Fraction-variant beam orientation optimization for non-coplanar IMRT

Science.gov (United States)

O'Connor, Daniel; Yu, Victoria; Nguyen, Dan; Ruan, Dan; Sheng, Ke

2018-02-01

Conventional beam orientation optimization (BOO) algorithms for IMRT assume that the same set of beam angles is used for all treatment fractions. In this paper we present a BOO formulation based on group sparsity that simultaneously optimizes non-coplanar beam angles for all fractions, yielding a fraction-variant (FV) treatment plan. Beam angles are selected by solving a multi-fraction fluence map optimization problem involving 500-700 candidate beams per fraction, with an additional group sparsity term that encourages most candidate beams to be inactive. The optimization problem is solved using the fast iterative shrinkage-thresholding algorithm. Our FV BOO algorithm is used to create five-fraction treatment plans for digital phantom, prostate, and lung cases as well as a 30-fraction plan for a head and neck case. A homogeneous PTV dose coverage is maintained in all fractions. The treatment plans are compared with fraction-invariant plans that use a fixed set of beam angles for all fractions. The FV plans reduced OAR mean dose and D 2 values on average by 3.3% and 3.8% of the prescription dose, respectively. Notably, mean OAR dose was reduced by 14.3% of prescription dose (rectum), 11.6% (penile bulb), 10.7% (seminal vesicle), 5.5% (right femur), 3.5% (bladder), 4.0% (normal left lung), 15.5% (cochleas), and 5.2% (chiasm). D 2 was reduced by 14.9% of prescription dose (right femur), 8.2% (penile bulb), 12.7% (proximal bronchus), 4.1% (normal left lung), 15.2% (cochleas), 10.1% (orbits), 9.1% (chiasm), 8.7% (brainstem), and 7.1% (parotids). Meanwhile, PTV homogeneity defined as D 95/D 5 improved from .92 to .95 (digital phantom), from .95 to .98 (prostate case), and from .94 to .97 (lung case), and remained constant for the head and neck case. Moreover, the FV plans are dosimetrically similar to conventional plans that use twice as many beams per fraction. Thus, FV BOO offers the potential to reduce delivery time for non-coplanar IMRT.

Enhancement of heat transfer by nanofluids and orientations of the equilateral triangular obstacle

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bovand, M.; Rashidi, S.; Esfahani, J.A.

2015-01-01

Highlights: • The heat transfer is improved by nanofluids and orientations of the obstacle. • The role of solid volume fraction on the fluid flow and heat transfer is studied. • There is an upward drift in the vortices for the diagonal facing flow. • The maximum value of the average Nusselt number is for the vertex facing flow. - Abstract: This paper simulates the forced convective heat transfer of Al 2 O 3 –water nanofluid over an equilateral triangular obstacle. Computations are performed for different orientations of the triangular obstacle (side, vertex and diagonal facing flows). The ranges of Reynolds number (Re) and solid volume fractions of nanoparticles (φ) are 1 ⩽ Re ⩽ 200 and 0 ⩽ φ ⩽ 0.05, respectively. Two-dimensional unsteady conservation laws of mass, momentum, and energy equations have been solved using finite volume method. The effects of Reynolds number, solid volume fractions of nanoparticles and different orientations of the triangular obstacle on the flow and heat transfer characteristics are investigated in detail. Detailed results are presented for wake length, streamline, vorticity, temperature contours and time averaged Nusselt number. Finally, the value of time averaged Nusselt number has been investigated in three equations using least square method which the effects of solid volume fraction of nanoparticles and Reynolds numbers are taken into account. The calculated results revealed that the maximum effect of nanoparticles on heat transfer rate augmentation is for the side facing flow and the minimum is related to the vertex facing flow. Also, the required Reynolds numbers for wake formation decrease with increase in solid volume fraction

Method and apparatus for probing relative volume fractions

Science.gov (United States)

Jandrasits, Walter G.; Kikta, Thomas J.

1998-01-01

A relative volume fraction probe particularly for use in a multiphase fluid system includes two parallel conductive paths defining therebetween a sample zone within the system. A generating unit generates time varying electrical signals which are inserted into one of the two parallel conductive paths. A time domain reflectometer receives the time varying electrical signals returned by the second of the two parallel conductive paths and, responsive thereto, outputs a curve of impedance versus distance. An analysis unit then calculates the area under the curve, subtracts the calculated area from an area produced when the sample zone consists entirely of material of a first fluid phase, and divides this calculated difference by the difference between an area produced when the sample zone consists entirely of material of the first fluid phase and an area produced when the sample zone consists entirely of material of a second fluid phase. The result is the volume fraction.

Volume fraction calculation in multiphase system such as oil-water-gas using neutron

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ramos, Robson; Brandao, Luis E.B.; Salgado, Cesar Marques; Pereira, Claudio M.N.A. [Instituto de Engenharia Nuclear (IEN/CNEN-RJ), Rio de Janeiro, RJ (Brazil)]. E-mails: robson@ien.gov.br; brandao@ien.gov.br; otero@ien.gov.br; cmnap@ien.gov.br; Schirru, Roberto; Silva, Ademir Xavier da [Universidade Federal, Rio de Janeiro, RJ (Brazil). Coordenacao dos Programas de Pos-graduacao de Engenharia. Programa de Engenharia Nuclear]. E-mails: schirru@lmp.ufrj.br; ademir@con.ufrj.br

2007-07-01

Multi-phase flows are common in diverse industrial sectors and the attainment of the volume fraction of each element that composes the flow system presents difficulties for the engineering process, therefore, to determine them is very important. In this work is presented methodology for determination of volume fractions in annular three-phase flow systems, such as oil-water-gas, based on the use of nuclear techniques and artificial intelligence. Using the principle of the fast-neutron transmission/scattering, come from an isotopic {sup 241}Am-Be source, and two point detectors, is gotten measured that they are influenced by the variations of the volume fractions of each phase present in the flow. An artificial neural network is trained to correlate such measures with the respective volume fractions. In order to get the data for training of the artificial neural network without necessity to carry through experiments, MCNP-X code is used, that simulates computational of the neutrons transport. The methodology is sufficiently advantageous, therefore, allows to develop a measurement system capable to determine the fractions of the phases (oil-water-gas), with proper requirements of each petroliferous installation and with national technology contributing, possibly, with reduction of costs and increase of productivity. (author)

Volume fraction calculation in multiphase system such as oil-water-gas using neutron

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ramos, Robson; Brandao, Luis E.B.; Salgado, Cesar Marques; Pereira, Claudio M.N.A.; Schirru, Roberto; Silva, Ademir Xavier da

2007-01-01

Multi-phase flows are common in diverse industrial sectors and the attainment of the volume fraction of each element that composes the flow system presents difficulties for the engineering process, therefore, to determine them is very important. In this work is presented methodology for determination of volume fractions in annular three-phase flow systems, such as oil-water-gas, based on the use of nuclear techniques and artificial intelligence. Using the principle of the fast-neutron transmission/scattering, come from an isotopic 241 Am-Be source, and two point detectors, is gotten measured that they are influenced by the variations of the volume fractions of each phase present in the flow. An artificial neural network is trained to correlate such measures with the respective volume fractions. In order to get the data for training of the artificial neural network without necessity to carry through experiments, MCNP-X code is used, that simulates computational of the neutrons transport. The methodology is sufficiently advantageous, therefore, allows to develop a measurement system capable to determine the fractions of the phases (oil-water-gas), with proper requirements of each petroliferous installation and with national technology contributing, possibly, with reduction of costs and increase of productivity. (author)

Influence of titanium volume fraction on the mechanical properties of Mg-Ti composites

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Perez, Pablo; Garces, Gerardo; Adeva, Paloma [Centro Nacional de Investigaciones Metalurgicas (CENIM, CSIC), Madrid (Spain). Dept. de Metalurgia Fisica

2009-03-15

The influence of titanium volume fraction on the mechanical properties of Mg-Ti composites prepared through a powder metallurgy route has been evaluated. Titanium was added as particles smaller than 25 {mu}m and volume fractions ranging from 5 to 15%. The increase in the volume fraction of titanium particles results in a slight decrease in the maximum strength. In contrast to this, the ductility of all composites was significantly enhanced by titanium additions. The mechanical properties can be explained on the basis of texture changes induced by the presence of titanium particles. The decrease in the basal texture along the extrusion direction as the amount of titanium is progressively increased accounts for the decrease in the maximum strength. (orig.)

Effect of volume-oriented versus flow-oriented incentive spirometry on chest wall volumes, inspiratory muscle activity, and thoracoabdominal synchrony in the elderly.

Science.gov (United States)

Lunardi, Adriana C; Porras, Desiderio C; Barbosa, Renata Cc; Paisani, Denise M; Marques da Silva, Cibele C B; Tanaka, Clarice; Carvalho, Celso R F

2014-03-01

Aging causes physiological and functional changes that impair pulmonary function. Incentive spirometry is widely used for lung expansion, but the effects of volume-oriented incentive spirometry (VIS) versus flow-oriented incentive spirometry (FIS) on chest wall volumes, inspiratory muscle activity, and thoracoabdominal synchrony in the elderly are poorly understood. We compared VIS and FIS in elderly subjects and healthy adult subjects. Sixteen elderly subjects (9 women, mean ± SD age 70.6 ± 3.9 y, mean ± SD body mass index 23.8 ± 2.5 kg/m(2)) and 16 healthy adults (8 women, mean ± age 25.9 ± 4.3 y, mean ± body mass index 23.6 ± 2.4 kg/m(2)) performed quiet breathing, VIS, and FIS in randomized sequence. Chest wall kinematics (via optoelectronic plethysmography) and inspiratory muscle activity (via surface electromyography) were assessed simultaneously. Synchrony between the superior thorax and abdominal motion was calculated (phase angle). In the elderly subjects both types of incentive spirometry increased chest wall volumes similarly, whereas in the healthy adult subjects VIS increased the chest wall volume more than did FIS. FIS and VIS triggered similar lower thoracoabdominal synchrony in the elderly subjects, whereas in the healthy adults FIS induced lower synchrony than did VIS. FIS required more muscle activity in the elderly subjects to create an increase in chest wall volume. Incentive spirometry performance is influenced by age, and the differences between elderly and healthy adults response should be considered in clinical practice.

Study of volume fractions on biphasic stratified regime using gamma ray

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Salgado, William L.; Brandão, Luis E.B., E-mail: william.otero@hotmail.com, E-mail: brandao@ien.gov.br [Instituto de Engenharia Nuclear (IEN/CNEN-RJ), Rio de Janeiro, RJ (Brazil)

2017-07-01

In the oil industries, interconnected pipelines are used to carry large quantities of petroleum and its byproducts. This modal has an advantage because they are more economical, eliminate a need for stocks and, in addition, great safety in operation minimizing a possibility of loss or theft when transported another way. In many cases, especially in the petrochemical industry, the same pipeline is used to carry more than one type of product. They are called poliduct. In the operation of a poliduct there is a sequence of products to be transported and during the exchange of the product, there are still fractions of the previous product and this generates contamination. It is therefore important to identify precisely this region in order to reduce the costs of reprocessing and treatment of discarded products. In this way, this work presents a methodology to evaluate the sensitivity of the gamma densitometry technique in a study of the calculation of volume fractions in biphasic systems, submitted to the stratified flow regime. Using computational simulations using the Monte Carlo Method with the MCNPX code measurement geometry was proposed that presented a higher sensitivity for the calculation of volume fractions. The relevant technical data to perform a simulation of the scintillator detectors were based on information obtained from the gammagraphy technique. The study had a theoretical validation through analytical equations, and the results show that it is possible to identify volume fractions equivalent to 3%. (author)

Study of volume fractions on biphasic stratified regime using gamma ray

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Salgado, William L.; Brandão, Luis E.B.

2017-01-01

In the oil industries, interconnected pipelines are used to carry large quantities of petroleum and its byproducts. This modal has an advantage because they are more economical, eliminate a need for stocks and, in addition, great safety in operation minimizing a possibility of loss or theft when transported another way. In many cases, especially in the petrochemical industry, the same pipeline is used to carry more than one type of product. They are called poliduct. In the operation of a poliduct there is a sequence of products to be transported and during the exchange of the product, there are still fractions of the previous product and this generates contamination. It is therefore important to identify precisely this region in order to reduce the costs of reprocessing and treatment of discarded products. In this way, this work presents a methodology to evaluate the sensitivity of the gamma densitometry technique in a study of the calculation of volume fractions in biphasic systems, submitted to the stratified flow regime. Using computational simulations using the Monte Carlo Method with the MCNPX code measurement geometry was proposed that presented a higher sensitivity for the calculation of volume fractions. The relevant technical data to perform a simulation of the scintillator detectors were based on information obtained from the gammagraphy technique. The study had a theoretical validation through analytical equations, and the results show that it is possible to identify volume fractions equivalent to 3%. (author)

Effect of reinforcement volume fraction on the density & elastic ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Effect of reinforcement volume fraction on the density & elastic parameters of BMG's matrix composites. Wahiba Metiri 1, Fatiha Hadjoub1, 2 and Leila Touati Tliba 1. 1 Laboratoire des Semi-Conducteurs, Département de Physique, Faculté des Sciences, Université Badji-. Mokhtar, BP 12, Annaba -23000, Algeria.

Planar measurements of soot volume fraction and OH in a JP-8 pool fire

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Henriksen, Tara L.; Ring, Terry A.; Eddings, Eric G. [Department of Chemical Engineering, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT 84112 (United States); Nathan, Graham J. [School of Mechanical Engineering, University of Adelaide, SA 5005 (Australia); Alwahabi, Zeyad T.; Qamar, Nader [School of Chemical Engineering, University of Adelaide, SA 5005 (Australia)

2009-07-15

The simultaneous measurement of soot volume fraction by laser induced incandescence (LII) and qualitative imaging of OH by laser induced fluorescence (LIF) was performed in a JP-8 pool fire contained in a 152 mm diameter pan. Line of sight extinction was used to calibrate the LII system in a laminar flame, and to provide an independent method of measuring average soot volume fraction in the turbulent flame. The presence of soot in the turbulent flame was found to be approximately 50% probable, resulting in high levels of optical extinction, which increased slightly through the flame from approximately 30% near the base, to approximately 50% at the tip. This high soot loading pushes both techniques toward their detection limit. Nevertheless, useful accuracy was obtained, with the LII measurement of apparent extinction in the turbulent flame being approximately 21% lower than a direct measurement, consistent with the influence of signal trapping. The axial and radial distributions of soot volume fraction are presented, along with PDFs of volume fraction, and new insight into the behavior of soot sheets in pool fires are sought from the simultaneous measurements of OH and LII. (author)

Volume Fraction Dependent Thermal Performance of UAlx-Al Dispersion Target

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kong, Eui Hyun; Tahk, Young Wook; Kim, Hyun Jung; Oh, Jae Yong; Yim, Jeong Sik [KAERI, Daejeon (Korea, Republic of)

2016-05-15

Unlike U-Al alloys, properties of UAl{sub x}-Al dispersion target can be highly sensitive to volume fraction of UAlx in a target meat due to the interface resistance between target particles and matrix. The interface resistance effects on properties of the target meat including thermal conductivity, thermal expansion coefficient, specific heat, elastic modulus and so on. Thermal performances of a dispersion target meat were theoretically evaluated under normal operation condition of KJRR (Kijang Research Reactor) during short effective full power days (EFPD) of 7 days, based on reported measured thermal conductivities of UAl{sub x}-Al dispersion fuels. Effective thermal conductivity determines maximum temperature of dispersion target plate. And for that volume fraction of UAlx in target meat has to be determined considering manufacturing of target plate without degradation of physical and mechanical characteristics.

Practical considerations in the calculation of orientation distribution functions from electron back-scattered diffraction patterns

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bowen, A.W.

1994-01-01

Using model data sets for the Brass orientation, the importance of scatter width, angular accuracy and grain size and volume fraction on the sensitivity of the calculated Orientation Distribution Functions have been determined in order to highlight some of the practical considerations needed in the processing of experimental data from individual grain orientation measurements determined by the Electron Back-Scattered Diffraction technique. It is suggested that the most appropriate scatter width can be calculated from the maximum function height versus scatter width curve in order to accommodate variations in texture sharpness. The sensitivity of the ODF to careful sample preparation, mounting and pattern analysis, in order to keep errors in angular accuracy to 1 or less is demonstrated, as is the imperative need to correct for the size of grains, and their volume fractions. (orig.)

SU-E-T-429: Uncertainties of Cell Surviving Fractions Derived From Tumor-Volume Variation Curves

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chvetsov, A

2014-01-01

Purpose: To evaluate uncertainties of cell surviving fraction reconstructed from tumor-volume variation curves during radiation therapy using sensitivity analysis based on linear perturbation theory. Methods: The time dependent tumor-volume functions V(t) have been calculated using a twolevel cell population model which is based on the separation of entire tumor cell population in two subpopulations: oxygenated viable and lethally damaged cells. The sensitivity function is defined as S(t)=[δV(t)/V(t)]/[δx/x] where δV(t)/V(t) is the time dependent relative variation of the volume V(t) and δx/x is the relative variation of the radiobiological parameter x. The sensitivity analysis was performed using direct perturbation method where the radiobiological parameter x was changed by a certain error and the tumor-volume was recalculated to evaluate the corresponding tumor-volume variation. Tumor volume variation curves and sensitivity functions have been computed for different values of cell surviving fractions from the practically important interval S 2 =0.1-0.7 using the two-level cell population model. Results: The sensitivity functions of tumor-volume to cell surviving fractions achieved a relatively large value of 2.7 for S 2 =0.7 and then approached zero as S 2 is approaching zero Assuming a systematic error of 3-4% we obtain that the relative error in S 2 is less that 20% in the range S2=0.4-0.7. This Resultis important because the large values of S 2 are associated with poor treatment outcome should be measured with relatively small uncertainties. For the very small values of S2<0.3, the relative error can be larger than 20%; however, the absolute error does not increase significantly. Conclusion: Tumor-volume curves measured during radiotherapy can be used for evaluation of cell surviving fractions usually observed in radiation therapy with conventional fractionation

Influence of bress laminate volume fraction on electromechanical properties of externally laminated coated conductor tapes

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Bautista, Zhierwinjay M.; Shin, Hyung Seop [Dept. of Mechanical Design Engineering, Andong National University, Andong (Korea, Republic of); Lee, Jae Hun; Lee, Hun Ju; Moon, Seung Hyun [SuNAM Co Ltd., Anseong (Korea, Republic of)

2016-09-15

The enhancement of mechanical properties of coated conductor (CC) tapes in practical application are usually achieved by reinforcing through lamination or electroplating metal layers on either sides of the CC tape. Mechanical or electromechanical properties of the CC tapes have been largely affected by the lamination structure under various loading modes such as tension, bending or even cyclic. In this study, the influence of brass laminate volume fraction on electromechanical properties of RCE-DR processed Gadolinium-barium-copper-oxide (GdBCO) CC tapes was investigated. The samples used were composed of single-side and both-side laminate of brass layer to the Cu-stabilized CC tape and their Ic behaviors were compared to those of the Cu-stabilized CC tape without external lamination. The stress/strain dependences of Ic in laminated CC tapes under uniaxial tension were analyzed and the irreversible stress/strain limits were determined. As a result, the increase of brass laminate volume fraction initially increased the irreversible strain limit and became gradual. The corresponding irreversible stress limit, however, showed no difference even though the brass laminate volume fraction increased to 3.4. But the irreversible load limit linearly increased with the brass laminate volume fraction.

The coupled effect of fiber volume fraction and void fraction on hydraulic fluid absorption of quartz/BMI laminates

Science.gov (United States)

Hurdelbrink, Keith R.; Anderson, Jacob P.; Siddique, Zahed; Altan, M. Cengiz

2016-03-01

Bismaleimide (BMI) resin with quartz (AQ581) fiber reinforcement is a composite material frequently used in aerospace applications, such as engine cowlings and radomes. Various composite components used in aircrafts are exposed to different types of hydraulic fluids, which may lead to anomalous absorption behavior over the service life of the composite. Accurate predictive models for absorption of liquid penetrants are particularly important as the composite components are often exposed to long-term degradation due to absorbed moisture, hydraulic fluids, or similar liquid penetrants. Microstructural features such as fiber volume fraction and void fraction can have a significant effect on the absorption behavior of fiber-reinforced composites. In this paper, hydraulic fluid absorption characteristics of quartz/BMI laminates fabricated from prepregs preconditioned at different relative humidity and subsequently cured at different pressures are presented. The composite samples are immersed into hydraulic fluid at room temperature, and were not subjected to any prior degradation. To generate process-induced microvoids, prepregs were conditioned in an environmental chamber at 2% or 99% relative humidity at room temperature for a period of 24 hours prior to laminate fabrication. To alter the fiber volume fraction, the laminates were fabricated at cure pressures of 68.9 kPa (10 psi) or 482.6 kPa (70 psi) via a hot-press. The laminates are shown to have different levels of microvoids and fiber volume fractions, which were observed to affect the absorption dynamics considerably and exhibited clear non-Fickian behavior. A one-dimensional hindered diffusion model (HDM) was shown to be successful in predicting the hydraulic fluid absorption. Model prediction indicates that as the fabrication pressure increased from 68.9 kPa to 482.6 kPa, the maximum fluid content (M∞) decreased from 8.0% wt. to 1.0% wt. The degree of non-Fickian behavior, measured by hindrance coefficient (�

Volume fraction prediction in biphasic flow using nuclear technique and artificial neural network

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Salgado, Cesar M.; Brandao, Luis E.B.

2015-01-01

The volume fraction is one of the most important parameters used to characterize air-liquid two-phase flows. It is a physical value to determine other parameters, such as the phase's densities and to determine the flow rate of each phase. These parameters are important to predict the flow pattern and to determine a mathematical model for the system. To study, for example, heat transfer and pressure drop. This work presents a methodology for volume fractions prediction in water-gas stratified flow regime using the nuclear technique and artificial intelligence. The volume fractions calculate in biphasic flow systems is complex and the analysis by means of analytical equations becomes very difficult. The approach is based on gamma-ray pulse height distributions pattern recognition by means of the artificial neural network. The detection system uses appropriate broad beam geometry, comprised of a ( 137 Cs) energy gamma-ray source and a NaI(Tl) scintillation detector in order measure transmitted beam whose the counts rates are influenced by the phases composition. These distributions are directly used by the network without any parameterization of the measured signal. The ideal and static theoretical models for stratified regime have been developed using MCNP-X code, which was used to provide training, test and validation data for the network. The detector also was modeled with this code and the results were compared to experimental photopeak efficiency measurements of radiation sources. The proposed network could obtain with satisfactory prediction of the volume fraction in water-gas system, demonstrating to be a promising approach for this purpose. (author)

Volume fraction prediction in biphasic flow using nuclear technique and artificial neural network

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Salgado, Cesar M.; Brandao, Luis E.B., E-mail: otero@ien.gov.br, E-mail: brandao@ien.gov.br [Instituto de Engenharia Nuclear (IEN/CNEN-RJ), Rio de Janeiro, RJ (Brazil)

2015-07-01

The volume fraction is one of the most important parameters used to characterize air-liquid two-phase flows. It is a physical value to determine other parameters, such as the phase's densities and to determine the flow rate of each phase. These parameters are important to predict the flow pattern and to determine a mathematical model for the system. To study, for example, heat transfer and pressure drop. This work presents a methodology for volume fractions prediction in water-gas stratified flow regime using the nuclear technique and artificial intelligence. The volume fractions calculate in biphasic flow systems is complex and the analysis by means of analytical equations becomes very difficult. The approach is based on gamma-ray pulse height distributions pattern recognition by means of the artificial neural network. The detection system uses appropriate broad beam geometry, comprised of a ({sup 137}Cs) energy gamma-ray source and a NaI(Tl) scintillation detector in order measure transmitted beam whose the counts rates are influenced by the phases composition. These distributions are directly used by the network without any parameterization of the measured signal. The ideal and static theoretical models for stratified regime have been developed using MCNP-X code, which was used to provide training, test and validation data for the network. The detector also was modeled with this code and the results were compared to experimental photopeak efficiency measurements of radiation sources. The proposed network could obtain with satisfactory prediction of the volume fraction in water-gas system, demonstrating to be a promising approach for this purpose. (author)

Volume fraction dependence of transient absorption signal and nonlinearities in metal nanocolloids

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jayabalan, J; Singh, Asha; Khan, Salahuddin; Chari, Rama

2013-01-01

Electron–lattice thermalization dynamics in metal nanoparticles or in bulk metal is usually estimated by measuring the decay time of the change in transmission following an optical excitation. Such measurements can be performed in transient absorption geometry using a femtosecond laser. We find that for silver nanoplatelet/water colloids, the decay time of the transient absorption depends on the volume fraction of silver in water. By estimating the volume fraction dependence of nonlinearities in the same samples, we show that the variation in the measured decay time is due to pump-depletion effects present in the sample. The correct correction factor for taking into account pump-depletion effects in fifth- and higher-order nonlinearities is also presented. (paper)

Volume fraction dependence and reorganization in cluster-cluster aggregation processes

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Garderen, van H.F.; Dokter, W.H.; Beelen, T.P.M.; Santen, van R.A.; Pantos, E.; Michels, M.A.J.; Hilbers, P.A.J.

1995-01-01

Off-lattice diffusion limited cluster aggregation simulations in two dimensions have been performed in a wide volume fraction range between 0.001 and 0.60. Starting from a system of 10 000 monomers with radius 0.5, that follow Brownian trajectories, larger aggregates are generated by bond formation

Effect of Fiber Volume Fraction and Water Absorption toward Bending Strength of Coconut Filters/ Polyester Composite

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

I Putu Lokantara

2012-11-01

Full Text Available The variation of fibre volume and the duration of water soaking take influence on the mechanical properties of composite. This research aim is to know the influence of fraction volume fibre and soaking duration on the mineral watertoward the tensile strength and flexural of polyester-coconut-tapis composite. This research used coconut-tapis fibre which is cut 1 cm in length with 0%, 5%, 7,5%, and 10% fiber volume fraction, unsaturated-polyester (UPRs matrix resin type Yucalac 157 BQTN-EX, and MEKPO hardener. The flexure specimen are made by press hand lay-up method and cut according ASTM D790-03 for the flexure test. The result of flexure test shows that the duration of soaking and the fiber volume fraction give a significant effect on the flexural strength of composite. The highest strength are reached by composite with 10% fibre volume on 48 hour soaking time equal to 41.994 MPa. The flexure modulus happenend shows increasing until 24 hour soaking time. The highest modulus are reached by composite with 10% fibre volume equal to 7.114 GPa while the lowest are reached by composite with 0% fibre volume equal to 3,023 GPa.

Soot volume fraction fields in unsteady axis-symmetric flames by continuous laser extinction technique.

Science.gov (United States)

Kashif, Muhammad; Bonnety, Jérôme; Guibert, Philippe; Morin, Céline; Legros, Guillaume

2012-12-17

A Laser Extinction Method has been set up to provide two-dimensional soot volume fraction field time history at a tunable frequency up to 70 Hz inside an axis-symmetric diffusion flame experiencing slow unsteady phenomena preserving the symmetry. The use of a continuous wave laser as the light source enables this repetition rate, which is an incremental advance in the laser extinction technique. The technique is shown to allow a fine description of the soot volume fraction field in a flickering flame exhibiting a 12.6 Hz flickering phenomenon. Within this range of repetition rate, the technique and its subsequent post-processing require neither any method for time-domain reconstruction nor any correction for energy intrusion. Possibly complemented by such a reconstruction method, the technique should support further soot volume fraction database in oscillating flames that exhibit characteristic times relevant to the current efforts in the validation of soot processes modeling.

The capability of radial basis function to forecast the volume fractions of the annular three-phase flow of gas-oil-water.

Science.gov (United States)

Roshani, G H; Karami, A; Salehizadeh, A; Nazemi, E

2017-11-01

The problem of how to precisely measure the volume fractions of oil-gas-water mixtures in a pipeline remains as one of the main challenges in the petroleum industry. This paper reports the capability of Radial Basis Function (RBF) in forecasting the volume fractions in a gas-oil-water multiphase system. Indeed, in the present research, the volume fractions in the annular three-phase flow are measured based on a dual energy metering system including the 152 Eu and 137 Cs and one NaI detector, and then modeled by a RBF model. Since the summation of volume fractions are constant (equal to 100%), therefore it is enough for the RBF model to forecast only two volume fractions. In this investigation, three RBF models are employed. The first model is used to forecast the oil and water volume fractions. The next one is utilized to forecast the water and gas volume fractions, and the last one to forecast the gas and oil volume fractions. In the next stage, the numerical data obtained from MCNP-X code must be introduced to the RBF models. Then, the average errors of these three models are calculated and compared. The model which has the least error is picked up as the best predictive model. Based on the results, the best RBF model, forecasts the oil and water volume fractions with the mean relative error of less than 0.5%, which indicates that the RBF model introduced in this study ensures an effective enough mechanism to forecast the results. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Elastic modulus of Al-Si/SiC metal matrix composites as a function of volume fraction

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Santhosh Kumar, S; Rajasekharan, T [Powder Metallurgy Group, Defence Metallurgical Research Laboratory, Kanchanbagh PO, Hyderabad-500 058 (India); Seshu Bai, V [School of Physics, University of Hyderabad, Central University PO, Hyderabad-500 046 (India); Rajkumar, K V; Sharma, G K; Jayakumar, T, E-mail: dearsanthosh@gmail.co [Non-Destructive Evaluation Division, Indira Gandhi Center for Atomic Research, Kalpakkam, Chennai-603 102 (India)

2009-09-07

Aluminum alloy matrix composites have emerged as candidate materials for electronic packaging applications in the field of aerospace semiconductor electronics. Composites prepared by the pressureless infiltration technique with high volume fractions in the range 0.41-0.70 were studied using ultrasonic velocity measurements. For different volume fractions of SiC, the longitudinal velocity and shear velocity were found to be in the range of 7600-9300 m s{sup -1} and 4400-5500 m s{sup -1}, respectively. The elastic moduli of the composites were determined from ultrasonic velocities and were analysed as a function of the volume fraction of the reinforcement. The observed variation is discussed in the context of existing theoretical models for the effective elastic moduli of two-phase systems.

Controlling thermal deformation by using composite materials having variable fiber volume fraction

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bouremana, M.; Tounsi, A.; Kaci, A.; Mechab, I.

2009-01-01

In application, many thin structural components such as beams, plates and shells experience a through-thickness temperature variation. This temperature variation can produce both an in-plane expansion and an out-of-plane (bending) curvature. Given that these thin components interact with or connect to other components, we often wish to minimize the thermal deformation or match the thermal deformation of another component. This is accomplished by using a composite whose fibers have a negative axial thermal expansion coefficient. By varying the fiber volume fraction within a symmetric laminated beam to create a functionally graded material (FGM), certain thermal deformations can be controlled or tailored. Specifically, a beam can be designed which does not curve under a steady-state through-thickness temperature variation. Continuous gradation of the fiber volume fraction in the FGM layer is modelled in the form of a mth power polynomial of the coordinate axis in thickness direction of the beam. The beam results are independent of the actual temperature values, within the limitations of steady-state heat transfer and constant material properties. The influence of volume fiber fraction distributions are studied to match or eliminate an in-plane expansion coefficient, or to match a desired axial stiffness. Combining two fiber types to create a hybrid FGM can offer desirable increase in axial and bending stiffness while still retaining the useful thermal deformation behavior.

Nootropic Effects of Filipendula Vulgaris Moench Water Extract Fractions.

Science.gov (United States)

Shilova, I V; Suslov, N I; Amelchenko, V P

2015-07-01

Nootropic activity of water extract fractions from aerial parts of Filipendula vulgaris Moench was demonstrated on the models of hermetic volume hypoxia, conditioned passive avoidance response, open field test, and forced swimming with a load. The fractions stimulated hypoxic resistance, normalized orientation and exploratory behavior, improved conditioned response reproduction during testing after hypoxic injury, and increased exercise tolerance. Fractionation of the extract led to dissociation of the effect components, which suggests that individual constituents have specific characteristics. Ethylacetate fraction exhibited most pronounced nootropic activity and was superior to plant extract by some characteristics. The detected effects seemed to be caused by modulation of the hippocampus activity the under the effects of phenol and triterpene compounds.

Soot volume fraction in a piloted turbulent jet non-premixed flame of natural gas

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Qamar, N.H.; Alwahabi, Z.T.; King, K.D. [Fluid Mechanics, Energy and Combustion Group, University of Adelaide, Adelaide, SA 5005 (Australia); School of Chemical Engineering, University of Adelaide, Adelaide, SA 5005 (Australia); Chan, Q.N. [Fluid Mechanics, Energy and Combustion Group, University of Adelaide, Adelaide, SA 5005 (Australia); School of Chemical Engineering, University of Adelaide, Adelaide, SA 5005 (Australia); School of Mechanical Engineering, University of Adelaide, Adelaide, SA 5005 (Australia); Nathan, G.J. [Fluid Mechanics, Energy and Combustion Group, University of Adelaide, Adelaide, SA 5005 (Australia); School of Mechanical Engineering, University of Adelaide, Adelaide, SA 5005 (Australia); Roekaerts, D. [Department of Multi-Scale Physics, Faculty of Applied Sciences, Delft University of Technology, Lorentzweg, 1, NL-2628 CJ Delft (Netherlands)

2009-07-15

Planar laser-induced incandescence (LII) has been used to measure soot volume fraction in a well-characterised, piloted, turbulent non-premixed flame known as the ''Delft Flame III''. Simulated Dutch natural gas was used as the fuel to produce a flame closely matching those in which a wide range of previous investigations, both experimental and modelling, have been performed. The LII method was calibrated using a Santoro-style burner with ethylene as the fuel. Instantaneous and time-averaged data of the axial and radial soot volume fraction distributions of the flame are presented here along with the Probability Density Functions (PDFs) and intermittency. The PDFs were found to be well-characterised by a single exponential distribution function. The distribution of soot was found to be highly intermittent, with intermittency typically exceeding 97%, which increases measurement uncertainty. The instantaneous values of volume fraction are everywhere less than the values in strained laminar flames. This is consistent with the soot being found locally in strained flame sheets that are convected and distorted by the flow. (author)

An investigation of the relation between the 30 meter running time and the femoral volume fraction in the thigh

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

MY Tasmektepligil

2009-12-01

Full Text Available Leg components are thought to be a related to speed. Only a limited number of studies have, however, examined the interaction between speed and bone size. In this study, we examined the relationship between the time taken by football players to run thirty meters and the fraction which the femur forms compared to the entire thigh region. Data collected from thirty male football players of average age 17.3 (between 16-19 years old were analyzed. First we detected the thirty meter running times and then we estimated the volume fraction of the femur to the entire thigh region using stereological methods on magnetic resonance images. Our data showed that there was a highly negative relationship between the 30 meter running times and the volume fraction of the bone to the thigh region. Thus, 30 meter running time decreases as the fraction of the bone to the thigh region increases. In other words, speed increases as the fraction of bone volume increases. Our data indicate that selecting sportsman whose femoral volume fractions are high will provide a significant benefit to enhancing performance in those branches of sports which require speed. Moreover, we concluded that training which can increase the bone volume fraction should be practiced when an increase in speed is desired and that the changes in the fraction of thigh region components should be monitored during these trainings.

SU-E-T-480: Radiobiological Dose Comparison of Single Fraction SRS, Multi-Fraction SRT and Multi-Stage SRS of Large Target Volumes Using the Linear-Quadratic Formula

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ding, C; Hrycushko, B; Jiang, S; Meyer, J; Timmerman, R

2014-01-01

Purpose: To compare the radiobiological effect on large tumors and surrounding normal tissues from single fraction SRS, multi-fractionated SRT, and multi-staged SRS treatment. Methods: An anthropomorphic head phantom with a centrally located large volume target (18.2 cm 3 ) was scanned using a 16 slice large bore CT simulator. Scans were imported to the Multiplan treatment planning system where a total prescription dose of 20Gy was used for a single, three staged and three fractionated treatment. Cyber Knife treatment plans were inversely optimized for the target volume to achieve at least 95% coverage of the prescription dose. For the multistage plan, the target was segmented into three subtargets having similar volume and shape. Staged plans for individual subtargets were generated based on a planning technique where the beam MUs of the original plan on the total target volume are changed by weighting the MUs based on projected beam lengths within each subtarget. Dose matrices for each plan were export in DICOM format and used to calculate equivalent dose distributions in 2Gy fractions using an alpha beta ratio of 10 for the target and 3 for normal tissue. Results: Singe fraction SRS, multi-stage plan and multi-fractionated SRT plans had an average 2Gy dose equivalent to the target of 62.89Gy, 37.91Gy and 33.68Gy, respectively. The normal tissue within 12Gy physical dose region had an average 2Gy dose equivalent of 29.55Gy, 16.08Gy and 13.93Gy, respectively. Conclusion: The single fraction SRS plan had the largest predicted biological effect for the target and the surrounding normal tissue. The multi-stage treatment provided for a more potent biologically effect on target compared to the multi-fraction SRT treatments with less biological normal tissue than single-fraction SRS treatment

Performance enhancement of direct ethanol fuel cell using Nafion composites with high volume fraction of titania

Science.gov (United States)

Matos, B. R.; Isidoro, R. A.; Santiago, E. I.; Fonseca, F. C.

2014-12-01

The present study reports on the performance enhancement of direct ethanol fuel cell (DEFC) at 130 °C with Nafion-titania composite electrolytes prepared by sol-gel technique and containing high volume fractions of the ceramic phase. It is found that for high volume fractions of titania (>10 vol%) the ethanol uptake of composites is largely reduced while the proton conductivity at high-temperatures is weakly dependent on the titania content. Such tradeoff between alcohol uptake and conductivity resulted in a boost of DEFC performance at high temperatures using Nafion-titania composites with high fraction of the inorganic phase.

Artificial neural network and neutron application in a volume fraction calculation in annular and stratified multiphase system

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ramos, Robson; Brandao, Luis E.B.; Pereira, Claudio M.N.A.; Schirru, Roberto; Silva, Ademir Xavier da

2009-01-01

Multiphase flows, type oil-water-gas are very common among different industrial activities, such as chemical industries and petroleum extraction, and its measurements show some difficulties to be taken. Precisely determining the volume fraction of each one of the elements that composes a multiphase flow is very important in chemical plants and petroleum industries. This work presents a methodology able to determine volume fraction on Annular and Stratified multiphase flow system with the use of neutrons and artificial intelligence, using the principles of transmission/scattering of fast neutrons from a 241 Am-Be source and measurements of point flow that are influenced by variations of volume fractions. The proposed geometries used on the mathematical model was used to obtain a data set where the thicknesses referred of each material had been changed in order to obtain volume fraction of each phase providing 119 compositions that were used in the simulation with MCNP-X -computer code based on Monte Carlo Method that simulates the radiation transport. An artificial neural network (ANN) was trained with data obtained using the MCNP-X, and used to correlate such measurements with the respective real fractions. The ANN was able to correlate the data obtained on the simulation with MCNP-X with the volume fractions of the multiphase flows (oil-water-gas), both in the pattern of annular flow as stratified, resulting in a average relative error (%) for each production set of: annular (air = 3.85; water = 4.31; oil=1.08); stratified (air = 3.10, water 2.01, oil = 1.45). The method demonstrated good efficiency in the determination of each material that composes the phases, thus demonstrating the feasibility of the technique. (author)

The effect of temperature and strain rate on the mechanical properties of highly oriented polypropylene tapes and all-polypropylene composites

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Alcock, B.; Cabrera, N.O.; Barkoula, N.M.; Reynolds, C.T.; Govaert, L.E.; Peijs, A.A.J.M.

2007-01-01

The creation of highly oriented, co-extruded polypropylene (PP) tapes allows the production of recyclable "all-polypropylene" (all-PP) composites, with a large temperature processing window and a high volume fraction of highly oriented PP (>90%). The wholly thermoplastic nature of these

Models for high cell density bioreactors must consider biomass volume fraction: Cell recycle example.

Science.gov (United States)

Monbouquette, H G

1987-06-01

Intrinsic models, which take into account biomass volume fraction, must be formulated for adequate simulation of high-biomass-density fermentations with cell recycle. Through comparison of corresponding intrinsic and non-intrinsic models in dimensionless form, constraints for non-intrinsic model usage in terms of biokinetic and fermenter operating parameters can be identified a priori. Analysis of a simple product-inhibition model indicates that the non-intrinsic approach is suitable only when the attainable biomass volume fraction in the fermentation broth is less than about 0.10. Inappropriate application of a non-intrinsic model can lead to gross errors in calculated substrate and product concentrations, substrate conversion, and volumetric productivity.

Models for high cell density bioreactors must consider biomass volume fraction: cell recycle example

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Monbouquette, H.G.

1987-06-01

Intrinsic models, which take into account biomass volume fraction, must be formulated for adequate simulation of high-biomass-density fermentations with cell recycle. Through comparison of corresponding intrinsic and non-intrinsic models in dimensionless form, constraints for non-intrinsic model usage in terms of biokinetic and fermenter operating parameters can be identified a priori. Analysis of a simple product-inhibition model indicates that the non-intrinsic approach is suitable only when the attainable biomass volume fraction in the fermentation broth is less than about 0.10. Inappropriate application of a non-intrinsic model can lead to gross errors in calculated substrate and product concentrations, substrate conversion, and volumetric productivity. (Refs. 14).

Effects of diluents on soot surface temperature and volume fraction in diluted ethylene diffusion flames at pressure

KAUST Repository

Kailasanathan, Ranjith Kumar Abhinavam

2014-05-20

Soot surface temperature and volume fraction are measured in ethylene/air coflowing laminar diffusion flames at high pressures, diluted with one of four diluents (argon, helium, nitrogen, and carbon dioxide) using a two-color technique. Both temperature and soot measurements presented are line-of-sight averages. The results aid in understanding the kinetic and thermodynamic behavior of the soot formation and oxidation chemistry with changes in diluents, ultimately leading to possible methods of reducing soot emission from practical combustion hardware. The diluted fuel and coflow exit velocities (top-hat profiles) were matched at all pressures to minimize shear effects. In addition to the velocity-matched flow rates, the mass fluxes were held constant for all pressures. Addition of a diluent has a pronounced effect on both the soot surface temperature and volume fraction, with the helium diluted flame yielding the maximum and carbon dioxide diluted flame yielding minimum soot surface temperature and volume fraction. At low pressures, peak soot volume fraction exists at the tip of the flame, and with an increase in pressure, the location shifts lower to the wings of the flame. Due to the very high diffusivity of helium, significantly higher temperature and volume fraction are measured and explained. Carbon dioxide has the most dramatic soot suppression effect. By comparing the soot yield with previously measured soot precursor concentrations in the same flame, it is clear that the lower soot yield is a result of enhanced oxidation rates rather than a reduction in precursor formation. Copyright © 2014 Taylor & Francis Group, LLC.

Calculation of Steam Volume Fraction in Subcooled Boiling

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Rouhani, S Z

1967-06-15

An analysis of subcooled boiling is presented. It is assumed that heat is removed by vapor generation, heating of the liquid that replaces the detached bubbles, and to some extent by single phase heat transfer. Two regions of subcooled boiling are considered and a criterion is provided for obtaining the limiting value of subcooling between the two regions. Condensation of vapor in the subcooled liquid is analysed and the relative velocity of vapor with respect to the liquid is neglected in these regions. The theoretical arguments result in some equations for the calculation of steam volume fraction and true liquid subcooling.

Artificial neural network and neutron application in a volume fraction calculation in annular and stratified multiphase system

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ramos, Robson; Brandao, Luis E.B.; Pereira, Claudio M.N.A., E-mail: robson@ien.gov.b, E-mail: brandao@ien.gov.b, E-mail: cmnap@ien.gov.b [Instituto de Engenharia Nuclear (IEN/CNEN-RJ), Rio de Janeiro, RJ (Brazil). Div. de Radiofarmacos; Schirru, Roberto; Silva, Ademir Xavier da, E-mail: schirru@lmp.ufrj.b, E-mail: ademir@con.ufrj.b [Coordenacao dos Programas de Pos-Graduacao de Engenharia (COPPE/UFRJ), RJ (Brazil). Nuclear Engineering Dept.

2009-07-01

Multiphase flows, type oil-water-gas are very common among different industrial activities, such as chemical industries and petroleum extraction, and its measurements show some difficulties to be taken. Precisely determining the volume fraction of each one of the elements that composes a multiphase flow is very important in chemical plants and petroleum industries. This work presents a methodology able to determine volume fraction on Annular and Stratified multiphase flow system with the use of neutrons and artificial intelligence, using the principles of transmission/scattering of fast neutrons from a {sup 241}Am-Be source and measurements of point flow that are influenced by variations of volume fractions. The proposed geometries used on the mathematical model was used to obtain a data set where the thicknesses referred of each material had been changed in order to obtain volume fraction of each phase providing 119 compositions that were used in the simulation with MCNP-X -computer code based on Monte Carlo Method that simulates the radiation transport. An artificial neural network (ANN) was trained with data obtained using the MCNP-X, and used to correlate such measurements with the respective real fractions. The ANN was able to correlate the data obtained on the simulation with MCNP-X with the volume fractions of the multiphase flows (oil-water-gas), both in the pattern of annular flow as stratified, resulting in a average relative error (%) for each production set of: annular (air = 3.85; water = 4.31; oil=1.08); stratified (air = 3.10, water 2.01, oil = 1.45). The method demonstrated good efficiency in the determination of each material that composes the phases, thus demonstrating the feasibility of the technique. (author)

Quantitative grain-scale ferroic domain volume fractions and domain switching strains from three-dimensional X-ray diffraction data

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Oddershede, Jette; Majkut, Marta; Caosyd, Qinghua

2015-01-01

A method for the extension of the three-dimensional X-ray diffraction technique to allow the extraction of domain volume fractions in polycrystalline ferroic materials is presented. This method gives access to quantitative domain volume fractions of hundreds of independent embedded grains within...... are applied to tetragonal coarse-grained Ba0.88Ca0.12Zr0.06Ti0.94O3 and rhombohedral fine-grained (0.82)Bi0.5Na0.5TiO3–(0.18)Bi0.5K0.5TiO3 electroceramic materials. The fitted volume fraction information is used to calculate grain-scale non-180° ferroelectric domain switching strains. The absolute errors...

Salinity independent volume fraction prediction in water-gas-oil multiphase flows using artificial neural networks

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Salgado, C.M.; Pereira, Claudio M.N.A.; Brandao, Luis E.B., E-mail: otero@ien.gov.b, E-mail: cmnap@ien.gov.b, E-mail: brandao@ien.gov.b [Instituto de Engenharia Nuclear (DIRA/IEN/CNEN-RJ), Rio de Janeiro, RJ (Brazil). Div. de Radiofarmacos

2011-07-01

This work investigates the response of a volume fraction prediction system for water-gas-oil multiphase flows considering variations on water salinity. The approach is based on gamma-ray pulse height distributions pattern recognition by means the artificial neural networks (ANNs). The detection system uses appropriate fan beam geometry, comprised of a dual-energy gamma-ray source and two NaI(Tl) detectors adequately positioned outside the pipe in order measure transmitted and scattered beams. An ideal and static theoretical model for annular flow regime have been developed using MCNP-X code, which was used to provide training, test and validation data for the ANN. More than 500 simulations have been done, in which water salinity have been ranged from 0 to 16% in order to cover a most practical situations. Validation tests have included values of volume fractions and water salinity different from those used in ANN training phase. The results presented here show that the proposed approach may be successfully applied to material volume fraction prediction on watergas- oil multiphase flows considering practical (real) levels of variations in water salinity. (author)

Salinity independent volume fraction prediction in water-gas-oil multiphase flows using artificial neural networks

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Salgado, C.M.; Pereira, Claudio M.N.A.; Brandao, Luis E.B.

2011-01-01

This work investigates the response of a volume fraction prediction system for water-gas-oil multiphase flows considering variations on water salinity. The approach is based on gamma-ray pulse height distributions pattern recognition by means the artificial neural networks (ANNs). The detection system uses appropriate fan beam geometry, comprised of a dual-energy gamma-ray source and two NaI(Tl) detectors adequately positioned outside the pipe in order measure transmitted and scattered beams. An ideal and static theoretical model for annular flow regime have been developed using MCNP-X code, which was used to provide training, test and validation data for the ANN. More than 500 simulations have been done, in which water salinity have been ranged from 0 to 16% in order to cover a most practical situations. Validation tests have included values of volume fractions and water salinity different from those used in ANN training phase. The results presented here show that the proposed approach may be successfully applied to material volume fraction prediction on watergas- oil multiphase flows considering practical (real) levels of variations in water salinity. (author)

Optimization of the fractionated irradiation scheme considering physical doses to tumor and organ at risk based on dose–volume histograms

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Sugano, Yasutaka [Graduate School of Health Sciences, Hokkaido University, Kita-12, Nishi-5, Kita-ku, Sapporo, Hokkaido 060-0812 (Japan); Mizuta, Masahiro [Laboratory of Advanced Data Science, Information Initiative Center, Hokkaido University, Kita-11, Nishi-5, Kita-ku, Sapporo, Hokkaido 060-0811 (Japan); Takao, Seishin; Shirato, Hiroki; Sutherland, Kenneth L. [Department of Radiation Medicine, Graduate School of Medicine, Hokkaido University, Kita-15, Nishi-5, Kita-ku, Sapporo, Hokkaido 060-8638 (Japan); Date, Hiroyuki, E-mail: date@hs.hokudai.ac.jp [Faculty of Health Sciences, Hokkaido University, Kita-12, Nishi-5, Kita-ku, Sapporo, Hokkaido 060-0812 (Japan)

2015-11-15

Purpose: Radiotherapy of solid tumors has been performed with various fractionation regimens such as multi- and hypofractionations. However, the ability to optimize the fractionation regimen considering the physical dose distribution remains insufficient. This study aims to optimize the fractionation regimen, in which the authors propose a graphical method for selecting the optimal number of fractions (n) and dose per fraction (d) based on dose–volume histograms for tumor and normal tissues of organs around the tumor. Methods: Modified linear-quadratic models were employed to estimate the radiation effects on the tumor and an organ at risk (OAR), where the repopulation of the tumor cells and the linearity of the dose-response curve in the high dose range of the surviving fraction were considered. The minimization problem for the damage effect on the OAR was solved under the constraint that the radiation effect on the tumor is fixed by a graphical method. Here, the damage effect on the OAR was estimated based on the dose–volume histogram. Results: It was found that the optimization of fractionation scheme incorporating the dose–volume histogram is possible by employing appropriate cell surviving models. The graphical method considering the repopulation of tumor cells and a rectilinear response in the high dose range enables them to derive the optimal number of fractions and dose per fraction. For example, in the treatment of prostate cancer, the optimal fractionation was suggested to lie in the range of 8–32 fractions with a daily dose of 2.2–6.3 Gy. Conclusions: It is possible to optimize the number of fractions and dose per fraction based on the physical dose distribution (i.e., dose–volume histogram) by the graphical method considering the effects on tumor and OARs around the tumor. This method may stipulate a new guideline to optimize the fractionation regimen for physics-guided fractionation.

Cerebral blood volume alterations during fractional pneumoencephalography

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Voigt, K.; Greitz, T.

1976-01-01

Simultaneous and continuous measurements of the cerebral blood volume (CBV), cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) and blood pressure were carried out in six patients during fractional pneumoencephalography in order to examine intracranial volumetric interactions. Three patients (Group A) showed normal encephalographic findings, and in three patients (Group B) communicating hydrocephalus with convexity block was found encephalographically. In all patients the injection of air was followed by an immediate increase of CSF pressure and blood pressure and a concomitant decrease of CBV. The initial CSF pressure was invariably re-established within 3 to 3.5 min. During this time interval the CBV of the patients of Group B decreased significantly and 30 percent more than that of Group A. Furthermore, after restoration of the original CSF pressure, CBV returned to its initial level in all patients of Group A, whereas it remained unchanged or showed a further decrease in the patients of Group B. Removal of an amount of CSF corresponding to half of the amount of injected air was followed by a significant reactive hyperemic response in two normal patients. The intracranial volumetric alterations during fractional pneumoencephalography are discussed in detail with respect to the underlying physiologic mechanisms and are suggested as a model for acute and low pressure hydrocephalus

The equivalent electrical permittivity of gas-solid mixtures at intermediate solid volume fractions.

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Torczynski, John Robert; Ceccio, Steven Louis; Tortora, Paul Richard

2005-07-01

Several mixture models are evaluated for their suitability in predicting the equivalent permittivity of dielectric particles in a dielectric medium for intermediate solid volume fractions (0.4 to 0.6). Predictions of the Maxwell, Rayleigh, Bottcher and Bruggeman models are compared to computational simulations of several arrangements of solid particles in a gas and to the experimentally determined permittivity of a static particle bed. The experiment uses spherical glass beads in air, so air and glass permittivity values (1 and 7, respectively) are used with all of the models and simulations. The experimental system used to measure the permittivity of the static particle bed and its calibration are described. The Rayleigh model is found to be suitable for predicting permittivity over the entire range of solid volume fractions (0-0.6).

A mathematical model for the effects of volume fraction and fiber aspect ratio of biomass mixture during enzymatic hydrolysis

Science.gov (United States)

Jamil, Norazaliza Mohd; Wang, Qi

2017-09-01

Renewable energy or biofuel from lignocellulosic biomass is an alternative way to replace the depleting fossil fuels. The production cost can be reduced by increasing the concentration of biomass particles. However, lignocellulosic biomass is a suspension of natural fibres, and processing at high solid concentration is a challenging task. Thus, understanding the factors that affect the rheology of biomass suspension is crucial in order to maximize the production at a minimum cost. Our aim was to develop a mathematical model for enzymatic hydrolysis of cellulose by combining three scales: the macroscopic flow field, the mesoscopic particle orientation, and the microscopic reactive kinetics. The governing equations for the flow field, particle stress, kinetic equations, and particle orientation were coupled and were simultaneously solved using a finite element method based software, COMSOL. One of the main results was the changes in rheology of biomass suspension were not only due to the decrease in volume fraction of particles, but also due the types of fibres. The results from the simulation model agreed qualitatively with the experimental findings. This approach has enables us to obtain better predictive capabilities, hence increasing our understanding on the behaviour of biomass suspension.

Study of volume fractions for stratified and annular regime in multiphase flows using gamma-rays and artificial neural network

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Salgado, Cesar M.; Brandao, Luis Eduardo; Pereira, Claudio M.N.A.; Ramos, Robson; Schirru, Roberto; Silva, Ademir X.

2007-01-01

This work presents methodology based on the use of nuclear technique and artificial intelligence for attainment of volume fractions in stratified and annular multiphase flow regime, oil-water-gas, very frequent in the offshore industry petroliferous. Using the principles of absorption and scattering of gamma-rays and an adequate geometry scheme of detection with two detectors and two energies measurement are gotten and they vary as changes in the volume fractions of flow regime occur. The MCNP-X code was used in order to provide the data training for artificial neural network that matched such information with the respective actual volume fractions of each material. (author)

Study of volume fractions for stratified and annular regime in multiphase flows using gamma-rays and artificial neural network

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Salgado, Cesar M.; Brandao, Luis Eduardo; Pereira, Claudio M.N.A.; Ramos, Robson [Instituto de Engenharia Nuclear (IEN/CNEN-RJ), Rio de Janeiro, RJ (Brazil)]. E-mail: otero@ien.gov.br; brandao@ien.gov.br; cmnap@ien.gov.br; robson@ien.gov.br; Schirru, Roberto; Silva, Ademir X. [Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ), RJ (Brazil). Coordenacao dos Programas de Pos-Graduacao de Engenharia (COPPE). Programa de Energia Nuclear (PEN)]. E-mails: ademir@con.ufrj.br; schirru@lmp.ufrj.br

2007-07-01

This work presents methodology based on the use of nuclear technique and artificial intelligence for attainment of volume fractions in stratified and annular multiphase flow regime, oil-water-gas, very frequent in the offshore industry petroliferous. Using the principles of absorption and scattering of gamma-rays and an adequate geometry scheme of detection with two detectors and two energies measurement are gotten and they vary as changes in the volume fractions of flow regime occur. The MCNP-X code was used in order to provide the data training for artificial neural network that matched such information with the respective actual volume fractions of each material. (author)

Non-equilibrium Inertial Separation Array for High-throughput, Large-volume Blood Fractionation.

Science.gov (United States)

Mutlu, Baris R; Smith, Kyle C; Edd, Jon F; Nadar, Priyanka; Dlamini, Mcolisi; Kapur, Ravi; Toner, Mehmet

2017-08-30

Microfluidic blood processing is used in a range of applications from cancer therapeutics to infectious disease diagnostics. As these applications are being translated to clinical use, processing larger volumes of blood in shorter timescales with high-reliability and robustness is becoming a pressing need. In this work, we report a scaled, label-free cell separation mechanism called non-equilibrium inertial separation array (NISA). The NISA mechanism consists of an array of islands that exert a passive inertial lift force on proximate cells, thus enabling gentler manipulation of the cells without the need of physical contact. As the cells follow their size-based, deterministic path to their equilibrium positions, a preset fraction of the flow is siphoned to separate the smaller cells from the main flow. The NISA device was used to fractionate 400 mL of whole blood in less than 3 hours, and produce an ultrapure buffy coat (96.6% white blood cell yield, 0.0059% red blood cell carryover) by processing whole blood at 3 mL/min, or ∼300 million cells/second. This device presents a feasible alternative for fractionating blood for transfusion, cellular therapy and blood-based diagnostics, and could significantly improve the sensitivity of rare cell isolation devices by increasing the processed whole blood volume.

Determination of volume fraction in biphasic flows oil-gas and water-gas using artificial neural network and gamma densitometry

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Peixoto, Philippe Netto Belache

2016-01-01

This study presents a methodology based on the principles of gamma ray attenuation to identify volume fractions in biphasic systems composed of oil-gas-water and gas which are found in the offshore oil industry. This methodology is based on the acknowledgment counts per second on the photopeak energy using a detection system composed of a NaI (Tl) detector, a source of 137 Cs without collimation positioned at 180 ° relative to the detector on a smooth stratified flow regime. The mathematical modeling for computational simulation using the code MCNP-X was performed using the experimental measurements of the detector characteristics (energy resolution and efficiency), characteristics of the material water and oil (density and coefficient attenuation) and measurement of the volume fractions. To predict these fractions were used artificial neural networks (ANNs), and to obtain an adequate training the ANNs for the prediction of volume fractions were simulated a larger number of volume fractions in MCNP-X. The experimental data were used in the set data necessary for validation of ANNs and the data generated using the computer code MCNP-X were used in training and test sets of the ANNs. Were used ANNs of type feed-forward Multilayer Perceptron (MLP) and analyzed two functions of training, Levenberg-Marquardt (LM) and gradient descent with momentum (GDM), both using the Backpropagation training algorithm. The ANNs identified correctly the volume fractions of the multiphase system with mean relative errors lower than 1.21 %, enabling the application of this methodology for this purpose. (author)

Physical aging and structural recovery in a colloidal glass subjected to volume-fraction jump conditions

Science.gov (United States)

Peng, Xiaoguang; McKenna, Gregory B.

2016-04-01

Three important kinetic phenomena have been cataloged by Kovacs in the investigation of molecular glasses during structural recovery or physical aging. These are responses to temperature-jump histories referred to as intrinsic isotherms, asymmetry of approach, and memory effect. Here we use a thermosensitive polystyrene-poly (N -isopropylacrylamide)-poly (acrylic acid) core-shell particle-based dispersion as a colloidal model and by working at a constant number concentration of particles we use temperature changes to create volume-fraction changes. This imposes conditions similar to those defined by Kovacs on the colloidal system. We use creep experiments to probe the physical aging and structural recovery behavior of colloidal glasses in the Kovacs-type histories and compare the results with those seen in molecular glasses. We find that there are similarities in aging dynamics between molecular glasses and colloidal glasses, but differences also persist. For the intrinsic isotherms, the times teq needed for relaxing or evolving into the equilibrium (or stationary) state are relatively insensitive to the volume fraction and the values of teq are longer than the α -relaxation time τα at the same volume fraction. On the other hand, both of these times grow at least exponentially with decreasing temperature in molecular glasses. For the asymmetry of approach, similar nonlinear behavior is observed for both colloidal and molecular glasses. However, the equilibration time teq is the same for both volume-fraction up-jump and down-jump experiments, different from the finding in molecular glasses that it takes longer for the structure to evolve into equilibrium for the temperature up-jump condition than for the temperature down-jump condition. For the two-step volume-fraction jumps, a memory response is observed that is different from observations of structural recovery in two-step temperature histories in molecular glasses. The concentration dependence of the dynamics

SOLA-VOF, 2-D Transient Hydrodynamic Using Fractional Volume of Fluid Method

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nichols, B.D.; Hirt, C.W.; Hotchkiss, R.S.

1991-01-01

1 - Description of problem or function: SOLA-VOF is a program for the solution of two-dimensional transient fluid flow with free boundaries, based on the concept of a fractional volume of fluid (VOF). Its basic mode of operation is for single fluid calculations having multiple free surfaces. However, SOLA-VOF can also be used for calculations involving two fluids separated by a sharp interface. In either case, the fluids may be treated as incompressible or as having limited compressibility. Surface tension forces with wall adhesion are permitted in both cases. Internal obstacles may be defined by blocking out any desired combination of cells in the mesh, which is composed of rectangular cells of variable size. 2 - Method of solution: The basis of the SOLA-VOF method is the fractional volume of fluid scheme for tracking free boundaries. In this technique, a function F(x,y,t) is defined whose value is unity at any point occupied by fluid and zero elsewhere. When averaged over the cells of a computational mesh, the average value of F in a cell is equal to the fractional volume of the cell occupied by fluid. In particular, a unit value of F corresponds to a cell full of fluid, whereas a zero value indicates that the cell contains no fluid. Cells with F values between zero and one contain a free surface. SOLA-VOF uses an Eulerian mesh of rectangular cells having variable sizes. The fluid equations solved are the finite difference approximations of the Navier-Stokes equations. 3 - Restrictions on the complexity of the problem: The setting of array dimensions is controlled through PARAMETER statements

Modeling the Effect of Glass Microballoon (GMB) Volume Fraction on Behavior of Sylgard/GMB Composites.

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Brown, Judith Alice [Sandia National Lab. (SNL-NM), Albuquerque, NM (United States); Long, Kevin Nicholas [Sandia National Lab. (SNL-NM), Albuquerque, NM (United States)

2017-05-01

This work was done to support customer questions about whether a Sylgard/Glass Microballoon (GMB) potting material in current use could be replaced with pure Sylgard and if this would significantly change stresses imparted to internal components under thermal cycling conditions. To address these questions, we provide micromechanics analysis of Sylgard/GMB materials using both analytic composite theory and finite element simulations to better understand the role of the GMB volume fraction in determining thermal expansion coefficient, elastic constants, and behavior in both confined and unconfined compression boundary value problems. A key finding is that damage accumulation in the material from breakage of GMBs significantly limits the global stress magnitude and results in a plateau stress behavior over large ranges of compressive strain. The magnitude of this plateau stress is reduced with higher volume fractions of GMBs. This effect is particularly pronounced in confined compression, which we estimate bears the most similarity to the application of interest. This stress-limiting damage mechanism is not present in pure Sylgard, however, and the result is much higher stresses under confined compression. Thus, we recommend that some volume fraction greater than 10% GMBs be used for confined deformation applications.

Damping behavior of polymer composites with high volume fraction of NiMnGa powders

Science.gov (United States)

Sun, Xiaogang; Song, Jie; Jiang, Hong; Zhang, Xiaoning; Xie, Chaoying

2011-03-01

Polymer composites inserted with high volume fraction (up to 70 Vol%) of NiMnGa powders were fabricated and their damping behavior was investigated by dynamic mechanical analysis. It is found that the polymer matrix has little influence on the transformation temperatures of NiMnGa powders. A damping peak appears for NiMnGa/epoxy resin (EP) composites accompanying with the martensitic transformation or reverse martensitic transformation of NiMnGa powders during cooling or heating. The damping capacity for NiMnGa/EP composites increases linearly with the increase of volume fraction of NiMnGa powders and, decreases dramatically as the test frequency increases. The fracture strain of NiMnGa/EP composites decrease with the increase of NiMnGa powders.

40 CFR 63.2854 - How do I determine the weighted average volume fraction of HAP in the actual solvent loss?

Science.gov (United States)

2010-07-01

... volume fraction of HAP in the actual solvent loss? 63.2854 Section 63.2854 Protection of Environment... AIR POLLUTANTS FOR SOURCE CATEGORIES National Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants: Solvent... average volume fraction of HAP in the actual solvent loss? (a) This section describes the information and...

SU-E-T-427: Cell Surviving Fractions Derived From Tumor-Volume Variation During Radiotherapy for Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer: Comparison with Predictive Assays

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Chvetsov, A; Schwartz, J; Mayr, N [University of Washington, Seattle, WA (United States); Yartsev, S [London Health Sciences Centre, London, Ontario (Canada)

2014-06-01

Purpose: To show that a distribution of cell surviving fractions S{sub 2} in a heterogeneous group of patients can be derived from tumor-volume variation curves during radiotherapy for non-small cell lung cancer. Methods: Our analysis was based on two data sets of tumor-volume variation curves for heterogeneous groups of 17 patients treated for nonsmall cell lung cancer with conventional dose fractionation. The data sets were obtained previously at two independent institutions by using megavoltage (MV) computed tomography (CT). Statistical distributions of cell surviving fractions S{sup 2} and cell clearance half-lives of lethally damaged cells T1/2 have been reconstructed in each patient group by using a version of the two-level cell population tumor response model and a simulated annealing algorithm. The reconstructed statistical distributions of the cell surviving fractions have been compared to the distributions measured using predictive assays in vitro. Results: Non-small cell lung cancer presents certain difficulties for modeling surviving fractions using tumor-volume variation curves because of relatively large fractional hypoxic volume, low gradient of tumor-volume response, and possible uncertainties due to breathing motion. Despite these difficulties, cell surviving fractions S{sub 2} for non-small cell lung cancer derived from tumor-volume variation measured at different institutions have similar probability density functions (PDFs) with mean values of 0.30 and 0.43 and standard deviations of 0.13 and 0.18, respectively. The PDFs for cell surviving fractions S{sup 2} reconstructed from tumor volume variation agree with the PDF measured in vitro. Comparison of the reconstructed cell surviving fractions with patient survival data shows that the patient survival time decreases as the cell surviving fraction increases. Conclusion: The data obtained in this work suggests that the cell surviving fractions S{sub 2} can be reconstructed from the tumor volume

SU-E-T-427: Cell Surviving Fractions Derived From Tumor-Volume Variation During Radiotherapy for Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer: Comparison with Predictive Assays

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chvetsov, A; Schwartz, J; Mayr, N; Yartsev, S

2014-01-01

Purpose: To show that a distribution of cell surviving fractions S 2 in a heterogeneous group of patients can be derived from tumor-volume variation curves during radiotherapy for non-small cell lung cancer. Methods: Our analysis was based on two data sets of tumor-volume variation curves for heterogeneous groups of 17 patients treated for nonsmall cell lung cancer with conventional dose fractionation. The data sets were obtained previously at two independent institutions by using megavoltage (MV) computed tomography (CT). Statistical distributions of cell surviving fractions S 2 and cell clearance half-lives of lethally damaged cells T1/2 have been reconstructed in each patient group by using a version of the two-level cell population tumor response model and a simulated annealing algorithm. The reconstructed statistical distributions of the cell surviving fractions have been compared to the distributions measured using predictive assays in vitro. Results: Non-small cell lung cancer presents certain difficulties for modeling surviving fractions using tumor-volume variation curves because of relatively large fractional hypoxic volume, low gradient of tumor-volume response, and possible uncertainties due to breathing motion. Despite these difficulties, cell surviving fractions S 2 for non-small cell lung cancer derived from tumor-volume variation measured at different institutions have similar probability density functions (PDFs) with mean values of 0.30 and 0.43 and standard deviations of 0.13 and 0.18, respectively. The PDFs for cell surviving fractions S 2 reconstructed from tumor volume variation agree with the PDF measured in vitro. Comparison of the reconstructed cell surviving fractions with patient survival data shows that the patient survival time decreases as the cell surviving fraction increases. Conclusion: The data obtained in this work suggests that the cell surviving fractions S 2 can be reconstructed from the tumor volume variation curves measured

Atomic force microscopy imaging to measure precipitate volume fraction in nickel-based superalloys

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bourhettar, A.; Troyon, M.; Hazotte, A.

1995-01-01

In nickel-based superalloys, quantitative analysis of scanning electron microscopy images fails in providing accurate microstructural data, whereas more efficient techniques are very time-consuming. As an alternative approach, the authors propose to perform quantitative analysis of atomic force microscopy images of polished/etched surfaces (quantitative microprofilometry). This permits the measurement of microstructural parameters and the depth of etching, which is the main source of measurement bias. Thus, nonbiased estimations can be obtained by extrapolation of the measurements up to zero etching depth. In this article, the authors used this approach to estimate the volume fraction of γ' precipitates in a nickel-based superalloy single crystal. Atomic force microscopy images of samples etched for different times show definition, homogeneity, and contrast high enough to perform image analysis. The result after extrapolation is in very good agreement with volume fraction values available from published reports

Volume fractions of DCE-MRI parameter as early predictor of histologic response in soft tissue sarcoma: A feasibility study.

Science.gov (United States)

Xia, Wei; Yan, Zhuangzhi; Gao, Xin

2017-10-01

To find early predictors of histologic response in soft tissue sarcoma through volume transfer constant (K trans ) analysis based on dynamic contrast-enhanced magnetic resonance imaging (DCE-MRI). 11 Patients with soft tissue sarcoma of the lower extremity that underwent preoperative chemoradiotherapy followed by limb salvage surgery were included in this retrospective study. For each patient, DCE-MRI data sets were collected before and two weeks after therapy initiation, and histologic tumor cell necrosis rate (TCNR) was reported at surgery. The DCE-MRI volumes were aligned by registration. Then, the aligned volumes were used to obtain the K trans variation map. Accordingly, three sub-volumes (with increased, decreased or unchanged K trans ) were defined and identified, and fractions of the sub-volumes, denoted as F + , F - and F 0 , respectively, were calculated. The predictive ability of volume fractions was determined by using area under a receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC). Linear regression analysis was performed to investigate the relationship between TCNR and volume fractions. In addition, the K trans values of the sub-volumes were compared. The AUC for F - (0.896) and F 0 (0.833) were larger than that for change of tumor longest diameter ΔD (0.625) and the change of mean K trans ΔK trans ¯ (0.792). Moreover, the regression results indicated that TCNR was directly proportional to F 0 (R 2 =0.75, P=0.0003), while it was inversely proportional to F - (R 2 =0.77, P=0.0002). However, TCNR had relatively weak linear relationship with ΔK trans ¯ (R 2 =0.64, P=0.0018). Additionally, TCNR did not have linear relationship with DD (R 2 =0.16, P=0.1246). The volume fraction F - and F 0 have potential as early predictors of soft tissue sarcoma histologic response. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Orientation factor and number of fibers at failure plane in ring-type steel fiber reinforced concrete

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lee, C.; Kim, H.

2010-01-01

Considering the probabilistic distributions of fibers in ring-type steel fiber reinforced concrete, the orientation factor and the number of ring-type steel fibers crossing the failure plane were theoretically derived as a function of fiber geometry, specimen dimensions, and fiber volume fraction. A total number of 24 specimens were tested incorporating different fiber types, specimen geometry, and fiber volume fractions of 0.2% and 0.4%: 5 beams and 5 panels containing straight steel fibers; and 6 beams and 8 panels containing ring-type steel fibers. Measurements were made to assess the number of fibers at fractured surfaces of steel fiber reinforced concrete. The developed theoretical expressions reasonably predicted the orientation factor and the number of ring-type steel fibers at failure plane: the average and the standard deviation for the ratios of the test to theory were 1.03 and 0.26, respectively. Theoretical investigations and comparisons were made for the values of orientation factor and the number of fibers at failure plane for straight steel fibers and ring-type steel fibers.

Interfacial effect on physical properties of composite media: Interfacial volume fraction with non-spherical hard-core-soft-shell-structured particles.

Science.gov (United States)

Xu, Wenxiang; Duan, Qinglin; Ma, Huaifa; Chen, Wen; Chen, Huisu

2015-11-02

Interfaces are known to be crucial in a variety of fields and the interfacial volume fraction dramatically affects physical properties of composite media. However, it is an open problem with great significance how to determine the interfacial property in composite media with inclusions of complex geometry. By the stereological theory and the nearest-surface distribution functions, we first propose a theoretical framework to symmetrically present the interfacial volume fraction. In order to verify the interesting generalization, we simulate three-phase composite media by employing hard-core-soft-shell structures composed of hard mono-/polydisperse non-spherical particles, soft interfaces, and matrix. We numerically derive the interfacial volume fraction by a Monte Carlo integration scheme. With the theoretical and numerical results, we find that the interfacial volume fraction is strongly dependent on the so-called geometric size factor and sphericity characterizing the geometric shape in spite of anisotropic particle types. As a significant interfacial property, the present theoretical contribution can be further drawn into predicting the effective transport properties of composite materials.

Prediction of gas volume fraction in fully-developed gas-liquid flow in a vertical pipe

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Islam, A.S.M.A.; Adoo, N.A.; Bergstrom, D.J.; Wang, D.F.

2015-01-01

An Eulerian-Eulerian two-fluid model has been implemented for the prediction of the gas volume fraction profile in turbulent upward gas-liquid flow in a vertical pipe. The two-fluid transport equations are discretized using the finite volume method and a low Reynolds number κ-ε turbulence model is used to predict the turbulence field for the liquid phase. The contribution to the effective turbulence by the gas phase is modeled by a bubble induced turbulent viscosity. For the fully-developed flow being considered, the gas volume fraction profile is calculated using the radial momentum balance for the bubble phase. The model potentially includes the effect of bubble size on the interphase forces and turbulence model. The results obtained are in good agreement with experimental data from the literature. The one-dimensional formulation being developed allows for the efficient assessment and further development of both turbulence and two-fluid models for multiphase flow applications in the nuclear industry. (author)

Prediction of gas volume fraction in fully-developed gas-liquid flow in a vertical pipe

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Islam, A.S.M.A.; Adoo, N.A.; Bergstrom, D.J., E-mail: nana.adoo@usask.ca [University of Saskatchewan, Department of Mechanical Engineering, Saskatoon, SK (Canada); Wang, D.F. [Canadian Nuclear Laboratories, Chalk River, ON (Canada)

2015-07-01

An Eulerian-Eulerian two-fluid model has been implemented for the prediction of the gas volume fraction profile in turbulent upward gas-liquid flow in a vertical pipe. The two-fluid transport equations are discretized using the finite volume method and a low Reynolds number κ-ε turbulence model is used to predict the turbulence field for the liquid phase. The contribution to the effective turbulence by the gas phase is modeled by a bubble induced turbulent viscosity. For the fully-developed flow being considered, the gas volume fraction profile is calculated using the radial momentum balance for the bubble phase. The model potentially includes the effect of bubble size on the interphase forces and turbulence model. The results obtained are in good agreement with experimental data from the literature. The one-dimensional formulation being developed allows for the efficient assessment and further development of both turbulence and two-fluid models for multiphase flow applications in the nuclear industry. (author)

Individual fibre segmentation from 3D X-ray computed tomography for characterising the fibre orientation in unidirectional composite materials

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Emerson, Monica Jane; Jespersen, Kristine Munk; Dahl, Anders Bjorholm

2017-01-01

The aim of this paper is to characterise the fibre orientation in unidirectional fibre reinforced polymers, namely glass and carbon fibre composites. The compression strength of the composite is related to the orientation of the fibres. Thus the orientation is essential when designing materials...... of composites with high fibre volume fraction. From the individual fibre orientations, it is possible to obtain results which are independent of the scanning quality. The compression strength for both composites is estimated from the average fibre orientations and is found to be of the same order of magnitude...

Measurement of Soot Volume Fraction and Temperature for Oxygen-Enriched Ethylene Combustion Based on Flame Image Processing

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Weijie Yan

2017-05-01

Full Text Available A method for simultaneously visualizing the two-dimensional distributions of temperature and soot volume fraction in an ethylene flame was presented. A single-color charge-coupled device (CCD camera was used to capture the flame image in the visible spectrum considering the broad-response spectrum of the R and G bands of the camera. The directional emissive power of the R and G bands were calibrated and used for measurement. Slightly increased temperatures and reduced soot concentration were predicted in the central flame without self-absorption effects considered, an iterative algorithm was used for eliminating the effect of self-absorption. Nine different cases were presented in the experiment to demonstrate the effects of fuel mass flow rate and oxygen concentration on temperature and soot concentration in three different atmospheres. For ethylene combustion in pure-air atmosphere, as the fuel mass flow rate increased, the maximum temperature slightly decreased, and the maximum soot volume fraction slightly increased. For oxygen fractions of 30%, 40%, and 50% combustion in O2/N2 oxygen-enhanced atmospheres, the maximum flame temperatures were 2276, 2451, and 2678 K, whereas combustion in O2/CO2 atmospheres were 1916, 2322, and 2535 K. The maximum soot volume fractions were 4.5, 7.0, and 9.5 ppm in oxygen-enriched O2/N2 atmosphere and 13.6, 15.3, and 14.8 ppm in oxygen-enriched O2/CO2 atmosphere. Compared with the O2/CO2 atmosphere, combustion in the oxygen-enriched O2/N2 atmosphere produced higher flame temperature and larger soot volume fraction. Preliminary results indicated that this technique is reliable and can be used for combustion diagnosis.

Effects of local single and fractionated X-ray doses on rat bone marrow blood flow and red blood cell volume

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Pitkaenen, M.A.; Hopewell, J.W.

1985-01-01

Time and dose dependent changes in blood flow and red blood cell volume were studied in the locally irradiated bone marrow of the rat femur after single and fractionated doses of X-rays. With the single dose of 10 Gy the bone marrow blood flow although initially reduced returned to the control levels by seven months after irradiation. With doses >=15 Gy the blood flow was still significantly reduced at seven months. The total dose levels predicted by the nominal standard dose equation for treatments in three, six or nine fractions produced approximately the same degree of reduction in the bone marrow blood flow seven months after the irradiation. However, the fall in the red blood cell volume was from 23 to 37% greater in the three fractions groups compared with that in the nine fractions groups. Using the red blood cell volume as a parameter the nominal standard dose formula underestimated the severity of radiation damage in rat bone marrow at seven months for irradiation with small numbers of large dose fractions. (orig.) [de

Efficacy and safety of 10,600-nm carbon dioxide fractional laser on facial skin with previous volume injections

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Josiane Hélou

2013-01-01

Full Text Available Background: Fractionated carbon dioxide (CO 2 lasers are a new treatment modality for skin resurfacing. The cosmetic rejuvenation market abounds with various injectable devices (poly-L-lactic acid, polymethyl-methacrylate, collagens, hyaluronic acids, silicone. The objective of this study is to examine the efficacy and safety of 10,600-nm CO 2 fractional laser on facial skin with previous volume injections. Materials and Methods: This is a retrospective study including 14 patients treated with fractional CO 2 laser and who have had previous facial volume restoration. The indication for the laser therapy, the age of the patients, previous facial volume restoration, and side effects were all recorded from their medical files. Objective assessments were made through clinical physician global assessment records and improvement scores records. Patients′ satisfaction rates were also recorded. Results: Review of medical records of the 14 patients show that five patients had polylactic acid injection prior to the laser session. Eight patients had hyaluronic acid injection prior to the laser session. Two patients had fat injection, two had silicone injection and one patient had facial thread lift. Side effects included pain during the laser treatment, post-treatment scaling, post-treatment erythema, hyperpigmentation which spontaneously resolved within a month. Concerning the previous facial volume restoration, no granulomatous reactions were noted, no facial shape deformation and no asymmetry were encountered whatever the facial volume product was. Conclusion: CO 2 fractional laser treatments do not seem to affect facial skin which had previous facial volume restoration with polylactic acid for more than 6 years, hyaluronic acid for more than 0.5 year, silicone for more than 6 years, or fat for more than 1.4 year. Prospective larger studies focusing on many other variables (skin phototype, injected device type are required to achieve better

A framework to measure myocardial extracellular volume fraction using dual-phase low dose CT images

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Liu, Yixun; Summers, Ronald M.; Yao, Jianhua; Liu, Songtao; Sibley, Christopher T.; Bluemke, David A.; Nacif, Marcelo S.

2013-01-01

Purpose: Myocardial extracellular volume fraction (ECVF) is a surrogate imaging biomarker of diffuse myocardial fibrosis, a hallmark of pathologic ventricular remodeling. Low dose cardiac CT is emerging as a promising modality to detect diffuse interstitial myocardial fibrosis due to its fast acquisition and low radiation; however, the insufficient contrast in the low dose CT images poses great challenge to measure ECVF from the image. Methods: To deal with this difficulty, the authors present a complete ECVF measurement framework including a point-guided myocardial modeling, a deformable model-based myocardium segmentation, nonrigid registration of pre- and post-CT, and ECVF calculation. Results: The proposed method was evaluated on 20 patients by two observers. Compared to the manually delineated reference segmentations, the accuracy of our segmentation in terms of true positive volume fraction (TPVF), false positive volume fraction (FPVF), and average surface distance (ASD), were 92.18% ± 3.52%, 0.31% ± 0.10%, 0.69 ± 0.14 mm, respectively. The interobserver variability measured by concordance correlation coefficient regarding TPVF, FPVF, and ASD were 0.95, 0.90, 0.94, respectively, demonstrating excellent agreement. Bland-Altman method showed 95% limits of agreement between ECVF at CT and ECVF at MR. Conclusions: The proposed framework demonstrates its efficiency, accuracy, and noninvasiveness in ECVF measurement and dramatically advances the ECVF at cardiac CT toward its clinical use

A framework to measure myocardial extracellular volume fraction using dual-phase low dose CT images

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Liu, Yixun; Summers, Ronald M.; Yao, Jianhua, E-mail: JYao@cc.nih.gov [Clinical Image Processing Service, Radiology and Imaging Sciences, NIH Clinical Center, Bethesda, Maryland 20892 (United States); Liu, Songtao; Sibley, Christopher T.; Bluemke, David A. [Radiology and Imaging Sciences, NIH Clinical Center, Bethesda, Maryland 20892-1182 and Molecular Biomedical Imaging Laboratory, National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering, NIH Clinical Center, Bethesda, Maryland 20892 (United States); Nacif, Marcelo S. [Radiology and Imaging Sciences, NIH Clinical Center, Bethesda, Maryland 20892-1182 (United States)

2013-10-15

Purpose: Myocardial extracellular volume fraction (ECVF) is a surrogate imaging biomarker of diffuse myocardial fibrosis, a hallmark of pathologic ventricular remodeling. Low dose cardiac CT is emerging as a promising modality to detect diffuse interstitial myocardial fibrosis due to its fast acquisition and low radiation; however, the insufficient contrast in the low dose CT images poses great challenge to measure ECVF from the image. Methods: To deal with this difficulty, the authors present a complete ECVF measurement framework including a point-guided myocardial modeling, a deformable model-based myocardium segmentation, nonrigid registration of pre- and post-CT, and ECVF calculation. Results: The proposed method was evaluated on 20 patients by two observers. Compared to the manually delineated reference segmentations, the accuracy of our segmentation in terms of true positive volume fraction (TPVF), false positive volume fraction (FPVF), and average surface distance (ASD), were 92.18% ± 3.52%, 0.31% ± 0.10%, 0.69 ± 0.14 mm, respectively. The interobserver variability measured by concordance correlation coefficient regarding TPVF, FPVF, and ASD were 0.95, 0.90, 0.94, respectively, demonstrating excellent agreement. Bland-Altman method showed 95% limits of agreement between ECVF at CT and ECVF at MR. Conclusions: The proposed framework demonstrates its efficiency, accuracy, and noninvasiveness in ECVF measurement and dramatically advances the ECVF at cardiac CT toward its clinical use.

ECG-gated blood pool tomography in the determination of left ventricular volume, ejection fraction, and wall motion

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Underwood, S.R.; Ell, P.J.; Jarritt, P.H.; Emanuel, R.W.; Swanton, R.H.

1984-01-01

ECG-gated blood pool tomography promises to provide a ''gold standard'' for noninvasive measurement of left ventricular volume, ejection fraction, and wall motion. This study compares these measurements with those from planar radionuclide imaging and contrast ventriculography. End diastolic and end systolic blood pool images were acquired tomographically using an IGE400A rotating gamma camera and Star computer, and slices were reconstructed orthogonal to the long axis of the heart. Left ventricular volume was determined by summing the areas of the slices, and wall motion was determined by comparison of end diastolic and end systolic contours. In phantom experiments this provided an accurate measurement of volume (r=0.98). In 32 subjects who were either normal or who had coronary artery disease left ventricular volume (r=0.83) and ejection fraction (r=0.89) correlated well with those using a counts based planar technique. In 16 of 18 subjects who underwent right anterior oblique X-ray contrast ventriculography, tomographic wall motion agreed for anterior, apical, and inferior walls, but abnormal septal motion which was not apparent by contrast ventriculography, was seen in 12 subjects tomographically. All 12 had disease of the left anterior descending coronary artery and might have been expected to have abnormal septal motion. ECG-gated blood pool tomography can thus determine left ventricular volume and ejection fraction accurately, and provides a global description of wall motion in a way that is not possible from any single planar image

Evaluation of gamma prime volume fractions and lattice misfits in a nickel base superalloy using the external standard X-ray diffraction method

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Tiley, J., E-mail: jaimie.tiley@wpafb.af.mil [Air Force Research Laboratory, Materials and Manufacturing Directorate, WPAFB, OH (United States); Viswanathan, G.B. [Air Force Research Laboratory, Materials and Manufacturing Directorate, WPAFB, OH (United States); Hwang, J.Y. [Materials Engineering Department, University of North Texas, Denton, TX (United States); Shiveley, A. [Air Force Research Laboratory, Materials and Manufacturing Directorate, WPAFB, OH (United States); Banerjee, R. [Materials Engineering Department, University of North Texas, Denton, TX (United States)

2010-11-25

The unconstrained lattice parameters and volume fractions of {gamma}' for a low misfit nickel based superalloy were evaluated using X-ray diffraction techniques. Extraction techniques were used to provide unconstrained {gamma}' powders for both water quenched and slow cooled samples that were aged at 760 deg. C for 0, 25, 50, 100, and 200 h. The external standard method was used to determine the volume fraction for the unaged water quenched sample and the slow cooled sample aged for 200 h. These two extremes in processing conditions provided an increase in the total volume fraction of {gamma}'.

Use of fractional dose–volume histograms to model risk of acute rectal toxicity among patients treated on RTOG 94-06

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tucker, Susan L.; Michalski, Jeff M.; Bosch, Walter R.; Mohan, Radhe; Dong, Lei; Winter, Kathryn; Purdy, James A.; Cox, James D.

2012-01-01

Background and purpose: For toxicities occurring during the course of radiotherapy, it is conceptually inaccurate to perform normal-tissue complication probability analyses using the complete dose–volume histogram. The goal of this study was to analyze acute rectal toxicity using a novel approach in which the fit of the Lyman–Kutcher–Burman (LKB) model is based on the fractional rectal dose–volume histogram (DVH). Materials and methods: Grade ⩾2 acute rectal toxicity was analyzed in 509 patients treated on Radiation Therapy Oncology Group (RTOG) protocol 94-06. These patients had no field reductions or treatment-plan revisions during therapy, allowing the fractional rectal DVH to be estimated from the complete rectal DVH based on the total number of dose fractions delivered. Results: The majority of patients experiencing Grade ⩾2 acute rectal toxicity did so before completion of radiotherapy (70/80 = 88%). Acute rectal toxicity depends on fractional mean rectal dose, with no significant improvement in the LKB model fit when the volume parameter differs from n = 1. The incidence of toxicity was significantly lower for patients who received hormone therapy (P = 0.024). Conclusions: Variations in fractional mean dose explain the differences in incidence of acute rectal toxicity, with no detectable effect seen here for differences in numbers of dose fractions delivered.

Fractionation in normal tissues: the (α/β)eff concept can account for dose heterogeneity and volume effects.

Science.gov (United States)

Hoffmann, Aswin L; Nahum, Alan E

2013-10-07

The simple Linear-Quadratic (LQ)-based Withers iso-effect formula (WIF) is widely used in external-beam radiotherapy to derive a new tumour dose prescription such that there is normal-tissue (NT) iso-effect when changing the fraction size and/or number. However, as conventionally applied, the WIF is invalid unless the normal-tissue response is solely determined by the tumour dose. We propose a generalized WIF (gWIF) which retains the tumour prescription dose, but replaces the intrinsic fractionation sensitivity measure (α/β) by a new concept, the normal-tissue effective fractionation sensitivity, [Formula: see text], which takes into account both the dose heterogeneity in, and the volume effect of, the late-responding normal-tissue in question. Closed-form analytical expressions for [Formula: see text] ensuring exact normal-tissue iso-effect are derived for: (i) uniform dose, and (ii) arbitrary dose distributions with volume-effect parameter n = 1 from the normal-tissue dose-volume histogram. For arbitrary dose distributions and arbitrary n, a numerical solution for [Formula: see text] exhibits a weak dependence on the number of fractions. As n is increased, [Formula: see text] increases from its intrinsic value at n = 0 (100% serial normal-tissue) to values close to or even exceeding the tumour (α/β) at n = 1 (100% parallel normal-tissue), with the highest values of [Formula: see text] corresponding to the most conformal dose distributions. Applications of this new concept to inverse planning and to highly conformal modalities are discussed, as is the effect of possible deviations from LQ behaviour at large fraction sizes.

Effects of ductile phase volume fraction on the mechanical properties of Ti-Al3Ti metal-intermetallic laminate (MIL) composites

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Price, Richard D.; Jiang Fengchun; Kulin, Robb M.; Vecchio, Kenneth S.

2011-01-01

Research highlights: → Residual Al improves the mechanical properties of Ti-Al 3 Ti MIL composites. → Residual Al can eliminate intermetallic centerline delaminations in MILs. → Low levels of residual Al increase fracture toughness in MIL composites. → MIL stiffness, strength, and fracture toughness can be optimized at low Al levels. - Abstract: Metal-intermetallic laminate (MIL) composites consisting of alternating layers of Ti, Al, and the intermetallic Al 3 Ti have been fabricated by reactive foil sintering in open air. Six initially identical stacks of alternating Ti-3Al-2.5 V and 1100-Al foils were processed for different lengths of time, yielding specimens with different metal and intermetallic volume fractions. Their mechanical properties have been investigated with an emphasis on the effect of residual Al at the intermetallic centerline on composite strength and fracture toughness, as well as fracture and failure modes. Samples were cut from each composite plate (in layer orientations parallel and perpendicular to the intended load direction) for mechanical testing in compression and four-point bending under quasi-static and high-rate loading conditions. Examination of the damaged specimens and their fracture surfaces by optical and scanning electron microscopy was performed to establish a correlation between the failure mechanisms present, composite strength, and microstructure. Results indicated that regardless of loading direction, cracks always initiated in the intermetallic region, rarely at the centerline, and crack propagation and failure were heavily influenced by the thickness of the residual aluminum layers. There is an ideal residual aluminum volume fraction that represents the amount of ductile reinforcement that maximizes the combined properties of strength, toughness and stiffness.

Thermosetting resins with high fractions of free volume and inherently low dielectric constants.

Science.gov (United States)

Lin, Liang-Kai; Hu, Chien-Chieh; Su, Wen-Chiung; Liu, Ying-Ling

2015-08-18

This work demonstrates a new class of thermosetting resins, based on Meldrum's acid (MA) derivatives, which have high fractions of free volume and inherently low k values of about 2.0 at 1 MHz. Thermal decomposition of the MA groups evolves CO2 and acetone to create air-trapped cavities so as to reduce the dielectric constants.

Quantitative gated SPECT: the effect of reconstruction filter on calculated left ventricular ejection fractions and volumes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wright, Graham A.; McDade, Mark; Martin, William; Hutton, William

2002-01-01

Gated SPECT (GSPECT) offers the possibility of obtaining additional functional information from perfusion studies, including calculation of left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF). The calculation of LVEF relies upon the identification of the endocardial surface, which will be affected by the spatial resolution and statistical noise in the reconstructed images. The aim of this study was to compare LVEFs and ventricular volumes calculated from GSPECT using six reconstruction filters. GSPECT and radionuclide ventriculography (RNVG) were performed on 40 patients; filtered back projection was used to reconstruct the datasets with each filter. LVEFs and volumes were calculated using the Cedars-Sinai QGS package. The correlation coefficient between RNVG and GSPECT ranged from 0.81 to 0.86 with higher correlations for smoother filters. The narrowest prediction interval was 11±2%. There was a trend towards higher LVEF values with smoother filters, the ramp filter yielding LVEFs 2.55±3.10% (p<0.001) lower than the Hann filter. There was an overall fall in ventricular volumes with smoother filters with a mean difference of 13.98±10.15 ml (p<0.001) in EDV between the Butterworth-0.5 and Butterworth-0.3 filters. In conclusion, smoother reconstruction filters lead to lower volumes and higher ejection fractions with the QGS algorithm, with the Butterworth-0.4 filter giving the highest correlation with LVEFs from RNVG. Even if the optimal filter is chosen the uncertainty in the measured ejection fractions is still too great to be clinically acceptable. (author)

Entropy of level-cut random Gaussian structures at different volume fractions.

Science.gov (United States)

Marčelja, Stjepan

2017-10-01

Cutting random Gaussian fields at a given level can create a variety of morphologically different two- or several-phase structures that have often been used to describe physical systems. The entropy of such structures depends on the covariance function of the generating Gaussian random field, which in turn depends on its spectral density. But the entropy of level-cut structures also depends on the volume fractions of different phases, which is determined by the selection of the cutting level. This dependence has been neglected in earlier work. We evaluate the entropy of several lattice models to show that, even in the cases of strongly coupled systems, the dependence of the entropy of level-cut structures on molar fractions of the constituents scales with the simple ideal noninteracting system formula. In the last section, we discuss the application of the results to binary or ternary fluids and microemulsions.

Entropy of level-cut random Gaussian structures at different volume fractions

Science.gov (United States)

Marčelja, Stjepan

2017-10-01

Cutting random Gaussian fields at a given level can create a variety of morphologically different two- or several-phase structures that have often been used to describe physical systems. The entropy of such structures depends on the covariance function of the generating Gaussian random field, which in turn depends on its spectral density. But the entropy of level-cut structures also depends on the volume fractions of different phases, which is determined by the selection of the cutting level. This dependence has been neglected in earlier work. We evaluate the entropy of several lattice models to show that, even in the cases of strongly coupled systems, the dependence of the entropy of level-cut structures on molar fractions of the constituents scales with the simple ideal noninteracting system formula. In the last section, we discuss the application of the results to binary or ternary fluids and microemulsions.

Usefulness of acoustic quantification method in left ventricular volume and ejection fraction. Compared with ventriculography and scintigraphy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Shibata, Takahiro; Honda, Youichi; Kashiwagi, Hidehiko

1996-01-01

Acoustic quantification method (AQ: on-line automated boundary detection system) has proved to have a good correlation with left ventriculography (LVG) and scintigraphy (SG) in patients with normal left ventricular (LV) function. The aim of this study is to determine whether AQ is also useful in patients with abnormal LV function. We examined 54 patients with LV asynergy. End-diastolic volumes with AQ, LVG and SG were 77, 135, 118 ml. A good correlation was found between AQ and LVG and SG (LVG; r=0.81, SG; r=0.68). End-systolic volumes with AQ, LVG and SG were 38, 64 and 57 ml. Left ventricular volumes obtained from AQ had a good correlation with LVG and SG, but were underestimated. LV ejection fraction obtained from AQ had good correlation with those with LVG and SG (LVG; r=0.84. SG; r=0.77). On-line AQ appears to be a useful noninvasive method for evaluation of the left ventricular ejection fraction, but care must be exercised when estimations of left ventricular volumes are made. (author)

Isolation, Fractionation, and Identification of Sucrose Esters from Various Oriental Tobaccos Employing Supercritical Fluids

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ashraf-Khorassani M

2014-12-01

Full Text Available Isolation, fractionation, and identification of sucrose esters from aged oriental tobacco employing supercritical fluids have been completed. Underivatized sucrose ester-rich extracts were obtained using supercritical CO2 at densities greater than 0.73 g/mL. Lower density CO2 provided extracts with notable amounts of tobacco derived material; yet, no detectable sucrose ester content. Preparative supercritical fluid chromatography (SFC provided for an additional purification of the sucrose ester-enriched fraction after column optimization. Structural assignments of the SFC fractions were facilitated using gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC/MS accompanied by N, O-bis(trimethylsilyltrifluoroacetamide-dimethylformamide (BSTFA-DMF derivatization of the free hydroxyl groups and high performance-liquid chromatography/mass spectrometry (HPLC/MS. From a relative quantitative perspective regardless of tobacco type, sucrose esters having an acetyl group on C6 of the glucose function (Group III were in higher concentration compared to both the concentration observed for sucrose ester of Group I (acetyl group on C3 of fructose and sucrose ester of Group II (no acetyl group on either glucose or fructose. Saturated fatty acid constituents were found to range from a maximum total of 18 carbons to a minimum total of 13 carbons. Unsaturated and isomeric fatty acid homologues were detected within the Group II sucrose ester.

Dose fractionated gamma knife radiosurgery for large arteriovenous malformations on daily or alternate day schedule outside the linear quadratic model: Proof of concept and early results. A substitute to volume fractionation.

Science.gov (United States)

Mukherjee, Kanchan Kumar; Kumar, Narendra; Tripathi, Manjul; Oinam, Arun S; Ahuja, Chirag K; Dhandapani, Sivashanmugam; Kapoor, Rakesh; Ghoshal, Sushmita; Kaur, Rupinder; Bhatt, Sandeep

2017-01-01

To evaluate the feasibility, safety and efficacy of dose fractionated gamma knife radiosurgery (DFGKRS) on a daily schedule beyond the linear quadratic (LQ) model, for large volume arteriovenous malformations (AVMs). Between 2012-16, 14 patients of large AVMs (median volume 26.5 cc) unsuitable for surgery or embolization were treated in 2-3 of DFGKRS sessions. The Leksell G frame was kept in situ during the whole procedure. 86% (n = 12) patients had radiologic evidence of bleed, and 43% (n = 6) had presented with a history of seizures. 57% (n = 8) patients received a daily treatment for 3 days and 43% (n = 6) were on an alternate day (2 fractions) regimen. The marginal dose was split into 2 or 3 fractions of the ideal prescription dose of a single fraction of 23-25 Gy. The median follow up period was 35.6 months (8-57 months). In the three-fraction scheme, the marginal dose ranged from 8.9-11.5 Gy, while in the two-fraction scheme, the marginal dose ranged from 11.3-15 Gy at 50% per fraction. Headache (43%, n = 6) was the most common early postoperative complication, which was controlled with short course steroids. Follow up evaluation of at least three years was achieved in seven patients, who have shown complete nidus obliteration in 43% patients while the obliteration has been in the range of 50-99% in rest of the patients. Overall, there was a 67.8% reduction in the AVM volume at 3 years. Nidus obliteration at 3 years showed a significant rank order correlation with the cumulative prescription dose (p 0.95, P value 0.01), with attainment of near-total (more than 95%) obliteration rates beyond 29 Gy of the cumulative prescription dose. No patient receiving a cumulative prescription dose of less than 31 Gy had any severe adverse reaction. In co-variate adjusted ordinal regression, only the cumulative prescription dose had a significant correlation with common terminology criteria for adverse events (CTCAE) severity (P value 0.04), independent of age, AVM volume

Birth weight and neonatal adiposity prediction using fractional limb volume obtained with 3D ultrasound.

Science.gov (United States)

O'Connor, Clare; O'Higgins, Amy; Doolan, Anne; Segurado, Ricardo; Stuart, Bernard; Turner, Michael J; Kennelly, Máireád M

2014-01-01

The objective of this investigation was to study fetal thigh volume throughout gestation and explore its correlation with birth weight and neonatal body composition. This novel technique may improve birth weight prediction and lead to improved detection rates for fetal growth restriction. Fractional thigh volume (TVol) using 3D ultrasound, fetal biometry and soft tissue thickness were studied longitudinally in 42 mother-infant pairs. The percentages of neonatal body fat, fat mass and fat-free mass were determined using air displacement plethysmography. Correlation and linear regression analyses were performed. Linear regression analysis showed an association between TVol and birth weight. TVol at 33 weeks was also associated with neonatal fat-free mass. There was no correlation between TVol and neonatal fat mass. Abdominal circumference, estimated fetal weight (EFW) and EFW centile showed consistent correlations with birth weight. Thigh volume demonstrated an additional independent contribution to birth weight prediction when added to the EFW centile from the 38-week scan (p = 0.03). Fractional TVol performed at 33 weeks gestation is correlated with birth weight and neonatal lean body mass. This screening test may highlight those at risk of fetal growth restriction or macrosomia.

Influence of primary α-phase volume fraction on the mechanical properties of Ti-6Al-4V alloy at different strain rates and temperatures

Science.gov (United States)

Ren, Yu; Zhou, Shimeng; Luo, Wenbo; Xue, Zhiyong; Zhang, Yajing

2018-03-01

Bimodal microstructures with primary α-phase volume fractions ranging from 14.3% to 57.1% were gained in Ti-6Al-4V (Ti-64) alloy through annealed in two-phase region at various temperatures below the β-transus point. Then the influence of the primary α-phase volume fraction on the mechanical properties of Ti-64 were studied. The results show that, at room temperature and a strain rate of 10‑3 s‑1, the yield stress decreases but the fracture strain augments with added primary α-phase volume fraction. The equiaxed primary α-phase possesses stronger ability to coordinate plastic deformation, leading to the improvement of the ductile as well as degradation of the strength of Ti-64 with higher primary α-phase volume fraction. As the temperature goes up to 473 K, the quasi-static yield stress and ultimate strength decrease first and then increase with the incremental primary α-phase volume fraction, due to the interaction between the work hardening and the softening caused by the DRX and the growth of the primary α-phase. At room temperature and a strain rate of 3×103 s‑1, the varying pattern of strength with the primary α-phase volume fraction resembles that at a quasi-static strain rate. However, the flow stress significantly increases but the strain-hardening rate decreases compared to those at quasi-static strain rate due to the competition between the strain rate hardening and the thermal softening during dynamic compression process.

Self Absorbed Fraction for Electrons and Beta Particles in Small Spherical Volumes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Grosev, D.

2003-01-01

Absorbed fraction and target organ mass are important parameters of internal dosimetry calculations that define the geometry of the system. Standard MIRD (Medical Internal Radiation Dosimetry) formalism assumes that the absorbed fraction for non-penetrating radiations (e.g., electrons, beta particles) is 1. This may not be correct in cases where dimensions of organs/tissues are comparable with the ranges of electrons/beta particles. Such is the case for example in radiodine ablation of thyroid remnant tissue. In this work the self-absorbed fraction (source and target volumes are the same) for monoenergetic electrons and beta particles is calculated for small spherical volumes of various sizes and unit density. Absorbed fraction can be expressed as an integral of the product of two quantities: (a) Scaled beta dose point kernel (mean absorbed dose rate per activity of the point source in infinite homogenous medium), F β ; (b) special geometrical reduction factor (GRF). F β is calculated using EGS4 Monte Carlo (MC) code for transport of electrons and photons. MC source code calculates the deposition of energy inside concentric spherical shells around the isotropic point source of electrons/beta particles in infinite medium (water). Shell thickness was δr=0.02·X 90 , where X 90 represents the radius of the sphere inside which 90% of the source energy is absorbed. Number of concentric spherical shells was 100, 10000 electron histories were started in each program run, and 10 runs were repeated for statistical reason. Numerical integration of the product of F β , calculated by MC program, and GRF for sphere was done using Simpson method. Absorbed fractions were calculated for spheres with mass from 0.01-20 g (r = 0.13 - 1.68 cm). Results are given for monoenergetic electrons with kinetic energy T=0.2, 0.4, 1.0 MeV, and for three beta emitters 1 31I , 3 2P , 9 0Y . For quantitative dosimetric protocols in radioiodine ablation therapy, results for 1 31I are of

Nonlinear Conservation Laws and Finite Volume Methods

Science.gov (United States)

Leveque, Randall J.

Introduction Software Notation Classification of Differential Equations Derivation of Conservation Laws The Euler Equations of Gas Dynamics Dissipative Fluxes Source Terms Radiative Transfer and Isothermal Equations Multi-dimensional Conservation Laws The Shock Tube Problem Mathematical Theory of Hyperbolic Systems Scalar Equations Linear Hyperbolic Systems Nonlinear Systems The Riemann Problem for the Euler Equations Numerical Methods in One Dimension Finite Difference Theory Finite Volume Methods Importance of Conservation Form - Incorrect Shock Speeds Numerical Flux Functions Godunov's Method Approximate Riemann Solvers High-Resolution Methods Other Approaches Boundary Conditions Source Terms and Fractional Steps Unsplit Methods Fractional Step Methods General Formulation of Fractional Step Methods Stiff Source Terms Quasi-stationary Flow and Gravity Multi-dimensional Problems Dimensional Splitting Multi-dimensional Finite Volume Methods Grids and Adaptive Refinement Computational Difficulties Low-Density Flows Discrete Shocks and Viscous Profiles Start-Up Errors Wall Heating Slow-Moving Shocks Grid Orientation Effects Grid-Aligned Shocks Magnetohydrodynamics The MHD Equations One-Dimensional MHD Solving the Riemann Problem Nonstrict Hyperbolicity Stiffness The Divergence of B Riemann Problems in Multi-dimensional MHD Staggered Grids The 8-Wave Riemann Solver Relativistic Hydrodynamics Conservation Laws in Spacetime The Continuity Equation The 4-Momentum of a Particle The Stress-Energy Tensor Finite Volume Methods Multi-dimensional Relativistic Flow Gravitation and General Relativity References

Application of artificial neural networks for the prediction of volume fraction using spectra of gamma rays backscattered by three-phase flows

Science.gov (United States)

Gholipour Peyvandi, R.; Islami Rad, S. Z.

2017-12-01

The determination of the volume fraction percentage of the different phases flowing in vessels using transmission gamma rays is a conventional method in petroleum and oil industries. In some cases, with access only to the one side of the vessels, attention was drawn toward backscattered gamma rays as a desirable choice. In this research, the volume fraction percentage was measured precisely in water-gasoil-air three-phase flows by using the backscatter gamma ray technique andthe multilayer perceptron (MLP) neural network. The volume fraction determination in three-phase flows requires two gamma radioactive sources or a dual-energy source (with different energies) while in this study, we used just a 137Cs source (with the single energy) and a NaI detector to analyze backscattered gamma rays. The experimental set-up provides the required data for training and testing the network. Using the presented method, the volume fraction was predicted with a mean relative error percentage less than 6.47%. Also, the root mean square error was calculated as 1.60. The presented set-up is applicable in some industries with limited access. Also, using this technique, the cost, radiation safety and shielding requirements are minimized toward the other proposed methods.

The effect of different fibre volume fraction on mechanical properties of banana/pineapple leaf (PaLF)/glass hybrid composite

Science.gov (United States)

Hanafee, Z. M.; Khalina, A.; Norkhairunnisa, M.; Syams, Z. Edi; Liew, K. E.

2017-09-01

This paper investigates the effect of fibre volume fraction on mechanical properties of banana-pineapple leaf (PaLF)-glass reinforced epoxy resin under tensile loading. Uniaxial tensile tests were carried out on specimens with different fibre contents (30%, 40%, 50% in weight). The composite specimens consists of 13 different combinations. The effect of hybridisation between synthetic and natural fibre onto tensile properties was determined and the optimum fibre volume fraction was obtained at 50% for both banana and PaLF composites. Additional 1 layer of woven glass fibre increased the tensile strength of banana-PaLF composite up to 85%.

Fractional filling with the microdepot technique as an alternative to bolus hyaluronic acid injections in facial volume restoration.

Science.gov (United States)

Lim, Adrian C; Lowe, Patricia M

2011-05-01

For volume restoration of the face, hyaluronic acid is conventionally injected through long, large-bore, 18-gauge needles because of the higher viscosity subtypes required. These hyaluronic acids are either more highly cross-linked or larger in particle size than the less-viscous subtypes. The microdepot injection technique involves using the 31-gauge BD insulin syringe (Becton-Dickinson, North Ryde, NSW Australia) to deposit small amounts of filler (0.05-0.1 mL) throughout the area of volume loss. The procedure is extremely well tolerated, requiring only topical and ice anaesthesia. Using this method, volume restoration can be achieved naturally and progressively over a period of time. Fractional filling every 3-4 months is continued until the desired level of volume correction is attained. Patients undergoing fractional filling followed over a 12-month period did not indicate any observable compromise in filler longevity, even when highly viscous hyaluronic acid fillers were injected through small-bore, 31-gauge insulin syringes. © 2011 The Authors. Australasian Journal of Dermatology © 2011 The Australasian College of Dermatologists.

Critical Void Volume Fraction fc at Void Coalescence for S235JR Steel at Low Initial Stress Triaxiality

Science.gov (United States)

Grzegorz Kossakowski, Paweł; Wciślik, Wiktor

2017-10-01

The paper is concerned with the nucleation, growth and coalescence of microdefects in the form of voids in S235JR steel. The material is known to be one of the basic steel grades commonly used in the construction industry. The theory and methods of damage mechanics were applied to determine and describe the failure mechanisms that occur when the material undergoes deformation. Until now, engineers have generally employed the Gurson-Tvergaard- Needleman model. This material model based on damage mechanics is well suited to define and analyze failure processes taking place in the microstructure of S235JR steel. It is particularly important to determine the critical void volume fraction fc , which is one of the basic parameters of the Gurson-Tvergaard-Needleman material model. As the critical void volume fraction fc refers to the failure stage, it is determined from the data collected for the void coalescence phase. A case of multi-axial stresses is considered taking into account the effects of spatial stress state. In this study, the parameter of stress triaxiality η was used to describe the failure phenomena. Cylindrical tensile specimens with a circumferential notch were analysed to obtain low values of initial stress triaxiality (η = 0.556 of the range) in order to determine the critical void volume fraction fc . It is essential to emphasize how unique the method applied is and how different it is from the other more common methods involving parameter calibration, i.e. curve-fitting methods. The critical void volume fraction fc at void coalescence was established through digital image analysis of surfaces of S235JR steel, which involved studying real, physical results obtained directly from the material tested.

The Effect of Fiber Strength Stochastics and Local Fiber Volume Fraction on Multiscale Progressive Failure of Composites

Science.gov (United States)

Ricks, Trenton M.; Lacy, Jr., Thomas E.; Bednarcyk, Brett A.; Arnold, Steven M.

2013-01-01

Continuous fiber unidirectional polymer matrix composites (PMCs) can exhibit significant local variations in fiber volume fraction as a result of processing conditions that can lead to further local differences in material properties and failure behavior. In this work, the coupled effects of both local variations in fiber volume fraction and the empirically-based statistical distribution of fiber strengths on the predicted longitudinal modulus and local tensile strength of a unidirectional AS4 carbon fiber/ Hercules 3502 epoxy composite were investigated using the special purpose NASA Micromechanics Analysis Code with Generalized Method of Cells (MAC/GMC); local effective composite properties were obtained by homogenizing the material behavior over repeating units cells (RUCs). The predicted effective longitudinal modulus was relatively insensitive to small (8%) variations in local fiber volume fraction. The composite tensile strength, however, was highly dependent on the local distribution in fiber strengths. The RUC-averaged constitutive response can be used to characterize lower length scale material behavior within a multiscale analysis framework that couples the NASA code FEAMAC and the ABAQUS finite element solver. Such an approach can be effectively used to analyze the progressive failure of PMC structures whose failure initiates at the RUC level. Consideration of the effect of local variations in constituent properties and morphologies on progressive failure of PMCs is a central aspect of the application of Integrated Computational Materials Engineering (ICME) principles for composite materials.

Some Reflections On The Orientations And Volume Of Accounting HistoryResearch In The 21st Century)

OpenAIRE

Esteve, Esteban Hernandez

2008-01-01

(Some Reflections On The Orientations And Volume Of Accounting History Research In The 21st Century) Taking as starting point the 8th World Congress of Accounting Historians this paper attempts to identify the orientations followed by accounting history research in the first years of the 21st century, that is, from 2000 up to 2007. The main purpose of the attempt is to find out whether there have been significant novelties in the directions of research or, on the contrary, its development ha...

Effect of crystallographic texture on the bulk magnetic properties of non-oriented electrical steels

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ghosh, Pampa, E-mail: pampaghosh@gmail.com [Department of Mining and Materials Engineering, McGill University, 3610 University Street, Montreal, Quebec, Canada H3A 0C5 (Canada); Chromik, Richard R., E-mail: richard.chromik@mcgill.ca [Department of Mining and Materials Engineering, McGill University, 3610 University Street, Montreal, Quebec, Canada H3A 0C5 (Canada); Vashegi, Babak; Knight, Andrew M. [Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada T6G 2V4 (Canada)

2014-09-01

Quantitative physical models for non-oriented electrical steels require precise knowledge of chemical and microstructural parameters for the material, with crystallographic texture being one of the most important. Describing the structure–property relationships in these materials is made difficult in that all of the parameters have an effect on magnetic properties. In the present study, a set of non-oriented electrical steel specimens are examined, where chemistry and grain size are kept similar from sample to sample, but texture is varied. A new texture parameter called Magnetic Texture Factor is introduced which is defined as the ratio of the volume fractions of 〈100〉 direction to 〈111〉 direction along magnetization vector. It was found that this Magnetic Texture Factor was a better parameter for identifying trends of magnetic properties with crystallographic texture than the often used Texture Factor, which is described as the ratio of the volume fractions of {100} planes to {111} planes. - Highlights: • Magnetic properties of a set of electrical steels were measured. • The effect of crystallographic texture was isolated from other material parameters. • A new texture factor is introduced called the Magnetic Texture Factor.

Thermal Diffusivity and Thermal Conductivity of Dispersed Glass Sphere Composites Over a Range of Volume Fractions

Science.gov (United States)

Carson, James K.

2018-06-01

Glass spheres are often used as filler materials for composites. Comparatively few articles in the literature have been devoted to the measurement or modelling of thermal properties of composites containing glass spheres, and there does not appear to be any reported data on the measurement of thermal diffusivities over a range of filler volume fractions. In this study, the thermal diffusivities of guar-gel/glass sphere composites were measured using a transient comparative method. The addition of the glass beads to the gel increased the thermal diffusivity of the composite, more than doubling the thermal diffusivity of the composite relative to the diffusivity of the gel at the maximum glass volume fraction of approximately 0.57. Thermal conductivities of the composites were derived from the thermal diffusivity measurements, measured densities and estimated specific heat capacities of the composites. Two approaches to modelling the effective thermal diffusivity were considered.

Effects of diluents on soot surface temperature and volume fraction in diluted ethylene diffusion flames at pressure

KAUST Repository

Kailasanathan, Ranjith Kumar Abhinavam; Zhang, Ji; Fang, Tiegang; Roberts, William L.

2014-01-01

Soot surface temperature and volume fraction are measured in ethylene/air coflowing laminar diffusion flames at high pressures, diluted with one of four diluents (argon, helium, nitrogen, and carbon dioxide) using a two-color technique. Both

A randomized trial comparing bladder volume consistency during fractionated prostate radiation therapy

LENUS (Irish Health Repository)

Mullaney, L.

2014-01-10

Organ motion is a contributory factor to the variation in location of the prostate and organs at risk during a course of fractionated prostate radiation therapy (RT). A prospective randomized controlled trial was designed with the primary endpoint to provide evidence-based bladder-filling instructions to achieve a consistent bladder volume (BV) and thus reduce the bladder-related organ motion. The secondary endpoints were to assess the incidence of acute and late genitourinary (GU) and gastrointestinal (GI) toxicity for patients and patients’ satisfaction with the bladder-filling instructions.

Effects of morphology and wavelength on the measurement accuracy of soot volume fraction by laser extinction

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Ya-fei; Huang, Qun-xing; Wang, Fei; Chi, Yong; Yan, Jian-hua

2018-01-01

A novel method to evaluate the quantitative effects of soot morphology and incident wavelength on the measurement accuracy of soot volume fraction, by the laser extinction (LE) technique is proposed in this paper. The results indicate that the traditional LE technique would overestimate soot volume fraction if the effects of morphology and wavelength are not considered. Before the agglomeration of isolated soot primary particles, the overestimation of the LE technique is in the range of 2-20%, and rises with increasing primary particle diameter and with decreasing incident wavelength. When isolated primary particles are agglomerated into fractal soot aggregates, the overestimation would exceed 30%, and rise with increasing primary particle number per soot aggregate, fractal dimension and fractal prefactor and with decreasing incident wavelength to a maximum value of 55%. Finally, based on these results above, the existing formula of the LE technique gets modified, and the modification factor is 0.65-0.77.

Assessment of vasodilator therapy in patients with severe congestive heart failure: limitations of measurements of left ventricular ejection fraction and volumes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Firth, B.G.; Dehmer, G.J.; Markham, R.V. Jr.; Willerson, J.T.; Hillis, L.D.

1982-01-01

Although noninvasive techniques are often used to assess the effect of vasodilator therapy in patients with congestive heart failure, it is unknown whether changes in noninvasively determined left ventricular ejection fraction, volume, or dimension reliably reflect alterations in intracardiac pressure and flow. Accordingly, we compared the acute effect of sodium nitroprusside on left ventricular volume and ejection fraction (determined scintigraphically) with its effect on intracardiac pressure and forward cardiac index (determined by thermodilution) in 12 patients with severe, chronic congestive heart failure and a markedly dilated left ventricle. Nitroprusside (infused at 1.3 +/- 1.1 [mean +/- standard deviation] microgram/kg/min) caused a decrease in mean systemic arterial, mean pulmonary arterial, and mean pulmonary capillary wedge pressure as well as a concomitant increase in forward cardiac index. Simultaneously, left ventricular end-diastolic and end-systolic volume indexes decreased, but the scintigraphically determined cardiac index did not change significantly. Left ventricular ejection fraction averaged 0.19 +/- 0.05 before nitroprusside administration and increased by less than 0.05 units in response to nitroprusside in 11 of 12 patients. The only significant correlation between scintigraphically and invasively determined variables was that between the percent change in end-diastolic volume index and the percent change in pulmonary capillary wedge pressure (r . 0.68, p . 0.01). Although nitroprusside produced changes in scintigraphically determined left ventricular ejection fraction, end-systolic volume index, and cardiac index, these alterations bore no predictable relation to changes in intracardiac pressure, forward cardiac index, or vascular resistance. Furthermore, nitroprusside produced a considerably greater percent change in the invasively measured variables than in the scintigraphically determined ones

System modeling and identification in indicator dilution method for assessment of ejection fraction and pulmonary blood volume

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Bharath, H.N.; Prabhu, K.M.M.; Korsten, H.H.M.; Mischi, M.

2012-01-01

Clinically relevant cardiovascular parameters, such as pulmonary blood volume (PBV) and ejection fraction (EF), can be assessed through indicator dilution techniques. Among these techniques, which are typically invasive due to the need for central catheterization, contrast ultrasonography provides a

Neurite orientation dispersion and density imaging in the substantia nigra in idiopathic Parkinson disease.

Science.gov (United States)

Kamagata, Koji; Hatano, Taku; Okuzumi, Ayami; Motoi, Yumiko; Abe, Osamu; Shimoji, Keigo; Kamiya, Kouhei; Suzuki, Michimasa; Hori, Masaaki; Kumamaru, Kanako K; Hattori, Nobutaka; Aoki, Shigeki

2016-08-01

We used neurite orientation dispersion and density imaging (NODDI) to quantify changes in the substantia nigra pars compacta (SNpc) and striatum in Parkinson disease (PD). Diffusion-weighted magnetic resonance images were acquired from 58 PD patients and 36 age- and sex-matched controls. The intracellular volume fraction (Vic), orientation dispersion index (OD), and isotropic volume fraction (Viso) of the basal ganglia were compared between groups. Multivariate logistic regression analysis determined which diffusion parameters were independent predictors of PD. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis compared the diagnostic accuracies of the evaluated indices. Pearson coefficient analysis correlated each diffusional parameter with disease severity. Vic in the contralateral SNpc and putamen were significantly lower in PD patients than in healthy controls (P disease severity. Multivariate logistic analysis revealed that Vic (P = 0.0000046) and mean diffusivity (P = 0.019) in the contralateral SNpc were the independent predictors of PD. In the ROC analysis, Vic in the contralateral SNpc showed the best diagnostic performance (mean cutoff, 0.62; sensitivity, 0.88; specificity, 0.83). NODDI is likely to be useful for diagnosing PD and assessing its progression. • Neurite orientation dispersion and density imaging (NODDI) is a new diffusion MRI technique • NODDI estimates neurite microstructure more specifically than diffusion tensor imaging • By using NODDI, nigrostriatal alterations in PD can be evaluated in vivo • NOODI is useful for diagnosing PD and assessing its disease progression.

Orientation dependence of magnetoelectric coefficient in 1-3-type BaTiO3/CoFe2O4

Science.gov (United States)

Jian, Gang; Shao, Hui; Zhang, Cheng; Yan, Chao; Zhao, Ning; Song, Bo; Wong, C. P.

2018-03-01

Orientation dependence of magnetoelectric coefficient αE33 in 1-3-type BaTiO3/CoFe2O4 composites was calculated in arbitrary directions by three-dimensional coordinate transformation method. The space distributions of pc11‧, pc12‧, e31‧ for piezoelectric phase and mc11‧, mc12‧, q31‧ for magnetic phase were obtained independently using relative experimental data and original matrices for 4mm BaTiO3 and m3m CoFe2O4. Elastic stiffness coefficients show little orientation differences, while e31‧ and q31‧ exhibit high dependence on crystal orientation, with the MAX absolute e31‧ = 2.96 C/m2 and the MAX q31‧ = 556 × 10-12 m/A are found at θ = 0° and θ = 0°, ϕ = 45°, respectively. For space distribution of αE33‧, BaTiO3||[0 0 1]/CoFe2O4||[0 0 1] combination has the maximum value which applies to both 1-3 p/m (1.485 V/A) and 1-3 m/p composites (1.529 V/A). Volume fraction is quite independent of orientations of both piezoelectric and magnetic phases and the volume fraction for magnetic phase f around 0.5 obtains the largest αE33. The results suggest an approach to significantly enhancing magnetoelectric coefficient of composite multiferroic materials through crystal orientation controls of single crystals and textured ceramics.

The effect of the volume fraction and viscosity on the compression and tension behavior of the cobalt-ferrite magneto-rheological fluids

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

H. Shokrollahi

2016-03-01

Full Text Available The purpose of this work is to investigate the effects of the volume fraction and bimodal distribution of solid particles on the compression and tension behavior of the Co-ferrite-based magneto-rheological fluids (MRFs containing silicon oil as a carrier. Hence, Co-ferrite particles (CoFe2O4 with two various sizes were synthesized by the chemical co-precipitation method and mixed so as to prepare the bimodal MRF. The X-Ray Diffraction (XRD analysis, Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR, Laser Particle Size Analysis (LPSA and Vibrating Sample Magnetometer (VSM were conducted to examine the structural and magnetic properties, respectively. The results indicated that the increase of the volume fraction has a direct increasing influence on the values of the compression and tension strengths of fluids. In addition, the compression and tension strengths of the mixed MRF sample (1.274 and 0.647 MPa containing 60 and 550 nm samples were higher than those of the MRF sample with the same volume fraction and uniform particle size of 550 nm.

Systematic Investigation of Magnetostriction in Composite Magnetorheological Elastomers: the Effect of Particle Shape, Alignment, and Volume Fraction

Science.gov (United States)

Kassner, Christopher; Rieger, William; von Lockette, Paris; Lofland, Samuel

2013-03-01

We have completed a study of the magnetoelastic properties of several types of magnetorheological elastomers (MREs), composites consisting of magnetic particles cured in an elastic matrix. We have made a number of samples with different particle arrangements (pseudo-random and aligned), volume fraction, and particle shape (rods, spheres, and disks) and measured the field dependent strain in order to determine the magnetostriction. We found that the magnetostriction in these samples is highly dependent on the sample particle shape (aspect ratio) and volume fraction and ordering to a lesser extent. While much of the past work has focused on spherical particles, our results indicate that both rods and disks can yield enhanced results. We discuss our findings in terms of magnetic energy of the particles and elastic energy of the matrix. We then consider the issue of optimization. This work was supported in part by NSF Grant CMMI - 0927326.

Neurite orientation dispersion and density imaging in the substantia nigra in idiopathic Parkinson disease

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kamagata, Koji; Suzuki, Michimasa; Hori, Masaaki; Kumamaru, Kanako K.; Aoki, Shigeki; Hatano, Taku; Okuzumi, Ayami; Motoi, Yumiko; Hattori, Nobutaka; Abe, Osamu; Shimoji, Keigo; Kamiya, Kouhei

2016-01-01

We used neurite orientation dispersion and density imaging (NODDI) to quantify changes in the substantia nigra pars compacta (SNpc) and striatum in Parkinson disease (PD). Diffusion-weighted magnetic resonance images were acquired from 58 PD patients and 36 age- and sex-matched controls. The intracellular volume fraction (Vic), orientation dispersion index (OD), and isotropic volume fraction (Viso) of the basal ganglia were compared between groups. Multivariate logistic regression analysis determined which diffusion parameters were independent predictors of PD. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis compared the diagnostic accuracies of the evaluated indices. Pearson coefficient analysis correlated each diffusional parameter with disease severity. Vic in the contralateral SNpc and putamen were significantly lower in PD patients than in healthy controls (P < 0.00058). Vic and OD in the SNpc and putamen showed significant negative correlations (P < 0.05) with disease severity. Multivariate logistic analysis revealed that Vic (P = 0.0000046) and mean diffusivity (P = 0.019) in the contralateral SNpc were the independent predictors of PD. In the ROC analysis, Vic in the contralateral SNpc showed the best diagnostic performance (mean cutoff, 0.62; sensitivity, 0.88; specificity, 0.83). NODDI is likely to be useful for diagnosing PD and assessing its progression. (orig.)

Acute effects of volume-oriented incentive spirometry on chest wall volumes in patients after a stroke.

Science.gov (United States)

Lima, Illia Ndf; Fregonezi, Guilherme Af; Melo, Rodrigo; Cabral, Elis Ea; Aliverti, Andrea; Campos, Tânia F; Ferreira, Gardênia Mh

2014-07-01

The aim of the present study was to assess how volume-oriented incentive spirometry applied to patients after a stroke modifies the total and compartmental chest wall volume variations, including both the right and left hemithoraces, compared with controls. Twenty poststroke patients and 20 age-matched healthy subjects were studied by optoelectronic plethysmography during spontaneous quiet breathing (QB), during incentive spirometry, and during the recovery period after incentive spirometry. Incentive spirometry was associated with an increased chest wall volume measured at the pulmonary rib cage, abdominal rib cage and abdominal compartment (P = .001) and under 3 conditions (P spirometry, and postincentive spirometry, respectively. Under all 3 conditions, the contribution of the abdominal compartment to VT was greater in the stroke subjects (54.1, 43.2, and 48.9%) than in the control subjects (43.7, 40.8, and 46.1%, P = .039). In the vast majority of subjects (13/20 and 18/20 during QB and incentive spirometry, respectively), abdominal expansion precedes rib cage expansion during inspiration. Greater asymmetry between the right and left hemithoracic expansions occurred in stroke subjects compared with control subjects, but it decreased during QB (62.5%, P = .002), during incentive spirometry (19.7%), and postincentive spirometry (67.6%, P = .14). Incentive spirometry promotes increased expansion in all compartments of the chest wall and reduces asymmetric expansion between the right and left parts of the pulmonary rib cage; therefore, it should be considered as a tool for rehabilitation. Copyright © 2014 by Daedalus Enterprises.

Determination of volume fraction in biphasic flows oil-gas and water-gas using artificial neural network and gamma densitometry; Determinacao de fracoes de volume em fluxos bifasicos oleo-gas e agua-gas utilizando redes neurais artificiais e densitometria gama

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Peixoto, Philippe Netto Belache

2016-07-01

This study presents a methodology based on the principles of gamma ray attenuation to identify volume fractions in biphasic systems composed of oil-gas-water and gas which are found in the offshore oil industry. This methodology is based on the acknowledgment counts per second on the photopeak energy using a detection system composed of a NaI (Tl) detector, a source of {sup 137}Cs without collimation positioned at 180 ° relative to the detector on a smooth stratified flow regime. The mathematical modeling for computational simulation using the code MCNP-X was performed using the experimental measurements of the detector characteristics (energy resolution and efficiency), characteristics of the material water and oil (density and coefficient attenuation) and measurement of the volume fractions. To predict these fractions were used artificial neural networks (ANNs), and to obtain an adequate training the ANNs for the prediction of volume fractions were simulated a larger number of volume fractions in MCNP-X. The experimental data were used in the set data necessary for validation of ANNs and the data generated using the computer code MCNP-X were used in training and test sets of the ANNs. Were used ANNs of type feed-forward Multilayer Perceptron (MLP) and analyzed two functions of training, Levenberg-Marquardt (LM) and gradient descent with momentum (GDM), both using the Backpropagation training algorithm. The ANNs identified correctly the volume fractions of the multiphase system with mean relative errors lower than 1.21 %, enabling the application of this methodology for this purpose. (author)

Activation volume and interaction of metal particulate media

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Tetsukawa, Hiroki [Sony Corporation, 6-7-35 Kitashinagawa, Shinagawa-ku, Tokyo 141-0001 (Japan)]. E-mail: tetsukaw@arc.sony.co.jp; Kondo, Hirofumi [Sony Corporation, 6-7-35 Kitashinagawa, Shinagawa-ku, Tokyo 141-0001 (Japan)

2005-09-15

We have investigated the activation volume (V{sub ac}) and magnetostatic interaction of metal particulate (MP) media. The activation volume of MP media decreases with the decrease of physical volume (V{sub phy}) of metal particles. The activation volume and the ratio of V{sub phy}/V{sub ac} of advanced metal particles are 6x10{sup -24}m{sup 3} and 1.5, respectively. It can be predicted that the physical volume of metal particle is about 3x10{sup -24}m{sup 3} when the physical volume is equal to the activation volume. This value is agreement with the practical lower limit of physical volume of metal particle predicted by Sharrock. The negative interaction (demagnetization effect) in MP media decreases with low saturation magnetization of the metal particles, a thin magnetic layer, a high orientation of MP media, and a low packing fraction of metal particles in the MP media. The activation volume of the MP media decreased as the negative interactions decreased. In advanced MP media with low M{sub r}.t (M{sub r}=remanent magnetization and t=thickness), the influence of interaction on the activation volume is reduced.

Activation volume and interaction of metal particulate media

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tetsukawa, Hiroki; Kondo, Hirofumi

2005-01-01

We have investigated the activation volume (V ac ) and magnetostatic interaction of metal particulate (MP) media. The activation volume of MP media decreases with the decrease of physical volume (V phy ) of metal particles. The activation volume and the ratio of V phy /V ac of advanced metal particles are 6x10 -24 m 3 and 1.5, respectively. It can be predicted that the physical volume of metal particle is about 3x10 -24 m 3 when the physical volume is equal to the activation volume. This value is agreement with the practical lower limit of physical volume of metal particle predicted by Sharrock. The negative interaction (demagnetization effect) in MP media decreases with low saturation magnetization of the metal particles, a thin magnetic layer, a high orientation of MP media, and a low packing fraction of metal particles in the MP media. The activation volume of the MP media decreased as the negative interactions decreased. In advanced MP media with low M r .t (M r =remanent magnetization and t=thickness), the influence of interaction on the activation volume is reduced

The effect of strain path change on subgrain volume fraction determined from in situ X-ray measurements

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Wejdemann, Christian; Poulsen, Henning Friis; Lienert, U.

2009-01-01

to additional 5% strain is performed in situ while mapping a selected X-ray reflection from one particular bulk grain with high angular resolution. The reciprocal space maps are analyzed with a recently developed fitting method, and a correlation is found between the evolution of the subgrain volume fraction...

Cerebral sex dimorphism and sexual orientation.

Science.gov (United States)

Manzouri, Amirhossein; Savic, Ivanka

2018-03-01

The neurobiology of sexual orientation is frequently discussed in terms of cerebral sex dimorphism (defining both functional and structural sex differences). Yet, the information about possible cerebral differences between sex-matched homo and heterosexual persons is limited, particularly among women. In this multimodal MRI study, we addressed these issues by investigating possible cerebral differences between homo and heterosexual persons, and by asking whether there is any sex difference in this aspect. Measurements of cortical thickness (Cth), subcortical volumes, and functional and structural resting-state connections among 40 heterosexual males (HeM) and 40 heterosexual females (HeF) were compared with those of 30 homosexual males (HoM) and 30 homosexual females (HoF). Congruent with previous reports, sex differences were detected in heterosexual controls with regard to fractional anisotropy (FA), Cth, and several subcortical volumes. Homosexual groups did not display any sex differences in FA values. Furthermore, their functional connectivity was significantly less pronounced in the mesial prefrontal and precuneus regions. In these two particular regions, HoM also displayed thicker cerebral cortex than other groups, whereas HoF did not differ from HeF. In addition, in HoM the parietal Cth showed "sex-reversed" values, not observed in HoF. Homosexual orientation seems associated with a less pronounced sexual differentiation of white matter tracts and a less pronounced functional connectivity of the self-referential networks compared to heterosexual orientation. Analyses of Cth suggest that male and female homosexuality are not simple analogues of each other and that differences from heterosexual controls are more pronounced in HoM. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Inter fraction variations in rectum and bladder volumes and dose distributions during high dose rate brachytherapy treatment of the uterine cervix investigated by repetitive CT-examinations

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hellebust, Taran Paulsen; Dale, Einar; Skjoensberg, Ane; Olsen, Dag Rune

2001-01-01

Purpose: To evaluate variation of dose to organs at risk for patients receiving fractionated high dose rate gynaecological brachytherapy by using CT-based 3D treatment planning and dose-volume histograms (DVH). Materials and methods: Fourteen patients with cancer of the uterine cervix underwent three to six CT examinations (mean 4.9) during their course of high-dose-rate brachytherapy using radiographically compatible applicators. The rectal and bladder walls were delineated and DVHs were calculated. Results: Inter fraction variation of the bladder volume (CV mean =44.1%) was significantly larger than the inter fraction variation of the mean dose (CV mean =19.9%, P=0.005) and the maximum dose (CV mean =17.5%, P=0.003) of the bladder wall. The same trend was seen for rectum, although the figures were not significantly different. Performing CT examinations at four of seven brachytherapy fractions reduced the uncertainty to 4 and 7% for the bladder and rectal doses, respectively. A linear regression analysis showed a significant, negative relationship between time after treatment start and the whole bladder volume (P=0.018), whereas no correlation was found for the rectum. For both rectum and bladder a linear regression analysis revealed a significant, negative relationship between the whole volume and median dose (P<0.05). Conclusion: Preferably a CT examination should be provided at every fraction. However, this is logistically unfeasible in most institutions. To obtain reliable DVHs the patients will in the future undergo 3-4 CT examinations during the course of brachytherapy at our institution. Since this study showed an association between large bladder volumes and dose reductions, the patients will be treated with a standardized bladder volume

Left ventricular ejection fraction and volumes as measured by 3D echocardiography and ultrafast computed tomography

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Vieira, Marcelo Luiz Campos; Nomura, Cesar H.; Tranchesi Junior, Bernardino; Oliveira, Wercules A. de; Naccarato, Gustavo; Serpa, Bruna S.; Passos, Rodrigo B.D.; Funari, Marcelo B. G.; Fischer, Claudio H.; Morhy, Samira S.

2009-01-01

Background: Real-time three-dimensional echocardiography (RT-3D-Echo) and ultrafast computed tomography (CT) are two novel methods for the analysis of LV ejection fraction and volumes. Objective: To compare LVEF and volume measurements as obtained using RT-3D-Echo and ultrafast CT. Methods: Thirty nine consecutive patients (27 men, mean age of 57+- 12 years) were studied using RT-3D-Echo and 64-slice ultrafast CT. LVEF and LV volumes were analyzed. Statistical analysis: coefficient of correlation (r: Pearson), Bland-Altman analysis, linear regression analysis, 95% CI, p 5 .58)%; end-diastolic volume ranged from 49.6 to 178.2 (87+-27.8) ml; end-systolic volume ranged from 11.4 to 78 (33.1+-13.6) ml. CT scan measurements: LVEF ranged from 53 to 86% (67.8+-7.78); end-diastolic volume ranged from 51 to 186 (106.5+-30.3) ml; end-systolic volume ranged from 7 to 72 (35.5+-13.4)ml. Correlations between RT-3D-Echo and CT were: LVEF (r: 0.7888, p<0.0001, 95% CI 0.6301 to 0.8843); end-diastolic volume (r: 0.7695, p<0.0001, 95% CI 0.5995 to 0.8730); end-systolic volume (r: 0.8119, p<0.0001, 95% CI 0.6673 to 0.8975). Conclusion: Good correlation between LVEF and ventricular volume parameters as measured by RT-3D-Echo and 64-slice ultrafast CT was found in the present case series. (author)

Fractions as Subtraction: An Activity-Oriented Perspective from Elementary Children

Science.gov (United States)

Wood, Marcy B.; Olson, Amy M.; Freiberg, Elizabeth J.; Vega, Ruby I.

2013-01-01

A sample of third-, fourth-, and fifth-grade student responses to the question "What is a fraction?" were examined to gain an understanding of how children in upper elementary grades make sense of fractions. Rather than measure children's understanding of fractions relative to mathematically conventional part-whole constructions of…

Effects of retained austenite volume fraction, morphology, and carbon content on strength and ductility of nanostructured TRIP-assisted steels

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Shen, Y.F., E-mail: shenyf@smm.neu.edu.cn [Key Laboratory for Anisotropy and Texture of Materials (MOE), Northeastern University, 3 Wenhua Road, Shenyang 110004 (China); Qiu, L.N. [Key Laboratory for Anisotropy and Texture of Materials (MOE), Northeastern University, 3 Wenhua Road, Shenyang 110004 (China); Sun, X. [Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, PO Box 999, Richland, WA 99352 (United States); Zuo, L. [Key Laboratory for Anisotropy and Texture of Materials (MOE), Northeastern University, 3 Wenhua Road, Shenyang 110004 (China); Liaw, P.K. [Department of Materials Science and Engineering, The University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN 37996 (United States); Raabe, D. [Max-Planck-Institut fuer Eisenforschung, Max-Planck-Str. 1, 8, 40237 Düsseldorf (Germany)

2015-06-11

With a suite of multi-modal and multi-scale characterization techniques, the present study unambiguously proves that a substantially-improved combination of ultrahigh strength and good ductility can be achieved by tailoring the volume fraction, morphology, and carbon content of the retained austenite (RA) in a transformation-induced-plasticity (TRIP) steel with the nominal chemical composition of 0.19C–0.30Si–1.76Mn–1.52Al (weight percent, wt%). After intercritical annealing and bainitic holding, a combination of ultimate tensile strength (UTS) of 1100 MPa and true strain of 50% has been obtained, as a result of the ultrafine RA lamellae, which are alternately arranged in the bainitic ferrite around junction regions of ferrite grains. For reference, specimens with a blocky RA, prepared without the bainitic holding, yield a low ductility (35%) and a low UTS (800 MPa). The volume fraction, morphology, and carbon content of RA have been characterized using various techniques, including the magnetic probing, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), electron-backscatter-diffraction (EBSD), and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). Interrupted tensile tests, mapped using EBSD in conjunction with the kernel average misorientation (KAM) analysis, reveal that the lamellar RA is the governing microstructure component responsible for the higher mechanical stability, compared to the blocky one. By coupling these various techniques, we quantitatively demonstrate that in addition to the RA volume fraction, its morphology and carbon content are equally important in optimizing the strength and ductility of TRIP-assisted steels.

The fractionation of adipose tissue procedure to obtain stromal vascular fractions for regenerative purposes

NARCIS (Netherlands)

van Dongen, Joris A.; Stevens, Hieronymus P.; Parvizi, Mojtaba; van der Lei, Berend; Harmsen, Martin C.

2016-01-01

Autologous adipose tissue transplantation is clinically used to reduce dermal scarring and to restore volume loss. The therapeutic benefit on tissue damage more likely depends on the stromal vascular fraction of adipose tissue than on the adipocyte fraction. This stromal vascular fraction can be

Large volume TENAX {sup registered} extraction of the bioaccessible fraction of sediment-associated organic compounds for a subsequent effect-directed analysis

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Schwab, K.; Brack, W. [UFZ - Helmholtz Centre or Environmental Research, Leipzig (Germany). Dept. of Effect-Directed Analysis

2007-06-15

Background, Aim and Scope: Effect-directed analysis (EDA) is a powerful tool for the identification of key toxicants in complex environmental samples. In most cases, EDA is based on total extraction of organic contaminants leading to an erroneous prioritization with regard to hazard and risk. Bioaccessibility-directed extraction aims to discriminate between contaminants that take part in partitioning between sediment and biota in a relevant time frame and those that are enclosed in structures, that do not allow rapid desorption. Standard protocols of targeted extraction of rapidly desorbing, and thus bioaccessible fraction using TENAX {sup registered} are based only on small amounts of sediment. In order to get sufficient amounts of extracts for subsequent biotesting, fractionation, and structure elucidation a large volume extraction technique needs to be developed applying one selected extraction time and excluding toxic procedural blanks. Materials and Methods: Desorption behaviour of sediment contaminants was determined by a consecutive solid-solid extraction of sediment using TENAX {sup registered} fitting a tri-compartment model on experimental data. Time needed to remove the rapidly desorbing fraction trap was calculated to select a fixed extraction time for single extraction procedures. Up-scaling by about a factor of 100 provided a large volume extraction technique for EDA. Reproducibility and comparability to small volume approach were proved. Blanks of respective TENAX {sup registered} mass were investigated using Scenedesmus vacuolatus and Artemia salina as test organisms. Results: Desorption kinetics showed that 12 to 30 % of sediment associated pollutants are available for rapid desorption. t{sub r}ap is compound dependent and covers a range of 2 to 18 h. On that basis a fixed extraction time of 24 h was selected. Validation of large volume approach was done by the means of comparison to small method and reproducibility. The large volume showed a good

Intra-fraction motion of larynx radiotherapy

Science.gov (United States)

Durmus, Ismail Faruk; Tas, Bora

2018-02-01

In early stage laryngeal radiotherapy, movement is an important factor. Thyroid cartilage can move from swallowing, breathing, sound and reflexes. The effects of this motion on the target volume (PTV) during treatment were examined. In our study, the target volume movement during the treatment for this purpose was examined. Thus, setup margins are re-evaluated and patient-based PTV margins are determined. Intrafraction CBCT was scanned in 246 fractions for 14 patients. During the treatment, the amount of deviation which could be lateral, vertical and longitudinal axis was determined. ≤ ± 0.1cm deviation; 237 fractions in the lateral direction, 202 fractions in the longitudinal direction, 185 fractions in the vertical direction. The maximum deviation values were found in the longitudinal direction. Intrafraction guide in laryngeal radiotherapy; we are sure of the correctness of the treatment, the target volume is to adjust the margin and dose more precisely, we control the maximum deviation of the target volume for each fraction. Although the image quality of intrafraction-CBCT scans was lower than the image quality of planning CT, they showed sufficient contrast for this work.

Study on the detection of three-dimensional soot temperature and volume fraction fields of a laminar flame by multispectral imaging system

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ni, Mingjiang; Zhang, Haidan; Wang, Fei; Xie, Zhengchao; Huang, Qunxing; Yan, Jianhua; Cen, Kefa

2016-01-01

Highlights: • Multispectral flame images were used to reconstruct the soot temperature and volume fraction. • The proposed multi-wavelength method and the original two-color method were compared. • The effect of signal to noise ratio (SNR) was discussed. • The best number of selected wavelengths was determined to be 6–11. - Abstract: Charge-coupled device (CCD) cameras with liquid crystal tunable filters (LCTF) were introduced to capture the multispectral flame images for obtaining the line-of-sight radiation intensities. A least square QR decomposition method was applied to solve the reconstruction matrix equation and obtain the multi-wavelength local emission distributions from which temperature and volume fraction profiles can be retrieved. Compared with the original two-color method, the use of a wide range of spectral data was proved to be capable of reducing the reconstruction error. Reconstruction results of the two methods with different signal to noise ratio (SNR) were discussed. The effect of selected wavelength number is analyzed and the best number is determined to be in the range of 6–11. The proposed multispectral imaging system was verified to be feasible for the reconstruction of temperature and soot volume fraction distributions according to the experimental measurement results.

Characterization of the evolution of the volume fraction of precipitates in aged AlMgSiCu alloys using DSC technique

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Esmaeili, Shahrzad; Lloyd, David J.

2005-01-01

Differential scanning calorimetry is used to quantify the evolution of the volume fraction of precipitates during age hardening in AlMgSiCu alloys. The calorimetry tests are run on alloy samples after aging for various times at 180 deg. C and the change in the collective heat effects from the major precipitation and dissolution processes in each run are used to determine the precipitation state of the samples. The method is implemented on alloys with various thermal histories prior to artificial aging, including commercial pre-aging histories. The estimated values for the relative volume fraction of precipitates are compared with the results from a newly developed analytical method using isothermal calorimetry and a related quantitative transmission electron microscopy work. Excellent agreement is obtained between the results from various methods

Immunoglobulin G levels during collection of large volume plasma for fractionation.

Science.gov (United States)

Burkhardt, Thomas; Rothe, Remo; Moog, Rainer

2017-06-01

There is a need of comprehensive work dealing with the quality of plasma for fractionation with respect to the IgG content as today most plasma derivates are used to treat patients with immunodeficiencies and autoimmune disorders. Therefore, a prospective study was carried out to analyse IgG levels before plasmapheresis and every 200ml collected plasma. Fifty-four experienced plasmapheresis donors were recruited for subsequent 850ml plasmapheresis using the Aurora Plasmapheresis System. Donorś peripheral blood counts were analysed before and after plasmapheresis using an electronic counter. Total protein, IgG and citrate were measured turbidometrically before, during and after apheresis as well as in the plasma product. Furthermore, platelets, red and white blood cells were analysed as parameters of product quality. An average of 2751±247ml blood was processed in 47±6min. The collected plasma volume was 850±1mL and citrate consumption was 177±15mL. A continuous drop of donors' IgG level was observed during plasmapheresis. The drop was 13% of the IgG baseline value at 800mL collected plasma. Total protein, IgG and cell counts of the plasma product met current guidelines of plasma for fractionation. Donors' IgG levels during apheresis showed a steady decrease without compromising the quality of plasma product. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Chip-Oriented Fluorimeter Design and Detection System Development for DNA Quantification in Nano-Liter Volumes

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Da-Sheng Lee

2009-12-01

Full Text Available The chip-based polymerase chain reaction (PCR system has been developed in recent years to achieve DNA quantification. Using a microstructure and miniature chip, the volume consumption for a PCR can be reduced to a nano-liter. With high speed cycling and a low reaction volume, the time consumption of one PCR cycle performed on a chip can be reduced. However, most of the presented prototypes employ commercial fluorimeters which are not optimized for fluorescence detection of such a small quantity sample. This limits the performance of DNA quantification, especially low experiment reproducibility. This study discusses the concept of a chip-oriented fluorimeter design. Using the analytical model, the current study analyzes the sensitivity and dynamic range of the fluorimeter to fit the requirements for detecting fluorescence in nano-liter volumes. Through the optimized processes, a real-time PCR on a chip system with only one nano-liter volume test sample is as sensitive as the commercial real-time PCR machine using the sample with twenty micro-liter volumes. The signal to noise (S/N ratio of a chip system for DNA quantification with hepatitis B virus (HBV plasmid samples is 3 dB higher. DNA quantification by the miniature chip shows higher reproducibility compared to the commercial machine with respect to samples of initial concentrations from 103 to 105 copies per reaction.

Validity of automated measurement of left ventricular ejection fraction and volume using the Philips EPIQ system.

Science.gov (United States)

Hovnanians, Ninel; Win, Theresa; Makkiya, Mohammed; Zheng, Qi; Taub, Cynthia

2017-11-01

To assess the efficiency and reproducibility of automated measurements of left ventricular (LV) volumes and LV ejection fraction (LVEF) in comparison to manually traced biplane Simpson's method. This is a single-center prospective study. Apical four- and two-chamber views were acquired in patients in sinus rhythm. Two operators independently measured LV volumes and LVEF using biplane Simpson's method. In addition, the image analysis software a2DQ on the Philips EPIQ system was applied to automatically assess the LV volumes and LVEF. Time spent on each analysis, using both methods, was documented. Concordance of echocardiographic measures was evaluated using intraclass correlation (ICC) and Bland-Altman analysis. Manual tracing and automated measurement of LV volumes and LVEF were performed in 184 patients with a mean age of 67.3 ± 17.3 years and BMI 28.0 ± 6.8 kg/m 2 . ICC and Bland-Altman analysis showed good agreements between manual and automated methods measuring LVEF, end-systolic, and end-diastolic volumes. The average analysis time was significantly less using the automated method than manual tracing (116 vs 217 seconds/patient, P Automated measurement using the novel image analysis software a2DQ on the Philips EPIQ system produced accurate, efficient, and reproducible assessment of LV volumes and LVEF compared with manual measurement. © 2017, Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

A probabilistic method for determining the volume fraction of pre-embedded capsules in self-healing materials

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lv, Zhong; Chen, Huisu

2014-01-01

Autonomous healing of cracks using pre-embedded capsules containing healing agent is becoming a promising approach to restore the strength of damaged structures. In addition to the material properties, the size and volume fraction of capsules influence crack healing in the matrix. Understanding the crack and capsule interaction is critical in the development and design of structures made of self-healing materials. Assuming that the pre-embedded capsules are randomly dispersed we theoretically model flat ellipsoidal crack interaction with capsules and determine the probability of a crack intersecting the pre-embedded capsules i.e. the self-healing probability. We also develop a probabilistic model of a crack simultaneously meeting with capsules and catalyst carriers in two-component self-healing system matrix. Using a risk-based healing approach, we determine the volume fraction and size of the pre-embedded capsules that are required to achieve a certain self-healing probability. To understand the effect of the shape of the capsules on self-healing we theoretically modeled crack interaction with spherical and cylindrical capsules. We compared the results of our theoretical model with Monte-Carlo simulations of crack interaction with capsules. The formulae presented in this paper will provide guidelines for engineers working with self-healing structures in material selection and sustenance. (paper)

Intracapillary HbO2 saturations in murine tumours and human tumour xenografts measured by cryospectrophotometry: relationship to tumour volume, tumour pH and fraction of radiobiologically hypoxic cells.

Science.gov (United States)

Rofstad, E K; Fenton, B M; Sutherland, R M

1988-05-01

Frequency distributions for intracapillary HbO2 saturation were determined for two murine tumour lines (KHT, RIF-1) and two human ovarian carcinoma xenograft lines (MLS, OWI) using a cryospectrophotometric method. The aim was to search for possible relationships between HbO2 saturation status and tumour volume, tumour pH and fraction of radiobiologically hypoxic cells. Tumour pH was measured by 31P NMR spectroscopy. Hypoxic fractions were determined from cell survival curves for tumours irradiated in vivo and assayed in vitro. Tumours in the volume range 100-4000 mm3 were studied and the majority of the vessels were found to have HbO2 saturations below 10%. The volume-dependence of the HbO2 frequency distributions differed significantly among the four tumour lines; HbO2 saturation status decreased with increasing tumour volume for the KHT, RIF-1 and MLS lines and was independent of tumour volume for the OWI line. The data indicated that the rate of decrease in HbO2 saturation status during tumour growth was related to the rate of development of necrosis. The volume-dependence of tumour pH was very similar to that of the HbO2 saturation status for all tumour lines. Significant correlations were therefore found between HbO2 saturation status and tumour pH, both within tumour lines and across the four tumour lines, reflecting that the volume-dependence of both parameters probably was a compulsory consequence of reduced oxygen supply conditions during tumour growth. Hypoxic fraction increased during tumour growth for the KHT, RIF-1 and MLS lines and was volume-independent for the OWI line, suggesting a relationship between HbO2 saturation status and hypoxic fraction within tumour lines. However, there was no correlation between these two parameters across the four tumour lines, indicating that the hypoxic fraction of a tumour is not determined only by the oxygen supply conditions; other parameters may also be important, e.g. oxygen diffusivity, rate of oxygen

Airborne release fractions/rates and respirable fractions for nonreactor nuclear facilities. Volume 2, Appendices

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1994-12-01

This document contains compiled data from the DOE Handbook on Airborne Release Fractions/Rates and Respirable Fractions for Nonreactor Nuclear facilities. Source data and example facilities utilized, such as the Plutonium Recovery Facility, are included

CMR reference values for left ventricular volumes, mass, and ejection fraction using computer-aided analysis : The Framingham Heart Study

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Chuang, Michael L.; Gona, Philimon; Hautvast, Gilion L.T.F.; Salton, Carol J.; Breeuwer, Marcel; O'Donnell, Christopher J.; Manning, Warren J.

Purpose To determine sex-specific reference values for left ventricular (LV) volumes, mass, and ejection fraction (EF) in healthy adults using computer-aided analysis and to examine the effect of age on LV parameters. Materials and Methods We examined data from 1494 members of the Framingham Heart

Myocardial T1 and extracellular volume fraction mapping at 3 tesla

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Lee Jason J

2011-11-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background To compare 11 heartbeat (HB and 17 HB modified lock locker inversion recovery (MOLLI pulse sequence at 3T and to establish preliminary reference values for myocardial T1 and the extracellular volume fraction (ECV. Methods Both phantoms and normal volunteers were scanned at 3T using 11 HB and 17 HB MOLLI sequence with the following parameters: spatial resolution = 1.75 × 1.75 × 10 mm on a 256 × 180 matrix, TI initial = 110 ms, TI increment = 80 ms, flip angle = 35°, TR/TE = 1.9/1.0 ms. All volunteers were administered Gadolinium-DTPA (Magnevist, 0.15 mmol/kg, and multiple post-contrast MOLLI scans were performed at the same pre-contrast position from 3.5-23.5 minutes after a bolus contrast injection. Late gadolinium enhancement (LGE images were also acquired 12-30 minutes after the gadolinium bolus. Results T1 values of 11 HB and 17 HB MOLLI displayed good agreement in both phantom and volunteers. The average pre-contrast myocardial and blood T1 was 1315 ± 39 ms and 2020 ± 129 ms, respectively. ECV was stable between 8.5 to 23.5 minutes post contrast with an average of 26.7 ± 1.0%. Conclusion The 11 HB MOLLI is a faster method for high-resolution myocardial T1 mapping at 3T. ECV fractions are stable over a wide time range after contrast administration.

A glimpse beneath Antarctic sea ice: observation of platelet-layer thickness and ice-volume fraction with multifrequency EM

Science.gov (United States)

Hoppmann, Mario; Hunkeler, Priska A.; Hendricks, Stefan; Kalscheuer, Thomas; Gerdes, Rüdiger

2016-04-01

In Antarctica, ice crystals (platelets) form and grow in supercooled waters below ice shelves. These platelets rise, accumulate beneath nearby sea ice, and subsequently form a several meter thick, porous sub-ice platelet layer. This special ice type is a unique habitat, influences sea-ice mass and energy balance, and its volume can be interpreted as an indicator of the health of an ice shelf. Although progress has been made in determining and understanding its spatio-temporal variability based on point measurements, an investigation of this phenomenon on a larger scale remains a challenge due to logistical constraints and a lack of suitable methodology. In the present study, we applied a lateral constrained Marquardt-Levenberg inversion to a unique multi-frequency electromagnetic (EM) induction sounding dataset obtained on the ice-shelf influenced fast-ice regime of Atka Bay, eastern Weddell Sea. We adapted the inversion algorithm to incorporate a sensor specific signal bias, and confirmed the reliability of the algorithm by performing a sensitivity study using synthetic data. We inverted the field data for sea-ice and platelet-layer thickness and electrical conductivity, and calculated ice-volume fractions within the platelet layer using Archie's Law. The thickness results agreed well with drillhole validation datasets within the uncertainty range, and the ice-volume fraction yielded results comparable to other studies. Both parameters together enable an estimation of the total ice volume within the platelet layer, which was found to be comparable to the volume of landfast sea ice in this region, and corresponded to more than a quarter of the annual basal melt volume of the nearby Ekström Ice Shelf. Our findings show that multi-frequency EM induction sounding is a suitable approach to efficiently map sea-ice and platelet-layer properties, with important implications for research into ocean/ice-shelf/sea-ice interactions. However, a successful application of this

Scaling relations between trabecular bone volume fraction and microstructure at different skeletal sites.

Science.gov (United States)

Räth, Christoph; Baum, Thomas; Monetti, Roberto; Sidorenko, Irina; Wolf, Petra; Eckstein, Felix; Matsuura, Maiko; Lochmüller, Eva-Maria; Zysset, Philippe K; Rummeny, Ernst J; Link, Thomas M; Bauer, Jan S

2013-12-01

In this study, we investigated the scaling relations between trabecular bone volume fraction (BV/TV) and parameters of the trabecular microstructure at different skeletal sites. Cylindrical bone samples with a diameter of 8mm were harvested from different skeletal sites of 154 human donors in vitro: 87 from the distal radius, 59/69 from the thoracic/lumbar spine, 51 from the femoral neck, and 83 from the greater trochanter. μCT images were obtained with an isotropic spatial resolution of 26μm. BV/TV and trabecular microstructure parameters (TbN, TbTh, TbSp, scaling indices ( and σ of α and αz), and Minkowski Functionals (Surface, Curvature, Euler)) were computed for each sample. The regression coefficient β was determined for each skeletal site as the slope of a linear fit in the double-logarithmic representations of the correlations of BV/TV versus the respective microstructure parameter. Statistically significant correlation coefficients ranging from r=0.36 to r=0.97 were observed for BV/TV versus microstructure parameters, except for Curvature and Euler. The regression coefficients β were 0.19 to 0.23 (TbN), 0.21 to 0.30 (TbTh), -0.28 to -0.24 (TbSp), 0.58 to 0.71 (Surface) and 0.12 to 0.16 (), 0.07 to 0.11 (), -0.44 to -0.30 (σ(α)), and -0.39 to -0.14 (σ(αz)) at the different skeletal sites. The 95% confidence intervals of β overlapped for almost all microstructure parameters at the different skeletal sites. The scaling relations were independent of vertebral fracture status and similar for subjects aged 60-69, 70-79, and >79years. In conclusion, the bone volume fraction-microstructure scaling relations showed a rather universal character. © 2013.

Pre-chemotherapy values for left and right ventricular volumes and ejection fraction by gated tomographic radionuclide angiography using a cadmium-zinc-telluride detector gamma camera

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Haarmark, Christian; Haase, Christine; Jensen, Maria Maj

2016-01-01

age and both left and right ventricular volumes in women (r = -0.4, P right end systolic ventricular volume in men (r = -0.3, P = .001). CONCLUSION: A set of reference values for cardiac evaluation prior to chemotherapy in cancer patients without other known cardiopulmonary......BACKGROUND: Estimation of left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) using equilibrium radionuclide angiography is an established method for assessment of left ventricular function. The purpose of this study was to establish normative data on left and right ventricular volumes and ejection fraction......, using cadmium-zinc-telluride SPECT camera. METHODS AND RESULTS: From routine assessments of left ventricular function in 1172 patients, we included 463 subjects (194 men and 269 women) without diabetes, previous potentially cardiotoxic chemotherapy, known cardiovascular or pulmonary disease. The lower...

Effect of fiber orientation on tensile and impact properties of Zalacca Midrib fiber-HDPE composites by compression molding

Science.gov (United States)

Lasikun, Ariawan, Dody; Surojo, Eko; Triyono, Joko

2018-02-01

The research aims to investigate the fiber orientation effect on the tensile and impact properties of zalacca midrib fiber /HDPE composites. The composites were produced by compression molding with pressing temperature at 150°C, pressing pressure at 50 bar, and holding time of 25 minutes. The fiber orientations applied in composites were 0°, 15°, 30°, 45°, 60°, 75°, and 90°, at 10% fiber volume fraction. The samples were evaluated by using: Tensile test and Izod impact test according to ASTM D638 and ASTM D5941, respectively. The result of experiments indicate that the orientation of zalacca midrib fiber influences the characteristics of HDPE composite-zalacca midrib fiber. The composite mechanical strength decline with the increase of orientation fibers from 0° to 90°. The composite failure mode of composites are observed by Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM).

Electric-field-dependent phase volume fractions and enhanced piezoelectricity near the polymorphic phase boundary of (K0.5Na0.5)1-xLixNbO3 textured ceramics

Science.gov (United States)

Ge, Wenwei; Li, Jiefang; Viehland, D.; Chang, Yunfei; Messing, Gary L.

2011-06-01

The structure, ferroelectric and piezoelectric properties of textured (K0.5Na0.5)0.98Li0.02NbO3 ceramics were investigated as a function of temperature and dc bias E. X-ray diffraction revealed an orthorhombic (O) → tetragonal (T) polymorphic phase boundary (PPB). Phase coexistence was found near the PPB over a 30 °C temperature range, where the relative phase volume fractions changed with temperature. Furthermore, increasing E applied along the texture direction resulted in a notable increase in the volume fraction of the T phase at the expense of the O phase, effectively shifting the O → T boundary to lower temperature. An enhancement in the piezoelectric properties was found to accompany this increase in the T volume fraction.

Investigating the evolution of the phase behavior of AOT-based w/o microemulsions in dodecane as a function of droplet volume fraction.

Science.gov (United States)

Ganguly, R; Choudhury, N

2012-04-15

AOT-based water in oil (w/o) microemulsions are one of the most extensively studied reverse micellar systems because of their rich phase behavior and their ability to form in the absence of any co-surfactant. The aggregation characteristics and interaction of the microemulsion droplets in these systems are known to be governed by AOT-oil compatibility and water to AOT molar ratio (w). In this manuscript by using Dynamic Light Scattering (DLS) and viscometry techniques, we show that droplet volume fraction too plays an important role in shaping the phase behavior of these microemulsions in dodecane. The phase separation characteristics and the evolution of the viscosity and the hydrodynamic radius of the microemulsion droplets on approaching the cloud points have thus been found to undergo complete transformation as one goes from low to high droplet volume fraction even at a fixed 'w'. Modeling of the DLS data attributes this to the weakening of inter droplet attractive interaction caused by the growing dominance of the excluded volume effect with increase in droplet volume fraction. In the literature, the inter droplet attractive interaction driven phase separation in these microemulsions is explained based on gas-liquid type phase transition, conceptualized in the framework of Baxter adhesive hard sphere theory. The modeling of our viscosity data, however, does not support such proposition as the characteristic stickiness parameter (τ(-1)) of the microemulsion droplets in this system remains much lower than the critical value (τ(c)(-1)≈10.25) required to enforce such phase transition. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Microstrain evolution during creep of a high volume fraction superalloy

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ma, S. [Materials Department, New Mexico Tech, Socorro, NM 87801 (United States); Brown, D. [Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, NM (United States); Bourke, M.A.M. [Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, NM (United States); Daymond, M.R. [Rutherford Appleton Laboratory, ISIS Facility, Chilton, Didcot, Oxon OX11 0QX (United Kingdom); Majumdar, B.S. [Materials Department, New Mexico Tech, Socorro, NM 87801 (United States)]. E-mail: majumdar@nmt.edu

2005-06-15

The creep of superalloys containing a high volume fraction of {gamma}' phase is significantly influenced by initial misfit and by the evolution of internal stresses. An in situ neutron diffraction technique was used to monitor elastic microstrains in a polycrystalline superalloy, CM247 LC. The misfit was nearly zero at room temperature and it increased to -0.17% at 900 deg. C. These values are rationalized in terms of thermal mismatch using an eigenstrain formulation and a simple formula is derived to relate the thermal mismatch to the misfit strain. During creep at 425 MPa at 900 deg. C, the material exhibited primarily tertiary behavior. For grains with [0 0 1] axis close to the loading direction, the elastic microstrain in the loading direction increased with creep time for the {gamma}' phase, whereas the opposite occurred for the {gamma} phase. These results are explained in terms of constrained deformation in the narrow {gamma} channels and by an interface dislocation buildup. TEM analysis of the crept microstructure provides evidence of the interface dislocation network.

Advances in robust fractional control

CERN Document Server

Padula, Fabrizio

2015-01-01

This monograph presents design methodologies for (robust) fractional control systems. It shows the reader how to take advantage of the superior flexibility of fractional control systems compared with integer-order systems in achieving more challenging control requirements. There is a high degree of current interest in fractional systems and fractional control arising from both academia and industry and readers from both milieux are catered to in the text. Different design approaches having in common a trade-off between robustness and performance of the control system are considered explicitly. The text generalizes methodologies, techniques and theoretical results that have been successfully applied in classical (integer) control to the fractional case. The first part of Advances in Robust Fractional Control is the more industrially-oriented. It focuses on the design of fractional controllers for integer processes. In particular, it considers fractional-order proportional-integral-derivative controllers, becau...

Stratification of mixtures in evaporating liquid films occurs only for a range of volume fractions of the smaller component

Science.gov (United States)

Sear, Richard P.

2018-04-01

I model the drying of a liquid film containing small and big colloid particles. Fortini et al. [Phys. Rev. Lett. 116, 118301 (2016)] studied these films with both computer simulation and experiment. They found that at the end of drying, the mixture had stratified with a layer of the smaller particles on top of the big particles. I develop a simple model for this process. The model has two ingredients: arrest of the diffusion of the particles at high density and diffusiophoretic motion of the big particles due to gradients in the volume fraction of the small particles. The model predicts that stratification only occurs over a range of initial volume fractions of the smaller colloidal species. Above and below this range, the downward diffusiophoretic motion of the big particles is too slow to remove the big particles from the top of the film, and so there is no stratification. In agreement with earlier work, the model also predicts that large Péclet numbers for drying are needed to see stratification.

Temperature effect on the inter-micellar collision and maximum packaging volume fraction in water/AOT/isooctane micro-emulsions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Guettari, Moez; Ben Naceur, Imen; Kassab, Ghazi; Tajouri, Tahar

2016-01-01

We have studied the viscosity behaviour of water/AOT/isooctane micro-emulsions as a function of the volume fraction of the dispersed phase over a temperature range from the (298.15 to 328.15) K. For all the studied temperature range, a sharp increase of the viscosities is observed when the droplets concentration was varied. Several equations based on hard sphere model were examined to explain the behaviours of micro-emulsions under temperature and concentration effects. According to these equations, the shape factor and the inter-particle interaction parameters were found to be dependent on temperature which is in contradiction with experimental results reported in the literature. A modified Vand equation, taking into account the inter-particle collision time, is used to interpret the results obtained. This deviation is attributed to the aggregation of the droplets which becomes important by increasing temperature. The maximum packaging volume fraction of particles Φ_d_m and the intrinsic viscosity [η] were determined according to the Krieger and Dougherty equation through the temperature range studied. These two parameters were shown to be dependent on temperature but their product was found to be constant and close to 2 as reported in theory.

Integer, fractional, and anomalous quantum Hall effects explained with Eyring's rate process theory and free volume concept.

Science.gov (United States)

Hao, Tian

2017-02-22

The Hall effects, especially the integer, fractional and anomalous quantum Hall effects, have been addressed using Eyring's rate process theory and free volume concept. The basic assumptions are that the conduction process is a common rate controlled "reaction" process that can be described with Eyring's absolute rate process theory; the mobility of electrons should be dependent on the free volume available for conduction electrons. The obtained Hall conductivity is clearly quantized as with prefactors related to both the magnetic flux quantum number and the magnetic quantum number via the azimuthal quantum number, with and without an externally applied magnetic field. This article focuses on two dimensional (2D) systems, but the approaches developed in this article can be extended to 3D systems.

Influence of Fiber Volume Fraction on the Tensile Properties and Dynamic Characteristics of Coconut Fiber Reinforced Composite

OpenAIRE

Izzuddin Zaman; Al Emran Ismail; Muhamad Khairudin Awang

2011-01-01

The utilization of coconut fibers as reinforcement in polymer composites has been increased significantly due to their low cost and high specific mechanical properties. In this paper, the mechanical properties and dynamic characteristics of a proposed combined polymer composite which consist of a polyester matrix and coconut fibers are determined. The influence of fibers volume fraction (%) is also evaluated and composites with volumetric amounts of coconut fiber up to 15% are fabricated. In ...

Right heart ejection fraction, ventricular volumes, and left to right cardiac shunt measurements with a conventional Anger camera in congenital heart disease

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cook, S.A.; Go, R.T.; MacIntyre, W.J.; Moodie, D.S.; Houser, T.S.; Ceimo, J.; Underwood, D.; Yiannikas, J.

1982-01-01

The object of this investigation was to demonstrate that a conventional Anger camera can be used for measurement of right heart ejection fraction, ventricular volumes and left to right shunts in routine clinical determinations. The automatic selection of chamber and lung regions, the recirculation subtraction of recirculation, and the filtering of the right heart ejection fraction dilution curves are all done entirely without operator intervention. Thus, this entire evaluation has been incorporated into the routine procedures of patient care

[Effect of SO2 volume fraction in flue gas on the adsorption behaviors adsorbed by ZL50 activated carbon and kinetic analysis].

Science.gov (United States)

Gao, Ji-xian; Wang, Tie-feng; Wang, Jin-fu

2010-05-01

The influence of SO2 dynamic adsorption behaviors using ZL50 activated carbon for flue gas desulphurization and denitrification under different SO2 volume fraction was investigated experimentally, and the kinetic analysis was conducted by kinetic models. With the increase of SO2 volume fraction in flue gas, the SO2 removal ratio and the activity ratio of ZL50 activated carbon decreased, respectively, and SO2 adsorption rate and capacity increased correspondingly. The calculated results indicate that Bangham model has the best prediction effect, the chemisorption processes of SO2 was significantly affected by catalytic oxidative reaction. The adsorption rate constant of Lagergren's pseudo first order model increased with the increase of inlet SO, volume fraction, which indicated that catalytic oxidative reaction of SO2 adsorbed by ZL50 activated carbon may be the rate controlling step in earlier adsorption stage. The Lagergren's and Bangham's initial adsorption rate were deduced and defined, respectively. The Ho's and Elovich's initial adsorption rate were also deduced in this paper. The Bangham's initial adsorption rate values were defined in good agreement with those of experiments. The defined Bangham's adsorptive reaction kinetic model can describe the SO2 dynamic adsorption rate well. The studied results indicated that the SO2 partial order of initial reaction rate was one or adjacent to one, while the O2 and water vapor partial order of initial reaction rate were constants ranging from 0.15-0.20 and 0.45-0.50, respectively.

Non-invasive measurement of stroke volume and left ventricular ejection fraction. Radionuclide cardiography compared with left ventricular cardioangiography

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Kelbaek, H; Svendsen, J H; Aldershvile, J

1988-01-01

The stroke volume (SV) was determined by first passage radionuclide cardiography and the left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) by multigated radionuclide cardiography in 20 patients with ischemic heart disease. The results were evaluated against those obtained by the invasive dye dilution or ...... are reliable. The discrepancy between the non-invasive and invasive LVEF values raises the question, whether LVEF is overestimated by cardioangiography or underestimated by radionuclide cardiography....

Structuring polymer blends with bicontinuous phase morphology. Part II. Tailoring blends with ultralow critical volume fraction

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Lyngaae-Jørgensen, Jørgen; Utracki, Leszek

2003-01-01

A hypothesis providing a guideline for the development of immiscible polymer blends with co-continuous phase structure at very low critical volume fraction of one component is. postulated and experimentally verified. Based on a number of simplifying assumptions the following relation was derived......: phi(cr) = k(lambdagamma)(1-z)/(theta(b)(*))(z) where lambdagamma is a Deborah number and theta(b)(*) is a dimensionless break-up time. The equation parameters, k and z are constant that depend on the flow field hence on the blending equipment. For the studies an internal mixer with Walzenkneter...

Numerical study on influences of bed resettling, breeding zone orientation, and purge gas on temperatures in solid breeders

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Van Lew, Jon T., E-mail: jtvanlew@fusion.ucla.edu; Ying, Alice; Abdou, Mohamed

2016-11-01

Highlights: • Volume-conserving pebble fragmentation model in DEM to study thermomechanical responses to crushed pebbles in ensembles. • Parametric studies of ITER-relevant pebble beds with coupled CFD-DEM models. • Finding breeder temperatures are complex functions of orientation, fragmentation size, and packing fraction. • Recommendations of breeder unit orientation are given in terms of material selection. - Abstract: We apply coupled computational fluid dynamics and discrete element method (CFD-DEM) modeling tools with new numerical implementations of pebble fragmentation to study the combined effects of granular crushing and ensemble restructuring, granular fragment size, and initial packing for different breeder volume configurations. In typical solid breeder modules, heat removal from beds relies on maintaining pebble–pebble and pebble–wall contact integrity. However, contact is disrupted when an ensemble responds to individually crushed pebbles. Furthermore, restructuring of metastable packings after crushing events are, in part, dependent on gravity forces acting upon the pebbles. We investigate two representative pebble bed configurations under constant volumetric heat sources; modeling heat removed from beds via inter-particle conduction, purge gas convection, and contact between pebble beds and containers. In one configuration, heat is removed from at walls oriented parallel to the gravity vector (no gap formation possible); in the second, heat is removed at walls perpendicular to gravity, allowing for the possibility of gap formation between bed and wall. Judging beds on increase in maximum temperatures as a function of crushed pebble amount, we find that both pebble bed configurations to have advantageous features that manifest at different stages of pebble crushing. However, all configurations benefit from achieving high initial packing fractions.

Agreement of left ventricular ejection fraction and volumes between adenosine stress TL-201 gated SPECT and echocardiography

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Pai, M. S. [College of Medicine, Univ. of Ewha, Seoul (Korea, Republic of); Moon, D. H.; Kim, H. M.; Yang, Y. J.; Kang, D. H. [Asan Medical Center, Seoul (Korea, Republic of)

2003-07-01

Electrocardiogram-gated TI-201 SPECT measurements of left ventricular ejection fraction (EF), end-diastolic volume (EDV), and end-systolic volume (ESV) have shown high correlation with conventional methods. However, how much these parameters measured by TI-201 gated SPECT differ from those by echocardiography has not been assessed. Adenosine stress (Ad-G) and redistribution TI-201 gated SPECT (Re-G) and resting echocardiography were conducted in 337 patients (184 male, 153 female). EDV, ESV and LVEF measured by QGS software were compared with the results by echocardiography. Patients with arrhythmia (atrial fibrillation or frequent premature contractions) or evidence of fixed or reversible perfusion defects on TI-201 SPECT were excluded. EF, EDV and ESV measured by Ad-G (63.3{+-}9.8,73.8{+-}30.2,29.1{+-}20.1) and Re-G (65.2{+-}11.6,69.1{+-}30.1,26.5{+-}20.3) correlated well with those by Echo (61.4{+-}7.9,78.3{+-}2.7, 30.7{+-} 17.5 ; r of Ad-G=0.547, 0.850, 0.827, p<0.001 ; r of Re-G=0.585, 0.838, 0.819, p<0.001). However the difference (mean, SD, SEE of Echo - gated SPECT) was statistically significant (EF: Ad-G=1.71, 8.92, 0.48, Re-G=3.59, 10.39, 0.56, p<0.001 ; EDV: Ad-G=4.75, 16.21, 0.88, Re-G=9.53, 16.77, 0.91, p<0.001 ; ESV: Ad-G=1.75, 11.35, 0.61, p<0.05, Re-G=4.29, 11.7, 0.63, p<0.001). Bland-Altman plots showed that the difference of EDV and ESV did not vary in any systematic way over the range of measurement, whereas the difference of EF increased with increasing average EF by Echo and gated-SPECT. The difference of EF, EDV, and ESV between Ad-G and Echo was significantly smaller than those between Re-G and Echo (p<0.001). Gated TI-201 SPECT underestimates EDV and ESV over a wide range of volume. As a result, EF by gated TI-201 SPECT is overestimated especially in patients with small LV volume. Ad-G is preferable to Re-G in assessing left ventricular ejection fraction and volume in place of Echo because of smaller bias.

Observation of changing crystal orientations during grain coarsening

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sharma, Hemant; Huizenga, Richard M.; Bytchkov, Aleksei; Sietsma, Jilt; Offerman, S. Erik

2012-01-01

Understanding the underlying mechanisms of grain coarsening is important in controlling the properties of metals, which strongly depend on the microstructure that forms during the production process or during use at high temperature. Grain coarsening of austenite at 1273 K in a binary Fe–2 wt.% Mn alloy was studied using synchrotron radiation. Evolution of the volume, average crystallographic orientation and mosaicity of more than 2000 individual austenite grains was tracked during annealing. It was found that an approximately linear relationship exists between grain size and mosaicity, which means that orientation gradients are present in the grains. The orientation gradients remain constant during coarsening and consequently the character of grain boundaries changes during coarsening, affecting the coarsening rate. Furthermore, changes in the average orientation of grains during coarsening were observed. The changes could be understood by taking the observed orientation gradients and anisotropic movement of grain boundaries into account. Five basic modes of grain coarsening were deduced from the measurements, which include: anisotropic (I) and isotropic (II) growth (or shrinkage); movement of grain boundaries resulting in no change in volume but a change in shape (III); movement of grain boundaries resulting in no change in volume and mosaicity, but a change in crystallographic orientation (IV); no movement of grain boundaries (V).

Determination of average fission fraction produced by 14 MeV neutrons in assemblies with large volume of depleted uranium

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wang Dalun; Li Benci; Wang Xiuchun; Li Yijun; Zhang Shaohua; He Yongwu

1991-07-01

The average fission fraction of 238 U caused by 14 MeV neutrons in assemblies with large volume depleted uranium has been determined. The measured value of p f 238U (R ∞ depleted ) 14 was 0.897 ± 0.036. Measurements were also completed for neutron flux distribution and average fission fraction of 235 U isotope in depleted uranium sphere. Values of p f 238U (R depleted ) have been obtained by using a series of uranium spheres. For a sphere with Φ 600 the p f 23 '8 U (R 300 depleted ) is 0.823 ± 0.041, the density of depleted uranium assembly is 18.8g/cm 3 and total weight of assembly is about 2.8t

Picosecond orientational dynamics of water in living cells.

Science.gov (United States)

Tros, Martijn; Zheng, Linli; Hunger, Johannes; Bonn, Mischa; Bonn, Daniel; Smits, Gertien J; Woutersen, Sander

2017-10-12

Cells are extremely crowded, and a central question in biology is how this affects the intracellular water. Here, we use ultrafast vibrational spectroscopy and dielectric-relaxation spectroscopy to observe the random orientational motion of water molecules inside living cells of three prototypical organisms: Escherichia coli, Saccharomyces cerevisiae (yeast), and spores of Bacillus subtilis. In all three organisms, most of the intracellular water exhibits the same random orientational motion as neat water (characteristic time constants ~9 and ~2 ps for the first-order and second-order orientational correlation functions), whereas a smaller fraction exhibits slower orientational dynamics. The fraction of slow intracellular water varies between organisms, ranging from ~20% in E. coli to ~45% in B. subtilis spores. Comparison with the water dynamics observed in solutions mimicking the chemical composition of (parts of) the cytosol shows that the slow water is bound mostly to proteins, and to a lesser extent to other biomolecules and ions.The cytoplasm's crowdedness leads one to expect that cell water is different from bulk water. By measuring the rotational motion of water molecules in living cells, Tros et al. find that apart from a small fraction of water solvating biomolecules, cell water has the same dynamics as bulk water.

About the use of the Monte-Carlo code based tracing algorithm and the volume fraction method for S n full core calculations

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Gurevich, M. I.; Oleynik, D. S. [RRC Kurchatov Inst., Kurchatov Sq., 1, 123182, Moscow (Russian Federation); Russkov, A. A.; Voloschenko, A. M. [Keldysh Inst. of Applied Mathematics, Miusskaya Sq., 4, 125047, Moscow (Russian Federation)

2006-07-01

The tracing algorithm that is implemented in the geometrical module of Monte-Carlo transport code MCU is applied to calculate the volume fractions of original materials by spatial cells of the mesh that overlays problem geometry. In this way the 3D combinatorial geometry presentation of the problem geometry, used by MCU code, is transformed to the user defined 2D or 3D bit-mapped ones. Next, these data are used in the volume fraction (VF) method to approximate problem geometry by introducing additional mixtures for spatial cells, where a few original materials are included. We have found that in solving realistic 2D and 3D core problems a sufficiently fast convergence of the VF method takes place if the spatial mesh is refined. Virtually, the proposed variant of implementation of the VF method seems as a suitable geometry interface between Monte-Carlo and S{sub n} transport codes. (authors)

Energy Performance and Pressure Fluctuation of a Multiphase Pump with Different Gas Volume Fractions

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jinsong Zhang

2018-05-01

Full Text Available Large petroleum resources in deep sea, and huge market demands for petroleum need advanced petroleum extraction technology. The multiphase pump, which can simultaneously transport oil and gas with considerable efficiency, has been a crucial technology in petroleum extraction. A numerical approach with mesh generation and a Navier-Stokes equation solution is employed to evaluate the effects of gas volume fraction on energy performance and pressure fluctuations of a multiphase pump. Good agreement of experimental and calculation results indicates that the numerical approach can accurately simulate the multiphase flow in pumps. The pressure rise of a pump decreases with the increasing of flow rate, and the pump efficiency decreases with the increasing of GVF (the ratio of the gas volume to the whole volume. Results show that the dominant frequencies of pressure fluctuation in the impeller and diffuser are eleven and three times those of the impeller rotational frequency, respectively. Due to the larger density of water and centrifugal forces, the water aggregates to the shroud and the gas gathers to the hub, which renders the distribution of GVF in the pump uneven. A vortex develops at the blade suction side, near the leading edge, induced by the leakage flow, and further affects the pressure fluctuation in the impeller. The obvious vortex in the diffuser indicates that the design of the divergence angle of the diffuser is not optimal, which induces flow separation due to large diffusion ratio. A uniform flow pattern in the impeller indicates good hydraulic performance of the pump.

Study of geometry to obtain the volume fraction of multiphase flows using the MCNP-X code

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Peixoto, Philippe N.B.; Salgado, Cesar M.

2015-01-01

The gamma ray attenuation technique is used in many works to obtaining volume fraction of multiphase flows in the oil industry, because it is a noninvasive technique with good precision. In these studies are simulated various geometries with different flow regime, compositions of materials, source-detector positions and types of collimation for sources. This work aim evaluate the interference in the results of the geometry changes and obtaining the best measuring geometry to provide the volume fractions accurately by evaluating different geometries simulations (ranging the source-detector position, flow schemes and homogeneity Makeup) in the MCNP-X code. The study was performed for two types of biphasic compositions of materials (oil-water and oil-air), two flow regimes (annular and smooth stratified) and was varied the position of each material in relative to source and detector positions. Another study to evaluate the interference of homogeneity of the compositions in the results was also conducted in order to verify the possibility of removing part of the composition and make a homogeneous blend using a mixer equipment. All these variations were simulated with two different types of beam, divergent beam and pencil beam. From the simulated geometries, it was possible to compare the differences between the areas of the spectra generated for each model. The results indicate that the flow regime and the differences in the material's densities interfere in the results being necessary to establish a specific simulation geometry for each flows regime. However, the simulations indicate that changing the type of collimation of sources do not affect the results, but improving the counts statistics, increasing the accurate. (author)

Study of geometry to obtain the volume fraction of multiphase flows using the MCNP-X code

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Peixoto, Philippe N.B.; Salgado, Cesar M., E-mail: phbelache@hotmail.com, E-mail: otero@ien.gov.br [Instituto de Engenharia Nuclear (IEN/CNEN-RJ), Rio de Janeiro, RJ (Brazil)

2015-07-01

The gamma ray attenuation technique is used in many works to obtaining volume fraction of multiphase flows in the oil industry, because it is a noninvasive technique with good precision. In these studies are simulated various geometries with different flow regime, compositions of materials, source-detector positions and types of collimation for sources. This work aim evaluate the interference in the results of the geometry changes and obtaining the best measuring geometry to provide the volume fractions accurately by evaluating different geometries simulations (ranging the source-detector position, flow schemes and homogeneity Makeup) in the MCNP-X code. The study was performed for two types of biphasic compositions of materials (oil-water and oil-air), two flow regimes (annular and smooth stratified) and was varied the position of each material in relative to source and detector positions. Another study to evaluate the interference of homogeneity of the compositions in the results was also conducted in order to verify the possibility of removing part of the composition and make a homogeneous blend using a mixer equipment. All these variations were simulated with two different types of beam, divergent beam and pencil beam. From the simulated geometries, it was possible to compare the differences between the areas of the spectra generated for each model. The results indicate that the flow regime and the differences in the material's densities interfere in the results being necessary to establish a specific simulation geometry for each flows regime. However, the simulations indicate that changing the type of collimation of sources do not affect the results, but improving the counts statistics, increasing the accurate. (author)

Calculation of left ventricular volumes and ejection fraction from dynamic cardiac-gated 15O-water PET/CT: 5D-PET.

Science.gov (United States)

Nordström, Jonny; Kero, Tanja; Harms, Hendrik Johannes; Widström, Charles; Flachskampf, Frank A; Sörensen, Jens; Lubberink, Mark

2017-11-14

Quantitative measurement of myocardial blood flow (MBF) is of increasing interest in the clinical assessment of patients with suspected coronary artery disease (CAD). 15 O-water positron emission tomography (PET) is considered the gold standard for non-invasive MBF measurements. However, calculation of left ventricular (LV) volumes and ejection fraction (EF) is not possible from standard 15 O-water uptake images. The purpose of the present work was to investigate the possibility of calculating LV volumes and LVEF from cardiac-gated parametric blood volume (V B ) 15 O-water images and from first pass (FP) images. Sixteen patients with mitral or aortic regurgitation underwent an eight-gate dynamic cardiac-gated 15 O-water PET/CT scan and cardiac MRI. V B and FP images were generated for each gate. Calculations of end-systolic volume (ESV), end-diastolic volume (EDV), stroke volume (SV) and LVEF were performed with automatic segmentation of V B and FP images, using commercially available software. LV volumes and LVEF were calculated with surface-, count-, and volume-based methods, and the results were compared with gold standard MRI. Using V B images, high correlations between PET and MRI ESV (r = 0.89, p  0.86, p dynamic 15 O-water PET is feasible and shows good correlation with MRI. However, the analysis method is laborious, and future work is needed for more automation to make the method more easily applicable in a clinical setting.

A glimpse beneath Antarctic sea ice: observation of platelet-layer thickness and ice-volume fraction with multi-frequency EM

Science.gov (United States)

Hendricks, S.; Hoppmann, M.; Hunkeler, P. A.; Kalscheuer, T.; Gerdes, R.

2015-12-01

In Antarctica, ice crystals (platelets) form and grow in supercooled waters below ice shelves. These platelets rise and accumulate beneath nearby sea ice to form a several meter thick sub-ice platelet layer. This special ice type is a unique habitat, influences sea-ice mass and energy balance, and its volume can be interpreted as an indicator for ice - ocean interactions. Although progress has been made in determining and understanding its spatio-temporal variability based on point measurements, an investigation of this phenomenon on a larger scale remains a challenge due to logistical constraints and a lack of suitable methodology. In the present study, we applied a lateral constrained Marquardt-Levenberg inversion to a unique multi-frequency electromagnetic (EM) induction sounding dataset obtained on the ice-shelf influenced fast-ice regime of Atka Bay, eastern Weddell Sea. We adapted the inversion algorithm to incorporate a sensor specific signal bias, and confirmed the reliability of the algorithm by performing a sensitivity study using synthetic data. We inverted the field data for sea-ice and sub-ice platelet-layer thickness and electrical conductivity, and calculated ice-volume fractions from platelet-layer conductivities using Archie's Law. The thickness results agreed well with drill-hole validation datasets within the uncertainty range, and the ice-volume fraction also yielded plausible results. Our findings imply that multi-frequency EM induction sounding is a suitable approach to efficiently map sea-ice and platelet-layer properties. However, we emphasize that the successful application of this technique requires a break with traditional EM sensor calibration strategies due to the need of absolute calibration with respect to a physical forward model.

Semi solid metal processing: The fraction solid dilemma

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nafisi, S.; Emadi, D.; Ghomashchi, R.

2009-01-01

One of the most challenging aspects in semi solid metal (SSM) processing is to determine the actual volume fraction of the solid at the processing temperature. The fraction has great impact on the SSM slurry viscosity and the subsequent filling of the mold in the casting stage. Three methods, namely quantitative metallography, thermodynamic calculation, and thermal analysis are employed to investigate and clarify the contradictory open literature reports about the real value of the volume fraction of primary particles. It is reported that the discrepancies between the results obtained by different methods are caused mainly by variations in cooling rates and by coarsening of the primaries during the quenching process

Semi solid metal processing: The fraction solid dilemma

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Nafisi, S. [EVRAZ Inc. NA 100 Armour Road, Regina, SK, S4P 3C7 (Canada)], E-mail: Shahrooz.Nafisi@evrazincna.com; Emadi, D. [CEPG, CanmetENERGY, Natural Resources Canada, Ottawa, ON, K1A 1M1 (Canada); Ghomashchi, R. [Advanced Materials and Processing Research Institute, Suite 122, A7-1390 Major MacKenzie, ON, L4S 0A1 (Canada)

2009-05-15

One of the most challenging aspects in semi solid metal (SSM) processing is to determine the actual volume fraction of the solid at the processing temperature. The fraction has great impact on the SSM slurry viscosity and the subsequent filling of the mold in the casting stage. Three methods, namely quantitative metallography, thermodynamic calculation, and thermal analysis are employed to investigate and clarify the contradictory open literature reports about the real value of the volume fraction of primary particles. It is reported that the discrepancies between the results obtained by different methods are caused mainly by variations in cooling rates and by coarsening of the primaries during the quenching process.

Calculation of left ventricular volumes and ejection fraction from dynamic cardiac-gated 15O-water PET/CT: 5D-PET

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jonny Nordström

2017-11-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Quantitative measurement of myocardial blood flow (MBF is of increasing interest in the clinical assessment of patients with suspected coronary artery disease (CAD. 15O-water positron emission tomography (PET is considered the gold standard for non-invasive MBF measurements. However, calculation of left ventricular (LV volumes and ejection fraction (EF is not possible from standard 15O-water uptake images. The purpose of the present work was to investigate the possibility of calculating LV volumes and LVEF from cardiac-gated parametric blood volume (V B 15O-water images and from first pass (FP images. Sixteen patients with mitral or aortic regurgitation underwent an eight-gate dynamic cardiac-gated 15O-water PET/CT scan and cardiac MRI. V B and FP images were generated for each gate. Calculations of end-systolic volume (ESV, end-diastolic volume (EDV, stroke volume (SV and LVEF were performed with automatic segmentation of V B and FP images, using commercially available software. LV volumes and LVEF were calculated with surface-, count-, and volume-based methods, and the results were compared with gold standard MRI. Results Using V B images, high correlations between PET and MRI ESV (r = 0.89, p  0.86, p < 0.001. Conclusion Calculation of LV volumes and LVEF from dynamic 15O-water PET is feasible and shows good correlation with MRI. However, the analysis method is laborious, and future work is needed for more automation to make the method more easily applicable in a clinical setting.

Medical Image Segmentation by Combining Graph Cut and Oriented Active Appearance Models

Science.gov (United States)

Chen, Xinjian; Udupa, Jayaram K.; Bağcı, Ulaş; Zhuge, Ying; Yao, Jianhua

2017-01-01

In this paper, we propose a novel 3D segmentation method based on the effective combination of the active appearance model (AAM), live wire (LW), and graph cut (GC). The proposed method consists of three main parts: model building, initialization, and segmentation. In the model building part, we construct the AAM and train the LW cost function and GC parameters. In the initialization part, a novel algorithm is proposed for improving the conventional AAM matching method, which effectively combines the AAM and LW method, resulting in Oriented AAM (OAAM). A multi-object strategy is utilized to help in object initialization. We employ a pseudo-3D initialization strategy, and segment the organs slice by slice via multi-object OAAM method. For the segmentation part, a 3D shape constrained GC method is proposed. The object shape generated from the initialization step is integrated into the GC cost computation, and an iterative GC-OAAM method is used for object delineation. The proposed method was tested in segmenting the liver, kidneys, and spleen on a clinical CT dataset and also tested on the MICCAI 2007 grand challenge for liver segmentation training dataset. The results show the following: (a) An overall segmentation accuracy of true positive volume fraction (TPVF) > 94.3%, false positive volume fraction (FPVF) wordpress.com/research/. PMID:22311862

Oriented matroids—combinatorial structures underlying loop quantum gravity

Science.gov (United States)

Brunnemann, Johannes; Rideout, David

2010-10-01

We analyze combinatorial structures which play a central role in determining spectral properties of the volume operator (Ashtekar A and Lewandowski J 1998 Adv. Theor. Math. Phys. 1 388) in loop quantum gravity (LQG). These structures encode geometrical information of the embedding of arbitrary valence vertices of a graph in three-dimensional Riemannian space and can be represented by sign strings containing relative orientations of embedded edges. We demonstrate that these signature factors are a special representation of the general mathematical concept of an oriented matroid (Ziegler G M 1998 Electron. J. Comb.; Björner A et al 1999 Oriented Matroids (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press)). Moreover, we show that oriented matroids can also be used to describe the topology (connectedness) of directed graphs. Hence, the mathematical methods developed for oriented matroids can be applied to the difficult combinatorics of embedded graphs underlying the construction of LQG. As a first application we revisit the analysis of Brunnemann and Rideout (2008 Class. Quantum Grav. 25 065001 and 065002), and find that enumeration of all possible sign configurations used there is equivalent to enumerating all realizable oriented matroids of rank 3 (Ziegler G M 1998 Electron. J. Comb.; Björner A et al 1999 Oriented Matroids (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press)), and thus can be greatly simplified. We find that for 7-valent vertices having no coplanar triples of edge tangents, the smallest non-zero eigenvalue of the volume spectrum does not grow as one increases the maximum spin jmax at the vertex, for any orientation of the edge tangents. This indicates that, in contrast to the area operator, considering large jmax does not necessarily imply large volume eigenvalues. In addition we give an outlook to possible starting points for rewriting the combinatorics of LQG in terms of oriented matroids.

Semi-infinite fractional programming

CERN Document Server

Verma, Ram U

2017-01-01

This book presents a smooth and unified transitional framework from generalised fractional programming, with a finite number of variables and a finite number of constraints, to semi-infinite fractional programming, where a number of variables are finite but with infinite constraints. It focuses on empowering graduate students, faculty and other research enthusiasts to pursue more accelerated research advances with significant interdisciplinary applications without borders. In terms of developing general frameworks for theoretical foundations and real-world applications, it discusses a number of new classes of generalised second-order invex functions and second-order univex functions, new sets of second-order necessary optimality conditions, second-order sufficient optimality conditions, and second-order duality models for establishing numerous duality theorems for discrete minmax (or maxmin) semi-infinite fractional programming problems.   In the current interdisciplinary supercomputer-oriented research envi...

The effect of alkaline treatment and fiber orientation on impact resistant of bio-composites Sansevieria trifasciata fiber/polypropylene as automotive components material

Science.gov (United States)

Shieddieque, Apang Djafar; Mardiyati, Suratman, Rochim; Widyanto, Bambang

2018-04-01

The increasing amount of car usage is causing an escalated amount of fuel consumption and CO2 emission. It implicates demand for the automotive industry to increase the efficiency of their products, One of the most effective ways to solve the issue is to find green weight light material for the interior automotive component. The Aim of this research was to investigate the effect of alkaline treatment and fiber orientation on the impact resistant of material bio- composite sansevieiria trifasciata fiber/Polypropylene. In this research, bio-composites sansevieria trifasciata fiber/Polypropylene was prepared with random fiber orientation and unidirectional orientation by using a hot press method with pressure 140 Bar and temperature 240°C. Fiber was taken from Sansevieria trifasciata by using mechanical retting. In this study, Sansevieria fiber was given alkaline treatment (mercerization) with NaOH 3% (w/w) solution at temperature 100°C for an hour. The fraction of fiber volume that were used in this experiment are 0%, 5%, 10%, and 15%. The impact test was conducted based on ASTM D 6110 - 04, and the fracture analysis was investigated by scanning electron microscope (SEM). The best result of impact toughness and fracture analysis were achieved by bio composite untreated and unidirectional sansevieria trifasciata fiber/Polypropylene with fiber volume fraction of 15%, which was 48.092kJ/m2 for impact resistant. As compared to the impact toughness standard, which needed for interior automotive component, the impact toughness of sansevieria trifasciata fiber/Polypropylene has fulfilled the standard of the interior material automotive industry. Therefore, this material can be potentially used as materials on the car exterior component.

Effect of the metallic glass volume fraction on the mechanical properties of Zr-based metallic glass reinforced with porous W composite

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zhang, X.Q.; Wang, L.; Xue, Y.F.; Cheng, X.W.; Wang, Y.D.; Nie, Z.H.; Zhang, H.F.; Fu, H.M.; Ma, L.L.; Ren, Y.

2013-01-01

The mechanical properties of both as-cast and as-extruded Zr-based metallic glass reinforced with tungsten composites with 33, 28, and 21 vol. % of metallic glass were investigated under quasi-static compression at strain rates from 10 −4 s −1 to 10 −1 s −1 . These two types of composites exhibited a strain rate sensitivity exponent that increased with the increase of the tungsten volume fraction. Compared to the composites with 33 and 21 vol. % of the metallic glass, the two types of composites with 28 vol. % of the metallic glass phase exhibited superior fracture energies. The in-situ compression test on the as-cast composites using high-energy synchrotron X-ray diffraction (HEXRD) revealed that the yield stress of the tungsten phase increased with a decrease in the metallic glass volume fraction. The as-cast composite with 28 vol. % of the metallic glass exhibited relatively great mechanical properties compared to the composites that contained 33 and 21 vol. % of the metallic glass. This result was attributed to the great coupling of the load distribution between the two phases and the high lattice strain in the tungsten phase.

Mean nuclear volume

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Mogensen, O.; Sørensen, Flemming Brandt; Bichel, P.

1999-01-01

We evaluated the following nine parameters with respect to their prognostic value in females with endometrial cancer: four stereologic parameters [mean nuclear volume (MNV), nuclear volume fraction, nuclear index and mitotic index], the immunohistochemical expression of cancer antigen (CA125...

Reference intervals for mean platelet volume and immature platelet fraction determined on a sysmex XE5000 hematology analyzer

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Jørgensen, Mikala Klok; Bathum, L.

2016-01-01

Background New parameters describing the platelet population of the blood are mean platelet volume (MPV), which is a crude estimate of thrombocyte reactivity, and immature platelet fraction (IPF), which reflects megakaryopoietic activity. This study aimed to define reference intervals for MPV...... and IPF and to investigate whether separate reference intervals according to smoking status, age or sex are necessary.Methods Blood samples were obtained from subjects participating in The Danish General Suburban Population Study. MPV and IPF measurements were performed by the use of the Sysmex XE-5000...

Calculation of left ventricular volumes and ejection fraction from dynamic cardiac-gated 15O-water PET/CT: 5D-PET

OpenAIRE

Jonny Nordström; Tanja Kero; Hendrik Johannes Harms; Charles Widström; Frank A. Flachskampf; Jens Sörensen; Mark Lubberink

2017-01-01

BACKGROUND: Quantitative measurement of myocardial blood flow (MBF) is of increasing interest in the clinical assessment of patients with suspected coronary artery disease (CAD). (15)O-water positron emission tomography (PET) is considered the gold standard for non-invasive MBF measurements. However, calculation of left ventricular (LV) volumes and ejection fraction (EF) is not possible from standard (15)O-water uptake images. The purpose of the present work was to investigate the possibility...

BASIC program to compute uranium density and void volume fraction in laboratory-scale uranium silicide aluminum dispersion plate-type fuel

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ugajin, Mitsuhiro

1991-05-01

BASIC program simple and easy to operate has been developed to compute uranium density and void volume fraction for laboratory-scale uranium silicide aluminum dispersion plate-type fuel, so called miniplate. An example of the result of calculation is given in order to demonstrate how the calculated void fraction correlates with the microstructural distribution of the void in a miniplate prepared in our laboratory. The program is also able to constitute data base on important parameters for miniplates from experimentally-determined values of density, weight of each constituent and dimensions of miniplates. Utility programs pertinent to the development of the BASIC program are also given which run in the popular MS-DOS environment. All the source lists are attached and brief description for each program is made. (author)

Towards 3D crystal orientation reconstruction using automated crystal orientation mapping transmission electron microscopy (ACOM-TEM).

Science.gov (United States)

Kobler, Aaron; Kübel, Christian

2018-01-01

To relate the internal structure of a volume (crystallite and phase boundaries) to properties (electrical, magnetic, mechanical, thermal), a full 3D reconstruction in combination with in situ testing is desirable. In situ testing allows the crystallographic changes in a material to be followed by tracking and comparing the individual crystals and phases. Standard transmission electron microscopy (TEM) delivers a projection image through the 3D volume of an electron-transparent TEM sample lamella. Only with the help of a dedicated TEM tomography sample holder is an accurate 3D reconstruction of the TEM lamella currently possible. 2D crystal orientation mapping has become a standard method for crystal orientation and phase determination while 3D crystal orientation mapping have been reported only a few times. The combination of in situ testing with 3D crystal orientation mapping remains a challenge in terms of stability and accuracy. Here, we outline a method to 3D reconstruct the crystal orientation from a superimposed diffraction pattern of overlapping crystals without sample tilt. Avoiding the typically required tilt series for 3D reconstruction enables not only faster in situ tests but also opens the possibility for more stable and more accurate in situ mechanical testing. The approach laid out here should serve as an inspiration for further research and does not make a claim to be complete.

Application of neurite orientation dispersion and density imaging (NODDI) to a tau pathology model of Alzheimer's disease.

LENUS (Irish Health Repository)

Colgan, N

2015-10-23

Increased hyperphosphorylated tau and the formation of intracellular neurofibrillary tangles are associated with the loss of neurons and cognitive decline in Alzheimer\\'s disease, and related neurodegenerative conditions. We applied two diffusion models, diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) and neurite orientation dispersion and density imaging (NODDI), to in vivo diffusion magnetic resonance images (dMRI) of a mouse model of human tauopathy (rTg4510) at 8.5months of age. In grey matter regions with the highest degree of tau burden, microstructural indices provided by both NODDI and DTI discriminated the rTg4510 (TG) animals from wild type (WT) controls; however only the neurite density index (NDI) (the volume fraction that comprises axons or dendrites) from the NODDI model correlated with the histological measurements of the levels of hyperphosphorylated tau protein. Reductions in diffusion directionality were observed when implementing both models in the white matter region of the corpus callosum, with lower fractional anisotropy (DTI) and higher orientation dispersion (NODDI) observed in the TG animals. In comparison to DTI, histological measures of tau pathology were more closely correlated with NODDI parameters in this region. This in vivo dMRI study demonstrates that NODDI identifies potential tissue sources contributing to DTI indices and NODDI may provide greater specificity to pathology in Alzheimer\\'s disease.

Impacts of fiber orientation and milling on observed crystallinity in jack pine

Science.gov (United States)

Umesh P. Agarwal; Sally A. Ralph; Richard S. Reiner; Roderquita K. Moore; Carlos Baez

2014-01-01

Influences of fiber orientation and milling on wood cellulose crystallinity were studied using jack pine wood. The fiber orientation effects were measured by sampling rectangular wood blocks in radial, tangential, and cross-sectional orientations. The influence of milling was studied by analyzing the unsieved and sieved milled wood fractions (all

In vivo assessment of the tolerance dose of small liver volumes after single-fraction HDR irradiation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ricke, Jens; Seidensticker, Max; Luedemann, Lutz; Pech, Maciej; Wieners, Gero; Hengst, Susanne; Mohnike, Konrad; Cho, Chie Hee; Lopez Haenninen, Enrique; Al-Abadi, Hussain; Felix, Roland; Wust, Peter

2005-01-01

Purpose: To prospectively assess a dose-response relationship for small volumes of liver parenchyma after single-fraction irradiation. Methods and Materials: Twenty-five liver metastases were treated by computed tomography (CT)-guided interstitial brachytherapy. Magnetic resonance imaging was performed 1 day before and 3 days and 6, 12, and 24 weeks after therapy. MR sequences included T1-w gradient echo (GRE) enhanced by hepatocyte-targeted gadobenate dimeglumine. All MRI data sets were merged with 3D dosimetry data and evaluated by two radiologists. The reviewers indicated the border of hyperintensity on T2-w images (edema) or hypointensity on T1-w images (loss of hepatocyte function). Based on the total 3D data, a dose-volume histogram was calculated. We estimated the threshold dose for either edema or function loss as the D 90 , i.e., the dose achieved in at least 90% of the pseudolesion volume. Results: Between 3 days and 6 weeks, the extension of the edema increased significantly from the 12.9 Gy isosurface to 9.9 Gy (standard deviation [SD], 3.3 and 2.6). No significant change was detected between 6 and 12 weeks. After 24 weeks, the edematous tissue had shrunk significantly to 14.7 Gy (SD, 4.2). Three days postbrachytherapy, the D 90 for hepatocyte function loss reached the 14.9 Gy isosurface (SD, 3.9). At 6 weeks, the respective zone had increased significantly to 9.9 Gy (SD, 2.3). After 12 and 24 weeks, the dysfunction volume had decreased significantly to the 11.9 Gy and 15.2 Gy isosurface, respectively (SD, 3 and 4.1). Conclusions: The 95% interval from 7.6 to 12.2 Gy found as the minimal hepatocyte tolerance after 6 weeks accounts for the radiobiologic variations found in CT-guided brachytherapy, including heterogeneous dose rates by variable catheter arrays

Change in Seroma Volume During Whole-Breast Radiation Therapy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sharma, Rajiv; Spierer, Marnee; Mutyala, Subhakar; Thawani, Nitika; Cohen, Hillel W.; Hong, Linda; Garg, Madhur K.; Kalnicki, Shalom

2009-01-01

Purpose: After breast-conserving surgery, a seroma often forms in the surgical cavity. If not drained, it may affect the volume of tumor bed requiring a boost after whole-breast radiation therapy (WBRT). Our objective was to evaluate the change in seroma volume that occurs during WBRT, before boost planning. Methods and Materials: A retrospective review was performed of women receiving breast-conserving therapy with evidence of seroma at the time of WBRT planning. Computed tomography (CT) simulation was performed before WBRT and before the tumor bed boost. All patients received either a hypofractionated (42.4 Gy/16 fraction + 9.6 Gy/4 fraction boost) or standard fractionated (50.4 Gy/28 fraction + 10 Gy/5 fraction boost) regimen. Seroma volumes were contoured and compared on CT at the time of WBRT simulation and tumor bed boost planning. Results: Twenty-four patients with evidence of seroma were identified and all patients received WBRT without drainage of the seroma. Mean seroma volume before WBRT and at boost planning were significantly different at 65.7 cm 3 (SD, 50.5 cm 3 ) and 35.6 cm 3 (SD, 24.8 cm 3 ), respectively (p < 0.001). Mean and median reduction in seroma volume during radiation were 39.6% (SD, 23.8%) and 46.2% (range, 10.7-76.7%), respectively. Fractionation schedule was not correlated with change in seroma volume. Length of time from surgery to start of radiation therapy showed an inverse correlation with change in seroma volume (Pearson correlation r = -0.53, p < 0.01). Conclusions: The volume of seroma changes significantly during WBRT. Consequently, the accuracy of breast boost planning is likely affected, as is the volume of normal breast tissue irradiated. CT-based boost planning before boost irradiation is suggested to ensure appropriate coverage.

The effects of intracranial volume adjustment approaches on multiple regional MRI volumes in healthy aging and Alzheimer’s disease

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Olga eVoevodskaya

2014-10-01

Full Text Available In neurodegeneration research, normalization of regional volumes by intracranial volume (ICV is important to estimate the extent of disease-driven atrophy. There is little agreement as to whether raw volumes, volume-to-ICV fractions or regional volumes from which the ICV factor has been regressed out should be used for volumetric brain imaging studies. Using multiple regional cortical and subcortical volumetric measures generated by Freesurfer (51 in total, the main aim of this study was to elucidate the implications of these adjustment approaches. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI data were analyzed from two large cohorts, the population-based PIVUS cohort (N=406, all subjects age 75 and the Alzheimer disease Neuroimaging Initiative (ADNI cohort (N=724. Further, we studied whether the chosen ICV normalization approach influenced the relationship between hippocampus and cognition in the three diagnostic groups of the ADNI cohort (Alzheimer’s disease, mild cognitive impairment and healthy individuals. The ability of raw vs adjusted hippocampal volumes to predict diagnostic status was also assessed. In both cohorts raw volumes correlate positively with ICV, but do not scale directly proportionally with it. The correlation direction is reversed for all volume-to-ICV fractions, except the lateral and third ventricles. Most grey matter fractions are larger in females, while lateral ventricle fractions are greater in males. Residual correction effectively eliminated the correlation between the regional volumes and ICV and removed gender differences. The association between hippocampal volumes and cognition was not altered by ICV normalization. Comparing prediction of diagnostic status using the different approaches, small but significant differences were found. The choice of normalization approach should be carefully considered when designing a volumetric brain imaging study.

Fractional graph theory a rational approach to the theory of graphs

CERN Document Server

Scheinerman, Edward R

2013-01-01

A unified treatment of the most important results in the study of fractional graph concepts, this volume explores the various ways in which integer-valued concepts can be modified to derive nonintegral values. It begins with the general fractional theory of hypergraphs and presents in-depth coverage of fundamental and advanced topics. Subjects include fractional matching, fractional coloring, fractional edge coloring, fractional arboricity via matroid methods, and fractional isomorphism. The final chapter examines additional topics such as fractional domination, fractional intersection numbers

Cardiac T1 mapping in congenital heart disease: bolus vs. infusion protocols for measurements of myocardial extracellular volume fraction.

Science.gov (United States)

Al-Wakeel-Marquard, Nadya; Rastin, Sanaz; Muench, Frédéric; O H-Ici, Darach; Yilmaz, Sevim; Berger, Felix; Kuehne, Titus; Messroghli, Daniel R

2017-12-01

Myocardial extracellular volume fraction (ECV) reflecting diffuse myocardial fibrosis can be measured with T1 mapping cardiovascular magnetic resonance (CMR) before and after the application of a gadolinium-based extracellular contrast agent. The equilibrium between blood and myocardium contrast concentration required for ECV measurements can be obtained with a primed contrast infusion (equilibrium contrast-CMR). We hypothesized that equilibrium can also be achieved with a single contrast bolus to accurately measure diffuse myocardial fibrosis in patients with congenital heart disease (CHD). Healthy controls (n = 17; median age 24.0 years) and patients with CHD (n = 19; 25.0 years) were prospectively enrolled. Using modified Look-Locker inversion recovery T1 mapping before, 15 min after bolus injection, and during constant infusion of gadolinium-DOTA, T1 values were obtained for blood pool and myocardium of the left ventricle (LV), the interventricular septum (IVS), and the right ventricle (RV) in a single midventricular plane in short axis or in transverse orientation. ECV of LV, IVS and RV by bolus-only and bolus-infusion correlated significantly in CHD patients (r = 0.94, 0.95, and 0.74; p < 0.01, respectively) and healthy controls (r = 0.96, 0.89, and 0.64; p < 0.05, respectively). Bland-Altman plots revealed no significant bias between the techniques for any of the analyzed regions. ECV of LV and RV myocardium measured by bolus-only T1 mapping agrees well with bolus-infusion measurements in patients with CHD. The use of a bolus-only approach facilitates the integration of ECV measurements into existing CMR imaging protocols, allowing for assessment of diffuse myocardial fibrosis in CHD in clinical routine.

Numerical approach of the injection molding process of fiber-reinforced composite with considering fiber orientation

Science.gov (United States)

Nguyen Thi, T. B.; Yokoyama, A.; Ota, K.; Kodama, K.; Yamashita, K.; Isogai, Y.; Furuichi, K.; Nonomura, C.

2014-05-01

One of the most important challenges in the injection molding process of the short-glass fiber/thermoplastic composite parts is being able to predict the fiber orientation, since it controls the mechanical and the physical properties of the final parts. Folgar and Tucker included into the Jeffery equation a diffusive type of term, which introduces a phenomenological coefficient for modeling the randomizing effect of the mechanical interactions between the fibers, to predict the fiber orientation in concentrated suspensions. Their experiments indicated that this coefficient depends on the fiber volume fraction and aspect ratio. However, a definition of the fiber interaction coefficient, which is very necessary in the fiber orientation simulations, hasn't still been proven yet. Consequently, this study proposed a developed fiber interaction model that has been introduced a fiber dynamics simulation in order to obtain a global fiber interaction coefficient. This supposed that the coefficient is a sum function of the fiber concentration, aspect ratio, and angular velocity. The proposed model was incorporated into a computer aided engineering simulation package C-Mold. Short-glass fiber/polyamide-6 composites were produced in the injection molding with the fiber weight concentration of 30 wt.%, 50 wt.%, and 70 wt.%. The physical properties of these composites were examined, and their fiber orientation distributions were measured by micro-computed-tomography equipment μ-CT. The simulation results showed a good agreement with experiment results.

Fractional charge search

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Innes, W.; Klein, S.; Perl, M.; Price, J.C.

1982-06-01

A device to search for fractional charge in matter is described. The sample is coupled to a low-noise amplifier by a periodically varying capacitor and the resulting signal is synchronously detected. The varying capacitor is constructed as a rapidly spinning wheel. Samples of any material in volumes of up to 0.05 ml may be searched in less than an hour

Free-volume study of ethylene - vinyl alcohol copolymer evaluated through positronium lifetime measurement

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ito, K.; Hong-ling Li; Ujihira, Y.; Nomura, K.; Saito, Y.; Yamamoto, T.; Nishihara, Y.

2003-01-01

The free-volume, of size ranging from 0.2 to 0.4 nm in radius, in an ethylene-vinyl alcohol copolymer was estimated using positronium lifetime measurement to elucidate the dependence of oxygen permeability on the free-volume size and fraction, on the ethylene content and on the crystallinity. The permeability and the free-volume fraction with varying the ethylene content were well related and the relation was interpreted based on the free-volume theory near below and above the glass transition temperature. On the other hand, the crystallinity significantly influenced the fraction of the amorphous region, where the free-volume hole exists, along with a slight change of the free-volume size. The variation of the permeability with the crystalline degree cannot be explained from the averaged free-volume fraction estimated by the whole volume of the polymer, but the permeability correlated with the free-volume size apparently. (author)

Tensile Mechanical Properties and Failure Modes of a Basalt Fiber/Epoxy Resin Composite Material

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jingjing He

2018-01-01

Full Text Available Uniaxial tensile tests of basalt fiber/epoxy (BF/EP composite material with four different fiber orientations were conducted under four different fiber volume fractions, and the variations of BF/EP composite material failure modes and tensile mechanical properties were analyzed. The results show that when the fiber volume fraction is constant, the tensile strength, elastic modulus, and limiting strain of BF/EP composite material all decrease with increasing fiber orientation angle. When the fiber orientation angle is constant, the tensile strength, elastic modulus, and limiting strain of BF/EP composite material all increase with increasing fiber volume fraction. A certain degree of fiber clustering appears in the epoxy resin when the basalt fiber volume fraction is >1.2%. The fiber equidistribution coefficient and clustering fiber content were used to characterize the basalt fiber clustering effect. With the increase of fiber volume fraction, the clustering fiber content gradually increased, but the fiber equidistribution coefficient decreased. Meanwhile, based on Tsai theory, a geometric model and a tensile mechanical model of the clustering fiber are established. By considering the fiber clustering effect, the BF/EP composite material tensile strength is calculated, and the calculated values are close to the experimental results.

2D and 3D milled surface roughness of high volume fraction SiCp/Al composites

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Tao Wang

2015-06-01

Full Text Available This paper presents a study on surface roughness generated by high speed milling of high volume fraction (65% silicon carbide particle-reinforced aluminum matrix (SiCp/Al composites. Typical 2D (Ra and Rz and 3D (Sa and Sq surface roughness parameters were selected to evaluate the influence of the milling parameters on the surface quality in comparison with aluminum alloy. The 3D topography of the milled surface was studied as well. The results indicate that 3D parameters (Sa and Sq are more capable to describe the influence of the milling parameters on the surface quality, and among them Sq is preferable due to its good sensitivity. Sq decreases with milling speed and increases with feed rate. The influence of axial depth of cut (ADOC is negligible.

HipMatch: an object-oriented cross-platform program for accurate determination of cup orientation using 2D-3D registration of single standard X-ray radiograph and a CT volume.

Science.gov (United States)

Zheng, Guoyan; Zhang, Xuan; Steppacher, Simon D; Murphy, Stephen B; Siebenrock, Klaus A; Tannast, Moritz

2009-09-01

The widely used procedure of evaluation of cup orientation following total hip arthroplasty using single standard anteroposterior (AP) radiograph is known inaccurate, largely due to the wide variability in individual pelvic orientation relative to X-ray plate. 2D-3D image registration methods have been introduced for an accurate determination of the post-operative cup alignment with respect to an anatomical reference extracted from the CT data. Although encouraging results have been reported, their extensive usage in clinical routine is still limited. This may be explained by their requirement of a CAD model of the prosthesis, which is often difficult to be organized from the manufacturer due to the proprietary issue, and by their requirement of either multiple radiographs or a radiograph-specific calibration, both of which are not available for most retrospective studies. To address these issues, we developed and validated an object-oriented cross-platform program called "HipMatch" where a hybrid 2D-3D registration scheme combining an iterative landmark-to-ray registration with a 2D-3D intensity-based registration was implemented to estimate a rigid transformation between a pre-operative CT volume and the post-operative X-ray radiograph for a precise estimation of cup alignment. No CAD model of the prosthesis is required. Quantitative and qualitative results evaluated on cadaveric and clinical datasets are given, which indicate the robustness and the accuracy of the program. HipMatch is written in object-oriented programming language C++ using cross-platform software Qt (TrollTech, Oslo, Norway), VTK, and Coin3D and is transportable to any platform.

Fractional derivatives for physicists and engineers background and theory

CERN Document Server

Uchaikin, Vladimir V

2013-01-01

The first derivative of a particle coordinate means its velocity, the second means its acceleration, but what does a fractional order derivative mean? Where does it come from, how does it work, where does it lead to? The two-volume book written on high didactic level answers these questions. Fractional Derivatives for Physicists and Engineers— The first volume contains a clear introduction into such a modern branch of analysis as the fractional calculus. The second develops a wide panorama of applications of the fractional calculus to various physical problems. This book recovers new perspectives in front of the reader dealing with turbulence and semiconductors, plasma and thermodynamics, mechanics and quantum optics, nanophysics and astrophysics.  The book is addressed to students, engineers and physicists, specialists in theory of probability and statistics, in mathematical modeling and numerical simulations, to everybody who doesn't wish to stay apart from the new mathematical methods becoming more and ...

Tensile Mechanical Properties and Failure Modes of a Basalt Fiber/Epoxy Resin Composite Material

OpenAIRE

He, Jingjing; Shi, Junping; Cao, Xiaoshan; Hu, Yifeng

2018-01-01

Uniaxial tensile tests of basalt fiber/epoxy (BF/EP) composite material with four different fiber orientations were conducted under four different fiber volume fractions, and the variations of BF/EP composite material failure modes and tensile mechanical properties were analyzed. The results show that when the fiber volume fraction is constant, the tensile strength, elastic modulus, and limiting strain of BF/EP composite material all decrease with increasing fiber orientation angle. When the ...

Fractional Brownian motion and motion governed by the fractional Langevin equation in confined geometries.

Science.gov (United States)

Jeon, Jae-Hyung; Metzler, Ralf

2010-02-01

Motivated by subdiffusive motion of biomolecules observed in living cells, we study the stochastic properties of a non-Brownian particle whose motion is governed by either fractional Brownian motion or the fractional Langevin equation and restricted to a finite domain. We investigate by analytic calculations and simulations how time-averaged observables (e.g., the time-averaged mean-squared displacement and displacement correlation) are affected by spatial confinement and dimensionality. In particular, we study the degree of weak ergodicity breaking and scatter between different single trajectories for this confined motion in the subdiffusive domain. The general trend is that deviations from ergodicity are decreased with decreasing size of the movement volume and with increasing dimensionality. We define the displacement correlation function and find that this quantity shows distinct features for fractional Brownian motion, fractional Langevin equation, and continuous time subdiffusion, such that it appears an efficient measure to distinguish these different processes based on single-particle trajectory data.

Calculation of left ventricular volume and ejection fraction from ECG-gated myocardial SPECT. Automatic detection of endocardial borders by threshold method

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Fukushi, Shoji; Teraoka, Satomi.

1997-01-01

A new method which calculate end-diastolic volume (EDV), end-systolic volume (ESV) and ejection fraction (LVEF) of the left ventricle from myocardial short axis images of ECG-gated SPECT using 99m Tc myocardial perfusion tracer has been designed. Eight frames per cardiac cycle ECG-gated 180 degrees SPECT was performed. Threshold method was used to detect myocardial borders automatically. The optimal threshold was 45% by myocardial SPECT phantom. To determine if EDV, ESV and LVEF can also be calculated by this method, 12 patients were correlated ventriculography (LVG) for 10 days each. The correlation coefficient with LVG was 0.918 (EDV), 0.935 (ESV) and 0.900 (LVEF). This method is excellent at objectivity and reproductivity because of the automatic detection of myocardial borders. It also provides useful information on heart function in addition to myocardial perfusion. (author)

Sexual orientation related differences in cortical thickness in male individuals.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Christoph Abé

Full Text Available Previous neuroimaging studies demonstrated sex and also sexual orientation related structural and functional differences in the human brain. Genetic information and effects of sex hormones are assumed to contribute to the male/female differentiation of the brain, and similar effects could play a role in processes influencing human's sexual orientation. However, questions about the origin and development of a person's sexual orientation remain unanswered, and research on sexual orientation related neurobiological characteristics is still very limited. To contribute to a better understanding of the neurobiology of sexual orientation, we used magnetic resonance imaging (MRI in order to compare regional cortical thickness (Cth and subcortical volumes of homosexual men (hoM, heterosexual men (heM and heterosexual women (heW. hoM (and heW had thinner cortices primarily in visual areas and smaller thalamus volumes than heM, in which hoM and heW did not differ. Our results support previous studies, which suggest cerebral differences between hoM and heM in regions, where sex differences have been reported, which are frequently proposed to underlie biological mechanisms. Thus, our results contribute to a better understanding of the neurobiology of sexual orientation.

Sexual orientation related differences in cortical thickness in male individuals.

Science.gov (United States)

Abé, Christoph; Johansson, Emilia; Allzén, Elin; Savic, Ivanka

2014-01-01

Previous neuroimaging studies demonstrated sex and also sexual orientation related structural and functional differences in the human brain. Genetic information and effects of sex hormones are assumed to contribute to the male/female differentiation of the brain, and similar effects could play a role in processes influencing human's sexual orientation. However, questions about the origin and development of a person's sexual orientation remain unanswered, and research on sexual orientation related neurobiological characteristics is still very limited. To contribute to a better understanding of the neurobiology of sexual orientation, we used magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in order to compare regional cortical thickness (Cth) and subcortical volumes of homosexual men (hoM), heterosexual men (heM) and heterosexual women (heW). hoM (and heW) had thinner cortices primarily in visual areas and smaller thalamus volumes than heM, in which hoM and heW did not differ. Our results support previous studies, which suggest cerebral differences between hoM and heM in regions, where sex differences have been reported, which are frequently proposed to underlie biological mechanisms. Thus, our results contribute to a better understanding of the neurobiology of sexual orientation.

Orientation of spiral galaxies in the local supercluster

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jaaniste, J.A.; Saar, E.M.

1977-01-01

Two alternative models for the spatial orientation of galaxies - parallelism and perpendicularity of the planes of galaxies with respect to the supergalactic plane - are compared with the observed orientations of spiral galaxies within the volume of the radius of 50 Mpc. The first model does not agree with experimental data whereas the second one-perpendicularity of the planes - describes the above data well

Theoretical Model for Volume Fraction of UC, 235U Enrichment, and Effective Density of Final U 10Mo Alloy

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Devaraj, Arun [Pacific Northwest National Lab. (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States). Environmental Molecular Sciences Lab. (EMSL); Prabhakaran, Ramprashad [Pacific Northwest National Lab. (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States). Environmental Molecular Sciences Lab. (EMSL); Joshi, Vineet V. [Pacific Northwest National Lab. (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States). Environmental Molecular Sciences Lab. (EMSL); Hu, Shenyang Y. [Pacific Northwest National Lab. (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States). Environmental Molecular Sciences Lab. (EMSL); McGarrah, Eric J. [Pacific Northwest National Lab. (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States). Environmental Molecular Sciences Lab. (EMSL); Lavender, Curt A. [Pacific Northwest National Lab. (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States). Environmental Molecular Sciences Lab. (EMSL)

2016-04-12

The purpose of this document is to provide a theoretical framework for (1) estimating uranium carbide (UC) volume fraction in a final alloy of uranium with 10 weight percent molybdenum (U-10Mo) as a function of final alloy carbon concentration, and (2) estimating effective ²³⁵U enrichment in the U-10Mo matrix after accounting for loss of ²³⁵U in forming UC. This report will also serve as a theoretical baseline for effective density of as-cast low-enriched U-10Mo alloy. Therefore, this report will serve as the baseline for quality control of final alloy carbon content

Acoustic neuromas: single dose vs fractionated therapy

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Fuss, M; Debus, J; Lohr, F; Engenhart-Cabillic, R; Wannenmacher, M

1997-07-01

Purpose: Radiosurgical treatment (RS) of acoustic neuromas is a well established treatment. However, few data are available concerning conformal fractionated radiotherapy (FT) of this tumor entity. We evaluated treatment outcome and toxicity for both treatment modalities in 41 patients treated at our institution between 1984 and 1997. Material and Methods: All treatments were performed using a specially adapted linear accelerator and circular collimators for convergent beam RS or multi-leaf collimators (leaf thickness 1 or 3mm) for multi-field RS or fractionated treatment. 22 patients (7 male, 15 female, median age 60 years, range 20-83 years) were treated radiosurgically with single doses between 7 and 28 Gray (median 15 Gy) prescribed to the 80% isodose line. Tumor volumes ranged from 0.7 to 10.5 ccm with a median volume of 3.4 ccm. The median number of isocenters was 2 (1-4 isocenters). One patient was treated by a multi-field technique (14 isocentric irregularly shaped noncoplanar fields). 19 patients (5 male, 14 female, median age 55 years, range 20-81 years) were treated with stereotactic conformal radiotherapy. Median dose was 60 Gray with a median daily fraction size of 2 Gy and a median of 3 (1-4) irregularly shaped isocentric fields. Tumor volumes ranged from 0.7 to 32.4 ccm (median 15 ccm). Median follow-up was 30 months (7-149 months) for radiosurgical and 30 months (2-88 months) for fractionated treatment. Seven patients who underwent fractionated treatment had previously undergone neurosurgical resection on the contralateral side. One had undergone radiosurgery on the opposite side before. Results: All tumors were locally controlled. A volume reduction of more than 20% was seen in 16% after RS and 18% following FT. Typical posttherapeutic central reduction of contrast media enhancement was found in 73% following RS after a median of 8 (3-12) months and in 63% following FT after a median of 6 (1-12) months. Temporary brainstem edema was diagnosed in 4

Constituents from Maytenus ilicifolia leaves and bioguided fractionation for gastroprotective activity

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Leite, Joao Paulo V. [Universidade Federal de Vicosa (UFV), MG (Brazil). Dept. de Bioquimica e Biologia Molecular; Braga, Fernao C.; Oliveira, Alaide B. [Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais (UFMG), Belo Horizonte, MG (Brazil). Faculdade de Farmacia. Dept. de Produtos Farmaceuticos; Romussi, Giovanni [Universita degli Studi di Genova (Italy). Dipt. di Chimica e Tecnologie Farmaceutiche; Persoli, Rita M.; Tabach, Ricardo; Carlini, Elisaldo A. [Universidade Federal de Sao Paulo (UNIFESP-EPM), SP (Brazil). Dept. de Psicobiologia

2010-07-01

Maytenus ilicifolia Mart. ex Reissek is traditionally used in Brazil for treatment of gastric ulcers. Here we report the phytochemical investigation of an ethanol extract of M. ilicifolia leaves (EEMIL) aiming at the isolation of constituents which were used as chemical markers to monitor an activity-guided fractionation of a lyophilized aqueous extract of M. ilicifolia leaves (LAEMIL). From EEMIL, four flavonoids were isolated, namely the tri-flavonoid glycosides mauritianin (1), trifolin, (2) hyperin (4), and epi-catechin (5). Fractionation of LAEMIL led to 5 fractions which afforded the tetra-glycoside kaempferol derivative (3), and galactitol (6). LAEMIL and its fractions were evaluated in rats for their effects on gastric secretion volume and pH. HPLC (High Performance Liquid Chromatography) analysis revealed that only fractions containing the tri- and tetra-flavonoid glycosides 1 and 3 caused significant increase of gastric volume and pH, thus indicating that these glycosides play an important role on the gastroprotective effect of M.ilicifolia leaves. (author)

Constituents from Maytenus ilicifolia leaves and bioguided fractionation for gastroprotective activity

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Leite, Joao Paulo V.; Braga, Fernao C.; Oliveira, Alaide B.; Romussi, Giovanni; Persoli, Rita M.; Tabach, Ricardo; Carlini, Elisaldo A.

2010-01-01

Maytenus ilicifolia Mart. ex Reissek is traditionally used in Brazil for treatment of gastric ulcers. Here we report the phytochemical investigation of an ethanol extract of M. ilicifolia leaves (EEMIL) aiming at the isolation of constituents which were used as chemical markers to monitor an activity-guided fractionation of a lyophilized aqueous extract of M. ilicifolia leaves (LAEMIL). From EEMIL, four flavonoids were isolated, namely the tri-flavonoid glycosides mauritianin (1), trifolin, (2) hyperin (4), and epi-catechin (5). Fractionation of LAEMIL led to 5 fractions which afforded the tetra-glycoside kaempferol derivative (3), and galactitol (6). LAEMIL and its fractions were evaluated in rats for their effects on gastric secretion volume and pH. HPLC (High Performance Liquid Chromatography) analysis revealed that only fractions containing the tri- and tetra-flavonoid glycosides 1 and 3 caused significant increase of gastric volume and pH, thus indicating that these glycosides play an important role on the gastroprotective effect of M.ilicifolia leaves. (author)

Endochondral fracture healing with external fixation in the Sost knockout mouse results in earlier fibrocartilage callus removal and increased bone volume fraction and strength.

Science.gov (United States)

Morse, A; Yu, N Y C; Peacock, L; Mikulec, K; Kramer, I; Kneissel, M; McDonald, M M; Little, D G

2015-02-01

Sclerostin deficiency, via genetic knockout or anti-Sclerostin antibody treatment, has been shown to cause increased bone volume, density and strength of calluses following endochondral bone healing. However, there is limited data on the effect of Sclerostin deficiency on the formative early stage of fibrocartilage (non-bony tissue) formation and removal. In this study we extensively investigate the early fibrocartilage callus. Closed tibial fractures were performed on Sost(-/-) mice and age-matched wild type (C57Bl/6J) controls and assessed at multiple early time points (7, 10 and 14days), as well as at 28days post-fracture after bony union. External fixation was utilized, avoiding internal pinning and minimizing differences in stability stiffness, a variable that has confounded previous research in this area. Normal endochondral ossification progressed in wild type and Sost(-/-) mice with equivalent volumes of fibrocartilage formed at early day 7 and day 10 time points, and bony union in both genotypes by day 28. There were no significant differences in rate of bony union; however there were significant increases in fibrocartilage removal from the Sost(-/-) fracture calluses at day 14 suggesting earlier progression of endochondral healing. Earlier bone formation was seen in Sost(-/-) calluses over wild type with greater bone volume at day 10 (221%, p<0.01). The resultant Sost(-/-) united bony calluses at day 28 had increased bone volume fraction compared to wild type calluses (24%, p<0.05), and the strength of the fractured Sost(-/-) tibiae was greater than that that of wild type fractured tibiae. In summary, bony union was not altered by Sclerostin deficiency in externally-fixed closed tibial fractures, but fibrocartilage removal was enhanced and the resultant united bony calluses had increased bone fraction and increased strength. Crown Copyright © 2014. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Surfaces allowing for fractional statistics

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Aneziris, Charilaos.

1992-07-01

In this paper we give a necessary condition in order for a geometrical surface to allow for Abelian fractional statistics. In particular, we show that such statistics is possible only for two-dimentional oriented surfaces of genus zero, namely the sphere S 2 , the plane R 2 and the cylindrical surface R 1 *S 1 , and in general the connected sum of n planes R 2 -R 2 -R 2 -...-R 2 . (Author)

Airborne release fractions/rates and respirable fractions for nonreactor nuclear facilities. Volume 1, Analysis of experimental data

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1994-12-01

This handbook contains (1) a systematic compilation of airborne release and respirable fraction experimental data for nonreactor nuclear facilities, (2) assessments of the data, and (3) values derived from assessing the data that may be used in safety analyses when the data are applicable. To assist in consistent and effective use of this information, the handbook provides: identification of a consequence determination methodology in which the information can be used; discussion of the applicability of the information and its general technical limits; identification of specific accident phenomena of interest for which the information is applicable; and examples of use of the consequence determination methodology and airborne release and respirable fraction information

Attention in spina bifida myelomeningocele: Relations with brain volume and integrity

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Paulina A. Kulesz

2015-01-01

Full Text Available This study investigated the relations of tectal volume and superior parietal cortex, as well as alterations in tectocortical white matter connectivity, with the orienting and executive control attention networks in individuals with spina bifida myelomeningocele (SBM. Probabilistic diffusion tractography and quantification of tectal and superior parietal cortical volume were performed on 74 individuals aged 8–29 with SBM and a history of hydrocephalus. Behavioral assessments measured posterior (covert orienting and anterior (conflict resolution, attentional control attention network functions. Reduced tectal volume was associated with slower covert orienting; reduced superior parietal cortical volume was associated with slower conflict resolution; and increased axial diffusivity and radial diffusivity along both frontal and parietal tectocortical pathways were associated with reduced attentional control. Results suggest that components of both the orienting and executive control attention networks are impaired in SBM. Neuroanatomical disruption to the orienting network appears more robust and a direct consequence of characteristic midbrain dysmorphology; whereas, executive control difficulties may emerge from parietal cortical anomalies and reduced frontal and parietal cortical–subcortical white matter pathways susceptible to the pathophysiological effects of congenital hydrocephalus.

The Optimal Volume Fraction in Percutaneous Vertebroplasty Evaluated by Pain Relief, Cement Dispersion, and Cement Leakage: A Prospective Cohort Study of 130 Patients with Painful Osteoporotic Vertebral Compression Fracture in the Thoracolumbar Vertebra.

Science.gov (United States)

Sun, Hai-Bo; Jing, Xiao-Shan; Liu, Yu-Zeng; Qi, Ming; Wang, Xin-Kuan; Hai, Yong

2018-06-01

To probe the relationship among cement volume/fraction, imaging features of cement distribution, and pain relief and then to evaluate the optimal volume during percutaneous vertebroplasty. From January 2014 to January 2017, a total of 130 patients eligible for inclusion criteria were enrolled in this prospective cohort study. According to the different degrees of pain relief, cement leakage, and cement distribution, all patients were allocated to 2 groups. Clinical and radiologic characteristics were assessed to identify independent factors influencing pain relief, cement leakage, and cement distribution, including age, sex, fracture age, bone mineral density, operation time, fracture level, fracture type, modified semiquantitative severity grade, intravertebral cleft, cortical disruption in the vertebral wall, endplate disruption, type of nutrient foramen, fractured vertebral body volume, intravertebral cement volume, and volume fraction. A receiver operating characteristic curve was used to analyze the diagnostic value of the cement volume/fraction and then to obtain the optional cut-off value. The preoperative visual analog scale scores in the responders versus nonresponders patient groups were 7.37 ± 0.61 versus 7.87 ± 0.92 and the postoperative VAS scores in the responders versus nonresponders were 2.04 ± 0.61 versus 4.33 ± 0.49 at 1 week. There were no independent factors influencing pain relief. There were 95 (73.08%) patients who experienced cement leakage, and cortical disruption in the vertebral wall and cement fraction percentage were identified as independent risk factors by binary logistic regression analysis (adjusted odds ratio [OR] 2.935, 95% confidence interval [95% CI] 1.214-7.092, P = 0.017); (adjusted OR 1.134, 95% CI 1.026-1.254, P = 0.014). The area under the receiver-operating characteristic curve of volume fraction (VF%) was 0.658 (95% CI 0.549-0.768, P = 0.006 cement leakage was 21.545%, with a sensitivity of 69.50% and a

Controlling the opto-electronic properties of nc-SiOx:H films by promotion of 〈220〉 orientation in the growth of ultra-nanocrystallites at the grain boundary

Science.gov (United States)

Das, Debajyoti; Samanta, Subhashis

2018-01-01

A systematic development of undoped nc-SiOx:H thin films from (SiH4 + CO2) plasma diluted by a combination of H2 and He has been investigated through structural, optical and electrical characterization and correlation. Gradual inclusion of O into a highly crystalline silicon network progressively produces a two-phase structure where Si-nanocrystals (Si-nc) are embedded into the a-SiOx:H matrix. However, at the intermediate grain boundary region the growth of ultra-nanocrystallites controls the effectiveness of the material. The ultra-nanocrystallites are the part and portion of crystallinity accommodating the dominant fraction of thermodynamically preferred 〈220〉 crystallographic orientation, most favourable for stacked layer device performance. Atomic H plays a dominant role in maintaining an improved nanocrystalliny in the network even during O inclusion, while He in its excited state (He*) maintains a good energy balance at the grain boundary and produces a significant fraction of ultra-nanocrystalline component which has been demonstrated to organize the energetically favourable 〈220〉 crystallographic orientation in the network. The nc-SiOx:H films, maintaining proportionally good electrical conductivity over an wide range of optical band gap, remarkably low microstructure factor and simultaneous high crystalline volume fraction dominantly populated by ultra-nanocrystallites of 〈220〉 crystallographic orientation mostly at the grain boundary, have been obtained in technologically most popular 13.56 MHz PECVD SiH4 plasma even at a low substrate temperature ∼250 °C, convenient for device fabrication.

A technique of using gated-CT images to determine internal target volume (ITV) for fractionated stereotactic lung radiotherapy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jin Jianyue; Ajlouni, Munther; Chen Qing; Yin, Fang-Fang; Movsas, Benjamin

2006-01-01

Background and purpose: To develop and evaluate a technique and procedure of using gated-CT images in combination with PET image to determine the internal target volume (ITV), which could reduce the planning target volume (PTV) with adequate target coverage. Patients and methods: A skin marker-based gating system connected to a regular single slice CT scanner was used for this study. A motion phantom with adjustable motion amplitude was used to evaluate the CT gating system. Specifically, objects of various sizes/shapes, considered as virtual tumors, were placed on the phantom to evaluate the number of phases of gated images required to determine the ITV while taking into account tumor size, shape and motion. A procedure of using gated-CT and PET images to define ITV for patients was developed and was tested in patients enrolled in an IRB approved protocol. Results: The CT gating system was capable of removing motion artifacts for target motion as large as 3-cm when it was gated at optimal phases. A phantom study showed that two gated-CT scans at the end of expiration and the end of inspiration would be sufficient to determine the ITV for tumor motion less than 1-cm, and another mid-phase scan would be required for tumors with 2-cm motion, especially for small tumors. For patients, the ITV encompassing visible tumors in all sets of gated-CT and regular spiral CT images seemed to be consistent with the target volume determined from PET images. PTV expanded from the ITV with a setup uncertainty margin had less volume than PTVs from spiral CT images with a 10-mm generalized margin or an individualized margin determined at fluoroscopy. Conclusions: A technique of determining the ITV using gated-CT images was developed and was clinically implemented successfully for fractionated stereotactic lung radiotherapy

Software quality assurance plan for void fraction instrument

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gimera, M.

1994-01-01

Waste Tank SY-101 has been the focus of extensive characterization work over the past few years. The waste continually generates gases, most notably hydrogen, which are periodically released from the waste. Gas can be trapped in tank waste in three forms: as void gas (bubbles), dissolved gas, or absorbed gas. Void fraction is the volume percentage of a given sample that is comprised of void gas. The void fraction instrument (VFI) acquires the data necessary to calculate void fraction. This document covers the product, Void Fraction Data Acquisition Software. The void fraction software being developed will have the ability to control the void fraction instrument hardware and acquire data necessary to calculate the void fraction in samples. This document provides the software quality assurance plan, verification and validation plan, and configuration management plan for developing the software for the instrumentation that will be used to obtain void fraction data from Tank SY-101

The local free volume and its correlation with the structural, chemical and dynamic properties of branched polymers, polymer electrolytes, highly oriented polyethylene fibres and other polymers

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bamford, David

2002-01-01

The work described in this thesis is concerned with the study of the local free volume measured by Positron Annihilation Spectroscopy and its correlation with the physical, chemical and structural properties of polymers. The average size of the local free volume holes in branched poly(ethylene-co-olefin) and poly(propylene-co-olefin) copolymers is studied using Positron Annihilation Lifetime Spectroscopy PALS and correlated with the number and length of the branches and the physical properties determined from Differential Scanning Calorimetry DSC and density measurements. The presence of the n-alkyl branches were found to form sterical hindrances to an effective chain packing resulting in a linear increase in the average free volume hole sizes, an increase in the specific volume of the amorphous phase, a decrease in the sample crystallinity and a decrease in the glass transition and melting temperatures. A linear relation was found between the average size of the free volume holes and the glass transition temperature, allowing a method for estimating the glass transition temperature of a sample purely from room temperature PALS measurements. Evidence is presented to support the common assumption that the fractional free volume is directly proportional to the average free volume hole size and that the specific crystalline volume may accurately represent the value of the specific occupied volume. The number density of holes was found to be constant for each of the series of copolymers in agreement with the above findings. Poly((ethylene glycol) 23 dimethacrylate) and poly(ethylene oxide) based polymer electrolytes exhibiting single anion, single cation and mixed ion conduction are studied as a function of temperature using PALS, ionic conductivity and DSC measurements. The glass transition temperature, the thermal expansion of the free volume and the effects on the free volume due to the addition of the ions are discussed. In particular, an explanation for the

Market Orientation and Market Participation of Smallholders in Ethiopia: Implications for Commercial Transformation

OpenAIRE

Gebremedhin, Berhanu; Tegegne, Azage

2012-01-01

The literature on commercial transformation of smallholders makes little distinction between market orientation and market participation. This paper analyzes the determinants of market orientation and market participation in Ethiopia separately and examines if market orientation translates into market participation. Results show that subsistence requirements, market access, and production factors affect market orientation, while market access and volume of production affect market participati...

Effect of Volume Fraction of Particle on Wear Resistance of Al2O3/Steel Composites at Elevated Temperature

Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

BAO Chong-gao; WANG En-ze; GAO Yi-min; XING Jian-dong

2005-01-01

Based on previous work,abrasive wear resistance of Al2 O3/steel composites with different Al2 O3 parti cle volume fraction (VOF) at 900 C was investigated.The experimental results showed that a suitable particle VOF is important to protect the metal matrix from wear at elevated temperature.Both too high and too low particle VOF lead to a poor abrasive wear because a bulk matrix is easily worn off by grits when it exceeds the suitable VOF and also because when VOF is low,the Al2O3 particles are easily dug out by grits during wearing as well.When the particle VOF is 39%,the wear resistance of tested composites is excellent.

The True Ultracool Binary Fraction Using Spectral Binaries

Science.gov (United States)

Bardalez Gagliuffi, Daniella; Burgasser, Adam J.; Schmidt, Sarah J.; Gagné, Jonathan; Faherty, Jacqueline K.; Cruz, Kelle; Gelino, Chris

2018-01-01

Brown dwarfs bridge the gap between stars and giant planets. While the essential mechanisms governing their formation are not well constrained, binary statistics are a direct outcome of the formation process, and thus provide a means to test formation theories. Observational constraints on the brown dwarf binary fraction place it at 10 ‑ 20%, dominated by imaging studies (85% of systems) with the most common separation at 4 AU. This coincides with the resolution limit of state-of-the-art imaging techniques, suggesting that the binary fraction is underestimated. We have developed a separation-independent method to identify and characterize tightly-separated (dwarfs as spectral binaries by identifying traces of methane in the spectra of late-M and early-L dwarfs. Imaging follow-up of 17 spectral binaries yielded 3 (18%) resolved systems, corroborating the observed binary fraction, but 5 (29%) known binaries were missed, reinforcing the hypothesis that the short-separation systems are undercounted. In order to find the true binary fraction of brown dwarfs, we have compiled a volume-limited, spectroscopic sample of M7-L5 dwarfs and searched for T dwarf companions. In the 25 pc volume, 4 candidates were found, three of which are already confirmed, leading to a spectral binary fraction of 0.95 ± 0.50%, albeit for a specific combination of spectral types. To extract the true binary fraction and determine the biases of the spectral binary method, we have produced a binary population simulation based on different assumptions of the mass function, age distribution, evolutionary models and mass ratio distribution. Applying the correction fraction resulting from this method to the observed spectral binary fraction yields a true binary fraction of 27 ± 4%, which is roughly within 1σ of the binary fraction obtained from high resolution imaging studies, radial velocity and astrometric monitoring. This method can be extended to identify giant planet companions to young brown

Use of a theoretical equation of state to interpret time-dependent free volume in polymer glasses

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Curro, J.G.; Lagasse, R.R.; Simha, R.

1981-01-01

Many physical properties of polymer glasses change spontaneously during isothermal aging by a process commonly modeled as collapse of free volume. The model has not been verified rigorously because free volume cannot be unambiguously measured. In the present investigation we tentatively identify the free-volume fraction with the fraction of empty sites in the equation of state of Simha and Somcynsky. With this theory, volume recovery measurements can be analyzed to yield directly the time-dependent, free-volume fraction. Using this approach, recent volume measurements on poly(methyl methacrylate) are analyzed. The resulting free-volume fractions are then used in the Doolittle equation to predict the shift in stress relaxation curves at 23 0 C. These predicted shift factors agree with the experimental measurements of Cizmecioglu et al. In addition, it is shown that previous assumptions concerning temperature dependence of free volume are inconsistent with the theory

Fractionation list: F0000000181 [jPOST repository metadata[Archive

Lifescience Database Archive (English)

Full Text Available ssected into small pieces and homogenized with 10 up-and-down, unrotated strokes in forty volumes of cold hypotonic buffer...s cytosol fraction. Each pellet was suspended in suspension buffer (10 mM Tris-HCl (pH 7.4), 50 mM sucrose),...ºC. The plasma membrane fraction was obtained from the resulting pellet, and resuspended in suspension buffer.

Orientation of Al3Ti platelets in Al-Al3Ti functionally graded material manufactured by centrifugal method

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Watanabe, Y.; Fukui, Y.

1997-01-01

Al-Al 3 Ti functionally graded materials (FGMs) were manufactured by the centrifugal method with a commercial ingot of Al-5 mass% Ti master alloy. The alloy was melted at a liquid/solid coexisting temperature, at which Al 3 Ti remains as a solid, and then it was cast into a thick-walled ring. It was found that the Al-Al 3 Ti functionally graded material can be successfully fabricated by the centrifugal method. It was also found that the volume fraction of the Al 3 Ti can be increased by repetition of the centrifugal method. Since the shape of Al 3 Ti particles in a commercial alloy ingot is that of a platelet, the Al 3 Ti particles are arranged with their platelet planes nearly perpendicular to the radial direction. The orientation effects become stronger when the G number becomes larger. Although the final centrifugal casting was conducted under a very large centrifugal force for the specimen cast three times, the orientation effects were weaker than those in the specimen cast one time. From these observations, it is concluded that the origin of orientation of Al 3 Ti platelets can be attributed to the angular velocity gradient of the melt along the radial direction produced by the difference in the viscosity. (orig.)

Wetting morphologies on randomly oriented fibers.

Science.gov (United States)

Sauret, Alban; Boulogne, François; Soh, Beatrice; Dressaire, Emilie; Stone, Howard A

2015-06-01

We characterize the different morphologies adopted by a drop of liquid placed on two randomly oriented fibers, which is a first step toward understanding the wetting of fibrous networks. The present work reviews previous modeling for parallel and touching crossed fibers and extends it to an arbitrary orientation of the fibers characterized by the tilting angle and the minimum spacing distance. Depending on the volume of liquid, the spacing distance between fibers and the angle between the fibers, we highlight that the liquid can adopt three different equilibrium morphologies: 1) a column morphology in which the liquid spreads between the fibers, 2) a mixed morphology where a drop grows at one end of the column or 3) a single drop located at the node. We capture the different morphologies observed using an analytical model that predicts the equilibrium configuration of the liquid based on the geometry of the fibers and the volume of liquid.

Detection of preferential particle orientation in the atmosphere: Development of an alternative polarization lidar system

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Geier, Manfred; Arienti, Marco

2014-01-01

Increasing interest in polarimetric characterization of atmospheric aerosols has led to the development of complete sample-measuring (Mueller) polarimeters that are capable of measuring the entire backscattering phase matrix of a probed volume. These Mueller polarimeters consist of several moving parts, which limit measurement rates and complicate data analysis. In this paper, we present the concept of a less complex polarization lidar setup for detection of preferential orientation of atmospheric particulates. On the basis of theoretical considerations of data inversion stability and propagation of measurement uncertainties, an optimum optical configuration is established for two modes of operation (with either a linear or a circular polarized incident laser beam). The conceptualized setup falls in the category of incomplete sample-measuring polarimeters and uses four detection channels for simultaneous measurement of the backscattered light. The expected performance characteristics are discussed through an example of a typical aerosol with a small fraction of particles oriented in a preferred direction. The theoretical analysis suggests that achievable accuracies in backscatter cross-sections and depolarization ratios are similar to those with conventional two-channel configurations, while in addition preferential orientation can be detected with the proposed four-channel system for a wide range of conditions. - Highlights: • A theoretical study of a new four-channel lidar concept is offered. • Preferential particle orientation detection could be realized with minor device modifications. • The proposed configuration is optimized to balance inversion uncertainties. • Circular polarized beam is demonstrated to provide the best noise performance. • Operation with ultra-short pulses is proposed to quantify particle number density

Development and synthesis nanocompositions DLC coatings with orientation effect

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Levchenko, V.A.; Novoselova, N.V.; Matveenko, V.N.

2008-01-01

On the basis of volume modelling and a detailed experimental research of physical and chemical properties nanocompositions DLC with one-dimensional highly orientationally the carbon structure on interphase border of section with lubricant as models tribological knot, proves typical models of synthesis new nanocompositions the DLC possessing high tribological properties (by high wear resistance, low of a friction, etc.). The influence mechanism orientation properties of a surface of the synthesized coatings on molecular in a boundary lubricant layer is investigated. On basis tribological experimental batch tests nanocompositions the carbon coatings possessing orientation effect, the synthesis mechanism highly orientationally DLC coatings with optimum tribological properties is developed.

Synthesis and characterization of high volume fraction Al-Al2O3 nanocomposite powders by high-energy milling

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Prabhu, B.; Suryanarayana, C.; An, L.; Vaidyanathan, R.

2006-01-01

Al-Al 2 O 3 metal matrix composite (MMC) powders with volume fractions of 20, 30, and 50% Al 2 O 3 were synthesized by high-energy milling of the blended component powders. The particle sizes of Al 2 O 3 studied were 50 nm, 150 nm, and 5 μm. A uniform distribution of the Al 2 O 3 reinforcement in the Al matrix was successfully obtained after milling the powders for a period of 20 h at a ball-to-powder ratio of 10:1 in a SPEX mill. The uniform distribution of Al 2 O 3 in the Al matrix was confirmed by characterizing these nanocomposite powders by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy dispersive spectrometry (EDS), X-ray mapping, and X-ray diffraction (XRD) techniques

Analytical solutions of time–space fractional, advection–dispersion

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

Home; Journals; Pramana – Journal of Physics; Volume 83; Issue 6 ... In this article, we study time–space fractional advection–dispersion (FADE) equation and ... Lahore University of Management Sciences, Lahore Cantt 54792, Pakistan ...

Real-time three-dimensional echocardiographic left ventricular ejection fraction and volumes assessment: comparison with cardiac computed tomography; Comparacao entre a afericao da fracao de ejecao e dos volumes do ventriculo esquerdo, medidos com ecocardiografia tridimensional em tempo real e com tomografia computadorizada ultra-rapida

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Vieira, Marcelo L.C.; Nomura, Cesar H.; Tranchesi Junior, Bernardino; Oliveira, Wercules A. de; Naccarato, Gustavo; Serpa, Bruna S.; Cury, Alexandre; Passos, Rodrigo B.D.; Nobrega, Marcel V. da; Funari, Marcelo B.G.; Pfefermam, Abhaham; Makdisse, Marcia; Fischer, Claudio H.; Morhy, Samira S., E-mail: luiz766@terra.com.br [Hospital Israelita Albert Einstein, Sao Paulo, SP (Brazil)

2008-10-15

Background and objective: Few studies addressed the comparison between real-time 3D echocardiography (RT3DE) and cardiac computed tomography (CCT) concerning left ventricular ejection fraction and volumes assessment. We sought to compare both techniques regarding left ventricle (LV) ejection fraction function and volumes analysis. Methods: we studied by RT3DE (Philips IE 33, And, MA, USA) and by CCT (Toshiba, 64-slice, Otawara, Japan) 41 consecutive patients (29 males, 58 ± 11 yrs). We analysed by both techniques LVEF, LVEDV, LVESV. RT3DE and CCT data were compared by coefficients of determination (r: Pearson), Bland and Altman test and linear regression, 95% CI. Results: RT3DE data: LVEF ranged from 56.7 to 78.9 % (65.3 + 5.7 ); LVEDV ranged from 49.6 to 178.2 (88 + 27.5) mL; LVESV from 11.4 to 78 ( 33.9 + 13.7) mL. CCT data: LVEF ranged from 53 to 86 % (67.3 + 7.9 ); LVEDV ranged from 51 to 186 (106.4 + 30.7) mL; LVESV from 7 to 72 ( 35.1 + 13.8) mL. Correlations relative to RT3DE and CCT were: LVEF (r: 0. 7877, p<0.0001, 95 % CI 0.6327 to 0.8853 ); LVEDV (r:0.7671, p<0.0001, 95 % CI 0.5974 to 0.8745); LVESV (r: 0.8121, p<0.0001, 95 % CI 0.6659 to 0.8957). Conclusions: it was observed adequate correlation between real-time 3D echocardiography and cardiac computed tomography concerning ejection fraction and volumes assessment. (author)

Digestion kinetics of carbohydrate fractions of citrus by-products

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Lashkari, Saman; Taghizadeh, Akbar

2015-01-01

The present experiment was carried out to determine the digestion kinetics of carbohydrate fractions of citrus by-products. Grapefruit pulp (GP), lemon pulp (LE), lime pulp (LI) and orange pulp (OP) were the test feed. Digestion kinetic of whole citrus by-products and neutral detergent fiber (NDF......) fraction and acid detergent fiber (ADF) fractions of citrus by-products were measured using the in vitro gas production technique. Fermentation kinetics of the neutral detergent soluble carbohydrates (NDSC) fraction and hemicelluloses were calculated using a curve subtraction. The fermentation rate...... of whole was the highest for the LE (p by-products lag time was longer for hemicellulose than other carbohydrate fractions. There was no significant difference among potential gas production (A) volumes of whole test feeds (p

Quality-assured evaluation of effective porosity using fit-for-purpose estimates of clay-mineral volume fraction

Science.gov (United States)

Worthington, Paul F.

2010-05-01

Reservoirs that contain dispersed clay minerals traditionally have been evaluated petrophysically using either the effective or the total porosity system. The major weakness of the former is its reliance on "shale" volume fraction ( Vsh) as a clay-mineral indicator in the determination of effective porosity from well logs. Downhole clay-mineral indicators have usually delivered overestimates of fractional clay-mineral volume ( Vcm) because they use as a reference nearby shale beds that are often assumed to comprise clay minerals exclusively, whereas those beds also include quartzitic silts and other detritus. For this reason, effective porosity is often underestimated significantly, and this shortfall transmits to computed hydrocarbons in place and thence to estimates of ultimate recovery. The problem is overcome here by using, as proxy groundtruths, core porosities that have been upscaled to match the spatial resolutions of porosity logs. Matrix and fluid properties are established over clean intervals in the usual way. Log-derived values of Vsh are tuned so that, on average, the resulting log-derived porosities match the corresponding core porosities over an evaluation interval. In this way, Vsh is rendered fit for purpose as an indicator of clay-mineral content Vcm for purposes of evaluating effective porosity. The method is conditioned to deliver a value of effective porosity that shows overall agreement with core porosity to within the limits of uncertainty of the laboratory measurements. This is achieved through function-, reservoir- and tool-specific Vsh reduction factors that can be applied to downhole estimates of clay-mineral content over uncored intervals of similar reservoir character. As expected, the reduction factors can also vary for different measurement conditions. The reduction factors lie in the range of 0.29-0.80, which means that in its raw form, log-derived Vsh can overestimate the clay-mineral content by more than a factor of three. This

Comparison of 16-frame and 8-frame gated SPET imaging for determination of left ventricular volumes and ejection fraction

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Navare, Sachin M.; Liu, Yi-Hwa; Wackers, Frans J.T.

2003-01-01

Electrocardiographic (ECG) gated single-photon emission tomography (SPET) allows for simultaneous assessment of myocardial perfusion and left ventricular (LV) function. Presently 8-frame per cardiac cycle ECG gating of SPET images is standard. The aim of this study was to compare the effect of 8-frame and 16-frame gated SPET on measurements of LV volumes and to evaluate the effects of the presence of myocardial perfusion defects and of radiotracer dose administered on the calculation of LV volumes. A total of 86 patients underwent technetium-99m SPET myocardial perfusion imaging using 16-frame per cardiac cycle acquisition. Eight-frame gated SPET images were generated by summation of contiguous frames. Left ventricular end-diastolic volume (EDV), end-systolic volume (ESV) and ejection fraction (EF) were calculated from the 16-frame and 8-frame data sets. The patients were divided into groups according to the administered dose of the radiotracer and the size of the perfusion defect. Results. Sixteen frame per cardiac cycle acquisition resulted in significantly larger EDV (122±72 ml vs 115±68 ml, P<0.0001), smaller ESV (64±58.6 ml vs 67.6±59.5 ml, P<0.0001), and higher LVEF (55.3%±18% vs 49%±17.4%, P<0.0001) as compared to 8-frame SPET imaging. This effect was seen regardless of whether a high or a low dose was administered and whether or not significant perfusion defects were present. This study shows that EDV, ESV and LVEF determined by 16-frame gated SPET are significantly different from those determined by 8-frame gated SPET. The radiotracer dose and perfusion defects do not affect estimation of LV parameters by 16-frame gated SPET. (orig.)

Quantifying uncertainty in soot volume fraction estimates using Bayesian inference of auto-correlated laser-induced incandescence measurements

Science.gov (United States)

Hadwin, Paul J.; Sipkens, T. A.; Thomson, K. A.; Liu, F.; Daun, K. J.

2016-01-01

Auto-correlated laser-induced incandescence (AC-LII) infers the soot volume fraction (SVF) of soot particles by comparing the spectral incandescence from laser-energized particles to the pyrometrically inferred peak soot temperature. This calculation requires detailed knowledge of model parameters such as the absorption function of soot, which may vary with combustion chemistry, soot age, and the internal structure of the soot. This work presents a Bayesian methodology to quantify such uncertainties. This technique treats the additional "nuisance" model parameters, including the soot absorption function, as stochastic variables and incorporates the current state of knowledge of these parameters into the inference process through maximum entropy priors. While standard AC-LII analysis provides a point estimate of the SVF, Bayesian techniques infer the posterior probability density, which will allow scientists and engineers to better assess the reliability of AC-LII inferred SVFs in the context of environmental regulations and competing diagnostics.

Physical and Mechanical Properties of Jute Mat Reinforced Epoxy Composites

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

S.M Sadaf

2011-11-01

Full Text Available Cellulose jute fibre offers a number of benefits as reinforcement for synthetic polymers since it has a high specific strength and stiffness, low hardness, relatively low density and biodegradability. To reduce moisture uptake and hence to improve the mechanical properties of the composites, bleached jute mats were incorporated as reinforcing elements in the epoxy matrix. Composites at varying volume fractions and different orientations of jute mat were fabricated by hot compression machine under specific pressures and temperatures. Tensile, flexure, impact and water absorption tests of composites were conducted. Jute mat oriented at (0 ± 45–90° composites showed reduced strength compared to (0–90° fibre mat composites. Impact strength and water uptake of high volume fraction jute mat reinforced composites was higher compared to that of lower volume fraction composites. Fracture surfaces of jute mat composites were analyzed under SEM. Fracture surface of (0–90° jute mat oriented composites showed twisted fibres, while (0 ± 45–90° jute mat oriented composites had fibre pull-out without any twisting. Overall, composites containing 52% jute mat at orientations of (0–90° showed better properties compared to other fabricated composites.

Effects of nano anatase-rutile TiO2 volume fraction with natural dye containing anthocyanin on the dye sensitized solar cell performance

Science.gov (United States)

Agustini, S.; Wahyuono, R. A.; Sawitri, D.; Risanti, D. D.

2013-09-01

Since its first development, efforts to improve efficiency of Dye Sensitized Solar Cell (DSSC) are continuously carried out, either through selection of dye materials, the type of semiconductor, counter electrode design or the sandwiched structure. It is widely known that anatase and rutile are phases of TiO2 that often being used for fabrication of DSSC. Rutile is thermodynamically more stable phase having band-gap suitable for absorption of sunlight spectrum. On the other hand, anatase has higher electrical conductivity, capability to adsorp dye as well as higher electron diffusion coefficient than those of rutile. Present research uses mangosteen pericarp and Rhoeo spathacea extracted in ethanol as natural dye containing anthocyanin. These dyes were characterized by using UV-Vis and FTIR, showing that the absorption maxima peaks obtained at 389 nm and 413 nm, for mangosteen and Rhoeo spathacea, respectively. The nano TiO2 was prepared by means of co-precipitation method. The particle size were 9-11 nm and 54.5 nm for anatase and rutile, respectively, according to Scherrer's equation. DSSCs were fabricated in various volume fractions of anatase and rutile TiO2. The fabricated DSSCs were tested under 17 mW/cm2 of solar irradiation. The current-voltage (I-V) characteristic of DSSCs employing 75%: 25% volume fraction of anatase and rutile TiO2 have outstanding result than others. The highest conversion efficiencies of 0.037% and 0.013% are obtained for DSSC employing natural dye extract from mangosteen pericarp and Rhoeo spathacea, respectively.

Role of beam orientation optimization in intensity-modulated radiation therapy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Pugachev, Andrei; Li, Jonathan G.; Boyer, Arthur L.; Hancock, Steven L.; Le, Quynh-Thu; Donaldson, Sarah S.; Lei Xing

2001-01-01

Purpose: To investigate the role of beam orientation optimization in intensity-modulated radiation therapy (IMRT) and to examine the potential benefits of noncoplanar intensity-modulated beams. Methods and Materials: A beam orientation optimization algorithm was implemented. For this purpose, system variables were divided into two groups: beam position (gantry and table angles) and beam profile (beamlet weights). Simulated annealing was used for beam orientation optimization and the simultaneous iterative inverse treatment planning algorithm (SIITP) for beam intensity profile optimization. Three clinical cases were studied: a localized prostate cancer, a nasopharyngeal cancer, and a paraspinal tumor. Nine fields were used for all treatments. For each case, 3 types of treatment plan optimization were performed: (1) beam intensity profiles were optimized for 9 equiangular spaced coplanar beams; (2) orientations and intensity profiles were optimized for 9 coplanar beams; (3) orientations and intensity profiles were optimized for 9 noncoplanar beams. Results: For the localized prostate case, all 3 types of optimization described above resulted in dose distributions of a similar quality. For the nasopharynx case, optimized noncoplanar beams provided a significant gain in the gross tumor volume coverage. For the paraspinal case, orientation optimization using noncoplanar beams resulted in better kidney sparing and improved gross tumor volume coverage. Conclusion: The sensitivity of an IMRT treatment plan with respect to the selection of beam orientations varies from site to site. For some cases, the choice of beam orientations is important even when the number of beams is as large as 9. Noncoplanar beams provide an additional degree of freedom for IMRT treatment optimization and may allow for notable improvement in the quality of some complicated plans

Simulating transient dynamics of the time-dependent time fractional Fokker–Planck systems

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kang, Yan-Mei, E-mail: ymkang@mail.xjtu.edu.cn

2016-09-16

For a physically realistic type of time-dependent time fractional Fokker–Planck (FP) equation, derived as the continuous limit of the continuous time random walk with time-modulated Boltzmann jumping weight, a semi-analytic iteration scheme based on the truncated (generalized) Fourier series is presented to simulate the resultant transient dynamics when the external time modulation is a piece-wise constant signal. At first, the iteration scheme is demonstrated with a simple time-dependent time fractional FP equation on finite interval with two absorbing boundaries, and then it is generalized to the more general time-dependent Smoluchowski-type time fractional Fokker–Planck equation. The numerical examples verify the efficiency and accuracy of the iteration method, and some novel dynamical phenomena including polarized motion orientations and periodic response death are discussed. - Highlights: • An iteration method is proposed for the transient dynamics of time-dependent time fractional Fokker–Planck equations. • The method is based on Fourier Series solution and the multi-step transition probability formula. • With the time-modulated subdiffusion on finite interval as example, the polarized motion orientation is disclosed. • With the time-modulated subdiffusion within a confined potential as example, the death of dynamic response is observed.

Simulating transient dynamics of the time-dependent time fractional Fokker–Planck systems

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kang, Yan-Mei

2016-01-01

For a physically realistic type of time-dependent time fractional Fokker–Planck (FP) equation, derived as the continuous limit of the continuous time random walk with time-modulated Boltzmann jumping weight, a semi-analytic iteration scheme based on the truncated (generalized) Fourier series is presented to simulate the resultant transient dynamics when the external time modulation is a piece-wise constant signal. At first, the iteration scheme is demonstrated with a simple time-dependent time fractional FP equation on finite interval with two absorbing boundaries, and then it is generalized to the more general time-dependent Smoluchowski-type time fractional Fokker–Planck equation. The numerical examples verify the efficiency and accuracy of the iteration method, and some novel dynamical phenomena including polarized motion orientations and periodic response death are discussed. - Highlights: • An iteration method is proposed for the transient dynamics of time-dependent time fractional Fokker–Planck equations. • The method is based on Fourier Series solution and the multi-step transition probability formula. • With the time-modulated subdiffusion on finite interval as example, the polarized motion orientation is disclosed. • With the time-modulated subdiffusion within a confined potential as example, the death of dynamic response is observed.

Medical image segmentation by combining graph cuts and oriented active appearance models.

Science.gov (United States)

Chen, Xinjian; Udupa, Jayaram K; Bagci, Ulas; Zhuge, Ying; Yao, Jianhua

2012-04-01

In this paper, we propose a novel method based on a strategic combination of the active appearance model (AAM), live wire (LW), and graph cuts (GCs) for abdominal 3-D organ segmentation. The proposed method consists of three main parts: model building, object recognition, and delineation. In the model building part, we construct the AAM and train the LW cost function and GC parameters. In the recognition part, a novel algorithm is proposed for improving the conventional AAM matching method, which effectively combines the AAM and LW methods, resulting in the oriented AAM (OAAM). A multiobject strategy is utilized to help in object initialization. We employ a pseudo-3-D initialization strategy and segment the organs slice by slice via a multiobject OAAM method. For the object delineation part, a 3-D shape-constrained GC method is proposed. The object shape generated from the initialization step is integrated into the GC cost computation, and an iterative GC-OAAM method is used for object delineation. The proposed method was tested in segmenting the liver, kidneys, and spleen on a clinical CT data set and also on the MICCAI 2007 Grand Challenge liver data set. The results show the following: 1) The overall segmentation accuracy of true positive volume fraction TPVF > 94.3% and false positive volume fraction can be achieved; 2) the initialization performance can be improved by combining the AAM and LW; 3) the multiobject strategy greatly facilitates initialization; 4) compared with the traditional 3-D AAM method, the pseudo-3-D OAAM method achieves comparable performance while running 12 times faster; and 5) the performance of the proposed method is comparable to state-of-the-art liver segmentation algorithm. The executable version of the 3-D shape-constrained GC method with a user interface can be downloaded from http://xinjianchen.wordpress.com/research/.

Permeability and 3-D melt geometry in shear-induced high melt fraction conduits

Science.gov (United States)

Zhu, W.; Cordonnier, B.; Qi, C.; Kohlstedt, D. L.

2017-12-01

Observations of dunite channels in ophiolites and uranium-series disequilibria in mid-ocean ridge basalt suggest that melt transport in the upper mantle beneath mid-ocean ridges is strongly channelized. Formation of high melt fraction conduits could result from mechanical shear, pyroxene dissolution, and lithological partitioning. Deformation experiments (e.g. Holtzman et al., 2003) demonstrate that shear stress causes initially homogeneously distributed melt to segregate into an array of melt-rich bands, flanked by melt-depleted regions. At the same average melt fraction, the permeability of high melt fraction conduits could be orders of magnitude higher than that of their homogenous counterparts. However, it is difficult to determine the permeability of melt-rich bands. Using X-ray synchrotron microtomography, we obtained high-resolution images of 3-dimensional (3-D) melt distribution in a partially molten rock containing shear-induced high melt fraction conduits. Sample CQ0705, an olivine-alkali basalt aggregate with a nominal melt fraction of 4%, was deformed in torsion at a temperature of 1473 K and a confining pressure of 300 MPa to a shear strain of 13.3. A sub-volume of CQ0705 encompassing 3-4 melt-rich bands was imaged. Microtomography data were reduced to binary form so that solid olivine is distinguishable from basalt glass. At a spatial resolution of 160 nm, the 3-D images reveal the shape and connectedness of melt pockets in the melt-rich bands. Thin melt channels formed at grain edges are connected at large melt nodes at grain corners. Initial data analysis shows a clear preferred orientation of melt pockets alignment subparallel to the melt-rich band. We use the experimentally determined geometrical parameters of melt topology to create a digital rock with identical 3-D microstructures. Stokes flow simulations are conducted on the digital rock to obtain the permeability tensor. Using this digital rock physics approach, we determine how deformation

Design and Dynamic Characterization of an Orientation Insensitive Microwave Water-Cut Sensor

KAUST Repository

Karimi, Muhammad Akram

2017-06-12

Modern reservoir management in oil and gas industry relies on accurate water fraction measurement which is produced as a by-product with oil. This paper presents a novel and contactless water fraction (also known as water-cut) measurement technique which is independent of geometric distribution of oil and water inside the pipe. The sensor is based on a modified T-resonator implemented directly on the pipe\\'s outer surface and whose resonance frequency decreases by increasing the water content in oil. The E-fields have been made to rotate and distribute well inside the pipe, despite having narrow and curved ground plane. It makes the sensor\\'s reading dependent only on the water fraction and not on the mixture distribution inside the pipe. That is why, the presented design does not require any flow conditioner to homogenize the oil/water mixture unlike many commercial water-cut (WC) sensors. The presented sensor has been realized by using extremely low-cost methods of screen printing and reusable 3-D printed mask. Complete characterization of the proposed WC sensor, both in horizontal and vertical orientations, has been carried out in an industrial flow loop. Excellent repeatability of the sensor\\'s response has been observed in \\'dispersed bubble\\' as well as in \\'stratified wavy\\' flow regimes. The performance test of the sensor confirms that the water fraction measurement is independent of the flow pattern, flow rate or orientation. The measured performance results of the sensor show full range accuracy of $± $2%-3% while tested under random orientations and wide range of flow rates.

Phase volume fractions and strain measurements in an ultrafine-grained NiTi shape-memory alloy during tensile loading

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Young, M.L.; Wagner, M.F.-X.; Frenzel, J.; Schmahl, W.W.; Eggeler, G.

2010-01-01

An ultrafine-grained pseudoelastic NiTi shape-memory alloy wire with 50.9 at.% Ni was examined using synchrotron X-ray diffraction during in situ uniaxial tensile loading (up to 1 GPa) and unloading. Both macroscopic stress-strain measurements and volume-averaged lattice strains are reported and discussed. The loading behavior is described in terms of elasto-plastic deformation of austenite, emergence of R phase, stress-induced martensitic transformation, and elasto-plastic deformation, grain reorientation and detwinning of martensite. The unloading behavior is described in terms of stress relaxation and reverse plasticity of martensite, reverse transformation of martensite to austenite due to stress relaxation, and stress relaxation of austenite. Microscopically, lattice strains in various crystallographic directions in the austenitic B2, martensitic R, and martensitic B19' phases are examined during loading and unloading. It is shown that the phase transformation occurs in a localized manner along the gage length at the plateau stress. Phase volume fractions and lattice strains in various crystallographic reflections in the austenite and martensite phases are examined over two transition regions between austenite and martensite, which have a width on the order of the wire diameter. Anisotropic effects observed in various crystallographic reflections of the austenitic phase are also discussed. The results contribute to a better understanding of the tensile loading behavior, both macroscopically and microscopically, of NiTi shape-memory alloys.

Dependence of stability of metastable superconductors on copper fraction

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Elrod, S.A.; Lue, J.W.; Miller, J.R.; Dresner, L.

1980-12-01

The stability of composite superconductors operating in the metastable regime depends upon such factors as matrix resistivity, cooled surface dimensions, fraction of critical current, and volume fraction of stabilizer. By assuming constant thermophysical properties, we developed analytic expressions for the energy and voltage of the minimum propagating zone (MPZ). With other factors held constant, these expressions have been used to predict composite superconductor stability as a function of copper fraction: lower copper fractions lead to higher MPZ energies. MPZ voltages have been measured for three NbTi/Cu composites having different copper fractions and different critical current densities for several magnetic fields and transport currents. Experimental MPZ voltages have been used to calculate an effective heat transfer coefficient, which is subsequently used to calculate the MPZ energy. The experimental MPZ energies support the theoretical expectation that lower copper fractions lead to higher stability in the metastable regime

A two-phase debris-flow model that includes coupled evolution of volume fractions, granular dilatancy, and pore-fluid pressure

Science.gov (United States)

George, David L.; Iverson, Richard M.

2011-01-01

Pore-fluid pressure plays a crucial role in debris flows because it counteracts normal stresses at grain contacts and thereby reduces intergranular friction. Pore-pressure feedback accompanying debris deformation is particularly important during the onset of debrisflow motion, when it can dramatically influence the balance of forces governing downslope acceleration. We consider further effects of this feedback by formulating a new, depth-averaged mathematical model that simulates coupled evolution of granular dilatancy, solid and fluid volume fractions, pore-fluid pressure, and flow depth and velocity during all stages of debris-flow motion. To illustrate implications of the model, we use a finite-volume method to compute one-dimensional motion of a debris flow descending a rigid, uniformly inclined slope, and we compare model predictions with data obtained in large-scale experiments at the USGS debris-flow flume. Predictions for the first 1 s of motion show that increasing pore pressures (due to debris contraction) cause liquefaction that enhances flow acceleration. As acceleration continues, however, debris dilation causes dissipation of pore pressures, and this dissipation helps stabilize debris-flow motion. Our numerical predictions of this process match experimental data reasonably well, but predictions might be improved by accounting for the effects of grain-size segregation.

Multicomponent diffusivities from the free volume theory

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Wesselingh, J.A; Bollen, A.M

In this paper the free volume theory of diffusion is extended to multicomponent mixtures. The free volume is taken to be accessible for any component according to its surface. fraction. The resulting equations predict multicomponent (Maxwell-Stefan) diffusivities in simple liquid mixtures from pure

Ejection fraction response to exercise in patients with chest pain and normal coronary arteriograms

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gibbons, R.L.; Lee, K.L.; Cobb, F.; Jones, R.H.

1981-01-01

In this study we describe the ejection fraction response to upright exercise using first-pass radionuclide angiocardiography in a group of 60 patients with chest pain, normal coronary ateriograms and normal resting ventricular function. A wide range of resting function (heart rate and ejection fraction) and exercise function (heart rate, ejection fraction, peak work load and estimated peak oxygen uptake) were measured. The ejection fraction response to exercise demonstrated wide variation, ranging from a decrease of 23% to an increase of 24%. Six of 22 clinical and radionuclide angiocardiographic variables (resting ejection fraction, peak work load, age, sex, body surface area and the change in end-diastolic volume index with exercise) were significant univariate predictors of the ejection fraction response to exercise. Multivariable analysis identified resting ejection fraction, the change in end-diastolic volume index with exercise and either sex or peak work load as variables that provided significant independent predictive information. These observations indicate that the ejection fraction response to exercise is a complex response that is influenced by multiple physiologic variables. The wide variation in this population suggests that the ejection fraction response to exercise is not a reliable test for the diagnosis of coronary artery disease because of its low specificity

Influence of initial annealing on structure evolution and magnetic properties of 3.4% Si non-oriented steel during final annealing

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Simões Mendanha Pedrosa, Josiane [Department of Physics, Federal University of Ouro Preto, Ouro Preto MG-3540000 (Brazil); Costa Paolinelli, Sebastião da [Research Department Aperam South America, Praça Primeiro de Maio, 9, Timóteo MG-35180018 (Brazil); Barros Cota, André, E-mail: abcota@ufop.br [Department of Physics, Federal University of Ouro Preto, Ouro Preto MG-3540000 (Brazil)

2015-11-01

The effect of the initial annealing on structure evolution and magnetic properties during the final annealing of a 3.4% Si non-oriented grain steel was evaluated. Half of the samples were submitted to initial annealing at 1030 °C before cold rolling and all samples were subjected to final annealing process at temperatures from 540 °C to 1100 °C. The magnetic induction and core loss in the final samples, the microstructure by optical microscopy and the crystallographic texture by X-ray diffraction and EBSD were evaluated. The results show that the samples without initial annealing presented better magnetic properties than the samples with initial annealing, due to the higher ratio between Eta fiber and Gamma fiber volume fractions (Eta/Gamma ratio) in their structure after final annealing. - Highlights: • Texture and magnetic properties of 3.4% Si non-oriented electrical steel were measured. • Without initial annealing, better texture and magnetic properties were obtained. • Good texture and magnetic properties are obtained with Steckel hot band structure.

The Effect of Type and Volume Fraction (Vf) of Steel Fiber on the Mechanical Properties of Self-Compacting Concrete

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Ghanbarpour, S.; Mazaheripour, H.; Mirmoradi, S. H.

2010-01-01

is to investigate the effects of type and volume fraction of steel fiber on the compressive strength, split tensile strength, flexural strength and modulus of elasticity of steel fiber reinforced self-compacting concrete (SFRSCC). Design/methodology/approach – For this purpose, Micro wire and Wave type steel fibers......Purpose – Self-compacting concrete (SCC) offers several economic and technical benefits; the use of steel fibers extends its possibilities. Steel fibers bridge cracks, retard their propagation, and improve several characteristics and properties of the SCC. The purpose of this paper...... – It was found that, inclusion of steel fibers significantly affect the split tensile and flexural strength of SCC accordance with type and vf. Besides, mathematical expressions were developed to estimate the flexural, modulus of elasticity and split tensile strength of SFRSCCs regarding of compressive strength...

Tcp and NTCP radiobiological models: conventional and hypo fractionated treatments in radiotherapy

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Astudillo V, A.; Paredes G, L. [ININ, Carretera Mexico-Toluca s/n, Ocoyoacac 52750, Estado de Mexico (Mexico); Resendiz G, G.; Posadas V, A. [Hospital Angeles Lomas, Av. Vialidad de la Barranca s/n, Col. Valle de las Palmas, 52763 Huixquilucan de Degallado, Estado de Mexico (Mexico); Mitsoura, E. [Universidad Autonoma del Estado de Mexico, Facultad de Medicina, Paseo Tollocan, Esq. Jesus Carranza s/n, Col. Moderna de la Cruz, 50180 Toluca, Estado de Mexico (Mexico); Rodriguez L, A.; Flores C, J. M., E-mail: armando.astudillo@inin.gob.mx [Hospital Medica Sur, Puente de Piedra 150, Col. Toriello Guerra, 14050 Tlalpan, Mexico D. F. (Mexico)

2015-10-15

The hypo and conventional fractionated schedules performance were compared in terms of the tumor control and the normal tissue complications. From the records of ten patients, treated for adenocarcinoma and without mastectomy, the dose-volume histogram was used. Using radiobiological models the probabilities for tumor control and normal tissue complications were calculated. For both schedules the tumor control was approximately the same. However, the damage in the normal tissue was larger in conventional fractionated schedule. This is important because patients assistance time to their fractions (15 fractions/25 fractions) can be optimized. Thus, the hypo fractionated schedule has suitable characteristics to be implemented. (Author)

Tcp and NTCP radiobiological models: conventional and hypo fractionated treatments in radiotherapy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Astudillo V, A.; Paredes G, L.; Resendiz G, G.; Posadas V, A.; Mitsoura, E.; Rodriguez L, A.; Flores C, J. M.

2015-10-01

The hypo and conventional fractionated schedules performance were compared in terms of the tumor control and the normal tissue complications. From the records of ten patients, treated for adenocarcinoma and without mastectomy, the dose-volume histogram was used. Using radiobiological models the probabilities for tumor control and normal tissue complications were calculated. For both schedules the tumor control was approximately the same. However, the damage in the normal tissue was larger in conventional fractionated schedule. This is important because patients assistance time to their fractions (15 fractions/25 fractions) can be optimized. Thus, the hypo fractionated schedule has suitable characteristics to be implemented. (Author)

Variability of left ventricular ejection fraction and volumes with quantitative gated SPECT: influence of algorithm, pixel size and reconstruction parameters in small and normal-sized hearts

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hambye, Anne-Sophie; Vervaet, Ann; Dobbeleir, Andre

2004-01-01

Several software packages are commercially available for quantification of left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) and volumes from myocardial gated single-photon emission computed tomography (SPECT), all of which display a high reproducibility. However, their accuracy has been questioned in patients with a small heart. This study aimed to evaluate the performances of different software and the influence of modifications in acquisition or reconstruction parameters on LVEF and volume measurements, depending on the heart size. In 31 patients referred for gated SPECT, 64 2 and 128 2 matrix acquisitions were consecutively obtained. After reconstruction by filtered back-projection (Butterworth, 0.4, 0.5 or 0.6 cycles/cm cut-off, order 6), LVEF and volumes were computed with different software [three versions of Quantitative Gated SPECT (QGS), the Emory Cardiac Toolbox (ECT) and the Stanford University (SU-Segami) Medical School algorithm] and processing workstations. Depending upon their end-systolic volume (ESV), patients were classified into two groups: group I (ESV>30 ml, n=14) and group II (ESV 2 to 128 2 were associated with significantly larger volumes as well as lower LVEF values. Increasing the filter cut-off frequency had the same effect. With SU-Segami, a larger matrix was associated with larger end-diastolic volumes and smaller ESVs, resulting in a highly significant increase in LVEF. Increasing the filter sharpness, on the other hand, had no influence on LVEF though the measured volumes were significantly larger. (orig.)

Acoustic neuromas: single dose vs fractionated therapy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Fuss, M.; Debus, J.; Lohr, F.; Engenhart-Cabillic, R.; Wannenmacher, M.

1997-01-01

Purpose: Radiosurgical treatment (RS) of acoustic neuromas is a well established treatment. However, few data are available concerning conformal fractionated radiotherapy (FT) of this tumor entity. We evaluated treatment outcome and toxicity for both treatment modalities in 41 patients treated at our institution between 1984 and 1997. Material and Methods: All treatments were performed using a specially adapted linear accelerator and circular collimators for convergent beam RS or multi-leaf collimators (leaf thickness 1 or 3mm) for multi-field RS or fractionated treatment. 22 patients (7 male, 15 female, median age 60 years, range 20-83 years) were treated radiosurgically with single doses between 7 and 28 Gray (median 15 Gy) prescribed to the 80% isodose line. Tumor volumes ranged from 0.7 to 10.5 ccm with a median volume of 3.4 ccm. The median number of isocenters was 2 (1-4 isocenters). One patient was treated by a multi-field technique (14 isocentric irregularly shaped noncoplanar fields). 19 patients (5 male, 14 female, median age 55 years, range 20-81 years) were treated with stereotactic conformal radiotherapy. Median dose was 60 Gray with a median daily fraction size of 2 Gy and a median of 3 (1-4) irregularly shaped isocentric fields. Tumor volumes ranged from 0.7 to 32.4 ccm (median 15 ccm). Median follow-up was 30 months (7-149 months) for radiosurgical and 30 months (2-88 months) for fractionated treatment. Seven patients who underwent fractionated treatment had previously undergone neurosurgical resection on the contralateral side. One had undergone radiosurgery on the opposite side before. Results: All tumors were locally controlled. A volume reduction of more than 20% was seen in 16% after RS and 18% following FT. Typical posttherapeutic central reduction of contrast media enhancement was found in 73% following RS after a median of 8 (3-12) months and in 63% following FT after a median of 6 (1-12) months. Temporary brainstem edema was diagnosed in 4

Enlarged thalamic volumes and increased fractional anisotropy in the thalamic radiations in Veterans with suicide behaviors

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Melissa eLopez-Larson

2013-08-01

Full Text Available Post-mortem studies have suggested a link between the thalamus, psychiatric disorders, and suicide. We evaluated the thalamus and anterior thalamic radiations (ATR in a group of Veterans with and without a history of suicidal behavior (SB to determine if thalamic abnormalities were associated with an increased risk of SB. Forty Veterans with mild traumatic brain injury (TBI and no SB (TBI-SB, 19 Veterans with mild TBI and a history of SB (TB+SB and 15 healthy controls (HC underwent MRI scanning including a structural and diffusion tensor imaging scan. Suicidal behaviors were evaluated utilizing the Columbia Suicide Rating Scale and impulsivity was measured using the Barratt Impulsiveness Scale (BIS. Differences in thalamic volumes and ATR fractional anisotropy (FA were examined between 1 TBI+SB versus HC and 2 TBI+SB versus combined HC and TBI-SB and 2 between TBI+SB and TBI-SB. Left and right thalamic volumes were significantly increased in those with TBI+SB compared to the HC, TBI-SB and the combined group. Veterans with TBI+SB had increased FA bilaterally compared to the HC, HC and TBI-SB group, and the TBI-SB only group. Significant positive associations were found for bilateral ATR and BIS in the TBI+SB group. Our findings of thalamic enlargement and increased FA in individuals with TBI+SB suggest that this region may be a biomarker for suicide risk. Our findings are consistent with previous evidence indicating that suicide may be associated with behavioral disinhibition and frontal-thalamic-limbic dysfunction and suggest a neurobiologic mechanism that may increase vulnerability to suicide.

X-ray volume imaging in bladder radiotherapy verification

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Henry, Ann M.; Stratford, Julia; McCarthy, Claire; Davies, Julie; Sykes, Jonathan R.; Amer, Ali; Marchant, Tom; Cowan, Richard; Wylie, James; Logue, John; Livsey, Jacqueline; Khoo, Vincent S.; Moore, Chris; Price, Pat

2006-01-01

Purpose: To assess the clinical utility of X-ray volume imaging (XVI) for verification of bladder radiotherapy and to quantify geometric error in bladder radiotherapy delivery. Methods and Materials: Twenty subjects undergoing conformal bladder radiotherapy were recruited. X-ray volume images and electronic portal images (EPIs) were acquired for the first 5 fractions and then once weekly. X-ray volume images were co-registered with the planning computed tomography scan and clinical target volume coverage assessed in three dimensions (3D). Interfraction bladder volume change was described by quantifying changes in bladder volume with time. Bony setup errors were compared from both XVI and EPI. Results: The bladder boundary was clearly visible on coronal XVI views in nearly all images, allowing accurate 3D treatment verification. In 93.5% of imaged fractions, the clinical target volume was within the planning target volume. Most subjects displayed consistent bladder volumes, but 25% displayed changes that could be predicted from the first three XVIs. Bony setup errors were similar whether calculated from XVI or EPI. Conclusions: Coronal XVI can be used to verify 3D bladder radiotherapy delivery. Image-guided interventions to reduce geographic miss and normal tissue toxicity are feasible with this technology

Assessment of interpatient heterogeneity in tumor radiosensitivity for nonsmall cell lung cancer using tumor-volume variation data

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Chvetsov, Alexei V., E-mail: chvetsov2@gmail.com; Schwartz, Jeffrey L.; Mayr, Nina [Department of Radiation Oncology, University of Washington, 1959 NE Pacific Street, Seattle, Washington 98195-6043 (United States); Yartsev, Slav [London Regional Cancer Program, London Health Sciences Centre, 790 Commissioners Road East, London, Ontario 46A 4L6 (Canada)

2014-06-15

Purpose: In our previous work, the authors showed that a distribution of cell surviving fractionsS{sub 2} in a heterogeneous group of patients could be derived from tumor-volume variation curves during radiotherapy for head and neck cancer. In this research study, the authors show that this algorithm can be applied to other tumors, specifically in nonsmall cell lung cancer. This new application includes larger patient volumes and includes comparison of data sets obtained at independent institutions. Methods: Our analysis was based on two data sets of tumor-volume variation curves for heterogeneous groups of 17 patients treated for nonsmall cell lung cancer with conventional dose fractionation. The data sets were obtained previously at two independent institutions by using megavoltage computed tomography. Statistical distributions of cell surviving fractionsS{sub 2} and clearance half-lives of lethally damaged cells T{sub 1/2} have been reconstructed in each patient group by using a version of the two-level cell population model of tumor response and a simulated annealing algorithm. The reconstructed statistical distributions of the cell surviving fractions have been compared to the distributions measured using predictive assays in vitro. Results: Nonsmall cell lung cancer presents certain difficulties for modeling surviving fractions using tumor-volume variation curves because of relatively large fractional hypoxic volume, low gradient of tumor-volume response, and possible uncertainties due to breathing motion. Despite these difficulties, cell surviving fractionsS{sub 2} for nonsmall cell lung cancer derived from tumor-volume variation measured at different institutions have similar probability density functions (PDFs) with mean values of 0.30 and 0.43 and standard deviations of 0.13 and 0.18, respectively. The PDFs for cell surviving fractions S{sub 2} reconstructed from tumor volume variation agree with the PDF measured in vitro. Conclusions: The data obtained

Measurement of Mechanical Coherency Temperature and Solid Volume Fraction in Al-Zn Alloys Using In Situ X-ray Diffraction During Casting

Science.gov (United States)

Drezet, Jean-Marie; Mireux, Bastien; Kurtuldu, Güven; Magdysyuk, Oxana; Drakopoulos, Michael

2015-09-01

During solidification of metallic alloys, coalescence leads to the formation of solid bridges between grains or grain clusters when both solid and liquid phases are percolated. As such, it represents a key transition with respect to the mechanical behavior of solidifying alloys and to the prediction of solidification cracking. Coalescence starts at the coherency point when the grains begin to touch each other, but are unable to sustain any tensile loads. It ends up at mechanical coherency when the solid phase is sufficiently coalesced to transmit macroscopic tensile strains and stresses. Temperature at mechanical coherency is a major input parameter in numerical modeling of solidification processes as it defines the point at which thermally induced deformations start to generate internal stresses in a casting. This temperature has been determined for Al-Zn alloys using in situ X-ray diffraction during casting in a dog-bone-shaped mold. This setup allows the sample to build up internal stress naturally as its contraction is prevented. The cooling on both extremities of the mold induces a hot spot at the middle of the sample which is irradiated by X-ray. Diffraction patterns were recorded every 0.5 seconds using a detector covering a 426 × 426 mm2 area. The change of diffraction angles allowed measuring the general decrease of the lattice parameter of the fcc aluminum phase. At high solid volume fraction, a succession of strain/stress build up and release is explained by the formation of hot tears. Mechanical coherency temperatures, 829 K to 866 K (556 °C to 593 °C), and solid volume fractions, ca. 98 pct, are shown to depend on solidification time for grain refined Al-6.2 wt pct Zn alloys.

On the surviving fraction in irradiated multicellular tumour spheroids: calculation of overall radiosensitivity parameters, influence of hypoxia and volume effects

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Horas, Jorge A; Olguin, Osvaldo R; Rizzotto, Marcos G

2005-01-01

We model the heterogeneous response to radiation of multicellular tumour spheroids assuming position- and volume-dependent radiosensitivity. We propose a method to calculate the overall radiosensitivity parameters to obtain the surviving fraction of tumours. A mathematical model of a spherical tumour with a hypoxic core and a viable rim which is a caricature of a real tumour is constructed. The model is embedded in a two-compartment linear-quadratic (LQ) model, assuming a mixed bivariated Gaussian distribution to attain the radiosensitivity parameters. Ergodicity, i.e., the equivalence between ensemble and volumetric averages is used to obtain the overall radiosensitivities for the two compartments. We obtain expressions for the overall radiosensitivity parameters resulting from the use of both a linear and a nonlinear dependence of the local radiosensitivity with position. The model's results are compared with experimental data of surviving fraction (SF) for multicellular spheroids of different sizes. We make one fit using only the smallest spheroid data and we are able to predict the SF for the larger spheroids. These predictions are acceptable particularly using bounded sensitivities. We conclude with the importance of taking into account the contribution of clonogenic hypoxic cells to radiosensitivity and with the convenience of using bounded local sensitivities to predict overall radiosensitivity parameters

Axon density and axon orientation dispersion in children born preterm

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Kelly, Claire E.; Thompson, Deanne K.; Chen, Jian; Leemans, Alexander; Adamson, Christopher L.; Inder, Terrie E.; Cheong, Jeanie L Y; Doyle, Lex W.; Anderson, Peter J.

2016-01-01

Background Very preterm birth (VPT, <32 weeks' gestation) is associated with altered white matter fractional anisotropy (FA), the biological basis of which is uncertain but may relate to changes in axon density and/or dispersion, which can be measured using Neurite Orientation Dispersion and Density

The effect of sintering conditions and ZrN volume fraction on the mechanical properties of spark plasma sintered W/ZrN composites

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lee, Dongju; Umer, Malik Adeel; Shin, Yoochul; Jeon, Seokwoo; Hong, Soonhyung

2012-01-01

Highlights: ► Effect of sintering conditions on properties of W composites was investigated. ► Effect of ZrN volume fraction on properties of W composites was investigated. ► The grain size and relative density increased with increasing sintering temperature. ► ZrN particles led to an increase in strength of W and a decrease in grain size. ► Highest flexural strength was obtained for 10 vol.% W/ZrN with lowest agglomeration. - Abstract: In an effort to improve the room temperature mechanical properties of tungsten, W/ZrN composites were fabricated by high energy ball milling followed by spark plasma sintering at temperatures in a range of 1200–1700 °C under a pressure of 50 MPa. The effects of sintering conditions and ZrN volume fraction on the mechanical properties of the W/ZrN composites were studied and the results were compared to the properties of monolithic tungsten. The grain size of monolith tungsten and W/ZrN composites was found to increase with an increase in sintering temperature and time. In the case of the W/ZrN composites, ZrN particles led to an increase in the compressive strength of tungsten and a decrease in grain size. The increase in compressive strength of the composites was attributed to a reinforcement effect of ZrN particles as well as grain size refinement according to the Hall–Petch relation. Compressive strength of the composites increased with increasing ZrN content while the flexural strength decreased for samples with ZrN content exceeding 10 vol.%. This was attributed to the effects of ZrN agglomeration within the tungsten matrix.

Quality assurance in fractionated stereotactic radiotherapy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Warrington, A.P.; Laing, R.W.; Brada, M.

1994-01-01

The recent development of fractionated stereotactic radiotherapy (SRT), which utilises the relocatable Gill-Thomas-Cosman frame (GTC 'repeat localiser'), requires comprehensive quality assurance (QA). This paper focuses on those QA procedures particularly relevant to fractionated SRT treatments, and which have been derived from the technique used at the Royal Marsden Hospital. They primarily relate to the following: (i) GTC frame fitting, initially in the mould room, and then at each imaging session and treatment fraction; (ii) checking of the linear accelerator beam geometry and alignment lasers; and (iii) setting up of the patient for each fraction of treatment. The precision of the fractionated technique therefore depends on monitoring the GTC frame relocation at each fitting, checking the accuracy of the radiation isocentre of the treatment unit, its coincidence with the patient alignment lasers and the adjustments required to set the patient up accurately. The results of our quality control checks show that setting up to a mean radiation isocentre using precisely set-up alignment lasers can be achievable to within 1 mm accuracy. When this is combined with a mean GTC frame relocatability of 1 mm on the patient, a 2-mm allowance between the prescribed isodose surface and the defined target volume is a realistic safety margin for this technique

Influence of MgO containing strontium on the structure of ceramic film formed on grain oriented silicon steel surface

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Daniela C. Leite Vasconcelos

1999-07-01

Full Text Available The oxide layer formed on the surface of a grain oriented silicon steel was characterized by SEM and EDS. 3% Si steel substrates were coated by two types of slurries: one formed by MgO and water and other formed by MgO, water and SrSO4. The ceramic films were evaluated by SEM, EDS and X-ray diffraction. Depth profiles of Fe, Si and Mg were obtained by GDS. The magnetic core losses (at 1.7 Tesla, 60 Hz of the coated steel samples were evaluated as well. The use of MgO containing strontium reduced the volume fraction of forsterite particles beneath the outermost ceramic layer. It was observed a reduced magnetic core loss with the use of the slurry with MgO containing strontium.

Role of fractionated radiotherapy in patients with hemangioma of the cavernous sinus

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Park, Sun Min; Yoon, Sang Min; Lee, Su Min; Park, Jin Hong; Song, Si Yeol; Lee, Sang Wook; Ahn, Seung Do; Kim, Jong Hoon; Choi, Eun Kyung

2017-01-01

We performed this retrospective study to investigate the outcomes of patients with hemangioma of the cavernous sinus after fractionated radiotherapy. We analyzed 10 patients with hemangioma of the cavernous sinus who were treated with conventional radiotherapy between January 2000 and December 2016. The median patient age was 54 years (range, 31–65 years), and 8 patients (80.0%) were female. The mean hemangioma volume was 34.1 cm"3 (range, 6.8–83.2 cm"3), and fractionated radiation was administered to a total dose of 50–54 Gy with a daily dose of 2 Gy. The median follow-up period was 6.8 years (range, 2.2–8.8 years). At last follow-up, the volume of the tumor had decreased in all patients. The average tumor volume reduction rate from the initial volume was 72.9% (range, 18.9–95.3%). All 10 of the cranial neuropathies observed before radiation therapy had improved, with complete symptomatic remission in 9 cases (90%) and partial remission in 1 case (10%). No new acute neurologic impairments were reported after radiotherapy. One probable compressive optic neuropathy was observed at 1 year after radiotherapy. Fractionated radiotherapy achieves both symptomatic and radiologic improvements. It is a well-tolerated treatment modality for hemangiomas of the cavernous sinus

Role of fractionated radiotherapy in patients with hemangioma of the cavernous sinus

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Park, Sun Min; Yoon, Sang Min; Lee, Su Min; Park, Jin Hong; Song, Si Yeol; Lee, Sang Wook; Ahn, Seung Do; Kim, Jong Hoon; Choi, Eun Kyung [Dept. of Radiation Oncology, Asan Medical Center, University of Ulsan College of Medicine, Seoul (Korea, Republic of)

2017-09-15

We performed this retrospective study to investigate the outcomes of patients with hemangioma of the cavernous sinus after fractionated radiotherapy. We analyzed 10 patients with hemangioma of the cavernous sinus who were treated with conventional radiotherapy between January 2000 and December 2016. The median patient age was 54 years (range, 31–65 years), and 8 patients (80.0%) were female. The mean hemangioma volume was 34.1 cm{sup 3} (range, 6.8–83.2 cm{sup 3}), and fractionated radiation was administered to a total dose of 50–54 Gy with a daily dose of 2 Gy. The median follow-up period was 6.8 years (range, 2.2–8.8 years). At last follow-up, the volume of the tumor had decreased in all patients. The average tumor volume reduction rate from the initial volume was 72.9% (range, 18.9–95.3%). All 10 of the cranial neuropathies observed before radiation therapy had improved, with complete symptomatic remission in 9 cases (90%) and partial remission in 1 case (10%). No new acute neurologic impairments were reported after radiotherapy. One probable compressive optic neuropathy was observed at 1 year after radiotherapy. Fractionated radiotherapy achieves both symptomatic and radiologic improvements. It is a well-tolerated treatment modality for hemangiomas of the cavernous sinus.

Long memory and tail dependence in trading volume and volatility

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Rossi, Eduardo; Santucci de Magistris, Paolo

2013-01-01

We investigate the relationship between volatility, measured by realized volatility, and trading volume for 25 NYSE stocks. We show that volume and volatility are long memory but not fractionally cointegrated in most cases. We also find right tail dependence in the volatility and volume innovations...

Separation of Yttrium from Rare Earth Concentrates in Fractional Hydroxide Precipitation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tri Handini; Purwoto; Mulyono

2007-01-01

Yttrium has been separated from rare earth concentrates by precipitation in fractional hydroxide using urea. The purpose of this research is to increase the yttrium rate resulting from the sedimentary process through separation of yttrium from other rare earth in fractional hydroxide precipitation using urea. In this research, we study the process variable of the concentration of urea, the ratio of feed volume to condensation volume of urea, as well as the temperature. Determination analysis of the rare earth rate is conducted using an X-ray spectrometer. The best result Y=92.89 % is obtained at a concentration of urea of 50 %, a level of precipitation of 3 times, and a temperature of 80°C. (author)

Prediction of the Soil Water Characteristic from Soil Particle Volume Fractions

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Naveed, Muhammad; Møldrup, Per; Tuller, Markus

2012-01-01

Modelling water distribution and flow in partially saturated soils requires knowledge of the soil-water characteristic (SWC). However, measurement of the SWC is challenging and time-consuming, and in some cases not feasible. This study introduces two predictive models (Xw-model and Xw......*-model) for the SWC, derived from readily available soil properties such as texture and bulk density. A total of 46 soils from different horizons at 15 locations across Denmark were used for models evaluation. The Xw-model predicts the volumetric water content as a function of volumetric fines content (organic matter...... (organic matter, clay, silt, fine and coarse sand), variably included in the model depending on the pF value. The volumetric content of a particular soil particle size fraction was included in the model if it was assumed to contribute to the pore size fraction still occupied with water at the given p...

Methane productivity of manure, straw and solid fractions of manure

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Møller, H.B.; Sommer, S.G.; Ahring, Birgitte Kiær

2004-01-01

are in the same range (282-301 m(3) CH4 LU-1). Pre-treatment of manure by separation is a way of making fractions of the manure that have a higher gas potential per volume. Theoretical methane potential and biodegradability of three types of fractions deriving from manure separation were tested. The volumetric...... methane yield of straw was found to be higher than the yield from total manure and the solid fractions of manure, due to the higher VS content, and hence the use of straw as bedding material will increase the volumetric as well as the livestock-based methane productivity....

Minireview: Hormones and human sexual orientation.

Science.gov (United States)

Balthazart, Jacques

2011-08-01

Many people believe that sexual orientation (homosexuality vs. heterosexuality) is determined by education and social constraints. There are, however, a large number of studies indicating that prenatal factors have an important influence on this critical feature of human sexuality. Sexual orientation is a sexually differentiated trait (over 90% of men are attracted to women and vice versa). In animals and men, many sexually differentiated characteristics are organized during early life by sex steroids, and one can wonder whether the same mechanism also affects human sexual orientation. Two types of evidence support this notion. First, multiple sexually differentiated behavioral, physiological, or even morphological traits are significantly different in homosexual and heterosexual populations. Because some of these traits are known to be organized by prenatal steroids, including testosterone, these differences suggest that homosexual subjects were, on average, exposed to atypical endocrine conditions during development. Second, clinical conditions associated with significant endocrine changes during embryonic life often result in an increased incidence of homosexuality. It seems therefore that the prenatal endocrine environment has a significant influence on human sexual orientation but a large fraction of the variance in this behavioral characteristic remains unexplained to date. Genetic differences affecting behavior either in a direct manner or by changing embryonic hormone secretion or action may also be involved. How these biological prenatal factors interact with postnatal social factors to determine life-long sexual orientation remains to be determined.

Local progression and pseudo progression after single fraction or fractionated stereotactic radiotherapy for large brain metastases. A single centre study

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Wiggenraad, R.; Verbeek-de Kanter, A.; Mast, M. [Radiotherapy Centre West, The Hague (Netherlands); Molenaar, R. [Diaconessenhuis, Leiden (Netherlands). Dept. of Neurology; Lycklama a Nijeholt, G. [Medical Centre Haagladen, The Hague (Netherlands). Dept. of Radiology; Vecht, C. [Medical Centre Haagladen, The Hague (Netherlands). Dept. of Neurology; Struikmans, H. [Radiotherapy Centre West, The Hague (Netherlands); Leiden Univ. Medical Centre (Netherlands). Dept. of Radiotherapy; Kal, H.B.

2012-08-15

Purpose: The 1-year local control rates after single-fraction stereotactic radiotherapy (SRT) for brain metastases > 3 cm diameter are less than 70%, but with fractionated SRT (FSRT) higher local control rates have been reported. The purpose of this study was to compare our treatment results with SRT and FSRT for large brain metastases. Materials and methods: In two consecutive periods, 41 patients with 46 brain metastases received SRT with 1 fraction of 15 Gy, while 51 patients with 65 brain metastases received FSRT with 3 fractions of 8 Gy. We included patients with brain metastases with a planning target volume of > 13 cm{sup 3} or metastases in the brainstem. Results: The minimum follow-up of patients still alive was 22 months. Comparing 1 fraction of 15 Gy with 3 fractions of 8 Gy, the 1-year rates of freedom from any local progression (54% and 61%, p = 0.93) and pseudo progression (85% and 75%, p = 0.25) were not significantly different. Overall survival rates were also not different. Conclusion: The 1-year local progression and pseudo progression rates after 1 fraction of 15 Gy or 3 fractions of 8 Gy for large brain metastases and metastases in the brainstem are similar. For better local control rates, FSRT schemes with a higher biological equivalent dose may be necessary. (orig.)

Local progression and pseudo progression after single fraction or fractionated stereotactic radiotherapy for large brain metastases. A single centre study

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wiggenraad, R.; Verbeek-de Kanter, A.; Mast, M.; Molenaar, R.; Lycklama a Nijeholt, G.; Vecht, C.; Struikmans, H.; Leiden Univ. Medical Centre; Kal, H.B.

2012-01-01

Purpose: The 1-year local control rates after single-fraction stereotactic radiotherapy (SRT) for brain metastases > 3 cm diameter are less than 70%, but with fractionated SRT (FSRT) higher local control rates have been reported. The purpose of this study was to compare our treatment results with SRT and FSRT for large brain metastases. Materials and methods: In two consecutive periods, 41 patients with 46 brain metastases received SRT with 1 fraction of 15 Gy, while 51 patients with 65 brain metastases received FSRT with 3 fractions of 8 Gy. We included patients with brain metastases with a planning target volume of > 13 cm 3 or metastases in the brainstem. Results: The minimum follow-up of patients still alive was 22 months. Comparing 1 fraction of 15 Gy with 3 fractions of 8 Gy, the 1-year rates of freedom from any local progression (54% and 61%, p = 0.93) and pseudo progression (85% and 75%, p = 0.25) were not significantly different. Overall survival rates were also not different. Conclusion: The 1-year local progression and pseudo progression rates after 1 fraction of 15 Gy or 3 fractions of 8 Gy for large brain metastases and metastases in the brainstem are similar. For better local control rates, FSRT schemes with a higher biological equivalent dose may be necessary. (orig.)

Water dynamics in different biochar fractions.

Science.gov (United States)

Conte, Pellegrino; Nestle, Nikolaus

2015-09-01

Biochar is a carbonaceous porous material deliberately applied to soil to improve its fertility. The mechanisms through which biochar acts on fertility are still poorly understood. The effect of biochar texture size on water dynamics was investigated here in order to provide information to address future research on nutrient mobility towards plant roots as biochar is applied as soil amendment. A poplar biochar has been stainless steel fractionated in three different textured fractions (1.0-2.0 mm, 0.3-1.0 mm and <0.3 mm, respectively). Water-saturated fractions were analyzed by fast field cycling (FFC) NMR relaxometry. Results proved that 3D exchange between bound and bulk water predominantly occurred in the coarsest fraction. However, as porosity decreased, water motion was mainly associated to a restricted 2D diffusion among the surface-site pores and the bulk-site ones. The X-ray μ-CT imaging analyses on the dry fractions revealed the lowest surface/volume ratio for the coarsest fraction, thereby corroborating the 3D water exchange mechanism hypothesized by FFC NMR relaxometry. However, multi-micrometer porosity was evidenced in all the samples. The latter finding suggested that the 3D exchange mechanism cannot even be neglected in the finest fraction as previously excluded only on the basis of NMR relaxometry results. X-ray μ-CT imaging showed heterogeneous distribution of inorganic materials inside all the fractions. The mineral components may contribute to the water relaxation mechanisms by FFC NMR relaxometry. Further studies are needed to understand the role of the inorganic particles on water dynamics. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Isotropic non-white matter partial volume effects in constrained spherical deconvolution

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Timo eRoine

2014-03-01

Full Text Available Diffusion-weighted (DW magnetic resonance imaging (MRI is a noninvasive imaging method, which can be used to investigate neural tracts in the white matter (WM of the brain. Significant partial volume effects (PVE are present in the DW signal due to relatively large voxel sizes. These PVEs can be caused by both non-WM tissue, such as gray matter (GM and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF, and by multiple nonparallel WM fiber populations. High angular resolution diffusion imaging (HARDI methods have been developed to correctly characterize complex WM fiber configurations, but to date, many of the HARDI methods do not account for non-WM PVEs. In this work, we investigated the isotropic PVEs caused by non-WM tissue in WM voxels on fiber orientations extracted with constrained spherical deconvolution (CSD. Experiments were performed on simulated and real DW-MRI data. In particular, simulations were performed to demonstrate the effects of varying the diffusion weightings, signal-to-noise ratios (SNR, fiber configurations, and tissue fractions.Our results show that the presence of non-WM tissue signal causes a decrease in the precision of the detected fiber orientations and an increase in the detection of false peaks in CSD. We estimated 35-50 % of WM voxels to be affected by non-WM PVEs. For HARDI sequences, which typically have a relatively high degree of diffusion weighting, these adverse effects are most pronounced in voxels with GM PVEs. The non-WM PVEs become severe with 50 % GM volume for maximum spherical harmonics orders of 8 and below, and already with 25 % GM volume for higher orders. In addition, a low diffusion weighting or SNR increases the effects. The non-WM PVEs may cause problems in connectomics, where reliable fiber tracking at the WM-GM interface is especially important. We suggest acquiring data with high diffusion-weighting 2500-3000 s/mm2, reasonable SNR (~30 and using lower SH orders in GM contaminated regions to minimize the non-WM PVEs

Isotropic non-white matter partial volume effects in constrained spherical deconvolution.

Science.gov (United States)

Roine, Timo; Jeurissen, Ben; Perrone, Daniele; Aelterman, Jan; Leemans, Alexander; Philips, Wilfried; Sijbers, Jan

2014-01-01

Diffusion-weighted (DW) magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is a non-invasive imaging method, which can be used to investigate neural tracts in the white matter (WM) of the brain. Significant partial volume effects (PVEs) are present in the DW signal due to relatively large voxel sizes. These PVEs can be caused by both non-WM tissue, such as gray matter (GM) and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF), and by multiple non-parallel WM fiber populations. High angular resolution diffusion imaging (HARDI) methods have been developed to correctly characterize complex WM fiber configurations, but to date, many of the HARDI methods do not account for non-WM PVEs. In this work, we investigated the isotropic PVEs caused by non-WM tissue in WM voxels on fiber orientations extracted with constrained spherical deconvolution (CSD). Experiments were performed on simulated and real DW-MRI data. In particular, simulations were performed to demonstrate the effects of varying the diffusion weightings, signal-to-noise ratios (SNRs), fiber configurations, and tissue fractions. Our results show that the presence of non-WM tissue signal causes a decrease in the precision of the detected fiber orientations and an increase in the detection of false peaks in CSD. We estimated 35-50% of WM voxels to be affected by non-WM PVEs. For HARDI sequences, which typically have a relatively high degree of diffusion weighting, these adverse effects are most pronounced in voxels with GM PVEs. The non-WM PVEs become severe with 50% GM volume for maximum spherical harmonics orders of 8 and below, and already with 25% GM volume for higher orders. In addition, a low diffusion weighting or SNR increases the effects. The non-WM PVEs may cause problems in connectomics, where reliable fiber tracking at the WM-GM interface is especially important. We suggest acquiring data with high diffusion-weighting 2500-3000 s/mm(2), reasonable SNR (~30) and using lower SH orders in GM contaminated regions to minimize the non-WM PVEs in CSD.

Quantification of the recovered oil and water fractions during water flooding laboratory experiments

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Katika, Konstantina; Halim, Amalia Yunita; Shapiro, Alexander

2015-01-01

the volume might be less than a few microliters. In this study, we approach the determination of the oil volumes in flooding effluents using predetermined amounts of the North Sea oil with synthetic seawater. The UV/visible spectroscopy method and low-field NMR spectrometry are compared...... for this determination, and an account of advantages and disadvantages of each method is given. Both methods are reproducible with high accuracy. The NMR method was capable of direct quantification of both oil and water fractions, while the UV/visible spectroscopy quantifies only the oil fraction using a standard curve....

Radiographic determination of urinary bladder volume and residual urine volume

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Klumair, J.

1977-01-01

In the course of a long study the author has tested most of the methods for determination of urinary bladder volume. A radiographic method which can state bladder volume exactly in cc's is attainable only with great time and effort. In the author's experience, however, it is possible, by means of a pattern in connection with a IVP, to estimate residual urine volume from a post-void picture of the bladder with sufficient accuracy for practical purposes. An account is given of the production of this pattern and of two relatively simple calculations for residual volume based on AP and lateral views of circular- and ellipsoid-shaped bladders. Also discussed is the radiation exposure which varies with the radiographic methods used. In male patients, the radiation exposure appears to be negligible, especially when the testicles are protected by a radiation shield. In female patients - which make up only a small fraction of all patients -, radiation exposure is higher but must be accepted. (orig./MG) [de

A SUB-GRID VOLUME-OF-FLUIDS (VOF) MODEL FOR MIXING IN RESOLVED SCALE AND IN UNRESOLVED SCALE COMPUTATIONS

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Vold, Erik L.; Scannapieco, Tony J.

2007-01-01

A sub-grid mix model based on a volume-of-fluids (VOF) representation is described for computational simulations of the transient mixing between reactive fluids, in which the atomically mixed components enter into the reactivity. The multi-fluid model allows each fluid species to have independent values for density, energy, pressure and temperature, as well as independent velocities and volume fractions. Fluid volume fractions are further divided into mix components to represent their 'mixedness' for more accurate prediction of reactivity. Time dependent conversion from unmixed volume fractions (denoted cf) to atomically mixed (af) fluids by diffusive processes is represented in resolved scale simulations with the volume fractions (cf, af mix). In unresolved scale simulations, the transition to atomically mixed materials begins with a conversion from unmixed material to a sub-grid volume fraction (pf). This fraction represents the unresolved small scales in the fluids, heterogeneously mixed by turbulent or multi-phase mixing processes, and this fraction then proceeds in a second step to the atomically mixed fraction by diffusion (cf, pf, af mix). Species velocities are evaluated with a species drift flux, ρ i u di = ρ i (u i -u), used to describe the fluid mixing sources in several closure options. A simple example of mixing fluids during 'interfacial deceleration mixing with a small amount of diffusion illustrates the generation of atomically mixed fluids in two cases, for resolved scale simulations and for unresolved scale simulations. Application to reactive mixing, including Inertial Confinement Fusion (ICF), is planned for future work.

Prediction of acute cardiac rejection by changes in left ventricular volumes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Novitzky, D.; Cooper, D.K.; Boniaszczuk, J.

1988-01-01

Sixteen patients underwent heart transplantation (11 orthotopic, five heterotopic). Monitoring for acute rejection was by both endomyocardial biopsy (EMB) and multigated equilibrium blood pool scanning with technetium 99m-labelled red blood cells. From the scans information was obtained on left ventricular volumes (stroke, end-diastolic, and end-systolic), ejection fraction, and heart rate. Studies (208) were made in the 16 patients. There was a highly significant correlation between the reduction in stroke volume and end-diastolic volume (and a less significant correlation in end-systolic volume) and increasing acute rejection seen on EMB. Heart rate and ejection fraction did not correlate with the development of acute rejection. Correlation of a combination of changes in stroke volume and end-diastolic volume with EMB showed a sensitivity of 85% and a specificity of 96%. Radionuclide scanning is therefore a useful noninvasive tool for monitoring acute rejection

the effects of form and orientation on energy performance

African Journals Online (AJOL)

DEPT OF AGRICULTURAL ENGINEERING

This is plausible, since solar radiation from the eastern and western ... an orientation of elongated, air-conditioned buildings ... A closed prototype volume of 4 x 4 x 4 metres with an area of ... heating when room temperatures got below 20°. C.

Solidification microstructures in a short fiber reinforced alloy composite containing different fiber fractions

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

JING Qing-xiu

2006-02-01

Full Text Available The solidification microstructures and micro-segregation of a fiber reinforced Al-9 Cu alloy, containing different volume fractions of Al2O3 short fibers about 6 μm diameter and made by squeeze casting have been studied. The results indicate that as volume fraction of fiber Vf increases, the size of final grains becomes finer in the matrix. If λf /λ＞1, the fibers have almost no influence on the solidification behavior of the matrix, so the final grains grow coarse, where λf is the average inter-fiber spacing and λ is the secondary dendrite arm spacing. While if λf /λ＜1, the growth of crystals in the matrix is affected significantly by the fibers and the grain size is reduced to the value of the inter-fiber spacing. The fibers influence the average length of a solidification volume element L of the matrix and also influence the solidification time θt of the matrix. As a result of fibers influencing L and θt, the micro-segregation in the matrix is improved when the composite contains more fibers, although the level of the improvement is slight. The Clyne-Kurz model can be used to semi-quantitatively analyze the relationship between Vf and the volume fraction fe of the micro-segregation eutectic structure.

Radiobiological restrictions and tolerance doses of repeated single-fraction hdr-irradiation of intersecting small liver volumes for recurrent hepatic metastases

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Wust Peter

2010-05-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background To assess radiobiological restrictions and tolerance doses as well as other toxic effects derived from repeated applications of single-fraction high dose rate irradiation of small liver volumes in clinical practice. Methods Twenty patients with liver metastases were treated repeatedly (2 - 4 times at identical or intersecting locations by CT-guided interstitial brachytherapy with varying time intervals. Magnetic resonance imaging using the hepatocyte selective contrast media Gd-BOPTA was performed before and after treatment to determine the volume of hepatocyte function loss (called pseudolesion, and the last acquired MRI data set was merged with the dose distributions of all administered brachytherapies. We calculated the BED (biologically equivalent dose for a single dose d = 2 Gy for different α/β values (2, 3, 10, 20, 100 based on the linear-quadratic model and estimated the tolerance dose for liver parenchyma D90 as the BED exposing 90% of the pseudolesion in MRI. Results The tolerance doses D90 after repeated brachytherapy sessions were found between 22 - 24 Gy and proved only slightly dependent on α/β in the clinically relevant range of α/β = 2 - 10 Gy. Variance analysis showed a significant dependency of D90 with respect to the intervals between the first irradiation and the MRI control (p 90 and the pseudolesion's volume. No symptoms of liver dysfunction or other toxic effects such as abscess formation occurred during the follow-up time, neither acute nor on the long-term. Conclusions Inactivation of liver parenchyma occurs at a BED of approx. 22 - 24 Gy corresponding to a single dose of ~10 Gy (α/β ~ 5 Gy. This tolerance dose is consistent with the large potential to treat oligotopic and/or recurrent liver metastases by CT-guided HDR brachytherapy without radiation-induced liver disease (RILD. Repeated small volume irradiation may be applied safely within the limits of this study.

Determination of left ventricular volume using gated blood pool tomography comparison with contrast ventriculography

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lu Ping; Mo Lijun; Liu Xiujie

1992-01-01

48 patients with cardiac disease were studied with gated blood pool tomography to determine left ventricular volume at end diastole, end-systole and ejection fraction. The volumes were calculated from serial short-axis tomograms by multiplying the number of pixels and the known volume of each pixel. Excellent correlation was found between blood pool tomography and contrast ventriculographic volume. At end-diastole, r = 0.91 (P < 0.01); at end-systole, r = 0.95 (P < 0.01); for left ventricular ejection fraction, r 0.90 (P < 0.01). The results suggest that gated blood pool tomography is a promising noninvasive and direct method for measuring left ventricular volume

IMRT dose fractionation for head and neck cancer: Variation in current approaches will make standardisation difficult

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ho, Kean F. (Academic Dept. of Radiation Oncology, Univ. of Manchester, Manchester (United Kingdom)); Fowler, Jack F. (Dept. of Human Oncology and Medical Physics, Univ. of Wisconsin, Wisconsin (United States)); Sykes, Andrew J.; Yap, Beng K.; Lee, Lip W.; Slevin, Nick J. (Dept. of Clinical Oncology, Christie Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, Manchester (United Kingdom))

2009-04-15

Introduction. Altered fractionation has demonstrated clinical benefits compared to the conventional 2 Gy/day standard of 70 Gy. When using synchronous chemotherapy, there is uncertainty about optimum fractionation. IMRT with its potential for Simultaneous Integrated Boost (SIB) adds further to this uncertainty. This survey will examine international practice of IMRT fractionation and suggest possible reasons for diversity in approach. Material and methods. Fourteen international cancer centres were surveyed for IMRT dose/fractionation practised in each centre. Results. Twelve different types of dose fractionation were reported. Conventional 70-72 Gy (daily 2 Gy/fraction) was used in 3/14 centres with concurrent chemotherapy while 11/14 centres used altered fractionation. Two centres used >1 schedule. Reported schedules and number of centres included 6 fractions/week DAHANCA regime (3), modest hypofractionation (=2.2 Gy/fraction) (3), dose-escalated hypofractionation (=2.3 Gy/fraction) (4), hyperfractionation (1), continuous acceleration (1) and concomitant boost (1). Reasons for dose fractionation variability include (i) dose escalation; (ii) total irradiated volume; (iii) number of target volumes; (iv) synchronous systemic treatment; (v) shorter overall treatment time; (vi) resources availability; (vii) longer time on treatment couch; (viii) variable GTV margins; (ix) confidence in treatment setup; (x) late tissue toxicity and (xi) use of lower neck anterior fields. Conclusions. This variability in IMRT fractionation makes any meaningful comparison of treatment results difficult. Some standardization is needed particularly for design of multi-centre randomized clinical trials.

The analysis of fractional differential equations an application-oriented exposition using differential operators of Caputo type

CERN Document Server

Diethelm, Kai

2010-01-01

Fractional calculus was first developed by pure mathematicians in the middle of the 19th century. Some 100 years later, engineers and physicists have found applications for these concepts in their areas. However there has traditionally been little interaction between these two communities. In particular, typical mathematical works provide extensive findings on aspects with comparatively little significance in applications, and the engineering literature often lacks mathematical detail and precision. This book bridges the gap between the two communities. It concentrates on the class of fractional derivatives most important in applications, the Caputo operators, and provides a self-contained, thorough and mathematically rigorous study of their properties and of the corresponding differential equations. The text is a useful tool for mathematicians and researchers from the applied sciences alike. It can also be used as a basis for teaching graduate courses on fractional differential equations.

Cooperative rearranging region size and free volume in As-Se glasses

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Saiter, A; Saiter, J-M [Laboratoire PBM, UMR 6522, LECAP, Institut des Materiaux de Rouen, Universite de Rouen, Faculte des Sciences, Avenue de l' Universite BP 12, 76801 Saint Etienne du Rouvray (France); Golovchak, R; Shpotyuk, M; Shpotyuk, O [Lviv Scientific Research Institute of Materials of SRC ' Carat' , 202, Stryjska street, Lviv, UA-79031 (Ukraine)

2009-02-18

Glasses of the As-Se system have been used as model objects of the covalent disordered inorganic polymers to investigate the correlation between the cooperative rearranging region (CRR) size determined at the glass transition temperature and the free volume fraction in the glassy state. The CRR size has been determined using temperature modulated differential scanning calorimetry data according to Donth's approach, while the free volume fraction in the investigated materials has been estimated using positron annihilation lifetime spectroscopy data. The obtained results testify that the appearance of open-volume defects greater than 80 A{sup 3} leads to a significant decrease in the CRR size.

Cooperative rearranging region size and free volume in As-Se glasses

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Saiter, A; Saiter, J-M; Golovchak, R; Shpotyuk, M; Shpotyuk, O

2009-01-01

Glasses of the As-Se system have been used as model objects of the covalent disordered inorganic polymers to investigate the correlation between the cooperative rearranging region (CRR) size determined at the glass transition temperature and the free volume fraction in the glassy state. The CRR size has been determined using temperature modulated differential scanning calorimetry data according to Donth's approach, while the free volume fraction in the investigated materials has been estimated using positron annihilation lifetime spectroscopy data. The obtained results testify that the appearance of open-volume defects greater than 80 A 3 leads to a significant decrease in the CRR size.

Isolation and characterization of biochar-derived organic matter fractions and their phenanthrene sorption.

Science.gov (United States)

Jin, Jie; Sun, Ke; Liu, Wei; Li, Shiwei; Peng, Xianqiang; Yang, Yan; Han, Lanfang; Du, Ziwen; Wang, Xiangke

2018-05-01

Chemical composition and pollutant sorption of biochar-derived organic matter fractions (BDOMs) are critical for understanding the long-term environmental significance of biochar. Phenanthrene (PHE) sorption by the humic acid-like (HAL) fractions isolated from plant straw- (PLABs) and animal manure-based (ANIBs) biochars, and the residue materials (RES) after HAL extraction was investigated. The HAL fraction comprised approximately 50% of organic carbon (OC) of the original biochars. Results of XPS and 13 C NMR demonstrated that the biochar-derived HAL fractions mainly consisted of aromatic clusters substituted by carboxylic groups. The CO 2 cumulative surface area of BDOMs excluding PLAB-derived RES fractions was obviously lower than that of corresponding biochars. The sorption nonlinearity of PHE by the fresh biochars was significantly stronger than that of the BDOM fractions, implying that the BDOM fractions were more chemically homogeneous. The BDOMs generally exhibited comparable or higher OC-normalized distribution coefficients (K oc ) of PHE than the original biochars. The PHE logK oc values of the fresh biochars correlated negatively with the micropore volumes due to steric hindrance effect. In contrast, a positive relationship between the sorption coefficients (K d ) of BDOMs and the micropore volumes was observed in this study, suggesting that pore filling could dominate PHE sorption by the BDOMs. The positive correlation between the PHE logK oc values of the HAL fractions and the aromatic C contents indicates that PHE sorption by the HAL fractions was regulated by aromatic domains. The findings of this study improve our knowledge of the evolution of biochar properties after application and its potential environmental impacts. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Cellwise conservative unsplit advection for the volume of fluid method

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Comminal, Raphaël; Spangenberg, Jon; Hattel, Jesper Henri

2015-01-01

We present a cellwise conservative unsplit (CCU) advection scheme for the volume of fluid method (VOF) in 2D. Contrary to other schemes based on explicit calculations of the flux balances, the CCU advection adopts a cellwise approach where the pre-images of the control volumes are traced......-overlapping donating regions and pre-images with conforming edges to their neighbors, resulting in the conservativeness and the boundedness (liquid volume fraction inside the interval [0, 1]) of the CCU advection scheme. Finally, the update of the liquid volume fractions is computed from the intersections of the pre......-image polygons with the reconstructed interfaces. The CCU scheme is tested on several benchmark tests for the VOF advection, together with the standard piecewise linear interface calculation (PLIC). The geometrical errors of the CCU compare favorably with other unsplit VOF-PLIC schemes. Finally, potential...

Stochastic calculus for fractional Brownian motion and related processes

CERN Document Server

Mishura, Yuliya S

2008-01-01

The theory of fractional Brownian motion and other long-memory processes are addressed in this volume. Interesting topics for PhD students and specialists in probability theory, stochastic analysis and financial mathematics demonstrate the modern level of this field. Among these are results about Levy characterization of fractional Brownian motion, maximal moment inequalities for Wiener integrals including the values 0fractional Brownian SDE. The author develops optimal filtering of mixed models including linear case, and studies financial applications and statistical inference with hypotheses testing and parameter estimation. She proves that the market with stock guided by the mixed model is arbitrage-free without any restriction on the dependence of the components and deduces different forms of the Black-Scholes equation for fractional mark...

Mechanical properties of a co-extruded Metallic Glass/Alloy (MeGA) rod-Effect of the metallic glass volume fraction

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gravier, S.; Blandin, J.J.; Suery, M.

2010-01-01

A Metallic Glass/Alloy (MeGA) rod with a core in zirconium-based bulk metallic glass and a sleeve in aluminium alloy has been successfully elaborated by co-extrusion. SEM observations of the cross-section of the rod show that the interface between the glass and the alloy is defect-free. Compression tests are carried out at room temperature on the MeGA rods containing various glass volume fractions. The yield stress is well described by the rule of mixtures which combines the strength of the glass and that of the alloy, suggesting isostrain behaviour as could be expected. During compression, a good mechanical bonding is observed in the MeGA-rod even after the first fracture of the metallic glass. Finally, push-out tests are performed to evaluate the bonding quality between the two materials. Large values of the shear strength are measured which confirms that co-extrusion leads to good bonding between the glass and the aluminium alloy.

Spatiotemporal Fractionation Schemes for Irradiating Large Cerebral Arteriovenous Malformations

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Unkelbach, Jan, E-mail: junkelbach@mgh.harvard.edu [Department of Radiation Oncology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts (United States); Bussière, Marc R. [Department of Radiation Oncology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts (United States); Chapman, Paul H. [Department of Neurosurgery, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts (United States); Loeffler, Jay S.; Shih, Helen A. [Department of Radiation Oncology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts (United States)

2016-07-01

Purpose: To optimally exploit fractionation effects in the context of radiosurgery treatments of large cerebral arteriovenous malformations (AVMs). In current practice, fractionated treatments divide the dose evenly into several fractions, which generally leads to low obliteration rates. In this work, we investigate the potential benefit of delivering distinct dose distributions in different fractions. Methods and Materials: Five patients with large cerebral AVMs were reviewed and replanned for intensity modulated arc therapy delivered with conventional photon beams. Treatment plans allowing for different dose distributions in all fractions were obtained by performing treatment plan optimization based on the cumulative biologically effective dose delivered at the end of treatment. Results: We show that distinct treatment plans can be designed for different fractions, such that high single-fraction doses are delivered to complementary parts of the AVM. All plans create a similar dose bath in the surrounding normal brain and thereby exploit the fractionation effect. This partial hypofractionation in the AVM along with fractionation in normal brain achieves a net improvement of the therapeutic ratio. We show that a biological dose reduction of approximately 10% in the healthy brain can be achieved compared with reference treatment schedules that deliver the same dose distribution in all fractions. Conclusions: Boosting complementary parts of the target volume in different fractions may provide a therapeutic advantage in fractionated radiosurgery treatments of large cerebral AVMs. The strategy allows for a mean dose reduction in normal brain that may be valuable for a patient population with an otherwise normal life expectancy.

The mechanical properties of unidirectional all-polypropylene composites

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Alcock, B.; Cabrera, N.O.; Barkoula, N.M.; Loos, J.; Peijs, A.A.J.M.

2006-01-01

The creation of highly oriented, co-extruded polypropylene (PP) tapes allows the production of recyclable ‘all-polypropylene’ composites, with a large temperature processing window (>30 °C) and a high volume fraction of highly oriented PP (>90%). These composites show little deviation of mechanical

Orientation of biomolecular assemblies in a microfluidic jet

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Priebe, M; Kalbfleisch, S; Tolkiehn, M; Salditt, T; Koester, S; Abel, B; Davies, R J

2010-01-01

We have investigated multilamellar lipid assemblies in a microfluidic jet, operating at high shear rates of the order of 10 7 s -1 . Compared to classical Couette cells or rheometers, the shear rate was increased by at least 2-3 orders of magnitude, and the sample volume was scaled down correspondingly. At the same time, the jet is characterized by high extensional stress due to elongational flow. A focused synchrotron x-ray beam was used to measure the structure and orientation of the lipid assemblies in the jet. The diffraction patterns indicate conventional multilamellar phases, aligned with the membrane normals oriented along the velocity gradient of the jet. The results indicate that the setup may be well suited for coherent diffractive imaging of oriented biomolecular assemblies and macromolecules at the future x-ray free electron laser (XFEL) sources.

11th International Workshop in Model-Oriented Design and Analysis

CERN Document Server

Müller, Christine; Atkinson, Anthony

2016-01-01

This volume contains pioneering contributions to both the theory and practice of optimal experimental design. Topics include the optimality of designs in linear and nonlinear models, as well as designs for correlated observations and for sequential experimentation. There is an emphasis on applications to medicine, in particular, to the design of clinical trials. Scientists from Europe, the US, Asia, Australia and Africa contributed to this volume of papers from the 11th Workshop on Model Oriented Design and Analysis.

An Experimental Study of Circular Cutout Hole Effect of Kevlar/epoxy-Al2O3 Composite under Subjected to Quasi-Static Compressive and Tensile Loading

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ayad Abed Ramadhan

2017-12-01

Full Text Available This paper has presented an experimental study of quasi-static compressive and tensile loading of cutout hole specimens of Kevlar-29/epoxy-Al2O3 laminated composite. The experimental procedure hasbeen developed to study the performance of (50%, 55% and 60% volume fraction (vf and (0o/90o and +45o/-45o fiber orientation angle effects of these composites under quasi-static tensile and compressiveload using a servo-hydraulic testing machine. The study was concluded that the ultimate load capacity increases as volume fraction increases in tensile test. While, the maximum load bearing capacity increaseswith the decrease of volume fraction in compression test. Hence, from the results obtained it can have considered the 55% volume fraction of composite panels is a good value for tensile and compressionapplications.

Imaging water velocity and volume fraction distributions in water continuous multiphase flows using inductive flow tomography and electrical resistance tomography

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Meng, Yiqing; Lucas, Gary P

2017-01-01

This paper presents the design and implementation of an inductive flow tomography (IFT) system, employing a multi-electrode electromagnetic flow meter (EMFM) and novel reconstruction techniques, for measuring the local water velocity distribution in water continuous single and multiphase flows. A series of experiments were carried out in vertical-upward and upward-inclined single phase water flows and ‘water continuous’ gas–water and oil–gas–water flows in which the velocity profiles ranged from axisymmetric (single phase and vertical-upward multiphase flows) to highly asymmetric (upward-inclined multiphase flows). Using potential difference measurements obtained from the electrode array of the EMFM, local axial velocity distributions of the continuous water phase were reconstructed using two different IFT reconstruction algorithms denoted RT#1, which assumes that the overall water velocity profile comprises the sum of a series of polynomial velocity components, and RT#2, which is similar to RT#1 but which assumes that the zero’th order velocity component may be replaced by an axisymmetric ‘power law’ velocity distribution. During each experiment, measurement of the local water volume fraction distribution was also made using the well-established technique of electrical resistance tomography (ERT). By integrating the product of the local axial water velocity and the local water volume fraction in the cross section an estimate of the water volumetric flow rate was made which was compared with a reference measurement of the water volumetric flow rate. In vertical upward flows RT#2 was found to give rise to water velocity profiles which are consistent with the previous literature although the profiles obtained in the multiphase flows had relatively higher central velocity peaks than was observed for the single phase profiles. This observation was almost certainly a result of the transfer of axial momentum from the less dense dispersed phases to the

Imaging water velocity and volume fraction distributions in water continuous multiphase flows using inductive flow tomography and electrical resistance tomography

Science.gov (United States)

Meng, Yiqing; Lucas, Gary P.

2017-05-01

This paper presents the design and implementation of an inductive flow tomography (IFT) system, employing a multi-electrode electromagnetic flow meter (EMFM) and novel reconstruction techniques, for measuring the local water velocity distribution in water continuous single and multiphase flows. A series of experiments were carried out in vertical-upward and upward-inclined single phase water flows and ‘water continuous’ gas-water and oil-gas-water flows in which the velocity profiles ranged from axisymmetric (single phase and vertical-upward multiphase flows) to highly asymmetric (upward-inclined multiphase flows). Using potential difference measurements obtained from the electrode array of the EMFM, local axial velocity distributions of the continuous water phase were reconstructed using two different IFT reconstruction algorithms denoted RT#1, which assumes that the overall water velocity profile comprises the sum of a series of polynomial velocity components, and RT#2, which is similar to RT#1 but which assumes that the zero’th order velocity component may be replaced by an axisymmetric ‘power law’ velocity distribution. During each experiment, measurement of the local water volume fraction distribution was also made using the well-established technique of electrical resistance tomography (ERT). By integrating the product of the local axial water velocity and the local water volume fraction in the cross section an estimate of the water volumetric flow rate was made which was compared with a reference measurement of the water volumetric flow rate. In vertical upward flows RT#2 was found to give rise to water velocity profiles which are consistent with the previous literature although the profiles obtained in the multiphase flows had relatively higher central velocity peaks than was observed for the single phase profiles. This observation was almost certainly a result of the transfer of axial momentum from the less dense dispersed phases to the water

Object-oriented programming techniques for the AGS Booster

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Skelly, J.F.

1991-01-01

The applications software developed for the control system of the AGS Booster Project was written in the object-oriented language, C++. A the start of the Booster Project, the programming staff of the AGS Controls Section comprised some dozen programmer/analysts, all highly fluent in C but novices in C++. During the coarse of this project, nearly the entire staff converted to using C++ for a large fraction of their assignments. Over 100 C++ software modules are now available for Booster and general AGS use, of which a large fraction are broadly applicable tools. The transition from C to C++ from a managerial perspective is discussed and an overview is provided of the ways in which object classes have been applied in Booster software development

Object-oriented programming techniques for the AGS Booster

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Skelly, J.F.

1992-01-01

The applications software developed for the control system of the AGS Booster Project was written in the object-oriented language, C++. At the start of the Booster Project, the programming staff of the AGS Controls Section comprised some dozen programmer/analysts, all highly fluent in C but novices in C++. During the course of this project, nearly the entire staff converted to using C++ for a large fraction of their assignments. Over 100 C++ software modules are now available both for Booster and general AGS use, of which a large fraction are broadly applicable tools. The transition from C to C++ from a managerial perspective is discussed and an overview is provided of the ways in which object classes have been applied in Booster software development. (author)

Volumetric Image Guidance Using Carina vs Spine as Registration Landmarks for Conventionally Fractionated Lung Radiotherapy

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Lavoie, Caroline; Higgins, Jane; Bissonnette, Jean-Pierre [Department of Radiation Oncology, Princess Margaret Hospital, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, M5G 2M9 (Canada); Le, Lisa W. [Department of Biostatistics, Princess Margaret Hospital, Toronto, Ontario, M5G 2M9 (Canada); Sun, Alexander; Brade, Anthony; Hope, Andrew; Cho, John [Department of Radiation Oncology, Princess Margaret Hospital, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, M5G 2M9 (Canada); Bezjak, Andrea, E-mail: andrea.bezjak@rmp.uhn.on.ca [Department of Radiation Oncology, Princess Margaret Hospital, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, M5G 2M9 (Canada)

2012-12-01

Purpose: To compare the relative accuracy of 2 image guided radiation therapy methods using carina vs spine as landmarks and then to identify which landmark is superior relative to tumor coverage. Methods and Materials: For 98 lung patients, 2596 daily image-guidance cone-beam computed tomography scans were analyzed. Tattoos were used for initial patient alignment; then, spine and carina registrations were performed independently. A separate analysis assessed the adequacy of gross tumor volume, internal target volume, and planning target volume coverage on cone-beam computed tomography using the initial, middle, and final fractions of radiation therapy. Coverage was recorded for primary tumor (T), nodes (N), and combined target (T+N). Three scenarios were compared: tattoos alignment, spine registration, and carina registration. Results: Spine and carina registrations identified setup errors {>=}5 mm in 35% and 46% of fractions, respectively. The mean vector difference between spine and carina matching had a magnitude of 3.3 mm. Spine and carina improved combined target coverage, compared with tattoos, in 50% and 34% (spine) to 54% and 46% (carina) of the first and final fractions, respectively. Carina matching showed greater combined target coverage in 17% and 23% of fractions for the first and final fractions, respectively; with spine matching, this was only observed in 4% (first) and 6% (final) of fractions. Carina matching provided superior nodes coverage at the end of radiation compared with spine matching (P=.0006), without compromising primary tumor coverage. Conclusion: Frequent patient setup errors occur in locally advanced lung cancer patients. Spine and carina registrations improved combined target coverage throughout the treatment course, but carina matching provided superior combined target coverage.

Volumetric Image Guidance Using Carina vs Spine as Registration Landmarks for Conventionally Fractionated Lung Radiotherapy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lavoie, Caroline; Higgins, Jane; Bissonnette, Jean-Pierre; Le, Lisa W.; Sun, Alexander; Brade, Anthony; Hope, Andrew; Cho, John; Bezjak, Andrea

2012-01-01

Purpose: To compare the relative accuracy of 2 image guided radiation therapy methods using carina vs spine as landmarks and then to identify which landmark is superior relative to tumor coverage. Methods and Materials: For 98 lung patients, 2596 daily image-guidance cone-beam computed tomography scans were analyzed. Tattoos were used for initial patient alignment; then, spine and carina registrations were performed independently. A separate analysis assessed the adequacy of gross tumor volume, internal target volume, and planning target volume coverage on cone-beam computed tomography using the initial, middle, and final fractions of radiation therapy. Coverage was recorded for primary tumor (T), nodes (N), and combined target (T+N). Three scenarios were compared: tattoos alignment, spine registration, and carina registration. Results: Spine and carina registrations identified setup errors ≥5 mm in 35% and 46% of fractions, respectively. The mean vector difference between spine and carina matching had a magnitude of 3.3 mm. Spine and carina improved combined target coverage, compared with tattoos, in 50% and 34% (spine) to 54% and 46% (carina) of the first and final fractions, respectively. Carina matching showed greater combined target coverage in 17% and 23% of fractions for the first and final fractions, respectively; with spine matching, this was only observed in 4% (first) and 6% (final) of fractions. Carina matching provided superior nodes coverage at the end of radiation compared with spine matching (P=.0006), without compromising primary tumor coverage. Conclusion: Frequent patient setup errors occur in locally advanced lung cancer patients. Spine and carina registrations improved combined target coverage throughout the treatment course, but carina matching provided superior combined target coverage.

Removal of transuranics from Johnston Island soil by fractional classification

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sunderland, N.R.

1987-01-01

The following conclusions were reached as a result of the research conducted with the TRUclean process on Johnston Island: Processed materials will have a total TRU activity of less than 500 Bq/Kg. Approximately 90% of the TRU activity in coral/soil is removed by a single pass through the fractional classification process. A volume reduction of greater than 90% of the original contaminated volume can be achieved with the returned ''clean'' volume less than or equal to the cleanup criteria. Reprocessing or multiple staging of the process units will yield overall efficiencies of greater than 90%. Continued testing at Nevada Test Site confirmed these conclusions

The design of cermet fuel phase fraction and fuel particle diameter

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tian Sheng.

1986-01-01

UO 2 -Zr-2 is an ideal cermet fuel. As an exemplification with this fuel, this paper emphatically elucidates the irradiation theory of cermet fuel and its application in the design of cermet fuel phase fraction and of fuel particle diameter. From the point of view of the irradiation theory and the consideration for sandwich rolling, the suitable volume fraction of UO 2 phase of 25% and diameter of UO 2 particle of 100 +- 15 μm are selected

Intra-fractional uncertainties in image-guided intensity-modulated radiotherapy (IMRT) of prostate cancer

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Polat, Buelent; Guenther, Iris; Wilbert, Juergen; Goebel, Joachim; Sweeney, Reinhart A.; Flentje, Michael; Guckenberger, Matthias

2008-01-01

To evaluate intra-fractional uncertainties during intensity-modulated radiotherapy (IMRT) of prostate cancer. During IMRT of 21 consecutive patients, kilovolt (kV) cone-beam computed tomography (CBCT) images were acquired prior to and immediately after treatment: a total of 252 treatment fractions with 504 CBCT studies were basis of this analysis. The prostate position in anterior-posterior (AP) direction was determined using contour matching; patient set-up based on the pelvic bony anatomy was evaluated using automatic image registration. Internal variability of the prostate position was the difference between absolute prostate and patient position errors. Intra-fractional changes of prostate position, patient position, rectal distension in AP direction and bladder volume were analyzed. With a median treatment time of 16 min, intra-fractional drifts of the prostate were > 5 mm in 12% of all fractions and a margin of 6 mm was calculated for compensation of this uncertainty. Mobility of the prostate was independent from the bony anatomy with poor correlation between absolute prostate motion and motion of the bony anatomy (R 2 = 0.24). A systematic increase of bladder filling by 41 ccm on average was observed; however, these changes did not influence the prostate position. Small variations of the prostate position occurred independently from intra-fractional changes of the rectal distension; a weak correlation between large internal prostate motion and changes of the rectal volume was observed (R 2 = 0.55). Clinically significant intra-fractional changes of the prostate position were observed and margins of 6 mm were calculated for this intra-fractional uncertainty. Repeated or continuous verification of the prostate position may allow further margin reduction. (orig.)

Intra-fractional uncertainties in image-guided intensity-modulated radiotherapy (IMRT) of prostate cancer

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Polat, Buelent; Guenther, Iris; Wilbert, Juergen; Goebel, Joachim; Sweeney, Reinhart A.; Flentje, Michael; Guckenberger, Matthias [Wuerzburg Univ. (Germany). Dept. of Radiation Oncology

2008-12-15

To evaluate intra-fractional uncertainties during intensity-modulated radiotherapy (IMRT) of prostate cancer. During IMRT of 21 consecutive patients, kilovolt (kV) cone-beam computed tomography (CBCT) images were acquired prior to and immediately after treatment: a total of 252 treatment fractions with 504 CBCT studies were basis of this analysis. The prostate position in anterior-posterior (AP) direction was determined using contour matching; patient set-up based on the pelvic bony anatomy was evaluated using automatic image registration. Internal variability of the prostate position was the difference between absolute prostate and patient position errors. Intra-fractional changes of prostate position, patient position, rectal distension in AP direction and bladder volume were analyzed. With a median treatment time of 16 min, intra-fractional drifts of the prostate were > 5 mm in 12% of all fractions and a margin of 6 mm was calculated for compensation of this uncertainty. Mobility of the prostate was independent from the bony anatomy with poor correlation between absolute prostate motion and motion of the bony anatomy (R{sup 2} = 0.24). A systematic increase of bladder filling by 41 ccm on average was observed; however, these changes did not influence the prostate position. Small variations of the prostate position occurred independently from intra-fractional changes of the rectal distension; a weak correlation between large internal prostate motion and changes of the rectal volume was observed (R{sup 2} = 0.55). Clinically significant intra-fractional changes of the prostate position were observed and margins of 6 mm were calculated for this intra-fractional uncertainty. Repeated or continuous verification of the prostate position may allow further margin reduction. (orig.)

ELASTICITY of SHORT FIBRE REINFORCED POLYAMIDE: MORPHOLOGICAL AND NUMERICAl ANALYSIS OF FIBRE ORIENTATION EFFECTS

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Francesca Cosmi

2010-10-01

Full Text Available The fatigue behaviour of injection moulded short fibre reinforced polymers depends upon fibre orientation, as shown in experiments conducted with notched specimens injected through different injection gates. The different fatigue behaviour is mainly related to the different local elastic properties, as determined by the different fibre orientation patterns, resulting into different strain distributions. In order to quantify the relationship between fibre orientation and elastic constants, the Cell Method was applied to volumes extracted from the specimens, reconstructed by micro-tomography.

Texture, local misorientation, grain boundary and recrystallization fraction in pipeline steels related to hydrogen induced cracking

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Mohtadi-Bonab, M.A., E-mail: m.mohtadi@usask.ca; Eskandari, M.; Szpunar, J.A.

2015-01-03

In the present study, API X60 and X60SS pipeline steels were cathodically charged by hydrogen for 8 h using 0.2 M sulfuric acid and 3 g/l ammonium thiocyanate. After charging, SEM observations showed that the hydrogen induced cracking (HIC) appeared at the center of cross section in the X60 specimen. However, HIC did not appear in the X60SS steel. Therefore, electron backscatter diffraction (EBSD) technique was used to analyze the center of cross section of as-received X60SS, X60 and HIC tested X60 specimens. The results showed that the HIC crack not only can propagate through 〈100〉||ND oriented grains but also its growth may happen in various orientations. In HIC tested X60 specimen, an accumulation of low angle grain boundaries around the crack path documented that full recrystallization was not achieved during hot rolling. Kernel Average Misorientaion (KAM) histogram illustrated that the deformation is more concentrated in as-received and HIC tested X60 specimens rather than in as-received X60SS specimen. Moreover, the concentration of coincidence site lattice (CSL) boundary in HIC tested X60 specimen was very low compared with other samples. The recrystallization area fraction in X60SS steel was very high. This high amount of recrystallization fraction with no stored energy is one of the main reasons for high HIC resistance of this steel to HIC. The orientation distribution function (ODF) of the recrystallized, substructured and deformed fractions in as-received X60SS and X60 steel showed relative close orientations in both as-received specimens.

Laser oriented 36K for time reversal symmetry measurements

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Young, A.R.; Anderson, W.S.; Calaprice, F.P.; Cates, G.D.; Jones, G.L.; Krieger, D.A.; Vogelaar, R.B.

1995-01-01

We have produced very large nuclear alignments in radioactive 36 K (half-life 0.34 sec) through laser optical pumping techniques. The 36 K was created through (p,n) reactions using a 50 nA, 22 MeV proton beam, and a 3.3 atmosphere 36 Ar target. Measurements were made with the target cell at room temperature, when direct optical pumping produces nuclear orientation in the 36 K, and at elevated temperatures 160 degree C and 180 degree C where the 36 K is oriented through a combination of direct optical pumping and spin exchange. The fraction of the maximal nuclear alignment for the 180 degree C data was determined to be 0.46±0.07 stat±0.05 syst through measurements of the γ-ray anisotropy following positron decay. Roughly 10 5 or more decays of oriented 36 K occurred each second. The application of the superallowed decay of 36 K to measurements of time-reversal symmetry in β decay is discussed

TU-H-CAMPUS-TeP1-01: Variable-Beam Fractionation for SAbR

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Modiri, A; Sawant, A [University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD (United States)

2016-06-15

Purpose: In current conventionally-fractionated as well as hypofractionated 3D conformal radiotherapy (CRT), the same beam arrangement is employed from fraction to fraction. We challenge this notion and postulate that by varying the beam arrangement between fractions we can achieve greater sparing of organs at risk (OARs) while maintaining PTV coverage. We use an inverse planning strategy using a swarm intelligence-based global optimization algorithm to exploit the additional degree of freedom represented by inter-fractional variation in beam angles. Methods: To evaluate our variable-beam fractionation (VBF) method, a 10-beam ITV-based conformal stereotactic ablative radiotherapy (CRT-SAbR) plan was optimized. In the clinical plan, 54 Gy was delivered to a 41cc lung tumor over 3 fractions. In VBF, each original clinically-assigned beam was multiplied to a bundle of n α-degree-spaced beams, n being number of fractions. Selection of α was a compromise between retaining similar tumor irradiation and separating inline OAR sub-regions. We optimized the beam fluence weights setting an upper limit for beam delivery duration (and implicitly, monitor units) along with clinical organ-based dose-volume constraints. Zero weights were allowed so that the optimization algorithm could remove unnecessary beams. All fractions in final plan had to deliver identical monitor units (MU) while satisfying a soft constraint on having no more than one beam from every n-beam bundle in each fraction. α was 10 degrees and the dose rate was 600 MU/min. Results: The VBF plan achieved significantly superior OAR sparing compared to the clinical internal target volume (ITV)-based plan. Setting maximum beam delivery duration to 13 seconds (well within breath-hold range), Esophagus Dmax, Heart Dmax, Spinal cord Dmax and Lung V13 were improved by 25%, 81%, 0% and 27%, respectively. Conclusion: We investigated a simple approach to inter-fractional VBF planning and demonstrated its potential in

Assessment of a simplified set of momentum closure relations for low volume fraction regimes in STAR-CCM+ and OpenFOAM

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sugrue, Rosemary; Magolan, Ben; Lubchenko, Nazar; Baglietto, Emilio

2017-01-01

Highlights: •A simplified set of momentum closures – Bubbly And Moderate void Fraction (BAMF) – is proposed. •BAMF model is assessed by simulation of 12 cases from the Liu and Bankoff experimental database. •Portability between STAR-CCM+ and OpenFOAM CFD softwares is demonstrated. •Both CFD softwares yield mean flow predictions in close agreement with experimental results. -- Abstract: Multiphase computational fluid dynamics (M-CFD) modeling approaches provide three-dimensional resolution of complex two-phase flow and boiling heat transfer phenomena, which makes them an invaluable tool for nuclear reactor design applications. By virtue of the Eulerian-Eulerian spatial and temporal averaging framework, additional terms manifest in the phase momentum equations that require closure through prescription of interfacial forces in the stream-wise and lateral flow directions, as well as in the near-wall region. These momentum closures are critical to M-CFD prediction of mean flow profiles, including velocity and volume fraction distributions, and yet while an overwhelming number of them has been developed, no consensus exists on how to assemble them to achieve a simplified set of closures that is numerically robust and extensible to a wide array of flow configurations; further, no consistent demonstration has been shown of the cross-code portability of these closures between CFD softwares. To address these challenges, we propose in this work a simplified set of momentum closures for stream-wise drag and lateral redistribution mechanisms—collectively referred to as the Bubbly And Moderate void Fraction (BAMF) model—and assess its performance by simulation of 12 cases from the Liu and Bankoff experimental database using STAR-CCM+ and OpenFOAM. Both CFD softwares yield mean flow predictions that are in close agreement with the experimental results, and also in close agreement with each other. These results confirm the effectiveness of the BAMF model and its

Perceived change in orientation from optic flow in the central visual field

Science.gov (United States)

Dyre, Brian P.; Andersen, George J.

1988-01-01

The effects of internal depth within a simulation display on perceived changes in orientation have been studied. Subjects monocularly viewed displays simulating observer motion within a volume of randomly positioned points through a window which limited the field of view to 15 deg. Changes in perceived spatial orientation were measured by changes in posture. The extent of internal depth within the display, the presence or absence of visual information specifying change in orientation, and the frequency of motion supplied by the display were examined. It was found that increased sway occurred at frequencies equal to or below 0.375 Hz when motion at these frequencies was displayed. The extent of internal depth had no effect on the perception of changing orientation.

Uranium release from different size fractions of sediments in Hanford 300 area, Washington, USA

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Du Jiangkun; Bao Jianguo; Hu Qinhong; Ewing, Robert P.

2012-01-01

Stirred-flow cell tests were carried out to investigate uranium (U) release from different size fractions of sediments from the U.S. Department of Energy’s Hanford 300 Area in Washington, USA. Results show that the measured concentration of U release varies with different size fractions, with the fine-grained mass fractions (<75 μm, 75–500 μm, and 500–2000 μm) being the main U carriers. However, because the sediment is mainly composed of gravel (2000–8000 μm) materials, the gravel fraction is a non-negligible U pool. Our elution experiments give a value of 8.7% of the total U being in the gravel fraction, significantly reducing the current uncertainty in evaluating U inventory. A log–log plot of released U concentration vs. elution volume (i.e., elution time) shows a power-law relationship for all size fractions, with identical exponents for the three fine size fractions (−0.875). For the <2000 μm mass fraction, comparing our eluted U values with reported total U concentrations, we estimate that a lower bound value 8.6% of the total uranium is labile. This compares well with the previously published value of 11.8% labile U after extraction with a dilute extractant for three weeks. - Highlights: ► Stirred-flow cells were used to study U release in Hanford 300 Area sediment. ► Fine-grained size fractions have higher U concentrations. ► U in coarse fraction is less studied, but its 8.7–9.3% of total U is non-negligible. ► A power-law relationship is observed between released U and elution volume. ► About 8.6% of U in the <2 mm sediment is labile.

Relative effect(s) of texture and grain size on magnetic properties in a low silicon non-grain oriented electrical steel

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

PremKumar, R.; Samajdar, I.; Viswanathan, N.N.; Singal, V.; Seshadri, V.

2003-01-01

Hot rolled low Si (silicon) non-grain oriented electrical steel was cold rolled to different reductions. Cold rolled material was subsequently recrystallized, 650 deg. C and 2 h, and then temper rolled (to 7% reduction) for the final grain growth annealing and decarburization treatment at 850 deg. C for 2-24 h. The development of texture, grain size and magnetic properties were characterized at different stages of processing. Effect of texture on magnetic properties (watt loss and permeability) was observed to be best represented by the ratio of volume fractions of (1 1 1) /(0 0 1) fibers, as estimated by convoluting X-ray ODFs (orientation distribution functions) with respective model functions. Such a ratio was termed as generalized texture factor (tf) for the non-grain oriented electrical steel. An effort was made to delink effects of grain size and texture, as represented by respective tf, on watt loss and permeability by careful analysis of experimental data. In general, low tf and/or high grain size were responsible for low watt loss and high permeability. However, individual effect of grain size or tf on magnetic properties was less significant at low tf or large grain size, respectively. An attempt was made to fit regression equations, namely--linear, exponential and power, relating magnetic properties with tf and grain size, limiting the fitting parameters to 3. Least standard deviations, between experimental and predicted values, were obtained by power regression equations for both magnetic properties

Simulating transient dynamics of the time-dependent time fractional Fokker-Planck systems

Science.gov (United States)

Kang, Yan-Mei

2016-09-01

For a physically realistic type of time-dependent time fractional Fokker-Planck (FP) equation, derived as the continuous limit of the continuous time random walk with time-modulated Boltzmann jumping weight, a semi-analytic iteration scheme based on the truncated (generalized) Fourier series is presented to simulate the resultant transient dynamics when the external time modulation is a piece-wise constant signal. At first, the iteration scheme is demonstrated with a simple time-dependent time fractional FP equation on finite interval with two absorbing boundaries, and then it is generalized to the more general time-dependent Smoluchowski-type time fractional Fokker-Planck equation. The numerical examples verify the efficiency and accuracy of the iteration method, and some novel dynamical phenomena including polarized motion orientations and periodic response death are discussed.

Langevin equation method for the rotational Brownian motion and orientational relaxation in liquids: II. Symmetrical top molecules

CERN Document Server

Coffey, W T; Titov, S V

2003-01-01

A theory of orientational relaxation for the inertial rotational Brownian motion of a symmetric top molecule is developed using the Langevin equation rather than the Fokker-Planck equation. The infinite hierarchy of differential-recurrence relations for the orientational correlation functions for the relaxation behaviour is derived by averaging the corresponding Euler-Langevin equations. The solution of this hierarchy is obtained using matrix continued fractions allowing the calculation of the correlation times and the spectra of the orientational correlation functions for typical values of the model parameters.

PENGARUH FRAKSI VOLUME PENGUAT TERHADAP KEKUATAN LENTUR GREEN COMPOSITE UNTUK APLIKASI PADA BODI KENDARAAN

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mastariyanto Perdana

2016-07-01

Full Text Available Composites are one of material be used in engineering field. This is due the composites has light weight and relatively strong properties. The synthesis fiber-based composites reduces to obtain environmental friendly properties. This research use hybrid fiber which consist of calcium carbonate (CaCO3 powder and bagasse fiber. Matrix used is resin polyester. Variation of volume fraction between bagasse and calcium carbonate powder are 10:20, 15:15 and 20:10 respectively. Volume fraction of hybrid fiber and polyester is 30:70. This study aims to determine mechanical properties of hybrid composites for each variation of volume fraction. Test results showed. Bending strength of bagasse-based hybrid composites and powder of calcium carbonate with a variation of volume fraction of 10%: 20%, 15%: 15% and 20%: 10% are 53.77 MPa, 54.90 MPa and 59.76 MPa. Hybrid composites with volume fraction 20% bagasse and 10% calcium carbonate powder has highest of bending strength. Green composite based bagasse and calcium carbonate powder can use on application of vehicle body.Komposit merupakan salah satu material yang banyak digunakan pada bidang keteknikan. Ini dikarenakan komposit memiliki sifat ringan dan relatif kuat. Untuk mendapakatkan sifat yang ramah lingkungan, penggunaan komposit yang berbasis serat sintesis dikurangi penggunaannya. Penelitian ini menggunakan serat hibrid yaitu penggabungan antara serbuk kalsium karbonat (CaCO3 dan serat ampas tebu (bagasse. Matrix yang digunakan adalah resin polyester.Variasi fraksi volume antara bagasse dan serbuk kalsium karbonat masing-masing adalah 10:20, 15:15 dan 20:10. Fraksi volume antara serat hibrid dan resin polyester adalah 30:70. Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk mengetahui sifat mekanik dari komposit hibrid berbasis bagasse dan serbuk kalsium karbonat untuk masing-masing variasi fraksi volume. Hasil pengujian menunjukkan bahwakekuatan bending tertinggi komposit hibrid berbasis bagasse dan serbuk kalsium

MEANS OF ORIENTEERING IN EDUCATION OF JUNIOR SCHOOLCHILDREN WITH INTELLECTUAL DISABILITY

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Irina V. Mayorkina

2015-01-01

Full Text Available The purpose of this study is to examine the impact of the adapted methods of basic training in orienteering (BTIO on the correction of physical fitness and mental development of junior schoolchildren with intellectual disability (ID.Methods. The following methods were used: theoretical analysis of literature, generalization, «forming» experiment, mathematical statistics, testing of physical qualities, psychological testing and pedagogical observation.Results and scientific novelty. The conditions of basic training in orienteering for junior schoolchildren with intellectual disability are determined wherein the correction of physical fitness and mental functions through the means of orienteering will be the most effective. Methods of basic training were substantiated and adapted for the capabilities of junior schoolchildren with ID. The author has defined the effect of orienteering exercises on the development of speed-andstrength qualities, overall endurance, movement speed, coordination; fine motor skills; stability, volume and switching of attention, volume of picturesque and verbal memory, representational thought and verbal-logical thinking; volitional qualities.The study has revealed wholesome influence of orienteering on correction of physical fitness and mental functions of schoolchildren of 9–10 years with intellectual disability.Practical significance. The results could be used for education of junior schoolchildren with ID during extra classes in special (correctional schools of Type-7 and during remedial classes (remedial and developing teaching in schools of general education. The results could also be applied for training of teachers of additional education. The adapted methods of BTIO for junior schoolchildren with ID could be used for normally developing children of younger age. Practical recommendations on the organization and conditions of orienteering exercises for junior schoolchildren with ID, games and intellectual

Analysis of White Matter Damage in Patients with Multiple Sclerosis via a Novel In Vivo MR Method for Measuring Myelin, Axons, and G-Ratio.

Science.gov (United States)

Hagiwara, A; Hori, M; Yokoyama, K; Nakazawa, M; Ueda, R; Horita, M; Andica, C; Abe, O; Aoki, S

2017-10-01

Myelin and axon volume fractions can now be estimated via MR imaging in vivo, as can the g-ratio, which equals the ratio of the inner to the outer diameter of a nerve fiber. The purpose of this study was to evaluate WM damage in patients with MS via this novel MR imaging technique. Twenty patients with relapsing-remitting MS with a combined total of 149 chronic plaques were analyzed. Myelin volume fraction was calculated based on simultaneous tissue relaxometry. Intracellular and CSF compartment volume fractions were quantified via neurite orientation dispersion and density imaging. Axon volume fraction and g-ratio were calculated by combining these measurements. Myelin and axon volume fractions and g-ratio were measured in plaques, periplaque WM, and normal-appearing WM. All metrics differed significantly across the 3 groups ( P ratio between periplaque WM and normal-appearing WM). Those in plaques differed most from those in normal-appearing WM. The percentage changes in plaque and periplaque WM metrics relative to normal-appearing WM were significantly larger in absolute value for myelin volume fraction than for axon volume fraction and g-ratio ( P ratio may potentially be useful for evaluating WM damage in patients with MS. © 2017 by American Journal of Neuroradiology.

Effect of skin pass rolling reduction rate on the texture evolution of a non-oriented electrical steel after inclined cold rolling

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Mehdi, Mehdi [CanmetMATERIALS, Natural Resources Canada, Hamilton, ON L8P 0A5 (Canada); Department of Mechanical, Automotive, and Materials Engineering, University of Windsor, Windsor, ON N9B 3P4 (Canada); He, Youliang, E-mail: youliang.he@canada.ca [CanmetMATERIALS, Natural Resources Canada, Hamilton, ON L8P 0A5 (Canada); Hilinski, Erik J. [Tempel Steel Co., Chicago, IL 60640-1020 (United States); Edrisy, Afsaneh [Department of Mechanical, Automotive, and Materials Engineering, University of Windsor, Windsor, ON N9B 3P4 (Canada)

2017-05-01

In order to promote the magnetically favourable <001>//ND texture (θ-fibre) and minimize the unfavourable <111>//ND fibre (γ-fibre) in non-oriented electrical steel, an unconventional cold rolling scheme was employed in this study, in which the cold rolling was carried out at an angle (i.e. 30°, 45°, 60°, and 90°) to the hot rolling direction (HRD). After annealing, two steel sheets (i.e. those after cold rolling at 60° and 45° to the HRD) were found to have considerably different textures from other sheets, i.e. showing the strongest and the weakest θ-fibre textures, respectively. These two sheets were then subjected to skin pass rolling to various reduction rates from 5–20% to investigate the effect of rolling reduction on the evolution of texture. It was found that during skin pass rolling, the cube texture ({001}<100>) was gradually weakened and the rotated cube orientation ({001}<110>) was strengthened. With the increase of the reduction rate, the {112}<110> orientation on the α-fibre became a major component. Upon final annealing, the cube texture was slightly restored, but the volume fraction was considerably lower than that before skin pass rolling. - Highlights: • Inclined cold rolling optimizes the textures of non-oriented electrical steels. • A 60° angle to the hot rolling direction results in the largest improvement of the favorable texture. • Skin pass rolling weakens the cube texture and promotes the {112}<110> texture. • Final annealing restores some of the cube texture and strengthens the rotated cube texture. • Low Taylor factor of the cube orientation leads to its easy deformation in skin pass rolling.

Bond-orientational analysis of hard-disk and hard-sphere structures.

Science.gov (United States)

Senthil Kumar, V; Kumaran, V

2006-05-28

We report the bond-orientational analysis results for the thermodynamic, random, and homogeneously sheared inelastic structures of hard-disks and hard-spheres. The thermodynamic structures show a sharp rise in the order across the freezing transition. The random structures show the absence of crystallization. The homogeneously sheared structures get ordered at a packing fraction higher than the thermodynamic freezing packing fraction, due to the suppression of crystal nucleation. On shear ordering, strings of close-packed hard-disks in two dimensions and close-packed layers of hard-spheres in three dimensions, oriented along the velocity direction, slide past each other. Such a flow creates a considerable amount of fourfold order in two dimensions and body-centered-tetragonal (bct) structure in three dimensions. These transitions are the flow analogs of the martensitic transformations occurring in metals due to the stresses induced by a rapid quench. In hard-disk structures, using the bond-orientational analysis we show the presence of fourfold order. In sheared inelastic hard-sphere structures, even though the global bond-orientational analysis shows that the system is highly ordered, a third-order rotational invariant analysis shows that only about 40% of the spheres have face-centered-cubic (fcc) order, even in the dense and near-elastic limits, clearly indicating the coexistence of multiple crystalline orders. When layers of close-packed spheres slide past each other, in addition to the bct structure, the hexagonal-close-packed (hcp) structure is formed due to the random stacking faults. Using the Honeycutt-Andersen pair analysis and an analysis based on the 14-faceted polyhedra having six quadrilateral and eight hexagonal faces, we show the presence of bct and hcp signatures in shear ordered inelastic hard-spheres. Thus, our analysis shows that the dense sheared inelastic hard-spheres have a mixture of fcc, bct, and hcp structures.

A Monte Carlo study of the impact of the choice of rectum volume definition on estimates of equivalent uniform doses and the volume parameter

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kvinnsland, Yngve; Muren, Ludvig Paul; Dahl, Olav

2004-01-01

Calculations of normal tissue complication probability (NTCP) values for the rectum are difficult because it is a hollow, non-rigid, organ. Finding the true cumulative dose distribution for a number of treatment fractions requires a CT scan before each treatment fraction. This is labour intensive, and several surrogate distributions have therefore been suggested, such as dose wall histograms, dose surface histograms and histograms for the solid rectum, with and without margins. In this study, a Monte Carlo method is used to investigate the relationships between the cumulative dose distributions based on all treatment fractions and the above-mentioned histograms that are based on one CT scan only, in terms of equivalent uniform dose. Furthermore, the effect of a specific choice of histogram on estimates of the volume parameter of the probit NTCP model was investigated. It was found that the solid rectum and the rectum wall histograms (without margins) gave equivalent uniform doses with an expected value close to the values calculated from the cumulative dose distributions in the rectum wall. With the number of patients available in this study the standard deviations of the estimates of the volume parameter were large, and it was not possible to decide which volume gave the best estimates of the volume parameter, but there were distinct differences in the mean values of the values obtained

Decreased right heart blood volume determined by magnetic resonance imaging: evidence of central underfilling in cirrhosis

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Møller, S; Søndergaard, L; Møgelvang, J

1995-01-01

mL, NS), and left atrial volume (70 vs. 57 mL, P = .08) were normal or slightly increased. The right ejection fraction (68% vs. 53%, P fraction was slightly reduced (61% vs. 69%, NS). The central and arterial blood volume (CBV), assessed......Whether the central blood volume is reduced or expanded in cirrhosis is still under debate. Accordingly, the current study was undertaken to assess the volume of the heart cavities. Ten cirrhotic patients and matched controls had their right and left ventricular end-diastolic volumes (RVDV and LVDV...... as the cardiac output (CO) multiplied by the central circulation time, was significantly decreased (1.47 vs. 1.81 L, P blood volume (4.43 vs. 3.64 L, P

Factors influencing the variations of ejection fraction during exercise in chronic aortic regurgitation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bassand, J.P.; Faivre, R.; Berthout, P.; Maurat, J.P.; Cardot, J.C.; Verdenet, J.; Bidet, R.

1987-01-01

The influence of left ventricular volume variations and regurgitant fraction variations upon left ventricular ejection fraction during exercise was examined using equilibrium radionuclide angiography in patients suffering from aortic regurgitation. Ejection fraction (EF), regurgitant fraction (RF), end diastolic volume (EDV) and end systolic volume (ESV) variations from rest to peak exercise were determined in 44 patients suffering from chronic aortic regurgitation (AR) and in 8 healthy volunteers (C). In C, EF increased (+0.10±0.03, P<0.01) and ESV decreased significantly (-23%±12%, P<0.01), RF and EDV did not vary significantly. In AR patients, EF, EDV and ESV did not vary significantly because of important scattering of individual values. Changes in EF and ESV were inversely correlated (r=-0.79, P<0.01) and RF decreased significantly (-0.12±0.10, P<0.01). Volumes and EF changes during exercise occurred in three different ways. In a 1st subgroup of 7 patients, EF increased (+0.09±0.03, P<0.05) in conjunction with a reduction of ESV (-24%±12%, P<0.05) without a significant change in EDV. In a 2nd group of 22 patients, EF decreased (-0.04±0.07, P<0.01) in association with an increase in ESV (+17%±16%, P<0.01) and no changes in EDV. In a 3rd subgroup of 15 patients, EF decreased (-0.02±0.06, P<0.01) despite a reduction in ESV (-7%±6%, P<0.01) because of a dramatic EDV decrease (-10%±6%, P<0.05). In this subgroup, changes in EF were inversely correlated with changes in ESV (r=-0.55, P<0.01) and positively related to EDV variations (r=0.42, P=0.02). EDV changes were weakly, but significantly, correlated to RF decrease (r=0.39, P<0.05). We conclude that changes in left ventricular ejection fraction during exercise in patients with chronic aortic regurgitation are significantly related in some patients to changes in ventricular loading conditions as well as contractile state. (orig./MG)

Acute tumor vascular effects following fractionated radiotherapy in human lung cancer: In vivo whole tumor assessment using volumetric perfusion computed tomography

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ng, Q.-S.; Goh, Vicky; Milner, Jessica; Padhani, Anwar R.; Saunders, Michele I.; Hoskin, Peter J.

2007-01-01

Purpose: To quantitatively assess the in vivo acute vascular effects of fractionated radiotherapy for human non-small-cell lung cancer using volumetric perfusion computed tomography (CT). Methods and Materials: Sixteen patients with advanced non-small-cell lung cancer, undergoing palliative radiotherapy delivering 27 Gy in 6 fractions over 3 weeks, were scanned before treatment, and after the second (9 Gy), fourth (18 Gy), and sixth (27 Gy) radiation fraction. Using 16-detector CT, multiple sequential volumetric acquisitions were acquired after intravenous contrast agent injection. Measurements of vascular blood volume and permeability for the whole tumor volume were obtained. Vascular changes at the tumor periphery and center were also measured. Results: At baseline, lung tumor vascularity was spatially heterogeneous with the tumor rim showing a higher vascular blood volume and permeability than the center. After the second, fourth, and sixth fractions of radiotherapy, vascular blood volume increased by 31.6% (paired t test, p = 0.10), 49.3% (p = 0.034), and 44.6% (p = 0.0012) respectively at the tumor rim, and 16.4% (p = 0.29), 19.9% (p = 0.029), and 4.0% (p = 0.0050) respectively at the center of the tumor. After the second, fourth, and sixth fractions of radiotherapy, vessel permeability increased by 18.4% (p = 0.022), 44.8% (p = 0.0048), and 20.5% (p = 0.25) at the tumor rim. The increase in permeability at the tumor center was not significant after radiotherapy. Conclusion: Fractionated radiotherapy increases tumor vascular blood volume and permeability in human non-small-cell lung cancer. We have established the spatial distribution of vascular changes after radiotherapy; greater vascular changes were demonstrated at the tumor rim compared with the center

A proliferation saturation index to predict radiation response and personalize radiotherapy fractionation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Prokopiou, Sotiris; Moros, Eduardo G.; Poleszczuk, Jan; Caudell, Jimmy; Torres-Roca, Javier F.; Latifi, Kujtim; Lee, Jae K.; Myerson, Robert; Harrison, Louis B.; Enderling, Heiko

2015-01-01

Although altered protocols that challenge conventional radiation fractionation have been tested in prospective clinical trials, we still have limited understanding of how to select the most appropriate fractionation schedule for individual patients. Currently, the prescription of definitive radiotherapy is based on the primary site and stage, without regard to patient-specific tumor or host factors that may influence outcome. We hypothesize that the proportion of radiosensitive proliferating cells is dependent on the saturation of the tumor carrying capacity. This may serve as a prognostic factor for personalized radiotherapy (RT) fractionation. We introduce a proliferation saturation index (PSI), which is defined as the ratio of tumor volume to the host-influenced tumor carrying capacity. Carrying capacity is as a conceptual measure of the maximum volume that can be supported by the current tumor environment including oxygen and nutrient availability, immune surveillance and acidity. PSI is estimated from two temporally separated routine pre-radiotherapy computed tomography scans and a deterministic logistic tumor growth model. We introduce the patient-specific pre-treatment PSI into a model of tumor growth and radiotherapy response, and fit the model to retrospective data of four non-small cell lung cancer patients treated exclusively with standard fractionation. We then simulate both a clinical trial hyperfractionation protocol and daily fractionations, with equal biologically effective dose, to compare tumor volume reduction as a function of pretreatment PSI. With tumor doubling time and radiosensitivity assumed constant across patients, a patient-specific pretreatment PSI is sufficient to fit individual patient response data (R 2 = 0.98). PSI varies greatly between patients (coefficient of variation >128 %) and correlates inversely with radiotherapy response. For this study, our simulations suggest that only patients with intermediate PSI (0.45–0.9) are

Handbook on the physics and chemistry of rare earths: Volume 17

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gschneidner, K.A. Jr; Eyring, L.; Choppin, G.R.; Lander, G.H.

1993-10-01

This volume of the handbook is the first of a three volume set of reviews devoted to the interrelationships, similarities, differences and contrasts of the lanthanide and actinide series of elements. The volume contains eight chapters (numbered 110-117) concerned with some of the physical aspects of lanthanide and actinide series. The first three chapters are theoretical in nature and the last five are more heavily oriented towards experimental studies

Effects of Low Volume Fraction of Polyvinyl Alcohol Fibers on the Mechanical Properties of Oil Palm Shell Lightweight Concrete

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ming Kun Yew

2015-01-01

Full Text Available This paper presents the effects of low volume fraction (Vf of polyvinyl alcohol (PVA fibers on the mechanical properties of oil palm shell (OPS high strength lightweight concrete mixtures. The slump, density, compressive strength, splitting tensile strength, flexural strength, and modulus of elasticity under various curing conditions have been measured and evaluated. The results indicate that an increase in PVA fibers decreases the workability of the concrete and decreases the density slightly. The 28-day compressive strength of oil palm shell fiber-reinforced concrete (OPSFRC high strength lightweight concrete (HSLWC subject to continuous moist curing was within the range of 43–49 MPa. The average modulus of elasticity (E value is found to be 16.1 GPa for all mixes, which is higher than that reported in previous studies and is within the range of normal weight concrete. Hence, the findings of this study revealed that the PVA fibers can be used as an alternative material to enhance the properties of OPS HSLWC for building and construction applications.

Service orientation in holonic and multi-agent manufacturing

CERN Document Server

Thomas, André; Trentesaux, Damien

2015-01-01

This volume gathers the peer reviewed papers presented at the 4th edition of the International Workshop “Service Orientation in Holonic and Multi-agent Manufacturing – SOHOMA’14” organized and hosted on November 5-6, 2014 by the University of Lorraine, France in collaboration with the CIMR Research Centre of the University Politehnica of Bucharest and the TEMPO Laboratory of the University of Valenciennes and Hainaut-Cambrésis.   The book is structured in six parts, each one covering a specific research line which represents a trend in future manufacturing: (1) Holonic and Agent-based Industrial Automation Systems; (2) Service-oriented Management and Control of Manufacturing Systems; (3) Distributed Modelling for Safety and Security in Industrial Systems; (4) Complexity, Big Data and Virtualization in Computing-oriented Manufacturing; (5) Adaptive, Bio-inspired and Self-organizing Multi-Agent Systems for Manufacturing, and (6) Physical Internet Simulation, Modelling and Control.   There is a clear ...

An analytical model to calculate absorbed fractions for internal dosimetry with alpha, beta and gamma emitters

OpenAIRE

Amato, Ernesto; Italiano, Antonio; Baldari, Sergio

2014-01-01

We developed a general model for the calculation of absorbed fractions in ellipsoidal volumes of soft tissue uniformly filled with alpha, beta and gamma emitting radionuclides. The approach exploited Monte Carlo simulations with the Geant4 code to determine absorbed fractions in ellipsoids characterized by a wide range of dimensions and ellipticities, for monoenergetic emissions of each radiation type. The so-obtained absorbed fractions were put in an analytical relationship with the 'general...

Cortical brain structure and sexual orientation in adult females with bipolar disorder or attention deficit hyperactivity disorder.

Science.gov (United States)

Abé, Christoph; Rahman, Qazi; Långström, Niklas; Rydén, Eleonore; Ingvar, Martin; Landén, Mikael

2018-05-29

Nonheterosexual individuals have higher risk of psychiatric morbidity. Together with growing evidence for sexual orientation-related brain differences, this raises the concern that sexual orientation may be an important factor to control for in neuroimaging studies of neuropsychiatric disorders. We studied sexual orientation in adult psychiatric patients with bipolar disorder (BD) or ADHD in a large clinical cohort (N = 154). We compared cortical brain structure in exclusively heterosexual women (HEW, n = 29) with that of nonexclusively heterosexual women (nHEW, n = 37) using surface-based reconstruction techniques provided by FreeSurfer. The prevalence of nonheterosexual sexual orientation was tentatively higher than reported in general population samples. Consistent with previously reported cross-sex shifted brain patterns among homosexual individuals, nHEW patients showed significantly larger cortical volumes than HEW in medial occipital brain regions. We found evidence for a sex-reversed difference in cortical volume among nonheterosexual female patients, which provides insights into the neurobiology of sexual orientation, and may provide the first clues toward a better neurobiological understanding of the association between sexual orientation and mental health. We also suggest that sexual orientation is an important factor to consider in future neuroimaging studies of populations with certain mental health disorders. © 2018 The Authors. Brain and Behavior published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Geometry of lengths, areas, and volumes two-dimensional spaces, volume 1

CERN Document Server

Cannon, James W

2017-01-01

This is the first of a three volume collection devoted to the geometry, topology, and curvature of 2-dimensional spaces. The collection provides a guided tour through a wide range of topics by one of the twentieth century's masters of geometric topology. The books are accessible to college and graduate students and provide perspective and insight to mathematicians at all levels who are interested in geometry and topology. The first volume begins with length measurement as dominated by the Pythagorean Theorem (three proofs) with application to number theory; areas measured by slicing and scaling, where Archimedes uses the physical weights and balances to calculate spherical volume and is led to the invention of calculus; areas by cut and paste, leading to the Bolyai-Gerwien theorem on squaring polygons; areas by counting, leading to the theory of continued fractions, the efficient rational approximation of real numbers, and Minkowski's theorem on convex bodies; straight-edge and compass constructions, giving c...

An analytical model to calculate absorbed fractions for internal dosimetry with alpha, beta and gamma emitters

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ernesto Amato

2014-03-01

Full Text Available We developed a general model for the calculation of absorbed fractions in ellipsoidal volumes of soft tissue uniformly filled with alpha, beta and gamma emitting radionuclides. The approach exploited Monte Carlo simulations with the Geant4 code to determine absorbed fractions in ellipsoids characterized by a wide range of dimensions and ellipticities, for monoenergetic emissions of each radiation type. The so-obtained absorbed fractions were put in an analytical relationship with the 'generalized radius', calculated as 3V/S, where V is the ellipsoid volume and S its surface. Radiation-specific parametric functions were obtained in order to calculate the absorbed fraction of a given radiation in a generic ellipsoidal volume. The dose from a generic radionuclide can be calculated through a process of summation and integration over the whole radionuclide emission spectrum, profitably implemented in an electronic spreadsheet. We compared the results of our analytical calculation approach with those obtained from the OLINDA/EXM computer software, finding a good agreement in a wide range of sphere radii, for the high-energy pure beta emitter 90Y, the commonly employed beta-gamma emitter 131I, and the pure alpha emitter 213Po. The generality of our approach makes it useful an easy to implement in clinical dosimetry calculations as well as in radiation safety estimations when doses from internal radionuclide uptake are to be taken into account.

Three-dimensional orientation-unlimited polarization encryption by a single optically configured vectorial beam.

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Xiangping; Lan, Tzu-Hsiang; Tien, Chung-Hao; Gu, Min

2012-01-01

The interplay between light polarization and matter is the basis of many fundamental physical processes and applications. However, the electromagnetic wave nature of light in free space sets a fundamental limit on the three-dimensional polarization orientation of a light beam. Although a high numerical aperture objective can be used to bend the wavefront of a radially polarized beam to generate the longitudinal polarization state in the focal volume, the arbitrary three-dimensional polarization orientation of a beam has not been achieved yet. Here we present a novel technique for generating arbitrary three-dimensional polarization orientation by a single optically configured vectorial beam. As a consequence, by applying this technique to gold nanorods, orientation-unlimited polarization encryption with ultra-security is demonstrated. These results represent a new landmark of the orientation-unlimited three-dimensional polarization control of the light-matter interaction.

How many gay men owe their sexual orientation to fraternal birth order?

Science.gov (United States)

Cantor, James M; Blanchard, Ray; Paterson, Andrew D; Bogaert, Anthony F

2002-02-01

In men, sexual orientation correlates with the number of older brothers, each additional older brother increasing the odds of homosexuality by approximately 33%. However, this phenomenon, the fraternal birth order effect, accounts for the sexual orientation of only a proportion of gay men. To estimate the size of this proportion, we derived generalized forms of two epidemiological statistics, the attributable fraction and the population attributable fraction, which quantify the relationship between a condition and prior exposure to an agent that can cause it. In their common forms, these statistics are calculable only for 2 levels of exposure: exposed versus not-exposed. We developed a method applicable to agents with multiple levels of exposure--in this case, number of older brothers. This noniterative method, which requires the odds ratio from a prior logistic regression analysis, was then applied to a large contemporary sample of gay men. The results showed that roughly 1 gay man in 7 owes his sexual orientation to the fraternal birth order effect. They also showed that the effect of fraternal birth order would exceed all other causes of homosexuality in groups of gay men with 3 or more older brothers and would precisely equal all other causes in a theoretical group with 2.5 older brothers. Implications are suggested for the gay sib-pair linkage method of identifying genetic loci for homosexuality.

Hindrance Velocity Model for Phase Segregation in Suspensions of Poly-dispersed Randomly Oriented Spheroids

Science.gov (United States)

Faroughi, S. A.; Huber, C.

2015-12-01

Crystal settling and bubbles migration in magmas have significant effects on the physical and chemical evolution of magmas. The rate of phase segregation is controlled by the force balance that governs the migration of particles suspended in the melt. The relative velocity of a single particle or bubble in a quiescent infinite fluid (melt) is well characterized; however, the interplay between particles or bubbles in suspensions and emulsions and its effect on their settling/rising velocity remains poorly quantified. We propose a theoretical model for the hindered velocity of non-Brownian emulsions of nondeformable droplets, and suspensions of spherical solid particles in the creeping flow regime. The model is based on three sets of hydrodynamic corrections: two on the drag coefficient experienced by each particle to account for both return flow and Smoluchowski effects and a correction on the mixture rheology to account for nonlocal interactions between particles. The model is then extended for mono-disperse non-spherical solid particles that are randomly oriented. The non-spherical particles are idealized as spheroids and characterized by their aspect ratio. The poly-disperse nature of natural suspensions is then taken into consideration by introducing an effective volume fraction of particles for each class of mono-disperse particles sizes. Our model is tested against new and published experimental data over a wide range of particle volume fraction and viscosity ratios between the constituents of dispersions. We find an excellent agreement between our model and experiments. We also show two significant applications for our model: (1) We demonstrate that hindered settling can increase mineral residence time by up to an order of magnitude in convecting magma chambers. (2) We provide a model to correct for particle interactions in the conventional hydrometer test to estimate the particle size distribution in soils. Our model offers a greatly improved agreement with

Influence of fibre distribution and grain size on the mechanical behaviour of friction stir processed Mg–C composites

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Mertens, A., E-mail: anne.mertens@ulg.ac.be [Université de Liège, Faculty of Applied Science, A& M Department, Metallic Materials Science Unit (Belgium); Simar, A. [Université catholique de Louvain, Institute of Mechanics, Materials and Civil Engineering (Belgium); Adrien, J.; Maire, E. [Institut National des Sciences Appliquées de Lyon (INSA Lyon), MATEIS Laboratory (France); Montrieux, H.-M. [Université de Liège, Faculty of Applied Science, A& M Department, Metallic Materials Science Unit (Belgium); Delannay, F. [Université catholique de Louvain, Institute of Mechanics, Materials and Civil Engineering (Belgium); Lecomte-Beckers, J. [Université de Liège, Faculty of Applied Science, A& M Department, Metallic Materials Science Unit (Belgium)

2015-09-15

Short C fibres–Mg matrix composites have been produced by friction stir processing sandwiches made of a layer of C fabric stacked between two sheets of Mg alloy AZ31B or AZ91D. This novel processing technique can allow the easy production of large-scale metal matrix composites. The paper investigates the microstructure of FSPed C fibre–Mg composites in relation with the fragmentation of the C fibres during FSP and their influence on the tensile properties. 3D X-ray tomography reveals that the fibres orient like onion rings and are more or less fragmented depending on the local shear stress during the process. The fibre volume fraction can be increased from 2.3% to 7.1% by reducing the nugget volume, i.e. by using a higher advancing speed in AZ31B alloy or a stronger matrix alloy, like AZ91D alloy. A higher fibre volume fraction leads to a smaller grain size which brings about an increase of the composite yield strength by 15 to 25%. However, a higher fibre volume fraction also leads to a lower fracture strain. Fracture surface observations reveal that damage occurs by fibre/matrix decohesion along fibres oriented perpendicularly to the loading direction. - Graphical abstract: Display Omitted - Highlights: • C–Mg MMCs were produced by FSP sandwiches made of a C fabric between Mg sheets. • Fibre fragmentation and erosion is larger when the temperature reached during FSP is lower. • A lower advancing speed brings a lower fibre volume fraction and a lower grain size. • X-ray tomography reveals that fibres orient along the FSP material flow. • The fibres and grain size reduction increase the yield strength by 15 to 25%.

Operator theory of angular momentum nad orientational auto-correlation functions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Evans, M.W.

1982-01-01

The rigorous relation between the orientational auto-correlation function and the angular momentum autocorrelation function is described in two cases of interest. First when description of the complete zero THz- spectrum is required from the Mori continued fraction expansion for the angular momentum autocorrelation function and second when rotation/translation effects are important. The Mori-Evans theory of 1976, relying on the simple Shimizu relation is found to be essentially unaffected by the higher order corrections recently worked out by Ford and co-workers in the Markov limit. The mutual interaction of rotation and translation is important in determining the details of both the orientational and angular momentum auto-correlation function's (a.c.f.'s) in the presence of sample anisotropy or a symmetry breaking field. In this case it is essential to regard the angular momentum a.c.f. as non-Markovian and methods are developed to relate this to the orientational a.c.f. in the presence of rotation/translation coupling. (author)

High-order fractional partial differential equation transform for molecular surface construction.

Science.gov (United States)

Hu, Langhua; Chen, Duan; Wei, Guo-Wei

2013-01-01

Fractional derivative or fractional calculus plays a significant role in theoretical modeling of scientific and engineering problems. However, only relatively low order fractional derivatives are used at present. In general, it is not obvious what role a high fractional derivative can play and how to make use of arbitrarily high-order fractional derivatives. This work introduces arbitrarily high-order fractional partial differential equations (PDEs) to describe fractional hyperdiffusions. The fractional PDEs are constructed via fractional variational principle. A fast fractional Fourier transform (FFFT) is proposed to numerically integrate the high-order fractional PDEs so as to avoid stringent stability constraints in solving high-order evolution PDEs. The proposed high-order fractional PDEs are applied to the surface generation of proteins. We first validate the proposed method with a variety of test examples in two and three-dimensional settings. The impact of high-order fractional derivatives to surface analysis is examined. We also construct fractional PDE transform based on arbitrarily high-order fractional PDEs. We demonstrate that the use of arbitrarily high-order derivatives gives rise to time-frequency localization, the control of the spectral distribution, and the regulation of the spatial resolution in the fractional PDE transform. Consequently, the fractional PDE transform enables the mode decomposition of images, signals, and surfaces. The effect of the propagation time on the quality of resulting molecular surfaces is also studied. Computational efficiency of the present surface generation method is compared with the MSMS approach in Cartesian representation. We further validate the present method by examining some benchmark indicators of macromolecular surfaces, i.e., surface area, surface enclosed volume, surface electrostatic potential and solvation free energy. Extensive numerical experiments and comparison with an established surface model

In vivo assessment of the gastric mucosal tolerance dose after single fraction, small volume irradiation of liver malignancies by computed tomography-guided, high-dose-rate brachytherapy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Streitparth, Florian; Pech, Maciej; Boehmig, Michael; Ruehl, Ricarda; Peters, Nils; Wieners, Gero; Steinberg, Johannes; Lopez-Haenninen, Enrique; Felix, Roland; Wust, Peter; Ricke, Jens

2006-01-01

Purpose: The aim of this study was to assess the tolerance dose of gastric mucosa for single-fraction computed tomography (CT)-guided, high-dose-rate (HDR) brachytherapy of liver malignancies. Methods and Materials: A total of 33 patients treated by CT-guided HDR brachytherapy of liver malignancies in segments II and/or III were included. Dose planning was performed upon a three-dimensional CT data set acquired after percutaneous applicator positioning. All patients received gastric protection post-treatment. For further analysis, the contours of the gastric wall were defined in every CT slice using Brachyvision Software. Dose-volume histograms were calculated for each treatment and correlated with clinical data derived from questionnaires assessing Common Toxicity Criteria (CTC). All patients presenting symptoms of upper GI toxicity were examined endoscopically. Results: Summarizing all patients the minimum dose applied to 1 ml of the gastric wall (D 1ml ) ranged from 6.3 to 34.2 Gy; median, 14.3 Gy. Toxicity was present in 18 patients (55%). We found nausea in 16 (69%), emesis in 9 (27%), cramping in 13 (39%), weight loss in 12 (36%), gastritis in 4 (12%), and ulceration in 5 patients (15%). We found a threshold dose D 1ml of 11 Gy for general gastric toxicity and 15.5 Gy for gastric ulceration verified by an univariate analysis (p = 0.01). Conclusions: For a single fraction, small volume irradiation we found in the upper abdomen a threshold dose D 1ml of 15.5 Gy for the clinical endpoint ulceration of the gastric mucosa. This in vivo assessment is in accordance with previously published tolerance data

Measurement of hepatic volume and effective blood flow with radioactive colloids: Evaluation of development in liver diseases

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Fujii, M.; Uchino, H.; Kyoto Univ.

1982-01-01

Changes in hepatic volume and the blood flow effectively perfusing the liver parenchyma were studied as an assessment of the severity of liver diseases. Hepatic effective blood flow was estimated as the hepatic fractional clearance of radioactive colloids, obtained from the disappearance rate multiplied by the fraction of injected dose taken up by the liver. The hepatic fractional clearance was normal or not markedly decreased in patients with acute hepatitis which had developed favorably, but was severely decreased in patients with fulminant hepatitis. In liver diseases, the ratio of hepatic volume to fractional clearance was found to increase as the clearance decreased. In subjects with normal clearance, hepatic fractional clearance was correlated significantly with liver volume, indicating that hepatic effective blood flow is proportional to parenchymal volume in an unanesthetized, resting state. In biopsied cases changes in volume and blood flow accorded well with changes indicated by morphological criteria. In chronic persistent hepatitis, effective hepatic blood flow is not diminished. However, hepatic blood flow were observed between the cirrhosis or chronic aggressive hepatitis, and normal control groups. Extension of chronic inflammatory infiltration into the parenchyma distinguishes chronic aggressive hepatitis from chronic persistent hepatitis. Architecture is often disturbed in the former. These changes should be accompanied by disturbance of microcirculation. The present study indicates that the decrease in effective hepatic blood flow in chronic hepatitis and cirrhosis has two aspects: one is a summation of microcirculatory disturbances, and the other is a decrease in liver cell mass. (orig.)

Beam-orientation customization using an artificial neural network

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rowbottom, C.G.; Webb, S.; Oldham, M.

1999-01-01

A methodology for the constrained customization of coplanar beam orientations in radiotherapy treatment planning using an artificial neural network (ANN) has been developed. The geometry of the patients, with cancer of the prostate, was modelled by reducing the external contour, planning target volume (PTV) and organs at risk (OARs) to a set of cuboids. The coordinates and size of the cuboids were given to the ANN as inputs. A previously developed beam-orientation constrained-customization (BOCC) scheme employing a conventional computer algorithm was used to determine the customized beam orientations in a training set containing 45 patient datasets. Twelve patient datasets not involved in the training of the artificial neural network were used to test whether the ANN was able to map the inputs to customized beam orientations. Improvements from the customized beam orientations were compared with standard treatment plans with fixed gantry angles and plans produced from the BOCC scheme. The ANN produced customized beam orientations within 5 deg. of the BOCC scheme in 62.5% of cases. The average difference in the beam orientations produced by the ANN and the BOCC scheme was 7.7 deg. (±1.7, 1 SD). Compared with the standard treatment plans, the BOCC scheme produced plans with an increase in the average tumour control probability (TCP) of 5.7% (±1.4, 1 SD) whilst the ANN generated plans increased the average TCP by 3.9% (±1.3, 1 SD). Both figures refer to the TCP at a fixed rectal normal tissue complication probability (NTCP) of 1%. In conclusion, even using a very simple model for the geometry of the patient, an ANN was able to produce beam orientations that were similar to those produced by a conventional computer algorithm. (author)

Neuroendocrine and renal effects of intravascular volume expansion in compensated heart failure

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Gabrielsen, A; Bie, P; Holstein-Rathlou, N H

2001-01-01

To examine if the neuroendocrine link between volume sensing and renal function is preserved in compensated chronic heart failure [HF, ejection fraction 0.29 +/- 0.03 (mean +/- SE)] we tested the hypothesis that intravascular and central blood volume expansion by 3 h of water immersion (WI) elicits...... sustained angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitor therapy, n = 9) absolute and fractional sodium excretion increased (P Renal free water clearance increased during WI in control subjects but not in HF......, albeit plasma vasopressin concentrations were similar in the two groups. In conclusion, the neuroendocrine link between volume sensing and renal sodium excretion is preserved in compensated HF. The natriuresis of WI is, however, modulated by the prevailing ANG II and Aldo concentrations. In contrast...

Calculation of Void Volume Fraction in the Subcooled and Quality Boiling Regions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rouhani, S.Z.; Axelsson, E.

1968-10-01

The complex problem of void calculation in the different regions of flow boiling is divided in two parts. The first part includes only the description of the mechanisms and the calculation of the rates of heat transfer for vapour and liquid. It is assumed that heat is removed by vapour generation, heating of the liquid that replaces the detached bubbles, and in some parts, by single phase heat transfer. By considering the rate of vapour condensation in liquid, an equation for the differential changes in the true steam quality throughout the boiling regions is obtained. Integration of this equation yields the vapour weight fraction at any position. The second part of the problem concerns the determination of the void fractions corresponding to the calculated steam qualities. For this purpose we use the derivations of Zuber and Findlay. This model is compared with data from different geometries including small rectangular channels and large rod bundles. The data covered pressures from 19 to 138 bars, heat fluxes from 18 to 120 W/cm 2 with many different subcoolings and mass velocities. The agreement is generally very good

Calculation of Void Volume Fraction in the Subcooled and Quality Boiling Regions

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Rouhani, S Z; Axelsson, E

1968-10-15

The complex problem of void calculation in the different regions of flow boiling is divided in two parts. The first part includes only the description of the mechanisms and the calculation of the rates of heat transfer for vapour and liquid. It is assumed that heat is removed by vapour generation, heating of the liquid that replaces the detached bubbles, and in some parts, by single phase heat transfer. By considering the rate of vapour condensation in liquid, an equation for the differential changes in the true steam quality throughout the boiling regions is obtained. Integration of this equation yields the vapour weight fraction at any position. The second part of the problem concerns the determination of the void fractions corresponding to the calculated steam qualities. For this purpose we use the derivations of Zuber and Findlay. This model is compared with data from different geometries including small rectangular channels and large rod bundles. The data covered pressures from 19 to 138 bars, heat fluxes from 18 to 120 W/cm{sup 2} with many different subcoolings and mass velocities. The agreement is generally very good.

PENGARUH FRAKSI VOLUME PENGUAT TERHADAP KEKUATAN LENTUR GREEN COMPOSITE UNTUK APLIKASI PADA BODI KENDARAAN

OpenAIRE

Perdana, Mastariyanto

2016-01-01

Composites are one of material be used in engineering field. This is due the composites has light weight and relatively strong properties. The synthesis fiber-based composites reduces to obtain environmental friendly properties. This research use hybrid fiber which consist of calcium carbonate (CaCO3) powder and bagasse fiber. Matrix used is resin polyester. Variation of volume fraction between bagasse and calcium carbonate powder are 10:20, 15:15 and 20:10 respectively. Volume fraction of hy...

Mechanical Properties and Shear Strengthening Capacity of High Volume Fly Ash-Cementitious Composite

Science.gov (United States)

Joseph, Aswin K.; Anand, K. B.

2018-02-01

This paper discusses development of Poly Vinyl Alcohol (PVA) fibre reinforced cementitious composites taking into account environmental sustainability. Composites with fly ash to cement ratios from 0 to 3 are investigated in this study. The mechanical properties of HVFA-cement composite are discussed in this paper at PVA fiber volume fraction maintained at 1% of total volume of composite. The optimum replacement of cement with fly ash was found to be 75%, i.e. fly ash to cement ratio (FA/C) of 3. The increase in fiber content from 1% to 2% showed better mechanical performance. A strain capacity of 2.38% was obtained for FA/C ratio of 3 with 2% volume fraction of fiber. With the objective of evaluating the performance of cementitious composites as a strengthening material in reinforced concrete beams, the beams deficient in shear capacity were strengthened with optimal mix having 2% volume fraction of fiber as the strengthening material and tested under four-point load. The reinforced concrete beams designed as shear deficient were loaded to failure and retrofitted with the composite in order to assess the efficiency as a repair material under shear.

Exploratory assessment of left ventricular strain–volume loops in severe aortic valve diseases

Science.gov (United States)

Hulshof, Hugo G.; van Dijk, Arie P.; George, Keith P.; Hopman, Maria T. E.; Thijssen, Dick H. J.

2017-01-01

Key points Severe aortic valve diseases are common cardiac abnormalities that are associated with poor long‐term survival.Before any reduction in left ventricular (LV) function, the left ventricle undergoes structural remodelling under the influence of changing haemodynamic conditions.In this study, we combined temporal changes in LV structure (volume) with alterations in LV functional characteristics (strain, ԑ) into a ԑ–volume loop, in order to provide novel insight into the haemodynamic cardiac consequences of aortic valve diseases in those with preserved LV ejection fraction.We showed that our novel ԑ–volume loop and the specific loop characteristics provide additional insight into the functional and mechanical haemodynamic consequences of severe aortic valve diseases (with preserved LV ejection fraction).Finally, we showed that the ԑ–volume loop characteristics provide discriminative capacity compared with conventional measures of LV function. Abstract The purpose of this study was to examine left ventricular (LV) strain (ԑ)–volume loops to provide novel insight into the haemodynamic cardiac consequences of aortic valve stenosis (AS) and aortic valve regurgitation (AR). Twenty‐seven participants were retrospectively recruited: AR (n = 7), AS (n = 10) and control subjects (n = 10). Standard transthoracic echocardiography was used to obtain apical four‐chamber images to construct ԑ–volume relationships, which were assessed using the following parameters: early systolic ԑ (ԑ_ES); slope of ԑ–volume relationship during systole (Sslope); end‐systolic peak ԑ (peak ԑ); and diastolic uncoupling (systolic ԑ–diastolic ԑ at same volume) during early diastole (UNCOUP_ED) and late diastole (UNCOUP_LD). Receiver operating characteristic curves were used to determine the ability to detect impaired LV function. Although LV ejection fraction was comparable between groups, longitudinal peak ԑ was reduced compared with control subjects

Exploratory assessment of left ventricular strain-volume loops in severe aortic valve diseases.

Science.gov (United States)

Hulshof, Hugo G; van Dijk, Arie P; George, Keith P; Hopman, Maria T E; Thijssen, Dick H J; Oxborough, David L

2017-06-15

Severe aortic valve diseases are common cardiac abnormalities that are associated with poor long-term survival. Before any reduction in left ventricular (LV) function, the left ventricle undergoes structural remodelling under the influence of changing haemodynamic conditions. In this study, we combined temporal changes in LV structure (volume) with alterations in LV functional characteristics (strain, ԑ) into a ԑ-volume loop, in order to provide novel insight into the haemodynamic cardiac consequences of aortic valve diseases in those with preserved LV ejection fraction. We showed that our novel ԑ-volume loop and the specific loop characteristics provide additional insight into the functional and mechanical haemodynamic consequences of severe aortic valve diseases (with preserved LV ejection fraction). Finally, we showed that the ԑ-volume loop characteristics provide discriminative capacity compared with conventional measures of LV function. The purpose of this study was to examine left ventricular (LV) strain (ԑ)-volume loops to provide novel insight into the haemodynamic cardiac consequences of aortic valve stenosis (AS) and aortic valve regurgitation (AR). Twenty-seven participants were retrospectively recruited: AR (n = 7), AS (n = 10) and control subjects (n = 10). Standard transthoracic echocardiography was used to obtain apical four-chamber images to construct ԑ-volume relationships, which were assessed using the following parameters: early systolic ԑ (ԑ_ES); slope of ԑ-volume relationship during systole (Sslope); end-systolic peak ԑ (peak ԑ); and diastolic uncoupling (systolic ԑ-diastolic ԑ at same volume) during early diastole (UNCOUP_ED) and late diastole (UNCOUP_LD). Receiver operating characteristic curves were used to determine the ability to detect impaired LV function. Although LV ejection fraction was comparable between groups, longitudinal peak ԑ was reduced compared with control subjects. In contrast, ԑ_ES and Sslope were

Bidisperse and polydisperse suspension rheology at large solid fraction

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Pednekar, Sidhant [Benjamin Levich Institute and Department of Chemical Engineering, The City College of New York, New York, New York 10031; Chun, Jaehun [Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Richland, Washington 99352; Morris, Jeffrey F. [Benjamin Levich Institute and Department of Chemical Engineering, The City College of New York, New York, New York 10031

2018-03-01

At the same solid volume fraction, bidisperse and polydisperse suspensions display lower viscosities, and weaker normal stress response, compared to monodisperse suspensions. The reduction of viscosity associated with size distribution can be explained by an increase of the maximum flowable, or jamming, solid fraction. In this work, concentrated or "dense" suspensions are simulated under strong shearing, where thermal motion and repulsive forces are negligible, but we allow for particle contact with a mild frictional interaction with interparticle friction coefficient of 0.2. Aspects of bidisperse suspension rheology are first revisited to establish that the approach reproduces established trends; the study of bidisperse suspensions at size ratios of large to small particle radii (2 to 4) shows that a minimum in the viscosity occurs for zeta slightly above 0.5, where zeta=phi_{large}/phi is the fraction of the total solid volume occupied by the large particles. The simple shear flows of polydisperse suspensions with truncated normal and log normal size distributions, and bidisperse suspensions which are statistically equivalent with these polydisperse cases up to third moment of the size distribution, are simulated and the rheologies are extracted. Prior work shows that such distributions with equivalent low-order moments have similar phi_{m}, and the rheological behaviors of normal, log normal and bidisperse cases are shown to be in close agreement for a wide range of standard deviation in particle size, with standard correlations which are functionally dependent on phi/phi_{m} providing excellent agreement with the rheology found in simulation. The close agreement of both viscosity and normal stress response between bi- and polydisperse suspensions demonstrates the controlling in influence of the maximum packing fraction in noncolloidal suspensions. Microstructural investigations and the stress distribution according to particle size are also presented.

Is 16-frame really superior to 8-frame gated SPECT for the assessment of left ventricular volumes and ejection fraction? Comparison of two simultaneously acquired gated SPECT studies

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Montelatici, Giulia; Sciagra, Roberto; Passeri, Alessandro; Dona, Manjola; Pupi, Alberto

2008-01-01

Conflicting data exist about the difference between 8- and 16-frame gated single-photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) left ventricular volumes and ejection fraction (EF); moreover, the influence of framing on detection of stress-induced functional changes is unknown. In 133 patients, two separate gated SPECT studies, one with 8 and one with 16 frames, were simultaneously acquired during a single gantry orbit using dedicated software. In 33 of 133 patients, two additional studies (with 8 and 16 frames, respectively) were acquired using arrhythmia rejection. Left ventricular EF and volumes were calculated using the QGS software. Stress-induced ischemia was identified on summed perfusion images. Arrhythmia-rejection did not influence volumes and EF independently of framing rate. Using data without arrhythmia-rejection, there was a significant difference in volumes and EF between 8 and 16 frames both in resting and post-stress gated SPECT. However, the difference was small: 2.6% for resting and 2.8% for post-stress EF. Both using 8 and 16 frames, there were significantly larger volumes and lower EF in patients with than without stress-induced ischemia. A stress-induced decrease >5 EF units was observed in 26 of 133 patients using 8 and in 23 of 133 using 16 frames, respectively, with finding agreement in 19 patients. Comparing two simultaneously acquired studies, the use of 16 instead of 8 frames has minor and predictable influence on functional data. Furthermore, there are no differences in the detection of stress-induced functional changes. The advantage of 16 over 8 frames in the daily clinical practice appears questionable. (orig.)

The Value Versus Volume Yield Problem for Live-Sawn Hardwood Sawlogs

Science.gov (United States)

Philip H. Steele; Francis G. Wagner; Lalit Kumar; Philip A. Araman

1993-01-01

The potential conflict between value and volume maximization in sawing hardwood sawlogs by the live sawing method was analyzed. Twenty-four digitally described red oak sawlogs were sawn at the log orientation of highest value yield. Five opening face sawlines were iteratively placed in the sawlog a 1/4-inch intervals and lumber grades, volumes, and values from...

A new technique for radiographic measurement of acetabular cup orientation.

Science.gov (United States)

Derbyshire, Brian; Diggle, Peter J; Ingham, Christopher J; Macnair, Rory; Wimhurst, James; Jones, Henry Wynn

2014-02-01

Accurate radiographic measurement of acetabular cup orientation is required in order to assess susceptibility to impingement, dislocation, and edge loading wear. In this study, the accuracy and precision of a new radiographic cup orientation measurement system were assessed and compared to those of two commercially available systems. Two types of resurfacing hip prostheses and an uncemented prosthesis were assessed. Radiographic images of each prosthesis were created with the cup set at different, known angles of version and inclination in a measurement jig. The new system was the most accurate and precise and could repeatedly measure version and inclination to within a fraction of a degree. In addition it has a facility to distinguish cup retroversion from anteversion on anteroposterior radiographs. © 2013.

Fractional vector calculus for fractional advection dispersion

Science.gov (United States)

Meerschaert, Mark M.; Mortensen, Jeff; Wheatcraft, Stephen W.

2006-07-01

We develop the basic tools of fractional vector calculus including a fractional derivative version of the gradient, divergence, and curl, and a fractional divergence theorem and Stokes theorem. These basic tools are then applied to provide a physical explanation for the fractional advection-dispersion equation for flow in heterogeneous porous media.

Noninvasive in vivo plasma volume and hematocrit in humans: observing long-term baseline behavior to establish homeostasis for intravascular volume and composition

Science.gov (United States)

Dent, Paul; Deng, Bin; Goodisman, Jerry; Peterson, Charles M.; Narsipur, Sriram; Chaiken, J.

2016-04-01

A new device incorporating a new algorithm and measurement process allows simultaneous noninvasive in vivo monitoring of intravascular plasma volume and red blood cell volume. The purely optical technique involves probing fingertip skin with near infrared laser light and collecting the wavelength shifted light, that is, the inelastic emission (IE) which includes the unresolved Raman and fluorescence, and the un-shifted emission, that is, the elastic emission (EE) which includes both the Rayleigh and Mie scattered light. Our excitation and detection geometry is designed so that from these two simultaneous measurements we can calculate two parameters within the single scattering regime using radiation transfer theory, the intravascular plasma volume fraction and the red blood cell volume fraction. Previously calibrated against a gold standard FDA approved device, 2 hour monitoring sessions on three separate occasions over a three week span for a specific, motionless, and mostly sleeping individual produced 3 records containing a total of 5706 paired measurements of hematocrit and plasma volume. The average over the three runs, relative to the initial plasma volume taken as 100%, of the plasma volume±1σ was 97.56+/-0.55 or 0.56%.For the same three runs, the average relative hematocrit (Hct), referenced to an assumed initial value of 28.35 was 29.37+/-0.12 or stable to +/-0.4%.We observe local deterministic circulation effects apparently associated with the pressure applied by the finger probe as well as longer timescale behavior due to normal ebb and flow of internal fluids due to posture changes and tilt table induced gravity gradients.

Curvature computation in volume-of-fluid method based on point-cloud sampling

Science.gov (United States)

Kassar, Bruno B. M.; Carneiro, João N. E.; Nieckele, Angela O.

2018-01-01

This work proposes a novel approach to compute interface curvature in multiphase flow simulation based on Volume of Fluid (VOF) method. It is well documented in the literature that curvature and normal vector computation in VOF may lack accuracy mainly due to abrupt changes in the volume fraction field across the interfaces. This may cause deterioration on the interface tension forces estimates, often resulting in inaccurate results for interface tension dominated flows. Many techniques have been presented over the last years in order to enhance accuracy in normal vectors and curvature estimates including height functions, parabolic fitting of the volume fraction, reconstructing distance functions, coupling Level Set method with VOF, convolving the volume fraction field with smoothing kernels among others. We propose a novel technique based on a representation of the interface by a cloud of points. The curvatures and the interface normal vectors are computed geometrically at each point of the cloud and projected onto the Eulerian grid in a Front-Tracking manner. Results are compared to benchmark data and significant reduction on spurious currents as well as improvement in the pressure jump are observed. The method was developed in the open source suite OpenFOAM® extending its standard VOF implementation, the interFoam solver.

Assessment of left atrial volume and function: a comparative study between echocardiography, magnetic resonance imaging and multi slice computed tomography.

Science.gov (United States)

Kühl, J Tobias; Lønborg, Jacob; Fuchs, Andreas; Andersen, Mads J; Vejlstrup, Niels; Kelbæk, Henning; Engstrøm, Thomas; Møller, Jacob E; Kofoed, Klaus F

2012-06-01

Measurement of left atrial (LA) maximal volume (LA(max)) using two-dimensional transthoracic echocardiography (TTE) provides prognostic information in several cardiac diseases. However, the relationship between LA(max) and LA function is poorly understood and TTE is less well suited for measuring dynamic LA volume changes. Conversely, cardiac magnetic resonance imaging (CMR) and multi-slice computed tomography (MSCT) appears more appropriate for such measures. We sought to determine the relationship between LA size assessed with TTE and LA size and function assessed with CMR and MSCT. Fifty-four patients were examined 3 months post myocardial infarction with echocardiography, CMR and MSCT. Left atrial volumes and LA reservoir function were assessed by TTE. LA time-volume curves were determined and LA reservoir function (cyclic change and fractional change), passive emptying function (reservoir volume) and pump function (left atrial ejection fraction-LAEF) were derived using CMR and MSCT. Left atrial fractional change and left atrial ejection fraction (LAEF) determined with CMR and MSCT were unrelated to LA(max) enlargement by echocardiography (P = NS). There was an overall good agreement between CMR and MSCT, with a small to moderate bias in LA(max) (4.9 ± 10.4 ml), CC (3.1 ± 9.1 ml) and reservoir volume (3.4 ± 9.1 ml). TTE underestimates LA(max) with up to 32% compared with CMR and MSCT (P fractional change and LAEF is not significantly related to LA(max) measured by TTE. TTE systematically underestimated LA volumes, whereas there are good agreements between MSCT and CMR for volumetric and functional properties.

Critical dose and toxicity index of organs at risk in radiotherapy: Analyzing the calculated effects of modified dose fractionation in non–small cell lung cancer

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Pedicini, Piernicola, E-mail: ppiern@libero.it [Service of Medical Physics, I.R.C.C.S. Regional Cancer Hospital C.R.O.B, Rionero in Vulture (Italy); Strigari, Lidia [Laboratory of Medical Physics and Expert Systems, Regina Elena National Cancer Institute, Rome (Italy); Benassi, Marcello [Service of Medical Physics, Scientific Institute of Tumours of Romagna I.R.S.T., Meldola (Italy); Caivano, Rocchina [Service of Medical Physics, I.R.C.C.S. Regional Cancer Hospital C.R.O.B, Rionero in Vulture (Italy); Fiorentino, Alba [U.O. of Radiotherapy, I.R.C.C.S. Regional Cancer Hospital C.R.O.B., Rionero in Vulture (Italy); Nappi, Antonio [U.O. of Nuclear Medicine, I.R.C.C.S. Regional Cancer Hospital C.R.O.B., Rionero in Vulture (Italy); Salvatore, Marco [U.O. of Nuclear Medicine, I.R.C.C.S. SDN Foundation, Naples (Italy); Storto, Giovanni [U.O. of Nuclear Medicine, I.R.C.C.S. Regional Cancer Hospital C.R.O.B., Rionero in Vulture (Italy)

2014-04-01

To increase the efficacy of radiotherapy for non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), many schemes of dose fractionation were assessed by a new “toxicity index” (I), which allows one to choose the fractionation schedules that produce less toxic treatments. Thirty-two patients affected by non resectable NSCLC were treated by standard 3-dimensional conformal radiotherapy (3DCRT) with a strategy of limited treated volume. Computed tomography datasets were employed to re plan by simultaneous integrated boost intensity-modulated radiotherapy (IMRT). The dose distributions from plans were used to test various schemes of dose fractionation, in 3DCRT as well as in IMRT, by transforming the dose-volume histogram (DVH) into a biological equivalent DVH (BDVH) and by varying the overall treatment time. The BDVHs were obtained through the toxicity index, which was defined for each of the organs at risk (OAR) by a linear quadratic model keeping an equivalent radiobiological effect on the target volume. The less toxic fractionation consisted in a severe/moderate hyper fractionation for the volume including the primary tumor and lymph nodes, followed by a hypofractionation for the reduced volume of the primary tumor. The 3DCRT and IMRT resulted, respectively, in 4.7% and 4.3% of dose sparing for the spinal cord, without significant changes for the combined-lungs toxicity (p < 0.001). Schedules with reduced overall treatment time (accelerated fractionations) led to a 12.5% dose sparing for the spinal cord (7.5% in IMRT), 8.3% dose sparing for V{sub 20} in the combined lungs (5.5% in IMRT), and also significant dose sparing for all the other OARs (p < 0.001). The toxicity index allows to choose fractionation schedules with reduced toxicity for all the OARs and equivalent radiobiological effect for the tumor in 3DCRT, as well as in IMRT, treatments of NSCLC.

Analisis Sifat Mekanik Material Komposit Dari Serat Sabut Kelapa

OpenAIRE

Oroh, Jonathan; Sappu, Frans P; Lumintang, Romels Cresano

2012-01-01

This research uses coco fiber having straight fiber orientation. Different volume fraction with alkali (NaOH) treatment for two hours and without treatment have applied in this work. This composite was manufactured by molding where Polyester BQTN 157 was used as matrix. Bending test was performed based on ASTM D 6110 standard. The aim of this research is to obtain the optimum bending strength of coco fiber composite for volume fraction of 0 % fiber and 100% resin, 10% fiber and 90% resin, 20%...

The partial molar volume of BeSO4 in aqueous solutions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kuschel, F.; Seidel, J.

1981-01-01

The density of aqueous solutions of BeSO 4 has been measured as a function of the mole fraction in the range of 0.02487 x 10 -2 to 6.3082 x 10 -2 . From the results obtained the molar volume and partial molar volume have been calculated and the limiting value of the partial molar volume for Be 2+ was extrapolated in accordance with the Debye-Hueckel law

Influence of the oil globule fraction on the release rate profiles from multiple W/O/W emulsions.

Science.gov (United States)

Bonnet, Marie; Cansell, Maud; Placin, Frédéric; Monteil, Julien; Anton, Marc; Leal-Calderon, Fernando

2010-06-15

Water-in-oil-in-water (W/O/W) double emulsions were prepared and the kinetics of release of magnesium ions from the internal to the external water phase was investigated as a function of the formulation and the globule volume fraction. All the emulsions were formulated using the same surface-active species (polyglycerol polyricinoleate and sodium caseinate). Also, the internal droplet and oil globule diameters were almost identical for all the systems. Two types of W/O/W emulsions were prepared based either on a synthetic oil (miglyol) or on an edible oil (olive oil). The globule volume fraction varied from 11% to 72%. At constant temperature (T=25 degrees C) and irrespective of the oil type, the percentage of magnesium released was lowered by increasing the globule fraction. In all cases, magnesium leakage occurred without film rupturing (no coalescence). Thus, the experimental data were interpreted within the frame of a model based on diffusion. The rate of release was determined by the permeation coefficient of magnesium across the oil phase and by the binding (chelation) of magnesium by caseinate molecules. The data could be adequately fitted by considering a time-dependant permeation coefficient. The better retention of magnesium at high globule fractions could account for two distinct phenomena: (i) the reduction of the relative volume of the outer phase, and (ii) the attenuation of the permeation coefficient over time induced by interfacial magnesium binding, all the more important than the globule fraction increased. Copyright 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Liquid-Vapor Argon Isotope Fractionation from the Triple Point to the Critical Point

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Phillips, J. T.; Linderstrøm-Lang, C. U.; Bigeleisen, J.

1972-01-01

are compared at the same molar volume. The isotope fractionation factor α for 36Ar∕40Ar between liquid and vapor has been measured from the triple point to the critical temperature. The results are compared with previous vapor pressure data, which cover the range 84–102°K. Although the agreement is within....... The fractionation factor approaches zero at the critical temperature with a nonclassical critical index equal to 0.42±0.02.〈∇2Uc〉/ρc in liquid argon is derived from the experimental fractionation data and calculations of 〈∇2Ug〉/ρg for a number of potential functions for gaseous argon....

Rapid, high-resolution measurement of leaf area and leaf orientation using terrestrial LiDAR scanning data

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bailey, Brian N; Mahaffee, Walter F

2017-01-01

The rapid evolution of high performance computing technology has allowed for the development of extremely detailed models of the urban and natural environment. Although models can now represent sub-meter-scale variability in environmental geometry, model users are often unable to specify the geometry of real domains at this scale given available measurements. An emerging technology in this field has been the use of terrestrial LiDAR scanning data to rapidly measure the three-dimensional geometry of trees, such as the distribution of leaf area. However, current LiDAR methods suffer from the limitation that they require detailed knowledge of leaf orientation in order to translate projected leaf area into actual leaf area. Common methods for measuring leaf orientation are often tedious or inaccurate, which places constraints on the LiDAR measurement technique. This work presents a new method to simultaneously measure leaf orientation and leaf area within an arbitrarily defined volume using terrestrial LiDAR data. The novelty of the method lies in the direct measurement of the fraction of projected leaf area G from the LiDAR data which is required to relate projected leaf area to total leaf area, and in the new way in which radiation transfer theory is used to calculate leaf area from the LiDAR data. The method was validated by comparing LiDAR-measured leaf area to (1) ‘synthetic’ or computer-generated LiDAR data where the exact area was known, and (2) direct measurements of leaf area in the field using destructive sampling. Overall, agreement between the LiDAR and reference measurements was very good, showing a normalized root-mean-squared-error of about 15% for the synthetic tests, and 13% in the field. (paper)

Composting of sewage sludge with solid fraction of digested pulp from agricultural biogas plant

Science.gov (United States)

Czekała, Wojciech; Dach, Jacek; Przybył, Jacek; Mazurwiekiwcz, Jakub; Janczak, Damian; Lewicki, Andrzej; Smurzyńska, Anna; Kozłowski, Kamil

2018-02-01

Sewage sludge management is an important element of environmental protection. Composting and anaerobic digestion are the biological conversion methods for sewage sludge management. Mass and volume reduction is a result of a properly composted process. Solid fraction of digested pulp can be use as co-substrate, because it is good structural material. The aim of the study was to determine the possibility of composting sewage sludge with a solid fraction of digestate. The compost mix consisted of 25 kilograms of sewage sludge and 20 kilograms solid fraction of digestate in fresh mass. The experiment was carried out in laboratory conditions. Bioreactors of 165 dm3 volume were used. The experiment included two stages. Stage I took place in bioreactors and lasted until the cooling phase of the compost was complete. Stage II included compost maturation for a period of eight months (to 287 day of composting). The reduction of mass obtained at the end of Stage I amounted 30.2%. At the end of Stage II, it was 86.7% relative to the initial weight of the compost. The maximum value of temperature was 75.1°C. Studies have shown that sludge with a solid fraction of digestate can be a suitable substrate for composting with sewage sludge.

EDITORIAL: Optical orientation Optical orientation

Science.gov (United States)

SAME ADDRESS *, Yuri; Landwehr, Gottfried

2008-11-01

priority of the discovery in the literature, which was partly caused by the existence of the Iron Curtain. I had already enjoyed contact with Boris in the 1980s when the two volumes of Landau Level Spectroscopy were being prepared [2]. He was one of the pioneers of magneto-optics in semiconductors. In the 1950s the band structure of germanium and silicon was investigated by magneto-optical methods, mainly in the United States. No excitonic effects were observed and the band structure parameters were determined without taking account of excitons. However, working with cuprous oxide, which is a direct semiconductor with a relative large energy gap, Zakharchenya and his co-worker Seysan showed that in order to obtain correct band structure parameters, it is necessary to take excitons into account [3]. About 1970 Boris started work on optical orientation. Early work by Hanle in Germany in the 1920s on the depolarization of luminescence in mercury vapour by a transverse magnetic field was not appreciated for a long time. Only in the late 1940s did Kastler and co-workers in Paris begin a systematic study of optical pumping, which led to the award of a Nobel prize. The ideas of optical pumping were first applied by Georges Lampel to solid state physics in 1968. He demonstrated optical orientation of free carriers in silicon. The detection method was nuclear magnetic resonance; optically oriented free electrons dynamically polarized the 29Si nuclei of the host lattice. The first optical detection of spin orientation was demonstrated by with the III-V semiconductor GaSb by Parsons. Due to the various interaction mechanisms of spins with their environment, the effects occurring in semiconductors are naturally more complex than those in atoms. Optical detection is now the preferred method to detect spin alignment in semiconductors. The orientation of spins in crystals pumped with circularly polarized light is deduced from the degree of circular polarization of the recombination

Thermal conductivity of solid cyclohexane in orientationally ordered and disordered phases

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Konstantinov, V. A.; Revyakin, V. P.; Sagan, V. V.; Pursky, O. I.; Sysoev, V. M.

2011-01-01

Thermal conductivity Λ P of solid cyclohexane is measured at a pressure P = 0.1 MPa in the temperature range from 80 K to the melting point, which covers the ranges of low-temperature orientationally ordered phase II and high-temperature orientationally disordered phase I. Thermal conductivity Λ V is measured at a constant volume in orientationally disordered phase I. The thermal conductivity measured at atmospheric pressure decreases with increasing temperature as Λ P ∝ T −1.15 in phase II, whereas Λ P ∝ T −0.3 in phase I. As temperature increases, isochoric thermal conductivity Λ V in phase I increases gradually. The experimental data are described in terms of a modified Debye model of thermal conductivity with allowance for heat transfer by both phonons and “diffuse” modes.

Fractional vector calculus and fractional Maxwell's equations

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tarasov, Vasily E.

2008-01-01

The theory of derivatives and integrals of non-integer order goes back to Leibniz, Liouville, Grunwald, Letnikov and Riemann. The history of fractional vector calculus (FVC) has only 10 years. The main approaches to formulate a FVC, which are used in the physics during the past few years, will be briefly described in this paper. We solve some problems of consistent formulations of FVC by using a fractional generalization of the Fundamental Theorem of Calculus. We define the differential and integral vector operations. The fractional Green's, Stokes' and Gauss's theorems are formulated. The proofs of these theorems are realized for simplest regions. A fractional generalization of exterior differential calculus of differential forms is discussed. Fractional nonlocal Maxwell's equations and the corresponding fractional wave equations are considered

Quantitative assessment of fatty infiltration and muscle volume of the rotator cuff muscles using 3-dimensional 2-point Dixon magnetic resonance imaging.

Science.gov (United States)

Matsumura, Noboru; Oguro, Sota; Okuda, Shigeo; Jinzaki, Masahiro; Matsumoto, Morio; Nakamura, Masaya; Nagura, Takeo

2017-10-01

In patients with rotator cuff tears, muscle degeneration is known to be a predictor of irreparable tears and poor outcomes after surgical repair. Fatty infiltration and volume of the whole muscles constituting the rotator cuff were quantitatively assessed using 3-dimensional 2-point Dixon magnetic resonance imaging. Ten shoulders with a partial-thickness tear, 10 shoulders with an isolated supraspinatus tear, and 10 shoulders with a massive tear involving supraspinatus and infraspinatus were compared with 10 control shoulders after matching age and sex. With segmentation of muscle boundaries, the fat fraction value and the volume of the whole rotator cuff muscles were computed. After reliabilities were determined, differences in fat fraction, muscle volume, and fat-free muscle volume were evaluated. Intra-rater and inter-rater reliabilities were regarded as excellent for fat fraction and muscle volume. Tendon rupture adversely increased the fat fraction value of the respective rotator cuff muscle (P tear group, muscle volume was significantly decreased in the infraspinatus (P = .035) and increased in the teres minor (P = .039). With subtraction of fat volume, a significant decrease of fat-free volume of the supraspinatus muscle became apparent with a massive tear (P = .003). Three-dimensional measurement could evaluate fatty infiltration and muscular volume with excellent reliabilities. The present study showed that chronic rupture of the tendon adversely increases the fat fraction of the respective muscle and indicates that the residual capacity of the rotator cuff muscles might be overestimated in patients with severe fatty infiltration. Copyright © 2017 Journal of Shoulder and Elbow Surgery Board of Trustees. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Target volume delineation for head and neck cancer intensity-modulated radiotherapy; Delineation des volumes cibles des cancers des voies aerodigestives superieures en radiotherapie conformationnelle avec modulation d'intensite

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Lapeyre, M.; Toledano, I.; Bourry, N. [Departement de radiotherapie, centre Jean-Perrin, 58, rue Montalembert, BP 5026, 63011 Clermont-Ferrand cedex 1 (France); Bailly, C. [Unite de radiodiagnostic, centre Jean-Perrin, 58, rue Montalembert, BP 5026, 63011 Clermont-Ferrand cedex 1 (France); Cachin, F. [Unite de medecine nucleaire, centre Jean-Perrin, 58, rue Montalembert, BP 5026, 63011 Clermont-Ferrand cedex 1 (France)

2011-10-15

This article describes the determination and the delineation of the target volumes for head-and-neck cancers treated with intensity-modulated radiotherapy (IMRT). The delineation of the clinical target volumes (CTV) on the computerized tomography scanner (CT scan) requires a rigorous methodology due to the complexity of head-and-neck anatomy. The clinical examination with a sketch of pretreatment tumour extension, the surgical and pathological reports and the adequate images (CT scan, magnetic resonance imaging and fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography) are necessary for the delineation. The target volumes depend on the overall strategy: sequential IMRT or simultaneous integrated boost-IMRT (SIB-IMRT). The concept of selectivity of the potential subclinical disease near the primary tumor and the selection of neck nodal targets are described according to the recommendations and the literature. The planing target volume (PTV), mainly reflecting setup errors (random and systematic), results from a uniform 4-5 mm expansion around the CTV. We propose the successive delineation of: (1) the gross volume tumour (GTV); (2) the 'high risk' CTV1 around the GTV or including the postoperative tumour bed in case of positive margins or nodal extra-capsular spread (65-70 Gy in 30-35 fractions); (3) the CTV2 'intermediate risk' around the CTV1 for SIB-IMRT (59-63 Gy in 30-35 fractions); (4) the 'low-risk' CTV3 (54-56 Gy in 30-35 fractions); (5) the PTVs. (authors)

THE ENVIRONMENTAL DEPENDENCE OF THE FRACTION OF 'UNCONVENTIONAL' GALAXIES: RED LATE TYPES AND BLUE EARLY TYPES

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Deng Xinfa; He Jizhou; Wu Ping; Ding Yingping

2009-01-01

From the Main galaxy sample of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey Data Release 6, we construct two volume-limited samples with the luminosity -20.0 ≤ M r ≤ -18.5 and -22.40 ≤ M r ≤ -20.16, respectively, to explore the environmental dependence of the fraction of 'unconventional' galaxies: red late types and blue early types. We use the density estimator within the distance to the fifth nearest neighbor, and construct two samples at both extremes of density and perform comparative studies between them for each volume-limited sample. Results of two volume-limited samples show the same conclusions: the fraction of red late-type galaxies rises considerably with increasing local density, and that one of the blue early-type galaxies declines substantially with increasing local density. In addition, we note that bluer galaxies preferentially are late types, but the red galaxies are not dominated by early types.

Fractional Number Operator and Associated Fractional Diffusion Equations

Science.gov (United States)

Rguigui, Hafedh

2018-03-01

In this paper, we study the fractional number operator as an analog of the finite-dimensional fractional Laplacian. An important relation with the Ornstein-Uhlenbeck process is given. Using a semigroup approach, the solution of the Cauchy problem associated to the fractional number operator is presented. By means of the Mittag-Leffler function and the Laplace transform, we give the solution of the Caputo time fractional diffusion equation and Riemann-Liouville time fractional diffusion equation in infinite dimensions associated to the fractional number operator.

Control-Oriented Model of Molar Scavenge Oxygen Fraction for Exhaust Recirculation in Large Diesel Engines

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Nielsen, Kræn Vodder; Blanke, Mogens; Eriksson, Lars

2016-01-01

the behavior of the scavenge oxygen fraction well over the entire envelope of load and blower speed range that are relevant for EGR. The simplicity of the new model makes it suitable for observer and control design, which are essential steps to meet the emission requirements for marine diesel engines that take...

The relationship between I{sub H{sub {alpha}}} /(I{sub SiH}{sup *}){sup 2} and crystalline volume fraction in microcrystalline silicon growth

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Chantana, Jakapan; Higuchi, Takuya; Nagai, Tomoyuki; Sasaki, Shota; Sobajima, Yasushi; Toyama, Toshihiko; Sada, Chitose; Matsuda, Akihisa; Okamoto, Hiroaki [Graduate School of Engineering Science, Osaka University, 1-3 Machikaneyama-cho, Toyonaka, Osaka 560-8531 (Japan)

2010-03-15

Optical-emission-intensity ratio of I{sub H{sub {alpha}}} /(I{sub SiH}{sup *}) during film growth has been used as a simple indicator to predict crystallinity (crystal-volume fraction: X{sub C}) in the resulting microcrystalline silicon ({mu}c-Si:H) thin films. The relationship between I{sub H{sub {alpha}}} /(I{sub SiH}{sup *}) and X{sub C} has been checked under a wide variety of film-preparation conditions including low-deposition-rate (<0.1 nm/s) and high-deposition-rate (>5 nm/s) cases. On the basis of theoretical consideration, we have proposed optical-emission-intensity ratio of I{sub H{sub {alpha}}} /(I{sub SiH}{sup *}) {sup 2} as a new indicator of X{sub C} during film growth of {mu}c-Si:H. (Abstract Copyright [2010], Wiley Periodicals, Inc.)

Oxygen tension in transplanted mouse osteosarcomas during fractionated high-LET- and low-LET radiotherapy - predictive aspects for choosing beam quality?

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Auberger, T.; Thuerriegel, B.; Freude, T.; Weissfloch, L.; Kneschaurek, P.; Molls, M.; Senekowitsch-Schmidtke, R.; Wagner, F.M.

1999-01-01

Murine OTS64 - osteosarcomas were tranplanted in 102 balb-C mice and irradiated by 36 Gy of photons in fractions of 3 Gy five times a week (group P-36/3) or by 12 Gy of reactor fission neutrons in fractions of 2 Gy two times a week (group N-12/2). Irradiations started at a tumor volume of 500 to 600 mm 3 . A third group received no radiotherapy, but all investigations (group CG). Tumor volume and tumor oxygenation were measured once a week under therapy and during three weeks after therapy. For in vivo-evaluation of oxygen status a computerized polarographic needle electrode system (KIMOC pO 2 histograph, Eppendorf) was used. The median pO 2 and the hypoxic fraction (pO 2 values 2 decreased from 20 mm to 8 mm Hg and the hypoxic fraction increased from 7% to 31%. After fractionated photon therapy a growth delay of three weeks was observed. Six weeks after beginning of the irradiation the median tumor volume had been doubled again. After fission neutron therapy growth delay continued until the end of the follow-up period. In both of the irradiated groups a significant decrease of median pO 2 values and an increase of the hypoxic fraction were observed under radiotherapy. Hypoxia was more intensive after neutrons with a decrease of the median pO 2 from 20 mm Hg to 1 mm Hg vs. 10 mm Hg after photon therapy and with an increase of the hypoxic fraction from 7% to 78% vs. 36% respectively. Two weeks after the end of therapy the median pO 2 and the hypoxic fraction of both treated groups reached the levels prior to irradiation indicating a complete reoxygenation. (orig.)

Fractional Processes and Fractional-Order Signal Processing Techniques and Applications

CERN Document Server

Sheng, Hu; Qiu, TianShuang

2012-01-01

Fractional processes are widely found in science, technology and engineering systems. In Fractional Processes and Fractional-order Signal Processing, some complex random signals, characterized by the presence of a heavy-tailed distribution or non-negligible dependence between distant observations (local and long memory), are introduced and examined from the ‘fractional’ perspective using simulation, fractional-order modeling and filtering and realization of fractional-order systems. These fractional-order signal processing (FOSP) techniques are based on fractional calculus, the fractional Fourier transform and fractional lower-order moments. Fractional Processes and Fractional-order Signal Processing: • presents fractional processes of fixed, variable and distributed order studied as the output of fractional-order differential systems; • introduces FOSP techniques and the fractional signals and fractional systems point of view; • details real-world-application examples of FOSP techniques to demonstr...

Entrepreneurial orientation, market orientation, and competitive environment

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Sørensen, Hans Eibe; Cadogan, John W.

This study sheds light on the role that the competitive environment plays in determining how elements of market orientation and elements of entrepreneurial orientation interact to influence business success. We develop a model in which we postulate that market orientation, entrepreneurial...... orientation, and competitive environment shape business performance via a three-way interaction. We test the model using primary data from the CEOs of 270 CEO of manufacturing firms, together with secondary data on these firms' profit performance. An assessment of the results indicates that customer...... orientation moderates the positive relationships between the competitiveness element of entrepreneurial orientation and market share and return on assets (ROA): the positive relationships between competitiveness and market share and competitiveness and ROA become stronger the greater the firms' customer...

Sensitivity of the amplitude of the single muscle fibre action potential to microscopic volume conduction parameters

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Alberts, B.A.; Rutten, Wim; Wallinga, W.; Boom, H.B.K.

1988-01-01

A microscopic model of volume conduction was applied to examine the sensitivity of the single muscle fibre action potential to variations in parameters of the source and of the volume conductor, such as conduction velocity, intracellular conductivity and intracellular volume fraction. The model

Optimization of VPSC Model Parameters for Two-Phase Titanium Alloys: Flow Stress Vs Orientation Distribution Function Metrics

Science.gov (United States)

Miller, V. M.; Semiatin, S. L.; Szczepanski, C.; Pilchak, A. L.

2018-06-01

The ability to predict the evolution of crystallographic texture during hot work of titanium alloys in the α + β temperature regime is greatly significant to numerous engineering disciplines; however, research efforts are complicated by the rapid changes in phase volume fractions and flow stresses with temperature in addition to topological considerations. The viscoplastic self-consistent (VPSC) polycrystal plasticity model is employed to simulate deformation in the two phase field. Newly developed parameter selection schemes utilizing automated optimization based on two different error metrics are considered. In the first optimization scheme, which is commonly used in the literature, the VPSC parameters are selected based on the quality of fit between experiment and simulated flow curves at six hot-working temperatures. Under the second newly developed scheme, parameters are selected to minimize the difference between the simulated and experimentally measured α textures after accounting for the β → α transformation upon cooling. It is demonstrated that both methods result in good qualitative matches for the experimental α phase texture, but texture-based optimization results in a substantially better quantitative orientation distribution function match.

Effects of perfusion detect on the measurement of left ventricular mass, ventricular volume and post-stress left ventricular ejection fraction in gated myocardial perfusion SPECT

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ahn, Byeong Cheol; Bae, Sun Keun; Lee, Sang Woo; Jeong, Sin Young; Lee, Jae Tae; Lee, Kyu Bo

2002-01-01

The presence of perfusion defect may influence the left ventricular mass (LVM) measurement by quantitative gated myocardial perfusion SPECT (QGS), and ischemic myocardium, usually showing perfusion defect may produce post-stress LV dysfunction. This study was aimed to evaluated the effects of extent and reversibility of perfusion defect on the automatic measurement of LVM by QGS and to investigate the effect of reversibility of perfusion defect on post-stress LV dysfunction. Forty-six patients (male/female=34:12, mean age=64 years) with perfusion defect on myocardial perfusion SPECT underwent rest and post-stress QGS. Forty patients (87%) showed reversible defect. End-diastolic volume (EDV), end-systolic volume (ESV), LV ejection fraction (EF), and LV myocardial volume were obtained from QGS by autoquant program, and LVM was calculated by multiplying the LV myocardial volume by the specific gravity of myocardium. LVMs measured at rest and post-stress QGS showed good correlation, and higher correlation was founded in the subjects with fixed perfusion defect and with small defect (smaller than 20%). There were no significant differences in EDVs, ESVs and EFs between obtained by rest and post-stress QGS in patients with fixed myocardial defect. Whereas, EF obtained by post-stress QGS was lower than that by rest QGS in patients with reversible defect and 10 (25%) of them showed decreases in EF more than 5% in post-stress QGS, as compared to that of rest QGS. Excellent correlations of EDVs, ESVs, EFs between rest and post-stress QGS were noted. Patients with fixed defect had higher correlation between defect can affect LVM measurement by QGS and patients with reversible defect shows post-stress LV dysfunction more frequently than patients with fixed perfusion defect

Calculation of Airborne Radioactivity Hazard from Machining Volume-Activated Materials

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

E.T. Marshall; S.O. Schwahn

1997-01-01

When evaluating a task involving the machining of volume-activated materials, accelerator health physicists must consider more than the surface contamination levels of the equipment and containment of loose shavings, dust or filings. Machining operations such as sawing, routing, welding, and grinding conducted on volume-activated material may pose a significant airborne radioactivity hazard to the worker. This paper presents a computer spreadsheet notebook that conservatively estimates the airborne radioactivity levels generated during machining operations performed on volume-activated materials. By knowing (1) the size and type of materials, (2) the dose rate at a given distances, and (3) limited process knowledge, the Derived Air Concentration (DAC) fraction can be estimated. This tool is flexible, taking into consideration that the process knowledge available for the different materials varies. It addresses the two most common geometries: thick plane and circular cylinder. Once the DAC fraction has been estimated, controls can be implemented to mitigate the hazard to the worker

Calculation of airborne radioactivity hazard from machining volume-activated materials

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Marshall, E.T.; Schwahn, S.O.

1996-10-01

When evaluating a task involving the machining of volume-activated materials, accelerator health physicists must consider more than the surface contamination levels of the equipment and containment of loose shavings, dust or filings. Machining operations such as sawing, routing, welding, and grinding conducted on volume-activated material may pose a significant airborne radioactivity hazard to the worker. This paper presents a computer spreadsheet notebook that conservatively estimates the airborne radioactivity levels generated during machining operations performed on volume-activated materials. By knowing (1) the size and type of materials, (2) the dose rate at a given distances, and (3) limited process knowledge, the Derived Air Concentration (DAC) fraction can be estimated. This tool is flexible, taking into consideration that the process knowledge available for the different materials varies. It addresses the two most common geometries: thick plane and circular cylinder. Once the DAC fraction has been estimated, controls can be implemented to mitigate the hazard to the worker

Principles of transverse flow fractionation of microparticles in superhydrophobic channels.

Science.gov (United States)

Asmolov, Evgeny S; Dubov, Alexander L; Nizkaya, Tatiana V; Kuehne, Alexander J C; Vinogradova, Olga I

2015-07-07

We propose a concept of fractionation of micron-sized particles in a microfluidic device with a bottom wall decorated by superhydrophobic stripes. The stripes are oriented at an angle α to the direction of a driving force, G, which generally includes an applied pressure gradient and gravity. Separation relies on the initial sedimentation of particles under gravity in the main forward flow, and their subsequent lateral deflection near a superhydrophobic wall due to generation of a secondary flow transverse to G. We provide some theoretical arguments allowing us to quantify the transverse displacement of particles in the microfluidic channel, and confirm the validity of theoretical predictions in test experiments with monodisperse fractions of microparticles. Our results can guide the design of superhydrophobic microfluidic devices for efficient sorting of microparticles with a relatively small difference in size and density.

Studies of murine tumor control using x-ray fractionation schedules alone or in combination with hyperthermia

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Imbra, R.J.

1981-01-01

The effectiveness of an experimental radiation fractionation schedule of decreasing-sized dose fractions administered at optimal time intervals was compared with a conventional fractionation schedule of constant-sized dose fractions administered five times per week. Also, the effect of the addition of hyperthermia (42.5 0 C) to radiation therapy was investigated. For some experiments, Ehrlich mammary tumors were growth in the right thighs of Swiss mice. The tumor response was determined by measuring the tumor-bearing leg diameter and converting this value to volume. The time for the treated tumor to regrow to its pre-tratment volume was used as an endpoint in Swiss mice. The maximum total treatment dose is limited by the amount of normal tissue damage. A total treatment dose of six thousand rads was most suitable for the further investigations. Definitive investigations were performed using the RIF-1 tumor grown in the right thigh of C3H mice. The length of mitotic delay of RIF-1 cells, in vivo, was determined after various single doses of x radiation. A direct (exponential) relationship betwen x-ray dose and mitotic delay time was observed. Times of release of the RIF-1 cells from radiation-induced mitotic delay were used to determine the optimum time intervals to deliver the decreasing-sized dose fractions. Six thousand rads administered as decreasing-sized dose fractions resulted in significantly greater RIF-1 tumor control, as compared to conventional radiation therapy. The best treatment schedule, overall, was decreasing-sized dose fractions plus hyperthermia

An object-oriented computational model to study cardiopulmonary hemodynamic interactions in humans.

Science.gov (United States)

Ngo, Chuong; Dahlmanns, Stephan; Vollmer, Thomas; Misgeld, Berno; Leonhardt, Steffen

2018-06-01

This work introduces an object-oriented computational model to study cardiopulmonary interactions in humans. Modeling was performed in object-oriented programing language Matlab Simscape, where model components are connected with each other through physical connections. Constitutive and phenomenological equations of model elements are implemented based on their non-linear pressure-volume or pressure-flow relationship. The model includes more than 30 physiological compartments, which belong either to the cardiovascular or respiratory system. The model considers non-linear behaviors of veins, pulmonary capillaries, collapsible airways, alveoli, and the chest wall. Model parameters were derisved based on literature values. Model validation was performed by comparing simulation results with clinical and animal data reported in literature. The model is able to provide quantitative values of alveolar, pleural, interstitial, aortic and ventricular pressures, as well as heart and lung volumes during spontaneous breathing and mechanical ventilation. Results of baseline simulation demonstrate the consistency of the assigned parameters. Simulation results during mechanical ventilation with PEEP trials can be directly compared with animal and clinical data given in literature. Object-oriented programming languages can be used to model interconnected systems including model non-linearities. The model provides a useful tool to investigate cardiopulmonary activity during spontaneous breathing and mechanical ventilation. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Radiation Dose-Volume Effects in the Brain

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lawrence, Yaacov Richard; Li, X. Allen; El Naqa, Issam; Hahn, Carol A.; Marks, Lawrence B.; Merchant, Thomas E.; Dicker, Adam P.

2010-01-01

We have reviewed the published data regarding radiotherapy (RT)-induced brain injury. Radiation necrosis appears a median of 1-2 years after RT; however, cognitive decline develops over many years. The incidence and severity is dose and volume dependent and can also be increased by chemotherapy, age, diabetes, and spatial factors. For fractionated RT with a fraction size of 80 Gy. For large fraction sizes (≥2.5 Gy), the incidence and severity of toxicity is unpredictable. For single fraction radiosurgery, a clear correlation has been demonstrated between the target size and the risk of adverse events. Substantial variation among different centers' reported outcomes have prevented us from making toxicity-risk predictions. Cognitive dysfunction in children is largely seen for whole brain doses of ≥18 Gy. No substantial evidence has shown that RT induces irreversible cognitive decline in adults within 4 years of RT.

Comparison of echocardiographic and cardiac magnetic resonance imaging measurements of functional single ventricular volumes, mass, and ejection fraction (from the Pediatric Heart Network Fontan Cross-Sectional Study).

Science.gov (United States)

Margossian, Renee; Schwartz, Marcy L; Prakash, Ashwin; Wruck, Lisa; Colan, Steven D; Atz, Andrew M; Bradley, Timothy J; Fogel, Mark A; Hurwitz, Lynne M; Marcus, Edward; Powell, Andrew J; Printz, Beth F; Puchalski, Michael D; Rychik, Jack; Shirali, Girish; Williams, Richard; Yoo, Shi-Joon; Geva, Tal

2009-08-01

Assessment of the size and function of a functional single ventricle (FSV) is a key element in the management of patients after the Fontan procedure. Measurement variability of ventricular mass, volume, and ejection fraction (EF) among observers by echocardiography and cardiac magnetic resonance imaging (CMR) and their reproducibility among readers in these patients have not been described. From the 546 patients enrolled in the Pediatric Heart Network Fontan Cross-Sectional Study (mean age 11.9 +/- 3.4 years), 100 echocardiograms and 50 CMR studies were assessed for measurement reproducibility; 124 subjects with paired studies were selected for comparison between modalities. Interobserver agreement for qualitative grading of ventricular function by echocardiography was modest for left ventricular (LV) morphology (kappa = 0.42) and weak for right ventricular (RV) morphology (kappa = 0.12). For quantitative assessment, high intraclass correlation coefficients were found for echocardiographic interobserver agreement (LV 0.87 to 0.92, RV 0.82 to 0.85) of systolic and diastolic volumes, respectively. In contrast, intraclass correlation coefficients for LV and RV mass were moderate (LV 0.78, RV 0.72). The corresponding intraclass correlation coefficients by CMR were high (LV 0.96, RV 0.85). Volumes by echocardiography averaged 70% of CMR values. Interobserver reproducibility for the EF was similar for the 2 modalities. Although the absolute mean difference between modalities for the EF was small (<2%), 95% limits of agreement were wide. In conclusion, agreement between observers of qualitative FSV function by echocardiography is modest. Measurements of FSV volume by 2-dimensional echocardiography underestimate CMR measurements, but their reproducibility is high. Echocardiographic and CMR measurements of FSV EF demonstrate similar interobserver reproducibility, whereas measurements of FSV mass and LV diastolic volume are more reproducible by CMR.

A bench evaluation of fraction of oxygen in air delivery and tidal volume accuracy in home care ventilators available for hospital use

Science.gov (United States)

Baboi, Loredana; Subtil, Fabien

2016-01-01

Background Turbine-powered ventilators are not only designed for long-term ventilation at home but also for hospital use. It is important to verify their capabilities in delivering fraction of oxygen in air (FIO2) and tidal volume (VT). Methods We assessed the FIO2 accuracy and the VT delivery in four home care ventilators (HCV) on the bench. The four HCV were Astral 150, Elisée 150, Monnal T50 and Trilogy 200 HCV, which were connected to a lung model (ASL 5000). For assessing FIO2 accuracy, lung model was set to mimic an obstructive lung and HCV were set in volume controlled mode (VC). They supplied with air, 3 or 15 L/min oxygen and FIO2 was measured by using a ventilator tester (Citrex H4TM). For the VT accuracy, the lung model was set in a way to mimic three adult configurations (normal, obstructive, or restrictive respiratory disorder) and one pediatric configuration. Each HCV was set in VC. Two VT (300 and 500 mL) in adult lung configuration and one 50 mL VT in pediatric lung configuration, at two positive end expiratory pressures 5 and 10 cmH2O, were tested. VT accuracy was measured as volume error (the relative difference between set and measured VT). Statistical analysis was performed by suing one-factor ANOVA with a Bonferroni correction for multiple tests. Results For Astral 150, Elisée 150, Monnal T50 and Trilogy 200, FIO2 averaged 99.2%, 93.7%, 86.3%, and 62.1%, respectively, at 15 L/min oxygen supplementation rate (P<0.001). Volume error was 0.5%±0%, −38%±0%, −9%±0%, −29%±0% and −36%±0% for pediatric lung condition (P<0.001). In adult lung configurations, Monnal T50 systematically over delivered VT and Trilogy 150 was sensitive to lung configuration when VT was set to 300 mL at either positive end-expiratory pressure (PEEP). Conclusions HCV are different in terms of FIO2 efficiency and VT delivery. PMID:28149559

Orientation of rod molecules in selective slits: a density functional theory

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Xu Xiaofei; Cao Dapeng; Wang Wenchuan

2008-01-01

A density functional theory (DFT) is used to investigate molecular orientation of rod fluids in selective slits. The DFT approach combines a modified fundamental measure theory (MFMT) for excluded-volume effect, the first-order thermodynamics perturbation theory for chain connectivity and the mean-field approximation for van der Waals (vdW) attraction. To study the molecular orientation, the intramolecular bonding orientation function is introduced into the DFT. First, we investigate the orientation of the surfactant-like rod molecule of AB 6 (i.e. ABBBBBB) in a nanoslit of H 20σ, where the walls selectively adsorb segment 'A'. It is observed that, with the increase of the surface energy of the wall to head segment (i.e. 'A' segment) of the rod molecule, the rod molecules adsorbed on the wall present the perpendicular orientation gradually, and assemble into a smectic-A-like monolayer finally. In addition, we also explore the molecular orientation of the rods with both end segments preferring to the wall, i.e. AB 8 A and AB 7 A, in a nanoslit of H = 10σ. Interestingly, the AB 8 A rod monolayer is compatible with either a smectic-A-like or a smectic-C-like organization, but AB 7 A rod molecules exhibit the smectic-A-like organization. The orientation factor of the AB 7 A rod molecule reaches 1, suggesting that AB 7 A rod molecules self-assemble into an ordered structure with perfectly perpendicular orientation to the wall.

Growth crystallography and lamellar to rod transition in directionally solidified Nb--Nb2C eutectic composites

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

David, S.A.; Santhanam, A.T.; Brody, H.D.

1976-01-01

The transition in morphology of the carbide phase is discussed in terms of the relative volume fraction of the phases, growth rate, and orientation relationships. The carbide morphology is influenced by the growth rate and carbon content. For constant growth rate increasing the volume fraction of the carbide phase favors the lamellar morphology. At low growth rates the lamellar morphology is favored, and at high growth rates the rod-like morphology is favored. Growth crystallography has no direct influence on the transition in carbide morphology

A contrast-oriented algorithm for FDG-PET-based delineation of tumour volumes for the radiotherapy of lung cancer: derivation from phantom measurements and validation in patient data

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Schaefer, Andrea; Hellwig, Dirk; Kirsch, Carl-Martin; Nestle, Ursula [Saarland University Medical Center, Department of Nuclear Medicine, Homburg (Germany); Kremp, Stephanie; Ruebe, Christian [Saarland University Medical Center, Department of Radiotherapy, Homburg (Germany)

2008-11-15

An easily applicable algorithm for the FDG-PET-based delineation of tumour volumes for the radiotherapy of lung cancer was developed by phantom measurements and validated in patient data. PET scans were performed (ECAT-ART tomograph) on two cylindrical phantoms (phan1, phan2) containing glass spheres of different volumes (7.4-258 ml) which were filled with identical FDG concentrations. Gradually increasing the activity of the fillable background, signal-to-background ratios from 33:1 to 2.5:1 were realised. The mean standardised uptake value (SUV) of the region-of-interest (ROI) surrounded by a 70% isocontour (mSUV{sub 70}) was used to represent the FDG accumulation of each sphere (or tumour). Image contrast was defined as: C=(mSUV{sub 70}-BG)/BG wehre BG is the mean background - SUV. For the spheres of phan1, the threshold SUVs (TS) best matching the known sphere volumes were determined. A regression function representing the relationship between TS/(mSUV{sub 70}-BG) and C was calculated and used for delineation of the spheres in phan2 and the gross tumour volumes (GTVs) of eight primary lung tumours. These GTVs were compared to those defined using CT. The relationship between TS/(mSUV{sub 70}-BG) and C is best described by an inverse regression function which can be converted to the linear relationship TS=a x mSUV{sub 70}+b x BG. Using this algorithm, the volumes delineated in phan2 differed by only -0.4 to +0.7 mm in radius from the true ones, whilst the PET-GTVs differed by only -0.7 to +1.2 mm compared with the values determined by CT. By the contrast-oriented algorithm presented in this study, a PET-based delineation of GTVs for primary tumours of lung cancer patients is feasible. (orig.)

Free volume of mixed cation borosilicate glass sealants elucidated by positron annihilation lifetime spectroscopy and its correlation with glass properties

Science.gov (United States)

Ojha, Prasanta K.; Rath, Sangram K.; Sharma, Sandeep K.; Sudarshan, Kathi; Pujari, Pradeep K.; Chongdar, Tapas K.; Gokhale, Nitin M.

2015-01-01

The role of La+3/Sr+2 ratios, which is varied from 0.08 to 5.09, on density, molar volume, packing fraction, free volume, thermal and electrical properties in strontium lanthanum aluminoborosilicate based glass sealants intended for solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) applications is evaluated. The studies reveal expansion of the glass network evident from increasing molar volume and decreasing packing fraction of glasses with progressive La+3 substitutions. The molecular origin of these macroscopic structural features can be accounted for by the free volume parameters measured from positron annihilation lifetime spectroscopy (PALS). The La+3 induced expanded glass networks show increased number of subnanoscopic voids with larger sizes, as revealed from the ortho-positronium (o-Ps) lifetime and its intensity. A remarkably direct correspondence between the molar volume and fractional free volume trend is established with progressive La2O3 substitution in the glasses. The effect of these structural changes on the glass transition temperature, softening temperature, coefficient of thermal expansion, thermal stability as well as electrical conductivity has been studied.

Improved determination of left ventricular volume with myocardial tagging

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Peshock, R.M.; Takai, H.; Baker, K.V.; Clarke, G.D.; McDonald, G.G.; Parkey, R.W.

1991-01-01

Cine MR imaging can be used to determine ventricular volume and ejection fraction. However, definition of the endocardial surface can be difficult, leading some investigators to suggest that black-blood studies are preferable. Grid tagging with use of spatial modulation of magnetization has been used to improve assessments of wall motion. The purpose of this paper, is to determine if grid tagging would also facilitate definition of the endocardial border for volume and ejection fraction calculations. Grid tagging based on spatial modulation of magnetization was implemented on a Toshiba 0.5-T MR imaging device. Standard RAO images were obtained in 10 normal volunteers with use of standard cine MR imaging sequences (33/22) with and without grid tagging. Images were analyzed to determine ventricular volume, cardiac output and wall motion. Images obtained without tagging generally showed good contrast at end diastole, but definition of the endocardial border was frequently more difficult in middle to late systole. Images with tagging provided significantly better definition of endocardial borders, particularly during systole

Guidelines for the verification and validation of expert system software and conventional software: Bibliography. Volume 8

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Miller, L.A.; Hayes, J.E.; Mirsky, S.M.

1995-03-01

This volume contains all of the technical references found in Volumes 1-7 concerning the development of guidelines for the verification and validation of expert systems, knowledge-based systems, other AI systems, object-oriented systems, and conventional systems

Guidelines for the verification and validation of expert system software and conventional software: Bibliography. Volume 8

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Miller, L.A.; Hayes, J.E.; Mirsky, S.M. [Science Applications International Corp., McLean, VA (United States)

1995-03-01

This volume contains all of the technical references found in Volumes 1-7 concerning the development of guidelines for the verification and validation of expert systems, knowledge-based systems, other AI systems, object-oriented systems, and conventional systems.

The roles of auxeticity and volume fraction on γ‧ precipitate microstructures in nickel-base alloys

Science.gov (United States)

Ardell, Alan J.

2017-01-01

New correlations are found between the elastic constants and late-stage precipitate microstructures in Ni-Al, Ni-Ga, Ni-Ge and Ni-Si alloys. The auxetic behaviour of Poisson's ratio, ν, measured parallel to [0 0 1] or ? in response to [1 1 0] loading, favours the amalgamation of Ni3Al and Ni3Ga precipitates into non-equilibrium shapes along cube directions when δν = (νγ‧ - νγ)/νγ‧ > 0, the superscripts referring to the γ‧ (Ni3X) and γ (Ni-X) phases, respectively. When δν 0 amalgamation of Ni3Al and Ni3Ga occurs readily, primarily producing laths of both phases. The γ‧ volume fraction, f, is also shown to play a role in the late-stage microstructures of Ni-Al alloys, with an increasing tendency to form Ni3Al laths, rather than plates, as f increases. The shapes of elastically soft γ precipitates in inverse Ni-Al and Ni-Ge alloys are different; Ni-Al precipitates are lath shaped, but Ni-Ge precipitates are plate shaped. The Ni-Ge plate shape, in a non-auxetic Ni3Ge matrix (Ni3Ge being the sole non-auxetic Ni3X phase of the four studied), is the only example of persistent plates in any of the Ni-base alloys investigated to date. The combination of an elastically soft precipitate (Ni-Ge) in a non-auxetic matrix suggests a connection between auxeticity and shape.

Left ventricular orientation and position in an advanced heart failure population

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Antonia E. Curtin

2017-06-01

Full Text Available Introduction: Previous canine and in silico studies indicate that left ventricular (LV orientation and position have clinically significant effects on standard ECG elements, which are particularly relevant in an advanced heart failure (HF population. Our objectives were to investigate the real-world implications of these previous results by describing for the first time the range of LV orientations and positions in HF patients, identifying clinical predictors of orientation and position, and investigating how thoracic geometry may affect orientation and position. Materials and methods: Cardiac MRIs were used to measure LV orientation angles, LV position, chest dimensions, and the ratio of LV volume to thoracic area (LVTR. Multivariate regression analyses were used to identify significant predictors of orientation and position. Results: The mean frontal plane LV orientation angle was 31 ± 11° (range, 0°–47° and fell within the ranges used in previous studies of orientation effects. Orientation in the transverse plane, the effects of which have not been simulated, averaged 48 ± 10° (range, 21°–71°. The ranges of LV positions in the frontal and transverse planes (7.9 and 5.6 cm, respectively are similar to or greater than those used in silico. Orientation and position were weakly correlated with multiple significant predictors, and the relationship between HF progression and LV orientation and position could not be determined. Conclusion: Variation in LV orientation and position in advanced HF patients is large and cannot be readily predicted using the standard clinical variables or additional thoracic geometry measures used in this study. These findings may have significant clinical implications because of the possible effects of orientation and position on key ECG features. New tools and additional studies are needed before LV orientation or position data can be incorporated into clinical ECG interpretation. Keywords: Heart

Series expansion in fractional calculus and fractional differential equations

OpenAIRE

Li, Ming-Fan; Ren, Ji-Rong; Zhu, Tao

2009-01-01

Fractional calculus is the calculus of differentiation and integration of non-integer orders. In a recently paper (Annals of Physics 323 (2008) 2756-2778), the Fundamental Theorem of Fractional Calculus is highlighted. Based on this theorem, in this paper we introduce fractional series expansion method to fractional calculus. We define a kind of fractional Taylor series of an infinitely fractionally-differentiable function. Further, based on our definition we generalize hypergeometric functio...

Tumor and normal tissue responses to fractioned non-uniform dose delivery

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kaellman, P; Aegren, A; Brahme, A [Karolinska Inst., Stockholm (Sweden). Dept. of Radiation Physics

1996-08-01

The volume dependence of the radiation response of a tumor is straight forward to quantify because it depends primarily on the eradication of all its clonogenic cells. A tumor therefore has a parallel organization as any surviving clonogen in principle can repopulate the tumor. The difficulty with the response of the tumor is instead to know the density and sensitivity distribution of the most resistant clonogenic cells. The increase in the 50% tumor control dose and the decrease in the maximum normalized slope of the dose response relation, {gamma}, in presence of small compartments of resistant tumor cells have therefore been quantified to describe their influence on the dose response relation. Injury to normal tissue is a much more complex and gradual process. It depends on earlier effects induced long before depletion of the differentiated and clonogenic cells that in addition may have a complex structural and functional organization. The volume dependence of the dose response relation of normal tissues is therefore described here by the relative seriality, s, of the infrastructure of the organ. The model can also be generalized to describe the response of heterogeneous tissues to non uniform dose distributions. The new model is compared with clinical and experimental data on normal tissue response, and shows good agreement both with regard to the shape of dose response relation and the volume dependence of the isoeffect dose. The response of tumors and normal tissues are quantified for arbitrary dose fractionations using the linear quadratic cell survival parameters {alpha} and {beta}. The parameters of the dose response relation are derived both for a constant dose per fraction and a constant number of dose fractions, thus in the latter case accounting also for non uniform dose delivery. (author). 26 refs, 4 figs.

ACTIVITY TEST AND REGENERATION OF NiMo/Z CATALYST FOR HYDROCRACKING OF WASTE PLASTIC FRACTION TO GASOLINE FRACTION

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Rodiansono Rodiansono

2010-06-01

Full Text Available Activity test and regeneration of NiMo/active natural zeolite catalyst for hydrocracking of waste plastic fraction of polyprophylene (PP type have been carried out. The catalysts was prepared by loading Mo followed by Ni Metals onto the natural zeolite (Z sample, then calcined at 500oC, oxidized and reduced at 400oC under nitrogen, oxygen and hydrogen stream, respectively. The characterization of catalysts including spesific surface area, average pore radius, and total pore volume were performed by gas sorption analyzer, amount of total acid sites was determined by gas sorption method, and acid site strength was confirmed by IR spectroscopy. The hydrocracking process was carried out in a semi-flow reactor system at 360 oC and catalyst:feed ratio 0.5 under hydrogen stream (150 mL/hour. The feed was vaporized from the pyrolisis reactor into the hydrocracking reactor. A liquid product was collected and analyzed by gas chromatography (GC and gas chromatography-mass spectroscopy (GC-MS. The characterization results showed that spesific surface area, average pore radius, and total pore volume of the Z sample decreased after loading of the Ni and Mo metals. Amount of total acid sites of the NiMo/Z catalyst was higher than that of the Z sample. The activity of NiMo/Z catalyst decreased after several continously runs. Its regeneration produced the NiMo/Z reg catalyst with similar activity and selectivity to the fresh catalyst (NiMo/Z. The activity of catalysts at the optimum condition followed the order of NiMo/Z reg>NiMo/Z>Z (conversion of hydrocarbon C>12 and NiMo/Z reg>NiMo/Z>Z (total yield of gasoline fraction. The selectivity of catalysts for C7-C8 product followed the order of Z>NiMo/Z>NiMo/Z reg. Keywords: activity, polyprophylene, catalyst, gasoline fraction.

Kinetic attractor phase diagrams of active nematic suspensions: the dilute regime.

Science.gov (United States)

Forest, M Gregory; Wang, Qi; Zhou, Ruhai

2015-08-28

Large-scale simulations by the authors of the kinetic-hydrodynamic equations for active polar nematics revealed a variety of spatio-temporal attractors, including steady and unsteady, banded (1d) and cellular (2d) spatial patterns. These particle scale activation-induced attractors arise at dilute nanorod volume fractions where the passive equilibrium phase is isotropic, whereas all previous model simulations have focused on the semi-dilute, nematic equilibrium regime and mostly on low-moment orientation tensor and polarity vector models. Here we extend our previous results to complete attractor phase diagrams for active nematics, with and without an explicit polar potential, to map out novel spatial and dynamic transitions, and to identify some new attractors, over the parameter space of dilute nanorod volume fraction and nanorod activation strength. The particle-scale activation parameter corresponds experimentally to a tunable force dipole strength (so-called pushers with propulsion from the rod tail) generated by active rod macromolecules, e.g., catalysis with the solvent phase, ATP-induced propulsion, or light-activated propulsion. The simulations allow 2d spatial variations in all flow and orientational variables and full spherical orientational degrees of freedom; the attractors correspond to numerical integration of a coupled system of 125 nonlinear PDEs in 2d plus time. The phase diagrams with and without the polar interaction potential are remarkably similar, implying that polar interactions among the rodlike particles are not essential to long-range spatial and temporal correlations in flow, polarity, and nematic order. As a general rule, above a threshold, low volume fractions induce 1d banded patterns, whereas higher yet still dilute volume fractions yield 2d patterns. Again as a general rule, varying activation strength at fixed volume fraction induces novel dynamic transitions. First, stationary patterns saturate the instability of the isotropic

Tumor response parameters for head and neck cancer derived from tumor-volume variation during radiation therapy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chvetsov, Alexei V.

2013-01-01

Purpose: The main goal of this paper is to reconstruct a distribution of cell survival fractions from tumor-volume variation for a heterogeneous group of head and neck cancer patients and compare this distribution to the data from predictive assays. Methods: To characterize the tumor-volume variation during radiation therapy treatment, the authors use a two-level tumor-volume model of cell population that separates the entire tumor cell population into two subpopulations of viable cells and lethally damaged cells. This parameterized radiobiological model is integrated with a least squares objective function and a simulated annealing optimization algorithm to describe time-dependent tumor-volume variation rates in individual patients. Several constraints have been used in the optimization problem because tumor-volume variation during radiotherapy is described by a sum of exponentials; therefore, the problem of accurately fitting a model to measured data is ill-posed. The model was applied to measured tumor-volume variation curves from a clinical study on tumor-volume variation during radiotherapy for 14 head and neck cancer patients in which an integrated CT/linear particle accelerator (LINAC) system was used for tumor-volume measurements. Results: The two-level cell population tumor-volume modeling is capable of describing tumor-volume variation throughout the entire treatment for 11 of the 14 patients. For three patients, the tumor-volume variation was described only during the initial part of treatment, a fact that may be related to the neglected hypoxia in the two-level approximation. The predicted probability density distribution for the survival fractions agrees with the data obtained using in vitro studies with predictive assays. The mean value 0.35 of survival fraction obtained in this study is larger than the value 0.32 from in vitro studies, which could be expected because of greater repair in vivo. The mean half-life obtained in this study for the head

Fractionated Boron Neutron Capture Therapy in Locally Recurrent Head and Neck Cancer: A Prospective Phase I/II Trial

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Wang, Ling-Wei, E-mail: lwwang@vghtpe.gov.tw [Department of Oncology, Taipei Veterans General Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan (China); National Yang-Ming University, Taiwan (China); Chen, Yi-Wei [Department of Oncology, Taipei Veterans General Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan (China); National Yang-Ming University, Taiwan (China); Ho, Ching-Yin [National Yang-Ming University, Taiwan (China); Department of Otolaryngology, Taipei Veterans General Hospital, Taiwan (China); Hsueh Liu, Yen-Wan [Institute of Nuclear Engineering and Science, National Tsing Hua University, Taiwan (China); Chou, Fong-In [Institute of Nuclear Engineering and Science, National Tsing Hua University, Taiwan (China); Nuclear Science and Technology Development Center, National Tsing Hua University, Taiwan (China); Liu, Yuan-Hao [Nuclear Science and Engineering Department, Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Nanjing (China); Liu, Hong-Ming; Peir, Jinn-Jer [Nuclear Science and Technology Development Center, National Tsing Hua University, Taiwan (China); Jiang, Shiang-Huei [Institute of Nuclear Engineering and Science, National Tsing Hua University, Taiwan (China); Chang, Chi-Wei [National Yang-Ming University, Taiwan (China); Department of Nuclear Medicine, Taipei Veterans General Hospital, Taiwan (China); Liu, Ching-Sheng [Department of Oncology, Taipei Veterans General Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan (China); National Yang-Ming University, Taiwan (China); Lin, Ko-Han [Taoyuan Veterans Hospital, Taiwan (China); Wang, Shyh-Jen [National Yang-Ming University, Taiwan (China); Department of Nuclear Medicine, Taipei Veterans General Hospital, Taiwan (China); Chu, Pen-Yuan [National Yang-Ming University, Taiwan (China); Department of Otolaryngology, Taipei Veterans General Hospital, Taiwan (China); Lo, Wen-Liang; Kao, Shou-Yen [National Yang-Ming University, Taiwan (China); Department of Stomatology, Taipei Veterans General Hospital, Taiwan (China); and others

2016-05-01

Purpose: To investigate the efficacy and safety of fractionated boron neutron capture therapy (BNCT) for recurrent head and neck (H&N) cancer after photon radiation therapy. Methods and Materials: In this prospective phase 1/2 trial, 2-fraction BNCT with intravenous L-boronophenylalanine (L-BPA, 400 mg/kg) was administered at a 28-day interval. Before each fraction, fluorine-18-labeled-BPA–positron emission tomography was conducted to determine the tumor/normal tissue ratio of an individual tumor. The prescription dose (D80) of 20 Gy-Eq per fraction was selected to cover 80% of the gross tumor volume by using a dose volume histogram, while minimizing the volume of oral mucosa receiving >10 Gy-Eq. Tumor responses and adverse effects were assessed using the Response Evaluation Criteria in Solid Tumors v1.1 and the Common Terminology Criteria for Adverse Events v3.0, respectively. Results: Seventeen patients with a previous cumulative radiation dose of 63-165 Gy were enrolled. All but 2 participants received 2 fractions of BNCT. The median tumor/normal tissue ratio was 3.4 for the first fraction and 2.5 for the second, whereas the median D80 for the first and second fraction was 19.8 and 14.6 Gy-Eq, respectively. After a median follow-up period of 19.7 months (range, 5.2-52 mo), 6 participants exhibited a complete response and 6 exhibited a partial response. Regarding acute toxicity, 5 participants showed grade 3 mucositis and 1 participant showed grade 4 laryngeal edema and carotid hemorrhage. Regarding late toxicity, 2 participants exhibited grade 3 cranial neuropathy. Four of six participants (67%) receiving total D80 > 40 Gy-Eq had a complete response. Two-year overall survival was 47%. Two-year locoregional control was 28%. Conclusions: Our results suggested that 2-fraction BNCT with adaptive dose prescription was effective and safe in locally recurrent H&N cancer. Modifications to our protocol may yield more satisfactory results in the future.

Precipitation and Evolution Behavior of Second Phase Particles in Grain-oriented Silicon Steel with Cu

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

LI Zhi-chao

2017-12-01

Full Text Available The precipitation behavior and distribution of second phase particles in conventional grain-oriented silicon steel during manufacturing process were observed by field emission scanning electron microscopy, and the average particle size, the areal particle density, and the Zener factor were statistically analyzed. The results show that the samples mainly contain two kinds of precipitates:A class is the (Cu,MnS composite precipitates with the average size of 1μm; B class is the Cu2S precipitates with the size of 10-30nm, the key inhibition effect is produced by Cu2S. Hot rolling leads to a large amount of fine second phase particles precipitation, which has the minimum average particle size and the highest areal density; in the manufacturing process before high temperature annealing, the average particle size is increasing and the areal density is decreasing; in the process of high temperature annealing, with the decrease of volume fraction of precipitates, the inhibition ability exhibits reducing trend,obvious aggregation occurs at 960℃,secondary recrystallization will happen when Zener factor A decreases below the critical value of 0.19nm-1, and the residual particles will not produce valid inhibition effect.

An analysis of malar fat volume in two age groups: implications for craniofacial surgery.

Science.gov (United States)

Corey, Christina L; Popelka, Gerald R; Barrera, Jose E; Most, Sam P

2012-12-01

Objective To evaluate how malar fat pad (MFP) volumes vary with age, after controlling for gender and body mass index (BMI). Study Design A prospective case-control study evaluating volume of the MFP in women of two age groups. Methods Soft tissue dimensions were measured in eight subjects using magnetic resonance imaging. A multiplanar localizing sequence, followed in sagittal and coronal orientations using a turbo spin echo sequence, was performed to define the MFP. Volumetric calculations were then performed using a 3D image analysis application (Dextroscope, Volume Interactions, Republic of Singapore) to circumscribe areas, orient dimensions, and calculate volumes of the MFP. Results These data reveal no significant difference in the mean (standard deviation) right MFP (p = 0.50), left MFP (p = 0.41), or total MFP (p = 0.45) volumes when comparing the two age groups. In addition, these data indicate that there was no correlation between age and total MFP volume (Pearson correlation coefficient 0.27). Moreover, there was no correlation between age and the ratio of total volume/BMI (Pearson correlation coefficient -0.18). Conclusions Although the sample size of this study was small, these data indicate that ptosis of midfacial fat is more important than volume loss in midfacial aging. These data would suggest repositioning as the primary modality for craniofacial reconstruction.

Relationship between free volume and mechanical properties of polyurethane irradiated by gamma rays

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Heliang Sui; Xin Ju; Xueyong Liu; Fachun Zhong; Xiaoyan Li; Baoyi Wang

2014-01-01

Polyurethane was irradiated at various gamma radiation doses up to 1,000 kGy at room temperature in nitrogen. Positron annihilation lifetime spectroscopy, tensile test and dynamic mechanical analysis were used to find the relationship between free volume and mechanical properties. An increase of the free volume fraction in soft segments (SS) and a decrease of the free volume fraction in hard segments (HS) during gamma radiation was observed and analyzed. The results showed that HS in polyurethane had the excellent resistance to gamma radiation, whereas SS had a tendency to degrade. The reason for the decrease of the strain at break and the ultimate tensile strength was analyzed, which showed the changes in the mechanical properties of polyurethane irradiated by gamma rays were mainly determined by the changes of free volume in SS. If the resistance properties of polyurethanes exposed to radiations need to be improved, SS should be paid more attention to. (author)

Orthostatic changes in the blood volumes of the lower extremities in practically healthy humans

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Frolov, V K; Koshkin, V M; Karalkin, A V [Vtoroj Moskovskij Gosudarstvennyj Meditsinskij Inst. (USSR)

1979-07-01

The method and the results of measuring the blood volumes in the lower extremities in the horizontal and vertical position of the body are given. A combination of a single-sensor counter of the whole body and a gamma-chamber with the use of two nondiffuse active radioindicators, erythrocytes labelled with /sup 51/Cr and albumin-sup(99m)Tc in certain sequence, is found to be the most optimal for quantitative evaluation of the regional volumes of the blood. To raise the informativeness of the studies the authors recommend distinguishing ''rapid'' and ''slow'' fractions of the blood volume progressive growth in the crus since the correlation of these fractions reflect the specific features of an individual orthostatic reaction for each examinee.

Fractional governing equations of transient groundwater flow in confined aquifers with multi-fractional dimensions in fractional time

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

M. L. Kavvas

2017-10-01

Full Text Available Using fractional calculus, a dimensionally consistent governing equation of transient, saturated groundwater flow in fractional time in a multi-fractional confined aquifer is developed. First, a dimensionally consistent continuity equation for transient saturated groundwater flow in fractional time and in a multi-fractional, multidimensional confined aquifer is developed. For the equation of water flux within a multi-fractional multidimensional confined aquifer, a dimensionally consistent equation is also developed. The governing equation of transient saturated groundwater flow in a multi-fractional, multidimensional confined aquifer in fractional time is then obtained by combining the fractional continuity and water flux equations. To illustrate the capability of the proposed governing equation of groundwater flow in a confined aquifer, a numerical application of the fractional governing equation to a confined aquifer groundwater flow problem was also performed.

An object-oriented framework for medical image registration, fusion, and visualization.

Science.gov (United States)

Zhu, Yang-Ming; Cochoff, Steven M

2006-06-01

An object-oriented framework for image registration, fusion, and visualization was developed based on the classic model-view-controller paradigm. The framework employs many design patterns to facilitate legacy code reuse, manage software complexity, and enhance the maintainability and portability of the framework. Three sample applications built a-top of this framework are illustrated to show the effectiveness of this framework: the first one is for volume image grouping and re-sampling, the second one is for 2D registration and fusion, and the last one is for visualization of single images as well as registered volume images.

Target volume geometric change and/or deviation from the cranium during fractionated stereotactic radiotherapy for brain metastases: potential pitfalls in image guidance based on bony anatomy alignment.

Science.gov (United States)

Ohtakara, Kazuhiro; Hoshi, Hiroaki

2014-12-01

This study sought to evaluate the potential geometrical change and/or displacement of the target relative to the cranium during fractionated stereotactic radiotherapy (FSRT) for treating newly developed brain metastases. For 16 patients with 21 lesions treated with image-guided frameless FSRT in 5 or 10 fractions using a 6-degree-of-freedom image guidance system-integrated platform, the unenhanced computed tomography or T2-weighted magnetic resonance images acquired until the completion of FSRT were fused to the planning image datasets for comparison. Significant change was defined as ≥3-mm change in the tumour diameter or displacement of the tumour centroid. FSRT was started 1 day after planning image acquisition. Tumour shrinkage, deviation and both were observed in 2, 1 and 1 of the 21 lesions, respectively, over a period of 7-13 days. Tumour shrinkage or deviation resulted in an increase or decrease in the marginal dose to the tumour, respectively, and a substantial increase in the irradiated volume for the surrounding tissue irrespective of the pattern of alteration. No obvious differences in the clinical and treatment characteristics were noted among the populations with or without significant changes in tumour volume or position. Target deformity and/or deviation can unexpectedly occur even during relatively short-course FSRT, inevitably leading to a gradual discrepancy between the planned and actually delivered doses to the tumour and surrounding tissue. To appropriately weigh the treatment outcome against the planned dose distribution, target deformity and/or deviation should also be considered in addition to the immobilisation accuracy, as image guidance with bony anatomy alignment does not necessarily guarantee accurate target localisation until completion of FSRT. © 2014 The Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Radiologists.

Differing responses in right and left ventricular filling, loading and volumes during positive end-expiratory pressure

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Schulman, D.S.; Biondi, J.W.; Matthay, R.A.; Zaret, B.L.; Soufer, R.

1989-01-01

Using a combined hemodynamic and radionuclide technique, 20 patients with varied ventricular function were evaluated during positive end-expiratory pressure (PEEP) application. Left ventricular (LV) and right ventricular (RV) ejection fractions and cardiac output were measured, and ventricular volumes were derived. Seven patients (group 1) who had an increase in LV end-diastolic volume with PEEP and 13 patients (group 2) who had the more typical response, a decrease in LV end-diastolic volume with PEEP, were identified. Compared with group 2, group 1 patients had a higher incidence of coronary artery disease (5 of 7 vs 1 of 13, p less than 0.005) and lower cardiac output (3.9 +/- 1.6 vs 9.1 +/- 3.2 liters/min, p less than 0.005), LV ejection fraction (27 +/- 13 vs 51 +/- 21%, p less than 0.05), RV ejection fraction (15 +/- 6 vs 32 +/- 8%, p less than 0.005) and peak filling rate (1.32 +/- 0.43 vs 3.51 +/- 1.70 end-diastolic volumes/s, p less than 0.05). LV and RV volumes increased and peak filling rate decreased with PEEP in group 1, whereas in group 2 LV volume decreased and RV volume and peak filling rate remained unchanged. Using stepwise regression analysis, the change in LV volume with PEEP was related directly to baseline systemic vascular resistance and inversely to baseline blood pressure. Similarly, the change in peak filling rate with PEEP was inversely related to the change in RV end-diastolic volume. Thus, the hemodynamic response to PEEP is heterogeneous and may be related to LV ischemia

A low-volume cavity ring-down spectrometer for sample-limited applications

Science.gov (United States)

Stowasser, C.; Farinas, A. D.; Ware, J.; Wistisen, D. W.; Rella, C.; Wahl, E.; Crosson, E.; Blunier, T.

2014-08-01

In atmospheric and environmental sciences, optical spectrometers are used for the measurements of greenhouse gas mole fractions and the isotopic composition of water vapor or greenhouse gases. The large sample cell volumes (tens of milliliters to several liters) in commercially available spectrometers constrain the usefulness of such instruments for applications that are limited in sample size and/or need to track fast variations in the sample stream. In an effort to make spectrometers more suitable for sample-limited applications, we developed a low-volume analyzer capable of measuring mole fractions of methane and carbon monoxide based on a commercial cavity ring-down spectrometer. The instrument has a small sample cell (9.6 ml) and can selectively be operated at a sample cell pressure of 140, 45, or 20 Torr (effective internal volume of 1.8, 0.57, and 0.25 ml). We present the new sample cell design and the flow path configuration, which are optimized for small sample sizes. To quantify the spectrometer's usefulness for sample-limited applications, we determine the renewal rate of sample molecules within the low-volume spectrometer. Furthermore, we show that the performance of the low-volume spectrometer matches the performance of the standard commercial analyzers by investigating linearity, precision, and instrumental drift.

Fractional governing equations of transient groundwater flow in confined aquifers with multi-fractional dimensions in fractional time

OpenAIRE

M. L. Kavvas; T. Tu; A. Ercan; J. Polsinelli

2017-01-01

Using fractional calculus, a dimensionally consistent governing equation of transient, saturated groundwater flow in fractional time in a multi-fractional confined aquifer is developed. First, a dimensionally consistent continuity equation for transient saturated groundwater flow in fractional time and in a multi-fractional, multidimensional confined aquifer is developed. For the equation of water flux within a multi-fractional multidimensional confined aquifer, a dimensionally...

Multi-slice CT (MSCT) in cardiac function imaging: threshold-value-supported 3D volume reconstructions to determine the left ventricular ejection fraction in comparison to MRI

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ehrhard, K.; Oberholzer, K.; Gast, K.; Mildenberger, P.; Kreitner, K.F.; Thelen, M.

2002-01-01

Purpose: To assess MSCT of the heart to determining left ventricular ejection fraction (EF) based on threshold-value-supported 3D volume reconstructions compared to MRI. Methods: Cardiac MSCT was performed in 7 patients. Images were reconstructed during end-systolic and end-diastolic phases of the cardiac cycle and transformed to 3D volumes to determine end-systolic (ESV) and end-diastolic volume (EDV) by using different lower threshold values: besides fixed lower threshold values, identical for each image sequence, individual lower threshold values dependent on contrast enhancement of the left ventricle were applied. The latter represent the mean value calculated by combining the average CT-density of the myocardium and the contrast-enhanced blood in the left ventricle. The EF derived from ESV and EDV. Results: The best correlation with MR imaging was obtained for ESV and EDV by using the individual lower threshold values for the respective sequence. The correlation coefficient for ESV was 0.95 and for EDV it was 0.93. On average, the ESV was overestimated by 3.72 ml, while the ESD was underestimated by 2.85 ml. The respective standard deviation for the ESV was 14,87 ml, for the EDV it was 26.83 ml. On average, the EF was underestimated by 3.57% with a standard deviation of 9.43% and a correlation coefficient of 0.83 in comparison to MRI. Conclusion: The threshold-value-supported 3D volume reconstruction of the left ventricle represents a good method to determine the left ventricular function parameters. Due to the differences in the contrast enhancement, the use of an individual lower threshold value for every image sequence is of particular importance. (orig.) [de

Influence of heart failure on resting lung volumes in patients with COPD

Science.gov (United States)

de Souza, Aline Soares; Sperandio, Priscila Abreu; Mazzuco, Adriana; Alencar, Maria Clara; Arbex, Flávio Ferlin; de Oliveira, Mayron Faria; O'Donnell, Denis Eunan; Neder, José Alberto

2016-01-01

ABSTRACT Objective: To evaluate the influence of chronic heart failure (CHF) on resting lung volumes in patients with COPD, i.e., inspiratory fraction-inspiratory capacity (IC)/TLC-and relative inspiratory reserve-[1 − (end-inspiratory lung volume/TLC)]. Methods: This was a prospective study involving 56 patients with COPD-24 (23 males/1 female) with COPD+CHF and 32 (28 males/4 females) with COPD only-who, after careful clinical stabilization, underwent spirometry (with forced and slow maneuvers) and whole-body plethysmography. Results: Although FEV1, as well as the FEV1/FVC and FEV1/slow vital capacity ratios, were higher in the COPD+CHF group than in the COPD group, all major "static" volumes-RV, functional residual capacity (FRC), and TLC-were lower in the former group (p < 0.05). There was a greater reduction in FRC than in RV, resulting in the expiratory reserve volume being lower in the COPD+CHF group than in the COPD group. There were relatively proportional reductions in FRC and TLC in the two groups; therefore, IC was also comparable. Consequently, the inspiratory fraction was higher in the COPD+CHF group than in the COPD group (0.42 ± 0.10 vs. 0.36 ± 0.10; p < 0.05). Although the tidal volume/IC ratio was higher in the COPD+CHF group, the relative inspiratory reserve was remarkably similar between the two groups (0.35 ± 0.09 vs. 0.44 ± 0.14; p < 0.05). Conclusions: Despite the restrictive effects of CHF, patients with COPD+CHF have relatively higher inspiratory limits (a greater inspiratory fraction). However, those patients use only a part of those limits, probably in order to avoid critical reductions in inspiratory reserve and increases in elastic recoil. PMID:27832235

Esophageal Toxicity From High-Dose, Single-Fraction Paraspinal Stereotactic Radiosurgery

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cox, Brett W.; Jackson, Andrew; Hunt, Margie; Bilsky, Mark; Yamada, Yoshiya

2012-01-01

Purpose: To report the esophageal toxicity from single-fraction paraspinal stereotactic radiosurgery (SRS) and identify dosimetric and clinical risk factors for toxicity. Methods and Materials: A total of 204 spinal metastases abutting the esophagus (182 patients) were treated with high-dose single-fraction SRS during 2003-2010. Toxicity was scored using the National Cancer Institute Common Toxicity Criteria for Adverse Events, version 4.0. Dose-volume histograms were combined to generate a comprehensive atlas of complication incidence that identifies risk factors for toxicity. Correlation of dose-volume factors with esophageal toxicity was assessed using Fisher’s exact test and logistic regression. Clinical factors were correlated with toxicity. Results: The median dose to the planning treatment volume was 24 Gy. Median follow-up was 12 months (range, 3-81). There were 31 (15%) acute and 24 (12%) late esophageal toxicities. The rate of grade ≥3 acute or late toxicity was 6.8% (14 patients). Fisher’s exact test resulted in significant median splits for grade ≥3 toxicity at V12 = 3.78 cm 3 (relative risk [RR] 3.7, P=.05), V15 = 1.87 cm 3 (RR 13, P=.0013), V20 = 0.11 cm 3 (RR 6, P=0.01), and V22 = 0.0 cm 3 (RR 13, P=.0013). The median split for D2.5 cm 3 (14.02 Gy) was also a significant predictor of toxicity (RR 6; P=.01). A highly significant logistic regression model was generated on the basis of D2.5 cm 3 . One hundred percent (n = 7) of grade ≥4 toxicities were associated with radiation recall reactions after doxorubicin or gemcitabine chemotherapy or iatrogenic manipulation of the irradiated esophagus. Conclusions: High-dose, single-fraction paraspinal SRS has a low rate of grade ≥3 esophageal toxicity. Severe esophageal toxicity is minimized with careful attention to esophageal doses during treatment planning. Iatrogenic manipulation of the irradiated esophagus and systemic agents classically associated with radiation recall reactions are

NUMERICAL METHOD OF MIXED FINITE VOLUME-MODIFIED UPWIND FRACTIONAL STEP DIFFERENCE FOR THREE-DIMENSIONAL SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICE TRANSIENT BEHAVIOR PROBLEMS

Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

Yirang YUAN; Qing YANG; Changfeng LI; Tongjun SUN

2017-01-01

Transient behavior of three-dimensional semiconductor device with heat conduction is described by a coupled mathematical system of four quasi-linear partial differential equations with initial-boundary value conditions.The electric potential is defined by an elliptic equation and it appears in the following three equations via the electric field intensity.The electron concentration and the hole concentration are determined by convection-dominated diffusion equations and the temperature is interpreted by a heat conduction equation.A mixed finite volume element approximation,keeping physical conservation law,is used to get numerical values of the electric potential and the accuracy is improved one order.Two concentrations and the heat conduction are computed by a fractional step method combined with second-order upwind differences.This method can overcome numerical oscillation,dispersion and decreases computational complexity.Then a three-dimensional problem is solved by computing three successive one-dimensional problems where the method of speedup is used and the computational work is greatly shortened.An optimal second-order error estimate in L2 norm is derived by using prior estimate theory and other special techniques of partial differential equations.This type of mass-conservative parallel method is important and is most valuable in numerical analysis and application of semiconductor device.

Orientation of aromatic residues in amyloid cores: Structural insights into prion fiber diversity

KAUST Repository

Reymer, Anna

2014-11-17

Structural conversion of one given protein sequence into different amyloid states, resulting in distinct phenotypes, is one of the most intriguing phenomena of protein biology. Despite great efforts the structural origin of prion diversity remains elusive, mainly because amyloids are insoluble yet noncrystalline and therefore not easily amenable to traditional structural-biology methods. We investigate two different phenotypic prion strains, weak and strong, of yeast translation termination factor Sup35 with respect to angular orientation of tyrosines using polarized light spectroscopy. By applying a combination of alignment methods the degree of fiber orientation can be assessed, which allows a relatively accurate determination of the aromatic ring angles. Surprisingly, the strains show identical average orientations of the tyrosines, which are evenly spread through the amyloid core. Small variations between the two strains are related to the local environment of a fraction of tyrosines outside the core, potentially reflecting differences in fibril packing.

3D Representative Volume Element Reconstruction of Fiber Composites via Orientation Tensor and Substructure Features

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Li, Yi; Chen, Wei; Xu, Hongyi; Jin, Xuejun

2016-01-01

To provide a seamless integration of manufacturing processing simulation and fiber microstructure modeling, two new stochastic 3D microstructure reconstruction methods are proposed for two types of random fiber composites: random short fiber composites, and Sheet Molding Compounds (SMC) chopped fiber composites. A Random Sequential Adsorption (RSA) algorithm is first developed to embed statistical orientation information into 3D RVE reconstruction of random short fiber composites. For the SMC composites, an optimized Voronoi diagram based approach is developed for capturing the substructure features of SMC chopped fiber composites. The proposed methods are distinguished from other reconstruction works by providing a way of integrating statistical information (fiber orientation tensor) obtained from material processing simulation, as well as capturing the multiscale substructures of the SMC composites.

Critical Qualitative Research Reader. Critical Qualitative Research. Volume 2

Science.gov (United States)

Steinberg, Shirley R., Ed.; Cannella, Gaile S., Ed.

2012-01-01

This volume of transformed research utilizes an activist approach to examine the notion that nothing is apolitical. Research projects themselves are critically examined for power orientations, even as they are used to address curricular problems and educational or societal issues. Philosophical perspectives that have facilitated an understanding…

Ductile damage in aluminium alloy thin sheets: Correlation between micro-tomography observations and mechanical modeling

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Thuillier, S.; Maire, E.; Brunet, M.

2012-01-01

This work deals with the characterization of ductile damage in an aluminium alloy AA6016-T4 by X-ray micro-tomography, as a function of anisotropy and triaxiality. Interrupted tensile tests on notched samples with three different geometries were performed and the void volume fraction was measured for different strain values, up to rupture. It was shown that void volume fraction evolution with the strain is rather similar at 0° and 90° to RD but at 45° to RD it shows a more rapid evolution. Moreover, for the same strain level, a higher void volume fraction was recorded for a higher triaxiality ratio. Whatever the orientation and the stress triaxiality ratio, void volume fraction values range from 5×10 −4 up to 0.04. A numerical model based on Gurson–Tvergaard–Needleman constitutive equations was used to simulate the different tests. Hardening of the material was identified from macroscopic tensile test nucleation material parameters were identified by a direct method from void volume fraction evolution. It can be seen that the influence of triaxiality on void volume fraction is underestimated, though void growth is nicely predicted for the highest triaxiality ratio, for strains below 0.5. The load level was correctly predicted, except for high strain, where coalescence seems necessary to be taken into account.

Intra-fractional bladder motion and margins in adaptive radiotherapy for urinary bladder cancer

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Grønborg, Caroline; Vestergaard, Anne; Høyer, Morten

2015-01-01

and to estimate population-based and patient-specific intra-fractional margins, also relevant for a future re-optimisation strategy. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Nine patients treated in a clinical phase II ART trial of daily plan selection for bladder cancer were included. In the library plans, 5 mm isotropic margins......BACKGROUND: The bladder is a tumour site well suited for adaptive radiotherapy (ART) due to large inter-fractional changes, but it also displays considerable intra-fractional motion. The aim of this study was to assess target coverage with a clinically applied method for plan selection ART...... were added to account for intra-fractional changes. Pre-treatment and weekly repeat magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) series were acquired in which a full three-dimensional (3D) volume was scanned every second min for 10 min (a total of 366 scans in 61 series). Initially, the bladder clinical target...

Scintigraphic method for evaluating reductions in local blood volumes in human extremities

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Blønd, L; Madsen, Jan Lysgård

2000-01-01

in the experiment. Evaluation of one versus two scintigraphic projections, trials for assessment of the reproducibility, a comparison of the scintigraphic method with a water-plethysmographic method and registration of the fractional reduction in blood volume caused by exsanguination as a result of simple elevation......% in the lower limb experiment and 6% in the upper limb experiment. We found a significant relation (r = 0.42, p = 0.018) between the results obtained by the scintigraphic method and the plethysmographic method. In fractions, a mean reduction in blood volume of 0.49+0.14 (2 SD) was found after 1 min of elevation......We introduce a new method for evaluating reductions in local blood volumes in extremities, based on the combined use of autologue injection of 99mTc-radiolabelled erythrocytes and clamping of the limb blood flow by the use of a tourniquet. Twenty-two healthy male volunteers participated...

Factors affecting accuracy of ventricular volume and ejection fraction measured by gated Tl-201 myocardial perfusion single photon emission computed tomography

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Pai, Moon Sun; Yang, You Jung; Im, Ki Chun; Hong, Il Ki; Yun, Sung Cheol; Kang, Duk Hyun; Song, Jae Kwan; Moon, Dae Hyuk

2005-01-01