solutions in Einstein-dilaton gravity theory. We examine their thermodynamic properties and discuss the role of these solutions for the existence of first order phase transitions for hairy black holes. The negative energy density associated to hairy AdS solitons can be interpreted as the Casimir energy that is generated in the dual filed theory when the fermions are antiperiodic on the compact coordinate.

  13. Monoclonal antibodies reactive with hairy cell leukemia

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Visser, L; Shaw, A; Slupsky, J; Vos, H; Poppema, S

    Monoclonal antibodies reactive with hairy cell leukemia were developed to aid in the diagnosis of this subtype of B cell chronic lymphocytic leukemia and to gain better insight into the origin of hairy cells. Three antibodies were found to be of value in the diagnosis of hairy cell leukemia.

  14. Hairy root biotechnology--indicative timeline to understand missing links and future outlook.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mehrotra, Shakti; Srivastava, Vikas; Ur Rahman, Laiq; Kukreja, A K

    2015-09-01

    Agrobacterium rhizogenes-mediated hairy roots (HR) were developed in the laboratory to mimic the natural phenomenon of bacterial gene transfer and occurrence of disease syndrome. The timeline analysis revealed that during 90 s, the research expanded to the hairy root-based secondary metabolite production and different yield enhancement strategies like media optimization, up-scaling, metabolic engineering etc. An outlook indicates that much emphasis has been given to the strategies that are helpful in making this technology more practical in terms of high productivity at low cost. However, a sequential analysis of literature shows that this technique is upgraded to a biotechnology platform where different intra- and interdisciplinary work areas were established, progressed, and diverged to provide scientific benefits of various hairy root-based applications like phytoremediation, molecular farming, biotransformation, etc. In the present scenario, this biotechnology research platform includes (a) elemental research like hairy root-mediated secondary metabolite production coupled with productivity enhancement strategies and (b) HR-based functional research. The latter comprised of hairy root-based applied aspects such as generation of agro-economical traits in plants, production of high value as well as less hazardous molecules through biotransformation/farming and remediation, respectively. This review presents an indicative timeline portrayal of hairy root research reflected by a chronology of research outputs. The timeline also reveals a progressive trend in the state-of-art global advances in hairy root biotechnology. Furthermore, the review also discusses ideas to explore missing links and to deal with the challenges in future progression and prospects of research in all related fields of this important area of plant biotechnology.

  15. Production of the biopesticide azadirachtin by hairy root cultivation of Azadirachta indica in liquid-phase bioreactors.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Srivastava, Smita; Srivastava, Ashok K

    2013-11-01

    Batch cultivation of Azadirachta indica hairy roots was carried out in different liquid-phase bioreactor configurations (stirred-tank, bubble column, bubble column with polypropylene basket, and polyurethane foam disc as root supports) to investigate possible scale-up of the A. indica hairy root culture for in vitro production of the biopesticide azadirachtin. The hairy roots failed to grow in the conventional bioreactor designs (stirred tank and bubble column). However, modified bubble column reactor (with polyurethane foam as root support) configuration facilitated high-density culture of A. indica hairy roots with a biomass production of 9.2 g l(-1)dry weight and azadirachtin yield of 3.2 mg g(-1) leading to a volumetric productivity of azadirachtin as 1.14 mg l(-1) day(-1). The antifeedant activity in the hairy roots was also evaluated by no choice feeding tests with known concentrations of the hairy root powder and its solvent extract separately on the desert locust Schistocerca gregaria. The hairy root powder and its solvent extract demonstrated a high level of antifeedant activity (with an antifeedant index of 97 % at a concentration of 2 % w/v and 83 % at a concentration of 0.05 % (w/v), respectively, in ethanol).

  16. Stimulation of artemisinin biosynthesis in Artemisia annua hairy ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    STORAGESEVER

    2010-06-07

    Jun 7, 2010 ... Ben Zhang1, Ting Zou1, Yan Hua Lu2 and Jian Wen Wang1, 2*. 1School of ... application of large-scale cultures of A. annua hairy root is still be ... high performance liquid chromatography; FTIR, fourier ... the ratio between the direct reducing sugar and total reducing sugar ... dissolved in 2 ml ethanol.

  17. Hairy root biotechnology of Rauwolfia serpentina: a potent approach for the production of pharmaceutically important terpenoid indole alkaloids.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mehrotra, Shakti; Goel, Manoj K; Srivastava, Vikas; Rahman, Laiq Ur

    2015-02-01

    Hairy root cultures of Rauwolfia serpentina induced by Agrobacterium rhizogenes have been investigated extensively for the production of terpenoid indole alkaloids. Various biotechnological developments, such as scaling up in bioreactors, pathway engineering etc., have been explored to improve their metabolite production potential. These hairy roots are competent for regenerating into complete plants and show survival and unaltered biosynthetic potential during storage at low temperature. This review provides a comprehensive account of the hairy root cultures of R. serpentina, their biosynthetic potential and various biotechnological methods used to explore the production of pharmaceutically important terpenoid indole alkaloids. The review also indicates how biotechnological endeavors might improve the future progress of research for production of alkaloids using Rauwolfia hairy roots.

  18. Development of the Children's Scale of Hostility and Aggression: Reactive/Proactive (C-SHARP)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Farmer, Cristan A.; Aman, Michael G.

    2009-01-01

    Whereas some scales exist for assessing aggression in typically developing children, they do not give a detailed analysis, and none is available for populations with developmental disabilities (DD). Parents of 365 children with DD completed the Children's Scale of Hostility and Aggression: Reactive/Proactive (C-SHARP), which surveys the severity…

  19. Insulin stimulates the expression of the SHARP-1 gene via multiple signaling pathways.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Takagi, K; Asano, K; Haneishi, A; Ono, M; Komatsu, Y; Yamamoto, T; Tanaka, T; Ueno, H; Ogawa, W; Tomita, K; Noguchi, T; Yamada, K

    2014-06-01

    The rat enhancer of split- and hairy-related protein-1 (SHARP-1) is a basic helix-loop-helix transcription factor. An issue of whether SHARP-1 is an insulin-inducible transcription factor was examined. Insulin rapidly increased the level of SHARP-1 mRNA both in vivo and in vitro. Then, signaling pathways involved with the increase of SHARP-1 mRNA by insulin were determined in H4IIE rat hepatoma cells. Pretreatments with LY294002, wortmannin, and staurosporine completely blocked the induction effect, suggesting the involvement of both phosphoinositide 3-kinase (PI 3-K) and protein kinase C (PKC) pathways. In fact, overexpression of a dominant negative form of atypical protein kinase C lambda (aPKCλ) significantly decreased the induction of the SHARP-1 mRNA. In addition, inhibitors for the small GTPase Rac or Jun N-terminal kinase (JNK) also blocked the induction of SHARP-1 mRNA by insulin. Overexpression of a dominant negative form of Rac1 prevented the activation by insulin. Furthermore, actinomycin D and cycloheximide completely blocked the induction of SHARP-1 mRNA by insulin. Finally, when a SHARP-1 expression plasmid was transiently transfected with various reporter plasmids into H4IIE cells, the promoter activity of PEPCK reporter plasmid was specifically decreased. Thus, we conclude that insulin induces the SHARP-1 gene expression at the transcription level via a both PI 3-K/aPKCλ/JNK- and a PI 3-K/Rac/JNK-signaling pathway; protein synthesis is required for this induction; and that SHARP-1 is a potential repressor of the PEPCK gene expression. © Georg Thieme Verlag KG Stuttgart · New York.

  20. Hypophosphatemic rickets associated with giant hairy nevus

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sameer Aggarwal

    2013-01-01

    Full Text Available The association of multisystem pathologic conditions and epidermal nevi, known as the epidermal nevus syndrome, includes disorders of bone, central nervous system, eye, kidney, vasculature and skin. Rarely, congenital nevomelanocytic nevus also known as hairy nevus has also been reported in association with hypophosphatemic rickets. Studies suggest that phosphaturia, caused by circulating factors, called "phosphatonins" may be secreted by an epidermal or hairy nevus. We report here, a rare case of hypophosphatemic rickets associated with a giant hairy nevus in a 10-year-old boy.

  1. Development and optimization of hairy root culture systems in ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Transformation of Withania somnifera was carried out by using three Agrobacterium rhizogenes strains (ATCC 15834, R1000 and K599) for hairy root induction. Induction of hairy root was carried out in leaf, petiole and internodal explants. Hairy root induction was successful only in ATCC 15834 and R1000. The highest ...

  2. Resveratrol production in hairy root culture of peanut, Arachis ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    STORAGESEVER

    2008-10-20

    Oct 20, 2008 ... hypogaea L.) hairy roots and also showed varying effects on the growth and resveratrol production in hairy root cultures. ... (7.6 g/l) and resveratrol production (1.5 mg/g) in hairy root of peanut. Our results demonstrate that the .... and proliferation of human retinal pigment epithelial cells via extracellular ...

  3. Azadirachtin production by hairy root cultivation of Azadirachta indica in a modified stirred tank reactor.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Srivastava, Smita; Srivastava, A K

    2012-11-01

    Present investigation involves hairy root cultivation of Azadirachta indica in a modified stirred tank reactor under optimized culture conditions for maximum volumetric productivity of azadirachtin. The selected hairy root line (Az-35) was induced via Agrobacterium rhizogenes LBA 920-mediated transformation of A. indica leaf explants (Coimbatore variety, India). Liquid culture of the hairy roots was developed in a modified Murashige and Skoog medium (MM2). To further enhance the productivity of azadirachtin, selected growth regulators (1.0 mg/l IAA and 0.025 mg/l GA(3)), permeabilizing agent (0.5 % v/v DNBP), a biotic elicitor (1 % v/v Curvularia (culture filtrate)) and an indirectly linked biosynthetic precursor (50 mg/l cholesterol) were added in the growth medium on 15th day of the hairy root cultivation period in shake flask. Highest azadirachtin production (113 mg/l) was obtained on 25th day of the growth cycle with a biomass of 21 g/l DW. Further, batch cultivation of hairy roots was carried out in a novel liquid-phase bioreactor configuration (modified stirred tank reactor with polyurethane foam as root support) to investigate the possible scale-up of the established A. indica hairy root culture. A biomass production of 15.2 g/l with azadirachtin accumulation in the hairy roots of 6.4 mg/g (97.28 mg/l) could be achieved after 25 days of the batch cultivation period, which was ~27 and ~14 % less biomass and azadirachtin concentration obtained respectively, in shake flasks. An overall volumetric productivity of 3.89 mg/(l day) of azadirachtin was obtained in the bioreactor.

  4. Hairy Cell Leukemia Treatment (PDQ®)—Patient Version

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hairy cell leukemia treatment options include watchful waiting when there are no symptoms, chemotherapy, biologic therapy, surgery, and targeted therapy. Learn more about the diagnosis and treatment of newly diagnosed and recurrent hairy cell leukemia in this expert-reviewed summary.

  5. In vitro azadirachtin production by hairy root cultivation of Azadirachta indica in nutrient mist bioreactor.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Srivastava, Smita; Srivastava, A K

    2012-01-01

    Azadirachtin, a well-known biopesticide is a secondary metabolite conventionally extracted from the seeds of Azadirachta indica. The present study involved in vitro azadirachtin production by developing hairy roots of A. indica via Agrobacterium rhizogenes-mediated transformation of A. indica explants. Liquid culture of hairy roots was established in shake flask to study the kinetics of growth and azadirachtin production. A biomass production of 13.3 g/L dry weight (specific growth rate of 0.7 day(-1)) was obtained after 25 days of cultivation period with an azadirachtin yield of 3.3 mg/g root biomass. To overcome the mass transfer limitation in conventionally used liquid-phase reactors, batch cultivation of hairy roots was carried out in gas-phase reactors (nutrient spray and nutrient mist bioreactor) to investigate the possible scale-up of A. indica hairy root culture. The nano-size nutrient mist particles generated from the nozzle of the nutrient mist bioreactor could penetrate till the inner core of the inoculated root matrix, facilitating uniform growth during high-density cultivation of hairy roots. A biomass production of 9.8 g/L dry weight with azadirachtin accumulation of 2.8 mg/g biomass (27.4 mg/L) could be achieved in 25 days of batch cultivation period, which was equivalent to a volumetric productivity of 1.09 mg/L per day of azadirachtin.

  6. Assessment of hairy roots induction in Solenostemon scutellarioides ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Hairy roots of Solenostemon scutellarioides were induced by inoculation of leaf explants with Agrobacterium rhizogenes strains TR 105, LBA 9402, 8196 and ATCC 15834. These strains showed different abilities to induce hairy root formation on the leaf explants. Assessment of the plant's susceptibility to the different strains ...

  7. Hairy Cell Leukemia Treatment (PDQ®)—Health Professional Version

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hairy cell leukemia treatment options include surveillance, chemotherapy, targeted therapy/immunotherapy, and splenectomy. The decision to treat is based on cytopenias, splenomegaly, or infectious complications. Get detailed information about hairy cell leukemia in this clinician summary.

  8. Biologically inspired hairy surfaces for liquid repellency

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hsu, Shu-Hau

    Owing to remarkable features, such as self-cleaning, anti-biofouling and drag reduction, interest on rendering surfaces water-repellent has significantly grown within this decade. Attempts on making surfaces "superhydrophobic", where high water contact angle (θc >150°) accompanied with only few degrees of roll-off angle, have been extensively demonstrated through the mimicking of the surface chemistry and morphology of lotus leaves. This appealing phenomenon also exists on another structure from nature: surfaces comprising soft hairs. Although the role of this piliferous integument has long been recognized for providing life, arthropods in particular, waterrepellency, the synthetic superhydrophobic surfaces based on this structure are still very limited. In this study, the goal was to develop a novel liquid-repellent surface by mimicking the hairy exterior of species. The artificial hairy surfaces were prepared by means of pressurized membrane casting, in which thermoplastic sheets were forced to flow into porous membranes at elevated temperature. The G-shaped pillars on the membrane cast polypropylene substrate are particularly similar to the conformation of natural hairs. The principle of this fabrication technique is relatively accessible and is expected to be compatible with large-area fabrication of superhydrophobic interfaces. The artificial hairy surface features perfectly hydrophobic response where no contact angle hysteresis was observed from video assessment. Thus the artificial hairy surface of the current work appears to be the first report to have such extreme hydrophobicity with only structural modification from the original substrate. This ultralow adhesion to water droplet is believed to be attributed to the hydrophobic methyl groups and the mechanical response of the artificial hairs. Liquid repellency of the hairy surfaces was further enhanced by coating with fluorocarbon (CF) layers via deep reactive ion etching (DRIE). The contact angle of

  9. Radioisotope examination of hairy-cell leukemia patients

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Fortynova, J.; Friedmann, B.; Bakos, K.; Malaskova, V.; Voslarova, Z.; Vopatova, M.

    1983-01-01

    13 patients with hairy-cell leukemia were simultaneously tested using different radioisotope methods (scintiscan of the spleen and bone marrow, total blood volume and erythrocytic pool in the spleen, erythrocyte and platelet kinetics). Some of the methods (bone marrow scintiscan, total blood volume and erythrocytic pool in the spleen, and kinetic studies) produced characteristic results in those patients: they could add precision to the diagnosis of the disease, and they could also be used for better elucidation of the pathogenic mechanisms of other clinical signs characteristic of hairy-cell leukemia. In spite of the undeniably significant value of the said methods for precise diagnosis of hairy-cell leukemia, histological tests of the bioptic material of bone marrow and spleen and bone marrow needle biopsy remain better and indispensable methods. (author)

  10. COMPETITIVE ABILITY OF BEAN CULTIVARS WITH HAIRY BEGGARTICKS

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    LEANDRO GALON

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available Weed interference is a factor that limits the productivity of beans and, among these, hairy beggarticks is one of the main species competing with the crop for environmental resources. Thus, the aim of this study is to evaluate the competitive ability of black bean cultivars (BRS Campeiro, IPR Uirapuru, SCS204 Predileto and BRS Supremo in the presence of a biotype of hairy beggarticks. The experimental design is a completely randomized block with four replications. Treatments were arranged in a replacement series, consisting of a proportion of the crop and the hairy beggarticks: 100:0; 75:25; 50:50: 24:75, and 0:100, which corresponds to 40:0, 30:10, 20:20, 10:30, and 0:40 plant pots1. We accomplished competitive analysis through diagrams applied to the replacement series, as well as using relative competitive indices. The leaf area and shoot dry mass were evaluated at 40 days after emergence of the species. There was competition between bean cultivars and hairy beggarticks for the same environmental resources, causing negative interference in the growth of the species, independent of the proportion of plants. Bean cultivars had a lower relative loss by reducing the morphological variables of the hairy beggarticks, thereby demonstrating superiority in its competitive ability in relation to the weed. Interspecific competition is less damaging than intraspecific competition for both species.

  11. Hernandulcin in hairy root cultures of Lippia dulcis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sauerwein, M; Yamazaki, T; Shimomura, K

    1991-02-01

    The hairy root culture of Lippia dulcis Trev., Verbenaceae, was established by transformation with Agrobacterium rhizogenes A4. The transformed roots grew well in Murashige and Skoog medium containing 2% sucrose. The roots turned light green when they were cultured under 16 h/day light. The green hairy roots produced the sweet sesquiterpene hernandulcin (ca. 0.25 mg/g dry wt) together with 20 other mono- and sesquiterpenes, while no terpenes were detected in the nontransformed root cultures. The growth and hernandulcin production in the hairy root cultures were influenced by the addition of auxins to the medium. The addition of a low concentration of chitosan (0.2 - 10.0 mg / l) enhanced the production of hernandulcin 5-fold.

  12. Light requirement for shoot regeneration in horseradish hairy roots.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Saitou, T; Kamada, H; Harada, H

    1992-08-01

    Hairy roots of horseradish (Armoracia rusticana) were induced by inoculation with Agrobacterium rhizogenes harboring Ri plasmid and cultured on phytohormone-free Murashige and Skoog medium after eliminating the bacteria. Hairy roots grew vigorously and sometimes formed yellowish calli under dark conditions. On the other hand, growth of hairy roots stopped after several weeks of culture with light, then shoots were regenerated. Frequency of shoot formation from hairy roots increased as the culture period in light lengthened and the light intensity increased. The shoot regeneration was induced by treatment with white or red light, but not with far-red light. Shoot regeneration by red light was inhibited by following treatment with far-red light. Red and far-red light reversibly affected shoot regeneration. Excised roots of nontransformed plants grew quite slowly on phytohormone-free Murashige and Skoog medium and occasionally formed shoots under white light conditions.

  13. Viscous entrainment on hairy surfaces

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nasto, Alice; Brun, P.-T.; Hosoi, A. E.

    2018-02-01

    Nectar-drinking bats and honeybees have tongues covered with hairlike structures, enhancing their ability to take up viscous nectar by dipping. Using a combination of model experiments and theory, we explore the physical mechanisms that govern viscous entrainment in a hairy texture. Hairy surfaces are fabricated using laser cut molds and casting samples with polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) elastomer. We model the liquid trapped within the texture using a Darcy-Brinkmann-like approach and derive the drainage flow solution. The amount of fluid that is entrained is dependent on the viscosity of the fluid, the density of the hairs, and the withdrawal speed. Both experiments and theory reveal an optimal hair density to maximize fluid uptake.

  14. Trichoderma strains- Silybum marianum hairy root cultures interactions

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    T. Hasanloo

    2015-03-01

    Full Text Available Background and objectives: Silymarin is a unique flavonoid complex with documented hepatoprotective properties. Silybum  marianum hairy root culture as a source for producing silymarin has been an important strategy for study the cell signaling pathway. In the present investigation Trichoderma strains- Silybum marianum hairy root cultures interactions have been studied. Methods: The effects of two Trichoderma Strains (KHB and G46-7 (0, 0.5, 1, 2 and 4 mg/ 50 mL culture in 6 different exposure times (0, 24, 48, 72, 96 and 120 h have been investigated on flavonolignans production. The flavonolignans were analyzed by High Performance Liquid Chromatography method. Cell signaling pathway was evaluated by determination of H2O2 content, peroxidase and ascorbate peroxidase activities. Results:The elicitation effects of two Trichoderma Strains (KHB and G46-7 were examined on flavonolignans accumulation and the activation of cell defense system in S. marianum hairy root cultures. The results indicated that the highest silymarin accumulation (0.45 and 0.33 mg/g DW was obtained in media elicited with 0.5 mg/50 mL cultures of T. harzianum Strains (KHB and G46-3, respectively after 120 h. Feeding time experiments indicated that a significant higher content of silymarin production was achieved after 120 and 72 h in media treated with 0.5 mg/50 mL cultures of KHB and G46-3, respectively. Our results showed that S. marianum treated by KHB strain, increased taxifolin, silychristin, isosilybin and silydianin productions significantly. The H2O2 content in the control hairy root cultures remained lower than the treated cultures. There was significant enhancement in both peroxidase and ascorbate peroxidase activities in treated hairy roots reaching a peak after 72 h. Conclusion: These findings suggested that some Trichoderma strains are positive elicitors for promoting silymarin accumulation in S. marianum hairy root cultures. The results also suggested the presence

  15. Echium acanthocarpum hairy root cultures, a suitable system for polyunsaturated fatty acid studies and production

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ravelo Ángel G

    2011-04-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background The therapeutic and health promoting role of highly unsaturated fatty acids (HUFAs from fish, i.e. eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA, 20:5n-3 and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA, 22:6n-3 are well known. These same benefits may however be shared by some of their precursors, the polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs, such as stearidonic acid (SDA, 18:4 n-3. In order to obtain alternative sources for the large-scale production of PUFAs, new searches are being conducted focusing on higher plants oils which can contain these n-3 and n-6 C18 precursors, i.e. SDA and GLA (18:3n-6, γ-linolenic acid. Results The establishment of the novel Echium acanthocarpum hairy root cultures represents a powerful tool in order to research the accumulation and metabolism of fatty acids (FAs in a plant particularly rich in GLA and SDA. Furthermore, this study constitutes the first example of a Boraginaceae species hairy root induction and establishment for FA studies and production. The dominant PUFAs, 18:2n-6 (LA, linoleic acid and 18:3n-6 (GLA, accounted for about 50% of total FAs obtained, while the n-3 PUFAs, 18:3n-3 (ALA, α-linolenic acid and 18:4n-3 (SDA, represented approximately 5% of the total. Production of FAs did not parallel hairy root growth, and the optimal productivity was always associated with the highest biomass density during the culture period. Assuming a compromise between FA production and hairy root biomass, it was determined that sampling times 4 and 5 gave the most useful FA yields. Total lipid amounts were in general comparable between the different hairy root lines (29.75 and 60.95 mg/g DW, with the major lipid classes being triacylglycerols. The FAs were chiefly stored in the hairy roots with very minute amounts being released into the liquid nutrient medium. Conclusions The novel results presented here show the utility and high potential of E. acanthocarpum hairy roots. They are capable of biosynthesizing and accumulating a large

  16. Enhanced load-carrying capacity of hairy surfaces floating on water.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Xue, Yahui; Yuan, Huijing; Su, Weidong; Shi, Yipeng; Duan, Huiling

    2014-05-08

    Water repellency of hairy surfaces depends on the geometric arrangement of these hairs and enables different applications in both nature and engineering. We investigate the mechanism and optimization of a hairy surface floating on water to obtain its maximum load-carrying capacity by the free energy and force analyses. It is demonstrated that there is an optimum cylinder spacing, as a result of the compromise between the vertical capillary force and the gravity, so that the hairy surface has both high load-carrying capacity and mechanical stability. Our analysis makes it clear that the setae on water striders' legs or some insects' wings are in such an optimized geometry. Moreover, it is shown that surface hydrophobicity can further increase the capacity of a hairy surface with thick cylinders, while the influence is negligible when the cylinders are thin.

  17. Hairy carbon electrodes studied by cyclic voltammetry and battery discharge testing

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chung, Deborah D. L.; Shui, Xiaoping; Frysz, Christine A.

    1993-01-01

    Hairy carbon is a new material developed by growing submicron carbon filaments on conventional carbon substrates. Typical substrate materials include carbon black, graphite powder, carbon fibers, and glassy carbon. A catalyst is used to initiate hair growth with carbonaceous gases serving as the carbon source. To study the electrochemical behavior of hairy carbons, cyclic voltammetry (CV) and discharge testing were conducted. In both cases, hairy carbon results surpassed those of the substrate material alone.

  18. Resveratrol production in hairy root culture of peanut, Arachis ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Five different strains of Agrobacterium rhizogenes differed in their ability to induce peanut (Arachis hypogaea L.) hairy roots and also showed varying effects on the growth and resveratrol production in hairy root cultures. A. rhizogenes R1601 is the most effective strain for the induction (75.8%), growth (7.6 g/l) and ...

  19. Hairy cell leukemia: current concepts.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cannon, Timothy; Mobarek, Dalia; Wegge, Julia; Tabbara, Imad A

    2008-10-01

    Hairy cell Leukemia (HCL) is a chronic lymphoproliferative disorder that was characterized in the late 1950s. HCL is defined, according to the WHO classification, as a mature (peripheral) B-cell neoplasm (1). HCL accounts for between 2-3% of all leukemia cases, with about 600 new cases diagnosed in the U.S. each year (1). HCL occurs more commonly in males, with an overall male to female ratio of approximately 4:1. The median age of onset is 52 years. This disease is seen more commonly in Caucasians and appears to be especially frequent in Ashkenazi Jewish males, with rare occurrence in persons of Asian and African descents (1). Hairy cells are distinct, clonal B cells arrested at a late stage of maturation. They are small B lymphoid cells that possess oval nuclei and abundant cytoplasm with characteristic micro-filamentous ("hairy") projections. They strongly express CD103, CD22, and CD11c (2). These cells typically infiltrate the bone marrow, the spleen, and to a lesser extent the liver, lymph nodes, and skin. Many patients present with splenomegaly and pancytopenia. Other clinical manifestations include recurrent opportunistic infections and vasculitis. Historically, HCL was considered uniformly fatal (2). However, recent treatment advances, using purine analogues such as Cladribine and Pentostatin, led to a significant improvement in prognosis with achievement of high response rates and durable remissions (2).

  20. Light Requirement for Shoot Regeneration in Horseradish Hairy Roots 1

    Science.gov (United States)

    Saitou, Tsutomu; Kamada, Hiroshi; Harada, Hiroshi

    1992-01-01

    Hairy roots of horseradish (Armoracia rusticana) were induced by inoculation with Agrobacterium rhizogenes harboring Ri plasmid and cultured on phytohormone-free Murashige and Skoog medium after eliminating the bacteria. Hairy roots grew vigorously and sometimes formed yellowish calli under dark conditions. On the other hand, growth of hairy roots stopped after several weeks of culture with light, then shoots were regenerated. Frequency of shoot formation from hairy roots increased as the culture period in light lengthened and the light intensity increased. The shoot regeneration was induced by treatment with white or red light, but not with far-red light. Shoot regeneration by red light was inhibited by following treatment with far-red light. Red and far-red light reversibly affected shoot regeneration. Excised roots of nontransformed plants grew quite slowly on phytohormone-free Murashige and Skoog medium and occasionally formed shoots under white light conditions. PMID:16669041

  1. Influences of various factors on hairy root induction in Agastache foeniculum (Pursh Kuntze

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Elnaz NOUROZI

    2016-04-01

    Full Text Available Agrobacterium rhizogenes is known as a natural tool of genetic engineering in many plant species. For the first time, hairy root induction in Agastache foeniculum using A. rhizogenes, rosmarinic acid content and the effect of different culture media and inoculation methods on hairy root growth rate were investigated. Hairy root culture of A. foeniculum was established by inoculation of the 1-month-old leaf explant with A4 strain of A. rhizogenes and the effectiveness of light – dark conditions and two inoculation methods (immersion and injection were tested. Furthermore, in immersion method, the effects of inoculation time (3, 5 and 7 min on root induction were investigated. In the second part of the study, the hairy root culture of A. foeniculum was studied using different basal culture media (MS, 1/2 MS and B5. Rosmarinic acid content in hairy roots and non- transformed roots was analyzed using high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC. There was no significant difference between various inoculation methods in the ability of hairy roots induction. Observations showed that percentage of hairy root induction was higher when the explants were immersed for 5 min in bacterial suspension. Light conditions displayed the highest hairy root induction rates compared with dark condition. Various culture media are different in terms of types and amounts of nutrients and have influence on growth rate. The maximum growth rate (1.61 g fr wt/50 ml of hairy roots were obtained in 1/2 MS medium. Rosmarinic acid content in transformed roots (213.42 µg/g dry wt was significantly higher than non-transformed roots (52.28 µg/ g dry wt.

  2. Volatile oils from the plant and hairy root cultures of Ageratum conyzoides L.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Abdelkader, Mohamed Salaheldin A; Lockwood, George B

    2011-05-01

    Two lines of hairy root culture of Ageratum conyzoides L. induced by Agrobacterium rhizogenes ATCC 15834 were established under either complete darkness or 16 h light/8 h dark photoperiod conditions. The volatile oil yields from aerial parts and roots of the parent plant, the hairy root culture photoperiod line and the hairy root culture dark line were 0.2%, 0.08%, 0.03% and 0.02%, (w/w), respectively. The compositions of the volatiles from the hairy roots, plant roots and aerial parts were analysed by GC and GC-MS. The main components of the volatiles from the hairy root cultures were β-farnesene, precocene I and β-caryophyllene, in different amounts, depending on light conditions and also on the age of cultures. Precocene I, β-farnesene, precocene II and β-caryophyllene were the main constituents of the volatile oils from the parent plant roots, whereas precocene I, germacrene D, β-caryophyllene and precocene II were the main constituents of the aerial parts of the parent plant. Growth and time-course studies of volatile constituents of the two hairy root lines were compared. Qualitative and quantitative differences were found between the volatile oils from the roots of the parent plant and those from the hairy roots.

  3. Aspects of hairy black holes

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Anabalón, Andrés, E-mail: andres.anabalon-at@uai.cl [Departamento de Ciencias, Facultad de Artes Liberales y Facultad de Ingeniería y Ciencias, Universidad Adolfo Ibáñez, Viña del Mar (Chile); Astefanesei, Dumitru [Instituto de Física, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Valparaíso, Casilla 4059, Valparaíso (Chile)

    2015-03-26

    We review the existence of exact hairy black holes in asymptotically flat, anti-de Sitter and de Sitter space-times. We briefly discuss the issue of stability and the charging of the black holes with a Maxwell field.

  4. Psoralen production in hairy roots and adventitious roots cultures of Psoralea coryfolia.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Baskaran, P; Jayabalan, N

    2009-07-01

    Psoralea corylifolia is an endangered plant producing various compounds of medical importance. Adventitious roots and hairy roots were induced in cultures prepared from hypocotyl explants. Psoralen content was evaluated in both root types grown either in suspension cultures or on agar solidified medium. Psoralen content was approximately 3 mg g(-1) DW in suspension grown hairy roots being higher than in solid grown hairy roots and in solid and suspension-grown adventitious roots.

  5. On the thermodynamics of hairy black holes

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Anabalón, Andrés [Departamento de Ciencias, Facultad de Artes Liberales y Facultad de Ingeniería y Ciencias, Universidad Adolfo Ibáñez, Viña del Mar (Chile); Astefanesei, Dumitru [Instituto de Física, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Valparaíso, Casilla 4059, Valparaíso (Chile); Choque, David, E-mail: brst1010123@gmail.com [Universidad Técnica Federico Santa María, Av. España 1680, Valparaiso (Chile)

    2015-04-09

    We investigate the thermodynamics of a general class of exact 4-dimensional asymptotically Anti-de Sitter hairy black hole solutions and show that, for a fixed temperature, there are small and large hairy black holes similar to the Schwarzschild–AdS black hole. The large black holes have positive specific heat and so they can be in equilibrium with a thermal bath of radiation at the Hawking temperature. The relevant thermodynamic quantities are computed by using the Hamiltonian formalism and counterterm method. We explicitly show that there are first order phase transitions similar to the Hawking–Page phase transition.

  6. Hairy black holes and the endpoint of AdS{sub 4} charged superradiance

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Dias, Óscar J.C.; Masachs, Ramon [STAG research centre and Mathematical Sciences, University of Southampton,Southampton (United Kingdom)

    2017-02-24

    We construct hairy black hole solutions that merge with the anti-de Sitter (AdS{sub 4}) Reissner-Nordström black hole at the onset of superradiance. These hairy black holes have, for a given mass and charge, higher entropy than the corresponding AdS{sub 4}-Reissner-Nordström black hole. Therefore, they are natural candidates for the endpoint of the charged superradiant instability. On the other hand, hairy black holes never dominate the canonical and grand-canonical ensembles. The zero-horizon radius of the hairy black holes is a soliton (i.e. a boson star under a gauge transformation). We construct our solutions perturbatively, for small mass and charge, so that the properties of hairy black holes can be used to testify and compare with the endpoint of initial value simulations. We further discuss the near-horizon scalar condensation instability which is also present in global AdS{sub 4}-Reissner-Nordström black holes. We highlight the different nature of the near-horizon and superradiant instabilities and that hairy black holes ultimately exist because of the non-linear instability of AdS.

  7. General Information About Hairy Cell Leukemia

    Science.gov (United States)

    ... Other Myeloid Malignancies Treatment . Chronic Myelogenous Leukemia Treatment . Gender and age may affect the risk of hairy ... in the shape of blood cells. Blood chemistry studies : A procedure in which a blood sample is ...

  8. Linezolid induced black hairy tongue: a rare side effect.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Aijazi, Ishma; Abdulla, Fadhil M

    2014-01-01

    Linezolid induced black hairy tongue is a rare benign reversible side effect of linezolid therapy. We report a case of a 61 year old diabetic lady who developed thrombocytopenia and black hairy discoloration of the tongue after being prescribed linezolid for foot osteomyelitis by the orthopaedic surgeon. Patient was encouraged to practice good oral dental hygiene, advised to use a soft tooth brush, regular mouth wash and baking soda containing tooth paste. The condition resolved four weeks after cessation of the antibiotic therapy.

  9. Rotating hairy black holes in arbitrary dimensions

    Science.gov (United States)

    Erices, Cristián; Martínez, Cristián

    2018-01-01

    A class of exact rotating black hole solutions of gravity nonminimally coupled to a self-interacting scalar field in arbitrary dimensions is presented. These spacetimes are asymptotically locally anti-de Sitter manifolds and have a Ricci-flat event horizon hiding a curvature singularity at the origin. The scalar field is real and regular everywhere, and its effective mass, coming from the nonminimal coupling with the scalar curvature, saturates the Breitenlohner-Freedman bound for the corresponding spacetime dimension. The rotating black hole is obtained by applying an improper coordinate transformation to the static one. Although both spacetimes are locally equivalent, they are globally different, as it is confirmed by the nonvanishing angular momentum of the rotating black hole. It is found that the mass is bounded from below by the angular momentum, in agreement with the existence of an event horizon. The thermodynamical analysis is carried out in the grand canonical ensemble. The first law is satisfied, and a Smarr formula is exhibited. The thermodynamical local stability of the rotating hairy black holes is established from their Gibbs free energy. However, the global stability analysis establishes that the vacuum spacetime is always preferred over the hairy black hole. Thus, the hairy black hole is likely to decay into the vacuum one for any temperature.

  10. Production and analysis of organic acids in hairy-root cultures of Isatis indigotica Fort. (indigo woad).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Xu, Tiefeng; Zhang, Lei; Sun, Xiaofen; Zhang, Hanming; Tang, Kexuan

    2004-02-01

    Hairy roots were induced from both cotyledon and hypocotyl explants of Isatis indigotica Fort. (indigo woad) through transformation with Agrobaterium rhizogenes strain A4, R1601 and ATCC15834. The results showed that the cotyledons were the preferred explants to hypocotyls and A4 was the most suitable A. rhizogenes strain for the transformation and induction of hairy roots of I. indigotica. High-voltage paper electrophoresis (HVPE) analysis demonstrated the production of mannopine in hairy roots and confirmed the successful transfer of Ri T-DNA (root-inducing transferred DNA) of A. rhizogenes into the I. indigotica genome. Five organic acids, namely CPQ [3-(2-carboxyphenol)-4(3 H )-quinazolinone], syringic acid, salicylic acid, benzoic acid and 2-aminobenzoic acid, which were considered as main antiviral components of I. indigotica, were detected in natural roots, hairy roots and liquid media with high-performance capillary electrophoresis. The results showed CPQ production in hairy roots was significantly higher than that in natural roots. Our results also revealed that all the five organic acids could be excreted from hairy roots into liquid media, and the concentrations of organic acids in the liquid media paralleled those in hairy roots. The hairy roots of I. indigotica grew fast and showed an S-shaped growth curve that reached its apex on the day 24 of culture with a 20-fold increase in fresh weight compared with the starting inoculums. The accumulation of the two organic acids CPQ and syringic acid in liquid media paralleled the growth of hairy roots. MS [Murashige, T. and Skoog, F. (1962) Physiol. Plant. 15, 473-497] medium or half-strength MS medium supplemented with 30 g/l maltose was found to be best for hairy-root culture and accumulation of CPQ.

  11. Hairy-cell leukemia: a rare blood disorder in Asia.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Josephine, F P; Nissapatorn, V

    2006-01-01

    We report a 68-year-old Indian man who was referred to the Hematology Unit for investigation for thrombocytopenia, an incidental finding during a pre-operative screening for prostatectomy. Physical examination was unremarkable. There was no splenomegaly, hepatomegaly or lymphadenopathy. Complete blood counts showed normal hemoglobin and total white cell count with moderate thrombocytopenia. Hairy-cell leukemia was diagnosed based on peripheral blood film, bone-marrow aspirate and trephine biopsy findings, supported by immunophenotyping results by flow cytometry. The purpose of this report is to create awareness of this uncommon presentation and to emphasize that a single-lineage cytopenia or absence of splenomegaly does not exclude the diagnosis of hairy-cell leukemia. Careful attention to morphological detail is important for early diagnosis, especially when low percentages of "hairy" cells are present in the peripheral blood and bone marrow. Early diagnosis is important to ensure that patients obtain maximum benefit from the newer therapeutic agents that have greatly improved the prognosis in this rare disorder.

  12. Sennosides A and B production by hairy roots of Senna alata (L.) Roxb.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Putalun, Waraporn; Pimmeuangkao, Suwat; De-Eknamkul, Wanchai; Tanaka, Hiroyuki; Shoyama, Yukihiro

    2006-01-01

    Hairy roots of Senna alata transformed with Agrobacterium rhizogenes, strain ATCC 15834 were induced and grown in half-strength Murashige and Skoog (MS) medium. Effects of sucrose contents and hormones on the growth and sennosides A, B production were investigated. Hairy roots cultured on hormone-free half-strength MS medium containing 5% sucrose under dark condition mostly stimulated the growth of hairy roots and increased the content of sennosides A and B yielding (169 +/- 4) and (34 +/- 3) microg g(-1) dry wt, respectively.

  13. Metabolomic analysis and phenylpropanoid biosynthesis in hairy root culture of tartary buckwheat cultivars.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Aye Aye Thwe

    Full Text Available Buckwheat, Fagopyrum tataricum Gaertn., is an important medicinal plant, which contains several phenolic compounds, including one of the highest content of rutin, a phenolic compound with anti-inflammatory properties. An experiment was conducted to investigate the level of expression of various genes in the phenylpropanoid biosynthetic pathway to analyze in vitro production of anthocyanin and phenolic compounds from hairy root cultures derived from 2 cultivars of tartary buckwheat (Hokkai T8 and T10. A total of 47 metabolites were identified by gas chromatography-time-of-flight mass spectrometry (GC-TOFMS and subjected to principal component analysis (PCA in order to fully distinguish between Hokkai T8 and T10 hairy roots. The expression levels of phenylpropanoid biosynthetic pathway genes, through qRT-PCR, showed higher expression for almost all the genes in T10 than T8 hairy root except for FtF3'H-2 and FtFLS-2. Rutin, quercetin, gallic acid, caffeic acid, ferulic acid, 4-hydroxybenzoic acid, and 2 anthocyanin compounds were identified in Hokkai T8 and T10 hairy roots. The concentration of rutin and anthocyanin in Hokkai T10 hairy roots of tartary buckwheat was several-fold higher compared with that obtained from Hokkai T8 hairy root. This study provides useful information on the molecular and physiological dynamic processes that are correlated with phenylpropanoid biosynthetic gene expression and phenolic compound content in F. tataricum species.

  14. Study of artemisinin and sugar accumulation in Artemisia vulgaris and Artemisia dracunculus "hairy" root cultures.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Drobot, Kateryna O; Matvieieva, Nadiia A; Ostapchuk, Andriy M; Kharkhota, Maxim A; Duplij, Volodymyr P

    2017-09-14

    We studied the effect of genetic transformation on biologically active compound (artemisinin and its co-products (ART) as well as sugars) accumulation in Artemisia vulgaris and Artemisia dracunculus "hairy" root cultures. Glucose, fructose, sucrose, and mannitol were accumulated in A. vulgaris and A. dracunculus "hairy" root lines. Genetic transformation has led in some cases to the sugar content increasing or appearing of nonrelevant for the control plant carbohydrates. Sucrose content was 1.6 times higher in A. vulgaris "hairy" root lines. Fructose content was found to be 3.4 times higher in A. dracunculus "hairy" root cultures than in the control roots. The accumulation of mannitol was a special feature of the leaves of A. vulgaris and A. dracunculus control roots. A. vulgaris "hairy" root lines differed also in ART accumulation level. The increase of ART content up to 1.02 mg/g DW in comparison with the nontransformed roots (up to 0.687 mg/g DW) was observed. Thus, Agrobacterium rhizogenes-mediated genetic transformation can be used for obtaining of A. vulgaris and A. dracunculus "hairy" root culture produced ART and sugars in a higher amount than mother plants.

  15. Glucosinolate biosynthesis in hairy root cultures of broccoli (Brassica oleracea var. italica).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kim, Sun-Ju; Park, Woo Tae; Uddin, Md Romij; Kim, Yeon Bok; Nam, Sang-Yong; Jho, Kwang Hyun; Park, Sang Un

    2013-02-01

    Here we present previously unreported glucosinolate production by hairy root cultures of broccoli (B. oleracea var. italica). Growth media greatly influenced the growth and glucosinolate content of hairy root cultures of broccoli. Seven glucosinolates, glucoraphanin, gluconapin, glucoerucin, glucobrassicin, 4-methoxyglucobrassicin, gluconasturtiin, and neoglucobrassicin, were identified by analysis of the broccoli hairy root cultures. Both half and full strength B5 and SH media enabled the highest accumulation of glucosinolates. In most cases, the levels of glucosinolates were higher in SH and BS media. Among the 7 glucosinolates, the accumulation of neoglucobrassicin was very high, irrespective of growth medium. The neoglucobrassicin content was 7.4-fold higher in SH medium than 1/2 MS, in which its level was the lowest. The 1/2 B5 medium supported the production of the highest amounts of glucobrassicin and 4-methoxyglucobrassicin, the levels for which were 36.2- and 7.9- fold higher, respectively, than their lowest content in 1/2 MS medium. The 1/2 SH medium enabled the highest accumulation of glucoraphanin and gluconapin in the broccoli hairy root cultures, whose levels were 1.8- and 4.6-fold higher, respectively, than their lowest content in 1/2 MS medium. Our results suggest that hairy root cultures of broccoli could be a valuable alternative approach for the production of glucosinolate compounds.

  16. Scalar hairy black holes and scalarons in the isolated horizons formalism

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Corichi, Alejandro; Nucamendi, Ulises; Salgado, Marcelo

    2006-01-01

    The Isolated Horizons (IH) formalism, together with a simple phenomenological model for colored black holes has been used to predict nontrivial formulas that relate the ADM mass of the solitons and hairy Black Holes of Gravity-Matter system on the one hand, and several horizon properties of the black holes in the other. In this article, the IH formalism is tested numerically for spherically symmetric solutions to an Einstein-Higgs system where hairy black holes were recently found to exist. It is shown that the mass formulas still hold and that, by appropriately extending the current model, one can account for the behavior of the horizon properties of these new solutions. An empirical formula that approximates the ADM mass of hairy solutions is put forward, and some of its properties are analyzed

  17. Hairy Root Induction on Justicia gendarussa by Various Density of Agrobacterium rhizogenes strain LB 510

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Dwi Kusuma Wahyuni

    2017-04-01

    Full Text Available Gandarusa (Justicia gendarussa Burm.f. is an Indonesian medicinal plant that has many benefits as drug and male contracetive. For industrial needs, Gandarusa must be  available in large quantity. Hairy root culture is one of methode to produce phytochemistry compound. The objective of the study was to examine the effect of various density of Agrobacterium rhizogenes strain LB510 on hairy roots induction of gandarusa (Justicia gendarussa Burm.f. leaf plant. Leaf explants were inoculated in MS liquid medium with various density of OD600 = 0.1; 0.2; 0.3; 0.4; and 0.5. Explants were co-cultivated for 2 days on MS solid medium without any hormone then sub-cultured on MS solid medium containing antibiotic cefotaxim 300 ppm, in dark condition. The data were analyzed descriptively and statistically. The results showed that various density of Agrobacterium rhizogenes strain LB510 was affected the lenght of hairy roots induction of J. gendarussa Burm.f., but these was not effected toward lenght formation time and number of hairy root. The treatment of OD600 0.2 was the best treatment for hairy root induction on Justicia gendarussa Burm. f. This data could be used for optimized the quality of methode of hairy root induction. 

  18. Spherical perturbations of hairy black holes in designer gravity theories

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Battarra, Lorenzo

    2012-01-01

    We study the spectrum of the scalar l = 0 quasi-normal frequencies of anti-de Sitter hairy black holes in four- and five-dimensional designer gravity theories of the Einstein-scalar type, arising as consistent truncations of N= 8 gauged supergravity. In the dual field theory, such hairy black holes represent thermal states in which the operator corresponding to the bulk scalar field is condensed, due to the multi-trace deformation associated with non-standard boundary conditions. We show that, in a particular class of models, the effective potential describing the vacua of the deformed dual theory can be identified, at large values of the condensate, with the deformation plus the conformal coupling of the condensate to the curvature of the boundary geometry. In this limit, we show that the least damped quasi-normal frequency of the corresponding hairy black holes can be accurately predicted by the curvature of the effective potential describing the field theory at finite entropy. (paper)

  19. Eliminating Hairy Cell Leukemia Minimal Residual Disease

    Science.gov (United States)

    In this trial, patients with hairy cell leukemia who have disease-related symptoms that require treatment will be randomly assigned to receive cladribine with either concurrent rituximab or rituximab at least 6 months after completing cladribine therapy.

  20. Artemisia tilesii Ledeb hairy roots establishment using Agrobacterium rhizogenes-mediated transformation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Matvieieva, N A; Shakhovsky, A M; Belokurova, V B; Drobot, K O

    2016-05-18

    An efficient and rapid protocol for the establishment of Artemisia tilesii "hairy" root culture is reported. Leaf explants of aseptically growing plants were cocultured with Agrobacterium rhizogenes A4 wild strain or A. rhizogenes carrying the plasmids with nptII and ifn-α2b genes. Root formation on the explants started in 5-6 days after their cocultivation with bacterial suspension. Prolongation of explant cultivation time on the medium without cefotaxime led to stimulation of root growth. The effects of sucrose concentration as well as of the levels of synthetic indole-3-butyric acid (IBA) and native growth regulator Emistim on the stimulation of A. tilesii "hairy" root growth were studied. Maximum stimulating effect both for the control and for transgenic roots was observed in case of root cultivation on the media supplemented with IBA-up to 7.95- and 9.1-fold biomass increase, respectively. Cultivation on the medium with 10 μl/L Emistime has also led to the control roots growth stimulation (up to 2.75-fold). Emistime at 5 μl/L concentration led to 5.46-fold mass increase in only one "hairy" root line. Higher sucrose content (40 g/L) stimulated growth of two hairy root lines but had no effect on growth of the control roots.

  1. Effect of 15n-labeled hairy vetch and nitrogen fertilization on maize nutrition and yield under no-tillage

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Almeida Acosta, Jose Alan de; Amado, Telmo Jorge Carneiro; Silva, Leandro Souza da; Silveira Nicoloso, Rodrigo da

    2011-01-01

    This study evaluated the effect of hairy vetch (Vicia villosa Roth) as cover crop on maize nutrition and yield under no tillage using isotope techniques. For this purpose, three experiments were carried out: quantification of biological nitrogen fixation (BNF) in hairy vetch; estimation of the N release rate from hairy vetch residues on the soil surface; quantification of 15 N recovery by maize from labeled hairy vetch under three rates of mineral N fertilization. This two year field experiment was conducted on a sandy Acrisol (FAO soil classification) or Argissolo Vermelho distrofico arenico (Brazilian Soil Classification), at a mean annual temperature of 18 deg C and mean annual rainfall of 1686 mm. The experiment was arranged in a double split-plot factorial design with three replications. Two levels of hairy vetch residue (50 and 100 % of the aboveground biomass production) were distributed on the surface of the main plots (5 x 12 m). Maize in the sub-plots (5 x 4 m) was fertilized with three N rates (0, 60, and 120 kg ha -1 N), with urea as N source. The hairy vetch-derived N recovered by maize was evaluated in microplots (1.8 x 2.2 m). The BFN of hairy vetch was on average 72.4 %, which represents an annual input of 130 kg ha -1 of atmospheric N. The N release from hairy vetch residues was fast, with a release of about 90 % of total N within the first four weeks after cover crop management and soil residue application. The recovery of hairy vetch 15 N by maize was low, with an average of 12.3 % at harvest. Although hairy vetch was not directly the main source of maize N nutrition, the crop yield reached 8.2 Mg ha -1 , without mineral fertilization. There was an apparent synergism between hairy vetch residue application and the mineral N fertilization rate of 60 kg ha -1 , confirming the benefits of the combination of organic and inorganic N sources for maize under no tillage. (author)

  2. Treating Multiply Relapsed or Refractory Hairy Cell Leukemia

    Science.gov (United States)

    In this trial, patients with hairy cell leukemia who have not responded or relapsed after initial chemotherapy will be randomly assigned to receive rituximab combined with either pentostatin or bendamustine.

  3. Splenic irradiation for hairy cell leukaemia

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Al-Moundhri, A.; Graham, P.H. [St George Hospital, Kogarah, NSW, (Australia). Department of Radiation Oncology

    1997-11-01

    Splenic irradiation in the management of hairy cell leukaemia is previously unreported. A case is presented here to illustrate that splenic irradiation may be a useful addition to systemic therapies. It achieved local splenic and blood picture response and remission similar to splenectomy without any significant toxicity. (authors). 7 refs., 2 figs.

  4. Analysis of hairy root culture of Rauvolfia serpentina using direct analysis in real time mass spectrometric technique.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Madhusudanan, K P; Banerjee, Suchitra; Khanuja, Suman P S; Chattopadhyay, Sunil K

    2008-06-01

    The applicability of a new mass spectrometric technique, DART (direct analysis in real time) has been studied in the analysis of the hairy root culture of Rauvolfia serpentina. The intact hairy roots were analyzed by holding them in the gap between the DART source and the mass spectrometer for measurements. Two nitrogen-containing compounds, vomilenine and reserpine, were characterized from the analysis of the hairy roots almost instantaneously. The confirmation of the structures of the identified compounds was made through their accurate molecular formula determinations. This is the first report of the application of DART technique for the characterization of compounds that are expressed in the hairy root cultures of Rauvolfia serpentina. Moreover, this also constitutes the first report of expression of reserpine in the hairy root culture of Rauvolfia serpentina. Copyright (c) 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

  5. Chick Hairy1 protein interacts with Sap18, a component of the Sin3/HDAC transcriptional repressor complex

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Andrade Raquel P

    2007-07-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background The vertebrate adult axial skeleton, trunk and limb skeletal muscles and dermis of the back all arise from early embryonic structures called somites. Somites are symmetrically positioned flanking the embryo axial structures (neural tube and notochord and are periodically formed in a anterior-posterior direction from the presomitic mesoderm. The time required to form a somite pair is constant and species-specific. This extraordinary periodicity is proposed to depend on an underlying somitogenesis molecular clock, firstly evidenced by the cyclic expression of the chick hairy1 gene in the unsegmented presomitic mesoderm with a 90 min periodicity, corresponding to the time required to form a somite pair in the chick embryo. The number of hairy1 oscillations at any given moment is proposed to provide the cell with both temporal and positional information along the embryo's anterior-posterior axis. Nevertheless, how this is accomplished and what biological processes are involved is still unknown. Aiming at understanding the molecular events triggered by the somitogenesis clock Hairy1 protein, we have employed the yeast two-hybrid system to identify Hairy1 interaction partners. Results Sap18, an adaptor molecule of the Sin3/HDAC transcriptional repressor complex, was found to interact with the C-terminal portion of the Hairy1 protein in a yeast two-hybrid assay and the Hairy1/Sap18 interaction was independently confirmed by co-immunoprecipitation experiments. We have characterized the expression patterns of both sap18 and sin3a genes during chick embryo development, using in situ hybridization experiments. We found that both sap18 and sin3a expression patterns co-localize in vivo with hairy1 expression domains in chick rostral presomitic mesoderm and caudal region of somites. Conclusion Hairy1 belongs to the hairy-enhancer-of-split family of transcriptional repressor proteins. Our results indicate that during chick somitogenesis

  6. Effect of {sup 15}n-labeled hairy vetch and nitrogen fertilization on maize nutrition and yield under no-tillage

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Almeida Acosta, Jose Alan de [Drakkar Solos, Santa Maria, RS (Brazil); Amado, Telmo Jorge Carneiro; Silva, Leandro Souza da, E-mail: tamado@smail.ufsm.b, E-mail: leandro@smail.ufsm.b [Universidade Federal de Santa Maria (UFSM), RS (Brazil). Soil Dept.; Neergaard, Andreas de; Vinther, Mads, E-mail: adn@life.ku.d [University of Copenhagen (Denmark); Silveira Nicoloso, Rodrigo da, E-mail: rodrigo.nicoloso@cnpsa.embrapa.b [Embrapa Swine and Poultry, Concordia, SC (Brazil)

    2011-07-15

    This study evaluated the effect of hairy vetch (Vicia villosa Roth) as cover crop on maize nutrition and yield under no tillage using isotope techniques. For this purpose, three experiments were carried out: quantification of biological nitrogen fixation (BNF) in hairy vetch; estimation of the N release rate from hairy vetch residues on the soil surface; quantification of {sup 15}N recovery by maize from labeled hairy vetch under three rates of mineral N fertilization. This two year field experiment was conducted on a sandy Acrisol (FAO soil classification) or Argissolo Vermelho distrofico arenico (Brazilian Soil Classification), at a mean annual temperature of 18 deg C and mean annual rainfall of 1686 mm. The experiment was arranged in a double split-plot factorial design with three replications. Two levels of hairy vetch residue (50 and 100 % of the aboveground biomass production) were distributed on the surface of the main plots (5 x 12 m). Maize in the sub-plots (5 x 4 m) was fertilized with three N rates (0, 60, and 120 kg ha{sup -1} N), with urea as N source. The hairy vetch-derived N recovered by maize was evaluated in microplots (1.8 x 2.2 m). The BFN of hairy vetch was on average 72.4 %, which represents an annual input of 130 kg ha{sup -1} of atmospheric N. The N release from hairy vetch residues was fast, with a release of about 90 % of total N within the first four weeks after cover crop management and soil residue application. The recovery of hairy vetch {sup 15}N by maize was low, with an average of 12.3 % at harvest. Although hairy vetch was not directly the main source of maize N nutrition, the crop yield reached 8.2 Mg ha{sup -1}, without mineral fertilization. There was an apparent synergism between hairy vetch residue application and the mineral N fertilization rate of 60 kg ha{sup -1}, confirming the benefits of the combination of organic and inorganic N sources for maize under no tillage. (author)

  7. [Induction and in vitro culture of hairy roots of Dianthus caryophyllus and its plant regeneration].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shi, Heping; Zhu, Yuanfeng; Wang, Bei; Sun, Jiangbing; Huang, Shengqin

    2014-11-01

    To use Agrobacterium rhizogenes-induced hairy roots to create new germplasm of Dianthus caryophyllus, we transformed D. caryophyllus with A. rhizogenes by leaf disc for plant regeneration from hairy roots. The white hairy roots could be induced from the basal surface of leaf explants of D. caryophyllus 12 days after inoculation with A. rhizogenes ATCC15834. The percentage of the rooting leaf explants was about 90% 21 days after inoculation. The hairy roots could grow rapidly and autonomously in liquid or solid phytohormone-free MS medium. The transformation was confirmed by PCR amplification of rol gene of Ri plasmid and silica gel thin-layer chromatography of opines from D. caryophyllus hairy roots. Hairy roots could form light green callus after cultured on MS+6-BA 1.0-3.0 mg/L + NAA 0.1-0.2 mg/L for 15 days. The optimum medium for adventitious shoots formation was MS + 6-BA 2.0 mg/L + NAA 0.02 mg/L, where the rate of adventitious shoot induction was 100% after cultured for 6 weeks. The mean number of adventitious shoot per callus was 30-40. The adventitious shoots can form roots when cultured on phytohormone-free 1/2 MS or 1/2 MS +0.5 mg/L NAA for 10 days. When the rooted plantlets transplanted in the substrate mixed with perlite sand and peat (volume ratio of 1:2), the survival rate was above 95%.

  8. Leukemia - B-Cell Prolymphocytic Leukemia and Hairy Cell Leukemia

    Science.gov (United States)

    ... Leukemia - B-cell Prolymphocytic Leukemia and Hairy Cell Leukemia Introduction Statistics Risk Factors Symptoms and Signs Diagnosis Stages Treatment Options About Clinical Trials Latest Research ...

  9. Antioxidant compounds in Salvia officinalis L. shoot and hairy root cultures in the nutrient sprinkle bioreactor

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Izabela Grzegorczyk

    2011-01-01

    Full Text Available The study focused on the production of compounds with antioxidant activity in hairy root and shoot cultures of Salvia officinalis grown in laboratory-scale sprinkle nutrient bioreactors. HPLC analysis showed that production of rosmarinic acid in transformed roots (34.65 ±1.07 mg l-1 was higher that in shoot culture (26.24 ±0.48 mg l-1. In the latter diterpenoids: carnosic acid (1.74 ±0.02 mg l-1 and carnosol (1.34 ±0.01 mg l-1 were also found. Biomass accumulation after a growth period in the bioreactor was also studied. An 18-fold increase in hairy root biomass was recorded after 40 days of culture. In sage shoot culture, biomass increased 43 times after 21 days of bioreactor run. The current operating conditions of the bioreactor were not suitable for the propagation of Salvia officinalis mainly due to the hyperhydricity problem of leaves and stems.

  10. Genetic Transformation and Hairy Root Induction Enhance the Antioxidant Potential of Lactuca serriola L.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mohamed A. El-Esawi

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available Lactuca serriola L. is a herbaceous species, used for human nutrition and medicinal purposes. The high antioxidant capacity of L. serriola indicates the possibility of enhancing its edible and health potential by increasing the flavonoid and phenolic contents. The present study aimed at enhancing the production of phenolics and flavonoids by hairy root cultures in Lactuca serriola transformed with Agrobacterium rhizogenes strain AR15834 harbouring the rolB gene. The genetic transformation of rolB in transformed roots was validated, and rolB expression level was evaluated using real-time qPCR analysis. Expression levels of flavonoid biosynthesis genes (CHI, PAL, FLS, and CHS were assessed in the hairy and nontransformed roots. Results showed higher expression levels in the transgenic roots than in the nontransformed ones (p<0.01. Transgenic hairy roots exhibited a 54.8–96.7% increase in the total phenolic content, 38.1–76.2% increase in the total flavonoid content, and 56.7–96.7% increase in the total reducing power when compared with the nontransgenic roots (p<0.01. DPPH results also revealed that the transgenic hairy roots exhibited a 31.6–50% increase in antioxidant potential, when compared to normal roots. This study addressed the enhancement of secondary metabolite biosynthesis by hairy root induction in L. serriola.

  11. Linezolid induced black hairy tongue

    OpenAIRE

    Govindan Balaji; B Maharani; Velappan Ravichandran; Thiyagarajan Parthasarathi

    2014-01-01

    Black hairy tongue (BHT) also called as lingua villosa nigra, is a self limiting benign condition characterized by hypertrophy and elongation of filiform papillae of tongue with brown or black discoloration. Smoking, poor oral hygiene, xerostomia, using peroxide containing mouth washes, substance abuse and drugs (steroids, methyldopa, olanzapine, etc) are the predisposing factors. However its occurrence in relation to linezolid ingestion among south Indians has not been reported in PubMed dat...

  12. Adding stimuli-responsive extensions to antifouling hairy particles

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Munoz Bonilla, Sandra; Herk, van A.M.; Heuts, J.P.A.

    2010-01-01

    The use of living block copolymers as stabilisers in emulsion polymerisation allowed preparation of multilayer functional hairy particles via surface-initiated ATRP. Polymer films prepared from the obtained particles present antifouling properties along with stimuli-responsive behaviour.

  13. Assessment of hairy roots induction in Solenostemon scutellarioides ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    STORAGESEVER

    2009-08-04

    Aug 4, 2009 ... family (Garcia and O'Neil, 2000). Cell suspension and transformed callus cultures of this plant are known to produce rosmarinic acid ... Hairy root is a pathological syndrome of dicotyledonous plants following wounding and ...

  14. Virtual hairy brush for digital painting and calligraphy

    Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

    XU Songhua; Lau Francis C. M.; XU Congfu; PAN Yunhe

    2005-01-01

    The design of user friendly and expressive virtual brush systems for interactive digital painting and calligraphy has attracted a lot of attention and effort in both computer graphics and human-computer interaction circles for a long time. Providing a digital environment for paper-less artwork creation is not only challenging in terms of algorithmic design, but also promising for its potential market values. This paper proposes a novel algorithmic framework for interactive digital painting and calligraphy based a novel virtual hairy brush model. The algorithms in the kernel of our simulation framework are built upon solid modeling techniques. Implementing the algorithms, we have developed a virtual hairy brush prototype system with which end users can interactively produce high-quality digital paintings and calligraphic artwork. (The latest progress of our virtual brush project is reported at the website "http://www.cs.hku.hk/~songhua/e-brush/".)

  15. SHARP User Manual

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Yu, Y. Q. [Argonne National Lab. (ANL), Argonne, IL (United States); Shemon, E. R. [Argonne National Lab. (ANL), Argonne, IL (United States); Thomas, J. W. [Argonne National Lab. (ANL), Argonne, IL (United States); Mahadevan, Vijay S. [Argonne National Lab. (ANL), Argonne, IL (United States); Rahaman, Ronald O. [Argonne National Lab. (ANL), Argonne, IL (United States); Solberg, Jerome [Lawrence Livermore National Lab. (LLNL), Livermore, CA (United States)

    2016-03-31

    SHARP is an advanced modeling and simulation toolkit for the analysis of nuclear reactors. It is comprised of several components including physical modeling tools, tools to integrate the physics codes for multi-physics analyses, and a set of tools to couple the codes within the MOAB framework. Physics modules currently include the neutronics code PROTEUS, the thermal-hydraulics code Nek5000, and the structural mechanics code Diablo. This manual focuses on performing multi-physics calculations with the SHARP ToolKit. Manuals for the three individual physics modules are available with the SHARP distribution to help the user to either carry out the primary multi-physics calculation with basic knowledge or perform further advanced development with in-depth knowledge of these codes. This manual provides step-by-step instructions on employing SHARP, including how to download and install the code, how to build the drivers for a test case, how to perform a calculation and how to visualize the results. Since SHARP has some specific library and environment dependencies, it is highly recommended that the user read this manual prior to installing SHARP. Verification tests cases are included to check proper installation of each module. It is suggested that the new user should first follow the step-by-step instructions provided for a test problem in this manual to understand the basic procedure of using SHARP before using SHARP for his/her own analysis. Both reference output and scripts are provided along with the test cases in order to verify correct installation and execution of the SHARP package. At the end of this manual, detailed instructions are provided on how to create a new test case so that user can perform novel multi-physics calculations with SHARP. Frequently asked questions are listed at the end of this manual to help the user to troubleshoot issues.

  16. SHARP User Manual

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Yu, Y. Q.; Shemon, E. R.; Thomas, J. W.; Mahadevan, Vijay S.; Rahaman, Ronald O.; Solberg, Jerome

    2016-01-01

    SHARP is an advanced modeling and simulation toolkit for the analysis of nuclear reactors. It is comprised of several components including physical modeling tools, tools to integrate the physics codes for multi-physics analyses, and a set of tools to couple the codes within the MOAB framework. Physics modules currently include the neutronics code PROTEUS, the thermal-hydraulics code Nek5000, and the structural mechanics code Diablo. This manual focuses on performing multi-physics calculations with the SHARP ToolKit. Manuals for the three individual physics modules are available with the SHARP distribution to help the user to either carry out the primary multi-physics calculation with basic knowledge or perform further advanced development with in-depth knowledge of these codes. This manual provides step-by-step instructions on employing SHARP, including how to download and install the code, how to build the drivers for a test case, how to perform a calculation and how to visualize the results. Since SHARP has some specific library and environment dependencies, it is highly recommended that the user read this manual prior to installing SHARP. Verification tests cases are included to check proper installation of each module. It is suggested that the new user should first follow the step-by-step instructions provided for a test problem in this manual to understand the basic procedure of using SHARP before using SHARP for his/her own analysis. Both reference output and scripts are provided along with the test cases in order to verify correct installation and execution of the SHARP package. At the end of this manual, detailed instructions are provided on how to create a new test case so that user can perform novel multi-physics calculations with SHARP. Frequently asked questions are listed at the end of this manual to help the user to troubleshoot issues.

  17. A novel life cycle arising from leaf segments in plants regenerated from horseradish hairy roots.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mano, Y; Matsuhashi, M

    1995-03-01

    Horseradish (Armoracia rusticana) hairy root clones were established from hairy roots which were transformed with the Ri plasmid in Agrobacterium rhizogenes 15834. The transformed plants, which were regenerated from hairy root clones, had thicker roots with extensive lateral branches and thicker stems, and grew faster compared with non-transformed horseradish plants. Small sections of leaves of the transformed plants generated adventitious roots in phytohormone-free G (modified Gamborg's) medium. Root proliferation was followed by adventitious shoot formation and plant regeneration. Approximately twenty plants were regenerated per square centimeter of leaf. The transformed plants were easily transferable from sterile conditions to soil. When leaf segments of the transformed plants were cultured in a liquid fertilizer under non-sterile conditions, adventitious roots were generated at the cut ends of the leaves. Adventitious shoots were generated at the boundary between the leaf and the adventitious roots and developed into complete plants. This novel life cycle arising from leaf segments is a unique property of the transformed plants derived from hairy root clones.

  18. Induction of hairy roots by various strains of Agrobacterium rhizogenes in different types of Capsicum species explants.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Md Setamam, Nursuria; Jaafar Sidik, Norrizah; Abdul Rahman, Zainon; Che Mohd Zain, Che Radziah

    2014-06-30

    Capsicum annuum and Capsicum frutescens, also known as "chilies", belong to the Solanaceae family and have tremendous beneficial properties. The application of hairy root culture may become an alternative method for future development of these species by adding value, such as by increasing secondary metabolites and improving genetic and biochemical stability compared with normal Capsicum plants. Therefore, in this research, different types of explants of both species were infected with various Agrobacterium rhizogenes strains to provide more information about the morphology and induction efficiency of hairy roots. After 2 weeks of in vitro seed germination, young seedling explants were cut into three segments; the cotyledon, hypocotyl, and radical. Then, the explants were co-cultured with four isolated A. rhizogenes strains in Murashige & Skoog culture media (MS) containing decreasing carbenicillin disodium concentrations for one month. In this experiment, thick and short hairy roots were induced at all induction sites of C. annuum while thin, elongated hairy roots appeared mostly at wound sites of C. frutescens. Overall, the hairy root induction percentages of C. frutescens were higher compared with C. annuum. Hairy root initiation was observed earliest using radicles (1st week), followed by cotyledons (2nd week), and hypocotyls (3rd week). Cotyledon explants of both species had the highest induction frequency with all strains compared with the other explants types. Strains ATCC 13333 and ATCC 15834 were the most favourable for C. frutescens while ATCC 43056 and ATCC 43057 were the most favourable for C. annuum. The interactions between the different explants and strains showed significant differences with p-values Capsicum species. Both Capsicum species were amenable to A. rhizogenes infection and hairy root induction is recommended for use as an alternative explants in future plant-based studies.

  19. Selection of reference genes for qPCR in hairy root cultures of peanut

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Medrano Giuliana

    2011-10-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Hairy root cultures produced via Agrobacterium rhizogenes-mediated transformation have emerged as practical biological models to elucidate the biosynthesis of specialized metabolites. To effectively understand the expression patterns of the genes involved in the metabolic pathways of these compounds, reference genes need to be systematically validated under specific experimental conditions as established by the MIQE (Minimum Information for Publication of Quantitative Real-Time PCR Experiments guidelines. In the present report we describe the first validation of reference genes for RT-qPCR in hairy root cultures of peanut which produce stilbenoids upon elicitor treatments. Results A total of 21 candidate reference genes were evaluated. Nineteen genes were selected based on previous qPCR studies in plants and two were from the T-DNAs transferred from A. rhizogenes. Nucleotide sequences of peanut candidate genes were obtained using their homologous sequences in Arabidopsis. To identify the suitable primers, calibration curves were obtained for each candidate reference gene. After data analysis, 12 candidate genes meeting standard efficiency criteria were selected. The expression stability of these genes was analyzed using geNorm and NormFinder algorithms and a ranking was established based on expression stability of the genes. Candidate reference gene expression was shown to have less variation in methyl jasmonate (MeJA treated root cultures than those treated with sodium acetate (NaOAc. Conclusions This work constitutes the first effort to validate reference genes for RT-qPCR in hairy roots. While these genes were selected under conditions of NaOAc and MeJA treatment, we anticipate these genes to provide good targets for reference genes for hairy roots under a variety of stress conditions. The lead reference genes were a gene encoding for a TATA box binding protein (TBP2 and a gene encoding a ribosomal protein (RPL8C. A

  20. Sharpening Sharpe Ratios

    OpenAIRE

    William N. Goetzmann; Jonathan E. Ingersoll Jr.; Matthew I. Spiegel; Ivo Welch

    2002-01-01

    It is now well known that the Sharpe ratio and other related reward-to-risk measures may be manipulated with option-like strategies. In this paper we derive the general conditions for achieving the maximum expected Sharpe ratio. We derive static rules for achieving the maximum Sharpe ratio with two or more options, as well as a continuum of derivative contracts. The optimal strategy has a truncated right tail and a fat left tail. We also derive dynamic rules for increasing the Sharpe ratio. O...

  1. Surface-Wave Pulse Routing around Sharp Right Angles

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gao, Z.; Xu, H.; Gao, F.; Zhang, Y.; Luo, Y.; Zhang, B.

    2018-04-01

    Surface-plasmon polaritons (SPPs), or localized electromagnetic surface waves propagating on a metal-dielectric interface, are deemed promising information carriers for future subwavelength terahertz and optical photonic circuitry. However, surface waves fundamentally suffer from scattering loss when encountering sharp corners in routing and interconnection of photonic signals. Previous approaches enabling scattering-free surface-wave guidance around sharp corners are limited to either volumetric waveguide environments or extremely narrow bandwidth, being unable to guide a surface-wave pulse (SPP wave packet) on an on-chip platform. Here, in a surface-wave band-gap crystal implemented on a single metal surface, we demonstrate in time-domain routing a surface-wave pulse around multiple sharp right angles without perceptible scattering. Our work not only offers a solution to on-chip surface-wave pulse routing along an arbitrary path, but it also provides spatiotemporal information on the interplay between surface-wave pulses and sharp corners, both of which are desirable in developing high-performance large-scale integrated photonic circuits.

  2. An Experimental Study into the Scaling of an Unswept-Sharp-Fin-Generated Shock/Turbulent Boundary Layer Interaction.

    Science.gov (United States)

    1983-01-01

    Influence Scaling of 2D and 3D Shock/Turbulent ioundary Layer Interactions at Compression Corners." AIM Paper 81-334, January 1981. 5. Kubota, H...generating 3D shock wave/boundary layer interactions 2 Unswept sharp fin interaction and coordinate system 3 Cobra probe measurements of Peake (4) at Mach 4...were made by two Druck 50 PSI transducers, each in- stalled in a computer-controlled 48-port Model 48J4 Scani- valve and referenced to vacuum. A 250

  3. Hairy-root organ cultures for the production of human acetylcholinesterase

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mor Tsafrir S

    2008-12-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Human cholinesterases can be used as a bioscavenger of organophosphate toxins used as pesticides and chemical warfare nerve agents. The practicality of this approach depends on the availability of the human enzymes, but because of inherent supply and regulatory constraints, a suitable production system is yet to be identified. Results As a promising alternative, we report the creation of "hairy root" organ cultures derived via Agrobacterium rhizogenes-mediated transformation from human acetylcholinesterase-expressing transgenic Nicotiana benthamiana plants. Acetylcholinesterase-expressing hairy root cultures had a slower growth rate, reached to the stationary phase faster and grew to lower maximal densities as compared to wild type control cultures. Acetylcholinesterase accumulated to levels of up to 3.3% of total soluble protein, ~3 fold higher than the expression level observed in the parental plant. The enzyme was purified to electrophoretic homogeneity. Enzymatic properties were nearly identical to those of the transgenic plant-derived enzyme as well as to those of mammalian cell culture derived enzyme. Pharmacokinetic properties of the hairy-root culture derived enzyme demonstrated a biphasic clearing profile. We demonstrate that master banking of plant material is possible by storage at 4°C for up to 5 months. Conclusion Our results support the feasibility of using plant organ cultures as a successful alternative to traditional transgenic plant and mammalian cell culture technologies.

  4. Enhancement of ginsenoside Rg(1) in Panax ginseng hairy root by overexpressing the α-L-rhamnosidase gene from Bifidobacterium breve.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhang, Ru; Zhang, Bian-Ling; Li, Gu-Cai; Xie, Tao; Hu, Teng; Luo, Zhi-Yong

    2015-10-01

    To improve the production of ginsenoside Rg1 in Panax ginseng. The α-L-rhamnosidase gene from Bifidobacterium breve (BbRha) was overexpressed into hairy root culture system using Agrobacterium rhizogenes A4. Ginsenoside Rg1 in hairy roots was obtained following transformation via overexpressed gene representing 2.2-fold higher than those of control lines. Several overexpression transgenic hairy root lines were obtained exhibiting markedly increased levels of the corresponding α-L-rhamnosidase enzymatic activity relative to control. Ginsenoside Rg1 levels in the transgenic lines were higher (2.2-fold) than those of control after following 30 days culturing, while ginsenoside Re contents in tested transgenic lines were found to be lower. The transgenic hairy roots harboring α-L-rhamnosidase gene improved the accumulation of ginsenoside Rg1 up to 3.6 mg g(-1) dry weight. BbRha gene selectively enhances the production of ginsenoside Rg1 in P. ginseng hairy roots.

  5. Hairy B-cell lymphoproliferative disorder and its differential diagnosis: a case with long-term follow-up

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Kensuke Matsuda

    2017-09-01

    Full Text Available Hairy B-cell lymphoproliferative disorder (HBLD is one of chronic polyclonal B-cell lymphocytosis. We report a 47-year-old female Japanese patient diagnosed as having HBLD based on lymphocytosis with hairy cell appearance and characteristic phenotypes including CD11c+, and without B-cell monoclonalities. She was a non-smoker, and possessed HLA-DR4. She has been closely followed up without treatment and lymphoma development for over five years. Although this disease is quite rare and has been reported, to our knowledge, in only 13 Japanese cases, an accurate diagnosis, particularly differential diagnosis from persistent polyclonal B-cell lymphocytosis or hairy cell leukemia-Japanese variant is essential for the prevention of unnecessary treatments.

  6. Hairy planar black holes in higher dimensions

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Aceña, Andrés [Instituto de Ciencias Básicas, Universidad Nacional de Cuyo,Mendoza (Argentina); Anabalón, Andrés [Departamento de Ciencias, Facultad de Artes Liberales y Facultad de Ingeniería y Ciencias,Universidad Adolfo Ibáñez, Viña del Mar (Chile); Université de Lyon, Laboratoire de Physique,UMR 5672, CNRS, École Normale Supérieure de Lyon,46 allé d’Italie, F-69364 Lyon Cedex 07 (France); Astefanesei, Dumitru [Instituto de Física, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Valparaíso,Casilla 4059, Valparaíso (Chile); Mann, Robert [Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Waterloo,Waterloo, Ontario, N2L 3G1 (Canada); Perimeter Institute,31 Caroline Street North Waterloo, Ontario N2L 2Y5 (Canada)

    2014-01-28

    We construct exact hairy planar black holes in D-dimensional AdS gravity. These solutions are regular except at the singularity and have stress-energy that satisfies the null energy condition. We present a detailed analysis of their thermodynamical properties and show that the first law is satisfied. We also discuss these solutions in the context of AdS/CFT duality and construct the associated c-function.

  7. Current and emerging treatment options for hairy cell leukemia

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    López-Rubio M

    2015-08-01

    Full Text Available Montserrat López-Rubio,1 Jose Antonio Garcia-Marco2 1Department of Hematology, Hospital Universitario Príncipe de Asturias, Alcalá de Henares, 2Department of Hematology, Hospital Universitario Puerta de Hierro Majadahonda, Majadahonda, Madrid, Spain Abstract: Hairy cell leukemia (HCL is a lymphoproliferative B-cell disorder characterized by pancytopenia, splenomegaly, and characteristic cytoplasmic hairy projections. Precise diagnosis is essential in order to differentiate classic forms from HCL variants, such as the HCL-variant and VH4-34 molecular variant, which are more resistant to available treatments. The current standard of care is treatment with purine analogs (PAs, such as cladribine or pentostatin, which provide a high rate of long-lasting clinical remissions. Nevertheless, ~30%–40% of the patients relapse, and moreover, some of these are difficult-to-treat refractory cases. The use of the monoclonal antibody rituximab in combination with PA appears to produce even higher responses, and it is often employed to minimize or eliminate residual disease. Currently, research in the field of HCL is focused on identifying novel therapeutic targets and potential agents that are safe and can universally cure the disease. The discovery of the BRAF mutation and progress in understanding the biology of the disease has enabled the scientific community to explore new therapeutic targets. Ongoing clinical trials are assessing various treatment strategies such as the combination of PA and anti-CD20 monoclonal antibodies, recombinant immunotoxins targeting CD22, BRAF inhibitors, and B-cell receptor signal inhibitors. Keywords: hairy cell leukemia, purine analogs, rituximab, immunotoxins, vemurafenib, ibrutinib

  8. Response Surface Modelling of Noradrenaline Production in Hairy Root Culture of Purslane (Portulaca oleracea L.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mehdi Ghorbani

    2015-03-01

    Full Text Available Common purslane (Portulaca oleracea L. is an annual plant as one of the natural sources for noradrenaline hormone. In this research, hairy root culture of purslane was established by using Agrobacterium rhizogenes strain ATCC 15834. In the following, Box-Behnken model of response surface methodology (RSM was employed to optimize B5 medium for the growth of P. oleracea L. hairy root line. According to the results, modelling and optimization conditions, including sucrose, CaCl2.H2O, H2PO4 and NO3-/NH4+ concentrations on maximum dry weight (0.155 g and noradrenaline content (0.36 mg.g-1 DW was predicted. These optimal conditions predicted by RSM were confirmed the enhancement of noradrenaline production as an application potential for production by hairy root cultures.

  9. Chitosan (middle-viscous as an effective elicitor for silymarin production in Silybum marianum hairy root cultures

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    T. Hasanloo

    2014-01-01

    Full Text Available Elicitation with middle-viscous chitosan (30 mg/50 mL significantly stimulated silymarin synthesis in Silybum marianum hairy root cultures. The root cultures established by infection with Agrobacterium rhizogenes AR15834 showed a potential for production of silymarin. Elicitation with medium molecular weight of chitosan (0, 5, 10, 20, and 30 mg/50 mL was used in order to improve silymarin production. Total silymarin increased about 5.26-fold after 96 h of treatment with 30 mg/50 mL chitosan. Dry weight of the hairy roots reached the highest point (0.530 and 0.535 g after 96 h in presence of 20 and 30 mg/50 mL chitosan, respectively. Five different flavonolignans were isolated; taxifolin, silychristin, silydianin, silybin and isosilybin 0.133, 0.200, 0.120, 0.041 and 0.056 mg/g dry weight, respectively. 30 days old hairy roots were treated by 30 mg/50 mL chitosan in different times (12, 24, 48, 72, 96 and 120 h. The amount of silymarin accumulation significantly increased (0.705 mg/gDW in hairy roots after 96 h treatment. These observations suggested that the medium molecular weight of chitosan could be elicited by S. marianum hairy root cultures that lead to the higher production of silymarin. These results correlated with the culture time, and the biosynthesis which reached to a maximum of 0.705 mg/gDW by 96 h after culture. (2.9-fold higher than the control.

  10. SHARP Multiphysics Tutorials

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Yu, Y. Q. [Argonne National Lab. (ANL), Argonne, IL (United States); Shemon, E. R. [Argonne National Lab. (ANL), Argonne, IL (United States); Mahadevan, Vijay S. [Argonne National Lab. (ANL), Argonne, IL (United States); Rahaman, Ronald O. [Argonne National Lab. (ANL), Argonne, IL (United States)

    2016-02-29

    SHARP, developed under the NEAMS Reactor Product Line, is an advanced modeling and simulation toolkit for the analysis of advanced nuclear reactors. SHARP is comprised of three physics modules currently including neutronics, thermal hydraulics, and structural mechanics. SHARP empowers designers to produce accurate results for modeling physical phenomena that have been identified as important for nuclear reactor analysis. SHARP can use existing physics codes and take advantage of existing infrastructure capabilities in the MOAB framework and the coupling driver/solver library, the Coupled Physics Environment (CouPE), which utilizes the widely used, scalable PETSc library. This report aims at identifying the coupled-physics simulation capability of SHARP by introducing the demonstration example called sahex in advance of the SHARP release expected by Mar 2016. sahex consists of 6 fuel pins with cladding, 1 control rod, sodium coolant and an outer duct wall that encloses all the other components. This example is carefully chosen to demonstrate the proof of concept for solving more complex demonstration examples such as EBR II assembly and ABTR full core. The workflow of preparing the input files, running the case and analyzing the results is demonstrated in this report. Moreover, an extension of the sahex model called sahex_core, which adds six homogenized neighboring assemblies to the full heterogeneous sahex model, is presented to test homogenization capabilities in both Nek5000 and PROTEUS. Some primary information on the configuration and build aspects for the SHARP toolkit, which includes capability to auto-download dependencies and configure/install with optimal flags in an architecture-aware fashion, is also covered by this report. A step-by-step instruction is provided to help users to create their cases. Details on these processes will be provided in the SHARP user manual that will accompany the first release.

  11. SHARP Multiphysics Tutorials

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Yu, Y. Q.; Shemon, E. R.; Mahadevan, Vijay S.; Rahaman, Ronald O.

    2016-01-01

    SHARP, developed under the NEAMS Reactor Product Line, is an advanced modeling and simulation toolkit for the analysis of advanced nuclear reactors. SHARP is comprised of three physics modules currently including neutronics, thermal hydraulics, and structural mechanics. SHARP empowers designers to produce accurate results for modeling physical phenomena that have been identified as important for nuclear reactor analysis. SHARP can use existing physics codes and take advantage of existing infrastructure capabilities in the MOAB framework and the coupling driver/solver library, the Coupled Physics Environment (CouPE), which utilizes the widely used, scalable PETSc library. This report aims at identifying the coupled-physics simulation capability of SHARP by introducing the demonstration example called sahex in advance of the SHARP release expected by Mar 2016. sahex consists of 6 fuel pins with cladding, 1 control rod, sodium coolant and an outer duct wall that encloses all the other components. This example is carefully chosen to demonstrate the proof of concept for solving more complex demonstration examples such as EBR II assembly and ABTR full core. The workflow of preparing the input files, running the case and analyzing the results is demonstrated in this report. Moreover, an extension of the sahex model called sahex c ore, which adds six homogenized neighboring assemblies to the full heterogeneous sahex model, is presented to test homogenization capabilities in both Nek5000 and PROTEUS. Some primary information on the configuration and build aspects for the SHARP toolkit, which includes capability to auto-download dependencies and configure/install with optimal flags in an architecture-aware fashion, is also covered by this report. A step-by-step instruction is provided to help users to create their cases. Details on these processes will be provided in the SHARP user manual that will accompany the first release.

  12. Micropropagation and hairy root culture of Ophiorrhiza alata Craib for camptothecin production.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ya-ut, Pornwilai; Chareonsap, Piyarat; Sukrong, Suchada

    2011-12-01

    An efficient system was developed for the in vitro micropropagation and hairy root culture of Ophiorrhiza alata Craib for camptothecin (CPT) production. Shoot multiplication on leaf and node explants from germinated seeds of O. alata was successful on half-strength Murashige and Skoog medium supplemented with varying amounts of kinetin and α-naphthaleneacetic acid. Node explants grown in vitro were successfully infected by Agrobacterium rhizogenes TISTR 1450 for the establishment of hairy root culture. The amount of CPT in various parts of O. alata was analyzed by HPLC. The accumulation of CPT in transformed hairy roots was twice that in soil-grown plants (785 ± 52 and 388 ± 32 μg/g dry wt, respectively). In the presence of a polystyrene resin (Diaion HP-20) that absorbed CPT, the CPT content in the culture media increased sevenfold compared with controls (1,036 and 151 μg per 250 ml medium, respectively). These results enable the feasible production of CPT of O. alata by means of a cell culture strategy. These measures can help safeguard the plant from extinction. © Springer Science+Business Media B.V. 2011

  13. Investigation of Linum flavum (L. Hairy Root Cultures for the Production of Anticancer Aryltetralin Lignans

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sullivan Renouard

    2018-03-01

    Full Text Available Linum flavum hairy root lines were established from hypocotyl pieces using Agrobacterium rhizogenes strains LBA 9402 and ATCC 15834. Both strains were effective for transformation but induction of hairy root phenotype was more stable with strain ATCC 15834. Whereas similar accumulation patterns were observed in podophyllotoxin-related compounds (6-methoxy-podophyllotoxin, podophyllotoxin and deoxypodophyllotoxin, significant quantitative variations were noted between root lines. The influence of culture medium and various treatments (hormone, elicitation and precursor feeding were evaluated. The highest accumulation was obtained in Gamborg B5 medium. Treatment with methyl jasmonate, and feeding using ferulic acid increased the accumulation of aryltetralin lignans. These results point to the use of hairy root culture lines of Linum flavum as potential sources for these valuable metabolites as an alternative, or as a complement to Podophyllum collected from wild stands.

  14. Antioxidant activity of selected stilbenoids and their bioproduction in hairy root cultures of muscadine grape (Vitis rotundifolia Michx.).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nopo-Olazabal, Cesar; Hubstenberger, John; Nopo-Olazabal, Luis; Medina-Bolivar, Fabricio

    2013-12-04

    Stilbenoids are polyphenolic phytoalexins with health-related properties in humans. Muscadine grape ( Vitis rotundifolia ) hairy root cultures were established via Agrobacterium rhizogenes -mediated transformation, and the effects of growth regulators (3-indolebutyric acid and 6-benzylaminopurine) and methyl jasmonate (MeJA) on stilbenoid production were studied. Twenty-one-day-old hairy root cultures were treated with 100 μM MeJA for 24 h, and then the stilbenoids were extracted from the medium and tissue with ethyl acetate and analyzed by HPLC. Resveratrol, piceid, and ε-viniferin were observed preferentially in tissue, whereas piceatannol was observed only in medium. Growth regulators did not affect the yield of stilbenoids, whereas higher levels were found upon treatment with MeJA. Stilbenoids identified in the hairy root cultures were analyzed for their radical scavenging capacity showing piceatannol and ε-viniferin as the strongest antioxidants. Muscadine grape hairy root cultures were demonstrated to be amenable systems to study stilbenoid biosynthesis and a sustainable source of these bioactive compounds.

  15. A rotating hairy AdS3 black hole with the metric having only one Killing vector field

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Iizuka, Norihiro; Ishibashi, Akihiro; Maeda, Kengo

    2015-01-01

    We perturbatively construct a three-dimensional rotating AdS black hole with a real scalar hair. We choose the mass of a scalar field slightly above the Breitenlohner-Freedman bound and impose a general boundary condition for the bulk scalar field at AdS infinity. We first show that rotating BTZ black holes are unstable against scalar field perturbations under our more general boundary condition. Next we construct a rotating hairy black hole perturbatively with respect to a small amplitude ϵ of the scalar field, up to O(ϵ 4 ). Our hairy black hole is stationary and exhibits no dissipation, but the lumps of the non-linearly perturbed geometry break axial symmetry, thus providing the first example of a rotating black hole whose metric admits only one Killing vector field. Furthermore, we numerically show that the entropy of our hairy black hole is larger than that of the BTZ black hole with the same energy and the angular momentum. We briefly discuss if our rotating hairy black hole in lumpy geometry could be the endpoint of the instability.

  16. In vitro culture of the obligate parasite Spongospora subterranea (cercozoa; plasmodiophorida) associated with root-inducing transferred-DNA transformed potato hairy roots.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Qu, Xinshun; Christ, Barbara J

    2007-01-01

    Spongospora subterranea is a soil-borne, obligate parasitic protist that causes powdery scab of potatoes. In this study, an in vitro culture system was developed for the maintenance and proliferation of the protist in potato hairy roots. The hairy roots of potato were induced in vitro with Agrobacterium rhizogenes. Cystosori of S. subterranea from potato scab lesions were surface disinfested and used to inoculate potato hairy roots. Plasmodia, zoosporangia, and cystosori were observed microscopically in the hairy roots within 6 wk after inoculation, indicating the completion of the life cycle of S. subterranea in vitro. This is the first in vitro culture system for S. subterranea, and will be a valuable tool to study fundamental and practical aspects of the biology of the parasite.

  17. Establishment of Hairy Root Cultures of Rhaponticum carthamoides (Willd. Iljin for the Production of Biomass and Caffeic Acid Derivatives

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ewa Skała

    2015-01-01

    Full Text Available The aim of the study was to obtain transformed roots of Rhaponticum carthamoides and evaluate their phytochemical profile. Hairy roots were induced from leaf explants by the transformation of Agrobacterium rhizogenes strains A4 and ATCC 15834. The best response (43% was achieved by infection with A4 strain. The effects of different liquid media (WPM, B5, SH with full and half-strength concentrations of macro- and micronutrients on biomass accumulation of the best grown hairy root line (RC3 at two different lighting conditions (light or dark were investigated. The highest biomass (93 g L−1 of the fresh weight after 35 days was obtained in WPM medium under periodic light. UPLC-PDA-ESI-MS3 and HPLC-PDA analyses of 80% aqueous methanol extracts from the obtained hairy roots revealed the presence of eleven caffeoylquinic acids and their derivatives and five flavonoid glycosides. The production of caffeoylquinic acids and their derivatives was elevated in hairy roots grown in the light. Only light-grown hairy roots demonstrated the capability for the biosynthesis of such flavonoid glycosides as quercetagetin, quercetin, luteolin, and patuletin hexosides. Chlorogenic acid, 3,5-di-O-caffeoylquinic acid and a tentatively identified tricaffeoylquinic acid derivative were detected as the major compounds present in the transformed roots.

  18. Hairy polyelectrolyte brushes-grafted thermosensitive microgels as artificial synovial fluid for simultaneous biomimetic lubrication and arthritis treatment.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liu, Guoqiang; Liu, Zhilu; Li, Na; Wang, Xiaolong; Zhou, Feng; Liu, Weimin

    2014-11-26

    We report the fabrication of poly(3-sulfopropyl methacrylate potassium salt) (PSPMK) brushes grafted poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) (PNIPAAm) microgels and their potential as artificial synovial fluid for biomimetic aqueous lubrication and arthritis treatment. The negatively charged PSPMK brushes and thermosensitive PNIPAAm microgels play water-based hydration lubrication and temperature-triggered drug release, respectively. Under soft friction pairs, an ultralow coefficient of friction was achieved, while the hairy thermosensitive microgels showed a desirable temperature-triggered drugs release performance. Such a soft charged hairy microgel offers great possibility for designing intelligent synovial fluid. What is more, the combination of lubrication and drug loading capabilities enables the large clinical potential of novel soft hairy nanoparticles as synthetic joint lubricant fluid in arthritis treatment.

  19. In vitro production of secondary metabolite using Atropa komarovii Bline&Shal (Solanaceae hairy root culture via Agrobacterium rhizogenes ATCC15834

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ofelia Banihashemi

    2017-07-01

    Full Text Available Background & Aim:A new sustainable tissue-based system is presented by plant hairy roots, preserving all of the several specialized types of cell with critical roles in allowing bioactive secondary molecules to be synthesized more consistently as usual. The system is also essential for studying the production of alkaloid in culture. Experimental: The Atropa komarovii leaves were wounded and infected with soil gram-negative bacterium Agrobacterium rhizogenes ATCC15834. After three weeks, the transformation roots and control roots without infection, appeared, and for confirming that T-DNA Ri plasmid fragments were transformed and integrated to plant genome, the rolB gene region, was amplified using PCR. HPLC method was then used for assaying how two tropane alkaloids such as atropine (hyosciamine and scopolamine (hyoscine were produced in hairy roots,control roots, leaves and roots of plantlet. Results: The data indicated that diagnostic 500bp rol B product amplification was exhibited to be present by all the transformed hairy roots. Scopolamine content in hairy roots was considerably greater than that in control roots but greatest (Hyoscyamine atropine content was observed in control roots. Analysis of DW, FW and root length showed that fresh and dry root weight increased in hairy roots compared with that in non transformed root. Recommended applications/industries: The present study demonstrated that secondary metabolite production using medicinal plants concerns many researchers worldwide today and hairy root culture is a useful method for producing tropane alkaloids in solanaceae.

  20. Potential for rhizofiltration of uranium using hairy root cultures of Brassica juncea and Chenopodium amaranticolor

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Eapen, Susan; Suseelan, K.N.; Tivarekar, Suchita; Kotwal, S.A.; Mitra, R.

    2003-01-01

    Hairy root cultures of Brassica juncea and Chenopodium amaranticolor were developed by genetic transformation using Agrobacterium rhizogenes. The stable, transformed root systems demonstrated a high growth rate of 1.5-3. g/g dry weight/day in Murashige and Skoog medium. In the present study, hairy root system was used for removal of uranium from the solution of concentration up to 5000 μM. The results indicated that the hairy roots could remove uranium from the aqueous solution within a short period of incubation. B. juncea could take up 20-23% of uranium from the solution containing up to 5000 μM, when calculated on g/g dry weight basis. C. amaranticolor showed a slow and steady trend in taking up uranium, with 13 uptake from the solution of 5000 μM concentration. Root growth was not affected up to 500 μM of uranium nitrate over a period of 10 days

  1. High efficiency protoplast isolation from in vitro cultures and hairy ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    In vitro cultures of the medicinal plant Maesa lanceolata were established to enable the cultivation of plant material for the production of protoplasts. Callus cultures were initiated using leaves collected from shoot cultures and the root tips from hairy root cultures obtained upon Agrobacterium rhizogenes transformation.

  2. Enhancement of Chlorogenic Acid Production in Hairy Roots of Platycodon grandiflorum by Over-Expression of An Arabidopsis thaliana Transcription Factor AtPAP1

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Pham Anh Tuan

    2014-08-01

    Full Text Available To improve the production of chlorogenic acid (CGA in hairy roots of Platycodon grandiflorum, we induced over-expression of Arabidopsis thaliana transcription factor production of anthocyanin pigment (AtPAP1 using an Agrobacterium rhizogenes-mediated transformation system. Twelve hairy root lines showing over-expression of AtPAP1 were generated. In order to investigate the regulation of AtPAP1 on the activities of CGA biosynthetic genes, the expression levels of seven P. grandiflorum CGA biosynthetic genes were analyzed in the hairy root line that had the greatest accumulation of AtPAP1 transcript, OxPAP1-1. The introduction of AtPAP1 increased the mRNA levels of all examined CGA biosynthetic genes and resulted in a 900% up-regulation of CGA accumulation in OxPAP1-1 hairy roots relative to controls. This suggests that P. grandiflorum hairy roots that over-express the AtPAP1 gene are a potential alternative source of roots for the production of CGA.

  3. Hairy root induction and phytoremediation of textile dye, Reactive green 19A-HE4BD, in a halophyte, Sesuvium portulacastrum (L. L.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Vinayak H. Lokhande

    2015-12-01

    Full Text Available In this study, we report phytoremediation of textile dyes using hairy roots derived through Agrobacterium rhizogenes (NCIM 5140 infection of in vitro leaf and stem explants of a halophyte Sesuvium portulacastrum (L. L. Leaf explants showed higher frequency of hairy root induction (70% than stem explants (30%, and maximum number of roots (leaf 42.3 ± 2.4 and stem 50.3 ± 1.7. Transformed nature of hairy roots was ascertained by amplifying 970 bp region of T-DNA of Ri plasmid. Hairy roots were screened for phytoremediation of various textile dyes and results showed that HRs were able to degrade Reactive green 19A HE4BD upto 98% within 5 days of incubation. Spectrophotometric analysis showed decrease in dye concentration while HPLC and FTIR analysis confirmed its degradation. Seed germination assay demonstrated non-toxic nature of the extracted metabolites. This is the first report on induction of hairy root culture in Sesuvium portulacastrum and phytoremediation of textile dyes.

  4. Effects of abscisic acid, gibberellin, ethylene and their interactions on production of phenolic acids in salvia miltiorrhiza bunge hairy roots.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liang, Zongsuo; Ma, Yini; Xu, Tao; Cui, Beimi; Liu, Yan; Guo, Zhixin; Yang, Dongfeng

    2013-01-01

    Salvia miltiorrhiza is one of the most important traditional Chinese medicinal plants because of its excellent performance in treating coronary heart disease. Phenolic acids mainly including caffeic acid, rosmarinic acid and salvianolic acid B are a group of active ingredients in S. miltiorrhiza. Abscisic acid (ABA), gibberellin (GA) and ethylene are three important phytohormones. In this study, effects of the three phytohormones and their interactions on phenolic production in S. miltiorrhiza hairy roots were investigated. The results showed that ABA, GA and ethylene were all effective to induce production of phenolic acids and increase activities of PAL and TAT in S. miltiorrhiza hairy roots. Effects of phytohormones were reversed by their biosynthetic inhibitors. Antagonistic actions between the three phytohormones played important roles in the biosynthesis of phenolic acids. GA signaling is necessary for ABA and ethylene-induced phenolic production. Yet, ABA and ethylene signaling is probably not necessary for GA3-induced phenolic production. The complex interactions of phytohormones help us reveal regulation mechanism of secondary metabolism and scale-up production of active ingredients in plants.

  5. Droplet evaporation and spread on waxy and hairy leaves associated with type and concentration of adjuvants.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Xu, Linyun; Zhu, Heping; Ozkan, H Erdal; Bagley, William E; Krause, Charles R

    2011-07-01

    Adjuvants can improve pesticide application efficiency and effectiveness. However, quantifications of the adjuvant-amended pesticide droplet actions on foliage, which could affect application efficiencies, are largely unknown. Droplet evaporation rates and spread on waxy or hairy leaves varied greatly with the adjuvant types tested. On waxy leaves, the wetted areas of droplets containing crop oil concentrate (COC) were significantly smaller than those containing modified seed oil (MSO), non-ionic surfactant (NIS) or oil surfactant blend (OSB), whereas the evaporation rates of COC-amended droplets were significantly higher. On hairy leaves, COC-amended droplets remained on top of the hairs without wetting the epidermis. When the relative concentration was 1.50, the wetted area of droplets with NIS was 9.2 times lower than that with MSO and 6.1 times lower than that with OSB. The wetted area increased as the adjuvant concentration increased. MSO- or OSB-amended droplets spread extensively on the hairy leaf surface until they were completely dried. These results demonstrated that the proper concentration of MSO, NIS or OSB in spray mixtures improved the homogeneity of spray coverage on both waxy and hairy leaf surfaces and could reduce pesticide use. This article is a US Government work and is in the public domain in the USA. Published 2011 by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

  6. Accumulation of cell wall-bound phenolic metabolites and their upliftment in hairy root cultures of tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum Mill.).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mandal, Sudhamoy; Mitra, Adinpunya

    2008-07-01

    Alkaline hydrolysis of cell wall material of tomato hairy roots yielded ferulic acid as the major phenolic compound. Other phenolics were 4-hydroxybenzoic acid, vanillic acid, 4-hydroxybenzaldehyde, vanillin and 4-coumaric acid. The content of phenolics was much higher at the early stage of hairy root growth. The ferulic acid content decreased up to 30 days and then sharply increased to 360 microg/g at 60 days of growth. Elicitation of hairy root cultures with Fusarium mat extract (FME) increased ferulic acid content 4-fold after 24 h. As the pathogen-derived elicitors have specific receptors in plants, FME may thus be used for inducing resistance against Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. lycopersici.

  7. Thermoreceptive innervation of human glabrous and hairy skin: a contact heat evoked potential analysis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Granovsky, Yelena; Matre, Dagfinn; Sokolik, Alexander; Lorenz, Jürgen; Casey, Kenneth L

    2005-06-01

    The human palm has a lower heat detection threshold and a higher heat pain threshold than hairy skin. Neurophysiological studies of monkeys suggest that glabrous skin has fewer low threshold heat nociceptors (AMH type 2) than hairy skin. Accordingly, we used a temperature-controlled contact heat evoked potential (CHEP) stimulator to excite selectively heat receptors with C fibers or Adelta-innervated AMH type 2 receptors in humans. On the dorsal hand, 51 degrees C stimulation produced painful pinprick sensations and 41 degrees C stimuli evoked warmth. On the glabrous thenar, 41 degrees C stimulation produced mild warmth and 51 degrees C evoked strong but painless heat sensations. We used CHEP responses to estimate the conduction velocities (CV) of peripheral fibers mediating these sensations. On hairy skin, 41 degrees C stimuli evoked an ultra-late potential (mean, SD; N wave latency: 455 (118) ms) mediated by C fibers (CV by regression analysis: 1.28 m/s, N=15) whereas 51 degrees C stimuli evoked a late potential (N latency: 267 (33) ms) mediated by Adelta afferents (CV by within-subject analysis: 12.9 m/s, N=6). In contrast, thenar responses to 41 and 51 degrees C were mediated by C fibers (average N wave latencies 485 (100) and 433 (73) ms, respectively; CVs 0.95-1.35 m/s by regression analysis, N=15; average CV=1.7 (0.41) m/s calculated from distal glabrous and proximal hairy skin stimulation, N=6). The exploratory range of the human and monkey palm is enhanced by the abundance of low threshold, C-innervated heat receptors and the paucity of low threshold AMH type 2 heat nociceptors.

  8. Biosynthesis of anthraquinone derivatives in a Sesamum indicum hairy root culture.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Furumoto, Toshio; Sato, Ryuta

    2017-10-01

    In order to investigate the intermediacy of 2-(4-methylpent-3-en-1-yl)anthraquinone (MPAQ), a possible intermediate for the biosynthesis of anthraquinone derivatives in sesame (Sesamum indicum), 2 H-labeled MPAQ was administered to a hairy root culture of S. indicum. Efficient conversion of fed MPAQ to 2-[(Z)-4-methylpenta-1,3-dien-1-yl]anthraquinone ((Z)-MPDEAQ) was observed. Furthermore, administration experiment with 2 H-labeled 2-geranyl-1,4-naphthohydroquinone, another possible intermediate, showed that it was converted to MPAQ and (Z)-MPDEAQ. The results clearly demonstrated that these substrates are the actual precursors for the production of (Z)-MPDEAQ. In contrast, neither MPAQ nor 2-geranyl-1,4-naphthohydroquinone was converted to anthrasesamone B and 2,3-epoxyanthrasesamone B, other anthraquinone derivatives in the hairy roots, suggesting that these substrates may not be the common precursors in the biosynthesis of anthraquinone derivatives.

  9. Influence of Agrobacterium rhizogenes on induction of hairy roots for ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Harish Tomar

    2012-05-01

    May 1, 2012 ... Artemisinin production from plant tissue cultures and induction of hairy roots in vitro have been ... factors like temperature, pH, cultivation media and carbon source on growth and artemisinin ... estimated 243 million cases led to 863,000 deaths in ... currently the only source of the drug and even modest.

  10. Comparative analysis of the essential oils from normal and hairy ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    The essential oils were extracted with steam distillation from normal and hairy roots of Panax japonicus C.A. Meyer. The constituents of essential oils were analyzed by gas chromatography mass spectrometry (GC-MS). The results showed that 40 and 46 kinds of compounds were identified from the essential oils of normal ...

  11. Potential for biocontrol of hairy root disease by a Paenibacillus clade

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Bosmans, Lien; de Bruijn, Irene; Gerards, S.; Moerkens, Rob; Van Looveren, Lore; Wittemans, Lieve; Van Calenberge, Bart; Paeleman, Anneleen; Van Kerckhove, Stef; Rozenski, Jef; de Mot, Rene; Rediers, Hans; Raaijmakers, J.M.; Lievens, Bart

    2017-01-01

    Rhizogenic Agrobacterium biovar 1 is the causative agent of hairy root disease (HRD) in the hydroponic cultivation of tomato and cucumber causing significant losses in marketable yield. In order to prevent and control the disease chemical disinfectants such as hydrogen peroxide or hypochlorite are

  12. A donor-specific QTL, exhibiting allelic variation for leaf sheath hairiness in a nested association mapping population, is located on barley chromosome 4H

    KAUST Repository

    Saade, Stephanie; Kutlu, Burcu; Draba, Vera; Fö rster, Karin; Schumann, Erika; Tester, Mark A.; Pillen, Klaus; Maurer, Andreas

    2017-01-01

    Leaf sheath hairiness is a morphological trait associated with various advantages, including tolerance to both abiotic and biotic stresses, thereby increasing yield. Understanding the genetic basis of this trait in barley can therefore improve the agronomic performance of this economically important crop. We scored leaf sheath hairiness in a two-year field trial in 1,420 BC1S3 lines from the wild barley nested association mapping (NAM) population HEB-25. Leaf sheath hairiness segregated in six out of 25 families with the reference parent Barke being glabrous. We detected the major hairy leaf sheath locus Hs (syn. Hsh) on chromosome 4H (111.3 cM) with high precision. The effects of the locus varied across the six different wild barley donors, with donor of HEB family 11 conferring the highest score of leaf sheath hairiness. Due to the high mapping resolution present in HEB-25, we were able to discuss physically linked pentatricopeptide repeat genes and subtilisin-like proteases as potential candidate genes underlying this locus. In this study, we proved that HEB-25 provides an appropriate tool to further understand the genetic control of leaf sheath hairiness in barley. Furthermore, our work represents a perfect starting position to clone the gene responsible for the 4H locus observed.

  13. A donor-specific QTL, exhibiting allelic variation for leaf sheath hairiness in a nested association mapping population, is located on barley chromosome 4H

    KAUST Repository

    Saade, Stephanie

    2017-12-07

    Leaf sheath hairiness is a morphological trait associated with various advantages, including tolerance to both abiotic and biotic stresses, thereby increasing yield. Understanding the genetic basis of this trait in barley can therefore improve the agronomic performance of this economically important crop. We scored leaf sheath hairiness in a two-year field trial in 1,420 BC1S3 lines from the wild barley nested association mapping (NAM) population HEB-25. Leaf sheath hairiness segregated in six out of 25 families with the reference parent Barke being glabrous. We detected the major hairy leaf sheath locus Hs (syn. Hsh) on chromosome 4H (111.3 cM) with high precision. The effects of the locus varied across the six different wild barley donors, with donor of HEB family 11 conferring the highest score of leaf sheath hairiness. Due to the high mapping resolution present in HEB-25, we were able to discuss physically linked pentatricopeptide repeat genes and subtilisin-like proteases as potential candidate genes underlying this locus. In this study, we proved that HEB-25 provides an appropriate tool to further understand the genetic control of leaf sheath hairiness in barley. Furthermore, our work represents a perfect starting position to clone the gene responsible for the 4H locus observed.

  14. Sharps container

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lee, Angelene M. (Inventor)

    1992-01-01

    This invention relates to a system for use in disposing of potentially hazardous items and more particularly a Sharps receptacle for used hypodermic needles and the like. A Sharps container is constructed from lightweight alodined nonmagnetic metal material with a cup member having an elongated tapered shape and length greater than its transverse dimensions. A magnet in the cup member provides for metal retention in the container. A nonmagnetic lid member has an opening and spring biased closure flap member. The flap member is constructed from stainless steel. A Velcro patch on the container permits selective attachment at desired locations.

  15. Influence of Seeding Ratio, Planting Date, and Termination Date on Rye-Hairy Vetch Cover Crop Mixture Performance under Organic Management.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lawson, Andrew; Cogger, Craig; Bary, Andy; Fortuna, Ann-Marie

    2015-01-01

    Cover crop benefits include nitrogen accumulation and retention, weed suppression, organic matter maintenance, and reduced erosion. Organic farmers need region-specific information on winter cover crop performance to effectively integrate cover crops into their crop rotations. Our research objective was to compare cover crop seeding mixtures, planting dates, and termination dates on performance of rye (Secale cereale L.) and hairy vetch (Vicia villosa Roth) monocultures and mixtures in the maritime Pacific Northwest USA. The study included four seed mixtures (100% hairy vetch, 25% rye-75% hairy vetch, 50% rye-50% hairy vetch, and 100% rye by seed weight), two planting dates, and two termination dates, using a split-split plot design with four replications over six years. Measurements included winter ground cover; stand composition; cover crop biomass, N concentration, and N uptake; and June soil NO3(-)-N. Rye planted in mid-September and terminated in late April averaged 5.1 Mg ha(-1) biomass, whereas mixtures averaged 4.1 Mg ha(-1) and hairy vetch 2.3 Mg ha(-1). Delaying planting by 2.5 weeks reduced average winter ground cover by 65%, biomass by 50%, and cover crop N accumulation by 40%. Similar reductions in biomass and N accumulation occurred for late March termination, compared with late April termination. Mixtures had less annual biomass variability than rye. Mixtures accumulated 103 kg ha(-1) N and had mean C:N ratio rye, 97 kg ha(-1) for the mixtures, and 119 kg ha(-1) for hairy vetch. Weeds comprised less of the mixtures biomass (20% weeds by weight at termination) compared with the monocultures (29%). Cover crop mixtures provided a balance between biomass accumulation and N concentration, more consistent biomass over the six-year study, and were more effective at reducing winter weeds compared with monocultures.

  16. Fc-receptors and surface immunoglobulins in cells of the hairy cell leukemia

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Rieber, E.P.; Linke, R.P.; Riethmueller, G.; Heyden, H.W. von; Waller, H.D.

    1976-01-01

    Using 125 I-labelled aggregated IgG in a quantitative assay a strong expression of Fc-receptors was found on the leukemic cells of a patient with hairy cell leukemia. The Fc-receptor activity on these cells was much higher than that on monocytes and B-lymphocytes from normal blood. Surface immunoglobulins were detected by radioautography using radioactively labelled (Fab') 2 -fragments of monospecific antibodies directed against immunoglobulin heavy chains. Prior to radioautography the cells were stained for the tartrate resistant acid phosphatase. It is found that all cells containing this enzyme bore delta-chains on their surface. On more than 90% of these cells a simultaneous expression of μ-chains was detected. γ-chains could only be demonstrated on cells which were negative for the tartrate resistant acid phosphatase; part of these cells, however, were hairy cells by morphological criteria. (orig.) [de

  17. Fc-receptors and surface immunoglobulins in cells of the hairy cell leukemia

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Rieber, E P; Linke, R P; Riethmueller, G [Tuebingen Univ. (Germany, F.R.). Abt. fuer Experimentelle Chirurgie und Immunologie; Heyden, H.W. von; Waller, H D [Tuebingen Univ. (Germany, F.R.). Abt. Innere Medizin 2

    1976-01-01

    Using /sup 125/I-labelled aggregated IgG in a quantitative assay a strong expression of Fc-receptors was found on the leukemic cells of a patient with hairy cell leukemia. The Fc-receptor activity on these cells was much higher than that on monocytes and B-lymphocytes from normal blood. Surface immunoglobulins were detected by radioautography using radioactively labelled (Fab')/sub 2/-fragments of monospecific antibodies directed against immunoglobulin heavy chains. Prior to radioautography the cells were stained for the tartrate resistant acid phosphatase. It is found that all cells containing this enzyme bore delta-chains on their surface. On more than 90% of these cells a simultaneous expression of ..mu..-chains was detected. ..gamma..-chains could only be demonstrated on cells which were negative for the tartrate resistant acid phosphatase; part of these cells, however, were hairy cells by morphological criteria.

  18. Production of ajmalicine and ajmaline in hairy root cultures of Rauvolfia micrantha Hook f., a rare and endemic medicinal plant.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sudha, C G; Obul Reddy, B; Ravishankar, G A; Seeni, S

    2003-04-01

    Hairy roots of Rauvolfia micrantha were induced from hypocotyl explants of 2-3 weeks old aseptic seedlings using Agrobacterium rhizogenes ATCC 15834. Hairy roots grown in half-strength Murashige & Skoog (MS) medium with 0.2 mg indole 3-butyric acid l-1 and 0.1 mg alpha-naphthaleneacetic acid l-1 produced more ajmaline (0.01 mg g-1 dry wt) and ajmalicine (0.006 mg g-1 dry wt) than roots grown in auxin-free medium. Ajmaline (0.003 mg g-1 dry wt) and ajmalicine (0.0007 mg g-1 dry wt) were also produced in normal root cultures. This is the first report of production of ajmaline and ajmalicine in hairy root cultures of Rauvolfia micrantha.

  19. Almost sharp quantum effects

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Arias, Alvaro; Gudder, Stan

    2004-01-01

    Quantum effects are represented by operators on a Hilbert space satisfying 0≤A≤I, and sharp quantum effects are represented by projection operators. We say that an effect A is almost sharp if A=PQP for projections P and Q. We give simple characterizations of almost sharp effects. We also characterize effects that can be written as longer products of projections. For generality we first work in the formalism of von Neumann algebras. We then specialize to the full operator algebra B(H) and to finite dimensional Hilbert spaces

  20. Expression of important pathway genes involved in withanolides biosynthesis in hairy root culture of Withania somnifera upon treatment with Gracilaria edulis and Sargassum wightii.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sivanandhan, Ganeshan; Arunachalam, Chinnathambi; Selvaraj, Natesan; Sulaiman, Ali Alharbi; Lim, Yong Pyo; Ganapathi, Andy

    2015-06-01

    The investigation of seaweeds, Gracilaria edulis and Sargassum wightii extracts was carried out for the estimation of growth characteristics and major withanolides production in hairy root culture of Withania somnifera. The extract of G. edulis (50%) in MS liquid basal medium enabled maximum production of dry biomass (5.46 g DW) and withanolides contents (withanolide A 5.23 mg/g DW; withaferin A 2.24 mg/g DW and withanone 4.83 mg/g DW) in hairy roots after 40 days of culture with 48 h contact time. The obtained withanolides contents were significantly higher (2.32-fold-2.66-fold) in hairy root culture when compared to the control. RT PCR analysis of important pathway genes such as SE, SS, HMGR and FPPS exhibited substantial higher expression upon the seaweed extracts treatment in hairy root culture. This experiment would paw a platform for withanolides production in hairy root culture with the influence of sea weed extracts for pharmaceutical companies in the future. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.

  1. Oral candidiasis and hairy leukoplakia correlate with HIV infection in Tanzania

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Schiødt, M; Bakilana, P B; Hiza, J F

    1990-01-01

    with AIDS criteria and 52% of HIV-infected patients, as compared to 3% and 6% of the patients without AIDS criteria and HIV infection, respectively (p less than 0.01). Among patients with AIDS atrophic candidiasis occurred in 21%, pseudomembranous candidiasis in 23%, hairy leukoplakia in 36%, herpetic...

  2. In vitro production of thiophenes using hairy root cultures of Tagetes ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Marigold (Tagetes spp.) is a source of thiophenes, which are a group of heterocyclic sulfurous compounds possessing strong biocidal activity, thus making Tagetes plants very useful as natural source of agents for controlling pathogens such as nematodes, insects, fungi and bacteria. Hairy root cultures of Tagetes erecta L.

  3. In vitro production of thiophenes using hairy root cultures of Tagetes ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Aghomotsegin

    2016-04-27

    Apr 27, 2016 ... Road, P. O. CIMAP, Lucknow 226015, India. 2Analytical ... Four types of thiophenes that accumulated in root cultures of Tagetes ... Thiophenes act as ... remaining stockpiles requires annual critical use .... hairy root lines were selected for further analysis. The .... Ambros PF, Matzke AJM, Matzke AM (1986).

  4. A hairy-leaf gene, BLANKET LEAF, of wild Oryza nivara increases photosynthetic water use efficiency in rice.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hamaoka, Norimitsu; Yasui, Hideshi; Yamagata, Yoshiyuki; Inoue, Yoko; Furuya, Naruto; Araki, Takuya; Ueno, Osamu; Yoshimura, Atsushi

    2017-12-01

    High water use efficiency is essential to water-saving cropping. Morphological traits that affect photosynthetic water use efficiency are not well known. We examined whether leaf hairiness improves photosynthetic water use efficiency in rice. A chromosome segment introgression line (IL-hairy) of wild Oryza nivara (Acc. IRGC105715) with the genetic background of Oryza sativa cultivar 'IR24' had high leaf pubescence (hair). The leaf hairs developed along small vascular bundles. Linkage analysis in BC 5 F 2 and F 3 populations showed that the trait was governed by a single gene, designated BLANKET LEAF (BKL), on chromosome 6. IL-hairy plants had a warmer leaf surface in sunlight, probably due to increased boundary layer resistance. They had a lower transpiration rate under moderate and high light intensities, resulting in higher photosynthetic water use efficiency. Introgression of BKL on chromosome 6 from O. nivara improved photosynthetic water use efficiency in the genetic background of IR24.

  5. Spatial temperature distribution in human hairy and glabrous skin after infrared CO2 laser radiation

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-01-01

    Background CO2 lasers have been used for several decades as an experimental non-touching pain stimulator. The laser energy is absorbed by the water content in the most superficial layers of the skin. The deeper located nociceptors are activated by passive conduction of heat from superficial to deeper skin layers. Methods In the current study, a 2D axial finite element model was developed and validated to describe the spatial temperature distribution in the skin after infrared CO2 laser stimulation. The geometry of the model was based on high resolution ultrasound scans. The simulations were compared to the subjective pain intensity ratings from 16 subjects and to the surface skin temperature distributions measured by an infrared camera. Results The stimulations were sensed significantly slower and less intense in glabrous skin than they were in hairy skin (MANOVA, p 0.90, p < 0.001). Of the 16 subjects tested; eight subjects reported pricking pain in the hairy skin following a stimulus of 0.6 J/cm2 (5 W, 0.12 s, d1/e2 = 11.4 mm) only two reported pain to glabrous skin stimulation using the same stimulus intensity. The temperature at the epidermal-dermal junction (depth 50 μm in hairy and depth 133 μm in glabrous skin) was estimated to 46°C for hairy skin stimulation and 39°C for glabrous skin stimulation. Conclusions As compared to previous one dimensional heat distribution models, the current two dimensional model provides new possibilities for detailed studies regarding CO2 laser stimulation intensity, temperature levels and nociceptor activation. PMID:21059226

  6. Dynamical formation of a hairy black hole in a cavity from the decay of unstable solitons

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sanchis-Gual, Nicolas; Font, José A; Carlos Degollado, Juan; Herdeiro, Carlos; Radu, Eugen

    2017-01-01

    Recent numerical relativity simulations within the Einstein–Maxwell–(charged-)Klein–Gordon (EMcKG) system have shown that the non-linear evolution of a superradiantly unstable Reissner–Nordström black hole (BH) enclosed in a cavity, leads to the formation of a BH with scalar hair. Perturbative evidence for the stability of such hairy BHs has been independently established, confirming they are the true endpoints of superradiant instability. The same EMcKG system admits also charged scalar soliton-type solutions, which can be either stable or unstable. Using numerical relativity techniques, we provide evidence that the time evolution of some of these unstable solitons leads, again, to the formation of a hairy BH. In some other cases, unstable solitons evolve into a (bald) Reissner–Nordström BH. These results establish that the system admits two distinct channels to form hairy BHs at the threshold of superradiance: growing hair from an unstable (bald) BH, or growing a horizon from an unstable (horizonless) soliton. Some parallelism with the case of asymptotically flat boson stars and Kerr BHs with scalar hair is drawn. (paper)

  7. Dynamical formation of a hairy black hole in a cavity from the decay of unstable solitons

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sanchis-Gual, Nicolas; Degollado, Juan Carlos; Font, José A.; Herdeiro, Carlos; Radu, Eugen

    2017-08-01

    Recent numerical relativity simulations within the Einstein-Maxwell-(charged-)Klein-Gordon (EMcKG) system have shown that the non-linear evolution of a superradiantly unstable Reissner-Nordström black hole (BH) enclosed in a cavity, leads to the formation of a BH with scalar hair. Perturbative evidence for the stability of such hairy BHs has been independently established, confirming they are the true endpoints of superradiant instability. The same EMcKG system admits also charged scalar soliton-type solutions, which can be either stable or unstable. Using numerical relativity techniques, we provide evidence that the time evolution of some of these unstable solitons leads, again, to the formation of a hairy BH. In some other cases, unstable solitons evolve into a (bald) Reissner-Nordström BH. These results establish that the system admits two distinct channels to form hairy BHs at the threshold of superradiance: growing hair from an unstable (bald) BH, or growing a horizon from an unstable (horizonless) soliton. Some parallelism with the case of asymptotically flat boson stars and Kerr BHs with scalar hair is drawn.

  8. Soft hairy warped black hole entropy

    Science.gov (United States)

    Grumiller, Daniel; Hacker, Philip; Merbis, Wout

    2018-02-01

    We reconsider warped black hole solutions in topologically massive gravity and find novel boundary conditions that allow for soft hairy excitations on the horizon. To compute the associated symmetry algebra we develop a general framework to compute asymptotic symmetries in any Chern-Simons-like theory of gravity. We use this to show that the near horizon symmetry algebra consists of two u (1) current algebras and recover the surprisingly simple entropy formula S = 2 π( J 0 + + J 0 - ), where J 0 ± are zero mode charges of the current algebras. This provides the first example of a locally non-maximally symmetric configuration exhibiting this entropy law and thus non-trivial evidence for its universality.

  9. Small hairy black holes in AdS(5) x S-5

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Bhattacharyya, Sayantani; Minwalla, Shiraz; Papadodimas, Kyriakos

    2011-01-01

    We study small hairy black holes in a consistent truncation of N = 8 gauged supergravity that consists of a single charged scalar field interacting with the metric and a U(1) gauge field. Small very near extremal RNAdS black holes in this system are unstable to decay by superradiant emission. The

  10. Small hairy black holes in AdS(5) x S-5

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Bhattacharyya, Sayantani; Minwalla, Shiraz; Papadodimas, Kyriakos

    We study small hairy black holes in a consistent truncation of N = 8 gauged supergravity that consists of a single charged scalar field interacting with the metric and a U(1) gauge field. Small very near extremal RNAdS black holes in this system are unstable to decay by superradiant emission. The

  11. Analysis of sharpness increase by image noise

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kurihara, Takehito; Aoki, Naokazu; Kobayashi, Hiroyuki

    2009-02-01

    Motivated by the reported increase in sharpness by image noise, we investigated how noise affects sharpness perception. We first used natural images of tree bark with different amounts of noise to see whether noise enhances sharpness. Although the result showed sharpness decreased as noise amount increased, some observers seemed to perceive more sharpness with increasing noise, while the others did not. We next used 1D and 2D uni-frequency patterns as stimuli in an attempt to reduce such variability in the judgment. The result showed, for higher frequency stimuli, sharpness decreased as the noise amount increased, while sharpness of the lower frequency stimuli increased at a certain noise level. From this result, we thought image noise might reduce sharpness at edges, but be able to improve sharpness of lower frequency component or texture in image. To prove this prediction, we experimented again with the natural image used in the first experiment. Stimuli were made by applying noise separately to edge or to texture part of the image. The result showed noise, when added to edge region, only decreased sharpness, whereas when added to texture, could improve sharpness. We think it is the interaction between noise and texture that sharpens image.

  12. Biodegradation of γ-hexachlorocyclohexane by transgenic hairy root cultures of Cucurbita moschata that accumulate recombinant bacterial LinA.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nanasato, Yoshihiko; Namiki, Sayuri; Oshima, Masao; Moriuchi, Ryota; Konagaya, Ken-Ichi; Seike, Nobuyasu; Otani, Takashi; Nagata, Yuji; Tsuda, Masataka; Tabei, Yutaka

    2016-09-01

    γ-HCH was successfully degraded using LinA-expressed transgenic hairy root cultures of Cucurbita moschata . Fusing an endoplasmic reticulum-targeting signal peptide to LinA was essential for stable accumulation in the hairy roots. The pesticide γ-hexachlorocyclohexane (γ-HCH) is a persistent organic pollutant (POP) that raises public health and environmental pollution concerns worldwide. Although several isolates of γ-HCH-degrading bacteria are available, inoculating them directly into γ-HCH-contaminated soil is ineffective because of the bacterial survival rate. Cucurbita species incorporate significant amounts of POPs from soils compared with other plant species. Here, we describe a novel bioremediation strategy that combines the bacterial degradation of γ-HCH and the efficient uptake of γ-HCH by Cucurbita species. We produced transgenic hairy root cultures of Cucurbita moschata that expressed recombinant bacterial linA, isolated from the bacterium Sphingobium japonicum UT26. The LinA protein was accumulated stably in the hairy root cultures by fusing an endoplasmic reticulum (ER)-targeting signal peptide to LinA. Then, we demonstrated that the cultures degraded more than 90 % of γ-HCH (1 ppm) overnight and produced the γ-HCH metabolite 1,2,4-trichlorobenzene, indicating that LinA degraded γ-HCH. These results indicate that the gene linA has high potential for phytoremediation of environmental γ-HCH.

  13. Consistency relations for sharp inflationary non-Gaussian features

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Mooij, Sander; Palma, Gonzalo A.; Panotopoulos, Grigoris [Departamento de Física, Facultad de Ciencias Físicas y Matemáticas, Universidad de Chile, Blanco Encalada 2008, Santiago (Chile); Soto, Alex, E-mail: sander.mooij@ing.uchile.cl, E-mail: gpalmaquilod@ing.uchile.cl, E-mail: gpanotop@ing.uchile.cl, E-mail: gatogeno@gmail.com [Departamento de Física, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad de Chile, Las Palmeras 3425, Ñuñoa, Santiago (Chile)

    2016-09-01

    If cosmic inflation suffered tiny time-dependent deviations from the slow-roll regime, these would induce the existence of small scale-dependent features imprinted in the primordial spectra, with their shapes and sizes revealing information about the physics that produced them. Small sharp features could be suppressed at the level of the two-point correlation function, making them undetectable in the power spectrum, but could be amplified at the level of the three-point correlation function, offering us a window of opportunity to uncover them in the non-Gaussian bispectrum. In this article, we show that sharp features may be analyzed using only data coming from the three point correlation function parametrizing primordial non-Gaussianity. More precisely, we show that if features appear in a particular non-Gaussian triangle configuration (e.g. equilateral, folded, squeezed), these must reappear in every other configuration according to a specific relation allowing us to correlate features across the non-Gaussian bispectrum. As a result, we offer a method to study scale-dependent features generated during inflation that depends only on data coming from measurements of non-Gaussianity, allowing us to omit data from the power spectrum.

  14. Consistency relations for sharp inflationary non-Gaussian features

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Mooij, Sander; Palma, Gonzalo A.; Panotopoulos, Grigoris; Soto, Alex

    2016-01-01

    If cosmic inflation suffered tiny time-dependent deviations from the slow-roll regime, these would induce the existence of small scale-dependent features imprinted in the primordial spectra, with their shapes and sizes revealing information about the physics that produced them. Small sharp features could be suppressed at the level of the two-point correlation function, making them undetectable in the power spectrum, but could be amplified at the level of the three-point correlation function, offering us a window of opportunity to uncover them in the non-Gaussian bispectrum. In this article, we show that sharp features may be analyzed using only data coming from the three point correlation function parametrizing primordial non-Gaussianity. More precisely, we show that if features appear in a particular non-Gaussian triangle configuration (e.g. equilateral, folded, squeezed), these must reappear in every other configuration according to a specific relation allowing us to correlate features across the non-Gaussian bispectrum. As a result, we offer a method to study scale-dependent features generated during inflation that depends only on data coming from measurements of non-Gaussianity, allowing us to omit data from the power spectrum.

  15. Localness of energy cascade in hydrodynamic turbulence, II. Sharp spectral filter

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Aluie, Hussein [Los Alamos National Laboratory; Eyink, Gregory L [JOHNS HOPKINS UNIV.

    2009-01-01

    We investigate the scale-locality of subgrid-scale (SGS) energy flux and interband energy transfers defined by the sharp spectral filter. We show by rigorous bounds, physical arguments, and numerical simulations that the spectral SGS flux is dominated by local triadic interactions in an extended turbulent inertial range. Interband energy transfers are also shown to be dominated by local triads if the spectral bands have constant width on a logarithmic scale. We disprove in particular an alternative picture of 'local transfer by nonlocal triads,' with the advecting wavenumber mode at the energy peak. Although such triads have the largest transfer rates of all individual wavenumber triads, we show rigorously that, due to their restricted number, they make an asymptotically negligible contribution to energy flux and log-banded energy transfers at high wavenumbers in the inertial range. We show that it is only the aggregate effect of a geometrically increasing number of local wavenumber triads which can sustain an energy cascade to small scales. Furthermore, nonlocal triads are argued to contribute even less to the space-average energy flux than is implied by our rigorous bounds, because of additional cancellations from scale-decorrelation effects. We can thus recover the -4/3 scaling of nonlocal contributions to spectral energy flux predicted by Kraichnan's abridged Lagrangian-history direct-interaction approximation and test-field model closures. We support our results with numerical data from a 512{sup 3} pseudospectral simulation of isotropic turbulence with phase-shift dealiasing. We also discuss a rigorous counterexample of Eyink [Physica D 78, 222 (1994)], which showed that nonlocal wavenumber triads may dominate in the sharp spectral flux (but not in the SGS energy flux for graded filters). We show that this mathematical counter example fails to satisfy reasonable physical requirements for a turbulent velocity field, which are employed in our

  16. Influence of Seeding Ratio, Planting Date, and Termination Date on Rye-Hairy Vetch Cover Crop Mixture Performance under Organic Management.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Andrew Lawson

    Full Text Available Cover crop benefits include nitrogen accumulation and retention, weed suppression, organic matter maintenance, and reduced erosion. Organic farmers need region-specific information on winter cover crop performance to effectively integrate cover crops into their crop rotations. Our research objective was to compare cover crop seeding mixtures, planting dates, and termination dates on performance of rye (Secale cereale L. and hairy vetch (Vicia villosa Roth monocultures and mixtures in the maritime Pacific Northwest USA. The study included four seed mixtures (100% hairy vetch, 25% rye-75% hairy vetch, 50% rye-50% hairy vetch, and 100% rye by seed weight, two planting dates, and two termination dates, using a split-split plot design with four replications over six years. Measurements included winter ground cover; stand composition; cover crop biomass, N concentration, and N uptake; and June soil NO3(--N. Rye planted in mid-September and terminated in late April averaged 5.1 Mg ha(-1 biomass, whereas mixtures averaged 4.1 Mg ha(-1 and hairy vetch 2.3 Mg ha(-1. Delaying planting by 2.5 weeks reduced average winter ground cover by 65%, biomass by 50%, and cover crop N accumulation by 40%. Similar reductions in biomass and N accumulation occurred for late March termination, compared with late April termination. Mixtures had less annual biomass variability than rye. Mixtures accumulated 103 kg ha(-1 N and had mean C:N ratio <17:1 when planted in mid-September and terminated in late April. June soil NO3(--N (0 to 30 cm depth averaged 62 kg ha(-1 for rye, 97 kg ha(-1 for the mixtures, and 119 kg ha(-1 for hairy vetch. Weeds comprised less of the mixtures biomass (20% weeds by weight at termination compared with the monocultures (29%. Cover crop mixtures provided a balance between biomass accumulation and N concentration, more consistent biomass over the six-year study, and were more effective at reducing winter weeds compared with monocultures.

  17. Enhanced production of azadirachtin by hairy root cultures of Azadirachta indica A. Juss by elicitation and media optimization.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Satdive, Ramesh K; Fulzele, Devanand P; Eapen, Susan

    2007-02-01

    Azadirachtin is one of the most potent biopesticides so far developed from a plant sources. Influence of different culture media and elicitation on growth and production of azadirachtin by hairy root cultures of Azadirachta indica was studied. Out of the three media tested, namely Ohyama and Nitsch, Gamborg's and Murashige and Skoog's basal media, hairy roots cultured on Ohyama and Nitsch's basal medium produced maximum yield of azadirachtin (0.0166% dry weight, DW). Addition of biotic elicitor enhanced the production of azadirachtin by approximately 5-fold (0.074% DW), while signal compounds such as jasmonic acid and salicylic acid showed a approximately 6 (0.095% DW) and approximately 9-fold (0.14% DW) enhancement, respectively, in the production of azadirachtin as compared to control cultures on Ohyama and Nitsch medium. Extracts from hairy roots were found to be superior to those from the leaves for antifeedant activity against the larvae of Spodoptera litura.

  18. Elicitation Based Enhancement of Secondary Metabolites in Rauwolfia serpentina and Solanum khasianum Hairy Root Cultures.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Srivastava, Mrinalini; Sharma, Swati; Misra, Pratibha

    2016-05-01

    Rauwolfia serpentina and Solanum khasianum are well-known medicinally important plants contained important alkaloids in their different parts. Elicitation of these alkaloids is important because of associated pharmaceutical properties. Targeted metabolites were ajmaline and ajmalicine in R. serpentina; solasodine and α-solanine in S. khasianum. Enhancement of secondary metabolites through biotic and abiotic elicitors in hairy root cultures of R. serpentina and S. khasianum. In this report, hairy root cultures of these two plants were established through Agrobacterium rhizogenes mediated transformation by optimizing various parameters as age of explants, duration of preculture, and co-cultivation period. NaCl was used as abiotic elicitors in these two plants. Cellulase from Aspergillus niger was used as biotic elicitor in S. khasianum and mannan from Saccharomyces cerevisiae was used in R. serpentina. First time we have reported the effect of biotic and abiotic elicitors on the production of important metabolites in hairy root cultures of these two plants. Ajmalicine production was stimulated up to 14.8-fold at 100 mM concentration of NaCl after 1 week of treatment. Ajmaline concentration was also increased 2.9-fold at 100 mg/l dose of mannan after 1 week. Solasodine content was enhanced up to 4.0-fold and 3.6-fold at 100 mM and 200 mM NaCl, respectively, after 6 days of treatments. This study explored the potential of the elicitation strategy in A. rhizogenes transformed cell cultures and this potential further used for commercial production of these pharmaceutically important secondary metabolites. Hairy roots of Rauwolfia serpentina were subjected to salt (abiotic stress) and mannan (biotic stress) treatment for 1 week. Ajmaline and ajmalicine secondary metabolites were quantified before and after stress treatmentAjmalicine yield was enhanced up to 14.8-fold at 100 mM concentration of NaCl. Ajmaline content was also stimulated 2.9-fold at 100 mg/l dose of mannan

  19. Radioprotective Effects of Hairy Roots of Ginseng

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Woo, Hyun Jung; Kim, Jin Kyu [Korea Atomic research Institute, Jeongeup (Korea, Republic of); Kim, Eun Young; Yang, Deok Cho [Chungbuk National Univ., Cheongju (Korea, Republic of)

    2005-07-01

    Panax ginseng is an important medicinal plant in Korea, which has broad efficacious effects against hypertension, diabetes, nociception and cancer. And it improves weakness. The native ginseng is a slow growing plant taking 5-7 years from seed planting to mature root harvesting, during which time much care is needed since its growth is susceptible to many environmental factors such as soil, shade, climate, pathogens and pests. Nowadays, a wild ginseng has become extremely scarce and the ginseng supply depends almost exclusively on field cultivation, which is a time-consuming and labor-intensive process. To meet the demand for the plant in the international market, a bioreactor technology is a useful tool for production of root biomass on a large scale. Therefore, suspension culture of ginseng roots in bioreactors is viewed as a primary alternative method for large-scale production and recently our laboratory has developed a protocol for the in vitro culture of P. ginseng. About 60-70% of cellular DNA damage produced by ionizing radiation is caused by OH, formed from the radiolysis of water. Oxidative stress occurs when there is an excessive free radical production and/or low antioxidant defense, and results in the chemical alterations of biomolecules causing structural and functional modifications. The generation of the reactive oxygen metabolites plays an important role in the pathogenesis of the irradiation-induced tissue injury. An extensive literature review implicates cellular DNA as the primary target for the biological and lethal effects of ionizing radiation. Besides DNA, lipids and proteins are also attacked by free radicals. The purpose of this study, aimed at investigating the possible radioprotective effect of the hairy roots of P. ginseng on irradiation-induced damage by the comet assay.

  20. Radioprotective Effects of Hairy Roots of Ginseng

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Woo, Hyun Jung; Kim, Jin Kyu; Kim, Eun Young; Yang, Deok Cho

    2005-01-01

    Panax ginseng is an important medicinal plant in Korea, which has broad efficacious effects against hypertension, diabetes, nociception and cancer. And it improves weakness. The native ginseng is a slow growing plant taking 5-7 years from seed planting to mature root harvesting, during which time much care is needed since its growth is susceptible to many environmental factors such as soil, shade, climate, pathogens and pests. Nowadays, a wild ginseng has become extremely scarce and the ginseng supply depends almost exclusively on field cultivation, which is a time-consuming and labor-intensive process. To meet the demand for the plant in the international market, a bioreactor technology is a useful tool for production of root biomass on a large scale. Therefore, suspension culture of ginseng roots in bioreactors is viewed as a primary alternative method for large-scale production and recently our laboratory has developed a protocol for the in vitro culture of P. ginseng. About 60-70% of cellular DNA damage produced by ionizing radiation is caused by OH, formed from the radiolysis of water. Oxidative stress occurs when there is an excessive free radical production and/or low antioxidant defense, and results in the chemical alterations of biomolecules causing structural and functional modifications. The generation of the reactive oxygen metabolites plays an important role in the pathogenesis of the irradiation-induced tissue injury. An extensive literature review implicates cellular DNA as the primary target for the biological and lethal effects of ionizing radiation. Besides DNA, lipids and proteins are also attacked by free radicals. The purpose of this study, aimed at investigating the possible radioprotective effect of the hairy roots of P. ginseng on irradiation-induced damage by the comet assay

  1. Sporamin-mediated resistance to beet cyst nematodes (Heterodera schachtii Schm.) is dependent on trypsin inhibitory activity in sugar beet (Beta vulgaris L.) hairy roots.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cai, Daguang; Thurau, Tim; Tian, Yanyan; Lange, Tina; Yeh, Kai-Wun; Jung, Christian

    2003-04-01

    Sporamin, a sweet potato tuberous storage protein, is a Kunitz-type trypsin inhibitor. Its capability of conferring insect-resistance on transgenic tobacco and cauliflower has been confirmed. To test its potential as an anti-feedant for the beet cyst nematode (Heterodera schachtii Schm.), the sporamin gene SpTI-1 was introduced into sugar beet (Beta vulgaris L.) by Agrobacterium rhizogenes-mediated transformation. Twelve different hairy root clones expressing sporamin were selected for studying nematode development. Of these, 8 hairy root clones were found to show significant efficiency in inhibiting the growth and development of the female nematodes whereas 4 root clones did not show any inhibitory effects even though the SpTI-1 gene was regularly expressed in all of the tested hairy roots as revealed by northern and western analyses. Inhibition of nematode development correlated with trypsin inhibitor activity but not with the amount of sporamin expressed in hairy roots. These data demonstrate that the trypsin inhibitor activity is the critical factor for inhibiting growth and development of cyst nematodes in sugar beet hairy roots expressing the sporamin gene. Hence, the sweet potato sporamin can be used as a new and effective anti-feedant for controlling cyst nematodes offering an alternative strategy for establishing nematode resistance in crops.

  2. The SHARP scramjet launcher

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Cartland, H.; Fiske, P.; Greenwood, R.; Hargiss, D.; Heston, P.; Hinsey, N.; Hunter, J.; Massey, W.

    1995-01-10

    The worlds largest light gas gun at SHARP (Super High Altitude Research Project) is completed and in the past year has launched 9 scramjets. Typical masses and velocities are 5.9 kg at 2.8 km/sec.and 4.4 kg at 3.1 km/sec. In so doing SHARP launched the first fully functioning, hydrogen burning scramjet at mach 8. The SHARP launcher is unique in having a 4 inch diameter and 155 foot-long barrel. This enables lower acceleration launches than any other system. In addition the facility can deliver high energy projectiles to targets in the open air without having to contain the impact fragments. This allows one to track lethality test debris for several thousand feet.

  3. Enhanced daidzin production from jasmonic and acetyl salicylic acid elicited hairy root cultures of Psoralea corylifolia L. (Fabaceae).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zaheer, Mohd; Reddy, Vudem Dashavantha; Giri, Charu Chandra

    2016-07-01

    Daidzin (7-O-glucoside of daidzein) has several pharmacological benefits in herbal remedy, as antioxidant and shown antidipsotropic activity. Hairy root culture of Psoralea corylifolia L. was developed for biomass and enhanced daidzin production using signalling compounds such as jasmonic acid (JA) and acetyl salicylic acid (ASA). Best response of 2.8-fold daidzin (5.09% DW) with 1 μM JA treatment after second week and 7.3-fold (3.43% DW) with 10 μM JA elicitation after 10th week was obtained from hairy roots compared to untreated control. ASA at 10 μM promoted 1.7-fold increase in daidzin (1.49% DW) content after seventh week compared to control (0.83% DW). Addition of 25 μM ASA resulted in 1.44% DW daidzin (1.5-fold increase) with 0.91% DW in control after fifth week and 1.44% DW daidzin (2.3-fold increase) after eighth week when compared to untreated control (0.62% DW). Reduced biomass with increased daidzin content was facilitated by elicited hairy root cultures.

  4. Strategies to overcome oxygen transfer limitations during hairy root cultivation of Azadiracta indica for enhanced azadirachtin production.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Srivastava, Smita; Srivastava, Ashok Kumar

    2012-07-01

    The vast untapped potential of hairy root cultures as a stable source of biologically active chemicals has focused the attention of scientific community toward its commercial exploitation. However, the major bottleneck remains its successful scale-up. Due to branching, the roots form an interlocked matrix that exhibits resistance to oxygen transfer. Thus, present work was undertaken to develop cultivation strategies like optimization of inlet gas composition (in terms of % (v/v) O(2) in air), air-flow rate and addition of oxygen vectors in the medium, to curb the oxygen transfer limitations during hairy root cultivation of Azadirachta indica for in vitro azadirachtin (a biopesticide) production. It was found that increasing the oxygen fraction in the inlet air (in the range, 20-100% (v/v) O(2) in air) increased the azadirachtin productivity by approximately threefold, to a maximum of 4.42 mg/L per day (at 100% (v/v) O(2) in air) with respect to 1.68 mg/L per day in control (air with no oxygen supplementation). Similarly, increasing the air-flow rate (in the range, 0.3-2 vvm) also increased the azadirachtin productivity to a maximum of 1.84 mg/L per day at 0.8 vvm of air-flow rate. On the contrary, addition of oxygen vectors (in the range, 1-4% (v/v); hydrogen peroxide, toluene, Tween 80, kerosene, silicone oil, and n-hexadecane), decreased the azadirachtin productivity with respect to control (1.76 mg/L per day).

  5. Striga parasitizes transgenic hairy roots of Zea mays and provides a tool for studying plant-plant interactions

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Runo Steven

    2012-06-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Striga species are noxious root hemi-parasitic weeds that debilitate cereal production in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA. Control options for Striga are limited and developing Striga resistant crop germplasm is regarded as the best and most sustainable control measure. Efforts to improve germplasm for Striga resistance by a non-Genetic Modification (GM approach, for example by exploiting natural resistance, or by a GM approach are constrained by limited information on the biological processes underpinning host-parasite associations. Additionaly, a GM approach is stymied by lack of availability of candidate resistance genes for introduction into hosts and robust transformation methods to validate gene functions. Indeed, a majority of Striga hosts, the world’s most cultivated cereals, are recalcitrant to genetic transformation. In maize, the existing protocols for transformation and regeneration are tedious, lengthy, and highly genotype-specific with low efficiency of transformation. Results We used Agrobacterium rhizogenes strain K599 carrying a reporter gene construct, Green Fluorescent Protein (GFP, to generate transgenic composite maize plants that were challenged with the parasitic plant Striga hermonthica. Eighty five percent of maize plants produced transgenic hairy roots expressing GFP. Consistent with most hairy roots produced in other species, transformed maize roots exhibited a hairy root phenotype, the hallmark of A. rhizogenes mediated transformation. Transgenic hairy roots resulting from A. rhizogenes transformation were readily infected by S. hermonthica. There were no significant differences in the number and size of S. hermonthica individuals recovered from either transgenic or wild type roots. Conclusions This rapid, high throughput, transformation technique will advance our understanding of gene function in parasitic plant-host interactions.

  6. Effect of elicitors and precursors on azadirachtin production in hairy root culture of Azadirachta indica.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Srivastava, Smita; Srivastava, A K

    2014-02-01

    The present study involved strategies for enhancement in in vitro azadirachtin (commercially used biopesticide) production by hairy root cultivation of Azadirachta indica. Improvement in the azadirachtin production via triggering its biosynthetic pathway in plant cells was carried out by the exogenous addition of precursors and elicitors in the growth medium. Among the different abiotic stress inducers (Ag(+), Hg(+2), Co(+2), Cu(+2)) and signal molecules (methyl jasmonate and salicylic acid) tested, salicylic acid at 15 mg l(-1) of concentration was found to enhance the azadirachtin yield in the hairy roots to the maximum (up to 4.95 mg g(-1)). Similarly, among the different biotic elicitors tested (filter-sterilized fungal culture filtrates of Phoma herbarium, Alternaria alternata, Myrothecium sp., Fusarium solani, Curvularia lunata, and Sclerotium rolfsii; yeast extract; and yeast extract carbohydrate fraction), addition of filter-sterilized fungal culture filtrate of C. lunata (1 % v/v) resulted in maximum azadirachtin yield enhancement in hairy root biomass (up to 7.1 mg g(-1)) with respect to the control (3.3 mg g(-1)). Among all the biosynthetic precursors studied (sodium acetate, cholesterol, squalene, isopentynyl pyrophosphate, mavalonic acid lactone, and geranyl pyrophosphate), the overall azadirachtin production (70.42 mg l(-1) in 25 days) was found to be the highest with cholesterol (50 mg l(-1)) addition as an indirect precursor in the medium.

  7. Implant-retained skull prosthesis to cover a large defect of the hairy skull resulting from treatment of a basal cell carcinoma : A clinical report

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Hoekstra, Jitske; Vissink, Arjan; Raghoebar, Gerry M; Visser, Anita

    Skin carcinoma, particularly basal cell carcinoma, and its treatment can result in large defects of the hairy skull. A 53-year-old man is described who was surgically treated for a large basal cell carcinoma invading the skin and underlying tissue at the top of the hairy skull. Treatment consisted

  8. 9-methoxycanthin-6-one production in elicited hairy roots culture of Eurycoma longifolia

    Science.gov (United States)

    Abdullah, Nazirah; Ismail, Ismanizan; Hassan, Nor Hasnida; Basherudin, Norlia

    2016-11-01

    Eurycoma longifolia (Tongkat Ali) is a highly sought after medicinal plant in Malaysia. Propagation of E. longifolia through tissue culture has been reported in order to cater the industry demands for planting and raw materials as well as for conservation purposes. E. longifolia hairy roots culture has been developed using Agrobacterium rhizogenes for the production of Tongkat Ali phytochemicals. Effects of three elicitors; methyl jasmonate, salicylic acid, and yeast extract at different concentrations were evaluated on the production of 9-methoxycanthin-6-one in E. longifolia hairy roots. The cultures were elicited at early exponential growth phase, followed by extraction of 9-methoxycanthin-6-one using methanol and HPLC analysis. Elicitation with methyl jasmonate at all concentrations increased 9-methoxycanthin-6-one up to 1-3 fold and treatment with (0.1 mM) was most efficient in enhancing 9-methoxycanthin-6-one production up to 3.902 mg/g dry weight after 7 days (168 hours) elicitation.

  9. Listeria monocytogenes Infection in Hairy Cell Leukemia: A Case Report and Literature Review

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    James C. Barton

    2018-01-01

    Full Text Available Listeria monocytogenes infections have been described in patients with diverse types of malignancy, especially leukemia. We report the case of a 65-year-old man with previously untreated hairy cell leukemia characterized by CD5 positivity and trisomy 12 (3% of blood lymphocytes who developed bacteremia due to L. monocytogenes serotype 1/2b. We summarize clinical features and treatment of this patient and five previously reported patients with hairy cell leukemia who also had L. monocytogenes infections. All six patients were men. Their mean age at infection diagnosis was 70 y. Three men had undergone splenectomy 4–11 y before they developed L. monocytogenes infection. The central nervous system was the primary site of infection in four men. Bacteremia alone occurred in two other men. At diagnosis of infection, one man was receiving antileukemia chemotherapy and another man was receiving treatment for Kaposi’s sarcoma. Two other patients had other comorbid conditions. All six men recovered from their infections.

  10. Hairy nightshade is an alternative host of spongospora subterranea, the potato powdery scab pathogen

    Science.gov (United States)

    Structures, similar to galls developing on potato roots infected by the powdery scab pathogen S. subterranea, were observed on roots of hairy nightshades (Solanum physalifolium, formerly S. sarrachoides) collected from commercial potato fields in Washington State where populations of S. subterranea ...

  11. Summer High School Apprenticeship Research Program (SHARP)

    Science.gov (United States)

    1997-01-01

    The summer of 1997 will not only be noted by NASA for the mission to Mars by the Pathfinder but also for the 179 brilliant apprentices that participated in the SHARP Program. Apprentice participation increased 17% over last year's total of 153 participants. As indicated by the End-of-the-Program Evaluations, 96% of the programs' participants rated the summer experience from very good to excellent. The SHARP Management Team began the year by meeting in Cocoa Beach, Florida for the annual SHARP Planning Conference. Participants strengthened their Education Division Computer Aided Tracking System (EDCATS) skills, toured the world-renowned Kennedy Space Center, and took a journey into space during the Alien Encounter Exercise. The participants returned to their Centers with the same goals and objectives in mind. The 1997 SHARP Program goals were: (1) Utilize NASA's mission, unique facilities and specialized workforce to provide exposure, education, and enrichment experiences to expand participants' career horizons and inspire excellence in formal education and lifelong learning. (2) Develop and implement innovative education reform initiatives which support NASA's Education Strategic Plan and national education goals. (3) Utilize established statistical indicators to measure the effectiveness of SHARP's program goals. (4) Explore new recruiting methods which target the student population for which SHARP was specifically designed. (5) Increase the number of participants in the program. All of the SHARP Coordinators reported that the goals and objectives for the overall program as well as their individual program goals were achieved. Some of the goals and objectives for the Centers were: (1) To increase the students' awareness of science, mathematics, engineering, and computer technology; (2) To provide students with the opportunity to broaden their career objectives; and (3) To expose students to a variety of enrichment activities. Most of the Center goals and

  12. Application of image processing technology in yarn hairiness detection

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Guohong ZHANG

    2016-02-01

    Full Text Available Digital image processing technology is one of the new methods for yarn detection, which can realize the digital characterization and objective evaluation of yarn appearance. This paper overviews the current status of development and application of digital image processing technology used for yarn hairiness evaluation, and analyzes and compares the traditional detection methods and this new developed method. Compared with the traditional methods, the image processing technology based method is more objective, fast and accurate, which is the vital development trend of the yarn appearance evaluation.

  13. Spatial temperature distribution in human hairy and glabrous skin after infrared CO2 laser radiation

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Arendt-Nielsen Lars

    2010-11-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background CO2 lasers have been used for several decades as an experimental non-touching pain stimulator. The laser energy is absorbed by the water content in the most superficial layers of the skin. The deeper located nociceptors are activated by passive conduction of heat from superficial to deeper skin layers. Methods In the current study, a 2D axial finite element model was developed and validated to describe the spatial temperature distribution in the skin after infrared CO2 laser stimulation. The geometry of the model was based on high resolution ultrasound scans. The simulations were compared to the subjective pain intensity ratings from 16 subjects and to the surface skin temperature distributions measured by an infrared camera. Results The stimulations were sensed significantly slower and less intense in glabrous skin than they were in hairy skin (MANOVA, p 0.90, p 2 (5 W, 0.12 s, d1/e2 = 11.4 mm only two reported pain to glabrous skin stimulation using the same stimulus intensity. The temperature at the epidermal-dermal junction (depth 50 μm in hairy and depth 133 μm in glabrous skin was estimated to 46°C for hairy skin stimulation and 39°C for glabrous skin stimulation. Conclusions As compared to previous one dimensional heat distribution models, the current two dimensional model provides new possibilities for detailed studies regarding CO2 laser stimulation intensity, temperature levels and nociceptor activation.

  14. Development and Experimental Evaluation of Machine-Learning Techniques for an Intelligent Hairy Scalp Detection System

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Wei-Chien Wang

    2018-05-01

    Full Text Available Deep learning has become the most popular research subject in the fields of artificial intelligence (AI and machine learning. In October 2013, MIT Technology Review commented that deep learning was a breakthrough technology. Deep learning has made progress in voice and image recognition, image classification, and natural language processing. Prior to deep learning, decision tree, linear discriminant analysis (LDA, support vector machines (SVM, k-nearest neighbors algorithm (K-NN, and ensemble learning were popular in solving classification problems. In this paper, we applied the previously mentioned and deep learning techniques to hairy scalp images. Hairy scalp problems are usually diagnosed by non-professionals in hair salons, and people with such problems may be advised by these non-professionals. Additionally, several common scalp problems are similar; therefore, non-experts may provide incorrect diagnoses. Hence, scalp problems have worsened. In this work, we implemented and compared the deep-learning method, the ImageNet-VGG-f model Bag of Words (BOW, with machine-learning classifiers, and histogram of oriented gradients (HOG/pyramid histogram of oriented gradients (PHOG with machine-learning classifiers. The tools from the classification learner apps were used for hairy scalp image classification. The results indicated that deep learning can achieve an accuracy of 89.77% when the learning rate is 1 × 10−4, and this accuracy is far higher than those achieved by BOW with SVM (80.50% and PHOG with SVM (53.0%.

  15. Phytochelatin homologs induced in hairy roots of horseradish.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kubota, H; Sato, K; Yamada, T; Maitani, T

    2000-01-01

    When exposed to excess heavy metals, plants induce phytochelatins and related peptides (all designated as PCAs). Thus, when hairy roots of horseradish (Armoracia rusticana) were exposed for 3 days to cadmium (1 mM) along with reduced glutathione (2 mM), PCA induction occurred. Moreover, a new family of thiol peptides was detected as well as the previously known PCAs, as revealed by postcolumn-derivatization HPLC. Two were isolated and their structures were identified as (gamma-Glu-Cys)n-Gln (n = 3 and 4) by electrospray ionization-mass spectrometer spectra, this being confirmed by chemical synthesis of the peptides. These new analogs constitute the sixth PCA family identified to date.

  16. Holographic superconductor in the analytic hairy black hole

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Myung, Yun Soo; Park, Chanyong

    2011-01-01

    We study the charged black hole of hyperbolic horizon with scalar hair (charged Martinez-Troncoso-Zanelli: CMTZ black hole) as a model of analytic hairy black hole for holographic superconductor. For this purpose, we investigate the second order phase transition between CMTZ and hyperbolic Reissner-Nordstroem-AdS (HRNAdS) black holes. However, this transition unlikely occurs. As an analytic treatment for holographic superconductor, we develop superconductor in the bulk and superfluidity on the boundary using the CMTZ black hole below the critical temperature. The presence of charge destroys the condensates around the zero temperature, which is in accord with the thermodynamic analysis of the CMTZ black hole.

  17. Wavelet Cross-Spectrum Analysis of Multi-Scale Disturbance Instability and Transition on Sharp Cone Hypersonic Boundary Layer

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Jian, Han; Nan, Jiang

    2008-01-01

    Experimental measurement of hypersonic boundary layer stability and transition on a sharp cone with a half angle of 5° is carried out at free-coming stream Mach number 6 in a hypersonic wind tunnel. Mean and fluctuation surface-thermal-flux characteristics of the hypersonic boundary layer flow are measured by Pt-thin-film thermocouple temperature sensors installed at 28 stations on the cone surface along longitudinal direction. At hypersonic speeds, the dominant flow instabilities demonstrate that the growth rate of the second mode tends to exceed that of the low-frequency mode. Wavelet-based cross-spectrum technique is introduced to obtain the multi-scale cross-spectral characteristics of the fluctuating signals in the frequency range of the second mode. Nonlinear interactions both of the second mode disturbance and the first mode disturbance are demonstrated to be dominant instabilities in the initial stage of laminar-turbulence transition for hypersonic shear flow. (fundamental areas of phenomenology (including applications))

  18. Variation of Human Hairiness: A Possible Adaptation to Solar Radiation and Melanin

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Dhugga Amrita

    2014-07-01

    Full Text Available Many theories have been advanced to explain human hairlessness, however, there is no consensus. This study of 76 males observed that skin reflectance measuring skin colouration and melanin pigmentation correlated with hair size and follicle density. Individuals with a greater concentration of melanin within the superficial layer of the skin had a lower follicle density and smaller sizes of hairs. In contrast, individuals with a lower melanin concentration and lighter skin colour had a full range of hairiness. This leads to the suggestion that over the course of human evolution, high concentrations of melanin in consistently exposed to ultraviolet radiation areas developed first and that hair loss was a consequence of competition in the skin between melanin production and hair growth. Darker pigmented skin and lower follicle density are significantly correlated (R2=0.283; p<0.05. Individuals with darker skin had a mean of 4.91 follicles per cm2 whereas those with lighter skin reflectance had 11.20 follicles per cm2. This suggests that increased concentrations of melanin in the basal layer of the epidermis may limit hairiness by negatively influencing the skin's ability to produce hair.

  19. A note on trader Sharpe Ratios.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Coates, John M; Page, Lionel

    2009-11-25

    Traders in the financial world are assessed by the amount of money they make and, increasingly, by the amount of money they make per unit of risk taken, a measure known as the Sharpe Ratio. Little is known about the average Sharpe Ratio among traders, but the Efficient Market Hypothesis suggests that traders, like asset managers, should not outperform the broad market. Here we report the findings of a study conducted in the City of London which shows that a population of experienced traders attain Sharpe Ratios significantly higher than the broad market. To explain this anomaly we examine a surrogate marker of prenatal androgen exposure, the second-to-fourth finger length ratio (2D:4D), which has previously been identified as predicting a trader's long term profitability. We find that it predicts the amount of risk taken by traders but not their Sharpe Ratios. We do, however, find that the traders' Sharpe Ratios increase markedly with the number of years they have traded, a result suggesting that learning plays a role in increasing the returns of traders. Our findings present anomalous data for the Efficient Markets Hypothesis.

  20. A note on trader Sharpe Ratios.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    John M Coates

    Full Text Available Traders in the financial world are assessed by the amount of money they make and, increasingly, by the amount of money they make per unit of risk taken, a measure known as the Sharpe Ratio. Little is known about the average Sharpe Ratio among traders, but the Efficient Market Hypothesis suggests that traders, like asset managers, should not outperform the broad market. Here we report the findings of a study conducted in the City of London which shows that a population of experienced traders attain Sharpe Ratios significantly higher than the broad market. To explain this anomaly we examine a surrogate marker of prenatal androgen exposure, the second-to-fourth finger length ratio (2D:4D, which has previously been identified as predicting a trader's long term profitability. We find that it predicts the amount of risk taken by traders but not their Sharpe Ratios. We do, however, find that the traders' Sharpe Ratios increase markedly with the number of years they have traded, a result suggesting that learning plays a role in increasing the returns of traders. Our findings present anomalous data for the Efficient Markets Hypothesis.

  1. Assessment of sharps waste management practices in a referral ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    hospital (40.8 kg/day) was higher than values reported in district hospitals, but the sharps waste ... Key words: Sharps waste, sharps waste container, overfilled safety box, sharps waste proportion, .... requirements and availability of technology.

  2. Implant-retained skull prosthesis to cover a large defect of the hairy skull resulting from treatment of a basal cell carcinoma: A clinical report.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hoekstra, Jitske; Vissink, Arjan; Raghoebar, Gerry M; Visser, Anita

    2017-05-01

    Skin carcinoma, particularly basal cell carcinoma, and its treatment can result in large defects of the hairy skull. A 53-year-old man is described who was surgically treated for a large basal cell carcinoma invading the skin and underlying tissue at the top of the hairy skull. Treatment consisted of resecting the tumor and external part of the skull bone. To protect the brain and to cover the defect of the hairy skull, an acrylic resin skull prosthesis with hair was designed to mask the defect. The skull prosthesis was retained on 8 extraoral implants placed at the margins of the defect in the skull bone. The patient was satisfied with the treatment outcome. Copyright © 2016 Editorial Council for the Journal of Prosthetic Dentistry. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  3. Analysis of tomato gene promoters activated in syncytia induced in tomato and potato hairy roots by Globodera rostochiensis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wiśniewska, A; Dąbrowska-Bronk, J; Szafrański, K; Fudali, S; Święcicka, M; Czarny, M; Wilkowska, A; Morgiewicz, K; Matusiak, J; Sobczak, M; Filipecki, M

    2013-06-01

    The potato cyst nematode (Globodera rostochiensis) induces feeding sites (syncytia) in tomato and potato roots. In a previous study, 135 tomato genes up-regulated during G. rostochiensis migration and syncytium development were identified. Five genes (CYP97A29, DFR, FLS, NIK and PMEI) were chosen for further study to examine their roles in plant-nematode interactions. The promoters of these genes were isolated and potential cis regulatory elements in their sequences were characterized using bioinformatics tools. Promoter fusions with the β-glucuronidase gene were constructed and introduced into tomato and potato genomes via transformation with Agrobacterium rhizogenes to produce hairy roots. The analysed promoters displayed different activity patterns in nematode-infected and uninfected transgenic hairy roots.

  4. Status report on SHARP coupling framework.

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Caceres, A.; Tautges, T. J.; Lottes, J.; Fischer, P.; Rabiti, C.; Smith, M. A.; Siegel, A.; Yang, W. S.; Palmiotti, G.

    2008-05-30

    This report presents the software engineering effort under way at ANL towards a comprehensive integrated computational framework (SHARP) for high fidelity simulations of sodium cooled fast reactors. The primary objective of this framework is to provide accurate and flexible analysis tools to nuclear reactor designers by simulating multiphysics phenomena happening in complex reactor geometries. Ideally, the coupling among different physics modules (such as neutronics, thermal-hydraulics, and structural mechanics) needs to be tight to preserve the accuracy achieved in each module. However, fast reactor cores in steady state mode represent a special case where weak coupling between neutronics and thermal-hydraulics is usually adequate. Our framework design allows for both options. Another requirement for SHARP framework has been to implement various coupling algorithms that are parallel and scalable to large scale since nuclear reactor core simulations are among the most memory and computationally intensive, requiring the use of leadership-class petascale platforms. This report details our progress toward achieving these goals. Specifically, we demonstrate coupling independently developed parallel codes in a manner that does not compromise performance or portability, while minimizing the impact on individual developers. This year, our focus has been on developing a lightweight and loosely coupled framework targeted at UNIC (our neutronics code) and Nek (our thermal hydraulics code). However, the framework design is not limited to just using these two codes.

  5. Hairy Lovelock black holes and Stueckelberg mechanism for Weyl symmetry

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Chernicoff, Mariano; Giribet, Gaston; Oliva, Julio

    2016-01-01

    Lovelock theory of gravity -and, in particular, Einstein theory- admits black hole solutions that can be equipped with a hair by conformally coupling the theory to a real scalar field. This is a secondary hair, meaning that it does not endow the black hole with new quantum numbers. It rather consists of a non-trivial scalar field profile of fixed intensity which turns out to be regular everywhere outside and on the horizon and, provided the cosmological constant is negative, behaves at large distance in a way compatible with the Anti-de Sitter (AdS) asymptotic. In this paper, we review the main features of these hairy black hole solutions, such as their geometrical and thermodynamical properties. The conformal coupling to matter in dimension D > 4 in principle includes higher-curvature terms. These couplings are obtained from the Lovelock action through the Stueckelberg strategy. As a consequence, the resulting scalar-tensor theory exhibits a self-duality under field redefinition that resembles T-duality. Through this field redefinition, the matter content of the theory transforms into a Lovelock action for a dual geometry. Since the hairy black holes only exist for special relations between the dual Lovelock coupling constants, it is natural to compare those relations with the causality bounds coming from AdS/CFT. We observe that, while the lower causality bound is always obeyed, the upper causality bound is violated. The latter, however, is saturated in the large D limit. (paper)

  6. Hairy Lovelock black holes and Stueckelberg mechanism for Weyl symmetry

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chernicoff, Mariano; Giribet, Gaston; Oliva, Julio

    2016-10-01

    Lovelock theory of gravity -and, in particular, Einstein theory- admits black hole solutions that can be equipped with a hair by conformally coupling the theory to a real scalar field. This is a secondary hair, meaning that it does not endow the black hole with new quantum numbers. It rather consists of a non-trivial scalar field profile of fixed intensity which turns out to be regular everywhere outside and on the horizon and, provided the cosmological constant is negative, behaves at large distance in a way compatible with the Anti-de Sitter (AdS) asymptotic. In this paper, we review the main features of these hairy black hole solutions, such as their geometrical and thermodynamical properties. The conformal coupling to matter in dimension D > 4 in principle includes higher-curvature terms. These couplings are obtained from the Lovelock action through the Stueckelberg strategy. As a consequence, the resulting scalar-tensor theory exhibits a self-duality under field redefinition that resembles T-duality. Through this field redefinition, the matter content of the theory transforms into a Lovelock action for a dual geometry. Since the hairy black holes only exist for special relations between the dual Lovelock coupling constants, it is natural to compare those relations with the causality bounds coming from AdS/CFT. We observe that, while the lower causality bound is always obeyed, the upper causality bound is violated. The latter, however, is saturated in the large D limit.

  7. Sharp Interface Tracking in Rotating Microflows of Solvent Extraction

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Glimm, James; Almeida, Valmor de; Jiao, Xiangmin; Sims, Brett

    2013-01-01

    The objective of this project is to develop a specialized sharp interface tracking simulation capability for predicting interaction of micron-sized drops and bubbles in rotating flows relevant to optimized design of contactor devices used in solvent extraction processes of spent nuclear fuel reprocessing. The primary outcomes of this project include the capability to resolve drops and bubbles micro-hydrodynamics in solvent extraction contactors, determining from first principles continuum fluid mechanics how micro-drops and bubbles interact with each other and the surrounding shearing fluid for realistic flows. In the near term, this effort will play a central role in providing parameters and insight into the flow dynamics of models that average over coarser scales, say at the millimeter unit length. In the longer term, it will prove to be the platform to conduct full-device, detailed simulations as parallel computing power reaches the exaflop level. The team will develop an accurate simulation tool for flows containing interacting droplets and bubbles with sharp interfaces under conditions that mimic those found in realistic contactor operations. The main objective is to create an off-line simulation capability to model drop and bubble interactions in a domain representative of the averaged length scale. The technical approach is to combine robust interface tracking software, subgrid modeling, validation quality experiments, powerful computational hardware, and a team with simulation modeling, physical modeling and technology integration experience. Simulations will then fully resolve the microflow of drops and bubbles at the microsecond time scale. This approach is computationally intensive but very accurate in treating important coupled physical phenomena in the vicinity of interfaces. The method makes it possible to resolve spatial scales smaller than the typical distance between bubbles and to model some non-equilibrium thermodynamic features such as finite

  8. Sharp Interface Tracking in Rotating Microflows of Solvent Extraction

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Glimm, James [Stony Brook Univ., NY (United States); Almeida, Valmor de [Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States); Jiao, Xiangmin [Stony Brook Univ., NY (United States); Sims, Brett [City Univ. (CUNY), NY (United States). Borough of Manhattan Community College; Li, Xaiolin [Stony Brook Univ., NY (United States)

    2013-01-08

    The objective of this project is to develop a specialized sharp interface tracking simulation capability for predicting interaction of micron-sized drops and bubbles in rotating flows relevant to optimized design of contactor devices used in solvent extraction processes of spent nuclear fuel reprocessing. The primary outcomes of this project include the capability to resolve drops and bubbles micro-hydrodynamics in solvent extraction contactors, determining from first principles continuum fluid mechanics how micro-drops and bubbles interact with each other and the surrounding shearing fluid for realistic flows. In the near term, this effort will play a central role in providing parameters and insight into the flow dynamics of models that average over coarser scales, say at the millimeter unit length. In the longer term, it will prove to be the platform to conduct full-device, detailed simulations as parallel computing power reaches the exaflop level. The team will develop an accurate simulation tool for flows containing interacting droplets and bubbles with sharp interfaces under conditions that mimic those found in realistic contactor operations. The main objective is to create an off-line simulation capability to model drop and bubble interactions in a domain representative of the averaged length scale. The technical approach is to combine robust interface tracking software, subgrid modeling, validation quality experiments, powerful computational hardware, and a team with simulation modeling, physical modeling and technology integration experience. Simulations will then fully resolve the microflow of drops and bubbles at the microsecond time scale. This approach is computationally intensive but very accurate in treating important coupled physical phenomena in the vicinity of interfaces. The method makes it possible to resolve spatial scales smaller than the typical distance between bubbles and to model some non-equilibrium thermodynamic features such as finite

  9. Leukemic meningitis in a patient with hairy cell leukemia. A case report

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Wolfe, D.W.; Scopelliti, J.A.; Boselli, B.D.

    1984-01-01

    Central nervous system involvement has not previously been described in patients with hairy cell leukemia (HCL). A patient is reported who presented with meningeal involvement as his initial symptom of HCL. Diagnosis was established by morphologic and cytochemical studies of his cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) and bone marrow. Treatment with whole-brain irradiation and intrathecal chemotherapy was successful in clearing leukemic cells from the CSF with resolution of symptoms

  10. Synergistic effects of polyploidization and elicitation on biomass and hyoscyamine content in hairy roots of Datura stramonium

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Belabbassi, O.

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available Description of the subject. The hyoscyamine, a tropane alkaloid, widely used in medicine, can be produced from Datura sp. (Solanaceae. However, its content in the spontaneous roots remains low; therefore, hairy roots (HRs were envisaged as a potential alternative to improve its biosynthesis. The hairy roots are characterized by a good genetic stability and a rapid growth. Indeed, Datura stramonium HRs have widely been studied in the perspective of improving the yield of hyoscyamine. This study is part of this same perspective. Objectives. This paper aims to study the effects of polyploidization of HRs induced by colchicine in synergy with elicitation (with acetylsalicylic [ASA] or salicylic acids [SA] on the hyoscyamine content in D. stramonium. Method. Colchicine was applied at different concentrations and periods, on a selected hairy root line (LDS of D. stramonium obtained by infection with Agrobactrium rhizogenes strain A4. The selection of tetraploid HR lines was performed by the cytogenetic analysis using light microscopy. The effect of polyploidization and elicitation was studied on the biomass (dry weight and hyoscyamine content of HRs. Results. The untreated HR line (control shows a diploid level with 2n = 24 chromosomes. However, the HR lines treated with colchicine show, in most cases, an endoreduplication of their genetic material. The survival rate of endoreduplicated lines varies between 30% and 93%, depending on concentration and exposure time to colchicine. Moreover, the tetraploid HR line shows an increase in its biomass and hyoscyamine content in comparison to the diploid HR line (LDS. Further, elicitation of HRs by ASA or AS at the 10-4 M concentration causes a low decrease or increase in dry weight, respectively. However, the same treatments show a significant increase in the yield of hyoscyamine in elicited HR lines. Consequently, our work indicates that the combination of polyploidy and elicitation can lead to significant

  11. Effect of light on the kinetics and equilibrium of the textile dye (Reactive Red 120) adsorption by Helianthus annuus hairy roots.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Srikantan, Chitra; Suraishkumar, G K; Srivastava, Smita

    2018-06-01

    The study demonstrates for the first time that light influences the adsorption equilibrium and kinetics of a dye by root culture system. The azo dye (Reactive Red 120) adsorption by the hairy roots of H. annuus followed a pseudo first-order kinetic model and the adsorption equilibrium parameters were best estimated using Langmuir isotherm. The maximum dye adsorption capacity of the roots increased 6-fold, from 0.26 mg g -1 under complete dark conditions to 1.51 mg g -1 under 16/8 h light/dark photoperiod. Similarly, adsorption rate of the dye and removal (%) also increased in the presence of light, irrespective of the initial concentration of the dye (20-110 mg L -1 ). The degradation of the azo dye upon adsorption by the hairy roots of H. annuus was also confirmed. In addition, a strategy for simultaneous dye removal and increased alpha-tocopherol (industrially relevant) production by H. annuus hairy root cultures has been proposed and demonstrated. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  12. Immunological and molecular biological identification of a true case of T-hairy cell leukaemia

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Demeter, J; Pálóczi, K; Földi, J

    1990-01-01

    A hairy cell leukaemia (HCL) patient is presented in whom the peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) carried suppressor T-cell markers (CD3+, CD2+, CD8+/CD4-, CD38+). Analysis of genomic DNA of PBMNC showed the presence of a monoclonal population of T cells, the T-cell receptor (TCR) beta-cha...

  13. Sharp spatially constrained inversion

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Vignoli, Giulio G.; Fiandaca, Gianluca G.; Christiansen, Anders Vest C A.V.C.

    2013-01-01

    We present sharp reconstruction of multi-layer models using a spatially constrained inversion with minimum gradient support regularization. In particular, its application to airborne electromagnetic data is discussed. Airborne surveys produce extremely large datasets, traditionally inverted...... by using smoothly varying 1D models. Smoothness is a result of the regularization constraints applied to address the inversion ill-posedness. The standard Occam-type regularized multi-layer inversion produces results where boundaries between layers are smeared. The sharp regularization overcomes...... inversions are compared against classical smooth results and available boreholes. With the focusing approach, the obtained blocky results agree with the underlying geology and allow for easier interpretation by the end-user....

  14. Sharps injury reduction using a sharps container with enhanced engineering: a 28 hospital nonrandomized intervention and cohort study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Grimmond, Terry; Bylund, Suzann; Anglea, Candace; Beeke, Lou; Callahan, Angela; Christiansen, Erik; Flewelling, Kelly; McIntosh, Kathleen; Richter, Kay; Vitale, Monica

    2010-12-01

    The decrease in reported sharps injuries (SI) in the United States has markedly slowed. Additional devices and strategies need investigation. Sharps containers are associated with SI, and more than 90% of these injuries are related to container design. This study addresses the hypothesis that containers with enhanced engineering can reduce SI. In a before/after intervention study from 2006 to 2008, we examined the impact of conversion to a sharps container with enhanced engineering (the Device) on SI categories in 14 Ascension Health hospitals (study group). The Device's safety features included large horizontal aperture, sensitive counterbalanced door, large atrium, and passive overfill prevention. Study group results were also compared with a control cohort of 14 contemporaneous size-matched, Ascension Health hospitals (control group). The Device was associated with significant reductions in after-procedure (-30%), disposal-related (-57%), and container-associated (-81%) SI in the study group. No significant reductions occurred in container-associated sharps injuries in the control group. Hospitals using the Device had significantly fewer total SI than control hospitals. Enhanced aperture design can significantly reduce container-associated sharps injuries. Other factors contributing to reduced injuries may include 1-hand deposit, safe closure, hand restriction, and preassembly. These results, from a country where sharps safety devices are widespread, are particularly applicable to countries where safety devices are not extensively used. Copyright © 2010 Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology, Inc. Published by Mosby, Inc. All rights reserved.

  15. SHARP pre-release v1.0 - Current Status and Documentation

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Mahadevan, Vijay S. [Argonne National Lab. (ANL), Argonne, IL (United States); Rahaman, Ronald O. [Argonne National Lab. (ANL), Argonne, IL (United States)

    2015-09-30

    The NEAMS Reactor Product Line effort aims to develop an integrated multiphysics simulation capability for the design and analysis of future generations of nuclear power plants. The Reactor Product Line code suite’s multi-resolution hierarchy is being designed to ultimately span the full range of length and time scales present in relevant reactor design and safety analyses, as well as scale from desktop to petaflop computing platforms. In this report, building on a several previous report issued in September 2014, we describe our continued efforts to integrate thermal/hydraulics, neutronics, and structural mechanics modeling codes to perform coupled analysis of a representative fast sodium-cooled reactor core in preparation for a unified release of the toolkit. The work reported in the current document covers the software engineering aspects of managing the entire stack of components in the SHARP toolkit and the continuous integration efforts ongoing to prepare a release candidate for interested reactor analysis users. Here we report on the continued integration effort of PROTEUS/Nek5000 and Diablo into the NEAMS framework and the software processes that enable users to utilize the capabilities without losing scientific productivity. Due to the complexity of the individual modules and their necessary/optional dependency library chain, we focus on the configuration and build aspects for the SHARP toolkit, which includes capability to autodownload dependencies and configure/install with optimal flags in an architecture-aware fashion. Such complexity is untenable without strong software engineering processes such as source management, source control, change reviews, unit tests, integration tests and continuous test suites. Details on these processes are provided in the report as a building step for a SHARP user guide that will accompany the first release, expected by Mar 2016.

  16. Biomass decomposition and nutrient release from black oat and hairy vetch residues deposited in a vineyard

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Paulo Ademar Avelar Ferreira

    2014-10-01

    Full Text Available A significant quantity of nutrients in vineyards may return to the soil each year through decomposition of residues from cover plants. This study aimed to evaluate biomass decomposition and nutrient release from residues of black oats and hairy vetch deposited in the vines rows, with and without plastic shelter, and in the between-row areas throughout the vegetative and productive cycle of the plants. The study was conducted in a commercial vineyard in Bento Gonçalves, RS, Brazil, from October 2008 to February 2009. Black oat (Avena strigosa and hairy vetch (Vicia villosa residues were collected, subjected to chemical (C, N, P, K, Ca, and Mg and biochemical (cellulose - Cel, hemicellulose - Hem, and lignin - Lig content analyses, and placed in litter bags, which were deposited in vines rows without plastic shelter (VPRWS, in vines rows with plastic shelter (VPRS, and in the between-row areas (BR. We collected the residues at 0, 33, 58, 76, and 110 days after deposition of the litter bags, prepared the material, and subjected it to analysis of total N, P, K, Ca, and Mg content. The VPRS contained the largest quantities and percentages of dry matter and residual nutrients (except for Ca in black oat residues from October to February, which coincides with the period from flowering up to grape harvest. This practice led to greater protection of the soil surface, avoiding surface runoff of the solution derived from between the rows, but it retarded nutrient cycling. The rate of biomass decomposition and nutrient release from hairy vetch residues from October to February was not affected by the position of deposition of the residues in the vineyard, which may especially be attributed to the lower values of the C/N and Lig/N ratios. Regardless of the type of residue, black oat or hairy vetch, the greatest decomposition and nutrient release mainly occurred up to 33 days after deposition of the residues on the soil surface, which coincided with the

  17. Eucalyptus hairy roots, a fast, efficient and versatile tool to explore function and expression of genes involved in wood formation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Plasencia, Anna; Soler, Marçal; Dupas, Annabelle; Ladouce, Nathalie; Silva-Martins, Guilherme; Martinez, Yves; Lapierre, Catherine; Franche, Claudine; Truchet, Isabelle; Grima-Pettenati, Jacqueline

    2016-06-01

    Eucalyptus are of tremendous economic importance being the most planted hardwoods worldwide for pulp and paper, timber and bioenergy. The recent release of the Eucalyptus grandis genome sequence pointed out many new candidate genes potentially involved in secondary growth, wood formation or lineage-specific biosynthetic pathways. Their functional characterization is, however, hindered by the tedious, time-consuming and inefficient transformation systems available hitherto for eucalypts. To overcome this limitation, we developed a fast, reliable and efficient protocol to obtain and easily detect co-transformed E. grandis hairy roots using fluorescent markers, with an average efficiency of 62%. We set up conditions both to cultivate excised roots in vitro and to harden composite plants and verified that hairy root morphology and vascular system anatomy were similar to wild-type ones. We further demonstrated that co-transformed hairy roots are suitable for medium-throughput functional studies enabling, for instance, protein subcellular localization, gene expression patterns through RT-qPCR and promoter expression, as well as the modulation of endogenous gene expression. Down-regulation of the Eucalyptus cinnamoyl-CoA reductase1 (EgCCR1) gene, encoding a key enzyme in lignin biosynthesis, led to transgenic roots with reduced lignin levels and thinner cell walls. This gene was used as a proof of concept to demonstrate that the function of genes involved in secondary cell wall biosynthesis and wood formation can be elucidated in transgenic hairy roots using histochemical, transcriptomic and biochemical approaches. The method described here is timely because it will accelerate gene mining of the genome for both basic research and industry purposes. © 2015 Society for Experimental Biology, Association of Applied Biologists and John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  18. Establishment of a transgenic hairy root system in wild and domesticated watermelon (Citrullus lanatus) for studying root vigor under drought.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kajikawa, Masataka; Morikawa, Kaoru; Abe, Yosuke; Yokota, Akiho; Akashi, Kinya

    2010-07-01

    Root vigor is an important trait for the growth of terrestrial plants, especially in water-deficit environments. Although deserts plants are known for their highly developed root architecture, the molecular mechanism responsible for this trait has not been determined. Here we established an efficient protocol for the genetic manipulation of two varieties of watermelon plants: a desert-grown wild watermelon that shows vigorous root growth under drought, and a domesticated cultivar showing retardation of root growth under drought stress. Agrobacterium rhizogenes-mediated transgenic hairy roots were efficiently induced and selected from the hypocotyls of these plants. Transgenic GUS expression was detected in the roots by RT-PCR and histochemical GUS staining. Moreover, a liquid culture system for evaluating their root growth was also established. Interestingly, growth of the hairy roots derived from domesticated variety of watermelon strongly inhibited under high osmotic condition, whereas the hairy roots derived from wild variety of watermelon retained substantial growth rates under the stress condition. The new protocol presented here offers a powerful tool for the comparative study of the molecular mechanism underlying drought-induced root growth in desert plants.

  19. Acoustic streaming of a sharp edge.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ovchinnikov, Mikhail; Zhou, Jianbo; Yalamanchili, Satish

    2014-07-01

    Anomalous acoustic streaming is observed emanating from sharp edges of solid bodies that are vibrating in fluids. The streaming velocities can be orders of magnitude higher than expected from the Rayleigh streaming at similar amplitudes of vibration. Acoustic velocity of fluid relative to a solid body diverges at a sharp edge, giving rise to a localized time-independent body force acting on the fluid. This force results in a formation of a localized jet. Two-dimensional numerical simulations are performed to predict acoustic streaming for low amplitude vibration using two methods: (1) Steady-state solution utilizing perturbation theory and (2) direct transient solution of the Navier-Stokes equations. Both analyses agree with each other and correctly predict the streaming of a sharp-edged vibrating blade measured experimentally. The origin of the streaming can be attributed to the centrifugal force of the acoustic fluid flow around a sharp edge. The dependence of this acoustic streaming on frequency and velocity is examined using dimensional analysis. The dependence law is devised and confirmed by numerical simulations.

  20. 77 FR 56647 - Lisa Jean Sharp: Debarment Order

    Science.gov (United States)

    2012-09-13

    ... Act (the FD&C Act) permanently debarring Lisa Jean Sharp from providing services in any capacity to a...&C Act. Ms. Sharp was given notice of the proposed permanent debarment and an opportunity to request... drug product under the FD&C Act. The factual basis for this conviction is as follows: Ms. Sharp was the...

  1. Assessment of Sharp Injuries among Cameroonian Dental ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    2010-07-10

    Jul 10, 2010 ... prophylaxis practice and methods of sharps disposal. Results ... training on guidelines adherence, safe recapping and disposal systems. Abstract ... of sharps in oral healthcare delivery and restricted nar- row field of surgery ...

  2. Metabolism of oxybenzone in a hairy root culture: Perspectives for phytoremediation of a widely used sunscreen agent.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chen, Feiran; Huber, Christian; May, Robert; Schröder, Peter

    2016-04-05

    Oxybenzone (OBZ), known as Benzophenone-3, is a commonly used UV filter in sun tans and skin protectants, entering aquatic systems either directly during recreational activities or indirectly through wastewater treatment plants discharge. To study the potential degradation capacity of plants for OBZ in phytotreatment, a well-established hairy root culture (Armoracia rusticana) was treated with OBZ. More than 20% of spiked OBZ (100μM) was eliminated from the medium by hairy roots after 3h of exposure. Two metabolites were identified as oxybenzone-glucoside (OBZ-Glu) and oxybenzone-(6-O-malonyl)-glucoside (OBZ-Mal-Glu) by LC-MS/MS and TOF-MS. Formation of these metabolites was confirmed by enzymatic synthesis, as well as enzymatic and alkaline hydrolysis. Incubation with O-glucosyltransferase (O-GT) extracted from roots formed OBZ-Glu; whereas β-d-Glucosidase hydrolyzed OBZ-Glu. However, alkaline hydrolysis led to cleavage of OBZ-Mal-Glu and yielded OBZ-Glu. In the hairy root culture, an excretion of OBZ-Glu into the growth medium was observed while the corresponding OBZ-Mal-Glu remained stored in root cells over the incubation time. We propose that metabolism of oxybenzone in plants involves initial conjugation with glucose to form OBZ-Glu followed by malonylation to yield OBZ-Mal-Glu. To our best knowledge this first finding presenting the potential of plants to degrade benzophenone type UV filters by phytoremediation. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  3. Electro-Optical Parameters Of Hairy Rod Polymer/Dimethylformamide System

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Spasevska, Hristina

    2003-01-01

    Rigid rod polymers are materials with special features, that is the reason why they have large scientific and technological applications like isotropic-nematic and other types of transition. One of the biggest problems that happen while investigation to these polymers, at molecular level, is their poor solubility in most of the common solvents. Solubility gets better if while synthesize junctions flexible side chains, [1]. Remaining polymers belong on one new class - hairy rod polymers and have big potential for their technological applications. Because of their nonlinear optical properties and opportunity for self-organization in super molecular structures (films and fibers), can be used in electronics and telecommunications industry either at display-technologies [2]. That is the main reason why controlling the remaining polymer features and connection of their microscopic and macroscopic characteristics, like an complete characterization (in solutions and solid state) is from essential scientific interest, actually it is an imperative. The polymer POD-2/that is subject of investigation, bellows to hairy rod polymers and it is synthesized for the first time [3] by giving a support to their characterization. Measures on diluted solutions from the system POD-2/dimethylformamide are made by the method electric birefringence, at three temperatures (25, 40 and 55 o C). For different concentrations on system, from obtained electro-optical signals (EOS), dependence on electric birefringence (Δn) against applied electric field (E 2 ), is determined. By investigation of electro-optical effects, especially studding the way of their maintenance and losing, while applying electric square impulses, relaxation time τ o of polymer molecules is calculated. From these parameters, as presented data for EOS rise and decay too, deformational electro-optical effect has been determined. (Author)

  4. Variational reconstruction using subdivision surfaces with continuous sharpness control

    Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

    Xiaoqun Wu; Jianmin Zheng; Yiyu Cai; Haisheng Li

    2017-01-01

    We present a variational method for subdivision surface reconstruction from a noisy dense mesh.A new set of subdivision rules with continuous sharpness control is introduced into Loop subdivision for better modeling subdivision surface features such as semi-sharp creases,creases,and corners.The key idea is to assign a sharpness value to each edge of the control mesh to continuously control the surface features.Based on the new subdivision rules,a variational model with L1 norm is formulated to find the control mesh and the corresponding sharpness values of the subdivision surface that best fits the input mesh.An iterative solver based on the augmented Lagrangian method and particle swarm optimization is used to solve the resulting non-linear,non-differentiable optimization problem.Our experimental results show that our method can handle meshes well with sharp/semi-sharp features and noise.

  5. The Sharp Lepton Quandary: Reasonable cautions

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Griffin, J.J.

    1996-02-01

    Surprisingly, the new APEX experiment designed to measure a definitive invariant mass distribution of the sharp pairs previously reported in similar heavy ion studies reports null results. Although it asserts no direct conflict with any data reported by EPOS/I, the APEX report nevertheless seems to have encouraged the view that the earlier (EPOS/I) observations were erroneous, and by extrapolation, that the whole (e + e - ) Puzzle data set can be dismissed as an unfortunate set of physically meaningless statistical fluctuations. We wish here to argue that such sweeping judgments should be postponed, on the grounds that (1) the published APEX analysis of their data is self-inconsistent, and can therefore sustain no valid inference about the EPOS/I data; (2) the data which supports the occurrence of sharp (e + e - ) pairs is much more extensive than the EPOS/I data, so that the APEX surprise must be considered as one episode in a much longer struggle finally to settle the question of whether these weak signals are significant or not; (3) a qualitative phenomenology exists which can organize the whole range of data of the Sharp Lepton Problem, and which suggests that (4) certain low energy (and low cost) experiments ought to be explored for their creation of sharp pairs; as follows: the study of pairs emitted following scattering of few MeV electron and positron beams from neutral U and Th atoms, and the study of pairs emitted following the resonant absorption of photons of 1.5 to 2.0 MeV on U and Th atoms. We first present a brief data-oriented history of the Sharp Lepton Problem, to show that no single unexpected null result can provide an adequate basis for rejecting the great range and quantity of data which evidences the occurrence of sharp pairs. We then consider the Quadronium Composite Particle Scenario for these processes, and its Quantum Electrodynamical implications, in support of the above recommendations

  6. Spacecraft Health Automated Reasoning Prototype (SHARP): The fiscal year 1989 SHARP portability evaluations task for NASA Solar System Exploration Division's Voyager project

    Science.gov (United States)

    Atkinson, David J.; Doyle, Richard J.; James, Mark L.; Kaufman, Tim; Martin, R. Gaius

    1990-01-01

    A Spacecraft Health Automated Reasoning Prototype (SHARP) portability study is presented. Some specific progress is described on the portability studies, plans for technology transfer, and potential applications of SHARP and related artificial intelligence technology to telescience operations. The application of SHARP to Voyager telecommunications was a proof-of-capability demonstration of artificial intelligence as applied to the problem of real time monitoring functions in planetary mission operations. An overview of the design and functional description of the SHARP system is also presented as it was applied to Voyager.

  7. Hairy black hole stability in AdS, quantum mechanics on the half-line and holography

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Anabalón, Andrés; Astefanesei, Dumitru; Oliva, Julio

    2015-01-01

    We consider the linear stability of 4-dimensional hairy black holes with mixed boundary conditions in Anti-de Sitter spacetime. We focus on the mass of scalar fields around the maximally supersymmetric vacuum of the gauged N=8 supergravity in four dimensions, m"2=−2l"−"2. It is shown that the Schrödinger operator on the half-line, governing the S"2, H"2 or ℝ"2 invariant mode around the hairy black hole, allows for non-trivial self-adjoint extensions and each of them corresponds to a class of mixed boundary conditions in the gravitational theory. Discarding the self-adjoint extensions with a negative mode impose a restriction on these boundary conditions. The restriction is given in terms of an integral of the potential in the Schrödinger operator resembling the estimate of Simon for Schrödinger operators on the real line. In the context of AdS/CFT duality, our result has a natural interpretation in terms of the field theory dual effective potential.

  8. Hairy black hole stability in AdS, quantum mechanics on the half-line and holography

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Anabalón, Andrés [Departamento de Ciencias, Facultad de Artes Liberales yFacultad de Ingeniería y Ciencias, Universidad Adolfo Ibáñez,Av. Padre Hurtado 750, Viña del Mar (Chile); Astefanesei, Dumitru [Instituto de Física, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Valparaíso,Casilla 4059, Valparaíso (Chile); Oliva, Julio [Departamento de Física, Universidad de Concepción,Casilla 160-C, Concepción (Chile)

    2015-10-09

    We consider the linear stability of 4-dimensional hairy black holes with mixed boundary conditions in Anti-de Sitter spacetime. We focus on the mass of scalar fields around the maximally supersymmetric vacuum of the gauged N=8 supergravity in four dimensions, m{sup 2}=−2l{sup −2}. It is shown that the Schrödinger operator on the half-line, governing the S{sup 2}, H{sup 2} or ℝ{sup 2} invariant mode around the hairy black hole, allows for non-trivial self-adjoint extensions and each of them corresponds to a class of mixed boundary conditions in the gravitational theory. Discarding the self-adjoint extensions with a negative mode impose a restriction on these boundary conditions. The restriction is given in terms of an integral of the potential in the Schrödinger operator resembling the estimate of Simon for Schrödinger operators on the real line. In the context of AdS/CFT duality, our result has a natural interpretation in terms of the field theory dual effective potential.

  9. Hairy black holes in a box

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Basu, Pallab [International Center for Theoretical Sciences,IISc Campus, Bangalore 560012 (India); Krishnan, Chethan; Subramanian, P.N. Bala [Center for High Energy Physics, Indian Institute of Science,Bangalore 560012 (India)

    2016-11-08

    We do a systematic study of the phases of gravity coupled to an electromagnetic field and charged scalar in flat space, with box boundary conditions. The scalar-less box has previously been investigated by Braden, Brown, Whiting and York (and others) before AdS/CFT and we elaborate and extend their results in a language more familiar from holography. The phase diagram of the system is analogous to that of AdS black holes, but we emphasize the differences and explain their origin. Once the scalar is added, we show that the system admits both boson stars as well as hairy black holes as solutions, providing yet another way to evade flat space no-hair theorems. Furthermore both these solutions can exist as stable phases in regions of the phase diagram. The final picture of the phases that emerges is strikingly similar to that found recently for holographic superconductors in global AdS, http://arxiv.org/abs/1602.07211. Our construction lays bare certain previously unnoticed subtleties associated to the definition quasi-local charges for gravitating scalar fields in finite regions.

  10. BRAF mutation in hairy cell leukemia

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ahmad Ahmadzadeh

    2014-09-01

    Full Text Available BRAF is a serine/threonine kinase with a regulatory role in the mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK signaling pathway. A mutation in the RAF gene, especially in BRAF protein, leads to an increased stimulation of this cascade, causing uncontrolled cell division and development of malignancy. Several mutations have been observed in the gene coding for this protein in a variety of human malignancies, including hairy cell leukemia (HCL. BRAF V600E is the most common mutation reported in exon15 of BRAF, which is observed in almost all cases of classic HCL, but it is negative in other B-cell malignancies, including the HCL variant. Therefore it can be used as a marker to differentiate between these B-cell disorders. We also discuss the interaction between miRNAs and signaling pathways, including MAPK, in HCL. When this mutation is present, the use of BRAF protein inhibitors may represent an effective treatment. In this review we have evaluated the role of the mutation of the BRAF gene in the pathogenesis and progression of HCL.

  11. Hairy black holes in a box

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Basu, Pallab; Krishnan, Chethan; Subramanian, P.N. Bala

    2016-01-01

    We do a systematic study of the phases of gravity coupled to an electromagnetic field and charged scalar in flat space, with box boundary conditions. The scalar-less box has previously been investigated by Braden, Brown, Whiting and York (and others) before AdS/CFT and we elaborate and extend their results in a language more familiar from holography. The phase diagram of the system is analogous to that of AdS black holes, but we emphasize the differences and explain their origin. Once the scalar is added, we show that the system admits both boson stars as well as hairy black holes as solutions, providing yet another way to evade flat space no-hair theorems. Furthermore both these solutions can exist as stable phases in regions of the phase diagram. The final picture of the phases that emerges is strikingly similar to that found recently for holographic superconductors in global AdS, http://arxiv.org/abs/1602.07211. Our construction lays bare certain previously unnoticed subtleties associated to the definition quasi-local charges for gravitating scalar fields in finite regions.

  12. Antimalarial Evaluation of the Chemical Constituents of Hairy Root Culture of Bixa orellana L.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Bo Zhai

    2014-01-01

    Full Text Available Over 216 million malaria cases are reported annually worldwide and about a third of these cases, primarily children under the age of five years old, will not survive the infection. Despite this significant world health impact, only a limited number of therapeutic agents are currently available. The lack of scaffold diversity poses a threat in the event that multi-drug–resistant strains emerge. Terrestrial natural products have provided a major source of chemical diversity for starting materials in many FDA approved drugs over the past century. Bixa orellana L. is a popular plant used in South America for the treatment of malaria. In search of new potential therapeutic agents, the chemical constituents of a selected hairy root culture line of Bixa orellana L. were characterized utilizing NMR and mass spectrometry methods, followed by its biological evaluation against malaria strains 3D7 and K1. The crude extract and its isolated compounds demonstrated EC50 values in the micromolar range. Herein, we report our findings on the chemical constituents of Bixa orellana L. from hairy roots responsible for the observed antimalarial activity.

  13. New alkaloids of the sarpagine group from Rauvolfia serpentina hairy root culture.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sheludko, Yuri; Gerasimenko, Irina; Kolshorn, Heinz; Stöckigt, Joachim

    2002-07-01

    Three new monoterpenoid indole alkaloids, 19(S),20(R)-dihydroperaksine (1), 19(S),20(R)-dihydroperaksine-17-al (2), and 10-hydroxy-19(S),20(R)-dihydroperaksine (3), along with 16 known alkaloids 4-19 were isolated from hairy root culture of Rauvolfia serpentina, and their structures were elucidated by 1D and 2D NMR analyses. Taking into account the stereochemistry of the new alkaloids and results of preliminary enzymatical studies, the putative biosynthetical relationships between the novel alkaloids are discussed.

  14. Search for microorganisms which can disrupt communication between plant pathogenic bacteria causing hairy roots disease in greenhouse vegetables

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Streminska, M.A.; Stijger, I.

    2016-01-01

    Hairy roots disease is an important problem in cultivation of greenhouse vegetables (tomato, aubergine and cucumber). Infection is caused by rhizogenic bacteria from Agrobacterium/Rhizobium group. It has been shown that infection process is regulated by environmental factors and quorum sensing

  15. An alternative window upon the GSI sharp lepton problem

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Griffin, J.J.

    1997-10-01

    Two major heavy ion studies of the GSI ''(e + e - )-Puzzle'' have ended in stalemate: APEX reports no evidence, but its data show a peak near 800 keV. EPOS/II cannot reproduce its own results,and leans towards random fluctuations as the explanation of sharp pair lines. (But one EPOS/II report shows evidence for a peak at an EPOS/I line energy, 610 keV, and under selection conditions the same as EPOSII's.) It is clear that these latest heavy ion studies, designed to settle once and for all the question of sharp pairs, have failed to fulfill that goal. Attention must now turn towards the sharp electron lines reported by Sakai et al. and others in collisions of few MeV beta decay positrons on U and Th atoms. In the Q 0 Scenario of the Sharp Lepton Problem these arise from the same source as the GSI pairs. Verification of Sakai's 100 mb cross section for such sharp electrons in collisions of few MeV electrons (or positrons) upon U or Th atoms would confirm this new experimental window upon the Sharp Lepton Problem. These relatively simple experiments, which are both inexpensive and reproducible (as their heavy ion counterparts are not), promise a less ponderous pace for the study of these questions. On the other hand, they require a challenging combination of proficiencies to measure a nuclear sized cross section in an atomic physics environment. The authors review briefly the diverse history (and especially the most recent developments) of the Sharp Lepton Problem, and outline how the Quadronium Scenario provides it with a unifying conceptual framework. That discussion points clearly towards the experimental study of sharp leptons and sharp pairs from few MeV (lepton+ATOM) and (photon+ATOM) processes as the appropriate next step towards either verifying the earlier results or precluding them

  16. Biomass and nitrogen accumulation of hairy vetch-cereal rye cover crop mixtures as influenced by species proportions

    Science.gov (United States)

    The performance and suitability of a legume-grass cover crop mixture for specific functions may be influenced by the proportions of each species in the mixture. The objectives of this study were to: 1) evaluate aboveground biomass and species biomass proportions at different hairy vetch (Vicia villo...

  17. Thermodynamics of hairy black holes in Lovelock gravity

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hennigar, Robie A.; Tjoa, Erickson; Mann, Robert B.

    2017-02-01

    We perform a thorough study of the thermodynamic properties of a class of Lovelock black holes with conformal scalar hair arising from coupling of a real scalar field to the dimensionally extended Euler densities. We study the linearized equations of motion of the theory and describe constraints under which the theory is free from ghosts/tachyons. We then consider, within the context of black hole chemistry, the thermodynamics of the hairy black holes in the Gauss-Bonnet and cubic Lovelock theories. We clarify the connection between isolated critical points and thermodynamic singularities, finding a one parameter family of these critical points which occur for well-defined thermodynamic parameters. We also report on a number of novel results, including `virtual triple points' and the first example of a `λ-line' — a line of second order phase transitions — in black hole thermodynamics.

  18. Sharp Gronwall-Bellman type integral inequalities with delay

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    István Győri

    2016-11-01

    Full Text Available Various attempts have been made to give an upper bound for the solutions of the delayed version of the Gronwall-Bellman integral inequality, but the obtained estimations are not sharp. In this paper a new approach is presented to get sharp estimations for the nonnegative solutions of the considered delayed inequalities. The results are based on the idea of the generalized characteristic inequality. Our method gives sharp estimation, and therefore the results are more exact than the earlier ones.

  19. Sharp and the Jules Verne Launcher

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hunter, John; Cartland, Harry

    1996-03-01

    Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) has built the worlds largest hydrogen gas gun called SHARP, (Super High Altitude Research Project). Originally designed to launch 5 kg to a 450 km altitude, SHARP is configured horizontally at Site 300 in Tracy, California. SHARP is successfully delivering 5 kg scramjets at Mach 9 in aerophysics tests. Some of the results of the scramjet tests are enlightening and are presented insofar as they are relevant to future launches into space. Using a light gas gun to launch payloads into orbit has been analyzed. We look at LEO (Low Earth Orbit), GEO (Geosynchronous Earth Orbit), and LO (Lunar Orbit). We present a conceptual design for a large light gas gun called the Jules Verne Launcher (JVL). The JVL can deliver 3.3 metric tons to a 500 km low earth orbit. We anticipate one launch per day. We present the history of light gas guns, the SHARP design and performance, and the JVL design. Another section is devoted to the vehicle environment and resultant design. Lastly, we present a cost analysis. Our results indicated that the JVL will be able to deliver 1000 metric tons of payload to LEO yearly. The cost will be 5% of the best US rocket delivery cost. This technology will enable the next phase of man's exploration of space.

  20. Hairy foam" : carbon nanofibers grown on solid foam. A fully accessible, high surface area, graphitic catalyst support

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Wenmakers, P.W.A.M.; Schaaf, van der J.; Kuster, B.F.M.; Schouten, J.C.

    2008-01-01

    This paper describes the synthesis of carbon nanofibers (CNFs) on solid carbon foam ("Hairy Foam") by catalytic decompn. of ethylene. The effect of nickel loading on fiber diam. and morphol., CNF coverage, and fiber layer thickness is studied using SEM and N2/Kr-physisorption. The surface area

  1. Congenital hairy polyp of the oropharynx presenting as an esophageal mass in a neonate, a case report and literature review.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Richter, Amy; Mysore, Krupa; Schady, Deb; Chandy, Binoy

    2016-01-01

    To review the literature of congenital hairy polyps and describe the clinical presentation, operative management, and histologic findings of a congenital hairy polyp arising from the palatopharyngeus muscle in a neonate with recurrent choking episodes. Chart review of a 2-month-old male referred to a tertiary care pediatric hospital. We present a case of a 2-month-old male who presented to the emergency room with recurrent episodes of choking and vomiting. The patient was previously healthy with no prior medical or neonatal history. The parents noted a small fleshy mass in the patient's oropharynx that he would chew on and swallow after several minutes. However, on physical exam, there was no evidence of oropharyngeal mass. The patient did not have respiratory distress. Imaging revealed a 22×7×11mm oblong, fatty mass in the lower cervical and upper thoracic esophagus with a thin stalk extending proximally to the upper collapsed esophagus. Intraoperative recorded laryngoscopy revealed a pedunculated soft palate mass attached to the right superior palatopharyngeus muscle. Histopathology revealed ectodermal and mesodermal elements in a polypoid structure lined by keratinizing squamous epithelium with adnexal structures and central mature adipose tissue, consistent with congenital hairy polyp resembling an accessory tragus of the ear and branchial anomaly. At 6-week follow up, the patient was doing well and gaining weight appropriately with no further choking episodes. There was no evidence of velopharyngeal dysfunction on follow up exam. The surgical site was completely healed and there was no evidence of recurrence. Congenital hairy polyps of the naso- and oropharynx are rare but may present as airway or esophageal masses, causing respiratory distress or choking episodes in a pediatric patient. The pathologic findings of keratinizing squamous epithelium, adnexal structures, adipose and cartilage tissues resemble congenital accessory tragus and may be considered a

  2. Thermodynamics of hairy black holes in Lovelock gravity

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Hennigar, Robie A. [Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Waterloo, Waterloo, Ontario, Canada, N2L 3G1 (Canada); Tjoa, Erickson [Division of Physics and Applied Physics, School of Physical and Mathematical Sciences,Nanyang Technological University, Singapore, 637371 (Singapore); Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Waterloo, Waterloo, Ontario, Canada, N2L 3G1 (Canada); Mann, Robert B. [Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Waterloo, Waterloo, Ontario, Canada, N2L 3G1 (Canada)

    2017-02-14

    We perform a thorough study of the thermodynamic properties of a class of Lovelock black holes with conformal scalar hair arising from coupling of a real scalar field to the dimensionally extended Euler densities. We study the linearized equations of motion of the theory and describe constraints under which the theory is free from ghosts/tachyons. We then consider, within the context of black hole chemistry, the thermodynamics of the hairy black holes in the Gauss-Bonnet and cubic Lovelock theories. We clarify the connection between isolated critical points and thermodynamic singularities, finding a one parameter family of these critical points which occur for well-defined thermodynamic parameters. We also report on a number of novel results, including ‘virtual triple points’ and the first example of a ‘λ-line’ — a line of second order phase transitions — in black hole thermodynamics.

  3. NASA-Ames Summer High School Apprenticeship Research Program (SHARP)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Powell, P.

    1983-01-01

    The function of SHARP is to recognize high school juniors who have demonstrated unusually high promise for sucess in mathemtics and science. Twenty academically talented students who will be seniors in high school in September were chosen to participate in SHARP 83. Mentors were selected to provide students with first-hand experiences in a research and development environment in order that each student might try out his or her tentative professional career choice. Some special features of SHARP included field trips to private industries doing similar and related research, special lectures on topics of research here at ARC, individual and group counseling sessions, written research papers and oral reports, and primarily the opportunity to be exposed to the present frontiers in space exploration and research. The long-range goal of SHARP is to contribute to the future recruitment of needed scientists and engineers. This final report is summary of all the phases of the planning and implemenation of the 1983 Summer High School Apprenticeship Research Program (SHARP).

  4. Heterogeneous sharpness for cross-spectral face recognition

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cao, Zhicheng; Schmid, Natalia A.

    2017-05-01

    Matching images acquired in different electromagnetic bands remains a challenging problem. An example of this type of comparison is matching active or passive infrared (IR) against a gallery of visible face images, known as cross-spectral face recognition. Among many unsolved issues is the one of quality disparity of the heterogeneous images. Images acquired in different spectral bands are of unequal image quality due to distinct imaging mechanism, standoff distances, or imaging environment, etc. To reduce the effect of quality disparity on the recognition performance, one can manipulate images to either improve the quality of poor-quality images or to degrade the high-quality images to the level of the quality of their heterogeneous counterparts. To estimate the level of discrepancy in quality of two heterogeneous images a quality metric such as image sharpness is needed. It provides a guidance in how much quality improvement or degradation is appropriate. In this work we consider sharpness as a relative measure of heterogeneous image quality. We propose a generalized definition of sharpness by first achieving image quality parity and then finding and building a relationship between the image quality of two heterogeneous images. Therefore, the new sharpness metric is named heterogeneous sharpness. Image quality parity is achieved by experimentally finding the optimal cross-spectral face recognition performance where quality of the heterogeneous images is varied using a Gaussian smoothing function with different standard deviation. This relationship is established using two models; one of them involves a regression model and the other involves a neural network. To train, test and validate the model, we use composite operators developed in our lab to extract features from heterogeneous face images and use the sharpness metric to evaluate the face image quality within each band. Images from three different spectral bands visible light, near infrared, and short

  5. The sharp edge: a frequent radiographic sign in neonatal pneumothorax

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Oestreich, A.E.

    1987-01-01

    The sharp edge sign, an unusually sharply defined silhouette of the heart and/or hemidiaphragm on frontal radiographs of the supine neonate, has been valuable in the initial recognition of pneumothorax. In a prospective study of 50 neonatal pneumothoraces, a sharp edge sign was present on the initial pneumothorax film 49 times. In seven of these, only the hemidiaphragm showed a sharp edge, while the heart margin was superimposed on the vertebral column. Greater awareness of the sharp edge sign would promote earlier recognition of neonatal pneumothorax. 6 refs.; 3 figs

  6. Sharp tipped plastic hollow microneedle array by microinjection moulding

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yung, K. L.; Xu, Yan; Kang, Chunlei; Liu, H.; Tam, K. F.; Ko, S. M.; Kwan, F. Y.; Lee, Thomas M. H.

    2012-01-01

    A method of producing sharp tipped plastic hollow microneedle arrays using microinjection moulding is presented in this paper. Unlike traditional approaches, three mould inserts were used to create the sharp tips of the microneedles. Mould inserts with low surface roughness were fabricated using a picosecond laser machine. Sharp tipped plastic hollow microneedles 500 µm in height were fabricated using a microinjection moulding machine developed by the authors’ group. In addition, the strength of the microneedle was studied by simulation and penetration experiments. Results show that the microneedles can penetrate into skin, delivering liquid successfully without any breakage or severe deformation. Techniques presented in this paper can be used to fabricate sharp tipped plastic hollow microneedle arrays massively with low cost.

  7. Sharp tipped plastic hollow microneedle array by microinjection moulding

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Yung, K L; Xu, Yan; Kang, Chunlei; Liu, H; Tam, K F; Ko, S M; Kwan, F Y; Lee, Thomas M H

    2012-01-01

    A method of producing sharp tipped plastic hollow microneedle arrays using microinjection moulding is presented in this paper. Unlike traditional approaches, three mould inserts were used to create the sharp tips of the microneedles. Mould inserts with low surface roughness were fabricated using a picosecond laser machine. Sharp tipped plastic hollow microneedles 500 µm in height were fabricated using a microinjection moulding machine developed by the authors’ group. In addition, the strength of the microneedle was studied by simulation and penetration experiments. Results show that the microneedles can penetrate into skin, delivering liquid successfully without any breakage or severe deformation. Techniques presented in this paper can be used to fabricate sharp tipped plastic hollow microneedle arrays massively with low cost. (paper)

  8. Soil microbial activity and hairy beggarticks’ germination after application of crude glycerin

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Matheus Ramos Caixeta

    Full Text Available ABSTRACT Biodiesel stands out as an alternative for petroleum-based products, but its production generates a large amount of by-products. This study was carried out at the Instituto Federal de Educação, Ciência e Tecnologia do Sul de Minas Gerais, Campus Machado, with the objective of evaluating the impacts of the disposal of crude glycerin on agricultural soil and its microbial activity as well as in plant development. An experiment with a completely randomized design, five treatments, and five replicates was developed in the laboratory to analyze microbial activity. Soil samples of 100 g were incubated for 36 days with concentrations of crude glycerin, namely: 0; 48.7; 146.1; 292.2 L ha-1. Besides these four treatments, flasks without soil and glycerin have composed one more treatment. During this period, the CO2 volume released in each sample was evaluated 11 times. Another experiment was developed in the laboratory with hairy beggarticks’ achenes to evaluate crude glycerin effects on plant development. A randomized complete block design was used in a 4x2 factorial scheme, with five replicates, the same glycerin concentrations, and two glycerin sources (laboratory and biodiesel plant-unit. Crude glycerin stimulated soil microbial activity for doses of up to 143.83 L ha-1, being a positive indicative for future studies on its application to agricultural soils. Glycerin applications reduced the hairy beggarticks’ root protrusion, even at the lowest doses. Residues have Na+ contents that limit their application in agricultural soils.

  9. Dosimetric Properties of Plasma Density Effects on Laser-Accelerated VHEE Beams Using a Sharp Density-Transition Scheme

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Yoo, Seung Hoon; Cho, Sungho; Kim, Eun Ho; Park, Jeong Hoon; Jung, Won-Gyun; Kim, Geun Beom; Kim, Kum Bae [Korea Institute of Radiological and Medical Sciences, Seoul (Korea, Republic of); Min, Byung Jun [Sungkyunkwan University School of Medicine, Seoul (Korea, Republic of); Kim, Jaehoon [Korea Electrotechnology Research Institute, Ansan (Korea, Republic of); Jeong, Hojin [Gyeongsang National University Hospital, Jinju (Korea, Republic of); Lee, Kitae [Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute, Deajeon (Korea, Republic of); Park, Sung Yong [Karmanos Cancer Institute, Michigan (United States)

    2017-01-15

    In this paper, the effects of the plasma density on laser-accelerated electron beams for radiation therapy with a sharp density transition are investigated. In the sharp density-transition scheme for electron injection, the crucial issue is finding the optimum density conditions under which electrons injected only during the first period of the laser wake wave are accelerated further. In this paper, we report particle-in-cell simulation results for the effects of both the scale length and the density transition ratio on the generation of a quasi-mono-energetic electron bunch. The effects of both the transverse parabolic channel and the plasma length on the electron-beam's quality are investigated. Also, we show the experimental results for the feasibility of a sharp density-transition structure. The dosimetric properties of these very high-energy electron beams are calculated using Monte Carlo simulations.

  10. Novel therapeutic options for relapsed hairy cell leukemia.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jain, Preetesh; Polliack, Aaron; Ravandi, Farhad

    2015-01-01

    The majority of patients with hairy cell leukemia (HCL) achieve a response to therapy with cladribine or pentostatin with or without rituximab. However, late relapses can occur. Treatment of relapsed HCL can be difficult due to a poor tolerance to chemotherapy, increased risk of infections and decreased responsiveness to chemotherapy. The identification of BRAFV600E mutations and the role of aberrant MEK kinase and Bruton's tyrosine kinase (BTK) pathways in the pathogenesis of HCL have helped to develop novel targeted therapies for these patients. Currently, the most promising therapeutic strategies for relapsed or refractory HCL include recombinant immunoconjugates targeting CD22 (e.g. moxetumomab pasudotox), BRAF inhibitors such as vemurafenib and B cell receptor signaling kinase inhibitors such as ibrutinib. Furthermore, the VH4-34 molecular variant of classic HCL has been identified to be less responsive to chemotherapy. Herein, we review the results of the ongoing clinical trials and potential future therapies for relapsed/refractory HCL.

  11. Sharp Efficiency for Vector Equilibrium Problems on Banach Spaces

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Si-Huan Li

    2013-01-01

    Full Text Available The concept of sharp efficient solution for vector equilibrium problems on Banach spaces is proposed. Moreover, the Fermat rules for local efficient solutions of vector equilibrium problems are extended to the sharp efficient solutions by means of the Clarke generalized differentiation and the normal cone. As applications, some necessary optimality conditions and sufficient optimality conditions for local sharp efficient solutions of a vector optimization problem with an abstract constraint and a vector variational inequality are obtained, respectively.

  12. Fabrication of novel AFM probe with high-aspect-ratio ultra-sharp three-face silicon nitride tips

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Vermeer, Rolf; Berenschot, Johan W.; Sarajlic, Edin; Tas, Niels Roelof; Jansen, Henricus V.

    In this paper we present the wafer-scale fabrication of molded AFM probes with high aspect ratio ultra-sharp three-plane silicon nitride tips. Using $\\langle$111$\\rangle$ silicon wafers a dedicated process is developed to fabricate molds in the silicon wafer that have a flat triangular bottom

  13. Sharp foreign body ingestion by a young girl

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Riyadh Mohamad Hasan

    2017-06-09

    Jun 9, 2017 ... Sharp foreign body ingestion by a young girl. Riyadh Mohamad Hasan. University of Baghdad ... ray imaging and retrieved with the aid of C-arm fluoroscope at a laparotomy. Her postoperative period ... In our patient the foreign bodies were long sharp ones (sewing needles). Foreign body ingestion can be ...

  14. The Essential Oils of Rhaponticum carthamoides Hairy Roots and Roots of Soil-Grown Plants: Chemical Composition and Antimicrobial, Anti-Inflammatory, and Antioxidant Activities

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rijo, Patrícia; Garcia, Catarina; Kalemba, Danuta; Toma, Monika; Szemraj, Janusz; Pytel, Dariusz; Śliwiński, Tomasz

    2016-01-01

    The essential oils were isolated by hydrodistillation from the hairy roots (HR) and roots of soil-grown plants (SGR) of Rhaponticum carthamoides and were analyzed by GC-MS method. In the both essential oils 62 compounds were identified. The root essential oils showed the differences in the qualitative and quantitative composition. The sesquiterpene hydrocarbons (55–62%) dominated in both essential oils. The major compounds of HR essential oil were cyperene, 13-norcypera-1(5),11(12)-diene, and cadalene while aplotaxene, nardosina-1(10),11-diene, and dauca-4(11),8-diene dominated in SGR essential oil. Both essential oils showed antibacterial activity especially against Enterococcus faecalis (ATCC 29212) and Pseudomonas aeruginosa (ATCC 27853) (MIC value = 125 µg/mL). HR and SGR essential oils also decreased the expression of IL-1β, IL-6, and TNF-α and the ROS level in LPS-treatment astrocytes. This is the first report to describe the chemical composition of R. carthamoides essential oil from hairy roots, its protective effect against LPS-induced inflammation and ROS production in astrocytes, and its antimicrobial potential. The results show that R. carthamoides hairy roots may be a valuable source of the essential oil and may be an alternative to the roots of soil-grown plants. PMID:28074117

  15. The Essential Oils of Rhaponticum carthamoides Hairy Roots and Roots of Soil-Grown Plants: Chemical Composition and Antimicrobial, Anti-Inflammatory, and Antioxidant Activities.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Skała, Ewa; Rijo, Patrícia; Garcia, Catarina; Sitarek, Przemysław; Kalemba, Danuta; Toma, Monika; Szemraj, Janusz; Pytel, Dariusz; Wysokińska, Halina; Śliwiński, Tomasz

    2016-01-01

    The essential oils were isolated by hydrodistillation from the hairy roots (HR) and roots of soil-grown plants (SGR) of Rhaponticum carthamoides and were analyzed by GC-MS method. In the both essential oils 62 compounds were identified. The root essential oils showed the differences in the qualitative and quantitative composition. The sesquiterpene hydrocarbons (55-62%) dominated in both essential oils. The major compounds of HR essential oil were cyperene, 13-norcypera-1(5),11(12)-diene, and cadalene while aplotaxene, nardosina-1(10),11-diene, and dauca-4(11),8-diene dominated in SGR essential oil. Both essential oils showed antibacterial activity especially against Enterococcus faecalis (ATCC 29212) and Pseudomonas aeruginosa (ATCC 27853) (MIC value = 125  µ g/mL). HR and SGR essential oils also decreased the expression of IL-1 β , IL-6, and TNF- α and the ROS level in LPS-treatment astrocytes. This is the first report to describe the chemical composition of R. carthamoides essential oil from hairy roots, its protective effect against LPS-induced inflammation and ROS production in astrocytes, and its antimicrobial potential. The results show that R. carthamoides hairy roots may be a valuable source of the essential oil and may be an alternative to the roots of soil-grown plants.

  16. Time-clustering behavior of sharp fluctuation sequences in Chinese stock markets

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Yuan Ying; Zhuang Xintian; Liu Zhiying; Huang Weiqiang

    2012-01-01

    Sharp fluctuations (in particular, extreme fluctuations) of asset prices have a great impact on financial markets and risk management. Therefore, investigating the time dynamics of sharp fluctuation is a challenge in the financial fields. Using two different representations of the sharp fluctuations (inter-event times and series of counts), the time clustering behavior in the sharp fluctuation sequences of stock markets in China is studied with several statistical tools, including coefficient of variation, Allan Factor, Fano Factor as well as R/S (rescaled range) analysis. All of the empirical results indicate that the time dynamics of the sharp fluctuation sequences can be considered as a fractal process with a high degree of time-clusterization of the events. It can help us to get a better understanding of the nature and dynamics of sharp fluctuation of stock price in stock markets.

  17. Knowledge Base Editor (SharpKBE)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tikidjian, Raffi; James, Mark; Mackey, Ryan

    2007-01-01

    The SharpKBE software provides a graphical user interface environment for domain experts to build and manage knowledge base systems. Knowledge bases can be exported/translated to various target languages automatically, including customizable target languages.

  18. SHARP {Summer High School Apprenticeship Research Program}

    Science.gov (United States)

    Glasco, Deborah (Technical Monitor)

    2002-01-01

    The Year 2002 was another successful year for SHARP. Even after 22 years of SHARP, the Program continues to grow. There were 12 NASA Field Installations with a total of 210 apprentices who participated in the summer 2002 Program supported by 215 mentors in the fields of science and engineering. The apprentices were chosen from a pool of 1,379 applicants. This was a record year for applications exceeding the previous year by over 60%. For the second consecutive year, the number of female participants exceeded the number of males with 53% female and 47% male participants in the program. The main thrust of our recruiting efforts is still focused on underrepresented populations; especially African American, Hispanic, and Native American. At the conclusion of the summer program, most SHARP Apprentices indicated on the EDCATS that they would be interested in pursuing careers in Aerospace (56.2%) while the second largest career choice was a job at NASA (45.7%). The smallest number (11.9%) were interested in careers in the government. The table of responses is listed in the Appendix. Once again this year we were fortunate in that the SHARP COTR, Ms. Deborah Glasco, gained the support of MURED funding sources at NASA to fully fund additional apprentices and boost the number of apprentices to 210.

  19. Nano-regime Length Scales Extracted from the First Sharp Diffraction Peak in Non-crystalline SiO2 and Related Materials: Device Applications

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Phillips James

    2010-01-01

    Full Text Available Abstract This paper distinguishes between two different scales of medium range order, MRO, in non-crystalline SiO2: (1 the first is ~0.4 to 0.5 nm and is obtained from the position of the first sharp diffraction peak, FSDP, in the X-ray diffraction structure factor, S(Q, and (2 the second is ~1 nm and is calculated from the FSDP full-width-at-half-maximum FWHM. Many-electron calculations yield Si–O third- and O–O fourth-nearest-neighbor bonding distances in the same 0.4–0.5 nm MRO regime. These derive from the availability of empty Si dπ orbitals for back-donation from occupied O pπ orbitals yielding narrow symmetry determined distributions of third neighbor Si–O, and fourth neighbor O–O distances. These are segments of six member rings contributing to connected six-member rings with ~1 nm length scale within the MRO regime. The unique properties of non-crystalline SiO2 are explained by the encapsulation of six-member ring clusters by five- and seven-member rings on average in a compliant hard-soft nano-scaled inhomogeneous network. This network structure minimizes macroscopic strain, reducing intrinsic bonding defects as well as defect precursors. This inhomogeneous CRN is enabling for applications including thermally grown ~1.5 nm SiO2 layers for Si field effect transistor devices to optical components with centimeter dimensions. There are qualitatively similar length scales in nano-crystalline HfO2 and phase separated Hf silicates based on the primitive unit cell, rather than a ring structure. Hf oxide dielectrics have recently been used as replacement dielectrics for a new generation of Si and Si/Ge devices heralding a transition into nano-scale circuits and systems on a Si chip.

  20. The impact of sharps injuries on student nurses: a systematic review.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hambridge, Kevin; Nichols, Andrew; Endacott, Ruth

    2016-10-27

    The purpose of this review was to discover the impact of sharps injuries in the student nurse population. Much is known and reported about sharps injuries in registered nurses, but there has been a lack of published evidence regarding sharps injuries within the student nurse population. A systematic review of nursing, health and psychology databases was conducted. The limits set were publications between 1980 and 2014 in the English language. Studies were identified then, following a rigorous critical and quality appraisal with validated tools, were selected for the systematic review. A total of 40 articles met the inclusion criteria, reporting studies conducted in 18 countries. Psychological and physical impacts of sharps injuries in student nurses were reported, such as fear, anxiety and depression, although these impacts were not quantified using a validated instrument. The impact of sharps injuries can be severe, both psychological and physical. This systematic review shows that further research is needed into this, especially in under-researched areas such as the UK, to establish the impact of sharps injuries within this population. Further research would also aid the education and prevention of this harmful problem. The review also emphasises the psychological issues relating to sharps injuries, the impact these can have on individuals and the support and counselling that student nurses require after injury. These findings highlight the potential psychological issues that can result from sharps injuries in this population.

  1. Holographic Van der Waals phase transition of the higher-dimensional electrically charged hairy black hole

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Li, Hui-Ling; Feng, Zhong-Wen; Zu, Xiao-Tao

    2018-01-01

    With motivation by holography, employing black hole entropy, two-point connection function and entanglement entropy, we show that, for the higher-dimensional Anti-de Sitter charged hairy black hole in the fixed charged ensemble, a Van der Waals-like phase transition can be observed. Furthermore, based on the Maxwell equal-area construction, we check numerically the equal-area law for a first order phase transition in order to further characterize the Van der Waals-like phase transition. (orig.)

  2. Holographic Van der Waals phase transition of the higher-dimensional electrically charged hairy black hole

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Li, Hui-Ling [University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, School of Physical Electronics, Chengdu (China); Shenyang Normal University, College of Physics Science and Technology, Shenyang (China); Feng, Zhong-Wen [China West Normal University, College of Physics and Space Science, Nanchong (China); Zu, Xiao-Tao [University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, School of Physical Electronics, Chengdu (China)

    2018-01-15

    With motivation by holography, employing black hole entropy, two-point connection function and entanglement entropy, we show that, for the higher-dimensional Anti-de Sitter charged hairy black hole in the fixed charged ensemble, a Van der Waals-like phase transition can be observed. Furthermore, based on the Maxwell equal-area construction, we check numerically the equal-area law for a first order phase transition in order to further characterize the Van der Waals-like phase transition. (orig.)

  3. End-point sharpness in thermometric titrimetry.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tyrrell, H J

    1967-07-01

    It is shown that the sharpness of an end-point in a thermometric titration where the simple reaction A + B right harpoon over left harpoon AB takes place, depends on Kc(A') where K is the equilibrium constant for the reaction, and c(A') is the total concentration of the titrand (A) in the reaction mixture. The end-point is sharp if, (i) the enthalpy change in the reaction is not negligible, and (ii) Kc(A') > 10(3). This shows that it should, for example, be possible to titrate 0.1 M acid, pK(A) = 10, using a thennometric end-point. Some aspects of thermometric titrimetry when Kc(A') < 10(3) are also considered.

  4. Edge Sharpness Assessment by Parametric Modeling: Application to Magnetic Resonance Imaging.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ahmad, R; Ding, Y; Simonetti, O P

    2015-05-01

    In biomedical imaging, edge sharpness is an important yet often overlooked image quality metric. In this work, a semi-automatic method to quantify edge sharpness in the presence of significant noise is presented with application to magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). The method is based on parametric modeling of image edges. First, an edge map is automatically generated and one or more edges-of-interest (EOI) are manually selected using graphical user interface. Multiple exclusion criteria are then enforced to eliminate edge pixels that are potentially not suitable for sharpness assessment. Second, at each pixel of the EOI, an image intensity profile is read along a small line segment that runs locally normal to the EOI. Third, the profiles corresponding to all EOI pixels are individually fitted with a sigmoid function characterized by four parameters, including one that represents edge sharpness. Last, the distribution of the sharpness parameter is used to quantify edge sharpness. For validation, the method is applied to simulated data as well as MRI data from both phantom imaging and cine imaging experiments. This method allows for fast, quantitative evaluation of edge sharpness even in images with poor signal-to-noise ratio. Although the utility of this method is demonstrated for MRI, it can be adapted for other medical imaging applications.

  5. An engineering assessment methodology for non-sharp defects in steel structures – Part I: Procedure development

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Horn, A.J.; Sherry, A.H.

    2012-01-01

    This Part I paper describes a new engineering assessment methodology for ferritic steel structures containing non-sharp defects within the context of a Failure Assessment Diagram (FAD) approach. Although the modification of the FAD for non-sharp defects can be applied whether the initiating failure mechanism is cleavage or ductile tearing, this paper focuses on cleavage fracture. The parameters describing the sensitivity of the material toughness to the notch effect can either be measured by testing notched specimens of the same thickness as the structure, or for cleavage fracture they can be obtained using look-up tables generated using the Weibull stress toughness scaling model. The other parameters in the procedure can either be conservatively estimated using simple equations or they can be determined more accurately using finite element analysis. Validation of the new method is presented in the companion Part II paper: this shows that assessments of U-notched SE(B) specimens have significantly reduced conservatism when using the new assessment methodology compared to the standard FAD approach for sharp cracks. - Highlights: ► Development of a new procedure for predicting failure from non-sharp defects. ► Based on a modification of the Failure Assessment Diagram (FAD) approach. ► Applicable to cleavage and ductile tearing initiation although paper focuses on cleavage. ► Validation provided in a companion Part II paper.

  6. A study of nutrient digestibility and growth performance of broiler chicks fed hairy and hairless canary seed (Phalaris canariensis L.) products.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Newkirk, R W; Ram, J I; Hucl, P; Patterson, C A; Classen, H L

    2011-12-01

    A nutrient retention study and a growth study were conducted with broiler chickens to evaluate the nutritive value and potential toxicity of 2 hairless canary seed products-hulled seed and groats (cultivar CDC Maria), and one hairy hulled canary seed (cultivar Keet). Each treatment was replicated 6 times (6 groups of 4 birds each). The hairless canary seed groat, hairless hulled canary seed, and the hairy hulled canary seed contained 24.5, 21.8, and 16.3% CP; 7.1, 5.8, and 6.6% ether extract; 1.5, 14.2, and 12.3% acid detergent fiber, and 3,867, 3,205 and 3,292 kcal/kg of AME(n), on a DM basis, respectively. The hairless canary seed groat, hairless hulled canary seed, and the hairy hulled canary seed protein comprised, respectively, 0.49, 0.33, and 0.33% lysine (DM basis), which was 79, 78, and 67% digestible (apparent ileal); 0.65, 0.53, and 0.60% cysteine (DM basis), which was 86, 87, and 85% apparent ileal digestible; and 0.40, 0.30, and 0.25% methionine (DM basis), which was 89, 90, and 86% apparent ileal digestible. In the second study, a 35-d feeding study with male broiler chickens was conducted. The canary seed products were compared with a Canadian Western Red Spring wheat control. Each treatment was replicated 6 times (6 groups of 4 birds each). The test ingredients comprised 50% of the corn/soybean diets. The birds fed the hulled canary seed (hairy or hairless) had similar weight gain, feed intake, and G:F to those fed wheat. There were no statistically significant (P = 0.05) differences in the weights of the bursa, heart, kidneys, liver, spleen, or the pancreas, nor was there any effect on serum lactate dehydrogenase or creatine kinase. The data indicated that feeding hulled canary seed increased the number of gizzard ulcers (P < 0.01). It was concluded that canary seed does not contain anti-nutritional components that negatively affect broiler performance or bird health. However, the canary seed hulls may damage the gizzard lining.

  7. Hairy black hole solutions in U(1) gauge-invariant scalar-vector-tensor theories

    Science.gov (United States)

    Heisenberg, Lavinia; Tsujikawa, Shinji

    2018-05-01

    In U (1) gauge-invariant scalar-vector-tensor theories with second-order equations of motion, we study the properties of black holes (BH) on a static and spherically symmetric background. In shift-symmetric theories invariant under the shift of scalar ϕ → ϕ + c, we show the existence of new hairy BH solutions where a cubic-order scalar-vector interaction gives rise to a scalar hair manifesting itself around the event horizon. In the presence of a quartic-order interaction besides the cubic coupling, there are also regular BH solutions endowed with scalar and vector hairs.

  8. Transcriptome Analysis of Salicylic Acid Treatment in Rehmannia glutinosa Hairy Roots Using RNA-seq Technique for Identification of Genes Involved in Acteoside Biosynthesis

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Fengqing Wang

    2017-05-01

    Full Text Available Rehmannia glutinosa is a common bulk medicinal material that has been widely used in China due to its active ingredients. Acteoside, one of the ingredients, has antioxidant, antinephritic, anti-inflammatory, hepatoprotective, immunomodulatory, and neuroprotective effects, is usually selected as a quality-control component for R. glutinosa herb in the Chinese Pharmacopeia. The acteoside biosynthesis pathway in R. glutinosa has not yet been clearly established. Herein, we describe the establishment of a genetic transformation system for R. glutinosa mediated by Agrobacterium rhizogenes. We screened the optimal elicitors that markedly increased acteoside accumulation in R. glutinosa hairy roots. We found that acteoside accumulation dramatically increased with the addition of salicylic acid (SA; the optimal SA dose was 25 μmol/L for hairy roots. RNA-seq was applied to analyze the transcriptomic changes in hairy roots treated with SA for 24 h in comparison with an untreated control. A total of 3,716, 4,018, and 2,715 differentially expressed transcripts (DETs were identified in 0 h-vs.-12 h, 0 h-vs.-24 h, and 12 h-vs.-24 h libraries, respectively. KEGG pathway-based analysis revealed that 127 DETs were enriched in “phenylpropanoid biosynthesis.” Of 219 putative unigenes involved in acteoside biosynthesis, 54 were found to be up-regulated at at least one of the time points after SA treatment. Selected candidate genes were analyzed by quantitative real-time PCR (qRT-PCR in hairy roots with SA, methyl jasmonate (MeJA, AgNO3 (Ag+, and putrescine (Put treatment. All genes investigated were up-regulated by SA treatment, and most candidate genes were weakly increased by MeJA to some degree. Furthermore, transcription abundance of eight candidate genes in tuberous roots of the high-acteoside-content (HA cultivar QH were higher than those of the low-acteoside-content (LA cultivar Wen 85-5. These results will pave the way for understanding the molecular

  9. Allelopathy in the natural and agricultural ecosystems and isolation of potent allelochemicals from Velvet bean (Mucuna pruriens) and Hairy vetch (Vicia villosa).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fujii, Yoshiharu

    2003-06-01

    We have studied on allelopathy of plants and developed methods to identify the effective substances in root exudates, leaf leacheate, and volatile chemicals emitted from plants. We found traditional cover plants that show allelopathic activity are useful for weed control. It could eliminate the use of synthetic chemicals for this purpose. Allelopathy is a natural power of plants to protect themselves by producing natural organic chemicals. Some endemic plants in Asia, already known by farmers in the region, as either cover crops used in intercropping, hedgerow, or agroforestry, were found to possess strong allelopathic abilities. Our group identified several allelochemicals from these plants. These allelopathic cover crops, mostly leguminous plants, provide protein rich food, and grow easily without artificial fertilizers, herbicides, insecticides and fungicides. In this regards, these allelopathic cover crops could save food shortage in rural area, and are useful for environmental conservation. Screenings of allelopathic plants by specific bioassays and field tests have been conducted. Hairy vetch (Vicia villosa) and Velvet bean (Mucuna pruriens) are two promising species for the practical application of allelopathy. An amino acid, L-DOPA, unusual in plants, plays an important role as allelochemical in Velvet bean (Mucuna pruriens). Hairy vetch is the most promising cover plant for the weed control in orchard, vegetable and rice production and even for landscape amendment in abandoned field in Japan. We have isolated "cyanamide", a well known nitrogen fertilizer, from Hairy vetch. This is the first finding of naturally produced cyanamide in the world.

  10. Global structure of exact scalar hairy dynamical black holes

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Fan, Zhong-Ying [Center for High Energy Physics, Peking University,No. 5 Yiheyuan Rd, Beijing, 100871 P.R. (China); Chen, Bin [Center for High Energy Physics, Peking University,No. 5 Yiheyuan Rd, Beijing, 100871 P.R. (China); Department of Physics and State Key Laboratory of Nuclear Physics and Technology,Peking University, No. 5 Yiheyuan Rd, Beijing, 100871 P.R. (China); Collaborative Innovation Center of Quantum Matter,No. 5 Yiheyuan Rd, Beijing, 100871 P.R. (China); Lü, H. [Center for Advanced Quantum Studies, Department of Physics, Beijing Normal University,Beijing, 100875 P.R. (China)

    2016-05-30

    We study the global structure of some exact scalar hairy dynamical black holes which were constructed in Einstein gravity either minimally or non-minimally coupled to a scalar field. We find that both the apparent horizon and the local event horizon (measured in luminosity coordinate) monotonically increase with the advanced time as well as the Vaidya mass. At late advanced times, the apparent horizon approaches the event horizon and gradually becomes future outer. Correspondingly, the space-time arrives at stationary black hole states with the relaxation time inversely proportional to the 1/(n−1) power of the final black hole mass, where n is the space-time dimension. These results strongly support the solutions describing the formation of black holes with scalar hair. We also obtain new charged dynamical solutions in the non-minimal theory by introducing an Maxwell field which is non-minimally coupled to the scalar. The presence of the electric charge strongly modifies the dynamical evolution of the space-time.

  11. Victorian spectacle: Julia Pastrana, the bearded and hairy female.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Browne, Janet; Messenger, Sharon

    2003-12-01

    Julia Pastrana toured Europe in the late 1850s advertising herself as the 'Bearded and hairy Lady' or 'Nonedescript'. She suffered from a rare inherited disorder, not understood until the late 20th century, which manifested itself in facial distortion and considerable facial hair in the male pattern. Doctors, as well as sensation seekers, were very keen to examine her. Her story is unusual, not least because she was mummified after death by her husband-manager and continued to tour as a mounted exhibit for a number of decades. Indirectly, she participated in the evolutionary debate in Britain. In 1857, when she arrived in Britain from America, she was popularly known as the baboon-woman. When Darwin's Origin of Species was published, and evolutionary controversy about ape-ancestry was hot in the air, she was more often likened to the gorilla or orang-utan - as a possible specimen of a missing link.

  12. Effects of sharp vorticity gradients in two-dimensional hydrodynamic turbulence

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Kuznetsov, E.A.; Naulin, Volker; Nielsen, Anders Henry

    2007-01-01

    The appearance of sharp vorticity gradients in two-dimensional hydrodynamic turbulence and their influence on the turbulent spectra are considered. We have developed the analog of the vortex line representation as a transformation to the curvilinear system of coordinates moving together with the ......The appearance of sharp vorticity gradients in two-dimensional hydrodynamic turbulence and their influence on the turbulent spectra are considered. We have developed the analog of the vortex line representation as a transformation to the curvilinear system of coordinates moving together...... with the divorticity lines. Compressibility of this mapping can be considered as the main reason for the formation of the sharp vorticity gradients at high Reynolds numbers. For two-dimensional turbulence in the case of strong anisotropy the sharp vorticity gradients can generate spectra which fall off as k−3 at large...

  13. Hairy nanoparticle assemblies as one-component functional polymer nanocomposites: opportunities and challenges

    KAUST Repository

    Fernandes, Nikhil J.

    2013-03-01

    Over the past three decades, the combination of inorganic-nanoparticles and organic-polymers has led to a wide variety of advanced materials, including polymer nanocomposites (PNCs). Recently, synthetic innovations for attaching polymers to nanoparticles to create hairy nanoparticles (HNPs) has expanded opportunities in this field. In addition to nanoparticle compatibilization for traditional particle-matrix blending, neat-HNPs afford one-component hybrids, both in composition and properties, which avoids issues of mixing that plague traditional PNCs. Continuous improvements in purity, scalability, and theoretical foundations of structure-performance relationships are critical to achieving design control of neat-HNPs necessary for future applications, ranging from optical, energy, and sensor devices to lubricants, green-bodies, and structures. © 2013 Materials Research Society.

  14. Hairy nanoparticle assemblies as one-component functional polymer nanocomposites: opportunities and challenges

    KAUST Repository

    Fernandes, Nikhil J.; Koerner, Hilmar; Giannelis, Emmanuel P.; Vaia, Richard A.

    2013-01-01

    Over the past three decades, the combination of inorganic-nanoparticles and organic-polymers has led to a wide variety of advanced materials, including polymer nanocomposites (PNCs). Recently, synthetic innovations for attaching polymers to nanoparticles to create hairy nanoparticles (HNPs) has expanded opportunities in this field. In addition to nanoparticle compatibilization for traditional particle-matrix blending, neat-HNPs afford one-component hybrids, both in composition and properties, which avoids issues of mixing that plague traditional PNCs. Continuous improvements in purity, scalability, and theoretical foundations of structure-performance relationships are critical to achieving design control of neat-HNPs necessary for future applications, ranging from optical, energy, and sensor devices to lubricants, green-bodies, and structures. © 2013 Materials Research Society.

  15. Hydrodynamic processes in sharp meander bends and their morphological implications

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Blanckaert, K.

    2011-01-01

    The migration rate of sharp meander bends exhibits large variance and indicates that some sharply curved bends tend to stabilize. These observations remain unexplained. This paper examines three hydrodynamic processes in sharp bends with fixed banks and discusses their morphological implications:

  16. Light-enabled reversible self-assembly and tunable optical properties of stable hairy nanoparticles

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chen, Yihuang; Wang, Zewei; He, Yanjie; Yoon, Young Jun; Jung, Jaehan; Zhang, Guangzhao; Lin, Zhiqun

    2018-02-01

    The ability to dynamically organize functional nanoparticles (NPs) via the use of environmental triggers (temperature, pH, light, or solvent polarity) opens up important perspectives for rapid and convenient construction of a rich variety of complex assemblies and materials with new structures and functionalities. Here, we report an unconventional strategy for crafting stable hairy NPs with light-enabled reversible and reliable self-assembly and tunable optical properties. Central to our strategy is to judiciously design amphiphilic star-like diblock copolymers comprising inner hydrophilic blocks and outer hydrophobic photoresponsive blocks as nanoreactors to direct the synthesis of monodisperse plasmonic NPs intimately and permanently capped with photoresponsive polymers. The size and shape of hairy NPs can be precisely tailored by modulating the length of inner hydrophilic block of star-like diblock copolymers. The perpetual anchoring of photoresponsive polymers on the NP surface renders the attractive feature of self-assembly and disassembly of NPs on demand using light of different wavelengths, as revealed by tunable surface plasmon resonance absorption of NPs and the reversible transformation of NPs between their dispersed and aggregated states. The dye encapsulation/release studies manifested that such photoresponsive NPs may be exploited as smart guest molecule nanocarriers. By extension, the star-like block copolymer strategy enables the crafting of a family of stable stimuli-responsive NPs (e.g., temperature- or pH-sensitive polymer-capped magnetic, ferroelectric, upconversion, or semiconducting NPs) and their assemblies for fundamental research in self-assembly and crystallization kinetics of NPs as well as potential applications in optics, optoelectronics, magnetic technologies, sensory materials and devices, catalysis, nanotechnology, and biotechnology.

  17. Interface sharpness in the Potts model

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ruiz, J.

    1989-01-01

    A simple proof is given for the existence of a sharp interface between two ordered phases for the three-dimensional 2 double-prime-state Potts model (n integer). The results show that the roughening temperature of the three-dimensional Potts model is greater than the transition temperature of the two-dimensional Potts model. For a large arbitrary spin integer, it is expected that this roughening temperature is equal to the transition temperature (of the 3D model), i.e., that the interface between two ordered phases is harp up to the transition temperature, at which it is wetted by a film of the disordered phase. It is also expected that for a large arbitrary spin integer, the a-f interface (between an ordered and the disordered phase) is sharp at the transition temperature

  18. Effect of Particle Size and Ligand on the Tribological Properties of Amino Functionalized Hairy Silica Nanoparticles as an Additive to Polyalphaolefin

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sui, T.; Song, B.; Zhang, F.; Yang, Q.

    2015-01-01

    Hairy nanoparticles, which graft organic chains on nanoparticles, have led to a wide variety of advanced materials and have been applied in many fields over the past two decades. In this paper, effects of nanoparticle size and organic chain on the tribological properties of amino functionalized hairy silica nanoparticles (HSN_s) were investigated. Silica nanoparticles with different sizes and amino group organic chains were synthesized and dispersed into polyalphaolefin (PAO) via a modified process. The synthesized HSN_s were characterized by variety of methods. The tribology properties of those HSN_s were investigated using a four-ball tetrabromo. The coefficient of friction and wear scar diameter were measured and analyzed. It was found that the HSN_s could form a stable homogeneous solution with PAO. The tribological performance of the PAO 100 was enhanced dramatically by adding the HSN_s. The data suggested that HSN_s with larger size, longer organic chains, and more amino groups gave better anti wear and friction reduction properties than other nanoparticles

  19. [Overview of sharps injuries among health-care workers].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gopar-Nieto, Rodrigo; Juárez-Pérez, Cuauhtémoc Arturo; Cabello-López, Alejandro; Haro-García, Luis Cuauhtémoc; Aguilar-Madrid, Guadalupe

    2015-01-01

    Sharps injuries are one of the most frequent health-care related accidents. It is estimated globally that 35 million workers are at risk; in Mexico there is no data available for this type of injuries. They are associated with lack of training, instrument and procedure risk, fatigue and stress. The occupational distribution is nurses 45 %, technicians 20 %, doctors 20 % and maintenance workers 5 %. The most commonly associated procedures are injection, venipuncture, suture, and insertion and manipulation of IV catheters. Hepatitis B is the most commonly transmitted agent. Emotional distress is huge as well as the cost of prophylaxis and follow-up. More than half of the injuries are not notified. The most common reasons for not reporting are: the belief that the exposure has low risk of infection, the lack of knowledge of reporting systems and the assumption that it is difficult to notify. Many strategies have been created to reduce the incidence of sharps injuries, such as: identifying the risk of blood exposure, the creation of politics to minimize the risk, the education and training to create a safe workplace, the enhancing of the reporting system, the use of double-gloving and using safety-engineered sharps devices. In many countries these politics have reduced the incidence of sharps injuries as well as the economic burden.

  20. Occupational exposure to sharps injury among healthcare providers in Ethiopia regional hospitals

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Sharew, Nigussie Tadesse; Mulu, Getaneh Baye; Habtewold, Tesfa Dejenie; Gizachew, Kefyalew Dagne

    2017-01-01

    BACKGROUND: Sharps injury is a penetrating stab wound from a needle, scalpel, or another sharp object that may result in exposure to blood or other body fluids. According to World Health Organization pooled estimate, the annual incidence of sharps injury in Africa was ranged from 2.10 to 4.68 per

  1. A Cytotoxic and Anti-inflammatory Campesterol Derivative from Genetically Transformed Hairy Roots of Lopezia racemosa Cav. (Onagraceae

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Norma Elizabeth Moreno-Anzúrez

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available The genetically transformed hairy root line LRT 7.31 obtained by infecting leaf explants of Lopezia racemosa Cav with the Agrobacterium rhizogenes strain ATCC15834/pTDT, was evaluated to identify the anti-inflammatory and cytotoxic compounds reported previously for the wild plant. After several subcultures of the LRT 7.31 line, the bio-guided fractionation of the dichloromethane–methanol (1:1 extract obtained from dry biomass afforded a fraction that showed important in vivo anti-inflammatory, and in vitro cytotoxic activities. Chemical separation of the active fraction allowed us to identify the triterpenes ursolic (1 and oleanolic (2 acids, and (23R-2α,3β,23,28-tetrahydroxy-14,15-dehydrocampesterol (3 as the anti-inflammatory principles of the active fraction. A new molecule 3 was characterized by spectroscopic analysis of its tetraacetate derivative 3a. This compound was not described in previous reports of callus cultures, in vitro germinated seedlings and wild plant extracts of whole L. racemosa plants. The anti-inflammatory and cytotoxic activities displayed by the fraction are associated to the presence of compounds 1–3. The present study reports the obtaining of the transformed hairy roots, the bioguided isolation of the new molecule 3, and its structure characterization.

  2. Therapeutic potential of secondary metabolites produced in the hairy roots cultures

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Tomasz Kowalczyk

    2015-05-01

    Full Text Available Plants have always been a source of many valuable substances for humans. Growing advancement of methods of modern biotechnology, combined with genetic engineering techniques, gradually increase the variety of compounds obtained, the number of plant species used and the production efficiency. Consequently, there is an undebatable interest in biotechnological production of such compounds, especially those pharmacologically active, that can be used in treatment of neoplastic, viral, and many other types of diseases. Most of these compounds represent a diverse group of secondary metabolites. One of the effective ways of obtaining such molecules is the utilization of hairy roots cultures. The advantages of such systems make them an attractive method of obtaining important plant-derived compounds, creating an interesting alternative to other methods, including the cell suspension cultures or expensive chemical syntheses.

  3. ASSESSMENT OF THE MANAGEMENT OF SHARPS INJURIES IN GOVERNMENT HOSPITALS: THE MALAYSIAN SITUATION

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    M. Siti Haniza M.D PhD

    2012-11-01

    Full Text Available Introduction: Management of occupational hazards has been a priority and sharps injuries is a known potential risk to health care workers. With the known risks of potential infections, to the workers as well as the patients, our workers need protection from further danger. Objective: This study looked at the measures taken on managing the affected healthcare workers. Methods: A cross-sectional survey using self-administered questionnaire was sent to 55 hospital directors. They were required to inform on their management practices on sharps injuries. Results: The findings showed variations in the management of sharps injuries during and after office hours, variation in the site of keeping the records, person responsible and variation in the frequency of data analysis and presentation to hospital directors. Discussion: According to OSHA Act 1994, it is the responsibility of the employer to ensure safety, health and welfare of the employee. In management of sharps injury data from injury reporting should be compiled and assessed. Reporting feedback need to be encouraged with timely follow-up of all sharps injury cases. Reporting of sharps injuries is essential to ensure that all healthcare workers receive appropriate post-exposure medical treatment. Conclusion & Recommendation: A uniform management of sharps injuries protocol need to be established to improve reporting. An avenue to present sharps injuries data regularly is needed so as appropriate management of workers be ensured. Therefore adherence to the available guidelines need to be ensured. Key words: management, sharps injuries, healthcare workers

  4. Heterologous Expression of Panax ginseng PgTIP1 Confers Enhanced Salt Tolerance of Soybean Cotyledon Hairy Roots, Composite, and Whole Plants

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jing An

    2017-07-01

    Full Text Available The Panax ginseng TIP gene PgTIP1 was previously demonstrated to have high water channel activity by its heterologous expression in Xenopus laevis oocytes and in yeast; it also plays a significant role in growth of PgTIP1-transgenic Arabidopsis plants under favorable conditions and has enhanced tolerance toward salt and drought treatment. In this work, we first investigated the physiological effects of heterologous PgTIP1 expression in soybean cotyledon hairy roots or composite plants mediated by Agrobacterium rhizogenes toward enhanced salt tolerance. The PgTIP1-transgenic soybean plants mediated by the pollen tube pathway, represented by the lines N and J11, were analyzed at the physiological and molecular levels for enhanced salt tolerance. The results showed that in terms of root-specific heterologous expression, the PgTIP1-transformed soybean cotyledon hairy roots or composite plants displayed superior salt tolerance compared to the empty vector-transformed ones according to the mitigatory effects of hairy root growth reduction, drop in leaf RWC, and rise in REL under salt stress. Additionally, declines in K+ content, increases in Na+ content and Na+/K+ ratios in the hairy roots, stems, or leaves were effectively alleviated by PgTIP1-transformation, particularly the stems and leaves of composite soybean plants. At the whole plant level, PgTIP1-trasgenic soybean lines were found to possess stronger root vigor, reduced root and leaf cell membrane damage, increased SOD, POD, CAT, and APX activities, steadily increased leaf Tr, RWC, and Pn values, and smaller declines in chlorophyll and carotenoid content when exposed to salt stress compared to wild type. Moreover, the distribution patterns of Na+, K+, and Cl- in the roots, stems, and leaves of salt-stressed transgenic plants were readjusted, in that the absorbed Na+ and Cl- were mainly restricted to the roots to reduce their transport to the shoots, and the transport of root-absorbed K+ to the

  5. The basic helix-loop-helix region of the transcriptional repressor hairy and enhancer of split 1 is preorganized to bind DNA

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Popovic, Matija; Wienk, Hans; Coglievina, Maristella; Boelens, Rolf; Pongor, Sándor; Pintar, Alessandro

    2014-01-01

    Hairy and enhancer of split 1, one of the main downstream effectors in Notch signaling, is a transcriptional repressor of the basic helix-loop-helix (bHLH) family. Using nuclear magnetic resonance methods, we have determined the structure and dynamics of a recombinant protein, H1H, which includes an

  6. Stability analysis of sharp-boundary Vlasov-fluid screw-pinch equilibria

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lewis, H.R.; Turner, L.

    1975-01-01

    The Vlasov-fluid model is being used to study the linear stability of sharp-boundary screw pinches numerically. The numerical method appears to work well, and some preliminary results are reported. The sharp-boundary calculation is useful for gaining insight and for comparing with known MHD results. (auth)

  7. The sharp peak-flat trough pattern and critical speculation

    OpenAIRE

    Roehner, B. M.; Sornette, D.

    1998-01-01

    We find empirically a characteristic sharp peak-flat trough pattern in a large set of commodity prices. We argue that the sharp peak structure reflects an endogenous inter-market organization, and that peaks may be seen as local ``singularities'' resulting from imitation and herding. These findings impose a novel stringent constraint on the construction of models. Intermittent amplification is not sufficient and nonlinear effects seem necessary to account for the observations.

  8. Surface-enhanced Raman scattering on periodic metal nanotips with tunable sharpness

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Linn, Nicholas C; Sun, C-H; Arya, Ajay; Jiang Peng; Jiang Bin

    2009-01-01

    This paper reports on a scalable bottom-up technology for producing periodic gold nanotips with tunable sharpness as surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) substrates. Inverted silicon pyramidal pits, which are templated from non-close-packed colloidal crystals prepared by a spin-coating technology, are used as structural templates to replicate arrays of polymer nanopyramids with nanoscale sharp tips. The deposition of a thin layer of gold on the polymer nanopyramids leads to the formation of SERS-active substrates with a high enhancement factor (up to 10 8 ). The thickness of the deposited metal determines the sharpness of the nanotips and the resulting Raman enhancement factor. Finite-element electromagnetic modeling shows that the nanotips can significantly enhance the local electromagnetic field and the sharpness of nanotips greatly affects the SERS enhancement.

  9. Analysis and protective measures of sharp instrument injury causes of sterilization and supply center

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Hua YANG

    2014-11-01

    Full Text Available Objective: To analyze the causes of sharp injury in the sterilization and supply center, take protective measures, effectively avoid sharp instrument injury, and guarantee staff safety. Methods: Adopt a retrospective survey method, summarize sharp instrument injury data of sterilization and supply center in 2013, analyze the reasons of the occurrence of sharp instrument injury, and make protective countermeasures. Results: Sharp instrument injuries occurred mainly in the device classification, manual cleaning and device packaging process. Conclusion: Poor consciousness of occupational protection of the staff in the sterilization and supply center, nonstandard operation, and lack of training and supervision in place are the main reasons of occurrence of sharp instrument injury.

  10. Objective assessment of knife sharpness over a working day cutting meat.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Savescu, Adriana; Cuny-Guerrier, Aude; Wild, Pascal; Reno, Gilles; Aublet-Cuvelier, Agnès; Claudon, Laurent

    2018-04-01

    Knife sharpness is one of multiple factors involved in musculoskeletal disorders in industrial meat cutting. The aim of this study was to objectively evaluate, in real working situations, how knife sharpness changed over a working day cutting meat, and to analyse the impact of sharpening, steeling and meat-cutting activities on these variations. Twenty-two meat-cutting workers from three different companies participated in the study. The methods included measurements of knife sharpness in relation to real work situations and consideration of the way meat-cutting and sharpening operations were organised. Results showed that the type of meat-cutting activities, the steeling strategy adopted by the worker, including the types of tool used, and the overall organisation of the sharpening task all had a significant influence on how knife sharpness evolved over a 2-h period and over an entire working day. To improve MSD prevention, sharpening and steeling operations should not be considered as independent activities, but taken into account as a continuity of working actions. Appropriate assessment of knife sharpness by meat cutters affects how they organise meat-cutting and sharpening tasks. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  11. Sharp Dissection versus Electrocautery for Radial Artery Harvesting

    Science.gov (United States)

    Marzban, Mehrab; Arya, Reza; Mandegar, Mohammad Hossein; Karimi, Abbas Ali; Abbasi, Kiomars; Movahed, Namvar; Abbasi, Seyed Hesameddin

    2006-01-01

    Radial arteries have been increasingly used during the last decade as conduits for coronary artery revascularization. Although various harvesting techniques have been described, there has been little comparative study of arterial damage and patency. A radial artery graft was used in 44 consecutive patients, who were randomly divided into 2 groups. In the 1st group, the radial artery was harvested by sharp dissection and in the 2nd, by electrocautery. These groups were compared with regard to radial artery free flow, harvest time, number of clips used, complications, and endothelial damage. Radial artery free flow before and after intraluminal administration of papaverine was significantly greater in the electrocautery group (84.3 ± 50.7 mL/min and 109.7 ± 68.5 mL/min) than in the sharp-dissection group (52.9 ± 18.3 mL/min and 69.6 ± 28.2 mL/ min) (P =0.003). Harvesting time by electrocautery was significantly shorter (25.4 ± 4.3 min vs 34.4 ± 5.9 min) (P =0.0001). Electrocautery consumed an average of 9.76 clips, versus 22.45 clips consumed by sharp dissection. The 2 groups were not different regarding postoperative complications, except for 3 cases of temporary paresthesia of the thumb in the electrocautery group; histopathologic examination found no endothelial damage. We conclude that radial artery harvesting by electrocautery is faster and more economical than harvesting by sharp dissection and is associated with better intraoperative flow and good preservation of endothelial integrity. PMID:16572861

  12. Whole blood assay for NK activity in splenectomized and non-splenectomized hairy cell leukemia patients during IFN-alpha-2b treatment

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Nielsen, B; Hokland, P; Ellegaard, J

    1989-01-01

    Natural killer cell (NK) activity in peripheral blood (PB) was followed longitudinally for up to 2 yr after initiation of low-dose IFN-alpha-2b therapy in nine hairy cell leukemia (HCL) patients. A whole blood NK (WB-NK) assay was employed in order to measure the NK activity per unit blood. The p...

  13. Software design of SHARP

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Siegel, A.; Tautges, T.; Caceres, A.; Kaushik, D.; Fischer, P.; Palmiotti, G.; Smith, M.; Ragusa, J.

    2007-01-01

    SHARP (Simulation-based High-efficiency Advanced Reactor Prototyping) is a modern suite of codes to simulate the key components of a fast reactor core. The SHARP tool-kit is organized as a collection of modules, each representing the key components of the physics to be modeled - neutron transport, thermal hydraulics, fuel/structure behavior - together with pre and post-processing for geometry definition, mesh generation, visualization, user interface, etc. The physics models are designed to make minimal possible use of lumped parameter models, homogenization, and empirical correlations in favor of more direct solution of the fundamental governing equations, when sufficient computing resources are available. Thus, one of the key design goals is to effectively leverage leadership class computing resources - viz. BG/P and Cray Supercomputers that are on the current trajectory to delivering sustained peta-flops performance. Further, the nature of the physical problem to be investigated will require either strong or weak coupling between some or all of the existing modules (e.g. operator split vs. fully coupled), while multiple implementations of each physics module, representing different algorithms, will also be required (e.g. deterministic versus Monte Carlo) for verification and to explore different physical regimes. Accomplishing these goals in the context of ultra-scalable architectures and multidisciplinary and possibly distributed development teams is a daunting task. In this paper we explain our initial lightweight and loosely coupled framework, its initial design, and a number of current open research questions in this area. (authors)

  14. Levisticum officinale hairy root cultures: influence of light and light type on growth and essential oil production

    OpenAIRE

    Lima, A. Sofia; Sousa, Maria João; Pedro, Luís G.; Figueiredo, A. Cristina; Barroso, J.G.; Deans, S.G.; Scheffer, J.J.C.

    2005-01-01

    The essential oils of Levisticum officinale W.D.J. Koch (Apiaceae), including those isolated from the roots, are used in the cosmetic, pharmaceutical and food industries [1]. This perennial and herbaceous plant, commonly known as lovage, is widely known by its aromatic, ornamental and medicinal properties. The effect of light and light type on growth and essential oil production of lovage hairy root cultures was studied by comparison of cultures maintained under “blue-basic” (400-550nm) and “...

  15. Sharp vorticity gradients in two-dimensional turbulence and the energy spectrum

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Kuznetsov, E.A.; Naulin, Volker; Nielsen, Anders Henry

    2010-01-01

    Formation of sharp vorticity gradients in two-dimensional (2D) hydrodynamic turbulence and their influence on the turbulent spectra are considered. The analog of the vortex line representation as a transformation to the curvilinear system of coordinates moving together with the di-vorticity lines...... is developed and compressibility of this mapping appears as the main reason for the formation of the sharp vorticity gradients at high Reynolds numbers. In the case of strong anisotropy the sharp vorticity gradients can generate spectra which fall off as k −3 at large k, which appear to take the same form...

  16. SHARP: A multi-mission AI system for spacecraft telemetry monitoring and diagnosis

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lawson, Denise L.; James, Mark L.

    1989-01-01

    The Spacecraft Health Automated Reasoning Prototype (SHARP) is a system designed to demonstrate automated health and status analysis for multi-mission spacecraft and ground data systems operations. Telecommunications link analysis of the Voyager II spacecraft is the initial focus for the SHARP system demonstration which will occur during Voyager's encounter with the planet Neptune in August, 1989, in parallel with real-time Voyager operations. The SHARP system combines conventional computer science methodologies with artificial intelligence techniques to produce an effective method for detecting and analyzing potential spacecraft and ground systems problems. The system performs real-time analysis of spacecraft and other related telemetry, and is also capable of examining data in historical context. A brief introduction is given to the spacecraft and ground systems monitoring process at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory. The current method of operation for monitoring the Voyager Telecommunications subsystem is described, and the difficulties associated with the existing technology are highlighted. The approach taken in the SHARP system to overcome the current limitations is also described, as well as both the conventional and artificial intelligence solutions developed in SHARP.

  17. Proliferation of sharp kinks on cosmic (super)string loops with junctions

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Binetruy, P.; Bohe, A.; Hertog, T.; Steer, D. A.

    2010-01-01

    Motivated by their effect on the gravitational wave signal emitted by cosmic strings, we study the dynamics of kinks on strings of different tensions meeting at junctions. The propagation of a kink through a Y junction leads to the formation of three 'daughter' kinks. Assuming a uniform distribution of the incoming wave vectors at the junction, we find there is a significant region of configuration space in which the sharpness of at least one of the daughter kinks is enhanced relative to the sharpness of the initial kink. For closed loops with junctions we show this leads to an exponential growth in time of very sharp kinks. Using numerical simulations of realistic, evolving cosmic string loops with junctions to calculate the distribution of kink amplitudes as a function of time, we show that loops of this kind typically develop several orders of magnitude of very sharp kinks before the two junctions collide. This collision, or other effects such as gravitational backreaction, may end the proliferation.

  18. Evaluation of Effects of Warning Sign Position on Driving Behavior in Horizontal Sharp Curves

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Xiao-hua Zhao

    2015-02-01

    Full Text Available In present time, the guidelines on warning sign position in the China National Standard lack detailed and standard regulations of placing warning signs on sharp curves, which may cause road safety problems. Therefore, this paper briefly discussed how to optimize the position of a warning sign on a sharp curve through a driving simulator experiment. This study concluded that a warning sign placed at different positions prior to a sharp curve will have different influence ranges for drivers approaching and negotiating the curve. Meanwhile, different positions of a warning sign imposed different effect obviously on the adjustment of vehicle's lane position on sharp curves with the same radius, especially at the midpoint of a sharp curve. The evaluation results of five positions (0 m, 50 m, 100 m, 200 m, and 400 m in advance showed that only when the warning signs were placed 100 m or 200 m prior to sharp curves, can they achieve positive influence on driving behavior. On this basis, the authors look forward to providing rationalization proposals in selecting the best position of a warning sign on a sharp curve for the engineering implementation and national standard.

  19. On the sharp front-type solution of the Nagumo equation with ...

    Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

    One of the methods is to solve the travelling wave equations and compute an exact solution which describes the sharp travelling wavefront. The second method is to solve numer- ically an initial-moving boundary-value problem for the partial differential equation and obtain an approximation for this sharp front-type solution.

  20. Induced Biosynthesis of resveratrol and the prenylated stilbenoids arachidan-1 and arachidan-3 in hairy root cultures of peanut: effects of culture medium and growth stage

    Science.gov (United States)

    The peanut plant has evolved specialized biosynthetic mechanisms that allowed resisting infection by producing diverse secondary metabolites. Among these unique compounds are the stilbenoids, which include resveratrol analogues. Our previous research demonstrated that peanut hairy root cultures prov...

  1. Four year-old girl with having bled intestinal sharp

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Rodriguez Toro, Gerzain

    2001-01-01

    Indigenous girl, natural of Vaupes, Colombia conduction to the Mitu Hospital to present depositions with bleed. Their father says that the girl is sick for two days; she presents anorexia, moderate abdominal pain and vomit scarce postprandial, followed by discreet diarrhea and of two depositions with blood and abundant clots, with posterior syncope. It confirms a bled digestive with sharp anemic syndrome. The possibilities of gastritis sharp erosive, gastric ulcer or duodenal and intestinal poliparasitism are suggested. It is diagnosed abdominal angioestrongilosis, illness produce by helminths that lives inside the blind and the distal ileum

  2. Sharp fronts within geochemical transport problems

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Grindrod, P.

    1995-01-01

    The authors consider some reactive geochemical transport problems in groundwater systems. When incoming fluid is in disequilibrium with the mineralogy sharp transition fronts may develop. They show that this is a generic property for a class of systems where the timescales associated with reaction and diffusion phenomena are much shorter than those associated with advective transport. Such multiple timescale problems are relevant to a variety of processes in natural systems: mathematically methods of singular perturbation theory reduce the dimension of the problems to be solved locally. Furthermore, they consider how spatial heterogeneous mineralogy can impact upon the propagation of sharp geochemical fronts. The authors developed an asymptotic approach in which they solve equations for the evolving geometry of the front and indicate how the non-smooth perturbations due to natural heterogeneity of the mineralogy on underlying ground water flow field are balanced against the smoothing effect of diffusion/dispersive processes. Fronts are curvature damped, and the results here indicate the generic nature of separate front propagation within both model (idealized) and natural (heterogeneous) geochemical systems

  3. Consideration of vision and picture quality: psychological effects induced by picture sharpness

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kusaka, Hideo

    1989-08-01

    A psychological hierarchy model of human vision(1)(2) suggests that the visual signals are processed in a serial manner from lower to higher stages: that is "sensation" - "perception" - "emotion." For designing a future television system, it is important to find out what kinds of physical factors affect the "emotion" experienced by an observer in front of the display. This paper describes the psychological effects induced by the sharpness of the picture. The subjective picture quality was evaluated for the same pictures with five different levels of sharpness. The experiment was performed on two kinds of printed pictures: (A) a woman's face, and (B) a town corner. From these experiments, it was found that the amount of high-frequency peaking (physical value of the sharpness) which psychologically gives the best picture quality, differs between pictures (A) and (B). That is, the optimum picture sharpness differs depending on the picture content. From these results, we have concluded that the psychophysical sharpness of the picture is not only determined at the stage of "perception" (e.g., resolution or signal to noise ratio, which everyone can judge immediately), but also at the stage of "emotion" (e.g., sensation of reality or beauty).

  4. Weapon Use in Korean Homicide: Differences Between Homicides Involving Sharp and Blunt Instruments.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Park, Jisun; Son, Hyeonseo

    2017-10-23

    On the basis of information regarding 276 homicides committed in South Korea between 1987 and 2008, we compared offenders' and victims' characteristics, injury locations, weapon-related behavior, and offending behavior between homicides involving sharp and blunt instruments. The victims of sharp-force homicide were much younger relative to those of blunt-force homicide. In addition, homicides involving blunt instruments were more likely to be committed by offenders who lived with the victims. Most sharp-force homicides involved injuries to the torso, while blunt-force homicides involved mainly head injuries. Furthermore, perpetrators of sharp-force homicides tended to preselect their weapons, while those of blunt-force homicides were likely to use weapons of opportunity. Logistic regression analysis identified a number of factors, including injury location and body transportation, which significantly predicted weapon type. As this was the first South Korean study to compare sharp- and blunt-force homicides, the results have practical implications for homicide investigations. © 2017 American Academy of Forensic Sciences.

  5. Weighting of field heights for sharpness and noisiness

    Science.gov (United States)

    Keelan, Brian W.; Jin, Elaine W.

    2009-01-01

    Weighting of field heights is important in cases when a single numerical value needs to be calculated that characterizes an attribute's overall impact on perceived image quality. In this paper we report an observer study to derive the weighting of field heights for sharpness and noisiness. One-hundred-forty images were selected to represent a typical consumer photo space distribution. Fifty-three sample points were sampled per image, representing field heights of 0, 14, 32, 42, 51, 58, 71, 76, 86% and 100%. Six observers participated in this study. The field weights derived in this report include both: the effect of area versus field height (which is a purely objective, geometric factor); and the effect of the spatial distribution of image content that draws attention to or masks each of these image structure attributes. The results show that relative to the geometrical area weights, sharpness weights were skewed to lower field heights, because sharpness-critical subject matter was often positioned relatively near the center of an image. Conversely, because noise can be masked by signal, noisiness-critical content (such as blue skies, skin tones, walls, etc.) tended to occur farther from the center of an image, causing the weights to be skewed to higher field heights.

  6. Influence of Seeding Ratio, Planting Date, and Termination Date on Rye-Hairy Vetch Cover Crop Mixture Performance under Organic Management

    OpenAIRE

    Lawson, Andrew; Cogger, Craig; Bary, Andy; Fortuna, Ann-Marie

    2015-01-01

    Cover crop benefits include nitrogen accumulation and retention, weed suppression, organic matter maintenance, and reduced erosion. Organic farmers need region-specific information on winter cover crop performance to effectively integrate cover crops into their crop rotations. Our research objective was to compare cover crop seeding mixtures, planting dates, and termination dates on performance of rye (Secale cereale L.) and hairy vetch (Vicia villosa Roth) monocultures and mixtures in the ma...

  7. Polymer-based candle-shaped microneedle electrodes for electroencephalography on hairy skin

    Science.gov (United States)

    Arai, Miyako; Kudo, Yuta; Miki, Norihisa

    2016-06-01

    In this paper, we report on the optimization of the shape of dry microneedle electrodes for electroencephalography (EEG) on hairy locations and compare the electrodes we developed with conventional wet electrodes. We propose the use of SU-8-based candle-shaped microneedle electrodes (CMEs), which have pillars of 1.0 mm height and 0.4 mm diameter with a gap of 0.43 mm between pillars. Microneedles are formed on the top of the pillars. The shape was determined by how well the pillars can avoid hairs and support the microneedles to penetrate through the stratum corneum. The skin-electrode contact impedances of the fabricated CMEs were found to be higher and less stable than those of conventional wet electrodes. However, the CMEs successfully acquired signals with qualities as good as those of conventional wet electrodes. Given the usability of the CMEs, which do not require skin preparation or gel, they are promising alternatives to conventional wet electrodes.

  8. The effectiveness of sharp end and rounded end bristle toothbrush

    OpenAIRE

    Paulus Januar; Anastasia Susetyo; Ratih Widyastuti

    2010-01-01

    Background: Numerous designs of manual toothbrush are available in the market with the claims of superiority in plaque removal. It often makes the public confuse which is the best design. The sharp end bristle toothbrush is a modification that commercially available in the market. Purpose: The objective of the study was to compare the effectiveness in plaque removal of the sharp end bristle toothbrush and the rounded end bristle toothbrush. Methods: This clinical trial was a double blind cros...

  9. Control of glyphosate resistant hairy fleabane (Conyza bonariensis with dicamba and 2,4-D Controle de buva (Conyza bonariensis resistente ao glyphosate com dicamba e 2,4-D

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    D.J. Soares

    2012-06-01

    Full Text Available Auxyn type herbicides such as dicamba and 2,4-D are alternative herbicides that can be used to control glyphosate-resistant hairy fleabane. With the forthcoming possibility of releasing dicamba-resistant and 2,4-D-resistant crops, use of these growth regulator herbicides will likely be an alternative that can be applied to the control of glyphosate resistant hairy fleabane (Conyza bonariensis. The objective of this research was to model the efficacy, through dose-response curves, of glyphosate, 2,4-D, isolated dicamba and glyphosatedicamba combinations to control a brazilian hairy fleabane population resistant to glyphosate. The greenhouse dose-response studies were conducted as a completely randomized experimental design, and the rates used for dose response curve construction were 0, 120, 240, 480, 720 and 960 g a.i. ha-1 for 2,4-D, dicamba and the dicamba combination, with glyphosate at 540 g a.e. ha-1. The rates for glyphosate alone were 0, 180, 360, 540, 720 and 960 g a.e. ha-1. Herbicides were applied when the plants were in a vegetative stage with 10 to 12 leaves and height between 12 and 15 cm. Hairy fleabane had low sensitivity to glyphosate, with poor control even at the 960 g a.e. ha-1 rate. Dicamba and 2,4-D were effective in controlling the studied hairy fleabane. Hairy fleabane responds differently to 2,4-D and dicamba. The combination of glyphosate and dicamba was not antagonistic to hairy fleabane control, and glyphosate may cause an additive effect on the control, despite the population resistance.Os herbicidas mimetizadores de auxinas como dicamba e 2,4-D são alternativas para o controle de buva resistente ao glyphosate. Com a possível futura liberação comercial de culturas resistentes ao dicamba e 2,4-D, a aplicação destes herbicidas reguladores de crescimento será uma provável alternativa de controle de buva resistente ao glyphosate. O objetivo desta pesquisa foi modelar por meio de curvas de dose-resposta a efic

  10. PRACTICES FOR PREVENTION NEEDLESTICK AND SHARPS INJURIES AMONG NURSING STUDENTS

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Anh Tran Thi Quynh

    2017-07-01

    Full Text Available Background: Needlestick and sharp injuries are a serious hazard in any health care setting for health care workers and students during clinical practice. Thus, the efforts to prevent the needlestick and sharps injuries are needed and considered a part of the routine practice. Objective: This study aimed to investigate the frequency of nursing students in doing the correct practice in prevention needlestick and sharps injuries. Methods: This cross- sectional study was conducted between 2013 and 2014 in nursing students of Tien Giang Medical College who participated in clinical practice. There were 360 students participated in the study using simple random sampling. Data were collected using the practical assessment checklist and demographic characteristics questionnaire. Data were processed using STATA 12.0, and analyzed using Chi-square and Fisher test. Results: The students who did general practice correctly accounted for 52.50%, and those who did practice incorrectly was 47.5%. The students who used gauze or wool wrap in inhaler were 59.7%, wearing gloves in practice (39.2%, do not disassemble needles from syringes after injection 50%, and removing needles into barrel after injection (65.6%. There was statistically significant relationship between time of participation in clinical practice and correct practice with p-value 0.04 (<0.05 Conclusion: The correct practice of nursing students related to the prevention of needlestick and sharps injuries remains low. There was a significant relationship between time of participation in clinical practice and correct nursing practice. It is suggested that students must be taught about the risk of infection at the beginning of clinical practice, and constantly reminded throughout the learning process, especially for injection safety awareness, knowledge and techniques about the risk of transmission of HBV, HCV and HIV by sharp objects in the healthcare facility.

  11. Effect of Medium Supplements on Agrobacterium rhizogenes Mediated Hairy Root Induction from the Callus Tissues of Camellia sinensis var. sinensis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rana, Mohammad M; Han, Zhuo-Xiao; Song, Da-Peng; Liu, Guo-Feng; Li, Da-Xiang; Wan, Xiao-Chun; Karthikeyan, Alagarsamy; Wei, Shu

    2016-07-15

    Tea (Camellia sinensis L.) is recalcitrant to Agrobacterium-mediated genetic transformation largely due to the bactericidal effects of tea polyphenols and phenolics oxidation induced by necrosis of explant tissue over the process of transformation. In this study, different antioxidants/adsorbents were added as supplements to the co-cultivation and post co-cultivation media to overcome these problems for the transformation improvement. Tea-cotyledon-derived calli were used as explants and Agrobacterium rhizognes strain ATCC 15834 was used as a mediator. Results showed that Agrobacterium growth, virulence (vir) gene expression and browning of explant tissue were greatly influenced by different supplements. Murashige and Skoog (MS) basal salts medium supplemented with 30 g·L(-1) sucrose, 0.1 g·L(-1) l-glutamine and 5 g·L(-1) polyvinylpolypyrrolidone (PVPP) as co-cultivation and post co-cultivation media could maintain these parameters better that ultimately led to significant improvement of hairy root generation efficiency compared to that in the control (MS + 30 g·L(-1) sucrose). Additionally, the reporter genes β-glucuronidase (gusA) and cyan fluorescent protein (cfp) were also stably expressed in the transgenic hairy roots. Our study would be helpful in establishing a feasible approach for tea biological studies and genetic improvement of tea varieties.

  12. Effect of Medium Supplements on Agrobacterium rhizogenes Mediated Hairy Root Induction from the Callus Tissues of Camellia sinensis var. sinensis

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mohammad M. Rana

    2016-07-01

    Full Text Available Tea (Camellia sinensis L. is recalcitrant to Agrobacterium-mediated genetic transformation largely due to the bactericidal effects of tea polyphenols and phenolics oxidation induced by necrosis of explant tissue over the process of transformation. In this study, different antioxidants/adsorbents were added as supplements to the co-cultivation and post co-cultivation media to overcome these problems for the transformation improvement. Tea-cotyledon-derived calli were used as explants and Agrobacterium rhizognes strain ATCC 15834 was used as a mediator. Results showed that Agrobacterium growth, virulence (vir gene expression and browning of explant tissue were greatly influenced by different supplements. Murashige and Skoog (MS basal salts medium supplemented with 30 g·L−1 sucrose, 0.1 g·L−1 l-glutamine and 5 g·L−1 polyvinylpolypyrrolidone (PVPP as co-cultivation and post co-cultivation media could maintain these parameters better that ultimately led to significant improvement of hairy root generation efficiency compared to that in the control (MS + 30 g·L−1 sucrose. Additionally, the reporter genes β-glucuronidase (gusA and cyan fluorescent protein (cfp were also stably expressed in the transgenic hairy roots. Our study would be helpful in establishing a feasible approach for tea biological studies and genetic improvement of tea varieties.

  13. SHARP: A multi-mission artificial intelligence system for spacecraft telemetry monitoring and diagnosis

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lawson, Denise L.; James, Mark L.

    1989-01-01

    The Spacecraft Health Automated Reasoning Prototype (SHARP) is a system designed to demonstrate automated health and status analysis for multi-mission spacecraft and ground data systems operations. Telecommunications link analysis of the Voyager 2 spacecraft is the initial focus for the SHARP system demonstration which will occur during Voyager's encounter with the planet Neptune in August, 1989, in parallel with real time Voyager operations. The SHARP system combines conventional computer science methodologies with artificial intelligence techniques to produce an effective method for detecting and analyzing potential spacecraft and ground systems problems. The system performs real time analysis of spacecraft and other related telemetry, and is also capable of examining data in historical context. A brief introduction is given to the spacecraft and ground systems monitoring process at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory. The current method of operation for monitoring the Voyager Telecommunications subsystem is described, and the difficulties associated with the existing technology are highlighted. The approach taken in the SHARP system to overcome the current limitations is also described, as well as both the conventional and artificial intelligence solutions developed in SHARP.

  14. ENVIRONMENTAL TECHNOLOGY VERIFICATION REPORT, HVLP COATING EQUIPMENT, SHARPE MANUFACTURING COMPANY PLATINUM 2012 HVLP SPRAY GUN

    Science.gov (United States)

    This report presents the results of the verification test of the Sharpe Platinum 2013 high-volume, low-pressure gravity-feed spray gun, hereafter referred to as the Sharpe Platinum, which is designed for use in automotive refinishing. The test coating chosen by Sharpe Manufacturi...

  15. Sharp superconductor-insulator transition in short wires

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Meidan, Dganit; Oreg, Yuval; Refael, Gil; Smith, Robert A.

    2008-01-01

    Recent experiments on short MoGe nanowires show a sharp superconductor-insulator transition tuned by the normal state resistance of the wire, with a critical resistance of R c ∼ R Q = h/(4e 2 ). These results are at odds with a broad range of theoretical work on Josephson-like systems that predicts a smooth transition, tuned by the value of the resistance that shunts the junction. We develop a self-consistent renormalization group treatment of interacting phase-slips and their dual counterparts, correlated cooper pair tunneling, beyond the dilute approximation. This analysis leads to a very sharp transition with a critical resistance of R Q . The addition of the quasi-particles' resistance at finite temperature leads to a quantitative agreement with the experimental results. This self-consistent renormalization group method should also be applicable to other physical systems that can be mapped onto similar sine-Gordon models, in the previously inaccessible intermediate-coupling regime

  16. Suspected pyrrolizidine alkaloid hepatotoxicosis in wild southern hairy-nosed wombats (Lasiorhinus latifrons).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Woolford, Lucy; Fletcher, Mary T; Boardman, Wayne S J

    2014-07-30

    Southern hairy-nosed wombats (Lasiorhinus latifrons) inhabiting degraded habitat in South Australia were recently identified with extensive hair loss and dermatitis and were in thin to emaciated body condition. Pathological and clinicopathological investigations on affected juvenile wombats identified a toxic hepatopathy suggestive of plants containing pyrrolizidine alkaloids, accompanied by photosensitive dermatitis. Hepatic disease was suspected in additional wombats on the basis of serum biochemical analysis. Preliminary toxicological analysis performed on scats and gastrointestinal contents from wombats found in this degraded habitat identified a number of toxic pyrrolizidine alkaloids consistent with ingestion of Heliotropeum europaeum. Although unpalatable, ingestion may occur by young animals due to decreased availability of preferred forages in degraded habitats and the emergence of weeds around the time of weaning of naive animals. Habitat degradation leading to malnutrition and ingestion of toxic weed species is a significant welfare issue in this species.

  17. Hairy root transgene expression analysis of a secretory peroxidase (PvPOX1) from common bean infected by Fusarium wilt.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Xue, Renfeng; Wu, Xingbo; Wang, Yingjie; Zhuang, Yan; Chen, Jian; Wu, Jing; Ge, Weide; Wang, Lanfen; Wang, Shumin; Blair, Matthew W

    2017-07-01

    Plant peroxidases (POXs) are one of the most important redox enzymes in the defense responses. However, the large number of different plant POX genes makes it necessary to carefully confirm the function of each paralogous POX gene in specific tissues and disease interactions. Fusarium wilt is a devastating disease of common bean caused by Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. phaseoli. In this study, we evaluated a peroxidase gene, PvPOX1, from a resistant common bean genotype, CAAS260205 and provided direct evidence for PvPOX1's role in resistance by transforming the resistant allele into a susceptible common bean genotype, BRB130, via hairy root transformation using Agrobacterium rhizogenes. Analysis of PvPOX1 gene over-expressing hairy roots showed it increased resistance to Fusarium wilt both in the roots and the rest of transgenic plants. Meanwhile, the PvPOX1 expressive level, the peroxidase activity and hydrogen peroxide (H 2 O 2 ) accumulation were also enhanced in the interaction. The result showed that the PvPOX1 gene played an essential role in Fusarium wilt resistance through the occurrence of reactive oxygen species (ROS) induced hypersensitive response. Therefore, PvPOX1 expression was proven to be a valuable gene for further analysis which can strengthen host defense response against Fusarium wilt through a ROS activated resistance mechanism. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  18. SHARP - a framework for incorporating human interactions into PRA studies

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hannaman, G.W.; Joksimovich, V.; Spurgin, A.J.; Worledge, D.H.

    1985-01-01

    Recently, increased attention has been given to understanding the role of humans in the safe operation of nuclear power plants. By virtue of the ability to combine equipment reliability with human reliability probabilistic risk assessment (PRA) technology was deemed capable of providing significant insights about the contributions of human interations in accident scenarios. EPRI recognized the need to strengthen the methodology for incorporating human interactions into PRAs as one element of their broad research program to improve the credibility of PRAs. This research project lead to the development and detailed description of SHARP (Systematic Human Application Reliability Procedure) in EPRI NP-3583. The objective of this paper is to illustrate the SHARP framework. This should help PRA analysts state more clearly their assumptions and approach no matter which human reliability assessment technique is used. SHARP includes a structure of seven analysis steps which can be formally or informally performed during PRAs. The seven steps are termed definition, screening, breakdown, representation, impact assessment, quantification, and documentation

  19. Understanding sharps injuries in home healthcare: The Safe Home Care qualitative methods study to identify pathways for injury prevention.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Markkanen, Pia; Galligan, Catherine; Laramie, Angela; Fisher, June; Sama, Susan; Quinn, Margaret

    2015-04-11

    Home healthcare is one of the fastest growing sectors in the United States. Percutaneous injuries from sharp medical devices (sharps) are a source of bloodborne pathogen infections among home healthcare workers and community members. Sharps use and disposal practices in the home are highly variable and there is no comprehensive analysis of the system of sharps procurement, use and disposal in home healthcare. This gap is a barrier to effective public health interventions. The objectives of this study were to i) identify the full range of pathways by which sharps enter and exit the home, stakeholders involved, and barriers for using sharps with injury prevention features; and ii) assess the leverage points for preventive interventions. This study employed qualitative research methods to develop two systems maps of the use of sharps and prevention of sharps injuries in home healthcare. Twenty-six in-depth interview sessions were conducted including home healthcare agency clinicians, public health practitioners, sharps device manufacturers, injury prevention advocates, pharmacists and others. Interview transcripts were audio-recorded and analyzed thematically using NVIVO qualitative research analysis software. Analysis of supporting archival material also was conducted. All findings guided development of the two maps. Sharps enter the home via multiple complex pathways involving home healthcare providers and home users. The providers reported using sharps with injury prevention features. However, home users' sharps seldom had injury prevention features and sharps were commonly re-used for convenience and cost-savings. Improperly discarded sharps present hazards to caregivers, waste handlers, and community members. The most effective intervention potential exists at the beginning of the sharps systems maps where interventions can eliminate or minimize sharps injuries, in particular with needleless treatment methods and sharps with injury prevention features

  20. Sharps injury reduction: a six-year, three-phase study comparing use of a small patient-room sharps disposal container with a larger engineered container.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Grimmond, T; Naisoro, W

    2014-09-01

    A 350-bed Sydney hospital noted excessive container-associated sharps injuries (CASI) using small sharps containers and compared the effect from 2004 to 2010 of using a larger container engineered to reduce CASI. In Phase 1 (Ph1), disposable 1.4L containers (BD Australia) were carried to/from patients' rooms. In Phase 2 (Ph2), this stopped and a safety-engineered 32L reusable container (the Device; Sharpsmart, SteriHealth) was mounted in medication stations only and sharps were carried to and from patient rooms using kidney dishes. In Phase 3 (Ph3), the Device was wall-mounted in patient rooms. Sharps injuries were categorised as 'during-procedure', 'after-procedure but before disposal', 'CASI', and 'improper disposal SI'. Disposal-related SI comprised CASI plus improper-disposal SI. Injuries per 100 full-time-equivalent staff were analysed using Chi 2 ; p ≤ 0.05; and relative risk and 95% confidence limits were calculated. In Ph1 (small containers) 19.4% of SI were CASI and transport injuries were zero. In Ph2 (Device in medication station) CASI fell 94.9% ( p <0.001); Disposal-related SI fell 71.1% ( p =0.002) but transport injuries rose significantly. In Ph3 (Device in patient room) zero CASI occurred ( p <0.001); Disposal-related SI fell 83.1% ( p =0.001). Recapping SI fell 85.1% ( p =0.01) with the Device. The Device's volume, large aperture, passive overfill-protection and close-at-hand siting are postulated as SI reduction factors.

  1. Understanding to Hierarchical Microstructures of Crab (Chinese hairy) Shell as a Natural Architecture

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Chuanqiang, Zhou [Testing Center, Yangzhou University, No. 48 Wenhui East Road, Yangzhou (China); Xiangxiang, Gong [Testing Center, Yangzhou University, No. 48 Wenhui East Road, Yangzhou (China); School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Yangzhou University, Yangzhou (China); Jie, Han [School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Yangzhou University, Yangzhou (China)

    2016-03-07

    This work was done to better understand the microstructures, composition and mechanical properties of Chinese hairy crab shell. For fully revealing its hierarchical microstructure, the crab shell was observed with electron microscope under different magnifications from different facets. XRD, EDS, FTIR and TGA techniques have been used to characterize the untreated and chemically-treated crab shells, which provided enough information to determine the species and relative content of components in this biomaterial. Combined the microstructures with constituents analysis, the structural principles of crab shell was detailedly realized from different structural levels beyond former reports. To explore the relationship between structure and function, the mechanical properties of shell have been measured through performing tensile tests. The contributions of organics and minerals in shell to the mechanical properties were also discussed by measuring the tensile strength of de-calcification samples treated with HCl solution.

  2. Understanding to Hierarchical Microstructures of Crab (Chinese hairy) Shell as a Natural Architecture

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Chuanqiang, Zhou; Xiangxiang, Gong; Jie, Han

    2016-01-01

    This work was done to better understand the microstructures, composition and mechanical properties of Chinese hairy crab shell. For fully revealing its hierarchical microstructure, the crab shell was observed with electron microscope under different magnifications from different facets. XRD, EDS, FTIR and TGA techniques have been used to characterize the untreated and chemically-treated crab shells, which provided enough information to determine the species and relative content of components in this biomaterial. Combined the microstructures with constituents analysis, the structural principles of crab shell was detailedly realized from different structural levels beyond former reports. To explore the relationship between structure and function, the mechanical properties of shell have been measured through performing tensile tests. The contributions of organics and minerals in shell to the mechanical properties were also discussed by measuring the tensile strength of de-calcification samples treated with HCl solution

  3. Notes on breeding sharp-shinned hawks and Cooper’s hawks in Barnwell County, South Carolina.

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Vukovich, Mark; Kilgo, John, C.

    2009-07-01

    Abstract - Breeding records of Accipiter striatus (Sharp-shinned Hawks) in the southeastern US are scattered and isolated. We documented a Sharp-shinned Hawk and Accipiter cooperii (Cooper’s Hawk) nest while conducting a telemetry study on Melanerpes erythrocephalus (Red-headed Woodpeckers) in Barnwell County, SC in 2006 and 2007. We report the first known nest of a Sharp-shinned Hawk in Barnwell County, SC and the first report of Sharp-shinned Hawks preying upon Red-headed Woodpeckers. Thirteen of 93 (13.9 %) woodpeckers were killed by accipiters in the summers of 2006 and 2007. Large, contiguous forests managed for Picoides borealis (Red-cockaded Woodpeckers) may be used by breeding Sharp-shinned Hawks. The bright plumage, loud calls, and behavior of Red-headed Woodpeckers, particularly during the nestling stage, may make them conspicuous prey for accipiters.

  4. Inference for the Sharpe Ratio Using a Likelihood-Based Approach

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ying Liu

    2012-01-01

    Full Text Available The Sharpe ratio is the prominent risk-adjusted performance measure used by practitioners. Statistical testing of this ratio using its asymptotic distribution has lagged behind its use. In this paper, highly accurate likelihood analysis is applied for inference on the Sharpe ratio. Both the one- and two-sample problems are considered. The methodology has O(n−3/2 distributional accuracy and can be implemented using any parametric return distribution structure. Simulations are provided to demonstrate the method's superior accuracy over existing methods used for testing in the literature.

  5. Evaluation of tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum L. cv. Petit Havana SR1) hairy roots for the production of geraniol, the first committed step in terpenoid indole alkaloid pathway

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Ritala, A.; Dong, L.; Imseng, N.; Seppanen-Laakso, T.; Vasilev, N.; Krol, van der A.R.; Rischer, H.; Maaheimo, H.; Virkki, A.; Brandli, J.; Schillberg, S.; Eibl, R.; Bouwmeester, H.J.; Oksman-Caldentey, K.M.

    2014-01-01

    The terpenoid indole alkaloids are one of the major classes of plant-derived natural products and are well known for their many applications in the pharmaceutical, fragrance and cosmetics industries. Hairy root cultures are useful for the production of plant secondary metabolites because of their

  6. Implementación de un protocolo para la producción de raíces pilosas (hairy roots de uña de gato (Uncaria tomentosa mediante transformación con Agrobacterium rhizogenes Implementation of a protocol for the production of hairy roots of cat’s claw (Uncaria tomentosa by Agrobacterium rhizogenes mediated transformation

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Giovanni Garro Monge

    2012-11-01

    compounds is concentrated. Because of this,the production of hairy roots becomes an alternative technique for scale production of the metabolites of interest. In this research, a protocol was implemented using agroinfection of U. tomentosa shoot tips with wild strains of Agrobacterium rizhogenes (AR1500 and A4RS and maintenance of hairy roots obtained. In collaboration with the Laboratory of Molecular Biology of the PIPRA program (UC Davis, we determined the efficacy of this agroinfection protocol and the use of other molecular tools which showed satisfactory results in testing agroinfection under the methodologies established.

  7. Sharp Trapping Boundaries in the Random Walk of Interplanetary Magnetic Field Lines

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ruffolo, D.; Chuychai, P.; Meechai, J.; Pongkitiwanichkul, P.; Kimpraphan, N.; Matthaeus, W. H.; Rowlands, G.

    2004-05-01

    Although magnetic field lines in space are believed to undergo a diffusive random walk in the long-distance limit, observed dropouts of solar energetic particles, as well as computer simulations, indicate sharply defined filaments in which interplanetary magnetic field lines have been temporarily trapped. We identify mechanisms that can explain such sharp boundaries in the framework of 2D+slab turbulence, a model that provides a good explanation of solar wind turbulence spectra and the parallel transport of solar energetic particles. Local trapping boundaries (LTBs) are empirically defined as trajectories of 2D turbulence where the mean 2D field is a local maximum. In computer simulations, the filaments (or ``islands'' in the two dimensions perpendicular to the mean field) that are most resistant to slab diffusion correspond closely to the mathematically defined LTBs, that is, there is a mathematical prescription for defining the trapping regions. Furthermore, we provide computational evidence and a theoretical explanation that strong 2D turbulence can inhibit diffusion due to the slab component. Therefore, while these filaments are basically defined by the small-scale topology of 2D turbulence, there can be sharp trapping boundaries where the 2D field is strongest. This work was supported by the Thailand Research Fund, the Rachadapisek Sompoj Fund of Chulalongkorn University, and NASA Grant NAG5-11603. G.R. thanks Mahidol University for its hospitality and the Thailand Commission for Higher Education for travel support.

  8. Energy dissipation characteristics of sharp-edged orifice plate

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ai Wanzheng

    2015-08-01

    Full Text Available The energy loss coefficient, relating directly to the energy dissipation ratio, is an important index of this energy dissipater. In this article, this coefficient and its affecting parameters were analyzed by theoretical considerations, and their relationships were obtained by numerical simulations. It could be concluded that the energy loss coefficient of sharp-edged orifice plate and its backflow region length were mainly dominated by the contraction ratio of the orifice plate. Sharp-edged orifice plate’s energy loss coefficient and its backflow region length all increase slightly with the increase in its thickness. When Reynolds number is in the range of 9.00×104–10.3×106, Reynolds number has little impacts on energy loss coefficient and backflow region length. Two empirical expressions, relating to backflow region length and energy loss coefficient, respectively, were presented.

  9. Cryogenic receiver front-end with sharp skirt characteristics

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Narahashi, S [RF Technology Laboratory, Wireless Laboratories, NTT DoCoMo, Inc, Yokosuka, Kanagawa 239-8536 (Japan); Satoh, K [RF Technology Laboratory, Wireless Laboratories, NTT DoCoMo, Inc, Yokosuka, Kanagawa 239-8536 (Japan); Kawai, K [RF Technology Laboratory, Wireless Laboratories, NTT DoCoMo, Inc, Yokosuka, Kanagawa 239-8536 (Japan); Koizumi, D [RF Technology Laboratory, Wireless Laboratories, NTT DoCoMo, Inc, Yokosuka, Kanagawa 239-8536 (Japan); Nojima, T [Graduate School of Information Science and Technology, Hokkaido University, Sapporo, Hokkaido 060-0808 (Japan)

    2006-05-15

    This paper presents an experimental cryogenic receiver front-end (CRFE) with sharp skirt characteristics for mobile base stations. The CRFE comprises a high-temperature superconducting filter, a cryogenic low-noise amplifier, and a highly reliable cryostat that is very compact. The major characteristics of the proposed CRFE measured at 70 K are a centre frequency of 1.95 GHz, passband width of 20 MHz, sharp selectivity of 20 dB/100 kHz, 1.4 dB ripple, 31.3 dB average passband gain, and average passband equivalent noise temperature of 47.9 K. The CRFE weighs 19 kg and occupies 35 l. Random failure of the cryostat is also evaluated by a continuous operation test using four identical ones simultaneously. The cryostat used in the CRFE has a high reliability level of over five years of continuous maintenance-free operation.

  10. Sharp bounds for periodic solutions of Lipschitzian differential equations

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zevin, A A

    2009-01-01

    A general system of Lipschitzian differential equations, containing simultaneously terms without delay and with arbitrary constant and time-varying delays, is considered. For the autonomous case, a lower bound for the period of nonconstant periodic solutions, expressed in the respective supremum Lipschitz constants, is found. For nonautonomous periodic equations, explicit upper bounds for the amplitudes and maximum derivatives of periodic solutions are obtained. For all n ≥ 2, the bounds do not depend on n and, in general, are different from that for n = 1. All the bounds are sharp; they are attained in linear differential equations with piece-wise constant deviating arguments. A relation between the obtained bounds and the sharp bounds in other metrics is established

  11. Relationship between sharps disposal containers and Clostridium difficile infections in acute care hospitals.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pogorzelska-Maziarz, Monika

    2015-10-01

    Sharps disposal containers are ubiquitous in health care facilities; however, there is paucity of data on their potential role in pathogen transmission. This study assessed the relationship between use of single-use versus reusable sharps containers and rates of Clostridium difficile infections in a national sample of hospitals. A 2013 survey of 1,990 hospitals collected data on the use of sharps containers. Responses were linked to the 2012 Medicare Provider Analysis and Review dataset. Bivariate and multivariable negative binomial regression were conducted to examine differences in C difficile rates between hospitals using single-use versus reusable containers. There were 604 hospitals who completed the survey; of these, 539 provided data on use of sharps containers in 2012 (27% response rate). Hospitals had, on average, 289 beds (SD ± 203) and were predominantly non-for-profit (67%) and nonteaching (63%). Most used reusable sharps containers (72%). In bivariate regression, hospitals using single-use containers had significantly lower rates of C difficile versus hospitals using reusable containers (incidence rate ratio [IRR] = 0.846, P = .001). This relationship persisted in multivariable regression (IRR = 0.870, P = .003) after controlling for other hospital characteristics. This is the first study to show a link between use of single-use sharps containers and lower C difficile rates. Future research should investigate the potential for environmental contamination of reusable containers and the role they may play in pathogen transmission. Copyright © 2015 Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology, Inc. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  12. Focusing optical waves with a rotationally symmetric sharp-edge aperture

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hu, Yanwen; Fu, Shenhe; Li, Zhen; Yin, Hao; Zhou, Jianying; Chen, Zhenqiang

    2018-04-01

    While there has been various kinds of patterned structures proposed for wave focusing, these patterned structures usually involve complicated lithographic techniques since the element size of the patterned structures should be precisely controlled in microscale or even nanoscale. Here we propose a new and straightforward method for focusing an optical plane wave in free space with a rotationally symmetric sharp-edge aperture. The focusing phenomenon of wave is realized by superposition of a portion of the higher-order symmetric plane waves generated from the sharp edges of the apertures, in contrast to previously focusing techniques which usually depend on a curved phase. We demonstrate both experimentally and theoretically the focusing effect with a series of apertures having different rotational symmetry, and find that the intensity of the hotspots could be controlled by the symmetric strength of the sharp-edge apertures. The presented results would advance the conventional wisdom that light would diffract in all directions and become expanding when it propagates through an aperture. The proposed method is easy to be processed, and might open potential applications in interferometry, image, and superresolution.

  13. Silencing the Transcriptional Repressor, ZCT1, Illustrates the Tight Regulation of Terpenoid Indole Alkaloid Biosynthesis in Catharanthus roseus Hairy Roots.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Noreen F Rizvi

    Full Text Available The Catharanthus roseus plant is the source of many valuable terpenoid indole alkaloids (TIAs, including the anticancer compounds vinblastine and vincristine. Transcription factors (TFs are promising metabolic engineering targets due to their ability to regulate multiple biosynthetic pathway genes. To increase TIA biosynthesis, we elicited the TIA transcriptional activators (ORCAs and other unidentified TFs with the plant hormone, methyl jasmonate (MJ, while simultaneously silencing the expression of the transcriptional repressor ZCT1. To silence ZCT1, we developed transgenic hairy root cultures of C. roseus that expressed an estrogen-inducible Zct1 hairpin for activating RNA interference. The presence of 17β-estradiol (5μM effectively depleted Zct1 in hairy root cultures elicited with MJ dosages that either optimize or inhibit TIA production (250 or 1000μM. However, silencing Zct1 was not sufficient to increase TIA production or the expression of the TIA biosynthetic genes (G10h, Tdc, and Str, illustrating the tight regulation of TIA biosynthesis. The repression of the TIA biosynthetic genes at the inhibitory MJ dosage does not appear to be solely regulated by ZCT1. For instance, while Zct1 and Zct2 levels decreased through activating the Zct1 hairpin, Zct3 levels remained elevated. Since ZCT repressors have redundant yet distinct functions, silencing all three ZCTs may be necessary to relieve their repression of alkaloid biosynthesis.

  14. Sharp Injuries Among Hospital Waste Handlers | Olaitan | Nigerian ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    , C as well as other before commencing on their jobs. Workers should be screened for infective diseases that can be of legal problem while at the job and the workers should be effectively immunized. Key words: sharp injuries, waste, handlers, ...

  15. Notes on breeding sharp-shinned hawks and cooper’s hawks in Barnwell County, South Carolina

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mark Vukovich; John C. Kilgo

    2009-01-01

    Breeding records of Accipiter striatus (Sharp-shinned Hawks) in the southeastern US are scattered and isolated. We documented a Sharp-shinned Hawk and Accipiter cooperii (Cooper’s Hawk) nest while conducting a telemetry study on Melanerpes erythrocephalus (Red-headed Woodpeckers) in Barnwell County, SC in 2006 and 2007. We report the first known nest of a Sharp-shinned...

  16. Morphology of second and third instars of Chrysomya villeneuvi Patton (Diptera: Calliphoridae), a fly species of forensic importance.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sukontason, Kom; Sukontason, Kabkaew L; Piangjai, Somsak; Narongchai, Paitoon; Samai, Wirachai; Boonchu, Noppawan; Sripakdee, Duanghatai; Ngern-Klun, Radchadawan; Siriwattanarungsee, Sirisuda

    2005-11-25

    The morphology of the second and third instars of Chrysomya villeneuvi Patton, a fly species of forensic importance, was presented by use of light microscopy. Both instars were of hairy appearance, bearing elongated tubercles along the abdominal and caudal segments. The anterior spiracle had 13-15 papillae. Minute dark spots were observed to thoroughly cover the tubercle's surface, with 4-6 strong dark tips. Regarding the third instar, the intersegmental spines between the prothorax and mesothorax were heavily pigmented. The posterior spiracle had a thick and heavily pigmented incomplete peritreme. The surface and tip of the tubercles was covered with heavily pigmented sharp spines. The integument of the body was covered with numerous distinct net-like patches. A comparison with another well-known hairy maggot, Chrysomya rufifacies (Macquart), was discussed.

  17. Influence of gantry angle in helical computed tomography. Usefullness of 1-dimension sharpness filter

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Kawano, Hirofumi; Suzuki, Toru; Matsuura, Shigeru; Kai, Tsuyoshi; Shimizu, Toshiyuki [Hyuga Hospital of Saiseikai Foundation, Kadogawa, Miyazaki (Japan)

    2001-05-01

    When we let gantry tilt and do scan in helical CT, vertical sharpness deteriorates. We were able to revise it with 1-dimensional sharpness filter which the square sum of difference of MTF was compared, and was designed this time. And the unsharpness was in proportion to sin of gantry angle. As a result, we led several sets of frequency emphasis degree. There is a model to built 1-dimension sharpness filter in a scan plan. It is useful for clinical diagnoses. (author)

  18. Influence of gantry angle in helical computed tomography. Usefullness of 1-dimension sharpness filter

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kawano, Hirofumi; Suzuki, Toru; Matsuura, Shigeru; Kai, Tsuyoshi; Shimizu, Toshiyuki

    2001-01-01

    When we let gantry tilt and do scan in helical CT, vertical sharpness deteriorates. We were able to revise it with 1-dimensional sharpness filter which the square sum of difference of MTF was compared, and was designed this time. And the unsharpness was in proportion to sin of gantry angle. As a result, we led several sets of frequency emphasis degree. There is a model to built 1-dimension sharpness filter in a scan plan. It is useful for clinical diagnoses. (author)

  19. Sharp Central Venous Recanalization in Hemodialysis Patients: A Single-Institution Experience

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Arabi, Mohammad, E-mail: marabi2004@hotmail.com; Ahmed, Ishtiaq; Mat’hami, Abdulaziz [Prince Sultan Military Medical City (PSMMC), Division of Endovascular Interventional Radiology, Department of Medical Imaging (Saudi Arabia); Ahmed, Dildar; Aslam, Naveed [Prince Sultan Military Medical City (PSMMC), Department of Nephrology (Saudi Arabia)

    2016-06-15

    PurposeWe report our institutional experience with sharp central venous recanalization in chronic hemodialysis patients who failed standard techniques.Materials and MethodsSince January 2014, a series of seven consecutive patients (four males and three females), mean age 35 years (18–65 years), underwent sharp central venous recanalization. Indications included obtaining hemodialysis access (n = 6) and restoration of superior vena cava (SVC) patency to alleviate occlusion symptoms and restore fistula function (n = 1). The transseptal needle was used for sharp recanalization in six patients, while it could not be introduced in one patient due to total occlusion of the inferior vena cava. Instead, transmediastinal SVC access using Chiba needle was obtained.ResultsTechnical success was achieved in all cases. SVC recanalization achieved symptoms’ relief and restored fistula function in the symptomatic patient. One patient underwent arteriovenous fistula creation on the recanalized side 3 months after the procedure. The remaining catheters were functional at median follow-up time of 9 months (1–14 months). Two major complications occurred including a right hemothorax and a small hemopericardium, which were managed by covered stent placement across the perforated SVC.ConclusionSharp central venous recanalization using the transseptal needle is feasible technique in patients who failed standard recanalization procedures. The potential high risk of complications necessitates thorough awareness of anatomy and proper technical preparedness.

  20. Sharp Central Venous Recanalization in Hemodialysis Patients: A Single-Institution Experience

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Arabi, Mohammad; Ahmed, Ishtiaq; Mat’hami, Abdulaziz; Ahmed, Dildar; Aslam, Naveed

    2016-01-01

    PurposeWe report our institutional experience with sharp central venous recanalization in chronic hemodialysis patients who failed standard techniques.Materials and MethodsSince January 2014, a series of seven consecutive patients (four males and three females), mean age 35 years (18–65 years), underwent sharp central venous recanalization. Indications included obtaining hemodialysis access (n = 6) and restoration of superior vena cava (SVC) patency to alleviate occlusion symptoms and restore fistula function (n = 1). The transseptal needle was used for sharp recanalization in six patients, while it could not be introduced in one patient due to total occlusion of the inferior vena cava. Instead, transmediastinal SVC access using Chiba needle was obtained.ResultsTechnical success was achieved in all cases. SVC recanalization achieved symptoms’ relief and restored fistula function in the symptomatic patient. One patient underwent arteriovenous fistula creation on the recanalized side 3 months after the procedure. The remaining catheters were functional at median follow-up time of 9 months (1–14 months). Two major complications occurred including a right hemothorax and a small hemopericardium, which were managed by covered stent placement across the perforated SVC.ConclusionSharp central venous recanalization using the transseptal needle is feasible technique in patients who failed standard recanalization procedures. The potential high risk of complications necessitates thorough awareness of anatomy and proper technical preparedness.

  1. Maintaining knife sharpness in industrial meat cutting: A matter of knife or meat cutter ability.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Karltun, J; Vogel, K; Bergstrand, M; Eklund, J

    2016-09-01

    Knife sharpness is imperative in meat cutting. The aim of this study was to compare the impact of knife blade steel quality with meat cutters' individual ability to maintain the cutting edge sharp in an industrial production setting. Twelve meat cutters in two different companies using three different knives during normal production were studied in this quasi-experimental study. Methods included were measuring knife cutting force before and after knife use, time knives were used, ratings of sharpness and discomfort and interviews. Results showed that the meat cutters' skill of maintaining sharpness during work had a much larger effect on knife sharpness during work than the knife steel differences. The ability was also related to feelings of discomfort and to physical exertion. It was found that meat cutters using more knives were more likely to suffer from discomfort in the upper limbs, which is a risk for developing MSD. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  2. Lacosamide and Levetiracetam Have No Effect on Sharp-Wave Ripple Rate.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kudlacek, Jan; Chvojka, Jan; Posusta, Antonin; Kovacova, Lubica; Hong, Seung Bong; Weiss, Shennan; Volna, Kamila; Marusic, Petr; Otahal, Jakub; Jiruska, Premysl

    2017-01-01

    Pathological high-frequency oscillations are a novel marker used to improve the delineation of epileptogenic tissue and, hence, the outcome of epilepsy surgery. Their practical clinical utilization is curtailed by the inability to discriminate them from physiological oscillations due to frequency overlap. Although it is well documented that pathological HFOs are suppressed by antiepileptic drugs (AEDs), the effect of AEDs on normal HFOs is not well known. In this experimental study, we have explored whether physiological HFOs (sharp-wave ripples) of hippocampal origin respond to AED treatment. The results show that application of a single dose of levetiracetam or lacosamide does not reduce the rate of sharp-wave ripples. In addition, it seems that these new generation drugs do not negatively affect the cellular and network mechanisms involved in sharp-wave ripple generation, which may provide a plausible explanation for the absence of significant negative effects on cognitive functions of these drugs, particularly on memory.

  3. Jasper Sharp - mees, kes jättis varasema töö, et vaadata Jaapani filme / Jasper Sharp ; intervjueerinud Helen Merila

    Index Scriptorium Estoniae

    Sharp, Jasper, 1971-

    2011-01-01

    Euroopa kultuuripealinn Tallinn 2011 programmi osana ning koostöös Zipangu Fest'iga korraldatakse Tallinna Kinomajas 25.-28. aug.-ni Aasia sõltumatute filmide festival EVA - East via Asia. Festivali kuraator, veebisaidi Midnight Eye kaastoimetaja Jasper Sharp endast, festivalist, Jaapani sõltumatust kinost tänapäeval. Festivali kava

  4. A report on SHARP (Spacecraft Health Automated Reasoning Prototype) and the Voyager Neptune encounter

    Science.gov (United States)

    Martin, R. G. (Editor); Atkinson, D. J.; James, M. L.; Lawson, D. L.; Porta, H. J.

    1990-01-01

    The development and application of the Spacecraft Health Automated Reasoning Prototype (SHARP) for the operations of the telecommunications systems and link analysis functions in Voyager mission operations are presented. An overview is provided of the design and functional description of the SHARP system as it was applied to Voyager. Some of the current problems and motivations for automation in real-time mission operations are discussed, as are the specific solutions that SHARP provides. The application of SHARP to Voyager telecommunications had the goal of being a proof-of-capability demonstration of artificial intelligence as applied to the problem of real-time monitoring functions in planetary mission operations. AS part of achieving this central goal, the SHARP application effort was also required to address the issue of the design of an appropriate software system architecture for a ground-based, highly automated spacecraft monitoring system for mission operations, including methods for: (1) embedding a knowledge-based expert system for fault detection, isolation, and recovery within this architecture; (2) acquiring, managing, and fusing the multiple sources of information used by operations personnel; and (3) providing information-rich displays to human operators who need to exercise the capabilities of the automated system. In this regard, SHARP has provided an excellent example of how advanced artificial intelligence techniques can be smoothly integrated with a variety of conventionally programmed software modules, as well as guidance and solutions for many questions about automation in mission operations.

  5. Needlestick and Sharp Instruments Injuries among Brazilian Dentistry Students

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fernandes, Liege Helena Freitas; Nunes, Wanúbia Barbosa; Silva, Larissa Costa; Wanderley, Rayssa Lucena; Barros, Criseuda Maria Benício; Cavalcanti, Alessandro Leite

    2017-01-01

    Background: The occurrence of occupational accidents is common among students and dentists. The present study is aimed to evaluate the prevalence and characteristics of needlestick and sharp instrument injuries among dentistry students. Materials and Methods: A documentary research was carried out with data being obtained from the analysis of 137 medical records of injuries caused by needlestick and sharp instruments occurring in the period from 2012 to 2016 and were analyzed regarding the characteristics of the victim (gender and age) and the accident (year, time, environment, and time interval between exposure and search for care). Data were organized in the Statistical Package for Social Sciences software version 18 and were presented through descriptive statistics. Results: The occurrence of accidents was high (43.1%), with the predominance of female victims (66.1%) and aged up to 23 years (55.9%). The majority of events occurred in the afternoon (54.4%), in the clinical setting (70.7%), and in 75% of the cases, the search for care occurred within 2 h after exposure. Conclusion: Accidents with needlestick and sharp instruments have high frequency and involve mainly female students. They are more common in the afternoon and in the clinical setting and the time interval was between exposure and the search for care complied with recommendations of the Brazilian legislation. PMID:28566861

  6. SHARP1: A revised systematic human action reliability procedure

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Wakefield, D.J.; Parry, G.W.; Hannaman, G.W.; Spurgin, A.J.

    1990-12-01

    Individual plant examinations (IPE) are being performed by utilities to evaluate plant-specific vulnerabilities to severe accidents. A major tool in performing an IPE is a probabilistic risk assessment (PRA). The importance of human interactions in determining the plant response in past PRAs is well documented. The modeling and quantification of the probabilities of human interactions have been the subjects of considerable research by the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI). A revised framework, SHARP1, for incorporating human interactions into PRA is summarized in this report. SHARP1 emphasizes that the process stages are iterative and directed at specific goals rather than being performed sequentially in a stepwise procedure. This expanded summary provides the reader with a flavor of the full report content. Excerpts from the full report are presented, following the same outline as the full report. In the full report, the interface of the human reliability analysis with the plant logic model development in a PRA is given special attention. In addition to describing a methodology framework, the report also discusses the types of human interactions to be evaluated, and how to formulate a project team to perform the human reliability analysis. A concise description and comparative evaluation of the selected existing methods of quantification of human error are also presented. Four case studies are also provided to illustrate the SHARP1 process

  7. Hairy Graphenes: Wrapping Nanocellulose Nets around Graphene Oxide Sheets.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Xiong, Rui; Kim, Ho Shin; Korolovych, Volodymyr F; Zhang, Shuaidi; Yingling, Yaroslava; Tsukruk, Vladimir V

    2018-04-17

    Constructing advanced functional nanomaterials with pre-designed organized morphologies from low-dimension synthetic and biological components is extremely challenging because of complex inter-component interactions, high-aspect ratios, flexible shapes, crumpling instabilities and limited common wet-chemistry processing conditions. Herein, we report an efficient and universal amphiphilicity-driven assembly strategy to construct "hairy" flexible hybrid nanosheets with the net of 1D cellulose nanofibers (CNFs) conformally wrapped around 2D graphene oxide (GO) monolayers. This interface-driven bio-synthetic assembly is facilitated by variable amphiphilic interfacial balance via tailoring the surface chemistry of flexible GO sheets as controllably pre-oxidized 2D template cores, resulting in individual sheets tightly surrounded by dense conformal nanocellulose network. These nanocellulose-net wrapped GO nanosheets demonstrate extremely high compressive elastic modulus above 180 GPa due to the strong bonding between nanofibers and GO sheets and arrest of the buckling events. This unique mechanical stability far exceeds the compressive instability limits of both individual components, 1D cellulose nanofibers and 2D graphene monolayers. Additionally, the presence of CNF reinforced nanocellulose network significantly enhances the wetting ability of initial hydrophobic reduced GO nanosheets, enabling the long-term stability of CNFs-rGO dispersion and allowing fast water transport combined with high filtration efficiency for CNFs-rGO membranes. © 2018 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

  8. Is there a sharp phase transition for deterministic cellular automata?

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Wootters, W.K.

    1990-01-01

    Previous work has suggested that there is a kind of phase transition between deterministic automata exhibiting periodic behavior and those exhibiting chaotic behavior. However, unlike the usual phase transitions of physics, this transition takes place over a range of values of the parameter rather than at a specific value. The present paper asks whether the transition can be made sharp, either by taking the limit of an infinitely large rule table, or by changing the parameter in terms of which the space of automata is explored. We find strong evidence that, for the class of automata we consider, the transition does become sharp in the limit of an infinite number of symbols, the size of the neighborhood being held fixed. Our work also suggests an alternative parameter in terms of which it is likely that the transition will become fairly sharp even if one does not increase the number of symbols. In the course of our analysis, we find that mean field theory, which is our main tool, gives surprisingly good predictions of the statistical properties of the class of automata we consider. 18 refs., 6 figs

  9. Sharp Embeddings of Besov Spaces with Logarithmic Smoothness

    Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

    Gurka, P.; Opic, Bohumír

    2005-01-01

    Roč. 18, č. 1 (2005), s. 81-110 ISSN 1139-1138 R&D Projects: GA ČR(CZ) GA201/01/0333 Institutional research plan: CEZ:AV0Z10190503 Keywords : Besov spaces wirh logarithmic smoothness * Lorentz-Zygmund spaces * sharp embeddings Subject RIV: BA - General Mathematics

  10. Increased de novo riboflavin synthesis and hydrolysis of FMN are involved in riboflavin secretion from Hyoscyamus albus hairy roots under iron deficiency

    OpenAIRE

    Higa, Ataru; Khandakar, Jebunnahar; Mori, Yuko; Kitamura, Yoshie

    2012-01-01

    Riboflavin secretion by Hyoscyamus albus hairy roots under Fe deficiency was examined to determine where riboflavin is produced and whether production occurs via an enhancement of riboflavin biosynthesis or a stimulation of flavin mononucleotide (FMN) hydrolysis. Confocal fluorescent microscopy showed that riboflavin was mainly localized in the epidermis and cortex of the root tip and, at the cellular level, in the apoplast. The expressions of three genes involved in the de novo biosynthesis ...

  11. A faunistic study of genus Chasmogenus Sharp, 1882 of China (Coleoptera, Hydrophilidae).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jia, Fenglong; Tang, Yu-Dan

    2018-01-01

    Chasmogenus Sharp, 1882 is newly reported from the Chinese Mainland. A new species, C. parorbus sp. n. , is described from China (Yunnan). Chasmogenus orbus Watanabe, 1987 is reported from Hong Kong, the first record outside Japan. Chasmogenus abnormalis (Sharp, 1890) is reported from the Chinese mainland for the first time. The male genitalia of each species are illustrated. A key to the Chinese species of the genus is provided.

  12. On the incidence of meteorological and hydrological processors: Effect of resolution, sharpness and reliability of hydrological ensemble forecasts

    Science.gov (United States)

    Abaza, Mabrouk; Anctil, François; Fortin, Vincent; Perreault, Luc

    2017-12-01

    Meteorological and hydrological ensemble prediction systems are imperfect. Their outputs could often be improved through the use of a statistical processor, opening up the question of the necessity of using both processors (meteorological and hydrological), only one of them, or none. This experiment compares the predictive distributions from four hydrological ensemble prediction systems (H-EPS) utilising the Ensemble Kalman filter (EnKF) probabilistic sequential data assimilation scheme. They differ in the inclusion or not of the Distribution Based Scaling (DBS) method for post-processing meteorological forecasts and the ensemble Bayesian Model Averaging (ensemble BMA) method for hydrological forecast post-processing. The experiment is implemented on three large watersheds and relies on the combination of two meteorological reforecast products: the 4-member Canadian reforecasts from the Canadian Centre for Meteorological and Environmental Prediction (CCMEP) and the 10-member American reforecasts from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), leading to 14 members at each time step. Results show that all four tested H-EPS lead to resolution and sharpness values that are quite similar, with an advantage to DBS + EnKF. The ensemble BMA is unable to compensate for any bias left in the precipitation ensemble forecasts. On the other hand, it succeeds in calibrating ensemble members that are otherwise under-dispersed. If reliability is preferred over resolution and sharpness, DBS + EnKF + ensemble BMA performs best, making use of both processors in the H-EPS system. Conversely, for enhanced resolution and sharpness, DBS is the preferred method.

  13. Quadrilateral mesh fitting that preserves sharp features based on multi-normals for Laplacian energy

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Yusuke Imai

    2014-04-01

    Full Text Available Because the cost of performance testing using actual products is expensive, manufacturers use lower-cost computer-aided design simulations for this function. In this paper, we propose using hexahedral meshes, which are more accurate than tetrahedral meshes, for finite element analysis. We propose automatic hexahedral mesh generation with sharp features to precisely represent the corresponding features of a target shape. Our hexahedral mesh is generated using a voxel-based algorithm. In our previous works, we fit the surface of the voxels to the target surface using Laplacian energy minimization. We used normal vectors in the fitting to preserve sharp features. However, this method could not represent concave sharp features precisely. In this proposal, we improve our previous Laplacian energy minimization by adding a term that depends on multi-normal vectors instead of using normal vectors. Furthermore, we accentuate a convex/concave surface subset to represent concave sharp features.

  14. Soft yet Sharp Interfaces in a Vertex Model of Confluent Tissue

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sussman, Daniel M.; Schwarz, J. M.; Marchetti, M. Cristina; Manning, M. Lisa

    2018-01-01

    How can dense biological tissue maintain sharp boundaries between coexisting cell populations? We explore this question within a simple vertex model for cells, focusing on the role of topology and tissue surface tension. We show that the ability of cells to independently regulate adhesivity and tension, together with neighbor-based interaction rules, lets them support strikingly unusual interfaces. In particular, we show that mechanical- and fluctuation-based measurements of the effective surface tension of a cellular aggregate yield different results, leading to mechanically soft interfaces that are nevertheless extremely sharp.

  15. A faunistic study of genus Chasmogenus Sharp, 1882 of China (Coleoptera, Hydrophilidae

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Fenglong Jia

    2018-02-01

    Full Text Available Chasmogenus Sharp, 1882 is newly reported from the Chinese Mainland. A new species, C. parorbus sp. n., is described from China (Yunnan. Chasmogenus orbus Watanabe, 1987 is reported from Hong Kong, the first record outside Japan. Chasmogenus abnormalis (Sharp, 1890 is reported from the Chinese mainland for the first time. The male genitalia of each species are illustrated. A key to the Chinese species of the genus is provided.

  16. A highly reversible room-temperature lithium metal battery based on crosslinked hairy nanoparticles.

    KAUST Repository

    Choudhury, Snehashis; Mangal, Rahul; Agrawal, Akanksha; Archer, Lynden A

    2015-01-01

    Rough electrodeposition, uncontrolled parasitic side-reactions with electrolytes and dendrite-induced short-circuits have hindered development of advanced energy storage technologies based on metallic lithium, sodium and aluminium electrodes. Solid polymer electrolytes and nanoparticle-polymer composites have shown promise as candidates to suppress lithium dendrite growth, but the challenge of simultaneously maintaining high mechanical strength and high ionic conductivity at room temperature has so far been unmet in these materials. Here we report a facile and scalable method of fabricating tough, freestanding membranes that combine the best attributes of solid polymers, nanocomposites and gel-polymer electrolytes. Hairy nanoparticles are employed as multifunctional nodes for polymer crosslinking, which produces mechanically robust membranes that are exceptionally effective in inhibiting dendrite growth in a lithium metal battery. The membranes are also reported to enable stable cycling of lithium batteries paired with conventional intercalating cathodes. Our findings appear to provide an important step towards room-temperature dendrite-free batteries.

  17. Micropropagation of Salvia wagneriana Polak and hairy root cultures with rosmarinic acid production.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ruffoni, Barbara; Bertoli, Alessandra; Pistelli, Laura; Pistelli, Luisa

    2016-01-04

    Salvia wagneriana Polak is a tropical species native to Central America, well adapted to grow in the Mediterranean basin for garden decoration. Micropropagation has been assessed from axillary shoots of adult plants using a Murashige and Skoog basal medium, with the addition of 1.33-μM 6-benzylaminopurine for shoot proliferation; the subsequent rooting phase occurred in plant growth regulator-free medium. The plants were successfully acclimatised with high survival frequency. Hairy roots were induced after co-cultivation of leaf lamina and petiole fragments with Agrobacterium rhizogenes and confirmed by PCR. The establishment and proliferation of the selected HRD3 line were obtained in hormone-free liquid medium and the production of rosmarinic acid (RA) was evaluated after elicitation. The analysis of RA was performed by LC-ESI-DAD-MS in the hydroalcoholic extracts. The addition of casein hydrolysate increased the RA production, whereas no enrichment was observed after the elicitation with jasmonic acid.

  18. A highly reversible room-temperature lithium metal battery based on crosslinked hairy nanoparticles.

    KAUST Repository

    Choudhury, Snehashis

    2015-12-04

    Rough electrodeposition, uncontrolled parasitic side-reactions with electrolytes and dendrite-induced short-circuits have hindered development of advanced energy storage technologies based on metallic lithium, sodium and aluminium electrodes. Solid polymer electrolytes and nanoparticle-polymer composites have shown promise as candidates to suppress lithium dendrite growth, but the challenge of simultaneously maintaining high mechanical strength and high ionic conductivity at room temperature has so far been unmet in these materials. Here we report a facile and scalable method of fabricating tough, freestanding membranes that combine the best attributes of solid polymers, nanocomposites and gel-polymer electrolytes. Hairy nanoparticles are employed as multifunctional nodes for polymer crosslinking, which produces mechanically robust membranes that are exceptionally effective in inhibiting dendrite growth in a lithium metal battery. The membranes are also reported to enable stable cycling of lithium batteries paired with conventional intercalating cathodes. Our findings appear to provide an important step towards room-temperature dendrite-free batteries.

  19. Flow Control Over Sharp-Edged Wings

    Science.gov (United States)

    2007-07-01

    Gad-el-Hak (2001) as the ability to actively or passively manipulate a flow field to effect a desired change. The challenge is to achieve that change...combinations. Been able to independently control both is a great challenge . These requirements may appear too stringent for the sharp- edged airfoils...06 0𔄁 08 09 lic Vlc Figure 22: Pressure distributions for Model B at a=13 °. Stations I (left); 2 (right) 1 , -2 1 F - [12 1 -6a -16 08 -08 06 -06

  20. Structure factor of polymers interacting via a short range repulsive potential: Application to hairy wormlike micelles

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Massiera, Gladys; Ramos, Laurence; Ligoure, Christian; Pitard, Estelle

    2003-01-01

    We use the random phase approximation to compute the structure factor S(q) of a solution of chains interacting through a soft and short range repulsive potential V. Above a threshold polymer concentration, whose magnitude is essentially controlled by the range of the potential, S(q) exhibits a peak whose position depends on the concentration. We take advantage of the close analogy between polymers and wormlike micelles and apply our model, using a Gaussian function for V, to quantitatively analyze experimental small angle neutron scattering profiles of solutions of hairy wormlike micelles. These samples, which consist in surfactant self-assembled flexible cylinders decorated by amphiphilic copolymer, provide indeed an appropriate experimental model system to study the structure of sterically interacting polymer solutions

  1. Sharp inequalities for tangent function with applications

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Hui-Lin Lv

    2017-05-01

    Full Text Available Abstract In the article, we present new bounds for the function e t cot ( t − 1 $e^{t\\cot(t-1}$ on the interval ( 0 , π / 2 $(0, \\pi/2$ and find sharp estimations for the Sine integral and the Catalan constant based on a new monotonicity criterion for the quotient of power series, which refine the Redheffer and Becker-Stark type inequalities for tangent function.

  2. Establishment of hairy root cultures by Agrobacterium rhizogenes mediated transformation of Isatis tinctoria L. For the efficient production of flavonoids and evaluation of antioxidant activities.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Qing-Yan Gai

    Full Text Available In this work, Isatis tinctoria hairy root cultures (ITHRCs were established as an alternative source for flavonoids (FL production. I. tinctoria hairy root line V was found to be the most efficient line and was further confirmed by the PCR amplification of rolB, rolC and aux1 genes. Culture parameters of ITHRCs were optimized by Box-Behnken design (BBD, and eight bioactive FL constituents (rutin, neohesperidin, buddleoside, liquiritigenin, quercetin, isorhamnetin, kaempferol and isoliquiritigenin were quali-quantitatively determined by LC-MS/MS. Under optimal conditions, the total FL accumulation of ITHRCs (24 day-old achieved was 438.10 μg/g dry weight (DW, which exhibited significant superiority as against that of 2 year-old field grown roots (341.73 μg/g DW. Additionally, in vitro antioxidant assays demonstrated that ITHRCs extracts exhibited better antioxidant activities with lower IC₅₀ values (0.41 and 0.39, mg/mL as compared to those of field grown roots (0.56 and 0.48, mg/mL. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report describing FL production and antioxidant activities from ITHRCs.

  3. Establishment of hairy root cultures by Agrobacterium rhizogenes mediated transformation of Isatis tinctoria L. For the efficient production of flavonoids and evaluation of antioxidant activities.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gai, Qing-Yan; Jiao, Jiao; Luo, Meng; Wei, Zuo-Fu; Zu, Yuan-Gang; Ma, Wei; Fu, Yu-Jie

    2015-01-01

    In this work, Isatis tinctoria hairy root cultures (ITHRCs) were established as an alternative source for flavonoids (FL) production. I. tinctoria hairy root line V was found to be the most efficient line and was further confirmed by the PCR amplification of rolB, rolC and aux1 genes. Culture parameters of ITHRCs were optimized by Box-Behnken design (BBD), and eight bioactive FL constituents (rutin, neohesperidin, buddleoside, liquiritigenin, quercetin, isorhamnetin, kaempferol and isoliquiritigenin) were quali-quantitatively determined by LC-MS/MS. Under optimal conditions, the total FL accumulation of ITHRCs (24 day-old) achieved was 438.10 μg/g dry weight (DW), which exhibited significant superiority as against that of 2 year-old field grown roots (341.73 μg/g DW). Additionally, in vitro antioxidant assays demonstrated that ITHRCs extracts exhibited better antioxidant activities with lower IC₅₀ values (0.41 and 0.39, mg/mL) as compared to those of field grown roots (0.56 and 0.48, mg/mL). To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report describing FL production and antioxidant activities from ITHRCs.

  4. Isolation and structure elucidation of a new indole alkaloid from Rauvolfia serpentina hairy root culture: the first naturally occurring alkaloid of the raumacline group.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sheludko, Yuri; Gerasimenko, Irina; Kolshorn, Heinz; Stöckigt, Joachim

    2002-05-01

    A new monoterpenoid indole alkaloid, 10-hydroxy- N(alpha)-demethyl-19,20-dehydroraumacline ( 1), was isolated as a mixture of E- and Z-isomers from hairy root culture of Rauvolfia serpentina Benth. ex Kurz (Apocynaceae) and the structure was determined by 1D and 2D NMR analyses. The new indole alkaloid represents the first naturally occurring alkaloid of the raumacline group and its putative biosynthetical pathway is discussed.

  5. Single-step electrochemical method for producing very sharp Au scanning tunneling microscopy tips

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Gingery, David; Buehlmann, Philippe

    2007-01-01

    A single-step electrochemical method for making sharp gold scanning tunneling microscopy tips is described. 3.0M NaCl in 1% perchloric acid is compared to several previously reported etchants. The addition of perchloric acid to sodium chloride solutions drastically shortens etching times and is shown by transmission electron microscopy to produce very sharp tips with a mean radius of curvature of 15 nm

  6. Photon Counting Computed Tomography With Dedicated Sharp Convolution Kernels: Tapping the Potential of a New Technology for Stent Imaging.

    Science.gov (United States)

    von Spiczak, Jochen; Mannil, Manoj; Peters, Benjamin; Hickethier, Tilman; Baer, Matthias; Henning, André; Schmidt, Bernhard; Flohr, Thomas; Manka, Robert; Maintz, David; Alkadhi, Hatem

    2018-05-23

    The aims of this study were to assess the value of a dedicated sharp convolution kernel for photon counting detector (PCD) computed tomography (CT) for coronary stent imaging and to evaluate to which extent iterative reconstructions can compensate for potential increases in image noise. For this in vitro study, a phantom simulating coronary artery stenting was prepared. Eighteen different coronary stents were expanded in plastic tubes of 3 mm diameter. Tubes were filled with diluted contrast agent, sealed, and immersed in oil calibrated to an attenuation of -100 HU simulating epicardial fat. The phantom was scanned in a modified second generation 128-slice dual-source CT scanner (SOMATOM Definition Flash, Siemens Healthcare, Erlangen, Germany) equipped with both a conventional energy integrating detector and PCD. Image data were acquired using the PCD part of the scanner with 48 × 0.25 mm slices, a tube voltage of 100 kVp, and tube current-time product of 100 mAs. Images were reconstructed using a conventional convolution kernel for stent imaging with filtered back-projection (B46) and with sinogram-affirmed iterative reconstruction (SAFIRE) at level 3 (I463). For comparison, a dedicated sharp convolution kernel with filtered back-projection (D70) and SAFIRE level 3 (Q703) and level 5 (Q705) was used. The D70 and Q70 kernels were specifically designed for coronary stent imaging with PCD CT by optimizing the image modulation transfer function and the separation of contrast edges. Two independent, blinded readers evaluated subjective image quality (Likert scale 0-3, where 3 = excellent), in-stent diameter difference, in-stent attenuation difference, mathematically defined image sharpness, and noise of each reconstruction. Interreader reliability was calculated using Goodman and Kruskal's γ and intraclass correlation coefficients (ICCs). Differences in image quality were evaluated using a Wilcoxon signed-rank test. Differences in in-stent diameter difference, in

  7. The Spectral Sharpness Angle of Gamma-ray Bursts

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Hendrik J. van Eerten

    2016-06-01

    Full Text Available We extend the results of Yu et al. (2015b of the novel sharpness angle measurement to a large number of spectra obtained from the Fermi gamma-ray burst monitor. The sharpness angle is compared to the values obtained from various representative emission models: blackbody, single-electron synchrotron, synchrotron emission from a Maxwellian or power-law electron distribution. It is found that more than 91% of the high temporally and spectrally resolved spectra are inconsistent with any kind of optically thin synchrotron emission model alone. It is also found that the limiting case, a single temperature Maxwellian synchrotron function, can only contribute up to 58+23 -18% of the peak flux. These results show that even the sharpest but non-realistic case, the single-electron synchrotron function, cannot explain a large fraction of the observed spectra. Since any combination of physically possible synchrotron spectra added together will always further broaden the spectrum, emission mechanisms other than optically thin synchrotron radiation are likely required in a full explanation of the spectral peaks or breaks of the GRB prompt emission phase.

  8. Herbivores Enforce Sharp Boundaries Between Terrestrial and Aquatic Ecosystems

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Sarneel, Judith M.; Huig, N.; Veen, G. F.; Rip, W.; Bakker, E. S.

    2014-01-01

    The transitions between ecosystems (ecotones) are often biodiversity hotspots, but we know little about the forces that shape them. Today, often sharp boundaries with low diversity are found between terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems. This has been attributed to environmental factors that hamper

  9. Conservative sharp debridement: the professional and legal issues.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ashworth, Jenny; Chivers, Marc

    2002-06-01

    In recent years there has been much debate over the use of conservative sharp debridement in the treatment of certain wound types. Here it is discussed in relation to increasing the speed of wound healing in slow-to-heal wounds. The authors examine education and skill competence in relation to the professional's duty of care to patients with wounds.

  10. Sharp Bounds for Symmetric and Asymmetric Diophantine Approximation

    Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

    Cornelis KRAAIKAMP; Ionica SMEETS

    2011-01-01

    In 2004,Tong found bounds for the approximation quality of a regular continued fraction convergent to a rational number,expressed in bounds for both the previous and next approximation.The authors sharpen his results with a geometric method and give both sharp upper and lower bounds.The asymptotic frequencies that these bounds occur are also calculated.

  11. Spatial temperature distribution in human hairy and glabrous skin after infrared CO2 laser radiation

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Frahm, Ken Steffen; Andersen, Ole K.; Arendt-Nielsen, Lars

    2010-01-01

    Background: CO(2) lasers have been used for several decades as an experimental non-touching pain stimulator. The laser energy is absorbed by the water content in the most superficial layers of the skin. The deeper located nociceptors are activated by passive conduction of heat from superficial...... to deeper skin layers. Methods: In the current study, a 2D axial finite element model was developed and validated to describe the spatial temperature distribution in the skin after infrared CO(2) laser stimulation. The geometry of the model was based on high resolution ultrasound scans. The simulations were...... compared to the subjective pain intensity ratings from 16 subjects and to the surface skin temperature distributions measured by an infrared camera. Results: The stimulations were sensed significantly slower and less intense in glabrous skin than they were in hairy skin (MANOVA, p

  12. Driving Skills Training for Older Adults: An Assessment of DriveSharp.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Johnston, Katherine A; Borkenhagen, David; Scialfa, Charles T

    2015-12-01

    RÉSUMÉ Les procédures de formation cognitive informatique visent à augmenter la sécurité en améliorant les compétences relatives à la conduite, comme la vitesse-de-traitement et le Useful Field of View. L'étude actuelle a évalué l'efficacité du DriveSharp dans la formation des conducteurs âgés dans un cadre de classe réaliste. Les participants (n = 24) ont assisté à 10 heures de cours de DriveSharp pendant 5 semaines. Les séances pré- et post-test ont evalués améliorations sur un essai dynamique de la perception du risque, Trails A et Trails B. Un groupe de contrôle (n = 18) a terminé seulement les séances pré- et post-test. En classe, les temps de formation étaient plus bas que prévus. L'amélioration des participants aux jeux ont stabilisée après la première évaluation, et le groupe de DriveSharp n'a pas démontré une amélioration significative des performances sur les tests, par rapport au groupe de contrôle. Parmi plusieurs questions relatives à la facilité d'utilisation, les plus problématiques étaient le malentendudes objectifs de la tâche et la différence entre la formation et l'évaluation. Il y a plusieurs implications pour ceux qui utilisent DriveSharp pour améliorer la sécurité des conducteurs âgés.

  13. Towards machine learned quality control: A benchmark for sharpness quantification in digital pathology.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Campanella, Gabriele; Rajanna, Arjun R; Corsale, Lorraine; Schüffler, Peter J; Yagi, Yukako; Fuchs, Thomas J

    2018-04-01

    Pathology is on the verge of a profound change from an analog and qualitative to a digital and quantitative discipline. This change is mostly driven by the high-throughput scanning of microscope slides in modern pathology departments, reaching tens of thousands of digital slides per month. The resulting vast digital archives form the basis of clinical use in digital pathology and allow large scale machine learning in computational pathology. One of the most crucial bottlenecks of high-throughput scanning is quality control (QC). Currently, digital slides are screened manually to detected out-of-focus regions, to compensate for the limitations of scanner software. We present a solution to this problem by introducing a benchmark dataset for blur detection, an in-depth comparison of state-of-the art sharpness descriptors and their prediction performance within a random forest framework. Furthermore, we show that convolution neural networks, like residual networks, can be used to train blur detectors from scratch. We thoroughly evaluate the accuracy of feature based and deep learning based approaches for sharpness classification (99.74% accuracy) and regression (MSE 0.004) and additionally compare them to domain experts in a comprehensive human perception study. Our pipeline outputs spacial heatmaps enabling to quantify and localize blurred areas on a slide. Finally, we tested the proposed framework in the clinical setting and demonstrate superior performance over the state-of-the-art QC pipeline comprising commercial software and human expert inspection by reducing the error rate from 17% to 4.7%. Copyright © 2017. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

  14. Phylogeography of screaming hairy armadillo Chaetophractus vellerosus: Successive disjunctions and extinctions due to cyclical climatic changes in southern South America.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Poljak, Sebastián; Ferreiro, Alejandro M; Chiappero, Marina B; Sánchez, Julieta; Gabrielli, Magalí; Lizarralde, Marta S

    2018-01-01

    Little is known about phylogeography of armadillo species native to southern South America. In this study we describe the phylogeography of the screaming hairy armadillo Chaetophractus vellerosus, discuss previous hypothesis about the origin of its disjunct distribution and propose an alternative one, based on novel information on genetic variability. Variation of partial sequences of mitochondrial DNA Control Region (CR) from 73 individuals from 23 localities were analyzed to carry out a phylogeographic analysis using neutrality tests, mismatch distribution, median-joining (MJ) network and paleontological records. We found 17 polymorphic sites resulting in 15 haplotypes. Two new geographic records that expand known distribution of the species are presented; one of them links the distributions of recently synonimized species C. nationi and C. vellerosus. Screaming hairy armadillo phylogeographic pattern can be addressed as category V of Avise: common widespread linages plus closely related lineages confined to one or a few nearby locales each. The older linages are distributed in the north-central area of the species distribution range in Argentina (i.e. ancestral area of distribution). C. vellerosus seems to be a low vagility species that expanded, and probably is expanding, its distribution range while presents signs of genetic structuring in central areas. To explain the disjunct distribution, a hypothesis of extinction of the species in intermediate areas due to quaternary climatic shift to more humid conditions was proposed. We offer an alternative explanation: long distance colonization, based on null genetic variability, paleontological record and evidence of alternance of cold/arid and temperate/humid climatic periods during the last million years in southern South America.

  15. A rare case of a sharp foreign body on the vocal cord

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Khairunnisak Misron

    2017-08-01

    Full Text Available A foreign body (FB in the upper aerodigestive tract is a common clinical problem that presents as as acute emergency. Sharp FB, such as fish bone or chicken bone, commonly lodges in the tonsil, base of tongue, vallecula or pyriform fossa. Dislodgement of a FB into the laryngopharynx is very rare and specifically onto the vocal cord is extremely uncommon. This case report illustrates a rare case of a sharp FB that was dislodged into the airway and stuck on to the right vocal cord, which was removed under local anaesthesia.

  16. Sharp-tailed Grouse and Pygmy Rabbit Wildlife Mitigation Project

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1992-10-01

    The Proposed Action is needed to protect and enhance shrub-steppe and riparian habitat for sharp-tailed grouse (Tympanuchus phasianellus columbianus), Pygmy rabbits (Brachylagus idahoensis), and other indigenous wildlife species. The purpose of the Proposed Action is to compensate, in part, for wildlife habitat lost from the construction of Grand Coulee Dam and the inundation of Lake Roosevelt. Bonneville Power Administration proposes to fund management agreements, conservation easements, acquisition of fee title, or a combination of these on as many as 29,000 acres in Lincoln and Douglas Counties to improve shrub-steppe and riparian habitat for sharp-tailed grouse and pygmy rabbits. The BPA also proposes to fund habitat improvements (enhancements) on project lands including existing public lands. Proposed habitat treatments would include control of grazing; planting of native trees, shrubs, forbs and grasses; protection of wetlands and streambanks; herbicide use; fire prescriptions; and wildfire suppression. Proposed management activities may include predator control, population introductions, and control of crop depredation

  17. Improvement in perception of image sharpness through the addition of noise and its relationship with memory texture

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wan, Xiazi; Kobayashi, Hiroyuki; Aoki, Naokazu

    2015-03-01

    In a preceding study, we investigated the effects of image noise on the perception of image sharpness using white noise, and one- and two-dimensional single-frequency sinusoidal patterns as stimuli. This study extends our preceding study by evaluating natural color images, rather than black-and-white patterns. The results showed that the effect of noise in improving image sharpness perception is more evident in blurred images than in sharp images. This is consistent with the results of the preceding study. In another preceding study, we proposed "memory texture" to explain the preferred granularity of images, as a concept similar to "memory color" for preferred color reproduction. We observed individual differences in type of memory texture for each object, that is, white or 1/f noise. This study discusses the relationship between improvement of sharpness perception by adding noise, and the memory texture, following its individual differences. We found that memory texture is one of the elements that affect sharpness perception.

  18. Current status of sharps waste management in the lower-level ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Key words: Sharps waste management, health facilities, infection, Tanzania ... and hence improve infection prevention and control at work places in Tanzania. .... The UNICEF /WHO safety boxes were observed in 31 (23%) of the LLHFs, while ...

  19. Psychometric Properties of the Children's Scale of Hostility and Aggression: Reactive/Proactive (C-SHARP)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Farmer, Cristan A.; Aman, Michael G.

    2010-01-01

    Although often lacking "malice", aggression is fairly common in children with intellectual or developmental disability (I/DD). Despite this, there are no scales available that are appropriate for an in-depth analysis of aggressive behavior in this population. Such scales are needed for the study of aggressive behavior, which is a common target…

  20. The stratigraphy and evolution of lower Mount Sharp from spectral, morphological, and thermophysical orbital data sets.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fraeman, A A; Ehlmann, B L; Arvidson, R E; Edwards, C S; Grotzinger, J P; Milliken, R E; Quinn, D P; Rice, M S

    2016-09-01

    We have developed a refined geologic map and stratigraphy for lower Mount Sharp using coordinated analyses of new spectral, thermophysical, and morphologic orbital data products. The Mount Sharp group consists of seven relatively planar units delineated by differences in texture, mineralogy, and thermophysical properties. These units are (1-3) three spatially adjacent units in the Murray formation which contain a variety of secondary phases and are distinguishable by thermal inertia and albedo differences, (4) a phyllosilicate-bearing unit, (5) a hematite-capped ridge unit, (6) a unit associated with material having a strongly sloped spectral signature at visible near-infrared wavelengths, and (7) a layered sulfate unit. The Siccar Point group consists of the Stimson formation and two additional units that unconformably overlie the Mount Sharp group. All Siccar Point group units are distinguished by higher thermal inertia values and record a period of substantial deposition and exhumation that followed the deposition and exhumation of the Mount Sharp group. Several spatially extensive silica deposits associated with veins and fractures show that late-stage silica enrichment within lower Mount Sharp was pervasive. At least two laterally extensive hematitic deposits are present at different stratigraphic intervals, and both are geometrically conformable with lower Mount Sharp strata. The occurrence of hematite at multiple stratigraphic horizons suggests redox interfaces were widespread in space and/or in time, and future measurements by the Mars Science Laboratory Curiosity rover will provide further insights into the depositional settings of these and other mineral phases.

  1. SHARP, a first step towards a full sized Jules Verne Launcher

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Bertolini, L.R.; Hunter, J.W. [Lawrence Livermore National Lab., CA (United States); Powell, J.R. [Brookhaven National Lab., Upton, NY (United States); Tidman, D.A. [GT-Devices, Inc., Alexandria, VA (United States)

    1993-05-01

    A vital element for space exploration and utilization is the ability to affordably place large quantities of consumables and building material into low earth orbit. Calculations and supportive data indicate this can be done with a large hydrogen gas gun referred to as the Jules Verne Launcher (JVL). We present a design for the JVL based upon the concept of side injecting preheated hydrogen along a long barrel. This dramatically reduces the peak pressures in the launcher as well as the pressures and g-loads at the vehicle. The JVL has the promise of reducing payload delivery costs to Low Earth Orbit (LEO) to below $500/kg. The Super High Altitude Research Project (SHARP) is a conventional two-stage hydrogen gas gun which is configured to launch 5 kg packages on suborbital trajectories. It is the first step towards the much larger Jules Verne system and will demonstrate several important features of the larger system. SHARP is currently in the middle of a series of tests aimed at its first milestone. This is to launch 5 kg at 4 km/sec horizontally. In its inclined configuration SHARP should launch vehicles to apogees in excess of 400 km and ranges in excess of 700 km.

  2. Application of the SHARP Toolkit to Sodium-Cooled Fast Reactor Challenge Problems

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Shemon, E. R. [Argonne National Lab. (ANL), Argonne, IL (United States). Nuclear Engineering Division; Yu, Y. [Argonne National Lab. (ANL), Argonne, IL (United States). Nuclear Engineering Division; Kim, T. K. [Argonne National Lab. (ANL), Argonne, IL (United States). Nuclear Engineering Division

    2017-09-30

    The Simulation-based High-efficiency Advanced Reactor Prototyping (SHARP) toolkit is under development by the Nuclear Energy Advanced Modeling and Simulation (NEAMS) Campaign of the U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Nuclear Energy. To better understand and exploit the benefits of advanced modeling simulations, the NEAMS Campaign initiated the “Sodium-Cooled Fast Reactor (SFR) Challenge Problems” task, which include the assessment of hot channel factors (HCFs) and the demonstration of zooming capability using the SHARP toolkit. If both challenge problems are resolved through advanced modeling and simulation using the SHARP toolkit, the economic competitiveness of a SFR can be significantly improved. The efforts in the first year of this project focused on the development of computational models, meshes, and coupling procedures for multi-physics calculations using the neutronics (PROTEUS) and thermal-hydraulic (Nek5000) components of the SHARP toolkit, as well as demonstration of the HCF calculation capability for the 100 MWe Advanced Fast Reactor (AFR-100) design. Testing the feasibility of the SHARP zooming capability is planned in FY 2018. The HCFs developed for the earlier SFRs (FFTF, CRBR, and EBR-II) were reviewed, and a subset of these were identified as potential candidates for reduction or elimination through high-fidelity simulations. A one-way offline coupling method was used to evaluate the HCFs where the neutronics solver PROTEUS computes the power profile based on an assumed temperature, and the computational fluid dynamics solver Nek5000 evaluates the peak temperatures using the neutronics power profile. If the initial temperature profile used in the neutronics calculation is reasonably accurate, the one-way offline method is valid because the neutronics power profile has weak dependence on small temperature variation. In order to get more precise results, the proper temperature profile for initial neutronics calculations was obtained from the

  3. Summer High School Apprenticeship Research Program (SHARP) of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration

    Science.gov (United States)

    1984-01-01

    A total of 125 talented high school students had the opportunity to gain first hand experience about science and engineering careers by working directly with a NASA scientist or engineer during the summer. This marked the fifth year of operation for NASA's Summer High School Apprenticehsip Research Program (SHARP). Ferguson Bryan served as the SHARP contractor and worked closely with NASA staff at Headquarters and the eight participating sites to plan, implement, and evaluate the Program. The main objectives were to strengthen SHARP and expand the number of students in the Program. These eight sites participated in the Program: Ames Research Center North, Ames' Dryden Flight Research Facility, Goddard Space Flight Center, Goddard's Wallops Flight Facility, Kennedy Space Center, Langley Research Center, Lewis Research Center, and Marshall Space Flight Center.

  4. A sharp Rogers–Shephard type inequality for Orlicz-difference body ...

    Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

    Abstract. In this paper, we prove a sharp Rogers–Shephard type inequality for the Orlicz-difference body of planar convex bodies, which extend the works of Bianchini and Colesanti (Proc. Amer. Math. Soc. 138(7) (2008) 2575–2582).

  5. Quantifying the margin sharpness of lesions on radiological images for content-based image retrieval

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Xu Jiajing; Napel, Sandy; Greenspan, Hayit; Beaulieu, Christopher F.; Agrawal, Neeraj; Rubin, Daniel

    2012-01-01

    Purpose: To develop a method to quantify the margin sharpness of lesions on CT and to evaluate it in simulations and CT scans of liver and lung lesions. Methods: The authors computed two attributes of margin sharpness: the intensity difference between a lesion and its surroundings, and the sharpness of the intensity transition across the lesion boundary. These two attributes were extracted from sigmoid curves fitted along lines automatically drawn orthogonal to the lesion margin. The authors then represented the margin characteristics for each lesion by a feature vector containing histograms of these parameters. The authors created 100 simulated CT scans of lesions over a range of intensity difference and margin sharpness, and used the concordance correlation between the known parameter and the corresponding computed feature as a measure of performance. The authors also evaluated their method in 79 liver lesions (44 patients: 23 M, 21 F, mean age 61) and 58 lung nodules (57 patients: 24 M, 33 F, mean age 66). The methodology presented takes into consideration the boundary of the liver and lung during feature extraction in clinical images to ensure that the margin feature do not get contaminated by anatomy other than the normal organ surrounding the lesions. For evaluation in these clinical images, the authors created subjective independent reference standards for pairwise margin sharpness similarity in the liver and lung cohorts, and compared rank orderings of similarity used using our sharpness feature to that expected from the reference standards using mean normalized discounted cumulative gain (NDCG) over all query images. In addition, the authors compared their proposed feature with two existing techniques for lesion margin characterization using the simulated and clinical datasets. The authors also evaluated the robustness of their features against variations in delineation of the lesion margin by simulating five types of deformations of the lesion margin

  6. Sharp estimates for damped oscillatory integrals

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ikromov, I.A.; Shaimardanov, S.S.

    2004-05-01

    We consider a real-analytic hypersurface S in R 3 with surface measure dS, ψ is a smooth function with compact support, and we let dμ α be the surface measure with dμ α = ψ vertical bar K(x) vertical bar α dS, where K(x) is the Gaussian curvature of the surface. We show that if S is a real analytic hypersurface with one non-vanishing principal curvature and α > 1, then μ-circumflex α (ξ) decays as O (vertical bar ξ vertical bar -1 ). The well-known examples show that the estimate for the exponent α is sharp. (author)

  7. Enhanced Transmissions Through Three-dimensional Cascade Sharp Waveguide Bends Using C-slit Diaphragms.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yang, Rui; Hu, Bowei; Zhang, Aofang; Gao, Dongxing; Wang, Hui; Shi, Ayuan; Lei, Zhenya; Yang, Pei

    2017-03-21

    Transmission properties through sharp rectangular waveguide bends are investigated to determine the cut-off bending angles of the wave propagation. We show that a simple metallic diaphragm at the bending corner with properly devised sub-wavelength defect apertures of C-slits would be readily to turn on the transmissions with scarce reflections of the propagating modes, while preserving the integrity of the transmitting fields soon after the bends. In particularly, our design also demonstrates the capability of eliminating all the unwanted cavity resonant transmissions that exist in the three-dimensional cascade sharp waveguide bends, and solely let the desired signals travel along the whole passage of the waveguide. The present approach, using C-slit diaphragms to support the sharp bending behaviors of the guided waves with greatly enhanced transmissions, would be especially effective in constructing novel waveguides and pave the way for the development of more compact and miniaturized electromagnetic systems that exploit these waveguide bends.

  8. The influence of surface stress on dislocation emission from sharp and blunt cracks in f.c.c. metals

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Schiøtz, Jakob

    2000-01-01

    We use computer simulations to study the behaviour of atomically sharp and blunted cracks in various fee metals. The simulations use effective medium potentials which contain many-body interactions. We find that when using potentials representing platinum and gold a sharp crack is stable with res......We use computer simulations to study the behaviour of atomically sharp and blunted cracks in various fee metals. The simulations use effective medium potentials which contain many-body interactions. We find that when using potentials representing platinum and gold a sharp crack is stable...... with respect to the emission of a dislocation from the crack tip, whereas for all other metals studied the sharp crack is unstable. This result cannot be explained by existing criteria for the intrinsic ductile/brittle behaviour of crack tips, but is probably caused by surface stresses. When the crack...... is no longer atomically sharp dislocation emission becomes easier in all the studied metals. The effect is relatively strong; the critical stress intensity factor for emission to occur is reduced by up to 20%. This behaviour appears to be caused by the surface stress near the crack tip. The surface stress...

  9. Phylogeography of screaming hairy armadillo Chaetophractus vellerosus: Successive disjunctions and extinctions due to cyclical climatic changes in southern South America.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sebastián Poljak

    Full Text Available Little is known about phylogeography of armadillo species native to southern South America. In this study we describe the phylogeography of the screaming hairy armadillo Chaetophractus vellerosus, discuss previous hypothesis about the origin of its disjunct distribution and propose an alternative one, based on novel information on genetic variability. Variation of partial sequences of mitochondrial DNA Control Region (CR from 73 individuals from 23 localities were analyzed to carry out a phylogeographic analysis using neutrality tests, mismatch distribution, median-joining (MJ network and paleontological records. We found 17 polymorphic sites resulting in 15 haplotypes. Two new geographic records that expand known distribution of the species are presented; one of them links the distributions of recently synonimized species C. nationi and C. vellerosus. Screaming hairy armadillo phylogeographic pattern can be addressed as category V of Avise: common widespread linages plus closely related lineages confined to one or a few nearby locales each. The older linages are distributed in the north-central area of the species distribution range in Argentina (i.e. ancestral area of distribution. C. vellerosus seems to be a low vagility species that expanded, and probably is expanding, its distribution range while presents signs of genetic structuring in central areas. To explain the disjunct distribution, a hypothesis of extinction of the species in intermediate areas due to quaternary climatic shift to more humid conditions was proposed. We offer an alternative explanation: long distance colonization, based on null genetic variability, paleontological record and evidence of alternance of cold/arid and temperate/humid climatic periods during the last million years in southern South America.

  10. Temporal Modulation Detection Depends on Sharpness of Spatial Tuning.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhou, Ning; Cadmus, Matthew; Dong, Lixue; Mathews, Juliana

    2018-04-25

    Prior research has shown that in electrical hearing, cochlear implant (CI) users' speech recognition performance is related in part to their ability to detect temporal modulation (i.e., modulation sensitivity). Previous studies have also shown better speech recognition when selectively stimulating sites with good modulation sensitivity rather than all stimulation sites. Site selection based on channel interaction measures, such as those using imaging or psychophysical estimates of spread of neural excitation, has also been shown to improve speech recognition. This led to the question of whether temporal modulation sensitivity and spatial selectivity of neural excitation are two related variables. In the present study, CI users' modulation sensitivity was compared for sites with relatively broad or narrow neural excitation patterns. This was achieved by measuring temporal modulation detection thresholds (MDTs) at stimulation sites that were significantly different in their sharpness of the psychophysical spatial tuning curves (PTCs) and measuring MDTs at the same sites in monopolar (MP) and bipolar (BP) stimulation modes. Nine postlingually deafened subjects implanted with Cochlear Nucleus® device took part in the study. Results showed a significant correlation between the sharpness of PTCs and MDTs, indicating that modulation detection benefits from a more spatially restricted neural activation pattern. There was a significant interaction between stimulation site and mode. That is, using BP stimulation only improved MDTs at stimulation sites with broad PTCs but had no effect or sometimes a detrimental effect on MDTs at stimulation sites with sharp PTCs. This interaction could suggest that a criterion number of nerve fibers is needed to achieve optimal temporal resolution, and, to achieve optimized speech recognition outcomes, individualized selection of site-specific current focusing strategies may be necessary. These results also suggest that the removal of

  11. Two New Sharp Ostrowski-Grüss Type Inequalities

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Zheng Liu

    2013-11-01

    Full Text Available The purpose of this paper is to use a variant of the Grüss inequality to derive two new sharp Ostrowski-Grüss type inequalities related to a perturbed trapezoidal type rule and a perturbed generalized interior point rule, respectively, which provide improvements of some previous results in the literatures.

  12. Cannula Versus Sharp Needle for Placement of Soft Tissue Fillers: An Observational Cadaver Study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    van Loghem, Jani A J; Humzah, Dalvi; Kerscher, Martina

    2017-12-13

    Soft-tissue fillers have become important products for facial rejuvenation. Deep fat compartments and facial bones lose volume during the natural aging process. For the most natural-looking results, deep volumetric injections at strategic sites are therefore preferred. Supraperiosteal placement is performed with a sharp needle or a non-traumatic cannula. The primary objective was to determine whether there is a difference in precision between supraperiosteal placement with a sharp needle compared with a non-traumatic cannula in cadaver specimens. A secondary objective was to analyze the safety profiles of both injection techniques. Cadaver heads were injected with dye material and soft-tissue fillers at multiple aesthetic facial sites on the supraperiosteum and subsequently dissected for observation of dye and filler placement. The non-traumatic cannula technique resulted in product being confined to the deep anatomic layers. In contrast, with the sharp needle technique, material was placed in multiple anatomic layers, from the periosteum to more superficial skin layers. For both techniques results were consistent for all facial sites. Although direct extrapolation from cadavers to the in vivo situation cannot be made, cannulae showed more precision in placement of product. With the sharp needle, the material was injected on the periosteum, and then migrated in a retrograde direction along the trajectory of the needle path, ending up in multiple anatomic layers. The sharp needle technique also showed a higher complication risk with intra-arterial injection occurring, even though the needle tip was positioned on the periosteum and the product was injected with the needle in constant contact with the periosteum. © 2016 The American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery, Inc. Reprints and permission: journals.permissions@oup.com

  13. Axisymmetric MHD stability of sharp-boundary Tokamaks

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Rebhan, E.; Salat, A.

    1976-09-01

    For a sharp-boundary, constant pressure plasma model of axisymmetric equilibria the MHD stability problem of axisymmetric perturbations is solved by analytic reduction to a one-dimensional problem on the boundary and subsequent numerical treatment, using the energy principle. The stability boundaries are determined for arbitrary aspect ratio, arbitrary βsub(p) and elliptical, triangular and rectangular plasma cross-sections, wall stabilization not being taken into account. It is found that the axisymmetric stability strongly depends on the plasma shape and is almost independent of the safety factor q. (orig.) [de

  14. Hybridization between Dusky Grouse and Sharp-tailed Grouse

    Science.gov (United States)

    O'Donnell, Ryan P.

    2015-01-01

    Cache County, Utah, 7 April 2013: rare hybrid combination of grouse noted. Hybridization between Dusky Grouse (Dendragapus obscurus) and Sharp-tailed Grouse (Tympanuchus phasianellus) has been rarely documented in the wild. The only published record was of one collected from Osoyoos, British Columbia, in 1906 (Brooks 1907, Lincoln 1950). There is also one record of this hybrid in captivity (McCarthy 2006)...Although hybridization within genera is more common than between genera, it is perhaps not all too remarkable that these species would hybridize, given that Dendragapus and Tympanuchus are each other’s closest relatives (Drovetski 2002). The ranges of these two species overlap over a broad area ranging roughly from parts of northern Utah and Colorado to Yukon and the Northwest Territories. Given the close relatedness and extent of overlap of their ranges, it is perhaps surprising that there have not been more reports of this hybrid combination in the over-100 years since Brooks (1907) first described one. The species may be segregated by habitat use, as Sharp-tailed prefer open grassland sites for lekking and shrub areas for nesting, and Dusky are often found in more densely forested conifer stands—although Dusky often use more open habitats in the spring.

  15. Towards a sharp-interface volume-of-fluid methodology for modeling evaporation

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pathak, Ashish; Raessi, Mehdi

    2017-11-01

    In modeling evaporation, the diffuse-interface (one-domain) formulation yields inaccurate results. Recent efforts approaching the problem via a sharp-interface (two-domain) formulation have shown significant improvements. The reasons behind their better performance are discussed in the present work. All available sharp-interface methods, however, exclusively employ the level-set. In the present work, we develop a sharp-interface evaporation model in a volume-of-fluid (VOF) framework in order to leverage its mass-conserving property as well as its ability to handle large topographical changes. We start with a critical review of the assumptions underlying the mathematical equations governing evaporation. For example, it is shown that the assumption of incompressibility can only be applied in special circumstances. The famous D2 law used for benchmarking is valid exclusively to steady-state test problems. Transient is present over significant lifetime of a micron-size droplet. Therefore, a 1D spherical fully transient model is developed to provide a benchmark transient solution. Finally, a 3D Cartesian Navier-Stokes evaporation solver is developed. Some preliminary validation test-cases are presented for static and moving drop evaporation. This material is based upon work supported by the Department of Energy, Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy and the Department of Defense, Tank and Automotive Research, Development, and Engineering Center, under Award Number DEEE0007292.

  16. Asymptotic Sharpness of Bounds on Hypertrees

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Lin Yi

    2017-08-01

    Full Text Available The hypertree can be defined in many different ways. Katona and Szabó introduced a new, natural definition of hypertrees in uniform hypergraphs and investigated bounds on the number of edges of the hypertrees. They showed that a k-uniform hypertree on n vertices has at most (nk−1$\\left( {\\matrix{n \\cr {k - 1} } } \\right$ edges and they conjectured that the upper bound is asymptotically sharp. Recently, Szabó verified that the conjecture holds by recursively constructing an infinite sequence of k-uniform hypertrees and making complicated analyses for it. In this note we give a short proof of the conjecture by directly constructing a sequence of k-uniform k-hypertrees.

  17. Best Way to Get Rid of Used Needles and Other Sharps

    Science.gov (United States)

    ... other options are not available. If traveling by plane, check the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) website for ... be thrown away in the common trash. Additional Consumer Information How to Get Rid of a Sharps ...

  18. Testing the efficiency of the wine market using unit root tests with sharp and smooth breaks

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Elie Bouri

    2017-12-01

    Full Text Available This paper examines the efficient market hypothesis for the wine market using a novel unit root test while accounting for sharp shifts and smooth breaks in the monthly data. We find evidence of structural shifts and nonlinearity in the wine indices. Contrary to the results from conventional linear unit root tests, when we account for sharp shifts and smooth breaks, the unit root null for each of the wine indices has been rejected. Overall, our results suggest that the wine market is inefficient when we incorporate breaks. We provide some practical and policy implications of our findings. Keywords: Wine market, Efficiency, Sharp and smooth breaks, Unit root tests

  19. Needles and Other Sharps (Safe Disposal Outside of Health Care Settings)

    Science.gov (United States)

    ... disorders, and psoriasis. Examples of sharps include: Needles – hollow needles used to inject drugs (medication) under the ... and Drug Administration 10903 New Hampshire Avenue Silver Spring, MD 20993 1-888-INFO-FDA (1-888- ...

  20. Multi-Physics Demonstration Problem with the SHARP Reactor Simulation Toolkit

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Merzari, E. [Argonne National Lab. (ANL), Argonne, IL (United States); Shemon, E. R. [Argonne National Lab. (ANL), Argonne, IL (United States); Yu, Y. Q. [Argonne National Lab. (ANL), Argonne, IL (United States); Thomas, J. W. [Argonne National Lab. (ANL), Argonne, IL (United States); Obabko, A. [Argonne National Lab. (ANL), Argonne, IL (United States); Jain, Rajeev [Argonne National Lab. (ANL), Argonne, IL (United States); Mahadevan, Vijay [Argonne National Lab. (ANL), Argonne, IL (United States); Tautges, Timothy [Lawrence Livermore National Lab. (LLNL), Livermore, CA (United States); Solberg, Jerome [Lawrence Livermore National Lab. (LLNL), Livermore, CA (United States); Ferencz, Robert Mark [Lawrence Livermore National Lab. (LLNL), Livermore, CA (United States); Whitesides, R. [Lawrence Livermore National Lab. (LLNL), Livermore, CA (United States)

    2015-12-21

    This report describes to employ SHARP to perform a first-of-a-kind analysis of the core radial expansion phenomenon in an SFR. This effort required significant advances in the framework Multi-Physics Demonstration Problem with the SHARP Reactor Simulation Toolkit used to drive the coupled simulations, manipulate the mesh in response to the deformation of the geometry, and generate the necessary modified mesh files. Furthermore, the model geometry is fairly complex, and consistent mesh generation for the three physics modules required significant effort. Fully-integrated simulations of a 7-assembly mini-core test problem have been performed, and the results are presented here. Physics models of a full-core model of the Advanced Burner Test Reactor have also been developed for each of the three physics modules. Standalone results of each of the three physics modules for the ABTR are presented here, which provides a demonstration of the feasibility of the fully-integrated simulation.

  1. Adsorption of hairy particles with mobile ligands: Molecular dynamics and density functional study

    Science.gov (United States)

    Borówko, M.; Sokołowski, S.; Staszewski, T.; Pizio, O.

    2018-01-01

    We study models of hairy nanoparticles in contact with a hard wall. Each particle is built of a spherical core with a number of ligands attached to it and each ligand is composed of several spherical, tangentially jointed segments. The number of segments is the same for all ligands. Particular models differ by the numbers of ligands and of segments per ligand, but the total number of segments is constant. Moreover, our model assumes that the ligands are tethered to the core in such a manner that they can "slide" over the core surface. Using molecular dynamics simulations we investigate the differences in the structure of a system close to the wall. In order to characterize the distribution of the ligands around the core, we have calculated the end-to-end distances of the ligands and the lengths and orientation of the mass dipoles. Additionally, we also employed a density functional approach to obtain the density profiles. We have found that if the number of ligands is not too high, the proposed version of the theory is capable to predict the structure of the system with a reasonable accuracy.

  2. Space-time adaptive hp-FEM for problems with traveling sharp fronts

    Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

    Šolín, Pavel; Korous, L.

    2013-01-01

    Roč. 95, č. 1 (2013), S709-S722 ISSN 0010-485X Institutional support: RVO:61388998 Keywords : adaptive hp-FEM * transient problems * sharp fronts Subject RIV: BA - General Mathematics Impact factor: 1.055, year: 2013

  3. Investigation of Sharp Injuries in an Educational Hospital, Ahvaz, Iran

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sahar Geravandi

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available Background & Aims of the Study: The Sharp Injuries (SIs are a percutaneous piercing wound caused by a sharp instrument. Needle Sticks and Sharp Injuries (NSSIs can increase the incidence of cases of Hepatitis B, C and HIV. The purpose of this study was to Investigation of the relative frequency of NSSIs in healthcare workers (HCWs in Ahvaz, Iran (Razi hospital over 3-year period (2011–2013. Materials and Methods: A descriptive study during 2011-2013 was conducted on 600 HCWs at Razi Hospital, Ahvaz, Iran. To measure NSSIs, has been diagnosis and categorized based on the National Nosocomial Infections Surveillance (NNIS. Data about health workers’ age, sex, site of NSIs injury, ward of hospitalization and case of needle stick were collected. Descriptive statistical by SPSS version 16 used for analyzed data in this study. Results: According to the results of this study, among all nurses, the maximum cases of NSIs were HCWs. Regarding the finding, recapping needle were found in 34.17%, handling needle in 20.25%, suturing in 16.45%, passing needle in 13.92%, transit disposal in 8.86% and dissembling needle in 6.32% of cases. Findings showed that the most NSIs in Razi Hospital were general surgery, emergency, Intensive Care Unit (ICU, Obstetrics and Gynecology (OBGYN, operating room, orthopedic and infectious diseases wards during 2011-2013. Conclusion: Based on these findings, the number of health care-associated with NSIs between nurses in our study may be due to the shortage of nurses, long working hours during the night shift, fatigue and failure to use an appropriate equipment.

  4. Comparison of image sharpness metrics and real-time sharpening methods with GPU implementations

    CSIR Research Space (South Africa)

    De Villiers, Johan P

    2010-06-01

    Full Text Available , and not in trying to adjust the image to some fixed sharpness value. With the advent of the increased progammability of Graphics Pro- cessing Units (GPU) and their seemingly ever increasing number of processor cores (the dual-GPU NVidia GTX295 has 480 cores...) Quadro MDS 140M 16 400 64 700 ATI HD 2400XT 40 800 64 700 NVidia 9600GT 64 650 256 900 NVidia GTX280 240 602 512 1107 2 Metric descriptions Three metrics are used to evaluate images for sharpness. The first two are a measure of how much information...

  5. Efficient generation of mutations mediated by CRISPR/Cas9 in the hairy root transformation system of Brassica carinata.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kirchner, Thomas W; Niehaus, Markus; Debener, Thomas; Schenk, Manfred K; Herde, Marco

    2017-01-01

    A protocol for the induction of site-directed deletions and insertions in the genome of Brassica carinata with CRISPR is described. The construct containing the Cas9 nuclease and the guide RNA (gRNA) was delivered by the hairy root transformation technique, and a successful transformation was monitored by GFP fluorescence. PAGE analysis of an amplified region, presumably containing the deletions and insertions, demonstrated up to seven different indels in one transgenic root and in all analyzed roots a wildtype allele of the modified gene was not detectable. Interestingly, many of these mutations consisted of relatively large indels with up to 112 bp. The exact size of the deletions was determined to allow an estimation whether the targeted gene was not functional due to a considerable deletion or a frame shift within the open reading frame. This allowed a direct phenotypic assessment of the previously characterized roots and, in fact, deletions in FASCICLIN-LIKE ARABINOGALACTAN PROTEIN 1 (BcFLA1)-a gene with an expression pattern consistent with a role in root hair architecture-resulted in shorter root hairs compared to control roots ectopically expressing an allele of the gene that cannot be targeted by the gRNA in parallel to the CRISPR construct. As an additional line of evidence, we monitored BcFLA1 expression with qPCR and detected a significant reduction of the transcript in roots with an active CRISPR construct compared to the control, although residual amounts of the transcript were detected, possibly due to inefficient nonsense-mediated mRNA decay. Additionally, the presence of deletions and insertions were verified by Sanger sequencing of the respective amplicons. In summary we demonstrate the successful application of CRISPR/Cas9 in hairy roots of B. carinata, the proof of its effectiveness and its effect on the root hair phenotype. This study paves the way for experimental strategies involving the phenotypic assessment of gene lesions by CRISPR which

  6. Efficient generation of mutations mediated by CRISPR/Cas9 in the hairy root transformation system of Brassica carinata.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Thomas W Kirchner

    Full Text Available A protocol for the induction of site-directed deletions and insertions in the genome of Brassica carinata with CRISPR is described. The construct containing the Cas9 nuclease and the guide RNA (gRNA was delivered by the hairy root transformation technique, and a successful transformation was monitored by GFP fluorescence. PAGE analysis of an amplified region, presumably containing the deletions and insertions, demonstrated up to seven different indels in one transgenic root and in all analyzed roots a wildtype allele of the modified gene was not detectable. Interestingly, many of these mutations consisted of relatively large indels with up to 112 bp. The exact size of the deletions was determined to allow an estimation whether the targeted gene was not functional due to a considerable deletion or a frame shift within the open reading frame. This allowed a direct phenotypic assessment of the previously characterized roots and, in fact, deletions in FASCICLIN-LIKE ARABINOGALACTAN PROTEIN 1 (BcFLA1-a gene with an expression pattern consistent with a role in root hair architecture-resulted in shorter root hairs compared to control roots ectopically expressing an allele of the gene that cannot be targeted by the gRNA in parallel to the CRISPR construct. As an additional line of evidence, we monitored BcFLA1 expression with qPCR and detected a significant reduction of the transcript in roots with an active CRISPR construct compared to the control, although residual amounts of the transcript were detected, possibly due to inefficient nonsense-mediated mRNA decay. Additionally, the presence of deletions and insertions were verified by Sanger sequencing of the respective amplicons. In summary we demonstrate the successful application of CRISPR/Cas9 in hairy roots of B. carinata, the proof of its effectiveness and its effect on the root hair phenotype. This study paves the way for experimental strategies involving the phenotypic assessment of gene lesions

  7. Vatellini Sharp (Coleoptera, Dytiscidae) from Brazil: two new species, new records, and a checklist.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Braga, Rafael Benzi; Ferreira, Nelson

    2016-05-12

    The tribe Vatellini Sharp, 1882 is composed of 55 species divided in two genera. Even though a recent revision of the tribe was made, Vatellini of the new world are weakly explored with great gaps in the distributions of species. In Brazil the knowledge is based only on a few localities. In this work two new species are described and illustrated, Vatellus caissara sp. nov. and Vatellus yanomami sp. nov.; new records are given for Brazil: Vatellus maculosus Miller, 2005 in the state of Mato Grosso, Derovatellus lentus (Wehncke, 1876) in Amazonas, Pará and Rio de Janeiro, Vatellus lateralis (Sharp, 1882) in Alagoas, Ceará, Espírito Santo, Pará, Pernambuco and Rio Grande do Sul, Vatellus sahlbergi (Sharp, 1882) in Rio de Janeiro, and Vatellus tarsatus (Laporte, 1835) in Pará. A checklist with all species of Vatellini occurring in Brazil is provided and steps for identification of the new species are added in the key of Miller (2005).

  8. Formation of large-scale structures with sharp density gradient through Rayleigh-Taylor growth in a two-dimensional slab under the two-fluid and finite Larmor radius effects

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Goto, R.; Hatori, T.; Miura, H.; Ito, A.; Sato, M.

    2015-01-01

    Two-fluid and the finite Larmor effects on linear and nonlinear growth of the Rayleigh-Taylor instability in a two-dimensional slab are studied numerically with special attention to high-wave-number dynamics and nonlinear structure formation at a low β-value. The two effects stabilize the unstable high wave number modes for a certain range of the β-value. In nonlinear simulations, the absence of the high wave number modes in the linear stage leads to the formation of the density field structure much larger than that in the single-fluid magnetohydrodynamic simulation, together with a sharp density gradient as well as a large velocity difference. The formation of the sharp velocity difference leads to a subsequent Kelvin-Helmholtz-type instability only when both the two-fluid and finite Larmor radius terms are incorporated, whereas it is not observed otherwise. It is shown that the emergence of the secondary instability can modify the outline of the turbulent structures associated with the primary Rayleigh-Taylor instability

  9. A repeatable and scalable fabrication method for sharp, hollow silicon microneedles

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kim, H.; Theogarajan, L. S.; Pennathur, S.

    2018-03-01

    Scalability and manufacturability are impeding the mass commercialization of microneedles in the medical field. Specifically, microneedle geometries need to be sharp, beveled, and completely controllable, difficult to achieve with microelectromechanical fabrication techniques. In this work, we performed a parametric study using silicon etch chemistries to optimize the fabrication of scalable and manufacturable beveled silicon hollow microneedles. We theoretically verified our parametric results with diffusion reaction equations and created a design guideline for a various set of miconeedles (80-160 µm needle base width, 100-1000 µm pitch, 40-50 µm inner bore diameter, and 150-350 µm height) to show the repeatability, scalability, and manufacturability of our process. As a result, hollow silicon microneedles with any dimensions can be fabricated with less than 2% non-uniformity across a wafer and 5% deviation between different processes. The key to achieving such high uniformity and consistency is a non-agitated HF-HNO3 bath, silicon nitride masks, and surrounding silicon filler materials with well-defined dimensions. Our proposed method is non-labor intensive, well defined by theory, and straightforward for wafer scale mass production, opening doors to a plethora of potential medical and biosensing applications.

  10. Numerical deconvolution to enhance sharpness and contrast of portal images for radiotherapy patient positioning verification

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Looe, H.K.; Uphoff, Y.; Poppe, B.; Carl von Ossietzky Univ., Oldenburg; Harder, D.; Willborn, K.C.

    2012-01-01

    The quality of megavoltage clinical portal images is impaired by physical and geometrical effects. This image blurring can be corrected by a fast numerical two-dimensional (2D) deconvolution algorithm implemented in the electronic portal image device. We present some clinical examples of deconvolved portal images and evaluate the clinical advantages achieved by the improved sharpness and contrast. The principle of numerical 2D image deconvolution and the enhancement of sharpness and contrast thereby achieved are shortly explained. The key concept is the convolution kernel K(x,y), the mathematical equivalent of the smearing or blurring of a picture, and the computer-based elimination of this influence. Enhancements of sharpness and contrast were observed in all clinical portal images investigated. The images of fine bone structures were restored. The identification of organ boundaries and anatomical landmarks was improved, thereby permitting a more accurate comparison with the x-ray simulator radiographs. The visibility of prostate gold markers is also shown to be enhanced by deconvolution. The blurring effects of clinical portal images were eliminated by a numerical deconvolution algorithm that leads to better image sharpness and contrast. The fast algorithm permits the image blurring correction to be performed in real time, so that patient positioning verification with increased accuracy can be achieved in clinical practice. (orig.)

  11. Numerical deconvolution to enhance sharpness and contrast of portal images for radiotherapy patient positioning verification

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Looe, H.K.; Uphoff, Y.; Poppe, B. [Pius Hospital, Oldenburg (Germany). Clinic for Radiation Therapy; Carl von Ossietzky Univ., Oldenburg (Germany). WG Medical Radiation Physics; Harder, D. [Georg August Univ., Goettingen (Germany). Medical Physics and Biophysics; Willborn, K.C. [Pius Hospital, Oldenburg (Germany). Clinic for Radiation Therapy

    2012-02-15

    The quality of megavoltage clinical portal images is impaired by physical and geometrical effects. This image blurring can be corrected by a fast numerical two-dimensional (2D) deconvolution algorithm implemented in the electronic portal image device. We present some clinical examples of deconvolved portal images and evaluate the clinical advantages achieved by the improved sharpness and contrast. The principle of numerical 2D image deconvolution and the enhancement of sharpness and contrast thereby achieved are shortly explained. The key concept is the convolution kernel K(x,y), the mathematical equivalent of the smearing or blurring of a picture, and the computer-based elimination of this influence. Enhancements of sharpness and contrast were observed in all clinical portal images investigated. The images of fine bone structures were restored. The identification of organ boundaries and anatomical landmarks was improved, thereby permitting a more accurate comparison with the x-ray simulator radiographs. The visibility of prostate gold markers is also shown to be enhanced by deconvolution. The blurring effects of clinical portal images were eliminated by a numerical deconvolution algorithm that leads to better image sharpness and contrast. The fast algorithm permits the image blurring correction to be performed in real time, so that patient positioning verification with increased accuracy can be achieved in clinical practice. (orig.)

  12. Scheme and scale dependences of leading electroweak corrections

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kniehl, B.A.; Sirlin, A.

    1996-01-01

    The scheme and scale dependences of leading M t -dependent contributions to Δρ, Δr, and τ, which arise because of the truncation of the perturbative series, are investigated by comparing expressions in the on-shell and MS schemes of renormalization, and studying their scale variations. Starting from the conventional on-shell formulae, we find rather large scheme and scale dependences. We then propose a simple, physically motivated modification of the conventional expressions and show that it leads to a sharp reduction in the scheme and scale dependences. Implications for electroweak physics are discussed. (orig.)

  13. Development of a Silicon Microneedle with Three-Dimensional Sharp Tip by Electrochemical Etching

    Science.gov (United States)

    Izumi, Hayato; Okamoto, Tokusuke; Suzuki, Masato; Aoyagi, Seiji

    Aiming at the use in low-invasive medical treatments, this paper reports a fabrication technique of silicon microneedle of conical sharp point. The electrochemical etching technique is employed for sharpening the tip of a pillar, which is diced from a silicon wafer. A finely smooth tip surface is obtained due to electrochemical etching reactions, and is effective for easy insertion. The fabrication method is based on inexpensive wet etching, which does not require expensive fabrication facilities such as deep reactive ion etching (DRIE). A sharp needle was successfully fabricated, the tip angle of which was considerably small and was distributed within the range from 15 to 30 deg. An experiment of inserting the fabricated needle into an artificial skin of silicone rubber was carried out. As the results, the resistance force during insertion was much reduced compared to those of two-dimensional sharp needles. Imitating mosquito's motion, the effectiveness of applying vibration to the fabricated needle during insertion was also confirmed. After biocompatible Parylene coating, puncturing a human skin was demonstrated assuming a lancet usage for the diabetics, in which the bleeding was surely observed.

  14. Controle químico de biótipos de buva (Conyza canadensis e Conyza bonariensis resistentes ao glyphosate Chemical Control of glyphosate-resistant horseweed (Conyza Canadensis and hairy fleabane (Conyza bonariensis biotypes

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Micheli Satomi Yamauti

    2010-09-01

    Full Text Available Estudos foram conduzidos na Estação Experimental de Citricultura de Bebedouro, SP para avaliar a resposta de biótipos de buva resistentes aos herbicidas glyphosate, bromacil + diuron, diuron e paraquat isolados e em mistura, e o efeito de uma aplicação seqüencial com glyphosate. O delineamento foi o de blocos casualizados com quatro repetições e sete tratamentos.. Os herbicidas foram aplicados com pulverizador costal, à pressão constante (mantido por CO2 comprimido, munido com barra com três bicos do tipo TT110015 com um consumo de calda equivalente a 150 L ha-1. O controle foi avaliado visualmente, através de escala percentual de notas. Para o controle geral das plantas daninhas os melhores resultados foram obtidos com diuron isolado e com glyphosate em mistura com bromacil + diuron, enquanto para o controle da buva não houve diferença entre os tratamentos. Depois da aplicação seqüencial, o melhor tratamento para o controle de buva foi com diuron e bromacil+diuron.Studies were conducted at Estação Experimental de Citricultura de Bebedouro, SP to evaluate the response of glyphosate-resistant horseweed and hairy fleabane biotypes to herbicides glyphosate, bromacil + diuron, diuron e paraquat isolated and in mixture and effect of a sequential application of glyphosate. The experimental design was of complete randomized blocks with four replication and seven treatments. The herbicides were applied with costal sprayer, constant pressure with three nozzles TT110015, the equivalent spray volume was 150 L ha-1. The control was visually evaluated, trough percentile note scale. The best results were obtained to general control of weed with diuron isolated and glyphosate in mixture with bromacil + diuron while to glyphosate-resistant horseweed and hairy fleabane there was no difference between the treatments. After sequential application to Conyza sp control, the best treatment was obtained associated with diuron and bromacil+diuron.

  15. Long working hours increase the risk of sharp and needlestick injury in nurses: the need for new policy implication.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ilhan, Mustafa N; Durukan, Elif; Aras, Evin; Türkçüoğlu, Sertaç; Aygün, Remzi

    2006-12-01

    This paper reports a study to determine the sharp and needlestick injury incidence in nurses working at a university hospital and the contributing factors. Although it is generally felt that working in the healthcare sector is clean and without risk, healthcare staff and especially physicians and nurses who generally work very long hours are actually exposed to various occupational risks. Sharps and needlestick injuries are important problems for healthcare workers as they increase the risk of spread of infection. A self-administered questionnaire was completed in October 2005 by 449 of the 516 nurses working at a Turkish hospital (response rate 87.0%). The percentage of nurses experiencing a sharp or needlestick injury during their professional life was 79.7%. The incidence of exposure to sharp or needlestick injury in the last year was 68.4%. The factors increasing the rate of sharp and needlestick injury were: age 24 years and less, working in surgical or intensive care units and working for more than 8 hours per day (P working long shifts, where tiredness may contribute to the number of needlestick injuries.

  16. Adaptive moving mesh methods for simulating one-dimensional groundwater problems with sharp moving fronts

    Science.gov (United States)

    Huang, W.; Zheng, Lingyun; Zhan, X.

    2002-01-01

    Accurate modelling of groundwater flow and transport with sharp moving fronts often involves high computational cost, when a fixed/uniform mesh is used. In this paper, we investigate the modelling of groundwater problems using a particular adaptive mesh method called the moving mesh partial differential equation approach. With this approach, the mesh is dynamically relocated through a partial differential equation to capture the evolving sharp fronts with a relatively small number of grid points. The mesh movement and physical system modelling are realized by solving the mesh movement and physical partial differential equations alternately. The method is applied to the modelling of a range of groundwater problems, including advection dominated chemical transport and reaction, non-linear infiltration in soil, and the coupling of density dependent flow and transport. Numerical results demonstrate that sharp moving fronts can be accurately and efficiently captured by the moving mesh approach. Also addressed are important implementation strategies, e.g. the construction of the monitor function based on the interpolation error, control of mesh concentration, and two-layer mesh movement. Copyright ?? 2002 John Wiley and Sons, Ltd.

  17. Expression of a Recombinant Anti-HIV and Anti-Tumor Protein, MAP30, in Nicotiana tobacum Hairy Roots: A pH-Stable and Thermophilic Antimicrobial Protein.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ali Moghadam

    Full Text Available In contrast to conventional antibiotics, which microorganisms can readily evade, it is nearly impossible for a microbial strain that is sensitive to antimicrobial proteins to convert to a resistant strain. Therefore, antimicrobial proteins and peptides that are promising alternative candidates for the control of bacterial infections are under investigation. The MAP30 protein of Momordica charantia is a valuable type I ribosome-inactivating protein (RIP with anti-HIV and anti-tumor activities. Whereas the antimicrobial activity of some type I RIPs has been confirmed, less attention has been paid to the antimicrobial activity of MAP30 produced in a stable, easily handled, and extremely cost-effective protein-expression system. rMAP30-KDEL was expressed in Nicotiana tobacum hairy roots, and its effect on different microorganisms was investigated. Analysis of the extracted total proteins of transgenic hairy roots showed that rMAP30-KDEL was expressed effectively and that this protein exhibited significant antibacterial activity in a dose-dependent manner. rMAP30-KDEL also possessed thermal and pH stability. Bioinformatic analysis of MAP30 and other RIPs regarding their conserved motifs, amino-acid contents, charge, aliphatic index, GRAVY value, and secondary structures demonstrated that these factors accounted for their thermophilicity. Therefore, RIPs such as MAP30 and its derived peptides might have promising applications as food preservatives, and their analysis might provide useful insights into designing clinically applicable antibiotic agents.

  18. Hairy roots of Helianthus annuus: a model system to study phytoremediation of tetracycline and oxytetracycline.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gujarathi, Ninad P; Haney, Bryan J; Park, Heidi J; Wickramasinghe, S Ranil; Linden, James C

    2005-01-01

    The release of antibiotics to the environment has to be controlled because of serious threats to human health. Hairy root cultures of Helianthus annuus (sunflower), along with their inherent rhizospheric activity, provide a fast growing, microbe-free environment for understanding plant-pollutant interactions. The root system catalyzes rapid disappearance of tetracycline (TC) and oxytetracycline (OTC) from aqueous media, which suggests roots have potential for phytoremediation of the two antibiotics in vivo. In addition, in vitro modifications of the two antibiotics by filtered, cell- and microbe-free root exudates suggest involvement of root-secreted compounds. The modification is confirmed from changes observed in UV spectra of exudate-treated OTC. Modification appears to be more dominant at the BCD chromophore of the antibiotic molecule. Kinetic analyses dismiss direct enzyme catalysis; the modification rates decrease with increasing OTC concentrations. The rates increase with increasing age of cultures from which root exudates are prepared. The decrease in modification rates upon addition of the antioxidant ascorbic acid (AA) suggests involvement of reactive oxygen species (ROS) in the antibiotic modification process.

  19. The seminiferous epithelial cycle and microanatomy of the koala (Phascolarctos cinereus) and southern hairy-nosed wombat (Lasiorhinus latifrons) testis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Oishi, Motoharu; Takahashi, Mei; Amasaki, Hajime; Janssen, Tina; Johnston, Stephen D

    2013-03-01

    The koala (Phascolarctos cinereus) and southern hairy-nosed wombat (Lasiorhinus latifrons) are iconic Australian fauna that share a close phylogenetic relationship but there are currently no comparative studies of the seminiferous epithelial cell or testicular microanatomy of either species. Koala and wombat spermatozoa are unusual for marsupials as they possess a curved stream-lined head and lateral neck insertion that superficially is similar to murid spermatozoa; the koala also contains Sertoli cells with crystalloid inclusions that closely resemble the Charcot-Bottcher crystalloids described in human Sertoli cells. Eighteen sexually mature koalas and four sexually mature southern hairy-nosed (SHN) wombats were examined to establish base-line data on quantitative testicular histology. Dynamics of the seminiferous epithelial cycle in the both species consisted of eight stages of cellular association similar to that described in other marsupials. Both species possessed a high proportion of the pre-meiotic (stages VIII, I - III; koala - 62.2 ± 1.7% and SHN wombat - 66.6 ± 2.4%) when compared with post-meiotic stages of the seminiferous cycle. The mean diameters of the seminiferous tubules found in the koalas and the SHN wombats were 227.8 ± 6.1 and 243.5 ± 3.9 μm, respectively. There were differences in testicular histology between the species including the koala possessing (i) a greater proportion of Leydig cells, (ii) larger Sertoli cell nuclei, (iii) crystalloids in the Sertoli cell cytoplasm, (iv) a distinctive acrosomal granule during spermiogenesis and (v) a highly eosinophilic acrosome. An understanding of the seminiferous epithelial cycle and microanatomy of testis is fundamental for documenting normal spermatogenesis and testicular architecture; recent evidence of orchitis and epididymitis associated with natural chlamydial infection in the koala suggest that this species might be useful as an experimental model for understanding Chlamydia

  20. An Intersection–Union Test for the Sharpe Ratio

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Gabriel Frahm

    2018-04-01

    Full Text Available An intersection–union test for supporting the hypothesis that a given investment strategy is optimal among a set of alternatives is presented. It compares the Sharpe ratio of the benchmark with that of each other strategy. The intersection–union test takes serial dependence into account and does not presume that asset returns are multivariate normally distributed. An empirical study based on the G–7 countries demonstrates that it is hard to find significant results due to the lack of data, which confirms a general observation in empirical finance.

  1. Treatment of sharp mandibular alveolar process with hybrid prosthesis

    OpenAIRE

    Sukaedi, Sukaedi; Djulaeha, Eha

    2010-01-01

    Background: Losing posterior teeth for a long time would occasionally lead to the sharpening of alveolar process. The removable partial denture usually have problems when used during mastication, because of the pressure on the mucosa under the alveolar ridge. Purpose: The purpose of this case report was to manage patients with sharp mandibular alveolar process by wearing hybrid prosthesis with extra coronal precision attachment retention and soft liner on the surface base beneath the removabl...

  2. High-speed homogenization coupled with microwave-assisted extraction followed by liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry for the direct determination of alkaloids and flavonoids in fresh Isatis tinctoria L. hairy root cultures.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jiao, Jiao; Gai, Qing-Yan; Zhang, Lin; Wang, Wei; Luo, Meng; Zu, Yuan-Gang; Fu, Yu-Jie

    2015-06-01

    A new, simple and efficient analysis method for fresh plant in vitro cultures-namely, high-speed homogenization coupled with microwave-assisted extraction (HSH-MAE) followed by liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS)-was developed for simultaneous determination of six alkaloids and eight flavonoids in Isatis tinctoria hairy root cultures (ITHRCs). Compared with traditional methods, the proposed HSH-MAE offers the advantages of easy manipulation, higher efficiency, energy saving, and reduced waste. Cytohistological studies were conducted to clarify the mechanism of HSH-MAE at cellular/tissue levels. Moreover, the established LC-MS/MS method showed excellent linearity, precision, repeatability, and reproducibility. The HSH-MAE-LC-MS/MS method was also successfully applied for screening high-productivity ITHRCs. Overall, this study opened up a new avenue for the direct determination of secondary metabolic profiles from fresh plant in vitro cultures, which is valuable for improving quality control of plant cell/organ cultures and sheds light on the metabolomic analysis of biological samples. Graphical Abstract HSH-MAE-LC-MS/MS opened up a new avenue for the direct determination of alkaloids and flavonoids in fresh Isatis tinctoria hairy root cultures.

  3. Study of hydrodynamic characteristics of a Sharp Eagle wave energy converter

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhang, Ya-qun; Sheng, Song-wei; You, Ya-ge; Huang, Zhen-xin; Wang, Wen-sheng

    2017-06-01

    According to Newton's Second Law and the microwave theory, mechanical analysis of multiple buoys which form Sharp Eagle wave energy converter (WEC) is carried out. The movements of every buoy in three modes couple each other when they are affected with incident waves. Based on the above, mechanical models of the WEC are established, which are concerned with fluid forces, damping forces, hinge forces, and so on. Hydrodynamic parameters of one buoy are obtained by taking the other moving buoy as boundary conditions. Then, by taking those hydrodynamic parameters into the mechanical models, the optimum external damping and optimal capture width ratio are calculated out. Under the condition of the optimum external damping, a plenty of data are obtained, such as the displacements amplitude of each buoy in three modes (sway, heave, pitch), damping forces, hinge forces, and speed of the hydraulic cylinder. Research results provide theoretical references and basis for Sharp Eagle WECs in the design and manufacture.

  4. Effects of Phytoplankton Growth Phase on Delayed Settling Behavior of Marine Snow Aggregates at Sharp Density Transitions

    Science.gov (United States)

    Proctor, K. W.; Montgomery, Q. W.; Prairie, J. C.

    2016-02-01

    Marine snow aggregates play a fundamental role in the marine carbon cycle. Since marine snow aggregates are larger and thus sink faster than individual phytoplankton, aggregates often dominate carbon flux. Previous studies have shown that marine snow aggregates will significantly decrease their settling velocity when passing through sharp density transitions within the ocean, a phenomenon defined as delayed settling. Given the importance of aggregate settling to carbon export, these small-scale changes in aggregate settling dynamics may have significant impacts on the efficiency of the biological pump. However, there is still a lack of knowledge about how different physical properties of aggregates can affect this delayed settling. In this study, we investigated the effect of phytoplankton growth phase on delayed settling behavior. Using phytoplankton cultures stopped at four different growth phases, we formed marine snow aggregates in the laboratory in rotating cylindrical tanks. We then observed individual aggregates as they settled through a stratified tank. We will present data which illustrates that aggregates experience greatly reduced settling rates when passing through sharp density gradients and that the growth phase of the phytoplankton used to form these aggregates has a significant effect on this delayed settling behavior. A thorough understanding of the impact of phytoplankton growth phase on the delayed settling behavior of marine snow will offer insight into the way phytoplankton growth phase may influence the efficiency of the biological pump, carbon flux, and the carbon cycle as a whole.

  5. LLNL contributions to ANL Report ANL/NE-16/6 'Sharp User Manual'

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Solberg, J. M.

    2016-01-01

    Diablo is a Multiphysics implicit finite element code with an emphasis on coupled structural/thermal analysis. In the SHARP framework, it is used as the structural solver, and may also be used as the mesh smoother.

  6. Numerical investigation of rarefaction effects in the vicinity of a sharp leading edge

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pan, Shaowu; Gao, Zhenxun; Lee, Chunhian

    2014-12-01

    This paper presents a study of rarefaction effect on hypersonic flow over a sharp leading edge. Both continuum approach and kinetic method: a widely spread commercial Computational Fluid Dynamics-Navior-Stokes-Fourier (CFD-NSF) software - Fluent together with a direct simulation Monte Carlo (DSMC) code developed by the authors are employed for simulation of transition regime with Knudsen number ranging from 0.005 to 0.2. It is found that Fluent can predict the wall fluxes in the case of hypersonic argon flow over the sharp leading edge for the lowest Kn case (Kn = 0.005) in current paper while for other cases it also has a good agreement with DSMC except at the location near the sharp leading edge. Among all of the wall fluxes, it is found that coefficient of pressure is the most sensitive to rarefaction while heat transfer is the least one. A parameter based on translational nonequilibrium and a cut-off value of 0.34 is proposed for continuum breakdown in this paper. The structure of entropy and velocity profile in boundary layer is analyzed. Also, it is found that the ratio of heat transfer coefficient to skin friction coefficient remains uniform along the surface for the four cases in this paper.

  7. Diversity of sharp-wave–ripple LFP signatures reveals differentiated brain-wide dynamical events

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ramirez-Villegas, Juan F.; Logothetis, Nikos K.; Besserve, Michel

    2015-01-01

    Sharp-wave–ripple (SPW-R) complexes are believed to mediate memory reactivation, transfer, and consolidation. However, their underlying neuronal dynamics at multiple scales remains poorly understood. Using concurrent hippocampal local field potential (LFP) recordings and functional MRI (fMRI), we study local changes in neuronal activity during SPW-R episodes and their brain-wide correlates. Analysis of the temporal alignment between SPW and ripple components reveals well-differentiated SPW-R subtypes in the CA1 LFP. SPW-R–triggered fMRI maps show that ripples aligned to the positive peak of their SPWs have enhanced neocortical metabolic up-regulation. In contrast, ripples occurring at the trough of their SPWs relate to weaker neocortical up-regulation and absent subcortical down-regulation, indicating differentiated involvement of neuromodulatory pathways in the ripple phenomenon mediated by long-range interactions. To our knowledge, this study provides the first evidence for the existence of SPW-R subtypes with differentiated CA1 activity and metabolic correlates in related brain areas, possibly serving different memory functions. PMID:26540729

  8. Diversity of sharp-wave-ripple LFP signatures reveals differentiated brain-wide dynamical events.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ramirez-Villegas, Juan F; Logothetis, Nikos K; Besserve, Michel

    2015-11-17

    Sharp-wave-ripple (SPW-R) complexes are believed to mediate memory reactivation, transfer, and consolidation. However, their underlying neuronal dynamics at multiple scales remains poorly understood. Using concurrent hippocampal local field potential (LFP) recordings and functional MRI (fMRI), we study local changes in neuronal activity during SPW-R episodes and their brain-wide correlates. Analysis of the temporal alignment between SPW and ripple components reveals well-differentiated SPW-R subtypes in the CA1 LFP. SPW-R-triggered fMRI maps show that ripples aligned to the positive peak of their SPWs have enhanced neocortical metabolic up-regulation. In contrast, ripples occurring at the trough of their SPWs relate to weaker neocortical up-regulation and absent subcortical down-regulation, indicating differentiated involvement of neuromodulatory pathways in the ripple phenomenon mediated by long-range interactions. To our knowledge, this study provides the first evidence for the existence of SPW-R subtypes with differentiated CA1 activity and metabolic correlates in related brain areas, possibly serving different memory functions.

  9. Sharp metric obstructions for quasi-Einstein metrics

    Science.gov (United States)

    Case, Jeffrey S.

    2013-02-01

    Using the tractor calculus to study smooth metric measure spaces, we adapt results of Gover and Nurowski to give sharp metric obstructions to the existence of quasi-Einstein metrics on suitably generic manifolds. We do this by introducing an analogue of the Weyl tractor W to the setting of smooth metric measure spaces. The obstructions we obtain can be realized as tensorial invariants which are polynomial in the Riemann curvature tensor and its divergence. By taking suitable limits of their tensorial forms, we then find obstructions to the existence of static potentials, generalizing to higher dimensions a result of Bartnik and Tod, and to the existence of potentials for gradient Ricci solitons.

  10. Short-Term Power Load Point Prediction Based on the Sharp Degree and Chaotic RBF Neural Network

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Dongxiao Niu

    2015-01-01

    Full Text Available In order to realize the predicting and positioning of short-term load inflection point, this paper made reference to related research in the field of computer image recognition. It got a load sharp degree sequence by the transformation of the original load sequence based on the algorithm of sharp degree. Then this paper designed a forecasting model based on the chaos theory and RBF neural network. It predicted the load sharp degree sequence based on the forecasting model to realize the positioning of short-term load inflection point. Finally, in the empirical example analysis, this paper predicted the daily load point of a region using the actual load data of the certain region to verify the effectiveness and applicability of this method. Prediction results showed that most of the test sample load points could be accurately predicted.

  11. The close objects buffer : a sharp shadow detection technique for radiosity methods

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Telea, A.C.; Overveld, van C.W.A.M.

    1997-01-01

    Detecting sharp illumination variations such as shadow boundaries is an important problem for radiosity methods. Such illumination variations are captured using a nonuniform mesh that refines the areas exhibiting high illumination gradients. Nonuniform meshing techniques like discontinuity meshing

  12. The Close Objects Buffer : A Sharp Shadow Detection Technique for Radiosity Methods

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Telea, A.C.; Overveld, C.W.A.M. van

    1998-01-01

    Detecting sharp illumination variations such as shadow boundaries is an important problem for radiosity methods. Such illumination variations are captured using a nonuniform mesh that refines the areas exhibiting high illumination gradients. Nonuniform meshing techniques like discontinuity meshing

  13. The pattern of sharps injury to health care workers at Witbank Hospital

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    800 000 needle stick injuries occur every year.1 According to UK data, there were ... Factors associated with an increased risk of occupational exposure can differ from ... there are many sharps safety devices on the market, but unfortunately.

  14. Validity of the "sharp-kink approximation" for water and other fluids.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Garcia, R; Osborne, K; Subashi, E

    2008-07-10

    The contact angle of a liquid droplet on a solid surface is a direct measure of fundamental atomic-scale forces acting between liquid molecules and the solid surface. In this work, the validity is assessed of a simple equation, which approximately relates the contact angle of a liquid on a surface to its density, its surface tension, and the effective molecule-surface potential. This equation is derived in the sharp-kink approximation, where the density profile of the liquid is assumed to drop precipitously within one molecular diameter of the substrate. It is found that this equation satisfactorily reproduces the temperature-dependence of the contact angle for helium on alkali metal surfaces. The equation also seems be applicable to liquids such as water on solid surfaces such as gold and graphite, on the basis of a comparison of predicted and measured contact angles near room-temperature. Nevertheless, we conclude that, to fully test the equation's applicability to fluids such as water, it remains necessary to measure the contact angle's temperature-dependence. We hypothesize that the effects of electrostatic forces can increase with temperature, potentially driving the wetting temperature much higher and closer to the critical point, or lower, closer to room temperature, than predicted using current theories.

  15. SHARP's systems engineering challenge: rectifying integrated product team requirements with performance issues in an evolutionary spiral development acquisition

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kuehl, C. Stephen

    2003-08-01

    Completing its final development and early deployment on the Navy's multi-role aircraft, the F/A-18 E/F Super Hornet, the SHAred Reconnaissance Pod (SHARP) provides the war fighter with the latest digital tactical reconnaissance (TAC Recce) Electro-Optical/Infrared (EO/IR) sensor system. The SHARP program is an evolutionary acquisition that used a spiral development process across a prototype development phase tightly coupled into overlapping Engineering and Manufacturing Development (EMD) and Low Rate Initial Production (LRIP) phases. Under a tight budget environment with a highly compressed schedule, SHARP challenged traditional acquisition strategies and systems engineering (SE) processes. Adopting tailored state-of-the-art systems engineering process models allowd the SHARP program to overcome the technical knowledge transition challenges imposed by a compressed program schedule. The program's original goal was the deployment of digital TAC Recce mission capabilities to the fleet customer by summer of 2003. Hardware and software integration technical challenges resulted from requirements definition and analysis activities performed across a government-industry led Integrated Product Team (IPT) involving Navy engineering and test sites, Boeing, and RTSC-EPS (with its subcontracted hardware and government furnished equipment vendors). Requirements development from a bottoms-up approach was adopted using an electronic requirements capture environment to clarify and establish the SHARP EMD product baseline specifications as relevant technical data became available. Applying Earned-Value Management (EVM) against an Integrated Master Schedule (IMS) resulted in efficiently managing SE task assignments and product deliveries in a dynamically evolving customer requirements environment. Application of Six Sigma improvement methodologies resulted in the uncovering of root causes of errors in wiring interconnectivity drawings, pod manufacturing processes, and avionics

  16. Geology of the Early Arikareean sharps formation on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation and surrounding areas of South Dakota and Nebraska.

    Science.gov (United States)

    McConnell, Thomas H; Dibenedetto, Joseph N

    2012-01-01

    Based on geologic mapping, measured sections, and lithologic correlations, the local features of the upper and lower type areas of the Early Arikareean (30.8-20.6 million years ago) Sharps Formation are revised and correlated. The Sharps Formation above the basal Rockyford Member is divided into two members of distinct lithotypes. The upper 233 feet of massive siltstones and sandy siltstones is named the Gooseneck Road Member. The middle member, 161 feet of eolian volcaniclastic siltstones with fluvially reworked volcaniclastic lenses and sandy siltstone sheets, is named the Wolff Camp Member. An ashey zone at the base of the Sharps Formation is described and defined as the Rockyford Ash Zone (RAZ) in the same stratigraphic position as the Nonpareil Ash Zone (NPAZ) in Nebraska. Widespread marker beds of fresh water limestones at 130 feet above the base of the Sharps Formation and a widespread reddish-brown clayey siltstone at 165 feet above the base of the Sharps Formation are described. The Brown Siltstone Beds of Nebraska are shown to be a southern correlative of the Wolff Camp Member and the Rockyford Member of the Sharps Formation. Early attempts to correlate strata in the Great Plains were slow in developing. Recognition of the implications of the paleomagnetic and lithologic correlations of this paper will provide an added datum assisting researchers in future biostratigraphic studies. Based on similar lithologies, the Sharps Formation, currently assigned to the Arikaree Group, should be reassigned to the White River Group.

  17. Optimizing 3D Triangulations to Recapture Sharp Edges

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Bærentzen, Jakob Andreas

    2006-01-01

    In this report, a technique for optimizing 3D triangulations is proposed. The method seeks to minimize an energy defined as a sum of energy terms for each edge in a triangle mesh. The main contribution is a novel per edge energy which strikes a balance between penalizing dihedral angle yet allowing...... sharp edges. The energy is minimized using edge swapping, and this can be done either in a greedy fashion or using simulated annealing. The latter is more costly, but effectively avoids local minima. The method has been used on a number of models. Particularly good results have been obtained on digital...

  18. Magnetic field penetration into superconductors with sharp edges

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zhilichev, Yuriy N.

    2003-01-01

    The magnetic field and surface currents induced within a superconductor are calculated assuming the field penetrates in it near sharp corners. Rounding the corners is used to keep the field less than a critical value. Analytical formulas for a corner radius are given for a wire of the rectangular cross-section and a cylinder in the external magnetic field. A boundary integral method is used to calculate the boundary of the Meissner domain when the external field penetrates deep into the superconductor. The effect of degree of penetration on the magnetic moment of superconducting cylinders and wires is discussed

  19. Endovascular Sharp Recanalization for Calcified Femoropopliteal Artery Occlusion

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Hsuan-Li Huang

    2012-01-01

    Full Text Available Endovascular intervention of peripheral chronic total occlusion (CTO is technically challenging and time consuming. Various techniques and devices are used to facilitate lesion crossing and improve the success rate of the procedure. However, these new devices are quite expensive and not readily available. We report 2 cases of peripheral CTO wherein the occlusions were successfully crossed by using stiff end of Terumo glidewire. This sharp recanalization may be a useful technique for the recanalization of calcified peripheral CTOs when conventional techniques fail and new devices are not readily available, but it is accompanied by the risk of distal atheroembolism.

  20. Topographically Engineered Large Scale Nanostructures for Plasmonic Biosensing

    Science.gov (United States)

    Xiao, Bo; Pradhan, Sangram K.; Santiago, Kevin C.; Rutherford, Gugu N.; Pradhan, Aswini K.

    2016-04-01

    We demonstrate that a nanostructured metal thin film can achieve enhanced transmission efficiency and sharp resonances and use a large-scale and high-throughput nanofabrication technique for the plasmonic structures. The fabrication technique combines the features of nanoimprint and soft lithography to topographically construct metal thin films with nanoscale patterns. Metal nanogratings developed using this method show significantly enhanced optical transmission (up to a one-order-of-magnitude enhancement) and sharp resonances with full width at half maximum (FWHM) of ~15nm in the zero-order transmission using an incoherent white light source. These nanostructures are sensitive to the surrounding environment, and the resonance can shift as the refractive index changes. We derive an analytical method using a spatial Fourier transformation to understand the enhancement phenomenon and the sensing mechanism. The use of real-time monitoring of protein-protein interactions in microfluidic cells integrated with these nanostructures is demonstrated to be effective for biosensing. The perpendicular transmission configuration and large-scale structures provide a feasible platform without sophisticated optical instrumentation to realize label-free surface plasmon resonance (SPR) sensing.

  1. PEROLD-SHARPE REBALANCING STRATEGIES IN PRACTICE

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Valentyn Khokhlov

    2016-11-01

    Full Text Available The purpose of this paper is to investigate the different strategies for portfolio rebalanc-ing (buy-and-hold, constant weights, and constant-proportion portfolio insurance (CPPI suggested by Perold and Sharpe in a reallife environment using the actual market data and considering trans-action costs. Methodology. Exchange-traded funds were used to represent asset classes, and actual market prices in 2007-2015 for the ETFs used to conduct the research. The Monte-Carlo simulations were used to generate 400 portfolios over 3 different time horizons in order to get a representative sample. Two actual fee structures were used from the leading U.S. brokerage firms. Results of the portfolio dynamics research show outperformance of CPPI over other strategies on holding periods over 36 months, and on shorter time horizons CPPI and constant weights strategies clearly dominate over buyand- hold strategy. Contrary to the previous conclusions by Perold and Sharpe, there was no definite link between the stock market dynamics or volatility and the preferred strategy. We also see that after a bull market period the CPPI portfolio allocation shifts to 100% equity. The portfolio turnover is typically higher and much more dispersed for CPPI strategy than for constant weights strategy. We also found a strong negative correlation between the CPPI portfolio turnover and the initial equity allocation, whereas for constant weights strategy the turnover is higher at 50% allocation to both stocks and bonds. Practical implications. The strategy choice is shown to be more a matter of the holding period; CPPI seems the best choice over longer periods. Contrary to the widespread perception, our research shows that brokerage fees has not had a material influence on the simulated portfolio performance and, thus, should not be a factor for choosing a strategy. Originality/value. Unlike previous studies in this area that focused on analytical derivation based on sample statistics

  2. Load modeling for sharp V-cutter cutting litchi ( Litchi chinensis Sonn ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    harvesting. Cutting load is a key parameter for 'hand-held auto-picker' operation. However, there is still no suitable model for cutting load setting. Hence, a model describing the relationship among cutting load, blade angle and friction coefficient was developed for cutting operation by sharp V-cutters. The model was based ...

  3. WE-E-17A-06: Assessing the Scale of Tumor Heterogeneity by Complete Hierarchical Segmentation On MRI

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Gensheimer, M; Trister, A; Ermoian, R; Hawkins, D

    2014-01-01

    Purpose: In many cancers, intratumoral heterogeneity exists in vascular and genetic structure. We developed an algorithm which uses clinical imaging to interrogate different scales of heterogeneity. We hypothesize that heterogeneity of perfusion at large distance scales may correlate with propensity for disease recurrence. We applied the algorithm to initial diagnosis MRI of rhabdomyosarcoma patients to predict recurrence. Methods: The Spatial Heterogeneity Analysis by Recursive Partitioning (SHARP) algorithm recursively segments the tumor image. The tumor is repeatedly subdivided, with each dividing line chosen to maximize signal intensity difference between the two subregions. This process continues to the voxel level, producing segments at multiple scales. Heterogeneity is measured by comparing signal intensity histograms between each segmented region and the adjacent region. We measured the scales of contrast enhancement heterogeneity of the primary tumor in 18 rhabdomyosarcoma patients. Using Cox proportional hazards regression, we explored the influence of heterogeneity parameters on relapse-free survival (RFS). To compare with existing methods, fractal and Haralick texture features were also calculated. Results: The complete segmentation produced by SHARP allows extraction of diverse features, including the amount of heterogeneity at various distance scales, the area of the tumor with the most heterogeneity at each scale, and for a given point in the tumor, the heterogeneity at different scales. 10/18 rhabdomyosarcoma patients suffered disease recurrence. On contrast-enhanced MRI, larger scale of maximum signal intensity heterogeneity, relative to tumor diameter, predicted for shorter RFS (p=0.05). Fractal dimension, fractal fit, and three Haralick features did not predict RFS (p=0.09-0.90). Conclusion: SHARP produces an automatic segmentation of tumor regions and reports the amount of heterogeneity at various distance scales. In rhabdomyosarcoma, RFS was

  4. Intercomparison of field measurements of nitrous acid (HONO) during the SHARP Campaign

    Science.gov (United States)

    Because of the importance of HONO as a radical reservoir, consistent and accurate measurements of its concentration are needed. As part of the SHARP (Study of Houston Atmospheric Radical Precursors), time series of HONO were obtained by five different measurement techniques on th...

  5. Computer simulation of radiographic images sharpness in several system of image record

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Silva, Marcia Aparecida; Schiable, Homero; Frere, Annie France; Marques, Paulo M.A.; Oliveira, Henrique J.Q. de; Alves, Fatima F.R.; Medeiros, Regina B.

    1996-01-01

    A method to predict the influence of the record system on radiographic images sharpness by computer simulation is studied. The method intend to previously show the image to be obtained for each type of film or screen-film combination used during the exposure

  6. Growth of aluminum oxide on silicon carbide with an atomically sharp interface

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Silva, Ana Gomes; Pedersen, Kjeld; Li, Zheshen

    2017-01-01

    this system up to around 600 °C (all in ultrahigh vacuum). This converts all the SiO2 into a uniform layer of Al2O3 with an atomically sharp interface between the Al2O3 and the Si surface. In the present work, the same procedures are applied to form Al2O3 on a SiC film grown on top of Si (111). The results...... indicate that a similar process, resulting in a uniform layer of 1-2 nm of Al2O3 with an atomically sharp Al2O3/SiC interface, also works in this case.......The development of SiC wafers with properties suitable for electronic device fabrication is now well established commercially. A critical issue for developing metal-oxide-semiconductor field effect transistor devices of SiC is the choice of dielectric materials for surface passivation...

  7. Cryptic species of sharp-nosed reed frogs in the Hyperolius nasutus ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    The sharp-nosed reed frog is widespread in Africa. Although currently recognized as one species, suggestions have been made that more than one species might exist. We analysed 237 calls of 69 males from 19 localities in the western to southern parts of Africa. Calls fall into three groups, which we recognize as cryptic ...

  8. Primary Hairy Cell Leukemia/Lymphoma of the Breast: A Case Report and Review of the Literature

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Monika Pilichowska

    2014-01-01

    Full Text Available Hairy cell leukemia/lymphoma (HCL is a rare B-cell neoplasm primarily involving spleen, bone marrow, and blood. However, other sites of primary involvement do occur and can present a diagnostic and therapeutic challenge. We present an unusual case of HCL involving predominantly the breast that was diagnosed as an incidental finding during an elective reduction mammoplasty in an otherwise healthy asymptomatic woman. Bone marrow performed for staging revealed limited involvement by HCL. Notably, there was no splenomegaly and/or involvement of other extramedullary sites. The peripheral blood revealed minimal involvement detected by flow cytometry. Extensive immunohistochemical studies supported by positive BRAF V600E mutational status confirmed the diagnosis of HCL. The patient remains asymptomatic without treatment one year following the diagnosis. This is the first case of a well-documented HCL presenting primarily in the breast in an asymptomatic patient. We review the literature on extramedullary, extrasplenic involvement by HCL and discuss the diagnostic challenges as well as the utility of immunohistochemistry and molecular studies in the diagnosis of atypical presentations of HCL.

  9. Spectrally selective solar absorber with sharp and temperature dependent cut-off based on semiconductor nanowire arrays

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Yang; Zhou, Lin; Zheng, Qinghui; Lu, Hong; Gan, Qiaoqiang; Yu, Zongfu; Zhu, Jia

    2017-05-01

    Spectrally selective absorbers (SSA) with high selectivity of absorption and sharp cut-off between high absorptivity and low emissivity are critical for efficient solar energy conversion. Here, we report the semiconductor nanowire enabled SSA with not only high absorption selectivity but also temperature dependent sharp absorption cut-off. By taking advantage of the temperature dependent bandgap of semiconductors, we systematically demonstrate that the absorption cut-off profile of the semiconductor-nanowire-based SSA can be flexibly tuned, which is quite different from most of the other SSA reported so far. As an example, silicon nanowire based selective absorbers are fabricated, with the measured absorption efficiency above (below) bandgap ˜97% (15%) combined with an extremely sharp absorption cut-off (transition region ˜200 nm), the sharpest SSA demonstrated so far. The demonstrated semiconductor-nanowire-based SSA can enable a high solar thermal efficiency of ≳86% under a wide range of operating conditions, which would be competitive candidates for the concentrated solar energy utilizations.

  10. Adjusted Empirical Likelihood Method in the Presence of Nuisance Parameters with Application to the Sharpe Ratio

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Yuejiao Fu

    2018-04-01

    Full Text Available The Sharpe ratio is a widely used risk-adjusted performance measurement in economics and finance. Most of the known statistical inferential methods devoted to the Sharpe ratio are based on the assumption that the data are normally distributed. In this article, without making any distributional assumption on the data, we develop the adjusted empirical likelihood method to obtain inference for a parameter of interest in the presence of nuisance parameters. We show that the log adjusted empirical likelihood ratio statistic is asymptotically distributed as the chi-square distribution. The proposed method is applied to obtain inference for the Sharpe ratio. Simulation results illustrate that the proposed method is comparable to Jobson and Korkie’s method (1981 and outperforms the empirical likelihood method when the data are from a symmetric distribution. In addition, when the data are from a skewed distribution, the proposed method significantly outperforms all other existing methods. A real-data example is analyzed to exemplify the application of the proposed method.

  11. Present and future thermal environments available to Sharp-tailed Grouse in an intact grassland.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Edward J Raynor

    Full Text Available Better understanding animal ecology in terms of thermal habitat use has become a focus of ecological studies, in large part due to the predicted temperature increases associated with global climate change. To further our knowledge on how ground-nesting endotherms respond to thermal landscapes, we examined the thermal ecology of Sharp-tailed Grouse (Tympanuchus phasianellus during the nesting period. We measured site-specific iButton temperatures (TiB and vegetation characteristics at nest sites, nearby random sites, and landscape sites to assess thermal patterns at scales relevant to nesting birds. We asked if microhabitat vegetation characteristics at nest sites matched the characteristics that directed macrohabitat nest-site selection. Grouse selected sites sheltered by dense vegetation for nesting that moderated TiB on average up to 2.7°C more than available landscape sites. Successful nests were positioned in a way that reduced exposure to thermal extremes by as much as 4°C relative to failed nests with an overall mean daytime difference (±SE of 0.4 ±0.03°C. We found that macrohabitat nest-site selection was guided by dense vegetation cover and minimal bare ground as also seen at the microhabitat scale. Global climate projections for 2080 suggest that TiB at nest sites may approach temperatures currently avoided on the landscape, emphasizing a need for future conservation plans that acknowledge fine-scale thermal space in climate change scenarios. These data show that features of grassland landscapes can buffer organisms from unfavorable microclimatic conditions and highlight how thermal heterogeneity at the individual-level can drive decisions guiding nest site selection.

  12. Present and future thermal environments available to Sharp-tailed Grouse in an intact grassland.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Raynor, Edward J; Powell, Larkin A; Schacht, Walter H

    2018-01-01

    Better understanding animal ecology in terms of thermal habitat use has become a focus of ecological studies, in large part due to the predicted temperature increases associated with global climate change. To further our knowledge on how ground-nesting endotherms respond to thermal landscapes, we examined the thermal ecology of Sharp-tailed Grouse (Tympanuchus phasianellus) during the nesting period. We measured site-specific iButton temperatures (TiB) and vegetation characteristics at nest sites, nearby random sites, and landscape sites to assess thermal patterns at scales relevant to nesting birds. We asked if microhabitat vegetation characteristics at nest sites matched the characteristics that directed macrohabitat nest-site selection. Grouse selected sites sheltered by dense vegetation for nesting that moderated TiB on average up to 2.7°C more than available landscape sites. Successful nests were positioned in a way that reduced exposure to thermal extremes by as much as 4°C relative to failed nests with an overall mean daytime difference (±SE) of 0.4 ±0.03°C. We found that macrohabitat nest-site selection was guided by dense vegetation cover and minimal bare ground as also seen at the microhabitat scale. Global climate projections for 2080 suggest that TiB at nest sites may approach temperatures currently avoided on the landscape, emphasizing a need for future conservation plans that acknowledge fine-scale thermal space in climate change scenarios. These data show that features of grassland landscapes can buffer organisms from unfavorable microclimatic conditions and highlight how thermal heterogeneity at the individual-level can drive decisions guiding nest site selection.

  13. A wheat cinnamyl alcohol dehydrogenase TaCAD12 contributes to host resistance to the sharp eyespot disease

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Wei Rong

    2016-11-01

    Full Text Available Sharp eyespot, caused mainly by the necrotrophic fungus Rhizoctonia cerealis, is a destructive disease in hexaploid wheat (Triticum aestivum L.. In Arabidopsis, certain cinnamyl alcohol dehydrogenases (CADs have been implicated in monolignol biosynthesis and in defense response to bacterial pathogen infection. However, little is known about CADs in wheat defense responses to necrotrophic or soil-borne pathogens. In this study, we isolate a wheat CAD gene TaCAD12 in response to R. cerealis infection through microarray-based comparative transcriptomics, and study the enzyme activity and defense role of TaCAD12 in wheat. The transcriptional levels of TaCAD12 in sharp eyespot-resistant wheat lines were significantly higher compared with those in susceptible wheat lines. The sequence and phylogenetic analyses revealed that TaCAD12 belongs to IV group in CAD family. The biochemical assay proved that TaCAD12 protein is an authentic CAD enzyme and possesses catalytic efficiencies towards both coniferyl aldehyde and sinapyl aldehyde. Knock-down of TaCAD12 transcript significantly repressed resistance of the gene-silenced wheat plants to sharp eyespot caused by R. cerealis, whereas TaCAD12 overexpression markedly enhanced resistance of the transgenic wheat lines to sharp eyespot. Furthermore, certain defense genes (Defensin, PR10, PR17c, and Chitinase1 and monolignol biosynthesis-related genes (TaCAD1, TaCCR, and TaCOMT1 were up-regulated in the TaCAD12-overexpressing wheat plants but down-regulated in TaCAD12-silencing plants. These results suggest that TaCAD12 positively contributes to resistance against sharp eyespot through regulation of the expression of certain defense genes and monolignol biosynthesis-related genes in wheat.

  14. Influence and evolution mechanism of different sharpness contact forms to mechanical property of cortical bone by nanoindentation

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sun, Xingdong; Guo, Yue; Li, Lijia; Liu, Zeyang; Wu, Di; Shi, Dong; Zhao, Hongwei; Zhang, Shizhong

    2018-03-01

    Based on different damage forms of various contact forms to bone, the mechanical response and mechanism were investigated by nanoindentation under different sharpness contact forms. For the purpose of simulating the different sharpness contact forms, two kinds of indenters were used in experiments and finite elements simulations. Through nanoindentation experiments, it was concluded that the residual depth of sharp indenter was bigger than that of blunt indenter with small penetration depth. However, the contrary law was obtained with bigger penetration depth. There was a turning point of transition from blunt tendency to sharp tendency. By calculation, it was concluded that the sharper the indenter was, the bigger the proportion of plastic energy in total energy was. Basically, results of finite elements simulation could correspond with the experimental conclusions. By the observation of FE-SEM, the surface of cortical bone compressed was more seriously directly below the blunt indenter than the lateral face. For the berkovich indenter, the surface of indentation compressed was less directly below the indenter, but seriously on three lateral faces. This research may provide some new references to the studies of bone fracture mechanism in different load patterns in the initial press-in stage and offer new explanation for bone trauma diagnosis in clinical treatment and criminal investigation.

  15. Influence and evolution mechanism of different sharpness contact forms to mechanical property of cortical bone by nanoindentation

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Xingdong Sun

    2018-03-01

    Full Text Available Based on different damage forms of various contact forms to bone, the mechanical response and mechanism were investigated by nanoindentation under different sharpness contact forms. For the purpose of simulating the different sharpness contact forms, two kinds of indenters were used in experiments and finite elements simulations. Through nanoindentation experiments, it was concluded that the residual depth of sharp indenter was bigger than that of blunt indenter with small penetration depth. However, the contrary law was obtained with bigger penetration depth. There was a turning point of transition from blunt tendency to sharp tendency. By calculation, it was concluded that the sharper the indenter was, the bigger the proportion of plastic energy in total energy was. Basically, results of finite elements simulation could correspond with the experimental conclusions. By the observation of FE-SEM, the surface of cortical bone compressed was more seriously directly below the blunt indenter than the lateral face. For the berkovich indenter, the surface of indentation compressed was less directly below the indenter, but seriously on three lateral faces. This research may provide some new references to the studies of bone fracture mechanism in different load patterns in the initial press-in stage and offer new explanation for bone trauma diagnosis in clinical treatment and criminal investigation.

  16. On the sharpness of the Rüssmann estimates

    Science.gov (United States)

    Figueras, Jordi-Lluís; Haro, Alex; Luque, Alejandro

    2018-02-01

    Estimating the norm of the solution of the linear difference equation u(θ) - u(θ + ω) = v(θ) plays a fundamental role in KAM theory. Optimal (in certain sense) estimates for the solution of this equation were provided by Rüssmann in the mid 70's. The aim of this paper is to compare the sharpness of these classical estimates with more specific estimates obtained with the help of the computer. We perform several experiments to quantify the improvement obtained when using computer assisted estimates. By comparing these estimates with the actual norm of the solution, we can analyze the different sources of overestimation, thus encouraging future improvements.

  17. Critical applied stresses for a crack initiation from a sharp V-notch

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    L. Náhlík

    2014-10-01

    Full Text Available The aim of the paper is to estimate a value of the critical applied stress for a crack initiation from a sharp V-notch tip. The classical approach of the linear elastic fracture mechanics (LELM was generalized, because the stress singularity exponent differs from 0.5 in the studied case. The value of the stress singularity exponent depends on the V-notch opening angle. The finite element method was used for a determination of stress distribution in the vicinity of the sharp V-notch tip and for the estimation of the generalized stress intensity factor depending on the V-notch opening angle. Critical value of the generalized stress intensity factor was obtained using stability criteria based on the opening stress component averaged over a critical distance d from the V-notch tip and generalized strain energy density factor. Calculated values of the critical applied stresses were compared with experimental data from the literature and applicability of the LEFM concept is discussed.

  18. A Constructive Sharp Approach to Functional Quantization of Stochastic Processes

    OpenAIRE

    Junglen, Stefan; Luschgy, Harald

    2010-01-01

    We present a constructive approach to the functional quantization problem of stochastic processes, with an emphasis on Gaussian processes. The approach is constructive, since we reduce the infinite-dimensional functional quantization problem to a finite-dimensional quantization problem that can be solved numerically. Our approach achieves the sharp rate of the minimal quantization error and can be used to quantize the path space for Gaussian processes and also, for example, Lévy processes.

  19. SHARP ENTRYWISE PERTURBATION BOUNDS FOR MARKOV CHAINS.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Thiede, Erik; VAN Koten, Brian; Weare, Jonathan

    For many Markov chains of practical interest, the invariant distribution is extremely sensitive to perturbations of some entries of the transition matrix, but insensitive to others; we give an example of such a chain, motivated by a problem in computational statistical physics. We have derived perturbation bounds on the relative error of the invariant distribution that reveal these variations in sensitivity. Our bounds are sharp, we do not impose any structural assumptions on the transition matrix or on the perturbation, and computing the bounds has the same complexity as computing the invariant distribution or computing other bounds in the literature. Moreover, our bounds have a simple interpretation in terms of hitting times, which can be used to draw intuitive but rigorous conclusions about the sensitivity of a chain to various types of perturbations.

  20. DSMC simulations of shock interactions about sharp double cones

    Science.gov (United States)

    Moss, James N.

    2001-08-01

    This paper presents the results of a numerical study of shock interactions resulting from Mach 10 flow about sharp double cones. Computations are made by using the direct simulation Monte Carlo (DSMC) method of Bird. The sensitivity and characteristics of the interactions are examined by varying flow conditions, model size, and configuration. The range of conditions investigated includes those for which experiments have been or will be performed in the ONERA R5Ch low-density wind tunnel and the Calspan-University of Buffalo Research Center (CUBRC) Large Energy National Shock (LENS) tunnel.

  1. Sensitivity of using blunt and sharp crack models in elastic-plastic fracture mechanics

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Pan, Y.C.; Kennedy, J.M.; Marchertas, A.H.

    1985-01-01

    J-integral values are calculated for both the blunt (smeared) crack and the sharp (discrete) crack models in elastic-plastic fracture mechanics problems involving metallic materials. A sensitivity study is performed to show the relative strengths and weaknesses of the two cracking models. It is concluded that the blunt crack model is less dependent on the orientation of the mesh. For the mesh which is in line with the crack direction, however, the sharp crack model is less sensitive to the mesh size. Both models yield reasonable results for a properly discretized finite-element mesh. A subcycling technique is used in this study in the explicit integration scheme so that large time steps can be used for the coarse elements away from the crack tip. The savings of computation time by this technique are reported. 6 refs., 9 figs

  2. The 1985 National Aeronautics and Space Administration's Summer High School Apprenticeship Research Program (SHARP)

    Science.gov (United States)

    1985-01-01

    In 1985, a total of 126 talented high school students gained first hand knowledge about science and engineering careers by working directly with a NASA scientist or engineer during the summer. This marked the sixth year of operation for NASA's Summer High School Apprenticeship Research Program (SHARP). The major priority of maintaining the high standards and success of prior years was satisfied. The following eight sites participated in the Program: Ames Research Center, Ames' Dryden Flight Research Facility, Goddard Space Flight Center, Goddard's Wallop Flight Facility, Kennedy Space Center, Langley Research Center, Lewis Research Center, and Marshall Space Flight Center. Tresp Associates served as the SHARP contractor and worked closely with NASA staff at headquarters and the sites just mentioned to plan, implement, and evaluate the program.

  3. Sharps injuries in UK health care: a review of injury rates, viral transmission and potential efficacy of safety devices.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Elder, Alexander; Paterson, Caron

    2006-12-01

    To review the literature on sharps injuries and occupational bloodborne virus transmission in health care in the UK and the worldwide evidence for injury prevention of sharps safety devices. Literature review by online database and Internet resource search. Twenty-four relevant publications were identified regarding UK reported sharps injury rates. UK studies showed as much as a 10-fold difference between injuries reported through standard reporting systems (0.78-5.15 per 100 person-years) and rates estimated from retrospective questionnaires of clinical populations (30-284 per 100 person-years). National surveillance data from England, Wales and Northern Ireland gives a rate of 1.43 known hepatitis C virus or human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) transmissions to health care workers per annum. When extrapolated, this suggests an approximate rate of 0.009 such viral transmissions per 1000 hospital beds per annum. Risk of infection from sources with no risk factors is extremely small (less than one in one million for HIV transmission based on Scottish data). Thirty-one studies on the efficacy of sharps safety devices showed evidence of a reduction in injuries, with the greatest reductions achieved by blunt suture needles and safety cannulae. Although injuries remain common, confirmed viral transmission in the UK has been relatively rare. The degree of under-reporting of sharps injuries may be as much as 10-fold. Safety-engineered devices are likely to be effective at injury reduction.

  4. Log corrections to entropy of three dimensional black holes with soft hair

    Science.gov (United States)

    Grumiller, Daniel; Perez, Alfredo; Tempo, David; Troncoso, Ricardo

    2017-08-01

    We calculate log corrections to the entropy of three-dimensional black holes with "soft hairy" boundary conditions. Their thermodynamics possesses some special features that preclude a naive direct evaluation of these corrections, so we follow two different approaches. The first one exploits that the BTZ black hole belongs to the spectrum of Brown-Henneaux as well as soft hairy boundary conditions, so that the respective log corrections are related through a suitable change of the thermodynamic ensemble. In the second approach the analogue of modular invariance is considered for dual theories with anisotropic scaling of Lifshitz type with dynamical exponent z at the boundary. On the gravity side such scalings arise for KdV-type boundary conditions, which provide a specific 1-parameter family of multi-trace deformations of the usual AdS3/CFT2 setup, with Brown-Henneaux corresponding to z = 1 and soft hairy boundary conditions to the limiting case z → 0+. Both approaches agree in the case of BTZ black holes for any non-negative z. Finally, for soft hairy boundary conditions we show that not only the leading term, but also the log corrections to the entropy of black flowers endowed with affine û (1) soft hair charges exclusively depend on the zero modes and hence coincide with the ones for BTZ black holes.

  5. Caffeine Increases Hippocampal Sharp Waves in Vitro.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Watanabe, Yusuke; Ikegaya, Yuji

    2017-01-01

    Caffeine promotes memory consolidation. Memory consolidation is thought to depend at least in part on hippocampal sharp waves (SWs). In the present study, we investigated the effect of bath-application of caffeine in spontaneously occurring SWs in mouse acute hippocampal slices. Caffeine induced an about 100% increase in the event frequency of SWs at concentrations of 60 and 200 µM. The effect of caffeine was reversible after washout of caffeine and was mimicked by an adenosine A 1 receptor antagonist, but not by an A 2A receptor antagonist. Caffeine increased SWs even in dentate-CA3 mini-slices without the CA2 regions, in which adenosine A 1 receptors are abundantly expressed in the hippocampus. Thus, caffeine facilitates SWs by inhibiting adenosine A 1 receptors in the hippocampal CA3 region or the dentate gyrus.

  6. Mechanisms for Selective Single-Cell Reactivation during Offline Sharp-Wave Ripples and Their Distortion by Fast Ripples.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Valero, Manuel; Averkin, Robert G; Fernandez-Lamo, Ivan; Aguilar, Juan; Lopez-Pigozzi, Diego; Brotons-Mas, Jorge R; Cid, Elena; Tamas, Gabor; Menendez de la Prida, Liset

    2017-06-21

    Memory traces are reactivated selectively during sharp-wave ripples. The mechanisms of selective reactivation, and how degraded reactivation affects memory, are poorly understood. We evaluated hippocampal single-cell activity during physiological and pathological sharp-wave ripples using juxtacellular and intracellular recordings in normal and epileptic rats with different memory abilities. CA1 pyramidal cells participate selectively during physiological events but fired together during epileptic fast ripples. We found that firing selectivity was dominated by an event- and cell-specific synaptic drive, modulated in single cells by changes in the excitatory/inhibitory ratio measured intracellularly. This mechanism collapses during pathological fast ripples to exacerbate and randomize neuronal firing. Acute administration of a use- and cell-type-dependent sodium channel blocker reduced neuronal collapse and randomness and improved recall in epileptic rats. We propose that cell-specific synaptic inputs govern firing selectivity of CA1 pyramidal cells during sharp-wave ripples. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  7. Computational analysis of network activity and spatial reach of sharp wave-ripples.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sadullah Canakci

    Full Text Available Network oscillations of different frequencies, durations and amplitudes are hypothesized to coordinate information processing and transfer across brain areas. Among these oscillations, hippocampal sharp wave-ripple complexes (SPW-Rs are one of the most prominent. SPW-Rs occurring in the hippocampus are suggested to play essential roles in memory consolidation as well as information transfer to the neocortex. To-date, most of the knowledge about SPW-Rs comes from experimental studies averaging responses from neuronal populations monitored by conventional microelectrodes. In this work, we investigate spatiotemporal characteristics of SPW-Rs and how microelectrode size and distance influence SPW-R recordings using a biophysical model of hippocampus. We also explore contributions from neuronal spikes and synaptic potentials to SPW-Rs based on two different types of network activity. Our study suggests that neuronal spikes from pyramidal cells contribute significantly to ripples while high amplitude sharp waves mainly arise from synaptic activity. Our simulations on spatial reach of SPW-Rs show that the amplitudes of sharp waves and ripples exhibit a steep decrease with distance from the network and this effect is more prominent for smaller area electrodes. Furthermore, the amplitude of the signal decreases strongly with increasing electrode surface area as a result of averaging. The relative decrease is more pronounced when the recording electrode is closer to the source of the activity. Through simulations of field potentials across a high-density microelectrode array, we demonstrate the importance of finding the ideal spatial resolution for capturing SPW-Rs with great sensitivity. Our work provides insights on contributions from spikes and synaptic potentials to SPW-Rs and describes the effect of measurement configuration on LFPs to guide experimental studies towards improved SPW-R recordings.

  8. Sharp Bounds by Probability-Generating Functions and Variable Drift

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Doerr, Benjamin; Fouz, Mahmoud; Witt, Carsten

    2011-01-01

    We introduce to the runtime analysis of evolutionary algorithms two powerful techniques: probability-generating functions and variable drift analysis. They are shown to provide a clean framework for proving sharp upper and lower bounds. As an application, we improve the results by Doerr et al....... (GECCO 2010) in several respects. First, the upper bound on the expected running time of the most successful quasirandom evolutionary algorithm for the OneMax function is improved from 1.28nln n to 0.982nlnn, which breaks the barrier of nln n posed by coupon-collector processes. Compared to the classical...

  9. Short-term responses of Dutch vacationers to a sharp increase in transport costs

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    van Cranenburgh, S.

    2016-01-01

    This paper investigates vacationers’ short-term responses to a sharp increase in transport costs. It aims to (1) acquire an understanding of the relative popularity of the different types of responses among vacationers and (2) explore whether there are distinct market segments of vacationers that

  10. The BTK Inhibitor Ibrutinib (PCI-32765) Blocks Hairy Cell Leukaemia Survival, Proliferation and BCR Signalling: A New Therapeutic Approach

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sivina, Mariela; Kreitman, Robert J.; Arons, Evgeny; Ravandi, Farhad; Burger, Jan A.

    2014-01-01

    B cell receptor (BCR) signalling plays a critical role in the progression of several B-cell malignancies, but its role in hairy cell leukaemia (HCL) is ambiguous. Bruton tyrosine kinase (BTK), a key player in BCR signalling, migration and adhesion, can be targeted with ibrutinib, a selective, irreversible BTK inhibitor. We analysed BTK expression and function in HCL and analysed the effects of ibrutinib on HCL cells. We demonstrated uniform BTK protein expression in HCL cells. Ibrutinib significantly inhibited HCL proliferation and cell cycle progression. Accordingly, ibrutinib also reduced HCL cell survival after BCR triggering with anti-immunoglobulins (A, G, and M) and abrogated the activation of kinases downstream of the BCR (PI3K and MAPK). Ibrutinib also inhibited BCR-dependent secretion of the chemokines CCL3 and CCL4 by HCL cells. Interestingly, ibrutinib inhibited CXCL12-induced signalling, a key pathway for bone marrow homing. Collectively, our data support the clinical development of ibrutinib in patients with HCL. PMID:24697238

  11. Low-loss transmission band in photonic crystal waveguides with sharp cutoff at a frequency below the bandgap

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Krüger, Asger Christian; Zhang, Min; Groothoff, Nathaniel

    2011-01-01

    We present TE transmission measurements of photonic crystal waveguides with high hole radius to period ratio r/Λ=0.388. This geometry introduces a unique low loss transmission band in addition to the traditional PhC guiding band and very sharp transmission edges for devices with a length of 50 μm...... or longer. Finite difference time domain and plane wave expansion simulations confirm the results and show that the sharpness of the cutoffs can be explained by the spectral shape of the guiding mode in the band diagram....

  12. Real time algorithms for sharp wave ripple detection.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sethi, Ankit; Kemere, Caleb

    2014-01-01

    Neural activity during sharp wave ripples (SWR), short bursts of co-ordinated oscillatory activity in the CA1 region of the rodent hippocampus, is implicated in a variety of memory functions from consolidation to recall. Detection of these events in an algorithmic framework, has thus far relied on simple thresholding techniques with heuristically derived parameters. This study is an investigation into testing and improving the current methods for detection of SWR events in neural recordings. We propose and profile methods to reduce latency in ripple detection. Proposed algorithms are tested on simulated ripple data. The findings show that simple realtime algorithms can improve upon existing power thresholding methods and can detect ripple activity with latencies in the range of 10-20 ms.

  13. Discharge coefficient of a rectangular sharp-edged broad-crested weir

    OpenAIRE

    Zachoval Zbyněk; Knéblová Michaela; Roušar Ladislav; Rumann Ján; Šulc Jan

    2014-01-01

    his paper is concerned with the determination of the relationship for the calculation of the discharge coefficient at free overflow over a rectangular sharp-edged broad-crested weir without lateral contraction. The determination was made on the basis of new measurement in a range of the relative thickness of the weir from 0.12 to 0.30 and newly in a large range of relative height of the weir extremely from 0.24 to 6.8 which greatly expands the application possibilities of low weirs. In additi...

  14. Sharp at any Age: Moho boundary thickness estimates along a trans-sect through 2 Ga of tectonic history.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Servali, A.; Levin, V. L.; VanTongeren, J. A.

    2015-12-01

    In this study we evaluate crustal thickness and Moho sharpness beneath seismic stations in three different tectonic units of the North American continent: the Archean Superior Province, the Proterozoic Grenville Province, and the Paleozoic Appalachian Orogen. Our analysis involves two steps. First, for each site, we produce P-to-S receiver functions (RFs) organized by backazimuth and epicentral distance, and use them to identify the phase most likely representing a conversion from the Moho. Second, we construct averaged RFs for groups of telesismic events located in a similar geographic region, which we employ to examine shapes of Moho P-to-S converted phases in time series with maximum frequencies increasing from 0.25Hz to 2-3 Hz. At some sites we observe a progressive narrowing of a simple Moho converted phase with an increase in frequency, typical of a vertically instantaneous boundary, while at others the converted phase becomes progressively more complex, typical of a diffuse Moho. Thus, we adopt this difference in converted wave shape dependence on increasing frequency as a measure of Moho thickness. Our estimates of Moho thickness range from less than 300 m to over 2 km, with some locations showing evidence for multiple converting boundaries in the 35-50 km depth range. In this study we define "sharp" Moho at those sites where its vertical thickness is less than 1 km. Our results show that sharp Moho is universal in the Archean terranes regardless of surface lithology, likely due to higher Moho temperatures facilitating wide-spread delamination of dense lower crustal rocks. While a sharp Moho is not unique to the Superior Province, all Grenville and Appalachians sites where we find sharp Moho are in regions of granitic plutonism, suggesting a possible general association with reworking and density sorting of the crustal material (e.g. volcanic arc).

  15. Sharp Morphological Transitions from Nanoscale Mixed-Anchoring Patterns in Confined Nematic Liquid Crystals

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Armas-Pérez, Julio C. [Institute; División; Li, Xiao [Institute; Martínez-González, José A. [Institute; Smith, Coleman [Institute; Hernández-Ortiz, J. P. [Departamento; Nealey, Paul F. [Institute; Materials; de Pablo, Juan J. [Institute; Materials

    2017-08-17

    Liquid crystals are known to be particularly sensitive to orientational cues provided at surfaces or interfaces. In this work, we explore theoretically, computationally, and experimentally the behavior of liquid crystals on isolated nanoscale patterns with controlled anchoring characteristics at small length scales. The orientation of the liquid crystal is controlled through the use of chemically patterned polymer brushes that are tethered to a surface. This system can be engineered with remarkable precision, and the central question addressed here is whether a characteristic length scale exists at which information encoded on a surface is no longer registered by a liquid crystal. To do so, we adopt a tensorial description of the free energy of the hybrid liquidcrystal surface system, and we investigate its morphology in a systematic manner. For long and narrow surface stripes, it is found that the liquid crystal follows the instructions provided by the pattern down to 100 nm widths. This is accomplished through the creation of line defects that travel along the sides of the stripes. We show that a "sharp" morphological transition occurs from a uniform undistorted alignment to a dual uniform/splay-bend morphology. The theoretical and numerical predictions advanced here are confirmed by experimental observations. Our combined analysis suggests that nanoscale patterns can be used to manipulate the orientation of liquid crystals at a fraction of the energetic cost that is involved in traditional liquid crystal-based devices. The insights presented in this work have the potential to provide a new fabrication platform to assemble low power bistable devices, which could be reconfigured upon application of small external fields.

  16. Study of microstructure and fracture properties of blunt notched and sharp cracked high density polyethylene specimens.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pan, Huanyu; Devasahayam, Sheila; Bandyopadhyay, Sri

    2017-07-21

    This paper examines the effect of a broad range of crosshead speed (0.05 to 100 mm/min) and a small range of temperature (25 °C and 45 °C) on the failure behaviour of high density polyethylene (HDPE) specimens containing a) standard size blunt notch and b) standard size blunt notch plus small sharp crack - all tested in air. It was observed that the yield stress properties showed linear increase with the natural logarithm of strain rate. The stress intensity factors under blunt notch and sharp crack conditions also increased linearly with natural logarithm of the crosshead speed. The results indicate that in the practical temperature range of 25 °C and 45 °C under normal atmosphere and increasing strain rates, HDPE specimens with both blunt notches and sharp cracks possess superior fracture properties. SEM microstructure studies of fracture surfaces showed craze initiation mechanisms at lower strain rate, whilst at higher strain rates there is evidence of dimple patterns absorbing the strain energy and creating plastic deformation. The stress intensity factor and the yield strength were higher at 25 °C compared to those at 45 °C.

  17. A sharp interface Cartesian grid method for viscous simulation of shocked particle-laden flows

    Science.gov (United States)

    Das, Pratik; Sen, Oishik; Jacobs, Gustaaf; Udaykumar, H. S.

    2017-09-01

    A Cartesian grid-based sharp interface method is presented for viscous simulations of shocked particle-laden flows. The moving solid-fluid interfaces are represented using level sets. A moving least-squares reconstruction is developed to apply the no-slip boundary condition at solid-fluid interfaces and to supply viscous stresses to the fluid. The algorithms developed in this paper are benchmarked against similarity solutions for the boundary layer over a fixed flat plate and against numerical solutions for moving interface problems such as shock-induced lift-off of a cylinder in a channel. The framework is extended to 3D and applied to calculate low Reynolds number steady supersonic flow over a sphere. Viscous simulation of the interaction of a particle cloud with an incident planar shock is demonstrated; the average drag on the particles and the vorticity field in the cloud are compared to the inviscid case to elucidate the effects of viscosity on momentum transfer between the particle and fluid phases. The methods developed will be useful for obtaining accurate momentum and heat transfer closure models for macro-scale shocked particulate flow applications such as blast waves and dust explosions.

  18. 78 FR 43183 - Notice of Availability for Sharpe Permit Relinquishment Project Environmental Assessment Finding...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2013-07-19

    ... for Sharpe Permit Relinquishment Project Environmental Assessment Finding of No Significant Impact... Relinquishment Project Environmental Assessment (EA) Finding of No Significant Impact (FONSI). SUMMARY: On April... environment. Human environment was interpreted comprehensively to include the natural and physical environment...

  19. Design of low complexity sharp MDFT filter banks with perfect reconstruction using hybrid harmony-gravitational search algorithm

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    V. Sakthivel

    2015-12-01

    Full Text Available The design of low complexity sharp transition width Modified Discrete Fourier Transform (MDFT filter bank with perfect reconstruction (PR is proposed in this work. The current trends in technology require high data rates and speedy processing along with reduced power consumption, implementation complexity and chip area. Filters with sharp transition width are required for various applications in wireless communication. Frequency response masking (FRM technique is used to reduce the implementation complexity of sharp MDFT filter banks with PR. Further, to reduce the implementation complexity, the continuous coefficients of the filters in the MDFT filter banks are represented in discrete space using canonic signed digit (CSD. The multipliers in the filters are replaced by shifters and adders. The number of non-zero bits is reduced in the conversion process to minimize the number of adders and shifters required for the filter implementation. Hence the performances of the MDFT filter bank with PR may degrade. In this work, the performances of the MDFT filter banks with PR are improved using a hybrid Harmony-Gravitational search algorithm.

  20. Power suppression at large scales in string inflation

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Cicoli, Michele [Dipartimento di Fisica ed Astronomia, Università di Bologna, via Irnerio 46, Bologna, 40126 (Italy); Downes, Sean; Dutta, Bhaskar, E-mail: mcicoli@ictp.it, E-mail: sddownes@physics.tamu.edu, E-mail: dutta@physics.tamu.edu [Mitchell Institute for Fundamental Physics and Astronomy, Department of Physics and Astronomy, Texas A and M University, College Station, TX, 77843-4242 (United States)

    2013-12-01

    We study a possible origin of the anomalous suppression of the power spectrum at large angular scales in the cosmic microwave background within the framework of explicit string inflationary models where inflation is driven by a closed string modulus parameterizing the size of the extra dimensions. In this class of models the apparent power loss at large scales is caused by the background dynamics which involves a sharp transition from a fast-roll power law phase to a period of Starobinsky-like slow-roll inflation. An interesting feature of this class of string inflationary models is that the number of e-foldings of inflation is inversely proportional to the string coupling to a positive power. Therefore once the string coupling is tuned to small values in order to trust string perturbation theory, enough e-foldings of inflation are automatically obtained without the need of extra tuning. Moreover, in the less tuned cases the sharp transition responsible for the power loss takes place just before the last 50-60 e-foldings of inflation. We illustrate these general claims in the case of Fibre Inflation where we study the strength of this transition in terms of the attractor dynamics, finding that it induces a pivot from a blue to a redshifted power spectrum which can explain the apparent large scale power loss. We compute the effects of this pivot for example cases and demonstrate how magnitude and duration of this effect depend on model parameters.

  1. Sharp wave/ripple network oscillations and learning-associated hippocampal maps.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Csicsvari, Jozsef; Dupret, David

    2014-02-05

    Sharp wave/ripple (SWR, 150-250 Hz) hippocampal events have long been postulated to be involved in memory consolidation. However, more recent work has investigated SWRs that occur during active waking behaviour: findings that suggest that SWRs may also play a role in cell assembly strengthening or spatial working memory. Do such theories of SWR function apply to animal learning? This review discusses how general theories linking SWRs to memory-related function may explain circuit mechanisms related to rodent spatial learning and to the associated stabilization of new cognitive maps.

  2. Isolation of Staphylococcus epidermidis from inflamed upper respiratory tract of an orange-spined hairy dwarf porcupine (Sphiggurus villosus

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    F Fornazari

    2012-01-01

    Full Text Available The orange-spined hairy dwarf porcupine (Sphiggurus villosus is a rodent species common in most parts of South America, and little is known about the pathologies that can afflict it. A specimen was delivered at the Wildlife Research and Medical Center (CEMPAS, School of Veterinary Medicine and Animal Husbandry, UNESP, Botucatu, SP, Brazil. The animal showed intense apathy, with purulent secretion in the nasal cavity and fracture of the lumbar spine. Due to the unfavorable prognosis, the porcupine was euthanized and microbiological culture of nasal discharge showed Staphylococcus epidermidis. The antimicrobial resistance test revealed sensitivity to all tested antimicrobials (ampicillin, oxacillin, tetracycline, penicillin G, neomycin, cephalexin, gentamicin, enrofloxacin, ciprofloxacin, cotrimoxazol, cefoxitin and cephalothin. This bacterium is part of the nasal flora of humans and other animals, and may cause infection under certain conditions. In the present study, the infection and colonization by S. epidermidis was the probable cause of the inflammatory process. The sensitivity to all tested antimicrobials suggests that this strain has not been previously exposed to such drugs.

  3. Sharp corners as sources of spiral pairs

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Biton, Y.; Rabinovitch, A.; Braunstein, D.; Friedman, M.; Aviram, I.

    2010-01-01

    It is demonstrated that using the FitzHugh-Nagumo model, stimulation of excitable media inside a region possessing sharp corners, can lead to the appearance of sources of spiral-pairs of sustained activity. The two conditions for such source creation are: The corners should be less than 120 deg. and the range of stimulating amplitudes should be small, occurring just above the threshold value and decreasing with the corner angle. The basic mechanisms driving the phenomenon are discussed. These include: A. If the corner angle is below 120 deg., the wave generated inside cannot emerge at the corner tip, resulting in the creation of two free edges which start spiraling towards each other. B. Spiraling must be strong enough; otherwise annihilation of the rotating arms would occur too soon to create a viable source. C. The intricacies of the different radii involved are elucidated. Possible applications in heart stimulation and in chemical reactions are considered.

  4. Conformal coating by photoresist of sharp corners of anisotropically etched through-holes in silicon

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Heschel, Matthias; Bouwstra, Siebe

    1997-01-01

    The authors describe a photoresist treatment yielding conformal coating of three-dimensional silicon structures. This even includes the sharp corners of through-holes obtained by anisotropic etching in (100)-silicon. Resist reflow from these corners is avoided by replacing the common baking...

  5. A very sharp drop in the photovoltaic market

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Boulanger, V.

    2013-01-01

    For the second year in a row the photovoltaic market is in sharp decline in France, it dropped by 37% between 2011 and 2012 and the situation for 2013 is expected to be even worse. The last emergency measures taken by the government have been useless. The syndicate of renewable energies (SER) and the 'Europe Ecologie les Verts' party urge the government to take efficient emergency measures like for instance the implementation of local purchase tariffs instead of the present bidding process or to keep the obligation of the integration to the building only for new constructions. The only good piece of news is that photovoltaic power is getting more and more competitive. France has to reconsider its energy policy and its regulatory framework in order to benefit from it. (A.C.)

  6. Triomicrus Sharp of Eastern China (Coleoptera: Staphylinidae: Pselaphinae).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shen, Jia-Wei; Yin, Zi-Wei; Li, Li-Zhen

    2015-08-31

    Twelve species of the genus Triomicrus Sharp are here recognized in eastern China, with eleven of them described as new: T. Inaequalis Shen & Yin, sp. n. and T. mirus Shen & Yin, sp. n. from Anhui, T. abhorridus Shen & Yin, sp. n., T. aculeus Shen & Yin, sp. n., T. damingensis Shen & Yin, sp. n., T. frondosus Shen & Yin, sp. n., T. gutianensis Shen & Yin, sp. n. and T. tibialis Shen & Yin, sp. n. from Zhejiang, T. anfractus Shen & Yin, sp. n. from Anhui and Zhejiang, T. Hamus Shen & Yin, sp. n. from Jiangxi, and T. contus Shen & Yin, sp. n. from Jiangxi and Zhejiang. New distributional data for T. rougemonti Löbl, Kurbatov &Nomura is given. A key for the identification of the Triomicrus species in eastern China is presented.

  7. On sharp estimates of the convergence of double Fourier-Bessel series

    Science.gov (United States)

    Abilov, V. A.; Abilova, F. V.; Kerimov, M. K.

    2017-11-01

    The problem of approximation of a differentiable function of two variables by partial sums of a double Fourier-Bessel series is considered. Sharp estimates of the rate of convergence of the double Fourier-Bessel series on the class of differentiable functions of two variables characterized by a generalized modulus of continuity are obtained. The proofs of four theorems on this issue, which can be directly applied to solving particular problems of mathematical physics, approximation theory, etc., are presented.

  8. Lacosamide and Levetiracetam Have No Effect on Sharp-Wave Ripple Rate

    Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

    Kudláček, Jan; Chvojka, Jan; Pošusta, Antonín; Kováčová, Ľubica; Hong, S.B.; Weiss, S.; Volná, K.; Marusič, P.; Otáhal, Jakub; Jiruška, Přemysl

    2017-01-01

    Roč. 8, Dec 21 (2017), č. článku 687. ISSN 1664-2295 R&D Projects: GA ČR(CZ) GA14-02634S; GA ČR(CZ) GA15-08565S; GA MZd(CZ) NV15-29835A; GA MZd(CZ) NV17-28427A Institutional support: RVO:67985823 Keywords : high-frequency oscillations * sharp-wave ripples * levetiracetam * lacosamide * antiepileptic drugs Subject RIV: FH - Neurology OBOR OECD: Neurosciences (including psychophysiology Impact factor: 3.552, year: 2016

  9. Comparing non-safety with safety device sharps injury incidence data from two different occupational surveillance systems.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mitchell, A H; Parker, G B; Kanamori, H; Rutala, W A; Weber, D J

    2017-06-01

    The United States Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) Bloodborne Pathogens Standard as amended by the Needlestick Safety and Prevention Act requiring the use of safety-engineered medical devices to prevent needlesticks and sharps injuries has been in place since 2001. Injury changes over time include differences between those from non-safety compared with safety-engineered medical devices. This research compares two US occupational incident surveillance systems to determine whether these data can be generalized to other facilities and other countries either with legislation in place or considering developing national policies for the prevention of sharps injuries among healthcare personnel. Copyright © 2017 The Healthcare Infection Society. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  10. Lamina-specific contribution of glutamatergic and GABAergic potentials to hippocampal sharp wave-ripple complexes.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schönberger, Jan; Draguhn, Andreas; Both, Martin

    2014-01-01

    The mammalian hippocampus expresses highly organized patterns of neuronal activity which form a neuronal correlate of spatial memories. These memory-encoding neuronal ensembles form on top of different network oscillations which entrain neurons in a state- and experience-dependent manner. The mechanisms underlying activation, timing and selection of participating neurons are incompletely understood. Here we studied the synaptic mechanisms underlying one prominent network pattern called sharp wave-ripple complexes (SPW-R) which are involved in memory consolidation during sleep. We recorded SPW-R with extracellular electrodes along the different layers of area CA1 in mouse hippocampal slices. Contribution of glutamatergic excitation and GABAergic inhibition, respectively, was probed by local application of receptor antagonists into s. radiatum, pyramidale and oriens. Laminar profiles of field potentials show that GABAergic potentials contribute substantially to sharp waves and superimposed ripple oscillations in s. pyramidale. Inhibitory inputs to s. pyramidale and s. oriens are crucial for action potential timing by ripple oscillations, as revealed by multiunit-recordings in the pyramidal cell layer. Glutamatergic afferents, on the other hand, contribute to sharp waves in s. radiatum where they also evoke a fast oscillation at ~200 Hz. Surprisingly, field ripples in s. radiatum are slightly slower than ripples in s. pyramidale, resulting in a systematic shift between dendritic and somatic oscillations. This complex interplay between dendritic excitation and perisomatic inhibition may be responsible for the precise timing of discharge probability during the time course of SPW-R. Together, our data illustrate a complementary role of spatially confined excitatory and inhibitory transmission during highly ordered network patterns in the hippocampus.

  11. Lithium implantation at low temperature in silicon for sharp buried amorphous layer formation and defect engineering

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Oliviero, E.; David, M. L.; Beaufort, M. F.; Barbot, J. F.; Fichtner, P. F. P.

    2013-01-01

    The crystalline-to-amorphous transformation induced by lithium ion implantation at low temperature has been investigated. The resulting damage structure and its thermal evolution have been studied by a combination of Rutherford backscattering spectroscopy channelling (RBS/C) and cross sectional transmission electron microscopy (XTEM). Lithium low-fluence implantation at liquid nitrogen temperature is shown to produce a three layers structure: an amorphous layer surrounded by two highly damaged layers. A thermal treatment at 400 °C leads to the formation of a sharp amorphous/crystalline interfacial transition and defect annihilation of the front heavily damaged layer. After 600 °C annealing, complete recrystallization takes place and no extended defects are left. Anomalous recrystallization rate is observed with different motion velocities of the a/c interfaces and is ascribed to lithium acting as a surfactant. Moreover, the sharp buried amorphous layer is shown to be an efficient sink for interstitials impeding interstitial supersaturation and {311} defect formation in case of subsequent neon implantation. This study shows that lithium implantation at liquid nitrogen temperature can be suitable to form a sharp buried amorphous layer with a well-defined crystalline front layer, thus having potential applications for defects engineering in the improvement of post-implantation layers quality and for shallow junction formation.

  12. Green manuring effect of pure and mixed barley - hairy vetch winter cover crops on maize and processing tomato N nutrition

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Tosti, Giacomo; Benincasa, Paolo; Farneselli, Michela

    2012-01-01

    this can influence the N uptake and N status of different subsequent summer cash crops. In this study the N effect of barley (Hordeum vulgare L.) and hairy vetch (Vicia villosa Roth.) grown in pure stands or in mixtures with different sowing proportion was tested on maize (Zea Mays L.) and processing......Adopting mixtures between legumes and non legumes can be an efficient tool to merge the advantages of the single species in the fall-sown cover crop practice. Nevertheless there is a lack of information on how the species proportion may affect N accumulation and C/N of the cover crops and how...... of the relationship between cover crop C/N and Neff was confirmed, so mixtures can be used to adjust the extent and timing of mineralisation of the incorporated biomass to the subsequent cash crop requirements. Prediction of the cash crops N status on the cover crop C/N appears to be a useful approach, but, it may...

  13. Surface topography of hairy cell leukemia cells compared to other leukemias as seen by scanning electron microscopy.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Polliack, Aaron; Tadmor, Tamar

    2011-06-01

    This short review deals with the ultrastructural surface architecture of hairy cell leukemia (HCL) compared to other leukemic cells, as seen by scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The development of improved techniques for preparing blood cells for SEM in the 1970s readily enabled these features to be visualized more accurately. This review returns us to the earlier history of SEM, when the surface topography of normal and neoplastic cells was visualized and reported for the first time, in an era before the emergence and use of monoclonal antibodies and flow cytometry, now used routinely to define cells by their immunophenotype. Surface microvilli are characteristic for normal and leukemic lymphoid cells, myelo-monocytic cells lack microvilli and show surface ruffles, while leukemic plasma and myeloma cells and megakaryocytes display large surface blebs. HCL cell surfaces are complex and typically 'hybrid' in nature, displaying both lymphoid and monocytic features with florid ruffles of varying sizes interspersed with clumps of short microvilli cytoplasm. The surface features of other leukemic cells and photomicrographs of immuno-SEM labeling of cells employing antibodies and colloidal gold, reported more than 20 years ago, are shown.

  14. Long work hours and chronic insomnia are associated with needlestick and sharps injuries among hospital nurses in Taiwan: A national survey.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lo, Wen-Yen; Chiou, Shu-Ti; Huang, Nicole; Chien, Li-Yin

    2016-12-01

    Needlestick and sharps injuries are prevalent work-related injuries among nurses. Safety devices prevent only one-quarter of related injuries. More studies of modifiable risk factors are needed. To examine whether long work hours and chronic insomnia are associated with needlestick and sharps injuries among hospital nurses in Taiwan. Cross-sectional survey. This analysis included 19,386 full-time bedside nurses working in 104 hospitals across Taiwan. Participants filled out an anonymous questionnaire from July to September 2014. Chronic insomnia, needlestick injuries, and sharps injuries during the past year were each measured by a yes/no question. Multivariate logistic regression models were applied to examine the effects of long work hours and chronic insomnia on needlestick and sharps injuries, given with control for sex, marital status, educational level, age, years of practice, work unit, and hospital level in the model. More than 70% of study nurses worked long hours during the previous week (>50h: 27.5%; 41-50h: 43.2%), and 15.5% of nurses reported chronic insomnia. The percentage of sharps injuries (38.8%) was higher than that for needlestick injuries (22.4%) during the previous year among nurses. After adjusting for potential confounders, logistic regression yielded significant results showing that those who worked 41 to 50h per week, >50h per week, and had chronic insomnia were 1.17 times (95% C.I.=1.04-1.32), 1.51 times (95% C.I.=1.32-1.72), and 1.45 times (95% C.I.=1.25-1.68) more likely to experience needlestick injuries, and 1.29 times (95% C.I.=1.17-1.42), 1.37 times (95% C.I.=1.23-1.53), and 1.56 times (95% C.I.=1.37-1.77) more likely to experience sharps injuries, respectively, than those who worked fewer hours and did not have insomnia. This nationwide nurse survey showed that high rates of needlestick and sharps injuries persist in hospital nurses in Taiwan. The common problems of long work hours and chronic insomnia increase the risk of these

  15. The effective field theory of inflation models with sharp features

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Bartolo, Nicola; Cannone, Dario; Matarrese, Sabino

    2013-01-01

    We describe models of single-field inflation with small and sharp step features in the potential (and sound speed) of the inflaton field, in the context of the Effective Field Theory of Inflation. This approach allows us to study the effects of features in the power-spectrum and in the bispectrum of curvature perturbations, from a model-independent point of view, by parametrizing the features directly with modified ''slow-roll'' parameters. We can obtain a self-consistent power-spectrum, together with enhanced non-Gaussianity, which grows with a quantity β that parametrizes the sharpness of the step. With this treatment it is straightforward to generalize and include features in other coefficients of the effective action of the inflaton field fluctuations. Our conclusion in this case is that, excluding extrinsic curvature terms, the only interesting effects at the level of the bispectrum could arise from features in the first slow-roll parameter ε or in the speed of sound c s . Finally, we derive an upper bound on the parameter β from the consistency of the perturbative expansion of the action for inflaton perturbations. This constraint can be used for an estimation of the signal-to-noise ratio, to show that the observable which is most sensitive to features is the power-spectrum. This conclusion would change if we consider the contemporary presence of a feature and a speed of sound c s < 1, as, in such a case, contributions from an oscillating folded configuration can potentially make the bispectrum the leading observable for feature models

  16. Critical β of a D-shaped toroidal plasma with sharp boundary

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kito, M.

    1981-01-01

    Under the cap-cyclide coordinate system, the marginal stability of a sharp boundary toroidal plasma whose cross section is D shaped is examined using the energy principle. The analytical results are valid for arbitrary b, arbitrary aspect ratio, and arbitrary elongation of the plasma. There exists a maximum elongation for a given aspect ratio. The critical beta b/sub c/ is computed for several aspect ratios and elongations. For given aspect ratio, b/sub c/ increases as long as the elongation increases

  17. Feeding ecology of sharp-shinned hawks in deciduous and coniferous forests in Colorado

    Science.gov (United States)

    Suzanne M. Joy; Richard T. Reynolds; Richard L. Knight; Richard W. Hoffman

    1994-01-01

    Feeding ecology of 11 Sharp-skinned Hawk (Accipiter striates) pairs nesting in aspen (Populus tremuloides), conifer (Abies, Picea spp.), and mixed aspen-conifer habitats in southwest Colorado was investigated during 1988-1989. Small birds (x-bar = 20.9 g, SE = 0.8 g) and mammals (x-bar = 41.1 g, SE = 3.3 g) comprised 91 and 9% of...

  18. Sharp transition between thermal and quantum tunneling regimes in magnetization relaxation processes

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tejada, J.; Zhang, X. X.; Barbara, B.

    1993-03-01

    In this paper we describe experiments involving measurements of the dependence on time of the thermoremanence magnetization of 2-dimensional random magnets. The low temperature values for the magnetic viscosity agree well with both current theories of tunneling of the magnetization vector (Chudnovsky et al.) and the work of Grabert et al. who predicted that the transition from classical to quantum regime is rather sharp for undamped systems.

  19. SHARP - Automated monitoring of spacecraft health and status

    Science.gov (United States)

    Atkinson, David J.; James, Mark L.; Martin, R. G.

    1990-01-01

    Briefly discussed here are the spacecraft and ground systems monitoring process at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL). Some of the difficulties associated with the existing technology used in mission operations are highlighted. A new automated system based on artificial intelligence technology is described which seeks to overcome many of these limitations. The system, called the Spacecraft Health Automated Reasoning Prototype (SHARP), is designed to automate health and status analysis for multi-mission spacecraft and ground data systems operations. The system has proved to be effective for detecting and analyzing potential spacecraft and ground systems problems by performing real-time analysis of spacecraft and ground data systems engineering telemetry. Telecommunications link analysis of the Voyager 2 spacecraft was the initial focus for evaluation of the system in real-time operations during the Voyager spacecraft encounter with Neptune in August 1989.

  20. SHARP: Automated monitoring of spacecraft health and status

    Science.gov (United States)

    Atkinson, David J.; James, Mark L.; Martin, R. Gaius

    1991-01-01

    Briefly discussed here are the spacecraft and ground systems monitoring process at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL). Some of the difficulties associated with the existing technology used in mission operations are highlighted. A new automated system based on artificial intelligence technology is described which seeks to overcome many of these limitations. The system, called the Spacecraft Health Automated Reasoning Prototype (SHARP), is designed to automate health and status analysis for multi-mission spacecraft and ground data systems operations. The system has proved to be effective for detecting and analyzing potential spacecraft and ground systems problems by performing real-time analysis of spacecraft and ground data systems engineering telemetry. Telecommunications link analysis of the Voyager 2 spacecraft was the initial focus for evaluation of the system in real-time operations during the Voyager spacecraft encounter with Neptune in August 1989.

  1. Importance of layer thermal conductivity on the sharpness of patterns produced by laser interference

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Peláez, R.J., E-mail: rpelaez@io.cfmac.csic.es [Laser Processing Group, Instituto de Optica, CSIC, Serrano 121, 28006 Madrid (Spain); Afonso, C.N. [Laser Processing Group, Instituto de Optica, CSIC, Serrano 121, 28006 Madrid (Spain); Škereň, M. [Faculty of Nuclear Sciences and Physical Engineering, Czech Technical University in Prague, Brehova 7, 115 19 Prague 1 (Czech Republic); Bulíř, J. [Institute of Physics, ASCR, v.v.i., Na Slovance 2, Prague (Czech Republic)

    2016-06-30

    Highlights: • Temperature profile matches laser intensity profile in poor thermally conducting layers. • Patterns produced in poor thermally conducting layers have sharp interfaces. • Lateral heat flow smears the temperature profile in thermally conducting layers. • Both liquid and solid state dewetting occurs upon patterning thermally conducting layers. • The thermal conductivity of layers limits the minimum period achievable. - Abstract: In this work, we compare patterns produced in Ag layers having similar thickness in the range 8.3–10.8 nm but having different initial nanostructure, i.e. behaving either as discontinuous or continuous layers and thus having very different thermal conductivities. The patterns are produced by exposing a phase mask to an excimer laser operating at 193 nm and using a projection optics that leads to similar fringed patterns with periods in the range 6.3–6.7 μm. The layer breaks up into isolated NPs due to laser induced melting at the regions around the intensity maxima sites. The resulting fringes have sharp interfaces in the case of discontinuous layers while a variety of regions across the pattern with no sharp interfaces are produced in the case of continuous layers. The results show that while the temperature distribution across the pattern matches almost perfectly the laser beam intensity profile for the former case, it becomes smeared due to lateral heat flow for the latter case. These results provide evidences for significant heating at the intensity minima sites that lead to solid-state dewetting and will eventually limit the minimum period achievable in the case of continuous metal layers or thermally conducting layers.

  2. Ultraviolet Radiation-Elicited Enhancement of Isoflavonoid Accumulation, Biosynthetic Gene Expression, and Antioxidant Activity in Astragalus membranaceus Hairy Root Cultures.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jiao, Jiao; Gai, Qing-Yan; Wang, Wei; Luo, Meng; Gu, Cheng-Bo; Fu, Yu-Jie; Ma, Wei

    2015-09-23

    In this work, Astragalus membranaceus hairy root cultures (AMHRCs) were exposed to ultraviolet radiation (UV-A, UV-B, and UV-C) for promoting isoflavonoid accumulation. The optimum enhancement for isoflavonoid production was achieved in 34-day-old AMHRCs elicited by 86.4 kJ/m(2) of UV-B. The resulting isoflavonoid yield was 533.54 ± 13.61 μg/g dry weight (DW), which was 2.29-fold higher relative to control (232.93 ± 3.08 μg/g DW). UV-B up-regulated the transcriptional expressions of all investigated genes involved in isoflavonoid biosynthetic pathway. PAL and C4H were found to be two potential key genes that controlled isoflavonoid biosynthesis. Moreover, a significant increase was noted in antioxidant activity of extracts from UV-B-elicited AMHRCs (IC50 values = 0.85 and 1.08 mg/mL) in comparison with control (1.38 and 1.71 mg/mL). Overall, this study offered a feasible elicitation strategy to enhance isoflavonoid accumulation in AMHRCs and also provided a basis for metabolic engineering of isoflavonoid biosynthesis in the future.

  3. Three-dimensional vibrations of cylindrical elastic solids with V-notches and sharp radial cracks

    Science.gov (United States)

    McGee, O. G.; Kim, J. W.

    2010-02-01

    This paper provides free vibration data for cylindrical elastic solids, specifically thick circular plates and cylinders with V-notches and sharp radial cracks, for which no extensive previously published database is known to exist. Bending moment and shear force singularities are known to exist at the sharp reentrant corner of a thick V-notched plate under transverse vibratory motion, and three-dimensional (3-D) normal and transverse shear stresses are known to exist at the sharp reentrant terminus edge of a V-notched cylindrical elastic solid under 3-D free vibration. A theoretical analysis is done in this work utilizing a variational Ritz procedure including these essential singularity effects. The procedure incorporates a complete set of admissible algebraic-trigonometric polynomials in conjunction with an admissible set of " edge functions" that explicitly model the 3-D stress singularities which exist along a reentrant terminus edge (i.e., α>180°) of the V-notch. The first set of polynomials guarantees convergence to exact frequencies, as sufficient terms are retained. The second set of edge functions—in addition to representing the corner stress singularities—substantially accelerates the convergence of frequency solutions. This is demonstrated through extensive convergence studies that have been carried out by the investigators. Numerical analysis has been carried out and the results have been given for cylindrical elastic solids with various V-notch angles and depths. The relative depth of the V-notch is defined as (1- c/ a), and the notch angle is defined as (360°- α). For a very small notch angle (1° or less), the notch may be regarded as a "sharp radial crack." Accurate (four significant figure) frequencies are presented for a wide spectrum of notch angles (360°- α), depths (1- c/ a), and thickness ratios ( a/ h for plates and h/ a for cylinders). An extended database of frequencies for completely free thick sectorial, semi-circular, and

  4. The Influence of the Sharpe Ratio on Appreciation Savings Intended for the Payment of Lifetime Pensions

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Petr Kupčík

    2015-01-01

    Full Text Available The paper focuses on the payment of lifetime pensions paid by pension companies based on the selected mortality table of the Czech Statistical Office. We assume different input values depending on the size of the Sharpe ratio pension companies from selected countries. This paper aims to identify and assess the impact of the Sharpe ratio on the payment of lifetime pensions in postproduction period. We used data of nominal appreciation of pension companies from the Visegrad countries and Sweden, Switzerland and the Netherlands in the period 2005–2013. In the empirical analysis we additionally distinguished between guaranteed and non-guaranteed pension funds. For the purpose of calculating lifetime pensions, we used the formula early paid pension by the pension company on the Czech market down in its her pension plan with an expected median payment period of r years. We found link between the value of the Sharpe ratio and the size of lifetime pensions. Conclusion of the paper shows the effects of low performance of pension funds on lifetime pension with a focus on the Czech Republic. The scientific paper describes partial results reached within the project no. 54/2014 of the Internal Grant Agency of the Faculty of Business and Economics of the Mendel University in Brno following the aims and methodology of the given project.

  5. Reversibility and hysteresis of the sharp yielding transition of a colloidal glass under oscillatory shear

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Dang, M. T.; Denisov, D.; Struth, B.; Zaccone, A.; Schall, P.

    The mechanical response of glasses remains challenging to understand. Recent results indicate that the oscillatory rheology of soft glasses is accompanied by a sharp non-equilibrium transition in the microscopic dynamics. Here, we use simultaneous x-ray scattering and rheology to investigate the

  6. Sharp Absorption Peaks in THz Spectra Valuable for Crystal Quality Evaluation of Middle Molecular Weight Pharmaceuticals

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sasaki, Tetsuo; Sakamoto, Tomoaki; Otsuka, Makoto

    2018-05-01

    Middle molecular weight (MMW) pharmaceuticals (MW 400 4000) are attracting attention for their possible use in new medications. Sharp absorption peaks were observed in MMW pharmaceuticals at low temperatures by measuring with a high-resolution terahertz (THz) spectrometer. As examples, high-resolution THz spectra for amoxicillin trihydrate, atorvastatin calcium trihydrate, probucol, and α,β,γ,δ-tetrakis(1-methylpyridinium-4-yl)porphyrin p-toluenesulfonate (TMPyP) were obtained at 10 K. Typically observed as peaks with full width at half-height (FWHM) values as low as 5.639 GHz at 0.96492 THz in amoxicillin trihydrate and 8.857 GHz at 1.07974 THz for probucol, many sharp peaks of MMW pharmaceuticals could be observed. Such narrow absorption peaks enable evaluation of the crystal quality of MMW pharmaceuticals and afford sensitive detection of impurities.

  7. Deciphering the role of CA1 inhibitory circuits in sharp wave-ripple complexes.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cutsuridis, Vassilis; Taxidis, Jiannis

    2013-01-01

    Sharp wave-ripples (SWRs) are population oscillatory patterns in hippocampal LFPs during deep sleep and immobility, involved in the replay of memories acquired during wakefulness. SWRs have been extensively studied, but their exact generation mechanism is still unknown. A computational model has suggested that fast perisomatic inhibition may generate the high frequency ripples (~200 Hz). Another model showed how replay of memories can be controlled by various classes of inhibitory interneurons targeting specific parts of pyramidal cells (PC) and firing at particular SWR phases. Optogenetic studies revealed new roles for interneuronal classes and rich dynamic interplays between them, shedding new light in their potential role in SWRs. Here, we integrate these findings in a conceptual model of how dendritic and somatic inhibition may collectively contribute to the SWR generation. We suggest that sharp wave excitation and basket cell (BC) recurrent inhibition synchronises BC spiking in ripple frequencies. This rhythm is imposed on bistratified cells which prevent pyramidal bursting. Axo-axonic and stratum lacunosum/moleculare interneurons are silenced by inhibitory inputs originating in the medial septum. PCs receiving rippling inhibition in both dendritic and perisomatic areas and excitation in their apical dendrites, exhibit sparse ripple phase-locked spiking.

  8. Spontaneous passage of long, sharp gastrointestinal foreign body in a child.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Karthikeyan, Vilvapathy Senguttuvan; Ansari, Mohammed Gaffoor; Suresh, Ramasamy; Easwaran, Bettaiyagowder

    2015-01-19

    Foreign body (FB) ingestion is a common problem in children. Up to 90% of these FBs pass spontaneously. FBs reaching the stomach usually pass out spontaneously. Exceptions to this spontaneous passage include a long FB that cannot cross the pylorus, duodenum or ileocaecal junction. We present a case of a 9-year boy who accidentally ingested a long paper pin, which spontaneously passed in 26 h. This case is being reported to highlight the successful spontaneous passage of a 4 cm long sharp foreign body in a child. 2015 BMJ Publishing Group Ltd.

  9. Highly Stable, Functional Hairy Nanoparticles and Biopolymers from Wood Fibers: Towards Sustainable Nanotechnology.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sheikhi, Amir; Yang, Han; Alam, Md Nur; van de Ven, Theo G M

    2016-07-20

    Nanoparticles, as one of the key materials in nanotechnology and nanomedicine, have gained significant importance during the past decade. While metal-based nanoparticles are associated with synthetic and environmental hassles, cellulose introduces a green, sustainable alternative for nanoparticle synthesis. Here, we present the chemical synthesis and separation procedures to produce new classes of hairy nanoparticles (bearing both amorphous and crystalline regions) and biopolymers based on wood fibers. Through periodate oxidation of soft wood pulp, the glucose ring of cellulose is opened at the C2-C3 bond to form 2,3-dialdehyde groups. Further heating of the partially oxidized fibers (e.g., T = 80 °C) results in three products, namely fibrous oxidized cellulose, sterically stabilized nanocrystalline cellulose (SNCC), and dissolved dialdehyde modified cellulose (DAMC), which are well separated by intermittent centrifugation and co-solvent addition. The partially oxidized fibers (without heating) were used as a highly reactive intermediate to react with chlorite for converting almost all aldehyde to carboxyl groups. Co-solvent precipitation and centrifugation resulted in electrosterically stabilized nanocrystalline cellulose (ENCC) and dicarboxylated cellulose (DCC). The aldehyde content of SNCC and consequently surface charge of ENCC (carboxyl content) were precisely controlled by controlling the periodate oxidation reaction time, resulting in highly stable nanoparticles bearing more than 7 mmol functional groups per gram of nanoparticles (e.g., as compared to conventional NCC bearing AFM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) attested to the rod-like morphology. Conductometric titration, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR), dynamic light scattering (DLS), electrokinetic-sonic-amplitude (ESA) and acoustic attenuation spectroscopy shed light on the superior properties of these

  10. Depth and sharpness variations of 410-km and 660-km discontinuities in North China Craton from dense array ambient noise interferometry

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yao, H.; Feng, J.; Poli, P.; Fang, L.; Wu, Y.

    2017-12-01

    Recent studies have demonstrated that body waves between pairs of stations can be successfully retrieved from ambient noise cross-correlation at both regional and global scales, although surface waves are the dominant signals. However, it is still difficult to use these retrieved body wave signals to map lateral depth variations of main structural discontinuities or velocity contrasts because of its low signal to noise ratio (SNR). In this research, based on a dense seismic array in eastern North China Craton, reflected P-wave signals from 410-km and 660-km discontinuities can be successfully recovered from ambient noise cross-correlation. To improve SNR of the reflected phases, the cross-correlations are stacked within each bin with the phase-weighted stack (PWS) method. In addition, there exist apparent spatial variations of the relative amplitude ratios between the reflected P410P and P660P phases. The retrieved P410P and P660P phases from stacked correlations reveal lateral variations of both depths and sharpness of the 410-km and 660-km discontinuities along two profiles, which may be related with hot material upwelling and the effect of stagnant Pacific plate in the transition zone beneath North China Craton. The imaging results are generally consistent with the results from teleseismic receiver functions, which demonstrate the possibility of mapping high-resolution topography and sharpness of deep internal discontinuities without earthquake-station geometric limitations. Future joint imaging with both interferometric and passive signals will be better for understanding interface architectures and related dynamic processes of the Earth.

  11. Local heat/mass transfer distributions around sharp 180 deg turns in two-pass smooth and rib-roughened channels

    Science.gov (United States)

    Han, J. C.; Chandra, P. R.; Lau, S. C.

    1988-01-01

    The napthalene sublimation technique was employed to study the detailed mass transfer distributions around the sharp 180 deg turns in a two-pass, square, smooth channel and in an identical channel with two rib-roughened opposite walls. Experiments conducted for Reynolds numbers of 15,000, 30,000, and 60,000 indicate that the Sherwood numbers on the top, outer, and inner walls around the turn in the rib-roughened channel are higher than the corresponding Sherwood numbers around the turn in the smooth channel. Sherwood numbers after the sharp turn are found to be higher than those before the turn for both the smooth and the ribbed channels.

  12. NMR assignments of SPOC domain of the human transcriptional corepressor SHARP in complex with a C-terminal SMRT peptide.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mikami, Suzuka; Kanaba, Teppei; Ito, Yutaka; Mishima, Masaki

    2013-10-01

    The transcriptional corepressor SMRT/HDAC1-associated repressor protein (SHARP) recruits histone deacetylases. Human SHARP protein is thought to function in processes involving steroid hormone responses and the Notch signaling pathway. SHARP consists of RNA recognition motifs (RRMs) in the N-terminal region and the spen paralog and ortholog C-terminal (SPOC) domain in the C-terminal region. It is known that the SPOC domain binds the LSD motif in the C-terminal tail of corepressors silencing mediator for retinoid and thyroid receptor (SMRT)/nuclear receptor corepressor (NcoR). We are interested in delineating the mechanism by which the SPOC domain recognizes the LSD motif of the C-terminal tail of SMRT/NcoR. To this end, we are investigating the tertiary structure of the SPOC/SMRT peptide using NMR. Herein, we report on the (1)H, (13)C and (15)N resonance assignments of the SPOC domain in complex with a SMRT peptide, which contributes towards a structural understanding of the SPOC/SMRT peptide and its molecular recognition.

  13. Short-time quantum dynamics of sharp boundaries potentials

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Granot, Er' el, E-mail: erel@ariel.ac.il; Marchewka, Avi

    2015-02-15

    Despite the high prevalence of singular potential in general, and rectangular potentials in particular, in applied scattering models, to date little is known about their short time effects. The reason is that singular potentials cause a mixture of complicated local as well as non-local effects. The object of this work is to derive a generic method to calculate analytically the short-time impact of any singular potential. In this paper it is shown that the scattering of a smooth wavefunction on a singular potential is totally equivalent, in the short-time regime, to the free propagation of a singular wavefunction. However, the latter problem was totally addressed analytically in Ref. [7]. Therefore, this equivalency can be utilized in solving analytically the short time dynamics of any smooth wavefunction at the presence of a singular potentials. In particular, with this method the short-time dynamics of any problem where a sharp boundaries potential (e.g., a rectangular barrier) is turned on instantaneously can easily be solved analytically.

  14. Short-time quantum dynamics of sharp boundaries potentials

    Science.gov (United States)

    Granot, Er'el; Marchewka, Avi

    2015-02-01

    Despite the high prevalence of singular potential in general, and rectangular potentials in particular, in applied scattering models, to date little is known about their short time effects. The reason is that singular potentials cause a mixture of complicated local as well as non-local effects. The object of this work is to derive a generic method to calculate analytically the short-time impact of any singular potential. In this paper it is shown that the scattering of a smooth wavefunction on a singular potential is totally equivalent, in the short-time regime, to the free propagation of a singular wavefunction. However, the latter problem was totally addressed analytically in Ref. [7]. Therefore, this equivalency can be utilized in solving analytically the short time dynamics of any smooth wavefunction at the presence of a singular potentials. In particular, with this method the short-time dynamics of any problem where a sharp boundaries potential (e.g., a rectangular barrier) is turned on instantaneously can easily be solved analytically.

  15. Short-time quantum dynamics of sharp boundaries potentials

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Granot, Er'el; Marchewka, Avi

    2015-01-01

    Despite the high prevalence of singular potential in general, and rectangular potentials in particular, in applied scattering models, to date little is known about their short time effects. The reason is that singular potentials cause a mixture of complicated local as well as non-local effects. The object of this work is to derive a generic method to calculate analytically the short-time impact of any singular potential. In this paper it is shown that the scattering of a smooth wavefunction on a singular potential is totally equivalent, in the short-time regime, to the free propagation of a singular wavefunction. However, the latter problem was totally addressed analytically in Ref. [7]. Therefore, this equivalency can be utilized in solving analytically the short time dynamics of any smooth wavefunction at the presence of a singular potentials. In particular, with this method the short-time dynamics of any problem where a sharp boundaries potential (e.g., a rectangular barrier) is turned on instantaneously can easily be solved analytically

  16. Evaluation of performance of two different chest tubes with either a sharp or a blunt tip for thoracostomy in 100 human cadavers

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ortner Clemens M

    2012-02-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Emergent placement of a chest tube is a potentially life-saving procedure, but rate of misplacement and organ injury is up to 30%. In principle, chest tube insertion can be performed by using Trocar or Non-trocar techniques. If using trocar technique, two different chest tubes (equipped with sharp or blunt tip are currently commercially available. This study was performed to detect any difference with respect to time until tube insertion, to success and to misplacement rate. Methods Twenty emergency physicians performed five tube thoracostomies using both blunt and sharp tipped tube kits in 100 fresh human cadavers (100 thoracostomies with each kit. Time until tube insertion served as primary outcome. Complications and success rate were examined by pathological dissection and served as further outcomes parameters. Results Difference in mean time until tube insertion (63s vs. 59s was statistically not significant. In both groups, time for insertion decreased from the 1st to the 5th attempt and showed dependency on the cadaver's BMI and on the individual physician. Success rate differed between both groups (92% using blunt vs. 86% using sharp tipped kits and injuries and misplacements occurred significantly more frequently using chest tubes with sharp tips (p = 0.04. Conclusion Data suggest that chest drain insertion with trocars is associated with a 6-14% operator-related complication rate. No difference in average time could be found. However, misplacements and organ injuries occurred more frequently using sharp tips. Consequently, if using a trocar technique, the use of blunt tipped kits is recommended.

  17. Analysis of image sharpness reproducibility on a novel engineered micro-CT scanner with variable geometry and embedded recalibration software.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Panetta, D; Belcari, N; Del Guerra, A; Bartolomei, A; Salvadori, P A

    2012-04-01

    This study investigates the reproducibility of the reconstructed image sharpness, after modifications of the geometry setup, for a variable magnification micro-CT (μCT) scanner. All the measurements were performed on a novel engineered μCT scanner for in vivo imaging of small animals (Xalt), which has been recently built at the Institute of Clinical Physiology of the National Research Council (IFC-CNR, Pisa, Italy), in partnership with the University of Pisa. The Xalt scanner is equipped with an integrated software for on-line geometric recalibration, which will be used throughout the experiments. In order to evaluate the losses of image quality due to modifications of the geometry setup, we have made 22 consecutive acquisitions by changing alternatively the system geometry between two different setups (Large FoV - LF, and High Resolution - HR). For each acquisition, the tomographic images have been reconstructed before and after the on-line geometric recalibration. For each reconstruction, the image sharpness was evaluated using two different figures of merit: (i) the percentage contrast on a small bar pattern of fixed frequency (f = 5.5 lp/mm for the LF setup and f = 10 lp/mm for the HR setup) and (ii) the image entropy. We have found that, due to the small-scale mechanical uncertainty (in the order of the voxel size), a recalibration is necessary for each geometric setup after repositioning of the system's components; the resolution losses due to the lack of recalibration are worse for the HR setup (voxel size = 18.4 μm). The integrated on-line recalibration algorithm of the Xalt scanner allowed to perform the recalibration quickly, by restoring the spatial resolution of the system to the reference resolution obtained after the initial (off-line) calibration. Copyright © 2011 Associazione Italiana di Fisica Medica. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  18. Lipids, inflammation, and chronic kidney disease: a SHARP perspective.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Waters, David D; Vogt, Liffert

    2018-04-01

    Accumulating evidence indicates that inflammation plays a role in the initiation and progression of chronic kidney disease. In the Study of Heart and Renal Protection (SHARP) trial, higher baseline C-reactive protein and higher baseline low-density lipoprotein cholesterol levels were both associated with a higher risk of cardiovascular events, but higher baseline C-reactive protein levels were also associated with a higher risk of nonvascular events. Simvastatin/ezetimibe reduced cardiovascular events independent of baseline C-reactive protein levels. However, this observation does not exclude inflammation as a causal factor for cardiovascular disease development in chronic kidney disease patients. Copyright © 2018 International Society of Nephrology. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  19. The visibility of IQHE at sharp edges: experimental proposals based on interactions and edge electrostatics

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Erkarslan, U; Oylumluoglu, G; Grayson, M; Siddiki, A

    2012-01-01

    The influence of the incompressible strips on the integer quantized Hall effect (IQHE) is investigated, considering a cleaved-edge overgrown (CEO) sample as an experimentally realizable sharp edge system. We propose a set of experiments to clarify the distinction between the large-sample limit when bulk disorder defines the IQHE plateau width and the small-sample limit smaller than the disorder correlation length, when self-consistent edge electrostatics define the IQHE plateau width. The large-sample or bulk quantized Hall (QH) regime is described by the usual localization picture, whereas the small-sample or edge regime is discussed within the compressible/incompressible strips picture, known as the screening theory of QH edges. Utilizing the unusually sharp edge profiles of the CEO samples, a Hall bar design is proposed to manipulate the edge potential profile from smooth to extremely sharp. By making use of a side-gate perpendicular to the two-dimensional electron system, it is shown that the plateau widths can be changed or even eliminated altogether. Hence, the visibility of IQHE is strongly influenced when adjusting the edge potential profile and/or changing the dc current direction under high currents in the nonlinear transport regime. As a second investigation, we consider two different types of ohmic contacts, namely highly transmitting (ideal) and highly reflecting (non-ideal) contacts. We show that if the injection contacts are non-ideal, but still ohmic, it is possible to measure directly the non-quantized transport taking place at the bulk of the CEO samples. The results of the experiments we propose will clarify the influence of the edge potential profile and the quality of the contacts, under QH conditions. (paper)

  20. Comparison of manual vacuum aspiration and sharp curettage in the treatment of first trimester abortions

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Iftikhar, G.; Tanveer, S.; Gilani, T.A.; Gilani, S.T.A.

    2014-01-01

    To compare the safety and efficacy of manual vacuum aspiration and sharp curettage in the treatment of first trimester abortions. Study Design: Randomized controlled trial. Place and Duration of Study: Department of Gynecology, Social Security Hospital Shahdra Lahore in collaboration with Family Health Hospital Johar Town Lahore, from May 2007 to May 2012. Patients and Methods: Six hundred women admitted with the diagnosis of first trimester less than or equal to 12 weeks abortions were randomly assigned, 300 to manual vacuum aspiration (MVA) and 300 to traditional sharp curettage. Diagnosis of abortion was confirmed by last menstrual period, physical examination and ultrasonography. Results: In total of 600 patients, 300 randomly assigned to MVA and another 300 patients assigned to sharp curettage management were having mean age of 31.8 and 33 yrs respectively. Mean parity was in both groups, mean gestational age 8.9 and 8.2 weeks, mean duration of procedure was 6.4 and 5.8 minutes, duration of hospital stay was 4 and 40 hrs, missed abortion in 47% and 43% patients, incomplete abortion in 53% and 57% patients, cervical dilatation was needed in 1% against 53%, 10% against 8 % experienced mild pain in both groups, no patient of incomplete evacuation against 0.6%, uterine perforation in none against 0.3 %, excessive bleeding was experienced by 0.3% against 0.6% patients in both groups, and patient satisfaction rate was 99% against 99.4% in the two groups respectively. Conclusion: In the management of first trimester pregnancy loss, MVA offers a quick solution to the problem with reduced hospital stay and lower rate of complications. (author)

  1. Thermally induced high frequency random amplitude fatigue damage at sharp notches

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lewis, M.W.J.

    1992-01-01

    Experiments have been performed using the SUPERSOMITE facility to investigate the initiation and growth of fatigue cracks at the tips of sharp surface notches subjected to random thermally-induced stress. The experimental situation is complex involving plasticity, random amplitude loading and heat transfer medium/surface coupling. Crack initiation and growth prediction have been considered using the Creager and Neuber methods to compute the strain ranges in the vicinity of the notch root. Good agreement has been obtained between the experimental results and theoretical predictions. The paper reports the results of the analysis of the notch behavior

  2. Comparison of finite element J-integral evaluations for the blunt crack model and the sharp crack model

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Pan, Y.C.; Kennedy, J.M.

    1983-01-01

    In assessing the safety of a liquid metal fast breeder reactor (LMFBR), a major concern is that of hot sodium coming into contact with either unprotected concrete or steel-lined concrete equipment cells and containment structures. An aspect of this is the potential of concrete cracking which would significantly influence the safety assessment. Concrete cracking in finite element analysis can be modeled as a blunt crack in which the crack is assumed to be uniformly distributed throughout the area of the element. A blunt crack model based on the energy release rate and the effective strength concepts which was insensitive to the element size was presented by Bazant and Cedolin. Some difficulties were encountered in incorporating their approach into a general purpose finite element code. An approach based on the J-integral to circumvent some of the difficulties was proposed by Pan, Marchertas, and Kennedy. Alternatively, cracking can also be modeled as a sharp crack where the crack surface is treated as the boundary of the finite element mesh. The sharp crack model is adopted by most researchers and its J-integral has been well established. It is desirable to establish the correlation between the J-integrals, or the energy release rates, for the blunt crack model and the sharp crack model so that data obtained from one model can be used on the other

  3. Different temperature and cooling patterns at the blunt and sharp egg poles reflect the arrangement of eggs in an avian clutch.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Šálek, Miroslav E; Zárybnická, Markéta

    2015-01-01

    Incubation is an energetically demanding process during which birds apply heat to their eggs to ensure embryonic development. Parent behaviours such as egg turning and exchanging the outer and central eggs in the nest cup affect the amount of heat lost to the environment from individual eggs. Little is known, however, about whether and how egg surface temperature and cooling rates vary among the different areas of an egg and how the arrangement of eggs within the clutch influences heat loss. We performed laboratory (using Japanese quail eggs) and field (with northern lapwing eggs) experiments using infrared imaging to assess the temperature and cooling patterns of heated eggs and clutches. We found that (i) the sharp poles of individual quail eggs warmed to a higher egg surface temperature than did the blunt poles, resulting in faster cooling at the sharp poles compared to the blunt poles; (ii) both quail and lapwing clutches with the sharp poles oriented towards the clutch centre (arranged clutches) maintained higher temperatures over the central part of the clutch than occurred in those clutches where most of the sharp egg poles were oriented towards the exterior (scattered clutches); and (iii) the arranged clutches of both quail and lapwing showed slower cooling rates at both the inner and outer clutch positions than did the respective parts of scattered clutches. Our results demonstrate that egg surface temperature and cooling rates differ between the sharp and blunt poles of the egg and that the orientation of individual eggs within the nest cup can significantly affect cooling of the clutch as a whole. We suggest that birds can arrange their eggs within the nest cup to optimise thermoregulation of the clutch.

  4. Biosynthesis of fluorescent CdS nanocrystals with semiconductor properties: Comparison of microbial and plant production systems.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Al-Shalabi, Zahwa; Doran, Pauline M

    2016-04-10

    This study investigated fission yeast (Schizosaccharomyces pombe) and hairy roots of tomato (Solanum lycopersicum) as in vitro production vehicles for biological synthesis of CdS quantum dots. Cd added during the mid-growth phase of the cultures was detoxified within the biomass into inorganic sulphide-containing complexes with the quantum confinement properties of semiconductor nanocrystals. Significant differences were found between the two host systems in terms of nanoparticle production kinetics, yield and quality. The much slower growth rate of hairy roots compared with yeast is a disadvantage for commercial scaled-up production. Nanoparticle extraction from the biomass was less effective for the roots: 19% of the Cd present in the hairy roots was recovered after extraction compared with 34% for the yeast. The overall yield of CdS quantum dots was also lower for the roots: relative to the amount of Cd taken up into the biomass, 8.5% was recovered in yeast gel filtration fractions exhibiting quantum dot properties whereas the result for hairy roots was only 0.99%. Yeast-produced CdS crystallites were somewhat smaller with diameters of approximately 2-6 nm compared with those of 4-10nm obtained from the roots. The average ratio of inorganic sulphide to Cd for the purified and size-fractionated particles was 0.44 for the yeast and 1.6 for the hairy roots. Despite the limitations associated with hairy roots in terms of culture kinetics and product yield, this system produced CdS nanoparticles with enhanced photostability and 3.7-13-fold higher fluorescence quantum efficiency compared with those generated by yeast. This work demonstrates that the choice of cellular host can have a significant effect on nanoparticle functional properties as well as on the bioprocessing aspects of biological quantum dot synthesis. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  5. Hydrovatus caraibus Sharp, 1882 (Dytiscidae, Hydroporinae, Hydrovatini new for the fauna of South America

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Benetti, C. J.

    2003-11-01

    Full Text Available The species Hydrovatus caraibus Sharp, 1882 is recorded for the first time for South America, after the recollection of specimens of this species in the municipality of Gramado, State of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil. The range of distribution of the species, previously restricted to the Caribbean, is now extended to the latitude 29º 26’ South, approximately.

  6. The crystal structure of the Split End protein SHARP adds a new layer of complexity to proteins containing RNA recognition motifs.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Arieti, Fabiana; Gabus, Caroline; Tambalo, Margherita; Huet, Tiphaine; Round, Adam; Thore, Stéphane

    2014-06-01

    The Split Ends (SPEN) protein was originally discovered in Drosophila in the late 1990s. Since then, homologous proteins have been identified in eukaryotic species ranging from plants to humans. Every family member contains three predicted RNA recognition motifs (RRMs) in the N-terminal region of the protein. We have determined the crystal structure of the region of the human SPEN homolog that contains these RRMs-the SMRT/HDAC1 Associated Repressor Protein (SHARP), at 2.0 Å resolution. SHARP is a co-regulator of the nuclear receptors. We demonstrate that two of the three RRMs, namely RRM3 and RRM4, interact via a highly conserved interface. Furthermore, we show that the RRM3-RRM4 block is the main platform mediating the stable association with the H12-H13 substructure found in the steroid receptor RNA activator (SRA), a long, non-coding RNA previously shown to play a crucial role in nuclear receptor transcriptional regulation. We determine that SHARP association with SRA relies on both single- and double-stranded RNA sequences. The crystal structure of the SHARP-RRM fragment, together with the associated RNA-binding studies, extend the repertoire of nucleic acid binding properties of RRM domains suggesting a new hypothesis for a better understanding of SPEN protein functions. © The Author(s) 2014. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Nucleic Acids Research.

  7. Portfolio Optimization under Local-Stochastic Volatility: Coefficient Taylor Series Approximations & Implied Sharpe Ratio

    OpenAIRE

    Lorig, Matthew; Sircar, Ronnie

    2015-01-01

    We study the finite horizon Merton portfolio optimization problem in a general local-stochastic volatility setting. Using model coefficient expansion techniques, we derive approximations for the both the value function and the optimal investment strategy. We also analyze the `implied Sharpe ratio' and derive a series approximation for this quantity. The zeroth-order approximation of the value function and optimal investment strategy correspond to those obtained by Merton (1969) when the risky...

  8. Disrupting neural activity related to awake-state sharp wave-ripple complexes prevents hippocampal learning.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nokia, Miriam S; Mikkonen, Jarno E; Penttonen, Markku; Wikgren, Jan

    2012-01-01

    Oscillations in hippocampal local-field potentials (LFPs) reflect the crucial involvement of the hippocampus in memory trace formation: theta (4-8 Hz) oscillations and ripples (~200 Hz) occurring during sharp waves are thought to mediate encoding and consolidation, respectively. During sharp wave-ripple complexes (SPW-Rs), hippocampal cell firing closely follows the pattern that took place during the initial experience, most likely reflecting replay of that event. Disrupting hippocampal ripples using electrical stimulation either during training in awake animals or during sleep after training retards spatial learning. Here, adult rabbits were trained in trace eyeblink conditioning, a hippocampus-dependent associative learning task. A bright light was presented to the animals during the inter-trial interval (ITI), when awake, either during SPW-Rs or irrespective of their neural state. Learning was particularly poor when the light was presented following SPW-Rs. While the light did not disrupt the ripple itself, it elicited a theta-band oscillation, a state that does not usually coincide with SPW-Rs. Thus, it seems that consolidation depends on neuronal activity within and beyond the hippocampus taking place immediately after, but by no means limited to, hippocampal SPW-Rs.

  9. Crustal thickness and Moho sharpness beneath the Midcontinent rift from receiver functions

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Moikwathai Moidaki

    2013-02-01

    Full Text Available The Mesoproterozoic Midcontinent rift (MCR in the central US is an approximately 2000 km long, 100 km wide structure from Kansas to Michigan. During the 20-40 million years of rifting, a thick (up to 20 km layer of basaltic lava was deposited in the rift valleys. Quantifying the effects of the rifting and associated volcanic eruptions on the structure and composition of the crust and mantle beneath the MCR is important for the understanding of the evolution of continental lithosphere. In this study we measure the crustal thickness (H, and the sharpness of the Moho (R at about 24 portable and permanent stations in Iowa, Kansas, and South Dakota by stacking Pto- S converted waves (PmS and their multiples (PPmS and PSmS. Under the assumption that the crustal mean velocity in the study area is the same as the IASP91 earth model, we find a significantly thickened crust beneath the MCR of about 53 km. The crustal Vp/Vs ratios increases from about 1.80 off rift to as large as 1.95 within the rift, which corresponds to an increase of Poisson’s ratio from 0.28 to 0.32, suggesting a more mafic crust beneath the MCR. The R measurements are spatially variable and are relatively small in the vicinity of the MCR, indicating the disturbance of the original sharp Moho by the rifting and magmatic intrusion and volcanic eruption.

  10. THE DETERMINATION OF THE SHARPNESS DEPTH BORDERS AND CORRESPONDING PHOTOGRAPHY AND VIDEO RECORDING PARAMETERS FOR CONTEMPORARY VIDEO TECHNOLOGY

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    E. G. Zaytseva

    2011-01-01

    Full Text Available The method of determination of the sharpness depth borders was improved for contemporary video technology. The computer programme for determination of corresponding video recording parameters was created.

  11. Fabrication of a novel hydrogen peroxide biosensor based on Au-(PEO106PPO70PEO106) hairy nanospheres

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ni Yalong; Wang Yan; Zhang Guohui; Shen Jian; Zhao Wenbo; Huang Xiaohua

    2012-01-01

    In this case, the Au-F127 (triblock copolymer PEO 106 PPO 70 PEO 106 , PEO is short for polyethylene oxide and PPO is the abbreviation of polypropene oxide) hybrid hairy nanospheres were obtained by the redox reaction using pluronic F127 and HAuCl 4 as precursor. A novel hemoglobin (Hb) biosensor was fabricated by immobilizing the Hb onto the Au-F127 film on the surface of glassy carbon electrode (GCE). The Au-F127 nanocomposites and Hb were characterized by transmission electron microscopy (TEM), polycrystalline electron diffraction ring pattern and ultra-violet visible spectra (UV–vis). UV–vis spectra suggested that Hb in the film could keep its native secondary structure. The performances of Hb/(Au-F127) on GCE were characterized with cyclic voltammetry (CV) and typical amperometric response (i–t) measurements. The immobilized Hb maintained its bioactivity and displayed an excellent electrochemical behavior with a formal potential of −339 mV. The resulting electrode showed an electrocatalytic activity to hydrogen peroxide (H 2 O 2 ). The linear response range of the H 2 O 2 biosensor was from 3.0 × 10 −7 to 5.7 × 10 −4 M with a low detection limit of 4.0 × 10 −8 M.

  12. Hairy root culture in a liquid-dispersed bioreactor: characterization of spatial heterogeneity.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Williams, G R; Doran, P M

    2000-01-01

    A liquid-dispersed reactor equipped with a vertical mesh cylinder for inoculum support was developed for culture of Atropa belladonna hairy roots. The working volume of the culture vessel was 4.4 L with an aspect ratio of 1.7. Medium was dispersed as a spray onto the top of the root bed, and the roots grew radially outward from the central mesh cylinder to the vessel wall. Significant benefits in terms of liquid drainage and reduced interstitial liquid holdup were obtained using a vertical rather than horizontal support structure for the biomass and by operating the reactor with cocurrent air and liquid flow. With root growth, a pattern of spatial heterogeneity developed in the vessel. Higher local biomass densities, lower volumes of interstitial liquid, lower sugar concentrations, and higher root atropine contents were found in the upper sections of the root bed compared with the lower sections, suggesting a greater level of metabolic activity toward the top of the reactor. Although gas-liquid oxygen transfer to the spray droplets was very rapid, there was evidence of significant oxygen limitations in the reactor. Substantial volumes of non-free-draining interstitial liquid accumulated in the root bed. Roots near the bottom of the vessel trapped up to 3-4 times their own weight in liquid, thus eliminating the advantages of improved contact with the gas phase offered by liquid-dispersed culture systems. Local nutrient and product concentrations in the non-free-draining liquid were significantly different from those in the bulk medium, indicating poor liquid mixing within the root bed. Oxygen enrichment of the gas phase improved neither growth nor atropine production, highlighting the greater importance of liquid-solid compared with gas-liquid oxygen transfer resistance. The absence of mechanical or pneumatic agitation and the tendency of the root bed to accumulate liquid and impede drainage were identified as the major limitations to reactor performance. Improved

  13. Account for the surface tension in hydraulic modeling of the weir with a sharp threshold

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Medzveliya Manana Levanovna

    Full Text Available In the process of calculating and simulating water discharge in free channels it is necessary to know the flow features in case of small values of Reynolds and Weber numbers. The article considers the influence of viscosity and surface tension on the coefficient of a weir flow with sharp threshold. In the article the technique of carrying out experiments is stated, the equation is presented, which considers the influence of all factors: pressure over a spillway threshold, threshold height over a course bottom, speed of liquid, liquid density, dynamic viscosity, superficial tension, gravity acceleration, unit discharge, the width of the course. The surface tension and liquid density for the applied liquids changed a little. In the rectangular tray (6000x100x200 spillway with a sharp threshold was established. It is shown that weir flow coefficient depends on Reynolds number (in case Re < ~ 2000 and Webers number. A generalized expression for determining weir flow coefficient considering the influence of the forces of viscosity and surface tension is received.

  14. Self-Suspended Suspensions of Covalently Grafted Hairy Nanoparticles

    KAUST Repository

    Choudhury, Snehashis; Agrawal, Akanksha; Kim, Sung A; Archer, Lynden A.

    2015-01-01

    length scales. On mesoscopic length scales, the suspensions display exceptional homogeneity and colloidal stability. We attribute this feature to steric repulsions between grafted chains and the space-filling constraint on the tethered chains

  15. A puzzling migratory detour : Are fueling conditions in Alaska driving the movement of juvenile sharp -tailed sandpipers ?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lindstrom, A.; Gill, Robert E.; Jamieson, S.E.; McCaffery, B.; Wennerberg, Liv; Wikelski, M.; Klaassen, M.

    2011-01-01

    Making a detour can be advantageous to a migrating bird if fuel-deposition rates at stopover sites along the detour are considerably higher than at stopover sites along a more direct route. One example of an extensive migratory detour is that of the Sharp-tailed Sandpiper (Calidris acuminata), of which large numbers of juveniles are found during fall migration in western Alaska. These birds take a detour of 1500-3400 km from the most direct route between their natal range in northeastern Siberia and nonbreeding areas in Australia. We studied the autumnal fueling rates and fuel loads of 357 Sharp-tailed Sandpipers captured in western Alaska. In early September the birds increased in mass at a rate of only 0.5% of lean body mass day?1. Later in September, the rate of mass increase was about 6% of lean body mass day?1, among the highest values found among similar-sized shorebirds around the world. Some individuals more than doubled their body mass because of fuel deposition, allowing nonstop flight of between 7100 and 9800 km, presumably including a trans-oceanic flight to the southern hemisphere. Our observations indicated that predator attacks were rare in our study area, adding another potential benefit of the detour. We conclude that the most likely reason for the Alaskan detour is that it allows juvenile Sharp-tailed Sandpipers to put on large fuel stores at exceptionally high rates. Copyright ?? The Cooper Ornithological Society 2011.

  16. Evaluation of PNS-computed heating and hypersonic shock tunnel data on sharp and inclined blunt cones

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hudson, M.L.

    1988-01-01

    As part of the ongoing development and verification of the Parabolized Navier-Stokes (PNS) technique, computed heat transfer rates have been compared with recently acquired experimental data. The flow fields were computer for laminar and turbulent flow over sharp, blunt tripped sphere-cones at 0/degree/ to 20/degree/ angle of attack in a hypersonic shock tunnel flow at Mach numbers of 11, 13, and 16. Grid refinement studies were performed and minimum smoothing parameters were sought. The average percent difference between the measured mean heat transfer rate and the PNS-computed value was 12% for the sharp and blunt cones at 0/degree/ angle of attack. For the blunt cones at angle of attack, the average percent difference was 11% on the windward ray and 36% on the leeward ray. PNS-predicted flow physics such as boundary layer thickness, shock standoff distance, and crossflow separation were examined. 15 refs., 12 figs

  17. An evaluation of sharp safety blood evacuation devices.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ford, Joanna; Phillips, Peter

    This article describes an evaluation of three sharp safety blood evacuation devices in seven Welsh NHS boards and the Welsh Blood Service. Products consisted of two phlebotomy needles possessing safety shields and one phlebotomy device with wings, tubing and a retractable needle. The device companies provided the devices and appropriate training. Participating healthcare workers used the safety device instead of the conventional device to sample blood during the evaluation period and each type of device was evaluated in random order. Participants filled in a questionnaire for each type of device and then a further questionnaire comparing the two shielded evacuation needles with each other Results showed that responses to all three products were fairly positive, although each device was not liked by everyone who used it. When the two shielded evacuation devices were compared with each other, most users preferred the device with the shield positioned directly above the needle to the device with the shield at the side. However, in laboratory tests, the preferred device produced more fluid splatter than the other shielded device on activation.

  18. Enhanced Production of Two Bioactive Isoflavone Aglycones in Astragalus membranaceus Hairy Root Cultures by Combining Deglycosylation and Elicitation of Immobilized Edible Aspergillus niger.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jiao, Jiao; Gai, Qing-Yan; Niu, Li-Li; Wang, Xi-Qing; Guo, Na; Zang, Yu-Ping; Fu, Yu-Jie

    2017-10-18

    A cocultivation system of Astragalus membranaceus hairy root cultures (AMHRCs) and immobilized food-grade fungi was established for the enhanced production of calycosin (CA) and formononetin (FO). The highest accumulations of CA (730.88 ± 63.72 μg/g DW) and FO (1119.42 ± 95.85 μg/g DW) were achieved in 34 day-old AMHRCs cocultured with immobilized A. niger (IAN) for 54 h, which were 7.72- and 18.78-fold higher than CA and FO in nontreated control, respectively. IAN deglycosylation could promote the formation of CA and FO by conversion of their glycoside precursors. IAN elicitation could intensify the generation of endogenous signal molecules involved in plant defense response, which contributed to the significantly up-regulated expression of genes in CA and FO biosynthetic pathway. Overall, the coupled culture of IAN and AMHRCs offered a promising and effective in vitro approach to enhance the production of two health-promoting isoflavone aglycones for possible nutraceutical and pharmaceutical uses.

  19. A microbiological study to investigate the carriage and transmission-potential of Clostridium difficile spores on single-use and reusable sharps containers.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Grimmond, Terry; Neelakanta, Anu; Miller, Barbara; Saiyed, Asif; Gill, Pam; Cadnum, Jennifer; Olmsted, Russell; Donskey, Curtis; Pate, Kimberly; Miller, Katherine

    2018-05-22

    A 2015 study matching use of disposable and reusable sharps containers (DSCs, RSCs) with Clostridium difficile infection (CDI) incidence found a decreased incidence with DSCs. We conducted microbiologic samplings and examined the literature and disease-transmission principles to evaluate the scientific feasibility of such an association. (i) 197 RSCs were sampled for C. difficile at processing facilities; (ii) RSCs were challenged with high C. difficile densities to evaluate efficacy of automated decontamination; and (iii) 50 RSCs and 50 DSCs were sampled in CDI patient rooms in 7 hospitals. Results were coupled with epidemiologic studies, clinical requirements, and chain-of-infection principles, and tests of evidence of disease transmission were applied. C. difficile spores were found on 9 of 197 (4.6%) RSCs prior to processing. Processing completely removed C. difficile. In CDI patient rooms, 4 of 50 RSCs (8.0%) and 8 of 50 DSCs (16.0%) had sub-infective counts of C. difficile (P = .27). DSCs were in permanent wall cabinets; RSCs were removed and decontaminated frequently. With C. difficile bioburden being sub-infective on both DSCs and RSCs, sharps containers being no-touch, and glove removal required after sharps disposal, we found 2 links in the chain of infection to be broken and 5 of 7 tests of evidence to be unmet. We conclude that sharps containers pose no risk of C. difficile transmission. Copyright © 2018 Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology, Inc. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  20. Comparative Effectiveness on Cognitive Asthma Outcomes of the SHARP Academic Asthma Health Education and Counseling Program and a Non-Academic Program.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kintner, Eileen; Cook, Gwendolyn; Marti, C Nathan; Stoddard, Debbie; Gomes, Melissa; Harmon, Phyllis; Van Egeren, Laurie A

    2015-12-01

    Asthma morbidity and mortality is higher among older school-age children and early adolescents than other age groups across the lifespan. NIH recommended expanding asthma education to schools and community settings to meet cognitive outcomes that have an impact on morbidity and mortality. Guided by the acceptance of asthma model, an evidence-guided, comprehensive school-based academic health education and counseling program, Staying Healthy-Asthma Responsible & Prepared™ (SHARP), was developed. The program complements existing school curricula by integrating biology, psychology, and sociology content with related spelling, math, and reading and writing assignments. Feasibility, benefits, and efficacy have been established. We compared the effectiveness of SHARP to a non-academic program, Open Airways for Schools, in improving asthma knowledge and reasoning about symptom management. A two-group, cluster-randomized, single-blinded design was used with a sample of 205 students in grades 4-5 with asthma and their caregivers. Schools were matched prior to randomization. The unit of analysis was the student. Certified elementary school teachers delivered the programs during instructional time. Data were collected from student/caregiver dyads at baseline and at 1, 12, and 24 months after the intervention. In multilevel modeling, students enrolled in the academic SHARP program demonstrated significant (pimprovement in asthma knowledge and reasoning over students enrolled in the non-academic program. Knowledge advantages were retained at 24 months. Findings support delivery in schools of the SHARP academic health education program for students with asthma. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.