Assessment of the Microscreen phage-induction assay for screening hazardous wastes

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Houk, V.S.; DeMarini, D.M.

1987-09-01

The Microscreen phage-induction assay, which quantitatively measures the induction of prophage lambda in Escherichia coli WP2s(lambda), was used to test 14 crude (unfractionated) hazardous industrial waste samples for genotoxic activity in the presence and absence of metabolic activation. Eleven of the 14 wastes induced prophage, and induction was observed at concentrations as low as 0.4 picograms per ml. Comparisons between the mutagenicity of these waste samples in Salmonella and their ability to induce prophage lambda indicate that the Microscreen phage-induction assay detected genotoxic activity in all but one of the wastes that were mutagenic in Salmonella. Moreover, the Microscreen assaymore » detected as genotoxic 5 additional wastes that were not detected in the Salmonella assay. The applicability of the Microscreen phage-induction assay for screening hazardous wastes for genotoxic activity is discussed along with some of the problems associated with screening highly toxic wastes containing toxic volatile compounds.« less

Use of the Microscreen phage-induction assay to assess the genotoxicity of 14 hazardous industrial wastes

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Houk, V.S.; DeMarini, D.M.

1988-01-01

The Microscreen phage-induction assay, which quantitatively measures the induction of prophage lambda in Escherichia coli WP2s lambda, was used to test 14 crude (unfractionated) hazardous industrial-waste samples for genotoxic activity in the presence and absence of metabolic activation. Eleven of the 14 wastes induced prophage, and induction was observed at concentrations as low as 0.4 picograms per ml. Comparisons between the mutagenicity of these waste samples in Salmonella and their ability to induce prophage lambda indicate that the Microscreen phage-induction assay detected genotoxic activity in all but one of the wastes that were mutagenic in Salmonella. Moreover, the Microscreen assaymore » detected as genotoxic 5 additional wastes that were not detected in the Salmonella assay. The applicability of the Microscreen phage-induction assay for screening hazardous wastes for genotoxic activity is discussed along with some of the problems associated with screening highly toxic wastes containing toxic volatile compounds.« less

Potential sources of Campylobacter infection on chicken farms: contamination and control of broiler-harvesting equipment, vehicles and personnel.

PubMed

Ridley, A; Morris, V; Gittins, J; Cawthraw, S; Harris, J; Edge, S; Allen, V

2011-07-01

To test the efficacy of enhanced biosecurity measures on poultry farms for reducing environmental contamination with Campylobacter during partial depopulation of broiler flocks prior to normal slaughter age. The study has also evaluated the risk of infection from live-bird transport crates that are routinely cleaned at the slaughterhouse, but may remain contaminated. On-farm sampling and Campylobacter isolation was undertaken to compare the prevalence of contamination on vehicles, equipment and catching personnel during farm visits that took place under normal or enhanced biosecurity. Campylobacters were found in almost all types of sample examined and enhanced biosecurity reduced the prevalence. However, the additional measures failed to prevent colonisation of the flocks. For transport crates, challenge trials involved exposure of broilers to commercially cleaned crates and genotyping of any campylobacters isolated. The birds were rapidly colonised with the same genotypes as those isolated from the cleaned crates. The enhanced biosecurity measures were insufficient to prevent flock colonisation, and the problem was exacerbated by inadequate cleaning of transport crates at the slaughterhouse. Current commercial practices in the United Kingdom facilitate the spread of campylobacters among broiler chicken flocks. Prevention of flock infection appears to require more stringent biosecurity than that studied here. © 2011 Crown Copyright. Journal of Applied Microbiology © 2011 The Society for Applied Microbiology.

Determination of piglet location in farrowing crates based on depth and digital images

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Understanding and properly managing behavioral responses of prewean piglets to the farrowing environment can improve well-being and pre-weaning performance of the piglets. This paper aims to quantify piglet location in the farrowing crate as affected by the lactating sow’s lying posture. Each farrow...

Automatic classification of bottles in crates

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Aas, Kjersti; Eikvil, Line; Bremnes, Dag; Norbryhn, Andreas

1995-03-01

This paper presents a statistical method for classification of bottles in crates for use in automatic return bottle machines. For the automatons to reimburse the correct deposit, a reliable recognition is important. The images are acquired by a laser range scanner coregistering the distance to the object and the strength of the reflected signal. The objective is to identify the crate and the bottles from a library with a number of legal types. The bottles with significantly different size are separated using quite simple methods, while a more sophisticated recognizer is required to distinguish the more similar bottle types. Good results have been obtained when testing the method developed on bottle types which are difficult to distinguish using simple methods.

Microenvironments in swine farrowing rooms: the thermal, lighting and acoustic environments of sows and piglets

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

The present research hypothesized that the thermal, lighting and acoustic environments in commercial swine farrowing rooms vary over time and among crates. The study was conducted in 27 replicates in two commercial farrowing rooms in North Central Indiana, each equipped with 60 farrowing crates. Tem...

Will VAMS Reinforce the Walls of the Egg-Crate School?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Johnson, Susan Moore

2015-01-01

Throughout the United States there is an increasing trend toward using value-added methods (VAMs) for high-stakes decisions. When policymakers use VAMs to identify, reward, and dismiss teachers, they may perpetuate the egg-crate model of schooling and undermine efforts to build instructional capacity schoolwide. At any time, in any school, some…

Confinement of sows for different periods during lactation: effects on behaviour and lesions of sows and performance of piglets.

PubMed

Lambertz, C; Petig, M; Elkmann, A; Gauly, M

2015-08-01

Alternatives to farrowing crates with continuous confinement of the sow are urgently needed because the animal welfare is negatively impacted. Given the increase of herd sizes, practical experience with loose-housing is needed to force the implementation of these systems in the field. Next to aspects of labour efficiency, detrimental piglet mortality rates that may occur during the first days postpartum (pp) is a major criticism. Therefore, loose-housing after a crating period limited to the first days pp might be a feasible alternative to improve welfare under intensive production conditions. The aim was to investigate the effect of crating sows during lactation for different periods on their behaviour and integument alterations and on piglets' performance. Gilts from a commercial herd were observed from 5 to 26 days pp and housed in farrowing crates (1.85×2.50 m) that could be altered between confinement crates and loose-housing pens. Animals were divided into three groups, that were either crated continuously from birth until weaning (Group A, n=55), until 14 days pp (Group B; n=54) or 7 days pp (Group C, n=59). The behaviour of six randomly selected gilts per group was video recorded from 5 to 26 days pp and analysed by time sampling technique. Lesions on the legs, shoulder and lumbar vertebra were scored on days 7, 14 and 25 pp. Piglets were weighed weekly, causes of losses recorded and weight losses of gilts measured. Not different between groups (P>0.05), animals spent 72 to 76% lying laterally, 14 to 17% lying in abdominal or semi-abdominal position, 9 to 10% standing and 1 to 3% sitting. B-sows were lying longer in week 3 and 4 of lactation compared to A- and C-sows (P0.05), whereas almost 90% of the losses occurred in the first week pp. In conclusion, loose-housing of lactating gilts after a reduced postnatal crating period of 7 days affected neither the activity level of the gilts and lesions on the integument nor pre-weaning mortality. Therefore, it is recommended to allow sows to move around to some extent during the later lactation period.

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Hensley, D.C.

Nuclear Fuel Services sent more than 800 drums of nuclear waste to Oak Ridge National Laboratory, with the majority of the waste packaged into five different waste matrix types. A thorough and complete assay of the waste was performed at both NFS and at ORNL. A detailed comparing of the two assay sets provides valuable. insights into problems encountered in typical assay campaigns, particularly as there is, for the most part, excellent agreement between these two campaigns.

A flexible CAMAC based data system for Space Shuttle scientific instruments

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Ehrmann, C. H.; Baker, R. G.; Smith, R. L.; Kaminski, T. J.

1979-01-01

An effort has been made within NASA to produce a low-cost modular system for implementation of Shuttle payloads based on the CAMAC standards for packaging and data transfer. A key element of such a modular system is a means for controlling the data system, collecting and processing the data for transmission to the ground, and issuing commands to the instrument either from the ground or based on the data collected. A description is presented of such a means based on a network of digital processors and CAMAC crate controllers, which allows for the implementation of instruments ranging from those requiring only a single CAMAC crate of functional modules and no data processing to ones requiring multiple crates and multiple data processors.

Applications Where Snap is BPM for Radioactive Waste Assay

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Miller, T.J.

2008-07-01

Historically, the Atomic Weapons Establishment (AWE) at Aldermaston in the United Kingdom (UK), has used a variety of assay techniques to measure the radioactive content of a diverse range of waste packages from decommissioning, operational and legacy sources. The regulator, the Environment Agency in the UK, places conditions and limits on AWE through an authorisation within the Radioactive Substances Act (RSA93). The conditions and limits require Best Practical Means (BPM) measurements to be used to demonstrate compliance with the authorisation. Hence, the assay technique employed needs to achieve a balance between risk of exposure, environmental considerations, technological considerations, health andmore » safety considerations and cost effectiveness, without being grossly disproportionate in terms of money, time or trouble. Recently published work has concluded that the Spectral Non-destructive Assay Platform (SNAP) assay system is BPM for Depleted Uranium (DU) waste assay at AWE (1) and low level plutonium in soft drummed waste, HEPA filters and soils (2-4). The purpose of this paper is to highlight other applications where SNAP represents BPM for radioactive waste assay. This has been done by intercomparison studies of SNAP with other assay techniques, such as Segmented Gamma Scanner (SGS) and Passive Neutron Coincidence Counter (PNCC). It has been concluded that, for a large range of waste packages encountered at AWE, SNAP is BPM. (author)« less

Controlling CAMAC instrumentation through the USB port

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ribas, R. V.

2012-02-01

A programmable device to interface CAMAC instrumentation to the USB port of computers, without the need of heavy, noisy and expensive CAMAC crates is described in this article. Up to four single-width modules can be used. Also, all software necessary for a multi-parametric data acquisition system was developed. A standard crate-controller based on the same project is being designed.

Status of the waste assay for nonradioactive disposal (WAND) project

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Arnone, Gaetano L.; Foster, Lynn A.; Foxx, Charles L.; Hagan, Roland C.; Martin, E. R.; Myers, Steven C.; Parker, Jack L.

1999-01-01

The WAND (Waste Assay for Nonradioactive Disposal) system scans thought-to-be-clean, low-density waste (mostly paper and plastics) to verify the absence of radioactive contaminants at very low-levels. Much of the low-density waste generated in radiologically controlled areas, formally considered `suspect' radioactive, is now disposed more cheaply at the Los Alamos County Landfill as opposed to the LANL Radioactive Waste Landfill.

Sources of Salmonella on broiler carcasses during transportation and processing: modes of contamination and methods of control.

PubMed

Corry, Janet E L; Allen, V M; Hudson, W R; Breslin, M F; Davies, R H

2002-01-01

The prevalence and types of salmonella in broiler chickens during transportation and during slaughter and dressing were studied. This was part of a comprehensive investigation of salmonellas in two UK poultry companies, which aimed to find the origins and mechanisms of salmonella contamination. Salmonellas were isolated using cultural methods. Serovars of Salmonella detected during rearing were usually also found in a small proportion of birds on the day of slaughter and on the carcasses at various points during processing. There was little evidence of salmonellas spreading to large numbers of carcasses during processing. Many serovars found in the feedmills or hatcheries were also detected in the birds during rearing and/or slaughter. Transport crates were contaminated with salmonellas after washing and disinfection. Prevalence of salmonellas fell in the two companies during this survey. A small number of serovars predominated in the processing plants of each company. These serovars originated from the feed mills. Reasons for transport crate contamination were: (1) inadequate cleaning, resulting in residual faecal soiling; (2) disinfectant concentration and temperature of disinfectant too low; (3) contaminated recycled flume water used to soak the crates. Efforts to control salmonella infection in broilers need to concentrate on crate cleaning and disinfection and hygiene in the feed mills.

Comparison of solid-phase and eluate assays to gauge the ecotoxicological risk of organic wastes on soil organisms.

PubMed

Domene, Xavier; Alcañiz, Josep M; Andrés, Pilar

2008-02-01

Development of methodologies to assess the safety of reusing polluted organic wastes in soil is a priority in Europe. In this study, and coupled with chemical analysis, seven organic wastes were subjected to different aquatic and soil bioassays. Tests were carried out with solid-phase waste and three different waste eluates (water, methanol, and dichloromethane). Solid-phase assays were indicated as the most suitable for waste testing not only in terms of relevance for real situations, but also because toxicity in eluates was generally not representative of the chronic effects in solid-phase. No general correlations were found between toxicity and waste pollutant burden, neither in solid-phase nor in eluate assays, showing the inability of chemical methods to predict the ecotoxicological risks of wastes. On the contrary, several physicochemical parameters reflecting the degree of low organic matter stability in wastes were the main contributors to the acute toxicity seen in collembolans and daphnids.

Interlocking egg-crate type grid assembly

DOEpatents

Kast, Steven J.

1987-01-01

Disclosed is an interlocking egg-crate hexagonal grid for supporting a nuclear fuel pin in a hexagonal array. The grid is formed from strips bent at an angle of about 120.degree. at each vertex. Over some faces of each hexagonal cell the strips are coplanar but are arranged, by stacking and interlocking, to avoid any double thickness of metal in that plane. Springs and dimples are formed in the faces of each cell to hold the fuel pin substantially centered.

Interlocking egg-crate type grid assembly

DOEpatents

Kast, S.J.

1985-03-15

Disclosed is an interlocking egg-crate hexagonal grid for supporting a nuclear fuel pin in a hexagonal array. The grid is formed from strips bent at an angle of about 120/sup 0/ at each vertex. Over some faces of each hexagonal cell the strips are coplanar but are arranged, by stacking interlocking, to avoid any double thickness of metal in that plane. Springs and dimples are formed in the faces of each cell to hold the fuel pin substantially centered.

Fast-Rate Capable Electrode Material with Higher Energy Density than LiFePO4: 4.2V LiVPO4F Synthesized by Scalable Single-Step Solid-State Reaction.

PubMed

Kim, Minkyung; Lee, Seongsu; Kang, Byoungwoo

2016-03-01

Use of compounds that contain fluorine (F) as electrode materials in lithium ion batteries has been considered, but synthesizing single-phase samples of these compounds is a difficult task. Here, it is demonstrated that a simple scalable single-step solid-state process with additional fluorine source can obtain highly pure LiVPO 4 F. The resulting material with submicron particles achieves very high rate capability ≈100 mAh g -1 at 60 C-rate (1-min discharge) and even at 200 C-rate (18 s discharge). It retains superior capacity, ≈120 mAh g -1 at 10 C charge/10 C discharge rate (6-min) for 500 cycles with >95% retention efficiency. Furthermore, LiVPO 4 F shows low polarization even at high rates leading to higher operating potential >3.45 V (≈3.6 V at 60 C-rate), so it achieves high energy density. It is demonstrated for the first time that highly pure LiVPO 4 F can achieve high power capability comparable to LiFePO 4 and much higher energy density (≈521 Wh g -1 at 20 C-rate) than LiFePO 4 even without nanostructured particles. LiVPO 4 F can be a real substitute of LiFePO 4.

A batch assay to measure microbial hydrogen sulfide production from sulfur-containing solid wastes.

PubMed

Sun, Mei; Sun, Wenjie; Barlaz, Morton A

2016-05-01

Large volumes of sulfur-containing wastes enter municipal solid waste landfills each year. Under the anaerobic conditions that prevail in landfills, oxidized forms of sulfur, primarily sulfate, are converted to sulfide. Hydrogen sulfide (H2S) is corrosive to landfill gas collection and treatment systems, and its presence in landfill gas often necessitates the installation of expensive removal systems. For landfill operators to understand the cost of managing sulfur-containing wastes, an estimate of the H2S production potential is needed. The objective of this study was to develop and demonstrate a biochemical sulfide potential (BSP) test to measure the amount of H2S produced by different types of sulfur-containing wastes in a relatively fast (30days) and inexpensive (125mL serum bottles) batch assay. This study confirmed the toxic effect of H2S on both sulfate reduction and methane production in batch systems, and demonstrated that removing accumulated H2S by base adsorption was effective for mitigating inhibition. H2S production potentials of coal combustion fly ash, flue gas desulfurization residual, municipal solid waste combustion ash, and construction and demolition waste were determined in BSP assays. After 30days of incubation, most of the sulfate in the wastes was converted to gaseous or aqueous phase sulfide, with BSPs ranging from 0.8 to 58.8mLH2S/g waste, depending on the chemical composition of the samples. Selected samples contained solid phase sulfide which contributed to the measured H2S yield. A 60day incubation in selected samples resulted in 39-86% additional sulfide production. H2S production measured in BSP assays was compared with that measured in simulated landfill reactors and that calculated from chemical analyses. H2S production in BSP assays and in reactors was lower than the stoichiometric values calculated from chemical composition for all wastes tested, demonstrating the importance of assays to estimate the microbial sulfide production potential of sulfur-containing wastes. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Pharmaceutical wastewater being composite mixture of environmental pollutants may be associated with mutagenicity and genotoxicity.

PubMed

Sharif, Ali; Ashraf, Muhammad; Anjum, Aftab Ahmed; Javeed, Aqeel; Altaf, Imran; Akhtar, Muhammad Furqan; Abbas, Mateen; Akhtar, Bushra; Saleem, Ammara

2016-02-01

Pharmaceutical industries are amongst the foremost contributor to industrial waste. Ecological well-being is endangered owing to its facile discharge. In the present study, heavy metals and organic contaminants in waste water were characterized using atomic absorption spectrophotometer and GC-MS, respectively. Mutagenicity and genotoxic potential of pharmaceutical waste water were investigated through bacterial reverse mutation assay and in vitro comet assay, respectively. Ames test and comet assay of first sample were carried out at concentrations of 100, 50, 25, 12.5, 6.25 % v/v effluent with distilled water. Chromium (Cr), lead (Pb), arsenic (As), and cadmium (Cd) were found in high concentrations as compared to WHO- and EPA-recommended maximum limits. Arsenic was found to be the most abundant metal and its maximum concentration was 0.8 mg.L(-1). GC-MS revealed the presence of lignocaine, digitoxin, trimethoprim, caffeine, and vitamin E in waste water. Dose-dependent decrease in mutagenic index was observed in both strains. Substantial increase in mutagenicity was observed for TA-100, when assay was done by incorporating an enzyme activation system, whereas a slight increase was detected for TA-102. In vitro comet assay of waste water exhibited decrease in damage index and percentage fragmentation with the increase in dilution of waste water. Tail length also decreased with an increase in the dilution factor of waste water. These findings suggest that pharmaceutical waste water being a mix of different heavy metals and organic contaminants may have a potent mutagenic and genotoxic effect on exposed living organisms.

CAMAC: A Unique Application with a Pocket Terminal.

DTIC Science & Technology

1982-09-16

POCKET TERMINAL S. PERFORMING ORG. REPORT NUMSIER I. AUTWOR(o) S. CONTRACT OR GRANT NUMU41’e() A.D. Elmond S. PERFORMING ORGANIZATION NAME AND ADORIESS 10...port of any CAMAC crate. In addition to being a maintenance device, the HHTT is a " smart " device that can control operations in a CAMAC crate. The...system LSI 11/23 microprocessor through an Asynchronous Serial Port (ASP) interface module. This ASP interface consists of: 1) Crystal Clock 2) MIK -Bus

Assessment of hazardous wastes for genotoxicity

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

DeMarini, D.M.; Houk, V.S.

1987-09-01

The authors have evaluated a group of short-term bioassays to identify those that may be suitable for screening large numbers of diverse hazardous industrial wastes for genotoxicity. Fifteen wastes (and dichloromethane extracts of these wastes) from a variety of manufacturing processes were tested for mutagenicity in Salmonella typhimurium strains TA98 and TA100 with and without Aroclor 1254-induced rat-liver S9. Ten of these wastes were fed by gavage to F-344 male rats, and the raw urines were assayed for mutagenicity in the presence of beta-glucuronidase in strain TA98 with S9. Six of these urines were extracted by C18/methanol elution, incubated withmore » beta-glucuronidase, and evaluated in strain TA98 with S9 and beta-glucuronidase. Fourteen of the wastes were examined for their ability to induce prophage lambda in Escherichia coli in a microsuspension assay. A second set of wastes, consisting of four industrial wastes, were evaluated in Salmonella and in a series of mammalian cell assays to measure mutagenicity, cytogenetic effects, and transformation.« less

Active and passive computed tomography mixed waste focus area final report

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Roberson, G P

1998-08-19

The Mixed Waste Focus Area (MWFA) Characterization Development Strategy delineates an approach to resolve technology deficiencies associated with the characterization of mixed wastes. The intent of this strategy is to ensure the availability of technologies to support the Department of Energy's (DOE) mixed waste low-level or transuranic (TRU) contaminated waste characterization management needs. To this end the MWFA has defined and coordinated characterization development programs to ensure that data and test results necessary to evaluate the utility of non-destructive assay technologies are available to meet site contact handled waste management schedules. Requirements used as technology development project benchmarks are basedmore » in the National TRU Program Quality Assurance Program Plan. These requirements include the ability to determine total bias and total measurement uncertainty. These parameters must be completely evaluated for waste types to be processed through a given nondestructive waste assay system constituting the foundation of activities undertaken in technology development projects. Once development and testing activities have been completed, Innovative Technology Summary Reports are generated to provide results and conclusions to support EM-30, -40, or -60 end user/customer technology selection. The Active and Passive Computed Tomography non-destructive assay system is one of the technologies selected for development by the MWFA. Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory's (LLNL) is developing the Active and Passive Computed Tomography (A&PCT) nondestructive assay (NDA) technology to identify and accurately quantify all detectable radioisotopes in closed containers of waste. This technology will be applicable to all types of waste regardless of .their classification; low level, transuranic or provide results and conclusions to support EM-30, -40, or -60 end user/customer technology selection. The Active and Passive Computed Tomography non-destructive assay system is one of the technologies selected for development by the MWFA. Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory's (LLNL) is developing the Active and Passive Computed Tomography (A&PCT) nondestructive assay (NDA) technology to identify and accurately quantify all detectable radioisotopes in closed containers of waste. This technology will be applicable to all types of waste regardless of .their classification; low level, transuranic or mixed, which contains radioactivity and hazardous organic species. The scope of our technology is to develop a non-invasive waste-drum scanner that employs the principles of computed tomography and gamma-ray spectral analysis to identify and quantify all of the detectable radioisotopes. Once this and other applicable technologies are developed, waste drums can be non- destructively and accurately characterized to satisfy repository and regulatory guidelines prior to disposal.« less

Toxicity assessment of carbon black waste: A by-product from oil refineries.

PubMed

Zhen, Xu; Ng, Wei Cheng; Fendy; Tong, Yen Wah; Dai, Yanjun; Neoh, Koon Gee; Wang, Chi-Hwa

2017-01-05

In Singapore, approximately 30t/day of carbon-based solid waste are produced from petrochemical processes. This carbon black waste has been shown to possess physical properties that are characteristic of a good adsorbent such as high external surface area. Therefore, there is a growing interest to reutilize and process this carbon black waste into secondary materials such as adsorbents. However, the carbon black waste obtained from petrochemical industries may contain heavy metals that are hazardous to human health and the environment, hence restricting its full potential for re-utilization. Therefore, it is important to examine the possible toxicity effects and toxicity mechanism of carbon black waste on human health. In this study, inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectroscopy (ICP-OES) analysis showed that the heavy metals, vanadium (V), molybdenum (Mo) and nickel (Ni), were present in the carbon black waste in high concentrations. Three human cell lines (HepG2 cells, MRC-5 cells and MDA-MB-231 cells) were used to investigate the toxicity of carbon black waste extract in a variety of in vitro assays. Results from MTS assays indicated that carbon black waste extract decreased the viability of all three cell lines in a dose and time-dependent manner. Observations from confocal microscopy further confirmed this phenomenon. Flow cytometry assay also showed that carbon black waste extract induced apoptosis of human cell lines, and the level of apoptosis increased with increasing waste concentration. Results from reactive oxygen species (ROS) assay indicated that carbon black waste extract induced oxidative stress by increasing intracellular ROS generation in these three human cell lines. Moreover, induction of oxidative damage in these cells was also observed through the alteration of glutathione (GSH) and superoxide dismutase (SOD) activities. Last but not least, by treating the cells with V-spiked solution of concentration equivalent to that found in the carbon black waste extract, V was identified as the main culprit for the high toxicity of carbon black waste extract. These findings could potentially provide insight into the hazards of carbon black waste extract and its toxicity mechanism on human cell lines. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Polyhydroxybutyrate (PHB) Synthesis by Spirulina sp. LEB 18 Using Biopolymer Extraction Waste.

PubMed

da Silva, Cleber Klasener; Costa, Jorge Alberto Vieira; de Morais, Michele Greque

2018-01-20

The reuse of waste as well as the production of biodegradable compounds has for years been the object of studies and of global interest as a way to reduce the environmental impact generated by unsustainable exploratory processes. The conversion of linear processes into cyclical processes has environmental and economic advantages, reducing waste deposition and reducing costs. The objective of this work was to use biopolymer extraction waste in the cultivation of Spirulina sp. LEB 18, for the cyclic process of polyhydroxybutyrate (PHB) synthesis. Concentrations of 10, 15, 20, 25, and 30% (v/v) of biopolymer extraction waste were tested. For comparison, two assays were used without addition of waste, Zarrouk (SZ) and modified Zarrouk (ZM), with reduction of nitrogen. The assays were carried out in triplicate and evaluated for the production of microalgal biomass and PHB. The tests with addition of waste presented a biomass production statistically equal to ZM (0.79 g L -1 ) (p < 0.1). The production of PHB in the assay containing 25% of waste was higher when compared to the other cultivations, obtaining 10.6% (w/w) of biopolymer. From the results obtained, it is affirmed that the use of PHB extraction waste in the microalgal cultivation, aiming at the synthesis of biopolymers, can occur in a cyclic process, reducing process costs and the deposition of waste, thus favoring the preservation of the environment.

Sources of salmonellae in an uninfected commercially-processed broiler flock.

PubMed

Rigby, C E; Pettit, J R; Baker, M F; Bentley, A H; Salomons, M O; Lior, H

1980-07-01

Cultural monitoring was used to study the incidence and sources of salmonellae in a 4160 bird broiler flock during the growing period, transport and processing in a commercial plant. No salmonellae were isolated from any of 132 litter samples of 189 chickens cultured during the seven-week growing period, even though nest litter samples from four of the eight parent flocks yielded salmonellae and Salmonella worthington was isolated from the meat meal component of the grower ration. On arrival at the plant, 2/23 birds sampled carried S. infantis on their feathers, although intestinal cultures failed to yield salmonellae. Three of 18 processed carcasses samples yielded salmonellae (S. infantis, S. heidelberg, S. typhimurium var copenhagen). The most likely source of these salmonellae was the plastic transport crates, since 15/107 sampled before the birds were loaded yielded salmonellae (S. infantis, S. typhimurium). The crate washer at the plant did not reduce the incidence of Salmonella-contaminated crates, since 16/116 sampled after washing yielded salmonellae (S. infantis, S. typhimurium, S. heidelberg, S. schwarzengrund, S. albany).

Impact of Transport Crate Reuse and of Catching and Processing on Campylobacter and Salmonella Contamination of Broiler Chickens

PubMed Central

Slader, J.; Domingue, G.; Jørgensen, F.; McAlpine, K.; Owen, R. J.; Bolton, F. J.; Humphrey, T. J.

2002-01-01

The influence of transport, catching, and processing on contamination of broiler chickens with Salmonella and Campylobacter was investigated. Transport crates were reused with high frequency and were often still contaminated with Salmonella and Campylobacter when they arrived at the farm despite the fact that they were washed at the factory, and thus they were a potential route of infection. These organisms contaminated the feathers of previously Campylobacter- and Salmonella-negative birds going to the processing plant and were isolated from processed carcasses, albeit at a low frequency. The Campylobacter types which were the predominant organisms on the live birds when they arrived at the processing plant were not necessarily the types that were most frequently isolated from processed carcasses. This finding may reflect cross-contamination that occurred during processing or differences in the tolerance of the strains to the hostile environments that the bacteria experienced. The process of catching and putting the birds in crates significantly increased the chance of contamination with Campylobacter (P < 0.001). PMID:11823211

Characterization of temporal variations in landfill gas components inside an open solid waste dump site in Sri Lanka.

PubMed

Nagamori, Masanao; Mowjood, M I M; Watanabe, Youichi; Isobe, Yugo; Ishigaki, Tomonori; Kawamoto, Ken

2016-12-01

A long-term monitoring of composition of landfill gases in the region with high rainfall was conducted using an argon assay in order to discuss air intrusion into the dump site. Gas samples were taken from vertical gas monitoring pipes installed along transects at two sections (called new and old) of an abandoned waste dump site in Sri Lanka. N 2 O concentrations varied especially widely, by more than three orders of magnitude (0.046-140 ppmv). The nitrogen/argon ratio of landfill gas was normally higher than that of fresh air, implying that denitrification occurred in the dump site. Argon assays indicate that both N 2 and N 2 O production occurred inside waste and more significantly in the old section. The Ar assay would help for evaluations of N 2 O emission in developing countries. A long-term monitoring of composition of landfill gases in the region with high rainfall was conducted using an argon assay in order to discuss air intrusion into the dump site. Argon assays indicate that both N 2 and N 2 O production occurred inside waste and more significantly in the old section.

Are Fish and Standardized FETAX Assays Protective Enough for Amphibians? A Case Study on Xenopus laevis Larvae Assay with Biologically Active Substances Present in Livestock Wastes

PubMed Central

Martini, Federica; Tarazona, José V.; Pablos, M. Victoria

2012-01-01

Biologically active substances could reach the aquatic compartment when livestock wastes are considered for recycling. Recently, the standardized FETAX assay has been questioned, and some researchers have considered that the risk assessment performed on fish could not be protective enough to cover amphibians. In the present study a Xenopus laevis acute assay was developed in order to compare the sensitivity of larvae relative to fish or FETAX assays; veterinary medicines (ivermectin, oxytetracycline, tetracycline, sulfamethoxazole, and trimethoprim) and essential metals (zinc, copper, manganese, and selenium) that may be found in livestock wastes were used for the larvae exposure. Lethal (LC50) and sublethal effects were estimated. Available data in both, fish and FETAX studies, were in general more protective than values found out in the current study, but not in all cases. Moreover, the presence of nonlethal effects, caused by ivermectin, zinc, and copper, suggested that several physiological mechanisms could be affected. Thus, this kind of effects should be deeply investigated. The results obtained in the present study could expand the information about micropollutants from livestock wastes on amphibians. PMID:22629159

Mobile site safety review for the transuranic (TRU) waste characterization program

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Not Available

1996-11-01

This Safety Review Document (SRD) applies to the Active/Passive Neutron Examination and Assay (APNEA) system installed on a Lockheed Martin Specialty Components, Inc., (Specialty Components) trailer. The APNEA is designed to perform nuclear waste drum assay. The purpose of this document is to describe the safety features of the APNEA system.

Screening complex hazardous wastes for mutagenic activity using a modified version of the TLC/Salmonella assay.

PubMed

Houk, V S; Claxton, L D

1986-03-01

10 complex hazardous wastes were tested for mutagenic activity using a modified version of the TLC/Salmonella assay developed by Bjørseth et al. (1982). This fractionation/bioassay scheme couples thin-layer chromatography (TLC) with the Salmonella/mammalian-microsome (Ames) assay for the detection of mutagenic constituents in complex mixtures. Crude (unadulterated) hazardous wastes and selected hazardous waste extracts were fractionated on commercially available cellulose TLC plates. Mutagenicity testing was performed in situ by applying a single overlay of minimal growth agar, tester strain TA98 or TA100, and the optional metabolic activation system directly onto the developed chromatogram. A mutagenic effect was indicated either by the appearance of localized clusters of revertant colonies or by an increase in total revertant growth vis-à-vis control plates. 7 of 10 hazardous wastes (including tars, emulsions, sludges, and spent acids and caustics) demonstrated mutagenic activity when tested by this method. To assess the sensitivity of the modified TLC/Salmonella assay, 14 Salmonella mutagens from a wide range of chemical classes and polarities were tested. Selected compounds included heterocyclics, aromatic amines, alkylating agents, antitumor agents, a nitrosamine and a nitroaromatic. 11 of the 14 mutagens were positive in this test system. The 3 compounds refractory to analysis included a polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon and two volatiles.

Performance test results of noninvasive characterization of Resource Conservation and Recovery Act surrogate waste by prompt gamma neutron activation analysis

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Gehrke, R.J.; Streier, G.G.

1997-03-01

During FY-96, a performance test was carried out with funding from the Mixed Waste Focus Area (MWFA) of the Department of Energy (DOE) to determine the noninvasive elemental assay capabilities of commercial companies for Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) metals present in 8-gal drums containing surrogate waste. Commercial companies were required to be experienced in the use of prompt gamma neutron activation analysis (PGNAA) techniques and to have a prototype assay system with which to conduct the test assays. Potential participants were identified through responses to a call for proposals advertised in the Commerce Business Daily and through personalmore » contacts. Six companies were originally identified. Two of these six were willing and able to participate in the performance test, as described in the test plan, with some subsidizing from the DOE MWFA. The tests were conducted with surrogate sludge waste because (1) a large volume of this type of waste awaits final disposition and (2) sludge tends to be somewhat homogeneous. The surrogate concentrations of the above RCRA metals ranged from {approximately} 300 ppm to {approximately} 20,000 ppm. The lower limit was chosen as an estimate of the expected sensitivity of detection required by noninvasive, pretreatment elemental assay systems to be of value for operational and compliance purposes and to still be achievable with state-of-the-art methods of analysis. The upper limit of {approximately} 20,000 ppm was chosen because it is the opinion of the author that assay above this concentration level is within current state-of-the-art methods for most RCRA constituents. This report is organized into three parts: Part 1, Test Plan to Evaluate the Technical Status of Noninvasive Elemental Assay Techniques for Hazardous Waste; Part 2, Participants` Results; and Part 3, Evaluation of and Comments on Participants` Results.« less

Dehydrogenase activity and quality of leachates in Technosols with gossan and sulfide materials from the São Domingos mine

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Santos, Erika; Abreu, Manuela; Macías, Felipe; de Varennes, Amarílis

2014-05-01

Wastes produced by mining activity in São Domingos (Portuguese Iberian Pyrite Belt) were disposed over a large area. To speed up the ecological rehabilitation in this mine, an integrative strategy using different amendments+mine wastes was used to produce Technosols with enhanced soil functions. To evaluate the efficiency of these Technosols the dehydrogenase activity and chemical quality of leachates were monitored. Technosols were composed of different mine wastes (gossan and sulfide materials), collected at the São Domingos mine, and mixtures of amendments applied at 30 and 75 Mg/ha (rockwool+agriculture wastes+wastes from liquors distillation of strawberry tree fruits (Arbutus unedo L.) and/or carobs (Ceratonia siliqua L. fruits)). Three assays, under controlled conditions, were carried out: (1 and 2) Sulfide or gossan materials with/without amendments; (3) Sulfide wastes, with/without amendments, incubated during four months and then with application of an overlayer of gossan (~3 cm thick) with/without the same amendments. Dehydrogenase activity (DHA) and chemical characteristics of leachates (multielemental concentration, pH, and electric conductivity) were determined after four/seven/thirteen months of incubation. Sulfide wastes had more hazardous characteristics (pH~2 and total concentrations (g/kg) of Al (58.1), As (1.1), Cu (2.1), Fe (107.3), Pb (11.7), S (65.3) and Zn (1.1) than the gossan materials (pH=4.3; g/kg, Al: 24.8, As: 3.0, Cu: 0.2, Fe: 129, Pb: 9.2, S: 13.7, Zn: 0.04). Amendments application to gossan (assay 2) enhanced DHA in both sampling periods (µg TPF g dry weight 16 h-1, Control: 0,72-1,78; Amended treatments: 2.49-16.36 depending on mixture/application rate/sampling period). Greater application rates stimulated DHA (more than 1.5-fold with 75 Mg/ha). No differences were observed in DHA in the gossan layer with/without amendments (assay 3) suggesting a negative impact on gossan microrganisms from sulfide materials located below. In fact, for sulfide materials (assays 1 and 3), the amendments did not lead to increases in DHA (µg TPF g dry weight 16 h-1, Control: 0.87-2.72; Amended treatments: 0.23-2.11, depending on assay/sampling period/treatment). In assay 3, the DHA of each mine waste presented, in general, smaller enzymatic activity compared to the same treatments from the other assays. The amendments reduced the electrical condutivity (35-60 %) in the leachates from Technosols with sulfide materials but the pH of leachates increased in all cases between 0.5 and 1.5 units, depending on assay/treatment/sampling period.

A theoretical model to determine the capacity performance of shape-specific electrodes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yue, Yuan; Liang, Hong

2018-06-01

A theory is proposed to explain and predict the electrochemical process during reaction between lithium ions and electrode materials. In the model, the process of reaction is proceeded into two steps, surface adsorption and diffusion of lithium ions. The surface adsorption is an instantaneous process for lithium ions to adsorb onto the surface sites of active materials. The diffusion of lithium ions into particles is determined by the charge-discharge condition. A formula to determine the maximum specific capacity of active materials at different charging rates (C-rates) is derived. The maximum specific capacity is correlated to characteristic parameters of materials and cycling - such as size, aspect ratio, surface area, and C-rate. Analysis indicates that larger particle size or greater aspect ratio of active materials and faster C-rates can reduce maximum specific capacity. This suggests that reducing particle size of active materials and slowing the charge-discharge speed can provide enhanced electrochemical performance of a battery cell. Furthermore, the model is validated by published experimental results. This model brings new understanding in quantification of electrochemical kinetics and capacity performance. It enables development of design strategies for novel electrodes and future generation of energy storage devices.

High performance sulfur graphite full cell for next generation sulfur Li-ion battery

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wu, Yunwen; Momma, Toshiyuki; Yokoshima, Tokihiko; Nara, Hiroki; Osaka, Tetsuya

2018-06-01

Sulfur (S) Li-ion battery which use the metallic Li free anode is deemed as a promising solution to conquer the hazards originating from Li metal. However, stable cycling performance and low production price of the S Li-ion battery still remain challenging. Here, we propose a S-LixC full cell system by paring a S cathode and a pre-lithiated graphite anode which is cheap and commercially available. It shows stable cycling performance with a capacity around 1300 mAh (g-S)-1 at 0.2 C-rate and 1000 mAh (g-S)-1 at 0.5 C-rate. In addition, 0.1% per cycle capacity fading rate with a capacity retention of 880 mAh (g-S)-1 after 400 cycles at 0.2 C-rate has been achieved. The pre-formed solid electrolyte interphase (SEI) layer on the pre-lithaited graphite anode largely contributes to the high capacity performance. Notably, a 10-times-enlarged scale of S-LixC laminate type full cell has been assembled with high capacity performance (around 1000 mAh (g-S)-1) even after high rate cycling.

The comparison of fossil carbon fraction and greenhouse gas emissions through an analysis of exhaust gases from urban solid waste incineration facilities.

PubMed

Kim, Seungjin; Kang, Seongmin; Lee, Jeongwoo; Lee, Seehyung; Kim, Ki-Hyun; Jeon, Eui-Chan

2016-10-01

In this study, in order to understand accurate calculation of greenhouse gas emissions of urban solid waste incineration facilities, which are major waste incineration facilities, and problems likely to occur at this time, emissions were calculated by classifying calculation methods into 3 types. For the comparison of calculation methods, the waste characteristics ratio, dry substance content by waste characteristics, carbon content in dry substance, and (12)C content were analyzed; and in particular, CO2 concentration in incineration gases and (12)C content were analyzed together. In this study, 3 types of calculation methods were made through the assay value, and by using each calculation method, emissions of urban solid waste incineration facilities were calculated then compared. As a result of comparison, with Calculation Method A, which used the default value as presented in the IPCC guidelines, greenhouse gas emissions were calculated for the urban solid waste incineration facilities A and B at 244.43 ton CO2/day and 322.09 ton CO2/day, respectively. Hence, it showed a lot of difference from Calculation Methods B and C, which used the assay value of this study. It is determined that this was because the default value as presented in IPCC, as the world average value, could not reflect the characteristics of urban solid waste incineration facilities. Calculation Method B indicated 163.31 ton CO2/day and 230.34 ton CO2/day respectively for the urban solid waste incineration facilities A and B; also, Calculation Method C indicated 151.79 ton CO2/day and 218.99 ton CO2/day, respectively. This study intends to compare greenhouse gas emissions calculated using (12)C content default value provided by the IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change) with greenhouse gas emissions calculated using (12)C content and waste assay value that can reflect the characteristics of the target urban solid waste incineration facilities. Also, the concentration and (12)C content were calculated by directly collecting incineration gases of the target urban solid waste incineration facilities, and greenhouse gas emissions of the target urban solid waste incineration facilities through this survey were compared with greenhouse gas emissions, which used the previously calculated assay value of solid waste.

PRODUCTION OF BIOBUTANOL FROM BIOMASS USING NOVEL MEMBRANE REACTOR

EPA Science Inventory

Food Waste Composition
Team REFUSE first performed sugar and starch assays on food waste from an on-campus cafeteria to determine its composition. The testing of the Chartwells food waste indicated the waste contained approximately 10% sugar and 25-30% starch co...

eduCRATE--a Virtual Hospital architecture.

PubMed

Stoicu-Tivadar, Lăcrimioara; Stoicu-Tivadar, Vasile; Berian, Dorin; Drăgan, Simona; Serban, Alexandru; Serban, Corina

2014-01-01

eduCRATE is a complex project proposal which aims to develop a virtual learning environment offering interactive digital content through original and integrated solutions using cloud computing, complex multimedia systems in virtual space and personalized design with avatars. Compared to existing similar products the project brings the novelty of using languages for medical guides in order to ensure a maximum of flexibility. The Virtual Hospital simulations will create interactive clinical scenarios for which students will find solutions for positive diagnosis and therapeutic management. The solution based on cloud computing and immersive multimedia is an attractive option in education because is economical and it matches the current working style of the young generation to whom it addresses.

Impact of different environmental conditions on lithium-ion batteries performance through the thermal monitoring with fiber sensors

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nascimento, Micael; Ferreira, Marta S.; Pinto, João. L.

2017-08-01

In this work, an optical fiber sensing network has been developed to assess the impact of different environmental conditions on lithium batteries performance through the real time thermal monitoring. The battery is submitted to constant current charge and different discharge C-rates, under normal and abusive operating conditions. The results show that for the discharge C-rate of 5.77C, the LiB under cold and dry climates had 32.5% and 27.2% lower temperature variations, when compared with temperate climates, respectively. The higher temperature shift detected in the temperate climate was related to the battery better performance regarding discharge capacity and power capabilities.

Comparative study of carbon free and carbon containing Li4Ti5O12 electrodes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pohjalainen, Elina; Kallioinen, Jani; Kallio, Tanja

2015-04-01

Traditionally electrodes for lithium ion batteries are manufactured using carbon additives to increase the conductivity. However, in case of lithium titanate, Li4Ti5O12 (LTO), carbon free electrodes have gathered some interest lately. Therefore two LTO materials synthesized using the same synthesis but different end milling process resulting in materials with different particle size and surface area are compared here using electrodes manufactured with and without carbon additives. Both LTO samples (LTO-SP with small primary particle size and high surface area, and LTO-LP with larger primary particle size and small surface area) produce similar capacities and voltages with or without carbon additives at low C-rates at the room temperature. However, at high C-rates and/or sub-zero temperatures electrodes with carbon additives produce higher capacities and smaller ohmic losses and this behavior is more pronounced for the LTO electrodes with smaller primary particle size and larger surface area. These results show that the feasibility of carbon free LTO electrodes depends on the properties of LTO affecting the morphology of the electrode and consequently, the transport properties. This is most pronounced under conditions where electron and Li+ ion transfer become limiting (high C-rates and low temperature).

Where is the lithium? Quantitative determination of the lithium distribution in lithium ion battery cells: Investigations on the influence of the temperature, the C-rate and the cell type

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Vortmann-Westhoven, Britta; Winter, Martin; Nowak, Sascha

2017-04-01

With lithium being the capacity determining species in lithium-ion battery (LIB) cells, the local quantification is of enormous importance for understanding of the cell performance. The investigation of the lithium distribution in LIB full cells is performed with two different cell types, T-cells of the Swagelok® type and pouch bag cells with lithium nickel cobalt manganese oxide and mesocarbon microbead graphite as the active materials as well as a lithium hexafluorophosphate based organic carbonate solvent electrolyte. The lithium content of/at the individual components of the cells is analyzed for different states of charge (SOCs) by inductively coupled plasma-optical emission spectrometry (ICP-OES) and the lithium distribution as well as the loss of active lithium within the cells is calculated after cycling. With increasing the SOC, the lithium contents decrease in the cathodes and simultaneously increase in the anodes. The temperature increase shows a clear shift of the lithium content in the direction of the anode for the T-cells. The comparison of the C-rate influence shows that the lower the C-rate, the more the lithium content on the electrodes is shifted into the direction of the anode.

Synthesis of Reduced Graphene Oxide-Modified LiMn0.75Fe0.25PO4 Microspheres by Salt-Assisted Spray Drying for High-Performance Lithium-Ion Batteries

PubMed Central

Kim, Myeong-Seong; Kim, Hyun-Kyung; Lee, Suk-Woo; Kim, Dong-Hyun; Ruan, Dianbo; Chung, Kyung Yoon; Lee, Sang Hyun; Roh, Kwang Chul; Kim, Kwang-Bum

2016-01-01

Microsized, spherical, three-dimensional (3D) graphene-based composites as electrode materials exhibit improved tap density and electrochemical properties. In this study, we report 3D LiMn0.75Fe0.25PO4/reduced graphene oxide microspheres synthesized by one-step salt-assisted spray drying using a mixed solution containing a precursor salt and graphene oxide and a subsequent heat treatment. During this process, it was found that the type of metal salt used has significant effects on the morphology, phase purity, and electrochemical properties of the synthesized samples. Furthermore, the amount of the chelating agent used also affects the phase purity and electrochemical properties of the samples. The composite exhibited a high tap density (1.1 g cm−3) as well as a gravimetric capacity of 161 mA h g−1 and volumetric capacity of 281 mA h cm−3 at 0.05 C-rate. It also exhibited excellent rate capability, delivering a discharge capacity of 90 mA h g−1 at 60 C-rate. Furthermore, the microspheres exhibited high energy efficiency and good cyclability, showing a capacity retention rate of 93% after 1000 cycles at 10 C-rate. PMID:27220812

Elevated plasma corticosterone concentrations influence the onset of rigor mortis and meat color in broilers.

PubMed

Kannan, G; Heath, J L; Wabeck, C J; Owens, S L; Mench, J A

1998-02-01

This experiment was conducted to determine the effect of elevated plasma corticosterone (CORT) levels on meat quality characteristics. Male broilers (Arbor Acres) were either 1) fed a diet containing corticosterone (CORT) prior to processing, 2) transported by truck for 3 h before processing, or 3) processed without either of the above treatments. Six crates of birds (10 birds per crate; two crates per treatment) were stunned or killed using CO2 gas. Six birds per crate were processed and blood samples were collected during exsanguination for plasma CORT analysis. Meat samples were collected from carcasses either at 20 min or at 4 h post-mortem. At each sampling time (ST), Pectoralis superficialis samples were collected and either individually quick frozen (IQF) in liquid nitrogen or aged on ice (AOI) for 24 h prior to pH, ratio of inosine to adenosine nucleotides (R-value), cooking loss, shear value, and color analyses. The IQF Biceps femoris samples were used for pH, R-value, color, and heme pigment analysis. Mean (+/- SEM) CORT concentrations were 12.9+/-2.57, 11.7+/-1.38 and 7.9+/-0.79 ng/mL, respectively, in the CORT, transported, and control groups. There were significant treatment by ST (P < 0.05) and ST (P < 0.001) effects on the R-value of IQF P. superficialis samples. The CORT group had the highest L* value (P < 0.01) and the lowest a* value (P < 0.06). There was also a significant main effect of ST on shear values (P < 0.05) of AOI P. superficialis samples, with the means higher at 4 h than at 20 min post-mortem. The R-value of IQF B. femoris samples was markedly influenced by treatment (P < 0.001) and ST (P < 0.001). The results indicate that artificially elevating circulating CORT concentrations results in lighter meat color in broilers.

Market potential for guinea fowl (Numidia meleagris) products.

PubMed

Madzimure, James; Saina, Happyson; Ngorora, Grace P K

2011-12-01

The survey evaluated the market potential for guinea fowl (GF; Numidia meleagris) products in the city of Harare, Zimbabwe. Questionnaires were administered to traders/producers (n = 17), retailers (n = 12), cafeteria industry (n = 33) and consumers (n = 1,680) to establish their perceptions on guinea fowl products. The average household size was 6 ± 2. Each trader sold 10 ± 6.30 keets (mean ± standard error), 33 ± 15.05 growers, 20 ± 12.69 breeders and 20 ± 10.1 crates of 30 eggs per month. Each household consumed 2.5 ± 1.39 kg of GF meat and 3 ± 0.65 dozens of GF eggs per month. Retailers purchased 52 ± 44.42 crates of GF eggs and 41 ± 30.50/kg of GF meat whilst cafeteria purchased 33.6 ± 14 crates of GF eggs and 65.5 ± 33.52 kg of GF meat per month. Growers for breeding were the major product for sale by traders (94.1%) at a price of US$7.50 ± 1.74/bird. Different industries were offering different prices for guinea fowl products because of their scarcity on the market. The mean purchase price per crate of 30 guinea fowl eggs sold to the retail and cafeteria were US$3.00 ± 0.58 and US$4.50 ± 0.50, respectively. The mean purchase prices for GF meat was lower (P < 0.05) for retailers (US$2.5 ± 0.81/kg) than cafeteria (US$3.67 ± 0.83/kg). The challenges faced by producers in the marketing of guinea fowl products included poor supply due to the absence of good road networks to connect source areas and the market, perishability of dressed chickens due to power cuts and poor publicity. Overall, the study showed that there is greater market potential for guinea fowl products and farmers can channel their products through traders, cafeteria and retail industries.

Determination of estrogenic potential in waste water without sample extraction.

PubMed

Avberšek, Miha; Žegura, Bojana; Filipič, Metka; Uranjek-Ževart, Nataša; Heath, Ester

2013-09-15

This study describes the modification of the ER-Calux assay for testing water samples without sample extraction (NE-(ER-Calux) assay). The results are compared to those obtained with ER-Calux assay and a theoretical estrogenic potential obtained by GC-MSD. For spiked tap and waste water samples there was no statistical difference between estrogenic potentials obtained by the three methods. Application of NE-(ER-Calux) to "real" influent and effluents from municipal waste water treatment plants and receiving surface waters found that the NE-(ER-Calux) assay gave higher values compared to ER-Calux assay and GC-MSD. This is explained by the presence of water soluble endocrine agonists that are usually removed during extraction. Intraday dynamics of the estrogenic potential of a WWTP influent and effluent revealed an increase in the estrogenic potential of the influent from 12.9 ng(EEQ)/L in the morning to a peak value of 40.0 ng(EEQ)/L in the afternoon. The estrogenic potential of the effluent was

Innovations in the Assay of Un-Segregated Multi-Isotopic Grade TRU Waste Boxes with SuperHENC and FRAM Technology

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Simpson, A. P.; Barber, S.; Abdurrahman, N. M.

2006-07-01

The Super High Efficiency Neutron Coincidence Counter (SuperHENC) was originally developed by BIL Solutions Inc., Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) and Rocky Flats Environmental Technology Site (RFETS) for assay of transuranic (TRU) waste in Standard Waste Boxes (SWB) at Rocky Flats. This mobile system was a key component in the shipment of over 4,000 SWBs to the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) in Carlsbad, New Mexico. The system was WIPP certified in 2001 and operated at the site for four years. The success of this system, a passive neutron coincidence counter combined with high resolution gamma spectroscopy, led to themore » order of two new units, delivered to Hanford in 2004. Several new challenges were faced at Hanford: For example, the original RFETS system was calibrated for segregated waste streams such that metals, plastics, wet combustibles and dry combustibles were separated by 'Item Description Codes' prior to assay. Furthermore, the RFETS mission of handling only weapons grade plutonium, enabled the original SuperHENC to benefit from the use of known Pu isotopics. Operations at Hanford, as with most other DOE sites, generate un-segregated waste streams, with a wide diversity of Pu isotopics. Consequently, the new SuperHENCs are required to deal with new technical challenges. The neutron system's software and calibration methodology have been modified to encompass these new requirements. In addition, PC-FRAM software has been added to the gamma system, providing a robust isotopic measurement capability. Finally a new software package has been developed that integrates the neutron and gamma data to provide a final assay results and analysis report. The new system's performance has been rigorously tested and validated against WIPP quality requirements. These modifications, together with the mobile platform, make the new SuperHENC far more versatile in handling diverse waste streams and allow for rapid redeployment around the DOE complex. (authors)« less

Effect of leachate recirculation on mesophilic anaerobic digestion of food waste.

PubMed

Shahriari, Haleh; Warith, Mostafa; Hamoda, Mohamed; Kennedy, Kevin J

2012-03-01

The effects of using untreated leachate for supplemental water addition and liquid recirculation on anaerobic digestion of food waste was evaluated by combining cyclic water recycle operations with batch mesophilic biochemical methane potential (BMP) assays. Cyclic BMP assays indicated that using an appropriate fraction of recycled leachate and fresh make up water can stimulate methanogenic activity and enhance biogas production. Conversely increasing the percentage of recycled leachate in the make up water eventually causes methanogenic inhibition and decrease in the rate of food waste stabilization. The decrease in activity is exacerbated as the number cycles increases. Inhibition is possibly attributed to accumulation and elevated concentrations of ammonia as well as other waste by products in the recycled leachate that inhibit methanogenesis. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Recovering lead from cupel waste generated in gold analysis by Pb-Fire assay.

PubMed

Cerceau, Cristiane Isaac; Carvalho, Cornélio de Freitas; Rabelo, Ana Carolina Silveira; Dos Santos, Cláudio Gouvea; Gonçalves, Sabrina Mayra Dias; Varejão, Eduardo Vinícius Vieira

2016-12-01

Because of its precision and accuracy, Pb-Fire assay is the most employed method for gold analysis in geological materials. At the second stage of the method, namely cupellation, lead is oxidized to PbO which is absorbed by the cupel, leading to metallic gold as a tiny bend at the bottom of the recipient. After cupellation, cupel becomes highly contaminated with lead, making its disposal a serious risk of environmental contamination. In the present work, a leaching process for removing lead from cupel waste is proposed, which allowed for removing 96% of PbO by weight. After a precipitation step, 92.0% of lead was recovered from leachates in the form of PbSO 4 . Lead in the solid wastes left by the extraction was above the limit established by Brazilian legislation and these were classified as non-hazardous. Finally, secondary effluents generated after the precipitation step presented lead content more than twenty times lower than that of leachates from cupel waste. Tons of cupel waste are annually generated from gold analysis by Pb-Fire assay. Thus, the proposed method can contribute to prevent the discharge of high amounts of lead into the environment. Also, recovery of lead can help to partially meet the industrial demand for lead compounds. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Investigation of the heat generation of a commercial 2032 (LiCoO2) coin cell with a novel differential scanning battery calorimeter

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Giel, Hans; Henriques, David; Bourne, George; Markus, Torsten

2018-06-01

Research on the thermal behavior of Li-ion batteries fosters the understanding of heat generating effects and the dimensioning of battery thermal management systems (TMS). First comprehensive studies with a new DSC-like calorimeter for coin-cells are performed to determine thermal properties of a LiCoO2-graphite cell. The high precision and accuracy of the measurements are obtained by calibrating the signals using melting point standards in properly prepared coin-cell cases. The heat flow is measured during cycling with different C-rates between 0.23 C and 0.9 C under isothermal conditions at temperatures between 30 °C and 50 °C in steps of 5 K. Chemical and physical changes are identified in the measured heat flow signal and are discussed taking into account phase diagram information. Energetic efficiencies are calculated in dependence of temperature and C-rates by integrating the measured electrical power and heat values. The influence of cell aging on heat generation and usable capacity under operating conditions is shown. Considering the measured heat generation in a wide temperature range at different C-rates will make a valuable contribution to the understanding of material properties. This fundamental data is essential to improve thermal models to simulate spatially resolved heat dissipation in the electrodes to prevent over-heating.

In situ characterization of charge rate dependent stress and structure changes in V2O5 cathode prepared by atomic layer deposition

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jung, Hyun; Gerasopoulos, Konstantinos; Talin, A. Alec; Ghodssi, Reza

2017-02-01

The insertion/extraction of lithium into/from various host materials is the basic process by which lithium-ion batteries reversible store charge. This process is generally accompanied by strain in the host material, inducing stress which can lead to capacity loss. Therefore, understanding of both the structural changes and the associated stress - investigated almost exclusively separate to date - is a critical factor for developing high-performance batteries. Here, we report an in situ method, which utilizes Raman spectroscopy in parallel with optical interferometry to study effects of varying charging rates (C-rates) on the structure and stress in a V2O5 thin film cathode. Abrupt stress changes at specific crystal phase transitions in the Lisbnd Vsbnd O system are observed and the magnitude of the stress changes with the amount of lithium inserted into the electrode are correlated. A linear increase in the stress as a function of x in LixV2O5 is observed, indicating that C-rate does not directly contribute to larger intercalation stress. However, a more rapid increase in disorder within the LixV2O5 layers is correlated with higher C-rate. Ultimately, these experiments demonstrate how the simultaneous stress/Raman in situ approach can be utilized as a characterization platform for investigating various critical factors affecting lithium-ion battery performance.

41 CFR 109-50.106 - Procedure.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-01-01

... Research provides this information to prospective grantees through an automated system. (c) The following... institution. Such costs may consist of packing, crating, shipping and insurance, and are limited to actual...

41 CFR 109-50.106 - Procedure.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-01-01

... Research provides this information to prospective grantees through an automated system. (c) The following... institution. Such costs may consist of packing, crating, shipping and insurance, and are limited to actual...

41 CFR 109-50.106 - Procedure.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

... Research provides this information to prospective grantees through an automated system. (c) The following... institution. Such costs may consist of packing, crating, shipping and insurance, and are limited to actual...

41 CFR 109-50.106 - Procedure.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-01-01

... Research provides this information to prospective grantees through an automated system. (c) The following... institution. Such costs may consist of packing, crating, shipping and insurance, and are limited to actual...

41 CFR 109-50.106 - Procedure.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-07-01

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Preparation of Advanced Carbon Anode Materials from Mesocarbon Microbeads for Use in High C-Rate Lithium Ion Batteries

PubMed Central

Fang, Ming-Dar; Ho, Tsung-Han; Yen, Jui-Pin; Lin, Yu-Run; Hong, Jin-Long; Wu, She-Huang; Jow, Jiin-Jiang

2015-01-01

Mesophase soft carbon (MSC) and mesophase graphite (SMG), for use in comparative studies of high C-rate Lithium Ion Battery (LIB) anodes, were made by heating mesocarbon microbeads (MCMB) at 1300 °C and 3000 °C; respectively. The crystalline structures and morphologies of the MSC, SMG, and commercial hard carbon (HC) were investigated by X-ray diffraction, transmission electron microscopy, scanning electron microscopy, and Raman spectroscopy. Additionally, their electrochemical properties, when used as anode materials in LIBs, were also investigated. The results show that MSC has a superior charging rate capability compared to SMG and HC. This is attributed to MSC having a more extensive interlayer spacing than SMG, and a greater number of favorably-oriented pathways when compared to HC.

Modeling Diffusion Induced Stresses for Lithium-Ion Battery Materials

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chiu Huang, Cheng-Kai

Advancing lithium-ion battery technology is of paramount importance for satisfying the energy storage needs in the U.S., especially for the application in the electric vehicle industry. To provide a better acceleration for electric vehicles, a fast and repeatable discharging rate is required. However, particle fractures and capacity loss have been reported under high current rate (C-rate) during charging/discharging and after a period of cycling. During charging and discharging, lithium ions extract from and intercalate into electrode materials accompanied with the volume change and phase transition between Li-rich phase and Li-poor phase. It is suggested that the diffusion-induced-stress is one of the main reasons causing capacity loss due to the mechanical degradation of electrode particles. Therefore, there is a fundamental need to provide a mechanistic understanding by considering the structure-mechanics-property interactions in lithium-ion battery materials. Among many cathode materials, the olivine-based lithium-iron-phosphate (LiFePO4) with an orthorhombic crystal structure is one of the promising cathode materials for the application in electric vehicles. In this research we first use a multiphysic approach to investigate the stress evolution, especially on the phase boundary during lithiation in single LiFePO4 particles. A diffusion-controlled finite element model accompanied with the experimentally observed phase boundary propagation is developed via a finite element package, ANSYS, in which lithium ion concentration-dependent anisotropic material properties and volume misfits are incorporated. The stress components on the phase boundary are used to explain the Mode I, Mode II, and Mode III fracture propensities in LiFePO4 particles. The elastic strain energy evolution is also discussed to explain why a layer-by-layer lithium insertion mechanism (i.e. first-order phase transformation) is energetically preferred. Another importation issue is how current rate (C-rate) during charging/discharging affects diffusion induced stresses inside electrode materials. For the experimental part we first conduct charging/discharging under different C-rates to observe the voltage responses for commercial LiFePO4 batteries. Then Time-of-Flight Secondary Ion Mass Spectrometry technique is applied to measure the lithium ion intensities in different C-rate charged/discharged samples. These experimental results could be used to support that a more significant voltage fluctuation under high C-rates is due to different lithium insertion mechanisms, rather than the amount of lithium ions intercalated into electrode materials. Thus the investigation of C-rate-dependent stress evolution is required for the development of a more durable lithium ion battery. In this dissertation, we extend the single particle finite element model to investigate the C-rate-dependent diffusion induced stresses in a multi-particle system. Concentration dependent anisotropic material properties, C-rate-dependent volume misfits and concentration dependent Li-ion diffusivity are incorporated in the model. The concentration gradients, diffusion induced stresses, and strain energies under different C-rates are discussed in this study. Particle fractures have been observed in many experimental results, in this study we further discuss the effect of the crack surface orientation on the lithium concentration profile and stress level in cathode materials. The results of this dissertation provide a better understanding of diffusion induced stresses in electrode materials and contribute to our fundamental knowledge of interplay between lithium intercalations, stress evolutions, particle fractures and the capacity fade in lithium-ion batteries.

Genetics of animal temperament: aggressive behaviour at mixing is genetically associated with the response to handling in pigs.

PubMed

D'Eath, R B; Roehe, R; Turner, S P; Ison, S H; Farish, M; Jack, M C; Lawrence, A B

2009-11-01

Aggression when pigs are mixed into new social groups has negative impacts on welfare and production. Aggressive behaviour is moderately heritable and could be reduced by genetic selection. The possible wider impacts of selection for reduced aggressiveness on handling traits and activity in the home pen were investigated using 1663 male and female pedigree pigs (898 purebred Yorkshire and 765 Yorkshire × Landrace). Aggressive behaviour was observed over 24 h after pigs were mixed at 10 weeks of age into groups balanced for unfamiliarity and weight. Aggression was highly heritable (duration of involvement in reciprocal fighting h2 = 0.47 ± 0.03, and duration of delivering one-sided aggression h2 = 0.34 ± 0.03). Three weeks after mixing, home pen inactivity (indicated by the frequency of lying) was observed over 24 h. Inactivity was weakly heritable (h2 = 0.05 ± 0.01) but showed no significant genetic association with aggression. Pigs' behaviour during handling by humans was assessed on entry to, whilst inside and on exit from a weigh crate at both mixing and end of test at 22 weeks. Pigs were generally easy to handle, moving easily into and out of the crate. Scores indicating 'very difficult to move' were rare. Handling scores at weighing were weakly heritable (h2 = 0.03 to 0.17), and moderately correlated across the two weighings (rg = 0.28 to 0.76). Aggressive behaviour at mixing was genetically associated with handling at the end of test weighing: pigs that fought and delivered one-sided aggression had handling scores indicating more active behaviour at weighing (e.g. moving quickly into the crate v. fighting rg = 0.41 ± 0.05 and v. bullying rg = 0.60 ± 0.04). Also, there was a genetic association between receiving one-side aggression at mixing and producing high-pitched vocalisations in the weigh crate (rg = 0.78 ± 0.08). Correlated behavioural responses occurring across different challenging situations (e.g. social mixing and human handling) have been described by the concept of animal temperament (also known as coping styles, personality or behavioural syndromes), but this has rarely been demonstrated at the genetic level in farm animals. These findings may have practical implications for the development of breeding programmes aimed at altering animal temperament. Breeding to reduce aggression could result in some reduction in activity at weighing. This would have consequences for animal production, because pigs which are inactive at weighing take longer to move into and out of the weigh crate, and perhaps also for animal welfare.

HEU Holdup Measurements on 321-M A-Lathe

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Dewberry, R.A.

The Analytical Development Section of SRTC was requested by the Facilities Disposition Division (FDD) of the Savannah River Site to determine the holdup of enriched uranium in the 321-M facility as part of an overall deactivation project of the facility. The 321-M facility was used to fabricate enriched uranium fuel assemblies, lithium-aluminum target tubes, neptunium assemblies, and miscellaneous components for the production reactors. The results of the holdup assays are essential for determining compliance with the solid waste Waste Acceptance Criteria, Material Control and Accountability, and to meet criticality safety controls. Three measurement systems were used to determine highly enrichedmore » uranium (HEU) holdup. This report covers holdup measurements on the A-Lathe that was used to machine uranium-aluminum-alloy (U-Al). Our results indicated that the lathe contained more than the limits stated in the Waste Acceptance Criteria (WAC) for the solid waste E-Area Vaults. Thus the lathe was decontaminated three times and assayed four times in order to bring the amounts of uranium to an acceptable content. This report will discuss the methodology, Non-Destructive Assay (NDA) measurements, and results of the U-235 holdup on the lathe.« less

The help of simulation codes in designing waste assay systems using neutron measurement methods: Application to the alpha low level waste assay system PROMETHEE 6

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mariani, A.; Passard, C.; Jallu, F.; Toubon, H.

2003-11-01

The design of a specific nuclear assay system for a dedicated application begins with a phase of development, which relies on information from the literature or on knowledge resulting from experience, and on specific experimental verifications. The latter ones may require experimental devices which can be restricting in terms of deadline, cost and safety. One way generally chosen to bypass these difficulties is to use simulation codes to study particular aspects. This paper deals with the potentialities offered by the simulation in the case of a passive-active neutron (PAN) assay system for alpha low level waste characterization; this system has been carried out at the Nuclear Measurements Development Laboratory of the French Atomic Energy Commission. Due to the high number of parameters to be taken into account for its development, this is a particularly sophisticated example. Since the PAN assay system, called PROMETHEE (prompt epithermal and thermal interrogation experiment), must have a detection efficiency of more than 20% and preserve a high level of modularity for various applications, an improved version has been studied using the MCNP4 (Monte Carlo N-Particle) transport code. Parameters such as the dimensions of the assay system, of the cavity and of the detection blocks, and the thicknesses of the nuclear materials of neutronic interest have been optimised. Therefore, the number of necessary experiments was reduced.

48 CFR 47.305-1 - Solicitation requirements.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-10-01

... much of the following data as is applicable to the particular acquisition: (a) Modes of transportation... packaging; e.g., box, carton, crate, drum, bundle, skids, and when applicable, package number from the...

48 CFR 47.305-1 - Solicitation requirements.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-10-01

... much of the following data as is applicable to the particular acquisition: (a) Modes of transportation... packaging; e.g., box, carton, crate, drum, bundle, skids, and when applicable, package number from the...

48 CFR 47.305-1 - Solicitation requirements.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-10-01

... much of the following data as is applicable to the particular acquisition: (a) Modes of transportation... packaging; e.g., box, carton, crate, drum, bundle, skids, and when applicable, package number from the...

48 CFR 47.305-1 - Solicitation requirements.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-10-01

... much of the following data as is applicable to the particular acquisition: (a) Modes of transportation... packaging; e.g., box, carton, crate, drum, bundle, skids, and when applicable, package number from the...

48 CFR 47.305-1 - Solicitation requirements.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-10-01

... much of the following data as is applicable to the particular acquisition: (a) Modes of transportation... packaging; e.g., box, carton, crate, drum, bundle, skids, and when applicable, package number from the...

Measurement of radionuclides in waste packages

DOEpatents

Brodzinski, R.L.; Perkins, R.W.; Rieck, H.G.; Wogman, N.A.

1984-09-12

A method is described for non-destructively assaying the radionuclide content of solid waste in a sealed container by analysis of the waste's gamma-ray spectrum and neutron emissions. Some radionuclides are measured by characteristic photopeaks in the gamma-ray spectrum; transuranic nuclides are measured by neutron emission rate; other radionuclides are measured by correlation with those already measured.

Measurement of radionuclides in waste packages

DOEpatents

Brodzinski, Ronald L.; Perkins, Richard W.; Rieck, Henry G.; Wogman, Ned A.

1986-01-01

A method is described for non-destructively assaying the radionuclide content of solid waste in a sealed container by analysis of the waste's gamma-ray spectrum and neutron emissions. Some radionuclides are measured by characteristic photopeaks in the gamma-ray spectrum; transuranic nuclides are measured by neutron emission rate; other radionuclides are measured by correlation with those already measured.

Synthesis, characterization and rate capability performance of the micro-porous MnO{sub 2} nanowires as cathode material in lithium batteries

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

R, Ranjusha; S, Sonia T.; S, Roshny

Graphical abstract: Translating MnO{sub 2} nanowires as cathode materials in coin cell and studying their discharge behavior and cycling stability at different C-rates. - Highlights: • MnO{sub 2} nanowires have been synthesized via hydrothermal route. • The nanowires were employed as cathode materials in Li-batteries. • Discharge and cycling stability were studied at different C-rates. • Specific capacity and power density of 251 mAh g{sup −1} and 200 W kg{sup −1} were attained. - Abstract: A peculiar architecture of one-dimensional MnO{sub 2} nanowires was synthesized by an optimized hydrothermal route and has been lucratively exploited to fabricate highly efficient microporousmore » electrode overlays for lithium batteries. These fabricated electrodes comprised of interconnected nanoscale units with wire-shaped profile which exhibits high aspect ratio in the order of 10{sup 2}. Their outstanding intercalation/de-intercalation prerogatives have also been studied to fabricate lithium coin cells which revealed a significant specific capacity and power density of 251 mAh g{sup −1} and 200 W kg{sup −1}, respectively. A detailed electrochemical study was performed to elucidate how surface morphology and redox reaction behaviors underlying these electrodes influence the cyclic behavior of the electrode. Rate capability tests at different C-rates were performed to evaluate the capacity and cycling performance of these coin cells.« less

In situ characterization of charge rate dependent stress and structure changes in V 2O 5 cathode prepared by atomic layer deposition

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Jung, Hyun; Gerasopoulos, Konstantinos; Talin, Albert Alec

Here, the insertion/extraction of lithium into/from various host materials is the basic process by which lithium-ion batteries reversible store charge. This process is generally accompanied by strain in the host material, inducing stress which can lead to capacity loss. Therefore, understanding of both the structural changes and the associated stress – investigated almost exclusively separate to date – is a critical factor for developing high-performance batteries. Here, we report an in situ method, which utilizes Raman spectroscopy in parallel with optical interferometry to study effects of varying charging rates (C-rates) on the structure and stress in a V 2O 5more » thin film cathode. Abrupt stress changes at specific crystal phase transitions in the Li—V—O system are observed and the magnitude of the stress changes with the amount of lithium inserted into the electrode are correlated. A linear increase in the stress as a function of x in Li xV 2O 5 is observed, indicating that C-rate does not directly contribute to larger intercalation stress. However, a more rapid increase in disorder within the Li xV 2O 5 layers is correlated with higher C-rate. Ultimately, these experiments demonstrate how the simultaneous stress/Raman in situ approach can be utilized as a characterization platform for investigating various critical factors affecting lithium-ion battery performance.« less

New chemical approach to obtain dense layer phosphate-based ionic conductor coating on negative electrode material surface: Synthesis way, outgassing and improvement of C-rate capability

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fleutot, Benoit; Davoisne, Carine; Gachot, Grégory; Cavalaglio, Sébastien; Grugeon, Sylvie; Viallet, Virginie

2017-04-01

Li4Ti5O12 (LTO) based batteries have severe gassing behavior during charge/discharge and storage process, due to interfacial reactions between active material and electrolyte solution. In the same time, the electronic and ionic conductivity of pristine LTO is very poor and induces the use of nanoparticles which increase the outgassing phenomena. The coating of LTO particles could be a solution. For this the LTO spinel particles are modified with ionic conductor Li3PO4 coating using a spray-drying method. For the first time a homogeneous thin dense layer phosphate based conductor is obtained without nanoparticles, as a thin film material. It is so possible to study the influence of ionic conductor deposited on the negative electrode material on performances by the controlled layer thickness. This coating was characterized by XRD, SEM, XPS and TEM. The electrochemical performance of Li3PO4 coated Li4Ti5O12 is improved at high C-rate by the surface modification (improvement of 30 mAh g-1 at 5 C-rate compared to pristine LTO for 5 nm of coating), inducing by a modification of surface energy. An optimum coating thickness was studied. This type of coating allows a significant decrease of outgassing phenomena due the conformal coating and opens the way to a great number of studies and new technologies.

In situ characterization of charge rate dependent stress and structure changes in V 2O 5 cathode prepared by atomic layer deposition

DOE PAGES

Jung, Hyun; Gerasopoulos, Konstantinos; Talin, Albert Alec; ...

2016-11-22

Here, the insertion/extraction of lithium into/from various host materials is the basic process by which lithium-ion batteries reversible store charge. This process is generally accompanied by strain in the host material, inducing stress which can lead to capacity loss. Therefore, understanding of both the structural changes and the associated stress – investigated almost exclusively separate to date – is a critical factor for developing high-performance batteries. Here, we report an in situ method, which utilizes Raman spectroscopy in parallel with optical interferometry to study effects of varying charging rates (C-rates) on the structure and stress in a V 2O 5more » thin film cathode. Abrupt stress changes at specific crystal phase transitions in the Li—V—O system are observed and the magnitude of the stress changes with the amount of lithium inserted into the electrode are correlated. A linear increase in the stress as a function of x in Li xV 2O 5 is observed, indicating that C-rate does not directly contribute to larger intercalation stress. However, a more rapid increase in disorder within the Li xV 2O 5 layers is correlated with higher C-rate. Ultimately, these experiments demonstrate how the simultaneous stress/Raman in situ approach can be utilized as a characterization platform for investigating various critical factors affecting lithium-ion battery performance.« less

Mesoporous Silicon Hollow Nanocubes Derived from Metal-Organic Framework Template for Advanced Lithium-Ion Battery Anode.

PubMed

Yoon, Taeseung; Bok, Taesoo; Kim, Chulhyun; Na, Younghoon; Park, Soojin; Kim, Kwang S

2017-05-23

Controlling the morphology of nanostructured silicon is critical to improving the structural stability and electrochemical performance in lithium-ion batteries. The use of removable or sacrificial templates is an effective and easy route to synthesize hollow materials. Herein, we demonstrate the synthesis of mesoporous silicon hollow nanocubes (m-Si HCs) derived from a metal-organic framework (MOF) as an anode material with outstanding electrochemical properties. The m-Si HC architecture with the mesoporous external shell (∼15 nm) and internal void (∼60 nm) can effectively accommodate volume variations and relieve diffusion-induced stress/strain during repeated cycling. In addition, this cube architecture provides a high electrolyte contact area because of the exposed active site, which can promote the transportation of Li ions. The well-designed m-Si HC with carbon coating delivers a high reversible capacity of 1728 mAhg -1 with an initial Coulombic efficiency of 80.1% after the first cycle and an excellent rate capability of >1050 mAhg -1 even at a 15 C-rate. In particular, the m-Si HC anode effectively suppresses electrode swelling to ∼47% after 100 cycles and exhibits outstanding cycle stability of 850 mAhg -1 after 800 cycles at a 1 C-rate. Moreover, a full cell (2.9 mAhcm -2 ) comprising a m-Si HC-graphite anode and LiCoO 2 cathode exhibits remarkable cycle retention of 72% after 100 cycles at a 0.2 C-rate.

Estimates for Pu-239 loadings in burial ground culverts based on fast/slow neutron measurements

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Winn, W.G.; Hochel, R.C.; Hofstetter, K.J.

1989-08-15

This report provides guideline estimates for Pu-239 mass loadings in selected burial ground culverts. The relatively high recorded Pu-239 contents of these culverts have been appraised as suspect relative to criticality concerns, because they were assayed only with the solid waste monitor (SWM) per gamma-ray counting. After 1985, subsequent waste was also assayed with the neutron coincidence counter (NCC), and a comparison of the assay methods showed that the NCC generally yielded higher assays than the SWM. These higher NCC readings signaled a need to conduct non-destructive/non-intrusive nuclear interrogations of these culverts, and a technical team conducted scoping measurements tomore » illustrate potential assay methods based on neutron and/or gamma counting. A fast/slow neutron method has been developed to estimate the Pu-239 in the culverts. In addition, loading records include the SWM assays of all Pu-239 cuts of some of the culvert drums and these data are useful in estimating the corresponding NCC drum assays from NCC vs SWM data. Together, these methods yield predictions based on direct measurements and statistical inference.« less

Performance Assessment of Human and Cattle Associated Quantitative Real-time PCR Assays - slides

EPA Science Inventory

The presentation overview is (1) Single laboratory performance assessment of human- and cattle associated PCR assays and (2) A Field Study: Evaluation of two human fecal waste management practices in Ohio watershed.

Kinetic modelling of anaerobic hydrolysis of solid wastes, including disintegration processes

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

García-Gen, Santiago; Sousbie, Philippe; Rangaraj, Ganesh

2015-01-15

Highlights: • Fractionation of solid wastes into readily and slowly biodegradable fractions. • Kinetic coefficients estimation from mono-digestion batch assays. • Validation of kinetic coefficients with a co-digestion continuous experiment. • Simulation of batch and continuous experiments with an ADM1-based model. - Abstract: A methodology to estimate disintegration and hydrolysis kinetic parameters of solid wastes and validate an ADM1-based anaerobic co-digestion model is presented. Kinetic parameters of the model were calibrated from batch reactor experiments treating individually fruit and vegetable wastes (among other residues) following a new protocol for batch tests. In addition, decoupled disintegration kinetics for readily and slowlymore » biodegradable fractions of solid wastes was considered. Calibrated parameters from batch assays of individual substrates were used to validate the model for a semi-continuous co-digestion operation treating simultaneously 5 fruit and vegetable wastes. The semi-continuous experiment was carried out in a lab-scale CSTR reactor for 15 weeks at organic loading rate ranging between 2.0 and 4.7 g VS/L d. The model (built in Matlab/Simulink) fit to a large extent the experimental results in both batch and semi-continuous mode and served as a powerful tool to simulate the digestion or co-digestion of solid wastes.« less

7 CFR 51.3748 - Damage.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-01-01

... color, hard, tough, or thin; and, (2) Bruising when the size or color of the affected area materially... bruising caused by light pressure of the weight of other melons or from lidding of the crate; (2) Yellow...

77 FR 58354 - Foreign-Trade Zone 265-Conroe, TX; Notification of Proposed Production Activity, Bauer...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2012-09-20

..., packing crates, decals, textile straps, mirrors, insulation, articles of steel (shapes, angles, bars, rods...-conditioner components, heat exchangers, filters, fire extinguishers, hydraulic jacks/hoists, parts of boring...

Aquarius/SAC-D Observatory Being Crated for Shipment to Brazil

NASA Image and Video Library

2011-04-19

NASA Aquarius/SAC-D being prepared for shipment to Brazil National Institute for Space Research Integration and Testing Lab. At INPE, the Aquarius/SAC-D observatory will undergo its final environmental testing.

Aquarius/SAC-D Observatory before Departing Brazil

NASA Image and Video Library

2011-04-19

After months of environmental tests at Brazil National Institute for Space Research Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas Espaciais, INPE, NASA Aquarius/SAC-D observatory is loaded into a crate for shipment to Vandenberg Air Force Base.

Preparing Juno for Environmental Testing

NASA Image and Video Library

2010-12-16

NASA Juno spacecraft rests atop its rotation fixture awaiting transfer to a shipping crate prior to environmental testing; the large white square on the spacecraft right is largest of six microwave radiometer antennas, masked by protective covering.

7 CFR 319.56-56 - Fresh pomegranates from Chile.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-01-01

... Chile following any post-harvest processing. A biometric sample must be drawn and examined from each... States. (2) A biometric sample of the boxes, crates, or other APHIS-approved packing containers from each...

7 CFR 319.56-56 - Fresh pomegranates from Chile.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-01-01

... Chile following any post-harvest processing. A biometric sample must be drawn and examined from each... States. (2) A biometric sample of the boxes, crates, or other APHIS-approved packing containers from each...

Passive Neutron Non-Destructive Assay for Remediation of Radiological Waste at Hanford Burial Grounds- 13189

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Simpson, A.; Pitts, M.; Ludowise, J.D.

The Hanford burial grounds contains a broad spectrum of low activity radioactive wastes, transuranic (TRU) wastes, and hazardous wastes including fission products, byproduct material (thorium and uranium), plutonium and laboratory chemicals. A passive neutron non-destructive assay technique has been developed for characterization of shielded concreted drums exhumed from the burial grounds. This method facilitates the separation of low activity radiological waste containers from TRU waste containers exhumed from the burial grounds. Two identical total neutron counting systems have been deployed, each consisting of He-3 detectors surrounded by a polyethylene moderator. The counts are processed through a statistical filter that removesmore » outliers in order to suppress cosmic spallation events and electronic noise. Upon completion of processing, a 'GO / NO GO' signal is provided to the operator based on a threshold level equivalent to 0.5 grams of weapons grade plutonium in the container being evaluated. This approach allows instantaneous decisions to be made on how to proceed with the waste. The counting systems have been set up using initial on-site measurements (neutron emitting standards loaded into surrogate waste containers) combined with Monte Carlo modeling techniques. The benefit of this approach is to allow the systems to extend their measurement ranges, in terms of applicable matrix types and container sizes, with minimal interruption to the operations at the burial grounds. (authors)« less

APNEA/WIT system nondestructive assay capability evaluation plan for select accessibly stored INEL RWMC waste forms

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Becker, G.K.

1997-01-01

Bio-Imaging Research Inc. (BIR) and Lockheed Martin Speciality Components (LMSC) are engaged in a Program Research and Development Agreement and a Rapid Commercialization Initiative with the Department of Energy, EM-50. The agreement required BIR and LMSC to develop a data interpretation method that merges nondestructive assay and nondestructive examination (NDA/NDE) data and information sufficient to establish compliance with applicable National TRU Program (Program) waste characterization requirements and associated quality assurance performance criteria. This effort required an objective demonstration of the BIR and LMSC waste characterization systems in their standalone and integrated configurations. The goal of the test plan is tomore » provide a mechanism from which evidence can be derived to substantiate nondestructive assay capability and utility statement for the BIT and LMSC systems. The plan must provide for the acquisition, compilation, and reporting of performance data thereby allowing external independent agencies a basis for an objective evaluation of the standalone BIR and LMSC measurement systems, WIT and APNEA respectively, as well as an expected performance resulting from appropriate integration of the two systems. The evaluation is to be structured such that a statement regarding select INEL RWMC waste forms can be made in terms of compliance with applicable Program requirements and criteria.« less

LANL OPERATING EXPERIENCE WITH THE WAND AND HERCULES PROTOTYPE SYSTEMS

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

K. M. GRUETZMACHER; C. L. FOXX; S. C. MYERS

2000-09-01

The Waste Assay for Nonradioactive Disposal (WAND) and the High Efficiency Radiation Counters for Ultimate Low Emission Sensitivity (HERCULES) prototype systems have been operating at Los Alamos National Laboratory's (LANL's) Solid Waste Operation's (SWO'S) non-destructive assay (NDA) building since 1997 and 1998, respectively. These systems are the cornerstone of the verification program for low-density Green is Clean (GIC) waste at the Laboratory. GIC waste includes all non-regulated waste generated in radiological controlled areas (RCAS) that has been actively segregated as clean (i.e., nonradioactive) through the use of waste generator acceptable knowledge (AK). The use of this methodology alters LANL's pastmore » practice of disposing of all room trash generated in nuclear facilities in radioactive waste landfills. Waste that is verified clean can be disposed of at the Los Alamos County Landfill. It is estimated that 50-90% of the low-density room trash from radioactive material handling areas at Los Alamos might be free of contamination. This approach avoids the high cost of disposal of clean waste at a radioactive waste landfill. It also reduces consumption of precious space in the radioactive waste landfill where disposal of this waste provides no benefit to the public or the environment. Preserving low level waste (LLW) disposal capacity for truly radioactive waste is critical in this era when expanding existing radioactive waste landfills or permitting new ones is resisted by regulators and stakeholders. This paper describes the operating experience with the WAND and HERCULES since they began operation at SWO. Waste for verification by the WAND system has been limited so far to waste from the Plutonium Facility and the Solid Waste Operations Facility. A total of461 ft3 (13.1 m3) of low-density shredded waste and paper have been verified clean by the WAND system. The HERCULES system has been used to verify waste from four Laboratory facilities. These are the Solid Waste Operations Facility, the TA-48 Chemistry Facility, the Shops Facility, and the Environmental Facility. A total of 3150 ft3 (89.3 m3) of low-density waste has been verified clean by the HERCULES system.« less

36 CFR 261.16 - Developed recreation sites.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-07-01

... animal, other than a service animal, unless it is crated, caged, or upon a leash not longer than six feet... animal, other than a service animal. (l) Bringing in or possessing a saddle, pack, or draft animal except...

36 CFR 261.16 - Developed recreation sites.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-07-01

... animal, other than a service animal, unless it is crated, caged, or upon a leash not longer than six feet... animal, other than a service animal. (l) Bringing in or possessing a saddle, pack, or draft animal except...

NOVEL RADIOGRAPHIC TECHNIQUE FOR PREGNANCY DETECTION IN THE MANED WOLF (CHRYSOCYON BRACHYURUS) WITHOUT ANESTHESIA.

PubMed

Aitken-Palmer, Copper; A C Z M, Dipl; Ware, Lisa H; Braun, Lacey; Lang, Kenneth; Joyner, Priscilla H

2017-03-01

Maned wolves ( Chrysocyon brachyurus ) maintained in ex situ populations challenge veterinarians and managers with high neonatal mortality and parental incompetence. These challenges led to the development of a novel diagnostic approach for pregnancy detection using radiographic imaging without anesthesia or sedation. To do this, a specialized crate was constructed to easily contain a single maned wolf, allowing the capture of lateral projection radiographic images of the abdomen prior to and throughout a 66-day pregnancy (days 20, 34, 48, and 55 of 66). Radiographs taken at days 48 and 55 postbreeding showed evidence of neonatal skeleton mineralization, confirming pregnancy with two pups. The dam gave birth at day 66 to two pups. This technical report describes a novel approach without anesthesia for successful radiographic pregnancy detection and determination of litter size in the maned wolf, a midsize carnivore, using a specially constructed crate.

IGA resistance of TT Alloy 690 and concentration behavior of Broached Egg Crate tube support configuration

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Suzuki, S.; Kusakabe, T.; Yamamoto, H.

1992-12-31

In order to improve the reliability of the Steam Generator (SG), TT Alloy 690 and BEC (Broached Egg Crate) type tube support plate has been developed. Some tests are carried out to heighten the reliability for these improvements all the more and the following results are obtained. (1) SERT test (Slow Extension Rate Test) made clear that TT690 has less IGA susceptibility in comparison with MA600. (2) The alkaline susceptibility on the occurrence of IGA/SCC on TT690 and MA600 obtained by SERT corresponds to that obtained by Model Boiler test. (3) By model boiler test, superior concentration behaviors for BECmore » type tube support plate configuration have been recognized in comparison with Drill type. This result is obtained by the joint research of the five utilities (Kansai Epco, Hokkaido Epco, Shikoku Epco, Kyushu Epco, JAPCO) and MHI.« less

Synthesis and electrochemical property of LiCoO 2 thin films composed of nanosize compounds synthesized via nanosheet restacking method

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Quan, Zhen; Iwase, Kosuke; Sonoyama, Noriyuki

LiCoO 2 thin films with nanosize particles were synthesized on Au substrates by nanosheet restacking method and subsequent hydrothermal reaction which needs less cost than the vacuum deposition methods. The grain size of LiCoO 2 films estimated by XRD reflection was about 15 nm that was independent of the thickness of precursor cobalt hydroxide film. Comparing the rate performance of the thin films with various thickness, the optimum performance was obtained by the thin film with 5 min deposition time: 62% of the capacity was held at 400 C-rate compared with that at 20 C-rate. The results of AC-impedance analysis of electrode reaction indicate that the high rate capability of the LiCoO 2 film is obtained by the small grain size and large surface area of LiCoO 2 thin film with nano size particles.

Opto-box: Optical modules and mini-crate for ATLAS pixel and IBL detectors

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bertsche, David

2016-11-01

The opto-box is a custom mini-crate for housing optical modules which process and transfer optoelectronic data. Many novel solutions were developed for the custom design and manufacturing. The system tightly integrates electrical, mechanical, and thermal functionality into a small package of size 35×10x8 cm3. Special attention was given to ensure proper shielding, grounding, cooling, high reliability, and environmental tolerance. The custom modules, which incorporate Application Specific Integrated Circuits, were developed through a cycle of rigorous testing and redesign. In total, fourteen opto-boxes have been installed and loaded with modules on the ATLAS detector. They are currently in operation as part of the LHC run 2 data read-out chain. This conference proceeding is in support of the poster presented at the International Conference on New Frontiers in Physics (ICNFP) 2015 [1].

Quantitative CrAssphage PCR Assays for Human Fecal ...

EPA Pesticide Factsheets

Environmental waters are monitored for fecal pollution to protect public health and water resources. Traditionally, general fecal indicator bacteria are used; however, they cannot distinguish human fecal waste from pollution from other animals. Recently, a novel bacteriophage, crAssphage, was discovered by metagenomic data mining and reported to be abundant in and closely associated with human fecal waste. To confirm bioinformatic predictions, 384 primer sets were designed along the length of the crAssphage genome. Based upon initial screening, two novel crAssphage qPCR assays (CPQ_056 and CPQ_064) were designed and evaluated in reference fecal samples and water matrices. The assays exhibited high specificities (98.6%) when tested against a large animal fecal reference library and were highly abundant in raw sewage and sewage impacted water samples. In addition, CPQ_056 and CPQ_064 assay performance was compared to HF183/BacR287 and HumM2 methods in paired experiments. Findings confirm viral crAssphage qPCR assays perform at a similar level to well established bacterial human-associated fecal source identification technologies. These new viral based assays could become important water quality management and research tools. To inform the public.

7 CFR 301.80 - Quarantine; restriction on interstate movement of specified regulated articles.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-01-01

... States of North Carolina and South Carolina in order to prevent the spread of witchweed (Striga spp.), a...) Sorghum. (18) Used crates, boxes, burlap bags, and cotton-picking sacks, and other used farm products...

7 CFR 301.80 - Quarantine; restriction on interstate movement of specified regulated articles.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-01-01

... States of North Carolina and South Carolina in order to prevent the spread of witchweed (Striga spp.), a...) Sorghum. (18) Used crates, boxes, burlap bags, and cotton-picking sacks, and other used farm products...

74. Neg. No. F116A, May 22, 1931, INTERIORPRESSED STEEL BUILDING, ...

Library of Congress Historic Buildings Survey, Historic Engineering Record, Historic Landscapes Survey

74. Neg. No. F-116A, May 22, 1931, INTERIOR-PRESSED STEEL BUILDING, SHOWING FENDER CRATE - Ford Motor Company Long Beach Assembly Plant, Assembly Building, 700 Henry Ford Avenue, Long Beach, Los Angeles County, CA

Energy extraction and water treatment in one system: The idea of using a desalination battery in a cooling tower

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Shapira, Barak; Cohen, Izaak; Penki, Tirupathi Rao; Avraham, Eran; Aurbach, Doron

2018-02-01

The use of sodium manganese oxide as an intercalation electrode for water treatment was recently explored, and referred to as a "desalination battery" and "hybrid capacitive deionization". Here, we examine the feasibility of using such a desalination battery, comprising crystalline Na4Mn9O18 as the cathode and Ag/AgCl/Cl- electrode as the anode, to extract energy from low-grade waste heat sources. Sodium manganese oxide electrode's material was produced via a solid-state synthesis. Electrodes were produced by spray-coated onto graphite foils, and showed a temperature dependence of the electrode potential, namely, ∂ E / ∂ T , of -0.63 mV/K (whereas, the Ag/AgCl/Cl- mesh electrode showed much lower temperature dependence, < 0.1 mV/K). In order to demonstrate ion-removal capabilities together with the feasibility of thermal-energy conversion, a flow battery system was constructed. Thermally regenerative electrochemical cycles (TREC) were constructed for the flow battery cell. The thermal energy conversion, in this particular system, was shown to be feasible at relatively low C-rate (C/19) with temperatures varying between 30 °C and 70 °C.

Neutron coincidence counting based on time interval analysis with one- and two-dimensional Rossi-alpha distributions: an application for passive neutron waste assay

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bruggeman, M.; Baeten, P.; De Boeck, W.; Carchon, R.

1996-02-01

Neutron coincidence counting is commonly used for the non-destructive assay of plutonium bearing waste or for safeguards verification measurements. A major drawback of conventional coincidence counting is related to the fact that a valid calibration is needed to convert a neutron coincidence count rate to a 240Pu equivalent mass ( 240Pu eq). In waste assay, calibrations are made for representative waste matrices and source distributions. The actual waste however may have quite different matrices and source distributions compared to the calibration samples. This often results in a bias of the assay result. This paper presents a new neutron multiplicity sensitive coincidence counting technique including an auto-calibration of the neutron detection efficiency. The coincidence counting principle is based on the recording of one- and two-dimensional Rossi-alpha distributions triggered respectively by pulse pairs and by pulse triplets. Rossi-alpha distributions allow an easy discrimination between real and accidental coincidences and are aimed at being measured by a PC-based fast time interval analyser. The Rossi-alpha distributions can be easily expressed in terms of a limited number of factorial moments of the neutron multiplicity distributions. The presented technique allows an unbiased measurement of the 240Pu eq mass. The presented theory—which will be indicated as Time Interval Analysis (TIA)—is complementary to Time Correlation Analysis (TCA) theories which were developed in the past, but is from the theoretical point of view much simpler and allows a straightforward calculation of deadtime corrections and error propagation. Analytical expressions are derived for the Rossi-alpha distributions as a function of the factorial moments of the efficiency dependent multiplicity distributions. The validity of the proposed theory is demonstrated and verified via Monte Carlo simulations of pulse trains and the subsequent analysis of the simulated data.

Enhancing anaerobic digestion of food waste through biochemical methane potential assays at different substrate: inoculum ratios.

PubMed

Hobbs, Shakira R; Landis, Amy E; Rittmann, Bruce E; Young, Michelle N; Parameswaran, Prathap

2018-01-01

Food waste has a high energy potential that can be converted into useful energy in the form of methane via anaerobic digestion. Biochemical Methane Potential assays (BMPs) were conducted to quantify the impacts on methane production of different ratios of food waste. Anaerobic digester sludge (ADS) was used as the inoculum, and BMPs were performed at food waste:inoculum ratios of 0.42, 1.42, and 3.0g chemical oxygen demand/g volatile solids (VS). The 1.42 ratio had the highest CH 4 -COD recovery: 90% of the initial total chemical oxygen demand (TCOD) was from food waste, followed by ratios 0.42 and 3.0 at 69% and 57%, respectively. Addition of food waste above 0.42 caused a lag time for CH 4 production that increased with higher ratios, which highlighted the negative impacts of overloading with food waste. The Gompertz equation was able to represent the results well, and it gave lag times of 0, 3.6 and 30days and maximum methane productions of 370, 910, and 1950mL for ratios 0.42, 1.42 and 3.0, respectively. While ratio 3.0 endured a long lag phase and low VSS destruction, ratio 1.42 achieved satisfactory results for all performance criteria. These results provide practical guidance on food-waste-to-inoculum ratios that can lead to optimizing methanogenic yield. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Improvement of non-destructive fissile mass assays in α low-level waste drums: A matrix correction method based on neutron capture gamma-rays and a neutron generator

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jallu, F.; Loche, F.

2008-08-01

Within the framework of radioactive waste control, non-destructive assay (NDA) methods may be employed. The active neutron interrogation (ANI) method is now well-known and effective in quantifying low α-activity fissile masses (mainly 235U, 239Pu, 241Pu) with low densities, i.e. less than about 0.4, in radioactive waste drums of volumes up to 200 l. The PROMpt Epithermal and THErmal interrogation Experiment (PROMETHEE [F. Jallu, A. Mariani, C. Passard, A.-C. Raoux, H. Toubon, Alpha low level waste control: improvement of the PROMETHEE 6 assay system performances. Nucl. Technol. 153 (January) (2006); C. Passard, A. Mariani, F. Jallu, J. Romeyer-Dherber, H. Recroix, M. Rodriguez, J. Loridon, C. Denis, PROMETHEE: an alpha low level waste assay system using passive and active neutron measurement methods. Nucl. Technol. 140 (December) (2002) 303-314]) based on ANI has been under development since 1996 to reach the incinerating α low level waste (LLW) criterion of about 50 Bq[α] per gram of crude waste (≈50 μg Pu) in 118 l drums on the date the drums are conditioned. Difficulties arise when dealing with matrices containing neutron energy moderators such as H and neutron absorbents such as Cl. These components may have a great influence on the fissile mass deduced from the neutron signal measured by ANI. For example, the calibration coefficient measured in a 118 l drum containing a cellulose matrix (density d = 0.144 g cm -3) may be 50 times higher than that obtained in a poly-vinyl-chloride matrix ( d = 0.253 g cm -3). Without any information on the matrix, the fissile mass is often overestimated due to safety procedures and by considering the most disadvantageous calibration coefficient corresponding to the most absorbing and moderating calibration matrix. The work discussed in this paper was performed at the CEA Nuclear Measurement Laboratory in France. It concerns the development of a matrix effect correction method, which consists in identifying and quantifying the matrix components by using prompt gamma-rays following neutron capture. The method aims to refine the value of the adequate calibration coefficient used for ANI analysis. This paper presents the final results obtained for 118 l waste drums with low α-activity and low density. This paper discusses the experimental and modelling studies and describes the development of correction abacuses based on gamma-ray spectrometry signals.

Health care industries: potential generators of genotoxic waste.

PubMed

Sharma, Pratibha; Kumar, Manish; Mathur, N; Singh, A; Bhatnagar, P; Sogani, M

2013-08-01

Health care waste includes all the waste generated by health care establishments, research facilities, and laboratories. This constitutes a variety of chemical substances, such as pharmaceuticals, radionuclides, solvents, and disinfectants. Recently, scientists and environmentalists have discovered that wastewater produced by hospitals possesses toxic properties due to various toxic chemicals and pharmaceuticals capable of causing environmental impacts and even lethal effects to organisms in aquatic ecosystems. Many of these compounds resist normal wastewater treatment and end up in surface waters. Besides aquatic organisms, humans can be exposed through drinking water produced from contaminated surface water. Indeed, some of the substances found in wastewaters are genotoxic and are suspected to be potential contributors to certain cancers. The aim of this study was to evaluate the genotoxic and cytotoxic potential of wastewaters from two hospitals and three clinical diagnostic centers located in Jaipur (Rajasthan State), India using the prokaryotic Salmonella mutagenicity assay (Ames assay) and the eukaryotic Saccharomyces cerevisiae respiration inhibition assay. In the Ames assay, untreated wastewaters from both of the health care sectors resulted in significantly increased numbers of revertant colonies up to 1,000-4,050 as measured by the Salmonella typhimurium TA98 and TA100 strains (with and without metabolic activation) after exposure to undiluted samples, which indicated the highly genotoxic nature of these wastewaters. Furthermore, both hospital and diagnostic samples were found to be highly cytotoxic. Effective concentrations at which 20 % (EC20) and 50 % (EC50) inhibition of the respiration rate of the cells occurred ranged between ~0.00 and 0.52 % and between 0.005 and 41.30 % (calculated with the help of the MS excel software XLSTAT 2012.1.01; Addinsoft), respectively, as determined by the S. cerevisiae assay. The results indicated that hospital wastewaters contain genotoxic and cytotoxic components. In addition, diagnostic centers also represent small but significant sources of genotoxic and cytotoxic wastes.

Cost assessment of the automated VERSANT 440 Molecular System versus the semi-automated System 340 bDNA Analyzer platforms.

PubMed

Elbeik, Tarek; Loftus, Richard A; Beringer, Scott

2007-11-01

Labor, supply and waste were evaluated for HIV-1 and HCV bDNA on the semi-automated System 340 bDNA Analyzer and the automated VERSANT 440 Molecular System (V440). HIV-1 sample processing was evaluated using a 24- and 48-position centrifuge rotor. Vigilance time (hands-on manipulations plus incubation time except initial target hybridization) and disposables were approximately 37 and 12% lower for HIV-1, and 64 and 31% lower for HCV bDNA, respectively, with V440. Biohazardous solid waste was approximately twofold lower for both assays and other waste types were the same for either assay on both platforms. HIV-1 sample processing vigilance time for the 48-position rotor was reduced by 2 h. V440 provides cost savings and improved workflow.

Tolerance endpoint for evaluating the effects of heat stress in dogs.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

1984-06-01

Animals occasionally die from heat stress encountered during shipment in the nation's transportation systems. To provide a basis for a series of studies on shipping crates, environmental conditions, etc., as may be encountered in air transport of dog...

7 CFR 966.13 - Container.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-01-01

... 7 Agriculture 8 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Container. 966.13 Section 966.13 Agriculture Regulations of the Department of Agriculture (Continued) AGRICULTURAL MARKETING SERVICE (Marketing Agreements... Regulating Handling Definitions § 966.13 Container. Container means a box, bag, crate, hamper, basket...

7 CFR 959.13 - Container.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-01-01

... 7 Agriculture 8 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Container. 959.13 Section 959.13 Agriculture Regulations of the Department of Agriculture (Continued) AGRICULTURAL MARKETING SERVICE (Marketing Agreements... Regulating Handling Definitions § 959.13 Container. Container means a box, bag, crate, hamper, basket...

7 CFR 946.18 - Container.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-01-01

... 7 Agriculture 8 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Container. 946.18 Section 946.18 Agriculture Regulations of the Department of Agriculture (Continued) AGRICULTURAL MARKETING SERVICE (Marketing Agreements... Order Regulating Handling Definitions § 946.18 Container. Container means a sack, box, bag, crate...

7 CFR 948.14 - Container.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-01-01

... 7 Agriculture 8 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Container. 948.14 Section 948.14 Agriculture Regulations of the Department of Agriculture (Continued) AGRICULTURAL MARKETING SERVICE (Marketing Agreements... Order Regulating Handling Definitions § 948.14 Container. Container means a sack, bag, crate, box...

ARC-2008-ACD07-0073-468

NASA Image and Video Library

2008-01-14

LCROSS in Ames clean room N-240- securing the special made crate for transfer to Northrup Grumman Redondo Beach, CA where more calibration will be done before finally being sent for mating with the LRO spacecraft with Steve Ord, Ames Project Management Office

"From safe source to safe sink" development of colorimetric assay for gabapentin in bulk drug and capsules using naturally derived genipin.

PubMed

Winotapun, Weerapath; Kongpakwattana, Khachen; Dejpittayanunt, Sirirat; Pathomcharoensukchai, Suwaparp; Suksaran, Udomluck; Nuntharatanapong, Nopparat; Rojanarata, Theerasak

2012-09-15

A novel colorimetric assay for gabapentin in bulk drug and capsules has been developed via a safety-and-sustainability concerning concept. The method relied on the reaction of primary amino group of drug with non-toxic and eco-friendly genipin in totally aqueous medium to form the blue product which was subsequently measured by visible spectrophotometry at 590 nm. Under the optimized conditions, Beer's law was obeyed in the concentration range of 0.15-0.50 mM (r(2)=0.9998). It was accurate, precise and insensitive to the interferences from all related compounds specified in the United States Pharmacopeia as well as commonly used excipients. Furthermore, it gave the assay results in agreement with the pharmacopeial chromatographic method. Owing to the environmental concern and responsibility, a fast and facile method was also proposed for the treatment of waste generated from the assay based on the decoloration by using gypsum as a cheap and commonly available adsorbent. After the treatment, more than 95% of the initial blue product was removed from the waste solution and the treated waste was proven to be safe for aquatic organisms, as studied in brine shrimp and guppy fishes. Therefore, this work not only reports for the first time the application of naturally derived genipin to drug analysis, but also presents a new and contemporary paradigm that illustrates the fully benign-by-design development of the analytical methodologies in the era of Green Chemistry, starting from the safe source of reagents toward the safe sink when waste is released into the environment. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Quantitative and Cost Comparison of Ultrasensitive Human Immunodeficiency Virus Type 1 RNA Viral Load Assays: Bayer bDNA Quantiplex Versions 3.0 and 2.0 and Roche PCR Amplicor Monitor Version 1.5

PubMed Central

Elbeik, Tarek; Charlebois, Edwin; Nassos, Patricia; Kahn, James; Hecht, Frederick M.; Yajko, David; Ng, Valerie; Hadley, Keith

2000-01-01

Quantification of human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) RNA as a measure of viral load has greatly improved the monitoring of therapies for infected individuals. With the significant reductions in viral load now observed in individuals treated with highly active anti-retroviral therapy (HAART), viral load assays have been adapted to achieve greater sensitivity. Two commercially available ultrasensitive assays, the Bayer Quantiplex HIV-1 bDNA version 3.0 (bDNA 3.0) assay and the Roche Amplicor HIV-1 Monitor Ultrasensitive version 1.5 (Amplicor 1.5) assay, are now being used to monitor HIV-1-infected individuals. Both of these ultrasensitive assays have a reported lower limit of 50 HIV-1 RNA copies/ml and were developed from corresponding older generation assays with lower limits of 400 to 500 copies/ml. However, the comparability of viral load data generated by these ultrasensitive assays and the relative costs of labor, disposables, and biohazardous wastes were not determined in most cases. In this study, we used matched clinical plasma samples to compare the quantification of the newer bDNA 3.0 assay with that of the older bDNA 2.0 assay and to compare the quantification and costs of the bDNA 3.0 assay and the Amplicor 1.5 assay. We found that quantification by the bDNA 3.0 assay was approximately twofold higher than that by the bDNA 2.0 assay and was highly correlated to that by the Amplicor 1.5 assay. Moreover, cost analysis based on labor, disposables, and biohazardous wastes showed significant savings with the bDNA 3.0 assay as compared to the costs of the Amplicor 1.5 assay. PMID:10699005

Quantitative and cost comparison of ultrasensitive human immunodeficiency virus type 1 RNA viral load assays: Bayer bDNA quantiplex versions 3.0 and 2.0 and Roche PCR Amplicor monitor version 1.5.

PubMed

Elbeik, T; Charlebois, E; Nassos, P; Kahn, J; Hecht, F M; Yajko, D; Ng, V; Hadley, K

2000-03-01

Quantification of human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) RNA as a measure of viral load has greatly improved the monitoring of therapies for infected individuals. With the significant reductions in viral load now observed in individuals treated with highly active anti-retroviral therapy (HAART), viral load assays have been adapted to achieve greater sensitivity. Two commercially available ultrasensitive assays, the Bayer Quantiplex HIV-1 bDNA version 3.0 (bDNA 3.0) assay and the Roche Amplicor HIV-1 Monitor Ultrasensitive version 1.5 (Amplicor 1.5) assay, are now being used to monitor HIV-1-infected individuals. Both of these ultrasensitive assays have a reported lower limit of 50 HIV-1 RNA copies/ml and were developed from corresponding older generation assays with lower limits of 400 to 500 copies/ml. However, the comparability of viral load data generated by these ultrasensitive assays and the relative costs of labor, disposables, and biohazardous wastes were not determined in most cases. In this study, we used matched clinical plasma samples to compare the quantification of the newer bDNA 3.0 assay with that of the older bDNA 2.0 assay and to compare the quantification and costs of the bDNA 3.0 assay and the Amplicor 1.5 assay. We found that quantification by the bDNA 3.0 assay was approximately twofold higher than that by the bDNA 2.0 assay and was highly correlated to that by the Amplicor 1.5 assay. Moreover, cost analysis based on labor, disposables, and biohazardous wastes showed significant savings with the bDNA 3.0 assay as compared to the costs of the Amplicor 1.5 assay.

3. VIEW TO WEST SHOWING EAST END OF OIL HOUSE ...

Library of Congress Historic Buildings Survey, Historic Engineering Record, Historic Landscapes Survey

3. VIEW TO WEST SHOWING EAST END OF OIL HOUSE (LEFT) AND EAST SIDE OF CRATING SHED AND ASSEMBLY BUILDING (RIGHT BACKGROUND). - Rosie the Riveter National Historical Park, Ford Assembly Plant, 1400 Harbour Way South, Richmond, Contra Costa County, CA

7 CFR 925.13 - Container.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-01-01

... 7 Agriculture 8 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Container. 925.13 Section 925.13 Agriculture Regulations of the Department of Agriculture (Continued) AGRICULTURAL MARKETING SERVICE (Marketing Agreements... SOUTHEASTERN CALIFORNIA Definitions § 925.13 Container. Container means any lug, box, bag, crate, carton, or...

7 CFR 945.16 - Container.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-01-01

... 7 Agriculture 8 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Container. 945.16 Section 945.16 Agriculture Regulations of the Department of Agriculture (Continued) AGRICULTURAL MARKETING SERVICE (Marketing Agreements... Container. Container means a sack, box, bag, crate, hamper, basket, carton, package, barrel, or any other...

7 CFR 917.12 - Container.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-01-01

... 7 Agriculture 8 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Container. 917.12 Section 917.12 Agriculture Regulations of the Department of Agriculture (Continued) AGRICULTURAL MARKETING SERVICE (Marketing Agreements... CALIFORNIA Order Regulating Handling Definitions § 917.12 Container. Container means a box, bag, crate, lug...

7 CFR 916.14 - Container.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-01-01

... 7 Agriculture 8 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Container. 916.14 Section 916.14 Agriculture Regulations of the Department of Agriculture (Continued) AGRICULTURAL MARKETING SERVICE (Marketing Agreements... Regulating Handling Definitions § 916.14 Container. Container means a box, bag, crate, lug, basket, carton...

7 CFR 924.17 - Container.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-01-01

... 7 Agriculture 8 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Container. 924.17 Section 924.17 Agriculture Regulations of the Department of Agriculture (Continued) AGRICULTURAL MARKETING SERVICE (Marketing Agreements... Container. Container means a box, bag, crate, lug, basket, carton, package, or any other type of receptacle...

Tolerance of unacclimated Beagle dogs to freezing and subfreezing temperatures.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

1987-03-01

Beagle dogs (3 and 6 months of age) unacclimated to cold air temperatures were exposed to temperatures near freezing (32 F) or subfreezing (near 20 F), while housed in simulated transport crates. All exposed dogs safely tolerated 4 hours of continuou...

Apparatus and method for quantitative assay of samples of transuranic waste contained in barrels in the presence of matrix material

DOEpatents

Caldwell, J.T.; Herrera, G.C.; Hastings, R.D.; Shunk, E.R.; Kunz, W.E.

1987-08-28

Apparatus and method for performing corrections for matrix material effects on the neutron measurements generated from analysis of transuranic waste drums using the differential-dieaway technique. By measuring the absorption index and the moderator index for a particular drum, correction factors can be determined for the effects of matrix materials on the ''observed'' quantity of fissile and fertile material present therein in order to determine the actual assays thereof. A barrel flux monitor is introduced into the measurement chamber to accomplish these measurements as a new contribution to the differential-dieaway technology. 9 figs.

Fast wire per wire X-ray data acquisition system for time-resolved small angle scattering experiments

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Epstein, A.; Briquet-Laugier, F.; Sheldon, S.; Boulin, C.

2000-04-01

Most of the X-ray multi-wire gas detectors used at the EMBL Hamburg outstation for time-resolved studies of biological samples are readout, using the delay line method. The main disadvantage of such readout systems is their event rate limitation introduced by the delay line and the required time to digital conversion step. They also lack the possibility to deal with multiple events. To overcome these limitations, a new approach for the complete readout system was introduced. The new linear detection system is based on the wire per wire approach where each individual wire is associated to preamplifier/discriminator/counter electronics channel. High-density, front-end electronics were designed around a fast current sensitive preamplifier. An eight-channel board was designed to include the preamplifiers-discriminators and the differential ECL drivers output stages. The detector front-end consists of 25 boards directly mounted inside the detector assembly. To achieve a time framing resolution as short as 10 /spl mu/s, very fast histogramming is required. The only way to implement this for a high number of channels (200 in our case) is by using a distributed system. The digital part of the system consists of a crate controller, up to 16 acquisition boards (capable of handling fast histogramming for up to 32-channels each) and an optical-link board (based on the Cypress "Hot-Link" chip set). Both the crate controller and the acquisition boards are based on a standard RISC microcontroller (IDT R3081) plug-in board. At present, a dedicated CAMAC module which we developed is used to interface the digital front-end acquisition crate to the host via the optical link.

ICE: A Scalable, Low-Cost FPGA-Based Telescope Signal Processing and Networking System

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bandura, K.; Bender, A. N.; Cliche, J. F.; de Haan, T.; Dobbs, M. A.; Gilbert, A. J.; Griffin, S.; Hsyu, G.; Ittah, D.; Parra, J. Mena; Montgomery, J.; Pinsonneault-Marotte, T.; Siegel, S.; Smecher, G.; Tang, Q. Y.; Vanderlinde, K.; Whitehorn, N.

2016-03-01

We present an overview of the ‘ICE’ hardware and software framework that implements large arrays of interconnected field-programmable gate array (FPGA)-based data acquisition, signal processing and networking nodes economically. The system was conceived for application to radio, millimeter and sub-millimeter telescope readout systems that have requirements beyond typical off-the-shelf processing systems, such as careful control of interference signals produced by the digital electronics, and clocking of all elements in the system from a single precise observatory-derived oscillator. A new generation of telescopes operating at these frequency bands and designed with a vastly increased emphasis on digital signal processing to support their detector multiplexing technology or high-bandwidth correlators — data rates exceeding a terabyte per second — are becoming common. The ICE system is built around a custom FPGA motherboard that makes use of an Xilinx Kintex-7 FPGA and ARM-based co-processor. The system is specialized for specific applications through software, firmware and custom mezzanine daughter boards that interface to the FPGA through the industry-standard FPGA mezzanine card (FMC) specifications. For high density applications, the motherboards are packaged in 16-slot crates with ICE backplanes that implement a low-cost passive full-mesh network between the motherboards in a crate, allow high bandwidth interconnection between crates and enable data offload to a computer cluster. A Python-based control software library automatically detects and operates the hardware in the array. Examples of specific telescope applications of the ICE framework are presented, namely the frequency-multiplexed bolometer readout systems used for the South Pole Telescope (SPT) and Simons Array and the digitizer, F-engine, and networking engine for the Canadian Hydrogen Intensity Mapping Experiment (CHIME) and Hydrogen Intensity and Real-time Analysis eXperiment (HIRAX) radio interferometers.

Changes in pectin methyl esterase activity with different packaging materials and stages of fruit harvesting during cold storage of pear cv. Punjab beauty.

PubMed

Kaur, Kirandeep; Dhillon, W S; Mahajan, B V C

2014-10-01

Pear cv. Punjab Beauty has become quite popular in Punjab. Excessive softening during cold storage leading to low shelf life is the major factor limiting its wider adoption. Studies were, therefore, conducted to determine the firmness and pectin methyl esterase (PME) activity at 4 harvest dates (2nd, 3rd and 4th week of July, and 1st week of August). Various packaging materials i.e. corrugated fiber board boxes and crates with high and low density polyethylene liners, corrugated fiber board boxes, crates and wooden boxes were also evaluated for their role in extending the shelf life of fruits. The enzyme activity and fruit firmness was evaluated periodically after 30, 45, 60 and 75 days of storage at 0-1 °C and 90-95 % RH. The firmness of the fruits decreased with the increase in storage intervals but the enzyme activity increased with the storage period up to 60 days and declined thereafter. Ripening-related changes in all the harvests were characterized mainly by an increase in the solubilization of pectin with a concomitant decrease in the degree of firmness. There was a continuous increase in enzyme activity with the advancement in harvesting dates and then fell sharply in the advanced ripening stages. Highest pectin methyl esterase activity was in fruits packed in crates followed by wooden boxes and corrugated fiber board boxes while the lowest was recorded in fruits packed in corrugated fiber board boxes with high density polyethylene liners. Therefore, high density polyethylene lined CFB boxes proved to be most effective in preventing the loss in firmness.

Characterisation of steroids in wooden crates of veal calves by accelerated solvent extraction (ASE) and ultra-high performance liquid chromatography coupled to triple quadrupole mass spectrometry (U-HPLC-QqQ-MS-MS).

PubMed

Verheyden, K; Noppe, H; Vanden Bussche, J; Wille, K; Bekaert, K; De Boever, L; Van Acker, J; Janssen, C R; De Brabander, H F; Vanhaecke, L

2010-05-01

Illegal steroid administration to enhance growth performance in veal calves has long been, and still is, a serious issue facing regulatory agencies. Over the last years, stating undisputable markers of illegal treatment has become complex because of the endogenous origin of several anabolic steroids. Knowledge on the origin of an analyte is therefore of paramount importance. The present study shows the presence of steroid analytes in wooden crates used for housing veal calves. For this purpose, an analytical procedure using accelerated solvent extraction (ASE(R)), solid-phase extraction (SPE) and ultra-high performance liquid chromatography coupled to triple quadrupole mass spectrometry (U-HPLC-MS-MS) is developed for the characterisation of androstadienedione (ADD), boldenone (bBol), androstenedione (AED), beta-testosterone (bT), alpha-testosterone (aT), progesterone (P) and 17alpha-hydroxy-progesterone (OH-P) in wood samples. In samples of wooden crates used for housing veal calves, ADD, AED, aT and P could be identified. Using the standard addition approach concentrations of these analytes were determined ranging from 20 +/- 4 ppb to 32 +/- 4 ppb for ADD, from 19 +/- 5 ppb to 44 +/- 17 ppb for AED, from 11 +/- 6 ppb to 30 +/- 2 ppb for aT and from 14 +/- 1 ppb to 42 +/- 27 ppb for P, depending on the sample type. As exposure of veal calves to steroid hormones in their housing facilities might complicate decision-making on illegal hormone administration, inequitable slaughter of animals remains possible. Therefore, complete prohibition of wooden calf accommodation should be considered.

Current status and prospects for in-feed antibiotics in the different stages of pork production — A review

PubMed Central

Li, Junyou

2017-01-01

Antibiotics have long been of great benefit for people, both in the medical treatment of human disease and in animal food where they improve the growth performance and feed utilization during animal production. Antibiotics as in-feed supplements affect all stages of pork production, including the gestation, nursing, growing, and finishing stages, although the effects show stage-dependent differences. However, the use of antibiotics in animal feed has become a worldwide concern. This review describes why sub-therapeutic levels of antibiotic additives in animal feed have become an integral part of animal feeding programs for more than 70 years, particularly in pork production. It also discusses the threat of the long-term use of sub-therapeutic levels of antibiotics in pork production. In recent years, the effectiveness of in-feed antibiotics has tended to decrease. This review analyzes this change from various perspectives. First, the equipment used at pig farms has improved dramatically and is more sanitary. Worldwide, more pig farms use pig farrowing crates, gestation crates, piglet nursery crates, flooring devices, piggery ventilation and cooler systems, automatic pig feeders, piggery heating equipment, and artificial insemination systems. In addition, scientists have replaced the use of antibiotics with organic acids, fermented mash, probiotics, prebiotics, minerals, oligosaccharides, enzymes, herbs/flavors, and protein/amino acids, and have improved management and husbandry techniques. In addition, animal welfare legislation has been aimed at improving the quality of the floors and living space, ensuring that animals have permanent access to fresh water, and setting a minimum weaning age. Finally, the prospects and the possibility of replacing antibiotics in pork production are described, in line with recent research results. PMID:28823126

ICE-Based Custom Full-Mesh Network for the CHIME High Bandwidth Radio Astronomy Correlator

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bandura, K.; Cliche, J. F.; Dobbs, M. A.; Gilbert, A. J.; Ittah, D.; Mena Parra, J.; Smecher, G.

2016-03-01

New generation radio interferometers encode signals from thousands of antenna feeds across large bandwidth. Channelizing and correlating this data requires networking capabilities that can handle unprecedented data rates with reasonable cost. The Canadian Hydrogen Intensity Mapping Experiment (CHIME) correlator processes 8-bits from N=2,048 digitizer inputs across 400MHz of bandwidth. Measured in N2× bandwidth, it is the largest radio correlator that is currently commissioning. Its digital back-end must exchange and reorganize the 6.6terabit/s produced by its 128 digitizing and channelizing nodes, and feed it to the 256 graphics processing unit (GPU) node spatial correlator in a way that each node obtains data from all digitizer inputs but across a small fraction of the bandwidth (i.e. ‘corner-turn’). In order to maximize performance and reliability of the corner-turn system while minimizing cost, a custom networking solution has been implemented. The system makes use of Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA) transceivers to implement direct, passive copper, full-mesh, high speed serial connections between sixteen circuit boards in a crate, to exchange data between crates, and to offload the data to a cluster of 256 GPU nodes using standard 10Gbit/s Ethernet links. The GPU nodes complete the corner-turn by combining data from all crates and then computing visibilities. Eye diagrams and frame error counters confirm error-free operation of the corner-turn network in both the currently operating CHIME Pathfinder telescope (a prototype for the full CHIME telescope) and a representative fraction of the full CHIME hardware providing an end-to-end system validation. An analysis of an equivalent corner-turn system built with Ethernet switches instead of custom passive data links is provided.

In Vitro Assays for Assessment of Androgenic and Estrogenic Activity of Defined Mixtures and Complex Environmental Samples

EPA Science Inventory

Point sources of endocrine active compounds to aquatic environments such as waste water treatment plants, pulp and paper mills, and animal feeding operations invariably contain complex mixtures of chemicals. The current study investigates the use of targeted in vitro assays des...

Acute toxicity assessment of Polish (waste) water with a microplate-based Hydra attenuata assay: a comparison with the Microtox test.

PubMed

Pardos, M; Benninghoff, C; Guéguen, C; Thomas, R; Dobrowolski, J; Dominik, J

1999-12-15

The use of Hydra attenuata in acute toxicity assessment is a potentially useful tool in (waste) water biomonitoring. The purpose of this study was to compare the sensitivity of H. attenuata with the extensively used Microtox test on 14 (waste) water samples from the Kraków region (South Poland). To this end, specific morphological changes displayed by the freshwater cnidarian Hydra attenuata (lethal LC50s and sublethal EC50s effects) and bioluminescence of the marine bacteria Vibrio fisheri (Microtox) were compared. Clearly, the Hydra assay was the more sensitive indicator of toxicity. No relationship was found among Hydra toxicological responses and water levels of As, Cd, Co, Cu, Pb and Zn. However, it appeared that toxicity to Hydra might be due to ammonia levels. Additional studies to better circumscribe the tolerance of H. attenuata to 'natural' water characteristics are needed.

Traditional and Model Based Assay of Irregular Geometry Items

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

MOORE, FRANK S.; SALAYMEH, SALEEM

The Analytical Development Section (ADS) of SRNL was requested to perform a waste disposal assay of two heater boxes which had been used in the HB Line dissolvers. They had been sent to SRNL for study to make recommendations on how to prevent future failure of the units when they were replaced. The study having been completed, the units needed to be characterized prior to sending to Solid Waste for disposal. An assay station consisting of a turntable, HPGe detector, CANBERRA Inspector, transmission source and a portable computer was set up to do the required assays. The assays indicate themore » presence of U-235, Pu-239 and Cs-137. No measurable amounts of U-235 or Pu-239 were found. Therefore the Minimum Detectable Activities for U-235 and Pu-239 were calculated. For Heater Box 1, 0.23 grams of U-235 and 0.24 grams of Pu-239. For Heater Box 2, the results were 0.21 grams of U-235 and 0.21 grams of Pu-239. This paper describes and documents the assays employed to determine the amount of U, Pu and Cs contents of the heater boxes. The paper provides results of SNM assays using traditional calibration of the system and on one based on modeling. It also provides the scientific community with data that will assist the user in determining the method of choice for assaying items with irregular geometries.« less

Non-radioactive TRF assay modifications to improve telomeric DNA detection efficiency in plants

PubMed Central

Nigmatullina, Liliia R.; Sharipova, Margarita R.; Shakirov, Eugene V.

2016-01-01

The length of telomeric DNA is often considered a cellular biomarker of aging and general health status. Several telomere length measuring assays have been developed, of which the most common is the Telomere Restriction Fragment (TRF) analysis, which typically involves the use of radioactively labeled oligonucleotide probes. While highly effective, this method potentially poses substantial health concerns and generates radioactive waste. Digoxigenin (DIG) alternatives to radioactive probes have been developed and used successfully in a number of assays. Here we optimize the DIG protocol to measure telomere length in the model plant Arabidopsis thaliana and present evidence that this approach can be used successfully to efficiently and accurately measure telomere length in plants. Specifically, hybridization temperature of 42 °C instead of the typical 55 °C appears to generate stronger signals. In addition, DIG incorporation at 5′-end instead of 3′-end of the labeled oligonucleotide greatly enhances signal. We conclude that non-radioactive TRF assays can be as efficient as radioactive methods in detecting and measuring telomere length in plants, making this assay suitable for medical and research laboratories unable to utilize radioactivity due to hazardous waste disposal and safety concerns. PMID:28133587

Evaluation of antioxidant potential of Artocarpus heterophyllus L. J33 variety fruit waste from different extraction methods and identification of phenolic constituents by LCMS.

PubMed

Daud, Mohd Nazrul Hisham; Fatanah, Dian Nashiela; Abdullah, Noriham; Ahmad, Rohaya

2017-10-01

Artocarpus heterophyllus J33 (AhJ33) fruit is a popular and valuable jackfruit variety in Malaysia. For export, the pulp has to be separated from the skin which is usually discarded. Hence, the conversion of the fruit waste to food products with economic value needs to be explored utilizing the waste to wealth concept. This paper reports the evaluation of antioxidant potential of AhJ33 fruit waste (rind and rachis) extracts from three different extraction methods (maceration, percolation and Soxhlet). The antioxidant potential was assessed by DPPH radical scavenging, FRAP and β-carotene bleaching assays. The total phenolic and total flavonoid contents were estimated by TPC and the TFC assays. For both rind and rachis, the maceration technique yielded extracts with the strongest antioxidant activities which correlated with the highest TPC and TFC values. TOF LCMS analyses identified two phenolic acids as the major constituents responsible for the antioxidant activity of the active extracts. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Breaking the Egg Crate.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Rud, Anthony G., Jr.

1993-01-01

Reviews "The Tact of Teaching," Max van Manen; "Practice Makes Practice," Deborah Britzman; "Teacher Education and the Social Conditions of Schooling," Daniel Liston and Kenneth Zeichner; "The Teacher: Theory and Practice in Teacher Education," Allen Pearson. The books focus on social influences and context, cultural pedagogy, educational theory…

7 CFR 920.14 - Container.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-01-01

... 7 Agriculture 8 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Container. 920.14 Section 920.14 Agriculture Regulations of the Department of Agriculture (Continued) AGRICULTURAL MARKETING SERVICE (Marketing Agreements... Definitions § 920.14 Container. Container means a box, bag, crate, lug, basket, carton, package, or any other...

76 FR 27644 - Ocean Transportation Intermediary License; Revocation

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2011-05-12

... 515, effective on the corresponding date shown below: License Number: 003152NF. Name: Cargo Crating Company, Ltd. dba Cargo, Shipping International dba Cargo, Forwarding International. Address: 6605 Rankin.... License Number: 020315NF. Name: World Cargo Express, Inc. Address: 9133 S. La Cienega Blvd., Suite 245...

CAMAC throughput of a new RISC-based data acquisition computer at the DIII-D tokamak

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Vanderlaan, J. F.; Cummings, J. W.

1993-10-01

The amount of experimental data acquired per plasma discharge at DIII-D has continued to grow. The largest shot size in May 1991 was 49 Mbyte; in May 1992, 66 Mbyte; and in April 1993, 80 Mbyte. The increasing load has prompted the installation of a new Motorola 88100-based MODCOMP computer to supplement the existing core of three older MODCOMP data acquisition CPU's. New Kinetic Systems CAMAC serial highway driver hardware runs on the 88100 VME bus. The new operating system is MODCOMP REAL/IX version of AT&T System V UNIX with real-time extensions and networking capabilities; future plans call for installation of additional computers of this type for tokamak and neutral beam control functions. Experiences with the CAMAC hardware and software will be chronicled, including observation of data throughput. The Enhanced Serial Highway crate controller is advertised as twice as fast as the previous crate controller, and computer I/O speeds are expected to also increase data rates.

On-site chemical pre-lithiation of S cathode at room temperature on a 3D nano-structured current collector

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wu, Yunwen; Momma, Toshiyuki; Ahn, Seongki; Yokoshima, Tokihiko; Nara, Hiroki; Osaka, Tetsuya

2017-10-01

This work reports a new chemical pre-lithiation method to fabricate lithium sulfide (Li2S) cathode. This pre-lithiation process is taken place simply by dropping the organolithium reagent lithium naphthalenide (Li+Naph-) on the prepared sulfur cathode. It is the first time realizing the room temperature chemical pre-lithaition reaction attributed by the 3D nanostructured carbon nanotube (CNT) current collector. It is confirmed that the Li2S cathode fabricated at room temperature showing higher capacity and lower hysteresis than the Li2S cathode fabricated at high temperature pre-lithiation. The pre-lithiated Li2S cathode at room temperature shows stable cycling performance with a 600 mAh g-1 capacity after 100 cycles at 0.1 C-rate and high capacity of 500 mAh g-1 at 2 C-rate. This simple on-site pre-lithiation method at room temperature is demonstrated to be applicable for the in-situ pre-lithiation in a Li metal free battery.

Experimental validation of a 0-D numerical model for phase change thermal management systems in lithium-ion batteries

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Schweitzer, Ben; Wilke, Stephen; Khateeb, Siddique; Al-Hallaj, Said

2015-08-01

A lumped (0-D) numerical model has been developed for simulating the thermal response of a lithium-ion battery pack with a phase-change composite (PCC™) thermal management system. A small 10s4p battery pack utilizing PCC material was constructed and subjected to discharge at various C-rates in order to validate the lumped model. The 18650 size Li-ion cells used in the pack were electrically characterized to determine their heat generation, and various PCC materials were thermally characterized to determine their apparent specific heat as a function of temperature. Additionally, a 2-D FEA thermal model was constructed to help understand the magnitude of spatial temperature variation in the pack, and to understand the limitations of the lumped model. Overall, good agreement is seen between experimentally measured pack temperatures and the 0-D model, and the 2-D FEA model predicts minimal spatial temperature variation for PCC-based packs at C-rates of 1C and below.

In-situ calibration: migrating control system IP module calibration from the bench to the storage ring

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Weber, Jonah M.; Chin, Michael

2002-04-30

The Control System for the Advanced Light Source (ALS) at Lawrence Berkeley National Lab (LBNL) uses in-house designed IndustryPack(registered trademark) (IP) modules contained in compact PCI (cPCI) crates with 16-bit analog I/O to control instrumentation. To make the IP modules interchangeable, each module is calibrated for gain and offset compensation. We initially developed a method of verifying and calibrating the IP modules in a lab bench test environment using a PC with LabVIEW. The subsequent discovery that the ADCs have significant drift characteristics over periods of days of installed operation prompted development of an ''in-situ'' calibration process--one in which themore » IP modules can be calibrated without removing them from the cPCI crates in the storage ring. This paper discusses the original LabVIEW PC calibration and the migration to the proposed in-situ EPICS control system calibration.« less

Biotin-streptavidin enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay for detecting Tetrabromobisphenol A in electronic waste.

PubMed

Bu, Dan; Zhuang, Huisheng; Zhou, Xinchu; Yang, Guangxin

2014-03-01

Tetrabromobisphenol A (TBBPA) is a widely used brominated flame retardant. A sensitive and selective indirect competitive biotin-streptavidin-amplified enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (BA-ELISA) was developed for detecting TBBPA. The optimal hapten of TBBPA was 2-(2,6-dibromo-4-(2-(3,5-dibromo-4-hydroxyphenly)propan-2-yl)) acetic acid. Several physiochemical factors that influence assay performance, such as optimal coupling concentration of immunogen and antibody, organic solvent, ionic strength, and pH, were studied and optimized. The limit of detection (IC10) was 0.027 ng/mL and the median inhibitory concentration (IC50) was 0.58 ng/mL. The BA-ELISA was highly selective, with low cross-reactivity with TBBPA analogs. Finally, the assay was used to detect TBBPA in electronic waste samples. The results are consistent with those using liquid chromatography, which proves that the proposed immunoassay is accurate and receptive. This BA-ELISA method is suitable for the rapid and sensitive screening of TBBPA in environmental monitoring. © 2013 Published by Elsevier B.V.

Technology-Enabled Active Learning Environments: An Appraisal

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Fisher, Kenn

2010-01-01

The recent advent of wireless broadband Internet access and mobile communications devices has provided remarkable opportunities for 21st century blended learning models--simultaneous online and face-to-face--and seriously called into question the industrial-age traditional "egg crate classroom" model of teaching and learning. It has…

INTERIM CRYOGENIC PROPULSION STAGE TEST ARTICLE UNLOADED PRIOR T

NASA Image and Video Library

2016-06-20

TWO CRANES LIFT THE APPROXIMATELY 8,000-POUND INTERIM CRYOGENIC PROPULSION STAGE TEST ARTICLE OUT OF ITS CRATE AT MARSHALL. THE TEST ARTICLE ARRIVED AT MARSHALL SPACE FLIGHT CENTER VIA BARGE ON THE TENNESSEE RIVER AND WAS TRANSPORTED TO BUILDING 4649 WHERE TESTING WILL BEGIN.

Egypt’s Air War in Yemen

DTIC Science & Technology

2010-03-01

transports. 15 They also had Yak -11 piston-engine fighters, which were often used for reconnaissance, and Mi-4 transport helicopters in theater...happened with 20 Yak aircraft received from Czechoslovakia. Most remained on the airfields to rust, with some never leaving their crates. In the late

7 CFR 958.17 - Container.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-01-01

... 7 Agriculture 8 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Container. 958.17 Section 958.17 Agriculture... COUNTIES IN IDAHO, AND MALHEUR COUNTY, OREGON Order Regulating Handling Definitions § 958.17 Container. Container means a sack, box, bag, crate, hamper, basket, carton, package, or any other type of receptacle...

50 CFR 14.111 - Handling.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-10-01

..., other animals, or machinery that makes noise, emits fumes, heat, or light, or causes vibration. ... result in its falling or being tipped. (c) Animals incompatible with one another shall not be crated... overheating or discomfort, sufficient shade shall be provided to protect animals from the direct rays of the...

High environmental temperature around farrowing induced heat stress in crated sows.

PubMed

Muns, R; Malmkvist, J; Larsen, M L V; Sørensen, D; Pedersen, L J

2016-01-01

The aim of the experiment was to study the impact of high ambient temperature (25°C) around farrowing on crated sows unable to perform thermoregulatory behavior. Twenty sows were housed in 2 farrowing rooms in conventional farrowing crates. In 1 room (CONTROL) temperature was kept at 20°C. In the other room (HEAT) temperature was initially kept at 20°C and gradually raised until it reached 25°C from d 112 to 115 of gestation. Then the temperature was gradually lowered to 20°C. Sows were continuously video recorded for behavior recording. Sows' respiration rates were recorded from d 3 before farrowing to d 5 after farrowing. Sows' rectal temperatures were recorded from d 1 before farrowing to d 8 after farrowing, and sows' udder surface temperatures were recorded from the day of farrowing to d 3 after farrowing. All measures were recorded daily. Sows' BW were recorded at d 108 of gestation and at weaning. Sows' back fat was recorded on farrowing day, when room temperature was set again at 20°C, and at weaning. Piglets were weighed at d 1, 14, and 21. The HEAT sows spent a higher proportion of time lying in the lateral position than CONTROL sows, both during the 16 h before farrowing and the 24 h after the start of farrowing ( < 0.05), but with no difference in the amount of time spent lying down between groups ( > 0.10). The HEAT sows had higher rectal temperature on d 1 after farrowing ( < 0.05) and had udder surface temperature 0.9°C higher than that of CONTROL sows during the recording period ( < 0.05). The HEAT sows also tended to have longer farrowing duration ( < 0.10). Respiration rate was higher in HEAT sows on d 1 before farrowing and on the day of farrowing. On d 7, 8, and 9, CONTROL sows had higher feed intake ( < 0.05), and piglets from CONTROL sows were heavier at d 21 after farrowing ( < 0.05). High ambient temperature around farrowing altered sows' postural behavior. Sows reacted to the thermal challenge with higher respiration rate around farrowing, but both their rectal and udder temperatures were elevated, indicating that they were not able to compensate for the higher ambient temperature. High ambient temperature negatively influenced sows' feed intake, with negative impact on piglets' weaning weight. High temperatures around farrowing (25°C) compromise crated sows' welfare, with a potential negative impact on offspring performance.

Effect of transition metal composition on electrochemical performance of nickel-manganese-based lithium-rich layer-structured cathode materials in lithium-ion batteries

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Konishi, Hiroaki, E-mail: hiroaki.konishi.yj@hitachi.com; Gunji, Akira; Feng, Xiaoliang

2017-05-15

To evaluate the effect of transition metal composition on the electrochemical properties of Li-rich layer-structured cathode materials, Li{sub 1.2}Ni{sub x}Mn{sub 0.8−x}O{sub 2} (x=0.2, 0.25, 0.3, and 0.4) were synthesized, and their electrochemical properties were investigated. As nickel content x increased in Li{sub 1.2}Ni{sub x}Mn{sub 0.8−x}O{sub 2} (x=0.2, 0.25, 0.3, and 0.4), charge-discharge capacities at a low C-rate (0.05 C) decreased. The results obtained by dQ/dV curves indicate that, as the nickel content increased, the discharge capacity below 3.6 V greatly decreased, but that above 3.6 V increased. As the C-rate of the discharge process increased, the discharge reaction of Li{submore » 1.2}Ni{sub x}Mn{sub 0.8−x}O{sub 2} (x=0.2) below 3.6 V greatly decreased. In contrast, that above 3.6 V slightly decreased. This indicates that the discharge reaction above 3.6 V exhibits higher rate performance than that below 3.6 V. For the high-nickel-content cathodes, the ratio of the discharge capacity above 3.6 V to the total discharge capacity was high. Therefore, they exhibited high rate performance. - Graphical abstract: Figure shows the discharge curves of Li{sub 1.2}Ni{sub x}Mn{sub 0.8−x}O{sub 2} (x=0.2 and 0.3) within potential range of 2.5−4.6 V (vs. Li/Li{sup +}) at 0.05 and 3 C. At low C-rate (0.05 C), the discharge capacity of high-nickel-content cathode (Li{sub 1.2}Ni{sub 0.3}Mn{sub 0.5}O{sub 2}) was less than that of low-nickel-content cathode (Li{sub 1.2}Ni{sub 0.2}Mn{sub 0.6}O{sub 2}); however, the discharge potential and capacity of Li{sub 1.2}Ni{sub 0.3}Mn{sub 0.5}O{sub 2} was higher than those of Li{sub 1.2}Ni{sub 0.2}Mn{sub 0.6}O{sub 2} at high C-rate (3 C). This means that the increase in Ni/Mn ratio was effective in improving rate-performance.« less

Evaluating the toxicity of food processing wastes as co-digestion substrates with dairy manure.

PubMed

Lisboa, Maria Sol; Lansing, Stephanie

2014-07-01

Studies have shown that including food waste as a co-digestion substrate in the anaerobic digestion of livestock manure can increase energy production. However, the type and inclusion rate of food waste used for co-digestion need to be carefully considered in order to prevent adverse conditions in the digestion environment. This study determined the effect of increasing the concentration (2%, 5%, 15% and 30%, by volume) of four food-processing wastes (meatball, chicken, cranberry and ice cream processing wastes) on methane production. Anaerobic toxicity assay (ATA) and specific methanogenic activity (SMA) tests were conducted to determine the concentration at which each food waste became toxic to the digestion environment. Decreases in methane production were observed at concentrations above 5% for all four food waste substrates, with up to 99% decreases in methane production at 30% food processing wastes (by volume). Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Thermal and enzymatic recovering of proteins from untanned leather waste.

PubMed

Bajza, Z; Vrucek, V

2001-01-01

The laboratory trials of a process to treat untanned leather waste to isolate valuable protein products are presented. In this comparative study, both thermal and enzymatic treatments of leather waste were performed. The enzymatic method utilizes commercially available alkaline protease at moderate temperatures and for short periods of time. The concentration of the enzyme was 500 units per gram of leather waste which makes the method cost-effective. Amino acid composition in the hydrolysate obtained by the enzyme hydrolysis of untanned leather waste is determined. Chemical and physical properties of protein powder products from untanned leather waste were evaluated by spectrophotometric and chromatographic methods and by use of electron microscope. The results of microbiological assays confirm that these products agree to food safety standards. This relatively simple treatment of untanned leather waste may provide a practical and economical solution to the disposal of potentially dangerous waste.

Radiological Characterization Methodology of INEEL Stored RH-TRU Waste from ANL-E

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Rajiv N. Bhatt

2003-02-01

An Acceptable Knowledge (AK)-based radiological characterization methodology is being developed for RH TRU waste generated from ANL-E hot cell operations performed on fuel elements irradiated in the EBR-II reactor. The methodology relies on AK for composition of the fresh fuel elements, their irradiation history, and the waste generation and collection processes. Radiological characterization of the waste involves the estimates of the quantities of significant fission products and transuranic isotopes in the waste. Methods based on reactor and physics principles are used to achieve these estimates. Because of the availability of AK and the robustness of the calculation methods, the AK-basedmore » characterization methodology offers a superior alternative to traditional waste assay techniques. Using this methodology, it is shown that the radiological parameters of a test batch of ANL-E waste is well within the proposed WIPP Waste Acceptance Criteria limits.« less

Radiological Characterization Methodology for INEEL-Stored Remote-Handled Transuranic (RH TRU) Waste from Argonne National Laboratory-East

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Kuan, P.; Bhatt, R.N.

2003-01-14

An Acceptable Knowledge (AK)-based radiological characterization methodology is being developed for RH TRU waste generated from ANL-E hot cell operations performed on fuel elements irradiated in the EBR-II reactor. The methodology relies on AK for composition of the fresh fuel elements, their irradiation history, and the waste generation and collection processes. Radiological characterization of the waste involves the estimates of the quantities of significant fission products and transuranic isotopes in the waste. Methods based on reactor and physics principles are used to achieve these estimates. Because of the availability of AK and the robustness of the calculation methods, the AK-basedmore » characterization methodology offers a superior alternative to traditional waste assay techniques. Using the methodology, it is shown that the radiological parameters of a test batch of ANL-E waste is well within the proposed WIPP Waste Acceptance Criteria limits.« less

Alternative Radiological Characterization of Sealed Source TRU Waste for WIPP Disposal (LAUR-05-8776)

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Whitworth, J.; Pearson, M.; Feldman, A.

2006-07-01

The Offsite Source Recovery (OSR) Project at Los Alamos National Laboratory is now shipping transuranic (TRU) waste containers to the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) in New Mexico for disposal. Sealed source waste disposal has become possible in part because OSR personnel were able to obtain Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and DOE-CBFO approval for an alternative radiological characterization procedure relying on acceptable knowledge (AK) and modeling, rather than on non-destructive assay (NDA) of each container. This is the first successful qualification of an 'alternate methodology' under the radiological characterization requirements of the WIPP Waste Acceptance Criteria (WAC) by any TRUmore » waste generator site. This paper describes the approach OSR uses to radiologically characterize its sealed source waste and the process by which it obtained certification of this approach. (authors)« less

Biochemical methane potential (BMP) of agro-food wastes from the Cider Region (Spain).

PubMed

Nieto, P P; Hidalgo, D; Irusta, R; Kraut, D

2012-01-01

An inventory of agro-food industry organic waste streams with a high potential for biogas transformation was studied in a logistically viable area (Cider Region, Asturias, Spain). Three industries were selected as the most viable ones: livestock, dairy and beverage. The potential for methane production from six wastes (beverage waste, BW; milled apple waste, MA; milk waste, MK; yogurt waste, YG; fats and oils from dairy wastewater treatment, F&O and cattle manure, CM) at five different substrate:inoculum ratios (0.25, 0.50, 0.75, 1.00 and 1.50) was evaluated in laboratory batch assays. Obtained methane yields ranged from 202-549 mL STP CH(4)·g VS waste(-1), and the methane content in biogas ranged from 58-76%. The ultimate practical biochemical methane potentials were slightly affected by the substrate:inoculum ratio. The estimation of the regional fluxes of waste and methane potentials suggests anaerobic digestion as a sustainable solution for the valorization of the organic wastes generated in this Region.

9 CFR 91.20 - General construction.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-01-01

... 9 Animals and Animal Products 1 2012-01-01 2012-01-01 false General construction. 91.20 Section 91... LIVESTOCK FOR EXPORTATION Inspection of Vessels and Accommodations § 91.20 General construction. A variety of construction materials such as wood, metal plate, or pipe may be used for stalls, crates, or pens...

27 CFR 44.187 - Shipping containers.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-04-01

... 27 Alcohol, Tobacco Products and Firearms 2 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Shipping containers. 44... Shipping containers. Each shipping case, crate, or other container in which tobacco products, or cigarette... same containers in which they were received from the factory. (72 Stat. 1418, as amended; 26 U.S.C...

27 CFR 44.254 - Shipping containers.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-04-01

... 27 Alcohol, Tobacco Products and Firearms 2 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Shipping containers. 44.254 Section 44.254 Alcohol, Tobacco Products and Firearms ALCOHOL AND TOBACCO TAX AND TRADE BUREAU... Requirements § 44.254 Shipping containers. Each shipping case, crate, or other container, in which cigars are...

23. INTERIOR OF TAN 629 HANGAR, TAKEN FROM LOW ROOF, ...

Library of Congress Historic Buildings Survey, Historic Engineering Record, Historic Landscapes Survey

23. INTERIOR OF TAN 629 HANGAR, TAKEN FROM LOW ROOF, FACING NORTHEAST. SHOWS GROUND LEVEL USE OF FLOOR SPACE FOR TEMPORARY STORAGE OF CRATES. MOISTURE ON SURFACE IS FROM LEAKY HANGAR ROOF. - Idaho National Engineering Laboratory, Test Area North, Hangar No. 629, Scoville, Butte County, ID

7 CFR 51.3748 - Damage.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-01-01

... Standards for Grades of Honey Dew and Honey Ball Type Melons Definitions § 51.3748 Damage. Damage means any..., or the edible or marketing quality of the melon. (a) The following specific defects shall be... pressure of the weight of other melons or from lidding of the crate; (2) Yellow spots; (3) Superficial hail...

7 CFR 51.3748 - Damage.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-01-01

... Standards for Grades of Honey Dew and Honey Ball Type Melons Definitions § 51.3748 Damage. Damage means any..., or the edible or marketing quality of the melon. (a) The following specific defects shall be... pressure of the weight of other melons or from lidding of the crate; (2) Yellow spots; (3) Superficial hail...

Effect of sulfuryl fluoride on the pinewood nematode in pine wood

Treesearch

L. David Dwinell; E. Thoms; S. Prabhakaran

2003-01-01

The pinewood nematode (PUTN) (Bursaphelenchus xylophilus), the causal agent of pine wilt disease, has been intercepted in pine chips, unseasoned pine lumber, and wood packing material (WPM). Likewise, the PWN's insect vectors, Monochamus spp. (pine sawyers), have been found in pallets, crates and dunnage. The PWN, which is...

OPERATING THE WAND AND HERCULES PROTOTYPE SYSTEMS

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

K. GRUETZMACHER; ET AL

2001-01-01

Two prototype systems for low-density Green is Clean (GIC) waste at Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) have been in operation for three years at the Solid Waste Operation's (SWOs) non-destructive assay (NDA) building. The Waste Assay for Nonradioactive Disposal (WAND) and the High Efficiency Radiation Counters for Ultimate Low Emission Sensitivity (HERCULES) are used to verify the waste generator's acceptable knowledge (AK) that low-density waste is nonradioactive. GIC waste includes all non-regulated waste generated in radiological controlled areas (RCAs) that has been actively segregated as ''clean'' (i.e., nonradioactive) through the use of waste generator AK. GIC waste that is verifiedmore » clean can be disposed of at the Los Alamos County Landfill. It is estimated that 50-90% of the low-density room trash from RCAs at LANL might be free of contamination. To date, with pilot programs at five facilities at LANL, 3000 cubic feet of GIC waste has been verified clean by these two prototype systems. Both the WAND and HERCULES systems are highly sensitive measurement systems optimized to detect very small quantities of common LANL radionuclides. Both of the systems use a set of phoswich scintillation detectors in close proximity to the waste, which have the capability of detecting plutonium-239 concentrations below 3 pCi per gram of low density waste. Both systems detect low-energy x-rays and a broad range of gamma rays (10-2000 keV), while the WAND system also detects high energy beta particles (>100 keV). The WAND system consists of a bank of six shielded detectors which screen low density shredded waste or stacked sheets of paper moving under the detectors in a twelve inch swath on a conveyor belt. The WAND system was developed and tested at the Los Alamos Plutonium Facility in conjunction with instrument system designers from the Los Alamos Safeguards Science and Technology group. The HERCULES system consists of a bank of three shielded detectors which screen low-density waste in two cubic foot cardboard boxes or in bags sitting on a turntable. Waste that does not pass the verification process can be examined within the facility to determine the type and quantity of the contamination and its origin within a waste container. The paper discusses lessons learned that have helped generators improve their AK segregation.« less

Bremsstrahlung-Based Imaging and Assays of Radioactive, Mixed and Hazardous Waste

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kwofie, J.; Wells, D. P.; Selim, F. A.; Harmon, F.; Duttagupta, S. P.; Jones, J. L.; White, T.; Roney, T.

2003-08-01

A new nondestructive accelerator based x-ray fluorescence (AXRF) approach has been developed to identify heavy metals in large-volume samples. Such samples are an important part of the process and waste streams of U.S Department of Energy sites, as well as other industries such as mining and milling. Distributions of heavy metal impurities in these process and waste samples can range from homogeneous to highly inhomogeneous, and non-destructive assays and imaging that can address both are urgently needed. Our approach is based on using high-energy, pulsed bremsstrahlung beams (3-6.5 MeV) from small electron accelerators to produce K-shell atomic fluorescence x-rays. In addition we exploit pair-production, Compton scattering and x-ray transmission measurements from these beams to probe locations of high density and high atomic number. The excellent penetrability of these beams allows assays and images for soil-like samples at least 15 g/cm2 thick, with elemental impurities of atomic number greater than approximately 50. Fluorescence yield of a variety of targets was measured as a function of impurity atomic number, impurity homogeneity, and sample thickness. We report on actual and potential detection limits of heavy metal impurities in a soil matrix for a variety of samples, and on the potential for imaging, using AXRF and these related probes.

Food animal transport: a potential source of community exposures to health hazards from industrial farming (CAFOs).

PubMed

Rule, Ana M; Evans, Sean L; Silbergeld, Ellen K

2008-01-01

Use of antimicrobial feed additives in food animal production is associated with selection for drug resistance in bacterial pathogens, which can then be released into the environment through occupational exposures, high volume ventilation of animal houses, and land application of animal wastes. We tested the hypothesis that current methods of transporting food animals from farms to slaughterhouses may result in pathogen releases and potential exposures of persons in vehicles traveling on the same road. Air and surface samples were taken from cars driving behind poultry trucks for 17 miles. Air conditioners and fans were turned off and windows fully opened. Background and blank samples were used for quality control. Samples were analyzed for susceptible and drug-resistant strains. Results indicate an increase in the number of total aerobic bacteria including both susceptible and drug-resistant enterococci isolated from air and surface samples, and suggest that food animal transport in open crates introduces a novel route of exposure to harmful microorganisms and may disseminate these pathogens into the general environment. These findings support the need for further exposure characterization, and attention to improving methods of food animal transport, especially in highly trafficked regions of high density farming such as the Delmarva Peninsula.

A combined approach to investigate the toxicity of an industrial landfill's leachate: Chemical analyses, risk assessment and in vitro assays

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Baderna, D., E-mail: diego.baderna@marionegri.it; Maggioni, S.; Boriani, E.

2011-05-15

Solid wastes constitute an important and emerging problem. Landfills are still one of the most common ways to manage waste disposal. The risk assessment of pollutants from landfills is becoming a major environmental issue in Europe, due to the large number of sites and to the importance of groundwater protection. Furthermore, there is lack of knowledge for the environmental, ecotoxicological and toxicological characteristics of most contaminants contained into landfill leacheates. Understanding leachate composition and creating an integrated strategy for risk assessment are currently needed to correctly face the landfill issues and to make projections on the long-term impacts of amore » landfill, with particular attention to the estimation of possible adverse effects on human health and ecosystem. In the present study, we propose an integrated strategy to evaluate the toxicity of the leachate using chemical analyses, risk assessment guidelines and in vitro assays using the hepatoma HepG2 cells as a model. The approach was applied on a real case study: an industrial waste landfill in northern Italy for which data on the presence of leachate contaminants are available from the last 11 years. Results from our ecological risk models suggest important toxic effects on freshwater fish and small rodents, mainly due to ammonia and inorganic constituents. Our results from in vitro data show an inhibition of cell proliferation by leachate at low doses and cytotoxic effect at high doses after 48 h of exposure. - Research highlights: {yields} We study the toxicity of leachate from a non-hazardous industrial waste landfill. {yields} We perform chemical analyses, risk assessments and in vitro assays on HepG2 cells. {yields} Risk models suggest toxic effects due to ammonia and inorganic constituents. {yields} In vitro assays show that leachate inhibits cell proliferation at low doses. {yields} Leachate can induce cytotoxic effects on HepG2 cells at high doses.« less

Comparative evaluation of environmental contamination and DNA damage induced by electronic-waste in Nigeria and China.

PubMed

Alabi, Okunola A; Bakare, Adekunle A; Xu, Xijin; Li, Bin; Zhang, Yuling; Huo, Xia

2012-04-15

In the last decade, China and Nigeria have been prime destinations for the world's e-waste disposal leading to serious environmental contamination. We carried out a comparative study of the level of contamination using soils and plants from e-waste dumping and processing sites in both countries. Levels of polyaromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), and polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) were analyzed using gas chromatography/spectrophotometry and heavy metals using atomic absorption spectrophotometry. DNA damage was assayed in human peripheral blood lymphocytes using an alkaline comet assay. Soils and plants were highly contaminated with toxic PAHs, PCBs, PBDEs, and heavy metals in both countries. Soil samples from China and plant samples from Nigeria were more contaminated. There was a positive correlation between the concentrations of organics and heavy metals in plant samples and the surrounding soils. In human lymphocytes, all tested samples induced significant (p<0.05) concentration-dependent increases in DNA damage compared with the negative control. These findings suggest that e-waste components/constituents can accumulate, in soil and surrounding vegetation, to toxic and genotoxic levels that could induce adverse health effects in exposed individuals. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Antioxidant and cytoprotective activities of extracts prepared from fruit and vegetable wastes and by-products.

PubMed

Kabir, Faisal; Tow, Wei Wei; Hamauzu, Yasunori; Katayama, Shigeru; Tanaka, Sachi; Nakamura, Soichiro

2015-01-15

In this study, fruit and vegetable wastes and by-products were tested for polyphenol content and their antioxidant activity. The highest content of polyphenols as assessed by the Folin-Ciocalteu assay was the hot-water extract of grape seed, followed by the ethanol extract of buckwheat hull. The highest antioxidant activity measured by 2,2-diphenyl-1-picryl-hydrazyl (DPPH) assays was also detected in the hot-water extract of grape seed, followed by the ethanol extract of immature prune. Most of samples showed protective effects against oxidative stress induced by 2,2'-azobis-(2-amidinopropane) dihydrochloride (AAPH) peroxyl radical generator in African monkey kidney (MA 104) cells. Samples containing high amounts of phenolics (more than 30 mg ChAE/g) generally showed high antioxidant activity and a protective effect against AAPH-induced oxidative stress. This study demonstrates that fruit and vegetable wastes and by-products are good sources of high amounts of phenolics with antioxidant properties. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Gruetzmacher, Kathleen M.; Bustos, Roland M.; Ferran, Scott G.

Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) uses the Nevada National Security Site (NNSS) as an off-site disposal facility for low-level waste (LLW), including sludge waste. NNSS has issued a position paper that indicates that systems that are not certified by the Carlsbad Field Office (CBFO) for Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) disposal of Transuranic (TRU) waste must demonstrate equivalent practices to the CBFO certified systems in order to assign activity concentration values to assayed items without adding in the Total Measurement Uncertainty (TMU) when certifying waste for NNSS disposal. Efforts have been made to meet NNSS requirements to accept sludge wastemore » for disposal at their facility. The LANL LLW Characterization Team uses portable high purity germanium (HPGe) detector systems for the nondestructive assay (NDA) of both debris and sludge LLW. A number of performance studies have been conducted historically by LANL to support the efficacy and quality of assay results generated by the LANL HPGe systems, and, while these detector systems are supported by these performance studies and used with LANL approved procedures and processes, they are not certified by CBFO for TRU waste disposal. Beginning in 2009, the LANL LLW Characterization Team undertook additional NDA measurements of both debris and sludge simulated waste containers to supplement existing studies and procedures to demonstrate full compliance with the NNSS position paper. Where possible, Performance Demonstration Project (PDP) drums were used for the waste matrix and PDP sources were used for the radioactive sources. Sludge drums are an example of a matrix with a uniform distribution of contaminants. When attempting to perform a gamma assay of a sludge drum, it is very important to adequately simulate this uniform distribution of radionuclides in order to accurately model the assay results. This was accomplished by using a spiral radial source tube placement in a sludge drum rather than the standard three source tubes seen in debris PDP drums. Available line sources (Eu-152) were placed in the spiral tubes to further accomplish the desired uniform distribution of radionuclides. The standard PDP drum (PDP matrix drum 005) and PDP sources were used to determine the lower limits of detection (LLD) and TMU. Analysis results for the sludge drum matrix case for two HPGe detectors were tabulated and evaluated. NNSS has accepted the methodology and results of the measurements towards demonstrating equivalence to CBFO certified systems. In conclusion, the WES-WGS and CMR-OPS gamma spectroscopy teams at LANL have defined and performed measurements that serve to establish and demonstrate equivalency with the processes used by CBFO certified NDA systems. The supplemental measurements address four key areas in Appendix A of DOE/WIPP-02-3122: Annual Calibration Confirmation and Performance Check measurements; LLD determination; and TMU definition. For these measurements the containers, matrices and activity loadings are selected to represent items being assayed in real LLW cases. The LLD and the TMU bounding measurements are to be performed one time and will not be required to be repeated in future campaigns. The annual calibration and performance check measurements were performed initially and planned to repeat in annual campaigns in order to maintain NNSS certification. PDP sources and a PDP sludge drum as well as Eu-152 line sources and a spiral sludge drum were used for the measurements. In all cases, the results for accuracy and precision (%R and %RSD, respectively) were within allowable ranges as defined by the WIPP PDP program. LLD (or MDC) results were established for all the ten WIPP reportable radionuclides and U-235, and the MDC for Pu-239 was established in all cases to be well under 100 nCi/g. Useful results for reducing estimated uncertainties were established and an interesting unexpected case of high bias was observed and will be applied toward this end. (authors)« less

Construct-a-Catapult. Science by Design Series.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Pulis, Lee

This book is one of four books in the Science-by-Design Series crated by TERC and funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF). It integrates history, physics, mathematics, and technology in its challenge to high school students to design and build a working catapult system. Students investigate elasticity, projectile launching, and learn about…

49 CFR 173.334 - Organic phosphates mixed with compressed gas.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-10-01

...) Cylinders may be packed in strong wooden boxes with valves or other closing devices protected from damage, with not more than twelve cylinders in one outside wooden box. An outer fiberboard box may be used when... must be overpacked in a box, crate, or other strong outer packaging conforming to the requirements of...

49 CFR 173.334 - Organic phosphates mixed with compressed gas.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-10-01

...) Cylinders may be packed in strong wooden boxes with valves or other closing devices protected from damage, with not more than twelve cylinders in one outside wooden box. An outer fiberboard box may be used when... must be overpacked in a box, crate, or other strong outer packaging conforming to the requirements of...

49 CFR 173.334 - Organic phosphates mixed with compressed gas.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-10-01

...) Cylinders may be packed in strong wooden boxes with valves or other closing devices protected from damage, with not more than twelve cylinders in one outside wooden box. An outer fiberboard box may be used when... must be overpacked in a box, crate, or other strong outer packaging conforming to the requirements of...

49 CFR 173.334 - Organic phosphates mixed with compressed gas.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-10-01

...) Cylinders may be packed in strong wooden boxes with valves or other closing devices protected from damage, with not more than twelve cylinders in one outside wooden box. An outer fiberboard box may be used when... must be overpacked in a box, crate, or other strong outer packaging conforming to the requirements of...

9 CFR 91.25 - Space requirements for animals on ocean vessels.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-01-01

... ocean vessels. 91.25 Section 91.25 Animals and Animal Products ANIMAL AND PLANT HEALTH INSPECTION....25 Space requirements for animals on ocean vessels. (a) General requirements. A general space requirement for any individual animal in stalls or crates on ocean vessels shall be six inches more in height...

9 CFR 91.25 - Space requirements for animals on ocean vessels.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-01-01

... ocean vessels. 91.25 Section 91.25 Animals and Animal Products ANIMAL AND PLANT HEALTH INSPECTION....25 Space requirements for animals on ocean vessels. (a) General requirements. A general space requirement for any individual animal in stalls or crates on ocean vessels shall be six inches more in height...

9 CFR 91.25 - Space requirements for animals on ocean vessels.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-01-01

... ocean vessels. 91.25 Section 91.25 Animals and Animal Products ANIMAL AND PLANT HEALTH INSPECTION....25 Space requirements for animals on ocean vessels. (a) General requirements. A general space requirement for any individual animal in stalls or crates on ocean vessels shall be six inches more in height...

9 CFR 91.25 - Space requirements for animals on ocean vessels.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-01-01

... ocean vessels. 91.25 Section 91.25 Animals and Animal Products ANIMAL AND PLANT HEALTH INSPECTION....25 Space requirements for animals on ocean vessels. (a) General requirements. A general space requirement for any individual animal in stalls or crates on ocean vessels shall be six inches more in height...

9 CFR 91.25 - Space requirements for animals on ocean vessels.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-01-01

... ocean vessels. 91.25 Section 91.25 Animals and Animal Products ANIMAL AND PLANT HEALTH INSPECTION....25 Space requirements for animals on ocean vessels. (a) General requirements. A general space requirement for any individual animal in stalls or crates on ocean vessels shall be six inches more in height...

27 CFR 28.223 - Export marks.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-04-01

... 27 Alcohol, Tobacco Products and Firearms 1 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Export marks. 28.223... Export marks. In addition to the marks and brands required to be placed on kegs, barrels, cases, crates... “Export” on each container or case before removal for export, for use on vessels or aircraft, or for...

Serum Elimination Profiles of Methyllycaconitine and Deltaline in Cattle Following Oral Administration of Larkspur (Delphinium barbeyi)

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

The objectives of this study were to describe the simple elimination kinetics of two abundant norditerpenoid alkaloids in larkspur, MLA and deltaline, and measure the heart rate response of intoxicated cattle over 96 hours. Five Angus steers halter broke, gentled, and habituated to metabolism crate...

Kodak AMSD Concept Overview and Status (Semi-Rigid Mirror with Sparse Actuators)

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Matthews, Gary; Maji, Arup K. (Technical Monitor)

2001-01-01

This talk will review Kodak's current AMSD technical and schedule status. For AMSD, Kodak is fabricating a semi-rigid closed-back egg-crate glass mirror, a graphite composite reaction structure, and 16 force actuators for figure control. The mirror is currently on schedule for cryotesting in early '02.

77 FR 22663 - Importation of Pomegranates From Chile Under a Systems Approach

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2012-04-17

...: Tenuipalpidae) into the commenter's State until a pest-free track record is established in shipments of... cartons or containers that are marked to show the official registration number of the production site... packinghouse and must be packed into new, clean boxes, crates, or other APHIS-approved packing containers. Each...

Installation and management of the SPS and LEP control system computers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bland, Alastair

1994-12-01

Control of the CERN SPS and LEP accelerators and service equipment on the two CERN main sites is performed via workstations, file servers, Process Control Assemblies (PCAs) and Device Stub Controllers (DSCs). This paper describes the methods and tools that have been developed to manage the file servers, PCAs and DSCs since the LEP startup in 1989. There are five operational DECstation 5000s used as file servers and boot servers for the PCAs and DSCs. The PCAs consist of 90 SCO Xenix 386 PCs, 40 LynxOS 486 PCs and more than 40 older NORD 100s. The DSCs consist of 90 OS-968030 VME crates and 10 LynxOS 68030 VME crates. In addition there are over 100 development systems. The controls group is responsible for installing the computers, starting all the user processes and ensuring that the computers and the processes run correctly. The operators in the SPS/LEP control room and the Services control room have a Motif-based X window program which gives them, in real time, the state of all the computers and allows them to solve problems or reboot them.

Electrochemical behavior of Li/LiV3O8 secondary cells

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bak, Hyo Rim; Lee, Jae Ha; Kim, Bok Ki; Yoon, Woo Young

2013-03-01

Li/LiV3O8 secondary cells with Li-foil and Li-powder anodes were fabricated, and their electrical properties were compared. Using the powder anode, a cell with an initial discharge capacity of 260 mAh g-1 that could be operated for over 100 cycles was obtained. The porous Li-powder electrode was safely synthesized by pressing an emulsion droplet onto an SUS mesh. A threefold increase in the electrical conductivity of the LiV3O8 cathode was achieved by the addition of carbon using a vibration pot mill. Using the powder anode resulted in 80% capacity retention at the 100th cycle, while that using the foil electrode was 46%; the 1.0 Crate/ 0.1 C-rate capacity ratio also increased from 44% to 60%. A cell employing the LiV3O8-carbon composite cathode showed better electrical performance, a capacity retention of 90% after 50 cycles, and an increase in rate capacity ratio. The crystal structure and morphology of the LiV3O8-C composite were investigated by x-ray diffraction and scanning electron microscopy.

Electrochemical properties of lithium iron phosphate cathode material using polymer electrolyte

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kim, Jae-Kwang; Choi, Jae-Won; Cheruvally, Gouri; Shin, Yong-Jo; Ahn, Jou-Hyeon; Cho, Kwon-Koo; Ahn, Hyo-Jun; Kim, Ki-Won

2007-12-01

Carbon-coated lithium iron phosphate (LiFePO4/C) cathode material was synthesized by mechano-chemical activation method. The performance of LiFePO4/C in lithium battery was tested with an electrospun polymer-based electrolyte. Liquid electrolyte of 1M lithium hexafluorophosphate (LiPF6) in ethylene carbonate/dimethyl carbonate (EC/DMC) (1 : 1vol) was incorporated in electrospun poly(vinylidene fluoride-co-hexafluoropropylene) (P(VdF-HFP)) microfibrous membrane to prepare the polymer electrolyte (PE). The cell based on Li|PE|Li FePO4/C exhibited an initial discharge capacity of 142 mAh g-1 at 0.1 C-rate at room temperature. Good cycling performance even under the high current density of 2 C could be obtained. Impedance spectroscopy was applied to investigate the material behavior during 0.1 C-rate charge-discharge cycling. When the fresh cell and the cell after different cycles were compared, impedance resistance was found to decrease with cycling. Impedance study indicated good cycle life for the cell when tested at room temperature.

Clinical records anonymisation and text extraction (CRATE): an open-source software system.

PubMed

Cardinal, Rudolf N

2017-04-26

Electronic medical records contain information of value for research, but contain identifiable and often highly sensitive confidential information. Patient-identifiable information cannot in general be shared outside clinical care teams without explicit consent, but anonymisation/de-identification allows research uses of clinical data without explicit consent. This article presents CRATE (Clinical Records Anonymisation and Text Extraction), an open-source software system with separable functions: (1) it anonymises or de-identifies arbitrary relational databases, with sensitivity and precision similar to previous comparable systems; (2) it uses public secure cryptographic methods to map patient identifiers to research identifiers (pseudonyms); (3) it connects relational databases to external tools for natural language processing; (4) it provides a web front end for research and administrative functions; and (5) it supports a specific model through which patients may consent to be contacted about research. Creation and management of a research database from sensitive clinical records with secure pseudonym generation, full-text indexing, and a consent-to-contact process is possible and practical using entirely free and open-source software.

A microfluidic platform with integrated arrays for immunologic assays for biological pathogen detection

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Klemm, Richard; Becker, Holger; Hlawatsch, Nadine; Julich, Sandra; Miethe, Peter; Moche, Christian; Schattschneider, Sebastian; Tomaso, Herbert; Gärtner, Claudia

2014-05-01

The ability to integrate complete assays on a microfluidic chip helps to greatly simplify instrument requirements and allows the use of lab-on-a-chip technology in the field. A core application for such field-portable systems is the detection of pathogens in a CBRN scenario such as permanent monitoring of airborne pathogens, e.g. in subway stations or hospitals etc. An immunological assay was chosen as method for the pathogen identification. The conceptual approach was its realization as a lab-on-a-chip system, enabling an easy handling of the sample in an automated manner. The immunological detection takes place on an antibody array directly implemented in the microfluidic network. Different immobilization strategies will be presented showing the performance of the system. Central elements of the disposable microfluidic device like fluidic interface, turning valves, liquid introduction and waste storage, as well as the architecture of measurement and control fluidic network, will be introduced. Overall process times of about 30 minutes were achieved and assays for the detection of Francisella tularensis and Yersinia pestis are presented. An important feature of the integrated lab-on-a-chip approach is that all waste liquids remain on-chip and contamination risks can be avoided.

Evaluation of anaerobic co-digestion of dairy manure with food wastes via bio-methane potential assay and CSTR reactor.

PubMed

Ye, Yulin; Zamalloa, Carlos; Lin, Hongjian; Yan, Mi; Schmidt, David; Hu, Bo

2015-01-01

The introduction of food wastes into anaerobic digestion (AD) brings a promising scenario of increasing feedstock availability and overall energy production from AD. This study evaluated the biodegradability and methane potential from co-digestion of two typical food wastes, kitchen waste and chicken fat, with dairy manure. For single substrate, the bio-methane potential assays showed that kitchen waste had the highest methane yield of 352 L-CH4 kg(-1)-VS added, 92% more than dairy manure alone. Chicken fat at the same Volatile Solid (VS) level (2 g L(-1)) inhibited bio-methane production. Addition of kitchen waste and chicken fat to a VS percentage of up to 40% improved overall methane yield by 44% and 34%, respectively. Synergistic effect was observed when either combining two or three substrates as AD feedstock, possibly as a result of increased biodegradability of organic materials in chicken fat and kitchen waste compared with dairy manure. Addition of chicken fat improved methane yield more than kitchen waste. However, addition of chicken fat VS over 0.8 g L(-1) should be cautiously done because it may cause reactor failure due to decrease in pH. The maximum methane yield was 425 L-CH4 kg(-1)-VS, achieved at a VS ratio of 2:2:1 for kitchen waste, chicken fat, and dairy manure. Results from batch AD experiment demonstrated that supplementing dairy manure to chicken fat and/or kitchen waste improved alkalinity of substrate due to the inclusion of more titratable bases in dairy manure, and therefore stabilized the methanogenesis and substantially improved biogas yield. A mixture of substrates of kitchen waste, chicken fat, and dairy manure at a ratio of 1:1:3 was fed to a continuously stirred tank reactor operated at organic loading rates of 3.28, 6.55, and 2.18 g-COD L(-1)-day (hydraulic retention time of 20, 10, and 30 days, respectively) under mesophilic condition, and methane production rate reached 0.65, 0.95, and 0.34 L-CH4 L(-1)-reactor-day.

Effects of substrate to inoculum ratio on the biochemical methane potential of piggery slaughterhouse wastes.

PubMed

Yoon, Young-Man; Kim, Seung-Hwan; Shin, Kook-Sik; Kim, Chang-Hyun

2014-04-01

The aim of this study was to assess the effect of substrate to inoculum ratio (S/I ratio) on the biochemical methane potential (BMP) and anaerobic biodegradability (Ddeg) of different piggery slaughterhouse wastes, such as piggery blood, intestine residue, and digestive tract content. These wastes were sampled from a piggery slaughterhouse located in Kimje, South Korea. Cumulative methane production curves for the wastes were obtained from the anaerobic batch fermentation having different S/I ratios of 0.1, 0.5, 1.0, and 1.5. BMP and anaerobic biodegradabilities (Ddeg) of the wastes were calculated from cumulative methane production data for the tested conditions. At the lowest S/I ration of 0.1, BMPs of piggery blood, intestine residue, and digestive tract content were determined to be 0.799, 0.848, and 1.076 Nm(3) kg(-1)-VSadded, respectively, which were above the theoretical methane potentials of 0.539, 0.644, and 0.517 Nm(3) kg(-1)-VSadded for blood, intestine residue, and digestive tract content, respectively. However, BMPs obtained from the higher S/I ratios of 0.5, 1.0, and 1.5 were within the theoretical range for all three types of waste and were not significantly different for the different S/I ratios tested. Anaerobic biodegradabilities calculated from BMP data showed a similar tendency. These results imply that, for BMP assay in an anaerobic reactor, the S/I ratio of anaerobic reactor should be above 0.1 and the inoculum should be sufficiently stabilized to avoid further degradation during the assay.

Effects of Substrate to Inoculum Ratio on the Biochemical Methane Potential of Piggery Slaughterhouse Wastes

PubMed Central

Yoon, Young-Man; Kim, Seung-Hwan; Shin, Kook-Sik; Kim, Chang-Hyun

2014-01-01

The aim of this study was to assess the effect of substrate to inoculum ratio (S/I ratio) on the biochemical methane potential (BMP) and anaerobic biodegradability (Ddeg) of different piggery slaughterhouse wastes, such as piggery blood, intestine residue, and digestive tract content. These wastes were sampled from a piggery slaughterhouse located in Kimje, South Korea. Cumulative methane production curves for the wastes were obtained from the anaerobic batch fermentation having different S/I ratios of 0.1, 0.5, 1.0, and 1.5. BMP and anaerobic biodegradabilities (Ddeg) of the wastes were calculated from cumulative methane production data for the tested conditions. At the lowest S/I ration of 0.1, BMPs of piggery blood, intestine residue, and digestive tract content were determined to be 0.799, 0.848, and 1.076 Nm3 kg−1-VSadded, respectively, which were above the theoretical methane potentials of 0.539, 0.644, and 0.517 Nm3 kg−1-VSadded for blood, intestine residue, and digestive tract content, respectively. However, BMPs obtained from the higher S/I ratios of 0.5, 1.0, and 1.5 were within the theoretical range for all three types of waste and were not significantly different for the different S/I ratios tested. Anaerobic biodegradabilities calculated from BMP data showed a similar tendency. These results imply that, for BMP assay in an anaerobic reactor, the S/I ratio of anaerobic reactor should be above 0.1 and the inoculum should be sufficiently stabilized to avoid further degradation during the assay. PMID:25049994

What level of estrogenic activity determined by in vitro assays in municipal waste waters can be considered as safe?

PubMed

Jarošová, Barbora; Bláha, Luděk; Giesy, John P; Hilscherová, Klára

2014-03-01

In vitro assays are broadly used tools to evaluate the estrogenic activity in Waste Water Treatment Plant (WWTP) effluents and their receiving rivers. Since potencies of individual estrogens to induce in vitro and in vivo responses can differ it is not possible to directly evaluate risks based on in vitro measures of estrogenic activity. Estrone, 17beta-estradiol, 17alfa-ethinylestradiol and to some extent, estriol have been shown to be responsible for the majority of in vitro estrogenic activity of municipal WWTP effluents. Therefore, in the present study safe concentrations of Estrogenic Equivalents (EEQs-SSE) in municipal WWTP effluents were derived based on simplified assumption that the steroid estrogens are responsible for all estrogenicity determined with particular in vitro assays. EEQs-SSEs were derived using the bioassay and testing protocol-specific in vitro potencies of steroid estrogens, in vivo predicted no effect concentration (PNECs) of these compounds, and their relative contributions to the overall estrogenicity detected in municipal WWTP effluents. EEQs-SSEs for 15 individual bioassays varied from 0.1 to 0.4ng EEQ/L. The EEQs-SSEs are supposed to be increased by use of location-specific dilution factors of WWTP effluents entering receiving rivers. They are applicable to municipal wastewater and rivers close to their discharges, but not to industrial waste waters. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Canine scent detection and microbial source tracking of human waste contamination in storm drains.

PubMed

Van De Werfhorst, Laurie C; Murray, Jill L S; Reynolds, Scott; Reynolds, Karen; Holden, Patricia A

2014-06-01

Human fecal contamination of surface waters and drains is difficult to diagnose. DNA-based and chemical analyses of water samples can be used to specifically quantify human waste contamination, but their expense precludes routine use. We evaluated canine scent tracking, using two dogs trained to respond to the scent of municipal wastewater, as a field approach for surveying human fecal contamination. Fecal indicator bacteria, as well as DNA-based and chemical markers of human waste, were analyzed in waters sampled from canine scent-evaluated sites (urban storm drains and creeks). In the field, the dogs responded positively (70% and 100%) at sites for which sampled waters were then confirmed as contaminated with human waste. When both dogs indicated a negative response, human waste markers were absent. Overall, canine scent tracking appears useful for prioritizing sampling sites for which DNA-based and similarly expensive assays can confirm and quantify human waste contamination.

Review and Implementation of Technology for Solid Radioactive Waste Volume Reduction

DTIC Science & Technology

1999-10-15

were shifted to Project 1.1 for spent nuclear fuel cask development to accelerate that project. Those funds should be repaid to Project 1.3 in the... transported between the shipyards such as Nerpa, and other intermediate storage sites such as Gremikha and Andreeva Bay. At these sites the largest...waste source and allow pretreatment unit operations using commercially available technologies of contaminant assaying, cutting/shearing, sorting

Segmented Gamma Scanner for Small Containers of Uranium Processing Waste- 12295

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Morris, K.E.; Smith, S.K.; Gailey, S.

2012-07-01

The Segmented Gamma Scanner (SGS) is commonly utilized in the assay of 55-gallon drums containing radioactive waste. Successfully deployed calibration methods include measurement of vertical line source standards in representative matrices and mathematical efficiency calibrations. The SGS technique can also be utilized to assay smaller containers, such as those used for criticality safety in uranium processing facilities. For such an application, a Can SGS System is aptly suited for the identification and quantification of radionuclides present in fuel processing wastes. Additionally, since the significant presence of uranium lumping can confound even a simple 'pass/fail' measurement regimen, the high-resolution gamma spectroscopymore » allows for the use of lump-detection techniques. In this application a lump correction is not required, but the application of a differential peak approach is used to simply identify the presence of U-235 lumps. The Can SGS is similar to current drum SGSs, but differs in the methodology for vertical segmentation. In the current drum SGS, the drum is placed on a rotator at a fixed vertical position while the detector, collimator, and transmission source are moved vertically to effect vertical segmentation. For the Can SGS, segmentation is more efficiently done by raising and lowering the rotator platform upon which the small container is positioned. This also reduces the complexity of the system mechanism. The application of the Can SGS introduces new challenges to traditional calibration and verification approaches. In this paper, we revisit SGS calibration methodology in the context of smaller waste containers, and as applied to fuel processing wastes. Specifically, we discuss solutions to the challenges introduced by requiring source standards to fit within the confines of the small containers and the unavailability of high-enriched uranium source standards. We also discuss the implementation of a previously used technique for identifying the presence of uranium lumping. The SGS technique is a well-accepted NDA technique applicable to containers of almost any size. It assumes a homogenous matrix and activity distribution throughout the entire container; an assumption that is at odds with the detection of lumps within the assay item typical of uranium-processing waste. This fact, in addition to the difficultly in constructing small reference standards of uranium-bearing materials, required the methodology used for performing an efficiency curve calibration to be altered. The solution discussed in this paper is demonstrated to provide good results for both the segment activity and full container activity when measuring heterogeneous source distributions. The application of this approach will need to be based on process knowledge of the assay items, as biases can be introduced if used with homogenous, or nearly homogenous, activity distributions. The bias will need to be quantified for each combination of container geometry and SGS scanning settings. One recommended approach for using the heterogeneous calibration discussed here is to assay each item using a homogenous calibration initially. Review of the segment activities compared to the full container activity will signal the presence of a non-uniform activity distribution as the segment activity will be grossly disproportionate to the full container activity. Upon seeing this result, the assay should either be reanalyzed or repeated using the heterogeneous calibration. (authors)« less

Comet assay and micronucleus tests on Oreochromis niloticus (Perciforme: Cichlidae) exposed to raw sugarcane vinasse and to phisicochemical treated vinasse by pH adjustment with lime (CaO).

PubMed

Correia, Jorge E; Christofoletti, Cintya Ap; Ansoar-Rodríguez, Yadira; Guedes, Thays A; Fontanetti, Carmem S

2017-04-01

In Brazil vinasse, a main sugarcane distillery residue, stands out because every liter of alcohol generates 10-15 L of vinasse as waste. An alternative for the disposal of this waste is the fertirrigation of the sugarcane culture itself. However, the high amount released can saturate the soil and through leaching/percolation contaminate water resources. The aim of this study is verifying the toxic potential of vinasse in tilapias and effectiveness of the physicalchemical treatment of this waste with pH adjustment with lime (CaO). The comet assay and the micronucleus test were applied on animals exposed to dilutions of raw vinasse and vinasse adjusted to neutral pH. Bioassays with raw vinasse dilutions indicated a toxic and genotoxic potential; fish exposed to the highest concentration died less than 48 h after the exposure; the incidence of micronucleus was significantly higher when compared to negative control for all dilutions. For the comet assay, the scores of damage were statistically higher for all dilutions, with the exception of the 1% dillution. However, in the bioassay with the chemically treated vinasse (neutral pH), most fish in the 10% dilution survived and there was no significant difference when compared to the control. Damage scores in the comet assay were similar to the results of the untreated vinasse. The chemical treatment of vinasse with lime to neutralize the pH proved to be an effective alternative for the toxicity reduction of this residue, since it reduced the mortality of fish at higher concentrations and the incidence of damage to DNA. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

49 CFR 178.523 - Standards for composite packagings with inner glass, porcelain, or stoneware receptacles.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-10-01

..., porcelain, or stoneware: (1) 6PA1 for glass, porcelain, or stoneware receptacles within a protective steel drum; (2) 6PA2 for glass, porcelain, or stoneware receptacles within a protective steel crate or box... good quality materials free from any defect that could impair their strength, and be firmly secured in...

49 CFR 178.523 - Standards for composite packagings with inner glass, porcelain, or stoneware receptacles.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-10-01

..., porcelain, or stoneware: (1) 6PA1 for glass, porcelain, or stoneware receptacles within a protective steel drum; (2) 6PA2 for glass, porcelain, or stoneware receptacles within a protective steel crate or box... good quality materials free from any defect that could impair their strength, and be firmly secured in...

49 CFR 178.523 - Standards for composite packagings with inner glass, porcelain, or stoneware receptacles.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-10-01

..., porcelain, or stoneware: (1) 6PA1 for glass, porcelain, or stoneware receptacles within a protective steel drum; (2) 6PA2 for glass, porcelain, or stoneware receptacles within a protective steel crate or box... good quality materials free from any defect that could impair their strength, and be firmly secured in...

Building a Lattice for School Leadership: Lessons from England. Policy Brief #15-1

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Supovitz, Jonathan

2015-01-01

The flat structure of American schools is ill-suited to meet today's increasing demands for educational improvement. Even with unprecedented pressure to raise performance, America's schools are still largely organized the way they were a century ago--with a single principal presiding over a largely egg-crated faculty. Is such a thin veneer of…

9 CFR 354.242 - Cleaning of equipment and utensils.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-01-01

... removed from the plant daily. (b) All equipment and utensils used in the killing and skinning rooms shall..., as the case may be. (d) All crates or pens used for transporting live rabbits to the plant shall be... such compounds or by such methods as may be approved or prescribed by the Administrator. (f) When...

9 CFR 354.242 - Cleaning of equipment and utensils.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-01-01

... removed from the plant daily. (b) All equipment and utensils used in the killing and skinning rooms shall..., as the case may be. (d) All crates or pens used for transporting live rabbits to the plant shall be... such compounds or by such methods as may be approved or prescribed by the Administrator. (f) When...

9 CFR 354.242 - Cleaning of equipment and utensils.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-01-01

... removed from the plant daily. (b) All equipment and utensils used in the killing and skinning rooms shall..., as the case may be. (d) All crates or pens used for transporting live rabbits to the plant shall be... such compounds or by such methods as may be approved or prescribed by the Administrator. (f) When...

Correlative analysis of heavy metal bioconcentration and genetic damage in white-footed mice (Peromyscus leucopus) from a hazardous waste site

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Tull-Singleton, S.; Kimball, S.; McBee, K.

1994-05-01

Heavy metals are common constituents of hazardous waste sites and may cause health problems in wildlife and nearby human residents. Previous studies have been conducted on the bioaccumulation/bioconcentration of metals in biological tissue using small mammals. However, there have been few attempts to correlate tissue residues with other physiological or genetic biomarkers. In this study, livers of Peromyscus leucopus (white footed mouse) from a hazardous waste site and a matched reference site were analyzed for the presence of selected metals. The white-footed mouse prefers wooded, brushy habitat. The diet included seeds, nuts, plant material, fungi, and some invertebrates. Waste sitemore » animals were obtained from a facility in southcentral Texas, used since the early 1960's as a fire fighting training facility. Until 1980, ignitants used on training structures included refinery waste products. Since then, only diesel fuel has been used. Two sludge retention ponds located on the training school grounds collect run-off such as ignitants, flame retardants, fire-fighting chemicals, and water from the practice structures. Chemical analysis of the ponds indicated presence of a number of compounds including partially combusted hydrocarbons, PCB'S, and several heavy metals. Water extracts from the retention ponds gave positive responses in the Salmonella/mammalian microsome assay and the Bacillus DNA Repair Assay, indicating that compounds present in waste water were mutagenic. Peromyscus trapped around the banks of the retention ponds showed significantly increased levels of somatic metaphase chromosome aberrations. The most likely route of exposure for these animals was through ingestion of soil particles during foraging and grooming. Of metals found at the site, at least four (cadmium, chromium, lead, and zinc) have been shown to induce chromosome aberrations in mammalian cell.« less

Idaho National Engineering Laboratory code assessment of the Rocky Flats transuranic waste

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

NONE

1995-07-01

This report is an assessment of the content codes associated with transuranic waste shipped from the Rocky Flats Plant in Golden, Colorado, to INEL. The primary objective of this document is to characterize and describe the transuranic wastes shipped to INEL from Rocky Flats by item description code (IDC). This information will aid INEL in determining if the waste meets the waste acceptance criteria (WAC) of the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP). The waste covered by this content code assessment was shipped from Rocky Flats between 1985 and 1989. These years coincide with the dates for information available in themore » Rocky Flats Solid Waste Information Management System (SWIMS). The majority of waste shipped during this time was certified to the existing WIPP WAC. This waste is referred to as precertified waste. Reassessment of these precertified waste containers is necessary because of changes in the WIPP WAC. To accomplish this assessment, the analytical and process knowledge available on the various IDCs used at Rocky Flats were evaluated. Rocky Flats sources for this information include employee interviews, SWIMS, Transuranic Waste Certification Program, Transuranic Waste Inspection Procedure, Backlog Waste Baseline Books, WIPP Experimental Waste Characterization Program (headspace analysis), and other related documents, procedures, and programs. Summaries are provided of: (a) certification information, (b) waste description, (c) generation source, (d) recovery method, (e) waste packaging and handling information, (f) container preparation information, (g) assay information, (h) inspection information, (i) analytical data, and (j) RCRA characterization.« less

Linamarase activities in Bacillus spp. responsible for thermophilic aerobic digestion of agricultural wastes for animal nutrition.

PubMed

Ugwuanyi, J Obeta; Harvey, L M; McNeil, B

2007-01-01

Thermophilic Bacillus spp. isolated from thermophilic aerobic digestion (TAD) of model agricultural slurry were screened for ability to secret linamarase activity and degrade linamarin, a cyanogenic glycoside toxin abundant in cassava. Screening was performed by both linamarin - picrate assay and by p-nitrophenyl beta-D-glucoside (PNPG) degradation, and results of both assays were related. Linamarase positive isolates were identified as Bacillus coagulans, Bacillus licheniformis and Bacillus stearothermophilus. Enzyme production was growth related and peak production was reached in 48 h in B. coagulans and 36 h in B. stearothermophilus. B. coagulans produced over 40 times greater activity than B. stearothermophilus. Enzyme productivity in shake flask was not strictly related to screening assay result. Crude enzyme of B. coagulans was optimally active at 75 degrees C while that of B. stearothermophilus was optimally active at 80 degrees C and both had optimum activity at pH 8.0. The thermophilic and neutrophilic- to marginally alkaline activity of the crude enzymes could be very useful in the detoxification and reprocessing of cyanogens containing cassava wastes by TAD for use in animal nutrition.

Hybrid poplar planting in the Lake States

Treesearch

Paul O. Rudolf

1948-01-01

Poplars are among our fastest growing trees. Many of them are also relatively easy to grow from cuttings and to hybridize by means of cut flower-bearing twigs. Their wood is in demand for pulpwood, veneer for match and crate production, boxboards, and other uses. For these reasons there has been interest in many countries in selecting and breeding poplars. The tree...

Entering College Early: It's All about the Fit

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Muratori, Michelle

2011-01-01

Years ago, the popular TV game show "Let's Make a Deal" required its contestants to choose one of three doors. Contestants were just as likely to win expensive items such as cars and exotic vacations as they were to win a crate of lemons. Helping their child reach decisions about college may at times lead parents to feel as if they are contestants…

New data acquisition system for the focal plane polarimeter of the Grand Raiden spectrometer

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tamii, A.; Sakaguchi, H.; Takeda, H.; Yosoi, M.; Akimune, H.; Fujiwara, M.; Ogata, H.; Tanaka, M.; Togawa, H.

1996-10-01

This paper describes a new data acquisition system for the focal plane polarimeter of the Grand Raiden spectrometer at the Research Center for Nuclear Physics (RCNP) in Osaka, Japan. Data are acquired by a Creative Electronic Systems (CES) Starburst, which is a CAMAC auxiliary crate controller equipped with a Digital Equipment Corporation (DEC) J11 microprocessor. The data on the Starburst are transferred to a VME single-board computer. A VME reflective memory module broadcasts the data to other systems through a fiber-optic link. A data transfer rate of 2.0 Mbytes/s between VME modules has been achieved by reflective memories. This rate includes the overhead of buffer management. The overall transfer rate, however, is limited by the performance of the Starburst to about 160 Kbytes/s at maximum. In order to further improve the system performance, we developed a new readout module called the Rapid Data Transfer Module (RDTM). RDTM's transfer data from LeCroy PCOS III's or 4298's, and FERA/FERET's directly to CES 8170 High Speed Memories (HSM) in VME crates, the data transfer rate of the RDTM from PCOS III's to the HSM is about 4 Mbytes/s.

Electrochemical properties of new organic radical materials for lithium secondary batteries

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lee, Seo Hwan; Kim, Jae-Kwang; Cheruvally, Gouri; Choi, Jae-Won; Ahn, Jou-Hyeon; Chauhan, Ghanshyam S.; Song, Choong Eui

The use of ionic liquid (IL)-supported organic radicals as cathode-active materials in lithium secondary batteries is reported in this article. Two different types of IL-supported organic radicals based on the 2,2,6,6-tetramethyl-1-piperidinyloxy (TEMPO) radical and imidazolium hexafluorophosphate IL were synthesized. The first type is a mono-radical with one unit of TEMPO and the second is a symmetrical di-radical with 2 U of TEMPO; both are viscous liquids at 25 °C. The radicals exhibit electrochemical activity at ∼3.5 V versus Li/Li + as revealed in the cyclic voltammetry tests. The organic radical batteries (ORBs) with these materials as the cathode, a lithium metal anode and 1 M LiPF 6 in EC/DMC electrolyte exhibited good performance at room temperature during the charge-discharge and cycling tests. The batteries exhibited specific capacities of 59 and 80 mAh g -1 at 1 C-rate with the mono- and di-radicals as the cathodes, respectively, resulting in 100% utilization of the materials. The performance degradation with increasing C-rate is very minimal for the ORBs, thus demonstrating good rate capability.

The electrochemical performance of aqueous rechargeable battery of Zn/Na0.44MnO2 based on hybrid electrolyte

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wu, Xianwen; Li, Yehua; Xiang, Yanhong; Liu, Zhixiong; He, Zeqiang; Wu, Xianming; Li, Youji; Xiong, Lizhi; Li, Chuanchang; Chen, Jian

2016-12-01

There is a broad application prospect for smart grid about aqueous rechargeable sodium-ion battery. In order to improve its electrochemical performance, a hybrid cationic aqueous-based rechargeable battery system based on the nanostructural Na0.44MnO2 and metallic zinc foil as the positive and negative electrodes respectively is built up. Nano rod-like Na0.44MnO2 is synthesized by sol-gel method followed by calcination at 850 °C for 9 h, and various characterization techniques including the X-ray diffraction (XRD) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) are used to investigate the structure and morphology of the as-prepared material. The cyclic voltammetry, galvanostatic charge-discharge and self-discharge measurements are performed at the same time. The results show that the battery delivers a very high initial discharge capacity of 186.2 mAh g-1 at 0.2 C-rate in the range of 0.5-2.0 V, and it exhibits a discharge capacity of 113.3 mAh g-1 at high current density of 4 C-rate, indicative of excellent rate capability.

Biodegradation of bilge waste from Patagonia with an indigenous microbial community.

PubMed

Nievas, M L; Commendatore, M G; Olivera, N L; Esteves, J L; Bucalá, V

2006-12-01

Oily residues that are generated in normal ship operation are considered hazardous wastes. A biodegradation assay with autochthonous microbiota of Bilge Waste Oily Phase (BWOP) was performed in a bioreactor under controlled conditions. Petroleum, diesel oil, and PAH degraders were isolated from bilge wastes. These bacteria belong to the genus Pseudomonas and are closely related to Pseudomonas stutzeri as shown by 16S rDNA phylogenetic analysis. The indigenous microbial community of the bilge waste was capable of biodegrading the BWOP (1% v/v) with biodegradation efficiencies of 70% for hexane extractable material (HEM), 68% for total hydrocarbons (TH) and 90% for total aromatics hydrocarbons (TA) in 14 days. Solid phase microextraction (SPME) was successfully applied to evaluate hydrocarbon evaporation in a control experiment and demonstrated a mass balance closure of 88%. The SPME and biodegradation results give useful information to improve and scale up the process for BWOP treatment.

Kinetic modelling of anaerobic hydrolysis of solid wastes, including disintegration processes.

PubMed

García-Gen, Santiago; Sousbie, Philippe; Rangaraj, Ganesh; Lema, Juan M; Rodríguez, Jorge; Steyer, Jean-Philippe; Torrijos, Michel

2015-01-01

A methodology to estimate disintegration and hydrolysis kinetic parameters of solid wastes and validate an ADM1-based anaerobic co-digestion model is presented. Kinetic parameters of the model were calibrated from batch reactor experiments treating individually fruit and vegetable wastes (among other residues) following a new protocol for batch tests. In addition, decoupled disintegration kinetics for readily and slowly biodegradable fractions of solid wastes was considered. Calibrated parameters from batch assays of individual substrates were used to validate the model for a semi-continuous co-digestion operation treating simultaneously 5 fruit and vegetable wastes. The semi-continuous experiment was carried out in a lab-scale CSTR reactor for 15 weeks at organic loading rate ranging between 2.0 and 4.7 gVS/Ld. The model (built in Matlab/Simulink) fit to a large extent the experimental results in both batch and semi-continuous mode and served as a powerful tool to simulate the digestion or co-digestion of solid wastes. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Modeling of anaerobic degradation of solid slaughterhouse waste: inhibition effects of long-chain fatty acids or ammonia.

PubMed

Lokshina, L Y; Vavilin, V A; Salminen, E; Rintala, J

2003-01-01

The anaerobic bioconversion of solid poultry slaughterhouse wastes was kinetically investigated. The modified version of simulation model was applied for description of experimental data in mesophilic laboratory digester and assays. Additionally, stages of formation and consumption of long chain fatty acids (LCFA) were included in the model. Batch data on volatile solids, ammonium, acetate, butyrate, propionate, LCFA concentrations, pH level, cumulative volume, and methane partial pressure were used for model calibration. As a reference, the model was used to describe digestion of solid sorted household waste. Simulation results showed that an inhibition of polymer hydrolysis by volatile fatty acids and acetogenesis by NH3 or LCFA could be responsible for the complex system dynamics during degradation of lipid- and protein-rich wastes.

Effects of neoprene mat on diarrhea, mortality and foreleg abrasion of pre-weaning piglets.

PubMed

Gu, Zhaobing; Xin, Hongwei; Wang, Chaoyuan; Shi, Zhengxiang; Liu, Zuohua; Yang, Feiyun; Lin, Baozhong; Wang, Chao; Li, Baoming

2010-06-01

Modern commercial swine farrowing crates are typically equipped with slatted iron floor to improve management efficiency (e.g., ease of manure handling, cleanliness of the farrowing crates and hence improved animal hygiene). However, the bare and hard floor surface can impair the welfare of the sow-litter because of some undesirable impacts on the pigs, such as foreleg abrasion, large temperature gradients between the cold floor surface and the abdomen of the piglets (hence higher susceptibility to diarrhea), and higher pre-weaning mortality or morbidity. Although straw bedding has been shown to be conducive to providing better environment for the sow-litter, use of straw creates challenges in terms of economics, hygiene and manure handling. This study investigates the use of neoprene mat (NM) in key areas of the farrowing crates - underneath the sow and in the piglet suckling area to improve the microenvironment and hence welfare of the sow-litter. Two experiments were conducted, each involving 12 sow-litters. The first experiment was to evaluate the thickness of a rectangular-shaped NM (7, 10 or 13 mm) vs. the slatted iron floor (control or Ctrl) and collect the corresponding animal response data; while the second follow-up experiment was to verify the benefits of supplying an improved, double concave (or H)-shaped NM with 10mm thick (CNM10) vs. Ctrl for the farrowing operation. Results of both experiments demonstrated considerable benefits of the NM placement in the farrowing crates. Specifically, the NM reduced the piglet foreleg lesion area and joint swellings (0% for NM vs. 8-10% for Ctrl during suckling periods in both Expts 1 and 2, P<0.001); reduced pre-weaning piglet crushing mortality (18.5+/-5.0%, 6.7+/-3.3% and 9.1+/-5.2% and for Ctrl, NM7 and NM10 and in Expt 1, P<0.05); and reduced piglet diarrhea morbidity (0.6+/-0.2% for CNM10 vs. 2.7+/-0.3% for Ctrl in Expt 2, P<0.01). Piglets in the NM litters had smaller temperature gradients between the abdomen and the contact floor surface (3.8+/-2.3 degrees C for NM vs. 7.6+/-0.5 degrees C for Ctrl in Expt 1, P<0.001; 9.2+/-0.5 degrees C for CNM10 vs. 15.9+/-0.5 degrees C for Ctrl in Expt 2, P<0.001). Moreover, sows in the NM regimens showed longer transition time when changing from standing to lying position (7.4+/-0.3s for CNM10 vs. 4.5+/-0.2s for Ctrl in Expt 2, P<0.05), indicative of more floor comfort for the NM condition. Results of this study suggest that supply of NM underneath the sow and in the piglet suckling area is conducive to enhancing comfort, health and welfare of the sow and litter. (c) 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Integration of GC-MSD and ER-Calux® assay into a single protocol for determining steroid estrogens in environmental samples.

PubMed

Avberšek, Miha; Žegura, Bojana; Filipič, Metka; Heath, Ester

2011-11-01

There are many published studies that use either chemical or biological methods to investigate steroid estrogens in the aquatic environment, but rarer are those that combine both. In this study, gas chromatography with mass selective detection (GC-MSD) and the ER-Calux(®) estrogenicity assay were integrated into a single protocol for simultaneous determination of natural (estrone--E1, 17β-estradiol--E2, estriol--E3) and synthetic (17α-ethinylestradiol--EE2) steroid estrogens concentrations and the total estrogenic potential of environmental samples. For integration purposes, several solvents were investigated and the commonly used dimethyl sulphoxide (DMSO) in the ER-Calux(®) assay was replaced by ethyl acetate, which is more compatible with gas chromatography and enables the same sample to be analysed by both GC-MSD and the ER-Calux(®) assay. The integrated protocol was initially tested using a standard mixture of estrogens. The results for pure standards showed that the estrogenicity calculated on the basis of GC-MSD and the ER-Calux(®) assay exhibited good correlation (r(2)=0.96; α=0.94). The result remained the same when spiked waste water extracts were tested (r(2)=0.92, α=1.02). When applied to real waste water influent and effluent samples the results proved (r(2)=0.93; α=0.99) the applicability of the protocol. The main advantages of this newly developed protocol are simple sample handling for both methods, and reduced material consumption and labour. In addition, it can be applied as either a complete or sequential analysis where the ER-Calux(®) assay is used as a pre-screening method prior to the chemical analysis. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

KSC-06pd2788

NASA Image and Video Library

2006-12-11

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- Workers at Astrotech Space Operations in Titusville, Fla., wipe down the crates containing the probes of the THEMIS spacecraft. THEMIS, which stands for Time History of Events and Macroscale Interactions during Substorms, comprises five identical probes that will study the dynamic and colorful eruptions of auroras. THEMIS is scheduled to launch Feb. 15 from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. Photo credit: NASA/George Shelton

KSC-06pd2787

NASA Image and Video Library

2006-12-11

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- Workers at Astrotech Space Operations in Titusville, Fla., wipe down the crates containing the probes of the THEMIS spacecraft. THEMIS, which stands for Time History of Events and Macroscale Interactions during Substorms, comprises five identical probes that will study the dynamic and colorful eruptions of auroras. THEMIS is scheduled to launch Feb. 15 from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. Photo credit: NASA/George Shelton

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Zhou, Weidong; Li, Yutao; Xin, Sen

A reversible plating/stripping of a dendrite-free metallic-sodium anode with a reduced anode/ceramic interfacial resistance is created by a thin interfacial interlayer formed in situ or by the introduction of a dry polymer film. Wetting of the sodium on the interfacial interlayer suppresses dendrite formation and growth at different discharge/charge C-rates. Furthermore, all-solid-state batteries were obtained with a high cycling stability and Coulombic efficiency at 65 °C.

Asian longhorned beetle in Austria: critical comments on phytosanitary measures and regulations

Treesearch

Hannes Krehan

2003-01-01

The ALB is indigenous to East Asia (China, Korea, Taiwan, but not actually present in Japan). It has been introduced twice into North America: New York City, N.Y (1996) and Chicago, Illinois (1998). The first record for Europe was in August 2001 in Braunau, Austria where it was likely introduced through wood packing material (i.g. pallets, crates, dunnage etc.) from...

Effect of post-hatch transportation duration and parental age on broiler chicken quality, welfare, and productivity

PubMed Central

Jacobs, Leonie; Delezie, Evelyne; Duchateau, Luc; Goethals, Klara; Ampe, Bart; Lambrecht, Evelien; Gellynck, Xavier; Tuyttens, Frank A. M.

2016-01-01

Broiler chicks are transported to production sites within one to 2 d post-hatch. Possible effects of this transportation are poorly understood and could vary among chicks from breeder flocks of different ages. The aim of the present study was to investigate the effects of transportation duration and parental flock age on chick welfare, productivity, and quality. After hatch in a commercial hatchery, 1,620 mixed-sex chicks from 29-wk old (young) and 1,620 chicks from 60-wk old (old) breeders were subjected to transportation of 1.5 h or 11 h duration. After transportation, 2,800 chicks were divided among 100 pens, with each pen containing 28 chicks from one transportation crate (2 or 3 pens per crate). From the remaining chicks, on average 6 chicks (min 4, max 8) per crate (n = 228) were randomly selected and assessed for chick quality, weighed, and culled for yolk sac weighing (one d). Chicks that had not been assigned to pens or were not used for post-transportation measurements, were removed from the experiment (n = 212). Mortality, ADG, BW, and feed conversion (FC) of the experimental chicks were recorded until 41 d. Meat quality was measured for breast fillets (n = 47). No interaction effect of parental age and transportation duration was found for any variables. BW and yolk sac weight at one d were lower for chicks transported 11 h than 1.5 h and for chicks from young versus old breeders. The effect of parental flock age on BW persisted until slaughter. Additionally, parental age positively affected ADG until slaughter. Chick quality was lower in chicks from old versus young breeders. Chick quality and productivity were not affected by transportation duration. Mortality and meat quality were not affected by either parental age or transportation duration. To conclude, no long-term detrimental effects were found from long post-hatch transportation in chicks from young or old parent flocks. Based on these results, we suggest that 11 h post-hatch transportations under similar conditions do not impose long-term welfare or productivity risks. PMID:27143763

A Decade of Progress toward Ending the Intensive Confinement of Farm Animals in the United States

PubMed Central

Shields, Sara; Shapiro, Paul; Rowan, Andrew

2017-01-01

Simple Summary Over the past ten years, unprecedented changes in the way farm animals are kept on intensive production facilities have begun to take hold in the U.S. veal, egg and pork industries. Propelled by growing public support for animal welfare, the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) has successfully led the effort to transition farms from using restrictive cages and crates to more open aviary and group housing systems that offer the animals far more freedom to express natural behavior. This paper describes the background history of the movement, the strategy and approach of the campaign and the challenges that were overcome to enable this major shift in farming practices. The events chronicled are set within the context of the larger societal concern for animals and the important contributions of other animal protection organizations. Abstract In this paper, the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) farm animal protection work over the preceding decade is described from the perspective of the organization. Prior to 2002, there were few legal protections for animals on the farm, and in 2005, a new campaign at the HSUS began to advance state ballot initiatives throughout the country, with a decisive advancement in California (Proposition 2) that paved the way for further progress. Combining legislative work with undercover farm and slaughterhouse investigations, litigation and corporate engagement, the HSUS and fellow animal protection organizations have made substantial progress in transitioning the veal, pork and egg industries away from intensive confinement systems that keep the animals in cages and crates. Investigations have become an important tool for demonstrating widespread inhumane practices, building public support and convincing the retail sector to publish meaningful animal welfare policies. While federal legislation protecting animals on the farm stalled, there has been steady state-by-state progress, and this is complemented by major brands such as McDonald’s and Walmart pledging to purchase only from suppliers using cage-free and crate-free animal housing systems. The evolution of societal expectations regarding animals has helped propel the recent wave of progress and may also be driven, in part, by the work of animal protection organizations. PMID:28505141

Evaluation of Bacterial Expansin EXLX1 as a Cellulase Synergist for the Saccharification of Lignocellulosic Agro-Industrial Wastes

PubMed Central

Lin, Hui; Shen, Qi; Zhan, Ju-Mei; Wang, Qun; Zhao, Yu-Hua

2013-01-01

Various types of lignocellulosic wastes extensively used in biofuel production were provided to assess the potential of EXLX1 as a cellulase synergist. Enzymatic hydrolysis of natural wheat straw showed that all the treatments using mixtures of cellulase and an optimized amount of EXLX1, released greater quantities of sugars than those using cellulase alone, regardless of cellulase dosage and incubation time. EXLX1 exhibited different synergism and binding characteristics for different wastes, but this can be related to their lignocellulosic components. The cellulose proportion could be one of the important factors. However, when the cellulose proportion of different biomass samples exhibited no remarkable differences, a higher synergism of EXLX1 is prone to occur on these materials, with a high proportion of hemicellulose and a low proportion of lignin. The information could be favorable to assess whether EXLX1 is effective as a cellulase synergist for the hydrolysis of the used materials. Binding assay experiments further suggested that EXLX1 bound preferentially to alkali pretreated materials, as opposed to acid pretreated materials under the assay condition and the binding preference would be affected by incubation temperature. PMID:24086425

Particle Swarm Imaging (PSIM) - Innovative Gamma-Ray Assay - 13497

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Parvin, Daniel; Clarke, Sean; Humes, Sarah J.

2013-07-01

Particle Swarm Imaging is an innovative technique used to perform quantitative gamma-ray assay. The innovation overcomes some of the difficulties associated with the accurate measurement and declaration of measurement uncertainties of radionuclide inventories within waste items when the distribution of activity is unknown. Implementation requires minimal equipment, with field measurements and results obtained using only a single electrically cooled HRGS gamma-ray detector. Examples of its application in the field are given in this paper. (authors)

Effects of Holding Time, Storage, and the Preservation of ...

EPA Pesticide Factsheets

The purpose of this project was to answer questions related to storage of samples to be analyzed by the quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR)-based assays for fecal indicator bacteria. The project was divided into two parts. The first part was to determine if filters that were used to collect fecal indicators could be stored frozen and analyzed at a later date and the second part was to determine if refrigerated water samples could be held for 24 to 48 hours prior to analysis by qPCR. Both of these studies answer questions that were important in the analysis of fresh and marine surface water samples for beach monitoring purposes. 1) Develop and evaluate qPCR assays and test methods for the detection and quantification of genetic markers from indicator bacteria that are associated with human fecal waste and from two new groups of general fecal indicator bacteria (E. coli and Clostridia) that historically have been widely used or are favored in specific regions 2) Determine the occurrence and densities of genetic markers detected by new qPCR assays developed under objective 1 and compare with occurrence and densities of genetic markers detected by previously developed qPCR assays for enterococci and total Bacterioidalesin waste waters and fecal material from different animal sources. 3) Determine stability of fecal indicator bacteria target DNA sequences in freezer archived filter retentates of ambient surface water samples 4) Determine the densitie

Bioremediation of cooking oil waste using lipases from wastes

PubMed Central

do Prado, Débora Zanoni; Facanali, Roselaine; Marques, Márcia Mayo Ortiz; Nascimento, Augusto Santana; Fernandes, Célio Junior da Costa; Zambuzzi, William Fernando

2017-01-01

Cooking oil waste leads to well-known environmental impacts and its bioremediation by lipase-based enzymatic activity can minimize the high cytotoxic potential. In addition, they are among the biocatalysts most commercialized worldwide due to the versatility of reactions and substrates. However, although lipases are able to process cooking oil wastes, the products generated from this process do not necessarily become less toxic. Thus, the aim of the current study is to analyze the bioremediation of lipase-catalyzed cooking oil wastes, as well as their effect on the cytotoxicity of both the oil and its waste before and after enzymatic treatment. Thus, assessed the post-frying modification in soybean oil and in its waste, which was caused by hydrolysis reaction catalyzed by commercial and home-made lipases. The presence of lipases in the extracts obtained from orange wastes was identified by zymography. The profile of the fatty acid esters formed after these reactions was detected and quantified through gas chromatography and fatty acids profile compared through multivariate statistical analyses. Finally, the soybean oil and its waste, with and without enzymatic treatment, were assessed for toxicity in cytotoxicity assays conducted in vitro using fibroblast cell culture. The soybean oil wastes treated with core and frit lipases through transesterification reaction were less toxic than the untreated oils, thus confirming that cooking oil wastes can be bioremediated using orange lipases. PMID:29073166

Bioremediation of cooking oil waste using lipases from wastes.

PubMed

Okino-Delgado, Clarissa Hamaio; Prado, Débora Zanoni do; Facanali, Roselaine; Marques, Márcia Mayo Ortiz; Nascimento, Augusto Santana; Fernandes, Célio Junior da Costa; Zambuzzi, William Fernando; Fleuri, Luciana Francisco

2017-01-01

Cooking oil waste leads to well-known environmental impacts and its bioremediation by lipase-based enzymatic activity can minimize the high cytotoxic potential. In addition, they are among the biocatalysts most commercialized worldwide due to the versatility of reactions and substrates. However, although lipases are able to process cooking oil wastes, the products generated from this process do not necessarily become less toxic. Thus, the aim of the current study is to analyze the bioremediation of lipase-catalyzed cooking oil wastes, as well as their effect on the cytotoxicity of both the oil and its waste before and after enzymatic treatment. Thus, assessed the post-frying modification in soybean oil and in its waste, which was caused by hydrolysis reaction catalyzed by commercial and home-made lipases. The presence of lipases in the extracts obtained from orange wastes was identified by zymography. The profile of the fatty acid esters formed after these reactions was detected and quantified through gas chromatography and fatty acids profile compared through multivariate statistical analyses. Finally, the soybean oil and its waste, with and without enzymatic treatment, were assessed for toxicity in cytotoxicity assays conducted in vitro using fibroblast cell culture. The soybean oil wastes treated with core and frit lipases through transesterification reaction were less toxic than the untreated oils, thus confirming that cooking oil wastes can be bioremediated using orange lipases.

Criticality assessment of TRU burial ground culverts

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Winn, W.G.

1990-09-26

An effort to assess the criticality risks of {sup 239}Pu in TRU Burial Ground Culverts has been underway for several years. The concern arose from discrepancies in two types of monitors that have been used to assay the {sup 239}Pu waste prior to storage in 55-gallon drums that are placed in the culverts. One type is the solid waste monitor (SWM), which is based on gamma-ray measurements; the other is the neutron coincidence monitor, which is based on neutron measurements. The NCC was put into routine service after 1985 and has generally yielded higher 239 Pu assays than the SWM.more » Culverts with pre-1986 waste only had SWM assays of {sup 239}Pu; thus, it was questioned whether their actual {sup 239}Pu loadings could be high enough to pose criticality concerns. Studies to characterize the culvert criticality potential have included appraisal of NCC vs SWM, neutron measurements atop the culverts, gamma-ray measurements atop the culverts, and probabilistic risk analyses. Overall, these studies have implied that the culverts are critically safe; however, their results have not been examined collectively. The present report uses the collective information of the preceding studies to arrive at a more complete assessment of the culvert criticality aspects. A conservative k{sub eff} is estimated for an individual suspicious culvert and a PRA is evaluated for its {open_quotes}worst{close_quotes} drum. These two pieces of information form the basis of the appraisal, but other evidence is also included as support.« less

Evaluation of Faecalibacterium 16S rDNA genetic markers for accurate identification of swine faecal waste by quantitative PCR.

PubMed

Duan, Chuanren; Cui, Yamin; Zhao, Yi; Zhai, Jun; Zhang, Baoyun; Zhang, Kun; Sun, Da; Chen, Hang

2016-10-01

A genetic marker within the 16S rRNA gene of Faecalibacterium was identified for use in a quantitative PCR (qPCR) assay to detect swine faecal contamination in water. A total of 146,038 bacterial sequences were obtained using 454 pyrosequencing. By comparative bioinformatics analysis of Faecalibacterium sequences with those of numerous swine and other animal species, swine-specific Faecalibacterium 16S rRNA gene sequences were identified and Polymerase Chain Okabe (PCR) primer sets designed and tested against faecal DNA samples from swine and non-swine sources. Two PCR primer sets, PFB-1 and PFB-2, showed the highest specificity to swine faecal waste and had no cross-reaction with other animal samples. PFB-1 and PFB-2 amplified 16S rRNA gene sequences from 50 samples of swine with positive ratios of 86 and 90%, respectively. We compared swine-specific Faecalibacterium qPCR assays for the purpose of quantifying the newly identified markers. The quantification limits (LOQs) of PFB-1 and PFB-2 markers in environmental water were 6.5 and 2.9 copies per 100 ml, respectively. Of the swine-associated assays tested, PFB-2 was more sensitive in detecting the swine faecal waste and quantifying the microbial load. Furthermore, the microbial abundance and diversity of the microbiomes of swine and other animal faeces were estimated using operational taxonomic units (OTUs). The species specificity was demonstrated for the microbial populations present in various animal faeces. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Use of a Sentinel System for Field Measurements of Cryptosporidium parvum Oocyst Inactivation in Soil and Animal Waste

PubMed Central

Jenkins, M. B.; Walker, M. J.; Bowman, D. D.; Anthony, L. C.; Ghiorse, W. C.

1999-01-01

A small-volume sentinel chamber was developed to assess the effects of environmental stresses on survival of sucrose-Percoll-purified Cryptosporidium parvum oocysts in soil and animal wastes. Chambers were tested for their ability to equilibrate with external chemical and moisture conditions. Sentinel oocysts were then exposed to stresses of the external environment that affected their viability (potential infectivity), as indicated by results of a dye permeability assay. Preliminary laboratory experiments indicated that temperatures between 35 and 50°C and decreases in soil water potential (−0.003 to −3.20 MPa) increased oocyst inactivation rates. The effects of two common animal waste management practices on oocyst survival were investigated on three dairy farms in Delaware County, N.Y., within the New York City watershed: (i) piling wastes from dairy youngstock (including neonatal calves) and (ii) spreading wastes as a soil amendment on an agricultural field. Sentinel containers filled with air-dried and sieved (2-mm mesh) youngstock waste or field soil were wetted and inoculated with 2 million oocysts in an aqueous suspension and then placed in waste piles on two different farms and in soil within a cropped field on one farm. Controls consisted of purified oocysts in either phosphate-buffered saline or distilled water contained in sealed microcentrifuge tubes. Two microdata loggers recorded the ambient temperature at each field site. Sentinel experiments were conducted during the fall and winter (1996 to 1997) and winter (1998). Sentinel containers and controls were removed at 2- to 4-week intervals, and oocysts were extracted and tested by the dye permeability assay. The proportions of potentially infective oocysts exposed to the soil and waste pile material decreased more rapidly than their counterpart controls exposed to buffer or water, indicating that factors other than temperature affected oocyst inactivation in the waste piles and soil. The effect of soil freeze-thaw cycles was evident in the large proportion of empty sentinel oocysts. The potentially infective sentinel oocysts were reduced to <1% while the proportions in controls did not decrease below 50% potentially infective during the first field experiment. Microscopic observations of empty oocyst fragments indicated that abrasive effects of soil particles were a factor in oocyst inactivation. A similar pattern was observed in a second field experiment at the same site. PMID:10223991

Use of a sentinel system for field measurements of Cryptosporidium parvum oocyst inactivation in soil and animal waste.

PubMed

Jenkins, M B; Walker, M J; Bowman, D D; Anthony, L C; Ghiorse, W C

1999-05-01

A small-volume sentinel chamber was developed to assess the effects of environmental stresses on survival of sucrose-Percoll-purified Cryptosporidium parvum oocysts in soil and animal wastes. Chambers were tested for their ability to equilibrate with external chemical and moisture conditions. Sentinel oocysts were then exposed to stresses of the external environment that affected their viability (potential infectivity), as indicated by results of a dye permeability assay. Preliminary laboratory experiments indicated that temperatures between 35 and 50 degrees C and decreases in soil water potential (-0.003 to -3.20 MPa) increased oocyst inactivation rates. The effects of two common animal waste management practices on oocyst survival were investigated on three dairy farms in Delaware County, N.Y., within the New York City watershed: (i) piling wastes from dairy youngstock (including neonatal calves) and (ii) spreading wastes as a soil amendment on an agricultural field. Sentinel containers filled with air-dried and sieved (2-mm mesh) youngstock waste or field soil were wetted and inoculated with 2 million oocysts in an aqueous suspension and then placed in waste piles on two different farms and in soil within a cropped field on one farm. Controls consisted of purified oocysts in either phosphate-buffered saline or distilled water contained in sealed microcentrifuge tubes. Two microdata loggers recorded the ambient temperature at each field site. Sentinel experiments were conducted during the fall and winter (1996 to 1997) and winter (1998). Sentinel containers and controls were removed at 2- to 4-week intervals, and oocysts were extracted and tested by the dye permeability assay. The proportions of potentially infective oocysts exposed to the soil and waste pile material decreased more rapidly than their counterpart controls exposed to buffer or water, indicating that factors other than temperature affected oocyst inactivation in the waste piles and soil. The effect of soil freeze-thaw cycles was evident in the large proportion of empty sentinel oocysts. The potentially infective sentinel oocysts were reduced to <1% while the proportions in controls did not decrease below 50% potentially infective during the first field experiment. Microscopic observations of empty oocyst fragments indicated that abrasive effects of soil particles were a factor in oocyst inactivation. A similar pattern was observed in a second field experiment at the same site.

Pantoprazole blocks the JAK2/STAT3 pathway to alleviate skeletal muscle wasting in cancer cachexia by inhibiting inflammatory response

PubMed Central

Guo, Dunwei; Wang, Chaoyi; Wang, Qiang; Qiao, Zhongpeng; Tang, Hua

2017-01-01

Objective Cancer cachexia is often present in patients with advanced malignant tumors, and the subsequent body weight reduction results in poor quality of life. However, there has been no progress in developing effective clinical therapeutic strategies for skeletal muscle wasting in cancer cachexia. Herein, we explored the functions of pantoprazole on cancer cachexia skeletal muscle wasting. Methods The mouse colon adenocarcinoma cell line C26 was inoculated in the right forelimb of male BALB/C mice to establish a cancer cachexia model. The animals were treated with or without different concentrations of pantoprazole orally, and the body weight, tumor growth, spontaneous activity, and muscle functions were determined at various time points. Two weeks later, the levels of serum IL-6 and TNF-α, the mRNA levels of gastrocnemius JAK2 and STAT3, and the expression levels of p-JAK2, p-STAT3, Fbx32, and MuRF1 were examined with ELISA assay, qRT-PCR assay, and Western blotting, respectively. Further studies were performed to assess the levels of Fbx32 and MuRF1 expression and morphological changes. Results Pantoprazole can alleviate cancer cachexia-induced body weight reduction and inhibit skeletal muscle wasting in a dose-dependent manner. Our results indicated that pantoprazole treatment can decrease the levels of serum IL-6 and TNF-α (56.3% and 67.6%, respectively), and inhibit the activation of the JAK2/STAT3 signaling pathway. Moreover, the expression levels of MuRF1 and Fbx32 were also suppressed after pantoprazole treatment. Conclusion Our findings suggested that pantoprazole can alleviate cancer cachexia skeletal muscle wasting by inhibiting the inflammatory response and blocking the JAK2/STAT3 or ubiquitin proteasome pathway. PMID:28489606

Pantoprazole blocks the JAK2/STAT3 pathway to alleviate skeletal muscle wasting in cancer cachexia by inhibiting inflammatory response.

PubMed

Guo, Dunwei; Wang, Chaoyi; Wang, Qiang; Qiao, Zhongpeng; Tang, Hua

2017-06-13

Cancer cachexia is often present in patients with advanced malignant tumors, and the subsequent body weight reduction results in poor quality of life. However, there has been no progress in developing effective clinical therapeutic strategies for skeletal muscle wasting in cancer cachexia. Herein, we explored the functions of pantoprazole on cancer cachexia skeletal muscle wasting. The mouse colon adenocarcinoma cell line C26 was inoculated in the right forelimb of male BALB/C mice to establish a cancer cachexia model. The animals were treated with or without different concentrations of pantoprazole orally, and the body weight, tumor growth, spontaneous activity, and muscle functions were determined at various time points. Two weeks later, the levels of serum IL-6 and TNF-α, the mRNA levels of gastrocnemius JAK2 and STAT3, and the expression levels of p-JAK2, p-STAT3, Fbx32, and MuRF1 were examined with ELISA assay, qRT-PCR assay, and Western blotting, respectively. Further studies were performed to assess the levels of Fbx32 and MuRF1 expression and morphological changes. Pantoprazole can alleviate cancer cachexia-induced body weight reduction and inhibit skeletal muscle wasting in a dose-dependent manner. Our results indicated that pantoprazole treatment can decrease the levels of serum IL-6 and TNF-α (56.3% and 67.6%, respectively), and inhibit the activation of the JAK2/STAT3 signaling pathway. Moreover, the expression levels of MuRF1 and Fbx32 were also suppressed after pantoprazole treatment. Our findings suggested that pantoprazole can alleviate cancer cachexia skeletal muscle wasting by inhibiting the inflammatory response and blocking the JAK2/STAT3 or ubiquitin proteasome pathway.

The mixed low-level waste problem in BE/NWN capsule

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Hensley, D.C.

1999-07-01

The Boh Environmental, LLC (BE) and Northwest Nuclear, LLC (NWN) program addresses the problem of diminishing capacity in the United States to store mixed waste. A lack of an alternative program has caused the US Department of Energy (DOE) to indefinitely store all of its mixed waste in Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) compliant storage facilities. Unfortunately, this capacity is fast approaching the administrative control limit. The combination of unique BE encapsulation and NWN waste characterization technologies provides an effective solution to DOE's mixed-waste dilemma. The BE ARROW-PAK technique encapsulates mixed low-level waste (MLLW) in extra-high molecular weight, high-densitymore » polyethylene, pipe-grade resin cylinders. ARROW-PAK applications include waste treatment, disposal, transportation (per 49 CFR 173), vault encasement, and interim/long-term storage for 100 to 300 yr. One of the first demonstrations of this treatment/storage technique successfully treated 880 mixed-waste debris drums at the DOE Hanford Site in 1997. NWN, deploying the APNea neutron assay technology, provides the screening and characterization capability necessary to ensure that radioactive waste is correctly categorized as either transuranic (TRU) or LLW. MLLW resulting from D and D activities conducted at the Oak Ridge East Tennessee Technology Park will be placed into ARROW-PAK containers following comprehensive characterization of the waste by NWN. The characterized and encapsulated waste will then be shipped to a commercial disposal facility, where the shipments meet all waste acceptance criteria of the disposal facility including treatment criteria.« less

75 FR 38124 - In the Matter of Certain Foldable Stools; Notice of a Commission Determination Not To Review an...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2010-07-01

...; Kikkerland Design, Inc. of New York, New York; Buy.com of Aliso Viejo, California; LTD Commodities, LLC, d/b/a abc Distributing of Bannockburn, Illinois; Euromarket Designs, Inc., d/b/a Crate & Barrel of..., as amended, 19 U.S.C. 1337, and in Sec. Sec. 210.21 and 210.42(h) of the Commission's of Practice and...

Real Time Control of the SSC String Magnets

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Calvo, O.; Flora, R.; MacPherson, M.

1987-08-01

The system described in this paper, called SECAR, was designed to control the excitation of a test string of magnets for the proposed Superconducting Super Collider (SSC) and will be used to upgrade the present Tevatron Excitation, Control and Regulation (TECAR) hardware and software . It resides in a VME crate and is controlled by a 68020/68881 based CPU running the application software under a real time operating system named VRTX.

Single shot FASTBUS sequencer

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ikeda, H.

1989-10-01

A description is given of a single-shot sequencer, a FASTBUS master module that can execute only a predetermined FASTBUS WRITE operation. The execution cycle is directly activated by an external signal. The module is a single-width auxiliary card mounted on a rear slot adjacent to the crate ancillary card. The application of the module to the TOPAZ data acquisition system of TRISTAN is discussed, and the circuit itself is described.

KSC-06pd2792

NASA Image and Video Library

2006-12-11

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- At Astrotech Space Operations in Titusville, Fla., one of the probes of the THEMIS spacecraft is revealed after the crate and cover were removed. THEMIS, which stands for Time History of Events and Macroscale Interactions during Substorms, comprises five identical probes that will study the dynamic and colorful eruptions of auroras. THEMIS is scheduled to launch Feb. 15 from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. Photo credit: NASA/George Shelton

KSC-06pd2793

NASA Image and Video Library

2006-12-11

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- At Astrotech Space Operations in Titusville, Fla., one of the probes of the THEMIS spacecraft is revealed after the crate and cover were removed. THEMIS, which stands for Time History of Events and Macroscale Interactions during Substorms, comprises five identical probes that will study the dynamic and colorful eruptions of auroras. THEMIS is scheduled to launch Feb. 15 from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. Photo credit: NASA/George Shelton

New data acquisition system for the focal plane polarimeter of the Grand Raiden spectrometer

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Tamii, A.; Sakaguchi, H.; Takeda, H.

1996-10-01

This paper describes a new data acquisition system for the focal plane polarimeter of the Grand Raiden spectrometer at the Research Center for Nuclear Physics (RCNP) in Osaka, Japan. Data are acquired by a Creative Electronic Systems (CES) Starburst, which is a CAMAC auxiliary crate controller equipped with a Digital Equipment Corporation (DEC) J11 microprocessor., The data on the Starburst are transferred to a VME single-board computer. A VME reflective memory module broadcasts the data to other systems through a fiber-optic link. A data transfer rate of 2.0 Mbytes/s between VME modules has been achieved by reflective memories. This ratemore » includes the overhead of buffer management. The overall transfer rate, however, is limited by the performance of the Starburst to about 160 Kbytes/s at maximum. In order to further improve the system performance, the authors developed a new readout module called the Rapid Data Transfer Module (RDTM). RDTM`s transfer data from LeCroy PCOS III`s or 4298`s, and FERA/FERET`s directly to CES 8170 High Speed Memories (HSM) in VME crates. The data transfer rate of the RDTM from PCOS III`s to the HSM is about 4 Mbytes/s.« less

X-ray computed tomography comparison of individual and parallel assembled commercial lithium iron phosphate batteries at end of life after high rate cycling

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Carter, Rachel; Huhman, Brett; Love, Corey T.; Zenyuk, Iryna V.

2018-03-01

X-ray computed tomography (X-ray CT) across multiple length scales is utilized for the first time to investigate the physical abuse of high C-rate pulsed discharge on cells wired individually and in parallel.. Manufactured lithium iron phosphate cells boasting high rate capability were pulse power tested in both wiring conditions with high discharge currents of 10C for a high number of cycles (up to 1200) until end of life (<80% of initial discharge capacity retained). The parallel assembly reached end of life more rapidly for reasons unknown prior to CT investigations. The investigation revealed evidence of overdischarge in the most degraded cell from the parallel assembly, compared to more traditional failure in the individual cell. The parallel-wired cell exhibited dissolution of copper from the anode current collector and subsequent deposition throughout the separator near the cathode of the cell. This overdischarge-induced copper deposition, notably impossible to confirm with other state of health (SOH) monitoring methods, is diagnosed using CT by rendering the interior current collector without harm or alteration to the active materials. Correlation of CT observations to the electrochemical pulse data from the parallel-wired cells reveals the risk of parallel wiring during high C-rate pulse discharge.

RF control hardware design for CYCIAE-100 cyclotron

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yin, Zhiguo; Fu, Xiaoliang; Ji, Bin; Zhao, Zhenlu; Zhang, Tianjue; Li, Pengzhan; Wei, Junyi; Xing, Jiansheng; Wang, Chuan

2015-11-01

The Beijing Radioactive Ion-beam Facility project is being constructed by BRIF division of China Institute of Atomic Energy. In this project, a 100 MeV high intensity compact proton cyclotron is built for multiple applications. The first successful beam extraction of CYCIAE-100 cyclotron was done in the middle of 2014. The extracted proton beam energy is 100 MeV and the beam current is more than 20 μA. The RF system of the CYCIAE-100 cyclotron includes two half-wavelength cavities, two 100 kW tetrode amplifiers and power transmission line systems (all above are independent from each other) and two sets of Low Level RF control crates. Each set of LLRF control includes an amplitude control unit, a tuning control unit, a phase control unit, a local Digital Signal Process control unit and an Advanced RISC Machines based EPICS IOC unit. These two identical LLRF control crates share one common reference clock and take advantages of modern digital technologies (e.g. DSP and Direct Digital Synthesizer) to achieve closed loop voltage and phase regulations of the dee-voltage. In the beam commission, the measured dee-voltage stability of RF system is better than 0.1% and phase stability is better than 0.03°. The hardware design of the LLRF system will be reviewed in this paper.

Using Acceleration Data to Automatically Detect the Onset of Farrowing in Sows.

PubMed

Traulsen, Imke; Scheel, Christoph; Auer, Wolfgang; Burfeind, Onno; Krieter, Joachim

2018-01-10

The aim of the present study was to automatically predict the onset of farrowing in crate-confined sows. (1) Background: Automatic tools are appropriate to support animal surveillance under practical farming conditions. (2) Methods: In three batches, sows in one farrowing compartment of the Futterkamp research farm were equipped with an ear sensor to sample acceleration. As a reference video, recordings of the sows were used. A classical CUSUM chart using different acceleration indices of various distribution characteristics with several scenarios were compared. (3) Results: The increase of activity mainly due to nest building behavior before the onset of farrowing could be detected with the sow individual CUSUM chart. The best performance required a statistical distribution characteristic that represented fluctuations in the signal (for example, 1st variation) combined with a transformation of this parameter by cumulating differences in the signal within certain time periods from one day to another. With this transformed signal, farrowing sows could reliably be detected. For 100% or 85% of the sows, an alarm was given within 48 or 12 h before the onset of farrowing. (4) Conclusions: Acceleration measurements in the ear of a sow are suitable for detecting the onset of farrowing in individually housed sows in commercial farrowing crates.

Integrated tests of a high speed VXS switch card and 250 MSPS flash ADCs

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

H. Dong, C. Cuevas, D. Curry, E. Jastrzembski, F. Barbosa, J. Wilson, M. Taylor, B. Raydo

2008-01-01

High trigger rate nuclear physics experiments proposed for the 12 GeV upgrade at the Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Facility create a need for new high speed digital systems for energy summing. Signals from electronic detectors will be captured with the Jefferson Lab FADC module, which collects and processes data from 16 charged particle sensors with 10 or 12 bit resolution at 250 MHz sample rate. Up to sixteen FADC modules transfer energy information to a central energy summing module for each readout crate. The sums from the crates are combined to form a global energy sum that is used tomore » trigger data readout for all modules. The Energy Sum module and FADC modules have been designed using the VITA-41 VME64 switched serial (VXS) standard. The VITA- 41 standard defines payload and switch slot module functions, and offers an elegant engineered solution for Multi-Gigabit serial transmission on a standard VITA-41 backplane. The Jefferson Lab Energy Sum module receives data serially at a rate of up to 6 Giga-bits per second from the FADC modules. Both FADC and Energy Sum modules have been designed and assembled and this paper describes the integrated tests using both high speed modules in unison« less

Anaerobic co-digestion of commercial food waste and dairy manure: Characterizing biochemical parameters and synergistic effects.

PubMed

Ebner, Jacqueline H; Labatut, Rodrigo A; Lodge, Jeffrey S; Williamson, Anahita A; Trabold, Thomas A

2016-06-01

Anaerobic digestion of commercial food waste is a promising alternative to landfilling commercial food waste. This study characterized 11 types of commercial food wastes and 12 co-digestion blends. Bio-methane potential, biodegradable fraction, and apparent first-order hydrolysis rate coefficients were reported based upon biochemical methane potential (BMP) assays. Food waste bio-methane potentials ranged from 165 to 496 mL CH4/g VS. Substrates high in lipids or readily degradable carbohydrates showed the highest methane production. Average bio-methane potential observed for co-digested substrates was -5% to +20% that of the bio-methane potential of the individual substrates weighted by VS content. Apparent hydrolysis rate coefficients ranged from 0.19d(-1) to 0.65d(-1). Co-digested substrates showed an accelerated apparent hydrolysis rate relative to the weighted average of individual substrate rates. These results provide a database of key bio-digestion parameters to advance modeling and utilization of commercial food waste in anaerobic digestion. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Bread enriched in lycopene and other bioactive compounds by addition of dry tomato waste.

PubMed

Nour, Violeta; Ionica, Mira Elena; Trandafir, Ion

2015-12-01

The tomato processing industry generates high amounts of waste, mainly tomato skins and seeds, which create environmental problems. These residues are attractive sources of valuable bioactive components and pigments. A relatively simple recovery technology could consist of production of powders to be directly incorporated into foods. Tomato waste coming from a Romanian tomato processing unit were analyzed for the content of several bioactive compounds like ascorbic acid, β-carotene, lycopene, total phenolics, mineral and trace elements. In addition, its antioxidant capacity was assayed. Results revealed that tomato waste (skins and seeds) could be successfully utilized as functional ingredient for the formulation of antioxidant rich functional foods. Dry tomato processing waste were used to supplement wheat flour at 6 and 10 % levels (w/w flour basis) and the effects on the bread's physicochemical, baking and sensorial characteristics were studied. The following changes were observed: increase in moisture content, titratable acidity and bread crumb elasticity, reduction in specific volume and bread crumb porosity. The addition of dry tomato waste at 6 % resulted in bread with good sensory characteristics and overall acceptability but as the amount of dry tomato waste increased to 10 %, bread was less acceptable.

Two Virus Based Endocrine Disruptor Assays Effective Across Vertebrate Classes.

EPA Science Inventory

The presence of hormone mimics, or endocrine disrupting compounds (EDC’s), in the environment are increasing. Sources range from agricultural run–off, pharmaceuticals in waste water, to industrial operations. Current levels of contamination are sufficient to alter sexual develo...

Quantitative CrAssphage PCR Assays for Human Fecal Pollution Measurement

EPA Science Inventory

Environmental waters are monitored for fecal pollution to protect public health and water resources. Traditionally, general fecal indicator bacteria are used; however, they cannot distinguish human fecal waste from pollution from other animals. Recently, a novel bacteriophage, cr...

The use of spent mushroom compost to enhance the ability of Atriplex halimus to phytoremediate contaminated mine soils.

PubMed

Frutos, Iván; García-Delgado, Carlos; Cala, Victoria; Gárate, Agustin; Eymar, Enrique

2017-05-01

The mushroom cultivation industry produces a huge amount of spent mushroom compost (SMC), a wide world agricultural organic waste which causes serious environmental problems. However, this cheap organic waste could be useful in the remediation of contaminated soils. The aim of this work was to assess the potential of SMC in combination with the native shrub Atriplex halimus, to phytoremediate two mine soils contaminated with Cd, Pb and Cu. Firstly, to minimize metal availability in the soil, the optimal doses of SMC were determined. Secondly, a phytoremediation assay in greenhouse conditions was carried out to test the effects of A. halimus in combination with SMC at different doses. The results showed the ability of SMC to reduce soil acidity, the mobility of the metals and the enhancement of A. halimus growth. SMC promoted metal immobilization in the root of A. halimus and decreased the translocation from the roots to the shoots. The combination of SMC amendment and A. halimus produced phytostabilization of the metals in the mine soils assayed. In conclusion, SMC represents an adequate organic solid waste which in combination with A. halimus can reduce the adverse impact caused by the high mobility of metals in acid mine soils.

Antemortem detection of chronic wasting disease prions in nasal brush collections and rectal biopsies from white-tailed deer by real time quaking-induced conversion

USGS Publications Warehouse

Haley, Nicholas J.; Siepker, Chris; Walter, W. David; Thomsen, Bruce V.; Greenlee, Justin J.; Lehmkuhl, Aaron D.; Richt, Jürgen a.

2016-01-01

Chronic wasting disease (CWD), a transmissible spongiform encephalopathy of cervids, was first documented nearly 50 years ago in Colorado and Wyoming and has since spread to cervids in 23 states, two Canadian provinces, and the Republic of Korea. The expansion of this disease makes the development of sensitive diagnostic assays and antemortem sampling techniques crucial for the mitigation of its spread; this is especially true in cases of relocation/reintroduction of farmed or free-ranging deer and elk or surveillance studies of private or protected herds, where depopulation is contraindicated. This study sought to evaluate the sensitivity of the real-time quaking-induced conversion (RT-QuIC) assay by using recto-anal mucosa-associated lymphoid tissue (RAMALT) biopsy specimens and nasal brush samples collected antemortem from farmed white-tailed deer (n = 409). Antemortem findings were then compared to results from ante- and postmortem samples (RAMALT, brainstem, and medial retropharyngeal lymph nodes) evaluated by using the current gold standard in vitro assay, immunohistochemistry (IHC) analysis. We hypothesized that the sensitivity of RT-QuIC would be comparable to IHC analysis in antemortem tissues and would correlate with both the genotype and the stage of clinical disease. Our results showed that RAMALT testing by RT-QuIC assay had the highest sensitivity (69.8%) compared to that of postmortem testing, with a specificity of >93.9%. These data suggest that RT-QuIC, like IHC analysis, is an effective assay for detection of PrPCWD in rectal biopsy specimens and other antemortem samples and, with further research to identify more sensitive tissues, bodily fluids, or experimental conditions, has potential for large-scale and rapid automated testing for CWD diagnosis.

Management of Electronic Test Equipment. Volume 4. DoD Policy.

DTIC Science & Technology

1986-07-01

sources of supply , the PIL should not mandate sole source dependenc . but rather limit the variety to a minimum of two items. To clarify the controversy...equipment/ supplies on-hand, equipment readiness, and training. The resource area C-ratings are based on stated criteria. The criteria for equipment...respectively). The UNITREP leaves it up to the Military Services whether to include test equipment in the equipment/ supplies on-hand resource area. Although

Rechargeable sodium all-solid-state battery

DOE PAGES

Zhou, Weidong; Li, Yutao; Xin, Sen; ...

2017-01-03

A reversible plating/stripping of a dendrite-free metallic-sodium anode with a reduced anode/ceramic interfacial resistance is created by a thin interfacial interlayer formed in situ or by the introduction of a dry polymer film. Wetting of the sodium on the interfacial interlayer suppresses dendrite formation and growth at different discharge/charge C-rates. Furthermore, all-solid-state batteries were obtained with a high cycling stability and Coulombic efficiency at 65 °C.

High Efficiency Flexible Battery Based on Graphene-carbon Nanotube Hybrid Structure

DTIC Science & Technology

2015-02-26

Publications: 1. Multi Layered Si-CuO Quantum Dots Wrapped by Graphene for High-Performance Anode Material in Lithium - Ion Battery , B. Rangasamy, J. Hwang, W...at different C-rates. Task III. High capacity and excellent stability of lithium ion battery anode using interface- controlled binder-free MWCNT...Material in Lithium - Ion Battery Various approaches to improve the efficiency of Lithium ion batteries (LiB) by using Si have been suggested

2007 Combat Vehicles Conference - Today’s Challenges: Fighting, Sustaining, Modernizing and Transforming

DTIC Science & Technology

2007-10-24

Programs) 1 . FCS MULE .wmv format 2. FCS NLOS Crate Of Fire .wmv format 3. FCS Robotic Convoy .wmv format 4. FCS...included in these sessions will be two “back by popular demand” highlights from previous conferences: 1 ) an update on combat operations in iraq from...15 am - 11:30 am general session general sessiOn - sessiOn 1 : “today’s challenges: fighting, sustaining, modernizing and transforming

NOAA-L satellite arrives at Vandenberg AFB

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

2000-01-01

A crated National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA-L) satellite arrives at Vandenberg Air Force Base, Calif. It is part of the Polar-Orbiting Operational Environmental Satellite (POES) program that provides atmospheric measurements of temperature, humidity, ozone and cloud images, tracking weather patterns that affect the global weather and climate. The launch of the NOAA-L satellite is scheduled no earlier than Sept. 12 aboard a Lockheed Martin Titan II rocket. Fires. October-December 08

DTIC Science & Technology

2008-10-01

COL David J. Brost and LTC Richard A. McConnell, both FA 14 excalibur: A New Precision engagement Asset in the Warfighter’s toolkit By LTC Noel D...constitutes neither affirmation of their accuracy nor product endorsements. By Order of the Secretary of the Army: George W. casey Jr. General... Brost and LTC Richard A. McConnell, both FA FA and economic Development in iraq: One Chicken at a Time An Iraqi man unloads crates of chicks in Arab

Rechargeable Sodium All-Solid-State Battery

PubMed Central

2017-01-01

A reversible plating/stripping of a dendrite-free metallic-sodium anode with a reduced anode/ceramic interfacial resistance is created by a thin interfacial interlayer formed in situ or by the introduction of a dry polymer film. Wetting of the sodium on the interfacial interlayer suppresses dendrite formation and growth at different discharge/charge C-rates. All-solid-state batteries were obtained with a high cycling stability and Coulombic efficiency at 65 °C. PMID:28149953

Development of Isothermal Recombinase Polymerase Amplification Assay for Rapid Detection of Porcine Circovirus Type 2.

PubMed

Yang, Yang; Qin, Xiaodong; Sun, Yingjun; Cong, Guozheng; Li, Yanmin; Zhang, Zhidong

2017-01-01

Porcine circovirus virus type II (PCV2) is the etiology of postweaning multisystemic wasting syndrome (PMWS), porcine dermatitis, nephropathy syndrome (PDNS), and necrotizing pneumonia. Rapid diagnosis tool for detection of PCV2 plays an important role in the disease control and eradication program. Recombinase polymerase amplification (RPA) assays using a real-time fluorescent detection (PCV2 real-time RPA assay) and RPA combined with lateral flow dipstick (PCV2 RPA LFD assay) were developed targeting the PCV2 ORF2 gene. The results showed that the sensitivity of the PCV2 real-time RPA assay was 10 2 copies per reaction within 20 min at 37°C and the PCV2 RPA LFD assay had a detection limit of 10 2 copies per reaction in less than 20 min at 37°C. Both assays were highly specific for PCV2, with no cross-reactions with porcine circovirus virus type 1, foot-and-mouth disease virus, pseudorabies virus, porcine parvovirus, porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome virus, and classical swine fever virus. Therefore, the RPA assays provide a novel alternative for simple, sensitive, and specific identification of PCV2.

Development of Isothermal Recombinase Polymerase Amplification Assay for Rapid Detection of Porcine Circovirus Type 2

PubMed Central

Yang, Yang; Qin, Xiaodong; Sun, Yingjun; Cong, Guozheng; Li, Yanmin

2017-01-01

Porcine circovirus virus type II (PCV2) is the etiology of postweaning multisystemic wasting syndrome (PMWS), porcine dermatitis, nephropathy syndrome (PDNS), and necrotizing pneumonia. Rapid diagnosis tool for detection of PCV2 plays an important role in the disease control and eradication program. Recombinase polymerase amplification (RPA) assays using a real-time fluorescent detection (PCV2 real-time RPA assay) and RPA combined with lateral flow dipstick (PCV2 RPA LFD assay) were developed targeting the PCV2 ORF2 gene. The results showed that the sensitivity of the PCV2 real-time RPA assay was 102 copies per reaction within 20 min at 37°C and the PCV2 RPA LFD assay had a detection limit of 102 copies per reaction in less than 20 min at 37°C. Both assays were highly specific for PCV2, with no cross-reactions with porcine circovirus virus type 1, foot-and-mouth disease virus, pseudorabies virus, porcine parvovirus, porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome virus, and classical swine fever virus. Therefore, the RPA assays provide a novel alternative for simple, sensitive, and specific identification of PCV2. PMID:28424790

Biomethanation potential of macroalgae Ulva spp. and Gracilaria spp. and in co-digestion with waste activated sludge.

PubMed

Costa, J C; Gonçalves, P R; Nobre, A; Alves, M M

2012-06-01

Biochemical methane potential of four species of Ulva and Gracilaria genus was assessed in batch assays at mesophilic temperature. The results indicate a higher specific methane production (per volatile solids) for one of the Ulva sp. compared with other macroalgae and for tests running with 2.5% of total solids (196±9 L CH(4) kg(-1)VS). Considering that macroalgae can potentially be a post treatment of municipal wastewater for nutrients removal, co-digestion of macroalgae with waste activated sludge (WAS) was assessed. The co-digestion of macroalgae (15%) with WAS (85%) is feasible at a rate of methane production 26% higher than WAS alone without decreasing the overall biodegradability of the substrate (42-45% methane yield). The use of anoxic marine sediment as inoculum had no positive effect on the methane production in batch assays. The limiting step of the overall anaerobic digestion process was the hydrolysis. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Metrological tests of a 200 L calibration source for HPGE detector systems for assay of radioactive waste drums.

PubMed

Boshkova, T; Mitev, K

2016-03-01

In this work we present test procedures, approval criteria and results from two metrological inspections of a certified large volume (152)Eu source (drum about 200L) intended for calibration of HPGe gamma assay systems used for activity measurement of radioactive waste drums. The aim of the inspections was to prove the stability of the calibration source during its working life. The large volume source was designed and produced in 2007. It consists of 448 identical sealed radioactive sources (modules) apportioned in 32 transparent plastic tubes which were placed in a wooden matrix which filled the drum. During the inspections the modules were subjected to tests for verification of their certified characteristics. The results show a perfect compliance with the NIST basic guidelines for the properties of a radioactive certified reference material (CRM) and demonstrate the stability of the large volume CRM-drum after 7 years of operation. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Interlaboratory comparison program for nondestructive assay of prototype uranium reference materials

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Trahey, N.M.; Smith, M.M.; Voeks, A.M.

The US Department of Energy (DOE), New Brunswick Laboratory (NBS), designed and administered an interlaboratory comparison program based on the measurement of NBL-produced prototype uranium nondestructive assay (NDA) reference materials for scrap and waste. The objectives of the program were to evaluate the reliability of NDA techniques as applied to nuclear safeguards materials control and accountability needs and to investigate the feasibility of providing practical NDA scrap and waste reference materials for use throughout the nuclear safeguards community. Fourteen facilities representing seven DOE contractors, four US Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) licensees, one EURATOM Laboratory, and NBL, participated in this program.more » Three stable, well-characterized uranium reference materials were developed and certified for this program. Synthetic calcined ash, cellulose fiber, and ion-exchange resin simulate selected uranium scrap and waste forms which are often encountered in fabrication and recovery operations. The synthetic calcined ash represents an intermediate density inorganic matrix while the cellulose fiber and ion-exchange resin are representative of low-density organic matrices. The materials, containing from 0 to 13% uranium enriched at 93% /sup 235/U, were sealed in specially selected containers. Nineteen prototype reference samples, plus three empty containers, one to accompany each set, was circulated to the participants between August 1979 and May 1984. Triplicate measurements for /sup 235/U on each of the 19 filled containers were required. In addition, participants could opt to perform modular configuration measurements using containers from Sets IIA and IIB to simulate non-homogeneously dispersed uranium in waste containers. All data were reported to NBL for evaluation.« less

Chemical and Biological Investigation of Olive Mill Waste Water - OMWW Secoiridoid Lactones.

PubMed

Vougogiannopoulou, Konstantina; Angelopoulou, Maria T; Pratsinis, Harris; Grougnet, Raphaël; Halabalaki, Maria; Kletsas, Dimitris; Deguin, Brigitte; Skaltsounis, Leandros A

2015-08-01

Olive mill waste water is the major byproduct of the olive oil industry containing a range of compounds related to Olea europaea and olive oil constituents. Olive mill waste water comprises an important environmental problem in olive oil producing countries, but it is also a valuable material for the isolation of high added value compounds. In this study, an attempt to investigate the secoiridoid content of olive mill waste water is described with the aid of ultrahigh-performance liquid chromatography-electrospray ionization (±)-high-resolution mass spectrometry and centrifugal partition chromatography methods. In total, seven secoiridoid lactones were isolated, four of which are new natural products. This is the first time that a conjugate of hydroxytyrosol and a secoiridoid lactone has been isolated from olive mill waste water and structurally characterized. Furthermore, the range of isolated compounds allowed for the proposal of a hypothesis for the biotransformation of olive secoiridoids during the production of olive mill waste water. Finally, the ability of the representative compounds to reduce the intracellular reactive oxygen species was assessed with the dichlorofluorescein assay in conjunction with the known antioxidant agent hydroxytyrosol. Georg Thieme Verlag KG Stuttgart · New York.

Performance of NDA techniques on a vitrified waste form

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Hurd, J.R.; Veazey, G.W.; Prettyman, T.H.

1997-11-01

Rocky Flats Environmental Technology Site (RFETS) is currently considering the use of vitrified transuranic (TRU)-waste forms for the final disposition of several waste materials. To date, however, little nondestructive assay (NDA) data have been acquired in the general NDA community to assist in this endeavor. This paper describes the efforts to determine constraints and operating parameters for using NDA instrumentation on vitrified waste. The present study was conducted on a sample composed of a plutonium-contaminated ash, similar to that found in the RFETS inventory, and a borosilicate-based glass. The vitrified waste item was fabricated at Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL)more » using methods and equipment similar to those being proposed by RFETS to treat their ash material. The focus of this study centered on the segmented gamma scanner (SGS) with 1/2-inch collimation, a technique that is presently available at RFETS. The accuracy and precision of SGS technology was evaluated, with particular attention to bias issues involving matrix geometry, homogeneity, and attenuation. Tomographic gamma scanning was utilized in the determination of the waste form homogeneity. A thermal neutron technique was also investigated and comparisons made with the gamma results.« less

Effect of post-hatch transportation duration and parental age on broiler chicken quality, welfare, and productivity.

PubMed

Jacobs, Leonie; Delezie, Evelyne; Duchateau, Luc; Goethals, Klara; Ampe, Bart; Lambrecht, Evelien; Gellynck, Xavier; Tuyttens, Frank A M

2016-09-01

Broiler chicks are transported to production sites within one to 2 d post-hatch. Possible effects of this transportation are poorly understood and could vary among chicks from breeder flocks of different ages. The aim of the present study was to investigate the effects of transportation duration and parental flock age on chick welfare, productivity, and quality. After hatch in a commercial hatchery, 1,620 mixed-sex chicks from 29-wk old (young) and 1,620 chicks from 60-wk old (old) breeders were subjected to transportation of 1.5 h or 11 h duration. After transportation, 2,800 chicks were divided among 100 pens, with each pen containing 28 chicks from one transportation crate (2 or 3 pens per crate). From the remaining chicks, on average 6 chicks (min 4, max 8) per crate (n = 228) were randomly selected and assessed for chick quality, weighed, and culled for yolk sac weighing (one d). Chicks that had not been assigned to pens or were not used for post-transportation measurements, were removed from the experiment (n = 212). Mortality, ADG, BW, and feed conversion ( FC: ) of the experimental chicks were recorded until 41 d. Meat quality was measured for breast fillets (n = 47). No interaction effect of parental age and transportation duration was found for any variables. BW and yolk sac weight at one d were lower for chicks transported 11 h than 1.5 h and for chicks from young versus old breeders. The effect of parental flock age on BW persisted until slaughter. Additionally, parental age positively affected ADG until slaughter. Chick quality was lower in chicks from old versus young breeders. Chick quality and productivity were not affected by transportation duration. Mortality and meat quality were not affected by either parental age or transportation duration. To conclude, no long-term detrimental effects were found from long post-hatch transportation in chicks from young or old parent flocks. Based on these results, we suggest that 11 h post-hatch transportations under similar conditions do not impose long-term welfare or productivity risks. © The Author 2016. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Poultry Science Association.

Influence of hot exposure on 12-week-old turkey hen physiology, welfare, and meat quality and 16-week-old turkey tom core body temperature when crated at transport density.

PubMed

Vermette, C J; Henrikson, Z A; Schwean-Lardner, K V; Crowe, T G

2017-09-01

The influence of hot conditions on 12-week-old turkey hens and 16-week-old toms while crated at transport density was evaluated. Forty-eight hens and 48 toms (8 birds per flock × 3 flocks × 2 humidity levels) were used in neutral treatments (trt; 20°C), and 16 hens and 16 toms (8 birds per flock × 1 flock × 2 humidity levels) were used in the hot trt (35°C). Birds were placed in crates at a transport stocking density of approximately 83 kg/m2, then inside a pre-conditioned chamber for 8 hours. Live shrink, core body temperature (CBT), heterophil/lymphocyte (H/L) ratio, and breast and thigh pH and color were recorded. Differences were declared significant at P ≤ 0.05. Live shrink after exposure to the 35°C trt (4.92%) was greater (P < 0.0001) than when birds were exposed to 20°C (1.48%). The 35°C trt (P < 0.0001) had higher Δ CBT (final minus initial) compared to the 20°C trt. The 35°C trt also caused higher (P < 0.0001) H/L ratio, 4.07 vs. 1.57 for the 20°C trt. Breast (P = 0.0110) and thigh pH levels (P < 0.0001) measured 27 h postmortem were lower for the 35°C trt at 5.64 and 5.73 compared to the 20°C trt at 5.70 and 5.92, respectively. Breast meat from birds exposed to 35°C was darker (P < 0.0001), while the color of thigh meat was unaffected. Toms quickly became distressed in the hot conditions, forcing those tests to be aborted. Only CBT data were analyzed. The CBT increased at a mean rate of 0.09°C/min for hens at both RH levels, while the CBT of toms increased at 0.12 and 0.18°C/min when exposed to 35°C, 30%; and 35°C, 80%, respectively. Exposure to hot temperatures caused higher CBT, greater live shrink, and greater H/L ratio. Toms were more greatly affected than hens to the hot trt, with CBT increasing at a greater rate. © 2017 Poultry Science Association Inc.

Dietary resveratrol supplementation prevents transport-stress-impaired meat quality of broilers through maintaining muscle energy metabolism and antioxidant status

PubMed Central

Zhang, C.; Wang, L.; Zhao, X. H.; Chen, X. Y.; Yang, L.; Geng, Z. Y.

2017-01-01

Abstract This experiment was to evaluate the effect of dietary resveratrol (Res) supplementation (0, 400 mg/kg) on growth performance, meat quality, and muscle anaerobic glycolysis and antioxidant capacity of transported broilers. A total of 360 21-day-old male Cobb broilers was randomly allotted to 2 dietary treatments (Res-free group and Res group) with 12 replicates of 15 birds each. On the morning of d 42, after a 9-hour fast, 24 birds (2 birds of each replicate) were selected from the Res-free group and then equally placed into 2 crates, and the other 12 birds (one bird of each replicate) were selected from the Res group and then placed into the other crate. All birds in the 3 crates were transported according to the following protocols: 0-hour transport of birds in the Res-free group (control group), 3-hour transport of birds in the Res-free group (T group), and 3-hour transport of birds in the Res group (T + Res group). The results showed that Res not only improved feed conversion ratio (P < 0.05) but also tended to improve birds’ final body weight (P < 0.10). In the Res-free group, a 3-hour transport increased serum corticosterone concentration, muscle malondialdehyde (MDA) and lactate contents, and muscle lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) activity, while it decreased muscle glycogen content, total superoxide dismutase (T-SOD), and glutathione peroxidase (GSH-PX) activities (P < 0.05), which induced decreased breast meat quality (lower pH24h and higher drip loss and L*24 h, P < 0.05). Nevertheless, compared with the T group, Res increased muscle glycogen content and T-SOD and GSH-PX activities (P < 0.05 or P < 0.10), while it decreased muscle MDA content and LDH activity (P < 0.05), which is beneficial to the meat quality maintenance of transported broilers (lower drip loss, L*24 h, and higher pH24h, P < 0.05 or P < 0.10). This study provides the first evidence that dietary resveratrol supplementation prevents transport-stress-impaired meat quality of broilers, possibly through decreasing the muscle anaerobic glycolysis metabolism and improving the muscle antioxidant capacity. PMID:28339929

Validated electrochemical and chromatographic quantifications of some antibiotic residues in pharmaceutical industrial waste water.

PubMed

Ibrahim, Heba K; Abdel-Moety, Mona M; Abdel-Gawad, Sherif A; Al-Ghobashy, Medhat A; Kawy, Mohamed Abdel

2017-03-01

Realistic implementation of ion selective electrodes (ISEs) into environmental monitoring programs has always been a challenging task. This could be largely attributed to difficulties in validation of ISE assay results. In this study, the electrochemical response of amoxicillin trihydrate (AMX), ciprofloxacin hydrochloride (CPLX), trimethoprim (TMP), and norfloxacin (NFLX) was studied by the fabrication of sensitive membrane electrodes belonging to two types of ISEs, which are polyvinyl chloride (PVC) membrane electrodes and glassy carbon (GC) electrodes. Linear response for the membrane electrodes was in the concentration range of 10 -5 -10 -2  mol/L. For the PVC membrane electrodes, Nernstian slopes of 55.1, 56.5, 56.5, and 54.0 mV/decade were achieved over a pH 4-8 for AMX, CPLX, and NFLX, respectively, and pH 3-6 for TMP. On the other hand, for GC electrodes, Nernstian slopes of 59.1, 58.2, 57.0, and 58.2 mV/decade were achieved over pH 4-8 for AMX, CPLX, and NFLX, respectively, and pH 3-6 for TMP. In addition to assay validation to international industry standards, the fabricated electrodes were also cross-validated relative to conventional separation techniques; high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC), and thin layer chromatography (TLC)-densitometry. The HPLC assay was applied in concentration range of 0.5-10.0 μg/mL, for all target analytes. The TLC-densitometry was adopted over a concentration range of 0.3-1.0 μg/band, for AMX, and 0.1-0.9 μg/band, for CPLX, NFLX, and TMP. The proposed techniques were successfully applied for quantification of the selected drugs either in pure form or waste water samples obtained from pharmaceutical plants. The actual waste water samples were subjected to solid phase extraction (SPE) for pretreatment prior to the application of chromatographic techniques (HPLC and TLC-densitometry). On the other hand, the fabricated electrodes were successfully applied for quantification of the antibiotic residues in actual waste water samples without any pretreatment. This finding assures the suitability of the fabricated ISEs for environmental analysis.

Two High Throughput Screen Assays for Measurement of TNF-α in THP-1 Cells

PubMed Central

Leister, Kristin P; Huang, Ruili; Goodwin, Bonnie L; Chen, Andrew; Austin, Christopher P; Xia, Menghang

2011-01-01

Tumor Necrosis Factor-α (TNF-α), a secreted cytokine, plays an important role in inflammatory diseases and immune disorders, and is a potential target for drug development. The traditional assays for detecting TNF-α, enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) and radioimmunoassay, are not suitable for the large size compound screens. Both assays suffer from a complicated protocol, multiple plate wash steps and/or excessive radioactive waste. A simple and quick measurement of TNF-α production in a cell based assay is needed for high throughput screening to identify the lead compounds from the compound library. We have developed and optimized two homogeneous TNF-α assays using the HTRF (homogeneous time resolved fluorescence) and AlphaLISA assay formats. We have validated the HTRF based TNF-α assay in a 1536-well plate format by screening a library of 1280 pharmacologically active compounds. The active compounds identified from the screen were confirmed in the AlphaLISA TNF-α assay using a bead-based technology. These compounds were also confirmed in a traditional ELISA assay. From this study, several beta adrenergic agonists have been identified as TNF-α inhibitors. We also identified several novel inhibitors of TNF-α, such as BTO-1, CCG-2046, ellipticine, and PD 169316. The results demonstrated that both homogeneous TNF-α assays are robust and suitable for high throughput screening. PMID:21643507

Treatment of supermarket vegetable wastes to be used as alternative substrates in bioprocesses.

PubMed

Díaz, Ana Isabel; Laca, Amanda; Laca, Adriana; Díaz, Mario

2017-09-01

Fruits and vegetables have the highest wastage rates at retail and consumer levels. These wastes have promising potential for being used as substrates in bioprocesses. However, an effective hydrolysis of carbohydrates that form these residues has to be developed before the biotransformation. In this work, vegetable wastes from supermarket (tomatoes, green peppers and potatoes) have been separately treated by acid, thermal and enzymatic hydrolysis processes in order to maximise the concentration of fermentable sugars in the final broth. For all substrates, thermal and enzymatic processes have shown to be the most effective. A new combined hydrolysis procedure including these both treatments was also assayed and the enzymatic step was successfully modelled. With this combined hydrolysis, the percentage of reducing sugars extracted was increased, in comparison with the amount extracted from non-hydrolysed samples, approximately by 30% in the case of tomato and green peeper wastes. For potato wastes this percentage increased from values lower than 1% to 77%. In addition, very low values of fermentation inhibitors were found in the final broth. Copyright © 2017. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

SPORT-SPEAR Mark III Electronics (Engineering Materials)

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Not Available

The Drawing List DL 135-678-00-RO and the drawings listed thereon provide the specifications for construction of the SPORT-SPEAR Mark III Electronics. SPORT stands for Smark Port. This device is an adapter for the SLAC BADC (Brilliant Analog to Digital Converter) providing up to 5 ports whereas the BADC and SPORT takes signals from experimental equipment and directs them to other equipment and micro computers for processing and storing. These units are housed in standard Camac crates.

KSC00vafbdig003

NASA Image and Video Library

2000-06-27

A crated National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA-L) satellite is moved inside the B16-10 spacecraft processing hangar at Vandenberg Air Force Base, Calif. NOAA-L is part of the Polar-Orbiting Operational Environmental Satellite (POES) program that provides atmospheric measurements of temperature, humidity, ozone and cloud images, tracking weather patterns that affect the global weather and climate. The launch of the NOAA-L satellite is scheduled no earlier than Sept. 12 aboard a Lockheed Martin Titan II rocket

A Decade of Progress toward Ending the Intensive Confinement of Farm Animals in the United States.

PubMed

Shields, Sara; Shapiro, Paul; Rowan, Andrew

2017-05-15

In this paper, the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) farm animal protection work over the preceding decade is described from the perspective of the organization. Prior to 2002, there were few legal protections for animals on the farm, and in 2005, a new campaign at the HSUS began to advance state ballot initiatives throughout the country, with a decisive advancement in California (Proposition 2) that paved the way for further progress. Combining legislative work with undercover farm and slaughterhouse investigations, litigation and corporate engagement, the HSUS and fellow animal protection organizations have made substantial progress in transitioning the veal, pork and egg industries away from intensive confinement systems that keep the animals in cages and crates. Investigations have become an important tool for demonstrating widespread inhumane practices, building public support and convincing the retail sector to publish meaningful animal welfare policies. While federal legislation protecting animals on the farm stalled, there has been steady state-by-state progress, and this is complemented by major brands such as McDonald's and Walmart pledging to purchase only from suppliers using cage-free and crate-free animal housing systems. The evolution of societal expectations regarding animals has helped propel the recent wave of progress and may also be driven, in part, by the work of animal protection organizations.

KSC-07pd1058

NASA Image and Video Library

2007-05-07

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- On Kennedy Space Center's Shuttle Landing Facility, the crated Phoenix spacecraft is maneuvered away from the U.S. Air Force C-17 Globemaster III that delivered it. The crate will be transported to the Payload Hazardous Servicing Facility. The Phoenix mission is the first project in NASA's first openly competed program of Mars Scout missions. Phoenix will land in icy soils near the north polar permanent ice cap of Mars and explore the history of the water in these soils and any associated rocks, while monitoring polar climate. Landing is planned in May 2008 on arctic ground where a mission currently in orbit, Mars Odyssey, has detected high concentrations of ice just beneath the top layer of soil. It will serve as NASA's first exploration of a potential modern habitat on Mars and open the door to a renewed search for carbon-bearing compounds, last attempted with NASA’s Viking missions in the 1970s. A stereo color camera and a weather station will study the surrounding environment while the other instruments check excavated soil samples for water, organic chemicals and conditions that could indicate whether the site was ever hospitable to life. Microscopes can reveal features as small as one one-thousandth the width of a human hair. Launch of Phoenix aboard a Delta II rocket is targeted for Aug. 3 from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. Photo credit: NASA/Charisse Nahser

KSC-07pd1057

NASA Image and Video Library

2007-05-07

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- On Kennedy Space Center's Shuttle Landing Facility, workers oversee the offloading of the crated Phoenix spacecraft inside the cargo hold of a U.S. Air Force C-17 Globemaster III. The crate will be transported to the Payload Hazardous Servicing Facility. The Phoenix mission is the first project in NASA's first openly competed program of Mars Scout missions. Phoenix will land in icy soils near the north polar permanent ice cap of Mars and explore the history of the water in these soils and any associated rocks, while monitoring polar climate. Landing is planned in May 2008 on arctic ground where a mission currently in orbit, Mars Odyssey, has detected high concentrations of ice just beneath the top layer of soil. It will serve as NASA's first exploration of a potential modern habitat on Mars and open the door to a renewed search for carbon-bearing compounds, last attempted with NASA’s Viking missions in the 1970s. A stereo color camera and a weather station will study the surrounding environment while the other instruments check excavated soil samples for water, organic chemicals and conditions that could indicate whether the site was ever hospitable to life. Microscopes can reveal features as small as one one-thousandth the width of a human hair. Launch of Phoenix aboard a Delta II rocket is targeted for Aug. 3 from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. Photo credit: NASA/Charisse Nahser

Synthesis and extreme rate capability of Si-Al-C-N functionalized carbon nanotube spray-on coatings as Li-ion battery electrode.

PubMed

David, Lamuel; Asok, Deepu; Singh, Gurpreet

2014-09-24

Silicon-based precursor derived glass-ceramics or PDCs have proven to be an attractive alternative anode material for Li ion batteries. Main challenges associated with PDC anodes are their low electrical conductivity, first cycle loss, and meager C-rate performance. Here, we show that thermal conversion of single source aluminum-modified polysilazane on the surfaces of carbon nanotubes (CNTs) results in a robust Si-Al-C-N/CNT shell/core composite that offers extreme C-rate capability as battery electrode. Addition of Al to the molecular network of Si-C-N improved electrical conductivity of Si-C-N by 4 orders of magnitude, while interfacing with CNTs showed 7-fold enhancement. Further, we present a convenient spray-coating technique for PDC composite electrode preparation that eliminates polymeric binder and conductive agent there-by reducing processing steps and eradicating foreign material in the electrode. The Si-Al-C-N/CNT electrode showed stable charge capacity of 577 mAh g(-1) at 100 mA g(-1) and a remarkable 400 mAh g(-1) at 10,000 mA g(-1), which is the highest reported value for a silazane derived glass-ceramic or nanocomposite electrode. Under symmetric cycling conditions, a high charge capacity of ∼350 mA g(-1) at 1600 mA g(-1) was continuously observed for over 1000 cycles.

Effects of inoculum source and co-digestion strategies on anaerobic digestion of residues generated in the treatment of waste vegetable oils.

PubMed

Hidalgo, Dolores; Martín-Marroquín, Jesús M

2014-09-01

This work aims at selecting a suitable strategy to improve the performance of the anaerobic digestion of residues generated in the treatment of waste vegetable oils (WVO). Biochemical methane potential (BMP) assays were conducted at 35 °C to evaluate the effects of substrate mix ratio between a mixture of WVO residues (M) and pig manure (PM) co-digesting by using different inocula. Inoculum from an industrial digester fed with organic waste from hotels, restaurants and catering leftovers (HORECA) showed higher methanogenic activity (55.5 mLCH4 gVS(-1) d(-1)) than municipal wastewater treatment plant (mWWTP) inoculum (42.6 mL CH4 gVS(-1) d(-1)). Furthermore, the results showed that the resistance to WVO residues toxicity was higher for the HORECA sludge than for the mWWTP sludge. HORECA inoculum produced more biogas in all the assays. Moreover, the resulting biogas was of better quality, containing an average of 71.1% (SD = 1.6) methane compared to an average of 69.5% (SD = 1.2) methane for test with mWWTP sludge. The maximum degradation rate occurred at the higher PM mix ratio (M/PM:1/3), reaching 26.7 ± 4.3 mLCH4 gVS(-1) d(-1) for mWWTP inoculum, versus 42.0 ± 1,5 mLCH4 gVS(-1) d(-1) achieved for HORECA inoculum. A high reduction of volatile solids (between 70% and 81%) was obtained with both inocula at all M/PM ratios assayed (1/0, 1/3, 1/1 and 3/1 v/v) but, bearing in mind the operation of a full-scale anaerobic plant, the optimal scenario assayed corresponds to the ratio M/PM: 1/3 v/v where shorter lag periods will make it possible to operate at lower hydraulic retention times. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Optimization of extraction parameters on the antioxidant properties of banana waste.

PubMed

Toh, Pui Yee; Leong, Fei Shan; Chang, Sui Kiat; Khoo, Hock Eng; Yim, Hip Seng

2016-01-01

Banana is grown worldwide and consumed as ripe fruit or used for culinary purposes. Peels form about 18-33% of the whole fruit and are discarded as a waste product. With a view to exploiting banana peel as a source of valuable compounds, this study was undertaken to evaluate the effect of different extraction parameters on the antioxidant activities of the industrial by-product of banana waste (peel). Influence of different extraction parameters such as types of solvent, percentages of solvent, and extraction times on total phenolic content (TPC) and antioxidant activity of mature and green peels of Pisang Abu (PA), Pisang Berangan (PB), and Pisang Mas (PM) were investigated. The best extraction parameters were initially selected based on different percentages of ethanol (0-100% v/v), extraction time (1-5 hr), and extraction temperature (25-60°C) for extraction of antioxidants in the banana peels. Total phenolic content (TPC) was evaluated using Folin-Ciocalteu reagent assay while antioxidant activities (AA) of banana peel were accessed by DPPH, ABTS, and β-carotene bleaching (BCB) assays at optimum extraction conditions. Based on different extraction solvents and percentages of solvents used, 70% and 90% of acetone had yielded the highest TPC for the mature and green PA peels, respectively; 90% of ethanol and methanol has yielded the highest TPC for the mature and green PB peels, respectively; while 90% ethanol for the mature and green PM peels. Similar extraction conditions were found for the antioxidant activities for the banana peel assessed using DPPH assay except for green PB peel, which 70% methanol had contributed to the highest AA. Highest TPC and AA were obtained by applying 4, 1, and 2 hrs extraction for the peels of PA, PB and PM, respectively. The best extraction conditions were also used for determination of AAs using ABTS and β-carotene bleaching assays. Therefore, the best extraction conditions used have given the highest TPC and AAs. By-products of banana (peel) can be considered as a potential source of antioxidants in food and pharmaceutical industry.

Fusion of microlitre water-in-oil droplets for simple, fast and green chemical assays.

PubMed

Chiu, S-H; Urban, P L

2015-08-07

A simple format for microscale chemical assays is proposed. It does not require the use of test tubes, microchips or microtiter plates. Microlitre-range (ca. 0.7-5.0 μL) aqueous droplets are generated by a commercial micropipette in a non-polar matrix inside a Petri dish. When two droplets are pipetted nearby, they spontaneously coalesce within seconds, priming a chemical reaction. Detection of the reaction product is accomplished by colorimetry, spectrophotometry, or fluorimetry using simple light-emitting diode (LED) arrays as the sources of monochromatic light, while chemiluminescence detection of the analytes present in single droplets is conducted in the dark. A smartphone camera is used as the detector. The limits of detection obtained for the developed in-droplet assays are estimated to be: 1.4 nmol (potassium permanganate by colorimetry), 1.4 pmol (fluorescein by fluorimetry), and 580 fmol (sodium hypochlorite by chemiluminescence detection). The format has successfully been used to monitor the progress of chemical and biochemical reactions over time with sub-second resolution. A semi-quantitative analysis of ascorbic acid using Tillman's reagent is presented. A few tens of individual droplets can be scanned in parallel. Rapid switching of the LED light sources with different wavelengths enables a spectral analysis of multiple droplets. Very little solid waste is produced. The assay matrix is readily recycled, thus the volume of liquid waste produced each time is also very small (typically, 1-10 μL per analysis). Various water-immiscible translucent liquids can be used as the reaction matrix: including silicone oil, 1-octanol as well as soybean cooking oil.

Development and characterization of an ex-vivo brain slice culture model of chronic wasting disease

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Prion diseases have long incubation times in vivo, therefore, modeling the diseases ex-vivo will advance the development of rationale-based therapeutic strategies. An organotypic slice culture assay (POSCA) was recently developed for scrapie prions by inoculating mouse cerebellar brain slices with R...

In vitro assays for assessment of androgenic and estrogenic activity of defined mixtures and complex environment samples

EPA Science Inventory

Point sources of potentially endocrine active compounds to aquatic environments such as waste water treatment plants, pulp and paper mills, and animal feeding operations invariably contain complex mixtures of chemicals. The current study investigates the use of targeted in vitro ...

In vitro assays for assessment of androgenic and estrogenic activity in defined mixtures and complex environmental samples

EPA Science Inventory

Eflluents from sources such as waste water treatment plants and animal feeding operations invariably contain complex mixtures of chemicals. Recent research on effluent from cattle feeding operations in the US have linked morphological alterations in fish with in vitro androgenic ...

Haploinsufficiency for Translation Elongation Factor eEF1A2 in Aged Mouse Muscle and Neurons Is Compatible with Normal Function

PubMed Central

Griffiths, Lowri A.; Doig, Jennifer; Churchhouse, Antonia M. D.; Davies, Faith C. J.; Squires, Charlotte E.; Newbery, Helen J.; Abbott, Catherine M.

2012-01-01

Translation elongation factor isoform eEF1A2 is expressed in muscle and neurons. Deletion of eEF1A2 in mice gives rise to the neurodegenerative phenotype “wasted” (wst). Mice homozygous for the wasted mutation die of muscle wasting and neurodegeneration at four weeks post-natal. Although the mutation is said to be recessive, aged heterozygous mice have never been examined in detail; a number of other mouse models of motor neuron degeneration have recently been shown to have similar, albeit less severe, phenotypic abnormalities in the heterozygous state. We therefore examined the effects of ageing on a cohort of heterozygous +/wst mice and control mice, in order to establish whether a presumed 50% reduction in eEF1A2 expression was compatible with normal function. We evaluated the grip strength assay as a way of distinguishing between wasted and wild-type mice at 3–4 weeks, and then performed the same assay in older +/wst and wild-type mice. We also used rotarod performance and immunohistochemistry of spinal cord sections to evaluate the phenotype of aged heterozygous mice. Heterozygous mutant mice showed no deficit in neuromuscular function or signs of spinal cord pathology, in spite of the low levels of eEF1A2. PMID:22848658

Anaerobic digestion of tuna waste for the production of volatile fatty acids.

PubMed

Bermúdez-Penabad, Noela; Kennes, Christian; Veiga, Maria C

2017-10-01

Fish canning industries generate a significant amount of solid waste that can be digested anaerobically into volatile fatty acids (VFA). The aim of this research was to study the effect of various pHs, ranging from 5.0 to 10.0, and percentage of total solids on the anaerobic digestion of tuna waste into VFA, both in batch assays and continuous reactor. The production of VFA was affected by pH and was significantly higher under alkaline conditions. At pH 8.0, the VFA production reached 30,611mgCOD/L. The VFA mainly consisted of acetic, propionic, n-butyric and i-valeric acids. Acetic acid was the main product at all the pHs tested. In terms of total solids (TS) the best results were obtained with 2.5% total solids, reaching 0.73gCOD VFA /gCOD waste . At higher TS concentrations (5 and 8% TS) lower yields were reached probably due to inhibition at high VFA concentration. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Waste Soybean Oil and Corn Steep Liquor as Economic Substrates for Bioemulsifier and Biodiesel Production by Candida lipolytica UCP 0998

PubMed Central

Souza, Adriana Ferreira; Rodriguez, Dayana M.; Ribeaux, Daylin R.; Luna, Marcos A. C.; Lima e Silva, Thayse A.; Andrade, Rosileide F. Silva; Gusmão, Norma B.; Campos-Takaki, Galba M.

2016-01-01

Almost all oleaginous microorganisms are available for biodiesel production, and for the mechanism of oil accumulation, which is what makes a microbial approach economically competitive. This study investigated the potential that the yeast Candida lipolytica UCP0988, in an anamorphous state, has to produce simultaneously a bioemulsifier and to accumulate lipids using inexpensive and alternative substrates. Cultivation was carried out using waste soybean oil and corn steep liquor in accordance with 22 experimental designs with 1% inoculums (107 cells/mL). The bioemulsifier was produced in the cell-free metabolic liquid in the late exponential phase (96 h), at Assay 4 (corn steep liquor 5% and waste soybean oil 8%), with 6.704 UEA, IE24 of 96.66%, and showed an anionic profile. The emulsion formed consisted of compact small and stable droplets (size 0.2–5 µm), stable at all temperatures, at pH 2 and 4, and 2% salinity, and showed an ability to remove 93.74% of diesel oil from sand. The displacement oil (ODA) showed 45.34 cm2 of dispersion (central point of the factorial design). The biomass obtained from Assay 4 was able to accumulate lipids of 0.425 g/g biomass (corresponding to 42.5%), which consisted of Palmitic acid (28.4%), Stearic acid (7.7%), Oleic acid (42.8%), Linoleic acid (19.0%), and γ-Linolenic acid (2.1%). The results showed the ability of C. lipopytica to produce both bioemulsifier and biodiesel using the metabolic conversion of waste soybean oil and corn steep liquor, which are economic renewable sources. PMID:27669227

Conformable pressure vessel for high pressure gas storage

DOEpatents

Simmons, Kevin L.; Johnson, Kenneth I.; Lavender, Curt A.; Newhouse, Norman L.; Yeggy, Brian C.

2016-01-12

A non-cylindrical pressure vessel storage tank is disclosed. The storage tank includes an internal structure. The internal structure is coupled to at least one wall of the storage tank. The internal structure shapes and internally supports the storage tank. The pressure vessel storage tank has a conformability of about 0.8 to about 1.0. The internal structure can be, but is not limited to, a Schwarz-P structure, an egg-crate shaped structure, or carbon fiber ligament structure.

Shelter Deployment at Former Army Camp Tuto, Greenland

DTIC Science & Technology

2014-05-29

compressors Included in the crate 2 air compressors TOTAL Weight 250 lb Size 48 × 24 × 24 in. ERDC/CRREL TN-14-2 3 2 Preparation 2.1 Practice...airbeam-frame inflation Inflation of the airbeam structure was facilitated by a 1.8 hp Dewalt air compressor connected to a Honda 2500 W generator running...off of JP-8 diesel fuel (Figure 11). Both the compressor and generator maintained 100% operability at −20°F ambient. The air compressor’s pressure

KSC-2009-4619

NASA Image and Video Library

2009-07-23

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – The shipping crate is being removed from the STSS Demonstrator SV-1 spacecraft in the Astrotech payload processing facility in Titusville, Fla. The spacecraft is a midcourse tracking technology demonstrator, part of an evolving ballistic missile defense system. STSS is capable of tracking objects after boost phase and provides trajectory information to other sensors. It will be launched by NASA for the Missile Defense Agency in late summer. Photo credit: NASA/Tim Jacobs (Approved for Public Release 09-MDA-4800 [30 July 09] )

KSC-2009-4620

NASA Image and Video Library

2009-07-23

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – In the Astrotech payload processing facility in Titusville, Fla. , the STSS Demonstrator SV-1 spacecraft is lifted from its shipping crate. The spacecraft is a midcourse tracking technology demonstrator, part of an evolving ballistic missile defense system. STSS is capable of tracking objects after boost phase and provides trajectory information to other sensors. It will be launched by NASA for the Missile Defense Agency in late summer. Photo credit: NASA/Tim Jacobs (Approved for Public Release 09-MDA-4800 [30 July 09] )

KSC-2009-4621

NASA Image and Video Library

2009-07-23

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – In the Astrotech payload processing facility in Titusville, Fla. , the STSS Demonstrator SV-1 spacecraft is lifted clear from its shipping crate. The spacecraft is a midcourse tracking technology demonstrator, part of an evolving ballistic missile defense system. STSS is capable of tracking objects after boost phase and provides trajectory information to other sensors. It will be launched by NASA for the Missile Defense Agency in late summer. Photo credit: NASA/Tim Jacobs (Approved for Public Release 09-MDA-4800 [30 July 09] )

NOAA-L satellite arrives at Vandenberg AFB

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

2000-01-01

A crated National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA-L) satellite is moved inside the B16-10 spacecraft processing hangar at Vandenberg Air Force Base, Calif. NOAA-L is part of the Polar- Orbiting Operational Environmental Satellite (POES) program that provides atmospheric measurements of temperature, humidity, ozone and cloud images, tracking weather patterns that affect the global weather and climate. The launch of the NOAA-L satellite is scheduled no earlier than Sept. 12 aboard a Lockheed Martin Titan II rocket. KSC00vafbdig002

NASA Image and Video Library

2000-06-27

Outside the B16-10 spacecraft processing hangar at Vandenberg Air Force Base, Calif., a crated National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA-L) satellite is lowered to the ground before being moved inside. NOAA-L is part of the Polar-Orbiting Operational Environmental Satellite (POES) program that provides atmospheric measurements of temperature, humidity, ozone and cloud images, tracking weather patterns that affect the global weather and climate. The launch of the NOAA-L satellite is scheduled no earlier than Sept. 12 aboard a Lockheed Martin Titan II rocket

Behavior analysis and public policy

PubMed Central

Fawcett, Stephen B.; Bernstein, Gail S.; Czyzewski, Mare J.; Greene, Brandon F.; Hannah, Gerald T.; Iwata, Brian A.; Jason, Leonard A.; Mathews, R. Mark; Morris, Edward K.; Otis-Wilborn, Amy; Seekins, Tom; Winett, Richard A.

1988-01-01

The Task Force on Public Policy was created to examine ways for behavior analysts to be more functional citizen scientists in the policymaking arena. This report informs readers about the contexts and processes of policymaking; and it outlines issues regarding the roles of behavior analysts in crating policy-relevant conceptual analyses, generating research data, and communicating policy-relevant information. We also discuss a possible role for the professional association in enhancing analysis, research, and advocacy on policies relevant to the public interest. PMID:22477991

A two-fold reduction in measurement time for neutron assay: Initial tests of a prototype dual-gated shift register

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Stewart, J.E.; Bourret, S.C.; Krick, M.S.

1996-09-01

Neutron coincidence counting (NCC) is used routinely around the world for nondestructive mass assay of uranium and plutonium in many forms, including waste. Compared with other methods, NCC is generally the most flexible, economic, and rapid. Many applications of NCC would benefit from a reduction in counting time required for a fixed random error. We have developed and tested the first prototype of a dual- gated, shift-register-based electronics unit that offers the potential of decreased measurement time for all passive and active NCC applications.

A two-fold reduction in measurement time for neutron assay: Initial tests of a prototype dual-gated shift register

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Stewart, J.E.; Bourret, S.C.; Krick, M.S.

1996-12-31

Neutron coincidence counting (NCC) is used routinely around the world for nondestructive mass assay of uranium and plutonium in many forms, including waste. Compared with other methods, NCC is generally the most flexible, economic, and rapid. Many applications of NCC would benefit from a reduction in counting time required for a fixed random error. The authors have developed and tested the first prototype of a dual-gated, shift-register-based electronics unit that offers the potential of decreased measurement time for all passive and active NCC applications.

Arsenic and lead contamination in urban soils of Villa de la Paz (Mexico) affected by historical mine wastes and its effect on children's health studied by micronucleated exfoliated cells assay.

PubMed

Gamiño-Gutiérrez, Sandra P; González-Pérez, C Ivonne; Gonsebatt, María E; Monroy-Fernández, Marcos G

2013-02-01

Environmental geochemical and health studies were carried out in urban areas of Villa de la Paz, S.L.P. (Mexico), where mining activities have been developed for more of 200 years, leading to the pollution of surface soil by arsenic and heavy metals (Pb, Cd, Cu, Zn). The analysis of urban soils to determine total and bioaccessibility concentrations of As and Pb, demonstrated a combined contribution of the natural and anthropogenic concentrations in the site, at levels higher than the environmental guideline values that provoke a human health risk. Contour soil mapping confirmed that historical mine waste deposits without environmental control measures, are the main source of pollution soil by As and Pb in the site. Exposure (Pb in blood and As in urine) and effect (micronucleated exfoliated cells assay) biological monitoring were then carried out in the childhood population of the site and in a control site. The exposure biological monitoring demonstrated that at least 20-30 % of children presented Pb and As exposure values higher than the national and international maximum intervention values. The effect biomonitoring by MEC assay confirmed that there is a genotoxic damage in local childhood population that could be associated with the arsenic exposure in the site.

Electrohydrolysis pretreatment for enhanced methane production from lignocellulose waste pulp and paper mill sludge and its kinetics.

PubMed

Veluchamy, C; Raju, V Wilson; Kalamdhad, Ajay S

2018-03-01

A novel electrohydrolysis pretreatment enhances methane production from lignocellulose material during anaerobic digestion. A biochemical methane potential assay was carried out to determine the effect of direct current and the efficacy of electrohydrolysis pretreatment on biogas production. Methane yield was increased by 13.8%, to 301 ± 3 mL CH 4 /g VS, when lignocellulosic waste was pretreated with electrohydrolysis. A net energy gain of 13,224 kJ was realized after electrohydrolysis pretreatment, which was 1.51 times higher than reported for thermal pretreatment. In addition, two kinetic models were used, including the modified Gompertz model to reproduce the experimental data. These finding support the potential for increased methane recovery from lignocellulosic waste using electrohydrolysis as a pretreatment. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Kinetic Tetrazolium Microtiter Assay

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Pierson, Duane L.; Stowe, Raymond; Koenig, David

1993-01-01

Kinetic tetrazolium microtiter assay (KTMA) involves use of tetrazolium salts and Triton X-100 (or equivalent), nontoxic, in vitro color developer solubilizing colored metabolite formazan without injuring or killing metabolizing cells. Provides for continuous measurement of metabolism and makes possible to determine rate of action of antimicrobial agent in real time as well as determines effective inhibitory concentrations. Used to monitor growth after addition of stimulatory compounds. Provides for kinetic determination of efficacy of biocide, greatly increasing reliability and precision of results. Also used to determine relative effectiveness of antimicrobial agent as function of time. Capability of generating results on day of test extremely important in treatment of water and waste, disinfection of hospital rooms, and in pharmaceutical, agricultural, and food-processing industries. Assay also used in many aspects of cell biology.

Apparatus and method for quantitative assay of generic transuranic wastes from nuclear reactors

DOEpatents

Caldwell, J.T.; Kunz, W.E.; Atencio, J.D.

1982-03-31

A combination of passive and active neutron measurements which yields quantitative information about the isotopic composition of transuranic wastes from nuclear power or weapons material manufacture reactors is described. From the measurement of prompt and delayed neutron emission and the incidence of two coincidentally emitted neutrons from induced fission of fissile material in the sample, one can quantify /sup 233/U, /sup 235/U and /sup 239/Pu isotopes in waste samples. Passive coincidence counting, including neutron multiplicity measurement and determination of the overall passive neutron flux additionally enables the separate quantitative evaluation of spontaneous fission isotopes such as /sup 240/Pu, /sup 244/Cm and /sup 252/Cf, and the spontaneous alpha particle emitter /sup 241/Am. These seven isotopes are the most important constituents of wastes from nuclear power reactors and once the mass of each isotope present is determined by the apparatus and method of the instant invention, the overall alpha particle activity can be determined to better than 1 nCi/g from known radioactivity data. Therefore, in addition to the quantitative analysis of the waste sample useful for later reclamation purposes, the alpha particle activity can be determined to decide whether permanent low-level burial is appropriate for the waste sample.

Apparatus and method for quantitative assay of generic transuranic wastes from nuclear reactors

DOEpatents

Caldwell, John T.; Kunz, Walter E.; Atencio, James D.

1984-01-01

A combination of passive and active neutron measurements which yields quantitative information about the isotopic composition of transuranic wastes from nuclear power or weapons material manufacture reactors is described. From the measurement of prompt and delayed neutron emission and the incidence of two coincidentally emitted neutrons from induced fission of fissile material in the sample, one can quantify .sup.233 U, .sup.235 U and .sup.239 Pu isotopes in waste samples. Passive coincidence counting, including neutron multiplicity measurement and determination of the overall passive neutron flux additionally enables the separate quantitative evaluation of spontaneous fission isotopes such as .sup.240 Pu, .sup.244 Cm and .sup.252 Cf, and the spontaneous alpha particle emitter .sup.241 Am. These seven isotopes are the most important constituents of wastes from nuclear power reactors and once the mass of each isotope present is determined by the apparatus and method of the instant invention, the overall alpha particle activity can be determined to better than 1 nCi/g from known radioactivity data. Therefore, in addition to the quantitative analysis of the waste sample useful for later reclamation purposes, the alpha particle activity can be determined to decide whether "permanent" low-level burial is appropriate for the waste sample.

Co-digestion of pig slaughterhouse waste with sewage sludge.

PubMed

Borowski, Sebastian; Kubacki, Przemysław

2015-06-01

Slaughterhouse wastes (SHW) are potentially very attractive substrates for biogas production. However, mono-digestion of these wastes creates great technological problems associated with the inhibitory effects of ammonia and fatty acids on methanogens as well as with the foaming in the digesters. In the following study, the co-digestion of slaughterhouse wastes with sewage sludge (SS) was undertaken. Batch and semi-continuous experiments were performed at 35°C with municipal sewage sludge and pig SHW composed of meat tissue, intestines, bristles and post-flotation sludge. In batch assays, meat tissue and intestinal wastes gave the highest methane productions of 976 and 826 dm(3)/kg VS, respectively, whereas the methane yield from the sludge was only 370 dm(3)/kg VS. The co-digestion of sewage sludge with 50% SHW (weight basis) provided the methane yield exceeding 600 dm(3)/kg VS, which was more than twice as high as the methane production from sewage sludge alone. However, when the loading rate exceeded 4 kg VS/m(3) d, a slight inhibition of methanogenesis was observed, without affecting the digester stability. The experiments showed that the co-digestion of sewage sludge with large amount of slaughterhouse wastes is feasible, and the enhanced methane production does not affect the digester stability. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Effects of size and thermophilic pre-hydrolysis of banana peel during anaerobic digestion, and biomethanation potential of key tropical fruit wastes.

PubMed

Odedina, Mary Jesuyemi; Charnnok, Boonya; Saritpongteeraka, Kanyarat; Chaiprapat, Sumate

2017-10-01

Methane production potential of tropical fruit wastes, namely lady-finger banana peel, rambutan waste and longan waste were compared using BMP assay and stoichiometric modified Buswell and Mueller equation. Methane yields based on volatile solid (VS) were in the order of ground banana peel, chopped banana peel, chopped longan waste, and chopped rambutan waste (330.6, 268.3, 234.6 and 193.2 mLCH 4 /gVS) that corresponded to their calculated biodegradability. In continuous operations of banana peel digestion at feed concentrations based on total solid (TS) 1-2%, mesophilic single stage digester run at 20-day hydraulic retention time (20-day HRT) failed at 2%TS, but successfully recovered at 1.5%TS. Pre-hydrolysis thermophilic reactor (4-d HRT) was placed as pre-treatment to mesophilic reactor (20-d HRT). Higher biogas (with an evolution of H 2 ) and energy yields were obtained and greater system stability was achieved over the single stage digestion, particularly at higher solid feedstock. The best performance of two stage digestion was 68.5% VS destruction and energy yield of 2510.9kJ/kgVS added at a feed concentration of 2%TS. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Efficiency of inductively torch plasma operating at atmospheric pressure on destruction of chlorinated liquid wastes- A path to the treatment of radioactive organic halogen liquid wastes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kamgang-Youbi, G.; Poizot, K.; Lemont, F.

2012-12-01

The performance of a plasma reactor for the degradation of chlorinated hydrocarbon waste is reported. Chloroform was used as a target for a recently patented destruction process based using an inductive plasma torch. Liquid waste was directly injected axially into the argon plasma with a supplied power of ~4 kW in the presence of oxygen as oxidant and carrier gas. Decomposition was performed at CHCl3 feed rates up to 400 g·h-1 with different oxygen/waste molar ratios, chloroform destruction was obtained with at least 99% efficiency and the energy efficiency reached 100 g·kWh-1. The conversion end products were identified and assayed by online FTIR spectroscopy (CO2, HCl and H2O) and redox titration (Cl2). Considering phosgene as representative of toxic compounds, only very small quantities of toxics were released (< 1 g·h-1) even with high waste feed rates. The experimental results were very close to the equilibrium composition predicted by thermodynamic calculations. At the bottom of the reactor, the chlorinated acids were successfully trapped in a scrubber and transformed into mineral salts, hence, only CO2 and H2O have been found in the final off-gases composition.

Urinary heavy metal levels and relevant factors among people exposed to e-waste dismantling.

PubMed

Wang, Hongmei; Han, Mei; Yang, Suwen; Chen, Yanqing; Liu, Qian; Ke, Shen

2011-01-01

Primitive electronic waste (e-waste) recycling has become a growing environmental concern, and toxic heavy metals released from e-waste activities may continue to threaten the health of local people. To study the impact of heavy metals in people around e-waste sites, 349 people from e-waste recycling sites (exposure group) and 118 people from a green plantation (control group) were surveyed, and their urinary levels of lead (UPb), cadmium (UCd), manganese (UMn), copper (UCu), and Zinc (UZn) were assayed. Questionnaire surveys for risk factors were also performed and analyzed by using the Pearson correlation analysis. Results indicated that the levels of urinary Cd in both occupational dismantling people {GM(GSD) 0.72(0.71) ug/L} and non-occupational dismantling people {GM(GSD) 0.50(0.79) ug/L} were higher than the control group {GM(GSD) 0.27(0.85) ug/L}. Further analyses of correlations between urinary heavy metal levels and exposure factors in the exposed group revealed positive relationship between the duration of dismantling and the level of UPb (p < 0.05). Meanwhile, rice sources from local village have a positive correlation with the level of UPb and UCd (p < 0.01). Other factors, however, may also have influences on heavy metal burden, and not all urinary heavy metal levels can be contributed to e-waste dismantling exposure levels. Primitive e-waste recycling activities may contribute to the changes of urinary heavy metal levels and increase the health risk for those chronically working on e-waste dismantling. Copyright © 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Genotoxic and mutagenic effects of polluted surface water in the midwestern region of Brazil using animal and plant bioassays

PubMed Central

Dourado, Priscila Leocádia Rosa; da Rocha, Monyque Palagano; Roveda, Liriana Mara; Raposo, Jorge Luiz; Cândido, Liliam Sílvia; Cardoso, Claudia Andréa Lima; Morales, Maria Aparecida Marin; de Oliveira, Kelly Mari Pires; Grisolia, Alexeia Barufatti

2016-01-01

Abstract This study aimed to evaluate DNA damage in animal and plant cells exposed to water from the Água Boa stream (Dourados, Mato Grosso do Sul, Brazil) by using bioassays, and to identify the chemical compounds in the water to determine the water quality in the area. Through the cytotoxicity bioassay with Allium cepa, using micronucleus test, and comet assay, using Astyanax altiparanae fish, the results indicated that biological samples were genetically altered. Micronuclei were observed in erythrocytes of A. altiparanae after exposure to water from locations close to industrial waste discharge. The highest DNA damage observed with the comet assay in fish occurred with the exposure to water from locations where the presence of metals (Cu, Pb, Cd, Ni) was high, indicating the possibility of genotoxic effects of these compounds. Thus, these results reinforce the importance of conducting genotoxicity tests for developing management plans to improve water quality, and indicate the need for waste management before domestic and industrial effluents are released into the rivers and streams. PMID:27801481

Carotenoids, Phenolic Compounds and Tocopherols Contribute to the Antioxidative Properties of Some Microalgae Species Grown on Industrial Wastewater.

PubMed

Safafar, Hamed; van Wagenen, Jonathan; Møller, Per; Jacobsen, Charlotte

2015-12-11

This study aimed at investigating the potential of microalgae species grown on industrial waste water as a new source of natural antioxidants. Six microalgae from different classes, including Phaeodactylum sp. (Bacillariophyceae), Nannochloropsis sp. (Eustigmatophyceae), Chlorella sp., Dunaniella sp., and Desmodesmus sp. (Chlorophyta), were screened for their antioxidant properties using different in vitro assays. Natural antioxidants, including pigments, phenolics, and tocopherols, were measured in methanolic extracts of microalgae biomass. Highest and lowest concentrations of pigments, phenolic compounds, and tocopherols were found in Desmodesmus sp. and Phaeodactylum tricornuotom microalgae species, respectively. The results of each assay were correlated to the content of natural antioxidants in microalgae biomass. Phenolic compounds were found as major contributors to the antioxidant activity in all antioxidant tests while carotenoids were found to contribute to the 1,1-diphenyl-2-picryl-hydrazil (DPPH) radical scavenging activity, ferrous reduction power (FRAP), and ABTS-radical scavenging capacity activity. Desmodesmus sp. biomass represented a potentially rich source of natural antioxidants, such as carotenoids (lutein), tocopherols, and phenolic compounds when cultivated on industrial waste water as the main nutrient source.

Carotenoids, Phenolic Compounds and Tocopherols Contribute to the Antioxidative Properties of Some Microalgae Species Grown on Industrial Wastewater

PubMed Central

Safafar, Hamed; van Wagenen, Jonathan; Møller, Per; Jacobsen, Charlotte

2015-01-01

This study aimed at investigating the potential of microalgae species grown on industrial waste water as a new source of natural antioxidants. Six microalgae from different classes, including Phaeodactylum sp. (Bacillariophyceae), Nannochloropsis sp. (Eustigmatophyceae), Chlorella sp., Dunaniella sp., and Desmodesmus sp. (Chlorophyta), were screened for their antioxidant properties using different in vitro assays. Natural antioxidants, including pigments, phenolics, and tocopherols, were measured in methanolic extracts of microalgae biomass. Highest and lowest concentrations of pigments, phenolic compounds, and tocopherols were found in Desmodesmus sp. and Phaeodactylum tricornuotom microalgae species, respectively. The results of each assay were correlated to the content of natural antioxidants in microalgae biomass. Phenolic compounds were found as major contributors to the antioxidant activity in all antioxidant tests while carotenoids were found to contribute to the 1,1-diphenyl-2-picryl-hydrazil (DPPH) radical scavenging activity, ferrous reduction power (FRAP), and ABTS-radical scavenging capacity activity. Desmodesmus sp. biomass represented a potentially rich source of natural antioxidants, such as carotenoids (lutein), tocopherols, and phenolic compounds when cultivated on industrial waste water as the main nutrient source. PMID:26690454

Prion-Seeding Activity in Cerebrospinal Fluid of Deer with Chronic Wasting Disease

PubMed Central

Haley, Nicholas J.; Van de Motter, Alexandra; Carver, Scott; Henderson, Davin; Davenport, Kristen; Seelig, Davis M.; Mathiason, Candace; Hoover, Edward

2013-01-01

Transmissible spongiform encephalopathies (TSEs), or prion diseases, are a uniformly fatal family of neurodegenerative diseases in mammals that includes chronic wasting disease (CWD) of cervids. The early and ante-mortem identification of TSE-infected individuals using conventional western blotting or immunohistochemistry (IHC) has proven difficult, as the levels of infectious prions in readily obtainable samples, including blood and bodily fluids, are typically beyond the limits of detection. The development of amplification-based seeding assays has been instrumental in the detection of low levels of infectious prions in clinical samples. In the present study, we evaluated the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) of CWD-exposed (n=44) and naïve (n=4) deer (n=48 total) for CWD prions (PrPd) using two amplification assays: serial protein misfolding cyclic amplification with polytetrafluoroethylene beads (sPMCAb) and real-time quaking induced conversion (RT-QuIC) employing a truncated Syrian hamster recombinant protein substrate. Samples were evaluated blindly in parallel with appropriate positive and negative controls. Results from amplification assays were compared to one another and to obex immunohistochemistry, and were correlated to available clinical histories including CWD inoculum source (e.g. saliva, blood), genotype, survival period, and duration of clinical signs. We found that both sPMCAb and RT-QuIC were capable of amplifying CWD prions from cervid CSF, and results correlated well with one another. Prion seeding activity in either assay was observed in approximately 50% of deer with PrPd detected by IHC in the obex region of the brain. Important predictors of amplification included duration of clinical signs and time of first tonsil biopsy positive results, and ultimately the levels of PrPd identified in the obex by IHC. Based on our findings, we expect that both sPMCAb and RT-QuIC may prove to be useful detection assays for the detection of prions in CSF. PMID:24282599

Are In Vitro Methods for the Detection of Endocrine Potentials in the Aquatic Environment Predictive for In Vivo Effects? Outcomes of the Projects SchussenAktiv and SchussenAktivplus in the Lake Constance Area, Germany

PubMed Central

Henneberg, Anja; Bender, Katrin; Blaha, Ludek; Giebner, Sabrina; Kuch, Bertram; Köhler, Heinz-R.; Maier, Diana; Oehlmann, Jörg; Richter, Doreen; Scheurer, Marco; Schulte-Oehlmann, Ulrike; Sieratowicz, Agnes; Ziebart, Simone; Triebskorn, Rita

2014-01-01

Many studies about endocrine pollution in the aquatic environment reveal changes in the reproduction system of biota. We analysed endocrine activities in two rivers in Southern Germany using three approaches: (1) chemical analyses, (2) in vitro bioassays, and (3) in vivo investigations in fish and snails. Chemical analyses were based on gas chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry. For in vitro analyses of endocrine potentials in water, sediment, and waste water samples, we used the E-screen assay (human breast cancer cells MCF-7) and reporter gene assays (human cell line HeLa-9903 and MDA-kb2). In addition, we performed reproduction tests with the freshwater mudsnail Potamopyrgus antipodarum to analyse water and sediment samples. We exposed juvenile brown trout (Salmo trutta f. fario) to water downstream of a wastewater outfall (Schussen River) or to water from a reference site (Argen River) to investigate the vitellogenin production. Furthermore, two feral fish species, chub (Leuciscus cephalus) and spirlin (Alburnoides bipunctatus), were caught in both rivers to determine their gonadal maturity and the gonadosomatic index. Chemical analyses provided only little information about endocrine active substances, whereas the in vitro assays revealed endocrine potentials in most of the samples. In addition to endocrine potentials, we also observed toxic potentials (E-screen/reproduction test) in waste water samples, which could interfere with and camouflage endocrine effects. The results of our in vivo tests were mostly in line with the results of the in vitro assays and revealed a consistent reproduction-disrupting (reproduction tests) and an occasional endocrine action (vitellogenin levels) in both investigated rivers, with more pronounced effects for the Schussen river (e.g. a lower gonadosomatic index). We were able to show that biological in vitro assays for endocrine potentials in natural stream water reasonably reflect reproduction and endocrine disruption observed in snails and field-exposed fish, respectively. PMID:24901835

Derivation of the Korean radwaste scaling factor

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Kwang Yong Jee; Hong Joo Ahn; Se Chul Sohn

2007-07-01

The concentrations of several radionuclides in low and intermediate level radioactive waste (LILW) drums have to be determined before shipping to disposal facilities. A notice, by the Ministry of Science and Technology (MOST) of the Korean Government, related to the disposal of LILW drums came into effect at the beginning of 2005, with regards to a radionuclide regulation inside a waste drum. MOST allows for an indirect radionuclide assay using a scaling factor to measure the inventories due to the difficulty of nondestructively measuring the essential {alpha} and {beta}-emitting nuclides inside a drum. That is, a scaling factor calculated throughmore » a correlation of the {alpha} or {beta}-emitting nuclide (DTM, Difficult-To-Measure) with a {gamma}-emitting nuclide (ETM, Easy-To-Measure) which has systematically similar properties with DTM nuclides. In this study, radioactive wastes, such as spent resin and dry active waste which were generated at different sites of a PWR and a site of a PHWR type Korean NPP, were partially sampled and analyzed for regulated radionuclides by using radiochemical methods. According to a reactor type and a waste form, the analysis results of each radionuclide were classified. Korean radwaste scaling factor was derived from database of radionuclide concentrations. (authors)« less

Waste inspection tomography (WIT)

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Bernardi, R.T.

1996-12-31

WIT is a self-sufficient mobile semitrailer for nondestructive evaluation and nondestructive assay of nuclear waste drums using x-ray and gamma-ray tomography. The recently completed Phase I included the design, fabrication, and initial testing of all WIT subsystems installed on-board the trailer. Initial test results include 2 MeV digital radiography, computed tomography, Anger camera imaging, single photon emission computed tomography, gamma-ray spectroscopy, collimated gamma scanning, and active and passive computed tomography using a 1.4 mCi source of {sup 166}Ho. These techniques were initially demonstrated on a 55-gallon phantom drum with 3 simulated waste matrices of combustibles, heterogeneous metals, and cement usingmore » check sources of gamma active isotopes such as {sup 137}Cs and {sup 133}Ba with 9-250 {mu}Ci activities. Waste matrix identification, isotopic identification, and attenuation-corrected gamma activity determination were demonstrated nondestructively and noninvasively in Phase I. Currently ongoing Phase II involves DOE site field test demonstrations at LLNL, RFETS, and INEL with real nuclear waste drums. Current WIT experience includes 55 gallon drums of cement, graphite, sludge, glass, metals, and combustibles. Thus far WIT has inspected drums with 0-20 gms of {sup 239}Pu.« less

Rapid detection of porcine circovirus type 2 using a TaqMan-based real-time PCR.

PubMed

Zhao, Kai; Han, Fangting; Zou, Yong; Zhu, Lianlong; Li, Chunhua; Xu, Yan; Zhang, Chunling; Tan, Furong; Wang, Jinbin; Tao, Shiru; He, Xizhong; Zhou, Zongqing; Tang, Xueming

2010-12-31

Porcine circovirus type 2 (PCV2) and the associated disease postweaning multisystemic wasting syndrome (PMWS) have caused heavy losses in global agriculture in recent decades. Rapid detection of PCV2 is very important for the effective prophylaxis and treatment of PMWS. To establish a sensitive, specific assay for the detection and quantitation of PCV2, we designed and synthesized specific primers and a probe in the open reading frame 2. The assay had a wide dynamic range with excellent linearity and reliable reproducibility, and detected between 102 and 1010 copies of the genomic DNA per reaction. The coefficient of variation for Ct values varied from 0.59% to 1.05% in the same assay and from 1.9% to 4.2% in 10 different assays. The assay did not cross-react with porcine circovirus type 1, porcine reproductive and respiratory, porcine epidemic diarrhea, transmissible gastroenteritis of pigs and rotavirus. The limits of detection and quantitation were 10 and 100 copies, respectively. Using the established real-time PCR system, 39 of the 40 samples we tested were detected as positive.

Metabolic response of environmentally isolated microorganisms to industrial effluents: Use of a newly described cell culture assay

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Ferebee, Robert N.

1992-01-01

An environmental application using a microtiter culture assay to measure the metabolic sensitivity of microorganisms to petrochemical effluents will be tested. The Biomedical Operations and Research Branch at NASA JSC has recently developed a rapid and nondestructive method to measure cell growth and metabolism. Using a colorimetric procedure the uniquely modified assay allows the metabolic kinetics of prokaryotic and eukaryotic cells to be measured. Use of such an assay if adapted for the routine monitoring of waste products, process effluents, and environmentally hazardous substances may prove to be invaluable to the industrial community. The microtiter method as described will be tested using microorganisms isolated from the Galveston Bay aquatic habitat. The microbial isolates will be identified prior to testing using the automated systems available at JSC. Sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS), cadmium, and lead will provide control toxic chemicals. The toxicity of industrial effluent from two industrial sites will be tested. An effort will be made to test the efficacy of this assay for measuring toxicity in a mixed culture community.

Evaluation of radical scavenging activity, intestinal cell viability and antifungal activity of Brazilian propolis by-product.

PubMed

de Francisco, Lizziane; Pinto, Diana; Rosseto, Hélen; Toledo, Lucas; Santos, Rafaela; Tobaldini-Valério, Flávia; Svidzinski, Terezinha; Bruschi, Marcos; Sarmento, Bruno; Oliveira, M Beatriz P P; Rodrigues, Francisca

2018-03-01

Propolis is a natural adhesive resinous compound produced by honeybees to protect hives from bacteria and fungi, being extremely expensive for food industry. During propolis production, a resinous by-product is formed. This resinous waste is currently undervalued and underexploited. Accordingly, in this study the proximate physical and chemical quality, as well as the antioxidant activity, radical scavenging activity and cell viability of this by-product were evaluated and compared with propolis in order to boost new applications in food and pharmaceutical industries. The results revealed that the by-product meets the physical and chemical quality standards expected and showed that the propolis waste contains similar amounts of total phenolic content (TPC) and total flavonoid content (TFC) to propolis. Also, a good scavenging activity against reactive oxygen and nitrogen species (ROS and RNS, respectively) determined by the assays of superoxide anion radical (O 2 - ), hydrogen peroxide (H 2 O 2 ), hypochlorous acid (HOCl), nitric oxide (NO) and peroxyl radical (ROO) were determined. Linear positive correlations were established between the TPC of both samples and the antioxidant activity evaluated by three different methods (DPPH, ABTS and FRAP assays). The extracts were also screened for cell viability assays in two different intestinal cell lines (HT29-MTX and Caco-2), showing a viability concentration-dependent. Similarly, the Artemia salina assay, used to assess toxicity, demonstrated the concentration influence on results. Finally, the antifungal activity against ATCC species of Candida was demonstrated. These results suggest that propolis by-product can be used as a new rich source of bioactive compounds for different areas, such as food or pharmaceutical. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Carbon-Coated, Diatomite-Derived Nanosilicon as a High Rate Capable Li-ion Battery Anode.

PubMed

Campbell, Brennan; Ionescu, Robert; Tolchin, Maxwell; Ahmed, Kazi; Favors, Zachary; Bozhilov, Krassimir N; Ozkan, Cengiz S; Ozkan, Mihrimah

2016-10-07

Silicon is produced in a variety of ways as an ultra-high capacity lithium-ion battery (LIB) anode material. The traditional carbothermic reduction process required is expensive and energy-intensive; in this work, we use an efficient magnesiothermic reduction to convert the silica-based frustules within diatomaceous earth (diatomite, DE) to nanosilicon (nanoSi) for use as LIB anodes. Polyacrylic acid (PAA) was used as a binder for the DE-based nanoSi anodes for the first time, being attributed for the high silicon utilization under high current densities (up to 4C). The resulting nanoSi exhibited a high BET specific surface area of 162.6 cm 2 g -1 , compared to a value of 7.3 cm 2 g -1 for the original DE. DE contains SiO 2 architectures that make ideal bio-derived templates for nanoscaled silicon. The DE-based nanoSi anodes exhibit good cyclability, with a specific discharge capacity of 1102.1 mAh g -1 after 50 cycles at a C-rate of C/5 (0.7 A g Si -1 ) and high areal loading (2 mg cm -2 ). This work also demonstrates the fist rate capability testing for a DE-based Si anode; C-rates of C/30 - 4C were tested. At 4C (14.3 A g Si -1 ), the anode maintained a specific capacity of 654.3 mAh g -1 - nearly 2x higher than graphite's theoretical value (372 mAh g -1 ).

External short circuit performance of Graphite-LiNi1/3Co1/3Mn1/3O2 and Graphite-LiNi0.8Co0.15Al0.05O2 cells at different external resistances

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kriston, Akos; Pfrang, Andreas; Döring, Harry; Fritsch, Benjamin; Ruiz, Vanesa; Adanouj, Ibtissam; Kosmidou, Theodora; Ungeheuer, Jürgen; Boon-Brett, Lois

2017-09-01

This study aims at analyzing the response of Li-ion cells and at identifying the hazards and governing phenomena from hard to soft external short circuit conditions. 10 Ah pouch cells and 4.5 mAh coin cells were short circuited while synchronized current, potential and temperature signals, audio, IR and visual video recordings were registered. The anode, cathode and separator harvested from the cells were characterized by Scanning Electron Microscopy, micro X-ray Computed Tomography and 3D-profilometry. The complex short circuit behavior obtained can be described by 3 regions: In the first region 274C-rate is observed which is mainly governed by the cell's double and diffusion layer discharge. In the second region, the current drops significantly to 50-60C-rate where mass transport becomes the current limiting factor. The maximum temperature (77-121 °C) is reached and cell rupture, venting and electrolyte leakage may occur. In the final, third region the current decline continues due to the decaying electromotive force. The normalized external/internal resistance ratio is found to be the main influential factor on current and hazards rather than the external resistance or the capacity of the cell. The implications on the relevance and fitness-for-purpose of external short circuit test in standards are outlined.

[Biomechanical risk assessment of manual material handling in vegetables and fruit departments of supermarkets].

PubMed

Draicchio, F; Silvetti, A; Badellino, E; Vinci, F

2007-01-01

There is little in the literature about the risks of manual handling of material in supermarkets and what there is refers solely to storehouse work. This contrasts with the substantial number of studies of the risk of repeated arm movements among supermarket cash-desk staff. The scarcity of information is partly due to the difficulties of applying widely employed, standardized evaluation methods in this sector. One of the conditions limiting the application of the NIOSH protocol in this retail sector is that lifting tasks are so often closely tied to transport. The biomechanical analysis method we used brought to light considerable risks in many of the steps investigated: unpacking the pallet, unloading the crates from the pallet to the ground, lifting them from the floor onto display stands, and filling the boxes on the stands with goods before the shop opens. Images acquired on site were analyzed in the laboratory. We selected the most indicative images, which were then studied as regards posture and biomechanics using Apalys 3.0 software (ILMCAD GmbH, Ilmenau, Germany). Biomechemical analysis was done on the following movements: unloading crates from the pallet, positioning them on fruit and vegetable department display stands, and filling the boxes on the stands. We obtained a prediction of 2720 to 5472 N for the load at the lumbosacral junction (L5-S1). Simulation of the NIOSH index gave a value of 2.69 in the only case where the Waters protocol could be applied.

Effect of in situ pyrolysis of acetylene (C2H2) gas as a carbon source on the electrochemical performance of LiFePO4 for rechargeable lithium-ion batteries

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Saroha, Rakesh; Panwar, Amrish K.

2017-06-01

The intention of this work is to study the effect of in situ pyrolysis of acetylene (C2H2) gas used as a carbon source on the physicochemical and electrochemical performance of pristine LiFePO4 (LFP). Acetylene gas, which decomposed to carbon and methane along with some side products when exposed to high temperature (>625 °C), is used as a carbon source for coating over the surface of LFP particles. Thermogravimetric (TGA) measurements were performed in an air atmosphere, primarily to estimate the exact amount of carbon deposited on the surface of the olivine cathode material due to the decomposition of C2H2 gas. Raman and TGA results confirm the presence of carbon as coated on the surface of the prepared compositions. Among all the synthesized samples, LFP with 10 min C2H2 treatment (LFPC10) shows the highest discharge capacity at all C-rates and exhibits excellent rate performance. LFPC10 delivers a specific discharge capacity of 144 (±5) mAh g-1 (~85% of the theoretical capacity of 170 mAh g-1) at 0.1C rate. LFPC10 demonstrates the best cycling performance as it offers an initial discharge capacity of about 117 (±5) mAh g-1 (~69% of the theoretical capacity) at 1C-rate and has 97% capacity retention even after 100 charge/discharge cycles.

Preparation and electrochemical properties of polyaniline nanofibers using ultrasonication

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Manuel, James; Kim, Miso; Fapyane, Deby

2014-10-15

Highlights: • Nanofibrous structured polyaniline (PANI) was prepared by simple ultrasonication. • PANI nanofibers prepared at 5 °C are uniform with an average diameter of 50 nm. • The conductivity is increased by 2 × 10{sup 8} times after doping with LiClO{sub 4}. • The cell with PANI-LiClO{sub 4} shows good cycle performance at high current densities. - Abstract: Polyaniline nanofibers have been successfully prepared by applying ultrasonic irradiation during oxidative polymerization of aniline in dilute hydrochloric acid and evaluated for suitability in lithium cells after doping with lithium perchlorate salt. Polyaniline nanofibers are confirmed by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy,more » Fourier transform Raman spectroscopy, and transmission electron microscopy, and the efficiency of doping is confirmed by DC conductivity measurements at different temperatures. Electrochemical properties of nanofibers are evaluated, of which a remarkable increase in cycle stability is achieved when compared to polyaniline prepared by simple oxidative polymerization of aniline. The cell with nanofibrous polyaniline doped with LiClO{sub 4} delivers an initial discharge capacity value of 86 mA h g{sup −1} at 1 C-rate which is about 60% of theoretical capacity, and the capacity is slightly lowered during cycle and reaches 50% of theoretical capacity after 40 cycles. The cell delivers a stable and higher discharge capacity even at 2 C-rate compared to that of the cell prepared with bulk polyaniline doped with LiClO{sub 4}.« less

Gamma neutron assay method and apparatus

DOEpatents

Cole, J.D.; Aryaeinejad, R.; Greenwood, R.C.

1995-01-03

The gamma neutron assay technique is an alternative method to standard safeguards techniques for the identification and assaying of special nuclear materials in a field or laboratory environment, as a tool for dismantlement and destruction of nuclear weapons, and to determine the isotopic ratios for a blend-down program on uranium. It is capable of determining the isotopic ratios of fissionable material from the spontaneous or induced fission of a sample to within approximately 0.5%. This is based upon the prompt coincidence relationships that occur in the fission process and the proton conservation and quasi-conservation of nuclear mass (A) that exists between the two fission fragments. The system is used in both passive (without an external neutron source) and active (with an external neutron source) mode. The apparatus consists of an array of neutron and gamma-ray detectors electronically connected to determine coincident events. The method can also be used to assay radioactive waste which contains fissile material, even in the presence of a high background radiation field. 7 figures.

Gamma neutron assay method and apparatus

DOEpatents

Cole, Jerald D.; Aryaeinejad, Rahmat; Greenwood, Reginald C.

1995-01-01

The gamma neutron assay technique is an alternative method to standard safeguards techniques for the identification and assaying of special nuclear materials in a field or laboratory environment, as a tool for dismantlement and destruction of nuclear weapons, and to determine the isotopic ratios for a blend-down program on uranium. It is capable of determining the isotopic ratios of fissionable material from the spontaneous or induced fission of a sample to within approximately 0.5%. This is based upon the prompt coincidence relationships that occur in the fission process and the proton conservation and quasi-conservation of nuclear mass (A) that exists between the two fission fragments. The system is used in both passive (without an external neutron source and active (with an external neutron source) mode. The apparatus consists of an array of neutron and gamma-ray detectors electronically connected to determine coincident events. The method can also be used to assay radioactive waste which contains fissile material, even in the presence of a high background radiation field.

CSER-98-002: Criticality analysis for the storage of special nuclear material sources and standards in the WRAP facility

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

GOLDBERG, H.J.

1999-05-18

The Waste Receiving and Processing (WRAP) Facility will store uranium and transuranic (TRU) sources and standards for certification that WRAP meets the requirements of the Quality Assurance Program Plan (QAPP) for the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP). In addition, WRAP must meet internal requirements for testing and validation of measuring instruments for nondestructive assay (NDA). In order to be certified for WIPP, WRAP will participate in the NDA Performance Demonstration Program (PDP). This program is a blind test of the NDA capabilities for TRU waste. It is intended to ensure that the NDA capabilities of this facility satisfy the requirementsmore » of the quality assurance program plan for the WIPP. The PDP standards have been provided by the Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) for this program. These standards will be used in the WRAP facility.« less

Enhancing biogas production from anaerobic biodegradation of the organic fraction of municipal solid waste through leachate blending and recirculation.

PubMed

Nair, Arjun; Sartaj, Majid; Kennedy, Kevin; Coelho, Nuno M G

2014-10-01

Leachate recirculation has a profound advantage on biodegradation of the organic fraction of municipal solid waste in landfills. Mature leachate from older sections of landfills (>10 years) and young leachate were blended and added to organic fraction of municipal solid waste in a series of biomethane potential assay experiments with different mixing ratios of mature and young leachate and their effect on biogas production was monitored. The improvement in biogas production was in the range of 19%-41% depending on the ratio of mixing old and new leachate. The results are conclusive that the biogas generation could be improved by blending the old and new leachate in a bioreactor landfill system as compared with a conventional system employed in bioreactor landfills today for recirculating the same age leachate. © The Author(s) 2014.

Effect of variability in lighting and temperature environments for mature gilts housed in gestation crates on measures of reproduction and animal well-being.

PubMed

Canaday, D C; Salak-Johnson, J L; Visconti, A M; Wang, X; Bhalerao, K; Knox, R V

2013-03-01

The effects of room temperature and light intensity before breeding and into early gestation were evaluated on the reproductive performance and well-being of gilts housed individually in crates. In eight replicates, estrus was synchronized in mature gilts (n = 198) and after last feeding of Matrix were randomly assigned to a room temperature of 15°C (COLD), 21°C (NEUTRAL), or 30°C (HOT) and a light intensity of 11 (DIM) or 433 (BRIGHT) lx. Estrous detection was performed daily and gilts inseminated twice. Blood samples were collected before and after breeding for determination of immune measures and cortisol concentrations. Gilt ADFI, BW, and body temperature were measured. On d 30 postbreeding, gilts were slaughtered to recover reproductive tracts to evaluate pregnancy and litter characteristics. There were no temperature × light intensity interactions for any response variable. Reproductive measures of follicle development, expression of estrus, ovulation rate, pregnancy rate (83.2%), litter size (14.3 ± 0.5), and fetal measures were not affected by temperature or lighting (P > 0.10). Gilts in COLD (37.6°C) had a lower (P < 0.05) rectal temperature than those in NEUTRAL (38.2°C) and HOT (38.6 ± 0.04°C). Both BW gain and final BW were greater (P < 0.0001) for gilts kept in HOT than those in NEUTRAL or COLD environments. Cortisol was greater (P < 0.01) for gilts kept in COLD compared with those kept in the HOT room. Gilts housed in the HOT environment made more postural changes (P < 0.05) than did those kept in either COLD or NEUTRAL temperatures. Gilts kept in the HOT temperature spent more total time lying and more time lying ventrally compared with those gilts housed in the NEUTRAL or COLD rooms. Total white blood cells and the percentage of neutrophils as well as neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio were all influenced (P < 0.05) by temperature but there was no effect (P > 0.10) of light or interaction with temperature on other immune cells or measures. These results indicate that temperatures in the range of 15 to 30°C or light intensity at 11 to 433 lx do not impact reproduction during the follicular phase and into early gestation for mature gilts housed in gestation crates. However, room temperature does impact physiological, behavioral, and immune responses of mature gilts and should be considered as a potential factor that may influence gilt well-being during the first 30 d postbreeding.

Angiogenesis in tissue engineering: from concept to the vascularization of scaffold construct

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Amirah Ishak, Siti; Pangestu Djuansjah, J. R.; Kadir, M. R. Abdul; Sukmana, Irza

2014-06-01

Angiogenesis, the formation of micro-vascular network from the preexisting vascular vessels, has been studied in the connection to the normal developmental process as well as numerous diseases. In tissue engineering research, angiogenesis is also essential to promote micro-vascular network inside engineered tissue constructs, mimicking a functional blood vessel in vivo. Micro-vascular network can be used to maintain adequate tissue oxygenation, nutrient transfer and waste removal. One of the problems faced by angiogenesis researchers is to find suitable in vitro assays and methods for assessing the effect of regulators on angiogenesis and micro-vessel formation. The assay would be reliable and repeatable with easily quantifiable with physiologically relevant. This review aims to highlights recent advanced and future challenges in developing and using an in vitro angiogenesis assay for the application on biomedical and tissue engineering research.

Phenotypic and genotypic characterization of clinically relevant bacteria isolated from dental waste and waste workers' hands, mucosas and coats.

PubMed

Tagliaferri, T L; Vieira, C D; de Carvalho, M A R; Ladeira, L C D; Magalhães, P P; de Macêdo Farias, L; Dos Santos, S G

2017-10-01

Infectious wastes are potential sources of pathogenic micro-organisms, which may represent a risk to the professionals who manage them. In this study, we aimed to characterize the infectious bacteria present in dental waste and waste workers. The dental waste produced over 24 h was collected and waste workers were sampled by swabbing. Isolate resistance profiles were characterized by Vitek ® and PCR and biofilm formation by Congo Red agar, string test and microtitre assay. To assess similarity between the waste and the workers' samples, a random amplified polymorphic DNA test was used. Twenty-eight bacteria were identified as clinically relevant. The most frequent gene was bla TEM present in five Gram-negative micro-organisms, and one bla SHV in Klebsiella pneumoniae. All Pseudomonas aeruginosa were positive to extracellular polymeric substances formation, except one isolated from a worker. Klebsiella pneumoniae had negative results for the string test. Pseudomonas aeruginosa showed better adherence at 25°C after 48 h of incubation and K. pneumonia had the best biofilm formation at the same temperature, after 24 h. The similarity between P. aeruginosa recovered from dental waste and from workers was low, however, it is important to note that a pathogen was found on a worker's hands and that improvements in biosafety are required. Infectious dental waste can contain clinically relevant bacteria with important resistance and biofilm profiles. These micro-organisms could be transmitted to waste workers, other professionals and patients if the principles of biosafety measures are neglected. To our knowledge, no study has ever evaluated the microbial characterization and the potential contamination risk of dental infectious waste and waste handlers. The presence of clinically relevant bacteria in the hands and nasal mucosa of waste workers highlights the need for studies in this field to clarify the risk of these pathogens in dental healthcare services, and to stress the need for an efficient waste management. © 2017 The Society for Applied Microbiology.

Development and evaluation of a culture-independent method for source determination of fecal wastes in surface and storm waters using reverse transcriptase-PCR detection of FRNA coliphage genogroup gene sequences.

EPA Science Inventory

A complete method, incorporating recently improved reverse transcriptase-PCR primer/probe assays and including controls for determining interferences to phage recoveries from water sample concentrates and for detecting interferences to their analysis, was developed for the direct...

Design and Assessment of a Real Time Reverse Transcription-PCR Method to Genotype Single-Stranded RNA Male-Specific Coliphages (Family Leviviridae).

EPA Science Inventory

A real-time, reverse transcription-PCR (RT-qPCR) assay was developed to differentiate the four genogroups of male-specific ssRNA coliphages (FRNA) (family Leviviridae). As FRNA display a trend of source-specificity (human sewage or animal waste) at the genogroup level, this assa...

Development and evaluation of a culture-independent method for source determination of fecal wastes in surface and storm waters using reverse transcriptase-PCR detection of FRNA coliphage genogroup gene sequences

EPA Science Inventory

A complete method, incorporating recently improved reverse transcriptase-PCR primer/probe assays and including controls for determining interferences to phage recoveries from water sample concentrates and for detecting interferences to their analysis, was developed for the direct...

Anti and Androgenic Activities in MDA-KB2 Cells: A Comparison of Performance in 96 Well Versus HTS Assays

EPA Science Inventory

We developed the MDA-kb2 cell line to screen androgen agonists/antagonists (Wilson et al., ToxSci 66:69, 2002). MDA-kb2 has been used to quantify anti- and androgenic activities of chemicals, mixtures, combustion by-products, oil dispersants and waste, source and drinking water s...

Comparison of an Assay for Dehalococcoides DNA and a Microcosm Study in Predicting Reductive Dechlorination of Chlorinated Ethenes in the field

EPA Science Inventory

The study aims to compare the detection of 16S rRNA gene of Dehalococcoides species and the microcosm study for biotransformation in predicting reductive dechlorination of chlorinated ethylenes in ground water at hazardous waste sites. A total of 72 ground water samples were coll...

Transuranic solid waste management programs. Progress report, July--December 1975

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Not Available

1976-09-01

Progress is reported for three transuranic solid waste management programs funded at the Los Alamos Scientific Laboratory (LASL) by the Energy Research and Development Administration (ERDA) Division of Fuel Cycle and Production (NFCP). Under the Transuranic Waste Research and Development Program, continued studies have shown the potential attractiveness of fiber drums as an acceptable substitute for the current mild steel storage containers. Various fire retardants have been evaluated, with one indicating significant ability to inhibit fire propagation. Continued radiolysis studies, under laboratory and field conditions, continue to reaffirm earlier LASL results indicating no significant hazard from radiolytic reactions, assuming nomore » change in current allowable loadings. Care must be exercised to differentiate between radiolytic and chemical reactions. Other efforts have identified a modification of chemical processing to reduce the amounts of plutonium requiring retrievable storage. Studies are also in progress to enhance the sensitivity of the LASL MEGAS assay system. The Transuranic-Contaminated Solid Waste Treatment Development Facility building was 72 percent complete as of December 31, 1975, which is in accord with the existing schedule. Procurement of process components is also on schedule. Certain modifications to the facility have been made, and various pre-facility experiments on waste container handling and processing have been completed. The program for the Evaluation of Transuranic-Contaminated Radioactive Waste Disposal Areas continued development of various computer modules for simulation of radionuclide transport within the biosphere. In addition, program staff contributed to an ERDA document on radioactive waste management through the preparation of a report on burial of radioactive waste at ERDA-contractor and commercial sites.« less

Co-digestion of livestock effluents, energy crops and agro-waste: feeding and process optimization in mesophilic and thermophilic conditions.

PubMed

Giuliano, A; Bolzonella, D; Pavan, P; Cavinato, C; Cecchi, F

2013-01-01

In this study the optimization of the biogas yield from anaerobic co-digestion of manures and energy crops was carried out using four pilot scale CSTRs under different operating conditions. The effect on biogas yield of the partial substitution of energy crops with agro-waste was also investigated. For each substrate used during the continuous trials, BMP batch assays were also carried out to verify the maximum methane yield theoretically obtainable. Continuous operation results indicated that the co-digestion of manures, energy crops and agro-waste was viable at all operating conditions tested, with the greatest specific gas production of 0.54 m(3)/kg VS(fed) at an organic load rate of 2 kg TVS/m(3)(r)d consisting of 50% manure, 25% energy crops and 25% agro-waste on VS basis. No significant differences were observed between high and low loaded reactors suggesting the possibility of either improving the OLR in existing anaerobic reactors or reducing the design volumes of new reactors. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Chromosomal aberrations and DNA damage in human populations exposed to the processing of electronics waste.

PubMed

Liu, Qiang; Cao, Jia; Li, Ke Qiu; Miao, Xu Hong; Li, Guang; Fan, Fei Yue; Zhao, Yong Cheng

2009-05-01

It has been known that the pollutants of electronic wastes (E-wastes) can lead to severe pollution to the environment. It has been reported that about 50% to 80% of E-wastes from developed countries are exported to Asia and Africa. It has become a major global environmental problem to deal with 'E-wastes'. E-waste recycling has remained primitive in Jinghai, China. This not only produces enormous environmental pollution but also can bring about toxic or genotoxic effects on the human body, threatening the health of both current residents and future generations living in the local environment. The concentration of lead in the blood of children in the E-waste polluted area in China is higher than that of the control area. But little is known about the cytogenetic effect to human beings caused by the pollution of E-wastes. In the present study, experiments have been performed to investigate the genetics of permanent residents of three villages with numerous E-waste disposal sites and to analyze the harmful effects of exposure to E-wastes. In total, 171 villagers (exposed group) were randomly selected from permanent residents of three villages located in Jinghai County of Tianjin, China, where there has been massive disposal of E-wastes. Thirty villagers were selected from the neighboring towns without E-waste disposal sites to serve as controls. Chromosomal aberrations and cytokinesis blocking micronucleus were performed to detect the cytogenetic effect, dic + r (dicentric and ring chromosome), monomer, fragments (acentric fragments, minute chromosomes, and acentric rings), translocation, satellite, quadriradial, total aberrations, and micronuclear rate were scored for each subject. DNA damage was detected using comet assay; the DNA percentage in the comet tail (TDNA%), tail moment (TM), and Olive tail moment (OTM) were recorded to describe DNA damage to lymphocytes. The total chromosome aberration rates (5.50%) and micronuclear rates (16.99%) of the exposure group were significantly higher than in the control group (P = 0.000). The percentage of DNA in the comet tail, tail moment, and Olive tail moment detected by comet assay showed that there was a significant difference in DNA damage in the exposure group (P = 0.000). The chromosome aberration, micronucleus rate, and DNA damage observed in women were significantly higher than those in men. Chromosome aberration and micronuclear rates of both smokers and non-smokers in the exposure group are obviously higher than that in the control group (P = 0.000). The use of outdated (and unsafe) ways to deal with E-wastes can lead to exposure to a variety of substances harmful to human health. The components of pollution may enter the human body through the air, drinking water, and food chain to damage human genetic material, resulting in genomic instability. The rates of chromosomal aberration, micronucleus formation, and the degree of DNA damage in women in the group exposed to electronic waste were significantly higher than in men. The reason for this may be concerned with the traditional lifestyle of the local residents or the difference of sensitivity to the exposure to E-wastes or any others. Further investigations are needed to provide evidence to demonstrate this. Here, we report the obviously cytogenetic toxicity to the exposure population by the E-waste pollution for the first time. E-waste pollution may be a potential agent of genetic mutation, and may induce cytogenetic damage within the general population exposed to the pollution. These findings need to be considered, and steps should be taken to protect the current population and future generations from the effects of pollution with E-wastes. The above results remind us that the impact of E-waste recycling on environmental quality of Jinghai should be evaluated soon. Moreover, it is urgent for the government to prohibit E-waste import and its processing by outdated ways. The future studies such as pollutant details of drinking water, air, and soil in the area as well as epidemiological investigations on the harmful effect to children must be performed eagerly. All the data available do provide a compelling case for immediate action in both countries to address workplace health and safety and waste management.

Formulation of a fish feed for goldfish with natural astaxanthin extracted from shrimp waste.

PubMed

Weeratunge, W K O V; Perera, B G K

2016-01-01

Astaxanthin is a xanthophyll carotenoid, which exhibits many important biological activities including a high degree of antioxidant capacity (AOC) and antibacterial activity, hence has a significant applicability in food, pharmaceutical and cosmetic industries. An attempt was made towards optimization of astaxanthin extraction conditions using three different extraction conditions and a solvent series, from uncooked, cooked and acid-treated shrimp waste, which is a readily available and cheap source of the pigment. The astaxanthin extracts were analyzed by comparing their UV-visible absorbance spectra and thin layer chromatograms with a standard astaxanthin sample. The percentage of astaxanthin in each crude sample was determined using the Beer-Lambert law. The Folin-Ciocalteu assay and the disk diffusion assay were used to investigate the antioxidant capacities and antibacterial activities of extracted astaxanthin samples respectively. The extracted astaxanthin was incorporated into fish feeds to test its ability to enhance the skin color of goldfish. The best astaxanthin percentage of 68 % was observed with the acetone:ethyl acetate (1:1) solvent system facilitated by maceration of cooked and acid treated shrimp, whereas the best crude yield of 33 % was found to be in the acetone extract of the acid-treated shrimp sample. The highest AOC of 65 µg pyrogallol equivalents/mg was observed for the EtOAc extract obtained by maceration of acid-treated shrimp waste. The highest AOC by sonication and soxhlet extraction methods were also obtained with the EtOAc solvent. The extracts exhibited antibacterial activity against four selected bacterial strains. The newly formulated astaxanthin enriched fish feed was economical and indicated a significant improvement of the skin color and healthiness of goldfish compared to the control feeds. Biologically active astaxanthin can be successfully extracted from shrimp waste in higher percentages. The extraction technique and the solvent used to extract astaxanthin from shrimp waste should be decided depending on the desired outcome and application of astaxanthin. Moreover, the novel astaxanthin enriched fish feed formulated during this study was found to effectively enhance the skin color of goldfish within 10 days, a much shorter feeding period compared to previously reported feeding periods in similar studies.Graphical abstractFormulation of a skin color enhancing fish feed for ornamental fish using crude astaxanthin extracted from shrimp waste.

[Cultivation of a permanent fish cell line in serum-free media special experiences with a cytotoxicity test for waste water samples

PubMed

Kohlpoth, Martin; Rusche, Brigitte

1997-01-01

The use of fetal calf serum (FCS) as standard medium additive for the cell cultivation must be regarded critically from the point of view of animal welfare as well as for scientific reasons and makes it necessary to look for alternatives. In the last years an in vitro cytotoxicity assay for the testing of industrial waste waters with the permanent fish cell line RTG-2 was established and pre-validated as an alternative to the fish test with the golden orfe. The application of FCS is also a special problem with regard to the testing of waste waters in a cytotoxicity test so that FCS-alternatives were tested. The RTG-2 cells were successfully adapted to the two solvents Basal Medium Supplement (BMS) and Ultroser-G (U-G) that are used to replace serum. The characterisation of these adapted cell lines showed no significant differences in growth rate, adhesion rate, viability and sensitivity to chemicals in comparison to the original RTG-2 cells. On the determination of the cytotoxicity of industrial waste waters the RTG-2 cells adapted to the BMS medium indicated a clearly higher toxicity of the waste water samples than the original RTG-2 cells. This result confirms the thesis that serum components react with waste water elements and thus change the bio-availability of toxic compounds.

RH-TRU Waste Inventory Characterization by AK and Proposed WIPP RH-TRU Waste Characterization Objectives

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Most, W. A.; Kehrman, R.; Gist, C.

2002-02-26

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE)-Carlsbad Field Office (CBFO) has developed draft documentation to present the proposed Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) remote-handled (RH-) transuranic (TRU) waste characterization program to its regulators, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the New Mexico Environment Department. Compliance with Title 40, Code of Federal Regulations, Parts 191 and 194; the WIPP Land Withdrawal Act (PL 102-579); and the WIPP Hazardous Waste Facility Permit, as well as the Certificates of Compliance for the 72-B and 10-160B Casks, requires that specific waste parameter limits be imposed on DOE sites disposing of TRU waste at WIPP. Themore » DOE-CBFO must control the sites' compliance with the limits by specifying allowable characterization methods. As with the established WIPP contact handled TRU waste characterization program, the DOE-CBFO has proposed a Remote-Handled TRU Waste Acceptance Criteria (RH-WAC) document consolidating the requirements from various regulatory drivers and proposed allowable characterization methods. These criteria are consistent with the recommendation of a recent National Academy Sciences/National Research Council to develop an RH-TRU waste characterization approach that removes current self imposed requirements that lack a legal or safety basis. As proposed in the draft RH-WAC and other preliminary documents, the DOE-CBFO RH-TRU waste characterization program proposes the use of acceptable knowledge (AK) as the primary method for obtaining required characterization information. The use of AK involves applying knowledge of the waste in light of the materials or processes used to generate the waste. Documentation, records, or processes providing information about various attributes of a waste stream, such as chemical, physical, and radiological properties, may be used as AK and may be applied to individual waste containers either independently or in conjunction with radiography, visual examination, assay, and other sampling and analytical data. RH-TRU waste cannot be shipped to WIPP on the basis of AK alone if documentation demonstrating that all of the prescribed limits in the RH-WAC are met is not available, discrepancies exist among AK source documents describing the same waste stream and the most conservative assumptions regarding those documents indicates that a limit will not be met, or all required data are not available for a given waste stream.« less

Cam-driven monochromator for QEXAFS

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Caliebe, W. A.; So, I.; Lenhard, A.; Siddons, D. P.

2006-11-01

We have developed a cam-drive for quickly tuning the energy of an X-ray monochromator through an X-ray absorption edge for quick extended X-ray absorption spectroscopy (QEXAFS). The data are collected using a 4-channel, 12-bit multiplexed VME analog to digital converter and a VME angle encoder. The VME crate controller runs a real-time operating system. This system is capable of collecting 2 EXAFS-scans in 1 s with an energy stability of better than 1 eV. Additional improvements to increase the speed and the energy stability are under way.

NOAA-L satellite arrives at Vandenberg AFB

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

2000-01-01

Outside the B16-10 spacecraft processing hangar at Vandenberg Air Force Base, Calif., a crated National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA-L) satellite is lowered to the ground before being moved inside. NOAA-L is part of the Polar-Orbiting Operational Environmental Satellite (POES) program that provides atmospheric measurements of temperature, humidity, ozone and cloud images, tracking weather patterns that affect the global weather and climate. The launch of the NOAA-L satellite is scheduled no earlier than Sept. 12 aboard a Lockheed Martin Titan II rocket. Electronics for the STEREO experiment

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

HÉLAINE, Victor; STEREO Collaboration

2017-09-01

The STEREO experiment, aiming to probe short baseline neutrino oscillations by precisely measuring reactor anti-neutrino spectrum, is currently under installation. It is located at short distance from the compact research reactor core of the Institut Laue-Langevin, Grenoble, France. Dedicated electronics, hosted in a single µTCA crate, were designed for this experiment. In this article, the electronics requirements, architecture and the performances achieved are described. It is shown how intrinsic Pulse Shape Discrimination properties of the liquid scintillator are preserved and how custom adaptable logic is used to improve the muon veto efficiency.

The DZERO Level 3 Data Acquisition System

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Angstadt, R.; Brooijmans, G.; Chapin, D.; Clements, M.; Cutts, D.; Haas, A.; Hauser, R.; Johnson, M.; Kulyavtsev, A.; Mattingly, S. E. K.; Mulders, M.; Padley, P.; Petravick, D.; Rechenmacher, R.; Snyder, S.; Watts, G.

2004-06-01

The DZERO experiment began RunII datataking operation at Fermilab in spring 2001. The physics program of the experiment requires the Level 3 data acquisition (DAQ) system system to handle average event sizes of 250 kilobytes at a rate of 1 kHz. The system routes and transfers event fragments of approximately 1-20 kilobytes from 63 VME crate sources to any of approximately 100 processing nodes. It is built upon a Cisco 6509 Ethernet switch, standard PCs, and commodity VME single board computers (SBCs). The system has been in full operation since spring 2002.

The IBL readout system

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dopke, J.; Falchieri, D.; Flick, T.; Gabrielli, A.; Kugel, A.; Mättig, P.; Morettini, P.; Polini, A.; Schroer, N.

2011-01-01

The first upgrade for the ATLAS Pixel Detector will be an additional layer, which is called IBL (Insertable B-Layer). To readout this new layer, built from new electronics, an update of the readout electronics is necessary. The aim is to develop a system which is capable to read out at a higher bandwidth, but also compatible with the existing system to be integrated into it. This paper describes the necessary development to reach a new readout system, concentrating on the requirements of a newly designed Back of Crate card as the optical interface in the counting room.

Genotoxicity reduction in bagasse waste of sugar industry by earthworm technology.

PubMed

Bhat, Sartaj Ahmad; Singh, Jaswinder; Vig, Adarsh Pal

2016-01-01

The aim of the present study was to assess the genotoxicity reduction in post vermicompost feed mixtures of bagasse (B) waste using earthworm Eisenia fetida. The genotoxicity of bagasse waste was determined by using Allium cepa root chromosomal aberration assay. Bagasse was amended with cattle dung in different proportions [0:100 (B0) 25:75 (B25), 50:50 (B50), 75:25 (B75) and 100:0 (B100)] on dry weight basis. Genotoxic effects of initial and post vermicompost bagasse extracts were analysed on the root tips cells of Allium cepa. Root length and mitotic index (MI) was found to be increased in post vermicompost extracts when compared to initial bagasse waste. The maximum percent increase of root length was observed in the B50 bagasse extract (96.60 %) and the maximum MI was observed in B100 mixture (14.20 ± 0.60) 6 h treatment which was similar to the control. Genotoxicity analysis of post vermicompost extracts of bagasse revealed a 21-44 % decline in the aberration frequencies and the maximum reduction was found in B75 extract (44.50 %). The increase in root length and mitotic index, as well as decrease in chromosomal aberrations indicates that E. fetida has the ability to reduce the genotoxicity of the bagasse waste.

LANL robotics site overview

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Beugelsdijk, T.J.

1990-11-01

This paper reports on robotics applications at the Los Alamos National Laboratory. The topics of the paper include the ROBOCAL project to assay all nuclear materials entering and leaving the process floor at the Los Alamos Plutonium Facility, the isotope detector fabrication project, a plutonium dissolution robotic system, a safeguards waste automated measurement instrument, and DNA filter array construction. This report consists of overheads only.

Ecotoxicological impact of MSW landfills: assessment of teratogenic effects by means of an adapted FETAX assay.

PubMed

de Lapuente, J; González-Linares, J; Pique, E; Borràs, M

2014-01-01

The introduction of chemical products into the environment can cause long-term effects on the ecosystems. Increasing efforts are being made to determine the extent of contamination in particularly affected areas using diverse methods to assess the ecotoxicological impact. We used a modified Frog Embrio Toxicity Assay-Xenopus method to determine the extent of toxicological load in different sample soils obtained near three municipal solid waste landfills in Catalonia (Spain). The results show that the Garraf landfill facility produces more embryotoxic damage to the surroundings, than the others ones: Can Mata landfill and Montferrer-Castellbó landfill. The aim of this work is to demonstrate how different management of complex sources of contamination as the controlled dumping sites can modulate the presence of toxics in the environment and their effects and through this, help determine the safer way to treat these wastes. To this effect some conceptual modifications have been made on the established American Society for Testing and Materials protocol. The validity of the new model, both as to model of calculation as to protocol, has been demonstrated in three different sites with complex sources of contamination.

Pickering Particles Prepared from Food Waste

PubMed Central

Gould, Joanne; Garcia-Garcia, Guillermo; Wolf, Bettina

2016-01-01

In this paper, we demonstrate the functionality and functionalisation of waste particles as an emulsifier for oil-in-water (o/w) and water-in-oil (w/o) emulsions. Ground coffee waste was chosen as a candidate waste material due to its naturally high content of lignin, a chemical component imparting emulsifying ability. The waste coffee particles readily stabilised o/w emulsions and following hydrothermal treatment adapted from the bioenergy field they also stabilised w/o emulsions. The hydrothermal treatment relocated the lignin component of the cell walls within the coffee particles onto the particle surface thereby increasing the surface hydrophobicity of the particles as demonstrated by an emulsion assay. Emulsion droplet sizes were comparable to those found in processed foods in the case of hydrophilic waste coffee particles stabilizing o/w emulsions. These emulsions were stable against coalescence for at least 12 weeks, flocculated but stable against coalescence in shear and stable to pasteurisation conditions (10 min at 80 °C). Emulsion droplet size was also insensitive to pH of the aqueous phase during preparation (pH 3–pH 9). Stable against coalescence, the water droplets in w/o emulsions prepared with hydrothermally treated waste coffee particles were considerably larger and microscopic examination showed evidence of arrested coalescence indicative of particle jamming at the surface of the emulsion droplets. Refinement of the hydrothermal treatment and broadening out to other lignin-rich plant or plant based food waste material are promising routes to bring closer the development of commercially relevant lignin based food Pickering particles applicable to emulsion based processed foods ranging from fat continuous spreads and fillings to salad dressings. PMID:28773909

Energetics of sows and gilts in gestation crates in the cold.

PubMed

Verstegen, M W; Curtis, S E

1988-11-01

Seventy pregnant sows and gilts in gestation crates with unbedded concrete-slat floors and partitions in common (which permitted contact by neighbors) in a closed house with air temperature 10 to 12 degrees C during cold weather were studied for 3 wk. The animals' lower critical temperature and thermoregulatory heat and feed requirements were estimated from measured variables, including ME intake, body weight and its change and body surface temperature, and other calculated values and assumptions. Estimates for a 165-kg sow or gilt in such an environment were: lower critical temperature = 15 degrees C; thermoregulatory heat requirement = 126 to 161 kcal/d per 1 C degree of coldness (higher as pregnancy progresses); and thermoregulatory feed requirement = 42 to 54 g/d per 1 C degree of coldness (assuming 3 kcal ME/g of diet). The sow's lower critical temperature was affected by state of pregnancy; in late pregnancy it was 1.6 to 2.6 C degrees lower than in early pregnancy. These estimates of the pregnant sow's thermoregulatory heat and feed requirements at effective environmental temperatures below the lower critical temperature accord well with those published before. But this estimate of the pregnant sow's lower critical temperature is approximately 5 C degrees lower than several made in laboratory settings on animals held individually, with no opportunity to huddle. The fact that every sow and gilt in this experiment could make mechanical contact with at least one neighbor at all times, and sometimes two, might account for much of the difference in lower critical temperature estimates.

The behaviour and welfare of sows and piglets in farrowing crates or lactation pens.

PubMed

Singh, C; Verdon, M; Cronin, G M; Hemsworth, P H

2017-07-01

Temporary confinement during parturition and early postpartum may provide an intermediary step preceding loose housing that offers improvement in sow and piglet welfare. Three experiments were conducted to investigate the implications of replacing farrowing crates (FCs) with an alternative housing system from 3 days postpartum until weaning. In each experiment sows farrowed in FCs and were randomly allocated at day 3 of lactation to either a FC or a pen with increased floor space (lactation pen (LP)) until weaning. In experiment 1, piglet growth and sow and piglet skin injuries were recorded for 32 sows and 128 focal piglets in these litters. Behaviour around nursing and piglet behavioural time budgets were also recorded for 24 of these litters (96 focal piglets for time budgets). In experiment 2, measures of skin injury and behavioural time budgets were conducted on 28 sows and 112 focal piglets. The behavioural response of sows to piglet vocalisation (maternal responsiveness test (MRT)) was also assessed. In experiment 3, piglet mortality from day 3 of lactation until weaning was recorded in 672 litters over 12 months. While housing did not affect piglet weight gain in experiment 1, or piglet skin injuries in experiments 1 or 2, sows in both experiments sustained more injuries in LP than FC (experiment 1, 2.9 v. 1.4; experiment 2, 2.5 v. 0.8 lesions/sow; P0.05). Thus, housing sows and litters in LP from day 3 of lactation minimises piglet mortality while improving maternal behaviour in sows and social behaviour in piglets.

Analysis of Campylobacter spp. contamination in broilers from the farm to the final meat cuts by using restriction fragment length polymorphism of the polymerase chain reaction products.

PubMed

Takahashi, Ryouta; Shahada, Francis; Chuma, Takehisa; Okamoto, Karoku

2006-08-01

We investigated the genotype diversity and dynamics of Campylobacter jejuni and Campylobacter coli in six commercial broiler farms during rearing and abattoir processing. In total, 223 C. jejuni and 36 C. coli strains isolated (on farm, transportation crates, carcasses after defeathering, and chicken wing meat at the end of the processing line) were subtyped by PCR-RFLP based on flagellin (fla typing) gene. Eleven (C. jejuni) and four (C. coli) different RFLP patterns were found. Multiple C. jejuni genotypes were identified in five out of six farms (except Farm 5). Furthermore, a clear tendency for dominance of particular genotypes was observed in almost all farms except Farm 3. Although diverse C. jejuni genotypes were isolated on the farms and transport crates, they were not detected in chicken wing cuts at the end of the processing line. We also observed varied distribution of types in different sampling stages both at the farm level and the processing environment. However, the interpretation of such fluctuations is precarious as new types occurred on some occasions, particularly during processing. Our results show that chicken wing meat contamination resulted mainly from farm strain carryover, and that the carcasses were probably contaminated during processing. In addition, the new strain types observed were isolated more frequently after defeathering as compared to other processing steps. Therefore, this stage, in addition to evisceration, is one of the critical control points in the processing line to prevent cross-contamination and for controlling the spread of campylobacters.

Carbon-Coated, Diatomite-Derived Nanosilicon as a High Rate Capable Li-ion Battery Anode

PubMed Central

Campbell, Brennan; Ionescu, Robert; Tolchin, Maxwell; Ahmed, Kazi; Favors, Zachary; Bozhilov, Krassimir N.; Ozkan, Cengiz S.; Ozkan, Mihrimah

2016-01-01

Silicon is produced in a variety of ways as an ultra-high capacity lithium-ion battery (LIB) anode material. The traditional carbothermic reduction process required is expensive and energy-intensive; in this work, we use an efficient magnesiothermic reduction to convert the silica-based frustules within diatomaceous earth (diatomite, DE) to nanosilicon (nanoSi) for use as LIB anodes. Polyacrylic acid (PAA) was used as a binder for the DE-based nanoSi anodes for the first time, being attributed for the high silicon utilization under high current densities (up to 4C). The resulting nanoSi exhibited a high BET specific surface area of 162.6 cm2 g−1, compared to a value of 7.3 cm2 g−1 for the original DE. DE contains SiO2 architectures that make ideal bio-derived templates for nanoscaled silicon. The DE-based nanoSi anodes exhibit good cyclability, with a specific discharge capacity of 1102.1 mAh g−1 after 50 cycles at a C-rate of C/5 (0.7 A gSi−1) and high areal loading (2 mg cm−2). This work also demonstrates the fist rate capability testing for a DE-based Si anode; C-rates of C/30 - 4C were tested. At 4C (14.3 A gSi−1), the anode maintained a specific capacity of 654.3 mAh g−1 – nearly 2x higher than graphite’s theoretical value (372 mAh g−1). PMID:27713474

Carbon-Coated, Diatomite-Derived Nanosilicon as a High Rate Capable Li-ion Battery Anode

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Campbell, Brennan; Ionescu, Robert; Tolchin, Maxwell; Ahmed, Kazi; Favors, Zachary; Bozhilov, Krassimir N.; Ozkan, Cengiz S.; Ozkan, Mihrimah

2016-10-01

Silicon is produced in a variety of ways as an ultra-high capacity lithium-ion battery (LIB) anode material. The traditional carbothermic reduction process required is expensive and energy-intensive; in this work, we use an efficient magnesiothermic reduction to convert the silica-based frustules within diatomaceous earth (diatomite, DE) to nanosilicon (nanoSi) for use as LIB anodes. Polyacrylic acid (PAA) was used as a binder for the DE-based nanoSi anodes for the first time, being attributed for the high silicon utilization under high current densities (up to 4C). The resulting nanoSi exhibited a high BET specific surface area of 162.6 cm2 g-1, compared to a value of 7.3 cm2 g-1 for the original DE. DE contains SiO2 architectures that make ideal bio-derived templates for nanoscaled silicon. The DE-based nanoSi anodes exhibit good cyclability, with a specific discharge capacity of 1102.1 mAh g-1 after 50 cycles at a C-rate of C/5 (0.7 A gSi-1) and high areal loading (2 mg cm-2). This work also demonstrates the fist rate capability testing for a DE-based Si anode; C-rates of C/30 - 4C were tested. At 4C (14.3 A gSi-1), the anode maintained a specific capacity of 654.3 mAh g-1 - nearly 2x higher than graphite’s theoretical value (372 mAh g-1).

Feasibility of transabdominal Doppler sonography for studying uterine blood flow characteristics in cycling gilts.

PubMed

Herlta, Catherine; Starka, Rosa; Sigmarsson, Haukur L; Kauffold, Johannes

2018-06-01

To test for the feasibility of transabdominal Doppler sonography (color, power, pulse wave) to define uterine perfusion characteristics throughout the estrous cycle in gilts. A total of 15 gilts were synchronized for estrus and scanned in their following spontaneous cycle while being restrained in a purpose-designed mobile crate. To define uterine perfusion characteristics, vessels in between and within uterine cross-sections were imaged and recorded as video sequences to be analyzed by PixelFlux® software for perfused area (Amix), blood flow velocity (vmix) and intensity (Imix) as well as resistance (RIvmix) and pulsatility index (PIvmix). Color Doppler sonography proved to be the only feasible technique, as it was less affected by animal movements than power and pulse wave sonography. As determined by color Doppler sonography, all five parameters determined showed specific patterns through the estrous cycle, i. e. Amix, vmix, Imix were high in proestrus, decreased in estrus and remained low in midestrus and most parts of diestrus; RIvmix and PIvmix with inversely paralleled patterns. This study has demonstrated that transabdominal color Doppler but not power and pulse wave Doppler sonography is feasible to be performed in crate-restrained gilts for studying uterine perfusion characteristics during the estrous cycle, and that changes of uterine perfusion over the course of the estrous cycle can be clearly followed by color Doppler sonography. Results encourage the use of color Doppler sonography for studying i. e. uterine capacity or uterus related infertility such as for cases of clinically unapparent endometritis. Schattauer GmbH.

Environmental methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus contamination in pig herds in relation to the productive phase and application of cleaning and disinfection.

PubMed

Merialdi, G; Galletti, E; Guazzetti, S; Rosignoli, C; Alborali, G; Battisti, A; Franco, A; Bonilauri, P; Rugna, G; Martelli, P

2013-06-01

The aim of the study is to better understand MRSA environmental contamination in pig holdings in relation to the productive phase and the application of environmental cleaning and disinfection practices (C&D). This study was carried out on six herds. Dust samples from farrowing crates, weaning boxes, growing and finishing pens were collected from each herd environment prior to and after C&D and cultured for MRSA. Ten samples were collected at the end of each productive phase with the animals present and 10 additional samples were collected after C&D, prior to introduction of a new stock. The proportion of positive samples prior to C&D was lower in fattening than in other phases. The proportion of positive samples prior to and after C&D was 121/240 (50%) and 46/240 (19%) respectively. In the mixed effects logistic regression analysis it was shown not only that both productive phase and C&D were associated with the probability of having a positive sample but also that the C&D effect was different in the different productive phases. In particular the effect of C&D was stronger in farrowing crates than in the other productive phases. The results of this study show that, although current practices of cleaning and disinfection reduce MRSA environmental contamination, they are likely to be inadequate to the elimination of the microorganism. However, a strict application of hygienic protocols can lead to a marked reduction of MRSA environmental contamination. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Battery Capacity Fading Estimation Using a Force-Based Incremental Capacity Analysis

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Samad, Nassim A.; Kim, Youngki; Siegel, Jason B.

Traditionally health monitoring techniques in lithium-ion batteries rely on voltage and current measurements. A novel method of using a mechanical rather than electrical signal in the incremental capacity analysis (ICA) method is introduced in this paper. This method derives the incremental capacity curves based onmeasured force (ICF) instead of voltage (ICV). The force ismeasured on the surface of a cell under compression in a fixture that replicates a battery pack assembly and preloading. The analysis is performed on data collected from cycling encased prismatic Lithium-ion Nickel-Manganese-Cobalt Oxide (NMC) cells. For the NMC chemistry, the ICF method can complement or replacemore » the ICV method for the following reasons. The identified ICV peaks are centered around 40% of state of charge (SOC) while the peaks of the ICF method are centered around 70% of SOC indicating that the ICF can be used more often because it is more likely that an electric vehicle (EV) or a plug-in hybrid electric vehicle (PHEV) will traverse the 70% SOC range than the 40% SOC. In addition the Signal to Noise ratio (SNR) of the force signal is four times larger than the voltage signal using laboratory grade sensors. The proposed ICF method is shown to achieve 0.42% accuracy in capacity estimation during a low C-rate constant current discharge. Future work will investigate the application of the capacity estimation technique under charging and operation under high C-rates by addressing the transient behavior of force so that an online methodology for capacity estimation is developed.« less

Battery Capacity Fading Estimation Using a Force-Based Incremental Capacity Analysis

DOE PAGES

Samad, Nassim A.; Kim, Youngki; Siegel, Jason B.; ...

2016-05-27

Traditionally health monitoring techniques in lithium-ion batteries rely on voltage and current measurements. A novel method of using a mechanical rather than electrical signal in the incremental capacity analysis (ICA) method is introduced in this paper. This method derives the incremental capacity curves based onmeasured force (ICF) instead of voltage (ICV). The force ismeasured on the surface of a cell under compression in a fixture that replicates a battery pack assembly and preloading. The analysis is performed on data collected from cycling encased prismatic Lithium-ion Nickel-Manganese-Cobalt Oxide (NMC) cells. For the NMC chemistry, the ICF method can complement or replacemore » the ICV method for the following reasons. The identified ICV peaks are centered around 40% of state of charge (SOC) while the peaks of the ICF method are centered around 70% of SOC indicating that the ICF can be used more often because it is more likely that an electric vehicle (EV) or a plug-in hybrid electric vehicle (PHEV) will traverse the 70% SOC range than the 40% SOC. In addition the Signal to Noise ratio (SNR) of the force signal is four times larger than the voltage signal using laboratory grade sensors. The proposed ICF method is shown to achieve 0.42% accuracy in capacity estimation during a low C-rate constant current discharge. Future work will investigate the application of the capacity estimation technique under charging and operation under high C-rates by addressing the transient behavior of force so that an online methodology for capacity estimation is developed.« less

A combined approach to investigate the toxicity of an industrial landfill's leachate: chemical analyses, risk assessment and in vitro assays.

PubMed

Baderna, D; Maggioni, S; Boriani, E; Gemma, S; Molteni, M; Lombardo, A; Colombo, A; Bordonali, S; Rotella, G; Lodi, M; Benfenati, E

2011-05-01

Solid wastes constitute an important and emerging problem. Landfills are still one of the most common ways to manage waste disposal. The risk assessment of pollutants from landfills is becoming a major environmental issue in Europe, due to the large number of sites and to the importance of groundwater protection. Furthermore, there is lack of knowledge for the environmental, ecotoxicological and toxicological characteristics of most contaminants contained into landfill leacheates. Understanding leachate composition and creating an integrated strategy for risk assessment are currently needed to correctly face the landfill issues and to make projections on the long-term impacts of a landfill, with particular attention to the estimation of possible adverse effects on human health and ecosystem. In the present study, we propose an integrated strategy to evaluate the toxicity of the leachate using chemical analyses, risk assessment guidelines and in vitro assays using the hepatoma HepG2 cells as a model. The approach was applied on a real case study: an industrial waste landfill in northern Italy for which data on the presence of leachate contaminants are available from the last 11 years. Results from our ecological risk models suggest important toxic effects on freshwater fish and small rodents, mainly due to ammonia and inorganic constituents. Our results from in vitro data show an inhibition of cell proliferation by leachate at low doses and cytotoxic effect at high doses after 48 h of exposure. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Antiproliferation and induction of cell death of Phaffia rhodozyma (Xanthophyllomyces dendrorhous) extract fermented by brewer malt waste on breast cancer cells.

PubMed

Teo, Ivy Tuang Ngo; Chui, Chung Hin; Tang, Johnny Cheuk On; Lau, Fung Yi; Cheng, Gregory Yin Ming; Wong, Raymond Siu Ming; Kok, Stanton Hon Lung; Cheng, Chor Hing; Chan, Albert Sun Chi; Ho, Kwok Ping

2005-11-01

Astaxanthin has been shown to have antiproliferative activity on breast cancer and skin cancer cells. However, the high cost of production, isolation and purification of purified astaxanthin from natural sources or chemically synthetic methods limit its usage on cancer therapy. We show that astaxanthin could be produced by fermentating the Phaffia rhodozyma (Xanthophyllomyces dendrorhous) yeast cells with brewer malt waste using a 20 L B. Braun fermentor. The percentage composition of astaxanthin from the P. rhodozyma was >70% of total pigment as estimated by the high performance liquid chromatographic analysis. Furthermore, the antiproliferative activity of this P. rhodozyma cell extract (PRE) was demonstrated on breast cancer cell lines including the MCF-7 (estrogen receptor positive) and MDA-MB231 (estrogen receptor negative) by using the [3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-5-(3-arboxymethoxyphenyl)-2- (4-sulfophenyl)-2H-tetrazolium] (MTS) assay. No apoptotic cell death, but growth inhibitory effect was induced after 48 h of PRE incubation as suggested by morphological investigation. Anchorage-dependent clonogenicity assay showed that PRE could reduce the colony formation potential of both breast cancer cell lines. Cell death was observed from both breast cancer cell lines after incubation with PRE for 6 days. Taken together, our results showed that by using an economic method of brewer malt waste fermentation, we obtained P. rhodozyma with a high yield of astaxanthin and the corresponding PRE could have short-term growth inhibition and long-term cell death activity on breast cancer cells.

Disposable diapers biodegradation by the fungus Pleurotus ostreatus.

PubMed

Espinosa-Valdemar, Rosa María; Turpin-Marion, Sylvie; Delfín-Alcalá, Irma; Vázquez-Morillas, Alethia

2011-08-01

This research assesses the feasibility of degrading used disposable diapers, an important component (5-15% in weight) of urban solid waste in Mexico, by the activity of the fungus Pleurotus ostreatus, also known as oyster mushroom. Disposable diapers contain polyethylene, polypropylene and a super absorbent polymer. Nevertheless, its main component is cellulose, which degrades slowly. P. ostreatus has been utilized extensively to degrade cellulosic materials of agroindustrial sources, using in situ techniques. The practice has been extended to the commercial farming of the mushroom. This degradation capacity was assayed to reduce mass and volume of used disposable diapers. Pilot laboratory assays were performed to estimate the usefulness of the following variables on conditioning of used diapers before they act as substrate for P. ostreatus: (1) permanence vs removal of plastic cover; (2) shredding vs grinding; (3) addition of grape wastes to improve structure, nitrogen and trace elements content. Wheat straw was used as a positive control. After 68 days, decrease of the mass of diapers and productivity of fungus was measured. Weight and volume of degradable materials was reduced up to 90%. Cellulose content was diminished in 50% and lignine content in 47%. The highest efficiency for degradation of cellulosic materials corresponded to the substrates that showed highest biological efficiency, which varied from 0% to 34%. Harvested mushrooms had good appearance and protein content and were free of human disease pathogens. This research indicates that growing P. ostreatus on disposable diapers could be a good alternative for two current problems: reduction of urban solid waste and availability of high protein food sources. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Anaerobic co-digestion of sewage sludge and food waste.

PubMed

Prabhu, Meghanath S; Mutnuri, Srikanth

2016-04-01

Anaerobic co-digestion of organic matter improves digester operating characteristics and its performance. In the present work, food waste was collected from the institute cafeteria. Two types of sludge (before centrifuge and after centrifuge) were collected from the fluidised bed reactor of the institute treating sewage wastewater. Food waste and sludge were studied for their physico-chemical characteristics, such as pH, chemical oxygen demand, total solids, volatile solids, ammoniacal nitrogen, and total nitrogen. A biomethane potential assay was carried out to find out the optimum mixing ratio of food waste and sludge for anaerobic co-digestion. Results indicated that food waste mixed with sludge in the ratio of 1:2 produced the maximum biogas of 823 ml gVS(-1)(21 days) with an average methane content of 60%. Batch studies were conducted in 5 L lab-glass reactors at a mesophilic temperature. The effect of different substrate loading rates on biogas production was investigated. The mixing ratio of food waste and sludge was 1:2. A loading rate of 1 gVS L d(-1)gave the maximum biogas production of 742 ml g(-1)VS L d(-1)with a methane content of 50%, followed by 2 gVS L d(-1)with biogas of 539 ml g(-1)VS L d(-1) Microbial diversity of the reactor during fed batch studies was investigated by terminal restriction fragment length polymorphism. A pilot-scale co-digestion of food waste and sludge (before centrifuge) indicated the process stability of anaerobic digestion. © The Author(s) 2016.

Feasibility study of 235U and 239Pu characterization in radioactive waste drums using neutron-induced fission delayed gamma rays

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nicol, T.; Pérot, B.; Carasco, C.; Brackx, E.; Mariani, A.; Passard, C.; Mauerhofer, E.; Collot, J.

2016-10-01

This paper reports a feasibility study of 235U and 239Pu characterization in 225 L bituminized waste drums or 200 L concrete waste drums, by detecting delayed fission gamma rays between the pulses of a deuterium-tritium neutron generator. The delayed gamma yields were first measured with bare samples of 235U and 239Pu in REGAIN, a facility dedicated to the assay of 118 L waste drums by Prompt Gamma Neutron Activation Analysis (PGNAA) at CEA Cadarache, France. Detectability in the waste drums is then assessed using the MCNPX model of MEDINA (Multi Element Detection based on Instrumental Neutron Activation), another PGNAA cell dedicated to 200 L drums at FZJ, Germany. For the bituminized waste drum, performances are severely hampered by the high gamma background due to 137Cs, which requires the use of collimator and shield to avoid electronics saturation, these elements being very penalizing for the detection of the weak delayed gamma signal. However, for lower activity concrete drums, detection limits range from 10 to 290 g of 235U or 239Pu, depending on the delayed gamma rays of interest. These detection limits have been determined by using MCNPX to calculate the delayed gamma useful signal, and by measuring the experimental gamma background in MEDINA with a 200 L concrete drum mock-up. The performances could be significantly improved by using a higher interrogating neutron emission and an optimized experimental setup, which would allow characterizing nuclear materials in a wide range of low and medium activity waste packages.

Valorization of Bone Waste of Saudi Arabia by Synthesizing Hydroxyapatite.

PubMed

Amna, Touseef

2018-05-09

At present, hydroxyapatite is being frequently used for diverse biomedical applications as it possesses excellent biocompatibility, osteoconductivity, and non-immunogenic characteristics. The aim of the present work was to recycle bone waste for synthesis of hydroxyapatite nanoparticles to be used as bone extracellular matrix. For this reason, we for the first time utilized bio-waste of cow bones of Albaha city. The residual bones were utilized for the extraction of natural bone precursor hydroxyapatite. A facile scientific technique has been used to synthesize hydroxyapatite nanoparticles through calcinations of wasted cow bones without further supplementation of chemicals/compounds. The obtained hydroxyapatite powder was ascertained using physicochemical techniques such as XRD, SEM, FTIR, and EDX. These analyses clearly show that hydroxyapatite from native cow bone wastes is biologically and physicochemically comparable to standard hydroxyapatite, commonly used for biomedical functions. The cell viability and proliferation over the prepared hydroxyapatite was confirmed with CCk-8 colorimetric assay. The morphology of the cells growing over the nano-hydroxyapatite shows that natural hydroxyapatite promotes cellular attachment and proliferation. Hence, the as-prepared nano-hydroxyapatite can be considered as cost-effective source of bone precursor hydroxyapatite for bone tissue engineering. Taking into account the projected demand for reliable bone implants, the present research work suggested using environment friendly methods to convert waste of Albaha city into nano-hydroxyapatite scaffolds. Therefore, besides being an initial step towards accomplishment of projected demands of bone implants in Saudi Arabia, our study will also help in reducing the environmental burden by recycling of bone wastes of Albaha city.

Development of an NDA system for high-level waste from the Chernobyl new safe confinement construction site

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Lee, Sang-yoon; Browne, Michael C; Rael, Carlos D

2010-01-01

In early 2009, preliminary excavation work has begun in preparation for the construction of the New Safe Confinement (NSC) at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant (ChNPP) in Ukraine. The NSC is the structure that will replace the present containment structure and will confine the radioactive remains of the ChNPP Unit-4 reactor for the next 100 years. It is expected that special nuclear material (SNM) that was ejected from the Unit-4 reactor during the accident in 1986 could be uncovered and would therefore need to be safeguarded. ChNPP requested the assistance of the United States Department of Energy/National Nuclear Security Administrationmore » (NNSA) with developing a new non-destructive assay (NDA) system that is capable of assaying radioactive debris stored in 55-gallon drums. The design of the system has to be tailored to the unique circumstances and work processes at the NSC construction site and the ChNPP. This paper describes the Chernobyl Drum Assay System (CDAS), the solution devised by Los Alamos National Laboratory, Sonalysts Inc., and the ChNPP, under NNSA's International Safeguards and Engagement Program (INSEP). The neutron counter measures the spontaneous fission neutrons from the {sup 238}U, {sup 240}Pu, {sup 244}Cm in a waste drum and estimates the mass contents of the SNMs in the drum by using of isotopic compositions determined by fuel burnup. The preliminary evaluation on overall measurement uncertainty shows that the system meets design performance requirements imposed by the facility.« less

Semi-Tomographic Gamma Scanning Technique for Non-Destructive Assay of Radioactive Waste Drums

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gu, Weiguo; Rao, Kaiyuan; Wang, Dezhong; Xiong, Jiemei

2016-12-01

Segmented gamma scanning (SGS) and tomographic gamma scanning (TGS) are two traditional detection techniques for low and intermediate level radioactive waste drum. This paper proposes one detection method named semi-tomographic gamma scanning (STGS) to avoid the poor detection accuracy of SGS and shorten detection time of TGS. This method and its algorithm synthesize the principles of SGS and TGS. In this method, each segment is divided into annual voxels and tomography is used in the radiation reconstruction. The accuracy of STGS is verified by experiments and simulations simultaneously for the 208 liter standard waste drums which contains three types of nuclides. The cases of point source or multi-point sources, uniform or nonuniform materials are employed for comparison. The results show that STGS exhibits a large improvement in the detection performance, and the reconstruction error and statistical bias are reduced by one quarter to one third or less for most cases if compared with SGS.

Coupling hydrothermal liquefaction and anaerobic digestion for energy valorization from model biomass feedstocks.

PubMed

Posmanik, Roy; Labatut, Rodrigo A; Kim, Andrew H; Usack, Joseph G; Tester, Jefferson W; Angenent, Largus T

2017-06-01

Hydrothermal liquefaction converts food waste into oil and a carbon-rich hydrothermal aqueous phase. The hydrothermal aqueous phase may be converted to biomethane via anaerobic digestion. Here, the feasibility of coupling hydrothermal liquefaction and anaerobic digestion for the conversion of food waste into energy products was examined. A mixture of polysaccharides, proteins, and lipids, representing food waste, underwent hydrothermal processing at temperatures ranging from 200 to 350°C. The anaerobic biodegradability of the hydrothermal aqueous phase was examined through conducting biochemical methane potential assays. The results demonstrate that the anaerobic biodegradability of the hydrothermal aqueous phase was lower when the temperature of hydrothermal processing increased. The chemical composition of the hydrothermal aqueous phase affected the anaerobic biodegradability. However, no inhibition of biodegradation was observed for most samples. Combining hydrothermal and anaerobic digestion may, therefore, yield a higher energetic return by converting the feedstock into oil and biomethane. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Lipase pre-hydrolysis enhance anaerobic biodigestion of soap stock from an oil refining industry.

PubMed

Cherif, Slim; Aloui, Fathi; Carrière, Frédéric; Sayadi, Sami

2014-01-01

A novel alcalophilic Staphylococcus haemolyticus strain with the lipolytic activity was used to perform enzymatic hydrolysis pretreatment of soap stock: a lipid rich solid waste from an oil refining industry. The culture liquid of the selected bacteria and an enzymatic preparation obtained by precipitation with ammonium sulphate from a filtrate of the same culture liquid were used for enzymatic pretreatment. The hydrolysis was carried with different incubation concentrations (10, 20 and 30%) of soap stock and the pretreatment efficiency was verified by running comparative biodegradability tests (crude and treated lipid waste). All pretreated assays showed higher reaction rate compared to crude lipid waste, which was confirmed by the increased levels of biogas production. The pretreatment of solutions containing 10% emulsified soap stock was optimized for 24 h hydrolysis time, enabling high-biogaz formation (800 ml). The use of enzymatic pre-treatment seemed to be a very promising alternative for treating soap stock having high fat contents.

Development, Testing and Validation of a Waste Assay System for the Measurement and Characterisation of Active Spent Fuel Element Debris From UK Magnox Reactors - 12533

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Mason, John A.; Burke, Kevin J.; Looman, Marc R.

2012-07-01

This paper describes the development, testing and validation of a waste measurement instrument for characterising active remote handled radioactive waste arising from the operation of Magnox reactors in the United Kingdom. Following operation in UK Magnox gas cooled reactors and a subsequent period of cooling, parts of the magnesium-aluminium alloy cladding were removed from spent fuel and the uranium fuel rods with the remaining cladding were removed to Sellafield for treatment. The resultant Magnox based spent fuel element debris (FED), which constitutes active intermediate level waste (ILW) has been stored in concrete vaults at the reactor sites. As part ofmore » the decommissioning of the FED vaults the FED must be removed, measured and characterised and placed in intermediate storage containers. The present system was developed for use at the Trawsfynydd nuclear power station (NPS), which is in the decommissioning phase, but the approach is potentially applicable to FED characterisation at all of the Magnox reactors. The measurement system consists of a heavily shielded and collimated high purity Germanium (HPGe) detector with electromechanical cooling and a high count-rate preamplifier and digital multichannel pulse height analyser. The HPGe based detector system is controlled by a software code, which stores the measurement result and allows a comprehensive analysis of the measured FED data. Fuel element debris is removed from the vault and placed on a tray to a uniform depth of typically 10 cm for measurement. The tray is positioned approximately 1.2 meters above the detector which views the FED through a tungsten collimator with an inverted pyramid shape. At other Magnox sites the positions may be reversed with the shielded and collimated HPGe detector located above the tray on which the FED is measured. A comprehensive Monte Carlo modelling and analysis of the measurement process has been performed in order to optimise the measurement geometry and eliminate interferences from radioactive sources and FED in the immediate vicinity of the measurement position. The detector system has been calibrated and high activity radioactive sources of Cs-137, Co-60 and Na-22 have been used to validate the measurement process. The data acquisition and analysis software code has been tested and validated in keeping with the software quality assurance requirements of both ISO:9001-2008 - TICK-IT in the UK and NQA-1. The measurement and analysis system has been comprehensively tested with high activity sources, is flexible and may be applicable to a wide range of remote handled radioactive waste measurement applications. It is due to be installed at Trawsfynydd NPS later this year. This paper describes the Waste Tray Assay System (WTAS) that has been developed for the measurement of Magnox FED waste. The WTAS has been tested with a range of radioactive sources and its operation has been simulated with benchmarked MCNP Monte Carlo calculations. The measurement software has been validated as has the operation of the system for a range of strong radioactive sources. A system based on the design is due for installation and operation in 2012. The system has application to the measurement of Magnox Fuel Element Debris (FED) waste at other Magnox reactor sites. The major design objective of the WTAS that has been achieved is the ability of the assay system to determine the content of Cs-137, and in turn to enable the fissile burden to be assessed using a radionuclide fingerprint, in the presence of higher and highly variable quantities of Co-60, typically from nimonic springs. The approach can be used in other Magnox FED waste configurations where the detector is located above the FED waste sorting tray and where the collimation is fixed below the detector and at a distance above the tray. In this case, which has also been investigated, there are different shielding problems and mechanical support issues. The extensive use of MCNP Monte Carlo modelling to simulate the geometry of the sorting cell and the distribution of radioactive sources has helped to ensure that all of the detector shielding requirements are addressed and suitable Cs-137 and Co-60 discrimination can be achieved. The WTAS in its present form or in other configurations has relevance to the measurement of other active ILW and highly active RH waste. Examples include high activity RH LLW and RH TRU (Transuranic) waste as defined in the United States arising from both commercial nuclear and Department of Energy (DOE) operations. The analysis is able to analyse a range of radionuclides beyong those expected in the Magnox FED cases. (authors)« less

Seroprevalence of hepatitis B and C viruses among medical waste handlers at Gondar town Health institutions, Northwest Ethiopia

PubMed Central

2012-01-01

Background Viral hepatitis is an inflammation of the liver due to viral infections and there are groups of viruses that affects the liver of which hepatitis B and C viruses are the causative agents of sever form of liver disease with high rate of mortality. Medical waste handlers who undergo collection, transportation, and disposal of medical wastes in the health institutions are at risk of exposure to acquire those infections which transmit mainly as a result of contaminated blood and other body fluids including injury with sharp instruments, splash to the eye or mucous membrane. This study aimed to determine the prevalence of hepatitis B and/or C viruses and associated risk factors among medical waste handlers. Results A cross-sectional study was conducted from April, 2011 to June, 2011 in government health institutions at Gondar town. Socio-demographic and possible risk factors data from medical waste handlers were collected using pre-tested and well structured questionnaires. Venous bloods were collected and the serums were tested for hepatitis B surface antigen and anti-hepatitis C antibody using rapid Immunochromatography assay. Data was entered and analyzed using SPSS software package (version16). Chi-square and Fisher exact tests were used to assess risk of association. A p-value of < 0.05 was considered statistical significance. A total of 100 medical waste handlers and 100 non-clinical waste handlers were examined for HBV and HCV viruses. HBV was detected in 6 (6.0%) and 1 (1.0%) and HCV in 1 (1.0%) and 0 (0.0%) of medical waste handlers and non-clinical waste handlers, respectively. Significant differences were observed in the detection rates of HBV (OR = 6.3; X2 = 4.1; P = 0.04) and overall infection rate (HBV + HCV) (OR = 7.5; X2 = 5.2; P: 0.02) in medical waste handlers when compared with non-clinical waste handlers. It was found that none of the observed risk factors significantly associated with rate of hepatitis infection compared to others. Conclusions Prevalence of HBV and HCV were significantly higher in medical waste in relation to non-clinical waste handlers. There were poor waste management system which contributed for occurrence of higher degree of sharps injury and blood and body fluids splash. PMID:22264306

Salinity Processes in the Upper Ocean Regional Study (SPURS)

NASA Image and Video Library

2012-09-04

Crates containing scientific instruments are seen on the stern of the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution's research vessel Knorr on Tuesday, Sept. 4, 2012, in Woods Hole, Mass. Knorr is scheduled to depart on Sept. 6 to take part in the Salinity Processes in the Upper Ocean Regional Study (SPURS). The NASA-sponsored expedition will sail to the North Atlantic's saltiest spot to get a detailed, 3-D picture of how salt content fluctuates in the ocean's upper layers and how these variations are related to shifts in rainfall patterns around the planet. Photo Credit: (NASA/Bill Ingalls)

Salinity Processes in the Upper Ocean Regional Study (SPURS)

NASA Image and Video Library

2012-09-04

Scientific instruments, buoys, and shipping crates are seen on the stern of the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution's research vessel Knorr on Tuesday, Sept. 4, 2012, in Woods Hole, Mass. Knorr is scheduled to depart on Sept. 6 to take part in the Salinity Processes in the Upper Ocean Regional Study (SPURS). The NASA-sponsored expedition will sail to the North Atlantic's saltiest spot to get a detailed, 3-D picture of how salt content fluctuates in the ocean's upper layers and how these variations are related to shifts in rainfall patterns around the planet. Photo Credit: (NASA/Bill Ingalls)

An ultra stable optical bench for the magnetic survey satellite

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Wingate, C. A., Jr.; Coughlin, T. B.; Sullivan, R. M.

1978-01-01

The Magsat optical bench has been designed and built to hold the alignment of five optical elements to deflections of 1-2 arcsec during orbital operation. The bench has been designed to withstand alignment changes during the launch and prestabilization phases of the mission. Severe weight constraints, in conjunction with the thermal and structural requirements, led to the choice of graphite-fiber-reinforced epoxy egg crate core and face sheets for the bench construction. Active temperature control was necessary to meet thermal deflection objectives, and novel kinematic mountings were required to prevent spacecraft bending from deflecting the bench.

Archaeological and Paleontological Investigation at Kalaeloa (Barber’s Point), Honouliuli, ’EWA, O’Ahu Island, Federal Study Areas 1a and 1b, and State of Hawaii Optional Area 1,

DTIC Science & Technology

1981-07-01

gravel, slightly sticky, slightly plastic, massive structure. Granule size limestone decreases with depth. Color whitens with depth influenced by neutral...fish. Vertebrae from shark or ray are present in 2787 and 2745 and fragments of large toothed jaws, tentatively identified as crevally (ulua) are present...a white enameled 5-gallon liquid dispenser sits on top a wooden crate. The barracks is wired for lighting with a drop-cord light over the desks

A MOdular System for Acquisition, Interface and Control (MOSAIC) of detectors and their related electronics for high energy physics experiment

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Robertis, G. De; Fanizzi, G.; Loddo, F.; Manzari, V.; Rizzi, M.

2018-02-01

In this work the MOSAIC ("MOdular System for Acquisition, Interface and Control") board, designed for the readout and testing of the pixel modules for the silicon tracker upgrade of the ALICE (A Large Ion Collider Experiment) experiment at teh CERN LHC, is described. It is based on an Artix7 Field Programmable Gate Array device by Xilinx and is compliant with the six unit "Versa Modular Eurocard" standard (6U-VME) for easy housing in a standard VMEbus crate from which it takes only power supplies and cooling.

A UNIX-based real-time data acquisition system for microprobe analysis using an advanced X11 window toolkit

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kramer, J. L. A. M.; Ullings, A. H.; Vis, R. D.

1993-05-01

A real-time data acquisition system for microprobe analysis has been developed at the Free University of Amsterdam. The system is composed of two parts: a front-end real-time and a back-end monitoring system. The front-end consists of a VMEbus based system which reads out a CAMAC crate. The back-end is implemented on a Sun work station running the UNIX operating system. This separation allows the integration of a minimal, and consequently very fast, real-time executive within the sophisticated possibilities of advanced UNIX work stations.

A 64ch readout module for PPD/MPPC/SiPM using EASIROC ASIC

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nakamura, Isamu; Ishijima, N.; Hanagaki, K.; Yoshimura, K.; Nakai, Y.; Ueno, K.

2015-07-01

A readout module for PPD/MPPC/GAPD/SiPM is developed using EASIROC ASIC. The module can handle 64 PPDs and has on-board bias power supply, ADC for energy measurement, 1 ns TDC on FPGA as well as 64ch Logic output for external trigger. Controls and data transfer are through SiTCP technology implemented in FPGA. The module has NIM format for convenience, but can be operated without crate with 5 V AC/DC converter. Basic performance of production module was tested and the results are presented in the poster.

Improving Ionic Conductivity and Lithium-Ion Transference Number in Lithium-Ion Battery Separators.

PubMed

Zahn, Raphael; Lagadec, Marie Francine; Hess, Michael; Wood, Vanessa

2016-12-07

The microstructure of lithium-ion battery separators plays an important role in separator performance; however, here we show that a geometrical analysis falls short in predicting the lithium-ion transport in the electrolyte-filled pore space. By systematically modifying the surface chemistry of a commercial polyethylene separator while keeping its microstructure unchanged, we demonstrate that surface chemistry, which alters separator-electrolyte interactions, influences ionic conductivity and lithium-ion transference number. Changes in separator surface chemistry, particularly those that increase lithium-ion transference numbers can reduce voltage drops across the separator and improve C-rate capability.

Neonatal piglet traits of importance for survival in crates and indoor pens.

PubMed

Pedersen, L J; Berg, P; Jørgensen, G; Andersen, I L

2011-04-01

The primary aim of the present study was to investigate whether the same piglet traits contributed to the same causes of neonatal piglet mortality in crates (CT) and pens (PN). Gilts originating from 2 distinct genetic groups that differed in breeding value for piglet survival rate at d 5 (SR5) were used. These were distributed to farrow in either PN or CT as follows: high-SR5 and CT (n = 30); low-SR5 and CT (n = 27); high-SR5 and PN (n = 22); and low-SR5 and PN (n = 24). Data on individual piglets were collected at birth, including interbirth interval; birth order; birth weight; rectal temperature at birth, 2 h after birth, and 24 h after birth; cordal plasma lactate; and latency to first suckle. Based on autopsy, causes of mortality were divided into stillborn, bitten to death, starvation, crushed, disease, and other causes. Potential risk factors of dying were estimated using a GLM with a logit link function. No significant effect (NS) of housing was observed on the odds of a piglet being stillborn (F(1,73) = 0.1, NS), being crushed (F(1,53) = 1.4, NS), or dying of starvation (F(1,53) = 0.3, NS). No significant differences were observed between the 2 genetic groups for any category of mortality. Piglet traits for pre- and postnatal survival were the same for CT and PN. The odds of being stillborn were increased in piglets born late in the birth order (F(1,1061) = 33.5, P < 0.0001), after a long interbirth interval (F(1,1061) = 19.2, P < 0.0001), and with a lighter birth weight (F(1,1061) = 9.2, P = 0.003). The lighter the birth weight of the piglets, the greater were the odds of being crushed (F(1,1050) = 18, P < 0.0001) and dying of starvation (F(1,1050) = 19, P < 0.0001). The lower the rectal temperature 2 h after birth, the greater were the odds of being crushed (F(1,1050) = 4.6, P = 0.03), starving (F(1,1050) = 16.6, P < 0.0001), or dying of diseases (F(1,1050) = 4.9, P = 0.03). Increased cordal plasma lactate increased the odds of dying from starvation (F(1,1050) = 18, P < 0.0001). In both CT and PN, the birth weight, body temperature 2 h after birth, and birth process were important traits related to crushing, starvation, and disease. Neither housing nor breeding value influenced mortality or traits of importance for the inborn viability of piglets. The results emphasize that the microclimate in the PN for newborn piglets and its heat-preserving properties are more important for survival than whether the sow is crated or penned.

Lead phytoextraction from printed circuit computer boards by Lolium perenne L. and Medicago sativa L.

PubMed

Díaz Martínez, María Esther; Argumedo-Delira, Rosalba; Sánchez Viveros, Gabriela; Alarcón, Alejandro; Trejo-Téllez, Libia Iris

2018-04-16

This work assessed the ability of Lolium perenne and Medicago sativa for extracting lead (Pb) from particulate printed circuit computer boards (PCB) mixed in sand with the following concentrations: 0.5, 1.0 and 1.5 g of PCB, and including a control treatment without PCB. The PCB were obtained from computers, and grinded in two particle sizes: 0.0594 mm (PCB1) and 0.0706 mm (PCB2). The PCB particle sizes at their corresponding concentrations were applied to L. perenne and M. sativa by using three experimental assays. In assay II, PCB2 affected the biomass production for both plants. For assay III, the PCB1 increased the biomass of M. sativa (236.5%) and L. perenne (142.2%) when applying either 0.5 or 1.0 g, respectively. In regards to phytoextraction, assay I showed the highest Pb-extraction by roots of L. perenne (4.7%) when exposed to 1.5 g of PCB1. At assay I, L. perenne showed a Pb-bioconcentration factor higher than 1.0 when growing at 0.5 g of PCB1, and when HNO 3 was used as digestion solution; moreover, in assay III both plants showed a Pb-translocation factor higher than 1.0. Therefore, Lolium perenne and Medicago sativa are able to recover Pb from electronic wastes (PCB).

Assessing transmissible spongiform encephalopathy species barriers with an in vitro prion protein conversion assay

USGS Publications Warehouse

Johnson, Christopher J.; Carlson, Christina M.; Morawski, Aaron R.; Manthei, Alyson; Cashman, Neil R.

2015-01-01

Studies to understanding interspecies transmission of transmissible spongiform encephalopathies (TSEs, prion diseases) are challenging in that they typically rely upon lengthy and costly in vivo animal challenge studies. A number of in vitro assays have been developed to aid in measuring prion species barriers, thereby reducing animal use and providing quicker results than animal bioassays. Here, we present the protocol for a rapid in vitroprion conversion assay called the conversion efficiency ratio (CER) assay. In this assay cellular prion protein (PrPC) from an uninfected host brain is denatured at both pH 7.4 and 3.5 to produce two substrates. When the pH 7.4 substrate is incubated with TSE agent, the amount of PrPC that converts to a proteinase K (PK)-resistant state is modulated by the original host’s species barrier to the TSE agent. In contrast, PrPC in the pH 3.5 substrate is misfolded by any TSE agent. By comparing the amount of PK-resistant prion protein in the two substrates, an assessment of the host’s species barrier can be made. We show that the CER assay correctly predicts known prion species barriers of laboratory mice and, as an example, show some preliminary results suggesting that bobcats (Lynx rufus) may be susceptible to white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) chronic wasting disease agent.

Characterization and Disposition of Legacy Low-Level Waste at the Y-12 National Security Complex - 12133

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Tharp, Tim; Donnelly, Jim

2012-07-01

The Y-12 National Security Complex (Y-12) is concluding a multi-year program to characterize and dispose of all legacy low-level waste (LLW). The inventory of legacy waste at Y-12 has been reduced from over 3500 containers in Fiscal Year (FY) 2000 to 6 containers at the end of FY2011. In addition, the site recently eliminated the inventory of other low-level waste that is greater than 365 days old (i.e., >365-Day LLW), to be in full compliance with DOE Order 435.1. A consistent technical characterization approach emerged for both of these populations of backlogged waste: (1) compile existing historical data and processmore » knowledge and conduct interviews with site personnel; (2) inspect the containers and any tags, labels, or other markings to confirm or glean additional data; (3) with appropriate monitoring, open the container, visually inspect and photograph the contents while obtaining preliminary radiological surveys; (4) obtain gross weight and field non-destructive assay (NDA) data as needed; (5) use the non-public Oak Ridge Reservation Haul Road to ship the container to a local offsite vendor for waste sorting and segregation; (6) sort, drain, sample, and remove prohibited items; and (7) compile final data and prepare for shipment to disposal. After disposing of this backlog, the focus has now turned to avoiding the recurrence of this situation by maintaining low inventories of low-level waste and shortening the duration between waste generation and disposal. An enhanced waste tracking system and monthly metric charts are used to monitor and report progress to contractor and federal site office management. During the past 2 years, the average age of LLW onsite at Y-12 has decreased from more than 180 days to less than 60 days. (authors)« less

Increased levels of lead in the blood and frequencies of lymphocytic micronucleated binucleated cells among workers from an electronic-waste recycling site.

PubMed

Wang, Qian; He, An M; Gao, Bo; Chen, Lan; Yu, Qiang Z; Guo, Huan; Shi, Bin J; Jiang, Pu; Zhang, Zeng Y; Li, Ping L; Sheng, Ying G; Fu, Mo J; Wu, Chun T; Chen, Min X; Yuan, Jing

2011-01-01

In recent years, adverse health effects of chemicals from electronic waste (e-waste) have been reported. However, little is known about the genotoxic effects of chemicals in e-waste. In the present study, air concentrations of the toxic metals at e-waste and control sites were analyzed using inductively-coupled plasma mass spectrometry. Levels of toxic metals (lead, copper and cadmium) in blood and urine were detected using atomic absorption spectrophotometry in 48 exposed individuals and 56 age- and sex-matched controls. The frequencies of lymphocytic micronucleated binucleated cells (MNBNCs) were determined using a cytokinesis-block micronucleus assay. Results indicated that blood lead levels were significantly higher in the exposed group (median: 11.449 μg/dL, 1st/3rd quartiles: 9.351-14.410 μg/dL) than in the control group (median: 9.104 μg/dL, 1st/3rd quartiles: 7.275-11.389 μg/dL). The exposed group had higher MNBNCs frequencies (median: 4.0 per thousand, 1st/3rd quartiles: 2.0-7.0 per thousand) compared with the controls (median: 1.0 per thousand, 1st/3rd quartiles: 0.0-2.0 per thousand). Additionally, MNBNCs frequencies and blood lead levels were positively correlated (r = 0.254, p<0.01). Further analysis suggested that a history of working with e-waste was a predictor for increased blood lead levels and MNBNCs frequencies in the subjects. The results suggest that both the living and occupational environments at the e-waste site may be risk factors for increased MNBNCs frequencies among those who are exposed.

A microtitre-based method for measuring the haem polymerization inhibitory activity (HPIA) of antimalarial drugs.

PubMed

Basilico, N; Pagani, E; Monti, D; Olliaro, P; Taramelli, D

1998-07-01

The malaria parasite metabolizes haemoglobin and detoxifies the resulting haem by polymerizing it to form haemozoin (malaria pigment). A polymer identical to haemozoin, beta-haematin, can be obtained in vitro from haematin at acidic pH. Quinoline-containing anti-malarials (e.g. chloroquine) inhibit the formation of either polymer. Haem polymerization is an essential and unique pharmacological target. To identify molecules with haem polymerization inhibitory activity (HPIA) and quantify their potency, we developed a simple, inexpensive, quantitative in-vitro spectrophotometric microassay of haem polymerization. The assay uses 96-well U-bottomed polystyrene microplates and requires 24 h and a microplate reader. The relative amounts of polymerized and unpolymerized haematin are determined, based on solubility in DMSO, by measuring absorbance at 405 nm in the presence of test compounds as compared with untreated controls. The final product (a solid precipitate of polymerized haematin) was validated using infrared spectroscopy and the assay proved reproducible; in this assay, activity could be partly predicted based on the compound's chemical structure. Both water-soluble and water-insoluble compounds can be quantified by this method. Although the throughput of this assay is lower than that of radiometric methods, the assay is easier to set up and cheaper, and avoids the problems related to radioactive waste disposal.

Development of a Fluorescence Assay for the Characterization of Brevenal Binding to Rat Brain Synaptosomes

PubMed Central

2015-01-01

The marine dinoflagellate Karenia brevis produces a family of neurotoxins known as brevetoxins. Brevetoxins elicit their effects by binding to and activating voltage-sensitive sodium channels (VSSCs) in cell membranes. K. brevis also produces brevenal, a brevetoxin antagonist, which is able to inhibit and/or negate many of the detrimental effects of brevetoxins. Brevenal binding to VSSCs has yet to be fully characterized, in part due to the difficulty and expense of current techniques. In this study, we have developed a novel fluorescence binding assay for the brevenal binding site. Several fluorescent compounds were conjugated to brevenal to assess their effects on brevenal binding. The assay was validated against the radioligand assay for the brevenal binding site and yielded comparable equilibrium inhibition constants. The fluorescence-based assay was shown to be quicker and far less expensive and did not generate radioactive waste or need facilities for handling radioactive materials. In-depth studies using the brevenal conjugates showed that, while brevenal conjugates do bind to a binding site in the VSSC protein complex, they are not displaced by known VSSC site specific ligands. As such, brevenal elicits its action through a novel mechanism and/or currently unknown receptor site on VSSCs. PMID:25226846

Composition and Bioactivity of Essential Oil from Citrus grandis (L.) Osbeck 'Mato Peiyu' Leaf.

PubMed

Tsai, Mei-Lin; Lin, Cai-Di; Khoo, Keh Ai; Wang, Mei-Ying; Kuan, Tsang-Kuei; Lin, Wei-Chao; Zhang, Ya-Nan; Wang, Ya-Ying

2017-12-05

'Mato Peiyu' pomelo ( Citrus grandis (L.) Osbeck 'Mato Peiyu') leaves from pruning are currently an agricultural waste. The aim of this study was to isolate essential oils from these leaves through steam distillation (SD) and solvent-free microwave extraction (SFME) and to evaluate their applicability to skin care by analyzing their antimicrobial, antioxidant (diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl scavenging assay, β-carotene/linoleic acid assay, and nitric oxide scavenging assay), anti-inflammatory (5-lipoxygenase inhibition assay), and antityrosinase activities. The gas chromatography-mass spectrometry results indicated that the main components of 'Mato Peiyu' leaf essential oils were citronellal and citronellol, with a total percentage of 50.71% and 59.82% for SD and SFME, respectively. The highest bioactivity among all assays was obtained for 5-lipoxygenase inhibition, with an IC 50 value of 0.034% ( v / v ). The MIC 90 of the antimicrobial activity of essential oils against Escherichia coli , Pseudomonas aeruginosa , Staphylococcus aureus , and Candida albicans ranged from 0.086% to 0.121% ( v / v ). Citronellal and citronellol were the main contributors, accounting for at least 54.58% of the essential oil's bioactivity. This paper is the first to report the compositions and bioactivities of 'Mato Peiyu' leaf essential oil, and the results imply that the pomelo leaf essential oil may be applied in skin care.

U-235 Holdup Measurements in the 321-M Lathe HEPA Banks

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Salaymeh, S.R.

The Analytical Development Section of Savannah River Technology Center (SRTC) was requested by the Facilities Decommissioning Division (FDD) to determine the holdup of enriched uranium in the 321-M facility as part of an overall deactivation project of the facility. The results of the holdup assays are essential for determining compliance with the Waste Acceptance Criteria, Material Control and Accountability, and to meet criticality safety controls. This report covers holdup measurements of uranium residue in six high efficiency particulate air (HEPA) filter banks of the A-lathe and B-lathe exhaust systems of the 321-M facility. This report discusses the non-destructive assay measurements,more » assumptions, calculations, and results of the uranium holdup in these six items.« less

Epidemiology of Chronic Wasting Disease: PrPres Detection, Shedding, and Environmental Contamination

DTIC Science & Technology

2008-08-01

encephalopathies (TSEs) in that it occurs in free- ranging as well as captive wild ruminants and environmental contamination appears to play a...sensitivity and high specificity and second, dogma suggests that current assays for the detection of PrPres utilize protease digestion . Proving a highly...to achieve specificity as samples require protease digestion , protein precipitation, or extensive processing in order to distinguish PrPres from the

Characterization of the non-metal fraction of the processed waste printed circuit boards.

PubMed

Kumar, Amit; Holuszko, Maria E; Janke, Travis

2018-05-01

Electronic waste is one the fastest growing waste streams in the world and waste printed circuit boards (PCB) are the most valuable part of this stream due to the presence of gold, silver, copper, and palladium. The metal present in PCBs is mostly recovered for the market value whereas the nonmetal fractions are often ignored. This research explored the characteristics of the non-metal fraction (NMF) obtained after the processing of milled waste PCBs with a focus on responsible end-of-life solutions, in the form of non-hazardous landfilling or incineration. The NMF was characterized using sizing, assaying, loss on ignition, calorific value measurement, and thermogravimetric analysis (TGA). The result showed that the metal content in the NMF increased with decrease in the particle size for most of the metals except antimony and the result from loss on ignition (LOI) also showed that over 50% of the coarser fraction represented organic matter compared to less than 30% for the finest fraction. The study also showed that after the recovery of metals from the waste PCBs, landfill leaching for most of the metal is reduced below the environmental limits, with lead being the only exception. The lead leachate concentration of 18 mg/L was observed, which requires further treatment prior to landfilling. With an energy value of 16 GJ/t, the NMF could provide high energy recovery if incinerated but 194 mg/kg of hazardous flame retardants present in the NMF might be released if the combustion process is not closely monitored. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Biochemical methane potential, biodegradability, alkali treatment and influence of chemical composition on methane yield of yard wastes.

PubMed

Gunaseelan, Victor Nallathambi

2016-03-01

In this study, the biochemical CH4 potential, rate, biodegradability, NaOH treatment and the influence of chemical composition on CH4 yield of yard wastes generated from seven trees were examined. All the plant parts were sampled for their chemical composition and subjected to the biochemical CH4 potential assay. The component parts exhibited significant variation in biochemical CH4 potential, which was reflected in their ultimate CH4 yields that ranged from 109 to 382 ml g(-1) volatile solids added and their rate constants that ranged from 0.042 to 0.173 d(-1). The biodegradability of the yard wastes ranged from 0.26 to 0.86. Variation in the biochemical CH4 potential of the yard wastes could be attributed to variation in the chemical composition of the different fractions. In the Thespesia yellow withered leaf, Tamarindus fruit pericarp and Albizia pod husk, NaOH treatment enhanced the ultimate CH4 yields by 17%, 77% and 63%, respectively, and biodegradability by 15%, 77% and 61%, respectively, compared with the untreated samples. The effectiveness of NaOH treatment varied for different yard wastes, depending on the amounts of acid detergent fibre content. Gliricidia petals, Prosopis leaf, inflorescence and immature pod, Tamarindus seeds, Albizia seeds, Cassia seeds and Delonix seeds exhibited CH4 yields higher than 300 ml g(-1) volatile solids added. Multiple linear regression models for predicting the ultimate CH4 yield and biodegradability of yard wastes were designed from the results of this work. © The Author(s) 2016.

A CBLT and MCST capable VME slave interface

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Wuerthwein, F.; Strohman, C.; Honscheid, K.

1996-12-31

We report on the development of a VME slave interface for the CLEO III detector implemented in an ALTERA EPM7256 CPLD. This includes the first implementation of the chained block transfer protocol (CBLT) and multi-cast cycles (MCST) as defined by the VME-P task group of VIPA. Within VME64 there is no operation that guarantees efficient readout of large blocks of data that are sparsely distributed among a series of slave modules in a VME crate. This has led the VME-P task group of VIPA to specify protocols that enable a master to address many slaves at a single address. Whichmore » slave is to drive the data bus is determined by a token passing mechanism that uses the *IACKOUT, *IACKIN daisy chain. This protocol requires no special features from the master besides conformance to VME64. Non-standard features are restricted to the VME slave interface. The CLEO III detector comprises {approximately}400,000 electronic channels that have to be digitized, sparsified, and stored within 20{mu}s in order to incur less than 2% dead time at an anticipated trigger rate of 1000Hz. 95% of these channels are accounted for by only two detector subsystems, the silicon microstrip detector (125,000 channels), and the ring imaging Cerenkov detector (RICH) (230,400 channels). After sparsification either of these two detector subsystems is expected to provide event fragments on the order of 10KBytes, spread over 4, and 8 VME crates, respectively. We developed a chip set that sparsifies, tags, and stores the incoming digital data on the data boards, and includes a VME slave interface that implements MCST and CUT protocols. In this poster, we briefly describe this chip set and then discuss the VME slave interface in detail.« less

A cross sectional study of the prevalence, risk factors and population attributable fractions for limb and body lesions in lactating sows on commercial farms in England

PubMed Central

KilBride, Amy L; Gillman, Claire E; Green, Laura E

2009-01-01

Background Lesions on sows' limbs and bodies are an abnormality that might impact on their welfare. The prevalence of and risks for limb and body lesions on lactating sows on commercial English pig farms were investigated using direct observation of the sows and their housing. Results The prevalence of lesions on the limbs and body were 93% (260/279) and 20% (57/288) respectively. The prevalence of limb and body lesions was significantly lower in outdoor-housed sows compared with indoor-housed sows. Indoor-housed sows had an increased risk of wounds (OR 6.8), calluses (OR 8.8) and capped hock (OR 3.8) on their limbs when housed on fully slatted floors compared with solid concrete floors. In addition, there was an increased risk of bursitis (OR 2.7), capped hock (OR 2.3) and shoulder lesions (OR 4.8) in sows that were unwilling to rise to their feet. There was a decreased risk of shoulder lesions (OR 0.3) and lesions elsewhere on the body (OR 0.2) in sows with more than 20 cm between their tail and the back of the crate compared with sows with less than 10 cm. Conclusion The sample of outdoor housed sows in this study had the lowest prevalence of limb and body lesions. In lactating sows housed indoors there was a general trend for an increased risk of limb and body lesions in sows housed on slatted floors compared with those housed on solid concrete floors with bedding. Sows that were less responsive to human presence and sows that had the least space to move within their crates had an additional increased risk of lesions. PMID:19703273

Post-weaning social and cognitive performance of piglets raised pre-weaning either in a complex multi-suckling group housing system or in a conventional system with a crated sow.

PubMed

van Nieuwamerongen, S E; Mendl, M; Held, S; Soede, N M; Bolhuis, J E

2017-09-01

We studied the social and cognitive performance of piglets raised pre-weaning either in a conventional system with a sow in a farrowing crate (FC) or in a multi-suckling (MS) system in which 5 sows and their piglets could interact in a more physically enriched and spacious environment. After weaning at 4 weeks of age, 8 groups of 4 litter-mates per pre-weaning housing treatment were studied under equal and enriched post-weaning housing conditions. From each pen, one pair consisting of a dominant and a submissive pig was selected, based on a feed competition test (FCT) 2 weeks post-weaning. This pair was used in an informed forager test (IFT) which measured aspects of spatial learning and foraging strategies in a competitive context. During individual training, submissive (informed) pigs learned to remember a bait location in a testing arena with 8 buckets (the same bucket was baited in a search visit and a subsequent relocation visit), whereas dominant (non-informed) pigs always found the bait in a random bucket (search visits only). After learning their task, the informed pigs' individual search visit was followed by a pairwise relocation visit in which they were accompanied by the non-informed pig. Effects of pre-weaning housing treatment were not distinctly present regarding the occurrence of aggression in the FCT and the learning performance during individual training in the IFT. During paired visits, informed and non-informed pigs changed their behaviour in response to being tested pairwise instead of individually, but MS and FC pigs showed few distinct behavioural differences.

Multiple typing for the epidemiological study of the contamination of broilers with Salmonella from the hatchery to the slaughterhouse.

PubMed

Heyndrickx, M; Herman, L; Vlaes, L; Butzler, J P; Wildemauwe, C; Godard, C; De Zutter, L

2007-02-01

Eighteen Belgian broiler flocks were followed from the hatchery to the slaughterhouse by a multiple typing approach (sero-, geno-, and phage types) for the investigation of the transmission of Salmonella and its subtypes. For 12 of the 18 flocks, there was no correlation between the serotypes found preharvest and those isolated from the feces in the transport crates and on the carcasses in the slaughterhouse. Serotypes found in the crates were usually also found on the carcasses. In 5 of the 10 flocks with Salmonella-positive broilers, complex contamination patterns with the involvement of different serotypes, genotypes, or both were revealed. In two of these flocks (flocks 8 and 9), the Salmonella Enteritidis contamination of the broilers could be traced to the hatchery. In flock 9, evidence was found for the acquisition, during rearing, of a megaplasmid in the Salmonella Enteritidis strain. In the other three positive flocks (flocks 6, 7, and 10), the environment and movable material (e.g., footwear) played a determining role in the infection and shedding pattern of the broilers. For flocks 6 and 7, reared consecutively in the same broiler house, a persistent Salmonella Hadar geno/phage type predominated in the preharvest period, while another Salmonella Hadar geno/phage type was found in the house or the environment but never in the broilers. Only for the above-mentioned five flocks were the same strains that were found preharvest also recovered from the carcasses, although these strains were not predominant on the carcasses, with the exception of one flock (flock 10). In conclusion, it can be said that most of the time, Salmonella strains that contaminate Belgian broiler carcasses do not predominate in the preharvest environment.

The Future of Pork Production in the World: Towards Sustainable, Welfare-Positive Systems.

PubMed

McGlone, John J

2013-05-15

Among land animals, more pork is eaten in the world than any other meat. The earth holds about one billion pigs who deliver over 100 mmt of pork to people for consumption. Systems of pork production changed from a forest-based to pasture-based to dirt lots and finally into specially-designed buildings. The world pork industry is variable and complex not just in production methods but in economics and cultural value. A systematic analysis of pork industry sustainability was performed. Sustainable production methods are considered at three levels using three examples in this paper: production system, penning system and for a production practice. A sustainability matrix was provided for each example. In a comparison of indoor vs. outdoor systems, the food safety/zoonoses concerns make current outdoor systems unsustainable. The choice of keeping pregnant sows in group pens or individual crates is complex in that the outcome of a sustainability assessment leads to the conclusion that group penning is more sustainable in the EU and certain USA states, but the individual crate is currently more sustainable in other USA states, Asia and Latin America. A comparison of conventional physical castration with immunological castration shows that the less-common immunological castration method is more sustainable (for a number of reasons). This paper provides a method to assess the sustainability of production systems and practices that take into account the best available science, human perception and culture, animal welfare, the environment, food safety, worker health and safety, and economics (including the cost of production and solving world hunger). This tool can be used in countries and regions where the table values of a sustainability matrix change based on local conditions. The sustainability matrix can be used to assess current systems and predict improved systems of the future.

Changes in the Carriage of Campylobacter Strains by Poultry Carcasses during Processing in Abattoirs

PubMed Central

Newell, D. G.; Shreeve, J. E.; Toszeghy, M.; Domingue, G.; Bull, S.; Humphrey, T.; Mead, G.

2001-01-01

The recent development of simple, rapid genotyping techniques for Campylobacter species has enabled investigation of the determinative epidemiology of these organisms in a variety of situations. In this study we have used the technique of fla typing (PCR-restriction fragment length polymorphism analysis of the flaA and flaB genes) to identify the sources of strains contaminating the carcasses of five campylobacter-positive and two campylobacter-negative broiler flocks during abattoir processing. The results confirmed that, in the United Kingdom, individual broiler flocks are colonized by a limited number of subtypes of Campylobacter jejuni or C. coli. In some but not all cases, the same subtypes, isolated from the ceca, contaminated the end product as observed in carcass washes. However, the culture methodology, i.e, use of direct plating or enrichment, affected this subtype distribution. Moreover, the number of isolates analyzed per sample was limited. fla typing also indicated that some campylobacter subtypes survive poultry processing better than others. The extent of resistance to the environmental stresses during processing varied between strains. The more robust subtypes appeared to contaminate the abattoir environment, surviving through carcass chilling, and even carrying over onto subsequent flocks. From these studies it is confirmed that some campylobacter-negative flocks reach the abattoir but the carcasses from such flocks are rapidly contaminated by various campylobacter subtypes during processing. However, only some of these contaminating subtypes appeared to survive processing. The sources of this contamination are not clear, but in both negative flocks, campylobacters of the same subtypes as those recovered from the carcasses were isolated from the crates used to transport the birds. In one case, this crate contamination was shown to be present before the birds were loaded. PMID:11375174

Assessment of cytotoxic and genotoxic potential of refinery waste effluent using plant, animal and bacterial systems.

PubMed

Gupta, Amit Kumar; Ahmad, Masood

2012-01-30

The work described here presents the toxic effect of Mathura refinery wastewater (MRWW) in plant (Allium cepa), bacterial (E. coli K12) and human (blood) system. The samples were collected from adjoining area of Mathura refinery, Dist. Mathura, U.P. (India). Chromosomal aberration test and micronucleus assay in (A. cepa) system, E. coli K12 survival assay as well as hemolysis assay in human blood were employed to assess the toxicity of MRWW. MRWW exposure resulted in the formation of micronuclei and bridges in chromosomes of A. cepa cells. A significant decline occurred in survival of DNA repair defective mutants of E. coli K12 exposed to MRWW. On incubation with MRWW, calf thymus DNA-EtBr fluorescence intensity decreased and percent hemolysis of human blood cells increased. An induction in the MDA levels of MRWW treated A. cepa roots indicated lipid peroxidation also. Collectively, the results demonstrate a significant genotoxic and cytotoxic potential of MRWW. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

High resolution gamma-ray spectrometry of culverts containing transuranic waste at the Savannah River Site

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Hofstetter, K.J.; Sigg, R.

1990-12-31

A number of concrete culverts used to retrievably store drummed, dry, radioactive waste at the Savannah River Site (SRS), were suspected of containing ambiguous quantities of transuranic (TRU) nuclides. These culverts were assayed in place for Pu-239 content using thermal and fast neutron counting techniques. High resolution gamma-ray spectroscopy on 17 culverts, having neutron emission rates several times higher than expected, showed characteristic gamma-ray signatures of neutron emitters other than Pu-239 (e.g., Pu-238, Pu/Be, or Am/Be neutron sources). This study confirmed the Pu-239 content of the culverts with anomalous neutron rates and established limits on the Pu-239 mass in eachmore » of the 17 suspect culverts by in-field, non-intrusive gamma-ray measurements.« less

High resolution gamma-ray spectrometry of culverts containing transuranic waste at the Savannah River Site

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Hofstetter, K.J.; Sigg, R.

1990-01-01

A number of concrete culverts used to retrievably store drummed, dry, radioactive waste at the Savannah River Site (SRS), were suspected of containing ambiguous quantities of transuranic (TRU) nuclides. These culverts were assayed in place for Pu-239 content using thermal and fast neutron counting techniques. High resolution gamma-ray spectroscopy on 17 culverts, having neutron emission rates several times higher than expected, showed characteristic gamma-ray signatures of neutron emitters other than Pu-239 (e.g., Pu-238, Pu/Be, or Am/Be neutron sources). This study confirmed the Pu-239 content of the culverts with anomalous neutron rates and established limits on the Pu-239 mass in eachmore » of the 17 suspect culverts by in-field, non-intrusive gamma-ray measurements.« less

Detection of chronic wasting disease prion seeding activity in deer and elk feces by real-time quaking-induced conversion

PubMed Central

Tennant, Joanne M.; Haley, Nicholas J.; Denkers, Nathaniel D.; Mathiason, Candace K.; Hoover, Edward A.

2017-01-01

Chronic wasting disease (CWD) is an emergent prion disease affecting cervid species in North America, Canada, South Korea, and recently, Norway. Detection of CWD has been advanced by techniques that rely on amplification of low levels of prion amyloid to a detectable level. However, the increased sensitivity of amplification assays is often compromised by inhibitors and/or activators in complex biologic samples including body fluids, excreta, or the environment. Here, we adapt real-time quaking-induced conversion conditions to specifically detect CWD prions in fecal samples from both experimentally infected deer and naturally infected elk and estimate environmental contamination. The results have application to detection, surveillance and management of CWD, and potentially to other protein-misfolding diseases. PMID:28703697

Monitoring genetic damage to ecosystems from hazardous waste

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Anderson, S.L.

1992-03-01

Applications of ecological toxicity testing to hazardous waste management have increased dramatically over the last few years, resulting in a greater awareness of the need for improved biomonitoring techniques. Our laboratory is developing advanced techniques to assess the genotoxic effects of environmental contamination on ecosystems. We have developed a novel mutagenesis assay using the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans, which is potentially applicable for multimedia studies in soil, sediment, and water. In addition, we are conducting validation studies of a previously developed anaphase aberration test that utilizes sea urchin embryos. Other related efforts include field validation studies of the new tests, evaluationmore » of their potential ecological relevance, and analysis of their sensitivity relative to that of existing toxicity tests that assess only lethal effects, rather than genetic damage.« less

Seeded amplification of chronic wasting disease prions in nasal brushings and recto-anal mucosal associated lymphoid tissues from elk by real time quaking-induced conversion

USGS Publications Warehouse

Haley, Nicholas J.; Siepker, Chris; Hoon-Hanks , Laura L.; Mitchell, Gordon; Walter, W. David; Manca, Matteo; Monello, Ryan J.; Powers, Jenny G.; Wild, Margaret A.; Hoover, Edward A.; Caughey, Byron; Richt, Jürgen a.; Fenwick, B.W.

2016-01-01

Chronic wasting disease (CWD), a transmissible spongiform encephalopathy of cervids, was first documented nearly 50 years ago in Colorado and Wyoming and has since been detected across North America and the Republic of Korea. The expansion of this disease makes the development of sensitive diagnostic assays and antemortem sampling techniques crucial for the mitigation of its spread; this is especially true in cases of relocation/reintroduction or prevalence studies of large or protected herds, where depopulation may be contraindicated. This study evaluated the sensitivity of the real-time quaking-induced conversion (RT-QuIC) assay of recto-anal mucosa-associated lymphoid tissue (RAMALT) biopsy specimens and nasal brushings collected antemortem. These findings were compared to results of immunohistochemistry (IHC) analysis of ante- and postmortem samples. RAMALT samples were collected from populations of farmed and free-ranging Rocky Mountain elk (Cervus elaphus nelsoni; n = 323), and nasal brush samples were collected from a subpopulation of these animals (n = 205). We hypothesized that the sensitivity of RT-QuIC would be comparable to that of IHC analysis of RAMALT and would correspond to that of IHC analysis of postmortem tissues. We found RAMALT sensitivity (77.3%) to be highly correlative between RT-QuIC and IHC analysis. Sensitivity was lower when testing nasal brushings (34%), though both RAMALT and nasal brush test sensitivities were dependent on both the PRNP genotype and disease progression determined by the obex score. These data suggest that RT-QuIC, like IHC analysis, is a relatively sensitive assay for detection of CWD prions in RAMALT biopsy specimens and, with further investigation, has potential for large-scale and rapid automated testing of antemortem samples for CWD.

Quantification of Human Polyomaviruses JC Virus and BK Virus by TaqMan Quantitative PCR and Comparison to Other Water Quality Indicators in Water and Fecal Samples▿

PubMed Central

McQuaig, Shannon M.; Scott, Troy M.; Lukasik, Jerzy O.; Paul, John H.; Harwood, Valerie J.

2009-01-01

In the United States, total maximum daily load standards for bodies of water that do not meet bacterial water quality standards are set by each state. The presence of human polyomaviruses (HPyVs) can be used as an indicator of human-associated sewage pollution in these waters. We have developed and optimized a TaqMan quantitative PCR (QPCR) assay based on the conserved T antigen to both quantify and simultaneously detect two HPyVs; JC virus and BK virus. The QPCR assay was able to consistently quantify ≥10 gene copies per reaction and is linear over 5 orders of magnitude. HPyVs were consistently detected in human waste samples (57 of 64) and environmental waters with known human fecal contamination (5 of 5) and were not amplified in DNA extracted from 127 animal waste samples from 14 species. HPyV concentrations in sewage decreased 81.2 and 84.2% over 28 days incubation at 25 and 35°C, respectively. HPyVs results were compared to Escherichia coli, fecal coliform, and enterococci concentrations and the presence of three other human-associated microbes: Bacteroidetes, Methanobrevibacter smithii, and adenovirus. HPyVs were the most frequently detected of these in human and contaminated environmental samples and were more human specific than the Bacteroidetes (HF183) or M. smithii. HPyVs and M. smithii more closely mimicked the persistence of adenovirus in sewage than the other microbes. The use of this rapid and quantitative assay in water quality research could help regulatory agencies to identify sources of water pollution for improved remediation of contaminated waters and ultimately protect humans from exposure to pathogens. PMID:19346361

The effect of gamma radiation on the Common carp (Cyprinus carpio): In vivo genotoxicity assessment with the micronucleus and comet assays.

PubMed

M K, Praveen Kumar; Soorambail K, Shyama; Bhagatsingh Harisingh, Sonaye; D'costa, Avelyno; Ramesh Chandra, Chaubey

2015-10-01

Radioactive wastes may be leached into freshwater, either accidentally or in industrial effluents. We have studied gamma radiation-induced DNA damage in the freshwater fish Cyprinus carpio. Fish were irradiated with 2-10Gy gamma radiation and genotoxic effects in blood cells were studied with the micronucleus (MN) and comet assays. Micronuclei and a dose-dependent increase in comet-tail DNA were seen in dose- and time-dependent studies. The highest % tail DNA was observed at 24h, declining until 72h, which may indicate the repair of radiation-induced DNA single-strand breaks after gamma radiation. However, double-stranded DNA damage may not have been repaired, as indicated by increased micronuclei at later periods. A positive correlation was observed between the comet and micronucleus assay results. This study confirms the mutagenic/genotoxic potential of gamma radiation in the Common carp, as well as the possible combined use of the micronucleus and comet assays for in vivo laboratory studies with fresh-water fish for screening the genotoxic potential of radioactive pollution. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Effects of short-term hypersalinity exposure on the susceptibility to wasting disease in the subtropical seagrass Thalassia testudinum.

PubMed

Trevathan, Stacey M; Kahn, Amanda; Ross, Cliff

2011-09-01

Seagrass meadows are a vital component of coastal ecosystems and have experienced declines in abundance due to a series of environmental stressors including elevated salinity and incidence of disease. This study evaluated the impacts of short-term hypersalinity stress on the early stages of infection in Thalassia testudinum Banks ex König by assessing changes in cellular physiology and metabolism. Seagrass short shoots were exposed to ambient (30 psu) and elevated (45 psu) salinities for 7 days and subsequently infected for one week by the causative pathogen of wasting disease, Labyrinthula sp. The occurrence of wasting disease was significantly lower in the hypersalinity treatments. Additionally, while exposure to elevated salinity caused a reduction in chlorophyll a and b content, T. testudinum's health, in terms of photochemical efficiency, was not significantly compromised by hypersalinity or infection. In contrast, plant respiratory demand was significantly enhanced as a function of infection. Elevated salinity caused T. testudinum to significantly increase its in vivo H(2)O(2) concentrations to levels that exceeded those which inhibited Labyrinthula growth in a liquid in vitro assay. The results suggest that while short-term exposure to hypersalinity alters selected cellular processes this does not necessarily lead to an immediate increase in wasting disease susceptibility. Published by Elsevier Masson SAS.

Micro-scale anaerobic digestion of point source components of organic fraction of municipal solid waste

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Chanakya, H.N.; Sharma, Isha; Ramachandra, T.V.

The fermentation characteristics of six specific types of the organic fraction of municipal solid waste (OFMSW) were examined, with an emphasis on properties that are needed when designing plug-flow type anaerobic bioreactors. More specifically, the decomposition patterns of a vegetable (cabbage), fruits (banana and citrus peels), fresh leaf litter of bamboo and teak leaves, and paper (newsprint) waste streams as feedstocks were studied. Individual OFMSW components were placed into nylon mesh bags and subjected to various fermentation periods (solids retention time, SRT) within the inlet of a functioning plug-flow biogas fermentor. These were removed at periodic intervals, and their compositionmore » was analyzed to monitor decomposition rates and changes in chemical composition. Components like cabbage waste, banana peels, and orange peels fermented rapidly both in a plug-flow biogas reactor (PFBR) as well as under a biological methane potential (BMP) assay, while other OFMSW components (leaf litter from bamboo and teak leaves and newsprint) fermented slowly with poor process stability and moderate biodegradation. For fruit and vegetable wastes (FVW), a rapid and efficient removal of pectins is the main cause of rapid disintegration of these feedstocks, which left behind very little compost forming residues (2-5%). Teak and bamboo leaves and newsprint decomposed only to 25-50% in 30 d. These results confirm the potential for volatile fatty acids accumulation in a PFBR's inlet and suggest a modification of the inlet zone or operation of a PFBR with the above feedstocks.« less

Micro-scale anaerobic digestion of point source components of organic fraction of municipal solid waste.

PubMed

Chanakya, H N; Sharma, Isha; Ramachandra, T V

2009-04-01

The fermentation characteristics of six specific types of the organic fraction of municipal solid waste (OFMSW) were examined, with an emphasis on properties that are needed when designing plug-flow type anaerobic bioreactors. More specifically, the decomposition patterns of a vegetable (cabbage), fruits (banana and citrus peels), fresh leaf litter of bamboo and teak leaves, and paper (newsprint) waste streams as feedstocks were studied. Individual OFMSW components were placed into nylon mesh bags and subjected to various fermentation periods (solids retention time, SRT) within the inlet of a functioning plug-flow biogas fermentor. These were removed at periodic intervals, and their composition was analyzed to monitor decomposition rates and changes in chemical composition. Components like cabbage waste, banana peels, and orange peels fermented rapidly both in a plug-flow biogas reactor (PFBR) as well as under a biological methane potential (BMP) assay, while other OFMSW components (leaf litter from bamboo and teak leaves and newsprint) fermented slowly with poor process stability and moderate biodegradation. For fruit and vegetable wastes (FVW), a rapid and efficient removal of pectins is the main cause of rapid disintegration of these feedstocks, which left behind very little compost forming residues (2-5%). Teak and bamboo leaves and newsprint decomposed only to 25-50% in 30d. These results confirm the potential for volatile fatty acids accumulation in a PFBR's inlet and suggest a modification of the inlet zone or operation of a PFBR with the above feedstocks.

Serum total immunoglobin-E and health hazards in workers involved in land fill and compost areas of hazardous waste management plants

PubMed Central

Kalahasthi, Ravi Babu; Rajmohan, HR; Narendranan, Pavitra; Pradyumna, Adithya

2012-01-01

Background: The exposures of bio-aerosols have reported higher occupational health hazards, the association between serum total IgE levels and job categories and occupational health hazards of waste disposal area was limited. The present study was undertaken to assess the relationship between occupational health hazards and Serum total IgE in waste disposal area. Materials and Methods: One hundred eighty subjects working in waste disposal areas in different parts of Bangalore at Karnataka, India were enrolled into the study in 2009. Using questionnaire the respiratory morbidity and other work related problems in HWW was carried. The levels of serum total IgE in study subjects were determined by using Enzyme–linked –immunosorbent assay kits (DRG International Inc, USA). The differences of serum total IgE levels between the groups were computed by using non-parametric Mann-Whitney U test. SPSS 10.0 for windows version of statistical software was used in the analysis. Results: The levels of serum total IgE was significantly increased in landfill area (P=0.027) compose plant workers (P=0.020). The morbidity conditions such as respiratory and musculoskeletal found significantly higher in waste disposal workers as compared to controls. Conclusion: The levels of serum total IgE was significantly increased in land fill area and compose plant workers but no significant relationship was found between the levels of serum total IgE and occurrence of health related symptoms or past respiratory disease. PMID:23112500

Serum total immunoglobin-E and health hazards in workers involved in land fill and compost areas of hazardous waste management plants.

PubMed

Kalahasthi, Ravi Babu; Rajmohan, Hr; Narendranan, Pavitra; Pradyumna, Adithya

2012-01-01

The exposures of bio-aerosols have reported higher occupational health hazards, the association between serum total IgE levels and job categories and occupational health hazards of waste disposal area was limited. The present study was undertaken to assess the relationship between occupational health hazards and Serum total IgE in waste disposal area. One hundred eighty subjects working in waste disposal areas in different parts of Bangalore at Karnataka, India were enrolled into the study in 2009. Using questionnaire the respiratory morbidity and other work related problems in HWW was carried. The levels of serum total IgE in study subjects were determined by using Enzyme-linked -immunosorbent assay kits (DRG International Inc, USA). The differences of serum total IgE levels between the groups were computed by using non-parametric Mann-Whitney U test. SPSS 10.0 for windows version of statistical software was used in the analysis. The levels of serum total IgE was significantly increased in landfill area (P=0.027) compose plant workers (P=0.020). The morbidity conditions such as respiratory and musculoskeletal found significantly higher in waste disposal workers as compared to controls. The levels of serum total IgE was significantly increased in land fill area and compose plant workers but no significant relationship was found between the levels of serum total IgE and occurrence of health related symptoms or past respiratory disease.

Karlsruhe Database for Radioactive Wastes (KADABRA) - Accounting and Management System for Radioactive Waste Treatment - 12275

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Himmerkus, Felix; Rittmeyer, Cornelia

2012-07-01

The data management system KADABRA was designed according to the purposes of the Cen-tral Decontamination Department (HDB) of the Wiederaufarbeitungsanlage Karlsruhe Rueckbau- und Entsorgungs-GmbH (WAK GmbH), which is specialized in the treatment and conditioning of radioactive waste. The layout considers the major treatment processes of the HDB as well as regulatory and legal requirements. KADABRA is designed as an SAG ADABAS application on IBM system Z mainframe. The main function of the system is the data management of all processes related to treatment, transfer and storage of radioactive material within HDB. KADABRA records the relevant data concerning radioactive residues, interimmore » products and waste products as well as the production parameters relevant for final disposal. Analytical data from the laboratory and non destructive assay systems, that describe the chemical and radiological properties of residues, production batches, interim products as well as final waste products, can be linked to the respective dataset for documentation and declaration. The system enables the operator to trace the radioactive material through processing and storage. Information on the actual sta-tus of the material as well as radiological data and storage position can be gained immediately on request. A variety of programs accessed to the database allow the generation of individual reports on periodic or special request. KADABRA offers a high security standard and is constantly adapted to the recent requirements of the organization. (authors)« less

Instrument front-ends at Fermilab during Run II

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Meyer, T.; Slimmer, D.; Voy, D.

2011-11-01

The optimization of an accelerator relies on the ability to monitor the behavior of the beam in an intelligent and timely fashion. The use of processor-driven front-ends allowed for the deployment of smart systems in the field for improved data collection and analysis during Run II. This paper describes the implementation of the two main systems used: National Instruments LabVIEW running on PCs, and WindRiver's VxWorks real-time operating system running in a VME crate processor. Work supported by Fermi Research Alliance, LLC under Contract No. DE-AC02-07CH11359 with the United States Department of Energy.

CAMAC driver for the RSX-11M V3 operating system

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Tippie, J. W.; Cannon, P. H.

1977-01-01

A driver for Kinetic Systems 3911A dedicated crate controller and 3992 serial highway driver for RSX-11M is described. The implementation includes a modified UCB structure. With this structure, multiple active I/O requests are supported to a single controller. The completion of an I/O request may be tied to external events via a WAIT-FOR-LAM command. Features of the driver include the ability to pass a list of FNA's in a single QIO call, serial highway overhead transparent at the QIO level, and special control commands to the driver passed in the FNA list. 1 figure.

Benefits of Prepartum Nest-building Behaviour on Parturition and Lactation in Sows - A Review.

PubMed

Yun, Jinhyeon; Valros, Anna

2015-11-01

It is well known that prepartum sows have an innate motivation to build a nest before parturition. Under commercial conditions, however, the farrowing crate, which is widely used in modern pig husbandry, inhibits this innate behaviour through the lack of space, materials, or both. Thus, restriction of nest-building behaviour could generate increased stress, resulting in a decrease in maternal endogenous hormones. Hence, it could lead to detrimental effects on farrowing and lactating performance. Here we review interactions between prepartum nest-building behaviour, stress and maternal endogenous hormone levels, and discuss their effects on parturition, lactation, and welfare of sows and offspring.

Shipping InSight Mars Spacecraft to California for Launch

NASA Image and Video Library

2018-02-28

Personnel supporting NASA's InSight mission to Mars load the crated InSight spacecraft into a C-17 cargo aircraft at Buckley Air Force Base, Denver, for shipment to Vandenberg Air Force Base, California. The spacecraft, built in Colorado by Lockheed Martin Space, was shipped February 28, 2018, in preparation for launch from Vandenberg in May 2018. InSight, short for Interior Exploration using Seismic Investigations, Geodesy and Heat Transport, is the first mission dedicated to studying the deep interior of Mars. Its findings will advance understanding of the early history of all rocky planets, including Earth. https://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA22220

Shipping InSight Mars Spacecraft to California for Launch

NASA Image and Video Library

2018-02-28

Personnel supporting NASA's InSight mission to Mars load the crated InSight spacecraft into a C-17 cargo aircraft at Buckley Air Force Base, Denver, for shipment to Vandenberg Air Force Base, California. The spacecraft, built in Colorado by Lockheed Martin Space, was shipped February 28, 2018, in preparation for launch from Vandenberg in May 2018. InSight, short for Interior Exploration using Seismic Investigations, Geodesy and Heat Transport, is the first mission dedicated to studying the deep interior of Mars. Its findings will advance understanding of the early history of all rocky planets, including Earth. https://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA22252

Shipping InSight Mars Spacecraft to California for Launch

NASA Image and Video Library

2018-02-28

Personnel supporting NASA's InSight mission to Mars load the crated InSight spacecraft into a C-17 cargo aircraft at Buckley Air Force Base, Denver, for shipment to Vandenberg Air Force Base, California. The spacecraft, built in Colorado by Lockheed Martin Space, was shipped February 28, 2018, in preparation for launch from Vandenberg in May 2018. InSight, short for Interior Exploration using Seismic Investigations, Geodesy and Heat Transport, is the first mission dedicated to studying the deep interior of Mars. Its findings will advance understanding of the early history of all rocky planets, including Earth. https://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA22253

Fermilab`s DART DA system

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Pordes, R.; Anderson, J.; Berg, D.

1994-04-01

DART is the new data acquisition system designed and implemented for six Fermilab experiments by the Fermilab Computing Division and the experiments themselves. The complexity of the experiments varies greatly. Their data taking throughput and event filtering requirements range from a few (2-5) to tens (80) of CAMAC, FASTBUS and home built front end crates; from a few 100 KByte/sec to 160 MByte/sec front end data collection rates; and from 0-3000 Mips of level 3 processing. The authors report on the architecture and implementation of DART to this date, and the hardware and software components that are being developed andmore » supported.« less

Fermilab`s DART DA system

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Pordes, R.; Anderson, J.; Berg, D.

1994-12-31

DART is the new data acquisition system designed and implemented for six Fermilab experiments by the Fermilab Computing Division and the experiments themselves. The complexity of the experiments varies greatly. Their data taking throughput and event filtering requirements range from a few (2-5) to tens (80) of CAMAC, FASTBUS and home built front end crates; from a few 100 KByte/sec to 160 MByte/sec front end data collection rates; and from 0-3000 Mips of level 3 processing. The authors report on the architecture and implementation of DART to this data, and the hardware and software components that are being developed andmore » supported.« less

KSC-98pc1211

NASA Image and Video Library

1998-10-02

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. --Out of its crate, the Mars Polar Lander is maneuvered inside the Spacecraft Assembly and Encapsulation Facility-2 (SAEF-2) for testing. The Mars Polar Lander is targeted for launch from Cape Canaveral Air Station aboard a Delta II rocket on Jan. 3, 1999. The solar-powered spacecraft is designed to touch down on the Martian surface near the northern-most boundary of the south pole in order to study the water cycle there. The lander also will help scientists learn more about climate change and current resources on Mars, studying such things as frost, dust, water vapor and condensates in the Martian atmosphere

Electrodeposition of polymer electrolyte in nanostructured electrodes for enhanced electrochemical performance of thin-film Li-ion microbatteries

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Salian, Girish D.; Lebouin, Chrystelle; Demoulin, A.; Lepihin, M. S.; Maria, S.; Galeyeva, A. K.; Kurbatov, A. P.; Djenizian, Thierry

2017-02-01

We report that electrodeposition of polymer electrolyte in nanostructured electrodes has a strong influence on the electrochemical properties of thin-film Li-ion microbatteries. Electropolymerization of PMMA-PEG (polymethyl methacrylate-polyethylene glycol) was carried out on both the anode (self-supported titania nanotubes) and the cathode (porous LiNi0.5Mn1.5O4) by cyclic voltammetry and the resulting electrode-electrolyte interface was examined by scanning electron microscopy. The electrochemical characterizations performed by galvanostatic experiments reveal that the capacity values obtained at different C-rates are doubled when the electrodes are completely filled by the polymer electrolyte.

Electronic waste leachate-mediated DNA fragmentation and cell death by apoptosis in mouse fibroblast (NIH/3T3) cell line.

PubMed

Alabi, Okunola A; Bakare, Adekunle A; Filippin-Monteiro, Fabíola B; Sierra, Jelver A; Creczynski-Pasa, Tânia B

2013-08-01

This study investigated the apoptotic effect of electronic waste on fibroblast cell line. Cells were treated with different concentrations of the leachate for 24h. Cell viability was detected by MTT (3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide) test, nuclear morphology of cells was explored by acridine orange (AO)/ethidium bromide (EB) double staining, mitochondrial membrane potential was evaluated using JC-1 probe while cell cycle analysis was conducted using flow cytometry. The oxidative status was detected using DCFH-DA (dichlorofluorescin diacetate) probe and the relationship between cell death and ROS (reactive oxygen species) was investigated using N-acetylcysteine. Results showed an increased cell death as detected by MTT assay and AO/EB staining. Cell cycle analysis indicated an induction of sub/G1 events while JC-1 probe showed significant disruption of mitochondrial membrane potential. There was significant induction of ROS, while N-acetylcysteine protected the cells from DNA damage. These suggest apoptotic pathway as a possible mechanism of e-waste induced cyto-genotoxicity. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Antioxidant activities of aqueous extract from Stevia rebaudiana stem waste to inhibit fish oil oxidation and identification of its phenolic compounds.

PubMed

Yu, Hui; Yang, Gangqiang; Sato, Minoru; Yamaguchi, Toshiyasu; Nakano, Toshiki; Xi, Yinci

2017-10-01

We investigated the potential for exploiting Stevia rebaudiana stem (SRS) waste as a source of edible plant-based antioxidants finding for the first time that the hot water extract of SRS had significantly higher antioxidant activity against fish oil oxidation than that of the leaf, despite SRS extract having lower total phenolic content, DPPH radical scavenging activity and ORAC values. To locate the major antioxidant ingredients, SRS extract was fractionated using liquid chromatography. Five phenolic compounds (primary antioxidant components in activity-containing fractions) were identified by NMR and HR-ESI-MS: vanillic acid 4-O-β-d-glucopyranoside (1), protocatechuic acid (2), caffeic acid (3), chlorogenic acid (4) and cryptochlorogenic acid (5). Further analysis showed that, among compounds 2-5, protocatechuic acid had the highest capacity to inhibit peroxides formation, but exhibited the lowest antioxidant activities in DPPH and ORAC assays. These results indicate that SRS waste can be used as strong natural antioxidant materials in the food industry. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

FTIR-PAS: a powerful tool for characterising the chemical composition and predicting the labile C fraction of various organic waste products.

PubMed

Bekiaris, Georgios; Bruun, Sander; Peltre, Clément; Houot, Sabine; Jensen, Lars S

2015-05-01

Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy has been used for several years as a fast, low-cost, reliable technique for characterising a large variety of materials. However, the strong influence of sample particle size and the inability to measure the absorption of very dark and opaque samples have made FTIR unsuitable for many waste materials. FTIR-photoacoustic spectroscopy (FTIR-PAS) can eliminate some of the shortcomings of traditional FTIR caused by scattering effects and reflection issues, and recent advances in PAS technology have made commercial instruments available. In this study, FTIR-PAS was used to characterise a wide range of organic waste products and predict their labile carbon fraction, which is normally determined from time-consuming assays. FTIR-PAS was found to be capable of predicting the labile fraction of carbon as efficiently as near infrared spectroscopy (NIR) and furthermore of identifying the compounds that are correlated with the predicted parameter, thus facilitating a more mechanistic interpretation. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

The role of acceptable knowledge in transuranic waste disposal operations - 11117

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Chancellor, Christopher John; Nelson, Roger

2010-11-08

The Acceptable Knowledge (AK) process plays a key role in the delineation of waste streams destined for the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP). General Electric's Vallecitos Nuclear Center (GEVNC) provides for an ideal case study of the application of AK in a multiple steward environment. In this review we will elucidate the pivotal role Acceptable Knowledge played in segregating Department of Energy (DOE) responsibilities from a commercial facility. The Acceptable Knowledge process is a necessary component of waste characterization that determines whether or not a waste stream may be considered for disposal at the WIPP site. This process may bemore » thought of as an effort to gain a thorough understanding of the waste origin, chemical content, and physical form gleaned by the collection of documentation that concerns generator/storage site history, mission, and operations; in addition to waste stream specific information which includes the waste generation process, the waste matrix, the quantity of waste concerned, and the radiological and chemical make up of the waste. The collection and dissemination of relevant documentation is the fundamental requirement for the AK process to work. Acceptable Knowledge is the predominant process of characterization and, therefore, a crucial part of WIPP's transuranic waste characterization program. This characterization process, when conducted to the standards set forth in WIPP's operating permit, requires confirmation/verification by physical techniques such as Non-Destructive Examination (NDE), Visual Examination (VE), and Non-Destructive Assay (NDA). These physical characterization techniques may vary in their appropriateness for a given waste stream; however, nothing will allow the substitution or exclusion of AK. Beyond the normal scope of operations, AK may be considered, when appropriate, a surrogate for the physical characterization techniques in a procedure that appeals to concepts such As Low As Reasonably Achievable (ALARA) and budgetary savings. This substitution is referred to as an Acceptable Knowledge Sufficiency Determination. With a Sufficiency Determination Request, AK may supplant the need for one or all of the physical analysis methods. This powerful procedure may be used on a scale as small as a single container to that of a vast waste stream. Only under the most stringent requirements will an AK Sufficiency Determination be approved by the regulators and, to date, only six such Sufficiency Determinations have been approved. Although Acceptable Knowledge is legislated into the operational procedures of the WIPP facility there is more to it than compliance. AK is not merely one of a long list of requirements in the characterization and verification of transuranic (TRU) waste destined for the WIPP. Acceptable Knowledge goes beyond the regulatory threshold by offering a way to reduce risk, cost, time, and uncertainty on its own laurels. Therefore, AK alone can be argued superior to any other waste characterization technique.« less

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Sharkey, T.D.; Butz, N.D.

We have developed methods to use the spectrophotometric assay for rubisco to determine k{sub cat} and carbamylation of rubisco in crude leaf extracts. In this assay, rubisco activity is coupled to NADH oxidation by PGA kinase and NADH dependent GAP dehydrogenase. The difficulty with this method in the past has been an initial lag in the observed signal, presumably because PGA must build up. This problem was solved by including high levels of ATP plus an ATP regenerating system and by using pH 8.0 for the assays. At higher pH the initial lag was observed, at lower pH, rubisco activitymore » declined. The continuous spectrophotometric assay is particularly suited to studies of fallover, the loss of activity of rubisco during assay, and to studies of activation, the increase in activity as rubisco becomes carbamylated. the activity of rubisco measured immediately upon extraction compared to the activity after incubation with CO{sub 2} and Mg{sup 2+} correlated well with the degree of carbamylation as determined by {sup 14}CABP/{sup 12}CABP competition experiments. Rubisco activity was reduced by binding CABP, and the number of active sites were estimated by extrapolation to zero activity. These data allow the calculation of k{sub cat}. These methods allow estimation of many important parameters of rubisco activity in less time than previous methods and without generation of any radioactive waste.« less

Suppression of muscle wasting by the plant‐derived compound ursolic acid in a model of chronic kidney disease

PubMed Central

Yu, Rizhen; Chen, Ji‐an; Xu, Jing; Cao, Jin; Wang, Yanlin; Thomas, Sandhya S.

2016-01-01

Abstract Background Muscle wasting in chronic kidney disease (CKD) and other catabolic disorders contributes to morbidity and mortality, and there are no therapeutic interventions that regularly and safely block losses of muscle mass. We have obtained evidence that impaired IGF‐1/insulin signalling and increases in glucocorticoids, myostatin and/or inflammatory cytokines that contribute to the development of muscle wasting in catabolic disorders by activating protein degradation. Methods Using in vitro and in vivo models of muscle wasting associated with CKD or dexamethasone administration, we measured protein synthesis and degradation and examined mechanisms by which ursolic acid, derived from plants, could block the loss of muscle mass stimulated by CKD or excessive levels of dexamethasone. Results Using cultured C2C12 myotubes to study muscle wasting, we found that exposure to glucocorticoids cause loss of cell proteins plus an increase in myostatin; both responses are significantly suppressed by ursolic acid. Results from promoter and ChIP assays demonstrated a mechanism involving ursolic acid blockade of myostatin promoter activity that is related to CEBP/δ expression. In mouse models of CKD‐induced or dexamethasone‐induced muscle wasting, we found that ursolic acid blocked the loss of muscle mass by stimulating protein synthesis and decreasing protein degradation. These beneficial responses included decreased expression of myostatin and inflammatory cytokines (e.g. TGF‐β, IL‐6 and TNFα), which are initiators of muscle‐specific ubiquitin‐E3 ligases (e.g. Atrogin‐1, MuRF‐1 and MUSA1). Conclusions Ursolic acid improves CKD‐induced muscle mass by suppressing the expression of myostatin and inflammatory cytokines via increasing protein synthesis and reducing proteolysis. PMID:27897418

The impact of illegal waste sites on a transmission of zoonotic viruses.

PubMed

Duh, Darja; Hasic, Sandra; Buzan, Elena

2017-07-20

Illegal waste disposal impacts public health and causes aesthetic and environmental pollution. Waste disposed in places without permitted and controlled facilities can provide a ready source of nutrition and shelter for rodents and thus promote the spread of their ecto- and endoparasites. The presence of two distinct zoonotic viruses, lymphocytic choriomeningitis virus (LCMV) and tick-borne encephalitis virus (TBEV), was searched at illegal waste sites. The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of infection with both viruses in rodents and to discuss the virus-rodent relations in such environments. Rodents sampled between October 2011 and April 2013 at 7 locations in the Istrian peninsula, were identified morphologically and genetically to minimize misidentification. Serological and molecular techniques were used to determine seroprevalence of infection in rodents and to detect viral RNAs. Serological testing was performed by immune fluorescence assay for detection of LCMV and TBEV specific antibodies. Real-time RT PCR was used for the detection of LCMV nucleoprotein gene and TBEV 3' non-coding region. Data were statistically analysed using SPSS statistic v2.0. Out of 82 rodent sera tested, the presence of LCMV antibodies was demonstrated in 24.93%. The highest prevalence of LCMV infection was found in commensal Mus musculus (47.37%), followed by 11.53%, 19.04% and 25% prevalence of infection in A. agrarius, A. flavicolis and A. sylvaticus, respectively. The highest prevalence of infection in rodents (53.33%) was found in locations with large waste sites and high anthropogenic influence. LCMV seroprevalence was significantly lower in rodents sampled from natural habitats. Viral nucleic acids were screened in 46 samples but yielded no amplicons of LCMV or TBEV. In addition, TBEV specific antibodies were not detected. Illegal waste sites have considerable impact on the area where they are located. Results have shown that the transmission of human pathogens can be significantly increased by the presence of waste sites. However, the pathogen must be endemic in the environment where the waste site is located. The introduction of a human pathogen as a consequence of the waste site in the area of interest could not be proven.

Molecular Barriers to Zoonotic Transmission of Prions

PubMed Central

Barria, Marcelo A.; Balachandran, Aru; Morita, Masanori; Kitamoto, Tetsuyuki; Barron, Rona; Manson, Jean; Knight, Richard; Ironside, James W.

2014-01-01

The risks posed to human health by individual animal prion diseases cannot be determined a priori and are difficult to address empirically. The fundamental event in prion disease pathogenesis is thought to be the seeded conversion of normal prion protein to its pathologic isoform. We used a rapid molecular conversion assay (protein misfolding cyclic amplification) to test whether brain homogenates from specimens of classical bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE), atypical BSE (H-type BSE and L-type BSE), classical scrapie, atypical scrapie, and chronic wasting disease can convert normal human prion protein to the abnormal disease-associated form. None of the tested prion isolates from diseased animals were as efficient as classical BSE in converting human prion protein. However, in the case of chronic wasting disease, there was no absolute barrier to conversion of the human prion protein. PMID:24377702

Isolation and identification of trichothecenes from Fusarium compactum suspected in the aetiology of a major intoxication of sandhill cranes.

USGS Publications Warehouse

Cole, Richard J.; Dorner, Joe W.; Gilbert, John; Mortimer, David N.; Crews, Colin; Mitchell, J.C.; Windingstad, Ronald M.; Nelson, Paul E.; Cutler, Horace G.

1988-01-01

Isoneosolaniol (4,8-diacetoxy-12,13-epoxytrichothec-9-ene-3,15-diol) and other unidentified trichothecene mycotoxins were isolated from culture extracts of two highly toxigenic strains of Fusarium compactum cultured from waste peanuts involved in an acute intoxication of sandhill cranes (Grus canadensis). Neosolaniol and other unidentified trichothecenes were detected in waste peanuts collected from affected areas. The structure of isoneosolaniol was determined by 1H and 13C NMR analyses and by high-resolution mass spectometry. Isoneosolaniol was hightly toxic to 1-day-old chickens and to a HEp2 cell culture assay. It was concluded that the most logical cause of the sandhill crane intoxication was Fusarium spp. Contaminated peanuts and various trichothecene mycotoxins acting alone or in conjunction with other Fusarium mycotoxins.

Anti-oxidant properties and polyphenolic profile screening of Vitis vinifera stems and leaves crude extracts grown in Perlis, Malaysia

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zakaria, Nursyahda; Zulkifli, Razauden Mohamed; Akhir, Fazrena Nadia Md; Basar, Norazah

2014-03-01

Grape has become a fast growing agricultural sector in Malaysia producing between 0.62 kg to 2.03 kg waste per vinestock. This study aims to generate useful information on anti-oxidative properties as well as polyphenolic composition of grapevine waste. Stems and leaves of Vitis vinifera cultivated in Perlis, Malaysia were extracted using methanol, ethyl acetate and petroleum ether. Ethyl acetate stems extract exhibited highest total phenolic content. While in DPPH assay, methanolic stems extract show the highest antioxidant activities. This result indicates that total phenolic content in the extracts may not contribute directly to the antioxidant activities. Thin Layer Chromatograms of all crude extracts exhibited good separation under solvent system petroleum ether-ethyl acetate (2:3) resulted in detection of resveratrol in ethyl acetate stems crude extract.

Quantification of transuranic elements by time interval correlation spectroscopy of the detected neutrons

PubMed

Baeten; Bruggeman; Paepen; Carchon

2000-03-01

The non-destructive quantification of transuranic elements in nuclear waste management or in safeguards verifications is commonly performed by passive neutron assay techniques. To minimise the number of unknown sample-dependent parameters, Neutron Multiplicity Counting (NMC) is applied. We developed a new NMC-technique, called Time Interval Correlation Spectroscopy (TICS), which is based on the measurement of Rossi-alpha time interval distributions. Compared to other NMC-techniques, TICS offers several advantages.

Detection of potential (anti)progestagenic endocrine disruptors using a recombinant human progesterone receptor binding and transactivation assay.

PubMed

Viswanath, Gunda; Halder, Sujata; Divya, Gunda; Majumder, Chandrajeet B; Roy, Partha

2008-11-25

The present work describes the identification of (anti)progestin endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDC) using a two step screening system. In the first step a competitive binding assay was developed using recombinant human progesterone receptor (hPR). The tested chemicals were of various classes like insecticides, their metabolites, industrial chemicals and waste water treatment plant (WWTP) effluents. All the tested chemicals demonstrated a high affinity binding for hPR. The average IC50 values of the test chemicals were within the range of 1-25microM. In the second step of screening, a mammalian cell-based hPR transactivation assay was developed where HEK 293 cells were co-transfected with hPR and luciferase reporter gene under the control of progesterone-response element. Stimulation of the cells with progesterone resulted in about 25-fold up regulation of luciferase activity, with EC50 value of 4nM. Potent anti-progesterone, RU486, significantly inhibited progesterone-induced transactivation and non-progestagenic steroids failed to transactivate hPR till 1microM concentrations. The chemicals showing high binding affinities in competitive binding assays were then tested in transactivation assay and all of them were found to be anti-progestative except WWTP effluents. Transactivation assays using extracted water samples from five different WWTP effluents showed that it was rich in progestative compounds. The levels of induction caused by these effluents were in the range of 15-25% of induction by progesterone and they represented about 6ng/l equivalent progesterone activities. In conclusion, we demonstrated that this two step assay provides an efficient screening tool for the detection of (anti)progestative EDC in various samples.

The cytotoxic and genetoxic effects of dust and soil samples from E-waste recycling area on L02 cells.

PubMed

Wang, Liulin; Hou, Meiling; An, Jing; Zhong, Yufang; Wang, Xuetong; Wang, Yangjun; Wu, Minghong; Bi, Xinhui; Sheng, Guoying; Fu, Jiamo

2011-10-01

Electrical and electronic waste (E-waste) has now become the fastest growing solid waste around the world. Primitive recycling operations for E-waste have resulted in severe contamination of toxic metals and organic chemicals in the related areas. In this study, six dust and soil samples collected from E-waste recycling workshops and open-burning sites in Longtang were analyzed to investigate their cytotoxicity and genotoxicity on L02 cells. These six samples were: dust No. 1 collected at the gate of the workshop; dust No. 2 collected from air conditioning compressor dismantling site; dust No. 3 collected from where some motors, wires, and aluminium products since the 1980s were dismantled; soil No. 1 collected at the circuit board acid washing site; soil No. 2 collected from a wire open-burning site; soil No. 3 collected near a fiber open-burning site. At the same time, two control soil samples were collected from farmlands approximately 8 km away from the dismantling workshops. The results showed that all of these samples could inhibit cell proliferation and cause cell membrane lesion, among which dust No. 3 and soil No. 2 had the strongest toxicity. Moreover, the comet assay showed that the dust No. 3 had the most significant capability to cause DNA single-strand beaks (SSB), while the road dust (dust No. 1) collected at the gate of the workshop, a relatively farer site, showed the slightest capability to induce DNA SSB. The intracellular reactive oxygen species (ROS) detection showed that ROS level was elevated with the increase of dust and soil samples concentration. Dust No. 3 and soil No. 2 had the highest ROS level, followed by dust No. 2 and 1, soil No. 3 and 1. All of the above results indicated that polluted soil and dust from the E-waste area had cytotoxicity and genotoxicity on L02 cells, the mechanism might involve the increased ROS level and consequent DNA SSB.

Development of a versatile lab-on-a-chip enzyme assay platform for pathogen detection in CBRNE scenarios

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Klemm, Richard; Schattschneider, Sebastian; Jahn, Tobias; Hlawatsch, Nadine; Julich, Sandra; Becker, Holger; Gärtner, Claudia

2013-05-01

The ability to integrate complete assays on a microfluidic chip helps to greatly simplify instrument requirements and allows the use of lab-on-a-chip technology in the field. A core application for such field-portable systems is the detection of pathogens in a CBRNE scenario such as permanent monitoring of airborne pathogens, e.g. in metro stations or hospitals etc. As one assay methodology for the pathogen identification, enzymatic assays were chosen. In order evaluate different detection strategies, the realized on-chip enzyme assay module has been designed as a general platform chip. In all application cases, the assays are based on immobilized probes located in microfluidic channels. Therefore a microfluidic chip was realized containing a set of three individually addressable channels, not only for detection of the sample itself also to have a set of references for a quantitative analysis. It furthermore includes two turning valves and a waste container for clear and sealed storage of potential pathogenic liquids to avoid contamination of the environment. All liquids remain in the chip and can be disposed of in proper way subsequently to the analysis. The chip design includes four inlet ports consisting of one sample port (Luer interface) and three mini Luer interfaces for fluidic support of e.g. washing buffer, substrate and enzyme solution. The sample can be applied via a special, sealable sampling vessel with integrated female Luer interface. Thereby also pre-anaytical contamination of the environment can be provided. Other reagents that are required for analysis will be stored off chip.

Microbial Characterization of Solid-Wastes Treated with Heat Melt Compaction Technology

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Strayer, Richard F.; Hummerick, Mary E.; Richards, Jeffrey T.; McCoy, LaShelle E.; Roberts, Michael S.; Wheeler, Raymond M.

2011-01-01

The research purpose of the project was to determine the fate of microorganisms in space-generated solid wastes after processing by a Heat Melt Compactor (HMC), which is a candidate solid waste treatment technology. Five HMC product disks were generated at Ames Research Center (ARC), Waste Management Systems element. The feed for two was simulated space-generated trash and feed for three was Volume F compartment wet waste returned on STS 130. Conventional microbiological methods were used to detect and enumerate microorganisms in HMC disks and in surface swab samples of HMC hardware before and after operation. Also, biological indicator test strips were added to the STS trash prior to compaction to test if HMC processing conditions, 150 C for approx 3 hr and dehydration, were sufficient to eliminate the test bacteria on the strips. During sample acquisition at KSC, the HMC disk surfaces were sanitized with 70% alcohol to prevent contamination of disk interiors. Results from microbiological assays indicated that numbers of microbes were greatly reduced but not eliminated by the 70% alcohol. Ten 1.25 cm diameter cores were aseptically cut from each disk to sample the disk interior. The core material was run through the microbial characterization analyses after dispersal in sterile diluent. Low counts of viable bacteria (5 to 50 per core) were found but total direct counts were 6 to 8 orders of magnitude greater. These results indicate that the HMC operating conditions might not be sufficient for complete waste sterilization, but the vast majority of microbes present in the wastes were dead or non-cultivable after HMC treatment. The results obtained from analyses of the commercial spore test strips that had been added fo the wastes prior to HMC operation further indicated that the HMC was sterilizing the wastes. Nearly all strips were recovered from the HMC disks and all of these were negative for spore growth when run through the manufacturer's protocol. The 10(exp 6) or so spores impregnated into the strips were no longer viable. Control test strips, i.e., not exposed to the HMC conditions, were all strongly positive. All isolates from the cultivable counts were identified, leading to one concern: several were identified as Staphylococcus aureus, a human pathogen. The project reported here provides microbial characterization support to the Waste Management Systems element of the Life Support and Habitation Systems program.

The Challenges of Creating a Real-Time Data Management System for TRU-Mixed Waste at the Advanced Mixed Waste Treatment Plant

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Paff, S. W; Doody, S.

2003-02-25

This paper discusses the challenges associated with creating a data management system for waste tracking at the Advanced Mixed Waste Treatment Plant (AMWTP) at the Idaho National Engineering Lab (INEEL). The waste tracking system combines data from plant automation systems and decision points. The primary purpose of the system is to provide information to enable the plant operators and engineers to assess the risks associated with each container and determine the best method of treating it. It is also used to track the transuranic (TRU) waste containers as they move throughout the various processes at the plant. And finally, themore » goal of the system is to support paperless shipments of the waste to the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP). This paper describes the approach, methodologies, the underlying design of the database, and the challenges of creating the Data Management System (DMS) prior to completion of design and construction of a major plant. The system was built utilizing an Oracle database platform, and Oracle Forms 6i in client-server mode. The underlying data architecture is container-centric, with separate tables and objects for each type of analysis used to characterize the waste, including real-time radiography (RTR), non-destructive assay (NDA), head-space gas sampling and analysis (HSGS), visual examination (VE) and coring. The use of separate tables facilitated the construction of automatic interfaces with the analysis instruments that enabled direct data capture. Movements are tracked using a location system describing each waste container's current location and a history table tracking the container's movement history. The movement system is designed to interface both with radio-frequency bar-code devices and the plant's integrated control system (ICS). Collections of containers or information, such as batches, were created across the various types of analyses, which enabled a single, cohesive approach to be developed for verification and validation activities. The DMS includes general system functions, including task lists, electronic signature, non-conformance reports and message systems, that cut vertically across the remaining subsystems. Oracle's security features were utilized to ensure that only authorized users were allowed to log in, and to restrict access to system functionality according to user role.« less

Antioxidant potential of chestnut (Castanea sativa L.) and almond (Prunus dulcis L.) by-products.

PubMed

Barreira, J C M; Ferreira, I C F R; Oliveira, M B P P; Pereira, J A

2010-06-01

The antioxidant properties of almond green husks (Cvs. Duro Italiano, Ferraduel, Ferranhês, Ferrastar and Orelha de Mula), chestnut skins and chestnut leaves (Cvs. Aveleira, Boa Ventura, Judia and Longal) were evaluated through several chemical and biochemical assays in order to provide a novel strategy to stimulate the application of waste products as new suppliers of useful bioactive compounds, namely antioxidants. All the assayed by-products revealed good antioxidant properties, with very low EC(50) values (lower than 380 μg/mL), particularly for lipid peroxidation inhibition (lower than 140 μg/mL). The total phenols and flavonoids contents were also determined. The correlation between these bioactive compounds and DPPH (2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl) radical scavenging activity, reducing power, inhibition of β-carotene bleaching and inhibition of lipid peroxidation in pig brain tissue through formation of thiobarbituric acid reactive substances, was also obtained. Although, all the assayed by-products proved to have a high potential of application in new antioxidants formulations, chestnut skins and leaves demonstrated better results.

A simple and rapid radiochemical choline acetyltransferase (ChAT) assay screening test.

PubMed

Shiba, Kazuhiro; Ogawa, Kazuma; Kinuya, Seigo; Yajima, Kazuyoshi; Mori, Hirofumi

2006-10-15

A simple radiochemical choline acetyltransferase (ChAT) assay screening test was developed by measuring for [(3)H]acetylcholine ([(3)H]ACh) formed from 0.2 mM [(3)H]acetyl-coenzyme A ([(3)H]acetyl-CoA) and 1 mM choline by 0.2 mg of rat brain homogenates containing ChAT into 96-well microplates. A simple and rapid procedure for isolating [(3)H]ACh from the incubation mixture into 96-well microplates was achieved by using a sodium tetraphenylboron (Kalibor) solution (in ethyl acetate, 0.75%, w/v) and a hydrophobic liquid scintillator mixture (1:5, v/v, 0.2 mL) as an extraction solvent. The benefits of this radiochemical method using 96-well microplates are as follows: (1) this method is reliable and reproducible; (2) many samples can be examined at the same time by this method; (3) this method is economical and effective in reducing radioactive waste. The development of a new simple radiochemical ChAT assay screening test is the first stage of development of radiolabeled ChAT mapping agent.

Detection of mitochondrial DNA with the compact bead array sensor system (cBASS)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mulvaney, Shawn P.; Ibe, Carol N.; Caldwell, Jane M.; Levine, Jay F.; Whitman, Lloyd J.; Tamanaha, Cy R.

2009-02-01

Enteric pathogens are a significant contaminant in surface waters used for recreation, fish and shellfish harvesting, crop irrigation, and human consumption. The need for water monitoring becomes more pronounced when industrial, agricultural, and residential lands are found in close proximity. Fecal contamination is particularly problematic and identification of the pollution source essential to remediation efforts. Standard monitoring for fecal contamination relies on indicator organisms, but the technique is too broad to identify the source of contamination. Instead, real-time PCR of mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) is an emerging method for identification of the contamination source. Presented herein, we evaluate an alternative technology, the compact Bead Array Sensor System (cBASS®) and its assay approach Fluidic Force Discrimination (FFD), for the detection of mtDNA. Previously, we achieved multiplexed, attomolar detection of toxins and femtomolar detection of nucleic acids in minutes with FFD assays. More importantly, FFD assays are compatible with a variety of complex matrices and therefore potentially applicable for samples where the matrix would interfere with PCR amplification. We have designed a triplex assay for the NADH gene found in human, swine, and bovine mtDNA and demonstrated the specific detection of human mtDNA spiked into a waste water sample.

Real-time monitoring of lactate extrusion and glucose consumption of cultured cells using a lab-on-valve system.

PubMed

Schulz, Craig M; Scampavia, Louis; Ruzicka, Jaromir

2002-12-01

Microsequential injection (microST) provides microfluidic operations that are ideally suited for cellular function studies and as a means of validating targets for drug discovery. MicroSI carried out within the lab-on-valve (LOV) manifold, is an ideal platform for spectroscopic studies on living cells that are grown on microcarrier beads and kept thermostated while their metabolism is probed in real-time. In this paper a microbioreactor is integrated into the LOV manifold allowing measurement of cellular lactate extrusion and glucose consumption rates of a cell culture that is automatically renewed prior to each measurement. Glucose consumption and lactate extrusion are monitored using NAD-linked enzymatic assays. The microSI-LOV setup has demonstrated a linear analysis range of 0.05-1.00 mM for lactate and 0.1-5.6 mM for glucose. These assays were conducted in a serial fashion requiring 3 microL of cellular perfusate and 10 s for glucose determination and 30 s for the lactate assay. Overall waste generated per lactate/glucose assay is < 200 microL. This work was performed using two different transfected hepatocyte cell lines, which adhere to Cytopore microcarrier beads. This novel approach to metabolic screening allows for the rapid evaluation of the effects of dosing cells with chemical agents.

APNEA list mode data acquisition and real-time event processing

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Hogle, R.A.; Miller, P.; Bramblett, R.L.

1997-11-01

The LMSC Active Passive Neutron Examinations and Assay (APNEA) Data Logger is a VME-based data acquisition system using commercial-off-the-shelf hardware with the application-specific software. It receives TTL inputs from eighty-eight {sup 3}He detector tubes and eight timing signals. Two data sets are generated concurrently for each acquisition session: (1) List Mode recording of all detector and timing signals, timestamped to 3 microsecond resolution; (2) Event Accumulations generated in real-time by counting events into short (tens of microseconds) and long (seconds) time bins following repetitive triggers. List Mode data sets can be post-processed to: (1) determine the optimum time bins formore » TRU assay of waste drums, (2) analyze a given data set in several ways to match different assay requirements and conditions and (3) confirm assay results by examining details of the raw data. Data Logger events are processed and timestamped by an array of 15 TMS320C40 DSPs and delivered to an embedded controller (PowerPC604) for interim disk storage. Three acquisition modes, corresponding to different trigger sources are provided. A standard network interface to a remote host system (Windows NT or SunOS) provides for system control, status, and transfer of previously acquired data. 6 figs.« less

Healthy environments for healthy people: bioremediation today and tomorrow.

PubMed Central

Bonaventura, C; Johnson, F M

1997-01-01

Increases in environmental contamination lead to a progressive deterioration of environmental quality. This condition challenges our global society to find effective measures of remediation to reverse the negative conditions that severely threaten human and environmental health. We discuss the progress being made toward this goal through application of bioremediation techniques. Bioremediation generally utilizes microbes (bacteria, fungi, yeast, and algae), although higher plants are used in some applications. New bioremediation approaches are emerging based on advances in molecular biology and process engineering. Bioremediation continues to be the favored approach for processing biological wastes and avoiding microbial pathogenesis. Bioremediation may also play an increasing role in concentrating metals and radioactive materials to avoid toxicity or to recover metals for reuse. Microbes can biodegrade organic chemicals; purposeful enhancement of this natural process can aid in pollutant degradation and waste-site cleanup operations. Recently developed rapid-screening assays can identify organisms capable of degrading specific wastes and new gene-probe methods can ascertain their abundance at specific sites. New tools and techniques for use of bioremediation in situ, in biofilters, and in bioreactors are contributing to the rapid growth of this field. Bioremediation has already proven itself to be a cost-effective and beneficial addition to chemical and physical methods of managing wastes and environmental pollutants. We anticipate that it will play an increasingly important role as a result of new and emerging techniques and processes. Images Figure 3. PMID:9114274

Pineapple Waste Extract for Preventing Oxidation in Model Food Systems.

PubMed

Segovia Gómez, Francisco; Almajano Pablos, María Pilar

2016-07-01

Pineapple (Ananas comosus) is consumed in the form of chunks (canned), cubes, fruit salad, and also in juices, concentrates, and jams. In the processes to produce these products, the waste generated represents a high percentage of the total fruit. Some studies have shown that residues of certain fruits, such as pineapple, have the same antioxidant activity as the fruit pulp. So although these residues are discarded, they could be used as an alternative source of polyphenols, as natural antioxidants. This study is focused on the antioxidant activity of wastes obtained in the production of pineapple products and their application. The polyphenols' scavenging activity was determined by the oxygen radical antioxidant capacity assay. The antioxidant potential was determined in emulsions (o/w) and in muffins, where the primary oxidation products (by peroxide value, PV) and the secondary oxidation products (by thiobarbituric acid reactive substances) were analyzed. In addition the muffins were analyzed by means of a triangular sensory test. The PV method showed that pineapple waste extracts caused a reduction in oxidation products of 59% in emulsions and 91% in the muffins. The reduction in TBARs values for emulsions were 27% and for muffins were 51%. The triangular sensory test showed that the samples containing the extract were not distinguished from the control (α = 0.05). © 2016 Institute of Food Technologists®

Polybrominated diphenyl ethers and polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins and dibenzofurans in surface dust at an E-waste processing site in Southeast China.

PubMed

Leung, Anna O W; Zheng, Jinshu; Yu, Chik Kin; Liu, Wing Keung; Wong, Chris K C; Cai, Zongwei; Wong, Ming H

2011-07-01

Surface dust collected from printed circuit board recycling workshop floors, roads, a schoolyard, and an outdoor food market in Guiyu, China, a village intensely involved in e-waste processing, were investigated for levels of polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) and polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins and dibenzofurans (PCDD/Fs). PBDE concentrations in dust from workshop-floors (14,800 ± 5130 ng/g) and on adjacent roads to the workshops (24,900 ± 31,600 ng/g) were highest among the study sites whereas PCDD/F concentrations were highest at the schoolyard (1316 pg/g) and in a workshop (1264 pg/g). Analyses of <2 mm and <53 μm dust particle sizes did not show any significant differences in PBDE concentrations. The cytotoxicity was investigated using two bioassays: 7-ethoxyresorufin O-deethylase (EROD-TEQ) and MTT. EROD-TEQ values ranged from 260 to 432 pg/g, with the highest in dust collected from a street lined with workshops. Using the MTT assay, cytoxicity of dust from the plastic chips drying district in Guiyu was higher than dust from the other sites investigated. This study showed that the primitive recycling of e-waste introduced toxic pollutants into the environment which are potentially harmful to the health of e-waste workers and local residents, especially children, and warrants an urgent investigation into POPs related health impacts.

Leaching of vanadium from waste V2O5-WO3/TiO2 catalyst catalyzed by functional microorganisms.

PubMed

Wang, Shuhua; Xie, Yaling; Yan, Weifu; Wu, Xuee; Wang, Chin-Tsan; Zhao, Feng

2018-05-22

Solid wastes are currently produced in large amounts. Although bioleaching of metals from solid wastes is an economical and sustainable technology, it has seldom been used to recycle metals from abandoned catalyst. In this study, the bioleaching of vanadium from V 2 O 5 -WO 3 /TiO 2 catalyst were comprehensively investigated through five methods: Oligotrophic way, Eutrophic way, S-mediated way, Fe-mediated way and Mixed way of S-mediated and Fe-mediated. The observed vanadium bioleaching effectiveness of the assayed methods was follows: S-mediated > Mixed > Oligotrophic > Eutrophic > Fe-mediated, which yielded the maximum bioleaching efficiencies of approximately 90%, 35%, 33%, 20% and 7%, respectively. The microbial community analysis suggested that the predominant genera Acidithiobacillus and Sulfobacillus from the S-mediated bioleaching way effectively catalyzed the vanadium leaching, which could have occurred through the indirect mechanism from the microbial oxidation of S 0 . In addition, the direct mechanism, involving direct electron transfer between the catalyst and the microorganisms that attached to the catalyst surface, should also help the vanadium to be leached more effectively. Therefore, this work provides guidance for future research and practical application on the treatment of waste V 2 O 5 -WO 3 /TiO 2 catalyst. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

As(V) and P Competitive Sorption on Soils, By-Products and Waste Materials

PubMed Central

Rivas-Pérez, Ivana María; Paradelo-Núñez, Remigio; Nóvoa-Muñoz, Juan Carlos; Arias-Estévez, Manuel; Fernández-Sanjurjo, María José; Álvarez-Rodríguez, Esperanza; Núñez-Delgado, Avelino

2015-01-01

Batch-type experiments were used to study competitive As(V) and P sorption on various soils and sorbent materials. The materials assayed were a forest soil, a vineyard soil, pyritic material, granitic material, coarsely and finely ground mussel shell, calcinated mussel shell ash, pine sawdust and slate processing fines. Competition between As(V) and P was pronounced in the case of both soils, granitic material, slate fines, both shells and pine sawdust, showing more affinity for P. Contrary, the pyritic material and mussel shell ash showed high and similar affinity for As(V) and P. These results could be useful to make a correct use of the soils and materials assayed when focusing on As and P removal in solid or liquid media, in circumstances where both pollutants may compete for sorption sites. PMID:26690456

Lithium diffusion in sputter-deposited Li4Ti5O12 thin films

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wunde, F.; Berkemeier, F.; Schmitz, G.

2012-10-01

Li4Ti5O12 (LTO) thin films are deposited by dc-ion beam sputtering at different oxygen partial pressures and different substrate temperatures. In order to investigate, how these two parameters influence the atomic structure, the specimens are characterized by X-ray diffraction and transmission electron microscopy. Electrochemical characterization of the films is done by cyclic voltammetry and chrono-potentiometry. To determine an averaged chemical diffusion coefficient of lithium, a method is developed, evaluating c-rate tests. The results obtained by this method are compared to results obtained by the well established galvanostatic intermittent titration technique (GITT), which is used to determine a concentration dependent diffusion coefficient of lithium in LTO.

Critical behavior at a dynamic vortex insulator-to-metal transition

DOE PAGES

Poccia, Nicola; Baturina, Tatyana I.; Coneri, Francesco; ...

2015-09-10

An array of superconducting islands placed on a normal metal film offers a tunable realization of nanopatterned superconductivity. This system enables elucidating open questions concerning the nature of competing vortex states and phase transitions between them. A square array creates the egg crate potential in which magnetic field-induced vortices are frozen into a vortex insulator. We observe a vortex insulator-to-vortex metal transition driven by the applied electric current and determine critical exponents strikingly coinciding with those for thermodynamic liquid-gas transition. Lastly, our findings offer a comprehensive description of dynamic critical behavior and establish a deep connection between equilibrium and nonequilibriummore » phase transitions.« less

Development of an ATCA IPMI controller mezzanine board to be used in the ATCA developments for the ATLAS Liquid Argon upgrade

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dumont Dayot, Nicolas

2012-01-01

In the context of the LHC upgrade, we develop a new Read Out Driver (ROD) for the ATLAS Liquid Argon (LAr) community. ATCA and μTCA (Advanced/Micro Telecom Computing Architecture) is becoming a standard in high energy physics and a strong candidate to be used for boards and crates. We work to master ATCA and to integrate a large number of high speed links (96 links at 8.5 Gbps) on a ROD evaluation ATCA board. A versatile ATCA IPMI controller for ATCA boards which is FPGA Mezzanine Card (FMC) compliant has been developed to control the ROD evaluation board.

The Stardust spacecraft arrives at KSC

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1998-01-01

After arrival at the Shuttle Landing Facility in the early morning hours, the crated Stardust spacecraft waits to be unloaded from the aircraft. Built by Lockheed Martin Astronautics near Denver, Colo., for the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) NASA, the spacecraft Stardust will use a unique medium called aerogel to capture comet particles flying off the nucleus of comet Wild 2 in January 2004, plus collect interstellar dust for later analysis. Stardust will be launched aboard a Boeing Delta 7426 rocket from Complex 17, Cape Canaveral Air Station, targeted for Feb. 6, 1999. The collected samples will return to Earth in a re- entry capsule to be jettisoned from Stardust as it swings by in January 2006.

An FPGA-based trigger for the phase II of the MEG experiment

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Baldini, A.; Bemporad, C.; Cei, F.; Galli, L.; Grassi, M.; Morsani, F.; Nicolò, D.; Ritt, S.; Venturini, M.

2016-07-01

For the phase II of MEG, we are going to develop a combined trigger and DAQ system. Here we focus on the former side, which operates an on-line reconstruction of detector signals and event selection within 450 μs from event occurrence. Trigger concentrator boards (TCB) are under development to gather data from different crates, each connected to a set of detector channels, to accomplish higher-level algorithms to issue a trigger in the case of a candidate signal event. We describe the major features of the new system, in comparison with phase I, as well as its performances in terms of selection efficiency and background rejection.

Semi-solid electrodes having high rate capability

DOEpatents

Chiang, Yet-Ming; Duduta, Mihai; Holman, Richard; Limthongkul, Pimpa; Tan, Taison

2016-07-05

Embodiments described herein relate generally to electrochemical cells having high rate capability, and more particularly to devices, systems and methods of producing high capacity and high rate capability batteries having relatively thick semi-solid electrodes. In some embodiments, an electrochemical cell includes an anode, a semi-solid cathode that includes a suspension of an active material and a conductive material in a liquid electrolyte, and an ion permeable membrane disposed between the anode and the cathode. The semi-solid cathode has a thickness in the range of about 250 .mu.m-2,500 .mu.m, and the electrochemical cell has an area specific capacity of at least 5 mAh/cm.sup.2 at a C-rate of C/2.

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Chiang, Yet-Ming; Duduta, Mihai; Holman, Richard

Embodiments described herein relate generally to electrochemical cells having high rate capability, and more particularly to devices, systems and methods of producing high capacity and high rate capability batteries having relatively thick semi-solid electrodes. In some embodiments, an electrochemical cell includes an anode, a semi-solid cathode that includes a suspension of an active material and a conductive material in a liquid electrolyte, and an ion permeable membrane disposed between the anode and the cathode. The semi-solid cathode has a thickness in the range of about 250 .mu.m-2,500 .mu.m, and the electrochemical cell has an area specific capacity of at leastmore » 5 mAh/cm.sup.2 at a C-rate of C/2.« less

KSC-99pp0328

NASA Image and Video Library

1999-03-24

Inside the Multi-Payload Processing Facility, the lid covering the Shuttle Radar Topography Mission (SRTM) is lifted from the crate. The primary payload on mission STS-99, the SRTM consists of a specially modified radar system that will fly onboard the Space Shuttle during the 11-day mission scheduled for September 1999. This radar system will gather data that will result in the most accurate and complete topographic map of the Earth's surface that has ever been assembled. SRTM is an international project spearheaded by the National Imagery and Mapping Agency and NASA, with participation of the German Aerospace Center DLR. Its objective is to obtain the most complete high-resolution digital topographic database of the Earth

Semi-solid electrodes having high rate capability

DOEpatents

Chiang, Yet-Ming; Duduta, Mihai; Holman, Richard; Limthongkul, Pimpa; Tan, Taison

2015-11-10

Embodiments described herein relate generally to electrochemical cells having high rate capability, and more particularly to devices, systems and methods of producing high capacity and high rate capability batteries having relatively thick semi-solid electrodes. In some embodiments, an electrochemical cell includes an anode, a semi-solid cathode that includes a suspension of an active material and a conductive material in a liquid electrolyte, and an ion permeable membrane disposed between the anode and the cathode. The semi-solid cathode has a thickness in the range of about 250 .mu.m-2,500 .mu.m, and the electrochemical cell has an area specific capacity of at least 5 mAh/cm.sup.2 at a C-rate of C/2.

Japanese Experiment Module (JEM)

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

2003-01-01

The Japanese Experiment Module (JEM) pressure module is removed from its shipping crate and moved across the floor of the Space Station Processing Facility at Kennedy Space Center (KSC) to a work stand. A research laboratory, the pressurized module is the first element of the JEM, named 'Kibo' (Hope) to arrive at KSC. Japan's primary contribution to the International Space Station, the module will enhance unique research capabilities of the orbiting complex by providing an additional environment in which astronauts will conduct experiments. The JEM also includes an exposed facility or platform for space environment experiments, a robotic manipulator system, and two logistics modules. The various JEM components will be assembled in space over the course of three Shuttle missions.

Manufacture and prebiotic potential of oligosaccharides derived from industrial solid wastes.

PubMed

Gullón, Patricia; González-Muñoz, María Jesús; Parajó, Juan Carlos

2011-05-01

The solid waste obtained in malting industries when dehulling barley grains, which was mainly made up of barley husks, spent grains and grain fragments, was subjected to a double hydrothermal processing under selected conditions. The liquor from the second stage (containing xylooligosaccharides, XOS) was refined by membrane and ion exchange processing (with or without a previous endoxylanase treatment to reduce the XOS molecular weight). Three XOS concentrates with different purity and/or molecular weight distribution were fermented in vitro with faecal inocula to assess their prebiotic potential. Succinate, lactate, formiate, acetate, propionate and butyrate were generated in fermentations, confirming the prebiotic potential of the various products assayed. The purity of XOS concentrates did not play a significant role in fermentation, whereas the sample with shorter average degree of polymerization presented a faster fermentation kinetics and led to the highest concentration of lactic acid. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Vermicomposting of a lignocellulosic waste from olive oil industry: a pilot scale study.

PubMed

Benítez, E; Sainz, H; Melgar, R; Nogales, R

2002-04-01

The vermicomposting with Eisenia andrei of dry olive cake, a lignocellulosic waste produced during the extraction of olive oil, either alone or mixed with municipal biosolids, was studied in a nine-month pilot scale experiment. Number and biomass of earthworms and enzyme activities were periodically monitored and relevant properties of the final products were determined. In the assayed substrates, the total biomass of earthworms increased at the end of the experimental period between 9 and 12-fold respectively in comparison with the earthworm biomass initially inoculated. The increase in hydrolytic enzymes and overall microbial activity during the vermicomposting process indicated the biodegradation of the olive cake and resulted in the disappearance of the initial phytotoxicity of the substrate. However, the recalcitrant lignocellulosic nature of the dry olive cake prevented suitable humification during the vermicomposting process. For this reason, in addition to organic amendments, other management procedures should be considered.

Characterising encapsulated nuclear waste using cosmic-ray muon tomography

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Clarkson, A.; Hamilton, D. J.; Hoek, M.; Ireland, D. G.; Johnstone, J. R.; Kaiser, R.; Keri, T.; Lumsden, S.; Mahon, D. F.; McKinnon, B.; Murray, M.; Nutbeam-Tuffs, S.; Shearer, C.; Yang, G.; Zimmerman, C.

2015-03-01

Tomographic imaging techniques using the Coulomb scattering of cosmic-ray muons have been shown previously to successfully identify and characterise low- and high-Z materials within an air matrix using a prototype scintillating-fibre tracker system. Those studies were performed as the first in a series to assess the feasibility of this technology and image reconstruction techniques in characterising the potential high-Z contents of legacy nuclear waste containers for the U.K. Nuclear Industry. The present work continues the feasibility study and presents the first images reconstructed from experimental data collected using this small-scale prototype system of low- and high-Z materials encapsulated within a concrete-filled stainless-steel container. Clear discrimination is observed between the thick steel casing, the concrete matrix and the sample materials assayed. These reconstructed objects are presented and discussed in detail alongside the implications for future industrial scenarios.

Comparative toxicology of laboratory organisms for assessing hazardous-waste sites

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Miller, W.E.; Peterson, S.A.; Greene, J.C.

1985-01-01

Multi-media/multi-trophic level bioassays have been proposed to determine the extent and severity of environmental contamination at hazardous waste sites. Comparative toxicological profiles for algae, daphnia, earthworms, microbes, mixed sewage and plants; wheat Stephens, lettuce, butter crunch, radish, Cherry Belle, red clover, Kenland, and cucumber, Spartan Valor are presented for selected heavy metals, herbicides and insecticides. Specific chemical EC50 values are presented for each test organism. Differences in standard deviations were compared between each individual test organism, as well as for the chemical subgroup assayed. Algae and daphnia are the most sensitive test organisms to heavy metals and insecticides followed inmore » order of decreasing sensitivity by Microtox, DO depletion rate, seed germination and earthworms. Differences in toxicity of 2,4-D chemical formulations and commercial sources of insecticides were observed with algae and daphnia tests.« less

Aerobic biological treatment of leachates from municipal solid waste landfill.

PubMed

Andrés, P; Gutierrez, F; Arrabal, C; Cortijo, M

2004-01-01

The main objective of the study was to improve chemical oxygen demand (COD) elimination by secondary biological treatment from leachate of municipal solid waste landfill. This effluent was a supernatant liquid obtained after physicochemical processes and coagulating with Al3+ followed by ammoniacal stripping. First, respirometric assays were carried out to determine the substrate biodegradability. Specific sludge respiration rate (R(s)) vs. concentration of substrate (S), showed an increasing specific rate of assimilation of substrate (Rs), which reached the highest value, when the substrate concentration (COD) was between 75 and 200 mg O2 L(-1). Second, continuous experiments were made in an aerobic digester to test the previous respirometric data and the results showed removal efficiency of COD between 83 and 69%, and a substrate assimilation rate between 1.3 and 3.1 g COD g(-1) volatile suspended solids d(-1).

Combining physico-chemical analysis with a Daphnia magna bioassay to evaluate a recycling technology for drinking water treatment plant waste residuals.

PubMed

Chen, Ting; Xu, Yongpeng; Zhu, Shijun; Cui, Fuyi

2015-12-01

Recycling water treatment plant (WTP) waste residuals is considered to be a feasible method to enhance the efficiency of pollutant removal. This study also evaluated the safety and water quality of a pilot-DWTP waste residuals recycling technology by combining physical-chemistry analysis with a Daphnia magna assay. The water samples taken from each treatment step were extracted and concentrated by XAD-2 resin and were then analyzed for immobilization and enzyme activity with D. magna. The measured parameters, such as the dissolve organic carbon (DOC), UV254 and THM formation potential (THMFPs) of the recycling process, did not obviously increase over 15 days of continuous operation and were even lower than typical values from a conventional process. The extract concentration ranged from 0 to 2 Leq/ml as measured on the 7th and 15th days and the immobilization of D. magna exposed to water treated by the recycling process was nearly equivalent to that of the conventional process. Both the superoxide dismutase (SOD) and the catalase (CAT) activity assay indicated that a lower dose of water extract (0.5, 1, 1.5 Leq/ml) could stimulate the enzyme activity of D. magna, whereas a higher dose (2 Leq/ml at the sampling point C3, R3, R4 ) inhibits the activity. Moreover, the SOD and CAT activity of D. magna with DOC and UV254 showed a strong concentration-effect relationship, where the concentration range of DOC and UV254 were 4.1-16.2 mg/L and 0.071-4.382 cm(-1), respectively. The results showed that there was no statistically significant difference (p>0.05) between the conventional and recycling treatment processes and the toxicity of water samples in the recycling process did not increase during the 15-day continuous recycling trial. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Occupational exposure to anesthetics leads to genomic instability, cytotoxicity and proliferative changes.

PubMed

Souza, Kátina M; Braz, Leandro G; Nogueira, Flávia R; Souza, Marajane B; Bincoleto, Lahis F; Aun, Aline G; Corrente, José E; Carvalho, Lídia R; Braz, José Reinaldo C; Braz, Mariana G

Data on the genotoxic and mutagenic effects of occupational exposure to the most frequently used volatile anesthetics are limited and controversial. The current study is the first to evaluate genomic instability, cell death and proliferative index in exfoliated buccal cells (EBC) from anesthesiologists. We also evaluated DNA damage and determined the concentrations of the anesthetic gases most commonly used in operating rooms. This study was conducted on physicians who were allocated into two groups: the exposed group, which consisted of anesthesiologists who had been exposed to waste anesthetic gases (isoflurane, sevoflurane, desflurane and nitrous oxide - N 2 O) for at least two years; and the control group, which consisted of non-exposed physicians matched for age, sex and lifestyle with the exposed group. Venous blood and EBC samples were collected from all participants. Basal DNA damage was evaluated in lymphocytes by the comet assay, whereas the buccal micronucleus (MN) cytome (BMCyt) assay was applied to evaluate genotoxic and cytotoxic effects. The concentrations of N 2 O and anesthetics were measured via a portable infrared spectrophotometer. The average concentration of waste gases was greater than 5 parts per million (ppm) for all of the halogenated anesthetics and was more than 170ppm for N 2 O, expressed as a time-weighted average. There was no significant difference between the groups in relation to lymphocyte DNA damage. The exposed group had higher frequencies of MN, karyorrhexis and pyknosis, and a lower frequency of basal cells compared with the control group. In conclusion, exposure to modern waste anesthetic gases did not induce systemic DNA damage, but it did result in genomic instability, cytotoxicity and proliferative changes, which were detected in the EBC of anesthesiologists. Thus, these professionals can be considered at risk for developing genetic alterations resulting from occupational exposure to these gases, suggesting the need to minimize this exposure. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Antioxidant activity of apples--an impact of maturity stage and fruit part.

PubMed

Duda-Chodak, Aleksandra; Tarko, Tomasz; Tuszyński, Tadeusz

2011-01-01

Recently, many studies have been oriented towards improving methods and efficiency of antioxidants recovery from different fruit and their wastes.The aim of the study was to evaluate antioxidant potential of apple seeds and peel, which constitute the fruit industry wastes, and compare it to apple flesh. Antioxidant activity of apples at different maturity and storage stage were analysed too. The Idared and the Šampion cultivars of apples were used in the study. Antioxidant activity was estimated using ABTS and DPPH assays, and polyphenols profile was determined by HPLC method. Seeds of analysed apple cultivars were characterised by a significantly higher antioxidant capacity and by higher concentrations of polyphenols analysed when compared to their peel and flesh. There were present two predominant compounds: phloridzin in seeds (84% and 72%) and quercetin glycosides in peels (54% and 38%, Idared and Šampion cultivars, respectively). No quercetin glycosides in seeds were found. The capacity to scavenge an ABTS radical, but not DPPH, decreased during ripening of apples, while cold storage resulted in enhanced antioxidant potential. It can be concluded that unripe apples together with apple seeds and peel (fruit industry wastes) constitute a valuable source of polyphenols.

The Advancement of Public Awareness, Concerning TRU Waste Characterization, Using a Virtual Document

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

West, T. B.; Burns, T. P.; Estill, W. G.

2002-02-28

Building public trust and confidence through openness is a goal of the DOE Carlsbad Field Office for the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP). The objective of the virtual document described in this paper is to give the public an overview of the waste characterization steps, an understanding of how waste characterization instrumentation works, and the type and amount of data generated from a batch of drums. The document is intended to be published on a web page and/or distributed at public meetings on CDs. Users may gain as much information as they desire regarding the transuranic (TRU) waste characterization program,more » starting at the highest level requirements (drivers) and progressing to more and more detail regarding how the requirements are met. Included are links to: drivers (which include laws, permits and DOE Orders); various characterization steps required for transportation and disposal under WIPP's Hazardous Waste Facility Permit; physical/chemical basis for each characterization method; types of data produced; and quality assurance process that accompanies each measurement. Examples of each type of characterization method in use across the DOE complex are included. The original skeleton of the document was constructed in a PowerPoint presentation and included descriptions of each section of the waste characterization program. This original document had a brief overview of Acceptable Knowledge, Non-Destructive Examination, Non-Destructive Assay, Small Quantity sites, and the National Certification Team. A student intern was assigned the project of converting the document to a virtual format and to discuss each subject in depth. The resulting product is a fully functional virtual document that works in a web browser and functions like a web page. All documents that were referenced, linked to, or associated, are included on the virtual document's CD. WIPP has been engaged in a variety of Hazardous Waste Facility Permit modification activities. During the public meetings, discussion centered on proposed changes to the characterization program. The philosophy behind the virtual document is to show the characterization process as a whole, rather than as isolated parts. In addition to public meetings, other uses for the information might be as a training tool for new employees at the WIPP facility to show them where their activities fit into the overall scheme, as well as an employee review to help prepare for waste certification audits.« less

Farm and management variables linked to fecal shedding of Campylobacter and Salmonella in commercial squab production.

PubMed

Jeffrey, J S; Atwill, E R; Hunter, A

2001-01-01

A cross-sectional study was performed to determine the relationship of farm variables and management practices to fecal shedding of Campylobacter or Salmonella on commercial squab (young pigeon) farms. A detailed survey provided information on biosecurity, cleaning and disinfection, bird health, vector control, and loft and pen. Twenty pigeons on each of 12 farms were cultured before and after the producers completed a voluntary quality assurance training program (QAP), based on principles of hazard analysis critical control point (HACCP). The prevalence of positive samples for Salmonella and C. jejuni was 1/480 (0.21%) and 19/480 (3.96%), respectively. Campylobacter was present on one farm during both visits; three farms during the first visit, and three farms during the second visit. Analysis by fixed-effects logistic regression showed the probability of having a positive C. jejuni culture was increased by not using dry manure in the nesting material, not cleaning shipping crates, cleaning landing boards, and by increased frequency of chemical disinfection of water. Having a positive parent and higher numbers of squab per pen (density) were also associated with higher odds of being positive for C. jejuni. Factors not associated with a positive C. jejuni culture included, other avian species on the farm, type of shipping crate, covered drinkers, fly problems, bird age, level of nest box within the loft, and QAP training. Prevalence of food safety pathogens was extremely low on the squab facilities tested as compared with reports from commercial broiler or turkey flocks. This observation suggests that one or more farm variables or management practices were effectively reducing infection, or possibly a species-related difference existed in carriage rates and shedding of pathogens. These results emphasize critical control points for food safety pathogens may vary widely, and the formulation of effective QAP programs are dependent on science-based knowledge of diverse animal production systems.

Determination of net energy content of dietary lipids fed to growing pigs using indirect calorimetry.

PubMed

Li, Enkai; Liu, Hu; Li, Yakui; Liu, Ling; Wang, Fenglai; Li, Defa; Zhang, Shuai

2018-06-04

The objective of this experiment was to determine the NE content of different dietary lipids fed to growing pigs using indirect calorimetry. Thirty-six growing (initial BW: 41.1 ± 3.1 kg) barrows were allotted to 6 diets based on completely randomized design with 6 replicate pigs per diet. Diets included a corn-soybean meal basal diet and 5 test diets each containing 10% palm oil, poultry fat, fish oil, corn oil, or flaxseed oil at the expense of corn and soybean meal. During each period, pigs were individually housed in metabolism crates for 14 d, which included 7 d for adaptation to feed, metabolism crates, and environmental conditions. On day 8, pigs were transferred to the open-circuit respiration chambers and fed 1 of the 6 diets at 2.3 MJ ME/kg BW0.6/day. Total feces and urine were collected and daily heat production (HP) was also calculated from day 9 to day 13. On the last day of each period (day 14), pigs were fasted and the fasting heat production (FHP) was measured. The results show that the FHP of pigs averaged 809 kJ/kg BW0.6·day-1 and was not affected by diet characteristics. The DE values were 35.98, 36.84, 37.11, 38.95, and 38.38 MJ/kg DM, the ME values were 35.79, 36.56, 36.92, 37.73, and 38.11 MJ/kg DM, and the NE values were 32.42, 33.21, 33.77, 34.00, and 34.12 MJ/kg DM, for the palm oil, poultry fat, fish oil, corn oil, and flaxseed oil, respectively. Based on our result, we concluded that the DE content of dietary lipid varied from 91% to 98% of its GE content, the ME content of dietary lipid was approximately 99% of its DE content, and the NE content of dietary lipid was approximately 90% of its ME content in growing pigs.

Laser processing of thick Li(NiMnCo)O2 electrodes for lithium-ion batteries

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rakebrandt, J.-H.; Smyrek, P.; Zheng, Y.; Seifert, H. J.; Pfleging, W.

2017-02-01

Lithium-ion batteries became the most promising types of mobile energy storage devices due to their high gravimetric and volumetric capacity, high cycle life-time, and low self-discharge. Nowadays, the cathode material lithium nickel manganese cobalt oxide (NMC) is one of the most widely used cathode material in commercial lithium-ion batteries due to many advantages such as high energy density (>150 Wh kg-1) on cell level, high power density (650 W kg-1 @ 25 °C and 50 % Depth of Discharge) [1], high specific capacity (163 mAh g-1) [2], high rate capability and good thermal stability in the fully charged state. However, in order to meet the requirements for the increasing demand for rechargeable high energy batteries, nickel-rich NMC electrodes with specific capacities up to 210 mAh g-1 seem to be the next generation cathodes which can reach on cell level desired energy densities higher than 250 Wh kg-1 [3]. Laser-structuring now enables to combine both concepts, high power and high energy lithium-ion batteries. For this purpose, lithium nickel manganese cobalt oxide cathodes were produced via tape casting containing 85-90 wt% of active material with a film thickness of 50-260 μm. The specific capacities were measured using galvanostatic measurements for different types of NMC with varying nickel, manganese and cobalt content at different charging/discharging currents ("C-rates"). An improved lithium-ion diffusion kinetics due to an increased active surface area could be achieved by laser-assisted generating of three dimensional architectures. Cells with unstructured and structured cathodes were compared. Ultrafast laser ablation was used in order to avoid a thermal impact to the material. It was shown that laser structuring of electrode materials leads to a significant improvement in electrochemical performance, especially at high charging and discharging C-rates.

Peptide synthesis triggered by comet impacts: A possible method for peptide delivery to the early Earth and icy satellites

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sugahara, Haruna; Mimura, Koichi

2015-09-01

We performed shock experiments simulating natural comet impacts in an attempt to examine the role that comet impacts play in peptide synthesis. In the present study, we selected a mixture of alanine (DL-alanine), water ice, and silicate (forsterite) to make a starting material for the experiments. The shock experiments were conducted under cryogenic conditions (77 K), and the shock pressure range achieved in the experiments was 4.8-25.8 GPa. The results show that alanine is oligomerized into peptides up to tripeptides due to the impact shock. The synthesized peptides were racemic, indicating that there was no enantioselective synthesis of peptides from racemic amino acids due to the impact shock. We also found that the yield of linear peptides was a magnitude higher than those of cyclic diketopiperazine. Furthermore, we estimated the amount of cometary-derived peptides to the early Earth based on two models (the Lunar Crating model and the Nice model) during the Late Heavy Bombardment (LHB) using our experimental data. The estimation based on the Lunar Crating model gave 3 × 109 mol of dialanine, 4 × 107 mol of trialanine, and 3 × 108 mol of alanine-diketopiperazine. Those based on the Nice model, in which the main impactor of LHB is comets, gave 6 × 1010 mol of dialanine, 1 × 109 mol of trialanine, and 8 × 109 mol of alanine-diketopiperazine. The estimated amounts were comparable to those originating from terrestrial sources (Cleaves, H.J., Aubrey, A.D., Bada, J.L. [2009]. Orig. Life Evol. Biosph. 39, 109-126). Our results indicate that comet impacts played an important role in chemical evolution as a supplier of linear peptides, which are important for further chemical evolution on the early Earth. Our study also highlights the importance of icy satellites, which were formed by comet accumulation, as prime targets for missions searching for extraterrestrial life.

Pectinase activity determination: an early deceleration in the release of reducing sugars throws a spanner in the works!

PubMed

Biz, Alessandra; Farias, Fernanda Cardoso; Motter, Francine Aline; de Paula, Diogo Henrique; Richard, Peter; Krieger, Nadia; Mitchell, David Alexander

2014-01-01

Recently, it has been suggested that pectinases could be used to hydrolyze pectin in biorefineries based on pectin-rich agro-industrial wastes. However, for this to be viable, the cost of their production would need to be lowered significantly. In fact, over the last few decades, there have been many attempts to improve pectinase production by existing strains or to screen for new strains from environmental isolates. In these studies, it is necessary to measure pectinase activities. Many researchers use single-time-point assays that involve incubation of pectinolytic extracts with pectic substrates for a fixed time, followed by determination of the liberated reducing sugars. However, different researchers use quite different conditions for this assay. Furthermore, no attention has been given to the reaction profile during the assay. In the current work, we show, for the first time, that a significant deceleration of the rate of liberation of reducing sugars occurs over the first ten minutes of the reaction. As a consequence, the incubation time used in a single-time-point assay has a large effect on the value obtained for the activity. In fact, we demonstrate that, depending on the particular combination of incubation time, pectin concentration and reaction temperature, the same extract could be reported to have activities that differ by an order of magnitude. In addition, we show that the relative activities obtained with polygalacturonic acid do not correlate with those obtained with pectin. We conclude that it is currently impossible to make meaningful comparisons between pectinase activities reported in the literature by workers who have used different assay conditions. Therefore there is an urgent need for the development of a standardized assay for evaluating the saccharification potential of pectinase complexes.

Pectinase Activity Determination: An Early Deceleration in the Release of Reducing Sugars Throws a Spanner in the Works!

PubMed Central

Biz, Alessandra; Farias, Fernanda Cardoso; Motter, Francine Aline; de Paula, Diogo Henrique; Richard, Peter; Krieger, Nadia; Mitchell, David Alexander

2014-01-01

Recently, it has been suggested that pectinases could be used to hydrolyze pectin in biorefineries based on pectin-rich agro-industrial wastes. However, for this to be viable, the cost of their production would need to be lowered significantly. In fact, over the last few decades, there have been many attempts to improve pectinase production by existing strains or to screen for new strains from environmental isolates. In these studies, it is necessary to measure pectinase activities. Many researchers use single-time-point assays that involve incubation of pectinolytic extracts with pectic substrates for a fixed time, followed by determination of the liberated reducing sugars. However, different researchers use quite different conditions for this assay. Furthermore, no attention has been given to the reaction profile during the assay. In the current work, we show, for the first time, that a significant deceleration of the rate of liberation of reducing sugars occurs over the first ten minutes of the reaction. As a consequence, the incubation time used in a single-time-point assay has a large effect on the value obtained for the activity. In fact, we demonstrate that, depending on the particular combination of incubation time, pectin concentration and reaction temperature, the same extract could be reported to have activities that differ by an order of magnitude. In addition, we show that the relative activities obtained with polygalacturonic acid do not correlate with those obtained with pectin. We conclude that it is currently impossible to make meaningful comparisons between pectinase activities reported in the literature by workers who have used different assay conditions. Therefore there is an urgent need for the development of a standardized assay for evaluating the saccharification potential of pectinase complexes. PMID:25337712

Nuclear energy in Europe: uranium flow modeling and fuel cycle scenario trade-offs from a sustainability perspective.

PubMed

Tendall, Danielle M; Binder, Claudia R

2011-03-15

The European nuclear fuel cycle (covering the EU-27, Switzerland and Ukraine) was modeled using material flow analysis (MFA).The analysis was based on publicly available data from nuclear energy agencies and industries, national trade offices, and nongovernmental organizations. Military uranium was not considered due to lack of accessible data. Nuclear fuel cycle scenarios varying spent fuel reprocessing, depleted uranium re-enrichment, enrichment assays, and use of fast neutron reactors, were established. They were then assessed according to environmental, economic and social criteria such as resource depletion, waste production, chemical and radiation emissions, costs, and proliferation risks. The most preferable scenario in the short term is a combination of reduced tails assay and enrichment grade, allowing a 17.9% reduction of uranium demand without significantly increasing environmental, economic, or social risks. In the long term, fast reactors could theoretically achieve a 99.4% decrease in uranium demand and nuclear waste production. However, this involves important costs and proliferation risks. Increasing material efficiency is not systematically correlated with the reduction of other risks. This suggests that an overall optimization of the nuclear fuel cycle is difficult to obtain. Therefore, criteria must be weighted according to stakeholder interests in order to determine the most sustainable solution. This paper models the flows of uranium and associated materials in Europe, and provides a decision support tool for identifying the trade-offs of the alternative nuclear fuel cycles considered.

Chronic wasting disease management in ranched elk using rectal biopsy testing.

PubMed

Haley, Nicholas J; Henderson, Davin M; Wycoff, Sarah; Tennant, Joanne; Hoover, Edward A; Love, Dan; Kline, Ed; Lehmkuhl, Aaron; Thomsen, Bruce

2018-03-04

Chronic wasting disease (CWD) is a transmissible spongiform encephalopathy (TSE) affecting members of the cervid species, and is one of the few TSEs with an expanding geographic range. Diagnostic limitations, efficient transmission, and the movement of infected animals are important contributing factors in the ongoing spread of disease. Managing CWD in affected populations has proven difficult, relying on population reduction in the case of wild deer and elk, or quarantine and depopulation in farmed cervids. In the present study, we evaluated the effectiveness of managing endemic CWD in a closed elk herd using antemortem sampling combined with both conventional and experimental diagnostic testing, and selective, targeted culling of infected animals. We hypothesized that the real-time quaking-induced conversion (RT-QuIC) assay, a developing amplification assay, would offer greater detection capabilities over immunohistochemistry (IHC) in the identification of infected animals using recto-anal mucosa associated lymphoid tissue (RAMALT). We further sought to develop a better understanding of CWD epidemiology in elk with various PRNP alleles, and predicted that CWD prevalence would decrease with targeted culling. We found that RT-QuIC identified significantly more CWD-positive animals than IHC using RAMALT tissues (121 vs. 86, respectively, out of 553 unique animals), and that longstanding disease presence was associated with an increasing frequency of less susceptible PRNP alleles. Prevalence of CWD increased significantly over the first two years of the study, implying that refinements in our management strategy are necessary to reduce the prevalence of CWD in this herd.

Bio-prospecting of distillery yeasts as bio-control and bio-remediation agents.

PubMed

Ubeda, Juan F; Maldonado, María; Briones, Ana I; Francisco, J Fernández; González, Francisco J

2014-05-01

This work constitutes a preliminary study in which the capacity of non-Saccharomyces yeasts isolated from ancient distilleries as bio-control agents against moulds and in the treatment of waste waters contaminated by heavy metals-i.e. bio-remediation-is shown. In the first control assays, antagonist effect between non-Saccharomyces yeasts, their extracts and supernatants against some moulds, analysing the plausible (not exhaustive) involved factors were qualitatively verified. In addition, two enzymatic degrading properties of cell wall plant polymers, quitinolitic and pectinolitic, were screened. Finally, their use as agents of bio-remediation of three heavy metals (cadmium, chromium and lead) was analysed semi-quantitatively. The results showed that all isolates belonging to Pichia species effectively inhibited all moulds assayed. Moreover, P. kudriavzevii is a good candidate for both bio-control and bio-remediation because it inhibited moulds and accumulated the major proportion of the three tested metals.

Recovery of natural antioxidants from spent coffee grounds.

PubMed

Panusa, Alessia; Zuorro, Antonio; Lavecchia, Roberto; Marrosu, Giancarlo; Petrucci, Rita

2013-05-01

Spent coffee grounds (SCG) were extracted with an environmentally friendly procedure and analyzed to evaluate the recovery of relevant natural antioxidants for use as nutritional supplements, foods, or cosmetic additives. SCG were characterized in terms of their total phenolic content by the Folin-Ciocalteu procedure and antioxidant activity by the DPPH scavenging assay. Flavonoid content was also determined by a colorimetric assay. The total phenolic content was strongly correlated with the DPPH scavenging activity, suggesting that phenolic compounds are mainly responsible for the antioxidant activity of SCG. An UHPLC-PDA-TOF-MS system was used to separate, identify, and quantify phenolic and nonphenolic compounds in the SCG extracts. Important amounts of chlorogenic acids (CGA) and related compounds as well as caffeine (CAF) evidenced the high potential of SCG, a waste material that is widely available in the world, as a source of natural phenolic antioxidants.

The maximum specific hydrogen-producing activity of anaerobic mixed cultures: definition and determination

PubMed Central

Mu, Yang; Yang, Hou-Yun; Wang, Ya-Zhou; He, Chuan-Shu; Zhao, Quan-Bao; Wang, Yi; Yu, Han-Qing

2014-01-01

Fermentative hydrogen production from wastes has many advantages compared to various chemical methods. Methodology for characterizing the hydrogen-producing activity of anaerobic mixed cultures is essential for monitoring reactor operation in fermentative hydrogen production, however there is lack of such kind of standardized methodologies. In the present study, a new index, i.e., the maximum specific hydrogen-producing activity (SHAm) of anaerobic mixed cultures, was proposed, and consequently a reliable and simple method, named SHAm test, was developed to determine it. Furthermore, the influences of various parameters on the SHAm value determination of anaerobic mixed cultures were evaluated. Additionally, this SHAm assay was tested for different types of substrates and bacterial inocula. Our results demonstrate that this novel SHAm assay was a rapid, accurate and simple methodology for determining the hydrogen-producing activity of anaerobic mixed cultures. Thus, application of this approach is beneficial to establishing a stable anaerobic hydrogen-producing system. PMID:24912488

The maximum specific hydrogen-producing activity of anaerobic mixed cultures: definition and determination

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mu, Yang; Yang, Hou-Yun; Wang, Ya-Zhou; He, Chuan-Shu; Zhao, Quan-Bao; Wang, Yi; Yu, Han-Qing

2014-06-01

Fermentative hydrogen production from wastes has many advantages compared to various chemical methods. Methodology for characterizing the hydrogen-producing activity of anaerobic mixed cultures is essential for monitoring reactor operation in fermentative hydrogen production, however there is lack of such kind of standardized methodologies. In the present study, a new index, i.e., the maximum specific hydrogen-producing activity (SHAm) of anaerobic mixed cultures, was proposed, and consequently a reliable and simple method, named SHAm test, was developed to determine it. Furthermore, the influences of various parameters on the SHAm value determination of anaerobic mixed cultures were evaluated. Additionally, this SHAm assay was tested for different types of substrates and bacterial inocula. Our results demonstrate that this novel SHAm assay was a rapid, accurate and simple methodology for determining the hydrogen-producing activity of anaerobic mixed cultures. Thus, application of this approach is beneficial to establishing a stable anaerobic hydrogen-producing system.

Applications of LaBr3(Ce) Gamma-ray Spectrometer Arrays for Nuclear Spectroscopy and Radionuclide Assay

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Regan, PH; Shearman, R.; Daniel, T.; Lorusso, G.; Collins, SM; Judge, SM; Bell; Pearce, AK; Gurgi, LA; Rudigier, M.; Podolyák, Zs; Mărginean, N.; Mărginean, R.; Kisyov, S.

2016-10-01

An overview of the use of discrete energy gamma-ray detectors based on cerium- doped LaBr3 scintillators for use in nuclear spectroscopy is presented. This review includes recent applications of such detectors in mixed, 'hybrid' gamma-ray coincidence detection arrays such ROSPHERE at IFIN-HH, Bucharest; EXILL+FATIMA at ILL Grenoble, France; GAMMASPHERE+FATIMA at Argonne National Laboratory, USA; FATIMA + EURICA, at RIKEN, Japan; and the National Nuclear Array (NANA) at the UK's National Physical Laboratory. This conference paper highlights the capabilities and limitations of using these sub-nanosecond 'fast-timing', medium-resolution gamma-ray detectors for both nuclear structure research and radionuclide standardisation. Potential future application of such coincidence scintillator arrays in measurements of civilian nuclear fuel waste evaluation and assay is demonstrated using coincidence spectroscopy of a mixed 134,7Cs source.

INTERNATIONAL UNION OF OPERATING ENGINEERS NATIONAL HAZMAT PROGRAM - PORTER-CABLE CIRCULAR SAW OENHP: 2001-04, VERSION A

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Unknown

2002-01-15

Florida International University's (FIU) Hemispheric Center for Environmental Technology (HCET) evaluated five saws for their effectiveness in cutting specially prepared fiberglass-reinforced plywood crates. These crates were built as surrogates for crates that presently hold radioactively contaminated glove boxes at the Department of Energy's (DOE) Los Alamos facility. The Porter-Cable circular saw was assessed on August 15-16, 2001 (Porter-Cable No.1 and Porter-Cable No.2, respectively). During the FIU test of efficacy, a team from the Operating Engineers National Hazmat Program (OENHP) evaluated the occupational safety and health issues associated with this technology. The Porter-Cable saw is a straightforward machine for cutting woodmore » of varying thickness. The blade is fully guarded with a fixed upper and a lower retractable guard. The lower guard retracts as the blade engages the work piece. The unit is operated with an on/off guarded trigger switch and is supported with a handgrip mounted near the front of the saw. The saw is equipped with a directional nozzle, which aims sawdust away from the operator and the line of cut. An optional vacuum system, attached to the directional nozzle, is used to remove and collect dust. During the demonstration of Porter-Cable No.1, personal noise sampling indicated that one worker was under and one was at the Occupational Safety and Health Administration's (OSHA) Action Level of 85 decibels (dBA) with time-weighted averages (TWA's) of 82.7 and 84.6 dBA, respectively. During the demonstration of Porter-Cable No.2, however, both workers did exceed the Action Level with TWA's of 89.7 and 90.0 dBA. These data are not entirely representative as they were gathered during a simulation and not at the actual worksite. Additional sampling should be conducted on-site, but the workers should wear hearing protection until it is determined that it is no longer necessary. The total nuisance dust sample for Porter-Cable No.1 was 3.53 milligrams per cubic meter (mg/m{sup 3}), which is lower than the OSHA Permissible Exposure Limit (PEL) of 15 mg/m{sup 3} and the American Conference of Governmental Industrial Hygienists' (ACGIH) Threshold Limit Value (TLV) of 10 mg/m{sup 3}. Porter-Cable No.2's nuisance dust results yielded a value of 22.05 mg/m{sup 3}, which is over the PEL and TLV. The fiber analysis for the first demonstration yielded 12.9 fibers per cubic centimeter (f/cc), which is much higher than the PEL of 1 f/cc. Galson Laboratories considered the fiber analysis for the second demonstration void due to the overloading of dust on the filter. Kickback, the sudden reaction to a pinched blade, is possible with this saw and could cause the saw to lift up and out of the work piece and toward the operator. Proper work position and firm control of the saw minimizes the potential for a sprain or strain. Care needs to be exercised to support the work piece properly and to not force the tool.« less

Wheat bran reduces concentrations of digestible, metabolizable, and net energy in diets fed to pigs, but energy values in wheat bran determined by the difference procedure are not different from values estimated from a linear regression procedure.

PubMed

Jaworski, N W; Liu, D W; Li, D F; Stein, H H

2016-07-01

An experiment was conducted to determine effects on DE, ME, and NE for growing pigs of adding 15 or 30% wheat bran to a corn-soybean meal diet and to compare values for DE, ME, and NE calculated using the difference procedure with values obtained using linear regression. Eighteen barrows (54.4 ± 4.3 kg initial BW) were individually housed in metabolism crates. The experiment had 3 diets and 6 replicate pigs per diet. The control diet contained corn, soybean meal, and no wheat bran. Two additional diets were formulated by mixing 15 or 30% wheat bran with 85 or 70% of the control diet, respectively. The experimental period lasted 15 d. During the initial 7 d, pigs were adapted to their experimental diets and housed in metabolism crates and fed 573 kcal ME/kg BW per day. On d 8, metabolism crates with the pigs were moved into open-circuit respiration chambers for measurement of O consumption and CO and CH production. The feeding level was the same as in the adaptation period, and feces and urine were collected during this period. On d 13 and 14, pigs were fed 225 kcal ME/kg BW per day, and pigs were then fasted for 24 h to obtain fasting heat production. Results of the experiment indicated that the apparent total tract digestibility of DM, GE, crude fiber, ADF, and NDF linearly decreased ( ≤ 0.05) as wheat bran inclusion increased in the diets. The daily O consumption and CO and CH production by pigs fed increasing concentrations of wheat bran linearly decreased ( ≤ 0.05), resulting in a linear decrease ( ≤ 0.05) in heat production. The DE (3,454, 3,257, and 3,161 kcal/kg for diets containing 0, 15, and 30% wheat bran, respectively for diets containing 0, 15, and 30% wheat bran, respectively), ME (3,400, 3,209, and 3,091 kcal/kg for diets containing 0, 15, and 30% wheat bran, respectively), and NE (1,808, 1,575, and 1,458 kcal/kg for diets containing 0, 15, and 30% wheat bran, respectively) of diets decreased (linear, ≤ 0.05) as wheat bran inclusion increased. The DE, ME, and NE of wheat bran determined using the difference procedure were 2,168, 2,117, and 896 kcal/kg, respectively, and these values were within the 95% confidence interval of the DE (2,285 kcal/kg), ME (2,217 kcal/kg), and NE (961 kcal/kg) estimated by linear regression. In conclusion, increasing the inclusion of wheat bran in a corn-soybean meal based diet reduced energy and nutrient digestibility and heat production as well as DE, ME, and NE of diets, but values for DE, ME, and NE for wheat bran determined using the difference procedure were not different from values determined using linear regression.

Development of a testing method for asbestos fibers in treated materials of asbestos containing wastes by transmission electron microscopy

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Yamamoto, Takashi, E-mail: tyama@nies.go.jp; Kida, Akiko; Noma, Yukio

Highlights: • A high sensitive and selective testing method for asbestos in treated materials of asbestos containing wastes was developed. • Asbestos can be determined at a limits are a few million fibers per gram and a few μg g{sup −1}. • High temperature melting treatment samples were determined by this method. Asbestos fiber concentration were below the quantitation limit in all samples, and total fiber concentrations were determined as 47–170 × 10{sup 6} g{sup −1}. - Abstract: Appropriate treatment of asbestos-containing wastes is a significant problem. In Japan, the inertization of asbestos-containing wastes based on new treatment processes approvedmore » by the Minister of the Environment is promoted. A highly sensitive method for testing asbestos fibers in inertized materials is required so that these processes can be approved. We developed a method in which fibers from milled treated materials are extracted in water by shaking, and are counted and identified by transmission electron microscopy. Evaluation of this method by using asbestos standards and simulated slag samples confirmed that the quantitation limits are a few million fibers per gram and a few μg/g in a sample of 50 mg per filter. We used this method to assay asbestos fibers in slag samples produced by high-temperature melting of asbestos-containing wastes. Fiber concentrations were below the quantitation limit in all samples, and total fiber concentrations were determined as 47–170 × 10{sup −6} f/g. Because the evaluation of treated materials by TEM is difficult owing to the limited amount of sample observable, this testing method should be used in conjunction with bulk analytical methods for sure evaluation of treated materials.« less

The sensitivity and reproducibility of the zebrafish (Danio rerio) embryo test for the screening of waste water quality and for testing the toxicity of chemicals.

PubMed

Lahnsteiner, Franz

2008-07-01

The sensitivity of the zebrafish embryo test, a test proposed for routine waste water control, was compared with the acute fish toxicity test, in the determination of six types of waste water and ten different chemicals. The waste water was sampled from the following industrial processes: paper and cardboard production, hide tanning, metal galvanisation, carcass treatment and utilisation, and sewage treatment. The chemicals tested were: dimethylacetamide, dimethylsulphoxide, cadmium chloride, cyclohexane, hydroquinone, mercuric chloride, nickel chloride, nonylphenol, resmethrin and sodium nitrite. For many of the test substances, the zebrafish embryo test and the acute fish toxicity test results showed high correlations. However, there were certain environmentally-relevant substances for which the results of the zebrafish embryo test and the acute fish toxicity test differed significantly, up to 10,000-fold (Hg(2+) > 150-fold difference; NO(2)(-) > 300-fold; Cd(2+) > 200-fold; resmethrin > 10,000-fold). For the investigated waste water samples and chemicals, the survival rate of the zebrafish embryos showed high variations between different egg samples, within the range of the EC50 concentration. Subsequently, 5-6 parallel assays were deemed to be the appropriate number necessary for the precise evaluation of the toxicity of the test substances. Also, it was found that the sensitivities of different ontogenetic stages to chemical exposure differed greatly. During the first 12 hours after fertilisation (4-cell stage to the 5-somite stage), the embryos reacted most sensitively to test substance exposure, whereas the later ontogenetic stages showed only slight or no response, indicating that the test is most sensitive during the first 24 hours post-fertilisation.

Field bioassays for early detection of chronic impacts of chemical wastes upon marine organisms

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pequegnat, W. E.; Wastler, T. A.

1980-03-01

A major problem facing those who must assess the environmental effects of the disposal in the ocean of industrial and municipal wastes, including dredged materials, is determining whether given wastes elicit chronic deteriorative responses in important species of organisms. The full importance of such low-level, nonlethal effects is not known, but it is suspected that repeated elicitations may result in ecosystem changes as important as those caused by more easily determinable acute effects. Such considerations are important to the marine environment, where dumped pollutants may be quickly diluted to legal nonlethal concentrations, but may still bring forth cumulative chronic response patterns. One objective of this study has been to develop a field method of assessing the impacts of the disposal of various industrial and municipal wastes. The measure of the impact is not mortality measured against time, but the increase or decrease in activity of certain metabolic enzymes that signal whether an organism is under stress from a class of wastes. Also, by analysing tissues of test and indigenous species for the accumulation of metals, PCBs, and high molecular weight hydrocarbons as well as for the enzyme activity, one gains an insight into the actual effect, if any, of the accumulation upon the whole organism. The test organisms are exposed for selected periods of time in the field in devices called Biotal Ocean Monitors (BOMs); they are then assayed for enzyme induction. At present the following enzymes are used: mitochondrial ATPase, which responds particularly to excess biphenyls in the environment; catalase that is dissolved in the cytosol and responds to excesses of toxic metals; and cytochrome P-420 and P-450, which respond to cyclic and long-chain hydrocarbons. The applicability of the adenylate energy charge system to this problem is also studied.

The physicochemical characteristics and anaerobic degradability of desiccated coconut industry waste water.

PubMed

Chanakya, H N; Khuntia, Himanshu Kumar; Mukherjee, Niranjan; Aniruddha, R; Mudakavi, J R; Thimmaraju, Preeti

2015-12-01

Desiccated coconut industries (DCI) create various intermediates from fresh coconut kernel for cosmetic, pharmaceutical and food industries. The mechanized and non-mechanized DCI process between 10,000 and 100,000 nuts/day to discharge 6-150 m(3) of malodorous waste water leading to a discharge of 264-6642 kg chemical oxygen demand (COD) daily. In these units, three main types of waste water streams are coconut kernel water, kernel wash water and virgin oil waste water. The effluent streams contain lipids (1-55 g/l), suspended solids (6-80 g/l) and volatile fatty acids (VFA) at concentrations that are inhibitory to anaerobic bacteria. Coconut water contributes to 20-50% of the total volume and 50-60% of the total organic loads and causes higher inhibition of anaerobic bacteria with an initial lag phase of 30 days. The lagooning method of treatment widely adopted failed to appreciably treat the waste water and often led to the accumulation of volatile fatty acids (propionic acid) along with long-chain unsaturated free fatty acids. Biogas generation during biological methane potential (BMP) assay required a 15-day adaptation time, and gas production occurred at low concentrations of coconut water while the other two streams did not appear to be inhibitory. The anaerobic bacteria can mineralize coconut lipids at concentrations of 175 mg/l; however; they are severely inhibited at a lipid level of ≥350 mg/g bacterial inoculum. The modified Gompertz model showed a good fit with the BMP data with a simple sigmoid pattern. However, it failed to fit experimental BMP data either possessing a longer lag phase and/or diauxic biogas production suggesting inhibition of anaerobic bacteria.

Thermophilic and hyper-thermophilic co-digestion of waste activated sludge and fat, oil and grease: Evaluating and modeling methane production.

PubMed

Alqaralleh, Rania Mona; Kennedy, Kevin; Delatolla, Robert; Sartaj, Majid

2016-12-01

Renewable energy and clean environment are two crucial requirements for our modern world. Low cost, energy production and limited environmental impact make anaerobic digestion (AD) a promising technology for stabilizing organic waste and in particular, sewage waste. The anaerobic co-digestion of thickened waste activated sludge (TWAS) and sewage treatment plant trapped fat, oil and grease (FOG) using different FOG-TWAS mixtures (20, 40, 60 and 80% of FOG based on total volatile solids (TVS)) were investigated in this study using both thermophilic (55 ± 1 °C) and two stages hyper-thermophilic/thermophilic (70 ± 1 °C and 55 ± 1 °C) anaerobic co-digestion. The hyper-thermophilic co-digestion approach as a part of the co-digestion process has been shown to be very useful in improving the methane production. During hyper-thermophilic biochemical methane potential (BMP) assay testing the sample with 60% FOG (based on TVS) has been shown to significantly increase the maximum methane production to 673.1 ± 14.0 ml of methane as compared to 316.4 ± 14.3 ml of methane for the control sample. This represents a 112.7% increase in methane production compared to the control sample considered in this paper. These results signify the importance of hyper-thermophilic digestion to the co-digestion of TWAS-FOG field. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Multiple Biological Effects of Olive Oil By-products such as Leaves, Stems, Flowers, Olive Milled Waste, Fruit Pulp, and Seeds of the Olive Plant on Skin.

PubMed

Kishikawa, Asuka; Ashour, Ahmed; Zhu, Qinchang; Yasuda, Midori; Ishikawa, Hiroya; Shimizu, Kuniyoshi

2015-06-01

As olive oil production increases, so does the amount of olive oil by-products, which can cause environmental problems. Thus, new ways to utilize the by-products are needed. In the present study, five bioactive characteristics of olive oil by-products were assessed, namely their antioxidant, anti-bacterial, anti-melanogenesis, anti-allergic, and collagen-production-promoting activities. First, the extracts of leaves (May and October), stems (May and October), flowers, olive milled waste, fruit pulp and seeds were prepared using two safe solvents, ethanol and water. According to HPLC and LC/MS analysis and Folin-Ciocalteu assay, the ethanol extracts of the leaves (May and October), stems (May and October) and flowers contained oleuropein, and the ethanol extract of the stems showed the highest total phenol content. Oleuropein may contribute to the antioxidant and anti-melanogenesis activities of the leaves, stems, and flowers. However, other active compounds or synergistic effects present in the ethanol extracts are also likely to contribute to the anti-bacterial activity of the leaves and flowers, the anti-melanogenesis activity of some parts, the anti-allergic activity of olive milled waste, and the collagen-production-promoting activity of the leaves, stems, olive milled waste and fruit pulp. This study provides evidence that the by-products of olive oil have the potential to be further developed and used in the skin care industry. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Temporal trends and risk assessment of polychlorinated biphenyls and heavy metals in a solid waste site in Taizhou, China.

PubMed

Zhang, Quan; Zhu, Jianqiang; Ye, Jingjia; Qian, Yi; Chen, Fang; Wang, Jinghua; Zhao, Meirong

2016-01-01

The solid wastes generated during the production of chemicals are important sources of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and heavy metals. However, few studies have been conducted regarding long-term monitoring of the risks and states of PCBs and heavy metal pollution from these sources. Herein, we reported the concentrations and risks posed by these pollutants at a chemical solid waste storage site in Taizhou, China, based on data collected before (in 2006) and after clearing the solid waste (in 2013). We examined the concentrations of 24 PCBs, including ten dioxin-like-PCB (DL-PCB) congeners (PCB77, 105, 114, 118, 123, 126, 156, 167, 169, and 189). Our data showed that the mean ∑24PCB concentrations in the soil, water, and plant samples were 6902.90 ng/g, 1637.58 ng/L, and 33.95 ng/g, respectively, in 2013. Furthermore, Cr was the most prevalent contaminant. The hazard quotient (HQ) values showed that Pb posed the highest risk in the soil samples, followed by Hg. The results of the reporter gene assay showed that soil extracts from S1, S2, S3, S4, S5, S6, and S9 exhibited potential estrogenic activities. A comparison of the data showed that the PCB pollution in some sites of this area was still serious. The data provided here are fundamentally useful for policy makers to regulate this type of storage site.

Removal of toxic metals from leachates from hazardous solid wastes and reduction of toxicity to microtox by the use of calcium alginate beads containing humic acid.

PubMed

Pandey, Ashok K; Pandey, Shri Dhar; Misra, Virendra

2002-06-01

Improper disposal of hazardous wastes can lead to release of potentially harmful substances through leaching such as heavy metals, which ultimately contaminate soil, sediment surface water, and groundwater through runoff. To remove these toxic metals and avoid any adverse effect on the ecosystem, a novel approach involving calcium alginate (CA) beads containing humic acid (HA) was used. For this, 10% leachates of the waste obtained from two major industrial units with electroplating processess were prepared at neutral pH and analyzed by atomic absorption spectrophotometry (AAS). Both leachates contained Cd, Cu, Cr, Ni, Mn, Fe, and Zn. The concentrations of Ni, Mn, Fe, and Zn in the waste were found to be significant. The leachates analyzed were passed through columns packed with calcium alginate beads with or without humic acid. The concentrations of various metals in beads and in different fractions collected after adsorption were measured. Data recorded indicate that calcium alginate beads containing humic acids are more efficient in removal of all metals in substantial amounts from the two leachates. Along with removal of metals, this process led to considerable detoxification of the leachates as tested by Microtox assay, indicated by earlier protection and higher EC(50). The significance of the results in relation to removal of toxic metals by beads containing humic acid is discussed. (c) 2002 Elsevier Science (USA).