The impact of classification of interest on predictive toxicogenomics

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Pierre R. Bushel

2012-02-01

Full Text Available The era of toxicogenomics has introduced a new way of monitoring the effect of environmental stressors and toxicants on biological systems via quantification of changes in gene expression. Because the liver is one of the major organs for synthesis and secretion of substances which metabolize endogenous and exogenous materials, there has been a great deal of interest in elucidating predictive and mechanistic genomic markers of hepatotoxicity. This mini-review will bring context to a limited number of toxicogenomics studies which used genomics to evaluate the transcriptional changes in blood and liver in response to acetaminophen (APAP or other liver toxicants, but differed according to the classification of interest (COI, i.e. the partitioning of the samples a priori according to a common toxicological characteristic. The toxicogenomics studies highlighted are characterized by a classification of either no/low vs. high APAP dose exposure, none vs. observed necrosis, and severity of necrosis. The overlap or lack thereof between the gene classifiers and the modulated biological processes that are elucidated will be discussed to enhance the understanding of the effect of the particular COI model and experimental design used for prediction.

Integrating genetic and toxicogenomic information for determining underlying susceptibility to developmental disorders.

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Robinson, Joshua F; Port, Jesse A; Yu, Xiaozhong; Faustman, Elaine M

2010-10-01

To understand the complex etiology of developmental disorders, an understanding of both genetic and environmental risk factors is needed. Human and rodent genetic studies have identified a multitude of gene candidates for specific developmental disorders such as neural tube defects (NTDs). With the emergence of toxicogenomic-based assessments, scientists now also have the ability to compare and understand the expression of thousands of genes simultaneously across strain, time, and exposure in developmental models. Using a systems-based approach in which we are able to evaluate information from various parts and levels of the developing organism, we propose a framework for integrating genetic information with toxicogenomic-based studies to better understand gene-environmental interactions critical for developmental disorders. This approach has allowed us to characterize candidate genes in the context of variables critical for determining susceptibility such as strain, time, and exposure. Using a combination of toxicogenomic studies and complementary bioinformatic tools, we characterize NTD candidate genes during normal development by function (gene ontology), linked phenotype (disease outcome), location, and expression (temporally and strain-dependent). In addition, we show how environmental exposures (cadmium, methylmercury) can influence expression of these genes in a strain-dependent manner. Using NTDs as an example of developmental disorder, we show how simple integration of genetic information from previous studies into the standard microarray design can enhance analysis of gene-environment interactions to better define environmental exposure-disease pathways in sensitive and resistant mouse strains. © Wiley-Liss, Inc.

Toxicogenomic analysis of gene expression changes in rat liver after a 28-day oral benzene exposure

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Heijne, W.H.M.; Jonker, D.; Stierum, R.H.; Ommen, van B.; Groten, J.P.

2005-01-01

Benzene is an industrial chemical, component of automobile exhaust and cigarette smoke. After hepatic bioactivation benzene induces bone marrow, blood and hepatic toxicity. Using a toxicogenomics approach this study analysed the effects of benzene at three dose levels on gene expression in the liver

TOXsIgN: a cross-species repository for toxicogenomic signatures.

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Darde, Thomas A; Gaudriault, Pierre; Beranger, Rémi; Lancien, Clément; Caillarec-Joly, Annaëlle; Sallou, Olivier; Bonvallot, Nathalie; Chevrier, Cécile; Mazaud-Guittot, Séverine; Jégou, Bernard; Collin, Olivier; Becker, Emmanuelle; Rolland, Antoine D; Chalmel, Frédéric

2018-01-27

At the same time that toxicologists express increasing concern about reproducibility in this field, the development of dedicated databases has already smoothed the path toward improving the storage and exchange of raw toxicogenomic data. Nevertheless, none provides access to analyzed and interpreted data as originally reported in scientific publications. Given the increasing demand for access to this information, we developed TOXsIgN, a repository for TOXicogenomic sIgNatures. The TOXsIgN repository provides a flexible environment that facilitates online submission, storage, and retrieval of toxicogenomic signatures by the scientific community. It currently hosts 754 projects that describe more than 450 distinct chemicals and their 8491 associated signatures. It also provides users with a working environment containing a powerful search engine as well as bioinformatics/biostatistics modules that enable signature comparisons or enrichment analyses. The TOXsIgN repository is freely accessible at http://toxsign.genouest.org. Website implemented in Python, JavaScript, and MongoDB, with all major browsers supported. frederic.chalmel@inserm.fr. Supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics online. © The Author (2018). Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com

Design issues in toxicogenomics using DNA microarray experiment

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Lee, Kyoung-Mu; Kim, Ju-Han; Kang, Daehee

2005-01-01

The methods of toxicogenomics might be classified into omics study (e.g., genomics, proteomics, and metabolomics) and population study focusing on risk assessment and gene-environment interaction. In omics study, microarray is the most popular approach. Genes falling into several categories (e.g., xenobiotics metabolism, cell cycle control, DNA repair etc.) can be selected up to 20,000 according to a priori hypothesis. The appropriate type of samples and species should be selected in advance. Multiple doses and varied exposure durations are suggested to identify those genes clearly linked to toxic response. Microarray experiments can be affected by numerous nuisance variables including experimental designs, sample extraction, type of scanners, etc. The number of slides might be determined from the magnitude and variance of expression change, false-positive rate, and desired power. Instead, pooling samples is an alternative. Online databases on chemicals with known exposure-disease outcomes and genetic information can aid the interpretation of the normalized results. Gene function can be inferred from microarray data analyzed by bioinformatics methods such as cluster analysis. The population study often adopts hospital-based or nested case-control design. Biases in subject selection and exposure assessment should be minimized, and confounding bias should also be controlled for in stratified or multiple regression analysis. Optimal sample sizes are dependent on the statistical test for gene-to-environment or gene-to-gene interaction. The design issues addressed in this mini-review are crucial in conducting toxicogenomics study. In addition, integrative approach of exposure assessment, epidemiology, and clinical trial is required

Prediction model of potential hepatocarcinogenicity of rat hepatocarcinogens using a large-scale toxicogenomics database

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Uehara, Takeki; Minowa, Yohsuke; Morikawa, Yuji; Kondo, Chiaki; Maruyama, Toshiyuki; Kato, Ikuo; Nakatsu, Noriyuki; Igarashi, Yoshinobu; Ono, Atsushi; Hayashi, Hitomi; Mitsumori, Kunitoshi; Yamada, Hiroshi; Ohno, Yasuo; Urushidani, Tetsuro

2011-01-01

The present study was performed to develop a robust gene-based prediction model for early assessment of potential hepatocarcinogenicity of chemicals in rats by using our toxicogenomics database, TG-GATEs (Genomics-Assisted Toxicity Evaluation System developed by the Toxicogenomics Project in Japan). The positive training set consisted of high- or middle-dose groups that received 6 different non-genotoxic hepatocarcinogens during a 28-day period. The negative training set consisted of high- or middle-dose groups of 54 non-carcinogens. Support vector machine combined with wrapper-type gene selection algorithms was used for modeling. Consequently, our best classifier yielded prediction accuracies for hepatocarcinogenicity of 99% sensitivity and 97% specificity in the training data set, and false positive prediction was almost completely eliminated. Pathway analysis of feature genes revealed that the mitogen-activated protein kinase p38- and phosphatidylinositol-3-kinase-centered interactome and the v-myc myelocytomatosis viral oncogene homolog-centered interactome were the 2 most significant networks. The usefulness and robustness of our predictor were further confirmed in an independent validation data set obtained from the public database. Interestingly, similar positive predictions were obtained in several genotoxic hepatocarcinogens as well as non-genotoxic hepatocarcinogens. These results indicate that the expression profiles of our newly selected candidate biomarker genes might be common characteristics in the early stage of carcinogenesis for both genotoxic and non-genotoxic carcinogens in the rat liver. Our toxicogenomic model might be useful for the prospective screening of hepatocarcinogenicity of compounds and prioritization of compounds for carcinogenicity testing. - Highlights: →We developed a toxicogenomic model to predict hepatocarcinogenicity of chemicals. →The optimized model consisting of 9 probes had 99% sensitivity and 97% specificity. �

Toxicogenomics concepts and applications to study hepatic effects of food additives and chemicals

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Stierum, Rob; Heijne, Wilbert; Kienhuis, Anne; Ommen, Ben van; Groten, John

2005-01-01

Transcriptomics, proteomics and metabolomics are genomics technologies with great potential in toxicological sciences. Toxicogenomics involves the integration of conventional toxicological examinations with gene, protein or metabolite expression profiles. An overview together with selected examples of the possibilities of genomics in toxicology is given. The expectations raised by toxicogenomics are earlier and more sensitive detection of toxicity. Furthermore, toxicogenomics will provide a better understanding of the mechanism of toxicity and may facilitate the prediction of toxicity of unknown compounds. Mechanism-based markers of toxicity can be discovered and improved interspecies and in vitro-in vivo extrapolations will drive model developments in toxicology. Toxicological assessment of chemical mixtures will benefit from the new molecular biological tools. In our laboratory, toxicogenomics is predominantly applied for elucidation of mechanisms of action and discovery of novel pathway-supported mechanism-based markers of liver toxicity. In addition, we aim to integrate transcriptome, proteome and metabolome data, supported by bioinformatics to develop a systems biology approach for toxicology. Transcriptomics and proteomics studies on bromobenzene-mediated hepatotoxicity in the rat are discussed. Finally, an example is shown in which gene expression profiling together with conventional biochemistry led to the discovery of novel markers for the hepatic effects of the food additives butylated hydroxytoluene, curcumin, propyl gallate and thiabendazole

Discriminating between adaptive and carcinogenic liver hypertrophy in rat studies using logistic ridge regression analysis of toxicogenomic data: The mode of action and predictive models.

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Liu, Shujie; Kawamoto, Taisuke; Morita, Osamu; Yoshinari, Kouichi; Honda, Hiroshi

2017-03-01

Chemical exposure often results in liver hypertrophy in animal tests, characterized by increased liver weight, hepatocellular hypertrophy, and/or cell proliferation. While most of these changes are considered adaptive responses, there is concern that they may be associated with carcinogenesis. In this study, we have employed a toxicogenomic approach using a logistic ridge regression model to identify genes responsible for liver hypertrophy and hypertrophic hepatocarcinogenesis and to develop a predictive model for assessing hypertrophy-inducing compounds. Logistic regression models have previously been used in the quantification of epidemiological risk factors. DNA microarray data from the Toxicogenomics Project-Genomics Assisted Toxicity Evaluation System were used to identify hypertrophy-related genes that are expressed differently in hypertrophy induced by carcinogens and non-carcinogens. Data were collected for 134 chemicals (72 non-hypertrophy-inducing chemicals, 27 hypertrophy-inducing non-carcinogenic chemicals, and 15 hypertrophy-inducing carcinogenic compounds). After applying logistic ridge regression analysis, 35 genes for liver hypertrophy (e.g., Acot1 and Abcc3) and 13 genes for hypertrophic hepatocarcinogenesis (e.g., Asns and Gpx2) were selected. The predictive models built using these genes were 94.8% and 82.7% accurate, respectively. Pathway analysis of the genes indicates that, aside from a xenobiotic metabolism-related pathway as an adaptive response for liver hypertrophy, amino acid biosynthesis and oxidative responses appear to be involved in hypertrophic hepatocarcinogenesis. Early detection and toxicogenomic characterization of liver hypertrophy using our models may be useful for predicting carcinogenesis. In addition, the identified genes provide novel insight into discrimination between adverse hypertrophy associated with carcinogenesis and adaptive hypertrophy in risk assessment. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Toxicogenomics: Applications of new functional genomics technologies in toxicology

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Heijne, W.H.M.

2004-01-01

Toxicogenomics studies toxic effects of substances on organisms in relation to the composition of the genome. It applies the functional genomics technologies transcriptomics, proteomics and metabolomics that determine expression of the genes, proteins and metabolites in a sample. These methods could

Mixture toxicity revisited from a toxicogenomic perspective.

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Altenburger, Rolf; Scholz, Stefan; Schmitt-Jansen, Mechthild; Busch, Wibke; Escher, Beate I

2012-03-06

The advent of new genomic techniques has raised expectations that central questions of mixture toxicology such as for mechanisms of low dose interactions can now be answered. This review provides an overview on experimental studies from the past decade that address diagnostic and/or mechanistic questions regarding the combined effects of chemical mixtures using toxicogenomic techniques. From 2002 to 2011, 41 studies were published with a focus on mixture toxicity assessment. Primarily multiplexed quantification of gene transcripts was performed, though metabolomic and proteomic analysis of joint exposures have also been undertaken. It is now standard to explicitly state criteria for selecting concentrations and provide insight into data transformation and statistical treatment with respect to minimizing sources of undue variability. Bioinformatic analysis of toxicogenomic data, by contrast, is still a field with diverse and rapidly evolving tools. The reported combined effect assessments are discussed in the light of established toxicological dose-response and mixture toxicity models. Receptor-based assays seem to be the most advanced toward establishing quantitative relationships between exposure and biological responses. Often transcriptomic responses are discussed based on the presence or absence of signals, where the interpretation may remain ambiguous due to methodological problems. The majority of mixture studies design their studies to compare the recorded mixture outcome against responses for individual components only. This stands in stark contrast to our existing understanding of joint biological activity at the levels of chemical target interactions and apical combined effects. By joining established mixture effect models with toxicokinetic and -dynamic thinking, we suggest a conceptual framework that may help to overcome the current limitation of providing mainly anecdotal evidence on mixture effects. To achieve this we suggest (i) to design studies to

Inter- and intra-laboratory study to determine the reproducibility of toxicogenomics datasets.

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Scott, D J; Devonshire, A S; Adeleye, Y A; Schutte, M E; Rodrigues, M R; Wilkes, T M; Sacco, M G; Gribaldo, L; Fabbri, M; Coecke, S; Whelan, M; Skinner, N; Bennett, A; White, A; Foy, C A

2011-11-28

The application of toxicogenomics as a predictive tool for chemical risk assessment has been under evaluation by the toxicology community for more than a decade. However, it predominately remains a tool for investigative research rather than for regulatory risk assessment. In this study, we assessed whether the current generation of microarray technology in combination with an in vitro experimental design was capable of generating robust, reproducible data of sufficient quality to show promise as a tool for regulatory risk assessment. To this end, we designed a prospective collaborative study to determine the level of inter- and intra-laboratory reproducibility between three independent laboratories. All test centres (TCs) adopted the same protocols for all aspects of the toxicogenomic experiment including cell culture, chemical exposure, RNA extraction, microarray data generation and analysis. As a case study, the genotoxic carcinogen benzo[a]pyrene (B[a]P) and the human hepatoma cell line HepG2 were used to generate three comparable toxicogenomic data sets. High levels of technical reproducibility were demonstrated using a widely employed gene expression microarray platform. While differences at the global transcriptome level were observed between the TCs, a common subset of B[a]P responsive genes (n=400 gene probes) was identified at all TCs which included many genes previously reported in the literature as B[a]P responsive. These data show promise that the current generation of microarray technology, in combination with a standard in vitro experimental design, can produce robust data that can be generated reproducibly in independent laboratories. Future work will need to determine whether such reproducible in vitro model(s) can be predictive for a range of toxic chemicals with different mechanisms of action and thus be considered as part of future testing regimes for regulatory risk assessment. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

How can toxicogenomics inform risk assessment?

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Oberemm, Axel; Onyon, Lesley; Gundert-Remy, Ursula

2005-01-01

Technologies that generate information about the genome are being used to explore changes in gene expression and related proteins following exposure to chemicals. Conceptually, this information allows a greater understanding of genomic level mRNA expression (transcriptomics), cell and tissue protein expression (proteomics) and information about metabolite profiles (metabonomics). Having a greater understanding of this information alongside, empirical toxicological reference data provide for the continued evolution in our ability to understand toxicological modes of action, thereby providing a more scientific basis for extrapolation of toxicological information from animals to humans. Toxicogenomics also provides specific opportunities for improvements at different stages of the risk assessment process such as the development of new predictive models for identifying human health hazards and the identification of more precise molecular biomarkers of exposure. One possibility is that molecular fingerprinting in vivo or in vitro can be used to categorize chemicals and mixtures of chemicals into different mode of action groups. As there is indication that molecular signals differ at dose levels, it is hoped that toxicogenomic information can also contribute to the understanding and interpretation of effects seen with low dose exposure. Several gene polymorphisms have already been identified which play a role in the differing intra-species response to chemicals thus providing explanation for the observed differences in effects. It is therefore likely that a better understanding of genomic expression will enable a greater insight into the factors behind the observed variability in susceptibility to chemical exposure that can be seen in human populations

The curation paradigm and application tool used for manual curation of the scientific literature at the Comparative Toxicogenomics Database

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Davis, Allan Peter; Wiegers, Thomas C.; Murphy, Cynthia G.; Mattingly, Carolyn J.

2011-01-01

The Comparative Toxicogenomics Database (CTD) is a public resource that promotes understanding about the effects of environmental chemicals on human health. CTD biocurators read the scientific literature and convert free-text information into a structured format using official nomenclature, integrating third party controlled vocabularies for chemicals, genes, diseases and organisms, and a novel controlled vocabulary for molecular interactions. Manual curation produces a robust, richly annotated dataset of highly accurate and detailed information. Currently, CTD describes over 349 000 molecular interactions between 6800 chemicals, 20 900 genes (for 330 organisms) and 4300 diseases that have been manually curated from over 25 400 peer-reviewed articles. This manually curated data are further integrated with other third party data (e.g. Gene Ontology, KEGG and Reactome annotations) to generate a wealth of toxicogenomic relationships. Here, we describe our approach to manual curation that uses a powerful and efficient paradigm involving mnemonic codes. This strategy allows biocurators to quickly capture detailed information from articles by generating simple statements using codes to represent the relationships between data types. The paradigm is versatile, expandable, and able to accommodate new data challenges that arise. We have incorporated this strategy into a web-based curation tool to further increase efficiency and productivity, implement quality control in real-time and accommodate biocurators working remotely. Database URL: http://ctd.mdibl.org PMID:21933848

Evaluation of Bioinformatics Approaches for Next-Generation Sequencing Analysis of microRNAs with a Toxicogenomics Study Design

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Halil Bisgin

2018-02-01

Full Text Available MicroRNAs (miRNAs are key post-transcriptional regulators that affect protein translation by targeting mRNAs. Their role in disease etiology and toxicity are well recognized. Given the rapid advancement of next-generation sequencing techniques, miRNA profiling has been increasingly conducted with RNA-seq, namely miRNA-seq. Analysis of miRNA-seq data requires several steps: (1 mapping the reads to miRBase, (2 considering mismatches during the hairpin alignment (windowing, and (3 counting the reads (quantification. The choice made in each step with respect to the parameter settings could affect miRNA quantification, differentially expressed miRNAs (DEMs detection and novel miRNA identification. Furthermore, these parameters do not act in isolation and their joint effects impact miRNA-seq results and interpretation. In toxicogenomics, the variation associated with parameter setting should not overpower the treatment effect (such as the dose/time-dependent effect. In this study, four commonly used miRNA-seq analysis tools (i.e., miRDeep2, miRExpress, miRNAkey, sRNAbench were comparatively evaluated with a standard toxicogenomics study design. We tested 30 different parameter settings on miRNA-seq data generated from thioacetamide-treated rat liver samples for three dose levels across four time points, followed by four normalization options. Because both miRExpress and miRNAkey yielded larger variation than that of the treatment effects across multiple parameter settings, our analyses mainly focused on the side-by-side comparison between miRDeep2 and sRNAbench. While the number of miRNAs detected by miRDeep2 was almost the subset of those detected by sRNAbench, the number of DEMs identified by both tools was comparable under the same parameter settings and normalization method. Change in the number of nucleotides out of the mature sequence in the hairpin alignment (window option yielded the largest variation for miRNA quantification and DEMs

A DATABASE FOR TRACKING TOXICOGENOMIC SAMPLES AND PROCEDURES WITH GENOMIC, PROTEOMIC AND METABONOMIC COMPONENTS

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A Database for Tracking Toxicogenomic Samples and Procedures with Genomic, Proteomic and Metabonomic Components Wenjun Bao1, Jennifer Fostel2, Michael D. Waters2, B. Alex Merrick2, Drew Ekman3, Mitchell Kostich4, Judith Schmid1, David Dix1Office of Research and Developmen...

Yeast Toxicogenomics: genome-wide responses to chemical stresses with impact in Environmental Health, Pharmacology and Biotechnology

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Sandra Costa dos Santos

2012-04-01

Full Text Available The emerging transdisciplinary field of Toxicogenomics aims to study the cell response to a given toxicant at the genome, transcriptome, proteome and metabolome levels. This approach is expected to provide earlier and more sensitive biomarkers of toxicological responses and help in the delineation of regulatory risk assessment. The use of model organisms to gather such genomic information, through the exploitation of Omics and Bioinformatics approaches and tools, together with more focused molecular and cellular biology studies are rapidly increasing our understanding and providing an integrative view on how cells interact with their environment. The use of the model eukaryote Saccharomyces cerevisiae in the field of Toxicogenomics is discussed in this review. Despite the limitations intrinsic to the use of such a simple single cell experimental model, S. cerevisiae appears to be very useful as a first screening tool, limiting the use of animal models. Moreover, it is also one of the most interesting systems to obtain a truly global understanding of the toxicological response and resistance mechanisms, being in the frontline of systems biology research and developments. The impact of the knowledge gathered in the yeast model, through the use of Toxicogenomics approaches, is highlighted here by its use in prediction of toxicological outcomes of exposure to pesticides and pharmaceutical drugs, but also by its impact in biotechnology, namely in the development of more robust crops and in the improvement of yeast strains as cell factories.

Intersection of toxicogenomics and high throughput screening in the Tox21 program: an NIEHS perspective.

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Merrick, B Alex; Paules, Richard S; Tice, Raymond R

Humans are exposed to thousands of chemicals with inadequate toxicological data. Advances in computational toxicology, robotic high throughput screening (HTS), and genome-wide expression have been integrated into the Tox21 program to better predict the toxicological effects of chemicals. Tox21 is a collaboration among US government agencies initiated in 2008 that aims to shift chemical hazard assessment from traditional animal toxicology to target-specific, mechanism-based, biological observations using in vitro assays and lower organism models. HTS uses biocomputational methods for probing thousands of chemicals in in vitro assays for gene-pathway response patterns predictive of adverse human health outcomes. In 1999, NIEHS began exploring the application of toxicogenomics to toxicology and recent advances in NextGen sequencing should greatly enhance the biological content obtained from HTS platforms. We foresee an intersection of new technologies in toxicogenomics and HTS as an innovative development in Tox21. Tox21 goals, priorities, progress, and challenges will be reviewed.

Adaptation of a Bioinformatics Microarray Analysis Workflow for a Toxicogenomic Study in Rainbow Trout.

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Sophie Depiereux

Full Text Available Sex steroids play a key role in triggering sex differentiation in fish, the use of exogenous hormone treatment leading to partial or complete sex reversal. This phenomenon has attracted attention since the discovery that even low environmental doses of exogenous steroids can adversely affect gonad morphology (ovotestis development and induce reproductive failure. Modern genomic-based technologies have enhanced opportunities to find out mechanisms of actions (MOA and identify biomarkers related to the toxic action of a compound. However, high throughput data interpretation relies on statistical analysis, species genomic resources, and bioinformatics tools. The goals of this study are to improve the knowledge of feminisation in fish, by the analysis of molecular responses in the gonads of rainbow trout fry after chronic exposure to several doses (0.01, 0.1, 1 and 10 μg/L of ethynylestradiol (EE2 and to offer target genes as potential biomarkers of ovotestis development. We successfully adapted a bioinformatics microarray analysis workflow elaborated on human data to a toxicogenomic study using rainbow trout, a fish species lacking accurate functional annotation and genomic resources. The workflow allowed to obtain lists of genes supposed to be enriched in true positive differentially expressed genes (DEGs, which were subjected to over-representation analysis methods (ORA. Several pathways and ontologies, mostly related to cell division and metabolism, sexual reproduction and steroid production, were found significantly enriched in our analyses. Moreover, two sets of potential ovotestis biomarkers were selected using several criteria. The first group displayed specific potential biomarkers belonging to pathways/ontologies highlighted in the experiment. Among them, the early ovarian differentiation gene foxl2a was overexpressed. The second group, which was highly sensitive but not specific, included the DEGs presenting the highest fold change and

An information-rich alternative, chemicals testing strategy using a high definition toxicogenomics and zebrafish (Danio rerio) embryos

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Sawle, Ashley D.; Wit, Ernst; Whale, Graham; Cossins, Andrew R.

2010-01-01

Large-scale toxicogenomic screening approaches offer great promise for generating a bias-free system-wide view of toxicological effects and modes-of-action of chemicals and ecotoxicants. However, early applications of microarray technology have identified relatively small groups of responding genes

Toxicogenomic multigene biomarker for predicting the future onset of proximal tubular injury in rats

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Minowa, Yohsuke; Kondo, Chiaki; Uehara, Takeki; Morikawa, Yuji; Okuno, Yasushi; Nakatsu, Noriyuki; Ono, Atsushi; Maruyama, Toshiyuki; Kato, Ikuo; Yamate, Jyoji; Yamada, Hiroshi; Ohno, Yasuo; Urushidani, Tetsuro

2012-01-01

Drug-induced renal tubular injury is a major concern in the preclinical safety evaluation of drug candidates. Toxicogenomics is now a generally accepted tool for identifying chemicals with potential safety problems. The specific aim of the present study was to develop a model for use in predicting the future onset of drug-induced proximal tubular injury following repeated dosing with various nephrotoxicants. In total, 41 nephrotoxic and nonnephrotoxic compounds were used for the present analysis. Male Sprague-Dawley rats were dosed orally or intravenously once daily. Animals were exposed to three different doses (low, middle, and high) of each compound, and kidney tissue was collected at 3, 6, 9, and 24 h after single dosing, and on days 4, 8, 15, and 29 after repeated dosing. Gene expression profiles were generated from kidney total RNA using Affymetrix DNA microarrays. Filter-type gene selection and linear classification algorithms were employed to discriminate future onset of proximal tubular injury. We identified genomic biomarkers for use in future onset prediction using the gene expression profiles determined on day 1, when most of the nephrotoxicants had yet to produce detectable histopathological changes. The model was evaluated using a five-fold cross validation, and achieved a sensitivity of 93% and selectivity of 90% with 19 probes. We also found that the prediction accuracy of the optimized model was substantially higher than that produced by any of the single genomic biomarkers or histopathology. The genes included in our model were primarily involved in DNA replication, cell cycle control, apoptosis, and responses to oxidative stress and chemical stimuli. In summary, our toxicogenomic model is particularly useful for predicting the future onset of proximal tubular injury.

Toxicogenomics: A New Paradigm for Nanotoxicity Evaluation.

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Dwivedi, Sourabh; Saquib, Quaiser; Ahmad, Bilal; Ansari, Sabiha M; Azam, Ameer; Musarrat, Javed

2018-01-01

The wider applications of nanoparticles (NPs) has evoked a world-wide concern due to their possible risk of toxicity in humans and other organisms. Aggregation and accumulation of NPs into cell leads to their interaction with biological macromolecules including proteins, nucleic acids and cellular organelles, which eventually induce toxicological effects. Application of toxicogenomics to investigate molecular pathway-based toxicological consequences has opened new vistas in nanotoxicology research. Indeed, genomic approaches appeared as a new paradigm in terms of providing information at molecular levels and have been proven to be as a powerful tool for identification and quantification of global shifts in gene expression. Toxicological responses of NPs have been discussed in this chapter with the aim to provide a clear understanding of the molecular mechanism of NPs induced toxicity both in in vivo and in vitro test models.

Parallelogram approach using rat-human In vitro and rat in vivo toxicogenomics predicts acetaminophen-induced hepatotoxicity in humans

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Kienhuis, A.S.; Poll, M.C.G. van de; Wortelboer, H.; Herwijnen, M. van; Gottschalk, R.; Jong, C.H.C. de; Boorsma, A.; Paules, R.S.; Kleinjans, J.C.S.; Stierum, R.H.; Delft, J.H.M. van

2009-01-01

The frequent use of rodent hepatic in vitro systems in pharmacological and toxicological investigations challenges extrapolation of in vitro results to the situation in vivo and interspecies extrapolation from rodents to humans. The toxicogenomics approach may aid in evaluating relevance of these

75 FR 1770 - An Approach to Using Toxicogenomic Data in U.S. EPA Human Health Risk Assessments: A Dibutyl...

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2010-01-13

... qualitative aspects of the risk assessment because of the type of genomic data available for DBP. It is... Assessment (NCEA) within EPA's Office of Research and Development (ORD). Toxicogenomics is the application of... exploratory methods for analyzing genomic data for application to risk assessment and some preliminary results...

Inter-laboratory study of human in vitro toxicogenomics-based tests as alternative methods for evaluating chemical carcinogenicity : a bioinformatics perspective

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Herwig, R; Gmuender, H; Corvi, Raffaella; Bloch, K.M.; Brandenburg, A.; Castell, J; Ceelen, L; Chesne, C; Doktorova, T Y; Jennen, D; Jennings, P; Limonciel, A; Lock, E A; McMorrow, T; Phrakonkham, P; Radford-Smith, G.; Slattery, C; Stierum, R; Vilardell, M; Wittenberger, T; Yildirimman, R; Ryan, M.; Rogiers, Vera; Kleinjans, Jos

The assessment of the carcinogenic potential of chemicals with alternative, human-based in vitro systems has become a major goal of toxicogenomics. The central read-out of these assays is the transcriptome, and while many studies exist that explored the gene expression responses of such systems,

TOXICOGENOMIC ANALYSIS INCORPORATING OPERON-TRANSCRIPTIONAL COUPLING AND TOXICANT CONCENTRATRION-EXPRESSION RESPONSE: Analysis of MX-Treated Salmonella

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What is the study? This study is the first to use microarray analysis in the Ames strains of Salmonella. The microarray chips were custom-designed for this study and are not commercially available, and we evaluated the well-studied drinking water mutagen, MX. Because much inform...

Toxicogenomic analysis identifies the apoptotic pathway as the main cause of hepatotoxicity induced by tributyltin.

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Zhou, Mi; Feng, Mei; Fu, Ling-Ling; Ji, Lin-Dan; Zhao, Jin-Shun; Xu, Jin

2016-11-01

Tributyltin (TBT) is one of the most widely used organotin biocides, which has severe endocrine-disrupting effects on marine species and mammals. Given that TBT accumulates at higher levels in the liver than in any other organ, and it acts mainly as a hepatotoxic agent, it is important to clearly delineate the hepatotoxicity of TBT. However, most of the available studies on TBT have focused on observations at the cellular level, while studies at the level of genes and proteins are limited; therefore, the molecular mechanisms of TBT-induced hepatotoxicity remains largely unclear. In the present study, we applied a toxicogenomic approach to investigate the effects of TBT on gene expression in the human normal liver cell line HL7702. Gene expression profiling identified the apoptotic pathway as the major cause of hepatotoxicity induced by TBT. Flow cytometry assays confirmed that medium- and high-dose TBT treatments significantly increased the number of apoptotic cells, and more cells underwent late apoptosis in the high-dose TBT group. The genes encoding heat shock proteins (HSPs), kinases and tumor necrosis factor receptors mediated TBT-induced apoptosis. These findings revealed novel molecular mechanisms of TBT-induced hepatotoxicity, and the current microarray data may also provide clues for future studies. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

An Approach to Using Toxicogenomic Data in U.S. EPA Human Health Risk Assessments: A Dibutyl Phthalate Case Study (Final Report, 2010)

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EPA announced the availability of the final report, An Approach to Using Toxicogenomic Data in U.S. EPA Human Health Risk Assessments: A Dibutyl Phthalate Case Study. This report outlines an approach to evaluate genomic data for use in risk assessment and a case study to ...

Text mining effectively scores and ranks the literature for improving chemical-gene-disease curation at the comparative toxicogenomics database.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Allan Peter Davis

Full Text Available The Comparative Toxicogenomics Database (CTD; http://ctdbase.org/ is a public resource that curates interactions between environmental chemicals and gene products, and their relationships to diseases, as a means of understanding the effects of environmental chemicals on human health. CTD provides a triad of core information in the form of chemical-gene, chemical-disease, and gene-disease interactions that are manually curated from scientific articles. To increase the efficiency, productivity, and data coverage of manual curation, we have leveraged text mining to help rank and prioritize the triaged literature. Here, we describe our text-mining process that computes and assigns each article a document relevancy score (DRS, wherein a high DRS suggests that an article is more likely to be relevant for curation at CTD. We evaluated our process by first text mining a corpus of 14,904 articles triaged for seven heavy metals (cadmium, cobalt, copper, lead, manganese, mercury, and nickel. Based upon initial analysis, a representative subset corpus of 3,583 articles was then selected from the 14,094 articles and sent to five CTD biocurators for review. The resulting curation of these 3,583 articles was analyzed for a variety of parameters, including article relevancy, novel data content, interaction yield rate, mean average precision, and biological and toxicological interpretability. We show that for all measured parameters, the DRS is an effective indicator for scoring and improving the ranking of literature for the curation of chemical-gene-disease information at CTD. Here, we demonstrate how fully incorporating text mining-based DRS scoring into our curation pipeline enhances manual curation by prioritizing more relevant articles, thereby increasing data content, productivity, and efficiency.

Text Mining Effectively Scores and Ranks the Literature for Improving Chemical-Gene-Disease Curation at the Comparative Toxicogenomics Database

Science.gov (United States)

Johnson, Robin J.; Lay, Jean M.; Lennon-Hopkins, Kelley; Saraceni-Richards, Cynthia; Sciaky, Daniela; Murphy, Cynthia Grondin; Mattingly, Carolyn J.

2013-01-01

The Comparative Toxicogenomics Database (CTD; http://ctdbase.org/) is a public resource that curates interactions between environmental chemicals and gene products, and their relationships to diseases, as a means of understanding the effects of environmental chemicals on human health. CTD provides a triad of core information in the form of chemical-gene, chemical-disease, and gene-disease interactions that are manually curated from scientific articles. To increase the efficiency, productivity, and data coverage of manual curation, we have leveraged text mining to help rank and prioritize the triaged literature. Here, we describe our text-mining process that computes and assigns each article a document relevancy score (DRS), wherein a high DRS suggests that an article is more likely to be relevant for curation at CTD. We evaluated our process by first text mining a corpus of 14,904 articles triaged for seven heavy metals (cadmium, cobalt, copper, lead, manganese, mercury, and nickel). Based upon initial analysis, a representative subset corpus of 3,583 articles was then selected from the 14,094 articles and sent to five CTD biocurators for review. The resulting curation of these 3,583 articles was analyzed for a variety of parameters, including article relevancy, novel data content, interaction yield rate, mean average precision, and biological and toxicological interpretability. We show that for all measured parameters, the DRS is an effective indicator for scoring and improving the ranking of literature for the curation of chemical-gene-disease information at CTD. Here, we demonstrate how fully incorporating text mining-based DRS scoring into our curation pipeline enhances manual curation by prioritizing more relevant articles, thereby increasing data content, productivity, and efficiency. PMID:23613709

Mechanism-based risk assessment strategy for drug-induced cholestasis using the transcriptional benchmark dose derived by toxicogenomics.

Science.gov (United States)

Kawamoto, Taisuke; Ito, Yuichi; Morita, Osamu; Honda, Hiroshi

2017-01-01

Cholestasis is one of the major causes of drug-induced liver injury (DILI), which can result in withdrawal of approved drugs from the market. Early identification of cholestatic drugs is difficult due to the complex mechanisms involved. In order to develop a strategy for mechanism-based risk assessment of cholestatic drugs, we analyzed gene expression data obtained from the livers of rats that had been orally administered with 12 known cholestatic compounds repeatedly for 28 days at three dose levels. Qualitative analyses were performed using two statistical approaches (hierarchical clustering and principle component analysis), in addition to pathway analysis. The transcriptional benchmark dose (tBMD) and tBMD 95% lower limit (tBMDL) were used for quantitative analyses, which revealed three compound sub-groups that produced different types of differential gene expression; these groups of genes were mainly involved in inflammation, cholesterol biosynthesis, and oxidative stress. Furthermore, the tBMDL values for each test compound were in good agreement with the relevant no observed adverse effect level. These results indicate that our novel strategy for drug safety evaluation using mechanism-based classification and tBMDL would facilitate the application of toxicogenomics for risk assessment of cholestatic DILI.

High-Density Real-Time PCR-Based in Vivo Toxicogenomic Screen to Predict Organ-Specific Toxicity

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Laszlo G. Puskas

2011-09-01

Full Text Available Toxicogenomics, based on the temporal effects of drugs on gene expression, is able to predict toxic effects earlier than traditional technologies by analyzing changes in genomic biomarkers that could precede subsequent protein translation and initiation of histological organ damage. In the present study our objective was to extend in vivo toxicogenomic screening from analyzing one or a few tissues to multiple organs, including heart, kidney, brain, liver and spleen. Nanocapillary quantitative real-time PCR (QRT-PCR was used in the study, due to its higher throughput, sensitivity and reproducibility, and larger dynamic range compared to DNA microarray technologies. Based on previous data, 56 gene markers were selected coding for proteins with different functions, such as proteins for acute phase response, inflammation, oxidative stress, metabolic processes, heat-shock response, cell cycle/apoptosis regulation and enzymes which are involved in detoxification. Some of the marker genes are specific to certain organs, and some of them are general indicators of toxicity in multiple organs. Utility of the nanocapillary QRT-PCR platform was demonstrated by screening different references, as well as discovery of drug-like compounds for their gene expression profiles in different organs of treated mice in an acute experiment. For each compound, 896 QRT-PCR were done: four organs were used from each of the treated four animals to monitor the relative expression of 56 genes. Based on expression data of the discovery gene set of toxicology biomarkers the cardio- and nephrotoxicity of doxorubicin and sulfasalazin, the hepato- and nephrotoxicity of rotenone, dihydrocoumarin and aniline, and the liver toxicity of 2,4-diaminotoluene could be confirmed. The acute heart and kidney toxicity of the active metabolite SN-38 from its less toxic prodrug, irinotecan could be differentiated, and two novel gene markers for hormone replacement therapy were identified

Toxicogenomic analysis of N-nitrosomorpholine induced changes in rat liver: Comparison of genomic and proteomic responses and anchoring to histopathological parameters

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Oberemm, A.; Ahr, H.-J.; Bannasch, P.; Ellinger-Ziegelbauer, H.; Glueckmann, M.; Hellmann, J.; Ittrich, C.; Kopp-Schneider, A.; Kramer, P.-J.; Krause, E.; Kroeger, M.; Kiss, E.; Richter-Reichhelm, H.-B.; Scholz, G.; Seemann, K.; Weimer, M.; Gundert-Remy, U.

2009-01-01

A common animal model of chemical hepatocarcinogenesis was used to examine the utility of transcriptomic and proteomic data to identify early biomarkers related to chemically induced carcinogenesis. N-nitrosomorpholine, a frequently used genotoxic model carcinogen, was applied via drinking water at 120 mg/L to male Wistar rats for 7 weeks followed by an exposure-free period of 43 weeks. Seven specimens of each treatment group (untreated control and 120 mg/L N-nitrosomorpholine in drinking water) were sacrificed at nine time points during and after N-nitrosomorpholine treatment. Individual samples from the liver were prepared for histological and toxicogenomic analyses. For histological detection of preneoplastic and neoplastic tissue areas, sections were stained using antibodies against the placental form of glutathione-S-transferase (GST-P). Gene and protein expression profiles of liver tissue homogenates were analyzed using RG-U34A Affymetrix rat gene chips and two-dimensional gel electrophoresis-based proteomics, respectively. In order to compare results obtained by histopathology, transcriptomics and proteomics, GST-P-stained liver sections were evaluated morphometrically, which revealed a parallel time course of the area fraction of preneoplastic lesions and gene plus protein expression patterns. On the transcriptional level, an increase of hepatic GST-P expression was detectable as early as 3 weeks after study onset. Comparing deregulated genes and proteins, eight species were identified which showed a corresponding expression profile on both expression levels. Functional analysis suggests that these genes and corresponding proteins may be useful as biomarkers of early hepatocarcinogenesis.

Identification of genomic biomarkers for concurrent diagnosis of drug-induced renal tubular injury using a large-scale toxicogenomics database

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kondo, Chiaki; Minowa, Yohsuke; Uehara, Takeki; Okuno, Yasushi; Nakatsu, Noriyuki; Ono, Atsushi; Maruyama, Toshiyuki; Kato, Ikuo; Yamate, Jyoji; Yamada, Hiroshi; Ohno, Yasuo; Urushidani, Tetsuro

2009-01-01

Drug-induced renal tubular injury is one of the major concerns in preclinical safety evaluations. Toxicogenomics is becoming a generally accepted approach for identifying chemicals with potential safety problems. In the present study, we analyzed 33 nephrotoxicants and 8 non-nephrotoxic hepatotoxicants to elucidate time- and dose-dependent global gene expression changes associated with proximal tubular toxicity. The compounds were administered orally or intravenously once daily to male Sprague-Dawley rats. The animals were exposed to four different doses of the compounds, and kidney tissues were collected on days 4, 8, 15, and 29. Gene expression profiles were generated from kidney RNA by using Affymetrix GeneChips and analyzed in conjunction with the histopathological changes. We used the filter-type gene selection algorithm based on t-statistics conjugated with the SVM classifier, and achieved a sensitivity of 90% with a selectivity of 90%. Then, 92 genes were extracted as the genomic biomarker candidates that were used to construct the classifier. The gene list contains well-known biomarkers, such as Kidney injury molecule 1, Ceruloplasmin, Clusterin, Tissue inhibitor of metallopeptidase 1, and also novel biomarker candidates. Most of the genes involved in tissue remodeling, the immune/inflammatory response, cell adhesion/proliferation/migration, and metabolism were predominantly up-regulated. Down-regulated genes participated in cell adhesion/proliferation/migration, membrane transport, and signal transduction. Our classifier has better prediction accuracy than any of the well-known biomarkers. Therefore, the toxicogenomics approach would be useful for concurrent diagnosis of renal tubular injury.

Prioritizing PubMed articles for the Comparative Toxicogenomic Database utilizing semantic information.

Science.gov (United States)

Kim, Sun; Kim, Won; Wei, Chih-Hsuan; Lu, Zhiyong; Wilbur, W John

2012-01-01

The Comparative Toxicogenomics Database (CTD) contains manually curated literature that describes chemical-gene interactions, chemical-disease relationships and gene-disease relationships. Finding articles containing this information is the first and an important step to assist manual curation efficiency. However, the complex nature of named entities and their relationships make it challenging to choose relevant articles. In this article, we introduce a machine learning framework for prioritizing CTD-relevant articles based on our prior system for the protein-protein interaction article classification task in BioCreative III. To address new challenges in the CTD task, we explore a new entity identification method for genes, chemicals and diseases. In addition, latent topics are analyzed and used as a feature type to overcome the small size of the training set. Applied to the BioCreative 2012 Triage dataset, our method achieved 0.8030 mean average precision (MAP) in the official runs, resulting in the top MAP system among participants. Integrated with PubTator, a Web interface for annotating biomedical literature, the proposed system also received a positive review from the CTD curation team.

Incorporating technical analysis in undergraduate curricula

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Michael R. Melton

2017-11-01

Full Text Available Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to introduce instruction of technical analysis on the undergraduate level that can coincide with traditional teachings of fundamental analysis. Design/methodology/approach – Through examples using the latest in security analysis technology, this paper illustrates the importance of technical security analysis. Findings – This research illustrates how technical analysis techniques may be used to make more significant investment decisions. Originality/value – Kirkpatrick and Dahlquist define technical analysis as a security analysis discipline for forecasting future direction of prices through the study of past market data primarily price and volume This form of analysis has stood in direct contrast to the fundamental analysis approach whereby actual facts of the company its industry and sector may be ignored. Understanding this contrast, much of academia has chosen to continue to focus its finance curricula on fundamental analysis techniques. As more universities implement trading rooms to reflect that of industry, they must recognize that any large brokerage trading group or financial institution will typically have both a technical analysis and fundamental analysis team. Thus, the need to incorporate technical analysis into undergraduate finance curricula.

Functional toxicogenomic profiling expands insight into modulators of formaldehyde toxicity in yeast

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Matthew North

2016-11-01

Full Text Available Formaldehyde (FA is a commercially important chemical with numerous and diverse uses. Accordingly, occupational and environmental exposure to FA is prevalent worldwide. Various adverse effects, including nasopharyngeal, sinonasal, and lymphohematopoietic cancers, have been linked to FA exposure, prompting designation of FA as a human carcinogen by U.S. and international scientific entities. Although the mechanism(s of FA toxicity have been well studied, additional insight is needed in regard to the genetic requirements for FA tolerance. In this study, a functional toxicogenomics approach was utilized in the model eukaryotic yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae to identify genes and cellular processes modulating the cellular toxicity of FA. Our results demonstrate mutant strains deficient in multiple DNA repair pathways–including homologous recombination, single strand annealing, and postreplication repair–were sensitive to FA, indicating FA may cause various forms of DNA damage in yeast. The SKI complex and its associated factors, which regulate mRNA degradation by the exosome, were also required for FA tolerance, suggesting FA may have unappreciated effects on RNA stability. Furthermore, various strains involved in osmoregulation and stress response were sensitive to FA. Together, our results are generally consistent with FA-mediated damage to both DNA and RNA. Considering DNA repair and RNA degradation pathways are evolutionarily conserved from yeast to humans, mechanisms of FA toxicity identified in yeast may be relevant to human disease and genetic susceptibility.

Asymmetric author-topic model for knowledge discovering of big data in toxicogenomics.

Science.gov (United States)

Chung, Ming-Hua; Wang, Yuping; Tang, Hailin; Zou, Wen; Basinger, John; Xu, Xiaowei; Tong, Weida

2015-01-01

The advancement of high-throughput screening technologies facilitates the generation of massive amount of biological data, a big data phenomena in biomedical science. Yet, researchers still heavily rely on keyword search and/or literature review to navigate the databases and analyses are often done in rather small-scale. As a result, the rich information of a database has not been fully utilized, particularly for the information embedded in the interactive nature between data points that are largely ignored and buried. For the past 10 years, probabilistic topic modeling has been recognized as an effective machine learning algorithm to annotate the hidden thematic structure of massive collection of documents. The analogy between text corpus and large-scale genomic data enables the application of text mining tools, like probabilistic topic models, to explore hidden patterns of genomic data and to the extension of altered biological functions. In this paper, we developed a generalized probabilistic topic model to analyze a toxicogenomics dataset that consists of a large number of gene expression data from the rat livers treated with drugs in multiple dose and time-points. We discovered the hidden patterns in gene expression associated with the effect of doses and time-points of treatment. Finally, we illustrated the ability of our model to identify the evidence of potential reduction of animal use.

Asymmetric author-topic model for knowledge discovering of big data in toxicogenomics

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ming-Hua eChung

2015-04-01

Full Text Available The advancement of high-throughput screening technologies facilitates the generation of massive amount of biological data, a big data phenomena in biomedical science. Yet, researchers still heavily rely on keyword search and/or literature review to navigate the databases and analyses are often done in rather small-scale. As a result, the rich information of a database has not been fully utilized, particularly for the information embedded in the interactive nature between data points that are largely ignored and buried. For the past ten years, probabilistic topic modeling has been recognized as an effective machine learning algorithm to annotate the hidden thematic structure of massive collection of documents. The analogy between text corpus and large-scale genomic data enables the application of text mining tools, like probabilistic topic models, to explore hidden patterns of genomic data and to the extension of altered biological functions. In this paper, we developed a generalized probabilistic topic model to analyze a toxicogenomics dataset that consists of a large number of gene expression data from the rat livers treated with drugs in multiple dose and time-points. We discovered the hidden patterns in gene expression associated with the effect of doses and time-points of treatment. Finally, we illustrated the ability of our model to identify the evidence of potential reduction of animal use.

Incorporating Experience Curves in Appliance Standards Analysis

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Garbesi, Karina; Chan, Peter; Greenblatt, Jeffery; Kantner, Colleen; Lekov, Alex; Meyers, Stephen; Rosenquist, Gregory; Buskirk, Robert Van; Yang, Hung-Chia; Desroches, Louis-Benoit

2011-10-31

The technical analyses in support of U.S. energy conservation standards for residential appliances and commercial equipment have typically assumed that manufacturing costs and retail prices remain constant during the projected 30-year analysis period. There is, however, considerable evidence that this assumption does not reflect real market prices. Costs and prices generally fall in relation to cumulative production, a phenomenon known as experience and modeled by a fairly robust empirical experience curve. Using price data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, and shipment data obtained as part of the standards analysis process, we present U.S. experience curves for room air conditioners, clothes dryers, central air conditioners, furnaces, and refrigerators and freezers. These allow us to develop more representative appliance price projections than the assumption-based approach of constant prices. These experience curves were incorporated into recent energy conservation standards for these products. The impact on the national modeling can be significant, often increasing the net present value of potential standard levels in the analysis. In some cases a previously cost-negative potential standard level demonstrates a benefit when incorporating experience. These results imply that past energy conservation standards analyses may have undervalued the economic benefits of potential standard levels.

Evaluation of the zebrafish embryo as an alternative model for hepatotoxicity testing

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Driessen, Marja

2014-01-01

In this thesis we showed the applicability of the zebrafish embryo as an alternative model for hepatotoxicity testing using analysis of mechanisms through toxicogenomics. By applying a variety of toxicogenomics techniques, we were able to characterize specific responses. NGS revealed that

Gene expression analysis in rat lungs after intratracheal exposure to nanoparticles doped with cadmium

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Coccini, Teresa; Manzo, Luigi; Fabbri, Marco; Sacco, Maria Grazia; Gribaldo, Laura; Roda, Elisa

2011-01-01

Silica nanoparticles (NPs) incorporating cadmium (Cd) have been developed for a range of potential application including drug delivery devices. Occupational Cd inhalation has been associated with emphysema, pulmonary fibrosis and lung tumours. Mechanistically, Cd can induce oxidative stress and mediate cell-signalling pathways that are involved in inflammation.This in vivo study aimed at investigating pulmonary molecular effects of NPs doped with Cd (NP-Cd, 1 mg/animal) compared to soluble CdCl 2 (400 μg/animal), in Sprague Dawley rats treated intra-tracheally, 7 and 30 days after administration. NPs of silica containing Cd salt were prepared starting from commercial nano-size silica powder (HiSil T M T700 Degussa) with average pore size of 20 nm and surface area of 240 m 2 /g. Toxicogenomic analysis was performed by the DNA microarray technology (using Agilent Whole Rat Genome Microarray 4x44K) to evaluate changes in gene expression of the entire genome. These findings indicate that the whole genome analysis may represent a valuable approach to assess the whole spectrum of biological responses to cadmium containing nanomaterials.

Gene expression analysis in rat lungs after intratracheal exposure to nanoparticles doped with cadmium

Science.gov (United States)

Coccini, Teresa; Fabbri, Marco; Roda, Elisa; Grazia Sacco, Maria; Manzo, Luigi; Gribaldo, Laura

2011-07-01

Silica nanoparticles (NPs) incorporating cadmium (Cd) have been developed for a range of potential application including drug delivery devices. Occupational Cd inhalation has been associated with emphysema, pulmonary fibrosis and lung tumours. Mechanistically, Cd can induce oxidative stress and mediate cell-signalling pathways that are involved in inflammation.This in vivo study aimed at investigating pulmonary molecular effects of NPs doped with Cd (NP-Cd, 1 mg/animal) compared to soluble CdCl2 (400 μg/animal), in Sprague Dawley rats treated intra-tracheally, 7 and 30 days after administration. NPs of silica containing Cd salt were prepared starting from commercial nano-size silica powder (HiSil™ T700 Degussa) with average pore size of 20 nm and surface area of 240 m2/g. Toxicogenomic analysis was performed by the DNA microarray technology (using Agilent Whole Rat Genome Microarray 4×44K) to evaluate changes in gene expression of the entire genome. These findings indicate that the whole genome analysis may represent a valuable approach to assess the whole spectrum of biological responses to cadmium containing nanomaterials.

Use of genomic data in risk assessment case study: I. Evaluation of the dibutyl phthalate male reproductive development toxicity data set

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Makris, Susan L., E-mail: makris.susan@epa.gov [U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, National Center for Environmental Assessment, Office of Research and Development, (Mail code 8623P), 1200 Pennsylvania Ave., NW, Washington, DC 20460 (United States); Euling, Susan Y. [U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, National Center for Environmental Assessment, Office of Research and Development, (Mail code 8623P), 1200 Pennsylvania Ave., NW, Washington, DC 20460 (United States); Gray, L. Earl [U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, National Health and Environmental Effects Research Laboratory, Office of Research and Development, (MD-72), Highway 54, Research Triangle Park, NC 27711 (United States); Benson, Robert [U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Region 8, (Mail code 8P-W), 1595 Wynkoop Street, Denver, CO 80202 (United States); Foster, Paul M.D. [National Toxicology Program, National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, P.O. Box 12233 (MD K2-12), Research Triangle Park, NC 27709 (United States)

2013-09-15

A case study was conducted, using dibutyl phthalate (DBP), to explore an approach to using toxicogenomic data in risk assessment. The toxicity and toxicogenomic data sets relative to DBP-related male reproductive developmental outcomes were considered conjointly to derive information about mode and mechanism of action. In this manuscript, we describe the case study evaluation of the toxicological database for DBP, focusing on identifying the full spectrum of male reproductive developmental effects. The data were assessed to 1) evaluate low dose and low incidence findings and 2) identify male reproductive toxicity endpoints without well-established modes of action (MOAs). These efforts led to the characterization of data gaps and research needs for the toxicity and toxicogenomic studies in a risk assessment context. Further, the identification of endpoints with unexplained MOAs in the toxicity data set was useful in the subsequent evaluation of the mechanistic information that the toxicogenomic data set evaluation could provide. The extensive analysis of the toxicology data set within the MOA context provided a resource of information for DBP in attempts to hypothesize MOAs (for endpoints without a well-established MOA) and to phenotypically anchor toxicogenomic and other mechanistic data both to toxicity endpoints and to available toxicogenomic data. This case study serves as an example of the steps that can be taken to develop a toxicological data source for a risk assessment, both in general and especially for risk assessments that include toxicogenomic data.

Incorporating Basic Optical Microscopy in the Instrumental Analysis Laboratory

Science.gov (United States)

Flowers, Paul A.

2011-01-01

A simple and versatile approach to incorporating basic optical microscopy in the undergraduate instrumental analysis laboratory is described. Attaching a miniature CCD spectrometer to the video port of a standard compound microscope yields a visible microspectrophotometer suitable for student investigations of fundamental spectrometry concepts,…

Incorporating experience curves in appliance standards analysis

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Desroches, Louis-Benoit; Garbesi, Karina; Kantner, Colleen; Van Buskirk, Robert; Yang, Hung-Chia

2013-01-01

There exists considerable evidence that manufacturing costs and consumer prices of residential appliances have decreased in real terms over the last several decades. This phenomenon is generally attributable to manufacturing efficiency gained with cumulative experience producing a certain good, and is modeled by an empirical experience curve. The technical analyses conducted in support of U.S. energy conservation standards for residential appliances and commercial equipment have, until recently, assumed that manufacturing costs and retail prices remain constant during the projected 30-year analysis period. This assumption does not reflect real market price dynamics. Using price data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, we present U.S. experience curves for room air conditioners, clothes dryers, central air conditioners, furnaces, and refrigerators and freezers. These experience curves were incorporated into recent energy conservation standards analyses for these products. Including experience curves increases the national consumer net present value of potential standard levels. In some cases a potential standard level exhibits a net benefit when considering experience, whereas without experience it exhibits a net cost. These results highlight the importance of modeling more representative market prices. - Highlights: ► Past appliance standards analyses have assumed constant equipment prices. ► There is considerable evidence of consistent real price declines. ► We incorporate experience curves for several large appliances into the analysis. ► The revised analyses demonstrate larger net present values of potential standards. ► The results imply that past standards analyses may have undervalued benefits.

Gene expression analysis in rat lungs after intratracheal exposure to nanoparticles doped with cadmium

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Coccini, Teresa; Manzo, Luigi [Toxicology Division, Salvatore Maugeri Foundation IRCCS, Pavia (Italy); Fabbri, Marco; Sacco, Maria Grazia; Gribaldo, Laura [European Commission, Joint Research Centre, IHCP- 21027 Ispra (Italy); Roda, Elisa [European Centre for Nanomedicine, University of Pavia, 27100 Pavia (Italy)

2011-07-06

Silica nanoparticles (NPs) incorporating cadmium (Cd) have been developed for a range of potential application including drug delivery devices. Occupational Cd inhalation has been associated with emphysema, pulmonary fibrosis and lung tumours. Mechanistically, Cd can induce oxidative stress and mediate cell-signalling pathways that are involved in inflammation.This in vivo study aimed at investigating pulmonary molecular effects of NPs doped with Cd (NP-Cd, 1 mg/animal) compared to soluble CdCl{sub 2} (400 {mu}g/animal), in Sprague Dawley rats treated intra-tracheally, 7 and 30 days after administration. NPs of silica containing Cd salt were prepared starting from commercial nano-size silica powder (HiSil{sup TM} T700 Degussa) with average pore size of 20 nm and surface area of 240 m{sup 2}/g. Toxicogenomic analysis was performed by the DNA microarray technology (using Agilent Whole Rat Genome Microarray 4x44K) to evaluate changes in gene expression of the entire genome. These findings indicate that the whole genome analysis may represent a valuable approach to assess the whole spectrum of biological responses to cadmium containing nanomaterials.

Flow cytometric analysis of RNA synthesis by detection of bromouridine incorporation

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Larsen, J K; Jensen, Peter Østrup; Larsen, J

2001-01-01

RNA synthesis has traditionally been investigated by a laborious and time-consuming radiographic method involving incorporation of tritiated uridine. Now a faster non-radioactive alternative has emerged, based on immunocytochemical detection. This method utilizes the brominated RNA precursor...... bromouridine, which is taken into a cell, phosphorylated, and incorporated into nascent RNA. The BrU-substituted RNA is detected by permeabilizing the cells and staining with certain anti-BrdU antibodies. This dynamic approach yields information complementing that provided by cellular RNA content analysis...

In vitro immunotoxicity of bis(tri-n-butyltin)oxide (TBTO) studied by toxicogenomics

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Baken, Kirsten A.; Arkusz, Joanna; Pennings, Jeroen L.A.; Vandebriel, Rob J.; Loveren, Henk van

2007-01-01

The biocide and environmental pollutant bis(tri-n-butyltin)oxide (TBTO) causes thymus atrophy in rodents. Whether the depletion of thymic lymphocytes by tributyltin compounds may be the result of inhibition of cell proliferation or induction of apoptosis is subject of debate. We examined gene expression profiles in primary rat thymocytes exposed to TBTO in vitro at dose levels of 0, 0.1, 0.3, 0.5, and 1.0 μM. By measuring cell viability and apoptosis, exposure conditions were selected that would provide information on changes in gene expression preceding or accompanying functional effects of TBTO. Several processes related to TBTO-induced toxicity were detected at the transcriptome level. Effects on lipid metabolisms appeared to be the first indication of disruption of cellular function. Many transcriptional effects of TBTO at higher dose levels were related to apoptotic processes, which corresponded to present or subsequent thymocyte apoptosis observed phenotypically. The gene expression profile was, however, not unambiguous since expression of apoptosis-related genes was both increased and decreased. Stimulation of glucocorticoid receptor signaling appeared to be a relevant underlying mechanism of action. These findings suggest that TBTO exerts its toxic effects on the thymus primarily by affecting apoptotic processes, but the possibility is discussed that this may in fact represent an early effect that precedes inhibition of cell proliferation. At the highest dose level tested, TBTO additionally repressed mitochondrial function and immune cell activation. Our in vitro toxicogenomics approach thus identified several cellular and molecular targets of TBTO that may mediate the toxicity towards thymocytes and thereby its immunosuppressive effects

A Drosophila model for toxicogenomics: Genetic variation in susceptibility to heavy metal exposure.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Shanshan Zhou

2017-07-01

Full Text Available The genetic factors that give rise to variation in susceptibility to environmental toxins remain largely unexplored. Studies on genetic variation in susceptibility to environmental toxins are challenging in human populations, due to the variety of clinical symptoms and difficulty in determining which symptoms causally result from toxic exposure; uncontrolled environments, often with exposure to multiple toxicants; and difficulty in relating phenotypic effect size to toxic dose, especially when symptoms become manifest with a substantial time lag. Drosophila melanogaster is a powerful model that enables genome-wide studies for the identification of allelic variants that contribute to variation in susceptibility to environmental toxins, since the genetic background, environmental rearing conditions and toxic exposure can be precisely controlled. Here, we used extreme QTL mapping in an outbred population derived from the D. melanogaster Genetic Reference Panel to identify alleles associated with resistance to lead and/or cadmium, two ubiquitous environmental toxins that present serious health risks. We identified single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs associated with variation in resistance to both heavy metals as well as SNPs associated with resistance specific to each of them. The effects of these SNPs were largely sex-specific. We applied mutational and RNAi analyses to 33 candidate genes and functionally validated 28 of them. We constructed networks of candidate genes as blueprints for orthologous networks of human genes. The latter not only provided functional contexts for known human targets of heavy metal toxicity, but also implicated novel candidate susceptibility genes. These studies validate Drosophila as a translational toxicogenomics gene discovery system.

Generating Gene Ontology-Disease Inferences to Explore Mechanisms of Human Disease at the Comparative Toxicogenomics Database.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Allan Peter Davis

Full Text Available Strategies for discovering common molecular events among disparate diseases hold promise for improving understanding of disease etiology and expanding treatment options. One technique is to leverage curated datasets found in the public domain. The Comparative Toxicogenomics Database (CTD; http://ctdbase.org/ manually curates chemical-gene, chemical-disease, and gene-disease interactions from the scientific literature. The use of official gene symbols in CTD interactions enables this information to be combined with the Gene Ontology (GO file from NCBI Gene. By integrating these GO-gene annotations with CTD's gene-disease dataset, we produce 753,000 inferences between 15,700 GO terms and 4,200 diseases, providing opportunities to explore presumptive molecular underpinnings of diseases and identify biological similarities. Through a variety of applications, we demonstrate the utility of this novel resource. As a proof-of-concept, we first analyze known repositioned drugs (e.g., raloxifene and sildenafil and see that their target diseases have a greater degree of similarity when comparing GO terms vs. genes. Next, a computational analysis predicts seemingly non-intuitive diseases (e.g., stomach ulcers and atherosclerosis as being similar to bipolar disorder, and these are validated in the literature as reported co-diseases. Additionally, we leverage other CTD content to develop testable hypotheses about thalidomide-gene networks to treat seemingly disparate diseases. Finally, we illustrate how CTD tools can rank a series of drugs as potential candidates for repositioning against B-cell chronic lymphocytic leukemia and predict cisplatin and the small molecule inhibitor JQ1 as lead compounds. The CTD dataset is freely available for users to navigate pathologies within the context of extensive biological processes, molecular functions, and cellular components conferred by GO. This inference set should aid researchers, bioinformaticists, and

Bayesian road safety analysis: incorporation of past evidence and effect of hyper-prior choice.

Science.gov (United States)

Miranda-Moreno, Luis F; Heydari, Shahram; Lord, Dominique; Fu, Liping

2013-09-01

This paper aims to address two related issues when applying hierarchical Bayesian models for road safety analysis, namely: (a) how to incorporate available information from previous studies or past experiences in the (hyper) prior distributions for model parameters and (b) what are the potential benefits of incorporating past evidence on the results of a road safety analysis when working with scarce accident data (i.e., when calibrating models with crash datasets characterized by a very low average number of accidents and a small number of sites). A simulation framework was developed to evaluate the performance of alternative hyper-priors including informative and non-informative Gamma, Pareto, as well as Uniform distributions. Based on this simulation framework, different data scenarios (i.e., number of observations and years of data) were defined and tested using crash data collected at 3-legged rural intersections in California and crash data collected for rural 4-lane highway segments in Texas. This study shows how the accuracy of model parameter estimates (inverse dispersion parameter) is considerably improved when incorporating past evidence, in particular when working with the small number of observations and crash data with low mean. The results also illustrates that when the sample size (more than 100 sites) and the number of years of crash data is relatively large, neither the incorporation of past experience nor the choice of the hyper-prior distribution may affect the final results of a traffic safety analysis. As a potential solution to the problem of low sample mean and small sample size, this paper suggests some practical guidance on how to incorporate past evidence into informative hyper-priors. By combining evidence from past studies and data available, the model parameter estimates can significantly be improved. The effect of prior choice seems to be less important on the hotspot identification. The results show the benefits of incorporating prior

Analysis of baseline gene expression levels from ...

Science.gov (United States)

The use of gene expression profiling to predict chemical mode of action would be enhanced by better characterization of variance due to individual, environmental, and technical factors. Meta-analysis of microarray data from untreated or vehicle-treated animals within the control arm of toxicogenomics studies has yielded useful information on baseline fluctuations in gene expression. A dataset of control animal microarray expression data was assembled by a working group of the Health and Environmental Sciences Institute's Technical Committee on the Application of Genomics in Mechanism Based Risk Assessment in order to provide a public resource for assessments of variability in baseline gene expression. Data from over 500 Affymetrix microarrays from control rat liver and kidney were collected from 16 different institutions. Thirty-five biological and technical factors were obtained for each animal, describing a wide range of study characteristics, and a subset were evaluated in detail for their contribution to total variability using multivariate statistical and graphical techniques. The study factors that emerged as key sources of variability included gender, organ section, strain, and fasting state. These and other study factors were identified as key descriptors that should be included in the minimal information about a toxicogenomics study needed for interpretation of results by an independent source. Genes that are the most and least variable, gender-selectiv

Incorporation of gene-specific variability improves expression analysis using high-density DNA microarrays

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Spitznagel Edward

2003-11-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background The assessment of data reproducibility is essential for application of microarray technology to exploration of biological pathways and disease states. Technical variability in data analysis largely depends on signal intensity. Within that context, the reproducibility of individual probe sets has not been hitherto addressed. Results We used an extraordinarily large replicate data set derived from human placental trophoblast to analyze probe-specific contribution to variability of gene expression. We found that signal variability, in addition to being signal-intensity dependant, is probe set-specific. Importantly, we developed a novel method to quantify the contribution of this probe set-specific variability. Furthermore, we devised a formula that incorporates a priori-computed, replicate-based information on probe set- and intensity-specific variability in determination of expression changes even without technical replicates. Conclusion The strategy of incorporating probe set-specific variability is superior to analysis based on arbitrary fold-change thresholds. We recommend its incorporation to any computation of gene expression changes using high-density DNA microarrays. A Java application implementing our T-score is available at http://www.sadovsky.wustl.edu/tscore.html.

Incorporating psychological influences in probabilistic cost analysis

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kujawski, Edouard; Alvaro, Mariana; Edwards, William

2004-01-08

Today's typical probabilistic cost analysis assumes an ''ideal'' project that is devoid of the human and organizational considerations that heavily influence the success and cost of real-world projects. In the real world ''Money Allocated Is Money Spent'' (MAIMS principle); cost underruns are rarely available to protect against cost overruns while task overruns are passed on to the total project cost. Realistic cost estimates therefore require a modified probabilistic cost analysis that simultaneously models the cost management strategy including budget allocation. Psychological influences such as overconfidence in assessing uncertainties and dependencies among cost elements and risks are other important considerations that are generally not addressed. It should then be no surprise that actual project costs often exceed the initial estimates and are delivered late and/or with a reduced scope. This paper presents a practical probabilistic cost analysis model that incorporates recent findings in human behavior and judgment under uncertainty, dependencies among cost elements, the MAIMS principle, and project management practices. Uncertain cost elements are elicited from experts using the direct fractile assessment method and fitted with three-parameter Weibull distributions. The full correlation matrix is specified in terms of two parameters that characterize correlations among cost elements in the same and in different subsystems. The analysis is readily implemented using standard Monte Carlo simulation tools such as {at}Risk and Crystal Ball{reg_sign}. The analysis of a representative design and engineering project substantiates that today's typical probabilistic cost analysis is likely to severely underestimate project cost for probability of success values of importance to contractors and procuring activities. The proposed approach provides a framework for developing a viable cost management strategy for

An approach for integrating toxicogenomic data in risk assessment: The dibutyl phthalate case study

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Euling, Susan Y., E-mail: euling.susan@epa.gov [National Center for Environmental Assessment, Office of Research and Development, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Washington, DC (United States); Thompson, Chad M. [ToxStrategies, Inc., 23501 Cinco Ranch Blvd., Suite G265, Katy, TX 77494 (United States); Chiu, Weihsueh A. [National Center for Environmental Assessment, Office of Research and Development, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Washington, DC (United States); Benson, Robert [U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Region 8, Mail code 8P-W, 1595 Wynkoop Street, Denver, CO 80202 (United States)

2013-09-15

An approach for evaluating and integrating genomic data in chemical risk assessment was developed based on the lessons learned from performing a case study for the chemical dibutyl phthalate. A case study prototype approach was first developed in accordance with EPA guidance and recommendations of the scientific community. Dibutyl phthalate (DBP) was selected for the case study exercise. The scoping phase of the dibutyl phthalate case study was conducted by considering the available DBP genomic data, taken together with the entire data set, for whether they could inform various risk assessment aspects, such as toxicodynamics, toxicokinetics, and dose–response. A description of weighing the available dibutyl phthalate data set for utility in risk assessment provides an example for considering genomic data for future chemical assessments. As a result of conducting the scoping process, two questions—Do the DBP toxicogenomic data inform 1) the mechanisms or modes of action?, and 2) the interspecies differences in toxicodynamics?—were selected to focus the case study exercise. Principles of the general approach include considering the genomics data in conjunction with all other data to determine their ability to inform the various qualitative and/or quantitative aspects of risk assessment, and evaluating the relationship between the available genomic and toxicity outcome data with respect to study comparability and phenotypic anchoring. Based on experience from the DBP case study, recommendations and a general approach for integrating genomic data in chemical assessment were developed to advance the broader effort to utilize 21st century data in risk assessment. - Highlights: • Performed DBP case study for integrating genomic data in risk assessment • Present approach for considering genomic data in chemical risk assessment • Present recommendations for use of genomic data in chemical risk assessment.

Isoflurane is a suitable alternative to ether for anesthetizing rats prior to euthanasia for gene expression analysis.

Science.gov (United States)

Nakatsu, Noriyuki; Igarashi, Yoshinobu; Aoshi, Taiki; Hamaguchi, Isao; Saito, Masumichi; Mizukami, Takuo; Momose, Haruka; Ishii, Ken J; Yamada, Hiroshi

2017-01-01

Diethyl ether (ether) had been widely used in Japan for anesthesia, despite its explosive properties and toxicity to both humans and animals. We also had used ether as an anesthetic for euthanizing rats for research in the Toxicogenomics Project (TGP). Because the use of ether for these purposes will likely cease, it is required to select an alternative anesthetic which is validated for consistency with existing TGP data acquired under ether anesthesia. We therefore compared two alternative anesthetic candidates, isoflurane and pentobarbital, with ether in terms of hematological findings, serum biochemical parameters, and gene expressions. As a result, few differences among the three agents were observed. In hematological and serum biochemistry analysis, no significant changes were found. In gene expression analysis, four known genes were extracted as differentially expressed genes in the liver of rats anesthetized with ether, isoflurane, or pentobarbital. However, no significant relationships were detected using gene ontology, pathway, or gene enrichment analyses by DAVID and TargetMine. Surprisingly, although it was expected that the lung would be affected by administration via inhalation, only one differentially expressed gene was extracted in the lung. Taken together, our data indicate that there are no significant differences among ether, isoflurane, and pentobarbital with respect to effects on hematological parameters, serum biochemistry parameters, and gene expression. Based on its smallest affect to existing data and its safety profile for humans and animals, we suggest isoflurane as a suitable alternative anesthetic for use in rat euthanasia in toxicogenomics analysis.

Incorporation of wind generation to the Mexican power grid: Steady state analysis

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Tovar, J.H.; Guardado, J.L.; Cisneros, F. [Inst. Tecnologico de Morelia (Mexico); Cadenas, R.; Lopez, S. [Comision Federal de Electricidad, Morelia (Mexico)

1997-09-01

This paper describes a steady state analysis related with the incorporation of large amounts of eolic generation into the Mexican power system. An equivalent node is used to represent individual eolic generators in the wind farm. Possible overloads, losses, voltage and reactive profiles and estimated severe contingencies are analyzed. Finally, the conclusions of this study are presented.

Incorporating parametric uncertainty into population viability analysis models

Science.gov (United States)

McGowan, Conor P.; Runge, Michael C.; Larson, Michael A.

2011-01-01

Uncertainty in parameter estimates from sampling variation or expert judgment can introduce substantial uncertainty into ecological predictions based on those estimates. However, in standard population viability analyses, one of the most widely used tools for managing plant, fish and wildlife populations, parametric uncertainty is often ignored in or discarded from model projections. We present a method for explicitly incorporating this source of uncertainty into population models to fully account for risk in management and decision contexts. Our method involves a two-step simulation process where parametric uncertainty is incorporated into the replication loop of the model and temporal variance is incorporated into the loop for time steps in the model. Using the piping plover, a federally threatened shorebird in the USA and Canada, as an example, we compare abundance projections and extinction probabilities from simulations that exclude and include parametric uncertainty. Although final abundance was very low for all sets of simulations, estimated extinction risk was much greater for the simulation that incorporated parametric uncertainty in the replication loop. Decisions about species conservation (e.g., listing, delisting, and jeopardy) might differ greatly depending on the treatment of parametric uncertainty in population models.

Phenobarbital and propiconazole toxicogenomic profiles in mice show major similarities consistent with the key role that constitutive androstane receptor (CAR) activation plays in their mode of action

Science.gov (United States)

Currie, Richard A.; Peffer, Richard C.; Goetz, Amber K.; Omiecinski, Curtis J.; Goodman, Jay I.

2014-01-01

Toxicogenomics (TGx) is employed frequently to investigate underlying molecular mechanisms of the compound of interest and, thus, has become an aid to mode of action determination. However, the results and interpretation of a TGx dataset are influenced by the experimental design and methods of analysis employed. This article describes an evaluation and reanalysis, by two independent laboratories, of previously published TGx mouse liver microarray data for a triazole fungicide, propiconazole (PPZ), and the anticonvulsant drug phenobarbital (PB). Propiconazole produced an increase incidence of liver tumors in male CD-1 mice only at a dose that exceeded the maximum tolerated dose (2500 ppm). Firstly, we illustrate how experimental design differences between two in vivo studies with PPZ and PB may impact the comparisons of TGx results. Secondly, we demonstrate that different researchers using different pathway analysis tools can come to different conclusions on specific mechanistic pathways, even when using the same datasets. Finally, despite these differences the results across three different analyses also show a striking degree of similarity observed for PPZ and PB treated livers when the expression data are viewed as major signaling pathways and cell processes affected. Additional studies described here show that the postulated key event of hepatocellular proliferation was observed in CD-1 mice for both PPZ and PB, and that PPZ is also a potent activator of the mouse CAR nuclear receptor. Thus, with regard to the events which are hallmarks of CAR-induced effects that are key events in the mode of action (MOA) of mouse liver carcinogenesis with PB, PPZ-induced tumors can be viewed as being promoted by a similar PB-like CAR-dependent MOA. PMID:24675475

Phenobarbital and propiconazole toxicogenomic profiles in mice show major similarities consistent with the key role that constitutive androstane receptor (CAR) activation plays in their mode of action

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Currie, Richard A.; Peffer, Richard C.; Goetz, Amber K.; Omiecinski, Curtis J.; Goodman, Jay I.

2014-01-01

Toxicogenomics (TGx) is employed frequently to investigate underlying molecular mechanisms of the compound of interest and, thus, has become an aid to mode of action determination. However, the results and interpretation of a TGx dataset are influenced by the experimental design and methods of analysis employed. This article describes an evaluation and reanalysis, by two independent laboratories, of previously published TGx mouse liver microarray data for a triazole fungicide, propiconazole (PPZ), and the anticonvulsant drug phenobarbital (PB). Propiconazole produced an increase incidence of liver tumors in male CD-1 mice only at a dose that exceeded the maximum tolerated dose (2500 ppm). Firstly, we illustrate how experimental design differences between two in vivo studies with PPZ and PB may impact the comparisons of TGx results. Secondly, we demonstrate that different researchers using different pathway analysis tools can come to different conclusions on specific mechanistic pathways, even when using the same datasets. Finally, despite these differences the results across three different analyses also show a striking degree of similarity observed for PPZ and PB treated livers when the expression data are viewed as major signaling pathways and cell processes affected. Additional studies described here show that the postulated key event of hepatocellular proliferation was observed in CD-1 mice for both PPZ and PB, and that PPZ is also a potent activator of the mouse CAR nuclear receptor. Thus, with regard to the events which are hallmarks of CAR-induced effects that are key events in the mode of action (MOA) of mouse liver carcinogenesis with PB, PPZ-induced tumors can be viewed as being promoted by a similar PB-like CAR-dependent MOA

Development and phytochemical content analysis of bun incorporated with Kappaphycus Alvarezii seaweed powder

Science.gov (United States)

Sasue, Anita; Kasim, Zalifah Mohd

2016-11-01

Consumer awareness of the importance of functional foods has greatly grown in the past years. Functional foods with elevated levels of antioxidants are of high demand because of its associated health benefits. As bread is a common component in our daily diet, it may be convenient food to deliver antioxidants at a high concentration. The main approach of this study is to incorporate Kappaphycus alvarezii seaweed powder (SWP) and white flour in the bun formulation in order to develop seaweed bun with higher level of phytochemicals. The fresh Kappaphycus alvarezii seaweeds were washed, soaked in distilled water overnight, dried in a cabinet dryer at 40°C for 24 hours and ground into fine powder using universal miller. There were five different percentages of SWP incorporated into bun that were formulation A - control (0% SWP), B (3% SWP), C (6% SWP), D (9% SWP) and E (12% SWP). All the samples were undergone texture, total phenolic content and DPPH analysis. Seaweed concentration had most significant effect on phytochemical constituents of the bun with TPC (35.07 GAE, mg/100g) and DPPH activity (49.02%) maximized when 12% SWP was incorporated into the flour (P<0.05). The incorporation of the SWP also gives significant effects towards the texture of the bun where the bun becomes harder and denser as compared to the control.

Incorporating Handling Qualities Analysis into Rotorcraft Conceptual Design

Science.gov (United States)

Lawrence, Ben

2014-01-01

This paper describes the initial development of a framework to incorporate handling qualities analyses into a rotorcraft conceptual design process. In particular, the paper describes how rotorcraft conceptual design level data can be used to generate flight dynamics models for handling qualities analyses. Also, methods are described that couple a basic stability augmentation system to the rotorcraft flight dynamics model to extend analysis to beyond that of the bare airframe. A methodology for calculating the handling qualities characteristics of the flight dynamics models and for comparing the results to ADS-33E criteria is described. Preliminary results from the application of the handling qualities analysis for variations in key rotorcraft design parameters of main rotor radius, blade chord, hub stiffness and flap moment of inertia are shown. Varying relationships, with counteracting trends for different handling qualities criteria and different flight speeds are exhibited, with the action of the control system playing a complex part in the outcomes. Overall, the paper demonstrates how a broad array of technical issues across flight dynamics stability and control, simulation and modeling, control law design and handling qualities testing and evaluation had to be confronted to implement even a moderately comprehensive handling qualities analysis of relatively low fidelity models. A key outstanding issue is to how to 'close the loop' with an overall design process, and options for the exploration of how to feedback handling qualities results to a conceptual design process are proposed for future work.

Gene expression profiling to identify potentially relevant disease outcomes and support human health risk assessment for carbon black nanoparticle exposure.

Science.gov (United States)

Bourdon, Julie A; Williams, Andrew; Kuo, Byron; Moffat, Ivy; White, Paul A; Halappanavar, Sabina; Vogel, Ulla; Wallin, Håkan; Yauk, Carole L

2013-01-07

New approaches are urgently needed to evaluate potential hazards posed by exposure to nanomaterials. Gene expression profiling provides information on potential modes of action and human relevance, and tools have recently become available for pathway-based quantitative risk assessment. The objective of this study was to use toxicogenomics in the context of human health risk assessment. We explore the utility of toxicogenomics in risk assessment, using published gene expression data from C57BL/6 mice exposed to 18, 54 and 162 μg Printex 90 carbon black nanoparticles (CBNP). Analysis of CBNP-perturbed pathways, networks and transcription factors revealed concomitant changes in predicted phenotypes (e.g., pulmonary inflammation and genotoxicity), that correlated with dose and time. Benchmark doses (BMDs) for apical endpoints were comparable to minimum BMDs for relevant pathway-specific expression changes. Comparison to inflammatory lung disease models (i.e., allergic airway inflammation, bacterial infection and tissue injury and fibrosis) and human disease profiles revealed that induced gene expression changes in Printex 90 exposed mice were similar to those typical for pulmonary injury and fibrosis. Very similar fibrotic pathways were perturbed in CBNP-exposed mice and human fibrosis disease models. Our synthesis demonstrates how toxicogenomic profiles may be used in human health risk assessment of nanoparticles and constitutes an important step forward in the ultimate recognition of toxicogenomic endpoints in human health risk. As our knowledge of molecular pathways, dose-response characteristics and relevance to human disease continues to grow, we anticipate that toxicogenomics will become increasingly useful in assessing chemical toxicities and in human health risk assessment. Crown Copyright © 2012. Published by Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Rotorcraft Optimization Tools: Incorporating Rotorcraft Design Codes into Multi-Disciplinary Design, Analysis, and Optimization

Science.gov (United States)

Meyn, Larry A.

2018-01-01

One of the goals of NASA's Revolutionary Vertical Lift Technology Project (RVLT) is to provide validated tools for multidisciplinary design, analysis and optimization (MDAO) of vertical lift vehicles. As part of this effort, the software package, RotorCraft Optimization Tools (RCOTOOLS), is being developed to facilitate incorporating key rotorcraft conceptual design codes into optimizations using the OpenMDAO multi-disciplinary optimization framework written in Python. RCOTOOLS, also written in Python, currently supports the incorporation of the NASA Design and Analysis of RotorCraft (NDARC) vehicle sizing tool and the Comprehensive Analytical Model of Rotorcraft Aerodynamics and Dynamics II (CAMRAD II) analysis tool into OpenMDAO-driven optimizations. Both of these tools use detailed, file-based inputs and outputs, so RCOTOOLS provides software wrappers to update input files with new design variable values, execute these codes and then extract specific response variable values from the file outputs. These wrappers are designed to be flexible and easy to use. RCOTOOLS also provides several utilities to aid in optimization model development, including Graphical User Interface (GUI) tools for browsing input and output files in order to identify text strings that are used to identify specific variables as optimization input and response variables. This paper provides an overview of RCOTOOLS and its use

Microstructural analysis of clayey ceramic incorporated with fluorescent lamp glass

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Morais, A.S.C.; Caldas, T.C.C.; Pereira, P.S.; Monteiro, S.N.; Vieira, C.M.F.

2011-01-01

This study aims to evaluate the effect of the incorporation of glass powder fluorescent lamp, from a decontamination process, in the microstructure of clayey ceramic. Formulations were prepared with incorporation of the waste in amounts of up to 10 wt.% into the clayey body. Specimens were prepared by uniaxial mold-press at 20 MPa and then fired at 850 and 1050°C. After firing, the microstructure of the ceramics was evaluated by optical microscopy (OM), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and X-ray diffraction (XRD). The results showed that the incorporation of glass powder into the clayey body changes the microstructure of the ceramics. (author)

Aeroelastic Analysis of Helicopter Rotor Blades Incorporating Anisotropic Piezoelectric Twist Actuation

Science.gov (United States)

Wilkie, W. Keats; Belvin, W. Keith; Park, K. C.

1996-01-01

A simple aeroelastic analysis of a helicopter rotor blade incorporating embedded piezoelectric fiber composite, interdigitated electrode blade twist actuators is described. The analysis consists of a linear torsion and flapwise bending model coupled with a nonlinear ONERA based unsteady aerodynamics model. A modified Galerkin procedure is performed upon the rotor blade partial differential equations of motion to develop a system of ordinary differential equations suitable for dynamics simulation using numerical integration. The twist actuation responses for three conceptual fullscale blade designs with realistic constraints on blade mass are numerically evaluated using the analysis. Numerical results indicate that useful amplitudes of nonresonant elastic twist, on the order of one to two degrees, are achievable under one-g hovering flight conditions for interdigitated electrode poling configurations. Twist actuation for the interdigitated electrode blades is also compared with the twist actuation of a conventionally poled piezoelectric fiber composite blade. Elastic twist produced using the interdigitated electrode actuators was found to be four to five times larger than that obtained with the conventionally poled actuators.

Evaluation of a toxicogenomic approach to the local lymph node assay (LLNA).

Science.gov (United States)

Boverhof, Darrell R; Gollapudi, B Bhaskar; Hotchkiss, Jon A; Osterloh-Quiroz, Mandy; Woolhiser, Michael R

2009-02-01

Genomic technologies have the potential to enhance and complement existing toxicology endpoints; however, assessment of these approaches requires a systematic evaluation including a robust experimental design with genomic endpoints anchored to traditional toxicology endpoints. The present study was conducted to assess the sensitivity of genomic responses when compared with the traditional local lymph node assay (LLNA) endpoint of lymph node cell proliferation and to evaluate the responses for their ability to provide insights into mode of action. Female BALB/c mice were treated with the sensitizer trimellitic anhydride (TMA), following the standard LLNA dosing regimen, at doses of 0.1, 1, or 10% and traditional tritiated thymidine ((3)HTdR) incorporation and gene expression responses were monitored in the auricular lymph nodes. Additional mice dosed with either vehicle or 10% TMA and sacrificed on day 4 or 10, were also included to examine temporal effects on gene expression. Analysis of (3)HTdR incorporation revealed TMA-induced stimulation indices of 2.8, 22.9, and 61.0 relative to vehicle with an EC(3) of 0.11%. Examination of the dose-response gene expression responses identified 9, 833, and 2122 differentially expressed genes relative to vehicle for the 0.1, 1, and 10% TMA dose groups, respectively. Calculation of EC(3) values for differentially expressed genes did not identify a response that was more sensitive than the (3)HTdR value, although a number of genes displayed comparable sensitivity. Examination of temporal responses revealed 1760, 1870, and 953 differentially expressed genes at the 4-, 6-, and 10-day time points respectively. Functional analysis revealed many responses displayed dose- and time-specific induction patterns within the functional categories of cellular proliferation and immune response, including numerous immunoglobin genes which were highly induced at the day 10 time point. Overall, these experiments have systematically illustrated

Between economic and legal analysis of incorporeal things: A critical

African Journals Online (AJOL)

The author uses practical economic examples to argue for the development of common law. The author identifies relevant Roman law principles which justify the legal nature of incorporeal things. It is demonstrated that the value of incorporeal things depends greatly on future circumstances. It is argued in this article that the ...

Context incorporation using context-aware language features

OpenAIRE

Vlachostergiou, Aggeliki; Marandianos, George; Kollias, Stefanos

2017-01-01

This paper investigates the problem of context incorporation into human language systems and particular in Sentiment Analysis (SA) systems. So far, the analysis of how different features, when incorporated into such systems, improve their performance, has been discussed in a number of studies. However, a complete picture of their effectiveness remains unexplored. With this work, we attempt to extend the pool of the context - aware language features at the sentence level and to provide the ...

Microarray analysis of toxicogenomic effects of Ortho-phenylphenol in Staphylococcus aureus

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Toghrol Freshteh

2008-09-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus, is responsible for many infectious diseases, ranging from benign skin infections to life-threatening endocarditis and toxic shock syndrome. Ortho-phenylphenol (OPP is an antimicrobial agent and an active ingredient of EPA-registered disinfectants with wide human exposure in various agricultural, hospital and veterinary disinfectant products. Despite many uses, an understanding of a cellular response to OPP and it's mechanism of action, targeted genes, and the connectivity between targeted genes and the rest of cell metabolism remains obscure. Results Herein, we performed a genome-wide transcriptome analysis of the cellular responses of S. aureus when exposed to 0.82 mM of OPP for 20 and 60 min. Our data indicated that OPP downregulated the biosynthesis of many amino acids, which are required for protein synthesis. In particular, the genes encoding the enzymes of the diaminopimelate (DAP pathway which results in lysine biosynthesis were significantly downregualted. Intriguingly, we revealed that the transcription of genes encoding ribosomal proteins was upregulated by OPP and at the same time, the genes encoding iron acquisition and transport were downregulated. The genes encoding virulence factors were upregulated and genes encoding phospholipids were downregulated upon 20 min exposure to OPP. Conclusion By using microarray analysis that enables us to simultaneously and globally examine the complete transcriptome during cellular responses, we have revealed novel information regarding the mode of action of OPP on Staphylococcus: OPP inhibits anabolism of many amino acids and highly downregulates the genes that encode the enzymes involved in the DAP pathway. Lysine and DAP are essential for building up the peptidoglycan cell wall. It was concluded that the mode of action of OPP is similar to the mechanism of action of some antibiotics. The discovery of this phenomenon provides useful

Aspects of the incorporation of spatial data into radioecological and restoration analysis

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Beresford, N.A.; Wright, S.M.; Howard, B.J.; Crout, N.M.J.; Arkhipov, A.; Voigt, G.

2002-01-01

In the last decade geographical information systems have been increasingly used to incorporate spatial data into radioecological analysis. This has allowed the development of models with spatially variable outputs. Two main approaches have been adopted in the development of spatial models. Empirical Tag based models applied across a range of spatial scales utilize underlying soil type maps and readily available radioecological data. Soil processes can also be modelled to allow the dynamic prediction of radionuclide soil to plant transfer. We discuss a dynamic semi-mechanistic radiocaesium soil to plant-transfer model, which utilizes readily available spatially variable soil parameters. Both approaches allow the identification of areas that may be vulnerable to radionuclide deposition, therefore enabling the targeting of intervention measures. Improved estimates of radionuclide fluxes and ingestion doses can be achieved by incorporating spatially varying inputs such as agricultural production and dietary habits in to these models. In this paper, aspects of such models, including data requirements, implementation and outputs are discussed and critically evaluated. The relative merits and disadvantages of the two spatial model approaches adopted within radioecology are discussed. We consider the usefulness of such models to aid decision-makers and access the requirements and potential of further application within radiological protection. (author)

Incorporating twitter-based human activity information in spatial analysis of crashes in urban areas.

Science.gov (United States)

Bao, Jie; Liu, Pan; Yu, Hao; Xu, Chengcheng

2017-09-01

The primary objective of this study was to investigate how to incorporate human activity information in spatial analysis of crashes in urban areas using Twitter check-in data. This study used the data collected from the City of Los Angeles in the United States to illustrate the procedure. The following five types of data were collected: crash data, human activity data, traditional traffic exposure variables, road network attributes and social-demographic data. A web crawler by Python was developed to collect the venue type information from the Twitter check-in data automatically. The human activities were classified into seven categories by the obtained venue types. The collected data were aggregated into 896 Traffic Analysis Zones (TAZ). Geographically weighted regression (GWR) models were developed to establish a relationship between the crash counts reported in a TAZ and various contributing factors. Comparative analyses were conducted to compare the performance of GWR models which considered traditional traffic exposure variables only, Twitter-based human activity variables only, and both traditional traffic exposure and Twitter-based human activity variables. The model specification results suggested that human activity variables significantly affected the crash counts in a TAZ. The results of comparative analyses suggested that the models which considered both traditional traffic exposure and human activity variables had the best goodness-of-fit in terms of the highest R 2 and lowest AICc values. The finding seems to confirm the benefits of incorporating human activity information in spatial analysis of crashes using Twitter check-in data. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Toxicogenomic outcomes predictive of forestomach carcinogenesis following exposure to benzo(a)pyrene: Relevance to human cancer risk

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Labib, Sarah, E-mail: Sarah.Labib@hc-sc.gc.ca; Guo, Charles H., E-mail: Charles.Guo@hc-sc.gc.ca; Williams, Andrew, E-mail: Andrew.Williams@hc-sc.gc.ca; Yauk, Carole L., E-mail: Carole.Yauk@hc-sc.gc.ca; White, Paul A., E-mail: Paul.White@hc-sc.gc.ca; Halappanavar, Sabina, E-mail: Sabina.Halappanavar@hc-sc.gc.ca

2013-12-01

Forestomach tumors are observed in mice exposed to environmental carcinogens. However, the relevance of this data to humans is controversial because humans lack a forestomach. We hypothesize that an understanding of early molecular changes after exposure to a carcinogen in the forestomach will provide mode-of-action information to evaluate the applicability of forestomach cancers to human cancer risk assessment. In the present study we exposed mice to benzo(a)pyrene (BaP), an environmental carcinogen commonly associated with tumors of the rodent forestomach. Toxicogenomic tools were used to profile gene expression response in the forestomach. Adult Muta™Mouse males were orally exposed to 25, 50, and 75 mg BaP/kg-body-weight/day for 28 consecutive days. The forestomach was collected three days post-exposure. DNA microarrays, real-time RT-qPCR arrays, and protein analyses were employed to characterize responses in the forestomach. Microarray results showed altered expression of 414 genes across all treatment groups (± 1.5 fold; false discovery rate adjusted P ≤ 0.05). Significant downregulation of genes associated with phase II xenobiotic metabolism and increased expression of genes implicated in antigen processing and presentation, immune response, chemotaxis, and keratinocyte differentiation were observed in treated groups in a dose-dependent manner. A systematic comparison of the differentially expressed genes in the forestomach from the present study to differentially expressed genes identified in human diseases including human gastrointestinal tract cancers using the NextBio Human Disease Atlas showed significant commonalities between the two models. Our results provide molecular evidence supporting the use of the mouse forestomach model to evaluate chemically-induced gastrointestinal carcinogenesis in humans. - Highlights: • Benzo(a)pyrene-mediated transcriptomic response in the forestomach was examined. • The immunoproteosome subunits and MHC class I

Incorporating Measurement Non-Equivalence in a Cross-Study Latent Growth Curve Analysis.

Science.gov (United States)

Flora, David B; Curran, Patrick J; Hussong, Andrea M; Edwards, Michael C

2008-10-01

A large literature emphasizes the importance of testing for measurement equivalence in scales that may be used as observed variables in structural equation modeling applications. When the same construct is measured across more than one developmental period, as in a longitudinal study, it can be especially critical to establish measurement equivalence, or invariance, across the developmental periods. Similarly, when data from more than one study are combined into a single analysis, it is again important to assess measurement equivalence across the data sources. Yet, how to incorporate non-equivalence when it is discovered is not well described for applied researchers. Here, we present an item response theory approach that can be used to create scale scores from measures while explicitly accounting for non-equivalence. We demonstrate these methods in the context of a latent curve analysis in which data from two separate studies are combined to create a single longitudinal model spanning several developmental periods.

Aluminium incorporation in AlxGa1-xN/GaN heterostructures: A comparative study by ion beam analysis and X-ray diffraction

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Redondo-Cubero, A.; Gago, R.; Gonzalez-Posada, F.; Kreissig, U.; Di Forte Poisson, M.-A.; Brana, A.F.; Munoz, E.

2008-01-01

The Al content in Al x Ga 1-x N/GaN heterostructures has been determined by X-ray diffraction (XRD) and contrasted with absolute measurements from ion beam analysis (IBA) methods. For this purpose, samples with 0.1 0.2. The assessment of Al incorporation by XRD is quite reliable regarding the average value along the sample thickness. However, XRD analysis tends to overestimate the Al fraction at low contents, which is attributed to the presence of strain within the layer. For the highest Al incorporation, IBA detects a certain Al in-depth compositional profile that should be considered for better XRD data analysis

MWCNTs of different physicochemical properties cause similar inflammatory responses, but differences in transcriptional and histological markers of fibrosis in mouse lungs

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Poulsen, Sarah S.; Saber, Anne T.; Williams, Andrew

2015-01-01

Multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) are an inhomogeneous group of nanomaterials that vary in lengths, shapes and types of metal contamination, which makes hazard evaluation difficult. Here we present a toxicogenomic analysis of female C57BL/6 mouse lungs following a single intratracheal instil...

The effects of music therapy incorporated with applied behavior analysis verbal behavior approach for children with autism spectrum disorders.

Science.gov (United States)

Lim, Hayoung A; Draper, Ellary

2011-01-01

This study compared a common form of Applied Behavior Analysis Verbal Behavior (ABA VB) approach and music incorporated with ABA VB method as part of developmental speech-language training in the speech production of children with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD). This study explored how the perception of musical patterns incorporated in ABA VB operants impacted the production of speech in children with ASD. Participants were 22 children with ASD, age range 3 to 5 years, who were verbal or pre verbal with presence of immediate echolalia. They were randomly assigned a set of target words for each of the 3 training conditions: (a) music incorporated ABA VB, (b) speech (ABA VB) and (c) no-training. Results showed both music and speech trainings were effective for production of the four ABA verbal operants; however, the difference between music and speech training was not statistically different. Results also indicated that music incorporated ABA VB training was most effective in echoic production, and speech training was most effective in tact production. Music can be incorporated into the ABA VB training method, and musical stimuli can be used as successfully as ABA VB speech training to enhance the functional verbal production in children with ASD.

An aeroelastic analysis of helicopter rotor blades incorporating piezoelectric fiber composite twist actuation

Science.gov (United States)

Wilkie, W. Keats; Park, K. C.

1996-01-01

A simple aeroelastic analysis of a helicopter rotor blade incorporating embedded piezoelectric fiber composite, interdigitated electrode blade twist actuators is described. The analysis consist of a linear torsion and flapwise bending model coupled with a nonlinear ONERA based unsteady aerodynamics model. A modified Galerkin procedure is performed upon the rotor blade partial differential equations of motion to develop a system of ordinary differential equations suitable for numerical integration. The twist actuation responses for three conceptual full-scale blade designs with realistic constraints on blade mass are numerically evaluated using the analysis. Numerical results indicate that useful amplitudes of nonresonant elastic twist, on the order of one to two degrees, are achievable under one-g hovering flight conditions for interdigitated electrode poling configurations. Twist actuation for the interdigitated electrode blades is also compared with the twist actuation of a conventionally poled piezoelectric fiber composite blade. Elastic twist produced using the interdigitated electrode actuators was found to be four to five times larger than that obtained with the conventionally poled actuators.

Temporal succession in carbon incorporation from macromolecules by particle-attached bacteria in marine microcosms: Particle-attached bacteria incorporating organic carbon

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Mayali, Xavier [Lawrence Livermore National Lab. (LLNL), Livermore, CA (United States); Stewart, Benjamin [Lawrence Livermore National Lab. (LLNL), Livermore, CA (United States); Mabery, Shalini [Lawrence Livermore National Lab. (LLNL), Livermore, CA (United States); Weber, Peter K. [Lawrence Livermore National Lab. (LLNL), Livermore, CA (United States)

2015-12-21

Here, we investigated bacterial carbon assimilation from stable isotope-labelled macromolecular substrates (proteins; lipids; and two types of polysaccharides, starch and cellobiose) while attached to killed diatom detrital particles during laboratory microcosms incubated for 17 days. Using Chip-SIP (secondary ion mass spectrometry analysis of RNA microarrays), we identified generalist operational taxonomic units (OTUs) from the Gammaproteobacteria, belonging to the genera Colwellia, Glaciecola, Pseudoalteromonas and Rheinheimera, and from the Bacteroidetes, genera Owenweeksia and Maribacter, that incorporated the four tested substrates throughout the incubation period. Many of these OTUs exhibited the highest isotope incorporation relative to the others, indicating that they were likely the most active. Additional OTUs from the Gammaproteobacteria, Bacteroidetes and Alphaproteobacteria exhibited generally (but not always) lower activity and did not incorporate all tested substrates at all times, showing species succession in organic carbon incorporation. We also found evidence to suggest that both generalist and specialist OTUs changed their relative substrate incorporation over time, presumably in response to changing substrate availability as the particles aged. This pattern was demonstrated by temporal succession from relatively higher starch incorporation early in the incubations, eventually switching to higher cellobiose incorporation after 2 weeks.

Incorporating concepts of inequality and inequity into health benefits analysis

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Tuchmann Jessica L

2006-03-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Although environmental policy decisions are often based in part on both risk assessment information and environmental justice concerns, formalized approaches for addressing inequality or inequity when estimating the health benefits of pollution control have been lacking. Inequality indicators that fulfill basic axioms and agree with relevant definitions and concepts in health benefits analysis and environmental justice analysis can allow for quantitative examination of efficiency-equality tradeoffs in pollution control policies. Methods To develop appropriate inequality indicators for health benefits analysis, we provide relevant definitions from the fields of risk assessment and environmental justice and consider the implications. We evaluate axioms proposed in past studies of inequality indicators and develop additional axioms relevant to this context. We survey the literature on previous applications of inequality indicators and evaluate five candidate indicators in reference to our proposed axioms. We present an illustrative pollution control example to determine whether our selected indicators provide interpretable information. Results and Conclusions We conclude that an inequality indicator for health benefits analysis should not decrease when risk is transferred from a low-risk to high-risk person, and that it should decrease when risk is transferred from a high-risk to low-risk person (Pigou-Dalton transfer principle, and that it should be able to have total inequality divided into its constituent parts (subgroup decomposability. We additionally propose that an ideal indicator should avoid value judgments about the relative importance of transfers at different percentiles of the risk distribution, incorporate health risk with evidence about differential susceptibility, include baseline distributions of risk, use appropriate geographic resolution and scope, and consider multiple competing policy alternatives. Given

Analysis of the cement clinker produced with incorporation of petroleum sludge

Science.gov (United States)

Benlamoudi, A.; Kadir, A. Abdul; Khodja, M.; Nuruddin, M. F.

2018-04-01

Very limited researches have been conducted on the incorporation of petroleum sludge waste into cement clinker production even though this waste may contain similar components to those of clinker raw materials. In this research, petroleum sludge was integrated into cement plant as raw material to produce the cement clinker. As results, incorporation of 5% of this waste was able to produce an acceptable quality of cement. Despite the use of petroleum sludge has decreased the properties of the produced clinker, but it still fit the requirements.

Probabilistic sensitivity analysis incorporating the bootstrap: an example comparing treatments for the eradication of Helicobacter pylori.

Science.gov (United States)

Pasta, D J; Taylor, J L; Henning, J M

1999-01-01

Decision-analytic models are frequently used to evaluate the relative costs and benefits of alternative therapeutic strategies for health care. Various types of sensitivity analysis are used to evaluate the uncertainty inherent in the models. Although probabilistic sensitivity analysis is more difficult theoretically and computationally, the results can be much more powerful and useful than deterministic sensitivity analysis. The authors show how a Monte Carlo simulation can be implemented using standard software to perform a probabilistic sensitivity analysis incorporating the bootstrap. The method is applied to a decision-analytic model evaluating the cost-effectiveness of Helicobacter pylori eradication. The necessary steps are straightforward and are described in detail. The use of the bootstrap avoids certain difficulties encountered with theoretical distributions. The probabilistic sensitivity analysis provided insights into the decision-analytic model beyond the traditional base-case and deterministic sensitivity analyses and should become the standard method for assessing sensitivity.

Lynx web services for annotations and systems analysis of multi-gene disorders.

Science.gov (United States)

Sulakhe, Dinanath; Taylor, Andrew; Balasubramanian, Sandhya; Feng, Bo; Xie, Bingqing; Börnigen, Daniela; Dave, Utpal J; Foster, Ian T; Gilliam, T Conrad; Maltsev, Natalia

2014-07-01

Lynx is a web-based integrated systems biology platform that supports annotation and analysis of experimental data and generation of weighted hypotheses on molecular mechanisms contributing to human phenotypes and disorders of interest. Lynx has integrated multiple classes of biomedical data (genomic, proteomic, pathways, phenotypic, toxicogenomic, contextual and others) from various public databases as well as manually curated data from our group and collaborators (LynxKB). Lynx provides tools for gene list enrichment analysis using multiple functional annotations and network-based gene prioritization. Lynx provides access to the integrated database and the analytical tools via REST based Web Services (http://lynx.ci.uchicago.edu/webservices.html). This comprises data retrieval services for specific functional annotations, services to search across the complete LynxKB (powered by Lucene), and services to access the analytical tools built within the Lynx platform. © The Author(s) 2014. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Nucleic Acids Research.

Seropositivity to non-vaccine incorporated genotypes induced by the bivalent and quadrivalent HPV vaccines: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

Science.gov (United States)

Bissett, Sara L; Godi, Anna; Jit, Mark; Beddows, Simon

2017-07-13

Human papillomavirus vaccines have demonstrated remarkable efficacy against persistent infection and disease associated with vaccine-incorporated genotypes and a degree of efficacy against some genetically related, non-vaccine-incorporated genotypes. The vaccines differ in the extent of cross-protection against these non-vaccine genotypes. Data supporting the role for neutralizing antibodies as a correlate or surrogate of cross-protection are lacking, as is a robust assessment of the seroconversion rates against these non-vaccine genotypes. We performed a systematic review and meta-analysis of available data on vaccine-induced neutralizing antibody seropositivity to non-vaccine incorporated HPV genotypes. Of 304 articles screened, 9 were included in the analysis representing ca. 700 individuals. The pooled estimate for seropositivity against HPV31 for the bivalent vaccine (86%; 95%CI 78-91%) was higher than that for the quadrivalent vaccine (61%; 39-79%; p=0.011). The pooled estimate for seropositivity against HPV45 for the bivalent vaccine (50%; 37-64%) was also higher than that for the quadrivalent vaccine (16%; 6-36%; p=0.007). Seropositivity against HPV33, HPV52 and HPV58 were similar between the vaccines. Mean seropositivity rates across non-vaccine genotypes were positively associated with the corresponding vaccine efficacy data reported from vaccine trials. These data improve our understanding of vaccine-induced functional antibody specificity against non-vaccine incorporated genotypes and may help to parameterize vaccine-impact models and improve patient management in a post-vaccine setting. Crown Copyright © 2017. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Toxicogenomic markers for corticosteroid treatment in beef cattle: integrated analysis of transcriptomic data.

Science.gov (United States)

Pegolo, Sara; Di Camillo, Barbara; Montesissa, Clara; Cannizzo, Francesca Tiziana; Biolatti, Bartolomeo; Bargelloni, Luca

2015-03-01

In the present work, an integrated analysis was performed on DNA-microarray data of bovine muscle samples belonging to controls, animals treated with various growth promoters (GPs) and unknown commercial samples. The aim was identify a robust gene expression signature of corticosteroid treatment for the classification of commercial samples, despite the effects of biological variation and other confounding factors. DNA-Microarray data from 5 different batches of bovine skeletal muscle samples were analyzed (146 samples). After preprocessing, expression data from animals treated with corticosteroids and controls from the different batches (89 samples) were used to train a Support Vector Machines (SVMs) classifier. The optimal number of gene probes chosen by our classification framework was 73. The SVMs with linear kernel built on these 73 biomarker genes was predicted to perform on novel samples with a high classification accuracy (Matthew's correlation coefficient equal to 0.77) and an average percentage of false positive and false negative equal to 5% and 6%, respectively. Concluding, a relatively small set of genes was able to discriminate between controls and corticosteroid-treated animals, despite different breeds, animal ages, and combination of GPs. The results are extremely promising, suggesting that integrated analysis provides robust transcriptomic signatures for GP abuse. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

A Collaborative Approach to Incorporating Statistics in the Physiology Classroom

Science.gov (United States)

Potterfield, April; Majerus, Mary

2008-01-01

Both the National Science Education Standards (NSES) and the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM) recommend appropriately incorporating mathematics into other disciplines (NRC 1996; NRC 2003; NCTM 2000). With this in mind, an interdisciplinary, inquiry-based project was undertaken to incorporate mathematical analysis of data into a…

Analysis of 5-iodo-2'-deoxyuridine incorporation in murine melanoma for photon activation therapy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Popenoe, E.A.; Commerford, S.L.; Fairchild, R.G.; Laster, B.H.; Stony Brook University Hospital, New York; Wielopolski, L.; Meek, A.; Gahbauer, R.; Goodman, J.

1990-01-01

Quantitative evaluation of the dose enhancement obtained with analog nucleoside agents such as iododeoxyuridine (IdUrd) requires knowledge of the degree to which the thymidine (Thd) in DNA is replaced by IdUrd. In this investigation, mice were infused wit IdUrd using an intravenous infusion apparatus capable of delivering continuous multi-day infusions without restraining the mice. The absolute incorporation of IdUrd in DNA was measured by 125 IdUrd label, both in whole tissue and extracted DNA, showing a good correlation between levels observed in DNA and whole tissue. Replacement in a Harding-Passey murine melanoma tumor carried in BALB/c mice approached 10 per cent. In addition, a Neutron Activation Analysis (NAA) technique was developed which showed in vitro, a sensitivity sufficient to evaluate the percentage of replacement of Thd by IdUrd in small biological samples with a sensitivity greater than 0.1 ppm, at 1 per cent replacement in mg samples. This method can provide information on iodine substitution in DNA in humans where the use of a radioactive DNA-seeking substance would be undesirable. Analyses of IdUrd incorporation in cultured cells by NAA and 125 I counting showed good agreement. (author). 21 refs.; 2 figs.; 5 tabs

Analysis by X-Ray images of EVA waste incorporated in Portland Cement

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Marques, M.A.; Antunes, M.L.P.; Montagnoli, R.M.; Mancini, S.D.

2012-01-01

The EVA is a copolymer used by Brazilian shoes industries. This material is cut for the manufacture of insoles. This operation generates about 18% of waste. The EVA waste can be reused in incorporation in Portland cement to construction without structural purposes. The aim of this work is to show X-rays images to assessment the space distribution of the wastes in the cement and to evaluate the use of this methodology. Cylindrical specimens were produced according to ABNT - NBR 5738 standards. The volume relation of sand and cement was 3:1, 10% and 30% of waste was incorporated in cement specimens. X-Rays images were obtained of cylindrical specimens in front projection. The images showed that the distribution of the waste is homogeneous, consistent with what was intended in this type of incorporation, which can provide uniformity in test results of compressive strength. (author)

Incorporating Hofstede’ National Culture in Human Factor Analysis and Classification System (HFACS: Cases of Indonesian Aviation Safety

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Pratama Gradiyan Budi

2018-01-01

Full Text Available National culture plays an important role in the application of ergonomics and safety. This research examined role of national culture in accident analysis of Indonesian aviation using framework of Human Factors Analysis and Classification System (HFACS. 53 Indonesian aviation accidents during year of 2001-2012 were analyzed using the HFACS framework by authors and were validated to 14 air-transport experts in Indonesia. National culture is viewed with Hofstede’ lens of national culture. Result shows that high collectivistic, low uncertainty avoidance, high power distance, and masculinity dimension which are characteristics of Indonesian culture, play an important role in Indonesian aviation accident and should be incorporated within HFACS. Result is discussed in relation with HFACS and Indonesian aviation accident analysis.

Analysis by X-Ray images of wind blandes waste incorporated in Portland cement

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Marques, M.A.

2011-01-01

The wind blandes wastes can be reused in the incorporation in Portland cement, to be used in non-structural constructions. This work shows X-rays images to assessment the space distribution of the wastes in the cement and to evaluate the use of this methodology. Cylindrical specimens were produced according to ABNT NBR 5738 standards. The mass relation of sand, pebbles and cement was 3:2:1 and 10%, 20% and 50% of waste was incorporated in cement specimens. Frontal and upper projections were obtained in X-Rays images. The images showed that the distribution of the waste is homogeneous, consistent with what was intended in this type of incorporation, which can provide uniformity in test results of compressive strength. (author)

Conceptualising how SMEs incorporate green content in their websites

OpenAIRE

Craig M. Parker; Emilia Bellucci; Luba Torlina; Ambika Zutshi; Bardo Fraunholz

2014-01-01

This paper presents a framework on how Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) can proactively incorporate content relating to their ecological responsibility (or green) activities in their websites. SME studies offer limited guidance on, and conceptualisation of, how organisations can incorporate different types of content into their website designs. This paper addresses this problem by presenting the results of an exploratory, qualitative content analysis of Australian SME websites where emerge...

Lung cancer gene expression database analysis incorporating prior knowledge with support vector machine-based classification method

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Huang Desheng

2009-07-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background A reliable and precise classification is essential for successful diagnosis and treatment of cancer. Gene expression microarrays have provided the high-throughput platform to discover genomic biomarkers for cancer diagnosis and prognosis. Rational use of the available bioinformation can not only effectively remove or suppress noise in gene chips, but also avoid one-sided results of separate experiment. However, only some studies have been aware of the importance of prior information in cancer classification. Methods Together with the application of support vector machine as the discriminant approach, we proposed one modified method that incorporated prior knowledge into cancer classification based on gene expression data to improve accuracy. A public well-known dataset, Malignant pleural mesothelioma and lung adenocarcinoma gene expression database, was used in this study. Prior knowledge is viewed here as a means of directing the classifier using known lung adenocarcinoma related genes. The procedures were performed by software R 2.80. Results The modified method performed better after incorporating prior knowledge. Accuracy of the modified method improved from 98.86% to 100% in training set and from 98.51% to 99.06% in test set. The standard deviations of the modified method decreased from 0.26% to 0 in training set and from 3.04% to 2.10% in test set. Conclusion The method that incorporates prior knowledge into discriminant analysis could effectively improve the capacity and reduce the impact of noise. This idea may have good future not only in practice but also in methodology.

Incorporation of Uranium into Hematite during Crystallization from Ferrihydrite

Science.gov (United States)

2014-01-01

Ferrihydrite was exposed to U(VI)-containing cement leachate (pH 10.5) and aged to induce crystallization of hematite. A combination of chemical extractions, TEM, and XAS techniques provided the first evidence that adsorbed U(VI) (≈3000 ppm) was incorporated into hematite during ferrihydrite aggregation and the early stages of crystallization, with continued uptake occurring during hematite ripening. Analysis of EXAFS and XANES data indicated that the U(VI) was incorporated into a distorted, octahedrally coordinated site replacing Fe(III). Fitting of the EXAFS showed the uranyl bonds lengthened from 1.81 to 1.87 Å, in contrast to previous studies that have suggested that the uranyl bond is lost altogether upon incorporation into hematite. The results of this study both provide a new mechanistic understanding of uranium incorporation into hematite and define the nature of the bonding environment of uranium within the mineral structure. Immobilization of U(VI) by incorporation into hematite has clear and important implications for limiting uranium migration in natural and engineered environments. PMID:24580024

Effectiveness of strategies incorporating training and support of traditional birth attendants on perinatal and maternal mortality: meta-analysis.

Science.gov (United States)

Wilson, Amie; Gallos, Ioannis D; Plana, Nieves; Lissauer, David; Khan, Khalid S; Zamora, Javier; MacArthur, Christine; Coomarasamy, Arri

2011-12-01

To assess the effectiveness of strategies incorporating training and support of traditional birth attendants on the outcomes of perinatal, neonatal, and maternal death in developing countries. Systematic review with meta-analysis. Medline, Embase, the Allied and Complementary Medicine database, British Nursing Index, Cochrane Library, Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature, BioMed Central, PsycINFO, Latin American and Caribbean Health Sciences Literature database, African Index Medicus, Web of Science, Reproductive Health Library, and Science Citation Index (from inception to April 2011), without language restrictions. Search terms were "birth attend*", "traditional midwife", "lay birth attendant", "dais", and "comadronas". Review methods We selected randomised and non-randomised controlled studies with outcomes of perinatal, neonatal, and maternal mortality. Two independent reviewers undertook data extraction. We pooled relative risks separately for the randomised and non-randomised controlled studies, using a random effects model. We identified six cluster randomised controlled trials (n=138 549) and seven non-randomised controlled studies (n=72 225) that investigated strategies incorporating training and support of traditional birth attendants. All six randomised controlled trials found a reduction in adverse perinatal outcomes; our meta-analysis showed significant reductions in perinatal death (relative risk 0.76, 95% confidence interval 0.64 to 0.88, Ptraditional birth attendants.

Analysis of CdS/CdTe devices incorporating a ZnTe:Cu/Ti Contact

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gessert, T.A.; Asher, S.; Johnston, S.; Young, M.; Dippo, P.; Corwine, C.

2007-01-01

High-performance CdS/CdTe photovoltaic devices can be produced using a ZnTe:Cu/Ti back contact deposited onto the CdTe layer. We observe that prolonged exposure of the ZnTe:Cu and Ti sputtering targets to an oxygen-containing plasma significantly reduces device open-circuit voltage and fill factor. High-resolution compositional analysis of these devices reveals that Cu concentration in the CdTe and CdS layers is lower for devices with poor performance. Capacitance-voltage analysis and related numerical simulations indicate that the net acceptor concentration in the CdTe is also lower for devices with poor performance. Photoluminescence analyses of the junction region reveal that the intensity of a luminescent peak associated with a defect complex involving interstitial Cu (Cu i ) and oxygen on Te (O Te ) is reduced in devices with poor performance. Combined with thermodynamic considerations, these results suggest that oxygen incorporation into the ZnTe:Cu sputtering target reduces the ability of sputtered ZnTe:Cu film to diffuse Cu into the CdTe

Meta-Analysis of Studies Incorporating the Interests of Young Children with Autism Spectrum Disorders into Early Intervention Practices

OpenAIRE

Dunst, Carl J.; Trivette, Carol M.; Hamby, Deborah W.

2012-01-01

Incorporating the interests and preferences of young children with autism spectrum disorders into interventions to promote prosocial behavior and decrease behavior excesses has emerged as a promising practice for addressing the core features of autism. The efficacy of interest-based early intervention practices was examined in a meta-analysis of 24 studies including 78 children 2 to 6 years of age diagnosed with autism spectrum disorders. Effect size analyses of intervention versus noninterve...

IN SITU AND POST REACTION COBALT-INCORPORATION INTO ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Thermogravimetric analysis and Raman spectroscopy show that the surfactant is removed by solvent extraction. Cobalt ion incorporation is confirmed by Raman spectroscopy and UV-vis diffuse reflectance spectroscopy. KEY WORDS: Bifunctional periodic mesoporous organosilica, 1,2-bistrimethoxysilylethane, ...

Incorporating social justice and stigma in cost-effectiveness analysis: drug-resistant tuberculosis treatment.

Science.gov (United States)

Zwerling, A; Dowdy, D; von Delft, A; Taylor, H; Merritt, M W

2017-11-01

Novel therapies for multidrug-resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB) are likely to be expensive. The cost of novel drugs (e.g., bedaquiline, delamanid) may be so prohibitively high that a traditional cost-effectiveness analysis (CEA) would rate regimens containing these drugs as not cost-effective. Traditional CEA may not appropriately account for considerations of social justice, and may put the most disadvantaged populations at greater risk. Using the example of novel drug regimens for MDR-TB, we propose a novel methodology, 'justice-enhanced CEA', and demonstrate how such an approach can simultaneously assess social justice impacts alongside traditional cost-effectiveness ratios. Justice-enhanced CEA, as we envision it, is performed in three steps: 1) systematic data collection about patients' lived experiences, 2) use of empirical findings to inform social justice assessments, and 3) incorporation of data-informed social justice assessments into a decision analytic framework that includes traditional CEA. These components are organized around a core framework of social justice developed by Bailey et al. to compare impacts on disadvantage not otherwise captured by CEA. Formal social justice assessments can produce three composite levels: 'expected not to worsen…', 'may worsen…', and 'expected to worsen clustering of disadvantage'. Levels of social justice impact would be assessed for each major type of outcome under each policy scenario compared. Social justice assessments are then overlaid side-by-side with cost-effectiveness assessments corresponding to each branch pathway on the decision tree. In conclusion, we present a 'justice-enhanced' framework that enables the incorporation of social justice concerns into traditional CEA for the evaluation of new regimens for MDR-TB.

Coumarin incorporated triazoles: a new class of anticonvulsants.

Science.gov (United States)

Bhat, Mashooq A; Al-Omar, Mohammed A

2011-01-01

A series of coumarin incorporated 1,2,4- triazole compounds (1-14) were evaluated for their possible anticonvulsant and neurotoxic properties, log P values, pharmacophoric mapping and three dimensional structure analysis. Compound (6) with para-fluoro substitution showed significant anticonvulsant activity.

Factor Analysis and Framework Development for Incorporating Public Trust on Nuclear Safety issues

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Cho, Seongkyung; Lee, Gyebong [The Myongji Univ., Seoul (Korea, Republic of); Lee, Gihyung; Lee, Gyehwi; Jeong, Jina [Korea Institute of Nuclear Safety, Daejeon (Korea, Republic of)

2014-05-15

The Korea Institute of Nuclear Safety (KINS), a regulatory expert organization in charge of nuclear safety in Korea, realized that a more fundamental and systematic analysis of activities is needed to actively meet the greater variety of concerns people have and increase the reliability of the results of regulation. Nuclear safety, a highly specialized field, has previously been discussed primarily from the viewpoint of the engineers who deal with the technology, but now 'public trust in nuclear safety' has to be viewed from the standpoint of the general public and from the socio-cultural perspective. Specific measures must be taken to examine which factors affect public trust and how we can secure and reproduce those factors to gain it. Also, an efficient system for incorporating public trust in nuclear safety must be established. In this study, various case studies were examined to identify the factors that affect public trust in nuclear safety. First, nuclear safety laws and information disclosure systems of major countries were examined by investigating data and conducting in-depth interviews. To explore a public framework concerning nuclear safety, big data of social media were analyzed. Also, Q methodology was used to analyze the risk schemata of the opinion leaders living in areas near nuclear power plants. Several surveys were conducted to analyze the amount of trust the public had in nuclear safety as well as their awareness of nuclear safety issues. Based on these analyses, factors affecting public trust in nuclear safety were extracted, and measures to build systems incorporating public trust in nuclear safety were proposed. This study addresses the public trust in nuclear safety on condition that the safety is ensured technically and mechanically.

Factor Analysis and Framework Development for Incorporating Public Trust on Nuclear Safety issues

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cho, Seongkyung; Lee, Gyebong; Lee, Gihyung; Lee, Gyehwi; Jeong, Jina

2014-01-01

The Korea Institute of Nuclear Safety (KINS), a regulatory expert organization in charge of nuclear safety in Korea, realized that a more fundamental and systematic analysis of activities is needed to actively meet the greater variety of concerns people have and increase the reliability of the results of regulation. Nuclear safety, a highly specialized field, has previously been discussed primarily from the viewpoint of the engineers who deal with the technology, but now 'public trust in nuclear safety' has to be viewed from the standpoint of the general public and from the socio-cultural perspective. Specific measures must be taken to examine which factors affect public trust and how we can secure and reproduce those factors to gain it. Also, an efficient system for incorporating public trust in nuclear safety must be established. In this study, various case studies were examined to identify the factors that affect public trust in nuclear safety. First, nuclear safety laws and information disclosure systems of major countries were examined by investigating data and conducting in-depth interviews. To explore a public framework concerning nuclear safety, big data of social media were analyzed. Also, Q methodology was used to analyze the risk schemata of the opinion leaders living in areas near nuclear power plants. Several surveys were conducted to analyze the amount of trust the public had in nuclear safety as well as their awareness of nuclear safety issues. Based on these analyses, factors affecting public trust in nuclear safety were extracted, and measures to build systems incorporating public trust in nuclear safety were proposed. This study addresses the public trust in nuclear safety on condition that the safety is ensured technically and mechanically

Efficacy of antimicrobial agents incorporated in orthodontic bonding systems: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

Science.gov (United States)

de Almeida, C M; da Rosa, W L O; Meereis, C T W; de Almeida, S M; Ribeiro, J S; da Silva, A F; Lund, Rafael Guerra

2018-03-05

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of orthodontic bonding systems containing different antimicrobial agents, as well as the influence of antimicrobial agent incorporation in the bonding properties of these materials. Eight databases were searched: PubMed (Medline), Web of Science, Scopus, Lilacs, Ibecs, BBO, Scielo and Google Scholar. Any study that evaluated antimicrobial activity in experimental or commercial orthodontic bonding systems was included. Data were tabulated independently and in duplicated by two authors on pre-designed data collection form. The global analysis was carried out using a random-effects model, and pooled-effect estimates were obtained by comparing the standardised mean difference of each antimicrobial orthodontic adhesive with the respective control group. A p-value orthodontic bonding systems. The antimicrobial agent incorporation in orthodontic bonding systems showed higher antimicrobial activity than the control group in agar diffusion (overall standardised mean difference: 3.71; 95% CI 2.98 to 4.43) and optical density tests (0.41; 95% CI -0.05 to 0.86) (p orthodontic bonding systems were statistically similar to the control. Although there is evidence of antibacterial activity from in vitro studies, clinical and long-term studies are still necessary to confirm the effectiveness of antibacterial orthodontic bonding systems in preventing caries disease.

Structural analysis of ceramic blocks sealing or structural incorporated with the industrial laundry sludge

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Almeida, P.H.S.; Grippe, V.Y.Q.; Goulart, J.V.

2016-01-01

Industrial and commercial development of recent decades has led to an increase in waste generation. Thus, it is necessary to develop alternative and effective methods of treatment, replacing the simple disposal of these wastes in landfills. The objective of this work is to study the incorporation of textile industrial laundries sludge in ceramic blocks sealing or structural. Samples of ceramic blocks were produced using formulation with 20% sludge, the mass of ceramic clay. Structural analysis of the block was observed the tendency of most empty emergence (pores) during the firing of the blocks, as textile sludge was added in the ceramic paste composition. The mechanical testing of blocks compressive strength was above the minimum 3.0 MPa specified by the standard limit. The physical test water absorption of the blocks was within the range 8 to 22% specified by the standard. (author)

Incorporation of a bioceramic in polymeric matrix for the production of a composite biomaterial

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Junior, E.A. de O.; Bastos, J.S.B.; Silva, R. C. de S.; Macedo, H.R.A.; Macedo, M.O.C.; Bradim, A.S.

2016-01-01

The incorporation of calcium carbonate (CaCO 3 ) into a chitosan matrix for the production of membranes was proposed as a biomaterial with possible application in the treatment of bone tissue. The incorporation process was evaluated using Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), X-ray Dispersive Energy (EDX) and X-Ray Fluorescence (FRX). SEM images showed the presence of CaCO 3 on the surface of the polymer matrix, the particles presented spherical, cubic and lamellar forms. Through the EDX analysis, the presence of calcium was observed, thus evidencing the proposed incorporation, confirmed by the FRX analysis that showed the presence of calcium in all membranes

Incorporation of a Wind Generator Model into a Dynamic Power Flow Analysis

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Angeles-Camacho C.

2011-07-01

Full Text Available Wind energy is nowadays one of the most cost-effective and practical options for electric generation from renewable resources. However, increased penetration of wind generation causes the power networks to be more depend on, and vulnerable to, the varying wind speed. Modeling is a tool which can provide valuable information about the interaction between wind farms and the power network to which they are connected. This paper develops a realistic characterization of a wind generator. The wind generator model is incorporated into an algorithm to investigate its contribution to the stability of the power network in the time domain. The tool obtained is termed dynamic power flow. The wind generator model takes on account the wind speed and the reactive power consumption by induction generators. Dynamic power flow analysis is carried-out using real wind data at 10-minute time intervals collected for one meteorological station. The generation injected at one point into the network provides active power locally and is found to reduce global power losses. However, the power supplied is time-varying and causes fluctuations in voltage magnitude and power fl ows in transmission lines.

Gait Event Detection in Real-World Environment for Long-Term Applications: Incorporating Domain Knowledge Into Time-Frequency Analysis.

Science.gov (United States)

Khandelwal, Siddhartha; Wickstrom, Nicholas

2016-12-01

Detecting gait events is the key to many gait analysis applications that would benefit from continuous monitoring or long-term analysis. Most gait event detection algorithms using wearable sensors that offer a potential for use in daily living have been developed from data collected in controlled indoor experiments. However, for real-word applications, it is essential that the analysis is carried out in humans' natural environment; that involves different gait speeds, changing walking terrains, varying surface inclinations and regular turns among other factors. Existing domain knowledge in the form of principles or underlying fundamental gait relationships can be utilized to drive and support the data analysis in order to develop robust algorithms that can tackle real-world challenges in gait analysis. This paper presents a novel approach that exhibits how domain knowledge about human gait can be incorporated into time-frequency analysis to detect gait events from long-term accelerometer signals. The accuracy and robustness of the proposed algorithm are validated by experiments done in indoor and outdoor environments with approximately 93 600 gait events in total. The proposed algorithm exhibits consistently high performance scores across all datasets in both, indoor and outdoor environments.

The incorporation of gender perspective into Spanish health surveys.

Science.gov (United States)

Rohlfs, Izabella; Borrell, Carme; Artazcoz, Lucia; Escribà-Agüir, Vicenta

2007-12-01

Most studies into social determinants of health conducted in Spain based on data from health surveys have focused on social class inequalities. This paper aims to review the progressive incorporation of gender perspective and sex differences into health surveys in Spain, and to suggest design, data collection and analytical proposals as well as to make policy proposals. Changes introduced into health surveys in Spain since 1995 to incorporate gender perspective are examined, and proposals for the future are made, which would permit the analysis of differences in health between women and men as a result of biology or because of gender inequalities. The introduction of gender perspective in health surveys requires the incorporation of questions related to family setting and reproductive work, workplace and society in general to detect gender differences and inequalities (for example, domestic work, intimate partner violence, discrimination, contract type or working hours). Health indicators reflecting differential morbidity and taking into account the different life cycle stages must also be incorporated. Analyses ought to be disaggregated by sex and interpretation of results must consider the complex theoretical frameworks explaining the differences in health between men and women based on sex differences and those related to gender. Analysis of survey data ought to consider the impact of social, political and cultural constructs of each society. Any significant modification in procedures for collection of data relevant to the study of gender will require systematic coordination between institutions generating the data and researchers who are trained in and sensitive to the topic.

Preparation and characterization of polyhedral oligomer silsesquioxane nanocomposites incorporated in epoxy resin

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Longhi, Marielen; Zini, Lucas Pandolphi; Birriel, Eliena Jonko; Kunst, Sandra Raquel; Zattera, Ademir Jose

2015-01-01

The incorporation of nanofiller in thermosetting like epoxy resin as has been studied in order to modify its properties. In this research, nanocomposites were obtained by incorporating 5% by weight of three polyhedral oligomeric silsesquioxane (POSS) with different number of functionalization: Glicidilisobutil-POSS, Triglicidilisobutil- POSS and Glicicil POSS in an epoxy matrix by sonification process. The nanocomposites were characterized by analysis of X-ray diffraction (DRX), transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and thermogravimetric analysis (TGA). The DRX analysis showed the characteristic peak of POSS and TEM images showed that there is a difference in the dispersion of nanocages for the difference in the number of epoxy groups on the POSS. The incorporation of Glicidilisobutil-POSS showed a significant increase in the glass transition temperature (Tg) value, and also that the most effective from the viewpoint of the dispersion, on the other hand, the Glycidyl-POSS had a greater influence on the thermal stability demonstrating that the dispersion medium is an important characteristic to define the most desirable properties. (author)

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

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nakajima, T.; Sakai, T.

2010-01-01

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

Blocking of indium incorporation by antimony in III-V-Sb nanostructures

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sanchez, A M; Beltran, A M; Ben, T; Molina, S I; Beanland, R; Gass, M H; De la Pena, F; Walls, M; Taboada, A G; Ripalda, J M

2010-01-01

The addition of antimony to III-V nanostructures is expected to give greater freedom in bandgap engineering for device applications. One of the main challenges to overcome is the effect of indium and antimony surface segregation. Using several very high resolution analysis techniques we clearly demonstrate blocking of indium incorporation by antimony. Furthermore, indium incorporation resumes when the antimony concentration drops below a critical level. This leads to major differences between nominal and actual structures.

[Incorporation monitoring of employees of a radioiodine therapy ward. Is incorporation monitoring required for routine?].

Science.gov (United States)

Happel, C; Kratzel, U; Selkinski, I; Bockisch, B; Etzel, M; Korkusuz, H; Sauter, B; Staudt, J; von Müller, F; Grünwald, F; Kranert, W T

2013-01-01

Aim of the study was to determine the annual incorporation of staff on a radioiodine therapy ward and the resulting annual effective dose (aed). Following the German incorporation guideline (gig), incorporation monitoring is not necessary for potential aed below 0.5 mSv/a. For aed > 0.5 mSv/a adherence to the 1 mSv dose limit must be verified. For doses > 1 mSv/a incorporation has to be monitored by the authority. Furthermore, the (131)I incorporation factor from the gig should be verified. To determine the actual work related incorporation, the (131)I activity concentration in urine samples (collection over 24 h) of 14 employees of different professions were examined over a period of 27 months. Measured activity concentrations were related to the individual time of exposure. A constant activity supply for at least three days was assumed. The mean annual effective doses were 2.4 · 10⁻¹ mSv/a (nursing staff; n = 3), 5.6 · 10⁻² mSv/a (cleaning staff; n = 2), 2.8 · 10⁻³ mSv/a (technical staff; n = 2) and 5.2 · 10⁻³ mSv/a (physicians; n = 7). All aed were below the dose limits of the gig. The calculated mean incorporation factors ranged from 3.0 · 10⁻⁸ for the nursing staff to 3.6 · 10⁻¹⁰ for the technical staff (cleaning staff: 7 · 10⁻⁹; physicians: 6.5 · 10⁻¹⁰) and were therefore well below the (131)I incorporation factor defined by the gig. To estimate the aed caused by incorporation of (131)I it has to be subdivided for the different requirements in the diverse fields of activity of the employees. Regarding those who spend most of their time nearby the patient an incorporation monitoring by the authority might be required. The (131)I incorporation factor from the guideline (10⁻⁶) can be reduced by a factor of 10. For (99m)Tc and (18)F an incorporation factor of 10⁻⁷ is accepted.

Incorporation of Consumer Products in the Teaching of Analytical Chemistry.

Science.gov (United States)

Lieu, Van T.; Kalbus, Gene E.

1988-01-01

Describes eight experiments involving the use of common consumer products that could be incorporated into quantitative and instrumental analysis laboratories. Discusses these activities in terms of illustration of principles, awareness, and critical thinking. (CW)

Incorporating Traffic Control and Safety Hardware Performance Functions into Risk-based Highway Safety Analysis

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Zongzhi Li

2017-04-01

Full Text Available Traffic control and safety hardware such as traffic signs, lighting, signals, pavement markings, guardrails, barriers, and crash cushions form an important and inseparable part of highway infrastructure affecting safety performance. Significant progress has been made in recent decades to develop safety performance functions and crash modification factors for site-specific crash predictions. However, the existing models and methods lack rigorous treatments of safety impacts of time-deteriorating conditions of traffic control and safety hardware. This study introduces a refined method for computing the Safety Index (SI as a means of crash predictions for a highway segment that incorporates traffic control and safety hardware performance functions into the analysis. The proposed method is applied in a computation experiment using five-year data on nearly two hundred rural and urban highway segments. The root-mean square error (RMSE, Chi-square, Spearman’s rank correlation, and Mann-Whitney U tests are employed for validation.

Between Economic and Legal Analysis of Incorporated Things: a Critical "NO" to Aedilitian Remedies

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CG Kilian

2006-01-01

Full Text Available This article analyses the dictum of the Phame v Paizes 1973 3 397 (A within economic and legal principles to determine whether incorporeal things could possess characteristics of value or quality characteristics as in the case of corporeal things. The author uses practical economic examples to argue for the development of common law. The author identifies relevant Roman law principles which justify the legal nature of incorporeal things. It is demonstrated that the value of incorporeal things depends greatly on future circumstances. It is argued in this article that the courts’ willingness to extend the Aedilitian remedies and the wide interpretation of a dictum et promissum create an open door for any unsatisfied buyer with no entrepreneurial skills to claim a reduced price if the business is unable to achieve similar financial results to those prior to the conclusion of the contract. Currently the seller of a business has no clear or enforceable defense under these circumstances. The author subsequently suggests that relevant Roman law principles should be revisited in the aim to develop an appropriate defense for the seller.

Staphylococcus aureus Sortase A-Mediated Incorporation of Peptides: Effect of Peptide Modification on Incorporation.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Silvie Hansenová Maňásková

Full Text Available The endogenous Staphylococcus aureus sortase A (SrtA transpeptidase covalently anchors cell wall-anchored (CWA proteins equipped with a specific recognition motif (LPXTG into the peptidoglycan layer of the staphylococcal cell wall. Previous in situ experiments have shown that SrtA is also able to incorporate exogenous, fluorescently labelled, synthetic substrates equipped with the LPXTG motif (K(FITCLPETG-amide into the bacterial cell wall, albeit at high concentrations of 500 μM to 1 mM. In the present study, we have evaluated the effect of substrate modification on the incorporation efficiency. This revealed that (i by elongation of LPETG-amide with a sequence of positively charged amino acids, derived from the C-terminal domain of physiological SrtA substrates, the incorporation efficiency was increased by 20-fold at 10 μM, 100 μM and 250 μM; (ii Substituting aspartic acid (E for methionine increased the incorporation of the resulting K(FITCLPMTG-amide approximately three times at all concentrations tested; (iii conjugation of the lipid II binding antibiotic vancomycin to K(FITCLPMTG-amide resulted in the same incorporation levels as K(FITCLPETG-amide, but much more efficient at an impressive 500-fold lower substrate concentration. These newly developed synthetic substrates can potentially find broad applications in for example the in situ imaging of bacteria; the incorporation of antibody recruiting moieties; the targeted delivery and covalent incorporation of antimicrobial compounds into the bacterial cell wall.

Lactococcus lactis as expression host for the biosynthetic incorporation of tryptophan analogues into recombinant proteins

NARCIS (Netherlands)

El Khattabi, Mohamed; van Roosmalen, Maarten L.; Jager, Dennis; Metselaar, Heidi; Permentier, Hjalmar; Leenhouts, Kees; Broos, Jaap

2008-01-01

Incorporation of Trp (tryptophan) analogues into a protein may facilitate its structural analysis by spectroscopic techniques. Development of a biological system for the biosynthetic incorporation of such analogues into proteins is of considerable importance. The Gram-negative Escherichia coli is

Dipole estimation errors due to not incorporating anisotropic conductivities in realistic head models for EEG source analysis

Science.gov (United States)

Hallez, Hans; Staelens, Steven; Lemahieu, Ignace

2009-10-01

EEG source analysis is a valuable tool for brain functionality research and for diagnosing neurological disorders, such as epilepsy. It requires a geometrical representation of the human head or a head model, which is often modeled as an isotropic conductor. However, it is known that some brain tissues, such as the skull or white matter, have an anisotropic conductivity. Many studies reported that the anisotropic conductivities have an influence on the calculated electrode potentials. However, few studies have assessed the influence of anisotropic conductivities on the dipole estimations. In this study, we want to determine the dipole estimation errors due to not taking into account the anisotropic conductivities of the skull and/or brain tissues. Therefore, head models are constructed with the same geometry, but with an anisotropically conducting skull and/or brain tissue compartment. These head models are used in simulation studies where the dipole location and orientation error is calculated due to neglecting anisotropic conductivities of the skull and brain tissue. Results show that not taking into account the anisotropic conductivities of the skull yields a dipole location error between 2 and 25 mm, with an average of 10 mm. When the anisotropic conductivities of the brain tissues are neglected, the dipole location error ranges between 0 and 5 mm. In this case, the average dipole location error was 2.3 mm. In all simulations, the dipole orientation error was smaller than 10°. We can conclude that the anisotropic conductivities of the skull have to be incorporated to improve the accuracy of EEG source analysis. The results of the simulation, as presented here, also suggest that incorporation of the anisotropic conductivities of brain tissues is not necessary. However, more studies are needed to confirm these suggestions.

Dipole estimation errors due to not incorporating anisotropic conductivities in realistic head models for EEG source analysis

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hallez, Hans; Staelens, Steven; Lemahieu, Ignace

2009-01-01

EEG source analysis is a valuable tool for brain functionality research and for diagnosing neurological disorders, such as epilepsy. It requires a geometrical representation of the human head or a head model, which is often modeled as an isotropic conductor. However, it is known that some brain tissues, such as the skull or white matter, have an anisotropic conductivity. Many studies reported that the anisotropic conductivities have an influence on the calculated electrode potentials. However, few studies have assessed the influence of anisotropic conductivities on the dipole estimations. In this study, we want to determine the dipole estimation errors due to not taking into account the anisotropic conductivities of the skull and/or brain tissues. Therefore, head models are constructed with the same geometry, but with an anisotropically conducting skull and/or brain tissue compartment. These head models are used in simulation studies where the dipole location and orientation error is calculated due to neglecting anisotropic conductivities of the skull and brain tissue. Results show that not taking into account the anisotropic conductivities of the skull yields a dipole location error between 2 and 25 mm, with an average of 10 mm. When the anisotropic conductivities of the brain tissues are neglected, the dipole location error ranges between 0 and 5 mm. In this case, the average dipole location error was 2.3 mm. In all simulations, the dipole orientation error was smaller than 10 deg. We can conclude that the anisotropic conductivities of the skull have to be incorporated to improve the accuracy of EEG source analysis. The results of the simulation, as presented here, also suggest that incorporation of the anisotropic conductivities of brain tissues is not necessary. However, more studies are needed to confirm these suggestions.

Incorporating interfacial phenomena in solidification models

Science.gov (United States)

Beckermann, Christoph; Wang, Chao Yang

1994-01-01

A general methodology is available for the incorporation of microscopic interfacial phenomena in macroscopic solidification models that include diffusion and convection. The method is derived from a formal averaging procedure and a multiphase approach, and relies on the presence of interfacial integrals in the macroscopic transport equations. In a wider engineering context, these techniques are not new, but their application in the analysis and modeling of solidification processes has largely been overlooked. This article describes the techniques and demonstrates their utility in two examples in which microscopic interfacial phenomena are of great importance.

Incorporation of Socio-Economic Features' Ranking in Multicriteria Analysis Based on Ecosystem Services for Marine Protected Area Planning.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Michelle E Portman

Full Text Available Developed decades ago for spatial choice problems related to zoning in the urban planning field, multicriteria analysis (MCA has more recently been applied to environmental conflicts and presented in several documented cases for the creation of protected area management plans. Its application is considered here for the development of zoning as part of a proposed marine protected area management plan. The case study incorporates specially-explicit conservation features while considering stakeholder preferences, expert opinion and characteristics of data quality. It involves the weighting of criteria using a modified analytical hierarchy process. Experts ranked physical attributes which include socio-economically valued physical features. The parameters used for the ranking of (physical attributes important for socio-economic reasons are derived from the field of ecosystem services assessment. Inclusion of these feature values results in protection that emphasizes those areas closest to shore, most likely because of accessibility and familiarity parameters and because of data biases. Therefore, other spatial conservation prioritization methods should be considered to supplement the MCA and efforts should be made to improve data about ecosystem service values farther from shore. Otherwise, the MCA method allows incorporation of expert and stakeholder preferences and ecosystem services values while maintaining the advantages of simplicity and clarity.

Multiple-endpoints gene alteration-based (MEGA) assay: A toxicogenomics approach for water quality assessment of wastewater effluents.

Science.gov (United States)

Fukushima, Toshikazu; Hara-Yamamura, Hiroe; Nakashima, Koji; Tan, Lea Chua; Okabe, Satoshi

2017-12-01

Wastewater effluents contain a significant number of toxic contaminants, which, even at low concentrations, display a wide variety of toxic actions. In this study, we developed a multiple-endpoints gene alteration-based (MEGA) assay, a real-time PCR-based transcriptomic analysis, to assess the water quality of wastewater effluents for human health risk assessment and management. Twenty-one genes from the human hepatoblastoma cell line (HepG2), covering the basic health-relevant stress responses such as response to xenobiotics, genotoxicity, and cytotoxicity, were selected and incorporated into the MEGA assay. The genes related to the p53-mediated DNA damage response and cytochrome P450 were selected as markers for genotoxicity and response to xenobiotics, respectively. Additionally, the genes that were dose-dependently regulated by exposure to the wastewater effluents were chosen as markers for cytotoxicity. The alterations in the expression of an individual gene, induced by exposure to the wastewater effluents, were evaluated by real-time PCR and the results were validated by genotoxicity (e.g., comet assay) and cell-based cytotoxicity tests. In summary, the MEGA assay is a real-time PCR-based assay that targets cellular responses to contaminants present in wastewater effluents at the transcriptional level; it is rapid, cost-effective, and high-throughput and can thus complement any chemical analysis for water quality assessment and management. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Linking genomic responses of gonads with reproductive impairment in marine medaka (Oryzias melastigma) exposed chronically to the chemopreventive and antifouling agent, 3,3′-diindolylmethane (DIM)

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Chen, Lianguo [Division of Life Science, Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Clear Water Bay, Hong Kong SAR (China); Au, Doris W.T. [State Key Laboratory in Marine Pollution, Department of Biology and Chemistry, City University of Hong Kong, Kowloon, Hong Kong SAR (China); Hu, Chenyan [School of Chemistry and Environmental Engineering, Wuhan Institute of Technology, Wuhan 430072 (China); Zhang, Weipeng [Division of Life Science, Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Clear Water Bay, Hong Kong SAR (China); Zhou, Bingsheng [State Key Laboratory of Freshwater Ecology and Biotechnology, Institute of Hydrobiology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wuhan 430072 (China); Cai, Lin [Division of Life Science, Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Clear Water Bay, Hong Kong SAR (China); Giesy, John P. [Department of Veterinary Biomedical Sciences and Toxicology Centre, University of Saskatchewan, 44 Campus Drive, Saskatoon, SK S7N 5B3 (Canada); Department of Zoology, and Center for Integrative Toxicology, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI (United States); Qian, Pei-Yuan, E-mail: boqianpy@ust.hk [Division of Life Science, Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Clear Water Bay, Hong Kong SAR (China)

2017-02-15

Highlights: • Marine medaka were exposed chronically to low-doses of DIM. • Toxicogenomic responses of gonads were profiled at transcript and protein levels. • Molecular initiating events were linked to adverse apical outcomes. • VTG mobilization was blocked by lower abundance of cathepsin enzyme in ovary. • Eggshell proteins were more indicative of reproductive failure than VTG. - Abstract: 3,3′-Diindolylmethane (DIM) has been promoted as an effective chemopreventive and antifouling additive. However, the concurrent risks or side effects of DIM are not fully understood, especially on tissues responsive to estrogen. Therefore, this study employed marine medaka (Oryzias melastigma) as a test model to evaluate relative safety and explore mechanisms of toxic action of DIM on development and function of gonad after chronic (28 days) aqueous exposure to relatively low doses (0 μg/L or 8.5 μg/L). Integration of comprehensive toxicogenomic analysis at the transcriptome and proteome levels with apical endpoints, such as production of eggs and swimming performance of larvae, elucidated the molecular linkage in gonad from bottom up along the reproductive adverse outcome pathway. A series of sequential changes at the transcript and protein levels were linked to lesser fecundity and viability of larvae exposed to DIM. Anomalous production of vitellogenin (VTG) and eggshell proteins in testis confirmed the estrogenic potency of DIM. In the ovary, although storage of VTG was greater, lesser expressions of cathepsin enzymes blocked cleavage and incorporation of VTG into oocytes as yolk, which acted together with lower eggshell proteins to inhibit maturation of primary oocyte and thus contributed to impairment of fecundity. Overall, this study demonstrated that exposure to DIM impaired reproductive fitness. Diverse molecular initiating changes in gonads were linked to apical endpoints that could be used in assessment of risks posed by DIM on gametogenesis. In

Linking genomic responses of gonads with reproductive impairment in marine medaka (Oryzias melastigma) exposed chronically to the chemopreventive and antifouling agent, 3,3′-diindolylmethane (DIM)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chen, Lianguo; Au, Doris W.T.; Hu, Chenyan; Zhang, Weipeng; Zhou, Bingsheng; Cai, Lin; Giesy, John P.; Qian, Pei-Yuan

2017-01-01

Highlights: • Marine medaka were exposed chronically to low-doses of DIM. • Toxicogenomic responses of gonads were profiled at transcript and protein levels. • Molecular initiating events were linked to adverse apical outcomes. • VTG mobilization was blocked by lower abundance of cathepsin enzyme in ovary. • Eggshell proteins were more indicative of reproductive failure than VTG. - Abstract: 3,3′-Diindolylmethane (DIM) has been promoted as an effective chemopreventive and antifouling additive. However, the concurrent risks or side effects of DIM are not fully understood, especially on tissues responsive to estrogen. Therefore, this study employed marine medaka (Oryzias melastigma) as a test model to evaluate relative safety and explore mechanisms of toxic action of DIM on development and function of gonad after chronic (28 days) aqueous exposure to relatively low doses (0 μg/L or 8.5 μg/L). Integration of comprehensive toxicogenomic analysis at the transcriptome and proteome levels with apical endpoints, such as production of eggs and swimming performance of larvae, elucidated the molecular linkage in gonad from bottom up along the reproductive adverse outcome pathway. A series of sequential changes at the transcript and protein levels were linked to lesser fecundity and viability of larvae exposed to DIM. Anomalous production of vitellogenin (VTG) and eggshell proteins in testis confirmed the estrogenic potency of DIM. In the ovary, although storage of VTG was greater, lesser expressions of cathepsin enzymes blocked cleavage and incorporation of VTG into oocytes as yolk, which acted together with lower eggshell proteins to inhibit maturation of primary oocyte and thus contributed to impairment of fecundity. Overall, this study demonstrated that exposure to DIM impaired reproductive fitness. Diverse molecular initiating changes in gonads were linked to apical endpoints that could be used in assessment of risks posed by DIM on gametogenesis. In

Incorporation of advanced accident analysis methodology into safety analysis reports

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2003-05-01

The IAEA Safety Guide on Safety Assessment and Verification defines that the aim of the safety analysis should be by means of appropriate analytical tools to establish and confirm the design basis for the items important to safety, and to ensure that the overall plant design is capable of meeting the prescribed and acceptable limits for radiation doses and releases for each plant condition category. Practical guidance on how to perform accident analyses of nuclear power plants (NPPs) is provided by the IAEA Safety Report on Accident Analysis for Nuclear Power Plants. The safety analyses are performed both in the form of deterministic and probabilistic analyses for NPPs. It is customary to refer to deterministic safety analyses as accident analyses. This report discusses the aspects of using the advanced accident analysis methods to carry out accident analyses in order to introduce them into the Safety Analysis Reports (SARs). In relation to the SAR, purposes of deterministic safety analysis can be further specified as (1) to demonstrate compliance with specific regulatory acceptance criteria; (2) to complement other analyses and evaluations in defining a complete set of design and operating requirements; (3) to identify and quantify limiting safety system set points and limiting conditions for operation to be used in the NPP limits and conditions; (4) to justify appropriateness of the technical solutions employed in the fulfillment of predetermined safety requirements. The essential parts of accident analyses are performed by applying sophisticated computer code packages, which have been specifically developed for this purpose. These code packages include mainly thermal-hydraulic system codes and reactor dynamics codes meant for the transient and accident analyses. There are also specific codes such as those for the containment thermal-hydraulics, for the radiological consequences and for severe accident analyses. In some cases, codes of a more general nature such

Cesium incorporation in hollandite-rich multiphasic ceramic waste forms

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Tumurugoti, P.; Clark, B.M. [Kazuo Inamori School of Engineering, The New York State College of Ceramics, Alfred University, Alfred, NY 14802 (United States); Edwards, D.J. [Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Richland, WA 99352 (United States); Amoroso, Jake [Savannah River National Laboratory, Aiken, SC 29808 (United States); Sundaram, S.K. [Kazuo Inamori School of Engineering, The New York State College of Ceramics, Alfred University, Alfred, NY 14802 (United States)

2017-02-15

Hollandite-rich multiphase waste form compositions processed by melt-solidification and spark plasma sintering (SPS) were characterized, compared, and validated for nuclear waste incorporation. Phase identification by x-ray diffraction (XRD) and electron back-scattered diffraction (EBSD) confirmed hollandite as the major phase present in these samples along with perovskite, pyrochlore and zirconolite. Distribution of selected elements observed by wavelength dispersive spectroscopy (WDS) maps indicated that Cs formed a secondary phase during SPS processing, which was considered undesirable. On the other hand, Cs partitioned into the hollandite phase in melt-processed samples. Further analysis of hollandite structure in melt-processed composition by selected area electron diffraction (SAED) revealed ordered arrangement of tunnel ions (Ba/Cs) and vacancies, suggesting efficient Cs incorporation into the lattice.

Numeral Incorporation in Japanese Sign Language

Science.gov (United States)

Ktejik, Mish

2013-01-01

This article explores the morphological process of numeral incorporation in Japanese Sign Language. Numeral incorporation is defined and the available research on numeral incorporation in signed language is discussed. The numeral signs in Japanese Sign Language are then introduced and followed by an explanation of the numeral morphemes which are…

3D FEM Analysis of a Pile-Supported Riverine Platform under Environmental Loads Incorporating Soil-Pile Interaction

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Denise-Penelope N. Kontoni

2018-01-01

Full Text Available An existing riverine platform in Egypt, together with its pile group foundation, is analyzed under environmental loads using 3D FEM structural analysis software incorporating soil-pile interaction. The interaction between the transfer plate and the piles supporting the platform is investigated. Two connection conditions were studied assuming fixed or hinged connection between the piles and the reinforced concrete platform for the purpose of comparison of the structural behavior. The analysis showed that the fixed or hinged connection condition between the piles and the platform altered the values and distribution of displacements, normal force, bending moments, and shear forces along the length of each pile. The distribution of piles in the pile group affects the stress distribution on both the soil and platform. The piles were found to suffer from displacement failure rather than force failure. Moreover, the resulting bending stresses on the reinforced concrete plate in the case of a fixed connection between the piles and the platform were almost doubled and much higher than the allowable reinforced concrete stress and even exceeded the ultimate design strength and thus the environmental loads acting on a pile-supported riverine offshore platform may cause collapse if they are not properly considered in the structural analysis and design.

STITCH 2: an interaction network database for small molecules and proteins

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Kuhn, Michael; Szklarczyk, Damian; Franceschini, Andrea

2010-01-01

Over the last years, the publicly available knowledge on interactions between small molecules and proteins has been steadily increasing. To create a network of interactions, STITCH aims to integrate the data dispersed over the literature and various databases of biological pathways, drug......-target relationships and binding affinities. In STITCH 2, the number of relevant interactions is increased by incorporation of BindingDB, PharmGKB and the Comparative Toxicogenomics Database. The resulting network can be explored interactively or used as the basis for large-scale analyses. To facilitate links to other...... chemical databases, we adopt InChIKeys that allow identification of chemicals with a short, checksum-like string. STITCH 2.0 connects proteins from 630 organisms to over 74,000 different chemicals, including 2200 drugs. STITCH can be accessed at http://stitch.embl.de/....

Investigating the Mechanisms of Action of Depside Salt from Salvia miltiorrhiza Using Bioinformatic Analysis

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Hua Li

2017-01-01

Full Text Available Salvia miltiorrhiza is a traditional Chinese medicinal herb used for treating cardiovascular diseases. Depside salt from S. miltiorrhiza (DSSM contains the following active components: magnesium lithospermate B, lithospermic acid, and rosmarinic acid. This study aimed to reveal the mechanisms of action of DSSM. After searching for DSSM-associated genes in GeneCards, Search Tool for Interacting Chemicals, SuperTarget, PubChem, and Comparative Toxicogenomics Database, they were subjected to enrichment analysis using Multifaceted Analysis Tool for Human Transcriptome. A protein-protein interaction (PPI network was visualised; module analysis was conducted using the Cytoscape software. Finally, a transcriptional regulatory network was constructed using the TRRUST database and Cytoscape. Seventy-three DSSM-associated genes were identified. JUN, TNF, NFKB1, and FOS were hub nodes in the PPI network. Modules 1 and 2 were identified from the PPI network, with pathway enrichment analysis, showing that the presence of NFKB1 and BCL2 in module 1 was indicative of a particular association with the NF-κB signalling pathway. JUN, TNF, NFKB1, FOS, and BCL2 exhibited notable interactions among themselves in the PPI network. Several regulatory relationships (such as JUN → TNF/FOS, FOS → NFKB1 and NFKB1 → BCL2/TNF were also found in the regulatory network. Thus, DSSM exerts effects against cardiovascular diseases by targeting JUN, TNF, NFKB1, FOS, and BCL2.

Incorporating the life course model into MCH nutrition leadership education and training programs.

Science.gov (United States)

Haughton, Betsy; Eppig, Kristen; Looney, Shannon M; Cunningham-Sabo, Leslie; Spear, Bonnie A; Spence, Marsha; Stang, Jamie S

2013-01-01

Life course perspective, social determinants of health, and health equity have been combined into one comprehensive model, the life course model (LCM), for strategic planning by US Health Resources and Services Administration's Maternal and Child Health Bureau. The purpose of this project was to describe a faculty development process; identify strategies for incorporation of the LCM into nutrition leadership education and training at the graduate and professional levels; and suggest broader implications for training, research, and practice. Nineteen representatives from 6 MCHB-funded nutrition leadership education and training programs and 10 federal partners participated in a one-day session that began with an overview of the models and concluded with guided small group discussions on how to incorporate them into maternal and child health (MCH) leadership training using obesity as an example. Written notes from group discussions were compiled and coded emergently. Content analysis determined the most salient themes about incorporating the models into training. Four major LCM-related themes emerged, three of which were about training: (1) incorporation by training grants through LCM-framed coursework and experiences for trainees, and similarly framed continuing education and skills development for professionals; (2) incorporation through collaboration with other training programs and state and community partners, and through advocacy; and (3) incorporation by others at the federal and local levels through policy, political, and prevention efforts. The fourth theme focused on anticipated challenges of incorporating the model in training. Multiple methods for incorporating the LCM into MCH training and practice are warranted. Challenges to incorporating include the need for research and related policy development.

Incorporation of composite defects from ultrasonic NDE into CAD and FE models

Science.gov (United States)

Bingol, Onur Rauf; Schiefelbein, Bryan; Grandin, Robert J.; Holland, Stephen D.; Krishnamurthy, Adarsh

2017-02-01

Fiber-reinforced composites are widely used in aerospace industry due to their combined properties of high strength and low weight. However, owing to their complex structure, it is difficult to assess the impact of manufacturing defects and service damage on their residual life. While, ultrasonic testing (UT) is the preferred NDE method to identify the presence of defects in composites, there are no reasonable ways to model the damage and evaluate the structural integrity of composites. We have developed an automated framework to incorporate flaws and known composite damage automatically into a finite element analysis (FEA) model of composites, ultimately aiding in accessing the residual life of composites and make informed decisions regarding repairs. The framework can be used to generate a layer-by-layer 3D structural CAD model of the composite laminates replicating their manufacturing process. Outlines of structural defects, such as delaminations, are automatically detected from UT of the laminate and are incorporated into the CAD model between the appropriate layers. In addition, the framework allows for direct structural analysis of the resulting 3D CAD models with defects by automatically applying the appropriate boundary conditions. In this paper, we show a working proof-of-concept for the composite model builder with capabilities of incorporating delaminations between laminate layers and automatically preparing the CAD model for structural analysis using a FEA software.

Antimicrobial and physical properties of chitosan films incorporated with turmeric extract.

Science.gov (United States)

Kalaycıoğlu, Zeynep; Torlak, Emrah; Akın-Evingür, Gülşen; Özen, İlhan; Erim, F Bedia

2017-08-01

In this study, the effects of turmeric extract incorporation on the antibacterial and physical properties of the chitosan films were evaluated. Turmeric containing chitosan-based film was produced with casting procedure and cross-linked with sodium sulfate. Mechanical, optical, thermal properties, and water vapor permeability of the films were studied. The addition of turmeric to chitosan film significantly increased the tensile strength of the film and improved the ultraviolet-visible light barrier of the film. Infrared spectroscopy analysis suggested an interaction between the phenolic compounds of the extract and amin group of chitosan. Antimicrobial activity of the chitosan films was studied against Salmonella and Staphylococcus aureus by plate count agar technique and a better antimicrobial activity was observed with turmeric incorporation. Turmeric incorporated chitosan films with enhanced antimicrobial activity and film stiffness can be suggested as a promising application for food packaging. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Fluorescent Lamp Glass Waste Incorporation into Clay Ceramic: A Perfect Solution

Science.gov (United States)

Morais, Alline Sardinha Cordeiro; Vieira, Carlos Maurício Fontes; Rodriguez, Rubén Jesus Sanchez; Monteiro, Sergio Neves; Candido, Veronica Scarpini; Ferreira, Carlos Luiz

2016-09-01

The mandatory use of fluorescent lamps as part of a Brazilian energy-saving program generates a huge number of spent fluorescent lamps (SFLs). After operational life, SFLs cannot be disposed as common garbage owing to mercury and lead contamination. Recycling methods separate contaminated glass tubes and promote cleaning for reuse. In this work, glass from decontaminated SFLs was incorporated into clay ceramics, not only as an environmental solution for such glass wastes and clay mining reduction but also due to technical and economical advantages. Up to 30 wt.% of incorporation, a significant improvement in fired ceramic flexural strength and a decrease in water absorption was observed. A prospective analysis showed clay ceramic incorporation as an environmentally correct and technical alternative for recycling the enormous amount of SFLs disposed of in Brazil. This could also be a solution for other world clay ceramic producers, such as US, China and some European countries.

Altered global gene expression profiles in human gastrointestinal epithelial Caco2 cells exposed to nanosilver

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Saura C. Sahu

Full Text Available Extensive consumer exposure to food- and cosmetics-related consumer products containing nanosilver is of public safety concern. Therefore, there is a need for suitable in vitro models and sensitive predictive rapid screening methods to assess their toxicity. Toxicogenomic profile showing subtle changes in gene expressions following nanosilver exposure is a sensitive toxicological endpoint for this purpose. We evaluated the Caco2 cells and global gene expression profiles as tools for predictive rapid toxicity screening of nanosilver. We evaluated and compared the gene expression profiles of Caco-2 cells exposed to 20 nm and 50 nm nanosilver at a concentration 2.5 μg/ml. The global gene expression analysis of Caco2 cells exposed to 20 nm nanosilver showed that a total of 93 genes were altered at 4 h exposure, out of which 90 genes were up-regulated and 3 genes were down-regulated. The 24 h exposure of 20 nm silver altered 15 genes in Caco2 cells, out of which 14 were up-regulated and one was down-regulated. The most pronounced changes in gene expression were detected at 4 h. The greater size (50 nm nanosilver at 4 h exposure altered more genes by more different pathways than the smaller (20 nm one. Metallothioneins and heat shock proteins were highly up-regulated as a result of exposure to both the nanosilvers. The cellular pathways affected by the nanosilver exposure is likely to lead to increased toxicity. The results of our study presented here suggest that the toxicogenomic characterization of Caco2 cells is a valuable in vitro tool for assessing toxicity of nanomaterials such as nanosilver. Keywords: Nanosilver, Silver nanoparticles, Nanoparticles, Toxicogenomics, DNA microarray, Global gene expression profiles, Caco2 cells

Isotopic incorporation rates and discrimination factors in mantis shrimp crustaceans.

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Maya S deVries

Full Text Available Stable isotope analysis has provided insights into the trophic ecology of a wide diversity of animals. Knowledge about isotopic incorporation rates and isotopic discrimination between the consumer and its diet for different tissue types is essential for interpreting stable isotope data, but these parameters remain understudied in many animal taxa and particularly in aquatic invertebrates. We performed a 292-day diet shift experiment on 92 individuals of the predatory mantis shrimp, Neogonodactylus bredini, to quantify carbon and nitrogen incorporation rates and isotope discrimination factors in muscle and hemolymph tissues. Average isotopic discrimination factors between mantis shrimp muscle and the new diet were 3.0 ± 0.6 ‰ and 0.9 ± 0.3 ‰ for carbon and nitrogen, respectively, which is contrary to what is seen in many other animals (e.g. C and N discrimination is generally 0-1 ‰ and 3-4 ‰, respectively. Surprisingly, the average residence time of nitrogen in hemolymph (28.9 ± 8.3 days was over 8 times longer than that of carbon (3.4 ± 1.4 days. In muscle, the average residence times of carbon and nitrogen were of the same magnitude (89.3 ± 44.4 and 72.8 ± 18.8 days, respectively. We compared the mantis shrimps' incorporation rates, along with rates from four other invertebrate taxa from the literature, to those predicted by an allometric equation relating carbon incorporation rate to body mass that was developed for teleost fishes and sharks. The rate of carbon incorporation into muscle was consistent with rates predicted by this equation. Our findings provide new insight into isotopic discrimination factors and incorporation rates in invertebrates with the former showing a different trend than what is commonly observed in other animals.

Incorporation of dysprosium ions into PbTiO3 ferroelectric ceramic system

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A. Peláiz-Barranco

2015-03-01

Full Text Available A structural analysis concerning the incorporation of dysprosium into A- and/or B-sites of the lead titanate is shown. The two "boundary" refinements are presented, i.e., Dy2+ substitutes for Pb2+ (Dy3+ substitutes for Ti4+ and Dy3+ substitutes for Pb2+ (Dy3+ substitutes for Ti4+. The results offer quantitative information about the incorporation into both crystallographic sites. The increase of Dy3+ fraction into B-site provides the increase of the Ti4+ atomic displacement along the [001] direction and the tetragonal distortion.

Toxicogenomic analysis of the particle dose- and size-response relationship of silica particles-induced toxicity in mice

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lu Xiaoyan; Jin Tingting; Jin Yachao; Wu Leihong; Hu Bin; Tian Yu; Fan Xiaohui

2013-01-01

This study investigated the relationship between particle size and toxicity of silica particles (SP) with diameters of 30, 70, and 300 nm, which is essential to the safe design and application of SP. Data obtained from histopathological examinations suggested that SP of these sizes can all induce acute inflammation in the liver. In vivo imaging showed that intravenously administrated SP are mainly present in the liver, spleen and intestinal tract. Interestingly, in gene expression analysis, the cellular response pathways activated in the liver are predominantly conserved independently of particle dose when the same size SP are administered or are conserved independently of particle size, surface area and particle number when nano- or submicro-sized SP are administered at their toxic doses. Meanwhile, integrated analysis of transcriptomics, previous metabonomics and conventional toxicological results support the view that SP can result in inflammatory and oxidative stress, generate mitochondrial dysfunction, and eventually cause hepatocyte necrosis by neutrophil-mediated liver injury. (paper)

LEGO: a novel method for gene set over-representation analysis by incorporating network-based gene weights.

Science.gov (United States)

Dong, Xinran; Hao, Yun; Wang, Xiao; Tian, Weidong

2016-01-11

Pathway or gene set over-representation analysis (ORA) has become a routine task in functional genomics studies. However, currently widely used ORA tools employ statistical methods such as Fisher's exact test that reduce a pathway into a list of genes, ignoring the constitutive functional non-equivalent roles of genes and the complex gene-gene interactions. Here, we develop a novel method named LEGO (functional Link Enrichment of Gene Ontology or gene sets) that takes into consideration these two types of information by incorporating network-based gene weights in ORA analysis. In three benchmarks, LEGO achieves better performance than Fisher and three other network-based methods. To further evaluate LEGO's usefulness, we compare LEGO with five gene expression-based and three pathway topology-based methods using a benchmark of 34 disease gene expression datasets compiled by a recent publication, and show that LEGO is among the top-ranked methods in terms of both sensitivity and prioritization for detecting target KEGG pathways. In addition, we develop a cluster-and-filter approach to reduce the redundancy among the enriched gene sets, making the results more interpretable to biologists. Finally, we apply LEGO to two lists of autism genes, and identify relevant gene sets to autism that could not be found by Fisher.

Clinical Omics Analysis of Colorectal Cancer Incorporating Copy Number Aberrations and Gene Expression Data

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Tsuyoshi Yoshida

2010-07-01

Full Text Available Background: Colorectal cancer (CRC is one of the most frequently occurring cancers in Japan, and thus a wide range of methods have been deployed to study the molecular mechanisms of CRC. In this study, we performed a comprehensive analysis of CRC, incorporating copy number aberration (CRC and gene expression data. For the last four years, we have been collecting data from CRC cases and organizing the information as an “omics” study by integrating many kinds of analysis into a single comprehensive investigation. In our previous studies, we had experienced difficulty in finding genes related to CRC, as we observed higher noise levels in the expression data than in the data for other cancers. Because chromosomal aberrations are often observed in CRC, here, we have performed a combination of CNA analysis and expression analysis in order to identify some new genes responsible for CRC. This study was performed as part of the Clinical Omics Database Project at Tokyo Medical and Dental University. The purpose of this study was to investigate the mechanism of genetic instability in CRC by this combination of expression analysis and CNA, and to establish a new method for the diagnosis and treatment of CRC. Materials and methods: Comprehensive gene expression analysis was performed on 79 CRC cases using an Affymetrix Gene Chip, and comprehensive CNA analysis was performed using an Affymetrix DNA Sty array. To avoid the contamination of cancer tissue with normal cells, laser micro-dissection was performed before DNA/RNA extraction. Data analysis was performed using original software written in the R language. Result: We observed a high percentage of CNA in colorectal cancer, including copy number gains at 7, 8q, 13 and 20q, and copy number losses at 8p, 17p and 18. Gene expression analysis provided many candidates for CRC-related genes, but their association with CRC did not reach the level of statistical significance. The combination of CNA and gene

Down the slippery slop: Utility incorporation of environmental externalities

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Vandenberg, A.J.; Tempchin, R.S.; Mitnick, S.A.; Harron, A.L.

1993-01-01

Advocates of incorporating environmental externalities in electric utility decision-making have concentrated on new electric generating resources, with some success. Such public utility commission actions compel utilities to consider, explicitly, the cost of sulfur dioxide, carbon dioxide, nitrogen oxides and other emission of power-plants when comparing the economics of new generating resources with those of other resource options (e.g., demand-side management and gas-fired non-utility generator projects). This paper summarizes a study which estimated costs of incorporating externalities in utility system operations. We also present an analysis of the Tellus work in this area, and contrast Tellus' methodology, assumptions and results with our own. Estimates of the cost of incorporating externalities in system operations is rather large, in terms of the increased fuel and purchased power cost that ratepayers would have to bear. For the eight cases we examined, the incorporation of externalities caused fuel and purchased power cost to be 9.3 to 69.5 percent higher, relative to what it would have been under traditional generating unit commitment and dispatch. Furthermore, we believe that these estimates of fuel and purchased power cost increases are conservative. In particular, because our analyses focused on utility system operations in 1995, the key assumption about the fuel cost differential (i.e., coal versus natural gas) probably underestimates the differential in later years, significantly, when virtually all forecasters foresee faster cost escalation rates for gas. In general, the higher the fuel cost differential, the faster cost escalation rates for gas. In general, the higher the fuel cost differential, the greater the cost of an externality policy. Unless the record is set straight soon, the idea that incorporating externalities is virtually costless will further spread in the regulatory community and among government policy-makers

ABC gene-ranking for prediction of drug-induced cholestasis in rats

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Yauheniya Cherkas

drugs that behaved very differently, and were distinct from both non-cholestatic and cholestatic drugs (ketoconazole, dipyridamole, cyproheptadine and aniline, and many postulated human cholestatic drugs that in rat showed no evidence of cholestasis (chlorpromazine, erythromycin, niacin, captopril, dapsone, rifampicin, glibenclamide, simvastatin, furosemide, tamoxifen, and sulfamethoxazole. Most of these latter drugs were noted previously by other groups as showing cholestasis only in humans. The results of this work suggest that the ABC procedure and similar statistical approaches can be instrumental in combining data to compare toxicants across toxicogenomics databases, extract similarities among responses and reduce unexplained data varation. Keywords: Cluster analysis, Cholestasis, Gene signature, Microarray, Prediction, Toxicogenomics

Numeral-Incorporating Roots in Numeral Systems: A Comparative Analysis of Two Sign Languages

Science.gov (United States)

Fuentes, Mariana; Massone, Maria Ignacia; Fernandez-Viader, Maria del Pilar; Makotrinsky, Alejandro; Pulgarin, Francisca

2010-01-01

Numeral-incorporating roots in the numeral systems of Argentine Sign Language (LSA) and Catalan Sign Language (LSC), as well as the main features of the number systems of both languages, are described and compared. Informants discussed the use of numerals and roots in both languages (in most cases in natural contexts). Ten informants took part in…

Incorporation of covariates in simultaneous localization of two linked loci using affected relative pairs

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Liang Kung-Yee

2010-07-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Many dichotomous traits for complex diseases are often involved more than one locus and/or associated with quantitative biomarkers or environmental factors. Incorporating these quantitative variables into linkage analysis as well as localizing two linked disease loci simultaneously could therefore improve the efficiency in mapping genes. We extended the robust multipoint Identity-by-Descent (IBD approach with incorporation of covariates developed previously to simultaneously estimate two linked loci using different types of affected relative pairs (ARPs. Results We showed that the efficiency was enhanced by incorporating a quantitative covariate parametrically or non-parametrically while localizing two disease loci using ARPs. In addition to its help in identifying factors associated with the disease and in improving the efficiency in estimating disease loci, this extension also allows investigators to account for heterogeneity in risk-ratios for different ARPs. Data released from the collaborative study on the genetics of alcoholism (COGA for Genetic Analysis Workshop 14 (GAW 14 were used to illustrate the application of this extended method. Conclusions The simulation studies and example illustrated that the efficiency in estimating disease loci was demonstratively enhanced by incorporating a quantitative covariate and by using all relative pairs while mapping two linked loci simultaneously.

Non-Functional Requirements Elicitation and Incorporation into Class Diagrams

OpenAIRE

Song , Xiaoyu; Duan , Zhenhua; Tian , Cong

2010-01-01

International audience; Top-quality software architecture should consider both functional and non-functional aspects of systems and their association. In the the existing literature, considerable efforts have been directed at functional requirement analysis and design, regardless of the non-functional aspects. This disassociation makes architecture comprehension and evolution hard. This paper proposes a strategy on how to elicit non-functional requirements and incorporate them into the design...

Incorporation of a Helical Tube Heat Transfer Model in the MARS Thermal Hydraulic Systems Analysis Code for the T/H Analyses of the SMART Reactor

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Young Jin Lee; Bub Dong Chung; Jong Chull Jo; Hho Jung Kim; Un Chul Lee

2004-01-01

SMART is a medium sized integral type advanced pressurized water reactor currently under development at KAERI. The steam generators of SMART are designed with helically coiled tubes and these are designed to produce superheated steam. The helical shape of the tubes can induce strong centrifugal effect on the secondary coolant as it flows inside the tubes. The presence of centrifugal effect is expected to enhance the formation of cross-sectional circulation flows within the tubes that will increase the overall heat transfer. Furthermore, the centrifugal effect is expected to enhance the moisture separation and thus make it easier to produce superheated steam. MARS is a best-estimate thermal-hydraulic systems analysis code with multi-phase, multi-dimensional analysis capability. The MARS code was produced by restructuring and merging the RELAP5 and the COBRA-TF codes. However, MARS as well as most other best-estimate systems analysis codes in current use lack the detailed models needed to describe the thermal hydraulics of helically coiled tubes. In this study, the heat transfer characteristics and relevant correlations for both the tube and shell sides of helical tubes have been investigated, and the appropriate models have been incorporated into the MARS code. The newly incorporated helical tube heat transfer package is available to the MARS users via selection of the appropriate option in the input. A performance analysis on the steam generator of SMART under full power operation was carried out using the modified MARS code. The results of the analysis indicate that there is a significant improvement in the code predictability. (authors)

Host thin films incorporating nanoparticles

Science.gov (United States)

Qureshi, Uzma

The focus of this research project was the investigation of the functional properties of thin films that incorporate a secondary nanoparticulate phase. In particular to assess if the secondary nanoparticulate material enhanced a functional property of the coating on glass. In order to achieve this, new thin film deposition methods were developed, namely use of nanopowder precursors, an aerosol assisted transport technique and an aerosol into atmospheric pressure chemical vapour deposition system. Aerosol assisted chemical vapour deposition (AACVD) was used to deposit 8 series of thin films on glass. Five different nanoparticles silver, gold, ceria, tungsten oxide and zinc oxide were tested and shown to successfully deposit thin films incorporating nanoparticles within a host matrix. Silver nanoparticles were synthesised and doped within a titania film by AACVD. This improved solar control properties. A unique aerosol assisted chemical vapour deposition (AACVD) into atmospheric pressure chemical vapour deposition (APCVD) system was used to deposit films of Au nanoparticles and thin films of gold nanoparticles incorporated within a host titania matrix. Incorporation of high refractive index contrast metal oxide particles within a host film altered the film colour. The key goal was to test the potential of nanopowder forms and transfer the suspended nanopowder via an aerosol to a substrate in order to deposit a thin film. Discrete tungsten oxide nanoparticles or ceria nanoparticles within a titanium dioxide thin film enhanced the self-cleaning and photo-induced super-hydrophilicity. The nanopowder precursor study was extended by deposition of zinc oxide thin films incorporating Au nanoparticles and also ZnO films deposited from a ZnO nanopowder precursor. Incorporation of Au nanoparticles within a VO: host matrix improved the thermochromic response, optical and colour properties. Composite VC/TiC and Au nanoparticle/V02/Ti02 thin films displayed three useful

Stabilization of heavy metals in fired clay brick incorporated with wastewater treatment plant sludge: Leaching analysis

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Kadir, A. A.; Hassan, M. I. H.; Salim, N. S. A.; Sarani, N. A.; Ahmad, S.; Rahmat, N. A. I.

2018-04-01

Wastewater treatment sludge or known as sewage sludge is regarded as the residue and produced by the sedimentation of the suspended solid during treatment at the wastewater treatment plant. As such, this sludge was gained from the separation process of the liquids and solids. This sludge wastes has becomes national issues in recent years due to the increasing amount caused by population and industrialization growth in Malaysia. This research was conducted to fully utilize the sludge that rich in dangerous heavy metals and at the same time act as low cost alternative materials in brick manufacturing. The investigation includes determination of heavy metal concentration and chemical composition of the sludge, physical and mechanical properties. Wastewater treatment sludge samples were collected from wastewater treatment plant located in Johor, Malaysia. X-Ray Fluorescence was conducted to determine the heavy metals concentration of wastewater treatment sludge. Different percentage of sludges which are 0%, 1%, 5%, 10%, and 20%, has been incorporated into fired clay brick. The leachability of heavy metals in fired clay brick that incorporated with sludge were determined by using Toxicity Characteristic Leaching Procedure (TCLP) and Synthetic Precipitation Leachability Procedure (SPLP) that has been analyzed by using Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometry (ICP-MS). The results show a possibility to stabilize the heavy metals in fired clay brick incorporated with wastewater treatment sludge. 20% of the sludge incorporated into the brick is the most suitable for building materials as it leached less heavy metals concentration and complying with USEPA standard.

17 CFR 230.411 - Incorporation by reference.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-04-01

... following provisions: (1) Non-financial information may be incorporated by reference to any document; (2) Financial information may be incorporated by reference to any document, provided any financial statement so incorporated meets the requirements of the forms on which the statement is filed. Financial statements or other...

An Enzymatic Clinical Chemistry Laboratory Experiment Incorporating an Introduction to Mathematical Method Comparison Techniques

Science.gov (United States)

Duxbury, Mark

2004-01-01

An enzymatic laboratory experiment based on the analysis of serum is described that is suitable for students of clinical chemistry. The experiment incorporates an introduction to mathematical method-comparison techniques in which three different clinical glucose analysis methods are compared using linear regression and Bland-Altman difference…

Regional cerebral palmitate incorporation following transient bilateral carotid occlusion in awake gerbils

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Tone, O.; Miller, J.C.; Bell, J.M.; Rapoport, S.I.

1987-11-01

(/sup 14/C)Palmitate was injected intravenously in awake gerbils at various times after 5 minutes of bilateral carotid artery occlusion or a sham operation. Regional rates of incorporation of plasma palmitate into the hippocampus and other regions of the anterior circulation were determined relative to the mean rate of incorporation into regions of the posterior circulation using quantitative autoradiography and a ratio method of analysis. One day after bilateral carotid occlusion, relative palmitate incorporation was elevated significantly by 16% in the CA4 pyramidal cell layer and by 20% in the dentate gyrus of the hippocampus compared with sham-operated gerbils. At 3 days, significant elevations of this magnitude were found in the CA3 and CA4 cell layers, whereas relative incorporation was reduced by 26% in the CA1 pyramidal cell layer. At 7 days, the only significant difference from control was a 15% elevated incorporation in the CA3 pyramidal cell layer. Histologic examination indicated substantial cell death in the CA1 pyramidal layer at 3 days, with extensive glial reaction and phagocytic invasion at 7 days. Our results suggest that the turnover of palmitate-containing lipids is reduced in the CA1 layer of the gerbil hippocampus but that lipid synthesis is stimulated in hippocampal regions (CA3, CA4, dentate gyrus) affected by but recovering from transient bilateral carotid occlusion.

Regional cerebral palmitate incorporation following transient bilateral carotid occlusion in awake gerbils

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tone, O.; Miller, J.C.; Bell, J.M.; Rapoport, S.I.

1987-01-01

[ 14 C]Palmitate was injected intravenously in awake gerbils at various times after 5 minutes of bilateral carotid artery occlusion or a sham operation. Regional rates of incorporation of plasma palmitate into the hippocampus and other regions of the anterior circulation were determined relative to the mean rate of incorporation into regions of the posterior circulation using quantitative autoradiography and a ratio method of analysis. One day after bilateral carotid occlusion, relative palmitate incorporation was elevated significantly by 16% in the CA4 pyramidal cell layer and by 20% in the dentate gyrus of the hippocampus compared with sham-operated gerbils. At 3 days, significant elevations of this magnitude were found in the CA3 and CA4 cell layers, whereas relative incorporation was reduced by 26% in the CA1 pyramidal cell layer. At 7 days, the only significant difference from control was a 15% elevated incorporation in the CA3 pyramidal cell layer. Histologic examination indicated substantial cell death in the CA1 pyramidal layer at 3 days, with extensive glial reaction and phagocytic invasion at 7 days. Our results suggest that the turnover of palmitate-containing lipids is reduced in the CA1 layer of the gerbil hippocampus but that lipid synthesis is stimulated in hippocampal regions (CA3, CA4, dentate gyrus) affected by but recovering from transient bilateral carotid occlusion

Nanofibers extraction from palm mesocarp fiber for biodegradable polymers incorporation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kuana, Vanessa A.; Rodrigues, Vanessa B.; Takahashi, Marcio C.; Campos, Adriana de; Sena Neto, Alfredo R.; Mattoso, Luiz H.C.; Marconcini, Jose M.

2015-01-01

The palm mesocarp fibers are residues produced by the palm oil industries. The objective of this paper is to determine an efficient treatment to extract crystal cellulose nanofibers from the palm mesocarp fibers to be incorporated in biodegradable polymeric composites. The fibers were saponified, bleached and analyzed with thermal gravimetric analysis, X-ray diffraction, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and scanning electron microscopy. (author)

Gene expression data from acetaminophen-induced toxicity in human hepatic in vitro systems and clinical liver samples

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Robim M. Rodrigues

2016-06-01

Full Text Available This data set is composed of transcriptomics analyses of (i liver samples from patients suffering from acetaminophen-induced acute liver failure (ALF and (ii hepatic cell systems exposed to acetaminophen and their respective controls. The in vitro systems include widely employed cell lines i.e. HepaRG and HepG2 cells as well as a novel stem cell-derived model i.e. human skin-precursors-derived hepatocyte-like cells (hSKP-HPC. Data from primary human hepatocytes was also added to the data set “Open TG-GATEs: a large-scale toxicogenomics database” (Igarashi et al., 2015 [1]. Changes in gene expression due to acetaminophen intoxication as well as comparative information between human in vivo and in vitro samples are provided. The microarray data have been deposited in NCBI׳s Gene Expression Omnibus and are accessible through GEO Series accession number GEO: GSE74000. The provided data is used to evaluate the predictive capacity of each hepatic in vitro system and can be directly compared with large-scale publically available toxicogenomics databases. Further interpretation and discussion of these data feature in the corresponding research article “Toxicogenomics-based prediction of acetaminophen-induced liver injury using human hepatic cell systems” (Rodrigues et al., 2016 [2].

Developing safety performance functions incorporating reliability-based risk measures.

Science.gov (United States)

Ibrahim, Shewkar El-Bassiouni; Sayed, Tarek

2011-11-01

Current geometric design guides provide deterministic standards where the safety margin of the design output is generally unknown and there is little knowledge of the safety implications of deviating from these standards. Several studies have advocated probabilistic geometric design where reliability analysis can be used to account for the uncertainty in the design parameters and to provide a risk measure of the implication of deviation from design standards. However, there is currently no link between measures of design reliability and the quantification of safety using collision frequency. The analysis presented in this paper attempts to bridge this gap by incorporating a reliability-based quantitative risk measure such as the probability of non-compliance (P(nc)) in safety performance functions (SPFs). Establishing this link will allow admitting reliability-based design into traditional benefit-cost analysis and should lead to a wider application of the reliability technique in road design. The present application is concerned with the design of horizontal curves, where the limit state function is defined in terms of the available (supply) and stopping (demand) sight distances. A comprehensive collision and geometric design database of two-lane rural highways is used to investigate the effect of the probability of non-compliance on safety. The reliability analysis was carried out using the First Order Reliability Method (FORM). Two Negative Binomial (NB) SPFs were developed to compare models with and without the reliability-based risk measures. It was found that models incorporating the P(nc) provided a better fit to the data set than the traditional (without risk) NB SPFs for total, injury and fatality (I+F) and property damage only (PDO) collisions. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

A predictive toxicogenomics signature to classify genotoxic versus non-genotoxic chemicals in human TK6 cells

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Andrew Williams

2015-12-01

Full Text Available Genotoxicity testing is a critical component of chemical assessment. The use of integrated approaches in genetic toxicology, including the incorporation of gene expression data to determine the DNA damage response pathways involved in response, is becoming more common. In companion papers previously published in Environmental and Molecular Mutagenesis, Li et al. (2015 [6] developed a dose optimization protocol that was based on evaluating expression changes in several well-characterized stress-response genes using quantitative real-time PCR in human lymphoblastoid TK6 cells in culture. This optimization approach was applied to the analysis of TK6 cells exposed to one of 14 genotoxic or 14 non-genotoxic agents, with sampling 4 h post-exposure. Microarray-based transcriptomic analyses were then used to develop a classifier for genotoxicity using the nearest shrunken centroids method. A panel of 65 genes was identified that could accurately classify toxicants as genotoxic or non-genotoxic. In Buick et al. (2015 [1], the utility of the biomarker for chemicals that require metabolic activation was evaluated. In this study, TK6 cells were exposed to increasing doses of four chemicals (two genotoxic that require metabolic activation and two non-genotoxic chemicals in the presence of rat liver S9 to demonstrate that S9 does not impair the ability to classify genotoxicity using this genomic biomarker in TK6cells.

Enhancing the biophysical properties of mRFP1 through incorporation of fluoroproline

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Deepankumar, Kanagavel; Nadarajan, Saravanan Prabhu; Ayyadurai, Niraikulam; Yun, Hyungdon, E-mail: hyungdon@ynu.ac.kr

2013-11-01

Graphical abstract: Enhancing the biophysical properties of mRFP1 through incorporation of (2S, 4R)-4-fluoroproline at proline residues after mutating non-permissive site Pro63 into Ala. -- Highlights: •We incorporate (4S)-FP into mRFP1 led to insoluble protein. •Whereas, incorporation of (4R)-FP resulted in soluble but lost its fluorescence. •mRFP1-P63A mutant accommodate (4R)-FP and gave soluble protein with fluorescence. •Moreover mRFP1-P63A[(4R)-FP] showed enhanced biophysical properties of protein. -- Abstract: Here we enhanced the stability and biophysical properties of mRFP1 through a combination of canonical and non-canonical amino acid mutagenesis. The global replacement of proline residue with (2S, 4R)-4-fluoroproline [(4R)-FP] into mRFP1 led to soluble protein but lost its fluorescence, whereas (2S, 4S)-4-fluoroproline [(4S)-FP] incorporation resulted in insoluble protein. The bioinformatics analysis revealed that (4R)-FP incorporation at Pro63 caused fluorescence loss due to the steric hindrance of fluorine atom of (4R)-FP with the chromophore. Therefore, Pro63 residue was mutated with the smallest amino acid Ala to maintain non coplanar conformation of the chromophore and helps to retain its fluorescence with (4R)-FP incorporation. The incorporation of (4R)-FP into mRFP1-P63A showed about 2–3-fold enhancement in thermal and chemical stability. The rate of maturation is also greatly accelerated over the presence of (4R)-FP into mRFP1-P63A. Our study showed that a successful enhancement in the biophysical property of mRFP1-P63A[(4R)-FP] using non-canonical amino acid mutagenesis after mutating non-permissive site Pro63 into Ala.

Enhancing the biophysical properties of mRFP1 through incorporation of fluoroproline

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Deepankumar, Kanagavel; Nadarajan, Saravanan Prabhu; Ayyadurai, Niraikulam; Yun, Hyungdon

2013-01-01

Graphical abstract: Enhancing the biophysical properties of mRFP1 through incorporation of (2S, 4R)-4-fluoroproline at proline residues after mutating non-permissive site Pro63 into Ala. -- Highlights: •We incorporate (4S)-FP into mRFP1 led to insoluble protein. •Whereas, incorporation of (4R)-FP resulted in soluble but lost its fluorescence. •mRFP1-P63A mutant accommodate (4R)-FP and gave soluble protein with fluorescence. •Moreover mRFP1-P63A[(4R)-FP] showed enhanced biophysical properties of protein. -- Abstract: Here we enhanced the stability and biophysical properties of mRFP1 through a combination of canonical and non-canonical amino acid mutagenesis. The global replacement of proline residue with (2S, 4R)-4-fluoroproline [(4R)-FP] into mRFP1 led to soluble protein but lost its fluorescence, whereas (2S, 4S)-4-fluoroproline [(4S)-FP] incorporation resulted in insoluble protein. The bioinformatics analysis revealed that (4R)-FP incorporation at Pro63 caused fluorescence loss due to the steric hindrance of fluorine atom of (4R)-FP with the chromophore. Therefore, Pro63 residue was mutated with the smallest amino acid Ala to maintain non coplanar conformation of the chromophore and helps to retain its fluorescence with (4R)-FP incorporation. The incorporation of (4R)-FP into mRFP1-P63A showed about 2–3-fold enhancement in thermal and chemical stability. The rate of maturation is also greatly accelerated over the presence of (4R)-FP into mRFP1-P63A. Our study showed that a successful enhancement in the biophysical property of mRFP1-P63A[(4R)-FP] using non-canonical amino acid mutagenesis after mutating non-permissive site Pro63 into Ala

Fabrication of nanoporous Sr incorporated TiO{sub 2} coating on 316L SS: Evaluation of bioactivity and corrosion protection

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Anne Pauline, S. [Department of Chemistry, Anna University, Chennai 600025 (India); Kamachi Mudali, U. [Corrosion Science and Technology Section, IGCAR, Kalpakkam 603102 (India); Rajendran, N., E-mail: nrajendran@annauniv.edu [Department of Chemistry, Anna University, Chennai 600025 (India)

2013-10-01

In this paper, nanoporous TiO{sub 2} and Sr-incorporated TiO{sub 2} coated 316L SS were prepared by sol–gel methodology. The effect of Sr incorporation into TiO{sub 2} coating on bioactivity and corrosion resistance was investigated. Attenuated total reflectance–Fourier transform infrared (ATR–FTIR) spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction analysis (XRD), atomic force microscopy (AFM), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and energy dispersive X-ray analysis (EDX) results obtained after in vitro bioactivity test confirm the excellent growth of crystalline hydroxyapatite (HAp) over nanoporous Sr-incorporated TiO{sub 2} coated 316L SS which may be attributed to the slow and steady release of Sr ions from the coatings. The electrochemical evaluation of the coatings confirms that Sr-incorporated TiO{sub 2} coating offer excellent protection to 316L SS by acting as a barrier layer. The results showed that the incorporation of Sr enhanced both bioactivity and corrosion resistance of 316L SS. Hence Sr-incorporated TiO{sub 2} coated 316L SS is a promising material for orthopaedic implant applications. - Highlights: • Nanoporous Sr-incorporated TiO{sub 2} coatings were successfully fabricated on 316L SS. • The coatings have excellent adhesion to the substrate and appreciable Vickers micro hardness value. • Sr-incorporated TiO{sub 2} coated specimens exhibited excellent hydroxyapatite growth due to slow release of Sr from the coating. • Sr incorporation enhances the corrosion resistance of TiO{sub 2} coating.

Development of whole core thermal-hydraulic analysis program ACT. 4. Incorporation of three-dimensional upper plenum model

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ohshima, Hiroyuki

2003-03-01

The thermal-hydraulic analysis computer program ACT is under development for the evaluation of detailed flow and temperature fields in a core region of fast breeder reactors under various operation conditions. The purpose of this program development is to contribute not only to clarifying thermal hydraulic characteristics that cannot be revealed by experiments due to measurement difficulty but also to performing rational safety design and assessment. This report describes the incorporation of a three-dimensional upper plenum model to ACT and its verification study as part of the program development. To treat the influence of three-dimensional thermal-hydraulic behavior in a upper plenum on the in-core temperature field, the multi-dimensional general purpose thermal-hydraulic analysis program AQUA, which was developed and validated at JNC, was applied as the base of the upper plenum analysis module of ACT. AQUA enables to model the upper plenum configuration including immersed heat exchangers of the direct reactor auxiliary cooling system (DRACS). In coupling core analysis module that consists of the fuel-assembly and the inter-wrapper gap calculation parts with the upper plenum module, different types of computation mesh systems were jointed using the staggered quarter assembly mesh scheme. A coupling algorithm among core, upper plenum and heat transport system modules, which can keep mass, momentum and energy conservation, was developed and optimized in consideration of parallel computing. ACT was applied to analyzing a sodium experiment (PLANDTL-DHX) performed at JNC, which simulated the natural circulation decay heat removal under DRACS operation conditions for the program verification. From the calculation result, the validity of the improved program was confirmed. (author)

Pharmacokinetic-pharmacodynamic analysis of antipsychotics-induced extrapyramidal symptoms based on receptor occupancy theory incorporating endogenous dopamine release.

Science.gov (United States)

Matsui-Sakata, Akiko; Ohtani, Hisakazu; Sawada, Yasufumi

2005-06-01

We aimed to analyze the risks of extrapyramidal symptoms (EPS) induced by typical and atypical antipsychotic drugs using a common pharmacokinetic-pharmacodynamic (PK-PD) model based on the receptor occupancy. We collected the data for EPS induced by atypical antipsychotics, risperidone, olanzapine and quetiapine, and a typical antipsychotic, haloperidol from literature and analyzed the following five indices of EPS, the ratio of patients obliged to take anticholinergic medication, the occurrence rates of plural extrapyramidal symptoms (more than one of tremor, dystonia, hypokinesia, akathisia, extrapyramidal syndrome, etc.), parkinsonism, akathisia, and extrapyramidal syndrome. We tested two models, i.e., a model incorporating endogenous dopamine release owing to 5-HT2A receptor inhibition and a model not considering the endogenous dopamine release, and used them to examine the relationship between the D2 receptor occupancy of endogenous dopamine and the extent of drug-induced EPS. The model incorporating endogenous dopamine release better described the relationship between the mean D2 receptor occupancy of endogenous dopamine and the extent of EPS than the other model, as assessed by the final sum of squares of residuals (final SS) and Akaike's Information Criteria (AIC). Furthermore, the former model could appropriately predict the risks of EPS induced by two other atypical antipsychotics, clozapine and ziprasidone, which were not incorporated into the model development. The developed model incorporating endogenous dopamine release owing to 5-HT2A receptor inhibition may be useful for the prediction of antipsychotics-induced EPS.

Cation incorporation into zirconium oxide in LiOH, NaOH, and KOH solutions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jeong, Y.H.; Kim, K.H.; Baek, J.H.

1999-01-01

To investigate the cation incorporation into zirconium oxide, SIMS analysis was performed on the specimens prepared to have an equal oxide thickness in LiOH, NaOH, and KOH solutions. Even though they have an equal oxide thickness in LiOH, NaOH, and KOH solutions, the penetration depth of cation into the oxide decreased with an increase in the ionic radius of cation. The cation is considered to control the corrosion in alkali hydroxide solutions and its effect is dependent on the concentration of alkali and the oxide thickness. The slight enhancement of the corrosion rate at a low concentration is thought to be caused by cation incorporation into oxide, while the significant acceleration at a high concentration is due to the transformation of oxide microstructures that would be also induced by cation incorporation into oxide. (orig.)

The role of resistance in incorporating XBRL into financial reporting practices

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Krisko, Adam

2017-01-01

Using the actor-network theory (ANT), this article sought to analyze the translation process induced by the Danish regulatory agency for financial reporting to incorporate the eXtensible Business Reporting Language (XBRL) into the financial reporting practices, giving special attention to how...... resistance demonstrated by certain actors shapes the process of incorporating the technology into the financial reporting environment. The empirical analysis, relying on a series of semi-structured interviews conducted between November 2013 and February 2016, highlighted the strategic steps taken....... In this respect, the paper contributes to previous studies on XBRL, adds to the financial reporting literature by illustrating how resistance shapes the introduction of complex regulatory changes, and contributes to the ANT literature, especially those based on Michel Callon’s translation model....

Developing Baltic cod recruitment models II : Incorporation of environmental variability and species interaction

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Köster, Fritz; Hinrichsen, H.H.; St. John, Michael

2001-01-01

We investigate whether a process-oriented approach based on the results of field, laboratory, and modelling studies can be used to develop a stock-environment-recruitment model for Central Baltic cod (Gadus morhua). Based on exploratory statistical analysis, significant variables influencing...... cod in these areas, suggesting that key biotic and abiotic processes can be successfully incorporated into recruitment models....... survival of early life stages and varying systematically among spawning sites were incorporated into stock-recruitment models, first for major cod spawning sites and then combined for the entire Central Baltic. Variables identified included potential egg production by the spawning stock, abiotic conditions...

Preparation and physico-chemical characterization of β-cyclodextrin incorporated chitosan biosorbent beads with potential environmental applications

Science.gov (United States)

Munim, Somayyah Abdul; Tahir Saddique, Muhammad; Raza, Zulfiqar Ali; Majeed, Muhammad Irfan

2018-06-01

Biosorption is one of the most efficient and feasible methods for eliminating noxious wastes from the aqueous systems. The use of non-hazardous, low-cost and biodegradable chitosan as a biosorbent is of significant importance in the above context. Present study was aimed to develop a β-cyclodextrin (β-CD) incorporated chitosan biosorbent in the form of beads. The prepared biosorbent beads were characterized using scanning electron microscopy (SEM), Fourier transform infrared (FTIR), x-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis, and thermo gravimetric analysis (TGA). The values of point of zero charge (PZC) of chitosan and β-CD incorporated chitosan beads were determined in the presence of an electrolyte by means of different methods including mass titration, salt addition and zeta potential ones. The SEM images exhibited roughened and porous morphologies which could enhance the adsorption of metal ions. The values of PZC of chitosan and β-CD incorporated chitosan biosorbent beads were found to be 6.38 and 7.12, respectively.

Advanced Methods for Incorporating Solar Energy Technologies into Electric Sector Capacity-Expansion Models: Literature Review and Analysis

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Sullivan, P.; Eurek, K.; Margolis, R.

2014-07-01

Because solar power is a rapidly growing component of the electricity system, robust representations of solar technologies should be included in capacity-expansion models. This is a challenge because modeling the electricity system--and, in particular, modeling solar integration within that system--is a complex endeavor. This report highlights the major challenges of incorporating solar technologies into capacity-expansion models and shows examples of how specific models address those challenges. These challenges include modeling non-dispatchable technologies, determining which solar technologies to model, choosing a spatial resolution, incorporating a solar resource assessment, and accounting for solar generation variability and uncertainty.

3-D acquisition geometry analysis : Incorporating information from multiples

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Kumar, A.; Blacquiere, G.; Verschuur, D.J.

2014-01-01

Recent advances in survey design have led to conventional common-midpoint-based analysis being replaced by the subsurface-based seismic acquisition analysis and design, with the emphasis on advance techniques of illumination analysis. Amongst them are wave-equation-based seismic illumination

43 CFR 46.110 - Incorporating consensus-based management.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-10-01

... 43 Public Lands: Interior 1 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Incorporating consensus-based management... § 46.110 Incorporating consensus-based management. (a) Consensus-based management incorporates direct... carry out those plans and activities. For the purposes of this Part, consensus-based management involves...

Hair analysis for drugs of abuse. XIII. Effect of structural factors on incorporation of drugs into hair: the incorporation rates of amphetamine analogs.

Science.gov (United States)

Nakahara, Y; Kikura, R

1996-01-01

In order to clarify the incorporation mechanism of drugs from blood into hair, seven effects of structural factors on the incorporation rate (ICR) were studied using 32 amphetamine analogs: (1) effect of a straight chained N-alkyl group; (2) effect of benzene and furan ring at N-position; (3) effect of aliphatic and aromatic hydroxy groups; (4) effect of triple bond group at N-position; (5) effect of N-acyl group and ketone group; (6) effect of methylenedioxy and methoxy groups on benzene ring; and (7) comparison between phenyltertiarybutylamines and phenylisopropylamines. After shaving the back hair and i.p. administration of drugs to Dark-Agouti rats (5 mg/kg, 10 days, n = 3), the areas under the concentration versus time curve (AUCs) of drugs in the plasma and the concentrations in hair newly grown for 4 weeks were determined by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. The ICRs represented by the ratios of hair concentrations to AUCs were compared with those of amphetamine (AP) and methamphetamine (MA). The ICRs of N-alkyl AP increased depending on the length of carbon branches from proton to propyl (C3 > C2 > C1 > H) at N-position. The compounds containing a benzene or furan ring at the N-position (benzphetamine, clobenzorex, norbenzphetamine, prenylamine, furfenorex, and norfurfenorex) had much higher ICRs than those of AP or MA, suggesting that a benzene or furan ring increases their ICRs. The ICRs of deprenyl, nordeprenyl, and fenproporex were significantly low, implying that triple bonds such as of a propargyl or cyano group serve as a negative factor for the ICRs. An ephedrine group (ephedrine, methylephedrine, phenylpropanolamine) showed slightly lower ICRs than the corresponding amphetamine group. However, a hydroxy group on benzene ring apparently decreased the ICRs. Methoxy and methylenedioxy groups on benzene ring distinctly increased their ICRs. The lack of basicity such as N-formyl MA, N-acetyl AP, and N-acetyl MA dramatically lowered their ICRs to

Zn incorporation in CuInSe2: Particle size and strain effects on ...

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

Administrator

Zn incorporation in CuInSe2: Particle size and strain effects on microstructural ... size as well as tensile strain. The calculated ... X-ray diffraction analysis of CuInSe2 samples reported in figure 2 ... To estimate qualitative information regarding ...

Toxicogenomics-based identification of mechanisms for direct immunotoxicity.

Science.gov (United States)

Shao, Jia; Katika, Madhumohan R; Schmeits, Peter C J; Hendriksen, Peter J M; van Loveren, Henk; Peijnenburg, Ad A C M; Volger, Oscar L

2013-10-01

Compounds with direct immunotoxic properties, including metals, mycotoxins, agricultural pesticides, and industrial chemicals, form potential human health risks due to exposure through food, drinking water, and the environment. Insights into the mechanisms of action are currently lacking for the majority of these direct immunotoxicants. Therefore, the present work aimed to gain insights into the molecular mechanisms underlying direct immunotoxicity. To this end, we assessed in vitro the effects of 31 test compounds on the transcriptome of the human Jurkat T-cell line. These compounds included direct immunotoxicants, immunosuppressive drugs with different mode of actions, and nonimmunotoxic control chemicals. Pathway analysis of the microarray data allowed us to identify canonical pathways and Gene Ontology processes that were transcriptionally regulated in common by immunotoxicants (1) with structural similarities, such as tributyltin chloride and tributyltin oxide that activated the retinoic acid/X receptor signaling pathway and (2) without structural similarities, such as As2O3, dibutyltin chloride, diazinon, MeHg, ochratoxin A (OTA), S9-treated OTA, S9-treated cyclophosphamide, and S9-treated benzo[a]pyrene, which activated unfolded protein response, and FTY720, lindane, and propanil, which activated the cholesterol biosynthesis pathway. In addition, processes uniquely affected by individual immunotoxicants were identified, such as the induction of Notch receptor signaling and the downregulation of acute-phase response genes by OTA. These findings were validated by quantitative real-time PCR analysis of genes involved in these processes. Our study indicated that diverse modes of action are involved in direct immunotoxicity and that a set of pathways or genes, rather than one single gene, can be used to screen compounds for direct immunotoxicity.

Characterization of Active Packaging Films Made from Poly(Lactic Acid/Poly(Trimethylene Carbonate Incorporated with Oregano Essential Oil

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Dong Liu

2016-05-01

Full Text Available Antimicromial and antioxidant bioactive films based on poly(lactic acid/poly(trimenthylene carbonate films incorporated with different concentrations of oregano essential oil (OEO were prepared by solvent casting. The antimicrobial, antioxidant, physical, thermal, microstructural, and mechanical properties of the resulting films were examined. Scanning electron microscopy analysis revealed that the cross-section of films became rougher when OEO was incorporated into PLA/PTMC blends. Differential scanning calorimetry analysis indicated that crystallinity of PLA phase decreased by the addition of OEO, but this did not affect the thermal stability of the films. Water vapor permeability of films slightly increased with increasing concentration of OEO. However, active PLA/PTMC/OEO composite films showed adequate barrier properties for food packaging application. The antimicrobial and antioxidant capacities were significantly improved with the incorporation of OEO (p < 0.05. The results demonstrated that an optimal balance between the mechanical, barrier, thermal, antioxidant, and antimicrobial properties of the films was achieved by the incorporation of 9 wt % OEO into PLA/PTMC blends.

VIBA-LAB2: a virtual ion beam analysis laboratory software package incorporating elemental map simulations

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zhou, S.J.; Orlic, I.; Sanchez, J.L.; Watt, F.

1999-01-01

The software package VIBA-lab1, which incorporates PIXE and RBS energy spectra simulation has now been extended to include the simulation of elemental maps from 3D structures. VIBA-lab1 allows the user to define a wide variety of experimental parameters, e.g. energy and species of incident ions, excitation and detection geometry, etc. When the relevant experimental parameters as well as target composition are defined, the program can then simulate the corresponding PIXE and RBS spectra. VIBA-LAB2 has been written with applications in nuclear microscopy in mind. A set of drag-and-drop tools has been incorporated to allow the user to define a three-dimensional sample object of mixed elemental composition. PIXE energy spectra simulations are then carried out on pixel-by-pixel basis and the corresponding intensity distributions or elemental maps can be computed. Several simulated intensity distributions for some 3D objects are demonstrated, and simulations obtained from a simple IC are compared with experimental results

Network meta-analysis incorporating randomized controlled trials and non-randomized comparative cohort studies for assessing the safety and effectiveness of medical treatments: challenges and opportunities

OpenAIRE

Cameron, Chris; Fireman, Bruce; Hutton, Brian; Clifford, Tammy; Coyle, Doug; Wells, George; Dormuth, Colin R.; Platt, Robert; Toh, Sengwee

2015-01-01

Network meta-analysis is increasingly used to allow comparison of multiple treatment alternatives simultaneously, some of which may not have been compared directly in primary research studies. The majority of network meta-analyses published to date have incorporated data from randomized controlled trials (RCTs) only; however, inclusion of non-randomized studies may sometimes be considered. Non-randomized studies can complement RCTs or address some of their limitations, such as short follow-up...

Investigation of tritium incorporation by means of excreted metabolites

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Biro, T.; Szilagyi, M.

1978-01-01

The commonly accepted urine analysis by liquid scintillation method was applied for whole body dose estimating. After the separation of metabolite fractions the organically bound tritium in urine could be measured. Urine samples from workers repeatedly exposed to tritium incorporation during the chemical processing of various labeled compounds have been collected and analyzed. The time dependence of tritium activity in certain metabolites was found to be characteristic, significantly differing from the 3 H concentration curve of the native or treated urine sample. (Auth.)

Incorporating stakeholders' preferences for ex ante evaluation of energy and climate policy interactions. Development of a Multi Criteria Analysis weighting methodology

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Grafakos, S.; Zevgolis, D.; Oikonomou, V.

2008-03-01

Evaluation of energy and climate policy interactions is a complex issue which has not been addressed systematically. Multi Criteria Decision Analysis (MCDA) evaluation processes have been applied widely to different policy and decision cases as they have the ability to cope with high complexity, by structuring and analyzing the policy problem in a transparent and systematic way. Criteria weights elicitation techniques are developed within the framework of MCDA to integrate stakeholders' preferential information in the decision making and evaluation process. There are variant methods to determine criteria weights which can be used in various ways for different policy evaluation purposes. During decision making, policy makers and relevant stakeholders implicitly or explicitly express their relative importance between the evaluation criteria by assigning weighting factors to them. More particular, climate change policy problems lack a simple, transparent and structured way to incorporate stakeholders' views and values. In order to incorporate stakeholders' weighting preferences into an ex ante evaluation of climate change and energy policy instruments interaction, an integrative constructive weighting methodology has been developed. This paper presents the main characteristics of evaluation of energy and climate policy interactions, the reasoning behind the development of the weighting tool, its main theoretical and functional characteristics and the results of its application to obtain and incorporate stakeholders' preferences on energy and climate change policy evaluation criteria. The weighting method that has been elaborated and applied to derive stakeholders' preferences for criteria weights is a combination of pair wise comparisons and ratio importance weighting methods. Initially introduces the stakeholders to the evaluation process through a warming up holistic approach for ranking the criteria and then requires them to express their ratio relative importance

Moving towards a more inclusive patient and public involvement in health research paradigm: the incorporation of a trauma-informed intersectional analysis.

Science.gov (United States)

Shimmin, Carolyn; Wittmeier, Kristy D M; Lavoie, Josée G; Wicklund, Evan D; Sibley, Kathryn M

2017-08-07

The concept of patient engagement in health research has received growing international recognition over recent years. Yet despite some critical advancements, we argue that the concept remains problematic as it negates the very real complexities and context of people's lives. Though patient engagement conceptually begins to disrupt the identity of "researcher," and complicate our assumptions and understandings around expertise and knowledge, it continues to essentialize the identity of "patient" as a homogenous group, denying the reality that individuals' economic, political, cultural, subjective and experiential lives intersect in intricate and multifarious ways. Patient engagement approaches that do not consider the simultaneous interactions between different social categories (e.g. race, ethnicity, Indigeneity, gender, class, sexuality, geography, age, ability, immigration status, religion) that make up social identity, as well as the impact of systems and processes of oppression and domination (e.g. racism, colonialism, classism, sexism, ableism, homophobia) exclude the involvement of individuals who often carry the greatest burden of illness - the very voices traditionally less heard in health research. We contend that in order to be a more inclusive and meaningful approach that does not simply reiterate existing health inequities, it is important to reconceptualize patient engagement through a health equity and social justice lens by incorporating a trauma-informed intersectional analysis. This article provides key concepts to the incorporation of a trauma-informed intersectional analysis and important questions to consider when developing a patient engagement strategy in health research training, practice and evaluation. In redefining the identity of both "patient" and "researcher," spaces and opportunities to resist and renegotiate power within the intersubjective relations can be recognized and addressed, in turn helping to build trust, transparency and

Antimicrobial activity and properties of irreversible hydrocolloid impression materials incorporated with silver nanoparticles.

Science.gov (United States)

Ginjupalli, Kishore; Alla, Rama Krishna; Tellapragada, Chaitanya; Gupta, Lokendra; Upadhya Perampalli, Nagaraja

2016-06-01

Conventional spray and the immersion disinfection of irreversible hydrocolloid impression materials may lead to dimensional changes. The purpose of this in vitro study was to investigate the antimicrobial activity and properties of irreversible hydrocolloid impression materials incorporated with silver nanoparticles. The antimicrobial activity and properties of 2 commercially available irreversible hydrocolloid impression materials were evaluated after incorporating varying concentrations of silver nanoparticles. Antimicrobial activity was determined using the disk diffusion method. The gel strength, permanent deformation, flow, and gelation time were measured according to American Dental Association specification #18. Analysis of variance was used to identify the significant differences within and across the groups (α=.05). Adding silver nanoparticles to irreversible hydrocolloid impression materials resulted in superior antimicrobial activity without adversely affecting their properties. Adding silver nanoparticles to Zelgan significantly increased the gel strength compared with the control group, except at 5 wt%. However, the gel strength of Tropicalgin was unaffected except at 5 wt%. An increase in the permanent deformation was found with the incorporation of silver nanoparticles in both Zelgan and Tropicalgin. The flow of Zelgan increased with the incorporation of silver nanoparticles, whereas a decrease in the flow of Tropicalgin was observed at 1 wt% and 2 wt%. An increase in the gelation time of both Zelgan and Tropicalgin was observed with the incorporation of silver nanoparticles. Based on this in vitro study, silver nanoparticles can be incorporated into irreversible hydrocolloid impression materials as antimicrobial agents without adversely affecting their properties. Copyright © 2016 Editorial Council for the Journal of Prosthetic Dentistry. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Case study on the utility of hepatic global gene expression profiling in the risk assessment of the carcinogen furan

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Jackson, Anna Francina, E-mail: Francina.Jackson@hc-sc.gc.ca [Environmental Health Science and Research Bureau, Health Canada, Ottawa K1A 0K9 (Canada); Department of Biology, Carleton University, 1125 Colonel By Drive, Ottawa K1S 5B6 (Canada); Williams, Andrew, E-mail: Andrew.Williams@hc-sc.gc.ca [Environmental Health Science and Research Bureau, Health Canada, Ottawa K1A 0K9 (Canada); Recio, Leslie, E-mail: lrecio@ils-inc.com [ILS, Inc., P.O. Box 13501, Research Triangle Park, NC 27709 (United States); Waters, Michael D., E-mail: mwaters@ils-inc.com [ILS, Inc., P.O. Box 13501, Research Triangle Park, NC 27709 (United States); Lambert, Iain B., E-mail: Iain.Lambert@carleton.ca [Department of Biology, Carleton University, 1125 Colonel By Drive, Ottawa K1S 5B6 (Canada); Yauk, Carole L., E-mail: Carole.Yauk@hc-sc.gc.ca [Environmental Health Science and Research Bureau, Health Canada, Ottawa K1A 0K9 (Canada)

2014-01-01

Furan is a chemical hepatocarcinogen in mice and rats. Its previously postulated cancer mode of action (MOA) is chronic cytotoxicity followed by sustained regenerative proliferation; however, its molecular basis is unknown. To this end, we conducted toxicogenomic analysis of B3C6F1 mouse livers following three week exposures to non-carcinogenic (0, 1, 2 mg/kg bw) or carcinogenic (4 and 8 mg/kg bw) doses of furan. We saw enrichment for pathways responsible for cytotoxicity: stress-activated protein kinase (SAPK) and death receptor (DR5 and TNF-alpha) signaling, and proliferation: extracellular signal-regulated kinases (ERKs) and TNF-alpha. We also noted the involvement of NF-kappaB and c-Jun in response to furan, which are genes that are known to be required for liver regeneration. Furan metabolism by CYP2E1 produces cis-2-butene-1,4-dial (BDA), which is required for ensuing cytotoxicity and oxidative stress. NRF2 is a master regulator of gene expression during oxidative stress and we suggest that chronic NFR2 activity and chronic inflammation may represent critical transition events between the adaptive (regeneration) and adverse (cancer) outcomes. Another objective of this study was to demonstrate the applicability of toxicogenomics data in quantitative risk assessment. We modeled benchmark doses for our transcriptional data and previously published cancer data, and observed consistency between the two. Margin of exposure values for both transcriptional and cancer endpoints were also similar. In conclusion, using furan as a case study we have demonstrated the value of toxicogenomics data in elucidating dose-dependent MOA transitions and in quantitative risk assessment. - Highlights: • Global gene expression changes in furan-exposed mouse livers were analyzed. • A molecular mode of action for furan-induced hepatocarcinogenesis is proposed. • Key pathways include NRF2, SAPK, ERK and death receptor signaling. • Important roles for TNF-alpha, c-Jun, and NF

Case study on the utility of hepatic global gene expression profiling in the risk assessment of the carcinogen furan

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jackson, Anna Francina; Williams, Andrew; Recio, Leslie; Waters, Michael D.; Lambert, Iain B.; Yauk, Carole L.

2014-01-01

Furan is a chemical hepatocarcinogen in mice and rats. Its previously postulated cancer mode of action (MOA) is chronic cytotoxicity followed by sustained regenerative proliferation; however, its molecular basis is unknown. To this end, we conducted toxicogenomic analysis of B3C6F1 mouse livers following three week exposures to non-carcinogenic (0, 1, 2 mg/kg bw) or carcinogenic (4 and 8 mg/kg bw) doses of furan. We saw enrichment for pathways responsible for cytotoxicity: stress-activated protein kinase (SAPK) and death receptor (DR5 and TNF-alpha) signaling, and proliferation: extracellular signal-regulated kinases (ERKs) and TNF-alpha. We also noted the involvement of NF-kappaB and c-Jun in response to furan, which are genes that are known to be required for liver regeneration. Furan metabolism by CYP2E1 produces cis-2-butene-1,4-dial (BDA), which is required for ensuing cytotoxicity and oxidative stress. NRF2 is a master regulator of gene expression during oxidative stress and we suggest that chronic NFR2 activity and chronic inflammation may represent critical transition events between the adaptive (regeneration) and adverse (cancer) outcomes. Another objective of this study was to demonstrate the applicability of toxicogenomics data in quantitative risk assessment. We modeled benchmark doses for our transcriptional data and previously published cancer data, and observed consistency between the two. Margin of exposure values for both transcriptional and cancer endpoints were also similar. In conclusion, using furan as a case study we have demonstrated the value of toxicogenomics data in elucidating dose-dependent MOA transitions and in quantitative risk assessment. - Highlights: • Global gene expression changes in furan-exposed mouse livers were analyzed. • A molecular mode of action for furan-induced hepatocarcinogenesis is proposed. • Key pathways include NRF2, SAPK, ERK and death receptor signaling. • Important roles for TNF-alpha, c-Jun, and NF

Incorporating uncertainty analysis into life cycle estimates of greenhouse gas emissions from biomass production

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Johnson, David R.; Willis, Henry H.; Curtright, Aimee E.; Samaras, Constantine; Skone, Timothy

2011-01-01

Before further investments are made in utilizing biomass as a source of renewable energy, both policy makers and the energy industry need estimates of the net greenhouse gas (GHG) reductions expected from substituting biobased fuels for fossil fuels. Such GHG reductions depend greatly on how the biomass is cultivated, transported, processed, and converted into fuel or electricity. Any policy aiming to reduce GHGs with biomass-based energy must account for uncertainties in emissions at each stage of production, or else it risks yielding marginal reductions, if any, while potentially imposing great costs. This paper provides a framework for incorporating uncertainty analysis specifically into estimates of the life cycle GHG emissions from the production of biomass. We outline the sources of uncertainty, discuss the implications of uncertainty and variability on the limits of life cycle assessment (LCA) models, and provide a guide for practitioners to best practices in modeling these uncertainties. The suite of techniques described herein can be used to improve the understanding and the representation of the uncertainties associated with emissions estimates, thus enabling improved decision making with respect to the use of biomass for energy and fuel production. -- Highlights: → We describe key model, scenario and data uncertainties in LCAs of biobased fuels. → System boundaries and allocation choices should be consistent with study goals. → Scenarios should be designed around policy levers that can be controlled. → We describe a new way to analyze the importance of covariance between inputs.

Evaluation of various physico-chemical properties of Hibiscus sabdariffa and L. casei incorporated probiotic yoghurt.

Science.gov (United States)

Rasdhari, M; Parekh, T; Dave, N; Patel, V; Subhash, R

2008-09-01

The present investigation was carried out to examine the effect of Hibiscus sabdariffa Calyx extract on the physico-chemical properties, sensory attributes, texture and microbial analysis of L. casei incorporated in probiotic yoghurt after manufacture and during storage. Incorporation of Hibiscus sabdariffa Calyx extract into the probiotic yoghurt resulted into decrease in coagulation time by 25 min. The pH ranged from 4.39 to 4.59, TA 0.81 to 1.14%, moisture 3.05 to 3.37 g%, syneresis 18.85 to 24.90 mL/50 g of sample, % inhibition 12.32 to 59.43, TS 21.27 to 24.90 g% and beta-galactosidase activity 1.041 to 3.277. The protein content ranged between 4.11 and 4.14 g% while the fat content ranged between 3.43 and 3.49 g%. No major changes in sensory evaluation were observed on the day of manufacture and during storage for 7 days. Sabdariffa added yoghurt showed a higher score in almost all sensory attributes. Microbial analysis showed a total plate count ranging from 1.8 x 10(4) to 1.85 x 10(7) cfu mL(-1). Yeast and mold counts were negligible in the Sabdariffa yoghurts. Thus the study concludes that incorporation of Hibiscus sabdariffa extract in yoghurt improved the total antioxidant property, organoleptic qualities and decreased the exudation of whey proteins (Syneresis). Thus, Hibiscus sabdariffa Calyces has beneficial influence on the quality of L. casei incorporated probiotic yoghurt.

Photosynthetic incorporation of 14C by Stevia rebaudiana

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ferraresi, M. de L.; Ferraresi Filho, O.; Bracht, A.

1985-01-01

The photosynthetic incorporation of 14 by Stevia rebaudiana specimens was investigated. The 14 C incorporation, when the isotope was furnished to the plant in form of 14 CO 2 , was rapid. After 24 hours, the radioactivity has been incorporated into a great number of compounds including pigments, terpenes, glucose, cellulose and also stevioside and its derivatives. (M.A.C.) [pt

Alteration of sediments by hyperalkaline K-rich cement leachate: implications for strontium adsorption and incorporation.

Science.gov (United States)

Wallace, Sarah H; Shaw, Samuel; Morris, Katherine; Small, Joe S; Burke, Ian T

2013-04-16

Results are presented from 1 year batch experiments where K-rich hyperalkaline pH 13.5 young cement water (YCW) was reacted with sediments to investigate the effect of high pH, mineral alteration, and secondary mineral precipitation on (90)Sr sorption. After reaction with YCW, Sr sorption was found to be greater than 75% in all samples up to 365 days and 98% in a sample reacted for 365 days at 70 °C. Scanning electron microscopy analysis of sediment samples reacted at room temperature showed surface alteration and precipitation of a secondary phase, likely a K-rich aluminosilicate gel. The presence of Sr-Si(Al) bond distances in Sr K-edge extended X-ray absorption fine structure (EXAFS) analysis suggested that the Sr was present as an inner-sphere adsorption complex. However, sequential extractions found the majority of this Sr was still exchangeable with Mg(2+) at pH 7. For the sample reacted for 1 year at 70 °C, EXAFS analysis revealed clear evidence for ∼6 Sr-Si(Al) backscatters at 3.45 Å, consistent with Sr incorporation into the neoformed K-chabazite phase that was detected by X-ray diffraction and electron microscopy. Once incorporated into chabazite, (90)Sr was not exchangeable with Mg(2+), and chemical leaching with pH 1.5 HNO3 was required to remobilize 60% of the (90)Sr. These results indicate that, in high pH cementitious leachate, there is significantly enhanced Sr retention in sediments due to changes in the adsorption mechanism and incorporation into secondary silicate minerals. This suggests that Sr retention may be enhanced in this high pH zone and that the incorporation process may lead to irreversible exchange of the contaminant over extended time periods.

Meta-Analysis of Studies Incorporating the Interests of Young Children with Autism Spectrum Disorders into Early Intervention Practices

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Carl J. Dunst

2012-01-01

Full Text Available Incorporating the interests and preferences of young children with autism spectrum disorders into interventions to promote prosocial behavior and decrease behavior excesses has emerged as a promising practice for addressing the core features of autism. The efficacy of interest-based early intervention practices was examined in a meta-analysis of 24 studies including 78 children 2 to 6 years of age diagnosed with autism spectrum disorders. Effect size analyses of intervention versus nonintervention conditions and high-interest versus low-interest contrasts indicated that interest-based intervention practices were effective in terms of increasing prosocial and decreasing aberrant child behavior. Additionally, interest-based interventions that focused on two of the three core features of autism spectrum disorders (poor communication, poor interpersonal relationships were found most effective in influencing child outcomes. Implications for very early intervention are discussed in terms addressing the behavior markers of autism spectrum disorders before they become firmly established.

Isogeometric failure analysis

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Verhoosel, C.V.; Scott, M.A.; Borden, M.J.; Borst, de R.; Hughes, T.J.R.; Mueller-Hoeppe, D.; Loehnert, S.; Reese, S.

2011-01-01

Isogeometric analysis is a versatile tool for failure analysis. On the one hand, the excellent control over the inter-element continuity conditions enables a natural incorporation of continuum constitutive relations that incorporate higher-order strain gradients, as in gradient plasticity or damage.

INCORPORATING MULTIPLE OBJECTIVES IN PLANNING MODELS OF LOW-RESOURCE FARMERS

OpenAIRE

Flinn, John C.; Jayasuriya, Sisira; Knight, C. Gregory

1980-01-01

Linear goal programming provides a means of formally incorporating the multiple goals of a household into the analysis of farming systems. Using this approach, the set of plans which come as close as possible to achieving a set of desired goals under conditions of land and cash scarcity are derived for a Filipino tenant farmer. A challenge in making LGP models empirically operational is the accurate definition of the goals of the farm household being modelled.

48 CFR 2852.102-270 - Incorporation in full text.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-10-01

... 48 Federal Acquisition Regulations System 6 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 true Incorporation in full text... 2852.102-270 Incorporation in full text. JAR provisions or clauses shall be incorporated in solicitations and contracts in full text. ...

40 CFR 76.4 - Incorporation by reference.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-07-01

... 40 Protection of Environment 16 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Incorporation by reference. 76.4 Section 76.4 Protection of Environment ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY (CONTINUED) AIR PROGRAMS (CONTINUED) ACID RAIN NITROGEN OXIDES EMISSION REDUCTION PROGRAM § 76.4 Incorporation by reference. (a) The...

Characterization of Active Packaging Films Made from Poly(Lactic Acid)/Poly(Trimethylene Carbonate) Incorporated with Oregano Essential Oil

OpenAIRE

Dong Liu; Hongli Li; Lin Jiang; Yongming Chuan; Minglong Yuan; Haiyun Chen

2016-01-01

Antimicromial and antioxidant bioactive films based on poly(lactic acid)/poly(trimenthylene carbonate) films incorporated with different concentrations of oregano essential oil (OEO) were prepared by solvent casting. The antimicrobial, antioxidant, physical, thermal, microstructural, and mechanical properties of the resulting films were examined. Scanning electron microscopy analysis revealed that the cross-section of films became rougher when OEO was incorporated into PLA/PTMC blends. Differ...

48 CFR 1952.102-2 - Incorporation in full text.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-10-01

... 48 Federal Acquisition Regulations System 6 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 true Incorporation in full text... Clauses 1952.102-2 Incorporation in full text. All IAAR provisions and clauses shall be incorporated in solicitations and/or contracts in full text. ...

[Incorporation of Information and Communication Technologies and quality of primary healthcare in Brazil].

Science.gov (United States)

Santos, Alaneir de Fátima Dos; Fonseca, Délcio; Araujo, Lucas Lobato; Procópio, Cristiane da Silva Diniz; Lopes, Érica Araújo Silva; Lima, Angela Maria de Lourdes Dayrell de; Reis, Clarice Magalhães Rodrigues Dos; Abreu, Daisy Maria Xavier de; Jorge, Alzira Oliveira; Matta-Machado, Antonio Thomaz

2017-06-05

Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) are means to handle information, streamline communication, and contribute to patient care. This article describes the incorporation of Information and Communication Technologies in primary care and its association with quality, based on the Brazilian National Program for the Improvement of Access and Quality in Primary Care (PMAQ in portuguese). This was a cross-sectional study with 17,053 teams. An Index of Incorporation of ICTs was created, which included: information infrastructure, systems, and utilization. Regression analysis was used to assess associations. Only 13.5% of the teams had a high degree of ICTs. The strongest association was seen in the utilization of information. ICTs can contribute to improving quality of primary care.

22 CFR 212.13 - Incorporation by reference.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-04-01

... 22 Foreign Relations 1 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Incorporation by reference. 212.13 Section 212.13 Foreign Relations AGENCY FOR INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT PUBLIC INFORMATION Publication in the Federal Register § 212.13 Incorporation by reference. For purposes of this subpart B, USAID matters which...

Toxicogenomics in Environmental Science.

Science.gov (United States)

Brinke, Alexandra; Buchinger, Sebastian

This chapter reviews the current knowledge and recent progress in the field of environmental, aquatic ecotoxicogenomics with a focus on transcriptomic methods. In ecotoxicogenomics the omics technologies are applied for the detection and assessment of adverse effects in the environment, and thus are to be distinguished from omics used in human toxicology [Snape et al., Aquat Toxicol 67:143-154, 2004]. Transcriptomic methods in ecotoxicology are applied to gain a mechanistic understanding of toxic effects on organisms or populations, and thus aim to bridge the gap between cause and effect. A worthwhile effect-based interpretation of stressor induced changes on the transcriptome is based on the principle of phenotypic-anchoring [Paules, Environ Health Perspect 111:A338-A339, 2003]. Thereby, changes on the transcriptomic level can only be identified as effects if they are clearly linked to a specific stressor-induced effect on the macroscopic level. By integrating those macroscopic and transcriptomic effects, conclusions on the effect-inducing type of the stressor can be drawn. Stressor-specific effects on the transcriptomic level can be identified as stressor-specific induced pathways, transcriptomic patterns, or stressors-specific genetic biomarkers. In this chapter, examples of the combined application of macroscopic and transcriptional effects for the identification of environmental stressors, such as aquatic pollutants, are given and discussed. By means of these examples, challenges on the way to a standardized application of transcriptomics in ecotoxicology are discussed. This is also done against the background of the application of transcriptomic methods in environmental regulation such as the EU regulation Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and Restriction of Chemicals (REACH).

Effect of organoclay incorporation on dental resin morphology

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Oliveira, Nadja M.S.; Reis, Romulo P.B.; Leite, Itamara F.; Morais, Crislene R.S.; Silva, Suedina M.L.

2009-01-01

The objective of the present work was to incorporate nanosilicates in commercial dental resins in order to prepare dental nanocomposites competitive as commercial nanoparticulates dental resins. Thus, a silicate, Cloisite 20A (C20A), was incorporated in a microhybrid dental resin (Z100) and morphological properties of the nanocomposites evaluated as a function of the incorporation method and the amount of filler employed. The samples were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The XRD results evidence that nanocomposites have been obtained and according to SEM results, the morphology of microhybrid resin was modified when C20A nanoparticulate was incorporated improve the size distribution and reduce the agglomeration of the particles. (author)

Methods improvements incorporated into the SAPHIRE ASP models

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sattison, M.B.; Blackman, H.S.; Novack, S.D.; Smith, C.L.; Rasmuson, D.M.

1994-01-01

The Office for Analysis and Evaluation of Operational Data (AEOD) has sought the assistance of the Idaho National Engineering Laboratory (INEL) to make some significant enhancements to the SAPHIRE-based Accident Sequence Precursor (ASP) models recently developed by the INEL. The challenge of this project is to provide the features of a full-scale PRA within the framework of the simplified ASP models. Some of these features include: (1) uncertainty analysis addressing the standard PRA uncertainties and the uncertainties unique to the ASP models and methodology, (2) incorporation and proper quantification of individual human actions and the interaction among human actions, (3) enhanced treatment of common cause failures, and (4) extension of the ASP models to more closely mimic full-scale PRAs (inclusion of more initiators, explicitly modeling support system failures, etc.). This paper provides an overview of the methods being used to make the above improvements

Methods improvements incorporated into the SAPHIRE ASP models

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sattison, M.B.; Blackman, H.S.; Novack, S.D.

1995-01-01

The Office for Analysis and Evaluation of Operational Data (AEOD) has sought the assistance of the Idaho National Engineering Laboratory (INEL) to make some significant enhancements to the SAPHIRE-based Accident Sequence Precursor (ASP) models recently developed by the INEL. The challenge of this project is to provide the features of a full-scale PRA within the framework of the simplified ASP models. Some of these features include: (1) uncertainty analysis addressing the standard PRA uncertainties and the uncertainties unique to the ASP models and methods, (2) incorporation and proper quantification of individual human actions and the interaction among human actions, (3) enhanced treatment of common cause failures, and (4) extension of the ASP models to more closely mimic full-scale PRAs (inclusion of more initiators, explicitly modeling support system failures, etc.). This paper provides an overview of the methods being used to make the above improvements

40 CFR 59.412 - Incorporations by reference.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-07-01

... Test Method for Chemical Resistance of Coatings Used in Light-Water Nuclear Power Plants, incorporation by reference approved for § 59.401, Nuclear coating. (5) ASTM Method D 4082-89, Standard Test Method for Effects of Gamma Radiation on Coatings for Use in Light-Water Nuclear Power Plants, incorporation...

Differentiating leucine incorporation of

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Yokokawa, T.; Sintes, E.; de Corte, D.; Olbrich, K.; Herndl, G.J.

2012-01-01

The abundance (based on catalyzed reporter deposition-fluorescence in situ hybrid ization, CARD-FISH) and leucine incorporation rates of Archaea and Bacteria were determined throughout the water column in the eastern Atlantic. Bacteria dominated throughout the water column, although their

Microstructural analysis of clayey ceramic incorporated with fluorescent lamp glass; Analise microestrutural de ceramica vermelha incorporada com vidro de lampada fluorescente

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Morais, A.S.C.; Caldas, T.C.C.; Pereira, P.S.; Monteiro, S.N.; Vieira, C.M.F., E-mail: allinescmorais@yahoo.com.br [Universidade Estadual do Norte Fluminense Darcy Ribeiro (LAMAV/UENF), Campos dos Goytacazes, RJ (Brazil). Laboratorio de Materiais Avancados

2011-07-01

This study aims to evaluate the effect of the incorporation of glass powder fluorescent lamp, from a decontamination process, in the microstructure of clayey ceramic. Formulations were prepared with incorporation of the waste in amounts of up to 10 wt.% into the clayey body. Specimens were prepared by uniaxial mold-press at 20 MPa and then fired at 850 and 1050°C. After firing, the microstructure of the ceramics was evaluated by optical microscopy (OM), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and X-ray diffraction (XRD). The results showed that the incorporation of glass powder into the clayey body changes the microstructure of the ceramics. (author)

Human cultured cells are capable to incorporate isolated plant mitochondria loaded with exogenous DNA

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Laktionov P. P.

2012-07-01

Full Text Available Aim. To investigate the possibility of human cultured cells to incorporate isolated mitochondria together with exogenous DNA introduced into organelles. Methods. Two approaches were used for this purpose, fluorescent labelling of mitochondria and/or DNA with subsequent analysis of the cells subjected to incubation by microscopy or by quantitative PCR. Results. We have shown that human cultured cells lines, HeLa and HUVEC, are capable to uptake isolated plant mitochondria and that this process depends on the incubation time and concentration of organelles present in medium. The incorporated mitochondria can serve as vehicles to deliver exogenous DNA into human cells, this DNA is then distributed in different cell compartments. Conclusions. These results are preliminary and need further investigations, including testing the possibility of human cells to incorporate the mitochondria of human or animal origin and creating genetic construction which could provide certain selectivity or stability of the transferred exogenous DNA upon cell uptake of the mitochondria as vectors.

Concentration-Dependent Patterns of Leucine Incorporation by Coastal Picoplankton

Science.gov (United States)

Alonso, Cecilia; Pernthaler, Jakob

2006-01-01

Coastal pelagic environments are believed to feature concentration gradients of dissolved organic carbon at a microscale, and they are characterized by pronounced seasonal differences in substrate availability for the heterotrophic picoplankton. Microbial taxa that coexist in such habitats might thus differ in their ability to incorporate substrates at various concentrations. We investigated the incorporation patterns of leucine in four microbial lineages from the coastal North Sea at concentrations between 0.1 and 100 nM before and during a spring phytoplankton bloom. Community bulk incorporation rates and the fraction of leucine-incorporating cells in the different populations were analyzed. Significantly fewer bacterial cells incorporated the amino acid before (13 to 35%) than during (23 to 47%) the bloom at all but the highest concentration. The incorporation rate per active cell in the prebloom situation was constant above 0.1 nM added leucine, whereas it increased steeply with substrate concentration during the bloom. At both time points, a high proportion of members of the Roseobacter clade incorporated leucine at all concentrations (55 to 80% and 86 to 94%, respectively). In contrast, the fractions of leucine-incorporating cells increased substantially with substrate availability in bacteria from the SAR86 clade (8 to 31%) and from DE cluster 2 of the Flavobacteria-Sphingobacteria (14 to 33%). The incorporation patterns of marine Euryarchaeota were between these extremes (30 to 56% and 48 to 70%, respectively). Our results suggest that the contribution of microbial taxa to the turnover of particular substrates may be concentration dependent. This may help us to understand the specific niches of coexisting populations that appear to compete for the same resources. PMID:16517664

Fractal and probability analysis of creep crack growth behavior in 2.25Cr–1.6W steel incorporating residual stresses

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Xu, Mengjia; Xu, Jijin, E-mail: xujijin_1979@sjtu.edu.cn; Lu, Hao; Chen, Jieshi; Chen, Junmei; Wei, Xiao

2015-12-30

Graphical abstract: - Highlights: • Statistical and fractal analysis is applied to study the creep fracture surface. • The tensile residual stresses promote the initiation of creep crack. • The fractal dimension of a mixed mode fracture surface shows a wavy variation. • The fractal dimension increases with increasing intergranular fracture percentage. • Height coordinates of intergranular fracture surface fit Gaussian distribution. - Abstract: In order to clarify creep crack growth behavior in 2.25Cr–1.6W steel incorporating residual stresses, creep crack tests were carried out on the tension creep specimens, in which the residual stresses were generated by local remelting and cooling. Residual stresses in the specimens were measured using Synchrotron X-ray diffraction techniques. The fracture surface of the creep specimen was analyzed using statistical methods and fractal analysis. The relation between fractal dimension of the fracture surface and fracture mode of the creep specimen was discussed. Due to different fracture mechanisms, the probability density functions of the height coordinates vary with the intergranular crack percentage. Good fitting was found between Gaussian distribution and the probability function of height coordinates of the high percentage intergranular crack surface.

Fractal and probability analysis of creep crack growth behavior in 2.25Cr–1.6W steel incorporating residual stresses

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Xu, Mengjia; Xu, Jijin; Lu, Hao; Chen, Jieshi; Chen, Junmei; Wei, Xiao

2015-01-01

Graphical abstract: - Highlights: • Statistical and fractal analysis is applied to study the creep fracture surface. • The tensile residual stresses promote the initiation of creep crack. • The fractal dimension of a mixed mode fracture surface shows a wavy variation. • The fractal dimension increases with increasing intergranular fracture percentage. • Height coordinates of intergranular fracture surface fit Gaussian distribution. - Abstract: In order to clarify creep crack growth behavior in 2.25Cr–1.6W steel incorporating residual stresses, creep crack tests were carried out on the tension creep specimens, in which the residual stresses were generated by local remelting and cooling. Residual stresses in the specimens were measured using Synchrotron X-ray diffraction techniques. The fracture surface of the creep specimen was analyzed using statistical methods and fractal analysis. The relation between fractal dimension of the fracture surface and fracture mode of the creep specimen was discussed. Due to different fracture mechanisms, the probability density functions of the height coordinates vary with the intergranular crack percentage. Good fitting was found between Gaussian distribution and the probability function of height coordinates of the high percentage intergranular crack surface.

THE MAQC PROJECT: ESTABLISHING QC METRICS AND THRESHOLDS FOR MICROARRAY QUALITY CONTROL

Science.gov (United States)

Microarrays represent a core technology in pharmacogenomics and toxicogenomics; however, before this technology can successfully and reliably be applied in clinical practice and regulatory decision-making, standards and quality measures need to be developed. The Microarray Qualit...

Special Analysis for the Disposal of the Neutron Products Incorporated Sealed Source Waste Stream at the Area 5 Radioactive Waste Management Site, Nevada National Security Site, Nye County, Nevada

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

None, None

2014-08-31

The purpose of this special analysis (SA) is to determine if the Neutron Products Incorporated (NPI) Sealed Sources waste stream (DRTK000000056, Revision 0) is suitable for disposal by shallow land burial (SLB) at the Area 5 Radioactive Waste Management Site (RWMS). The NPI Sealed Sources waste stream consists of 850 60Co sealed sources (Duratek [DRTK] 2013). The NPI Sealed Sources waste stream requires a special analysis (SA) because the waste stream 60Co activity concentration exceeds the Nevada National Security Site (NNSS) Waste Acceptance Criteria (WAC) Action Levels.

Incorporation of fluconazole in copolymer PMMA-g-PEG derivatives

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Silveira, B.M.; Santos, V.M.R. dos; Novack, K.M.; Lopes, S.A.

2014-01-01

The graft copolymer PMMA-g-PEG went through chemical transformations in its chain through acetylation, halogenation, methylation and esterification followed by hydrolysis reactions. Subsequently, the copolymer PMMA-g-PEG derivatives passed through the process of emulsification and incorporation of the drug fluconazole. Derivatives copolymers were characterized by infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), X-ray diffraction (XRD) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) after incorporation in order to evaluate their effectiveness. The efficiency of incorporation was observed and it was also verified that the complexity of polymer chain influence in the incorporated fluconazole content. (author)

Highly crystalline zinc incorporated hydroxyapatite nanorods' synthesis, characterization, thermal, biocompatibility, and antibacterial study

Science.gov (United States)

Udhayakumar, Gayathri; Muthukumarasamy, N.; Velauthapillai, Dhayalan; Santhosh, Shanthi Bhupathi

2017-10-01

Highly crystalline zinc incorporated hydroxyapatite (Zn-HAp) nanorods have been synthesized using microwave irradiation method. To improve bioactivity and crystallinity of pure HAp, zinc was incorporated into it. As-synthesized samples were characterized by Fourier transform-infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), X-ray diffraction, field-emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM), energy dispersive X-ray analysis (EDAX), high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM), and the thermal and crystallinity behavior of Zn-HAp nanoparticle were studied by thermogravimetry (TGA) and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). Antibacterial activity of the as-synthesized nanorods was evaluated against two prokaryotic strains ( Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus). The FT-IR studies show the presence of hydroxide and phosphate functional groups. HRTEM and FESEM images showed highly crystalline rod-shaped nanoparticles with the diameter of about 50-60 nm. EDAX revealed the presence of Ca, Zn, P, and O in the prepared samples. The crystallinity and thermal stability were further confirmed by TGA-DSC analysis. The biocompatibility evaluation results promoted that the Zn-HAp nanorods are biologically active apatites and potentially promising bone-substitute biomaterials for orthopaedic application.

Simulation of Forest Carbon Fluxes Using Model Incorporation and Data Assimilation

OpenAIRE

Min Yan; Xin Tian; Zengyuan Li; Erxue Chen; Xufeng Wang; Zongtao Han; Hong Sun

2016-01-01

This study improved simulation of forest carbon fluxes in the Changbai Mountains with a process-based model (Biome-BGC) using incorporation and data assimilation. Firstly, the original remote sensing-based MODIS MOD_17 GPP (MOD_17) model was optimized using refined input data and biome-specific parameters. The key ecophysiological parameters of the Biome-BGC model were determined through the Extended Fourier Amplitude Sensitivity Test (EFAST) sensitivity analysis. Then the optimized MOD_17 mo...

Incorporating X–ray summing into gamma–gamma signature quantification

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Britton, R.; Jackson, M.J.; Davies, A.V.

2016-01-01

A method for quantifying coincidence signatures has been extended to incorporate the effects of X–ray summing, and tested using a high–efficiency γ–γ system. An X–ray library has been created, allowing all possible γ, X–ray and conversion electron cascades to be generated. The equations for calculating efficiency and cascade summing corrected coincidence signature probabilities have also been extended from a two γ, two detector ‘special case’ to an arbitrarily large system. The coincidence library generated is fully searchable by energy, nuclide, coincidence pair, γ multiplicity, cascade probability and the half–life of the cascade, allowing the user to quickly identify coincidence signatures of interest. The method and software described is inherently flexible, as it only requires evaluated nuclear data, an X–ray library, and accurate efficiency characterisations to quickly and easily calculate coincidence signature probabilities for a variety of systems. Additional uses for the software include the fast identification of γ coincidence signals with required multiplicities and branching ratios, identification of the optimal coincidence signatures to measure for a particular system, and the calculation of cascade summing corrections for single detector systems. - Highlights: • Method for incorporating X-ray summing into coincidence measurements developed. • Calculation routines have been extended to an arbitrarily large detector system, and re-written to take advantage of multiple computing cores. • Data collected in list-mode with all events timestamped for offline coincidence analysis. • Coincidence analysis of environmental samples will dramatically improve the detection sensitivity achievable.

Rates of incorporation of radioactive molecules during the cell cycle

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gray, J.W.; Pallavicini, M.G.; George, Y.S.; Groppi, V.; Look, M.; Dean, P.N.

1981-01-01

We report measurements of the incorporation of radioactive molecules during short labeling periods, as a function of cell-cycle stage, using a cell-sorter-based technique that does not require cell synchronization. We have determined: (1) tritiated thymidine ( 3 H-TdR) incorporation throughout S-phase in Lewis lung tumor cells in vitro both before and after treatment with cytosine arabinoside; (2) 3 H-TdR incorporation throughout S-phase in KHT tumor cells in vitro and in vivo; (3) 3 H-TdR incorporation throughout S-phase in Chinese hamster ovary cells and compared it with DNA synthesis throughout S-phase; (4) a mathematical expression describing 3 H-TdR incorporation throughout S-phase in Chinese hamster M3-1 cells; and (5) the simultaneous incorporation of 3 H-TdR and 35 S-methionine as they are related to cell size and DNA content in S49 mouse lymphoma cells. In asynchronously growing cells in vitro and in vivo, 3 H-TdR incorporation was generally low in early and late S-phase and highest in mid-S-phase. However, in Lewis lung tumor cells treated with cytosine arabinoside 3 H-TdR incorporation was highest in early and late S-phase and lowest in mid-S-phase. Incorporation of 35 S-methionine increased continuously with cell size and DNA content. Incorporation of 3 H-TdR in CHO cells was proportional to DNA synthesis

Incorporating Feminist Standpoint Theory

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Ahlström, Kristoffer

2005-01-01

As has been noted by Alvin Goldman, there are some very interesting similarities between his Veritistic Social Epistemology (VSE) and Sandra Harding’s Feminist Standpoint Theory (FST). In the present paper, it is argued that these similarities are so significant as to motivate an incorporation...

TOXICOGENOMIC ANALYSIS OF TOLUENE EXPOSURE AT 3 AGES IN BROWN NORWAY RATS.

Science.gov (United States)

A major concern in assessing toxicity to environmental exposures is differentialsusceptibility in subsets of the population. Aging adults, who comprise the fastestgrowing segment of the population, may possess a greater sensitivity due to changes inmetabol...

Resisting Official Knowledge: The Incorporation and Abjection of Race and Poverty in High School American History Textbooks, 1960s-2000s

Science.gov (United States)

Kearl, Benjamin Kelsey

2014-01-01

Through an interpretive analysis of how high school American history textbooks depict the urban-riots of the late-1960s, in this article the author discusses how textbooks incorporate and abject official knowledge related to the intersections of race and poverty. Incorporation is related with Raymond Williams' theory of the selective tradition and…

Use of toxicogenomics for identifying genetic markers of pulmonary oedema

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Balharry, Dominique; Oreffo, Victor; Richards, Roy

2005-01-01

This study was undertaken primarily to identify genetic markers of oedema and inflammation. Mild pulmonary injury was induced following the instillation of the oedema-producing agent, bleomycin (0.5 units). Oedema was then confirmed by conventional toxicology (lavage protein levels, free cell counts and lung/body weight ratios) and histology 3 days post-bleomycin instillation.The expression profile of 1176 mRNA species was determined for bleomycin-exposed lung (Clontech Atlas macroarray, n = 9). To obtain pertinent results from these data, it was necessary to develop a simple, effective method for bioinformatic analysis of altered gene expression. Data were log 10 transformed followed by global normalisation. Differential gene expression was accepted if: (a) genes were statistically significant (P ≤ 0.05) from a two-tailed t test; (b) genes were consistently outside a two standard deviation (SD) range from control levels. A combination of these techniques identified 31 mRNA transcripts (approximately 3%) which were significantly altered in bleomycin treated tissue. Of these genes, 26 were down-regulated whilst only five were up-regulated. Two distinct clusters were identified, with 17 genes classified as encoding hormone receptors, and nine as encoding ion channels. Both these clusters were consistently down-regulated.The magnitude of the changes in gene expression were quantified and confirmed by Q-PCR (n = 6), validating the macroarray data and the bioinformatic analysis employed.In conclusion, this study has developed a suitable macroarray analysis procedure and provides the basis for a better understanding of the gene expression changes occurring during the early phase of drug-induced pulmonary oedema

Incorporating a vascular term into a reference region model for the analysis of DCE-MRI data: a simulation study

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Faranesh, A Z; Yankeelov, T E

2008-01-01

A vascular term was incorporated into a reference region (RR) model analysis of DCE-MRI data, and its effect on the accuracy of the model in estimating tissue kinetic parameters in a tissue of interest (TOI) was systematically investigated through computer simulations. Errors in the TOI volume transfer constant (K trans,TOI ) and TOI extravascular extracellular volume (v e,TOI ) that result when the fractional plasma volume (v p ) was included in (1) neither region, (2) TOI only (3) both regions were investigated. For nominal values of tumor kinetic parameters (v e,TOI = 0.40 and K trans,TOI = 0.25 min -1 ), if the vascular term was included in neither region or the TOI only, K trans,TOI error was within 20% for 0.03 p,TOI e,TOI error was within 20% for the range of v p,TOI studied (0.01-0.10). The effects of temporal resolution were shown to be complex, and in some cases errors increased with increasing temporal resolution

Way forward in case of a false positive in vitro genotoxicity result for a cosmetic substance?

Science.gov (United States)

Doktorova, Tatyana Y; Ates, Gamze; Vinken, Mathieu; Vanhaecke, Tamara; Rogiers, Vera

2014-02-01

The currently used regulatory in vitro mutagenicity/genotoxicity test battery has a high sensitivity for detecting genotoxicants, but it suffers from a large number of irrelevant positive results (i.e. low specificity) thereby imposing the need for additional follow-up by in vitro and/or in vivo genotoxicity tests. This could have a major impact on the cosmetic industry in Europe, seen the imposed animal testing and marketing bans on cosmetics and their ingredients. Afflicted, but safe substances could therefore be lost. Using the example of triclosan, a cosmetic preservative, we describe here the potential applicability of a human toxicogenomics-based in vitro assay as a potential mechanistically based follow-up test for positive in vitro genotoxicity results. Triclosan shows a positive in vitro chromosomal aberration test, but is negative during in vivo follow-up tests. Toxicogenomics analysis unequivocally shows that triclosan is identified as a compound acting through non-DNA reactive mechanisms. This proof-of-principle study illustrates the potential of genome-wide transcriptomics data in combination with in vitro experimentation as a possible weight-of-evidence follow-up approach for de-risking a positive outcome in a standard mutagenicity/genotoxicity battery. As such a substantial number of cosmetic compounds wrongly identified as genotoxicants could be saved for the future. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Incorporation of [14C]-palmitate into lipids of Brassica cells during the induction of freezing tolerance

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lynch, D.V.; Joseph, R.A.

1989-01-01

Changes in plasma membrane lipid composition have been causally related to increased freezing tolerance. Studies of lipid metabolism during ABA induction of freezing tolerance in Brassica napus suspension cultures were undertaken. Cells were labeled with [ 14 C]-palmitate four days after transfer to fresh medium (control) or medium containing ABA (which increases freezing tolerance). At times between one and 20 hrs after labeling, ABA-treated cells incorporated almost twice the amount of label as controls cells. Approximately 80% of the radioactivity was associated with neutral lipids in ABA-treated cells and controls. Incorporation of label into total cellular polar lipids was 4.9 x 10 5 dpm/mg protein for control cells and 1 x 10 6 dpm/mg protein for cells transferred to medium containing ABA. Analysis of lipids following alkaline hydrolysis indicated that incorporation of [ 14 C]-palmitate into glucosylceramide of ABA-treated cells was less than 60% of control values when expressed relative to that of the total polar lipids. Incorporation into ceramides was also depressed in ABA-treated cells

Two approaches to incorporate clinical data uncertainty into multiple criteria decision analysis for benefit-risk assessment of medicinal products.

Science.gov (United States)

Wen, Shihua; Zhang, Lanju; Yang, Bo

2014-07-01

The Problem formulation, Objectives, Alternatives, Consequences, Trade-offs, Uncertainties, Risk attitude, and Linked decisions (PrOACT-URL) framework and multiple criteria decision analysis (MCDA) have been recommended by the European Medicines Agency for structured benefit-risk assessment of medicinal products undergoing regulatory review. The objective of this article was to provide solutions to incorporate the uncertainty from clinical data into the MCDA model when evaluating the overall benefit-risk profiles among different treatment options. Two statistical approaches, the δ-method approach and the Monte-Carlo approach, were proposed to construct the confidence interval of the overall benefit-risk score from the MCDA model as well as other probabilistic measures for comparing the benefit-risk profiles between treatment options. Both approaches can incorporate the correlation structure between clinical parameters (criteria) in the MCDA model and are straightforward to implement. The two proposed approaches were applied to a case study to evaluate the benefit-risk profile of an add-on therapy for rheumatoid arthritis (drug X) relative to placebo. It demonstrated a straightforward way to quantify the impact of the uncertainty from clinical data to the benefit-risk assessment and enabled statistical inference on evaluating the overall benefit-risk profiles among different treatment options. The δ-method approach provides a closed form to quantify the variability of the overall benefit-risk score in the MCDA model, whereas the Monte-Carlo approach is more computationally intensive but can yield its true sampling distribution for statistical inference. The obtained confidence intervals and other probabilistic measures from the two approaches enhance the benefit-risk decision making of medicinal products. Copyright © 2014 International Society for Pharmacoeconomics and Outcomes Research (ISPOR). Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Activity incorporation into zinc doped PWR oxides

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Maekelae, Kari

1998-01-01

Activity incorporation into the oxide layers of PWR primary circuit constructional materials has been studied in Halden since 1993. The first zinc injection tests showed that zinc addition resulted in thinner oxide layers on new metal surfaces and reduced further incorporation of activity into already existing oxides. These tests were continued to find out the effects of previous zinc additions on the pickup of activity onto the surface oxides which were subsequently exposed to zinc-free coolant. The results showed that previous zinc addition will continue to reduce the rate of Co-60 build-up on out-of-core surfaces in subsequent exposure to zinc-free coolants. However, the previous Zn free test was performed for a relatively short period of time and the water chemistry programme was continued to find out the long term effects for extended periods without zinc. The activity incorporation into the stainless steel oxides started to increase as soon as zinc dosing to the coolant was stopped. The Co-60 concentration was lowest on all of the coupons which were first oxidised in Zn containing primary coolant. After the zinc injection period the thickness of the oxides increased, but activity in the oxide films did not increase at the same rate. This could indicate that zinc in the oxide blocks the adsorption sites for Co-60 incorporation. The Co-60 incorporation rate into the oxides on Inconel 600 seemed to be linear whether the oxide was pre-oxidised with or without Zn. The results indicate that zinc can either replace or prevent cobalt transport in the oxides. The results show that for zinc injection to be effective it should be carried out continuously. Furthermore the actual mechanism by which Zn inhibits the activity incorporation into the oxides is still not clear. Therefore, additional work has to follow with specified materials to verify the conclusions drawn in this work. (author)

Radiological accidents: methodologies of radio nuclides dis incorporation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jimenez F, E. A.; Paredes G, L.; Cortes, A.

2014-08-01

Derived of the radioactive or nuclear material management, exists the risk that accidents can happen where people cases are presented with internal radioactive contamination, who will receive specialized medical care to accelerate the radioactive dis incorporation with the purpose of diminishing the absorbed dose and the associate biological effects. In this work treatments of radioactive dis incorporation were identified, in function of the radionuclide, radiation type, radioactive half life, biological half life, critical organ, ingestion duct and patient type. The factor time is decisive for the effectiveness of the selected treatment in the blockade stage (before the accident) or dis incorporation (after the accident); this factor is related with the radioactive and biological half lives. So to achieve dis incorporation efficiencies of more to 70%, the patient clinical treatment will begin before the first third of the biological half life of the radionuclide that generated the internal contamination. (Author)

Quantum-Mechanical Methods for Quantifying Incorporation of Contaminants in Proximal Minerals

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Lindsay C. Shuller-Nickles

2014-07-01

Full Text Available Incorporation reactions play an important role in dictating immobilization and release pathways for chemical species in low-temperature geologic environments. Quantum-mechanical investigations of incorporation seek to characterize the stability and geometry of incorporated structures, as well as the thermodynamics and kinetics of the reactions themselves. For a thermodynamic treatment of incorporation reactions, a source of the incorporated ion and a sink for the released ion is necessary. These sources/sinks in a real geochemical system can be solids, but more commonly, they are charged aqueous species. In this contribution, we review the current methods for ab initio calculations of incorporation reactions, many of which do not consider incorporation from aqueous species. We detail a recently-developed approach for the calculation of incorporation reactions and expand on the part that is modeling the interaction of periodic solids with aqueous source and sink phases and present new research using this approach. To model these interactions, a systematic series of calculations must be done to transform periodic solid source and sink phases to aqueous-phase clusters. Examples of this process are provided for three case studies: (1 neptunyl incorporation into studtite and boltwoodite: for the layered boltwoodite, the incorporation energies are smaller (more favorable for reactions using environmentally relevant source and sink phases (i.e., ΔErxn(oxides > ΔErxn(silicates > ΔErxn(aqueous. Estimates of the solid-solution behavior of Np5+/P5+- and U6+/Si4+-boltwoodite and Np5+/Ca2+- and U6+/K+-boltwoodite solid solutions are used to predict the limit of Np-incorporation into boltwoodite (172 and 768 ppm at 300 °C, respectively; (2 uranyl and neptunyl incorporation into carbonates and sulfates: for both carbonates and sulfates, it was found that actinyl incorporation into a defect site is more favorable than incorporation into defect-free periodic

NMR analysis of lignins in CAD-deficient plants. Part 1. Incorporation of hydroxycinnamaldehydes and hydroxybenzaldehydes into lignins.

Science.gov (United States)

Kim, Hoon; Ralph, John; Lu, Fachuang; Ralph, Sally A; Boudet, Alain M; MacKay, John J; Sederoff, Ronald R; Ito, Takashi; Kawai, Shingo; Ohashi, Hideo; Higuchi, Takayoshi

2003-01-21

Peroxidase/H2O2-mediated radical coupling of 4-hydroxycinnamaldehydes produces 8-O-4-, 8-5-, and 8-8-coupled dehydrodimers as has been documented earlier, as well as the 5-5-coupled dehydrodimer. The 8-5-dehydrodimer is however produced kinetically in its cyclic phenylcoumaran form at neutral pH. Synthetic polymers produced from mixtures of hydroxycinnamaldehydes and normal monolignols provide the next level of complexity. Spectral data from dimers, oligomers, and synthetic polymers have allowed a more substantive assignment of aldehyde components in lignins isolated from a CAD-deficient pine mutant and an antisense-CAD-downregulated transgenic tobacco. CAD-deficient pine lignin shows enhanced levels of the typical benzaldehyde and cinnamaldehyde end-groups, along with evidence for two types of 8-O-4-coupled coniferaldehyde units. The CAD-downregulated tobacco also has higher levels of hydroxycinnamaldehyde and hydroxybenzaldehyde (mainly syringaldehyde) incorporation, but the analogous two types of 8-O-4-coupled products are the dominant features. 8-8-Coupled units are also clearly evident. There is clear evidence for coupling of hydroxycinnamaldehydes to each other and then incorporation into the lignin, as well as for the incorporation of hydroxycinnamaldehyde monomers into the growing lignin polymer. Coniferaldehyde and sinapaldehyde (as well as vanillin and syringaldehyde) co-polymerize with the traditional monolignols into lignins and do so at enhanced levels when CAD-deficiency has an impact on the normal monolignol production. The implication is that, particularly in angiosperms, the aldehydes behave like the traditional monolignols and should probably be regarded as authentic lignin monomers in normal and CAD-deficient plants.

CHEMICAL EFFECTS IN BIOLOGICAL SYSTEMS – DATA DICTIONARY (CEBS-DD): A COMPENDIUM OF TERMS FOR THE CAPTURE AND INTEGRATION OF BIOLOGICAL STUDY DESIGN DESCRIPTION, CONVENTIONAL PHENOTYPES AND ‘OMICS’ DATA

Science.gov (United States)

A critical component in the design of the Chemical Effects in Biological Systems (CEBS) Knowledgebase is a strategy to capture toxicogenomics study protocols and the toxicity endpoint data (clinical pathology and histopathology). A Study is generally an experiment carried out du...

Ecotoxicogenomics to Support Ecological Risk Assessment: A Case Study with Bisphenol A in Fish

Science.gov (United States)

Toxicogenomic approaches are being increasingly applied in the field of ecotoxicology. Given the growing availability of ecotoxicogenomic data, the Agency and the broader scientific community are actively engaged in considering how best to use those data to support ecological ris...

Comparison of L1000 and Affymetrix Microarray for In Vitro Concentration-Response Gene Expression Profiling (SOT)

Science.gov (United States)

Advances in high-throughput screening technologies and in vitro systems have opened doors for cost-efficient evaluation of chemical effects on a diversity of biological endpoints. However, toxicogenomics platforms remain too costly to evaluate large libraries of chemicals in conc...

ExpoCast: Exposure Science for Prioritization and Toxicity Testing (S)

Science.gov (United States)

The US EPA is completing the Phase I pilot for a chemical prioritization research program, called ToxCast. Here EPA is developing methods for using computational chemistry, high-throughput screening, and toxicogenomic technologies to predict potential toxicity and prioritize limi...

ExpoCast: Exposure Science for Prioritization and Toxicity Testing

Science.gov (United States)

The US EPA is completing the Phase I pilot for a chemical prioritization research program, called ToxCastTM. Here EPA is developing methods for using computational chemistry, high-throughput screening, and toxicogenomic technologies to predict potential toxicity and prioritize l...

Three-dimensional poly (ε-caprolactone)/hydroxyapatite/collagen scaffolds incorporating bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells for the repair of bone defects

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Qi, Xin; Huang, Yinjun; Zhang, Jieyuan; Cao, Jiaqing; Jin, Xiangyun; Huang, Jinghuan; Li, Xiaolin; Wang, Ting; Han, Dan

2016-01-01

We previously demonstrated that three-dimensional (3D) hydroxyapatite (HAP)-collagen (COL)-coated poly(ε-caprolactone) (PCL) scaffolds (HAP-COL-PCL) possess appropriate nano-structures, surface roughness, and nutrients, providing a favorable environment for osteogenesis. However, the effect of using 3D HAP-COL-PCL scaffolds incorporating BMSCs for the repair of bone defects in rats has been not evaluated. 3D PCL scaffolds coated with HAP, collagen or HAP/COL and incorporating BMSCs were implanted into calvarial defects. At 12 weeks after surgery, the rats were sacrificed and crania were harvested to assess the bone defect repair using microcomputed tomography (micro-CT), histology, immunohistochemistry and sequential fluorescent labeling analysis. 3D micro-CT reconstructed images and quantitative analysis showed that HAP-COL-PCL groups possessed better bone-forming capacity than HAP-PCL groups or COL-PCL groups. Fluorescent labeling analysis revealed the percentage of tetracycline labeling, alizarin red labeling, and calcein labeling in HAP-COL-PCL groups were all greater than in the other two groups (P  <  0.05), and the result was confirmed by immunohistochemical staining and histological analysis of bone regeneration. This study demonstrates that 3D HAP-COL-PCL scaffolds incorporating BMSCs markedly enhance bone regeneration of bone defects in rats. (paper)

Sites of sulfate incorporation into mammotrophs and somatotrophs of the rat pituitary as determined by quantitative electron microscopic autoradiography

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rosenzweig, L.J.; Farquhar, M.G.

1980-01-01

Dispersed pituitary cells were labeled with [ 35 S]sulfate followed by a chase incubation in order to study sulfate incorporation and transport in anterior pituitary cells. The initial site of incorporation of sulfate, the kinetics of sulfate transport, and the intracellular localization of incorporated sulfate were studied by quantitative electron microscope autoradiography. Analysis of autoradiograms from estrogen-treated female rats revealed that all granulated cell types incorporate sulfate. The labeling index of the various cell types was greatest for mammotrophs, slightly less for corticotrophs, gonadotrophs, and thyrotrophs and least for somatotrophs. These results indicate the [ 35 S]sulfate is initially incorporated into the Golgi complex of all interior pituitary cell types. The majority of the sulfate-labeled macromolecules are then packaged into immature secretion granules in the Golgi region, which become mature granules. In addition, a considerable amount (approx. 30% in mammotrophs) of the radioactivity remains associated within the Golgi region for up to 2 h post pulse. The incorporation of sulfate into the Golgi complex and its transfer to secretory granule membranes and/or contents thus appears to be a general property of anterior pituitary cells

Antibacterial and cytocompatible nanotextured Ti surface incorporating silver via single step hydrothermal processing

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Mohandas, Anu; Krishnan, Amit G.; Biswas, Raja; Menon, Deepthy, E-mail: deepthymenon@aims.amrita.edu; Nair, Manitha B., E-mail: manithanair@aims.amrita.edu

2017-06-01

Nanosurface modification of Titanium (Ti) implants and prosthesis is proved to enhance osseointegration at the tissue–implant interface. However, many of these products lack adequate antibacterial capability, which leads to implant loosening. As a curative strategy, in this study, nanotextured Ti substrates embedded with silver nanoparticles were developed through a single step hydrothermal processing in an alkaline medium containing silver nitrate at different concentrations (15, 30 and 75 μM). Scanning electron micrographs revealed a non-periodically oriented nanoleafy structure on Ti (TNL) decorated with Ag nanoparticles (nanoAg), which was verified by XPS, XRD and EDS analysis. This TNLAg substrate proved to be mechanically stable upon nanoindentation and nanoscratch tests. Silver ions at detectable levels were released for a period of ~ 28 days only from substrates incorporating higher nanoAg content. The samples demonstrated antibacterial activity towards both Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus, with a more favorable response to the former. Simultaneously, Ti substrates incorporating nanoAg at all concentrations supported the viability, proliferation and osteogenic differentiation of mesenchymal stem cells. Overall, nanoAg incorporation into surface modified Ti via a simple one-step thermochemical method is a favorable strategy for producing implants with dual characteristics of antibacterial activity and cell compatibility. - Highlights: • Nanosilver was incorporated within Ti nanoleafy topography by simple one-step thermochemical method • The nanosurface demonstrated antibacterial activity against gram positive and gram negative bacteria • The nanosurface promoted the viability, proliferation and osteogenic differentiation of mesenchymal stem cells.

Phosphate incorporation in organic compounds in roots of maize

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Michalik, I; Ivanko, S [Vysoka Skola Polnohospodarska, Nitra (Czechoslovakia)

1976-01-01

/sup 32/P incorporation and metabolism was investigated for short exposure times of 1 sec, 10 sec and 1, 10, 30 and 120 min. By stepwise extraction with a methanol-chloroform-formic acid-water mixture, various fractions of P compounds were obtained. Low-molecular acid-soluble P compounds were separated by one-dimensional paper chromatography. Of the total amount of /sup 32/P absorbed by the roots of maize in the form of phosphate ions during the short incubation time of 1 sec, more than 33% was incorporated into organic compounds. With increasing incubation time, the proportion of /sup 32/P in low-molecular organic compounds increased with the decreasing proportion of inorganic phosphorus. In the 1 sec, exposure incorporation was found in 3 low-molecular organic compounds only, namely ATP, ADP and diphosphoglyceric acid. The /sup 32/P incorporation into ATP and ADP, in contrast with incorporation into diphosphoglyceric acid, increased markedly with increased exposure time.

Phosphate incorporation in organic compounds in roots of maize

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Michalik, I.; Ivanko, S.

1976-01-01

32 P incorporation and metabolism was investigated for short exposure times of 1 sec, 10 sec and 1, 10, 30 and 120 min. By stepwise extraction with a methanol-chloroform-formic acid-water mixture, various fractions of P compounds were obtained. Low-molecular acid-soluble P compounds were separated by one-dimensional paper chromatography. Of the total amount of 32 P absorbed by the roots of maize in the form of phosphate ions during the short incubation time of 1 sec, more than 33% was incorporated into organic compounds. With increasing incubation time, the proportion of 32 P in low-molecular organic compounds increased with the decreasing proportion of inorganic phosphorus. In the 1 sec, exposure incorporation was found in 3 low-molecular organic compounds only, namely ATP, ADP and diphosphoglyceric acid. The 32 P incorporation into ATP and ADP, in contrast with incorporation into diphosphoglyceric acid, increased markedly with increased exposure time. (author)

From Words to Action: Incorporation of Sustainability in Architectural Education

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Badiossadat Hassanpour

2017-10-01

Full Text Available Schools of architecture play a major role in motivating and inspiring students to gain competencies in sustainability through pedagogical practices. However, at the operational level, the incorporation of sustainability within architectural programmes needs to be integrated into both the curricula and teaching methods. There are few studies on how architectural programmes’ curricula and pedagogical practices can be institutionally articulated, as well as on how the required coherency among components can be empowered operationally. Since the interrelation of the courses form the structure of the curricula and provide certain inputs for the students’ knowledge and skill, any operational risk can harm the quality assurance. Therefore, an operational framework aimed for a coordinated incorporation of sustainability in architectural programmes is required. In order to achieve this, scrutinising substantial equivalence programmes could provide constructive outcomes for the improvement of the existing programmes and future experiences for students. In order to determine the articulation of sustainability issues in architectural education, in this research, a recently accredited school in the Eastern Mediterranean region was chosen as a case study. The study includes an analysis of course descriptions, teaching methods, and teacher and student perceptions about the incorporation of sustainability into the courses. Also, jury sessions’ evaluation criteria are assessed as a pedagogical tool. Then, the horizontal and vertical articulation of courses within the curricula and their coordination were studied accordingly. The findings reveal that horizontal and vertical relations between different course types that share similar learning objectives are very important. However, this relation and continuum should be perceivable by students, tutors, and the relevant stakeholders; otherwise, any attempt would remain superficial. Accordingly, the association

Impact of whey protein coating incorporated with Bifidobacterium and Lactobacillus on sliced ham properties.

Science.gov (United States)

Odila Pereira, Joana; Soares, José; J P Monteiro, Maria; Gomes, Ana; Pintado, Manuela

2018-05-01

Edible coatings/films with functional ingredients may be a solution to consumers' demands for high-quality food products and an extended shelf-life. The aim of this work was to evaluate the antimicrobial efficiency of edible coatings incorporated with probiotics on sliced ham preservation. Coatings was developed based on whey protein isolates with incorporation of Bifidobacterium animalis Bb-12® or Lactobacillus casei-01. The physicochemical analyses showed that coating decreased water and weight loss on the ham. Furthermore, color analysis showed that coated sliced ham, exhibited no color change, comparatively to uncoated slices. The edible coatings incorporating the probiotic strains inhibited detectable growth of Staphylococcus spp., Pseudomonas spp., Enterobacteriaceae and yeasts/molds, at least, for 45days of storage at 4°C. The sensory evaluation demonstrated that there was a preference for the sliced coated ham. Probiotic bacteria viable cell numbers were maintained at ca. 10 8 CFU/g throughout storage time, enabling the slice of ham to act as a suitable carrier for the beneficial bacteria. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

36 CFR 13.320 - Preference to Cook Inlet Region, Incorporated.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-07-01

... Region, Incorporated. 13.320 Section 13.320 Parks, Forests, and Public Property NATIONAL PARK SERVICE... to Cook Inlet Region, Incorporated. (a) The Cook Inlet Region, Incorporated (CIRI), in cooperation with village corporations within the Cook Inlet region when appropriate, will have a right of first...

Dopant Adsorption and Incorporation at Irradiated GaN Surfaces

Science.gov (United States)

Sun, Qiang; Selloni, Annabella; Myers, Thomas; Doolittle, W. Alan

2006-03-01

Mg and O are two of the common dopants in GaN, but, in spite of extensive investigation, the atomic scale understanding of their adsorption and incorporation is still incomplete. In particular, high-energy electron irradiation, such as occurring during RHEED, has been reported to have an important effect on the incorporation of these impurities, but no study has addressed the detailed mechanisms of this effect yet. Here we use DFT calculations to study the adsorption and incorporation of Mg and O at the Ga- and N-polar GaN surfaces under various Ga, Mg and O coverage conditions as well as in presence of light or electron beam-induced electronic excitation. We find that the adsorption and incorporation of the two impurities have opposite surface polarity dependence: substitutional Mg prefers to incorporate at the GaN(0001) surface, while O prefers to adsorb and incorporate at the N-polar surface. In addition, our results indicate that in presence of light irradiation the tendency of Mg to surface-segregate is reduced. The O adsorption energy on the N-polar surface is also significantly reduced, consistent with the experimental observation of a much smaller concentration of oxygen in the irradiated samples.

Incorporating Duration Information in Activity Recognition

Science.gov (United States)

Chaurasia, Priyanka; Scotney, Bryan; McClean, Sally; Zhang, Shuai; Nugent, Chris

Activity recognition has become a key issue in smart home environments. The problem involves learning high level activities from low level sensor data. Activity recognition can depend on several variables; one such variable is duration of engagement with sensorised items or duration of intervals between sensor activations that can provide useful information about personal behaviour. In this paper a probabilistic learning algorithm is proposed that incorporates episode, time and duration information to determine inhabitant identity and the activity being undertaken from low level sensor data. Our results verify that incorporating duration information consistently improves the accuracy.

Optimisation of petroleum refinery water network systems retrofit incorporating reuse, regeneration and recycle strategies

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Khor, Cheng Seong; Shah, Nilay [Imperial College London (United Kingdom); Mahadzir, Shuhaimi [Universiti Teknologi Petronas (Malaysia); Elkamel, Ali [University of Waterloo (Canada)

2012-02-15

Increasingly strict environmental regulations have given rise to higher requirements for operating efficiency and optimization and water has become a vital resource in the refining process and allied industries. Due to this high demand for water, plants may be exposed to supply interruptions and shortages in the future. Major concerns in the petroleum refining industry are the scarcity of fresh water supply and increasingly rigid rules on wastewater discharge, which have resulted from concerns over the environmental impact. This paper presents the efforts made to develop an optimization framework for design of petroleum refinery water network systems and retrofitting that incorporates reuse, regeneration, and recycling strategies. This framework includes the complementary advantage of water pinch analysis (WPA). Water minimization strategies were incorporated as first postulates in a superstructural representation that includes all feasible flow-sheet options for taking advantage of water reuse, regeneration and recycling opportunities. Additionally, a post-optimization analysis was carried out to evaluate the repeated treatment processes required to identify the most efficient retrofit option.

Rapid mass spectrometric analysis of 15N-Leu incorporation fidelity during preparation of specifically labeled NMR samples

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Truhlar, Stephanie M E; Cervantes, Carla F; Torpey, Justin W

2008-01-01

. MALDI TOF-TOF MS/MS data provide additional information that shows where the "extra" (15)N labels are incorporated, which can be useful in confirming ambiguous assignments. The described procedure provides a rapid technique to monitor the fidelity of selective labeling that does not require a lot...

Conceptualising how SMEs incorporate green content in their websites

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Craig M. Parker

2014-11-01

Full Text Available This paper presents a framework on how Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs can proactively incorporate content relating to their ecological responsibility (or green activities in their websites. SME studies offer limited guidance on, and conceptualisation of, how organisations can incorporate different types of content into their website designs. This paper addresses this problem by presenting the results of an exploratory, qualitative content analysis of Australian SME websites where emergent themes are interpreted using framing and legitimacy theories. It describes three dimensions (location, presentation, and specificity which comprise the framework, under which the themes are grouped. The paper outlines how scholars can use the framework to develop models and carry out evaluations regarding how SMEs embed green content, and potentially other specific content types, in their websites. It also summarises how the framework can assist SMEs (or website developers serving them make informed decisions regarding framing their websites as green, or de-emphasising this content, by paying attention to its location (e.g. homepage, navigation bars and presentation (e.g. how paragraphs, images, etc are used within webpages. The legitimacy or credibility of the green content can be enhanced using different types of specificity (e.g. statistics, detail of processes and actions, and third-party substantiation.

Incorporating uncertainty in RADTRAN 6.0 input files.

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Dennis, Matthew L.; Weiner, Ruth F.; Heames, Terence John (Alion Science and Technology)

2010-02-01

Uncertainty may be introduced into RADTRAN analyses by distributing input parameters. The MELCOR Uncertainty Engine (Gauntt and Erickson, 2004) has been adapted for use in RADTRAN to determine the parameter shape and minimum and maximum of the distribution, to sample on the distribution, and to create an appropriate RADTRAN batch file. Coupling input parameters is not possible in this initial application. It is recommended that the analyst be very familiar with RADTRAN and able to edit or create a RADTRAN input file using a text editor before implementing the RADTRAN Uncertainty Analysis Module. Installation of the MELCOR Uncertainty Engine is required for incorporation of uncertainty into RADTRAN. Gauntt and Erickson (2004) provides installation instructions as well as a description and user guide for the uncertainty engine.

A sampling framework for incorporating quantitative mass spectrometry data in protein interaction analysis.

Science.gov (United States)

Tucker, George; Loh, Po-Ru; Berger, Bonnie

2013-10-04

Comprehensive protein-protein interaction (PPI) maps are a powerful resource for uncovering the molecular basis of genetic interactions and providing mechanistic insights. Over the past decade, high-throughput experimental techniques have been developed to generate PPI maps at proteome scale, first using yeast two-hybrid approaches and more recently via affinity purification combined with mass spectrometry (AP-MS). Unfortunately, data from both protocols are prone to both high false positive and false negative rates. To address these issues, many methods have been developed to post-process raw PPI data. However, with few exceptions, these methods only analyze binary experimental data (in which each potential interaction tested is deemed either observed or unobserved), neglecting quantitative information available from AP-MS such as spectral counts. We propose a novel method for incorporating quantitative information from AP-MS data into existing PPI inference methods that analyze binary interaction data. Our approach introduces a probabilistic framework that models the statistical noise inherent in observations of co-purifications. Using a sampling-based approach, we model the uncertainty of interactions with low spectral counts by generating an ensemble of possible alternative experimental outcomes. We then apply the existing method of choice to each alternative outcome and aggregate results over the ensemble. We validate our approach on three recent AP-MS data sets and demonstrate performance comparable to or better than state-of-the-art methods. Additionally, we provide an in-depth discussion comparing the theoretical bases of existing approaches and identify common aspects that may be key to their performance. Our sampling framework extends the existing body of work on PPI analysis using binary interaction data to apply to the richer quantitative data now commonly available through AP-MS assays. This framework is quite general, and many enhancements are likely

The Incorporation of Agencies in Colombia’s National Administrative Structure: An Axiological Comparison between Two Organizational Models of Public Administration

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Alberto Montaña

2015-06-01

Full Text Available The incorporation of agencies into Colombia’s Administrative Structure has generated profound debates about the need to create administrative bodies that differ from traditional ones. Such incorporation is all the more problematic when these North American agencies are introduced without any real analysis of the local tradition and culture. The situation became more complicated as a consequence of the undisputed fact that the values and philosophies of the Public Administration Structure in Colombia are different from the predominant values in the United States. Hence, this paper provides a critical analysis of the institution and of its credulous and impulsive adoption of such instruments into our reality. 

Incorporating Servqual-QFD with Taguchi Design for optimizing service quality design

Science.gov (United States)

Arbi Hadiyat, M.

2018-03-01

Deploying good service design in service companies has been updated issue in improving customer satisfaction, especially based on the level of service quality measured by Parasuraman’s SERVQUAL. Many researchers have been proposing methods in designing the service, and some of them are based on engineering viewpoint, especially by implementing the QFD method or even using robust Taguchi method. The QFD method would found the qualitative solution by generating the “how’s”, while Taguchi method gives more quantitative calculation in optimizing best solution. However, incorporating both QFD and Taguchi has been done in this paper and yields better design process. The purposes of this research is to evaluate the incorporated methods by implemented it to a case study, then analyze the result and see the robustness of those methods to customer perception of service quality. Started by measuring service attributes using SERVQUAL and find the improvement with QFD, the deployment of QFD solution then generated by defining Taguchi factors levels and calculating the Signal-to-noise ratio in its orthogonal array, and optimized Taguchi response then found. A case study was given for designing service in local bank. Afterward, the service design obtained from previous analysis was then evaluated and shows that it was still meet the customer satisfaction. Incorporating QFD and Taguchi has performed well and can be adopted and developed for another research for evaluating the robustness of result.

The incorporation of selenium and ytterbium into the eyes of mice

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Samochocka, K.; Czauderna, M.; Konecki, J.; Wolna, M.

1984-01-01

The incorporation of Se and Yb into the eyes of mice has been studied. Selenodiglutathione, (GS) 2 Se, or ytterbium chloride, YbCl 3 , were injected intraperitoneally into mice: either alone, combined, or after various time intervals. Instrumental neutron activation analysis was applied as the analytical method for the determination of the levels of Se and Yb. The concentrations of both investigated elements were highest in the retinal tissue of the eye. YbCl 3 influenced the distribution of Se in the eye. (author)

Genetic incorporation of recycled unnatural amino acids.

Science.gov (United States)

Ko, Wooseok; Kim, Sanggil; Jo, Kyubong; Lee, Hyun Soo

2016-02-01

The genetic incorporation of unnatural amino acids (UAAs) into proteins has been a useful tool for protein engineering. However, most UAAs are expensive, and the method requires a high concentration of UAAs, which has been a drawback of the technology, especially for large-scale applications. To address this problem, a method to recycle cultured UAAs was developed. The method is based on recycling a culture medium containing the UAA, in which some of essential nutrients were resupplemented after each culture cycle, and induction of protein expression was controlled with glucose. Under optimal conditions, five UAAs were recycled for up to seven rounds of expression without a decrease in expression level, cell density, or incorporation fidelity. This method can generally be applied to other UAAs; therefore, it is useful for reducing the cost of UAAs for genetic incorporation and helpful for expanding the use of the technology to industrial applications.

Socializing the human factors analysis and classification system: incorporating social psychological phenomena into a human factors error classification system.

Science.gov (United States)

Paletz, Susannah B F; Bearman, Christopher; Orasanu, Judith; Holbrook, Jon

2009-08-01

The presence of social psychological pressures on pilot decision making was assessed using qualitative analyses of critical incident interviews. Social psychological phenomena have long been known to influence attitudes and behavior but have not been highlighted in accident investigation models. Using a critical incident method, 28 pilots who flew in Alaska were interviewed. The participants were asked to describe a situation involving weather when they were pilot in command and found their skills challenged. They were asked to describe the incident in detail but were not explicitly asked to identify social pressures. Pressures were extracted from transcripts in a bottom-up manner and then clustered into themes. Of the 28 pilots, 16 described social psychological pressures on their decision making, specifically, informational social influence, the foot-in-the-door persuasion technique, normalization of deviance, and impression management and self-consistency motives. We believe accident and incident investigations can benefit from explicit inclusion of common social psychological pressures. We recommend specific ways of incorporating these pressures into theHuman Factors Analysis and Classification System.

Incorporating Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook in Economics Classrooms

Science.gov (United States)

Al-Bahrani, Abdullah; Patel, Darshak

2015-01-01

Social media is one of the most current and dynamic developments in education. In general, the field of economics has lagged behind other disciplines in incorporating technologies in the classroom. In this article, the authors provide a guide for economics educators on how to incorporate Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook inside and outside of the…

A Methodology To Incorporate The Safety Culture Into Probabilistic Safety Assessments

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Park, Sunghyun; Kim, Namyeong; Jae, Moosung [Hanyang University, Seoul (Korea, Republic of)

2015-10-15

In order to incorporate organizational factors into PSA, a methodology needs to be developed. Using the AHP to weigh organizational factors as well as the SLIM to rate those factors, a methodology is introduced in this study. The safety issues related to nuclear safety culture have occurred increasingly. The quantification tool has to be developed in order to include the organizational factor into Probabilistic Safety Assessments. In this study, the state-of-the-art for the organizational evaluation methodologies has been surveyed. This study includes the research for organizational factors, maintenance process, maintenance process analysis models, a quantitative methodology using Analytic Hierarchy Process, Success Likelihood Index Methodology. The purpose of this study is to develop a methodology to incorporate the safety culture into PSA for obtaining more objective risk than before. The organizational factor considered in nuclear safety culture might affect the potential risk of human error and hardware-failure. The safety culture impact index to monitor the plant safety culture can be assessed by applying the developed methodology into a nuclear power plant.

A Methodology To Incorporate The Safety Culture Into Probabilistic Safety Assessments

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Park, Sunghyun; Kim, Namyeong; Jae, Moosung

2015-01-01

In order to incorporate organizational factors into PSA, a methodology needs to be developed. Using the AHP to weigh organizational factors as well as the SLIM to rate those factors, a methodology is introduced in this study. The safety issues related to nuclear safety culture have occurred increasingly. The quantification tool has to be developed in order to include the organizational factor into Probabilistic Safety Assessments. In this study, the state-of-the-art for the organizational evaluation methodologies has been surveyed. This study includes the research for organizational factors, maintenance process, maintenance process analysis models, a quantitative methodology using Analytic Hierarchy Process, Success Likelihood Index Methodology. The purpose of this study is to develop a methodology to incorporate the safety culture into PSA for obtaining more objective risk than before. The organizational factor considered in nuclear safety culture might affect the potential risk of human error and hardware-failure. The safety culture impact index to monitor the plant safety culture can be assessed by applying the developed methodology into a nuclear power plant

Incorporation of human factors into ship collision risk models focusing on human centred design aspects

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sotiralis, P.; Ventikos, N.P.; Hamann, R.; Golyshev, P.; Teixeira, A.P.

2016-01-01

This paper presents an approach that more adequately incorporates human factor considerations into quantitative risk analysis of ship operation. The focus is on the collision accident category, which is one of the main risk contributors in ship operation. The approach is based on the development of a Bayesian Network (BN) model that integrates elements from the Technique for Retrospective and Predictive Analysis of Cognitive Errors (TRACEr) and focuses on the calculation of the collision accident probability due to human error. The model takes into account the human performance in normal, abnormal and critical operational conditions and implements specific tasks derived from the analysis of the task errors leading to the collision accident category. A sensitivity analysis is performed to identify the most important contributors to human performance and ship collision. Finally, the model developed is applied to assess the collision risk of a feeder operating in Dover strait using the collision probability estimated by the developed BN model and an Event tree model for calculation of human, economic and environmental risks. - Highlights: • A collision risk model for the incorporation of human factors into quantitative risk analysis is proposed. • The model takes into account the human performance in different operational conditions leading to the collision. • The most important contributors to human performance and ship collision are identified. • The model developed is applied to assess the collision risk of a feeder operating in Dover strait.

Incorporating travel time reliability into the Highway Capacity Manual.

Science.gov (United States)

2014-01-01

This final report documents the activities performed during SHRP 2 Reliability Project L08: Incorporating Travel Time Reliability into the Highway Capacity Manual. It serves as a supplement to the proposed chapters for incorporating travel time relia...

Barriers and drivers towards the incorporation of crop residue in the soil. Analysis of Italian farmers’ opinion with the theory of planned behaviour

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Luca Bechini

2015-12-01

Full Text Available Despite the benefits arising from incorporating crop residue in the soil, some farmers decide to burn or sell it. The objective of the work described in this paper was to quantify the adoption of crop residue incorporation by Italian farmers, and to identify the barriers and drivers that they perceive towards this agricultural management practice. We applied a behavioural approach, based on the theory of planned behaviour. In agriculture, this theory can be used to study individual farmer beliefs to understand the intention to adopt agricultural management practices. Based on preliminary semi-structured interviews with 24 farmers, we have prepared and disseminated a structured questionnaire in dairy farms in the plain of northern Italy, in arable farms in the plain of northern, central, and southern Italy, and in arable farms in the hill of central and southern Italy. The questionnaire contained questions to reveal subjective beliefs of the farmers on the outcomes of incorporating crop residue, and on the referents and control factors that might influence adoption. We have received 315 filled questionnaires from 16 regions and 54 provinces. The survey has identified major drivers and barriers towards the incorporation of crop residue in the soil. The main drivers were the expected improvement of soil quality (higher soil organic matter, improved structure and fertility, the expected increase of grain protein concentration in the following wheat crop, the availability of adequate machinery, the prohibition of burning crop residue, and the knowledge that incorporation is important (which emphasizes the importance of an effective advisory service. The main barriers were the costs of incorporation, the need to increase the use of nitrogen fertiliser when straw is incorporated, and the problems to sow the following crop in the presence of residue. While on the basis of the preliminary interviews we expected that the possibility to sell the straw and

The incorporation of labelled amino acids into the subcellular fractions of the rabbit brain

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ogrodnik, W.

1980-01-01

Radioactive amino acids were injected into the fourth ventriculum of adult rabbits. After 3, 6 and 13 hours the animals were killed and tissue subcellular fractions were prepared from their brains. Nucleic acids were extracted and quantitatively determined from nucleic, myelin, mitochondrial, microsomal and cytoplasmic fractions. The radioactivity was determined in the protein and nucleic acid fractions. It was found out that the incorporation of radioactive amino acids increased in relation to time. In the analyzed subcellular fractions a very rapid incorporation of glutamic acid and leucine into cytoplasmic proteins was observed. The chromatographic analysis of the nucleic acids showed that radioactivity in the nucleic acid fractions depended on a radioactive protein contamination. Radioactive aminoacyl-tRNA was not found in the nucleic acid fractions, extracted from different subcellular fractions. (author)

3D ToF-SIMS Analysis of Peptide Incorporation into MALDI Matrix Crystals with Sub-micrometer Resolution.

Science.gov (United States)

Körsgen, Martin; Pelster, Andreas; Dreisewerd, Klaus; Arlinghaus, Heinrich F

2016-02-01

The analytical sensitivity in matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization mass spectrometry (MALDI-MS) is largely affected by the specific analyte-matrix interaction, in particular by the possible incorporation of the analytes into crystalline MALDI matrices. Here we used time-of-flight secondary ion mass spectrometry (ToF-SIMS) to visualize the incorporation of three peptides with different hydrophobicities, bradykinin, Substance P, and vasopressin, into two classic MALDI matrices, 2,5-dihydroxybenzoic acid (DHB) and α-cyano-4-hydroxycinnamic acid (HCCA). For depth profiling, an Ar cluster ion beam was used to gradually sputter through the matrix crystals without causing significant degradation of matrix or biomolecules. A pulsed Bi3 ion cluster beam was used to image the lateral analyte distribution in the center of the sputter crater. Using this dual beam technique, the 3D distribution of the analytes and spatial segregation effects within the matrix crystals were imaged with sub-μm resolution. The technique could in the future enable matrix-enhanced (ME)-ToF-SIMS imaging of peptides in tissue slices at ultra-high resolution. Graphical Abstract ᅟ.

Influence of aluminium incorporation on the structure of ZrN films deposited at low temperatures

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Araiza, J J; Sanchez, O

2009-01-01

We have studied the influence of Al incorporation in the crystalline structure of ZrN thin films deposited by dc magnetron sputtering at low temperature. The amount of aluminium in the films depends directly on the power applied to the aluminium cathode during the deposition. Energy dispersive x-ray analysis and x-ray diffraction (XRD) were used to obtain the chemical composition and crystalline structure of the films, respectively. When Al atoms are incorporated into the ZrN coatings, the strong ZrN (2 0 0) orientation is modified by a combination of other ones such as ZrN (1 1 1), Zr 3 N 4 (2 1 1) and hexagonal AlN (1 0 0) as detected from the XRD spectra for high aluminium concentrations. Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy allowed us to identify oxides and nitrides, ZrO, AlO and AlN, incorporated into the deposited films. The effect of a bias voltage applied to the substrate has also been investigated and related to the changes in the microstructure and in the nanohardness values of the ZrAlN films.

Synthesis and in vitro evaluation of novel isatin- incorporated ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

incorporated thiadiazole hybrids as potential anti-breast ... Abstract. Purpose: To synthesis and characterize some novel isatin-incorporated ... Results: Compounds 3a, 3c, 3d, 3g and 3j showed anticancer activity in both MTT and SRB assay.

Np Incorporation into Uranyl Alteration Phases: A Quantum Mechanical Approach

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

L.C. Huller; R.C. Win; U.Ecker

2006-01-01

Neptunium is a major contributor to the long-term radioactivity in a geologic repository for spent nuclear fuel (SNF) due to its long half-life (2.1 million years). The mobility of Np may be decreased by incorporation into the U 6+ phases that form during the corrosion of SNF. The ionic radii of Np (0.089nm) and U (0.087nm) are similar, as is their chemistry. Experimental studies have shown Np can be incorporated into uranyl phases at concentrations of ∼ 100 ppm. The low concentration of Np in the uranyl phases complicates experimental detection and presents a significant challenge for determining the incorporation mechanism. Therefore, we have used quantum mechanical calculations to investigate incorporation mechanisms and evaluate the energetics of Np substituting for U. CASTEP, a density functional theory based code that uses plane waves and pseudo-potentials, was used to calculate optimal H positions, relaxed geometry, and energy of different uranyl phases. The incorporation energy for Np in uranyl alteration phases was calculated for studtite, [(UO 2 )O 2 (H 2 O) 2 ](H 2 ) 2 , and boltwoodite, HK(UO 2 )(SiO 4 )* 1.5(H 2 O). Studtite is the rare case of a stable uranyl hydroxyl-peroxide mineral that forms in the presence of H 2 O 2 from the radiolysis of H 2 O. For studtite, two incorporation mechanisms were evaluated: (1) charge-balanced substitution of Np 5+ and H + for one U 6+ , and (2) direct substitution of Np 6+ for U 6+ . For boltwoodite, the H atomic positions prior to Np incorporation were determined, as well as the Np incorporation mechanisms and the corresponding substitution energies. The preferential incorporation of Np into different structure types of U 6+ minerals was also investigated. Quantum mechanical substitution energies have to be derived at Np concentrations higher than the ones found in experiments or expected in a repository. However, the quantum mechanical results are crucial for subsequent empirical force-field and Monte

7 CFR 801.12 - Design requirements incorporated by reference.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-01-01

... 7 Agriculture 7 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Design requirements incorporated by reference. 801.12 Section 801.12 Agriculture Regulations of the Department of Agriculture (Continued) GRAIN INSPECTION... OFFICIAL PERFORMANCE REQUIREMENTS FOR GRAIN INSPECTION EQUIPMENT § 801.12 Design requirements incorporated...

Therapy for incorporated radionuclides: scope and need

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Smith, V.H.

1981-03-01

In the United States the recent termination of funding for research on therapy for incorporated radionuclides has virtually halted progress on improved or new agents and procedures for removing radioactivity from the body. Research was eliminated, but is still needed on new removal agents, improved delivery system, in vitro test systems, and the toxicology of treatments. For many radionuclides, no adequate therapy exists. The relationship between radionuclide removal and reduction in cancer risk is still unanswered. Without proper research support, needed improvements in the treatment for incorporated radionuclides in the US are uncertain

EFFECT OF INCORPORATING EXPANDED POLYSTYRENE ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

2012-11-03

Nov 3, 2012 ... Incorporating expanded polystyrene granules in concrete matrix can produce lightweight polystyrene aggregate concrete of ... structure. [1] reported that the standard workability tests are not suitable for the polystyrene aggregate concrete since they are sensitive to the unit weight of concrete. [2] made ...

Using expert knowledge to incorporate uncertainty in cause-of-death assignments for modeling of cause-specific mortality

Science.gov (United States)

Walsh, Daniel P.; Norton, Andrew S.; Storm, Daniel J.; Van Deelen, Timothy R.; Heisy, Dennis M.

2018-01-01

Implicit and explicit use of expert knowledge to inform ecological analyses is becoming increasingly common because it often represents the sole source of information in many circumstances. Thus, there is a need to develop statistical methods that explicitly incorporate expert knowledge, and can successfully leverage this information while properly accounting for associated uncertainty during analysis. Studies of cause-specific mortality provide an example of implicit use of expert knowledge when causes-of-death are uncertain and assigned based on the observer's knowledge of the most likely cause. To explicitly incorporate this use of expert knowledge and the associated uncertainty, we developed a statistical model for estimating cause-specific mortality using a data augmentation approach within a Bayesian hierarchical framework. Specifically, for each mortality event, we elicited the observer's belief of cause-of-death by having them specify the probability that the death was due to each potential cause. These probabilities were then used as prior predictive values within our framework. This hierarchical framework permitted a simple and rigorous estimation method that was easily modified to include covariate effects and regularizing terms. Although applied to survival analysis, this method can be extended to any event-time analysis with multiple event types, for which there is uncertainty regarding the true outcome. We conducted simulations to determine how our framework compared to traditional approaches that use expert knowledge implicitly and assume that cause-of-death is specified accurately. Simulation results supported the inclusion of observer uncertainty in cause-of-death assignment in modeling of cause-specific mortality to improve model performance and inference. Finally, we applied the statistical model we developed and a traditional method to cause-specific survival data for white-tailed deer, and compared results. We demonstrate that model selection

Hydrogen incorporation and radiation induced dynamics in metal-oxide-silicon structures. A study using nuclear reaction analysis

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Briere, M.A.

1993-07-01

Resonant nuclear reaction analysis, using the 1 H( 15 N, αγ) 12 C reaction at 6.4 MeV, has been successfully applied to the investigation of hydrogen incorporation and radiation induced migration in metal-oxide-silicon structures. A preliminary study of the influence of processing parameters on the H content of thermal oxides, with and without gate material present, has been performed. It is found that the dominant source of hydrogen in Al gate devices and dry oxides is often contamination, likely in the form of adsorbed water vapor, formed upon exposure to room air after removal from the oxidation furnace. Concentrations of hydrogen in the bulk oxide as high as 3 10 20 cm -3 (Al gate), and as low as 1 10 18 cm -3 (poly Si-gate) have been observed. Hydrogen accumulation at the Si-SiO 2 interface has been reproducibly demonstrated for as-oxidized samples, as well as for oxides exposed to H 2 containing atmospheres during subsequent thermal processing. The migration of hydrogen, from the bulk oxide to the silicon-oxide interface during NRA, has been observed and intensively investigated. A direct correlation between the hydrogen content of the bulk oxide and the radiation generated oxide charges and interface states is presented. These data provide strong support for the important role of hydrogen in determining the radiation sensitivity of electronic devices. (orig.)

75 FR 17737 - Industrial Economics, Incorporated; Transfer of Data

Science.gov (United States)

2010-04-07

... ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY [EPA-HQ-OPP-2010-0194; FRL-8820-2] Industrial Economics... (CBI) by the submitter, will be transferred to Industrial Economics, Incorporated in accordance with 40 CFR 2.307(h)(3) and 2.308(i)(2). Industrial Economics, Incorporated has been awarded multiple...

Role of Glycol Chitosan-incorporated Ursolic Acid Nanoparticles in ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Purpose: To investigate the effect of ursolic acid (UA)-incorporated glycol chitosan (GC) nanoparticles on inhibition of human osteosarcoma. Methods: U2OS and Saos-2 osteosarcoma cells were transfected with ursolic acid (UA) incorporated glycol chitosan (GC) nanoparticles. Ultraviolet (UV) spectrophotometry was used ...

Incorporation of antibacterial agent derived deep eutectic solvent into an active dental composite.

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Jing; Dong, Xiaoqing; Yu, Qingsong; Baker, Sheila N; Li, Hao; Larm, Nathaniel E; Baker, Gary A; Chen, Liang; Tan, Jingwen; Chen, Meng

2017-12-01

To incorporate an antibacterial agent derived deep eutectic solvent (DES) into a dental resin composite, and investigate the resulting mechanical properties and antibacterial effects. The DES was derived from benzalkonium chloride (BC) and acrylic acid (AA) and was incorporated into the dental resin composite through rapid mixing. A three-point bending test was employed to measure the flexural strength of the composite. An agar diffusion test was used to investigate antibacterial activity. Artificial (accelerated) aging was undertaken by immersing the composites in buffer solutions at an elevated temperature for up to 4 weeks. UV-vis spectrophotometry and NMR analysis were conducted to study BC release from the composite. Finally, the biocompatibility of the composite materials was evaluated using osteoblast cell culture for 7 days. Results were compared to those of a control composite which contained no BC. The DES-incorporated composite (DES-C) displayed higher flexural strength than a similar BC-incorporated composite BC (BC-C) for the same level of BC. The inclusion of BC conferred antibacterial activity to both BC-containing composites, although BC-C produced larger inhibition halos than DES-C at the same loading of BC. Control composites which contained no BC showed negligible antibacterial activity. After artificial aging, the DES-C composite showed better maintenance of the mechanical properties of the control compared with BC-C, although a decrease was observed during the three-point bending test, particularly upon storage at elevated temperatures. No BC release was detected in the aged solutions of DES-C, whereas the BC-C showed a linear increase in BC release with storage time. Significantly, cell viability results indicated that DES-C has better biocompatibility than BC-C. The incorporation of a BC-based DES into a dental resin composite provides a new strategy to develop antibacterial dental materials with better biocompatibility and longer effective

Effects of incorporated straw on dye tracer infiltration

Science.gov (United States)

Kasteel, R.; Garnier, P.; Vachier, P.; Coquet, Y.

2003-04-01

Crop residue incorporation by conventional tillage increases the heterogeneity in the soil surface layer due to the soil tillage itself and to the presence of a zone with a high density of vegetal residues. The objective of this work was to quantify the effect of incorporated straw on the transport behaviour of the dye Brilliant Blue. We used an image analysis technique to calculate the Brilliant Blue concentration from the spectral signature (i.e. RGB values) using a calibration relationship. This method was already successfully applied in soils without organic matter and in this study we want to extend it to soils that contain fresh organic matter. The experiment took place in a loamy bare soil in the north of France at Mons-en-Chaussée in May, 2002. The soil was ploughed under dry conditions to 30 cm depth and straw was incorporated at the content of 10 Tonnes of C/ha. The infiltration experiment was carried out using an infiltrometer of 25 cm diameter at the head potential of -1 cm of water. First, water was infiltrated followed by the dye solution. The day after the infiltration, the soil was cut in horizontal sections of 50 times 50 cm. In total, 15 cross-section were photographed which were separated by a vertical distance of about 2 or 3 cm. Samples of soil and small pieces of straw were taken from the soil surface in order to measure the Brilliant Blue concentration for the calibration procedure. The volumetric water content and bulk density were measured with small cylindrical samples. After geometrical and illumination corrections of the images, we separated the soil from the straw and established a separate second-order polynomial calibration function for both relating the Brilliant Blue content to the spectral signature in each pixel. In this way we obtained spatially highly resolved concentration patterns of the dye tracer. The dye concentration distribution was found to be very heterogeneous in the soil at the local scale. In the plough layer, dye

Ba incorporation in benthic foraminifera

NARCIS (Netherlands)

de Nooijer, L.J.; Brombacher, Anieke; Mewes, A.; Langer, Gerald; Nehrke, G.; Bijma, Jelle; Reichart, G.J.

2017-01-01

Barium (Ba) incorporated in the calcite of many foraminiferal species is proportional to the concentration of Ba in seawater. Since the open ocean concentration of Ba closely follows seawater alkalinity, foraminiferal Ba ∕ Ca can be used to reconstruct the latter. Alternatively, Ba ∕ Ca from

Else Lasker-Schüler and the Poetics of Incorporation

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Leigh Gold

2011-10-01

Full Text Available n Else Lasker-Schüler’s poetry and prose, we nd the desire or wish to be devoured by the love object while consuming the object in turn. In this analysis the merger or turn of phrase is tied to the subject’s own constitutive incorporation of a dead loved one. Now living objects must be loved to death or undeath. It was her mother’s death that guided Lasker-Schüler to live and love on as haunted subject to repeat and rehearse the love object’s loss or departure via fantasies of incorporation. Leigh Gold is currently working as a translator. She trained in German philology at Williams College and New York University. Her contribution refers to her re- cently defended NYU dissertation titled: “Ich sterbe am Leben”: Else Lasker-Schüler and the Work of Mourn- ing. Rodrigo Hernandez trained at the Escuela Nacional de Pintura, Escultura y Grabado La Esmeralda, Mexico City before entering the Academy of Fine Arts Karl- sruhe, class of Silvia Bächli in 2010. His work has been shown in solo and group exhibitions in Alberta, Berlin, Hamburg, Mexico City, Stockholm, and Zürich, among other cities.

Chemometrics applied to the incorporation of omega-3 in tilapia fillet feed flaxseed flour

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Márcia Fernandes Nishiyama

2014-09-01

Full Text Available This study evaluated the effect of adding flaxseed flour to the diet of Nile tilapia on the fatty acid composition of fillets using chemometrics. A traditional and an experimental diet containing flaxseed flour were used to feed the fish for 60 days. An increase of 18:3 n-3 and 22:6 n-3 and a decrease of 18:2 n-6 were observed in the tilapia fillets fed the experimental diet. There was a reduction in the n-6:n-3 ratio. A period of 45 days of incorporation caused a significant change in tilapia chemical composition. Principal Component Analysis showed that the time periods of 45 and 60 days positively contributed to the total content of n-3, LNA, and DHA, highlighting the effect of omega-3 incorporation in the treatment containing flaxseed flour.

Influence of incorporation method of sulfated zirconia in MCM-41 molecular sieve

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Pereira, C.E.; Santos, J.S.B.; Cavalcante, J.N.A.; Andrade, M.R.A.; Sousa, B.V.

2016-01-01

Sulfated metal oxides and sulfated zirconia have attracted great attention in recent years due to its high catalytic activity. The sulfated zirconia has the function of assigning the acidic material, through the formation of Bronsted acids and Lewis sites. The incorporation of sulfated zirconia in MCM-41 molecular sieve was carried out through the techniques: dry and wet. The wet process involves the use of an excess of solution on the volume of the support pores. Therefore, the concentration of the metal precursor on the support depends on the solution concentration and the pore volume of the support. In the process of incorporating by dry, the volume of the solution containing the precursor does not exceed the pore volume of the support. After either procedure, the impregnated support must be dried in order to allow the precursor compound can be converted into a catalytically active phase. This study aims to evaluate two methods of incorporation of sulfated zirconia in the mesoporous molecular sieve MCM-41. The process of merger took for wet and dry impregnation. Through the XRD patterns it was possible to identify the presence of the hexagonal structure of the molecular sieve, as well as the tetragonal and monoclinic phases of zirconia. From the spectroscopic analysis in the infrared region to the method the wet, it was possible to identify the vibrational frequencies related to the merger of sulfated zirconia in the MCM-41 structure of the molecular sieve. (author)

A Discovered Ducal Seal Does Not Belong to the Incorporation Charter for the City of Krakow Solving the Mystery Using Genetic Methods.

Science.gov (United States)

Lech, Tomasz

2016-01-01

The Incorporation Charter for the city of Krakow, the former capital of Poland, is one of the most valuable documents stored in the National Archives in Krakow. The document, which was written in 1257 on parchment, grants Krakow the Magdeburg rights and regulates its legal, statutory, economic and settlement-related aspects. The Charter was placed in the National Register of the Memory of the World UNESCO programme in 2014. A ducal seal, considered to be the lost seal detached from the Incorporation Charter, was found in the sphragistic collection after nearly 500 years. Unfortunately, it was uncertain whether the seal in question was indeed the missing part of the document. The aim of the study presented below was to solve this mystery. For this purpose, the parchment on which the Incorporation Charter was written was compared with the fragment of the parchment attached to the discovered seal. The study involved the analysis of selected mitochondrial DNA sequences and additional analysis at the level of nuclear DNA using microsatellite markers in the form of 11 STR (Short Tandem Repeat) loci, to identify the species and individual whose skin had been used to make the parchment. This analysis revealed that seal and parchment was from different individuals and thereby discovered that the seal was never a part of the Incorporation Charter. The study is further an example of informative DNA preservation in cultural heritage objects.

[Stress analysis on the acetabular side of bipolar hemiarthroplasty by the two-dimensional finite element method incorporating the boundary friction layer].

Science.gov (United States)

Ichihashi, K; Imura, S; Oomori, H; Gesso, H

1994-11-01

We compared the biomechanical characteristics of bipolar and unipolar hemiarthroplasty on the proximal migration of the outer head by determining the von Mises stress distribution and acetabular (outer head) displacement with clinical assessment of hemiarthroplasty in 75 patients. This analysis used the two-dimensional finite element method, which incorporated boundary friction layers on both the inner and outer bearings of the prosthesis. Acetabular reaming increased stress within the pelvic bone and migration of the outer head. A combination of the acetabular reaming and bone transplantation increased the stress within the pelvic bone and grafted bone, and caused outer head migration. These findings were supported by clinical results. Although the bipolar endoprosthesis was biomechanically superior to the unipolar endoprosthesis, migration of the outer head still occurred. The bipolar endoprosthesis appeared to be indicated in cases of a femoral neck fracture or of avascular necrosis in the femoral head, but its use in cases of osteoarthritis in the hip required caution.

28 CFR 10.5 - Incorporation of papers previously filed.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-07-01

... 28 Judicial Administration 1 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Incorporation of papers previously filed... CARRYING ON ACTIVITIES WITHIN THE UNITED STATES Registration Statement § 10.5 Incorporation of papers previously filed. Papers and documents already filed with the Attorney General pursuant to the said act and...

Toxicogenomic analysis reveals profibrogenic effects of trichloroethylene in autoimmune-mediated cholangitis in mice.

Science.gov (United States)

Kopec, Anna K; Sullivan, Bradley P; Kassel, Karen M; Joshi, Nikita; Luyendyk, James P

2014-10-01

Epidemiological studies suggest that exposure to environmental chemicals increases the risk of developing autoimmune liver disease. However, the identity of specific chemical perpetrators and the mechanisms whereby environmental chemicals modify liver disease is unclear. Previous studies link exposure to trichloroethylene (TCE) with the development of autoimmune liver disease and exacerbation of autoimmunity in lupus-prone MRL mice. In this study, we utilized NOD.c3c4 mice, which spontaneously develop autoimmune cholangitis bearing resemblance to some features of primary biliary cirrhosis. Nine-week-old female NOD.c3c4 mice were given TCE (0.5 mg/ml) or its vehicle (1% Cremophor-EL) in drinking water for 4 weeks. TCE had little effect on clinical chemistry, biliary cyst formation, or hepatic CD3+ T-cell accumulation. Hepatic microarray profiling revealed a dramatic suppression of early growth response 1 (EGR1) mRNA in livers of TCE-treated mice, which was verified by qPCR and immunohistochemical staining. Consistent with a reported link between reduced EGR1 expression and liver fibrosis, TCE increased hepatic type I collagen (COL1A1) mRNA and protein levels in livers of NOD.c3c4 mice. In contrast, TCE did not increase COL1A1 expression in NOD.ShiLtJ mice, which do not develop autoimmune cholangitis. These results suggest that in the context of concurrent autoimmune liver disease with a genetic basis, modification of hepatic gene expression by TCE may increase profibrogenic signaling in the liver. Moreover, these studies suggest that NOD.c3c4 mice may be a novel model to study gene-environment interactions critical for the development of autoimmune liver disease. © The Author 2014. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Society of Toxicology. All rights reserved. For permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.

Does Alendronate reduce the risk of fracture in men? A meta-analysis incorporating prior knowledge of anti-fracture efficacy in women

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Papaioannou Alexandra

2005-07-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Alendronate has been found to reduce the risk of fractures in postmenopausal women as demonstrated in multiple randomized controlled trials enrolling thousands of women. Yet there is a paucity of such randomized controlled trials in osteoporotic men. Our objective was to systematically review the anti-fracture efficacy of alendronate in men with low bone mass or with a history of prevalent fracture(s and incorporate prior knowledge of alendronate efficacy in women in the analysis. Methods We examined randomized controlled trials in men comparing the anti-fracture efficacy of alendronate to placebo or calcium or vitamin D, or any combination of these. Studies of men with secondary causes of osteoporosis other than hypogonadism were excluded. We searched the following electronic databases (without language restrictions for potentially relevant citations: Medline, Medline in Process (1966-May 24/2004, and Embase (1996–2004. We also contacted the manufacturer of the drug in search of other relevant trials. Two reviewers independently identified two trials (including 375 men, which met all inclusion criteria. Data were abstracted by one reviewer and checked by another. Results of the male trials were pooled using Bayesian random effects models, incorporating prior information of anti-fracture efficacy from meta-analyses of women. Results The odds ratios of incident fractures in men (with 95% credibility intervals with alendronate (10 mg daily were: vertebral fractures, 0.44 (0.23, 0.83 and non-vertebral fractures, 0.60 (0.29, 1.44. Conclusion In conclusion, alendronate decreases the risk of vertebral fractures in men at risk. There is currently insufficient evidence of a statistically significant reduction of non-vertebral fractures, but the paucity of trials in men limit the statistical power to detect such an effect.

Plasma deposition of polymer composite films incorporating nanocellulose whiskers

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Samyn, P.; Airoudj, A.; Laborie, M.-P.; Mathew, A. P.; Roucoules, V.

2011-11-01

In a trend for sustainable engineering and functionalization of surfaces, we explore the possibilities of gas phase processes to deposit nanocomposite films. From an analysis of pulsed plasma polymerization of maleic anhydride in the presence of nanocellulose whiskers, it seems that thin nanocomposite films can be deposited with various patterns. By specifically modifying plasma parameters such as total power, duty cycle, and monomer gas pressure, the nanocellulose whiskers are either incorporated into a buckled polymer film or single nanocellulose whiskers are deposited on top of a polymeric film. The density of the latter can be controlled by modifying the exact positioning of the substrate in the reactor. The resulting morphologies are evaluated by optical microscopy, AFM, contact angle measurements and ellipsometry.

Radionuclides incorporation in activated natural nanotubes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Silva, Jose Parra

2016-01-01

Natural palygorskite nanotubes show suitable physical and chemical properties and characteristics to be use as potential nanosorbent and immobilization matrix for the concentration and solidification of radionuclides present in nuclear wastes. In the development process of materials with sorption properties for the incorporation and subsequent immobilization of radionuclides, the most important steps are related with the generation of active sites simultaneously to the increase of the specific surface area and suitable heat treatment to producing the structural folding. This study evaluated the determining parameters and conditions for the activation process of the natural palygorskite nanotubes aiming at the sorption of radionuclides in the nanotubes structure and subsequent evaluation of the parameters involve in the structural folding by heat treatments. The optimized results about the maximum sorption capacity of nickel in activated natural nanotubes show that these structures are apt and suitable for incorporation of radionuclides similar to nickel. By this study is verified that the optimization of the acid activation process is fundamental to improve the sorption capacities for specifics radionuclides by activated natural nanotubes. Acid activation condition optimized maintaining structural integrity was able to remove around 33.3 wt.% of magnesium cations, equivalent to 6.30·10 -4 g·mol -1 , increasing in 42.8% the specific surface area and incorporating the same molar concentration of nickel present in the liquid radioactive waste at 80 min. (author)

Incorporation of tritium into hair proteins of rat

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rochalska, M.; Ardelt, W.; Szot, Z.

1981-01-01

A simple and relatively rapid procedure for the extraction and fractionation of hair proteins, was elaborated and used for an analysis of rat hair proteins, tritiated in vivo. The most radioactive protein, containing over 6% of the initial hair radioactivity, was isolated in a homogeneous state. The protein had a molecular weight of about 190,000 daltons, and showed high proportions of glutamic acid, cysteine, aspartic acid, serine, and glycine and a low content of methionine and histidine. More than 80% of total tritium radioactivity incorporated into this protein was distributed among indispensable phenylalanine (30.3%) and, isoleucine (17.2%), valine (17.6%), proline (10,5%) and tyrosine (8.4%). The highest values of specific radioactivity were recorded for phenylalanine, isoleucine, valine and methionine. The radioactivity recovered in the amino acids is due to the presence of firmly bound tritium. (author)

Rubber Composites Based on Polar Elastomers with Incorporated Modified and Unmodified Magnetic Filler

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Ján Kruželák

2016-01-01

Full Text Available Rubber magnetic composites were prepared by incorporation of unmodified and surface modified strontium ferrite into rubber matrices based on NBR and NBR/PVC. Strontium ferrite was dosed to the rubber matrices in concentration scale ranging from 0 to 100 phr. The main goal was to investigate the influence of the type of ferrite on the curing process, physical-mechanical and magnetic properties of composites. The mutual interactions between the filler and rubber matrices were investigated by determination of cross-link density and SEM analysis. The incorporation of magnetic fillers leads to the increase of cross-link density and remanent magnetic induction of composites. Moreover, the improvement of physical-mechanical properties was achieved in dependence on the content of magnetic fillers. Surface modification of ferrite contributed to the enhancement of adhesion on the interphase filler-rubber. It can be stated that ferrite exhibits reinforcing effect in the composite materials and this reinforcing behavior was emphasized with the increase in polarity of the rubber matrix.

Incorporating energy efficiency into electric power transmission planning: A western United States case study

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Barbose, Galen L.; Sanstad, Alan H.; Goldman, Charles A.

2014-01-01

Driven by system reliability goals and the need to integrate significantly increased renewable power generation, long-range, bulk-power transmission planning processes in the United States are undergoing major changes. At the same time, energy efficiency is an increasing share of the electricity resource mix in many regions, and has become a centerpiece of many utility resource plans and state policies as a means of meeting electricity demand, complementing supply-side sources, and reducing carbon dioxide emissions from the electric power system. The paper describes an innovative project in the western United States to explicitly incorporate end-use efficiency into load forecasts – projections of electricity consumption and demand – that are a critical input into transmission planning and transmission planning studies. Institutional and regulatory background and context are reviewed, along with a detailed discussion of data sources and analytical procedures used to integrate efficiency into load forecasts. The analysis is intended as a practical example to illustrate the kinds of technical and institutional issues that must be addressed in order to incorporate energy efficiency into regional transmission planning activities. - Highlights: • Incorporating energy efficiency into electric power transmission planning is an emergent analytical and policy priority. • A new methodology for this purpose was developed and applied in the western U.S. transmission system. • Efficiency scenarios were created and incorporated into multiple load forecasts. • Aggressive deployment of efficiency policies and programs can significantly reduce projected load. • The approach is broadly applicable in long-range transmission planning

Tamoxifen-elicited uterotrophy: cross-species and cross-ligand analysis of the gene expression program

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Forgacs Agnes L

2009-04-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Tamoxifen (TAM is a well characterized breast cancer drug and selective estrogen receptor modulator (SERM which also has been associated with a small increase in risk for uterine cancers. TAM's partial agonist activation of estrogen receptor has been characterized for specific gene promoters but not at the genomic level in vivo.Furthermore, reducing uncertainties associated with cross-species extrapolations of pharmaco- and toxicogenomic data remains a formidable challenge. Results A comparative ligand and species analysis approach was conducted to systematically assess the physiological, morphological and uterine gene expression alterations elicited across time by TAM and ethynylestradiol (EE in immature ovariectomized Sprague-Dawley rats and C57BL/6 mice. Differential gene expression was evaluated using custom cDNA microarrays, and the data was compared to identify conserved and divergent responses. 902 genes were differentially regulated in all four studies, 398 of which exhibit identical temporal expression patterns. Conclusion Comparative analysis of EE and TAM differentially expressed gene lists suggest TAM regulates no unique uterine genes that are conserved in the rat and mouse. This demonstrates that the partial agonist activities of TAM extend to molecular targets in regulating only a subset of EE-responsive genes. Ligand-conserved, species-divergent expression of carbonic anhydrase 2 was observed in the microarray data and confirmed by real time PCR. The identification of comparable temporal phenotypic responses linked to related gene expression profiles demonstrates that systematic comparative genomic assessments can elucidate important conserved and divergent mechanisms in rodent estrogen signalling during uterine proliferation.

Incorporation of Mobile Application (App) Measures Into the Diagnosis of Smartphone Addiction.

Science.gov (United States)

Lin, Yu-Hsuan; Lin, Po-Hsien; Chiang, Chih-Lin; Lee, Yang-Han; Yang, Cheryl C H; Kuo, Terry B J; Lin, Sheng-Hsuan

2017-07-01

Global smartphone expansion has brought about unprecedented addictive behaviors. The current diagnosis of smartphone addiction is based solely on information from clinical interview. This study aimed to incorporate application (app)-recorded data into psychiatric criteria for the diagnosis of smartphone addiction and to examine the predictive ability of the app-recorded data for the diagnosis of smartphone addiction. Smartphone use data of 79 college students were recorded by a newly developed app for 1 month between December 1, 2013, and May 31, 2014. For each participant, psychiatrists made a diagnosis for smartphone addiction based on 2 approaches: (1) only diagnostic interview (standard diagnosis) and (2) both diagnostic interview and app-recorded data (app-incorporated diagnosis). The app-incorporated diagnosis was further used to build app-incorporated diagnostic criteria. In addition, the app-recorded data were pooled as a score to predict smartphone addiction diagnosis. When app-incorporated diagnosis was used as a gold standard for 12 candidate criteria, 7 criteria showed significant accuracy (area under receiver operating characteristic curve [AUC] > 0.7) and were constructed as app-incorporated diagnostic criteria, which demonstrated remarkable accuracy (92.4%) for app-incorporated diagnosis. In addition, both frequency and duration of daily smartphone use significantly predicted app-incorporated diagnosis (AUC = 0.70 for frequency; AUC = 0.72 for duration). The combination of duration, frequency, and frequency trend for 1 month can accurately predict smartphone addiction diagnosis (AUC = 0.79 for app-incorporated diagnosis; AUC = 0.71 for standard diagnosis). The app-incorporated diagnosis, combining both psychiatric interview and app-recorded data, demonstrated substantial accuracy for smartphone addiction diagnosis. In addition, the app-recorded data performed as an accurate screening tool for app-incorporated diagnosis. © Copyright 2017 Physicians

Silver-incorporated composites of Fe2O3 carbon nanofibers as anodes for high-performance lithium batteries

Science.gov (United States)

Zou, Mingzhong; Li, Jiaxin; Wen, WeiWei; Chen, Luzhuo; Guan, Lunhui; Lai, Heng; Huang, Zhigao

2014-12-01

Composites of Ag-incorporated carbon nanofibers (CNFs) confined with Fe2O3 nanoparticles (Ag-Fe2O3/CNFs) have been synthesized through an electrospinning method and evaluated as anodes for lithium batteries (LIBs). The obtained Ag-Fe2O3/CNF anodes show good LIB performance with a capacity of 630 mAh g-1 tested at 800 mA g-1 after 150 cycles with almost no capacity loss and superb rate performance. The obtained properties for Ag-Fe2O3/CNF anodes are much better than Fe2O3/CNF anodes without Ag-incorporating. In addition, the low-temperature LIB performances for Ag-Fe2O3/CNF anodes have been investigated for revealing the enhanced mechanism of Ag-incorporating. The superior electrochemical performances of the Ag-Fe2O3/CNFs are associated with a synergistic effect of the CNF matrix and the highly conducting Ag incorporating. This unique configuration not only facilitates electron conduction especially at a relative temperature, but also maintains the structural integrity of active materials. Meanwhile, the related analysis of the AC impedance spectroscopy and the corresponding hypothesis for DC impedance confirm that such configuration can effectively enhance the charge-transfer efficiency and the lithium diffusion coefficient. Therefore, CNF-supported coupled with Ag incorporating synthesis supplied a promising route to obtain Fe2O3 based anodes with high-performance LIBs especially at low temperature.

Replication Banding Patterns in Human Chromosomes Detected Using 5-ethynyl-2'-deoxyuridine Incorporation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hoshi, Osamu; Ushiki, Tatsuo

2011-01-01

A novel technique using the incorporation of 5-ethynyl-2'-deoxyuridine (EdU) into replicating DNA is described for the analysis of replicating banding patterns of human metaphase chromosomes. Human lymphocytes were synchronized with excess thymidine and treated with EdU during the late S phase of the cell cycle. The incorporated EdU was then detected in metaphase chromosomes using Alexa Fluor® 488 azides, through the 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition reaction of organic azides with the terminal acetylene group of EdU. Chromosomes with incorporated EdU showed a banding pattern similar to G-banding of normal human chromosomes. Imaging by atomic force microscopy (AFM) in liquid conditions showed that the structure of the chromosomes was well preserved even after EdU treatment. Comparison between fluorescence microscopy and AFM images of the same chromosome 1 indicated the presence of ridges and grooves in the chromatid arm, features that have been previously reported in relation to G-banding. These results suggest an intimate relationship between EdU-induced replication bands and G- or R-bands in human chromosomes. This technique is thus useful for analyzing the structure of chromosomes in relation to their banding patterns following DNA replication in the S phase

Influence of aluminium incorporation on the structure of ZrN films deposited at low temperatures

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Araiza, J J [Unidad Academica de Fisica, Universidad Autonoma de Zacatecas, Paseo a la Bufa esq, Calzada Solidaridad s/n 98060, Zacatecas (Mexico); Sanchez, O [Departamento de Fisica e Ingenieria de Superficies, Instituto de Ciencia de Materiales de Madrid-CSIC, C/ Sor Juana Ines de la Cruz 3, 28049 Cantoblanco, Madrid (Spain)], E-mail: olgas@icmm.csic.es

2009-06-07

We have studied the influence of Al incorporation in the crystalline structure of ZrN thin films deposited by dc magnetron sputtering at low temperature. The amount of aluminium in the films depends directly on the power applied to the aluminium cathode during the deposition. Energy dispersive x-ray analysis and x-ray diffraction (XRD) were used to obtain the chemical composition and crystalline structure of the films, respectively. When Al atoms are incorporated into the ZrN coatings, the strong ZrN (2 0 0) orientation is modified by a combination of other ones such as ZrN (1 1 1), Zr{sub 3}N{sub 4} (2 1 1) and hexagonal AlN (1 0 0) as detected from the XRD spectra for high aluminium concentrations. Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy allowed us to identify oxides and nitrides, ZrO, AlO and AlN, incorporated into the deposited films. The effect of a bias voltage applied to the substrate has also been investigated and related to the changes in the microstructure and in the nanohardness values of the ZrAlN films.

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

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

A Francina Webster

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

Incorporating Argumentation through Forensic Science

Science.gov (United States)

Wheeler, Lindsay B.; Maeng, Jennifer L.; Smetana, Lara K.

2014-01-01

This article outlines how to incorporate argumentation into a forensic science unit using a mock trial. Practical details of the mock trial include: (1) a method of scaffolding students' development of their argument for the trial, (2) a clearly outlined set of expectations for students during the planning and implementation of the mock…

Lung cancer risk and exposure from incorporated plutonium

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Koshurnikova, N.A.; Bolotnikova, M.G.; Il'in, L.A.

1996-01-01

Coefficients of risk of death from lung cancer caused by incorporated plutonium for the personnel of the Mayak plant, working there since its foundation are obtained. Values of mortality from lung cancer are analysed as well as individual incorporated dose per lung assessed from regular measurement of plutonium in the urine and radiometry of autopsy material and from the results of individual photocontrol of external exposure. It was shown that the risk of death from lung cancer caused by external gamma-irradiation is statistically unreliable, whereas that from disease caused by incorporated plutonium is dose-dependent. The risk of death from lung cancer is two times higher for the personnel with increased level of plutonium carriership as against the level stated in ICRP Publication 60. The conclusion is made that hygienic standards for lung exposure should be specified. 11 refs.; 3 figs.; 5 tabs

Improved separation and antifouling properties of thin-film composite nanofiltration membrane by the incorporation of cGO

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Hongbin; Shi, Wenying; Du, Qiyun; Zhou, Rong; Zhang, Haixia; Qin, Xiaohong

2017-06-01

Poly(piperazine amide) composite nanofiltration (NF) membranes were modified through the incorporation of carboxylated graphene oxide (cGO) in the polyamide layer during the interfacial polymerization (IP) process on the polysulfone (PSF)/nonwoven fabric (NWF) ultrafiltration (UF) substrate membrane surface. The composition and morphology of the prepared NF membrane surface were determined by means of ATR-FTIR, SEM-EDX and AFM. The effects of cGO contents on membrane hydrophilicity, separation performance and antifouling properties were investigated through Water Contact Angle (WCA) analysis, the permeance and three-cycle fouling measurements. The growth model of cGO-incorporated polyamide thin-film was proposed. Compared to the original NF membranes, the surface hydrophilicity, water permeability, salt rejection and antifouling properties of the cGO-incorporated NF membrane had all improved. When cGO content was 100 ppm, the MgSO4 rejection of composite NF membrane reached a maximum value of 99.2% meanwhile membrane obtained an obvious enhanced water flux (81.6 L m-2 h-1, at 0.7 MPa) which was nearly three times compared to the virginal NF membrane. The cGO-incorporated NF membrane showed an excellent selectivity of MgSO4 and NaCl with the rejection ratio of MgSO4/NaCl of approximately 8.0.

Incorporating Human Movement Behavior into the Analysis of Spatially Distributed Infrastructure.

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Lihua Wu

Full Text Available For the first time in human history, the majority of the world's population resides in urban areas. Therefore, city managers are faced with new challenges related to the efficiency, equity and quality of the supply of resources, such as water, food and energy. Infrastructure in a city can be viewed as service points providing resources. These service points function together as a spatially collaborative system to serve an increasing population. To study the spatial collaboration among service points, we propose a shared network according to human's collective movement and resource usage based on data usage detail records (UDRs from the cellular network in a city in western China. This network is shown to be not scale-free, but exhibits an interesting triangular property governed by two types of nodes with very different link patterns. Surprisingly, this feature is consistent with the urban-rural dualistic context of the city. Another feature of the shared network is that it consists of several spatially separated communities that characterize local people's active zones but do not completely overlap with administrative areas. According to these features, we propose the incorporation of human movement into infrastructure classification. The presence of well-defined spatially separated clusters confirms the effectiveness of this approach. In this paper, our findings reveal the spatial structure inside a city, and the proposed approach provides a new perspective on integrating human movement into the study of a spatially distributed system.

Incorporating Human Movement Behavior into the Analysis of Spatially Distributed Infrastructure.

Science.gov (United States)

Wu, Lihua; Leung, Henry; Jiang, Hao; Zheng, Hong; Ma, Li

2016-01-01

For the first time in human history, the majority of the world's population resides in urban areas. Therefore, city managers are faced with new challenges related to the efficiency, equity and quality of the supply of resources, such as water, food and energy. Infrastructure in a city can be viewed as service points providing resources. These service points function together as a spatially collaborative system to serve an increasing population. To study the spatial collaboration among service points, we propose a shared network according to human's collective movement and resource usage based on data usage detail records (UDRs) from the cellular network in a city in western China. This network is shown to be not scale-free, but exhibits an interesting triangular property governed by two types of nodes with very different link patterns. Surprisingly, this feature is consistent with the urban-rural dualistic context of the city. Another feature of the shared network is that it consists of several spatially separated communities that characterize local people's active zones but do not completely overlap with administrative areas. According to these features, we propose the incorporation of human movement into infrastructure classification. The presence of well-defined spatially separated clusters confirms the effectiveness of this approach. In this paper, our findings reveal the spatial structure inside a city, and the proposed approach provides a new perspective on integrating human movement into the study of a spatially distributed system.

Incorporation of coconut shell based nanoparticles in kenaf/coconut fibres reinforced vinyl ester composites

Science.gov (United States)

S, Abdul Khalil H. P.; Masri, M.; Saurabh, Chaturbhuj K.; Fazita, M. R. N.; Azniwati, A. A.; Sri Aprilia, N. A.; Rosamah, E.; Dungani, Rudi

2017-03-01

In the present study, a successful attempt has been made on enhancing the properties of hybrid kenaf/coconut fibers reinforced vinyl ester composites by incorporating nanofillers obtained from coconut shell. Coconut shells were grinded followed by 30 h of high energy ball milling for the production of nanoparticles. Particle size analyzer demonstrated that the size of 90% of obtained nanoparticles ranged between 15-140 nm. Furthermore, it was observed that the incorporation of coconut shell nanofillers into hybrid composite increased water absorption capacity. Moreover, tensile, flexural, and impact strength increased with the filler loading up to 3 wt.% and thereafter decrease was observed at higher filler concentration. However, elongation at break decreased and thermal stability increased in nanoparticles concentration dependent manner. Morphological analysis of composite with 3% of filler loading showed minimum voids and fiber pull outs and this indicated that the stress was successfully absorbed by the fiber.

Incorporation of squalene into rod outer segments

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Keller, R.K.; Fliesler, S.J.

1990-01-01

We have reported previously that squalene is the major radiolabeled nonsaponifiable lipid product derived from [ 3 H]acetate in short term incubations of frog retinas. In the present study, we demonstrate that newly synthesized squalene is incorporated into rod outer segments under similar in vitro conditions. We show further that squalene is an endogenous constituent of frog rod outer segment membranes; its concentration is approximately 9.5 nmol/mumol of phospholipid or about 9% of the level of cholesterol. Pulse-chase experiments with radiolabeled precursors revealed no metabolism of outer segment squalene to sterols in up to 20 h of chase. Taken together with our previous absolute rate studies, these results suggest that most, if not all, of the squalene synthesized by the frog retina is transported to rod outer segments. Synthesis of protein is not required for squalene transport since puromycin had no effect on squalene incorporation into outer segments. Conversely, inhibition of isoprenoid synthesis with mevinolin had no effect on the incorporation of opsin into the outer segment. These latter results support the conclusion that the de novo synthesis and subsequent intracellular trafficking of opsin and isoprenoid lipids destined for the outer segment occur via independent mechanisms

Incorporation feasibility of leather residues in bricks

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Aguiar, J.B. [Minho Univ. (Portugal). Civil Engineering Dept.; Valente, A.; Pires, M.J. [Inst. of Development and Innovation Technology of Minho, Braga (Portugal); Tavares, T. [Biological Engineering Dept., Univ. of Minho, Braga (Portugal)

2002-07-01

The footwear industry has strips of leather as one of its by-products. These leather residues, due to their high chromium content, can be regarded as a threat to the environment, particularly if no care is taken with their disposal. With the incorporation of the residues in ceramic products, after trituration, is possible to neutralise the eventual toxicity of chromium. In a laboratory study we produced prismatic bricks using clay from the region and incorporating 1, 3 and 5% (by mass) of leather residues. This corresponds at about 20, 60 and 100% (by apparent volume). The moulds were filled up with paste and, in order to have some compactness, the ceramic paste was compressed with a spatula. After that, it began the process of drying and burning the bricks. They were tested to flexure, compression and leaching. The results showed that the toxicity of chromium disappeared in the bricks. The mechanical tests showed a decrease in strength for the specimens with leather residue. The compressive strength decreases about 22% for 1% of incorporation of leather residue. However, as bricks were lighter and more porous, we can expect that they are better for thermal isolation. (orig.)

MWCNTs of different physicochemical properties cause similar inflammatory responses, but differences in transcriptional and histological markers of fibrosis in mouse lungs

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Poulsen, Sarah S., E-mail: spo@nrcwe.dk [National Research Centre for the Working Environment, Copenhagen DK-2100 (Denmark); Department of Science, Systems and Models, Roskilde University, DK-4000 Roskilde (Denmark); Saber, Anne T., E-mail: ats@nrcwe.dk [National Research Centre for the Working Environment, Copenhagen DK-2100 (Denmark); Williams, Andrew, E-mail: Andrew.williams@hc-sc.gc.ca [Environmental and Radiation Health Sciences Directorate, Health Canada, Ottawa, Ontario K1A 0K9 (Canada); Andersen, Ole, E-mail: oa@ruc.dk [Department of Science, Systems and Models, Roskilde University, DK-4000 Roskilde (Denmark); Købler, Carsten, E-mail: carko@nanotech.dtu.dk [Department of Micro- and Nanotechnology, Technical University of Denmark, DK-2800 Kgs. Lyngby (Denmark); Atluri, Rambabu, E-mail: rba@nrcwe.dk [Nanologica AB, SE-114 28 Stockholm (Sweden); Pozzebon, Maria E., E-mail: mariaelena.pozzebon@yahoo.it [Veneto Nanotech SCpA, ECSIN — European Centre for the Sustainable Impact of Nanotechnology, I-45100 Rovigo (Italy); Mucelli, Stefano P., E-mail: stefano.pozzimucelli@venetonanotech.it [Veneto Nanotech SCpA, ECSIN — European Centre for the Sustainable Impact of Nanotechnology, I-45100 Rovigo (Italy); Simion, Monica, E-mail: moni304ro@gmail.com [Laboratory of Nanobiotechnology, National Institute for Research and Development in Microtechnologies, 077190 Bucharest (Romania); Rickerby, David, E-mail: david.rickerby@jrc.ec.europa.eu [European Commission Joint Research Centre Institute for Environment and Sustainability, I-21027 Ispra, VA (Italy); Mortensen, Alicja, E-mail: almo@food.dtu.dk [National Food Institute, Technical University of Denmark, Søborg (Denmark); Jackson, Petra, E-mail: pja@nrcwe.dk [National Research Centre for the Working Environment, Copenhagen DK-2100 (Denmark); Kyjovska, Zdenka O., E-mail: zky@nrcwe.dk [National Research Centre for the Working Environment, Copenhagen DK-2100 (Denmark); and others

2015-04-01

Multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) are an inhomogeneous group of nanomaterials that vary in lengths, shapes and types of metal contamination, which makes hazard evaluation difficult. Here we present a toxicogenomic analysis of female C57BL/6 mouse lungs following a single intratracheal instillation of 0, 18, 54 or 162 μg/mouse of a small, curled (CNT{sub Small}, 0.8 ± 0.1 μm in length) or large, thick MWCNT (CNT{sub Large}, 4 ± 0.4 μm in length). The two MWCNTs were extensively characterized by SEM and TEM imaging, thermogravimetric analysis, and Brunauer–Emmett–Teller surface area analysis. Lung tissues were harvested 24 h, 3 days and 28 days post-exposure. DNA microarrays were used to analyze gene expression, in parallel with analysis of bronchoalveolar lavage fluid, lung histology, DNA damage (comet assay) and the presence of reactive oxygen species (dichlorodihydrofluorescein assay), to profile and characterize related pulmonary endpoints. Overall changes in global transcription following exposure to CNT{sub Small} or CNT{sub Large} were similar. Both MWCNTs elicited strong acute phase and inflammatory responses that peaked at day 3, persisted up to 28 days, and were characterized by increased cellular influx in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid, interstitial pneumonia and gene expression changes. However, CNT{sub Large} elicited an earlier onset of inflammation and DNA damage, and induced more fibrosis and a unique fibrotic gene expression signature at day 28, compared to CNT{sub Small}. The results indicate that the extent of change at the molecular level during early response phases following an acute exposure is greater in mice exposed to CNT{sub Large}, which may eventually lead to the different responses observed at day 28. - Highlights: • We evaluate the toxicogenomic response in mice following MWCNT instillation. • Two MWCNTs of different properties were examined and thoroughly characterized. • MWCNT exposure leads to increased pulmonary

MWCNTs of different physicochemical properties cause similar inflammatory responses, but differences in transcriptional and histological markers of fibrosis in mouse lungs

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Poulsen, Sarah S.; Saber, Anne T.; Williams, Andrew; Andersen, Ole; Købler, Carsten; Atluri, Rambabu; Pozzebon, Maria E.; Mucelli, Stefano P.; Simion, Monica; Rickerby, David; Mortensen, Alicja; Jackson, Petra; Kyjovska, Zdenka O.

2015-01-01

Multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) are an inhomogeneous group of nanomaterials that vary in lengths, shapes and types of metal contamination, which makes hazard evaluation difficult. Here we present a toxicogenomic analysis of female C57BL/6 mouse lungs following a single intratracheal instillation of 0, 18, 54 or 162 μg/mouse of a small, curled (CNT Small , 0.8 ± 0.1 μm in length) or large, thick MWCNT (CNT Large , 4 ± 0.4 μm in length). The two MWCNTs were extensively characterized by SEM and TEM imaging, thermogravimetric analysis, and Brunauer–Emmett–Teller surface area analysis. Lung tissues were harvested 24 h, 3 days and 28 days post-exposure. DNA microarrays were used to analyze gene expression, in parallel with analysis of bronchoalveolar lavage fluid, lung histology, DNA damage (comet assay) and the presence of reactive oxygen species (dichlorodihydrofluorescein assay), to profile and characterize related pulmonary endpoints. Overall changes in global transcription following exposure to CNT Small or CNT Large were similar. Both MWCNTs elicited strong acute phase and inflammatory responses that peaked at day 3, persisted up to 28 days, and were characterized by increased cellular influx in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid, interstitial pneumonia and gene expression changes. However, CNT Large elicited an earlier onset of inflammation and DNA damage, and induced more fibrosis and a unique fibrotic gene expression signature at day 28, compared to CNT Small . The results indicate that the extent of change at the molecular level during early response phases following an acute exposure is greater in mice exposed to CNT Large , which may eventually lead to the different responses observed at day 28. - Highlights: • We evaluate the toxicogenomic response in mice following MWCNT instillation. • Two MWCNTs of different properties were examined and thoroughly characterized. • MWCNT exposure leads to increased pulmonary inflammation and acute phase

Incorporating other texts: Intertextuality in Malaysian CSR reports

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kumaran Rajandran

2016-11-01

Full Text Available In Malaysia, corporate social responsibility (CSR is relatively new but corporations have been required to engage in and disclose their CSR. A typical genre for disclosure is CSR reports and these reports often refer to other texts. The article investigates the act of referencing to other texts or intertextuality in Malaysian CSR reports. It creates an archive of CEO Statements and Environment Sections in CSR reports and studies the archive for keywords, which can identify the incorporated texts. The function of these texts is examined in relation to Malaysia’s corporate context. CSR reports contain explicit references to documents (policies, regulations, reports, research, standards and to individuals/groups (CEOs, stakeholders, expert organizations. The incorporated texts display variation in corporate control, which organizes these texts along an intertextual cline. The cline helps to identify corporate and non-corporate sources among the texts. The selection of incorporated texts may reflect government and stock exchange demands. The texts are not standardized and are relevant for the CSR domain and corporations, where these texts monitor and justify CSR performance. Yet, the incorporated texts may perpetuate inexact reporting because corporations select the texts and the parts of texts to refer to. Since these texts have been employed to scrutinize initiatives and results, CSR reports can claim to represent the “truth” about a corporation’s CSR. Hence, intertextuality serves corporate interests.

Incorporation of Ba in Al and Fe pollucite

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Vance, Eric R., E-mail: erv@ansto.gov.au [Institute of Materials Engineering, Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation, Locked Bag 2001 Kirrawee DC, NSW 2232 (Australia); Gregg, Daniel J.; Griffiths, Grant J. [Institute of Materials Engineering, Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation, Locked Bag 2001 Kirrawee DC, NSW 2232 (Australia); Gaugliardo, Paul R. [Centre for Microscopy, Characterisation and Analysis, The University of Western Australia, Crawley, WA 6009 (Australia); Grant, Charmaine [Institute of Materials Engineering, Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation, Locked Bag 2001 Kirrawee DC, NSW 2232 (Australia)

2016-09-15

Ba, the transmutation product of radioactive Cs, can be incorporated at levels of up to ∼0.07 formula units in Cs{sub (1−2x)}Ba{sub x}AlSi{sub 2}O{sub 6} aluminium pollucite formed by sol-gel methods and sintering at 1400 °C, with more Ba forming BaAl{sub 2}Si{sub 2}O{sub 8} phases. The effect of Ba substitution in pollucite-structured CsFeSi{sub 2}O{sub 6} was also studied and no evidence of Ba substitution in the pollucite structure via cation vacancies or Fe{sup 2+} formation was obtained. The Ba entered a Fe-silicate glass structure. Charge compensation was also attempted with a Cs{sup +} + Fe{sup 3+} ↔ Ba{sup 2+} + Ni{sup 2+} scheme but again the Ba formed a glass and NiO was evident. PCT leaching data showed CsFeSi{sub 2}O{sub 6} to be very leach resistant. - Highlights: • Barium can be incorporated into aluminium pollucite. • Positron annihilation lifetime spectroscopy supports a charge vacancy mechanism of incorporation. • Iron pollucite does not appear to incorporate any barium with either vacancy or charge compensation mechanisms. • Leaching data suggest iron pollucite is very leach resistant.

Quantitative isotope incorporation reveals substrate partitioning in a coastal microbial community.

Science.gov (United States)

Mayali, Xavier; Weber, Peter K

2018-05-01

To quantitatively link microbial identity with biogeochemical function, we carried out 14 simultaneous stable isotope probing experiments with organic and inorganic C and N substrates to measure the isotope incorporation by over one hundred co-occurring eukaryotic and prokaryotic populations in a coastal community. We found that nitrate was the most commonly incorporated substrate, and that light-driven carbon fixation was carried out by some bacterial taxa from the Flavobacteriales and OM60 (NOR5) clade, in addition to photoautotrophic phytoplankton. We found that organisms that incorporated starch, maltose, glucose, lactose and bicarbonate were phylogenetically clustered, suggesting that specific bacterial lineages specialized in the incorporation of these substrates. The data further revealed that coastal microorganisms spanned a range of resource utilization strategies from generalists to specialists and demonstrated a high level of substrate partitioning, with two thirds of taxa exhibiting unique substrate incorporation patterns and the remaining third shared by no more than three OTUs each. Specialists exhibited more extreme incorporation levels (high or low), whereas generalists displayed more intermediate activity levels. These results shed valuable insights into the bottom-up ecological strategies enabling the persistence of high microbial diversity in aquatic ecosystems.

Analysis of silver particles incorporated on TiO2 coatings for the photodecomposition of o-cresol

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kuo, Y.-L.; Chen, H.-W.; Ku, Y.

2007-01-01

Silver-modified TiO 2 (Ag-TiO 2 ) and pure TiO 2 coatings were prepared on sapphire substrates by dip-coating process for the photodecomposition of o-cresol. In order to investigate the behaviors of silver incorporated on TiO 2 surface coatings, Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET) surface area measurements, X-ray diffraction (XRD), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), diffuse reflectance UV-Vis spectra (DRS), and photoluminescence (PL) emission spectra were performed. Experimental results indicate that the silver on TiO 2 surface coatings were easily oxidized into silver oxide (Ag 2 O), because of the existence of Ag 2 O crystal phase in XRD spectrum and Ag 2+ -O and O 1s -Ag chemical bonding states in Ag 3d and O 1s narrow scans of XPS, respectively. PL spectra showed that as increasing the amount of silver incorporated, the PL intensity of Ag-TiO 2 coatings evidently decrease, which means that the Ag-TiO 2 coatings have higher efficiencies of charge carrier trapping, immigration and transferring, and subsequently promote the photodecomposition rate constants after the UV/TiO 2 process. An optimal composition of 0.50 wt.% Ag-TiO 2 coating for the photodecomposition of o-cresol correspond to a maximum photodecomposition rate constant (k value) of 0.01 min -1 as compared to that of the pure TiO 2 coatings (k = 0.0062 min -1 )

/sup 3/H-UTP incorporation in polytene chromosomes of Chironomus permeabilized cells

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Diez, J L; de la Torre, C [Consejo Superior de Investigacionis Cientificas, Madrid (Spain). Inst. Biologia Celular

1979-01-01

A method is described that allows the cytologic detection of the transcriptional activity of endogenous RNA polymerase in fixed Chironomus polytene chromosomes. /sup 3/H-UTP is preferentially incorporated onto nucleoli and Balbiani rings where transcription is specially high. The former incorporation was sensitive to actinomycin D while incorporation on Balbiani rings was sensitive to ..cap alpha..-amanitin. The label pattern and frequency resemble those detected by /sup 3/H-uridine incorporation in the living state.

Incorporating health care quality into health antitrust law

Science.gov (United States)

2008-01-01

Background Antitrust authorities treat price as a proxy for hospital quality since health care quality is difficult to observe. As the ability to measure quality improved, more research became necessary to investigate the relationship between hospital market power and patient outcomes. This paper examines the impact of hospital competition on the quality of care as measured by the risk-adjusted mortality rates with the hospital as the unit of analysis. The study separately examines the effect of competition on non-profit hospitals. Methods We use California Office of Statewide Health Planning and Development (OSHPD) data from 1997 through 2002. Empirical model is a cross-sectional study of 373 hospitals. Regression analysis is used to estimate the relationship between Coronary Artery Bypass Graft (CABG) risk-adjusted mortality rates and hospital competition. Results Regression results show lower risk-adjusted mortality rates in the presence of a more competitive environment. This result holds for all alternative hospital market definitions. Non-profit hospitals do not have better patient outcomes than investor-owned hospitals. However, they tend to provide better quality in less competitive environments. CABG volume did not have a significant effect on patient outcomes. Conclusion Quality should be incorporated into the antitrust analysis. When mergers lead to higher prices and lower quality, thus lower social welfare, the antitrust challenge of hospital mergers is warranted. The impact of lower hospital competition on quality of care delivered by non-profit hospitals is ambiguous. PMID:18430219

Incorporating health care quality into health antitrust law

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Schneider Helen

2008-04-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Antitrust authorities treat price as a proxy for hospital quality since health care quality is difficult to observe. As the ability to measure quality improved, more research became necessary to investigate the relationship between hospital market power and patient outcomes. This paper examines the impact of hospital competition on the quality of care as measured by the risk-adjusted mortality rates with the hospital as the unit of analysis. The study separately examines the effect of competition on non-profit hospitals. Methods We use California Office of Statewide Health Planning and Development (OSHPD data from 1997 through 2002. Empirical model is a cross-sectional study of 373 hospitals. Regression analysis is used to estimate the relationship between Coronary Artery Bypass Graft (CABG risk-adjusted mortality rates and hospital competition. Results Regression results show lower risk-adjusted mortality rates in the presence of a more competitive environment. This result holds for all alternative hospital market definitions. Non-profit hospitals do not have better patient outcomes than investor-owned hospitals. However, they tend to provide better quality in less competitive environments. CABG volume did not have a significant effect on patient outcomes. Conclusion Quality should be incorporated into the antitrust analysis. When mergers lead to higher prices and lower quality, thus lower social welfare, the antitrust challenge of hospital mergers is warranted. The impact of lower hospital competition on quality of care delivered by non-profit hospitals is ambiguous.

MoO3 incorporation in magnesium aluminosilicate glasses

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tan, Shengheng; Ojovan, Michael I.; Hyatt, Neil C.; Hand, Russell J.

2015-01-01

Molybdate has a very low solubility in silicate and borosilicate glass systems and its excess presence in nuclear waste glass can cause the formation of a readily soluble “yellow phase”. In this study, the incorporation of molybdenum oxide (MoO 3 ) in a magnesium aluminosilicate glass system has been investigated. The prepared glasses show a higher than 90% molybdenum retention rate and up to 5.34 mol% (12.28 wt%) MoO 3 can be incorporated into these glasses without causing visible phase separation. The incorporation of MoO 3 increases glass density, decreases glass transition and crystallisation temperatures and intensifies Raman bands assigned to vibrations of MoO 4 2− units. When excess molybdate is added liquid–liquid phase separation and crystallisation occurs. The separated phase is spherical, 200–400 nm in diameter and randomly dispersed. Based on powder X-ray diffraction, Raman spectroscopy and transmission electron microscopy, the separated phase is identified as MgMoO 4

Thymidine uptake, thymidine incorporation, and thymidine kinase activity in marine bacterium isolates

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jeffrey, W.H.; Paul, J.H.

1990-01-01

One assumption made in bacterial production estimates from [ 3 H]thymidine incorporation is that all heterotrophic bacteria can incorporate exogenous thymidine into DNA. Heterotrophic marine bacterium isolates from Tampa Bay, Fla., Chesapeake Bay, Md., and a coral surface microlayer were examined for thymidine uptake (transport), thymidine incorporation, the presence of thymidine kinase genes, and thymidine kinase enzyme activity. Of the 41 isolates tested, 37 were capable of thymidine incorporation into DNA. The four organisms that could not incorporate thymidine also transported the thymidine poorly and lacked thymidine kinase activity. Attempts to detect thymidine kinase genes in the marine isolates by molecular probing with gene probes made from Escherichia coli and herpes simplex virus thymidine kinase genes proved unsuccessful. To determine if the inability to incorporate thymidine was due to the lack of thymidine kinase, one organism, Vibro sp. strain DI9, was transformed with a plasmid (pGQ3) that contained an E. coli thymidine kinase gene. Although enzyme assays indicated high levels of thymidine kinase activity in transformants, these cells still failed to incorporate exogenous thymidine into DNA or to transport thymidine into cells. These results indicate that the inability of certain marine bacteria to incorporate thymidine may not be solely due to the lack of thymidine kinase activity but may also be due to the absence of thymidine transport systems

Calculated activity incorporated in the therapy with I131

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chica, L.G.; Puerta, J.A.

1998-01-01

By means of the product S(T→ S).A s (T e ), the absorbed dose to thyroid delivered by I 131 incorporated is calculated. Where S(T→ S) is the absorbed dose in the thyroid per nuclear transformation (tn.) of I 131 localized in the thyroid and as a potential function of the mass is expressed. A s (T e ) is the number of tn. of I 131 in the thyroid since the moment of the incorporation until the time T e (the effective middle time); to find A s (T e ) to normal as different pathological conditions, the metabolic model of the iodo proposed by the ICRP is used. Of the expressions of the doses, the incorporated activity, l o , is obtained

Analytical incorporation of fractionation effects in probabilistic treatment planning for intensity-modulated proton therapy.

Science.gov (United States)

Wahl, Niklas; Hennig, Philipp; Wieser, Hans-Peter; Bangert, Mark

2018-04-01

We show that it is possible to explicitly incorporate fractionation effects into closed-form probabilistic treatment plan analysis and optimization for intensity-modulated proton therapy with analytical probabilistic modeling (APM). We study the impact of different fractionation schemes on the dosimetric uncertainty induced by random and systematic sources of range and setup uncertainty for treatment plans that were optimized with and without consideration of the number of treatment fractions. The APM framework is capable of handling arbitrarily correlated uncertainty models including systematic and random errors in the context of fractionation. On this basis, we construct an analytical dose variance computation pipeline that explicitly considers the number of treatment fractions for uncertainty quantitation and minimization during treatment planning. We evaluate the variance computation model in comparison to random sampling of 100 treatments for conventional and probabilistic treatment plans under different fractionation schemes (1, 5, 30 fractions) for an intracranial, a paraspinal and a prostate case. The impact of neglecting the fractionation scheme during treatment planning is investigated by applying treatment plans that were generated with probabilistic optimization for 1 fraction in a higher number of fractions and comparing them to the probabilistic plans optimized under explicit consideration of the number of fractions. APM enables the construction of an analytical variance computation model for dose uncertainty considering fractionation at negligible computational overhead. It is computationally feasible (a) to simultaneously perform a robustness analysis for all possible fraction numbers and (b) to perform a probabilistic treatment plan optimization for a specific fraction number. The incorporation of fractionation assumptions for robustness analysis exposes a dose to uncertainty trade-off, i.e., the dose in the organs at risk is increased for a

Physicochemical and Antibacterial Properties of Carrageenan and Gelatine Hydrosols and Hydrogels Incorporated with Acidic Electrolyzed Water

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ewa Brychcy

2015-12-01

Full Text Available The article focuses on investigation of the effects of usage of acidic electrolyzed water (AEW with different sodium chloride concentration (0.001%, 0.01%, and 0.1% for the preparation of carrageenan and gelatine hydrosols and hydrogels. To determine physiochemical properties of hydrosols, the pH, oxidation-reduction potential (ORP, available chloride concentration (ACC and rheological parameters such us gelation and flow temperatures were measured. The samples were also characterized using Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT IR and texture profile analysis (TPA. Additionally, the article contains an analysis of antibacterial activity of carrageenan and gelatine hydrosols incorporated with acidic electrolyzed water, against Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli. The FT IR spectra demonstrated that the structure of gelatine and carrageenan are not significantly affected by electrolyzed NaCl solution components. Furthermore, TPA analysis showed that the use of AEW did not cause undesirable changes in hydrogels layer. The microbiological analysis confirmed inhibition of bacterial growth by hydrosols to about 2.10 log reduction. The results showed that the range of reduction of microorganisms depends on the type AEW used. This might be explained by the fact that the lowest pH and the highest ACC values of hydrosols were obtained for samples with the longest period of exposure to electrolysis (10 min and the highest amount of NaCl (0.1% w/v. These results suggest that hydrogels and hydrosols incorporated with AEW may be used for food preservation.

Incorporating immunizations into routine obstetric care to facilitate Health Care Practitioners in implementing maternal immunization recommendations.

Science.gov (United States)

Webb, Heather; Street, Jackie; Marshall, Helen

2014-01-01

Immunization against pertussis, influenza, and rubella reduces morbidity and mortality in pregnant women and their offspring. Health care professionals (HCPs) caring for women perinatally are uniquely placed to reduce maternal vaccine preventable diseases (VPDs). Despite guidelines recommending immunization during the perinatal period, maternal vaccine uptake remains low. This qualitative study explored the role of obstetricians, general practitioners, and midwives in maternal vaccine uptake. Semi-structured interviews (n = 15) were conducted with perinatal HCPs at a tertiary maternity hospital in South Australia. HCPs were asked to reflect on their knowledge, beliefs, and practice relating to immunization advice and vaccine provision. Interviews were transcribed and coded using thematic analysis. Data collection and analysis was an iterative process, with collection ceasing with theoretical saturation. Participants unanimously supported maternal vaccination as an effective way of reducing risk of disease in this vulnerable population, however only rubella immunity detection and immunization is embedded in routine care. Among these professionals, delegation of responsibility for maternal immunization was unclear and knowledge about maternal immunization was variable. Influenza and pertussis vaccine prevention measures were not included in standard pregnancy record documentation, information provision to patients was "ad hoc" and vaccinations not offered on-site. The key finding was that the incorporation of maternal vaccinations into standard care through a structured process is an important facilitator for immunization uptake. Incorporating vaccine preventable disease management measures into routine obstetric care including incorporation into the Pregnancy Record would facilitate HCPs in implementing recommendations. Rubella prevention provides a useful 'template' for other vaccines.

In vitro evaluation of Spirulina platensis extract incorporated skin cream with its wound healing and antioxidant activities.

Science.gov (United States)

Gunes, Seda; Tamburaci, Sedef; Dalay, Meltem Conk; Deliloglu Gurhan, Ismet

2017-12-01

Algae have gained importance in cosmeceutical product development due to their beneficial effects on skin health and therapeutical value with bioactive compounds. Spirulina platensis Parachas (Phormidiaceae) is renowned as a potential source of high-value chemicals and recently used in skincare products. This study develops and evaluates skin creams incorporated with bioactive S. platensis extract. Spirulina platensis was cultivated, the aqueous crude extract was prepared and in vitro cytotoxicity of S. platensis extract in the range of 0.001-1% concentrations for 1, 3 and 7 d on HS2 keratinocyte cells was determined. Crude extracts were incorporated in skin cream formulation at 0.01% (w/w) concentration and in vitro wound healing and genotoxicity studies were performed. Immunohistochemical staining was performed to determine the collagen activity. 0.1% S. platensis extract exhibited higher proliferation activity compared with the control group with 198% of cell viability after 3 d. Skin cream including 1.125% S. platensis crude extract showed enhanced wound healing effect on HS2 keratinocyte cell line and the highest HS2 cell viability % was obtained with this concentration. The micronucleus (MN) assay results indicated that S. platensis extract incorporated creams had no genotoxic effect on human peripheral blood cells. Immunohistochemical analysis showed that collagen 1 immunoreactivity was improved by increased extract concentration and it was strongly positive in cells treated with 1.125% extract incorporated skin cream. The cell viability, wound healing activity and genotoxicity results showed that S. platensis incorporated skin cream could be of potential value in cosmeceutical and biomedical applications.

GDP-tubulin incorporation into growing microtubules modulates polymer stability.

Science.gov (United States)

Valiron, Odile; Arnal, Isabelle; Caudron, Nicolas; Job, Didier

2010-06-04

Microtubule growth proceeds through the endwise addition of nucleotide-bound tubulin dimers. The microtubule wall is composed of GDP-tubulin subunits, which are thought to come exclusively from the incorporation of GTP-tubulin complexes at microtubule ends followed by GTP hydrolysis within the polymer. The possibility of a direct GDP-tubulin incorporation into growing polymers is regarded as hardly compatible with recent structural data. Here, we have examined GTP-tubulin and GDP-tubulin incorporation into polymerizing microtubules using a minimal assembly system comprised of nucleotide-bound tubulin dimers, in the absence of free nucleotide. We find that GDP-tubulin complexes can efficiently co-polymerize with GTP-tubulin complexes during microtubule assembly. GDP-tubulin incorporation into microtubules occurs with similar efficiency during bulk microtubule assembly as during microtubule growth from seeds or centrosomes. Microtubules formed from GTP-tubulin/GDP-tubulin mixtures display altered microtubule dynamics, in particular a decreased shrinkage rate, apparently due to intrinsic modifications of the polymer disassembly properties. Thus, although microtubules polymerized from GTP-tubulin/GDP-tubulin mixtures or from homogeneous GTP-tubulin solutions are both composed of GDP-tubulin subunits, they have different dynamic properties, and this may reveal a novel form of microtubule "structural plasticity."

In situ Sn2+-incorporation synthesis of titanate nanotubes for photocatalytic dye degradation under visible light illumination

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tsai, Chien-Cheng; Chen, Liang-Che; Yeh, Te-Fu; Teng, Hsisheng

2013-01-01

Highlights: ► Sn 2+ ions sensitize titanate nanotubes for photocatalysis under visible-light illumination. ► The Sn 5s orbital replaces the O 2p orbital as the top level of the valence band of titanates. ► The presence of Sn 2+ lifts the valence band of titanate nanotubes by approximately 0.9 eV. ► The doped Sn 2+ sites are active in donating photo-induced charges to dye degradation. - Abstract: Sn 2+ -incorporated titanate nanotubes, prepared by washing a layered sodium titanate with a SnCl 2 solution for tube formation, exhibit noticeable photocatalytic activity under visible light irradiation. This in situ synthesis results in a Sn/Ti ratio of approximately 0.6. Because of the introduction of Sn 2+ ions, the Sn 5s orbital replaces the O 2p orbital as the top level of the valence band of titanate nanotubes. Optical absorption analysis shows that Sn doping reduces the bandgap of titanate nanotubes from 3.5 to 2.6 eV. Oxidation of the Sn 2+ -incorporated titanate nanotubes leads to oxidation of Sn 2+ to Sn 4+ , hence, widening the bandgap. Under visible light irradiation, Sn 2+ -incorporated titanate nanotubes effectively degrade methylene blue in an aqueous solution, whereas the bare titanate nanotubes exhibit substantially lower photocatalytic activity. Photoluminescence analysis demonstrates that the induced charges from excitation of the Sn 2+ ions tend to be relaxed through chemical interactions, rather than irradiative recombination.

Active Microwave Metamaterials Incorporating Ideal Gain Devices

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Hao Xin

2010-12-01

Full Text Available Incorporation of active devices/media such as transistors for microwave and gain media for optics may be very attractive for enabling desired low loss and broadband metamaterials. Such metamaterials can even have gain which may very well lead to new and exciting physical phenomena. We investigate microwave composite right/left-handed transmission lines (CRLH-TL incorporating ideal gain devices such as constant negative resistance. With realistic lumped element values, we have shown that the negative phase constant of this kind of transmission lines is maintained (i.e., left-handedness kept while gain can be obtained (negative attenuation constant of transmission line simultaneously. Possible implementation and challenging issues of the proposed active CRLH-TL are also discussed.

Incorporation of low and intermediate level wastes into ceramic clay matrices

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kuznetsov, A.S.; Kuznetzov, B.S.; Kuznetzov, B.S.; Na, R.

1995-01-01

Conditions for the production of chemically stable high-strength ceramics based on clay are developed using wastes of three types: ashes from radioactive waste burning, hydroxide pulp formed during precipitations in radiochemical technology, suspensions of spent filtering material (filter perlite). The properties of wastes and ceramics are studied by emission spectrography, X-ray phase analysis, mechanical strength and chemical stability of end products are determined. It is shown that the ceramics incorporating 30-50 % wt. of wastes have the apparent density 2.1-2.5 g/cm 3 , the compression strength 40-70 MPa; the radionuclide leaching rate is comparable with the values obtained for borosilicate glasses. (authors)

Incorporation of mammalian actin into microfilaments in plant cell nucleus

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Paves Heiti

2004-04-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Actin is an ancient molecule that shows more than 90% amino acid homology between mammalian and plant actins. The regions of the actin molecule that are involved in F-actin assembly are largely conserved, and it is likely that mammalian actin is able to incorporate into microfilaments in plant cells but there is no experimental evidence until now. Results Visualization of microfilaments in onion bulb scale epidermis cells by different techniques revealed that rhodamine-phalloidin stained F-actin besides cytoplasm also in the nuclei whereas GFP-mouse talin hybrid protein did not enter the nuclei. Microinjection of fluorescently labeled actin was applied to study the presence of nuclear microfilaments in plant cells. Ratio imaging of injected fluorescent rabbit skeletal muscle actin and phalloidin staining of the microinjected cells showed that mammalian actin was able to incorporate into plant F-actin. The incorporation occurred preferentially in the nucleus and in the perinuclear region of plant cells whereas part of plant microfilaments, mostly in the periphery of cytoplasm, did not incorporate mammalian actin. Conclusions Microinjected mammalian actin is able to enter plant cell's nucleus, whereas incorporation of mammalian actin into plant F-actin occurs preferentially in the nucleus and perinuclear area.

Incorporation and Effects of Nanoparticles in a Supramolecular Polymer

Science.gov (United States)

2016-05-01

polymerizations and main-chain supramolecular polymers . Macromolecules. 2009;42:6823–6835. 17. Wojtecki RJ, Meador MA, Rowan SJ. Using the dynamic bond...ARL-TR-7687 ● MAY 2016 US Army Research Laboratory Incorporation and Effects of Nanoparticles in a Supramolecular Polymer by...Laboratory Incorporation and Effects of Nanoparticles in a Supramolecular Polymer by Alice M Savage Oak Ridge Institute of Science and Education

Studies on carboxylated graphene oxide incorporated polyetherimide mixed matrix ultrafiltration membranes

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kaleekkal, Noel Jacob, E-mail: noeljacob89@gmail.com [Membrane Laboratory, Department of Chemical Engineering, ACT, Anna University, Chennai, 600025 (India); Thanigaivelan, A., E-mail: thanichemstar@gmail.com [Membrane Laboratory, Department of Chemical Engineering, ACT, Anna University, Chennai, 600025 (India); Rana, Dipak, E-mail: rana@uottawa.ca [Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, University of Ottawa, 161 Louis Pasteur Private, Ottawa, Ontario, K1N 6N5 (Canada); Mohan, D., E-mail: mohantarun@gmail.com [Membrane Laboratory, Department of Chemical Engineering, ACT, Anna University, Chennai, 600025 (India)

2017-01-15

In this work the graphene oxide prepared by the modified Hummers’ method was effectively carboxylated. These carboxylated graphene oxide (c-GO) microsheets was characterized by X-ray diffraction analysis, Raman shift, zeta potential, and their morphology was observed using a high resolution scanning/transmission electron microscopy. Polyetherimide mixed matrix membranes (MMMs) were fabricated by the non-solvent induced phase separation technique with varying concentration of this microsheet. The presence of these microsheets on the membrane surface was confirmed by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, Raman spectroscopy and could also be confirmed visually by optical images. The membranes were further characterized; they showed a greater water flux, higher porosity, and sufficient thermal stability. Incorporation of these microsheets improved the hydrophilicity of the membrane confirmed by the lower contact angle values, which in turn explained the lower interfacial free energy, the increase in work of adhesion, the higher solid-vapor free energy and the spreading coefficient. Membranes loaded with 0.3 wt% of c-GO showed a flux recovery of 94% and only a small flux decline even after 180 min of filtration of humic acid (HA) solution. The efficiency of these membranes in removal of HA, toxic metal ions was also investigated. The bacterial anti-adhesion property of c-GO in the membranes was also explored using Escherichia coli, as a model bio-foulant. The charge of the microsheets and their unique architecture imparts higher hydrophilicity and greater fouling resistance along with improved permeation flux when incorporated into the polymer matrix. - Highlights: • Novel membranes by incorporating carboxylated GO into polyetherimide matrix. • Modified membranes exhibited greater porosity, flux and high humic acid rejection. • Nanoplatelets improved the flux recovery ratio to >94%. • Liquid phase polymer based retention utilized for toxic heavy metal

A new potentiometric electrode incorporating functionalized β-cyclodextrins for diclofenac determination.

Science.gov (United States)

Lenik, Joanna

2014-12-01

This paper reports the preparation of diclofenac-selective membrane electrodes incorporating β-cyclodextrins: (2-hydroxypropyl)-β-cyclodextrin, heptakis(2,3,6-tri-O-methyl)-β-cyclodextrin, and heptakis(2,3,6-tri-O-benzoyl)-β-cyclodextrin. Several plasticized poly(vinyl chloride) membranes of different compositions were tested with the best electrode being the one incorporating heptakis(2,3,6-tri-O-benzoyl)-β-cyclodextrin with the membrane plasticized with 2-nitrophenyloctyl ether. The electrode is characterized by a near-Nernstian response slope of -60.0 mV decade(-1) over the linear range of 5.0×10(-5)-1.0×10(-2) mol L(-1) and a limit of detection of 1.4×10(-5) mol L(-1). The proposed electrode can easily discriminate diclofenac ions from several inorganic and organic interferents and some common drug excipients. The electrode has a response time of 10s and can be used within a pH range of 6.2-8.5 over 10 months without any considerable deterioration. The electrical properties of the membrane electrode were studied by impedance spectroscopy. The notable advantages of the diclofenac-selective electrode include its high sensitivity, selectivity, cost-effectiveness, and comfortable application in drug and urine analysis. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Antimicrobial activity of disinfectant agents incorporated into type IV dental stone.

Science.gov (United States)

Pereira, Rodrigo de Paula; Lucas, Matheus Guilherme; Spolidorio, Denise Madalena Palomari; Arioli Filho, João Neudenir

2012-06-01

This study evaluated the antimicrobial activity of two disinfectant agents, 2% chlorhexidine digluconate solution (CHX) and 98% chlorhexidine hydrochloride powder (HYD), incorporated into type IV dental stone at the time of mixing. Agar diffusion test was used for the following microorganisms: Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus, Bacillus subtilis and Candida albicans. The specimens were grouped in: (1) dental stone mixed with sterile distilled water; (2) paper disc soaked with CHX; (3) dental stone mixed with CHX; and (4) dental stone with incorporation of HYD, in 1% proportion of the dental stone mass and mixed with sterile distilled water. The culture medium was inoculated with microbial suspensions 1 and 24 h after pouring of the dental stone. The antimicrobial activity was evaluated by the average diameter of microbial growth inhibition zones. The data were analysed with a nested anova (p < 0.05) and Tukey test for specific comparisons. The disinfectant agents demonstrated antimicrobial activity against all microorganisms, with the exception of C. albicans, against which the CHX was ineffective in two periods of analysis. Significant differences between disinfectants were found with all microorganisms. The disinfectant agents analysed were effective against most of the microorganisms tested, except C. albicans. © 2011 The Gerodontology Society and John Wiley & Sons A/S.

Incorporating political socialization theory into baccalaureate nursing education.

Science.gov (United States)

Brown, S G

1996-01-01

Political socialization theory explains how an individual develops a political belief system. As the health care system undergoes dramatic changes, nursing faculty should use political socialization theory to enhance the education of student nurses. A political thread can be woven through the nursing curricula, and students can be socialized to the political role. The new generation of nurses must incorporate a political component into their professional role identity. Political socialization theory can guide nursing faculty as knowledge of the political system and political skills are incorporated into nursing curricula.

Charge compensation and the incorporation of cerium in zirconolite and perovskite

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Begg, B.D.; Vance, E.R.; Lumpkin, G.R.

1998-01-01

charge compensating Al on the Ti site. The following three incorporation strategies were evaluated; Ce 3+ on Ca site with Al charge compensation on the Ti site - Ca 0.9 Ce 0.1 Ti 0.9 Al 0.1 O 3 , Ce 3+ on Ca site with no charge compensation - Ca 0.9 Ce 0.1 TiO 3 , and Ce 4+ on Ca site with Al charge compensation on the Ti site - Ca 0.9 Ce 0.1 Ti 0.8 Al 0.2 O 3 . The perovskite samples were similarly subjected to a range of redox conditions to examine the relative stability of the prevailing Ce valence states. The samples were characterised by scanning electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction and X-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS). XAS was performed either at the Photon Factory, Tsukuba, Japan or at the Stanford Synchrotron Radiation Laboratory (SSRL), USA, on the Ce Lm-edge and Ti-K edge of the Ce-doped perovskites and zirconolites. Electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) to obtain direct evidence for Ti 3+ was also performed on the Ce-perovskites and Ce-zirconolites at liquid nitrogen temperatures. Additionally, thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) was used to determine weight changes on oxidation of those samples annealed under the reducing hydrogen nitrogen environment. In contrast to the Ce-doped zirconolites, the Ce valence in most of the perovskites was dependent on the compositional design of the perovskite and not the prevailing oxygen atmosphere. Trivalent Ce was stable in all atmospheres in the perovskite containing sufficient Al on the Ti site to account for Ce 3+ . However, in a similar way to the Ce-doped zirconolites Ce was able to be incorporated into perovskite, at the 0.1 formula unit level, in the absence of any specific charge compensating additives although, unlike in the Ce-zirconolite, the Ce in the perovskite remained trivalent even when fired in air. Attempts to stabilise tetravalent Ce in perovskite resulted in ∼80% of the Ce being tetravalent in air, whilst the 3.5% H 2 /N 2 heat treatment was sufficient to fully reduce the Ce to Ce 3+ . The

Selective incorporation of 5-hydroxytryptophan into proteins in mammalian cells

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, Zhiwen; Alfonta, Lital; Schultz, Peter G

2014-02-25

This invention provides methods and compositions for incorporation of an unnatural amino acid into a peptide using an orthogonal aminoacyl tRNA synthetase/tRNA pair. In particular, an orthogonal pair is provided to incorporate 5-hydroxy-L-tryptophan in a position encoded by an opal mutation.

Enhancement of antibacterial activity in nanofillers incorporated PSF/PVP membranes

Science.gov (United States)

Pramila, P.; Gopalakrishnan, N.

2018-04-01

An attempt has been made to investigate the nanofillers incorporated polysulfone (PSF) and polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) polymer membranes prepared by phase inversion method. Initially, the nanofillers, viz, Zinc Oxide (ZnO) nanoparticle, Graphene Oxide-Zinc Oxide (GO-ZnO) nanocomposite were synthesized and then directly incorporated into PSF/PVP blend during the preparation of membranes. The prepared membranes have been subjected to FE-SEM, AFM, BET, contact angle, tensile test and anti-bacterial studies. Significant membrane morphologies and nanoporous properties have been observed by FE-SEM and BET, respectively. It has been observed that hydrophilicity, mechanical strength and water permeability of the ZnO and GO-ZnO incorporated membranes were enhanced than bare membrane. Antibacterial activity was assessed by measuring the inhibition zones formed around the membrane by disc-diffusion method using Escherichia coli (gram-negative) as a model bacterium. Again, it has been observed that nanofillers incorporated membrane exhibits high antibacterial performance compared to bare membrane.

Incorporating socio-environmental considerations into project assessment models using multi-criteria analysis: A case study of Sri Lankan hydropower projects

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Morimoto, Risako

2013-01-01

Before commissioning any energy projects, conducting robust assessments of different options in terms of their economic and socio-environmental impacts is important for successful project implementation. Yet, there is currently a lack of tools that simultaneously assess sustainability impacts; instead, they are often investigated separately, which gives decision makers somehow disintegrated information. Thus the main objective of this study is to examine how to incorporate socio-environmental considerations into project assessment models. The multi-criteria analysis is applied to the case study of Sri Lankan hydropower projects as an illustrative example. The estimated quantitative relationship between economic, environmental and social impacts of hydropower development is presented in this study. Such estimation, using sustainability indicators of hydropower projects, enables us to understand marginal trade-offs among economic, environmental and social objectives of hydropower development. Hence, this would provide an overview of potential impacts of different scenarios that are designed to be implemented and indicate an optimum mix of hydropower generation. - Highlights: • This study provides an effective hydropower project evaluation method using the MCA. • The proposed tool shows the quantitative relationship explicitly. • Marginal trade-offs between sustainability objectives are presented

Incorporating Feminism into Rehabilitation Counselor Education

Science.gov (United States)

Jeon, Mookyong

2015-01-01

Purpose: The author describes how rehabilitation counselor educators can incorporate the feminist perspective in teaching rehabilitation counselors-in-training by exploring history, core values, and training methods of feminism. Method: Based on a literature review, the author compares philosophy and concepts of rehabilitation counseling and…

Onondaga Noun Incorporation: Some Notes on the Interdependence of Syntax and Semantics

Science.gov (United States)

Woodbury, Hanni

1975-01-01

In Onondaga and all northern Iroquoian languages, nouns can be incorporated into verbs. The function of this is semantic as well as syntactic. It is semantic in that the sense of an incorporated noun will be narrower than its unincorporated counterpart regardless of modifiers. Incorporation changes the transformational structure of the sentence.…

[3H] Thymidine incorporation to estimate growth rates of anaerobic bacterial strains

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Winding, A.

1992-01-01

The incorporation of [ 3 H] thymidine by axenic cultures of anaerobic bacteria was investigated as a means to measure growth. The three fermentative strains and one of the methanogenic strains tested incorporated [ 3 H] thymidine during growth. It is concluded that the [ 3 H] thymidine incorporation method underestimates bacterial growth in anaerobic environments

Assessment of the usefulness of the murine cytotoxic T cell line CTLL-2 for immunotoxicity screening by transcriptomics

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Schmeits, P.C.; Volger, O.L.; Zandvliet, E.T.; Loveren, van H.; Peijnenburg, A.; Hendriksen, P.J.

2013-01-01

A toxicogenomics approach was applied to assess the usefulness of the mouse cytotoxic T cell line CTLL-2 for in vitro immunotoxicity testing. CTLL-2 cells were exposed for 6 h to two model immunotoxic compounds: (1) the mycotoxin deoxynivalenol (DON, 1 and 2 µM), a ribotoxic stress inducer, and (2)

Comparison in the calculation of committed effective dose using the ICRP 30 and ICRP 60 models for a repeated incorporation by inhalation of I-125

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Carreno P, A.L.; Cortes C, A.; Alonso V, G.; Serrano P, F.

2005-01-01

Presently work, a comparison in the calculation of committed effective dose using the models of the ICRP 30 and those of the ICRP 60 for the analysis of internal dose due to repeated incorporation of I-125 is shown. The estimations of incorporated activity are obtained starting from the proportionate data for an exercise of inter comparison, with which it should be determined the internal dose later on. For to estimate the initial activity incorporated by repeated dose was assumed that this it was given through of multiple individual incorporations which happened in the middle points of the monitoring periods. The results using the models of the ICRP 30 and of the ICRP 60 are compared and the causes of the differences are analyzed. (Author)

Effect of incorporation of zinc oxide nanoparticles on mechanical properties of conventional glass ionomer cements.

Science.gov (United States)

Panahandeh, Narges; Torabzadeh, Hassan; Aghaee, Mohammadamin; Hasani, Elham; Safa, Saeed

2018-01-01

The aim of this study is to investigate the physical properties of conventional and resin-modified glass ionomer cements (GICs) compared to GICs supplemented with zinc oxide (ZnO) nanofiller particles at 5% (w/w). In this in vitro study, ZnO nanoparticles of different morphologies (nanospherical, nanorod, and nanoflower) were incorporated to glass ionomer powder. The samples were subjected to the flexural strength ( n = 20) and surface hardness test ( n = 12) using a universal testing machine and a Vickers hardness machine, respectively. Surface analysis and crystal structure of samples were performed with scanning electron microscope and X-radiation diffraction, respectively. The data were analyzed using one-way ANOVA, Shapiro-Wilk, and Tukey's tests ( P glass ionomer containing nanoparticles was not significantly different from the control group ( P > 0.05). The surface hardness of the glass ionomer containing nanospherical or nanoflower ZnO was significantly lower than the control group ( P glass ionomer containing nanorod ZnO was not significantly different from the control group ( P = 0.868). Incorporation of nanospherical and nanoflower ZnO to glass ionomer decreased their surface hardness, without any changes on their flexural strength. Incorporation of nanorod ZnO particles caused no effect on the mechanical properties.

Low-macroscopic field emission from silicon-incorporated diamond-like carbon film synthesized by dc PECVD

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ahmed, Sk.F.; Mitra, M.K.; Chattopadhyay, K.K.

2007-01-01

Silicon-incorporated diamond-like carbon (Si-DLC) films were deposited via dc plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD), on glass and alumina substrates at a substrate temperature 300 deg. C. The precursor gas used was acetylene and for Si incorporation, tetraethyl orthosilicate dissolved in methanol was used. Si atomic percentage in the films was varied from 0% to 19.3% as measured from energy-dispersive X-ray analysis (EDX). The binding energies of C 1s, Si 2s and Si 2p were determined from X-ray photoelectron spectroscopic studies. We have observed low-macroscopic field electron emission from Si-DLC thin films deposited on glass substrates. The emission properties have been studied for a fixed anode-sample separation of 80 μm for different Si atomic percentages in the films. The turn-on field was also found to vary from 16.19 to 3.61 V/μm for a fixed anode-sample separation of 80 μm with a variation of silicon atomic percentage in the films 0% to 19.3%. The turn-on field and approximate work function are calculated and we have tried to explain the emission mechanism there from. It was found that the turn-on field and effective emission barrier were reduced by Si incorporation than undoped DLC

Investigating the prevalence of queuine in Escherichia coli RNA via incorporation of the tritium-labeled precursor, preQ1

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Brooks, Allen F.; Vélez-Martínez, Carol S.; Hollis Showalter, H.D.; Garcia, George A.

2012-01-01

Highlights: ► Escherichia coli cells deficient in preQ 1 biosynthesis can utilize exogenous preQ 1 from growth media. ► Exogenous radiolabeled preQ 1 is incorporated into cellular RNA in both wild-type and preQ 1 deficient cells. ► Radiolabeled preQ 1 is incorporated into RNAs of differing sizes larger than tRNA. ► Analysis of isolated ribosomes shows that radiolabeled preQ 1 is incorporated into ribosomal RNA. ► The conclusion of this study is that queuine is incorporated into many other RNAs in addition to the known tRNAs. -- Abstract: There are over 100 modified bases that occur in RNA with the majority found in transfer RNA. It has been widely believed that the queuine modification is limited to four transfer RNA species in vivo. However, given the vast amount of the human genome (60–70%) that is transcribed into non-coding RNA (Mattick ), probing the presence of modified bases in these RNAs is of fundamental importance. The mechanism of incorporation of queuine, via transglycosylation, makes this uniquely poised to probe base modification in RNA. Results of incubations of Escherichia coli cell cultures with [ 3 H] preQ 1 (a queuine precursor in eubacteria) clearly demonstrate preQ 1 incorporation into a number of RNA species of various sizes larger than transfer RNA. Specifically, significant levels of preQ 1 incorporation into ribosomal RNA are observed. The modification of other large RNAs was also observed. These results confirm that non-coding RNAs contain modified bases and lead to the supposition that these modifications are necessary to control non-coding RNA structure and function as has been shown for transfer RNA.

Radionuclides incorporated by inhabitants of surrounding Brazilian uranium mines

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Guimaraes, Viviane S.; Brasil, Icaro M.; Attie, Marcia R.P.; Souza, Susana O. [Universidade Federal de Sergipe (UFS), Sao Cristovao, SE (Brazil). Dept. de Fisica; Campos, Simara S. [Universidade Estadual do Sudoeste da Bahia (UESB), Itapetinga, BA (Brazil). Dept. de Estudos Basico e Instrumental; Gennari, Roseli F. [Universidade de Sao Paulo (IF/USP), SP (Brazil). Inst. de Fisica. Dept. de Fisica Nuclear

2012-07-01

Full text: Brazil has the 6th largest global geological reserve of uranium, with the main reserve in Santa Quiteria - CE still not under exploration. Currently, uranium mining and processing in Brazil only occur near to the city of Caetite - BA. Several Non-Governmental Organizations claim that uranium mining in this region is polluting and may jeopardize the human health and safety and the environment. However, those in charge of the complex extraction and production of 'yellow cake' for generating fuel to the nuclear power plants reject these allegations. U-238 may be deposited in the skeleton by replacing the calcium, thus it is possible to estimate its incorporation by determining its concentration in the teeth. This study aimed to identify potential problems caused by mining to the population of Caetite, analyzing U-238 contained in samples of teeth extracted for orthodontic reasons from Caetite residents. The concentration of thorium and potassium incorporated were also determined by ICP-MS, as well the cumulative dose of radiation received by this population was estimated. For comparison sake, the same analysis was performed in samples from Santa Quiteria and Aracaju - SE (used as a control area). The doses estimated were compared to doses obtained with EPR spectra of the same samples. The accumulated amount of radioisotopes in the teeth of the population of Caetite is probably due to natural origin, thus it is not possible to state that the mining process in Caetite increases pollution or radiation exposure in a meaningful way. (author)

Synthesis and characterization of Au incorporated Alq3 nanowires

Science.gov (United States)

Khan, Mohammad Bilal; Ahmad, Sultan; Parwaz, M.; Rahul, Khan, Zishan H.

2018-05-01

We report the synthesis and characterization of pure and Au incorporated Alq3 nanowires. These nanowires are synthesized using thermal vapor transport method. The luminescence intensity of Au incorporated Alq3 nanowires are recorded to be higher than that of pure Alq3 nanowires, which is found to increase with the increase in Au concentration. Fluorescence quenching is also observed when Au concentration is increased beyond the certain limit.

Development of nutritious snacks by incorporation of amaranth seeds, watermelon seeds and their flour

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Paul Virginia

2014-11-01

Full Text Available The present study was carried out with the objectives to find out the sensory acceptability, the nutrient content and cost of prepared products. The products prepared were “Biscuits”, “Mathri” and “Laddoo” by incorporation of amaranth seeds, watermelon seeds and their flour in different proportions (10:10, 20:10, and 30:10 served as treatments T1, T2 and T3 respectively T0, without incorporation of amaranth seeds, watermelon seeds and their flour served as control. The products were organoleptically evaluated by using Nine point Hedonic scale. The data obtained during study were analyzed statistically using analysis of variance and C.D techniques. The prepared products were analyzed for nutrient content using the standard method of AOAC (2005.It was concluded that in case of “Biscuits” and “Mathri” with incorporation level 20 percent amaranth seeds flour and 10 percent watermelon seeds flour scored highest while in case of “Laddoo” with incorporation level 20 percent amaranth seeds and 10 percent watermelon seeds scored highest, with regard to colour and appearance, body and texture, taste and flavour and over all acceptability, However all the treatments were found to be acceptable. It is therefore concluded that amaranth seeds and watermelon seeds can be suitably incorporated in various developed products. “Laddoo” had maximum carbohydrate (64.49g/100g, protein (13.59g/100g calcium (100.1mg/100g and iron (3.33mg/100g content. The content of Protein (14.46g/100g, carbohydrate (59.90 Calcium (59.90mg/100g, were increased as compared to control in “Biscuits”. “Mathri” was rich in Protein, Fat, carbohydrate and calcium content (11.10g/100g, 38.56g/100g, 38.83g/100g, and 53.95mg/100g. Cost of products on the basis raw ingredients per 100g ranged between Rs 6.33-12.45 for “Biscuits”, Rs 16.06-30.07, Rs 12.27-18.19 for “Mathri” and Rs.6.42-12.26 for “Laddoo”. On the basis of findings it is concluded

Physicochemical and Antioxidant Properties of Chitosan Films Incorporated with Cinnamon Oil

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Marco A. López-Mata

2015-01-01

Full Text Available Chitosan films (CF with cinnamon bark oil (CO incorporated at 0% (control, 0.25%, 0.5%, and 1.0% v/v were prepared by an emulsion method. The films were characterized based on their physical properties (solubility, water vapor permeability, optical property, and microstructure and antioxidant properties (DPPH, ABTS, and its protective effects on human erythrocytes. The results showed that the incorporation of 0.5 and 1.0% of CO into the CF significantly decreased its solubility to 22% of the control (p<0.05. The water vapor permeability of the CF-CO was significantly reduced to 40% with low concentrations of CO (0.25% incorporated into the CF. In general, the films presented a yellow coloration and an increase in transparency with the incorporation of CO into the CF. It was also observed that the incorporation of CO increased the antioxidant activity between 6.0-fold and 14.5-fold compared to the control, and the protective capacity against erythrocyte hemolysis increased by as much as 80%.

Application of aluminum slag incorporated in lightweigh aggregate

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Takahashi, Elisa Akiko Nakano

2006-01-01

The use of industrial waste materials as additives in the manufacture of ceramic product has been attracting a growing interest in the last few years and is becoming common practice. The main purpose of this work is to evaluate the possibility of incorporation of aluminum slag into clay materials. Expansive clays are obtained from a pyro plastic expansion, and are usually employed like lightweight aggregate in structural concrete as ornamental garden products. The characterization of the aluminum slag and clay materials was carried out by Xray fluorescence spectrometry, Xray diffraction, granulometry, differential thermal analysis, thermal gravimetry (DTA and TG) and scanning electron microscopy. The studied compositions contained 5, 10, 15 and 20 weight % of aluminum slag into clay mass. The linear expansion, mass variation, apparent specific mass and water absorption of all compositions were determined. Leaching and solubilization experiments were also performed. The main results show the viability of using up to 5 wt% aluminum slag for producing expansive clays with characteristics within the accepted standards. (author)

Semiconducting compounds and devices incorporating same

Science.gov (United States)

Marks, Tobin J.; Facchetti, Antonio; Boudreault, Pierre-Luc; Miyauchi, Hiroyuki

2016-01-19

Disclosed are molecular and polymeric compounds having desirable properties as semiconducting materials. Such compounds can exhibit desirable electronic properties and possess processing advantages including solution-processability and/or good stability. Organic transistor and photovoltaic devices incorporating the present compounds as the active layer exhibit good device performance.

THE INCORPORATION OF RADIOACTIVITY FROM GLYCINE-C$sup 14$ BY MAMMALIAN SPERMATOZOA

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Graves, C. N.

1962-05-15

The metabolic pathways of glycine incorporation were investigated by biochemical and radibautographic methods. Results show that glycine is utilized hy bovine spermatoza and is incorporated into all fractions of the sperm cell. Incorporation into the nucleic acid fraction and especially into thymine indicates that there is a turnover in the desoxyribenucleic acid during storage of bovine spermatoza. (C.H.)

Correlation between substrate bias, growth process and structural properties of phosphorus incorporated tetrahedral amorphous carbon films

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Liu Aiping; Zhu Jiaqi; Han Jiecai; Wu Huaping; Jia Zechun

2007-01-01

We investigate the growth process and structural properties of phosphorus incorporated tetrahedral amorphous carbon (ta-C:P) films which are deposited at different substrate biases by filtered cathodic vacuum arc technique with PH 3 as the dopant source. The films are characterized by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), atomic force microscopy, Raman spectroscopy, residual stress measurement, UV/VIS/NIR absorption spectroscopy and temperature-dependent conductivity measurement. The atomic fraction of phosphorus in the films as a function of substrate bias is obtained by XPS analysis. The optimum bias for phosphorus incorporation is about -80 V. Raman spectra show that the amorphous structures of all samples with atomic-scaled smooth surface are not remarkably changed when PH 3 is implanted, but some small graphitic crystallites are formed. Moreover, phosphorus impurities and higher-energetic impinging ions are favorable for the clustering of sp 2 sites dispersed in sp 3 skeleton and increase the level of structural ordering for ta-C:P films, which further releases the compressive stress and enhances the conductivity of the films. Our analysis establishes an interrelationship between microstructure, stress state, electrical properties, and substrate bias, which helps to understand the deposition mechanism of ta-C:P films

Controlled nitrogen incorporation in GaNSb alloys

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

M. J. Ashwin

2011-09-01

Full Text Available The incorporation of N in molecular-beam epitaxy of GaNxSb1−x alloys with x ⩽ 0.022 has been investigated as a function of temperature (325–400°C and growth rate 0.25–1.6 μmh−1. At fixed growth rate, the incorporated N fraction increases as the temperature is reduced until a maximum N content for the particular growth rate reached. At each temperature, there is a range of growth rates over which the N content is inversely proportional to the growth rate; the results are understood in terms of a kinetic model. The systematic growth rate- and temperature-dependence enables the N content and resulting band gap to be controlled.

Fluorine incorporation during Si solid phase epitaxy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Impellizzeri, G.; Mirabella, S.; Romano, L.; Napolitani, E.; Carnera, A.; Grimaldi, M.G.; Priolo, F.

2006-01-01

We have investigated the F incorporation and segregation in preamorphized Si during solid phase epitaxy (SPE) at different temperatures and for several implanted-F energies and fluences. The Si samples were amorphized to a depth of 550 nm by implanting Si at liquid nitrogen temperature and then enriched with F at different energies (65-150 keV) and fluences (0.07-5 x 10 14 F/cm 2 ). Subsequently, the samples were regrown by SPE at different temperatures: 580, 700 and 800 deg. C. We have found that the amount of F incorporated after SPE strongly depends on the SPE temperature and on the energy and fluence of the implanted-F, opening the possibility to tailor the F profile during SPE

Cesium-incorporated indium-tin-oxide films for use as a cathode with low work function for a transparent organic light-emitting device

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Uchida, Takayuki; Mimura, Toshifumi; Ohtsuka, Masao; Otomo, Toshio; Ide, Mieko; Shida, Azusa; Sawada, Yutaka

2006-01-01

Transparent organic light-emitting devices (TOLEDs) were successfully fabricated utilizing a novel transparent conducting cathode with low work function. Cesium-incorporated indium-tin-oxide film was deposited on the organic layers with negligible damage by simultaneous operation of RF magnetron sputtering using an ITO target and vacuum evaporation of metallic cesium. Incorporation of cesium in the ITO film was confirmed by XPS analysis. The work function (4.3 eV) determined by photoelectron spectroscopy in air (PESA) was lower than that of 0.3-0.4-eV without cesium-incorporation and stable under the atmospheric environment. The electron injection efficiency of cesium-incorporated ITO cathode in the present transparent OLED fabricated was comparable to that of the previous double-layered structure comprising of ITO cathode and an organic buffer layer (BCP) doped by evaporation of cesium [T. Uchida, S. Kaneta, M. Ichihara, M. Ohtsuka, T. Otomo, D.R. Marx, Jpn. J. Appl. Phys., 44, No. 9 (2005) L282

Method Development for Efficient Incorporation of Unnatural Amino Acids

KAUST Repository

Harris, Paul D.

2014-04-01

The synthesis of proteins bearing unnatural amino acids has the potential to enhance and elucidate many processes in biochemistry and molecular biology. There are two primary methods for site specific unnatural amino acid incorporation, both of which use the cell’s native protein translating machinery: in vitro chemical acylation of suppressor tRNAs and the use of orthogonal amino acyl tRNA synthetases. Total chemical synthesis is theoretically possible, but current methods severely limit the maximum size of the product protein. In vivo orthogonal synthetase methods suffer from the high cost of the unnatural amino acid. In this thesis I sought to address this limitation by increasing cell density, first in shake flasks and then in a bioreactor in order to increase the yield of protein per amount of unnatural amino acid used. In a parallel project, I used the in vitro chemical acylation system to incorporate several unnatural amino acids, key among them the fluorophore BODIPYFL, with the aim of producing site specifically fluorescently labeled protein for single molecule FRET studies. I demonstrated successful incorporation of these amino acids into the trial protein GFP, although incorporation was not demonstrated in the final target, FEN1. This also served to confirm the effectiveness of a new procedure developed for chemical acylation.

Method Development for Efficient Incorporation of Unnatural Amino Acids

KAUST Repository

Harris, Paul D.

2014-01-01

The synthesis of proteins bearing unnatural amino acids has the potential to enhance and elucidate many processes in biochemistry and molecular biology. There are two primary methods for site specific unnatural amino acid incorporation, both of which use the cell’s native protein translating machinery: in vitro chemical acylation of suppressor tRNAs and the use of orthogonal amino acyl tRNA synthetases. Total chemical synthesis is theoretically possible, but current methods severely limit the maximum size of the product protein. In vivo orthogonal synthetase methods suffer from the high cost of the unnatural amino acid. In this thesis I sought to address this limitation by increasing cell density, first in shake flasks and then in a bioreactor in order to increase the yield of protein per amount of unnatural amino acid used. In a parallel project, I used the in vitro chemical acylation system to incorporate several unnatural amino acids, key among them the fluorophore BODIPYFL, with the aim of producing site specifically fluorescently labeled protein for single molecule FRET studies. I demonstrated successful incorporation of these amino acids into the trial protein GFP, although incorporation was not demonstrated in the final target, FEN1. This also served to confirm the effectiveness of a new procedure developed for chemical acylation.

Preparation and characterization of polyhedral oligomer silsesquioxane nanocomposites incorporated in epoxy resin; Elaboracao e caracterizacao de nanocompositos de oligomero poliedrico de silsesquioxano incorporados na resina epoxidica

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Longhi, Marielen; Zini, Lucas Pandolphi; Birriel, Eliena Jonko; Kunst, Sandra Raquel; Zattera, Ademir Jose, E-mail: marielen_longhi@hotmail.com [Universidade de Caxias do Sul (LPOL/UCS), RS (Brazil). Laboratorio de Polimeros; Pistor, Vinicius [Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS), Porto Alegre, RS (Brazil)

2015-07-01

The incorporation of nanofiller in thermosetting like epoxy resin as has been studied in order to modify its properties. In this research, nanocomposites were obtained by incorporating 5% by weight of three polyhedral oligomeric silsesquioxane (POSS) with different number of functionalization: Glicidilisobutil-POSS, Triglicidilisobutil- POSS and Glicicil POSS in an epoxy matrix by sonification process. The nanocomposites were characterized by analysis of X-ray diffraction (DRX), transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and thermogravimetric analysis (TGA). The DRX analysis showed the characteristic peak of POSS and TEM images showed that there is a difference in the dispersion of nanocages for the difference in the number of epoxy groups on the POSS. The incorporation of Glicidilisobutil-POSS showed a significant increase in the glass transition temperature (Tg) value, and also that the most effective from the viewpoint of the dispersion, on the other hand, the Glycidyl-POSS had a greater influence on the thermal stability demonstrating that the dispersion medium is an important characteristic to define the most desirable properties. (author)

Incorporation of metal nanoparticles into wood substrate and methods

Science.gov (United States)

Rector, Kirk D; Lucas, Marcel

2015-11-04

Metal nanoparticles were incorporated into wood. Ionic liquids were used to expand the wood cell wall structure for nanoparticle incorporation into the cell wall structure. Nanoparticles of elemental gold or silver were found to be effective surface enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) imaging contrast or sensing agents. Nanoparticles of elemental iron were found to be efficient microwave absorbers and caused localized heating for disrupting the integrity of the lignocellulosic matrix. Controls suggest that the localized heating around the iron nanoparticles reduces losses of cellulose in the form of water, volatiles and CO.sub.2. The ionic liquid is needed during the incorporation process at room temperature. The use of small amounts of ionic liquid combined with the absence of an ionic liquid purification step and a lower energy and water use are expected to reduce costs in an up-scaled pretreatment process.

The biokinetic of incorporates radionuclides; Die Biokinetik von inkorporierten Radionukliden

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Breustedt, Bastian [Karlsruher Institut fuer Technologie (KIT), Eggenstein-Leopoldshafen (Germany). Inst. fuer Strahlenforschung; Giussani, Augusto [Bundesamt fuer Strahlenschutz, Oberschleissheim (Germany). Arbeitsgruppe ' ' Externe und interne Dosimetrie, Biokinetik' '

2017-08-01

Incorporated radionuclides from nuclear accidents, fission product releases or nuclear medical administration are distributed in the human body in organs and tissue, absorbed 9or excreted. The interpretation of incorporation monitoring results and the estimation of the internal doses that cannot be measured directly need mathematical methods and the formulation of biokinetic models.

Bayesian Mediation Analysis

Science.gov (United States)

Yuan, Ying; MacKinnon, David P.

2009-01-01

In this article, we propose Bayesian analysis of mediation effects. Compared with conventional frequentist mediation analysis, the Bayesian approach has several advantages. First, it allows researchers to incorporate prior information into the mediation analysis, thus potentially improving the efficiency of estimates. Second, under the Bayesian…

Formulation of Bioadhesive Carbomer Gel Incorporating Drug ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

incorporated into carbomer gel and evaluated for drug release. Results: ... localized delivery system for the treatment inflammation and infection in periodontal pockets. ..... loaded with diclofenac sodium for intra- articular administration. J Drug ...

Improvement of the photocatalytic activity of magnetite by Mn-incorporation

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Carvalho, Hudson W.P., E-mail: hudsonwpc@yahoo.com.br; Hammer, Peter, E-mail: peter@iq.unesp.br; Pulcinelli, Sandra H., E-mail: sandrap@iq.unesp.br; Santilli, Celso V., E-mail: santilli@iq.unesp.br; Molina, Eduardo F., E-mail: efmolina@iq.unesp.br

2014-02-15

Highlights: • Efficiently methylene blue dye discoloration using an Mn doped magnetite catalyst. • Evidence for isomorphic substitution of Fe{sup 2+} by Mn{sup 2+} in the octahedral structure. • Mechanism of the enhanced photocatalysis induced by active Mn sites. • Importance of the Mn reaction rate constant and effective surface area. -- Abstract: Mn-incorporated Fe{sub 3}O{sub 4} photocatalysts were prepared by a simple co-precipitation method. Photocatalytic discoloration of Methylene Blue (MB) was used to evaluate the performance of these catalysts. The DSC results have shown that the insertion of Mn into Fe{sub 3}O{sub 4} lattice has increased converting Fe{sub 3}O{sub 4} to γ-Fe{sub 2}O{sub 3}. This is accompanied by a decrease of surface area and of crystallinity, as detected by XRD. The analysis of the chemical environment by XPS has shown that Mn{sup 2+} replaces Fe{sup 2+} preferentially in the octahedral sites while Mn{sup 3+} replaces Fe{sup 3+} of inverse spinel sites. The Mn-incorporated samples were significantly more efficient in MB discoloration assisted by UVA irradiation and H{sub 2}O{sub 2}. It was also found that ascorbic acid prevents H{sub 2}O{sub 2} decomposition, by scavenging preferentially ·OOH radicals produced at Mn sites. Finally, the results reported here can contribute for a better comprehension of the activity of composite catalysts and the design of efficient systems for discoloration of organic pollutants.

In vitro incorporation of the phage Phi29 connector complex

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Fu Chiyu; Prevelige, Peter E.

2009-01-01

The incorporation of the DNA packaging connector complex during lambdoid phage assembly in vivo is strictly controlled-one and only one of the twelve identical icosahedral vertices is differentiated by the inclusion of a portal or connector dodecamer. Proposed control mechanisms include obligate nucleation from a connector containing complex, addition of the connector as the final step during assembly, and a connector-mediated increase in the growth rate. The inability to recapitulate connector incorporation in vitro has made it difficult to obtain direct biochemical evidence in support of one model over another. Here we report the development an in vitro assembly system for the well characterized dsDNA phage Phi29 which results in the co-assembly of connector with capsid and scaffolding proteins to form procapsid-like particles (PLPs). Immuno-electron microscopy demonstrates the specific incorporation of connector vertex in PLPs. The connector protein increases both the yield and the rate of capsid assembly suggesting that the incorporation of the connector in Phi29 likely promotes nucleation of assembly.

Leachability of fired clay brick incorporating with sewage sludge waste

Science.gov (United States)

Kadir, Aeslina Abdul; Salim, Nurul Salhana Abdul; Sarani, Noor Amira; Rahmat, Nur Aqma Izurin; Abdullah, Mohd Mustafa Al Bakri

2017-09-01

Sewage sludge is sewerage from wastewater treatment plants that generates millions tons of sludge ever year. Regarding this activity, it causes lack management of waste which is harmful to the surrounding conditions. Therefore, this study is focuses on the incorporation of sewage sludge waste into fired clay brick to provide an option of disposal method, producing adequate quality of brick as well as limiting the heavy metal leachability to the environment. Sewage sludge brick (SSB) mixtures were incorporated with 0%, 1%, 5%, 10%, 20% and 30% of sewage sludge waste (SSW). Heavy metals of crushed SSB were determined by using Toxicity Characteristic Leaching Procedure (TCLP) according to Method 1311 of United State Environment Protection Agency (USEPA) standard. From the results obtained, up to 20% of SSW could be incorporated into fired clay brick and comply with the USEPA standard. Therefore, this study revealed that by incorporating SSW into fired clay brick it could be an alternative method to dispose the SSW and also could act as a replacement material for brick manufacturing with appropriate mix and design.

Incorporation of zinc into calcium silicate hydrates, Part I: formation of C-S-H(I) with C/S=2/3 and its isochemical counterpart gyrolite

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Stumm, Andreas; Garbev, Krassimir; Beuchle, Guenter; Black, Leon; Stemmermann, Peter; Nueesch, Rolf

2005-01-01

We have investigated the incorporation of zinc into both nanocrystalline and crystalline calcium silicate hydrates with starting C/S ratios of 2/3 (0.66). Zinc was added replacing calcium in the starting mixtures [Zn/(Zn+Ca)=0-1/4; 0-10 wt.% Zn], and the resultant phases were characterised using X-ray diffraction (XRD), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), differential thermal analysis-thermogravimetry (DTA-TG) and environmental scanning electron microscopy (ESEM). In both groups of samples, increasing zinc content led to gradual structural changes, until eventually a second phase was formed. Zinc was incorporated to similar limits in both sets of samples. The thermal stability of the structures increased to a certain zinc content, beyond which there was structural destabilisation. Zinc incorporation is possible up to ∼6 wt.%. Our observations strongly indicate similar zinc incorporation mechanisms in both sample series, namely incorporation of zinc into the interlayer of C-S-H(I) and the X-sheet of gyrolite for nanocrystalline and crystalline samples, respectively

Understanding the stability of Fe incorporation within Mn_3N_2(0 0 1) surfaces: An ab-initio study

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Guerrero-Sánchez, J.; Mandru, Andrada-Oana; Takeuchi, Noboru; Cocoletzi, Gregorio H.; Smith, Arthur R.

2016-01-01

Graphical abstract: - Highlights: • The Fe incorporation into inner layers of the Mn_3N_2 surfaces is stable in all range of chemical potential. • Displaced Mn atoms forming cluster-like structures induce the stability of incorporated Fe atoms. • Antiferromagnetic alignment in the [0 0 1] direction and in-plane Ferromagnetic Fe–Fe and Fe–Mn alignments are the same as in Mn_3N_2 bulk structure. • Incorporated Fe layers contribute to the metallic character of these surfaces. - Abstract: We present first principles spin-polarized calculations of the adsorption and incorporation of iron in the Mn_3N_2(0 0 1) surfaces. By means of a surface formation energy criterion, it is demonstrated that Fe incorporation is energetically stable for all studied surfaces. An Fe bilayer formation is achieved after Fe atoms displace Mn atoms in the sub-surface N-vacancy layers. An analysis of the magnetic coupling shows an antiferromagnetic alignment along the [0 0 1] direction as in the clean, ideal surfaces. Also, the in-plane magnetic coupling between Fe–Fe and Fe–Mn shows a ferromagnetic tendency, similar to the clean, ideally terminated surfaces. These results clearly indicate that Fe behaves like Mn when adsorbed into the Mn_3N_2 surface. Density of states calculations of the stable structures show a slight deviation from the antiferromagnetic-like behavior, with the most important contribution around the Fermi level coming from the Fe-d and Mn-d orbitals.

In Vivo and In Vitro Elution of Analgesics from Multilayered Poly(D,L-lactide-co-glycolide Nanofibers Incorporated Ureteral Stents

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Yi-Chia Lin

2018-01-01

Full Text Available We develop novel analgesic-eluting nanofiber-incorporated ureteral stents that offer sustained release of lidocaine and ketorolac for local drug delivery. Lidocaine and poly(D,L-lactide-co-glycolide (PLGA were dissolved in hexafluoroisopropanol and were electrospun into nonwoven nanofibers onto the surface of ureteral stents. This was followed by electrospinning of another layer of PLGA nanofibers containing ketorolac. Electrospun drug-loaded nanofibers were then characterized using scanning electron microscopy, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, and water contact angle analysis. In addition, the elution behavior characteristics of the analgesics, both in vivo and in vitro, from the nanofiber-incorporated stents were evaluated. Experimental results indicate that the analgesic-eluting ureteral stents could liberate high strengths of analgesics in vitro and in vivo for at least 50 and 30 days, respectively. The analgesic-eluting nanofiber-incorporated ureteral stents are potentially applicable for alleviating the discomfort associated with stent implant.

International network on incorporation of ageing effects into PSA

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kirchsteiger, C.; Patrik, M.

2006-01-01

This paper describes the background and status of a new International Network on ''Incorporating Ageing Effects into Probabilistic Safety Assessment''. The Joint Research Centre (JRC) of the European Commission organized in September 2004 the kickoff meeting of this Network at JRC's Institute for Energy in Petten, Netherlands, with the aims to open the APSA Network, to start discussion of ageing issues in relation to incorporating ageing effects into PSA tools and to come to consensus on objectives and work packages of the Network, taking into account the specific expectations of potential Network partners. The presentations and discussions at the meeting confirmed the main conclusion from the previously organized PSAM 7 pre-conference workshop on ''Incorporating PSA into Ageing Management'', Budapest, June 2004, namely that incorporating ageing effects into PSA seems to be more and more a hot topic particularly for risk assessment and ageing management of nuclear power plants operating at advanced age (more than 25-30 years) and for the purpose of plant life extension. However, it also appeared that, especially regarding the situation in Europe, at present there are several on-going feasibility or full studies in this area, but not yet a completed Ageing PSA leading to applications. The project's working method is a NETWORK of operators, industry, research, academia and consultants with an active interest in the area (physical networking via a series of workshops and virtual networking via the Internet). The resulting knowledge should help PSA developers and users to incorporate the effects of equipment ageing into current PSA tools and models, to identify and/or develop most effective corresponding methods, to focus on dominant ageing contributors and components and to promote the use of PSA for ageing management of Nuclear Power Plants. (orig.)

Incorporation of [h]leucine and [h]valine into protein of freshwater bacteria: field applications.

Science.gov (United States)

Jørgensen, N O

1992-11-01

Incorporation of leucine and valine into proteins of freshwater bacteria as a measure of bacterial production was tested in two eutrophic Danish lakes and was related to bacterial production measured by thymidine incorporation. In a depth profile (0 to 8 m) in Frederiksborg Castle Lake, incorporation of 100 nM leucine and valine gave similar rates of protein production. In terms of carbon, this production was about 50% lower than incorporation of 10 nM thymidine. In another depth profile in the same lake, incorporations of 10 nM valine and 100 nM leucine were identical, but differed from incorporations of 10 nM leucine and 100 nM valine. Bacterial carbon production calculated from incorporations of 10 nM thymidine and 10 nM leucine was similar, whereas 10 nM valine and 100 nM leucine and valine indicated an up to 2.4-fold-higher rate of carbon production. In a diel study in Lake Bagsvaerd, incorporation of 100 nM leucine and valine indicated a similar protein production, but the calculated carbon production was about 1.9-fold higher than the production based on uptake of 10 nM thymidine. Different diel changes in incorporation of the two amino acids and in incorporation of thymidine were observed. In both lakes, concentrations of naturally occurring leucine and valine were activity of a H isotope added at a concentration of 100 nM usually was diluted a maximum of 5%. Net assimilation of natural free amino acids in the lakes sustained 8 to 69% of the net bacterial carbon requirement, estimated from incorporation of leucine, valine, or thymidine. The present results indicate that incorporation of leucine and valine permits realistic measurements of bacterial production in freshwater environments.

77 FR 12284 - Access to Confidential Business Information; Protection Strategies Incorporated

Science.gov (United States)

2012-02-29

... Business Information; Protection Strategies Incorporated AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). ACTION: Notice. SUMMARY: EPA has authorized its contractor, Protection Strategies Incorporated (PSI) of... Business Information (CBI). DATES: Access to the confidential data occurred on or about February 16, 2012...

Stability evaluation of tocopheryl acetate and ascorbyl tetraisopalmitate in isolation and incorporated in cosmetic formulations using thermal analysis

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mariana Mandelli de Almeida

2010-03-01

Full Text Available In view of the increase in the number of cosmetic preparations containing antioxidant vitamins, chiefly, due to their action in preventing the process of skin aging, there is a need to develop pre-formulation studies and to validate analytical methods in order to obtain high quality products. Thus, the objective of this research was to evaluate and compare the thermal behavior of tocopheryl acetate and ascorbyl tetraisopalmitate as raw materials, and incorporated into a base cream. Thermogravimetry (TG / DTG and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC were used for this purpose. Both vitamins were found to be stable up to 250ºC. The base cream (placebo and the sample (base cream containing the vitamins presented different weight loss. Thermal analysis has shown itself to be an excellent tool for the characterization of these vitamins and can be used in routine analysis for quality control of this type of cosmetic formulation.Considerando o potencial antioxidante das vitaminas utilizadas em produtos cosméticos, seu uso na prevenção do processo de envelhecimento da pele e a necessidade de estudos de pré-formulação que garantam o desenvolvimento de cosméticos de qualidade, foi objetivo deste trabalho avaliar e comparar o comportamento térmico dos ativos acetato de tocoferila e tetraisopalmitato de ascorbila, matérias-primas, isoladamente e incorporados em creme base. As técnicas termogravimetria/termogravimetria derivada (TG/DTG e calorimetria exploratória diferencial (DSC foram utilizadas para tal finalidade. Verificou-se que as vitaminas mantiveram-se estáveis até a temperatura de, aproximadamente, 250 ºC, observando-se diferença na perda de massa entre o creme base e o creme base associado às vitaminas. Assim sendo, a análise térmica mostrou-se como excelente ferramenta para caracterização das vitaminas e do creme base, podendo ser empregada em análises de rotina no controle de qualidade deste tipo de formulação cosmética.

Determination of rumen microbial growth in vitro form 32P-labelled phosphate incorporation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nevel, C.J. Van; Demeyer, D.I.

1977-01-01

The extracellular phosphate pool in incubations of rumen fluid or washed cell suspensions of mixed rumen bacteria (WCS) was labelled with 32 P. From the constant extracellular phosphate pool specific activity and the amount of radioactivity incorporated during incubation, the amount of P incorporated in the microbial fraction was calculated. From the value for nitrogen: P determined in microbial matter, the amount of N incorporated was calculated as a measure of microbial growth. Incorporation of soluble non-protein-N in incubations devoid of substrate protein was 50 and 80% of the values obtained using isotope method for rumen fluid and WCS respectively. Incorporation of 32 P in P-containing microbial components (mainly nucleic acids) was compared with net synthesis of these components in incubations of WCS. When N incorporation, calculated from results obtained using isotope method in incubations with rumen fluid, was compared with the amount of carbohydrate substrate fermented and the type of fermentation, values between 18.3 and 44.6 g N incorporated kg of organic matter fermented were obtained. The use of isotopes for determination of rumen microbial growth in vitro is critically discussed. (author)

KRYPTON INCORPORATION IN SPUTTERED SILICON FILMS

NARCIS (Netherlands)

GREUTER, MJW; NIESEN, L; HAKVOORT, RA; DEROODE, J; VANVEEN, A; BERNTSEN, AJM; SLOOF, WG

1993-01-01

The incorporation of Kr in sputtered a-Si films has been investigated in a systematic way by varying the Kr to Si flux, yielding Kr concentrations up to 5 at %. Compositions were determined with X-ray microanalysis. A model has been applied to describe the composition of the growing film. The layers

A methodology to incorporate organizational factors into human reliability analysis

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Li Pengcheng; Chen Guohua; Zhang Li; Xiao Dongsheng

2010-01-01

A new holistic methodology for Human Reliability Analysis (HRA) is proposed to model the effects of the organizational factors on the human reliability. Firstly, a conceptual framework is built, which is used to analyze the causal relationships between the organizational factors and human reliability. Then, the inference model for Human Reliability Analysis is built by combining the conceptual framework with Bayesian networks, which is used to execute the causal inference and diagnostic inference of human reliability. Finally, a case example is presented to demonstrate the specific application of the proposed methodology. The results show that the proposed methodology of combining the conceptual model with Bayesian Networks can not only easily model the causal relationship between organizational factors and human reliability, but in a given context, people can quantitatively measure the human operational reliability, and identify the most likely root causes or the prioritization of root causes caused human error. (authors)

Impact of the Ga/In ratio on the N incorporation into (In,Ga)(As,N) quantum dots

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Gargallo-Caballero, R.; Guzman, A.; Ulloa, J. M.; Hierro, A. [Instituto de Sistemas Optoelectronicos y Microtecnologia (ISOM)-Departamento de Ingenieria Electronica, ETSI Telecomunicacion, Universidad Politecnica de Madrid, Ciudad Universitaria s/n, 28040 Madrid (Spain); Hopkinson, M. [Department of Electronic and Electrical Engineering, University of Sheffield, Sheffield S1 3JD (United Kingdom); Luna, E.; Trampert, A. [Paul Drude Institut fuer Festkoerperelektronik, Hausvogteiplatz 5-7, 10117 Berlin (Germany)

2012-04-15

In this work, we demonstrate the dependence of the nitrogen incorporation on the Ga/In content into (In,Ga)(As,N) quantum dots (QDs) grown on GaAs (100) by radio-frequency plasma assisted molecular beam epitaxy (MBE). Morphological analysis by atomic force microscopy and cross-sectional transmission electron microscopy, together with an estimation of the transition thickness, monitored in situ during the growth, predict a maximum in the N incorporation for 30% Ga content. This result is confirmed by photoluminescence measurements of the as-grown and post-growth annealed samples. We attribute this behavior to a trade off between two mechanisms depending on the Ga/In content: one related to the stability of the Ga-N bond, and the other related to the surface strain and/or In segregation.

Increase of power and efficiency of the 900 MW supercritical power plant through incorporation of the ORC

Science.gov (United States)

Ziółkowski, Paweł; Mikielewicz, Dariusz; Mikielewicz, Jarosław

2013-12-01

The objective of the paper is to analyse thermodynamical and operational parameters of the supercritical power plant with reference conditions as well as following the introduction of the hybrid system incorporating ORC. In ORC the upper heat source is a stream of hot water from the system of heat recovery having temperature of 90 °C, which is additionally aided by heat from the bleeds of the steam turbine. Thermodynamical analysis of the supercritical plant with and without incorporation of ORC was accomplished using computational flow mechanics numerical codes. Investigated were six working fluids such as propane, isobutane, pentane, ethanol, R236ea and R245fa. In the course of calculations determined were primarily the increase of the unit power and efficiency for the reference case and that with the ORC.

Perturbation of N-linked oligosaccharide structure results in an altered incorporation of [3H]palmitate into specific proteins in Chinese hamster ovary cells

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wellner, R.B.; Ghosh, P.C.; Roecklein, B.; Wu, H.C.

1987-01-01

Increased [ 3 H]palmitate incorporation into specific cellular proteins has been reported to occur in Chinese hamster ovary and yeast mutant cells. In this paper we report studies concerning the relationship between N-linked oligosaccharide structure and [ 3 H]palmitate incorporation into proteins of Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cells. We have compared the incorporation of [ 3 H]palmitate into proteins of wild-type and four different mutant CHO cell lines defective in various steps of N-linked protein glycosylation. Sodium dodecyl sulfate-gel electrophoretic analysis showed that three of the mutants exhibited increased [ 3 H]palmitate incorporation into several CHO cellular proteins (approximately 30,000-38,000 molecular weight) as compared to the wild-type cells. One of the affected mutants which accumulates the Man5Gn2Asn intermediate structure was examined in detail. In agreement with earlier reports, virtually all of the [ 3 H] palmitate-labeled proteins of both wild-type and mutant cell lines are membrane-bound. Pretreatment of the mutant cell line with tunicamycin blocked the increased [ 3 H]palmitate incorporation into the two specific proteins (both of approximately 30,000 molecular weight) observed in untreated cells; the decreased incorporation of [ 3 H]palmitate into the 30,000 molecular weight species was accompanied by a concomitant increase in the incorporation of [ 3 H]palmitate into two proteins of approximately 20,000 molecular weight. Pretreatment of wild-type cells with tunicamycin also caused increased [ 3 H]palmitate incorporation into the 20,000 molecular weight species

Reconciled Rat and Human Metabolic Networks for Comparative Toxicogenomics and Biomarker Predictions

Science.gov (United States)

2017-02-08

reconstructions for comparative systems analysis. PLoS Comput. Biol. 7, e1001116 (2011). 26. Bartell, J. A., Yen, P., Varga, J. J., Goldberg , J. B. & Papin, J. A...Rat Genome Database 2015: genomic, phenotypic and environmental variations and disease. Nucleic Acids Res. 43, D743–D750 (2015). 34. NCBI Resource

Biosynthetic incorporation of telluromethionine into dihydrofolate reductase and crystallographic analysis of the distribution of tellurium atoms in the protein molecule

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kunkle, M.G.; Lewinski, K.; Boles, J.O.; Dunlap, R.B.; Odom, J.D.; Lebioda, L. [Univ. of South Carolina, Columbia, SC (United States)

1994-12-01

Recent successes in crystallographic studies of proteins with methionine (Met) residues replaced with SeMet, pioneered by Hendrickson and coworkers, inspired us to replace Met with TeMet in Escherichia coli dihydrofolate reductase (DHFR). E. coli DHFR, which catalyzes the NADPH-dependent reduction of dihydrofolate to tetrahydrofolate, consists of 159 residues, 5 of which are Met. TeMet was incorporated into DHFR using the Met auxotroph, E. coli DL41, carrying the expression vector pWT8 with an IPTG inducible promoter and ampicillin resistance gene. The enzyme was purified by successive chromatography on Q-Sepharose and PHenyl Sepharose resins, yielding milligram quantities of homogeneous enzyme with a specific activity of 40 units/mg. TeMet DHFR exhibits kinetic properties similar to those of wt DHFR. Amino acid analysis indicated 3 authentic Met residues in TeMet DHFR, whereas atomic absorption spectroscopy detected 2 Te per protein molecule. Amino acid sequence analysis results suggested that only authentic Met was present in the first three Met positions (1,16,and 20). Crystals of Te-DHFR were grown in the presence of methotrexate from PEG 4000 and were isomorphous with wt-DHFR crystals grown from ethanol. Difference Fourier maps and restrained least-squares refinement show very little, if any, Te in the first three Met positions: Met{sup 1}, Met{sup 16}, and Met{sup 20}, whereas the occupancy of Te in positions 42 and 92 is 0.64. Apparently, the process of folding, subsequent purification, and crystallization select DHFR molecules with Te in Met{sup 42} and Met{sup 92}. Replacing Met with TeMet provides an internal probe that should facilitate structural and mechanistic studies of proteins.

Revised mechanism of d-alanine incorporation into cell wall polymers in Gram-positive bacteria

Science.gov (United States)

Reichmann, Nathalie T.; Cassona, Carolina Picarra

2013-01-01

Teichoic acids (TAs) are important for growth, biofilm formation, adhesion and virulence of Gram-positive bacterial pathogens. The chemical structures of the TAs vary between bacteria, though they typically consist of zwitterionic polymers that are anchored to either the peptidoglycan layer as in the case of wall teichoic acid (WTA) or the cell membrane and named lipoteichoic acid (LTA). The polymers are modified with d-alanines and a lack of this decoration leads to increased susceptibility to cationic antimicrobial peptides. Four proteins, DltA–D, are essential for the incorporation of d-alanines into cell wall polymers and it has been established that DltA transfers d-alanines in the cytoplasm of the cell onto the carrier protein DltC. However, two conflicting models have been proposed for the remainder of the mechanism. Using a cellular protein localization and membrane topology analysis, we show here that DltC does not traverse the membrane and that DltD is anchored to the outside of the cell. These data are in agreement with the originally proposed model for d-alanine incorporation through a process that has been proposed to proceed via a d-alanine undecaprenyl phosphate membrane intermediate. Furthermore, we found that WTA isolated from a Staphylococcus aureus strain lacking LTA contains only a small amount of d-alanine, indicating that LTA has a role, either direct or indirect, in the efficient d-alanine incorporation into WTA in living cells. PMID:23858088

Incorporation of copper ions into crystals of T2 copper-depleted laccase from Botrytis aclada

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Osipov, E. M.; Polyakov, K. M.; Tikhonova, T. V.; Kittl, R.; Dorovatovskii, P.V.; Shleev, S. V.; Popov, V. O.; Ludwig, R.

2015-01-01

The restoration of the native form of laccase from B. aclada from the type 2 copper-depleted form of the enzyme was investigated. Copper ions were found to be incorporated into the active site after soaking the depleted enzyme in a Cu + -containing solution. Laccases belong to the class of multicopper oxidases catalyzing the oxidation of phenols accompanied by the reduction of molecular oxygen to water without the formation of hydrogen peroxide. The activity of laccases depends on the number of Cu atoms per enzyme molecule. The structure of type 2 copper-depleted laccase from Botrytis aclada has been solved previously. With the aim of obtaining the structure of the native form of the enzyme, crystals of the depleted laccase were soaked in Cu + - and Cu 2+ -containing solutions. Copper ions were found to be incorporated into the active site only when Cu + was used. A comparative analysis of the native and depleted forms of the enzymes was performed

Incorporation of unique molecular identifiers in TruSeq adapters improves the accuracy of quantitative sequencing.

Science.gov (United States)

Hong, Jungeui; Gresham, David

2017-11-01

Quantitative analysis of next-generation sequencing (NGS) data requires discriminating duplicate reads generated by PCR from identical molecules that are of unique origin. Typically, PCR duplicates are identified as sequence reads that align to the same genomic coordinates using reference-based alignment. However, identical molecules can be independently generated during library preparation. Misidentification of these molecules as PCR duplicates can introduce unforeseen biases during analyses. Here, we developed a cost-effective sequencing adapter design by modifying Illumina TruSeq adapters to incorporate a unique molecular identifier (UMI) while maintaining the capacity to undertake multiplexed, single-index sequencing. Incorporation of UMIs into TruSeq adapters (TrUMIseq adapters) enables identification of bona fide PCR duplicates as identically mapped reads with identical UMIs. Using TrUMIseq adapters, we show that accurate removal of PCR duplicates results in improved accuracy of both allele frequency (AF) estimation in heterogeneous populations using DNA sequencing and gene expression quantification using RNA-Seq.

Incorporation of europium III complex into nanoparticles and films obtained by the Sol-Gel methodology

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Faley Jean de Sousa

2010-03-01

Full Text Available The sol-gel process is very effective for the preparation of new materials with potential applications in optics, sensors, catalyst supports, coatings, and specialty inorganic polymers that can be used as hosts for the accommodation of organic molecules. The low temperature employed in the process is the main advantage of this methodology. In this work, the europium (III complex with 1,10-phenantroline was prepared, and this luminescent complex was incorporated into silica nanoparticles and films by the sol-gel process. The nanoparticles were obtained by the modified Stöber methodology. The films were obtained by the dip-coating technique, at different deposition rates and numbers of layers. The nanoparticles and films were characterized by photoluminescence, thermal analysis, and Raman and infrared spectroscopies. Characterization revealed that the europium (III complex was not affected upon incorporation into the nanoparticles and films, opening a new field for the application of these materials.

Depth profile investigation of the incorporated iron atoms during Kr{sup +} ion beam sputtering on Si (001)

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Khanbabaee, B., E-mail: khanbabaee@physik.uni-siegen.de [Solid State Physics, University of Siegen, D-57068 Siegen (Germany); Arezki, B.; Biermanns, A. [Solid State Physics, University of Siegen, D-57068 Siegen (Germany); Cornejo, M.; Hirsch, D. [Leibniz-Institut für Oberflächenmodifizierung e. V. (IOM), Permoserstraße 15, D-04318 Leipzig (Germany); Lützenkirchen-Hecht, D. [Abteilung Physik, Bergische Universität Wuppertal, D-42097 Wuppertal (Germany); Frost, F. [Leibniz-Institut für Oberflächenmodifizierung e. V. (IOM), Permoserstraße 15, D-04318 Leipzig (Germany); Pietsch, U. [Solid State Physics, University of Siegen, D-57068 Siegen (Germany)

2013-01-01

We investigate the incorporation of iron atoms during nano-patterning of Si surfaces induced by 2 keV Kr{sup +} ion beam erosion under an off-normal incidence angle of 15°. Considering the low penetration depth of the ions, we have used X-ray reflectivity (XRR) and X-ray absorption near edge spectroscopy (XANES) under grazing-incidence angles in order to determine the depth profile and phase composition of the incorporated iron atoms in the near surface region, complemented by secondary ion mass spectrometry and atomic force microscopy. XRR analysis shows the accumulation of metallic atoms within a near surface layer of a few nanometer thickness. We verify that surface pattern formation takes place only when the co-sputtered Fe concentration exceeds a certain limit. For high Fe concentration, the ripple formation is accompanied by the enhancement of Fe close to the surface, whereas no Fe enhancement is found for low Fe concentration at samples with smooth surfaces. Modeling of the measured XANES spectra reveals the appearance of different silicide phases with decreasing Fe content from the top towards the volume. - Highlights: ► We investigate the incorporation of iron atoms during nano-patterning of Si surfaces. ► Pattern formation occurs when the areal density of Fe exceeds a certain threshold. ► X-ray reflectivity shows a layering at near surface due to incorporated Fe atoms. ► It is shown that the patterning is accompanied with the appearance of Fe-rich silicide.

Influence of incorporated radionuclides on the life span of Drosophila melanogaster

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Koshel', N.M.; Vajserman, O.M.; Vojtenko, V.P.; Kutlakhmedov, Yu.O.; Mikhjejev, O.M.

2004-01-01

Influence of incorporated radionuclides ( 137 Cs and 90 Sr) on the life span of Drosophila melanogaster was studied. External irradiation modified the formation of cumulative dose of incorporated radionuclides. All influences leaded to significant (p 90 Sr was higher comparing to 137 Cs

29 CFR 1917.3 - Incorporation by reference.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-07-01

... incorporated by reference in this part, have the same force and effect as other standards in this part. Only... Administration (OSHA), or at the OSHA Docket Office, U.S. Department of Labor, 200 Constitution Avenue, NW., Room...

Measurement of the incorporation rates of four amino acids into proteins for estimating bacterial production.

Science.gov (United States)

Servais, P

1995-03-01

In aquatic ecosystems, [(3)H]thymidine incorporation into bacterial DNA and [(3)H]leucine incorporation into proteins are usually used to estimate bacterial production. The incorporation rates of four amino acids (leucine, tyrosine, lysine, alanine) into proteins of bacteria were measured in parallel on natural freshwater samples from the basin of the river Meuse (Belgium). Comparison of the incorporation into proteins and into the total macromolecular fraction showed that these different amino acids were incorporated at more than 90% into proteins. From incorporation measurements at four subsaturated concentrations (range, 2-77 nm), the maximum incorporation rates were determined. Strong correlations (r > 0.91 for all the calculated correlations) were found between the maximum incorporation rates of the different tested amino acids over a range of two orders of magnitude of bacterial activity. Bacterial production estimates were calculated using theoretical and experimental conversion factors. The productions calculated from the incorporation rates of the four amino acids were in good concordance, especially when the experimental conversion factors were used (slope range, 0.91-1.11, and r > 0.91). This study suggests that the incorporation of various amino acids into proteins can be used to estimate bacterial production.

DNA-incorporated 125I induces more than one double-strand break per decay in mammalian cells.

Science.gov (United States)

Elmroth, Kecke; Stenerlöw, Bo

2005-04-01

The Auger-electron emitter 125I releases cascades of 20 electrons per decay that deposit a great amount of local energy, and for DNA-incorporated 125I, approximately one DNA double-strand break (DSB) is produced close to the decay site. To investigate the potential of 125I to induce additional DSBs within adjacent chromatin structures in mammalian cells, we applied DNA fragment-size analysis based on pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) of hamster V79-379A cells exposed to DNA-incorporated 125IdU. After accumulation of decays at -70 degrees C in the presence of 10% DMSO, there was a non-random distribution of DNA fragments with an excess of fragments even higher. In contrast, using a conventional low-resolution assay without measurement of smaller DNA fragments, the yield was close to one DSB/decay. We conclude that a large fraction of the DSBs induced by DNA-incorporated 125I are nonrandomly distributed and that significantly more than one DSB/decay is induced in an intact cell. Thus, in addition to DSBs produced close to the decay site, DSBs may also be induced within neighboring chromatin fibers, releasing smaller DNA fragments that are not detected by conventional DSB assays.

Incorporating A Structured Writing Process into Existing CLS Curricula.

Science.gov (United States)

Honeycutt, Karen; Latshaw, Sandra

2014-01-01

Good communication and critical thinking are essential skills for all successful professionals, including Clinical Laboratory Science/Medical Laboratory Science (CLS/MLS) practitioners. Professional programs can incorporate writing assignments into their curricula to improve student written communication and critical thinking skills. Clearly defined, scenario-focused writing assignments provide student practice in clearly articulating responses to proposed problems or situations, researching and utilizing informational resources, and applying and synthesizing relevant information. Assessment rubrics, structured feedback, and revision writing methodologies help guide students through the writing process. This article describes how a CLS Program in a public academic medical center, located in the central United States (US) serving five centrally-located US states has incorporated writing intensive assignments into an existing 11-month academic year using formal, informal and reflective writing to improve student written communication and critical thinking skills. Faculty members and employers of graduates assert that incorporating writing intensive requirements have better prepared students for their professional role to effectively communicate and think critically.

Incorporating high-pressure electroosmotic pump and a nano-flow gradient generator into a miniaturized liquid chromatographic system for peptide analysis.

Science.gov (United States)

Chen, Apeng; Lynch, Kyle B; Wang, Xiaochun; Lu, Joann J; Gu, Congying; Liu, Shaorong

2014-09-24

We integrate a high-pressure electroosmotic pump (EOP), a nanoflow gradient generator, and a capillary column into a miniaturized liquid chromatographic system that can be directly coupled with a mass spectrometer for proteomic analysis. We have recently developed a low-cost high-pressure EOP capable of generating pressure of tens of thousands psi, ideal for uses in miniaturized HPLC. The pump worked smoothly when it was used for isocratic elutions. When it was used for gradient elutions, generating reproducible gradient profiles was challenging; because the pump rate fluctuated when the pump was used to pump high-content organic solvents. This presents an issue for separating proteins/peptides since high-content organic solvents are often utilized. In this work, we solve this problem by incorporating our high-pressure EOP with a nano-flow gradient generator so that the EOP needs only to pump an aqueous solution. With this combination, we develop a capillary-based nano-HPLC system capable of performing nano-flow gradient elution; the pump rate is stable, and the gradient profiles are reproducible and can be conveniently tuned. To demonstrate its utility, we couple it with either a UV absorbance detector or a mass spectrometer for peptide separations. Copyright © 2014. Published by Elsevier B.V.

Analysis of protein incorporation of radioactive isotopes in the Chinese hamster ovary cell cycle by electronic sorting and gel microelectrophoresis

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Pipkin, J.L.; Anson, J.F.; Hinson, W.G.; Schol, H.; Burns, E.R.; Casciano, D.A.

1986-03-01

The patterns of (3H)-leucine and (32P)-phosphate incorporation of proteins extracted with varying molarities of sodium chloride were analyzed from nuclei physically sorted from six fluorescence windows after propidium iodine staining of the G0 + G1 and G2 + M phases of the Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cell cycle. Eight hundred nanograms of protein were used in each electrophoretic analysis obtained from 200,000 nuclei, a portion of the sample, from each window. Autoradiography was performed in a two-dimensional polyacrylamide gel ultra-microelectrophoresis apparatus (UMEA) designed and fabricated in this laboratory. There was a net reduction and/or loss of (3H)-leucine- and (32P)-phosphate-labeled protein regions from the autoradiographs occurring primarily in the G2 + M phase. Two phosphorylated proteins that were stage specific were observed in partitions of the G2 + M phase. The use of isolated proteins and the coelectrophoresis of these markers demonstrated the similarity in mobility of a number of proteins seen in the autoradiographs of proteins extracted with high and low salt molarities and implied they are synonymous. Coelectrophoresis indicated that a substantial number of high molecular weight proteins that decreased or disappeared at late stages of G2 + M and early mitosis were composed, in part, of nucleolar proteins.

Preferable adsorption of phosphate using lanthanum-incorporated porous zeolite: Characteristics and mechanism

Science.gov (United States)

He, Yinhai; Lin, Hai; Dong, Yingbo; Wang, Liang

2017-12-01

The adsorbent, where lanthanum oxide was incorporated onto porous zeolite (La-Z), of preferable adsorption towards phosphate was prepared by hydrothermal synthesis. Based on pH effect results, La-Z would effectively sequestrate phosphate over wider pH range of 3.0-7.0, alkaline conditions were unfavorable for phosphate. The adsorption of phosphate was not significantly influenced by ionic strength and by coexisting anions of chloride, nitrate and sulfate but bicarbonate showed slightly greater negative effects, indicating La-Z possessed highly selectivity to phosphate. Adsorption of phosphate could be well fitted by pseudo-second-order model and the process was mainly controlled by intra-particle diffusion. Equilibrium adsorption demonstrated that Langmuir model was more suitable than Freundlich model for description phosphate adsorption and the adsorption capacity was 17.2 mg P g-1, which exhibited 95% utilization of incorporated La. Over 95% phosphate was eliminated in real effluent treatment when the dose was 2 g L-1. The underlying mechanism for phosphate capture was probed with Zeta potential and X-ray photoelectron spectroscope analysis, and the formation of La-P inner-sphere complexation was testified to be the dominant pathway. All the results suggested that the porous zeolite-supported lanthanum oxide can serve as a promising adsorbent for phosphate removal in realistic application.

Development and validation of a prognostic model incorporating texture analysis derived from standardised segmentation of PET in patients with oesophageal cancer

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Foley, Kieran G. [Cardiff University, Division of Cancer and Genetics, Cardiff (United Kingdom); Hills, Robert K. [Cardiff University, Haematology Clinical Trials Unit, Cardiff (United Kingdom); Berthon, Beatrice; Marshall, Christopher [Wales Research and Diagnostic PET Imaging Centre, Cardiff (United Kingdom); Parkinson, Craig; Spezi, Emiliano [Cardiff University, School of Engineering, Cardiff (United Kingdom); Lewis, Wyn G. [University Hospital of Wales, Department of Upper GI Surgery, Cardiff (United Kingdom); Crosby, Tom D.L. [Department of Oncology, Velindre Cancer Centre, Cardiff (United Kingdom); Roberts, Stuart Ashley [University Hospital of Wales, Department of Clinical Radiology, Cardiff (United Kingdom)

2018-01-15

This retrospective cohort study developed a prognostic model incorporating PET texture analysis in patients with oesophageal cancer (OC). Internal validation of the model was performed. Consecutive OC patients (n = 403) were chronologically separated into development (n = 302, September 2010-September 2014, median age = 67.0, males = 227, adenocarcinomas = 237) and validation cohorts (n = 101, September 2014-July 2015, median age = 69.0, males = 78, adenocarcinomas = 79). Texture metrics were obtained using a machine-learning algorithm for automatic PET segmentation. A Cox regression model including age, radiological stage, treatment and 16 texture metrics was developed. Patients were stratified into quartiles according to a prognostic score derived from the model. A p-value < 0.05 was considered statistically significant. Primary outcome was overall survival (OS). Six variables were significantly and independently associated with OS: age [HR =1.02 (95% CI 1.01-1.04), p < 0.001], radiological stage [1.49 (1.20-1.84), p < 0.001], treatment [0.34 (0.24-0.47), p < 0.001], log(TLG) [5.74 (1.44-22.83), p = 0.013], log(Histogram Energy) [0.27 (0.10-0.74), p = 0.011] and Histogram Kurtosis [1.22 (1.04-1.44), p = 0.017]. The prognostic score demonstrated significant differences in OS between quartiles in both the development (X{sup 2} 143.14, df 3, p < 0.001) and validation cohorts (X{sup 2} 20.621, df 3, p < 0.001). This prognostic model can risk stratify patients and demonstrates the additional benefit of PET texture analysis in OC staging. (orig.)

Direct incorporation of guanosine 5'-diphosphate into microtubules without guanosine 5'-triphosphate hydrolysis

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hamel, E.; Batra, J.K.; Lin, C.M.

1986-01-01

Using highly purified calf brain tubulin bearing [8- 14 C]guanosine 5'-diphosphate (GDP) in the exchangeable nucleotide site and heat-treated microtubule-associated proteins, the authors have found that a significant proportion of exchangeable-site GDP in microtubules can be incorporated directly during guanosine 5'-triphosphate (GTP) dependent polymerization of tubulin, without an initial exchange of GDP for GTP and subsequent GTP hydrolysis during assembly. The precise amount of GDP incorporated directly into microtubules is highly dependent on specific reaction conditions, being favored by high tubulin concentrations, low GTP and Mg 2+ concentrations, and exogenous GDP in the reaction mixture. Minimum effects were observed with changes in reaction pH or temperature, changes in concentration of microtubule-associated proteins, alteration of the sulfonate buffer, or the presence of a calcium chelator in the reaction mixture. Under conditions most favorable for direct GDP incorporation, about one-third of the GDP in microtubules is incorporated directly (without GTP hydrolysis) and two-thirds is incorporated hydrolytically (as a consequence of GTP hydrolysis). Direct incorporation of GDP occurs in a constant proportion throughout elongation, and the amount of direct incorporation probably reflects the rapid equilibration of GDP and GTP at the exchangeable site that occurs before the onset of assembly

The Value of Incorporating Emotional Intelligence Skills in the Education of Accounting Students

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Greg Jones

2009-06-01

Full Text Available The tasks and skills that are required of accounting practitioners in today’s global business environment havechanged significantly since the early 1990s. No longer are accounting practitioners required merely toundertake the tasks necessary for information provision, such as bookkeeping, data analysis and taxpreparation. Instead, they are now in a more encompassing position which has extended their roles intoinformation facilitation, thus repositioning accountants as knowledge professionals rather than accountingtechnicians. This in turn suggests a need for a greater emphasis on incorporating components of emotionalintelligence in accounting education. However, as accounting students are generally not aware of thisexpanded role, those who are attracted into accounting courses may not possess the appropriate aptitude thatwould provide a good foundation for developing the skills now required in the professional accountingenvironment. Therefore, it is important that the teaching of accounting should incorporate strategies thatenable students to understand and the need for developing these necessary, but often missing, competencies.This paper reports on two independent studies conducted at an Australian university which suggest thatincorporating emotional intelligence skills into the education of accounting students, by providing a variety oflearning environments and tasks, may be beneficial to accounting graduates as they seek employment.

Traffic analysis toolbox volume XI : weather and traffic analysis, modeling and simulation.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-12-01

This document presents a weather module for the traffic analysis tools program. It provides traffic engineers, transportation modelers and decisions makers with a guide that can incorporate weather impacts into transportation system analysis and mode...

Radwaste disposal by incorporation in matrix

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Curtiss, D.H.; Heacock, H.W.

1976-01-01

A process of safe disposal, handling, or storae of radwaste associated with nuclear power productin is described. A feature of the invention is to incorporate the radwaste in a hardenable, matrix-forming mass employing a cement-type binding agent to which alkali or alkaline-earth silicate is added, among other things, to increase liquid absorption. 9 claims

Static and Dynamic Mechanical Properties of Graphene Oxide-Incorporated Woven Carbon Fiber/Epoxy Composite

Science.gov (United States)

Adak, Nitai Chandra; Chhetri, Suman; Kim, Nam Hoon; Murmu, Naresh Chandra; Samanta, Pranab; Kuila, Tapas

2018-03-01

This study investigates the synergistic effects of graphene oxide (GO) on the woven carbon fiber (CF)-reinforced epoxy composites. The GO nanofiller was incorporated into the epoxy resin with variations in the content, and the CF/epoxy composites were manufactured using a vacuum-assisted resin transfer molding process and then cured at 70 and 120 °C. An analysis of the mechanical properties of the GO (0.2 wt.%)/CF/epoxy composites showed an improvement in the tensile strength, Young's modulus, toughness, flexural strength and flexural modulus by 34, 20, 83, 55 and 31%, respectively, when compared to the CF/epoxy composite. The dynamic mechanical analysis of the composites exhibited an enhancement of 56, 114 and 22% in the storage modulus, loss modulus and damping capacity (tan δ), respectively, at its glass transition temperature. The fiber-matrix interaction was studied using a Cole-Cole plot analysis.

Improved CO_2 adsorption capacity and cyclic stability of CaO sorbents incorporated with MgO

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Farah Diana Mohd Daud; Kumaravel Vignesh; Srimala Sreekantan; Abdul Rahman Mohamed

2016-01-01

Calcium oxide (CaO) sorbents incorporated with magnesium oxide (MgO) were synthesized using a co-precipitation route. The sorbents were prepared with different MgO concentrations (from 5 wt% to 30 wt%). The as-prepared sorbents were characterized using X-ray diffraction (XRD), field emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM), energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX) and BET surface area analysis techniques. The sintering effect of CaO sorbents was decreased after the incorporation of MgO. The sorbents with 5 wt% and 10 wt% of MgO retained their CO_2 adsorption capacity over multiple cycles. Most importantly, CaO with 10 wt% MgO showed constant CO_2 adsorption capacity over 30 carbonation cycles. The results revealed that CaO with 10 wt% MgO is sufficient to produce sorbents with high surface area, good structural stability and enhanced CO_2 adsorption capacity. (authors)

Heterovalent Dopant Incorporation for Bandgap and Type Engineering of Perovskite Crystals

KAUST Repository

Abdelhady, Ahmed L.

2016-01-02

Controllable doping of semiconductors is a fundamental technological requirement for electronic and optoelectronic devices. As intrinsic semiconductors, hybrid perovskites have so far been a phenomenal success in photovoltaics. The inability to dope these materials heterovalently (or aliovalently) has greatly limited their wider utilizations in electronics. Here we show an efficient in situ chemical route that achieves the controlled incorporation of trivalent cations (Bi3+, Au3+, or In3+) by exploiting the retrograde solubility behavior of perovskites. We term the new method dopant incorporation in the retrograde regime. We achieve Bi3+ incorporation that leads to bandgap tuning (∼300 meV), 104 fold enhancement in electrical conductivity, and a change in the sign of majority charge carriers from positive to negative. This work demonstrates the successful incorporation of dopants into perovskite crystals while preserving the host lattice structure, opening new avenues to tailor the electronic and optoelectronic properties of this rapidly emerging class of solution-processed semiconductors. © 2016 American Chemical Society.

Heterovalent Dopant Incorporation for Bandgap and Type Engineering of Perovskite Crystals

KAUST Repository

Abdelhady, Ahmed L.; Saidaminov, Makhsud I.; Banavoth, Murali; Adinolfi, Valerio; Voznyy, Oleksandr; Katsiev, Khabiboulakh; Alarousu, Erkki; Comin, Riccardo; Dursun, Ibrahim; Sinatra, Lutfan; Sargent, Edward H.; Mohammed, Omar F.; Bakr, Osman

2016-01-01

Controllable doping of semiconductors is a fundamental technological requirement for electronic and optoelectronic devices. As intrinsic semiconductors, hybrid perovskites have so far been a phenomenal success in photovoltaics. The inability to dope these materials heterovalently (or aliovalently) has greatly limited their wider utilizations in electronics. Here we show an efficient in situ chemical route that achieves the controlled incorporation of trivalent cations (Bi3+, Au3+, or In3+) by exploiting the retrograde solubility behavior of perovskites. We term the new method dopant incorporation in the retrograde regime. We achieve Bi3+ incorporation that leads to bandgap tuning (∼300 meV), 104 fold enhancement in electrical conductivity, and a change in the sign of majority charge carriers from positive to negative. This work demonstrates the successful incorporation of dopants into perovskite crystals while preserving the host lattice structure, opening new avenues to tailor the electronic and optoelectronic properties of this rapidly emerging class of solution-processed semiconductors. © 2016 American Chemical Society.

49 CFR 193.2013 - Incorporation by reference.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-10-01

... MATERIALS SAFETY ADMINISTRATION, DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION (CONTINUED) PIPELINE SAFETY LIQUEFIED NATURAL... incorporated materials are available for inspection in the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety... referenced material 49 CFR Reference A. American Gas Association (AGA): (1) “Purging Principles and Practices...

7 CFR 1755.901 - Incorporation by Reference.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-01-01

...”), incorporation by reference approved for § 1755.902(h). (e) The following Telecommunications Industry Association... AGRICULTURE TELECOMMUNICATIONS POLICIES ON SPECIFICATIONS, ACCEPTABLE MATERIALS, AND STANDARD CONTRACT FORMS... Performance Properties of Insulations and Jackets for Telecommunications Wire and Cable, approved March 10...

New method to incorporate Type B uncertainty into least-squares procedures in radionuclide metrology

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Han, Jubong; Lee, K.B.; Lee, Jong-Man; Park, Tae Soon; Oh, J.S.; Oh, Pil-Jei

2016-01-01

We discuss a new method to incorporate Type B uncertainty into least-squares procedures. The new method is based on an extension of the likelihood function from which a conventional least-squares function is derived. The extended likelihood function is the product of the original likelihood function with additional PDFs (Probability Density Functions) that characterize the Type B uncertainties. The PDFs are considered to describe one's incomplete knowledge on correction factors being called nuisance parameters. We use the extended likelihood function to make point and interval estimations of parameters in the basically same way as the least-squares function used in the conventional least-squares method is derived. Since the nuisance parameters are not of interest and should be prevented from appearing in the final result, we eliminate such nuisance parameters by using the profile likelihood. As an example, we present a case study for a linear regression analysis with a common component of Type B uncertainty. In this example we compare the analysis results obtained from using our procedure with those from conventional methods. - Highlights: • A new method proposed to incorporate Type B uncertainty into least-squares method. • The method constructed from the likelihood function and PDFs of Type B uncertainty. • A case study performed to compare results from the new and the conventional method. • Fitted parameters are consistent but with larger uncertainties in the new method.

Incorporation of low energy activated nitrogen onto HOPG surface: Chemical states and thermal stability studies by in-situ XPS and Raman spectroscopy

Science.gov (United States)

Chandran, Maneesh; Shasha, Michal; Michaelson, Shaul; Hoffman, Alon

2016-09-01

In this paper we report the chemical states analysis of activated nitrogen incorporated highly oriented pyrolytic graphite (HOPG) surface under well-controlled conditions. Nitrogen incorporation is carried out by two different processes: an indirect RF nitrogen plasma and low energy (1 keV) N2+ implantation. Bonding configuration, concentration and thermal stability of the incorporated nitrogen species by aforesaid processes are systematically compared by in-situ X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). Relatively large concentration of nitrogen is incorporated onto RF nitride HOPG surface (16.2 at.%), compared to N2+ implanted HOPG surface (7.7 at.%). The evolution of N 1s components (N1, N2, N3) with annealing temperature is comprehensively discussed, which indicates that the formation and reorganization of local chemical bonding states are determined by the process of nitridation and not by the prior chemical conditioning (i.e., amorphization or hydrogenation) of the HOPG surface. A combined XPS and Raman spectroscopy studies revealed that N2+ implantation process resulted in a high level of defects to the HOPG surface, which cannot be annealed-out by heat treatment up to 1000 °C. On the other hand, the RF nitrogen plasma process did not produce a high level of surface defects, while incorporating nearly the same amount of stable nitrogen species.

Replication of vertebrate mitochondrial DNA entails transient ribonucleotide incorporation throughout the lagging strand.

Science.gov (United States)

Yasukawa, Takehiro; Reyes, Aurelio; Cluett, Tricia J; Yang, Ming-Yao; Bowmaker, Mark; Jacobs, Howard T; Holt, Ian J

2006-11-15

Using two-dimensional agarose gel electrophoresis, we show that mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) replication of birds and mammals frequently entails ribonucleotide incorporation throughout the lagging strand (RITOLS). Based on a combination of two-dimensional agarose gel electrophoretic analysis and mapping of 5' ends of DNA, initiation of RITOLS replication occurs in the major non-coding region of vertebrate mtDNA and is effectively unidirectional. In some cases, conversion of nascent RNA strands to DNA starts at defined loci, the most prominent of which maps, in mammalian mtDNA, in the vicinity of the site known as the light-strand origin.

Incorporation monitoring during handling of medically used radionuclides; Inkorporationsueberwachung beim Umgang mit medizinisch genutzten Radionukliden

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Buchholz, Werner; Gerstmann, Udo [Bundesamt fuer Strahlenschutz, Oberschleissheim (Germany). FB Strahlenschutz und Gesundheit; Scholl, Clemens [Landesinstitut fuer Arbeitsgestaltung NRW, Duesseldorf (Germany). Inkorporationsmessstelle; Wanke, Carsten [Medizinische Hochschule Hannover (Germany). Strahlenschutz und Medizinische Physik

2017-08-01

The necessity of incorporation monitoring in nuclear medicine is dependent of the incorporation factor. For important applications, such as Tc-99m diagnostics and the radioiodine therapy specific measuring programs allow the determination of the incorporation factor. These factors are usually marginal so that a periodic monitoring is either not necessary or replaced by simple threshold measurements. Experiences of incorporation measuring stations show that incorporation might occur but does not induce significant doses.

Mg Incorporation Efficiency in Pulsed MOCVD of N-Polar GaN:Mg

Science.gov (United States)

Marini, Jonathan; Mahaboob, Isra; Hogan, Kasey; Novak, Steve; Bell, L. D.; Shahedipour-Sandvik, F.

2017-10-01

We report on the effect of growth polarity and pulsed or δ -doped growth mode on impurity incorporation in metalorganic chemical vapor deposition-grown GaN. In Ga-polar orientation, up to 12× enhancement in Mg concentration for given Mg flow rate is observed, resulting in enhanced p-type conductivity for these samples. In contrast, this enhancement effect is greatly diminished for N-polar samples, falling off with increasing Mg flow and showing maximum enhancement of 2.7× at 30 nmol/min Mg flow. At higher Mg flow rates, Mg incorporation at normal levels did not correspond to p-type conductivity, which may be due to Mg incorporation at nonacceptor sites. Concentrations of C, O, and Si were also investigated, revealing dependence on Mg flow in N-polar pulsed samples. Carbon incorporation was found to decrease with increasing Mg flow, and oxygen incorporation was found to remain high across varied Mg flow. These effects combine to result in N-polar samples that are not p-type when using the pulsed growth mode.

27 CFR 31.102 - Addition of partners or incorporation of partnership.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-04-01

... incorporation of partnership. 31.102 Section 31.102 Alcohol, Tobacco Products and Firearms ALCOHOL AND TOBACCO TAX AND TRADE BUREAU, DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY LIQUORS ALCOHOL BEVERAGE DEALERS Partnerships § 31.102 Addition of partners or incorporation of partnership. Where a number of persons who have filed a...

Emerging investigator series: As( v ) in magnetite: incorporation and redistribution

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Huhmann, Brittany L. [Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering; University of Iowa; Iowa City; USA; Neumann, Anke [School of Engineering; Newcastle University; Newcastle upon Tyne; UK; Boyanov, Maxim I. [Biosciences Division; Argonne National Laboratory; Argonne; USA; Institute of Chemical Engineering; Kemner, Kenneth M. [Biosciences Division; Argonne National Laboratory; Argonne; USA; Scherer, Michelle M. [Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering; University of Iowa; Iowa City; USA

2017-01-01

As coprecipitated with magnetite remained incorporated over time whereas sorbed As was redistributed and became increasingly incorporated into magnetite, both the absence and presence of aqueous Fe(ii).

Rationally evolving tRNAPyl for efficient incorporation of noncanonical amino acids.

Science.gov (United States)

Fan, Chenguang; Xiong, Hai; Reynolds, Noah M; Söll, Dieter

2015-12-15

Genetic encoding of noncanonical amino acids (ncAAs) into proteins is a powerful approach to study protein functions. Pyrrolysyl-tRNA synthetase (PylRS), a polyspecific aminoacyl-tRNA synthetase in wide use, has facilitated incorporation of a large number of different ncAAs into proteins to date. To make this process more efficient, we rationally evolved tRNA(Pyl) to create tRNA(Pyl-opt) with six nucleotide changes. This improved tRNA was tested as substrate for wild-type PylRS as well as three characterized PylRS variants (N(ϵ)-acetyllysyl-tRNA synthetase [AcKRS], 3-iodo-phenylalanyl-tRNA synthetase [IFRS], a broad specific PylRS variant [PylRS-AA]) to incorporate ncAAs at UAG codons in super-folder green fluorescence protein (sfGFP). tRNA(Pyl-opt) facilitated a 5-fold increase in AcK incorporation into two positions of sfGFP simultaneously. In addition, AcK incorporation into two target proteins (Escherichia coli malate dehydrogenase and human histone H3) caused homogenous acetylation at multiple lysine residues in high yield. Using tRNA(Pyl-opt) with PylRS and various PylRS variants facilitated efficient incorporation of six other ncAAs into sfGFP. Kinetic analyses revealed that the mutations in tRNA(Pyl-opt) had no significant effect on the catalytic efficiency and substrate binding of PylRS enzymes. Thus tRNA(Pyl-opt) should be an excellent replacement of wild-type tRNA(Pyl) for future ncAA incorporation by PylRS enzymes. © The Author(s) 2015. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Nucleic Acids Research.

Structural Modification in Carbon Nanotubes by Boron Incorporation

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Handuja Sangeeta

2009-01-01

Full Text Available Abstract We have synthesized boron-incorporated carbon nanotubes (CNTs by decomposition of ferrocene and xylene in a thermal chemical vapor deposition set up using boric acid as the boron source. Scanning and transmission electron microscopy studies of the synthesized CNT samples showed that there was deterioration in crystallinity and improvement in alignment of the CNTs as the boron content in precursor solution increased from 0% to 15%. Raman analysis of these samples showed a shift of ~7 cm−1in wave number to higher side and broadening of the G band with increasing boron concentration along with an increase in intensity of the G band. Furthermore, there was an increase in the intensity of the D band along with a decrease in its wave number position with increase in boron content. We speculate that these structural modifications in the morphology and microstructure of CNTs might be due to the charge transfer from boron to the graphite matrix, resulting in shortening of the carbon–carbon bonds.

A hybrid twin screw extrusion/electrospinning method to process nanoparticle-incorporated electrospun nanofibres

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Erisken, Cevat; Kalyon, Dilhan M; Wang Hongjun

2008-01-01

A new hybrid methodology that fully integrates the processing capabilities of the twin screw extrusion process (conveying solids, melting, dispersive and distributive mixing, pressurization, temperature profiling, devolatilization) with electrospinning is described. The hybrid process is especially suited to the dispersion of nanoparticles into polymeric binders and the generation of nanoparticle-incorporated fibres and nanofibres. The new technology base is demonstrated with the dispersion of β-tricalcium phosphate (β-TCP) nanoparticles into poly(ε-caprolactone) (PCL) to generate biodegradable non-woven meshes that can be targeted as scaffolds for tissue engineering applications. The new hybrid method yielded fibre diameters in the range of 200-2000 nm for both PCL and β-TCP/PCL (35% by weight) composite scaffolds. The degree of crystallinity of polycaprolactone meshes could be manipulated in the 35.1-41% range, using the voltage strength as a parameter. The electrospinning process, integrated with dispersive kneading disc elements, facilitated the decrease of the cluster sizes and allowed the continuous compounding of the nanoparticles into the biodegradable polymer prior to electrospinning. Thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) of the non-woven meshes validated the continuous incorporation of 35 ± 1.5% (by weight) β-TCP nanoparticles for a targeted concentration of 35%. Uniaxial tensile testing of the meshes with and without the nanoparticles indicated that the ultimate tensile strength at break of the meshes increased from 0.47 ± 0.04 to 0.79 ± 0.08 MPa upon the incorporation of the β-TCP nanoparticles. This demonstration study suggests that the new technology base is particularly suitable for the concomitant dispersion and electrospinning of nanoparticles in the generation of myriad types of functional nanofibres

In vivo incorporation of labeled fatty acids in rat liver lipids after oral administration

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Leyton, J.; Drury, P.J.; Crawford, M.A.

1987-01-01

Striking differences were found in the compartmentalization of fatty acids into liver lipid fractions. The saturated fatty acids--lauric, myristic, palmitic and stearic--were incorporated into phosphoglycerides at faster rates with increasing chain lengths, while triglyceride incorporation was almost uniform. The degree of incorporation of the unsaturated fatty acids into phosphoglycerides (structural) compared to triglyceride (storage and energy) was the converse of their oxidation rates. The incorporation of oleic, linoleic and alpha-linolenic acids was mainly into triglyceride, whereas dihomo-gamma-linolenic acid and arachidonic acid were preferentially incorporated into phosphoglycerides. The data suggest that distribution of each fatty acid is different depending on its destination for structural or energy function

Incorporation of T4 bacteriophage in electrospun fibres.

Science.gov (United States)

Korehei, R; Kadla, J

2013-05-01

Antibacterial food packaging materials, such as bacteriophage-activated electrospun fibrous mats, may address concerns triggered by waves of bacterial food contamination. To address this, we investigated several efficient methods for incorporating T4 bacteriophage into electrospun fibrous mats. The incorporation of T4 bacteriophage using simple suspension electrospinning led to more than five orders of magnitude decrease in bacteriophage activity. To better maintain bacteriophage viability, emulsion electrospinning was developed where the T4 bacteriophage was pre-encapsulated in an alginate reservoir via an emulsification process and subsequently electrospun into fibres. This resulted in an increase in bacteriophage viability, but there was still two orders of magnitude drop in activity. Using a coaxial electrospinning process, full bacteriophage activity could be maintained. In this process, a core/shell fibre structure was formed with the T4 bacteriophage being directly incorporated into the fibre core. The core/shell fibre encapsulated bacteriophage exhibited full bacteriophage viability after storing for several weeks at +4°C. Coaxial electrospinning was shown to be capable of encapsulating bacteriophages with high loading capacity, high viability and long storage time. These results are significant in the context of controlling and preventing bacterial infections in perishable foods during storage. © 2013 The Society for Applied Microbiology.

Incorporating biological control into IPM decision making

Science.gov (United States)

Of the many ways biological control can be incorporated into Integrated Pest Management (IPM) programs, natural enemy thresholds are arguably most easily adopted by stakeholders. Integration of natural enemy thresholds into IPM programs requires ecological and cost/benefit crop production data, thr...

High-Strain Rate Failure Modeling Incorporating Shear Banding and Fracture

Science.gov (United States)

2017-11-22

High Strain Rate Failure Modeling Incorporating Shear Banding and Fracture The views, opinions and/or findings contained in this report are those of...SECURITY CLASSIFICATION OF: 1. REPORT DATE (DD-MM-YYYY) 4. TITLE AND SUBTITLE 13. SUPPLEMENTARY NOTES 12. DISTRIBUTION AVAILIBILITY STATEMENT 6. AUTHORS...Report as of 05-Dec-2017 Agreement Number: W911NF-13-1-0238 Organization: Columbia University Title: High Strain Rate Failure Modeling Incorporating

Biocompatibility of poly(lactic acid) with incorporated graphene-based materials

OpenAIRE

Pinto, Artur Moreira; Moreira, Susana Margarida Gomes; Gonçalves, Inês; Gama, F. M.; Mendes, Adélio; Magalhães, Fernão D.

2013-01-01

The incorporation of graphene-based materials has been shown to improve mechanical properties of poly(lactic acid) (PLA). In this work, PLA films and composite PLA films incorporating two graphene-based materials – graphene oxide (GO) and graphene nanoplatelets (GNP) – were prepared and characterized regarding not only biocompatibility, but also surface topography, chemistry and wettability. The presence of both fillers changed the films surface topography, increasing the roughness, and modif...

Tritiated thymidine incorporation and the growth of heterotrophic bacteria in warm core rings

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ducklow, H.W.; Hill, S.M.

1985-01-01

The time-course of the incorporation rate of [methyl- 3 H]thymidine ([ 3 H]TdR) was established during 6-12 h incubations of natural bacterial populations sampled from the surface layers of warm core Gulf Stream rings. Parallel estimates of changes in cell numbers were made in order to examine the relationships between TdR incorporation and population growth for oceanic bacterial populations. Their results indicate that a conversion factor of 4 x 10 18 cells produced per mole of [ 3 H]TdR incorporated yielded estimates of bacterial production which were within a factor of 2 or 3 of production estimates derived from changes in cell numbers in seawater cultures. The authors observed a significant, direct relationship between the initial rates of TdR incorporation per cell and specific growth rates and conclude that initial short term (15-45 min) assays of TdR incorporation are a valuable tool for studying bacterial production in oceanic waters. In most incubations, the rate of TdR incorporation increased more rapidly than did cell numbers. Very large conversion factor values were derived from these data. The discrepancy between growth determined from TdR incorporation rates and total bacterial numbers in seawater cultures has not been observed in previous studies of coastal, estuarine, or lacustrine bacteria, but was a consistent feature of our studies on oceanic populations

Development and electrochemical characterization of Ni‐P coated tungsten incorporated electroless nickel coatings

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Shibli, S.M.A., E-mail: smashibli@yahoo.com; Chinchu, K.S.

2016-08-01

Ni‐P-W alloy and composite coatings were prepared by incorporation of sodium tungstate/tungsten and Ni‐P coated tungsten into electroless nickel bath respectively. Good inter-particle interactions among the depositing elements i.e. Ni and P with the incorporating tungsten particles were achieved by means of pre-coated tungsten particle by electroless nickel covering prior to its addition into the electroless bath. The pre-coated tungsten particles got incorporated uniformly into the Ni-P matrix of the coating. The particles and the coatings were characterized at different stages by different techniques including X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and energy dispersive spectrometry (EDS). The electroless Ni-P coating incorporated with pre-coated tungsten exhibited considerably high hardness, thickness and deposition rate. The performance and corrosion resistance characteristics of the composite coating incorporated with the nickel coated tungsten were found to be superior over other conventional Ni-P-W ternary alloy coatings currently reported. - Highlights: • An amorphous Ni-P coating was effectively formed on tungsten particles. • Electroless ternary Ni-P-W composite coatings were successfully prepared. • Enhancement in the inter-particle interaction in the Ni-P composite matrix was achieved. • Efficient and uniform incorporation of the composite in the internal layer was evident. • The tungsten incorporated coating possessed effective barrier protection.

Modulating the size of ZnO nanorods on SiO2 substrates by incorporating reduced graphene oxide into the seed layer solution

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Tzu-Yi Yu

2017-06-01

Full Text Available In this research, reduced graphene oxide was incorporated into the ZnO seed layer to modulate the rod diameter of ZnO nanorods (NRs during solgel/hydrothermal growth. To characterize the reduced graphene oxide incorporated ZnO NRs, multiple material analysis techniques including field-emission scanning electron microscopy, surface contact angle measurements, X-ray diffraction, and photoluminescence were used to explore distinct properties of these size modulatable NRs. Results indicate ZnO NRs with smaller diameters could be observed with more reduced graphene oxide added into the ZnO seed layer. Furthermore, better crystallinity, higher hydrophobicity and lower defect concentration could be obtained with more amount of reduced graphene oxide added into the ZnO seed layer. The modulatable reduced graphene oxide-incorporated ZnO NRs growth is promising for future ZnO NRs based nanodevice applications.

Minority Political Incorporation and Policy Outcomes in U.S. School Districts

Science.gov (United States)

Leon, Ana L.

2017-01-01

This study examines if gains in ethnic political representation and incorporation on local school boards result in policy responsiveness, as well as improved student achievement in a way that benefits minorities. By applying the political incorporation framework developed by Browning, Marshall, and Tabb (1984) to the education policy arena, gains…

Emissive sensors and devices incorporating these sensors

Science.gov (United States)

Swager, Timothy M; Zhang, Shi-Wei

2013-02-05

The present invention generally relates to luminescent and/or optically absorbing compositions and/or precursors to those compositions, including solid films incorporating these compositions/precursors, exhibiting increased luminescent lifetimes, quantum yields, enhanced stabilities and/or amplified emissions. The present invention also relates to sensors and methods for sensing analytes through luminescent and/or optically absorbing properties of these compositions and/or precursors. Examples of analytes detectable by the invention include electrophiles, alkylating agents, thionyl halides, and phosphate ester groups including phosphoryl halides, cyanides and thioates such as those found in certain chemical warfare agents. The present invention additionally relates to devices and methods for amplifying emissions, such as those produced using the above-described compositions and/or precursors, by incorporating the composition and/or precursor within a polymer having an energy migration pathway. In some cases, the compositions and/or precursors thereof include a compound capable of undergoing a cyclization reaction.

A Framework Incorporating Community Preferences in Use ...

Science.gov (United States)

The report is intended to assist water quality officials, watershed managers, members of stakeholder groups, and other interested individuals in fully evaluating ecological and socioeconomic objectives and the gains and losses that often are involved in use attainment decisions. In addition, this report enables local, state, and tribal managers to better understand the benefits, as well as the costs, of attaining high water quality, and to incorporate community preferences in decision-making. Specific objectives are (1) to provide an introduction to the CWA and WQS regulation and analyses related to setting or changing designated uses; (2) create a basis for understanding the relationship between use-attainment decisions and the effects on ecosystems, ecosystem services, and ecological benefits; (3) serve as reference for methods that elicit or infer preferences for benefits and costs related to attaining uses and (4) present process for incorporating new approaches in water quality decisions.

Synthesis of zinc sulfide nanoparticles and their incorporation into poly(hydroxybutyrate) matrix in the formation of a novel nanocomposite

Science.gov (United States)

Riaz, Shahina; Raza, Zulfiqar Ali; Majeed, Muhammad Irfan; Jan, Tariq

2018-05-01

In the present study, zinc sulfide (ZnS) nanoparticles (NPs) were successfully synthesized through a modified chemical precipitation protocol and then mediated into poly(hydroxybutyrate) (PHB) matrix to get ZnS/PHB nanocomposite. Mean diameter and zeta potential of ZnS NPs, as determined using dynamic light scattering technique (DLS), were observed to be 53 nm and ‑89 mV, respectively. The structural investigations performed using x-ray diffraction (XRD) technique depicted the phase purity of ZnS NPs exhibiting cubic crystal structure. Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopic analysis was conducted to identify the presence or absence of bonding vibrational modes on the surface of synthesized single phase ZnS NPs. The FTIR analysis confirmed the metal to sulphur bond formation by showing the characteristic band at 1123 cm‑1. The UV–vis absorption spectra of ZnS NPs confirmed the synthesis of particles in nanoscale regime showing a λ max of 302 nm. These NPs were then successfully incorporated into PHB matrix to synthesize ZnS/PHB nanocomposite. The synthesis of nanocomposite was confirmed by EDX analysis. The chemical bonding and structural properties of ZnS/PHB nanocomposite were determined by FTIR and XRD analysis, respectively. The FTIR analysis confirmed the synthesis of ZnS/PHB nanocomposite. Moreover, XRD analysis showed that structure of nanocomposite was completely controlled by ZnS NPs as pure PHB exhibited orthorhombic crystal structure while the nanocomposite demonstrated cubic crystal structure of ZnS. Thermal properties of nanocomposite were studied through thermogravimetric analysis revealing that the incorporation of ZnS NPs into PHB matrix lead to enhance heat resistance properties of PHB.

Hypericum perforatum incorporated chitosan films as potential bioactive wound dressing material.

Science.gov (United States)

Güneş, Seda; Tıhmınlıoğlu, Funda

2017-09-01

Recent studies in wound dressing applications offer new therapies and promote wound healing process. The aim of this study was to develop Hypericum perforatum (St John's Wort) oil incorporated chitosan films for wound dressing applications. H. perforatum oil as a potential therapeutic agent was encapsulated in chitosan film to achieve a better wound dressing material. Oil incorporated chitosan films were successfully prepared by solvent casting method in different oil concentrations (0.25-1.5%v/v). Water vapor permeability (WVP), mechanical test, swelling behavior and surface hydrophobicity were performed in order to characterize the prepared films. Antimicrobial test was performed by disc diffusion method and the growth inhibition effects of the films including different amount of H. perforatum oil were investigated on Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus. WVP increased with oil incorporation and the highest value was obtained for 0.25% oil concentration.The highest strain value was obtained in 0.25% oil content films although tensile stress decreased with increasing oil content. H. perforatum oil incorporated films had antimicrobial effect on both microorganisms. Chitosan based films had no cytotoxic effects on NIH3T3fibroblast cells and provided a good surface for cell attachment and proliferation. The results showed that the H. perforatum incorporated chitosan films seems to be a potential and novel biomaterial for wound healing applications. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Microfluidic platform for efficient Nanodisc assembly, membrane protein incorporation, and purification.

Science.gov (United States)

Wade, James H; Jones, Joshua D; Lenov, Ivan L; Riordan, Colleen M; Sligar, Stephen G; Bailey, Ryan C

2017-08-22

The characterization of integral membrane proteins presents numerous analytical challenges on account of their poor activity under non-native conditions, limited solubility in aqueous solutions, and low expression in most cell culture systems. Nanodiscs are synthetic model membrane constructs that offer many advantages for studying membrane protein function by offering a native-like phospholipid bilayer environment. The successful incorporation of membrane proteins within Nanodiscs requires experimental optimization of conditions. Standard protocols for Nanodisc formation can require large amounts of time and input material, limiting the facile screening of formation conditions. Capitalizing on the miniaturization and efficient mass transport inherent to microfluidics, we have developed a microfluidic platform for efficient Nanodisc assembly and purification, and demonstrated the ability to incorporate functional membrane proteins into the resulting Nanodiscs. In addition to working with reduced sample volumes, this platform simplifies membrane protein incorporation from a multi-stage protocol requiring several hours or days into a single platform that outputs purified Nanodiscs in less than one hour. To demonstrate the utility of this platform, we incorporated Cytochrome P450 into Nanodiscs of variable size and lipid composition, and present spectroscopic evidence for the functional active site of the membrane protein. This platform is a promising new tool for membrane protein biology and biochemistry that enables tremendous versatility for optimizing the incorporation of membrane proteins using microfluidic gradients to screen across diverse formation conditions.

Microstructural characterization of ceramic floor tiles with the incorporation of wastes from ceramic tile industries

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Carmeane Effting

2010-09-01

Full Text Available Ceramic floor tiles are widely used in buildings. In places where people are bare feet, the thermal sensation of cold or hot depends on the environmental conditions and material properties including its microstructure and crustiness surface. The introduction of the crustiness surface on the ceramic floor tiles interfere in the contact temperature and also it can be an strategy to obtain ceramic tiles more comfortable. In this work, porous ceramic tiles were obtained by pressing an industrial atomized ceramic powder incorporated with refractory raw material (residue from porcelainized stoneware tile polishing and changing firing temperature. Raw materials and obtained compacted samples were evaluated by chemical analysis, scanning electron microscopy (SEM, energy-dispersive spectrometry (EDS, thermogravimetric analysis (TGA, and differential thermal analysis (DTA. Thermal (thermal conductivity and effusivity and physical (porosity measurements were also evaluated.

The JPL Cost Risk Analysis Approach that Incorporates Engineering Realism

Science.gov (United States)

Harmon, Corey C.; Warfield, Keith R.; Rosenberg, Leigh S.

2006-01-01

This paper discusses the JPL Cost Engineering Group (CEG) cost risk analysis approach that accounts for all three types of cost risk. It will also describe the evaluation of historical cost data upon which this method is based. This investigation is essential in developing a method that is rooted in engineering realism and produces credible, dependable results to aid decision makers.

Green synthesis of Si-incorporated hydroxyapatite using sodium metasilicate as silicon precursor and in vitro antibiotic release studies.

Science.gov (United States)

Abinaya Sindu, P; Kolanthai, Elayaraja; Suganthi, R V; Thanigai Arul, K; Manikandan, E; Catalani, Luiz H; Narayana Kalkura, S

2017-10-01

The aim of the current study is to synthesize nanosized silicon incorporated HAp (Si-HAP) using sodium metasilicate as the silicon source. The sol-gel derived samples were further subjected to microwave irradiation. Incorporation of Si into HAp did not alter the HAp phase, as confirmed by the X-ray diffraction analysis (XRD). Moreover, variation in the lattice parameters of the Si-incorporated HAp indicates that Si is substituted into the HAp lattice. The decrease in the intensity of the peaks attributed to hydroxyl groups, which appeared in the FTIR and Raman spectra of Si-HAp, further confirms the Si substitution in HAp lattices. The silicon incorporation enhanced the nanorods length by 70%, when compared to that of pure HAp. Microwave irradiation improved the crystallinity of Si-HAp when compared to as-synthesized Si-HAp samples. As-synthesized Si-incorporated HAp sample showed an intense blue emission under UV excitation. Microwave irradiation reduced the intensity of blue emission and exhibited red shift due to the reduction of defects in the Si-HAp crystal. The morphological change from rod to spherical and ribbon-like forms was observed with an increase in silicon content. Further, Si-HAp exhibited better bioactivity and low dissolution rate. Initially there was a burst release of amoxicillin from all the samples, subsequently it followed a sustained release. The microwave-irradiated HAp showed extended period of sustained release than that of as-synthesized HAp and Si-HAp. Similarly, the microwave-irradiated Si-incorporated samples exhibited prolonged drug release, as compared to that of the as-synthesized samples. Hence, Si-HAp is rapidly synthesized by a simple and cost effective method without inducing any additional phases, as compared to the conventional sintering process. This study provides a new insight into the rapid green synthesis of Si-HAp. Si-HAp could emerge as a promising material for the bone tissue replacement and as a drug delivery system

Art. 70-71: Incorporation and making available of standard contract terms

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Loos, M.; Colombi Ciacchi, A.

2016-01-01

Incorporation of standard terms is a much-debated issue in almost all legal systems. Any legal instrument on contract law therefore must provide an answer as to when terms are incorporated – but answers may vary considerably from one legal system to the next. In this chapter the provisions of the –

Incorporation of iodine into calcium phosphates with apatitic structure

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Coulon, Antoine

2014-01-01

In order to avoid the release of 129 I (long-lived intermediate-level waste) in the environment, we describe a novel material incorporating iodine under the form of iodate in a calcium phosphate based hydroxyapatite. This material is prepared by two synthetic processes: a wet precipitation route followed by a spark plasma sintering and a cementitious route. A high iodine content (with a maximum incorporation rate of 10 wt.%) is reached for both processes, by incorporation of the iodate in the apatitic structure. A monolith with relative density of 88.6% was obtained after shaping of the precipitated powders by spark plasma sintering. This material reveals satisfactory leaching properties, with an initial leaching rate in pure water at 50 C of 10 -2 g.m -2 .j -1 , and a residual leaching rate at 50 C of 10 -5 g.m -2 .j -1 in underground water of potential geological repositories. All in all, this material is a potential candidate for the conditioning of radioactive iodine. (author) [fr

Optimum sizing of wind-battery systems incorporating resource uncertainty

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Roy, Anindita; Kedare, Shireesh B.; Bandyopadhyay, Santanu

2010-01-01

The inherent uncertainty of the wind is a major impediment for successful implementation of wind based power generation technology. A methodology has been proposed in this paper to incorporate wind speed uncertainty in sizing wind-battery system for isolated applications. The uncertainty associated with the wind speed is incorporated using chance constraint programming approach. For a pre-specified reliability requirement, a deterministic equivalent energy balance equation may be derived from the chance constraint that allows time series simulation of the entire system. This results in a generation of the entire set of feasible design options, satisfying different system level constraints, on a battery capacity vs. generator rating diagram, also known as the design space. The proposed methodology highlights the trade-offs between the wind turbine rating, rotor diameter and the battery size for a given reliability of power supply. The optimum configuration is chosen on the basis of the minimum cost of energy (US$/kWh). It is shown with the help of illustrative examples that the proposed methodology is generic and flexible to incorporate alternate sub-component models. (author)

MoO{sub 3} incorporation in magnesium aluminosilicate glasses

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Tan, Shengheng; Ojovan, Michael I.; Hyatt, Neil C.; Hand, Russell J.

2015-03-15

Molybdate has a very low solubility in silicate and borosilicate glass systems and its excess presence in nuclear waste glass can cause the formation of a readily soluble “yellow phase”. In this study, the incorporation of molybdenum oxide (MoO{sub 3}) in a magnesium aluminosilicate glass system has been investigated. The prepared glasses show a higher than 90% molybdenum retention rate and up to 5.34 mol% (12.28 wt%) MoO{sub 3} can be incorporated into these glasses without causing visible phase separation. The incorporation of MoO{sub 3} increases glass density, decreases glass transition and crystallisation temperatures and intensifies Raman bands assigned to vibrations of MoO{sub 4}{sup 2−} units. When excess molybdate is added liquid–liquid phase separation and crystallisation occurs. The separated phase is spherical, 200–400 nm in diameter and randomly dispersed. Based on powder X-ray diffraction, Raman spectroscopy and transmission electron microscopy, the separated phase is identified as MgMoO{sub 4}.

Detection of vitellogenin incorporation into zebrafish oocytes by FITC fluorescence

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Yokoi Hayato

2011-04-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Large volumes of lymph can be collected from the eye-sacs of bubble-eye goldfish. We attempted to induce vitellogenin (Vtg in the eye-sac lymph of bubble-eye goldfish and develop a method for visualizing Vtg incorporation by zebrafish oocytes using FITC-labeling. Methods Estrogen efficiently induced Vtg in the eye-sac lymph of goldfish. After FITC-labeled Vtg was prepared, it was injected into mature female zebrafish. Results Incorporation of FITC-labeled Vtg by zebrafish oocytes was detected in in vivo and in vitro experiments. The embryos obtained from zebrafish females injected with FITC-labeled Vtg emitted FITC fluorescence from the yolk sac and developed normally. Conclusion This method for achieving Vtg incorporation by zebrafish oocytes could be useful in experiments related to the development and endocrinology of zebrafish oocytes.

Technical Note: Effect of Incorporating Expanded Polystyrene ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Incorporating expanded polystyrene granules in concrete matrix can produce lightweight polystyrene aggregate concrete of various densities. Workability which is an important property of concrete, aects the rate of placement and the degree of compaction of concrete. Inadequate compaction leads to reduction in both ...

Phenomenological effets of tantalum incorporation into diamond films: Experimental and first principle studies

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ullah, Mahtab, E-mail: mahtabullah@bzu.edu.pk [Department of Physics, Bahauddin Zakariya University Multan (Pakistan); Rana, Anwar Manzoor; Ahmad, E. [Department of Physics, Bahauddin Zakariya University Multan (Pakistan); Raza, Rizwan [Department of Physics, COMSATS Institute of Information Technology, Lahore-54000 (Pakistan); Hussain, Fayyaz [Department of Physics, Bahauddin Zakariya University Multan (Pakistan); Hussain, Akhtar; Iqbal, Muhammad [Theoretical Physics Division, PINSTECH, P.O. Nilore, Islamabad (Pakistan)

2016-09-01

Graphical abstract: - Highlights: • Fabrication of tantalum incorporated diamonds films using HFCVD technique. • Decrease in resistivity by increasing tantalum content in diamond thin films. • Electronic structure calculations of tantalum incorporated diamonds films through VASP code. • A rise of bond length and bond angles by addition of tantalum in the diamond lattice. • Confirmation of decrease of resistivity by adding tantalum due to creation of impurity states in the bandgap. - Abstract: Tantalum (Ta) incorporated diamond films are synthesized on silicon substrate by chemical vapor deposition under gas mixture of CH{sub 4} + H{sub 2}. Characterizations of the resulting films indicate that morphology and resistivity of as-grown diamond films are significantly influenced by the process parameters and the amount of tantalum incorporated in the diamond films. XRD plots reveal that diamond films are composed of TaC along with diamond for higher concentration of tantalum and Ta{sub 2}C phases for lower concentration of tantalum. EDS spectra confirms the existence of tantalum in the diamond films. Resistivity measurements illustrate a sudden fall of about two orders of magnitude by the addition of tantalum in the diamond films. Band structure of Ta-incorporated diamond has been investigated based on density functional theory (DFT) using VASP code. Band structure calculations lead to the semiconducting behavior of Ta-incorporated diamond films because of the creation of defects states inside the band gap extending towards conduction band minimum. Present DFT results support experimental trend of resistivity that with the incorporation of tantalum into diamond lattice causes a decrease in the resistivity of diamond films so that tantalum-incorporated diamond films behave like a good semiconductor.

Increasing the fidelity of noncanonical amino acid incorporation in cell-free protein synthesis.

Science.gov (United States)

Gan, Qinglei; Fan, Chenguang

2017-11-01

Cell-free protein synthesis provides a robust platform for co-translational incorporation of noncanonical amino acid (ncAA) into proteins to facilitate biological studies and biotechnological applications. Recently, eliminating the activity of release factor 1 has been shown to increase ncAA incorporation in response to amber codons. However, this approach could promote mis-incorporation of canonical amino acids by near cognate suppression. We performed a facile protocol to remove near cognate tRNA isoacceptors of the amber codon from total tRNAs, and used the phosphoserine (Sep) incorporation system as validation. By manipulating codon usage of target genes and tRNA species introduced into the cell-free protein synthesis system, we increased the fidelity of Sep incorporation at a specific position. By removing three near cognate tRNA isoacceptors of the amber stop codon [tRNA Lys , tRNA Tyr , and tRNA Gln (CUG)] from the total tRNA, the near cognate suppression decreased by 5-fold without impairing normal protein synthesis in the cell-free protein synthesis system. Mass spectrometry analyses indicated that the fidelity of ncAA incorporation was improved. Removal of near cognate tRNA isoacceptors of the amber codon could increase ncAA incorporation fidelity towards the amber stop codon in release factor deficiency systems. We provide a general strategy to improve fidelity of ncAA incorporation towards stop, quadruplet and sense codons in cell-free protein synthesis systems. 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 © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

The effects of a self-esteem program incorporated into health and physical education classes.

Science.gov (United States)

Lai, Hsiang-Ru; Lu, Chang-Ming; Jwo, Jiunn-Chern; Lee, Pi-Hsia; Chou, Wei-Lun; Wen, Wan-Yu

2009-12-01

Self-esteem, a key construct of personality, influences thoughts, actions, and feelings. Adolescence is a critical stage to the development of self-esteem. Taiwan currently offers no self-esteem building curriculum in the public education system. Therefore, incorporating self-esteem-related teaching activities into the existing curriculum represents a feasible approach to enhance self-esteem in middle school students. This study aimed to explore the effects on junior high school students' self-esteem of a self-esteem program incorporated into the general health and physical education curriculum. A quasi-experimental research design was used, and 184 seventh-grade students at two junior high schools in Taipei City were randomly selected and separated into two groups. The experimental group received one 32-week self-esteem program incorporated into their regular health and physical education curriculum, which was administered in three 45-minute-session classes each week. The control group received the regular health and physical education with no specially designed elements. During the week before the intervention began and the week after its conclusion, each participant's global and academic, physical, social, and family self-esteem was assessed. Data were analyzed using analysis of covariance. For all participants, the experimental group was significantly superior to the control group in respect to physical self-esteem (p = .02). For girls, the experimental group was significantly superior to the control group in family self-esteem (p = .02). However, there was no significant difference between the two groups in terms of global self-esteem. This study provides preliminary evidence that incorporating self-esteem activities into the regular school health and physical education curriculum can result in minor effects in students' physical self-esteem and family self-esteem. Findings may provide teachers and school administrators with information to help them design

Incorporation of [U-14C] acetate into the lipids of scale insect, icerya purchasi maskell (Hemiptera: Margarodidae)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hashimoto, Akira; Kitaoka, Shozaburo.

1979-01-01

Incorporation of ( U- 14 C ) acetate into the lipids of scale insect Icerya purchasi was investigated. The insects were placed on a Parafilm membrane over a liquid food containing the labelled compound and allowed to suck up the liquid through the stylet piercing the membrane in the dark. The marker was incorporated into individual lipid classes, and after 1 hour of feeding the relative radioactivities of the classes were as follows: phospholipids gt (s)-3-acetyl-1,2-diacylglycerols (ADG) gt free fatty acids asymptotically equals diacylglycerols gt normal triacylglycerols (n-TG) gt monoacylglycerols. The ADG was fractionated into acetyl, diacyl and glyceryl moieties to determine the distribution of radioactivity within ADG. The acetyl moiety from the 3-position of sn-glycerol contained a higher percentage of radioactivity than any of other moieties. However, by feeding for 3 to 12 hours, the radioactivity was higher in the diacyl and glyceryl moieties, with marked decrease in the acetyl moiety. These results suggest that ADG is carrier of the acetyl group and a link in the formation of n-TG. Analysis of fatty acids in the lipids showed that the marker was also incorporated into the di-unsaturated acid fraction, which consisted almost entirely of linoleic acid suggesting the de novo synthesis of this fatty acid by the insect. In the experiment using ovipositing insects, the marker was found to be incorporated into the lipids in both the eggs and egg sacs, and also into the mother bodies indicating that the insects continue feeding even during the period of oviposition. (author)

Effect of sclerin on amino acid incorporation into mitochondria isolated from rat liver

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yamaguchi, Masanori; Satomura, Yukio

1975-01-01

Though sclerin (SCL) stimulated amino acid incorporation into the protein fraction of post mitochondrial supernatant of rat liver homogenate, it had no effect on the incorporation into the isolated mitochondria at pH 7.2, despite of its stimulating effect on mitochondrial oxidative phosphorylation. SCL stimulated amino acid incorporation into the mitochondria at pH 6.1, and to some extent maintained the activity on that in mitochondria during aging in hypotonic Tris-HCl buffer (pH 7.2). Since SCL prevented leakage of amino acids from the mitochondria into these buffers, it was suggested that SCL may protect a structure of mitochondrial membrane which appeared to have a significance on transport of amino acids. In liver slices, SCL stimulated amino acid incorporation only into the extra-mitochondrial fraction for the first 3 min, but gradually turned to simulate incorporation into mitochondria within 30 min. (auth.)

Effect of sclerin on amino acid incorporation into mitochondria isolated from rat liver

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Yamaguchi, M; Satomura, Y [Osaka City Univ. (Japan). Faculty of Science

1975-08-01

Though sclerin (SCL) stimulated amino acid incorporation into the protein fraction of post mitochondrial supernatant of rat liver homogenate, it had no effect on the incorporation into the isolated mitochondria at pH 7.2, despite of its stimulating effect on mitochondrial oxidative phosphorylation. SCL stimulated amino acid incorporation into the mitochondria at pH 6.1, and to some extent maintained the activity on that in mitochondria during aging in hypotonic Tris-HCl buffer (pH 7.2). Since SCL prevented leakage of amino acids from the mitochondria into these buffers, it was suggested that SCL may protect a structure of mitochondrial membrane which appeared to have a significance on transport of amino acids. In liver slices, SCL stimulated amino acid incorporation only into the extra-mitochondrial fraction for the first 3 min, but gradually turned to simulate incorporation into mitochondria within 30 min.

75 FR 56096 - Access to Confidential Business Information by Industrial Economics Incorporated

Science.gov (United States)

2010-09-15

... ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY [EPA-HQ-OPPT-2003-0004; FRL-8845-1] Access to Confidential Business Information by Industrial Economics Incorporated AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). ACTION: Notice. SUMMARY: EPA has authorized contractor, Industrial Economics Incorporated (IEI) of...

Nano-graphene oxide incorporated into PMMA resin to prevent microbial adhesion.

Science.gov (United States)

Lee, Jung-Hwan; Jo, Jeong-Ki; Kim, Dong-Ae; Patel, Kapil Dev; Kim, Hae-Won; Lee, Hae-Hyoung

2018-04-01

Although polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA) is widely used as a dental material, a major challenge of using this substance is its poor antimicrobial (anti-adhesion) effects, which increase oral infections. Here, graphene-oxide nanosheets (nGO) were incorporated into PMMA to introduce sustained antimicrobial-adhesive effects by increasing the hydrophilicity of PMMA. After characterizing nGO and nGO-incorporated PMMA (up to 2wt%) in terms of morphology and surface characteristics, 3-point flexural strength and hardness were evaluated. The anti-adhesive effects were determined for 4 different microbial species with experimental specimens and the underlying anti-adhesive mechanism was investigated by a non-thermal oxygen plasma treatment. Sustained antimicrobial-adhesive effects were characterized with incubation in artificial saliva for up to 28 days. The typical nanosheet morphology was observed for nGO. Incorporating nGO into PMMA roughened its surface and increased its hydrophilicity without compromising flexural strength or surface hardness. An anti-adhesive effect after 1h of exposure to microbial species in artificial saliva was observed in nGO-incorporated specimens, which accelerated with increasing levels of nGO without significant cytotoxicity to oral keratinocytes. Plasma treatment of native PMMA demonstrated that the antimicrobial-adhesive effects of nGO incorporation were at least partially due to increased hydrophilicity, not changes in the surface roughness. A sustained antimicrobial-adhesive property against Candida albicans was observed in 2% nGO for up to 28 days. The presence of sustained anti-adhesion properties in nGO-incorporated PMMA without loading any antimicrobial drugs suggests the potential usefulness of this compound as a promising antimicrobial dental material for dentures, orthodontic devices and provisional restorative materials. Copyright © 2018 The Academy of Dental Materials. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Incorporating stand level risk management options into forest decision support systems

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kyle Eyvindson

2018-01-01

Full Text Available Aim of study: To examine methods of incorporating risk and uncertainty to stand level forest decisions. Area of study: A case study examines a small forest holding from Jönköping, Sweden. Material and methods: We incorporate empirically estimated uncertainty into the simulation through a Monte Carlo approach when simulating the forest stands for the next 100 years. For the iterations of the Monte Carlo approach, errors were incorporated into the input data which was simulated according to the Heureka decision support system. Both the Value at Risk and the Conditional Value at Risk of the net present value are evaluated for each simulated stand. Main results: Visual representation of the errors can be used to highlight which decision would be most beneficial dependent on the decision maker’s opinion of the forest inventory results. At a stand level, risk preferences can be rather easily incorporated into the current forest decision support software. Research highlights: Forest management operates under uncertainty and risk. Methods are available to describe this risk in an understandable fashion for the decision maker.

Incorporation of plant materials in the control of root pathogens in muskmelon

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Andréa Mirne de Macêdo Dantas

2013-12-01

Full Text Available The effect of plant materials[Sunn Hemp (Crotalaria juncea, Castor Bean (Ricinus communis L., Cassava (Manihot esculenta Crantz and Neem (Azadirachta indica] and the times of incorporation of these materials in regards to the incidence of root rot in melon was evaluated in Ceará state, Brazil. The experiment was conducted in a commercial area with a history of root pathogens in cucurbitaceae. The randomized block design was used, in a 5 x 3 factorial arrangement with four repetitions. The treatments consisted of a combination of four plant materials (sunn hemp, castor beans, cassava and neem and a control with no soil incorporation of plant material and three times of incorporation (28, 21, and 14 days before the transplanting of the seedlings. Lower incidence of root rot was observed in practically all of the treatments where materials were incorporated at different times, with variation between the materials, corresponding with the time of incorporation, in relation to the soil without plant material. The pathogens isolated from the symptomatic muskmelon plants were Fusarium solani, Macrophomina phaseolina, Monosporascus cannonballus and Rhizoctonia solani, F. solani being encountered most frequently.

Infrared absorption study of hydrogen incorporation in thick nanocrystalline diamond films

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tang, C.J.; Neves, A.J.; Carmo, M.C.

2005-01-01

We present an infrared (IR) optical absorbance study of hydrogen incorporation in nanocrystalline diamond films. The thick nanocrystalline diamond films were synthesized by microwave plasma-assisted chemical vapor deposition and a high growth rate about 3.0 μm/h was achieved. The morphology, phase quality, and hydrogen incorporation were assessed by means of scanning electron microscopy, Raman spectroscopy, and Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). Large amount of hydrogen bonded to nanocrystalline diamond is clearly evidenced by the huge CH stretching band in the FTIR spectrum. The mechanism of hydrogen incorporation is discussed in light of the growth mechanism of nanocrystalline diamond. This suggests the potential of nanocrystalline diamond for IR electro-optical device applications

A methodology to incorporate life cycle analysis and the triple bottom line mechanism for sustainable management of industrial enterprises

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Ling; Lin, Li

2004-02-01

Since 1970"s, the environmental protection movement has challenged industries to increase their investment in Environmentally Conscious Manufacturing (ECM) techniques and management tools. Social considerations for global citizens and their descendants also motivated the examination on the complex issues of sustainable development beyond the immediate economic impact. Consequently, industrial enterprises have started to understand sustainable development in considering the Triple Bottom Line (TBL): economic prosperity, environmental quality and social justice. For the management, however, a lack of systematic ECM methodologies hinders their effort in planning, evaluating, reporting and auditing of sustainability. To address this critical need, this research develops a framework of a sustainable management system by incorporating a Life Cycle Analysis (LCA) of industrial operations with the TBL mechanism. A TBL metric system with seven sets of indices for the TBL elements and their complex relations is identified for the comprehensive evaluation of a company"s sustainability performance. Utilities of the TBL indices are estimated to represent the views of various stakeholders, including the company, investors, employees and the society at large. Costs of these indices are also captured to reflect the company"s effort in meeting the utilities. An optimization model is formulated to maximize the economic, environmental and social benefits by the company"s effort in developing sustainable strategies. To promote environmental and social consciousness, the methodology can significantly facilitate management decisions by its capabilities of including "non-business" values and external costs that the company has not contemplated before.

Anticancer Drug-Incorporated Layered Double Hydroxide Nanohybrids and Their Enhanced Anticancer Therapeutic Efficacy in Combination Cancer Treatment

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Tae-Hyun Kim

2014-01-01

Full Text Available Objective. Layered double hydroxide (LDH nanoparticles have been studied as cellular delivery carriers for anionic anticancer agents. As MTX and 5-FU are clinically utilized anticancer drugs in combination therapy, we aimed to enhance the therapeutic performance with the help of LDH nanoparticles. Method. Anticancer drugs, MTX and 5-FU, and their combination, were incorporated into LDH by reconstruction method. Simply, LDHs were thermally pretreated at 400°C, and then reacted with drug solution to simultaneously form drug-incorporated LDH. Thus prepared MTX/LDH (ML, 5-FU/LDH (FL, and (MTX + 5-FU/LDH (MFL nanohybrids were characterized by X-ray diffractometer, scanning electron microscopy, infrared spectroscopy, thermal analysis, zeta potential measurement, dynamic light scattering, and so forth. The nanohybrids were administrated to the human cervical adenocarcinoma, HeLa cells, in concentration-dependent manner, comparing with drug itself to verify the enhanced therapeutic efficacy. Conclusion. All the nanohybrids successfully accommodated intended drug molecules in their house-of-card-like structures during reconstruction reaction. It was found that the anticancer efficacy of MFL nanohybrid was higher than other nanohybrids, free drugs, or their mixtures, which means the multidrug-incorporated LDH nanohybrids could be potential drug delivery carriers for efficient cancer treatment via combination therapy.

Incorporating Engineering Design Challenges into STEM Courses

Science.gov (United States)

Householder, Daniel L., Ed.; Hailey, Christine E., Ed.

2012-01-01

Successful strategies for incorporating engineering design challenges into science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) courses in American high schools are presented in this paper. The developers have taken the position that engineering design experiences should be an important component of the high school education of all American…

A Market for Company Incorporations in the European Union?

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Birkmose, Hanne Søndergaard

2005-01-01

The article discuss the European market for company incorporation in light of the recent decisions of the European Court of Justice; Centros (1999 E.C.R. at I-1487), Überseering (2002 E.C.R. at I-9919) and Inspire Art (2003 E.C.R. at I-10155)......The article discuss the European market for company incorporation in light of the recent decisions of the European Court of Justice; Centros (1999 E.C.R. at I-1487), Überseering (2002 E.C.R. at I-9919) and Inspire Art (2003 E.C.R. at I-10155)...

From Unnatural Amino Acid Incorporation to Artificial Metalloenzymes

KAUST Repository

Makki, Arwa A.

2016-12-04

Studies and development of artificial metalloenzymes have developed into vibrant areas of research. It is expected that artificial metalloenzymes will be able to combine the best of enzymatic and homogenous catalysis, that is, a broad catalytic scope, high selectivity and activity under mild, aqueous conditions. Artificial metalloenzyme consist of a host protein and a newly introduced artificial metal center. The host protein merely functions as ligand controlling selectivity and augmenting reactivity, while the metal center determines the reactivity. Potential applications range from catalytic production of fine chemicals and feedstock to electron transfer utilization (e.g. fuel cells, water splitting) and medical research (e.g. metabolic screening). Particularly modern asymmetric synthesis is expected to benefit from a successful combination of the power of biocatalysis (substrate conversion via multi-step or cascade reactions, potentially immortal catalyst, unparalleled selectivity and optimization by evolutionary methods) with the versatility and mechanism based optimization methods of homogeneous catalysis. However, so far systems are either limited in structural diversity (biotin-avidin technology) or fail to deliver the selectivities expected (covalent approaches). This thesis explores a novel strategy based on the site-selective incorporation of unnatural, metal binding amino acids into a host protein. The unnatural amino acids can either serve directly as metal binding centers can be used as anchoring points for artificial metallo-cofactors. The identification expression, purification and modification of a suitable protein scaffolds is fundamental to successfully develop this field. Chapter 2 and 3 detail a rational approach leading to a highly engineered host protein. Starting with fluorescent proteins, which combine high thermal and pH stability, high expression yields, and fluorescence for ease of quantification and monitoring an efficient and fast

高校合併後圖書館的現狀分析及在學院管理模式下的應對舉措 Analysis on University Libraries after Colleges Incorporated and Its Impact of the New Management Model

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Li Guangdu

2004-09-01

Full Text Available 1992-2002年期間，我國共有700餘所普通和成人類的高校參加了這一期間的高校大合併，高校圖書館作為高校的重要資產也參加了這場合併與重組。本文根據相關資料簡要分析一下高校合併後的圖書館現狀及在高校學院管理模式下的應對舉措。During the period of 1992-2002, more than 700 colleges had been incorporated in China. At the same time, the university libraries also had been incorporated. This article is to analysis on the university libraries after colleges have been incorporated and what the university libraries ought to do under the mode of school management.

Bayesian Mediation Analysis

OpenAIRE

Yuan, Ying; MacKinnon, David P.

2009-01-01

This article proposes Bayesian analysis of mediation effects. Compared to conventional frequentist mediation analysis, the Bayesian approach has several advantages. First, it allows researchers to incorporate prior information into the mediation analysis, thus potentially improving the efficiency of estimates. Second, under the Bayesian mediation analysis, inference is straightforward and exact, which makes it appealing for studies with small samples. Third, the Bayesian approach is conceptua...

76 FR 69722 - Access to Confidential Business Information by Protection Strategies Incorporated

Science.gov (United States)

2011-11-09

... Business Information by Protection Strategies Incorporated AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA... Control Act (TSCA) confidential business information and to provide notice that this contract has been extended until December 31, 2011. Protection Strategies Incorporated (PSI) has been the owner of Eagle...

30 CFR 77.403-2 - Incorporation by reference.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-07-01

... MINES Safeguards for Mechanical Equipment § 77.403-2 Incorporation by reference. In accordance with 5 U..., Engineering and Research Center, Denver, Colorado. SAE documents are available from the Society of Automotive...

Incorporation of the time aspect into the liability-threshold model for case-control-family data

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Cederkvist, Luise; Holst, Klaus K.; Andersen, Klaus K.

2017-01-01

to estimates that are difficult to interpret and are potentially biased. We incorporate the time aspect into the liability-threshold model for case-control-family data following the same approach that has been applied in the twin setting. Thus, the data are considered as arising from a competing risks setting...... approach using simulation studies and apply it in the analysis of two Danish register-based case-control-family studies: one on cancer diagnosed in childhood and adolescence, and one on early-onset breast cancer....

Myeloperoxidase-catalyzed incorporation of amines into proteins: role of hypochlorous acid and dichloramines.

Science.gov (United States)

Thomas, E L; Jefferson, M M; Grisham, M B

1982-11-23

Myeloperoxidase-catalyzed oxidation of chloride (Cl-) to hypochlorous acid (HOCl) resulted in formation of mono- and dichloramine derivatives (RNHCl and RNCl2) of primary amines. The RNCl2 derivatives could undergo a reaction that resulted in incorporation of the R moiety into proteins. The probable mechanism was attack of RNCl2 or an intermediate formed in the decomposition of RNCl2 on histidine, tyrosine, and cystine residues and on lysine residues at high pH. Incorporation of radioactivity from labeled amines into stable, high molecular weight derivatives of proteins was measured by acid or acetone precipitation and by gel chromatography and electrophoresis. Whereas formation of RNCl2 was favored at low pH, the subsequent incorporation reaction was favored at high pH. Up to several hours were required for the maximum amount of incorporation, which was less than 10% of the label in RNCl2. For the amines tested, incorporation was in the order histamine greater than 1,2-diaminoethane greater than putrescine greater than taurine greater than lysine greater than glucosamine greater than leucine greater than methylamine. Initiation of the reaction required HOCl, and oxidized forms of bromide, iodide, or thiocyanate did not substitute. Inhibitors of incorporation fell into three classes. First, ammonia or amines competed with the labeled amine for reaction with HOCl, so that larger amounts of HOCl were required. Second, readily oxidized substances such as sulfhydryl or diketo compounds or thioethers (methionine) reduced RNCl2. Third, certain compounds competed with protein as the acceptor for the incorporation reaction. The amount required to block incorporation into protein depended on protein concentration. Among these inhibitors were imidazole compounds (histidine), phenols (tyrosine), and disulfides (glutathione disulfide, GSSG). Low yields of derivatives of histidine, tyrosine, and GSSG were detected by thin-layer chromatography. Acid-precipitable derivatives were

Incorporation of carbohydrate residues into peroxidase isoenzymes in horseradish roots.

Science.gov (United States)

Lew, J Y; Shannon, L M

1973-11-01

Sliced root tissue of the horseradish plant (Armoracia rusticana), when incubated with mannose-U-(14)C, incorporated radioactivity into peroxidase isoenzymes. Over 90% of the radioactivity in the highly purified peroxidase isoenzymes was present in the neutral sugar residues of the molecule, i.e. fucose, arabinose, xylose, mannose. When the root slices were incubated simultaneously with leucine-4,5-(3)H and mannose-U-(14)C, cycloheximide strongly inhibited leucine incorporation into the peptide portion of peroxidase isoenzymes but had little effect on the incorporation of (14)C into the neutral sugars. These results indicated that synthesis of the peptide portion of peroxidase was completed before the monosaccharide residues were attached to the molecule. This temporal relationship between the synthesis of protein and the attachment of carbohydrate residues in the plant glycoprotein, horseradish peroxidase, appears to be similar to that reported for glycoprotein biosynthesis in many mammalian systems.

Incorporating Level-2 PSA Feature of CONPAS into AIMS-PSA Software

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Han, Sang Hoon; Lim, Hogon; Ahn, Kwang Il

2014-01-01

CONPAS (CONtainment Performance Analysis System) utilizes a methodology to treat containment phenomena in detail like APET but in simple way. In mid 2000's, KAERI has developed very fast cut set generator FTREX and PC's OS (Operating system) has changed into Windows 95. Thus, KAERI has developed new Level-1 PSA software, called AIMS-PSA (Advanced Information Management System for PSA) to replace KIRAP. Recently, KAERI has been developing an integrated PSA platform, called OCEANS (On-line Consolidator and Evaluator of All mode risk for Nuclear System), for the risk assessment of all power modes and all hazards. CONPAS for Level-2 PSA was developed in 1990's using the Visual Basic 6.0 compiler which is not supported any more. It needs to be updated for the integrated PSA software framework. This paper describes a study to incorporate the features of CONPAS into AIMS-PSA. The basic idea is to follow the approach of CONPAS, but in the integrated way. Various approaches for Level-2 PSA have been used since WASH-1400. APET approach of NUREG-1150 study would be most comprehensive and complex methodology for containment event tree analysis. CONPAS is the Level-2 PSA software to utilize an approach to treat containment phenomena in detail like APET but in simple way. But, new Level-2 PSA software is required to develop more integrated PSA framework. A modified approach of CONPAS is developed and incorporated in AIMS-PSA software that can handle Level-1 and Level-2 PSA in the integrated way (from the viewpoint of event tree and fault tree). AIMS-PSA combines whole Level-2 PSA model to produce a One Top fault tree and to generate cut sets in the same way as Level-1 PSA. Quantification results of Level-2 PSA such as frequency for each STC can be calculated from the minimal cut sets

Ohio dentists' awareness and incorporation of the dental home concept.

Science.gov (United States)

Hammersmith, Kimberly J; Siegal, Mark D; Casamassimo, Paul S; Amini, Homa

2013-06-01

The authors measured the awareness of the dental home concept among pediatric dentists (PDs) and general practice dentists (GPs) in Ohio and determined whether they included dental home characteristics for children 5 years and younger into their practices. The authors sent a pretested 20-question survey to all Ohio PDs and to a random sample of approximately 20 percent of GPs in Ohio. The authors designed the survey to elicit information about dental home awareness and the extent to which dental home characteristics were incorporated into dental practices. More than 90 percent of both GPs and PDs incorporated or intended to incorporate into their dental practices the specific dental home characteristics mentioned in 20 of 41 items related to dental home characteristics. Of the respondents who did not already incorporate dental home characteristics into their practices, however, most did not intend to do so. Less than 50 percent of respondents in both groups responded positively to some items in the culturally effective group, and GPs were less likely than were PDs to provide a range of behavior management services and to provide treatment for patients with complex medical and dental treatment needs. PDs were more likely than were GPs to accept Ohio Medicaid (64 versus 33 percent). PDs were more likely than were GPs (78 versus 18 percent) to be familiar with the term "dental home." More recent dental school graduates were more familiar with the term. Most Ohio PDs' and GPs' practices included characteristics found in the definition of dental home, despite a general lack of concept awareness on the part of GPs. Research is needed to provide an evidence base for the dental home. Practical Implications. Once an evidence base is developed for the important aspects of the dental home and the definition is revised, efforts should be made to incorporate these aspects more broadly into dental practice.

Effectiveness of reinforcement incorporation and mechanical properties of composites produced from rheocast slurries

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Robert, M.H.; Galvao da Silveira Mussi, R. [Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, State Univ. of Campinas, Cidade Univ. (Brazil)

2002-07-01

The influence of compocasting variables (SiC size and %vol, additions of grain refiner and extra Mg) in the quality of A356+SiCp MMCs is investigated. In all conditions microstructures show Al-{alpha} with globular morphology with eutectic and SiC in interglobular regions. Results show tendency of agglomeration of thinner particles, jeopardising their incorporation and dispersion in the matrix; high quantities of SiC are not incorporated into rheocast slurries with refined globules, grain refinement decreases incorporation of bigger particles. Extra Mg does not influence incorporation. Best results are obtained for 15% vol of 30 {mu}m SiC added to grain refined matrix. Mechanical properties are poor when agglomeration of particles is present. (orig.)

40 CFR 432.5 - Incorporation by reference.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-07-01

... AND STANDARDS MEAT AND POULTRY PRODUCTS POINT SOURCE CATEGORY § 432.5 Incorporation by reference. (a... Federal Register. The material is available for purchase at the address in paragraph (b) of this section..., Washington, DC. (b) The following material is available for purchase from the National Technical Information...

Behaviour of high-strength concrete incorporating ground ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

of tests were carried out on concrete incorporating Ground Granulated Blast Furnace Slag (GGBFS) of “Mittal ... mechanical properties by using the existing materials on the local market and HSC ..... general shape of the curves whether at 28 days ... Figure.7. Residual compressive strength as a function of temperature.

A novel genotoxin-specific qPCR array based on the metabolically competent human HepaRG™ cell line as a rapid and reliable tool for improved in vitro hazard assessment.

Science.gov (United States)

Ates, Gamze; Mertens, Birgit; Heymans, Anja; Verschaeve, Luc; Milushev, Dimiter; Vanparys, Philippe; Roosens, Nancy H C; De Keersmaecker, Sigrid C J; Rogiers, Vera; Doktorova, Tatyana Y

2018-04-01

Although the value of the regulatory accepted batteries for in vitro genotoxicity testing is recognized, they result in a high number of false positives. This has a major impact on society and industries developing novel compounds for pharmaceutical, chemical, and consumer products, as afflicted compounds have to be (prematurely) abandoned or further tested on animals. Using the metabolically competent human HepaRG ™ cell line and toxicogenomics approaches, we have developed an upgraded, innovative, and proprietary gene classifier. This gene classifier is based on transcriptomic changes induced by 12 genotoxic and 12 non-genotoxic reference compounds tested at sub-cytotoxic concentrations, i.e., IC10 concentrations as determined by the 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT) assay. The resulting gene classifier was translated into an easy-to-handle qPCR array that, as shown by pathway analysis, covers several different cellular processes related to genotoxicity. To further assess the predictivity of the tool, a set of 5 known positive and 5 known negative test compounds for genotoxicity was evaluated. In addition, 2 compounds with debatable genotoxicity data were tested to explore how the qPCR array would classify these. With an accuracy of 100%, when equivocal results were considered positive, the results showed that combining HepaRG ™ cells with a genotoxin-specific qPCR array can improve (geno)toxicological hazard assessment. In addition, the developed qPCR array was able to provide additional information on compounds for which so far debatable genotoxicity data are available. The results indicate that the new in vitro tool can improve human safety assessment of chemicals in general by basing predictions on mechanistic toxicogenomics information.

Reducing the impurity incorporation from residual gas by ion bombardment during high vacuum magnetron sputtering

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rosen, Johanna; Widenkvist, Erika; Larsson, Karin; Kreissig, Ulrich; Mraz, Stanislav; Martinez, Carlos; Music, Denis; Schneider, J. M.

2006-01-01

The influence of ion energy on the hydrogen incorporation has been investigated for alumina thin films, deposited by reactive magnetron sputtering in an Ar/O 2 /H 2 O environment. Ar + with an average kinetic energy of ∼5 eV was determined to be the dominating species in the plasma. The films were analyzed with x-ray diffraction, x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, and elastic recoil detection analysis, demonstrating evidence for amorphous films with stoichiometric O/Al ratio. As the substrate bias potential was increased from -15 V (floating potential) to -100 V, the hydrogen content decreased by ∼70%, from 9.1 to 2.8 at. %. Based on ab initio calculations, these results may be understood by thermodynamic principles, where a supply of energy enables surface diffusion, H 2 formation, and desorption [Rosen et al., J. Phys.: Condens. Matter 17, L137 (2005)]. These findings are of importance for the understanding of the correlation between ion energy and film composition and also show a pathway to reduce impurity incorporation during film growth in a high vacuum ambient

Incorporating modern OpenGL into computer graphics education.

Science.gov (United States)

Reina, Guido; Muller, Thomas; Ertl, Thomas

2014-01-01

University of Stuttgart educators have updated three computer science courses to incorporate forward-compatible OpenGL. To help students, they developed an educational framework that abstracts some of modern OpenGL's difficult aspects.

Feasibility Analysis of Incorporating In-Vitro Toxicokinetic Data ...

Science.gov (United States)

The underlying principle of read-across is that biological activity is a function of physical and structural properties of chemicals. Analogs are typically identified on the basis of structural similarity and subsequently evaluated for their use in read-across on the basis of their bioavailability, reactivity and metabolic similarity. While the concept of similarity is the major tenet in grouping chemicals for read-across, a critical consideration is to evaluate if structural differences significantly impact toxicological activity. This is a key source of uncertainty in read-across predictions. We hypothesize that inclusion of toxicokinetic (TK) information will reduce the uncertainty in read-across predictions. TK information can help substantiate whether chemicals within a category have similar ADME properties and, hence, increase the likelihood of exhibiting similar toxicological properties. This current case study is part of a larger study aimed at performing a systematic assessment of the extent to which in-vitro TK data can obviate in-vivo TK data, while maintaining or increasing scientific confidence in read-across predictions. The analysis relied on a dataset of ~7k chemicals with predicted exposure data (chemical inventory), of which 819 chemicals had rat and/or human in-vitro TK data (analog inventory), and 33 chemicals had rat in-vivo TK data (target inventory). The set of chemicals with human in vitro TK data was investigated to determine whether str

Isotope incorporation in broad-snouted caimans (crocodilians

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Stephane Caut

2013-05-01

The trophic ecology and migration of vertebrate species have been increasingly studied using stable isotope analysis. However, this approach requires knowledge on how dietary isotopic values are reflected in consumers' tissues. To date, this information has only been obtained for a handful of ectotherms; in particular, little is known about crocodilians. In this study, diet-tissue discrimination factors (DTDFs and carbon and nitrogen stable isotope turnover rates were estimated for plasma, red blood cells (RBCs, and muscle obtained from broad-snouted caimans (Caiman latirostris. Individuals were fed two different control diets for 189 days. DTDFs for δ15N (Δ15N and δ13C (Δ13C ranged from −2.24‰ to 0.39‰ and from −0.52‰ to 1.06‰, respectively. Isotope turnover rates in tissues, expressed as half-lives, ranged from 11 to 71 days, with plasmaincorporation data should help inform future interpretations of isotopic values obtained in the field for this taxon.

75 FR 20265 - Airworthiness Directives; Liberty Aerospace Incorporated Model XL-2 Airplanes

Science.gov (United States)

2010-04-19

... Office, 1701 Columbia Avenue, College Park, Georgia 30337; telephone: (404) 474-5524; facsimile: (404... Airworthiness Directives; Liberty Aerospace Incorporated Model XL-2 Airplanes AGENCY: Federal Aviation...-08- 05, which applies to certain Liberty Aerospace Incorporated Model XL-2 airplanes. AD 2009-08-05...

Preparation and characterization of MWCNT nanofiller incorporated polymer composite for lithium battery applications

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Pradeepa, P.; Raj, S. Edwin; Selvakumar, K.; Sowmya, G.; Prabhu, M. Ramesh, E-mail: mkram83@gmail.com [School of Physics, Alagappa University, Karaikudi-630 003, Tamil Nadu (India)

2015-06-24

Poly (ethyl methacrylate) based polymer electrolyte films were prepared by solution casting technique incorporating multi-walled carbon nanotube (MWCNT) as filler and characterized using XRD and Ac impedance analysis. The electrical conductivity is increased with increasing filler concentration (upto 6wt %), which is attributed to the formation of charge transfer complexes. The maximum ionic conductivity value is found to be 1.171×10{sup −3} Scm{sup −1} at 303K for PEMA (19wt %) -LiClO{sub 4} (8wt %) -MWCNT (6wt %) -PC (67wt %) electrolyte system. The temperature dependent ionic conductivity plot seems to obey Vogel -Tamman-Fulcher relation.

Incorporating healthcare informatics into the strategic planning process in nursing education.

Science.gov (United States)

Sackett, Kay; Jones, Janice; Erdley, W Scott

2005-01-01

The purpose of this article is to describe the incorporation of healthcare informatics into the strategic planning process in nursing education. An exemplar from the University at Buffalo, the State University of New York School of Nursing, is interwoven throughout the article. The challenges and successes inherent in a paradigm shift embracing the multifaceted adoption of technology in higher education are illustrated. The paradigm shift that necessitated this change, the need for informatics standards and competencies identified by regulatory agencies and the relationship of the triad mission of the Academy which includes research, teaching and service are then elucidated. Information pertinent to the strategic planning process is described including the use of a strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats (SWOT) analysis to facilitate the integration of a healthcare informatics model into a nursing curriculum.

Uranium incorporation biokinetics in poultry bones as function of phytase doses

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Arruda-Neto, J.D.T.; Cestari, A.C.; Zamboni, C.B.; Saiki, M.; Nogueira, G.P.; Fonseca, L.E.C.; Manso-Guevara, M.V.; Deppman, A.; Likhachev, V.P.; Mesa, J.

2005-01-01

Neutron activation analysis has been used to study uranium incorporation in poultry bones as function of chow doped with: (a) uranium (20 ppm); (b) U-doped food (20 ppm) plus phytase (120 ppm) and (c) U-doped food (20 ppm) plus phytase (180 ppm). To investigate this situation experiments involving several groups of Cobb broilers was performed. Two animals per group were sacrificed weekly up to their adultness and uranium concentration in the tibia was measured. It was observed that the concentration of uranium (μg U/g bone) is decreasing all along the animal life spanning period of 14-42 days. This behavior suggests that the skeleton mass is growing faster than the corresponding accumulation of uranium. The administration of phytase seems not to alter this scenario. (author)

Cell-free unnatural amino acid incorporation with alternative energy systems and linear expression templates.

Science.gov (United States)

Shrestha, Prashanta; Smith, Mark Thomas; Bundy, Bradley Charles

2014-01-25

Site-specific incorporation of unnatural amino acids (uAAs) during protein synthesis expands the proteomic code through the addition of unique residue chemistry. This field provides a unique tool to improve pharmacokinetics, cancer treatments, vaccine development, proteomics and protein engineering. The limited ability to predict the characteristics of proteins with uAA-incorporation creates a need for a low-cost system with the potential for rapid screening. Escherichia coli-based cell-free protein synthesis is a compelling platform for uAA incorporation due to the open and accessible nature of the reaction environment. However, typical cell-free systems can be expensive due to the high cost of energizing reagents. By employing alternative energy sources, we reduce the cost of uAA-incorporation in CFPS by 55%. While alternative energy systems reduce cost, the time investment to develop gene libraries can remain cumbersome. Cell-free systems allow the direct use of PCR products known as linear expression templates, thus alleviating tedious plasmid library preparations steps. We report the specific costs of CFPS with uAA incorporation, demonstrate that LETs are suitable expression templates with uAA-incorporation, and consider the substantial reduction in labor intensity using LET-based expression for CFPS uAA incorporation. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Radiation sterelization of chicken dejections for their incorporation in animal feed

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Oularbi, S.; Nouani, A.

1992-09-01

Deshydrated chicken dejection obtained from chicken grown in battery were irradiated by using gamma rays and incorporated in the ovine and bovine food. Dejection presented a high content of nitrogen, and other minerals. Treatment done with a dose of 10kGy was biologically safe. Their incorporation in the ovine food allowed us to substitute the soybean by chicken dejection

Calculation of the activity incorporated in the therapy with I 131

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chica, L.G.; Puerta, J.A.

1998-01-01

By means of the product S(T--S). A-s-(T-e-). the absorbed dose to thyroid delivered by I-131 incorporated is calculated. Where S(T--S) is the absorbed dose in the thyroid per nuclear transformations (tn.) of I-131 localized in the thyroid and as a potential function of the mass is expressed. A-s-(T-e-) is the number of tn. of I-131 in the thyroid since the moment of the incorporation until the time T-e- (the effective middle time); to find A-s-(T-e-) to normal as different pathological conditions, the metabolic model of the iodo proposed by the ICRP is used. Of the expression of the doses, the incorporated activity, I-o- is obtained

Syntheses and characterization of liposome-incorporated adamantyl aminoguanidines.

Science.gov (United States)

Šekutor, Marina; Štimac, Adela; Mlinarić-Majerski, Kata; Frkanec, Ruža

2014-08-21

A series of mono and bis-aminoguanidinium adamantane derivatives has been synthesized and incorporated into liposomes. They combine two biomedically significant molecules, the adamantane moiety and the guanidinium group. The adamantane moiety possesses the membrane compatible features while the cationic guanidinium subunit was recognized as a favourable structural feature for binding to complementary molecules comprising phosphate groups. The liposome formulations of adamantyl aminoguanidines were characterized and it was shown that the entrapment efficiency of the examined compounds is significant. In addition, it was demonstrated that liposomes with incorporated adamantyl aminoguanidines effectively recognized the complementary liposomes via the phosphate group. These results indicate that adamantane derivatives bearing guanidinium groups might be versatile tools for biomedical application, from studies of molecular recognition processes to usage in drug formulation and cell targeting.

Microbial incorporation of nitrogen in stream detritus

Science.gov (United States)

Diane M. Sanzone; Jennifer L. Tank; Judy L. Meyer; Patrick J. Mulholland; Stuart E.G. Findlay

2001-01-01

We adapted the chloroform fumigation method to determine microbial nitrogen (N) and microbial incorporation of 15N on three common substrates [leaves, wood and fine benthic organic matter (FBOM)] in three forest streams. We compared microbial N and 15 content of samples collected during a 6-week15N-NH...

Incorporating groundwater flow into the WEPP model

Science.gov (United States)

William Elliot; Erin Brooks; Tim Link; Sue Miller

2010-01-01

The water erosion prediction project (WEPP) model is a physically-based hydrology and erosion model. In recent years, the hydrology prediction within the model has been improved for forest watershed modeling by incorporating shallow lateral flow into watershed runoff prediction. This has greatly improved WEPP's hydrologic performance on small watersheds with...

33 CFR 96.130 - Incorporation by reference.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-07-01

... (ISM) Code by Administrations, November 23, 1995—96.320, 96.440 Resolution A.739(18), Guidelines for.../code_of_federal_regulations/ibr_locations.html. (b) The material approved for incorporation by...), International Management Code for the Safe Operation of Ships and for Pollution Prevention, November 4, 1993—96...

Audit incorporating avoidability and appropriate intervention can ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Audit incorporating avoidability and appropriate intervention can significantly decrease perinatal mortality. H. R. G. Ward, G. R. Howarth, O. J. N. Jennings,. R. C. Pattinson .... 6 months) and seven interns. The study was .... maternity care notes study: a randomized control trial to assess the effects of giving expectant mothers ...

Preparation of gelatin films incorporated with tea polyphenol nanoparticles for enhancing controlled-release antioxidant properties.

Science.gov (United States)

Liu, Fei; Antoniou, John; Li, Yue; Yi, Jiang; Yokoyama, Wallace; Ma, Jianguo; Zhong, Fang

2015-04-22

Gelatin films incorporated with chitosan nanoparticles in various free/encapsulated tea polyphenol (TP) ratios were prepared in order to investigate the influence of different ratios on the physicochemical and antioxidant properties of films. The TP-containing nanoparticles were prepared by cross-linking chitosan hydrochloride (CSH) with sulfobutyl ether-β-cyclodextrin sodium (SBE-β-CD) at three different encapsulation efficiencies (EE; ∼50%, ∼80%, and ∼100%) of TP. The stability of TP-loaded nanoparticles was maintained during the film drying process from the analysis of free TP content in the redissolved film solutions. Composite films showed no significant difference in visual aspects, while the light transmittance (250-550 nm) was decreased with incorporation of TP. Nanoparticles appeared to be homogeneously dispersed within the film matrix by microstructure analysis (SEM and AFM). TP-loaded films had ferric reducing and DPPH radical scavenging power that corresponded to the EEs. Sunflower oil packaged in bags made of gelatin films embedded with nanoparticles of 80% EE showed the best oxidation inhibitory effect, followed by 100% EE, 50% EE, and free TP, over 6 weeks of storage. However, when the gelatin film was placed over the headspace and was not in contact with the oil, the free TP showed the best effect. The results indicate that sustained release of TP in the contacting surface can ensure the protective effects, which vary with free/encapsulated mass ratios, thus improving antioxidant activities instead of increasing the dosage.

Assessing Natural Isothiocyanate Air Emissions after Field Incorporation of Mustard Cover Crop

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Trott, Donna M.; LePage, Jane; Hebert, Vincent

2012-01-01

A regional air assessment was performed to characterize volatile natural isothiocyanate (NITC) compounds in air during soil incorporation of mustard cover crops in Washington State. Field air sampling and analytical methods were developed specific to three NITCs known to be present in air at appreciable concentrations during/after field incorporation. The maximum observed concentrations in air for the allyl, benzyl, and phenethyl isothiocyanates were respectively 188, 6.1, and 0.7 lg m-3 during mustard incorporation. Based on limited inhalation toxicity information, airborne NITC concentrations did not appear to pose an acute human inhalation exposure concern to field operators and bystanders.

Energetics of Mg incorporation at GaN(0001) and GaN(0001¯) surfaces

Science.gov (United States)

Sun, Qiang; Selloni, Annabella; Myers, T. H.; Doolittle, W. Alan

2006-04-01

By using density functional calculations in the generalized gradient approximation, we investigate the energetics of Mg adsorption and incorporation at GaN(0001) and GaN(0001¯) surfaces under various Ga and Mg coverage conditions as well as in presence of light or electron beam-induced electronic excitation. We find significant differences in Mg incorporation between Ga- and N-polar surfaces. Mg incorporation is easier at the Ga-polar surface, but high Mg coverages are found to cause important distortions which locally change the polarity from Ga to N polar. At the N-rich and moderately Ga-rich GaN(0001) surface, 0.25 ML of Mg substituting Ga in the top bilayer strongly reduce the surface diffusion barriers of Ga and N adatoms, in agreement with the surfactant effect observed in experiments. As the Mg coverage exceeds 0.5 ML, partial incorporation in the subsurface region (second bilayer) becomes favorable. A surface structure with 0.5 ML of incorporated Mg in the top bilayer and 0.25 ML in the second bilayer is found to be stable over a wide range of Ga chemical potential. At the Ga bilayer-terminated GaN(0001) surface, corresponding to Ga-rich conditions, configurations where Mg is incorporated in the interface region between the metallic Ga bilayer and the underlying GaN bilayer appear to be favored. At the N-polar surface, Mg is not incorporated under N-rich or moderately Ga-rich conditions, whereas incorporation in the adlayer may take place under Ga-rich conditions. In the presence of light or electron beam induced excitation, energy differences between Mg incorporated at the surface and in deeper layers are reduced so that the tendency toward surface segregation is also reduced.

Calculation of cell production from [3H]Thymidine incorporation with freshwater bacteria

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Smits, J.D.; Riemann, B.

1988-01-01

The conversion factor for the calculation of bacterial production from rates of [ 3 H]thymidine incorporation was examined with diluted batch cultures of freshwater bacteria. Natural bacterial assemblages were grown in aged, normal, and enriched media at 10 to 20 degree C. The generation time during 101 growth cycles covered a range from 4 to >200 h. The average conversion factor was 2.15 x 10 18 cells mol -1 of thymidine incorporated into the trichloroacetic acid (TCA) precipitate, when the generation time exceeded 20 h. At generation times of 18 cells mol -1 of thymidine incorporated into TCA precipitate. The amount of radioactivity in purified DNA increased with decreasing generation time and increasing conversion factor (calculated from the TCA precipitate), corresponding to a decrease in the percentage in protein. The conversion factors calculated from purified DNA or from the TCA precipitate gave the same variability. Conversion factors did not change significantly with the medium, but were significantly higher at 20 degree C that at 15 and 10 degree C. Results suggests that incorporation of [ 3 H]thymidine into DNA is probably limited by uptake during period with generation times of 18 cells mol -1 of thymidine incorporated is used

From Unnatural Amino Acid Incorporation to Artificial Metalloenzymes

KAUST Repository

Makki, Arwa

2016-01-01

This thesis explores a novel strategy based on the site-selective incorporation of unnatural, metal binding amino acids into a host protein. The unnatural amino acids can either serve directly as metal binding centers can

Cs and Ag co-incorporation in cubic silicon carbide

Science.gov (United States)

Londono-Hurtado, Alejandro; Heim, Andrew J.; Kim, Sungtae; Szlufarska, Izabela; Morgan, Dane

2013-08-01

the gas enthalpy at P = P0 and T = T0. This term is evaluated based on experimental data from Ref. [33]. Eqs. (1) and (2) are employed to calculate the defect formation energies of oxygen co-incorporation with Cs and Ag into SiC as a function of partial pressure. This approach treats the enthalpy at P0 and T0 as equal to the VASP energy at T = 0 K and further, does not include vibrational terms in the adsorbed species that will be contributing to the gas phase. However, we believe that the contributions of these terms to the chemical potential are small enough for the systems used in our analysis that leaving it out of the model is consistent with the qualitative goals of this work.An analogous approach can be used to treat I2, which gives the relations: μI={1}/{2}EIVASP+ΔhI0+[H(T,P0)-H(T0,P0)]-TS(T,P0)+kTln(P/P0) where EIVASP is the T = 0 K energy as obtained from the DFT calculations, ΔhI0 is the correction for errors of the oxygen energy in I2 molecules vs. a solid, H is the I2 gas enthalpy, S and is the I2 gas entropy. However, we will use a simplified reference for the I chemical potential, which can be justified as follows. It is observed from Eq. (3) that the overall effect of enthalpy and entropy is to decrease the absolute value of the I2 chemical potential for any reasonable P and T that might be encountered under reactor conditions. Furthermore, we will assume that HI2 is small on the scale of the co-incorporation energies (see below), and does not have a significant impact on the overall energetics. With this approximation we see that by choosing the EIVASP as our reference, we are calculating the upper bound of the true formation energy. As will be presented in Section 3, formation energies calculated for the case Ag/Cs-I co-incorporation using the isolated I2 molecule in vacuum at 0 K as the reference state were found to be 5.6 eV or higher than the most stable incorporation defect. While this result does not correct for possible enthalpy errors (the

True dose from incorporated activities. Models for internal dosimetry

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Breustedt, B.; Eschner, W.; Nosske, D.

2012-01-01

The assessment of doses after incorporation of radionuclides cannot use direct measurements of the doses, as for example dosimetry in external radiation fields. The only observables are activities in the body or in excretions. Models are used to calculate the doses based on the measured activities. The incorporated activities and the resulting doses can vary by more than seven orders of magnitude between occupational and medical exposures. Nevertheless the models and calculations applied in both cases are similar. Since the models for the different applications have been developed independently by ICRP and MIRD different terminologies have been used. A unified terminology is being developed. (orig.)

Analysis of Product Sampling for New Product Diffusion Incorporating Multiple-Unit Ownership

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Zhineng Hu

2014-01-01

Full Text Available Multiple-unit ownership of nondurable products is an important component of sales in many product categories. Based on the Bass model, this paper develops a new model considering the multiple-unit adoptions as a diffusion process under the influence of product sampling. Though the analysis aims to determine the optimal dynamic sampling effort for a firm and the results demonstrate that experience sampling can accelerate the diffusion process, the best time to send free samples is just before the product being launched. Multiple-unit purchasing behavior can increase sales to make more profit for a firm, and it needs more samples to make the product known much better. The local sensitivity analysis shows that the increase of both external coefficients and internal coefficients has a negative influence on the sampling level, but the internal influence on the subsequent multiple-unit adoptions has little significant influence on the sampling. Using the logistic regression along with linear regression, the global sensitivity analysis gives a whole analysis of the interaction of all factors, which manifests the external influence and multiunit purchase rate are two most important factors to influence the sampling level and net present value of the new product, and presents a two-stage method to determine the sampling level.

Incorporating Political Socialization Theory into Baccalaureate Nursing Education.

Science.gov (United States)

Brown, Sandra Godman

1996-01-01

Nurses must incorporate a political component into their professional role identity to meet the future challenges of the health care system. Political socialization theory can assist faculty in adding a political thread to the curriculum. (SK)