Multi-element determination in environmental samples by mass spectrometric isotope dilution analysis using thermal ionization. Pt. 2

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hilpert, K.; Waidmann, E.

1988-01-01

An analytical procedure for the multi-element analysis of the elements Fe, Ni, Cu, Zn, Ga, Rb, Sr, Cd, Ba, Tl, and Pb in pine needles by mass spectrometric isotope dilution analysis using thermal ionization has been reported in Part I of this paper. This procedure is now transferred to the non-vegetable material 'Oyster Tissue' (Standard Reference Material 1566, National Bureau of Standards, USA). By a modification of the analytical procedure, it was possible to determine Cr in this material in addition to the aforementioned elements. No concentrations are certified for the elements Ga, Ba and Tl analyzed in this work. The concentrations of the remaining elements obtained by the multi-element analysis agree well with those certified. (orig.)

Validation of multi-element isotope dilution ICPMS for the analysis of basalts

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Willbold, M.; Jochum, K.P.; Raczek, I.; Amini, M.A.; Stoll, B.; Hofmann, A.W. [Max-Planck-Institut fuer Chemie, Mainz (Germany)

2003-09-01

In this study we have validated a newly developed multi-element isotope dilution (ID) ICPMS method for the simultaneous analysis of up to 12 trace elements in geological samples. By evaluating the analytical uncertainty of individual components using certified reference materials we have quantified the overall analytical uncertainty of the multi-element ID ICPMS method at 1-2%. Individual components include sampling/weighing, purity of reagents, purity of spike solutions, calibration of spikes, determination of isotopic ratios, instrumental sources of error, correction of mass discrimination effect, values of constants, and operator bias. We have used the ID-determined trace elements for internal standardization to improve indirectly the analysis of 14 other (mainly mono-isotopic trace elements) by external calibration. The overall analytical uncertainty for those data is about 2-3%. In addition, we have analyzed USGS and MPI-DING geological reference materials (BHVO-1, BHVO-2, KL2-G, ML3B-G) to quantify the overall bias of the measurement procedure. Trace element analysis of geological reference materials yielded results that agree mostly within about 2-3% relative to the reference values. Since these results match the conclusions obtained by the investigation of the overall analytical uncertainty, we take this as a measure for the validity of multi-element ID ICPMS. (orig.)

Optimal acid digestion for multi-element analysis of different waste matrices

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Götze, Ramona; Astrup, Thomas Fruergaard

of the distinct waste materials and recyclables. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the performance of different standardized microwave assisted acid digestion methods on waste samples and subsequent multi-element analysis. Six acid digestion methods were applied on a Paper & Cardboard and Composite waste...

Sparse synthetic aperture with Fresnel elements (S-SAFE) using digital incoherent holograms

Science.gov (United States)

Kashter, Yuval; Rivenson, Yair; Stern, Adrian; Rosen, Joseph

2015-01-01

Creating a large-scale synthetic aperture makes it possible to break the resolution boundaries dictated by the wave nature of light of common optical systems. However, their implementation is challenging, since the generation of a large size continuous mosaic synthetic aperture composed of many patterns is complicated in terms of both phase matching and time-multiplexing duration. In this study we present an advanced configuration for an incoherent holographic imaging system with super resolution qualities that creates a partial synthetic aperture. The new system, termed sparse synthetic aperture with Fresnel elements (S-SAFE), enables significantly decreasing the number of the recorded elements, and it is free from positional constrains on their location. Additionally, in order to obtain the best image quality we propose an optimal mosaicking structure derived on the basis of physical and numerical considerations, and introduce three reconstruction approaches which are compared and discussed. The super-resolution capabilities of the proposed scheme and its limitations are analyzed, numerically simulated and experimentally demonstrated. PMID:26367947

Multi element synthetic aperture transmission using a frequency division approach

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Gran, Fredrik; Jensen, Jørgen Arendt

2003-01-01

transmitted into the tissue is low. This paper describes a novel method in which the available spectrum is divided into 2N overlapping subbands. This will assure a smooth broadband high resolution spectrum when combined. The signals are grouped into two subsets in which all signals are fully orthogonal...... can therefore be used for flow imaging, unlike with Hadamard and Golay coding. The frequency division approach increases the SNR by a factor of N2 compared to conventional pulsed synthetic aperture imaging, provided that N transmission centers are used. Simulations and phantom measurements...

Multi-element proportional counter for radiation protection measurements

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kliauga, P.; Rossi, H.H.; Johnson, G.

1988-01-01

This article discusses design modifications of a multi-element proportional counter. The original counter exhibited poor resolution, as measured by the width of the event-size spectrum for low-energy photons. It was also suspected that the field inside each volume was not sufficiently symmetric. Results of the modifications showed that a dramatic improvement in resolution could be obtained in the chamber with tissue-equivalent septa if their potentials were adjusted to obtain optimal resolution. The full width at half maximum then approached, although it did not equal, that of a standard spherical counter

Efficiency Evaluation of Food Waste Materials for the Removal of Metals and Metalloids from Complex Multi-Element Solutions.

Science.gov (United States)

Massimi, Lorenzo; Giuliano, Antonella; Astolfi, Maria Luisa; Congedo, Rossana; Masotti, Andrea; Canepari, Silvia

2018-02-26

Recent studies have shown the potential of food waste materials as low cost adsorbents for the removal of heavy metals and toxic elements from wastewater. However, the adsorption experiments have been performed in heterogeneous conditions, consequently it is difficult to compare the efficiency of the individual adsorbents. In this study, the adsorption capacities of 12 food waste materials were evaluated by comparing the adsorbents' efficiency for the removal of 23 elements from complex multi-element solutions, maintaining homogeneous experimental conditions. The examined materials resulted to be extremely efficient for the adsorption of many elements from synthetic multi-element solutions as well as from a heavy metal wastewater. The 12 adsorbent surfaces were analyzed by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and showed different types and amounts of functional groups, which demonstrated to act as adsorption active sites for various elements. By multivariate statistical computations of the obtained data, the 12 food waste materials were grouped in five clusters characterized by different elements' removal efficiency which resulted to be in correlation with the specific adsorbents' chemical structures. Banana peel, watermelon peel and grape waste resulted the least selective and the most efficient food waste materials for the removal of most of the elements.

Synthetic aperture ultrasound Fourier beamformation using virtual sources

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Moghimirad, Elahe; Villagómez Hoyos, Carlos Armando; Mahloojifar, Ali

2016-01-01

An efficient Fourier beamformation algorithm is presented for multistatic synthetic aperture ultrasound imaging using virtual sources (FBV). The concept is based on the frequency domain wavenumber algorithm from radar and sonar and is extended to a multi-element transmit/receive configuration using...

Efficiency Evaluation of Food Waste Materials for the Removal of Metals and Metalloids from Complex Multi-Element Solutions

Science.gov (United States)

Giuliano, Antonella; Astolfi, Maria Luisa; Congedo, Rossana; Masotti, Andrea; Canepari, Silvia

2018-01-01

Recent studies have shown the potential of food waste materials as low cost adsorbents for the removal of heavy metals and toxic elements from wastewater. However, the adsorption experiments have been performed in heterogeneous conditions, consequently it is difficult to compare the efficiency of the individual adsorbents. In this study, the adsorption capacities of 12 food waste materials were evaluated by comparing the adsorbents’ efficiency for the removal of 23 elements from complex multi-element solutions, maintaining homogeneous experimental conditions. The examined materials resulted to be extremely efficient for the adsorption of many elements from synthetic multi-element solutions as well as from a heavy metal wastewater. The 12 adsorbent surfaces were analyzed by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and showed different types and amounts of functional groups, which demonstrated to act as adsorption active sites for various elements. By multivariate statistical computations of the obtained data, the 12 food waste materials were grouped in five clusters characterized by different elements’ removal efficiency which resulted to be in correlation with the specific adsorbents’ chemical structures. Banana peel, watermelon peel and grape waste resulted the least selective and the most efficient food waste materials for the removal of most of the elements. PMID:29495363

Efficiency Evaluation of Food Waste Materials for the Removal of Metals and Metalloids from Complex Multi-Element Solutions

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Lorenzo Massimi

2018-02-01

Full Text Available Recent studies have shown the potential of food waste materials as low cost adsorbents for the removal of heavy metals and toxic elements from wastewater. However, the adsorption experiments have been performed in heterogeneous conditions, consequently it is difficult to compare the efficiency of the individual adsorbents. In this study, the adsorption capacities of 12 food waste materials were evaluated by comparing the adsorbents’ efficiency for the removal of 23 elements from complex multi-element solutions, maintaining homogeneous experimental conditions. The examined materials resulted to be extremely efficient for the adsorption of many elements from synthetic multi-element solutions as well as from a heavy metal wastewater. The 12 adsorbent surfaces were analyzed by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and showed different types and amounts of functional groups, which demonstrated to act as adsorption active sites for various elements. By multivariate statistical computations of the obtained data, the 12 food waste materials were grouped in five clusters characterized by different elements’ removal efficiency which resulted to be in correlation with the specific adsorbents’ chemical structures. Banana peel, watermelon peel and grape waste resulted the least selective and the most efficient food waste materials for the removal of most of the elements.

Development of synthetic graphite resistive elements for sintering furnace

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Otani, C.; Rezende, Mirabel C.; Polidoro, H.A.; Otani, S.

1987-01-01

The synthetic graphites have been produced using lignin coke, natural graphite and phenolic resin. The bulk density, porosity, flexural strength and eletrical resistivity measurements have been performed on specimens at about 2400 0 C. The performance of these materials, as heating elements, was evaluated in a sintering furnace prototype. This paper reports the fabrication process and the experimental results. (Author) [pt

Non-destructive alpha-particle activation analysis of P, Cl, K and Ca in marine macro-alga samples using synthetic multielement reference material as comparative standard

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Iwata, Y.; Naitoh, H.; Suzuki, N.

1992-01-01

A Synthetic Reference Material (SyRM) composed with accurately known amounts of 12 elements has been prepared. The elemental composition of the SyRM is closely similar to that of marine macro-algae sample. The elemental composition of the SyRM was regulated by the starting materials used for the synthesis. The SyRM was used as a comparative standard for non-destructive alpha-particle activation analysis of marine macro-alga samples. P, Cl, K and Ca were determined simultaneously without correction for alpha range due to difference in the elemental composition between the analytical samples and the comparative standard. (author) 19 refs.; 4 tabs

Development of advanced, non-toxic, synthetic radiation shielding aggregate

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Mudgal, Manish; Chouhan, Ramesh Kumar; Verma, Sarika; Amritphale, Sudhir Sitaram; Das, Satyabrata [CSIR-Advanced Materials and Processes Research Institute, Bhopal (India); Shrivastva, Arvind [Nuclear Power Corporation of India Ltd. (NPCIL), Mumbai (India)

2018-04-01

For the first time in the world, the capability of red mud waste has been explored for the development of advanced synthetic radiation shielding aggregate. Red mud, an aluminium industry waste consists of multi component, multi elemental characteristics. In this study, red mud from two different sources have been utilized. Chemical formulation and mineralogical designing of the red mud has been done by ceramic processing using appropriate reducing agent and additives. The chemical analysis, SEM microphotographs and XRD analysis confirms the presence of multi-component, multi shielding and multi-layered phases in both the different developed advance synthetic radiation shielding aggregate. The mechanical properties, namely aggregate impact value, aggregate crushing value and aggregate abrasion value have also been evaluated and was compared with hematite ore aggregate and found to be an excellent material useful for making advanced radiation shielding concrete for the construction of nuclear power plants and other radiation installations.

Spectral response of multi-element silicon detectors

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ludewigt, B.A.; Rossington, C.S.; Chapman, K. [Univ. of California, Berkeley, CA (United States)

1997-04-01

Multi-element silicon strip detectors, in conjunction with integrated circuit pulse-processing electronics, offer an attractive alternative to conventional lithium-drifted silicon Si(Li) and high purity germanium detectors (HPGe) for high count rate, low noise synchrotron x-ray fluorescence applications. One of the major differences between the segmented Si detectors and the commercially available single-element Si(Li) or HPGe detectors is that hundreds of elements can be fabricated on a single Si substrate using standard silicon processing technologies. The segmentation of the detector substrate into many small elements results in very low noise performance at or near, room temperature, and the count rate of the detector is increased many-fold due to the multiplication in the total number of detectors. Traditionally, a single channel of detector with electronics can handle {approximately}100 kHz count rates while maintaining good energy resolution; the segmented detectors can operate at greater than MHz count rates merely due to the multiplication in the number of channels. One of the most critical aspects in the development of the segmented detectors is characterizing the charge sharing and charge loss that occur between the individual detector strips, and determining how these affect the spectral response of the detectors.

Extended depth of field integral imaging using multi-focus fusion

Science.gov (United States)

Piao, Yongri; Zhang, Miao; Wang, Xiaohui; Li, Peihua

2018-03-01

In this paper, we propose a new method for depth of field extension in integral imaging by realizing the image fusion method on the multi-focus elemental images. In the proposed method, a camera is translated on a 2D grid to take multi-focus elemental images by sweeping the focus plane across the scene. Simply applying an image fusion method on the elemental images holding rich parallax information does not work effectively because registration accuracy of images is the prerequisite for image fusion. To solve this problem an elemental image generalization method is proposed. The aim of this generalization process is to geometrically align the objects in all elemental images so that the correct regions of multi-focus elemental images can be exacted. The all-in focus elemental images are then generated by fusing the generalized elemental images using the block based fusion method. The experimental results demonstrate that the depth of field of synthetic aperture integral imaging system has been extended by realizing the generation method combined with the image fusion on multi-focus elemental images in synthetic aperture integral imaging system.

Simultaneous multi-element analysis of some edible pulses using neutron activation analysis

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

El-Sweify, F.H.; Metwally, E.; Abdel-Khalik, H.

2007-01-01

This paper comprises the application of instrumental neutron activation analysis (INAA) for multi-element determination in some edible pulse samples. These edible pulses are usually daily used in the Egyptian kitchen. These were: anise, cumin, coriander, caraway, black cumin, white kidney bean, lupine, lentil, chickpea, broad bean, peanut, almond, and fenugreek. The pulses have been analyzed as dehulled pulses, in the case of legume and oil pulses with simultaneous analysis of their respective skins. The determined elements were: Ce, Co, Cr, Cs, Eu, Fe, Hf, Rb, Sb, Sc, Sr, Th and Zn. The element content in the dehulled pulses and their respective skins has been compared. Some elements were major or minor elements where others were trace elements. Standard reference materials were used to assure quality control, accuracy and precision of the technique. (author)

Wideband multi-element Er-doped fiber amplifier

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Thipparapu, N K; Jain, S; May-Smith, T C; Sahu, J K

2014-01-01

A multi-element Er-doped fiber amplifier (MEEDFA) is demonstrated in which the gain profile is extended into the S and L bands. Each fiber element of the MEEDFA is found to provide a maximum gain of 37 dB and a noise figure of < 4 dB in the C-band. The gain profile of the amplifier is shifted towards longer wavelength by cascading fiber elements. The novel geometry of the multi-element fiber (MEF) could allow for the development of a broadband amplifier in a split-band configuration. The proposed amplifier can operate in the wavelength band of 1520 to 1595 nm (75 nm), with a minimum gain of 20 dB. (letter)

Preparation of synthetic standard minerals

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Herrick, C.C.; Bustamante, S.J.; Charls, R.W.; Cowan, R.E.; Hakkila, E.A.; Hull, D.E.; Olinger, B.W.; Roof, R.B.; Sheinberg, H.; Herrick, G.C.

1978-01-01

A number of techniques for synthetic mineral preparations have been examined. These techniques include hot-pressing in graphite dies at moderate pressures, high-pressure, high-temperature synthesis in a piston and cylinder apparatus, isostatic pressing under helium gas pressures, hydrous mineral preparations using water as the pressure medium, explosion-generated shock waves, and radiofrequency heating. Minerals suitable for equation-of-state studies (three-inch, high-density discs), for thermodynamic property determinations (low-density powders) and for microprobe standards (fusion-cast microbeads) have been prepared. Mechanical stress-strain calculations in the piston-cylinder apparatus have been initiated and their integration with thermal stress calculations is currently under investigation

Development of synthetic selfish elements based on modular nucleases in Drosophila melanogaster

OpenAIRE

Simoni, A; Siniscalchi, C; Chan, Y-S; Huen, DS; Russell, S; Windbichler, N; Crisanti, A

2014-01-01

Selfish genes are DNA elements that increase their rate of genetic transmission at the expense of other genes in the genome and can therefore quickly spread within a population. It has been suggested that selfish elements could be exploited to modify the genome of entire populations for medical and ecological applications. Here we report that transcription activator-like effector nuclease (TALEN) and zinc finger nuclease (ZFN) can be engineered into site-specific synthetic selfish elements (S...

Extracting Synthetic Multi-Cluster Platform Configurations from Grid'5000 for Driving Simulation Experiments

OpenAIRE

Suter , Frédéric; Casanova , Henri

2007-01-01

This report presents a collection of synthetic but realistic distributed computing platform configurations. These configurations are intended for simulation experiments in the study of parallel applications on multi-cluster platforms.

Multi-elemental analysis of aqueous geological samples by inductively coupled plasma-optical emission spectrometry

Science.gov (United States)

Todorov, Todor I.; Wolf, Ruth E.; Adams, Monique

2014-01-01

Typically, 27 major, minor, and trace elements are determined in natural waters, acid mine drainage, extraction fluids, and leachates of geological and environmental samples by inductively coupled plasma-optical emission spectrometry (ICP-OES). At the discretion of the analyst, additional elements may be determined after suitable method modifications and performance data are established. Samples are preserved in 1–2 percent nitric acid (HNO3) at sample collection or as soon as possible after collection. The aqueous samples are aspirated into the ICP-OES discharge, where the elemental emission signals are measured simultaneously for 27 elements. Calibration is performed with a series of matrix-matched, multi-element solution standards.

Multi-element analysis of emeralds and associated rocks by k0 neutron activation analysis

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Acharya, R.N.; Mondal, R.K.; Burte, P.P.; Nair, A.G.C.; Reddy, N.B.Y.; Reddy, L.K.; Reddy, A.V.R.; Manohar, S.B.

2000-01-01

Multi-element analysis was carried out in natural emeralds, their associated rocks and one sample of beryl obtained from Rajasthan, India. The concentrations of 21 elements were assayed by Instrumental Neutron Activation Analysis using the k 0 method (k 0 INAA method) and high-resolution gamma ray spectrometry. The data reveal the segregation of some elements from associated (trapped and host) rocks to the mineral beryl forming the gemstones. A reference rock standard of the US Geological Survey (USGS BCR-1) was also analysed as a control of the method

Multi-bits memory cell using degenerated magnetic states in a synthetic antiferromagnetic reference layer

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Fukushima, Akio; Yakushiji, Kay; Konoto, Makoto; Kubota, Hitoshi; Imamura, Hiroshi; Yuasa, Shinji

2016-01-01

We newly developed a magnetic memory cell having multi-bit function. The memory cell composed of a perpendicularly magnetized magnetic tunnel junction (MB-pMTJ) and a synthetic antiferromagnetic reference layer. The multi-bit function is realized by combining the freedom of states of the magnetic free layer and that in the antiferromagnetically coupled reference layer. The structure of the reference layer is (FeB/Ta/[Co/Pt]_3)/Ru/([Co/Pt]_6); the top and the bottom layers are coupled through Ru layer where the reference layer has two degrees of freedom of a head-to-head and a bottom-to-bottom magnetic configuration. A four-state memory cell is realized by combination of both degrees of freedom. The states in the reference layer however is hardly detected by the total resistance of MB-pMTJ, because the magnetoresistance effect in the reference layer is negligibly small. That implies that the resistance values for the different states in the reference layer are degenerated. On the other hand, the two different states in the reference layer bring different stray fields to the free layer, which generate two different minor loop with different switching fields. Therefore, the magnetic states in the reference layer can be differentiated by the two-step reading, before and after applying the appropriately pulsed magnetic field which can identify the initial state in the reference layer. This method is similar to distinguishing different magnetic states in an in-plane magnetized spin-valve element. We demonstrated that four different states in the MB-pMTJ can be distinguished by the two-step read-out. The important feature of the two-step reading is a practically large operation margins (large resistance change in reading) which is equal to that of a single MTJ. Even though the two-step reading is a destructive method by which 50% of the magnetic state is changed, this MB-pMTJ is promising for high density non-volatile memory cell with a minor cost of operation speed

Transuranium elements leaching from simulated HLW glasses in synthetic interstitial claywater

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wang, L.

1992-08-01

The main objective of this Master Thesis is to measure the steady-state concentrations of Pu, Np, and Am upon the leaching of High-Level Waste Glass in two types of synthetic claywater: humic acid free and humic acid containing synthetic claywater. The synthetic claywater has a composition that is representative for the in-situ interstitial groundwater of the Boom clay formation, a potential geological repository of radioactive waste in Belgium. The steady-state concentrations of transuranium elements were measured by leaching experiments with a typical duration of 400 days. Five main conclusions are drawn from the experimental data. (1) The transuranium elements that are released from simulated High Level Waste Glass are dominantly present in the synthetic claywater solutions as colloids. These colloids are smaller than 2 nm in absence of humic acids. In the presence of humic acids however, the colloids interact with actinides (adsorb or coagulate) and form particles larger than 2 nm. Np and Am are associated with inorganic and organic colloids in the synthetic interstitial claywater solution whereas Pu forms only inorganic colloids. (2) The steady-state concentration of Pu is in good agreement with the solubility of the Pu compound PuO 2 .xH 2 O. It is therefore concluded that PuO 2 .xH 2 O is the solubility controlling phase. (3) The Pu(IV)-species are dominant in the leaching solutions. Carbonate and humic acid complexes are negligible. (4) The steady-state concentrations of Np and Am in leaching solutions were much lower than the values calculated on the basis of known thermodynamic data. This indicates that the solubility controlling phases for Np and Am were not correctly identified or that the measured Np and Am concentrations were not steady-state values. (5) Non-active glass leaching tests have indicated that no organic colloids were formed as a result of glass dissolution. (A.S.)

Multi-element analysis of emeralds and associated rocks by k{sub 0} neutron activation analysis

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Acharya, R.N.; Mondal, R.K.; Burte, P.P.; Nair, A.G.C.; Reddy, N.B.Y.; Reddy, L.K.; Reddy, A.V.R.; Manohar, S.B

2000-12-15

Multi-element analysis was carried out in natural emeralds, their associated rocks and one sample of beryl obtained from Rajasthan, India. The concentrations of 21 elements were assayed by Instrumental Neutron Activation Analysis using the k{sub 0} method (k{sub 0} INAA method) and high-resolution gamma ray spectrometry. The data reveal the segregation of some elements from associated (trapped and host) rocks to the mineral beryl forming the gemstones. A reference rock standard of the US Geological Survey (USGS BCR-1) was also analysed as a control of the method.

Synthetic Aperture Sequential Beamforming implemented on multi-core platforms

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Kjeldsen, Thomas; Lassen, Lee; Hemmsen, Martin Christian

2014-01-01

This paper compares several computational ap- proaches to Synthetic Aperture Sequential Beamforming (SASB) targeting consumer level parallel processors such as multi-core CPUs and GPUs. The proposed implementations demonstrate that ultrasound imaging using SASB can be executed in real- time with ...... per second) on an Intel Core i7 2600 CPU with an AMD HD7850 and a NVIDIA GTX680 GPU. The fastest CPU and GPU implementations use 14% and 1.3% of the real-time budget of 62 ms/frame, respectively. The maximum achieved processing rate is 1265 frames/s....

Multi-element analysis for environmental characterization and its future trends

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sansoni, B.

1987-04-01

Before starting to characterize the environment by its elemental composition, it may be useful to ask about the objective of these efforts. This includes questions about the scope of environmental protection, the definition of the environment and the limitations of its characterization by elemental composition alone. In the second part of this lecture, examples are given of the elemental composition of well analysed samples from the atmosphere, hydrosphere, lithosphere and biosphere. The third part introduces the principle of multi-element analysis and the fourth part gives examples. Finally, future aspects of modern chemical analysis are outlined with respect to the multi-element principle. (orig.)

Standardization of a PIGE methodology for simultaneous quantification of low Z elements in barium borosilicate glass samples

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chhillar, S.; Acharya, R.; Dasari, K.B.; Pujari, P.K.; Mishra, R.K.; Kaushik, C.P.

2013-01-01

In order to standardize particle induced gamma-ray emission (PIGE) methodology for simultaneous quantification of light elements, analytical sensitivities of Li, F, B, Na, Al and Si were evaluated using 4 MeV proton beam ( ∼ 10 nA current) using 3 MV Pelletron at IOP, Bhubaneswar. The PIGE method was validated by determining all six elements in a synthetic sample in graphite matrix and applied to two barium borosilicate glass (BaBSG) samples. The prompt γ-rays emitted from inelastic scattering or nuclear reactions of corresponding isotopes were measured using a 60% HPGe coupled to MCA and the current normalized count rates were used for concentration calculation. (author)

Multi-element analysis of lubricant oil by WDXRF technique using thin-film sample preparation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Scapin, M. A.; Salvador, V. L. R.; Lopes, C. D.; Sato, I. M.

2006-01-01

The quantitative analysis of the chemical elements in matrices like oils or gels represents a challenge for the analytical chemists. The classics methods or instrumental techniques such as atomic absorption spectrometry (AAS) and plasma optical emission spectrometry (ICP-OES) need chemical treatments, mainly sample dissolution and degradation processes. X-ray fluorescence technique allows a direct and multi-element analysis without previous sample treatments. In this work, a sensible method for the determination of elements Mg, Al, Si, P, Ca, Ti, V, Cr, Mn, Fe, Ni, Cu, Zn, Mo, Ag, Sn, Ba and Pb in lubricating oil is presented. The x-ray fluorescence (WDXRF) technique using linear regression method and thin film sample preparation was used. The validation of the methodology (repeatability and accuracy) was obtained by the analysis of the standard reference materials SRM Alpha AESAR lot 703527D, applying the Chauvenet, Cochrane, ANOVA and Z-score statistical tests. The method presents a relative standard deviation lower than 10% for all the elements, except for Pb determination (RSD Pb 15%). The Z-score values for all the elements were in the range -2 < Z < 2, indicating a very good accuracy.(Full text)

The synthetic elements

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Hoffman, D.C.

1990-05-01

Prior to 1940, the heaviest element known was uranium, discovered in 1789. Since that time the elements 93 through 109 have been synthesized and identified and the elements 43, 61, 85, and 87 which were missing form the periodic tables of the 1930's have been discovered. The techniques and problems involved in these discoveries and the placement of the transuranium elements in the periodic table will be discussed. The production and positive identification of elements heavier than Md (Z=101), which have very short half-lives and can only be produced an atom-at-a-time, are very difficult and there have been controversies concerning their discovery. Some of the new methods which have been developed and used in these studies will be described. The prospects for production of still heavier elements will be considered.

The synthetic elements

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hoffman, D.C.

1990-05-01

Prior to 1940, the heaviest element known was uranium, discovered in 1789. Since that time the elements 93 through 109 have been synthesized and identified and the elements 43, 61, 85, and 87 which were missing form the periodic tables of the 1930's have been discovered. The techniques and problems involved in these discoveries and the placement of the transuranium elements in the periodic table will be discussed. The production and positive identification of elements heavier than Md (Z=101), which have very short half-lives and can only be produced an atom-at-a-time, are very difficult and there have been controversies concerning their discovery. Some of the new methods which have been developed and used in these studies will be described. The prospects for production of still heavier elements will be considered

Comparison of natural organic acids and synthetic chelates at enhancing phytoextraction of metals from a multi-metal contaminated soil

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Clistenes do Nascimento, Williams A.; Amarasiriwardena, Dula; Xing, Baoshan

2006-01-01

Chemically assisted phytoremediation has been developing to induce accumulation of metals by high biomass plants. Synthetic chelates have shown high effectiveness to reach such a goal, but they pose serious drawbacks in field application due to the excessive amount of metals solubilized. We compared the performance of synthetic chelates with naturally occurring low molecular weight organic acids (LMWOA) in enhancing phytoextraction of metals by Indian mustard (Brassica juncea) from multi-metal contaminated soils. Gallic and citric acids were able to induce removal of Cd, Zn, Cu, and Ni from soil without increasing the leaching risk. Net removal of these metals caused by LMWOA can be as much as synthetic chelates. A major reason for this is the lower phytotoxicity of LMWOA. Furthermore, supplying appropriate mineral nutrients increased biomass and metal removal. - Organic acids can be as efficient as synthetic chelates for use in phytoextraction of multi-metal contaminated soils

Multi-element probabilistic collocation method in high dimensions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Foo, Jasmine; Karniadakis, George Em

2010-01-01

We combine multi-element polynomial chaos with analysis of variance (ANOVA) functional decomposition to enhance the convergence rate of polynomial chaos in high dimensions and in problems with low stochastic regularity. Specifically, we employ the multi-element probabilistic collocation method MEPCM and so we refer to the new method as MEPCM-A. We investigate the dependence of the convergence of MEPCM-A on two decomposition parameters, the polynomial order μ and the effective dimension ν, with ν<< N, and N the nominal dimension. Numerical tests for multi-dimensional integration and for stochastic elliptic problems suggest that ν≥μ for monotonic convergence of the method. We also employ MEPCM-A to obtain error bars for the piezometric head at the Hanford nuclear waste site under stochastic hydraulic conductivity conditions. Finally, we compare the cost of MEPCM-A against Monte Carlo in several hundred dimensions, and we find MEPCM-A to be more efficient for up to 600 dimensions for a specific multi-dimensional integration problem involving a discontinuous function.

In situ detection of a heat-shock regulatory element binding protein using a soluble short synthetic enhancer sequence

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Harel-Bellan, A; Brini, A T; Farrar, W L [National Cancer Institute, Frederick, MD (USA); Ferris, D K [Program Resources, Inc., Frederick, MD (USA); Robin, P [Institut Gustave Roussy, Villejuif (France)

1989-06-12

In various studies, enhancer binding proteins have been successfully absorbed out by competing sequences inserted into plasmids, resulting in the inhibition of the plasmid expression. Theoretically, such a result could be achieved using synthetic enhancer sequences not inserted into plasmids. In this study, a double stranded DNA sequence corresponding to the human heat shock regulatory element was chemically synthesized. By in vitro retardation assays, the synthetic sequence was shown to bind specifically a protein in extracts from the human T cell line Jurkat. When the synthetic enhancer was electroporated into Jurkat cells, not only the enhancer was shown to remain undegraded into the cells for up to 2 days, but also its was shown to bind intracellularly a protein. The binding was specific and was modulated upon heat shock. Furthermore, the binding protein was shown to be of the expected molecular weight by UV crosslinking. However, when the synthetic enhancer element was co-electroporated with an HSP 70-CAT reporter construct, the expression of the reporter plasmid was consistently enhanced in the presence of the exogenous synthetic enhancer.

Multi-elemental profile of some Brazilian make-up products by instrumental neutron activation analysis

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Dalmazio, Ilza; Menezes, Maria Angela de B.C., E-mail: id@cdtn.b, E-mail: menezes@cdtn.b [Centro de Desenvolvimento da Tecnologia Nuclear (CDTN/CNEN-MG), Belo Horizonte, MG (Brazil). Servico de Reator e Tecnicas Analiticas. Lab. de Ativacao Neutronica

2011-07-01

Recent works have shown that analysis in cosmetics and beauty products from the European and Asian markets indicate the presence of U, Th and rare earths besides other trace elements. Considering these previous findings and health issues, it would be valuable to obtain information on elements in cosmetics available in the Brazilian market. The purpose of this study was to acquire a multi-elemental profile of some Brazilian make-up products of diverse brands. Samples of eye shadow, liquid base, facial concealer, lipstick, and compact face powder were analyzed applying neutron activation analysis, k{sub 0}-standardization method at CDTN/CNEN, using the TRIGA Mark I IPR-R1 research reactor. Concentrations of more than 30 elements in samples are presented and it was found elements included in Brazilian National Health Surveillance Agency prohibitive list, rare earths, Th and U in a minimum of two cosmetic samples. (author)

Multi-elemental profile of some Brazilian make-up products by instrumental neutron activation analysis

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Dalmazio, Ilza; Menezes, Maria Angela de B.C.

2011-01-01

Recent works have shown that analysis in cosmetics and beauty products from the European and Asian markets indicate the presence of U, Th and rare earths besides other trace elements. Considering these previous findings and health issues, it would be valuable to obtain information on elements in cosmetics available in the Brazilian market. The purpose of this study was to acquire a multi-elemental profile of some Brazilian make-up products of diverse brands. Samples of eye shadow, liquid base, facial concealer, lipstick, and compact face powder were analyzed applying neutron activation analysis, k 0 -standardization method at CDTN/CNEN, using the TRIGA Mark I IPR-R1 research reactor. Concentrations of more than 30 elements in samples are presented and it was found elements included in Brazilian National Health Surveillance Agency prohibitive list, rare earths, Th and U in a minimum of two cosmetic samples. (author)

Integrated Process Design and Control of Multi-element Reactive Distillation Processes

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Mansouri, Seyed Soheil; Sales-Cruz, Mauricio; Huusom, Jakob Kjøbsted

2016-01-01

In this work, integrated process design and control of reactive distillation processes involving multi-elements is presented. The reactive distillation column is designed using methods and tools which are similar in concept to non-reactive distillation design methods, such as driving force approach....... The methods employed in this work are based on equivalent element concept. This concept facilitates the representation of a multi-element reactive system as equivalent binary light and heavy key elements. First, the reactive distillation column is designed at the maximum driving force where through steady...

Determination of multi-element in marine sediment samples collected in Angola by the k0-NAA technique

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Teixeira, M.C.P.; Ho Manh Dung; Cao Dong Vu; Nguyen Thi Sy; Nguyen Thanh Binh; Vuong Huu Tan

2006-01-01

The marine sediment samples were designed to collect in Angola for marine environmental pollution study. The k 0 -standardization method of neutron activation analysis (k 0 -NAA) on Dalat research reactor has been developed to determine of multi-element in the Angola marine sediment samples. The samples were irradiated in cell 7-1 for short- and middle-lived nuclides and rotary specimen rack for long-lived nuclides. The irradiation facilities were characterized for neutron spectrum parameters and post-activated samples were measured on the calibrated gamma-ray spectrometers using HPGe detectors. The analytical results for 9 marine sediment samples with 27 elements: Al, As, Br, Ca, Ce,Cl, Co, Cs, Dy, Fe, Hf, I, K, Mg, Mn, Na, Rb, Sb, Sc, Se, Sm, Th, Ti, U, V and Zn in term of mean concentration, standard deviation and their content range are shown in the report. The analytical quality assurance was done by analysis of a Japan's certified reference material namely marine sediment NMIJ-CRM-7302a. These preliminary results revealed that the k 0 -NAA technique on the Dalat research reactor is a good analytical technique for determination of multi-element in the marine sediment samples. Some heavy metals and trace elements determined in this work possibly connected to the human activities at the sampling region. (author)

Specifications of Standards in Systems and Synthetic Biology: Status and Developments in 2016

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Schreiber Falk

2016-09-01

Full Text Available Standards are essential to the advancement of science and technology. In systems and synthetic biology, numerous standards and associated tools have been developed over the last 16 years. This special issue of the Journal of Integrative Bioinformatics aims to support the exchange, distribution and archiving of these standards, as well as to provide centralised and easily citable access to them.

Space Synthetic Biology Project

Science.gov (United States)

Howard, David; Roman, Monsi; Mansell, James (Matt)

2015-01-01

Synthetic biology is an effort to make genetic engineering more useful by standardizing sections of genetic code. By standardizing genetic components, biological engineering will become much more similar to traditional fields of engineering, in which well-defined components and subsystems are readily available in markets. Specifications of the behavior of those components and subsystems can be used to model a system which incorporates them. Then, the behavior of the novel system can be simulated and optimized. Finally, the components and subsystems can be purchased and assembled to create the optimized system, which most often will exhibit behavior similar to that indicated by the model. The Space Synthetic Biology project began in 2012 as a multi-Center effort. The purpose of this project was to harness Synthetic Biology principals to enable NASA's missions. A central target for application was to Environmental Control & Life Support (ECLS). Engineers from NASA Marshall Space Flight Center's (MSFC's) ECLS Systems Development Branch (ES62) were brought into the project to contribute expertise in operational ECLS systems. Project lead scientists chose to pursue the development of bioelectrochemical technologies to spacecraft life support. Therefore, the ECLS element of the project became essentially an effort to develop a bioelectrochemical ECLS subsystem. Bioelectrochemical systems exploit the ability of many microorganisms to drive their metabolisms by direct or indirect utilization of electrical potential gradients. Whereas many microorganisms are capable of deriving the energy required for the processes of interest (such as carbon dioxide (CO2) fixation) from sunlight, it is believed that subsystems utilizing electrotrophs will exhibit smaller mass, volume, and power requirements than those that derive their energy from sunlight. In the first 2 years of the project, MSFC personnel conducted modeling, simulation, and conceptual design efforts to assist the

Multi-element analysis of unidentified fallen objects from Tatale in ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

A multi-element analysis has been carried out on two fallen objects, # 01 and # 02, using instrumental neutron activation analysis technique. A total of 17 elements were identified in object # 01 while 21 elements were found in object # 02. The two major elements in object # 01 were Fe and Mg, which together constitute ...

Specifications of Standards in Systems and Synthetic Biology: Status and Developments in 2017

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Schreiber Falk

2018-03-01

Full Text Available Standards are essential to the advancement of Systems and Synthetic Biology. COMBINE provides a formal body and a centralised platform to help develop and disseminate relevant standards and related resources. The regular special issue of the Journal of Integrative Bioinformatics aims to support the exchange, distribution and archiving of these standards by providing unified, easily citable access. This paper provides an overview of existing COMBINE standards and presents developments of the last year.

Use of CRM's as mutual calibrating materials and control of synthetic multielement standards as used in INAA

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rossbach, M.; Stoeppler, M.

1986-01-01

The comparability of analytical results from different laboratories requires accurately known concentrations in the applied standards. Dilution effects of different multielement synthetic standard solutions have been studied by measuring 10 - 12 different concentrations of the same solution. Peak area comparison of four Certified Reference Materials (CRM's) using one value for the evaluation of the other three repetitively led to the intercomparison (degree of compatibility) of the certified values. The idea of the preparation of each laboratory's ''secondary reference standard'' by comparison of synthetic multielement standards with as many CRM's as practically feasible is advocated to improve the reliability of analytical results. (author)

IPMA STANDARD ELEMENTS AND FEEDBACK IN PROJECT MANAGEMENT TEACHING

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

BARTOŠKA, Jan

2011-09-01

Full Text Available The paper proposes the concept of project management teaching including the International Project Management Association (IPMA standard. The concept of teaching is theoretical and derives from the notion of competence, which the IPMA standard is based on. The paper presents a brief description of the IPMA standard and endeavours to define the notion of competence. The competence is worked with in respect to hierarchical recognition. The proposed teaching concept works with the concepts of information, knowledge and skills. The teaching proposal stems from the structure and contents of the IPMA standard elements. Furthermore, the paper elaborates the issue of embedding the elements of the IPMA standard competences into training courses. In the article, the eye of the IPMA competences is further enhanced with possible training courses and specialist areas in which the standard elements can thematically be included. The paper states that the competence elements and training courses cross one another and overlap in a manifold way. The authors also propose a way which could verify into what extent the students have actually acquired taught IPMA competence elements. The paper contains the proposal of feedback quantification for the IPMA standard and project management teaching. The results of the paper can be used as a starting premise for future research. Both the verification proposal and the embedding of the elements into teaching are derived from on-going academic experience of the authors of the article.

Coulomb matrix elements in multi-orbital Hubbard models.

Science.gov (United States)

Bünemann, Jörg; Gebhard, Florian

2017-04-26

Coulomb matrix elements are needed in all studies in solid-state theory that are based on Hubbard-type multi-orbital models. Due to symmetries, the matrix elements are not independent. We determine a set of independent Coulomb parameters for a d-shell and an f-shell and all point groups with up to 16 elements (O h , O, T d , T h , D 6h , and D 4h ). Furthermore, we express all other matrix elements as a function of the independent Coulomb parameters. Apart from the solution of the general point-group problem we investigate in detail the spherical approximation and first-order corrections to the spherical approximation.

Multi Elemental Study Using Prompt Gamma Technique

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Normanshah Dahing; Muhamad Samudi Yasir; Normanshah Dahing; Hanafi Ithnin; Mohd Fitri Abdul Rahman; Hearie Hassan

2016-01-01

In this study, principle of prompt gamma neutron activation analysis has been used as a technique to determine the elements in the sample. The system consists of collimated isotopic neutron source, Cf-252 with HPGe detector and Multichannel Analysis (MCA). Concrete with size of 10x10x10 cm 3 and 15x15x15 cm 3 were analysed as sample. When neutrons enter and interact with elements in the concrete, the neutron capture reaction will occur and produce characteristic prompt gamma ray of the elements. The preliminary result of this study demonstrate the major element in the concrete was determined such as Si, Mg, Ca, Al, Fe and H as well as others element, such as Cl by analysis the gamma ray lines respectively. The results obtained were compared with computer simulation, NAA and XRF as a part of reference and validation. The potential and the capability of neutron induced prompt gamma as tool for multi elemental analysis qualitatively to identify the elements present in the concrete sample discussed. (author)

Use of CRM's as mutual calibrating materials and control of synthetic multielement standards as used in INAA

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rossbach, M.; Stoeppler, M.

1987-01-01

Dilution effects of different multielement synthetic standard solutions were studied by measuring 10-12 different concentrations of the same solution. Peak area comparison of four Certified Reference Materials (CRMs) using one value for the evaluation of the other three repetitively led to the intercomparison (degree of compatibility) of the certified values. The idea of the preparation of each laboratory's 'secondary reference standard' by comparison of synthetic multielement standards with as many CRMs as practically feasible is advocated to improve the reliability of analytical results. (author)

Progress in multi-element silicon detectors for synchrotron XRF applications

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ludewigt, B.; Rossington, C.; Kipnis, I.; Krieger, B.

1995-10-01

Multi-element silicon strip detectors, in conjunction with integrated circuit pulse-processing electronics, offer an attractive alternative to conventional lithium-drifted silicon and high purity germanium detectors for high count rate, low noise synchrotron x-ray fluorescence applications. We have been developing these types of detectors specifically for low noise synchrotron applications, such as extended x-ray absorption fine structure spectroscopy, microprobe x-ray fluorescence and total reflection x-ray fluorescence. The current version of the 192-element detector and integrated circuit preamplifier, cooled to -25 degrees C with a single-stage thermoelectric cooler, achieves an energy resolution of <200 eV full width of half maximum (FWHM) per channel (at 5.9 keV, 2 μs peaking time), and each detector element is designed to handle ∼20 kHz count rate. The detector system will soon be completed to 64 channels using new application specific integrated circuit (ASIC) amplifier chips, new CAMAC (Computer Automated Measurement and Control standard) analog-to-digital converters recently developed at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL), CAMAC histogramming modules, and Macintosh-based data acquisition software. We report on the characteristics of this detector system, and the work in progress towards the next generation system

XRF and TXRF techniques for multi-element determination of trace elements in whole blood and human hair samples

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Khuder, A.; Karjou, J.; Sawan, M.Kh.; Bakir, M.A.

2007-01-01

XRF and TXRF were established as useful techniques for multi-element analysis of whole blood and human head hair samples. Direct-XRF with different collimation units and different X-ray excitation modes was successfully used for the determination of S, P, K, Ca, Fe, and Br elements in blood samples and K, Ca, Mn, Fe elements in human hair samples. Direct analysis by TXRF was used for the determination of Rb and Sr in digested blood and human hair samples, respectively, while, the co-precipitation method using APDC for TXRF analysis was used for the determination of Ni, Cu, Zn, and Pb elements in both matrices. As a result, the improved XRF and TXRF methods were applied for multi-element determination of elements in whole blood and human hair samples in non-occupational exposed population living in Damascus city. The mean concentrations of analyzed elements in both matrices were on the reported range values for non-occupational population in other countries. (author)

XRF and TXRF techniques for multi-element determination of trace elements in whole blood and human hair samples

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Khuder, A.; Karjou, J.; Sawan, M.Kh.; Bakir, M.A.

2008-01-01

XRF and TXRF were established as useful techniques for multi-element analysis of whole blood and human head hair samples. Direct-XRF with different collimation units and different X-ray excitation modes was successfully used for the determination of S, P, K, Ca, Fe, and Br elements in blood samples and K, Ca, Mn, Fe elements in human hair samples. Direct analysis by TXRF was used for the determination of Rb and Sr in digested blood and human hair samples, respectively, while, the co-precipitation method using APDC for TXRF analysis was used for the determination of Ni, Cu, Zn, and Pb elements in both matrices. As a result, the improved XRF and TXRF methods were applied for multi-element determination of elements in whole blood and human hair samples in non-occupational exposed population living in Damascus city. The mean concentrations of analyzed elements in both matrices were on the reported range values for non-occupational population in other countries. (author)

Multi-element neutron activation analysis of biological tissues: contribution to the study of trace element accumulation as a function of aging

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gaudry, Andre.

1975-01-01

The accumulation of trace elements in various organs as a function of age was studied in rats, in connection with tissue aging phenomena. Part one reviews the various methods available to develop a programme of simultaneous multi-element analysis in biological matrices. Part two studies the precision and accuracy offered by neutron activation analysis. Special attention is paid to the problem of sample contamination by the silica glass irradiation supports. The possible causes of this effect are mentioned and a procedure limiting its harmful influence is proposed. Part three defines the restrictions introduced by the use of a method to separate the activable matrix. The fourth and last chapter describes the development of a multielement chemical separation system, designed to work semi-automatically for the simultaneous treatment of three samples and a standard in a shielded cell of small dimensions. The principles of a multi-comparator calibration where a knowledge of certain conventional but imprecise nuclear data is unnecessary owing to an experimental expedient are outlined briefly. Finally the separation method is tried out on various biological samples, including a reference (bovine liver SRM1577-NBS), and some results are given [fr

Clustering of samples and elements based on multi-variable chemical data

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Op de Beeck, J.

1984-01-01

Clustering and classification are defined in the context of multivariable chemical analysis data. Classical multi-variate techniques, commonly used to interpret such data, are shown to be based on probabilistic and geometrical principles which are not justified for analytical data, since in that case one assumes or expects a system of more or less systematically related objects (samples) as defined by measurements on more or less systematically interdependent variables (elements). For the specific analytical problem of data set concerning a large number of trace elements determined in a large number of samples, a deterministic cluster analysis can be used to develop the underlying classification structure. Three main steps can be distinguished: diagnostic evaluation and preprocessing of the raw input data; computation of a symmetric matrix with pairwise standardized dissimilarity values between all possible pairs of samples and/or elements; and ultrametric clustering strategy to produce the final classification as a dendrogram. The software packages designed to perform these tasks are discussed and final results are given. Conclusions are formulated concerning the dangers of using multivariate, clustering and classification software packages as a black-box

Multi-element quantification of ancient/historic glasses by laser ablation inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry using sum normalization calibration

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Elteren, Johannes T. van; Tennent, Norman H.; Selih, Vid S.

2009-01-01

Laser ablation inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (LA-ICP-MS) for quantitative analysis of ancient/historic glasses is subject to calibration issues which have been addressed in this work. Since ancient/historic glasses have widely ranging matrix compositions, a complementary analysis by an alternative method is generally employed to determine at least one major element which can be used as an internal standard. We demonstrate that such a complementary analysis is unnecessary using a so-called sum normalization calibration technique (mathematically formulated) by simultaneous measurement of 54 elements and normalizing them to 100% [w/w] based on their corresponding oxide concentrations. The crux of this approach is that by assuming a random internal standard concentration of a particular major oxide, e.g. SiO 2 , the normalization algorithm varies the internal standard concentration until the cumulated concentrations of all 54 elemental oxides reach 100% [w/w]. The fact that 54 elements are measured simultaneously predetermines the laser ablation mode to rastering. Nine glass standards, some replicating historic compositions, were used for calibration. The linearity of the calibration graphs (forced through the origin) represented by the relative standard deviations in the slope were between 0.1 and 6.6% using SiO 2 as an internal standard. This allows high-accuracy determination of elemental oxides as confirmed by good agreement between found and reported values for major and minor elemental oxides in some synthetic glasses with typical medieval composition (European Science Foundation 151 and 158). Also for trace elemental concentrations of lanthanides in a reference glass (P and H Developments Ltd. DLH7, a base glass composition with nominally 75 μg g -1 elements added) accurate data were obtained. Interferences from polyatomic species and doubly charged species on the masses of trace elements are possible, depending on the base composition of the

Determination of trace elements in standard reference materials by the ko-standardization method

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Smodis, B.; Jacimovic, R.; Stegnar, P.; Jovanovic, S.

1990-01-01

The k o -standardization method is suitable for routine multielement determinations by reactor neutron activation analysis (NAA). Investigation of NIST standard reference materials SRM 1571 Orchard Leaves, SRM 1572 Citrus leaves, and SRM 1573 Tomato Leaves showed the systematic error of 12 certified elements determined to be less than 8%. Thirty-four elements were determined in NIST proposed SRM 1515 Apple Leaves

Multi-Element Lean Direct Injection Combustor Module, Phase I

Data.gov (United States)

National Aeronautics and Space Administration — We propose to develop a Multi-Element Lean Direct Injection, ME-LDI, Combustion concept with the following innovative features: 1. Independent, mini burning zones...

Fabrication of synthetic diffractive elements using advanced matrix laser lithography

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Škeren, M; Svoboda, J; Kveton, M; Fiala, P

2013-01-01

In this paper we present a matrix laser writing device based on a demagnified projection of a micro-structure from a computer driven spatial light modulator. The device is capable of writing completely aperiodic micro-structures with resolution higher than 200 000 DPI. An optical system is combined with ultra high precision piezoelectric stages with an elementary step ∼ 4 nm. The device operates in a normal environment, which significantly decreases the costs compared to competitive technologies. Simultaneously, large areas can be exposed up to 100 cm2. The capabilities of the constructed device will be demonstrated on particular elements fabricated for real applications. The optical document security is the first interesting field, where the synthetic image holograms are often combined with sophisticated aperiodic micro-structures. The proposed technology can easily write simple micro-gratings creating the color and kinetic visual effects, but also the diffractive cryptograms, waveguide couplers, and other structures recently used in the field of optical security. A general beam shaping elements and special photonic micro-structures are another important applications which will be discussed in this paper.

Fabrication of synthetic diffractive elements using advanced matrix laser lithography

Science.gov (United States)

Škereň, M.; Svoboda, J.; Květoň, M.; Fiala, P.

2013-02-01

In this paper we present a matrix laser writing device based on a demagnified projection of a micro-structure from a computer driven spatial light modulator. The device is capable of writing completely aperiodic micro-structures with resolution higher than 200 000 DPI. An optical system is combined with ultra high precision piezoelectric stages with an elementary step ~ 4 nm. The device operates in a normal environment, which significantly decreases the costs compared to competitive technologies. Simultaneously, large areas can be exposed up to 100 cm2. The capabilities of the constructed device will be demonstrated on particular elements fabricated for real applications. The optical document security is the first interesting field, where the synthetic image holograms are often combined with sophisticated aperiodic micro-structures. The proposed technology can easily write simple micro-gratings creating the color and kinetic visual effects, but also the diffractive cryptograms, waveguide couplers, and other structures recently used in the field of optical security. A general beam shaping elements and special photonic micro-structures are another important applications which will be discussed in this paper.

Infinite elements for soil-structure interaction analysis in multi-layered halfspaces

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yun, Chung Bang; Kim, Jae Min; Yang, Shin Chu

1994-01-01

This paper presents the theoretical aspects of a computer code (KIESSI) for soil-structure interaction analysis in a multi-layered halfspace using infinite elements. The shape functions of the infinite elements are derived from approximate expressions of the analytical solutions. Three different infinite elements are developed. They are the horizontal, the vertical and the comer infinite elements (HIE, VIE and CIE). Numerical example analyses are presented for demonstrating the effectiveness of the proposed infinite elements

Dynamic configuration management of a multi-standard and multi-mode reconfigurable multi-ASIP architecture for turbo decoding

Science.gov (United States)

Lapotre, Vianney; Gogniat, Guy; Baghdadi, Amer; Diguet, Jean-Philippe

2017-12-01

The multiplication of connected devices goes along with a large variety of applications and traffic types needing diverse requirements. Accompanying this connectivity evolution, the last years have seen considerable evolutions of wireless communication standards in the domain of mobile telephone networks, local/wide wireless area networks, and Digital Video Broadcasting (DVB). In this context, intensive research has been conducted to provide flexible turbo decoder targeting high throughput, multi-mode, multi-standard, and power consumption efficiency. However, flexible turbo decoder implementations have not often considered dynamic reconfiguration issues in this context that requires high speed configuration switching. Starting from this assessment, this paper proposes the first solution that allows frame-by-frame run-time configuration management of a multi-processor turbo decoder without compromising the decoding performances.

STANDARD ATOMIC WEIGHT VALUES FOR THE MONONUCLIDIC ELEMENTS - 2001

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

HOLDEN, N.E.

2001-01-01

Atomic Mass Evaluations have had a major impact on the values of the atomic weights for the twenty mononuclidic elements plus two elements, Thorium and Protactinium, which have no stable nuclides but a characteristic terrestrial isotopic composition. This paper reviews the history of the atomic weight values of these elements in the years, since the reference mass standard changed from 16 O to 12 C. There is a problem for Thorium, which is considered to have an abundance value of 100%, but is not treated as such in the Standard Atomic Weights' Table. Recommendations for handling the Standard Atomic Weight values for 2001 are presented

Laser ablation-inductively coupled plasma-dynamic reaction cell-mass spectrometry for the multi-element analysis of polymers

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Resano, M.; Garcia-Ruiz, E.; Vanhaecke, F.

2005-01-01

In this work, the potential of laser ablation-inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry for the fast analysis of polymers has been explored. Different real-life samples (polyethylene shopping bags, an acrylonitrile butadiene styrene material and various plastic bricks) as well as several reference materials (VDA 001 to 004, Cd in polyethylene) have been selected for the study. Two polyethylene reference materials (ERM-EC 680 and 681), for which a reference or indicative value for the most relevant metals is available, have proved their suitability as standards for calibration. Special attention has been paid to the difficulties expected for the determination of Cr at the μg g -1 level in this kind of materials, due to the interference of ArC + ions on the most abundant isotopes of Cr. The use of ammonia as a reaction gas in a dynamic reaction cell is shown to alleviate this problem, resulting in a limit of detection of 0.15 μg g -1 for this element, while limiting only modestly the possibilities of the technique for simultaneous multi-element analysis. In this regard, As is the analyte most seriously affected by the use of ammonia, and its determination has to be carried out in vented mode, at the expense of measuring time. In all cases studied, accurate results could be obtained for elements ranging in content from the sub-μg g -1 level to tens of thousands of μg g -1 . However, the use of an element of known concentration as internal standard may be needed for materials with a matrix significantly different from that of the standard (polyethylene in this work). Precision ranged between 5% and 10% RSD for elements found at the 10 μg g -1 level or higher, while this value could deteriorate to 20% for analytes found at the sub-μg g -1 level. Overall, the technique evaluated presents many advantages for the fast and accurate multi-element analysis of these materials, avoiding laborious digestion procedures and minimizing the risk of analyte losses due to the

Laser ablation inductively coupled plasma dynamic reaction cell mass spectrometry for the multi-element analysis of polymers

Science.gov (United States)

Resano, M.; García-Ruiz, E.; Vanhaecke, F.

2005-11-01

In this work, the potential of laser ablation-inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry for the fast analysis of polymers has been explored. Different real-life samples (polyethylene shopping bags, an acrylonitrile butadiene styrene material and various plastic bricks) as well as several reference materials (VDA 001 to 004, Cd in polyethylene) have been selected for the study. Two polyethylene reference materials (ERM-EC 680 and 681), for which a reference or indicative value for the most relevant metals is available, have proved their suitability as standards for calibration. Special attention has been paid to the difficulties expected for the determination of Cr at the μg g - 1 level in this kind of materials, due to the interference of ArC + ions on the most abundant isotopes of Cr. The use of ammonia as a reaction gas in a dynamic reaction cell is shown to alleviate this problem, resulting in a limit of detection of 0.15 μg g - 1 for this element, while limiting only modestly the possibilities of the technique for simultaneous multi-element analysis. In this regard, As is the analyte most seriously affected by the use of ammonia, and its determination has to be carried out in vented mode, at the expense of measuring time. In all cases studied, accurate results could be obtained for elements ranging in content from the sub-μg g - 1 level to tens of thousands of μg g - 1 . However, the use of an element of known concentration as internal standard may be needed for materials with a matrix significantly different from that of the standard (polyethylene in this work). Precision ranged between 5% and 10% RSD for elements found at the 10 μg g - 1 level or higher, while this value could deteriorate to 20% for analytes found at the sub-μg g - 1 level. Overall, the technique evaluated presents many advantages for the fast and accurate multi-element analysis of these materials, avoiding laborious digestion procedures and minimizing the risk of analyte losses due

[Rapid multi-elemental analysis on four precious Tibetan medicines based on LIBS technique].

Science.gov (United States)

Liu, Xiao-na; Shi, Xin-yuan; Jia, Shuai-yun; Zhao, Na; Wu, Zhi-sheng; Qiao, Yan-jiang

2015-06-01

The laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS) was applied to perform a qualitative elementary analysis on four precious Tibetan medicines, i. e. Renqing Mangjue, Renqing Changjue, 25-herb coral pills and 25-herb pearl pills. The specific spectra of the four Tibetan medicines were established. In the experiment, Nd: YAG and 1 064 nm-baseband pulse laser were adopted to collect the spectra. A laser beam focused on the surface of the samples to generate plasma. Its spectral signal was detected by using spectrograph. Based on the National Institute of Standard and Technology (NIST) database, LIBS spectral lines were indentified. The four Tibetan medicines mainly included Ca, Na, K, Mg and other elements and C-N molecular band. Specifically, Fe was detected in Renqing Changjue and 25-herb pearl pills; heavy mental elements Hg and Cu were shown in Renqing Mangjue and Renqing Changjue; Ag was found in Renqing Changjue. The results demonstrated that LIBS is a reliable and rapid multi-element analysis on the four Tibetan medicines. With Real-time, rapid and nondestructive advantages, LIBS has a wide application prospect in the element analysis on ethnic medicines.

Physicochemical and elemental studies of Hydrocotyle javanica Thunb. for standardization as herbal drug

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Manab Mandal

2017-11-01

Conclusions: Hence the present physicochemical and elements studies reveals that the plant Hydrocotyle javanica Thunb. could be a potent source of herbal preparation as well as a safe and novel synthetic antibacterial drug.

Multi-element isotope dilution analyses using ICP-MS

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Volpe, A.M.

1996-01-01

Presently, 37 elements ranging from light (Li,B) through transition metals, noble, rare earth and heavy elements, to actinides and transuranics (Pu, Am, Cm) are measured by isotope dilution at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory. Projects range from geological and hydrological to biological. The research goal is to measure accurately many elements present in diverse matrices at trace (ppb) levels using isotope dilution methods. Major advantages of isotope dilution methods are accuracy, elimination of ion intensity calibration, and quantitation for samples that require chemical separation. Accuracy depends on tracer isotope calibration, tracer-sample isotopic equilibration, and appropriate background, isobaric and mass bias corrections. Propagation of isotope ratio error due to improper tracer isotope addition is a major concern with multi-element analyses when abundances vary widely. 11 refs., 3 figs

Pump radiation distribution in multi-element first cladding laser fibres

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mel'kumov, Mikhail A; Bufetov, Igor' A; Bubnov, M M; Shubin, Aleksei V; Semenov, S L; Dianov, Evgenii M

2005-01-01

Pump radiation transfer is studied experimentally in multi-element first cladding laser fibres. A model of this process is proposed, which is in good agreement with experimental results. An all-fibre single-mode cw ytterbium laser based on a three-element first cladding fibre with an output power of 100W is fabricated. (lasers)

Synergistic Synthetic Biology: Units in Concert

Science.gov (United States)

Trosset, Jean-Yves; Carbonell, Pablo

2013-01-01

Synthetic biology aims at translating the methods and strategies from engineering into biology in order to streamline the design and construction of biological devices through standardized parts. Modular synthetic biology devices are designed by means of an adequate elimination of cross-talk that makes circuits orthogonal and specific. To that end, synthetic constructs need to be adequately optimized through in silico modeling by choosing the right complement of genetic parts and by experimental tuning through directed evolution and craftsmanship. In this review, we consider an additional and complementary tool available to the synthetic biologist for innovative design and successful construction of desired circuit functionalities: biological synergies. Synergy is a prevalent emergent property in biological systems that arises from the concerted action of multiple factors producing an amplification or cancelation effect compared with individual actions alone. Synergies appear in domains as diverse as those involved in chemical and protein activity, polypharmacology, and metabolic pathway complementarity. In conventional synthetic biology designs, synergistic cross-talk between parts and modules is generally attenuated in order to verify their orthogonality. Synergistic interactions, however, can induce emergent behavior that might prove useful for synthetic biology applications, like in functional circuit design, multi-drug treatment, or in sensing and delivery devices. Synergistic design principles are therefore complementary to those coming from orthogonal design and may provide added value to synthetic biology applications. The appropriate modeling, characterization, and design of synergies between biological parts and units will allow the discovery of yet unforeseeable, novel synthetic biology applications. PMID:25022769

Synergistic Synthetic Biology: Units in Concert

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Trosset, Jean-Yves; Carbonell, Pablo

2013-01-01

Synthetic biology aims at translating the methods and strategies from engineering into biology in order to streamline the design and construction of biological devices through standardized parts. Modular synthetic biology devices are designed by means of an adequate elimination of cross-talk that makes circuits orthogonal and specific. To that end, synthetic constructs need to be adequately optimized through in silico modeling by choosing the right complement of genetic parts and by experimental tuning through directed evolution and craftsmanship. In this review, we consider an additional and complementary tool available to the synthetic biologist for innovative design and successful construction of desired circuit functionalities: biological synergies. Synergy is a prevalent emergent property in biological systems that arises from the concerted action of multiple factors producing an amplification or cancelation effect compared with individual actions alone. Synergies appear in domains as diverse as those involved in chemical and protein activity, polypharmacology, and metabolic pathway complementarity. In conventional synthetic biology designs, synergistic cross-talk between parts and modules is generally attenuated in order to verify their orthogonality. Synergistic interactions, however, can induce emergent behavior that might prove useful for synthetic biology applications, like in functional circuit design, multi-drug treatment, or in sensing and delivery devices. Synergistic design principles are therefore complementary to those coming from orthogonal design and may provide added value to synthetic biology applications. The appropriate modeling, characterization, and design of synergies between biological parts and units will allow the discovery of yet unforeseeable, novel synthetic biology applications.

Simultaneous multi-element determination in different seed samples of Dodonaea viscosa hopseed using instrumental neutron activation analysis

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

El-Sweify, Fatma H.; El-Amir, Mahmoud A.; Mostafa, Mohamed; Ramadan, Hala E.; Rashad, Ghada M.

2016-01-01

Instrumental neutron activation analysis technique (INAA) was applied for nondestructive multi-element analysis of seed samples of the plant Dodonaea viscosa hopseed. This plant is distributed all over Egypt, because of its suitable properties. The samples were collected from some bushes grown at different sites in some governorates, in July of each year during the period from 2004 to 2011. The determined elements are: Co, Cs, Eu, Fe, Hg, Ni, Rb, Sc, Se, Sr and Zn, under the chosen irradiation and cooling times. The content of some elements has been compared with data obtained from previous work on analysis of various kinds of seeds. The influence of some parameters on the determined elemental content is discussed. Standard reference materials IAEA-155 and IAEA-V-10 were used to assure quality control, accuracy and precision of the technique.

Simultaneous multi-element determination in different seed samples of Dodonaea viscosa hopseed using instrumental neutron activation analysis

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

El-Sweify, Fatma H.; El-Amir, Mahmoud A.; Mostafa, Mohamed; Ramadan, Hala E.; Rashad, Ghada M. [Atomic Energy Authority, Cairo (Egypt). Hot Lab. Center

2016-07-01

Instrumental neutron activation analysis technique (INAA) was applied for nondestructive multi-element analysis of seed samples of the plant Dodonaea viscosa hopseed. This plant is distributed all over Egypt, because of its suitable properties. The samples were collected from some bushes grown at different sites in some governorates, in July of each year during the period from 2004 to 2011. The determined elements are: Co, Cs, Eu, Fe, Hg, Ni, Rb, Sc, Se, Sr and Zn, under the chosen irradiation and cooling times. The content of some elements has been compared with data obtained from previous work on analysis of various kinds of seeds. The influence of some parameters on the determined elemental content is discussed. Standard reference materials IAEA-155 and IAEA-V-10 were used to assure quality control, accuracy and precision of the technique.

Multi trace element analysis of dry biological materials by neutron activation analysis including a chemical group separation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Weers, C.A.

1980-07-01

Multi-element analysis of dry biological material by neutron activation analysis has to include radiochemical separation. The evaporation process is described in terms of the half-volume. The pretreatment of the samples and the development of the destruction-evaporation apparatus are described. The successive adsorption steps with active charcoal, Al 2 O 3 and coprecipitation with Fe(OH) 3 are described. Results obtained for standard reference materials are summarized. (G.T.H.)

Chemical elements in the environment: multi-element geochemical datasets from continental to national scale surveys on four continents

Science.gov (United States)

Caritat, Patrice de; Reimann, Clemens; Smith, David; Wang, Xueqiu

2017-01-01

During the last 10-20 years, Geological Surveys around the world have undertaken a major effort towards delivering fully harmonized and tightly quality-controlled low-density multi-element soil geochemical maps and datasets of vast regions including up to whole continents. Concentrations of between 45 and 60 elements commonly have been determined in a variety of different regolith types (e.g., sediment, soil). The multi-element datasets are published as complete geochemical atlases and made available to the general public. Several other geochemical datasets covering smaller areas but generally at a higher spatial density are also available. These datasets may, however, not be found by superficial internet-based searches because the elements are not mentioned individually either in the title or in the keyword lists of the original references. This publication attempts to increase the visibility and discoverability of these fundamental background datasets covering large areas up to whole continents.

Transport synthetic acceleration scheme for multi-dimensional neutron transport problems

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Modak, R S; Kumar, Vinod; Menon, S V.G. [Theoretical Physics Div., Bhabha Atomic Research Centre, Mumbai (India); Gupta, Anurag [Reactor Physics Design Div., Bhabha Atomic Research Centre, Mumbai (India)

2005-09-15

The numerical solution of linear multi-energy-group neutron transport equation is required in several analyses in nuclear reactor physics and allied areas. Computer codes based on the discrete ordinates (Sn) method are commonly used for this purpose. These codes solve external source problem and K-eigenvalue problem. The overall solution technique involves solution of source problem in each energy group as intermediate procedures. Such a single-group source problem is solved by the so-called Source Iteration (SI) method. As is well-known, the SI-method converges very slowly for optically thick and highly scattering regions, leading to large CPU times. Over last three decades, many schemes have been tried to accelerate the SI; the most prominent being the Diffusion Synthetic Acceleration (DSA) scheme. The DSA scheme, however, often fails and is also rather difficult to implement. In view of this, in 1997, Ramone and others have developed a new acceleration scheme called Transport Synthetic Acceleration (TSA) which is much more robust and easy to implement. This scheme has been recently incorporated in 2-D and 3-D in-house codes at BARC. This report presents studies on the utility of TSA scheme for fairly general test problems involving many energy groups and anisotropic scattering. The scheme is found to be useful for problems in Cartesian as well as Cylindrical geometry. (author)

Transport synthetic acceleration scheme for multi-dimensional neutron transport problems

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Modak, R.S.; Vinod Kumar; Menon, S.V.G.; Gupta, Anurag

2005-09-01

The numerical solution of linear multi-energy-group neutron transport equation is required in several analyses in nuclear reactor physics and allied areas. Computer codes based on the discrete ordinates (Sn) method are commonly used for this purpose. These codes solve external source problem and K-eigenvalue problem. The overall solution technique involves solution of source problem in each energy group as intermediate procedures. Such a single-group source problem is solved by the so-called Source Iteration (SI) method. As is well-known, the SI-method converges very slowly for optically thick and highly scattering regions, leading to large CPU times. Over last three decades, many schemes have been tried to accelerate the SI; the most prominent being the Diffusion Synthetic Acceleration (DSA) scheme. The DSA scheme, however, often fails and is also rather difficult to implement. In view of this, in 1997, Ramone and others have developed a new acceleration scheme called Transport Synthetic Acceleration (TSA) which is much more robust and easy to implement. This scheme has been recently incorporated in 2-D and 3-D in-house codes at BARC. This report presents studies on the utility of TSA scheme for fairly general test problems involving many energy groups and anisotropic scattering. The scheme is found to be useful for problems in Cartesian as well as Cylindrical geometry. (author)

Synthetic B-Cell Epitopes Eliciting Cross-Neutralizing Antibodies: Strategies for Future Dengue Vaccine.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Babu Ramanathan

Full Text Available Dengue virus (DENV is a major public health threat worldwide. A key element in protection from dengue fever is the neutralising antibody response. Anti-dengue IgG purified from DENV-2 infected human sera showed reactivity against several peptides when evaluated by ELISA and epitope extraction techniques. A multi-step computational approach predicted six antigenic regions within the E protein of DENV-2 that concur with the 6 epitopes identified by the combined ELISA and epitope extraction approach. The selected peptides representing B-cell epitopes were attached to a known dengue T-helper epitope and evaluated for their vaccine potency. Immunization of mice revealed two novel synthetic vaccine constructs that elicited good humoral immune responses and produced cross-reactive neutralising antibodies against DENV-1, 2 and 3. The findings indicate new directions for epitope mapping and contribute towards the future development of multi-epitope based synthetic peptide vaccine.

Standard elements; Elements standards

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Blanc, B [Commissariat a l' Energie Atomique, Saclay (France). Centre d' Etudes Nucleaires

1958-07-01

Following his own experience the author recalls the various advantages, especially in the laboratory, of having pre-fabricated vacuum-line components at his disposal. (author) [French] A la suite de sa propre experience, l'auteur veut rappeler les divers avantages que presente, tout particulierement en laboratoire, le fait d'avoir a sa disposition des elements pre-fabriques de canalisations a vide. (auteur)

Numerical solution of multi group-Two dimensional- Adjoint equation with finite element method

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Poursalehi, N.; Khalafi, H.; Shahriari, M.; Minoochehr

2008-01-01

Adjoint equation is used for perturbation theory in nuclear reactor design. For numerical solution of adjoint equation, usually two methods are applied. These are Finite Element and Finite Difference procedures. Usually Finite Element Procedure is chosen for solving of adjoint equation, because it is more use able in variety of geometries. In this article, Galerkin Finite Element method is discussed. This method is applied for numerical solving multi group, multi region and two dimensional (X, Y) adjoint equation. Typical reactor geometry is partitioned with triangular meshes and boundary condition for adjoint flux is considered zero. Finally, for a case of defined parameters, Finite Element Code was applied and results were compared with Citation Code

Novel synthetic Medea selfish genetic elements drive population replacement in Drosophila; a theoretical exploration of Medea-dependent population suppression.

Science.gov (United States)

Akbari, Omar S; Chen, Chun-Hong; Marshall, John M; Huang, Haixia; Antoshechkin, Igor; Hay, Bruce A

2014-12-19

Insects act as vectors for diseases of plants, animals, and humans. Replacement of wild insect populations with genetically modified individuals unable to transmit disease provides a potentially self-perpetuating method of disease prevention. Population replacement requires a gene drive mechanism in order to spread linked genes mediating disease refractoriness through wild populations. We previously reported the creation of synthetic Medea selfish genetic elements able to drive population replacement in Drosophila. These elements use microRNA-mediated silencing of myd88, a maternally expressed gene required for embryonic dorso-ventral pattern formation, coupled with early zygotic expression of a rescuing transgene, to bring about gene drive. Medea elements that work through additional mechanisms are needed in order to be able to carry out cycles of population replacement and/or remove existing transgenes from the population, using second-generation elements that spread while driving first-generation elements out of the population. Here we report the synthesis and population genetic behavior of two new synthetic Medea elements that drive population replacement through manipulation of signaling pathways involved in cellular blastoderm formation or Notch signaling, demonstrating that in Drosophila Medea elements can be generated through manipulation of diverse signaling pathways. We also describe the mRNA and small RNA changes in ovaries and early embryos associated from Medea-bearing females. Finally, we use modeling to illustrate how Medea elements carrying genes that result in diapause-dependent female lethality could be used to bring about population suppression.

Genome Partitioner: A web tool for multi-level partitioning of large-scale DNA constructs for synthetic biology applications.

Science.gov (United States)

Christen, Matthias; Del Medico, Luca; Christen, Heinz; Christen, Beat

2017-01-01

Recent advances in lower-cost DNA synthesis techniques have enabled new innovations in the field of synthetic biology. Still, efficient design and higher-order assembly of genome-scale DNA constructs remains a labor-intensive process. Given the complexity, computer assisted design tools that fragment large DNA sequences into fabricable DNA blocks are needed to pave the way towards streamlined assembly of biological systems. Here, we present the Genome Partitioner software implemented as a web-based interface that permits multi-level partitioning of genome-scale DNA designs. Without the need for specialized computing skills, biologists can submit their DNA designs to a fully automated pipeline that generates the optimal retrosynthetic route for higher-order DNA assembly. To test the algorithm, we partitioned a 783 kb Caulobacter crescentus genome design. We validated the partitioning strategy by assembling a 20 kb test segment encompassing a difficult to synthesize DNA sequence. Successful assembly from 1 kb subblocks into the 20 kb segment highlights the effectiveness of the Genome Partitioner for reducing synthesis costs and timelines for higher-order DNA assembly. The Genome Partitioner is broadly applicable to translate DNA designs into ready to order sequences that can be assembled with standardized protocols, thus offering new opportunities to harness the diversity of microbial genomes for synthetic biology applications. The Genome Partitioner web tool can be accessed at https://christenlab.ethz.ch/GenomePartitioner.

Genome Partitioner: A web tool for multi-level partitioning of large-scale DNA constructs for synthetic biology applications.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Matthias Christen

Full Text Available Recent advances in lower-cost DNA synthesis techniques have enabled new innovations in the field of synthetic biology. Still, efficient design and higher-order assembly of genome-scale DNA constructs remains a labor-intensive process. Given the complexity, computer assisted design tools that fragment large DNA sequences into fabricable DNA blocks are needed to pave the way towards streamlined assembly of biological systems. Here, we present the Genome Partitioner software implemented as a web-based interface that permits multi-level partitioning of genome-scale DNA designs. Without the need for specialized computing skills, biologists can submit their DNA designs to a fully automated pipeline that generates the optimal retrosynthetic route for higher-order DNA assembly. To test the algorithm, we partitioned a 783 kb Caulobacter crescentus genome design. We validated the partitioning strategy by assembling a 20 kb test segment encompassing a difficult to synthesize DNA sequence. Successful assembly from 1 kb subblocks into the 20 kb segment highlights the effectiveness of the Genome Partitioner for reducing synthesis costs and timelines for higher-order DNA assembly. The Genome Partitioner is broadly applicable to translate DNA designs into ready to order sequences that can be assembled with standardized protocols, thus offering new opportunities to harness the diversity of microbial genomes for synthetic biology applications. The Genome Partitioner web tool can be accessed at https://christenlab.ethz.ch/GenomePartitioner.

Application of Internal Standard Method for Several 3d-Transition Metallic Elements in Flame Atomic Absorption Spectrometry Using a Multi-wavelength High-resolution Spectrometer.

Science.gov (United States)

Toya, Yusuke; Itagaki, Toshiko; Wagatsuma, Kazuaki

2017-01-01

We investigated a simultaneous internal standard method in flame atomic absorption spectrometry (FAAS), in order to better the analytical precision of 3d-transition metals contained in steel materials. For this purpose, a new spectrometer system for FAAS, comprising a bright xenon lamp as the primary radiation source and a high-resolution Echelle monochromator, was employed to measure several absorption lines at a wavelength width of ca. 0.3 nm at the same time, which enables the absorbances of an analytical line and also an internal standard line to be estimated. In considering several criteria for selecting an internal standard element and the absorption line, it could be suggested that platinum-group elements: ruthenium, rhodium, or palladium, were suitable for an internal standard element to determine the 3d-transition metal elements, such as titanium, iron, and nickel, by measuring an appropriate pair of these absorption lines simultaneously. Several variances of the absorption signal, such as a variation in aspirated amounts of sample solution and a short-period drift of the primary light source, would be corrected and thus reduced, when the absorbance ratio of the analytical line to the internal standard line was measured. In Ti-Pd, Ni-Rh, and Fe-Ru systems chosen as typical test samples, the repeatability of the signal respnses was investigated with/without the internal standard method, resulting in better precision when the internal standard method was applied in the FAAS with a nitrous oxide-acetylene flame rather than an air-acetylene flame.

Multi-element trace analysis of solid samples using one-photon two-step RIMS

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Telle, H. H.; Abraham, C. J.; Jones, O. R.; Krustev, T.

1998-01-01

In this study we have investigated the feasibility of multi-element analysis using a simple 1+1 photo-excitation/photo-ionization scheme. Although such schemes are usually far from ideal for optimum resonance ionization, they are the approach of choice if one wishes to maintain a simple, easy-to-operate laser set-up which is potentially suitable for routine analysis. In addition, we only made use of the second-harmonic tuning range of a single dye. While this limits the range of elements which are accessible in the 1+1 RIS scheme it further adds to the simplicity and allows for automation of sequential multi-element analysis

Application of Sargassum biomass to remove heavy metal ions from synthetic multi-metal solutions and urban storm water runoff.

Science.gov (United States)

Vijayaraghavan, K; Teo, Ting Ting; Balasubramanian, R; Joshi, Umid Man

2009-05-30

The ability of Sargassum sp. to biosorb four metal ions, namely lead, copper, zinc, and manganese from a synthetic multi-solute system and real storm water runoff has been investigated for the first time. Experiments on synthetic multi-solute systems revealed that Sargassum performed well in the biosorption of all four metal ions, with preference towards Pb, followed by Cu, Zn, and Mn. The solution pH strongly affected the metal biosorption, with pH 6 being identified as the optimal condition for achieving maximum biosorption. Experiments at different biosorbent dosages revealed that good biosorption capacity as well as high metal removal efficiency was observed at 3g/L. The biosorption kinetics was found to be fast with equilibrium being attained within 50 min. According to the Langmuir isotherm model, Sargassum exhibited maximum uptakes of 214, 67.5, 24.2 and 20.2mg/g for lead, copper, zinc, and manganese, respectively in single-solute systems. In multi-metal systems, strong competition between four metal ions in terms of occupancy binding sites was observed, and Sargassum showed preference in the order of Pb>Cu>Zn>Mn. The application of Sargassum to remove four heavy metal ions in real storm water runoff revealed that the biomass was capable of removing the heavy metal ions. However, the biosorption performance was slightly lower compared to that of synthetic metal solutions. Several factors were responsible for this difference, and the most important factor is the presence of other contaminants such as anions, organics, and other trace metals in the runoff.

Promoting microbiology education through the iGEM synthetic biology competition.

Science.gov (United States)

Kelwick, Richard; Bowater, Laura; Yeoman, Kay H; Bowater, Richard P

2015-08-01

Synthetic biology has developed rapidly in the 21st century. It covers a range of scientific disciplines that incorporate principles from engineering to take advantage of and improve biological systems, often applied to specific problems. Methods important in this subject area include the systematic design and testing of biological systems and, here, we describe how synthetic biology projects frequently develop microbiology skills and education. Synthetic biology research has huge potential in biotechnology and medicine, which brings important ethical and moral issues to address, offering learning opportunities about the wider impact of microbiological research. Synthetic biology projects have developed into wide-ranging training and educational experiences through iGEM, the International Genetically Engineered Machines competition. Elements of the competition are judged against specific criteria and teams can win medals and prizes across several categories. Collaboration is an important element of iGEM, and all DNA constructs synthesized by iGEM teams are made available to all researchers through the Registry for Standard Biological Parts. An overview of microbiological developments in the iGEM competition is provided. This review is targeted at educators that focus on microbiology and synthetic biology, but will also be of value to undergraduate and postgraduate students with an interest in this exciting subject area. © FEMS 2015. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.

Synthetic Aperture Focusing Applied to Imaging Using a Rotating Single Element Transducer

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Kortbek, Jacob; Jensen, Jørgen Arendt; Gammelmark, Kim Løkke

2007-01-01

This paper applies the concept of virtual sources and mono-static synthetic aperture focusing (SAF) to 2-dimensional imaging with a single rotating mechanically focused concave element with the objective of improving lateral resolution and signal-to-noise ratio (SNR). The geometrical focal point...... function of a single emission. The effect of SAF with focal depth at 20 mm is negligible, caused by the small number of LRL applied. The great profit of the SAF is the increase in SNR. For the setup with focal depth at 20 rum the SAF SNR gain is 11 dB. The SNR gain of a setup with a VS at radius 10 mm...

Statistical Methods in Assembly Quality Management of Multi-Element Products on Automatic Rotor Lines

Science.gov (United States)

Pries, V. V.; Proskuriakov, N. E.

2018-04-01

To control the assembly quality of multi-element mass-produced products on automatic rotor lines, control methods with operational feedback are required. However, due to possible failures in the operation of the devices and systems of automatic rotor line, there is always a real probability of getting defective (incomplete) products into the output process stream. Therefore, a continuous sampling control of the products completeness, based on the use of statistical methods, remains an important element in managing the quality of assembly of multi-element mass products on automatic rotor lines. The feature of continuous sampling control of the multi-element products completeness in the assembly process is its breaking sort, which excludes the possibility of returning component parts after sampling control to the process stream and leads to a decrease in the actual productivity of the assembly equipment. Therefore, the use of statistical procedures for continuous sampling control of the multi-element products completeness when assembled on automatic rotor lines requires the use of such sampling plans that ensure a minimum size of control samples. Comparison of the values of the limit of the average output defect level for the continuous sampling plan (CSP) and for the automated continuous sampling plan (ACSP) shows the possibility of providing lower limit values for the average output defects level using the ACSP-1. Also, the average sample size when using the ACSP-1 plan is less than when using the CSP-1 plan. Thus, the application of statistical methods in the assembly quality management of multi-element products on automatic rotor lines, involving the use of proposed plans and methods for continuous selective control, will allow to automating sampling control procedures and the required level of quality of assembled products while minimizing sample size.

Measurements of environmental gamma-ray spectra using a multi-element TL dosemeter

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Furuta, Sadaaki; Boetter-Jensen, L.; Nielsen, S.P.

1986-12-01

A method to estimate the energy distribution and dose of environmental gamma radiation was developed using a multielement TL dosemeter. Experimentally obtained energy responses from a multi-element TL dosemeter with different kinds of filters were used to calculate the energy distribution and related dose by the SAND-II computer code. The code was originally developed to estimate the neutron flux using a multiple foil activation method. Measurements were made at several locations with the multi-element TL dosemeter and comparisons were made with results from a NaI(Tl) scintillation detector and a high-pressure ionization chamber. (author)

Solving the Einstein constraint equations on multi-block triangulations using finite element methods

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Korobkin, Oleg; Pazos, Enrique [Department of Physics and Astronomy, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, LA 70803 (United States); Aksoylu, Burak [Center for Computation and Technology, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, LA 70803 (United States); Holst, Michael [Department of Mathematics, University of California at San Diego 9500 Gilman Drive La Jolla, CA 92093-0112 (United States); Tiglio, Manuel [Department of Physics, University of Maryland, College Park, MD 20742 (United States)

2009-07-21

In order to generate initial data for nonlinear relativistic simulations, one needs to solve the Einstein constraints, which can be cast into a coupled set of nonlinear elliptic equations. Here we present an approach for solving these equations on three-dimensional multi-block domains using finite element methods. We illustrate our approach on a simple example of Brill wave initial data, with the constraints reducing to a single linear elliptic equation for the conformal factor psi. We use quadratic Lagrange elements on semi-structured simplicial meshes, obtained by triangulation of multi-block grids. In the case of uniform refinement the scheme is superconvergent at most mesh vertices, due to local symmetry of the finite element basis with respect to local spatial inversions. We show that in the superconvergent case subsequent unstructured mesh refinements do not improve the quality of our initial data. As proof of concept that this approach is feasible for generating multi-block initial data in three dimensions, after constructing the initial data we evolve them in time using a high-order finite-differencing multi-block approach and extract the gravitational waves from the numerical solution.

Solving the Einstein constraint equations on multi-block triangulations using finite element methods

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Korobkin, Oleg; Pazos, Enrique; Aksoylu, Burak; Holst, Michael; Tiglio, Manuel

2009-01-01

In order to generate initial data for nonlinear relativistic simulations, one needs to solve the Einstein constraints, which can be cast into a coupled set of nonlinear elliptic equations. Here we present an approach for solving these equations on three-dimensional multi-block domains using finite element methods. We illustrate our approach on a simple example of Brill wave initial data, with the constraints reducing to a single linear elliptic equation for the conformal factor ψ. We use quadratic Lagrange elements on semi-structured simplicial meshes, obtained by triangulation of multi-block grids. In the case of uniform refinement the scheme is superconvergent at most mesh vertices, due to local symmetry of the finite element basis with respect to local spatial inversions. We show that in the superconvergent case subsequent unstructured mesh refinements do not improve the quality of our initial data. As proof of concept that this approach is feasible for generating multi-block initial data in three dimensions, after constructing the initial data we evolve them in time using a high-order finite-differencing multi-block approach and extract the gravitational waves from the numerical solution.

Bio-corrosion in synthetic and natural sea water of modified stainless steels by poison elements

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hernandez Duque, G.

1989-09-01

In seawater, bacteria can modify the behaviour of stainless steels towards corrosion. It can be then considered to control this type of degradation by a better adjustment of the chemical composition of the steels used. In this work, has been studied the influence of the addition of 'poisons' elements for bacteria on the bio-corrosion resistance of an austenitic 316L steel. The added elements were copper, tin and arsenic. After a bibliographic study and a description of the metallographic, electrochemical and surface analyses methods used, the results obtained in the considered media are given: synthetical seawater, natural, or sterilized and then inoculated. The specific role of each addition elements has then been revealed as well as the alteration of the protecting films and of the induced bio-film, and the behaviour differences in aerobic and anaerobic conditions. (O.M.)

Novel Synthetic Medea selfish genetic elements drive population replacement in Drosophila, and a theoretical exploration of Medea-dependent population suppression

Science.gov (United States)

Akbari, Omar S.; Chen, Chun-Hong; Marshall, John M.; Huang, Haixia; Antoshechkin, Igor; Hay, Bruce A.

2013-01-01

Insects act as vectors for diseases of plants, animals and humans. Replacement of wild insect populations with genetically modified individuals unable to transmit disease provides a potentially self-perpetuating method of disease prevention. Population replacement requires a gene drive mechanism in order to spread linked genes mediating disease refractoriness through wild populations. We previously reported the creation of synthetic Medea selfish genetic elements able to drive population replacement in Drosophila. These elements use microRNA-mediated silencing of myd88, a maternally expressed gene required for embryonic dorso-ventral pattern formation, coupled with early zygotic expression of a rescuing transgene, to bring about gene drive. Medea elements that work through additional mechanisms are needed in order to be able to carry out cycles of population replacement and/or remove existing transgenes from the population, using second-generation elements that spread while driving first-generation elements out of the population. Here we report the synthesis and population genetic behavior of two new synthetic Medea elements that drive population replacement through manipulation of signaling pathways involved in cellular blastoderm formation or Notch signaling, demonstrating that in Drosophila Medea elements can be generated through manipulation of diverse signaling pathways. We also describe the mRNA and small RNA changes in ovaries and early embryos associated from Medea-bearing females. Finally, we use modeling to illustrate how Medea elements carrying genes that result in diapause-dependent female lethality could be used to bring about population suppression. PMID:23654248

Multi-recycling of transuranic elements in a PWR assembly with reduced fuel rod diameter

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chambers, Alex; Ragusa, Jean C.

2014-01-01

Highlights: • Study of multiple recycling passes of transuranic elements: (a) without exceeding 5 wt.% on U-235 enrichment; (b) using PWR fuel assemblies compatible with current reactor core internals. • Isotopic concentrations tend towards an equilibrium after 15 recycle passes, suggesting that thermal recycling may be continued beyond that point. • Radiotoxicity comparisons for once-through UOX, once-recycle MOX-Pu, and multiple recycle passes of MOX-PuNpAm and MOX-PuNpAmCm are presented. - Abstract: This paper examines the multi-recycling of transuranic (TRU) elements (Pu-Np-Am-Cm) in standard Pressurized Water Reactor (PWR) assemblies. The original feed of TRU comes from legacy spent UOX fuel. For all subsequent recycling passes, TRU elements from the previous generation are employed, supplemented by TRU from legacy UOX fuel, as needed. The design criteria include: 235 U enrichment requirements to remain below 5 w/o, TRU loading limits to avoid return to criticality under voided conditions, and assembly power peaking factors. In order to carry out multiple recycling passes within the design envelope, additional neutron moderation is required and achieved by reducing the fuel pellet diameter by about 13%, thus keeping the assembly design compatible with current PWR core internals. TRU transmutation rates and long-term ingestion radiotoxicity results are presented for 15 recycling passes and compared to standard UOX and MOX once-through cycles. The results also show that TRU fuel isotopics and radiotoxicity tend towards an equilibrium, enabling further additional recycling passes

MULTI ELEMENT SI SENSOR WITH READOUT ASIC FOR EXAFS SPECTROSCOPY.

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

DE GERONIMO,G.; O CONNOR,P.; BEUTTENMULLER,R.H.; LI,Z.; KUCZEWSKI,A.J.; SIDDONS,D.P.

2002-09-09

Extended X-ray Absorption Fine Structure (EXAFS) experiments impose stringent requirements on a detection system, due to the need for processing ionizing events at a high rate, typically above of 10Mcps/cm{sup 2}, and with a high resolution, typically better than 300eV. The detection system here presented is being developed targeting these stringent requirements. It is the result of a cooperation between the Instrumentation Division and the National Synchrotron Light Source (NSLS) of the Brookhaven National Laboratory (BNL). The system is composed of a multi-element Si sensor with dedicated per pixel electronics. The combination of high rate, high resolution and moderate complexity makes this system attractive when compared to other multi-element solutions. In sections 2, 3 and 4 the sensor, the interconnect and the electronics are briefly described. Section 5 reports on the first experimental results.

Studies of the source complex behaviour and of the ultrasound radiation of contact flexible multi-element transducers; Etudes du comportement complexe de source et du rayonnement ultrasonore des traducteurs multi-elements flexibles au contact

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Amory, V

2007-12-15

This work deals with the ultrasonic nondestructive testing of parts with complex geometries using soft multi-element sensors. The different types of contact control configurations are presented first. Then, the difficulties encountered with conventional contact transducers are explained and the multi-element piezoelectric transducers technology, developed to meet these difficulties, is presented. The second chapter presents the results of finite-element calculations showing the complexity of a transducer in a condition of testing utilization. In a same configuration, the radiated far field calculated by finite-elements is compared to the measurement in order to validate the way the source behaviour is calculated. However, despite the efficiency of the finite-elements simulation, this tool is numerically too costly and cannot be used to optimize a full multi-element transducer. Therefore, a realistic source model is built and implemented in a radiation code based on high-frequency asymptotic approximations where only L and T volume waves are calculated. The incapacity of this model to reproduce the behaviour of T waves in some directions of propagation has led to give a particular attention to the fore-waves, neglected in the radiation calculation. Chapter 3 treats of the building of an exact radiation model taking into consideration the fore-waves contribution emitted by a contact transducer exerting a random space-time distribution constraint at the surface of the considered medium. A radiation model, based on the calculation of exact Green functions of the Lamb problem is proposed. The exact model is particularly interesting in the case of sensor geometries with a long length with respect to other dimensions (2D case). Field calculation results are shown for an element of the matrix network (3D case) and for a linear element (2D case). A study of different existing approached models is carried out as well. The last chapter presents some results of the field

Quantitative real-time monitoring of multi-elements in airborne particulates by direct introduction into an inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometer

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Suzuki, Yoshinari; Sato, Hikaru; Hiyoshi, Katsuhiro; Furuta, Naoki

2012-01-01

A new calibration system for real-time determination of trace elements in airborne particulates was developed. Airborne particulates were directly introduced into an inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometer, and the concentrations of 15 trace elements were determined by means of an external calibration method. External standard solutions were nebulized by an ultrasonic nebulizer (USN) coupled with a desolvation system, and the resulting aerosol was introduced into the plasma. The efficiency of sample introduction via the USN was calculated by two methods: (1) the introduction of a Cr standard solution via the USN was compared with introduction of a Cr(CO) 6 standard gas via a standard gas generator and (2) the aerosol generated by the USN was trapped on filters and then analyzed. The Cr introduction efficiencies obtained by the two methods were the same, and the introduction efficiencies of the other elements were equal to the introduction efficiency of Cr. Our results indicated that our calibration method for introduction efficiency worked well for the 15 elements (Ti, V, Cr, Mn, Co, Ni, Cu, Zn, As, Mo, Sn, Sb, Ba, Tl and Pb). The real-time data and the filter-collection data agreed well for elements with low-melting oxides (V, Co, As, Mo, Sb, Tl, and Pb). In contrast, the real-time data were smaller than the filter-collection data for elements with high-melting oxides (Ti, Cr, Mn, Ni, Cu, Zn, Sn, and Ba). This result implies that the oxides of these 8 elements were not completely fused, vaporized, atomized, and ionized in the initial radiation zone of the inductively coupled plasma. However, quantitative real-time monitoring can be realized after correction for the element recoveries which can be calculated from the ratio of real-time data/filter-collection data. - Highlights: ► APs were directly introduced into ICP-MS and real-time analysis was performed. ► The real-time data were calibrated by a multi-element standard solution from USN. ► During real

MIMO wireless networks channels, techniques and standards for multi-antenna, multi-user and multi-cell systems

CERN Document Server

Clerckx, Bruno

2013-01-01

This book is unique in presenting channels, techniques and standards for the next generation of MIMO wireless networks. Through a unified framework, it emphasizes how propagation mechanisms impact the system performance under realistic power constraints. Combining a solid mathematical analysis with a physical and intuitive approach to space-time signal processing, the book progressively derives innovative designs for space-time coding and precoding as well as multi-user and multi-cell techniques, taking into consideration that MIMO channels are often far from ideal. Reflecting developments

A framework for developing finite element codes for multi-disciplinary applications.

OpenAIRE

Dadvand, Pooyan

2007-01-01

The world of computing simulation has experienced great progresses in recent years and requires more exigent multidisciplinary challenges to satisfy the new upcoming demands. Increasing the importance of solving multi-disciplinary problems makes developers put more attention to these problems and deal with difficulties involved in developing software in this area. Conventional finite element codes have several difficulties in dealing with multi-disciplinary problems. Many of these codes are d...

Process recognition in multi-element soil and stream-sediment geochemical data

Science.gov (United States)

Grunsky, E.C.; Drew, L.J.; Sutphin, D.M.

2009-01-01

Stream-sediment and soil geochemical data from the Upper and Lower Coastal Plains of South Carolina (USA) were studied to determine relationships between soils and stream sediments. From multi-element associations, characteristic compositions were determined for both media. Primary associations of elements reflect mineralogy, including heavy minerals, carbonates and clays, and the effects of groundwater. The effects of groundwater on element concentrations are more evident in soils than stream sediments. A "winnowing index" was created using ratios of Th to Al that revealed differing erosional and depositional environments. Both soils and stream sediments from the Upper and Lower Coastal Plains show derivation from similar materials and subsequent similar multi-element relationships, but have some distinct differences. In the Lower Coastal Plain, soils have high values of elements concentrated in heavy minerals (Ce, Y, Th) that grade into high values of elements concentrated into finer-grain-size, lower-density materials, primarily comprised of carbonates and feldspar minerals (Mg, Ca, Na, K, Al). These gradational trends in mineralogy and geochemistry are inferred to reflect reworking of materials during marine transgressions and regressions. Upper Coastal Plain stream-sediment geochemistry shows a higher winnowing index relative to soil geochemistry. A comparison of the 4 media (Upper Coastal Plain soils and stream sediments and Lower Coastal Plain soils and stream sediments) shows that Upper Coastal Plain stream sediments have a higher winnowing index and a higher concentration of elements contained within heavy minerals, whereas Lower Coastal Plain stream sediments show a strong correlation between elements typically contained within clays. It is not possible to calculate a functional relationship between stream sediment-soil compositions for all elements due to the complex history of weathering, deposition, reworking and re-deposition. However, depending on

Multi-element neutron activation analysis and solution of classification problems using multidimensional statistics

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Vaganov, P.A.; Kol'tsov, A.A.; Kulikov, V.D.; Mejer, V.A.

1983-01-01

The multi-element instrumental neutron activation analysis of samples of mountain rocks (sandstones, aleurolites and shales of one of gold deposits) is performed. The spectra of irradiated samples are measured by Ge(Li) detector of the volume of 35 mm 3 . The content of 22 chemical elements is determined in each sample. The results of analysis serve as reliable basis for multi-dimensional statistic information processing, they constitute the basis for the generalized characteristics of rocks which brings about the solution of classification problem for rocks of different deposits

Studies on absorption coefficient near edge of multi elements

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Eisa, M.H.; Shen, H.; Yao, H.Y.; Mi, Y.; Zhou, Z.Y.; Hu, T.D.; Xie, Y.N.

2005-01-01

X-ray absorption near edge structure (XANES) was used to study the near edge mass-absorption coefficients of seven elements, such as, Ti, V, Fe, Co, Ni, Cu and Zn. It is well known that, on the near edge absorption of element, when incident X-ray a few eV change can make the absorption coefficient an order magnitude alteration. So that, there are only a few points mass-absorption coefficient at the near edge absorption and that always average value in published table. Our results showed a wide range of data, the total measured data of mass-absorption coefficient of the seven elements was about 505. The investigation confirmed that XANES is useful technique for multi-element absorption coefficient measurement. Details of experimental methods and results are given and discussed. The experimental work has been performed at Beijing Synchrotron Radiation Facility. The measured values were compared with the published data. Good agreement between experimental results and published data is obtained

Studies on absorption coefficient near edge of multi elements

Science.gov (United States)

Eisa, M. H.; Shen, H.; Yao, H. Y.; Mi, Y.; Zhou, Z. Y.; Hu, T. D.; Xie, Y. N.

2005-12-01

X-ray absorption near edge structure (XANES) was used to study the near edge mass-absorption coefficients of seven elements, such as, Ti, V, Fe, Co, Ni, Cu and Zn. It is well known that, on the near edge absorption of element, when incident X-ray a few eV change can make the absorption coefficient an order magnitude alteration. So that, there are only a few points mass-absorption coefficient at the near edge absorption and that always average value in published table. Our results showed a wide range of data, the total measured data of mass-absorption coefficient of the seven elements was about 505. The investigation confirmed that XANES is useful technique for multi-element absorption coefficient measurement. Details of experimental methods and results are given and discussed. The experimental work has been performed at Beijing Synchrotron Radiation Facility. The measured values were compared with the published data. Good agreement between experimental results and published data is obtained.

Development of Standards for NanoSIMS Analyses of Biological Materials

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Davission, M L; Weber, P K; Pett-Ridge, J; Singer, S

2008-07-31

NanoSIMS is a powerful analytical technique for investigating element distributions at the nanometer scale, but quantifying elemental abundances requires appropriate standards, which are not readily available for biological materials. Standards for trace element analyses have been extensively developed for secondary ion mass spectrometry (SIMS) in the semiconductor industry and in the geological sciences. The three primary approaches for generating standards for SIMS are: (1) ion implantation (2) using previously characterized natural materials, and (3) preparing synthetic substances. Ion implantation is a reliable method for generating trace element standards, but it is expensive, which limits investigation of the analytical issues discussed above. It also requires low background levels of the elements of interest. Finding or making standard materials has the potential to provide more flexibility than ion implantation, but realizing homogeneity at the nano-scale is in itself a significant challenge. In this study, we experiment with all three approaches, but with an emphasis toward synthetic organic polymers in order to reduce costs, increase flexibility, and achieve a wide dynamic concentration range. This emphasis serves to meet the major challenge for biological samples of identifying matrix matched, homogeneous material. Biological samples themselves are typically heterogeneous at the scale of microns to 100s of microns, and therefore they are poor SIMS standards. Therefore, we focused on identifying 'biological-like' materials--either natural or synthetic--that can be used for standards. The primary criterion is that the material be as compositionally similar to biological samples as possible (primarily C, H, O, and N). For natural material we adsorbed organic colloids consisting of peptidoglycan (i.e., amino sugars), activated charcoal, and humic acids. Experiments conducted with Si on peptidoglycan showed low affinity as SiO{sub 2}, yet its

Multi-recycling of transuranic elements in a PWR assembly with reduced fuel rod diameter

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Chambers, Alex, E-mail: acchamb@gmail.com; Ragusa, Jean C., E-mail: jean.ragusa@tamu.edu

2014-04-01

Highlights: • Study of multiple recycling passes of transuranic elements: (a) without exceeding 5 wt.% on U-235 enrichment; (b) using PWR fuel assemblies compatible with current reactor core internals. • Isotopic concentrations tend towards an equilibrium after 15 recycle passes, suggesting that thermal recycling may be continued beyond that point. • Radiotoxicity comparisons for once-through UOX, once-recycle MOX-Pu, and multiple recycle passes of MOX-PuNpAm and MOX-PuNpAmCm are presented. - Abstract: This paper examines the multi-recycling of transuranic (TRU) elements (Pu-Np-Am-Cm) in standard Pressurized Water Reactor (PWR) assemblies. The original feed of TRU comes from legacy spent UOX fuel. For all subsequent recycling passes, TRU elements from the previous generation are employed, supplemented by TRU from legacy UOX fuel, as needed. The design criteria include: {sup 235}U enrichment requirements to remain below 5 w/o, TRU loading limits to avoid return to criticality under voided conditions, and assembly power peaking factors. In order to carry out multiple recycling passes within the design envelope, additional neutron moderation is required and achieved by reducing the fuel pellet diameter by about 13%, thus keeping the assembly design compatible with current PWR core internals. TRU transmutation rates and long-term ingestion radiotoxicity results are presented for 15 recycling passes and compared to standard UOX and MOX once-through cycles. The results also show that TRU fuel isotopics and radiotoxicity tend towards an equilibrium, enabling further additional recycling passes.

Determination of multi-element composition of Vietnamese marine sediment and tuna fish by k0-standardized neutron activation analysis

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Manh-Dung Ho; Quang-Thien Tran; Van-Doanh Ho; Thi-Sy Nguyen

2016-01-01

The k 0 -standardized neutron activation analysis (k 0 -NAA) has been applied for determination of multiple elements (25 elements: Al, As, Ba, Br, Ca, Cl, Co, Cr, Cs, Cu, Eu, Fe, Hg, K, La, Mg, Na, Rb, Sc, Se, Sm, Th, Ti, V and Zn) in marine sediment and tuna fish. About 50 marine sediment and 9 tuna fish samples were collected in two coastal areas of Vietnam. The health risk index (HRI) values of As and Br were higher than 1.0 for the tuna fish. Also, HRI value of Hg was 8.92 × 10 -1 indicating a relatively high potential health risk, whiles Co and Mn with HRIs = 1.56 × 10 -4 and 8.56 × 10 -4 , respectively, have the lowest potential health risks. Average enrichment factors using Al as a reference element (EF Al ) were higher than 1.5 for Eu, La, Zn, Th, Cs and As in which the highest EF Al value for As was higher than 10. This study showed that the HRI value of As in the tuna fish correlated positively with the EF Al value for the element in the marine sediment. (author)

Development of synthetic selfish elements based on modular nucleases in Drosophila melanogaster.

Science.gov (United States)

Simoni, Alekos; Siniscalchi, Carla; Chan, Yuk-Sang; Huen, David S; Russell, Steven; Windbichler, Nikolai; Crisanti, Andrea

2014-06-01

Selfish genes are DNA elements that increase their rate of genetic transmission at the expense of other genes in the genome and can therefore quickly spread within a population. It has been suggested that selfish elements could be exploited to modify the genome of entire populations for medical and ecological applications. Here we report that transcription activator-like effector nuclease (TALEN) and zinc finger nuclease (ZFN) can be engineered into site-specific synthetic selfish elements (SSEs) and demonstrate their transmission of up to 70% in the Drosophila germline. We show here that SSEs can spread via DNA break-induced homologous recombination, a process known as 'homing' similar to that observed for homing endonuclease genes (HEGs), despite their fundamentally different modes of DNA binding and cleavage. We observed that TALEN and ZFN have a reduced capability of secondary homing compared to HEG as their repetitive structure had a negative effect on their genetic stability. The modular architecture of ZFNs and TALENs allows for the rapid design of novel SSEs against specific genomic sequences making them potentially suitable for the genetic engineering of wild-type populations of animals and plants, in applications such as gene replacement or population suppression of pest species. © The Author(s) 2014. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Nucleic Acids Research.

Finite element method for radiation heat transfer in multi-dimensional graded index medium

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Liu, L.H.; Zhang, L.; Tan, H.P.

2006-01-01

In graded index medium, ray goes along a curved path determined by Fermat principle, and curved ray-tracing is very difficult and complex. To avoid the complicated and time-consuming computation of curved ray trajectories, a finite element method based on discrete ordinate equation is developed to solve the radiative transfer problem in a multi-dimensional semitransparent graded index medium. Two particular test problems of radiative transfer are taken as examples to verify this finite element method. The predicted dimensionless net radiative heat fluxes are determined by the proposed method and compared with the results obtained by finite volume method. The results show that the finite element method presented in this paper has a good accuracy in solving the multi-dimensional radiative transfer problem in semitransparent graded index medium

Application of Laser Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy to the identification of emeralds from different synthetic processes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Agrosì, G.; Tempesta, G.; Scandale, E.; Legnaioli, S.; Lorenzetti, G.; Pagnotta, S.; Palleschi, V.; Mangone, A.; Lezzerini, M.

2014-01-01

Laser Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy can provide a useful contribution in mineralogical field in which the quantitative chemical analyses (including the evaluation of light elements) can play a key role in the studies on the origin of the emeralds. In particular, the chemical analyses permit to determine those trace elements, known as fingerprints, that can be useful to study their provenance. This technique, not requiring sample preparation results particularly suitable for gemstones, that obviously must be studied in a non-destructive way. In this paper, the LIBS technique was applied to distinguish synthetic emeralds grown by Biron hydrothermal method from those grown by Chatham flux method. The analyses performed by collinear double-pulse LIBS give a signal enhancement useful for the quantitative chemical analyses while guaranteeing a minimal sample damage. In this way it was obtained a considerable improvement on the detection limit of the trace elements, whose determination is essential for determining the origin of emerald gemstone. The trace elements V, Cr, and Fe and their relative amounts allowed the correct attribution of the manufacturer. Two different methods for quantitative analyses were used for this study: the standard Calibration-Free LIBS (CF-LIBS) method and its recent evolution, the One Point Calibration LIBS (OPC-LIBS). This is the first approach to the evaluation of the emerald origin by means of the LIBS technique. - Highlights: • A LIBS method for discrimination between synthetic emeralds is presented. • Only one standard of known composition is needed for the analysis. • A set of two kind of synthetic emeralds has been analyzed. • The cromophoric elements Cr, V and Fe amounts have been used to determine the origin of emerald gemstone

Application of Laser Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy to the identification of emeralds from different synthetic processes

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Agrosì, G. [Department of Scienze della Terra e Geoambientali, University of Bari, Bari (Italy); Tempesta, G., E-mail: gioacchino.tempesta@uniba.it [Department of Scienze della Terra e Geoambientali, University of Bari, Bari (Italy); Scandale, E. [Department of Scienze della Terra e Geoambientali, University of Bari, Bari (Italy); Legnaioli, S.; Lorenzetti, G.; Pagnotta, S.; Palleschi, V. [Institute of Chemistry of Organometallic Compounds, CNR, Pisa (Italy); Mangone, A. [Department of Chemistry, University of Bari, Bari (Italy); Lezzerini, M. [Department of Earth Sciences, University of Pisa, Pisa (Italy)

2014-12-01

Laser Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy can provide a useful contribution in mineralogical field in which the quantitative chemical analyses (including the evaluation of light elements) can play a key role in the studies on the origin of the emeralds. In particular, the chemical analyses permit to determine those trace elements, known as fingerprints, that can be useful to study their provenance. This technique, not requiring sample preparation results particularly suitable for gemstones, that obviously must be studied in a non-destructive way. In this paper, the LIBS technique was applied to distinguish synthetic emeralds grown by Biron hydrothermal method from those grown by Chatham flux method. The analyses performed by collinear double-pulse LIBS give a signal enhancement useful for the quantitative chemical analyses while guaranteeing a minimal sample damage. In this way it was obtained a considerable improvement on the detection limit of the trace elements, whose determination is essential for determining the origin of emerald gemstone. The trace elements V, Cr, and Fe and their relative amounts allowed the correct attribution of the manufacturer. Two different methods for quantitative analyses were used for this study: the standard Calibration-Free LIBS (CF-LIBS) method and its recent evolution, the One Point Calibration LIBS (OPC-LIBS). This is the first approach to the evaluation of the emerald origin by means of the LIBS technique. - Highlights: • A LIBS method for discrimination between synthetic emeralds is presented. • Only one standard of known composition is needed for the analysis. • A set of two kind of synthetic emeralds has been analyzed. • The cromophoric elements Cr, V and Fe amounts have been used to determine the origin of emerald gemstone.

Influence of Pichia pastoris cellular material on polymerase chain reaction performance as a synthetic biology standard for genome monitoring.

Science.gov (United States)

Templar, Alexander; Woodhouse, Stefan; Keshavarz-Moore, Eli; Nesbeth, Darren N

2016-08-01

Advances in synthetic genomics are now well underway in yeasts due to the low cost of synthetic DNA. These new capabilities also bring greater need for quantitating the presence, loss and rearrangement of loci within synthetic yeast genomes. Methods for achieving this will ideally; i) be robust to industrial settings, ii) adhere to a global standard and iii) be sufficiently rapid to enable at-line monitoring during cell growth. The methylotrophic yeast Pichia pastoris (P. pastoris) is increasingly used for industrial production of biotherapeutic proteins so we sought to answer the following questions for this particular yeast species. Is time-consuming DNA purification necessary to obtain accurate end-point polymerase chain reaction (e-pPCR) and quantitative PCR (qPCR) data? Can the novel linear regression of efficiency qPCR method (LRE qPCR), which has properties desirable in a synthetic biology standard, match the accuracy of conventional qPCR? Does cell cultivation scale influence PCR performance? To answer these questions we performed e-pPCR and qPCR in the presence and absence of cellular material disrupted by a mild 30s sonication procedure. The e-pPCR limit of detection (LOD) for a genomic target locus was 50pg (4.91×10(3) copies) of purified genomic DNA (gDNA) but the presence of cellular material reduced this sensitivity sixfold to 300pg gDNA (2.95×10(4) copies). LRE qPCR matched the accuracy of a conventional standard curve qPCR method. The presence of material from bioreactor cultivation of up to OD600=80 did not significantly compromise the accuracy of LRE qPCR. We conclude that a simple and rapid cell disruption step is sufficient to render P. pastoris samples of up to OD600=80 amenable to analysis using LRE qPCR which we propose as a synthetic biology standard. Copyright © 2016 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Obtaining Approximate Values of Exterior Orientation Elements of Multi-Intersection Images Using Particle Swarm Optimization

Science.gov (United States)

Li, X.; Li, S. W.

2012-07-01

carried out. In the first experiment, images of a standard grid board are taken according to multi-intersection photography using digital camera. Three points or six points which are located on the left-down corner of the standard grid are regarded as control points respectively, and the exterior orientation elements of each image are computed through PSO, and compared with these elements computed through bundle adjustment. In the second experiment, the exterior orientation elements obtained from the first experiment are used as approximate values in bundle adjustment and then the space coordinates of other grid points on the board can be computed. The coordinate difference of grid points between these computed space coordinates and their known coordinates can be used to compute the accuracy. The point accuracy computed in above experiments are ±0.76mm and ±0.43mm respectively. The above experiments prove the effectiveness of PSO used in close range photogrammetry to compute approximate values of exterior orientation elements, and the algorithm can meet the requirement of higher accuracy. In short, PSO can get better results in a faster, cheaper way compared with other surveying methods in close range photogrammetry.

OBTAINING APPROXIMATE VALUES OF EXTERIOR ORIENTATION ELEMENTS OF MULTI-INTERSECTION IMAGES USING PARTICLE SWARM OPTIMIZATION

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

X. Li

2012-07-01

, two experiments are carried out. In the first experiment, images of a standard grid board are taken according to multi-intersection photography using digital camera. Three points or six points which are located on the left-down corner of the standard grid are regarded as control points respectively, and the exterior orientation elements of each image are computed through PSO, and compared with these elements computed through bundle adjustment. In the second experiment, the exterior orientation elements obtained from the first experiment are used as approximate values in bundle adjustment and then the space coordinates of other grid points on the board can be computed. The coordinate difference of grid points between these computed space coordinates and their known coordinates can be used to compute the accuracy. The point accuracy computed in above experiments are ±0.76mm and ±0.43mm respectively. The above experiments prove the effectiveness of PSO used in close range photogrammetry to compute approximate values of exterior orientation elements, and the algorithm can meet the requirement of higher accuracy. In short, PSO can get better results in a faster, cheaper way compared with other surveying methods in close range photogrammetry.

Global multiplicity of dietary standards for trace elements.

Science.gov (United States)

Freeland-Graves, Jeanne H; Lee, Jane J

2012-06-01

Consistent guidelines across the world for dietary standards of trace elements remain elusive. Harmonization of dietary standards has been suggested by international agencies to facilitate consistency in food and nutrition policies and international trade. Yet significant barriers exist to standardize recommendations on a global basis, such as vast differences in geography, food availability and transport; cultural, social and economic constraints, and biological diversity. Simple commonality is precluded further by the variety of terminologies among countries and regions related to diet. Certain unions have created numerous nutritional descriptive categories for standards, while other large countries are limited to only a few. This paper will explore the global multiplicity of dietary standards and efforts for harmonization. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier GmbH. All rights reserved.

Comparison of elemental quantity by PIXE and ICP-MS and/or ICP-AES for NIST standards

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Saitoh, K.; Sera, K.; Gotoh, T.; Nakamura, M.

2002-01-01

Urban particulate matter (SRM 1648), Buffalo River sediment (SRM 2704) and pine needle (SRM 1575) standard reference materials prepared by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST, USA) were analyzed by three multi-element analysis methods, i.e., particle induced X-ray emission (PIXE), inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) and inductively coupled plasma-atomic emission spectrometry (ICP-AES); values determined by those analysis methods were compared with certified and/or non-certified values of NIST samples. Values determined by PIXE were 70-120% relative to certified and/or non-certified values of NIST samples except for Co in the urban particulate matter, for V and Co in Buffalo River sediment and for Ni and Br in the pine needles samples. In particular, Al, K, Ca, Cr, Mn, Fe, Cu, Zn and Pb were 85-110% in all samples. On the other hand, Na and Fe values determined by ICP-MS were very much different from the certified values in all samples, but the other elements were 70-120%. As for ICP-AES, all elements except for Na were 80-100% in all samples. Comparing the values determined by PIXE and those determined by ICP-MS and/or ICP-AES, there was a slight difference between the samples, but the range was 75-120% except for Na, V, Fe and Co determined by ICP-MS and Na determined by ICP-AES, which was generally consistent with PIXE

A platform for rapid prototyping of synthetic gene networks in mammalian cells

Science.gov (United States)

Duportet, Xavier; Wroblewska, Liliana; Guye, Patrick; Li, Yinqing; Eyquem, Justin; Rieders, Julianne; Rimchala, Tharathorn; Batt, Gregory; Weiss, Ron

2014-01-01

Mammalian synthetic biology may provide novel therapeutic strategies, help decipher new paths for drug discovery and facilitate synthesis of valuable molecules. Yet, our capacity to genetically program cells is currently hampered by the lack of efficient approaches to streamline the design, construction and screening of synthetic gene networks. To address this problem, here we present a framework for modular and combinatorial assembly of functional (multi)gene expression vectors and their efficient and specific targeted integration into a well-defined chromosomal context in mammalian cells. We demonstrate the potential of this framework by assembling and integrating different functional mammalian regulatory networks including the largest gene circuit built and chromosomally integrated to date (6 transcription units, 27kb) encoding an inducible memory device. Using a library of 18 different circuits as a proof of concept, we also demonstrate that our method enables one-pot/single-flask chromosomal integration and screening of circuit libraries. This rapid and powerful prototyping platform is well suited for comparative studies of genetic regulatory elements, genes and multi-gene circuits as well as facile development of libraries of isogenic engineered cell lines. PMID:25378321

3D synthetic aperture imaging using a virtual source element in the elevation plane

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Nikolov, Svetoslav; Jensen, Jørgen Arendt

2000-01-01

. However, the resolution in the elevation plane is determined by the fixed mechanical elevation focus. This paper suggests to post-focus the RF lines from several adjacent planes in the elevation direction using the elevation focal point of the transducer as a virtual source element, in order to obtain...... dynamic focusing in the elevation plane. A 0.1 mm point scatterer was mounted in an agar block and scanned in a water bath. The transducer is a 64 elements linear array with a pitch of 209 μm. The transducer height is 4 mm in the elevation plane and it is focused at 20 mm giving a F-number of 5. The point...... are passed through a second beamformer, in which the fixed focal points in the elevation plane are treated as virtual sources of spherical waves. Synthetic aperture focusing is applied on them. The -6 dB resolution in the elevation plane is increased from 7 mm to 2 mm. This gives a uniform point spread...

Provenance Establishment of Stingless Bee Honey Using Multi-element Analysis in Combination with Chemometrics Techniques.

Science.gov (United States)

Shadan, Aidil Fahmi; Mahat, Naji A; Wan Ibrahim, Wan Aini; Ariffin, Zaiton; Ismail, Dzulkiflee

2018-01-01

As consumption of stingless bee honey has been gaining popularity in many countries including Malaysia, ability to identify accurately its geographical origin proves pertinent for investigating fraudulent activities for consumer protection. Because a chemical signature can be location-specific, multi-element distribution patterns may prove useful for provenancing such product. Using the inductively coupled-plasma optical emission spectrometer as well as principal component analysis (PCA) and linear discriminant analysis (LDA), the distributions of multi-elements in stingless bee honey collected at four different geographical locations (North, West, East, and South) in Johor, Malaysia, were investigated. While cross-validation using PCA demonstrated 87.0% correct classification rate, the same was improved (96.2%) with the use of LDA, indicating that discrimination was possible for the different geographical regions. Therefore, utilization of multi-element analysis coupled with chemometrics techniques for assigning the provenance of stingless bee honeys for forensic applications is supported. © 2017 American Academy of Forensic Sciences.

An adaptive multi-element probabilistic collocation method for statistical EMC/EMI characterization

KAUST Repository

Yücel, Abdulkadir C.

2013-12-01

An adaptive multi-element probabilistic collocation (ME-PC) method for quantifying uncertainties in electromagnetic compatibility and interference phenomena involving electrically large, multi-scale, and complex platforms is presented. The method permits the efficient and accurate statistical characterization of observables (i.e., quantities of interest such as coupled voltages) that potentially vary rapidly and/or are discontinuous in the random variables (i.e., parameters that characterize uncertainty in a system\\'s geometry, configuration, or excitation). The method achieves its efficiency and accuracy by recursively and adaptively dividing the domain of the random variables into subdomains using as a guide the decay rate of relative error in a polynomial chaos expansion of the observables. While constructing local polynomial expansions on each subdomain, a fast integral-equation-based deterministic field-cable-circuit simulator is used to compute the observable values at the collocation/integration points determined by the adaptive ME-PC scheme. The adaptive ME-PC scheme requires far fewer (computationally costly) deterministic simulations than traditional polynomial chaos collocation and Monte Carlo methods for computing averages, standard deviations, and probability density functions of rapidly varying observables. The efficiency and accuracy of the method are demonstrated via its applications to the statistical characterization of voltages in shielded/unshielded microwave amplifiers and magnetic fields induced on car tire pressure sensors. © 2013 IEEE.

Studies of the source complex behaviour and of the ultrasound radiation of contact flexible multi-element transducers

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Amory, V.

2007-12-01

This work deals with the ultrasonic nondestructive testing of parts with complex geometries using soft multi-element sensors. The different types of contact control configurations are presented first. Then, the difficulties encountered with conventional contact transducers are explained and the multi-element piezoelectric transducers technology, developed to meet these difficulties, is presented. The second chapter presents the results of finite-element calculations showing the complexity of a transducer in a condition of testing utilization. In a same configuration, the radiated far field calculated by finite-elements is compared to the measurement in order to validate the way the source behaviour is calculated. However, despite the efficiency of the finite-elements simulation, this tool is numerically too costly and cannot be used to optimize a full multi-element transducer. Therefore, a realistic source model is built and implemented in a radiation code based on high-frequency asymptotic approximations where only L and T volume waves are calculated. The incapacity of this model to reproduce the behaviour of T waves in some directions of propagation has led to give a particular attention to the fore-waves, neglected in the radiation calculation. Chapter 3 treats of the building of an exact radiation model taking into consideration the fore-waves contribution emitted by a contact transducer exerting a random space-time distribution constraint at the surface of the considered medium. A radiation model, based on the calculation of exact Green functions of the Lamb problem is proposed. The exact model is particularly interesting in the case of sensor geometries with a long length with respect to other dimensions (2D case). Field calculation results are shown for an element of the matrix network (3D case) and for a linear element (2D case). A study of different existing approached models is carried out as well. The last chapter presents some results of the field

A standard-enabled workflow for synthetic biology

KAUST Repository

Myers, Chris J.; Beal, Jacob; Gorochowski, Thomas E.; Kuwahara, Hiroyuki; Madsen, Curtis; McLaughlin, James Alastair; Mısırlı, Gö ksel; Nguyen, Tramy; Oberortner, Ernst; Samineni, Meher; Wipat, Anil; Zhang, Michael; Zundel, Zach

2017-01-01

A synthetic biology workflow is composed of data repositories that provide information about genetic parts, sequence-level design tools to compose these parts into circuits, visualization tools to depict these designs, genetic design tools to select

A site-specific and multi-element isotopic approach to origin inference of sugars in foods and beverages

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Martin, M.L.; Martin, G.J.; Guillou, C.

1991-01-01

A strategy is presented for the characterization of sugars according to their botanical origin. The samples fermented in standardized conditions can be described in the multi-dimensional space of the overall carbon isotope ratio of ethanol measured by isotope ratio mass spectrometry (IRMS) and of the specific hydrogen isotope parameters of the methyl and methylene sites derived from nuclear magnetic resonance investigation of site-specific natural isotope fractionation (SNIF-NMR method). In the comparison of natural juices, the deuterium and oxygen-18 parameters of water extracted from the juice and from the end fermentation medium also contain information on the origin of the product. The isotopic effects of the concentration processes leading to concentrated juices, musts and syrups can be estimated and taken into account in interpreting the data. The classification power of this multi-element and multi-site approach is illustrated by discriminant analyses involving selected isotopic variables associated with pineapple, apple and barley sugars, compared to beet and cane sugars which are common sources of enrichment. The ability of the method to detect adulteration by exogenous sugars is improved when environmental conditions can be taken into account. (authors)

Development of nuclear standard filter elements for PWR plant

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Weng Minghui; Wu Jidong; Gu Xiuzhang; Zhang Jinghua

1988-11-01

Model FRX-5 and FRX-10 nuclear standard filter elements are used for the fluid clarification of the chemical and volume control system (CVCS), boron recycle system (BRS), spent fuel pit cooling system (SFPCS) and steam generator blowdown system (SGBS) in Qinshan Nuclear Power Plant. The radioactive contaminant, fragment of resin and impurity are collected by these filter elements, The core of filter elements consists of polypropylene frames and paper filter medium bonded by resin. A variety of filter papers are tested for optimization. The flow rate and comprehensive performance have been measured in the simulation condition. The results showed that the performance and lifetime have met the designing requirements. The advantages of the filter elements are simple in manufacturing, less expense and facilities for waste-disposal. At present, some of filter elements have been produced and put in operation

Precision and Accuracy of k0-NAA Method for Analysis of Multi Elements in Reference Samples

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sri-Wardani

2004-01-01

Accuracy and precision of k 0 -NAA method could determine in the analysis of multi elements contained in reference samples. The analyzed results of multi elements in SRM 1633b sample were obtained with optimum results in bias of 20% but it is in a good accuracy and precision. The analyzed results of As, Cd and Zn in CCQM-P29 rice flour sample were obtained with very good result in bias of 0.5 - 5.6%. (author)

A multi-element cosmological model with a complex space-time topology

Science.gov (United States)

Kardashev, N. S.; Lipatova, L. N.; Novikov, I. D.; Shatskiy, A. A.

2015-02-01

Wormhole models with a complex topology having one entrance and two exits into the same space-time of another universe are considered, as well as models with two entrances from the same space-time and one exit to another universe. These models are used to build a model of a multi-sheeted universe (a multi-element model of the "Multiverse") with a complex topology. Spherical symmetry is assumed in all the models. A Reissner-Norström black-hole model having no singularity beyond the horizon is constructed. The strength of the central singularity of the black hole is analyzed.

Multi-Element Composition of Honey as a Suitable Tool for Its Authenticity Analysis

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Oroian Mircea

2015-06-01

Full Text Available The aim of this study was to evaluate the composition of 36 honey samples of 4 different botanical origins (acacia, sun flower, tilia and honeydew from the North East region of Romania. An inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry (ICP-MS method was used to determine 27 elements in honey (Ag, Al, As, Ba, Be, Ca, Cd, Co, Cr, Cs, Cu, Fe, Ga, K, Li, Mg, Mn, Na, Ni, Pb, Rb, Se, Sr, Tl, U, V and Zn. We would like to achieve the following goal: to demonstrate that the qualitative and quantitative multi-element composition determination of honey can be used as a suitable tool to classify honey according to its botanical origin. The principal component analysis allowed the reduction of the 27 variables to 2 principal components which explained 74% of the total variance. The dominant elements which were strongly associated with the principal component were K, Mg and Ca. Discriminant models obtained for each kind of botanical honey confirmed that the differentiation of honeys according to their botanical origin was mainly based on multi-element composition. A correct classification of all samples was achieved with the exception of 11.1% of honeydew honeys.

Finite Macro-Element Mesh Deformation in a Structured Multi-Block Navier-Stokes Code

Science.gov (United States)

Bartels, Robert E.

2005-01-01

A mesh deformation scheme is developed for a structured multi-block Navier-Stokes code consisting of two steps. The first step is a finite element solution of either user defined or automatically generated macro-elements. Macro-elements are hexagonal finite elements created from a subset of points from the full mesh. When assembled, the finite element system spans the complete flow domain. Macro-element moduli vary according to the distance to the nearest surface, resulting in extremely stiff elements near a moving surface and very pliable elements away from boundaries. Solution of the finite element system for the imposed boundary deflections generally produces smoothly varying nodal deflections. The manner in which distance to the nearest surface has been found to critically influence the quality of the element deformation. The second step is a transfinite interpolation which distributes the macro-element nodal deflections to the remaining fluid mesh points. The scheme is demonstrated for several two-dimensional applications.

Synthesis and properties of layered synthetic microstructure (LSM) dispersion elements for 62 eV (200A) to 1.24 keV (10A) radiation. Final report

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Barbee, T.W. Jr.

1981-08-01

The opportunities offered by engineered synthetic multilayer dispersion elements for x-rays have been recognized since the earliest days of x-ray diffraction analysis. In this paper, application of sputter deposition technology to the synthesis of Layered Synthetic Microstructure (LSMs) of sufficient quality for use as x-ray dispersion elements is discussed. It will be shown that high efficiency, controllable bandwidth dispersion elements, with d spacings varying from 15 A to 180 A, may be synthesized onto both mechanically stiff and flexible substrates. Multilayer component materials include tungsten, niobium, molybdenum, titanium, vanadium, and silicon layers separated by carbon layers. Experimental observations of peak reflectivity in first order, integrated reflectivity in first order, and diffraction performance at selected photon energies in the range, 100 to 15,000 eV, are reported and compared to theory

MicroCT parameters for multi material elements assessment

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Araújo, Olga M.O. de; Machado, Alessandra S.; Santos, Thaís M.P. dos; Ferreira, Cintia G.; Lopes, Ricardo T., E-mail: olgaufrjlin@gmail.com [Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ), Rio de Janeiro, RJ (Brazil). Programa de Engenharia Nuclear; Bastos, Jaqueline Silva [Universidade Estadual Paulista Julio de Mesquita Filho (UNESP), São Paulo, SP (Brazil)

2017-07-01

Microtomography is a non-destructive testing technique for quantitative and qualitative analysis. The investigation of multi material elements with great difference of density can result in artifacts that degrade image quality depending on combination of additional filter. The aim of this study is the selection of parameters most appropriate for analysis of bone tissue with metallic implant. The results show the simulation with MCNPX code for the distribution of energy without additional filter, with use of aluminum, copper and brass filters and their respective reconstructed images showing the importance of the choice of these parameters in image acquisition process on computed microtomography. (author)

ICP-MS: Analytical Method for Identification and Detection of Elemental Impurities.

Science.gov (United States)

Mittal, Mohini; Kumar, Kapil; Anghore, Durgadas; Rawal, Ravindra K

2017-01-01

Aim of this article is to review and discuss the currently used quantitative analytical method ICP-MS, which is used for quality control of pharmaceutical products. ICP-MS technique has several applications such as determination of single elements, multi element analysis in synthetic drugs, heavy metals in environmental water, trace element content of selected fertilizers and dairy manures. ICP-MS is also used for determination of toxic and essential elements in different varieties of food samples and metal pollutant present in the environment. The pharmaceuticals may generate impurities at various stages of development, transportation and storage which make them risky to be administered. Thus, it is essential that these impurities must be detected and quantified. ICP-MS plays an important function in the recognition and revealing of elemental impurities. Copyright© Bentham Science Publishers; For any queries, please email at epub@benthamscience.org.

Evaluation of online carbon isotope dilution mass spectrometry for the purity assessment of synthetic peptide standards

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Díaz, Sergio Cueto; Ruiz Encinar, Jorge, E-mail: ruizjorge@uniovi.es; García Alonso, J. Ignacio, E-mail: jiga@uniovi.es

2014-09-24

Highlights: • Purity assessment of peptide standards applicable to any water soluble peptide. • Online {sup 13}C isotope dilution mass spectrometry. • Mass flow chromatogram from measured 44/45 isotope ratios. • Validation by the analysis of NIST 8327. - Abstract: We present a novel method for the purity assessment of peptide standards which is applicable to any water soluble peptide. The method is based on the online {sup 13}C isotope dilution approach in which the peptide is separated from its related impurities by liquid chromatography (LC) and the eluent is mixed post-column with a continuous flow of {sup 13}C-enriched sodium bicarbonate. An online oxidation step using sodium persulfate in acidic media at 99 °C provides quantitative oxidation to {sup 12}CO{sub 2} and {sup 13}CO{sub 2} respectively which is extracted to a gaseous phase with the help of a gas permeable membrane. The measurement of the isotope ratio 44/45 in the mass spectrometer allows the construction of the mass flow chromatogram. As the only species that is finally measured in the mass spectrometer is CO{sub 2}, the peptide content in the standard can be quantified, on the base of its carbon content, using a generic primary standard such as potassium hydrogen phthalate. The approach was validated by the analysis of a reference material (NIST 8327), and applied to the quantification of two commercial synthetic peptide standards. In that case, the results obtained were compared with those obtained using alternative methods, such as amino acid analysis and ICP-MS. The results obtained proved the value of the method for the fast, accurate and precise mass purity assignment of synthetic peptide standards.

Bio- and mineral acid leaching of rare earth elements from synthetic phosphogypsum

Science.gov (United States)

Hu, Z.; Antonick, P.; Fujita, Y.; Reed, D. W.; Riman, R.; Eslamimanesh, A.; Das, G.; Anderko, A.; Wu, L.; Shivaramaiah, R.; Navrotsky, A.

2017-12-01

Rare earth elements (REE) are critical to many clean energy technologies. However, the lack of U.S. domestic production and the reliance on imported REE put U.S. energy security at risk. Consequently development of new sources is of strategic interest. Global phosphate deposits contain 27 million tons of REE and 38% of these REE end up in phosphogypsum (PG) waste during phosphate fertilizer production. Recovering REE from PG is a first step toward a trash-to-treasure transformation. We studied the leaching of REE from synthetic PG samples containing Y, Nd, or Eu using a suite of lixiviants including spent medium from the growth of the bacterium Gluconobacter oxydans ("biolixiviant"), gluconic acid, common mineral acids (phosphoric and sulfuric), and water. Synthetic PG was used to facilitate the comparison of the different lixiviants; real PG waste is extremely heterogeneous. Gluconic acid was the predominant identified organic acid in the biolixiviant. The leaching efficiency of the acidic lixiviants at the same pH (2.1) or molar concentration as gluconic acid in the biolixiviant (220 mM) were compared and rationalized by thermodynamic simulation using the mixed-solvent electrolyte model. Initial results indicate that the biolixiviant was more effective at leaching the REE than the mineral acids at pH 2.1. At 220 mM acid concentrations, sulfuric acid was the most effective, followed by the biolixiviant. Interestingly, for a given lixiviant, the leaching behavior of the REE differed. This study provides insight into the definition of an efficient lixiviant for leaching REE from phosphate fertilizer production waste.

MEGHNAD – A multi element detector array for heavy ion collision ...

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

When heavy ion beam available from such machines fall on a target and undergo collision, very rich and often pristine fields of research open up. In order to carry on such activities, we have taken up a project to build a multi element gamma, heavy ion and neutron array of detectors (MEGHNAD) to detect and study the ...

Libraries of Synthetic TALE-Activated Promoters: Methods and Applications.

Science.gov (United States)

Schreiber, T; Tissier, A

2016-01-01

The discovery of proteins with programmable DNA-binding specificities triggered a whole array of applications in synthetic biology, including genome editing, regulation of transcription, and epigenetic modifications. Among those, transcription activator-like effectors (TALEs) due to their natural function as transcription regulators, are especially well-suited for the development of orthogonal systems for the control of gene expression. We describe here the construction and testing of libraries of synthetic TALE-activated promoters which are under the control of a single TALE with a given DNA-binding specificity. These libraries consist of a fixed DNA-binding element for the TALE, a TATA box, and variable sequences of 19 bases upstream and 43 bases downstream of the DNA-binding element. These libraries were cloned using a Golden Gate cloning strategy making them usable as standard parts in a modular cloning system. The broad range of promoter activities detected and the versatility of these promoter libraries make them valuable tools for applications in the fine-tuning of expression in metabolic engineering projects or in the design and implementation of regulatory circuits. © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Hybrid Direct and Iterative Solver with Library of Multi-criteria Optimal Orderings for h Adaptive Finite Element Method Computations

KAUST Repository

AbouEisha, Hassan M.

2016-06-02

In this paper we present a multi-criteria optimization of element partition trees and resulting orderings for multi-frontal solver algorithms executed for two dimensional h adaptive finite element method. In particular, the problem of optimal ordering of elimination of rows in the sparse matrices resulting from adaptive finite element method computations is reduced to the problem of finding of optimal element partition trees. Given a two dimensional h refined mesh, we find all optimal element partition trees by using the dynamic programming approach. An element partition tree defines a prescribed order of elimination of degrees of freedom over the mesh. We utilize three different metrics to estimate the quality of the element partition tree. As the first criterion we consider the number of floating point operations(FLOPs) performed by the multi-frontal solver. As the second criterion we consider the number of memory transfers (MEMOPS) performed by the multi-frontal solver algorithm. As the third criterion we consider memory usage (NONZEROS) of the multi-frontal direct solver. We show the optimization results for FLOPs vs MEMOPS as well as for the execution time estimated as FLOPs+100MEMOPS vs NONZEROS. We obtain Pareto fronts with multiple optimal trees, for each mesh, and for each refinement level. We generate a library of optimal elimination trees for small grids with local singularities. We also propose an algorithm that for a given large mesh with identified local sub-grids, each one with local singularity. We compute Schur complements over the sub-grids using the optimal trees from the library, and we submit the sequence of Schur complements into the iterative solver ILUPCG.

Global rule-setting for business: A critical analysis of multi-stakeholder standards

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Fransen, L.W.; Kolk, A.

2007-01-01

In the field of global rule-setting for responsible business behaviour, multi-stakeholder standards have emerged in recent years because of their potential for effective consensus-building, knowledgesharing and interest representation. Proponents also hold that multistakeholder standards could

Morphing the feature-based multi-blocks of normative/healthy vertebral geometries to scoliosis vertebral geometries: development of personalized finite element models.

Science.gov (United States)

Hadagali, Prasannaah; Peters, James R; Balasubramanian, Sriram

2018-03-12

Personalized Finite Element (FE) models and hexahedral elements are preferred for biomechanical investigations. Feature-based multi-block methods are used to develop anatomically accurate personalized FE models with hexahedral mesh. It is tedious to manually construct multi-blocks for large number of geometries on an individual basis to develop personalized FE models. Mesh-morphing method mitigates the aforementioned tediousness in meshing personalized geometries every time, but leads to element warping and loss of geometrical data. Such issues increase in magnitude when normative spine FE model is morphed to scoliosis-affected spinal geometry. The only way to bypass the issue of hex-mesh distortion or loss of geometry as a result of morphing is to rely on manually constructing the multi-blocks for scoliosis-affected spine geometry of each individual, which is time intensive. A method to semi-automate the construction of multi-blocks on the geometry of scoliosis vertebrae from the existing multi-blocks of normative vertebrae is demonstrated in this paper. High-quality hexahedral elements were generated on the scoliosis vertebrae from the morphed multi-blocks of normative vertebrae. Time taken was 3 months to construct the multi-blocks for normative spine and less than a day for scoliosis. Efforts taken to construct multi-blocks on personalized scoliosis spinal geometries are significantly reduced by morphing existing multi-blocks.

Design and Fabrication of High Gain Multi-element Multi-segment Quarter-sector Cylindrical Dielectric Resonator Antenna

Science.gov (United States)

Ranjan, Pinku; Gangwar, Ravi Kumar

2017-12-01

A novel design and analysis of quarter cylindrical dielectric resonator antenna (q-CDRA) with multi-element and multi-segment (MEMS) approach has been presented. The MEMS q-CDRA has been designed by splitting four identical quarters from a solid cylinder and then multi-segmentation approach has been utilized to design q-CDRA. The proposed antenna has been designed for enhancement in bandwidth as well as for high gain. For bandwidth enhancement, multi-segmentation method has been explained for the selection of dielectric constant of materials. The performance of the proposed MEMS q-CDRA has been demonstrated with design guideline of MEMS approach. To validate the antenna performance, three segments q-CDRA has been fabricated and analyzed practically. The simulated results have been in good agreement with measured one. The MEMS q-CDRA has wide impedance bandwidth (|S11|≤-10 dB) of 133.8 % with monopole-like radiation pattern. The proposed MEMS q-CDRA has been operating at TM01δ mode with the measured gain of 6.65 dBi and minimum gain of 4.5 dBi in entire operating frequency band (5.1-13.7 GHz). The proposed MEMS q-CDRA may find appropriate applications in WiMAX and WLAN band.

Wear And Tear Determination By Trace Multi-Element Analysis Of An Unused And Used Lubricant Oil Using Instrumental Neutron Activation Analysis

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Adeyemo, D.J.

2004-01-01

Instrumental neutron activation analysis technique using the Imperial College Centre consort M. K. II nuclear reactor was utilized for the determination of: As, Ba Ca CI, Co, Cr, Cu, Fe, K, Mn, Mo, Na Ni, Rb, Sb, Se, Ti, V, and Zn, in an imported and used car lubricant oil. The wear of the oil lubricated parts of the car engine was monitored by establishing a correlation between the results obtained in the analysis. The result obtained from the analysis of the unused and then used samples on a low performing oil leaking four stroke car engine showed an increase on all the elements determined except for Se and Rb. The precision for the multi-element analysis is less than 12% for most of the elements. The accuracy of the measurement is also validated by the result obtained from the analysis of NBS-SRM1635 (sub-bituminous) coal standard for the elements. The results obtained indicate that analysis of unused and used lubricant oil samples can aid in locating defects in engine parts and hence facilitated maintenance procedures

Trace element analysis of single synthetic fibres by proton induced X-ray analysis in a helium atmosphere

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ahmed, M.; Cookson, J.A.

1976-10-01

A technique for measuring the trace element content of synthetic fibres by detecting X-rays produced by 3 MeV proton bombardment has been developed. Largely to reduce the problems of removing heat from the fibres, an arrangement was used in which the beam was brought out of the vacuum into air or helium. Kapton, aluminium, nickel and molybdenum were tested for suitability as exit windows. Of these, aluminium produced significantly the most background in X-ray spectra while helium was found to be significantly better than air as the medium around the targets. With a kapton window, helium in the target chamber, and suitable collimation, trace element concentration down to a few parts per million could be measured when quantities of fibre of only a few times 10 -5 g were available for analysis. (author)

Detailed finite element method modeling of evaporating multi-component droplets

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

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

2017-07-01

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

The spectrographic determination of minor and trace elements in copper, lead, and zinc concentrates

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Breckenridge, R.L.; Russell, G.M.; Watson, A.E.

1976-01-01

This report deals with the development of a method for the determination, by an emission-spectrographic technique, of magnesium, manganese, aluminium, silver, calcium, chromium, cobalt, titanium, antimony, cadmium, molybdenum, zirconium, nickel, boron, vanadium, arsenic, beryllium, tin, germanium, and bismuth in copper, lead, and zinc sulphide concentrates. The method involves the preparation of complex standards in which the volatile elements arsenic, antimony, cadmium, tin, and bismuth are incorporated as sulphide compounds at temperatures of 800 degrees Celsius in evacuated silica tubes together with a synthetic sulphide matrix. These standards are then mixed with the other minor and trace elements to form composite standards. The conditions for excitation with a direct-current arc, and the analytical lines for the elements and internal standards, are given. The procedure is rapid and convenient, and involves the minimum of sample preparation. The accuracy is about 10 per cent, and the method has a coefficient of variation for the various elements of between 2 and 13 per cent

Operational trials of single- and multi-element CR-39 dosemeters for the DIDO and PLUTO reactors at the Harwell Laboratory

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gallacher, G.G.; Perks, C.A.

1993-01-01

Single- and multi-element CR-39 dosemeters, developed at the Harwell Laboratory, and a commercially available multi-element CR-39 dosemeter (obtained from Track Analysis Systems Ltd), were evaluated for their potential as neutron dosemeters for personnel working at Harwell Laboratory's research reactors. Owing to the angular dependence of the CR-39 (processed using electrochemical etching), the single-element dosemeter was found to be impractical. Consequently, a multi-element dosemeter was developed, which consisted of a cube of side 36 mm with CR-39 elements (also processed using electrochemical etching) attached to each of the sides. Although this dosemeter was technically suitable for this type of dosimetry, it was considered to be unacceptably bulky in personnel trials. The commercially available CR-39 dosemeter tested was much smaller (the CR-39 was only chemically etched) and this was considered to be acceptable as a personnel dosemeter. In addition, trials with personnel working at active handling glove boxes indicated that single-element dosemeters might be adequate, but further work would be needed to verify this. (author)

Bayesian emulation for optimization in multi-step portfolio decisions

OpenAIRE

Irie, Kaoru; West, Mike

2016-01-01

We discuss the Bayesian emulation approach to computational solution of multi-step portfolio studies in financial time series. "Bayesian emulation for decisions" involves mapping the technical structure of a decision analysis problem to that of Bayesian inference in a purely synthetic "emulating" statistical model. This provides access to standard posterior analytic, simulation and optimization methods that yield indirect solutions of the decision problem. We develop this in time series portf...

Mental Computation or Standard Algorithm? Children's Strategy Choices on Multi-Digit Subtractions

Science.gov (United States)

Torbeyns, Joke; Verschaffel, Lieven

2016-01-01

This study analyzed children's use of mental computation strategies and the standard algorithm on multi-digit subtractions. Fifty-eight Flemish 4th graders of varying mathematical achievement level were individually offered subtractions that either stimulated the use of mental computation strategies or the standard algorithm in one choice and two…

An Assessment of the Icing Blade and the SEA Multi-Element Sensor for Liquid Water Content Calibration of the NASA GRC Icing Research Tunnel

Science.gov (United States)

Steen, Laura E.; Ide, Robert F.; Van Zante, Judith Foss

2017-01-01

The Icing Research Tunnel at NASA Glenn has recently switched to from using the Icing Blade to using the SEA Multi-Element Sensor (also known as the multi-wire) for its calibration of cloud liquid water content. In order to perform this transition, tests were completed to compare the Multi-Element Sensor to the Icing Blade, particularly with respect to liquid water content, airspeed, and drop size. The two instruments were found to compare well for the majority of Appendix C conditions. However, it was discovered that the Icing Blade under-measures when the conditions approach the Ludlam Limit. This paper also describes data processing procedures for the Multi-Element Sensor in the IRT, including collection efficiency corrections, mounting underneath a splitter plate, and correcting for a jump in the compensation wire power. Further data is presented to describe the repeatability of the IRT with the Multi-Element sensor, health-monitoring checks for the instrument, and a sensing-element configuration comparison.

AC power flow importance measures considering multi-element failures

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Li, Jian; Dueñas-Osorio, Leonardo; Chen, Changkun; Shi, Congling

2017-01-01

Quantifying the criticality of individual components of power systems is essential for overall reliability and management. This paper proposes an AC-based power flow element importance measure, while considering multi-element failures. The measure relies on a proposed AC-based cascading failure model, which captures branch overflow, bus load shedding, and branch failures, via AC power flow and optimal power flow analyses. Taking the IEEE 30, 57 and 118-bus power systems as case studies, we find that N-3 analyses are sufficient to measure the importance of a bus or branch. It is observed that for a substation bus, its importance is statistically proportional to its power demand, but this trend is not observed for power plant buses. While comparing with other reliability, functionality, and topology-based importance measures popular today, we find that a DC power flow model, although better correlated with the benchmark AC model as a whole, still fails to locate some critical elements. This is due to the focus of DC-based models on real power that ignores reactive power. The proposed importance measure is aimed to inform decision makers about key components in complex systems, while improving cascading failure prevention, system backup setting, and overall resilience. - Highlights: • We propose a novel importance measure based on joint failures and AC power flow. • A cascading failure model considers both AC power flow and optimal power flow. • We find that N-3 analyses are sufficient to measure the importance of an element. • Power demand impacts the importance of substations but less so that of generators. • DC models fail to identify some key elements, despite correlating with AC models.

US Participation in the Solar Orbiter Multi Element Telescope for Imaging and Spectroscopy (METIS) Project

Data.gov (United States)

National Aeronautics and Space Administration — The Multi Element Telescope for Imaging and Spectroscopy, METIS, investigation has been conceived to perform off-limb and near-Sun coronagraphy and is motivated by...

Simultaneous multi-element atomic absorption system using photodiode array detector

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tong, S.L.; Chin, K.S.

1994-01-01

A photodiode array (PDA) detector-multichannel analyser (MCA) system has been coupled to a flame and a graphite furnace atomiser and tested for simultaneous multielement atomic absorption analysis. Multielement hollow cathode lamps (HCL) are used as light source. Spectral lines are dispersed through a spectrograph with triple gratings and detected by a 25.4 mm PDA detector consisting of 1024 elements. The optical MCA system is capable of recording multiple spectra spanned by the spectrograph/PDA. The transmitted intensity spectra obtained for the standard and analyte solutions during flame or graphite furnace atomisation are converted to absorbance spectra using the MCA software provided. Results from the comparison studies show that the linear range and sensitivities for Ni-Co-Fe and Cu-Cr obtained from the simultaneous measurements are within the same order of magnitudes as those from conventional single element determinations using photomultiplier tube detection. The study also shows that non-atomic absorption can be readily corrected by a two-line method where non-atomic absorption lines can be chosen from the spectra recorded simultaneously. The proposed system has been evaluated for the determination of trace elements using NBS standard reference water SRM 1643b

Multi-trace elements level in drinking water and the prevalence of multi-chronic arsenical poisoning in residents in the west area of Iran

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Barati, A.H.; Maleki, A.; Alasvand, M.

2010-01-01

First, we determined the levels of 8 trace elements (As, Se, Hg, Cd, Ag, Mn, Cr and Pb) in 530 village drinking water sources by graphite furnace or flame atomic absorption spectroscopy method, in Kurdistan Province in the west of Iran. The results showed that the level of As, Cd and Se in 28 village drinking water sources exceeded WHO or National Standard limits. The levels of concentration of arsenic in drinking water ranged from 42 to 1500 μg/L. Then in a cross-sectional survey, 587 people from 211 households were chosen for clinical examinations of multi-chronic arsenical poisoning including pigment disorders, keratosis of palms and soles, Mee's line in fingers and nails and the gangrene as a systemic manifestation. Of 587 participants, 180 (30.7%) participants were affected by representing the type of chronic arsenical poisoning. The prevalence of Mee's line, keratosis, and pigment disorders were 86.1%, 77.2% and 67.8% respectively. Therefore, the prevalence of Mee's line between inhabitants was higher than the other disorders. The results show a strong linear relationship between arsenic exposure and occurrence of multi-chronic arsenical poisoning (R 2 = 0.76). The association between age for more than 40 years and gender for more than 60 years with chronic arsenical poisoning is significant (p < 0.05). Also, there is a relationship between subjects who were affected with disorders and duration of living in the village. Except for gangrene disorder, the odds ratio of prevalence of other disorders with arsenic exposure level in drinking water show a highly significant relationship between arsenic content and the risk of chronic disorders (p < 0.01). These results confirm the need to further study trace elements in drinking waters, food products and other samples in this area and the relationship to other chronic diseases arising out of arsenicosis.

Image quality at synthetic brain magnetic resonance imaging in children

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Lee, So Mi; Cho, Seung Hyun; Kim, Won Hwa; Kim, Hye Jung [Kyungpook National University Hospital, Department of Radiology, Daegu (Korea, Republic of); Choi, Young Hun; Cheon, Jung-Eun; Kim, In-One [Seoul National University College of Medicine, Department of Radiology and Institute of Radiation Medicine, Seoul (Korea, Republic of); Cho, Hyun-Hae [Ewha Womans University Mokdong Hospital, Department of Radiology, Seoul (Korea, Republic of); You, Sun-Kyoung [Chungnam National University Hospital, Department of Radiology, Daejeon (Korea, Republic of); Park, Sook-Hyun [Kyungpook National University Hospital, Department of Pediatrics, Daegu (Korea, Republic of); Hwang, Moon Jung [GE Healthcare, MR Applications and Workflow, Seoul (Korea, Republic of)

2017-11-15

The clinical application of the multi-echo, multi-delay technique of synthetic magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) generates multiple sequences in a single acquisition but has mainly been used in adults. To evaluate the image quality of synthetic brain MR in children compared with that of conventional images. Twenty-nine children (median age: 6 years, range: 0-16 years) underwent synthetic and conventional imaging. Synthetic (T2-weighted, T1-weighted and fluid-attenuated inversion recovery [FLAIR]) images with settings matching those of the conventional images were generated. The overall image quality, gray/white matter differentiation, lesion conspicuity and image degradations were rated on a 5-point scale. The relative contrasts were assessed quantitatively and acquisition times for the two imaging techniques were compared. Synthetic images were inferior due to more pronounced image degradations; however, there were no significant differences for T1- and T2-weighted images in children <2 years old. The quality of T1- and T2-weighted images were within the diagnostically acceptable range. FLAIR images showed greatly reduced quality. Gray/white matter differentiation was comparable or better in synthetic T1- and T2-weighted images, but poorer in FLAIR images. There was no effect on lesion conspicuity. Synthetic images had equal or greater relative contrast. Acquisition time was approximately two-thirds of that for conventional sequences. Synthetic T1- and T2-weighted images were diagnostically acceptable, but synthetic FLAIR images were not. Lesion conspicuity and gray/white matter differentiation were comparable to conventional MRI. (orig.)

The evaluation of multi-element personal dosemeters using the linear programming method

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kragh, P.; Ambrosi, P.; Boehm, J.; Hilgers, G.

1996-01-01

Multi-element dosemeters are frequently used in individual monitoring. Each element can be regarded as an individual dosemeter with its own individual dose measurement value. In general, the individual dose values of one dosemeter vary according to the exposure conditions, i. e. the energy and angle of incidence of the radiation. The (final) dose measurement value of the personal dosemeter is calculated from the individual dose values by means of an evaluation algorithm. The best possible dose value, i.e. that of the smallest systematic (type B) uncertainty if the exposure conditions are changed in the dosemeter's rated range of use, is obtained by the method of linear programming. (author)

Multi-elemental imaging of paraffin-embedded human samples by laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy

Science.gov (United States)

Moncayo, S.; Trichard, F.; Busser, B.; Sabatier-Vincent, M.; Pelascini, F.; Pinel, N.; Templier, I.; Charles, J.; Sancey, L.; Motto-Ros, V.

2017-07-01

Chemical elements play central roles for physiological homeostasis in human cells, and their dysregulation might lead to a certain number of pathologies. Novel imaging techniques that improve the work of pathologists for tissue analysis and diagnostics are continuously sought. We report the use of Laser-Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy (LIBS) to perform multi-elemental images of human paraffin-embedded skin samples on the entire biopsy scale in a complementary and compatible way with microscope histopathological examination. A specific instrumental configuration is proposed in order to detect most of the elements of medical interest (i.e. P, Al, Mg, Na, Zn, Si, Fe, and Cu). As an example of medical application, we selected and analysed skin biopsies, including healthy skin tissue, cutaneous metastasis of melanoma, Merkel-cell carcinoma and squamous cell carcinoma. Clear distinctions in the distribution of chemical elements are observed from the different samples investigated. This study demonstrates the high complementarity of LIBS elemental imaging with conventional histopathology, opening new opportunities for any medical application involving metals.

Application of a microwave-based desolvation system for multi-elemental analysis of wine by inductively coupled plasma based techniques

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Grindlay, Guillermo [Department of Analytical Chemistry, Nutrition and Food Sciences, University of Alicante, P.O. Box 99, 03080 Alicante (Spain)], E-mail: guillermo.grindlay@ua.es; Mora, Juan; Maestre, Salvador; Gras, Luis [Department of Analytical Chemistry, Nutrition and Food Sciences, University of Alicante, P.O. Box 99, 03080 Alicante (Spain)

2008-11-23

Elemental wine analysis is often required from a nutritional, toxicological, origin and authenticity point of view. Inductively coupled plasma based techniques are usually employed for this analysis because of their multi-elemental capabilities and good limits of detection. However, the accurate analysis of wine samples strongly depends on their matrix composition (i.e. salts, ethanol, organic acids) since they lead to both spectral and non-spectral interferences. To mitigate ethanol (up to 10% w/w) related matrix effects in inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectrometry (ICP-AES), a microwave-based desolvation system (MWDS) can be successfully employed. This finding suggests that the MWDS could be employed for elemental wine analysis. The goal of this work is to evaluate the applicability of the MWDS for elemental wine analysis in ICP-AES and inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS). For the sake of comparison a conventional sample introduction system (i.e. pneumatic nebulizer attached to a spray chamber) was employed. Matrix effects, precision, accuracy and analysis throughput have been selected as comparison criteria. For ICP-AES measurements, wine samples can be directly analyzed without any sample treatment (i.e. sample dilution or digestion) using pure aqueous standards although internal standardization (IS) (i.e. Sc) is required. The behaviour of the MWDS operating with organic solutions in ICP-MS has been characterized for the first time. In this technique the MWDS has shown its efficiency to mitigate ethanol related matrix effects up to concentrations of 1% (w/w). Therefore, wine samples must be diluted to reduce the ethanol concentration up to this value. The results obtained have shown that the MWDS is a powerful device for the elemental analysis of wine samples in both ICP-AES and ICP-MS. In general, the MWDS has some attractive advantages for elemental wine analysis when compared to a conventional sample introduction system such

Application of a microwave-based desolvation system for multi-elemental analysis of wine by inductively coupled plasma based techniques

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Grindlay, Guillermo; Mora, Juan; Maestre, Salvador; Gras, Luis

2008-01-01

Elemental wine analysis is often required from a nutritional, toxicological, origin and authenticity point of view. Inductively coupled plasma based techniques are usually employed for this analysis because of their multi-elemental capabilities and good limits of detection. However, the accurate analysis of wine samples strongly depends on their matrix composition (i.e. salts, ethanol, organic acids) since they lead to both spectral and non-spectral interferences. To mitigate ethanol (up to 10% w/w) related matrix effects in inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectrometry (ICP-AES), a microwave-based desolvation system (MWDS) can be successfully employed. This finding suggests that the MWDS could be employed for elemental wine analysis. The goal of this work is to evaluate the applicability of the MWDS for elemental wine analysis in ICP-AES and inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS). For the sake of comparison a conventional sample introduction system (i.e. pneumatic nebulizer attached to a spray chamber) was employed. Matrix effects, precision, accuracy and analysis throughput have been selected as comparison criteria. For ICP-AES measurements, wine samples can be directly analyzed without any sample treatment (i.e. sample dilution or digestion) using pure aqueous standards although internal standardization (IS) (i.e. Sc) is required. The behaviour of the MWDS operating with organic solutions in ICP-MS has been characterized for the first time. In this technique the MWDS has shown its efficiency to mitigate ethanol related matrix effects up to concentrations of 1% (w/w). Therefore, wine samples must be diluted to reduce the ethanol concentration up to this value. The results obtained have shown that the MWDS is a powerful device for the elemental analysis of wine samples in both ICP-AES and ICP-MS. In general, the MWDS has some attractive advantages for elemental wine analysis when compared to a conventional sample introduction system such

Boundary element numerical method for the electric field generated by oblique multi-needle electrodes

Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

LIU FuPing; WANG AnLing; WANG AnXuan; CAO YueZu; CHEN Qiang; YANG ChangChun

2009-01-01

According to the electric potential of oblique multi-needle electrodes (OMNE) in biological tissue, the discrete equations based on the indetermination linear current density were established by the boundary element integral equations (BEIE). The non-uniform distribution of the current flowing from multi-needle electrodes to conductive biological tissues was imaged by solving a set of linear equa-tions. Then, the electric field and potential generated by OMNE in biological tissues at any point may be determined through the boundary element method (BEM). The time of program running and stability of computing method are examined by an example. It demonstrates that the algorithm possesses a quick speed and the steady computed results. It means that this method has an important referenced significance for computing the field and the potential generated by OMNE in bio-tissue, which is a fast, effective and accurate computing method.

Earthquake Building Damage Mapping Based on Feature Analyzing Method from Synthetic Aperture Radar Data

Science.gov (United States)

An, L.; Zhang, J.; Gong, L.

2018-04-01

Playing an important role in gathering information of social infrastructure damage, Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) remote sensing is a useful tool for monitoring earthquake disasters. With the wide application of this technique, a standard method, comparing post-seismic to pre-seismic data, become common. However, multi-temporal SAR processes, are not always achievable. To develop a post-seismic data only method for building damage detection, is of great importance. In this paper, the authors are now initiating experimental investigation to establish an object-based feature analysing classification method for building damage recognition.

Micro-scaled high-throughput digestion of plant tissue samples for multi-elemental analysis

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Husted Søren

2009-09-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Quantitative multi-elemental analysis by inductively coupled plasma (ICP spectrometry depends on a complete digestion of solid samples. However, fast and thorough sample digestion is a challenging analytical task which constitutes a bottleneck in modern multi-elemental analysis. Additional obstacles may be that sample quantities are limited and elemental concentrations low. In such cases, digestion in small volumes with minimum dilution and contamination is required in order to obtain high accuracy data. Results We have developed a micro-scaled microwave digestion procedure and optimized it for accurate elemental profiling of plant materials (1-20 mg dry weight. A commercially available 64-position rotor with 5 ml disposable glass vials, originally designed for microwave-based parallel organic synthesis, was used as a platform for the digestion. The novel micro-scaled method was successfully validated by the use of various certified reference materials (CRM with matrices rich in starch, lipid or protein. When the micro-scaled digestion procedure was applied on single rice grains or small batches of Arabidopsis seeds (1 mg, corresponding to approximately 50 seeds, the obtained elemental profiles closely matched those obtained by conventional analysis using digestion in large volume vessels. Accumulated elemental contents derived from separate analyses of rice grain fractions (aleurone, embryo and endosperm closely matched the total content obtained by analysis of the whole rice grain. Conclusion A high-throughput micro-scaled method has been developed which enables digestion of small quantities of plant samples for subsequent elemental profiling by ICP-spectrometry. The method constitutes a valuable tool for screening of mutants and transformants. In addition, the method facilitates studies of the distribution of essential trace elements between and within plant organs which is relevant for, e.g., breeding programmes aiming at

Summary report of the consultants' meeting on improvement of the standard cross sections for light elements

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Carlson, A.D.; Muir, D.W.; Pronyaev, V.G.

2001-06-01

This report summarizes the results of the Consultants' Meeting on Improvement of the Standard Cross Sections for Light Elements. The approaches and computer programs used for evaluation of neutron standard cross sections and their uncertainties were presented by the participants. Special attention was paid to the reasons for strong uncertainty reduction observed in the model fits. The meeting participants discussed the plan of the INDC recommended Co-ordinated Research Project (CRP) on 'Improvement of the Standard Cross Sections for Light Elements'. This CRP will address the problem of uncertainty reduction along with other methodological improvements needed in order to produce a new, and internationally accepted, evaluation of neutron standard cross sections for light elements. (author)

Design and Wind Tunnel Testing of a Thick, Multi-Element High-Lift Airfoil

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Zahle, Frederik; Gaunaa, Mac; Sørensen, Niels N.

2012-01-01

In this work a 2D CFD solver has been used to optimize the shape of a leading edge slat with a chord length of 30% of the main airfoil which was 40% thick. The airfoil configuration was subsequently tested in a wind tunnel and compared to numerical predictions. The multi-element airfoil was predi...

Synthetic Sling Failure - Evaluations and Recommendations

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Henderson, C. S. [Washington River Protection Solutions, Richland, WA (United States); Mackey, Thomas C. [Washington River Protection Solutions, Richland, WA (United States)

2009-10-26

The information and evaluations provided in this report were compiled to address the recurring problem of synthetic sling failure. As safety is the number one priority in all work aspects, a solution must be devised to prevent accidents from occurring. A total of thirteen cases regarding synthetic sling failure were evaluated in order to determine their causes, effects, and preventative measures. From the collected data, it was found that all cases in which the synthetic sling contacted the edge of its load resulted in sling failure. It is required that adequate synthetic sling protection devices be used to protect slings in any lift where the sling comes in direct contact with the edge or corner of its load. However, there are no consensus codes or standards stating the type, material, or purpose of the type of protective device used to protect the sling from being cut. Numerous industry standards and codes provide vague descriptions on how to protect synthetic slings. Without a clear, concise statement of how to protect synthetic slings, it is common for inadequate materials and sling protection devices to be used in an attempt to meet the intent of these requirements. The use of an inadequate sling protection device is the main cause of synthetic sling failure in all researched cases. Commercial sling protection devices come in many shapes and sizes, and have a variety of names, as well as advertised uses. 'Abrasion pads' and 'wear protectors' are two different names for products with the same intended purpose. There is no distinguishable way to determine the extent of sling protection which these devices will provide, or what specific scenarios they are made for. This creates room for error in a field where error is unacceptable. This report provides a recommended action for hoisting and rigging activities which require synthetic slings to contact a load, as well as recommended changes to industry standards which will benefit overall

Discontinuous diffusion synthetic acceleration for Sn transport on 2D arbitrary polygonal meshes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Turcksin, Bruno; Ragusa, Jean C.

2014-01-01

In this paper, a Diffusion Synthetic Acceleration (DSA) technique applied to the S n radiation transport equation is developed using Piece-Wise Linear Discontinuous (PWLD) finite elements on arbitrary polygonal grids. The discretization of the DSA equations employs an Interior Penalty technique, as is classically done for the stabilization of the diffusion equation using discontinuous finite element approximations. The penalty method yields a system of linear equations that is Symmetric Positive Definite (SPD). Thus, solution techniques such as Preconditioned Conjugate Gradient (PCG) can be effectively employed. Algebraic MultiGrid (AMG) and Symmetric Gauss–Seidel (SGS) are employed as conjugate gradient preconditioners for the DSA system. AMG is shown to be significantly more efficient than SGS. Fourier analyses are carried out and we show that this discontinuous finite element DSA scheme is always stable and effective at reducing the spectral radius for iterative transport solves, even for grids with high-aspect ratio cells. Numerical results are presented for different grid types: quadrilateral, hexagonal, and polygonal grids as well as grids with local mesh adaptivity

A novel network of chaotic elements and its application in multi-valued associative memory

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Xiu Chunbo; Liu Xiangdong; Tang Yunyu; Zhang Yuhe

2004-01-01

We give a novel chaotic element model whose activation function composed of Gauss and Sigmoid function. It is shown that the model may exhibit a complex dynamic behavior. The most significant bifurcation processes, leading to chaos, are investigated through the computation of the Lyapunov exponents. Based on this model, we propose a novel network of chaotic elements, which can be applied in associative memory, and then investigate its dynamic behavior. It is worth noting that multi-valued associative memory can also be realized by this network

Model for selecting quality standards for a salad bar through identifying elements of customer satisfaction.

Science.gov (United States)

Ouellet, D; Norback, J P

1993-11-01

Continuous quality improvement is the new requirement of the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations. This means that meeting quality standards will not be enough. Dietitians will need to improve those standards and the way they are selected. Because quality is defined in terms of the customers, all quality improvement projects must start by defining what customers want. Using a salad bar as an example, this article presents and illustrates a technique developed in Japan to identify which elements in a product or service will satisfy or dissatisfy consumers. Using a model and a questionnaire format developed by Kano and coworkers, 273 students were surveyed to classify six quality elements of a salad bar. Four elements showed a dominant "must-be" characteristic: food freshness, labeling of the dressings, no spills in the food, and no spills on the salad bar. The two other elements (food easy to reach and food variety) showed a dominant one-dimensional characteristic. By better understanding consumer perceptions of quality elements, foodservice managers can select quality standards that focus on what really matters to their consumers.

Synthetic Sediments and Stochastic Groundwater Hydrology

Science.gov (United States)

Wilson, J. L.

2002-12-01

For over twenty years the groundwater community has pursued the somewhat elusive goal of describing the effects of aquifer heterogeneity on subsurface flow and chemical transport. While small perturbation stochastic moment methods have significantly advanced theoretical understanding, why is it that stochastic applications use instead simulations of flow and transport through multiple realizations of synthetic geology? Allan Gutjahr was a principle proponent of the Fast Fourier Transform method for the synthetic generation of aquifer properties and recently explored new, more geologically sound, synthetic methods based on multi-scale Markov random fields. Focusing on sedimentary aquifers, how has the state-of-the-art of synthetic generation changed and what new developments can be expected, for example, to deal with issues like conceptual model uncertainty, the differences between measurement and modeling scales, and subgrid scale variability? What will it take to get stochastic methods, whether based on moments, multiple realizations, or some other approach, into widespread application?

Development of an accurate, sensitive, and robust isotope dilution laser ablation ICP-MS method for simultaneous multi-element analysis (chlorine, sulfur, and heavy metals) in coal samples

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Boulyga, Sergei F.; Heilmann, Jens; Heumann, Klaus G.; Prohaska, Thomas

2007-01-01

A method for the direct multi-element determination of Cl, S, Hg, Pb, Cd, U, Br, Cr, Cu, Fe, and Zn in powdered coal samples has been developed by applying inductively coupled plasma isotope dilution mass spectrometry (ICP-IDMS) with laser-assisted introduction into the plasma. A sector-field ICP-MS with a mass resolution of 4,000 and a high-ablation rate laser ablation system provided significantly better sensitivity, detection limits, and accuracy compared to a conventional laser ablation system coupled with a quadrupole ICP-MS. The sensitivity ranges from about 590 cps for 35 Cl + to more than 6 x 10 5 cps for 238 U + for 1 μg of trace element per gram of coal sample. Detection limits vary from 450 ng g -1 for chlorine and 18 ng g -1 for sulfur to 9.5 pg g -1 for mercury and 0.3 pg g -1 for uranium. Analyses of minor and trace elements in four certified reference materials (BCR-180 Gas Coal, BCR-331 Steam Coal, SRM 1632c Trace Elements in Coal, SRM 1635 Trace Elements in Coal) yielded good agreement of usually not more than 5% deviation from the certified values and precisions of less than 10% relative standard deviation for most elements. Higher relative standard deviations were found for particular elements such as Hg and Cd caused by inhomogeneities due to associations of these elements within micro-inclusions in coal which was demonstrated for Hg in SRM 1635, SRM 1632c, and another standard reference material (SRM 2682b, Sulfur and Mercury in Coal). The developed LA-ICP-IDMS method with its simple sample pretreatment opens the possibility for accurate, fast, and highly sensitive determinations of environmentally critical contaminants in coal as well as of trace impurities in similar sample materials like graphite powder and activated charcoal on a routine basis. (orig.)

Development of an accurate, sensitive, and robust isotope dilution laser ablation ICP-MS method for simultaneous multi-element analysis (chlorine, sulfur, and heavy metals) in coal samples.

Science.gov (United States)

Boulyga, Sergei F; Heilmann, Jens; Prohaska, Thomas; Heumann, Klaus G

2007-10-01

A method for the direct multi-element determination of Cl, S, Hg, Pb, Cd, U, Br, Cr, Cu, Fe, and Zn in powdered coal samples has been developed by applying inductively coupled plasma isotope dilution mass spectrometry (ICP-IDMS) with laser-assisted introduction into the plasma. A sector-field ICP-MS with a mass resolution of 4,000 and a high-ablation rate laser ablation system provided significantly better sensitivity, detection limits, and accuracy compared to a conventional laser ablation system coupled with a quadrupole ICP-MS. The sensitivity ranges from about 590 cps for (35)Cl+ to more than 6 x 10(5) cps for (238)U+ for 1 microg of trace element per gram of coal sample. Detection limits vary from 450 ng g(-1) for chlorine and 18 ng g(-1) for sulfur to 9.5 pg g(-1) for mercury and 0.3 pg g(-1) for uranium. Analyses of minor and trace elements in four certified reference materials (BCR-180 Gas Coal, BCR-331 Steam Coal, SRM 1632c Trace Elements in Coal, SRM 1635 Trace Elements in Coal) yielded good agreement of usually not more than 5% deviation from the certified values and precisions of less than 10% relative standard deviation for most elements. Higher relative standard deviations were found for particular elements such as Hg and Cd caused by inhomogeneities due to associations of these elements within micro-inclusions in coal which was demonstrated for Hg in SRM 1635, SRM 1632c, and another standard reference material (SRM 2682b, Sulfur and Mercury in Coal). The developed LA-ICP-IDMS method with its simple sample pretreatment opens the possibility for accurate, fast, and highly sensitive determinations of environmentally critical contaminants in coal as well as of trace impurities in similar sample materials like graphite powder and activated charcoal on a routine basis.

MIDAS: A Modular DNA Assembly System for Synthetic Biology.

Science.gov (United States)

van Dolleweerd, Craig J; Kessans, Sarah A; Van de Bittner, Kyle C; Bustamante, Leyla Y; Bundela, Rudranuj; Scott, Barry; Nicholson, Matthew J; Parker, Emily J

2018-04-20

A modular and hierarchical DNA assembly platform for synthetic biology based on Golden Gate (Type IIS restriction enzyme) cloning is described. This enabling technology, termed MIDAS (for Modular Idempotent DNA Assembly System), can be used to precisely assemble multiple DNA fragments in a single reaction using a standardized assembly design. It can be used to build genes from libraries of sequence-verified, reusable parts and to assemble multiple genes in a single vector, with full user control over gene order and orientation, as well as control of the direction of growth (polarity) of the multigene assembly, a feature that allows genes to be nested between other genes or genetic elements. We describe the detailed design and use of MIDAS, exemplified by the reconstruction, in the filamentous fungus Penicillium paxilli, of the metabolic pathway for production of paspaline and paxilline, key intermediates in the biosynthesis of a range of indole diterpenes-a class of secondary metabolites produced by several species of filamentous fungi. MIDAS was used to efficiently assemble a 25.2 kb plasmid from 21 different modules (seven genes, each composed of three basic parts). By using a parts library-based system for construction of complex assemblies, and a unique set of vectors, MIDAS can provide a flexible route to assembling tailored combinations of genes and other genetic elements, thereby supporting synthetic biology applications in a wide range of expression hosts.

Multi-element analysis of crude-oil samples by 14.6 MeV neutron activation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cam, N.F.; Cigeroglu, F.; Erduran, M.N.

1997-01-01

The instrumental neutron activation technique, using the SAMEST T-400 neutron generator with 14.6 MeV neutrons produced from 3 H(d,n) 4 He reaction, is demonstrated for multi-element analysis of Saudi-Arabian crude-oil samples. The system parameters for the absolute method (e.g., the counting solid-angle, intrinsic efficiency of the γ-ray detector, effective neutron flux, activation cross sections, etc.)were determined and the results of elemental concentrations were presented with the corrections for all possible interferences having been carefully considered. (author)

An Assessment of the SEA Multi-Element Sensor for Liquid Water Content Calibration of the NASA GRC Icing Research Tunnel

Science.gov (United States)

Steen, Laura E.; Ide, Robert F.; Van Zante, Judith F.

2015-01-01

The NASA Glenn Icing Research tunnel has been using an Icing Blade technique to measure cloud liquid water content (LWC) since 1980. The IRT conducted tests with SEA Multi-Element sensors from 2009 to 2011 to assess their performance in measuring LWC. These tests revealed that the Multi-Element sensors showed some significant advantages over the Icing Blade, particularly at higher water contents, higher impingement rates, and large drop sizes. Results of these and other tests are presented here.

SU(3) techniques for angular momentum projected matrix elements in multi-cluster problems

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hecht, K.T.; Zahn, W.

1978-01-01

In the theory of integral transforms for the evaluation of the resonating group kernels needed for cluster model calculations, the evaluation of matrix elements in an angular momentum coupled basis has proved to be difficult for cluster problems involving more than two fragments. For multi-cluster wave functions SU(3) coupling and recoupling techniques can furnish a tool for the practical evaluation matrix elements in an angular momentum coupled basis if the several relative motion harmonic oscillator functions in Bargmann space have simple SU(3) coupling properties. The method is illustrated by a three-cluster problem, such as 12 C = α + α + α, involving three 1 S clusters. 2 references

Automatic Conversion of a Conceptual Model to a Standard Multi-view Web Services Definition

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Anass Misbah

2018-03-01

Full Text Available Information systems are becoming more and more heterogeneous and here comes the need to have more generic transformation algorithms and more automatic generation Meta rules. In fact, the large number of terminals, devices, operating systems, platforms and environments require a high level of adaptation. Therefore, it is becoming more and more difficult to validate, generate and implement manually models, designs and codes.Web services are one of the technologies that are used massively nowadays; hence, it is considered as one of technologies that require the most automatic rules of validation and automation. Many previous works have dealt with Web services by proposing new concepts such as Multi-view Web services, standard WSDL implementation of Multi-view Web services and even further Generic Meta rules for automatic generation of Multi-view Web services.In this work we will propose a new way of generating Multi-view Web ser-vices, which is based on an engine algorithm that takes as input both an initial Conceptual Model and user’s matrix and then unroll a generic algorithm to gen-erate dynamically a validated set of points of view. This set of points of view will be transformed to a standard WSDL implementation of Multi-view Web services by means of the automatic transformation Meta rules.

Dependence of precipitation of trace elements on pH in standard water

Science.gov (United States)

Verma, Shivcharan; Mohanty, Biraja P.; Singh, K. P.; Behera, B. R.; Kumar, Ashok

2018-04-01

The present work aimed to study the dependence of precipitation of trace elements on the pH of solution. A standard solution was prepared by using ultrapure deionized water (18.2 MΩ/cm) as the solvent and 11 water-soluble salts having different elements as solutes. Five samples of different pH values (2 acidic, 2 basic, and 1 neutral) were prepared from this standard solution. Sodium-diethyldithiocarbamate was used as the chelating agent to precipitate the metal ions present in these samples of different pH values. The targets were prepared by collecting these precipitates on mixed cellulose esters filter of 0.4 μm pore size by vacuum filtration. Elemental analysis of these targets was performed by particle-induced X-ray emission (PIXE) using 2.7 MeV protons from the single Dee variable energy cyclotron at Panjab University, Chandigarh, India. PIXE data were analyzed using GUPIXWIN software. For most of the elements, except Hg with oxidation state +2, such as Co, Ni, Zn, Ba, and Cd, a general trend of enhancement in precipitation was observed with the increase in pH. However, for other elements such as V, As, Mo, Ag, and Bi, which have oxidation state other than +2, no definite pattern was observed. Precipitation of Ba and As using this method was negligible at all five pH values. From these results, it can be concluded that the precipitation and recovery of elements depend strongly on the pH of the water sample.

A methodology to annotate systems biology markup language models with the synthetic biology open language.

Science.gov (United States)

Roehner, Nicholas; Myers, Chris J

2014-02-21

Recently, we have begun to witness the potential of synthetic biology, noted here in the form of bacteria and yeast that have been genetically engineered to produce biofuels, manufacture drug precursors, and even invade tumor cells. The success of these projects, however, has often failed in translation and application to new projects, a problem exacerbated by a lack of engineering standards that combine descriptions of the structure and function of DNA. To address this need, this paper describes a methodology to connect the systems biology markup language (SBML) to the synthetic biology open language (SBOL), existing standards that describe biochemical models and DNA components, respectively. Our methodology involves first annotating SBML model elements such as species and reactions with SBOL DNA components. A graph is then constructed from the model, with vertices corresponding to elements within the model and edges corresponding to the cause-and-effect relationships between these elements. Lastly, the graph is traversed to assemble the annotating DNA components into a composite DNA component, which is used to annotate the model itself and can be referenced by other composite models and DNA components. In this way, our methodology can be used to build up a hierarchical library of models annotated with DNA components. Such a library is a useful input to any future genetic technology mapping algorithm that would automate the process of composing DNA components to satisfy a behavioral specification. Our methodology for SBML-to-SBOL annotation is implemented in the latest version of our genetic design automation (GDA) software tool, iBioSim.

Multi-objective optimization of linear multi-state multiple sliding window system

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Konak, Abdullah; Kulturel-Konak, Sadan; Levitin, Gregory

2012-01-01

This paper considers the optimal element sequencing in a linear multi-state multiple sliding window system that consists of n linearly ordered multi-state elements. Each multi-state element can have different states: from complete failure up to perfect functioning. A performance rate is associated with each state. The failure of type i in the system occurs if for any i (1≤i≤I) the cumulative performance of any r i consecutive elements is lower than w i . The element sequence strongly affects the probability of any type of system failure. The sequence that minimizes the probability of certain type of failure can provide high probability of other types of failures. Therefore the optimization problem for the multiple sliding window system is essentially multi-objective. The paper formulates and solves the multi-objective optimization problem for the multiple sliding window systems. A multi-objective Genetic Algorithm is used as the optimization engine. Illustrative examples are presented.

[Synthetic biology and rearrangements of microbial genetic material].

Science.gov (United States)

Liang, Quan-Feng; Wang, Qian; Qi, Qing-Sheng

2011-10-01

As an emerging discipline, synthetic biology has shown great scientific values and application prospects. Although there have been many reviews of various aspects on synthetic biology over the last years, this article, for the first time, attempted to discuss the relationship and difference between microbial genetics and synthetic biology. We summarized the recent development of synthetic biology in rearranging microbial genetic materials, including synthesis, design and reduction of genetic materials, standardization of genetic parts and modularization of genetic circuits. The relationship between synthetic biology and microbial genetic engineering was also discussed in the paper.

Computational complexity and memory usage for multi-frontal direct solvers used in p finite element analysis

KAUST Repository

Calo, Victor M.; Collier, Nathan; Pardo, David; Paszyński, Maciej R.

2011-01-01

The multi-frontal direct solver is the state of the art for the direct solution of linear systems. This paper provides computational complexity and memory usage estimates for the application of the multi-frontal direct solver algorithm on linear systems resulting from p finite elements. Specifically we provide the estimates for systems resulting from C0 polynomial spaces spanned by B-splines. The structured grid and uniform polynomial order used in isogeometric meshes simplifies the analysis.

Computational complexity and memory usage for multi-frontal direct solvers used in p finite element analysis

KAUST Repository

Calo, Victor M.

2011-05-14

The multi-frontal direct solver is the state of the art for the direct solution of linear systems. This paper provides computational complexity and memory usage estimates for the application of the multi-frontal direct solver algorithm on linear systems resulting from p finite elements. Specifically we provide the estimates for systems resulting from C0 polynomial spaces spanned by B-splines. The structured grid and uniform polynomial order used in isogeometric meshes simplifies the analysis.

Coloring of synthetic fluorite

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Birsoy, R.

1980-01-01

A synthetic fluorite of the Harshaw Chemical Company is analyzed for rare earth elements, yttrium, and sodium. Samples of this fluorite are irradiated with X-rays, γ-rays, neutrons, electrons, protons, and α-particles at different energies, and their absorption spectra are analyzed. Analyzing the thermal bleaching of these radiation-coloured fluorites shows that both, impurities and radiation play a part in the coloration of synthetic fluorite. However, the main contribution comes from the radiation induced lattice defects. In the visible region spectra, the colour centre of the 5800 to 5900 A absorption band is probably mainly related with large aggregates of F-centres. The 5450 and the 5300 A absorption bands are mainly related to monovalent and divalent ion impurities and their association with lattice defects. The 3800 A absorption band seems to be related with F-centre aggregates. However, the contribution from the rare earth elements related complex color centres also plays some part for the production of this absorption band. These results indicate that the color centres of different origin can absorb light at the same wavelength. (author)

Multi Scale Finite Element Analyses By Using SEM-EBSD Crystallographic Modeling and Parallel Computing

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nakamachi, Eiji

2005-01-01

A crystallographic homogenization procedure is introduced to the conventional static-explicit and dynamic-explicit finite element formulation to develop a multi scale - double scale - analysis code to predict the plastic strain induced texture evolution, yield loci and formability of sheet metal. The double-scale structure consists of a crystal aggregation - micro-structure - and a macroscopic elastic plastic continuum. At first, we measure crystal morphologies by using SEM-EBSD apparatus, and define a unit cell of micro structure, which satisfy the periodicity condition in the real scale of polycrystal. Next, this crystallographic homogenization FE code is applied to 3N pure-iron and 'Benchmark' aluminum A6022 polycrystal sheets. It reveals that the initial crystal orientation distribution - the texture - affects very much to a plastic strain induced texture and anisotropic hardening evolutions and sheet deformation. Since, the multi-scale finite element analysis requires a large computation time, a parallel computing technique by using PC cluster is developed for a quick calculation. In this parallelization scheme, a dynamic workload balancing technique is introduced for quick and efficient calculations

Multi-trace elements level in drinking water and the prevalence of multi-chronic arsenical poisoning in residents in the west area of Iran

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Barati, A.H., E-mail: ah_barati@yahoo.com [Department of Medical Physics, Faculty of Medicine, Kurdistan University of Medical Sciences, P.O.Box-66135-756, Pasdaran Street, Sanandaj (Iran, Islamic Republic of); Maleki, A. [Department of Environmental Health, Faculty of Health Sciences, Kurdistan University of Medical Sciences, Sanandaj (Iran, Islamic Republic of); Alasvand, M. [Department of Medical Physiology, Faculty of Medicine, Kurdistan University of Medical Sciences, Sanandaj (Iran, Islamic Republic of)

2010-03-01

First, we determined the levels of 8 trace elements (As, Se, Hg, Cd, Ag, Mn, Cr and Pb) in 530 village drinking water sources by graphite furnace or flame atomic absorption spectroscopy method, in Kurdistan Province in the west of Iran. The results showed that the level of As, Cd and Se in 28 village drinking water sources exceeded WHO or National Standard limits. The levels of concentration of arsenic in drinking water ranged from 42 to 1500 {mu}g/L. Then in a cross-sectional survey, 587 people from 211 households were chosen for clinical examinations of multi-chronic arsenical poisoning including pigment disorders, keratosis of palms and soles, Mee's line in fingers and nails and the gangrene as a systemic manifestation. Of 587 participants, 180 (30.7%) participants were affected by representing the type of chronic arsenical poisoning. The prevalence of Mee's line, keratosis, and pigment disorders were 86.1%, 77.2% and 67.8% respectively. Therefore, the prevalence of Mee's line between inhabitants was higher than the other disorders. The results show a strong linear relationship between arsenic exposure and occurrence of multi-chronic arsenical poisoning (R{sup 2} = 0.76). The association between age for more than 40 years and gender for more than 60 years with chronic arsenical poisoning is significant (p < 0.05). Also, there is a relationship between subjects who were affected with disorders and duration of living in the village. Except for gangrene disorder, the odds ratio of prevalence of other disorders with arsenic exposure level in drinking water show a highly significant relationship between arsenic content and the risk of chronic disorders (p < 0.01). These results confirm the need to further study trace elements in drinking waters, food products and other samples in this area and the relationship to other chronic diseases arising out of arsenicosis.

Effect of randomness on multi-frequency aeroelastic responses resolved by Unsteady Adaptive Stochastic Finite Elements

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Witteveen, Jeroen A.S.; Bijl, Hester

2009-01-01

The Unsteady Adaptive Stochastic Finite Elements (UASFE) method resolves the effect of randomness in numerical simulations of single-mode aeroelastic responses with a constant accuracy in time for a constant number of samples. In this paper, the UASFE framework is extended to multi-frequency responses and continuous structures by employing a wavelet decomposition pre-processing step to decompose the sampled multi-frequency signals into single-frequency components. The effect of the randomness on the multi-frequency response is then obtained by summing the results of the UASFE interpolation at constant phase for the different frequency components. Results for multi-frequency responses and continuous structures show a three orders of magnitude reduction of computational costs compared to crude Monte Carlo simulations in a harmonically forced oscillator, a flutter panel problem, and the three-dimensional transonic AGARD 445.6 wing aeroelastic benchmark subject to random fields and random parameters with various probability distributions.

X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy of HUPA organic substances: natural and synthetic humic compounds

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Barre, N.; Mercier-Bion, F.; Reiller, P.

2004-01-01

X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) results on the characterisation of the HUPA organic materials, i.e. natural humic substances ''GOHY 573'' (fulvic acid FA and humic acid HA) extracted from the Gorleben ground waters, and synthetic humic acids ''M1'' and ''M42'' obtained from a standard melanoidin preparation from FZ Rossendorf, are presented in this paper. XPS investigations were focused on the determination of the chemical environment of the major elements as carbon, nitrogen, oxygen and sulphur, and on the identification of trace metals trapped by these organic compounds. (orig.)

Theoretical background and implementation of the finite element method for multi-dimensional Fokker-Planck equation analysis

Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

Král, Radomil; Náprstek, Jiří

2017-01-01

Roč. 113, November (2017), s. 54-75 ISSN 0965-9978 R&D Projects: GA ČR(CZ) GP14-34467P; GA ČR(CZ) GA15-01035S Institutional support: RVO:68378297 Keywords : Fokker-Planck equation * finite element method * simplex element * multi-dimensional problem * non-symmetric operator Subject RIV: JM - Building Engineering OBOR OECD: Mechanical engineering Impact factor: 3.000, year: 2016 https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/ article /pii/S0965997817301904

Design considerations regarding an atomizer for multi-element electrothermal atomic absorption spectrometry

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Katskov, Dmitri A., E-mail: katskovda@tut.ac.za [Department of Chemistry, Tshwane University of Technology, Private Bag X680, Pretoria 0001 (South Africa); Sadagov, Yuri M. [All-Russian Scientific Research Institute of Optical and Physical Measurements (VNIIOFI), Ozernaya St. 46, Moscow 119361 (Russian Federation)

2011-06-15

The methodology of simultaneous multi-element electrothermal atomic absorption spectrometry (ETAAS-Electrothermal Atomic Absorption Spectrometry) stipulates rigid requirements to the design and operation of the atomizer. It must provide high degree of atomization for the group of analytes, invariant respective to the vaporization kinetics and heating ramp residence time of atoms in the absorption volume and absence of memory effects from major sample components. For the low resolution spectrometer with a continuum radiation source the reduced compared to traditional ETAAS (Electrothermal Atomic Absorption Spectrometry) sensitivity should be, at least partially, compensated by creating high density of atomic vapor in the absorption pulse. The sought-for characteristics were obtained for the 18 mm in length and 2.5 mm in internal diameter longitudinally heated graphite tube atomizer furnished with 2-4.5 mg of ring shaped carbon fiber yarn collector. The collector located next to the sampling port provides large substrate area that helps to keep the sample and its residue in the central part of the tube after drying. The collector also provides a 'platform' effect that delays the vaporization and stipulates vapor release into absorption volume having already stabilized gas temperature. Due to the shape of external surface of the tube, presence of collector and rapid (about 10 {sup o}C/ms) heating, an inverse temperature distribution along the tube is attained at the beginnings of the atomization and cleaning steps. The effect is employed for cleaning of the atomizer using the set of short maximum power heating pulses. Preparation, optimal maintenance of the atomizer and its compliance to the multi-element determination requirements are evaluated and discussed. The experimental setup provides direct simultaneous determination of large group of element within 3-4 order concentration range. Limits of detection are close to those for sequential single element

Calibration of the TUD Ku-band Synthetic Aperture Radiometer

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Laursen, Brian; Skou, Niels

1995-01-01

The TUD Synthetic Aperture Radiometer is a 2-channel demonstration model that can simulate a thinned aperture radiometer having an unfilled aperture consisting of several small antenna elements. Aperture synthesis obtained by interferometric measurements using the antenna elements in pairs, follo...

Contribution to assessing the stiffness reduction of structural elements in the global stability analysis of precast concrete multi-storey buildings

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

M. C. Marin

Full Text Available This study deals with the reduction of the stiffness in precast concrete structural elements of multi-storey buildings to analyze global stability. Having reviewed the technical literature, this paper present indications of stiffness reduction in different codes, standards, and recommendations and compare these to the values found in the present study. The structural model analyzed in this study was constructed with finite elements using ANSYS® software. Physical Non-Linearity (PNL was considered in relation to the diagrams M x N x 1/r, and Geometric Non-Linearity (GNL was calculated following the Newton-Raphson method. Using a typical precast concrete structure with multiple floors and a semi-rigid beam-to-column connection, expressions for a stiffness reduction coefficient are presented. The main conclusions of the study are as follows: the reduction coefficients obtained from the diagram M x N x 1/r differ from standards that use a simplified consideration of PNL; the stiffness reduction coefficient for columns in the arrangements analyzed were approximately 0.5 to 0.6; and the variation of values found for stiffness reduction coefficient in concrete beams, which were subjected to the effects of creep with linear coefficients from 0 to 3, ranged from 0.45 to 0.2 for positive bending moments and 0.3 to 0.2 for negative bending moments.

Synthetic RNA Controllers for Programming Mammalian Cell Fate and Function

Science.gov (United States)

2015-11-04

Final report for “Synthetic RNA controllers for programming mammalian cell fate and function” Principal Investigator: Christina D. Smolke...SUBTITLE Synthetic RNA controllers for programming mammalian cell fate and function 5a. CONTRACT NUMBER 5b. GRANT NUMBER 5c. PROGRAM ELEMENT NUMBER...Form 298 (Rev. 8-98) Prescribed by ANSI Std Z39-18   2 Synthetic RNA controllers for programming mammalian cell fate and function Task 1

Synthetic environments

Science.gov (United States)

Lukes, George E.; Cain, Joel M.

1996-02-01

The Advanced Distributed Simulation (ADS) Synthetic Environments Program seeks to create robust virtual worlds from operational terrain and environmental data sources of sufficient fidelity and currency to interact with the real world. While some applications can be met by direct exploitation of standard digital terrain data, more demanding applications -- particularly those support operations 'close to the ground' -- are well-served by emerging capabilities for 'value-adding' by the user working with controlled imagery. For users to rigorously refine and exploit controlled imagery within functionally different workstations they must have a shared framework to allow interoperability within and between these environments in terms of passing image and object coordinates and other information using a variety of validated sensor models. The Synthetic Environments Program is now being expanded to address rapid construction of virtual worlds with research initiatives in digital mapping, softcopy workstations, and cartographic image understanding. The Synthetic Environments Program is also participating in a joint initiative for a sensor model applications programer's interface (API) to ensure that a common controlled imagery exploitation framework is available to all researchers, developers and users. This presentation provides an introduction to ADS and the associated requirements for synthetic environments to support synthetic theaters of war. It provides a technical rationale for exploring applications of image understanding technology to automated cartography in support of ADS and related programs benefitting from automated analysis of mapping, earth resources and reconnaissance imagery. And it provides an overview and status of the joint initiative for a sensor model API.

Sequential determination of multi-nutrient elements in natural water samples with a reverse flow injection system.

Science.gov (United States)

Lin, Kunning; Ma, Jian; Yuan, Dongxing; Feng, Sichao; Su, Haitao; Huang, Yongming; Shangguan, Qipei

2017-05-15

An integrated system was developed for automatic and sequential determination of NO 2 - , NO 3 - , PO 4 3- , Fe 2+ , Fe 3+ and Mn 2+ in natural waters based on reverse flow injection analysis combined with spectrophotometric detection. The system operation was controlled by a single chip microcomputer and laboratory-programmed software written in LabVIEW. The experimental parameters for each nutrient element analysis were optimized based on a univariate experimental design, and interferences from common ions were evaluated. The upper limits of the linear range (along with detection limit, µmolL -1 ) of the proposed method was 20 (0.03), 200 (0.7), 12 (0.3), 5 (0.03), 5 (0.03), 9 (0.2) µmolL -1 , for NO 2 - , NO 3 - , PO 4 3- , Fe 2+ , Fe 3+ and Mn 2+ , respectively. The relative standard deviations were below 5% (n=9-13) and the recoveries varied from 88.0±1.0% to 104.5±1.0% for spiked water samples. The sample throughput was about 20h -1 . This system has been successfully applied for the determination of multi-nutrient elements in different kinds of water samples and showed good agreement with reference methods (slope 1.0260±0.0043, R 2 =0.9991, n=50). Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

A new XRF probe for in-situ determining concentration of multi-elements in ocean sediments

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ge Liangquan; Lai Wanchang; Zhou Sichun; Lin Ling; Lin Yanchang; Ren Jiafu

2001-01-01

The author introduces a new X-ray fluorescence probe for in-situ determining the concentration of multi-elements in ocean sediments. The probe consists of Si-Pin X-ray detector with an electro-thermal colder, two isotope sources, essential electrical signal processing units and a notebook computer. More than 10 elements can be simultaneously determined at a detection limit of (10-200) x 10 -6 and precision of 5%-30% without liquid Nitrogen supply. tests show that the probe can perform the analytical tasks under the water at the depth of less than 1000 meters

Multi-Core Processor Memory Contention Benchmark Analysis Case Study

Science.gov (United States)

Simon, Tyler; McGalliard, James

2009-01-01

Multi-core processors dominate current mainframe, server, and high performance computing (HPC) systems. This paper provides synthetic kernel and natural benchmark results from an HPC system at the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center that illustrate the performance impacts of multi-core (dual- and quad-core) vs. single core processor systems. Analysis of processor design, application source code, and synthetic and natural test results all indicate that multi-core processors can suffer from significant memory subsystem contention compared to similar single-core processors.

Development of a procedure for the multi-element determination of trace elements in wine by ICP-MS

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Castineira, M.M.; Brandt, R.; von Bohlen, A.; Jakubowski, N. [Institut fuer Spektrochemie und Angewandte Spektroskopie e.V., Dortmund (Germany)

2001-07-01

An inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometric (ICP-MS) procedure has been developed for the determination of trace elements in wine. The procedure consists in simple 1+1 dilution of the wine and semi-quantitative analysis (without external calibration) using In as internal standard. Thirty-one elements at concentrations ranging from 0.1 mg mL{sup -1} to 0.5 ng mL{sup -1} can be determined by ICP-MS analysis with and without digestion. It was investigated whether a matrix effect observed for EtOH in the wine matrix can be overcome by application of a micro-concentric nebulizer with a membrane desolvator (MCN 6000). The results obtained for the MCN 6000 are compared with those obtained by use of a conventional Meinhard nebulizer. It is shown that the observed matrix effect can only be compensated by use of an internal standard for the Meinhard nebulizer, but not for the MCN 6000. Results for ICP-MS are compared with those obtained by total reflection X-ray fluorescence spectrometry (TXRF). (orig.)

Effects of Alloying Elements (Cr, Mn) on Corrosion Properties of Carbon Steel in Synthetic Seawater

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hyun, Youngmin; Kim, Heesan

2016-01-01

Effects of alloying elements, manganese and chromium, on corrosion resistance of carbon steel were examined using weight loss test and electrochemical tests (polarization test and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS)) in synthetic seawater at 60 ℃. The results from the weight loss test showed that chromium effectively improved corrosion resistance of carbon steel during the entire immersion time, but manganese improved corrosion resistance after the lowered corrosion resistance at the beginnings of immersion. Unlike the weight loss test, the electrochemical tests showed that the corrosion resistance did not increase with immersion time, in all the specimens. This disagreement is explained by the presence of rust involved in electrochemical reaction during electrochemical tests. The analysis of rust with transmission electron microscopy (TEM)−energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS) showed that the amorphous-like rust layer located at the metal/rust interface with enriched alloying element (Cr, Mn) prevents diffusion of corrosive species into a metal/rust interface effectively, which leads to increased corrosion resistance. The initial corrosion behaviour is also affected by the rust types. In other words, manganese accelerated the formation of spinel oxides, negatively affecting corrosion resistance. Meanwhile, chromium accelerated the formation of goethite but impeded the formation of spinel oxides, positively affecting the corrosion resistance. From the above results, the corrosion resistance of steel is closely related with a rust type.

Effects of Alloying Elements (Cr, Mn) on Corrosion Properties of Carbon Steel in Synthetic Seawater

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Hyun, Youngmin; Kim, Heesan [Hongik University, Sejong (Korea, Republic of)

2016-02-15

Effects of alloying elements, manganese and chromium, on corrosion resistance of carbon steel were examined using weight loss test and electrochemical tests (polarization test and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS)) in synthetic seawater at 60 ℃. The results from the weight loss test showed that chromium effectively improved corrosion resistance of carbon steel during the entire immersion time, but manganese improved corrosion resistance after the lowered corrosion resistance at the beginnings of immersion. Unlike the weight loss test, the electrochemical tests showed that the corrosion resistance did not increase with immersion time, in all the specimens. This disagreement is explained by the presence of rust involved in electrochemical reaction during electrochemical tests. The analysis of rust with transmission electron microscopy (TEM)−energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS) showed that the amorphous-like rust layer located at the metal/rust interface with enriched alloying element (Cr, Mn) prevents diffusion of corrosive species into a metal/rust interface effectively, which leads to increased corrosion resistance. The initial corrosion behaviour is also affected by the rust types. In other words, manganese accelerated the formation of spinel oxides, negatively affecting corrosion resistance. Meanwhile, chromium accelerated the formation of goethite but impeded the formation of spinel oxides, positively affecting the corrosion resistance. From the above results, the corrosion resistance of steel is closely related with a rust type.

Generation of a multi-photon Greenberger-Horne-Zeilinger state with linear optical elements and photon detectors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zou, X B; Pahlke, K; Mathis, W

2005-01-01

We present a scheme to generate a multi-photon Greenberger-Horne-Zeilinger (GHZ) state by using single-photon sources, linear optical elements and photon detectors. Such a maximum entanglement has wide applications in the demonstration of quantum nonlocality and quantum information processing

Development of an accurate, sensitive, and robust isotope dilution laser ablation ICP-MS method for simultaneous multi-element analysis (chlorine, sulfur, and heavy metals) in coal samples

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Boulyga, Sergei F. [University of Natural Resources and Applied Life Sciences, Department of Chemistry, Division of Analytical Chemistry-VIRIS Laboratory, Vienna (Austria); Johannes Gutenberg-University, Institute of Inorganic Chemistry and Analytical Chemistry, Mainz (Germany); Heilmann, Jens; Heumann, Klaus G. [Johannes Gutenberg-University, Institute of Inorganic Chemistry and Analytical Chemistry, Mainz (Germany); Prohaska, Thomas [University of Natural Resources and Applied Life Sciences, Department of Chemistry, Division of Analytical Chemistry-VIRIS Laboratory, Vienna (Austria)

2007-10-15

A method for the direct multi-element determination of Cl, S, Hg, Pb, Cd, U, Br, Cr, Cu, Fe, and Zn in powdered coal samples has been developed by applying inductively coupled plasma isotope dilution mass spectrometry (ICP-IDMS) with laser-assisted introduction into the plasma. A sector-field ICP-MS with a mass resolution of 4,000 and a high-ablation rate laser ablation system provided significantly better sensitivity, detection limits, and accuracy compared to a conventional laser ablation system coupled with a quadrupole ICP-MS. The sensitivity ranges from about 590 cps for {sup 35}Cl{sup +} to more than 6 x 10{sup 5} cps for {sup 238}U{sup +} for 1 {mu}g of trace element per gram of coal sample. Detection limits vary from 450 ng g{sup -1} for chlorine and 18 ng g{sup -1} for sulfur to 9.5 pg g{sup -1} for mercury and 0.3 pg g{sup -1} for uranium. Analyses of minor and trace elements in four certified reference materials (BCR-180 Gas Coal, BCR-331 Steam Coal, SRM 1632c Trace Elements in Coal, SRM 1635 Trace Elements in Coal) yielded good agreement of usually not more than 5% deviation from the certified values and precisions of less than 10% relative standard deviation for most elements. Higher relative standard deviations were found for particular elements such as Hg and Cd caused by inhomogeneities due to associations of these elements within micro-inclusions in coal which was demonstrated for Hg in SRM 1635, SRM 1632c, and another standard reference material (SRM 2682b, Sulfur and Mercury in Coal). The developed LA-ICP-IDMS method with its simple sample pretreatment opens the possibility for accurate, fast, and highly sensitive determinations of environmentally critical contaminants in coal as well as of trace impurities in similar sample materials like graphite powder and activated charcoal on a routine basis. (orig.)

Determinations of elements in pepperbush standard reference material by neutron activation and X-ray fluorescence analyses

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mizumoto, Yoshihiko; Okada, Takayuki; Tatsumi, Toshiya; Kusakabe, Toshio; Katsurayama, Kousuke; Iwata, Shiro.

1988-01-01

Elemental contents in Pepperbush standard reference material have been determined by neutron activation and X-ray fluorescence analyses. The standard samples of orchard leaves, tomato leaves, pine needles and Kale are used for the experiment. In the neutron activation analysis, gamma-ray spectra of nuclei produced by (n,γ) reaction on Pepperbush and standard samples are measured with Ge detectors. In the X-ray fluorescence analysis, the samples are excited with X-rays from X-ray tube with rhodium anode, and the characteristic X-rays from samples are measured with a proportional counter or NaI(Tl) detector. From the gamma- and X-ray intensities, the elemental contents in Pepperbush are determined. As a result, the contents of seventeen elements, such as sodium, calcium, iron, etc., in Pepperbush are determined. (author)

Overview of multi-element monolithic germanium detectors for XAFS experiments at diamond light source

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chatterji, S.; Dennis, G. J.; Dent, A.; Diaz-Moreno, S.; Cibin, G.; Tartoni, N.; Helsby, W. I.

2016-01-01

An overview of multi-element monolithic germanium detectors being used at the X-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS) beam lines at Diamond Light Source (DLS) is being reported. The hardware details and a summary of the performance of these detectors have also been provided. Recent updates about various ongoing projects being worked on to improve the performance of these detectors are summarized.

Overview of multi-element monolithic germanium detectors for XAFS experiments at diamond light source

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Chatterji, S.; Dennis, G. J.; Dent, A.; Diaz-Moreno, S.; Cibin, G.; Tartoni, N. [Diamond Light Source Ltd, Oxfordshire (United Kingdom); Helsby, W. I. [STFC Daresbury Laboratory, Warrington (United Kingdom)

2016-07-27

An overview of multi-element monolithic germanium detectors being used at the X-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS) beam lines at Diamond Light Source (DLS) is being reported. The hardware details and a summary of the performance of these detectors have also been provided. Recent updates about various ongoing projects being worked on to improve the performance of these detectors are summarized.

A new large solid angle multi-element silicon drift detector system for low energy X-ray fluorescence spectroscopy

Science.gov (United States)

Bufon, J.; Schillani, S.; Altissimo, M.; Bellutti, P.; Bertuccio, G.; Billè, F.; Borghes, R.; Borghi, G.; Cautero, G.; Cirrincione, D.; Fabiani, S.; Ficorella, F.; Gandola, M.; Gianoncelli, A.; Giuressi, D.; Kourousias, G.; Mele, F.; Menk, R. H.; Picciotto, A.; Rachevski, A.; Rashevskaya, I.; Sammartini, M.; Stolfa, A.; Zampa, G.; Zampa, N.; Zorzi, N.; Vacchi, A.

2018-03-01

Low-energy X-ray fluorescence (LEXRF) is an essential tool for bio-related research of organic samples, whose composition is dominated by light elements. Working at energies below 2 keV and being able to detect fluorescence photons of lightweight elements such as carbon (277 eV) is still a challenge, since it requires in-vacuum operations to avoid in-air photon absorption. Moreover, the detectors must have a thin entrance window and collect photons at an angle of incidence near 90 degrees to minimize the absorption by the protective coating. Considering the low fluorescence yield of light elements, it is important to cover a substantial part of the solid angle detecting ideally all emitted X-ray fluorescence (XRF) photons. Furthermore, the energy resolution of the detection system should be close to the Fano limit in order to discriminate elements whose XRF emission lines are often very close within the energy spectra. To ensure all these features, a system consisting of four monolithic multi-element silicon drift detectors was developed. The use of four separate detector units allows optimizing the incidence angle on all the sensor elements. The multi-element approach in turn provides a lower leakage current on each anode, which, in combination with ultra-low noise preamplifiers, is necessary to achieve an energy resolution close to the Fano limit. The potential of the new detection system and its applicability for typical LEXRF applications has been proved on the Elettra TwinMic beamline.

Multi-Element Analysis and Geochemical Spatial Trends of Groundwater in Rural Northern New York

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Michael O’Connor

2010-05-01

Full Text Available Samples from private wells (n = 169 throughout St. Lawrence County, NY were analyzed by ICP-MS multi-element techniques. St. Lawrence County spans three diverse bedrock terranes including Precambrian crystalline rocks of the Adirondack Lowlands (mostly paragneisses and Highlands (mostly orthogneisses, as well as Paleozoic sedimentary rocks of the St. Lawrence Valley. An ArcGIS database was constructed and used to generate contour plots for elements across the county. Strontium isotopes and unique geochemical signatures were used to distinguish water from various geologic units. The results were consistent with a large (7,309 km2, sparsely populated (~110,000, rural region with diverse bedrock and glacial cover.

Key elements on implementing an occupational health and safety management system using ISO 45001 standard

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Darabont Doru Costin

2017-01-01

Full Text Available Occupational health and safety (OHS management system is one of the main elements of the company’s general management system. During last decade, Romanian companies gained a valuable experience on implementing this type of management systems, using OHSAS 18001 referential and standard. However, the projected release of the ISO 45001 represents a new approach which requires the companies to take in consideration new key elements for a successful implementation of the OHS management system. The aim of the paper is to identify and analyse these key elements, by integration of the following issues: standard requirements, Romanian OHS legislation and good practice examples, including the general control measures for new and emerging risks such as psycho-social risks, workforce ageing and new technologies. The study results represent an important work instrument for each company interested to implement or upgrade its OHS management system using ISO 45001 standard and could be used regardless the company size or activity domain.

Compilation of elemental concentration data for NBS Biological and Environmental Standard Reference Materials

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gladney, E.S.

1980-07-01

Concentration data on up to 76 elementals in 19 NBS Standard Reference Materials have been collected from 325 journal articles and technical reports. These data are summarized into mean +- one standard deviation values and compared with available data from NBS and other review articles. Data are presented on the analytical procedures employed and all raw data are presented in appendixes

Standard biological parts knowledgebase.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Michal Galdzicki

2011-02-01

Full Text Available We have created the Knowledgebase of Standard Biological Parts (SBPkb as a publically accessible Semantic Web resource for synthetic biology (sbolstandard.org. The SBPkb allows researchers to query and retrieve standard biological parts for research and use in synthetic biology. Its initial version includes all of the information about parts stored in the Registry of Standard Biological Parts (partsregistry.org. SBPkb transforms this information so that it is computable, using our semantic framework for synthetic biology parts. This framework, known as SBOL-semantic, was built as part of the Synthetic Biology Open Language (SBOL, a project of the Synthetic Biology Data Exchange Group. SBOL-semantic represents commonly used synthetic biology entities, and its purpose is to improve the distribution and exchange of descriptions of biological parts. In this paper, we describe the data, our methods for transformation to SBPkb, and finally, we demonstrate the value of our knowledgebase with a set of sample queries. We use RDF technology and SPARQL queries to retrieve candidate "promoter" parts that are known to be both negatively and positively regulated. This method provides new web based data access to perform searches for parts that are not currently possible.

Standard Biological Parts Knowledgebase

Science.gov (United States)

Galdzicki, Michal; Rodriguez, Cesar; Chandran, Deepak; Sauro, Herbert M.; Gennari, John H.

2011-01-01

We have created the Knowledgebase of Standard Biological Parts (SBPkb) as a publically accessible Semantic Web resource for synthetic biology (sbolstandard.org). The SBPkb allows researchers to query and retrieve standard biological parts for research and use in synthetic biology. Its initial version includes all of the information about parts stored in the Registry of Standard Biological Parts (partsregistry.org). SBPkb transforms this information so that it is computable, using our semantic framework for synthetic biology parts. This framework, known as SBOL-semantic, was built as part of the Synthetic Biology Open Language (SBOL), a project of the Synthetic Biology Data Exchange Group. SBOL-semantic represents commonly used synthetic biology entities, and its purpose is to improve the distribution and exchange of descriptions of biological parts. In this paper, we describe the data, our methods for transformation to SBPkb, and finally, we demonstrate the value of our knowledgebase with a set of sample queries. We use RDF technology and SPARQL queries to retrieve candidate “promoter” parts that are known to be both negatively and positively regulated. This method provides new web based data access to perform searches for parts that are not currently possible. PMID:21390321

Standard biological parts knowledgebase.

Science.gov (United States)

Galdzicki, Michal; Rodriguez, Cesar; Chandran, Deepak; Sauro, Herbert M; Gennari, John H

2011-02-24

We have created the Knowledgebase of Standard Biological Parts (SBPkb) as a publically accessible Semantic Web resource for synthetic biology (sbolstandard.org). The SBPkb allows researchers to query and retrieve standard biological parts for research and use in synthetic biology. Its initial version includes all of the information about parts stored in the Registry of Standard Biological Parts (partsregistry.org). SBPkb transforms this information so that it is computable, using our semantic framework for synthetic biology parts. This framework, known as SBOL-semantic, was built as part of the Synthetic Biology Open Language (SBOL), a project of the Synthetic Biology Data Exchange Group. SBOL-semantic represents commonly used synthetic biology entities, and its purpose is to improve the distribution and exchange of descriptions of biological parts. In this paper, we describe the data, our methods for transformation to SBPkb, and finally, we demonstrate the value of our knowledgebase with a set of sample queries. We use RDF technology and SPARQL queries to retrieve candidate "promoter" parts that are known to be both negatively and positively regulated. This method provides new web based data access to perform searches for parts that are not currently possible.

How Good Is Multi-Pivot Quicksort?

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Aumüller, Martin; Dietzfelbinger, Martin; Klaue, Pascal

2016-01-01

of the partitioning cost is caused by rearranging elements. A rigorous analysis of an algorithm for rearranging elements in the partitioning step is carried out, observing mainly how often array cells are accessed during partitioning. The algorithm behaves best if three to five pivots are used. Experiments show...... that this translates into good cache behavior and is closest to predicting observed running times of multi-pivot quicksort algorithms. Finally, it is studied how choosing pivots from a sample affects sorting cost. The study is theoretical in the sense that although the findings motivate design recommendations...... as the standard sorting algorithm in Sun’s Java 7. In 2014 at ALENEX, Kushagra et al. introduced an even faster algorithm that uses three pivots. This article studies what possible advantages multi-pivot quicksort might offer in general. The contributions are as follows: Natural comparison-optimal algorithms...

The Multi-Element Electronstatic Lens Systems for Controlling and Focusing Charged Particle

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sise, O.

2004-01-01

Particle optics are very close anolog of photon optics and most of the principles of an barged particle beam can be understood by thinking of the particles as rays of light. There are similar behaviours between particle and photon optics in controlling beams of light and charged particles, such as lenses and mirrors. Extensive information about the properties of charged particle optics, from which appropriate systems can be designed for any specific problem. In this way electrostatic lens systems are used to control beams of c/iarged particle with various energy and directions in several fields, for example electron microscopy, cathode ray tubes, ion accelerators and electron impact studies. In an electrostatic lens system quantative information is required over a wide energy range and a zoom-type of optics is needed. If the magnification is to remain constant over a wide range of energies, quite complicated electrostatic lens systems are required, .containing three, four, five, or even more lens elements. We firstly calculated the optical properties of three and four element cylinder electrostatic lenses with the help of the SIMION and LENSYS programs and developed the method for the calculation of the focal properties of five and more element lenses with afocal mode. In this method we used the combination of three and four element lenses to derive focal properties of multi-element lenses and presented this data over a wide range of energy

Critical Evaluation of an Intercalibration Project Focused on the Definition of New Multi-Element Soil Reference Materials (AMS-MO1 and AMS-ML1

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Livia Vittori Antisari

2014-12-01

Full Text Available Soils are complex matrices and their geochemical investigation necessarily needs reliable Certified Reference Materials (CRMs, i.e. standards, to support analytical precision and accuracy. In particular, the definition of soil multi-element CRMs is particularly complex and involves an inter-laboratory program that employs numerous analytical techniques. In this study, we present the results of the inter-calibration experiment focused on the certification of two new soil standards named AMS-ML1 and AMS-MO1. The two soils developed on sandstone and serpentinite parent materials, respectively. The experiment involved numerous laboratories and focused on the evaluation of soil physicochemical parameters and geochemical analyses of major and trace elements by X-ray fluorescence (XRF and Inductive Coupled Plasma techniques (ICP-OES and ICP-MS. The data was statistically elaborated. Three levels of repeatability and accuracy in function of the different analytical methods and instrumentation equipment was observed. The statistical evaluation of the results obtained by ICP-OES on Aqua Regia extracts (i.e., Lilliefors test for normally, Grubbs test for outliers, Cochran test for outliers in variances and ANOVA allowed to computed some certified values for the two proposed soil standards. This preliminary study will represent the first step of a more thorough intercalibration ring-test involving a higher number of laboratories, in order to propose the investigated matrices as CRMs.

Multi-elemental determination of trace elements in deep seawater by inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry with resin preconcentration

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sumida, Takashi; Nakazato, Tetsuya; Tao, Hiroaki

2003-01-01

A miniaturized column (ca. 3 mm i.d., 40 mm length), packed with a chelating resin (0.2 g) with iminodiacetic acid groups (Muromac A-1), was tested for the preconcentration of trace elements in seawater. After preconcentration, the column was washed with ammonium acetate buffer (pH 5.5) and water to remove the major elements, such as Ca and Mg, and was then eluted with 4 ml of 2 mol l -1 nitric acid. Twenty-six trace elements were determined by inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry and inductively coupled plasma emission spectrometry. The necessary volume of the seawater sample was only 200 ml. The recoveries for most of the elements tested were over 90%, although those for Al, V and Th were around 70%. The trueness and precision were evaluated by analyzing a standard reference material of seawater (NASS-4, NRC Canada). The observed values obtained with the present method showed good agreement with the certified values. The present method was also applied to deep seawater samples collected at Muroto, Japan. A difference in the rare earth element pattern, especially the Ce anomaly, between the deep seawater sample and the surface seawater sample was observed, as well as the differences of the concentrations of many trace elements. (author)

Determination of 25 elements in biological standard reference materials by neutron activation analysis

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Guzzi, G.; Pietra, R.; Sabbioni, E.

1974-12-01

Standard and Certified Reference Materials programme of the JRC includes the determination of trace elements in complex biological samples delivered by the U.S. National Bureau of Standards: Bovine liver (NBS SRM 1577), Orchard Leaves (NBS SRM 1571) and Tomato Leaves. The study has been performed by the use of neutron activation analysis. Due to the very low concentration of some elements, radiochemical groups or elemental separation procedures were necessary. The paper describes the techniques used to analyse 25 elements. Computer assisted instrumental neutron activation analysis with high resolution Ge(Li) spectrometry was considerably advantageous in the determination of Na, K, Cl, Mn, Fe, Rb and Co and in some cases of Ca, Zn, Cs, Sc, and Cr. For low contents of Ca, Mg, Ni and Si special chemical separation schemes, followed by Cerenkov counting have been developped. Two other separation procedures allowing the determination of As, Cd, Ga, Hg, Mo, Cu, Sr Se, Ba and P have been set up. The first, the simplified one involves the use of high resolution Ge(Li) detectors, the second, the more complete one involves a larger number of shorter measurements performed by simpler and more sensitive techniques, such as NaI(Tl) scintillation spectrometry and Cerenkov counting. The results obtained are presented and discussed

Multi-objective Calibration of DHSVM Based on Hydrologic Key Elements in Jinhua River Basin, East China

Science.gov (United States)

Pan, S.; Liu, L.; Xu, Y. P.

2017-12-01

Abstract: In physically based distributed hydrological model, large number of parameters, representing spatial heterogeneity of watershed and various processes in hydrologic cycle, are involved. For lack of calibration module in Distributed Hydrology Soil Vegetation Model, this study developed a multi-objective calibration module using Epsilon-Dominance Non-Dominated Sorted Genetic Algorithm II (ɛ-NSGAII) and based on parallel computing of Linux cluster for DHSVM (ɛP-DHSVM). In this study, two hydrologic key elements (i.e., runoff and evapotranspiration) are used as objectives in multi-objective calibration of model. MODIS evapotranspiration obtained by SEBAL is adopted to fill the gap of lack of observation for evapotranspiration. The results show that good performance of runoff simulation in single objective calibration cannot ensure good simulation performance of other hydrologic key elements. Self-developed ɛP-DHSVM model can make multi-objective calibration more efficiently and effectively. The running speed can be increased by more than 20-30 times via applying ɛP-DHSVM. In addition, runoff and evapotranspiration can be simulated very well simultaneously by ɛP-DHSVM, with superior values for two efficiency coefficients (0.74 for NS of runoff and 0.79 for NS of evapotranspiration, -10.5% and -8.6% for PBIAS of runoff and evapotranspiration respectively).

Fast sequential multi-element determination of major and minor elements in environmental samples and drinking waters by high-resolution continuum source flame atomic absorption spectrometry.

Science.gov (United States)

Gómez-Nieto, Beatriz; Gismera, Ma Jesús; Sevilla, Ma Teresa; Procopio, Jesús R

2015-01-07

The fast sequential multi-element determination of 11 elements present at different concentration levels in environmental samples and drinking waters has been investigated using high-resolution continuum source flame atomic absorption spectrometry. The main lines for Cu (324.754 nm), Zn (213.857 nm), Cd (228.802 nm), Ni (232.003 nm) and Pb (217.001 nm), main and secondary absorption lines for Mn (279.482 and 279.827 nm), Fe (248.327, 248.514 and 302.064 nm) and Ca (422.673 and 239.856 nm), secondary lines with different sensitivities for Na (589.592 and 330.237 nm) and K (769.897 and 404.414 nm) and a secondary line for Mg (202.582 nm) have been chosen to perform the analysis. A flow injection system has been used for sample introduction so sample consumption has been reduced up to less than 1 mL per element, measured in triplicate. Furthermore, the use of multiplets for Fe and the side pixel registration approach for Mg have been studied in order to reduce sensitivity and extend the linear working range. The figures of merit have been calculated and the proposed method was applied to determine these elements in a pine needles reference material (SRM 1575a), drinking and natural waters and soil extracts. Recoveries of analytes added at different concentration levels to water samples and extracts of soils were within 88-115% interval. In this way, the fast sequential multi-element determination of major and minor elements can be carried out, in triplicate, with successful results without requiring additional dilutions of samples or several different strategies for sample preparation using about 8-9 mL of sample. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

A new XRF probe for in-situ determining concentration of multi-elements in ocean sediments

CERN Document Server

Ge Liang Quan; Zhou Si Chun; Lin Ling; Lin Yan Chang; Ren Jia Fu

2001-01-01

The author introduces a new X-ray fluorescence probe for in-situ determining the concentration of multi-elements in ocean sediments. The probe consists of Si-Pin X-ray detector with an electro-thermal colder, two isotope sources, essential electrical signal processing units and a notebook computer. More than 10 elements can be simultaneously determined at a detection limit of (10-200) x 10 sup - sup 6 and precision of 5%-30% without liquid Nitrogen supply. tests show that the probe can perform the analytical tasks under the water at the depth of less than 1000 meters

The development and deployment of Common Data Elements for tissue banks for translational research in cancer – An emerging standard based approach for the Mesothelioma Virtual Tissue Bank

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Farhat Ghada

2008-04-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Recent advances in genomics, proteomics, and the increasing demands for biomarker validation studies have catalyzed changes in the landscape of cancer research, fueling the development of tissue banks for translational research. A result of this transformation is the need for sufficient quantities of clinically annotated and well-characterized biospecimens to support the growing needs of the cancer research community. Clinical annotation allows samples to be better matched to the research question at hand and ensures that experimental results are better understood and can be verified. To facilitate and standardize such annotation in bio-repositories, we have combined three accepted and complementary sets of data standards: the College of American Pathologists (CAP Cancer Checklists, the protocols recommended by the Association of Directors of Anatomic and Surgical Pathology (ADASP for pathology data, and the North American Association of Central Cancer Registry (NAACCR elements for epidemiology, therapy and follow-up data. Combining these approaches creates a set of International Standards Organization (ISO – compliant Common Data Elements (CDEs for the mesothelioma tissue banking initiative supported by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH of the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC. Methods The purpose of the project is to develop a core set of data elements for annotating mesothelioma specimens, following standards established by the CAP checklist, ADASP cancer protocols, and the NAACCR elements. We have associated these elements with modeling architecture to enhance both syntactic and semantic interoperability. The system has a Java-based multi-tiered architecture based on Unified Modeling Language (UML. Results Common Data Elements were developed using controlled vocabulary, ontology and semantic modeling methodology. The CDEs for each case are of different types: demographic

Low-resolution continuum source simultaneous multi-element electrothermal atomic absorption spectrometry: steps into practice

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Katskov, Dmitri

2015-01-01

The theory and practical problems of continuum source simultaneous multi-element electrothermal atomic absorption spectrometry (SMET AAS) are discussed by the example of direct analysis of underground water. The experimental methodology is based on pulse vaporization of the sample in a fast heated graphite tube and measurement of transient absorption of continuum spectrum radiation from D 2 and Xe lamps within 200–400 nm wavelengths range with a low resolution spectral instrument and linear charge-coupled device. The setup permits the acquisition of 200 spectra during 1 s atomization pulse. Respective data matrix absorbance vs wavelength/time is employed for the quantification of elements in the sample. The calculation algorithm developed includes broad band and continuum background correction, linearization of function absorbance vs. concentration of atomic vapor and integration of thus modified absorbance at the resonance lines of the elements to be determined. Practical application shows that the method can be employed for the direct simultaneous determination of about 20 elements above microgram per liter level within 3–5 orders of the magnitude concentration range. The investigated sources of measurement errors are mainly associated with the atomization and vapor transportation problems, which are aggravated for the simultaneous release of major and minor sample constituents. Respective corrections concerning the selection of analytical lines, optimal sampling volume, matrix modification and cleaning of the atomizer have been introduced in the SMET AAS analytical technology. Under the optimized experimental conditions the calibration curves in Log-Log coordinates for all the investigated analytes in the single or multi-element reference solutions are approximated by the first order equations. The use of these equations as permanent characteristics of the setup enables instant quantification of Al, Ca, Co, Cr, Cu, Fe, Mg, Mn and Ni in the underground water

Low-resolution continuum source simultaneous multi-element electrothermal atomic absorption spectrometry: steps into practice

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Katskov, Dmitri, E-mail: katskovda@tut.ac.za

2015-03-01

The theory and practical problems of continuum source simultaneous multi-element electrothermal atomic absorption spectrometry (SMET AAS) are discussed by the example of direct analysis of underground water. The experimental methodology is based on pulse vaporization of the sample in a fast heated graphite tube and measurement of transient absorption of continuum spectrum radiation from D{sub 2} and Xe lamps within 200–400 nm wavelengths range with a low resolution spectral instrument and linear charge-coupled device. The setup permits the acquisition of 200 spectra during 1 s atomization pulse. Respective data matrix absorbance vs wavelength/time is employed for the quantification of elements in the sample. The calculation algorithm developed includes broad band and continuum background correction, linearization of function absorbance vs. concentration of atomic vapor and integration of thus modified absorbance at the resonance lines of the elements to be determined. Practical application shows that the method can be employed for the direct simultaneous determination of about 20 elements above microgram per liter level within 3–5 orders of the magnitude concentration range. The investigated sources of measurement errors are mainly associated with the atomization and vapor transportation problems, which are aggravated for the simultaneous release of major and minor sample constituents. Respective corrections concerning the selection of analytical lines, optimal sampling volume, matrix modification and cleaning of the atomizer have been introduced in the SMET AAS analytical technology. Under the optimized experimental conditions the calibration curves in Log-Log coordinates for all the investigated analytes in the single or multi-element reference solutions are approximated by the first order equations. The use of these equations as permanent characteristics of the setup enables instant quantification of Al, Ca, Co, Cr, Cu, Fe, Mg, Mn and Ni in the underground

What Are Synthetic Cannabinoids?

Science.gov (United States)

... years, synthetic cannabinoid mixtures have been easy to buy in drug paraphernalia shops, novelty stores, gas stations, and over ... abuse, authorities have made it illegal to sell, buy, or possess some of ... use is that standard drug tests cannot easily detect many of the chemicals ...

Altered vocal fold kinematics in synthetic self-oscillating models that employ adipose tissue as a lateral boundary condition.

Science.gov (United States)

Saidi, Hiba; Erath, Byron D.

2015-11-01

The vocal folds play a major role in human communication by initiating voiced sound production. During voiced speech, the vocal folds are set into sustained vibrations. Synthetic self-oscillating vocal fold models are regularly employed to gain insight into flow-structure interactions governing the phonation process. Commonly, a fixed boundary condition is applied to the lateral, anterior, and posterior sides of the synthetic vocal fold models. However, physiological observations reveal the presence of adipose tissue on the lateral surface between the thyroid cartilage and the vocal folds. The goal of this study is to investigate the influence of including this substrate layer of adipose tissue on the dynamics of phonation. For a more realistic representation of the human vocal folds, synthetic multi-layer vocal fold models have been fabricated and tested while including a soft lateral layer representative of adipose tissue. Phonation parameters have been collected and are compared to those of the standard vocal fold models. Results show that vocal fold kinematics are affected by adding the adipose tissue layer as a new boundary condition.

Multi-Directional Environmental Sensors

Science.gov (United States)

Manohara, Harish (Inventor); Del Castillo, Linda Y. (Inventor); Mojarradi, Mohammed M. (Inventor)

2016-01-01

Systems and methods in accordance with embodiments of the invention implement multi-directional environmental sensors. In one embodiment, a multi-directional environmental sensor includes: an inner conductive element that is substantially symmetrical about three orthogonal planes; an outer conductive element that is substantially symmetrical about three orthogonal planes; and a device that measures the electrical characteristics of the multi-directional environmental sensor, the device having a first terminal and a second terminal; where the inner conductive element is substantially enclosed within the outer conductive element; where the inner conductive element is electrically coupled to the first terminal of the device; and where the outer conductive element is electrically coupled to the second terminal of the device.

Creation of a synthetic indicator of quality of care as a clinical management standard in primary care.

Science.gov (United States)

Coma, Ermengol; Ferran, Manel; Méndez, Leonardo; Iglesias, Begoña; Fina, Francesc; Medina, Manuel

2013-12-01

The development of electronic medical records has allowed the creation of new quality indicators in healthcare. Among them, synthetic indicators facilitate global interpretation of results and comparisons between professionals. A healthcare quality standard (EQA, the Catalan acronym for Estàndard de Qualitat Assistencial) was constructed to serve as a synthetic indicator to measure the quality of care provided by primary care professionals in Catalonia (Spain). The project phases were to establish the reference population; select health problems to be included; define, select and deliberate about subindicators; and construct and publish the EQA. Construction of the EQA involved 107 healthcare professionals, and 91 health problems were included. In addition, 133 experts were consulted, who proposed a total of 339 indicators. After systematic paired comparison, 61 indicators were selected to create the synthetic indicator. The EQA is now calculated on a monthly basis for more than 8000 healthcare professionals using an automated process that extracts data from electronic medical records; results are published on a follow-up website. Along with the use of the online EQA results tool, there has been an ongoing improvement in most of the quality of care indicators. Creation of the EQA has proven to be useful for the measurement of the quality of care of primary care services. Also an improvement trend over 5 years is shown across most of the measured indicators. The online version of this article (doi:10.1186/2193-1801-2-51) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

pBAM1: an all-synthetic genetic tool for analysis and construction of complex bacterial phenotypes

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Arévalo-Rodríguez Miguel

2011-02-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Since publication in 1977 of plasmid pBR322, many breakthroughs in Biology have depended on increasingly sophisticated vector platforms for analysis and engineering of given bacterial strains. Although restriction sites impose a certain format in the procedures for assembling cloned genes, every attempt thus far to standardize vector architecture and nomenclature has ended up in failure. While this state of affairs may still be tolerable for traditional one-at-a-time studies of single genes, the onset of systems and synthetic biology calls for a simplification -along with an optimization- of the currently unwieldy pool of genetic tools. Results The functional DNA sequences present in the natural bacterial transposon Tn5 have been methodically edited and refactored for the production of a multi-purpose genetic tool named pBAM1, which allows a range of manipulations in the genome of Gram-negative bacteria. This all-synthetic construct enhances the power of mini-transposon vectors for either de-construction or re-construction of phenotypes á la carte by incorporating features inspired in systems engineering: modularity, re-usability, minimization, and compatibility with other genetic tools. pBAM1 bears an streamlined, restriction site-freed and narrow-host range replication frame bearing the sequences of R6K oriV, oriT and an ampicillin resistance marker. These go along with a business module that contains a host-independent and hyperactive transposition platform for in vivo or in vitro insertion of desired DNA into the genome of the target bacterium. All functional sequences were standardized for a straightforward replacement by equivalent counterparts, if required. pBAM1 can be delivered into recipient cells by either mating or electroporation, producing transposon insertion frequencies of 1.8 × 10-3 and 1.02 × 10-7, respectively in the soil bacterium Pseudomonas putida. Analyses of the resulting clones revealed a 100% of

Determination of platinum-group elements in the geological standard reference materials by isotope dilution-ICPMS

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Mingyue, Hu; Hongliao, He [National Research Center for Geoanalysis, Beijing (China)

2005-10-15

Platinum group elements (PGEs) includes platinum, palladium, iridium, osmium, rhodium and ruthenium. It has very high economic and scientific value in the field of geoscience and environmental science. But the analysis data referred by the different lab are very disperse because of the difficulty of the determination of PGEs. It makes very difficult to fix the value of the PGEs in the standard reference materials. In the article, the values of the PGEs in the standard reference materials of ocean sediment are determined by isotope dilution technique and dependable values of these elements are provided. (authors)

Determination of platinum-group elements in the geological standard reference materials by isotope dilution-ICPMS

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hu Mingyue; He Hongliao

2005-01-01

Platinum group elements (PGEs) includes platinum, palladium, iridium, osmium, rhodium and ruthenium. It has very high economic and scientific value in the field of geoscience and environmental science. But the analysis data referred by the different lab are very disperse because of the difficulty of the determination of PGEs. It makes very difficult to fix the value of the PGEs in the standard reference materials. In the article, the values of the PGEs in the standard reference materials of ocean sediment are determined by isotope dilution technique and dependable values of these elements are provided. (authors)

Three-Dimensional Synthetic Aperture Focusing Using a Rocking Convex Array Transducer

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Andresen, Henrik; Nikolov, Svetoslav; Pedersen, Mads Møller

2010-01-01

Volumetric imaging can be performed using 1-D arrays in combination with mechanical motion. Outside the elevation focus of the array, the resolution and contrast quickly degrade compared with the lateral plane, because of the fixed transducer focus. This paper shows the feasibility of using...... synthetic aperture focusing for enhancing the elevation focus for a convex rocking array. The method uses a virtual source (VS) for defocused multi-element transmit, and another VS in the elevation focus point. This allows a direct time-of-flight to be calculated for a given 3-D point. To avoid artifacts...... and increase SNR at the elevation VS, a plane-wave VS approach has been implemented. Simulations and measurements using an experimental scanner with a convex rocking array show an average improvement in resolution of 26% and 33%, respectively. This improvement is also seen in in vivo measurements...

Low power fast settling multi-standard current reusing CMOS fractional-N frequency synthesizer

Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

Lou Wenfeng; Feng Peng; Wang Haiyong; Wu Nanjian

2012-01-01

A low power fast settling multi-standard CMOS fractional-N frequency synthesizer is proposed.The current reusing and frequency presetting techniques are adopted to realize the low power fast settling multi-standard fractional-N frequency synthesizer.An auxiliary non-volatile memory (NVM) is embedded to avoid the repetitive calibration process and to save power in practical application.This PLL is implemented in a 0.18μm technology.The frequency range is 0.3 to 2.54 GHz and the settling time is less than 5μs over the entire frequency range.The LC-VCO with the stacked divide-by-2 has a good figure of merit of-193.5 dBc/Hz.The measured phase noise of frequency synthesizer is about -115 dBc/Hz at 1 MHz offset when the carrier frequency is 2.4 GHz and the reference spurs are less than -52 dBc.The whole frequency synthesizer consumes only 4.35 mA @ 1.8 V.

Sequential assimilation of multi-mission dynamical topography into a global finite-element ocean model

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

S. Skachko

2008-12-01

Full Text Available This study focuses on an accurate estimation of ocean circulation via assimilation of satellite measurements of ocean dynamical topography into the global finite-element ocean model (FEOM. The dynamical topography data are derived from a complex analysis of multi-mission altimetry data combined with a referenced earth geoid. The assimilation is split into two parts. First, the mean dynamic topography is adjusted. To this end an adiabatic pressure correction method is used which reduces model divergence from the real evolution. Second, a sequential assimilation technique is applied to improve the representation of thermodynamical processes by assimilating the time varying dynamic topography. A method is used according to which the temperature and salinity are updated following the vertical structure of the first baroclinic mode. It is shown that the method leads to a partially successful assimilation approach reducing the rms difference between the model and data from 16 cm to 2 cm. This improvement of the mean state is accompanied by significant improvement of temporal variability in our analysis. However, it remains suboptimal, showing a tendency in the forecast phase of returning toward a free run without data assimilation. Both the mean difference and standard deviation of the difference between the forecast and observation data are reduced as the result of assimilation.

A blended continuous–discontinuous finite element method for solving the multi-fluid plasma model

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Sousa, E.M., E-mail: sousae@uw.edu; Shumlak, U., E-mail: shumlak@uw.edu

2016-12-01

The multi-fluid plasma model represents electrons, multiple ion species, and multiple neutral species as separate fluids that interact through short-range collisions and long-range electromagnetic fields. The model spans a large range of temporal and spatial scales, which renders the model stiff and presents numerical challenges. To address the large range of timescales, a blended continuous and discontinuous Galerkin method is proposed, where the massive ion and neutral species are modeled using an explicit discontinuous Galerkin method while the electrons and electromagnetic fields are modeled using an implicit continuous Galerkin method. This approach is able to capture large-gradient ion and neutral physics like shock formation, while resolving high-frequency electron dynamics in a computationally efficient manner. The details of the Blended Finite Element Method (BFEM) are presented. The numerical method is benchmarked for accuracy and tested using two-fluid one-dimensional soliton problem and electromagnetic shock problem. The results are compared to conventional finite volume and finite element methods, and demonstrate that the BFEM is particularly effective in resolving physics in stiff problems involving realistic physical parameters, including realistic electron mass and speed of light. The benefit is illustrated by computing a three-fluid plasma application that demonstrates species separation in multi-component plasmas.

Evaluation of trace elements in some northern-Nigeria traditional medicinal plants using INAA technique

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Oladipo, M.O.A.; Njinga, R.L.; Baba, A.; Muhammad, H.L.

2012-01-01

Instrumental neutron activation analysis was used for multi-trace elemental determination of six medicinal plants: Boerhavia diffusa, Euphoria hirta, Senna occidentalis, Senna obtusofolia, Cyprus dilatatus and Mitracarpus villosu. These plants were irradiated in the Nigeria Research reactor-1, at flux levels of 2.25E+11 ncm −2 s −1 in the outer channel and 5.0E+11 ncm −2 s −1 in the inner channel. A total of the twenty one elemental concentrations were evaluated highlighted the similarity between the elements obtained for the six plants. It was found that Euphoria hirta and Senna occidentalis have similar concentrations of elements. Boerhavia difusa, Mitracarpus villosus, Cyprus dilatalus and Senna obttusifolia were also similar in elemental content to each other, while Boerhavia difusa was the only exceptional outlier. The accuracy of measurements was evaluated by analyzing IAEA-359 cabbage references standard materials and the results show good agreement with certified or literature values within ±0.01% to ±0.87%. - Highlights: ► Application of neutron activation analysis. ► Multi-trace elemental determination of six medicinal plants in northern Nigeria. ► Accuracy of the measurements was based on analyzing IAEA-359 cabbage, a standard reference material. ► Results showed good agreement with certified values within ±0.01 % to ±0.87%.

The multi-element ultrasonic technology: examples of application on military naval structures

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Recolin, P.; Rivalin, S.

2009-01-01

DCNS is the European leader in the military ship construction and maintenance (conventional and nuclear propulsion). The potential of ultrasonic technologies with multi-element probes has been studied in its Materials laboratory since the end of the 80's, and a growing number of applications has appeared these last ten years. A series of examples is given: in-service nuclear reactor pipe welds monitoring, time-of-flight diffraction (TOFD) technique for the inspection of containment welds, coating fabrication control, detection of laminating corrosion on aluminum rings, detection of corrosion on submarine hulls in basin, inspection of hull welded joints

Synthetic analog computation in living cells.

Science.gov (United States)

Daniel, Ramiz; Rubens, Jacob R; Sarpeshkar, Rahul; Lu, Timothy K

2013-05-30

A central goal of synthetic biology is to achieve multi-signal integration and processing in living cells for diagnostic, therapeutic and biotechnology applications. Digital logic has been used to build small-scale circuits, but other frameworks may be needed for efficient computation in the resource-limited environments of cells. Here we demonstrate that synthetic analog gene circuits can be engineered to execute sophisticated computational functions in living cells using just three transcription factors. Such synthetic analog gene circuits exploit feedback to implement logarithmically linear sensing, addition, ratiometric and power-law computations. The circuits exhibit Weber's law behaviour as in natural biological systems, operate over a wide dynamic range of up to four orders of magnitude and can be designed to have tunable transfer functions. Our circuits can be composed to implement higher-order functions that are well described by both intricate biochemical models and simple mathematical functions. By exploiting analog building-block functions that are already naturally present in cells, this approach efficiently implements arithmetic operations and complex functions in the logarithmic domain. Such circuits may lead to new applications for synthetic biology and biotechnology that require complex computations with limited parts, need wide-dynamic-range biosensing or would benefit from the fine control of gene expression.

Homogenization on Multi-Materials’ Elements: Application to Printed Circuit Boards and Warpage Analysis

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Araújo Manuel

2016-01-01

Full Text Available Multi-material domains are often found in industrial applications. Modelling them can be computationally very expensive due to meshing requirements. The finite element properties comprising different materials are hardly accurate. In this work, a new homogenization method that simplifies the computation of the homogenized Young modulus, Poisson ratio and thermal expansion coefficient is proposed, and applied to composite-like material on a printed circuit board. The results show a good properties correspondence between the homogenized domain and the real geometry simulation.

Synthesis and chemistry of elemental 2D materials

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Mannix, Andrew J.; Kiraly, Brian; Hersam, Mark C.; Guisinger, Nathan P.

2017-01-25

2D materials have attracted considerable attention in the past decade for their superlative physical properties. These materials consist of atomically thin sheets exhibiting covalent in-plane bonding and weak interlayer and layer-substrate bonding. Following the example of graphene, most emerging 2D materials are derived from structures that can be isolated from bulk phases of layered materials, which form a limited library for new materials discovery. Entirely synthetic 2D materials provide access to a greater range of properties through the choice of constituent elements and substrates. Of particular interest are elemental 2D materials, because they provide the most chemically tractable case for synthetic exploration. In this Review, we explore the progress made in the synthesis and chemistry of synthetic elemental 2D materials, and offer perspectives and challenges for the future of this emerging field.

Design studies of back up cores for the experimental multi-purpose VHTR, (1)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yasuno, Takehiko; Miyamoto, Yoshiaki; Mitake, Susumu

1982-09-01

For the Experimental Multi-Purpose Very High Temperature Reactor, design studies have been made of two backup cores loaded with new type fuel elements. The purpose is to improve core operational characteristics of the standard design core (Mark-III core) consisting of pin-in-block type fuel element having externally cooled hollow fuel rods. The first backup core (semi-pin fuel core) is composed of fuel elements with internally cooled fuel pins, and the second core (multihole fuel core) is composed of multihole fuel elements, which can be adopted for the experimental VHTR as the substitution of the standard Mark-III fuel element. Either of the cores has 73 fuel columns and 4 m height. The arrangement of active core and reactor internal structure is same as that in the standard design core. These backup cores meet almost all design requirements of the VHTR and increase the margins for some important design items in comparison with the standard core (Mark-III core). This report describes the overall characteristics of nuclear, thermal-hydraulic, fuel and safety, and structural consideration for these cores. (author)

Segmental intelligibility of synthetic speech produced by rule.

Science.gov (United States)

Logan, J S; Greene, B G; Pisoni, D B

1989-08-01

This paper reports the results of an investigation that employed the modified rhyme test (MRT) to measure the segmental intelligibility of synthetic speech generated automatically by rule. Synthetic speech produced by ten text-to-speech systems was studied and compared to natural speech. A variation of the standard MRT was also used to study the effects of response set size on perceptual confusions. Results indicated that the segmental intelligibility scores formed a continuum. Several systems displayed very high levels of performance that were close to or equal to scores obtained with natural speech; other systems displayed substantially worse performance compared to natural speech. The overall performance of the best system, DECtalk--Paul, was equivalent to the data obtained with natural speech for consonants in syllable-initial position. The findings from this study are discussed in terms of the use of a set of standardized procedures for measuring intelligibility of synthetic speech under controlled laboratory conditions. Recent work investigating the perception of synthetic speech under more severe conditions in which greater demands are made on the listener's processing resources is also considered. The wide range of intelligibility scores obtained in the present study demonstrates important differences in perception and suggests that not all synthetic speech is perceptually equivalent to the listener.

Segmental intelligibility of synthetic speech produced by rule

Science.gov (United States)

Logan, John S.; Greene, Beth G.; Pisoni, David B.

2012-01-01

This paper reports the results of an investigation that employed the modified rhyme test (MRT) to measure the segmental intelligibility of synthetic speech generated automatically by rule. Synthetic speech produced by ten text-to-speech systems was studied and compared to natural speech. A variation of the standard MRT was also used to study the effects of response set size on perceptual confusions. Results indicated that the segmental intelligibility scores formed a continuum. Several systems displayed very high levels of performance that were close to or equal to scores obtained with natural speech; other systems displayed substantially worse performance compared to natural speech. The overall performance of the best system, DECtalk—Paul, was equivalent to the data obtained with natural speech for consonants in syllable-initial position. The findings from this study are discussed in terms of the use of a set of standardized procedures for measuring intelligibility of synthetic speech under controlled laboratory conditions. Recent work investigating the perception of synthetic speech under more severe conditions in which greater demands are made on the listener’s processing resources is also considered. The wide range of intelligibility scores obtained in the present study demonstrates important differences in perception and suggests that not all synthetic speech is perceptually equivalent to the listener. PMID:2527884

A computer programme for use in the development of multi-element x-ray-fluorescence methods of analysis

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wall, G.J.

1985-01-01

A computer programme (written in BASIC) is described for the evaluation of spectral-line intensities in X-ray-fluorescence spectrometry. The programme is designed to assist the analyst while he is developing new analytical methods, because it facilitates the selection of the following evaluation parameters: calculation models, spectral-line correction factors, calibration curves, calibration ranges, and point deletions. In addition, the programme enables the analyst to undertake routine calculations of data from multi-element analyses in which variable data-reduction parameters are used for each element

Volumetric Synthetic Aperture Imaging with a Piezoelectric 2-D Row-Column Probe

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Bouzari, Hamed; Engholm, Mathias; Christiansen, Thomas Lehrmann

2016-01-01

The synthetic aperture (SA) technique can be used for achieving real-time volumetric ultrasound imaging using 2-D row-column addressed transducers. This paper investigates SA volumetric imaging performance of an in-house prototyped 3 MHz λ/2-pitch 62+62 element piezoelectric 2-D row-column addres......The synthetic aperture (SA) technique can be used for achieving real-time volumetric ultrasound imaging using 2-D row-column addressed transducers. This paper investigates SA volumetric imaging performance of an in-house prototyped 3 MHz λ/2-pitch 62+62 element piezoelectric 2-D row...

Non destructive multi elemental analysis using prompt gamma neutron activation analysis techniques: Preliminary results for concrete sample

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Dahing, Lahasen Normanshah [School of Applied Physics, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, 43600 Bangi, Selangor, Malaysia and Malaysian Nuclear Agency (Nuklear Malaysia), Bangi 43000, Kajang (Malaysia); Yahya, Redzuan [School of Applied Physics, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, 43600 Bangi, Selangor (Malaysia); Yahya, Roslan; Hassan, Hearie [Malaysian Nuclear Agency (Nuklear Malaysia), Bangi 43000, Kajang (Malaysia)

2014-09-03

In this study, principle of prompt gamma neutron activation analysis has been used as a technique to determine the elements in the sample. The system consists of collimated isotopic neutron source, Cf-252 with HPGe detector and Multichannel Analysis (MCA). Concrete with size of 10×10×10 cm{sup 3} and 15×15×15 cm{sup 3} were analysed as sample. When neutrons enter and interact with elements in the concrete, the neutron capture reaction will occur and produce characteristic prompt gamma ray of the elements. The preliminary result of this study demonstrate the major element in the concrete was determined such as Si, Mg, Ca, Al, Fe and H as well as others element, such as Cl by analysis the gamma ray lines respectively. The results obtained were compared with NAA and XRF techniques as a part of reference and validation. The potential and the capability of neutron induced prompt gamma as tool for multi elemental analysis qualitatively to identify the elements present in the concrete sample discussed.

A Synthetic Biology Framework for Programming Eukaryotic Transcription Functions

Science.gov (United States)

Khalil, Ahmad S.; Lu, Timothy K.; Bashor, Caleb J.; Ramirez, Cherie L.; Pyenson, Nora C.; Joung, J. Keith; Collins, James J.

2013-01-01

SUMMARY Eukaryotic transcription factors (TFs) perform complex and combinatorial functions within transcriptional networks. Here, we present a synthetic framework for systematically constructing eukaryotic transcription functions using artificial zinc fingers, modular DNA-binding domains found within many eukaryotic TFs. Utilizing this platform, we construct a library of orthogonal synthetic transcription factors (sTFs) and use these to wire synthetic transcriptional circuits in yeast. We engineer complex functions, such as tunable output strength and transcriptional cooperativity, by rationally adjusting a decomposed set of key component properties, e.g., DNA specificity, affinity, promoter design, protein-protein interactions. We show that subtle perturbations to these properties can transform an individual sTF between distinct roles (activator, cooperative factor, inhibitory factor) within a transcriptional complex, thus drastically altering the signal processing behavior of multi-input systems. This platform provides new genetic components for synthetic biology and enables bottom-up approaches to understanding the design principles of eukaryotic transcriptional complexes and networks. PMID:22863014

Multiply-Imputed Synthetic Data: Advice to the Imputer

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Loong Bronwyn

2017-12-01

Full Text Available Several statistical agencies have started to use multiply-imputed synthetic microdata to create public-use data in major surveys. The purpose of doing this is to protect the confidentiality of respondents’ identities and sensitive attributes, while allowing standard complete-data analyses of microdata. A key challenge, faced by advocates of synthetic data, is demonstrating that valid statistical inferences can be obtained from such synthetic data for non-confidential questions. Large discrepancies between observed-data and synthetic-data analytic results for such questions may arise because of uncongeniality; that is, differences in the types of inputs available to the imputer, who has access to the actual data, and to the analyst, who has access only to the synthetic data. Here, we discuss a simple, but possibly canonical, example of uncongeniality when using multiple imputation to create synthetic data, which specifically addresses the choices made by the imputer. An initial, unanticipated but not surprising, conclusion is that non-confidential design information used to impute synthetic data should be released with the confidential synthetic data to allow users of synthetic data to avoid possible grossly conservative inferences.

Synthetic biology and the technicity of biofuels.

Science.gov (United States)

Mackenzie, Adrian

2013-06-01

The principal existing real-world application of synthetic biology is biofuels. Several 'next generation biofuel' companies-Synthetic Genomics, Amyris and Joule Unlimited Technologies-claim to be using synthetic biology to make biofuels. The irony of this is that highly advanced science and engineering serves the very mundane and familiar realm of transport. Despite their rather prosaic nature, biofuels could offer an interesting way to highlight the novelty of synthetic biology from several angles at once. Drawing on the French philosopher of technology and biology Gilbert Simondon, we can understand biofuels as technical objects whose genesis involves processes of concretisation that negotiate between heterogeneous geographical, biological, technical, scientific and commercial realities. Simondon's notion of technicity, the degree of concretisation of a technical object, usefully conceptualises this relationality. Viewed in terms of technicity, we might understand better how technical entities, elements, and ensembles are coming into being in the name of synthetic biology. The broader argument here is that when we seek to identify the newness of disciplines, their newness might be less epistemic and more logistic. Crown Copyright © 2013. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

NanoSIMS multi-element imaging reveals internalisation and nucleolar targeting for a highly-charged polynuclear platinum compound.

Science.gov (United States)

Wedlock, Louise E; Kilburn, Matt R; Liu, Rong; Shaw, Jeremy A; Berners-Price, Susan J; Farrell, Nicholas P

2013-08-11

Simultaneous multi-element imaging using NanoSIMS (nano-scale secondary ion mass spectrometry), exploiting the novel combination of (195)Pt and (15)N in platinum-am(m)ine antitumour drugs, provides information on the internalisation and subcellular localisation of both metal and ligands, and allows identification of ligand exchange.

Flowing-water optical power meter for primary-standard, multi-kilowatt laser power measurements

Science.gov (United States)

Williams, P. A.; Hadler, J. A.; Cromer, C.; West, J.; Li, X.; Lehman, J. H.

2018-06-01

A primary-standard flowing-water optical power meter for measuring multi-kilowatt laser emission has been built and operated. The design and operational details of this primary standard are described, and a full uncertainty analysis is provided covering the measurement range from 1–10 kW with an expanded uncertainty of 1.2%. Validating measurements at 5 kW and 10 kW show agreement with other measurement techniques to within the measurement uncertainty. This work of the U.S. Government is not subject to U.S. copyright.

Multi-element analysis of urine using dynamic reaction cell inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-DRC-MS — A practical application

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Renata Brodzka

2013-04-01

Full Text Available Objectives: The method for the determination of As, Al, Cd, Ni, Pb (toxic elements and Cr, Co, Cu, Fe, Mn, Zn (essential elements in human urine by the use of Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometry (quadrupole ICP-MS DRCe Elan, Perkin Elmer with the dynamic reaction cell (DRC was developed. Materials and Methods: The method has been applied for multi-element analysis of the urine of 16 non-exposed healthy volunteers and 27 workers employed in a copper smelter. The analysis was conducted after initial 10-fold dilution of the urine samples with 0,1% nitric acid. Rhodium was used as an internal standard. The method validation parameters such as detection limit, sensitivity, precision were described for all elements. Accuracy of the method was checked by the regular use of certified reference materials ClinCheck®-Control Urine (Recipe as well as by participation of the laboratory in the German External Quality Assessment Scheme (G-EQUAS. Results: The detection limits (DL 3s of the applied method were 0.025, 0.007, 0.002, 0.004, 0.004, 0.086, 0.037, 0.009, 0.016, 0.008, 0.064 (μg/l for Al, As, Cd, Cr, Co, Cu, Fe, Mn, Ni, Pb, Zn in urine, respectively. For each element linearity with correlation coefficient of at least 0.999 was determined. Spectral interferences from some of the ions were removed using DRC-e with addition of alternative gas: methane for cobalt, copper, cadmium, chromium, iron, manganese, nickel and rhodium, and oxygen for arsenic. Conclusions: The developed method allows to determine simultaneously eleven elements in the urine with low detection limits, high sensitivity and good accuracy. Moreover, the method is appropriate for the assessment of both environmental and occupational exposure.

Application of the multi-element analysis by X-fluorescence and neutron activation to the characterization of an archaeological site

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rossini, I.

1991-06-01

The first part of this thesis is about possible analysis methods (XRF, PIXE, INAA, laser fluorimetry, and ICP), applied to Uranium, Thorium and Rubidium assays in archaeological clays and potteries. The best results have been obtained with Neutron Activation technics. The second part is about the multi-element analysis of quarries and about the research by statistical treatment of correlations between the element concentrations and the sampling sites (excavations, quarries)

Gold internal standard correction for elemental imaging of soft tissue sections by LA-ICP-MS: element distribution in eye microstructures.

Science.gov (United States)

Konz, Ioana; Fernández, Beatriz; Fernández, M Luisa; Pereiro, Rosario; González, Héctor; Alvarez, Lydia; Coca-Prados, Miguel; Sanz-Medel, Alfredo

2013-04-01

Laser ablation coupled to inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry has been developed for the elemental imaging of Mg, Fe and Cu distribution in histological tissue sections of fixed eyes, embedded in paraffin, from human donors (cadavers). This work presents the development of a novel internal standard correction methodology based on the deposition of a homogeneous thin gold film on the tissue surface and the use of the (197)Au(+) signal as internal standard. Sample preparation (tissue section thickness) and laser conditions were carefully optimized, and internal normalisation using (197)Au(+) was compared with (13)C(+) correction for imaging applications. (24)Mg(+), (56)Fe(+) and (63)Cu(+) distributions were investigated in histological sections of the anterior segment of the eye (including the iris, ciliary body, cornea and trabecular meshwork) and were shown to be heterogeneously distributed along those tissue structures. Reproducibility was assessed by imaging different human eye sections from the same donor and from ten different eyes from adult normal donors, which showed that similar spatial maps were obtained and therefore demonstrate the analytical potential of using (197)Au(+) as internal standard. The proposed analytical approach could offer a robust tool with great practical interest for clinical studies, e.g. to investigate trace element distribution of metals and their alterations in ocular diseases.

Instrumental charged-particle activation analysis of several selected elements in biological materials using the internal standard method

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yagi, M.; Masumoto, K.

1987-01-01

In order to study instrumental charged-particle activation analysis using the internal standard method, simultaneous determinations of several selected elements such as Ca, Ti, V, Fe, Zn, As, Sr, Zr and Mo, in oyster tissue, brewer's yeast and mussel were carried out by using the respective (p, n) reactions and a personal computer-based gamma-ray spectrometer equipped with a micro-robot for sample changing. In the determination constant amounts of Y and La were added to the sample and comparative standard as exotic internal standards. As a result, it was demonstrated that concentrations of the above elements could be determined accurately and precisely. (author)

Applying ISO 11929:2010 Standard to detection limit calculation in least-squares based multi-nuclide gamma-ray spectrum evaluation

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kanisch, G., E-mail: guenter.kanisch@hanse.net

2017-05-21

The concepts of ISO 11929 (2010) are applied to evaluation of radionuclide activities from more complex multi-nuclide gamma-ray spectra. From net peak areas estimated by peak fitting, activities and their standard uncertainties are calculated by weighted linear least-squares method with an additional step, where uncertainties of the design matrix elements are taken into account. A numerical treatment of the standard's uncertainty function, based on ISO 11929 Annex C.5, leads to a procedure for deriving decision threshold and detection limit values. The methods shown allow resolving interferences between radionuclide activities also in case of calculating detection limits where they can improve the latter by including more than one gamma line per radionuclide. The co'mmon single nuclide weighted mean is extended to an interference-corrected (generalized) weighted mean, which, combined with the least-squares method, allows faster detection limit calculations. In addition, a new grouped uncertainty budget was inferred, which for each radionuclide gives uncertainty budgets from seven main variables, such as net count rates, peak efficiencies, gamma emission intensities and others; grouping refers to summation over lists of peaks per radionuclide.

A routine chromium determination in biological materials; application to various reference materials and standard reference materials

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tjioe, P.S.; Goeij, J.J.M. de; Volkers, K.J.

1979-01-01

The determination limit under standard working conditions of chromium in biological materials is discussed. Neutron activation analysis and atomic spectrometry have been described for some analytical experiences with NBS SRM 1577 reference material. The chromium determination is a part of a larger multi-element scheme for the determination of 12 elements in biological materials

Quantitative and qualitative analysis of fluoride and multi elements of shark teeth by PIXE

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sakurai, S.; Asakawa, R.; Hirota, F.; Sato, T.; Sera, K.; Itoh, J.

2008-01-01

Biomineralization has two types, biologically induced mineralization (BIM) and biologically controlled mineralization (BCM). Shark teeth is a typical representative of BCM. We have measured concentrations of fluorine and multi elements in shark teeth collected in the south of Japan. As a result, it was confirmed that the sample preparation method, which was established for the biological samples, is applicable to the shark teeth samples and the elemental concentration was obtained in good accuracy and reproducibility. Moreover, we clarified that the shark teeth is composed of Fluorapatite by the combination with X-ray Diffraction. Fluorine concentration is found to be 5500 μg/g in the shark teeth. We have 100 samples of Shark teeth and are planning on reporting the findings of a study with larger samples in the near future. (author)

Summary report of the second research co-ordination meeting on improvement of the standard cross sections for light elements

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Carlson, A.D.; Hale, G.M.; Pronyaev, V.G.

2004-03-01

Results are presented following one and a half years of work under the Coordinated Research Project (CRP) on Improvement of the Standard Cross Sections for Light Elements. They include the use of the refined resonating group model for the theoretical prediction of the R-matrix poles and preliminary R-matrix model fits of the full experimental database for the 6 Li+n system obtained with different codes. Significant attention was paid to the exclusion of the bias in the evaluated data caused by the possible presence of Peelle's Pertinent Puzzle effect in the experimental data. Updates were also presented of the experimental database for light and heavy element standards including fission cross sections up to 200 MeV. First results and observed trends for all standard reactions are given, including the preliminary results of combining the model (for light elements) and non-model fits. The timetable for further work was agreed, which should lead to new reaction cross section standards for light and heavy elements by the end 2004. (author)

SYNTHETIC EDUCATIONAL ENVIRONMENT – A FOOTPACE TO NEW EDUCATION

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Olga P. Pinchuk

2017-09-01

Full Text Available The article studies the problems of introducing a synthetic learning environment in the practice of education. The modern views on the essence of the learning environment and its new forms based on information and communication technologies are analyzed. Particular attention is paid to a range of issues that are united in the English-language publications as a "synthetic environment", which is considered in two aspects – artificial environment and synthetic as is formed due to the synthesis of the real physical world and the results of simulation and modeling. There are considered issues of trends in usage of game-based learning and modeling as cognitive technologies, as well as of social networks as a synthetic environment of social development. Conclusions are drawn: synthetic learning environment becomes an independent subject of learning through the expansion of its content and didactic power, transformation of the individual as a recipient of knowledge into the synthesizing element of the educational process in the metaverse.

Design and construction of "synthetic species".

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Eduardo Moreno

Full Text Available Synthetic biology is an area of biological research that combines science and engineering. Here, I merge the principles of synthetic biology and regulatory evolution to create a new species with a minimal set of known elements. Using preexisting transgenes and recessive mutations of Drosophila melanogaster, a transgenic population arises with small eyes and a different venation pattern that fulfils the criteria of a new species according to Mayr's Biological Species Concept. The population described here is the first transgenic organism that cannot hybridize with the original wild type population but remains fertile when crossed with other identical transgenic animals. I therefore propose the term "synthetic species" to distinguish it from "natural species", not only because it has been created by genetic manipulation, but also because it may never be able to survive outside the laboratory environment. The use of genetic engineering to design artificial species barriers could help us understand natural speciation and may have practical applications. For instance, the transition from transgenic organisms towards synthetic species could constitute a safety mechanism to avoid the hybridization of genetically modified animals with wild type populations, preserving biodiversity.

Rapid methods for multi-elemental X-ray fluorescence analysis using excitation isotope sources and Si(Li)-semiconductor detector

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zhuravleva, E.L.

1980-01-01

Some rapid methods using an unique calibration curve have been developed for multi-elemental X-ray fluorescence analysis of thin and thick layers of various samples having low contents of heavy elements. The matrix absorption effect in thick samples is taken into account according to the scattered radiation.The similar method using a unique calibration curve for determination of low contents of trace elements in thin layers without account of matrix effect is proposed. The results on the intercomposition run soil-5 are in good agreement with the data obtained in different laboratories. The errors of the method are 10 %; in a case of peak superposition - 15 %

Low power fast settling multi-standard current reusing CMOS fractional-N frequency synthesizer

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lou Wenfeng; Feng Peng; Wang Haiyong; Wu Nanjian

2012-01-01

A low power fast settling multi-standard CMOS fractional-N frequency synthesizer is proposed. The current reusing and frequency presetting techniques are adopted to realize the low power fast settling multi-standard fractional-N frequency synthesizer. An auxiliary non-volatile memory (NVM) is embedded to avoid the repetitive calibration process and to save power in practical application. This PLL is implemented in a 0.18 μm technology. The frequency range is 0.3 to 2.54 GHz and the settling time is less than 5 μs over the entire frequency range. The LC-VCO with the stacked divide-by-2 has a good figure of merit of −193.5 dBc/Hz. The measured phase noise of frequency synthesizer is about −115 dBc/Hz at 1 MHz offset when the carrier frequency is 2.4 GHz and the reference spurs are less than −52 dBc. The whole frequency synthesizer consumes only 4.35 mA and 1.8 V. (semiconductor integrated circuits)

Clinical validation of synthetic brain MRI in children: initial experience

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

West, Hollie; Leach, James L.; Jones, Blaise V.; Care, Marguerite; Radhakrishnan, Rupa; Merrow, Arnold C.; Alvarado, Enrique; Serai, Suraj D. [Cincinnati Children' s Hospital Medical Center, Department of Radiology, Cincinnati, OH (United States)

2017-01-15

The purpose of this study was to determine the diagnostic accuracy of synthetic MR sequences generated through post-acquisition processing of a single sequence measuring inherent R1, R2, and PD tissue properties compared with sequences acquired conventionally as part of a routine clinical pediatric brain MR exam. Thirty-two patients underwent routine clinical brain MRI with conventional and synthetic sequences acquired (22 abnormal). Synthetic axial T1, T2, and T2 fluid attenuation inversion recovery or proton density-weighted sequences were made to match the comparable clinical sequences. Two exams for each patient were de-identified. Four blinded reviewers reviewed eight patients and were asked to generate clinical reports on each exam (synthetic or conventional) at two different time points separated by a mean of 33 days. Exams were rated for overall and specific finding agreement (synthetic/conventional and compared to gold standard consensus review by two senior reviewers with knowledge of clinical report), quality, and diagnostic confidence. Overall agreement between conventional and synthetic exams was 97%. Agreement with consensus readings was 84% (conventional) and 81% (synthetic), p = 0.61. There were no significant differences in sensitivity, specificity, or accuracy for specific imaging findings involving the ventricles, CSF, brain parenchyma, or vasculature between synthetic or conventional exams (p > 0.05). No significant difference in exam quality, diagnostic confidence, or noise/artifacts was noted comparing studies with synthetic or conventional sequences. Diagnostic accuracy and quality of synthetically generated sequences are comparable to conventionally acquired sequences as part of a standard pediatric brain exam. Further confirmation in a larger study is warranted. (orig.)

Clinical validation of synthetic brain MRI in children: initial experience

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

West, Hollie; Leach, James L.; Jones, Blaise V.; Care, Marguerite; Radhakrishnan, Rupa; Merrow, Arnold C.; Alvarado, Enrique; Serai, Suraj D.

2017-01-01

The purpose of this study was to determine the diagnostic accuracy of synthetic MR sequences generated through post-acquisition processing of a single sequence measuring inherent R1, R2, and PD tissue properties compared with sequences acquired conventionally as part of a routine clinical pediatric brain MR exam. Thirty-two patients underwent routine clinical brain MRI with conventional and synthetic sequences acquired (22 abnormal). Synthetic axial T1, T2, and T2 fluid attenuation inversion recovery or proton density-weighted sequences were made to match the comparable clinical sequences. Two exams for each patient were de-identified. Four blinded reviewers reviewed eight patients and were asked to generate clinical reports on each exam (synthetic or conventional) at two different time points separated by a mean of 33 days. Exams were rated for overall and specific finding agreement (synthetic/conventional and compared to gold standard consensus review by two senior reviewers with knowledge of clinical report), quality, and diagnostic confidence. Overall agreement between conventional and synthetic exams was 97%. Agreement with consensus readings was 84% (conventional) and 81% (synthetic), p = 0.61. There were no significant differences in sensitivity, specificity, or accuracy for specific imaging findings involving the ventricles, CSF, brain parenchyma, or vasculature between synthetic or conventional exams (p > 0.05). No significant difference in exam quality, diagnostic confidence, or noise/artifacts was noted comparing studies with synthetic or conventional sequences. Diagnostic accuracy and quality of synthetically generated sequences are comparable to conventionally acquired sequences as part of a standard pediatric brain exam. Further confirmation in a larger study is warranted. (orig.)

The effectiveness of various treatments in changing the nutrient status and bioavailability of risk elements in multi-element contaminated soil.

Science.gov (United States)

García-Sánchez, Mercedes; García-Romera, Inmaculada; Száková, Jiřina; Kaplan, Lukáš; Tlustoš, Pavel

2015-09-01

Potential changes in the mobility and bioavailability of risk and essential macro- and micro-elements achieved by adding various ameliorative materials were evaluated in a model pot experiment. Spring wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) was cultivated under controlled condition for 60 days in two soils, uncontaminated Chernozem and multi-element contaminated Fluvisol containing 4900 ± 200 mg/kg Zn, 35.4 ± 3.6 mg/kg Cd, and 3035 ± 26 mg/kg Pb. The treatments were all contained the same amount of sulfur and were as follows: (i) digestate from the anaerobic fermentation of biowaste, (ii) fly ash from wood chip combustion, and (iii) ammonium sulfate. Macro- and micro-nutrients Ca, Mg, K, Fe, Mn, Cu, P, and S, and risk elements Cd, Cr, Pb, and Zn were assayed in soil extracts with 0.11 mol/l solution of CH3COOH and in roots, shoots, and grain of wheat after 30 and 60 days of cultivation. Both digestate and fly ash increased levels of macro- and micro-nutrients as well as risk elements (especially Cd and Zn; the mobility of Pb decreased after 30 days of cultivation). The changes in element mobility in ammonium sulfate-treated soils appear to be due to both changes in soil pH level and inter-element interactions. Ammonium sulfate tended to be the most effective measure for increasing nutrient uptake by plants in Chernozem but with opposite pattern in Fluvisol. Changes in plant yield and element uptake in treated plants may have been associated with the higher proline content of wheat shoots cultivated in both soils compared to control. None of the treatments decreased uptake of risk elements by wheat plants in the extremely contaminated Fluvisol, and their accumulation in wheat grains significantly exceeded maximum permissible levels; these treatments cannot be used to enable cereal and other crop production in such soils. However, the combination of increased plant growth alongside unchanged element content in plant biomass in pots treated with digestate

Dose determination algorithms for a nearly tissue equivalent multi-element thermoluminescent dosimeter

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Moscovitch, M.; Chamberlain, J.; Velbeck, K.J.

1988-01-01

In a continuing effort to develop dosimetric systems that will enable reliable interpretation of dosimeter readings in terms of the absorbed dose or dose-equivalent, a new multi-element TL dosimeter assembly for Beta and Gamma dose monitoring has been designed. The radiation-sensitive volumes are four LiF-TLD elements, each covered by its own unique filter. For media-matching, care has been taken to employ nearly tissue equivalent filters of thicknesses of 1000 mg/cm 2 and 300 mg/cm 2 for deep dose and dose to the lens-of-the-eye measurements respectively. Only one metal filter (Cu) is employed to provide low energy photon discrimination. A Thin TL element (0.09 mm thick) is located behind an open window designed to improve the energy under-response to low energy beta rays and to provide closer estimate of the shallow dose equivalent. The deep and shallow dose equivalents are derived from the correlation of the response of the various TL elements to the above quantities through computations based on previously defined relationships obtained from experimental results. The theoretical formalization for the dose calculation algorithms is described in detail, and provides a useful methodology which can be applied to different tissue-equivalent dosimeter assemblies. Experimental data has been obtained by performing irradiation according to the specifications established by DOELAP, using 27 types of pure and mixed radiation fields including Cs-137 gamma rays, low energy photons down to 20 keV, Sr/Y-90, Uranium, and Tl-204 beta particles

Synthetic multicellular oscillatory systems: controlling protein dynamics with genetic circuits

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Koseska, Aneta; Volkov, Evgenii; Kurths, Juergen

2011-01-01

Synthetic biology is a relatively new research discipline that combines standard biology approaches with the constructive nature of engineering. Thus, recent efforts in the field of synthetic biology have given a perspective to consider cells as 'programmable matter'. Here, we address the possibility of using synthetic circuits to control protein dynamics. In particular, we show how intercellular communication and stochasticity can be used to manipulate the dynamical behavior of a population of coupled synthetic units and, in this manner, finely tune the expression of specific proteins of interest, e.g. in large bioreactors.

Validation of the k0 standardization method in neutron activation analysis

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kubesova, Marie

2009-01-01

The goal of this work was to validate the k 0 standardization method in neutron activation analysis for use by the Nuclear Physics Institute's NAA Laboratory. The precision and accuracy of the method were examined by using two types of reference materials: the one type comprised a set of synthetic materials and served to check the implementation of k 0 standardization, the other type consisted of matrix NIST SRMs comprising various different matrices. In general, a good agreement was obtained between the results of this work and the certified values, giving evidence of the accuracy of our results. In addition, the limits were evaluated for 61 elements

PIXE-based quantification of health-proactive trace elements in genetically transformed roots of a multi-medicinal plant, Sida acuta Burm.f

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Somanatha Jena; Lopamudra Sahu; Chand, P.K.; Ray, D.K.; Mishra, S.K.

2015-01-01

Inorganic element composition of genetically transformed hairy root cultures (HRCs) of a medicinal plant, Sida acuta was determined using PIXE technique. HRCs had a higher accumulation of pro-health trace elements compared to natural roots. It was estimated that < 160 g d.wt. of a selected rhizoclone could suffice to provide nearly all tested essential elements catering to per diem requirement of the human body. The ideal multi-elemental profile ushers a new possibility of integrating hairy root extracts in modern therapeutics ('rhizotherapy') as complementary medicine or a dietary nutraceutical supplement. (author)

The use of synchrotron radiation for trace element analysis and element mapping by scanning X-ray fluorescence

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Davies, S.T.

1983-01-01

Synchrotron Radiation excited X-Ray Fluorescence is a potentially powerful tool for the routine quantitative chemical analysis of materials, with minimum detection limits typically of the order of a tenth of a ppm, and with the added advantages of simultaneous multi-element detection capability, spatial resolution on a micron scale, large signal to noise ratios and short analysis times. This paper presents a brief review of the use of Synchrotron Radiation in Trace Element Analysis and discusses the requirements for a microprobe for chemical analysis utilising SR. Data obtained at the Synchrotron Radiation Source, Daresbury Laboratory include XRF spectra of standard reference materials and an application of the technique to the study of ion implanted layers in semiconductors is outlined. (author)

[Determination of 27 elements in Maca nationality's medicine by microwave digestion ICP-MS].

Science.gov (United States)

Yu, Gui-fang; Zhong, Hai-jie; Hu, Jun-hua; Wang, Jing; Huang, Wen-zhe; Wang, Zhen-zhong; Xiao, Wei

2015-12-01

An analysis method has been established to test 27 elements (Li, Be, B, Mg, Al, Sc, Ti, V, Cr, Mn, Fe, Co, Ni, Cu, Zn, Ga, As, Sr, Mo, Cd, Sn, Sb, Ba, La, Hg, Pb, Bi) in Maca nationality's medicine with microwave digestion-ICP-MS. Sample solutions were analyzed by ICP-MS after microwave digestion, and the contents of elements were calculated according to their calibration curves, and internal standard method was adopted to reduce matrix effect and other interference effects. The experimental results showed that the linear relations of all the elements were very good; the correlation coefficient (r) was 0.9994-1.0000 (Hg was 0.9982) ; the limits of detection were 0.003-2.662 microg x L(-1); the relative standard deviations for all elements of reproducibility were lower than 5% (except the individual elements); the recovery rate were 78.5%-123.7% with RSD lower than 5% ( except the individual elements). The analytical results of standard material showed acceptable agreement with the certified values. This method was applicable to determinate the contents of multi-elements in Maca which had a high sensitivity, good specificity and good repeatability, and provide basis for the quality control of Maca.

Trace element analysis of water using radioisotope induced X-ray fluorescence (Cd-109) and a preconcentration-internal standard method

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Alvarez, M.; Cano, W.

1986-10-01

Radioisotope induced X-ray fluorescence using Cd-109 was used for the determination of iron, nickel, copper, zinc, lead and mercury in water. These metals were concentrated by precipitation with the chelating agent APDC. The precipitated formed was filtered using a membrane filter. Cobalt was added as an internal standard. Minimum detection limit, sensitivities and calibration curves linearities have been obtained to find the limits of the method. The usefulness of the method is illustrated analysing synthetic standard solutions. As an application analytical results are given for water of a highly polluted river area. (Author)

Intelligent Entity Behavior Within Synthetic Environments. Chapter 3

Science.gov (United States)

Kruk, R. V.; Howells, P. B.; Siksik, D. N.

2007-01-01

This paper describes some elements in the development of realistic performance and behavior in the synthetic entities (players) which support Modeling and Simulation (M&S) applications, particularly military training. Modern human-in-the-loop (virtual) training systems incorporate sophisticated synthetic environments, which provide: 1. The operational environment, including, for example, terrain databases; 2. Physical entity parameters which define performance in engineered systems, such as aircraft aerodynamics; 3. Platform/system characteristics such as acoustic, IR and radar signatures; 4. Behavioral entity parameters which define interactive performance, including knowledge/reasoning about terrain, tactics; and, 5. Doctrine, which combines knowledge and tactics into behavior rule sets. The resolution and fidelity of these model/database elements can vary substantially, but as synthetic environments are designed to be compose able, attributes may easily be added (e.g., adding a new radar to an aircraft) or enhanced (e.g. Amending or replacing missile seeker head/ Electronic Counter Measures (ECM) models to improve the realism of their interaction). To a human in the loop with synthetic entities, their observed veridicality is assessed via engagement responses (e.g. effect of countermeasures upon a closing missile), as seen on systems displays, and visual (image) behavior. The realism of visual models in a simulation (level of detail as well as motion fidelity) remains a challenge in realistic articulation of elements such as vehicle antennae and turrets, or, with human figures; posture, joint articulation, response to uneven ground. Currently the adequacy of visual representation is more dependant upon the quality and resolution of the physical models driving those entities than graphics processing power per Se. Synthetic entities in M&S applications traditionally have represented engineered systems (e.g. aircraft) with human-in-the-loop performance

Limitation of multi-elemental fingerprinting of wheat grains: Effect of cultivar, sowing date, and nutrient management

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Suarez-Tapia, Alfonso; Kucheryavskiy, Sergey V.; Christensen, Bent Tolstrup

2017-01-01

Multi-element fingerprinting demonstrates some potential for tracing the origin of agricultural products but not for discriminating among crop cultivars and nutrient management (source, rate). With principal component analysis (PCA) and univariate statistics, we examined 19 elements in grains from...... two winter wheat cultivars (Hereford, Mariboss) grown with different rates of animal manure (AM) or mineral fertilisers (NPK) in a long-term field experiment and two sowing dates (early, timely). Nitrogen, Cd and Mn related to NPK, and Mo and Na to AM. Barium, Fe, and P reflected nutrient rate......; these elements increased with nutrient rate regardless of source. Unmanured grains were enriched in Cu. Mariboss was characterized by higher concentrations of Sr, Ba and Sc compared to Hereford with Sr in grain as the main separator. Univariate statistics showed higher concentrations of N, P, Mg, Ba, Cu, Mo...

Diversity and MIMO Performance Evaluation of Common Phase Center Multi Element Antenna Systems

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

V. Papamichael

2008-06-01

Full Text Available The diversity and Multiple Input Multiple Output (MIMO performance provided by common phase center multi element antenna (CPCMEA systems is evaluated using two practical methods which make use of the realized active element antenna patterns. These patterns include both the impact of the mutual coupling and the mismatch power loss at antenna ports. As a case study, two and four printed Inverted F Antenna (IFA systems are evaluated by means of Effective Diversity Gain (EDG and Capacity (C. EDG is measured in terms of the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR enhancement at a specific outage probability and in terms of the SNR reduction for achieving a desired average bit error rate (BER. The concept of receive antenna selection in MIMO systems is also investigated and the simulation results show a 43% improvement in the 1% outage C of a reconfigurable 2x2 MIMO system over a fixed 2x2 one.

Unified Modeling Language description of the object-oriented multi-scale adaptive finite element method for Step-and-Flash Imprint Lithography Simulations

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Paszynski, Maciej; Gurgul, Piotr; Sieniek, Marcin; Pardo, David

2010-01-01

In the first part of the paper we present the multi-scale simulation of the Step-and-Flash Imprint Lithography (SFIL), a modern patterning process. The simulation utilizes the hp adaptive Finite Element Method (hp-FEM) coupled with Molecular Statics (MS) model. Thus, we consider the multi-scale problem, with molecular statics applied in the areas of the mesh where the highest accuracy is required, and the continuous linear elasticity with thermal expansion coefficient applied in the remaining part of the domain. The degrees of freedom from macro-scale element's nodes located on the macro-scale side of the interface have been identified with particles from nano-scale elements located on the nano-scale side of the interface. In the second part of the paper we present Unified Modeling Language (UML) description of the resulting multi-scale application (hp-FEM coupled with MS). We investigated classical, procedural codes from the point of view of the object-oriented (O-O) programming paradigm. The discovered hierarchical structure of classes and algorithms makes the UML project as independent on the spatial dimension of the problem as possible. The O-O UML project was defined at an abstract level, independent on the programming language used.

Multi-element neutron activation analysis of Brazilian coal samples

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Atalla, L.T.; Requejo, C.S.

1982-09-01

The elements U, Th, La, Ce, Nd, Sm, Eu, Dy, Tb, Yb, Lu, Sc, Ta, Hf, Co, Ni, Cr, Mo, Ti, V, W, In, Ga, Mn, Ba, Sr, Mg, Rb, Cs, K, Cl, Br, As, Sb, Au, Ca, Al and Fe were determined in coal samples by instrumental neutron activation analysis, by using both thermal and epithermal neutron irradiations. The irradiation times were 10 minutes and 8 or 16 hours in a position where the thermal neutron flux was about 10 12 n.cm - 2 .s - 1 and 72 non-consecutive hours for epithermal irradiation at a flux of about 10 11 n.Cm - 2 .s - 1 . After the instrumental analysis of the above mentioned elements, Zn and Se were determined with chemical separation. The relative standard deviation of, at least, 4 determinations was about + - 10% for the majority of the results. The coal samples analysed were supplied by: Cia. Estadual da Tecnologia e Saneamento Basico (CETESB-SP), Cia. de Pesquisas e Lavras Minerais (COPELMI-RS), Cia. Carbonifera Urussunga (SC), Cia. Carbonifera Prospera (SC), Cia. Carbonifera Treviso (SC), Cia. Nacional de Mineracao de Carvao do Barro Branco (SC) and Comissao Nacional de Energia Nuclear (CNEN-RJ). (Author) [pt

Finite element modeling of temperature load effects on the vibration of local modes in multi-cable structures

Science.gov (United States)

Treyssède, Fabien

2018-01-01

Understanding thermal effects on the vibration of local (cable-dominant) modes in multi-cable structures is a complicated task. The main difficulty lies in the modification by temperature change of cable tensions, which are then undetermined. This paper applies a finite element procedure to investigate the effects of thermal loads on the linear dynamics of prestressed self-weighted multi-cable structures. Provided that boundary conditions are carefully handled, the discretization of cables with nonlinear curved beam elements can properly represent the thermoelastic behavior of cables as well as their linearized dynamics. A three-step procedure that aims to replace applied pretension forces with displacement continuity conditions is used. Despite an increase in the computational cost related to beam rotational degrees of freedom, such an approach has several advantages. Nonlinear beam finite elements are usually available in commercial codes. The overall method follows a thermoelastic geometrically non-linear analysis and hereby includes the main sources of non-linearities in multi-cable structures. The effects of cable bending stiffness, which can be significant, are also naturally accounted for. The accuracy of the numerical approach is assessed thanks to an analytical model for the vibration of a single inclined cable under temperature change. Then, the effects of thermal loads are investigated for two cable bridges, highlighting how natural frequencies can be affected by temperature. Although counterintuitive, a reverse relative change of natural frequency may occur for certain local modes. This phenomenon can be explained by two distinct mechanisms, one related to the physics intrinsic to cables and the other related to the thermal deflection of the superstructure. Numerical results show that cables cannot be isolated from the rest of the structure and the importance of modeling the whole structure for a quantitative analysis of temperature effects on the

Standardization, IPRs and open innovation in synthetic biology

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Minssen, Timo; Wested, Jakob

2015-01-01

various technical areas, and also the basic processes of standard creation can be divided into various categories. The different technical areas and processes for standardization differ in their speed, handling of interests and ability to dodge possible IPR concerns. Out of this notion arise i.......a. the following questions: How comparable is engineering in SB to more traditional fields of engineering?; What type of standards have emerged and what bearing have IPRs on these?; and, How applicable are the approaches adopted by the standards-setting organizations in the information and communication technology...... (ICT) to biological standards? These and further legal issues related to IP, regulation, standardization, competition law & open innovation require a careful consideration of new user-generated models and solutions. Before this background this paper seeks to describe IP and standardization aspects...

Neutron activation analysis of reference materials by the k sub 0 standardization and relative methods

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Freitas, M C; Martinho, E [LNETI/ICEN, Sacavem (Portugal)

1989-04-15

Instrumental neutron activation analysis with the k{sub o}-standardization method was applied to eight geological, environmental and biological reference materials, including leaves, blood, fish, sediments, soils and limestone. To a first approximation, the results were normally distributed around the certified values with a standard deviation of 10%. Results obtained by using the relative method based on well characterized multi-element standards for IAEA CRM Soil-7 are reported.

Challenges and opportunities in synthetic biology for chemical engineers.

Science.gov (United States)

Luo, Yunzi; Lee, Jung-Kul; Zhao, Huimin

2013-11-15

Synthetic biology provides numerous great opportunities for chemical engineers in the development of new processes for large-scale production of biofuels, value-added chemicals, and protein therapeutics. However, challenges across all scales abound. In particular, the modularization and standardization of the components in a biological system, so-called biological parts, remain the biggest obstacle in synthetic biology. In this perspective, we will discuss the main challenges and opportunities in the rapidly growing synthetic biology field and the important roles that chemical engineers can play in its advancement.

Synthetic biology, inspired by synthetic chemistry.

Science.gov (United States)

Malinova, V; Nallani, M; Meier, W P; Sinner, E K

2012-07-16

The topic synthetic biology appears still as an 'empty basket to be filled'. However, there is already plenty of claims and visions, as well as convincing research strategies about the theme of synthetic biology. First of all, synthetic biology seems to be about the engineering of biology - about bottom-up and top-down approaches, compromising complexity versus stability of artificial architectures, relevant in biology. Synthetic biology accounts for heterogeneous approaches towards minimal and even artificial life, the engineering of biochemical pathways on the organismic level, the modelling of molecular processes and finally, the combination of synthetic with nature-derived materials and architectural concepts, such as a cellular membrane. Still, synthetic biology is a discipline, which embraces interdisciplinary attempts in order to have a profound, scientific base to enable the re-design of nature and to compose architectures and processes with man-made matter. We like to give an overview about the developments in the field of synthetic biology, regarding polymer-based analogs of cellular membranes and what questions can be answered by applying synthetic polymer science towards the smallest unit in life, namely a cell. Copyright © 2012 Federation of European Biochemical Societies. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Standardized Cost Structure for the Environmental Industry

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Skokan, B.; Melamed, D.; Guevara, K.; Mallick, P.; Bierman, G.; Marshall, H.E.

2006-01-01

The underlying key to developing successful estimates, tracking project costs, and utilizing historical project cost information is the development of standardized and well-defined hierarchical listing of cost categories. Committees within the U.S. Federal agencies have pioneered efforts toward developing the Environmental Cost Element Structure (ECES), which is key in achieving these goals. The ECES was developed using an iterative process with input from federal agencies and industry. Experts from several disciplines participated including engineers, cost estimators, project/program managers, and contract personnel. The ECES benefits from an intense analytical effort, the knowledge gained from the maturation of the environmental industry, and incorporation of past user's experiences. Building upon this foundation, the E06 committee of the ASTM International has now fully developed and published a standard (ASTM 2150-04) that provides standardized cost categories with complete cost category definitions. This standard affords environmental and nuclear D and D project managers the opportunity to have a well defined hierarchical listing of their estimates and actual costs, readily adapted to performing summations and roll-ups, supported by a multi-level dictionary specifically defining the content of the cost elements as well as the summations. Owing to the dynamic nature of the environmental technologies, efforts need to be made to continue to update this standard by adding new technologies and methods as they are developed and employed in the field. Lastly, the Environmental Cost Element Structure that is embodied in this standard also presents opportunities to develop historical cost databases and comprehensive life cycle cost estimates and standardized cost estimating tools. (authors)

Re-evaluation and extension of the scope of elements in US Geological Survey Standard Reference Water Samples

Science.gov (United States)

Peart, D.B.; Antweiler, Ronald C.; Taylor, Howard E.; Roth, D.A.; Brinton, T.I.

1998-01-01

More than 100 US Geological Survey (USGS) Standard Reference Water Samples (SRWSs) were analyzed for numerous trace constituents, including Al, As, B, Ba, Be, Bi, Br, Cd, Cr, Co, Cu, I, Fe, Pb, Li, Mn, Mo, Ni, Rb, Sb, Se, Sr, Te, Tl, U, V, Zn and major elements (Ca, Mg, Na, SiO2, SO4, Cl) by inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry and inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectrometry. In addition, 15 USGS SRWSs and National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) standard reference material (SRM) 1641b were analyzed for mercury using cold vapor atomic fluorescence spectrometry. Also USGS SRWS Hg-7 was analyzed using isotope dilution-inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry. The results were compared with the reported certified values of the following standard reference materials: NIST SRM 1643a, 1643b, 1643c and 1643d and National Research Council of Canada Riverine Water Reference Materials for Trace Metals SLRS-1, SLRS-2 and SLRS-3. New concentration values for trace and major elements in the SRWSs, traceable to the certified standards, are reported. Additional concentration values are reported for elements that were neither previously published for the SRWSs nor traceable to the certified reference materials. Robust statistical procedures were used that were insensitive to outliers. These data can be used for quality assurance/quality control purposes in analytical laboratories.

Determination of uranium isotopes (235U, 238U) and trace elements (Cd, Pb, Cu and As) in bottled drinking water by Icp-SFMS

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lara A, N.; Hernandez M, H.; Romero G, E. T.; Kuri de la C, A.; Perez B, M. A.

2016-09-01

In the present work we propose an optimized method for the quantification of uranium isotopes ( 235 U, 2 38 U) and the elements Cd, Pb, Cu and As in bottled water for drinking at trace levels of concentration. Based on the multi-element detection capability, the high sensitivity and resolution that the Mass Spectrometry with Magnetic Sector with Inductively Coupled Plasma Source (Icp-SFMS) technique offers; the high, medium and low resolution analysis conditions for the elements under study were established and optimized using and Element 2/Xr equipment and the 23 multi-elemental Certified Reference Material (CRM). The analysis method was validated using the standard reference material Nist 1643d and CRM mono-elemental s as external standards for the quantification of the analytes. Samples, targets and CRM were acidified with 2% of HNO 3 and analyzed without pretreatment under the established analysis conditions. The results obtained show concentrations of 235 U, 238 U, 111 Cd, 208 Pb, 63 Cu and 75 As in the range of μg L -1 , the linearity obtained from the calibration curves for each element has correlation coefficients < 0.99 in all cases, the accuracy of the method in terms of percent relative standard deviation (RSD %) was less than 5%, the mean recovery rate of Nist 1643d ranged from 96.46% to 101.12%. The optimization of the method guarantees the stability and calibration of the equipment throughout the analysis, as well as the ability to resolve interferences. In conclusion, the method proposed using Icp-SFMS offers the advantages of being fast and simple for the multi-elemental analysis in water at trace levels, with low limits of quantification and detection, with good linearity, accuracy, precision and reproducibility to a degree of reliability of 95%. (Author)

Quantitative standard-less XRF analysis

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ulitzka, S.

2002-01-01

Full text: For most analytical tasks in the mining and associated industries matrix-matched calibrations are used for the monitoring of ore grades and process control. In general, such calibrations are product specific (iron ore, bauxite, alumina, mineral sands, cement etc.) and apply to a relatively narrow concentration range but give the best precision and accuracy for those materials. A wide range of CRMs is available and for less common materials synthetic standards can be made up from 'pure' chemicals. At times, analysis of materials with varying matrices (powders, scales, fly ash, alloys, polymers, liquors, etc.) and diverse physical shapes (non-flat, metal drillings, thin layers on substrates etc.) is required that could also contain elements which are not part of a specific calibration. A qualitative analysis can provide information about the presence of certain elements and the relative intensities of element peaks in a scan can give a rough idea about their concentrations. More often however, quantitative values are required. The paper will look into the basics of quantitative standardless analysis and show results for some well-defined CRMs. Copyright (2002) Australian X-ray Analytical Association Inc

Arrays of Synthetic Atoms: Nanocapacitor Batteries with Large Energy Density and Small Leak Currents

Science.gov (United States)

2017-11-28

AFRL-RV-PS- AFRL-RV-PS- TR-2017-0169 TR-2017-0169 ARRAYS OF SYNTHETIC ATOMS: NANOCAPACITOR BATTERIES WITH LARGE ENERGY DENSITY AND SMALL LEAK...1-0247 Arrays of Synthetic Atoms: Nanocapacitor Batteries with Large Energy Density and Small Leak Currents 5b. GRANT NUMBER 5c. PROGRAM ELEMENT...large dielectric strength to a nanoscale rechargeable battery . We fabricated arrays of one-, two- and three-dimensional synthetic atoms and comparison

Finite element analysis of multi-material models using a balancing domain decomposition method combined with the diagonal scaling preconditioner

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ogino, Masao

2016-01-01

Actual problems in science and industrial applications are modeled by multi-materials and large-scale unstructured mesh, and the finite element analysis has been widely used to solve such problems on the parallel computer. However, for large-scale problems, the iterative methods for linear finite element equations suffer from slow or no convergence. Therefore, numerical methods having both robust convergence and scalable parallel efficiency are in great demand. The domain decomposition method is well known as an iterative substructuring method, and is an efficient approach for parallel finite element methods. Moreover, the balancing preconditioner achieves robust convergence. However, in case of problems consisting of very different materials, the convergence becomes bad. There are some research to solve this issue, however not suitable for cases of complex shape and composite materials. In this study, to improve convergence of the balancing preconditioner for multi-materials, a balancing preconditioner combined with the diagonal scaling preconditioner, called Scaled-BDD method, is proposed. Some numerical results are included which indicate that the proposed method has robust convergence for the number of subdomains and shows high performances compared with the original balancing preconditioner. (author)

Challenges and opportunities in synthetic biology for chemical engineers

Science.gov (United States)

Luo, Yunzi; Lee, Jung-Kul; Zhao, Huimin

2012-01-01

Synthetic biology provides numerous great opportunities for chemical engineers in the development of new processes for large-scale production of biofuels, value-added chemicals, and protein therapeutics. However, challenges across all scales abound. In particular, the modularization and standardization of the components in a biological system, so-called biological parts, remain the biggest obstacle in synthetic biology. In this perspective, we will discuss the main challenges and opportunities in the rapidly growing synthetic biology field and the important roles that chemical engineers can play in its advancement. PMID:24222925

Standard recommended practice for examination of fuel element cladding including the determination of the mechanical properties

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Anon.

1975-01-01

Guidelines are provided for the post-irradiation examination of fuel cladding and to achieve better correlation and interpretation of the data in the field of radiation effects. The recommended practice is applicable to metal cladding of all types of fuel elements. The tests cited are suitable for determining mechanical properties of the fuel elements cladding. Various ASTM standards and test methods are cited

Multielement Synthetic Transmit Aperture Imaging Using Temporal Encoding

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Gammelmark, Kim; Jensen, Jørgen Arendt

2003-01-01

A new method to increase the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) of synthetic transmit aperture imaging is investigated. The approach utilizes multiple elements to emulate a spherical wave, and the conventional short excitation pulse is replaced by a linear frequency-modulated (FM) signal. The approach i...

Measurement of 238U and 232Th radionuclides in ilmenite and synthetic rutile

Science.gov (United States)

Idris, M. I.; Siong, K. K.; Fadzil, S. M.

2018-01-01

The only factory that currently processes ilmenite to produce synthetic rutile is Tor Minerals in Ipoh, Perak, Malaysia. These two minerals contain radioactive elements such as uranium and thorium. Furthermore, this factory was built close to the residential areas. Thus, the primary issues are radiation exposure attributed to the decay of the radionuclides. Hence, the objectives of this study are to measure the dose and to evaluate activity levels of uranium and thorium. Dose rates from surrounding area of factory indicate the normal range for both on the surface and 1 meter above the ground (0.3-0.7 μSv/hr) lower than the global range of 0.5-1.3 μSv/hr set by UNSCEAR. The mean activity levels of uranium and thorium for ilmenite are 235 Bq/kg and 503 Bq/kg while for synthetic rutile are 980 Bq/kg and 401 Bq/kg, respectively. The result shows that uranium activity levels of synthetic rutile is 4 times higher than ilmenite but it is still lower than the regulatory exemption limit of 1000 Bq/kg set by IAEA Basic Safety Standards. Even though the dose rates at the factory and the activity levels are within safe limits, safety precautions must be followed by the factory management to prevent any unwanted accident to occur.

Submicron hard X-ray fluorescence imaging of synthetic elements.

Science.gov (United States)

Jensen, Mark P; Aryal, Baikuntha P; Gorman-Lewis, Drew; Paunesku, Tatjana; Lai, Barry; Vogt, Stefan; Woloschak, Gayle E

2012-04-13

Synchrotron-based X-ray fluorescence microscopy (XFM) using hard X-rays focused into sub-micron spots is a powerful technique for elemental quantification and mapping, as well as microspectroscopic measurements such as μ-XANES (X-ray absorption near edge structure). We have used XFM to image and simultaneously quantify the transuranic element plutonium at the L(3) or L(2)-edge as well as Th and lighter biologically essential elements in individual rat pheochromocytoma (PC12) cells after exposure to the long-lived plutonium isotope (242)Pu. Elemental maps demonstrate that plutonium localizes principally in the cytoplasm of the cells and avoids the cell nucleus, which is marked by the highest concentrations of phosphorus and zinc, under the conditions of our experiments. The minimum detection limit under typical acquisition conditions with an incident X-ray energy of 18 keV for an average 202 μm(2) cell is 1.4 fg Pu or 2.9×10(-20) moles Pu μm(-2), which is similar to the detection limit of K-edge XFM of transition metals at 10 keV. Copper electron microscopy grids were used to avoid interference from gold X-ray emissions, but traces of strontium present in naturally occurring calcium can still interfere with plutonium detection using its L(α) X-ray emission. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Multi-standard transmission of converged wired and wireless services over 100m plastic optical fibre

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Yang, H.; Visani, D.; Okonkwo, C.M.; Shi, Y.; Tartarini, G.; Tangdiongga, E.; Koonen, A.M.J.

2010-01-01

The first multi-standard transmission consisting of 6 Gbit/s DMT baseband and 200 Mbit/s MB-OFDM UWB radio signals over 100m perfluorinated graded-index plastic optical fibre is demonstrated. Transmission performance indicates BER <10-5 and EVM <-22dB respectively.

New methods for indexing multi-lattice diffraction data

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gildea, Richard J.; Waterman, David G.; Parkhurst, James M.; Axford, Danny; Sutton, Geoff; Stuart, David I.; Sauter, Nicholas K.; Evans, Gwyndaf; Winter, Graeme

2014-01-01

A new indexing method is presented which is capable of indexing multiple crystal lattices from narrow wedges of data. The efficacy of this method is demonstrated with both semi-synthetic multi-lattice data and real multi-lattice data recorded from microcrystals of ∼1 µm in size. A new indexing method is presented which is capable of indexing multiple crystal lattices from narrow wedges of diffraction data. The method takes advantage of a simplification of Fourier transform-based methods that is applicable when the unit-cell dimensions are known a priori. The efficacy of this method is demonstrated with both semi-synthetic multi-lattice data and real multi-lattice data recorded from crystals of ∼1 µm in size, where it is shown that up to six lattices can be successfully indexed and subsequently integrated from a 1° wedge of data. Analysis is presented which shows that improvements in data-quality indicators can be obtained through accurate identification and rejection of overlapping reflections prior to scaling

Improving Multi-Instance Multi-Label Learning by Extreme Learning Machine

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ying Yin

2016-05-01

Full Text Available Multi-instance multi-label learning is a learning framework, where every object is represented by a bag of instances and associated with multiple labels simultaneously. The existing degeneration strategy-based methods often suffer from some common drawbacks: (1 the user-specific parameter for the number of clusters may incur the effective problem; (2 SVM may bring a high computational cost when utilized as the classifier builder. In this paper, we propose an algorithm, namely multi-instance multi-label (MIML-extreme learning machine (ELM, to address the problems. To our best knowledge, we are the first to utilize ELM in the MIML problem and to conduct the comparison of ELM and SVM on MIML. Extensive experiments have been conducted on real datasets and synthetic datasets. The results show that MIMLELM tends to achieve better generalization performance at a higher learning speed.

The multi-element probabilistic collocation method (ME-PCM): Error analysis and applications

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Foo, Jasmine; Wan Xiaoliang; Karniadakis, George Em

2008-01-01

Stochastic spectral methods are numerical techniques for approximating solutions to partial differential equations with random parameters. In this work, we present and examine the multi-element probabilistic collocation method (ME-PCM), which is a generalized form of the probabilistic collocation method. In the ME-PCM, the parametric space is discretized and a collocation/cubature grid is prescribed on each element. Both full and sparse tensor product grids based on Gauss and Clenshaw-Curtis quadrature rules are considered. We prove analytically and observe in numerical tests that as the parameter space mesh is refined, the convergence rate of the solution depends on the quadrature rule of each element only through its degree of exactness. In addition, the L 2 error of the tensor product interpolant is examined and an adaptivity algorithm is provided. Numerical examples demonstrating adaptive ME-PCM are shown, including low-regularity problems and long-time integration. We test the ME-PCM on two-dimensional Navier-Stokes examples and a stochastic diffusion problem with various random input distributions and up to 50 dimensions. While the convergence rate of ME-PCM deteriorates in 50 dimensions, the error in the mean and variance is two orders of magnitude lower than the error obtained with the Monte Carlo method using only a small number of samples (e.g., 100). The computational cost of ME-PCM is found to be favorable when compared to the cost of other methods including stochastic Galerkin, Monte Carlo and quasi-random sequence methods

A single step methane conversion into synthetic fuels using microplasma reactor

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Nozaki, Tomohiro; Agiral, A.; Gardeniers, Johannes G.E.; Yuzawa, Shuhei; Okazaki, Ken

2011-01-01

Direct conversion of natural gas into synthetic fuels such as methanol attracts keen attention because direct process can reduce capital and operating costs of high temperature, energy intensive, multi-step processes. We report a direct and selective synthesis of organic oxygenates such as methanol,

Trace elements in bottom sediments of the Barents Sea on the standard section "Kola Meridian"

OpenAIRE

Lapteva A. M.; Plotitsyna N. F.

2017-01-01

The levels of trace metals (Cu, Zn, Ni, Cr, Mn, Co, Pb, Cd, Hg) and arsenic (As) in samples of bottom sediments from the Barents Sea on eight stations of the standard section "Kola Meridian" have been investigated. Trace elements have been determined on atomic absorption spectrophotometer AA-6800 with mercury-hydride attachment HVG-1 of the company Shimadzu (Japan) by the methods of flaming (acetylene – air) and electrothermal atomization. Common and very toxic trace elements incl...

Computer simulation of multi-elemental fusion reactor materials

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Voertler, K.

2011-01-01

Thermonuclear fusion is a sustainable energy solution, in which energy is produced using similar processes as in the sun. In this technology hydrogen isotopes are fused to gain energy and consequently to produce electricity. In a fusion reactor hydrogen isotopes are confined by magnetic fields as ionized gas, the plasma. Since the core plasma is millions of degrees hot, there are special needs for the plasma-facing materials. Moreover, in the plasma the fusion of hydrogen isotopes leads to the production of high energetic neutrons which sets demanding abilities for the structural materials of the reactor. This thesis investigates the irradiation response of materials to be used in future fusion reactors. Interactions of the plasma with the reactor wall leads to the removal of surface atoms, migration of them, and formation of co-deposited layers such as tungsten carbide. Sputtering of tungsten carbide and deuterium trapping in tungsten carbide was investigated in this thesis. As the second topic the primary interaction of the neutrons in the structural material steel was examined. As model materials for steel iron chromium and iron nickel were used. This study was performed theoretically by the means of computer simulations on the atomic level. In contrast to previous studies in the field, in which simulations were limited to pure elements, in this work more complex materials were used, i.e. they were multi-elemental including two or more atom species. The results of this thesis are in the microscale. One of the results is a catalogue of atom species, which were removed from tungsten carbide by the plasma. Another result is e.g. the atomic distributions of defects in iron chromium caused by the energetic neutrons. These microscopic results are used in data bases for multiscale modelling of fusion reactor materials, which has the aim to explain the macroscopic degradation in the materials. This thesis is therefore a relevant contribution to investigate the

Stereoscopy in cinematographic synthetic imagery

Science.gov (United States)

Eisenmann, Jonathan; Parent, Rick

2009-02-01

In this paper we present experiments and results pertaining to the perception of depth in stereoscopic viewing of synthetic imagery. In computer animation, typical synthetic imagery is highly textured and uses stylized illumination of abstracted material models by abstracted light source models. While there have been numerous studies concerning stereoscopic capabilities, conventions for staging and cinematography in stereoscopic movies have not yet been well-established. Our long-term goal is to measure the effectiveness of various cinematography techniques on the human visual system in a theatrical viewing environment. We would like to identify the elements of stereoscopic cinema that are important in terms of enhancing the viewer's understanding of a scene as well as providing guidelines for the cinematographer relating to storytelling. In these experiments we isolated stereoscopic effects by eliminating as many other visual cues as is reasonable. In particular, we aim to empirically determine what types of movement in synthetic imagery affect the perceptual depth sensing capabilities of our viewers. Using synthetic imagery, we created several viewing scenarios in which the viewer is asked to locate a target object's depth in a simple environment. The scenarios were specifically designed to compare the effectiveness of stereo viewing, camera movement, and object motion in aiding depth perception. Data were collected showing the error between the choice of the user and the actual depth value, and patterns were identified that relate the test variables to the viewer's perceptual depth accuracy in our theatrical viewing environment.

Elemental analysis of Oum er Rbia Moroccan river-water using TXRF

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zahry, F.; Bounakhla, M.; El Hamdaoui, A.; Labraimi, M.

2000-01-01

The x-ray fluorescence analysis of water and suspended particulate matter (SPM) from Oum er Rbia Moroccan river for the content of 17 elements has been performed utilizing the energy dispersive x-ray fluorescence spectrometer and total reflection excitation. SPM samples were dissolved in nitric acid. For all samples direct measurements are feasible by spiking a few ml of the sample with Ga as internal standard element, and drying an aliquot of 20 μl on a quartz glass carrier. The detection limits of 10 to 20 ppb are sufficient for most of the elements to be determined. Results were assessed for accuracy by the analysis of the 15474 ICP multi-elemental standard I. Some results were also compared with AAS and ICP-AES. The results for most of the elements obtained by TXRF were accurate to about 2-15 %. The objectives of the analysis were to determine the geo-chemical areas on this river, to explain the mechanism of sediment transport and to assess the pollution of the river by human activities. 36 samples had been collected along the river between its source in Middle Atlas and the Atlantic ocean at Azemour city. (author)

Compensation for the Effects of Ambient Conditions on the Calibration of Multi-Capillary Pressure Drop Standards

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Colard S

2014-12-01

Full Text Available Cigarette draw resistance and filter pressure drop (PD are both major physical parameters for the tobacco industry. Therefore these parameters must be measured reliably. For these measurements, specific equipment calibrated with PD transfer standards is used. Each transfer standard must have a known and stable PD value, such standards usually being composed of several capillary tubes associated in parallel. However, PD values are modified by ambient conditions during calibration of such standards, i.e. by temperature and relative humidity (RH of air, and atmospheric pressure. In order to reduce the influence of these ambient factors, a simplified model was developed for compensating the effects of ambient conditions on the calibration of multi-capillary PD standards.

A single-arm trial indirect comparison investigation: a proof-of-concept method to predict venous leg ulcer healing time for a new acellular synthetic matrix matched to standard care control

OpenAIRE

Shannon, R; Nelson, A

2017-01-01

To compare data on time to healing from two separate cohorts: one treated with a new acellular synthetic matrix plus standard care (SC) and one matched from four large UK pragmatic, randomised controlled trials [venous leg ulcer (VLU) evidence network]. We introduce a new proof-of-concept strategy to a VLU clinical evidence network, propensity score matching and sensitivity analysis to predict the feasibility of the new acellular synthetic matrix plus SC for success in future randomised, cont...

Creating a Test Validated Structural Dynamic Finite Element Model of the Multi-Utility Technology Test Bed Aircraft

Science.gov (United States)

Pak, Chan-Gi; Truong, Samson S.

2014-01-01

Small modeling errors in the finite element model will eventually induce errors in the structural flexibility and mass, thus propagating into unpredictable errors in the unsteady aerodynamics and the control law design. One of the primary objectives of Multi Utility Technology Test Bed, X-56A, aircraft is the flight demonstration of active flutter suppression, and therefore in this study, the identification of the primary and secondary modes for the structural model tuning based on the flutter analysis of X-56A. The ground vibration test validated structural dynamic finite element model of the X-56A is created in this study. The structural dynamic finite element model of the X-56A is improved using a model tuning tool. In this study, two different weight configurations of the X-56A have been improved in a single optimization run.

Investigations on the use of pneumatic cross-flow nebulizers with dual solution loading including the correction of matrix effects in elemental determinations by inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bauer, Mathieu; Broekaert, Jose A.C.

2007-01-01

The use of a so-called trihedral and a T-shaped cross-flow pneumatic nebulizer with dual solution loading for inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry has been studied. By these devices analyte clouds from two solutions can be mixed during the aerosol generation step. For both nebulizers the correction of matrix effects using internal standardization and standard addition calibration in an on-line way was investigated and compared to elemental determinations using a conventional cross-flow nebulizer and calibration with synthetic standard solutions without matrix matching. A significant improvement of accuracy, both for calibration with internal standardization and standard addition, was obtained in the case of four synthetic solutions containing each 40 mmol L -1 Na, K, Rb and Ba as matrix elements and 300 μg L -1 Cd, Co, Cr, Cu, Fe, Mn, Ni and Pb as analytes. Calibration by standard addition in the case of dual solution loading has been shown to be very useful in the determination of elements at minor and trace levels in steel and alumina reference materials. The results of analysis for minor concentrations of Cr, Cu and Ni in steel as well as for Ca, Fe, Ga, Li, Mg, Mn, Na, Si and Zn in alumina powder certified reference materials subsequent to sample dissolution were found to be in good agreement with the certificates. Limits of detection were found to be only slightly above those for a conventional cross-flow nebulizer and a precision better than 3% was realized with both novel nebulizers

An approach to unfold the response of a multi-element system using an artificial neural network

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cordes, E.; Fehrenbacher, G.; Schuetz, R.; Sprunck, M.; Hahn, K.; Hofmann, R.; Wahl, W.

1998-01-01

An unfolding procedure is proposed which aims at obtaining spectral information of a neutron radiation field by the analysis of the response of a multi-element system consisting of converter type semiconductors. For the unfolding procedure an artificial neural network (feed forward network), trained by the back-propagation method, was used. The response functions of the single elements to neutron radiation were calculated by application of a computational model for an energy range from 10 -2 eV to 10 MeV. The training of the artificial neural network was based on the computation of responses of a six-element system for a set of 300 neutron spectra and the application of the back-propagation method. The validation was performed by the unfolding of 100 computed responses. Two unfolding examples were pointed out for the determination of the neutron spectra. The spectra resulting from the unfolding procedure agree well with the original spectra used for the response computation

A 2D multi-term time and space fractional Bloch-Torrey model based on bilinear rectangular finite elements

Science.gov (United States)

Qin, Shanlin; Liu, Fawang; Turner, Ian W.

2018-03-01

The consideration of diffusion processes in magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) signal attenuation is classically described by the Bloch-Torrey equation. However, many recent works highlight the distinct deviation in MRI signal decay due to anomalous diffusion, which motivates the fractional order generalization of the Bloch-Torrey equation. In this work, we study the two-dimensional multi-term time and space fractional diffusion equation generalized from the time and space fractional Bloch-Torrey equation. By using the Galerkin finite element method with a structured mesh consisting of rectangular elements to discretize in space and the L1 approximation of the Caputo fractional derivative in time, a fully discrete numerical scheme is derived. A rigorous analysis of stability and error estimation is provided. Numerical experiments in the square and L-shaped domains are performed to give an insight into the efficiency and reliability of our method. Then the scheme is applied to solve the multi-term time and space fractional Bloch-Torrey equation, which shows that the extra time derivative terms impact the relaxation process.

Computation of Asteroid Proper Elements: Recent Advances

Science.gov (United States)

Knežević, Z.

2017-12-01

The recent advances in computation of asteroid proper elements are briefly reviewed. Although not representing real breakthroughs in computation and stability assessment of proper elements, these advances can still be considered as important improvements offering solutions to some practical problems encountered in the past. The problem of getting unrealistic values of perihelion frequency for very low eccentricity orbits is solved by computing frequencies using the frequency-modified Fourier transform. The synthetic resonant proper elements adjusted to a given secular resonance helped to prove the existence of Astraea asteroid family. The preliminary assessment of stability with time of proper elements computed by means of the analytical theory provides a good indication of their poorer performance with respect to their synthetic counterparts, and advocates in favor of ceasing their regular maintenance; the final decision should, however, be taken on the basis of more comprehensive and reliable direct estimate of their individual and sample average deviations from constancy.

A compensated multi-pole linear ion trap mercury frequency standard for ultra-stable timekeeping.

Science.gov (United States)

Burt, Eric A; Diener, William A; Tjoelker, Robert L

2008-12-01

The multi-pole linear ion trap frequency standard (LITS) being developed at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) has demonstrated excellent short- and long-term stability. The technology has now demonstrated long-term field operation providing a new capability for timekeeping standards. Recently implemented enhancements have resulted in a record line Q of 5 x 10(12) for a room temperature microwave atomic transition and a short-term fractional frequency stability of 5 x 10(-14)/tau(1/2). A scheme for compensating the second order Doppler shift has led to a reduction of the combined sensitivity to the primary LITS systematic effects below 5 x 10(-17) fractional frequency. Initial comparisons to JPL's cesium fountain clock show a systematic floor of less than 2 x 10(-16). The compensated multi-pole LITS at JPL was operated continuously and unattended for a 9-mo period from October 2006 to July 2007. During that time it was used as the frequency reference for the JPL geodetic receiver known as JPLT, enabling comparisons to any clock used as a reference for an International GNSS Service (IGS) site. Comparisons with the laser-cooled primary frequency standards that reported to the Bureau International des Poids et Mesures (BIPM) over this period show a frequency deviation less than 2.7 x 10(-17)/day. In the capacity of a stand-alone ultra-stable flywheel, such a standard could be invaluable for long-term timekeeping applications in metrology labs while its methodology and robustness make it ideal for space applications as well.

[Study on the determination of 14 inorganic elements in coffee by inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry].

Science.gov (United States)

Nie, Xi-Du; Fu, Liang

2013-07-01

Samples of coffee were digested by microwave digestion, and inorganic elements amounts of Na, Mg, P, Ca, Cr, Mn, Fe, Co, Cu, Zn, As, Se, Mo and Pb in sample solutions were determined by inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS). HNO3 + H2O2 was used to achieve the complete decomposition of the organic matrix in a closed-vessel microwave oven. The working parameters of the instrument were optimized. The results showed that the relative standard deviation (RSD) was less than 3.84% for all the elements, and the recovery was found to be 92.00% -106.52% by adding standard recovery experiment. This method was simple, sensitive and precise and can perform simultaneous multi-elements determination of coffee, which could satisfy the sample examination request and provide scientific rationale for determining inorganic elements of coffee.

Methods for preparing synthetic freshwaters.

Science.gov (United States)

Smith, E J; Davison, W; Hamilton-Taylor, J

2002-03-01

Synthetic solutions that emulate the major ion compositions of natural waters are useful in experiments aimed at understanding biogeochemical processes. Standard recipes exist for preparing synthetic analogues of seawater, with its relatively constant composition, but, due to the diversity of freshwaters, a range of compositions and recipes is required. Generic protocols are developed for preparing synthetic freshwaters of any desired composition. The major problems encountered in preparing hard and soft waters include dissolving sparingly soluble calcium carbonate, ensuring that the ionic components of each concentrated stock solution cannot form an insoluble salt and dealing with the supersaturation of calcium carbonate in many hard waters. For acidic waters the poor solubility of aluminium salts requires attention. These problems are overcome by preparing concentrated stock solutions according to carefully designed reaction paths that were tested using a combination of experiment and equilibrium modeling. These stock solutions must then be added in a prescribed order to prepare a final solution that is brought into equilibrium with the atmosphere. The example calculations for preparing hard, soft and acidic freshwater surrogates with major ion compositions the same as published analyses, are presented in a generalized fashion that should allow preparation of any synthetic freshwater according to its known analysis.

Reliability modelling and analysis of a multi-state element based on a dynamic Bayesian network

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Zhiqiang; Xu, Tingxue; Gu, Junyuan; Dong, Qi; Fu, Linyu

2018-04-01

This paper presents a quantitative reliability modelling and analysis method for multi-state elements based on a combination of the Markov process and a dynamic Bayesian network (DBN), taking perfect repair, imperfect repair and condition-based maintenance (CBM) into consideration. The Markov models of elements without repair and under CBM are established, and an absorbing set is introduced to determine the reliability of the repairable element. According to the state-transition relations between the states determined by the Markov process, a DBN model is built. In addition, its parameters for series and parallel systems, namely, conditional probability tables, can be calculated by referring to the conditional degradation probabilities. Finally, the power of a control unit in a failure model is used as an example. A dynamic fault tree (DFT) is translated into a Bayesian network model, and subsequently extended to a DBN. The results show the state probabilities of an element and the system without repair, with perfect and imperfect repair, and under CBM, with an absorbing set plotted by differential equations and verified. Through referring forward, the reliability value of the control unit is determined in different kinds of modes. Finally, weak nodes are noted in the control unit.

21 CFR 175.250 - Paraffin (synthetic).

Science.gov (United States)

2010-04-01

... hydrocarbons. Lower molecular-weight fractions are removed by distillation. The residue is hydrogenated and may... its components by a solvent separation method, using synthetic isoparaffinic petroleum hydrocarbons... method E131-81a, “Standard Definitions of Terms and Symbols Relating to Molecular-Spectroscopy,” which is...

A Parameter Study of Coupling Properties in Finite Element Models of Single-Stud Double-Plate Panels

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Dickow, Kristoffer Ahrens; Domadiya, Parthkumar Gandalal; Andersen, Lars Vabbersgaard

2011-01-01

Lightweight building techniques are currently progressing fast and using such structures for multi-storey multi-family dwellings is becoming part of the industry standard. Partitions in lightweight buildings are often constructed as plates on frame structures made of either wood or steel. In any...... case the low frequency sound transmission is often an issue that needs attention. The present paper utilizes a finite element model of a single-stud double-plate panel structure to investigate how different couplings between the plates and the frame structure affect the direct sound transmission. Four...... different coupling configurations are considered: 1) All structural contact points are completely tied; 2) only nodes on the centre lines of the structure are tied; 3) a narrow strip of tied elements connect the frame to the plates; 4) evenly spaced discrete elements are tied. In all cases the interaction...

Multi Length Scale Finite Element Design Framework for Advanced Woven Fabrics

Science.gov (United States)

Erol, Galip Ozan

Woven fabrics are integral parts of many engineering applications spanning from personal protective garments to surgical scaffolds. They provide a wide range of opportunities in designing advanced structures because of their high tenacity, flexibility, high strength-to-weight ratios and versatility. These advantages result from their inherent multi scale nature where the filaments are bundled together to create yarns while the yarns are arranged into different weave architectures. Their highly versatile nature opens up potential for a wide range of mechanical properties which can be adjusted based on the application. While woven fabrics are viable options for design of various engineering systems, being able to understand the underlying mechanisms of the deformation and associated highly nonlinear mechanical response is important and necessary. However, the multiscale nature and relationships between these scales make the design process involving woven fabrics a challenging task. The objective of this work is to develop a multiscale numerical design framework using experimentally validated mesoscopic and macroscopic length scale approaches by identifying important deformation mechanisms and recognizing the nonlinear mechanical response of woven fabrics. This framework is exercised by developing mesoscopic length scale constitutive models to investigate plain weave fabric response under a wide range of loading conditions. A hyperelastic transversely isotropic yarn material model with transverse material nonlinearity is developed for woven yarns (commonly used in personal protection garments). The material properties/parameters are determined through an inverse method where unit cell finite element simulations are coupled with experiments. The developed yarn material model is validated by simulating full scale uniaxial tensile, bias extension and indentation experiments, and comparing to experimentally observed mechanical response and deformation mechanisms. Moreover

Multi-element analyses of earthworms for radioecology

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yoshida, Satoshi; Muramatsu, Yasuyuki; Peijnenburg, W.

2004-01-01

Increasing attention on the environmental radiation protection realizes that more information is required on the transfer and accumulation of radionuclides in the biological compartments of the ecosystems. Earthworms play an important role in ecosystems, and might be a good indicator of soil contamination and its effect on the ecosystem. The elemental composition of earthworms gives useful information on background levels and possible accumulation of metals as well as related radionuclides. However, data for the elemental composition of earthworms are limited except for some specific heavy metals such as Cd, Zn, Pb and Cu. In this study, earthworms and their growth media were analyzed for 35 elements, including radionuclide related elements such as Cs, Sr, Th and U, in order to obtain the basic information on the transfer parameters of the elements. The earthworms analyzed were fed in the laboratory or collected in the environment. The concentrations and transfer factors (TFs) of the elements were determined both for laboratory and natural conditions. Relatively high TFs were observed for Na, Mg, P, K, Ca, Co, Ni, Cu, Zn, As, Se, Rb, Mo and Cd. The TFs for Al, Sc, Ti, Y, Nb and lanthanide elements were low. The TFs of Cs were different depending on the medium (soil type), indicating that bioavailability of Cs in the medium might be one of the important controlling factors of Cs concentration in earthworm. (author)

Trace elements in bottom sediments of the Barents Sea on the standard section "Kola Meridian"

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Lapteva A. M.

2017-03-01

Full Text Available The levels of trace metals (Cu, Zn, Ni, Cr, Mn, Co, Pb, Cd, Hg and arsenic (As in samples of bottom sediments from the Barents Sea on eight stations of the standard section "Kola Meridian" have been investigated. Trace elements have been determined on atomic absorption spectrophotometer AA-6800 with mercury-hydride attachment HVG-1 of the company Shimadzu (Japan by the methods of flaming (acetylene – air and electrothermal atomization. Common and very toxic trace elements include Pb, Cd, As, and Hg. It is believed that 90 % of lead, 70–80 % of cadmium, and arsenic, over 30 % of mercury in the atmosphere are of anthropogenic origin, and emissions of these elements in the atmosphere are almost completely manufactured in the Northern Hemisphere. The main sources of income in the Barents Sea are waters of the North Atlantic current and the large-scale atmospheric transport from industrialized Central Europe. As a rule the spatial distribution of trace elements is in good agreement with the granulometric composition of bottom sediments and the content of organic carbon. The contents of most of the listed trace elements in samples of bottom sediments on the standard section "Kola Meridian" in the Norwegian classification are consistent with background levels with the exception of Ni, Cr, and As. Their content in bottom sediments at some stations has met the criteria for "slight" and "moderate" pollution. The obtained results confirm the insignificant levels of contamination of bottom sediments of some trace elements. On the status of stocks of commercial species of aquatic biological resources, the observed levels of contamination of bottom sediments in the investigated areas of the Barents Sea will have no significant effect

Integration of multi remotely sensed data and geodatabases for forestry management in Indonesia

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Nugroho, M.

2006-01-01

Keywords: optical, synthetic aperture radar,interferometric, multi-temporal, multi-resolution, multi-sensor, object-segmentation, geographic information system, tropical forest.

A holistic strategy for quality and safety control of traditional Chinese medicines by the "iVarious" standard system.

Science.gov (United States)

Chen, Anzhen; Sun, Lei; Yuan, Hang; Wu, Aiying; Lu, Jingguang; Ma, Shuangcheng

2017-10-01

An effective quality control system is the key to ensuring the quality, safety and efficacy of traditional Chinese medicines (TCMs). However, the current quality standard research lacks the top-design and systematic design, mostly based on specific technologies or evaluation methods. To resolve the challenges and questions of quality control of TCMs, a brand-new quality standard system, named "iVarious", was proposed. The system comprises eight elements in a modular format. Meaning of every element was specifically illustrated via corresponding research instances. Furthermore, frankincense study was taken as an example for demonstrating standards and research process, based on the "iVarious" system. This system highlighted a holistic strategy for effectiveness, security, integrity and systematization of quality and safety control standards of TCMs. The establishment of "iVarious" integrates multi-disciplinary technologies and progressive methods, basis elements and key points of standard construction. The system provides a novel idea and technological demonstration for regulation establishment of TCMs quality standards.

Co-culture systems and technologies: taking synthetic biology to the next level.

Science.gov (United States)

Goers, Lisa; Freemont, Paul; Polizzi, Karen M

2014-07-06

Co-culture techniques find myriad applications in biology for studying natural or synthetic interactions between cell populations. Such techniques are of great importance in synthetic biology, as multi-species cell consortia and other natural or synthetic ecology systems are widely seen to hold enormous potential for foundational research as well as novel industrial, medical and environmental applications with many proof-of-principle studies in recent years. What is needed for co-cultures to fulfil their potential? Cell-cell interactions in co-cultures are strongly influenced by the extracellular environment, which is determined by the experimental set-up, which therefore needs to be given careful consideration. An overview of existing experimental and theoretical co-culture set-ups in synthetic biology and adjacent fields is given here, and challenges and opportunities involved in such experiments are discussed. Greater focus on foundational technology developments for co-cultures is needed for many synthetic biology systems to realize their potential in both applications and answering biological questions. © 2014 The Author(s) Published by the Royal Society. All rights reserved.

Multi-element analysis of small biological samples

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rokita, E.; Cafmeyer, J.; Maenhaut, W.

1983-01-01

A method combining PIXE and INAA was developed to determine the elemental composition of small biological samples. The method needs virtually no sample preparation and less than 1 mg is sufficient for the analysis. The method was used for determining up to 18 elements in leaves taken from Cracow Herbaceous. The factors which influence the elemental composition of leaves and the possible use of leaves as an environmental pollution indicator are discussed

Multi-elemental characterization of Cuban natural zeolites

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rizo, O.D.; Peraza, E.F.H.

1997-01-01

Concentration of 38 elements in samples from four important Cuban zeolite beds have been obtained by Instrumental Neutron Activation (INAA) and X-ray Fluorescence analyses (XRFA). In comparison with other analytical techniques good agreement was reached. The concentration values of minor element Ba, Sr, Zn and Mn and 25 trace element (including 9 REE) are at the first time reported in Cuban zeolite. It is important for the zeolite evaluation in different industrial uses. (author)

Multi-elemental characterization of Cuban natural zeolites

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Diaz Rizo, O.; Herrera Peraza, E.F.

1996-01-01

Concentrations of 38 elements in samples from four important Cuban zeolite bed have beam obtained by Instrumental Neutron Activation (INAA) and X-Ray Fluorescence Analysis (XRFA). In comparison with other analytical techniques good agreement was achieved. The concentration values of minor element Ba, Sr, Zn, and Mn, and 25 trace element (including 9 REE) are at the first time reported in Cuban zeolite. It is important for the zeolite evaluation in different industrial uses

Covalent immobilization of glucose oxidase on amino MOFs via post-synthetic modification

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Tudisco, C.G.; Zolubas, G.; Seoane de la Cuesta, B.; Zafarani, H.; Kazemzad Asiabi, M.; Gascon Sabate, J.; Hagedoorn, P.L.; Rassaei, L.

2016-01-01

The post-synthetic modification (PSM) of two amino-MOFs with glucose oxidase is reported in this study. The multi-step approach preserved the MOFs' structure and allowed the production of enzyme-functionalized MOFs (MOFs@GOx), which retained the enzymatic activity and showed selective properties

The Effect of Loading Rate on Hydraulic Fracturing in Synthetic Granite - a Discrete Element Study

Science.gov (United States)

Tomac, I.; Gutierrez, M.

2015-12-01

Hydraulic fracture initiation and propagation from a borehole in hard synthetic rock is modeled using the two dimensional Discrete Element Method (DEM). DEM uses previously established procedure for modeling the strength and deformation parameters of quasi-brittle rocks with the Bonded Particle Model (Itasca, 2004). A series of simulations of laboratory tests on granite in DEM serve as a reference for synthetic rock behavior. Fracturing is enabled by breaking parallel bonds between DEM particles as a result of the local stress state. Subsequent bond breakage induces fracture propagation during a time-stepping procedure. Hydraulic fracturing occurs when pressurized fluid induces hoop stresses around the wellbore which cause rock fracturing and serves for geo-reservoir permeability enhancement in oil, gas and geothermal industries. In DEM, a network of fluid pipes and reservoirs is used for mathematical calculation of fluid flow through narrow channels between DEM particles, where the hydro-mechanical coupling is fully enabled. The fluid flow calculation is superimposed with DEM stress-strain calculation at each time step. As a result, the fluid pressures during borehole pressurization in hydraulic fracturing, as well as, during the fracture propagation from the borehole, can be simulated. The objective of this study is to investigate numerically a hypothesis that fluid pressurization rate, or the fluid flow rate, influences upon character, shape and velocity of fracture propagation in rock. The second objective is to better understand and define constraints which are important for successful fracture propagation in quasi-brittle rock from the perspective of flow rate, fluid density, viscosity and compressibility relative to the rock physical properties. Results from this study indicate that not only too high fluid flow rates cause fracture arrest and multiple fracture branching from the borehole, but also that the relative compressibility of fracturing fluid and

Anomalous decrease in X-ray diffraction intensities of Cu-Ni-Al-Co-Cr-Fe-Si alloy systems with multi-principal elements

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yeh, J.-W.; Chang, S.-Y.; Hong, Y.-D.; Chen, S.-K.; Lin, S.-J.

2007-01-01

With an aim to understand the great reduction in the X-ray diffraction (XRD) intensities of high-entropy alloys, a series of Cu-Ni-Al-Co-Cr-Fe-Si alloys with systematic addition of principal elements from pure element to seven elements was investigated for quantitative analysis of XRD intensities. The variation of XRD peak intensities of the alloy system is similar to that caused by thermal effect, but the intensities further drop beyond the thermal effect with increasing number of incorporated principal elements. An intrinsic lattice distortion effect caused by the addition of multi-principal elements with different atomic sizes is expected for the anomalous decrease in XRD intensities. The mathematical factor of this distortion effect for the modification of XRD structure factor is formulated analogue to that of thermal effect

Synthetic Smectite Colloids: Characterization of Nanoparticles after Co-Precipitation in the Presence of Lanthanides and Tetravalent Elements (Zr, Th

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Muriel Bouby

2015-09-01

Full Text Available The magnesian smectite hectorite is a corrosion product frequently detected in nuclear waste glass alteration experiments. The structural incorporation of a single trivalent lanthanide was previously demonstrated. Hectorite was presently synthesized, for the first time, in the presence of several lanthanides (La, Eu, Yb following a multi-step synthesis protocol. The smallest-sized particles (nanoparticles, NPs were isolated by centrifugation and analyzed by asymmetrical flow field-flow fractionation (AsFlFFF coupled to ICP-MS, in order to obtain information on the elemental composition and distribution as a function of the size. Nanoparticles can be separated from the bulk smectite phase. The particles are able to accommodate even the larger-sized lanthanides such as La, however, with lower efficiency. We, therefore, assume that the incorporation proceeds by substitution for octahedral Mg accompanied by a concomitant lattice strain that increases with the size of the lanthanides. The presence of a mixture does not seem to affect the incorporation extent of any specific element. Furthermore, syntheses were performed where in addition the tetravalent zirconium or thorium elements were admixed, as this oxidation state may prevail for many actinide ions in a nuclear waste repository. The results show that they can be incorporated as well.

A holistic strategy for quality and safety control of traditional Chinese medicines by the “iVarious” standard system

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Anzhen Chen

2017-10-01

Full Text Available An effective quality control system is the key to ensuring the quality, safety and efficacy of traditional Chinese medicines (TCMs. However, the current quality standard research lacks the top-design and systematic design, mostly based on specific technologies or evaluation methods. To resolve the challenges and questions of quality control of TCMs, a brand-new quality standard system, named “iVarious”, was proposed. The system comprises eight elements in a modular format. Meaning of every element was specifically illustrated via corresponding research instances. Furthermore, frankincense study was taken as an example for demonstrating standards and research process, based on the “iVarious” system. This system highlighted a holistic strategy for effectiveness, security, integrity and systematization of quality and safety control standards of TCMs. The establishment of “iVarious” integrates multi-disciplinary technologies and progressive methods, basis elements and key points of standard construction. The system provides a novel idea and technological demonstration for regulation establishment of TCMs quality standards.

Advanced synthetic holograms for security purposes

Science.gov (United States)

Kotačka, Libor; Vízdal, Petr; Behounek, Tomás

2009-05-01

Our paper deals with the recent advances in synthetically written optical security devices (DOVIDs) and holograms. The synthesized holographic security elements are recorded with a resolution reaching 500.000 dpi and are specially developed for the "layman-level" security of the most important state valuables and documents, like banknotes and identity cards. We especially pay an attention to such holographic features being impossible to originate through conventional optical holography of matrix based devices.

Experimentally determined standard thermodynamic properties of synthetic MgSO(4)·4H(2)O (Starkeyite) and MgSO(4)·3H(2)O: a revised internally consistent thermodynamic data set for magnesium sulfate hydrates.

Science.gov (United States)

Grevel, Klaus-Dieter; Majzlan, Juraj; Benisek, Artur; Dachs, Edgar; Steiger, Michael; Fortes, A Dominic; Marler, Bernd

2012-11-01

The enthalpies of formation of synthetic MgSO(4)·4H(2)O (starkeyite) and MgSO(4)·3H(2)O were obtained by solution calorimetry at T=298.15 K. The resulting enthalpies of formation from the elements are [Formula: see text] (starkeyite)=-2498.7±1.1 kJ·mol(-1) and [Formula: see text] (MgSO(4)·3H(2)O)=-2210.3±1.3 kJ·mol(-1). The standard entropy of starkeyite was derived from low-temperature heat capacity measurements acquired with a physical property measurement system (PPMS) in the temperature range 5 Kcalorimetry (DSC) measurements with a Perkin Elmer Diamond DSC in the temperature range 270 Klimitations of kieserite formation, metastable occurrence of starkeyite might be possible under martian conditions.

Parallelising a molecular dynamics algorithm on a multi-processor workstation

Science.gov (United States)

Müller-Plathe, Florian

1990-12-01

The Verlet neighbour-list algorithm is parallelised for a multi-processor Hewlett-Packard/Apollo DN10000 workstation. The implementation makes use of memory shared between the processors. It is a genuine master-slave approach by which most of the computational tasks are kept in the master process and the slaves are only called to do part of the nonbonded forces calculation. The implementation features elements of both fine-grain and coarse-grain parallelism. Apart from three calls to library routines, two of which are standard UNIX calls, and two machine-specific language extensions, the whole code is written in standard Fortran 77. Hence, it may be expected that this parallelisation concept can be transfered in parts or as a whole to other multi-processor shared-memory computers. The parallel code is routinely used in production work.

Tunable promoters in synthetic and systems biology

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Dehli, Tore; Solem, Christian; Jensen, Peter Ruhdal

2012-01-01

in synthetic biology. A number of tools exist to manipulate the steps in between gene sequence and functional protein in living cells, but out of these the most straight-forward approach is to alter the gene expression level by manipulating the promoter sequence. Some of the promoter tuning tools available......Synthetic and systems biologists need standardized, modular and orthogonal tools yielding predictable functions in vivo. In systems biology such tools are needed to quantitatively analyze the behavior of biological systems while the efficient engineering of artificial gene networks is central...... for accomplishing such altered gene expression levels are discussed here along with examples of their use, and ideas for new tools are described. The road ahead looks very promising for synthetic and systems biologists as tools to achieve just about anything in terms of tuning and timing multiple gene expression...

Back up core designs for the experimental multi-purpose VHTR

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Aochi, Tetsuo; Yasuno, Takehiko; Miyamoto, Yoshiaki; Shindo, Ryuichi; Ikushima, Takeshi

1979-02-01

For the Experimental Multi-Purpose Very High Temperature Reactor (thermal power 50 MW and reactor outlet helium temperature 1000 0 C), design studies have been made of two backup cores loaded with new-type fuel elements. The purpose is to improve core operational characteristics, especially in thermohydraulics, of the reference design core consisting of pin-in-block type fuel elements having externally cooled hollow fuel rods. In this report are described the design principles and the analyses made of nuclear, thermal and hydraulic, fuel, and safety performances to determine the backup fuel and core design parameters. The first backup core (SP fuel core) is composed of fuel elements with internally cooled fuel rods (semi-pin), 36 rods in each standard element and 18 rods in each control element. The second backup core (MH fuel core) is composed of multihole fuel elements. 102 fuel and 54 coolant holes in each standard element and 30 fuel and 18 coolant holes in each control element. Either of the cores has 73 fuel columns 4 m high; the arrangement of active core and reactor internal structures is the same as that in the reference design. The backup cores meet nearly all design requirements of the VHTR, permitting the rated power operation with coolant Reynolds number of over 10,000 in the SP core and over 6,000 in the MH core. (author)

Natural - synthetic - artificial!

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Nielsen, Peter E

2010-01-01

The terms "natural," "synthetic" and "artificial" are discussed in relation to synthetic and artificial chromosomes and genomes, synthetic and artificial cells and artificial life.......The terms "natural," "synthetic" and "artificial" are discussed in relation to synthetic and artificial chromosomes and genomes, synthetic and artificial cells and artificial life....

Effects of Heat Input and Bead Generation Methods on Finite Element Analysis of Multi-Pass Welding Process

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Park, Won Dong; Kim, Ji Hoon; Bahn, Chi Bum [Pusan National University, Busan (Korea, Republic of)

2016-10-15

Welding residual stresses are determined by various factors such as heat input, initial temperature of molten bead, heating time, cooling time, cooling conditions, and boundary conditions. In this study, a sensitivity analysis was performed to find the major factors and reasonable assumptions for simulation. Two-dimensional axisymmetric simulation was conducted by using commercial finite element analysis program ABAQUS, for multi-pass Alloy 82 welds in a 304 Stainless Steel and SA-105 Carbon Steel. The major object is to evaluate effects of the heat input methods and weld bead generation methods on the welding residual stress distribution. Totally four kinds of methods were compared. From the previous results, we could make the following conclusions. 1. Although there are non-negligible differences in HAZ depending on heat input method, welding residual stress distributions have roughly similar trends. However, it is needed to perform the more exact analysis to apply heat energy more carefully into the individual bead. 2. Residual stress distribution were similar for the two weld bead generation technique. However, overlapping was happened when element birth technique was applied. Effects of overlapping could not ignore as deformation increases. However, overlapping problem was avoided when quiet element technique was used. 3. Since existence of inactive bead elements, inaccurate weld residual stresses could be occurred in boundaries of previous and next weld elements in case of quiet element technique.

Sub-micron Hard X-ray Fluorescence Imaging of Synthetic Elements

Science.gov (United States)

Jensen, Mark P.; Aryal, Baikuntha P.; Gorman-Lewis, Drew; Paunesku, Tatjana; Lai, Barry; Vogt, Stefan; Woloschak, Gayle E.

2013-01-01

Synchrotron-based X-ray fluorescence microscopy (SXFM) using hard X-rays focused into sub-micron spots is a powerful technique for elemental quantification and mapping, as well as microspectroscopic measurement such as μ-XANES (X-ray absorption near edge structure). We have used SXFM to image and simultaneously quantify the transuranic element plutonium at the L3 or L2 edge as well as lighter biologically essential elements in individual rat pheochromocytoma (PC12) cells after exposure to the long-lived plutonium isotope 242Pu. Elemental maps reveal that plutonium localizes principally in the cytoplasm of the cells and avoids the cell nucleus, which is marked by the highest concentrations of phosphorus and zinc, under the conditions of our experiments. The minimum detection limit under typical acquisition conditions for an average 202 μm2 cell is 1.4 fg Pu/cell or 2.9 × 10−20 moles Pu/μm2, which is similar to the detection limit of K-edge SXFM of transition metals at 10 keV. Copper electron microscopy grids were used to avoid interference from gold X-ray emissions, but traces of strontium present in naturally occurring calcium can still interfere with plutonium detection using its Lα X-ray emission. PMID:22444530

Synthetic Biology Open Language (SBOL) Version 2.2.0.

Science.gov (United States)

Cox, Robert Sidney; Madsen, Curtis; McLaughlin, James Alastair; Nguyen, Tramy; Roehner, Nicholas; Bartley, Bryan; Beal, Jacob; Bissell, Michael; Choi, Kiri; Clancy, Kevin; Grünberg, Raik; Macklin, Chris; Misirli, Goksel; Oberortner, Ernst; Pocock, Matthew; Samineni, Meher; Zhang, Michael; Zhang, Zhen; Zundel, Zach; Gennari, John H; Myers, Chris; Sauro, Herbert; Wipat, Anil

2018-04-02

Synthetic biology builds upon the techniques and successes of genetics, molecular biology, and metabolic engineering by applying engineering principles to the design of biological systems. The field still faces substantial challenges, including long development times, high rates of failure, and poor reproducibility. One method to ameliorate these problems would be to improve the exchange of information about designed systems between laboratories. The synthetic biology open language (SBOL) has been developed as a standard to support the specification and exchange of biological design information in synthetic biology, filling a need not satisfied by other pre-existing standards. This document details version 2.2.0 of SBOL that builds upon version 2.1.0 published in last year's JIB special issue. In particular, SBOL 2.2.0 includes improved description and validation rules for genetic design provenance, an extension to support combinatorial genetic designs, a new class to add non-SBOL data as attachments, a new class for genetic design implementations, and a description of a methodology to describe the entire design-build-test-learn cycle within the SBOL data model.

Synthetic Biology Open Language (SBOL) Version 2.2.0

KAUST Repository

Cox, Robert Sidney

2018-04-04

Synthetic biology builds upon the techniques and successes of genetics, molecular biology, and metabolic engineering by applying engineering principles to the design of biological systems. The field still faces substantial challenges, including long development times, high rates of failure, and poor reproducibility. One method to ameliorate these problems would be to improve the exchange of information about designed systems between laboratories. The synthetic biology open language (SBOL) has been developed as a standard to support the specification and exchange of biological design information in synthetic biology, filling a need not satisfied by other pre-existing standards. This document details version 2.2.0 of SBOL that builds upon version 2.1.0 published in last year\\'s JIB special issue. In particular, SBOL 2.2.0 includes improved description and validation rules for genetic design provenance, an extension to support combinatorial genetic designs, a new class to add non-SBOL data as attachments, a new class for genetic design implementations, and a description of a methodology to describe the entire design-build-test-learn cycle within the SBOL data model.

Synthetic Biology Open Language (SBOL Version 2.2.0

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Cox Robert Sidney

2018-04-01

Full Text Available Synthetic biology builds upon the techniques and successes of genetics, molecular biology, and metabolic engineering by applying engineering principles to the design of biological systems. The field still faces substantial challenges, including long development times, high rates of failure, and poor reproducibility. One method to ameliorate these problems would be to improve the exchange of information about designed systems between laboratories. The synthetic biology open language (SBOL has been developed as a standard to support the specification and exchange of biological design information in synthetic biology, filling a need not satisfied by other pre-existing standards. This document details version 2.2.0 of SBOL that builds upon version 2.1.0 published in last year’s JIB special issue. In particular, SBOL 2.2.0 includes improved description and validation rules for genetic design provenance, an extension to support combinatorial genetic designs, a new class to add non-SBOL data as attachments, a new class for genetic design implementations, and a description of a methodology to describe the entire design-build-test-learn cycle within the SBOL data model.

Synthetic Biology Open Language (SBOL) Version 2.2.0

KAUST Repository

Cox, Robert Sidney; Madsen, Curtis; McLaughlin, James Alastair; Nguyen, Tramy; Roehner, Nicholas; Bartley, Bryan; Beal, Jacob; Bissell, Michael; Choi, Kiri; Clancy, Kevin; Grunberg, Raik; Macklin, Chris; Misirli, Goksel; Oberortner, Ernst; Pocock, Matthew; Samineni, Meher; Zhang, Michael; Zhang, Zhen; Zundel, Zach; Gennari, John H.; Myers, Chris; Sauro, Herbert; Wipat, Anil

2018-01-01

Synthetic biology builds upon the techniques and successes of genetics, molecular biology, and metabolic engineering by applying engineering principles to the design of biological systems. The field still faces substantial challenges, including long development times, high rates of failure, and poor reproducibility. One method to ameliorate these problems would be to improve the exchange of information about designed systems between laboratories. The synthetic biology open language (SBOL) has been developed as a standard to support the specification and exchange of biological design information in synthetic biology, filling a need not satisfied by other pre-existing standards. This document details version 2.2.0 of SBOL that builds upon version 2.1.0 published in last year's JIB special issue. In particular, SBOL 2.2.0 includes improved description and validation rules for genetic design provenance, an extension to support combinatorial genetic designs, a new class to add non-SBOL data as attachments, a new class for genetic design implementations, and a description of a methodology to describe the entire design-build-test-learn cycle within the SBOL data model.

Standard Cosmic Ray Energetics and Light Element Production

CERN Document Server

Fields, B D; Cassé, M; Vangioni-Flam, E; Fields, Brian D.; Olive, Keith A.; Casse, Michel; Vangioni-Flam, Elisabeth

2001-01-01

The recent observations of Be and B in metal poor stars has led to a reassessment of the origin of the light elements in the early Galaxy. At low it is metallicity ([O/H] < -1.75), it is necessary to introduce a production mechanism which is independent of the interstellar metallicity (primary). At higher metallicities, existing data might indicate that secondary production is dominant. In this paper, we focus on the secondary process, related to the standard Galactic cosmic rays, and we examine the cosmic ray energy requirements for both present and past epochs. We find the power input to maintain the present-day Galactic cosmic ray flux is about 1.5e41 erg/s = 5e50 erg/century. This implies that, if supernovae are the sites of cosmic ray acceleration, the fraction of explosion energy going to accelerated particles is about 30%, a value which we obtain consistently both from considering the present cosmic ray flux and confinement and from the present 9Be and 6Li abundances. Using the abundances of 9Be (an...

Multi-element determination of soil solution by INAA

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Qian Qinfang; Wu Shuiqing; Tian Jibing

1992-01-01

One of the factors influencing crop growth is the effective elemental contents, especially trace elements, under the circumstances of the same concentrations of N, P and K in soil. In order to obtain the data of effective elemental contents in soil, a novel method was introduced. In this method, soil solution was extracted by a squeezer. The concentrations of elements in soil solution were determined by INAA. Study on the compositions and the contents of elements in soil solution will provide information on making a suitable soil environment for plant growth and on rational and economical manuring

Forecast of Standard Atomic Weights for the Mononuclidic Elements - 2011

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Holden, N.E.

2011-01-01

In this short report, I will provide an early warning about potential changes to the standard atomic weight values for the twenty mononuclidic and the so-called pseudo-mononuclidic ( 232 Th and 231 Pa) chemical elements due to the estimated changes in the mass values to be published in the next Atomic Mass Tables within the next two years. There have been many new measurements of atomic masses, since the last published Atomic Mass Table. The Atomic Mass Data Center has released an unpublished version of the present status of the atomic mass values as a private communication. We can not update the Standard Atomic Weight Table at this time based on these unpublished values but we can anticipate how many changes are probably going to be expected in the next few years on the basis of the forthcoming publication of the Atomic Mass Table. I will briefly discuss the procedures that the Atomic Weights Commission used in deriving the recommended Standard Atomic Weight values and their uncertainties from the atomic mass values. I will also discuss some concern raised about a proposed change in the definition of the mole. The definition of the mole is now connected directly to the mass of a 12 C isotope (which is defined as 12 exactly) and to the kilogram. A change in the definition of the mole will probably impact the mass of 12 C.

Synthetic biology: Novel approaches for microbiology.

Science.gov (United States)

Padilla-Vaca, Felipe; Anaya-Velázquez, Fernando; Franco, Bernardo

2015-06-01

In the past twenty years, molecular genetics has created powerful tools for genetic manipulation of living organisms. Whole genome sequencing has provided necessary information to assess knowledge on gene function and protein networks. In addition, new tools permit to modify organisms to perform desired tasks. Gene function analysis is speed up by novel approaches that couple both high throughput data generation and mining. Synthetic biology is an emerging field that uses tools for generating novel gene networks, whole genome synthesis and engineering. New applications in biotechnological, pharmaceutical and biomedical research are envisioned for synthetic biology. In recent years these new strategies have opened up the possibilities to study gene and genome editing, creation of novel tools for functional studies in virus, parasites and pathogenic bacteria. There is also the possibility to re-design organisms to generate vaccine subunits or produce new pharmaceuticals to combat multi-drug resistant pathogens. In this review we provide our opinion on the applicability of synthetic biology strategies for functional studies of pathogenic organisms and some applications such as genome editing and gene network studies to further comprehend virulence factors and determinants in pathogenic organisms. We also discuss what we consider important ethical issues for this field of molecular biology, especially for potential misuse of the new technologies. Copyright© by the Spanish Society for Microbiology and Institute for Catalan Studies.

Three-dimensional real-time synthetic aperture imaging using a rotating phased array transducer

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Nikolov, Svetoslav; Dufait, Remi; Schoisswohl, Armin

2002-01-01

phased array, which is rotated over the volume of interest. The data is acquired using coded signals and synthetic transmit aperture imaging. Only one group of elements transmits at a time. The delays are set such as to form a cylindrical wave. The back-scattered signal carries information not only from......Current 3D real-time imaging is done either with sparse 2D arrays, or with mechanically moved phased arrays. The former results in a poor resolution and contrast due to a limited amount of elements. The latter has the disadvantage of low frame rates due to the sequential acquisition of the volume...... line-by-line and plane-by-plane. This paper describes an approach which combines mechanically moved phased array with synthetic transmit aperture imaging, resulting in high volume acquisition rates without a trade-off in image quality. The scan method uses a conventional fully populated 64 element...

THE LICK/SDSS LIBRARY. I. SYNTHETIC INDEX DEFINITION AND CALIBRATION

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Franchini, M.; Morossi, C.; Di Marcantonio, P.; Malagnini, M. L.; Chavez, M.

2010-01-01

A new synthetic library of spectral feature indices, Lick/Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS), for stellar population studies is presented. Lick/SDSS is computed from synthetic spectra with resolving power R = 1800 to fully exploit the content of the spectroscopic SDSS-DR7 stellar database. The Lick/SDSS system is based on the Lick/IDS one complemented with a UV index in the wavelength region of Ca II H and K lines. The system is well suited to study α-element abundances in F, G, and K stars. The reliability of synthetic indices in reproducing the behaviors of observational ones with effective temperature, surface gravity, overall metallicity, and α-element abundances is tested by using empirical stellar libraries (ELODIE, INDO-U.S., and MILES) and the SDSS-DR7 spectroscopic database. The importance of using the same temperature scale in comparing theoretical and observational indices is discussed. The full consistency between Lick/SDSS and observational indices derived from the above mentioned stellar libraries is assessed. The comparison with indices computed from SDSS-DR7 spectra evidences good consistency for 'dwarf' stars and significant disagreement for 'giant' stars due to systematic overestimation of the stellar T eff by the SEGUE Stellar Parameter Pipeline.

Investigation of PVdF active diaphragms for synthetic jets

Science.gov (United States)

Bailo, Kelly C.; Brei, Diann E.; Calkins, Frederick T.

2000-06-01

Current research has shown that aircraft can gain significant aerodynamic performance benefits by employing active flow control (AFC). One of the enabling technologies of AFC is the synthetic jet. Synthetic jets, also known as zero-net-mass flux actuators, act as bi-directional pumps injecting high momentum air into the local aerodynamic flow. Previous work has concentrated on high frequency synthetic jets based on piezoelectric active diaphragms such as Thunder actuators. Low frequency synthetic jets present a unique challenge requiring large displacements, which current technology has difficulty meeting. Boeing is investigating novel shaped low frequency synthetic jets that can modify the flow over fixed aircraft wings. This paper present the initial study of two promising active diaphragm concepts: a crescent shape and an opposing bender shape. These active diaphragms were numerically modeled utilizing the general-purpose finite element code ABAQUS. Using the ABAQUS results, the dynamic volume change within each jet was calculated and incorporated into an analytical linear Bernoulli model to predict the velocities and pressures at the nozzle. Simulations were performed to determine trends to assist in selection of prototype configurations. Prototypes of both diaphragm concepts were constructed from polyvinylidene fluoride and experimentally tested at Boeing with promising results.

Summary report of the first research co-ordination meeting on improvement of the standard cross sections for light elements

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Carlson, A.D.; Hale, G.M.; Pronyaev, V.G.

2003-01-01

Results obtained during the first six months of the Coordinated Research Project (CRP) on Improvement of the Standard Cross Sections for Light Elements were presented. Attention focused on studies of the reduction in uncertainty for the model and non-model least squares fits, intercomparison and testing of different computer codes based on the nuclear model, non-model general least square and Bayesian approaches to the evaluation of standard reaction cross sections and covariance matrix of their uncertainties. The reasons leading to the underestimation of uncertainties and bias in the evaluated values were discussed and solutions to these problems were outlined. A coordinated working plan was prepared which will result in the preparation of new reaction cross section standards for light and heavy elements by 2004. (author)

Mammalian synthetic biology for studying the cell.

Science.gov (United States)

Mathur, Melina; Xiang, Joy S; Smolke, Christina D

2017-01-02

Synthetic biology is advancing the design of genetic devices that enable the study of cellular and molecular biology in mammalian cells. These genetic devices use diverse regulatory mechanisms to both examine cellular processes and achieve precise and dynamic control of cellular phenotype. Synthetic biology tools provide novel functionality to complement the examination of natural cell systems, including engineered molecules with specific activities and model systems that mimic complex regulatory processes. Continued development of quantitative standards and computational tools will expand capacities to probe cellular mechanisms with genetic devices to achieve a more comprehensive understanding of the cell. In this study, we review synthetic biology tools that are being applied to effectively investigate diverse cellular processes, regulatory networks, and multicellular interactions. We also discuss current challenges and future developments in the field that may transform the types of investigation possible in cell biology. © 2017 Mathur et al.

The Galerkin Finite Element Method for A Multi-term Time-Fractional Diffusion equation

OpenAIRE

Jin, Bangti; Lazarov, Raytcho; Liu, Yikan; Zhou, Zhi

2014-01-01

We consider the initial/boundary value problem for a diffusion equation involving multiple time-fractional derivatives on a bounded convex polyhedral domain. We analyze a space semidiscrete scheme based on the standard Galerkin finite element method using continuous piecewise linear functions. Nearly optimal error estimates for both cases of initial data and inhomogeneous term are derived, which cover both smooth and nonsmooth data. Further we develop a fully discrete scheme based on a finite...

Three dimensional multi perspective imaging with randomly distributed sensors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

DaneshPanah, Mehdi; Javidi, Bahrain

2008-01-01

In this paper, we review a three dimensional (3D) passive imaging system that exploits the visual information captured from the scene from multiple perspectives to reconstruct the scene voxel by voxel in 3D space. The primary contribution of this work is to provide a computational reconstruction scheme based on randomly distributed sensor locations in space. In virtually all of multi perspective techniques (e.g. integral imaging, synthetic aperture integral imaging, etc), there is an implicit assumption that the sensors lie on a simple, regular pickup grid. Here, we relax this assumption and suggest a computational reconstruction framework that unifies the available methods as its special cases. The importance of this work is that it enables three dimensional imaging technology to be implemented in a multitude of novel application domains such as 3D aerial imaging, collaborative imaging, long range 3D imaging and etc, where sustaining a regular pickup grid is not possible and/or the parallax requirements call for a irregular or sparse synthetic aperture mode. Although the sensors can be distributed in any random arrangement, we assume that the pickup position is measured at the time of capture of each elemental image. We demonstrate the feasibility of the methods proposed here by experimental results.

Societal Risk Evaluation Scheme (SRES: Scenario-Based Multi-Criteria Evaluation of Synthetic Biology Applications.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Christopher L Cummings

Full Text Available Synthetic biology (SB applies engineering principles to biology for the construction of novel biological systems designed for useful purposes. From an oversight perspective, SB products come with significant uncertainty. Yet there is a need to anticipate and prepare for SB applications before deployment. This study develops a Societal Risk Evaluation Scheme (SRES in order to advance methods for anticipatory governance of emerging technologies such as SB. The SRES is based upon societal risk factors that were identified as important through a policy Delphi study. These factors range from those associated with traditional risk assessment, such as health and environmental consequences, to broader features of risk such as those associated with reversibility, manageability, anticipated levels of public concern, and uncertainty. A multi-disciplinary panel with diverse perspectives and affiliations assessed four case studies of SB using the SRES. Rankings of the SRES components are compared within and across the case studies. From these comparisons, we found levels of controllability and familiarity associated with the cases to be important for overall SRES rankings. From a theoretical standpoint, this study illustrates the applicability of the psychometric paradigm to evaluating SB cases. In addition, our paper describes how the SRES can be incorporated into anticipatory governance models as a screening tool to prioritize research, information collection, and dialogue in the face of the limited capacity of governance systems. To our knowledge, this is the first study to elicit data on specific cases of SB with the goal of developing theory and tools for risk governance.

Detailed Modeling and Irreversible Transfer Process Analysis of a Multi-Element Thermoelectric Generator System

Science.gov (United States)

Xiao, Heng; Gou, Xiaolong; Yang, Suwen

2011-05-01

Thermoelectric (TE) power generation technology, due to its several advantages, is becoming a noteworthy research direction. Many researchers conduct their performance analysis and optimization of TE devices and related applications based on the generalized thermoelectric energy balance equations. These generalized TE equations involve the internal irreversibility of Joule heating inside the thermoelectric device and heat leakage through the thermoelectric couple leg. However, it is assumed that the thermoelectric generator (TEG) is thermally isolated from the surroundings except for the heat flows at the cold and hot junctions. Since the thermoelectric generator is a multi-element device in practice, being composed of many fundamental TE couple legs, the effect of heat transfer between the TE couple leg and the ambient environment is not negligible. In this paper, based on basic theories of thermoelectric power generation and thermal science, detailed modeling of a thermoelectric generator taking account of the phenomenon of energy loss from the TE couple leg is reported. The revised generalized thermoelectric energy balance equations considering the effect of heat transfer between the TE couple leg and the ambient environment have been derived. Furthermore, characteristics of a multi-element thermoelectric generator with irreversibility have been investigated on the basis of the new derived TE equations. In the present investigation, second-law-based thermodynamic analysis (exergy analysis) has been applied to the irreversible heat transfer process in particular. It is found that the existence of the irreversible heat convection process causes a large loss of heat exergy in the TEG system, and using thermoelectric generators for low-grade waste heat recovery has promising potential. The results of irreversibility analysis, especially irreversible effects on generator system performance, based on the system model established in detail have guiding significance for

Data-driven approach for creating synthetic electronic medical records

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Moniz Linda

2010-10-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background New algorithms for disease outbreak detection are being developed to take advantage of full electronic medical records (EMRs that contain a wealth of patient information. However, due to privacy concerns, even anonymized EMRs cannot be shared among researchers, resulting in great difficulty in comparing the effectiveness of these algorithms. To bridge the gap between novel bio-surveillance algorithms operating on full EMRs and the lack of non-identifiable EMR data, a method for generating complete and synthetic EMRs was developed. Methods This paper describes a novel methodology for generating complete synthetic EMRs both for an outbreak illness of interest (tularemia and for background records. The method developed has three major steps: 1 synthetic patient identity and basic information generation; 2 identification of care patterns that the synthetic patients would receive based on the information present in real EMR data for similar health problems; 3 adaptation of these care patterns to the synthetic patient population. Results We generated EMRs, including visit records, clinical activity, laboratory orders/results and radiology orders/results for 203 synthetic tularemia outbreak patients. Validation of the records by a medical expert revealed problems in 19% of the records; these were subsequently corrected. We also generated background EMRs for over 3000 patients in the 4-11 yr age group. Validation of those records by a medical expert revealed problems in fewer than 3% of these background patient EMRs and the errors were subsequently rectified. Conclusions A data-driven method was developed for generating fully synthetic EMRs. The method is general and can be applied to any data set that has similar data elements (such as laboratory and radiology orders and results, clinical activity, prescription orders. The pilot synthetic outbreak records were for tularemia but our approach may be adapted to other infectious

Data-driven approach for creating synthetic electronic medical records.

Science.gov (United States)

Buczak, Anna L; Babin, Steven; Moniz, Linda

2010-10-14

New algorithms for disease outbreak detection are being developed to take advantage of full electronic medical records (EMRs) that contain a wealth of patient information. However, due to privacy concerns, even anonymized EMRs cannot be shared among researchers, resulting in great difficulty in comparing the effectiveness of these algorithms. To bridge the gap between novel bio-surveillance algorithms operating on full EMRs and the lack of non-identifiable EMR data, a method for generating complete and synthetic EMRs was developed. This paper describes a novel methodology for generating complete synthetic EMRs both for an outbreak illness of interest (tularemia) and for background records. The method developed has three major steps: 1) synthetic patient identity and basic information generation; 2) identification of care patterns that the synthetic patients would receive based on the information present in real EMR data for similar health problems; 3) adaptation of these care patterns to the synthetic patient population. We generated EMRs, including visit records, clinical activity, laboratory orders/results and radiology orders/results for 203 synthetic tularemia outbreak patients. Validation of the records by a medical expert revealed problems in 19% of the records; these were subsequently corrected. We also generated background EMRs for over 3000 patients in the 4-11 yr age group. Validation of those records by a medical expert revealed problems in fewer than 3% of these background patient EMRs and the errors were subsequently rectified. A data-driven method was developed for generating fully synthetic EMRs. The method is general and can be applied to any data set that has similar data elements (such as laboratory and radiology orders and results, clinical activity, prescription orders). The pilot synthetic outbreak records were for tularemia but our approach may be adapted to other infectious diseases. The pilot synthetic background records were in the 4

Plant synthetic biology.

Science.gov (United States)

Liu, Wusheng; Stewart, C Neal

2015-05-01

Plant synthetic biology is an emerging field that combines engineering principles with plant biology toward the design and production of new devices. This emerging field should play an important role in future agriculture for traditional crop improvement, but also in enabling novel bioproduction in plants. In this review we discuss the design cycles of synthetic biology as well as key engineering principles, genetic parts, and computational tools that can be utilized in plant synthetic biology. Some pioneering examples are offered as a demonstration of how synthetic biology can be used to modify plants for specific purposes. These include synthetic sensors, synthetic metabolic pathways, and synthetic genomes. We also speculate about the future of synthetic biology of plants. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Optimization and Openmp Parallelization of a Discrete Element Code for Convex Polyhedra on Multi-Core Machines

Science.gov (United States)

Chen, Jian; Matuttis, Hans-Georg

2013-02-01

We report our experiences with the optimization and parallelization of a discrete element code for convex polyhedra on multi-core machines and introduce a novel variant of the sort-and-sweep neighborhood algorithm. While in theory the whole code in itself parallelizes ideally, in practice the results on different architectures with different compilers and performance measurement tools depend very much on the particle number and optimization of the code. After difficulties with the interpretation of the data for speedup and efficiency are overcome, respectable parallelization speedups could be obtained.

Multi element analysis by X-ray fluorescence. A powerful tool of ivory identification from various origins

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kautenburger, R.; Mueller, P.; Wannemacher, J.

2004-01-01

The 11th CITES Conference in 2000 decided to maintain a total worldwide ban on trade of elephant ivory. The 12th Conference in 2002 decided to allow a conditional trade in stockpiled ivory in 2004. Reopening of the ivory trade would require methods to identify the origin of the ivory so that legal ivory can be distinguished from the black-market ones. X-ray fluorescence multi-element analysis of ivory samples from various regions of Africa and Southeast-Asia to characterize ivory of the various elephant populations is described. (author)

A Converter from the Systems Biology Markup Language to the Synthetic Biology Open Language.

Science.gov (United States)

Nguyen, Tramy; Roehner, Nicholas; Zundel, Zach; Myers, Chris J

2016-06-17

Standards are important to synthetic biology because they enable exchange and reproducibility of genetic designs. This paper describes a procedure for converting between two standards: the Systems Biology Markup Language (SBML) and the Synthetic Biology Open Language (SBOL). SBML is a standard for behavioral models of biological systems at the molecular level. SBOL describes structural and basic qualitative behavioral aspects of a biological design. Converting SBML to SBOL enables a consistent connection between behavioral and structural information for a biological design. The conversion process described in this paper leverages Systems Biology Ontology (SBO) annotations to enable inference of a designs qualitative function.

A Multi-Year Plan for Research, Development, and Prototype Testing of Standard Modular Hydropower Technology

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Smith, Brennan T. [Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States); Welch, Tim [U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), Washington, DC (United States).Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE); Witt, Adam M. [Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States); Stewart, Kevin M. [Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States); Lee, Kyutae [Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States); DeNeale, Scott T. [Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States); Bevelhimer, Mark S. [Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States); Burress, Timothy A. [Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States); Pracheil, Brenda M. [Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States); Pries, Jason L. [Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States); O' Connor, Patrick W. [Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States); Curd, Shelaine L. [Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States); Ekici, Kivanc [Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States); Univ. of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN (United States); Papanicolaou, Thanos [Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States); Univ. of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN (United States); Tsakiris, Achilleas [Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States); Univ. of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN (United States); Kutz, Benjamin [Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States); Univ. of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN (United States); Bishop, Norm [Knight Piesold, Denver, CO (United States); McKeown, Alisha [McKeown and Associates, Moberly, MO (United States); Rabon, Daniel [U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), Washington, DC (United States).Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE); Zimmerman, Gregory P. [Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States); Uria Martinez, Rocio [Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States); McManamay, Ryan A. [Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States)

2017-02-01

The Multi-Year Plan for Research, Development, and Prototype Testing of Standard Modular Hydropower Technology (MYRP) presents a strategy for specifying, designing, testing, and demonstrating the efficacy of standard modular hydropower (SMH) as an environmentally compatible and cost-optimized renewable electricity generation technology. The MYRP provides the context, background, and vision for testing the SMH hypothesis: if standardization, modularity, and preservation of stream functionality become essential and fully realized features of hydropower technology, project design, and regulatory processes, they will enable previously unrealized levels of new project development with increased acceptance, reduced costs, increased predictability of outcomes, and increased value to stakeholders. To achieve success in this effort, the MYRP outlines a framework of stakeholder-validated criteria, models, design tools, testing facilities, and assessment protocols that will facilitate the development of next-generation hydropower technologies.

Design of a Negative Differential Resistance Circuit Element Using Single-Electron Transistors

Science.gov (United States)

Dixon, D. C.; Heij, C. P.; Hadley, P.; Mooij, J. E.

1998-03-01

Electronic circuit elements displaying negative differential resistance (NDR), such as tunnel diodes, have a wide variety of device applications, including oscillators, amplifiers, logic, and memory. We present a two-terminal device using two single-electron transistors (SET's) that demonstrates an NDR profile tuneable with gate voltages. If the capacitive coupling between the SET's is sufficiently larger than the junction capacitances, the device exhibits multiply-peaked NDR, allowing its use as a multi-valued digital element. We will also report recent experimental progress in measurements of such a device, fabricated using standard Al tunnel junctions, but with an additional overlap capacitor to allow the required inter-SET coupling.

Standard Terminology for Phenotypic Variations: The Elements of Morphology Project, Its Current Progress, and Future Directions

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Carey, John C.; Allanson, Judith E.; Hennekam, Raoul C. M.; Biesecker, Leslie G.

2012-01-01

In 2005, the authors of this article formed an international working group to develop standardized definitions and terms to describe the physical variations used in human phenotypic analyses. This project, which came to be known as the Elements of Morphology, resulted in six articles proposing

The standardisation of trace elements in international biological standard reference materials with neutron activation analysis and atomic absorption spectrophotometry

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Pieterse, H.

1981-12-01

An investigation was undertaken into the analytical procedures and the identification of problem areas, for the certification of a new biological standard reference material supplied by the International Atomic Energy Agency, namely, a human hair sample designated as HH-I. The analyses comprised the determination of the elements As, Cd, Co, Cr, Cu, Fe, Hg, Mn, Ni, Sb, Se, and Zn in the hair sample by using two analytical techniques, namely, Instrumental Neutron Activation Analysis and Atomic Absorption. Three other certified biological reference materials, namely, Orchard Leaves (ORCH-L), Sea Plant Material (SPM-I) and Copepod (MAA-I) were used as control standards. Determinations were made of the moisture content of the samples, using varying conditions of drying, and the necessary corrections were applied to all analytical results so that the final elemental values related to dry weight of samples. Attention was also given to the possible loss of specific elements during ashing of the samples prior to the actual instrumental analysis. The results obtained for the hair sample by the two techniques were in good agreement for the elements Co, Fe, Mn, and Zn, but did not agree for the elements Cr and Sb. As, Hg and Se could only be determined with Instrumental Neutron Activation Analysis, and Cd, Cu and Ni only with Atomic Absorption. Most of the results obtained for the three control standard reference materials were within the ranges specified for the individual elements in each sample. The analytical procedures used for determining Cd, Cr, Cu, Ni and Sb with Instrumental Neutron Activation Analysis and As, Cr, Sb and Se with Atomic Absorption, need further investigation. The measurement of the moisture content and the ashing of samples also require further investigation with a view to improving accuracy

Brain imaging with synthetic MR in children: clinical quality assessment

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Betts, Aaron M.; Serai, Suraj [Cincinnati Children' s Hospital Medical Center, Department of Radiology, Cincinnati, OH (United States); Leach, James L.; Jones, Blaise V. [Cincinnati Children' s Hospital Medical Center, Department of Radiology, Cincinnati, OH (United States); University of Cincinnati College of Medicine, Cincinnati, OH (United States); Zhang, Bin [Cincinnati Children' s Hospital Medical Center, Biostatistics and Epidemiology, Cincinnati, OH (United States)

2016-10-15

Synthetic magnetic resonance imaging is a quantitative imaging technique that measures inherent T1-relaxation, T2-relaxation, and proton density. These inherent tissue properties allow synthesis of various imaging sequences from a single acquisition. Clinical use of synthetic MR imaging has been described in adult populations. However, use of synthetic MR imaging has not been previously reported in children. The purpose of this study is to report our assessment of diagnostic image quality using synthetic MR imaging in children. Synthetic MR acquisition was obtained in a sample of children undergoing brain MR imaging. Image quality assessments were performed on conventional and synthetic T1-weighted, T2-weighted, and FLAIR images. Standardized linear measurements were performed on conventional and synthetic T2 images. Estimates of patient age based upon myelination patterns were also performed. Conventional and synthetic MR images were evaluated on 30 children. Using a 4-point assessment scale, conventional imaging performed better than synthetic imaging for T1-weighted, T2-weighted, and FLAIR images. When the assessment was simplified to a dichotomized scale, the conventional and synthetic T1-weighted and T2-weighted images performed similarly. However, the superiority of conventional FLAIR images persisted in the dichotomized assessment. There were no statistically significant differences between linear measurements made on T2-weighted images. Estimates of patient age based upon pattern of myelination were also similar between conventional and synthetic techniques. Synthetic MR imaging may be acceptable for clinical use in children. However, users should be aware of current limitations that could impact clinical utility in the software version used in this study. (orig.)

Multi-field coupling finite element analysis for determining the influence of temperature field on die service life during precision-forming process of steel synchronizer ring

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zhao, Jun; Luo, Shan-Ming; Li, Feng-Qiang; Xu, Chen-Bing

2017-01-01

Failure analysis shows that increased die temperature caused by severe plastic deformation of material and heat conduction between hot billet and cavity significantly affects the distortion of gear cavity in steel synchronizer ring forging process. The forging process of steel synchronizer ring and die temperature distribution under different forging conditions are analyzed through finite element method. Simulation results show that severe plastic deformation occurs in the gear cavity. The improvement of lubrication condition results in decreased die temperature. When the initial billet temperature is high, the die temperature is also high. Increasing forging speed in a certain range facilitates the die temperature decrease. The distribution of die temperature in synthetic forming technology is more reasonable than that of one step forging. The synthetic forming technology is adopted in production to reduce the effects of severe plastic deformation caused by die temperature. The ejection mechanism and control system of the double disc friction press are improved to reduce the contact time between the hot billet and cavity. Experimental results show that synthetic forming technology is reasonable, and that the die service life is prolonged.

Multi-field coupling finite element analysis for determining the influence of temperature field on die service life during precision-forming process of steel synchronizer ring

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Zhao, Jun; Luo, Shan-Ming; Li, Feng-Qiang; Xu, Chen-Bing [Xiamen University of Technology, Xiamen (China)

2017-07-15

Failure analysis shows that increased die temperature caused by severe plastic deformation of material and heat conduction between hot billet and cavity significantly affects the distortion of gear cavity in steel synchronizer ring forging process. The forging process of steel synchronizer ring and die temperature distribution under different forging conditions are analyzed through finite element method. Simulation results show that severe plastic deformation occurs in the gear cavity. The improvement of lubrication condition results in decreased die temperature. When the initial billet temperature is high, the die temperature is also high. Increasing forging speed in a certain range facilitates the die temperature decrease. The distribution of die temperature in synthetic forming technology is more reasonable than that of one step forging. The synthetic forming technology is adopted in production to reduce the effects of severe plastic deformation caused by die temperature. The ejection mechanism and control system of the double disc friction press are improved to reduce the contact time between the hot billet and cavity. Experimental results show that synthetic forming technology is reasonable, and that the die service life is prolonged.

Comparison of a fast 5-min knee MRI protocol with a standard knee MRI protocol. A multi-institutional multi-reader study

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

FitzGerald Alaia, Erin; Beltran, Luis S.; Garwood, Elisabeth; Burke, Christopher J.; Gyftopoulos, Soterios [NYU Langone Medical Center, Department of Radiology, Musculoskeletal Division, New York, NY (United States); Benedick, Alex [Case Western Reserve University, School of Medicine, Cleveland, OH (United States); Obuchowski, Nancy A. [Cleveland Clinic, Department of Quantitative Health Sciences, Cleveland, OH (United States); Polster, Joshua M.; Schils, Jean; Subhas, Naveen [Cleveland Clinic, Department of Radiology, Musculoskeletal Division, Cleveland, OH (United States); Chang, I. Yuan Joseph [Texas Scottish Rite Hospital for Children, Dallas, TX (United States)

2018-01-15

To compare diagnostic performance of a 5-min knee MRI protocol to that of a standard knee MRI. One hundred 3 T (100 patients, mean 38.8 years) and 50 1.5 T (46 patients, mean 46.4 years) MRIs, consisting of 5 fast, 2D multi-planar fast-spin-echo (FSE) sequences and five standard multiplanar FSE sequences, from two academic centers (1/2015-1/2016), were retrospectively reviewed by four musculoskeletal radiologists. Agreement between fast and standard (interprotocol agreement) and between standard (intraprotocol agreement) readings for meniscal, ligamentous, chondral, and bone pathology was compared for interchangeability. Frequency of major findings, sensitivity, and specificity was also tested for each protocol. Interprotocol agreement using fast MRI was similar to intraprotocol agreement with standard MRI (83.0-99.5%), with no excess disagreement (≤ 1.2; 95% CI, -4.2 to 3.8%), across all structures. Frequency of major findings (1.1-22.4% across structures) on fast and standard MRI was not significantly different (p ≥ 0.215), except more ACL tears on fast MRI (p = 0.021) and more cartilage defects on standard MRI (p < 0.001). Sensitivities (59-100%) and specificities (73-99%) of fast and standard MRI were not significantly different for meniscal and ligament tears (95% CI for difference, -0.08-0.08). For cartilage defects, fast MRI was slightly less sensitive (95% CI for difference, -0.125 to -0.01) but slightly more specific (95% CI for difference, 0.01-0.5) than standard MRI. A fast 5-min MRI protocol is interchangeable with and has similar accuracy to a standard knee MRI for evaluating internal derangement of the knee. (orig.)

Comparison of a fast 5-min knee MRI protocol with a standard knee MRI protocol. A multi-institutional multi-reader study

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

FitzGerald Alaia, Erin; Beltran, Luis S.; Garwood, Elisabeth; Burke, Christopher J.; Gyftopoulos, Soterios; Benedick, Alex; Obuchowski, Nancy A.; Polster, Joshua M.; Schils, Jean; Subhas, Naveen; Chang, I. Yuan Joseph

2018-01-01

To compare diagnostic performance of a 5-min knee MRI protocol to that of a standard knee MRI. One hundred 3 T (100 patients, mean 38.8 years) and 50 1.5 T (46 patients, mean 46.4 years) MRIs, consisting of 5 fast, 2D multi-planar fast-spin-echo (FSE) sequences and five standard multiplanar FSE sequences, from two academic centers (1/2015-1/2016), were retrospectively reviewed by four musculoskeletal radiologists. Agreement between fast and standard (interprotocol agreement) and between standard (intraprotocol agreement) readings for meniscal, ligamentous, chondral, and bone pathology was compared for interchangeability. Frequency of major findings, sensitivity, and specificity was also tested for each protocol. Interprotocol agreement using fast MRI was similar to intraprotocol agreement with standard MRI (83.0-99.5%), with no excess disagreement (≤ 1.2; 95% CI, -4.2 to 3.8%), across all structures. Frequency of major findings (1.1-22.4% across structures) on fast and standard MRI was not significantly different (p ≥ 0.215), except more ACL tears on fast MRI (p = 0.021) and more cartilage defects on standard MRI (p < 0.001). Sensitivities (59-100%) and specificities (73-99%) of fast and standard MRI were not significantly different for meniscal and ligament tears (95% CI for difference, -0.08-0.08). For cartilage defects, fast MRI was slightly less sensitive (95% CI for difference, -0.125 to -0.01) but slightly more specific (95% CI for difference, 0.01-0.5) than standard MRI. A fast 5-min MRI protocol is interchangeable with and has similar accuracy to a standard knee MRI for evaluating internal derangement of the knee. (orig.)

Building synthetic sterols computationally – unlocking the secrets of evolution?

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Tomasz eRog

2015-08-01

Full Text Available Cholesterol is vital in regulating the physical properties of animal cell membranes. While it remains unclear what renders cholesterol so unique, it is known that other sterols are less capable in modulating membrane properties, and there are membrane proteins whose function is dependent on cholesterol. Practical applications of cholesterol include e.g. its use in liposomes in drug delivery and cosmetics, cholesterol-based detergents in membrane protein crystallography, and its fluorescent analogs in studies of cholesterol transport in cells and tissues. Clearly, in spite of their difficult synthesis, producing the synthetic analogs of cholesterol is of great commercial and scientific interest. In this article, we discuss how synthetic sterols nonexistent in nature can be used to elucidate the roles of cholesterol's structural elements. To this end, we discuss recent atomistic molecular dynamics simulation studies that have predicted new synthetic sterols with properties comparable to those of cholesterol. We also discuss more recent experimental studies that have vindicated these predictions. The paper highlights the strength of computational simulations in making predictions for synthetic biology, thereby guiding experiments.

Traceability of Opuntia ficus-indica L. Miller by ICP-MS multi-element profile and chemometric approach.

Science.gov (United States)

Mottese, Antonio Francesco; Naccari, Clara; Vadalà, Rossella; Bua, Giuseppe Daniel; Bartolomeo, Giovanni; Rando, Rossana; Cicero, Nicola; Dugo, Giacomo

2018-01-01

Opuntia ficus-indica L. Miller fruits, particularly 'Ficodindia dell'Etna' of Biancavilla (POD), 'Fico d'india tradizionale di Roccapalumba' with protected brand and samples from an experimental field in Pezzolo (Sicily) were analyzed by inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry in order to determine the multi-element profile. A multivariate chemometric approach, specifically principal component analysis (PCA), was applied to individuate how mineral elements may represent a marker of geographic origin, which would be useful for traceability. PCA has allowed us to verify that the geographical origin of prickly pear fruits is significantly influenced by trace element content, and the results found in Biancavilla PDO samples were linked to the geological composition of this volcanic areas. It was observed that two principal components accounted for 72.03% of the total variance in the data and, in more detail, PC1 explains 45.51% and PC2 26.52%, respectively. This study demonstrated that PCA is an integrated tool for the traceability of food products and, at the same time, a useful method of authentication of typical local fruits such as prickly pear. © 2017 Society of Chemical Industry. © 2017 Society of Chemical Industry.

Multi-color and artistic dithering

OpenAIRE

Ostromoukhov, Victor; Hersch, Roger D.

1999-01-01

A multi-color dithering algorithm is proposed, which converts a barycentric combination of color intensities into a multi-color non-overlapping surface coverage. Multi-color dithering is a generalization of standard bi-level dithering. Combined with tetrahedral color separation, multi-color dithering makes it possible to print images made of a set of non-standard inks. In contrast to most previous color halftoning methods, multi-color dithering ensures by construction that the different selec...

A compact, in vivo screen of all 6-mers reveals drivers of tissue-specific expression and guides synthetic regulatory element design.

Science.gov (United States)

Smith, Robin P; Riesenfeld, Samantha J; Holloway, Alisha K; Li, Qiang; Murphy, Karl K; Feliciano, Natalie M; Orecchia, Lorenzo; Oksenberg, Nir; Pollard, Katherine S; Ahituv, Nadav

2013-07-18

Large-scale annotation efforts have improved our ability to coarsely predict regulatory elements throughout vertebrate genomes. However, it is unclear how complex spatiotemporal patterns of gene expression driven by these elements emerge from the activity of short, transcription factor binding sequences. We describe a comprehensive promoter extension assay in which the regulatory potential of all 6 base-pair (bp) sequences was tested in the context of a minimal promoter. To enable this large-scale screen, we developed algorithms that use a reverse-complement aware decomposition of the de Bruijn graph to design a library of DNA oligomers incorporating every 6-bp sequence exactly once. Our library multiplexes all 4,096 unique 6-mers into 184 double-stranded 15-bp oligomers, which is sufficiently compact for in vivo testing. We injected each multiplexed construct into zebrafish embryos and scored GFP expression in 15 tissues at two developmental time points. Twenty-seven constructs produced consistent expression patterns, with the majority doing so in only one tissue. Functional sequences are enriched near biologically relevant genes, match motifs for developmental transcription factors, and are required for enhancer activity. By concatenating tissue-specific functional sequences, we generated completely synthetic enhancers for the notochord, epidermis, spinal cord, forebrain and otic lateral line, and show that short regulatory sequences do not always function modularly. This work introduces a unique in vivo catalog of short, functional regulatory sequences and demonstrates several important principles of regulatory element organization. Furthermore, we provide resources for designing compact, reverse-complement aware k-mer libraries.

Microbial Extremophiles for Earth and Beyond: Pushing the Boundaries with Synthetic Biology

Science.gov (United States)

Rothschild, Lynn J.

2017-01-01

All organisms live in a multi-dimensional physical and chemical niche space. Discoveries in the 20th century enormously expanded the range of what was considered "habitable." However, the current diversity of life on Earth begs the question of what terrestrial life - or indeed, another life form - would be capable of. With the needs of both modern laboratory science and the burgeoning field of biotechnology, as well as our deeply held desire to answer the question "are we alone in the universe?, we are exploiting the tools of synthetic biology to probe the question of whether we can create "synthetic extremophiles" or, as our lab has dubbed them, "Hell Cells."

Reprint of Design of synthetic microbial communities for biotechnological production processes.

Science.gov (United States)

Jagmann, Nina; Philipp, Bodo

2014-12-20

In their natural habitats microorganisms live in multi-species communities, in which the community members exhibit complex metabolic interactions. In contrast, biotechnological production processes catalyzed by microorganisms are usually carried out with single strains in pure cultures. A number of production processes, however, may be more efficiently catalyzed by the concerted action of microbial communities. This review will give an overview of organismic interactions between microbial cells and of biotechnological applications of microbial communities. It focuses on synthetic microbial communities that consist of microorganisms that have been genetically engineered. Design principles for such synthetic communities will be exemplified based on plausible scenarios for biotechnological production processes. These design principles comprise interspecific metabolic interactions via cross-feeding, regulation by interspecific signaling processes via metabolites and autoinducing signal molecules, and spatial structuring of synthetic microbial communities. In particular, the implementation of metabolic interdependencies, of positive feedback regulation and of inducible cell aggregation and biofilm formation will be outlined. Synthetic microbial communities constitute a viable extension of the biotechnological application of metabolically engineered single strains and enlarge the scope of microbial production processes. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Synthetic Cannabinoids

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Aslihan Okan Ibiloglu

2017-09-01

Full Text Available Synthetic cannabinoids which is a subgroup of cannabinoids are commonly used for recreational drug use throughout the whole world. Although both marijuana and synthetic cannabinoids stimulate the same receptors, cannabinoid receptor 1 (CB1 and cannabinoid receptor 2 (CB2, studies have shown that synthetic cannabinoids are much more potent than marijuana. The longer use of synthetic cannabinoids can cause severe physical and psychological symptoms that might even result in death, similar to many known illicit drugs. Main treatment options mostly involve symptom management and supportive care. The aim of this article is to discuss clinical and pharmacological properties of the increasingly used synthetic cannabinoids. [Psikiyatride Guncel Yaklasimlar - Current Approaches in Psychiatry 2017; 9(3.000: 317-328

Effects of Heat Input and Bead Generation Methods on Finite Element Analysis of Cylindrical Multi-Pass Welding Process of Metals

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Park, Won Dong; Bahn, Chi Bum; Kim, Ji Hoon

2017-01-01

In this study, a finite element analysis of a cylindrical multi-pass weldment for dissimilar metals was performed. The effects of the heat input method and weld bead generation method were considered. We compared two heat input methods: the heat flux method and the temperature method. We also compared two weld bead generation methods: the element birth method and the quiet element method. Although the results of the thermal analysis show deviations between the two heat input methods, the welding residual stresses were similar. Because the areas exposed to high temperature were similar and the strength of the material was very low in high temperature (above the 1000 ℃), the effects of the weld bead temperature were insignificant. The distributions of the welding residual stress were similar to each other. However, gaps and overlaps occurred on the welding boundary surfaces when the element birth method was applied. The quiet element method is more suitable for a large deformation model in order to simulate a more accurate weld shape.

Effects of Heat Input and Bead Generation Methods on Finite Element Analysis of Cylindrical Multi-Pass Welding Process of Metals

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Park, Won Dong; Bahn, Chi Bum; Kim, Ji Hoon [Pusan Nat’l Univ., Busan (Korea, Republic of)

2017-06-15

In this study, a finite element analysis of a cylindrical multi-pass weldment for dissimilar metals was performed. The effects of the heat input method and weld bead generation method were considered. We compared two heat input methods: the heat flux method and the temperature method. We also compared two weld bead generation methods: the element birth method and the quiet element method. Although the results of the thermal analysis show deviations between the two heat input methods, the welding residual stresses were similar. Because the areas exposed to high temperature were similar and the strength of the material was very low in high temperature (above the 1000 ℃), the effects of the weld bead temperature were insignificant. The distributions of the welding residual stress were similar to each other. However, gaps and overlaps occurred on the welding boundary surfaces when the element birth method was applied. The quiet element method is more suitable for a large deformation model in order to simulate a more accurate weld shape.

Text localization using standard deviation analysis of structure elements and support vector machines

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Zagoris Konstantinos

2011-01-01

Full Text Available Abstract A text localization technique is required to successfully exploit document images such as technical articles and letters. The proposed method detects and extracts text areas from document images. Initially a connected components analysis technique detects blocks of foreground objects. Then, a descriptor that consists of a set of suitable document structure elements is extracted from the blocks. This is achieved by incorporating an algorithm called Standard Deviation Analysis of Structure Elements (SDASE which maximizes the separability between the blocks. Another feature of the SDASE is that its length adapts according to the requirements of the application. Finally, the descriptor of each block is used as input to a trained support vector machines that classify the block as text or not. The proposed technique is also capable of adjusting to the text structure of the documents. Experimental results on benchmarking databases demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed method.

Determination of trace elements in Turkish tea leaves by instrumental neutron activation analysis

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Demiralp, R.

1986-01-01

The human body continuously assimilates a variety of inorganic elements from food and the environment. Some of these elements are closely related to human health and disorder. Tea is one of the most popular stimulating beverages which is consumed by low and high income family groups in many countries. Instrumental neutron activation analysis is one of the preferred methods because information on a large number of elements can be obtained simultaneously. Five packets each of the seven commonly used brands of tea were obtained from the market. In order to determine the transfer of trace elements into the drinkable portion about 2-3g. of the tea leaves were boiled in hot water for 2 min. After filtration the used tea leaves were dried at 65 deg. C in an oven and a portion, about 200mg was used for analysis. Samples and standards were irradiated 10 min. and 2 hrs. at pneumatic system and central thimble in the TRIGA MARK-II research reactor. After irradiation, the activities of samples and standards were measured with a aoaxial Ge detector coupled to a spectroscopic amplifier. A Canbera 90 model multi- channel analyzer with an 8K memory was used for pulse height analysis. The system has a resolution of 2.0 KeV. for the 1332.5 KeV gamma ray of 60 Co. The activity of the sample and standard was compared and the element contst of the sample was calculated. (author)

Contrast of Korean industrial standard and overseas standard

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kim, Jong Deuk

2006-12-01

This book introduces Korean Industrial Standard and Overseas Standard, which deals with furniture, plasticizers, valcaning agents, gaskets, steel pipes and tubes. It covers wooden furniture for offices, washing dresser, children crib, chairs and desks for students, chairs and desks made from synthetic resins, tricresyl phosphate, dibutyl phthalate, dioctyl phthalate, phtalic acid dieptil, V packing, vulcanization accelerator CBS(CZ), vulcanization accelerator MBT(M), vulcanization accelerator Zn BDC, steel pipe for heating furnace and carbon steel pope for high voltage piping.

Body-insensitive Multi-Mode MIMO Terminal Antenna of Double-Ring Structure

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Zhao, Kun; Zhang, Shuai; Ishimiya, Katsunori

2015-01-01

of mobile terminals. With the multimode excitation, the MIMO cellular antenna can operate at 830-900 MHz, 1700-2200 MHz, and 2400-2700 MHz, for 2G, 3G, and LTE bands, respectively. The MIMO Wi-Fi antenna can cover two Wi-Fi bands from 2.4 to 2.5 GHz and from 5.2 to 5.8 GHz. The effect of a user's body......In this paper, we propose a novel multimode multi-input multi-output (MIMO) antenna system composed of a dual-element MIMO cellular antenna and dual-element MIMO Wi-Fi antenna for mobile terminal applications. The antenna system has a double-ring structure and can be integrated with the metal frame...... on the MIMO cellular antenna is investigated on CTIA standard phantoms and a real user. Since our antenna mainly operates in the loop mode, it has a much lower efficiency loss than conventional mobile antennas in both talking and data modes. Our theoretical analysis and experiments have shown that our design...

Large scale multi-zone creep finite element modelling of a main steam line branch intersection

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Payten, Warwick

2006-01-01

A number of papers detail the non-linear creep finite element analysis of branch pieces. Predominately these models have incorporated only a single material zone representing the parent material. Multi-zone models incorporating weld material and heat affected zones have primarily been two-dimensional analyses, in part due to the large number of elements required to adequately represent all of the zones. This paper describes a non-linear creep analysis of a main steam line branch intersection using creep properties to represent the parent metal, weld metal, and heat affected zone (HAZ), the stress redistribution over 100,000 h is examined. The results show that the redistribution leads to a complex stress state, particularly at the heat affected zone. Although, there is damage on the external surface of the branch piece as expected, the results indicate that the damage would be more widespread through extensive sections of the heat affected zone. This would appear to indicate that the time between damage indications on the surface using techniques such as replication and full thickness damage may be more limited then previously expected

Velocity estimation using synthetic aperture imaging [blood flow

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Nikolov, Svetoslav; Jensen, Jørgen Arendt

2001-01-01

Presented an approach for synthetic aperture blood flow ultrasound imaging. Estimates with a low bias and standard deviation can be obtained with as few as eight emissions. The performance of the new estimator is verified using both simulations and measurements. The results demonstrate that a fully...

Comparative efficacy of herbal and synthetic methionine on ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

HM) compared to synthetic methionine (SM) in the diets of domestic laying hens. The herbal methionine (Meth-o-Tas®) was supplied by Intas Pharmaceutical Limited, India. The HM and SM were added to a standard diet at 0.5 and 1.0 kg per ...

Methods for preparing comparative standards and field samples for neutron activation analysis of soil

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Glasgow, D.C.; Dyer, F.F.; Robinson, L.

1995-01-01

One of the more difficult problems associated with comparative neutron activation analysis (CNAA) is the preparation of standards which are tailor-made to the desired irradiation and counting conditions. Frequently, there simply is not a suitable standard available commercially, or the resulting gamma spectrum is convoluted with interferences. In a recent soil analysis project, the need arose for standards which contained about 35 elements. In response, a computer spreadsheet was developed to calculate the appropriate amount of each element so that the resulting gamma spectrum is relatively free of interferences. Incorporated in the program are options for calculating all of the irradiation and counting parameters including activity produced, necessary flux/bombardment time, counting time, and appropriate source-to-detector distance. The result is multi-element standards for CNAA which have optimal concentrations. The program retains ease of use without sacrificing capability. In addition to optimized standard production, a novel soil homogenization technique was developed which is a low cost, highly efficient alternative to commercially available homogenization systems. Comparative neutron activation analysis for large scale projects has been made easier through these advancements. This paper contains details of the design and function of the NAA spreadsheet and innovative sample handling techniques. (author) 7 refs.; 5 tabs

Methods for preparing comparative standards and field samples for neutron activation analysis of soil

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Glasgow, D.C.; Dyer, F.F.; Robinson, L.

1994-01-01

One of the more difficult problems associated with comparative neutron activation analysis (CNAA) is the preparation of standards which are tailor-made to the desired irradiation and counting conditions. Frequently, there simply is not a suitable standard available commercially, or the resulting gamma spectrum is convoluted with interferences. In a recent soil analysis project, the need arose for standards which contained about 35 elements. In response, a computer spreadsheet was developed to calculate the appropriate amount of each element so that the resulting gamma spectrum is relatively free of interferences. Incorporated in the program are options for calculating all of the irradiation and counting parameters including activity produced, necessary flux/bombardment time, counting time, and appropriate source-to-detector distance. The result is multi-element standards for CNAA which have optimal concentrations. The program retains ease of use without sacrificing capability. In addition to optimized standard production, a novel soil homogenization technique was developed which is a low cost, highly efficient alternative to commercially available homogenization systems. Comparative neutron activation analysis for large scale projects has been made easier through these advancements. This paper contains details of the design and function of the NAA spreadsheet and innovative sample handling techniques

Materials characterization of radioactive waste forms using a multi-element detection method based on the instrumental neutron activation analysis. MEDINA; Stoffliche Charakterisierung radioaktiver Abfallprodukte durch ein Multi-Element-Analyseverfahren basierend auf der instrumentellen Neutronen-Aktivierungs-Analyse. MEDINA

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Havenith, Andreas Wilhelm

2015-07-01

Radioactive waste has to meet the specifications and acceptance criteria defined by national regulatory and management authorities for its intermediate and final storage. In Germany the Federal Office for Radiation Protection (Bundesamt fuer Strahlenschutz - BfS) has established waste acceptance requirements for the Konrad repository. Konrad is the disposal for radioactive waste with negligible heat generation and is located near the city of Salzgitter and is currently under construction. It will start operation not before the year 2021. The waste-acceptance-requirements are derived from a site-specific safety assessment. They include specific requirements on waste forms, packaging as well as limitations to activities of individual radionuclides and limitations to masses of non-radioactive harmful substances. The amount of chemically toxic elements in the waste is limited in order to avoid pollution of underground water reserves. To comply with these requirements every waste package has to be characterised in its radiological and chemical composition. This characterisation can be performed on the basis of existing documentation or, if the documentation is insufficient, on further analytical analysis. Segmented or integral gamma-scanning as well as active or passive neutron counting are used worldwide as the standard measurement methods for the radiological characterisation and quality checking of radioactive waste. These techniques determine the isotope specific activity of waste packages, but they do not allow the detection of non-radioactive hazardous substances inside the waste packages. Against this background the Institute of Nuclear Engineering and Technology Transfer (NET) at RWTH Aachen University and the Institute of Safety Research and Reactor Technology at Forschungszentrum Juelich jointly develop an innovative non-destructive analytical technique called MEDINA - ''Multi-Element Detection based on Instrumental Neutron Activation'' for

Multi-resolution simulation of focused ultrasound propagation through ovine skull from a single-element transducer

Science.gov (United States)

Yoon, Kyungho; Lee, Wonhye; Croce, Phillip; Cammalleri, Amanda; Yoo, Seung-Schik

2018-05-01

Transcranial focused ultrasound (tFUS) is emerging as a non-invasive brain stimulation modality. Complicated interactions between acoustic pressure waves and osseous tissue introduce many challenges in the accurate targeting of an acoustic focus through the cranium. Image-guidance accompanied by a numerical simulation is desired to predict the intracranial acoustic propagation through the skull; however, such simulations typically demand heavy computation, which warrants an expedited processing method to provide on-site feedback for the user in guiding the acoustic focus to a particular brain region. In this paper, we present a multi-resolution simulation method based on the finite-difference time-domain formulation to model the transcranial propagation of acoustic waves from a single-element transducer (250 kHz). The multi-resolution approach improved computational efficiency by providing the flexibility in adjusting the spatial resolution. The simulation was also accelerated by utilizing parallelized computation through the graphic processing unit. To evaluate the accuracy of the method, we measured the actual acoustic fields through ex vivo sheep skulls with different sonication incident angles. The measured acoustic fields were compared to the simulation results in terms of focal location, dimensions, and pressure levels. The computational efficiency of the presented method was also assessed by comparing simulation speeds at various combinations of resolution grid settings. The multi-resolution grids consisting of 0.5 and 1.0 mm resolutions gave acceptable accuracy (under 3 mm in terms of focal position and dimension, less than 5% difference in peak pressure ratio) with a speed compatible with semi real-time user feedback (within 30 s). The proposed multi-resolution approach may serve as a novel tool for simulation-based guidance for tFUS applications.

[From synthetic biology to synthetic humankind].

Science.gov (United States)

Nouvel, Pascal

2015-01-01

In this paper, we propose an historical survey of the expression "synthetic biology" in order to identify its main philosophical components. The result of the analysis is then used to investigate the meaning of the notion of "synthetic man". It is shown that both notions share a common philosophical background that can be summed up by the short but meaningful assertion: "biology is technology". The analysis allows us to distinguish two notions that are often confused in transhumanist literature: the notion of synthetic man and the notion of renewed man. The consequences of this crucial distinction are discussed. Copyright © 2015 Académie des sciences. Published by Elsevier SAS. All rights reserved.

Frequency division transmission imaging and synthetic aperture reconstruction

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Gran, Fredrik; Jensen, Jørgen Arendt

2006-01-01

In synthetic transmit aperture imaging only a few transducer elements are used in every transmission, which limits the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR). The penetration depth can be increased by using all transmitters in every transmission. In this paper, a method for exciting all transmitters in every...... corresponding to the excitation waveforms, the different transmitters can be decoded at the receiver. The matched filter of a specific waveform will allow information only from this waveform to pass through, thereby separating it from the other waveforms. This means that all transmitters can be used in every...... transmission, and the information from the different transmitters can be separated instantaneously. Compared to traditional synthetic transmit aperture (STA) imaging, in which the different transmitters are excited sequentially, more energy is transmitted in every transmission, and a better signal...

Review of footnotes and annotations to the 1949–2013 tables of standard atomic weights and tables of isotopic compositions of the elements (IUPAC Technical Report)

Science.gov (United States)

Coplen, Tyler B.; Holden, Norman E.

2016-01-01

The Commission on Isotopic Abundances and Atomic Weights uses annotations given in footnotes that are an integral part of the Tables of Standard Atomic Weights to alert users to the possibilities of quite extraordinary occurrences, as well as sources with abnormal atomic-weight values outside an otherwise acceptable range. The basic need for footnotes to the Standard Atomic Weights Table and equivalent annotations to the Table of Isotopic Compositions of the Elements arises from the necessity to provide users with information that is relevant to one or more elements, but that cannot be provided using numerical data in columns. Any desire to increase additional information conveyed by annotations to these Tables is tempered by the need to preserve a compact format and a style that can alert users, who would not be inclined to consult either the last full element-by-element review or the full text of a current Standard Atomic Weights of the Elements report. Since 1989, the footnotes of the Tables of Standard Atomic Weights and the annotations in column 5 of the Table of Isotopic Compositions of the Elements have been harmonized by use of three lowercase footnotes, “g”, “m”, and “r”, that signify geologically exceptionally specimens (“g”), modified isotopic compositions in material subjected to undisclosed or inadvertent isotopic fractionation (“m”), and the range in isotopic composition of normal terrestrial material prevents more precise atomic-weight value being given (“r”). As some elements are assigned intervals for their standard atomic-weight values (applies to 12 elements since 2009), footnotes “g” and “r” are no longer needed for these elements.

Rewiring protein synthesis: From natural to synthetic amino acids.

Science.gov (United States)

Fan, Yongqiang; Evans, Christopher R; Ling, Jiqiang

2017-11-01

The protein synthesis machinery uses 22 natural amino acids as building blocks that faithfully decode the genetic information. Such fidelity is controlled at multiple steps and can be compromised in nature and in the laboratory to rewire protein synthesis with natural and synthetic amino acids. This review summarizes the major quality control mechanisms during protein synthesis, including aminoacyl-tRNA synthetases, elongation factors, and the ribosome. We will discuss evolution and engineering of such components that allow incorporation of natural and synthetic amino acids at positions that deviate from the standard genetic code. The protein synthesis machinery is highly selective, yet not fixed, for the correct amino acids that match the mRNA codons. Ambiguous translation of a codon with multiple amino acids or complete reassignment of a codon with a synthetic amino acid diversifies the proteome. Expanding the genetic code with synthetic amino acids through rewiring protein synthesis has broad applications in synthetic biology and chemical biology. Biochemical, structural, and genetic studies of the translational quality control mechanisms are not only crucial to understand the physiological role of translational fidelity and evolution of the genetic code, but also enable us to better design biological parts to expand the proteomes of synthetic organisms. This article is part of a Special Issue entitled "Biochemistry of Synthetic Biology - Recent Developments" Guest Editor: Dr. Ilka Heinemann and Dr. Patrick O'Donoghue. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

High resolution three-dimensional robotic synthetic tracked aperture ultrasound imaging: feasibility study

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, Haichong K.; Fang, Ting Yun; Finocchi, Rodolfo; Boctor, Emad M.

2017-03-01

Three dimensional (3D) ultrasound imaging is becoming a standard mode for medical ultrasound diagnoses. Conventional 3D ultrasound imaging is mostly scanned either by using a two dimensional matrix array or by motorizing a one dimensional array in the elevation direction. However, the former system is not widely assessable due to its cost, and the latter one has limited resolution and field-of-view in the elevation axis. Here, we propose a 3D ultrasound imaging system based on the synthetic tracked aperture approach, in which a robotic arm is used to provide accurate tracking and motion. While the ultrasound probe is moved by a robotic arm, each probe position is tracked and can be used to reconstruct a wider field-of-view as there are no physical barriers that restrict the elevational scanning. At the same time, synthetic aperture beamforming provides a better resolution in the elevation axis. To synthesize the elevational information, the single focal point is regarded as the virtual element, and forward and backward delay-andsum are applied to the radio-frequency (RF) data collected through the volume. The concept is experimentally validated using a general ultrasound phantom, and the elevational resolution improvement of 2.54 and 2.13 times was measured at the target depths of 20 mm and 110 mm, respectively.

Microbial assessment of un-bottled synthetic juices sold in Peshawar

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Abid, H.; Ali, J.; Hussain, A.

2010-01-01

Un-bottled synthetic juices are sold by street vendors and hawkers raising the concern about their safety. To examine the quality of un-bottled synthetic beverages from different locations of Peshawar city using Standard techniques. A total of 56 samples of un-bottled synthetic juices were collected from 8 different locations of Peshawar City and analyzed for Total Plate Count, Total Coliform Bacteria, Total Fecal Coliform bacteria E. coli, Yeast and Mould. In all localities, the street vended un-bottled synthetic juices were found hygienically of poor quality as all had high total plate count which ranged from 2 x 102 to 5 x 107 and total coliform bacteria ranged from 110 MPN/ml. Total Fecal Coliform ranged from < 0.3 to 110M PN/ml. The presence of E coli, contamination was found in (25) 44 % Samples, while all the analyzed samples were contaminated with yeasts and moulds. All un-bottled synthetic juices sold on roadside were highly contaminated with disease causing microorganisms. Policy message: Periodic monitoring of street beverage should be carried out to make them safe for consumption. (author)

Expanding beyond canonical metabolism: Interfacing alternative elements, synthetic biology, and metabolic engineering

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kevin B. Reed

2018-03-01

Full Text Available Metabolic engineering offers an exquisite capacity to produce new molecules in a renewable manner. However, most industrial applications have focused on only a small subset of elements from the periodic table, centered around carbon biochemistry. This review aims to illustrate the expanse of chemical elements that can currently (and potentially be integrated into useful products using cellular systems. Specifically, we describe recent advances in expanding the cellular scope to include the halogens, selenium and the metalloids, and a variety of metal incorporations. These examples range from small molecules, heteroatom-linked uncommon elements, and natural products to biomining and nanotechnology applications. Collectively, this review covers the promise of an expanded range of elemental incorporations and the future impacts it may have on biotechnology.

Rayleigh-based, multi-element coral thermometry: A biomineralization approach to developing climate proxies

Science.gov (United States)

Gaetani, G.A.; Cohen, A.L.; Wang, Z.; Crusius, John

2011-01-01

This study presents a new approach to coral thermometry that deconvolves the influence of water temperature on skeleton composition from that of “vital effects”, and has the potential to provide estimates of growth temperatures that are accurate to within a few tenths of a degree Celsius from both tropical and cold-water corals. Our results provide support for a physico-chemical model of coral biomineralization, and imply that Mg2+ substitutes directly for Ca2+ in biogenic aragonite. Recent studies have identified Rayleigh fractionation as an important influence on the elemental composition of coral skeletons. Daily, seasonal and interannual variations in the amount of aragonite precipitated by corals from each “batch” of calcifying fluid can explain why the temperature dependencies of elemental ratios in coral skeleton differ from those of abiogenic aragonites, and are highly variable among individual corals. On the basis of this new insight into the origin of “vital effects” in coral skeleton, we developed a Rayleigh-based, multi-element approach to coral thermometry. Temperature is resolved from the Rayleigh fractionation signal by combining information from multiple element ratios (e.g., Mg/Ca, Sr/Ca, Ba/Ca) to produce a mathematically over-constrained system of Rayleigh equations. Unlike conventional coral thermometers, this approach does not rely on an initial calibration of coral skeletal composition to an instrumental temperature record. Rather, considering coral skeletogenesis as a biologically mediated, physico-chemical process provides a means to extract temperature information from the skeleton composition using the Rayleigh equation and a set of experimentally determined partition coefficients. Because this approach is based on a quantitative understanding of the mechanism that produces the “vital effect” it should be possible to apply it both across scleractinian species and to corals growing in vastly different environments. Where

Development of Multi-Scale Finite Element Analysis Codes for High Formability Sheet Metal Generation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nnakamachi, Eiji; Kuramae, Hiroyuki; Ngoc Tam, Nguyen; Nakamura, Yasunori; Sakamoto, Hidetoshi; Morimoto, Hideo

2007-01-01

In this study, the dynamic- and static-explicit multi-scale finite element (F.E.) codes are developed by employing the homogenization method, the crystalplasticity constitutive equation and SEM-EBSD measurement based polycrystal model. These can predict the crystal morphological change and the hardening evolution at the micro level, and the macroscopic plastic anisotropy evolution. These codes are applied to analyze the asymmetrical rolling process, which is introduced to control the crystal texture of the sheet metal for generating a high formability sheet metal. These codes can predict the yield surface and the sheet formability by analyzing the strain path dependent yield, the simple sheet forming process, such as the limit dome height test and the cylindrical deep drawing problems. It shows that the shear dominant rolling process, such as the asymmetric rolling, generates ''high formability'' textures and eventually the high formability sheet. The texture evolution and the high formability of the newly generated sheet metal experimentally were confirmed by the SEM-EBSD measurement and LDH test. It is concluded that these explicit type crystallographic homogenized multi-scale F.E. code could be a comprehensive tool to predict the plastic induced texture evolution, anisotropy and formability by the rolling process and the limit dome height test analyses

Effects of Process Parameters on Copper Powder Compaction Process Using Multi-Particle Finite Element Method

Science.gov (United States)

Güner, F.; Sofuoğlu, H.

2018-01-01

Powder metallurgy (PM) has been widely used in several industries; especially automotive and aerospace industries and powder metallurgy products grow up every year. The mechanical properties of the final product that is obtained by cold compaction and sintering in powder metallurgy are closely related to the final relative density of the process. The distribution of the relative density in the die is affected by parameters such as compaction velocity, friction coefficient and temperature. Moreover, most of the numerical studies utilizing finite element approaches treat the examined environment as a continuous media with uniformly homogeneous porosity whereas Multi-Particle Finite Element Method (MPFEM) treats every particles as an individual body. In MPFEM, each of the particles can be defined as an elastic- plastic deformable body, so the interactions of the particles with each other and the die wall can be investigated. In this study, each particle was modelled and analyzed as individual deformable body with 3D tetrahedral elements by using MPFEM approach. This study, therefore, was performed to investigate the effects of different temperatures and compaction velocities on stress distribution and deformations of copper powders of 200 µm-diameter in compaction process. Furthermore, 3-D MPFEM model utilized von Mises material model and constant coefficient of friction of μ=0.05. In addition to MPFEM approach, continuum modelling approach was also performed for comparison purposes.

Integrative systems and synthetic biology of cell-matrix adhesion sites.

Science.gov (United States)

Zamir, Eli

2016-09-02

The complexity of cell-matrix adhesion convolves its roles in the development and functioning of multicellular organisms and their evolutionary tinkering. Cell-matrix adhesion is mediated by sites along the plasma membrane that anchor the actin cytoskeleton to the matrix via a large number of proteins, collectively called the integrin adhesome. Fundamental challenges for understanding how cell-matrix adhesion sites assemble and function arise from their multi-functionality, rapid dynamics, large number of components and molecular diversity. Systems biology faces these challenges in its strive to understand how the integrin adhesome gives rise to functional adhesion sites. Synthetic biology enables engineering intracellular modules and circuits with properties of interest. In this review I discuss some of the fundamental questions in systems biology of cell-matrix adhesion and how synthetic biology can help addressing them.

A FUZZY LOGIC-BASED APPROACH FOR THE DETECTION OF FLOODED VEGETATION BY MEANS OF SYNTHETIC APERTURE RADAR DATA

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

V. Tsyganskaya

2016-06-01

Full Text Available In this paper an algorithm designed to map flooded vegetation from synthetic aperture radar (SAR imagery is introduced. The approach is based on fuzzy logic which enables to deal with the ambiguity of SAR data and to integrate multiple ancillary data containing topographical information, simple hydraulic considerations and land cover information. This allows the exclusion of image elements with a backscatter value similar to flooded vegetation, to significantly reduce misclassification errors. The flooded vegetation mapping procedure is tested on a flood event that occurred in Germany over parts of the Saale catchment on January 2011 using a time series of high resolution TerraSAR-X data covering the time interval from 2009 to 2015. The results show that the analysis of multi-temporal X-band data combined with ancillary data using a fuzzy logic-based approach permits the detection of flooded vegetation areas.

Traceability of synthetic drugs by position-specific deuterium isotope ratio analysis

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Brenna, Elisabetta [Dipartimento di Chimica, Materiali e di Ingegneria Chimica del Politecnico di Milano and Istituto CNR per la Chimica del Riconoscimento Molecolare, Via Mancinelli 7, Milan I-20131 (Italy)], E-mail: elisabetta.brenna@polimi.it; Fronza, Giovanni [Dipartimento di Chimica, Materiali e di Ingegneria Chimica del Politecnico di Milano (Italy) and Instituto CNR per la Chimica del Riconoscimento Molecolare, Via Mancinelli 7, Milan I-20131 (Italy)], E-mail: giovanni.fronza@polimi.it; Fuganti, Claudio [Dipartimento di Chimica, Materiali e di Ingegneria Chimica del Politecnico di Milano (Italy) and Istituto CNR per la Chimica del Riconoscimento Molecolare, Via Mancinelli 7, Milan I-20131 (Italy)

2007-10-10

Samples of fluoxetine of different origin were submitted to natural abundance {sup 2}H NMR spectroscopy. The deuterium content at the various sites of the molecule was found to depend on its synthetic history. Hints on the synthetic procedure can be obtained by comparison with standard compounds, whose synthesis is known. These preliminary results give an idea of the potential of site-specific isotope ratio analysis in the fight against patent infringement and drug counterfeiting.

Traceability of synthetic drugs by position-specific deuterium isotope ratio analysis

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Brenna, Elisabetta; Fronza, Giovanni; Fuganti, Claudio

2007-01-01

Samples of fluoxetine of different origin were submitted to natural abundance 2 H NMR spectroscopy. The deuterium content at the various sites of the molecule was found to depend on its synthetic history. Hints on the synthetic procedure can be obtained by comparison with standard compounds, whose synthesis is known. These preliminary results give an idea of the potential of site-specific isotope ratio analysis in the fight against patent infringement and drug counterfeiting

Steel desulphurization with synthetic slag

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Heput, T.

2007-02-01

Full Text Available Generally speaking, sulphur is considered a harmful element for steel quality, reason why all the technological steps are being taken in order to eliminate it from the metal bath. This paper deals with the influence of the chemical composition, on the slag quantity and of the bath stirring condition upon the desulphurization process in the casting ladle by treatment with synthetic slag. The experiments were made at an open-hearth plant with the steel tapping in two ladles (the desulphurization was made with synthetic slag at one ladle while the other one was considered standard and at the electric steel plant and for the synthetic slag formation a mix was used, made, according to several receipts, of: lime (50-75%, fluorine (0-17%, bauxite (0-32% and aluminous slag (8-22%. The data were processed in the calculation programs EXCEL and MATLAB, which resulted in a series of correlations between the desulphurization degree and the chemical composition of the slag, respectively the slag quantity both for the charges bubbled with Argon and the unbubbled ones.

En general, el azufre es considerado un elemento nocivo para la calidad del acero y, por eso, en la práctica, se toman todas las medidas de orden tecnológico para su eliminación del baño metálico. En este trabajo se analiza la influencia de la composición química, de la cantidad de escoria y del estado de agitación del baño sobre el proceso de desulfuración en la cuchara para fundir por tratamiento con escoria sintética. Los experimentos se han realizado en una acería evacuando el acero en dos ollas (en una cuchara se efectuó la desulfuración con escoria sintética y a la otra se consideró como patrón y en un acería eléctrica y para la formación de la escoria sintética se utilizó una mezcla producida según muchas recetas, formada por: cal (50-75%, fluorina (0-17%, bauxita (0-32% y escoria aluminosa (8-22%. Los datos han sido procesados en los programas de c

American National Standard ANSI/ANS-8.15-1983: Nuclear criticality control of special actinide elements

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Brewer, R.W.; Pruvost, N.L.; Rombough, C.T.

1996-01-01

The American National Standard, 'Nuclear Criticality Safety in Operations with Fissionable Materials Outside Reactors' ANSI/ANS-8.1- 1983 provides guidance for the nuclides [sup 233]U, [sup 235]U, and [sup 239]Pu These three nuclides are of primary interest in out-of-reactor criticality safety since they are the most commonly encountered in the vast majority of operations. However, some operations can involve nuclides other than 'U, 'U, and 'Pu in sufficient quantities that their effect on criticality safety could be of concern. The American National Standard, 'Nuclear Criticality Control of Special Actinide Elements' ANSI/ANS-8.'15-1983 (Ref 2), provides guidance for fifteen such nuclides

Ultraviolet-light-induced multi-physics behaviors of 0–3 polarized transparent PLZT plates: II. Finite element analysis and validation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Luo, Quantian; Tong, Liyong

2011-01-01

This paper presents a novel finite element formulation for 0–3 polarized PbLaZrTi (PLZT) plates and a comparison of the predicted and measured bending displacements. The coupled multi-physics fields and Hamilton's principle for piezoelectric (PZT) materials are first extended to PLZT ceramics by including the anomalous photovoltaic and photo-thermal effects. The photo-induced non-uniform electrical field and mechanical strains across the thickness are modeled in the present finite element formulation for 0–3 polarized PLZT plates, and the associated actuator and sensor equations are derived. The transverse displacements of a 0–3 polarized PLZT plate are predicted using the present finite element formulation and compared with the measured data given in part I. A reasonably good correlation is noted for the transverse displacements at the ten measurement points

Muddy Learning: Evaluating Learning in Multi-User Computer-Based Environments

National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

McArthur, David

1998-01-01

... (Multiple User Synthetic Environments), and MOOs (Multi-User Object Oriented), enables users to create new "rooms" in virtual worlds, define their own personnaes, and engage visitors in rich dialogues...

[Ultra-Fine Pressed Powder Pellet Sample Preparation XRF Determination of Multi-Elements and Carbon Dioxide in Carbonate].

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Xiao-li; An, Shu-qing; Xu, Tie-min; Liu, Yi-bo; Zhang, Li-juan; Zeng, Jiang-ping; Wang, Na

2015-06-01

The main analysis error of pressed powder pellet of carbonate comes from particle-size effect and mineral effect. So in the article in order to eliminate the particle-size effect, the ultrafine pressed powder pellet sample preparation is used to the determination of multi-elements and carbon-dioxide in carbonate. To prepare the ultrafine powder the FRITSCH planetary Micro Mill machine and tungsten carbide media is utilized. To conquer the conglomeration during the process of grinding, the wet grinding is preferred. The surface morphology of the pellet is more smooth and neat, the Compton scatter effect is reduced with the decrease in particle size. The intensity of the spectral line is varied with the change of the particle size, generally the intensity of the spectral line is increased with the decrease in the particle size. But when the particle size of more than one component of the material is decreased, the intensity of the spectral line may increase for S, Si, Mg, or decrease for Ca, Al, Ti, K, which depend on the respective mass absorption coefficient . The change of the composition of the phase with milling is also researched. The incident depth of respective element is given from theoretical calculation. When the sample is grounded to the particle size of less than the penetration depth of all the analyte, the effect of the particle size on the intensity of the spectral line is much reduced. In the experiment, when grounded the sample to less than 8 μm(d95), the particle-size effect is much eliminated, with the correction method of theoretical α coefficient and the empirical coefficient, 14 major, minor and trace element in the carbonate can be determined accurately. And the precision of the method is much improved with RSD element, the fluorescence yield is low and the interference is serious. With the manual multi-layer crystal PX4, coarse collimator, empirical correction, X-ray spectrometer can be used to determine the carbon dioxide in the carbonate

Developing a synthetic national population to investigate the impact of different cardiovascular disease risk management strategies: A derivation and validation study.

Science.gov (United States)

Knight, Josh; Wells, Susan; Marshall, Roger; Exeter, Daniel; Jackson, Rod

2017-01-01

Many national cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk factor management guidelines now recommend that drug treatment decisions should be informed primarily by patients' multi-variable predicted risk of CVD, rather than on the basis of single risk factor thresholds. To investigate the potential impact of treatment guidelines based on CVD risk thresholds at a national level requires individual level data representing the multi-variable CVD risk factor profiles for a country's total adult population. As these data are seldom, if ever, available, we aimed to create a synthetic population, representing the joint CVD risk factor distributions of the adult New Zealand population. A synthetic population of 2,451,278 individuals, representing the actual age, gender, ethnicity and social deprivation composition of people aged 30-84 years who completed the 2013 New Zealand census was generated using Monte Carlo sampling. Each 'synthetic' person was then probabilistically assigned values of the remaining cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk factors required for predicting their CVD risk, based on data from the national census national hospitalisation and drug dispensing databases and a large regional cohort study, using Monte Carlo sampling and multiple imputation. Where possible, the synthetic population CVD risk distributions for each non-demographic risk factor were validated against independent New Zealand data sources. We were able to develop a synthetic national population with realistic multi-variable CVD risk characteristics. The construction of this population is the first step in the development of a micro-simulation model intended to investigate the likely impact of a range of national CVD risk management strategies that will inform CVD risk management guideline updates in New Zealand and elsewhere.

Monte Carlo modeling of Standard Model multi-boson production processes for $\\sqrt{s} = 13$ TeV ATLAS analyses

CERN Document Server

Li, Shu; The ATLAS collaboration

2017-01-01

Proceeding for the poster presentation at LHCP2017, Shanghai, China on the topic of "Monte Carlo modeling of Standard Model multi-boson production processes for $\\sqrt{s} = 13$ TeV ATLAS analyses" (ATL-PHYS-SLIDE-2017-265 https://cds.cern.ch/record/2265389) Deadline: 01/09/2017

Specific gravity and antibacterial assays of some synthetic industrial ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

... naturalcounterpart may contain certain antibacterial agents with similar effects to standard Chloramphenicol used in this work. However, further studies are required to justify the safety of the application of SIEO as antimicrobial agents. Keywords: synthetic fragrance, Staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli, human health ...

Multi-element measurements in mexican cigarette tobacco

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Vega-Carrillo, H.R.; Texas Univ., Austin, TX; Zacatecas Univ.; Iskander, F.Y.; Manzanares-Acuna, E.

1995-01-01

The concentration of 21 elements in cigarette tobacco in nine different brands manufactured and commercially available in Mexico has been determined using neutron activation analysis. The concentration range of the measured elements (in μg g -1 ) were: As, (four brands) <0.55-3.24; Ba, 64-251; Br, (four brands) 49-136; Ce, <0.3-1.7; Co, 0.29-0.55, Cr, <0.8-2.4; Cs, 0.091-0.40; Eu, <0.03; Fe, 420-680; Hf, <0.03-0.13; K, (four brands) 18300-40300; La, (four brands) < 0.2-0.66; Na, (four brands) 309-566; Rb, 19-50; Sb, <0.7; Sc, 0.13-0.22; Se, <0.7; Sm, (four brands) 0.07-0.14; Sr, 227-472; Th, < 0.1-0.17 and Zn, 14-56. The results are compared with the literature values for the concentration of the above elements in cigarette tobacco from other countries. (author) 18 refs.; 2 tabs

Design of a 0.13-μm CMOS cascade expandable ΣΔ modulator for multi-standard RF telecom systems

Science.gov (United States)

Morgado, Alonso; del Río, Rocío; de la Rosa, José M.

2007-05-01

This paper reports a 130-nm CMOS programmable cascade ΣΔ modulator for multi-standard wireless terminals, capable of operating on three standards: GSM, Bluetooth and UMTS. The modulator is reconfigured at both architecture- and circuit- level in order to adapt its performance to the different standards specifications with optimized power consumption. The design of the building blocks is based upon a top-down CAD methodology that combines simulation and statistical optimization at different levels of the system hierarchy. Transistor-level simulations show correct operation for all standards, featuring 13-bit, 11.3-bit and 9-bit effective resolution within 200-kHz, 1-MHz and 4-MHz bandwidth, respectively.

The adjuvant potential of synthetic alkylglycerols.

Science.gov (United States)

Acevedo, Reinaldo; Gil, Danay; del Campo, Judith; Bracho, Gustavo; Valdés, Yolanda; Pérez, Oliver

2006-04-12

Alkylglycerols (AGs) have shown immune stimulant and adjuvant activity in many studies, but natural sources are not so accessible and their extraction from them is very complicated. Therefore, a group of chemists at IFAL have synthesized AG analogs. The aim of this work was to evaluate the adjuvant potential of different synthetic AGs. A mix of ovoalbumin (Ova) and AGs increase anti-Ova IgG antibodies production in sera of immunized mice. The predominant subclass was IgG1 although higher levels of IgG2a were observed as the carbon chain length of AGs increased. AGs also induced the production of IL-12 and nitric oxide (NO) in the U937 human histiocyte and J774 mouse macrophage cell lines, respectively. These results indicate that synthetic AGs are effective adjuvants for the standardized antigen, Ova.

Synthetic Biology with Cytochromes P450 Using Photosynthetic Chassis

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Gnanasekaran, Thiyagarajan

, this modern field of synthetic biology is completely dependent on the nature of the chassis - the host organisms - for its endeavor. Of all the chassis, photosynthetic organisms such as cyanobacteria and plants gains special attention due to the remarkable amount of sunlight that is striking the Earth...... in cyanobacteria and plant chloroplasts for the purpose of light driven synthesis of bioactive compounds by using synthetic biology approaches. As model pathways, in this thesis, the pathway involved in the synthesis of the cyanogenic glucoside dhurrin from Sorghum bicolor, and the pathway involved......Synthetic biology is a rapidly growing engineering discipline in biology. It aims at building novel biological systems that do not exist in nature by selecting the interchangeable standardized biological parts that are already available in the nature, and assembling them in a specific order. Today...

Establishing a protocol for element determination in human nail clippings by neutron activation analysis

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sanches, Thalita Pinheiro; Saiki, Mitiko

2011-01-01

Human nail samples have been analyzed to evaluate occupational exposure, nutritional status and to diagnose certain diseases. However, sampling and washing protocols for nail analyses vary from study to study not allowing comparisons between studies. One of the difficulties in analyzing nail samples is to eliminate only surface contamination without removing elements of interest in this tissue. In the present study, a protocol was defined in order to obtain reliable results of element concentrations in human nail clippings. Nail clippings collected from all 10 fingers or toes were previously pre cleaned using an ethyl alcohol solution to eliminate microbes. Then, the clippings were cut in small pieces and submitted to different reagents for washing by shaking. Neutron activation analysis (NAA) was applied for nail samples analysis which consisted of irradiating aliquots of samples together with synthetic elemental standards in the IEA-R1 nuclear research reactor followed by gamma ray spectrometry. Comparisons made between the results obtained for nails submitted to different reagents for cleaning indicated that the procedure using acetone and Triton X100 solution is more effective than that of nitric acid solution. Analyses in triplicates of a nail sample indicated results with relative standard deviations lower than 15% for most of elements, showing the homogeneity of the prepared sample. Qualitative analyses of different nail polishes showed that the presence of elements determined in the present study is negligible in these products. Quality control of the analytical results indicated that the applied NAA procedure is adequate for human nail analysis. (author)

INTRIGOSS: A new Library of High Resolution Synthetic Spectra

Science.gov (United States)

Franchini, Mariagrazia; Morossi, Carlo; Di Marcancantonio, Paolo; Chavez, Miguel; GES-Builders

2018-01-01

INTRIGOSS (INaf Trieste Grid Of Synthetic Spectra) is a new High Resolution (HiRes) synthetic spectral library designed for studying F, G, and K stars. The library is based on atmosphere models computed with specified individual element abundances via ATLAS12 code. Normalized SPectra (NSP) and surface Flux SPectra (FSP), in the 4800-5400 Å wavelength range, were computed by means of the SPECTRUM code. The synthetic spectra are computed with an atomic and bi-atomic molecular line list including "bona fide" Predicted Lines (PLs) built by tuning loggf to reproduce very high SNR Solar spectrum and the UVES-U580 spectra of five cool giants extracted from the Gaia-ESO survey (GES). The astrophysical gf-values were then assessed by using more than 2000 stars with homogenous and accurate atmosphere parameters and detailed chemical composition from GES. The validity and greater accuracy of INTRIGOSS NSPs and FSPs with respect to other available spectral libraries is discussed. INTRIGOSS will be available on the web and will be a valuable tool for both stellar atmospheric parameters and stellar population studies.

Multi-element analyses of earthworms for radioecology and ecotoxicology

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yoshida, S.; Peijnenburg, W.; Muramatsu, Y.

2004-01-01

Increasing concern about environmental radiation protection has raised awareness that more information is required on the transfer and accumulation of radionuclides in the biological compartments of ecosystems. ICRP (International Commission on Radiological Protection) selected earthworm as one of the reference organisms in their radiation protection recommendations. Earthworms play an important role in ecosystems, and might be a good indicator of soil contamination and its effect on the ecosystem. The elemental composition of earthworms gives useful information on background levels and possible accumulation of metals as well as related radionuclides. In addition, a change of the elemental composition itself might be a possible indicator of the effect on the earthworm and/or ecosystem. However, data for the elemental composition of earthworms are limited except for some specific heavy metals such as Cd, Zn, Pb and Cu. In this study, earthworms and their growth media were analyzed for more than 30 elements, including radionuclide related elements such as Cs, Sr, Th and U, in order to obtain the basic information on the transfer parameters of the elements. The earthworms analyzed were fed in the laboratory or collected in the environment. The concentrations and transfer factors of the elements were determined both for laboratory and natural conditions. The controlling factors on the transfer parameters such as the bioavailability of the elements in the soils will also be discussed. (author)

Simultaneous Multi-Element Electrothermal Atomic Absorption ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

width of transmittance profile 120 pm, a linear CCD array attached to a PC and a tube atomizer furnished with a carbon fibre collector. In the experiments simultaneous determination of 18 elements was performed in the mixed solutions at the mg ...

STUDIES OF CHOSEN TOXIC ELEMENTS CONCENTRATION IN MULTIFLOWER BEE HONEY

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ewa Popiela

2011-04-01

Full Text Available 72 544x376 Normal 0 21 false false false  The aim of the study was to determine the bioaccumulation level of chosen toxic elements (Zn, Cu, Pb, As and Cd in multiflower honey collected from Brzeg area. Biological material (honey was mineralized using the microwave technique at an elevated pressure in the microprocessor station of pressure in the type Mars 5. Quantitative analysis of elements (As, Cd, Cu, Pb and Zn was performed by plasma spectrometry method using a Varian ICP-AES apparatus. The presence of toxic elements was determined in examined biological materials. The elements fallowed the fallowing decreasing order with respect to their content of honey: Zn>Cu>Pb>As>Cd. The average concentrations of studied elements observed in multi-flower honey were as follows: 6.24 mg.kg-1 of zinc, 2.75 mg.kg-1 of copper, 0.53, 0.071, 0.042 mg.kg-1of lead, arsenic and cadmium, respectively. Lead was the most problematic in bee honey because its average content exceeded the maximum acceptable concentration. Additionally, this metal concentration was 60% higher in studied samples than allowable standard of lead content.doi:10.5219/134 

Synthetic Study of 2.5-D ATEM Based on Finite Element Method

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Qiang, Jianke; Zhou, Junjie; Cai, Hongzhu

2013-01-01

be amplified in the process of Laplace transform and Fourier transform. In order to get accurate result, the error should be well controlled in every procedure. The induced electromagnetic force can be computed accurately from vertical magnetic component by applying Lagrange interpolation. The synthetic model...... to the anomalous field which can avoid the singularity problem caused by the source which can excite the anomalous EM field. The EM source can be imposed to our process by incorporate the background EM field. The computation error can be accumulated due to the large variation of EM field and it can also...

The Virtual Observatory Service TheoSSA: Establishing a Database of Synthetic Stellar Flux Standards I. NLTE Spectral Analysis of the DA-Type White Dwarf G191-B2B *,**,***,****

Science.gov (United States)

Rauch, T.; Werner, K.; Bohlin, R.; Kruk, J. W.

2013-01-01

Hydrogen-rich, DA-type white dwarfs are particularly suited as primary standard stars for flux calibration. State-of-the-art NLTE models consider opacities of species up to trans-iron elements and provide reliable synthetic stellar-atmosphere spectra to compare with observations. Aims. We will establish a database of theoretical spectra of stellar flux standards that are easily accessible via a web interface. Methods. In the framework of the Virtual Observatory, the German Astrophysical Virtual Observatory developed the registered service TheoSSA. It provides easy access to stellar spectral energy distributions (SEDs) and is intended to ingest SEDs calculated by any model-atmosphere code. In case of the DA white dwarf G191-B2B, we demonstrate that the model reproduces not only its overall continuum shape but also the numerous metal lines exhibited in its ultraviolet spectrum. Results. TheoSSA is in operation and contains presently a variety of SEDs for DA-type white dwarfs. It will be extended in the near future and can host SEDs of all primary and secondary flux standards. The spectral analysis of G191-B2B has shown that our hydrostatic models reproduce the observations best at Teff =60 000 +/- 2000K and log g=7.60 +/- 0.05.We newly identified Fe vi, Ni vi, and Zn iv lines. For the first time, we determined the photospheric zinc abundance with a logarithmic mass fraction of -4.89 (7.5 × solar). The abundances of He (upper limit), C, N, O, Al, Si, O, P, S, Fe, Ni, Ge, and Sn were precisely determined. Upper abundance limits of about 10% solar were derived for Ti, Cr, Mn, and Co. Conclusions. The TheoSSA database of theoretical SEDs of stellar flux standards guarantees that the flux calibration of all astronomical data and cross-calibration between different instruments can be based on the same models and SEDs calculated with different model-atmosphere codes and are easy to compare.

Identification of multi-loci hubs from 4C-seq demonstrates the functional importance of simultaneous interactions.

Science.gov (United States)

Jiang, Tingting; Raviram, Ramya; Snetkova, Valentina; Rocha, Pedro P; Proudhon, Charlotte; Badri, Sana; Bonneau, Richard; Skok, Jane A; Kluger, Yuval

2016-10-14

Use of low resolution single cell DNA FISH and population based high resolution chromosome conformation capture techniques have highlighted the importance of pairwise chromatin interactions in gene regulation. However, it is unlikely that associations involving regulatory elements act in isolation of other interacting partners that also influence their impact. Indeed, the influence of multi-loci interactions remains something of an enigma as beyond low-resolution DNA FISH we do not have the appropriate tools to analyze these. Here we present a method that uses standard 4C-seq data to identify multi-loci interactions from the same cell. We demonstrate the feasibility of our method using 4C-seq data sets that identify known pairwise and novel tri-loci interactions involving the Tcrb and Igk antigen receptor enhancers. We further show that the three Igk enhancers, MiEκ, 3'Eκ and Edκ, interact simultaneously in this super-enhancer cluster, which add to our previous findings showing that loss of one element decreases interactions between all three elements as well as reducing their transcriptional output. These findings underscore the functional importance of simultaneous interactions and provide new insight into the relationship between enhancer elements. Our method opens the door for studying multi-loci interactions and their impact on gene regulation in other biological settings. © The Author(s) 2016. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Nucleic Acids Research.

Element-by-element parallel spectral-element methods for 3-D teleseismic wave modeling

KAUST Repository

Liu, Shaolin

2017-09-28

The development of an efficient algorithm for teleseismic wave field modeling is valuable for calculating the gradients of the misfit function (termed misfit gradients) or Fréchet derivatives when the teleseismic waveform is used for adjoint tomography. Here, we introduce an element-by-element parallel spectral-element method (EBE-SEM) for the efficient modeling of teleseismic wave field propagation in a reduced geology model. Under the plane-wave assumption, the frequency-wavenumber (FK) technique is implemented to compute the boundary wave field used to construct the boundary condition of the teleseismic wave incidence. To reduce the memory required for the storage of the boundary wave field for the incidence boundary condition, a strategy is introduced to efficiently store the boundary wave field on the model boundary. The perfectly matched layers absorbing boundary condition (PML ABC) is formulated using the EBE-SEM to absorb the scattered wave field from the model interior. The misfit gradient can easily be constructed in each time step during the calculation of the adjoint wave field. Three synthetic examples demonstrate the validity of the EBE-SEM for use in teleseismic wave field modeling and the misfit gradient calculation.

Multi-element sewer slime impact pattern--a quantitative characteristic enabling identification of the source of heavy metal discharges into sewer systems.

Science.gov (United States)

Kintrup, J; Wünsch, G

2001-11-01

The capability of sewer slime to accumulate heavy metals from municipal wastewater can be exploited to identify the sources of sewage sludge pollution. Former investigations of sewer slime looked for a few elements only and could, therefore, not account for deviations of the enrichment efficiency of the slime or for irregularities from sampling. Results of ICP-MS multi element determinations were analyzed by multivariate statistical methods. A new dimensionless characteristic "sewer slime impact" is proposed, which is zero for unloaded samples. Patterns expressed in this data format specifically extract the information required to identify the type of pollution and polluter quicker and with less effort and cost than hitherto.

Elemental analysis of oum er rbia moroccan river-water Using icp-aes and chromatography

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zahry, F.; Bounakhla, M.; Labraimi, M.; Moutte, J.; Bilal, E.

2001-01-01

The analysis of water and suspended particulate matter (SPM) from Oum er Rbia Moroccan river for the content of 22 elements has been performed utilizing ICP-AES and chromatography methods. MPS samples were dissolved in nitric acid. The element analyzed are : Na, Mg, Al, Si, P, S, Cl, K, Ca, Ti, V, Cr, Mn, Fe, Co, Ni, Cu, Zn, Br, Ba and Pb. The detection limits are sufficient for most of the elements to be determined. Results were assessed for the accuracy by the analysis of a multi-elemental standard. The results for most of the elements obtained were accurate to about 2-15%. The objective of the analysis were to determine the geochemical areas on this river, to explain the mechanisms of sediment transport and nevertheless, to assess the pollution of the river by human activities. 48 samples were collected along the river, between its source in meddle atlas and the Atlantic ocean at Azemour city

Multi-Scale Modeling of an Integrated 3D Braided Composite with Applications to Helicopter Arm

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, Diantang; Chen, Li; Sun, Ying; Zhang, Yifan; Qian, Kun

2017-10-01

A study is conducted with the aim of developing multi-scale analytical method for designing the composite helicopter arm with three-dimensional (3D) five-directional braided structure. Based on the analysis of 3D braided microstructure, the multi-scale finite element modeling is developed. Finite element analysis on the load capacity of 3D five-directional braided composites helicopter arm is carried out using the software ABAQUS/Standard. The influences of the braiding angle and loading condition on the stress and strain distribution of the helicopter arm are simulated. The results show that the proposed multi-scale method is capable of accurately predicting the mechanical properties of 3D braided composites, validated by the comparison the stress-strain curves of meso-scale RVCs. Furthermore, it is found that the braiding angle is an important factor affecting the mechanical properties of 3D five-directional braided composite helicopter arm. Based on the optimized structure parameters, the nearly net-shaped composite helicopter arm is fabricated using a novel resin transfer mould (RTM) process.

Multi-line split DNA synthesis: a novel combinatorial method to make high quality peptide libraries

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ueno Shingo

2004-09-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background We developed a method to make a various high quality random peptide libraries for evolutionary protein engineering based on a combinatorial DNA synthesis. Results A split synthesis in codon units was performed with mixtures of bases optimally designed by using a Genetic Algorithm program. It required only standard DNA synthetic reagents and standard DNA synthesizers in three lines. This multi-line split DNA synthesis (MLSDS is simply realized by adding a mix-and-split process to normal DNA synthesis protocol. Superiority of MLSDS method over other methods was shown. We demonstrated the synthesis of oligonucleotide libraries with 1016 diversity, and the construction of a library with random sequence coding 120 amino acids containing few stop codons. Conclusions Owing to the flexibility of the MLSDS method, it will be able to design various "rational" libraries by using bioinformatics databases.

Multi-scale damage modelling in a ceramic matrix composite using a finite-element microstructure meshfree methodology

Science.gov (United States)

2016-01-01

The problem of multi-scale modelling of damage development in a SiC ceramic fibre-reinforced SiC matrix ceramic composite tube is addressed, with the objective of demonstrating the ability of the finite-element microstructure meshfree (FEMME) model to introduce important aspects of the microstructure into a larger scale model of the component. These are particularly the location, orientation and geometry of significant porosity and the load-carrying capability and quasi-brittle failure behaviour of the fibre tows. The FEMME model uses finite-element and cellular automata layers, connected by a meshfree layer, to efficiently couple the damage in the microstructure with the strain field at the component level. Comparison is made with experimental observations of damage development in an axially loaded composite tube, studied by X-ray computed tomography and digital volume correlation. Recommendations are made for further development of the model to achieve greater fidelity to the microstructure. This article is part of the themed issue ‘Multiscale modelling of the structural integrity of composite materials’. PMID:27242308

Free and Forced Vibrations of an Axially-Loaded Timoshenko Multi-Span Beam Carrying a Number of Various Concentrated Elements

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Yusuf Yesilce

2012-01-01

Full Text Available In the existing reports regarding free and forced vibrations of the beams, most of them studied a uniform beam carrying various concentrated elements using Bernoulli-Euler Beam Theory (BET but without axial force. The purpose of this paper is to utilize the numerical assembly technique to determine the exact frequency-response amplitudes of the axially-loaded Timoshenko multi-span beam carrying a number of various concentrated elements (including point masses, rotary inertias, linear springs and rotational springs and subjected to a harmonic concentrated force and the exact natural frequencies and mode shapes of the beam for the free vibration analysis. The model allows analyzing the influence of the shear and axial force and harmonic concentrated force effects and intermediate concentrated elements on the dynamic behavior of the beams by using Timoshenko Beam Theory (TBT. At first, the coefficient matrices for the intermediate concentrated elements, an intermediate pinned support, applied harmonic force, left-end support and right-end support of Timoshenko beam are derived. After the derivation of the coefficient matrices, the numerical assembly technique is used to establish the overall coefficient matrix for the whole vibrating system. Finally, solving the equations associated with the last overall coefficient matrix one determines the exact dynamic response amplitudes of the forced vibrating system corresponding to each specified exciting frequency of the harmonic force. Equating the determinant of the overall coefficient matrix to zero one determines the natural frequencies of the free vibrating system (the case of zero harmonic force and substituting the corresponding values of integration constants into the related eigenfunctions one determines the associated mode shapes. The calculated vibration amplitudes of the forced vibrating systems and the natural frequencies of the free vibrating systems are given in tables for different values of

Standardization of Data for Clinical Use and Research in Spinal Cord Injury

Science.gov (United States)

Biering-Sørensen, Fin; Noonan, Vanessa K.

2016-01-01

Increased survival after spinal cord injury (SCI) worldwide has enhanced the need for quality data that can be compared and shared between centers, countries, as well as across research studies, to better understand how best to prevent and treat SCI. Such data should be standardized and be able to be uniformly collected at any SCI center or within any SCI study. Standardization will make it possible to collect information from larger SCI populations for multi-center research studies. With this aim, the international SCI community has obtained consensus regarding the best available data and measures for use in SCI clinical practice and research. Reporting of SCI data is likewise standardized. Data elements are continuously updated and developed using an open and transparent process. There are ongoing internal, as well as external review processes, where all interested parties are encouraged to participate. The purpose of this review paper is to provide an overview of the initiatives to standardize data including the International Spinal Cord Society’s International SCI Data Sets and the National Institutes of Health, National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke Common Data Elements Project within SCI and discuss future opportunities. PMID:27529284

Application of PCA-LDA method to determine the geographical origin of tea based on determination of stable isotopes and multi-elements

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yuan Yuwei; Zhang Yongzhi; Yang Guiling; Zhang Zhiheng; Fu Haiyan; Han Wenyan; Li Shufang

2013-01-01

The ratio of stable isotope and concentration of multi-element in tea was determinated with isotope ratio mass spectrometry (IRMS) and inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS). Pattern recognition techniques with principal component analysis (PCA) and linear discriminant analysis (LDA) were used to classify the geographical origins of tea from Fujian, Shandong and Zhejiang province, and Yuyao, Jinhua and Xihu region of Zhejiang. The results showed the values of δ"1"5N, δ"1"3C, δD, δ"1"8O and the ratios of "2"0"6Pb/"2"0"7Pb, "2"0"8Pb/"2"0"6Pb and "8"7Sr/"8"6Sr in tea samples were different from different origins. There was also large variable for the concentrations of 27 mineral elements, such as Li, Be, Na and so on, with a specific character of origin. The method of PCA could be used to classify the geographical origin of tea from different origins but with a cross in the scatter plot. However, PCA combining with LDA could gave correct assignation percentages of 99% for the tea samples among Fujian, Shandong and Zhejiang provinces, and 87% for the tea samples among Yuyao, Jinhua and Xihu region of Zhejiang. These results revealed that it was possible and feasible to classify the geographical origin of tea by the method of PCA-LDA based on the determination of isotopes and multi-elements. (authors)

Undergraduate Student Peer Mentoring in a Multi-Faculty, Multi-Campus University Context

Science.gov (United States)

Townsend, Robert A.; Delves, Melinda; Kidd, Tracy; Figg, Bev

2011-01-01

This article explores research that utilised a mapping strategy to investigate the elements of peer mentoring and peer tutoring programs across a multi-campus Australian university. Peer mentoring, peer tutoring and peer learning activities at the multi-campus university are occurring in a manner that may be considered ad-hoc which does not…

k0-NAA past the turn of the century: problems, concepts, insights, prospects

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

De Corte, F.

2003-01-01

Based on experiences gained during two scientific meetings (MARC-V, Kona, HI, 2000 and 3rd k 0 Users Workshop, Bruges, 2001) that were marking the transition to the 21st century, a survey is given of recent and ongoing activities related to both fundamental developments and applications of k 0 -assisted NAA. Topics highlighted are: the nuclear data library, the calibration of the irradiation facility, the k 0 -concept in PGAA and the development of synthetic multi-element standards (SMELS) for QC/QA/validation of k 0 -NAA implemented in a laboratory. (author)

A provenance study of iron archaeological artefacts by Inductively Coupled Plasma-Mass Spectrometry multi-elemental analysis

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Desaulty, Anne-Marie; Mariet, Clarisse; Dillmann, Philippe; Joron, Jean Louis; Fluzin, Philippe

2008-01-01

Raw materials and wastes (i.e. ore, slag and laitier) from ironmaking archaeological sites have been analyzed in order to understand the behavior of the trace elements in the ancient ironmaking processes and to find the significant-most elements to characterize an iron making region. The ICP-MS (Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometry) appears to be an excellent technique for this type of studies. The comparison between the ICP-MS results obtained with the Standard Addition method and the INAA (Instrumental Neutron Activation Analyses) results proved that Sc, Co, (Ni), Rb, Cs, Ba, La, Ce, Sm, Eu, Yb, Hf, Th, U contents in the ores, slag and laitiers, and Co and Ni contents in the cast iron can be successfully determined by ICP-MS after wet acid digestion (low detection limits, good sensitivity and precision). By using significant trace element pairs (Yb/Ce, Ce/Th, La/Sc, U/Th, Nb/Y) present in the ores, laitiers and slag, it is possible to discriminate different French ironmaking regions as the Pays de Bray, Lorraine and Pays d'Ouche. These results open the way to further studies on the provenance of iron objects. The comparison between the ICP-MS results obtained with the Standard Calibration Curves method and the INAA results shows that matrices rich in iron, affect the ICP-MS analyses by suppressing the analytes signal. Further studies are necessary to improve understanding matrix effects

Standardization of Schwarz-Christoffel transformation for engineering design of semiconductor and hybrid integrated-circuit elements

Science.gov (United States)

Yashin, A. A.

1985-04-01

A semiconductor or hybrid structure into a calculable two-dimensional region mapped by the Schwarz-Christoffel transformation and a universal algorithm can be constructed on the basis of Maxwell's electro-magnetic-thermal similarity principle for engineering design of integrated-circuit elements. The design procedure involves conformal mapping of the original region into a polygon and then the latter into a rectangle with uniform field distribution, where conductances and capacitances are calculated, using tabulated standard mapping functions. Subsequent synthesis of a device requires inverse conformal mapping. Devices adaptable as integrated-circuit elements are high-resistance film resistors with periodic serration, distributed-resistance film attenuators with high transformation ratio, coplanar microstrip lines, bipolar transistors, directional couplers with distributed coupling to microstrip lines for microwave bulk devices, and quasirregular smooth matching transitions from asymmetric to coplanar microstrip lines.

High accuracy determination of trace elements in NIST standard reference materials by isotope dilution ICP-MS

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Paulsen, P.J.; Beary, E.S.

1996-01-01

At NIST (National Institute of Standards and Technology), ICP-MS ID (inductively coupled mass spectrometry isotope dilution) has been used to certify a wide range of elements in a variety of materials with high accuracy. Both the chemical preparation and instrumental procedures are simpler than with other ID mass spectrometric techniques. The ICP-MS has picogram/ml detection limits for most elements using fixed operating parameters. Chemical separations are required only to remove an interference (from molecular ions as well as isobaric atoms), or to pre-concentrate the analyte. For example, chemical separations were required for the analysis of SRM 2711, Montana II Soil, but not for boron in peach leaves, SRM 1547.(3 refs., 3 tabs., 2 figs

Modelling of the acoustic field of a multi-element HIFU array scattered by human ribs

Science.gov (United States)

Gélat, Pierre; ter Haar, Gail; Saffari, Nader

2011-09-01

The efficacy of high-intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU) for the treatment of a range of different cancers, including those of the liver, prostate and breast, has been demonstrated. As a non-invasive focused therapy, HIFU offers considerable advantages over techniques such as chemotherapy and surgical resection in terms of reduced risk of harmful side effects. Despite this, there are a number of significant challenges which currently hinder its widespread clinical application. One of these challenges is the need to transmit sufficient energy through the rib cage to induce tissue necrosis in the required volume whilst minimizing the formation of side lobes. Multi-element random-phased arrays are currently showing great promise in overcoming the limitations of single-element transducers. Nevertheless, successful treatment of a patient with liver tumours requires a thorough understanding of the way in which the ultrasonic pressure field from a HIFU array is scattered by the rib cage. In order to address this, a boundary element approach based on a generalized minimal residual (GMRES) implementation of the Burton-Miller formulation was used in conjunction with phase conjugation techniques to focus the field of a 256-element random HIFU array behind human ribs at locations requiring intercostal and transcostal treatment. Simulations were carried out on a 3D mesh of quadratic pressure patches generated using CT scan anatomical data for adult ribs 9-12 on the right side. The methodology was validated on spherical and cylindrical scatterers. Field calculations were also carried out for idealized ribs, consisting of arrays of strip-like scatterers, demonstrating effects of splitting at the focus. This method has the advantage of fully accounting for the effect of scattering and diffraction in 3D under continuous wave excitation.

Modelling of the acoustic field of a multi-element HIFU array scattered by human ribs

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Gelat, Pierre [National Physical Laboratory, Hampton Road, Teddington TW11 0LW (United Kingdom); Ter Haar, Gail [Therapeutic Ultrasound Group, Physics Department, Institute of Cancer Research, Sutton SM2 5NG (United Kingdom); Saffari, Nader, E-mail: Pierre.Gelat@npl.co.uk [Department of Mechanical Engineering, University College London, Torrington Place, London WC1E 7JE (United Kingdom)