Manual of Standard Operating Procedures for Veterinary Drug Residue Analysis

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2016-01-01

Laboratories are crucial to national veterinary drug residue monitoring programmes. However, one of the main challenges laboratories encounter is obtaining access to relevant methods of analysis. Thus, in addition to training, providing technical advice and transferring technology, the Joint FAO/IAEA Division of Nuclear Techniques in Food and Agriculture has resolved to develop clear and practical manuals to support Member State laboratories. The Coordinated Research Project (CRP) on Development of Radiometric and Allied Analytical Methods to Strengthen Residue Control Programs for Antibiotic and Anthelmintic Veterinary Drug Residues has developed a number of analytical methods as standard operating procedures (SOPs), which are now compiled here. This publication contains SOPs on chromatographic and spectrometric techniques, as well as radioimmunoassay and associated screening techniques, for various anthelmintic and antimicrobial veterinary drug residue analysis. Some analytical method validation protocols are also included. The publication is primarily aimed at food and environmental safety laboratories involved in testing veterinary drug residues, including under organized national residue monitoring programmes. It is expected to enhance laboratory capacity building and competence through the use of radiometric and complementary tools and techniques. The publication is also relevant for applied research on residues of veterinary drugs in food and environmental samples

Combining specificity determining and conserved residues improves functional site prediction

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Gelfand Mikhail S

2009-06-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Predicting the location of functionally important sites from protein sequence and/or structure is a long-standing problem in computational biology. Most current approaches make use of sequence conservation, assuming that amino acid residues conserved within a protein family are most likely to be functionally important. Most often these approaches do not consider many residues that act to define specific sub-functions within a family, or they make no distinction between residues important for function and those more relevant for maintaining structure (e.g. in the hydrophobic core. Many protein families bind and/or act on a variety of ligands, meaning that conserved residues often only bind a common ligand sub-structure or perform general catalytic activities. Results Here we present a novel method for functional site prediction based on identification of conserved positions, as well as those responsible for determining ligand specificity. We define Specificity-Determining Positions (SDPs, as those occupied by conserved residues within sub-groups of proteins in a family having a common specificity, but differ between groups, and are thus likely to account for specific recognition events. We benchmark the approach on enzyme families of known 3D structure with bound substrates, and find that in nearly all families residues predicted by SDPsite are in contact with the bound substrate, and that the addition of SDPs significantly improves functional site prediction accuracy. We apply SDPsite to various families of proteins containing known three-dimensional structures, but lacking clear functional annotations, and discusse several illustrative examples. Conclusion The results suggest a better means to predict functional details for the thousands of protein structures determined prior to a clear understanding of molecular function.

finite element model for predicting residual stresses in shielded

African Journals Online (AJOL)

eobe

This paper investigates the prediction of residual stresses developed ... steel plates through Finite Element Model simulation and experiments. ... The experimental values as measured by the X-Ray diffractometer were of ... Based on this, it can be concluded that Finite Element .... Comparison of Residual Stresses from X.

RSARF: Prediction of residue solvent accessibility from protein sequence using random forest method

KAUST Repository

Ganesan, Pugalenthi; Kandaswamy, Krishna Kumar Umar; Chou -, Kuochen; Vivekanandan, Saravanan; Kolatkar, Prasanna R.

2012-01-01

Prediction of protein structure from its amino acid sequence is still a challenging problem. The complete physicochemical understanding of protein folding is essential for the accurate structure prediction. Knowledge of residue solvent accessibility gives useful insights into protein structure prediction and function prediction. In this work, we propose a random forest method, RSARF, to predict residue accessible surface area from protein sequence information. The training and testing was performed using 120 proteins containing 22006 residues. For each residue, buried and exposed state was computed using five thresholds (0%, 5%, 10%, 25%, and 50%). The prediction accuracy for 0%, 5%, 10%, 25%, and 50% thresholds are 72.9%, 78.25%, 78.12%, 77.57% and 72.07% respectively. Further, comparison of RSARF with other methods using a benchmark dataset containing 20 proteins shows that our approach is useful for prediction of residue solvent accessibility from protein sequence without using structural information. The RSARF program, datasets and supplementary data are available at http://caps.ncbs.res.in/download/pugal/RSARF/. - See more at: http://www.eurekaselect.com/89216/article#sthash.pwVGFUjq.dpuf

Prediction of the residual strength of clay using functional networks

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

S.Z. Khan

2016-01-01

Full Text Available Landslides are common natural hazards occurring in most parts of the world and have considerable adverse economic effects. Residual shear strength of clay is one of the most important factors in the determination of stability of slopes or landslides. This effect is more pronounced in sensitive clays which show large changes in shear strength from peak to residual states. This study analyses the prediction of the residual strength of clay based on a new prediction model, functional networks (FN using data available in the literature. The performance of FN was compared with support vector machine (SVM and artificial neural network (ANN based on statistical parameters like correlation coefficient (R, Nash--Sutcliff coefficient of efficiency (E, absolute average error (AAE, maximum average error (MAE and root mean square error (RMSE. Based on R and E parameters, FN is found to be a better prediction tool than ANN for the given data. However, the R and E values for FN are less than SVM. A prediction equation is presented that can be used by practicing geotechnical engineers. A sensitivity analysis is carried out to ascertain the importance of various inputs in the prediction of the output.

Prediction of residue-residue contact matrix for protein-protein interaction with Fisher score features and deep learning.

Science.gov (United States)

Du, Tianchuan; Liao, Li; Wu, Cathy H; Sun, Bilin

2016-11-01

Protein-protein interactions play essential roles in many biological processes. Acquiring knowledge of the residue-residue contact information of two interacting proteins is not only helpful in annotating functions for proteins, but also critical for structure-based drug design. The prediction of the protein residue-residue contact matrix of the interfacial regions is challenging. In this work, we introduced deep learning techniques (specifically, stacked autoencoders) to build deep neural network models to tackled the residue-residue contact prediction problem. In tandem with interaction profile Hidden Markov Models, which was used first to extract Fisher score features from protein sequences, stacked autoencoders were deployed to extract and learn hidden abstract features. The deep learning model showed significant improvement over the traditional machine learning model, Support Vector Machines (SVM), with the overall accuracy increased by 15% from 65.40% to 80.82%. We showed that the stacked autoencoders could extract novel features, which can be utilized by deep neural networks and other classifiers to enhance learning, out of the Fisher score features. It is further shown that deep neural networks have significant advantages over SVM in making use of the newly extracted features. Copyright © 2016. Published by Elsevier Inc.

PINGU: PredIction of eNzyme catalytic residues usinG seqUence information.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Priyadarshini P Pai

Full Text Available Identification of catalytic residues can help unveil interesting attributes of enzyme function for various therapeutic and industrial applications. Based on their biochemical roles, the number of catalytic residues and sequence lengths of enzymes vary. This article describes a prediction approach (PINGU for such a scenario. It uses models trained using physicochemical properties and evolutionary information of 650 non-redundant enzymes (2136 catalytic residues in a support vector machines architecture. Independent testing on 200 non-redundant enzymes (683 catalytic residues in predefined prediction settings, i.e., with non-catalytic per catalytic residue ranging from 1 to 30, suggested that the prediction approach was highly sensitive and specific, i.e., 80% or above, over the incremental challenges. To learn more about the discriminatory power of PINGU in real scenarios, where the prediction challenge is variable and susceptible to high false positives, the best model from independent testing was used on 60 diverse enzymes. Results suggested that PINGU was able to identify most catalytic residues and non-catalytic residues properly with 80% or above accuracy, sensitivity and specificity. The effect of false positives on precision was addressed in this study by application of predicted ligand-binding residue information as a post-processing filter. An overall improvement of 20% in F-measure and 0.138 in Correlation Coefficient with 16% enhanced precision could be achieved. On account of its encouraging performance, PINGU is hoped to have eventual applications in boosting enzyme engineering and novel drug discovery.

Prediction of residual stress using explicit finite element method

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

W.A. Siswanto

2015-12-01

Full Text Available This paper presents the residual stress behaviour under various values of friction coefficients and scratching displacement amplitudes. The investigation is based on numerical solution using explicit finite element method in quasi-static condition. Two different aeroengine materials, i.e. Super CMV (Cr-Mo-V and Titanium alloys (Ti-6Al-4V, are examined. The usage of FEM analysis in plate under normal contact is validated with Hertzian theoretical solution in terms of contact pressure distributions. The residual stress distributions along with normal and shear stresses on elastic and plastic regimes of the materials are studied for a simple cylinder-on-flat contact configuration model subjected to normal loading, scratching and followed by unloading. The investigated friction coefficients are 0.3, 0.6 and 0.9, while scratching displacement amplitudes are 0.05 mm, 0.10 mm and 0.20 mm respectively. It is found that friction coefficient of 0.6 results in higher residual stress for both materials. Meanwhile, the predicted residual stress is proportional to the scratching displacement amplitude, higher displacement amplitude, resulting in higher residual stress. It is found that less residual stress is predicted on Super CMV material compared to Ti-6Al-4V material because of its high yield stress and ultimate strength. Super CMV material with friction coefficient of 0.3 and scratching displacement amplitude of 0.10 mm is recommended to be used in contact engineering applications due to its minimum possibility of fatigue.

The Ising model for prediction of disordered residues from protein sequence alone

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lobanov, Michail Yu; Galzitskaya, Oxana V

2011-01-01

Intrinsically disordered regions serve as molecular recognition elements, which play an important role in the control of many cellular processes and signaling pathways. It is useful to be able to predict positions of disordered residues and disordered regions in protein chains using protein sequence alone. A new method (IsUnstruct) based on the Ising model for prediction of disordered residues from protein sequence alone has been developed. According to this model, each residue can be in one of two states: ordered or disordered. The model is an approximation of the Ising model in which the interaction term between neighbors has been replaced by a penalty for changing between states (the energy of border). The IsUnstruct has been compared with other available methods and found to perform well. The method correctly finds 77% of disordered residues as well as 87% of ordered residues in the CASP8 database, and 72% of disordered residues as well as 85% of ordered residues in the DisProt database

Protein structure based prediction of catalytic residues.

Science.gov (United States)

Fajardo, J Eduardo; Fiser, Andras

2013-02-22

Worldwide structural genomics projects continue to release new protein structures at an unprecedented pace, so far nearly 6000, but only about 60% of these proteins have any sort of functional annotation. We explored a range of features that can be used for the prediction of functional residues given a known three-dimensional structure. These features include various centrality measures of nodes in graphs of interacting residues: closeness, betweenness and page-rank centrality. We also analyzed the distance of functional amino acids to the general center of mass (GCM) of the structure, relative solvent accessibility (RSA), and the use of relative entropy as a measure of sequence conservation. From the selected features, neural networks were trained to identify catalytic residues. We found that using distance to the GCM together with amino acid type provide a good discriminant function, when combined independently with sequence conservation. Using an independent test set of 29 annotated protein structures, the method returned 411 of the initial 9262 residues as the most likely to be involved in function. The output 411 residues contain 70 of the annotated 111 catalytic residues. This represents an approximately 14-fold enrichment of catalytic residues on the entire input set (corresponding to a sensitivity of 63% and a precision of 17%), a performance competitive with that of other state-of-the-art methods. We found that several of the graph based measures utilize the same underlying feature of protein structures, which can be simply and more effectively captured with the distance to GCM definition. This also has the added the advantage of simplicity and easy implementation. Meanwhile sequence conservation remains by far the most influential feature in identifying functional residues. We also found that due the rapid changes in size and composition of sequence databases, conservation calculations must be recalibrated for specific reference databases.

Development of residual stress prediction model in pipe weldment

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Eom, Yun Yong; Lim, Se Young; Choi, Kang Hyeuk; Cho, Young Sam; Lim, Jae Hyuk [Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology, Taejon (Korea, Republic of)

2002-03-15

When Leak Before Break(LBB) concepts is applied to high energy piping of nuclear power plants, residual weld stresses is a important variable. The main purpose of his research is to develop the numerical model which can predict residual weld stresses. Firstly, basic theories were described which need to numerical analysis of welding parts. Before the analysis of pipe, welding of a flat plate was analyzed and compared. Appling the data of used pipes, thermal/mechanical analysis were accomplished and computed temperature gradient and residual stress distribution. For thermal analysis, proper heat flux was regarded as the heat source and convection/radiation heat transfer were considered at surfaces. The residual stresses were counted from the computed temperature gradient and they were compared and verified with a result of another research.

Manual of Standard Operating Procedures for Veterinary Drug Residue Analysis (Spanish Edition)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2017-01-01

Laboratories are crucial to national veterinary drug residue monitoring programmes. However, one of the main challenges laboratories encounter is obtaining access to relevant methods of analysis. Thus, in addition to training, providing technical advice and transferring technology, the Joint FAO/IAEA Division of Nuclear Techniques in Food and Agriculture has resolved to develop clear and practical manuals to support Member State laboratories. The Coordinated Research Project (CRP) on Development of Radiometric and Allied Analytical Methods to Strengthen Residue Control Programs for Antibiotic and Anthelmintic Veterinary Drug Residues has developed a number of analytical methods as standard operating procedures (SOPs), which are now compiled here. This publication contains SOPs on chromatographic and spectrometric techniques, as well as radioimmunoassay and associated screening techniques, for various anthelmintic and antimicrobial veterinary drug residue analysis. Some analytical method validation protocols are also included. The publication is primarily aimed at food and environmental safety laboratories involved in testing veterinary drug residues, including under organized national residue monitoring programmes. It is expected to enhance laboratory capacity building and competence through the use of radiometric and complementary tools and techniques. The publication is also relevant for applied research on residues of veterinary drugs in food and environmental samples

Manual of Standard Operating Procedures for Veterinary Drug Residue Analysis (French Edition)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2017-01-01

Laboratories are crucial to national veterinary drug residue monitoring programmes. However, one of the main challenges laboratories encounter is obtaining access to relevant methods of analysis. Thus, in addition to training, providing technical advice and transferring technology, the Joint FAO/IAEA Division of Nuclear Techniques in Food and Agriculture has resolved to develop clear and practical manuals to support Member State laboratories. The Coordinated Research Project (CRP) on Development of Radiometric and Allied Analytical Methods to Strengthen Residue Control Programs for Antibiotic and Anthelmintic Veterinary Drug Residues has developed a number of analytical methods as standard operating procedures (SOPs), which are now compiled here. This publication contains SOPs on chromatographic and spectrometric techniques, as well as radioimmunoassay and associated screening techniques, for various anthelmintic and antimicrobial veterinary drug residue analysis. Some analytical method validation protocols are also included. The publication is primarily aimed at food and environmental safety laboratories involved in testing veterinary drug residues, including under organized national residue monitoring programmes. It is expected to enhance laboratory capacity building and competence through the use of radiometric and complementary tools and techniques. The publication is also relevant for applied research on residues of veterinary drugs in food and environmental samples

Predictions and measurements of residual stress in repair welds in plates

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Brown, T.B. [Mitsui Babcock Energy Limited, Technology and Engineering, Porterfield Road, Renfrew, PA4 8DJ, Scotland (United Kingdom)]. E-mail: bbrown@mitsuibabcock.com; Dauda, T.A. [Mitsui Babcock Energy Limited, Technology and Engineering, Porterfield Road, Renfrew, PA4 8DJ, Scotland (United Kingdom); Truman, C.E. [Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Bristol, Bristol BS8 1TR, England (United Kingdom); Smith, D.J. [Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Bristol, Bristol BS8 1TR (United Kingdom); Memhard, D. [Fraunhofer-Institut fuer Werkstoffmechanik, Freiburg (Germany); Pfeiffer, W. [Fraunhofer-Institut fuer Werkstoffmechanik, Freiburg (Germany)

2006-11-15

This paper presents the work, from the European Union FP-5 project ELIXIR, on a series of rectangular repair welds in P275 and S690 steels to validate the numerical modelling techniques used in the determination of the residual stresses generated during the repair process. The plates were 1,000 mm by 800 mm with thicknesses of 50 and 100 mm. The repair welds were 50%, 75% and 100% through the plate thickness. The repair welds were modelled using the finite element method to make predictions of the as-welded residual stress distributions. These predictions were compared with surface-strain measurements made on the parent plates during welding and found to be in good agreement. Through-thickness residual stress measurements were obtained from the test plates through, and local to, the weld repairs using the deep hole drilling technique. Comparisons between the measurements and the finite element predictions generally showed good agreement, thus providing confidence in the method.

Predictions and measurements of residual stress in repair welds in plates

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Brown, T.B.; Dauda, T.A.; Truman, C.E.; Smith, D.J.; Memhard, D.; Pfeiffer, W.

2006-01-01

This paper presents the work, from the European Union FP-5 project ELIXIR, on a series of rectangular repair welds in P275 and S690 steels to validate the numerical modelling techniques used in the determination of the residual stresses generated during the repair process. The plates were 1,000 mm by 800 mm with thicknesses of 50 and 100 mm. The repair welds were 50%, 75% and 100% through the plate thickness. The repair welds were modelled using the finite element method to make predictions of the as-welded residual stress distributions. These predictions were compared with surface-strain measurements made on the parent plates during welding and found to be in good agreement. Through-thickness residual stress measurements were obtained from the test plates through, and local to, the weld repairs using the deep hole drilling technique. Comparisons between the measurements and the finite element predictions generally showed good agreement, thus providing confidence in the method

Ensemble Architecture for Prediction of Enzyme-ligand Binding Residues Using Evolutionary Information.

Science.gov (United States)

Pai, Priyadarshini P; Dattatreya, Rohit Kadam; Mondal, Sukanta

2017-11-01

Enzyme interactions with ligands are crucial for various biochemical reactions governing life. Over many years attempts to identify these residues for biotechnological manipulations have been made using experimental and computational techniques. The computational approaches have gathered impetus with the accruing availability of sequence and structure information, broadly classified into template-based and de novo methods. One of the predominant de novo methods using sequence information involves application of biological properties for supervised machine learning. Here, we propose a support vector machines-based ensemble for prediction of protein-ligand interacting residues using one of the most important discriminative contributing properties in the interacting residue neighbourhood, i. e., evolutionary information in the form of position-specific- scoring matrix (PSSM). The study has been performed on a non-redundant dataset comprising of 9269 interacting and 91773 non-interacting residues for prediction model generation and further evaluation. Of the various PSSM-based models explored, the proposed method named ROBBY (pRediction Of Biologically relevant small molecule Binding residues on enzYmes) shows an accuracy of 84.0 %, Matthews Correlation Coefficient of 0.343 and F-measure of 39.0 % on 78 test enzymes. Further, scope of adding domain knowledge such as pocket information has also been investigated; results showed significant enhancement in method precision. Findings are hoped to boost the reliability of small-molecule ligand interaction prediction for enzyme applications and drug design. © 2017 Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Study On The Procedures For Determining Of Pesticide Residues In Green Vegetables

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Le Tat Mua; Nguyen Tien Dat; Nguyen Van Minh; Nguyen Ngoc Tuan; Le Thi Ngoc Trinh; Ta Thi Tuyet Nhung; Truong Van Tai; Tran Thanh Nha; Nguyen Thi Hong Tham

2007-01-01

Researches presented in this work are divided into two main parts. One part embraces the residue analytical methods. The other part comprises applying of these residue analytical methods for analysis of plant material. Part I: Residue analytical methods (Analytical procedures): Determination of Endosulphan in plant material by GC/ECD; Determination of Methamidofos in plant material by GC/FTD; Determination of Deltamethrin, Cyhalothrin, Cyfluthrin in plant material by GC/ECD; Determination of Maneb in plant material by HPLC/UV; Determination of Zineb in plant material by F-AAS; Determination of Organo-Asenic and Mercury in plant material by RNAA; The limits of detection and determination (LOD, LOQ), Recovery, Efficiency, the Calibration curve are validated. Part II: Applying of Residue Analytical Methods for analysis of endosulphan, methamidofos, maneb, zineb, cyhalothrin, deltamethrin, cyfluthrin, metallo-organic compounds in Spinach, Cabbage, Pimento, Japanese Bean, Japanese Pumpkin, Tomato, Potato, Sweet Potato. The results and conclusion are present in this work. (author)

Prediction method of seismic residual deformation of caisson quay wall in liquefied foundation

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Li-Yan; Liu, Han-Long; Jiang, Peng-Ming; Chen, Xiang-Xiang

2011-03-01

The multi-spring shear mechanism plastic model in this paper is defined in strain space to simulate pore pressure generation and development in sands under cyclic loading and undrained conditions, and the rotation of principal stresses can also be simulated by the model with cyclic behavior of anisotropic consolidated sands. Seismic residual deformations of typical caisson quay walls under different engineering situations are analyzed in detail by the plastic model, and then an index of liquefaction extent is applied to describe the regularity of seismic residual deformation of caisson quay wall top under different engineering situations. Some correlated prediction formulas are derived from the results of regression analysis between seismic residual deformation of quay wall top and extent of liquefaction in the relative safety backfill sand site. Finally, the rationality and the reliability of the prediction methods are validated by test results of a 120 g-centrifuge shaking table, and the comparisons show that some reliable seismic residual deformation of caisson quay can be predicted by appropriate prediction formulas and appropriate index of liquefaction extent.

Non-"g" Residuals of the SAT and ACT Predict Specific Abilities

Science.gov (United States)

Coyle, Thomas R.; Purcell, Jason M.; Snyder, Anissa C.; Kochunov, Peter

2013-01-01

This research examined whether non-"g" residuals of the SAT and ACT subtests, obtained after removing g, predicted specific abilities. Non-"g" residuals of the verbal and math subtests of the SAT and ACT were correlated with academic (verbal and math) and non-academic abilities (speed and shop), both based on the Armed Services…

InterMap3D: predicting and visualizing co-evolving protein residues

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Oliveira, Rodrigo Gouveia; Roque, francisco jose sousa simôes almeida; Wernersson, Rasmus

2009-01-01

InterMap3D predicts co-evolving protein residues and plots them on the 3D protein structure. Starting with a single protein sequence, InterMap3D automatically finds a set of homologous sequences, generates an alignment and fetches the most similar 3D structure from the Protein Data Bank (PDB......). It can also accept a user-generated alignment. Based on the alignment, co-evolving residues are then predicted using three different methods: Row and Column Weighing of Mutual Information, Mutual Information/Entropy and Dependency. Finally, InterMap3D generates high-quality images of the protein...

Prediction of residues in discontinuous B-cell epitopes using protein 3D structures

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Andersen, P.H.; Nielsen, Morten; Lund, Ole

2006-01-01

. We show that the new structure-based method has a better performance for predicting residues of discontinuous epitopes than methods based solely on sequence information, and that it can successfully predict epitope residues that have been identified by different techniques. DiscoTope detects 15...... experimental epitope mapping in both rational vaccine design and development of diagnostic tools, and may lead to more efficient epitope identification....

Prediction of Detailed Enzyme Functions and Identification of Specificity Determining Residues by Random Forests

Science.gov (United States)

Nagao, Chioko; Nagano, Nozomi; Mizuguchi, Kenji

2014-01-01

Determining enzyme functions is essential for a thorough understanding of cellular processes. Although many prediction methods have been developed, it remains a significant challenge to predict enzyme functions at the fourth-digit level of the Enzyme Commission numbers. Functional specificity of enzymes often changes drastically by mutations of a small number of residues and therefore, information about these critical residues can potentially help discriminate detailed functions. However, because these residues must be identified by mutagenesis experiments, the available information is limited, and the lack of experimentally verified specificity determining residues (SDRs) has hindered the development of detailed function prediction methods and computational identification of SDRs. Here we present a novel method for predicting enzyme functions by random forests, EFPrf, along with a set of putative SDRs, the random forests derived SDRs (rf-SDRs). EFPrf consists of a set of binary predictors for enzymes in each CATH superfamily and the rf-SDRs are the residue positions corresponding to the most highly contributing attributes obtained from each predictor. EFPrf showed a precision of 0.98 and a recall of 0.89 in a cross-validated benchmark assessment. The rf-SDRs included many residues, whose importance for specificity had been validated experimentally. The analysis of the rf-SDRs revealed both a general tendency that functionally diverged superfamilies tend to include more active site residues in their rf-SDRs than in less diverged superfamilies, and superfamily-specific conservation patterns of each functional residue. EFPrf and the rf-SDRs will be an effective tool for annotating enzyme functions and for understanding how enzyme functions have diverged within each superfamily. PMID:24416252

Improving protein fold recognition by extracting fold-specific features from predicted residue-residue contacts.

Science.gov (United States)

Zhu, Jianwei; Zhang, Haicang; Li, Shuai Cheng; Wang, Chao; Kong, Lupeng; Sun, Shiwei; Zheng, Wei-Mou; Bu, Dongbo

2017-12-01

Accurate recognition of protein fold types is a key step for template-based prediction of protein structures. The existing approaches to fold recognition mainly exploit the features derived from alignments of query protein against templates. These approaches have been shown to be successful for fold recognition at family level, but usually failed at superfamily/fold levels. To overcome this limitation, one of the key points is to explore more structurally informative features of proteins. Although residue-residue contacts carry abundant structural information, how to thoroughly exploit these information for fold recognition still remains a challenge. In this study, we present an approach (called DeepFR) to improve fold recognition at superfamily/fold levels. The basic idea of our approach is to extract fold-specific features from predicted residue-residue contacts of proteins using deep convolutional neural network (DCNN) technique. Based on these fold-specific features, we calculated similarity between query protein and templates, and then assigned query protein with fold type of the most similar template. DCNN has showed excellent performance in image feature extraction and image recognition; the rational underlying the application of DCNN for fold recognition is that contact likelihood maps are essentially analogy to images, as they both display compositional hierarchy. Experimental results on the LINDAHL dataset suggest that even using the extracted fold-specific features alone, our approach achieved success rate comparable to the state-of-the-art approaches. When further combining these features with traditional alignment-related features, the success rate of our approach increased to 92.3%, 82.5% and 78.8% at family, superfamily and fold levels, respectively, which is about 18% higher than the state-of-the-art approach at fold level, 6% higher at superfamily level and 1% higher at family level. An independent assessment on SCOP_TEST dataset showed consistent

Prediction of three-dimensional residual stresses at localised indentations in pipes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hyde, T.H.; Luo, R.; Becker, A.A.

2012-01-01

Residual stresses are investigated using Finite Element (FE) analyses at localised indentations in pipes with and without internal pressures due to reverse plasticity caused by springback of the surrounding material after removal of the indenter. The indentation loading is applied via rigid 3D short indenters. The effects of the residual indentation depth, internal pressure, indenter size and different material properties on the residual stresses for different pipes have been investigated by carrying out parametric sensitivity studies. In order to predict the residual stresses, empirical formulations have been developed, which show a good correlation with the FE for residual stresses for pipes with diameter to thickness ratios of 35–72. - Highlights: ► A comprehensive elastic–plastic FE analysis of residual stresses caused by localised pipe indentations is presented. ► The effects of residual indentation depth, internal pressure, indenter size and material properties have been studied. ► Empirical formulations have been developed, which show a good correlation with the FE for residual stresses for pipes with diameter to thickness ratios of 35–72.

Different finite element techniques to predict welding residual stresses in aluminum alloy plates

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Moein, Hadi; Sattari-Far, Iradj

2014-01-01

This study is a 3D thermomechanical finite element (FE) analysis of a single-pass and butt-welded work-hardened aluminum (Al) 5456 plates. It aims to validate the use of FE welding simulations to predict residual stress states in assessing the integrity of welded components. The predicted final residual stresses in the plate from the FE simulations are verified through comparison with experimental measurements. Three techniques are used to simulate the welding process. In the first two approaches, welding deposition is applied by using element birth and interaction techniques. In the third approach, the entire weld zone is simultaneously deposited. Results show a value at approximately the yield strength for longitudinal residual stresses of the welded center of the butt-welded Al alloy plates with a thickness of 2 mm. Considering the application of a comprehensive heat source, along with heat loss modeling and the temperature dependent properties of the material, the approach without deposition predicts a reasonable distribution of residual stresses. However, the element birth and interaction techniques, compared with the no-deposit technique, provide more accurate results in calculating residual stresses. Furthermore, the element interaction technique, compared with the element birth technique, exhibits higher efficiency and flexibility in modeling the deposition of welded metals as well as less modeling cost.

Hemodynamic effects of closure of residual arteriovenous fistulae during in situ graft procedures

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Laustsen, Jesper; Nielsen, Henriette Svarre; Pedersen, Erik Morre

2011-01-01

lower limb ischemia were obtained. Direct measurements of proximal and distal blood pressures in the graft were taken and simultaneous determinations of volume blood flow proximally and distally in the graft with ultrasound transit time technique before and after closure of residual fistulae were made......The objective was to study the intraoperative hemodynamic effects of closure of residual arteriovenous fistulae during in situ saphenous vein graft procedures. Data on 60 residual arteriovenous fistulae in nine patients (five men) with a median age of 74 years (range 64-83 years) with critical....... Closure of a fistula with blood flow around or below 100 mL/min did not increase distal outflow, whereas closure of fistulae with higher blood flow resulted in unpredictable changes in distal outflow. Only fistulae with a blood flow above approximately 100 mL/min may be of hemodynamic significance....

Prediction of Active Site and Distal Residues in E. coli DNA Polymerase III alpha Polymerase Activity.

Science.gov (United States)

Parasuram, Ramya; Coulther, Timothy A; Hollander, Judith M; Keston-Smith, Elise; Ondrechen, Mary Jo; Beuning, Penny J

2018-02-20

The process of DNA replication is carried out with high efficiency and accuracy by DNA polymerases. The replicative polymerase in E. coli is DNA Pol III, which is a complex of 10 different subunits that coordinates simultaneous replication on the leading and lagging strands. The 1160-residue Pol III alpha subunit is responsible for the polymerase activity and copies DNA accurately, making one error per 10 5 nucleotide incorporations. The goal of this research is to determine the residues that contribute to the activity of the polymerase subunit. Homology modeling and the computational methods of THEMATICS and POOL were used to predict functionally important amino acid residues through their computed chemical properties. Site-directed mutagenesis and biochemical assays were used to validate these predictions. Primer extension, steady-state single-nucleotide incorporation kinetics, and thermal denaturation assays were performed to understand the contribution of these residues to the function of the polymerase. This work shows that the top 15 residues predicted by POOL, a set that includes the three previously known catalytic aspartate residues, seven remote residues, plus five previously unexplored first-layer residues, are important for function. Six previously unidentified residues, R362, D405, K553, Y686, E688, and H760, are each essential to Pol III activity; three additional residues, Y340, R390, and K758, play important roles in activity.

RANDOM FUNCTIONS AND INTERVAL METHOD FOR PREDICTING THE RESIDUAL RESOURCE OF BUILDING STRUCTURES

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Shmelev Gennadiy Dmitrievich

2017-11-01

Full Text Available Subject: possibility of using random functions and interval prediction method for estimating the residual life of building structures in the currently used buildings. Research objectives: coordination of ranges of values to develop predictions and random functions that characterize the processes being predicted. Materials and methods: when performing this research, the method of random functions and the method of interval prediction were used. Results: in the course of this work, the basic properties of random functions, including the properties of families of random functions, are studied. The coordination of time-varying impacts and loads on building structures is considered from the viewpoint of their influence on structures and representation of the structures’ behavior in the form of random functions. Several models of random functions are proposed for predicting individual parameters of structures. For each of the proposed models, its scope of application is defined. The article notes that the considered approach of forecasting has been used many times at various sites. In addition, the available results allowed the authors to develop a methodology for assessing the technical condition and residual life of building structures for the currently used facilities. Conclusions: we studied the possibility of using random functions and processes for the purposes of forecasting the residual service lives of structures in buildings and engineering constructions. We considered the possibility of using an interval forecasting approach to estimate changes in defining parameters of building structures and their technical condition. A comprehensive technique for forecasting the residual life of building structures using the interval approach is proposed.

Analysis of Margin Index as a Method for Predicting Residual Disease After Breast-Conserving Surgery in a European Cancer Center.

LENUS (Irish Health Repository)

Bolger, Jarlath C

2011-06-03

INTRODUCTION: Breast-conserving surgery (BCS), followed by appropriate adjuvant therapies is established as a standard treatment option for women with early-stage invasive breast cancers. A number of factors have been shown to correlate with local and regional disease recurrence. Although margin status is a strong predictor of disease recurrence, consensus is yet to be established on the optimum margin necessary. Margenthaler et al. recently proposed the use of a "margin index," combining tumor size and margin status as a predictor of residual disease after BCS. We applied this new predictive tool to a population of patients with primary breast cancer who presented to a symptomatic breast unit to determine its suitability in predicting those who require reexcision surgery. METHODS: Retrospective analysis of our breast cancer database from January 1, 2000 to June 30, 2010 was performed, including all patients who underwent BCS. Of 531 patients who underwent BCS, 27.1% (144\\/531) required further reexcision procedures, and 55 were eligible for inclusion in the study. Margin index was calculated as: margin index = closest margin (mm)\\/tumor size (mm) × 100, with index >5 considered optimum. RESULTS: Of the 55 patients included, 31% (17\\/55) had residual disease. Fisher\\'s exact test showed margin index not to be a significant predictor of residual disease on reexcision specimen (P = 0.57). Of note, a significantly higher proportion of our patients presented with T2\\/3 tumors (60% vs. 38%). CONCLUSIONS: Although an apparently elegant tool for predicting residual disease after BCS, we have shown that it is not applicable to a symptomatic breast unit in Ireland.

Analysis of margin index as a method for predicting residual disease after breast-conserving surgery in a European cancer center.

LENUS (Irish Health Repository)

Bolger, Jarlath C

2012-02-01

INTRODUCTION: Breast-conserving surgery (BCS), followed by appropriate adjuvant therapies is established as a standard treatment option for women with early-stage invasive breast cancers. A number of factors have been shown to correlate with local and regional disease recurrence. Although margin status is a strong predictor of disease recurrence, consensus is yet to be established on the optimum margin necessary. Margenthaler et al. recently proposed the use of a "margin index," combining tumor size and margin status as a predictor of residual disease after BCS. We applied this new predictive tool to a population of patients with primary breast cancer who presented to a symptomatic breast unit to determine its suitability in predicting those who require reexcision surgery. METHODS: Retrospective analysis of our breast cancer database from January 1, 2000 to June 30, 2010 was performed, including all patients who underwent BCS. Of 531 patients who underwent BCS, 27.1% (144\\/531) required further reexcision procedures, and 55 were eligible for inclusion in the study. Margin index was calculated as: margin index = closest margin (mm)\\/tumor size (mm) x 100, with index >5 considered optimum. RESULTS: Of the 55 patients included, 31% (17\\/55) had residual disease. Fisher\\'s exact test showed margin index not to be a significant predictor of residual disease on reexcision specimen (P = 0.57). Of note, a significantly higher proportion of our patients presented with T2\\/3 tumors (60% vs. 38%). CONCLUSIONS: Although an apparently elegant tool for predicting residual disease after BCS, we have shown that it is not applicable to a symptomatic breast unit in Ireland.

Residual lifetime prediction for lithium-ion battery based on functional principal component analysis and Bayesian approach

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cheng, Yujie; Lu, Chen; Li, Tieying; Tao, Laifa

2015-01-01

Existing methods for predicting lithium-ion (Li-ion) battery residual lifetime mostly depend on a priori knowledge on aging mechanism, the use of chemical or physical formulation and analytical battery models. This dependence is usually difficult to determine in practice, which restricts the application of these methods. In this study, we propose a new prediction method for Li-ion battery residual lifetime evaluation based on FPCA (functional principal component analysis) and Bayesian approach. The proposed method utilizes FPCA to construct a nonparametric degradation model for Li-ion battery, based on which the residual lifetime and the corresponding confidence interval can be evaluated. Furthermore, an empirical Bayes approach is utilized to achieve real-time updating of the degradation model and concurrently determine residual lifetime distribution. Based on Bayesian updating, a more accurate prediction result and a more precise confidence interval are obtained. Experiments are implemented based on data provided by the NASA Ames Prognostics Center of Excellence. Results confirm that the proposed prediction method performs well in real-time battery residual lifetime prediction. - Highlights: • Capacity is considered functional and FPCA is utilized to extract more information. • No features required which avoids drawbacks induced by feature extraction. • A good combination of both population and individual information. • Avoiding complex aging mechanism and accurate analytical models of batteries. • Easily applicable to different batteries for life prediction and RLD calculation.

Surgical treatment for residual or recurrent strabismus

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Tao Wang

2014-12-01

Full Text Available Although the surgical treatment is a relatively effective and predictable method for correcting residual or recurrent strabismus, such as posterior fixation sutures, medial rectus marginal myotomy, unilateral or bilateral rectus re-recession and resection, unilateral lateral rectus recession and adjustable suture, no standard protocol is established for the surgical style. Different surgical approaches have been recommended for correcting residual or recurrent strabismus. The choice of the surgical procedure depends on the former operation pattern and the surgical dosages applied on the patients, residual or recurrent angle of deviation and the operator''s preference and experience. This review attempts to outline recent publications and current opinion in the management of residual or recurrent esotropia and exotropia.

Through-Thickness Residual Stress Profiles in Austenitic Stainless Steel Welds: A Combined Experimental and Prediction Study

Science.gov (United States)

Mathew, J.; Moat, R. J.; Paddea, S.; Francis, J. A.; Fitzpatrick, M. E.; Bouchard, P. J.

2017-12-01

Economic and safe management of nuclear plant components relies on accurate prediction of welding-induced residual stresses. In this study, the distribution of residual stress through the thickness of austenitic stainless steel welds has been measured using neutron diffraction and the contour method. The measured data are used to validate residual stress profiles predicted by an artificial neural network approach (ANN) as a function of welding heat input and geometry. Maximum tensile stresses with magnitude close to the yield strength of the material were observed near the weld cap in both axial and hoop direction of the welds. Significant scatter of more than 200 MPa was found within the residual stress measurements at the weld center line and are associated with the geometry and welding conditions of individual weld passes. The ANN prediction is developed in an attempt to effectively quantify this phenomenon of `innate scatter' and to learn the non-linear patterns in the weld residual stress profiles. Furthermore, the efficacy of the ANN method for defining through-thickness residual stress profiles in welds for application in structural integrity assessments is evaluated.

Practical guidance on representing the heteroscedasticity of residual errors of hydrological predictions

Science.gov (United States)

McInerney, David; Thyer, Mark; Kavetski, Dmitri; Kuczera, George

2016-04-01

Appropriate representation of residual errors in hydrological modelling is essential for accurate and reliable probabilistic streamflow predictions. In particular, residual errors of hydrological predictions are often heteroscedastic, with large errors associated with high runoff events. Although multiple approaches exist for representing this heteroscedasticity, few if any studies have undertaken a comprehensive evaluation and comparison of these approaches. This study fills this research gap by evaluating a range of approaches for representing heteroscedasticity in residual errors. These approaches include the 'direct' weighted least squares approach and 'transformational' approaches, such as logarithmic, Box-Cox (with and without fitting the transformation parameter), logsinh and the inverse transformation. The study reports (1) theoretical comparison of heteroscedasticity approaches, (2) empirical evaluation of heteroscedasticity approaches using a range of multiple catchments / hydrological models / performance metrics and (3) interpretation of empirical results using theory to provide practical guidance on the selection of heteroscedasticity approaches. Importantly, for hydrological practitioners, the results will simplify the choice of approaches to represent heteroscedasticity. This will enhance their ability to provide hydrological probabilistic predictions with the best reliability and precision for different catchment types (e.g. high/low degree of ephemerality).

The prediction of the residual life of electromechanical equipment based on the artificial neural network

Science.gov (United States)

Zhukovskiy, Yu L.; Korolev, N. A.; Babanova, I. S.; Boikov, A. V.

2017-10-01

This article is devoted to the prediction of the residual life based on an estimate of the technical state of the induction motor. The proposed system allows to increase the accuracy and completeness of diagnostics by using an artificial neural network (ANN), and also identify and predict faulty states of an electrical equipment in dynamics. The results of the proposed system for estimation the technical condition are probability technical state diagrams and a quantitative evaluation of the residual life, taking into account electrical, vibrational, indirect parameters and detected defects. Based on the evaluation of the technical condition and the prediction of the residual life, a decision is made to change the control of the operating and maintenance modes of the electric motors.

firestar--advances in the prediction of functionally important residues.

Science.gov (United States)

Lopez, Gonzalo; Maietta, Paolo; Rodriguez, Jose Manuel; Valencia, Alfonso; Tress, Michael L

2011-07-01

firestar is a server for predicting catalytic and ligand-binding residues in protein sequences. Here, we present the important developments since the first release of firestar. Previous versions of the server required human interpretation of the results; the server is now fully automatized. firestar has been implemented as a web service and can now be run in high-throughput mode. Prediction coverage has been greatly improved with the extension of the FireDB database and the addition of alignments generated by HHsearch. Ligands in FireDB are now classified for biological relevance. Many of the changes have been motivated by the critical assessment of techniques for protein structure prediction (CASP) ligand-binding prediction experiment, which provided us with a framework to test the performance of firestar. URL: http://firedb.bioinfo.cnio.es/Php/FireStar.php.

Prediction of vitamin interacting residues in a vitamin binding protein using evolutionary information

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Panwar Bharat

2013-02-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background The vitamins are important cofactors in various enzymatic-reactions. In past, many inhibitors have been designed against vitamin binding pockets in order to inhibit vitamin-protein interactions. Thus, it is important to identify vitamin interacting residues in a protein. It is possible to detect vitamin-binding pockets on a protein, if its tertiary structure is known. Unfortunately tertiary structures of limited proteins are available. Therefore, it is important to develop in-silico models for predicting vitamin interacting residues in protein from its primary structure. Results In this study, first we compared protein-interacting residues of vitamins with other ligands using Two Sample Logo (TSL. It was observed that ATP, GTP, NAD, FAD and mannose preferred {G,R,K,S,H}, {G,K,T,S,D,N}, {T,G,Y}, {G,Y,W} and {Y,D,W,N,E} residues respectively, whereas vitamins preferred {Y,F,S,W,T,G,H} residues for the interaction with proteins. Furthermore, compositional information of preferred and non-preferred residues along with patterns-specificity was also observed within different vitamin-classes. Vitamins A, B and B6 preferred {F,I,W,Y,L,V}, {S,Y,G,T,H,W,N,E} and {S,T,G,H,Y,N} interacting residues respectively. It suggested that protein-binding patterns of vitamins are different from other ligands, and motivated us to develop separate predictor for vitamins and their sub-classes. The four different prediction modules, (i vitamin interacting residues (VIRs, (ii vitamin-A interacting residues (VAIRs, (iii vitamin-B interacting residues (VBIRs and (iv pyridoxal-5-phosphate (vitamin B6 interacting residues (PLPIRs have been developed. We applied various classifiers of SVM, BayesNet, NaiveBayes, ComplementNaiveBayes, NaiveBayesMultinomial, RandomForest and IBk etc., as machine learning techniques, using binary and Position-Specific Scoring Matrix (PSSM features of protein sequences. Finally, we selected best performing SVM modules and

Prediction of vitamin interacting residues in a vitamin binding protein using evolutionary information.

Science.gov (United States)

Panwar, Bharat; Gupta, Sudheer; Raghava, Gajendra P S

2013-02-07

The vitamins are important cofactors in various enzymatic-reactions. In past, many inhibitors have been designed against vitamin binding pockets in order to inhibit vitamin-protein interactions. Thus, it is important to identify vitamin interacting residues in a protein. It is possible to detect vitamin-binding pockets on a protein, if its tertiary structure is known. Unfortunately tertiary structures of limited proteins are available. Therefore, it is important to develop in-silico models for predicting vitamin interacting residues in protein from its primary structure. In this study, first we compared protein-interacting residues of vitamins with other ligands using Two Sample Logo (TSL). It was observed that ATP, GTP, NAD, FAD and mannose preferred {G,R,K,S,H}, {G,K,T,S,D,N}, {T,G,Y}, {G,Y,W} and {Y,D,W,N,E} residues respectively, whereas vitamins preferred {Y,F,S,W,T,G,H} residues for the interaction with proteins. Furthermore, compositional information of preferred and non-preferred residues along with patterns-specificity was also observed within different vitamin-classes. Vitamins A, B and B6 preferred {F,I,W,Y,L,V}, {S,Y,G,T,H,W,N,E} and {S,T,G,H,Y,N} interacting residues respectively. It suggested that protein-binding patterns of vitamins are different from other ligands, and motivated us to develop separate predictor for vitamins and their sub-classes. The four different prediction modules, (i) vitamin interacting residues (VIRs), (ii) vitamin-A interacting residues (VAIRs), (iii) vitamin-B interacting residues (VBIRs) and (iv) pyridoxal-5-phosphate (vitamin B6) interacting residues (PLPIRs) have been developed. We applied various classifiers of SVM, BayesNet, NaiveBayes, ComplementNaiveBayes, NaiveBayesMultinomial, RandomForest and IBk etc., as machine learning techniques, using binary and Position-Specific Scoring Matrix (PSSM) features of protein sequences. Finally, we selected best performing SVM modules and obtained highest MCC of 0.53, 0.48, 0.61, 0

Residual Strength Characterization of Unitized Structures Fabricated Using Different Manufacturing Technologies

Science.gov (United States)

Seshadri, B. R.; Smith, S. W.; Johnston, W. M.

2008-01-01

This viewgraph presentation describes residual strength analysis of integral structures fabricated using different manufacturing procedures. The topics include: 1) Built-up and Integral Structures; 2) Development of Prediction Methodology for Integral Structures Fabricated using different Manufacturing Procedures; 3) Testing Facility; 4) Fracture Parameters Definition; 5) Crack Branching in Integral Structures; 6) Results and Discussion; and 7) Concluding Remarks.

Predicting logging residues: an interim equation for Appalachian oak sawtimber

Science.gov (United States)

A. Jeff Martin

1975-01-01

An equation, using dbh, dbh², bole length, and sawlog height to predict the cubic-foot volume of logging residue per tree, was developed from data collected on 36 mixed oaks in southwestern Virginia. The equation produced reliable results for small sawtimber trees, but additional research is needed for other species, sites, and utilization practices.

Measurement of residual stresses using fracture mechanics weight functions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Fan, Y.

2000-01-01

A residual stress measurement method has been developed to quantify through-the-thickness residual stresses. Accurate measurement of residual stresses is crucial for many engineering structures. Fabrication processes such as welding and machining generate residual stresses that are difficult to predict. Residual stresses affect the integrity of structures through promoting failures due to brittle fracture, fatigue, stress corrosion cracking, and wear. In this work, the weight function theory of fracture mechanics is used to measure residual stresses. The weight function theory is an important development in computational fracture mechanics. Stress intensity factors for arbitrary stress distribution on the crack faces can be accurately and efficiently computed for predicting crack growth. This paper demonstrates that the weight functions are equally useful in measuring residual stresses. In this method, an artificial crack is created by a thin cut in a structure containing residual stresses. The cut relieves the residual stresses normal to the crack-face and allows the relieved residual stresses to deform the structure. Strain gages placed adjacent to the cut measure the relieved strains corresponding to incrementally increasing depths of the cut. The weight functions of the cracked body relate the measured strains to the residual stresses normal to the cut within the structure. The procedure details, such as numerical integration of the singular functions in applying the weight function method, will be discussed

Measurement of residual stresses using fracture mechanics weight functions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Fan, Y.

2001-01-01

A residual stress measurement method has been developed to quantify through-the-thickness residual stresses. Accurate measurement of residual stresses is crucial for many engineering structures. Fabrication processes such as welding and machining generate residual stresses that are difficult to predict. Residual stresses affect the integrity of structures through promoting failures due to brittle fracture, fatigue, stress corrosion cracking, and wear. In this work, the weight function theory of fracture mechanics is used to measure residual stresses. The weight function theory is an important development in computational fracture mechanics. Stress intensity factors for arbitrary stress distribution on the crack faces can be accurately and efficiently computed for predicting crack growth. This paper demonstrates that the weight functions are equally useful in measuring residual stresses. In this method, an artificial crack is created by a thin cut in a structure containing residual stresses. The cut relieves the residual stresses normal to the crack-face and allows the relieved residual stresses to deform the structure. Strain gages placed adjacent to the cut measure the relieved strains corresponding to incrementally increasing depths of the cut. The weight functions of the cracked body relate the measured strains to the residual stresses normal to the cut within the structure. The procedure details, such as numerical integration of the singular functions in applying the weight function method, will be discussed. (author)

Validation of Weld Residual Stress Modeling in the NRC International Round Robin Study

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mullins, Jonathan; Gunnars, Jens

2013-01-01

Weld residual stresses (WRS) have a large influence on the behavior of cracks growing under normal operation loads and on the leakage flow from a through-wall crack. Accurate prediction on weld residual stresses is important to make proper decisions when cracks in weld joints are detected. During the latest years, there has been a strong development in both analytical procedures to numerically determine WRS and experimental measurements of WRS. The USNRC (United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission) has formed a program for validation of WRS predictions through comparison of numerically calculated residual stress fields in dissimilar welds measured by different methods. The present report describes the results of the project with special focus on the contribution from Inspecta Technology. Objectives: The principal objective of the project is to compare different WRS predictions for a dissimilar pipe weld with careful measurements on a mock-up weld. The results of the project will make it possible to make recommendations on computational procedures for WRS in dissimilar metal welds. Results: It is concluded that numerical analysis of weld residual stresses using the finite element method is very useful for the estimation of weld residual stresses in complex geometries and dissimilar metal welds. The validation study increases the understanding of uncertainties associated with different modeling approaches and helps to identify the most sensitive parameters

Emotion regulation and Residual Depression Predict Psychosocial Functioning in Bipolar Disorder: Preliminary Study

OpenAIRE

Becerra, Rodrigo; Cruise, Kate; Harms, Craig; Allan, Alfred; Bassett, Darryl; Hood, Sean; Murray, Greg

2015-01-01

This study explores the predictive value of various clinical, neuropsychological, functional, and emotion regulation processes for recovery in Bipolar Disorder. Clinical and demographic information was collected for 27 euthymic or residually depressed BD participants. Seventy one percent of the sample reported some degree of impairment in psychosocial functioning. Both residual depression and problems with emotion regulation were identified as significant predictors of poor psychosocial funct...

Reliability residual-life prediction method for thermal aging based on performance degradation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ren Shuhong; Xue Fei; Yu Weiwei; Ti Wenxin; Liu Xiaotian

2013-01-01

The paper makes the study of the nuclear power plant main pipeline. The residual-life of the main pipeline that failed due to thermal aging has been studied by the use of performance degradation theory and Bayesian updating methods. Firstly, the thermal aging impact property degradation process of the main pipeline austenitic stainless steel has been analyzed by the accelerated thermal aging test data. Then, the thermal aging residual-life prediction model based on the impact property degradation data is built by Bayesian updating methods. Finally, these models are applied in practical situations. It is shown that the proposed methods are feasible and the prediction accuracy meets the needs of the project. Also, it provides a foundation for the scientific management of aging management of the main pipeline. (authors)

Measurement and prediction of residual stress in a bead-on-plate weld benchmark specimen

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ficquet, X.; Smith, D.J.; Truman, C.E.; Kingston, E.J.; Dennis, R.J.

2009-01-01

This paper presents measurements and predictions of the residual stresses generated by laying a single weld bead on a flat, austenitic stainless steel plate. The residual stress field that is created is strongly three-dimensional and is considered representative of that found in a repair weld. Through-thickness measurements are made using the deep hole drilling technique, and near-surface measurements are made using incremental centre hole drilling. Measurements are compared to predictions at the same locations made using finite element analysis incorporating an advanced, non-linear kinematic hardening model. The work was conducted as part of an European round robin exercise, coordinated as part of the NeT network. Overall, there was broad agreement between measurements and predictions, but there were notable differences

A Multifeatures Fusion and Discrete Firefly Optimization Method for Prediction of Protein Tyrosine Sulfation Residues.

Science.gov (United States)

Guo, Song; Liu, Chunhua; Zhou, Peng; Li, Yanling

2016-01-01

Tyrosine sulfation is one of the ubiquitous protein posttranslational modifications, where some sulfate groups are added to the tyrosine residues. It plays significant roles in various physiological processes in eukaryotic cells. To explore the molecular mechanism of tyrosine sulfation, one of the prerequisites is to correctly identify possible protein tyrosine sulfation residues. In this paper, a novel method was presented to predict protein tyrosine sulfation residues from primary sequences. By means of informative feature construction and elaborate feature selection and parameter optimization scheme, the proposed predictor achieved promising results and outperformed many other state-of-the-art predictors. Using the optimal features subset, the proposed method achieved mean MCC of 94.41% on the benchmark dataset, and a MCC of 90.09% on the independent dataset. The experimental performance indicated that our new proposed method could be effective in identifying the important protein posttranslational modifications and the feature selection scheme would be powerful in protein functional residues prediction research fields.

Investigation of Diesel’s Residual Noise on Predictive Vehicles Noise Cancelling using LMS Adaptive Algorithm

Science.gov (United States)

Arttini Dwi Prasetyowati, Sri; Susanto, Adhi; Widihastuti, Ida

2017-04-01

Every noise problems require different solution. In this research, the noise that must be cancelled comes from roadway. Least Mean Square (LMS) adaptive is one of the algorithm that can be used to cancel that noise. Residual noise always appears and could not be erased completely. This research aims to know the characteristic of residual noise from vehicle’s noise and analysis so that it is no longer appearing as a problem. LMS algorithm was used to predict the vehicle’s noise and minimize the error. The distribution of the residual noise could be observed to determine the specificity of the residual noise. The statistic of the residual noise close to normal distribution with = 0,0435, = 1,13 and the autocorrelation of the residual noise forming impulse. As a conclusion the residual noise is insignificant.

Protein-RNA interface residue prediction using machine learning: an assessment of the state of the art.

Science.gov (United States)

Walia, Rasna R; Caragea, Cornelia; Lewis, Benjamin A; Towfic, Fadi; Terribilini, Michael; El-Manzalawy, Yasser; Dobbs, Drena; Honavar, Vasant

2012-05-10

)-based representation (PSSMSeq) outperform those that use an amino acid identity based representation (IDSeq) or a smoothed PSSM (SmoPSSMSeq); (ii) Structure-based classifiers that use smoothed PSSM representation (SmoPSSMStr) outperform those that use PSSM (PSSMStr) as well as sequence identity based representation (IDStr). PSSMSeq classifiers, when tested on an independent test set of 44 proteins, achieve performance that is comparable to that of three state-of-the-art structure-based predictors (including those that exploit geometric features) in terms of Matthews Correlation Coefficient (MCC), although the structure-based methods achieve substantially higher Specificity (albeit at the expense of Sensitivity) compared to sequence-based methods. We also find that the expected performance of the classifiers on a residue level can be markedly different from that on a protein level. Our experiments show that the classifiers trained on three different non-redundant protein-RNA interface datasets achieve comparable cross-validation performance. However, we find that the results are significantly affected by differences in the distance threshold used to define interface residues. Our results demonstrate that protein-RNA interface residue predictors that use a PSSM-based encoding of sequence windows outperform classifiers that use other encodings of sequence windows. While structure-based methods that exploit geometric features can yield significant increases in the Specificity of protein-RNA interface residue predictions, such increases are offset by decreases in Sensitivity. These results underscore the importance of comparing alternative methods using rigorous statistical procedures, multiple performance measures, and datasets that are constructed based on several alternative definitions of interface residues and redundancy cutoffs as well as including evaluations on independent test sets into the comparisons.

Greenhouse crop residues: Energy potential and models for the prediction of their higher heating value

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Callejon-Ferre, A.J.; Lopez-Martinez, J.A.; Manzano-Agugliaro, F. [Departamento de Ingenieria Rural, Universidad de Almeria, Ctra. Sacramento s/n, La Canada de San Urbano, 04120 Almeria (Spain); Velazquez-Marti, B. [Departamento de Ingenieria Rural y Agroalimentaria, Universidad Politecnica de Valencia, Camino de Vera s/n, 46022 Valencia (Spain)

2011-02-15

Almeria, in southeastern Spain, generates some 1,086,261 t year{sup -1} (fresh weight) of greenhouse crop (Cucurbita pepo L., Cucumis sativus L., Solanum melongena L., Solanum lycopersicum L., Phaseoulus vulgaris L., Capsicum annuum L., Citrillus vulgaris Schrad. and Cucumis melo L.) residues. The energy potential of this biomass is unclear. The aim of the present work was to accurately quantify this variable, differentiating between crop species while taking into consideration the area they each occupy. This, however, required the direct analysis of the higher heating value (HHV) of these residues, involving very expensive and therefore not commonly available equipment. Thus, a further aim was to develop models for predicting the HHV of these residues, taking into account variables measured by elemental and/or proximate analysis, thus providing an economically attractive alternative to direct analysis. All the analyses in this work involved the use of worldwide-recognised standards and methods. The total energy potential for these plant residues, as determined by direct analysis, was 1,003,497.49 MW h year{sup -1}. Twenty univariate and multivariate equations were developed to predict the HHV. The R{sup 2} and adjusted R{sup 2} values obtained for the univariate and multivariate models were 0.909 and 0.946 or above respectively. In all cases, the mean absolute percentage error varied between 0.344 and 2.533. These results show that any of these 20 equations could be used to accurately predict the HHV of crop residues. The residues produced by the Almeria greenhouse industry would appear to be an interesting source of renewable energy. (author)

Residual Strength Prediction of Debond Damaged Sandwich Panels

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Berggreen, Carl Christian

followed by debond growth. The developed theoretical procedure is an extension of the Crack Surface Displacement method, here denoted the Crack Surface Displacement Extrapolation method. The method is first developed in 2D and then extended to 3D by use of a number of realistic assumptions...... for the considered configurations. Comparison of the theoretical predictions to two series of large-scale experiments with loadings (uniform and non-uniform in-plane compression) comparable with real life loading scenarios for sandwich ships shows that the model is indeed able to predict the failure modes...

Residual Deep Convolutional Neural Network Predicts MGMT Methylation Status.

Science.gov (United States)

Korfiatis, Panagiotis; Kline, Timothy L; Lachance, Daniel H; Parney, Ian F; Buckner, Jan C; Erickson, Bradley J

2017-10-01

Predicting methylation of the O6-methylguanine methyltransferase (MGMT) gene status utilizing MRI imaging is of high importance since it is a predictor of response and prognosis in brain tumors. In this study, we compare three different residual deep neural network (ResNet) architectures to evaluate their ability in predicting MGMT methylation status without the need for a distinct tumor segmentation step. We found that the ResNet50 (50 layers) architecture was the best performing model, achieving an accuracy of 94.90% (+/- 3.92%) for the test set (classification of a slice as no tumor, methylated MGMT, or non-methylated). ResNet34 (34 layers) achieved 80.72% (+/- 13.61%) while ResNet18 (18 layers) accuracy was 76.75% (+/- 20.67%). ResNet50 performance was statistically significantly better than both ResNet18 and ResNet34 architectures (p deep neural architectures can be used to predict molecular biomarkers from routine medical images.

European Network of Excellence on NPP residual lifetime prediction methodologies (NULIFE)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Badea, M.; Vidican, D.

2006-01-01

technical excellence in residual lifetime prediction methodologies and to translate these into harmonised and qualified procedures as part of the Common Safety Justification Framework - Form a critical mass and durable integration of co-ordinated effort from utilities and R and D organisations to exploit European residual lifetime expertise and know-how at world level, and to assure the effective support and dialog of regulatory bodies and industries involved in plant modernisation and construction of systems and components - Create progressively a durable research capacity to initiate, prioritise and coordinate future European R and D programmes in this area, with the potential to evolve to a virtual R and D institute - Optimise the use of European public and private R and D infrastructures and mobility of experts with a view to achieve sustainability beyond EC funding and develop appropriate quality and performance criteria - Demonstrate the usability of the integrated research capacity through a number of pilot studies, and propose education and training activities to assure the supply of highly competent personnel serving the needs of end users. - Integrate and promote the use of the results from previous and on-going networks and EC framework projects. The primary objective of the NoE is initially to integrate partner activities in such a way that eventually a deep and durable integration is continuing beyond the period of Community financial support. The integration will be extended beyond the initial partnership to cover a wider range of activities and companies. This overall objective will be pursued with the integration of wide range of dedicated and recognised partners in European nuclear research field. The paper has the following contents: Rationale; Objectives related to integration; Scope of the Activities; Verification of achieved objectives; Participating Organisations; Relevance to Work Program 2006 of Euratom programme; Technical development; Potential

Computational models for residual creep life prediction of power plant components

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Grewal, G.S.; Singh, A.K.; Ramamoortry, M.

2006-01-01

All high temperature - high pressure power plant components are prone to irreversible visco-plastic deformation by the phenomenon of creep. The steady state creep response as well as the total creep life of a material is related to the operational component temperature through, respectively, the exponential and inverse exponential relationships. Minor increases in the component temperature can thus have serious consequences as far as the creep life and dimensional stability of a plant component are concerned. In high temperature steam tubing in power plants, one mechanism by which a significant temperature rise can occur is by the growth of a thermally insulating oxide film on its steam side surface. In the present paper, an elegantly simple and computationally efficient technique is presented for predicting the residual creep life of steel components subjected to continual steam side oxide film growth. Similarly, fabrication of high temperature power plant components involves extensive use of welding as the fabrication process of choice. Naturally, issues related to the creep life of weldments have to be seriously addressed for safe and continual operation of the welded plant component. Unfortunately, a typical weldment in an engineering structure is a zone of complex microstructural gradation comprising of a number of distinct sub-zones with distinct meso-scale and micro-scale morphology of the phases and (even) chemistry and its creep life prediction presents considerable challenges. The present paper presents a stochastic algorithm, which can be' used for developing experimental creep-cavitation intensity versus residual life correlations for welded structures. Apart from estimates of the residual life in a mean field sense, the model can be used for predicting the reliability of the plant component in a rigorous probabilistic setting. (author)

Catheter for Cleaning Surgical Optics During Surgical Procedures: A Possible Solution for Residue Buildup and Fogging in Video Surgery.

Science.gov (United States)

de Abreu, Igor Renato Louro Bruno; Abrão, Fernando Conrado; Silva, Alessandra Rodrigues; Corrêa, Larissa Teresa Cirera; Younes, Riad Nain

2015-05-01

Currently, there is a tendency to perform surgical procedures via laparoscopic or thoracoscopic access. However, even with the impressive technological advancement in surgical materials, such as improvement in quality of monitors, light sources, and optical fibers, surgeons have to face simple problems that can greatly hinder surgery by video. One is the formation of "fog" or residue buildup on the lens, causing decreased visibility. Intracavitary techniques for cleaning surgical optics and preventing fog formation have been described; however, some of these techniques employ the use of expensive and complex devices designed solely for this purpose. Moreover, these techniques allow the cleaning of surgical optics when they becomes dirty, which does not prevent the accumulation of residue in the optics. To solve this problem we have designed a device that allows cleaning the optics with no surgical stops and prevents the fogging and residue accumulation. The objective of this study is to evaluate through experimental testing the effectiveness of a simple device that prevents the accumulation of residue and fogging of optics used in surgical procedures performed through thoracoscopic or laparoscopic access. Ex-vivo experiments were performed simulating the conditions of residue presence in surgical optics during a video surgery. The experiment consists in immersing the optics and catheter set connected to the IV line with crystalloid solution in three types of materials: blood, blood plus fat solution, and 200 mL of distilled water and 1 vial of methylene blue. The optics coupled to the device were immersed in 200 mL of each type of residue, repeating each immersion 10 times for each distinct residue for both thirty and zero degrees optics, totaling 420 experiments. A success rate of 98.1% was observed after the experiments, in these cases the device was able to clean and prevent the residue accumulation in the optics.

The prediction of reliability and residual life of reactor pressure components

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nemec, J.; Antalovsky, S.

1978-01-01

The paper deals with the problem of PWR pressure components reliability and residual life evaluation and prediction. A physical model of damage cumulation which serves as a theoretical basis for all considerations presents two major aspects. The first one describes the dependence of the degree of damage in the crack leading-edge in pressure components on the reactor system load-time history, i.e. on the number of transient loads. Both stages, fatigue crack initiation and growth through the wall until the critical length is reached, are investigated. The crack is supposed to initiate at the flaws in a strength weld joint or in the bimetallic weld of the base ferritic steel and the austenitic stainless overlay cladding. The growth rates of developed cracks are analysed in respect to different load-time histories. Important cyclic properties of some steels are derived from the low-cycle fatigue theory. The second aspect is the load-time history-dependent process of precipitation, deformation and radiation aging, characterized entirely by the critical crack-length value mentioned above. The fracture point, defined by the equation ''crack-length=critical value'' and hence the residual life, can be evaluated using this model and verified by in-service inspection. The physical model described is randomized by considering all the parameters of the model as random. Monte Carlo methods are applied and fatigue crack initiation and growth is simulated. This permits evaluation of the reliability and residual life of the component. The distributions of material and load-time history parameters are needed for such simulation. Both the deterministic and computer-simulated probabilistic predictions of reliability and residual life are verified by prior-to-failure sequential testing of data coming from in-service NDT periodical inspections. (author)

Prediction of microstructure, residual stress, and deformation in laser powder bed fusion process

Science.gov (United States)

Yang, Y. P.; Jamshidinia, M.; Boulware, P.; Kelly, S. M.

2017-12-01

Laser powder bed fusion (L-PBF) process has been investigated significantly to build production parts with a complex shape. Modeling tools, which can be used in a part level, are essential to allow engineers to fine tune the shape design and process parameters for additive manufacturing. This study focuses on developing modeling methods to predict microstructure, hardness, residual stress, and deformation in large L-PBF built parts. A transient sequentially coupled thermal and metallurgical analysis method was developed to predict microstructure and hardness on L-PBF built high-strength, low-alloy steel parts. A moving heat-source model was used in this analysis to accurately predict the temperature history. A kinetics based model which was developed to predict microstructure in the heat-affected zone of a welded joint was extended to predict the microstructure and hardness in an L-PBF build by inputting the predicted temperature history. The tempering effect resulting from the following built layers on the current-layer microstructural phases were modeled, which is the key to predict the final hardness correctly. It was also found that the top layers of a build part have higher hardness because of the lack of the tempering effect. A sequentially coupled thermal and mechanical analysis method was developed to predict residual stress and deformation for an L-PBF build part. It was found that a line-heating model is not suitable for analyzing a large L-PBF built part. The layer heating method is a potential method for analyzing a large L-PBF built part. The experiment was conducted to validate the model predictions.

Prediction of microstructure, residual stress, and deformation in laser powder bed fusion process

Science.gov (United States)

Yang, Y. P.; Jamshidinia, M.; Boulware, P.; Kelly, S. M.

2018-05-01

Laser powder bed fusion (L-PBF) process has been investigated significantly to build production parts with a complex shape. Modeling tools, which can be used in a part level, are essential to allow engineers to fine tune the shape design and process parameters for additive manufacturing. This study focuses on developing modeling methods to predict microstructure, hardness, residual stress, and deformation in large L-PBF built parts. A transient sequentially coupled thermal and metallurgical analysis method was developed to predict microstructure and hardness on L-PBF built high-strength, low-alloy steel parts. A moving heat-source model was used in this analysis to accurately predict the temperature history. A kinetics based model which was developed to predict microstructure in the heat-affected zone of a welded joint was extended to predict the microstructure and hardness in an L-PBF build by inputting the predicted temperature history. The tempering effect resulting from the following built layers on the current-layer microstructural phases were modeled, which is the key to predict the final hardness correctly. It was also found that the top layers of a build part have higher hardness because of the lack of the tempering effect. A sequentially coupled thermal and mechanical analysis method was developed to predict residual stress and deformation for an L-PBF build part. It was found that a line-heating model is not suitable for analyzing a large L-PBF built part. The layer heating method is a potential method for analyzing a large L-PBF built part. The experiment was conducted to validate the model predictions.

A simulation methodology of spacer grid residual spring deflection for predictive and interpretative purposes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kim, K. T.; Kim, H. K.; Yoon, K. H.

1994-01-01

The in-reactor fuel rod support conditions against the fretting wear-induced damage can be evaluated by spacer grid residual spring deflection. In order to predict the spacer grid residual spring deflection as a function of burnup for various spring designs, a simulation methodology of spacer grid residual spring deflection has been developed and implemented in the GRIDFORCE program. The simulation methodology takes into account cladding creep rate, initial spring deflection, initial spring force, and spring force relaxation rate as the key parameters affecting the residual spring deflection. The simulation methodology developed in this study can be utilized as an effective tool in evaluating the capability of a newly designed spacer grid spring to prevent the fretting wear-induced damage

A computational tool to predict the evolutionarily conserved protein-protein interaction hot-spot residues from the structure of the unbound protein.

Science.gov (United States)

Agrawal, Neeraj J; Helk, Bernhard; Trout, Bernhardt L

2014-01-21

Identifying hot-spot residues - residues that are critical to protein-protein binding - can help to elucidate a protein's function and assist in designing therapeutic molecules to target those residues. We present a novel computational tool, termed spatial-interaction-map (SIM), to predict the hot-spot residues of an evolutionarily conserved protein-protein interaction from the structure of an unbound protein alone. SIM can predict the protein hot-spot residues with an accuracy of 36-57%. Thus, the SIM tool can be used to predict the yet unknown hot-spot residues for many proteins for which the structure of the protein-protein complexes are not available, thereby providing a clue to their functions and an opportunity to design therapeutic molecules to target these proteins. Copyright © 2013 Federation of European Biochemical Societies. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Improving probabilistic prediction of daily streamflow by identifying Pareto optimal approaches for modelling heteroscedastic residual errors

Science.gov (United States)

David, McInerney; Mark, Thyer; Dmitri, Kavetski; George, Kuczera

2017-04-01

This study provides guidance to hydrological researchers which enables them to provide probabilistic predictions of daily streamflow with the best reliability and precision for different catchment types (e.g. high/low degree of ephemerality). Reliable and precise probabilistic prediction of daily catchment-scale streamflow requires statistical characterization of residual errors of hydrological models. It is commonly known that hydrological model residual errors are heteroscedastic, i.e. there is a pattern of larger errors in higher streamflow predictions. Although multiple approaches exist for representing this heteroscedasticity, few studies have undertaken a comprehensive evaluation and comparison of these approaches. This study fills this research gap by evaluating 8 common residual error schemes, including standard and weighted least squares, the Box-Cox transformation (with fixed and calibrated power parameter, lambda) and the log-sinh transformation. Case studies include 17 perennial and 6 ephemeral catchments in Australia and USA, and two lumped hydrological models. We find the choice of heteroscedastic error modelling approach significantly impacts on predictive performance, though no single scheme simultaneously optimizes all performance metrics. The set of Pareto optimal schemes, reflecting performance trade-offs, comprises Box-Cox schemes with lambda of 0.2 and 0.5, and the log scheme (lambda=0, perennial catchments only). These schemes significantly outperform even the average-performing remaining schemes (e.g., across ephemeral catchments, median precision tightens from 105% to 40% of observed streamflow, and median biases decrease from 25% to 4%). Theoretical interpretations of empirical results highlight the importance of capturing the skew/kurtosis of raw residuals and reproducing zero flows. Recommendations for researchers and practitioners seeking robust residual error schemes for practical work are provided.

Predicting dihedral angle probability distributions for protein coil residues from primary sequence using neural networks

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Helles, Glennie; Fonseca, Rasmus

2009-01-01

residue in the input-window. The trained neural network shows a significant improvement (4-68%) in predicting the most probable bin (covering a 30°×30° area of the dihedral angle space) for all amino acids in the data set compared to first order statistics. An accuracy comparable to that of secondary...... seem to have a significant influence on the dihedral angles adopted by the individual amino acids in coil segments. In this work we attempt to predict a probability distribution of these dihedral angles based on the flanking residues. While attempts to predict dihedral angles of coil segments have been...... done previously, none have, to our knowledge, presented comparable results for the probability distribution of dihedral angles. Results: In this paper we develop an artificial neural network that uses an input-window of amino acids to predict a dihedral angle probability distribution for the middle...

Prediction of residual stress distribution in multi-stacked thin film by curvature measurement and iterative FEA

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Choi, Hyeon Chang; Park, Jun Hyub

2005-01-01

In this study, residual stress distribution in multi-stacked film by MEMS (Micro-Electro Mechanical System) process is predicted using Finite Element Method (FEM). We develop a finite element program for REsidual Stress Analysis (RESA) in multi-stacked film. The RESA predicts the distribution of residual stress field in multi-stacked film. Curvatures of multi-stacked film and single layers which consist of the multi-stacked film are used as the input to the RESA. To measure those curvatures is easier than to measure a distribution of residual stress. To verify the RESA, mean stresses and stress gradients of single and multilayers are measured. The mean stresses are calculated from curvatures of deposited wafer by using Stoney's equation. The stress gradients are calculated from the vertical deflection at the end of cantilever beam. To measure the mean stress of each layer in multi-stacked film, we measure the curvature of wafer with the film after etching layer by layer in multi-stacked film

SNBRFinder: A Sequence-Based Hybrid Algorithm for Enhanced Prediction of Nucleic Acid-Binding Residues.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Xiaoxia Yang

Full Text Available Protein-nucleic acid interactions are central to various fundamental biological processes. Automated methods capable of reliably identifying DNA- and RNA-binding residues in protein sequence are assuming ever-increasing importance. The majority of current algorithms rely on feature-based prediction, but their accuracy remains to be further improved. Here we propose a sequence-based hybrid algorithm SNBRFinder (Sequence-based Nucleic acid-Binding Residue Finder by merging a feature predictor SNBRFinderF and a template predictor SNBRFinderT. SNBRFinderF was established using the support vector machine whose inputs include sequence profile and other complementary sequence descriptors, while SNBRFinderT was implemented with the sequence alignment algorithm based on profile hidden Markov models to capture the weakly homologous template of query sequence. Experimental results show that SNBRFinderF was clearly superior to the commonly used sequence profile-based predictor and SNBRFinderT can achieve comparable performance to the structure-based template methods. Leveraging the complementary relationship between these two predictors, SNBRFinder reasonably improved the performance of both DNA- and RNA-binding residue predictions. More importantly, the sequence-based hybrid prediction reached competitive performance relative to our previous structure-based counterpart. Our extensive and stringent comparisons show that SNBRFinder has obvious advantages over the existing sequence-based prediction algorithms. The value of our algorithm is highlighted by establishing an easy-to-use web server that is freely accessible at http://ibi.hzau.edu.cn/SNBRFinder.

SNBRFinder: A Sequence-Based Hybrid Algorithm for Enhanced Prediction of Nucleic Acid-Binding Residues.

Science.gov (United States)

Yang, Xiaoxia; Wang, Jia; Sun, Jun; Liu, Rong

2015-01-01

Protein-nucleic acid interactions are central to various fundamental biological processes. Automated methods capable of reliably identifying DNA- and RNA-binding residues in protein sequence are assuming ever-increasing importance. The majority of current algorithms rely on feature-based prediction, but their accuracy remains to be further improved. Here we propose a sequence-based hybrid algorithm SNBRFinder (Sequence-based Nucleic acid-Binding Residue Finder) by merging a feature predictor SNBRFinderF and a template predictor SNBRFinderT. SNBRFinderF was established using the support vector machine whose inputs include sequence profile and other complementary sequence descriptors, while SNBRFinderT was implemented with the sequence alignment algorithm based on profile hidden Markov models to capture the weakly homologous template of query sequence. Experimental results show that SNBRFinderF was clearly superior to the commonly used sequence profile-based predictor and SNBRFinderT can achieve comparable performance to the structure-based template methods. Leveraging the complementary relationship between these two predictors, SNBRFinder reasonably improved the performance of both DNA- and RNA-binding residue predictions. More importantly, the sequence-based hybrid prediction reached competitive performance relative to our previous structure-based counterpart. Our extensive and stringent comparisons show that SNBRFinder has obvious advantages over the existing sequence-based prediction algorithms. The value of our algorithm is highlighted by establishing an easy-to-use web server that is freely accessible at http://ibi.hzau.edu.cn/SNBRFinder.

Residual fatigue life evaluation of rail at squats seeds using 3D explicit finite element analysis

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Deng, X.; Naeimi, M.; Li, Z.; Qian, Z.

2014-01-01

A modeling procedure to predict the residual fatigue life of rail at squats seeds is developed in this article. Two models are involved: a 3D explicit Finite Element (FE) model to compute the stress and strain at squats in rail, and the J-S fatigue damage model to determine the residual fatigue life

Application of the whole powder pattern decomposition procedure in the residual stress analysis of layers and coatings

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Schoderböck, Peter; Brechbühl, Jens

2015-01-01

The X-ray investigation of stress states in materials, based on the determination of elastic lattice strains which are converted to stresses by means of theory of elasticity, is a necessity in quality control of thin layers and coatings for optimizing manufacturing steps and process parameters. This work introduces the evaluation of residual stress from complex and overlapping diffraction patterns using a whole-powder pattern decomposition procedure defining a 2θ-offset caused by residual stresses. Furthermore corrections for sample displacement and refraction are directly implemented in the calculation procedure. The correlation matrices of the least square fitting routines have been analyzed for parameter interactions and obvious interdependencies have been decoupled by the introduction of an internal standard within the diffraction experiment. This decomposition based evaluation has been developed on tungsten as a model material system and its efficiency was demonstrated by X-ray diffraction analysis of a solid oxide fuel cell multilayer system. The results are compared with those obtained by the classical sin 2 Ψ-method. - Highlights: • Analysis of complex multiphase diffraction patterns with respect to residual stress • Stress-gradient determination with in situ correction of displacement and refraction • Consideration of the elastic anisotropy within the refinement

Large-scale evaluation of dynamically important residues in proteins predicted by the perturbation analysis of a coarse-grained elastic model

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Tekpinar Mustafa

2009-07-01

Full Text Available Abstract Backgrounds It is increasingly recognized that protein functions often require intricate conformational dynamics, which involves a network of key amino acid residues that couple spatially separated functional sites. Tremendous efforts have been made to identify these key residues by experimental and computational means. Results We have performed a large-scale evaluation of the predictions of dynamically important residues by a variety of computational protocols including three based on the perturbation and correlation analysis of a coarse-grained elastic model. This study is performed for two lists of test cases with >500 pairs of protein structures. The dynamically important residues predicted by the perturbation and correlation analysis are found to be strongly or moderately conserved in >67% of test cases. They form a sparse network of residues which are clustered both in 3D space and along protein sequence. Their overall conservation is attributed to their dynamic role rather than ligand binding or high network connectivity. Conclusion By modeling how the protein structural fluctuations respond to residue-position-specific perturbations, our highly efficient perturbation and correlation analysis can be used to dissect the functional conformational changes in various proteins with a residue level of detail. The predictions of dynamically important residues serve as promising targets for mutational and functional studies.

A two-stage approach for improved prediction of residue contact maps

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Pollastri Gianluca

2006-03-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Protein topology representations such as residue contact maps are an important intermediate step towards ab initio prediction of protein structure. Although improvements have occurred over the last years, the problem of accurately predicting residue contact maps from primary sequences is still largely unsolved. Among the reasons for this are the unbalanced nature of the problem (with far fewer examples of contacts than non-contacts, the formidable challenge of capturing long-range interactions in the maps, the intrinsic difficulty of mapping one-dimensional input sequences into two-dimensional output maps. In order to alleviate these problems and achieve improved contact map predictions, in this paper we split the task into two stages: the prediction of a map's principal eigenvector (PE from the primary sequence; the reconstruction of the contact map from the PE and primary sequence. Predicting the PE from the primary sequence consists in mapping a vector into a vector. This task is less complex than mapping vectors directly into two-dimensional matrices since the size of the problem is drastically reduced and so is the scale length of interactions that need to be learned. Results We develop architectures composed of ensembles of two-layered bidirectional recurrent neural networks to classify the components of the PE in 2, 3 and 4 classes from protein primary sequence, predicted secondary structure, and hydrophobicity interaction scales. Our predictor, tested on a non redundant set of 2171 proteins, achieves classification performances of up to 72.6%, 16% above a base-line statistical predictor. We design a system for the prediction of contact maps from the predicted PE. Our results show that predicting maps through the PE yields sizeable gains especially for long-range contacts which are particularly critical for accurate protein 3D reconstruction. The final predictor's accuracy on a non-redundant set of 327 targets is 35

An analytical model to predict and minimize the residual stress of laser cladding process

Science.gov (United States)

Tamanna, N.; Crouch, R.; Kabir, I. R.; Naher, S.

2018-02-01

Laser cladding is one of the advanced thermal techniques used to repair or modify the surface properties of high-value components such as tools, military and aerospace parts. Unfortunately, tensile residual stresses generate in the thermally treated area of this process. This work focuses on to investigate the key factors for the formation of tensile residual stress and how to minimize it in the clad when using dissimilar substrate and clad materials. To predict the tensile residual stress, a one-dimensional analytical model has been adopted. Four cladding materials (Al2O3, TiC, TiO2, ZrO2) on the H13 tool steel substrate and a range of preheating temperatures of the substrate, from 300 to 1200 K, have been investigated. Thermal strain and Young's modulus are found to be the key factors of formation of tensile residual stresses. Additionally, it is found that using a preheating temperature of the substrate immediately before laser cladding showed the reduction of residual stress.

Aligning environmental and regulatory procedures with a holistic project management approach for residue deposits

CSIR Research Space (South Africa)

Snyman, BJ

2006-01-01

Full Text Available ). 1.1 Legislative responses in South Africa The advent of a democratic South Africa has brought about the promulgation of new environmental legislation. This was necessary to give legal effect to the principles of sustainability as laid down.... Often project delays can be ascribed to non-conformance to the legal and regulatory processes, because: • The South African EIA legislative process that is applicable to mine residue deposition does not focus on project management procedures, project...

Predictive hydrogeochemical modelling of bauxite residue sand in field conditions.

Science.gov (United States)

Wissmeier, Laurin; Barry, David A; Phillips, Ian R

2011-07-15

The suitability of residue sand (the coarse fraction remaining from Bayer's process of bauxite refining) for constructing the surface cover of closed bauxite residue storage areas was investigated. Specifically, its properties as a medium for plant growth are of interest to ensure residue sand can support a sustainable ecosystem following site closure. The geochemical evolution of the residue sand under field conditions, its plant nutrient status and soil moisture retention were studied by integrated modelling of geochemical and hydrological processes. For the parameterization of mineral reactions, amounts and reaction kinetics of the mineral phases natron, calcite, tricalcium aluminate, sodalite, muscovite and analcime were derived from measured acid neutralization curves. The effective exchange capacity for ion adsorption was measured using three independent exchange methods. The geochemical model, which accounts for mineral reactions, cation exchange and activity corrected solution speciation, was formulated in the geochemical modelling framework PHREEQC, and partially validated in a saturated-flow column experiment. For the integration of variably saturated flow with multi-component solute transport in heterogeneous 2D domains, a coupling of PHREEQC with the multi-purpose finite-element solver COMSOL was established. The integrated hydrogeochemical model was applied to predict water availability and quality in a vertical flow lysimeter and a cover design for a storage facility using measured time series of rainfall and evaporation from southwest Western Australia. In both scenarios the sand was fertigated and gypsum-amended. Results show poor long-term retention of fertilizer ions and buffering of the pH around 10 for more than 5 y of leaching. It was concluded that fertigation, gypsum amendment and rainfall leaching alone were insufficient to render the geochemical conditions of residue sand suitable for optimal plant growth within the given timeframe. The

The development of techniques for determining the residual life time prediction on NPP equipment

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Antonov, Alexander V.; Dagaev, Alexander V.; Volnikov, Ivan S.

1999-01-01

The problem of determining the residual life prediction of NPP equipment is presently highly pressing. NPP residual life resources are 30 years, but for particular equipment it is much less. Thus, residual life resource for equipment of control and protection system of NPP unit is 5-10 years. The NPP equipment is expensive and its replacing requires much expense. Hence an urgent problem is to study residual life resources of equipment on the basis of statistic information obtained during operation. Deterministic approach of determining residual life resources for particular equipment is widely known in the literature. Physical and statistical models are also being developed for determining the residual life, e.g. the model (loading-bearing capability). The present work offers the techniques of the residual life determination reasoning from statistic information of functioning objects in the process of operation. To put the techniques into effect it is necessary to have information about the time of operation of a group of objects of the same type, the number of failures; it is desirable to know failure operating time, order of the object replacement and the reason which caused the replacement (failure or planned preventive maintenance). Metrics is based on studying the parameters for the series of failures resulted from real statistic data. Then we can proceed to distribution density of the failure working time. For this purpose the Voltarra's equation of the second order is solved f(t) = ω(t) + ∫ 0 t f(t - τ)ω(τ)dτ. Since statistics of data sampling related to failure is small due to difficulties in solution of Voltaire's equation, the authors offer moderate method of solution for the above equation. After distribution density of the failure working time is determined the calculation of equipment residual life is made by the following formula: T τ (t) 1/P(τ)∫ 0 ∞ P(t)dt. The proposed techniques are realised as the software. In the course of working

Combined cycle power plants: A comparison between two different dynamic models to evaluate transient behaviour and residual life

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Benato, Alberto; Stoppato, Anna; Bracco, Stefano

2014-01-01

Highlights: • Two procedures aimed at simulating the dynamic behaviour of power plants are compared. • They both are aimed at predicting the residual life of plant devices. • A single pressure gas-steam combined plant has been modelled. • A good correspondence has been found despite the different approaches used. - Abstract: The deregulated energy market and the increasing quota of electrical capacity covered by non-predictable renewable sources require strongly irregular and discontinuous operation of thermoelectric plants to satisfy users demand and compensate the variability of renewable sources. As a consequence, due to thermo-mechanical fatigue, creep and corrosion, a lifetime reduction of the most critical components occurs. The availability of a procedure able to predict the residual life of plant devices is necessary to assist the management decisions about power plants’ operation and maintenance scheduling. The first step of this procedure is the capability of simulating the plant behaviour versus time by evaluating the trends of the main thermodynamic parameters that describe the plant operation during different transient periods. In this context, the main contribution of the present paper is to propose a complete procedure able to simulate the plant dynamic behaviour and estimate the residual life reduction of some components. Indeed, two different models, developed by two different research groups, of the same single pressure heat recovery steam generator unit are presented and utilized to characterize the dynamic behaviour of the above mentioned power plant. The main thermodynamic variables during different transient operation conditions are predicted and good correspondence between the two methods is obtained. It can be also noted that, when the geometry and size of the devices are considered, the thermal inertia related to heat exchangers tubes, pipes and other physical masses causes a delay in the system response. Moreover, a residual life

Finite Element Simulation of Shot Peening: Prediction of Residual Stresses and Surface Roughness

Science.gov (United States)

Gariépy, Alexandre; Perron, Claude; Bocher, Philippe; Lévesque, Martin

Shot peening is a surface treatment that consists of bombarding a ductile surface with numerous small and hard particles. Each impact creates localized plastic strains that permanently stretch the surface. Since the underlying material constrains this stretching, compressive residual stresses are generated near the surface. This process is commonly used in the automotive and aerospace industries to improve fatigue life. Finite element analyses can be used to predict residual stress profiles and surface roughness created by shot peening. This study investigates further the parameters and capabilities of a random impact model by evaluating the representative volume element and the calculated stress distribution. Using an isotropic-kinematic hardening constitutive law to describe the behaviour of AA2024-T351 aluminium alloy, promising results were achieved in terms of residual stresses.

Conceptual model and procedures to assimilate production technologies of bioenergetics of residual biomass

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Muto Lubota, David; González Suárez, Erenio; Hernández Pérez, Gilberto; Miño Valdés, Juan Esteban

2016-01-01

The present work expose the conceptual pattern for a process of assimilation of technologies with the purpose of creating obtaining capacities of bio energy with the objective of achieving an energy insurance of the recycle of Urban Solid Residuals (RSU) in the municipality of Cabinda, Angola. The conceptual pattern is novel because it considers the south-south collaboration, and it is supported by a general procedure of assimilation of the technologies that includes in one of its steps a specify procedure for the step concerning the insurance of the chain supply that contains as additional aspect, in a novel way, the determination of the initial’s investors capacities assisting to the demand of final products as well as to the readiness of the raw materials, based in the problems of uncertainty to the future changes. Finally conclusions are elaborated with projections for the future work. (author)

Different Analytical Procedures for the Study of Organic Residues in Archeological Ceramic Samples with the Use of Gas Chromatography-mass Spectrometry.

Science.gov (United States)

Kałużna-Czaplińska, Joanna; Rosiak, Angelina; Kwapińska, Marzena; Kwapiński, Witold

2016-01-01

The analysis of the composition of organic residues present in pottery is an important source of information for historians and archeologists. Chemical characterization of the materials provides information on diets, habits, technologies, and original use of the vessels. This review presents the problem of analytical studies of archeological materials with a special emphasis on organic residues. Current methods used in the determination of different organic compounds in archeological ceramics are presented. Particular attention is paid to the procedures of analysis of archeological ceramic samples used before gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. Advantages and disadvantages of different extraction methods and application of proper quality assurance/quality control procedures are discussed.

Selection procedures in sports: Improving predictions of athletes’ future performance

NARCIS (Netherlands)

den Hartigh, Jan Rudolf; Niessen, Anna; Frencken, Wouter; Meijer, Rob R.

The selection of athletes has been a central topic in sports sciences for decades. Yet, little consideration has been given to the theoretical underpinnings and predictive validity of the procedures. In this paper, we evaluate current selection procedures in sports given what we know from the

Study on predicting residual life of elevator links by fracture mechanics approach

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Li Helin; Zhang Yi; Deng Zengjie [China National Petroleum Corp., Xi`an, Shaanxi (China). Tubular Goods Research Center; Jin Dazeng [Xi`an Jiaotong Univ., Xi`an, Shaanxi (China)

1995-12-31

On the basis of investigation, failure and fracture analysis of elevator links, residual life prediction of links using fracture mechanics approach is studied, and mechanical properties, fracture toughness value K{sub IC} and fatigue crack propagation rage da/dN of the steel for elevator links are determined. Using the relation between stress intensity factor K{sub I} and the strain-energy release rate, the two-dimensional conversion thickness finite element method has been used to calculate the stress intensity factors K{sub I} for dangerous sections in the ring part of links. Furthermore, the reliability of calculations of the finite element stress intensity factors K{sub I} for dangerous sections of elevator links and the residual life computation for links are verified by fatigue tests of actual links. Finally, the experimental verification of computed results by 150T link fractured at site indicates that the computed critical crack lengths and residual life tally well with those measured and meet the needs of oil drilling.

Improving probabilistic prediction of daily streamflow by identifying Pareto optimal approaches for modeling heteroscedastic residual errors

Science.gov (United States)

McInerney, David; Thyer, Mark; Kavetski, Dmitri; Lerat, Julien; Kuczera, George

2017-03-01

Reliable and precise probabilistic prediction of daily catchment-scale streamflow requires statistical characterization of residual errors of hydrological models. This study focuses on approaches for representing error heteroscedasticity with respect to simulated streamflow, i.e., the pattern of larger errors in higher streamflow predictions. We evaluate eight common residual error schemes, including standard and weighted least squares, the Box-Cox transformation (with fixed and calibrated power parameter λ) and the log-sinh transformation. Case studies include 17 perennial and 6 ephemeral catchments in Australia and the United States, and two lumped hydrological models. Performance is quantified using predictive reliability, precision, and volumetric bias metrics. We find the choice of heteroscedastic error modeling approach significantly impacts on predictive performance, though no single scheme simultaneously optimizes all performance metrics. The set of Pareto optimal schemes, reflecting performance trade-offs, comprises Box-Cox schemes with λ of 0.2 and 0.5, and the log scheme (λ = 0, perennial catchments only). These schemes significantly outperform even the average-performing remaining schemes (e.g., across ephemeral catchments, median precision tightens from 105% to 40% of observed streamflow, and median biases decrease from 25% to 4%). Theoretical interpretations of empirical results highlight the importance of capturing the skew/kurtosis of raw residuals and reproducing zero flows. Paradoxically, calibration of λ is often counterproductive: in perennial catchments, it tends to overfit low flows at the expense of abysmal precision in high flows. The log-sinh transformation is dominated by the simpler Pareto optimal schemes listed above. Recommendations for researchers and practitioners seeking robust residual error schemes for practical work are provided.

Initial contents of residue quality parameters predict effects of larger soil fauna on decomposition of contrasting quality residues

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ratikorn Sanghaw

2017-10-01

Full Text Available A 52-week decomposition study employing the soil larger fauna exclusion technique through litter bags of two mesh sizes (20 and 0.135 mm was conducted in a long-term (18 yr field experiment. Organic residues of contrasting quality of N, lignin (L, polyphenols (PP and cellulose (CL all in grams per kilogram: rice straw (RS: 4.5N, 22.2L, 3.9PP, 449CL, groundnut stover (GN: 21.2N, 71.4L, 8.1PP, 361CL, dipterocarp leaf litter (DP: 5.1N, 303L, 68.9PP, 271CL and tamarind leaf litter (TM: 11.6N, 190L, 27.7PP, 212CL were applied to soil annually to assess and predict soil larger fauna effects (LFE on decomposition based on the initial contents of the residue chemical constituents. Mass losses in all residues were not different under soil fauna inclusion and exclusion treatments during the early stage (up to week 4 after residue incorporation but became significantly higher under the inclusion than the exclusion treatments during the later stage (week 8 onwards. LFE were highest (2–51% under the resistant DP at most decomposition stages. During the early stage (weeks 1–4, both the initial contents of labile (N and CL and recalcitrant C, and recalcitrant C interaction with labile constituents of residues showed significant correlations (r = 0.64–0.90 with LFE. In the middle stage (week 16, LFE under resistant DP and TM had significant positive correlations with L, L + PP and L/CL. They were also affected by these quality parameters as shown by the multiple regression analysis. In the later stages (weeks 26–52, the L/CL ratio was the most prominent quality parameter affecting LFE. Keywords: Mesofauna and macrofauna, Microorganisms, Recalcitrant and labile compounds, Residue chemical composition, Tropical sandy soil

Disentangling evolutionary signals: conservation, specificity determining positions and coevolution. Implication for catalytic residue prediction

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Teppa, Elin; Wilkins, Angela D.; Nielsen, Morten

2012-01-01

Background: A large panel of methods exists that aim to identify residues with critical impact on protein function based on evolutionary signals, sequence and structure information. However, it is not clear to what extent these different methods overlap, and if any of the methods have higher...... predictive potential compared to others when it comes to, in particular, the identification of catalytic residues (CR) in proteins. Using a large set of enzymatic protein families and measures based on different evolutionary signals, we sought to break up the different components of the information content......-value Evolutionary Trace (rvET) methods and conservation, another containing mutual information (MI) methods, and the last containing methods designed explicitly for the identification of specificity determining positions (SDPs): integer-value Evolutionary Trace (ivET), SDPfox, and XDET. In terms of prediction of CR...

Predicting DNA-binding proteins and binding residues by complex structure prediction and application to human proteome.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Huiying Zhao

Full Text Available As more and more protein sequences are uncovered from increasingly inexpensive sequencing techniques, an urgent task is to find their functions. This work presents a highly reliable computational technique for predicting DNA-binding function at the level of protein-DNA complex structures, rather than low-resolution two-state prediction of DNA-binding as most existing techniques do. The method first predicts protein-DNA complex structure by utilizing the template-based structure prediction technique HHblits, followed by binding affinity prediction based on a knowledge-based energy function (Distance-scaled finite ideal-gas reference state for protein-DNA interactions. A leave-one-out cross validation of the method based on 179 DNA-binding and 3797 non-binding protein domains achieves a Matthews correlation coefficient (MCC of 0.77 with high precision (94% and high sensitivity (65%. We further found 51% sensitivity for 82 newly determined structures of DNA-binding proteins and 56% sensitivity for the human proteome. In addition, the method provides a reasonably accurate prediction of DNA-binding residues in proteins based on predicted DNA-binding complex structures. Its application to human proteome leads to more than 300 novel DNA-binding proteins; some of these predicted structures were validated by known structures of homologous proteins in APO forms. The method [SPOT-Seq (DNA] is available as an on-line server at http://sparks-lab.org.

Effect of heteroscedasticity treatment in residual error models on model calibration and prediction uncertainty estimation

Science.gov (United States)

Sun, Ruochen; Yuan, Huiling; Liu, Xiaoli

2017-11-01

The heteroscedasticity treatment in residual error models directly impacts the model calibration and prediction uncertainty estimation. This study compares three methods to deal with the heteroscedasticity, including the explicit linear modeling (LM) method and nonlinear modeling (NL) method using hyperbolic tangent function, as well as the implicit Box-Cox transformation (BC). Then a combined approach (CA) combining the advantages of both LM and BC methods has been proposed. In conjunction with the first order autoregressive model and the skew exponential power (SEP) distribution, four residual error models are generated, namely LM-SEP, NL-SEP, BC-SEP and CA-SEP, and their corresponding likelihood functions are applied to the Variable Infiltration Capacity (VIC) hydrologic model over the Huaihe River basin, China. Results show that the LM-SEP yields the poorest streamflow predictions with the widest uncertainty band and unrealistic negative flows. The NL and BC methods can better deal with the heteroscedasticity and hence their corresponding predictive performances are improved, yet the negative flows cannot be avoided. The CA-SEP produces the most accurate predictions with the highest reliability and effectively avoids the negative flows, because the CA approach is capable of addressing the complicated heteroscedasticity over the study basin.

Leptonic Dirac CP violation predictions from residual discrete symmetries

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

I. Girardi

2016-01-01

Full Text Available Assuming that the observed pattern of 3-neutrino mixing is related to the existence of a (lepton flavour symmetry, corresponding to a non-Abelian discrete symmetry group Gf, and that Gf is broken to specific residual symmetries Ge and Gν of the charged lepton and neutrino mass terms, we derive sum rules for the cosine of the Dirac phase δ of the neutrino mixing matrix U. The residual symmetries considered are: i Ge=Z2 and Gν=Zn, n>2 or Zn×Zm, n,m≥2; ii Ge=Zn, n>2 or Zn×Zm, n,m≥2 and Gν=Z2; iii Ge=Z2 and Gν=Z2; iv Ge is fully broken and Gν=Zn, n>2 or Zn×Zm, n,m≥2; and v Ge=Zn, n>2 or Zn×Zm, n,m≥2 and Gν is fully broken. For given Ge and Gν, the sum rules for cos⁡δ thus derived are exact, within the approach employed, and are valid, in particular, for any Gf containing Ge and Gν as subgroups. We identify the cases when the value of cos⁡δ cannot be determined, or cannot be uniquely determined, without making additional assumptions on unconstrained parameters. In a large class of cases considered the value of cos⁡δ can be unambiguously predicted once the flavour symmetry Gf is fixed. We present predictions for cos⁡δ in these cases for the flavour symmetry groups Gf=S4, A4, T′ and A5, requiring that the measured values of the 3-neutrino mixing parameters sin2⁡θ12, sin2⁡θ13 and sin2⁡θ23, taking into account their respective 3σ uncertainties, are successfully reproduced.

Prediction of welding residual distortions of large structures using a local/global approach

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Duan, Y. G.; Bergheau, J. M.; Vincent, Y.; Boitour, F.; Leblond, J. B.

2007-01-01

Prediction of welding residual distortions is more difficult than that of the microstructure and residual stresses. On the one hand, a fine mesh (often 3D) has to be used in the heat affected zone for the sake of the sharp variations of thermal, metallurgical and mechanical fields in this region. On the other hand, the whole structure is required to be meshed for the calculation of residual distortions. But for large structures, a 3D mesh is inconceivable caused by the costs of the calculation. Numerous methods have been developed to reduce the size of models. A local/global approach has been proposed to determine the welding residual distortions of large structures. The plastic strains and the microstructure due to welding are supposed can be determined from a local 3D model which concerns only the weld and its vicinity. They are projected as initial strains into a global 3D model which consists of the whole structure and obviously much less fine in the welded zone than the local model. The residual distortions are then calculated using a simple elastic analysis, which makes this method particularly effective in an industrial context. The aim of this article is to present the principle of the local/global approach then show the capacity of this method in an industrial context and finally study the definition of the local model

The finite element analysis for prediction of residual stresses induced by shot peening

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kim, Cheol; Yang, Won Ho; Sung, Ki Deug; Cho, Myoung Rae; Ko, Myung Hoon

2000-01-01

The shot peening is largely used for a surface treatment in which small spherical parts called shots are blasted on a surface of a metallic components with velocities up to 100m/s. This treatment leads to an improvement of fatigue behavior due to the developed compressive residual stresses, and so it has gained widespread acceptance in the automobile and aerospace industries. The residual stress profile on surface layer depends on the parameters of shot peening, which are, shot velocity, shot diameter, coverage, impact angle, material properties etc. and the method to confirm this profile is only measurement by X-ray diffractometer. Despite its importance to automobile and aerospace industries, little attention has been devoted to the accurate modeling of the process. In this paper, the simulation technique is applied to predict the magnitude and distribution of the residual stress and plastic deformation caused by shot peening with the help of the finite element analysis

A residual life prediction model based on the generalized σ -N curved surface

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Zongwen AN

2016-06-01

Full Text Available In order to investigate change rule of the residual life of structure under random repeated load, firstly, starting from the statistic meaning of random repeated load, the joint probability density function of maximum stress and minimum stress is derived based on the characteristics of order statistic (maximum order statistic and minimum order statistic; then, based on the equation of generalized σ -N curved surface, considering the influence of load cycles number on fatigue life, a relationship among minimum stress, maximum stress and residual life, that is the σmin(n- σmax(n-Nr(n curved surface model, is established; finally, the validity of the proposed model is demonstrated by a practical case. The result shows that the proposed model can reflect the influence of maximum stress and minimum stress on residual life of structure under random repeated load, which can provide a theoretical basis for life prediction and reliability assessment of structure.

Finite element analysis for prediction of the residual stresses induced by shot peening II

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kim, Cheol; Seok, Chang Sung; Yang, Won Ho; Ryu, Myung Hai

2002-01-01

Shot peening is a surface impact treatment widely used to improve the performance of metal parts and welded details subjected to fatigue loading, contact fatigue, stress corrosion and other damage mechanisms. The better performance of the peened parts is mainly due to the residual stresses resulting from the plastic deformation of the surface layers of the material caused by the impact of the shot. In this paper the simulation technique is applied to predict the magnitude and distribution of the residual stress and plastic deformation caused by shot peening with the help of finite element analysis

Cutoff Value of Pharyngeal Residue in Prognosis Prediction After Neuromuscular Electrical Stimulation Therapy for Dysphagia in Subacute Stroke Patients

OpenAIRE

Park, Jeong Mee; Yong, Sang Yeol; Kim, Ji Hyun; Jung, Hong Sun; Chang, Sei Jin; Kim, Ki Young; Kim, Hee

2014-01-01

Objective To determine the cutoff value of the pharyngeal residue for predicting reduction of aspiration, by measuring the residue of valleculae and pyriformis sinuses through videofluoroscopic swallowing studies (VFSS) after treatment with neuromuscular electrical stimulator (VitalStim) in stroke patients with dysphagia. Methods VFSS was conducted on first-time stroke patients before and after the VitalStim therapy. The results were analyzed for comparison of the pharyngeal residue in the im...

Empirical likelihood based detection procedure for change point in mean residual life functions under random censorship.

Science.gov (United States)

Chen, Ying-Ju; Ning, Wei; Gupta, Arjun K

2016-05-01

The mean residual life (MRL) function is one of the basic parameters of interest in survival analysis that describes the expected remaining time of an individual after a certain age. The study of changes in the MRL function is practical and interesting because it may help us to identify some factors such as age and gender that may influence the remaining lifetimes of patients after receiving a certain surgery. In this paper, we propose a detection procedure based on the empirical likelihood for the changes in MRL functions with right censored data. Two real examples are also given: Veterans' administration lung cancer study and Stanford heart transplant to illustrate the detecting procedure. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Validation of a new analytical procedure for determination of residual solvents in [18F]FDG by gas chromatography

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Costa, Flávia M.; Costa, Cassiano L.S.; Silva, Juliana B.; Ferreira, Soraya M.Z.M.D.

2017-01-01

Fludeoxyglucose F 18 ([ 18 F]FDG) is the most used radiopharmaceutical for positron emission tomography, especially on oncology. Organic solvents such as ether, ethanol and acetonitrile might be used in the synthesis of [ 18 F]FDG; however, they might not be completely removed during purification steps. The determination of residual solvents in [ 18 F]FDG is required in the European Pharmacopoeia (EP) and the United States Pharmacopeia (USP) monographs. While the procedure described in the EP is quite general, the one described in the USP requires a long runtime (about 13 minutes). In this work a simple and fast (4-minute) analytical procedure was developed and validated for determination of residual solvents in [ 18 F]FDG. Analyses were carried out in a Perkin Elmer gas chromatograph equipped with a flame ionization detector. The separation was obtained on a 0.53-mm x 30 m fused-silica column. Validation included the evaluation of various parameters, such as: specificity, linearity and range, limits of detection and quantitation, precision (repeatability and intermediate precision), accuracy, and robustness. Results were found to be within acceptable limits, indicating the developed procedure is suitable for its intended application. Considering the short half-life of fluorine-18 (109.7 minutes), this new method could be a valuable alternative for routine quality control of [ 18 F]FDG. (author)

Prediction of residual life of low-cycle fatigue in austenitic stainless steel based on indentation test

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yonezu, Akio; Touda, Yuya; Kim, HakGui; Yoneda, Keishi; Sakihara, Masayuki; Minoshima; Kohji

2011-01-01

In this study, a method to predict residual life of low-cycle fatigue in austenitic stainless steel (SUS316NG) was proposed based on indentation test. Low-cycle fatigue tests for SUS316NG were first conducted based on uniaxial tensile-compressive loading under the control of true strain range. Applied strain ranges were varied from about 3 to 12%. Their hysteresis loops of stress and strain were monitored during the fatigue tests. Plastic deformation range in hysteresis loop at each cycle could be roughly expressed by bi-linear hardening rule, whose plastic properties involve yield stress and work-hardening coefficient. The cyclic plastic properties were found to be dependent on the number of cycles and applied strain range, due to work-hardening. We experimentally investigated the empirical relationship between the plastic properties and number of cycles for each applied strain range. It is found that the relationship quantitatively predicts the applied strain range and number of cycles, when the plastic properties, or yield stress and work-hardening coefficient were known. Indentation tests were applied to the samples subjected to low cycle fatigue test, in order to quantitatively determine the plastic properties. The estimated properties were assigned to the proposed relationship, yielding the applied strain range and the cycle numbers. The proposed method was applied to the several stainless steel samples subjected to low cycle fatigue tests, suggesting that their residual lives could be reasonably predicted. Our method is thus useful for predicting the residual life of low-cycle fatigue in austenitic stainless steel. (author)

Predicting the concentration of residual methanol in industrial formalin using machine learning

OpenAIRE

Heidkamp, William

2016-01-01

In this thesis, a machine learning approach was used to develop a predictive model for residual methanol concentration in industrial formalin produced at the Akzo Nobel factory in Kristinehamn, Sweden. The MATLABTM computational environment supplemented with the Statistics and Machine LearningTM toolbox from the MathWorks were used to test various machine learning algorithms on the formalin production data from Akzo Nobel. As a result, the Gaussian Process Regression algorithm was found to pr...

FreeContact: fast and free software for protein contact prediction from residue co-evolution.

Science.gov (United States)

Kaján, László; Hopf, Thomas A; Kalaš, Matúš; Marks, Debora S; Rost, Burkhard

2014-03-26

20 years of improved technology and growing sequences now renders residue-residue contact constraints in large protein families through correlated mutations accurate enough to drive de novo predictions of protein three-dimensional structure. The method EVfold broke new ground using mean-field Direct Coupling Analysis (EVfold-mfDCA); the method PSICOV applied a related concept by estimating a sparse inverse covariance matrix. Both methods (EVfold-mfDCA and PSICOV) are publicly available, but both require too much CPU time for interactive applications. On top, EVfold-mfDCA depends on proprietary software. Here, we present FreeContact, a fast, open source implementation of EVfold-mfDCA and PSICOV. On a test set of 140 proteins, FreeContact was almost eight times faster than PSICOV without decreasing prediction performance. The EVfold-mfDCA implementation of FreeContact was over 220 times faster than PSICOV with negligible performance decrease. EVfold-mfDCA was unavailable for testing due to its dependency on proprietary software. FreeContact is implemented as the free C++ library "libfreecontact", complete with command line tool "freecontact", as well as Perl and Python modules. All components are available as Debian packages. FreeContact supports the BioXSD format for interoperability. FreeContact provides the opportunity to compute reliable contact predictions in any environment (desktop or cloud).

Prediction of residual metabolic activity after treatment in NSCLC patients

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rios Velazquez, Emmanuel; Aerts, Hugo J.W.L.; Oberije, Cary; Ruysscher, Dirk De; Lambin, Philippe

2010-01-01

Purpose. Metabolic response assessment is often used as a surrogate of local failure and survival. Early identification of patients with residual metabolic activity is essential as this enables selection of patients who could potentially benefit from additional therapy. We report on the development of a pre-treatment prediction model for metabolic response using patient, tumor and treatment factors. Methods. One hundred and one patients with inoperable NSCLC (stage I-IV), treated with 3D conformal radical (chemo)-radiotherapy were retrospectively included in this study. All patients received a pre and post-radiotherapy fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography-computed tomography FDG-PET-CT scan. The electronic medical record system and the medical patient charts were reviewed to obtain demographic, clinical, tumor and treatment data. Primary outcome measure was examined using a metabolic response assessment on a post-radiotherapy FDG-PET-CT scan. Radiotherapy was delivered in fractions of 1.8 Gy, twice a day, with a median prescribed dose of 60 Gy. Results. Overall survival was worse in patients with residual metabolic active areas compared with the patients with a complete metabolic response (p=0.0001). In univariate analysis, three variables were significantly associated with residual disease: larger primary gross tumor volume (GTVprimary, p=0.002), higher pre-treatment maximum standardized uptake value (SUV max , p=0.0005) in the primary tumor and shorter overall treatment time (OTT, p=0.046). A multivariate model including GTVprimary, SUV max , equivalent radiation dose at 2 Gy corrected for time (EQD2, T) and OTT yielded an area under the curve assessed by the leave-one-out cross validation of 0.71 (95% CI, 0.65-0.76). Conclusion. Our results confirmed the validity of metabolic response assessment as a surrogate of survival. We developed a multivariate model that is able to identify patients at risk of residual disease. These patients may benefit from

Validation of a new analytical procedure for determination of residual solvents in [{sup 18}F]FDG by gas chromatography

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Costa, Flávia M.; Costa, Cassiano L.S.; Silva, Juliana B.; Ferreira, Soraya M.Z.M.D., E-mail: flaviabiomedica@yahoo.com.br [Centro de Desenvolvimento da Tecnologia Nuclear (UPPR/CDTN/CNEN-MG), Belo Horizonte, MG (Brazil). Unidade de Pesquisa e Produção de Radiofármacos

2017-07-01

Fludeoxyglucose F 18 ([{sup 18}F]FDG) is the most used radiopharmaceutical for positron emission tomography, especially on oncology. Organic solvents such as ether, ethanol and acetonitrile might be used in the synthesis of [{sup 18}F]FDG; however, they might not be completely removed during purification steps. The determination of residual solvents in [{sup 18}F]FDG is required in the European Pharmacopoeia (EP) and the United States Pharmacopeia (USP) monographs. While the procedure described in the EP is quite general, the one described in the USP requires a long runtime (about 13 minutes). In this work a simple and fast (4-minute) analytical procedure was developed and validated for determination of residual solvents in [{sup 18}F]FDG. Analyses were carried out in a Perkin Elmer gas chromatograph equipped with a flame ionization detector. The separation was obtained on a 0.53-mm x 30 m fused-silica column. Validation included the evaluation of various parameters, such as: specificity, linearity and range, limits of detection and quantitation, precision (repeatability and intermediate precision), accuracy, and robustness. Results were found to be within acceptable limits, indicating the developed procedure is suitable for its intended application. Considering the short half-life of fluorine-18 (109.7 minutes), this new method could be a valuable alternative for routine quality control of [{sup 18}F]FDG. (author)

Cesium residue leachate migration in the tailings management area of a mine site : predicted vs. actual

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Solylo, P.; Ramsey, D. [Wardrop Engineering, Winnipeg, MB (Canada). Mining and Minerals Section

2009-07-01

This paper reported on a study at a cesium products facility (CPF) that manufactures a non-toxic cesium-formate drilling fluid. The facility operates adjacent to a pollucite/tantalum/spodumene mine. The CPF was developed as a closed system, with the residue tailings slurry from the CPF process discharged to doublelined containment cells. Groundwater monitoring has shown that leachate has affected near-surface porewater quality within the tailings management area (TMA). Elevated concentrations of calcium, sulphate, strontium, cesium, and rubidium were used to identify the leachate. Porewater at the base of the tailings and in the overburden beneath the tailings has not been affected. A geochemical investigation was initiated to determine how the leachate behaves in the groundwater/tailings porewater system. Over the past 7 years of residue placement in the TMA, the footprint of the residue placement area has changed, making the comparison of predicted versus actual rate of leachate migration very subjective and difficult to quantify. Based solely on the analytical data, the source of the leachate is unknown, either from the original residue pile or the 2007 residue placement area. For purposes of long term residue management, an investigation of the geochemical behaviour of residue leachate in the groundwater/tailings system of the TMA is currently underway. 5 refs., 1 tab., 2 figs.

Predicting protein folding rate change upon point mutation using residue-level coevolutionary information.

Science.gov (United States)

Mallik, Saurav; Das, Smita; Kundu, Sudip

2016-01-01

Change in folding kinetics of globular proteins upon point mutation is crucial to a wide spectrum of biological research, such as protein misfolding, toxicity, and aggregations. Here we seek to address whether residue-level coevolutionary information of globular proteins can be informative to folding rate changes upon point mutations. Generating residue-level coevolutionary networks of globular proteins, we analyze three parameters: relative coevolution order (rCEO), network density (ND), and characteristic path length (CPL). A point mutation is considered to be equivalent to a node deletion of this network and respective percentage changes in rCEO, ND, CPL are found linearly correlated (0.84, 0.73, and -0.61, respectively) with experimental folding rate changes. The three parameters predict the folding rate change upon a point mutation with 0.031, 0.045, and 0.059 standard errors, respectively. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Prediction of residual stress for dissimilar metals welding at nuclear power plants using fuzzy neural network models

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Na, Man Gyun; Kim, Jin Weon; Lim, Dong Hyuk

2007-01-01

A fuzzy neural network model is presented to predict residual stress for dissimilar metal welding under various welding conditions. The fuzzy neural network model, which consists of a fuzzy inference system and a neuronal training system, is optimized by a hybrid learning method that combines a genetic algorithm to optimize the membership function parameters and a least squares method to solve the consequent parameters. The data of finite element analysis are divided into four data groups, which are split according to two end-section constraints and two prediction paths. Four fuzzy neural network models were therefore applied to the numerical data obtained from the finite element analysis for the two end-section constraints and the two prediction paths. The fuzzy neural network models were trained with the aid of a data set prepared for training (training data), optimized by means of an optimization data set and verified by means of a test data set that was different (independent) from the training data and the optimization data. The accuracy of fuzzy neural network models is known to be sufficiently accurate for use in an integrity evaluation by predicting the residual stress of dissimilar metal welding zones

The Econometric Procedures of Specific Transaction Identification

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Doszyń Mariusz

2017-06-01

Full Text Available The paper presents the econometric procedures of identifying specific transactions, in which atypical conditions or attributes may occur. These procedures are based on studentized and predictive residuals of the accordingly specified econometric models. The dependent variable is a unit transactional price, and explanatory variables are both the real properties’ attributes and accordingly defined artificial binary variables. The utility of the proposed method has been verified by means of a real market data base. The proposed procedures can be helpful during the property valuation process, making it possible to reject real properties that are specific (both from the point of view of the transaction conditions and the properties’ attributes and, consequently, to select an appropriate set of similar attributes that are essential for the valuation process.

Treatment and processing of residues of fermentation; Behandlung und Verwertung von Gaerrueckstaenden

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Doehler, H.; Schliebner, P. [Kuratorium fuer Technik und Bauwesen in der Landwirtschaft (KTBL), Darmstadt (Germany)

2007-07-01

With the transformation of the EEG (Renewable Energy Resources Act), the number of biogas plants increased rapidly. Additionally, an enlargement of the performance of the plants and a regional concentration process take place. Recently, processing routes for liquid manure will be considered in order to reduce problems of the surplus of nutrients as well as the costs of the transport of the water-rich residues of fermentation. Under this aspect, the authors of the contribution under consideration report on procedures for the processing of residues of fermentation as well as costs and utilization of these procedures. By the example of an agrarian society, four procedures for the output and processing of residues of fermentation are compared with one another regarding to expenditure of work time, investments and economy: Output of residues of fermentation, treatment of residues of fermentation by separation, processing of residues of fermentation by means of diaphragm technology, processing of residues of fermentation by means of evaporation technology. The processing routes reduce the residues of fermentation by 60 %. Thus, the costs of output and the necessary storage capacities for residues of fermentation are reduced. Presently, no savings regarding to work completion by the processing of the residues of fermentation can be obtained. The specific total costs of the investigated procedures are between 2.64 Euro/m{sup 3} according to the procedure with separation and to 8.64 Euro/m{sup 3} according to the diaphragm processing route. An enhanced demand of investment does not cause compellingly the highest specific total costs of the procedures. In comparison to the output of residues of fermentation, the examined procedures for the processing of residues of fermentation do not result in economical and ergonomic advantages. The high costs of investment and operating cost of the processing of residues of fermentation cannot be compensated by the reduced costs of output

Predictive models of forest logging residues of Triplochiton ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

The model developed indicated that logarithmic functions performed better than other form of equation. The findings of this study revealed that there is significant logging residues left to waste in the forest after timber harvest and quantifying this logging residue in terms of biomass model can serve as management tools in ...

Effects of feather wear and temperature on prediction of food intake and residual food consumption.

Science.gov (United States)

Herremans, M; Decuypere, E; Siau, O

1989-03-01

Heat production, which accounts for 0.6 of gross energy intake, is insufficiently represented in predictions of food intake. Especially when heat production is elevated (for example by lower temperature or poor feathering) the classical predictions based on body weight, body-weight change and egg mass are inadequate. Heat production was reliably estimated as [35.5-environmental temperature (degree C)] x [Defeathering (=%IBPW) + 21]. Including this term (PHP: predicted heat production) in equations predicting food intake significantly increased accuracy of prediction, especially under suboptimal conditions. Within the range of body weights tested (from 1.6 kg in brown layers to 2.8 kg in dwarf broiler breeders), body weight as an independent variable contributed little to the prediction of food intake; especially within strains its effect was better included in the intercept. Significantly reduced absolute values of residual food consumption were obtained over a wide range of conditions by using predictions of food intake based on body-weight change, egg mass, predicted heat production (PHP) and an intercept, instead of body weight, body-weight change, egg mass and an intercept.

Accurate prediction of hot spot residues through physicochemical characteristics of amino acid sequences

KAUST Repository

Chen, Peng; Li, Jinyan; Limsoon, Wong; Kuwahara, Hiroyuki; Huang, Jianhua Z.; Gao, Xin

2013-01-01

Hot spot residues of proteins are fundamental interface residues that help proteins perform their functions. Detecting hot spots by experimental methods is costly and time-consuming. Sequential and structural information has been widely used in the computational prediction of hot spots. However, structural information is not always available. In this article, we investigated the problem of identifying hot spots using only physicochemical characteristics extracted from amino acid sequences. We first extracted 132 relatively independent physicochemical features from a set of the 544 properties in AAindex1, an amino acid index database. Each feature was utilized to train a classification model with a novel encoding schema for hot spot prediction by the IBk algorithm, an extension of the K-nearest neighbor algorithm. The combinations of the individual classifiers were explored and the classifiers that appeared frequently in the top performing combinations were selected. The hot spot predictor was built based on an ensemble of these classifiers and to work in a voting manner. Experimental results demonstrated that our method effectively exploited the feature space and allowed flexible weights of features for different queries. On the commonly used hot spot benchmark sets, our method significantly outperformed other machine learning algorithms and state-of-the-art hot spot predictors. The program is available at http://sfb.kaust.edu.sa/pages/software.aspx. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Accurate prediction of hot spot residues through physicochemical characteristics of amino acid sequences

KAUST Repository

Chen, Peng

2013-07-23

Hot spot residues of proteins are fundamental interface residues that help proteins perform their functions. Detecting hot spots by experimental methods is costly and time-consuming. Sequential and structural information has been widely used in the computational prediction of hot spots. However, structural information is not always available. In this article, we investigated the problem of identifying hot spots using only physicochemical characteristics extracted from amino acid sequences. We first extracted 132 relatively independent physicochemical features from a set of the 544 properties in AAindex1, an amino acid index database. Each feature was utilized to train a classification model with a novel encoding schema for hot spot prediction by the IBk algorithm, an extension of the K-nearest neighbor algorithm. The combinations of the individual classifiers were explored and the classifiers that appeared frequently in the top performing combinations were selected. The hot spot predictor was built based on an ensemble of these classifiers and to work in a voting manner. Experimental results demonstrated that our method effectively exploited the feature space and allowed flexible weights of features for different queries. On the commonly used hot spot benchmark sets, our method significantly outperformed other machine learning algorithms and state-of-the-art hot spot predictors. The program is available at http://sfb.kaust.edu.sa/pages/software.aspx. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Accurate prediction of hot spot residues through physicochemical characteristics of amino acid sequences.

Science.gov (United States)

Chen, Peng; Li, Jinyan; Wong, Limsoon; Kuwahara, Hiroyuki; Huang, Jianhua Z; Gao, Xin

2013-08-01

Hot spot residues of proteins are fundamental interface residues that help proteins perform their functions. Detecting hot spots by experimental methods is costly and time-consuming. Sequential and structural information has been widely used in the computational prediction of hot spots. However, structural information is not always available. In this article, we investigated the problem of identifying hot spots using only physicochemical characteristics extracted from amino acid sequences. We first extracted 132 relatively independent physicochemical features from a set of the 544 properties in AAindex1, an amino acid index database. Each feature was utilized to train a classification model with a novel encoding schema for hot spot prediction by the IBk algorithm, an extension of the K-nearest neighbor algorithm. The combinations of the individual classifiers were explored and the classifiers that appeared frequently in the top performing combinations were selected. The hot spot predictor was built based on an ensemble of these classifiers and to work in a voting manner. Experimental results demonstrated that our method effectively exploited the feature space and allowed flexible weights of features for different queries. On the commonly used hot spot benchmark sets, our method significantly outperformed other machine learning algorithms and state-of-the-art hot spot predictors. The program is available at http://sfb.kaust.edu.sa/pages/software.aspx. Copyright © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Predictions of the residue cross-sections for the elements Z=113 and Z=114

OpenAIRE

Bouriquet, Bertrand; Abe, Yasuhisa; Kosenko, Grigori

2003-01-01

An extremely good reproduction of experimental excitation function of the 1n reactions producing Z=110,Z=111 and Z=112 is obtained by the two-step model and the statistical decay code KEWPIE. Thus, an extension of the recipe permits us to predict reliable values of the residue cross-sections of the elements Z=113 and Z=114 which will be a useful guide for planning of experiments.

DNABP: Identification of DNA-Binding Proteins Based on Feature Selection Using a Random Forest and Predicting Binding Residues.

Science.gov (United States)

Ma, Xin; Guo, Jing; Sun, Xiao

2016-01-01

DNA-binding proteins are fundamentally important in cellular processes. Several computational-based methods have been developed to improve the prediction of DNA-binding proteins in previous years. However, insufficient work has been done on the prediction of DNA-binding proteins from protein sequence information. In this paper, a novel predictor, DNABP (DNA-binding proteins), was designed to predict DNA-binding proteins using the random forest (RF) classifier with a hybrid feature. The hybrid feature contains two types of novel sequence features, which reflect information about the conservation of physicochemical properties of the amino acids, and the binding propensity of DNA-binding residues and non-binding propensities of non-binding residues. The comparisons with each feature demonstrated that these two novel features contributed most to the improvement in predictive ability. Furthermore, to improve the prediction performance of the DNABP model, feature selection using the minimum redundancy maximum relevance (mRMR) method combined with incremental feature selection (IFS) was carried out during the model construction. The results showed that the DNABP model could achieve 86.90% accuracy, 83.76% sensitivity, 90.03% specificity and a Matthews correlation coefficient of 0.727. High prediction accuracy and performance comparisons with previous research suggested that DNABP could be a useful approach to identify DNA-binding proteins from sequence information. The DNABP web server system is freely available at http://www.cbi.seu.edu.cn/DNABP/.

78 FR 20148 - Reporting Procedure for Mathematical Models Selected To Predict Heated Effluent Dispersion in...

Science.gov (United States)

2013-04-03

... procedure acceptable to the NRC staff for providing summary details of mathematical modeling methods used in... NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION [NRC-2013-0062] Reporting Procedure for Mathematical Models Selected... Regulatory Guide (RG) 4.4, ``Reporting Procedure for Mathematical Models Selected to Predict Heated Effluent...

Residue contacts predicted by evolutionary covariance extend the application of ab initio molecular replacement to larger and more challenging protein folds

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Felix Simkovic

2016-07-01

Full Text Available For many protein families, the deluge of new sequence information together with new statistical protocols now allow the accurate prediction of contacting residues from sequence information alone. This offers the possibility of more accurate ab initio (non-homology-based structure prediction. Such models can be used in structure solution by molecular replacement (MR where the target fold is novel or is only distantly related to known structures. Here, AMPLE, an MR pipeline that assembles search-model ensembles from ab initio structure predictions (`decoys', is employed to assess the value of contact-assisted ab initio models to the crystallographer. It is demonstrated that evolutionary covariance-derived residue–residue contact predictions improve the quality of ab initio models and, consequently, the success rate of MR using search models derived from them. For targets containing β-structure, decoy quality and MR performance were further improved by the use of a β-strand contact-filtering protocol. Such contact-guided decoys achieved 14 structure solutions from 21 attempted protein targets, compared with nine for simple Rosetta decoys. Previously encountered limitations were superseded in two key respects. Firstly, much larger targets of up to 221 residues in length were solved, which is far larger than the previously benchmarked threshold of 120 residues. Secondly, contact-guided decoys significantly improved success with β-sheet-rich proteins. Overall, the improved performance of contact-guided decoys suggests that MR is now applicable to a significantly wider range of protein targets than were previously tractable, and points to a direct benefit to structural biology from the recent remarkable advances in sequencing.

A simulation model for the prediction of tissue:plasma partition coefficients for drug residues in natural casings.

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Haritova, A.M.; Fink-Gremmels, J.

2010-01-01

Tissue residues arise from the exposure of animals to undesirable substances in animal feed materials and drinking water and to the therapeutic or zootechnical use of veterinary medicinal products. In the framework of this study, an advanced toxicokinetic model was developed to predict the

Calculation of residual stresses by means of a 3D numerical weld simulation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nicak, Tomas; Huemmer, Matthias

2008-01-01

The numerical weld simulation has developed very fast in recent years. The problem complexity has increased from simple 2D models to full 3D models, which can describe the entire welding process more realistically. As recent research projects indicate, a quantitative assessment of the residual stresses by means of a 3D analysis is possible. The structure integrity can be assessed based on the weld simulation results superimposed with the operating load. Moreover, to support the qualification of welded components parametric studies for optimization of the residual stress distribution in the weld region can be performed. In this paper a full 3D numerical weld simulation for a man-hole drainage nozzle in a steam generator will be presented. The residual stresses are calculated by means of an uncoupled transient thermal and mechanical FE analysis. The paper will present a robust procedure allowing reasonable predictions of the residual stresses for complex structures in industrial practice. (authors)

Prediction of beta-turns from amino acid sequences using the residue-coupled model.

Science.gov (United States)

Guruprasad, K; Shukla, S

2003-04-01

We evaluated the prediction of beta-turns from amino acid sequences using the residue-coupled model with an enlarged representative protein data set selected from the Protein Data Bank. Our results show that the probability values derived from a data set comprising 425 protein chains yielded an overall beta-turn prediction accuracy 68.74%, compared with 94.7% reported earlier on a data set of 30 proteins using the same method. However, we noted that the overall beta-turn prediction accuracy using probability values derived from the 30-protein data set reduces to 40.74% when tested on the data set comprising 425 protein chains. In contrast, using probability values derived from the 425 data set used in this analysis, the overall beta-turn prediction accuracy yielded consistent results when tested on either the 30-protein data set (64.62%) used earlier or a more recent representative data set comprising 619 protein chains (64.66%) or on a jackknife data set comprising 476 representative protein chains (63.38%). We therefore recommend the use of probability values derived from the 425 representative protein chains data set reported here, which gives more realistic and consistent predictions of beta-turns from amino acid sequences.

Sensitivity Analysis for Residual Stress on DVI (Direct Vessel Injection) Nozzle Welded Joint

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Noh, Byeong Wook; Chung, Sung Ho; Lee, Jung Hun; Kim, Oak Sug

2008-01-01

Generally, any welding process produces high compressive or tensile residual stresses in the heat affected zone depending on the method, shape and procedures of the weldment. In particular, the tensile residual stresses have a considerable effect on the material strength, fatigue strength and corrosion cracking. For this reason, it is important that some knowledge of the internal stress state be deduced either from measurements or from modeling predictions. In this study, the residual stresses after a multi-pass welding process for DVI nozzle welding joint were evaluated by a numerical simulation method. The welding joint considered three weld joint angles of 40 deg., 6 deg. and 2 deg. Computations were made using a 2-D finite element model based on the simulation of cooling from the heat treatment temperature to room temperature with two cooling conditions at the inside surface. In these results, it is shown that the residual stress increased at the inner surface, when water cooling was applied to the inner surface, and axial compressive residual stress increased at the inner surface when the joint angle was decreased. (authors)

Sensitivity Analysis for Residual Stress on DVI (Direct Vessel Injection) Nozzle Welded Joint

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Noh, Byeong Wook; Chung, Sung Ho; Lee, Jung Hun; Kim, Oak Sug [DOOSAN Heavy Industries and Construction Co. LTD, Reactor Design Team, 555 Guygok-dong Changwon (Korea, Republic of)

2008-07-01

Generally, any welding process produces high compressive or tensile residual stresses in the heat affected zone depending on the method, shape and procedures of the weldment. In particular, the tensile residual stresses have a considerable effect on the material strength, fatigue strength and corrosion cracking. For this reason, it is important that some knowledge of the internal stress state be deduced either from measurements or from modeling predictions. In this study, the residual stresses after a multi-pass welding process for DVI nozzle welding joint were evaluated by a numerical simulation method. The welding joint considered three weld joint angles of 40 deg., 6 deg. and 2 deg. Computations were made using a 2-D finite element model based on the simulation of cooling from the heat treatment temperature to room temperature with two cooling conditions at the inside surface. In these results, it is shown that the residual stress increased at the inner surface, when water cooling was applied to the inner surface, and axial compressive residual stress increased at the inner surface when the joint angle was decreased. (authors)

Resilient modulus prediction of soft low-plasticity Piedmont residual soil using dynamic cone penetrometer

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

S. Hamed Mousavi

2018-04-01

Full Text Available Dynamic cone penetrometer (DCP has been used for decades to estimate the shear strength and stiffness properties of the subgrade soils. There are several empirical correlations in the literature to predict the resilient modulus values at only a specific stress state from DCP data, corresponding to the predefined thicknesses of pavement layers (a 50 mm asphalt wearing course, a 100 mm asphalt binder course and a 200 mm aggregate base course. In this study, field-measured DCP data were utilized to estimate the resilient modulus of low-plasticity subgrade Piedmont residual soil. Piedmont residual soils are in-place weathered soils from igneous and metamorphic rocks, as opposed to transported or compacted soils. Hence the existing empirical correlations might not be applicable for these soils. An experimental program was conducted incorporating field DCP and laboratory resilient modulus tests on “undisturbed” soil specimens. The DCP tests were carried out at various locations in four test sections to evaluate subgrade stiffness variation laterally and with depth. Laboratory resilient modulus test results were analyzed in the context of the mechanistic-empirical pavement design guide (MEPDG recommended universal constitutive model. A new approach for predicting the resilient modulus from DCP by estimating MEPDG constitutive model coefficients (k1, k2 and k3 was developed through statistical analyses. The new model is capable of not only taking into account the in situ soil condition on the basis of field measurements, but also representing the resilient modulus at any stress state which addresses a limitation with existing empirical DCP models and its applicability for a specific case. Validation of the model is demonstrated by using data that were not used for model development, as well as data reported in the literature. Keywords: Dynamic cone penetrometer (DCP, Resilient modulus, Mechanistic-empirical pavement design guide (MEPDG, Residual

Improved crop residue cover estimates by coupling spectral indices for residue and moisture

Science.gov (United States)

Remote sensing assessment of soil residue cover (fR) and tillage intensity will improve our predictions of the impact of agricultural practices and promote sustainable management. Spectral indices for estimating fR are sensitive to soil and residue water content, therefore, the uncertainty of estima...

Development of computer program ENMASK for prediction of residual environmental masking-noise spectra, from any three independent environmental parameters

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Chang, Y.-S.; Liebich, R. E.; Chun, K. C.

2000-03-31

Residual environmental sound can mask intrusive4 (unwanted) sound. It is a factor that can affect noise impacts and must be considered both in noise-impact studies and in noise-mitigation designs. Models for quantitative prediction of sensation level (audibility) and psychological effects of intrusive noise require an input with 1/3 octave-band spectral resolution of environmental masking noise. However, the majority of published residual environmental masking-noise data are given with either octave-band frequency resolution or only single A-weighted decibel values. A model has been developed that enables estimation of 1/3 octave-band residual environmental masking-noise spectra and relates certain environmental parameters to A-weighted sound level. This model provides a correlation among three environmental conditions: measured residual A-weighted sound-pressure level, proximity to a major roadway, and population density. Cited field-study data were used to compute the most probable 1/3 octave-band sound-pressure spectrum corresponding to any selected one of these three inputs. In turn, such spectra can be used as an input to models for prediction of noise impacts. This paper discusses specific algorithms included in the newly developed computer program ENMASK. In addition, the relative audibility of the environmental masking-noise spectra at different A-weighted sound levels is discussed, which is determined by using the methodology of program ENAUDIBL.

An analytical method to assess the damage and predict the residual strength of a ship in a shoal grounding accident scenario

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sun Bin

2016-04-01

Full Text Available In this paper, a simplified analytical method used to predict the residual ultimate strength of a ship hull after a shoal grounding accident is proposed. Shoal grounding accidents always lead to severe denting, though not tearing, of the ship bottom structure, which may threaten the global hull girder resistance and result in even worse consequences, such as hull collapse. Here, the degree of damage of the bottom structure is predicted by a series of analytical methods based on the plastic-elastic deformation mechanism. The energy dissipation of a ship bottom structure is obtained from individual components to determine the sliding distance of the seabed obstruction. Then, a new approach to assess the residual strength of the damaged ship subjected to shoal grounding is proposed based on the improved Smith's method. This analytical method is verified by comparing the results of the proposed method and those generated by numerical simulation using the software ABAQUS. The proposed analytical method can be used to assess the safety of a ship with a double bottom during its design phase and predict the residual ultimate strength of a ship after a shoal grounding accident occurs.

Residual Stress Estimation and Fatigue Life Prediction of an Autofrettaged Pressure Vessel

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Song, Kyung Jin; Kim, Eun Kyum; Koh, Seung Kee [Kunsan Nat’l Univ., Kunsan (Korea, Republic of)

2017-09-15

Fatigue failure of an autofrettaged pressure vessel with a groove at the outside surface occurs owing to the fatigue crack initiation and propagation at the groove root. In order to predict the fatigue life of the autofrettaged pressure vessel, residual stresses in the autofrettaged pressure vessel were evaluated using the finite element method, and the fatigue properties of the pressure vessel steel were obtained from the fatigue tests. Fatigue life of a pressure vessel obtained through summation of the crack initiation and propagation lives was calculated to be 2,598 cycles for an 80% autofrettaged pressure vessel subjected to a pulsating internal pressure of 424 MPa.

COMSAT: Residue contact prediction of transmembrane proteins based on support vector machines and mixed integer linear programming.

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, Huiling; Huang, Qingsheng; Bei, Zhendong; Wei, Yanjie; Floudas, Christodoulos A

2016-03-01

In this article, we present COMSAT, a hybrid framework for residue contact prediction of transmembrane (TM) proteins, integrating a support vector machine (SVM) method and a mixed integer linear programming (MILP) method. COMSAT consists of two modules: COMSAT_SVM which is trained mainly on position-specific scoring matrix features, and COMSAT_MILP which is an ab initio method based on optimization models. Contacts predicted by the SVM model are ranked by SVM confidence scores, and a threshold is trained to improve the reliability of the predicted contacts. For TM proteins with no contacts above the threshold, COMSAT_MILP is used. The proposed hybrid contact prediction scheme was tested on two independent TM protein sets based on the contact definition of 14 Å between Cα-Cα atoms. First, using a rigorous leave-one-protein-out cross validation on the training set of 90 TM proteins, an accuracy of 66.8%, a coverage of 12.3%, a specificity of 99.3% and a Matthews' correlation coefficient (MCC) of 0.184 were obtained for residue pairs that are at least six amino acids apart. Second, when tested on a test set of 87 TM proteins, the proposed method showed a prediction accuracy of 64.5%, a coverage of 5.3%, a specificity of 99.4% and a MCC of 0.106. COMSAT shows satisfactory results when compared with 12 other state-of-the-art predictors, and is more robust in terms of prediction accuracy as the length and complexity of TM protein increase. COMSAT is freely accessible at http://hpcc.siat.ac.cn/COMSAT/. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Trends and advances in pesticide residue analysis | Yeboah ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

The nature, origin and the economic significance of pesticide residues are reviewed to underscore the need for countries to develop the ability and capacity to monitor pesticide residues. An overview of pesticide residues analytical procedures is also presented with emphasis on thin layer chromatography (TLC) as an ...

Deep Residual Network Predicts Cortical Representation and Organization of Visual Features for Rapid Categorization.

Science.gov (United States)

Wen, Haiguang; Shi, Junxing; Chen, Wei; Liu, Zhongming

2018-02-28

The brain represents visual objects with topographic cortical patterns. To address how distributed visual representations enable object categorization, we established predictive encoding models based on a deep residual network, and trained them to predict cortical responses to natural movies. Using this predictive model, we mapped human cortical representations to 64,000 visual objects from 80 categories with high throughput and accuracy. Such representations covered both the ventral and dorsal pathways, reflected multiple levels of object features, and preserved semantic relationships between categories. In the entire visual cortex, object representations were organized into three clusters of categories: biological objects, non-biological objects, and background scenes. In a finer scale specific to each cluster, object representations revealed sub-clusters for further categorization. Such hierarchical clustering of category representations was mostly contributed by cortical representations of object features from middle to high levels. In summary, this study demonstrates a useful computational strategy to characterize the cortical organization and representations of visual features for rapid categorization.

Geostatistical enhancement of european hydrological predictions

Science.gov (United States)

Pugliese, Alessio; Castellarin, Attilio; Parajka, Juraj; Arheimer, Berit; Bagli, Stefano; Mazzoli, Paolo; Montanari, Alberto; Blöschl, Günter

2016-04-01

Geostatistical Enhancement of European Hydrological Prediction (GEEHP) is a research experiment developed within the EU funded SWITCH-ON project, which proposes to conduct comparative experiments in a virtual laboratory in order to share water-related information and tackle changes in the hydrosphere for operational needs (http://www.water-switch-on.eu). The main objective of GEEHP deals with the prediction of streamflow indices and signatures in ungauged basins at different spatial scales. In particular, among several possible hydrological signatures we focus in our experiment on the prediction of flow-duration curves (FDCs) along the stream-network, which has attracted an increasing scientific attention in the last decades due to the large number of practical and technical applications of the curves (e.g. hydropower potential estimation, riverine habitat suitability and ecological assessments, etc.). We apply a geostatistical procedure based on Top-kriging, which has been recently shown to be particularly reliable and easy-to-use regionalization approach, employing two different type of streamflow data: pan-European E-HYPE simulations (http://hypeweb.smhi.se/europehype) and observed daily streamflow series collected in two pilot study regions, i.e. Tyrol (merging data from Austrian and Italian stream gauging networks) and Sweden. The merger of the two study regions results in a rather large area (~450000 km2) and might be considered as a proxy for a pan-European application of the approach. In a first phase, we implement a bidirectional validation, i.e. E-HYPE catchments are set as training sites to predict FDCs at the same sites where observed data are available, and vice-versa. Such a validation procedure reveals (1) the usability of the proposed approach for predicting the FDCs over the entire river network of interest using alternatively observed data and E-HYPE simulations and (2) the accuracy of E-HYPE-based predictions of FDCs in ungauged sites. In a

Modeling pollen time series using seasonal-trend decomposition procedure based on LOESS smoothing.

Science.gov (United States)

Rojo, Jesús; Rivero, Rosario; Romero-Morte, Jorge; Fernández-González, Federico; Pérez-Badia, Rosa

2017-02-01

Analysis of airborne pollen concentrations provides valuable information on plant phenology and is thus a useful tool in agriculture-for predicting harvests in crops such as the olive and for deciding when to apply phytosanitary treatments-as well as in medicine and the environmental sciences. Variations in airborne pollen concentrations, moreover, are indicators of changing plant life cycles. By modeling pollen time series, we can not only identify the variables influencing pollen levels but also predict future pollen concentrations. In this study, airborne pollen time series were modeled using a seasonal-trend decomposition procedure based on LOcally wEighted Scatterplot Smoothing (LOESS) smoothing (STL). The data series-daily Poaceae pollen concentrations over the period 2006-2014-was broken up into seasonal and residual (stochastic) components. The seasonal component was compared with data on Poaceae flowering phenology obtained by field sampling. Residuals were fitted to a model generated from daily temperature and rainfall values, and daily pollen concentrations, using partial least squares regression (PLSR). This method was then applied to predict daily pollen concentrations for 2014 (independent validation data) using results for the seasonal component of the time series and estimates of the residual component for the period 2006-2013. Correlation between predicted and observed values was r = 0.79 (correlation coefficient) for the pre-peak period (i.e., the period prior to the peak pollen concentration) and r = 0.63 for the post-peak period. Separate analysis of each of the components of the pollen data series enables the sources of variability to be identified more accurately than by analysis of the original non-decomposed data series, and for this reason, this procedure has proved to be a suitable technique for analyzing the main environmental factors influencing airborne pollen concentrations.

A Numerical Model for Prediction of Residual Stress Using Rayleigh Waves

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yuan, Mao Dan; Kang, To; Kim, Hak Joon; Song, Sung Jin

2011-01-01

In this work, a numerical model is proposed for the relation between the magnitudes and the depth residual stress with the velocity of Rayleigh wave. Three cases, stress-free, uniform stress and layered stress, are investigated for the change tendency of the Rayleigh wave speed. Using the simulated signal with variation of residual stress magnitude and depth, investigation of the parameters for fitting residual stress and velocity change are performed. The speed change of Rayleigh wave shows a linear relation with the magnitude and an exponential relation with the depth of residual stress. The combination of these two effects could be used for the depth profile evaluation of the residual stress

Composite Cure Process Modeling and Simulations using COMPRO(Registered Trademark) and Validation of Residual Strains using Fiber Optics Sensors

Science.gov (United States)

Sreekantamurthy, Thammaiah; Hudson, Tyler B.; Hou, Tan-Hung; Grimsley, Brian W.

2016-01-01

Composite cure process induced residual strains and warping deformations in composite components present significant challenges in the manufacturing of advanced composite structure. As a part of the Manufacturing Process and Simulation initiative of the NASA Advanced Composite Project (ACP), research is being conducted on the composite cure process by developing an understanding of the fundamental mechanisms by which the process induced factors influence the residual responses. In this regard, analytical studies have been conducted on the cure process modeling of composite structural parts with varied physical, thermal, and resin flow process characteristics. The cure process simulation results were analyzed to interpret the cure response predictions based on the underlying physics incorporated into the modeling tool. In the cure-kinetic analysis, the model predictions on the degree of cure, resin viscosity and modulus were interpreted with reference to the temperature distribution in the composite panel part and tool setup during autoclave or hot-press curing cycles. In the fiber-bed compaction simulation, the pore pressure and resin flow velocity in the porous media models, and the compaction strain responses under applied pressure were studied to interpret the fiber volume fraction distribution predictions. In the structural simulation, the effect of temperature on the resin and ply modulus, and thermal coefficient changes during curing on predicted mechanical strains and chemical cure shrinkage strains were studied to understand the residual strains and stress response predictions. In addition to computational analysis, experimental studies were conducted to measure strains during the curing of laminated panels by means of optical fiber Bragg grating sensors (FBGs) embedded in the resin impregnated panels. The residual strain measurements from laboratory tests were then compared with the analytical model predictions. The paper describes the cure process

Radioactive material in residues of health services residues

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Costa R, A. Jr.; Recio, J.C.

2006-01-01

The work presents the operational actions developed by the one organ responsible regulator for the control of the material use radioactive in Brazil. Starting from the appearance of coming radioactive material of hospitals and clinical with services of nuclear medicine, material that that is picked up and transported in specific trucks for the gathering of residuals of hospital origin, and guided one it manufactures of treatment of residuals of services of health, where they suffer radiological monitoring before to guide them for final deposition in sanitary embankment, in the city of Sao Paulo, Brazil. The appearance of this radioactive material exposes a possible one violation of the norms that govern the procedures and practices in that sector in the country. (Author)

Seeing the signs: Using the course of residual depressive symptomatology to predict patterns of relapse and recurrence of major depressive disorder.

Science.gov (United States)

Verhoeven, Floor E A; Wardenaar, Klaas J; Ruhé, Henricus G Eric; Conradi, Henk Jan; de Jonge, Peter

2018-02-01

Major depressive disorder (MDD) is characterized by high relapse/recurrence rates. Predicting individual patients' relapse/recurrence risk has proven hard, possibly due to course heterogeneity among patients. This study aimed to (1) identify homogeneous data-driven subgroups with different patterns of relapse/recurrence and (2) identify associated predictors. For a year, we collected weekly depressive symptom ratings in 213 primary care MDD patients. Latent class growth analyses (LCGA), based on symptom-severity during the 24 weeks after no longer fulfilling criteria for the initial major depressive episode (MDE), were used to identify groups with different patterns of relapse/recurrence. Associations of baseline predictors with these groups were investigated, as were the groups' associations with 3- and 11-year follow-up depression outcomes. LCGA showed that heterogeneity in relapse/recurrence after no longer fulfilling criteria for the initial MDE was best described by four classes: "quick symptom decline" (14.0%), "slow symptom decline" (23.3%), "steady residual symptoms" (38.7%), and "high residual symptoms" (24.1%). The latter two classes showed lower self-esteem at baseline, and more recurrences and higher severity at 3-year follow-up than the first two classes. Moreover, the high residual symptom class scored higher on neuroticism and lower on extraversion and self-esteem at baseline. Interestingly, the steady residual symptoms and high residual symptoms classes still showed higher severity of depressive symptoms after 11 years. Some measures were associated with specific patterns of relapse/recurrence. Moreover, the data-driven relapse/recurrence groups were predictive of long-term outcomes, suggesting that patterns of residual symptoms could be of prognostic value in clinical practice. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Numerical and Experimental Analyses of Residual Stresses in

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Hansen, Jan Langkjær; Hattel, Jesper; Lorentzen, Torben

1999-01-01

Butt-welding in one pass with SMAW of two 10mm mild steel plates is investigated. In order to predict the residual stress fields associated with the welding procedure, a finite element model in 3D has been developed in ABAQUS. This model applies a sequential thermal and mechanical numerical...... analysis. In order to evaluate and refine the model parameters for the thermal analysis, the numerical results from this analysis are compared with experimental measurements of the temperature. To evaluate the predicted stress/strain fields, the mechanical model has been validated experimentally. This has...... been done using the novel non-destructive technique of neutron diffraction.The thermal model takes into account the moving heat source in the V-shaped weld. The heat source is modelled by filler material being added continuously in connection with a body flux. In order to obtain a more realistic weld...

Cutoff value of pharyngeal residue in prognosis prediction after neuromuscular electrical stimulation therapy for Dysphagia in subacute stroke patients.

Science.gov (United States)

Park, Jeong Mee; Yong, Sang Yeol; Kim, Ji Hyun; Jung, Hong Sun; Chang, Sei Jin; Kim, Ki Young; Kim, Hee

2014-10-01

To determine the cutoff value of the pharyngeal residue for predicting reduction of aspiration, by measuring the residue of valleculae and pyriformis sinuses through videofluoroscopic swallowing studies (VFSS) after treatment with neuromuscular electrical stimulator (VitalStim) in stroke patients with dysphagia. VFSS was conducted on first-time stroke patients before and after the VitalStim therapy. The results were analyzed for comparison of the pharyngeal residue in the improved group and the non-improved group. A total of 59 patients concluded the test, in which 42 patients improved well enough to change the dietary methods while 17 did not improve sufficiently. Remnant area to total area (R/T) ratios of the valleculae before treatment in the improved group were 0.120, 0.177, and 0.101 for solid, soft, and liquid foods, respectively, whereas the ratios for the non-improved group were 0.365, 0.396, and 0.281, respectively. The ratios of the pyriformis sinuses were 0.126, 0.159, and 0.121 for the improved group and 0.315, 0.338, and 0.244 for the non-improved group. The R/T ratios of valleculae and pyriformis sinus were significantly lower in the improved group than the non-improved group in all food types before treatment. The R/T ratio cutoff values were 0.267, 0.250, and 0.185 at valleculae and 0.228, 0.218, and 0.185 at pyriformis sinuses. In dysphagia after stroke, less pharyngeal residue before treatment serves as a factor for predicting greater improvement after VitalStim treatment.

Procedure prediction from symbolic Electronic Health Records via time intervals analytics.

Science.gov (United States)

Moskovitch, Robert; Polubriaginof, Fernanda; Weiss, Aviram; Ryan, Patrick; Tatonetti, Nicholas

2017-11-01

Prediction of medical events, such as clinical procedures, is essential for preventing disease, understanding disease mechanism, and increasing patient quality of care. Although longitudinal clinical data from Electronic Health Records provides opportunities to develop predictive models, the use of these data faces significant challenges. Primarily, while the data are longitudinal and represent thousands of conceptual events having duration, they are also sparse, complicating the application of traditional analysis approaches. Furthermore, the framework presented here takes advantage of the events duration and gaps. International standards for electronic healthcare data represent data elements, such as procedures, conditions, and drug exposures, using eras, or time intervals. Such eras contain both an event and a duration and enable the application of time intervals mining - a relatively new subfield of data mining. In this study, we present Maitreya, a framework for time intervals analytics in longitudinal clinical data. Maitreya discovers frequent time intervals related patterns (TIRPs), which we use as prognostic markers for modelling clinical events. We introduce three novel TIRP metrics that are normalized versions of the horizontal-support, that represents the number of TIRP instances per patient. We evaluate Maitreya on 28 frequent and clinically important procedures, using the three novel TIRP representation metrics in comparison to no temporal representation and previous TIRPs metrics. We also evaluate the epsilon value that makes Allen's relations more flexible with several settings of 30, 60, 90 and 180days in comparison to the default zero. For twenty-two of these procedures, the use of temporal patterns as predictors was superior to non-temporal features, and the use of the vertically normalized horizontal support metric to represent TIRPs as features was most effective. The use of the epsilon value with thirty days was slightly better than the zero

Influence of Hardening Model on Weld Residual Stress Distribution

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Mullins, Jonathan; Gunnars, Jens (Inspecta Technology AB, Stockholm (Sweden))

2009-06-15

This study is the third stage of a project sponsored by the Swedish Radiation Safety Authority (SSM) to improve the weld residual stress modelling procedures currently used in Sweden. The aim of this study was to determine which material hardening model gave the best agreement with experimentally measured weld residual stress distributions. Two girth weld geometries were considered: 19mm and 65mm thick girth welds with Rin/t ratios of 10.5 and 2.8, respectively. The FE solver ABAQUS Standard v6.5 was used for analysis. As a preliminary step some improvements were made to the welding simulation procedure used in part one of the project. First, monotonic stress strain curves and a mixed isotropic/kinematic hardening model were sourced from the literature for 316 stainless steel. Second, more detailed information was obtained regarding the geometry and welding sequence for the Case 1 weld (compared with phase 1 of this project). Following the preliminary step, welding simulations were conducted using isotropic, kinematic and mixed hardening models. The isotropic hardening model gave the best overall agreement with experimental measurements; it is therefore recommended for future use in welding simulations. The mixed hardening model gave good agreement for predictions of the hoop stress but tended to under estimate the magnitude of the axial stress. It must be noted that two different sources of data were used for the isotropic and mixed models in this study and this may have contributed to the discrepancy in predictions. When defining a mixed hardening model it is difficult to delineate the relative contributions of isotropic and kinematic hardening and for the model used it may be that a greater isotropic hardening component should have been specified. The kinematic hardening model consistently underestimated the magnitude of both the axial and hoop stress and is not recommended for use. Two sensitivity studies were also conducted. In the first the effect of using a

Influence of Hardening Model on Weld Residual Stress Distribution

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mullins, Jonathan; Gunnars, Jens

2009-06-01

This study is the third stage of a project sponsored by the Swedish Radiation Safety Authority (SSM) to improve the weld residual stress modelling procedures currently used in Sweden. The aim of this study was to determine which material hardening model gave the best agreement with experimentally measured weld residual stress distributions. Two girth weld geometries were considered: 19mm and 65mm thick girth welds with Rin/t ratios of 10.5 and 2.8, respectively. The FE solver ABAQUS Standard v6.5 was used for analysis. As a preliminary step some improvements were made to the welding simulation procedure used in part one of the project. First, monotonic stress strain curves and a mixed isotropic/kinematic hardening model were sourced from the literature for 316 stainless steel. Second, more detailed information was obtained regarding the geometry and welding sequence for the Case 1 weld (compared with phase 1 of this project). Following the preliminary step, welding simulations were conducted using isotropic, kinematic and mixed hardening models. The isotropic hardening model gave the best overall agreement with experimental measurements; it is therefore recommended for future use in welding simulations. The mixed hardening model gave good agreement for predictions of the hoop stress but tended to under estimate the magnitude of the axial stress. It must be noted that two different sources of data were used for the isotropic and mixed models in this study and this may have contributed to the discrepancy in predictions. When defining a mixed hardening model it is difficult to delineate the relative contributions of isotropic and kinematic hardening and for the model used it may be that a greater isotropic hardening component should have been specified. The kinematic hardening model consistently underestimated the magnitude of both the axial and hoop stress and is not recommended for use. Two sensitivity studies were also conducted. In the first the effect of using a

Prediction of residual stress distributions due to surface machining and welding and crack growth simulation under residual stress distribution

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ihara, Ryohei; Katsuyama, JInya; Onizawa, Kunio; Hashimoto, Tadafumi; Mikami, Yoshiki; Mochizuki, Masahito

2011-01-01

Research highlights: → Residual stress distributions due to welding and machining are evaluated by XRD and FEM. → Residual stress due to machining shows higher tensile stress than welding near the surface. → Crack growth analysis is performed using calculated residual stress. → Crack growth result is affected machining rather than welding. → Machining is an important factor for crack growth. - Abstract: In nuclear power plants, stress corrosion cracking (SCC) has been observed near the weld zone of the core shroud and primary loop recirculation (PLR) pipes made of low-carbon austenitic stainless steel Type 316L. The joining process of pipes usually includes surface machining and welding. Both processes induce residual stresses, and residual stresses are thus important factors in the occurrence and propagation of SCC. In this study, the finite element method (FEM) was used to estimate residual stress distributions generated by butt welding and surface machining. The thermoelastic-plastic analysis was performed for the welding simulation, and the thermo-mechanical coupled analysis based on the Johnson-Cook material model was performed for the surface machining simulation. In addition, a crack growth analysis based on the stress intensity factor (SIF) calculation was performed using the calculated residual stress distributions that are generated by welding and surface machining. The surface machining analysis showed that tensile residual stress due to surface machining only exists approximately 0.2 mm from the machined surface, and the surface residual stress increases with cutting speed. The crack growth analysis showed that the crack depth is affected by both surface machining and welding, and the crack length is more affected by surface machining than by welding.

Measurement of residual stresses in welded sample of dissimilar materials

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mansur, Tanius Rodrigues; Gomes, Paulo de Tarso Vida; Scaldaferri, Denis Henrique Bianchi; Martins, Geraldo Antonio Scoralick; Atanazio Filho, Nelson do Nascimento

2008-01-01

The welding of dissimilar metals has several applications in the industry. Especially in the nuclear industry, this joint type, common between carbon steel and stainless steel, it is always reason of analysis and special cares tends in view the need to maintain the integrity of the equipment. Residual stresses are introduced in the material as a result of processes as welding, machining, sanding and polishing that can to produce deformation in the proximities of the surface of the material. Residual compressive stresses can be introduced in the material through the jetting process (bombardment of the surface for small glass spheres, dry sand or steel). That procedure allows a fine subsurface layer to suffer yielding, compressing the superficial layer and reducing the formation of areas of concentration of traction stresses, increasing the resistance of the material to the fatigue. The welding process introduces residual stresses due to the geometry resulting from the fusion of the material welded and of the heterogeneous cooling. Besides the microstructural alteration and chemical composition of the material in the affected area for the heat, introduced by the welding, it is also had the effect of the discontinuity of the passes and the formation of bubbles and emptiness that can contribute to the cracks nucleation, reducing the resistance to the fatigue. In the great majority of the times residual stresses are harmful and there are many documented cases which US these stresses went predominant factors for the failure for fatigue. A particularly dangerous aspect of the residual stresses is that their presence is not usually observed, what usually happens with an applied load to the structure. The knowledge of the surface residual stresses is important to predict the emergence of failure when the component or structure is requested. In nuclear power plants it is common to welding of piping of stainless steels with mouthpieces of carbon steel of pressure vases of

Procedure to predict the storey where plastic drift dominates in two-storey building under strong ground motion

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Hibino, Y.; Ichinose, T.; Costa, J.L.D.

2009-01-01

A procedure is presented to predict the storey where plastic drift dominates in two-storey buildings under strong ground motion. The procedure utilizes the yield strength and the mass of each storey as well as the peak ground acceleration. The procedure is based on two different assumptions: (1....... The efficiency of the procedure is verified by dynamic response analyses using elasto-plastic model....

Predicting residue contacts using pragmatic correlated mutations method: reducing the false positives

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Alexov Emil G

2006-11-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Predicting residues' contacts using primary amino acid sequence alone is an important task that can guide 3D structure modeling and can verify the quality of the predicted 3D structures. The correlated mutations (CM method serves as the most promising approach and it has been used to predict amino acids pairs that are distant in the primary sequence but form contacts in the native 3D structure of homologous proteins. Results Here we report a new implementation of the CM method with an added set of selection rules (filters. The parameters of the algorithm were optimized against fifteen high resolution crystal structures with optimization criterion that maximized the confidentiality of the predictions. The optimization resulted in a true positive ratio (TPR of 0.08 for the CM without filters and a TPR of 0.14 for the CM with filters. The protocol was further benchmarked against 65 high resolution structures that were not included in the optimization test. The benchmarking resulted in a TPR of 0.07 for the CM without filters and to a TPR of 0.09 for the CM with filters. Conclusion Thus, the inclusion of selection rules resulted to an overall improvement of 30%. In addition, the pair-wise comparison of TPR for each protein without and with filters resulted in an average improvement of 1.7. The methodology was implemented into a web server http://www.ces.clemson.edu/compbio/recon that is freely available to the public. The purpose of this implementation is to provide the 3D structure predictors with a tool that can help with ranking alternative models by satisfying the largest number of predicted contacts, as well as it can provide a confidence score for contacts in cases where structure is known.

Circulating microRNA levels predict residual beta cell function and glycaemic control in children with type 1 diabetes mellitus

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Samandari, Nasim; Mirza, Aashiq H; Nielsen, Lotte B

2017-01-01

AIMS/HYPOTHESIS: We aimed to identify circulating microRNA (miRNA) that predicts clinical progression in a cohort of 123 children with new-onset type 1 diabetes mellitus. METHODS: Plasma samples were prospectively obtained at 1, 3, 6, 12 and 60 months after diagnosis from a subset of 40 children......RNAs revealed significant enrichment for pathways related to gonadotropin-releasing hormone receptor and angiogenesis pathways. CONCLUSIONS/INTERPRETATION: The miRNA hsa-miR-197-3p at 3 months was the strongest predictor of residual beta cell function 1 year after diagnosis in children with type 1 diabetes...... from the Danish Remission Phase Cohort, and profiled for miRNAs. At the same time points, meal-stimulated C-peptide and HbA1c levels were measured and insulin-dose adjusted HbA1c (IDAA1c) calculated. miRNAs that at 3 months after diagnosis predicted residual beta cell function and glycaemic control...

Modeling Residual NAPL in Water-Wet Porous Media

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

R.J. Lenhard

2002-06-01

Full Text Available A model is outlined that predicts NAPL which is held in pore wedges and as films or lenses on solid and water surfaces and contributes negligibly to NAPL advection. This is conceptually referred to as residual NAPL. Since residual NAPL is immobile, it remains in the vadose zone after all free NAPL has drained. Residual NAPL is very important because it is a long-term source for groundwater contamination. Recent laboratory experiments have demonstrated that current models for predicting subsurface NAPL behavior are inadequate because they do not correctly predict residual NAPL. The main reason for the failure is a deficiency in the current constitutive theories for multiphase flow that are used in numerical simulators. Multiphase constitutive theory governs the relations among relative permeability, saturation, and pressure for fluid systems (i.e., air, NAPL, water. In this paper, we outline a model describing relations between fluid saturations and pressures that can be combined with existing multiphase constitutive theory to predict residual NAPL. We test the revised constitutive theory by applying it to a scenario involving NAPL imbibition and drainage, as well as water imbibition and drainage. The results suggest that the revised constitutive theory is able to predict the distribution of residual NAPL in the vadose zone as a function of saturation-path history. The revised model describing relations between fluid saturation and pressures will help toward developing or improving numerical multiphase flow simulators.

Proceedings of the 7. biennial residue-to-revenue residual wood conference 2007

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Raulin, J.

2007-01-01

This conference provided information on the highest and best use of residual wood, which is quickly becoming a valuable commodity. Issues concerning forest residues, sawmill wastes, agricultural residues and urban organic materials were discussed along with trends in Canadian surplus mill waste production. The evolving nature and technologies of the biomass business were highlighted with particular focus on how to generate energy and save money through the use of residual wood. Residual wood energy projects and developments in Canada, North America and Europe were outlined along with biomass development in relation to forest fires and insect disturbances. Cogeneration technologies using wood wastes for thermal heat, steam and electricity were also presented, along with transportation fuel technologies for the production of ethanol. It was noted that with the rising cost of energy, the forest industry is seeking energy solutions based on the use of residual wood. The range of economically practical residual wood solutions continues to grow as energy prices increase. The conference was attended by more than 200 delegates from the forest industry, suppliers and government representatives, to discuss policies and procedures currently in place. Industry investment is being stimulated by the potential for biofuels and biochemicals, as well as the co-operation between the forest and energy sectors. The conference featured 23 presentations, of which 12 have been catalogued separately for inclusion in this database. refs., tabs., figs

Analytical description of fatigue crack propagation regularities taking into account residual welding stresses

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Trufyakov, V.I.; Knysh, V.V.; Mikheev, P.P.; Kuz'menko, A.Z.

1983-01-01

The procedure, accounting the effect of residual stresses on crack resistance of welded constructions under cyclic loads, is described. The procedure is based on the Paris equation modified by the introduction of the coefficient of residual stress intensity through the functional dependence. The dependence is determined for cases of residual stresses of tension and compression. The experimental data for the 15KhSND steel are presented

Identification of mannose interacting residues using local composition.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sandhya Agarwal

Full Text Available BACKGROUND: Mannose binding proteins (MBPs play a vital role in several biological functions such as defense mechanisms. These proteins bind to mannose on the surface of a wide range of pathogens and help in eliminating these pathogens from our body. Thus, it is important to identify mannose interacting residues (MIRs in order to understand mechanism of recognition of pathogens by MBPs. RESULTS: This paper describes modules developed for predicting MIRs in a protein. Support vector machine (SVM based models have been developed on 120 mannose binding protein chains, where no two chains have more than 25% sequence similarity. SVM models were developed on two types of datasets: 1 main dataset consists of 1029 mannose interacting and 1029 non-interacting residues, 2 realistic dataset consists of 1029 mannose interacting and 10320 non-interacting residues. In this study, firstly, we developed standard modules using binary and PSSM profile of patterns and got maximum MCC around 0.32. Secondly, we developed SVM modules using composition profile of patterns and achieved maximum MCC around 0.74 with accuracy 86.64% on main dataset. Thirdly, we developed a model on a realistic dataset and achieved maximum MCC of 0.62 with accuracy 93.08%. Based on this study, a standalone program and web server have been developed for predicting mannose interacting residues in proteins (http://www.imtech.res.in/raghava/premier/. CONCLUSIONS: Compositional analysis of mannose interacting and non-interacting residues shows that certain types of residues are preferred in mannose interaction. It was also observed that residues around mannose interacting residues have a preference for certain types of residues. Composition of patterns/peptide/segment has been used for predicting MIRs and achieved reasonable high accuracy. It is possible that this novel strategy may be effective to predict other types of interacting residues. This study will be useful in annotating the function

Effect of commercial processing procedures on 14C-LINDANE residues in corn oil

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Soliman, S.M.

2006-01-01

At blooming, maize plants were sprayed twice, 23 days apart, at a dose of 22 mg equivalent to 5 μCi/ plant. At post harvest, maize seeds had a radioactivity corresponding to 0.36% of the applied dose. The insecticide residues in crude oil, cake and methanolic extract were amounted to 8 % and 60 % 5 % , respectively, of original residues inside the seeds.The 14 C-activity in the crude oil could be reduced by commercial processes locally used for refining. The refined oil had a residue level of about 0.7 ppm mainly in the form of unchanged lindane in addition to a number of chloro phenols as main metabolites. Refining of corn oil fortified with 14 C-lindane led to a high reduction of 14 C-lindane (88%). The refined oil contained a residue consisting lindane and its chloro phenols

Residual stresses in Inconel 718 engine disks

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Dahan Yoann

2014-01-01

Full Text Available Aubert&Duval has developed a methodology to establish a residual stress model for Inconel 718 engine discs. To validate the thermal, mechanical and metallurgical parts of the model, trials on lab specimens with specific geometry were carried out. These trials allow a better understanding of the residual stress distribution and evolution during different processes (quenching, ageing, machining. A comparison between experimental and numerical results reveals the residual stresses model accuracy. Aubert&Duval has also developed a mechanical properties prediction model. Coupled with the residual stress prediction model, Aubert&Duval can now propose improvements to the process of manufacturing in Inconel 718 engine disks. This model enables Aubert&Duval customers and subcontractors to anticipate distortions issues during machining. It could also be usedt to optimise the engine disk life.

Residual-strength determination in polymetric materials

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Christensen, R.M.

1981-10-01

Kinetic theory of crack growth is used to predict the residual strength of polymetric materials acted upon by a previous history. Specifically, the kinetic theory is used to characterize the state of growing damage that occurs under a constant-stress (load) state. The load is removed before failure under creep-rupture conditions, and the residual instantaneous strength is determined from the theory by taking account of the damage accumulation under the preceding constant-load history. The rate of change of residual strength is found to be strongest when the duration of the preceding load history is near the ultimate lifetime under that condition. Physical explanations for this effect are given, as are numerical examples. Also, the theoretical prediction is compared with experimental data.

Residual-strength determination in polymetric materials

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Christensen, R.M.

1981-01-01

Kinetic theory of crack growth is used to predict the residual strength of polymetric materials acted upon by a previous history. Specifically, the kinetic theory is used to characterize the state of growing damage that occurs under a constant-stress (load) state. The load is removed before failure under creep-rupture conditions, and the residual instantaneous strength is determined from the theory by taking account of the damage accumulation under the preceding constant-load history. The rate of change of residual strength is found to be strongest when the duration of the preceding load history is near the ultimate lifetime under that condition. Physical explanations for this effect are given, as are numerical examples. Also, the theoretical prediction is compared with experimental data

On the Structural Context and Identification of Enzyme Catalytic Residues

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Yu-Tung Chien

2013-01-01

Full Text Available Enzymes play important roles in most of the biological processes. Although only a small fraction of residues are directly involved in catalytic reactions, these catalytic residues are the most crucial parts in enzymes. The study of the fundamental and unique features of catalytic residues benefits the understanding of enzyme functions and catalytic mechanisms. In this work, we analyze the structural context of catalytic residues based on theoretical and experimental structure flexibility. The results show that catalytic residues have distinct structural features and context. Their neighboring residues, whether sequence or structure neighbors within specific range, are usually structurally more rigid than those of noncatalytic residues. The structural context feature is combined with support vector machine to identify catalytic residues from enzyme structure. The prediction results are better or comparable to those of recent structure-based prediction methods.

Multi-level learning: improving the prediction of protein, domain and residue interactions by allowing information flow between levels

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

McDermott Drew

2009-08-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Proteins interact through specific binding interfaces that contain many residues in domains. Protein interactions thus occur on three different levels of a concept hierarchy: whole-proteins, domains, and residues. Each level offers a distinct and complementary set of features for computationally predicting interactions, including functional genomic features of whole proteins, evolutionary features of domain families and physical-chemical features of individual residues. The predictions at each level could benefit from using the features at all three levels. However, it is not trivial as the features are provided at different granularity. Results To link up the predictions at the three levels, we propose a multi-level machine-learning framework that allows for explicit information flow between the levels. We demonstrate, using representative yeast interaction networks, that our algorithm is able to utilize complementary feature sets to make more accurate predictions at the three levels than when the three problems are approached independently. To facilitate application of our multi-level learning framework, we discuss three key aspects of multi-level learning and the corresponding design choices that we have made in the implementation of a concrete learning algorithm. 1 Architecture of information flow: we show the greater flexibility of bidirectional flow over independent levels and unidirectional flow; 2 Coupling mechanism of the different levels: We show how this can be accomplished via augmenting the training sets at each level, and discuss the prevention of error propagation between different levels by means of soft coupling; 3 Sparseness of data: We show that the multi-level framework compounds data sparsity issues, and discuss how this can be dealt with by building local models in information-rich parts of the data. Our proof-of-concept learning algorithm demonstrates the advantage of combining levels, and opens up

Nonparametric bootstrap procedures for predictive inference based on recursive estimation schemes

OpenAIRE

Corradi, Valentina; Swanson, Norman R.

2005-01-01

Our objectives in this paper are twofold. First, we introduce block bootstrap techniques that are (first order) valid in recursive estimation frameworks. Thereafter, we present two examples where predictive accuracy tests are made operational using our new bootstrap procedures. In one application, we outline a consistent test for out-of-sample nonlinear Granger causality, and in the other we outline a test for selecting amongst multiple alternative forecasting models, all of which are possibl...

Residual life of technical systems; diagnosis, prediction and life extension

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Reinertsen, Rune

1996-01-01

The paper presents and discusses research related to residual life of non-repairable and repairable technical systems. Diagnosis of systems and extension of residual life of technical systems are also presented and discussed. This paper concludes that research published describing determination and extension of residual life as well as methods for diagnosis of non-repairable and repairable technical systems, is somewhat limited. Many papers have a rather pragmatic approach. The authors only describe special cases from their own plant and do not provide any explanation of a more academical nature. The other papers are mainly describing very specific applications of statistical models, leaving the more general case out of consideration. One of the main results of this paper is to point out these facts, and thereby identify the need for future research in this area

In-Operation Inspection Technology development. Development of the degradation prediction technique

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nakamuta, Yasushi; Miyoshi, Toshiaki; O'shima, Eiji

1999-01-01

As In-Operation Inspection Technology (IOI) , we selected primary loop recirculation (PLR) pump, sea water pump, small diameter pipe branch in the steam generator (SG) room and motor driven valve for the typical component of the nuclear power plant, and we are developing the technology which can forecast the residual life of parts in the plan until FY2000. With respect to PLR pump and sea water pump, technical procedure for predicting the propagation of bearing wear, under the combined effect of several degradation conditions of each pump during the plant operation are under development. With respect to pipe branch, we are developing the non-contact laser sensors, and we are constructing the system which forecasts high cycle fatigue in the root of pipe branch by monitoring the vibration of pipe branch. With respect to motor driven valve, technical procedure for predicting the thermal degradation of gaskets and gland packing, technical procedure for predicting the stem nut wear and wear of hunging portion of valve disc, and technical procedure for detecting the degradation of driving parts, without disassembling the motor driven valve, are under development. (author)

Residual stress studies of austenitic and ferritic steels

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chrenko, R.M.

1978-01-01

Residual studies have been made on austenitic and ferritic steels of the types used as structural materials. The residual stress results presented here will include residual stress measurements in the heat-affected zone on butt welded Type 304 stainless steel pipes, and the stresses induced in Type 304 austenitic stainless steel and Type A508 ferritic steel by several surface preparations. Such surface preparation procedures as machining and grinding can induce large directionality effects in the residual stresses determined by X-ray techniques and some typical data will be presented. A brief description is given of the mobile X-ray residual stress apparatus used to obtain most of the data in these studies. (author)

Improved prediction of residue flexibility by embedding optimized amino acid grouping into RSA-based linear models.

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, Hua; Kurgan, Lukasz

2014-12-01

Knowledge of protein flexibility is vital for deciphering the corresponding functional mechanisms. This knowledge would help, for instance, in improving computational drug design and refinement in homology-based modeling. We propose a new predictor of the residue flexibility, which is expressed by B-factors, from protein chains that use local (in the chain) predicted (or native) relative solvent accessibility (RSA) and custom-derived amino acid (AA) alphabets. Our predictor is implemented as a two-stage linear regression model that uses RSA-based space in a local sequence window in the first stage and a reduced AA pair-based space in the second stage as the inputs. This method is easy to comprehend explicit linear form in both stages. Particle swarm optimization was used to find an optimal reduced AA alphabet to simplify the input space and improve the prediction performance. The average correlation coefficients between the native and predicted B-factors measured on a large benchmark dataset are improved from 0.65 to 0.67 when using the native RSA values and from 0.55 to 0.57 when using the predicted RSA values. Blind tests that were performed on two independent datasets show consistent improvements in the average correlation coefficients by a modest value of 0.02 for both native and predicted RSA-based predictions.

The effect of commercial processing procedures on 14C-carbendazim residues in soybean oil and tomato

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Peng Genyuan; Wang Huaguo; Qi Mengwen; Wang Fujun; Zhou Changjiu

1994-01-01

Under simulated agricultural practices, soybean plants were treated with 14 C-labelled carbendazim during the blooming stage. The residue in seeds was determined to be 0.067 ppm; corresponding to 0.076 ppm respectively. After subjecting the oil to degumming, alkali treatment, bleaching and deodorization, 53.7% of original radioactivity was removed. Deodorization was the most effect process, removing about 20% of the residue. The concentration of residues in the deodorized oil decreased about 30%. In soybean seed and cake, the residue was mainly present as carbendazim, the concentration of the other metabolites did not exceed 30% of the residue. Tomatoes grown on a field plot were treated with 14 C-carbendazim. After harvest, the tomatoes were processed into tomato juice and canned whole fruit. The magnitude and nature of residues in samples taken at several processing steps were determined to evaluate the effect of commercial processing on removing or eliminating the residues. The results showed that the surface residues on tomato would be removed efficiently by simple washing of tomato. A buffer solution of phosphate had the highest efficiency. Tomato juice contained lower residues than canned whole fruit

Residual stress analysis in reactor pressure vessel attachments

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Dexter, R.J.; Pont, D.

1991-08-01

Residual stresses in cladding and welded attachments could contribute to the problem of stress-corrosion cracking in boiling-water reactors (BWR). As part of a larger program aimed at quantifying residual stress in BWR components, models that would be applicable for predicting residual stress in BWR components are reviewed and documented. The review includes simple methods of estimating residual stresses as well as advanced finite-element software. In general, simple methods are capable of predicting peak magnitudes of residual stresses but are incapable of adequately characterizing the distribution of residual stresses. Ten groups of researchers using finite-element software are reviewed in detail. For each group, the assumptions of the model, possible simplifications, material property data, and specific applications are discussed. The most accurate results are obtained when a metallurgical simulation is performed, transformation plasticity effects are included, and the heating and cooling parts of the welding thermal cycle are simulated. Two models are identified which can provide these features. The present state of these models and the material property data available in the literature are adequate to quantify residual stress in BWR components

Bloqueio neuromuscular residual após o uso de rocurônio ou cisatracúrio Bloqueo neuromuscular residual después del uso de rocuronio o cisatracúrio Residual neuromuscular block after rocuronium or cisatracurium

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Bruno Salomé de Morais

2005-12-01

Full Text Available JUSTIFICATIVA E OBJETIVOS: O bloqueio neuromuscular residual na sala de recuperação pós-anestésica (SRPA é um fenômeno que pode aumentar a morbidade pós-operatória, com incidência variando entre 0% e 93%. O objetivo deste estudo foi avaliar a incidência do bloqueio neuromuscular residual na SRPA. MÉTODO: Foram estudados 93 pacientes submetidos à cirurgia geral com o uso de cisatracúrio ou rocurônio. Após a admissão na SRPA foi realizada a monitorização objetiva da função neuromuscular (aceleromiografia - TOF GUARD. O bloqueio neuromuscular residual foi definido como SQE JUSTIFICATIVA Y OBJETIVOS: El bloqueo neuromuscular residual en la sala de recuperación posanestésica (SRPA es un fenómeno que puede aumentar la morbidez posoperatoria, con incidencia variando entre 0% y 93%. La finalidad de este estudio fue evaluar la incidencia del bloqueo neuromuscular residual en la SRPA. MÉTODO: Fueron estudiados 93 pacientes sometidos a cirugía general con el uso de cisatracúrio o rocuronio. Después de la admisión en la SRPA fue realizada la monitorización objetiva de la función neuromuscular (aceleromiografia - TOF-GUARD. El bloqueo neuromuscular residual fue definido como TOF BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Residual neuromuscular block in the post-anesthetic recovery unit (PACU may increase postoperative morbidity from 0% to 93%. This study aimed at evaluating the incidence of residual neuromuscular block in the PACU. METHODS: Participated in this study 93 patients submitted to general anesthesia with cisatracurium or rocuronium. After PACU admission, neuromuscular function was objectively monitored (acceleromyography - TOF GUARD. Residual neuromuscular block was defined as TOF < 0.9. RESULTS: From 93 patients, 53 received cisatracurium and 40 rocuronium. Demographics, procedure length and the use of antagonists were comparable between groups. Residual neuromuscular block was 32% in subgroup C (cisatracurium and 30% in subgroup R

Historical maintenance relevant information road-map for a self-learning maintenance prediction procedural approach

Science.gov (United States)

Morales, Francisco J.; Reyes, Antonio; Cáceres, Noelia; Romero, Luis M.; Benitez, Francisco G.; Morgado, Joao; Duarte, Emanuel; Martins, Teresa

2017-09-01

A large percentage of transport infrastructures are composed of linear assets, such as roads and rail tracks. The large social and economic relevance of these constructions force the stakeholders to ensure a prolonged health/durability. Even though, inevitable malfunctioning, breaking down, and out-of-service periods arise randomly during the life cycle of the infrastructure. Predictive maintenance techniques tend to diminish the appearance of unpredicted failures and the execution of needed corrective interventions, envisaging the adequate interventions to be conducted before failures show up. This communication presents: i) A procedural approach, to be conducted, in order to collect the relevant information regarding the evolving state condition of the assets involved in all maintenance interventions; this reported and stored information constitutes a rich historical data base to train Machine Learning algorithms in order to generate reliable predictions of the interventions to be carried out in further time scenarios. ii) A schematic flow chart of the automatic learning procedure. iii) Self-learning rules from automatic learning from false positive/negatives. The description, testing, automatic learning approach and the outcomes of a pilot case are presented; finally some conclusions are outlined regarding the methodology proposed for improving the self-learning predictive capability.

Breast MR imaging for the assessment of residual disease following initial surgery for breast cancer with positive margins

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Krammer, Julia [University Medical Center Mannheim, Medical Faculty Mannheim, University of Heidelberg, Institute of Clinical Radiology and Nuclear Medicine, Mannheim (Germany); Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, Breast Imaging Section, Department of Radiology, New York, NY (United States); Price, Elissa R. [University of California, San Francisco, Department of Radiology and Biomedical Imaging, Division of Women' s Imaging, San Francisco, CA (United States); Jochelson, Maxine S.; Watson, Elizabeth; Morris, Elizabeth A. [Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, Breast Imaging Section, Department of Radiology, New York, NY (United States); Murray, Melissa P. [Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, Department of Pathology, New York, NY (United States); Schoenberg, Stefan O. [University Medical Center Mannheim, Medical Faculty Mannheim, University of Heidelberg, Institute of Clinical Radiology and Nuclear Medicine, Mannheim (Germany)

2017-11-15

To determine the accuracy of post-operative MR in predicting residual disease in women with positive margins, emphasizing the size thresholds at which residual disease can be confidently identified. This IRB-approved HIPAA-compliant retrospective study included 175 patients with MR after positive margins following initial surgery for breast cancer. Two expert readers independently re-evaluated MR images for evidence of residual disease at the surgical cavity and multifocal/multicentric disease. All patients underwent definitive surgery and MR findings were correlated to histopathology. 139/175 (79.4%) patients had residual disease at surgery. Average overall sensitivity, specificity, PPV and NPV for residual disease at the surgical cavity were 73%, 72%, 91% and 45%, respectively. The readers identified 42/45 (93%, reader 1) and 43/45 (95%, reader 2) patients with residual invasive disease at the cavity of ≥5 mm and 22/22 (100%, both readers) patients with disease ≥10 mm. Average sensitivity, specificity, PPV and NPV for unknown multifocal/multicentric disease were 90%, 96%, 93% and 86%, respectively. Post-operative breast MR can accurately depict ≥5-mm residual disease at the surgical cavity and unsuspected multifocal/multicentric disease. These findings have the potential to lead to more appropriate selection of second surgical procedures in women with positive margins. (orig.)

Breast MR imaging for the assessment of residual disease following initial surgery for breast cancer with positive margins

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Krammer, Julia; Price, Elissa R.; Jochelson, Maxine S.; Watson, Elizabeth; Morris, Elizabeth A.; Murray, Melissa P.; Schoenberg, Stefan O.

2017-01-01

To determine the accuracy of post-operative MR in predicting residual disease in women with positive margins, emphasizing the size thresholds at which residual disease can be confidently identified. This IRB-approved HIPAA-compliant retrospective study included 175 patients with MR after positive margins following initial surgery for breast cancer. Two expert readers independently re-evaluated MR images for evidence of residual disease at the surgical cavity and multifocal/multicentric disease. All patients underwent definitive surgery and MR findings were correlated to histopathology. 139/175 (79.4%) patients had residual disease at surgery. Average overall sensitivity, specificity, PPV and NPV for residual disease at the surgical cavity were 73%, 72%, 91% and 45%, respectively. The readers identified 42/45 (93%, reader 1) and 43/45 (95%, reader 2) patients with residual invasive disease at the cavity of ≥5 mm and 22/22 (100%, both readers) patients with disease ≥10 mm. Average sensitivity, specificity, PPV and NPV for unknown multifocal/multicentric disease were 90%, 96%, 93% and 86%, respectively. Post-operative breast MR can accurately depict ≥5-mm residual disease at the surgical cavity and unsuspected multifocal/multicentric disease. These findings have the potential to lead to more appropriate selection of second surgical procedures in women with positive margins. (orig.)

Recipe for residual oil saturation determination

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Guillory, A.J.; Kidwell, C.M.

1979-01-01

In 1978, Shell Oil Co., in conjunction with the US Department of Energy, conducted a residual oil saturation study in a deep, hot high-pressured Gulf Coast Reservoir. The work was conducted prior to initiation of CO/sub 2/ tertiary recovery pilot. Many problems had to be resolved prior to and during the residual oil saturation determination. The problems confronted are outlined such that the procedure can be used much like a cookbook in designing future studies in similar reservoirs. Primary discussion centers around planning and results of a log-inject-log operation used as a prime method to determine the residual oil saturation. Several independent methods were used to calculate the residual oil saturation in the subject well in an interval between 12,910 ft (3935 m) and 12,020 ft (3938 m). In general, these numbers were in good agreement and indicated a residual oil saturation between 22% and 24%. 10 references.

Positive predictive value of abnormal mammographic findings and role of assessment procedures

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Menna, S.; Marra, V.; Di Virgilio, M.R.; Macchia, G.; Frigerio, A.

1999-01-01

To investigate the positive predictive value for cancer of abnormal mammographic findings and the role of assessment, the authors reviewed a series of 962 patients recalled and examined in the first breast screening center of Turin (Italy), out of 18996 women aged 50-59 from 1991 to 1995, within a population-based mammography program. The results of this study confirm the accuracy of mammography in the early detection of breast cancer and the different role of assessment procedures in the various abnormal mammographic findings. The improvement in positive predictive value for screening demonstrates the importance of the learning curve within the screening team. Most of this improvement could be referred to refined diagnostic criteria for calcifications [it

On the Rule of Mixtures for Predicting Stress-Softening and Residual Strain Effects in Biological Tissues and Biocompatible Materials

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Alex Elías-Zúñiga

2014-01-01

Full Text Available In this work, we use the rule of mixtures to develop an equivalent material model in which the total strain energy density is split into the isotropic part related to the matrix component and the anisotropic energy contribution related to the fiber effects. For the isotropic energy part, we select the amended non-Gaussian strain energy density model, while the energy fiber effects are added by considering the equivalent anisotropic volumetric fraction contribution, as well as the isotropized representation form of the eight-chain energy model that accounts for the material anisotropic effects. Furthermore, our proposed material model uses a phenomenological non-monotonous softening function that predicts stress softening effects and has an energy term, derived from the pseudo-elasticity theory, that accounts for residual strain deformations. The model’s theoretical predictions are compared with experimental data collected from human vaginal tissues, mice skin, poly(glycolide-co-caprolactone (PGC25 3-0 and polypropylene suture materials and tracheal and brain human tissues. In all cases examined here, our equivalent material model closely follows stress-softening and residual strain effects exhibited by experimental data.

On the Rule of Mixtures for Predicting Stress-Softening and Residual Strain Effects in Biological Tissues and Biocompatible Materials

Science.gov (United States)

Elías-Zúñiga, Alex; Baylón, Karen; Ferrer, Inés; Serenó, Lídia; Garcia-Romeu, Maria Luisa; Bagudanch, Isabel; Grabalosa, Jordi; Pérez-Recio, Tania; Martínez-Romero, Oscar; Ortega-Lara, Wendy; Elizalde, Luis Ernesto

2014-01-01

In this work, we use the rule of mixtures to develop an equivalent material model in which the total strain energy density is split into the isotropic part related to the matrix component and the anisotropic energy contribution related to the fiber effects. For the isotropic energy part, we select the amended non-Gaussian strain energy density model, while the energy fiber effects are added by considering the equivalent anisotropic volumetric fraction contribution, as well as the isotropized representation form of the eight-chain energy model that accounts for the material anisotropic effects. Furthermore, our proposed material model uses a phenomenological non-monotonous softening function that predicts stress softening effects and has an energy term, derived from the pseudo-elasticity theory, that accounts for residual strain deformations. The model’s theoretical predictions are compared with experimental data collected from human vaginal tissues, mice skin, poly(glycolide-co-caprolactone) (PGC25 3-0) and polypropylene suture materials and tracheal and brain human tissues. In all cases examined here, our equivalent material model closely follows stress-softening and residual strain effects exhibited by experimental data. PMID:28788466

Evaluation of residue-residue contact prediction in CASP10

KAUST Repository

Monastyrskyy, Bohdan; D'Andrea, Daniel; Fidelis, Krzysztof; Tramontano, Anna; Kryshtafovych, Andriy

2013-01-01

not take part in the experiment likely because they require a very deep sequence alignment not available for any of the 114 CASP10 targets. The performance of contact prediction methods was evaluated with the measures used in previous CASPs (i

FE-simulation of hot forging with an integrated heat treatment with the objective of residual stress prediction

Science.gov (United States)

Behrens, Bernd-Arno; Chugreeva, Anna; Chugreev, Alexander

2018-05-01

Hot forming as a coupled thermo-mechanical process comprises numerous material phenomena with a corresponding impact on the material behavior during and after the forming process as well as on the final component performance. In this context, a realistic FE-simulation requires reliable mathematical models as well as detailed thermo-mechanical material data. This paper presents experimental and numerical results focused on the FE-based simulation of a hot forging process with a subsequent heat treatment step aiming at the prediction of the final mechanical properties and residual stress state in the forged component made of low alloy CrMo-steel DIN 42CrMo4. For this purpose, hot forging experiments of connecting rod geometry with a corresponding metallographic analysis and x-ray residual stress measurements have been carried out. For the coupled thermo-mechanical-metallurgical FE-simulations, a special user-defined material model based on the additive strain decomposition method and implemented in Simufact Forming via MSC.Marc solver features has been used.

The Residual Setup Errors of Different IGRT Alignment Procedures for Head and Neck IMRT and the Resulting Dosimetric Impact

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Graff, Pierre; Kirby, Neil; Weinberg, Vivian; Chen, Josephine; Yom, Sue S.; Lambert, Louise; Pouliot, Jean

2013-01-01

Purpose: To assess residual setup errors during head and neck radiation therapy and the resulting consequences for the delivered dose for various patient alignment procedures. Methods and Materials: Megavoltage cone beam computed tomography (MVCBCT) scans from 11 head and neck patients who underwent intensity modulated radiation therapy were used to assess setup errors. Each MVCBCT scan was registered to its reference planning kVCT, with seven different alignment procedures: automatic alignment and manual registration to 6 separate bony landmarks (sphenoid, left/right maxillary sinuses, mandible, cervical 1 [C1]-C2, and C7-thoracic 1 [T1] vertebrae). Shifts in the different alignments were compared with each other to determine whether there were any statistically significant differences. Then, the dose distribution was recalculated on 3 MVCBCT images per patient for every alignment procedure. The resulting dose-volume histograms for targets and organs at risk (OARs) were compared to those from the planning kVCTs. Results: The registration procedures produced statistically significant global differences in patient alignment and actual dose distribution, calling for a need for standardization of patient positioning. Vertically, the automatic, sphenoid, and maxillary sinuses alignments mainly generated posterior shifts and resulted in mean increases in maximal dose to OARs of >3% of the planned dose. The suggested choice of C1-C2 as a reference landmark appears valid, combining both OAR sparing and target coverage. Assuming this choice, relevant margins to apply around volumes of interest at the time of planning to take into account for the relative mobility of other regions are discussed. Conclusions: Use of different alignment procedures for treating head and neck patients produced variations in patient setup and dose distribution. With concern for standardizing practice, C1-C2 reference alignment with relevant margins around planning volumes seems to be a valid

Prediction of protein binding sites using physical and chemical descriptors and the support vector machine regression method

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sun Zhong-Hua; Jiang Fan

2010-01-01

In this paper a new continuous variable called core-ratio is defined to describe the probability for a residue to be in a binding site, thereby replacing the previous binary description of the interface residue using 0 and 1. So we can use the support vector machine regression method to fit the core-ratio value and predict the protein binding sites. We also design a new group of physical and chemical descriptors to characterize the binding sites. The new descriptors are more effective, with an averaging procedure used. Our test shows that much better prediction results can be obtained by the support vector regression (SVR) method than by the support vector classification method. (rapid communication)

‘It is time to prepare the next patient’ real-time prediction of procedure duration in laparoscopic cholecystectomies

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Geudon, A.C.P.; Paalvast, M.S.M.; Meeuwsen, F.C.; Tax, D.M.J.; van Dijke, A.P.; Wauben, L.S.G.L.; van der Elst, M; Dankelman, J.; van den Dobbelsteen, J.J.

2016-01-01

Operating Room (OR) scheduling is crucial to allow efficient use of ORs. Currently, the predicted durations of surgical procedures are unreliable and the OR schedulers have to follow the progress of the procedures in order to update the daily planning accordingly. The OR schedulers often acquire

Residual stress analysis in BWR pressure vessel attachments

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Dexter, R.J.; Leung, C.P.; Pont, D.

1992-06-01

Residual stresses from welding processes can be the primary driving force for stress corrosion cracking (SCC) in BWR components. Thus, a better understanding of the causes and nature of these residual stresses can help assess and remedy SCC. Numerical welding simulation software, such as SYSWELD, and material property data have been used to quantify residual stresses for application to SCC assessments in BWR components. Furthermore, parametric studies using SYSWELD have revealed which variables significantly affect predicted residual stress. Overall, numerical modeling techniques can be used to evaluate residual stress for SCC assessments of BWR components and to identify and plan future SCC research

Long-term stabilization of crop residues and soil organic carbon affected by residue quality and initial soil pH.

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Xiaojuan; Butterly, Clayton R; Baldock, Jeff A; Tang, Caixian

2017-06-01

Residues differing in quality and carbon (C) chemistry are presumed to contribute differently to soil pH change and long-term soil organic carbon (SOC) pools. This study examined the liming effect of different crop residues (canola, chickpea and wheat) down the soil profile (0-30cm) in two sandy soils differing in initial pH as well as the long-term stability of SOC at the amended layer (0-10cm) using mid-infrared (MIR) and solid-state 13 C nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy. A field column experiment was conducted for 48months. Chickpea- and canola-residue amendments increased soil pH at 0-10cm in the Podzol by up to 0.47 and 0.36units, and in the Cambisol by 0.31 and 0.18units, respectively, at 48months when compared with the non-residue-amended control. The decomposition of crop residues was greatly retarded in the Podzol with lower initial soil pH during the first 9months. The MIR-predicted particulate organic C (POC) acted as the major C sink for residue-derived C in the Podzol. In contrast, depletion of POC and recovery of residue C in MIR-predicted humic organic C (HOC) were detected in the Cambisol within 3months. Residue types showed little impact on total SOC and its chemical composition in the Cambisol at 48months, in contrast to the Podzol. The final HOC and resistant organic C (ROC) pools in the Podzol amended with canola and chickpea residues were about 25% lower than the control. This apparent priming effect might be related to the greater liming effect of these two residues in the Podzol. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Synthetic and mechanistic insight into nosylation of glycine residues

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Stuhr-Hansen, Nicolai; Sølling, Theis Ivan; Strømgaard, Kristian

2013-01-01

The Fukuyama-Mitsunobu alkylation procedure is widely used to introduce alkyl substituents to amino groups in general and N-alkylation of peptides in particular. Here we have investigated the procedure in detail for N-alkylation of peptides with N-terminal glycine residues, based on the observati...

The effect of commercial processing procedures on {sup 14}C-carbendazim residues in soybean oil and tomato

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Genyuan, Peng; Huaguo, Wang; Mengwen, Qi; Fujun, Wang; Changjiu, Zhou [Laboratory for the Application of Nuclear Techniques, Beijing Agricultural University, Beijing (China)

1994-06-01

Under simulated agricultural practices, soybean plants were treated with {sup 14}C-labelled carbendazim during the blooming stage. The residue in seeds was determined to be 0.067 ppm; corresponding to 0.076 ppm respectively. After subjecting the oil to degumming, alkali treatment, bleaching and deodorization, 53.7% of original radioactivity was removed. Deodorization was the most effect process, removing about 20% of the residue. The concentration of residues in the deodorized oil decreased about 30%. In soybean seed and cake, the residue was mainly present as carbendazim, the concentration of the other metabolites did not exceed 30% of the residue. Tomatoes grown on a field plot were treated with {sup 14}C-carbendazim. After harvest, the tomatoes were processed into tomato juice and canned whole fruit. The magnitude and nature of residues in samples taken at several processing steps were determined to evaluate the effect of commercial processing on removing or eliminating the residues. The results showed that the surface residues on tomato would be removed efficiently by simple washing of tomato. A buffer solution of phosphate had the highest efficiency. Tomato juice contained lower residues than canned whole fruit.

Persistent ectopic pregnancy after milking procedure: Case report

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Semra Kayataş

2014-03-01

Full Text Available Ectopic pregnancy is the settlement of the pregnancy product at any site other than the endometrium. The incidence of ectopic pregnancy have increased in the last 20 years. Increased frequency and early diagnosis has led to conservative treatment methods to become more favorable. Follow-up, medical management and surgical managements are considered as conservative methods. As salpingostomy is the most common conservative surgical method, milking is considered as an alternative conservative surgical method. The most important complication of the conservative surgery is the persistence of ectopic pregnancy because of the residual trophoblastic tissue. Since the prediction of the persistent ectopic pregnancy is difficult after the conservative surgery, β-HCG follow up is so important for early diagnosis. In this case report we have discussed the case of the patient who admitted to our clinic with persistent ectopic pregnancy with acute abdomen, after the treatment with milking procedure whom than treated by salpingectomy procedure.

Revised MITG design, fabrication procedure, and performance predictions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Schock, A.

1983-01-01

The design, analysis, and key features of the Modular Isotopic Thermoelectric Generator (MITG) were described in a 1981 IECEC paper; and the design, fabrication, testing, and post-test analysis of test assemblies simulating prototypical MITG modules were described in preceding papers in these proceedings. These analyses succeeded in identifying and explaining the principal causes of thermal-stress problems encountered in the tests, and in confirming the effectiveness of design changes for alleviating them. The present paper presents additional design improvements for solving these and other problems, and describes new thermoelectric material properties generated by independent laboratories over the past two years. Based on these changes and on a revised fabrication procedure, it presents a reoptimization of the MITG design and computes the power-to-weight ratio for the revised design. That ratio is appreciably lower than the 1981 prediction, primarily because of changes in material properties; but it is still much higher than the specific power of current-generation RTGs

BLAST-based structural annotation of protein residues using Protein Data Bank.

Science.gov (United States)

Singh, Harinder; Raghava, Gajendra P S

2016-01-25

In the era of next-generation sequencing where thousands of genomes have been already sequenced; size of protein databases is growing with exponential rate. Structural annotation of these proteins is one of the biggest challenges for the computational biologist. Although, it is easy to perform BLAST search against Protein Data Bank (PDB) but it is difficult for a biologist to annotate protein residues from BLAST search. A web-server StarPDB has been developed for structural annotation of a protein based on its similarity with known protein structures. It uses standard BLAST software for performing similarity search of a query protein against protein structures in PDB. This server integrates wide range modules for assigning different types of annotation that includes, Secondary-structure, Accessible surface area, Tight-turns, DNA-RNA and Ligand modules. Secondary structure module allows users to predict regular secondary structure states to each residue in a protein. Accessible surface area predict the exposed or buried residues in a protein. Tight-turns module is designed to predict tight turns like beta-turns in a protein. DNA-RNA module developed for predicting DNA and RNA interacting residues in a protein. Similarly, Ligand module of server allows one to predicted ligands, metal and nucleotides ligand interacting residues in a protein. In summary, this manuscript presents a web server for comprehensive annotation of a protein based on similarity search. It integrates number of visualization tools that facilitate users to understand structure and function of protein residues. This web server is available freely for scientific community from URL http://crdd.osdd.net/raghava/starpdb .

Computation of a Reference Model for Robust Fault Detection and Isolation Residual Generation

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Emmanuel Mazars

2008-01-01

Full Text Available This paper considers matrix inequality procedures to address the robust fault detection and isolation (FDI problem for linear time-invariant systems subject to disturbances, faults, and polytopic or norm-bounded uncertainties. We propose a design procedure for an FDI filter that aims to minimize a weighted combination of the sensitivity of the residual signal to disturbances and modeling errors, and the deviation of the faults to residual dynamics from a fault to residual reference model, using the ℋ∞-norm as a measure. A key step in our procedure is the design of an optimal fault reference model. We show that the optimal design requires the solution of a quadratic matrix inequality (QMI optimization problem. Since the solution of the optimal problem is intractable, we propose a linearization technique to derive a numerically tractable suboptimal design procedure that requires the solution of a linear matrix inequality (LMI optimization. A jet engine example is employed to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed approach.

Prediction method of long-term reliability in improving residual stresses by means of surface finishing

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sera, Takehiko; Hirano, Shinro; Chigusa, Naoki; Okano, Shigetaka; Saida, Kazuyoshi; Mochizuki, Masahito; Nishimoto, Kazutoshi

2012-01-01

Surface finishing methods, such as Water Jet Peening (WJP), have been applied to welds in some major components of nuclear power plants as a counter measure to Primary Water Stress Corrosion Cracking (PWSCC). In addition, the methods of surface finishing (buffing treatment) is being standardized, and thus the buffing treatment has been also recognized as the well-established method of improving stress. On the other hand, the long-term stability of peening techniques has been confirmed by accelerated test. However, the effectiveness of stress improvement by surface treatment is limited to thin layers and the effect of complicated residual stress distribution in the weld metal beneath the surface is not strictly taken into account for long-term stability. This paper, therefore, describes the accelerated tests, which confirmed that the long-term stability of the layer subjected to buffing treatment was equal to that subjected to WJP. The long-term reliability of very thin stress improved layer was also confirmed through a trial evaluation by thermal elastic-plastic creep analysis, even if the effect of complicated residual stress distribution in the weld metal was excessively taken into account. Considering the above findings, an approach is proposed for constructing the prediction method of the long-term reliability of stress improvement by surface finishing. (author)

A proposed residual stress model for oblique turning

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Elkhabeery, M. M.

2001-01-01

A proposed mathematical model is presented for predicting the residual stresses caused by turning. Effects of change in tool free length, cutting speed, feed rate, and the tensile strength of work piece material on the maximum residual stress are investigated. The residual stress distribution in the surface region due to turning under unlubricated condition is determined using a deflection etching technique. To reduce the number of experiments required and build the mathematical model for these variables, Response Surface Methodology (RSM) is used. In addition, variance analysis and an experimental check are conducted to determine the prominent parameters and the adequacy of the model. The results show that the tensile stress of the work piece material, cutting speed, and feed rate have significant effects on the maximum residual stresses. The proposed model, that offering good correlation between the experimental and predicted results, is useful in selecting suitable cutting parameters for the machining of different materials. (author)

A manual for implementing residual radioactive material guidelines

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gilbert, T.L.; Yu, C.; Yuan, Y.C.; Zielen, A.J.; Jusko, M.J.; Wallo, A. III; Argonne National Lab., IL; Dames and Moore, West Valley, NY; Argonne National Lab., IL; USDOE Assistant Secretary for Nuclear Energy, Washington, DC

1989-06-01

This manual presents information for implementing US Department of Energy (DOE) guidelines for residual radioactive material at sites identified by the Formerly Utilized Sites Remedial Action Program (FUSRAP) and the Surplus Facilities Management Program (SFMP). It describes the analysis and models used to derive site-specific guidelines for allowable residual concentrations of radionuclides in soil and the design and use of the RESRAD computer code for calculating guideline values. It also describes procedures for implementing DOE policy for reducing residual radioactivity to levels that are as low as reasonably achievable. 36 refs., 16 figs, 22 tabs

Development of Analytical Method for Predicting Residual Mechanical Properties of Corroded Steel Plates

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

J. M. R. S. Appuhamy

2011-01-01

Full Text Available Bridge infrastructure maintenance and assurance of adequate safety is of paramount importance in transportation engineering and maintenance management industry. Corrosion causes strength deterioration, leading to impairment of its operation and progressive weakening of the structure. Since the actual corroded surfaces are different from each other, only experimental approach is not enough to estimate the remaining strength of corroded members. However, in modern practices, numerical simulation is being used to replace the time-consuming and expensive experimental work and to comprehend on the lack of knowledge on mechanical behavior, stress distribution, ultimate behavior, and so on. This paper presents the nonlinear FEM analyses results of many corroded steel plates and compares them with their respective tensile coupon tests. Further, the feasibility of establishing an accurate analytical methodology to predict the residual strength capacities of a corroded steel member with lesser number of measuring points is also discussed.

Spectrum Fatigue Lifetime and Residual Strength for Fiberglass Laminates; TOPICAL

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

WAHL, NEIL K.; MANDELL, JOHN F.; SAMBORSKY, DANIEL D.

2002-01-01

This report addresses the effects of spectrum loading on lifetime and residual strength of a typical fiberglass laminate configuration used in wind turbine blade construction. Over 1100 tests have been run on laboratory specimens under a variety of load sequences. Repeated block loading at two or more load levels, either tensile-tensile, compressive-compressive, or reversing, as well as more random standard spectra have been studied. Data have been obtained for residual strength at various stages of the lifetime. Several lifetime prediction theories have been applied to the results. The repeated block loading data show lifetimes that are usually shorter than predicted by the most widely used linear damage accumulation theory, Miner's sum. Actual lifetimes are in the range of 10 to 20 percent of predicted lifetime in many cases. Linear and nonlinear residual strength models tend to fit the data better than Miner's sum, with the nonlinear providing a better fit of the two. Direct tests of residual strength at various fractions of the lifetime are consistent with the residual strength models. Load sequencing effects are found to be insignificant. The more a spectrum deviates from constant amplitude, the more sensitive predictions are to the damage law used. The nonlinear model provided improved correlation with test data for a modified standard wind turbine spectrum. When a single, relatively high load cycle was removed, all models provided similar, though somewhat non-conservative correlation with the experimental results. Predictions for the full spectrum, including tensile and compressive loads were slightly non-conservative relative to the experimental data, and accurately captured the trend with varying maximum load. The nonlinear residual strength based prediction with a power law S-N curve extrapolation provided the best fit to the data in most cases. The selection of the constant amplitude fatigue regression model becomes important at the lower stress, higher

Study of consumer fireworks post-blast residues by ATR-FTIR.

Science.gov (United States)

Martín-Alberca, Carlos; Zapata, Félix; Carrascosa, Héctor; Ortega-Ojeda, Fernando E; García-Ruiz, Carmen

2016-03-01

Specific analytical procedures are requested for the forensic analysis of pre- and post-blast consumer firework samples, which present significant challenges. Up to date, vibrational spectroscopic techniques such as Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) have not been tested for the analysis of post-blast residues in spite of their interesting strengths for the forensic field. Therefore, this work proposes a simple and fast procedure for the sampling and analysis of consumer firework post-blast residues by a portable FTIR instrument with an Attenuated Total Reflection (ATR) accessory. In addition, the post-blast residues spectra of several consumer fireworks were studied in order to achieve the identification of their original chemical compositions. Hence, this work analysed 22 standard reagents usually employed to make consumer fireworks, or because they are related to their combustion products. Then, 5 different consumer fireworks were exploded, and their residues were sampled with dry cotton swabs and directly analysed by ATR-FTIR. In addition, their pre-blast fuses and charges were also analysed in order to stablish a proper comparison. As a result, the identification of the original chemical compositions of the post-blast samples was obtained. Some of the compounds found were potassium chlorate, barium nitrate, potassium nitrate, potassium perchlorate or charcoal. An additional study involving chemometric tools found that the results might greatly depend on the swab head type used for the sampling, and its sampling efficiency. The proposed procedure could be used as a complementary technique for the analysis of consumer fireworks post-blast residues. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Characterization of residual stresses generated during inhomogeneous plastic deformation

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Lorentzen, T.; Faurholdt, T.; Clausen, B.

1998-01-01

Residual stresses generated by macroscopic inhomogeneous plastic deformation are predicted by an explicit finite element (FE) technique. The numerical predictions are evaluated by characterizing the residual elastic strains by neutron diffraction using two different (hkl) reflections. Intergranular...... compare well and verify the capability of the numerical technique as well as the possibilities of experimental validation using neutron diffraction. The presented experimental and numerical approach will subsequently be utilized for the evaluation of more complicated plastic deformation processes...

Influences of lumped passes on welding residual stress of a thick-walled nuclear rotor steel pipe by multipass narrow gap welding

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Tan, Long, E-mail: mse.longtan@gmail.com [State Key Laboratory for Mechanical Behavior of Materials, School of Materials Science and Engineering, Xi’an Jiaotong University, Xi’an 710049 (China); Zhang, Jianxun; Zhuang, Dong [State Key Laboratory for Mechanical Behavior of Materials, School of Materials Science and Engineering, Xi’an Jiaotong University, Xi’an 710049 (China); Liu, Chuan [Provincial Key Lab of Advanced Welding Technology, Jiangsu University of Science and Technology, Zhenjiang 212003 (China)

2014-07-01

Highlights: • The internal residual stress of the thick-walled pipe is measured by using the local removal blind hole method. • Two lumped-pass models are developed to reduce computational cost. • The effect of lumped passes on the welding residual stress is discussed. • Reasonable lumped-pass model can guarantee the accuracy and improve the computational efficiency. - Abstract: The purpose of this study is to investigate the effect of the lumped passes simulation on the distribution of residual stresses before and after heat treatment in a thick-walled nuclear power rotor pipe with a 89-pass narrow gap welding process. The local removal blind hole method was used to measure internal residual stress of the thick-walled pipe after post weld heat treatment (PWHT). Based on the ANSYS software, a two-dimensional axisymmetric finite element model is employed. Two lumped-pass models of M-5th model (five weld beads as one lumped pass) and M-10th model (ten weld beads as one lumped pass) were developed to reduce computational cost. Based on the results in this study, the distributions of residual stresses of a thick-walled welded pipe before and after PWHT are developed. Meanwhile, the distribution of the through-wall axial residual stress along the weld center line is demonstrated to be a self-equilibrating type. In addition, the investigation results show that reasonable and reliable lumped-pass model can not only guarantee the accuracy of the simulated results, but also improve the computational efficiency in the thermo-elastic–plastic FE analysis procedure. Therefore, from the viewpoint of engineering application the developed lumped-pass computational procedure is a promising and useful method to predict residual stress of large and complex welded structures.

Influences of lumped passes on welding residual stress of a thick-walled nuclear rotor steel pipe by multipass narrow gap welding

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tan, Long; Zhang, Jianxun; Zhuang, Dong; Liu, Chuan

2014-01-01

Highlights: • The internal residual stress of the thick-walled pipe is measured by using the local removal blind hole method. • Two lumped-pass models are developed to reduce computational cost. • The effect of lumped passes on the welding residual stress is discussed. • Reasonable lumped-pass model can guarantee the accuracy and improve the computational efficiency. - Abstract: The purpose of this study is to investigate the effect of the lumped passes simulation on the distribution of residual stresses before and after heat treatment in a thick-walled nuclear power rotor pipe with a 89-pass narrow gap welding process. The local removal blind hole method was used to measure internal residual stress of the thick-walled pipe after post weld heat treatment (PWHT). Based on the ANSYS software, a two-dimensional axisymmetric finite element model is employed. Two lumped-pass models of M-5th model (five weld beads as one lumped pass) and M-10th model (ten weld beads as one lumped pass) were developed to reduce computational cost. Based on the results in this study, the distributions of residual stresses of a thick-walled welded pipe before and after PWHT are developed. Meanwhile, the distribution of the through-wall axial residual stress along the weld center line is demonstrated to be a self-equilibrating type. In addition, the investigation results show that reasonable and reliable lumped-pass model can not only guarantee the accuracy of the simulated results, but also improve the computational efficiency in the thermo-elastic–plastic FE analysis procedure. Therefore, from the viewpoint of engineering application the developed lumped-pass computational procedure is a promising and useful method to predict residual stress of large and complex welded structures

A wafer mapping technique for residual stress in surface micromachined films

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Schiavone, G; Murray, J; Smith, S; Walton, A J; Desmulliez, M P Y; Mount, A R

2016-01-01

The design of MEMS devices employing movable structures is crucially dependant on the mechanical behaviour of the deposited materials. It is therefore important to be able to fully characterize the micromachined films and predict with confidence the mechanical properties of patterned structures. This paper presents a characterization technique that enables the residual stress in MEMS films to be mapped at the wafer level by using microstructures released by surface micromachining. These dedicated MEMS test structures and the associated measurement techniques are used to extract localized information on the strain and Young’s modulus of the film under investigation. The residual stress is then determined by numerically coupling this data with a finite element analysis of the structure. This paper illustrates the measurement routine and demonstrates it with a case study using electrochemically deposited alloys of nickel and iron, particularly prone to develop high levels of residual stress. The results show that the technique enables wafer mapping of film non-uniformities and identifies wafer-to-wafer differences. A comparison between the results obtained from the mapping technique and conventional wafer bow measurements highlights the benefits of using a procedure tailored to films that are non-uniform, patterned and surface-micromachined, as opposed to simple standard stress extraction methods. The presented technique reveals detailed information that is generally unexplored when using conventional stress extraction methods such as wafer bow measurements. (paper)

Calculation method for residual stress analysis of filament-wound spherical pressure vessels

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Knight, C.E. Jr.

1976-01-01

Filament wound spherical pressure vessels may be produced with very high performance factors. These performance factors are a calculation of contained pressure times enclosed volume divided by structure weight. A number of parameters are important in determining the level of performance achieved. One of these is the residual stress state in the fabricated unit. A significant level of an unfavorable residual stress state could seriously impair the performance of the vessel. Residual stresses are of more concern for vessels with relatively thick walls and/or vessels constructed with the highly anisotropic graphite or aramid fibers. A method is established for measuring these stresses. A theoretical model of the composite structure is required. Data collection procedures and techniques are developed. The data are reduced by means of the model and result in the residual stress analysis. The analysis method can be used in process parameter studies to establish the best fabrication procedures

Partial least squares modeling of combined infrared, 1H NMR and 13C NMR spectra to predict long residue properties of crude oils

NARCIS (Netherlands)

de Peinder, P.; Visser, T.; Petrauskas, D.D.; Salvatori, F.; Soulimani, F.; Weckhuysen, B.M.

2009-01-01

Research has been carried out to determine the potential of partial least squares (PLS) modeling of mid-infrared (IR) spectra of crude oils combined with the corresponding 1H and 13C nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) data, to predict the long residue (LR) properties of these substances. The study

Cation exchange process for molten salt extraction residues

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Proctor, S.G.

1975-01-01

A new method, utilizing a cation exchange technique, has been developed for processing molten salt extraction (MSE) chloride salt residues. The developed ion exchange procedure has been used to separate americium and plutonium from gross quantities of magnesium, potassium, and sodium chloride that are present in the residues. The recovered plutonium and americium contained only 20 percent of the original amounts of magnesium, potassium, and sodium and were completely free of any detectable amounts of chloride impurity. (U.S.)

Modelling of the Residual Stress State in a new Type of Residual Stress Specimen

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Jakobsen, Johnny; Andreasen, Jens Henrik

2014-01-01

forms the experimental case which is analysed. A FE model of the specimen is used for analysing the curing history and the residual stress build up. The model is validated against experimental strain data which are recorded by a Fibre Brag Grating sensor and good agreement has been achieved.......The paper presents a study on a new type residual stress specimen which is proposed as a simple way to conduct experimental validation for model predictions. A specimen comprising of a steel plate with circular hole embedded into a stack of CSM glass fibre and further infused with an epoxy resin...

Prediction of long-residue properties of potential blends from mathematically mixed infrared spectra of pure crude oils by partial least-squares regression models

NARCIS (Netherlands)

de Peinder, P.; Visser, T.; Petrauskas, D.D.; Salvatori, F.; Soulimani, F.; Weckhuysen, B.M.

2009-01-01

Research has been carried out to determine the feasibility of partial least-squares (PLS) regression models to predict the long-residue (LR) properties of potential blends from infrared (IR) spectra that have been created by linearly co-adding the IR spectra of crude oils. The study is the follow-up

A logging residue "yield" table for Appalachian hardwoods

Science.gov (United States)

A. Jeff Martin

1976-01-01

An equation for predicting logging-residue volume per acre for Appalachian hardwoods was developed from data collected on 20 timber sales in national forests in West Virginia and Virginia. The independent variables of type-of-cut, products removed, basal area per acre, and stand age explained 95 percent of the variation in residue volume per acre. A "yield"...

Residual stresses due to weld repairs, cladding and electron beam welds and effect of residual stresses on fracture behavior. Annual report, September 1, 1977--November 30, 1978

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rybicki, E.F.

1978-11-01

The study is divided into three tasks. Task I is concerned with predicting and understanding the effects of residual stresses due to weld repairs of pressure vessels. Task II examines residual stresses due to an electron beam weld. Task III addresses the problem of residual stresses produced by weld cladding at a nozzle vessel intersection. The objective of Task I is to develop a computational model for predicting residual stress states due to a weld repair of pressure vessel and thereby gain an understanding of the mechanisms involved in the creation of the residual stresses. Experimental data from the Heavy Section Steel Technology (HSST) program at Oak Ridge National Laboratories (ORNL) is used to validate the computational model. In Task II, the residual stress model is applied to the case of an electron beam weld of a compact tension freacture specimen. The results in the form of residual stresses near the weld are then used to explain unexpected fracture behavior which is observed in the testing of the specimen. For Task III, the residual stress model is applied to the cladding process used in nozzle regions of nuclear pressure vessels. The residual stresses obtained from this analysis are evaluated to determine their effect on the phenomena of under-clad cracking

Pharmacokinetics, efficacy prediction indexes and residue depletion of antibacterial drugs.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Arturo Anadón

2016-06-01

Full Text Available Pharmacokinetics behaviour of the antibacterial in food producing animals, provides information on the rates of absorption and elimination, half-life in plasma and tissue, elimination pathways and metabolism. The dose and the dosing interval of the antimicrobial can be justified by considering the pharmacokinetic/pharmacodynamic (PK/PD relationship, if established, as well as the severity of the disease, whereas the number of administrations should be in line with the nature of the disease. The target population for therapy should be well defined and possible to identify under field conditions. Based on in vitro susceptibility data, and target animal PK data, an analysis for the PK/PD relationship may be used to support dose regimen selection and interpretation criteria for a clinical breakpoint. Therefore, for all antibacterials with systemic activity, the MIC data collected should be compared with the concentration of the compound at the relevant biophase following administration at the assumed therapeutic dose as recorded in the pharmacokinetic studies. Currently, the most frequently used parameters to express the PK/PD relationship are Cmax/MIC (maximum serum concentration/MIC, %T > MIC (fraction of time in which concentration exceeds MIC and AUC/MIC (area under the inhibitory concentration– time curve/MIC. Furthermore, the pharmacokinetic parameters provide the first indication of the potential for persistent residues and the tissues in which they may occur. The information on residue depletion in food-producing animals, provides the data on which MRL recommendations will be based. A critical factor in the antibacterial medication of all food-producing animals is the mandatory withdrawal period, defined as the time during which drug must not be administered prior to the slaughter of the animal for consumption. The withdrawal period is an integral part of the regulatory authorities’ approval process and is designed to ensure that no

Prediction of residual stresses in the heat affected zone

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Taleb, L.; Petit, S.; Jullien, J.F.

2004-01-01

In this paper the behavior of a disc made up of carbon manganese steel and subjected to an axisymmetric heating in its middle zone is considered. The applied thermal cycle generates localized metallurgical solid-solid phase transformations. Contrary to the study performed some years ago, the present work is concerned with relatively thick discs that lead to variable behavior according to axial direction. Experimentally, temperature and axial displacement of the face below have continuously been measured during tests. At the end of tests, the nature and the proportions of the final phases as well as residual stresses on both faces of the discs has also been assessed. These experimental results have been compared to numerical simulations using the finite element code ASTER, developed by EDF (Electricity of France), ASTER enables us to take into account the main mechanical consequences of phase transformations. From the obtained results it can be pointed out the significant importance to take into account the transformation induced plasticity (TRIP) phenomenon for better estimation of residual stresses. (authors)

A study for high accuracy measurement of residual stress by deep hole drilling technique

Science.gov (United States)

Kitano, Houichi; Okano, Shigetaka; Mochizuki, Masahito

2012-08-01

The deep hole drilling technique (DHD) received much attention in recent years as a method for measuring through-thickness residual stresses. However, some accuracy problems occur when residual stress evaluation is performed by the DHD technique. One of the reasons is that the traditional DHD evaluation formula applies to the plane stress condition. The second is that the effects of the plastic deformation produced in the drilling process and the deformation produced in the trepanning process are ignored. In this study, a modified evaluation formula, which is applied to the plane strain condition, is proposed. In addition, a new procedure is proposed which can consider the effects of the deformation produced in the DHD process by investigating the effects in detail by finite element (FE) analysis. Then, the evaluation results obtained by the new procedure are compared with that obtained by traditional DHD procedure by FE analysis. As a result, the new procedure evaluates the residual stress fields better than the traditional DHD procedure when the measuring object is thick enough that the stress condition can be assumed as the plane strain condition as in the model used in this study.

A procedure for evaluating residual life of major components in light water reactors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Uchida, S.; Fujimori, H.; Ibe, E.; Kuniya, J.; Hayashi, M.; Fuse, M.; Yamauchi, K.

1995-01-01

A computer program for evaluating residual life of major components in boiling water reactors is proposed. It divides the stress corrosion cracking process into two stages; a probabilistic crack generation stage and a deterministic crack propagation one. The minimum period of the crack generation stage is evaluated assuming an exponential distribution of the stage. The crack propagation rate is calculated by the slip-dissolution/film-rupture model. The neutron flux and fluence dependence of the neutron radiation effects on material properties was evaluated by using theoretical models of radiation damage. The computer program works on an engineering work station. Evaluated results are displayed as a map of the residual life, or as graphs of crack length evolution

Thermo-mechanical characterization of a thermoplastic composite and prediction of the residual stresses and lamina curvature during cooling

Science.gov (United States)

Péron, Mael; Jacquemin, Frédéric; Casari, Pascal; Orange, Gilles; Bailleul, Jean-Luc; Boyard, Nicolas

2017-10-01

The prediction of process induced stresses during the cooling of thermoplastic composites still represents a challenge for the scientific community. However, a precise determination of these stresses is necessary in order to optimize the process conditions and thus lower the stresses effects on the final part health. A model is presented here, that permits the estimation of residual stresses during cooling. It relies on the nonlinear laminate theory, which has been adapted to arbitrary layup sequences. The developed model takes into account the heat transfers through the thickness of the laminate, together with the crystallization kinetics. The development of the composite mechanical properties during cooling is addressed by an incremental linear elastic constitutive law, which also considers thermal and crystallization strains. In order to feed the aforementioned model, a glass fiber and PA6.6 matrix unidirectional (UD) composite has been characterized. This work finally focuses on the identification of the material and process related parameters that lower the residual stresses level, including the ply sequence, the fiber volume fraction and the cooling rate.

Prediction of retained residual stresses in laboratory fracture mechanics specimens extracted from welded components

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hurlston, R.G.; Sherry, A.H.; James, P.; Sharples, J.K.

2015-01-01

The measurement of weld material fracture toughness properties is important for the structural integrity assessment of engineering components. However, welds can contain high levels of residual stress and these can be retained in fracture mechanics specimens, particularly when machined from non-stress relieved welds. Retained residual stresses can make the measurement of valid fracture toughness properties difficult. This paper describes the results of analytical work undertaken to investigate factors that can influence the magnitude and distribution of residual stresses retained in fracture mechanics specimen blanks extracted from as-welded ferritic and austenitic stainless steel plates. The results indicate that significant levels of residual stress can be retained in specimen blanks prior to notching, and that the magnitude and distribution of stress is dependent upon material properties, specimen geometry and size, and extraction location through the thickness of the weld. Finite element modelling is shown to provide a useful approach for estimating the level and distributions of retained residual stresses. A new stress partitioning approach has been developed to estimate retained stress levels and results compare favourably with FE analysis and available experimental data. The approach can help guide the selection of specimen geometry and machining strategies to minimise the level of residual stresses retained in fracture mechanics specimen blanks extracted from non stress-relieved welds and thus improve the measurement of weld fracture toughness properties. - Highlights: • A simplified method for generating realistic weld residual stresses has been developed. • It has been shown that significant levels of residual stress can be retained within laboratory fracture mechanics specimens. • The level and distribution is dependant upon material, specimen type, specimen size and extraction location. • A method has been developed to allow estimates of the

QA/QC in pesticide residue analysis

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ambrus, A [Agrochemicals Unit, Agency' s Laboratories, Seibersdorf (Austria)

2002-07-01

This paper outlines problems related to pesticide residue analysis in a regulatory laboratory that are related to: availability of reference materials, as over 1000 pesticide active ingredients are currently in use and over 400 crops represent a large part of a healthy diet; analysis time; availability of samples in sufficient numbers; uncertainties of the procedures.

QA/QC in pesticide residue analysis

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ambrus, A.

2002-01-01

This paper outlines problems related to pesticide residue analysis in a regulatory laboratory that are related to: availability of reference materials, as over 1000 pesticide active ingredients are currently in use and over 400 crops represent a large part of a healthy diet; analysis time; availability of samples in sufficient numbers; uncertainties of the procedures

Prediction of Placental Barrier Permeability: A Model Based on Partial Least Squares Variable Selection Procedure

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Yong-Hong Zhang

2015-05-01

Full Text Available Assessing the human placental barrier permeability of drugs is very important to guarantee drug safety during pregnancy. Quantitative structure–activity relationship (QSAR method was used as an effective assessing tool for the placental transfer study of drugs, while in vitro human placental perfusion is the most widely used method. In this study, the partial least squares (PLS variable selection and modeling procedure was used to pick out optimal descriptors from a pool of 620 descriptors of 65 compounds and to simultaneously develop a QSAR model between the descriptors and the placental barrier permeability expressed by the clearance indices (CI. The model was subjected to internal validation by cross-validation and y-randomization and to external validation by predicting CI values of 19 compounds. It was shown that the model developed is robust and has a good predictive potential (r2 = 0.9064, RMSE = 0.09, q2 = 0.7323, rp2 = 0.7656, RMSP = 0.14. The mechanistic interpretation of the final model was given by the high variable importance in projection values of descriptors. Using PLS procedure, we can rapidly and effectively select optimal descriptors and thus construct a model with good stability and predictability. This analysis can provide an effective tool for the high-throughput screening of the placental barrier permeability of drugs.

RBscore&NBench: a high-level web server for nucleic acid binding residues prediction with a large-scale benchmarking database.

Science.gov (United States)

Miao, Zhichao; Westhof, Eric

2016-07-08

RBscore&NBench combines a web server, RBscore and a database, NBench. RBscore predicts RNA-/DNA-binding residues in proteins and visualizes the prediction scores and features on protein structures. The scoring scheme of RBscore directly links feature values to nucleic acid binding probabilities and illustrates the nucleic acid binding energy funnel on the protein surface. To avoid dataset, binding site definition and assessment metric biases, we compared RBscore with 18 web servers and 3 stand-alone programs on 41 datasets, which demonstrated the high and stable accuracy of RBscore. A comprehensive comparison led us to develop a benchmark database named NBench. The web server is available on: http://ahsoka.u-strasbg.fr/rbscorenbench/. © The Author(s) 2016. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Nucleic Acids Research.

A proposal of parameter determination method in the residual strength degradation model for the prediction of fatigue life (I)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kim, Sang Tae; Jang, Seong Soo

2001-01-01

The static and fatigue tests have been carried out to verify the validity of a generalized residual strength degradation model. And a new method of parameter determination in the model is verified experimentally to account for the effect of tension-compression fatigue loading of spheroidal graphite cast iron. It is shown that the correlation between the experimental results and the theoretical prediction on the statistical distribution of fatigue life by using the proposed method is very reasonable. Furthermore, it is found that the correlation between the theoretical prediction and the experimental results of fatigue life in case of tension-tension fatigue data in composite material appears to be reasonable. Therefore, the proposed method is more adjustable in the determination of the parameter than maximum likelihood method and minimization technique

Stabilization of Rocky Flats combustible residues contaminated with plutonium metal and organic solvents

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bowen, S.M.; Cisneros, M.R.; Jacobson, L.L.; Schroeder, N.C.; Ames, R.L.

1998-01-01

This report describes tests on a proposed flowsheet designed to stabilize combustible residues that were generated at the Rocky Flats Environmental Technology Site (RFETS) during the machining of plutonium metal. Combustible residues are essentially laboratory trash contaminated with halogenated organic solvents and plutonium metal. The proposed flowsheet, designed by RFETS, follows a glovebox procedure that includes (1) the sorting and shredding of materials, (2) a low temperature thermal desorption of solvents from the combustible materials, (3) an oxidation of plutonium metal with steam, and (4) packaging of the stabilized residues. The role of Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) in this study was to determine parameters for the low temperature thermal desorption and steam oxidation steps. Thermal desorption of carbon tetrachloride (CCl 4 ) was examined using a heated air stream on a Rocky Flats combustible residue surrogate contaminated with CCl 4 . Three types of plutonium metal were oxidized with steam in a LANL glovebox to determine the effectiveness of this procedure for residue stabilization. The results from these LANL experiments are used to recommend parameters for the proposed RFETS stabilization flowsheet

Residual life estimation of cracked aircraft structural components

OpenAIRE

Maksimović, Mirko S.; Vasović, Ivana V.; Maksimović, Katarina S.; Trišović, Nataša; Maksimović, Stevan M.

2018-01-01

The subject of this investigation is focused on developing computation procedure for strength analysis of damaged aircraft structural components with respect to fatigue and fracture mechanics. For that purpose, here will be defined computation procedures for residual life estimation of aircraft structural components such as wing skin and attachment lugs under cyclic loads of constant amplitude and load spectrum. A special aspect of this investigation is based on using of the Strain Energy Den...

Improving the Prediction of Total Surgical Procedure Time Using Linear Regression Modeling

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Eric R. Edelman

2017-06-01

Full Text Available For efficient utilization of operating rooms (ORs, accurate schedules of assigned block time and sequences of patient cases need to be made. The quality of these planning tools is dependent on the accurate prediction of total procedure time (TPT per case. In this paper, we attempt to improve the accuracy of TPT predictions by using linear regression models based on estimated surgeon-controlled time (eSCT and other variables relevant to TPT. We extracted data from a Dutch benchmarking database of all surgeries performed in six academic hospitals in The Netherlands from 2012 till 2016. The final dataset consisted of 79,983 records, describing 199,772 h of total OR time. Potential predictors of TPT that were included in the subsequent analysis were eSCT, patient age, type of operation, American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA physical status classification, and type of anesthesia used. First, we computed the predicted TPT based on a previously described fixed ratio model for each record, multiplying eSCT by 1.33. This number is based on the research performed by van Veen-Berkx et al., which showed that 33% of SCT is generally a good approximation of anesthesia-controlled time (ACT. We then systematically tested all possible linear regression models to predict TPT using eSCT in combination with the other available independent variables. In addition, all regression models were again tested without eSCT as a predictor to predict ACT separately (which leads to TPT by adding SCT. TPT was most accurately predicted using a linear regression model based on the independent variables eSCT, type of operation, ASA classification, and type of anesthesia. This model performed significantly better than the fixed ratio model and the method of predicting ACT separately. Making use of these more accurate predictions in planning and sequencing algorithms may enable an increase in utilization of ORs, leading to significant financial and productivity related

Improving the Prediction of Total Surgical Procedure Time Using Linear Regression Modeling.

Science.gov (United States)

Edelman, Eric R; van Kuijk, Sander M J; Hamaekers, Ankie E W; de Korte, Marcel J M; van Merode, Godefridus G; Buhre, Wolfgang F F A

2017-01-01

For efficient utilization of operating rooms (ORs), accurate schedules of assigned block time and sequences of patient cases need to be made. The quality of these planning tools is dependent on the accurate prediction of total procedure time (TPT) per case. In this paper, we attempt to improve the accuracy of TPT predictions by using linear regression models based on estimated surgeon-controlled time (eSCT) and other variables relevant to TPT. We extracted data from a Dutch benchmarking database of all surgeries performed in six academic hospitals in The Netherlands from 2012 till 2016. The final dataset consisted of 79,983 records, describing 199,772 h of total OR time. Potential predictors of TPT that were included in the subsequent analysis were eSCT, patient age, type of operation, American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) physical status classification, and type of anesthesia used. First, we computed the predicted TPT based on a previously described fixed ratio model for each record, multiplying eSCT by 1.33. This number is based on the research performed by van Veen-Berkx et al., which showed that 33% of SCT is generally a good approximation of anesthesia-controlled time (ACT). We then systematically tested all possible linear regression models to predict TPT using eSCT in combination with the other available independent variables. In addition, all regression models were again tested without eSCT as a predictor to predict ACT separately (which leads to TPT by adding SCT). TPT was most accurately predicted using a linear regression model based on the independent variables eSCT, type of operation, ASA classification, and type of anesthesia. This model performed significantly better than the fixed ratio model and the method of predicting ACT separately. Making use of these more accurate predictions in planning and sequencing algorithms may enable an increase in utilization of ORs, leading to significant financial and productivity related benefits.

Use of repeat anterior maxillary distraction to correct residual midface hypoplasia in cleft patients.

Science.gov (United States)

Richardson, Sunil; Krishna, Shreya; Bansal, Avi

2017-12-01

The study was designed to evaluate the efficacy of performing a second, repeat anterior maxillary distraction (AMD) to treat residual cleft maxillary hypoplasia. Five patients between the ages of 12 to 15 years with a history of AMD and with residual cleft maxillary hypoplasia were included in the study. Inclusion was irrespective of gender, type of cleft lip and palate, and the amount of advancement needed. Repeat AMD was executed in these patients 4 to 5 years after the primary AMD procedure to correct the cleft maxillary hypoplasia that had developed since the initial procedure. Orthopantomogram (OPG) and lateral cephalograms were taken for evaluation preoperatively, immediately after distraction, after consolidation, and one year postoperatively. The data obtained was tabulated and a Mann Whitney U-test was used for statistical comparisons. At the time of presentation, a residual maxillary hypoplasia was observed with a well maintained distraction gap on the OPG which ruled out the occurrence of a relapse. Favorable movement of the segments without any resistance was seen in all patients. Mean maxillary advancement of 10.56 mm was achieved at repeat AMD. Statistically significant increases in midfacial length, SNA angle, and nasion perpendicular to point A distance was achieved ( P =0.012, P =0.011, and P =0.012, respectively). Good profile was achieved for all patients. Minimal transient complications, for example anterior open bite and bleeding episodes, were managed. Addressing the problem of cleft maxillary hypoplasia at an early age (12-15 years) is beneficial for the child. Residual hypoplasia may develop in some patients, which may require additional corrective procedures. The results of our study show that AMD can be repeated when residual deformity develops with the previous procedure having no negative impact on the results of the repeat procedure.

SucStruct: Prediction of succinylated lysine residues by using structural properties of amino acids.

Science.gov (United States)

López, Yosvany; Dehzangi, Abdollah; Lal, Sunil Pranit; Taherzadeh, Ghazaleh; Michaelson, Jacob; Sattar, Abdul; Tsunoda, Tatsuhiko; Sharma, Alok

2017-06-15

Post-Translational Modification (PTM) is a biological reaction which contributes to diversify the proteome. Despite many modifications with important roles in cellular activity, lysine succinylation has recently emerged as an important PTM mark. It alters the chemical structure of lysines, leading to remarkable changes in the structure and function of proteins. In contrast to the huge amount of proteins being sequenced in the post-genome era, the experimental detection of succinylated residues remains expensive, inefficient and time-consuming. Therefore, the development of computational tools for accurately predicting succinylated lysines is an urgent necessity. To date, several approaches have been proposed but their sensitivity has been reportedly poor. In this paper, we propose an approach that utilizes structural features of amino acids to improve lysine succinylation prediction. Succinylated and non-succinylated lysines were first retrieved from 670 proteins and characteristics such as accessible surface area, backbone torsion angles and local structure conformations were incorporated. We used the k-nearest neighbors cleaning treatment for dealing with class imbalance and designed a pruned decision tree for classification. Our predictor, referred to as SucStruct (Succinylation using Structural features), proved to significantly improve performance when compared to previous predictors, with sensitivity, accuracy and Mathew's correlation coefficient equal to 0.7334-0.7946, 0.7444-0.7608 and 0.4884-0.5240, respectively. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Multi-level machine learning prediction of protein–protein interactions in Saccharomyces cerevisiae

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Julian Zubek

2015-07-01

Full Text Available Accurate identification of protein–protein interactions (PPI is the key step in understanding proteins’ biological functions, which are typically context-dependent. Many existing PPI predictors rely on aggregated features from protein sequences, however only a few methods exploit local information about specific residue contacts. In this work we present a two-stage machine learning approach for prediction of protein–protein interactions. We start with the carefully filtered data on protein complexes available for Saccharomyces cerevisiae in the Protein Data Bank (PDB database. First, we build linear descriptions of interacting and non-interacting sequence segment pairs based on their inter-residue distances. Secondly, we train machine learning classifiers to predict binary segment interactions for any two short sequence fragments. The final prediction of the protein–protein interaction is done using the 2D matrix representation of all-against-all possible interacting sequence segments of both analysed proteins. The level-I predictor achieves 0.88 AUC for micro-scale, i.e., residue-level prediction. The level-II predictor improves the results further by a more complex learning paradigm. We perform 30-fold macro-scale, i.e., protein-level cross-validation experiment. The level-II predictor using PSIPRED-predicted secondary structure reaches 0.70 precision, 0.68 recall, and 0.70 AUC, whereas other popular methods provide results below 0.6 threshold (recall, precision, AUC. Our results demonstrate that multi-scale sequence features aggregation procedure is able to improve the machine learning results by more than 10% as compared to other sequence representations. Prepared datasets and source code for our experimental pipeline are freely available for download from: http://zubekj.github.io/mlppi/ (open source Python implementation, OS independent.

Changes in corticospinal excitability during consolidation predict acute exercise-induced off-line gains in procedural memory

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Ostadan, Fatemeh; Centeno, Carla; Daloze, Jean-Felix

2016-01-01

A single bout of cardiovascular exercise performed immediately after practicing a motor task improves the long-term retention of the skill through an optimization of memory consolidation. However, the specific brain mechanisms underlying the effects of acute cardiovascular exercise on procedural...... exercise correlated with the magnitude of off-line gains in skill level assessed in a retention test performed 8h after motor practice. A single bout of exercise modulates short-term neuroplasticity mechanisms subserving consolidation processes that predict off-line gains in procedural memory....... memory are poorly understood. We sought to determine if a single bout of exercise modifies corticospinal excitability (CSE) during the early stages of memory consolidation. In addition, we investigated if changes in CSE are associated with exercise-induced off-line gains in procedural memory...

Grammar predicts procedural learning and consolidation deficits in children with Specific Language Impairment.

Science.gov (United States)

Hedenius, Martina; Persson, Jonas; Tremblay, Antoine; Adi-Japha, Esther; Veríssimo, João; Dye, Cristina D; Alm, Per; Jennische, Margareta; Bruce Tomblin, J; Ullman, Michael T

2011-01-01

The Procedural Deficit Hypothesis (PDH) posits that Specific Language Impairment (SLI) can be largely explained by abnormalities of brain structures that subserve procedural memory. The PDH predicts impairments of procedural memory itself, and that such impairments underlie the grammatical deficits observed in the disorder. Previous studies have indeed reported procedural learning impairments in SLI, and have found that these are associated with grammatical difficulties. The present study extends this research by examining consolidation and longer-term procedural sequence learning in children with SLI. The Alternating Serial Reaction Time (ASRT) task was given to children with SLI and typically developing (TD) children in an initial learning session and an average of three days later to test for consolidation and longer-term learning. Although both groups showed evidence of initial sequence learning, only the TD children showed clear signs of consolidation, even though the two groups did not differ in longer-term learning. When the children were re-categorized on the basis of grammar deficits rather than broader language deficits, a clearer pattern emerged. Whereas both the grammar impaired and normal grammar groups showed evidence of initial sequence learning, only those with normal grammar showed consolidation and longer-term learning. Indeed, the grammar-impaired group appeared to lose any sequence knowledge gained during the initial testing session. These findings held even when controlling for vocabulary or a broad non-grammatical language measure, neither of which were associated with procedural memory. When grammar was examined as a continuous variable over all children, the same relationships between procedural memory and grammar, but not vocabulary or the broader language measure, were observed. Overall, the findings support and further specify the PDH. They suggest that consolidation and longer-term procedural learning are impaired in SLI, but that these

Grammar Predicts Procedural Learning and Consolidation Deficits in Children with Specific Language Impairment

Science.gov (United States)

Hedenius, Martina; Persson, Jonas; Tremblay, Antoine; Adi-Japha, Esther; Veríssimo, João; Dye, Cristina D.; Alm, Per; Jennische, Margareta; Tomblin, J. Bruce; Ullman, Michael T.

2011-01-01

The Procedural Deficit Hypothesis (PDH) posits that Specific Language Impairment (SLI) can be largely explained by abnormalities of brain structures that subserve procedural memory. The PDH predicts impairments of procedural memory itself, and that such impairments underlie the grammatical deficits observed in the disorder. Previous studies have indeed reported procedural learning impairments in SLI, and have found that these are associated with grammatical difficulties. The present study extends this research by examining the consolidation and longer-term procedural sequence learning in children with SLI. The Alternating Serial Reaction Time (ASRT) task was given to children with SLI and typically-developing (TD) children in an initial learning session and an average of three days later to test for consolidation and longer-term learning. Although both groups showed evidence of initial sequence learning, only the TD children showed clear signs of consolidation, even though the two groups did not differ in longer-term learning. When the children were re-categorized on the basis of grammar deficits rather than broader language deficits, a clearer pattern emerged. Whereas both the grammar impaired and normal grammar groups showed evidence of initial sequence learning, only those with normal grammar showed consolidation and longer-term learning. Indeed, the grammar-impaired group appeared to lose any sequence knowledge gained during the initial testing session. These findings held even when controlling for vocabulary or a broad non-grammatical language measure, neither of which were associated with procedural memory. When grammar was examined as a continuous variable over all children, the same relationships between procedural memory and grammar, but not vocabulary or the broader language measure, were observed. Overall, the findings support and further specify the PDH. They suggest that consolidation and longer-term procedural learning are impaired in SLI, but that

Relocation of radioactive residuals store: environment effects statement

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1984-11-01

This Environment Effects Statement describes and assesses the likely environmental effects of the proposal to relocate the Health Commission's existing radioactive residuals store to a site within the established Dutson Downs waste disposal area, located 20 km south-east of Sale and 225 km east of Melbourne. The information presented demonstrates that the siting and construction of the proposed radioactive residuals store and the procedures to be adopted for the handling and storage of materials will not present an unacceptable risk to public health and safety, nor will it involve any significant adverse environmental effects

Prediction of residual stresses and distortions due to laser beam welding of butt joints in pressure vessels

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Moraitis, G.A.; Labeas, G.N.

2009-01-01

A two-level three-dimensional Finite Element (FE) model has been developed to predict keyhole formation and thermo-mechanical response during Laser Beam Welding (LBW) of steel and aluminium pressure vessel or pipe butt-joints. A very detailed and localized (level-1) non-linear three-dimensional transient thermal model is initially developed, which simulates the mechanisms of keyhole formation, calculates the temperature distribution in the local weld area and predicts the keyhole size and shape. Subsequently, using a laser beam heat source model based on keyhole assumptions, a global (level-2) thermo-mechanical analysis of the LBW butt-joint is performed, from which the joint residual stresses and distortions are calculated. All the major physical phenomena associated to LBW, such as laser heat input via radiation, heat losses through convection and radiation, as well as latent heat are accounted for in the numerical model. Material properties and particularly enthalpy, which is very important due to significant material phase changes, are introduced as temperature-dependent functions. The main advantages of the developed model are its efficiency, flexibility and applicability to a wide range of LBW problems (e.g. welding for pressure vessel or pipework construction, welding of automotive, marine or aircraft components, etc). The model efficiency arises from the two-scale approach applied. Minimal or no experimental data are required for the keyhole size and shape computation by the level-1 model, while the thermo-mechanical response calculation by the level-2 model requires only process and material data. Therefore, it becomes possible to efficiently apply the developed simulation model to different material types and varying welding parameters (i.e. welding speed, heat source power, joint geometry, etc.) in order to control residual stresses and distortions within the welded structure

A Theoretical Study on Quantitative Prediction and Evaluation of Thermal Residual Stresses in Metal Matrix Composite (Case 1 : Two-Dimensional In-Plane Fiber Distribution)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lee, Joon Hyun; Son, Bong Jin

1997-01-01

Although discontinuously reinforced metal matrix composite(MMC) is one of the most promising materials for applications of aerospace, automotive industries, the thermal residual stresses developed in the MMC due to the mismatch in coefficients of thermal expansion between the matrix and the fiber under a temperature change has been pointed out as one of the serious problem in practical applications. There are very limited nondestructive techniques to measure the residual stress of composite materials. However, many difficulties have been reported in their applications. Therefore it is important to establish analytical model to evaluate the thermal residual stress of MMC for practical engineering application. In this study, an elastic model is developed to predict the average thermal residual stresses in the matrix and fiber of a misoriented short fiber composite. The thermal residual stresses are induced by the mismatch in the coefficient of the thermal expansion of the matrix and fiber when the composite is subjected to a uniform temperature change. The model considers two-dimensional in-plane fiber misorientation. The analytical formulation of the model is based on Eshelby's equivalent inclusion method and is unique in that it is able to account for interactions among fibers. This model is more general than past models to investigate the effect of parameters which might influence thermal residual stress in composites. The present model is to investigate the effects of fiber volume fraction, distribution type, distribution cut-off angle, and aspect ratio on thermal residual stress for in-plane fiber misorientation. Fiber volume fraction, aspect ratio, and distribution cut-off angle are shown to have more significant effects on the magnitude of the thermal residual stresses than fiber distribution type for in-plane misorientation

The effect of heat treatment on the magnitude and composition of residual gas in sealed silica glass ampoules

Science.gov (United States)

Palosz, W.; Szofran, F. R.; Lehoczky, S. L.

1994-01-01

The residual gas pressure and composition in sealed silica glass ampoules as a function of different treatment procedures has been investigated. The dependence of the residual gas on the outgassing and annealing parameters has been determined. The effects of the fused silica brand, of the ampoule fabrication, and of post-outgassing procedures have been evaluated.

Stability of tetrachlorvinphos residues in faba beans and soya bean oil towards different processing procedures

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zayed, S.M.A.D.; Farghaly, M.

1987-01-01

Cooking of contaminated faba beans did not degrade the originally present potentially toxic residues, namely, tetrachlorvinphos and its desmethyl derivative to any appreciable extent. Processing of contaminated soya bean oil, on the other hand, led to degradation of tetrachlorvinphos and its metabolites to give mono and dimethyl phosphates. Feeding of mice with bound residues of tetrachlorvinphos in beans for 90 days led to an apparent decrease in the rate of body weight gain. (author)

Multiple Crack Growth Prediction in AA2024-T3 Friction Stir Welded Joints, Including Manufacturing Effects

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Carlone, Pierpaolo; Citarella, Roberto; Sonne, Mads Rostgaard

2016-01-01

A great deal of attention is currently paid by several industries toward the friction stir welding process to realize lightweight structures. Within this aim, the realistic prediction of fatigue behavior of welded assemblies is a key factor. In this work an integrated finite element method - dual...... boundary element method (FEM-DBEM) procedure, coupling the welding process simulation to the subsequent crack growth assessment, is proposed and applied to simulate multiple crack propagation, with allowance for manufacturing effects. The friction stir butt welding process of the precipitation hardened AA...... on a notched specimen. The whole procedure was finally tested comparing simulation outcomes with experimental data. The good agreement obtained highlights the predictive capability of the method. The influence of the residual stress distribution on crack growth and the mutual interaction between propagating...

Utility of Urinary Biomarkers in Predicting Loss of Residual Renal Function: The balANZ Trial

Science.gov (United States)

Cho, Yeoungjee; Johnson, David W.; Vesey, David A.; Hawley, Carmel M.; Clarke, Margaret; Topley, Nicholas

2015-01-01

♦ Background: The ability of urinary biomarkers to predict residual renal function (RRF) decline in peritoneal dialysis (PD) patients has not been defined. The present study aimed to explore the utility of established biomarkers from kidney injury models for predicting loss of RRF in incident PD patients, and to evaluate the impact on RRF of using neutral-pH PD solution low in glucose degradation products. ♦ Methods: The study included 50 randomly selected participants from the balANZ trial who had completed 24 months of follow-up. A change in glomerular filtration rate (GFR) was used as the primary clinical outcome measure. In a mixed-effects general linear model, baseline measurements of 18 novel urinary biomarkers and albumin were used to predict GFR change. The model was further used to evaluate the impact of biocompatible PD solution on RRF, adjusted for each biomarker. ♦ Results: Baseline albuminuria was not a useful predictor of change in RRF in PD patients (p = 0.84). Only clusterin was a significant predictor of GFR decline in the whole population (p = 0.04, adjusted for baseline GFR and albuminuria). However, the relationship was no longer apparent when albuminuria was removed from the model (p = 0.31). When the effect of the administered PD solutions was examined using a model adjusted for PD solution type, baseline albuminuria, and GFR, higher baseline urinary concentrations of trefoil factor 3 (TFF3, p = 0.02), kidney injury molecule 1 (KIM-1, p = 0.04), and interferon γ-induced protein 10 (IP-10, p = 0.03) were associated with more rapid decline of RRF in patients receiving conventional PD solution compared with biocompatible PD solution. ♦ Conclusions: Higher urinary levels of kidney injury biomarkers (TFF3, KIM-1, IP-10) at baseline predicted significantly slower RRF decline in patients receiving biocompatible PD solutions. Findings from the present investigation should help to guide future studies to validate the utility of urinary

Steam foam studies in the presence of residual oil

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Hutchinson, D.A.; Demiral, B.; Castanier, L.M.

1992-05-01

The lack of understanding regarding foam flow in porous media necessitates further research. This paper reports on going work at Stanford University aimed at increasing our understanding in the particular area of steam foams. The behavior of steam foam is investigated with a one dimensional (6 ft. {times} 2.15 in.) sandpack under residual oil conditions of approximately 12 percent. The strength of the in-situ generated foam, indicated by pressure drops, is significantly affected by injection procedure, slug size, and steam quality. The surfactant concentration effect is minor in the range studied. In the presence of residual oil the simultaneous injection of steam and surfactant fails to generate foam in the model even though the same procedure generates a strong foam in the absence of oil. Nevertheless when surfactant is injected as a slug ahead of the steam using a surfactant alternating (SAG) procedure, foam is generated. The suggested reason for the success of SAG is the increased phase mixing that results from steam continually having to reestablish a path through a slug of surfactant solution.

40 CFR 180.34 - Tests on the amount of residue remaining.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-07-01

...) PESTICIDE PROGRAMS TOLERANCES AND EXEMPTIONS FOR PESTICIDE CHEMICAL RESIDUES IN FOOD Procedural Regulations..., cauliflower, kohlrabi. (12) Cantaloups, honeydew melons, muskmelons, pumpkins, watermelons, winter squash. (13...

Study on the Leak Rate Estimation of SG Tubes and Residual Stress Estimation based on Plastic Deformation

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kim, Young Jin; Chang, Yoon Suk; Lee, Dock Jin; Lee, Tae Rin; Choi, Shin Beom; Jeong, Jae Uk; Yeum, Seung Won [Sungkyunkwan University, Seoul (Korea, Republic of)

2009-02-15

In this research project, a leak rate estimation model was developed for steam generator tubes with through wall cracks. The modelling was based on the leak data from 23 tube specimens. Also, the procedure of finite element analysis was developed for residual stress calculation of dissimilar metal weld in a bottom mounted instrumentation. The effect of geometric variables related with the residual stress in penetration weld part was investigated by using the developed analysis procedure. The key subjects dealt in this research are: 1. Development of leak rate estimation model for steam generator tubes with through wall cracks 2. Development of the program which can perform the structure and leakage integrity evaluation for steam generator tubes 3. Development of analysis procedure for bottom mounted instrumentation weld residual stress 4. Analysis on the effects of geometric variables on weld residual stress It is anticipated that the technologies developed in this study are applicable for integrity estimation of steam generator tubes and weld part in NPP.

Compressive residual stresses as a preventive measure against stress corrosion cracking on turbine components

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Berger, C.; Ewald, J.; Fischer, K.; Gruendler, O.; Potthast, E.; Stuecker, E.; Winzen, G.

1987-01-01

Disk type low pressure turbine rotors have been designed for a large variety of power plant applications. Developing disk type rotors required a concerted effort to design a shaft/disk shrink fit with a minimum of tensile stress concentrations in order to aim for the lowest possible susceptibility to corrosive attack, i.e. stress corrosion cracking. As a result of stresses, the regions of greatest concern are the shrink fit boundaries and the keyways of turbine disks. These stresses are caused by service loading, i.e. centrifugal and shrinkage stresses and by manufacturing procedure, i.e. residual stresses. The compressive residual stresses partly compensate the tensile service stresses so that an increase of compressive residual stresses decreases the whole stress state of the component. Special manufacturing procedures, e.g. accelerated cooling after tempering can induce compressive residual stresses up to about 400 MPa in the hub bore region of turbine disk

Prediction of postoperative pulmonary function using 99mTc-MAA perfusion lung SPECT

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hosokawa, Nobuyuki; Tanabe, Masatada; Satoh, Katashi; Takashima, Hitoshi; Ohkawa, Motoomi; Maeda, Masazumi; Tamai, Toyosato; Kojima, Kanji.

1995-01-01

In order to predict postoperative pulmonary function, 99m Tc-MAA perfusion lung SPECT and spirometry were performed preoperatively in 52 patients with resectable primary lung cancer; 44 underwent lobectomy, eight pneumonectomy. Local pulmonary function (called local effective volume) was evaluated according to the degree of radionuclide distribution of each voxel in the SPECT images. The total effective volume was defined as the sum of the local effective volume, and the residual effective volume was the total effective volume excluding loss after operation. Predicted pulmonary function (VC and FEV 1.0) was calculated by the following formula: Predicted value=preoperative value x percent of the residual effective volume. Postoperative pulmonary function was predicted in the same patients by means of 99m Tc-MAA perfusion lung planar scintigraphy and X-ray CT. The patients were reinvestigated with spirometry at one and four months after surgery, and the values were compared with the predicted values. The correlations between the predicted values using SPECT and measured postoperative pulmonary function were highly significant (VC: r=0.867, FEV1.0: r=0.864 one month after operation; VC: r=0.860, FEV1.0: r=0.907 4 months after operation). The predicted values calculated using SPECT were accurate compared with the predicted values calculated using planar scintigraphy or X-ray CT. The patients with predicted FEV1.0 of less than 0.8 liter required home oxygen therapy. This method is valuable for the prediction of postoperative pulmonary function before the surgical procedure. (author)

Text mining improves prediction of protein functional sites.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Karin M Verspoor

Full Text Available We present an approach that integrates protein structure analysis and text mining for protein functional site prediction, called LEAP-FS (Literature Enhanced Automated Prediction of Functional Sites. The structure analysis was carried out using Dynamics Perturbation Analysis (DPA, which predicts functional sites at control points where interactions greatly perturb protein vibrations. The text mining extracts mentions of residues in the literature, and predicts that residues mentioned are functionally important. We assessed the significance of each of these methods by analyzing their performance in finding known functional sites (specifically, small-molecule binding sites and catalytic sites in about 100,000 publicly available protein structures. The DPA predictions recapitulated many of the functional site annotations and preferentially recovered binding sites annotated as biologically relevant vs. those annotated as potentially spurious. The text-based predictions were also substantially supported by the functional site annotations: compared to other residues, residues mentioned in text were roughly six times more likely to be found in a functional site. The overlap of predictions with annotations improved when the text-based and structure-based methods agreed. Our analysis also yielded new high-quality predictions of many functional site residues that were not catalogued in the curated data sources we inspected. We conclude that both DPA and text mining independently provide valuable high-throughput protein functional site predictions, and that integrating the two methods using LEAP-FS further improves the quality of these predictions.

Text Mining Improves Prediction of Protein Functional Sites

Science.gov (United States)

Cohn, Judith D.; Ravikumar, Komandur E.

2012-01-01

We present an approach that integrates protein structure analysis and text mining for protein functional site prediction, called LEAP-FS (Literature Enhanced Automated Prediction of Functional Sites). The structure analysis was carried out using Dynamics Perturbation Analysis (DPA), which predicts functional sites at control points where interactions greatly perturb protein vibrations. The text mining extracts mentions of residues in the literature, and predicts that residues mentioned are functionally important. We assessed the significance of each of these methods by analyzing their performance in finding known functional sites (specifically, small-molecule binding sites and catalytic sites) in about 100,000 publicly available protein structures. The DPA predictions recapitulated many of the functional site annotations and preferentially recovered binding sites annotated as biologically relevant vs. those annotated as potentially spurious. The text-based predictions were also substantially supported by the functional site annotations: compared to other residues, residues mentioned in text were roughly six times more likely to be found in a functional site. The overlap of predictions with annotations improved when the text-based and structure-based methods agreed. Our analysis also yielded new high-quality predictions of many functional site residues that were not catalogued in the curated data sources we inspected. We conclude that both DPA and text mining independently provide valuable high-throughput protein functional site predictions, and that integrating the two methods using LEAP-FS further improves the quality of these predictions. PMID:22393388

Polycrystalline models for the calculation of residual stresses in zirconium alloys tubes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Signorelli, J.W.; Turner, P.A.; Lebensohn, R.A.; Pochettino, A.A.

1995-01-01

Tubes made of different Zirconium alloys are used in various types of reactors. The final texture of tubes as well as the distribution of residual stresses depend on the mechanical treatments done during their manufacturing process. The knowledge and prediction of both the final texture and the distribution of residual stresses in a tube for nuclear applications are of outstanding importance in relation with in-reactor performance of the tube, especially in what concerns to its irradiation creep and growth behaviour. The viscoplastic and the elastoplastic self consistent polycrystal models are used to investigate the influence of different mechanical treatments, performed during rolling processes on the final distribution of intergranular residual stresses of zirconium alloys tubes. The residual strains predictions with both formulations show a non linear dependence with the orientation, but they are qualitatively different. This discrepancy could be explain in terms of the relative plastic activity between the -type and -type deformation modes predicted with the viscoplastic and elastoplastic models. (author). 10 refs., 4 figs., 1 tab

Inclusion of residual tissue in biobanks: opt-in or opt-out?

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Noor A A Giesbertz

Full Text Available Residual samples are an important source of tissue for biobanks. They refer to leftover tissue that is obtained in the course of clinical care. Residual samples can be included through an opt-in method--that is, a person explicitly expresses consent to include residual tissue--or an opt-out method--that is, the tissue is stored unless a person explicitly refuses. At the moment there is a renewed interest in the appropriate method for the inclusion of residual samples in biobanks. The expansion of biobanks and rapid developments in biomedical research underscore the need to evaluate the proper procedure. In this article we revisit the arguments in favor and against opt-in and opt-out methods for residual tissue research. We conclude firstly that an opt-out method is only justifiable when certain conditions are met: (1 awareness has to be raised, (2 sufficient information has to be provided, and (3 a genuine possibility to object has to be offered. An opt-out procedure that fulfills these conditions can be called a "thick" opt-out method. As a consequence, the dichotomy between opt-in and opt-out is less stark than usually suggested, as both methods require a certain amount of effort. Secondly, we conclude that because of the diversity of tissue and research, not every situation can be treated alike. There are at least four situations that require opt-in procedures: (1 research with higher risks or increased burdens, (2 the use of controversial or high-impact techniques, (3 research on sensitive tissue types, and (4 research involving vulnerable patients. We suggest that further interdisciplinary debate should answer the question when to opt-in or when to opt-out.

Residual heat removal during accidental situations

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Depond, M.; Sureau, H.; Tellier, N.

1983-07-01

Existing emergency procedures, whose purpose is residual heat removal and a safe recovery are based on sequential analysis and initiating event diagnosis. This approach was found in some cases inappropriate and inefficient, specially in case of out-of-design accidents corresponding to multiple equipment failure or simultaneous human failures. To cope with these situations, a new approach was necessary. Parallel studies performed in France at Framatome (the designer) and Electricity de France (the utility) gave a new method, called NSSS physical states approach. Prior to the implementation of this method which necessitates further studies and developments, some improvements in the existing operating procedures derived from the NSSS physical states have already been achieved: that is the case for the safety injection control and the development of an emergency procedure called ''U1''. This paper will briefly physical states approach and present the ''U1'' procedure. The tools which will be used to chack these methods are also mentioned

Numerical and experimental evaluation of residual strains induced by pulsed laser welding

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Touvrey, C.; Bruyere, V.; Namy, P.

2014-01-01

The aim of the present study is to compare the residual strains induced by different welding processes during the assembly of two Ti6Al4V thin sheets. Several welding configurations and two means (pulsed laser and continuous one) are tested. The first part of the study intends to experimentally quantify strains induced by laser-matter interaction when one of the plates can freely bend. In this configuration the residual stresses are minimum, and consequently the strains measurement constitute a good indicator of the mechanical evolution. The displacements are in-situ reported thanks to a mechanical sensor. The second part of the study is dedicated to the numerical modeling of the processes. Unfortunately, the model is not completely predictive and appears to be oversimplified to describe the measured distortion. As it appears difficult to model the laser-matter interaction (especially in the case of many impacts recovering), we have adopted an equivalent approach to simulate the thermal evolution within the work pieces. An optimization procedure has been developed to determine an equivalent thermal flux, which leads to a melted zone shape in good agreement with experimental evaluations. The thermo-mechanical problem is computed by means of the finite elements software COMSOL Multiphysics. The results are compared to experimental data (displacement measurements) throughout the complete simulation. We plan to apply the complete model for more complex geometries, involving the generation of residual stresses. (authors)

Residual Strength of In-plane Loaded Debonded Sandwich Panels

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Berggreen, Carl Christian; Simonsen, Bo Cerup

2005-01-01

This paper presents a FEM based numerical model for prediction of residual strength of damaged sandwich panels. As demonstrated, the model can predict the maximum load carrying capacity of real-life panels with debond damages, where the failure is governed by face-sheet buckling followed by debond...

Diverse effects of distance cutoff and residue interval on the performance of distance-dependent atom-pair potential in protein structure prediction.

Science.gov (United States)

Yao, Yuangen; Gui, Rong; Liu, Quan; Yi, Ming; Deng, Haiyou

2017-12-08

As one of the most successful knowledge-based energy functions, the distance-dependent atom-pair potential is widely used in all aspects of protein structure prediction, including conformational search, model refinement, and model assessment. During the last two decades, great efforts have been made to improve the reference state of the potential, while other factors that also strongly affect the performance of the potential have been relatively less investigated. Based on different distance cutoffs (from 5 to 22 Å) and residue intervals (from 0 to 15) as well as six different reference states, we constructed a series of distance-dependent atom-pair potentials and tested them on several groups of structural decoy sets collected from diverse sources. A comprehensive investigation has been performed to clarify the effects of distance cutoff and residue interval on the potential's performance. Our results provide a new perspective as well as a practical guidance for optimizing distance-dependent statistical potentials. The optimal distance cutoff and residue interval are highly related with the reference state that the potential is based on, the measurements of the potential's performance, and the decoy sets that the potential is applied to. The performance of distance-dependent statistical potential can be significantly improved when the best statistical parameters for the specific application environment are adopted.

Application of a radiometric enzymic method for monitoring organophosphorus and carbamate insecticide residues in water of the Danube River

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Horvath, L.; Volford, J.; Bursics, L.; Forster, T.

1983-01-01

Pesticide residue analyses are conventionally based on gas chromatography. These analytic procedures include tedious extraction and clear-up manipulations prior to the actual gas chromatographic determinations. Radioenzymatic method was recently applied in a residue monitoring programme on the Danube River. The programme has demonstrated that the radioenzymatic method has many advantages as a monitoring procedure in aquatic environment. Quick information can be gained without tedious sample clear-up procedure. The anticholinesteratic pesticides and the anticholinesteratic activities can be detected

Residual nilpotence and residual solubility of groups

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mikhailov, R V

2005-01-01

The properties of the residual nilpotence and the residual solubility of groups are studied. The main objects under investigation are the class of residually nilpotent groups such that each central extension of these groups is also residually nilpotent and the class of residually soluble groups such that each Abelian extension of these groups is residually soluble. Various examples of groups not belonging to these classes are constructed by homological methods and methods of the theory of modules over group rings. Several applications of the theory under consideration are presented and problems concerning the residual nilpotence of one-relator groups are considered.

Effect of cooking on enrofloxacin residues in chicken tissue.

Science.gov (United States)

Lolo, M; Pedreira, S; Miranda, J M; Vázquez, B I; Franco, C M; Cepeda, A; Fente, C

2006-10-01

The aim of this study was to determine the effect of different cooking processes (microwaving, roasting, boiling, grilling and frying) on naturally incurred enrofloxacin residues in chicken muscle. Enrofloxacin and its metabolite, ciprofloxacin, were analysed using a validated LC-MS method with limits of detection (LOD) and quantification (LOQ), respectively, of 2 and 5 ng g-1 quinolones in muscle samples. The method was shown to be linear over the range 5-500 ng g-1. Mean intra-day relative standard deviation (RSD) at a concentration of 50 ng g-1 (n = 6) was 6%; inter-day RSD was 12%. A recovery study demonstrated that 65-101%, of the drug and metabolite could be recovered from the tissue. The RSD with naturally incurred roasted chicken breast was 9.18% at a concentration of 11 +/- 1.01 ng g-1 (n = 6). In water, enrofloxacin remained stable for 3 h when heated at 100 degrees C. It was concluded that residue data from raw tissue are valid for estimation of consumer exposure to this drug, as well as the ADI calculations because cooking procedures did not affect enrofloxacin residues, which remained stable during heating. However, there was an apparent decrease in quinolone concentration in tissue because some was lost by exudation into the liquid used for cooking. Conversely, for a cooking procedure with water loss, there was an apparent increase in residue concentration.

A review of residual stress analysis using thermoelastic techniques

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Robinson, A F; Dulieu-Barton, J M; Quinn, S [University of Southampton, School of Engineering Sciences, Highfield, Southampton, SO17 1BJ (United Kingdom); Burguete, R L [Airbus UK Ltd., New Filton House, Filton, Bristol, BS99 7AR (United Kingdom)

2009-08-01

Thermoelastic Stress Analysis (TSA) is a full-field technique for experimental stress analysis that is based on infra-red thermography. The technique has proved to be extremely effective for studying elastic stress fields and is now well established. It is based on the measurement of the temperature change that occurs as a result of a stress change. As residual stress is essentially a mean stress it is accepted that the linear form of the TSA relationship cannot be used to evaluate residual stresses. However, there are situations where this linear relationship is not valid or departures in material properties due to manufacturing procedures have enabled evaluations of residual stresses. The purpose of this paper is to review the current status of using a TSA based approach for the evaluation of residual stresses and to provide some examples of where promising results have been obtained.

A review of residual stress analysis using thermoelastic techniques

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Robinson, A F; Dulieu-Barton, J M; Quinn, S; Burguete, R L

2009-01-01

Thermoelastic Stress Analysis (TSA) is a full-field technique for experimental stress analysis that is based on infra-red thermography. The technique has proved to be extremely effective for studying elastic stress fields and is now well established. It is based on the measurement of the temperature change that occurs as a result of a stress change. As residual stress is essentially a mean stress it is accepted that the linear form of the TSA relationship cannot be used to evaluate residual stresses. However, there are situations where this linear relationship is not valid or departures in material properties due to manufacturing procedures have enabled evaluations of residual stresses. The purpose of this paper is to review the current status of using a TSA based approach for the evaluation of residual stresses and to provide some examples of where promising results have been obtained.

Residual-stress distributions near stainless steel butt weldments

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Elligson, W.A.; Shack, W.J.

1978-01-01

Concern for the integrity of stainless steel butt-weldments in boiling-water-reactor (BWR) piping systems has stimulated study of the conditions that cause stress corrosion cracking (SCC) in the heat-affected zones (HAZ) of the weldments. It is generally agreed that a high stress exceeding the initial yield strength is one of the essential elements for crack initiation. Since design procedures usually ensure that load stresses are below initial yield, the source of the high stresses necessary to produce SCC is thought to be the residual stresses due to welding. To examine the level of residual stresses in the weldments of interest, bulk residual stresses were measured on 100 mm (4-in.) and 254 mm (10-in.) diameter Schedule 80 piping weldments using strain relief techniques. Both laboratory welded specimens and field welded specimens from reactors in service were studied. Axial bulk residual stress distributions were obtained at 45 0 intervals around the circumference. At each azimuthal position, the residual stresses were measured at seven axial positions: on the weld centerline and 13, 20, and 25 mm on either side of the weld centerline on both the inside and outside surfaces

Recent advances in residual stress measurement

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Withers, P.J.; Turski, M.; Edwards, L.; Bouchard, P.J.; Buttle, D.J.

2008-01-01

Until recently residual stresses have been included in structural integrity assessments of nuclear pressure vessels and piping in a very primitive manner due to the lack of reliable residual stress measurement or prediction tools. This situation is changing the capabilities of newly emerging destructive (i.e. the contour method) and non-destructive (i.e. magnetic and high-energy synchrotron X-ray strain mapping) residual stress measurement techniques for evaluating ferritic and austenitic pressure vessel components are contrasted against more well-established methods. These new approaches offer the potential for obtaining area maps of residual stress or strain in welded plants, mock-up components or generic test-pieces. The mapped field may be used directly in structural integrity calculations, or indirectly to validate finite element process/structural models on which safety cases for pressurised nuclear systems are founded. These measurement methods are complementary in terms of application to actual plant, cost effectiveness and measurements in thick sections. In each case an exemplar case study is used to illustrate the method and to highlight its particular capabilities

Construction of a predictive model for concentration of nickel and vanadium in vacuum residues of crude oils using artificial neural networks and LIBS.

Science.gov (United States)

Tarazona, José L; Guerrero, Jáder; Cabanzo, Rafael; Mejía-Ospino, E

2012-03-01

A predictive model to determine the concentration of nickel and vanadium in vacuum residues of Colombian crude oils using laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS) and artificial neural networks (ANNs) with nodes distributed in multiple layers (multilayer perceptron) is presented. ANN inputs are intensity values in the vicinity of the emission lines 300.248, 301.200 and 305.081 nm of the Ni(I), and 309.310, 310.229, and 311.070 nm of the V(II). The effects of varying number of nodes and the initial weights and biases in the ANNs were systematically explored. Average relative error of calibration/prediction (REC/REP) and average relative standard deviation (RSD) metrics were used to evaluate the performance of the ANN in the prediction of concentrations of two elements studied here. © 2012 Optical Society of America

Hemoglobin A1c can be helpful in predicting progression to diabetes after Whipple procedure.

Science.gov (United States)

Hamilton, Lisa; Jeyarajah, D Rohan

2007-01-01

Normoglycemic patients undergoing pancreaticoduodenectomy (Whipple procedure) often inquire whether they will be diabetic postoperatively. There is limited information on this issue. We therefore looked at a more subtle measurement of long-term glycemic control, hemoglobin A1c (HgbA1c), as a prognostic tool in predicting progression to diabetes post Whipple. A retrospective review over a 6-year period of all patients undergoing Whipple procedures at a single institution was conducted. In all, 27 patients had no prior history of diabetes, complete follow-up, and measured preoperative HgbA1c values. Postoperative diabetes was defined as the need for oral hypoglycemic agents or insulin. These charts were analyzed for progression to diabetes after Whipple. Of the 27 patients, 10 were considered to have postoperative diabetes. The average preoperative HgbA1c value for these patients was 6.3+/-0.66. This was statistically different from the 17 patients without postoperative diabetes (average HgbA1c 5.2+/-0.39, pWhipple operation if the preoperative HgbA1c value is in the normal range. The apparent utility of HgbA1c in predicting postoperative diabetes in this small study suggests that this laboratory test may be very helpful in counseling patients for Whipple operation.

Simulation of Distortion and Residual Stress Development During Heat Treatment of Steel Castings

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Beckermann, Christoph; Carlson, Kent

2011-07-22

Heat treatment and associated processing, such as quenching, are critical during high strength steel casting production. These processes must be managed closely to prevent thermal and residual stresses that may result in distortion, cracking (particularly after machining), re-work, and weld repair. The risk of casting distortion limits aggressive quenching that can be beneficial to the process and yield an improved outcome. As a result of these distortions, adjustments must be made to the casting or pattern design, or tie bars must be added. Straightening castings after heat treatments can be both time-consuming and expensive. Residual stresses may reduce a casting's overall service performance, possibly resulting in catastrophic failure. Stress relieving may help, but expends additional energy in the process. Casting software is very limited in predicting distortions during heat treatment, so corrective measures most often involve a tedious trial-and-error procedure. An extensive review of existing heat treatment residual stress and distortion modeling revealed that it is vital to predict the phase transformations and microstructure of the steel along with the thermal stress development during heat treatment. After reviewing the state-of-the-art in heat treatment residual stress and distortion modeling, an existing commercial code was selected because of its advanced capabilities in predicting phase transformations, the evolving microstructure and related properties along with thermal stress development during heat treatment. However, this software was developed for small parts created from forgings or machined stock, and not for steel castings. Therefore, its predictive capabilities for heat treatment of steel castings were investigated. Available experimental steel casting heat treatment data was determined to be of insufficient detail and breadth, and so new heat treatment experiments were designed and performed, casting and heat treating modified versions

On researching erosion-corrosion wear in pipelines: the rate and residual lifetime estimation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Baranenko, V.I.; Yanchenko, Yu.A.; Gulina, O.M.; Dokukin, D.A.

2010-01-01

To base the normative document on calculation of pipelines erosive-corrosive wear (ECW) rate and residual lifetime this research of ECW regularities for pearlitic steel NPP pipelines was performed. The estimates of control data treatment statistical procedures efficiency were presented. The influence of the scheme of piping control on the ECW rate and residual lifetime estimation results was demonstrated. The simplified scheme is valid only in case of complete information. It's usage under data uncertainties leads to essential residual lifetime overstating [ru

Residue behaviour of six pesticides in button crimini during home canning.

Science.gov (United States)

Du, Pengqiang; Liu, Xingang; Gu, Xiaojun; Dong, Fengshou; Xu, Jun; Kong, Zhiqiang; Li, Yuanbo; Zheng, Yongquan

2014-01-01

The effect of home canning (including washing, boiling, cooling, adding solution and sterilisation) on residue levels of imidacloprid, diflubenzuron, abamectin, pyriproxyfen and β-cypermethrin and chlorothalonilin on button crimini was assessed. Residues of imidacloprid, diflubenzuron, abamectin and pyriproxyfen were measured by UPLC-MS/MS; the residues of β-cypermethrin and chlorothalonil were measured by GC. Results showed that washing resulted in a 3.8% reduction of the initial residue level of imidacloprid (p ≤ 0.05). From washing to sterilisation the processing effect was significant compared with raw crimini (p ≤ 0.05), but processing through cooling and adding solution had no effect. For diflubenzuron, from raw crimini to sterilisation the processing effect was significant by comparison with the initial level (p ≤ 0.05); the processing effect was not obvious between two sequential steps, and the sequential steps have list: washing and boiling, boiling and cooling, boiling and adding of solution, cooling and adding solution. The changes in abamectin levels were also significant from raw crimini to sterilisation compared with raw crimini (p ≤ 0.05), but the changes were not obvious from boiling to adding solution and amongst them. For pyriproxyfen, washing resulted in a 39% reduction, but changes were not obvious from washing to sterilisation, p ≤ 0.05 between two consecutive steps. The whole procedure could significantly decrease residues of β-cypermethrin (p ≤ 0.05); washing could significantly reduce residues of β-cypermethrin; the effects of last procedures were complicated, and p ≤ 0.05 between two consecutive steps. Washing resulted in an 80% reduction of chlorothalonil; after washing there were no detectable residues. After the whole process, the processing factors for imidacloprid, diflubenzuron, abamectin, pyriproxyfen, β-cypermethrin and chlorothalonil were 0.40, 0.22, 0.04, 0.85, 0.28 and 0, respectively.

Prediction of compliance with MRI procedures among children of ages 3 years to 12 years

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cahoon, Glenn D.; Davison, Tanya E.

2014-01-01

A number of children are unable to comply with an MRI procedure and require general anesthetic. However, we lack information about which factors are associated with MRI compliance in young children. To determine the strongest predictors of MRI compliance, focusing on variables that can be easily rated by patients' parents. A sample of 205 children ages 3-11 years (mean age 6.6 years) who were at risk of non-compliance were recruited from a children's hospital. Their parents completed a behavior assessment scale for children as well as a questionnaire that assessed their expectations of compliance and perception of their child's typical medical compliance. The children subsequently completed a mock MRI with an educational play therapist and a clinical MRI, with the quality of the scan scored by the MRI technologist. Overall, 88.3% of children complied with the clinical scan and achieved diagnostic images, with age unrelated to compliance in this well-prepared patient group. The strongest predictors of MRI compliance were parental expectations and ratings of how well the child typically copes with medical procedures. Non-compliance was related to child attention problems and to poor adaptability among children. A total of 64 preschool-age children (91.4%) and 110 school-age children (95.7%) were correctly classified as compliant or non-compliant based on these predictor variables. A child's temperament, medical experiences and parental expectations provide important information in predicting which children successfully comply with an MRI procedure and which require general anesthesia. Further study is needed to explore the utility of these variables in predicting compliance at sites that do not have access to an MRI simulator. (orig.)

Residual stress effects on the impact resistance and strength of fiber composites

Science.gov (United States)

Chamis, C. C.

1973-01-01

Equations have been derived to predict degradation effects of microresidual stresses on impact resistance of unidirectional fiber composites. Equations also predict lamination residual stresses in multilayered angle ply composites.

CT volumetry is superior to nuclear renography for prediction of residual kidney function in living donors.

Science.gov (United States)

Barbas, Andrew S; Li, Yanhong; Zair, Murtuza; Van, Julie A; Famure, Olusegun; Dib, Martin J; Laurence, Jerome M; Kim, S Joseph; Ghanekar, Anand

2016-09-01

Living kidney donor evaluation commonly includes nuclear renography to assess split kidney function and computed tomography (CT) scan to evaluate anatomy. To streamline donor workup and minimize exposure to radioisotopes, we sought to assess the feasibility of using proportional kidney volume from CT volumetry in lieu of nuclear renography. We examined the correlation between techniques and assessed their ability to predict residual postoperative kidney function following live donor nephrectomy. In a cohort of 224 live kidney donors, we compared proportional kidney volume derived by CT volumetry with split kidney function derived from nuclear renography and found only modest correlation (left kidney R(2) =26.2%, right kidney R(2) =26.7%). In a subset of 88 live kidney donors with serum creatinine measured 6 months postoperatively, we compared observed estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) at 6 months with predicted eGFR from preoperative imaging. Compared to nuclear renography, CT volumetry more closely approximated actual observed postoperative eGFR for Chronic Kidney Disease Epidemiology Collaboration (J-test: P=.02, Cox-Pesaran test: P=.01) and Mayo formulas (J-test: P=.004, Cox-Pesaran test: Pvolumetry for estimation of split kidney function in healthy individuals with normal kidney function and morphology. © 2016 John Wiley & Sons A/S. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Systematic Review of Uit Parameters on Residual Stresses of Sensitized AA5456 and Field Based Residual Stress Measurements for Predicting and Mitigating Stress Corrosion Cracking

Science.gov (United States)

2014-03-01

University Press, 2009, pp. 820–824. [30] S. Kou, Welding Metallurgy , 2nd ed. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley and Sons, Inc., 2003. [31] M. N.James et al...around welds in aluminum ship structures both in the laboratory and in the field. Tensile residual stresses are often generated during welding and, in...mitigate and even reverse these tensile residual stresses. This research uses x-ray diffraction to measure residual stresses around welds in AA5456 before

Leptogenesis and residual CP symmetry

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chen, Peng; Ding, Gui-Jun; King, Stephen F.

2016-01-01

We discuss flavour dependent leptogenesis in the framework of lepton flavour models based on discrete flavour and CP symmetries applied to the type-I seesaw model. Working in the flavour basis, we analyse the case of two general residual CP symmetries in the neutrino sector, which corresponds to all possible semi-direct models based on a preserved Z 2 in the neutrino sector, together with a CP symmetry, which constrains the PMNS matrix up to a single free parameter which may be fixed by the reactor angle. We systematically study and classify this case for all possible residual CP symmetries, and show that the R-matrix is tightly constrained up to a single free parameter, with only certain forms being consistent with successful leptogenesis, leading to possible connections between leptogenesis and PMNS parameters. The formalism is completely general in the sense that the two residual CP symmetries could result from any high energy discrete flavour theory which respects any CP symmetry. As a simple example, we apply the formalism to a high energy S 4 flavour symmetry with a generalized CP symmetry, broken to two residual CP symmetries in the neutrino sector, recovering familiar results for PMNS predictions, together with new results for flavour dependent leptogenesis.

Cognition and procedure representational requirements for predictive human performance models

Science.gov (United States)

Corker, K.

1992-01-01

Models and modeling environments for human performance are becoming significant contributors to early system design and analysis procedures. Issues of levels of automation, physical environment, informational environment, and manning requirements are being addressed by such man/machine analysis systems. The research reported here investigates the close interaction between models of human cognition and models that described procedural performance. We describe a methodology for the decomposition of aircrew procedures that supports interaction with models of cognition on the basis of procedures observed; that serves to identify cockpit/avionics information sources and crew information requirements; and that provides the structure to support methods for function allocation among crew and aiding systems. Our approach is to develop an object-oriented, modular, executable software representation of the aircrew, the aircraft, and the procedures necessary to satisfy flight-phase goals. We then encode in a time-based language, taxonomies of the conceptual, relational, and procedural constraints among the cockpit avionics and control system and the aircrew. We have designed and implemented a goals/procedures hierarchic representation sufficient to describe procedural flow in the cockpit. We then execute the procedural representation in simulation software and calculate the values of the flight instruments, aircraft state variables and crew resources using the constraints available from the relationship taxonomies. The system provides a flexible, extensible, manipulative and executable representation of aircrew and procedures that is generally applicable to crew/procedure task-analysis. The representation supports developed methods of intent inference, and is extensible to include issues of information requirements and functional allocation. We are attempting to link the procedural representation to models of cognitive functions to establish several intent inference methods

Development of a prediction model for residual disease in newly diagnosed advanced ovarian cancer.

Science.gov (United States)

Janco, Jo Marie Tran; Glaser, Gretchen; Kim, Bohyun; McGree, Michaela E; Weaver, Amy L; Cliby, William A; Dowdy, Sean C; Bakkum-Gamez, Jamie N

2015-07-01

To construct a tool, using computed tomography (CT) imaging and preoperative clinical variables, to estimate successful primary cytoreduction for advanced epithelial ovarian cancer (EOC). Women who underwent primary cytoreductive surgery for stage IIIC/IV EOC at Mayo Clinic between 1/2/2003 and 12/30/2011 and had preoperative CT images of the abdomen and pelvis within 90days prior to their surgery available for review were included. CT images were reviewed for large-volume ascites, diffuse peritoneal thickening (DPT), omental cake, lymphadenopathy (LP), and spleen or liver involvement. Preoperative factors included age, body mass index (BMI), Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group performance status (ECOG PS), American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) score, albumin, CA-125, and thrombocytosis. Two prediction models were developed to estimate the probability of (i) complete and (ii) suboptimal cytoreduction (residual disease (RD) >1cm) using multivariable logistic analysis with backward and stepwise variable selection methods. Internal validation was assessed using bootstrap resampling to derive an optimism-corrected estimate of the c-index. 279 patients met inclusion criteria: 143 had complete cytoreduction, 26 had suboptimal cytoreduction (RD>1cm), and 110 had measurable RD ≤1cm. On multivariable analysis, age, absence of ascites, omental cake, and DPT on CT imaging independently predicted complete cytoreduction (c-index=0.748). Conversely, predictors of suboptimal cytoreduction were ECOG PS, DPT, and LP on preoperative CT imaging (c-index=0.685). The generated models serve as preoperative evaluation tools that may improve counseling and selection for primary surgery, but need to be externally validated. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Bioenergy from agricultural residues in Ghana

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Thomsen, Sune Tjalfe

and biomethane under Ghanaian conditions. Detailed characterisations of thirteen of the most common agricultural residues in Ghana are presented, enabling estimations of theoretical bioenergy potentials and identifying specific residues for future biorefinery applications. When aiming at residue-based ethanol...... to pursue increased implementation of anaerobic digestion in Ghana, as the first bioenergy option, since anaerobic digestion is more flexible than ethanol production with regard to both feedstock and scale of production. If possible, the available manure and municipal liquid waste should be utilised first....... A novel model for estimating BMP from compositional data of lignocellulosic biomasses is derived. The model is based on a statistical method not previously used in this area of research and the best prediction of BMP is: BMP = 347 xC+H+R – 438 xL + 63 DA , where xC+H+R is the combined content of cellulose...

On the extension of multi-phase models to sub-residual saturations

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lingineni, S.; Chen, Y.T.; Boehm, R.F.

1995-01-01

This paper focuses on the limitations of applying multi-phase flow and transport models to simulate the hydrothermal processes occurring when the liquid saturation falls below residual levels. A typical scenario of a heat-generating high-level waste package emplaced in a backfilled drift of a waste repository is presented. The hydrothermal conditions in the vicinity of the waste package as well as in the far-field are determined using multi-phase, non-isothermal codes such as TOUGH2 and FEHM. As the waste package temperature increases, heat-pipe effects are created and water is driven away from the package into colder regions where it condenses. The variations in the liquid saturations close to the waste package are determined using these models with extended capillary pressure-saturations relationships to sub-residual regime. The predictions indicate even at elevated temperatures, waste package surroundings are not completely dry. However, if transport based modeling is used to represent liquid saturation variations in the sub-residual regime, then complete dry conditions are predicted within the backfill for extended periods of time. The relative humidity conditions near the waste package are also found to be sensitive to the representation of capillary pressure-saturation relationship used for sub-residual regime. An experimental investigation is carried out to study the variations in liquid saturations and relative humidity conditions in sub-residual regimes. Experimental results indicated that extended multi-phase models without interphase transport can not predict dry-out conditions and the simulations underpredict the humidity conditions near the waste package

Residual stresses in weld-clad reactor pressure vessel steel

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bertram, W.

1975-01-01

Cladding of low alloy nuclear reactor pressure vessel steel with austenitic stainless steel introduces in heavy section components high residual stresses which may cause microcrack formation in stress relief heat treatment. In this investigation an attempt is made to contribute to the solution of the stress relief cracking problem by determining quantitatively the magnitude and distribution of the residual stresses after cladding and after subsequent stress relief heat treatment. The distribution of residual stresses was determined on the basis of a combined experimental-mathematical procedure. Heavy section plate specimens of low alloy steel as base material were given an austenitic monolayer-cladding using the techniques of strip electrode and plasma hot wire cladding, respectively. A number of plates was stress relief heat treated. Starting from the cladded surface the thickness of the plates was reduced by subsequent removal of layers of material. The elastic strain reaction to the removal of each layer was measured by strain gauges. From the data obtained the biaxial residual stress distribution was computed as a function of thickness using relations which are derived for this particular case. In summary, lower residual stresses are caused by reduced thickness of the components. As the heat input, is decreased at identical base material thickness, the residual stresses are lowered also. The height of the tensile residual stress peak, however, remains approximataly constant. In stress relief annealed condition the residual stresses in the cladding are in tension; in the base material the residual stresses are negligibly small

In-situ observation of dislocation and analysis of residual stresses by FEM/DDM modeling in water cavitation peening of pure titanium

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ju, D Y; Han, B

2015-01-01

In this paper, in order to approach this problem, specimens of pure titanium were treated with WCP, and the subsequent changes in microstructure, residual stress, and surface morphologies were investigated as a function of WCP duration. The influence of water cavitation peening (WCP) treatment on the microstructure of pure titanium was investigated. A novel combined finite element and dislocation density method (FEM/DDM), proposed for predicting macro and micro residual stresses induced on the material subsurface treated with water cavitation peening, is also presented. A bilinear elastic-plastic finite element method was conducted to predict macro-residual stresses and a dislocation density method was conducted to predict micro-residual stresses. These approaches made possible the prediction of the magnitude and depth of residual stress fields in pure titanium. The effect of applied impact pressures on the residual stresses was also presented. The results of the FEM/DDM modeling were in good agreement with those of the experimental measurements. (paper)

Prediction of compliance with MRI procedures among children of ages 3 years to 12 years

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Cahoon, Glenn D. [The Royal Children' s Hospital Melbourne, Medical Imaging Department, Parkville (Australia); Davison, Tanya E. [Monash University, Melbourne (Australia)

2014-10-15

A number of children are unable to comply with an MRI procedure and require general anesthetic. However, we lack information about which factors are associated with MRI compliance in young children. To determine the strongest predictors of MRI compliance, focusing on variables that can be easily rated by patients' parents. A sample of 205 children ages 3-11 years (mean age 6.6 years) who were at risk of non-compliance were recruited from a children's hospital. Their parents completed a behavior assessment scale for children as well as a questionnaire that assessed their expectations of compliance and perception of their child's typical medical compliance. The children subsequently completed a mock MRI with an educational play therapist and a clinical MRI, with the quality of the scan scored by the MRI technologist. Overall, 88.3% of children complied with the clinical scan and achieved diagnostic images, with age unrelated to compliance in this well-prepared patient group. The strongest predictors of MRI compliance were parental expectations and ratings of how well the child typically copes with medical procedures. Non-compliance was related to child attention problems and to poor adaptability among children. A total of 64 preschool-age children (91.4%) and 110 school-age children (95.7%) were correctly classified as compliant or non-compliant based on these predictor variables. A child's temperament, medical experiences and parental expectations provide important information in predicting which children successfully comply with an MRI procedure and which require general anesthesia. Further study is needed to explore the utility of these variables in predicting compliance at sites that do not have access to an MRI simulator. (orig.)

Evaluation and use of in-silico structure-based epitope prediction with foot-and-mouth disease virus.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Daryl W Borley

Full Text Available Understanding virus antigenicity is of fundamental importance for the development of better, more cross-reactive vaccines. However, as far as we are aware, no systematic work has yet been conducted using the 3D structure of a virus to identify novel epitopes. Therefore we have extended several existing structural prediction algorithms to build a method for identifying epitopes on the appropriate outer surface of intact virus capsids (which are structurally different from globular proteins in both shape and arrangement of multiple repeated elements and applied it here as a proof of principle concept to the capsid of foot-and-mouth disease virus (FMDV. We have analysed how reliably several freely available structure-based B cell epitope prediction programs can identify already known viral epitopes of FMDV in the context of the viral capsid. To do this we constructed a simple objective metric to measure the sensitivity and discrimination of such algorithms. After optimising the parameters for five methods using an independent training set we used this measure to evaluate the methods. Individually any one algorithm performed rather poorly (three performing better than the other two suggesting that there may be value in developing virus-specific software. Taking a very conservative approach requiring a consensus between all three top methods predicts a number of previously described antigenic residues as potential epitopes on more than one serotype of FMDV, consistent with experimental results. The consensus results identified novel residues as potential epitopes on more than one serotype. These include residues 190-192 of VP2 (not previously determined to be antigenic, residues 69-71 and 193-197 of VP3 spanning the pentamer-pentamer interface, and another region incorporating residues 83, 84 and 169-174 of VP1 (all only previously experimentally defined on serotype A. The computer programs needed to create a semi-automated procedure for carrying out

Lifetime and residual strength of materials

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Nielsen, Lauge Fuglsang

1997-01-01

of load amplitude, load average, fractional time under maximum load, and load frequency.The analysis includes prediction of residual strength (re-cycle strength) during the process of load cycling. It is concluded that number of cycles to failure is a very poor design criterion. It is demonstrated how...... the theory developed can be generalized also to consider non-harmonic load variations.Algorithms are presented for design purposes which may be suggested as qualified alternatives to the Palmgren-Miner's methods normally used in fatigue analysis of materials under arbitrary load variations. Prediction...

Scoring protein interaction decoys using exposed residues (SPIDER): a novel multibody interaction scoring function based on frequent geometric patterns of interfacial residues.

Science.gov (United States)

Khashan, Raed; Zheng, Weifan; Tropsha, Alexander

2012-08-01

Accurate prediction of the structure of protein-protein complexes in computational docking experiments remains a formidable challenge. It has been recognized that identifying native or native-like poses among multiple decoys is the major bottleneck of the current scoring functions used in docking. We have developed a novel multibody pose-scoring function that has no theoretical limit on the number of residues contributing to the individual interaction terms. We use a coarse-grain representation of a protein-protein complex where each residue is represented by its side chain centroid. We apply a computational geometry approach called Almost-Delaunay tessellation that transforms protein-protein complexes into a residue contact network, or an undirectional graph where vertex-residues are nodes connected by edges. This treatment forms a family of interfacial graphs representing a dataset of protein-protein complexes. We then employ frequent subgraph mining approach to identify common interfacial residue patterns that appear in at least a subset of native protein-protein interfaces. The geometrical parameters and frequency of occurrence of each "native" pattern in the training set are used to develop the new SPIDER scoring function. SPIDER was validated using standard "ZDOCK" benchmark dataset that was not used in the development of SPIDER. We demonstrate that SPIDER scoring function ranks native and native-like poses above geometrical decoys and that it exceeds in performance a popular ZRANK scoring function. SPIDER was ranked among the top scoring functions in a recent round of CAPRI (Critical Assessment of PRedicted Interactions) blind test of protein-protein docking methods. Copyright © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Investigation on the effects of geometric variables on the residual stresses and PWSCC growth in the RPV BMI penetration nozzles

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kim, Jong Sung; Ra, Myoung Soo; Lee, Kyoung Soo

2015-01-01

This study investigated the effects of various geometric variables on the residual stresses and PWSCC growth of RPV BMI penetration nozzles. An FE residual stress analysis procedure was developed and validated from the viewpoint of FFS assessment. The validated FE residual stress analysis procedure and the PWSCC growth assessment procedure in the ASME B and PV Code, Sec.XI were applied to the BMI penetration nozzles with specified ranges of the geometric variables. The total stresses at steady state during normal operation including welding residual stresses increase with increasing inclination angle of the BMI nozzles, and with tilt angle, depth, and root width of the J-groove weld. The lifetime from the assumed initial crack to the acceptance criteria according to the ASME B and PV Code, Sec.XI also decreases under these conditions. The total stresses decrease and the lifetime increases with increasing nozzle thickness, but outer radius of the BMI nozzles has an insignificant effect on both of these factors.

Predictive market segmentation model: An application of logistic regression model and CHAID procedure

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Soldić-Aleksić Jasna

2009-01-01

Full Text Available Market segmentation presents one of the key concepts of the modern marketing. The main goal of market segmentation is focused on creating groups (segments of customers that have similar characteristics, needs, wishes and/or similar behavior regarding the purchase of concrete product/service. Companies can create specific marketing plan for each of these segments and therefore gain short or long term competitive advantage on the market. Depending on the concrete marketing goal, different segmentation schemes and techniques may be applied. This paper presents a predictive market segmentation model based on the application of logistic regression model and CHAID analysis. The logistic regression model was used for the purpose of variables selection (from the initial pool of eleven variables which are statistically significant for explaining the dependent variable. Selected variables were afterwards included in the CHAID procedure that generated the predictive market segmentation model. The model results are presented on the concrete empirical example in the following form: summary model results, CHAID tree, Gain chart, Index chart, risk and classification tables.

Analysis of residual swirl in tangentially-fired natural gas-boiler

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hasril Hasini; Muhammad Azlan Muad; Mohd Zamri Yusoff; Norshah Hafeez Shuaib

2010-01-01

This paper describes the investigation on residual swirl flow in a 120 MW natural gas, full-scale, tangential-fired boiler. Emphasis is given towards the understanding of the behavior of the combustion gas flow pattern and temperature distribution as a result of the tangential firing system of the boiler. The analysis was carried out based on three-dimensional computational modeling on full scale boiler with validation from key design parameter as well as practical observation. Actual operating parameters of the actual boiler are taken as the boundary conditions for this modeling. The prediction of total heat flux was found to be in agreement with the key design parameter while the residual swirl predicted at the upper furnace agrees qualitatively with the practical observation. Based on this comparison, detail analysis was carried out for comprehensive understanding on the generation and destruction of the residual swirl behavior in boiler especially those with high capacity. (author)

Quadratic residues and non-residues selected topics

CERN Document Server

Wright, Steve

2016-01-01

This book offers an account of the classical theory of quadratic residues and non-residues with the goal of using that theory as a lens through which to view the development of some of the fundamental methods employed in modern elementary, algebraic, and analytic number theory. The first three chapters present some basic facts and the history of quadratic residues and non-residues and discuss various proofs of the Law of Quadratic Reciprosity in depth, with an emphasis on the six proofs that Gauss published. The remaining seven chapters explore some interesting applications of the Law of Quadratic Reciprocity, prove some results concerning the distribution and arithmetic structure of quadratic residues and non-residues, provide a detailed proof of Dirichlet’s Class-Number Formula, and discuss the question of whether quadratic residues are randomly distributed. The text is a valuable resource for graduate and advanced undergraduate students as well as for mathematicians interested in number theory.

Approaches for Modelling the Residual Service Life of Marine Concrete Structures

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Amir Rahimi

2014-01-01

Full Text Available This paper deals with the service life design of existing reinforced concrete structures in a marine environment. The general procedure of condition assessment for estimating the residual service life of structures before a repair measure is illustrated. For assessment of the residual service life of structures which have undergone a repair measure a simplified mathematical model of chloride diffusion in a 2-layer system is presented. Preliminary probabilistic calculations demonstrate the effect of various conditions on the residual service life. First studies of the chloride diffusion in a 2-layer system have been conducted using the finite element method. Results of a long-term exposure test are presented to illustrate the performance of two different repair materials. The distribution of residual chlorides after application of a repair material is being studied in laboratory investigations. The residual chlorides migrate from the concrete layer into the new layer immediately after the repair material has been applied to the concrete member. The content and gradient of residual chlorides, along with the thickness and the chloride ingress resistance of both the remaining and the new layer of cover, will determine the residual service life of the repaired structures.

CAB-Align: A Flexible Protein Structure Alignment Method Based on the Residue-Residue Contact Area.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Genki Terashi

Full Text Available Proteins are flexible, and this flexibility has an essential functional role. Flexibility can be observed in loop regions, rearrangements between secondary structure elements, and conformational changes between entire domains. However, most protein structure alignment methods treat protein structures as rigid bodies. Thus, these methods fail to identify the equivalences of residue pairs in regions with flexibility. In this study, we considered that the evolutionary relationship between proteins corresponds directly to the residue-residue physical contacts rather than the three-dimensional (3D coordinates of proteins. Thus, we developed a new protein structure alignment method, contact area-based alignment (CAB-align, which uses the residue-residue contact area to identify regions of similarity. The main purpose of CAB-align is to identify homologous relationships at the residue level between related protein structures. The CAB-align procedure comprises two main steps: First, a rigid-body alignment method based on local and global 3D structure superposition is employed to generate a sufficient number of initial alignments. Then, iterative dynamic programming is executed to find the optimal alignment. We evaluated the performance and advantages of CAB-align based on four main points: (1 agreement with the gold standard alignment, (2 alignment quality based on an evolutionary relationship without 3D coordinate superposition, (3 consistency of the multiple alignments, and (4 classification agreement with the gold standard classification. Comparisons of CAB-align with other state-of-the-art protein structure alignment methods (TM-align, FATCAT, and DaliLite using our benchmark dataset showed that CAB-align performed robustly in obtaining high-quality alignments and generating consistent multiple alignments with high coverage and accuracy rates, and it performed extremely well when discriminating between homologous and nonhomologous pairs of proteins

CAB-Align: A Flexible Protein Structure Alignment Method Based on the Residue-Residue Contact Area.

Science.gov (United States)

Terashi, Genki; Takeda-Shitaka, Mayuko

2015-01-01

Proteins are flexible, and this flexibility has an essential functional role. Flexibility can be observed in loop regions, rearrangements between secondary structure elements, and conformational changes between entire domains. However, most protein structure alignment methods treat protein structures as rigid bodies. Thus, these methods fail to identify the equivalences of residue pairs in regions with flexibility. In this study, we considered that the evolutionary relationship between proteins corresponds directly to the residue-residue physical contacts rather than the three-dimensional (3D) coordinates of proteins. Thus, we developed a new protein structure alignment method, contact area-based alignment (CAB-align), which uses the residue-residue contact area to identify regions of similarity. The main purpose of CAB-align is to identify homologous relationships at the residue level between related protein structures. The CAB-align procedure comprises two main steps: First, a rigid-body alignment method based on local and global 3D structure superposition is employed to generate a sufficient number of initial alignments. Then, iterative dynamic programming is executed to find the optimal alignment. We evaluated the performance and advantages of CAB-align based on four main points: (1) agreement with the gold standard alignment, (2) alignment quality based on an evolutionary relationship without 3D coordinate superposition, (3) consistency of the multiple alignments, and (4) classification agreement with the gold standard classification. Comparisons of CAB-align with other state-of-the-art protein structure alignment methods (TM-align, FATCAT, and DaliLite) using our benchmark dataset showed that CAB-align performed robustly in obtaining high-quality alignments and generating consistent multiple alignments with high coverage and accuracy rates, and it performed extremely well when discriminating between homologous and nonhomologous pairs of proteins in both

Assessing food allergy risks from residual peanut protein in highly refined vegetable oil

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Blom, W.M.; Kruizinga, A.G.; Rubingh, C.M.; Remington, B.C.; Crevel, R.W.R.; Houben, G.F.

2017-01-01

Refined vegetable oils including refined peanut oil are widely used in foods. Due to shared production processes, refined non-peanut vegetable oils can contain residual peanut proteins. We estimated the predicted number of allergic reactions to residual peanut proteins using probabilistic risk

Prediction of hot spot residues at protein-protein interfaces by combining machine learning and energy-based methods

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Pontil Massimiliano

2009-10-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Alanine scanning mutagenesis is a powerful experimental methodology for investigating the structural and energetic characteristics of protein complexes. Individual amino-acids are systematically mutated to alanine and changes in free energy of binding (ΔΔG measured. Several experiments have shown that protein-protein interactions are critically dependent on just a few residues ("hot spots" at the interface. Hot spots make a dominant contribution to the free energy of binding and if mutated they can disrupt the interaction. As mutagenesis studies require significant experimental efforts, there is a need for accurate and reliable computational methods. Such methods would also add to our understanding of the determinants of affinity and specificity in protein-protein recognition. Results We present a novel computational strategy to identify hot spot residues, given the structure of a complex. We consider the basic energetic terms that contribute to hot spot interactions, i.e. van der Waals potentials, solvation energy, hydrogen bonds and Coulomb electrostatics. We treat them as input features and use machine learning algorithms such as Support Vector Machines and Gaussian Processes to optimally combine and integrate them, based on a set of training examples of alanine mutations. We show that our approach is effective in predicting hot spots and it compares favourably to other available methods. In particular we find the best performances using Transductive Support Vector Machines, a semi-supervised learning scheme. When hot spots are defined as those residues for which ΔΔG ≥ 2 kcal/mol, our method achieves a precision and a recall respectively of 56% and 65%. Conclusion We have developed an hybrid scheme in which energy terms are used as input features of machine learning models. This strategy combines the strengths of machine learning and energy-based methods. Although so far these two types of approaches have mainly been

Estimation of residual stress distribution for pressurizer nozzle of Kori nuclear power plant considering safe end

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Song, Tae Kwang; Bae, Hong Yeol; Chun, Yun Bae; Oh, Chang Young; Kim, Yun Jae [Korea University, Seoul (Korea, Republic of); Lee, Kyoung Soo; Park, Chi Yong [Korea Electric Power Research Institute, Daejeon (Korea, Republic of)

2008-08-15

In nuclear power plants, ferritic low alloy steel nozzle was connected with austenitic stainless steel piping system through alloy 82/182 butt weld. Accurate estimation of residual stress for weldment is important in the sense that alloy 82/182 is susceptible to stress corrosion cracking. There are many results which predict residual stress distribution for alloy 82/182 weld between nozzle and pipe. However, nozzle and piping system usually connected through safe end which has short length. In this paper, residual stress distribution for pressurizer nozzle of Kori nuclear power plant was predicted using FE analysis, which considered safe end. As a result, existing residual stress profile was redistributed and residual stress of inner surface was decreased specially. It means that safe end should be considered to reduce conservatism when estimating the piping system.

Fatigue life estimation considering welding residual stress and hot-spot stress of welded components

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Han, S. H.; Lee, T. K.; Shin, B. C.

2002-01-01

The fatigue life of welded joints is sensitive to welding residual stress and complexity of their geometric shapes. To predict the fatigue life more reasonably, the effects of welding residual stress and its relaxation have to be considered quantitatively which are equivalent to mean stress by external loads. The hot-spot stress concept should be also adopted which can be reduce the dependence of fatigue strengths for various welding details. Considering the factors mentioned above, a fatigue life prediction model using the modified Goodman's diagram was proposed. In this model, an equivalent stress was introduced which are composed of the mean stress based on the hot-spot stress concept and the relaxed welding residual stress. From the verification of the proposed model to real welding details, it is confirmed that this model can be applied to predict reasonably their fatigue lives

Protein-protein docking with dynamic residue protonation states.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Krishna Praneeth Kilambi

2014-12-01

Full Text Available Protein-protein interactions depend on a host of environmental factors. Local pH conditions influence the interactions through the protonation states of the ionizable residues that can change upon binding. In this work, we present a pH-sensitive docking approach, pHDock, that can sample side-chain protonation states of five ionizable residues (Asp, Glu, His, Tyr, Lys on-the-fly during the docking simulation. pHDock produces successful local docking funnels in approximately half (79/161 the protein complexes, including 19 cases where standard RosettaDock fails. pHDock also performs better than the two control cases comprising docking at pH 7.0 or using fixed, predetermined protonation states. On average, the top-ranked pHDock structures have lower interface RMSDs and recover more native interface residue-residue contacts and hydrogen bonds compared to RosettaDock. Addition of backbone flexibility using a computationally-generated conformational ensemble further improves native contact and hydrogen bond recovery in the top-ranked structures. Although pHDock is designed to improve docking, it also successfully predicts a large pH-dependent binding affinity change in the Fc-FcRn complex, suggesting that it can be exploited to improve affinity predictions. The approaches in the study contribute to the goal of structural simulations of whole-cell protein-protein interactions including all the environmental factors, and they can be further expanded for pH-sensitive protein design.

On residual stress prescriptions for fitness for service assessment of pipe girth welds

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Dong, Pingsha; Song, Shaopin; Zhang, Jinmiao; Kim, Myung H.

2014-01-01

This paper aims to provide a detailed assessment of some of the existing residual stress profiles stipulated in widely used fitness-for-service assessment codes and standards, such as BS 7910 Appendix Q and API 579 RP Annex E, by taking advantage of some comprehensive residual stress studies that have recently become available. After presenting a case study on which residual stress measurements are available for validating finite element based residual stress analysis procedure, residual stress profiles stipulated in BS 7910 for pipe girth welds are selected for detailed evaluation by comparing residual stress distribution characteristics shown in parametric finite element results. A shell theory based full-field residual stress profile estimation scheme is then presented to illustrate how an improved estimation of residual stress profiles can be achieved in light of some of the deficiencies in BS 7910 and API 579 identified in this study. - Highlights: • Critically assessed girth weld residual stress profiles in major FFS Codes and Standards. • Identified deficiencies in relating to pipe geometry, heat input, and axial distance from weld. • Presented a shell theory based scheme for prescribing full-field residual stress profiles

Incorporating residual temperature and specific humidity in predicting weather-dependent warm-season electricity consumption

Science.gov (United States)

Guan, Huade; Beecham, Simon; Xu, Hanqiu; Ingleton, Greg

2017-02-01

Climate warming and increasing variability challenges the electricity supply in warm seasons. A good quantitative representation of the relationship between warm-season electricity consumption and weather condition provides necessary information for long-term electricity planning and short-term electricity management. In this study, an extended version of cooling degree days (ECDD) is proposed for better characterisation of this relationship. The ECDD includes temperature, residual temperature and specific humidity effects. The residual temperature is introduced for the first time to reflect the building thermal inertia effect on electricity consumption. The study is based on the electricity consumption data of four multiple-street city blocks and three office buildings. It is found that the residual temperature effect is about 20% of the current-day temperature effect at the block scale, and increases with a large variation at the building scale. Investigation of this residual temperature effect provides insight to the influence of building designs and structures on electricity consumption. The specific humidity effect appears to be more important at the building scale than at the block scale. A building with high energy performance does not necessarily have low specific humidity dependence. The new ECDD better reflects the weather dependence of electricity consumption than the conventional CDD method.

A general digital computer procedure for synthesizing linear automatic control systems

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cummins, J.D.

1961-10-01

The fundamental concepts required for synthesizing a linear automatic control system are considered. A generalized procedure for synthesizing automatic control systems is demonstrated. This procedure has been programmed for the Ferranti Mercury and the IBM 7090 computers. Details of the programmes are given. The procedure uses the linearized set of equations which describe the plant to be controlled as the starting point. Subsequent computations determine the transfer functions between any desired variables. The programmes also compute the root and phase loci for any linear (and some non-linear) configurations in the complex plane, the open loop and closed loop frequency responses of a system, the residues of a function of the complex variable 's' and the time response corresponding to these residues. With these general programmes available the design of 'one point' automatic control systems becomes a routine scientific procedure. Also dynamic assessments of plant may be carried out. Certain classes of multipoint automatic control problems may also be solved with these procedures. Autonomous systems, invariant systems and orthogonal systems may also be studied. (author)

Sphincter-saving procedure for radiation-injuried rectum

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Moriya, Yoshihiro; Koyama, Yasuo; Hojo, Keiichi

1982-01-01

Up to this time the sigmoid colostomy has been widely accepted and conventional treatment for radiation-injured rectum, but patients without residual malignancy strongly desire to live without colostomy. We have tried to remove the involved rectal segments by sphincter-saving procedures. Four patients underwent these procedures, pull-through procedure in three and low anterior resection in one. Among sphincter-saving procedures, pull-through procedure was most adequate. Provided the following five conditions are fulfilled, pull-through procedure should be considered for severe radiation-injured rectum. (1) No recurrence of initial malignancy in the pelvis. (2) More than 2 cm intact rectal segment above dentate line may be preserved. (3) No radiation-injured segment in upper sigmoid. (4) No severe radiation damage in small intestine. (5) Patients under 70 year-old, with normal tonus of anal sphincter. (author)

Influence of agricultural residues interpretation and allocation procedures on the environmental performance of bioelectricity production – A case study on woodchips from apple orchards

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Boschiero, Martina; Kelderer, Markus; Schmitt, Armin O.; Andreotti, Carlo; Zerbe, Stefan

2015-01-01

Highlights: • An LCA of bioelectricity production from apple woody residues (AWRs) is performed. • Two AWRs interpretation are investigated: by-products and co-products. • Different allocation procedures are used for upstream and downstream emissions. • AWRs guarantee significant environmental benefits, when interpreted as by-products. - Abstract: Agricultural woody residues are available in massive quantities and provide a considerable potential for energy production. However, to encourage environmentally sustainable bioenergy strategies, it is necessary to assess the environmental performance of each specific bioenergy chain. Life cycle assessment (LCA) is recognized to be one of the best methodologies to evaluate the environmental burdens of bioenergy chains. The application of LCA to bioenergy from agricultural residues requires practitioners to make choices on how to interpret agricultural residues (i.e. by-products or co-products) and on how to allocate emissions among the different products generated along the bioenergy chain. These are among the most debated issues in the LCA community, given their potentially large influence on final LCA outcomes. A uniform consensus on these issues is still lacking, and no single method is equally suitable for all solutions. The aim of this paper is to assess how different ways of agricultural residue interpretation and different allocation methods (both of upstream and downstream emissions), affect the environmental performance of bioenergy production fed by agricultural residues. In order to address the issue, we perform a full attributional LCA of the electricity production in a combustion combined heat and power plant (CHP) fed with woody residues from apple orchards (AWRs), as a case study. Bioelectricity production from CHP fed with agricultural residues is a good example of a multifunctional process, since multiple products (e.g. grain, fruit, straw, wood, etc.) and energy (e.g. heat and power) are co

Sphincter-saving procedure for radiation-injuried rectum. A report of four cases with special reference to pull-through procedure

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Moriya, Y.; Koyama, Y.; Hojo, K. (National Cancer Center, Tokyo (Japan))

1982-09-01

Up to this time the sigmoid colostomy has been widely accepted and conventional treatment for radiation-injured rectum, but patients without residual malignancy strongly desire to live without colostomy. We have tried to remove the involved rectal segments by sphincter-saving procedures. Four patients underwent these procedures, pull-through procedure in three and low anterior resection in one. Among sphincter-saving procedures, pull-through procedure was most adequate. Provided the following five conditions are fulfilled, pull-through procedure should be considered for severe radiation-injured rectum. (1) No recurrence of initial malignancy in the pelvis. (2) More than 2 cm intact rectal segment above dentate line may be preserved. (3) No radiation-injured segment in upper sigmoid. (4) No severe radiation damage in small intestine. (5) Patients under 70 year-old, with normal tonus of anal sphincter.

Effectiveness of dynamic MRI for diagnosing pericicatricial minimal residual breast cancer following excisional biopsy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kawashima, Hiroko; Tawara, Mari; Suzuki, Masayuki; Matsui, Osamu; Kadoya, Masumi

2001-01-01

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effectiveness of dynamic MRI for diagnosing pericicatricial minimal residual breast cancer following excisional biopsy. Twenty-six patients who underwent excisional biopsy of a tumor or calcified lesion of the breast underwent gadolinium-enhanced dynamic MRI by the fat-saturated 2D fast spoiled gradient echo (SPGR) sequence (group 1), 24 patients by the spectral IR enhanced 3D fast gradient echo (Efgre3d) sequence (group 2). Pericicatricial residual cancer was confirmed histologically in 29 of the 50 patients. The overall sensitivity, specificity, accuracy, positive predictive value, and negative predictive value of MRI for residual cancer diagnosis was 66, 81, 72, 83 and 63%. A nodular, thick and discontinuous enhanced rim around the scar is indicative of a residual tumor. However, false-positive findings due to granulation or proliferative fibrocystic change remain limitations

Effectiveness of dynamic MRI for diagnosing pericicatricial minimal residual breast cancer following excisional biopsy

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kawashima, Hiroko E-mail: hirokok@med.kanazawa-u.ac.jp; Tawara, Mari; Suzuki, Masayuki; Matsui, Osamu; Kadoya, Masumi

2001-10-01

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effectiveness of dynamic MRI for diagnosing pericicatricial minimal residual breast cancer following excisional biopsy. Twenty-six patients who underwent excisional biopsy of a tumor or calcified lesion of the breast underwent gadolinium-enhanced dynamic MRI by the fat-saturated 2D fast spoiled gradient echo (SPGR) sequence (group 1), 24 patients by the spectral IR enhanced 3D fast gradient echo (Efgre3d) sequence (group 2). Pericicatricial residual cancer was confirmed histologically in 29 of the 50 patients. The overall sensitivity, specificity, accuracy, positive predictive value, and negative predictive value of MRI for residual cancer diagnosis was 66, 81, 72, 83 and 63%. A nodular, thick and discontinuous enhanced rim around the scar is indicative of a residual tumor. However, false-positive findings due to granulation or proliferative fibrocystic change remain limitations.

Investigation of the residue in an electric railgun employing a plasma armature

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bauer, D.P.; Barber, J.P.

1984-01-01

This paper examines the performance of DC electric railguns using plasmaarmature-accelerated projectiles. The adverse effects on performance of a black residue produced in the railgun are examined. The residue appears to be responsible for causing secondary current paths within the railgun. The secondary current paths result in muzzle velocities lower than predicted

ComplexContact: a web server for inter-protein contact prediction using deep learning

KAUST Repository

Zeng, Hong; Wang, Sheng; Zhou, Tianming; Zhao, Feifeng; Li, Xiufeng; Wu, Qing; Xu, Jinbo

2018-01-01

ComplexContact (http://raptorx2.uchicago.edu/ComplexContact/) is a web server for sequence-based interfacial residue-residue contact prediction of a putative protein complex. Interfacial residue-residue contacts are critical for understanding how proteins form complex and interact at residue level. When receiving a pair of protein sequences, ComplexContact first searches for their sequence homologs and builds two paired multiple sequence alignments (MSA), then it applies co-evolution analysis and a CASP-winning deep learning (DL) method to predict interfacial contacts from paired MSAs and visualizes the prediction as an image. The DL method was originally developed for intra-protein contact prediction and performed the best in CASP12. Our large-scale experimental test further shows that ComplexContact greatly outperforms pure co-evolution methods for inter-protein contact prediction, regardless of the species.

ComplexContact: a web server for inter-protein contact prediction using deep learning

KAUST Repository

Zeng, Hong

2018-05-20

ComplexContact (http://raptorx2.uchicago.edu/ComplexContact/) is a web server for sequence-based interfacial residue-residue contact prediction of a putative protein complex. Interfacial residue-residue contacts are critical for understanding how proteins form complex and interact at residue level. When receiving a pair of protein sequences, ComplexContact first searches for their sequence homologs and builds two paired multiple sequence alignments (MSA), then it applies co-evolution analysis and a CASP-winning deep learning (DL) method to predict interfacial contacts from paired MSAs and visualizes the prediction as an image. The DL method was originally developed for intra-protein contact prediction and performed the best in CASP12. Our large-scale experimental test further shows that ComplexContact greatly outperforms pure co-evolution methods for inter-protein contact prediction, regardless of the species.

ComplexContact: a web server for inter-protein contact prediction using deep learning.

Science.gov (United States)

Zeng, Hong; Wang, Sheng; Zhou, Tianming; Zhao, Feifeng; Li, Xiufeng; Wu, Qing; Xu, Jinbo

2018-05-22

ComplexContact (http://raptorx2.uchicago.edu/ComplexContact/) is a web server for sequence-based interfacial residue-residue contact prediction of a putative protein complex. Interfacial residue-residue contacts are critical for understanding how proteins form complex and interact at residue level. When receiving a pair of protein sequences, ComplexContact first searches for their sequence homologs and builds two paired multiple sequence alignments (MSA), then it applies co-evolution analysis and a CASP-winning deep learning (DL) method to predict interfacial contacts from paired MSAs and visualizes the prediction as an image. The DL method was originally developed for intra-protein contact prediction and performed the best in CASP12. Our large-scale experimental test further shows that ComplexContact greatly outperforms pure co-evolution methods for inter-protein contact prediction, regardless of the species.

Observation of the hot GDR in neutron-deficient thorium evaporation residues

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Seitz, J.P.; Back, B.B.; Carpenter, M.P.; Dioszegi, I.; Eisenman, K.; Heckman, P.; Hofman, D.J.; Kelly, M.P.; Khoo, T.L.; Mitsuoka, S.; Nanal, V.; Pennington, T.; Siemssen, R.H.; Thoennessen, M.; Varner, R.L.

2005-01-01

The giant dipole resonance built on excited states was observed in very fissile nuclei in coincidence with evaporation residues. The reaction 48 Ca+ 176 Yb populated evaporation residues of mass A=213-220 with a cross section of ∼200 μb at 259 MeV. The extracted giant dipole resonance parameters are in agreement with theoretical predictions for this mass region

A computational approach for thermomechanical fatigue life prediction of dissimilarly welded superheater tubes

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Krishnasamy, Ram-Kumar; Seifert, Thomas; Siegele, Dieter [Fraunhofer-Institut fuer Werkstoffmechanik (IWM), Freiburg im Breisgau (Germany)

2010-07-01

In this paper a computational approach for fatigue life prediction of dissimilarly welded superheater tubes is presented and applied to a dissimilar weld between tubes made of the nickel base alloy Alloy617 tube and the 12% chromium steel VM12. The approach comprises the calculation of the residual stresses in the welded tubes with a multi-pass dissimilar welding simulation, the relaxation of the residual stresses in a post weld heat treatment (PWHT) simulation and the fatigue life prediction using the remaining residual stresses as initial condition. A cyclic fiscoplasticity model is used to calculate the transient stresses and strains under thermocyclic service loadings. The fatigue life is predicted with a damage parameter which is based on fracture mechanics. The adjustable parameters of the model are determined based on LCF and TMF experiments. The simulations show, that the residual stresses that remain after PWHT further relax in the first loading cycles. The predicted fatigue lives depend on the residual stresses and, thus, on the choice of the loading cycle in which the damage parameter is evaluated. It the first loading cycle, where residual stresses are still present, is considered, lower fatigue lives are predicted compared to predictions considering loading cycles with relaxed residual stresses. (orig.)

Dry cleaning of fluorocarbon residues by low-power electron cyclotron resonance hydrogen plasma

CERN Document Server

Lim, S H; Yuh, H K; Yoon Eui Joon; Lee, S I

1988-01-01

A low-power ( 50 W) electron cyclotron resonance hydrogen plasma cleaning process was demonstrated for the removal of fluorocarbon residue layers formed by reactive ion etching of silicon dioxide. The absence of residue layers was confirmed by in-situ reflection high energy electron diffraction and cross-sectional high resolution transmission electron microscopy. The ECR hydrogen plasma cleaning was applied to contact cleaning of a contact string structure, resulting in comparable contact resistance arising during by a conventional contact cleaning procedure. Ion-assisted chemical reaction involving reactive atomic hydrogen species generated in the plasma is attributed for the removal of fluorocarbon residue layers.

Characterization of Residual Stress Effects on Fatigue Crack Growth of a Friction Stir Welded Aluminum Alloy

Science.gov (United States)

Newman, John A.; Smith, Stephen W.; Seshadri, Banavara R.; James, Mark A.; Brazill, Richard L.; Schultz, Robert W.; Donald, J. Keith; Blair, Amy

2015-01-01

An on-line compliance-based method to account for residual stress effects in stress-intensity factor and fatigue crack growth property determinations has been evaluated. Residual stress intensity factor results determined from specimens containing friction stir weld induced residual stresses are presented, and the on-line method results were found to be in excellent agreement with residual stress-intensity factor data obtained using the cut compliance method. Variable stress-intensity factor tests were designed to demonstrate that a simple superposition model, summing the applied stress-intensity factor with the residual stress-intensity factor, can be used to determine the total crack-tip stress-intensity factor. Finite element, VCCT (virtual crack closure technique), and J-integral analysis methods have been used to characterize weld-induced residual stress using thermal expansion/contraction in the form of an equivalent delta T (change in local temperature during welding) to simulate the welding process. This equivalent delta T was established and applied to analyze different specimen configurations to predict residual stress distributions and associated residual stress-intensity factor values. The predictions were found to agree well with experimental results obtained using the crack- and cut-compliance methods.

Carbaryl and monocrotophos residues in cottonseed products. Part of a coordinated programme on isotopic tracer-aided studies of chemical residues in cotton seed, feed, oil and related products

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Pablo, F.E.

1981-03-01

Cotton plants of Deltapine variety were treated with carbaryl (naphthyl-1- 14 C), (6.7 mg/plant) three times at two week intervals. Seeds were collected at maturity and 14 C-residues were determined in the oil and cake by standard procedures. 14 C-carbaryl and/or metabolite residues were 0.42 and 0.15 mg/kg in the crude oil and cake respectively. Parallel studies were conducted with spectrophotometric techniques using p-nitrobenzene diazonium fluoborate as chromogenic agent. Applications were made three times at a rate of 14 mg/plant. Residues in the crude oil and cake were found to be 0.83 and 0.04 mg/kg respectively. The higher residue level in the oil - compared to the radiometric technique - probably relates to higher application rates. Cotton plants of Deltapine variety were treated with (N-methyl- 14 C) monocrotophos (0.09 mg/plant) three times at two week intervals, as recommended for agricultural practice. Seeds were collected at maturity and standard procedures for extraction, clean-up and paper and thin-layer chromatography were adopted for the ultimate determination of residues in seed, oil and cake. Parallel experiments, using spectrophotometric techniques, were made for comparison. 14 C-residues of monocrotophos and/or metabolites in cottonseed, crude oil and cake were found to be 0.06, 0.12 and 0.05 mg/kg respectively. Corresponding data obtained by non-nuclear techniques were 0.18, 0.42 and 0.15 mg/kg respectively. The discrepancy between the two sets of results may be related to different rates of application: 0.3 mg and 0.09 mg/plant for non-nuclear and radiometric techniques respectively. Among the major metabolites identified in the cottonseed were dimethyl phosphate and O-desmethyl monocrotophos. N-demethylated monocrotophos and sugar conjugates were also identified

Practical applications of the R6 leak-before-break procedure

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bouchard, P.J.

1997-01-01

A forthcoming revision to the R6 Leak-before-Break Assessment Procedure is briefly described. Practical application of the LbB concepts to safety-critical nuclear plant is illustrated by examples covering both low temperature and high temperature (>450 degrees C) operating regimes. The examples highlight a number of issues which can make the development of a satisfactory LbB case problematic: for example, coping with highly loaded components, methodology assumptions and the definition of margins, the effect of crack closure owing to weld residual stresses, complex thermal stress fields or primary bending fields, the treatment of locally high stresses at crack intersections with free surfaces, the choice of local limit load solution when predicting ligament breakthrough, and the scope of calculations required to support even a simplified LbB case for high temperature steam pipe-work systems

Practical applications of the R6 leak-before-break procedure

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Bouchard, P.J.

1997-04-01

A forthcoming revision to the R6 Leak-before-Break Assessment Procedure is briefly described. Practical application of the LbB concepts to safety-critical nuclear plant is illustrated by examples covering both low temperature and high temperature (>450{degrees}C) operating regimes. The examples highlight a number of issues which can make the development of a satisfactory LbB case problematic: for example, coping with highly loaded components, methodology assumptions and the definition of margins, the effect of crack closure owing to weld residual stresses, complex thermal stress fields or primary bending fields, the treatment of locally high stresses at crack intersections with free surfaces, the choice of local limit load solution when predicting ligament breakthrough, and the scope of calculations required to support even a simplified LbB case for high temperature steam pipe-work systems.

Assessment of long-term pH developments in leachate from waste incineration residues

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Astrup, Thomas; Jakobsen, Rasmus; Christensen, Thomas Højlund

2006-01-01

influenced by changes in pH over time. The paper presents an approach for assessing pH changes in leachate from municipal solid waste incineration (MSWI) air-pollution-control (APC) residues. Residue samples were subjected to a stepwise batch extraction method in order to obtain residue samples at a range...... of pH Values (similar to common pH-dependence tests), and then on these samples to determine leaching of alkalinity as well as remaining solid phase alkalinity. On a range of APC residues covering various pretreatment and disposal options, this procedure was used to determine leachable and residual...... alkalinity as a function of pH. Mass balance calculations for typical disposal scenarios were used to provide data on pH as a function of the liquid-to-solid (L/S) ratio in the leaching system. Regardless of residue type and pretreatment, pH was found to stay above 7 for L/S ratios up to about 2000 L kg(-1...

Identification of chemical signatures of gunshot residues in different fabrics

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Freitas, Joao Carlos Dias de

2010-01-01

The modern forensic science goes hand in hand with scientific research. The forensic scientists are faced every day with many cases requiring the analysis of residues from firing gun (gunshot residues). This works describes the development of a methodology to determine chemical signatures of shots from a firearm, by measuring the concentrations of Pb, Ba e Sb in the residues from these shots deposited near the entrance hole of bullets, based on the technique with high resolution inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (HRICP-MS). Shots were performed on five types of target-fabrics and collected testimonies from regions close to the entrance hole of projectiles. The results showed that the method enabled us to identify and distinguish the residues of the .38 caliber revolver and pistols .40 and 9mm caliber. The use of ternary graphs as a tool for data analysis helped to identify specific patterns of distribution of blank samples and gunshot residues deposited after firing revolvers and pistols. The methodology enabled the assignment of the origin of the shot through the confirmation of the residues collected also from the hands of shooters. As a result the methodology in police procedures and aims to add a valuable contribution to forensic investigations. (author)

Technical note: Equivalent genomic models with a residual polygenic effect.

Science.gov (United States)

Liu, Z; Goddard, M E; Hayes, B J; Reinhardt, F; Reents, R

2016-03-01

Routine genomic evaluations in animal breeding are usually based on either a BLUP with genomic relationship matrix (GBLUP) or single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) BLUP model. For a multi-step genomic evaluation, these 2 alternative genomic models were proven to give equivalent predictions for genomic reference animals. The model equivalence was verified also for young genotyped animals without phenotypes. Due to incomplete linkage disequilibrium of SNP markers to genes or causal mutations responsible for genetic inheritance of quantitative traits, SNP markers cannot explain all the genetic variance. A residual polygenic effect is normally fitted in the genomic model to account for the incomplete linkage disequilibrium. In this study, we start by showing the proof that the multi-step GBLUP and SNP BLUP models are equivalent for the reference animals, when they have a residual polygenic effect included. Second, the equivalence of both multi-step genomic models with a residual polygenic effect was also verified for young genotyped animals without phenotypes. Additionally, we derived formulas to convert genomic estimated breeding values of the GBLUP model to its components, direct genomic values and residual polygenic effect. Third, we made a proof that the equivalence of these 2 genomic models with a residual polygenic effect holds also for single-step genomic evaluation. Both the single-step GBLUP and SNP BLUP models lead to equal prediction for genotyped animals with phenotypes (e.g., reference animals), as well as for (young) genotyped animals without phenotypes. Finally, these 2 single-step genomic models with a residual polygenic effect were proven to be equivalent for estimation of SNP effects, too. Copyright © 2016 American Dairy Science Association. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

LiDAR based prediction of forest biomass using hierarchical models with spatially varying coefficients

Science.gov (United States)

Babcock, Chad; Finley, Andrew O.; Bradford, John B.; Kolka, Randall K.; Birdsey, Richard A.; Ryan, Michael G.

2015-01-01

Many studies and production inventory systems have shown the utility of coupling covariates derived from Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR) data with forest variables measured on georeferenced inventory plots through regression models. The objective of this study was to propose and assess the use of a Bayesian hierarchical modeling framework that accommodates both residual spatial dependence and non-stationarity of model covariates through the introduction of spatial random effects. We explored this objective using four forest inventory datasets that are part of the North American Carbon Program, each comprising point-referenced measures of above-ground forest biomass and discrete LiDAR. For each dataset, we considered at least five regression model specifications of varying complexity. Models were assessed based on goodness of fit criteria and predictive performance using a 10-fold cross-validation procedure. Results showed that the addition of spatial random effects to the regression model intercept improved fit and predictive performance in the presence of substantial residual spatial dependence. Additionally, in some cases, allowing either some or all regression slope parameters to vary spatially, via the addition of spatial random effects, further improved model fit and predictive performance. In other instances, models showed improved fit but decreased predictive performance—indicating over-fitting and underscoring the need for cross-validation to assess predictive ability. The proposed Bayesian modeling framework provided access to pixel-level posterior predictive distributions that were useful for uncertainty mapping, diagnosing spatial extrapolation issues, revealing missing model covariates, and discovering locally significant parameters.

Finite element analysis of residual stress in plasma-sprayed ceramic

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mullen, R.L.; Hendricks, R.C.; McDonald, G.

1985-01-01

Residual stress in a ZrO 2 -Y 2 O 3 ceramic coating resulting from the plasma spraying operation is calculated. The calculations were done using the finite element method. Both thermal and mechanical analysis were performed. The resulting residual stress field was compared to the measurements obtained by Hendricks and McDonald. Reasonable agreement between the predicted and measured moment occurred. However, the resulting stress field is not in pure bending

Residual stresses in non-symmetrical carbon-epoxy laminates

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Wijskamp, Sebastiaan; Akkerman, Remko; Lamers, E.A.D.; Martin, M.J.; Hahn, H.T.

2003-01-01

The curvature of unsymmetrical [0/90] laminates moulded from AS4/8552 uni-directional tape has been measured. A linear thermoelastic approach has been applied to predict the related residual stress state before demoulding, giving an estimate of the stress induced by polymerisation strain. The

Health condition and residual life of deteriorating technical systems

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Reinertsen, Rune

1998-12-31

Many offshore installations in the Norwegian Sector of the North Sea approach the end of their useful life. The same is true of many power plants and technical systems in general. This thesis describes the theory and improves the methods for the determination of the health condition and residual life of technical systems. Rather than developing new methods it discusses new ways of using existing statistical methods. The main contributions are: (1) A survey of the literature of diagnosis, prediction and life extension for deteriorating technical systems, (2) A discussion of some consequences of selecting the wrong life model, (3) A description of problems related to the determination of mean residual life of non-repairable technical systems, (4) Presentation of the concept of `technical health` to describe the soundness of a system exposed to failure mechanisms, (5) A model for predicting the technical health and residual life of a corroding system, (6) Recommends requirements and methods for using expert knowledge in safety and reliability analysis, (7) A general inspection strategy for system fault diagnosis by using Shannon entropy, (8) Points out weaknesses and strengths of risk measures used in the offshore industry today. 237 refs., 23 figs., 6 tabs.

Health condition and residual life of deteriorating technical systems

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Reinertsen, Rune

1997-12-31

Many offshore installations in the Norwegian Sector of the North Sea approach the end of their useful life. The same is true of many power plants and technical systems in general. This thesis describes the theory and improves the methods for the determination of the health condition and residual life of technical systems. Rather than developing new methods it discusses new ways of using existing statistical methods. The main contributions are: (1) A survey of the literature of diagnosis, prediction and life extension for deteriorating technical systems, (2) A discussion of some consequences of selecting the wrong life model, (3) A description of problems related to the determination of mean residual life of non-repairable technical systems, (4) Presentation of the concept of `technical health` to describe the soundness of a system exposed to failure mechanisms, (5) A model for predicting the technical health and residual life of a corroding system, (6) Recommends requirements and methods for using expert knowledge in safety and reliability analysis, (7) A general inspection strategy for system fault diagnosis by using Shannon entropy, (8) Points out weaknesses and strengths of risk measures used in the offshore industry today. 237 refs., 23 figs., 6 tabs.

Orientation-dependent backbone-only residue pair scoring functions for fixed backbone protein design

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Bordner Andrew J

2010-04-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Empirical scoring functions have proven useful in protein structure modeling. Most such scoring functions depend on protein side chain conformations. However, backbone-only scoring functions do not require computationally intensive structure optimization and so are well suited to protein design, which requires fast score evaluation. Furthermore, scoring functions that account for the distinctive relative position and orientation preferences of residue pairs are expected to be more accurate than those that depend only on the separation distance. Results Residue pair scoring functions for fixed backbone protein design were derived using only backbone geometry. Unlike previous studies that used spherical harmonics to fit 2D angular distributions, Gaussian Mixture Models were used to fit the full 3D (position only and 6D (position and orientation distributions of residue pairs. The performance of the 1D (residue separation only, 3D, and 6D scoring functions were compared by their ability to identify correct threading solutions for a non-redundant benchmark set of protein backbone structures. The threading accuracy was found to steadily increase with increasing dimension, with the 6D scoring function achieving the highest accuracy. Furthermore, the 3D and 6D scoring functions were shown to outperform side chain-dependent empirical potentials from three other studies. Next, two computational methods that take advantage of the speed and pairwise form of these new backbone-only scoring functions were investigated. The first is a procedure that exploits available sequence data by averaging scores over threading solutions for homologs. This was evaluated by applying it to the challenging problem of identifying interacting transmembrane alpha-helices and found to further improve prediction accuracy. The second is a protein design method for determining the optimal sequence for a backbone structure by applying Belief Propagation

Investigative procedures in thyroid cancer

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Samuel, A.M.

1999-01-01

One of the main objectives of the procedures is to establish the likelihood of malignancy in the thyroid gland prior to surgery and detect metastases after surgery. Thyroid imaging is discussed in the context of (a) its role in the diagnosis of the primary disease (b) in the investigation of post-operative residual disease and (c) its role in the follow-up of patients after radioiodine therapy

Role of mammography in evaluating residual cancer of locally advanced breast carcinoma after neo-adjuvant chemotherapy : compared with clinical examination

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Choi, Byoung Wook; Kim, Eun Kyung; Oh, Ki Keun; Cho, Jae Min; Chung, Hyun Cheol; Lee, Byung Chan; Lee, Kyong Sik; Lee, Yong Hee

1997-01-01

To compare the usefulness of mammography and clinical examination in the evaluation of residual cancer of locally-advanced breast carcinoma treated with neoadjuvant chemotherapy. Among 67 patients with locally advanced breast carcinoma who were treated with neoadjuvant chemotherapy, 18, aged 35-67 (mean, 48) years, underwent mammography before and after this therapy. The 18 sets of mammographs were analyzed retrospectively and compared with the results of clinical examination based on histologic diagnosis. On histologic examinations, 16 of 18 patients (89%) were found to have residual cancer, but in one of these 16, mammography did not show this same result. On mammography, residual cancer was found in 16 patients, but in one of this group, histologic examination did not reveal the same finding. Clinically, a complete response was shown by four patients, and a partial response by 11 ; three showed no response. On histolgogic examination, three of the four patients with complete clinical response were found to have residual cancer. Post-treatment mammographic findings showed that 11 patients had measurable mass ; all of these had residual cancer (positive predictive value : 100%). However, five of seven patients in whom no measurable mass was evident also had residual cancer. Seven of 8 patients in whom microcalcifications were seen on mammography were found to have residual cancer (positive predictive value : 88%). The sensitivity of mammography in predicting residual cancer was greater than that of clinical examination (94% vs 81%), even when microscopic residual cancer was considered as a complete response (92% vs 77%). The specificity of mammography was the same as that of clinical examination(50% vs 50%, 20% vs 20%). In evaluating residual cancer of locally-advanced breast carcinoma after neoadjuvant chemotheragy, mammography is more accurate and informative than clincal examination. In predicting residual cancer, however, it is not accurate enough to replace

Residues of 14C-paclobutrazol in mangoes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Costa, Maria A.; Tornisielo, Valdemar L.; Castanho, Giuliane M.

2009-01-01

Paclobutrazol (PBZ) is a growth regulator used in agricultural systems whose purpose is the control of vegetative growth, stimulating the reproductive capacity of plants. This growth regulator remains active in soil for a long time and its half-life varies with the type of soil and climatic conditions, can severely affect the development of crops. This work aimed to study the residues / metabolites of 14 C-PBZ in mango pulp Tommy Atkins. The tests were performed with mangoes grown in pots stainless steel and application of 14 C-PBZ was performed by the soil projection of the crown, and the mangoes tested in two periods, one year and two years after application. To evaluate the levels of residues of 14 C-PBZ was realize the burning of 200 mg of pulp on biological oxidized and detached 14 CO 2 was detected by liquid scintillation spectrophotometer. The results were 1.65 % of residue of PBZ on fruit collected after two years of application and 4.30 % of residue of PBZ collected on fruit after a year of application and also can see that the product remained in the soil for more than one year, is translocated to the plant and reach the edible part, the pulp fruit. The identification of residual 14 C- PBZ/metabolites by thin-layer chromatography did not reveal any pattern of PBZ / metabolites due to the low activity detected in the samples. Therefore, another procedure was performed for extraction and then analyzed by high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) for detection of metabolites in the PBZ of mango pulp. (author)

Residual Stress Testing of Outer 3013 Containers

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Dunn, K.

2004-01-01

A Gas Tungsten Arc Welded (GTAW) outer 3013 container and a laser welded outer 3013 container have been tested for residual stresses according to the American Society for Testing Materials (ASTM) Standard G-36-94 [1]. This ASTM standard describes a procedure for conducting stress-corrosion cracking tests in boiling magnesium chloride (MgCl2) solution. Container sections in both the as-fabricated condition as well as the closure welded condition were evaluated. Significantly large residual stresses were observed in the bottom half of the as-fabricated container, a result of the base to can fabrication weld because through wall cracks were observed perpendicular to the weld. This observation indicates that regardless of the closure weld technique, sufficient residual stresses exist in the as-fabricated container to provide the stress necessary for stress corrosion cracking of the container, at the base fabrication weld. Additionally, sufficiently high residual stresses were observed in both the lid and the body of the GTAW as well as the laser closure welded containers. The stresses are oriented perpendicular to the closure weld in both the container lid and the container body. Although the boiling MgCl2 test is not a quantitative test, a comparison of the test results from the closure welds shows that there are noticeably more through wall cracks in the laser closure welded container than in the GTAW closure welded container

Risk factors for postoperative urinary tract infection following midurethral sling procedures.

Science.gov (United States)

Doganay, Melike; Cavkaytar, Sabri; Kokanali, Mahmut Kuntay; Ozer, Irfan; Aksakal, Orhan Seyfi; Erkaya, Salim

2017-04-01

To identify the potential risk factors for urinary tract infections following midurethral sling procedures. 556 women who underwent midurethral sling procedure due to stress urinary incontinence over a four-year period were reviewed in this retrospective study. Of the study population, 280 women underwent TVT procedures and 276 women underwent TOT procedures. Patients were evaluated at 4-8 weeks postoperatively and were investigated for the occurrence of a urinary tract infection. Patients who experienced urinary tract infection were defined as cases, and patients who didn't were defined as controls. All data were collected from medical records. Multivariate logistic regression model was used to identify the risk factors for urinary tract infection. Of 556 women, 58 (10.4%) were defined as cases while 498 (89.6%) were controls. The mean age of women in cases (57.8±12.9years) was significantly greater than in controls (51.8±11.2years) (purinary tract infection, concomitant vaginal hysterectomy and cystocele repair, TVT procedure and postoperative postvoiding residual bladder volume ≥100ml were more common in cases than in controls. However, in multivariate regression analysis model presence of preoperative urinary tract infection [OR (95% CI)=0.1 (0.1-0.7); p=0.013], TVT procedure [OR (95% CI)=8.4 (3.1-22.3); p=0.000] and postoperative postvoiding residual bladder volume ≥100ml [OR (95% CI)=4.6 (1.1-19.2); p=0.036] were significant independent risk factors for urinary tract infection following midurethral slings CONCLUSION: Urinary tract infection after midurethral sling procedures is a relatively common complication. The presence of preoperative urinary tract infection, TVT procedure and postoperative postvoiding residual bladder volume ≥100ml may increase the risk of this complication. Identification of these factors could help surgeons to minimize this complicationby developing effective strategies. Copyright © 2017. Published by Elsevier B.V.

Electrostatic contribution of surface charge residues to the stability of a thermophilic protein: benchmarking experimental and predicted pKa values.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Chi-Ho Chan

Full Text Available Optimization of the surface charges is a promising strategy for increasing thermostability of proteins. Electrostatic contribution of ionizable groups to the protein stability can be estimated from the differences between the pKa values in the folded and unfolded states of a protein. Using this pKa-shift approach, we experimentally measured the electrostatic contribution of all aspartate and glutamate residues to the stability of a thermophilic ribosomal protein L30e from Thermococcus celer. The pKa values in the unfolded state were found to be similar to model compound pKas. The pKa values in both the folded and unfolded states obtained at 298 and 333 K were similar, suggesting that electrostatic contribution of ionizable groups to the protein stability were insensitive to temperature changes. The experimental pKa values for the L30e protein in the folded state were used as a benchmark to test the robustness of pKa prediction by various computational methods such as H++, MCCE, MEAD, pKD, PropKa, and UHBD. Although the predicted pKa values were affected by crystal contacts that may alter the side-chain conformation of surface charged residues, most computational methods performed well, with correlation coefficients between experimental and calculated pKa values ranging from 0.49 to 0.91 (p<0.01. The changes in protein stability derived from the experimental pKa-shift approach correlate well (r = 0.81 with those obtained from stability measurements of charge-to-alanine substituted variants of the L30e protein. Our results demonstrate that the knowledge of the pKa values in the folded state provides sufficient rationale for the redesign of protein surface charges leading to improved protein stability.

Stricture location predicts swallowing outcomes following endoscopic rendezvous procedures.

Science.gov (United States)

Adams, Katherine N; Shah, Rupali N; Buckmire, Robert A

2017-06-01

Complete pharyngoesophageal strictures may be encountered by the otolaryngologist as a consequence of radiation/chemoradiotherapy therapies for head and neck cancer. A combined anterograde and retrograde dilation procedure (rendezvous procedure) has proven to be a useful surgical intervention in these cases. We assess the long-term swallowing outcomes of this patient cohort including gastrostomy tube (G-tube) reliance, swallowing quality of life, and variables that contribute to improved swallowing outcomes. Retrospective chart review. A retrospective chart review of 18 consecutive patients treated with rendezvous procedures between April 2007 and May 2015 was carried out. Data were collected from chart review and follow-up telephone calls including demographics, surgical/postoperative course details, and Eating Assessment Tool (EAT-10) (swallowing quality of life) scores. The completion rate of the procedure was 83% (15 completed/3 procedures aborted). Average follow-up was 22 months. Thirteen of 15 (86.7%) achieved an oral diet, and 7/15 (46.7%) had their G-tube removed. G-tube-independent (GTI) patients had an average stricture length of 2.33 cm and an average distance from the incisors of 17.4 cm compared to G-tube dependent-(GTD) patients who had an average stricture length of 2.63 cm and 14.6 cm mean distance from the incisors (P = .66 and .0343, respectively). Final EAT-10 scores averaged 20.1 in GTI patients and 33.8 in GTD patients (P = .022). Stricture/incisor distance and EAT-10 scores demonstrated a moderate to strong negative correlation (r = -0.67). Following the endoscopic rendezvous procedure, swallowing outcomes and G-tube status is related to the distance of the stricture from the incisors. 2b Laryngoscope, 127:1388-1391, 2017. © 2016 The American Laryngological, Rhinological and Otological Society, Inc.

Pyrophoric potential of plutonium-containing salt residues

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Haschke, John M.; Fauske, Hans K.; Phillips, Alan G.

2000-01-01

Ignition temperatures of plutonium and the pyrophoric potential of plutonium-containing pyrochemical salt residues are determined from differential thermal analysis (DTA) data and by modeling of thermal behavior. Exotherms observed at 90-200 deg. C for about 30% of the residues are attributed to reaction of plutonium with water from decomposition of hydrated salts. Exotherms observed near 300 deg. C are consistent with ignition of metal particles embedded in the salt. Onset of self-sustained reaction at temperatures as low as 90 deg. C is not precluded by these results and heat-balance models are developed and applied in predicting the static ignition point of massive metal and in evaluating salt pyrophoricity. Results show that ambient temperatures in excess of 200 deg. C are required for ignition of salt residues and that the most reactive salts cannot ignite at low temperatures because diffusion of oxidant to embedded metal is limited by low salt porosity

Residual Fragments after Percutaneous Nephrolithotomy

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kaan Özdedeli

2012-09-01

Full Text Available Clinically insignificant residual fragments (CIRFs are described as asymptomatic, noninfectious and nonobstructive stone fragments (≤4 mm remaining in the urinary system after the last session of any intervention (ESWL, URS or PCNL for urinary stones. Their insignificance is questionable since CIRFs could eventually become significant, as their presence may result in recurrent stone growth and they may cause pain and infection due to urinary obstruction. They may become the source of persistent infections and a significant portion of the patients will have a stone-related event, requiring auxilliary interventions. CT seems to be the ultimate choice of assessment. Although there is no concensus about the timing, recent data suggests that it may be performed one month after the procedure. However, imaging can be done in the immediate postoperative period, if there are no tubes blurring the assessment. There is some evidence indicating that selective medical therapy may have an impact on decreasing stone formation rates. Retrograde intrarenal surgery, with its minimally invasive nature, seems to be the best way to deal with residual fragments.

Artificial Intelligence Procedures for Tree Taper Estimation within a Complex Vegetation Mosaic in Brazil.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Matheus Henrique Nunes

Full Text Available Tree stem form in native tropical forests is very irregular, posing a challenge to establishing taper equations that can accurately predict the diameter at any height along the stem and subsequently merchantable volume. Artificial intelligence approaches can be useful techniques in minimizing estimation errors within complex variations of vegetation. We evaluated the performance of Random Forest® regression tree and Artificial Neural Network procedures in modelling stem taper. Diameters and volume outside bark were compared to a traditional taper-based equation across a tropical Brazilian savanna, a seasonal semi-deciduous forest and a rainforest. Neural network models were found to be more accurate than the traditional taper equation. Random forest showed trends in the residuals from the diameter prediction and provided the least precise and accurate estimations for all forest types. This study provides insights into the superiority of a neural network, which provided advantages regarding the handling of local effects.

An Image Segmentation Based on a Genetic Algorithm for Determining Soil Coverage by Crop Residues

Science.gov (United States)

Ribeiro, Angela; Ranz, Juan; Burgos-Artizzu, Xavier P.; Pajares, Gonzalo; Sanchez del Arco, Maria J.; Navarrete, Luis

2011-01-01

Determination of the soil coverage by crop residues after ploughing is a fundamental element of Conservation Agriculture. This paper presents the application of genetic algorithms employed during the fine tuning of the segmentation process of a digital image with the aim of automatically quantifying the residue coverage. In other words, the objective is to achieve a segmentation that would permit the discrimination of the texture of the residue so that the output of the segmentation process is a binary image in which residue zones are isolated from the rest. The RGB images used come from a sample of images in which sections of terrain were photographed with a conventional camera positioned in zenith orientation atop a tripod. The images were taken outdoors under uncontrolled lighting conditions. Up to 92% similarity was achieved between the images obtained by the segmentation process proposed in this paper and the templates made by an elaborate manual tracing process. In addition to the proposed segmentation procedure and the fine tuning procedure that was developed, a global quantification of the soil coverage by residues for the sampled area was achieved that differed by only 0.85% from the quantification obtained using template images. Moreover, the proposed method does not depend on the type of residue present in the image. The study was conducted at the experimental farm “El Encín” in Alcalá de Henares (Madrid, Spain). PMID:22163966

Genetic control of residual variance of yearling weight in Nellore beef cattle.

Science.gov (United States)

Iung, L H S; Neves, H H R; Mulder, H A; Carvalheiro, R

2017-04-01

There is evidence for genetic variability in residual variance of livestock traits, which offers the potential for selection for increased uniformity of production. Different statistical approaches have been employed to study this topic; however, little is known about the concordance between them. The aim of our study was to investigate the genetic heterogeneity of residual variance on yearling weight (YW; 291.15 ± 46.67) in a Nellore beef cattle population; to compare the results of the statistical approaches, the two-step approach and the double hierarchical generalized linear model (DHGLM); and to evaluate the effectiveness of power transformation to accommodate scale differences. The comparison was based on genetic parameters, accuracy of EBV for residual variance, and cross-validation to assess predictive performance of both approaches. A total of 194,628 yearling weight records from 625 sires were used in the analysis. The results supported the hypothesis of genetic heterogeneity of residual variance on YW in Nellore beef cattle and the opportunity of selection, measured through the genetic coefficient of variation of residual variance (0.10 to 0.12 for the two-step approach and 0.17 for DHGLM, using an untransformed data set). However, low estimates of genetic variance associated with positive genetic correlations between mean and residual variance (about 0.20 for two-step and 0.76 for DHGLM for an untransformed data set) limit the genetic response to selection for uniformity of production while simultaneously increasing YW itself. Moreover, large sire families are needed to obtain accurate estimates of genetic merit for residual variance, as indicated by the low heritability estimates (Box-Cox transformation was able to decrease the dependence of the variance on the mean and decreased the estimates of genetic parameters for residual variance. The transformation reduced but did not eliminate all the genetic heterogeneity of residual variance, highlighting

Deep learning methods for protein torsion angle prediction.

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Haiou; Hou, Jie; Adhikari, Badri; Lyu, Qiang; Cheng, Jianlin

2017-09-18

Deep learning is one of the most powerful machine learning methods that has achieved the state-of-the-art performance in many domains. Since deep learning was introduced to the field of bioinformatics in 2012, it has achieved success in a number of areas such as protein residue-residue contact prediction, secondary structure prediction, and fold recognition. In this work, we developed deep learning methods to improve the prediction of torsion (dihedral) angles of proteins. We design four different deep learning architectures to predict protein torsion angles. The architectures including deep neural network (DNN) and deep restricted Boltzmann machine (DRBN), deep recurrent neural network (DRNN) and deep recurrent restricted Boltzmann machine (DReRBM) since the protein torsion angle prediction is a sequence related problem. In addition to existing protein features, two new features (predicted residue contact number and the error distribution of torsion angles extracted from sequence fragments) are used as input to each of the four deep learning architectures to predict phi and psi angles of protein backbone. The mean absolute error (MAE) of phi and psi angles predicted by DRNN, DReRBM, DRBM and DNN is about 20-21° and 29-30° on an independent dataset. The MAE of phi angle is comparable to the existing methods, but the MAE of psi angle is 29°, 2° lower than the existing methods. On the latest CASP12 targets, our methods also achieved the performance better than or comparable to a state-of-the art method. Our experiment demonstrates that deep learning is a valuable method for predicting protein torsion angles. The deep recurrent network architecture performs slightly better than deep feed-forward architecture, and the predicted residue contact number and the error distribution of torsion angles extracted from sequence fragments are useful features for improving prediction accuracy.

The value of breast lumpectomy margin assessment as a predictor of residual tumor burden

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wazer, David E.; Schmidt-Ullrich, Rupert K.; Schmid, Christopher H.; Ruthazer, Robin; Kramer, Bradley; Safaii, Homa; Graham, Roger

1997-01-01

lobular ILC cases (p = 0.01). The extent of margin positivity was significantly related to the size of the tumor such that tumor size ≤ 20 mm was associated with a greater probability of focal or minimal margin involvement. Positive margins graded as focal, minimal, moderate/extensive were associated with a +RE in 26%, 58%, and 84%, respectively (p = 0.001). Further, the extent of positivity was significantly correlated with the extent of residual tumor such that focal/minimal positivity was more commonly associated with micro/small +RE, whereas moderate/extensive positivity was associated with medium/large +RE. When the closest margin of the initial excision specimen was positive, >0≤1 mm, or 1.1-2 mm, a +RE was found in 56%, 41%, and 17%, respectively (p = 0.01) but did not correlate with the amount of residual tumor. The extent of specimen processing as reflected in the S:V ratio did not correlate with the probability of defining a measured margin as positive nor the probability of a +RE. In a univariate model, the extent of tumor in the re-excision and the histologic type of tumor in the re-excision were significantly associated with margin status and initial histopathology, respectively. The probability of finding a +RE, based on a multivariate model, was associated with the closeness and extent of margin involvement and initial histopathology of an EIC. Conclusion: The relative closeness of tumor to the specimen edge and the extent of margin positivity are predictive for residual tumor, though with an error consistent with its limitations as a sampling procedure. The histopathology of tumor in the initial excision is predictive of the type of residual tumor and the extent of margin positivity was correlated with the amount of residual tumor

Maximizing Selective Cleavages at Aspartic Acid and Proline Residues for the Identification of Intact Proteins

Science.gov (United States)

Foreman, David J.; Dziekonski, Eric T.; McLuckey, Scott A.

2018-04-01

A new approach for the identification of intact proteins has been developed that relies on the generation of relatively few abundant products from specific cleavage sites. This strategy is intended to complement standard approaches that seek to generate many fragments relatively non-selectively. Specifically, this strategy seeks to maximize selective cleavage at aspartic acid and proline residues via collisional activation of precursor ions formed via electrospray ionization (ESI) under denaturing conditions. A statistical analysis of the SWISS-PROT database was used to predict the number of arginine residues for a given intact protein mass and predict a m/z range where the protein carries a similar charge to the number of arginine residues thereby enhancing cleavage at aspartic acid residues by limiting proton mobility. Cleavage at aspartic acid residues is predicted to be most favorable in the m/z range of 1500-2500, a range higher than that normally generated by ESI at low pH. Gas-phase proton transfer ion/ion reactions are therefore used for precursor ion concentration from relatively high charge states followed by ion isolation and subsequent generation of precursor ions within the optimal m/z range via a second proton transfer reaction step. It is shown that the majority of product ion abundance is concentrated into cleavages C-terminal to aspartic acid residues and N-terminal to proline residues for ions generated by this process. Implementation of a scoring system that weights both ion fragment type and ion fragment area demonstrated identification of standard proteins, ranging in mass from 8.5 to 29.0 kDa. [Figure not available: see fulltext.

A strategy for accommodating residual stresses in the assessment of repair weldments based upon measurement of near surface stresses

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mcdonald, E.J.; Hallam, K.R.; Flewitt, P.E.J.

2005-01-01

On many occasions repairs are undertaken to ferritic steel weldments on plant either during construction or to remove service induced defects. These repaired weldments are subsequently put into service with or without a post-weld heat treatment. In either case, but particularly for the latter, there is a need to accommodate the associated residual stresses in structural integrity assessments such as those based upon the R6 failure avoidance procedure. Although in some circumstances the residual macro-stresses developed within weldments of components and structures can be calculated this is not so readily achieved in the case of residual stresses introduced by repair welds. There is a range of physical and mechanical techniques available to undertake the measurement of macro-residual stresses. Of these X-ray diffraction has the advantage that it is essentially non-destructive and offers the potential for evaluating stresses, which exist in the near surface layer. Although for many structural integrity assessments both the magnitude and distribution of residual stresses have to be accommodated it is not practical to make destructive measurements on weld repaired components and structures to establish the through section distribution of stresses. An approach is to derive a description of the appropriate macro-stresses by a combination of measurement and calculation on trial ferritic steel repair weldments. Surface measurements on the plant can then be made to establish the relationship between the repaired component or structure and the trial weld and thereby improve confidence in predicted stresses and their distribution from the near-surface measured values. Hence X-ray diffraction measurements at the near-surface of the plant weldment can be used to underwrite the quality of the repair by confirming the magnitude and distribution of residual stresses used for the integrity assessment to demonstrate continued safe operation

Surgeon and type of anesthesia predict variability in surgical procedure times.

Science.gov (United States)

Strum, D P; Sampson, A R; May, J H; Vargas, L G

2000-05-01

Variability in surgical procedure times increases the cost of healthcare delivery by increasing both the underutilization and overutilization of expensive surgical resources. To reduce variability in surgical procedure times, we must identify and study its sources. Our data set consisted of all surgeries performed over a 7-yr period at a large teaching hospital, resulting in 46,322 surgical cases. To study factors associated with variability in surgical procedure times, data mining techniques were used to segment and focus the data so that the analyses would be both technically and intellectually feasible. The data were subdivided into 40 representative segments of manageable size and variability based on headers adopted from the common procedural terminology classification. Each data segment was then analyzed using a main-effects linear model to identify and quantify specific sources of variability in surgical procedure times. The single most important source of variability in surgical procedure times was surgeon effect. Type of anesthesia, age, gender, and American Society of Anesthesiologists risk class were additional sources of variability. Intrinsic case-specific variability, unexplained by any of the preceding factors, was found to be highest for shorter surgeries relative to longer procedures. Variability in procedure times among surgeons was a multiplicative function (proportionate to time) of surgical time and total procedure time, such that as procedure times increased, variability in surgeons' surgical time increased proportionately. Surgeon-specific variability should be considered when building scheduling heuristics for longer surgeries. Results concerning variability in surgical procedure times due to factors such as type of anesthesia, age, gender, and American Society of Anesthesiologists risk class may be extrapolated to scheduling in other institutions, although specifics on individual surgeons may not. This research identifies factors associated

Viscoelastic finite element analysis of residual stresses in porcelain-veneered zirconia dental crowns.

Science.gov (United States)

Kim, Jeongho; Dhital, Sukirti; Zhivago, Paul; Kaizer, Marina R; Zhang, Yu

2018-06-01

The main problem of porcelain-veneered zirconia (PVZ) dental restorations is chipping and delamination of veneering porcelain owing to the development of deleterious residual stresses during the cooling phase of veneer firing. The aim of this study is to elucidate the effects of cooling rate, thermal contraction coefficient and elastic modulus on residual stresses developed in PVZ dental crowns using viscoelastic finite element methods (VFEM). A three-dimensional VFEM model has been developed to predict residual stresses in PVZ structures using ABAQUS finite element software and user subroutines. First, the newly established model was validated with experimentally measured residual stress profiles using Vickers indentation on flat PVZ specimens. An excellent agreement between the model prediction and experimental data was found. Then, the model was used to predict residual stresses in more complex anatomically-correct crown systems. Two PVZ crown systems with different thermal contraction coefficients and porcelain moduli were studied: VM9/Y-TZP and LAVA/Y-TZP. A sequential dual-step finite element analysis was performed: heat transfer analysis and viscoelastic stress analysis. Controlled and bench convection cooling rates were simulated by applying different convective heat transfer coefficients 1.7E-5 W/mm 2 °C (controlled cooling) and 0.6E-4 W/mm 2 °C (bench cooling) on the crown surfaces exposed to the air. Rigorous viscoelastic finite element analysis revealed that controlled cooling results in lower maximum stresses in both veneer and core layers for the two PVZ systems relative to bench cooling. Better compatibility of thermal contraction coefficients between porcelain and zirconia and a lower porcelain modulus reduce residual stresses in both layers. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Identification of NAD interacting residues in proteins

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Raghava Gajendra PS

2010-03-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Small molecular cofactors or ligands play a crucial role in the proper functioning of cells. Accurate annotation of their target proteins and binding sites is required for the complete understanding of reaction mechanisms. Nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD+ or NAD is one of the most commonly used organic cofactors in living cells, which plays a critical role in cellular metabolism, storage and regulatory processes. In the past, several NAD binding proteins (NADBP have been reported in the literature, which are responsible for a wide-range of activities in the cell. Attempts have been made to derive a rule for the binding of NAD+ to its target proteins. However, so far an efficient model could not be derived due to the time consuming process of structure determination, and limitations of similarity based approaches. Thus a sequence and non-similarity based method is needed to characterize the NAD binding sites to help in the annotation. In this study attempts have been made to predict NAD binding proteins and their interacting residues (NIRs from amino acid sequence using bioinformatics tools. Results We extracted 1556 proteins chains from 555 NAD binding proteins whose structure is available in Protein Data Bank. Then we removed all redundant protein chains and finally obtained 195 non-redundant NAD binding protein chains, where no two chains have more than 40% sequence identity. In this study all models were developed and evaluated using five-fold cross validation technique on the above dataset of 195 NAD binding proteins. While certain type of residues are preferred (e.g. Gly, Tyr, Thr, His in NAD interaction, residues like Ala, Glu, Leu, Lys are not preferred. A support vector machine (SVM based method has been developed using various window lengths of amino acid sequence for predicting NAD interacting residues and obtained maximum Matthew's correlation coefficient (MCC 0.47 with accuracy 74.13% at window length 17

A method for the estimation of the residual error in the SALP approach for fault tree analysis

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Astolfi, M.; Contini, S.

1980-01-01

The aim of this report is the illustration of the algorithms implemented in the SALP-MP code for the estimation of the residual error. These algorithms are of more general use, and it would be possible to implement them on all codes of the series SALP previously developed, as well as, with minor modifications, to analysis procedures based on 'top-down' approaches. At the time, combined 'top-down' - 'bottom up' procedures are being studied in order to take advantage from both approaches for further reduction of computer time and better estimation of the residual error, for which the developed algorithms are still applicable

Temperature Field Prediction for Determining the Residual Stresses Under Heat Treatment of Aluminum Alloys

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

A. V. Livshits

2014-01-01

Full Text Available The article is devoted to non-stationary temperature field blanks from aluminum alloys during heat treatment. It consists of the introduction and two smaller paragraphs. In the introduction the author concerns the influence of residual stresses arising in the manufacturing process of details, on the strength of the whole aircraft construction and, consequently, on their technical and economic parameters, such as weight, reliability, efficiency, and cost. He also notes that the residual stresses appeared during the production of parts change their location, size and direction under the influence of the elastic deformations that occur during the exploitation of aircraft. Redistributed residual stresses may have a chaotic distribution that may cause overlap of these stresses on the stresses caused by the impact of workload of constructions and destruction or damage of aircraft components.The first paragraph is devoted to the existing methods and techniques for determining the residual stresses. The presented methods and techniques are analyzed to show the advantages and disadvantages of each of them. The conclusion is drawn that the method to determine the residual stresses is necessary, its cost is less than those of existing ones, and an error does not exceed 10%.In the second section, the author divides the problem of determining the residual stresses into two parts, and describes the solution methods of the first one. The first problem is to define the temperature field of the work piece. The author uses a Fourier equation with the definition of initial and boundary conditions to describe a mathematical model of the heat cycle of work piece cooling. He draws special attention here to the fact that it is complicated to determine the heat transfer coefficient, which characterizes the process of cooling the work piece during hardening because of its dependence on a number of factors, such as changing temperature-dependent material properties of

A flexible method for residual stress measurement of spray coated layers by laser made hole drilling and SLM based beam steering

Science.gov (United States)

Osten, W.; Pedrini, G.; Weidmann, P.; Gadow, R.

2015-08-01

A minimum invasive but high resolution method for residual stress analysis of ceramic coatings made by thermal spraycoating using a pulsed laser for flexible hole drilling is described. The residual stresses are retrieved by applying the measured surface data for a model-based reconstruction procedure. While the 3D deformations and the profile of the machined area are measured with digital holography, the residual stresses are calculated by FE analysis. To improve the sensitivity of the method, a SLM is applied to control the distribution and the shape of the holes. The paper presents the complete measurement and reconstruction procedure and discusses the advantages and challenges of the new technology.

Bio-energy conversion performance, biodegradability, and kinetic analysis of different fruit residues during discontinuous anaerobic digestion.

Science.gov (United States)

Zhao, Chen; Yan, Hu; Liu, Yan; Huang, Yan; Zhang, Ruihong; Chen, Chang; Liu, Guangqing

2016-06-01

Huge amounts of fruit residues are produced and abandoned annually. The high moisture and organic contents of these residues makes them a big problem to the environment. Conversely, they are a potential resource to the world. Anaerobic digestion is a good way to utilize these organic wastes. In this study, the biomethane conversion performances of a large number of fruit residues were determined and compared using batch anaerobic digestion, a reliable and easily accessible method. The results showed that some fruit residues containing high contents of lipids and carbohydrates, such as loquat peels and rambutan seeds, were well fit for anaerobic digestion. Contrarily, residues with high lignin content were strongly recommended not to be used as a single substrate for methane production. Multiple linear regression model was adopted to simulate the correlation between the organic component of these fruit residues and their experimental methane yield, through which the experimental methane yield could probably be predicted for any other fruit residues. Four kinetic models were used to predict the batch anaerobic digestion process of different fruit residues. It was shown that the modified Gompertz and Cone models were better fit for the fruit residues compared to the first-order and Fitzhugh models. The first findings of this study could provide useful reference and guidance for future studies regarding the applications and potential utilization of fruit residues. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

A procedure for the significance testing of unmodeled errors in GNSS observations

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Bofeng; Zhang, Zhetao; Shen, Yunzhong; Yang, Ling

2018-01-01

It is a crucial task to establish a precise mathematical model for global navigation satellite system (GNSS) observations in precise positioning. Due to the spatiotemporal complexity of, and limited knowledge on, systematic errors in GNSS observations, some residual systematic errors would inevitably remain even after corrected with empirical model and parameterization. These residual systematic errors are referred to as unmodeled errors. However, most of the existing studies mainly focus on handling the systematic errors that can be properly modeled and then simply ignore the unmodeled errors that may actually exist. To further improve the accuracy and reliability of GNSS applications, such unmodeled errors must be handled especially when they are significant. Therefore, a very first question is how to statistically validate the significance of unmodeled errors. In this research, we will propose a procedure to examine the significance of these unmodeled errors by the combined use of the hypothesis tests. With this testing procedure, three components of unmodeled errors, i.e., the nonstationary signal, stationary signal and white noise, are identified. The procedure is tested by using simulated data and real BeiDou datasets with varying error sources. The results show that the unmodeled errors can be discriminated by our procedure with approximately 90% confidence. The efficiency of the proposed procedure is further reassured by applying the time-domain Allan variance analysis and frequency-domain fast Fourier transform. In summary, the spatiotemporally correlated unmodeled errors are commonly existent in GNSS observations and mainly governed by the residual atmospheric biases and multipath. Their patterns may also be impacted by the receiver.

HomPPI: a class of sequence homology based protein-protein interface prediction methods

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Dobbs Drena

2011-06-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Although homology-based methods are among the most widely used methods for predicting the structure and function of proteins, the question as to whether interface sequence conservation can be effectively exploited in predicting protein-protein interfaces has been a subject of debate. Results We studied more than 300,000 pair-wise alignments of protein sequences from structurally characterized protein complexes, including both obligate and transient complexes. We identified sequence similarity criteria required for accurate homology-based inference of interface residues in a query protein sequence. Based on these analyses, we developed HomPPI, a class of sequence homology-based methods for predicting protein-protein interface residues. We present two variants of HomPPI: (i NPS-HomPPI (Non partner-specific HomPPI, which can be used to predict interface residues of a query protein in the absence of knowledge of the interaction partner; and (ii PS-HomPPI (Partner-specific HomPPI, which can be used to predict the interface residues of a query protein with a specific target protein. Our experiments on a benchmark dataset of obligate homodimeric complexes show that NPS-HomPPI can reliably predict protein-protein interface residues in a given protein, with an average correlation coefficient (CC of 0.76, sensitivity of 0.83, and specificity of 0.78, when sequence homologs of the query protein can be reliably identified. NPS-HomPPI also reliably predicts the interface residues of intrinsically disordered proteins. Our experiments suggest that NPS-HomPPI is competitive with several state-of-the-art interface prediction servers including those that exploit the structure of the query proteins. The partner-specific classifier, PS-HomPPI can, on a large dataset of transient complexes, predict the interface residues of a query protein with a specific target, with a CC of 0.65, sensitivity of 0.69, and specificity of 0.70, when homologs of

Manufacturing of concrete with residues from iron ore exploitation using the technology of radioactive waste cementation

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Versieux, Juniara L.; Lameiras, Fernando S.; Tello, Cledola Cassia Oliveira de, E-mail: juniarani@gmail.com, E-mail: fsl@cdtn.br, E-mail: tellocc@cdtn.br [Centro de Desenvolvimento da Tecnologia Nucelar (CDTN/CNEN-MG), Belo Horizonte, MG (Brazil)

2015-07-01

Radioactive wastes from various segments of economy are immobilized by cementation, because of availability and widespread use in civil construction of cement. New cementitious materials are developed in CDTN using mining residues based on cementing techniques of radioactive wastes. Special procedures were developed to obtain concrete with the use of super plasticizers in which natural sand was totally replaced by mining residues. The motivation for this research is the exploration of banded iron formations (BIF) as iron ore in 'Quadrilatero Ferrifero' of Minas Gerais, where huge amounts of residues are generated with great concern about the environmental sustainability and safety of dams for residue storage. The exploitation of river sand causes many negative impacts, which leads to interest in its replacement by another raw material in mortar and concrete manufacturing. The use of BIF mining residues were studied for manufacturing of concrete pavers to contribute to reducing the impact caused by extraction of natural sand and use of mining residues. Previously developed procedures with total replacement of natural sand for mining residues were modified, including use of gravel to obtain pavers with improved properties. Four different mixtures were tested, in which the proportion of gravel and super plasticizer was varied. Monitored properties of pavers, among others, were compression resistance, water absorption, and void volume. With addition of gravel, the pavers had higher void index than those made only with mortar, and higher resistance to compression after 28 days of curing (an average of 18MPa of those made with mortar to 24MPa of those made with concrete). (author)

Manufacturing of concrete with residues from iron ore exploitation using the technology of radioactive waste cementation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Versieux, Juniara L.; Lameiras, Fernando S.; Tello, Cledola Cassia Oliveira de

2015-01-01

Radioactive wastes from various segments of economy are immobilized by cementation, because of availability and widespread use in civil construction of cement. New cementitious materials are developed in CDTN using mining residues based on cementing techniques of radioactive wastes. Special procedures were developed to obtain concrete with the use of super plasticizers in which natural sand was totally replaced by mining residues. The motivation for this research is the exploration of banded iron formations (BIF) as iron ore in 'Quadrilatero Ferrifero' of Minas Gerais, where huge amounts of residues are generated with great concern about the environmental sustainability and safety of dams for residue storage. The exploitation of river sand causes many negative impacts, which leads to interest in its replacement by another raw material in mortar and concrete manufacturing. The use of BIF mining residues were studied for manufacturing of concrete pavers to contribute to reducing the impact caused by extraction of natural sand and use of mining residues. Previously developed procedures with total replacement of natural sand for mining residues were modified, including use of gravel to obtain pavers with improved properties. Four different mixtures were tested, in which the proportion of gravel and super plasticizer was varied. Monitored properties of pavers, among others, were compression resistance, water absorption, and void volume. With addition of gravel, the pavers had higher void index than those made only with mortar, and higher resistance to compression after 28 days of curing (an average of 18MPa of those made with mortar to 24MPa of those made with concrete). (author)

Dynamic behaviour and residual pattern of thiamethoxam and its metabolite clothianidin in Swiss chard using liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry.

Science.gov (United States)

Rahman, Md Musfiqur; Farha, Waziha; Abd El-Aty, A M; Kabir, Md Humayun; Im, So Jeong; Jung, Da-I; Choi, Jeong-Heui; Kim, Sung-Woo; Son, Young Wook; Kwon, Chan-Hyeok; Shin, Ho-Chul; Shim, Jae-Han

2015-05-01

A simultaneous method was developed to analyse thiamethoxam and its metabolite clothianidin in Swiss chard using tandem mass spectrometry (in the positive electrospray ionisation mode using multiple reaction monitoring mode) to estimate the dissipation pattern and the pre-harvest residue limit (PHRL). Thiamethoxam (10%, WG) was sprayed on Swiss chard grown in two different areas under greenhouse conditions at the recommended dose rate of 10 g/20 L water. Samples were collected randomly up to 14 days post-application, extracted using quick, easy, cheap, effective, rugged, safe (QuEChERS) acetate-buffered method and purified via a dispersive solid phase extraction (d-SPE) procedure. Matrix matched calibration showed good linearity with determination coefficients (R(2)) ⩾ 0.998. The limits of detection (LOD) and quantification (LOQ) were 0.007 and 0.02 mg/kg. The method was validated in triplicate at two different spiked concentration levels. Good recoveries (n=3) of 87.48-105.61% with relative standard deviations (RSDs) < 10 were obtained for both analytes. The rate of disappearance of total thiamethoxam residues in/on Swiss chard was best described by first-order kinetics with half-lives of 6.3 and 4.2 days. We predicted from the PHRL curves that if the residues were <19.21 or 26.98 mg/kg at 10 days before harvest, then total thiamethoxam concentrations would be below the maximum residue limits during harvest. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Research on wind field algorithm of wind lidar based on BP neural network and grey prediction

Science.gov (United States)

Chen, Yong; Chen, Chun-Li; Luo, Xiong; Zhang, Yan; Yang, Ze-hou; Zhou, Jie; Shi, Xiao-ding; Wang, Lei

2018-01-01

This paper uses the BP neural network and grey algorithm to forecast and study radar wind field. In order to reduce the residual error in the wind field prediction which uses BP neural network and grey algorithm, calculating the minimum value of residual error function, adopting the residuals of the gray algorithm trained by BP neural network, using the trained network model to forecast the residual sequence, using the predicted residual error sequence to modify the forecast sequence of the grey algorithm. The test data show that using the grey algorithm modified by BP neural network can effectively reduce the residual value and improve the prediction precision.

Application of environmental management system for a energetic plant with oil residual biomass; Aplicacion de un sistema de gestion medio ambiental a una planta generadora de energia que utiliza la biomasa residual del olivar

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Linan Veganzones, M.J.; Soca Olazabal, N.; Pizarro Camacho, D

1998-12-01

Being the alpechin one of the most contaminant residues by the mediterranean agrarian industry, as of today there is no integral depuration procedure. In this paper we show the innovative approach being used to eliminate the alpechin along with the oil miller residual biomass. What it more, the only agroindustrial complex which has introduced such approach is using an EMAS so that actual achievements could be realistically measured. (Author) 12 refs.

The residual stress evaluation for expansion process of steam generator tubes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

King, C.-S.; Lee, S.-C.; Shim, D.-N.

2004-01-01

The reliability of a nuclear power plant is affected by the reliability of steam generator tube and the reliability of steam generator tube is affected by stress corrosion cracking(SCC). Many steam generator tubes were experiencing stress corrosion cracking and stress corrosion cracking is affected material characteristics, corrosive environments and added stresses. The added stresses have the manufacturing stresses and operating stresses, the manufacturing stresses include the residual stresses generating in the tube manufacture and tube expanding procedure. We will investigate for influence which affected to residual stresses with tube plastic deformation method and measurement region. (author)

Principles of the measurement of residual stress by neutron diffraction

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Webster, G A; Ezeilo, A N [Imperial Coll. of Science and Technology, London (United Kingdom). Dept. of Mechanical Engineering

1996-11-01

The presence of residual stresses in engineering components can significantly affect their load carrying capacity and resistance to fracture. In order to quantify their effect it is necessary to know their magnitude and distribution. Neutron diffraction is the most suitable method of obtaining these stresses non-destructively in the interior of components. In this paper the principles of the technique are described. A monochromatic beam of neutrons, or time of flight measurements, can be employed. In each case, components of strain are determined directly from changes in the lattice spacings between crystals. Residual stresses can then be calculated from these strains. The experimental procedures for making the measurements are described and precautions for achieving reliable results discussed. These include choice of crystal planes on which to make measurements, extent of masking needed to identify a suitable sampling volume, type of detector and alignment procedure. Methods of achieving a stress free reference are also considered. A selection of practical examples is included to demonstrate the success of the technique. (author) 14 figs., 1 tab., 18 refs.

Principles of the measurement of residual stress by neutron diffraction

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Webster, G.A.; Ezeilo, A.N.

1996-01-01

The presence of residual stresses in engineering components can significantly affect their load carrying capacity and resistance to fracture. In order to quantify their effect it is necessary to know their magnitude and distribution. Neutron diffraction is the most suitable method of obtaining these stresses non-destructively in the interior of components. In this paper the principles of the technique are described. A monochromatic beam of neutrons, or time of flight measurements, can be employed. In each case, components of strain are determined directly from changes in the lattice spacings between crystals. Residual stresses can then be calculated from these strains. The experimental procedures for making the measurements are described and precautions for achieving reliable results discussed. These include choice of crystal planes on which to make measurements, extent of masking needed to identify a suitable sampling volume, type of detector and alignment procedure. Methods of achieving a stress free reference are also considered. A selection of practical examples is included to demonstrate the success of the technique. (author) 14 figs., 1 tab., 18 refs

Residual stress improving method for reactor structural component and residual stress improving device therefor

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Enomoto, Kunio; Otaka, Masahiro; Kurosawa, Koichi; Saito, Hideyo; Tsujimura, Hiroshi; Tamai, Yasukata; Urashiro, Keiichi; Mochizuki, Masato

1996-09-03

The present invention is applied to a BWR type reactor, in which a high speed jetting flow incorporating cavities is collided against the surface of reactor structural components to form residual compression stresses on the surface layer of the reactor structural components thereby improving the stresses on the surface. Namely, a water jetting means is inserted into the reactor container filled with reactor water. Purified water is pressurized by a pump and introduced to the water jetting means. The purified water jetted from the water jetting means and entraining cavities is abutted against the surface of the reactor structural components. With such procedures, since the purified water is introduced to the water jetting means by the pump, the pump is free from contamination of radioactive materials. As a result, maintenance and inspection for the pump can be facilitated. Further, since the purified water injection flow entraining cavities is abutted against the surface of the reactor structural components being in contact with reactor water, residual compression stresses are exerted on the surface of the reactor structural components. As a result, occurrence of stress corrosion crackings of reactor structural components is suppressed. (I.S.)

Residual stress improving method for reactor structural component and residual stress improving device therefor

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Enomoto, Kunio; Otaka, Masahiro; Kurosawa, Koichi; Saito, Hideyo; Tsujimura, Hiroshi; Tamai, Yasukata; Urashiro, Keiichi; Mochizuki, Masato.

1996-01-01

The present invention is applied to a BWR type reactor, in which a high speed jetting flow incorporating cavities is collided against the surface of reactor structural components to form residual compression stresses on the surface layer of the reactor structural components thereby improving the stresses on the surface. Namely, a water jetting means is inserted into the reactor container filled with reactor water. Purified water is pressurized by a pump and introduced to the water jetting means. The purified water jetted from the water jetting means and entraining cavities is abutted against the surface of the reactor structural components. With such procedures, since the purified water is introduced to the water jetting means by the pump, the pump is free from contamination of radioactive materials. As a result, maintenance and inspection for the pump can be facilitated. Further, since the purified water injection flow entraining cavities is abutted against the surface of the reactor structural components being in contact with reactor water, residual compression stresses are exerted on the surface of the reactor structural components. As a result, occurrence of stress corrosion crackings of reactor structural components is suppressed. (I.S.)

Residual stresses

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sahotra, I.M.

2006-01-01

The principal effect of unloading a material strained into the plastic range is to create a permanent set (plastic deformation), which if restricted somehow, gives rise to a system of self-balancing within the same member or reaction balanced by other members of the structure., known as residual stresses. These stresses stay there as locked-in stresses, in the body or a part of it in the absence of any external loading. Residual stresses are induced during hot-rolling and welding differential cooling, cold-forming and extruding: cold straightening and spot heating, fabrication and forced fitting of components constraining the structure to a particular geometry. The areas which cool more quickly develop residual compressive stresses, while the slower cooling areas develop residual tensile stresses, and a self-balancing or reaction balanced system of residual stresses is formed. The phenomenon of residual stresses is the most challenging in its application in surface modification techniques determining endurance mechanism against fracture and fatigue failures. This paper discusses the mechanism of residual stresses, that how the residual stresses are fanned and what their behavior is under the action of external forces. Such as in the case of a circular bar under limit torque, rectangular beam under limt moment, reclaiming of shafts welds and peening etc. (author)

A method for the determination of residual beta activity in drinking water samples

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Idoeta, R. [Dpto. Ingenieria Nuclear y Mecanica de Fluidos, E. T. S. Ingenieria de Bilbao - Universidad del Pais Vasco (UPV/EHU), Alda. Urquijo s/n. 48013 Bilbao (Spain)], E-mail: raquel.idoeta@ehu.es; Herranz, M.; Abelairas, A.; Legarda, F. [Dpto. Ingenieria Nuclear y Mecanica de Fluidos, E. T. S. Ingenieria de Bilbao - Universidad del Pais Vasco (UPV/EHU), Alda. Urquijo s/n. 48013 Bilbao (Spain)

2007-09-15

The determination of residual beta activity in drinking water is usually needed in most monitoring programs. In this work a procedure for its determination is described and expressions for the calculations of detection limits and uncertainties are proposed.

A method for the determination of residual beta activity in drinking water samples

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Idoeta, R.; Herranz, M.; Abelairas, A.; Legarda, F.

2007-01-01

The determination of residual beta activity in drinking water is usually needed in most monitoring programs. In this work a procedure for its determination is described and expressions for the calculations of detection limits and uncertainties are proposed

The procedure for determining the residual life of high-temperature aggregates

Science.gov (United States)

Nikiforov, A. S.; Prihodko, E. V.; Kinzhibekova, A. K.; Karmanov, A. E.

2018-01-01

One of the main reasons for the withdrawal of high-temperature aggregates for repairs is the destruction of enclosing structures due to the occurrence of temperature stresses. A wide range of refractory materials used, a large number of product names, a difference in the operation of even the same aggregates makes it impossible to apply general principles for determining the residual resource of high-temperature aggregates, which is based, as a rule, on the determination of temperature stresses. In the article there is suggested a technique based on the method of simulation modeling, allowing to estimate the remaining resource and reliability of the operating equipment. There are given data on the calculation of these indicators for a 25-ton steel-casting ladle. The values obtained make it possible to evaluate the rationality of the further operation of the high-temperature unit by the condition of reliability of the enclosing structures.

Fatigue life estimation of welded components considering welding residual stress relaxation and its mean stress effect

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Han, Seung Ho; Han, Jeong Woo; Shin, Byung Chun; Kim, Jae Hoon

2003-01-01

The fatigue life of welded joints is sensitive to welding residual stress and complexity of their geometric shapes. To predict the fatigue life more reasonably, the effects of welding residual stress and its relaxation on their fatigue strengths should be considered quantitatively, which are often regarded to be equivalent to the effects of mean stresses by external loads. The hot-spot stress concept should be also adopted which can reduce the dependence of fatigue strengths for various welding details. Considering the factors mentioned above, a fatigue life prediction model using the modified Goodman's diagram was proposed. In this model, an equivalent stress was introduced which is composed of the mean stress based on the hot-spot stress concept and the relaxed welding residual stress. From the verification of the proposed model to real welding details, it is proved that this model can be applied to predict reasonably their fatigue lives

Measurement and modeling of residual stress in a welded Haynes[reg] 25 cylinder

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Larsson, C.; Holden, T.M.; Bourke, M.A.M.; Stout, M.; Teague, J.; Lindgren, L.-E.

2005-01-01

An experimental and simulation study of residual stresses was made in the vicinity of a gas tungsten arc weld, used to join a hemispherical end cap to a cylinder. The capped cylinder is used in a satellite application and was fabricated from a Co-based Haynes[reg] 25 alloy. The cylinder was 34.7 mm in outer diameter and 3.3 mm in thickness. The experimental measurements were made by neutron diffraction and the simulation used the implicit Marc finite element code. The experimental resolution was limited to approximately 3 mm parallel to the axis of the cylinder (the weld was 6 mm in the same direction) and comparison over the same volume of the finite element prediction showed general agreement. Subject to the limited spatial resolution, the largest experimentally measured tensile residual stress was 180 MPa, located at the middle of the weld. However, the predictions suggest that there are regions in the weld where average tensile residual stresses as much as 400 MPa exist. One qualitative disparity between the model and the experiments was that the measurement included a larger degree of asymmetry on either side of the weld than predicted by the model

Measurement and modeling of residual stress in a welded Haynes[reg] 25 cylinder

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Larsson, C. [Div. of Eng. Mat., Department of Mech. Eng., Linkoeping University, 58183 Linkoeping (Sweden)]. E-mail: clarsson@cfl.rr.com; Holden, T.M. [Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, NM 87545 (United States); Bourke, M.A.M. [Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, NM 87545 (United States); Stout, M. [Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, NM 87545 (United States); Teague, J. [Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, NM 87545 (United States); Lindgren, L.-E. [Div. Comp. Aided Design, Lulea University of Technology and Dalarna University, 97187 Lulea (Sweden)

2005-06-15

An experimental and simulation study of residual stresses was made in the vicinity of a gas tungsten arc weld, used to join a hemispherical end cap to a cylinder. The capped cylinder is used in a satellite application and was fabricated from a Co-based Haynes[reg] 25 alloy. The cylinder was 34.7 mm in outer diameter and 3.3 mm in thickness. The experimental measurements were made by neutron diffraction and the simulation used the implicit Marc finite element code. The experimental resolution was limited to approximately 3 mm parallel to the axis of the cylinder (the weld was 6 mm in the same direction) and comparison over the same volume of the finite element prediction showed general agreement. Subject to the limited spatial resolution, the largest experimentally measured tensile residual stress was 180 MPa, located at the middle of the weld. However, the predictions suggest that there are regions in the weld where average tensile residual stresses as much as 400 MPa exist. One qualitative disparity between the model and the experiments was that the measurement included a larger degree of asymmetry on either side of the weld than predicted by the model.

What are the factors predictive of hysterosalpingogram compliance after female sterilization by the Essure procedure in a publicly insured population?

Science.gov (United States)

Howard, David L; Wall, Jeffrey; Strickland, Julie L

2013-12-01

To determine what factors are predictive of post-Essure hysterosalpingogram (HSG) compliance. We conducted a retrospective chart review of all patients who underwent the Essure procedure at the two campuses of the Truman Medical Center, Kansas City, Missouri, from January 1, 2005 through December 31, 2010. Our study population consisted primarily of women who were publicly insured (89.0 %) and unmarried (76.7 %). Of 132 patients referred for HSG, 70 (53.0 %) complied. In adjusted analyses women 35 years and older had an almost fourfold higher odds of HSG compliance (OR = 3.72, 95 % CI 1.35-10.23) and women with 3 or more living children had a 64 % lower odds of HSG compliance (OR = 0.36, 95 % CI 0.16-0.82). Women younger than 35 who had 3 or more children had the lowest compliance rate (36.4 %) suggesting an interaction between age and parity. Women undergoing the Essure procedure at the campus with a dedicated protocol to ensure compliance had an almost fourfold higher odds of HSG compliance (OR = 3.67, 95 % CI 1.01-13.40). In a population consisting largely of publicly insured, unmarried women, several factors are predictive of post-Essure HSG compliance. These include age, parity and the presence or absence of an institutional protocol to keep track of patients after their Essure procedure.

Peaks, plateaus, numerical instabilities, and achievable accuracy in Galerkin and norm minimizing procedures for solving Ax=b

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Cullum, J. [IBM T.J. Watson Research Center, Yorktown Heights, NY (United States)

1994-12-31

Plots of the residual norms generated by Galerkin procedures for solving Ax = b often exhibit strings of irregular peaks. At seemingly erratic stages in the iterations, peaks appear in the residual norm plot, intervals of iterations over which the norms initially increase and then decrease. Plots of the residual norms generated by related norm minimizing procedures often exhibit long plateaus, sequences of iterations over which reductions in the size of the residual norm are unacceptably small. In an earlier paper the author discussed and derived relationships between such peaks and plateaus within corresponding Galerkin/Norm Minimizing pairs of such methods. In this paper, through a set of numerical experiments, the author examines connections between peaks, plateaus, numerical instabilities, and the achievable accuracy for such pairs of iterative methods. Three pairs of methods, GMRES/Arnoldi, QMR/BCG, and two bidiagonalization methods are studied.

Coil occlusion of residual shunts after surgical closure of patent ductus arteriosus.

Science.gov (United States)

Fujii, Yoko; Keene, Bruce W; Mathews, Kyle G; Atkins, Clarke E; Defrancesco, Teresa C; Hardie, Elizabeth M; Wakao, Yoshito

2006-12-01

OBJECTIVE; To describe use of coil embolization to occlude residual flow through a patent ductus arteriosus (PDA) after incomplete surgical ligation. Clinical study. Dogs (n=4) with continuous murmur after surgical ligation of PDA. After PDA ligation, residual ductal flow through the PDA was visible on color-flow Doppler examination and left ventricular end-diastolic diameter remained increased. Coil embolization by an arterial approach was performed to achieve complete occlusion of the PDA. Embolization coils were delivered without complications and hemodynamically successful occlusion was achieved. Doppler-visible flow resolved in 2 dogs within 3 months after embolization. Left ventricular end-diastolic diameter indexed to body weight decreased in all dogs. Transcatheter coil embolization appears to be a safe and minimally invasive procedure for complete occlusion of residual PDA flow after incomplete surgical ligation. Transcatheter coil embolization should be considered for correction of hemodynamically significant residual shunts in dogs that have incomplete PDA occlusion after open surgical ligation.

Statistically generated weighted curve fit of residual functions for modal analysis of structures

Science.gov (United States)

Bookout, P. S.

1995-01-01

A statistically generated weighting function for a second-order polynomial curve fit of residual functions has been developed. The residual flexibility test method, from which a residual function is generated, is a procedure for modal testing large structures in an external constraint-free environment to measure the effects of higher order modes and interface stiffness. This test method is applicable to structures with distinct degree-of-freedom interfaces to other system components. A theoretical residual function in the displacement/force domain has the characteristics of a relatively flat line in the lower frequencies and a slight upward curvature in the higher frequency range. In the test residual function, the above-mentioned characteristics can be seen in the data, but due to the present limitations in the modal parameter evaluation (natural frequencies and mode shapes) of test data, the residual function has regions of ragged data. A second order polynomial curve fit is required to obtain the residual flexibility term. A weighting function of the data is generated by examining the variances between neighboring data points. From a weighted second-order polynomial curve fit, an accurate residual flexibility value can be obtained. The residual flexibility value and free-free modes from testing are used to improve a mathematical model of the structure. The residual flexibility modal test method is applied to a straight beam with a trunnion appendage and a space shuttle payload pallet simulator.

A comparison of residual stresses in built-up steel beams using hole-drilling method

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nawafleh, M. A.; Hunaiti, Y. M.; Younes, R. M.

2009-01-01

Residual stresses have a significant effect on the stability resistance of metal building systems. An experimental program was conducted to measure these stresses in built-up steel beams using incremental hole-drilling method. The experimental results reveal that the predicted residual stress type of pattern for built-up I-sections with fillet welds on one side of the web is not the same as the pattern of residual stresses in built-up I-sections with fillet welds on both sides of the web

Stereochemical criteria for prediction of the effects of proline mutations on protein stability.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kanika Bajaj

2007-12-01

Full Text Available When incorporated into a polypeptide chain, proline (Pro differs from all other naturally occurring amino acid residues in two important respects. The phi dihedral angle of Pro is constrained to values close to -65 degrees and Pro lacks an amide hydrogen. Consequently, mutations which result in introduction of Pro can significantly affect protein stability. In the present work, we describe a procedure to accurately predict the effect of Pro introduction on protein thermodynamic stability. Seventy-seven of the 97 non-Pro amino acid residues in the model protein, CcdB, were individually mutated to Pro, and the in vivo activity of each mutant was characterized. A decision tree to classify the mutation as perturbing or nonperturbing was created by correlating stereochemical properties of mutants to activity data. The stereochemical properties including main chain dihedral angle phi and main chain amide H-bonds (hydrogen bonds were determined from 3D models of the mutant proteins built using MODELLER. We assessed the performance of the decision tree on a large dataset of 163 single-site Pro mutations of T4 lysozyme, 74 nsSNPs, and 52 other Pro substitutions from the literature. The overall accuracy of this algorithm was found to be 81% in the case of CcdB, 77% in the case of lysozyme, 76% in the case of nsSNPs, and 71% in the case of other Pro substitution data. The accuracy of Pro scanning mutagenesis for secondary structure assignment was also assessed and found to be at best 69%. Our prediction procedure will be useful in annotating uncharacterized nsSNPs of disease-associated proteins and for protein engineering and design.

Stereochemical criteria for prediction of the effects of proline mutations on protein stability.

Science.gov (United States)

Bajaj, Kanika; Madhusudhan, M S; Adkar, Bharat V; Chakrabarti, Purbani; Ramakrishnan, C; Sali, Andrej; Varadarajan, Raghavan

2007-12-01

When incorporated into a polypeptide chain, proline (Pro) differs from all other naturally occurring amino acid residues in two important respects. The phi dihedral angle of Pro is constrained to values close to -65 degrees and Pro lacks an amide hydrogen. Consequently, mutations which result in introduction of Pro can significantly affect protein stability. In the present work, we describe a procedure to accurately predict the effect of Pro introduction on protein thermodynamic stability. Seventy-seven of the 97 non-Pro amino acid residues in the model protein, CcdB, were individually mutated to Pro, and the in vivo activity of each mutant was characterized. A decision tree to classify the mutation as perturbing or nonperturbing was created by correlating stereochemical properties of mutants to activity data. The stereochemical properties including main chain dihedral angle phi and main chain amide H-bonds (hydrogen bonds) were determined from 3D models of the mutant proteins built using MODELLER. We assessed the performance of the decision tree on a large dataset of 163 single-site Pro mutations of T4 lysozyme, 74 nsSNPs, and 52 other Pro substitutions from the literature. The overall accuracy of this algorithm was found to be 81% in the case of CcdB, 77% in the case of lysozyme, 76% in the case of nsSNPs, and 71% in the case of other Pro substitution data. The accuracy of Pro scanning mutagenesis for secondary structure assignment was also assessed and found to be at best 69%. Our prediction procedure will be useful in annotating uncharacterized nsSNPs of disease-associated proteins and for protein engineering and design.

Residual stresses

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Macherauch, E.

1978-01-01

Residual stresses are stresses which exist in a material without the influence of external powers and moments. They come into existence when the volume of a material constantly changes its form as a consequence of mechanical, thermal, and/or chemical processes and is hindered by neighbouring volumes. Bodies with residual stress are in mechanical balance. These residual stresses can be manifested by means of all mechanical interventions disturbing this balance. Acoustical, optical, radiological, and magnetical methods involving material changes caused by residual stress can also serve for determining residual stress. Residual stresses have an ambivalent character. In technical practice, they are feared and liked at the same time. They cause trouble because they can be the cause for unexpected behaviour of construction elements. They are feared since they can cause failure, in the worst case with catastrophical consequences. They are appreciated, on the other hand, because, in many cases, they can contribute to improvements of the material behaviour under certain circumstances. But they are especially liked for their giving convenient and (this is most important) mostly uncontrollable explanations. For only in very few cases we have enough knowledge and possibilities for the objective evaluation of residual stresses. (orig.) [de

Type I and type II residual stress in iron meteorites determined by neutron diffraction measurements

Science.gov (United States)

Caporali, Stefano; Pratesi, Giovanni; Kabra, Saurabh; Grazzi, Francesco

2018-04-01

In this work we present a preliminary investigation by means of neutron diffraction experiment to determine the residual stress state in three different iron meteorites (Chinga, Sikhote Alin and Nantan). Because of the very peculiar microstructural characteristic of this class of samples, all the systematic effects related to the measuring procedure - such as crystallite size and composition - were taken into account and a clear differentiation in the statistical distribution of residual stress in coarse and fine grained meteorites were highlighted. Moreover, the residual stress state was statistically analysed in three orthogonal directions finding evidence of the existence of both type I and type II residual stress components. Finally, the application of von Mises approach allowed to determine the distribution of type II stress.

Islet autoantibodies and residual beta cell function in type 1 diabetes children followed for 3-6 years

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Sørensen, Jesper Sand; Vaziri-Sani, Fariba; Maziarz, M

2012-01-01

To test if islet autoantibodies at diagnosis of type 1 diabetes (T1DM) and after 3-6 years with T1D predict residual beta-cell function (RBF) after 3-6 years with T1D.......To test if islet autoantibodies at diagnosis of type 1 diabetes (T1DM) and after 3-6 years with T1D predict residual beta-cell function (RBF) after 3-6 years with T1D....

MATLAB-implemented estimation procedure for model-based assessment of hepatic insulin degradation from standard intravenous glucose tolerance test data.

Science.gov (United States)

Di Nardo, Francesco; Mengoni, Michele; Morettini, Micaela

2013-05-01

Present study provides a novel MATLAB-based parameter estimation procedure for individual assessment of hepatic insulin degradation (HID) process from standard frequently-sampled intravenous glucose tolerance test (FSIGTT) data. Direct access to the source code, offered by MATLAB, enabled us to design an optimization procedure based on the alternating use of Gauss-Newton's and Levenberg-Marquardt's algorithms, which assures the full convergence of the process and the containment of computational time. Reliability was tested by direct comparison with the application, in eighteen non-diabetic subjects, of well-known kinetic analysis software package SAAM II, and by application on different data. Agreement between MATLAB and SAAM II was warranted by intraclass correlation coefficients ≥0.73; no significant differences between corresponding mean parameter estimates and prediction of HID rate; and consistent residual analysis. Moreover, MATLAB optimization procedure resulted in a significant 51% reduction of CV% for the worst-estimated parameter by SAAM II and in maintaining all model-parameter CV% MATLAB-based procedure was suggested as a suitable tool for the individual assessment of HID process. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Residual stress evaluation and fatigue life prediction in the welded joint by X-ray diffraction

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yoo, Keun Bong; Kim, Jae Hoon

2009-01-01

In the fossil power plant, the reliability of the components which consist of the many welded parts depends on the quality of welding. The residual stress is occurred by the heat flux of high temperature during weld process. This decreases the mechanical properties as the strength of fatigue and fracture or occurs the stress corrosion cracking and fatigue fracture. The residual stress of the welded part in the recently constructed power plants has been the cause of a variety of accidents. The objective of this study is measurement of the residual stress by X-ray diffraction method and to estimate the feasibility of this application for fatigue life assessment of the high-temperature pipeline. The materials used for the study is P92 steel for the use of high temperature pipe on super critical condition. The test results were analyzed by the distributed characteristics of residual stresses and the Full Width at Half Maximum intensity (FWHM) in x-ray diffraction intensity curve. Also, X-ray diffraction tests using specimens simulated low cycle fatigue damage were performed in order to analyze fatigue properties when fatigue damage conditions become various stages. As a result of X-ray diffraction tests for specimens simulated fatigue damages, we conformed that the ratio of the FWHM due to fatigue damage has linear relationship with fatigue life ratio algebraically. From this relationships, it was suggested that direct expectation of the life consumption rate was feasible.

Relation Between Residual and Hoop Stresses and Rolling Bearing Fatigue Life

Science.gov (United States)

Oswald, Fred B.; Zaretsky, Erwin V.; Poplawski, Joseph V.

2015-01-01

Rolling-element bearings operated at high speed or high vibration may require a tight interference fit between the bore of the bearing and shaft to prevent rotation of the bearing bore around the shaft and fretting damage at the interfaces. Previous work showed that the hoop stresses resulting from tight interference fits can reduce bearing lives by as much as 65 percent. Where tight interference fits are required, case-carburized steel such as AISI 9310 or M50 NiL is often used because the compressive residual stresses inhibit subsurface crack formation and the ductile core inhibits inner-ring fracture. The presence of compressive residual stress and its combination with hoop stress also modifies the Hertz stress-life relation. This paper analyzes the beneficial effect of residual stresses on rolling-element bearing fatigue life in the presence of high hoop stresses for three bearing steels. These additional stresses were superimposed on Hertzian principal stresses to calculate the inner-race maximum shearing stress and the resulting fatigue life of the bearing. The load-life exponent p and Hertz stress-life exponent n increase in the presence of compressive residual stress, which yields increased life, particularly at lower stress levels. The Zaretsky life equation is described and is shown to predict longer bearing lives and greater load- and stress-life exponents, which better predicts observed life of bearings made from vacuum-processed steel.

Predictive methodology to address PWSCC of Alloy 600 locations in PWRS

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rao, G.V.

1992-01-01

Contributing factors to primary water stress corrosion cracking (PWSCC) are susceptible microstructure, temperature, and residual and applied stresses. In order to predict PWSCC of Inconel 600 components in PWR type reactors, a number of steps were taken. All Inconel 600 components were located, fabrication history, weld procedures and material properties were identified. Service temperatures and approximate stresses were determined. Precise service stress evaluations of Inconel 600 locations by Finite Element and other analytical evaluations were made. Using data analysis, relative PWSCC susceptibility evaluations of Inconel 600 locations were made on the basis of the Westinghouse RSI model. Finally, a prioritized inspection plan for Inconel 600 locations was developed and recommendations provided. 11 figs., 2 tabs

Influence of the residual stresses on crack initiation in brittle materials and structures

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Henninger, C.

2007-11-01

Many material assemblies subjected to thermo-mechanical loadings develop thermal residual stresses which modify crack onset conditions. Besides if one of the components has a plastic behaviour, plastic residual deformations may also have a contribution. One of the issues in brittle fracture mechanics is to predict crack onset without any pre-existing defect. Leguillon proposed an onset criterion based on both a Griffth-like energetic condition and a maximum stress criterion. The analysis uses matched asymptotics and the theory of singularity. The good fit between the model and experimental measurements led on homogeneous isotropic materials under pure mechanical loading incited us to take into account residual stresses in the criterion. The comparison between the modified criterion and the experimental measurements carried out on an aluminum/epoxy assembly proves to be satisfying concerning the prediction of failure of the interface between the two components. Besides, it allows, through inversion, identifying the fracture properties of this interface. The modified criterion is also applied to the delamination of the tile/structure interface in the plasma facing components of the Tore Supra tokamak. Indeed thermal and plastic residual stresses appear in the metallic part of these coating tiles. (author)

Residualization Rates of Near Infrared Dyes for the Rational Design of Molecular Imaging Agents

Science.gov (United States)

Cilliers, Cornelius; Liao, Jianshan; Atangcho, Lydia; Thurber, Greg M.

2016-01-01

Purpose Near infrared (NIR) fluorescence imaging is widely used for tracking antibodies and biomolecules in vivo. Clinical and preclinical applications include intraoperative imaging, tracking therapeutics, and fluorescent labeling as a surrogate for subsequent radiolabeling. Despite their extensive use, one of the fundamental properties of NIR dyes, the residualization rate within cells following internalization, has not been systematically studied. This rate is required for the rational design of probes and proper interpretation of in vivo results. Procedures In this brief report, we measure the cellular residualization rate of eight commonly used dyes encompassing three core structures (cyanine, BODIPY, and oxazine/thiazine/carbopyronin). Results We identify residualizing (half-life > 24 hrs) and non-residualizing dyes (half-life < 24 hrs) in both the far red (~650-680 nm) and near infrared (~740-800 nm) regions. Conclusions This data will allow researchers to independently and rationally select the wavelength and residualizing nature of dyes for molecular imaging agent design. PMID:25869081

Fast dynamics perturbation analysis for prediction of protein functional sites

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Cohn Judith D

2008-01-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background We present a fast version of the dynamics perturbation analysis (DPA algorithm to predict functional sites in protein structures. The original DPA algorithm finds regions in proteins where interactions cause a large change in the protein conformational distribution, as measured using the relative entropy Dx. Such regions are associated with functional sites. Results The Fast DPA algorithm, which accelerates DPA calculations, is motivated by an empirical observation that Dx in a normal-modes model is highly correlated with an entropic term that only depends on the eigenvalues of the normal modes. The eigenvalues are accurately estimated using first-order perturbation theory, resulting in a N-fold reduction in the overall computational requirements of the algorithm, where N is the number of residues in the protein. The performance of the original and Fast DPA algorithms was compared using protein structures from a standard small-molecule docking test set. For nominal implementations of each algorithm, top-ranked Fast DPA predictions overlapped the true binding site 94% of the time, compared to 87% of the time for original DPA. In addition, per-protein recall statistics (fraction of binding-site residues that are among predicted residues were slightly better for Fast DPA. On the other hand, per-protein precision statistics (fraction of predicted residues that are among binding-site residues were slightly better using original DPA. Overall, the performance of Fast DPA in predicting ligand-binding-site residues was comparable to that of the original DPA algorithm. Conclusion Compared to the original DPA algorithm, the decreased run time with comparable performance makes Fast DPA well-suited for implementation on a web server and for high-throughput analysis.

X-ray measurement of residual stress in metals at Chalk River Nuclear Laboratories

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Winegar, J.E.

1980-06-01

X-ray diffraction is used at CRNL to measure residual stress in metals. This report summarizes the basic principles of stress measurement, and reviews factors affecting accuracy of measurement. The technique and equipment described were developed at CRNL to give reliable measurements. Accuracy of measurement is achieved by using fixed-count step-scanning and by computer analysis of intensity data using a cubic spline curve smoothing routine. Specific reference is made to the measurement of residual stress in Inconel-600 and Incoloy-800 boiler tubing. Because it measures stress in thin surface layers, the X-ray method can also be used to measure the depth profile of stresses. As there are no standardized procedures for measuring residual stress, this report will be useful both to those unfamiliar with the measurement of residual stress and to those already making such measurements in other laboratories. (auth)

Predicting the Best Fit: A Comparison of Response Surface Models for Midazolam and Alfentanil Sedation in Procedures With Varying Stimulation.

Science.gov (United States)

Liou, Jing-Yang; Ting, Chien-Kun; Mandell, M Susan; Chang, Kuang-Yi; Teng, Wei-Nung; Huang, Yu-Yin; Tsou, Mei-Yung

2016-08-01

Selecting an effective dose of sedative drugs in combined upper and lower gastrointestinal endoscopy is complicated by varying degrees of pain stimulation. We tested the ability of 5 response surface models to predict depth of sedation after administration of midazolam and alfentanil in this complex model. The procedure was divided into 3 phases: esophagogastroduodenoscopy (EGD), colonoscopy, and the time interval between the 2 (intersession). The depth of sedation in 33 adult patients was monitored by Observer Assessment of Alertness/Scores. A total of 218 combinations of midazolam and alfentanil effect-site concentrations derived from pharmacokinetic models were used to test 5 response surface models in each of the 3 phases of endoscopy. Model fit was evaluated with objective function value, corrected Akaike Information Criterion (AICc), and Spearman ranked correlation. A model was arbitrarily defined as accurate if the predicted probability is effect-site concentrations tested ranged from 1 to 76 ng/mL and from 5 to 80 ng/mL for midazolam and alfentanil, respectively. Midazolam and alfentanil had synergistic effects in colonoscopy and EGD, but additivity was observed in the intersession group. Adequate prediction rates were 84% to 85% in the intersession group, 84% to 88% during colonoscopy, and 82% to 87% during EGD. The reduced Greco and Fixed alfentanil concentration required for 50% of the patients to achieve targeted response Hierarchy models performed better with comparable predictive strength. The reduced Greco model had the lowest AICc with strong correlation in all 3 phases of endoscopy. Dynamic, rather than fixed, γ and γalf in the Hierarchy model improved model fit. The reduced Greco model had the lowest objective function value and AICc and thus the best fit. This model was reliable with acceptable predictive ability based on adequate clinical correlation. We suggest that this model has practical clinical value for patients undergoing procedures

Overview and applicability of residual stress estimation of film-substrate structure

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chou, Tsung-Lin; Yang, Shin-Yueh; Chiang, Kuo-Ning

2011-01-01

Residual stresses arising from thermal mismatch in layered structures rank among the major causes of mechanical failures in light-emitting diodes, integrated circuits, electronic packages, and micro-electro-mechanical systems. Applying analytical solutions to predict or calculate residual stresses' magnitude and distribution in multilayer film-substrate system has been widely adopted by many researchers. These researches are based on multilayer theories of film-substrate systems, such as Suhir's formula, Stoney's equation, and extend Stoney's equations. To discuss and distinguish the characteristics of these approaches, finite element analysis numerical solutions and multilayer theory analytical solutions are compared and analyzed. This encompasses the theories' application spectrum as well as their prediction capability. In addition, this work not only discusses the theories' property and workability but also demonstrate the feasibility of the finite element method (FEM) and bilayer theories in experiment. The experimental result demonstrates that FEM is a reliable approach in predicting the mechanical behavior of multilayer structures. Hence, when calculating or predicting thin film stress using the aforementioned theories, the methodology proposed in this research can be employed to effectively validate the feasibility of these theories.

Residue studies of Methabenzthiazuron in Soil, Lentils and Hay

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Al-Maghrabi, K.I.

2002-01-01

Over two years, replicate plots of lentils (Lens culinaris L.) were treated before seeding with methabenzthiazuron at a rate of 0.5 kg a.i. ha-1. In each year representative soil, lentil and hay samples were randomly collected from plots of each treatment. Soil samples were tested for residues 24 hours after treatment and harvest. Lentil and hay samples were tested at harvest. A cleanup step was conducted after extraction. Gas chromatograph equipped with a nitrogen/phosphorus detector was used to detect methabenzthiazuron. Overall average of residue levels in soil decreased significantly from 1.16+-0.15 mg kg, 24 hours after treatment, 0.12 +-0.01 mg kg at harvest. No significant difference in the maximum average residue was found in lentil and hay samples collected from various plots and tested at harvest (0.10+-0.01 and 0.19 +-0.02 mg kg in lentils and hay, respectively). Recovery tests were conducted with each group of samples tested in order to determine the efficiency of analytical procedure. (author)

Use of fly ash, phosphogypsum and red mud as a liner material for the disposal of hazardous zinc leach residue waste.

Science.gov (United States)

Coruh, Semra; Ergun, Osman Nuri

2010-01-15

Increasing amounts of residues and waste materials coming from industrial activities in different processes have become an increasingly urgent problem for the future. The release of large quantities of heavy metals into the environment has resulted in a number of environmental problems. The present study investigated the safe disposal of the zinc leach residue waste using industrial residues such as fly ash, phosphogypsum and red mud. In the study, leachability of heavy metals from the zinc leach residue has been evaluated by mine water leaching procedure (MWLP) and toxicity characteristic leaching procedure (TCLP). Zinc removal from leachate was studied using fly ash, phosphogypsum and red mud. The adsorption capacities and adsorption efficiencies were determined. The adsorption rate data was analyzed according to the pseudo-second-order kinetic, Elovich kinetic and intra-particle diffusion kinetic models. The pseudo-second-order kinetic was the best fit kinetic model for the experimental data. The results show that addition of fly ash, phosphogypsum and red mud to the zinc leach residue drastically reduces the heavy metal content in the leachate and could be used as liner materials.

Drug residues recovered in feed after various feedlot mixer truck cleanout procedures.

Science.gov (United States)

Van Donkersgoed, Joyce; Sit, Dan; Gibbons, Nicole; Ramogida, Caterina; Hendrick, Steve

2010-01-01

A study was conducted to determine the effectiveness of two methods of equipment cleanout, sequencing or flushing, for reducing drug carryover in feedlot mixer trucks. Feed samples were collected from total mixed rations before and after various feed mixer equipment cleanout procedures. Medicated rations contained either 11 ppm of tylosin or 166 or 331 ppm of chlortetracycline. There were no differences between sequencing and flushing or between flushing with dry barley and flushing with barley silage in the median proportion of drug recovered in the next ration. A larger drug reduction was achieved using flush material at a volume of 10 versus 5% of the mixer capacity and mixing the flush material for 3 versus 4 min. Regardless of the drug or prescription concentrations in the total mixed rations or the equipment cleanout procedure used, concentrations of chlortetracycline and tylosin recovered were very low.

Benchmark on residual stress modeling in fracture mechanics assessment

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Marie, S.; Deschanels, H.; Chapuliot, S.; Le Delliou, P.

2014-01-01

In the frame of development in analytical defect assessment methods for the RSE-M and RCC-MRx codes, new work on the consideration of residual stresses is initiated by AREVA, CEA and EDF. The first step of this work is the realization of a database of F.E. reference cases. To validate assumptions and develop a good practice guideline for the consideration of residual stresses in finite element calculations, a benchmark between AREVA, CEA and EDF is going-on. A first application presented in this paper focuses on the analysis of the crack initiation of aged duplex stainless steel pipes submitted to an increasing pressure loading. Residual stresses are related to pipe fabrication process and act as shell bending condition. Two tests were performed: the first with an internal longitudinal semi-elliptical crack and the second with an external crack. The analysis first focuses on the ability to accurately estimate the measured pressure at the crack initiation of the two tests. For that purpose, the comparison of results obtained with different methods of taking into account the residual stresses (i.e. thermal fields or initial strain field). It then validates post-treatment procedures for J or G determination, and finally compares of the results obtained by the different partners. It is then shown that the numerical models can integrate properly the impact of residual stresses on the crack initiation pressure. Then, an excellent agreement is obtained between the different numerical evaluations of G provided by the participants to the benchmark so that best practice and reference F.E. solutions for residual stresses consideration can be provided based on that work. (authors)

Functional residual capacity increase during laparoscopic surgery with abdominal wall lift

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Hiroshi Ueda

Full Text Available Abstract Background and objectives: The number of laparoscopic surgeries performed is increasing every year and in most cases the pneumoperitoneum method is used. One alternative is the abdominal wall lifting method and this study was undertaken to evaluate changes of functional residual capacity during the abdominal wall lift procedure. Methods: From January to April 2013, 20 patients underwent laparoscopic cholecystectomy at a single institution. All patients were anesthetized using propofol, remifentanil and rocuronium. FRC was measured automatically by Engstrom Carestation before the abdominal wall lift and again 15 minutes after the start of the procedure. Results: After abdominal wall lift, there was a significant increase in functional residual capacity values (before abdominal wall lift 1.48 × 103 mL, after abdominal wall lift 1.64 × 103 mL (p < 0.0001. No complications such as desaturation were observed in any patient during this study. Conclusions: Laparoscopic surgery with abdominal wall lift may be appropriate for patients who have risk factors such as obesity and respiratory disease.

Semi-supervised learning for genomic prediction of novel traits with small reference populations: an application to residual feed intake in dairy cattle.

Science.gov (United States)

Yao, Chen; Zhu, Xiaojin; Weigel, Kent A

2016-11-07

Genomic prediction for novel traits, which can be costly and labor-intensive to measure, is often hampered by low accuracy due to the limited size of the reference population. As an option to improve prediction accuracy, we introduced a semi-supervised learning strategy known as the self-training model, and applied this method to genomic prediction of residual feed intake (RFI) in dairy cattle. We describe a self-training model that is wrapped around a support vector machine (SVM) algorithm, which enables it to use data from animals with and without measured phenotypes. Initially, a SVM model was trained using data from 792 animals with measured RFI phenotypes. Then, the resulting SVM was used to generate self-trained phenotypes for 3000 animals for which RFI measurements were not available. Finally, the SVM model was re-trained using data from up to 3792 animals, including those with measured and self-trained RFI phenotypes. Incorporation of additional animals with self-trained phenotypes enhanced the accuracy of genomic predictions compared to that of predictions that were derived from the subset of animals with measured phenotypes. The optimal ratio of animals with self-trained phenotypes to animals with measured phenotypes (2.5, 2.0, and 1.8) and the maximum increase achieved in prediction accuracy measured as the correlation between predicted and actual RFI phenotypes (5.9, 4.1, and 2.4%) decreased as the size of the initial training set (300, 400, and 500 animals with measured phenotypes) increased. The optimal number of animals with self-trained phenotypes may be smaller when prediction accuracy is measured as the mean squared error rather than the correlation between predicted and actual RFI phenotypes. Our results demonstrate that semi-supervised learning models that incorporate self-trained phenotypes can achieve genomic prediction accuracies that are comparable to those obtained with models using larger training sets that include only animals with

Towards accreditation of MINT pesticide residue laboratory - a journey

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nashriyah Mat; Salmah Moosa; Misman Sumin; Maizatul Akmam Mohd Nasir; Norimah Yusof

2005-01-01

The laboratory accreditation process under ISO/IEC 17025 is a complex journey, due to several compulsory inputs necessary for obtaining the accreditation. This paper dwells on most of those inputs in the context of MINT Pesticide Residue Laboratory (MPRL), including: 1) Quality work culture; 2) Management commitment; 3) Sustainability of laboratory service appointment; 4) Laboratory personnel; 5) Laboratory equipment; 6) Continual training of personnel; 7) Technical co-operation; 8) Laboratory safety; 9) Special and general budget; 10) Consultancy service; 11) Quality Manual, Procedure, Work Instruction and related documents; 12) Internal Quality Audit (IQA) by MINT Quality Unit, and 13) Teamwork spirit. Based on experience faced and knowledge gained, multiple problems arising during this journey towards MINT Pesticide Residue Laboratory accreditation are also discussed in general, including their solutions. (Author)

Pushing the size limit of de novo structure ensemble prediction guided by sparse SDSL-EPR restraints to 200 residues: The monomeric and homodimeric forms of BAX

Science.gov (United States)

Fischer, Axel W.; Bordignon, Enrica; Bleicken, Stephanie; García-Sáez, Ana J.; Jeschke, Gunnar; Meiler, Jens

2016-01-01

Structure determination remains a challenge for many biologically important proteins. In particular, proteins that adopt multiple conformations often evade crystallization in all biologically relevant states. Although computational de novo protein folding approaches often sample biologically relevant conformations, the selection of the most accurate model for different functional states remains a formidable challenge, in particular, for proteins with more than about 150 residues. Electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) spectroscopy can obtain limited structural information for proteins in well-defined biological states and thereby assist in selecting biologically relevant conformations. The present study demonstrates that de novo folding methods are able to accurately sample the folds of 192-residue long soluble monomeric Bcl-2-associated X protein (BAX). The tertiary structures of the monomeric and homodimeric forms of BAX were predicted using the primary structure as well as 25 and 11 EPR distance restraints, respectively. The predicted models were subsequently compared to respective NMR/X-ray structures of BAX. EPR restraints improve the protein-size normalized root-mean-square-deviation (RMSD100) of the most accurate models with respect to the NMR/crystal structure from 5.9 Å to 3.9 Å and from 5.7 Å to 3.3 Å, respectively. Additionally, the model discrimination is improved, which is demonstrated by an improvement of the enrichment from 5% to 15% and from 13% to 21%, respectively. PMID:27129417

Effect of the weld groove shape and pass number on residual stresses in butt-welded pipes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sattari-Far, I.; Farahani, M.R.

2009-01-01

This study used finite element techniques to analyze the thermo-mechanical behaviour and residual stresses in butt-welded pipes. The residual stresses were also measured in some welds by using the Hole-Drilling method. The results of the finite element analysis were compared with experimentally measured data to evaluate the accuracy of the finite element modelling. Based on this study, a finite element modelling procedure with reasonable accuracy was developed. The developed FE modelling was used to study the effects of weld groove shape and weld pass number on welding residual stresses in butt-welded pipes. The hoop and axial residual stresses in pipe joints of 6 and 10 mm thickness of different groove shapes and pass number were studied. It is shown that these two parameters may have significant effects on magnitude and distribution of residual stresses in welded pipes.

Test and Numerical Analysis for Penetration Residual Velocity of Bullet Considering Failure Strain Uncertainty of Composite Plates

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Cha, Myungseok; Lee, Minhyung [Sejong Univ., Sejong (Korea, Republic of)

2016-03-15

The ballistic performance data of composite materials is distributed due to material inhomogeneity. In this paper, the uncertainty in residual velocity is obtained experimentally, and a method of predicting it is established numerically for the high-speed impact of a bullet into laminated composites. First, the failure strain distribution was obtained by conducting a tensile test using 10 specimens. Next, a ballistic impact test was carried out for the impact of a fragment-simulating projectile (FSP) bullet with 4ply ([0/90]s) and 8ply ([0/90/0/90]s) glass fiber reinforced plastic (GFRP) plates. Eighteen shots were made at the same impact velocity and the residual velocities were obtained. Finally, simulations were conducted to predict the residual velocities by using the failure strain distributions that were obtained from the tensile test. For this simulation, two impact velocities were chosen at 411.7m/s (4ply) and 592.5m/s (8ply). The simulation results show that the predicted residual velocities are in close agreement with test results. Additionally, the modeling of a composite plate with layered solid elements requires less calculation time than modeling with solid elements.

Residues of {sup 14}C-paclobutrazol in mangoes

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Costa, Maria A.; Tornisielo, Valdemar L.; Castanho, Giuliane M., E-mail: macosta@cena.usp.b [Centro de Energia Nuclear na Agricultura (CENA/USP), Piracicaba, SP (Brazil). Lab. de Ecotoxicologia

2009-07-01

Paclobutrazol (PBZ) is a growth regulator used in agricultural systems whose purpose is the control of vegetative growth, stimulating the reproductive capacity of plants. This growth regulator remains active in soil for a long time and its half-life varies with the type of soil and climatic conditions, can severely affect the development of crops. This work aimed to study the residues / metabolites of {sup 14}C-PBZ in mango pulp Tommy Atkins. The tests were performed with mangoes grown in pots stainless steel and application of {sup 14}C-PBZ was performed by the soil projection of the crown, and the mangoes tested in two periods, one year and two years after application. To evaluate the levels of residues of {sup 14}C-PBZ was realize the burning of 200 mg of pulp on biological oxidized and detached {sup 14}CO{sub 2} was detected by liquid scintillation spectrophotometer. The results were 1.65 % of residue of PBZ on fruit collected after two years of application and 4.30 % of residue of PBZ collected on fruit after a year of application and also can see that the product remained in the soil for more than one year, is translocated to the plant and reach the edible part, the pulp fruit. The identification of residual {sup 14}C- PBZ/metabolites by thin-layer chromatography did not reveal any pattern of PBZ / metabolites due to the low activity detected in the samples. Therefore, another procedure was performed for extraction and then analyzed by high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) for detection of metabolites in the PBZ of mango pulp. (author)

LigandRFs: random forest ensemble to identify ligand-binding residues from sequence information alone

KAUST Repository

Chen, Peng

2014-12-03

Background Protein-ligand binding is important for some proteins to perform their functions. Protein-ligand binding sites are the residues of proteins that physically bind to ligands. Despite of the recent advances in computational prediction for protein-ligand binding sites, the state-of-the-art methods search for similar, known structures of the query and predict the binding sites based on the solved structures. However, such structural information is not commonly available. Results In this paper, we propose a sequence-based approach to identify protein-ligand binding residues. We propose a combination technique to reduce the effects of different sliding residue windows in the process of encoding input feature vectors. Moreover, due to the highly imbalanced samples between the ligand-binding sites and non ligand-binding sites, we construct several balanced data sets, for each of which a random forest (RF)-based classifier is trained. The ensemble of these RF classifiers forms a sequence-based protein-ligand binding site predictor. Conclusions Experimental results on CASP9 and CASP8 data sets demonstrate that our method compares favorably with the state-of-the-art protein-ligand binding site prediction methods.

InterProSurf: a web server for predicting interacting sites on protein surfaces

Science.gov (United States)

Negi, Surendra S.; Schein, Catherine H.; Oezguen, Numan; Power, Trevor D.; Braun, Werner

2009-01-01

Summary A new web server, InterProSurf, predicts interacting amino acid residues in proteins that are most likely to interact with other proteins, given the 3D structures of subunits of a protein complex. The prediction method is based on solvent accessible surface area of residues in the isolated subunits, a propensity scale for interface residues and a clustering algorithm to identify surface regions with residues of high interface propensities. Here we illustrate the application of InterProSurf to determine which areas of Bacillus anthracis toxins and measles virus hemagglutinin protein interact with their respective cell surface receptors. The computationally predicted regions overlap with those regions previously identified as interface regions by sequence analysis and mutagenesis experiments. PMID:17933856

The predictive power of depression screening procedures for veterans with coronary artery disease

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Shankman SA

2012-04-01

Full Text Available Stewart A Shankman1*, Jeffrey Nadelson2*, Sarah Kate McGowan1, Ali A Sovari2, Mladen I Vidovich21Department of Psychiatry and Psychology, University of Illinois, 2Department of Cardiology, Jesse Brown VA Medical Center, Chicago, IL, USA*These authors contributed equally to this workAbstract: Depression leads to a worse outcome for patients with coronary artery disease (CAD. Thus, accurately identifying depression in CAD patients is imperative. In many veterans affairs (VA hospitals, patients are screened for depression once a year using the patient health questionnaire (PHQ-9. Although the PHQ-9 is generally considered a specific and sensitive measure of depression, there is reason to believe that these screening procedures may miss a large number of cases of depression within CAD patients and cardiology patients more generally. The goal of this study was to provide data as to the predictive power of this depression screening procedure by (a comparing the prevalence rate of depression identified by the PHQ-9 to known prevalence rates and (b examining whether patients identified as “depressed” also had conditions that consistently co-occur with depression (eg, post-traumatic stress disorder [PTSD], other medical issues. Participants were 813 consecutive patients who received an angiogram in the cardiac catheterization laboratory at a large VA Medical Center. Prevalence of depression was 6.9% in the overall sample and less than 6% when the sample was restricted to CAD patients with significant stenosis. Depression was significantly associated with PTSD, smoking, and alcohol problems. However, depression was not associated with other medical problems such as diabetes, renal failure, peripheral vascular disease, or anemia. In conclusion, the low prevalence rate of depression and lack of associations with comorbid medical problems may suggest that the VA’s depression screening procedures have low sensitivity for identifying depression in CAD

A web server for analysis, comparison and prediction of protein ligand binding sites.

Science.gov (United States)

Singh, Harinder; Srivastava, Hemant Kumar; Raghava, Gajendra P S

2016-03-25

One of the major challenges in the field of system biology is to understand the interaction between a wide range of proteins and ligands. In the past, methods have been developed for predicting binding sites in a protein for a limited number of ligands. In order to address this problem, we developed a web server named 'LPIcom' to facilitate users in understanding protein-ligand interaction. Analysis, comparison and prediction modules are available in the "LPIcom' server to predict protein-ligand interacting residues for 824 ligands. Each ligand must have at least 30 protein binding sites in PDB. Analysis module of the server can identify residues preferred in interaction and binding motif for a given ligand; for example residues glycine, lysine and arginine are preferred in ATP binding sites. Comparison module of the server allows comparing protein-binding sites of multiple ligands to understand the similarity between ligands based on their binding site. This module indicates that ATP, ADP and GTP ligands are in the same cluster and thus their binding sites or interacting residues exhibit a high level of similarity. Propensity-based prediction module has been developed for predicting ligand-interacting residues in a protein for more than 800 ligands. In addition, a number of web-based tools have been integrated to facilitate users in creating web logo and two-sample between ligand interacting and non-interacting residues. In summary, this manuscript presents a web-server for analysis of ligand interacting residue. This server is available for public use from URL http://crdd.osdd.net/raghava/lpicom .

Flanking signal and mature peptide residues influence signal peptide cleavage

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ranganathan Shoba

2008-12-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Signal peptides (SPs mediate the targeting of secretory precursor proteins to the correct subcellular compartments in prokaryotes and eukaryotes. Identifying these transient peptides is crucial to the medical, food and beverage and biotechnology industries yet our understanding of these peptides remains limited. This paper examines the most common type of signal peptides cleavable by the endoprotease signal peptidase I (SPase I, and the residues flanking the cleavage sites of three groups of signal peptide sequences, namely (i eukaryotes (Euk (ii Gram-positive (Gram+ bacteria, and (iii Gram-negative (Gram- bacteria. Results In this study, 2352 secretory peptide sequences from a variety of organisms with amino-terminal SPs are extracted from the manually curated SPdb database for analysis based on physicochemical properties such as pI, aliphatic index, GRAVY score, hydrophobicity, net charge and position-specific residue preferences. Our findings show that the three groups share several similarities in general, but they display distinctive features upon examination in terms of their amino acid compositions and frequencies, and various physico-chemical properties. Thus, analysis or prediction of their sequences should be separated and treated as distinct groups. Conclusion We conclude that the peptide segment recognized by SPase I extends to the start of the mature protein to a limited extent, upon our survey of the amino acid residues surrounding the cleavage processing site. These flanking residues possibly influence the cleavage processing and contribute to non-canonical cleavage sites. Our findings are applicable in defining more accurate prediction tools for recognition and identification of cleavage site of SPs.

Coastal tomographic mapping of nonlinear tidal currents and residual currents

Science.gov (United States)

Zhu, Ze-Nan; Zhu, Xiao-Hua; Guo, Xinyu

2017-07-01

Depth-averaged current data, which were obtained by coastal acoustic tomography (CAT) July 12-13, 2009 in Zhitouyang Bay on the western side of the East China Sea, are used to estimate the semidiurnal tidal current (M2) as well as its first two overtide currents (M4 and M6). Spatial mean amplitude ratios M2:M4:M6 in the bay are 1.00:0.15:0.11. The shallow-water equations are used to analyze the generation mechanisms of M4 and M6. In the deep area, where water depths are larger than 60 m, M4 velocity amplitudes measured by CAT agree well with those predicted by the advection terms in the shallow water equations, indicating that M4 in the deep area is predominantly generated by the advection terms. M6 measured by CAT and M6 predicted by the nonlinear quadratic bottom friction terms agree well in the area where water depths are less than 20 m, indicating that friction mechanisms are predominant for generating M6 in the shallow area. In addition, dynamic analysis of the residual currents using the tidally averaged momentum equation shows that spatial mean values of the horizontal pressure gradient due to residual sea level and of the advection of residual currents together contribute about 75% of the spatial mean values of the advection by the tidal currents, indicating that residual currents in this bay are induced mainly by the nonlinear effects of tidal currents. This is the first ever nonlinear tidal current study by CAT.

FFTF fuel pin design procedure verification for transient operation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Baars, R.E.

1975-05-01

The FFTF design procedures for evaluating fuel pin transient performance are briefly reviewed, and data where available are compared with design procedure predictions. Specifically, burst conditions derived from Fuel Cladding Transient Tester (FCTT) tests and from ANL loss-of-flow tests are compared with burst pressures computed using the design procedure upon which the cladding integrity limit was based. Failure times are predicted using the design procedure for evaluation of rapid reactivity insertion accidents, for five unterminated TREAT experiments in which well characterized fuel failures were deliberately incurred. (U.S.)

Numerical simulation of the transient thermal-hydraulic behaviour of the ITER blanket cooling system under the draining operational procedure

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Di Maio, P.A. [Dipartimento di Energia, Ingegneria dell’Informazione e Modelli Matematici, Università di Palermo Viale delle Scienze, 90128 Palermo (Italy); Dell’Orco, G.; Furmanek, A. [ITER Organization, Route de Vinon-sur-Verdon, CS 90 046, 13067 St Paul Lez Durance Cedex (France); Garitta, S. [Dipartimento di Energia, Ingegneria dell’Informazione e Modelli Matematici, Università di Palermo Viale delle Scienze, 90128 Palermo (Italy); Merola, M.; Mitteau, R.; Raffray, R. [ITER Organization, Route de Vinon-sur-Verdon, CS 90 046, 13067 St Paul Lez Durance Cedex (France); Spagnuolo, G.A. [Dipartimento di Energia, Ingegneria dell’Informazione e Modelli Matematici, Università di Palermo Viale delle Scienze, 90128 Palermo (Italy); Vallone, E., E-mail: eug.vallone@gmail.com [Dipartimento di Energia, Ingegneria dell’Informazione e Modelli Matematici, Università di Palermo Viale delle Scienze, 90128 Palermo (Italy)

2015-10-15

Highlights: • ITER blanket cooling system hydraulic behaviour is studied under draining transient. • A computational approach based on the finite volume method has been followed. • Draining efficiency has been assessed in term of transient duration and residual water. • Transient duration ranges from ∼40 to 50 s, under the reference draining scenario. • Residual water is predicted to range from few tens of gram up to few kilograms. - Abstract: Within the framework of the research and development activities supported by the ITER Organization on the blanket system issues, an intense analysis campaign has been performed at the University of Palermo with the aim to investigate the thermal-hydraulic behaviour of the cooling system of a standard 20° sector of ITER blanket during the draining transient operational procedure. The analysis has been carried out following a theoretical-computational approach based on the finite volume method and adopting the RELAP5 system code. In a first phase, attention has been focused on the development and validation of the finite volume models of the cooling circuits of the most demanding modules belonging to the standard blanket sector. In later phase, attention has been put to the numerical simulation of the thermal-hydraulic transient behaviour of each cooling circuit during the draining operational procedure. The draining procedure efficiency has been assessed in terms of both transient duration and residual amount of coolant inside the circuit, observing that the former ranges typically between 40 and 120 s and the latter reaches at most ∼8 kg, in the case of the cooling circuit of twinned modules #6–7. Potential variations to operational parameters and/or to circuit lay-out have been proposed and investigated to optimize the circuit draining performances. In this paper, the set-up of the finite volume models is briefly described and the key results are summarized and critically discussed.

Investigation of the Residual Stress State in an Epoxy Based Specimen

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Baran, Ismet; Jakobsen, Johnny; Andreasen, Jens Henrik

2015-01-01

Abstract. Process induced residual stresses may play an important role under service loading conditions for fiber reinforced composite. They may initiate premature cracks and alter the internal stress level. Therefore, the developed numerical models have to be validated with the experimental...... observations. In the present work, the formation of the residual stresses/strains are captured from experimental measurements and numerical models. An epoxy/steel based sample configuration is considered which creates an in-plane biaxial stress state during curing of the resin. A hole drilling process...... material models, i.e. cure kinetics, elastic modulus, CTE, chemical shrinkage, etc. together with the drilling process using the finite element method. The measured and predicted in-plane residual strain states are compared for the epoxy/metal biaxial stress specimen....

Biomass yield and modeling of logging residues of Terminalia ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

The use of Dbh as an independent variable in the prediction of models for estimating the biomass residues of the tree species was adjudged best because it performed well. The validation results showed that the selected models satisfied the assumptions of regression analysis. The practical implication of the models is that ...

The autoshaping procedure as a residual block clock

Science.gov (United States)

Dinsmoor, James A.; Dougan, James D.; Pfister, John; Thiels, Edda

1992-01-01

In the first experiment, 4 pigeons were each presented with a recurring sequence of four key colors followed by the delivery of grain (block clock). Once the rate of pecking had stabilized, three of the colors were replaced, during different series of sessions, by a darkening of the key. The rate of pecking was reduced within those segments of the interval between deliveries of food during which the key was dark; when the key was dark during the final portion of the interval, rates were reduced throughout the entire interval. In the second experiment, 3 new pigeons were exposed to a different sequence of colors, and the final stimulus was replaced in successive conditions by a novel color, a darkened key, and a restoration of the original color. The data indicated that darkening the key had a more severe, more extensive, and more persistent effect than did a mere change in color. These results suggest that it may be fruitful to conceptualize the autoshaping procedure as a special version of the block clock in which pecking is suppressed throughout the greater part of the interval by darkening the key. In the final condition, the same stimulus appeared in each of the last three portions of the interval. The rate of pecking was lower during the last two portions than when distinctive colors were presented, with the peak rate now appearing in the fifth of seven equal temporal components. PMID:16812666

Accumulation of logging residue in first thinnings of Scots pine and Norway spruce. Impact of top bucking diameter of roundwood

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Raeisaenen, T.; Nurmi, J. (Finnish Forest Research Inst., Kannus (Finland)), e-mail: tommi.raisanen@metla.fi

2010-07-01

The aim of this study was to examine the impacts of changes in the minimum top diameter of roundwood on the accumulation of logging residue. The aim was also to compare estimates of residue accumulation calculated by tree-specific biomass models with field measurements from thinnings. Felling experiments were performed in first thinnings of pine and spruce to evaluate the model calculations. In the felling, mean relative masses of the tree tops of spruce were nearly doubled with each increment of 2 cm in the top diameter. Respectively in pine, the mean relative tree top mass was increased by 50-60 % when the top diameter was increased by 2 cm. The mass of total residue (tree top and all delimbed branches) was similarly increased, but the differences were not as large. Compared to pine, a lesser variation in the crown mass of the spruce sample resulted in a more accurate model prediction of masses of tree tops and total residue. The results indicate that the residue accumulation from a small group of trees cannot be predicted very reliably, but when a larger tree population or area is considered, the model predictions are enhanced to a more practicable level. (orig.)

High Residual Collagen-Induced Platelet Reactivity Predicts Development of Restenosis in the Superficial Femoral Artery After Percutaneous Transluminal Angioplasty in Claudicant Patients

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Gary, Thomas, E-mail: thomas.gary@medunigraz.at [Medical University of Graz, Division of Angiology, Department of Internal Medicine (Austria); Prüller, Florian, E-mail: florian.prueller@klinikum-graz.at; Raggam, Reinhard, E-mail: reinhard.raggam@klinikum-graz.at [Medical University of Graz, Clinical Institute of Medical and Chemical Laboratory Diagnostics (Austria); Mahla, Elisabeth, E-mail: elisabeth.mahla@medunigraz.at [Medical University of Graz, Department of Anesthesiology and Intensive Care Medicine (Austria); Eller, Philipp, E-mail: philipp.eller@medunigraz.at; Hafner, Franz, E-mail: franz.hafner@klinikum-graz.at; Brodmann, Marianne, E-mail: marianne.brodmann@medunigraz.at [Medical University of Graz, Division of Angiology, Department of Internal Medicine (Austria)

2016-02-15

PurposeAlthough platelet reactivity is routinely inhibited with aspirin after percutaneous angioplasty (PTA) in peripheral arteries, the restenosis rate in the superficial femoral artery (SFA) is high. Interaction of activated platelets and the endothelium in the region of intervention could be one reason for this as collagen in the subendothelium activates platelets.Materials and MethodsA prospective study evaluating on-site platelet reactivity during PTA and its influence on the development of restenosis with a total of 30 patients scheduled for PTA of the SFA. Arterial blood was taken from the PTA site after SFA; platelet function was evaluated with light transmission aggregometry. After 3, 6, 12, and 24 months, duplex sonography was performed and the restenosis rate evaluated.ResultsEight out of 30 patients developed a hemodynamically relevant restenosis (>50 % lumen narrowing) in the PTA region during the 24-month follow-up period. High residual collagen-induced platelet reactivity defined as AUC >30 was a significant predictor for the development of restenosis [adjusted odds ratio 11.8 (9.4, 14.2); P = .04].ConclusionsHigh residual collagen-induced platelet reactivity at the interventional site predicts development of restenosis after PTA of the SFA. Platelet function testing may be useful for identifying patients at risk.

Prediction of resource volumes at untested locations using simple local prediction models

Science.gov (United States)

Attanasi, E.D.; Coburn, T.C.; Freeman, P.A.

2006-01-01

This paper shows how local spatial nonparametric prediction models can be applied to estimate volumes of recoverable gas resources at individual undrilled sites, at multiple sites on a regional scale, and to compute confidence bounds for regional volumes based on the distribution of those estimates. An approach that combines cross-validation, the jackknife, and bootstrap procedures is used to accomplish this task. Simulation experiments show that cross-validation can be applied beneficially to select an appropriate prediction model. The cross-validation procedure worked well for a wide range of different states of nature and levels of information. Jackknife procedures are used to compute individual prediction estimation errors at undrilled locations. The jackknife replicates also are used with a bootstrap resampling procedure to compute confidence bounds for the total volume. The method was applied to data (partitioned into a training set and target set) from the Devonian Antrim Shale continuous-type gas play in the Michigan Basin in Otsego County, Michigan. The analysis showed that the model estimate of total recoverable volumes at prediction sites is within 4 percent of the total observed volume. The model predictions also provide frequency distributions of the cell volumes at the production unit scale. Such distributions are the basis for subsequent economic analyses. ?? Springer Science+Business Media, LLC 2007.

The mining of toxin-like polypeptides from EST database by single residue distribution analysis.

Science.gov (United States)

Kozlov, Sergey; Grishin, Eugene

2011-01-31

Novel high throughput sequencing technologies require permanent development of bioinformatics data processing methods. Among them, rapid and reliable identification of encoded proteins plays a pivotal role. To search for particular protein families, the amino acid sequence motifs suitable for selective screening of nucleotide sequence databases may be used. In this work, we suggest a novel method for simplified representation of protein amino acid sequences named Single Residue Distribution Analysis, which is applicable both for homology search and database screening. Using the procedure developed, a search for amino acid sequence motifs in sea anemone polypeptides was performed, and 14 different motifs with broad and low specificity were discriminated. The adequacy of motifs for mining toxin-like sequences was confirmed by their ability to identify 100% toxin-like anemone polypeptides in the reference polypeptide database. The employment of novel motifs for the search of polypeptide toxins in Anemonia viridis EST dataset allowed us to identify 89 putative toxin precursors. The translated and modified ESTs were scanned using a special algorithm. In addition to direct comparison with the motifs developed, the putative signal peptides were predicted and homology with known structures was examined. The suggested method may be used to retrieve structures of interest from the EST databases using simple amino acid sequence motifs as templates. The efficiency of the procedure for directed search of polypeptides is higher than that of most currently used methods. Analysis of 39939 ESTs of sea anemone Anemonia viridis resulted in identification of five protein precursors of earlier described toxins, discovery of 43 novel polypeptide toxins, and prediction of 39 putative polypeptide toxin sequences. In addition, two precursors of novel peptides presumably displaying neuronal function were disclosed.

Residue preference mapping of ligand fragments in the Protein Data Bank.

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Lirong; Xie, Zhaojun; Wipf, Peter; Xie, Xiang-Qun

2011-04-25

The interaction between small molecules and proteins is one of the major concerns for structure-based drug design because the principles of protein-ligand interactions and molecular recognition are not thoroughly understood. Fortunately, the analysis of protein-ligand complexes in the Protein Data Bank (PDB) enables unprecedented possibilities for new insights. Herein, we applied molecule-fragmentation algorithms to split the ligands extracted from PDB crystal structures into small fragments. Subsequently, we have developed a ligand fragment and residue preference mapping (LigFrag-RPM) algorithm to map the profiles of the interactions between these fragments and the 20 proteinogenic amino acid residues. A total of 4032 fragments were generated from 71 798 PDB ligands by a ring cleavage (RC) algorithm. Among these ligand fragments, 315 unique fragments were characterized with the corresponding fragment-residue interaction profiles by counting residues close to these fragments. The interaction profiles revealed that these fragments have specific preferences for certain types of residues. The applications of these interaction profiles were also explored and evaluated in case studies, showing great potential for the study of protein-ligand interactions and drug design. Our studies demonstrated that the fragment-residue interaction profiles generated from the PDB ligand fragments can be used to detect whether these fragments are in their favorable or unfavorable environments. The algorithm for a ligand fragment and residue preference mapping (LigFrag-RPM) developed here also has the potential to guide lead chemistry modifications as well as binding residues predictions.

Norepinephrine transporter function and desipramine: residual drug effects versus short-term regulation.

Science.gov (United States)

Ordway, Gregory A; Jia, Weihong; Li, Jing; Zhu, Meng-Yang; Mandela, Prashant; Pan, Jun

2005-04-30

Previous research has shown that exposure of norepinephrine transporter (NET)-expressing cells to desipramine (DMI) downregulates the norepinephrine transporter, although changes in the several transporter parameters do not demonstrate the same time course. Exposures to desipramine for effects of residual desipramine on norepinephrine transporter binding and uptake were re-evaluated following exposures of PC12 cells to desipramine using different methods to remove residual drug. Using a method that minimizes residual drug, exposure of intact PC12 cells to desipramine for 4h had no effect on uptake capacity or [(3)H]nisoxetine binding to the norepinephrine transporter, while exposures for > or =16 h reduced uptake capacity. Desipramine-induced reductions in binding to the transporter required >24 h or greater periods of desipramine exposure. This study confirms that uptake capacity of the norepinephrine transporter is reduced earlier than changes in radioligand binding, but with a different time course than originally shown. Special pre-incubation procedures are required to abolish effects of residual transporter inhibitor when studying inhibitor-induced transporter regulation.

Multistep process to produce fermentable sugars and lignosulfonates from softwood enzymolysis residues

Science.gov (United States)

Yalan Liu; Jinwu Wang; Michael P. Wolcott

2016-01-01

The residual solids from enzymatic hydrolysis are usually burned to produce energy and have been explored as a feedstock for various products including activated carbon and lignin based polymers. These products require additional procedures unrelated to the existing biorefinery equipment. In the current study, we proposed successive sulfite treatments to utilize the...

Energy dependence of fusion evaporation-residue cross sections in the 28Si+12C reaction

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Vineyard, M.F.; Mateja, J.F.; Beck, C.; Atencio, S.E.; Dennis, L.C.; Frawley, A.D.; Henderson, D.J.; Janssens, R.V.F.; Kemper, K.W.; Kovar, D.G.; Maguire, C.F.; Padalino, S.J.; Prosser, F.W.; Stephans, G.S.F.; Tiede, M.A.; Wilkins, B.D.; Zingarelli, R.A.

1993-01-01

Fusion evaporation-residue cross sections for the 28 Si+ 12 C reaction have been measured in the energy range 18≤E c.m. ≤136 MeV using time-of-flight techniques. Velocity distributions of mass-identified reaction products were used to identify evaporation residues and to determine the complete-fusion cross sections at high energies. The data are in agreement with previously established systematics which indicate an entrance-channel mass-asymmetry dependence of the incomplete-fusion evaporation-residue process. The complete-fusion evaporation-residue cross sections and the deduced critical angular momenta are compared with earlier measurements and the predictions of existing models

Long-term residual radioactivity in an intermediate-energy proton linac

CERN Document Server

Blaha, J; Silari, M; Vollaire, J

2014-01-01

A new 160 MeV H−H− linear accelerator (LINAC4) is being installed at CERN to replace the present 50 MeV LINAC2 as proton injector of the PS Booster (PSB). During operation, the accelerator components will be activated by the beam itself and by the secondary radiation field. Detailed Monte Carlo simulations, for various beam energies and several decay times, were performed to predict the residual radioactivity in the main accelerator components and to estimate the residual dose rate inside the tunnel. The results of this study will facilitate future dismantling, handling and storage of the activated parts and consequently minimize the radiation dose to involved workers. The component activation was also compared with the exemption limits given in the current Swiss legislation and to the CERN design values, in order to make predictions for the future storage and disposal of radioactive waste. The airborne radioactivity induced by particles escaping the beam dump and the activation of the beam dump cooling w...

Radioprotection and management of radioactive residues study in the radiopharmaceuticals laboratories

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zidan, Priscila M.; Silva, Maria Isabel B. da

2002-01-01

The 123 I, used in the thyroid cancer diagnoses, is being used at several clinics of nuclear medicine, instead of 131 I. This last one, for presenting half-life 15 times bigger than the first one, causes larger doses to the patient and slower exams. Another subject is the management of the residues generated by radiopharmaceutical laboratories, which requests lager physical space, in the case of 131 I. In the present work, six radiopharmaceutical laboratories of the state of Rio de Janeiro were visited. All of them use the 131 I produced by the Nuclear Engineering Institute. In these visits radioprotection procedures and the management of residues of those laboratories were evaluated, as well as the available infrastructure

Residual strength evaluation of corroded pipelines with long defects based upon limit load analysis

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Chiodo, Mario S.G.; Ruggieri, Claudio [Universidade de Sao Paulo (USP), SP (Brazil). Dept. de Arquitetura Naval e Engenharia Oceanica

2009-07-01

Accurate evaluation of the residual strength for corroded pipes remains essential in fitness for service analyses, including repair decisions and life-extension programs, of onshore and offshore oil and gas transportation. As the pipeline infrastructure ages, material loss due to corrosion represents one of the main degradation factors of steel pipes which leads to strength reduction and potential catastrophic failures. Current high resolution methods can precisely measure the geometry of corrosion defects. Despite the improvement of those techniques, they are insufficient to ensure high levels of reliability in the burst pressure assessment because the recognized semi-empirical nature of conventional procedures. This work studies the applicability of a stress based criterion based upon plastic instability to predict the burst pressure of pipelines with axial corrosion defects. Verification studies based on experimental burst tests of large diameter pipes made of API X65 and X100 steels with different defect length showed the effectiveness of the proposed criterion based on {sigma}{sup ref} ={eta}{sigma}{sub u} in failure predictions, even though the {eta} factor exhibits a potential strong dependence of the defect geometry and material properties. In general, the results presented here provide an effective support to the ability of the proposed stress based criterion in the integrity assessment of corroded pipelines. (author)

Development of a General Modelling Methodology for Vacuum Residue Hydroconversion

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Pereira de Oliveira L.

2013-11-01

Full Text Available This work concerns the development of a methodology for kinetic modelling of refining processes, and more specifically for vacuum residue conversion. The proposed approach allows to overcome the lack of molecular detail of the petroleum fractions and to simulate the transformation of the feedstock molecules into effluent molecules by means of a two-step procedure. In the first step, a synthetic mixture of molecules representing the feedstock for the process is generated via a molecular reconstruction method, termed SR-REM molecular reconstruction. In the second step, a kinetic Monte-Carlo method (kMC is used to simulate the conversion reactions on this mixture of molecules. The molecular reconstruction was applied to several petroleum residues and is illustrated for an Athabasca (Canada vacuum residue. The kinetic Monte-Carlo method is then described in detail. In order to validate this stochastic approach, a lumped deterministic model for vacuum residue conversion was simulated using Gillespie’s Stochastic Simulation Algorithm. Despite the fact that both approaches are based on very different hypotheses, the stochastic simulation algorithm simulates the conversion reactions with the same accuracy as the deterministic approach. The full-scale stochastic simulation approach using molecular-level reaction pathways provides high amounts of detail on the effluent composition and is briefly illustrated for Athabasca VR hydrocracking.

In Silico Approach for Prediction of Antifungal Peptides

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Piyush Agrawal

2018-02-01

Full Text Available This paper describes in silico models developed using a wide range of peptide features for predicting antifungal peptides (AFPs. Our analyses indicate that certain types of residue (e.g., C, G, H, K, R, Y are more abundant in AFPs. The positional residue preference analysis reveals the prominence of the particular type of residues (e.g., R, V, K at N-terminus and a certain type of residues (e.g., C, H at C-terminus. In this study, models have been developed for predicting AFPs using a wide range of peptide features (like residue composition, binary profile, terminal residues. The support vector machine based model developed using compositional features of peptides achieved maximum accuracy of 88.78% on the training dataset and 83.33% on independent or validation dataset. Our model developed using binary patterns of terminal residues of peptides achieved maximum accuracy of 84.88% on training and 84.64% on validation dataset. We benchmark models developed in this study and existing methods on a dataset containing compositionally similar antifungal and non-AFPs. It was observed that binary based model developed in this study preforms better than any model/method. In order to facilitate scientific community, we developed a mobile app, standalone and a user-friendly web server ‘Antifp’ (http://webs.iiitd.edu.in/raghava/antifp.

A coupled creep plasticity model for residual stress relaxation of a shot-peened nickel-based superalloy

Science.gov (United States)

Buchanan, Dennis J.; John, Reji; Brockman, Robert A.; Rosenberger, Andrew H.

2010-01-01

Shot peening is a commonly used surface treatment process that imparts compressive residual stresses into the surface of metal components. Compressive residual stresses retard initiation and growth of fatigue cracks. During component loading history, shot-peened residual stresses may change due to thermal exposure, creep, and cyclic loading. In these instances, taking full credit for compressive residual stresses would result in a nonconservative life prediction. This article describes a methodical approach for characterizing and modeling residual stress relaxation under elevated temperature loading, near and above the monotonic yield strength of INI 00. The model incorporates the dominant creep deformation mechanism, coupling between the creep and plasticity models, and effects of prior plastic strain to simulate surface treatment deformation.

Reactivity study on thermal cracking of vacuum residues

Science.gov (United States)

León, A. Y.; Díaz, S. D.; Rodríguez, R. C.; Laverde, D.

2016-02-01

This study focused on the process reactivity of thermal cracking of vacuum residues from crude oils mixtures. The thermal cracking experiments were carried out under a nitrogen atmosphere at 120psi between 430 to 500°C for 20 minutes. Temperature conditions were established considering the maximum fractional conversion reported in tests of thermogravimetry performed in the temperature range of 25 to 600°C, with a constant heating rate of 5°C/min and a nitrogen flow rate of 50ml/min. The obtained products were separated in to gases, distillates and coke. The results indicate that the behaviour of thermal reactivity over the chemical composition is most prominent for the vacuum residues with higher content of asphaltenes, aromatics, and resins. Finally some correlations were obtained in order to predict the weight percentage of products from its physical and chemical properties such as CCR, SARA (saturates, aromatics, resins, asphaltenes) and density. The results provide new knowledge of the effect of temperature and the properties of vacuum residues in thermal conversion processes.

Stress-Softening and Residual Strain Effects in Suture Materials

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Alex Elías-Zúñiga

2013-01-01

Full Text Available This work focuses on the experimental characterization of suture material samples of MonoPlus, Monosyn, polyglycolic acid, polydioxanone 2–0, polydioxanone 4–0, poly(glycolide-co-epsilon-caprolactone, nylon, and polypropylene when subjected to cyclic loading and unloading conditions. It is found that all tested suture materials exhibit stress-softening and residual strain effects related to the microstructural material damage upon deformation from the natural, undistorted state of the virgin suture material. To predict experimental observations, a new constitutive material model that takes into account stress-softening and residual strain effects is developed. The basis of this model is the inclusion of a phenomenological nonmonotonous softening function that depends on the strain intensity between loading and unloading cycles. The theory is illustrated by modifying the non-Gaussian average-stretch, full-network model to capture stress-softening and residual strains by using pseudoelasticity concepts. It is shown that results obtained from theoretical simulations compare well with suture material experimental data.

Development of pipe wall thinning prediction software 'FALSET'

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yoneda, Kimitoshi; Morita, Ryo; Inada, Fumio; Fujiwara, Kazutoshi

2012-01-01

Pipe wall thinning in power plants has been managed for maintaining plant integrity and safety with great importance. The target thinning phenomena are Flow Accelerated Corrosion (FAC) and Liquid Droplet Impingement Erosion (LDI). At present, the management is based on thinning rate and residual lifetime evaluation using pipe wall thickness measurement results. For the future, more safety and improvement in the management is required, and in this sense, prediction method of wall thinning is willing to be introduced. Therefore, prediction model of FAC and LDI have been constructed in CRIEPI, and to utilize these models to actual plant piping management easily, prediction software 'FALSET' is developed. FALSET has equipped with essential function for pipe wall thinning management in power plants, as follows; (1) Information and condition input of plant piping system and its component, (2) Wall thinning rate evaluation with CRIEPI's FAC/LDI prediction model, (3) Loading of wall thickness measurement data files and graphics of data trend, (4) Residual lifetime evaluation considering both measured and predicted thinning rate, (5) Statistical process and graphics of thinning rate and residual lifetime for multi-piping systems. With further verification and improvement of each function, there will be a perspective for this FALSET to be utilized as a management tool in power plants. (author)