Influence of different extraction methods on the yield and linalool content of the extracts of Eugenia uniflora L.

PubMed

Galhiane, Mário S; Rissato, Sandra R; Chierice, Gilberto O; Almeida, Marcos V; Silva, Letícia C

2006-09-15

This work has been developed using a sylvestral fruit tree, native to the Brazilian forest, the Eugenia uniflora L., one of the Mirtaceae family. The main goal of the analytical study was focused on extraction methods themselves. The method development pointed to the Clevenger extraction as the best yield in relation to SFE and Soxhlet. The SFE method presented a good yield but showed a big amount of components in the final extract, demonstrating low selectivity. The essential oil extracted was analyzed by GC/FID showing a large range of polarity and boiling point compounds, where linalool, a widely used compound, was identified. Furthermore, an analytical solid phase extraction method was used to clean it up and obtain separated classes of compounds that were fractionated and studied by GC/FID and GC/MS.

Assessment of sustainable urban transport development based on entropy and unascertained measure.

PubMed

Li, Yancang; Yang, Jing; Shi, Huawang; Li, Yijie

2017-01-01

To find a more effective method for the assessment of sustainable urban transport development, the comprehensive assessment model of sustainable urban transport development was established based on the unascertained measure. On the basis of considering the factors influencing urban transport development, the comprehensive assessment indexes were selected, including urban economical development, transport demand, environment quality and energy consumption, and the assessment system of sustainable urban transport development was proposed. In view of different influencing factors of urban transport development, the index weight was calculated through the entropy weight coefficient method. Qualitative and quantitative analyses were conducted according to the actual condition. Then, the grade was obtained by using the credible degree recognition criterion from which the urban transport development level can be determined. Finally, a comprehensive assessment method for urban transport development was introduced. The application practice showed that the method can be used reasonably and effectively for the comprehensive assessment of urban transport development.

An Accurate and Stable FFT-based Method for Pricing Options under Exp-Lévy Processes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ding, Deng; Chong U, Sio

2010-05-01

An accurate and stable method for pricing European options in exp-Lévy models is presented. The main idea of this new method is combining the quadrature technique and the Carr-Madan Fast Fourier Transform methods. The theoretical analysis shows that the overall complexity of this new method is still O(N log N) with N grid points as the fast Fourier transform methods. Numerical experiments for different exp-Lévy processes also show that the numerical algorithm proposed by this new method has an accuracy and stability for the small strike prices K. That develops and improves the Carr-Madan method.

Development of quadruped walking locomotion gait generator using a hybrid method

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jasni, F.; Shafie, A. A.

2013-12-01

The earth, in many areas is hardly reachable by the wheeled or tracked locomotion system. Thus, walking locomotion system is becoming a favourite option for mobile robot these days. This is because of the ability of walking locomotion to move on the rugged and unlevel terrains. However, to develop a walking locomotion gait for a robot is not a simple task. Central Pattern Generator (CPGs) method is a biological inspired method that is introduced as a method to develop the gait for the walking robot recently to tackle the issue faced by the conventional method of pre-designed trajectory based method. However, research shows that even the CPG method do have some limitations. Thus, in this paper, a hybrid method that combines CPG and the pre-designed trajectory based method is introduced to develop a walking gait for quadruped walking robot. The 3-D foot trajectories and the joint angle trajectories developed using the proposed method are compared with the data obtained via the conventional method of pre-designed trajectory to confirm the performance.

Generalized empirical Bayesian methods for discovery of differential data in high-throughput biology.

PubMed

Hardcastle, Thomas J

2016-01-15

High-throughput data are now commonplace in biological research. Rapidly changing technologies and application mean that novel methods for detecting differential behaviour that account for a 'large P, small n' setting are required at an increasing rate. The development of such methods is, in general, being done on an ad hoc basis, requiring further development cycles and a lack of standardization between analyses. We present here a generalized method for identifying differential behaviour within high-throughput biological data through empirical Bayesian methods. This approach is based on our baySeq algorithm for identification of differential expression in RNA-seq data based on a negative binomial distribution, and in paired data based on a beta-binomial distribution. Here we show how the same empirical Bayesian approach can be applied to any parametric distribution, removing the need for lengthy development of novel methods for differently distributed data. Comparisons with existing methods developed to address specific problems in high-throughput biological data show that these generic methods can achieve equivalent or better performance. A number of enhancements to the basic algorithm are also presented to increase flexibility and reduce computational costs. The methods are implemented in the R baySeq (v2) package, available on Bioconductor http://www.bioconductor.org/packages/release/bioc/html/baySeq.html. tjh48@cam.ac.uk Supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics online. © The Author 2015. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.

Innovative spectrophotometric methods for simultaneous estimation of the novel two-drug combination: Sacubitril/Valsartan through two manipulation approaches and a comparative statistical study.

PubMed

Eissa, Maya S; Abou Al Alamein, Amal M

2018-03-15

Different innovative spectrophotometric methods were introduced for the first time for simultaneous quantification of sacubitril/valsartan in their binary mixture and in their combined dosage form without prior separation through two manipulation approaches. These approaches were developed and based either on two wavelength selection in zero-order absorption spectra namely; dual wavelength method (DWL) at 226nm and 275nm for valsartan, induced dual wavelength method (IDW) at 226nm and 254nm for sacubitril and advanced absorbance subtraction (AAS) based on their iso-absorptive point at 246nm (λ iso ) and 261nm (sacubitril shows equal absorbance values at the two selected wavelengths) or on ratio spectra using their normalized spectra namely; ratio difference spectrophotometric method (RD) at 225nm and 264nm for both of them in their ratio spectra, first derivative of ratio spectra (DR 1 ) at 232nm for valsartan and 239nm for sacubitril and mean centering of ratio spectra (MCR) at 260nm for both of them. Both sacubitril and valsartan showed linearity upon application of these methods in the range of 2.5-25.0μg/mL. The developed spectrophotmetric methods were successfully applied to the analysis of their combined tablet dosage form ENTRESTO™. The adopted spectrophotometric methods were also validated according to ICH guidelines. The results obtained from the proposed methods were statistically compared to a reported HPLC method using Student t-test, F-test and a comparative study was also developed with one-way ANOVA, showing no statistical difference in accordance to precision and accuracy. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Optimal sixteenth order convergent method based on quasi-Hermite interpolation for computing roots.

PubMed

Zafar, Fiza; Hussain, Nawab; Fatimah, Zirwah; Kharal, Athar

2014-01-01

We have given a four-step, multipoint iterative method without memory for solving nonlinear equations. The method is constructed by using quasi-Hermite interpolation and has order of convergence sixteen. As this method requires four function evaluations and one derivative evaluation at each step, it is optimal in the sense of the Kung and Traub conjecture. The comparisons are given with some other newly developed sixteenth-order methods. Interval Newton's method is also used for finding the enough accurate initial approximations. Some figures show the enclosure of finitely many zeroes of nonlinear equations in an interval. Basins of attractions show the effectiveness of the method.

Multi-criteria decision making development of ion chromatographic method for determination of inorganic anions in oilfield waters based on artificial neural networks retention model.

PubMed

Stefanović, Stefica Cerjan; Bolanča, Tomislav; Luša, Melita; Ukić, Sime; Rogošić, Marko

2012-02-24

This paper describes the development of ad hoc methodology for determination of inorganic anions in oilfield water, since their composition often significantly differs from the average (concentration of components and/or matrix). Therefore, fast and reliable method development has to be performed in order to ensure the monitoring of desired properties under new conditions. The method development was based on computer assisted multi-criteria decision making strategy. The used criteria were: maximal value of objective functions used, maximal robustness of the separation method, minimal analysis time, and maximal retention distance between two nearest components. Artificial neural networks were used for modeling of anion retention. The reliability of developed method was extensively tested by the validation of performance characteristics. Based on validation results, the developed method shows satisfactory performance characteristics, proving the successful application of computer assisted methodology in the described case study. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

A Lift-Off-Tolerant Magnetic Flux Leakage Testing Method for Drill Pipes at Wellhead.

PubMed

Wu, Jianbo; Fang, Hui; Li, Long; Wang, Jie; Huang, Xiaoming; Kang, Yihua; Sun, Yanhua; Tang, Chaoqing

2017-01-21

To meet the great needs for MFL (magnetic flux leakage) inspection of drill pipes at wellheads, a lift-off-tolerant MFL testing method is proposed and investigated in this paper. Firstly, a Helmholtz coil magnetization method and the whole MFL testing scheme are proposed. Then, based on the magnetic field focusing effect of ferrite cores, a lift-off-tolerant MFL sensor is developed and tested. It shows high sensitivity at a lift-off distance of 5.0 mm. Further, the follow-up high repeatability MFL probing system is designed and manufactured, which was embedded with the developed sensors. It can track the swing movement of drill pipes and allow the pipe ends to pass smoothly. Finally, the developed system is employed in a drilling field for drill pipe inspection. Test results show that the proposed method can fulfill the requirements for drill pipe inspection at wellheads, which is of great importance in drill pipe safety.

A Lift-Off-Tolerant Magnetic Flux Leakage Testing Method for Drill Pipes at Wellhead

PubMed Central

Wu, Jianbo; Fang, Hui; Li, Long; Wang, Jie; Huang, Xiaoming; Kang, Yihua; Sun, Yanhua; Tang, Chaoqing

2017-01-01

To meet the great needs for MFL (magnetic flux leakage) inspection of drill pipes at wellheads, a lift-off-tolerant MFL testing method is proposed and investigated in this paper. Firstly, a Helmholtz coil magnetization method and the whole MFL testing scheme are proposed. Then, based on the magnetic field focusing effect of ferrite cores, a lift-off-tolerant MFL sensor is developed and tested. It shows high sensitivity at a lift-off distance of 5.0 mm. Further, the follow-up high repeatability MFL probing system is designed and manufactured, which was embedded with the developed sensors. It can track the swing movement of drill pipes and allow the pipe ends to pass smoothly. Finally, the developed system is employed in a drilling field for drill pipe inspection. Test results show that the proposed method can fulfill the requirements for drill pipe inspection at wellheads, which is of great importance in drill pipe safety. PMID:28117721

Conventional and improved cytotoxicity test methods of newly developed biodegradable magnesium alloys

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Han, Hyung-Seop; Kim, Hee-Kyoung; Kim, Yu-Chan; Seok, Hyun-Kwang; Kim, Young-Yul

2015-11-01

Unique biodegradable property of magnesium has spawned countless studies to develop ideal biodegradable orthopedic implant materials in the last decade. However, due to the rapid pH change and extensive amount of hydrogen gas generated during biocorrosion, it is extremely difficult to determine the accurate cytotoxicity of newly developed magnesium alloys using the existing methods. Herein, we report a new method to accurately determine the cytotoxicity of magnesium alloys with varying corrosion rate while taking in-vivo condition into the consideration. For conventional method, extract quantities of each metal ion were determined using ICP-MS and the result showed that the cytotoxicity due to pH change caused by corrosion affected the cell viability rather than the intrinsic cytotoxicity of magnesium alloy. In physiological environment, pH is regulated and adjusted within normal pH (˜7.4) range by homeostasis. Two new methods using pH buffered extracts were proposed and performed to show that environmental buffering effect of pH, dilution of the extract, and the regulation of eluate surface area must be taken into consideration for accurate cytotoxicity measurement of biodegradable magnesium alloys.

A Method for Examining Productivity of Grammatical Morphology in Children with and without Specific Language Impairment

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Miller, Carol A.; Deevy, Patricia

2003-01-01

Children with specific language impairment (SLI) show inconsistent use of grammatical morphology. Children who are developing language typically also show a period during which they produce grammatical morphemes inconsistently. Various theories claim that both young typically developing children and children with SLI achieve correct production…

The Ulam Index: Methods of Theoretical Computer Science Help in Identifying Chemical Substances

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Beltran, Adriana; Salvador, James

1997-01-01

In this paper, we show how methods developed for solving a theoretical computer problem of graph isomorphism are used in structural chemistry. We also discuss potential applications of these methods to exobiology: the search for life outside Earth.

On finite element methods for the Helmholtz equation

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Aziz, A. K.; Werschulz, A. G.

1979-01-01

The numerical solution of the Helmholtz equation is considered via finite element methods. A two-stage method which gives the same accuracy in the computed gradient as in the computed solution is discussed. Error estimates for the method using a newly developed proof are given, and the computational considerations which show this method to be computationally superior to previous methods are presented.

Qualitative properties of roasting defect beans and development of its classification methods by hyperspectral imaging technology.

PubMed

Cho, Jeong-Seok; Bae, Hyung-Jin; Cho, Byoung-Kwan; Moon, Kwang-Deog

2017-04-01

Qualitative properties of roasting defect coffee beans and their classification methods were studied using hyperspectral imaging (HSI). The roasting defect beans were divided into 5 groups: medium roasting (Cont), under developed (RD-1), over roasting (RD-2), interior under developed (RD-3), and interior scorching (RD-4). The following qualitative properties were assayed: browning index (BI), moisture content (MC), chlorogenic acid (CA), trigonelline (TG), and caffeine (CF) content. Their HSI spectra (1000-1700nm) were also analysed to develop the classification methods of roasting defect beans. RD-2 showed the highest BI and the lowest MC, CA, and TG content. The accuracy of classification model of partial least-squares discriminant was 86.2%. The most powerful wavelength to classify the defective beans was approximately 1420nm (related to OH bond). The HSI reflectance values at 1420nm showed similar tendency with MC, enabling the use of this technology to classify the roasting defect beans. Copyright © 2016. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

Character Recognition Method by Time-Frequency Analyses Using Writing Pressure

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Watanabe, Tatsuhito; Katsura, Seiichiro

With the development of information and communication technology, personal verification becomes more and more important. In the future ubiquitous society, the development of terminals handling personal information requires the personal verification technology. The signature is one of the personal verification methods; however, the number of characters is limited in the case of the signature and therefore false signature is used easily. Thus, personal identification is difficult from handwriting. This paper proposes a “haptic pen” that extracts the writing pressure, and shows a character recognition method by time-frequency analyses. Although the figures of characters written by different amanuenses are similar, the differences appear in the time-frequency domain. As a result, it is possible to use the proposed character recognition for personal identification more exactly. The experimental results showed the viability of the proposed method.

Estimating glomerular filtration rate in oncology patients receiving Cisplatin chemotherapy: Predicted creatinine clearance against 99mTc-DTPA methods

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Khaidah Syed Sahab, Sharifah; Manap, Mahayuddin; Hamzah, Fadzilah

2017-05-01

The therapeutic potential of cisplatin as the best anticancer treatment for solid tumor is limited by its potential nephrotoxicity. This study analyses the incidence of cisplatin induced nephrotoxicity in oncology patients through GFR estimation using 99mTc-DTPA plasma sampling (reference method) and to compare with predicted creatinine clearance and Tc-99m renal scintigraphy. A prospective study of 33 oncology patients referred for GFR estimation in Penang Hospital. The incidence of cisplatin induced nephrotoxicity was analysed via radionuclide and creatinine based method. Of 33 samples, only 21 selected for the study. The dose of cisplatin given was 75 mg/m2 for each cycle. The mean difference of GFR pre and post chemotherapy (PSC 2) was 13.38 (-4.60, 31.36) ml/min/1.73m2 (p 0.136). Of 21 patients, 3 developed severe nephrotoxicity (GFR < 50ml/min/1.73 m2) contributing 14.3% of incidence. Bland-Altman plot showed only PSC 1 is in agreement with PSC 2 technique. Intraclass Correlation Coefficients (ICC) also showed that PSC 1 has high degree of reliability in comparison to PSC 2 (p < 0.001). The other methods do not show reliability and agreement in comparison to PSC 2 (p < 0.05). 3 of 21 patients (14.3%) developed severe nephrotoxicity post cisplatin chemotherapy. This percentage is much less than the reported 20 - 25% of cases from other studies, probably due to small sample size and biased study population due to strict exclusion criteria. Radionuclide method for evaluating GFR is the most sensitive method for the detection of cisplatin induced nephrotoxicity by showing 3 of 21 patients developing severe nephrotoxicity. PSC 1 was found to be a reliable substitute of PSC 2. The other methods are not reliable for detection of early nephrotoxicity. We will recommend the use of single plasma sampling method (PSC 1) for GFR estimation in monitoring post cisplatin chemotherapy patients.

Mutual influence of molecular diffusion in gas and surface phases

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hori, Takuma; Kamino, Takafumi; Yoshimoto, Yuta; Takagi, Shu; Kinefuchi, Ikuya

2018-01-01

We develop molecular transport simulation methods that simultaneously deal with gas- and surface-phase diffusions to determine the effect of surface diffusion on the overall diffusion coefficients. The phenomenon of surface diffusion is incorporated into the test particle method and the mean square displacement method, which are typically employed only for gas-phase transport. It is found that for a simple cylindrical pore, the diffusion coefficients in the presence of surface diffusion calculated by these two methods show good agreement. We also confirm that both methods reproduce the analytical solution. Then, the diffusion coefficients for ink-bottle-shaped pores are calculated using the developed method. Our results show that surface diffusion assists molecular transport in the gas phase. Moreover, the surface tortuosity factor, which is known to be uniquely determined by physical structure, is influenced by the presence of gas-phase diffusion. This mutual influence of gas-phase diffusion and surface diffusion indicates that their simultaneous calculation is necessary for an accurate evaluation of the diffusion coefficients.

Assessment of sustainable urban transport development based on entropy and unascertained measure

PubMed Central

Li, Yancang; Yang, Jing; Li, Yijie

2017-01-01

To find a more effective method for the assessment of sustainable urban transport development, the comprehensive assessment model of sustainable urban transport development was established based on the unascertained measure. On the basis of considering the factors influencing urban transport development, the comprehensive assessment indexes were selected, including urban economical development, transport demand, environment quality and energy consumption, and the assessment system of sustainable urban transport development was proposed. In view of different influencing factors of urban transport development, the index weight was calculated through the entropy weight coefficient method. Qualitative and quantitative analyses were conducted according to the actual condition. Then, the grade was obtained by using the credible degree recognition criterion from which the urban transport development level can be determined. Finally, a comprehensive assessment method for urban transport development was introduced. The application practice showed that the method can be used reasonably and effectively for the comprehensive assessment of urban transport development. PMID:29084281

Comparative study of protoporphyrin IX fluorescence image enhancement methods to improve an optical imaging system for oral cancer detection

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jiang, Ching-Fen; Wang, Chih-Yu; Chiang, Chun-Ping

2011-07-01

Optoelectronics techniques to induce protoporphyrin IX fluorescence with topically applied 5-aminolevulinic acid on the oral mucosa have been developed to noninvasively detect oral cancer. Fluorescence imaging enables wide-area screening for oral premalignancy, but the lack of an adequate fluorescence enhancement method restricts the clinical imaging application of these techniques. This study aimed to develop a reliable fluorescence enhancement method to improve PpIX fluorescence imaging systems for oral cancer detection. Three contrast features, red-green-blue reflectance difference, R/B ratio, and R/G ratio, were developed first based on the optical properties of the fluorescence images. A comparative study was then carried out with one negative control and four biopsy confirmed clinical cases to validate the optimal image processing method for the detection of the distribution of malignancy. The results showed the superiority of the R/G ratio in terms of yielding a better contrast between normal and neoplastic tissue, and this method was less prone to errors in detection. Quantitative comparison with the clinical diagnoses in the four neoplastic cases showed that the regions of premalignancy obtained using the proposed method accorded with the expert's determination, suggesting the potential clinical application of this method for the detection of oral cancer.

Development and Validation of a HPTLC Method for Simultaneous Estimation of L-Glutamic Acid and γ-Aminobutyric Acid in Mice Brain

PubMed Central

Sancheti, J. S.; Shaikh, M. F.; Khatwani, P. F.; Kulkarni, Savita R.; Sathaye, Sadhana

2013-01-01

A new robust, simple and economic high performance thin layer chromatographic method was developed for simultaneous estimation of L-glutamic acid and γ-amino butyric acid in brain homogenate. The high performance thin layer chromatographic separation of these amino acid was achieved using n-butanol:glacial acetic acid:water (22:3:5 v/v/v) as mobile phase and ninhydrin as a derivatising agent. Quantitation of the method was achieved by densitometric method at 550 nm over the concentration range of 10-100 ng/spot. This method showed good separation of amino acids in the brain homogenate with Rf value of L-glutamic acid and γ-amino butyric acid as 21.67±0.58 and 33.67±0.58, respectively. The limit of detection and limit of quantification for L-glutamic acid was found to be 10 and 20 ng and for γ-amino butyric acid it was 4 and 10 ng, respectively. The method was also validated in terms of accuracy, precision and repeatability. The developed method was found to be precise and accurate with good reproducibility and shows promising applicability for studying pathological status of disease and therapeutic significance of drug treatment. PMID:24591747

Development and Validation of a HPTLC Method for Simultaneous Estimation of L-Glutamic Acid and γ-Aminobutyric Acid in Mice Brain.

PubMed

Sancheti, J S; Shaikh, M F; Khatwani, P F; Kulkarni, Savita R; Sathaye, Sadhana

2013-11-01

A new robust, simple and economic high performance thin layer chromatographic method was developed for simultaneous estimation of L-glutamic acid and γ-amino butyric acid in brain homogenate. The high performance thin layer chromatographic separation of these amino acid was achieved using n-butanol:glacial acetic acid:water (22:3:5 v/v/v) as mobile phase and ninhydrin as a derivatising agent. Quantitation of the method was achieved by densitometric method at 550 nm over the concentration range of 10-100 ng/spot. This method showed good separation of amino acids in the brain homogenate with Rf value of L-glutamic acid and γ-amino butyric acid as 21.67±0.58 and 33.67±0.58, respectively. The limit of detection and limit of quantification for L-glutamic acid was found to be 10 and 20 ng and for γ-amino butyric acid it was 4 and 10 ng, respectively. The method was also validated in terms of accuracy, precision and repeatability. The developed method was found to be precise and accurate with good reproducibility and shows promising applicability for studying pathological status of disease and therapeutic significance of drug treatment.

Method development and validation of potent pyrimidine derivative by UV-VIS spectrophotometer.

PubMed

Chaudhary, Anshu; Singh, Anoop; Verma, Prabhakar Kumar

2014-12-01

A rapid and sensitive ultraviolet-visible (UV-VIS) spectroscopic method was developed for the estimation of pyrimidine derivative 6-Bromo-3-(6-(2,6-dichlorophenyl)-2-(morpolinomethylamino) pyrimidine4-yl) -2H-chromen-2-one (BT10M) in bulk form. Pyrimidine derivative was monitored at 275 nm with UV detection, and there is no interference of diluents at 275 nm. The method was found to be linear in the range of 50 to 150 μg/ml. The accuracy and precision were determined and validated statistically. The method was validated as a guideline. The results showed that the proposed method is suitable for the accurate, precise, and rapid determination of pyrimidine derivative. Graphical Abstract Method development and validation of potent pyrimidine derivative by UV spectroscopy.

RRCRank: a fusion method using rank strategy for residue-residue contact prediction.

PubMed

Jing, Xiaoyang; Dong, Qiwen; Lu, Ruqian

2017-09-02

In structural biology area, protein residue-residue contacts play a crucial role in protein structure prediction. Some researchers have found that the predicted residue-residue contacts could effectively constrain the conformational search space, which is significant for de novo protein structure prediction. In the last few decades, related researchers have developed various methods to predict residue-residue contacts, especially, significant performance has been achieved by using fusion methods in recent years. In this work, a novel fusion method based on rank strategy has been proposed to predict contacts. Unlike the traditional regression or classification strategies, the contact prediction task is regarded as a ranking task. First, two kinds of features are extracted from correlated mutations methods and ensemble machine-learning classifiers, and then the proposed method uses the learning-to-rank algorithm to predict contact probability of each residue pair. First, we perform two benchmark tests for the proposed fusion method (RRCRank) on CASP11 dataset and CASP12 dataset respectively. The test results show that the RRCRank method outperforms other well-developed methods, especially for medium and short range contacts. Second, in order to verify the superiority of ranking strategy, we predict contacts by using the traditional regression and classification strategies based on the same features as ranking strategy. Compared with these two traditional strategies, the proposed ranking strategy shows better performance for three contact types, in particular for long range contacts. Third, the proposed RRCRank has been compared with several state-of-the-art methods in CASP11 and CASP12. The results show that the RRCRank could achieve comparable prediction precisions and is better than three methods in most assessment metrics. The learning-to-rank algorithm is introduced to develop a novel rank-based method for the residue-residue contact prediction of proteins, which achieves state-of-the-art performance based on the extensive assessment.

Extreme Trust Region Policy Optimization for Active Object Recognition.

PubMed

Liu, Huaping; Wu, Yupei; Sun, Fuchun; Huaping Liu; Yupei Wu; Fuchun Sun; Sun, Fuchun; Liu, Huaping; Wu, Yupei

2018-06-01

In this brief, we develop a deep reinforcement learning method to actively recognize objects by choosing a sequence of actions for an active camera that helps to discriminate between the objects. The method is realized using trust region policy optimization, in which the policy is realized by an extreme learning machine and, therefore, leads to efficient optimization algorithm. The experimental results on the publicly available data set show the advantages of the developed extreme trust region optimization method.

Functional Techniques for Data Analysis

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Tomlinson, John R.

1997-01-01

This dissertation develops a new general method of solving Prony's problem. Two special cases of this new method have been developed previously. They are the Matrix Pencil and the Osculatory Interpolation. The dissertation shows that they are instances of a more general solution type which allows a wide ranging class of linear functional to be used in the solution of the problem. This class provides a continuum of functionals which provide new methods that can be used to solve Prony's problem.

Development and Application of Quantitative Detection Method for Viral Hemorrhagic Septicemia Virus (VHSV) Genogroup IVa

PubMed Central

Kim, Jong-Oh; Kim, Wi-Sik; Kim, Si-Woo; Han, Hyun-Ja; Kim, Jin Woo; Park, Myoung Ae; Oh, Myung-Joo

2014-01-01

Viral hemorrhagic septicemia virus (VHSV) is a problematic pathogen in olive flounder (Paralichthys olivaceus) aquaculture farms in Korea. Thus, it is necessary to develop a rapid and accurate diagnostic method to detect this virus. We developed a quantitative RT-PCR (qRT-PCR) method based on the nucleocapsid (N) gene sequence of Korean VHSV isolate (Genogroup IVa). The slope and R2 values of the primer set developed in this study were −0.2928 (96% efficiency) and 0.9979, respectively. Its comparison with viral infectivity calculated by traditional quantifying method (TCID50) showed a similar pattern of kinetic changes in vitro and in vivo. The qRT-PCR method reduced detection time compared to that of TCID50, making it a very useful tool for VHSV diagnosis. PMID:24859343

Negotiating a Systems Development Method

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Karlsson, Fredrik; Hedström, Karin

Systems development methods (or methods) are often applied in tailored version to fit the actual situation. Method tailoring is in most the existing literature viewed as either (a) a highly rational process with the method engineer as the driver where the project members are passive information providers or (b) an unstructured process where the systems developer makes individual choices, a selection process without any driver. The purpose of this chapter is to illustrate that important design decisions during method tailoring are made by project members through negotiation. The study has been carried out using the perspective of actor-network theory. Our narratives depict method tailoring as more complex than (a) and (b) show the driver role rotates between the project members, and design decisions are based on influences from several project members. However, these design decisions are not consensus decisions.

Forest Herbicide Washoff From Foliar Applications

Treesearch

J.L. Michael; Kevin L. Talley; H.C. Fishburn

1992-01-01

Field and laboratory experiments were conducted to develop and test methods for determining washoff of foliar applied herbicides typically used in forestry in the South.Preliminary results show good agreement between results of laboratory methods used and observations from field experiments on actual precipitation events. Methods included application of...

Research Trends in Evidence-Based Medicine: A Joinpoint Regression Analysis of More than 50 Years of Publication Data

PubMed Central

Hung, Bui The; Long, Nguyen Phuoc; Hung, Le Phi; Luan, Nguyen Thien; Anh, Nguyen Hoang; Nghi, Tran Diem; Van Hieu, Mai; Trang, Nguyen Thi Huyen; Rafidinarivo, Herizo Fabien; Anh, Nguyen Ky; Hawkes, David; Huy, Nguyen Tien; Hirayama, Kenji

2015-01-01

Background Evidence-based medicine (EBM) has developed as the dominant paradigm of assessment of evidence that is used in clinical practice. Since its development, EBM has been applied to integrate the best available research into diagnosis and treatment with the purpose of improving patient care. In the EBM era, a hierarchy of evidence has been proposed, including various types of research methods, such as meta-analysis (MA), systematic review (SRV), randomized controlled trial (RCT), case report (CR), practice guideline (PGL), and so on. Although there are numerous studies examining the impact and importance of specific cases of EBM in clinical practice, there is a lack of research quantitatively measuring publication trends in the growth and development of EBM. Therefore, a bibliometric analysis was constructed to determine the scientific productivity of EBM research over decades. Methods NCBI PubMed database was used to search, retrieve and classify publications according to research method and year of publication. Joinpoint regression analysis was undertaken to analyze trends in research productivity and the prevalence of individual research methods. Findings Analysis indicates that MA and SRV, which are classified as the highest ranking of evidence in the EBM, accounted for a relatively small but auspicious number of publications. For most research methods, the annual percent change (APC) indicates a consistent increase in publication frequency. MA, SRV and RCT show the highest rate of publication growth in the past twenty years. Only controlled clinical trials (CCT) shows a non-significant reduction in publications over the past ten years. Conclusions Higher quality research methods, such as MA, SRV and RCT, are showing continuous publication growth, which suggests an acknowledgement of the value of these methods. This study provides the first quantitative assessment of research method publication trends in EBM. PMID:25849641

Development of a nondestructive leak testing method utilizing the head space analyzer for ampoule products containing ethanol-based solutions.

PubMed

Sudo, Hirotaka; O'driscoll, Michael; Nishiwaki, Kenji; Kawamoto, Yuji; Gammell, Philip; Schramm, Gerhard; Wertli, Toni; Prinz, Heino; Mori, Atsuhide; Sako, Kazuhiro

2012-01-01

The application of a head space analyzer for oxygen concentration was examined to develop a novel ampoule leak test method. Studies using ampoules filled with ethanol-based solution and with nitrogen in the headspace demonstrated that the head space analysis (HSA) method showed sufficient sensitivity in detecting an ampoule crack. The proposed method is the use of HSA in conjunction with the pretreatment of an overpressurising process known as bombing to facilitate the oxygen flow through the crack in the ampoule. The method was examined in comparative studies with a conventional dye ingress method, and the results showed that the HSA method exhibits sensitivity superior to the dye method. The results indicate that the HSA method in combination with the bombing treatment provides potential application as a leak test for the detection of container defects not only for ampoule products with ethanol-based solutions, but also for testing lyophilized products in vials with nitrogen in the head space. The application of a head space analyzer for oxygen concentration was examined to develop a novel ampoule leak test method. The proposed method is the use of head space analysis (HSA) in conjunction with the pretreatment of an overpressurising process known as bombing to facilitate oxygen flow through the crack in the ampoule for use in routine production. The result of the comparative study with a conventional dye leak test method indicates that the HSA method in combination with the bombing treatment can be used as a leak test method, enabling detection of container defects.

Assessment of Complement Activation by Nanoparticles: Development of a SPR Based Method and Comparison with Current High Throughput Methods.

PubMed

Coty, Jean-Baptiste; Noiray, Magali; Vauthier, Christine

2018-04-26

A Surface Plasmon Resonance chip (SPR) was developed to study the activation of complement system triggered by nanomaterials in contact with human serum, which is an important concern today to warrant safety of nanomedicines. The developed chip was tested for its specificity in complex medium and its longevity of use. It was then employed to assess the release of complement fragments upon incubation of nanoparticles in serum. A comparison was made with other current methods assessing complement activation (μC-IE, ELISA). The SPR chip was found to give a consistent response for C3a release upon activation by nanoparticles. Results were similar to those obtained by μC-IE. However, ELISA detection of iC3b fragments showed an explained high non-specific background. The impact of sample preparation preceding the analysis was assessed with the newly develop SPR method. The removal of nanoparticles before analysis showed an important modification in the obtained response, possibly leading to false negative results. The SPR chip developed in this work allows for an automated assessment of complement activation triggered by nanoparticles with possibility of multiplexed analysis. The design of the chip proved to give consistent results of complement activation by nanoparticles.

History and Development of the Schmidt-Hunter Meta-Analysis Methods

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Schmidt, Frank L.

2015-01-01

In this article, I provide answers to the questions posed by Will Shadish about the history and development of the Schmidt-Hunter methods of meta-analysis. In the 1970s, I headed a research program on personnel selection at the US Office of Personnel Management (OPM). After our research showed that validity studies have low statistical power, OPM…

Applying Program Theory-Driven Approach to Design and Evaluate a Teacher Professional Development Program

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lin, Su-ching; Wu, Ming-sui

2016-01-01

This study was the first year of a two-year project which applied a program theory-driven approach to evaluating the impact of teachers' professional development interventions on students' learning by using a mix of methods, qualitative inquiry, and quasi-experimental design. The current study was to show the results of using the method of…

Simultaneous unbiased estimates of multiple downed wood attributes in perpendicular distance sampling

Treesearch

Mark J. Ducey; Jeffrey H. Gove; Harry T. Valentine

2008-01-01

Perpendicular distance sampling (PDS) is a fast probability-proportional-to-size method for inventory of downed wood. However, previous development of PDS had limited the method to estimating only one variable (such as volume per hectare, or surface area per hectare) at a time. Here, we develop a general design-unbiased estimator for PDS. We then show how that...

Emergy analysis of an industrial park: the case of Dalian, China.

PubMed

Geng, Yong; Zhang, Pan; Ulgiati, Sergio; Sarkis, Joseph

2010-10-15

With the rapid development of eco-industrial park projects in China, evaluating their overall eco-efficiency is becoming an important need and a big challenge academically. Developing ecologically conscious industrial park management requires analysis of both industrial and ecological systems. Traditional evaluation methods based on neoclassical economics and embodied energy and exergy analyses have certain limitations due to their focus with environmental issues considered secondary to the maximization of economic and technical objectives. Such methods focus primarily on the environmental impact of emissions and their economic consequences. These approaches ignore the contribution of ecological products and services as well as the load placed on environmental systems and related problems of carrying capacity of economic and industrial development. This paper presents a new method, based upon emergy analysis and synthesis. Such a method links economic and ecological systems together, highlighting the internal relations among the different subsystems and components. The emergy-based method provides insight into the environmental performance and sustainability of an industrial park. This paper depicts the methodology of emergy analysis at the industrial park level and provides a series of emergy-based indices. A case study is investigated and discussed in order to show the emergy method's practical potential. Results from DEDZ (Dalian Economic Development Zone) case show us the potential of emergy synthesis method at the industrial park level for environmental policy making. Its advantages and limitations are also discussed with avenues for future research identified. Copyright © 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Development and validation of a stability indicating HPLC method for determination of lisinopril, lisinopril degradation product and parabens in the lisinopril extemporaneous formulation.

PubMed

Beasley, Christopher A; Shaw, Jessica; Zhao, Zack; Reed, Robert A

2005-03-09

The purpose of the research described herein was to develop and validate a stability-indicating HPLC method for lisinopril, lisinopril degradation product (DKP), methyl paraben and propyl paraben in a lisinopril extemporaneous formulation. The method developed in this report is selective for the components listed above, in the presence of the complex and chromatographically rich matrix presented by the Bicitra and Ora-Sweet SF formulation diluents. The method was also shown to have adequate sensitivity with a detection limit of 0.0075 microg/mL (0.03% of lisinopril method concentration). The validation elements investigated showed that the method has acceptable specificity, recovery, linearity, solution stability, and method precision. Acceptable robustness indicates that the assay method remains unaffected by small but deliberate variations, which are described in ICH Q2A and Q2B guidelines.

The Development of a Noncontact Letter Input Interface “Fingual” Using Magnetic Dataset

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fukushima, Taishi; Miyazaki, Fumio; Nishikawa, Atsushi

We have newly developed a noncontact letter input interface called “Fingual”. Fingual uses a glove mounted with inexpensive and small magnetic sensors. Using the glove, users can input letters to form the finger alphabets, a kind of sign language. The proposed method uses some dataset which consists of magnetic field and the corresponding letter information. In this paper, we show two recognition methods using the dataset. First method uses Euclidean norm, and second one additionally uses Gaussian function as a weighting function. Then we conducted verification experiments for the recognition rate of each method in two situations. One of the situations is that subjects used their own dataset; the other is that they used another person's dataset. As a result, the proposed method could recognize letters with a high rate in both situations, even though it is better to use their own dataset than to use another person's dataset. Though Fingual needs to collect magnetic dataset for each letter in advance, its feature is the ability to recognize letters without the complicated calculations such as inverse problems. This paper shows results of the recognition experiments, and shows the utility of the proposed system “Fingual”.

Investigation of vibration characteristics of electric motors

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Bakshis, A. K.; Tamoshyunas, Y. K.

1973-01-01

The vibration characteristics of electric motors were analyzed using mathematical statistics methods. The equipment used and the method of conducting the test are described. Curves are developed to show the visualization of the electric motor vibrations in the vertical direction. Additional curves are included to show the amplitude-phase frequency characteristic of dynamic rotor-housing vibrations at the first lug and the same data for the second lug of the electric motor. Mathematical models were created to show the transmission function of the dynamic rotor housing system.

Composite Interval Mapping Based on Lattice Design for Error Control May Increase Power of Quantitative Trait Locus Detection.

PubMed

He, Jianbo; Li, Jijie; Huang, Zhongwen; Zhao, Tuanjie; Xing, Guangnan; Gai, Junyi; Guan, Rongzhan

2015-01-01

Experimental error control is very important in quantitative trait locus (QTL) mapping. Although numerous statistical methods have been developed for QTL mapping, a QTL detection model based on an appropriate experimental design that emphasizes error control has not been developed. Lattice design is very suitable for experiments with large sample sizes, which is usually required for accurate mapping of quantitative traits. However, the lack of a QTL mapping method based on lattice design dictates that the arithmetic mean or adjusted mean of each line of observations in the lattice design had to be used as a response variable, resulting in low QTL detection power. As an improvement, we developed a QTL mapping method termed composite interval mapping based on lattice design (CIMLD). In the lattice design, experimental errors are decomposed into random errors and block-within-replication errors. Four levels of block-within-replication errors were simulated to show the power of QTL detection under different error controls. The simulation results showed that the arithmetic mean method, which is equivalent to a method under random complete block design (RCBD), was very sensitive to the size of the block variance and with the increase of block variance, the power of QTL detection decreased from 51.3% to 9.4%. In contrast to the RCBD method, the power of CIMLD and the adjusted mean method did not change for different block variances. The CIMLD method showed 1.2- to 7.6-fold higher power of QTL detection than the arithmetic or adjusted mean methods. Our proposed method was applied to real soybean (Glycine max) data as an example and 10 QTLs for biomass were identified that explained 65.87% of the phenotypic variation, while only three and two QTLs were identified by arithmetic and adjusted mean methods, respectively.

Task 2 Report: Algorithm Development and Performance Analysis

DTIC Science & Technology

1993-07-01

separated peaks ............................................. 39 7-16 Example ILGC data for schedule 3 phosphites showing an analysis method which integrates...more closely follows the baseline ................. 40 7-18 Example R.GC data for schedule 3 phosphites showing an analysis method resulting in unwanted...much of the ambiguity that can arise in GC/MS with trace environmental samples, for example. Correlated chromatography, on the other hand, separates the

Are All Homeschooling Methods Created Equal?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Taylor-Hough, Deborah

2010-01-01

For parents looking to see their children develop into the self-reliant, critical thinkers John Taylor Gatto described in his essay, "Against School," and other works, a combination of unschooling and the Charlotte Mason method would have the best chance of overall success. Research shows any method of homeschooling produces standardized test…

History and development of the Schmidt-Hunter meta-analysis methods.

PubMed

Schmidt, Frank L

2015-09-01

In this article, I provide answers to the questions posed by Will Shadish about the history and development of the Schmidt-Hunter methods of meta-analysis. In the 1970s, I headed a research program on personnel selection at the US Office of Personnel Management (OPM). After our research showed that validity studies have low statistical power, OPM felt a need for a better way to demonstrate test validity, especially in light of court cases challenging selection methods. In response, we created our method of meta-analysis (initially called validity generalization). Results showed that most of the variability of validity estimates from study to study was because of sampling error and other research artifacts such as variations in range restriction and measurement error. Corrections for these artifacts in our research and in replications by others showed that the predictive validity of most tests was high and generalizable. This conclusion challenged long-standing beliefs and so provoked resistance, which over time was overcome. The 1982 book that we published extending these methods to research areas beyond personnel selection was positively received and was followed by expanded books in 1990, 2004, and 2014. Today, these methods are being applied in a wide variety of areas. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Quantification of plasma myo-inositol using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry.

PubMed

Guo, Jin; Shi, Yingfei; Xu, Chengbao; Zhong, Rugang; Zhang, Feng; Zhang, Ting; Niu, Bo; Wang, Jianhua

2016-09-01

Myo-inositol (MI) deficiency is associated with an increased risk for neural tube defects (NTDs), mental disorders and metabolic diseases. We developed a gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) method to detect MI in human plasma, which was accurate, relatively efficient and convenient for clinical application. An external standard method was used for determination of plasma MI. Samples were analyzed by GC-MS after derivatization. The stable-isotope labeled internal standard approach was used to validate the method's accuracy. Alpha fetal protein (AFP) was detected by chemiluminescence immunoassay. The method was validated by determining the linearity, sensitivity and recovery rate. There was a good agreement between the internal standard approach and the present method. The NTD-affected pregnancies showed lower plasma MI (P=0.024) and higher AFP levels (P=0.001) than control. Maternal MI level showed a better discrimination in spina bifida subgroup, while AFP level showed a better discrimination in anencephaly subgroup after stratification analysis. We developed a sensitive and reliable method for the detection of clinical plasma MI, which might be a marker for NTDs screening, and established fundamental knowledge for clinical diagnosis and prevention for the diseases related to disturbed MI metabolism. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Simultaneous spectrophotometric determination of indacaterol and glycopyrronium in a newly approved pharmaceutical formulation using different signal processing techniques of ratio spectra

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Abdel Ghany, Maha F.; Hussein, Lobna A.; Magdy, Nancy; Yamani, Hend Z.

2016-03-01

Three spectrophotometric methods have been developed and validated for determination of indacaterol (IND) and glycopyrronium (GLY) in their binary mixtures and novel pharmaceutical dosage form. The proposed methods are considered to be the first methods to determine the investigated drugs simultaneously. The developed methods are based on different signal processing techniques of ratio spectra namely; Numerical Differentiation (ND), Savitsky-Golay (SG) and Fourier Transform (FT). The developed methods showed linearity over concentration range 1-30 and 10-35 (μg/mL) for IND and GLY, respectively. The accuracy calculated as percentage recoveries were in the range of 99.00%-100.49% with low value of RSD% (< 1.5%) demonstrating an excellent accuracy of the proposed methods. The developed methods were proved to be specific, sensitive and precise for quality control of the investigated drugs in their pharmaceutical dosage form without the need for any separation process.

Improved regulatory element prediction based on tissue-specific local epigenomic signatures

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

He, Yupeng; Gorkin, David U.; Dickel, Diane E.

Accurate enhancer identification is critical for understanding the spatiotemporal transcriptional regulation during development as well as the functional impact of disease-related noncoding genetic variants. Computational methods have been developed to predict the genomic locations of active enhancers based on histone modifications, but the accuracy and resolution of these methods remain limited. Here, we present an algorithm, regulator y element prediction based on tissue-specific local epigenetic marks (REPTILE), which integrates histone modification and whole-genome cytosine DNA methylation profiles to identify the precise location of enhancers. We tested the ability of REPTILE to identify enhancers previously validated in reporter assays. Compared withmore » existing methods, REPTILE shows consistently superior performance across diverse cell and tissue types, and the enhancer locations are significantly more refined. We show that, by incorporating base-resolution methylation data, REPTILE greatly improves upon current methods for annotation of enhancers across a variety of cell and tissue types.« less

Development of gait segmentation methods for wearable foot pressure sensors.

PubMed

Crea, S; De Rossi, S M M; Donati, M; Reberšek, P; Novak, D; Vitiello, N; Lenzi, T; Podobnik, J; Munih, M; Carrozza, M C

2012-01-01

We present an automated segmentation method based on the analysis of plantar pressure signals recorded from two synchronized wireless foot insoles. Given the strict limits on computational power and power consumption typical of wearable electronic components, our aim is to investigate the capability of a Hidden Markov Model machine-learning method, to detect gait phases with different levels of complexity in the processing of the wearable pressure sensors signals. Therefore three different datasets are developed: raw voltage values, calibrated sensor signals and a calibrated estimation of total ground reaction force and position of the plantar center of pressure. The method is tested on a pool of 5 healthy subjects, through a leave-one-out cross validation. The results show high classification performances achieved using estimated biomechanical variables, being on average the 96%. Calibrated signals and raw voltage values show higher delays and dispersions in phase transition detection, suggesting a lower reliability for online applications.

A Computer-Aided Distinction Method of Borderline Grades of Oral Cancer

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sami, Mustafa M.; Saito, Masahisa; Muramatsu, Shogo; Kikuchi, Hisakazu; Saku, Takashi

We have developed a new computer-aided diagnostic system for differentiating oral borderline malignancies in hematoxylin-eosin stained microscopic images. Epithelial dysplasia and carcinoma in-situ (CIS) of oral mucosa are two different borderline grades similar to each other, and it is difficult to distinguish between them. A new image processing and analysis method has been applied to a variety of histopathological features and shows the possibility for differentiating the oral cancer borderline grades automatically. The method is based on comparing the drop-shape similarity level in a particular manually selected pair of neighboring rete ridges. It was found that the considered similarity level in dysplasia was higher than those in epithelial CIS, of which pathological diagnoses were conventionally made by pathologists. The developed image processing method showed a good promise for the computer-aided pathological assessment of oral borderline malignancy differentiation in clinical practice.

Improved regulatory element prediction based on tissue-specific local epigenomic signatures

DOE PAGES

He, Yupeng; Gorkin, David U.; Dickel, Diane E.; ...

2017-02-13

Accurate enhancer identification is critical for understanding the spatiotemporal transcriptional regulation during development as well as the functional impact of disease-related noncoding genetic variants. Computational methods have been developed to predict the genomic locations of active enhancers based on histone modifications, but the accuracy and resolution of these methods remain limited. Here, we present an algorithm, regulator y element prediction based on tissue-specific local epigenetic marks (REPTILE), which integrates histone modification and whole-genome cytosine DNA methylation profiles to identify the precise location of enhancers. We tested the ability of REPTILE to identify enhancers previously validated in reporter assays. Compared withmore » existing methods, REPTILE shows consistently superior performance across diverse cell and tissue types, and the enhancer locations are significantly more refined. We show that, by incorporating base-resolution methylation data, REPTILE greatly improves upon current methods for annotation of enhancers across a variety of cell and tissue types.« less

Development and Validation of Liquid Chromatographic Method for Estimation of Naringin in Nanoformulation

PubMed Central

Musmade, Kranti P.; Trilok, M.; Dengale, Swapnil J.; Bhat, Krishnamurthy; Reddy, M. S.; Musmade, Prashant B.; Udupa, N.

2014-01-01

A simple, precise, accurate, rapid, and sensitive reverse phase high performance liquid chromatography (RP-HPLC) method with UV detection has been developed and validated for quantification of naringin (NAR) in novel pharmaceutical formulation. NAR is a polyphenolic flavonoid present in most of the citrus plants having variety of pharmacological activities. Method optimization was carried out by considering the various parameters such as effect of pH and column. The analyte was separated by employing a C18 (250.0 × 4.6 mm, 5 μm) column at ambient temperature in isocratic conditions using phosphate buffer pH 3.5: acetonitrile (75 : 25% v/v) as mobile phase pumped at a flow rate of 1.0 mL/min. UV detection was carried out at 282 nm. The developed method was validated according to ICH guidelines Q2(R1). The method was found to be precise and accurate on statistical evaluation with a linearity range of 0.1 to 20.0 μg/mL for NAR. The intra- and interday precision studies showed good reproducibility with coefficients of variation (CV) less than 1.0%. The mean recovery of NAR was found to be 99.33 ± 0.16%. The proposed method was found to be highly accurate, sensitive, and robust. The proposed liquid chromatographic method was successfully employed for the routine analysis of said compound in developed novel nanopharmaceuticals. The presence of excipients did not show any interference on the determination of NAR, indicating method specificity. PMID:26556205

Fourier analysis and signal processing by use of the Moebius inversion formula

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Reed, Irving S.; Yu, Xiaoli; Shih, Ming-Tang; Tufts, Donald W.; Truong, T. K.

1990-01-01

A novel Fourier technique for digital signal processing is developed. This approach to Fourier analysis is based on the number-theoretic method of the Moebius inversion of series. The Fourier transform method developed is shown also to yield the convolution of two signals. A computer simulation shows that this method for finding Fourier coefficients is quite suitable for digital signal processing. It competes with the classical FFT (fast Fourier transform) approach in terms of accuracy, complexity, and speed.

A New Feature-Enhanced Speckle Reduction Method Based on Multiscale Analysis for Ultrasound B-Mode Imaging.

PubMed

Kang, Jinbum; Lee, Jae Young; Yoo, Yangmo

2016-06-01

Effective speckle reduction in ultrasound B-mode imaging is important for enhancing the image quality and improving the accuracy in image analysis and interpretation. In this paper, a new feature-enhanced speckle reduction (FESR) method based on multiscale analysis and feature enhancement filtering is proposed for ultrasound B-mode imaging. In FESR, clinical features (e.g., boundaries and borders of lesions) are selectively emphasized by edge, coherence, and contrast enhancement filtering from fine to coarse scales while simultaneously suppressing speckle development via robust diffusion filtering. In the simulation study, the proposed FESR method showed statistically significant improvements in edge preservation, mean structure similarity, speckle signal-to-noise ratio, and contrast-to-noise ratio (CNR) compared with other speckle reduction methods, e.g., oriented speckle reducing anisotropic diffusion (OSRAD), nonlinear multiscale wavelet diffusion (NMWD), the Laplacian pyramid-based nonlinear diffusion and shock filter (LPNDSF), and the Bayesian nonlocal means filter (OBNLM). Similarly, the FESR method outperformed the OSRAD, NMWD, LPNDSF, and OBNLM methods in terms of CNR, i.e., 10.70 ± 0.06 versus 9.00 ± 0.06, 9.78 ± 0.06, 8.67 ± 0.04, and 9.22 ± 0.06 in the phantom study, respectively. Reconstructed B-mode images that were developed using the five speckle reduction methods were reviewed by three radiologists for evaluation based on each radiologist's diagnostic preferences. All three radiologists showed a significant preference for the abdominal liver images obtained using the FESR methods in terms of conspicuity, margin sharpness, artificiality, and contrast, p<0.0001. For the kidney and thyroid images, the FESR method showed similar improvement over other methods. However, the FESR method did not show statistically significant improvement compared with the OBNLM method in margin sharpness for the kidney and thyroid images. These results demonstrate that the proposed FESR method can improve the image quality of ultrasound B-mode imaging by enhancing the visualization of lesion features while effectively suppressing speckle noise.

Development of taste sensing system using inorganic membrane

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kojima, Yohichiro; Hasegawa, Yuki

2011-09-01

We developed a novel taste sensor for liquid and verified its effectiveness using coffee. We fabricated an inorganic metal oxide membrane liquid sensor using the laser ablation method. The sensor shows a sufficient sensitivity for electrolyte solutions, while it shows a relatively low response for non-electrolyte solutions. We differentiated and identified five brands of commercially available coffee using the sensor.

Rapid Development and Validation of Improved Reversed-Phase High-performance Liquid Chromatography Method for the Quantification of Mangiferin, a Polyphenol Xanthone Glycoside in Mangifera indica

PubMed Central

Naveen, P.; Lingaraju, H. B.; Prasad, K. Shyam

2017-01-01

Mangiferin, a polyphenolic xanthone glycoside from Mangifera indica, is used as traditional medicine for the treatment of numerous diseases. The present study was aimed to develop and validate a reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography (RP-HPLC) method for the quantification of mangiferin from the bark extract of M. indica. RP-HPLC analysis was performed by isocratic elution with a low-pressure gradient using 0.1% formic acid: acetonitrile (87:13) as a mobile phase with a flow rate of 1.5 ml/min. The separation was done at 26°C using a Kinetex XB-C18 column as stationary phase and the detection wavelength at 256 nm. The proposed method was validated for linearity, precision, accuracy, limit of detection, limit of quantification, and robustness by the International Conference on Harmonisation guidelines. In linearity, the excellent correlation coefficient more than 0.999 indicated good fitting of the curve and also good linearity. The intra- and inter-day precision showed < 1% of relative standard deviation of peak area indicated high reliability and reproducibility of the method. The recovery values at three different levels (50%, 100%, and 150%) of spiked samples were found to be 100.47, 100.89, and 100.99, respectively, and low standard deviation value < 1% shows high accuracy of the method. In robustness, the results remain unaffected by small variation in the analytical parameters, which shows the robustness of the method. Liquid chromatography–mass spectrometry analysis confirmed the presence of mangiferin with M/Z value of 421. The assay developed by HPLC method is a simple, rapid, and reliable for the determination of mangiferin from M. indica. SUMMARY The present study was intended to develop and validate an RP-HPLC method for the quantification of mangiferin from the bark extract of M. indica. The developed method was validated for linearity, precision, accuracy, limit of detection, limit of quantification and robustness by International Conference on Harmonization guidelines. This study proved that the developed assay by HPLC method is a simple, rapid and reliable for the quantification of the mangiferin from M. indica. Abbreviations Used: M. indica: Mangifera indica, RP-HPLC: Reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography, M/Z: Mass to charge ratio, ICH: International conference on harmonization, % RSD: Percentage of relative standard deviation, ppm: Parts per million, LOD: Limit of detection, LOQ: Limit of quantification. PMID:28539748

Rapid Development and Validation of Improved Reversed-Phase High-performance Liquid Chromatography Method for the Quantification of Mangiferin, a Polyphenol Xanthone Glycoside in Mangifera indica.

PubMed

Naveen, P; Lingaraju, H B; Prasad, K Shyam

2017-01-01

Mangiferin, a polyphenolic xanthone glycoside from Mangifera indica , is used as traditional medicine for the treatment of numerous diseases. The present study was aimed to develop and validate a reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography (RP-HPLC) method for the quantification of mangiferin from the bark extract of M. indica . RP-HPLC analysis was performed by isocratic elution with a low-pressure gradient using 0.1% formic acid: acetonitrile (87:13) as a mobile phase with a flow rate of 1.5 ml/min. The separation was done at 26°C using a Kinetex XB-C18 column as stationary phase and the detection wavelength at 256 nm. The proposed method was validated for linearity, precision, accuracy, limit of detection, limit of quantification, and robustness by the International Conference on Harmonisation guidelines. In linearity, the excellent correlation coefficient more than 0.999 indicated good fitting of the curve and also good linearity. The intra- and inter-day precision showed < 1% of relative standard deviation of peak area indicated high reliability and reproducibility of the method. The recovery values at three different levels (50%, 100%, and 150%) of spiked samples were found to be 100.47, 100.89, and 100.99, respectively, and low standard deviation value < 1% shows high accuracy of the method. In robustness, the results remain unaffected by small variation in the analytical parameters, which shows the robustness of the method. Liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry analysis confirmed the presence of mangiferin with M/Z value of 421. The assay developed by HPLC method is a simple, rapid, and reliable for the determination of mangiferin from M. indica . The present study was intended to develop and validate an RP-HPLC method for the quantification of mangiferin from the bark extract of M. indica . The developed method was validated for linearity, precision, accuracy, limit of detection, limit of quantification and robustness by International Conference on Harmonization guidelines. This study proved that the developed assay by HPLC method is a simple, rapid and reliable for the quantification of the mangiferin from M. indica . Abbreviations Used: M. indica : Mangifera indica , RP-HPLC: Reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography, M/Z: Mass to charge ratio, ICH: International conference on harmonization, % RSD: Percentage of relative standard deviation, ppm: Parts per million, LOD: Limit of detection, LOQ: Limit of quantification.

Development and validation of a stability-indicating LC method for the assay of lodenafil carbonate in tablets.

PubMed

Codevilla, Cristiane Franco; Lemos, Alice Machado; Delgado, Leila Schreiner; Rolim, Clarice Madalena Bueno; Adams, Andréa Inês Horn; Bergold, Ana Maria

2011-08-01

A stability-indicating liquid chromatographic method has been developed for the quantitative determination of lodenafil carbonate in tablets. The method employs a Synergi Fusion C18 column (250 × 4.6 mm, i.d., 4 μm particle size), with mobile phase consisting of a mixture of methanol-acetic acid 0.1% pH 4.0 (65:35, v/v) and UV detection at 290 nm, using a photodiode array detector. A linear response (r = 0.9999) was observed in the range of 10-80 μg/mL. The method showed good recoveries (average 100.3%) and also intra and inter-day precision (RSD < 2.0%). Validation parameters as specificity and robustness were also determined. Specificity analysis showed that no impurities or degradation products were co-eluting with the lodenafil carbonate peak. The method was found to be stability-indicating and due to its simplicity and accuracy can be applied for routine quality control analysis of lodenafil carbonate in tablets.

Development of a multiplex PCR-based rapid typing method for enterohemorrhagic Escherichia coli O157 strains.

PubMed

Ooka, Tadasuke; Terajima, Jun; Kusumoto, Masahiro; Iguchi, Atsushi; Kurokawa, Ken; Ogura, Yoshitoshi; Asadulghani, Md; Nakayama, Keisuke; Murase, Kazunori; Ohnishi, Makoto; Iyoda, Sunao; Watanabe, Haruo; Hayashi, Tetsuya

2009-09-01

Enterohemorrhagic Escherichia coli O157 (EHEC O157) is a food-borne pathogen that has raised worldwide public health concern. The development of simple and rapid strain-typing methods is crucial for the rapid detection and surveillance of EHEC O157 outbreaks. In the present study, we developed a multiplex PCR-based strain-typing method for EHEC O157, which is based on the variability in genomic location of IS629 among EHEC O157 strains. This method is very simple, in that the procedures are completed within 2 h, the analysis can be performed without the need for special equipment or techniques (requiring only conventional PCR and agarose gel electrophoresis systems), the results can easily be transformed into digital data, and the genes for the major virulence markers of EHEC O157 (the stx(1), stx(2), and eae genes) can be detected simultaneously. Using this method, 201 EHEC O157 strains showing different XbaI digestion patterns in pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) analysis were classified into 127 types, and outbreak-related strains showed identical or highly similar banding patterns. Although this method is less discriminatory than PFGE, it may be useful as a primary screening tool for EHEC O157 outbreaks.

A software tool for determination of breast cancer treatment methods using data mining approach.

PubMed

Cakır, Abdülkadir; Demirel, Burçin

2011-12-01

In this work, breast cancer treatment methods are determined using data mining. For this purpose, software is developed to help to oncology doctor for the suggestion of application of the treatment methods about breast cancer patients. 462 breast cancer patient data, obtained from Ankara Oncology Hospital, are used to determine treatment methods for new patients. This dataset is processed with Weka data mining tool. Classification algorithms are applied one by one for this dataset and results are compared to find proper treatment method. Developed software program called as "Treatment Assistant" uses different algorithms (IB1, Multilayer Perception and Decision Table) to find out which one is giving better result for each attribute to predict and by using Java Net beans interface. Treatment methods are determined for the post surgical operation of breast cancer patients using this developed software tool. At modeling step of data mining process, different Weka algorithms are used for output attributes. For hormonotherapy output IB1, for tamoxifen and radiotherapy outputs Multilayer Perceptron and for the chemotherapy output decision table algorithm shows best accuracy performance compare to each other. In conclusion, this work shows that data mining approach can be a useful tool for medical applications particularly at the treatment decision step. Data mining helps to the doctor to decide in a short time.

A Bayes linear Bayes method for estimation of correlated event rates.

PubMed

Quigley, John; Wilson, Kevin J; Walls, Lesley; Bedford, Tim

2013-12-01

Typically, full Bayesian estimation of correlated event rates can be computationally challenging since estimators are intractable. When estimation of event rates represents one activity within a larger modeling process, there is an incentive to develop more efficient inference than provided by a full Bayesian model. We develop a new subjective inference method for correlated event rates based on a Bayes linear Bayes model under the assumption that events are generated from a homogeneous Poisson process. To reduce the elicitation burden we introduce homogenization factors to the model and, as an alternative to a subjective prior, an empirical method using the method of moments is developed. Inference under the new method is compared against estimates obtained under a full Bayesian model, which takes a multivariate gamma prior, where the predictive and posterior distributions are derived in terms of well-known functions. The mathematical properties of both models are presented. A simulation study shows that the Bayes linear Bayes inference method and the full Bayesian model provide equally reliable estimates. An illustrative example, motivated by a problem of estimating correlated event rates across different users in a simple supply chain, shows how ignoring the correlation leads to biased estimation of event rates. © 2013 Society for Risk Analysis.

Comparison of methods for developing the dynamics of rigid-body systems

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Ju, M. S.; Mansour, J. M.

1989-01-01

Several approaches for developing the equations of motion for a three-degree-of-freedom PUMA robot were compared on the basis of computational efficiency (i.e., the number of additions, subtractions, multiplications, and divisions). Of particular interest was the investigation of the use of computer algebra as a tool for developing the equations of motion. Three approaches were implemented algebraically: Lagrange's method, Kane's method, and Wittenburg's method. Each formulation was developed in absolute and relative coordinates. These six cases were compared to each other and to a recursive numerical formulation. The results showed that all of the formulations implemented algebraically required fewer calculations than the recursive numerical algorithm. The algebraic formulations required fewer calculations in absolute coordinates than in relative coordinates. Each of the algebraic formulations could be simplified, using patterns from Kane's method, to yield the same number of calculations in a given coordinate system.

Improvement of Alternative Crop Phenology Detection Algorithms using MODIS NDVI Time Series Data in US Corn Belt Region

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lee, J.; Kang, S.; Seo, B.; Lee, K.

2017-12-01

Predicting crop phenology is important for understanding of crop development and growth processes and improving the accuracy of crop model. Remote sensing offers a feasible tool for monitoring spatio-temporal patterns of crop phenology in region and continental scales. Various methods have been developed to determine the timing of crop phenological stages using spectral vegetation indices (i.e. NDVI and EVI) derived from satellite data. In our study, it was compared four alternative detection methods to identify crop phenological stages (i.e. the emergence and harvesting date) using high quality NDVI time series data derived from MODIS. Also we investigated factors associated with crop development rate. Temperature and photoperiod are the two main factors which would influence the crop's growth pattern expressed in the VI data. Only the effect of temperature on crop development rate was considered. The temperature response function in the Wang-Engel (WE) model was used, which simulates crop development using nonlinear models with response functions that range from zero to one. It has attempted at the state level over 14 years (2003-2016) in Iowa and Illinois state of USA, where the estimated phenology date by using four methods for both corn and soybean. Weekly crop progress reports produced by the USDA NASS were used to validate phenology detection algorithms effected by temperature. All methods showed substantial uncertainty but the threshold method showed relatively better agreement with the State-level data for soybean phenology.

A comparison of juice extraction methods in the pungency measurement of onion bulbs.

PubMed

Yoo, Kil Sun; Lee, Eun Jin; Hamilton, Brian K; Patil, Bhimanagouda S

2016-02-01

Onion pungency is estimated by measuring the pyruvic acid content in juice extracted from fresh tissues. We compared pyruvic acid content and its variation in the juices extracted by the pressing, maceration, blending with no water, or blending with water (blend/water) methods. There were considerable differences in the pyruvic acid content and coefficient of variation (CV) among these methods, and there was an interaction between the onion cultivars and the juice extraction methods. The pressing method showed over 30% CV in the quartered or composite samples. The blend/water method showed the greatest pyruvic acid content in the shortday-type ('TG1015Y' and 'Texas Early White') onions, while the pressing method showed the greatest pyruvic acid content in the longday-type onions. The blend/water method, which gave ratios between 1:1 and 1:4 (w/w), showed the same pyruvic acid content. The blending (no water) method had the highest correlation, followed by the maceration method. The lowest correlations were found with the pressing method and the blend/water method. Complete homogenisation of tissues with 1:1 or greater ratios of water was necessary for the maximum consistency and full development of the pyruvic acid reaction for onion pungency measurement. © 2015 Society of Chemical Industry.

Maximum-likelihood techniques for joint segmentation-classification of multispectral chromosome images.

PubMed

Schwartzkopf, Wade C; Bovik, Alan C; Evans, Brian L

2005-12-01

Traditional chromosome imaging has been limited to grayscale images, but recently a 5-fluorophore combinatorial labeling technique (M-FISH) was developed wherein each class of chromosomes binds with a different combination of fluorophores. This results in a multispectral image, where each class of chromosomes has distinct spectral components. In this paper, we develop new methods for automatic chromosome identification by exploiting the multispectral information in M-FISH chromosome images and by jointly performing chromosome segmentation and classification. We (1) develop a maximum-likelihood hypothesis test that uses multispectral information, together with conventional criteria, to select the best segmentation possibility; (2) use this likelihood function to combine chromosome segmentation and classification into a robust chromosome identification system; and (3) show that the proposed likelihood function can also be used as a reliable indicator of errors in segmentation, errors in classification, and chromosome anomalies, which can be indicators of radiation damage, cancer, and a wide variety of inherited diseases. We show that the proposed multispectral joint segmentation-classification method outperforms past grayscale segmentation methods when decomposing touching chromosomes. We also show that it outperforms past M-FISH classification techniques that do not use segmentation information.

A comparative study of first-derivative spectrophotometry and column high-performance liquid chromatography applied to the determination of repaglinide in tablets and for dissolution testing.

PubMed

AlKhalidi, Bashar A; Shtaiwi, Majed; AlKhatib, Hatim S; Mohammad, Mohammad; Bustanji, Yasser

2008-01-01

A fast and reliable method for the determination of repaglinide is highly desirable to support formulation screening and quality control. A first-derivative UV spectroscopic method was developed for the determination of repaglinide in tablet dosage form and for dissolution testing. First-derivative UV absorbance was measured at 253 nm. The developed method was validated for linearity, accuracy, precision, limit of detection (LOD), and limit of quantitation (LOQ) in comparison to the U.S. Pharmacopeia (USP) column high-performance liquid chromatographic (HPLC) method. The first-derivative UV spectrophotometric method showed excellent linearity [correlation coefficient (r) = 0.9999] in the concentration range of 1-35 microg/mL and precision (relative standard deviation < 1.5%). The LOD and LOQ were 0.23 and 0.72 microg/mL, respectively, and good recoveries were achieved (98-101.8%). Statistical comparison of results of the first-derivative UV spectrophotometric and the USP HPLC methods using the t-test showed that there was no significant difference between the 2 methods. Additionally, the method was successfully used for the dissolution test of repaglinide and was found to be reliable, simple, fast, and inexpensive.

Optimal Stratification of Item Pools in a-Stratified Computerized Adaptive Testing.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Chang, Hua-Hua; van der Linden, Wim J.

2003-01-01

Developed a method based on 0-1 linear programming to stratify an item pool optimally for use in alpha-stratified adaptive testing. Applied the method to a previous item pool from the computerized adaptive test of the Graduate Record Examinations. Results show the new method performs well in practical situations. (SLD)

Probabilistic Parameter Uncertainty Analysis of Single Input Single Output Control Systems

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Smith, Brett A.; Kenny, Sean P.; Crespo, Luis G.

2005-01-01

The current standards for handling uncertainty in control systems use interval bounds for definition of the uncertain parameters. This approach gives no information about the likelihood of system performance, but simply gives the response bounds. When used in design, current methods of m-analysis and can lead to overly conservative controller design. With these methods, worst case conditions are weighted equally with the most likely conditions. This research explores a unique approach for probabilistic analysis of control systems. Current reliability methods are examined showing the strong areas of each in handling probability. A hybrid method is developed using these reliability tools for efficiently propagating probabilistic uncertainty through classical control analysis problems. The method developed is applied to classical response analysis as well as analysis methods that explore the effects of the uncertain parameters on stability and performance metrics. The benefits of using this hybrid approach for calculating the mean and variance of responses cumulative distribution functions are shown. Results of the probabilistic analysis of a missile pitch control system, and a non-collocated mass spring system, show the added information provided by this hybrid analysis.

Self-organization of developing embryo using scale-invariant approach

PubMed Central

2011-01-01

Background Self-organization is a fundamental feature of living organisms at all hierarchical levels from molecule to organ. It has also been documented in developing embryos. Methods In this study, a scale-invariant power law (SIPL) method has been used to study self-organization in developing embryos. The SIPL coefficient was calculated using a centro-axial skew symmetrical matrix (CSSM) generated by entering the components of the Cartesian coordinates; for each component, one CSSM was generated. A basic square matrix (BSM) was constructed and the determinant was calculated in order to estimate the SIPL coefficient. This was applied to developing C. elegans during early stages of embryogenesis. The power law property of the method was evaluated using the straight line and Koch curve and the results were consistent with fractal dimensions (fd). Diffusion-limited aggregation (DLA) was used to validate the SIPL method. Results and conclusion The fractal dimensions of both the straight line and Koch curve showed consistency with the SIPL coefficients, which indicated the power law behavior of the SIPL method. The results showed that the ABp sublineage had a higher SIPL coefficient than EMS, indicating that ABp is more organized than EMS. The fd determined using DLA was higher in ABp than in EMS and its value was consistent with type 1 cluster formation, while that in EMS was consistent with type 2. PMID:21635789

An analysis of methods used to synthesize evidence and grade recommendations in food-based dietary guidelines

PubMed Central

Blake, Phillipa; Durão, Solange; Naude, Celeste E; Bero, Lisa

2018-01-01

Abstract Evidence-informed guideline development methods underpinned by systematic reviews ensure that guidelines are transparently developed, free from overt bias, and based on the best available evidence. Only recently has the nutrition field begun using these methods to develop public health nutrition guidelines. Given the importance of following an evidence-informed approach and recent advances in related methods, this study sought to describe the methods used to synthesize evidence, rate evidence quality, grade recommendations, and manage conflicts of interest (COIs) in national food-based dietary guidelines (FBDGs). The Food and Agriculture Organization’s FBDGs database was searched to identify the latest versions of FBDGs published from 2010 onward. Relevant data from 32 FBDGs were extracted, and the findings are presented narratively. This study shows that despite advances in evidence-informed methods for developing dietary guidelines, there are variations and deficiencies in methods used to review evidence, rate evidence quality, and grade recommendations. Dietary guidelines should follow systematic and transparent methods and be informed by the best available evidence, while considering important contextual factors and managing conflicts of interest. PMID:29425371

A simple and cost-effective method, as an appropriate alternative for visible spectrophotometry: development of a dopamine biosensor.

PubMed

Abbaspour, Abdolkarim; Khajehzadeh, Abdolreza; Ghaffarinejad, Ali

2009-08-01

In this study, a new, simple, fast and inexpensive method as an alternative to visible spectrophotometry is developed. In this method the cells containing the sample solution were scanned with a scanner, then the color of each cell was analyzed with software written in visual basic (VB 6) media to red, green and blue values. The cells were built by creating holes in the Plexiglas sheet. The dimensions of identical cells were examined by Cr (III) solution with known concentrations. The validity of this new method was studied by determination of dopamine (DA) without using any other reagent. The parameters which affect the system were optimized. The comparison between the current and traditional UV-Vis spectrophotometry methods was studied and the results revealed similar trends in both methods. The developed method was successfully applied to the determination of dopamine in serum and urine without using any pretreatment. Finally comparing the results obtained in the developed method showed that microwave irradiation of the solution can decrease the experimental time, increase sensitivity and improve the limit of detection.

The Evolution of Nondestructive Evaluation Methods for the Space Shuttle External Tank Thermal Protection System

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Walker, James L.; Richter, Joel D.

2006-01-01

Three nondestructive evaluation methods are being developed to identify defects in the foam thermal protection system (TPS) of the Space Shuttle External Tank (ET). Shearography is being developed to identify shallow delaminations, shallow voids and crush damage in the foam while terahertz imaging and backscatter radiography are being developed to identify voids and cracks in thick foam regions. The basic theory of operation along with factors affecting the results of these methods will be described. Also, the evolution of these methods from lab tools to implementation on the ET will be discussed. Results from both test panels and flight tank inspections will be provided to show the range in defect sizes and types that can be readily detected.

Developing a blended learning program for nursing and midwifery students in Iran: Process and preliminary outcomes.

PubMed

Zolfaghari, Mitra; Negarandeh, Reza; Eybpoosh, Sana

2013-01-01

We aimed to develop and evaluate outcomes of a blended learning (BL) program for educating nursing and midwifery students of Tehran university of medical sciences (Tehran, Iran). This was a participatory action research project. After designing BL website, providing technological infrastructures, and holding preparatory workshops, 22 blended courses were designed. BL method was implemented for one semester. Students' grade point average, participation with courses, and opinion about educational methods, and instructors' attitude and opinion about educational methods were assessed. Most students (n = 181; 72.1%) and 17 instructors (28.3%) consented to participate in the study. Students' grade point average and participation was significantly higher in BL rather than in face-to-face method (P < 0.0001). Most instructors (n = 11, 65%) had positive attitude toward BL method. Textual analysis of participants' opinion showed that most students preferred BL method and felt more independent in this method. However, they complained about lack of easy access to Internet and weakness in computer skills. Instructors admired the flexibility and incentives that had been provided in the program. However, some of them complained about the time-consuming nature of BL course design. The program showed positive effect on students' learning outcomes and participation. The strengths and weaknesses of the program should be considered for development of next phase of the project. Lessons learned in this phase might be helpful for decision makers who tend to develop similar programs in Iran. Motivational and communicational issues and users' IT skills should be addressed in every BL program.

Spectrophotometric method development and validation for determination of chlorpheniramine maleate in bulk and controlled release tablets.

PubMed

Ashfaq, Maria; Sial, Ali Akber; Bushra, Rabia; Rehman, Atta-Ur; Baig, Mirza Tasawur; Huma, Ambreen; Ahmed, Maryam

2018-01-01

Spectrophotometric technique is considered to be the simplest and operator friendly among other available analytical methods for pharmaceutical analysis. The objective of the study was to develop a precise, accurate and rapid UV-spectrophotometric method for the estimation of chlorpheniramine maleate (CPM) in pure and solid pharmaceutical formulation. Drug absorption was measured in various solvent systems including 0.1N HCl (pH 1.2), acetate buffer (pH 4.5), phosphate buffer (pH 6.8) and distil water (pH 7.0). Method validation was performed as per official guidelines of ICH, 2005. High drug absorption was observed in 0.1N HCl medium with λ max of 261nm. The drug showed the good linearity from 20 to 60μg/mL solution concentration with the correlation coefficient linear regression equation Y= 0.1853 X + 0.1098 presenting R 2 value of 0.9998. The method accuracy was evaluated by the percent drug recovery, presents more than 99% drug recovery at three different levels assessed. The % RSD value <1 was computed for inter and intraday analysis indicating the high accuracy and precision of the developed technique. The developed method is robust because it shows no any significant variation in with minute changes. The LOD and LOQ values were assessed to be 2.2μg/mL and 6.6μg/mL respectively. The investigated method proved its sensitivity, precision and accuracy hence could be successfully used to estimate the CPM content in bulk and pharmaceutical matrix tablets.

A method for examining productivity of grammatical morphology in children with and without specific language impairment.

PubMed

Miller, Carol A; Deevy, Patricia

2003-10-01

Children with specific language impairment (SLI) show inconsistent use of grammatical morphology. Children who are developing language typically also show a period during which they produce grammatical morphemes inconsistently. Various theories claim that both young typically developing children and children with SLI achieve correct production through memorization of some inflected forms (M. Gopnik, 1997; M. Tomasello, 2000a, 2000b). Adapting a method introduced by C. Miller and L. Leonard (1998), the authors investigated the use of present tense third singular -s by 24 typically developing preschoolers and 36 preschoolers with SLI. Each group was divided into 2 mean length of utterance (MLU) levels. Group and individual data provided little evidence that memorization could explain the correct productions of the third singular morpheme for either children with SLI or typically developing children, and there was no difference between children with higher and lower MLUs.

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

Kin, Tadahiro; Oshima, Masumi; Furutaka, Kazuyoshi

We are developing a new method to identify nuclear levels based on neutron capture reactions, named 'TELLA-2.' Measured data of prompt gamma rays from {sup 33}S(n,{gamma}){sup 34}S was used to improve the method. We will show how we obtain candidates of nuclear levels.

Development of ocular viscosity characterization method.

PubMed

Shu-Hao Lu; Guo-Zhen Chen; Leung, Stanley Y Y; Lam, David C C

2016-08-01

Glaucoma is the second leading cause for blindness. Irreversible and progressive optic nerve damage results when the intraocular pressure (IOP) exceeds 21 mmHg. The elevated IOP is attributed to blocked fluid drainage from the eye. Methods to measure the IOP are widely available, but methods to measure the viscous response to blocked drainage has yet been developed. An indentation method to characterize the ocular flow is developed in this study. Analysis of the load-relaxation data from indentation tests on drainage-controlled porcine eyes showed that the blocked drainage is correlated with increases in ocular viscosity. Successful correlation of the ocular viscosity with drainage suggests that ocular viscosity maybe further developed as a new diagnostic parameter for assessment of normal tension glaucoma where nerve damage occurs without noticeable IOP elevation; and as a diagnostic parameter complimentary to conventional IOP in conventional diagnosis.

Integration of optical measurement methods with flight parameter measurement systems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kopecki, Grzegorz; Rzucidlo, Pawel

2016-05-01

During the AIM (advanced in-flight measurement techniques) and AIM2 projects, innovative modern techniques were developed. The purpose of the AIM project was to develop optical measurement techniques dedicated for flight tests. Such methods give information about aircraft elements deformation, thermal loads or pressure distribution, etc. In AIM2 the development of optical methods for flight testing was continued. In particular, this project aimed at the development of methods that could be easily applied in flight tests in an industrial setting. Another equally important task was to guarantee the synchronization of the classical measuring system with cameras. The PW-6U glider used in flight tests was provided by the Rzeszów University of Technology. The glider had all the equipment necessary for testing the IPCT (image pattern correlation technique) and IRT (infrared thermometry) methods. Additionally, equipment adequate for the measurement of typical flight parameters, registration and analysis has been developed. This article describes the designed system, as well as presenting the system’s application during flight tests. Additionally, the results obtained in flight tests show certain limitations of the IRT method as applied.

On-line vs off-line electrical conductivity characterization. Polycarbonate composites developed with multiwalled carbon nanotubes by compounding technology

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Llorens-Chiralt, R.; Weiss, P.; Mikonsaari, I.

2014-05-01

Material characterization is one of the key steps when conductive polymers are developed. The dispersion of carbon nanotubes (CNTs) in a polymeric matrix using melt mixing influence final composite properties. The compounding becomes trial and error using a huge amount of materials, spending time and money to obtain competitive composites. Traditional methods to carry out electrical conductivity characterization include compression and injection molding. Both methods need extra equipments and moulds to obtain standard bars. This study aims to investigate the accuracy of the data obtained from absolute resistance recorded during the melt compounding, using an on-line setup developed by our group, and to correlate these values with off-line characterization and processing parameters (screw/barrel configuration, throughput, screw speed, temperature profile and CNTs percentage). Compounds developed with different percentages of multi walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) and polycarbonate has been characterized during and after extrusion. Measurements, on-line resistance and off-line resistivity, showed parallel response and reproducibility, confirming method validity. The significance of the results obtained stems from the fact that we are able to measure on-line resistance and to change compounding parameters during production to achieve reference values reducing production/testing cost and ensuring material quality. Also, this method removes errors which can be found in test bars development, showing better correlation with compounding parameters.

Monitoring biodiesel reactions of soybean oil and sunflower oil using ultrasonic parameters

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Figueiredo, M. K. K.; Silva, C. E. R.; Alvarenga, A. V.; Costa-Félix, R. P. B.

2015-01-01

Biodiesel is an innovation that attempts to substitute diesel oil with biomass. The aim of this paper is to show the development of a real-time method to monitor transesterification reactions by using low-power ultrasound and pulse/echo techniques. The results showed that it is possible to identify different events during the transesterification process by using the proposed parameters, showing that the proposed method is a feasible way to monitor the reactions of biodiesel during its fabrication, in real time, and with relatively low- cost equipment.

Newton's method

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

More, J. J.; Sorensen, D. C.

1982-02-01

Newton's method plays a central role in the development of numerical techniques for optimization. In fact, most of the current practical methods for optimization can be viewed as variations on Newton's method. It is therefore important to understand Newton's method as an algorithm in its own right and as a key introduction to the most recent ideas in this area. One of the aims of this expository paper is to present and analyze two main approaches to Newton's method for unconstrained minimization: the line search approach and the trust region approach. The other aim is to present some of themore » recent developments in the optimization field which are related to Newton's method. In particular, we explore several variations on Newton's method which are appropriate for large scale problems, and we also show how quasi-Newton methods can be derived quite naturally from Newton's method.« less

Development of NIRS method for quality control of drug combination artesunate–azithromycin for the treatment of severe malaria

PubMed Central

Boyer, Chantal; Gaudin, Karen; Kauss, Tina; Gaubert, Alexandra; Boudis, Abdelhakim; Verschelden, Justine; Franc, Mickaël; Roussille, Julie; Boucher, Jacques; Olliaro, Piero; White, Nicholas J.; Millet, Pascal; Dubost, Jean-Pierre

2012-01-01

Near infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) methods were developed for the determination of analytical content of an antimalarial-antibiotic (artesunate and azithromycin) co-formulation in hard gelatin capsule (HGC). The NIRS consists of pre-processing treatment of spectra (raw spectra and first-derivation of two spectral zones), a unique principal component analysis model to ensure the specificity and then two partial least-squares regression models for the determination content of each active pharmaceutical ingredient. The NIRS methods were developed and validated with no reference method, since the manufacturing process of HGC is basically mixed excipients with active pharmaceutical ingredients. The accuracy profiles showed β-expectation tolerance limits within the acceptance limits (±5%). The analytical control approach performed by reversed phase (HPLC) required two different methods involving two different preparation and chromatographic methods. NIRS offers advantages in terms of lower costs of equipment and procedures, time saving, environmentally friendly. PMID:22579599

A comparative study of the effectiveness of "Star Show" vs. "Participatory Oriented Planetarium" lessons in a middle school Starlab setting

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Platco, Nicholas L.., Jr.

2005-06-01

The purpose of this study was to compare the effectiveness of "Star Show" and the "Participatory Oriented Planetarium" (POP) instructional programs in a middle school Starlab setting. The Star Show is a planetarium program that relies heavily on an audiovisual/lecture format to impart information, while the POP method of instruction is an inquiry, activity-based approach to teaching astronomy. All Star Show and POP lessons were conducted in a Starlab planetarium. This study examined the effectiveness of the two methods on the attainment of astronomy knowledge, changes in student attitudes toward astronomy, retention of knowledge, and gender differences. A pilot study (N = 69) was conducted at a middle school near King of Prussia, Pennsylvania. The main study (N = 295) was conducted at a middle school near Reading, Pennsylvania. All students were pretested and posttested in both studies. The testing instruments included a 60-question paper-and-pencil content test and a 22-item Likert-style science attitude test. The content test was judged to be valid and reliable by a panel of science educators. The attitude test is a field-tested attitude survey developed by Michael Zeilik. The topics included in the Star Show and POP lessons were seasons, moon phases, eclipses, stars, and constellations. The Star Show programs used in this study are professionally prepared planetarium programs from Jeff Bowen Productions. Several planetarium educators who have been involved with planetarium training workshops throughout the United States developed the POP lessons used in this study. The Star Show was clearly the more effective method for improving student knowledge in both the pilot and main studies. Both methods were equally effective for improving student attitudes toward astronomy. The POP method was the more effective method of instruction when retention of knowledge was examined four weeks after the treatments ended. Gender did not have any significant effect on this study. In light of the results of this study, it appears that both Star Show and POP methods of instruction should continue to play important roles in planetarium education. A combination of the two methods is clearly the ideal solution when teaching astronomy to middle school students in a Starlab setting.

An Affirmative Approach to Vocabulary Development.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Shioji, Jean

Methods for second language vocabulary development in the intermediate and advanced level English classroom are described. Rather than require students to memorize lists of words, the teacher should give students a better understanding of the process of vocabulary development by showing them how to refine their use of new lexical items and implant…

Kinesthetic Strategy of Diagnosis and Support To Aid Children's Development.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Krazon, Katarzyna

2003-01-01

Presents music-enhanced kinesthetic visualization therapeutic methods to assist young children in coping with problems and to enhance their development. Highlights results from 9 therapy sessions over 2 months with 6 third graders that illustrate positive growth in emotional, social, and motor development. Shows how organized intersemiotic motoric…

A novel monodisperse SiO2@C-dot for the rapid and facile identification of latent fingermarks using self-quenching resistant solid-state fluorescence.

PubMed

Peng, Di; Liu, Xiang; Huang, Mengjun; Wang, Dan; Liu, Renlong

2018-04-24

Solid powder fluorescence shows great potential for application in medicine, biology, and engineering, especially in the identification of latent fingermarks in forensic science. However, conventional developing methods suffer from some drawbacks, such as low contrast, low sensitivity, low selectivity, and high toxicity. To conquer these challenges, novel SiO2@C-dot microspheres were prepared via a facile one-pot hydrothermal method by using citric acid as a carbon source and aminosilane as a nitrogen source. Interestingly, the results showed that the resultant powders possess good monodispersity, high fluorescence emission, and resistance to self-quenching. Additionally, the mechanism for the solid-state fluorescence of SiO2@C-dot compounds was also investigated. More importantly, the fingermarks on various surfaces, including transparent glasses, ceramic tiles, transparent plastics, aluminum alloys, plastic cards, painted woods, artificial leathers, and Chinese paper money, developed by the powders have indicated well-defined papillary ridges under a 365 nm UV lamp. The novel strategy of using monodisperse SiO2@C-dot microspheres as a fluorescent label for developing latent fingermarks showed greater advantages compared to conventional methods, which was also demonstrated using the automatic fingerprint identification system. It is simple, rapid, low-cost, nontoxic, and effective, and is expected to be a promising alternative for the development of latent fingerprints in forensic science.

Rapid high performance liquid chromatography method development with high prediction accuracy, using 5cm long narrow bore columns packed with sub-2microm particles and Design Space computer modeling.

PubMed

Fekete, Szabolcs; Fekete, Jeno; Molnár, Imre; Ganzler, Katalin

2009-11-06

Many different strategies of reversed phase high performance liquid chromatographic (RP-HPLC) method development are used today. This paper describes a strategy for the systematic development of ultrahigh-pressure liquid chromatographic (UHPLC or UPLC) methods using 5cmx2.1mm columns packed with sub-2microm particles and computer simulation (DryLab((R)) package). Data for the accuracy of computer modeling in the Design Space under ultrahigh-pressure conditions are reported. An acceptable accuracy for these predictions of the computer models is presented. This work illustrates a method development strategy, focusing on time reduction up to a factor 3-5, compared to the conventional HPLC method development and exhibits parts of the Design Space elaboration as requested by the FDA and ICH Q8R1. Furthermore this paper demonstrates the accuracy of retention time prediction at elevated pressure (enhanced flow-rate) and shows that the computer-assisted simulation can be applied with sufficient precision for UHPLC applications (p>400bar). Examples of fast and effective method development in pharmaceutical analysis, both for gradient and isocratic separations are presented.

Rapid multislice T1 mapping of mouse myocardium: Application to quantification of manganese uptake in α-Dystrobrevin knockout mice.

PubMed

Jiang, Kai; Li, Wen; Li, Wei; Jiao, Sen; Castel, Laurie; Van Wagoner, David R; Yu, Xin

2015-11-01

The aim of this study was to develop a rapid, multislice cardiac T1 mapping method in mice and to apply the method to quantify manganese (Mn(2+)) uptake in a mouse model with altered Ca(2+) channel activity. An electrocardiography-triggered multislice saturation-recovery Look-Locker method was developed and validated both in vitro and in vivo. A two-dose study was performed to investigate the kinetics of T1 shortening, Mn(2+) relaxivity in myocardium, and the impact of Mn(2+) on cardiac function. The sensitivity of Mn(2+)-enhanced MRI in detecting subtle changes in altered Ca(2+) channel activity was evaluated in a mouse model with α-dystrobrevin knockout. Validation studies showed strong agreement between the current method and an established method. High Mn(2+) dose led to significantly accelerated T1 shortening. Heart rate decreased during Mn(2+) infusion, while ejection ratio increased slightly at the end of imaging protocol. No statistical difference in cardiac function was detected between the two dose groups. Mice with α-dystrobrevin knockout showed enhanced Mn(2+) uptake in vivo. In vitro patch-clamp study showed increased Ca(2+) channel activity. The saturation recovery method provides rapid T1 mapping in mouse hearts, which allowed sensitive detection of subtle changes in Mn(2+) uptake in α-dystrobrevin knockout mice. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Technical Matters: Method, Knowledge and Infrastructure in Twentieth-Century Life Science

PubMed Central

Creager, Angela N. H.; Landecker, Hannah

2010-01-01

Conceptual breakthroughs in science tend to garner accolades and attention. But, as the invention of tissue culture and the development of isotopic tracers show, innovative methods open up new fields and enable the solution of longstanding problems. PMID:19953684

Laser notching ceramics for reliable fracture toughness testing

DOE PAGES

Barth, Holly D.; Elmer, John W.; Freeman, Dennis C.; ...

2015-09-19

A new method for notching ceramics was developed using a picosecond laser for fracture toughness testing of alumina samples. The test geometry incorporated a single-edge-V-notch that was notched using picosecond laser micromachining. This method has been used in the past for cutting ceramics, and is known to remove material with little to no thermal effect on the surrounding material matrix. This study showed that laser-assisted-machining for fracture toughness testing of ceramics was reliable, quick, and cost effective. In order to assess the laser notched single-edge-V-notch beam method, fracture toughness results were compared to results from other more traditional methods, specificallymore » surface-crack in flexure and the chevron notch bend tests. Lastly, the results showed that picosecond laser notching produced precise notches in post-failure measurements, and that the measured fracture toughness results showed improved consistency compared to traditional fracture toughness methods.« less

The Upper and Lower Bounds of the Prediction Accuracies of Ensemble Methods for Binary Classification

PubMed Central

Wang, Xueyi; Davidson, Nicholas J.

2011-01-01

Ensemble methods have been widely used to improve prediction accuracy over individual classifiers. In this paper, we achieve a few results about the prediction accuracies of ensemble methods for binary classification that are missed or misinterpreted in previous literature. First we show the upper and lower bounds of the prediction accuracies (i.e. the best and worst possible prediction accuracies) of ensemble methods. Next we show that an ensemble method can achieve > 0.5 prediction accuracy, while individual classifiers have < 0.5 prediction accuracies. Furthermore, for individual classifiers with different prediction accuracies, the average of the individual accuracies determines the upper and lower bounds. We perform two experiments to verify the results and show that it is hard to achieve the upper and lower bounds accuracies by random individual classifiers and better algorithms need to be developed. PMID:21853162

A Runge-Kutta discontinuous finite element method for high speed flows

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Bey, Kim S.; Oden, J. T.

1991-01-01

A Runge-Kutta discontinuous finite element method is developed for hyperbolic systems of conservation laws in two space variables. The discontinuous Galerkin spatial approximation to the conservation laws results in a system of ordinary differential equations which are marched in time using Runge-Kutta methods. Numerical results for the two-dimensional Burger's equation show that the method is (p+1)-order accurate in time and space, where p is the degree of the polynomial approximation of the solution within an element and is capable of capturing shocks over a single element without oscillations. Results for this problem also show that the accuracy of the solution in smooth regions is unaffected by the local projection and that the accuracy in smooth regions increases as p increases. Numerical results for the Euler equations show that the method captures shocks without oscillations and with higher resolution than a first-order scheme.

A method of the up or down layer development of class II oil reservoirs

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, Fulin; Zhao, Yunfei; Fang, Yanjun; Yang, Tao; Gui, Dongxu; Wang, Gang; Feng, Chengcheng

2018-06-01

During the 13th five-year period, class II reservoirs of DaQing Oilfield first layer series development will be fully completed, secondary up or down layer development is facing new well drilling or the use of old we ll pattern network method chosen, need to determine development mode of oil block. In this paper, the system economy model is established, the up and down oil layer of the block is considered as one system, and through the comparison of the two models that new well drilling or the use of old well pattern, we can determine the development mode of the block. And take b1ddd block as an example, determine the block need to use what method to develop in different oil prices. Result show when the oil price is 40/bbl, using exiting well to production, when oil price is 70/bbl., using new drilling development model. The method to fill the theory and methodology on selection about reservoir development mode, can provide technical support for DaQing Oilfield the 14th five-year planning and long-term planning.

Hybrid DFP-CG method for solving unconstrained optimization problems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Osman, Wan Farah Hanan Wan; Asrul Hery Ibrahim, Mohd; Mamat, Mustafa

2017-09-01

The conjugate gradient (CG) method and quasi-Newton method are both well known method for solving unconstrained optimization method. In this paper, we proposed a new method by combining the search direction between conjugate gradient method and quasi-Newton method based on BFGS-CG method developed by Ibrahim et al. The Davidon-Fletcher-Powell (DFP) update formula is used as an approximation of Hessian for this new hybrid algorithm. Numerical result showed that the new algorithm perform well than the ordinary DFP method and proven to posses both sufficient descent and global convergence properties.

Development of a nonlinear vortex method

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kandil, O. A.

1982-01-01

Steady and unsteady Nonliner Hybrid Vortex (NHV) method, for low aspect ratio wings at large angles of attack, is developed. The method uses vortex panels with first-order vorticity distribution (equivalent to second-order doublet distribution) to calculate the induced velocity in the near field using closed form expressions. In the far field, the distributed vorticity is reduced to concentrated vortex lines and the simpler Biot-Savart's law is employed. The method is applied to rectangular wings in steady and unsteady flows without any restriction on the order of magnitude of the disturbances in the flow field. The numerical results show that the method accurately predicts the distributed aerodynamic loads and that it is of acceptable computational efficiency.

A Design Science Research Methodology for Developing a Computer-Aided Assessment Approach Using Method Marking Concept

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Genemo, Hussein; Miah, Shah Jahan; McAndrew, Alasdair

2016-01-01

Assessment has been defined as an authentic method that plays an important role in evaluating students' learning attitude in acquiring lifelong knowledge. Traditional methods of assessment including the Computer-Aided Assessment (CAA) for mathematics show limited ability to assess students' full work unless multi-step questions are sub-divided…

HPLC analysis and standardization of Brahmi vati – An Ayurvedic poly-herbal formulation

PubMed Central

Mishra, Amrita; Mishra, Arun K.; Tiwari, Om Prakash; Jha, Shivesh

2013-01-01

Objectives The aim of the present study was to standardize Brahmi vati (BV) by simultaneous quantitative estimation of Bacoside A3 and Piperine adopting HPLC–UV method. BV very important Ayurvedic polyherbo formulation used to treat epilepsy and mental disorders containing thirty eight ingredients including Bacopa monnieri L. and Piper longum L. Materials and methods An HPLC–UV method was developed for the standardization of BV in light of simultaneous quantitative estimation of Bacoside A3 and Piperine, the major constituents of B. monnieri L. and P. longum L. respectively. The developed method was validated on parameters including linearity, precision, accuracy and robustness. Results The HPLC analysis showed significant increase in amount of Bacoside A3 and Piperine in the in-house sample of BV when compared with all three different marketed samples of the same. Results showed variations in the amount of Bacoside A3 and Piperine in different samples which indicate non-uniformity in their quality which will lead to difference in their therapeutic effects. Conclusion The outcome of the present investigation underlines the importance of standardization of Ayurvedic formulations. The developed method may be further used to standardize other samples of BV or other formulations containing Bacoside A3 and Piperine. PMID:24396246

[Detection and application of PIS genetic deficiency gene in dairy goat].

PubMed

Yang, Bo; Jia, Li-Li; Zhao, De-Chao; Meng, Li-Yun; Liu, Xue-Feng; Zhang, Yan-Jun; Zhang, Wen-Guang; Li, Jin-Quan

2012-07-01

The purpose of this study was to develop a molecular method for detecting polled intersex syndrome (PIS) genetic deficiency gene in dairy goat. Three pairs of primers, PIS-, PIS+, and NEI were designed based on PIS gene sequence (AF404302) to identify the PIS genetic deficiency genotype. For the normal phenotype, the fragments of 141 and 300 bp were obtained for the genotype PIS-PIS-, and 141, 449, and 300 bp for the genotype PIS-PIS+. For the PIS goat with the genotype PIS+PIS+, 449 and 300 bp were obtained. Two hundred and twenty-four dairy goats in one population were tested based on this method. The results showed that there were 150 PIS-PIS+, 70 PIS -PIS-, and 4 PIS+PIS+. The genotype frequency of PIS-PIS+ was 66.9%, and the gene frequency of PIS+ was 35.3% in the population. Therefore, the frequency of PIS offspring was over 12%. This study developed a method to detect PIS genetic deficiency dairy goat. The method could identify buck genotype accurately to avoid the occurrence of PIS genetic deficiency. The ease and accuracy show a strong potential of the method for use in marker assisted selection of dairy goats and healthy development of dairy goat industry.

Development and validation of an extraction method for the analysis of perfluoroalkyl substances in human hair.

PubMed

Kim, Da-Hye; Oh, Jeong-Eun

2017-05-01

Human hair has many advantages as a non-invasive sample; however, analytical methods for detecting perfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs) in human hair are still in the development stage. Therefore, the aim of this study was to develop and validate a method for monitoring 11 PFASs in human hair. Solid-phase extraction (SPE), ion-pairing extraction (IPE), a combined method (SPE+IPE) and solvent extraction with ENVI-carb clean-up were compared to develop an optimal extraction method using two types of hair sample (powder and piece forms). Analysis of PFASs was performed using liquid chromatography and tandem mass spectrometry. Among the four different extraction procedures, the SPE method using powdered hair showed the best extraction efficiency and recoveries ranged from 85.8 to 102%. The method detection limits for the SPE method were 0.114-0.796 ng/g and good precision (below 10%) and accuracy (66.4-110%) were obtained. In light of these results, SPE is considered the optimal method for PFAS extraction from hair. It was also successfully used to detect PFASs in human hair samples. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

UPLC-ESI-MS/MS and HPTLC Method for Quantitative Estimation of Cytotoxic Glycosides and Aglycone in Bioactivity Guided Fractions of Solanum nigrum L.

PubMed Central

Chester, Karishma; Paliwal, Sarvesh; Khan, Washim; Ahmad, Sayeed

2017-01-01

Solanum nigrum L., is traditionally used for the management of the various liver disorders. Investigating the effect of polarity based fractionation of S. nigrum for its hepatoprotective effect on Hep G2 cells in vitro to provide base of its activity by quantifying in steroidal glycosides responsible for hepatoprotective potential. A new UPLC-ESI-MS/MS method following a high performance thin layer chromatography (HPTLC) has been developed and validated for quantification of steroidal glycosides and aglycone (solasonine, solamargine, and solasodine, respectively). The in vitro antioxidant potential, total phenolics, and flavonoid content were also determined in different fractions. The newly developed UPLC-ESI-MS/MS and HPTLC methods were linear (r2 ≥ 0.99), precise, accurate, and showing recovery more than 97%. The n-butanol enriched fraction of S. nigrum berries was found to be the most potent hepatoprotective fraction against all other fractions as it showed significantly (p < 0.01) better in vitro anti-oxidant potential than other fractions. Quantification by both methods revealed that, content of steroidal glycosides and aglycones are more than 20% in n-butanol fraction as compared to other fractions. The screened steroidal glycoside n-butanol enriched fraction underwent bioefficacy studies against D-galactosamine and H2O2 induced toxicity in HepG2 cell line showing significant (p < 0.05) liver protection. However, developed method can be used for the quality control analysis with respect to targeted metabolites and it can be explored for the pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic analysis in future. PMID:28729835

UV Spectrophotometric Method for Estimation of Polypeptide-K in Bulk and Tablet Dosage Forms

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kaur, P.; Singh, S. Kumar; Gulati, M.; Vaidya, Y.

2016-01-01

An analytical method for estimation of polypeptide-k using UV spectrophotometry has been developed and validated for bulk as well as tablet dosage form. The developed method was validated for linearity, precision, accuracy, specificity, robustness, detection, and quantitation limits. The method has shown good linearity over the range from 100.0 to 300.0 μg/ml with a correlation coefficient of 0.9943. The percentage recovery of 99.88% showed that the method was highly accurate. The precision demonstrated relative standard deviation of less than 2.0%. The LOD and LOQ of the method were found to be 4.4 and 13.33, respectively. The study established that the proposed method is reliable, specific, reproducible, and cost-effective for the determination of polypeptide-k.

HPLC analysis and standardization of Brahmi vati - An Ayurvedic poly-herbal formulation.

PubMed

Mishra, Amrita; Mishra, Arun K; Tiwari, Om Prakash; Jha, Shivesh

2013-09-01

The aim of the present study was to standardize Brahmi vati (BV) by simultaneous quantitative estimation of Bacoside A3 and Piperine adopting HPLC-UV method. BV very important Ayurvedic polyherbo formulation used to treat epilepsy and mental disorders containing thirty eight ingredients including Bacopa monnieri L. and Piper longum L. An HPLC-UV method was developed for the standardization of BV in light of simultaneous quantitative estimation of Bacoside A3 and Piperine, the major constituents of B. monnieri L. and P. longum L. respectively. The developed method was validated on parameters including linearity, precision, accuracy and robustness. The HPLC analysis showed significant increase in amount of Bacoside A3 and Piperine in the in-house sample of BV when compared with all three different marketed samples of the same. Results showed variations in the amount of Bacoside A3 and Piperine in different samples which indicate non-uniformity in their quality which will lead to difference in their therapeutic effects. The outcome of the present investigation underlines the importance of standardization of Ayurvedic formulations. The developed method may be further used to standardize other samples of BV or other formulations containing Bacoside A3 and Piperine.

Latex Micro-balloon Pumping in Centrifugal Microfluidic Platforms

PubMed Central

Aeinehvand, Mohammad Mahdi; Ibrahim, Fatimah; Al-Faqheri, Wisam; Thio, Tzer Hwai Gilbert; Kazemzadeh, Amin; Wadi harun, Sulaiman; Madou, Marc

2014-01-01

Centrifugal microfluidic platforms have emerged as point-of-care diagnostic tools. However, the unidirectional nature of the centrifugal force limits the available space for multi-stepped processes on a single microfluidics disc. To overcome this limitation, a passive pneumatic pumping method actuated at high rotational speeds has been previously proposed to pump liquid against the centrifugal force. In this paper, a novel micro-balloon pumping method that relies on elastic energy stored in a latex membrane is introduced. It operates at low rotational speeds and pumps a larger volume of liquid towards the centre of the disc. Two different micro-balloon pumping designs have been developed to study the pump performance and capacity at a range of rotational frequencies from 0 to 1500 rpm. The behaviour of the micro-balloon pump on the centrifugal microfluidic platforms has been theoretically analysed and compared with the experimental data. The experimental data shows that, the developed pumping method dramatically decreases the required rotational speed to pump liquid compared to the previously developed pneumatic pumping methods. It also shows that within a range of rotational speed, desirable volume of liquid can be stored and pumped by adjusting the size of the micro-balloon. PMID:24441792

Evaluating the compatibility of multi-functional and intensive urban land uses

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Taleai, M.; Sharifi, A.; Sliuzas, R.; Mesgari, M.

2007-12-01

This research is aimed at developing a model for assessing land use compatibility in densely built-up urban areas. In this process, a new model was developed through the combination of a suite of existing methods and tools: geographical information system, Delphi methods and spatial decision support tools: namely multi-criteria evaluation analysis, analytical hierarchy process and ordered weighted average method. The developed model has the potential to calculate land use compatibility in both horizontal and vertical directions. Furthermore, the compatibility between the use of each floor in a building and its neighboring land uses can be evaluated. The method was tested in a built-up urban area located in Tehran, the capital city of Iran. The results show that the model is robust in clarifying different levels of physical compatibility between neighboring land uses. This paper describes the various steps and processes of developing the proposed land use compatibility evaluation model (CEM).

Development of congestion performance measures using ITS information.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2003-01-01

The objectives of this study were to define a performance measure(s) that could be used to show congestion levels on critical corridors throughout Virginia and to develop a method to select and calculate performance measures to quantify congestion in...

Improved regulatory element prediction based on tissue-specific local epigenomic signatures

PubMed Central

He, Yupeng; Gorkin, David U.; Dickel, Diane E.; Nery, Joseph R.; Castanon, Rosa G.; Lee, Ah Young; Shen, Yin; Visel, Axel; Pennacchio, Len A.; Ren, Bing; Ecker, Joseph R.

2017-01-01

Accurate enhancer identification is critical for understanding the spatiotemporal transcriptional regulation during development as well as the functional impact of disease-related noncoding genetic variants. Computational methods have been developed to predict the genomic locations of active enhancers based on histone modifications, but the accuracy and resolution of these methods remain limited. Here, we present an algorithm, regulatory element prediction based on tissue-specific local epigenetic marks (REPTILE), which integrates histone modification and whole-genome cytosine DNA methylation profiles to identify the precise location of enhancers. We tested the ability of REPTILE to identify enhancers previously validated in reporter assays. Compared with existing methods, REPTILE shows consistently superior performance across diverse cell and tissue types, and the enhancer locations are significantly more refined. We show that, by incorporating base-resolution methylation data, REPTILE greatly improves upon current methods for annotation of enhancers across a variety of cell and tissue types. REPTILE is available at https://github.com/yupenghe/REPTILE/. PMID:28193886

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

Aziz, Mohd Khairul Bazli Mohd, E-mail: mkbazli@yahoo.com; Yusof, Fadhilah, E-mail: fadhilahy@utm.my; Daud, Zalina Mohd, E-mail: zalina@ic.utm.my

Recently, many rainfall network design techniques have been developed, discussed and compared by many researchers. Present day hydrological studies require higher levels of accuracy from collected data. In numerous basins, the rain gauge stations are located without clear scientific understanding. In this study, an attempt is made to redesign rain gauge network for Johor, Malaysia in order to meet the required level of accuracy preset by rainfall data users. The existing network of 84 rain gauges in Johor is optimized and redesigned into a new locations by using rainfall, humidity, solar radiation, temperature and wind speed data collected during themore » monsoon season (November - February) of 1975 until 2008. This study used the combination of geostatistics method (variance-reduction method) and simulated annealing as the algorithm of optimization during the redesigned proses. The result shows that the new rain gauge location provides minimum value of estimated variance. This shows that the combination of geostatistics method (variance-reduction method) and simulated annealing is successful in the development of the new optimum rain gauge system.« less

An impact analysis of forecasting methods and forecasting parameters on bullwhip effect

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Silitonga, R. Y. H.; Jelly, N.

2018-04-01

Bullwhip effect is an increase of variance of demand fluctuation from downstream to upstream of supply chain. Forecasting methods and forecasting parameters were recognized as some factors that affect bullwhip phenomena. To study these factors, we can develop simulations. There are several ways to simulate bullwhip effect in previous studies, such as mathematical equation modelling, information control modelling, computer program, and many more. In this study a spreadsheet program named Bullwhip Explorer was used to simulate bullwhip effect. Several scenarios were developed to show the change in bullwhip effect ratio because of the difference in forecasting methods and forecasting parameters. Forecasting methods used were mean demand, moving average, exponential smoothing, demand signalling, and minimum expected mean squared error. Forecasting parameters were moving average period, smoothing parameter, signalling factor, and safety stock factor. It showed that decreasing moving average period, increasing smoothing parameter, increasing signalling factor can create bigger bullwhip effect ratio. Meanwhile, safety stock factor had no impact to bullwhip effect.

Application of the Spectral Element Method to Acoustic Radiation

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Doyle, James F.; Rizzi, Stephen A. (Technical Monitor)

2000-01-01

This report summarizes research to develop a capability for analysis of interior noise in enclosed structures when acoustically excited by an external random source. Of particular interest was the application to the study of noise and vibration transmission in thin-walled structures as typified by aircraft fuselages. Three related topics are focused upon. The first concerns the development of a curved frame spectral element, the second shows how the spectral element method for wave propagation in folded plate structures is extended to problems involving curved segmented plates. These are of significance because by combining these curved spectral elements with previously presented flat spectral elements, the dynamic response of geometrically complex structures can be determined. The third topic shows how spectral elements, which incorporate the effect of fluid loading on the structure, are developed for analyzing acoustic radiation from dynamically loaded extended plates.

[Oxygen plasma-vulcanized deformable polydimethylsiloxane sheet culture substrates].

PubMed

Zhang, Yiyi; Tao, Zulai

2003-06-01

A method of preparing deformable polydimethylsiloxane sheet culture substrates by oxygen plasma vulcanization was developed. As compared with the traditional heating vulcanization method, the substrates prepared in this way have hydrophilic surfaces, the adhesion and spreading of cells both occur quickly, and the wrinkling deformation of substrates develops quickly, too. In addition, the changes of wrinkles during treatment of cytochalasin D were observed, and the result shows that this technique has high temporal resolution.

Phased Array Ultrasound: Initial Development of PAUT Inspection of Self-Reacting Friction Stir Welds

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Rairigh, Ryan

2008-01-01

This slide presentation reviews the development of Phased Array Ultrasound (PAUT) as a non-destructive examination method for Self Reacting Friction Stir Welds (SR-FSW). PAUT is the only NDE method which has been shown to detect detrimental levels of Residual Oxide Defect (ROD), which can result in significant decrease in weld strength. The presentation reviews the PAUT process, and shows the results in comparison with x-ray radiography.

Regional frequency analysis of extreme rainfalls using partial L moments method

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zakaria, Zahrahtul Amani; Shabri, Ani

2013-07-01

An approach based on regional frequency analysis using L moments and LH moments are revisited in this study. Subsequently, an alternative regional frequency analysis using the partial L moments (PL moments) method is employed, and a new relationship for homogeneity analysis is developed. The results were then compared with those obtained using the method of L moments and LH moments of order two. The Selangor catchment, consisting of 37 sites and located on the west coast of Peninsular Malaysia, is chosen as a case study. PL moments for the generalized extreme value (GEV), generalized logistic (GLO), and generalized Pareto distributions were derived and used to develop the regional frequency analysis procedure. PL moment ratio diagram and Z test were employed in determining the best-fit distribution. Comparison between the three approaches showed that GLO and GEV distributions were identified as the suitable distributions for representing the statistical properties of extreme rainfall in Selangor. Monte Carlo simulation used for performance evaluation shows that the method of PL moments would outperform L and LH moments methods for estimation of large return period events.

3D printed optical phantoms and deep tissue imaging for in vivo applications including oral surgery

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bentz, Brian Z.; Costas, Alfonso; Gaind, Vaibhav; Garcia, Jose M.; Webb, Kevin J.

2017-03-01

Progress in developing optical imaging for biomedical applications requires customizable and often complex objects known as "phantoms" for testing, evaluation, and calibration. This work demonstrates that 3D printing is an ideal method for fabricating such objects, allowing intricate inhomogeneities to be placed at exact locations in complex or anatomically realistic geometries, a process that is difficult or impossible using molds. We show printed mouse phantoms we have fabricated for developing deep tissue fluorescence imaging methods, and measurements of both their optical and mechanical properties. Additionally, we present a printed phantom of the human mouth that we use to develop an artery localization method to assist in oral surgery.

Research on Sustainable Development Level Evaluation of Resource-based Cities Based on Shapely Entropy and Chouqet Integral

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhao, Hui; Qu, Weilu; Qiu, Weiting

2018-03-01

In order to evaluate sustainable development level of resource-based cities, an evaluation method with Shapely entropy and Choquet integral is proposed. First of all, a systematic index system is constructed, the importance of each attribute is calculated based on the maximum Shapely entropy principle, and then the Choquet integral is introduced to calculate the comprehensive evaluation value of each city from the bottom up, finally apply this method to 10 typical resource-based cities in China. The empirical results show that the evaluation method is scientific and reasonable, which provides theoretical support for the sustainable development path and reform direction of resource-based cities.

Current State of Agile User-Centered Design: A Survey

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hussain, Zahid; Slany, Wolfgang; Holzinger, Andreas

Agile software development methods are quite popular nowadays and are being adopted at an increasing rate in the industry every year. However, these methods are still lacking usability awareness in their development lifecycle, and the integration of usability/User-Centered Design (UCD) into agile methods is not adequately addressed. This paper presents the preliminary results of a recently conducted online survey regarding the current state of the integration of agile methods and usability/UCD. A world wide response of 92 practitioners was received. The results show that the majority of practitioners perceive that the integration of agile methods with usability/UCD has added value to their adopted processes and to their teams; has resulted in the improvement of usability and quality of the product developed; and has increased the satisfaction of the end-users of the product developed. The top most used HCI techniques are low-fidelity prototyping, conceptual designs, observational studies of users, usability expert evaluations, field studies, personas, rapid iterative testing, and laboratory usability testing.

Verification and Validation in a Rapid Software Development Process

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Callahan, John R.; Easterbrook, Steve M.

1997-01-01

The high cost of software production is driving development organizations to adopt more automated design and analysis methods such as rapid prototyping, computer-aided software engineering (CASE) tools, and high-level code generators. Even developers of safety-critical software system have adopted many of these new methods while striving to achieve high levels Of quality and reliability. While these new methods may enhance productivity and quality in many cases, we examine some of the risks involved in the use of new methods in safety-critical contexts. We examine a case study involving the use of a CASE tool that automatically generates code from high-level system designs. We show that while high-level testing on the system structure is highly desirable, significant risks exist in the automatically generated code and in re-validating releases of the generated code after subsequent design changes. We identify these risks and suggest process improvements that retain the advantages of rapid, automated development methods within the quality and reliability contexts of safety-critical projects.

An analytic data analysis method for oscillatory slug tests.

PubMed

Chen, Chia-Shyun

2006-01-01

An analytical data analysis method is developed for slug tests in partially penetrating wells in confined or unconfined aquifers of high hydraulic conductivity. As adapted from the van der Kamp method, the determination of the hydraulic conductivity is based on the occurrence times and the displacements of the extreme points measured from the oscillatory data and their theoretical counterparts available in the literature. This method is applied to two sets of slug test response data presented by Butler et al.: one set shows slow damping with seven discernable extremities, and the other shows rapid damping with three extreme points. The estimates of the hydraulic conductivity obtained by the analytic method are in good agreement with those determined by an available curve-matching technique.

Methods comparison for microsatellite marker development: Different isolation methods, different yield efficiency

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhan, Aibin; Bao, Zhenmin; Hu, Xiaoli; Lu, Wei; Hu, Jingjie

2009-06-01

Microsatellite markers have become one kind of the most important molecular tools used in various researches. A large number of microsatellite markers are required for the whole genome survey in the fields of molecular ecology, quantitative genetics and genomics. Therefore, it is extremely necessary to select several versatile, low-cost, efficient and time- and labor-saving methods to develop a large panel of microsatellite markers. In this study, we used Zhikong scallop ( Chlamys farreri) as the target species to compare the efficiency of the five methods derived from three strategies for microsatellite marker development. The results showed that the strategy of constructing small insert genomic DNA library resulted in poor efficiency, while the microsatellite-enriched strategy highly improved the isolation efficiency. Although the mining public database strategy is time- and cost-saving, it is difficult to obtain a large number of microsatellite markers, mainly due to the limited sequence data of non-model species deposited in public databases. Based on the results in this study, we recommend two methods, microsatellite-enriched library construction method and FIASCO-colony hybridization method, for large-scale microsatellite marker development. Both methods were derived from the microsatellite-enriched strategy. The experimental results obtained from Zhikong scallop also provide the reference for microsatellite marker development in other species with large genomes.

Meshless Local Petrov-Galerkin Method for Bending Problems

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Phillips, Dawn R.; Raju, Ivatury S.

2002-01-01

Recent literature shows extensive research work on meshless or element-free methods as alternatives to the versatile Finite Element Method. One such meshless method is the Meshless Local Petrov-Galerkin (MLPG) method. In this report, the method is developed for bending of beams - C1 problems. A generalized moving least squares (GMLS) interpolation is used to construct the trial functions, and spline and power weight functions are used as the test functions. The method is applied to problems for which exact solutions are available to evaluate its effectiveness. The accuracy of the method is demonstrated for problems with load discontinuities and continuous beam problems. A Petrov-Galerkin implementation of the method is shown to greatly reduce computational time and effort and is thus preferable over the previously developed Galerkin approach. The MLPG method for beam problems yields very accurate deflections and slopes and continuous moment and shear forces without the need for elaborate post-processing techniques.

A Summary of the Space-Time Conservation Element and Solution Element (CESE) Method

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Wang, Xiao-Yen J.

2015-01-01

The space-time Conservation Element and Solution Element (CESE) method for solving conservation laws is examined for its development motivation and design requirements. The characteristics of the resulting scheme are discussed. The discretization of the Euler equations is presented to show readers how to construct a scheme based on the CESE method. The differences and similarities between the CESE method and other traditional methods are discussed. The strengths and weaknesses of the method are also addressed.

Development of an Aerosol Surface Inoculation Method for Bacillus Spores ▿

PubMed Central

Lee, Sang Don; Ryan, Shawn P.; Snyder, Emily Gibb

2011-01-01

A method was developed to deposit Bacillus subtilis spores via aerosolization onto various surface materials for biological agent decontamination and detection studies. This new method uses an apparatus coupled with a metered dose inhaler to reproducibly deposit spores onto various surfaces. A metered dose inhaler was loaded with Bacillus subtilis spores, a surrogate for Bacillus anthracis. Five different material surfaces (aluminum, galvanized steel, wood, carpet, and painted wallboard paper) were tested using this spore deposition method. This aerosolization method deposited spores at a concentration of more than 107 CFU per coupon (18-mm diameter) with less than a 50% coefficient of variation, showing that the aerosolization method developed in this study can deposit reproducible numbers of spores onto various surface coupons. Scanning electron microscopy was used to probe the spore deposition patterns on test coupons. The deposition patterns observed following aerosol impaction were compared to those of liquid inoculation. A physical difference in the spore deposition patterns was observed to result from the two different methods. The spore deposition method developed in this study will help prepare spore coupons via aerosolization fast and reproducibly for bench top decontamination and detection studies. PMID:21193670

Development of an aerosol surface inoculation method for bacillus spores.

PubMed

Lee, Sang Don; Ryan, Shawn P; Snyder, Emily Gibb

2011-03-01

A method was developed to deposit Bacillus subtilis spores via aerosolization onto various surface materials for biological agent decontamination and detection studies. This new method uses an apparatus coupled with a metered dose inhaler to reproducibly deposit spores onto various surfaces. A metered dose inhaler was loaded with Bacillus subtilis spores, a surrogate for Bacillus anthracis. Five different material surfaces (aluminum, galvanized steel, wood, carpet, and painted wallboard paper) were tested using this spore deposition method. This aerosolization method deposited spores at a concentration of more than 10(7) CFU per coupon (18-mm diameter) with less than a 50% coefficient of variation, showing that the aerosolization method developed in this study can deposit reproducible numbers of spores onto various surface coupons. Scanning electron microscopy was used to probe the spore deposition patterns on test coupons. The deposition patterns observed following aerosol impaction were compared to those of liquid inoculation. A physical difference in the spore deposition patterns was observed to result from the two different methods. The spore deposition method developed in this study will help prepare spore coupons via aerosolization fast and reproducibly for bench top decontamination and detection studies.

Progress in Energy Storage Technologies: Models and Methods for Policy Analysis

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Matteson, Schuyler W.

Climate change and other sustainability challenges have led to the development of new technologies that increase energy efficiency and reduce the utilization of finite resources. To promote the adoption of technologies with social benefits, governments often enact policies that provide financial incentives at the point of purchase. In their current form, these subsidies have the potential to increase the diffusion of emerging technologies; however, accounting for technological progress can improve program success while decreasing net public investment. This research develops novel methods using experience curves for the development of more efficient subsidy policies. By providing case studies in the field of automotive energy storage technologies, this dissertation also applies the methods to show the impacts of incorporating technological progress into energy policies. Specific findings include learning-dependent tapering subsidies for electric vehicles based on the lithium-ion battery experience curve, the effects of residual learning rates in lead-acid batteries on emerging technology cost competitiveness, and a cascading diffusion assessment of plug-in hybrid electric vehicle subsidy programs. Notably, the results show that considering learning rates in policy development can save billions of dollars in public funds, while also lending insight into the decision of whether or not to subsidize a given technology.

[Application of robustness test for assessment of the measurement uncertainty at the end of development phase of a chromatographic method for quantification of water-soluble vitamins].

PubMed

Ihssane, B; Bouchafra, H; El Karbane, M; Azougagh, M; Saffaj, T

2016-05-01

We propose in this work an efficient way to evaluate the measurement of uncertainty at the end of the development step of an analytical method, since this assessment provides an indication of the performance of the optimization process. The estimation of the uncertainty is done through a robustness test by applying a Placquett-Burman design, investigating six parameters influencing the simultaneous chromatographic assay of five water-soluble vitamins. The estimated effects of the variation of each parameter are translated into standard uncertainty value at each concentration level. The values obtained of the relative uncertainty do not exceed the acceptance limit of 5%, showing that the procedure development was well done. In addition, a statistical comparison conducted to compare standard uncertainty after the development stage and those of the validation step indicates that the estimated uncertainty are equivalent. The results obtained show clearly the performance and capacity of the chromatographic method to simultaneously assay the five vitamins and suitability for use in routine application. Copyright © 2015 Académie Nationale de Pharmacie. Published by Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.

Engineering large-scale agent-based systems with consensus

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Bokma, A.; Slade, A.; Kerridge, S.; Johnson, K.

1994-01-01

The paper presents the consensus method for the development of large-scale agent-based systems. Systems can be developed as networks of knowledge based agents (KBA) which engage in a collaborative problem solving effort. The method provides a comprehensive and integrated approach to the development of this type of system. This includes a systematic analysis of user requirements as well as a structured approach to generating a system design which exhibits the desired functionality. There is a direct correspondence between system requirements and design components. The benefits of this approach are that requirements are traceable into design components and code thus facilitating verification. The use of the consensus method with two major test applications showed it to be successful and also provided valuable insight into problems typically associated with the development of large systems.

A novel approach to transforming a non-targeted metabolic profiling method to a pseudo-targeted method using the retention time locking gas chromatography/mass spectrometry-selected ions monitoring.

PubMed

Li, Yong; Ruan, Qiang; Li, Yanli; Ye, Guozhu; Lu, Xin; Lin, Xiaohui; Xu, Guowang

2012-09-14

Non-targeted metabolic profiling is the most widely used method for metabolomics. In this paper, a novel approach was established to transform a non-targeted metabolic profiling method to a pseudo-targeted method using the retention time locking gas chromatography/mass spectrometry-selected ion monitoring (RTL-GC/MS-SIM). To achieve this transformation, an algorithm based on the automated mass spectral deconvolution and identification system (AMDIS), GC/MS raw data and a bi-Gaussian chromatographic peak model was developed. The established GC/MS-SIM method was compared with GC/MS-full scan (the total ion current and extracted ion current, TIC and EIC) methods, it was found that for a typical tobacco leaf extract, 93% components had their relative standard deviations (RSDs) of relative peak areas less than 20% by the SIM method, while 88% by the EIC method and 81% by the TIC method. 47.3% components had their linear correlation coefficient higher than 0.99, compared with 5.0% by the EIC and 6.2% by TIC methods. Multivariate analysis showed the pooled quality control samples clustered more tightly using the developed method than using GC/MS-full scan methods, indicating a better data quality. With the analysis of the variance of the tobacco samples from three different planting regions, 167 differential components (p<0.05) were screened out using the RTL-GC/MS-SIM method, but 151 and 131 by the EIC and TIC methods, respectively. The results show that the developed method not only has a higher sensitivity, better linearity and data quality, but also does not need complicated peak alignment among different samples. It is especially suitable for the screening of differential components in the metabolic profiling investigation. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Exploring the Driving Factors of Construction Industrialization Development in China.

PubMed

Xiahou, Xiaer; Yuan, Jingfeng; Liu, Yan; Tang, Yuchun; Li, Qiming

2018-03-03

Construction industrialization (CI) has been adopted worldwide because of its potential benefits. However, current research shows the incentives for adopting CI may differ in different regions. While the promotion of CI in China is still at the initial stage, a systematical analysis of the driving factors would help decision makers get a comprehensive understanding of CI development and select proper strategies to promote CI. This research combines qualitative and quantitative methods to explore the construction industrialization driving factors (CIDFs) in China. The grounded theory method (GTM) was employed to explore CI concepts among 182 CI-related articles published in 10 top-tier journals from 2000 to 2017. A total of 15 CIDFs were identified, including one suggested by professionals during a pre-test questionnaire survey. The analysis showed that the development of CI in China is pushed by macrodevelopment and pulled by the government and is also a self-driven process. The major driving factors for CI adoption in China are the transformation and upgrade of the conventional construction industry and the solution of development dilemmas. Our study also suggests that pilot programs are, currently, the most effective method to promote CI in China and to accumulate experience so to gain recognition by the society. This research is also of value for CI promotion in other developing countries.

Exploring the Driving Factors of Construction Industrialization Development in China

PubMed Central

Xiahou, Xiaer; Yuan, Jingfeng; Tang, Yuchun; Li, Qiming

2018-01-01

Construction industrialization (CI) has been adopted worldwide because of its potential benefits. However, current research shows the incentives for adopting CI may differ in different regions. While the promotion of CI in China is still at the initial stage, a systematical analysis of the driving factors would help decision makers get a comprehensive understanding of CI development and select proper strategies to promote CI. This research combines qualitative and quantitative methods to explore the construction industrialization driving factors (CIDFs) in China. The grounded theory method (GTM) was employed to explore CI concepts among 182 CI-related articles published in 10 top-tier journals from 2000 to 2017. A total of 15 CIDFs were identified, including one suggested by professionals during a pre-test questionnaire survey. The analysis showed that the development of CI in China is pushed by macrodevelopment and pulled by the government and is also a self-driven process. The major driving factors for CI adoption in China are the transformation and upgrade of the conventional construction industry and the solution of development dilemmas. Our study also suggests that pilot programs are, currently, the most effective method to promote CI in China and to accumulate experience so to gain recognition by the society. This research is also of value for CI promotion in other developing countries. PMID:29510507

Target Fishing for Chemical Compounds using Target-Ligand Activity data and Ranking based Methods

PubMed Central

Wale, Nikil; Karypis, George

2009-01-01

In recent years the development of computational techniques that identify all the likely targets for a given chemical compound, also termed as the problem of Target Fishing, has been an active area of research. Identification of likely targets of a chemical compound helps to understand problems such as toxicity, lack of efficacy in humans, and poor physical properties associated with that compound in the early stages of drug discovery. In this paper we present a set of techniques whose goal is to rank or prioritize targets in the context of a given chemical compound such that most targets that this compound may show activity against appear higher in the ranked list. These methods are based on our extensions to the SVM and Ranking Perceptron algorithms for this problem. Our extensive experimental study shows that the methods developed in this work outperform previous approaches by 2% to 60% under different evaluation criterions. PMID:19764745

Development, validation and evaluation of an analytical method for the determination of monomeric and oligomeric procyanidins in apple extracts.

PubMed

Hollands, Wendy J; Voorspoels, Stefan; Jacobs, Griet; Aaby, Kjersti; Meisland, Ane; Garcia-Villalba, Rocio; Tomas-Barberan, Francisco; Piskula, Mariusz K; Mawson, Deborah; Vovk, Irena; Needs, Paul W; Kroon, Paul A

2017-04-28

There is a lack of data for individual oligomeric procyanidins in apples and apple extracts. Our aim was to develop, validate and evaluate an analytical method for the separation, identification and quantification of monomeric and oligomeric flavanols in apple extracts. To achieve this, we prepared two types of flavanol extracts from freeze-dried apples; one was an epicatechin-rich extract containing ∼30% (w/w) monomeric (-)-epicatechin which also contained oligomeric procyanidins (Extract A), the second was an oligomeric procyanidin-rich extract depleted of epicatechin (Extract B). The parameters considered for method optimisation were HPLC columns and conditions, sample heating, mass of extract and dilution volumes. The performance characteristics considered for method validation included standard linearity, method sensitivity, precision and trueness. Eight laboratories participated in the method evaluation. Chromatographic separation of the analytes was best achieved utilizing a Hilic column with a binary mobile phase consisting of acidic acetonitrile and acidic aqueous methanol. The final method showed linearity for epicatechin in the range 5-100μg/mL with a correlation co-efficient >0.999. Intra-day and inter-day precision of the analytes ranged from 2 to 6% and 2 to 13% respectively. Up to dp3, trueness of the method was >95% but decreased with increasing dp. Within laboratory precision showed RSD values <5 and 10% for monomers and oligomers, respectively. Between laboratory precision was 4 and 15% (Extract A) and 7 and 30% (Extract B) for monomers and oligomers, respectively. An analytical method for the separation, identification and quantification of procyanidins in an apple extract was developed, validated and assessed. The results of the inter-laboratory evaluation indicate that the method is reliable and reproducible. Copyright © 2017. Published by Elsevier B.V.

Development of an aerodyanmic theory capable of predicting surface loads on slender wings with vortex flow

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Gloss, B. B.; Johnson, F. T.

1976-01-01

The Boeing Commercial Airplane Company developed an inviscid three-dimensional lifting surface method that shows promise in being able to accurately predict loads, subsonic and supersonic, on wings with leading-edge separation and reattachment.

A Novel WA-BPM Based on the Generalized Multistep Scheme in the Propagation Direction in the Waveguide

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ji, Yang; Chen, Hong; Tang, Hongwu

2017-06-01

A highly accurate wide-angle scheme, based on the generalized mutistep scheme in the propagation direction, is developed for the finite difference beam propagation method (FD-BPM). Comparing with the previously presented method, the simulation shows that our method results in a more accurate solution, and the step size can be much larger

Automatic tracking of red blood cells in micro channels using OpenCV

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rodrigues, Vânia; Rodrigues, Pedro J.; Pereira, Ana I.; Lima, Rui

2013-10-01

The present study aims to developan automatic method able to track red blood cells (RBCs) trajectories flowing through a microchannel using the Open Source Computer Vision (OpenCV). The developed method is based on optical flux calculation assisted by the maximization of the template-matching product. The experimental results show a good functional performance of this method.

Recent statistical methods for orientation data

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Batschelet, E.

1972-01-01

The application of statistical methods for determining the areas of animal orientation and navigation are discussed. The method employed is limited to the two-dimensional case. Various tests for determining the validity of the statistical analysis are presented. Mathematical models are included to support the theoretical considerations and tables of data are developed to show the value of information obtained by statistical analysis.

A Mixed-Methods Analysis in Assessing Students' Professional Development by Applying an Assessment for Learning Approach.

PubMed

Peeters, Michael J; Vaidya, Varun A

2016-06-25

Objective. To describe an approach for assessing the Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education's (ACPE) doctor of pharmacy (PharmD) Standard 4.4, which focuses on students' professional development. Methods. This investigation used mixed methods with triangulation of qualitative and quantitative data to assess professional development. Qualitative data came from an electronic developmental portfolio of professionalism and ethics, completed by PharmD students during their didactic studies. Quantitative confirmation came from the Defining Issues Test (DIT)-an assessment of pharmacists' professional development. Results. Qualitatively, students' development reflections described growth through this course series. Quantitatively, the 2015 PharmD class's DIT N2-scores illustrated positive development overall; the lower 50% had a large initial improvement compared to the upper 50%. Subsequently, the 2016 PharmD class confirmed these average initial improvements of students and also showed further substantial development among students thereafter. Conclusion. Applying an assessment for learning approach, triangulation of qualitative and quantitative assessments confirmed that PharmD students developed professionally during this course series.

Rapid detection of food-borne Salmonella contamination using IMBs-qPCR method based on pagC gene.

PubMed

Wang, Jiashun; Li, Yi; Chen, Jia; Hua, Deping; Li, Yi; Deng, Hui; Li, Ying; Liang, Zhixuan; Huang, Jinhai

Detection of Salmonella is very important to minimize the food safety risk. In this study, the recombinant PagC protein and PagC antibody were prepared and coupled with immunomagnetic beads (IMBs) to capture Salmonella cells from pork and milk samples. And then the SYBR Green qualitative PCR was developed to detect the pathogenic Salmonella. The results showed that the PagC polyclonal antiserum is of good specificity and the capture rate of 0.1mg IMBs for Salmonella tended to be stable at the range of 70-74% corresponding to the concentrations between 10 1 and 10 4 CFU/mL. The method developed demonstrated high specificity for the positive Salmonella samples when compared to non-specific DNA samples, such as Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus, Yersinia enterocolitica, and Yersinia pseudotuberculosis. The limit of detection of this assay was 18CFU/mL. Detection and quantitative enumeration of Salmonella in samples of pork or milk shows good recoveries of 54.34% and 52.07%. In conclusion, the polyclonal antibody of recombinant PagC protein is effective to capture Salmonella from detected samples. The developed pagC antibody IMBs-qPCR method showed efficiency, sensitivity and specificity for 30 Salmonella detection, enabling detection within 10h, which is a promising rapid method to detect Salmonella in emergency. Copyright © 2017 Sociedade Brasileira de Microbiologia. Published by Elsevier Editora Ltda. All rights reserved.

Correlation matrix renormalization theory for correlated-electron materials with application to the crystalline phases of atomic hydrogen

DOE PAGES

Zhao, Xin; Liu, Jun; Yao, Yong-Xin; ...

2018-01-23

Developing accurate and computationally efficient methods to calculate the electronic structure and total energy of correlated-electron materials has been a very challenging task in condensed matter physics and materials science. Recently, we have developed a correlation matrix renormalization (CMR) method which does not assume any empirical Coulomb interaction U parameters and does not have double counting problems in the ground-state total energy calculation. The CMR method has been demonstrated to be accurate in describing both the bonding and bond breaking behaviors of molecules. In this study, we extend the CMR method to the treatment of electron correlations in periodic solidmore » systems. By using a linear hydrogen chain as a benchmark system, we show that the results from the CMR method compare very well with those obtained recently by accurate quantum Monte Carlo (QMC) calculations. We also study the equation of states of three-dimensional crystalline phases of atomic hydrogen. We show that the results from the CMR method agree much better with the available QMC data in comparison with those from density functional theory and Hartree-Fock calculations.« less

A Rapid and Efficient Screening Method for Antibacterial Compound-Producing Bacteria.

PubMed

Hettiarachchi, Sachithra; Lee, Su-Jin; Lee, Youngdeuk; Kwon, Young-Kyung; De Zoysa, Mahanama; Moon, Song; Jo, Eunyoung; Kim, Taeho; Kang, Do-Hyung; Heo, Soo-Jin; Oh, Chulhong

2017-08-28

Antibacterial compounds are widely used in the treatment of human and animal diseases. The overuse of antibiotics has led to a rapid rise in the prevalence of drug-resistant bacteria, making the development of new antibacterial compounds essential. This study focused on developing a fast and easy method for identifying marine bacteria that produce antibiotic compounds. Eight randomly selected marine target bacterial species ( Agrococcus terreus, Bacillus algicola, Mesoflavibacter zeaxanthinifaciens, Pseudoalteromonas flavipulchra, P. peptidolytica, P. piscicida, P. rubra , and Zunongwangia atlantica ) were tested for production of antibacterial compounds against four strains of test bacteria ( B. cereus, B. subtilis, Halomonas smyrnensis , and Vibrio alginolyticus ). Colony picking was used as the primary screening method. Clear zones were observed around colonies of P. flavipulchra, P. peptidolytica, P. piscicida , and P. rubra tested against B. cereus, B. subtilis , and H. smyrnensis . The efficiency of colony scraping and broth culture methods for antimicrobial compound extraction was also compared using a disk diffusion assay. P. peptidolytica, P. piscicida , and P. rubra showed antagonistic activity against H. smyrnensis, B. cereus , and B. subtilis , respectively, only in the colony scraping method. Our results show that colony picking and colony scraping are effective, quick, and easy methods of screening for antibacterial compound-producing bacteria.

Correlation matrix renormalization theory for correlated-electron materials with application to the crystalline phases of atomic hydrogen

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

Zhao, Xin; Liu, Jun; Yao, Yong-Xin

Developing accurate and computationally efficient methods to calculate the electronic structure and total energy of correlated-electron materials has been a very challenging task in condensed matter physics and materials science. Recently, we have developed a correlation matrix renormalization (CMR) method which does not assume any empirical Coulomb interaction U parameters and does not have double counting problems in the ground-state total energy calculation. The CMR method has been demonstrated to be accurate in describing both the bonding and bond breaking behaviors of molecules. In this study, we extend the CMR method to the treatment of electron correlations in periodic solidmore » systems. By using a linear hydrogen chain as a benchmark system, we show that the results from the CMR method compare very well with those obtained recently by accurate quantum Monte Carlo (QMC) calculations. We also study the equation of states of three-dimensional crystalline phases of atomic hydrogen. We show that the results from the CMR method agree much better with the available QMC data in comparison with those from density functional theory and Hartree-Fock calculations.« less

A modular modulation method for achieving increases in metabolite production.

PubMed

Acerenza, Luis; Monzon, Pablo; Ortega, Fernando

2015-01-01

Increasing the production of overproducing strains represents a great challenge. Here, we develop a modular modulation method to determine the key steps for genetic manipulation to increase metabolite production. The method consists of three steps: (i) modularization of the metabolic network into two modules connected by linking metabolites, (ii) change in the activity of the modules using auxiliary rates producing or consuming the linking metabolites in appropriate proportions and (iii) determination of the key modules and steps to increase production. The mathematical formulation of the method in matrix form shows that it may be applied to metabolic networks of any structure and size, with reactions showing any kind of rate laws. The results are valid for any type of conservation relationships in the metabolite concentrations or interactions between modules. The activity of the module may, in principle, be changed by any large factor. The method may be applied recursively or combined with other methods devised to perform fine searches in smaller regions. In practice, it is implemented by integrating to the producer strain heterologous reactions or synthetic pathways producing or consuming the linking metabolites. The new procedure may contribute to develop metabolic engineering into a more systematic practice. © 2015 American Institute of Chemical Engineers.

Some selected quantitative methods of thermal image analysis in Matlab.

PubMed

Koprowski, Robert

2016-05-01

The paper presents a new algorithm based on some selected automatic quantitative methods for analysing thermal images. It shows the practical implementation of these image analysis methods in Matlab. It enables to perform fully automated and reproducible measurements of selected parameters in thermal images. The paper also shows two examples of the use of the proposed image analysis methods for the area of ​​the skin of a human foot and face. The full source code of the developed application is also provided as an attachment. The main window of the program during dynamic analysis of the foot thermal image. © 2016 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Validated univariate and multivariate spectrophotometric methods for the determination of pharmaceuticals mixture in complex wastewater

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Riad, Safaa M.; Salem, Hesham; Elbalkiny, Heba T.; Khattab, Fatma I.

2015-04-01

Five, accurate, precise, and sensitive univariate and multivariate spectrophotometric methods were developed for the simultaneous determination of a ternary mixture containing Trimethoprim (TMP), Sulphamethoxazole (SMZ) and Oxytetracycline (OTC) in waste water samples collected from different cites either production wastewater or livestock wastewater after their solid phase extraction using OASIS HLB cartridges. In univariate methods OTC was determined at its λmax 355.7 nm (0D), while (TMP) and (SMZ) were determined by three different univariate methods. Method (A) is based on successive spectrophotometric resolution technique (SSRT). The technique starts with the ratio subtraction method followed by ratio difference method for determination of TMP and SMZ. Method (B) is successive derivative ratio technique (SDR). Method (C) is mean centering of the ratio spectra (MCR). The developed multivariate methods are principle component regression (PCR) and partial least squares (PLS). The specificity of the developed methods is investigated by analyzing laboratory prepared mixtures containing different ratios of the three drugs. The obtained results are statistically compared with those obtained by the official methods, showing no significant difference with respect to accuracy and precision at p = 0.05.

Validated univariate and multivariate spectrophotometric methods for the determination of pharmaceuticals mixture in complex wastewater.

PubMed

Riad, Safaa M; Salem, Hesham; Elbalkiny, Heba T; Khattab, Fatma I

2015-04-05

Five, accurate, precise, and sensitive univariate and multivariate spectrophotometric methods were developed for the simultaneous determination of a ternary mixture containing Trimethoprim (TMP), Sulphamethoxazole (SMZ) and Oxytetracycline (OTC) in waste water samples collected from different cites either production wastewater or livestock wastewater after their solid phase extraction using OASIS HLB cartridges. In univariate methods OTC was determined at its λmax 355.7 nm (0D), while (TMP) and (SMZ) were determined by three different univariate methods. Method (A) is based on successive spectrophotometric resolution technique (SSRT). The technique starts with the ratio subtraction method followed by ratio difference method for determination of TMP and SMZ. Method (B) is successive derivative ratio technique (SDR). Method (C) is mean centering of the ratio spectra (MCR). The developed multivariate methods are principle component regression (PCR) and partial least squares (PLS). The specificity of the developed methods is investigated by analyzing laboratory prepared mixtures containing different ratios of the three drugs. The obtained results are statistically compared with those obtained by the official methods, showing no significant difference with respect to accuracy and precision at p=0.05. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Resource understanding: a challenge to aerial methods

USGS Publications Warehouse

Udall, Stewart L.

1965-01-01

Aerial survey methods are speeding acquisition of survey data needed to provide and manage the nation's resources. These methods have been applied to topographic mapping for a number of years and the record clearly shows their advantages in terms of cost and speed in contrast to the ground methods that have been historically employed. Limited use is now being made of aerial methods to assist cadastral surveys, in location, acquisition and development of National Parks, in mapping the geology of the nation, in locating and developing water resources, and in surveys of the oceans. It is the purpose of this paper to call attention to these uses and to encourage the scientific community to further refine aerial methods so that their use may be increased and the veracity of data improved.

Digital Signal Processing Based on a Clustering Algorithm for Ir/Au TES Microcalorimeter

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zen, N.; Kunieda, Y.; Takahashi, H.; Hiramoto, K.; Nakazawa, M.; Fukuda, D.; Ukibe, M.; Ohkubo, M.

2006-02-01

In recent years, cryogenic microcalorimeters using their superconducting transition edge have been under development for possible application to the research for astronomical X-ray observations. To improve the energy resolution of superconducting transition edge sensors (TES), several correction methods have been developed. Among them, a clustering method based on digital signal processing has recently been proposed. In this paper, we applied the clustering method to Ir/Au bilayer TES. This method resulted in almost a 10% improvement in the energy resolution. Conversely, from the point of view of imaging X-ray spectroscopy, we applied the clustering method to pixellated Ir/Au-TES devices. We will thus show how a clustering method which sorts signals by their shapes is also useful for position identification

A fast collocation method for a variable-coefficient nonlocal diffusion model

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, Che; Wang, Hong

2017-02-01

We develop a fast collocation scheme for a variable-coefficient nonlocal diffusion model, for which a numerical discretization would yield a dense stiffness matrix. The development of the fast method is achieved by carefully handling the variable coefficients appearing inside the singular integral operator and exploiting the structure of the dense stiffness matrix. The resulting fast method reduces the computational work from O (N3) required by a commonly used direct solver to O (Nlog ⁡ N) per iteration and the memory requirement from O (N2) to O (N). Furthermore, the fast method reduces the computational work of assembling the stiffness matrix from O (N2) to O (N). Numerical results are presented to show the utility of the fast method.

Quantitative Assessment of Fat Levels in Caenorhabditis elegans Using Dark Field Microscopy

PubMed Central

Fouad, Anthony D.; Pu, Shelley H.; Teng, Shelly; Mark, Julian R.; Fu, Moyu; Zhang, Kevin; Huang, Jonathan; Raizen, David M.; Fang-Yen, Christopher

2017-01-01

The roundworm Caenorhabditis elegans is widely used as a model for studying conserved pathways for fat storage, aging, and metabolism. The most broadly used methods for imaging fat in C. elegans require fixing and staining the animal. Here, we show that dark field images acquired through an ordinary light microscope can be used to estimate fat levels in worms. We define a metric based on the amount of light scattered per area, and show that this light scattering metric is strongly correlated with worm fat levels as measured by Oil Red O (ORO) staining across a wide variety of genetic backgrounds and feeding conditions. Dark field imaging requires no exogenous agents or chemical fixation, making it compatible with live worm imaging. Using our method, we track fat storage with high temporal resolution in developing larvae, and show that fat storage in the intestine increases in at least one burst during development. PMID:28404661

Development of a quantitative fluorescence single primer isothermal amplification-based method for the detection of Salmonella.

PubMed

Wang, Jianchang; Li, Rui; Hu, Lianxia; Sun, Xiaoxia; Wang, Jinfeng; Li, Jing

2016-02-16

Food-borne disease caused by Salmonella has long been, and continues to be, an important global public health problem, necessitating rapid and accurate detection of Salmonella in food. Real time PCR is the most recently developed approach for Salmonella detection. Single primer isothermal amplification (SPIA), a novel gene amplification technique, has emerged as an attractive microbiological testing method. SPIA is performed under a constant temperature, eliminating the need for an expensive thermo-cycler. In addition, SPIA reactions can be accomplished in 30 min, faster than real time PCR that usually takes over 2h. We developed a quantitative fluorescence SPIA-based method for the detection of Salmonella. Using Salmonella Typhimurium genomic DNA as template and a primer targeting Salmonella invA gene, we showed the detection limit of SPIA was 2.0 × 10(1)fg DNA. Its successful amplification of different serotypic Salmonella genomic DNA but not non-Salmonella bacterial DNA demonstrated the specificity of SPIA. Furthermore, this method was validated with artificially contaminated beef. In conclusion, we showed high sensitivity and specificity of SPIA in the detection of Salmonella, comparable to real time PCR. In addition, SPIA is faster and more cost-effective (non-use of expensive cyclers), making it a potential alternative for field detection of Salmonella in resource-limited settings that are commonly encountered in developing countries. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Self-organization of developing embryo using scale-invariant approach.

PubMed

Tiraihi, Ali; Tiraihi, Mujtaba; Tiraihi, Taki

2011-06-03

Self-organization is a fundamental feature of living organisms at all hierarchical levels from molecule to organ. It has also been documented in developing embryos. In this study, a scale-invariant power law (SIPL) method has been used to study self-organization in developing embryos. The SIPL coefficient was calculated using a centro-axial skew symmetrical matrix (CSSM) generated by entering the components of the Cartesian coordinates; for each component, one CSSM was generated. A basic square matrix (BSM) was constructed and the determinant was calculated in order to estimate the SIPL coefficient. This was applied to developing C. elegans during early stages of embryogenesis. The power law property of the method was evaluated using the straight line and Koch curve and the results were consistent with fractal dimensions (fd). Diffusion-limited aggregation (DLA) was used to validate the SIPL method. The fractal dimensions of both the straight line and Koch curve showed consistency with the SIPL coefficients, which indicated the power law behavior of the SIPL method. The results showed that the ABp sublineage had a higher SIPL coefficient than EMS, indicating that ABp is more organized than EMS. The fd determined using DLA was higher in ABp than in EMS and its value was consistent with type 1 cluster formation, while that in EMS was consistent with type 2. © 2011 Tiraihi et al; licensee BioMed Central Ltd.

Simultaneous Determination of Metamizole, Thiamin and Pyridoxin Using UV-Spectroscopy in Combination with Multivariate Calibration

PubMed Central

Chotimah, Chusnul; Sudjadi; Riyanto, Sugeng; Rohman, Abdul

2015-01-01

Purpose: Analysis of drugs in multicomponent system officially is carried out using chromatographic technique, however, this technique is too laborious and involving sophisticated instrument. Therefore, UV-VIS spectrophotometry coupled with multivariate calibration of partial least square (PLS) for quantitative analysis of metamizole, thiamin and pyridoxin is developed in the presence of cyanocobalamine without any separation step. Methods: The calibration and validation samples are prepared. The calibration model is prepared by developing a series of sample mixture consisting these drugs in certain proportion. Cross validation of calibration sample using leave one out technique is used to identify the smaller set of components that provide the greatest predictive ability. The evaluation of calibration model was based on the coefficient of determination (R2) and root mean square error of calibration (RMSEC). Results: The results showed that the coefficient of determination (R2) for the relationship between actual values and predicted values for all studied drugs was higher than 0.99 indicating good accuracy. The RMSEC values obtained were relatively low, indicating good precision. The accuracy and presision results of developed method showed no significant difference compared to those obtained by official method of HPLC. Conclusion: The developed method (UV-VIS spectrophotometry in combination with PLS) was succesfully used for analysis of metamizole, thiamin and pyridoxin in tablet dosage form. PMID:26819934

On a biologically inspired topology optimization method

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kobayashi, Marcelo H.

2010-03-01

This work concerns the development of a biologically inspired methodology for the study of topology optimization in engineering and natural systems. The methodology is based on L systems and its turtle interpretation for the genotype-phenotype modeling of the topology development. The topology is analyzed using the finite element method, and optimized using an evolutionary algorithm with the genetic encoding of the L system and its turtle interpretation, as well as, body shape and physical characteristics. The test cases considered in this work clearly show the suitability of the proposed method for the study of engineering and natural complex systems.

Data-Driven Zero-Sum Neuro-Optimal Control for a Class of Continuous-Time Unknown Nonlinear Systems With Disturbance Using ADP.

PubMed

Wei, Qinglai; Song, Ruizhuo; Yan, Pengfei

2016-02-01

This paper is concerned with a new data-driven zero-sum neuro-optimal control problem for continuous-time unknown nonlinear systems with disturbance. According to the input-output data of the nonlinear system, an effective recurrent neural network is introduced to reconstruct the dynamics of the nonlinear system. Considering the system disturbance as a control input, a two-player zero-sum optimal control problem is established. Adaptive dynamic programming (ADP) is developed to obtain the optimal control under the worst case of the disturbance. Three single-layer neural networks, including one critic and two action networks, are employed to approximate the performance index function, the optimal control law, and the disturbance, respectively, for facilitating the implementation of the ADP method. Convergence properties of the ADP method are developed to show that the system state will converge to a finite neighborhood of the equilibrium. The weight matrices of the critic and the two action networks are also convergent to finite neighborhoods of their optimal ones. Finally, the simulation results will show the effectiveness of the developed data-driven ADP methods.

Using the surface panel method to predict the steady performance of ducted propellers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cai, Hao-Peng; Su, Yu-Min; Li, Xin; Shen, Hai-Long

2009-12-01

A new numerical method was developed for predicting the steady hydrodynamic performance of ducted propellers. A potential based surface panel method was applied both to the duct and the propeller, and the interaction between them was solved by an induced velocity potential iterative method. Compared with the induced velocity iterative method, the method presented can save programming and calculating time. Numerical results for a JD simplified ducted propeller series showed that the method presented is effective for predicting the steady hydrodynamic performance of ducted propellers.

The method to divide a sentence of requirement into individual requirements and the development of requirement specification editor which can describe individual requirements.

PubMed

Sato, Kuniya; Ooba, Masahiro; Takagi, Tomohiko; Furukawa, Zengo; Komiya, Seiichi; Yaegashi, Rihito

2013-12-01

Agile software development gains requirements from the direct discussion with customers and the development staff each time, and the customers evaluate the appropriateness of the requirement. If the customers divide the complicated requirement into individual requirements, the engineer who is in charge of software development can understand it easily. This is called division of requirement. However, the customers do not understand how much and how to divide the requirements. This paper proposes the method to divide a complicated requirement into individual requirements. Also, it shows the development of requirement specification editor which can describe individual requirements. The engineer who is in charge of software development can understand requirements easily.

A Special Investigation to Develop a General Method for Three-dimensional Photoelastic Stress Analysis

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Frocht, M M; Guernsey, R , Jr

1953-01-01

The method of strain measurement after annealing is reviewed and found to be satisfactory for the materials available in this country. A new general method is described for the photoelastic determination of the principal stresses at any point of a general body subjected to arbitrary load. The method has been applied to a sphere subjected to diametrical compressive loads. The results show possibilities of high accuracy.

Modeling of frequency agile devices: development of PKI neuromodeling library based on hierarchical network structure

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sanchez, P.; Hinojosa, J.; Ruiz, R.

2005-06-01

Recently, neuromodeling methods of microwave devices have been developed. These methods are suitable for the model generation of novel devices. They allow fast and accurate simulations and optimizations. However, the development of libraries makes these methods to be a formidable task, since they require massive input-output data provided by an electromagnetic simulator or measurements and repeated artificial neural network (ANN) training. This paper presents a strategy reducing the cost of library development with the advantages of the neuromodeling methods: high accuracy, large range of geometrical and material parameters and reduced CPU time. The library models are developed from a set of base prior knowledge input (PKI) models, which take into account the characteristics common to all the models in the library, and high-level ANNs which give the library model outputs from base PKI models. This technique is illustrated for a microwave multiconductor tunable phase shifter using anisotropic substrates. Closed-form relationships have been developed and are presented in this paper. The results show good agreement with the expected ones.

The Role of Participatory Design in Mobile Application Development

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hamzah, Almed

2018-03-01

Mobile devices are used by people worldwide. It becomes a common equipment to complete a day-to-day activity. Inside the devices, there are numerous mobile applications that have been built for various needs. Some of these are quite successful while the other are not. The development of successful mobile application faces several challenges. In this research, we want to explore the use of participatory design method in mobile application development. Particularly, the aim of the study is to answer the question whether participatory design method has a place in the realm of mobile application development. We established two sessions of workshop to accommodate the participant to take part in the development process of mobile application. The result shows that participatory design method can determine how the user will deal with the limitations of mobile devices. It helps user to create a particular form of interaction that meets mobile devices characteristics.

Technological changes in the healthcare sector. A method to assess change readiness.

PubMed

Kristensen, M; Nøhr, C

2000-01-01

This paper describes the theory, method and recent results of a study developing methods for assessment of change readiness. The empirical focus is on development and implementation of clinical IT systems in the Danish healthcare sector. To assess change readiness, a questionnaire has been developed. The questionnaire has been tested in a hospital department as a part of a pre analysis related to development and implementation of an IT quality assurance system. The study shows a general positive attitude to the IT system and the organisational changes, related to the implementation and use of the system. It also supplies the project organisation with specific information, useful to the project organisation to continue the essential dialogue with the healthcare professionals during the change process. Furthermore it provides a useful tool for planning the ongoing developing processes. Several other healthcare organisations are at the moment entering the study.

SELF-BLM: Prediction of drug-target interactions via self-training SVM.

PubMed

Keum, Jongsoo; Nam, Hojung

2017-01-01

Predicting drug-target interactions is important for the development of novel drugs and the repositioning of drugs. To predict such interactions, there are a number of methods based on drug and target protein similarity. Although these methods, such as the bipartite local model (BLM), show promise, they often categorize unknown interactions as negative interaction. Therefore, these methods are not ideal for finding potential drug-target interactions that have not yet been validated as positive interactions. Thus, here we propose a method that integrates machine learning techniques, such as self-training support vector machine (SVM) and BLM, to develop a self-training bipartite local model (SELF-BLM) that facilitates the identification of potential interactions. The method first categorizes unlabeled interactions and negative interactions among unknown interactions using a clustering method. Then, using the BLM method and self-training SVM, the unlabeled interactions are self-trained and final local classification models are constructed. When applied to four classes of proteins that include enzymes, G-protein coupled receptors (GPCRs), ion channels, and nuclear receptors, SELF-BLM showed the best performance for predicting not only known interactions but also potential interactions in three protein classes compare to other related studies. The implemented software and supporting data are available at https://github.com/GIST-CSBL/SELF-BLM.

A Novel Quantum Dots-Based Point of Care Test for Syphilis

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yang, Hao; Li, Ding; He, Rong; Guo, Qin; Wang, Kan; Zhang, Xueqing; Huang, Peng; Cui, Daxiang

2010-05-01

One-step lateral flow test is recommended as the first line screening of syphilis for primary healthcare settings in developing countries. However, it generally shows low sensitivity. We describe here the development of a novel fluorescent POC (Point Of Care) test method to be used for screening for syphilis. The method was designed to combine the rapidness of lateral flow test and sensitiveness of fluorescent method. 50 syphilis-positive specimens and 50 healthy specimens conformed by Treponema pallidum particle agglutination (TPPA) were tested with Quantum Dot-labeled and colloidal gold-labeled lateral flow test strips, respectively. The results showed that both sensitivity and specificity of the quantum dots-based method reached up to 100% (95% confidence interval [CI], 91-100%), while those of the colloidal gold-based method were 82% (95% CI, 68-91%) and 100% (95% CI, 91-100%), respectively. In addition, the naked-eye detection limit of quantum dot-based method could achieve 2 ng/ml of anti-TP47 polyclonal antibodies purified by affinity chromatography with TP47 antigen, which was tenfold higher than that of colloidal gold-based method. In conclusion, the quantum dots were found to be suitable for labels of lateral flow test strip. Its ease of use, sensitiveness and low cost make it well-suited for population-based on-the-site syphilis screening.

The impact of poverty on the development of brain networks

PubMed Central

Lipina, Sebastián J.; Posner, Michael I.

2012-01-01

Although the study of brain development in non-human animals is an old one, recent imaging methods have allowed non-invasive studies of the gray and white matter of the human brain over the lifespan. Classic animal studies show clearly that impoverished environments reduce cortical gray matter in relation to complex environments and cognitive and imaging studies in humans suggest which networks may be most influenced by poverty. Studies have been clear in showing the plasticity of many brain systems, but whether sensitivity to learning differs over the lifespan and for which networks is still unclear. A major task for current research is a successful integration of these methods to understand how development and learning shape the neural networks underlying achievements in literacy, numeracy, and attention. This paper seeks to foster further integration by reviewing the current state of knowledge relating brain changes to behavior and indicating possible future directions. PMID:22912613

The research of distributed interactive simulation based on HLA in coal mine industry inherent safety

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dou, Zhi-Wu

2010-08-01

To solve the inherent safety problem puzzling the coal mining industry, analyzing the characteristic and the application of distributed interactive simulation based on high level architecture (DIS/HLA), a new method is proposed for developing coal mining industry inherent safety distributed interactive simulation adopting HLA technology. Researching the function and structure of the system, a simple coal mining industry inherent safety is modeled with HLA, the FOM and SOM are developed, and the math models are suggested. The results of the instance research show that HLA plays an important role in developing distributed interactive simulation of complicated distributed system and the method is valid to solve the problem puzzling coal mining industry. To the coal mining industry, the conclusions show that the simulation system with HLA plays an important role to identify the source of hazard, to make the measure for accident, and to improve the level of management.

The mimetic finite difference method for the Landau–Lifshitz equation

DOE PAGES

Kim, Eugenia Hail; Lipnikov, Konstantin Nikolayevich

2017-01-01

The Landau–Lifshitz equation describes the dynamics of the magnetization inside ferromagnetic materials. This equation is highly nonlinear and has a non-convex constraint (the magnitude of the magnetization is constant) which poses interesting challenges in developing numerical methods. We develop and analyze explicit and implicit mimetic finite difference schemes for this equation. These schemes work on general polytopal meshes which provide enormous flexibility to model magnetic devices with various shapes. A projection on the unit sphere is used to preserve the magnitude of the magnetization. We also provide a proof that shows the exchange energy is decreasing in certain conditions. Themore » developed schemes are tested on general meshes that include distorted and randomized meshes. As a result, the numerical experiments include a test proposed by the National Institute of Standard and Technology and a test showing formation of domain wall structures in a thin film.« less

The mimetic finite difference method for the Landau–Lifshitz equation

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

Kim, Eugenia Hail; Lipnikov, Konstantin Nikolayevich

The Landau–Lifshitz equation describes the dynamics of the magnetization inside ferromagnetic materials. This equation is highly nonlinear and has a non-convex constraint (the magnitude of the magnetization is constant) which poses interesting challenges in developing numerical methods. We develop and analyze explicit and implicit mimetic finite difference schemes for this equation. These schemes work on general polytopal meshes which provide enormous flexibility to model magnetic devices with various shapes. A projection on the unit sphere is used to preserve the magnitude of the magnetization. We also provide a proof that shows the exchange energy is decreasing in certain conditions. Themore » developed schemes are tested on general meshes that include distorted and randomized meshes. As a result, the numerical experiments include a test proposed by the National Institute of Standard and Technology and a test showing formation of domain wall structures in a thin film.« less

Deformation processes in orogenic wedges: New methods and application to Northwestern Washington State

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Thissen, Christopher J.

Permanent deformation records aspects of how material moves through a tectonic environment. The methods required to measure deformation vary based on rock type, deformation process, and the geological question of interest. In this thesis we develop two new methods for measuring permanent deformation in rocks. The first method uses the autocorrelation function to measure the anisotropy present in two-dimensional photomicrographs and three-dimensional X-ray tomograms of rocks. The method returns very precise estimates for the deformation parameters and works best for materials where the deformation is recorded as a shape change of distinct fabric elements, such as grains. Our method also includes error estimates. Image analysis techniques can focus the method on specific fabric elements, such as quartz grains. The second method develops a statistical technique for measuring the symmetry in a distribution of crystal orientations, called a lattice-preferred orientation (LPO). We show that in many cases the symmetry of the LPO directly constrains the symmetry of the deformation, such axial flattening vs. pure shear vs. simple shear. In addition to quantifying the symmetry, the method uses the full crystal orientation to estimate symmetry rather than pole figures. Pole figure symmetry can often be misleading. This method works best for crystal orientations measured in samples deformed by dislocation creep, but otherwise can be used on any mineral without requiring information about slip systems. In Chapter 4 we show how deformation measurements can be used to inform regional tectonic and orogenic models in the Pacific Northwestern United States. A suite of measurements from the Olympic Mountains shows that uplift and deformation of the range is consistent with an orogenic wedge model driven by subduction of the Juan de Fuca plate, and not northward forearc migration of the Oregon block. The deformation measurements also show that deformation within the Olympic Mountains is essentially two-dimensional. We use this constraint to develop a suite of orogenic deformation models that use slab height and erosion rate data as boundary conditions. We use the models to show that influx of sediments distributed along an accretionary front can greatly reduce deformation required to maintain wedge taper. Due to the two-dimensional nature of deformation in the Olympics, a series of two-dimensional transects across the peninsula provides an approximation for non-elastic deformation across the Peninsula. We show how the shallow slab height and deeper exhumation at the core of peninsula led to the domal structure of the Olympics. This model also explains the counter-clockwise vertical axis rotations north of the peninsula, and clockwise rotations south of the peninsula through horizontal shear, similar to opening a gate. Finally, the horizontal surface velocities predicted by the models suggests that up to 15% of GPS velocities may reflect non-elastic, permanent translation of material towards the rear of the wedge.

Fast methods to numerically integrate the Reynolds equation for gas fluid films

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Dimofte, Florin

1992-01-01

The alternating direction implicit (ADI) method is adopted, modified, and applied to the Reynolds equation for thin, gas fluid films. An efficient code is developed to predict both the steady-state and dynamic performance of an aerodynamic journal bearing. An alternative approach is shown for hybrid journal gas bearings by using Liebmann's iterative solution (LIS) for elliptic partial differential equations. The results are compared with known design criteria from experimental data. The developed methods show good accuracy and very short computer running time in comparison with methods based on an inverting of a matrix. The computer codes need a small amount of memory and can be run on either personal computers or on mainframe systems.

Analysis of the nature and cause of turbulence upset using airline flight records

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Parks, E. K.; Bach, R. E., Jr.; Wingrove, R. C.

1982-01-01

The development and application of methods for determining aircraft motions and related winds, using data normally recorded during airline flight operations, are described. The methods are being developed, in cooperation with the National Transportation Safety Board, to aid in the analysis and understanding of circumstances associated with aircraft accidents or incidents. Data from a recent DC-10 encounter with severe, high-altitude turbulence are used to illustrate the methods. The analysis of this encounter shows the turbulence to be a series of equally spaced horizontal swirls known as 'cat's eyes' vortices. The use of flight-data analysis methods to identify this type of turbulence phenomenon is presented for the first time.

Understanding Democracy and Development Traps Using a Data-Driven Approach.

PubMed

Ranganathan, Shyam; Nicolis, Stamatios C; Spaiser, Viktoria; Sumpter, David J T

2015-03-01

Methods from machine learning and data science are becoming increasingly important in the social sciences, providing powerful new ways of identifying statistical relationships in large data sets. However, these relationships do not necessarily offer an understanding of the processes underlying the data. To address this problem, we have developed a method for fitting nonlinear dynamical systems models to data related to social change. Here, we use this method to investigate how countries become trapped at low levels of socioeconomic development. We identify two types of traps. The first is a democracy trap, where countries with low levels of economic growth and/or citizen education fail to develop democracy. The second trap is in terms of cultural values, where countries with low levels of democracy and/or life expectancy fail to develop emancipative values. We show that many key developing countries, including India and Egypt, lie near the border of these development traps, and we investigate the time taken for these nations to transition toward higher democracy and socioeconomic well-being.

Understanding Democracy and Development Traps Using a Data-Driven Approach

PubMed Central

Ranganathan, Shyam; Nicolis, Stamatios C.; Spaiser, Viktoria; Sumpter, David J.T.

2015-01-01

Abstract Methods from machine learning and data science are becoming increasingly important in the social sciences, providing powerful new ways of identifying statistical relationships in large data sets. However, these relationships do not necessarily offer an understanding of the processes underlying the data. To address this problem, we have developed a method for fitting nonlinear dynamical systems models to data related to social change. Here, we use this method to investigate how countries become trapped at low levels of socioeconomic development. We identify two types of traps. The first is a democracy trap, where countries with low levels of economic growth and/or citizen education fail to develop democracy. The second trap is in terms of cultural values, where countries with low levels of democracy and/or life expectancy fail to develop emancipative values. We show that many key developing countries, including India and Egypt, lie near the border of these development traps, and we investigate the time taken for these nations to transition toward higher democracy and socioeconomic well-being. PMID:26487983

Fractal analysis of GPS time series for early detection of disastrous seismic events

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Filatov, Denis M.; Lyubushin, Alexey A.

2017-03-01

A new method of fractal analysis of time series for estimating the chaoticity of behaviour of open stochastic dynamical systems is developed. The method is a modification of the conventional detrended fluctuation analysis (DFA) technique. We start from analysing both methods from the physical point of view and demonstrate the difference between them which results in a higher accuracy of the new method compared to the conventional DFA. Then, applying the developed method to estimate the measure of chaoticity of a real dynamical system - the Earth's crust, we reveal that the latter exhibits two distinct mechanisms of transition to a critical state: while the first mechanism has already been known due to numerous studies of other dynamical systems, the second one is new and has not previously been described. Using GPS time series, we demonstrate efficiency of the developed method in identification of critical states of the Earth's crust. Finally we employ the method to solve a practically important task: we show how the developed measure of chaoticity can be used for early detection of disastrous seismic events and provide a detailed discussion of the numerical results, which are shown to be consistent with outcomes of other researches on the topic.

Heat simulation via Scilab programming

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hasan, Mohammad Khatim; Sulaiman, Jumat; Karim, Samsul Arifin Abdul

2014-07-01

This paper discussed the used of an open source sofware called Scilab to develop a heat simulator. In this paper, heat equation was used to simulate heat behavior in an object. The simulator was developed using finite difference method. Numerical experiment output show that Scilab can produce a good heat behavior simulation with marvellous visual output with only developing simple computer code.

A rapid method to identify Salmonella enterica serovar Gallinarum biovar Pullorum using a specific target gene ipaJ.

PubMed

Xu, Lijuan; Liu, Zijian; Li, Yang; Yin, Chao; Hu, Yachen; Xie, Xiaolei; Li, Qiuchun; Jiao, Xinan

2018-06-01

Salmonella enterica serovar Gallinarum biovar Pullorum (S. Pullorum) is the pathogen of pullorum disease, which leads to severe economic losses in many developing countries. Traditional methods to identify S. enterica have relied on biochemical reactions and serotyping, which are time-consuming with accurate identification if properly carried out. In this study, we developed a rapid polymerase chain reaction (PCR) method targeting the specific gene ipaJ to detect S. Pullorum. Among the 650 S. Pullorum strains isolated from 1962 to 2016 all over China, 644 strains were identified to harbour ipaJ gene in the plasmid pSPI12, accounting for a detection rate of 99.08%. Six strains were ipaJ negative because pSPI12 was not found in these strains according to whole genome sequencing results. There was no cross-reaction with other Salmonella serotypes, including Salmonella enterica serovar Gallinarum biovar Gallinarum (S. Gallinarum), which show a close genetic relationship with S. Pullorum. This shows that the PCR method could distinguish S. Gallinarum from S. Pullorum in one-step PCR without complicated biochemical identification. The limit of detection of this PCR method was as low as 90 fg/μl or 10 2 CFU, which shows a high sensitivity. Moreover, this method was applied to identify Salmonella isolated from the chicken farm and the results were consistent with what we obtained from biochemical reactions and serotyping. Together, all the results demonstrated that this one-step PCR method is simple and feasible to efficiently identify S. Pullorum.

Generalized semiparametric varying-coefficient models for longitudinal data

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Qi, Li

In this dissertation, we investigate the generalized semiparametric varying-coefficient models for longitudinal data that can flexibly model three types of covariate effects: time-constant effects, time-varying effects, and covariate-varying effects, i.e., the covariate effects that depend on other possibly time-dependent exposure variables. First, we consider the model that assumes the time-varying effects are unspecified functions of time while the covariate-varying effects are parametric functions of an exposure variable specified up to a finite number of unknown parameters. The estimation procedures are developed using multivariate local linear smoothing and generalized weighted least squares estimation techniques. The asymptotic properties of the proposed estimators are established. The simulation studies show that the proposed methods have satisfactory finite sample performance. ACTG 244 clinical trial of HIV infected patients are applied to examine the effects of antiretroviral treatment switching before and after HIV developing the 215-mutation. Our analysis shows benefit of treatment switching before developing the 215-mutation. The proposed methods are also applied to the STEP study with MITT cases showing that they have broad applications in medical research.

Continuous monitoring of seasonal phenological development by BBCH code

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cornelius, Christine; Estrella, Nicole; Menzel, Annette

2010-05-01

Phenology, the science of recurrent seasonal natural events, is a proxy for changes in ecosystems due to recent global climate change. Phenological studies mostly deal with data considering the beginning of different development stages e.g. budburst or the beginning of flowering. Just few studies focus on the end of phenological stages, such as the end of flowering or seed dispersal. Information about the entire development cycle of plants, including data of the end of stages, are received by observing plants according to the extended BBCH-scale (MEIER 1997). The scale is a standardized growth stage key which allows a less labor intensive, weekly observation rhythm. Every week frequencies of all occurring phenological stages are noted. These frequencies then constitute the basis to interpolate the development of each phenological stage, even though it was not being seen during field work. Due to the lack of studies using this kind of key for observations over the entire development cycle there is no common methodology to analyze the data. So our objective was to find a method of analysis, with which onset dates as well as endpoints of each development stage could be defined. Three different methods of analysis were compared. Results show that there is no significant difference in onset dates of phenological stages between all methods tested. However, the method of pooled pre/post stage development seems to be most suitable for climate change studies, followed by the method of cumulative stage development and the method of weighted plant development.

Teaching learning methods of an entrepreneurship curriculum.

PubMed

Esmi, Keramat; Marzoughi, Rahmatallah; Torkzadeh, Jafar

2015-10-01

One of the most significant elements of entrepreneurship curriculum design is teaching-learning methods, which plays a key role in studies and researches related to such a curriculum. It is the teaching method, and systematic, organized and logical ways of providing lessons that should be consistent with entrepreneurship goals and contents, and should also be developed according to the learners' needs. Therefore, the current study aimed to introduce appropriate, modern, and effective methods of teaching entrepreneurship and their validation. This is a mixed method research of a sequential exploratory kind conducted through two stages: a) developing teaching methods of entrepreneurship curriculum, and b) validating developed framework. Data were collected through "triangulation" (study of documents, investigating theoretical basics and the literature, and semi-structured interviews with key experts). Since the literature on this topic is very rich, and views of the key experts are vast, directed and summative content analysis was used. In the second stage, qualitative credibility of research findings was obtained using qualitative validation criteria (credibility, confirmability, and transferability), and applying various techniques. Moreover, in order to make sure that the qualitative part is reliable, reliability test was used. Moreover, quantitative validation of the developed framework was conducted utilizing exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis methods and Cronbach's alpha. The data were gathered through distributing a three-aspect questionnaire (direct presentation teaching methods, interactive, and practical-operational aspects) with 29 items among 90 curriculum scholars. Target population was selected by means of purposive sampling and representative sample. Results obtained from exploratory factor analysis showed that a three factor structure is an appropriate method for describing elements of teaching-learning methods of entrepreneurship curriculum. Moreover, the value for Kaiser Meyer Olkin measure of sampling adequacy equaled 0.72 and the value for Bartlett's test of variances homogeneity was significant at the 0.0001 level. Except for internship element, the rest had a factor load of higher than 0.3. Also, the results of confirmatory factor analysis showed the model appropriateness, and the criteria for qualitative accreditation were acceptable. Developed model can help instructors in selecting an appropriate method of entrepreneurship teaching, and it can also make sure that the teaching is on the right path. Moreover, the model is comprehensive and includes all the effective teaching methods in entrepreneurship education. It is also based on qualities, conditions, and requirements of Higher Education Institutions in Iranian cultural environment.

Determining Gender by Raman Spectroscopy of a Bloodstain.

PubMed

Sikirzhytskaya, Aliaksandra; Sikirzhytski, Vitali; Lednev, Igor K

2017-02-07

The development of novel methods for forensic science is a constantly growing area of modern analytical chemistry. Raman spectroscopy is one of a few analytical techniques capable of nondestructive and nearly instantaneous analysis of a wide variety of forensic evidence, including body fluid stains, at the scene of a crime. In this proof-of-concept study, Raman microspectroscopy was utilized for gender identification based on dry bloodstains. Raman spectra were acquired in mapping mode from multiple spots on a bloodstain to account for intrinsic sample heterogeneity. The obtained Raman spectroscopic data showed highly similar spectroscopic features for female and male blood samples. Nevertheless, support vector machines (SVM) and artificial neuron network (ANN) statistical methods applied to the spectroscopic data allowed for differentiating between male and female bloodstains with high confidence. More specifically, the statistical approach based on a genetic algorithm (GA) coupled with an ANN classification showed approximately 98% gender differentiation accuracy for individual bloodstains. These results demonstrate the great potential of the developed method for forensic applications, although more work is needed for method validation. When this method is fully developed, a portable Raman instrument could be used for the infield identification of traces of body fluids and to obtain phenotypic information about the donor, including gender and race, as well as for the analysis of a variety of other types of forensic evidence.

In Vitro and In Vivo Activities of Antimicrobial Peptides Developed Using an Amino Acid-Based Activity Prediction Method

PubMed Central

Wu, Xiaozhe; Wang, Zhenling; Li, Xiaolu; Fan, Yingzi; He, Gu; Wan, Yang; Yu, Chaoheng; Tang, Jianying; Li, Meng; Zhang, Xian; Zhang, Hailong; Xiang, Rong; Pan, Ying; Liu, Yan; Lu, Lian

2014-01-01

To design and discover new antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) with high levels of antimicrobial activity, a number of machine-learning methods and prediction methods have been developed. Here, we present a new prediction method that can identify novel AMPs that are highly similar in sequence to known peptides but offer improved antimicrobial activity along with lower host cytotoxicity. Using previously generated AMP amino acid substitution data, we developed an amino acid activity contribution matrix that contained an activity contribution value for each amino acid in each position of the model peptide. A series of AMPs were designed with this method. After evaluating the antimicrobial activities of these novel AMPs against both Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacterial strains, DP7 was chosen for further analysis. Compared to the parent peptide HH2, this novel AMP showed broad-spectrum, improved antimicrobial activity, and in a cytotoxicity assay it showed lower toxicity against human cells. The in vivo antimicrobial activity of DP7 was tested in a Staphylococcus aureus infection murine model. When inoculated and treated via intraperitoneal injection, DP7 reduced the bacterial load in the peritoneal lavage solution. Electron microscope imaging and the results indicated disruption of the S. aureus outer membrane by DP7. Our new prediction method can therefore be employed to identify AMPs possessing minor amino acid differences with improved antimicrobial activities, potentially increasing the therapeutic agents available to combat multidrug-resistant infections. PMID:24982064

Development of Nested PCR, Multiplex PCR, and Loop-Mediated Isothermal Amplification Assays for Rapid Detection of Cylindrocladium scoparium on Eucalyptus.

PubMed

Qiao, Tian-Min; Zhang, Jing; Li, Shu-Jiang; Han, Shan; Zhu, Tian-Hui

2016-10-01

Eucalyptus dieback disease, caused by Cylindrocladium scoparium , has occurred in last few years in large Eucalyptus planting areas in China and other countries. Rapid, simple, and reliable diagnostic techniques are desired for the early detection of Eucalyptus dieback of C. scoparium prior to formulation of efficient control plan. For this purpose, three PCR-based methods of nested PCR, multiplex PCR, loop-mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP) were developed for detection of C. scoparium based on factor 1-alpha (tef1) and beta-tubulin gene in this study. All of the three methods showed highly specific to C. scoparium . The sensitivities of the nested PCR and LAMP were much higher than the multiplex PCR. The sensitivity of multiplex PCR was also higher than regular PCR. C. scoparium could be detected within 60 min from infected Eucalyptus plants by LAMP, while at least 2 h was needed by the rest two methods. Using different Eucalyptus tissues as samples for C. scoparium detection, all of the three PCR-based methods showed much better detection results than regular PCR. Base on the results from this study, we concluded that any of the three PCR-based methods could be used as diagnostic technology for the development of efficient strategies of Eucalyptus dieback disease control. Particularly, LAMP was the most practical method in field application because of its one-step and rapid reaction, simple operation, single-tube utilization, and simple visualization of amplification products.

Development of Nested PCR, Multiplex PCR, and Loop-Mediated Isothermal Amplification Assays for Rapid Detection of Cylindrocladium scoparium on Eucalyptus

PubMed Central

Qiao, Tian-Min; Zhang, Jing; Li, Shu-Jiang; Han, Shan; Zhu, Tian-Hui

2016-01-01

Eucalyptus dieback disease, caused by Cylindrocladium scoparium, has occurred in last few years in large Eucalyptus planting areas in China and other countries. Rapid, simple, and reliable diagnostic techniques are desired for the early detection of Eucalyptus dieback of C. scoparium prior to formulation of efficient control plan. For this purpose, three PCR-based methods of nested PCR, multiplex PCR, loop-mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP) were developed for detection of C. scoparium based on factor 1-alpha (tef1) and beta-tubulin gene in this study. All of the three methods showed highly specific to C. scoparium. The sensitivities of the nested PCR and LAMP were much higher than the multiplex PCR. The sensitivity of multiplex PCR was also higher than regular PCR. C. scoparium could be detected within 60 min from infected Eucalyptus plants by LAMP, while at least 2 h was needed by the rest two methods. Using different Eucalyptus tissues as samples for C. scoparium detection, all of the three PCR-based methods showed much better detection results than regular PCR. Base on the results from this study, we concluded that any of the three PCR-based methods could be used as diagnostic technology for the development of efficient strategies of Eucalyptus dieback disease control. Particularly, LAMP was the most practical method in field application because of its one-step and rapid reaction, simple operation, single-tube utilization, and simple visualization of amplification products. PMID:27721691

Chemistry and quality of Hibiscus (Hibiscus sabdariffa) for developing the natural-product industry in Senegal.

PubMed

Juliani, H R; Welch, C R; Wu, Q; Diouf, B; Malainy, D; Simon, J E

2009-03-01

The objectives of this study were to assess and improve the quality of the hibiscus calyces from Senegal over 2 production seasons (2004 to 2005), to develop and adapt new procedures for the determination of hibiscus anthocyanins and analysis of the 2 major ones, delphinidin-3-sambubioside and cyanidin-3-sambubioside. The foreign matter, total ashes, and acid insoluble ashes showed that the calyces harvested in 2005 were produced following hygienic practices, while the color assessment of the calyces and analysis of hibiscus active principles also showed higher amounts of anthocyanins in 2005. A protocol to measure anthocyanins by pH-differential UV-Vis spectrophotometry was adapted to measure the hibiscus anthocyanins from a water extract. The spectrophotometric method for quantitation of total anthocyanins showed a close correlation (r(2)= 0.82) when compared with the HPLC method, suggesting the use of the colorimetric method in quality control programs as an affordable alternative method to assess anthocyanin content in hibiscus. New and raised standards for the cleanliness and active principle content in hibiscus are also proposed. This study demonstrated that the implementation of a quality control program and the application of agricultural good practices in the production and processing of hibiscus calyces can lead to higher quality natural plant products.

Dual gated PET/CT imaging of small targets of the heart: method description and testing with a dynamic heart phantom.

PubMed

Kokki, Tommi; Sipilä, Hannu T; Teräs, Mika; Noponen, Tommi; Durand-Schaefer, Nicolas; Klén, Riku; Knuuti, Juhani

2010-01-01

In PET imaging respiratory and cardiac contraction motions interfere the imaging of heart. The aim was to develop and evaluate dual gating method for improving the detection of small targets of the heart. The method utilizes two independent triggers which are sent periodically into list mode data based on respiratory and ECG cycles. An algorithm for generating dual gated segments from list mode data was developed. The test measurements showed that rotational and axial movements of point source can be separated spatially to different segments with well-defined borders. The effect of dual gating on detection of small moving targets was tested with a moving heart phantom. Dual gated images showed 51% elimination (3.6 mm out of 7.0 mm) of contraction motion of hot spot (diameter 3 mm) and 70% elimination (14 mm out of 20 mm) of respiratory motion. Averaged activity value of hot spot increases by 89% when comparing to non-gated images. Patient study of suspected cardiac sarcoidosis shows sharper spatial myocardial uptake profile and improved detection of small myocardial structures such as papillary muscles. The dual gating method improves detection of small moving targets in a phantom and it is feasible in clinical situations.

Development of an assisting detection system for early infarct diagnosis

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

Sim, K. S.; Nia, M. E.; Ee, C. S.

2015-04-24

In this paper, a detection assisting system for early infarct detection is developed. This new developed method is used to assist the medical practitioners to diagnose infarct from computed tomography images of brain. Using this assisting system, the infarct could be diagnosed at earlier stages. The non-contrast computed tomography (NCCT) brain images are the data set used for this system. Detection module extracts the pixel data from NCCT brain images, and produces the colourized version of images. The proposed method showed great potential in detecting infarct, and helps medical practitioners to make earlier and better diagnoses.

[Coupling coordination evaluation method between eco-environment quality and economic development level in contiguous special poverty-stricken areas of China].

PubMed

Wang, Yan-hui; Li, Jing-yi

2015-05-01

It is one of the important strategies in the new period of national poverty alleviation and development to maintain the basic balance between the ecological environment and economic development, and to promote the coordinated sustainable development of economy and ecological environment. Taking six contiguous special poverty-stricken areas as the study areas, a coupling coordination evaluation method between eco-environment quality and economic development level in contiguous special poverty-stricken areas was explored in this paper. The region' s ecological poverty index system was proposed based on the natural attribute of ecological environment, and the ecological environment quality evaluation method was built up by using AHP weighting method, followed by the design of the coupling coordination evaluation method between the ecological environment indices and the county economic poverty comprehensive indices. The coupling coordination degrees were calculated and their spatial representation differentiations were analyzed respectively at district, province, city, and county scales. Results showed that approximately half of the counties in the study areas achieved the harmoniously coordinated development. However, the ecological environmental quality and the economic development in most counties could not be synchronized, where mountains, rivers and other geographic features existed roughly as a dividing line of the coordinated development types. The phenomena of dislocation between the ecological environment and economic development in state-level poor counties were more serious than those of local poor counties.

Digital radiographic evaluation of mandibular third molar for age estimation in young adults and adolescents of South Indian population using modified Demirjian's method

PubMed Central

Mohammed, Rezwana Begum; Koganti, Ravichandra; Kalyan, Siva V.; Tircouveluri, Saritha; Singh, Johar Rajvinder; Srinivasulu, Enganti

2014-01-01

In recent years, it has become increasingly important to determine the age of living people for a variety of reasons, including identifying criminal and legal responsibility and for many other social events such as birth certificate, marriage, beginning a job, joining the army and retirement Objectives: The aim of this study was to assess the developmental stages of mandibular third molar for estimation of dental age (DA) in different age groups and to evaluate the possible correlation between DA and chronological age (CA) in South Indian population. Materials and Methods: Digital orthopantomography of 330 subjects (165 males, 165 females) who fit the study and the criteria were obtained. Assessment of mandibular third molar development was performed using Demirjian et al., modified method and DA was assessed using tooth specific stages. Results and Discussion: The present study showed a significant correlation between DA and CA in both males and females. Third molar development commenced around 9 years and root completion takes place around 18.9 years in males and in females 9 years and 18.6 years respectively. Demirjian modified method underestimated the mean age of males by 0.8 years and females by 0.5 years and also showed that females mature earlier than males in selected population. Conclusion: Digital radiographic assessment of mandibular third molar development can be used to generate mean DA using Demirjian modified method and also the estimated age range for an individual of unknown CA. Since the Demirjian method is based on French-Canadian population, to enhance the accuracy of forensic age estimates based on third molar development, the use of population-specific standards is recommended. PMID:25177143

Teaching Introductory Chemistry with Videocassette Presentations.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Enger, John; And Others

Reported here is the development and evaluation of an extensive series of video-cassette presentations developed for introductory chemical education. In measures of course achievement, students instructed by the video-cassette-discussion format received higher average scores than those taught by live lecture methods. A survey showed that the…

Cochrane Qualitative and Implementation Methods Group guidance series-paper 3: methods for assessing methodological limitations, data extraction and synthesis, and confidence in synthesized qualitative findings.

PubMed

Noyes, Jane; Booth, Andrew; Flemming, Kate; Garside, Ruth; Harden, Angela; Lewin, Simon; Pantoja, Tomas; Hannes, Karin; Cargo, Margaret; Thomas, James

2018-05-01

The Cochrane Qualitative and Implementation Methods Group develops and publishes guidance on the synthesis of qualitative and mixed-method implementation evidence. Choice of appropriate methodologies, methods, and tools is essential when developing a rigorous protocol and conducting the synthesis. Cochrane authors who conduct qualitative evidence syntheses have thus far used a small number of relatively simple methods to address similarly written questions. Cochrane has invested in methodological work to develop new tools and to encourage the production of exemplar reviews to show the value of more innovative methods that address a wider range of questions. In this paper, in the series, we report updated guidance on the selection of tools to assess methodological limitations in qualitative studies and methods to extract and synthesize qualitative evidence. We recommend application of Grades of Recommendation, Assessment, Development, and Evaluation-Confidence in the Evidence from Qualitative Reviews to assess confidence in qualitative synthesized findings. This guidance aims to support review authors to undertake a qualitative evidence synthesis that is intended to be integrated subsequently with the findings of one or more Cochrane reviews of the effects of similar interventions. The review of intervention effects may be undertaken concurrently with or separate to the qualitative evidence synthesis. We encourage further development through reflection and formal testing. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

PSQP: Puzzle Solving by Quadratic Programming.

PubMed

Andalo, Fernanda A; Taubin, Gabriel; Goldenstein, Siome

2017-02-01

In this article we present the first effective method based on global optimization for the reconstruction of image puzzles comprising rectangle pieces-Puzzle Solving by Quadratic Programming (PSQP). The proposed novel mathematical formulation reduces the problem to the maximization of a constrained quadratic function, which is solved via a gradient ascent approach. The proposed method is deterministic and can deal with arbitrary identical rectangular pieces. We provide experimental results showing its effectiveness when compared to state-of-the-art approaches. Although the method was developed to solve image puzzles, we also show how to apply it to the reconstruction of simulated strip-shredded documents, broadening its applicability.

Modeling vibration response and damping of cables and cabled structures

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Spak, Kaitlin S.; Agnes, Gregory S.; Inman, Daniel J.

2015-02-01

In an effort to model the vibration response of cabled structures, the distributed transfer function method is developed to model cables and a simple cabled structure. The model includes shear effects, tension, and hysteretic damping for modeling of helical stranded cables, and includes a method for modeling cable attachment points using both linear and rotational damping and stiffness. The damped cable model shows agreement with experimental data for four types of stranded cables, and the damped cabled beam model shows agreement with experimental data for the cables attached to a beam structure, as well as improvement over the distributed mass method for cabled structure modeling.

Decentralized model reference adaptive control of large flexible structures

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Lee, Fu-Ming; Fong, I-Kong; Lin, Yu-Hwan

1988-01-01

A decentralized model reference adaptive control (DMRAC) method is developed for large flexible structures (LFS). The development follows that of a centralized model reference adaptive control for LFS that have been shown to be feasible. The proposed method is illustrated using a simply supported beam with collocated actuators and sensors. Results show that the DMRAC can achieve either output regulation or output tracking with adequate convergence, provided the reference model inputs and their time derivatives are integrable, bounded, and approach zero as t approaches infinity.

Design, analysis and test verification of advanced encapsulation systems

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Garcia, A., III

1984-01-01

Investigations into transparent conductive polymers were begun. Polypyrrole was electrochemically deposited, but the film characteristics were poor. A proprietary polymer material supplied by Polaroid was evaluated and showed promise as a readily processable material. A method was developed for calculating the magnitude and location of the maximum electric field for the family of solar-cell-like shapes. A method for calculating the lines of force for three dimensional electric fields was developed and applied to a geometry of interest to the photovoltaic program.

Development and validation of reverse phase high performance liquid chromatography for citral analysis from essential oils.

PubMed

Gaonkar, Roopa; Yallappa, S; Dhananjaya, B L; Hegde, Gurumurthy

2016-11-15

Citral is a widely used monoterpene aldehyde in aromatherapy, food and pesticide industries. A new validated reverse phase high performance liquid chromatography (RP - HPLC) procedure for the detection and quantification of cis-trans isomers of citral was developed. The RP-HPLC analysis was carried out using Enable C - 18G column (250×4.6mm, 5μ), with acetonitrile and water (70: 30) mobile phase in isocratic mode at 1mL/min flow. A photodiode array (PDA) detector was set at 233nm for the detection of citral. The method showed linearity, selectivity and accuracy for citral in the range of 3-100μg/mL. In order to compare the new RP-HPLC method with the available methods, one of the commercially available essential oil from Cymbopogon flexuosus was analyzed using new RP-HPLC method and the same was analyzed using GC-MS for the comparison of the method for the detection of citral. The GC-MS analysis was done using mass selective detector (MSD) showed citral content to be of 72.76%; wherein the new method showed to contain that same at 74.98%. To prove the application of the new method, essential oils were extracted from lemongrass, lemon leaves and mosambi peels by steam distillation. The citral content present in the essential and also in the condensate was analyzed. The method was found to be suitable for the analysis of citral in essential oils and water based citral formulations with a very good resolution of its components geranial and neral. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Integrative Analysis of High-throughput Cancer Studies with Contrasted Penalization

PubMed Central

Shi, Xingjie; Liu, Jin; Huang, Jian; Zhou, Yong; Shia, BenChang; Ma, Shuangge

2015-01-01

In cancer studies with high-throughput genetic and genomic measurements, integrative analysis provides a way to effectively pool and analyze heterogeneous raw data from multiple independent studies and outperforms “classic” meta-analysis and single-dataset analysis. When marker selection is of interest, the genetic basis of multiple datasets can be described using the homogeneity model or the heterogeneity model. In this study, we consider marker selection under the heterogeneity model, which includes the homogeneity model as a special case and can be more flexible. Penalization methods have been developed in the literature for marker selection. This study advances from the published ones by introducing the contrast penalties, which can accommodate the within- and across-dataset structures of covariates/regression coefficients and, by doing so, further improve marker selection performance. Specifically, we develop a penalization method that accommodates the across-dataset structures by smoothing over regression coefficients. An effective iterative algorithm, which calls an inner coordinate descent iteration, is developed. Simulation shows that the proposed method outperforms the benchmark with more accurate marker identification. The analysis of breast cancer and lung cancer prognosis studies with gene expression measurements shows that the proposed method identifies genes different from those using the benchmark and has better prediction performance. PMID:24395534

Development and validation of a solid-phase extraction method coupled with HPLC-UV detection for the determination of biogenic amines in Chinese rice wine.

PubMed

Zhang, Ying; Li, Yan; Zhu, Xiao-Juan; Li, Min; Chen, Hao-Yu; Lv, Xiao-Ling; Zhang, Jian

2017-07-01

A reliable and accurate method for the determination of seven biogenic amines (BAs) was developed and validated with Chinese rice wine samples. The BAs were derivatised with dansyl chloride, cleaned up using solid-phase extraction (SPE) and separated by high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) coupled with ultraviolet (UV) detection. The optimised derivatisation reaction, conducted at pH 9.6 and 60°C for 30 min, ensured baseline separation and peak symmetry for each BA. SPE clean-up using Oasis MCX cartridges yielded good recovery rates for all BAs and effectively reduced matrix effects. The developed method shows good linearity with determination coefficients of more than 0.9989 over a concentration range of 0.1-100 mg l -1 . The limits of detection (LODs) for the investigated BAs ranged from 2.07 to 5.56 µg l -1 . The intra- and inter-day relative standard deviations (RSDs) ranged from 0.86% to 3.81% and from 2.13% to 3.82%, respectively. Spiking experiments showed that the overall recovery rates ranged from 85% to 113%. Thus, the proposed method was demonstrated as being suitable for simultaneous detection, with accurate and precise quantification, of BAs in Chinese rice wine.

Text Mining of the Classical Medical Literature for Medicines That Show Potential in Diabetic Nephropathy

PubMed Central

Zhang, Lei; Li, Yin; Guo, Xinfeng; May, Brian H.; Xue, Charlie C. L.; Yang, Lihong; Liu, Xusheng

2014-01-01

Objectives. To apply modern text-mining methods to identify candidate herbs and formulae for the treatment of diabetic nephropathy. Methods. The method we developed includes three steps: (1) identification of candidate ancient terms; (2) systemic search and assessment of medical records written in classical Chinese; (3) preliminary evaluation of the effect and safety of candidates. Results. Ancient terms Xia Xiao, Shen Xiao, and Xiao Shen were determined as the most likely to correspond with diabetic nephropathy and used in text mining. A total of 80 Chinese formulae for treating conditions congruent with diabetic nephropathy recorded in medical books from Tang Dynasty to Qing Dynasty were collected. Sao si tang (also called Reeling Silk Decoction) was chosen to show the process of preliminary evaluation of the candidates. It had promising potential for development as new agent for the treatment of diabetic nephropathy. However, further investigations about the safety to patients with renal insufficiency are still needed. Conclusions. The methods developed in this study offer a targeted approach to identifying traditional herbs and/or formulae as candidates for further investigation in the search for new drugs for modern disease. However, more effort is still required to improve our techniques, especially with regard to compound formulae. PMID:24744808

Nouvelles techniques pratiques pour la modelisation du comportement dynamique des systèmes eau-structure

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Miquel, Benjamin

The dynamic or seismic behavior of hydraulic structures is, as for conventional structures, essential to assure protection of human lives. These types of analyses also aim at limiting structural damage caused by an earthquake to prevent rupture or collapse of the structure. The particularity of these hydraulic structures is that not only the internal displacements are caused by the earthquake, but also by the hydrodynamic loads resulting from fluid-structure interaction. This thesis reviews the existing complex and simplified methods to perform such dynamic analysis for hydraulic structures. For the complex existing methods, attention is placed on the difficulties arising from their use. Particularly, interest is given in this work on the use of transmitting boundary conditions to simulate the semi infinity of reservoirs. A procedure has been developed to estimate the error that these boundary conditions can introduce in finite element dynamic analysis. Depending on their formulation and location, we showed that they can considerably affect the response of such fluid-structure systems. For practical engineering applications, simplified procedures are still needed to evaluate the dynamic behavior of structures in contact with water. A review of the existing simplified procedures showed that these methods are based on numerous simplifications that can affect the prediction of the dynamic behavior of such systems. One of the main objectives of this thesis has been to develop new simplified methods that are more accurate than those existing. First, a new spectral analysis method has been proposed. Expressions for the fundamental frequency of fluid-structure systems, key parameter of spectral analysis, have been developed. We show that this new technique can easily be implemented in a spreadsheet or program, and that its calculation time is near instantaneous. When compared to more complex analytical or numerical method, this new procedure yields excellent prediction of the dynamic behavior of fluid-structure systems. Spectral analyses ignore the transient and oscillatory nature of vibrations. When such dynamic analyses show that some areas of the studied structure undergo excessive stresses, time history analyses allow a better estimate of the extent of these zones as well as a time notion of these excessive stresses. Furthermore, the existing spectral analyses methods for fluid-structure systems account only for the static effect of higher modes. Thought this can generally be sufficient for dams, for flexible structures the dynamic effect of these modes should be accounted for. New methods have been developed for fluid-structure systems to account for these observations as well as the flexibility of foundations. A first method was developed to study structures in contact with one or two finite or infinite water domains. This new technique includes flexibility of structures and foundations as well as the dynamic effect of higher vibration modes and variations of the levels of the water domains. Extension of this method was performed to study beam structures in contact with fluids. These new developments have also allowed extending existing analytical formulations of the dynamic properties of a dry beam to a new formulation that includes effect of fluid-structure interaction. The method yields a very good estimate of the dynamic behavior of beam-fluid systems or beam like structures in contact with fluid. Finally, a Modified Accelerogram Method (MAM) has been developed to modify the design earthquake into a new accelerogram that directly accounts for the effect of fluid-structure interaction. This new accelerogram can therefore be applied directly to the dry structure (i.e. without water) in order to calculate the dynamic response of the fluid-structure system. This original technique can include numerous parameters that influence the dynamic response of such systems and allows to treat analytically the fluid-structure interaction while keeping the advantages of finite element modeling.

Cumulative query method for influenza surveillance using search engine data.

PubMed

Seo, Dong-Woo; Jo, Min-Woo; Sohn, Chang Hwan; Shin, Soo-Yong; Lee, JaeHo; Yu, Maengsoo; Kim, Won Young; Lim, Kyoung Soo; Lee, Sang-Il

2014-12-16

Internet search queries have become an important data source in syndromic surveillance system. However, there is currently no syndromic surveillance system using Internet search query data in South Korea. The objective of this study was to examine correlations between our cumulative query method and national influenza surveillance data. Our study was based on the local search engine, Daum (approximately 25% market share), and influenza-like illness (ILI) data from the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. A quota sampling survey was conducted with 200 participants to obtain popular queries. We divided the study period into two sets: Set 1 (the 2009/10 epidemiological year for development set 1 and 2010/11 for validation set 1) and Set 2 (2010/11 for development Set 2 and 2011/12 for validation Set 2). Pearson's correlation coefficients were calculated between the Daum data and the ILI data for the development set. We selected the combined queries for which the correlation coefficients were .7 or higher and listed them in descending order. Then, we created a cumulative query method n representing the number of cumulative combined queries in descending order of the correlation coefficient. In validation set 1, 13 cumulative query methods were applied, and 8 had higher correlation coefficients (min=.916, max=.943) than that of the highest single combined query. Further, 11 of 13 cumulative query methods had an r value of ≥.7, but 4 of 13 combined queries had an r value of ≥.7. In validation set 2, 8 of 15 cumulative query methods showed higher correlation coefficients (min=.975, max=.987) than that of the highest single combined query. All 15 cumulative query methods had an r value of ≥.7, but 6 of 15 combined queries had an r value of ≥.7. Cumulative query method showed relatively higher correlation with national influenza surveillance data than combined queries in the development and validation set.

Evaluating the Good Ontology Design Guideline (GoodOD) with the Ontology Quality Requirements and Evaluation Method and Metrics (OQuaRE)

PubMed Central

Duque-Ramos, Astrid; Boeker, Martin; Jansen, Ludger; Schulz, Stefan; Iniesta, Miguela; Fernández-Breis, Jesualdo Tomás

2014-01-01

Objective To (1) evaluate the GoodOD guideline for ontology development by applying the OQuaRE evaluation method and metrics to the ontology artefacts that were produced by students in a randomized controlled trial, and (2) informally compare the OQuaRE evaluation method with gold standard and competency questions based evaluation methods, respectively. Background In the last decades many methods for ontology construction and ontology evaluation have been proposed. However, none of them has become a standard and there is no empirical evidence of comparative evaluation of such methods. This paper brings together GoodOD and OQuaRE. GoodOD is a guideline for developing robust ontologies. It was previously evaluated in a randomized controlled trial employing metrics based on gold standard ontologies and competency questions as outcome parameters. OQuaRE is a method for ontology quality evaluation which adapts the SQuaRE standard for software product quality to ontologies and has been successfully used for evaluating the quality of ontologies. Methods In this paper, we evaluate the effect of training in ontology construction based on the GoodOD guideline within the OQuaRE quality evaluation framework and compare the results with those obtained for the previous studies based on the same data. Results Our results show a significant effect of the GoodOD training over developed ontologies by topics: (a) a highly significant effect was detected in three topics from the analysis of the ontologies of untrained and trained students; (b) both positive and negative training effects with respect to the gold standard were found for five topics. Conclusion The GoodOD guideline had a significant effect over the quality of the ontologies developed. Our results show that GoodOD ontologies can be effectively evaluated using OQuaRE and that OQuaRE is able to provide additional useful information about the quality of the GoodOD ontologies. PMID:25148262

Comparison of Optimization and Two-point Methods in Estimation of Soil Water Retention Curve

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ghanbarian-Alavijeh, B.; Liaghat, A. M.; Huang, G.

2009-04-01

Soil water retention curve (SWRC) is one of the soil hydraulic properties in which its direct measurement is time consuming and expensive. Since, its measurement is unavoidable in study of environmental sciences i.e. investigation of unsaturated hydraulic conductivity and solute transport, in this study the attempt is to predict soil water retention curve from two measured points. By using Cresswell and Paydar (1996) method (two-point method) and an optimization method developed in this study on the basis of two points of SWRC, parameters of Tyler and Wheatcraft (1990) model (fractal dimension and air entry value) were estimated and then water content at different matric potentials were estimated and compared with their measured values (n=180). For each method, we used both 3 and 1500 kPa (case 1) and 33 and 1500 kPa (case 2) as two points of SWRC. The calculated RMSE values showed that in the Creswell and Paydar (1996) method, there exists no significant difference between case 1 and case 2. However, the calculated RMSE value in case 2 (2.35) was slightly less than case 1 (2.37). The results also showed that the developed optimization method in this study had significantly less RMSE values for cases 1 (1.63) and 2 (1.33) rather than Cresswell and Paydar (1996) method.

Knowledge, beliefs and use of nursing methods in preventing pressure sores in Dutch hospitals.

PubMed

Halfens, R J; Eggink, M

1995-02-01

Different methods have been developed in the past to prevent patients from developing pressure sores. The consensus guidelines developed in the Netherlands make a distinction between preventive methods useful for all patients, methods useful only in individual cases, and methods which are not useful at all. This study explores the extent of use of the different methods within Dutch hospitals, and the knowledge and beliefs of nurses regarding the usefulness of these methods. A mail questionnaire was sent to a representative sample of nurses working within Dutch hospitals. A total of 373 questionnaires were returned and used for the analyses. The results showed that many methods judged by the consensus report as not useful, or only useful in individual cases, are still being used. Some methods which are judged as useful, like the use of a risk assessment scale, are used on only a few wards. The opinion of nurses regarding the usefulness of the methods differ from the guidelines of the consensus committee. Although there is agreement about most of the useful methods, there is less agreement about the methods which are useful in individual cases or methods which are not useful at all. In particular the use of massage and cream are, in the opinion of the nurses, useful in individual or in all cases.

Calibration of Valiantzas' reference evapotranspiration equations for the Pilbara region, Western Australia

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ahooghalandari, Matin; Khiadani, Mehdi; Jahromi, Mina Esmi

2017-05-01

Reference evapotranspiration (ET0) is a critical component of water resources management and planning. Different methods have been developed to estimate ET0 with various required data. In this study, Hargreaves, Turc, Oudin, Copais, Abtew methods and three forms of Valiantzas' formulas, developed in recent years, were used to estimate ET0 for the Pilbara region of Western Australia. The estimated ET0 values from these methods were compared with those from the FAO-56 Penman-Monteith (PM) method. The results showed that the Copais methods and two of Valiantzas' equations, in their original forms, are suitable for estimating ET0 for the study area. A modification of Honey-Bee Mating Optimization (MHBMO) algorithm was further implemented, and three Valiantzas' equations for a region located in the southern hemisphere were calibrated.

Digital pulse shape discrimination methods for n-γ separation in an EJ-301 liquid scintillation detector

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wan, Bo; Zhang, Xue-Ying; Chen, Liang; Ge, Hong-Lin; Ma, Fei; Zhang, Hong-Bin; Ju, Yong-Qin; Zhang, Yan-Bin; Li, Yan-Yan; Xu, Xiao-Wei

2015-11-01

A digital pulse shape discrimination system based on a programmable module NI-5772 has been established and tested with an EJ-301 liquid scintillation detector. The module was operated by running programs developed in LabVIEW, with a sampling frequency up to 1.6 GS/s. Standard gamma sources 22Na, 137Cs and 60Co were used to calibrate the EJ-301 liquid scintillation detector, and the gamma response function was obtained. Digital algorithms for the charge comparison method and zero-crossing method have been developed. The experimental results show that both digital signal processing (DSP) algorithms can discriminate neutrons from γ-rays. Moreover, the zero-crossing method shows better n-γ discrimination at 80 keVee and lower, whereas the charge comparison method gives better results at higher thresholds. In addition, the figure-of-merit (FOM) for detectors of two different dimensions were extracted at 9 energy thresholds, and it was found that the smaller detector presented better n-γ separation for fission neutrons. Supported by National Natural Science Foundation of China (91226107, 11305229) and the Strategic Priority Research Program of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (XDA03030300)

Effect of Facet Displacement on Radiation Field and Its Application for Panel Adjustment of Large Reflector Antenna

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, Wei; Lian, Peiyuan; Zhang, Shuxin; Xiang, Binbin; Xu, Qian

2017-05-01

Large reflector antennas are widely used in radars, satellite communication, radio astronomy, and so on. The rapid developments in these fields have created demands for development of better performance and higher surface accuracy. However, low accuracy and low efficiency are the common disadvantages for traditional panel alignment and adjustment. In order to improve the surface accuracy of large reflector antenna, a new method is presented to determinate panel adjustment values from far field pattern. Based on the method of Physical Optics (PO), the effect of panel facet displacement on radiation field value is derived. Then the linear system is constructed between panel adjustment vector and far field pattern. Using the method of Singular Value Decomposition (SVD), the adjustment value for all panel adjustors are obtained by solving the linear equations. An experiment is conducted on a 3.7 m reflector antenna with 12 segmented panels. The results of simulation and test are similar, which shows that the presented method is feasible. Moreover, the discussion about validation shows that the method can be used for many cases of reflector shape. The proposed research provides the instruction to adjust surface panels efficiently and accurately.

Research on assessment methods for urban public transport development in China.

PubMed

Zou, Linghong; Dai, Hongna; Yao, Enjian; Jiang, Tian; Guo, Hongwei

2014-01-01

In recent years, with the rapid increase in urban population, the urban travel demands in Chinese cities have been increasing dramatically. As a result, developing comprehensive urban transport systems becomes an inevitable choice to meet the growing urban travel demands. In urban transport systems, public transport plays the leading role to promote sustainable urban development. This paper aims to establish an assessment index system for the development level of urban public transport consisting of a target layer, a criterion layer, and an index layer. Review on existing literature shows that methods used in evaluating urban public transport structure are dominantly qualitative. To overcome this shortcoming, fuzzy mathematics method is used for describing qualitative issues quantitatively, and AHP (analytic hierarchy process) is used to quantify expert's subjective judgment. The assessment model is established based on the fuzzy AHP. The weight of each index is determined through the AHP and the degree of membership of each index through the fuzzy assessment method to obtain the fuzzy synthetic assessment matrix. Finally, a case study is conducted to verify the rationality and practicability of the assessment system and the proposed assessment method.

Data-driven modeling and predictive control for boiler-turbine unit using fuzzy clustering and subspace methods.

PubMed

Wu, Xiao; Shen, Jiong; Li, Yiguo; Lee, Kwang Y

2014-05-01

This paper develops a novel data-driven fuzzy modeling strategy and predictive controller for boiler-turbine unit using fuzzy clustering and subspace identification (SID) methods. To deal with the nonlinear behavior of boiler-turbine unit, fuzzy clustering is used to provide an appropriate division of the operation region and develop the structure of the fuzzy model. Then by combining the input data with the corresponding fuzzy membership functions, the SID method is extended to extract the local state-space model parameters. Owing to the advantages of the both methods, the resulting fuzzy model can represent the boiler-turbine unit very closely, and a fuzzy model predictive controller is designed based on this model. As an alternative approach, a direct data-driven fuzzy predictive control is also developed following the same clustering and subspace methods, where intermediate subspace matrices developed during the identification procedure are utilized directly as the predictor. Simulation results show the advantages and effectiveness of the proposed approach. Copyright © 2014 ISA. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Development and Validation of New Discriminative Dissolution Method for Carvedilol Tablets

PubMed Central

Raju, V.; Murthy, K. V. R.

2011-01-01

The objective of the present study was to develop and validate a discriminative dissolution method for evaluation of carvedilol tablets. Different conditions such as type of dissolution medium, volume of dissolution medium and rotation speed of paddle were evaluated. The best in vitro dissolution profile was obtained using Apparatus II (paddle), 50 rpm, 900 ml of pH 6.8 phosphate buffer as dissolution medium. The drug release was evaluated by high-performance liquid chromatographic method. The dissolution method was validated according to current ICH and FDA guidelines using parameters such as the specificity, accuracy, precision and stability were evaluated and obtained results were within the acceptable range. The comparison of the obtained dissolution profiles of three different products were investigated using ANOVA-based, model-dependent and model-independent methods, results showed that there is significant difference between the products. The dissolution test developed and validated was adequate for its higher discriminative capacity in differentiating the release characteristics of the products tested and could be applied for development and quality control of carvedilol tablets. PMID:22923865

Development and characterization of multilamellar liposomes containing pyridostigmine.

PubMed

Souza, Ana Carolina Moreira; Grabe-Guimarães, Andrea; Souza, Jacqueline; Botacim, Wallace Entringer; Almeida, Tamara Marine; Frézard, Fréderic Jean Georges; Silva Barcellos, Neila Márcia

2014-06-01

Pyridostigmine has cardioprotective activity in both free and liposomal forms. This study aimed to develop and characterize liposomal formulations of pyridostigmine. For this, a spectrophotometric ultraviolet (UV) analytical method, at 270 nm, was developed and validated to quantify liposomal pyridostigmine. The method was linear in ranges from 0.02 to 0.09 mg/mL. The accuracy of this method was determined intra- and inter-day; the results of coefficient of variation were of 1.73-2.72% and 0.32-2.32%, respectively. The accuracy ranged between 99.45% and 101.12%. The method has not changed by influence of liposomal matrix and demonstrated being able to quantify pyridostigmine in liposomes. Two liposomal multilamellar formulations were developed: a constituted by dystearoyl-phosphatidylcholine (DSPC) and cholesterol (CHOL) other by dioleil-phosphatidylcholine (DOPC) and CHOL. The encapsulation efficiency was determined as 23.4% and 15.4%, respectively. Analyses of size and release of pyridostigmine from the formulations were made and the results showed that the formulations are viable for future studies in vivo.

Extension of the frequency-domain pFFT method for wave structure interaction in finite depth

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Teng, Bin; Song, Zhi-jie

2017-06-01

To analyze wave interaction with a large scale body in the frequency domain, a precorrected Fast Fourier Transform (pFFT) method has been proposed for infinite depth problems with the deep water Green function, as it can form a matrix with Toeplitz and Hankel properties. In this paper, a method is proposed to decompose the finite depth Green function into two terms, which can form matrices with the Toeplitz and a Hankel properties respectively. Then, a pFFT method for finite depth problems is developed. Based on the pFFT method, a numerical code pFFT-HOBEM is developed with the discretization of high order elements. The model is validated, and examinations on the computing efficiency and memory requirement of the new method have also been carried out. It shows that the new method has the same advantages as that for infinite depth.

Knowledge acquisition for a simple expert controller

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Bieker, B.

1987-01-01

A method is presented for process control which has the properties of being incremental, cyclic and top-down. It is described on the basis of the development of an expert controller for a simple, but nonlinear control route. A quality comparison between expert controller and process operator shows the ability of the method for knowledge acquisition.

Adapting an Outcome-Based Education Development Process to Meet Near Real-Time Challenges to Sustainable Agricultural Production

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Halbleib, Mary L.; Jepson, Paul C.

2015-01-01

Purpose: This paper examines the benefits of using an outcome-based education (OBE) method within agricultural extension outreach programmes for professional and farmer audiences. Design/Methodology/Approach: The method is elaborated through two practical examples, which show that focused, short-duration programmes can produce meaningful skill…

Technical Note: Fast two-dimensional GC-MS with thermal extraction for anhydro-sugars in fine aerosols

EPA Science Inventory

A fast two-dimensional gas chromatography (GC-MS) method that uses heart-cutting and thermal extraction (TE) and requires no chemical derivatization is developed for the determination of anhydro-sugars in fine aerosols. Evaluation of the TE-GC-GC-MS method shows high average rela...

A gradient method for the quantitative analysis of cell movement and tissue flow and its application to the analysis of multicellular Dictyostelium development.

PubMed

Siegert, F; Weijer, C J; Nomura, A; Miike, H

1994-01-01

We describe the application of a novel image processing method, which allows quantitative analysis of cell and tissue movement in a series of digitized video images. The result is a vector velocity field showing average direction and velocity of movement for every pixel in the frame. We apply this method to the analysis of cell movement during different stages of the Dictyostelium developmental cycle. We analysed time-lapse video recordings of cell movement in single cells, mounds and slugs. The program can correctly assess the speed and direction of movement of either unlabelled or labelled cells in a time series of video images depending on the illumination conditions. Our analysis of cell movement during multicellular development shows that the entire morphogenesis of Dictyostelium is characterized by rotational cell movement. The analysis of cell and tissue movement by the velocity field method should be applicable to the analysis of morphogenetic processes in other systems such as gastrulation and neurulation in vertebrate embryos.

The original method for imaging of biological tissues in optical coherence tomography with usage of hyperchromatic lens

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Egorov, D. I.

2017-06-01

Our study focuses on an analysis of the original method of investigation biological tissues in the spectral OCT (optical coherence tomography) with usage hyperchromatic lenses. Using hyperchromatic lens, i.e. the lens with uncorrected longitudinal color allows scanning in the depth of the object by changing the wavelength of the emitter. In this case, the depth of the scan will be determined not by the microlens depth of field, but the value of axial color. In our study, we demonstrated the advantages of this method of research on biological tissues existing. Spectral OCT schemes with the hyperchromatic lens could increase the depth of spectral scanning, eliminate the use of multi-channel systems with a set of microscope objectives, reduce the time of measurement. In our paper, we show the developed method of calculation of hyperchromatic lenses and hybrid hyperchromatic lens consisting of a diffractive and refractive component in spectral OCT systems. We also demonstrate the results of aberration calculation designed microscope lenses. We show examples of developed hyperchromatic lenses with the diffractive element and without it.

Method for the Direct Solve of the Many-Body Schrödinger Wave Equation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jerke, Jonathan; Tymczak, C. J.; Poirier, Bill

We report on theoretical and computational developments towards a computationally efficient direct solve of the many-body Schrödinger wave equation for electronic systems. This methodology relies on two recent developments pioneered by the authors: 1) the development of a Cardinal Sine basis for electronic structure calculations; and 2) the development of a highly efficient and compact representation of multidimensional functions using the Canonical tensor rank representation developed by Belykin et. al. which we have adapted to electronic structure problems. We then show several relevant examples of the utility and accuracy of this methodology, scaling with system size, and relevant convergence issues of the methodology. Method for the Direct Solve of the Many-Body Schrödinger Wave Equation.

Super fast detection of latent fingerprints with water soluble CdTe quantum dots.

PubMed

Cai, Kaiyang; Yang, Ruiqin; Wang, Yanji; Yu, Xuejiao; Liu, Jianjun

2013-03-10

A new method based on the use of highly fluorescent water-soluble cadmium telluride (CdTe) quantum dots (QDs) capped with mercaptosuccinic acid (MSA) was explored to develop latent fingerprints. After optimized the effectiveness of QDs method contains pH value and developing time, super fast detection was achieved. Excellent fingerprint images were obtained in 1-3s after immersed the latent fingerprints into quantum dots solution on various non-porous surfaces, i.e. adhesive tape, transparent tape, aluminum foil and stainless steel. High sensitivity of the new latent fingerprints develop method was obtained by developing the fingerprints pressed on aluminum foil successively with the same finger. Compared with methyl violet and rhodamine 6G, the MSA-CdTe QDs showed the higher develop speed and fingerprint image quality. Clear image can be maintained for months by extending exposure time of CCD camera, storing fingerprints in a low temperature condition and secondary development. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

[Adverse events management. Methods and results of a development project].

PubMed

Rabøl, Louise Isager; Jensen, Elisabeth Brøgger; Hellebek, Annemarie H; Pedersen, Beth Lilja

2006-11-27

This article describes the methods and results of a project in the Copenhagen Hospital Corporation (H:S) on preventing adverse events. The aim of the project was to raise awareness about patients' safety, test a reporting system for adverse events, develop and test methods of analysis of events and propagate ideas about how to prevent adverse events. H:S developed an action plan and a reporting system for adverse events, founded an organization and developed an educational program on theories and methods of learning from adverse events for both leaders and employees. During the three-year period from 1 January 2002 to 31 December 2004, the H:S staff reported 6011 adverse events. In the same period, the organization completed 92 root cause analyses. More than half of these dealt with events that had been optional to report, the other half events that had been mandatory to report. The number of reports and the front-line staff's attitude towards reporting shows that the H:S succeeded in founding a safety culture. Future work should be centred on developing and testing methods that will prevent adverse events from happening. The objective is to suggest and complete preventive initiatives which will help increase patient safety.

Developing Distance Learning Courses in a "Traditional" University.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lawton, Sally; Barnes, Richard

1998-01-01

Comparison of distance learning that was developed with a business-planning approach (market research, cost-benefit analysis, feasibility study, strategic marketing) with one that did not use these techniques showed that business planning ensures that distance-learning courses are not viewed as a "cheap" option. The method identifies…

Sociotechnical Walkthrough: A Means for Knowledge Integration

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Herrmann, Thomas; Loser, Kai-Uwe; Jahnke, Isa

2007-01-01

Purpose: The purpose of this research is to show that for the successful development of socio-technical systems it is essential that various stakeholders are able to integrate their different knowledge and perspectives. A method that supports knowledge integration in the course of introduction and development of socio-technical systems is the…

The Noble Gases in A-Level Chemistry.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Marchant, G. W.

1983-01-01

Suggests two methods of developing the study of the noble gases: first, the discovery of the elements and recent discovery of xenon show the human face of chemistry (historical development); second, the properties of noble gas compounds (particularly xenon) can be used to test the framework of conventional chemistry. (Author/JM)

A method to determine the mammographic regions that show early changes due to the development of breast cancer

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Karemore, Gopal; Nielsen, Mads; Karssemeijer, Nico; Brandt, Sami S.

2014-11-01

It is well understood nowadays that changes in the mammographic parenchymal pattern are an indicator of a risk of breast cancer and we have developed a statistical method that estimates the mammogram regions where the parenchymal changes, due to breast cancer, occur. This region of interest is computed from a score map by utilising the anatomical breast coordinate system developed in our previous work. The method also makes an automatic scale selection to avoid overfitting while the region estimates are computed by a nested cross-validation scheme. In this way, it is possible to recover those mammogram regions that show a significant difference in classification scores between the cancer and the control group. Our experiments suggested that the most significant mammogram region is the region behind the nipple and that can be justified by previous findings from other research groups. This result was conducted on the basis of the cross-validation experiments on independent training, validation and testing sets from the case-control study of 490 women, of which 245 women were diagnosed with breast cancer within a period of 2-4 years after the baseline mammograms. We additionally generalised the estimated region to another, mini-MIAS study and showed that the transferred region estimate gives at least a similar classification result when compared to the case where the whole breast region is used. In all, by following our method, one most likely improves both preclinical and follow-up breast cancer screening, but a larger study population will be required to test this hypothesis.

TL and OSL studies of carbon doped magnesium aluminate (MgAl2O4:C)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Raj, Sanu S.; Mishra, D. R.; Soni, Anuj; Grover, V.; Polymeris, G. S.; Muthe, K. P.; Jha, S. K.; Tyagi, A. K.

2016-10-01

The MgAl2O4:C has been synthesized by using two different methods by electron gun and vacuum assisted melting of MgAl2O4 in presence of graphite. The MgAl2O4:C phosphor thus developed by these two different methods have similar types of the TL/OSL defects with multiple overlapping TL glow peaks from 100 °C to 400 °C. The Computerized Curve De-convolution Analysis (CCDA) has been used to measure TL parameters such as thermal trap depth, frequency factor and order of kinetic associated with charge transfer process in TL phenomenon. The investigated TL/OSL results show that these two methods of incorporating carbon in MgAl2O4 have generated closely resemble the defects of similar types in MgAl2O4:C lattice. However, the MgAl2O4:C synthesized by electron gun shows relatively larger concentration of the TL/OSL defects as compared to MgAl2O4:C synthesized using vacuum assisted melting method. The photo-ionization cross-section (PIC) associated with fastest OSL component of MgAl2O4: C is found to be ∼ 0.5 times than that of fastest OSL component of commercially available dosimetric grade α-Al2O3:C. The MgAl2O4:C thus developed shows good dynamic OSL dose linearity from few mGy to 1 Gy. This work reveals that MgAl2O4:C could be developed as potential tissue equivalent OSL / TL material.

A neural network method to correct bidirectional effects in water-leaving radiance

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fan, Yongzhen; Li, Wei; Voss, Kenneth J.; Gatebe, Charles K.; Stamnes, Knut

2017-02-01

The standard method to convert the measured water-leaving radiances from the observation direction to the nadir direction developed by Morel and coworkers requires knowledge of the chlorophyll concentration (CHL). Also, the standard method was developed for open ocean water, which makes it unsuitable for turbid coastal waters. We introduce a neural network method to convert the water-leaving radiance (or the corresponding remote sensing reflectance) from the observation direction to the nadir direction. This method does not require any prior knowledge of the water constituents or the inherent optical properties (IOPs). This method is fast, accurate and can be easily adapted to different remote sensing instruments. Validation using NuRADS measurements in different types of water shows that this method is suitable for both open ocean and coastal waters. In open ocean or chlorophyll-dominated waters, our neural network method produces corrections similar to those of the standard method. In turbid coastal waters, especially sediment-dominated waters, a significant improvement was obtained compared to the standard method.

Trimming Line Design using New Development Method and One Step FEM

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chung, Wan-Jin; Park, Choon-Dal; Yang, Dong-yol

2005-08-01

In most of automobile panel manufacturing, trimming is generally performed prior to flanging. To find feasible trimming line is crucial in obtaining accurate edge profile after flanging. Section-based method develops blank along section planes and find trimming line by generating loop of end points. This method suffers from inaccurate results for regions with out-of-section motion. On the other hand, simulation-based method can produce more accurate trimming line by iterative strategy. However, due to limitation of time and lack of information in initial die design, it is still not widely accepted in the industry. In this study, new fast method to find feasible trimming line is proposed. One step FEM is used to analyze the flanging process because we can define the desired final shape after flanging and most of strain paths are simple in flanging. When we use one step FEM, the main obstacle is the generation of initial guess. Robust initial guess generation method is developed to handle bad-shaped mesh, very different mesh size and undercut part. The new method develops 3D triangular mesh in propagational way from final mesh onto the drawing tool surface. Also in order to remedy mesh distortion during development, energy minimization technique is utilized. Trimming line is extracted from the outer boundary after one step FEM simulation. This method shows many benefits since trimming line can be obtained in the early design stage. The developed method is successfully applied to the complex industrial applications such as flanging of fender and door outer.

A method for collecting eggs of Pseudocapillaria tomentosa (Nematoda: Capillariidae) from zebrafish Danio rerio and efficacy of heat and chlorine for killing the nematode’s eggs

PubMed Central

Martins, ML; Watral, V; Rodrigues-Soares, JP; Kent, ML

2016-01-01

Pseudocapillaria tomentosa is a common pathogen of zebrafish (Danio rerio) in research facilities. We developed a method to collect and concentrate the nematode eggs using a modified sugar centrifugation method, and documented their normal development. Embryonating stages with blastomere formation followed by elongation of the embryo prior to larva formation cumulated in developed larvae inside the eggs and hatching after 5–10 d. We then evaluated the efficacy of heat and chlorine to kill them based on a larva development assay. Eggs were exposed to 40, 50, 60°C for 30 min and 1 h. Chlorine treatment was performed at 100, 250, 500, 1000, 3000 and 6000 ppm for 10 min. Samples exposed to 40°C for 30 min or 1 h showed incidences of larvated eggs similar to controls. In contrast, no larvation occurred with eggs exposed to either 50 or 60°C for 30 min or 1 h. Remarkably, in repeated assays, samples exposed to low doses of chlorine (100, 250, 500 and 1000 ppm for 10 min) showed significantly higher incidence of larvation than controls. Eggs treated with 3,000 ppm for 10 min did not develop larvae and no eggs were found after 6,000 ppm treatment. PMID:27334246

The analysis of inland water transport on technically developed Polish section of the E70 waterway using GIS tools in the years 2005-2014

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rabant, Hubert; Szatten, Dawid; Nadolny, Grzegorz

2017-11-01

The article presents the characteristics of changes in the spatial extent of transport on the hydrotechnically developed section of the E70 waterway in Poland using methods and tools of geographic information systems (GIS). The results of the analyzes show the conditions for vessel traffic, their type and volatility in the years 2005-2014. The methods made it possible to analyze the spatial determinants of navigation. The obtained results were referred to the current state and prospects for development of Polish waterways and indicated that the applied tools have a great application role in the research on their logistics and development.

Patient No-Show Predictive Model Development using Multiple Data Sources for an Effective Overbooking Approach

PubMed Central

Hanauer, D.A.

2014-01-01

Summary Background Patient no-shows in outpatient delivery systems remain problematic. The negative impacts include underutilized medical resources, increased healthcare costs, decreased access to care, and reduced clinic efficiency and provider productivity. Objective To develop an evidence-based predictive model for patient no-shows, and thus improve overbooking approaches in outpatient settings to reduce the negative impact of no-shows. Methods Ten years of retrospective data were extracted from a scheduling system and an electronic health record system from a single general pediatrics clinic, consisting of 7,988 distinct patients and 104,799 visits along with variables regarding appointment characteristics, patient demographics, and insurance information. Descriptive statistics were used to explore the impact of variables on show or no-show status. Logistic regression was used to develop a no-show predictive model, which was then used to construct an algorithm to determine the no-show threshold that calculates a predicted show/no-show status. This approach aims to overbook an appointment where a scheduled patient is predicted to be a no-show. The approach was compared with two commonly-used overbooking approaches to demonstrate the effectiveness in terms of patient wait time, physician idle time, overtime and total cost. Results From the training dataset, the optimal error rate is 10.6% with a no-show threshold being 0.74. This threshold successfully predicts the validation dataset with an error rate of 13.9%. The proposed overbooking approach demonstrated a significant reduction of at least 6% on patient waiting, 27% on overtime, and 3% on total costs compared to other common flat-overbooking methods. Conclusions This paper demonstrates an alternative way to accommodate overbooking, accounting for the prediction of an individual patient’s show/no-show status. The predictive no-show model leads to a dynamic overbooking policy that could improve patient waiting, overtime, and total costs in a clinic day while maintaining a full scheduling capacity. PMID:25298821

Development of an extractive spectrophotometric method for estimation of uranium in ore leach solutions using 2-ethylhexyl phosphonic acid-mono-2-ethylhexyl ester (PC88A) and tri-n-octyl phosphine oxide (TOPO) mixture as extractant and 2-(5-bromo-2-pyridylozo)-5-diethyl aminophenol (Br-PADAP) as chromophore

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Biswas, Sujoy; Pathak, P. N.; Roy, S. B.

2012-06-01

An extractive spectrophotometric analytical method has been developed for the determination of uranium in ore leach solution. This technique is based on the selective extraction of uranium from multielement system using a synergistic mixture of 2-ethylhexyl phosphonic acid-mono-2-ethylhexyl ester (PC88A) and tri-n-octyl phosphine oxide (TOPO) in cyclohexane and color development from the organic phase aliquot using 2-(5-Bromo-2-pyridylazo)-5-diethyl aminophenol (Br-PADAP) as chromogenic reagent. The absorption maximum (λmax) for UO22+-Br-PADAP complex in organic phase samples, in 64% (v/v) ethanol containing buffer solution (pH 7.8) and 1,2-cyclohexylenedinitrilotetraacetic acid (CyDTA) complexing agent, has been found to be at 576 nm (molar extinction coefficient, ɛ: 36,750 ± 240 L mol-1 cm-1). Effects of various parameters like stability of complex, ethanol volume, ore matrix, interfering ions etc. on the determination of uranium have also been evaluated. Absorbance measurements as a function of time showed that colored complex is stable up to >24 h. Presence of increased amount of ethanol in colored solution suppresses the absorption of a standard UO22+-Br-PADAP solution. Analyses of synthetic standard as well as ore leach a solution show that for 10 determination relative standard deviation (RSD) is <2%. The accuracy of the developed method has been checked by determining uranium using standard addition method and was found to be accurate with a 98-105% recovery rate. The developed method has been applied for the analysis of a number of uranium samples generated from uranium ore leach solutions and results were compared with standard methods like inductively coupled plasma emission spectrometry (ICPAES). The determined values of uranium concentrations by these methods are within ±2%. This method can be used to determine 2.5-250 μg mL-1 uranium in ore leach solutions with high accuracy and precision.

Uncertainty Evaluation of the New Setup for Measurement of Water-Vapor Permeation Rate by a Dew-Point Sensor

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hudoklin, D.; Šetina, J.; Drnovšek, J.

2012-09-01

The measurement of the water-vapor permeation rate (WVPR) through materials is very important in many industrial applications such as the development of new fabrics and construction materials, in the semiconductor industry, packaging, vacuum techniques, etc. The demand for this kind of measurement grows considerably and thus many different methods for measuring the WVPR are developed and standardized within numerous national and international standards. However, comparison of existing methods shows a low level of mutual agreement. The objective of this paper is to demonstrate the necessary uncertainty evaluation for WVPR measurements, so as to provide a basis for development of a corresponding reference measurement standard. This paper presents a specially developed measurement setup, which employs a precision dew-point sensor for WVPR measurements on specimens of different shapes. The paper also presents a physical model, which tries to account for both dynamic and quasi-static methods, the common types of WVPR measurements referred to in standards and scientific publications. An uncertainty evaluation carried out according to the ISO/IEC guide to the expression of uncertainty in measurement (GUM) shows the relative expanded ( k = 2) uncertainty to be 3.0 % for WVPR of 6.71 mg . h-1 (corresponding to permeance of 30.4 mg . m-2. day-1 . hPa-1).

Statistics of software vulnerability detection in certification testing

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Barabanov, A. V.; Markov, A. S.; Tsirlov, V. L.

2018-05-01

The paper discusses practical aspects of introduction of the methods to detect software vulnerability in the day-to-day activities of the accredited testing laboratory. It presents the approval results of the vulnerability detection methods as part of the study of the open source software and the software that is a test object of the certification tests under information security requirements, including software for communication networks. Results of the study showing the allocation of identified vulnerabilities by types of attacks, country of origin, programming languages used in the development, methods for detecting vulnerability, etc. are given. The experience of foreign information security certification systems related to the detection of certified software vulnerabilities is analyzed. The main conclusion based on the study is the need to implement practices for developing secure software in the development life cycle processes. The conclusions and recommendations for the testing laboratories on the implementation of the vulnerability analysis methods are laid down.

Search for promising compositions for developing new multiphase casting alloys based on Al-Cu-Mg matrix using thermodynamic calculations and mathematic simulation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zolotorevskii, V. S.; Pozdnyakov, A. V.; Churyumov, A. Yu.

2012-11-01

A calculation-experimental study is carried out to improve the concept of searching for new alloying systems in order to develop new casting alloys using mathematical simulation methods in combination with thermodynamic calculations. The results show the high effectiveness of the applied methods. The real possibility of selecting the promising compositions with the required set of casting and mechanical properties is exemplified by alloys with thermally hardened Al-Cu and Al-Cu-Mg matrices, as well as poorly soluble additives that form eutectic components using mainly the calculation study methods and the minimum number of experiments.

A synthesis of fluorescent starch based on carbon nanoparticles for fingerprints detection

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Li, Hongren; Guo, Xingjia; Liu, Jun; Li, Feng

2016-10-01

A pyrolysis method for synthesizing carbon nanoparticles (CNPs) were developed by using malic acid and ammonium oxalate as raw materials. The incorporation of a minor amount of carbon nanoparticles into starch powder imparts remarkable color-tunability. Based on this phenomenon, an environment friendly fluorescent starch powder for detecting latent fingerprints in non-porous surfaces was prepared. The fingerprints on different non-porous surfaces developed with this powder showed very good fluorescent images under ultraviolet excitation. The method using fluorescent starch powder as fluorescent marks is simple, rapid and green. Experimental results illustrated the effectiveness of proposed methods, enabling its practical applications in forensic sciences.

Technical assistance for law-enforcement communications: Case study report

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Reilly, N. B.; Mustain, J. A.

1979-01-01

Methods developed to improve police communications systems are described. Use of queueing analysis shows several ways of improving time of response to inquiries made from the field for license plate checks and for information on current wants and warrants, through a state multiple switcher network. Design criteria for more efficient centralized switching equipment are developed. A message load problem experienced in a dispatch center is analyzed, showing that communications could be improved by adding communications channels, not by adding people.

Method: automatic segmentation of mitochondria utilizing patch classification, contour pair classification, and automatically seeded level sets

PubMed Central

2012-01-01

Background While progress has been made to develop automatic segmentation techniques for mitochondria, there remains a need for more accurate and robust techniques to delineate mitochondria in serial blockface scanning electron microscopic data. Previously developed texture based methods are limited for solving this problem because texture alone is often not sufficient to identify mitochondria. This paper presents a new three-step method, the Cytoseg process, for automated segmentation of mitochondria contained in 3D electron microscopic volumes generated through serial block face scanning electron microscopic imaging. The method consists of three steps. The first is a random forest patch classification step operating directly on 2D image patches. The second step consists of contour-pair classification. At the final step, we introduce a method to automatically seed a level set operation with output from previous steps. Results We report accuracy of the Cytoseg process on three types of tissue and compare it to a previous method based on Radon-Like Features. At step 1, we show that the patch classifier identifies mitochondria texture but creates many false positive pixels. At step 2, our contour processing step produces contours and then filters them with a second classification step, helping to improve overall accuracy. We show that our final level set operation, which is automatically seeded with output from previous steps, helps to smooth the results. Overall, our results show that use of contour pair classification and level set operations improve segmentation accuracy beyond patch classification alone. We show that the Cytoseg process performs well compared to another modern technique based on Radon-Like Features. Conclusions We demonstrated that texture based methods for mitochondria segmentation can be enhanced with multiple steps that form an image processing pipeline. While we used a random-forest based patch classifier to recognize texture, it would be possible to replace this with other texture identifiers, and we plan to explore this in future work. PMID:22321695

A feasibility study in adapting Shamos Bickel and Hodges Lehman estimator into T-Method for normalization

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Harudin, N.; Jamaludin, K. R.; Muhtazaruddin, M. Nabil; Ramlie, F.; Muhamad, Wan Zuki Azman Wan

2018-03-01

T-Method is one of the techniques governed under Mahalanobis Taguchi System that developed specifically for multivariate data predictions. Prediction using T-Method is always possible even with very limited sample size. The user of T-Method required to clearly understanding the population data trend since this method is not considering the effect of outliers within it. Outliers may cause apparent non-normality and the entire classical methods breakdown. There exist robust parameter estimate that provide satisfactory results when the data contain outliers, as well as when the data are free of them. The robust parameter estimates of location and scale measure called Shamos Bickel (SB) and Hodges Lehman (HL) which are used as a comparable method to calculate the mean and standard deviation of classical statistic is part of it. Embedding these into T-Method normalize stage feasibly help in enhancing the accuracy of the T-Method as well as analysing the robustness of T-method itself. However, the result of higher sample size case study shows that T-method is having lowest average error percentages (3.09%) on data with extreme outliers. HL and SB is having lowest error percentages (4.67%) for data without extreme outliers with minimum error differences compared to T-Method. The error percentages prediction trend is vice versa for lower sample size case study. The result shows that with minimum sample size, which outliers always be at low risk, T-Method is much better on that, while higher sample size with extreme outliers, T-Method as well show better prediction compared to others. For the case studies conducted in this research, it shows that normalization of T-Method is showing satisfactory results and it is not feasible to adapt HL and SB or normal mean and standard deviation into it since it’s only provide minimum effect of percentages errors. Normalization using T-method is still considered having lower risk towards outlier’s effect.

Neuroimaging Field Methods Using Functional Near Infrared Spectroscopy (NIRS) Neuroimaging to Study Global Child Development: Rural Sub-Saharan Africa.

PubMed

Jasińska, Kaja K; Guei, Sosthène

2018-02-02

Portable neuroimaging approaches provide new advances to the study of brain function and brain development with previously inaccessible populations and in remote locations. This paper shows the development of field functional Near Infrared Spectroscopy (fNIRS) imaging to the study of child language, reading, and cognitive development in a rural village setting of Côte d'Ivoire. Innovation in methods and the development of culturally appropriate neuroimaging protocols allow a first-time look into the brain's development and children's learning outcomes in understudied environments. This paper demonstrates protocols for transporting and setting up a mobile laboratory, discusses considerations for field versus laboratory neuroimaging, and presents a guide for developing neuroimaging consent procedures and building meaningful long-term collaborations with local government and science partners. Portable neuroimaging methods can be used to study complex child development contexts, including the impact of significant poverty and adversity on brain development. The protocol presented here has been developed for use in Côte d'Ivoire, the world's primary source of cocoa, and where reports of child labor in the cocoa sector are common. Yet, little is known about the impact of child labor on brain development and learning. Field neuroimaging methods have the potential to yield new insights into such urgent issues, and the development of children globally.

Development and preliminary evaluation of a new anatomically based prosthetic alignment method for below-knee prosthesis.

PubMed

Tafti, Nahid; Karimlou, Masoud; Mardani, Mohammad Ali; Jafarpisheh, Amir Salar; Aminian, Gholam Reza; Safari, Reza

2018-04-20

The objectives of current study were to a) assess similarities and relationships between anatomical landmark-based angles and distances of lower limbs in unilateral transtibial amputees and b) develop and evaluate a new anatomically based static prosthetic alignment method. First sub-study assessed the anthropometrical differences and relationships between the lower limbs in the photographs taken from amputees. Data were analysed via paired t-test and regression analysis. Results show no significant differences in frontal and transverse planes. In the sagittal plane, the anthropometric parameters of the amputated limb were significantly correlated to the corresponding variables of the sound limb. The results served as bases for the development of a new prosthetic alignment method. The method was evaluated on a single subject study. Prosthetic alignment carried out by an experienced prosthetist was compared with such alignment adjusted by an inexperienced prosthetist but with the use of the developed method. In sagittal and frontal planes, the socket angle was tuned with respect to the shin angle, and the position of the prosthetic foot was tuned in relation to the pelvic landmarks. Further study is needed to assess the proposed method on a larger sample of amputees and prosthetists.

Automatic Measurement of Fetal Brain Development from Magnetic Resonance Imaging: New Reference Data.

PubMed

Link, Daphna; Braginsky, Michael B; Joskowicz, Leo; Ben Sira, Liat; Harel, Shaul; Many, Ariel; Tarrasch, Ricardo; Malinger, Gustavo; Artzi, Moran; Kapoor, Cassandra; Miller, Elka; Ben Bashat, Dafna

2018-01-01

Accurate fetal brain volume estimation is of paramount importance in evaluating fetal development. The aim of this study was to develop an automatic method for fetal brain segmentation from magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) data, and to create for the first time a normal volumetric growth chart based on a large cohort. A semi-automatic segmentation method based on Seeded Region Growing algorithm was developed and applied to MRI data of 199 typically developed fetuses between 18 and 37 weeks' gestation. The accuracy of the algorithm was tested against a sub-cohort of ground truth manual segmentations. A quadratic regression analysis was used to create normal growth charts. The sensitivity of the method to identify developmental disorders was demonstrated on 9 fetuses with intrauterine growth restriction (IUGR). The developed method showed high correlation with manual segmentation (r2 = 0.9183, p < 0.001) as well as mean volume and volume overlap differences of 4.77 and 18.13%, respectively. New reference data on 199 normal fetuses were created, and all 9 IUGR fetuses were at or below the third percentile of the normal growth chart. The proposed method is fast, accurate, reproducible, user independent, applicable with retrospective data, and is suggested for use in routine clinical practice. © 2017 S. Karger AG, Basel.

Determination of torque speed current characteristics of a brushless DC motor by utilizing back-EMF of non-energized phase

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jang, G. H.; Yeom, J. H.; Kim, M. G.

2007-03-01

This paper presents a method to determine the torque constant and the torque-speed-current characteristics of a brushless DC (BLDC) motor by utilizing back-EMF variation of nonenergized phase. It also develops a BLDC motor controller with a digital signal processor (DSP) to monitor its current, voltage and speed in real time. Torque-speed-current characteristics of a BLDC motor are determined by using the proposed method and the developed controller. They are compared with the torque-speed-current characteristics measured by dynamometer experimentally. This research shows that the proposed method is an effective method to determine the torque constant and the torque-speed-current characteristics of the BLDC motor without using dynamometer.

Development of a gas chromatography method for the determination of isotretinoin and its degradation products in pharmaceuticals.

PubMed

Lima, Eliana Martins; Diniz, Danielle G Almeida; Antoniosi-Filho, Nelson R

2005-07-15

This paper describes the development of a gas chromatography (GC) method used for the assay of isotretinoin in its isolated form and in pharmaceutical formulations. Isotretinoin soft and hard gelatin capsules were prepared with various excipients. The performance of the proposed gas chromatography method was compared to that of traditional high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) systems for this substance, and the GC parameters were established based on several preliminary tests, including thermal analysis of isotretinoin. Results showed that gas chromatography-flame ionization detector (GC-FID) exhibited a separation efficiency superior to that of HPLC, particularly for separating isotretinoin degradation products. This method was proven to be effectively applicable to stability evaluation assays of isotretinoin and isotretinoin based pharmaceuticals.

Development and validation of an RP-HPLC method for quantitative determination of vanillin and related phenolic compounds in Vanilla planifolia.

PubMed

Sinha, Arun Kumar; Verma, Subash Chandra; Sharma, Upendra Kumar

2007-01-01

A simple and fast method was developed using RP-HPLC for separation and quantitative determination of vanillin and related phenolic compounds in ethanolic extract of pods of Vanilla planifolia. Ten phenolic compounds, namely 4-hydroxybenzyl alcohol, vanillyl alcohol, 3,4-dihydroxybenzaldehyde, 4-hydroxybenzoic acid, vanillic acid, 4-hydroxybenzaldehyde, vanillin, p-coumaric acid, ferulic acid, and piperonal were quantitatively determined using ACN, methanol, and 0.2% acetic acid in water as a mobile phase with a gradient elution mode. The method showed good linearity, high precision, and good recovery of compounds of interest. The present method would be useful for analytical research and for routine analysis of vanilla extracts for their quality control.

Flame Movement and Pressure Development in an Engine Cylinder

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Marvin, Charles F , Jr; Best, Robert D

1932-01-01

This investigation describes a visual method for making stroboscopic observations, through a large number of small windows, of the spread of flame throughout the combustion chamber of a gasoline engine. Data, secured by this method on a small engine burning gaseous fuels, are given to show the effects of mixture ratio, spark advance, engine speed, charge density, degree of dilution, compression ratio, and fuel composition on flame movement in the cylinder. Partial indicator diagrams showing pressure development during the combustion period are included. Although present knowledge is not sufficient to permit qualitative evaluation of the separate effects on flame movement of chemical reaction velocity, thermal expansion of burned gases, resonance, turbulence, and piston movement, the qualitative influence of certain of these factors on some of the diagrams is indicated.

Dynamic sequence analysis of a decision making task of multielement target tracking and its usage as a learning method

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kang, Ziho

This dissertation is divided into four parts: 1) Development of effective methods for comparing visual scanning paths (or scanpaths) for a dynamic task of multiple moving targets, 2) application of the methods to compare the scanpaths of experts and novices for a conflict detection task of multiple aircraft on radar screen, 3) a post-hoc analysis of other eye movement characteristics of experts and novices, and 4) finding out whether the scanpaths of experts can be used to teach the novices. In order to compare experts' and novices' scanpaths, two methods are developed. The first proposed method is the matrix comparisons using the Mantel test. The second proposed method is the maximum transition-based agglomerative hierarchical clustering (MTAHC) where comparisons of multi-level visual groupings are held out. The matrix comparison method was useful for a small number of targets during the preliminary experiment, but turned out to be inapplicable to a realistic case when tens of aircraft were presented on screen; however, MTAHC was effective with large number of aircraft on screen. The experiments with experts and novices on the aircraft conflict detection task showed that their scanpaths are different. The MTAHC result was able to explicitly show how experts visually grouped multiple aircraft based on similar altitudes while novices tended to group them based on convergence. Also, the MTAHC results showed that novices paid much attention to the converging aircraft groups even if they are safely separated by altitude; therefore, less attention was given to the actual conflicting pairs resulting in low correct conflict detection rates. Since the analysis showed the scanpath differences, experts' scanpaths were shown to novices in order to find out its effectiveness. The scanpath treatment group showed indications that they changed their visual movements from trajectory-based to altitude-based movements. Between the treatment and the non-treatment group, there were no significant differences in terms of number of correct detections; however, the treatment group made significantly fewer false alarms.

Optimized method for the quantification of pyruvic acid in onions by microplate reader and confirmation by high resolution mass spectra.

PubMed

Metrani, Rita; Jayaprakasha, G K; Patil, Bhimanagouda S

2018-03-01

The present study describes the rapid microplate method to determine pyruvic acid content in different varieties of onions. Onion juice was treated with 2,4-dinitrophenylhydrazine to obtain hydrazone, which was further treated with potassium hydroxide to get stable colored complex. The stability of potassium complex was enhanced up to two hours and the structures of hydrazones were confirmed by LC-MS for the first time. The developed method was optimized by testing different bases, acids with varying concentrations of dinitrophenyl hydrazine to get stable color and results were comparable to developed method. Repeatability and precision showed <9% relative standard deviation. Moreover, sweet onion juice was stored for four weeks at different temperatures for the stability; the pyruvate remained stable at all temperatures except at 25°C. Thus, the developed method has good potential to determine of pungency in large number of onions in a short time using minimal amount of reagents. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Prognostics of slurry pumps based on a moving-average wear degradation index and a general sequential Monte Carlo method

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, Dong; Tse, Peter W.

2015-05-01

Slurry pumps are commonly used in oil-sand mining for pumping mixtures of abrasive liquids and solids. These operations cause constant wear of slurry pump impellers, which results in the breakdown of the slurry pumps. This paper develops a prognostic method for estimating remaining useful life of slurry pump impellers. First, a moving-average wear degradation index is proposed to assess the performance degradation of the slurry pump impeller. Secondly, the state space model of the proposed health index is constructed. A general sequential Monte Carlo method is employed to derive the parameters of the state space model. The remaining useful life of the slurry pump impeller is estimated by extrapolating the established state space model to a specified alert threshold. Data collected from an industrial oil sand pump were used to validate the developed method. The results show that the accuracy of the developed method improves as more data become available.

Deep learning architecture for air quality predictions.

PubMed

Li, Xiang; Peng, Ling; Hu, Yuan; Shao, Jing; Chi, Tianhe

2016-11-01

With the rapid development of urbanization and industrialization, many developing countries are suffering from heavy air pollution. Governments and citizens have expressed increasing concern regarding air pollution because it affects human health and sustainable development worldwide. Current air quality prediction methods mainly use shallow models; however, these methods produce unsatisfactory results, which inspired us to investigate methods of predicting air quality based on deep architecture models. In this paper, a novel spatiotemporal deep learning (STDL)-based air quality prediction method that inherently considers spatial and temporal correlations is proposed. A stacked autoencoder (SAE) model is used to extract inherent air quality features, and it is trained in a greedy layer-wise manner. Compared with traditional time series prediction models, our model can predict the air quality of all stations simultaneously and shows the temporal stability in all seasons. Moreover, a comparison with the spatiotemporal artificial neural network (STANN), auto regression moving average (ARMA), and support vector regression (SVR) models demonstrates that the proposed method of performing air quality predictions has a superior performance.

Advanced Small Modular Reactor Economics Model Development

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

Harrison, Thomas J.

2014-10-01

The US Department of Energy Office of Nuclear Energy’s Advanced Small Modular Reactor (SMR) research and development activities focus on four key areas: Developing assessment methods for evaluating advanced SMR technologies and characteristics; and Developing and testing of materials, fuels and fabrication techniques; and Resolving key regulatory issues identified by US Nuclear Regulatory Commission and industry; and Developing advanced instrumentation and controls and human-machine interfaces. This report focuses on development of assessment methods to evaluate advanced SMR technologies and characteristics. Specifically, this report describes the expansion and application of the economic modeling effort at Oak Ridge National Laboratory. Analysis ofmore » the current modeling methods shows that one of the primary concerns for the modeling effort is the handling of uncertainty in cost estimates. Monte Carlo–based methods are commonly used to handle uncertainty, especially when implemented by a stand-alone script within a program such as Python or MATLAB. However, a script-based model requires each potential user to have access to a compiler and an executable capable of handling the script. Making the model accessible to multiple independent analysts is best accomplished by implementing the model in a common computing tool such as Microsoft Excel. Excel is readily available and accessible to most system analysts, but it is not designed for straightforward implementation of a Monte Carlo–based method. Using a Monte Carlo algorithm requires in-spreadsheet scripting and statistical analyses or the use of add-ons such as Crystal Ball. An alternative method uses propagation of error calculations in the existing Excel-based system to estimate system cost uncertainty. This method has the advantage of using Microsoft Excel as is, but it requires the use of simplifying assumptions. These assumptions do not necessarily bring into question the analytical results. In fact, the analysis shows that the propagation of error method introduces essentially negligible error, especially when compared to the uncertainty associated with some of the estimates themselves. The results of these uncertainty analyses generally quantify and identify the sources of uncertainty in the overall cost estimation. The obvious generalization—that capital cost uncertainty is the main driver—can be shown to be an accurate generalization for the current state of reactor cost analysis. However, the detailed analysis on a component-by-component basis helps to demonstrate which components would benefit most from research and development to decrease the uncertainty, as well as which components would benefit from research and development to decrease the absolute cost.« less

Development and evaluation of a sublingual film of the antiemetic granisetron hydrochloride.

PubMed

Kalia, Vani; Garg, Tarun; Rath, Gautam; Goyal, Amit Kumar

2016-05-01

The objective of this study was to develop an oral transmucosal formulation of an antiemetic drug that can not only serve in the active form but also provide a controlled release profile. In this study, sublingual films based on the biodegradable and water-soluble polymers, that is HPMCK-4M and PVPK-30, were developed by the solvent casting method, and were loaded with the antiemetic drug granisetron hydrochloride (granisetron HCl). The entrapment efficiency of the developed formulation was found to be 86%. The in vitro profile showed an instant release of the drug from the sublingual film, in a pattern following the first order kinetics array. The in vivo studies showed that granisetron HCl was delivered in its active state and showed effective results, as compared to its activity in the marketed formulation.

Validity of Bioelectrical Impedance Analysis to Estimation Fat-Free Mass in the Army Cadets.

PubMed

Langer, Raquel D; Borges, Juliano H; Pascoa, Mauro A; Cirolini, Vagner X; Guerra-Júnior, Gil; Gonçalves, Ezequiel M

2016-03-11

Bioelectrical Impedance Analysis (BIA) is a fast, practical, non-invasive, and frequently used method for fat-free mass (FFM) estimation. The aims of this study were to validate predictive equations of BIA to FFM estimation in Army cadets and to develop and validate a specific BIA equation for this population. A total of 396 males, Brazilian Army cadets, aged 17-24 years were included. The study used eight published predictive BIA equations, a specific equation in FFM estimation, and dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA) as a reference method. Student's t-test (for paired sample), linear regression analysis, and Bland-Altman method were used to test the validity of the BIA equations. Predictive BIA equations showed significant differences in FFM compared to DXA (p < 0.05) and large limits of agreement by Bland-Altman. Predictive BIA equations explained 68% to 88% of FFM variance. Specific BIA equations showed no significant differences in FFM, compared to DXA values. Published BIA predictive equations showed poor accuracy in this sample. The specific BIA equations, developed in this study, demonstrated validity for this sample, although should be used with caution in samples with a large range of FFM.

Evaluation of a Novel Disaster Nursing Education Method.

PubMed

Levoy, Kristin; DeBastiani, Summer D; McCabe, Brian E

2018-02-21

A common method of disaster training is needed to improve disaster nursing education and facilitate better communication among interprofessional disaster responders. To inform the development of disaster nursing curricula, a novel disaster nursing education method consistent with Homeland Security Exercise and Evaluation Program (HSEEP) and the International Council of Nurses (ICN) framework was developed to improve disaster nursing competencies in a baccalaureate nursing program. In total, 89 undergraduate nursing students participated. Perceived disaster nursing knowledge, confidence, and training/response were assessed with 14 items before and after the education. Exploratory factor analysis showed 3 factors, knowledge, confidence, and training/response, explained 71% of variation in items. Nursing students showed large improvements in perceived disaster nursing knowledge (t=11.95, P<0.001, Cohen's d=1.76), moderate increases in perceived confidence (t=4.54, P<0.001, d=0.67), and no change in disaster training and response (t=0.94, P=0.351, d=0.13). Results show preliminary evidence supporting the effectiveness of disaster nursing education informed by HSEEP. This training has the potential to fill current practice gaps in disaster nursing knowledge and build confidence to use those skills in practice. (Disaster Med Public Health Preparedness. 2018;page 1 of 8).

Production and characterization of nanostructured lipid carriers and solid lipid nanoparticles containing lycopene for food fortification.

PubMed

Akhoond Zardini, Ali; Mohebbi, Mohebbat; Farhoosh, Reza; Bolurian, Shadi

2018-01-01

In this study, lycopene, was loaded on nanostructured lipid carrier and solid lipid nanoparticles using combination of high shear homogenization and ultrasonication method. Effect of applied lipids types, nanocarrier's type and lycopene loading on physicochemical properties of developed nanocarriers were studied. Particle sizes of developed nanocarriers were between 74.93 and 183.40 nm. Encapsulation efficiency of nanostructured lipid carrier was significantly higher than solid lipid nanoparticles. Morphological study of developed nanocarriers using scanning electron microscopy showed spherical nanoparticles with smooth surface. Lycopene was entrapped in nanocarriers without any chemical interaction with coating material according to Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy spectrum and differential scanning calorimetry thermogram. Glycerol monostearate containing nanoparticles showed phase separation after 30 days in 6 and 25 °C, whereas this event was not observed in nanosuspensions that produced by glycerol distearate. Lycopene release in gastrointestinal condition was studied by the dialysis bag method. To evaluate nanocarrier's potential for food fortification, developed lycopene-loaded nanocarriers were added to orange drink. Results of sensory analysis indicated that nanoencapsulation could obviate the poor solubility and tomato after taste of lycopene. Fortified sample with lycopene nanocarriers didn't show significant difference with blank orange drink sample except in orange odor.

Developing new mathematical method for search of the time series periodicity with deletions and insertions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Korotkov, E. V.; Korotkova, M. A.

2017-01-01

The purpose of this study was to detect latent periodicity in the presence of deletions or insertions in the analyzed data, when the points of deletions or insertions are unknown. A mathematical method was developed to search for periodicity in the numerical series, using dynamic programming and random matrices. The developed method was applied to search for periodicity in the Euro/Dollar (Eu/) exchange rate, since 2001. The presence of periodicity within the period length equal to 24 h in the analyzed financial series was shown. Periodicity can be detected only with insertions and deletions. The results of this study show that periodicity phase shifts, depend on the observation time. The reasons for the existence of the periodicity in the financial ranks are discussed.

Measuring housing quality in the absence of a monetized real estate market.

PubMed

Rindfuss, Ronald R; Piotrowski, Martin; Thongthai, Varachai; Prasartkul, Pramote

2007-03-01

Measuring housing quality or value or both has been a weak component of demographic and development research in less developed countries that lack an active real estate (housing) market. We describe a new method based on a standardized subjective rating process. It is designed to be used in settings that do not have an active, monetized housing market. The method is applied in an ongoing longitudinal study in north-east Thailand and could be straightforwardly used in many other settings. We develop a conceptual model of the process whereby households come to reside in high-quality or low-quality housing units. We use this theoretical model in conjunction with longitudinal data to show that the new method of measuring housing quality behaves as theoretically expected, thus providing evidence of face validity.

Application of Rough Sets to Information Retrieval.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Miyamoto, Sadaaki

1998-01-01

Develops a method of rough retrieval, an application of the rough set theory to information retrieval. The aim is to: (1) show that rough sets are naturally applied to information retrieval in which categorized information structure is used; and (2) show that a fuzzy retrieval scheme is induced from the rough retrieval. (AEF)

Spectrophotometric techniques to determine tranexamic acid: Kinetic studies using ninhydrin and direct measuring using ferric chloride

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Arayne, M. Saeed; Sultana, Najma; Siddiqui, Farhan Ahmed; Mirza, Agha Zeeshan; Zuberi, M. Hashim

2008-11-01

Two simple and sensitive spectrophotometric methods in ultraviolet and visible region are described for the determination of tranexamic acid in pure form and pharmaceutical preparations. The first method is based on the reaction of the drug with ninhydrin at boiling temperature and by measuring the increase in absorbance at 575 nm as a function of time. The initial rate, rate constant and fixed time (120 min) procedures were used for constructing the calibration graphs to determine the concentration of the drug, which showed a linear response over the concentration range 16-37 μg mL -1 with correlation coefficient " r" 0.9997, 0.996, 0.9999, LOQ 6.968, 7.138, 2.462 μgmL -1 and LOD 2.090, 2.141 and 0.739 μgmL -1, respectively. In second method tranexamic acid was reacted with ferric chloride solution, yellowish orange colored chromogen showed λ max at 375 nm showing linearity in the concentration range of 50-800 μg mL -1 with correlation coefficient " r" 0.9997, LOQ 6.227 μgmL -1 and LOD 1.868 μgmL -1. The variables affecting the development of the color were optimized and the developed methods were validated statistically and through recovery studies. These results were also verified by IR and NMR spectroscopy. The proposed methods have been successfully applied to the determination of tranexamic acid in commercial pharmaceutical formulation.

Non-contact method of search and analysis of pulsating vessels

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Avtomonov, Yuri N.; Tsoy, Maria O.; Postnov, Dmitry E.

2018-04-01

Despite the variety of existing methods of recording the human pulse and a solid history of their development, there is still considerable interest in this topic. The development of new non-contact methods, based on advanced image processing, caused a new wave of interest in this issue. We present a simple but quite effective method for analyzing the mechanical pulsations of blood vessels lying close to the surface of the skin. Our technique is a modification of imaging (or remote) photoplethysmography (i-PPG). We supplemented this method with the addition of a laser light source, which made it possible to use other methods of searching for the proposed pulsation zone. During the testing of the method, several series of experiments were carried out with both artificial oscillating objects as well as with the target signal source (human wrist). The obtained results show that our method allows correct interpretation of complex data. To summarize, we proposed and tested an alternative method for the search and analysis of pulsating vessels.

Development and characterization of clay facial mask containing turmeric extract solid dispersion.

PubMed

Pan-On, Suchiwa; Rujivipat, Soravoot; Ounaroon, Anan; Tiyaboonchai, Waree

2018-04-01

To develop clay facial mask containing turmeric extract solid dispersion (TESD) for enhancing curcumin water solubility and permeability and to determine suitable clay based facial mask. The TESD were prepared by solvent and melting solvent method with various TE to polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) K30 mass ratios. The physicochemical properties, water solubility, and permeability were examined. The effects of clay types on physical stability of TESD, water adsorption, and curcumin adsorption capacity were evaluated. The TESD prepared by solvent method with a TE to PVP K30 mass ratio of 1:2 showed physically stable, dry powders, when mixed with clay. When TESD was dissolved in water, the obtained TESD micelles showed spherical shape with mean size of ∼100 nm resulting in a substantial enhancement of curcumin water solubility, ∼5 mg/ml. Bentonite (Bent) and mica (M) showed the highest water adsorption capacity. The TESD's color was altered when mixed with Bent, titanium dioxide (TiO 2 ) and zinc oxide (ZnO) indicating curcumin instability. Talcum (Talc) showed the greatest curcumin adsorption followed by M and kaolin (K), respectively. Consequently, in vitro permeation studies of the TESD mixed with Talc showed lowest curcumin permeation, while TESD mixed with M or K showed similar permeation profile as free TESD solutions. The developed TESD-based clay facial mask showed lower curcumin permeation as compared to those formulations with Tween 80. The water solubility and permeability of curcumin in clay based facial mask could be improved using solid dispersion technique and suitable clay base composed of K, M, and Talc.

Solid rocket propellant waste disposal/ingredient recovery study

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Mcintosh, M. J.

1976-01-01

A comparison of facility and operating costs of alternate methods shows open burning to be the lowest cost incineration method of waste propellant disposal. The selection, development, and implementation of an acceptable alternate is recommended. The recovery of ingredients from waste propellant has the probability of being able to pay its way, and even show a profit, when large consistent quantities of composite propellant are available. Ingredients recovered from space shuttle waste propellant would be worth over $1.5 million. Open and controlled burning are both energy wasteful.

A second-order shock-expansion method applicable to bodies of revolution near zero lift

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1957-01-01

A second-order shock-expansion method applicable to bodies of revolution is developed by the use of the predictions of the generalized shock-expansion method in combination with characteristics theory. Equations defining the zero-lift pressure distributions and the normal-force and pitching-moment derivatives are derived. Comparisons with experimental results show that the method is applicable at values of the similarity parameter, the ratio of free-stream Mach number to nose fineness ratio, from about 0.4 to 2.

Large deformation frictional contact analysis with immersed boundary method

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Navarro-Jiménez, José Manuel; Tur, Manuel; Albelda, José; Ródenas, Juan José

2018-01-01

This paper proposes a method of solving 3D large deformation frictional contact problems with the Cartesian Grid Finite Element Method. A stabilized augmented Lagrangian contact formulation is developed using a smooth stress field as stabilizing term, calculated by Zienckiewicz and Zhu Superconvergent Patch Recovery. The parametric definition of the CAD surfaces (usually NURBS) is considered in the definition of the contact kinematics in order to obtain an enhanced measure of the contact gap. The numerical examples show the performance of the method.

A method for the analysis of nonlinearities in aircraft dynamic response to atmospheric turbulence

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Sidwell, K.

1976-01-01

An analytical method is developed which combines the equivalent linearization technique for the analysis of the response of nonlinear dynamic systems with the amplitude modulated random process (Press model) for atmospheric turbulence. The method is initially applied to a bilinear spring system. The analysis of the response shows good agreement with exact results obtained by the Fokker-Planck equation. The method is then applied to an example of control-surface displacement limiting in an aircraft with a pitch-hold autopilot.

Validated chromatographic and spectrophotometric methods for analysis of some amoebicide drugs in their combined pharmaceutical preparation.

PubMed

Abdelaleem, Eglal Adelhamid; Abdelwahab, Nada Sayed

2013-01-01

This work is concerned with development and validation of chromatographic and spectrophotometric methods for analysis of mebeverine HCl (MEH), diloxanide furoate (DF) and metronidazole (MET) in Dimetrol® tablets - spectrophotometric and RP-HPLC methods using UV detection. The developed spectrophotometric methods depend on determination of MEH and DF in the combined dosage form using the successive derivative ratio spectra method which depends on derivatization of the obtained ratio spectra in two steps using methanol as a solvent and measuring MEH at 226.4-232.2 nm (peak to peak) and DF at 260.6-264.8 nm (peak to peak). While MET concentrations were determined using first derivative (1D) at λ = 327 nm using the same solvent. The chromatographic method depends on HPLC separation on ODS column and elution with a mobile phase consisting water: methanol: triethylamine (25: 75: 0.5, by volume, orthophosphoric acid to pH =4). Pumping the mobile phase at 0.7 ml min-1 with UV at 230 nm. Factors affecting the developed methods were studied and optimized, moreover, they have been validated as per ICH guideline and the results demonstrated that the suggested methods are reproducible, reliable and can be applied for routine use with short time of analysis. Statistical analysis of the two developed methods with each other using F and student's-t tests showed no significant difference.

Measurement of admixture proportions and description of admixture structure in different US populations

PubMed Central

Halder, Indrani; Yang, Bao-Zhu; Kranzler, Henry R.; Stein, Murray B.; Shriver, Mark D.; Gelernter, Joel

2010-01-01

Variation in individual admixture proportions leads to heterogeneity within populations. Though novel methods and marker panels have been developed to quantify individual admixture, empirical data describing individual admixture distributions are limited. We investigated variation in individual admixture in four US populations [European American (EA), African American (AA) and Hispanics from Connecticut (EC) and California (WC)] assuming three-way intermixture among Europeans, Africans and Indigenous Americans. Admixture estimates were inferred using a panel of 36 microsatellites and 1 SNP, which have significant allele frequency differences between ancestral populations, and by using both a maximum likelihood (ML) based method and a Bayesian method implemented in the program STRUCTURE. Simulation studies showed that estimates obtained with this marker panel are within 96% of expected values. EAs had the lowest non-European admixture with both methods, but showed greater homogeneity with STRUCTURE than with ML. All other samples showed a high degree of variation in admixture estimates with both methods, were highly concordant and showed evidence of admixture stratification. With both methods, AA subjects had 16% European and <10% Indigenous American admixture on average. EC Hispanics had higher mean African admixture and the WC Hispanics higher mean Indigenous American admixture, possibly reflecting their different continental origins. PMID:19572378

Project risk management in the construction of high-rise buildings

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Titarenko, Boris; Hasnaoui, Amir; Titarenko, Roman; Buzuk, Liliya

2018-03-01

This paper shows the project risk management methods, which allow to better identify risks in the construction of high-rise buildings and to manage them throughout the life cycle of the project. One of the project risk management processes is a quantitative analysis of risks. The quantitative analysis usually includes the assessment of the potential impact of project risks and their probabilities. This paper shows the most popular methods of risk probability assessment and tries to indicate the advantages of the robust approach over the traditional methods. Within the framework of the project risk management model a robust approach of P. Huber is applied and expanded for the tasks of regression analysis of project data. The suggested algorithms used to assess the parameters in statistical models allow to obtain reliable estimates. A review of the theoretical problems of the development of robust models built on the methodology of the minimax estimates was done and the algorithm for the situation of asymmetric "contamination" was developed.

Development of a SPME-GC-MS method for the determination of volatile compounds in Shanxi aged vinegar and its analytical characterization by aroma wheel.

PubMed

Zhu, Hong; Zhu, Jie; Wang, Lili; Li, Zaigui

2016-01-01

A solid-phase microextraction followed by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry method was developed to determine the volatile compounds in Shanxi aged vinegar. The optimal extraction conditions were: 50 °C for 20 min with a PDMS/DVB fiber. This analytical method was validated and showed satisfactory repeatability (0.5 %

A novel interferometric method for the study of the viscoelastic properties of ultra-thin polymer films determined from nanobubble inflation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chapuis, P.; Montgomery, P. C.; Anstotz, F.; Leong-Hoï, A.; Gauthier, C.; Baschnagel, J.; Reiter, G.; McKenna, G. B.; Rubin, A.

2017-09-01

Glass formation and glassy behavior remain as the important areas of investigation in soft matter physics with many aspects which are still not completely understood, especially at the nanometer size-scale. In the present work, we show an extension of the "nanobubble inflation" method developed by O'Connell and McKenna [Rev. Sci. Instrum. 78, 013901 (2007)] which uses an interferometric method to measure the topography of a large array of 5 μ m sized nanometer thick films subjected to constant inflation pressures during which the bubbles grow or creep with time. The interferometric method offers the possibility of making measurements on multiple bubbles at once as well as having the advantage over the AFM methods of O'Connell and McKenna of being a true non-contact method. Here we demonstrate the method using ultra-thin films of both poly(vinyl acetate) (PVAc) and polystyrene (PS) and discuss the capabilities of the method relative to the AFM method, its advantages and disadvantages. Furthermore we show that the results from experiments on PVAc are consistent with the prior work on PVAc, while high stress results with PS show signs of a new non-linear response regime that may be related to the plasticity of the ultra-thin film.

Estimation of low back moments from video analysis: a validation study.

PubMed

Coenen, Pieter; Kingma, Idsart; Boot, Cécile R L; Faber, Gert S; Xu, Xu; Bongers, Paulien M; van Dieën, Jaap H

2011-09-02

This study aimed to develop, compare and validate two versions of a video analysis method for assessment of low back moments during occupational lifting tasks since for epidemiological studies and ergonomic practice relatively cheap and easily applicable methods to assess low back loads are needed. Ten healthy subjects participated in a protocol comprising 12 lifting conditions. Low back moments were assessed using two variants of a video analysis method and a lab-based reference method. Repeated measures ANOVAs showed no overall differences in peak moments between the two versions of the video analysis method and the reference method. However, two conditions showed a minor overestimation of one of the video analysis method moments. Standard deviations were considerable suggesting that errors in the video analysis were random. Furthermore, there was a small underestimation of dynamic components and overestimation of the static components of the moments. Intraclass correlations coefficients for peak moments showed high correspondence (>0.85) of the video analyses with the reference method. It is concluded that, when a sufficient number of measurements can be taken, the video analysis method for assessment of low back loads during lifting tasks provides valid estimates of low back moments in ergonomic practice and epidemiological studies for lifts up to a moderate level of asymmetry. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Teaching learning methods of an entrepreneurship curriculum

PubMed Central

ESMI, KERAMAT; MARZOUGHI, RAHMATALLAH; TORKZADEH, JAFAR

2015-01-01

Introduction One of the most significant elements of entrepreneurship curriculum design is teaching-learning methods, which plays a key role in studies and researches related to such a curriculum. It is the teaching method, and systematic, organized and logical ways of providing lessons that should be consistent with entrepreneurship goals and contents, and should also be developed according to the learners’ needs. Therefore, the current study aimed to introduce appropriate, modern, and effective methods of teaching entrepreneurship and their validation Methods This is a mixed method research of a sequential exploratory kind conducted through two stages: a) developing teaching methods of entrepreneurship curriculum, and b) validating developed framework. Data were collected through “triangulation” (study of documents, investigating theoretical basics and the literature, and semi-structured interviews with key experts). Since the literature on this topic is very rich, and views of the key experts are vast, directed and summative content analysis was used. In the second stage, qualitative credibility of research findings was obtained using qualitative validation criteria (credibility, confirmability, and transferability), and applying various techniques. Moreover, in order to make sure that the qualitative part is reliable, reliability test was used. Moreover, quantitative validation of the developed framework was conducted utilizing exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis methods and Cronbach’s alpha. The data were gathered through distributing a three-aspect questionnaire (direct presentation teaching methods, interactive, and practical-operational aspects) with 29 items among 90 curriculum scholars. Target population was selected by means of purposive sampling and representative sample. Results Results obtained from exploratory factor analysis showed that a three factor structure is an appropriate method for describing elements of teaching-learning methods of entrepreneurship curriculum. Moreover, the value for Kaiser Meyer Olkin measure of sampling adequacy equaled 0.72 and the value for Bartlett’s test of variances homogeneity was significant at the 0.0001 level. Except for internship element, the rest had a factor load of higher than 0.3. Also, the results of confirmatory factor analysis showed the model appropriateness, and the criteria for qualitative accreditation were acceptable. Conclusion Developed model can help instructors in selecting an appropriate method of entrepreneurship teaching, and it can also make sure that the teaching is on the right path. Moreover, the model is comprehensive and includes all the effective teaching methods in entrepreneurship education. It is also based on qualities, conditions, and requirements of Higher Education Institutions in Iranian cultural environment. PMID:26457314

High-throughput analysis of sulfatides in cerebrospinal fluid using automated extraction and UPLC-MS/MS.

PubMed

Blomqvist, Maria; Borén, Jan; Zetterberg, Henrik; Blennow, Kaj; Månsson, Jan-Eric; Ståhlman, Marcus

2017-07-01

Sulfatides (STs) are a group of glycosphingolipids that are highly expressed in brain. Due to their importance for normal brain function and their potential involvement in neurological diseases, development of accurate and sensitive methods for their determination is needed. Here we describe a high-throughput oriented and quantitative method for the determination of STs in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF). The STs were extracted using a fully automated liquid/liquid extraction method and quantified using ultra-performance liquid chromatography coupled to tandem mass spectrometry. With the high sensitivity of the developed method, quantification of 20 ST species from only 100 μl of CSF was performed. Validation of the method showed that the STs were extracted with high recovery (90%) and could be determined with low inter- and intra-day variation. Our method was applied to a patient cohort of subjects with an Alzheimer's disease biomarker profile. Although the total ST levels were unaltered compared with an age-matched control group, we show that the ratio of hydroxylated/nonhydroxylated STs was increased in the patient cohort. In conclusion, we believe that the fast, sensitive, and accurate method described in this study is a powerful new tool for the determination of STs in clinical as well as preclinical settings. Copyright © 2017 by the American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Inc.

A modified two-point titration method for the determination of volatile fatty acids in anaerobic systems.

PubMed

Mu, Zhe-Xuan; He, Chuan-Shu; Jiang, Jian-Kai; Zhang, Jie; Yang, Hou-Yun; Mu, Yang

2018-08-01

The volatile fatty acids (VFA) concentration plays important roles in the rapid start-up and stable operation of anaerobic reactors. It's essential to develop a simple and accurate method to monitor the VFA concentration in the anaerobic systems. In present work, a modified two-point titration method was developed to determine the VFA concentration. The results show that VFA concentration in standard solutions estimated by the titration method coincided well with that measured by gas chromatograph, where all relative errors were lower than 5.5%. Compared with the phosphate, ammonium and sulfide subsystems, the effect of bicarbonate on the accuracy of the developed method was relatively significant. When the bicarbonate concentration varied from 0 to 8 mmol/L, the relative errors increased from 1.2% to 30% for VFA concentration at 1 mmol/L, but were within 2.0% for that at 5 mmol/L. In addition, the VFA composition affected the accuracy of the titration method to some extent. This developed titration method was further proved to be effective with practical effluents from a lab-scale anaerobic reactor under organic shock loadings and an unstable full-scale anaerobic reactor. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Theme network in thematic learning in elementary school

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ain, N.; Rahutami, R.

2018-05-01

This research aimed at developing a network of a theme in the textbook. The method used is evaluation and development method. The source of this research data is textbook of class IV with the theme of “Care for Living Creatures” and sub-theme "Lets Love Our Environment”. The results show that there is a discrepancy between basic competence and sub-themes. Such disagreement is due to an inadequacy of basic competencies with sub-themes, and the choice of basic competencies of less appropriate to sub-themes. The results of this study can be used to developing theme network on other sub-themes as well as on other levels.

Investigation of the technology of conductive yarns manufacturing

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ryklin, Dzmitry; Medvetski, Sergey

2017-10-01

The paper is devoted to development of technology of electrically conductive yarn production. This technology allows manufacturing conductive yarns of copper wire and polyester filament yarns. Method of the predicting of the conductive yarn breaking force was developed on the base of analysing of load-elongation curves of each strand of the yarn. Also the method of the predicting of the conductive yarn diameter was offered. Investigation shows that conductive yarns can be integrated into the textiles structure using sewing or embroidery equipment. Application of developed conductive yarn is wearable electronics creating with wide range of functions, for example, for specific health issue monitoring, navigation tools or communication gadgets.

Medical devices early assessment methods: systematic literature review.

PubMed

Markiewicz, Katarzyna; van Til, Janine A; IJzerman, Maarten J

2014-04-01

The aim of this study was to get an overview of current theory and practice in early assessments of medical devices, and to identify aims and uses of early assessment methods used in practice. A systematic literature review was conducted in September 2013, using computerized databases (PubMed, Science Direct, and Scopus), and references list search. Selected articles were categorized based on their type, objective, and main target audience. The methods used in the application studies were extracted and mapped throughout the early stages of development and for their particular aims. Of 1,961 articles identified, eighty-three studies passed the inclusion criteria, and thirty were included by searching reference lists. There were thirty-one theoretical papers, and eighty-two application papers included. Most studies investigated potential applications/possible improvement of medical devices, developed early assessment framework or included stakeholder perspective in early development stages. Among multiple qualitative and quantitative methods identified, only few were used more than once. The methods aim to inform strategic considerations (e.g., literature review), economic evaluation (e.g., cost-effectiveness analysis), and clinical effectiveness (e.g., clinical trials). Medical devices were often in the prototype product development stage, and the results were usually aimed at informing manufacturers. This study showed converging aims yet widely diverging methods for early assessment during medical device development. For early assessment to become an integral part of activities in the development of medical devices, methods need to be clarified and standardized, and the aims and value of assessment itself must be demonstrated to the main stakeholders for assuring effective and efficient medical device development.

An accurate and efficient acoustic eigensolver based on a fast multipole BEM and a contour integral method

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zheng, Chang-Jun; Gao, Hai-Feng; Du, Lei; Chen, Hai-Bo; Zhang, Chuanzeng

2016-01-01

An accurate numerical solver is developed in this paper for eigenproblems governed by the Helmholtz equation and formulated through the boundary element method. A contour integral method is used to convert the nonlinear eigenproblem into an ordinary eigenproblem, so that eigenvalues can be extracted accurately by solving a set of standard boundary element systems of equations. In order to accelerate the solution procedure, the parameters affecting the accuracy and efficiency of the method are studied and two contour paths are compared. Moreover, a wideband fast multipole method is implemented with a block IDR (s) solver to reduce the overall solution cost of the boundary element systems of equations with multiple right-hand sides. The Burton-Miller formulation is employed to identify the fictitious eigenfrequencies of the interior acoustic problems with multiply connected domains. The actual effect of the Burton-Miller formulation on tackling the fictitious eigenfrequency problem is investigated and the optimal choice of the coupling parameter as α = i / k is confirmed through exterior sphere examples. Furthermore, the numerical eigenvalues obtained by the developed method are compared with the results obtained by the finite element method to show the accuracy and efficiency of the developed method.

Who's in and why? A typology of stakeholder analysis methods for natural resource management.

PubMed

Reed, Mark S; Graves, Anil; Dandy, Norman; Posthumus, Helena; Hubacek, Klaus; Morris, Joe; Prell, Christina; Quinn, Claire H; Stringer, Lindsay C

2009-04-01

Stakeholder analysis means many things to different people. Various methods and approaches have been developed in different fields for different purposes, leading to confusion over the concept and practice of stakeholder analysis. This paper asks how and why stakeholder analysis should be conducted for participatory natural resource management research. This is achieved by reviewing the development of stakeholder analysis in business management, development and natural resource management. The normative and instrumental theoretical basis for stakeholder analysis is discussed, and a stakeholder analysis typology is proposed. This consists of methods for: i) identifying stakeholders; ii) differentiating between and categorising stakeholders; and iii) investigating relationships between stakeholders. The range of methods that can be used to carry out each type of analysis is reviewed. These methods and approaches are then illustrated through a series of case studies funded through the Rural Economy and Land Use (RELU) programme. These case studies show the wide range of participatory and non-participatory methods that can be used, and discuss some of the challenges and limitations of existing methods for stakeholder analysis. The case studies also propose new tools and combinations of methods that can more effectively identify and categorise stakeholders and help understand their inter-relationships.

Environmental Impact of Ionic Liquids: Automated Evaluation of the Chemical Oxygen Demand of Photochemically Degraded Compounds.

PubMed

Costa, Susana P F; Pereira, Sarah A P; Pinto, Paula C A G; Araujo, André R T S; Passos, Marieta L C; Saraiva, M Lúcia M F S

2017-05-19

A novel automated fluorimetric technique was developed for the assessment of the chemical oxygen demand (COD) of ionic liquids (ILs) and combined with a photodegradation step to promote IL degradation. The method was implemented on a sequential injection analysis (SIA) system and is based on the reduction of cerium(IV) in the presence of irradiated ILs. Compounds incorporating the chloride anion were found to exhibit higher COD values and 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium chloride ([bmim] + [Cl] - ), 1-butyl-1-methylpyrrolidinium chloride ([bmpyr] + [Cl] - ), and1-hexyl-3-methylimidazolium chloride ([hmim] + [Cl] - ) also exhibited considerable photodegradability, whereas the cholinium cation and methanesulfonate and tetrafluoroborate anions showed resistance to photolysis. The developed methodology proved to be a simple, affordable, and robust method, showing good repeatability under the tested conditions (rsd <3.5 %, n=10). Therefore, it is expected that the developed approach can be used as a screening method for the preliminary evaluation of compounds' potential impact in the aquatic field. Additionally, the photolysis step presents an attractive option to promote degradation of ILs prior to their release into wastewater. © 2017 Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Integrating Qualitative and Quantitative Methods in Participatory Modeling to Elicit Behavioral Drivers in Environmental Dilemmas: the Case of Air Pollution in Talca, Chile.

PubMed

Meinherz, Franziska; Videira, Nuno

2018-04-10

The aim of this paper is to contribute to the exploration of environmental modeling methods based on the elicitation of stakeholders' mental models. This aim is motivated by the necessity to understand the dilemmas and behavioral rationales of individuals for supporting the management of environmental problems. The methodology developed for this paper integrates qualitative and quantitative methods by deploying focus groups for the elicitation of the behavioral rationales of the target population, and grounded theory to code the information gained in the focus groups and to guide the development of a dynamic simulation model. The approach is applied to a case of urban air pollution caused by residential heating with wood in central Chile. The results show how the households' behavior interrelates with the governmental management strategies and provide valuable and novel insights into potential challenges to the implementation of policies to manage the local air pollution problem. The experience further shows that the developed participatory modeling approach allows to overcome some of the issues currently encountered in the elicitation of individuals' behavioral rationales and in the quantification of qualitative information.

A novel measure of effect size for mediation analysis.

PubMed

Lachowicz, Mark J; Preacher, Kristopher J; Kelley, Ken

2018-06-01

Mediation analysis has become one of the most popular statistical methods in the social sciences. However, many currently available effect size measures for mediation have limitations that restrict their use to specific mediation models. In this article, we develop a measure of effect size that addresses these limitations. We show how modification of a currently existing effect size measure results in a novel effect size measure with many desirable properties. We also derive an expression for the bias of the sample estimator for the proposed effect size measure and propose an adjusted version of the estimator. We present a Monte Carlo simulation study conducted to examine the finite sampling properties of the adjusted and unadjusted estimators, which shows that the adjusted estimator is effective at recovering the true value it estimates. Finally, we demonstrate the use of the effect size measure with an empirical example. We provide freely available software so that researchers can immediately implement the methods we discuss. Our developments here extend the existing literature on effect sizes and mediation by developing a potentially useful method of communicating the magnitude of mediation. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2018 APA, all rights reserved).

Determination of fructooligosaccharides in burdock using HPLC and microwave-assisted extraction.

PubMed

Li, Jing; Liu, Xiaomei; Zhou, Bin; Zhao, Jing; Li, Shaoping

2013-06-19

The root of burdock ( Arctium lappa L.) is a commonly used vegetable in Asia. Fructooligosaccharides (FOS) are usually considered as its main bioactive components. Thus, quantitative analysis of these components is very important for the quality control of burdock. In this study, an HPLC-ELSD and microwave-assisted extraction method was developed for the simultaneous determination of seven FOS with degrees of polymerization (DP) between 3 and 9, as well as fructose, glucose, and sucrose in burdock from different regions. The separation was performed on a Waters XBridge Amide column (4.6 × 250 mm i.d., 3.5 μm) with gradient elution. All calibration curves for investigated analytes showed good linear regression (r > 0.9990). Their LODs and LOQs were lower than 3.63 and 24.82 μg/mL, respectively. The recoveries ranged from 99.2 to 102.6%. The developed method was successfully applied to determination of ten sugars in burdock from different locations of Asia. The results showed that the contents of FOS in different samples of burdock collected at appropriate times were similar, and the developed HPLC-ELSD with microwave-assisted extraction method is helpful to control the quality of burdock.

Probing Zeolite Crystal Architecture and Structural Imperfections using Differently Sized Fluorescent Organic Probe Molecules.

PubMed

Hendriks, Frank C; Schmidt, Joel E; Rombouts, Jeroen A; Lammertsma, Koop; Bruijnincx, Pieter C A; Weckhuysen, Bert M

2017-05-05

A micro-spectroscopic method has been developed to probe the accessibility of zeolite crystals using a series of fluorescent 4-(4-diethylaminostyryl)-1-methylpyridinium iodide (DAMPI) probes of increasing molecular size. Staining large zeolite crystals with MFI (ZSM-5) topology and subsequent mapping of the resulting fluorescence using confocal fluorescence microscopy reveal differences in structural integrity: the 90° intergrowth sections of MFI crystals are prone to develop structural imperfections, which act as entrance routes for the probes into the zeolite crystal. Polarization-dependent measurements provide evidence for the probe molecule's alignment within the MFI zeolite pore system. The developed method was extended to BEA (Beta) crystals, showing that the previously observed hourglass pattern is a general feature of BEA crystals with this morphology. Furthermore, the probes can accurately identify at which crystal faces of BEA straight or sinusoidal pores open to the surface. The results show this method can spatially resolve the architecture-dependent internal pore structure of microporous materials, which is difficult to assess using other characterization techniques such as X-ray diffraction. © 2017 The Authors. Published by Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA.

Evaluating the Good Ontology Design Guideline (GoodOD) with the ontology quality requirements and evaluation method and metrics (OQuaRE).

PubMed

Duque-Ramos, Astrid; Boeker, Martin; Jansen, Ludger; Schulz, Stefan; Iniesta, Miguela; Fernández-Breis, Jesualdo Tomás

2014-01-01

To (1) evaluate the GoodOD guideline for ontology development by applying the OQuaRE evaluation method and metrics to the ontology artefacts that were produced by students in a randomized controlled trial, and (2) informally compare the OQuaRE evaluation method with gold standard and competency questions based evaluation methods, respectively. In the last decades many methods for ontology construction and ontology evaluation have been proposed. However, none of them has become a standard and there is no empirical evidence of comparative evaluation of such methods. This paper brings together GoodOD and OQuaRE. GoodOD is a guideline for developing robust ontologies. It was previously evaluated in a randomized controlled trial employing metrics based on gold standard ontologies and competency questions as outcome parameters. OQuaRE is a method for ontology quality evaluation which adapts the SQuaRE standard for software product quality to ontologies and has been successfully used for evaluating the quality of ontologies. In this paper, we evaluate the effect of training in ontology construction based on the GoodOD guideline within the OQuaRE quality evaluation framework and compare the results with those obtained for the previous studies based on the same data. Our results show a significant effect of the GoodOD training over developed ontologies by topics: (a) a highly significant effect was detected in three topics from the analysis of the ontologies of untrained and trained students; (b) both positive and negative training effects with respect to the gold standard were found for five topics. The GoodOD guideline had a significant effect over the quality of the ontologies developed. Our results show that GoodOD ontologies can be effectively evaluated using OQuaRE and that OQuaRE is able to provide additional useful information about the quality of the GoodOD ontologies.

Ensemble Methods for MiRNA Target Prediction from Expression Data.

PubMed

Le, Thuc Duy; Zhang, Junpeng; Liu, Lin; Li, Jiuyong

2015-01-01

microRNAs (miRNAs) are short regulatory RNAs that are involved in several diseases, including cancers. Identifying miRNA functions is very important in understanding disease mechanisms and determining the efficacy of drugs. An increasing number of computational methods have been developed to explore miRNA functions by inferring the miRNA-mRNA regulatory relationships from data. Each of the methods is developed based on some assumptions and constraints, for instance, assuming linear relationships between variables. For such reasons, computational methods are often subject to the problem of inconsistent performance across different datasets. On the other hand, ensemble methods integrate the results from individual methods and have been proved to outperform each of their individual component methods in theory. In this paper, we investigate the performance of some ensemble methods over the commonly used miRNA target prediction methods. We apply eight different popular miRNA target prediction methods to three cancer datasets, and compare their performance with the ensemble methods which integrate the results from each combination of the individual methods. The validation results using experimentally confirmed databases show that the results of the ensemble methods complement those obtained by the individual methods and the ensemble methods perform better than the individual methods across different datasets. The ensemble method, Pearson+IDA+Lasso, which combines methods in different approaches, including a correlation method, a causal inference method, and a regression method, is the best performed ensemble method in this study. Further analysis of the results of this ensemble method shows that the ensemble method can obtain more targets which could not be found by any of the single methods, and the discovered targets are more statistically significant and functionally enriched. The source codes, datasets, miRNA target predictions by all methods, and the ground truth for validation are available in the Supplementary materials.

Ensemble Methods for MiRNA Target Prediction from Expression Data

PubMed Central

Le, Thuc Duy; Zhang, Junpeng; Liu, Lin; Li, Jiuyong

2015-01-01

Background microRNAs (miRNAs) are short regulatory RNAs that are involved in several diseases, including cancers. Identifying miRNA functions is very important in understanding disease mechanisms and determining the efficacy of drugs. An increasing number of computational methods have been developed to explore miRNA functions by inferring the miRNA-mRNA regulatory relationships from data. Each of the methods is developed based on some assumptions and constraints, for instance, assuming linear relationships between variables. For such reasons, computational methods are often subject to the problem of inconsistent performance across different datasets. On the other hand, ensemble methods integrate the results from individual methods and have been proved to outperform each of their individual component methods in theory. Results In this paper, we investigate the performance of some ensemble methods over the commonly used miRNA target prediction methods. We apply eight different popular miRNA target prediction methods to three cancer datasets, and compare their performance with the ensemble methods which integrate the results from each combination of the individual methods. The validation results using experimentally confirmed databases show that the results of the ensemble methods complement those obtained by the individual methods and the ensemble methods perform better than the individual methods across different datasets. The ensemble method, Pearson+IDA+Lasso, which combines methods in different approaches, including a correlation method, a causal inference method, and a regression method, is the best performed ensemble method in this study. Further analysis of the results of this ensemble method shows that the ensemble method can obtain more targets which could not be found by any of the single methods, and the discovered targets are more statistically significant and functionally enriched. The source codes, datasets, miRNA target predictions by all methods, and the ground truth for validation are available in the Supplementary materials. PMID:26114448

3-Dimensional and Interactive Istanbul University Virtual Laboratory Based on Active Learning Methods

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ince, Elif; Kirbaslar, Fatma Gulay; Yolcu, Ergun; Aslan, Ayse Esra; Kayacan, Zeynep Cigdem; Alkan Olsson, Johanna; Akbasli, Ayse Ceylan; Aytekin, Mesut; Bauer, Thomas; Charalambis, Dimitris; Gunes, Zeliha Ozsoy; Kandemir, Ceyhan; Sari, Umit; Turkoglu, Suleyman; Yaman, Yavuz; Yolcu, Ozgu

2014-01-01

The purpose of this study is to develop a 3-dimensional interactive multi-user and multi-admin IUVIRLAB featuring active learning methods and techniques for university students and to introduce the Virtual Laboratory of Istanbul University and to show effects of IUVIRLAB on students' attitudes on communication skills and IUVIRLAB. Although there…

Influence of an Education Abroad Program on the Intercultural Sensitivity of STEM Undergraduates: A Mixed Methods Study

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Demetry, Chrysanthe; Vaz, Richard F.

2017-01-01

Education abroad programs are becoming more common as a mechanism for developing the global competencies of engineering graduates. An increasing body of research shows that intercultural learning does not occur "de facto" in such programs. This study used quantitative and qualitative methods to explore changes in students' intercultural…

Probabilistic composite micromechanics

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Stock, T. A.; Bellini, P. X.; Murthy, P. L. N.; Chamis, C. C.

1988-01-01

Probabilistic composite micromechanics methods are developed that simulate expected uncertainties in unidirectional fiber composite properties. These methods are in the form of computational procedures using Monte Carlo simulation. A graphite/epoxy unidirectional composite (ply) is studied to demonstrate fiber composite material properties at the micro level. Regression results are presented to show the relative correlation between predicted and response variables in the study.

Forming a Professional Identity: Conversations between English Method Students.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Doecke, Brenton; McKnight, Lucinda

This paper aims to show how its author/researchers were brought to reconsider some of the assumptions behind a small arc project that was being conducted on the professional development of student teachers in Australia. A small group of English Method students were invited to participate in three focus group interviews: before their first teaching…

Developing Mathematical Knowledge for Teaching in a Methods Course: The Case of Function

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Steele, Michael D.; Hillen, Amy F.; Smith, Margaret S.

2013-01-01

This study describes teacher learning in a teaching experiment consisting of a content-focused methods course involving the mathematical knowledge for teaching function. Prospective and practicing teachers in the course showed growth in their ability to define function, to provide examples of functions and link them to the definition, in the…

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

Zhang, Ch.; Gao, X. W.; Sladek, J.

This paper reports our recent research works on crack analysis in continuously non-homogeneous and linear elastic functionally graded materials. A meshless boundary element method is developed for this purpose. Numerical examples are presented and discussed to demonstrate the efficiency and the accuracy of the present numerical method, and to show the effects of the material gradation on the crack-opening-displacements and the stress intensity factors.

Development and validation of a matrix solid-phase dispersion method to determine acrylamide in coffee and coffee substitutes.

PubMed

Soares, Cristina M Dias; Alves, Rita C; Casal, Susana; Oliveira, M Beatriz P P; Fernandes, José Oliveira

2010-04-01

The present study describes the development and validation of a new method based on a matrix solid-phase dispersion (MSPD) sample preparation procedure followed by GC-MS for determination of acrylamide levels in coffee (ground coffee and brewed coffee) and coffee substitute samples. Samples were dispersed in C(18) sorbent and the mixture was further packed into a preconditioned custom-made ISOLUTE bilayered SPE column (C(18)/Multimode; 1 g + 1 g). Acrylamide was subsequently eluted with water, and then derivatized with bromine and quantified by GC-MS in SIM mode. The MSPD/GC-MS method presented a LOD of 5 microg/kg and a LOQ of 10 microg/kg. Intra and interday precisions ranged from 2% to 4% and 4% to 10%, respectively. To evaluate the performance of the method, 11 samples of ground and brewed coffee and coffee substitutes were simultaneously analyzed by the developed method and also by a previously validated method based in a liquid-extraction (LE) procedure, and the results were compared showing a high correlation between them.

Self-Developed Testing System for Determining the Temperature Behavior of Concrete.

PubMed

Zhu, He; Li, Qingbin; Hu, Yu

2017-04-16

Cracking due to temperature and restraint in mass concrete is an important issue. A temperature stress testing machine (TSTM) is an effective test method to study the mechanism of temperature cracking. A synchronous closed loop federated control TSTM system has been developed by adopting the design concepts of a closed loop federated control, a detachable mold design, a direct measuring deformation method, and a temperature deformation compensation method. The results show that the self-developed system has the comprehensive ability of simulating different restraint degrees, multiple temperature and humidity modes, and closed-loop control of multi-TSTMs during one test period. Additionally, the direct measuring deformation method can obtain a more accurate deformation and restraint degree result with little local damage. The external temperature deformation affecting the concrete specimen can be eliminated by adopting the temperature deformation compensation method with different considerations of steel materials. The concrete quality of different TSTMs can be guaranteed by being vibrated on the vibrating stand synchronously. The detachable mold design and assembled method has greatly overcome the difficulty of eccentric force and deformation.

Self-Developed Testing System for Determining the Temperature Behavior of Concrete

PubMed Central

Zhu, He; Li, Qingbin; Hu, Yu

2017-01-01

Cracking due to temperature and restraint in mass concrete is an important issue. A temperature stress testing machine (TSTM) is an effective test method to study the mechanism of temperature cracking. A synchronous closed loop federated control TSTM system has been developed by adopting the design concepts of a closed loop federated control, a detachable mold design, a direct measuring deformation method, and a temperature deformation compensation method. The results show that the self-developed system has the comprehensive ability of simulating different restraint degrees, multiple temperature and humidity modes, and closed-loop control of multi-TSTMs during one test period. Additionally, the direct measuring deformation method can obtain a more accurate deformation and restraint degree result with little local damage. The external temperature deformation affecting the concrete specimen can be eliminated by adopting the temperature deformation compensation method with different considerations of steel materials. The concrete quality of different TSTMs can be guaranteed by being vibrated on the vibrating stand synchronously. The detachable mold design and assembled method has greatly overcome the difficulty of eccentric force and deformation. PMID:28772778

MLACP: machine-learning-based prediction of anticancer peptides

PubMed Central

Manavalan, Balachandran; Basith, Shaherin; Shin, Tae Hwan; Choi, Sun; Kim, Myeong Ok; Lee, Gwang

2017-01-01

Cancer is the second leading cause of death globally, and use of therapeutic peptides to target and kill cancer cells has received considerable attention in recent years. Identification of anticancer peptides (ACPs) through wet-lab experimentation is expensive and often time consuming; therefore, development of an efficient computational method is essential to identify potential ACP candidates prior to in vitro experimentation. In this study, we developed support vector machine- and random forest-based machine-learning methods for the prediction of ACPs using the features calculated from the amino acid sequence, including amino acid composition, dipeptide composition, atomic composition, and physicochemical properties. We trained our methods using the Tyagi-B dataset and determined the machine parameters by 10-fold cross-validation. Furthermore, we evaluated the performance of our methods on two benchmarking datasets, with our results showing that the random forest-based method outperformed the existing methods with an average accuracy and Matthews correlation coefficient value of 88.7% and 0.78, respectively. To assist the scientific community, we also developed a publicly accessible web server at www.thegleelab.org/MLACP.html. PMID:29100375

Development of a process for separation of mogroside V from Siraitia grosvenorii by macroporous resins.

PubMed

Zhang, Min; Yang, Huihua; Zhang, Hongyang; Wang, Yuerong; Hu, Ping

2011-08-25

A separation method was developed for the preparative separation and enrichment of the non-caloric sweetener mogroside V from Siraitia grosvenorii. The adsorption properties of six macroporous resins were evaluated. Results showed that HZ 806 resin offered the best adsorption and desorption capacities. Based on the adsorption experiments on HZ 806, the adsorption data were found to fit the Freundlich model well. The pseudo-second-order kinetic model showed the highest correlation with the experimental results. Separation was performed with deionized water and 40% aqueous ethanol solution as mobile phases. In a typical run, 100 g of herb was processed and 3.38 g of mogroside V with a purity of 10.7% was harvested. This separation method provided a 15.1-fold increase in the purification factor from 0.5% to 10.7%. The present study showed that HZ 806 resins were effective for the separation and enrichment of mogroside V from S. grosvenorii.

U.S. Geological Survey experience with the residual absolutes method

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Worthington, E. William; Matzka, Jürgen

2017-10-01

The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Geomagnetism Program has developed and tested the residual method of absolutes, with the assistance of the Danish Technical University's (DTU) Geomagnetism Program. Three years of testing were performed at College Magnetic Observatory (CMO), Fairbanks, Alaska, to compare the residual method with the null method. Results show that the two methods compare very well with each other and both sets of baseline data were used to process the 2015 definitive data. The residual method will be implemented at the other USGS high-latitude geomagnetic observatories in the summer of 2017 and 2018.

[Maximilian Mehl and the treatment with concentrated sunlight].

PubMed

Heyll, U

2006-12-22

In 1889, a chance observation made by Maximilian Mehl, an officer of the Berlin police force, lead him to develop a new method of treating Lupus Vulgaris with concentrated sunlight. Although first therapies proved the efficacy of this method, scientific medicine showed little interest. But Mehl found recognition among supporters of natural healing methods who saw their principles confirmed by his discovery. Mehl's tentative therapy was superseded by technological methods of sunlight treatment, as developed by the Danish doctor Niels Ryberg Finsen. In 1903 Finsen was awarded the Nobel Prize for his work while Mehl's discovery remained practically unknown. This episode in the history of medicine demonstrates how the recognition of a new method not only depends on criteria of its efficacy, but equally so on the degree of its conformity with preconceived notions and accepted standards.

Projecting insect voltinism under high and low greenhouse gas emission conditions

Treesearch

Shi Chen; Shelby J. Fleischer; Patrick C. Tobin; Michael C. Saunders

2011-01-01

We develop individual-based Monte Carlo methods to explore how climate change can alter insect voltinism under varying greenhouse gas emissions scenarios by using input distributions of diapause termination or spring emergence, development rate, and diapause initiation, linked to daily temperature and photoperiod. We show concurrence of these projections with a field...

What's Working Memory Got to Do with It? A Case Study on Teenagers

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Price, Andrew; Oliver, Mary; McGrane, Joshua

2015-01-01

This paper presents the results of a small-scale study concerned with the development of working memory during adolescence. The working memory of adolescent students was examined with a novel method, electroencephalography, which allowed insight into the neurological development of the students. Results showed that: electroencephalography is a…

Determination of urinary manganese by the direct chelation-extraction method and flameless atomic absorption spectrophotometry.

PubMed Central

Watanabe, T; Tokunaga, R; Iwahana, T; Tati, M; Ikeda, M

1978-01-01

The direct chelation-extraction method, originally developed by Hessel (1968) for blood lead analysis, has been successfully applied to urinalysis for manganese. The analyses of 35 urine samples containing up to 100 microgram/1 of manganese from manganese-exposed workers showed that the data obtained by this method agree well with those by wet digestion-flame atomic absorption spectrophotometry and also by flameless atomic absorption spectrophotometry. PMID:629893

Developments in Participatory Design of Health Information Technology - A Review of PDC Publications from 1990-2016.

PubMed

Kanstrup, Anne Marie; Madsen, Jacob; Nøhr, Christian; Bygholm, Ann; Bertelsen, Pernille

2017-01-01

The landscape of Participatory Design (PD) of Health Information Technology (HIT) is diverse and constantly evolving. This paper reviews the publications in the proceedings from the Participatory Design Conferences (PDCs) that have been held every two years since 1990. We used the Matrix Method to identify, describe and synthesise HIT publications from the proceedings. A total of 47 papers were included in the review and analysed in relation to six themes. The analysis reveals a significant volume of HIT research at PDCs, with a large amount of attention to digitalisation of health information, work procedures, records, secondary healthcare and health professionals. However, the analysis also shows a development from a primary focus on health workers and hospitals to a recent attention on HIT in everyday life and PD with patients, relatives, neighbourhoods and citizens in general. Additionally, the review shows a growing number of PD methods being applied. This paper concludes that research on PD and HIT appears to be maturing and developing with ongoing technological and societal development.

Development of three-axis inkjet printer for gear sensors

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Iba, Daisuke; Rodriguez Lopez, Ricardo; Kamimoto, Takahiro; Nakamura, Morimasa; Miura, Nanako; Iizuka, Takashi; Masuda, Arata; Moriwaki, Ichiro; Sone, Akira

2016-04-01

The long-term objective of our research is to develop sensor systems for detection of gear failure signs. As a very first step, this paper proposes a new method to create sensors directly printed on gears by a printer and conductive ink, and shows the printing system configuration and the procedure of sensor development. The developing printer system is a laser sintering system consisting of a laser and CNC machinery. The laser is able to synthesize micro conductive patterns, and introduced to the CNC machinery as a tool. In order to synthesize sensors on gears, we first design the micro-circuit pattern on a gear through the use of 3D-CAD, and create a program (G-code) for the CNC machinery by CAM. This paper shows initial experiments with the laser sintering process in order to obtain the optimal parameters for the laser setting. This new method proposed here may provide a new manufacturing process for mechanical parts, which have an additional functionality to detect failure, and possible improvements include creating more economical and sustainable systems.

A methodology for collecting valid software engineering data

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Basili, Victor R.; Weiss, David M.

1983-01-01

An effective data collection method for evaluating software development methodologies and for studying the software development process is described. The method uses goal-directed data collection to evaluate methodologies with respect to the claims made for them. Such claims are used as a basis for defining the goals of the data collection, establishing a list of questions of interest to be answered by data analysis, defining a set of data categorization schemes, and designing a data collection form. The data to be collected are based on the changes made to the software during development, and are obtained when the changes are made. To insure accuracy of the data, validation is performed concurrently with software development and data collection. Validation is based on interviews with those people supplying the data. Results from using the methodology show that data validation is a necessary part of change data collection. Without it, as much as 50% of the data may be erroneous. Feasibility of the data collection methodology was demonstrated by applying it to five different projects in two different environments. The application showed that the methodology was both feasible and useful.

Developing porous ceramics on the base of zirconia oxide with thin and permeable pores by crystallization of organic additive method

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kamyshnaya, K. S.; Khabas, T. A.

2016-11-01

In this paper porous ceramics on the base of ZrO2 nanopowders and micropowders has been developed by freeze-casting method. A zirconia/carbamide slurry was frozen in mold and dehydrated in CaCl2 at room temperature. This simple process enabled the formation of porous ceramics with highly aligned pores as a replica of the carbamide crystals. The samples showed higher porosity of 47.9%. In addition, these materials could be used as membrane for air cleaning.

Immersed boundary-simplified lattice Boltzmann method for incompressible viscous flows

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chen, Z.; Shu, C.; Tan, D.

2018-05-01

An immersed boundary-simplified lattice Boltzmann method is developed in this paper for simulations of two-dimensional incompressible viscous flows with immersed objects. Assisted by the fractional step technique, the problem is resolved in a predictor-corrector scheme. The predictor step solves the flow field without considering immersed objects, and the corrector step imposes the effect of immersed boundaries on the velocity field. Different from the previous immersed boundary-lattice Boltzmann method which adopts the standard lattice Boltzmann method (LBM) as the flow solver in the predictor step, a recently developed simplified lattice Boltzmann method (SLBM) is applied in the present method to evaluate intermediate flow variables. Compared to the standard LBM, SLBM requires lower virtual memories, facilitates the implementation of physical boundary conditions, and shows better numerical stability. The boundary condition-enforced immersed boundary method, which accurately ensures no-slip boundary conditions, is implemented as the boundary solver in the corrector step. Four typical numerical examples are presented to demonstrate the stability, the flexibility, and the accuracy of the present method.

Quantitative analysis of γ-oryzanol content in cold pressed rice bran oil by TLC-image analysis method

PubMed Central

Sakunpak, Apirak; Suksaeree, Jirapornchai; Monton, Chaowalit; Pathompak, Pathamaporn; Kraisintu, Krisana

2014-01-01

Objective To develop and validate an image analysis method for quantitative analysis of γ-oryzanol in cold pressed rice bran oil. Methods TLC-densitometric and TLC-image analysis methods were developed, validated, and used for quantitative analysis of γ-oryzanol in cold pressed rice bran oil. The results obtained by these two different quantification methods were compared by paired t-test. Results Both assays provided good linearity, accuracy, reproducibility and selectivity for determination of γ-oryzanol. Conclusions The TLC-densitometric and TLC-image analysis methods provided a similar reproducibility, accuracy and selectivity for the quantitative determination of γ-oryzanol in cold pressed rice bran oil. A statistical comparison of the quantitative determinations of γ-oryzanol in samples did not show any statistically significant difference between TLC-densitometric and TLC-image analysis methods. As both methods were found to be equal, they therefore can be used for the determination of γ-oryzanol in cold pressed rice bran oil. PMID:25182282

Advanced Fault Diagnosis Methods in Molecular Networks

PubMed Central

Habibi, Iman; Emamian, Effat S.; Abdi, Ali

2014-01-01

Analysis of the failure of cell signaling networks is an important topic in systems biology and has applications in target discovery and drug development. In this paper, some advanced methods for fault diagnosis in signaling networks are developed and then applied to a caspase network and an SHP2 network. The goal is to understand how, and to what extent, the dysfunction of molecules in a network contributes to the failure of the entire network. Network dysfunction (failure) is defined as failure to produce the expected outputs in response to the input signals. Vulnerability level of a molecule is defined as the probability of the network failure, when the molecule is dysfunctional. In this study, a method to calculate the vulnerability level of single molecules for different combinations of input signals is developed. Furthermore, a more complex yet biologically meaningful method for calculating the multi-fault vulnerability levels is suggested, in which two or more molecules are simultaneously dysfunctional. Finally, a method is developed for fault diagnosis of networks based on a ternary logic model, which considers three activity levels for a molecule instead of the previously published binary logic model, and provides equations for the vulnerabilities of molecules in a ternary framework. Multi-fault analysis shows that the pairs of molecules with high vulnerability typically include a highly vulnerable molecule identified by the single fault analysis. The ternary fault analysis for the caspase network shows that predictions obtained using the more complex ternary model are about the same as the predictions of the simpler binary approach. This study suggests that by increasing the number of activity levels the complexity of the model grows; however, the predictive power of the ternary model does not appear to be increased proportionally. PMID:25290670

Digital radiographic evaluation of mandibular third molar for age estimation in young adults and adolescents of South Indian population using modified Demirjian's method.

PubMed

Mohammed, Rezwana Begum; Koganti, Ravichandra; Kalyan, Siva V; Tircouveluri, Saritha; Singh, Johar Rajvinder; Srinivasulu, Enganti

2014-09-01

In recent years, it has become increasingly important to determine the age of living people for a variety of reasons, including identifying criminal and legal responsibility and for many other social events such as birth certificate, marriage, beginning a job, joining the army and retirement. The aim of this study was to assess the developmental stages of mandibular third molar for estimation of dental age (DA) in different age groups and to evaluate the possible correlation between DA and chronological age (CA) in South Indian population. Digital orthopantomography of 330 subjects (165 males, 165 females) who fit the study and the criteria were obtained. Assessment of mandibular third molar development was performed using Demirjian et al., modified method and DA was assessed using tooth specific stages. The present study showed a significant correlation between DA and CA in both males and females. Third molar development commenced around 9 years and root completion takes place around 18.9 years in males and in females 9 years and 18.6 years respectively. Demirjian modified method underestimated the mean age of males by 0.8 years and females by 0.5 years and also showed that females mature earlier than males in selected population. Digital radiographic assessment of mandibular third molar development can be used to generate mean DA using Demirjian modified method and also the estimated age range for an individual of unknown CA. Since the Demirjian method is based on French-Canadian population, to enhance the accuracy of forensic age estimates based on third molar development, the use of population-specific standards is recommended.

New multilayer coating using quaternary ammonium chitosan and κ-carrageenan in capillary electrophoresis: application in fast analysis of betaine and methionine.

PubMed

Vitali, Luciano; Della Betta, Fabiana; Costa, Ana Carolina O; Vaz, Fernando Antonio Simas; Oliveira, Marcone Augusto Leal; Vistuba, Jacqueline Pereira; Fávere, Valfredo T; Micke, Gustavo A

2014-06-01

The aim of this study was to develop a new multilayer coating with crosslinked quaternary ammonium chitosan (hydroxypropyltrimethyl ammonium chloride chitosan; HACC) and κ-carrageenan for use in capillary electrophoresis. A new semi-permanent multilayer coating was formed using the procedure developed and the method does not require the presence of polymers in the background electrolyte (BGE). The new capillary multilayer coating showed a cathodic electroosmotic flow (EOF) of around 30×10(-9) m(2) V(-1) s(-1) which is pH-independent in the range of pH 2 to 10. The enhanced EOF at low pH obtained contributed significantly to the development of a fast method of separation. The multilayer coating was then applied in the development of a fast separation method to determine betaine and methionine in pharmaceutical formulations by capillary zone electrophoresis (CZE). The BGE used to determine the betaine and methionine concentrations was composed of 10 mmol L(-1) tris(hydroxymethyl) aminomethane, 40 mmol L(-1) phosphoric acid and 10% (v/v) ethanol, at pH 2.1. A fused-silica capillary of 32 cm (50 µm ID×375 µm OD) was used in the experiments and samples and standards were analyzed employing the short-end injection procedure (8.5 cm effective length). The instrumental analysis time of the optimized method was 1.53 min (approx. 39 runs per hour). The validation of the proposed method for the determination of betaine and methionine showed good linearity (R(2)>0.999), adequate limit of detection (LOD <8 mg L(-1)) for the concentration in the samples and inter-day precision values lower than 3.5% (peak area and time migration). The results for the quantification of the amino acids in the samples determined by the CZE-UV method developed were statistically equal to those obtained with the comparative LC-MS/MS method according to the paired t-test with a confidence level of 95%. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Development of a validated liquid chromatographic method for quantification of sorafenib tosylate in the presence of stress-induced degradation products and in biological matrix employing analytical quality by design approach.

PubMed

Sharma, Teenu; Khurana, Rajneet Kaur; Jain, Atul; Katare, O P; Singh, Bhupinder

2018-05-01

The current research work envisages an analytical quality by design-enabled development of a simple, rapid, sensitive, specific, robust and cost-effective stability-indicating reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatographic method for determining stress-induced forced-degradation products of sorafenib tosylate (SFN). An Ishikawa fishbone diagram was constructed to embark upon analytical target profile and critical analytical attributes, i.e. peak area, theoretical plates, retention time and peak tailing. Factor screening using Taguchi orthogonal arrays and quality risk assessment studies carried out using failure mode effect analysis aided the selection of critical method parameters, i.e. mobile phase ratio and flow rate potentially affecting the chosen critical analytical attributes. Systematic optimization using response surface methodology of the chosen critical method parameters was carried out employing a two-factor-three-level-13-run, face-centered cubic design. A method operable design region was earmarked providing optimum method performance using numerical and graphical optimization. The optimum method employed a mobile phase composition consisting of acetonitrile and water (containing orthophosphoric acid, pH 4.1) at 65:35 v/v at a flow rate of 0.8 mL/min with UV detection at 265 nm using a C 18 column. Response surface methodology validation studies confirmed good efficiency and sensitivity of the developed method for analysis of SFN in mobile phase as well as in human plasma matrix. The forced degradation studies were conducted under different recommended stress conditions as per ICH Q1A (R2). Mass spectroscopy studies showed that SFN degrades in strongly acidic, alkaline and oxidative hydrolytic conditions at elevated temperature, while the drug was per se found to be photostable. Oxidative hydrolysis using 30% H 2 O 2 showed maximum degradation with products at retention times of 3.35, 3.65, 4.20 and 5.67 min. The absence of any significant change in the retention time of SFN and degradation products, formed under different stress conditions, ratified selectivity and specificity of the systematically developed method. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Rapid identification of staphylococci by Raman spectroscopy.

PubMed

Rebrošová, Katarína; Šiler, Martin; Samek, Ota; Růžička, Filip; Bernatová, Silvie; Holá, Veronika; Ježek, Jan; Zemánek, Pavel; Sokolová, Jana; Petráš, Petr

2017-11-01

Clinical treatment of the infections caused by various staphylococcal species differ depending on the actual cause of infection. Therefore, it is necessary to develop a fast and reliable method for identification of staphylococci. Raman spectroscopy is an optical method used in multiple scientific fields. Recent studies showed that the method has a potential for use in microbiological research, too. Our work here shows a possibility to identify staphylococci by Raman spectroscopy. We present a method that enables almost 100% successful identification of 16 of the clinically most important staphylococcal species directly from bacterial colonies grown on a Mueller-Hinton agar plate. We obtained characteristic Raman spectra of 277 staphylococcal strains belonging to 16 species from a 24-hour culture of each strain grown on the Mueller-Hinton agar plate using the Raman instrument. The results show that it is possible to distinguish among the tested species using Raman spectroscopy and therefore it has a great potential for use in routine clinical diagnostics.

Study on the evaluation method for fault displacement based on characterized source model

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tonagi, M.; Takahama, T.; Matsumoto, Y.; Inoue, N.; Irikura, K.; Dalguer, L. A.

2016-12-01

In IAEA Specific Safety Guide (SSG) 9 describes that probabilistic methods for evaluating fault displacement should be used if no sufficient basis is provided to decide conclusively that the fault is not capable by using the deterministic methodology. In addition, International Seismic Safety Centre compiles as ANNEX to realize seismic hazard for nuclear facilities described in SSG-9 and shows the utility of the deterministic and probabilistic evaluation methods for fault displacement. In Japan, it is required that important nuclear facilities should be established on ground where fault displacement will not arise when earthquakes occur in the future. Under these situations, based on requirements, we need develop evaluation methods for fault displacement to enhance safety in nuclear facilities. We are studying deterministic and probabilistic methods with tentative analyses using observed records such as surface fault displacement and near-fault strong ground motions of inland crustal earthquake which fault displacements arose. In this study, we introduce the concept of evaluation methods for fault displacement. After that, we show parts of tentative analysis results for deterministic method as follows: (1) For the 1999 Chi-Chi earthquake, referring slip distribution estimated by waveform inversion, we construct a characterized source model (Miyake et al., 2003, BSSA) which can explain observed near-fault broad band strong ground motions. (2) Referring a characterized source model constructed in (1), we study an evaluation method for surface fault displacement using hybrid method, which combines particle method and distinct element method. At last, we suggest one of the deterministic method to evaluate fault displacement based on characterized source model. This research was part of the 2015 research project `Development of evaluating method for fault displacement` by the Secretariat of Nuclear Regulation Authority (S/NRA), Japan.

Developmental Trajectories for Children With Dyslexia and Low IQ Poor Readers

PubMed Central

2016-01-01

Reading difficulties are found in children with both high and low IQ and it is now clear that both groups exhibit difficulties in phonological processing. Here, we apply the developmental trajectories approach, a new methodology developed for studying language and cognitive impairments in developmental disorders, to both poor reader groups. The trajectory methodology enables identification of atypical versus delayed development in datasets gathered using group matching designs. Regarding the cognitive predictors of reading, which here are phonological awareness, phonological short-term memory (PSTM) and rapid automatized naming (RAN), the method showed that trajectories for the two groups diverged markedly. Children with dyslexia showed atypical development in phonological awareness, while low IQ poor readers showed developmental delay. Low IQ poor readers showed atypical PSTM and RAN development, but children with dyslexia showed developmental delay. These divergent trajectories may have important ramifications for supporting each type of poor reader, although all poor readers showed weakness in all areas. Regarding auditory processing, the developmental trajectories were very similar for the two poor reader groups. However, children with dyslexia demonstrated developmental delay for auditory discrimination of Duration, while the low IQ children showed atypical development on this measure. The data show that, regardless of IQ, poor readers have developmental trajectories that differ from typically developing children. The trajectories approach enables differences in trajectory classification to be identified across poor reader group, as well as specifying the individual nature of these trajectories. PMID:27110928

Prospecting in Ultracool Dwarfs: Measuring the Metallicities of Mid- and Late-M Dwarfs

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mann, Andrew W.; Deacon, Niall R.; Gaidos, Eric; Ansdell, Megan; Brewer, John M.; Liu, Michael C.; Magnier, Eugene A.; Aller, Kimberly M.

2014-06-01

Metallicity is a fundamental parameter that contributes to the physical characteristics of a star. The low temperatures and complex molecules present in M dwarf atmospheres make it difficult to measure their metallicities using techniques that have been commonly used for Sun-like stars. Although there has been significant progress in developing empirical methods to measure M dwarf metallicities over the last few years, these techniques have been developed primarily for early- to mid-M dwarfs. We present a method to measure the metallicity of mid- to late-M dwarfs from moderate resolution (R ~ 2000) K-band (sime 2.2 μm) spectra. We calibrate our formula using 44 wide binaries containing an F, G, K, or early-M primary of known metallicity and a mid- to late-M dwarf companion. We show that similar features and techniques used for early-M dwarfs are still effective for late-M dwarfs. Our revised calibration is accurate to ~0.07 dex for M4.5-M9.5 dwarfs with -0.58 < [Fe/H] < +0.56 and shows no systematic trends with spectral type, metallicity, or the method used to determine the primary star metallicity. We show that our method gives consistent metallicities for the components of M+M wide binaries. We verify that our new formula works for unresolved binaries by combining spectra of single stars. Lastly, we show that our calibration gives consistent metallicities with the Mann et al. study for overlapping (M4-M5) stars, establishing that the two calibrations can be used in combination to determine metallicities across the entire M dwarf sequence.

Computational and experimental investigation of molecular imprinted polymers for selective extraction of dimethoate and its metabolite omethoate from olive oil.

PubMed

Bakas, Idriss; Oujji, Najwa Ben; Moczko, Ewa; Istamboulie, Georges; Piletsky, Sergey; Piletska, Elena; Ait-Addi, Elhabib; Ait-Ichou, Ihya; Noguer, Thierry; Rouillon, Régis

2013-01-25

This work presents the development of molecularly imprinted polymers (MIPs) for the selective extraction of dimethoate from olive oil. Computational simulations allowed selecting itaconic acid as the monomer showing the highest affinity towards dimethoate. Experimental validation confirmed modelling predictions and showed that the polymer based on IA as functional monomer and omethoate as template molecule displays the highest selectivity for the structurally similar pesticides dimethoate, omethoate and monocrotophos. Molecularly imprinted solid phase extraction (MISPE) method was developed and applied to the clean-up of olive oil extracts. It was found that the most suitable solvents for loading, washing and elution step were respectively hexane, hexane-dichloromethane (85:15%) and methanol. The developed MIPSE was successfully applied to extraction of dimethoate from olive oil, with recovery rates up to 94%. The limits of detection and quantification of the described method were respectively 0.012 and 0.05 μg g(-1). Copyright © 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Quantitative PET Imaging in Drug Development: Estimation of Target Occupancy.

PubMed

Naganawa, Mika; Gallezot, Jean-Dominique; Rossano, Samantha; Carson, Richard E

2017-12-11

Positron emission tomography, an imaging tool using radiolabeled tracers in humans and preclinical species, has been widely used in recent years in drug development, particularly in the central nervous system. One important goal of PET in drug development is assessing the occupancy of various molecular targets (e.g., receptors, transporters, enzymes) by exogenous drugs. The current linear mathematical approaches used to determine occupancy using PET imaging experiments are presented. These algorithms use results from multiple regions with different target content in two scans, a baseline (pre-drug) scan and a post-drug scan. New mathematical estimation approaches to determine target occupancy, using maximum likelihood, are presented. A major challenge in these methods is the proper definition of the covariance matrix of the regional binding measures, accounting for different variance of the individual regional measures and their nonzero covariance, factors that have been ignored by conventional methods. The novel methods are compared to standard methods using simulation and real human occupancy data. The simulation data showed the expected reduction in variance and bias using the proper maximum likelihood methods, when the assumptions of the estimation method matched those in simulation. Between-method differences for data from human occupancy studies were less obvious, in part due to small dataset sizes. These maximum likelihood methods form the basis for development of improved PET covariance models, in order to minimize bias and variance in PET occupancy studies.

The use of FTIR microscopy for evaluation of herpes viruses infection development kinetics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Erukhimovitch, Vitaly; Mukmanov, Igor; Talyshinsky, Marina; Souprun, Yelena; Huleihel, Mahmoud

2004-08-01

The kinetics of Herpes simplex infection development was studied using an FTIR microscopy (FTIR-M) method. The family of herpes viruses includes several members like H. simplex types I and II (HSV I, II), Varicella zoster (VZV) viruses which are involved in various human and animal infections of different parts of the body. In our previous study, we found significant spectral differences between normal uninfected cells in cultures and cells infected with herpes viruses at early stages of the infection. In the present study, cells in cultures were infected with either HSV-I or VZV and at various times post-infection they were examined either by optical microscopy or by advanced FTIR-M. Spectroscopic measurements show a consistent decrease in the intensity of the carbohydrate peak in correlation with the viral infection development, observed by optical microscopy. This decrease in cellular carbohydrate level was used as indicator for herpes viruses infection kinetics. This parameter could be used as a basis for applying a spectroscopic method for the evaluation of herpes virus infection development. Our results show also that the development kinetics of viral infection has an exponential character for these viruses.

Distal impacts of aquarium trade: Exploring the emerging sandhopper (Orchestoidea tuberculata) artisanal shore gathering fishery in Chile.

PubMed

Tapia-Lewin, Sebastián; Vergara, Karina; De La Barra, Christian; Godoy, Natalio; Castilla, Juan Carlos; Gelcich, Stefan

2017-10-01

Artisanal fishery activities support the livelihoods of millions of people worldwide, particularly in developing countries. Within these fisheries, distal global drivers can promote switching between alternative target resources. These drivers can promote the rapid development of new, unregulated and previously unexploited fisheries that pose a threat to the sustainability of ecosystems. In this paper, we describe a new artisanal shore gathering activity that targets a previously unexploited resource: the sandhopper (Orchestoidea tuberculata). The activity is driven by aquarium trade demand for food. We used mixed methods to describe the activity, assessed basic socio-economic incentives, and estimated Catches per Unit Effort. Results show that the sandhopper plays an important role for the livelihoods of shore gatherers engaged in the activity. Gatherers have adapted and developed two main extraction methods with different degrees of investment and extraction rates. Furthermore, gatherers have developed local knowledge regarding the ecology and management of the resource. Results show that economic incentives can motivate a rapid expansion of this unregulated activity. Future research gaps and management options to address the development of this fishery are discussed in light of these findings.

Development and validation spectroscopic methods for the determination of lomefloxacin in bulk and pharmaceutical formulations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

El-Didamony, A. M.; Hafeez, S. M.

2016-01-01

Four simple, sensitive spectrophotometric and spectrofluorimetric methods (A-D) for the determination of antibacterial drug lomefloxacin (LMFX) in pharmaceutical formulations have been developed. Method A is based on formation of ternary complex between Pd(II), eosin and LMFX in the presence of methyl cellulose as surfactant and acetate-HCl buffer pH 4.0. Spectrophotometrically, under the optimum conditions, the ternary complex showed absorption maximum at 530 nm. Methods B and C are based on redox reaction between LMFX and KMnO4 in acid and alkaline media. In indirect spectrophotometry method B the drug solution is treated with a known excess of KMnO4 in H2SO4 medium and subsequent determination of unreacted oxidant by reacting it with safronine O in the same medium at λmax = 520 nm. Direct spectrophotometry method C involves treating the alkaline solution of LMFX with KMnO4 and measuring the bluish green product at 604 nm. Method D is based on the chelation of LMFX with Zr(IV) to produce fluorescent chelate. At the optimum reaction conditions, the drug-metal chelate showed excitation maxima at 280 nm and emission maxima at 443 nm. The optimum experimental parameters for the reactions have been studied. The validity of the described procedures was assessed. Statistical analysis of the results has been carried out revealing high accuracy and good precision. The proposed methods were successfully applied for the determination of the selected drug in pharmaceutical preparations with good recoveries.

The ALFA (Activity Log Files Aggregation) toolkit: a method for precise observation of the consultation.

PubMed

de Lusignan, Simon; Kumarapeli, Pushpa; Chan, Tom; Pflug, Bernhard; van Vlymen, Jeremy; Jones, Beryl; Freeman, George K

2008-09-08

There is a lack of tools to evaluate and compare Electronic patient record (EPR) systems to inform a rational choice or development agenda. To develop a tool kit to measure the impact of different EPR system features on the consultation. We first developed a specification to overcome the limitations of existing methods. We divided this into work packages: (1) developing a method to display multichannel video of the consultation; (2) code and measure activities, including computer use and verbal interactions; (3) automate the capture of nonverbal interactions; (4) aggregate multiple observations into a single navigable output; and (5) produce an output interpretable by software developers. We piloted this method by filming live consultations (n = 22) by 4 general practitioners (GPs) using different EPR systems. We compared the time taken and variations during coded data entry, prescribing, and blood pressure (BP) recording. We used nonparametric tests to make statistical comparisons. We contrasted methods of BP recording using Unified Modeling Language (UML) sequence diagrams. We found that 4 channels of video were optimal. We identified an existing application for manual coding of video output. We developed in-house tools for capturing use of keyboard and mouse and to time stamp speech. The transcript is then typed within this time stamp. Although we managed to capture body language using pattern recognition software, we were unable to use this data quantitatively. We loaded these observational outputs into our aggregation tool, which allows simultaneous navigation and viewing of multiple files. This also creates a single exportable file in XML format, which we used to develop UML sequence diagrams. In our pilot, the GP using the EMIS LV (Egton Medical Information Systems Limited, Leeds, UK) system took the longest time to code data (mean 11.5 s, 95% CI 8.7-14.2). Nonparametric comparison of EMIS LV with the other systems showed a significant difference, with EMIS PCS (Egton Medical Information Systems Limited, Leeds, UK) (P = .007), iSoft Synergy (iSOFT, Banbury, UK) (P = .014), and INPS Vision (INPS, London, UK) (P = .006) facilitating faster coding. In contrast, prescribing was fastest with EMIS LV (mean 23.7 s, 95% CI 20.5-26.8), but nonparametric comparison showed no statistically significant difference. UML sequence diagrams showed that the simplest BP recording interface was not the easiest to use, as users spent longer navigating or looking up previous blood pressures separately. Complex interfaces with free-text boxes left clinicians unsure of what to add. The ALFA method allows the precise observation of the clinical consultation. It enables rigorous comparison of core elements of EPR systems. Pilot data suggests its capacity to demonstrate differences between systems. Its outputs could provide the evidence base for making more objective choices between systems.

[Update on pubertal development among primary school students in Shanghai, 2014].

PubMed

Chen, Y; Zhang, Y T; Chen, C; Jiang, Y R; Song, Y J; Liu, S J; Jiang, F

2016-11-06

Objective: To investigate the current prevalence of pubertal development in healthy Shanghai schoolchildren. Methods: This study was a cross-sectional investigation focused on current pubertal development conducted in healthy Shanghai schoolchildren by multi-stage cluster sampling. The sample included 17 571 children in grades 1-5 investigated in June 2014. The data were weighted by inverse probability weighting (IPW) to make them more representative. At examination, stages of breast and pubic hair development were rated according to the Tanner method. Testicular volume was determined. Data on menarche and spermatorrhea were collected by the status quo method. The rates of precocious puberty, breast, and pubic hair development of Tanner stage ≥Ⅱ in girls aged 6-7 years, menarche in girls aged 6-9 years, and testicular volume ≥4 ml and pubic hair development of Tanner stage ≥Ⅱ in boys aged 6-8 years were calculated. All the data were weighted by IPW. Results: After data processing, 16 197 children's data were analyzed. In girls aged 6-7 years, 17.2% and 2.5% showed evidence of breast and pubic hair development at Tanner stage ≥Ⅱ, respectively. In girls aged 6-9 years, 0.3% had experienced menarche. Schoolgirls' rate of menarche was 4.7%. In girls aged 6-7 years, 19.0% were diagnosed with precocious puberty according to the classic criteria. In boys aged 6-8 years, 1.7% had testicular volume ≥4 ml, and 0.6% showed evidence of pubic hair development at Tanner stage ≥Ⅱ. Schoolboys' incidence rate of spermatorrhea was 0.1%. In boys aged 6-8 years, 2.3% were diagnosed with precocious puberty according to the classic criteria. All the numbers above were weighted. Conclusion: Proper education on adolescence and sex is essential for Shanghai schoolchildren.

An alternative method to quantify 2-MIB producing cyanobacteria in drinking water reservoirs: Method development and field applications.

PubMed

Chiu, Yi-Ting; Yen, Hung-Kai; Lin, Tsair-Fuh

2016-11-01

2-Methylisoborneol (2-MIB) is a commonly detected cyanobacterial odorant in drinking water sources in many countries. To provide safe and high-quality water, development of a monitoring method for the detection of 2-MIB-synthesis (mibC) genes is very important. In this study, new primers MIBS02F/R intended specifically for the mibC gene were developed and tested. Experimental results show that the MIBS02F/R primer set was able to capture 13 2-MIB producing cyanobacterial strains grown in the laboratory, and to effectively amplify the targeted DNA region from 17 2-MIB-producing cyanobacterial strains listed in the literature. The primers were further coupled with a TaqMan probe to detect 2-MIB producers in 29 drinking water reservoirs (DWRs). The results showed statistically significant correlations between mibC genes and 2-MIB concentrations for the data from each reservoir (R 2 =0.413-0.998; p<0.05), from all reservoirs in each of the three islands (R 2 =0.302-0.796; p<0.01), and from all data of the three islands (R 2 =0.473-0.479; p<0.01). The results demonstrate that the real-time PCR can be an alternative method to provide information to managers of reservoirs and water utilities facing 2-MIB-related incidents. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Tracking wakefulness as it fades: Micro-measures of alertness.

PubMed

Jagannathan, Sridhar R; Ezquerro-Nassar, Alejandro; Jachs, Barbara; Pustovaya, Olga V; Bareham, Corinne A; Bekinschtein, Tristan A

2018-08-01

A major problem in psychology and physiology experiments is drowsiness: around a third of participants show decreased wakefulness despite being instructed to stay alert. In some non-visual experiments participants keep their eyes closed throughout the task, thus promoting the occurrence of such periods of varying alertness. These wakefulness changes contribute to systematic noise in data and measures of interest. To account for this omnipresent problem in data acquisition we defined criteria and code to allow researchers to detect and control for varying alertness in electroencephalography (EEG) experiments under eyes-closed settings. We first revise a visual-scoring method developed for detection and characterization of the sleep-onset process, and adapt the same for detection of alertness levels. Furthermore, we show the major issues preventing the practical use of this method, and overcome these issues by developing an automated method (micro-measures algorithm) based on frequency and sleep graphoelements, which are capable of detecting micro variations in alertness. The validity of the micro-measures algorithm was verified by training and testing using a dataset where participants are known to fall asleep. In addition, we tested generalisability by independent validation on another dataset. The methods developed constitute a unique tool to assess micro variations in levels of alertness and control trial-by-trial retrospectively or prospectively in every experiment performed with EEG in cognitive neuroscience under eyes-closed settings. Copyright © 2018. Published by Elsevier Inc.

Regional-Scale Differential Time Tomography Methods: Development and Application to the Sichuan, China, Dataset

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhang, H.; Thurber, C.; Wang, W.; Roecker, S. W.

2008-12-01

We extended our recent development of double-difference seismic tomography [Zhang and Thurber, BSSA, 2003] to the use of station-pair residual differences in addition to event-pair residual differences. Tomography using station- pair residual differences is somewhat akin to teleseismic tomography but with the sources contained within the model region. Synthetic tests show that the inversion using both event- and station-pair residual differences has advantages in terms of more accurately recovering higher-resolution structure in both the source and receiver regions. We used the Spherical-Earth Finite-Difference (SEFD) travel time calculation method in the tomographic system. The basic concept is the extension of a standard Cartesian FD travel time algorithm [Vidale, 1990] to the spherical case by developing a mesh in radius, co-latitude, and longitude, expressing the FD derivatives in a form appropriate to the spherical mesh, and constructing"stencil" to calculate extrapolated travel times. The SEFD travel time calculation method is more advantageous in dealing with heterogeneity and sphericity of the Earth than the simple Earth flattening transformation and the"sphere-in-a-bo" approach [Flanagan et al., 2007]. We applied this method to the Sichuan, China data set for the period of 2001 to 2004. The Vp, Vs and Vp/Vs models show that there is a clear contrast across the Longmenshan Fault, where the 2008 M8 Wenchuan earthquake initiated.

Emergy-based comparative analysis on industrial clusters: economic and technological development zone of Shenyang area, China.

PubMed

Liu, Zhe; Geng, Yong; Zhang, Pan; Dong, Huijuan; Liu, Zuoxi

2014-09-01

In China, local governments of many areas prefer to give priority to the development of heavy industrial clusters in pursuit of high value of gross domestic production (GDP) growth to get political achievements, which usually results in higher costs from ecological degradation and environmental pollution. Therefore, effective methods and reasonable evaluation system are urgently needed to evaluate the overall efficiency of industrial clusters. Emergy methods links economic and ecological systems together, which can evaluate the contribution of ecological products and services as well as the load placed on environmental systems. This method has been successfully applied in many case studies of ecosystem but seldom in industrial clusters. This study applied the methodology of emergy analysis to perform the efficiency of industrial clusters through a series of emergy-based indices as well as the proposed indicators. A case study of Shenyang Economic Technological Development Area (SETDA) was investigated to show the emergy method's practical potential to evaluate industrial clusters to inform environmental policy making. The results of our study showed that the industrial cluster of electric equipment and electronic manufacturing produced the most economic value and had the highest efficiency of energy utilization among the four industrial clusters. However, the sustainability index of the industrial cluster of food and beverage processing was better than the other industrial clusters.

Robust vehicle detection under various environments to realize road traffic flow surveillance using an infrared thermal camera.

PubMed

Iwasaki, Yoichiro; Misumi, Masato; Nakamiya, Toshiyuki

2015-01-01

To realize road traffic flow surveillance under various environments which contain poor visibility conditions, we have already proposed two vehicle detection methods using thermal images taken with an infrared thermal camera. The first method uses pattern recognition for the windshields and their surroundings to detect vehicles. However, the first method decreases the vehicle detection accuracy in winter season. To maintain high vehicle detection accuracy in all seasons, we developed the second method. The second method uses tires' thermal energy reflection areas on a road as the detection targets. The second method did not achieve high detection accuracy for vehicles on left-hand and right-hand lanes except for two center-lanes. Therefore, we have developed a new method based on the second method to increase the vehicle detection accuracy. This paper proposes the new method and shows that the detection accuracy for vehicles on all lanes is 92.1%. Therefore, by combining the first method and the new method, high vehicle detection accuracies are maintained under various environments, and road traffic flow surveillance can be realized.

Robust Vehicle Detection under Various Environments to Realize Road Traffic Flow Surveillance Using an Infrared Thermal Camera

PubMed Central

Iwasaki, Yoichiro; Misumi, Masato; Nakamiya, Toshiyuki

2015-01-01

To realize road traffic flow surveillance under various environments which contain poor visibility conditions, we have already proposed two vehicle detection methods using thermal images taken with an infrared thermal camera. The first method uses pattern recognition for the windshields and their surroundings to detect vehicles. However, the first method decreases the vehicle detection accuracy in winter season. To maintain high vehicle detection accuracy in all seasons, we developed the second method. The second method uses tires' thermal energy reflection areas on a road as the detection targets. The second method did not achieve high detection accuracy for vehicles on left-hand and right-hand lanes except for two center-lanes. Therefore, we have developed a new method based on the second method to increase the vehicle detection accuracy. This paper proposes the new method and shows that the detection accuracy for vehicles on all lanes is 92.1%. Therefore, by combining the first method and the new method, high vehicle detection accuracies are maintained under various environments, and road traffic flow surveillance can be realized. PMID:25763384

Establishment of an efficient transformation system for Pleurotus ostreatus.

PubMed

Lei, Min; Wu, Xiangli; Zhang, Jinxia; Wang, Hexiang; Huang, Chenyang

2017-11-21

Pleurotus ostreatus is widely cultivated worldwide, but the lack of an efficient transformation system regarding its use restricts its genetic research. The present study developed an improved and efficient Agrobacterium tumefaciens-mediated transformation method in P. ostreatus. Four parameters were optimized to obtain the most efficient transformation method. The strain LBA4404 was the most suitable for the transformation of P. ostreatus. A bacteria-to-protoplast ratio of 100:1, an acetosyringone (AS) concentration of 0.1 mM, and 18 h of co-culture showed the best transformation efficiency. The hygromycin B phosphotransferase gene (HPH) was used as the selective marker, and EGFP was used as the reporter gene in this study. Southern blot analysis combined with EGFP fluorescence assay showed positive results, and mitotic stability assay showed that more than 75% transformants were stable after five generations. These results showed that our transformation method is effective and stable and may facilitate future genetic studies in P. ostreatus.

Analysis of de-noising methods to improve the precision of the ILSF BPM electronic readout system

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Shafiee, M.; Feghhi, S. A. H.; Rahighi, J.

2016-12-01

In order to have optimum operation and precise control system at particle accelerators, it is required to measure the beam position with the precision of sub-μm. We developed a BPM electronic readout system at Iranian Light Source Facility and it has been experimentally tested at ALBA accelerator facility. The results show the precision of 0.54 μm in beam position measurements. To improve the precision of this beam position monitoring system to sub-μm level, we have studied different de-noising methods such as principal component analysis, wavelet transforms, filtering by FIR, and direct averaging method. An evaluation of the noise reduction was given to testify the ability of these methods. The results show that the noise reduction based on Daubechies wavelet transform is better than other algorithms, and the method is suitable for signal noise reduction in beam position monitoring system.

Evolution of microbiological analytical methods for dairy industry needs

PubMed Central

Sohier, Danièle; Pavan, Sonia; Riou, Armelle; Combrisson, Jérôme; Postollec, Florence

2014-01-01

Traditionally, culture-based methods have been used to enumerate microbial populations in dairy products. Recent developments in molecular methods now enable faster and more sensitive analyses than classical microbiology procedures. These molecular tools allow a detailed characterization of cell physiological states and bacterial fitness and thus, offer new perspectives to integration of microbial physiology monitoring to improve industrial processes. This review summarizes the methods described to enumerate and characterize physiological states of technological microbiota in dairy products, and discusses the current deficiencies in relation to the industry’s needs. Recent studies show that Polymerase chain reaction-based methods can successfully be applied to quantify fermenting microbes and probiotics in dairy products. Flow cytometry and omics technologies also show interesting analytical potentialities. However, they still suffer from a lack of validation and standardization for quality control analyses, as reflected by the absence of performance studies and official international standards. PMID:24570675

Evolution of microbiological analytical methods for dairy industry needs.

PubMed

Sohier, Danièle; Pavan, Sonia; Riou, Armelle; Combrisson, Jérôme; Postollec, Florence

2014-01-01

Traditionally, culture-based methods have been used to enumerate microbial populations in dairy products. Recent developments in molecular methods now enable faster and more sensitive analyses than classical microbiology procedures. These molecular tools allow a detailed characterization of cell physiological states and bacterial fitness and thus, offer new perspectives to integration of microbial physiology monitoring to improve industrial processes. This review summarizes the methods described to enumerate and characterize physiological states of technological microbiota in dairy products, and discusses the current deficiencies in relation to the industry's needs. Recent studies show that Polymerase chain reaction-based methods can successfully be applied to quantify fermenting microbes and probiotics in dairy products. Flow cytometry and omics technologies also show interesting analytical potentialities. However, they still suffer from a lack of validation and standardization for quality control analyses, as reflected by the absence of performance studies and official international standards.

Validated spectrofluorometric method for determination of gemfibrozil in self nanoemulsifying drug delivery systems (SNEDDS)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sierra Villar, Ana M.; Calpena Campmany, Ana C.; Bellowa, Lyda Halbaut; Trenchs, Monserrat Aróztegui; Naveros, Beatriz Clares

2013-09-01

A spectrofluorometric method has been developed and validated for the determination of gemfibrozil. The method is based on the excitation and emission capacities of gemfibrozil with excitation and emission wavelengths of 276 and 304 nm respectively. This method allows de determination of the drug in a self-nanoemulsifying drug delivery system (SNEDDS) for improve its intestinal absorption. Results obtained showed linear relationships with good correlation coefficients (r2 > 0.999) and low limits of detection and quantification (LOD of 0.075 μg mL-1 and LOQ of 0.226 μg mL-1) in the range of 0.2-5 μg mL-1, equally this method showed a good robustness and stability. Thus the amounts of gemfibrozil released from SNEDDS contained in gastro resistant hard gelatine capsules were analysed, and release studies could be performed satisfactorily.

Validated spectrofluorometric method for determination of gemfibrozil in self nanoemulsifying drug delivery systems (SNEDDS).

PubMed

Sierra Villar, Ana M; Calpena Campmany, Ana C; Bellowa, Lyda Halbaut; Trenchs, Monserrat Aróztegui; Naveros, Beatriz Clares

2013-09-01

A spectrofluorometric method has been developed and validated for the determination of gemfibrozil. The method is based on the excitation and emission capacities of gemfibrozil with excitation and emission wavelengths of 276 and 304 nm respectively. This method allows de determination of the drug in a self-nanoemulsifying drug delivery system (SNEDDS) for improve its intestinal absorption. Results obtained showed linear relationships with good correlation coefficients (r(2)>0.999) and low limits of detection and quantification (LOD of 0.075 μg mL(-1) and LOQ of 0.226 μg mL(-1)) in the range of 0.2-5 μg mL(-1), equally this method showed a good robustness and stability. Thus the amounts of gemfibrozil released from SNEDDS contained in gastro resistant hard gelatine capsules were analysed, and release studies could be performed satisfactorily. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

SIFT-MS and FA-MS methods for ambient gas phase analysis: developments and applications in the UK.

PubMed

Smith, David; Španěl, Patrik

2015-04-21

Selected ion flow tube mass spectrometry, SIFT-MS, a relatively new gas/vapour phase analytical method, is derived from the much earlier selected ion flow tube, SIFT, used for the study of gas phase ion-molecule reactions. Both the SIFT and SIFT-MS techniques were conceived and developed in the UK, the former at Birmingham University, the latter at Keele University along with the complementary flowing afterglow mass spectrometry, FA-MS, technique. The focus of this short review is largely to describe the origins, developments and, most importantly, the unique features of SIFT-MS as an analytical tool for ambient analysis and to indicate its growing use to analyse humid air, especially exhaled breath, its unique place as a on-line, real time analytical method and its growing use and applications as a non-invasive diagnostic in clinical diagnosis and therapeutic monitoring, principally within several UK universities and hospitals, and briefly in the wider world. A few case studies are outlined that show the potential of SIFT-MS and FA-MS in the detection and quantification of metabolites in exhaled breath as a step towards recognising pathophysiology indicative of disease and the presence of bacterial and fungal infection of the airways and lungs. Particular cases include the detection of Pseudomonas aeruginosa infection of the airways of patients with cystic fibrosis (SIFT-MS) and the measurement of total body water in patients with chronic kidney disease (FA-MS). The growing exploitation of SIFT-MS in other areas of research and commerce are briefly listed to show the wide utility of this unique UK-developed analytical method, and future prospects and developments are alluded to.

Comparative Validation of Five Quantitative Rapid Test Kits for the Analysis of Salt Iodine Content: Laboratory Performance, User- and Field-Friendliness

PubMed Central

Rohner, Fabian; Kangambèga, Marcelline O.; Khan, Noor; Kargougou, Robert; Garnier, Denis; Sanou, Ibrahima; Ouaro, Bertine D.; Petry, Nicolai; Wirth, James P.; Jooste, Pieter

2015-01-01

Background Iodine deficiency has important health and development consequences and the introduction of iodized salt as national programs has been a great public health success in the past decades. To render national salt iodization programs sustainable and ensure adequate iodization levels, simple methods to quantitatively assess whether salt is adequately iodized are required. Several methods claim to be simple and reliable, and are available on the market or are in development. Objective This work has validated the currently available quantitative rapid test kits (quantRTK) in a comparative manner for both their laboratory performance and ease of use in field settings. Methods Laboratory performance parameters (linearity, detection and quantification limit, intra- and inter-assay imprecision) were conducted on 5 quantRTK. We assessed inter-operator imprecision using salt of different quality along with the comparison of 59 salt samples from across the globe; measurements were made both in a laboratory and a field setting by technicians and non-technicians. Results from the quantRTK were compared against iodometric titration for validity. An ‘ease-of-use’ rating system was developed to identify the most suitable quantRTK for a given task. Results Most of the devices showed acceptable laboratory performance, but for some of the devices, use by non-technicians revealed poorer performance when working in a routine manner. Of the quantRTK tested, the iCheck® and I-Reader® showed most consistent performance and ease of use, and a newly developed paper-based method (saltPAD) holds promise if further developed. Conclusions User- and field-friendly devices are now available and the most appropriate quantRTK can be selected depending on the number of samples and the budget available. PMID:26401655

Kinematic Alignment and Bonding of Silicon Mirrors for High-Resolution Astronomical X-Ray Optics

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Chan, Kai-Wing; Mazzarella, James R.; Saha, Timo T.; Zhang, William W.; Mcclelland, Ryan S.; Biskack, Michael P.; Riveros, Raul E.; Allgood, Kim D.; Kearney, John D.; Sharpe, Marton V.;

Grain quality inspection system

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Flood, C. A., Jr.; Singletow, D. P.; James, S. N.

1979-01-01

A review of grain quality indicators and measurement methods was conducted in order to assess the feasibility of using remote sensing technology to develop a continuous monitoring system for use during grain transfer operations. Most detection methods were found to be too slow or too expensive to be incorporated into the normal inspection procedure of a grain elevator on a continuous basis. Two indicators, moisture content and broken corn and foreign material, show potential for automation and are of an economic value. A microprocessor based system which utilizes commercially available electronic moisture meter was developed and tested. A method for automating BCFM measurement is described. A complete system description is presented along with performance test results.

Some connections between importance sampling and enhanced sampling methods in molecular dynamics.

PubMed

Lie, H C; Quer, J

2017-11-21

In molecular dynamics, enhanced sampling methods enable the collection of better statistics of rare events from a reference or target distribution. We show that a large class of these methods is based on the idea of importance sampling from mathematical statistics. We illustrate this connection by comparing the Hartmann-Schütte method for rare event simulation (J. Stat. Mech. Theor. Exp. 2012, P11004) and the Valsson-Parrinello method of variationally enhanced sampling [Phys. Rev. Lett. 113, 090601 (2014)]. We use this connection in order to discuss how recent results from the Monte Carlo methods literature can guide the development of enhanced sampling methods.

Some connections between importance sampling and enhanced sampling methods in molecular dynamics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lie, H. C.; Quer, J.

2017-11-01

In molecular dynamics, enhanced sampling methods enable the collection of better statistics of rare events from a reference or target distribution. We show that a large class of these methods is based on the idea of importance sampling from mathematical statistics. We illustrate this connection by comparing the Hartmann-Schütte method for rare event simulation (J. Stat. Mech. Theor. Exp. 2012, P11004) and the Valsson-Parrinello method of variationally enhanced sampling [Phys. Rev. Lett. 113, 090601 (2014)]. We use this connection in order to discuss how recent results from the Monte Carlo methods literature can guide the development of enhanced sampling methods.

A bioanalytical HPLC method for coumestrol quantification in skin permeation tests followed by UPLC-QTOF/HDMS stability-indicating method for identification of degradation products.

PubMed

Bianchi, Sara E; Teixeira, Helder F; Kaiser, Samuel; Ortega, George G; Schneider, Paulo Henrique; Bassani, Valquiria L

2016-05-01

Coumestrol is present in several species of the Fabaceae family widely distributed in plants. The estrogenic and antioxidant activities of this molecule show its potential as skin anti-aging agent. These characteristics reveal the interest in developing analytical methodology for permeation studies, as well as to know the stability of coumestrol identifying the major degradation products. Thus, the present study was designed, first, to develop and validate a versatile liquid chromatography (HPLC) method to quantify coumestrol in a hydrogel formulation in different porcine skin layers (stratum corneum, epidermis, and dermis) in permeation tests. In the stability-indicating test coumestrol samples were exposed to stress conditions: temperature, UVC light, oxidative, acid and alkaline media. The degradation products, as well as the constituents extracted from the hydrogel, adhesive tape or skin were not eluted in the retention time of the coumestrol. Hence, the HPLC method showed to be versatile, specific, accurate, precise and robust showing excellent performance for quantifying coumestrol in complex matrices involving skin permeation studies. Coumestrol recovery from porcine ear skin was found to be in the range of 97.07-107.28 μg/mL; the intra-day precision (repeatability) and intermediate precision (inter-day precision), respectively lower than 4.71% and 2.09%. The analysis using ultra-performance liquid chromatography coupled to a quadrupole time-of-flight high definition mass spectrometry detector (UPLC-QTOF/HDMS) suggest the MS fragmentation patterns and the chemical structure of the main degradation products. These results represent new and relevant findings for the development of coumestrol pharmaceutical and cosmetic products. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Evolutionary method for finding communities in bipartite networks.

PubMed

Zhan, Weihua; Zhang, Zhongzhi; Guan, Jihong; Zhou, Shuigeng

2011-06-01

An important step in unveiling the relation between network structure and dynamics defined on networks is to detect communities, and numerous methods have been developed separately to identify community structure in different classes of networks, such as unipartite networks, bipartite networks, and directed networks. Here, we show that the finding of communities in such networks can be unified in a general framework-detection of community structure in bipartite networks. Moreover, we propose an evolutionary method for efficiently identifying communities in bipartite networks. To this end, we show that both unipartite and directed networks can be represented as bipartite networks, and their modularity is completely consistent with that for bipartite networks, the detection of modular structure on which can be reformulated as modularity maximization. To optimize the bipartite modularity, we develop a modified adaptive genetic algorithm (MAGA), which is shown to be especially efficient for community structure detection. The high efficiency of the MAGA is based on the following three improvements we make. First, we introduce a different measure for the informativeness of a locus instead of the standard deviation, which can exactly determine which loci mutate. This measure is the bias between the distribution of a locus over the current population and the uniform distribution of the locus, i.e., the Kullback-Leibler divergence between them. Second, we develop a reassignment technique for differentiating the informative state a locus has attained from the random state in the initial phase. Third, we present a modified mutation rule which by incorporating related operations can guarantee the convergence of the MAGA to the global optimum and can speed up the convergence process. Experimental results show that the MAGA outperforms existing methods in terms of modularity for both bipartite and unipartite networks.

Fracture mechanics analysis of cracked structures using weight function and neural network method

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chen, J. G.; Zang, F. G.; Yang, Y.; Shi, K. K.; Fu, X. L.

2018-06-01

Stress intensity factors(SIFs) due to thermal-mechanical load has been established by using weight function method. Two reference stress states sere used to determine the coefficients in the weight function. Results were evaluated by using data from literature and show a good agreement between them. So, the SIFs can be determined quickly using the weight function obtained when cracks subjected to arbitrary loads, and presented method can be used for probabilistic fracture mechanics analysis. A probabilistic methodology considering Monte-Carlo with neural network (MCNN) has been developed. The results indicate that an accurate probabilistic characteristic of the KI can be obtained by using the developed method. The probability of failure increases with the increasing of loads, and the relationship between is nonlinear.

Development and Verification of the Charring Ablating Thermal Protection Implicit System Solver

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Amar, Adam J.; Calvert, Nathan D.; Kirk, Benjamin S.

2010-01-01

The development and verification of the Charring Ablating Thermal Protection Implicit System Solver is presented. This work concentrates on the derivation and verification of the stationary grid terms in the equations that govern three-dimensional heat and mass transfer for charring thermal protection systems including pyrolysis gas flow through the porous char layer. The governing equations are discretized according to the Galerkin finite element method with first and second order implicit time integrators. The governing equations are fully coupled and are solved in parallel via Newton's method, while the fully implicit linear system is solved with the Generalized Minimal Residual method. Verification results from exact solutions and the Method of Manufactured Solutions are presented to show spatial and temporal orders of accuracy as well as nonlinear convergence rates.

Development and Verification of the Charring, Ablating Thermal Protection Implicit System Simulator

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Amar, Adam J.; Calvert, Nathan; Kirk, Benjamin S.

2011-01-01

The development and verification of the Charring Ablating Thermal Protection Implicit System Solver (CATPISS) is presented. This work concentrates on the derivation and verification of the stationary grid terms in the equations that govern three-dimensional heat and mass transfer for charring thermal protection systems including pyrolysis gas flow through the porous char layer. The governing equations are discretized according to the Galerkin finite element method (FEM) with first and second order fully implicit time integrators. The governing equations are fully coupled and are solved in parallel via Newton s method, while the linear system is solved via the Generalized Minimum Residual method (GMRES). Verification results from exact solutions and Method of Manufactured Solutions (MMS) are presented to show spatial and temporal orders of accuracy as well as nonlinear convergence rates.

Standard road plans [English version].

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2011-01-01

The Standard Road Plans contained within this manual have been developed : to show standardized design features, construction methods and approved : materials to be used in design plans for Interstate, Primary, and Secondary : road construction in th...

Standard road plans : metric [version].

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2011-01-01

The Standard Road Plans contained within this manual have been developed : to show standardized design features, construction methods and approved : materials to be used in design plans for Interstate, Primary, and Secondary : road construction in th...

Comparison of Conventional PCR, Multiplex PCR, and Loop-Mediated Isothermal Amplification Assays for Rapid Detection of Arcobacter Species

PubMed Central

Wang, Xiaoyu; Seo, Dong Joo; Lee, Min Hwa

2014-01-01

This study aimed to develop a loop-mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP) method for the rapid detection of Arcobacter species. Specific primers targeting the 23S ribosomal RNA gene were used to detect Arcobacter butzleri, Arcobacter cryaerophilus, and Arcobacter skirrowii. The specificity of the LAMP primer set was assessed using DNA samples from a panel of Arcobacter and Campylobacter species, and the sensitivity was determined using serial dilutions of Arcobacter species cultures. LAMP showed a 10- to 1,000-fold-higher sensitivity than multiplex PCR, with a detection limit of 2 to 20 CFU per reaction in vitro. Whereas multiplex PCR showed cross-reactivity with Campylobacter species, the LAMP method developed in this study was more sensitive and reliable than conventional PCR or multiplex PCR for the detection of Arcobacter species. PMID:24478488

The Finnish healthcare services lean management.

PubMed

Hihnala, Susanna; Kettunen, Lilja; Suhonen, Marjo; Tiirinki, Hanna

2018-02-05

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to discuss health services managers' experiences of management in a special health-care unit and development efforts from the point of view of the Lean method. Additionally, the aim is to deepen the knowledge of the managers' work and nature of the Lean method development processes in the workplace. The research focuses on those aspects and results of Lean method that are currently being used in health-care environments. Design/methodology/approach These data were collected through a number of thematic interviews. The participants were nurse managers ( n = 7) and medical managers ( n = 7) who applied Lean management in their work at the University Hospital in the Northern Ostrobothnia Health Care District. The data were analysed with a qualitative content analysis. Findings A common set of values in specialized health-care services, development of activities and challenges for management in the use of the Lean manager development model to improve personal management skills. Practical implications Managers in specialized health-care services can develop and systematically manage with the help of the Lean method. This emphasizes assumptions, from the point of view of management, about systems development when the organization uses the Lean method. The research outcomes originate from specialized health-care settings in Finland in which the Lean method and its associated management principles have been implemented and applied to the delivery of health care. Originality/value The study shows that the research results and in-depth knowledge on Lean method principles can be applied to health-care management and development processes. The research also describes health services managers' experiences of using the Lean method. In the future, these results can be used to improve Lean management skills, identify personal professional competencies and develop skills required in development processes. Also, the research findings can be used in the training of health services managers in the health-care industry worldwide and to help them survive the pressure to change repeatedly.

A simple transformation independent method for outlier definition.

PubMed

Johansen, Martin Berg; Christensen, Peter Astrup

2018-04-10

Definition and elimination of outliers is a key element for medical laboratories establishing or verifying reference intervals (RIs). Especially as inclusion of just a few outlying observations may seriously affect the determination of the reference limits. Many methods have been developed for definition of outliers. Several of these methods are developed for the normal distribution and often data require transformation before outlier elimination. We have developed a non-parametric transformation independent outlier definition. The new method relies on drawing reproducible histograms. This is done by using defined bin sizes above and below the median. The method is compared to the method recommended by CLSI/IFCC, which uses Box-Cox transformation (BCT) and Tukey's fences for outlier definition. The comparison is done on eight simulated distributions and an indirect clinical datasets. The comparison on simulated distributions shows that without outliers added the recommended method in general defines fewer outliers. However, when outliers are added on one side the proposed method often produces better results. With outliers on both sides the methods are equally good. Furthermore, it is found that the presence of outliers affects the BCT, and subsequently affects the determined limits of current recommended methods. This is especially seen in skewed distributions. The proposed outlier definition reproduced current RI limits on clinical data containing outliers. We find our simple transformation independent outlier detection method as good as or better than the currently recommended methods.

Estimation of parameters in rational reaction rates of molecular biological systems via weighted least squares

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wu, Fang-Xiang; Mu, Lei; Shi, Zhong-Ke

2010-01-01

The models of gene regulatory networks are often derived from statistical thermodynamics principle or Michaelis-Menten kinetics equation. As a result, the models contain rational reaction rates which are nonlinear in both parameters and states. It is challenging to estimate parameters nonlinear in a model although there have been many traditional nonlinear parameter estimation methods such as Gauss-Newton iteration method and its variants. In this article, we develop a two-step method to estimate the parameters in rational reaction rates of gene regulatory networks via weighted linear least squares. This method takes the special structure of rational reaction rates into consideration. That is, in the rational reaction rates, the numerator and the denominator are linear in parameters. By designing a special weight matrix for the linear least squares, parameters in the numerator and the denominator can be estimated by solving two linear least squares problems. The main advantage of the developed method is that it can produce the analytical solutions to the estimation of parameters in rational reaction rates which originally is nonlinear parameter estimation problem. The developed method is applied to a couple of gene regulatory networks. The simulation results show the superior performance over Gauss-Newton method.

Protein immobilization onto various surfaces using a polymer-bound isocyanate

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kang, Hyun-Jin; Cha, Eun Ji; Park, Hee-Deung

2015-01-01

Silane coupling agents have been widely used for immobilizing proteins onto inorganic surfaces. However, the immobilization method using silane coupling agents requires several treatment steps, and its application is limited to only surfaces containing hydroxyl groups. The aim of this study was to develop a novel method to overcome the limitations of the silane-based immobilization method using a polymer-bound isocyanate. Initially, polymer-bound isocyanate was dissolved in organic solvent and then was used to dip-coat inorganic surfaces. Proteins were then immobilized onto the dip-coated surfaces by the formation of urea bonds between the isocyanate groups of the polymer and the amine groups of the protein. The reaction was verified by FT-IR in which NCO stretching peaks disappeared, and CO and NH stretching peaks appeared after immobilization. The immobilization efficiency of the newly developed method was insensitive to reaction temperatures (4-50 °C), but the efficiency increased with reaction time and reached a maximum after 4 h. Furthermore, the method showed comparable immobilization efficiency to the silane-based immobilization method and was applicable to surfaces that cannot form hydroxyl groups. Taken together, the newly developed method provides a simple and efficient platform for immobilizing proteins onto surfaces.

Methods of developing core collections based on the predicted genotypic value of rice ( Oryza sativa L.).

PubMed

Li, C T; Shi, C H; Wu, J G; Xu, H M; Zhang, H Z; Ren, Y L

2004-04-01

The selection of an appropriate sampling strategy and a clustering method is important in the construction of core collections based on predicted genotypic values in order to retain the greatest degree of genetic diversity of the initial collection. In this study, methods of developing rice core collections were evaluated based on the predicted genotypic values for 992 rice varieties with 13 quantitative traits. The genotypic values of the traits were predicted by the adjusted unbiased prediction (AUP) method. Based on the predicted genotypic values, Mahalanobis distances were calculated and employed to measure the genetic similarities among the rice varieties. Six hierarchical clustering methods, including the single linkage, median linkage, centroid, unweighted pair-group average, weighted pair-group average and flexible-beta methods, were combined with random, preferred and deviation sampling to develop 18 core collections of rice germplasm. The results show that the deviation sampling strategy in combination with the unweighted pair-group average method of hierarchical clustering retains the greatest degree of genetic diversities of the initial collection. The core collections sampled using predicted genotypic values had more genetic diversity than those based on phenotypic values.

Towards standardized assessment of endoscope optical performance: geometric distortion

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, Quanzeng; Desai, Viraj N.; Ngo, Ying Z.; Cheng, Wei-Chung; Pfefer, Joshua

2013-12-01

Technological advances in endoscopes, such as capsule, ultrathin and disposable devices, promise significant improvements in safety, clinical effectiveness and patient acceptance. Unfortunately, the industry lacks test methods for preclinical evaluation of key optical performance characteristics (OPCs) of endoscopic devices that are quantitative, objective and well-validated. As a result, it is difficult for researchers and developers to compare image quality and evaluate equivalence to, or improvement upon, prior technologies. While endoscope OPCs include resolution, field of view, and depth of field, among others, our focus in this paper is geometric image distortion. We reviewed specific test methods for distortion and then developed an objective, quantitative test method based on well-defined experimental and data processing steps to evaluate radial distortion in the full field of view of an endoscopic imaging system. Our measurements and analyses showed that a second-degree polynomial equation could well describe the radial distortion curve of a traditional endoscope. The distortion evaluation method was effective for correcting the image and can be used to explain other widely accepted evaluation methods such as picture height distortion. Development of consensus standards based on promising test methods for image quality assessment, such as the method studied here, will facilitate clinical implementation of innovative endoscopic devices.

Identification of aerodynamic models for maneuvering aircraft

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Lan, C. Edward; Hu, C. C.

1992-01-01

A Fourier analysis method was developed to analyze harmonic forced-oscillation data at high angles of attack as functions of the angle of attack and its time rate of change. The resulting aerodynamic responses at different frequencies are used to build up the aerodynamic models involving time integrals of the indicial type. An efficient numerical method was also developed to evaluate these time integrals for arbitrary motions based on a concept of equivalent harmonic motion. The method was verified by first using results from two-dimensional and three-dimensional linear theories. The developed models for C sub L, C sub D, and C sub M based on high-alpha data for a 70 deg delta wing in harmonic motions showed accurate results in reproducing hysteresis. The aerodynamic models are further verified by comparing with test data using ramp-type motions.

The ALFA (Activity Log Files Aggregation) Toolkit: A Method for Precise Observation of the Consultation

PubMed Central

2008-01-01

Background There is a lack of tools to evaluate and compare Electronic patient record (EPR) systems to inform a rational choice or development agenda. Objective To develop a tool kit to measure the impact of different EPR system features on the consultation. Methods We first developed a specification to overcome the limitations of existing methods. We divided this into work packages: (1) developing a method to display multichannel video of the consultation; (2) code and measure activities, including computer use and verbal interactions; (3) automate the capture of nonverbal interactions; (4) aggregate multiple observations into a single navigable output; and (5) produce an output interpretable by software developers. We piloted this method by filming live consultations (n = 22) by 4 general practitioners (GPs) using different EPR systems. We compared the time taken and variations during coded data entry, prescribing, and blood pressure (BP) recording. We used nonparametric tests to make statistical comparisons. We contrasted methods of BP recording using Unified Modeling Language (UML) sequence diagrams. Results We found that 4 channels of video were optimal. We identified an existing application for manual coding of video output. We developed in-house tools for capturing use of keyboard and mouse and to time stamp speech. The transcript is then typed within this time stamp. Although we managed to capture body language using pattern recognition software, we were unable to use this data quantitatively. We loaded these observational outputs into our aggregation tool, which allows simultaneous navigation and viewing of multiple files. This also creates a single exportable file in XML format, which we used to develop UML sequence diagrams. In our pilot, the GP using the EMIS LV (Egton Medical Information Systems Limited, Leeds, UK) system took the longest time to code data (mean 11.5 s, 95% CI 8.7-14.2). Nonparametric comparison of EMIS LV with the other systems showed a significant difference, with EMIS PCS (Egton Medical Information Systems Limited, Leeds, UK) (P = .007), iSoft Synergy (iSOFT, Banbury, UK) (P = .014), and INPS Vision (INPS, London, UK) (P = .006) facilitating faster coding. In contrast, prescribing was fastest with EMIS LV (mean 23.7 s, 95% CI 20.5-26.8), but nonparametric comparison showed no statistically significant difference. UML sequence diagrams showed that the simplest BP recording interface was not the easiest to use, as users spent longer navigating or looking up previous blood pressures separately. Complex interfaces with free-text boxes left clinicians unsure of what to add. Conclusions The ALFA method allows the precise observation of the clinical consultation. It enables rigorous comparison of core elements of EPR systems. Pilot data suggests its capacity to demonstrate differences between systems. Its outputs could provide the evidence base for making more objective choices between systems. PMID:18812313

Research on Assessment Methods for Urban Public Transport Development in China

PubMed Central

Zou, Linghong; Guo, Hongwei

2014-01-01

In recent years, with the rapid increase in urban population, the urban travel demands in Chinese cities have been increasing dramatically. As a result, developing comprehensive urban transport systems becomes an inevitable choice to meet the growing urban travel demands. In urban transport systems, public transport plays the leading role to promote sustainable urban development. This paper aims to establish an assessment index system for the development level of urban public transport consisting of a target layer, a criterion layer, and an index layer. Review on existing literature shows that methods used in evaluating urban public transport structure are dominantly qualitative. To overcome this shortcoming, fuzzy mathematics method is used for describing qualitative issues quantitatively, and AHP (analytic hierarchy process) is used to quantify expert's subjective judgment. The assessment model is established based on the fuzzy AHP. The weight of each index is determined through the AHP and the degree of membership of each index through the fuzzy assessment method to obtain the fuzzy synthetic assessment matrix. Finally, a case study is conducted to verify the rationality and practicability of the assessment system and the proposed assessment method. PMID:25530756

Systems, methods and apparatus for generation and verification of policies in autonomic computing systems

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Rouff, Christopher A. (Inventor); Sterritt, Roy (Inventor); Truszkowski, Walter F. (Inventor); Hinchey, Michael G. (Inventor); Gracanin, Denis (Inventor); Rash, James L. (Inventor)

2011-01-01

Described herein is a method that produces fully (mathematically) tractable development of policies for autonomic systems from requirements through to code generation. This method is illustrated through an example showing how user formulated policies can be translated into a formal mode which can then be converted to code. The requirements-based programming method described provides faster, higher quality development and maintenance of autonomic systems based on user formulation of policies.Further, the systems, methods and apparatus described herein provide a way of analyzing policies for autonomic systems and facilities the generation of provably correct implementations automatically, which in turn provides reduced development time, reduced testing requirements, guarantees of correctness of the implementation with respect to the policies specified at the outset, and provides a higher degree of confidence that the policies are both complete and reasonable. The ability to specify the policy for the management of a system and then automatically generate an equivalent implementation greatly improves the quality of software, the survivability of future missions, in particular when the system will operate untended in very remote environments, and greatly reduces development lead times and costs.

Music Retrieval Based on the Relation between Color Association and Lyrics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nakamur, Tetsuaki; Utsumi, Akira; Sakamoto, Maki

Various methods for music retrieval have been proposed. Recently, many researchers are tackling developing methods based on the relationship between music and feelings. In our previous psychological study, we found that there was a significant correlation between colors evoked from songs and colors evoked only from lyrics, and showed that the music retrieval system using lyrics could be developed. In this paper, we focus on the relationship among music, lyrics and colors, and propose a music retrieval method using colors as queries and analyzing lyrics. This method estimates colors evoked from songs by analyzing lyrics of the songs. On the first step of our method, words associated with colors are extracted from lyrics. We assumed two types of methods to extract words associated with colors. In the one of two methods, the words are extracted based on the result of a psychological experiment. In the other method, in addition to the words extracted based on the result of the psychological experiment, the words from corpora for the Latent Semantic Analysis are extracted. On the second step, colors evoked from the extracted words are compounded, and the compounded colors are regarded as those evoked from the song. On the last step, colors as queries are compared with colors estimated from lyrics, and the list of songs is presented based on similarities. We evaluated the two methods described above and found that the method based on the psychological experiment and corpora performed better than the method only based on the psychological experiment. As a result, we showed that the method using colors as queries and analyzing lyrics is effective for music retrieval.

A New Conflict Resolution Method for Multiple Mobile Robots in Cluttered Environments With Motion-Liveness.

PubMed

Shahriari, Mohammadali; Biglarbegian, Mohammad

2018-01-01

This paper presents a new conflict resolution methodology for multiple mobile robots while ensuring their motion-liveness, especially for cluttered and dynamic environments. Our method constructs a mathematical formulation in a form of an optimization problem by minimizing the overall travel times of the robots subject to resolving all the conflicts in their motion. This optimization problem can be easily solved through coordinating only the robots' speeds. To overcome the computational cost in executing the algorithm for very cluttered environments, we develop an innovative method through clustering the environment into independent subproblems that can be solved using parallel programming techniques. We demonstrate the scalability of our approach through performing extensive simulations. Simulation results showed that our proposed method is capable of resolving the conflicts of 100 robots in less than 1.23 s in a cluttered environment that has 4357 intersections in the paths of the robots. We also developed an experimental testbed and demonstrated that our approach can be implemented in real time. We finally compared our approach with other existing methods in the literature both quantitatively and qualitatively. This comparison shows while our approach is mathematically sound, it is more computationally efficient, scalable for very large number of robots, and guarantees the live and smooth motion of robots.

Discovering the Unknown: Improving Detection of Novel Species and Genera from Short Reads

DOE PAGES

Rosen, Gail L.; Polikar, Robi; Caseiro, Diamantino A.; ...

2011-01-01

High-throughput sequencing technologies enable metagenome profiling, simultaneous sequencing of multiple microbial species present within an environmental sample. Since metagenomic data includes sequence fragments (“reads”) from organisms that are absent from any database, new algorithms must be developed for the identification and annotation of novel sequence fragments. Homology-based techniques have been modified to detect novel species and genera, but, composition-based methods, have not been adapted. We develop a detection technique that can discriminate between “known” and “unknown” taxa, which can be used with composition-based methods, as well as a hybrid method. Unlike previous studies, we rigorously evaluate all algorithms for theirmore » ability to detect novel taxa. First, we show that the integration of a detector with a composition-based method performs significantly better than homology-based methods for the detection of novel species and genera, with best performance at finer taxonomic resolutions. Most importantly, we evaluate all the algorithms by introducing an “unknown” class and show that the modified version of PhymmBL has similar or better overall classification performance than the other modified algorithms, especially for the species-level and ultrashort reads. Finally, we evaluate theperformance of several algorithms on a real acid mine drainage dataset.« less

Development and Validation of RP-HPLC Method for the Estimation of Ivabradine Hydrochloride in Tablets

PubMed Central

Seerapu, Sunitha; Srinivasan, B. P.

2010-01-01

A simple, sensitive, precise and robust reverse–phase high-performance liquid chromatographic method for analysis of ivabradine hydrochloride in pharmaceutical formulations was developed and validated as per ICH guidelines. The separation was performed on SS Wakosil C18AR, 250×4.6 mm, 5 μm column with methanol:25 mM phosphate buffer (60:40 v/v), adjusted to pH 6.5 with orthophosphoric acid, added drop wise, as mobile phase. A well defined chromatographic peak of Ivabradine hydrochloride was exhibited with a retention time of 6.55±0.05 min and tailing factor of 1.14 at the flow rate of 0.8 ml/min and at ambient temperature, when monitored at 285 nm. The linear regression analysis data for calibration plots showed good linear relationship with R=0.9998 in the concentration range of 30-210 μg/ml. The method was validated for precision, recovery and robustness. Intra and Inter-day precision (% relative standard deviation) were always less than 2%. The method showed the mean % recovery of 99.00 and 98.55 % for Ivabrad and Inapure tablets, respectively. The proposed method has been successfully applied to the commercial tablets without any interference of excipients. PMID:21695008

TH-CD-209-01: A Greedy Reassignment Algorithm for the PBS Minimum Monitor Unit Constraint

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

Lin, Y; Kooy, H; Craft, D

2016-06-15

Purpose: To investigate a Greedy Reassignment algorithm in order to mitigate the effects of low weight spots in proton pencil beam scanning (PBS) treatment plans. Methods: To convert a plan from the treatment planning system’s (TPS) to a deliverable plan, post processing methods can be used to adjust the spot maps to meets the minimum MU constraint. Existing methods include: deleting low weight spots (Cut method), or rounding spots with weight above/below half the limit up/down to the limit/zero (Round method). An alternative method called Greedy Reassignment was developed in this work in which the lowest weight spot in themore » field was removed and its weight reassigned equally among its nearest neighbors. The process was repeated with the next lowest weight spot until all spots in the field were above the MU constraint. The algorithm performance was evaluated using plans collected from 190 patients (496 fields) treated at our facility. The evaluation criteria were the γ-index pass rate comparing the pre-processed and post-processed dose distributions. A planning metric was further developed to predict the impact of post-processing on treatment plans for various treatment planning, machine, and dose tolerance parameters. Results: For fields with a gamma pass rate of 90±1%, the metric has a standard deviation equal to 18% of the centroid value. This showed that the metric and γ-index pass rate are correlated for the Greedy Reassignment algorithm. Using a 3rd order polynomial fit to the data, the Greedy Reassignment method had 1.8 times better metric at 90% pass rate compared to other post-processing methods. Conclusion: We showed that the Greedy Reassignment method yields deliverable plans that are closest to the optimized-without-MU-constraint plan from the TPS. The metric developed in this work could help design the minimum MU threshold with the goal of keeping the γ-index pass rate above an acceptable value.« less

Cardiac biplane strain imaging: initial in vivo experience

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lopata, R. G. P.; Nillesen, M. M.; Verrijp, C. N.; Singh, S. K.; Lammens, M. M. Y.; van der Laak, J. A. W. M.; van Wetten, H. B.; Thijssen, J. M.; Kapusta, L.; de Korte, C. L.

2010-02-01

In this study, first we propose a biplane strain imaging method using a commercial ultrasound system, yielding estimation of the strain in three orthogonal directions. Secondly, an animal model of a child's heart was introduced that is suitable to simulate congenital heart disease and was used to test the method in vivo. The proposed approach can serve as a framework to monitor the development of cardiac hypertrophy and fibrosis. A 2D strain estimation technique using radio frequency (RF) ultrasound data was applied. Biplane image acquisition was performed at a relatively low frame rate (<100 Hz) using a commercial platform with an RF interface. For testing the method in vivo, biplane image sequences of the heart were recorded during the cardiac cycle in four dogs with an aortic stenosis. Initial results reveal the feasibility of measuring large radial, circumferential and longitudinal cumulative strain (up to 70%) at a frame rate of 100 Hz. Mean radial strain curves of a manually segmented region-of-interest in the infero-lateral wall show excellent correlation between the measured strain curves acquired in two perpendicular planes. Furthermore, the results show the feasibility and reproducibility of assessing radial, circumferential and longitudinal strains simultaneously. In this preliminary study, three beagles developed an elevated pressure gradient over the aortic valve (Δp: 100-200 mmHg) and myocardial hypertrophy. One dog did not develop any sign of hypertrophy (Δp = 20 mmHg). Initial strain (rate) results showed that the maximum strain (rate) decreased with increasing valvular stenosis (-50%), which is in accordance with previous studies. Histological findings corroborated these results and showed an increase in fibrotic tissue for the hearts with larger pressure gradients (100, 200 mmHg), as well as lower strain and strain rate values.

Sorting protein decoys by machine-learning-to-rank

PubMed Central

Jing, Xiaoyang; Wang, Kai; Lu, Ruqian; Dong, Qiwen

2016-01-01

Much progress has been made in Protein structure prediction during the last few decades. As the predicted models can span a broad range of accuracy spectrum, the accuracy of quality estimation becomes one of the key elements of successful protein structure prediction. Over the past years, a number of methods have been developed to address this issue, and these methods could be roughly divided into three categories: the single-model methods, clustering-based methods and quasi single-model methods. In this study, we develop a single-model method MQAPRank based on the learning-to-rank algorithm firstly, and then implement a quasi single-model method Quasi-MQAPRank. The proposed methods are benchmarked on the 3DRobot and CASP11 dataset. The five-fold cross-validation on the 3DRobot dataset shows the proposed single model method outperforms other methods whose outputs are taken as features of the proposed method, and the quasi single-model method can further enhance the performance. On the CASP11 dataset, the proposed methods also perform well compared with other leading methods in corresponding categories. In particular, the Quasi-MQAPRank method achieves a considerable performance on the CASP11 Best150 dataset. PMID:27530967

Sorting protein decoys by machine-learning-to-rank.

PubMed

Jing, Xiaoyang; Wang, Kai; Lu, Ruqian; Dong, Qiwen

2016-08-17

Much progress has been made in Protein structure prediction during the last few decades. As the predicted models can span a broad range of accuracy spectrum, the accuracy of quality estimation becomes one of the key elements of successful protein structure prediction. Over the past years, a number of methods have been developed to address this issue, and these methods could be roughly divided into three categories: the single-model methods, clustering-based methods and quasi single-model methods. In this study, we develop a single-model method MQAPRank based on the learning-to-rank algorithm firstly, and then implement a quasi single-model method Quasi-MQAPRank. The proposed methods are benchmarked on the 3DRobot and CASP11 dataset. The five-fold cross-validation on the 3DRobot dataset shows the proposed single model method outperforms other methods whose outputs are taken as features of the proposed method, and the quasi single-model method can further enhance the performance. On the CASP11 dataset, the proposed methods also perform well compared with other leading methods in corresponding categories. In particular, the Quasi-MQAPRank method achieves a considerable performance on the CASP11 Best150 dataset.

The effect of immersion time to low carbon steel hardness and microstructure with hot dip galvanizing coating method

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hakim, A. A.; Rajagukguk, T. O.; Sumardi, S.

2018-01-01

Along with developing necessities of metal materials, these rise demands of quality improvements and material protections especially the mechanical properties of the material. This research used hot dip galvanizing coating method. The objectives of this research were to find out Rockwell hardness (HRb), layer thickness, micro structure and observation with Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) from result of coating by using Hot Dip Galvanizing coating method with immersion time of 3, 6, 9, and 12 minutes at 460°C. The result shows that Highest Rockwell hardness test (HRb) was at 3 minutes immersion time with 76.012 HRb. Highest thickness result was 217.3 μm at 12 minutes immersion. Microstructure test result showed that coating was formed at eta, zeta, delta and gamma phases, while Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) showed Fe, Zn, Mn, Si and S elements at the specimens after coating.

Network-Induced Classification Kernels for Gene Expression Profile Analysis

PubMed Central

Dror, Gideon; Shamir, Ron

2012-01-01

Abstract Computational classification of gene expression profiles into distinct disease phenotypes has been highly successful to date. Still, robustness, accuracy, and biological interpretation of the results have been limited, and it was suggested that use of protein interaction information jointly with the expression profiles can improve the results. Here, we study three aspects of this problem. First, we show that interactions are indeed relevant by showing that co-expressed genes tend to be closer in the network of interactions. Second, we show that the improved performance of one extant method utilizing expression and interactions is not really due to the biological information in the network, while in another method this is not the case. Finally, we develop a new kernel method—called NICK—that integrates network and expression data for SVM classification, and demonstrate that overall it achieves better results than extant methods while running two orders of magnitude faster. PMID:22697242

Quantifying Three-Dimensional Morphology and RNA from Individual Embryos

PubMed Central

Green, Rebecca M.; Leach, Courtney L.; Hoehn, Natasha; Marcucio, Ralph S.; Hallgrímsson, Benedikt

2017-01-01

Quantitative analysis of morphogenesis aids our understanding of developmental processes by providing a method to link changes in shape with cellular and molecular processes. Over the last decade many methods have been developed for 3D imaging of embryos using microCT scanning to quantify the shape of embryos during development. These methods generally involve a powerful, cross-linking fixative such as paraformaldehyde to limit shrinkage during the CT scan. However, the extended time frames that these embryos are incubated in such fixatives prevent use of the tissues for molecular analysis after microCT scanning. This is a significant problem because it limits the ability to correlate variation in molecular data with morphology at the level of individual embryos. Here, we outline a novel method that allows RNA, DNA or protein isolation following CT scan while also allowing imaging of different tissue layers within the developing embryo. We show shape differences early in craniofacial development (E11.5) between common mouse genetic backgrounds, and demonstrate that we are able to generate RNA from these embryos after CT scanning that is suitable for downstream RT-PCR and RNAseq analyses. PMID:28152580

Discontinuous Finite Element Quasidiffusion Methods

DOE PAGES

Anistratov, Dmitriy Yurievich; Warsa, James S.

2018-05-21

Here in this paper, two-level methods for solving transport problems in one-dimensional slab geometry based on the quasi-diffusion (QD) method are developed. A linear discontinuous finite element method (LDFEM) is derived for the spatial discretization of the low-order QD (LOQD) equations. It involves special interface conditions at the cell edges based on the idea of QD boundary conditions (BCs). We consider different kinds of QD BCs to formulate the necessary cell-interface conditions. We develop two-level methods with independent discretization of the high-order transport equation and LOQD equations, where the transport equation is discretized using the method of characteristics and themore » LDFEM is applied to the LOQD equations. We also formulate closures that lead to the discretization consistent with a LDFEM discretization of the transport equation. The proposed methods are studied by means of test problems formulated with the method of manufactured solutions. Numerical experiments are presented demonstrating the performance of the proposed methods. Lastly, we also show that the method with independent discretization has the asymptotic diffusion limit.« less

Discontinuous Finite Element Quasidiffusion Methods

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

Anistratov, Dmitriy Yurievich; Warsa, James S.

Here in this paper, two-level methods for solving transport problems in one-dimensional slab geometry based on the quasi-diffusion (QD) method are developed. A linear discontinuous finite element method (LDFEM) is derived for the spatial discretization of the low-order QD (LOQD) equations. It involves special interface conditions at the cell edges based on the idea of QD boundary conditions (BCs). We consider different kinds of QD BCs to formulate the necessary cell-interface conditions. We develop two-level methods with independent discretization of the high-order transport equation and LOQD equations, where the transport equation is discretized using the method of characteristics and themore » LDFEM is applied to the LOQD equations. We also formulate closures that lead to the discretization consistent with a LDFEM discretization of the transport equation. The proposed methods are studied by means of test problems formulated with the method of manufactured solutions. Numerical experiments are presented demonstrating the performance of the proposed methods. Lastly, we also show that the method with independent discretization has the asymptotic diffusion limit.« less

Review of manual control methods for handheld maneuverable instruments.

PubMed

Fan, Chunman; Dodou, Dimitra; Breedveld, Paul

2013-06-01

By the introduction of new technologies, surgical procedures have been varying from free access in open surgery towards limited access in minimal access surgery. Improving access to difficult-to-reach anatomic sites, e.g. in neurosurgery or percutaneous interventions, needs advanced maneuverable instrumentation. Advances in maneuverable technology require the development of dedicated methods enabling surgeons to stay in direct, manual control of these complex instruments. This article gives an overview of the state-of-the-art in the development of manual control methods for handheld maneuverable instruments. It categorizes the manual control methods in three levels: a) number of steerable segments, b) number of Degrees Of Freedom (DOF), and c) coupling between control motion of the handle and steering motion of the tip. The literature research was completed by using Web of Science, Scopus and PubMed. The study shows that in controlling single steerable segments, direct as well as indirect control methods have been developed, whereas in controlling multiple steerable segments, a gradual shift can be noticed from parallel and serial control to integrated control. The development of multi-segmented maneuverable instruments is still at an early stage, and an intuitive and effective method to control them has to become a primary focus in the domain of minimal access surgery.

A predictive estimation method for carbon dioxide transport by data-driven modeling with a physically-based data model

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jeong, Jina; Park, Eungyu; Han, Weon Shik; Kim, Kue-Young; Jun, Seong-Chun; Choung, Sungwook; Yun, Seong-Taek; Oh, Junho; Kim, Hyun-Jun

2017-11-01

In this study, a data-driven method for predicting CO2 leaks and associated concentrations from geological CO2 sequestration is developed. Several candidate models are compared based on their reproducibility and predictive capability for CO2 concentration measurements from the Environment Impact Evaluation Test (EIT) site in Korea. Based on the data mining results, a one-dimensional solution of the advective-dispersive equation for steady flow (i.e., Ogata-Banks solution) is found to be most representative for the test data, and this model is adopted as the data model for the developed method. In the validation step, the method is applied to estimate future CO2 concentrations with the reference estimation by the Ogata-Banks solution, where a part of earlier data is used as the training dataset. From the analysis, it is found that the ensemble mean of multiple estimations based on the developed method shows high prediction accuracy relative to the reference estimation. In addition, the majority of the data to be predicted are included in the proposed quantile interval, which suggests adequate representation of the uncertainty by the developed method. Therefore, the incorporation of a reasonable physically-based data model enhances the prediction capability of the data-driven model. The proposed method is not confined to estimations of CO2 concentration and may be applied to various real-time monitoring data from subsurface sites to develop automated control, management or decision-making systems.

DEVELOPMENT OF AN EMISSION FACTOR FOR AMMONIA EMISSIONS FROM U.S. SWINE FARMS BASED ON FIELD TESTS AND APPLICATION OF A MASS BALANCE METHOD

EPA Science Inventory

This paper summarizes and discusses recent available U.S. and European information on
ammonia (NH3) emissions from swine farms and assesses the applicability for general use
in the United States. The emission rates for the swine barns calculated by various methods show
g...

Following Experts at Work in Their Own Information Spaces: Using Observational Methods To Develop Tools for the Digital Library.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gorman, Paul; Lavelle, Mary; Delcambre, Lois; Maier, David

2002-01-01

Offers an overview of the authors' experience using several observational methods to better understand one class of users, expert clinicians treating patients in hospital settings. Shows the evolution of understanding of the users and their information-handling tasks based on observations made in the field by a multidisciplinary research team, and…

Signal processing methods for MFE plasma diagnostics

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

Candy, J.V.; Casper, T.; Kane, R.

1985-02-01

The application of various signal processing methods to extract energy storage information from plasma diamagnetism sensors occurring during physics experiments on the Tandom Mirror Experiment-Upgrade (TMX-U) is discussed. We show how these processing techniques can be used to decrease the uncertainty in the corresponding sensor measurements. The algorithms suggested are implemented using SIG, an interactive signal processing package developed at LLNL.

A multigrid LU-SSOR scheme for approximate Newton iteration applied to the Euler equations

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Yoon, Seokkwan; Jameson, Antony

1986-01-01

A new efficient relaxation scheme in conjunction with a multigrid method is developed for the Euler equations. The LU SSOR scheme is based on a central difference scheme and does not need flux splitting for Newton iteration. Application to transonic flow shows that the new method surpasses the performance of the LU implicit scheme.

Flow Injection Technique for Biochemical Analysis with Chemiluminescence Detection in Acidic Media

PubMed Central

Chen, Jing; Fang, Yanjun

2007-01-01

A review with 90 references is presented to show the development of acidic chemiluminescence methods for biochemical analysis by use of flow injection technique in the last 10 years. A brief discussion of both the chemiluminescence and flow injection technique is given. The proposed methods for biochemical analysis are described and compared according to the used chemiluminescence system.

Performance-Based Seismic Design of Steel Frames Utilizing Colliding Bodies Algorithm

PubMed Central

Veladi, H.

2014-01-01

A pushover analysis method based on semirigid connection concept is developed and the colliding bodies optimization algorithm is employed to find optimum seismic design of frame structures. Two numerical examples from the literature are studied. The results of the new algorithm are compared to the conventional design methods to show the power or weakness of the algorithm. PMID:25202717

Performance-based seismic design of steel frames utilizing colliding bodies algorithm.

PubMed

Veladi, H

2014-01-01

A pushover analysis method based on semirigid connection concept is developed and the colliding bodies optimization algorithm is employed to find optimum seismic design of frame structures. Two numerical examples from the literature are studied. The results of the new algorithm are compared to the conventional design methods to show the power or weakness of the algorithm.

Cost estimators for construction of forest roads in the central Appalachians

Treesearch

Deborah, A. Layton; Chris O. LeDoux; Curt C. Hassler; Curt C. Hassler

1992-01-01

Regression equations were developed for estimating the total cost of road construction in the central Appalachian region. Estimators include methods for predicting total costs for roads constructed using hourly rental methods and roads built on a total-job bid basis. Results show that total-job bid roads cost up to five times as much as roads built than when equipment...

A probabilistic approach to composite micromechanics

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Stock, T. A.; Bellini, P. X.; Murthy, P. L. N.; Chamis, C. C.

1988-01-01

Probabilistic composite micromechanics methods are developed that simulate expected uncertainties in unidirectional fiber composite properties. These methods are in the form of computational procedures using Monte Carlo simulation. A graphite/epoxy unidirectional composite (ply) is studied to demonstrate fiber composite material properties at the micro level. Regression results are presented to show the relative correlation between predicted and response variables in the study.

Methods of hospital use control in health maintenance organizations.

PubMed

Homer, C G

1986-01-01

The results of the study upon which this article is based show that most HMO plans do not rely solely on incentives as control methods; they impose several other controls including direct constraints on physician decisions to use hospital resources. HMO managers seem to have developed a technology of hospital use control that is applicable regardless of the model, age, or size.

Comparison of genetic algorithm methods for fuel management optimization

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

DeChaine, M.D.; Feltus, M.A.

1995-12-31

The CIGARO system was developed for genetic algorithm fuel management optimization. Tests are performed to find the best fuel location swap mutation operator probability and to compare genetic algorithm to a truly random search method. Tests showed the fuel swap probability should be between 0% and 10%, and a 50% definitely hampered the optimization. The genetic algorithm performed significantly better than the random search method, which did not even satisfy the peak normalized power constraint.

Analytical and quasi-Bayesian methods as development of the iterative approach for mixed radiation biodosimetry.

PubMed

Słonecka, Iwona; Łukasik, Krzysztof; Fornalski, Krzysztof W

2018-06-04

The present paper proposes two methods of calculating components of the dose absorbed by the human body after exposure to a mixed neutron and gamma radiation field. The article presents a novel approach to replace the common iterative method in its analytical form, thus reducing the calculation time. It also shows a possibility of estimating the neutron and gamma doses when their ratio in a mixed beam is not precisely known.

A novel approach to identifying regulatory motifs in distantly related genomes

PubMed Central

Van Hellemont, Ruth; Monsieurs, Pieter; Thijs, Gert; De Moor, Bart; Van de Peer, Yves; Marchal, Kathleen

2005-01-01

Although proven successful in the identification of regulatory motifs, phylogenetic footprinting methods still show some shortcomings. To assess these difficulties, most apparent when applying phylogenetic footprinting to distantly related organisms, we developed a two-step procedure that combines the advantages of sequence alignment and motif detection approaches. The results on well-studied benchmark datasets indicate that the presented method outperforms other methods when the sequences become either too long or too heterogeneous in size. PMID:16420672

Comparative assessment of GIS-based methods and metrics for estimating long-term exposures to air pollution

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gulliver, John; de Hoogh, Kees; Fecht, Daniela; Vienneau, Danielle; Briggs, David

2011-12-01

The development of geographical information system techniques has opened up a wide array of methods for air pollution exposure assessment. The extent to which these provide reliable estimates of air pollution concentrations is nevertheless not clearly established. Nor is it clear which methods or metrics should be preferred in epidemiological studies. This paper compares the performance of ten different methods and metrics in terms of their ability to predict mean annual PM 10 concentrations across 52 monitoring sites in London, UK. Metrics analysed include indicators (distance to nearest road, traffic volume on nearest road, heavy duty vehicle (HDV) volume on nearest road, road density within 150 m, traffic volume within 150 m and HDV volume within 150 m) and four modelling approaches: based on the nearest monitoring site, kriging, dispersion modelling and land use regression (LUR). Measures were computed in a GIS, and resulting metrics calibrated and validated against monitoring data using a form of grouped jack-knife analysis. The results show that PM 10 concentrations across London show little spatial variation. As a consequence, most methods can predict the average without serious bias. Few of the approaches, however, show good correlations with monitored PM 10 concentrations, and most predict no better than a simple classification based on site type. Only land use regression reaches acceptable levels of correlation ( R2 = 0.47), though this can be improved by also including information on site type. This might therefore be taken as a recommended approach in many studies, though care is needed in developing meaningful land use regression models, and like any method they need to be validated against local data before their application as part of epidemiological studies.

Modelling and study of active vibration control for off-road vehicle

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhang, Junwei; Chen, Sizhong

2014-05-01

In view of special working characteristics and structure, engineering machineries do not have conventional suspension system typically. Consequently, operators have to endure severe vibrations which are detrimental both to their health and to the productivity of the loader. Based on displacement control, a kind of active damping method is developed for a skid-steer loader. In this paper, the whole hydraulic system for active damping method is modelled which include swash plate dynamics model, proportional valve model, piston accumulator model, pilot-operated check valve model, relief valve model, pump loss model, and cylinder model. A new road excitation model is developed for the skid-steer loader specially. The response of chassis vibration acceleration to road excitation is verified through simulation. The simulation result of passive accumulator damping is compared with measurements and the comparison shows that they are close. Based on this, parallel PID controller and track PID controller with acceleration feedback are brought into the simulation model, and the simulation results are compared with passive accumulator damping. It shows that the active damping methods with PID controllers are better in reducing chassis vibration acceleration and pitch movement. In the end, the test work for active damping method is proposed for the future work.

Ultrasonic guided wave sensing characteristics of large area thin piezo coating

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rathod, V. T.; Jeyaseelan, A. Antony; Dutta, Soma; Mahapatra, D. Roy

2017-10-01

This paper reports on the characterization method and performance enhancement of thin piezo coating for ultrasonic guided wave sensing applications. We deposited the coatings by an in situ slurry coating method and studied their guided wave sensing properties on a one-dimensional metallic beam as a substrate waveguide. The developed piezo coatings show good sensitivity to the longitudinal and flexural modes of guided waves. Sensing voltage due to the guided waves at various different ultrasonic frequencies shows a linear dependence on the thickness of the coating. The coatings also exhibit linear sensor output voltage with respect to the induced dynamic strain magnitude. Diameter/size of the piezo coatings strongly influences the voltage response in relation to the wavelength. The proposed method used a characterization set-up involving coated sensors, reference transducers and an analytical model to estimate the piezoelectric coefficient of the piezo coating. The method eliminates the size dependent effect on the piezo property accurately and gives further insight to design better sensors/filters with respect to frequency/wavelength of interest. The developed coatings will have interesting applications in structural health monitoring (SHM) and internet of things (IOT).

Biotransformation of lignan glycoside to its aglycone by Woodfordia fruticosa flowers: quantification of compounds using a validated HPTLC method.

PubMed

Mishra, Shikha; Aeri, Vidhu

2017-12-01

Saraca asoca Linn. (Caesalpiniaceae) is an important traditional remedy for gynaecological disorders and it contains lyoniside, an aryl tetralin lignan glycoside. The aglycone of lyoniside, lyoniresinol possesses structural similarity to enterolignan precursors which are established phytoestrogens. This work illustrates biotransformation of lyoniside to lyoniresinol using Woodfordia fruticosa Kurz. (Lythraceae) flowers and simultaneous quantification of lyoniside and lyoniresinol using a validated HPTLC method. The aqueous extract prepared from S. asoca bark was fermented using W. fruticosa flowers. The substrate and fermented product both were simultaneously analyzed using solvent system:toluene:ethyl acetate:formic acid (4:3:0.4) at 254 nm. The method was validated for specificity, accuracy, precision, linearity, sensitivity and robustness as per ICH guidelines. The substrate showed the presence of lyoniside, however, it decreased as the fermentation proceeded. On 3rd day, lyoniresinol starts appearing in the medium. In 8 days duration most of the lyoniside converted to lyoniresinol. The developed method was specific for lyoniside and lyoniresinol. Lyoniside and lyoniresinol showed linearity in the range of 250-3000 and 500-2500 ng. The method was accurate as resulted in 99.84% and 99.83% recovery, respectively, for lyoniside and lyoniresinol. Aryl tetralin lignan glycoside, lyoniside was successfully transformed into lyoniresinol using W. fruticosa flowers and their contents were simultaneously analyzed using developed validated HPTLC method.

The use of Whatman-31ET paper for an efficient method for radiochemical purity test of 131I-Hippuran

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rezka Putra, Amal; Maskur; Sugiharto, Yono; Chairuman; Hardi Gunawan, Adang; Awaludin, Rohadi

2018-01-01

Current chromatography methods used for radiochemical purity test of 131I-Hippuran is time consuming. Therefore, in this study we explored several static and mobile phases in order to have a chromatography method which is accurate and efficient or less time consuming. In this study, stationary phases (Whatman-1, 31ET, and 3MM papers) and several mobile phases were explored to separate 131I-Hippuran from its impurity (131I iodide ion). The results of this study showed that the most efficient chromatography system for measurement of radiochemical purity of 131I-Hippuran was by using Whatman-31ET paper and n-butanol: acetic acid: water (4:1:1) as a static phase and mobile phase respectively. Developing time for this method was of approximately 75.7 ± 2.7 minutes. The result of radiochemical purity (%RCP) of 131I-Hippuran measured with this chromatography system either using Whatman-1 or Whatman-31ET paper strips was 98.7%. The short size of Whatman-31ET paper strip (1 x 8 cm) was found to have shorter developing time compared to that of long size paper. This system showed a good separation of 131I-Hippuran from its impurities and gave %RCP of 98.1% ± 0.04% with developing time approximately 44.3 ± 9.4 minutes. The short size of Whatman-31ET paper strips was found to be more efficient compared to that of Whatman-1 and Whatman-3MM paper strips in term of developing time.

Quantitative analysis of γ-oryzanol content in cold pressed rice bran oil by TLC-image analysis method.

PubMed

Sakunpak, Apirak; Suksaeree, Jirapornchai; Monton, Chaowalit; Pathompak, Pathamaporn; Kraisintu, Krisana

2014-02-01

To develop and validate an image analysis method for quantitative analysis of γ-oryzanol in cold pressed rice bran oil. TLC-densitometric and TLC-image analysis methods were developed, validated, and used for quantitative analysis of γ-oryzanol in cold pressed rice bran oil. The results obtained by these two different quantification methods were compared by paired t-test. Both assays provided good linearity, accuracy, reproducibility and selectivity for determination of γ-oryzanol. The TLC-densitometric and TLC-image analysis methods provided a similar reproducibility, accuracy and selectivity for the quantitative determination of γ-oryzanol in cold pressed rice bran oil. A statistical comparison of the quantitative determinations of γ-oryzanol in samples did not show any statistically significant difference between TLC-densitometric and TLC-image analysis methods. As both methods were found to be equal, they therefore can be used for the determination of γ-oryzanol in cold pressed rice bran oil.

Energy expenditure estimation in beta-blocker-medicated cardiac patients by combining heart rate and body movement data.

PubMed

Kraal, Jos J; Sartor, Francesco; Papini, Gabriele; Stut, Wim; Peek, Niels; Kemps, Hareld Mc; Bonomi, Alberto G

2016-11-01

Accurate assessment of energy expenditure provides an opportunity to monitor physical activity during cardiac rehabilitation. However, the available assessment methods, based on the combination of heart rate (HR) and body movement data, are not applicable for patients using beta-blocker medication. Therefore, we developed an energy expenditure prediction model for beta-blocker-medicated cardiac rehabilitation patients. Sixteen male cardiac rehabilitation patients (age: 55.8 ± 7.3 years, weight: 93.1 ± 11.8 kg) underwent a physical activity protocol with 11 low- to moderate-intensity common daily life activities. Energy expenditure was assessed using a portable indirect calorimeter. HR and body movement data were recorded during the protocol using unobtrusive wearable devices. In addition, patients underwent a symptom-limited exercise test and resting metabolic rate assessment. Energy expenditure estimation models were developed using multivariate regression analyses based on HR and body movement data and/or patient characteristics. In addition, a HR-flex model was developed. The model combining HR and body movement data and patient characteristics showed the highest correlation and lowest error (r 2  = 0.84, root mean squared error = 0.834 kcal/minute) with total energy expenditure. The method based on individual calibration data (HR-flex) showed lower accuracy (i 2  = 0.83, root mean squared error = 0.992 kcal/minute). Our results show that combining HR and body movement data improves the accuracy of energy expenditure prediction models in cardiac patients, similar to methods that have been developed for healthy subjects. The proposed methodology does not require individual calibration and is based on the data that are available in clinical practice. © The European Society of Cardiology 2016.

Developing indicators for European birds

PubMed Central

Gregory, Richard D; van Strien, Arco; Vorisek, Petr; Gmelig Meyling, Adriaan W; Noble, David G; Foppen, Ruud P.B; Gibbons, David W

2005-01-01

The global pledge to deliver ‘a significant reduction in the current rate of biodiversity loss by 2010’ is echoed in a number of regional and national level targets. There is broad consensus, however, that in the absence of conservation action, biodiversity will continue to be lost at a rate unprecedented in the recent era. Remarkably, we lack a basic system to measure progress towards these targets and, in particular, we lack standard measures of biodiversity and procedures to construct and assess summary statistics. Here, we develop a simple classification of biodiversity indicators to assist their development and clarify purpose. We use European birds, as example taxa, to show how robust indicators can be constructed and how they can be interpreted. We have developed statistical methods to calculate supranational, multi-species indices using population data from national annual breeding bird surveys in Europe. Skilled volunteers using standardized field methods undertake data collection where methods and survey designs differ slightly across countries. Survey plots tend to be widely distributed at a national level, covering many bird species and habitats with reasonable representation. National species' indices are calculated using log-linear regression, which allows for plot turnover. Supranational species' indices are constructed by combining the national species' indices weighted by national population sizes of each species. Supranational, multi-species indicators are calculated by averaging the resulting indices. We show that common farmland birds in Europe have declined steeply over the last two decades, whereas woodland birds have not. Evidence elsewhere shows that the main driver of farmland bird declines is increased agricultural intensification. We argue that the farmland bird indicator is a useful surrogate for trends in other elements of biodiversity in this habitat. PMID:15814345

How much should hospitals spend on advertising?

PubMed

McCarthy, E J

1987-01-01

Hospitals are using several methods to establish a budget for advertising. The Strategic Planning Institute of Cambridge, Massachusetts, has developed a study of advertising practices on nearly 200 corporations and over 1,000 individual businesses. Decision rules, developed in the study, are used to show how hospitals can use a more scientific approach to budgeting for advertising.

Propagating probability distributions of stand variables using sequential Monte Carlo methods

Treesearch

Jeffrey H. Gove

2009-01-01

A general probabilistic approach to stand yield estimation is developed based on sequential Monte Carlo filters, also known as particle filters. The essential steps in the development of the sampling importance resampling (SIR) particle filter are presented. The SIR filter is then applied to simulated and observed data showing how the 'predictor - corrector'...

[Development of operation patient security detection system].

PubMed

Geng, Shu-Qin; Tao, Ren-Hai; Zhao, Chao; Wei, Qun

2008-11-01

This paper describes a patient security detection system developed with two dimensional bar codes, wireless communication and removal storage technique. Based on the system, nurses and correlative personnel check code wait operation patient to prevent the defaults. The tests show the system is effective. Its objectivity and currency are more scientific and sophisticated than current traditional method in domestic hospital.

Urban Farming as a Civic Virtue Development in the Environmental Field

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Prasetiyo, Wibowo Heru; Budimansyah, Dasim; Roslidah, Navila

2016-01-01

This research aims to describe the impact of urban farming carried out by Bandung Berkebun community as an attempt to develop the civic virtue in the environmental field. Research method used is a case study with qualitative approach. The results show that this program has educational, economic, social, and ecological impact to the society. This…

Cross-Border Higher Education in China: How the Field of Research Has Developed

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Qin, Yunyun; Te, Alice Y. C.

2016-01-01

The aim of the research was to investigate how the field of cross-border Chinese higher education has developed from 1990 to 2015. Ninety-five articles in international journals and 470 articles in national journals were collected and analyzed in terms of authorship pattern, thematic clusters, and research methods. Results show that cross-border…

Risk Factors Analysis and Death Prediction in Some Life-Threatening Ailments Using Chi-Square Case-Based Reasoning (χ2 CBR) Model.

PubMed

Adeniyi, D A; Wei, Z; Yang, Y

2018-01-30

A wealth of data are available within the health care system, however, effective analysis tools for exploring the hidden patterns in these datasets are lacking. To alleviate this limitation, this paper proposes a simple but promising hybrid predictive model by suitably combining the Chi-square distance measurement with case-based reasoning technique. The study presents the realization of an automated risk calculator and death prediction in some life-threatening ailments using Chi-square case-based reasoning (χ 2 CBR) model. The proposed predictive engine is capable of reducing runtime and speeds up execution process through the use of critical χ 2 distribution value. This work also showcases the development of a novel feature selection method referred to as frequent item based rule (FIBR) method. This FIBR method is used for selecting the best feature for the proposed χ 2 CBR model at the preprocessing stage of the predictive procedures. The implementation of the proposed risk calculator is achieved through the use of an in-house developed PHP program experimented with XAMP/Apache HTTP server as hosting server. The process of data acquisition and case-based development is implemented using the MySQL application. Performance comparison between our system, the NBY, the ED-KNN, the ANN, the SVM, the Random Forest and the traditional CBR techniques shows that the quality of predictions produced by our system outperformed the baseline methods studied. The result of our experiment shows that the precision rate and predictive quality of our system in most cases are equal to or greater than 70%. Our result also shows that the proposed system executes faster than the baseline methods studied. Therefore, the proposed risk calculator is capable of providing useful, consistent, faster, accurate and efficient risk level prediction to both the patients and the physicians at any time, online and on a real-time basis.

An advanced analysis method of initial orbit determination with too short arc data

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Li, Binzhe; Fang, Li

2018-02-01

This paper studies the initial orbit determination (IOD) based on space-based angle measurement. Commonly, these space-based observations have short durations. As a result, classical initial orbit determination algorithms give poor results, such as Laplace methods and Gauss methods. In this paper, an advanced analysis method of initial orbit determination is developed for space-based observations. The admissible region and triangulation are introduced in the method. Genetic algorithm is also used for adding some constraints of parameters. Simulation results show that the algorithm can successfully complete the initial orbit determination.

Spectroflurimetric estimation of the new antiviral agent ledipasvir in presence of sofosbuvir

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Salama, Fathy M.; Attia, Khalid A.; Abouserie, Ahmed A.; El-Olemy, Ahmed; Abolmagd, Ebrahim

2018-02-01

A spectroflurimetric method has been developed and validated for the selective quantitative determination of ledipasvir in presence of sofosbuvir. In this method the native fluorescence of ledipasvir in ethanol at 405 nm was measured after excitation at 340 nm. The proposed method was validated according to ICH guidelines and show high sensitivity, accuracy and precision. Furthermore this method was successfully applied to the analysis of ledipasvir in pharmaceutical dosage form without interference from sofosbuvir and other additives and the results were statistically compared to a reported method and found no significant difference.

Proteus-MOC: A 3D deterministic solver incorporating 2D method of characteristics

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

Marin-Lafleche, A.; Smith, M. A.; Lee, C.

2013-07-01

A new transport solution methodology was developed by combining the two-dimensional method of characteristics with the discontinuous Galerkin method for the treatment of the axial variable. The method, which can be applied to arbitrary extruded geometries, was implemented in PROTEUS-MOC and includes parallelization in group, angle, plane, and space using a top level GMRES linear algebra solver. Verification tests were performed to show accuracy and stability of the method with the increased number of angular directions and mesh elements. Good scalability with parallelism in angle and axial planes is displayed. (authors)

Modelling the light-scattering properties of a planetary-regolith analog sample

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Vaisanen, T.; Markkanen, J.; Hadamcik, E.; Levasseur-Regourd, A. C.; Lasue, J.; Blum, J.; Penttila, A.; Muinonen, K.

2017-12-01

Solving the scattering properties of asteroid surfaces can be made cheaper, faster, and more accurate with reliable physics-based electromagnetic scattering programs for large and dense random media. Existing exact methods fail to produce solutions for such large systems and it is essential to develop approximate methods. Radiative transfer (RT) is an approximate method which works for sparse random media such as atmospheres fails when applied to dense media. In order to make the method applicable to dense media, we have developed a radiative-transfer coherent-backscattering method (RT-CB) with incoherent interactions. To show the current progress with the RT-CB, we have modeled a planetary-regolith analog sample. The analog sample is a low-density agglomerate produced by random ballistic deposition of almost equisized silicate spheres studied using the PROGRA2-surf experiment. The scattering properties were then computed with the RT-CB assuming that the silicate spheres were equisized and that there were a Gaussian particle size distribution. The results were then compared to the measured data and the intensity plot is shown below. The phase functions are normalized to unity at the 40-deg phase angle. The tentative intensity modeling shows good match with the measured data, whereas the polarization modeling shows discrepancies. In summary, the current RT-CB modeling is promising, but more work needs to be carried out, in particular, for modeling the polarization. Acknowledgments. Research supported by European Research Council with Advanced Grant No. 320773 SAEMPL, Scattering and Absorption of ElectroMagnetic waves in ParticuLate media. Computational resources provided by CSC - IT Centre for Science Ltd, Finland.

Device-Independent Tests of Entropy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chaves, Rafael; Brask, Jonatan Bohr; Brunner, Nicolas

2015-09-01

We show that the entropy of a message can be tested in a device-independent way. Specifically, we consider a prepare-and-measure scenario with classical or quantum communication, and develop two different methods for placing lower bounds on the communication entropy, given observable data. The first method is based on the framework of causal inference networks. The second technique, based on convex optimization, shows that quantum communication provides an advantage over classical communication, in the sense of requiring a lower entropy to reproduce given data. These ideas may serve as a basis for novel applications in device-independent quantum information processing.

Fast sweeping methods for hyperbolic systems of conservation laws at steady state II

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Engquist, Björn; Froese, Brittany D.; Tsai, Yen-Hsi Richard

2015-04-01

The idea of using fast sweeping methods for solving stationary systems of conservation laws has previously been proposed for efficiently computing solutions with sharp shocks. We further develop these methods to allow for a more challenging class of problems including problems with sonic points, shocks originating in the interior of the domain, rarefaction waves, and two-dimensional systems. We show that fast sweeping methods can produce higher-order accuracy. Computational results validate the claims of accuracy, sharp shock curves, and optimal computational efficiency.

Total body nitrogen analysis. [neutron activation analysis

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Palmer, H. E.

1975-01-01

Studies of two potential in vivo neutron activation methods for determining total and partial body nitrogen in animals and humans are described. A method using the CO-11 in the expired air as a measure of nitrogen content was found to be adequate for small animals such as rats, but inadequate for human measurements due to a slow excretion rate. Studies on the method of measuring the induced N-13 in the body show that with further development, this method should be adequate for measuring muscle mass changes occurring in animals or humans during space flight.

An integrated algorithm for hypersonic fluid-thermal-structural numerical simulation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Li, Jia-Wei; Wang, Jiang-Feng

2018-05-01

In this paper, a fluid-structural-thermal integrated method is presented based on finite volume method. A unified integral equations system is developed as the control equations for physical process of aero-heating and structural heat transfer. The whole physical field is discretized by using an up-wind finite volume method. To demonstrate its capability, the numerical simulation of Mach 6.47 flow over stainless steel cylinder shows a good agreement with measured values, and this method dynamically simulates the objective physical processes. Thus, the integrated algorithm proves to be efficient and reliable.

Dynamic Chest Image Analysis: Evaluation of Model-Based Pulmonary Perfusion Analysis With Pyramid Images

DTIC Science & Technology

2001-10-25

Image Analysis aims to develop model-based computer analysis and visualization methods for showing focal and general abnormalities of lung ventilation and perfusion based on a sequence of digital chest fluoroscopy frames collected with the Dynamic Pulmonary Imaging technique 18,5,17,6. We have proposed and evaluated a multiresolutional method with an explicit ventilation model based on pyramid images for ventilation analysis. We have further extended the method for ventilation analysis to pulmonary perfusion. This paper focuses on the clinical evaluation of our method for

A New Method to Grow SiC: Solvent-Laser Heated Floating Zone

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Woodworth, Andrew A.; Neudeck, Philip G.; Sayir, Ali

2012-01-01

The solvent-laser heated floating zone (solvent-LHFZ) growth method is being developed to grow long single crystal SiC fibers. The technique combines the single crystal fiber growth ability of laser heated floating zone with solvent based growth techniques (e.g. traveling solvent method) ability to grow SiC from the liquid phase. Initial investigations reported in this paper show that the solvent-LHFZ method readily grows single crystal SiC (retains polytype and orientation), but has a significant amount of inhomogeneous strain and solvent rich inclusions.

A New View of Earthquake Ground Motion Data: The Hilbert Spectral Analysis

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Huang, Norden; Busalacchi, Antonio J. (Technical Monitor)

2000-01-01

A brief description of the newly developed Empirical Mode Decomposition (ENID) and Hilbert Spectral Analysis (HSA) method will be given. The decomposition is adaptive and can be applied to both nonlinear and nonstationary data. Example of the method applied to a sample earthquake record will be given. The results indicate those low frequency components, totally missed by the Fourier analysis, are clearly identified by the new method. Comparisons with Wavelet and window Fourier analysis show the new method offers much better temporal and frequency resolutions.

Playing with food. A novel approach to understanding nutritional behaviour development.

PubMed

Lynch, Meghan

2010-06-01

This study explored the use of a novel method of collecting data on nutritional behaviour development in young children: videos posted on the Internet site YouTube. YouTube videos (n=115) of children alone and interacting with parents in toy kitchen settings were analyzed using constant comparison analysis. Results revealed that in the videos of play nutritional behaviours, children showed influences of their real social environments, and that this medium enabled the observation of parent-child interactions in a more natural context without the researcher's presence. These findings encourage further research in the development and validity of alternative methods of data collection. Copyright 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Review of measurement instruments in clinical and research ethics, 1999–2003

PubMed Central

Redman, B K

2006-01-01

Every field of practice has the responsibility to evaluate its outcomes and to test its theories. Evidence of the underdevelopment of measurement instruments in bioethics suggests that attending to strengthening existing instruments and developing new ones will facilitate the interpretation of accumulating bodies of research as well as the making of clinical judgements. A review of 65 instruments reported in the published literature showed 10 with even a minimal level of psychometric data. Two newly developed instruments provide examples of the full use of psychometric and ethical theory. Bioethicists use a wide range of methods for knowledge development and verification; each method should meet stringent standards of quality. PMID:16507659

Using string invariants for prediction searching for optimal parameters

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bundzel, Marek; Kasanický, Tomáš; Pinčák, Richard

2016-02-01

We have developed a novel prediction method based on string invariants. The method does not require learning but a small set of parameters must be set to achieve optimal performance. We have implemented an evolutionary algorithm for the parametric optimization. We have tested the performance of the method on artificial and real world data and compared the performance to statistical methods and to a number of artificial intelligence methods. We have used data and the results of a prediction competition as a benchmark. The results show that the method performs well in single step prediction but the method's performance for multiple step prediction needs to be improved. The method works well for a wide range of parameters.

Systems, methods and apparatus for modeling, specifying and deploying policies in autonomous and autonomic systems using agent-oriented software engineering

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Sterritt, Roy (Inventor); Hinchey, Michael G. (Inventor); Penn, Joaquin (Inventor)

2011-01-01

Systems, methods and apparatus are provided through which in some embodiments, an agent-oriented specification modeled with MaCMAS, is analyzed, flaws in the agent-oriented specification modeled with MaCMAS are corrected, and an implementation is derived from the corrected agent-oriented specification. Described herein are systems, method and apparatus that produce fully (mathematically) tractable development of agent-oriented specification(s) modeled with methodology fragment for analyzing complex multiagent systems (MaCMAS) and policies for autonomic systems from requirements through to code generation. The systems, method and apparatus described herein are illustrated through an example showing how user formulated policies can be translated into a formal mode which can then be converted to code. The requirements-based programming systems, method and apparatus described herein may provide faster, higher quality development and maintenance of autonomic systems based on user formulation of policies.

A method of online quantitative interpretation of diffuse reflection profiles of biological tissues

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lisenko, S. A.; Kugeiko, M. M.

2013-02-01

We have developed a method of combined interpretation of spectral and spatial characteristics of diffuse reflection of biological tissues, which makes it possible to determine biophysical parameters of the tissue with a high accuracy in real time under conditions of their general variability. Using the Monte Carlo method, we have modeled a statistical ensemble of profiles of diffuse reflection coefficients of skin, which corresponds to a wave variation of its biophysical parameters. On its basis, we have estimated the retrieval accuracy of biophysical parameters using the developed method and investigated the stability of the method to errors of optical measurements. We have showed that it is possible to determine online the concentrations of melanin, hemoglobin, bilirubin, oxygen saturation of blood, and structural parameters of skin from measurements of its diffuse reflection in the spectral range 450-800 nm at three distances between the radiation source and detector.

Auxiliary Parameter MCMC for Exponential Random Graph Models

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Byshkin, Maksym; Stivala, Alex; Mira, Antonietta; Krause, Rolf; Robins, Garry; Lomi, Alessandro

2016-11-01

Exponential random graph models (ERGMs) are a well-established family of statistical models for analyzing social networks. Computational complexity has so far limited the appeal of ERGMs for the analysis of large social networks. Efficient computational methods are highly desirable in order to extend the empirical scope of ERGMs. In this paper we report results of a research project on the development of snowball sampling methods for ERGMs. We propose an auxiliary parameter Markov chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) algorithm for sampling from the relevant probability distributions. The method is designed to decrease the number of allowed network states without worsening the mixing of the Markov chains, and suggests a new approach for the developments of MCMC samplers for ERGMs. We demonstrate the method on both simulated and actual (empirical) network data and show that it reduces CPU time for parameter estimation by an order of magnitude compared to current MCMC methods.

Assessing the accuracy of TDR-based water leak detection system

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fatemi Aghda, S. M.; GanjaliPour, K.; Nabiollahi, K.

2018-03-01

The use of TDR system to detect leakage locations in underground pipes has been developed in recent years. In this system, a bi-wire is installed in parallel with the underground pipes and is considered as a TDR sensor. This approach greatly covers the limitations arisen with using the traditional method of acoustic leak positioning. TDR based leak detection method is relatively accurate when the TDR sensor is in contact with water in just one point. Researchers have been working to improve the accuracy of this method in recent years. In this study, the ability of TDR method was evaluated in terms of the appearance of multi leakage points simultaneously. For this purpose, several laboratory tests were conducted. In these tests in order to simulate leakage points, the TDR sensor was put in contact with water at some points, then the number and the dimension of the simulated leakage points were gradually increased. The results showed that with the increase in the number and dimension of the leakage points, the error rate of the TDR-based water leak detection system increases. The authors tried, according to the results obtained from the laboratory tests, to develop a method to improve the accuracy of the TDR-based leak detection systems. To do that, they defined a few reference points on the TDR sensor. These points were created via increasing the distance between two conductors of TDR sensor and were easily identifiable in the TDR waveform. The tests were repeated again using the TDR sensor having reference points. In order to calculate the exact distance of the leakage point, the authors developed an equation in accordance to the reference points. A comparison between the results obtained from both tests (with and without reference points) showed that using the method and equation developed by the authors can significantly improve the accuracy of positioning the leakage points.

Numerical Calculation of Non-uniform Magnetization Using Experimental Magnetic Field Data

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jhun, Bukyoung; Jhun, Youngseok; Kim, Seung-wook; Han, JungHyun

2018-05-01

A relation between the distance from the surface of a magnet and the number of cells required for a numerical calculation in order to secure the error below a certain threshold is derived. We also developed a method to obtain the magnetization at each part of the magnet from the experimentally measured magnetic field. This method is applied to three magnets with distinct patterns on magnetic-field-viewing film. Each magnet showed a unique pattern of magnetization. We found that the magnet that shows symmetric magnetization on the magnetic-field-viewing film is not uniformly magnetized. This method can be useful comparing the magnetization between magnets that yield typical magnetic field and those that yield atypical magnetic field.

Level-set-based reconstruction algorithm for EIT lung images: first clinical results.

PubMed

Rahmati, Peyman; Soleimani, Manuchehr; Pulletz, Sven; Frerichs, Inéz; Adler, Andy

2012-05-01

We show the first clinical results using the level-set-based reconstruction algorithm for electrical impedance tomography (EIT) data. The level-set-based reconstruction method (LSRM) allows the reconstruction of non-smooth interfaces between image regions, which are typically smoothed by traditional voxel-based reconstruction methods (VBRMs). We develop a time difference formulation of the LSRM for 2D images. The proposed reconstruction method is applied to reconstruct clinical EIT data of a slow flow inflation pressure-volume manoeuvre in lung-healthy and adult lung-injury patients. Images from the LSRM and the VBRM are compared. The results show comparable reconstructed images, but with an improved ability to reconstruct sharp conductivity changes in the distribution of lung ventilation using the LSRM.

GSimp: A Gibbs sampler based left-censored missing value imputation approach for metabolomics studies

PubMed Central

Jia, Erik; Chen, Tianlu

2018-01-01

Left-censored missing values commonly exist in targeted metabolomics datasets and can be considered as missing not at random (MNAR). Improper data processing procedures for missing values will cause adverse impacts on subsequent statistical analyses. However, few imputation methods have been developed and applied to the situation of MNAR in the field of metabolomics. Thus, a practical left-censored missing value imputation method is urgently needed. We developed an iterative Gibbs sampler based left-censored missing value imputation approach (GSimp). We compared GSimp with other three imputation methods on two real-world targeted metabolomics datasets and one simulation dataset using our imputation evaluation pipeline. The results show that GSimp outperforms other imputation methods in terms of imputation accuracy, observation distribution, univariate and multivariate analyses, and statistical sensitivity. Additionally, a parallel version of GSimp was developed for dealing with large scale metabolomics datasets. The R code for GSimp, evaluation pipeline, tutorial, real-world and simulated targeted metabolomics datasets are available at: https://github.com/WandeRum/GSimp. PMID:29385130

Development of Boundary Condition Independent Reduced Order Thermal Models using Proper Orthogonal Decomposition

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Raghupathy, Arun; Ghia, Karman; Ghia, Urmila

2008-11-01

Compact Thermal Models (CTM) to represent IC packages has been traditionally developed using the DELPHI-based (DEvelopment of Libraries of PHysical models for an Integrated design) methodology. The drawbacks of this method are presented, and an alternative method is proposed. A reduced-order model that provides the complete thermal information accurately with less computational resources can be effectively used in system level simulations. Proper Orthogonal Decomposition (POD), a statistical method, can be used to reduce the order of the degree of freedom or variables of the computations for such a problem. POD along with the Galerkin projection allows us to create reduced-order models that reproduce the characteristics of the system with a considerable reduction in computational resources while maintaining a high level of accuracy. The goal of this work is to show that this method can be applied to obtain a boundary condition independent reduced-order thermal model for complex components. The methodology is applied to the 1D transient heat equation.

A linear decomposition method for large optimization problems. Blueprint for development

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Sobieszczanski-Sobieski, J.

1982-01-01

A method is proposed for decomposing large optimization problems encountered in the design of engineering systems such as an aircraft into a number of smaller subproblems. The decomposition is achieved by organizing the problem and the subordinated subproblems in a tree hierarchy and optimizing each subsystem separately. Coupling of the subproblems is accounted for by subsequent optimization of the entire system based on sensitivities of the suboptimization problem solutions at each level of the tree to variables of the next higher level. A formalization of the procedure suitable for computer implementation is developed and the state of readiness of the implementation building blocks is reviewed showing that the ingredients for the development are on the shelf. The decomposition method is also shown to be compatible with the natural human organization of the design process of engineering systems. The method is also examined with respect to the trends in computer hardware and software progress to point out that its efficiency can be amplified by network computing using parallel processors.

Development of intron length polymorphism markers in genes encoding diketide-CoA synthase and curcumin synthase for discriminating Curcuma species.

PubMed

Kita, Tomoko; Komatsu, Katsuko; Zhu, Shu; Iida, Osamu; Sugimura, Koji; Kawahara, Nobuo; Taguchi, Hiromu; Masamura, Noriya; Cai, Shao-Qing

2016-03-01

Various Curcuma rhizomes have been used as medicines or spices in Asia since ancient times. It is very difficult to distinguish them morphologically, especially when they are boiled and dried, which causes misidentification leading to a loss of efficacy. We developed a method for discriminating Curcuma species by intron length polymorphism markers in genes encoding diketide-CoA synthase and curcumin synthase. This method could apply to identification of not only fresh plants but also samples of crude drugs or edible spices. By applying this method to Curcuma specimens and samples, and constructing a dendrogram based on these markers, seven Curcuma species were clearly distinguishable. Moreover, Curcuma longa specimens were geographically distinguishable. On the other hand, Curcuma kwangsiensis (gl type) specimens also showed intraspecies polymorphism, which may have occurred as a result of hybridization with other Curcuma species. The molecular method we developed is a potential tool for global classification of the genus Curcuma. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

A stage-normalized function for the synthesis of stage-discharge relations for the Colorado River in Grand Canyon, Arizona

USGS Publications Warehouse

Wiele, Stephen M.; Torizzo, Margaret

2003-01-01

A method was developed to construct stage-discharge rating curves for the Colorado River in Grand Canyon, Arizona, using two stage-discharge pairs and a stage-normalized rating curve. Stage-discharge rating curves formulated with the stage-normalized curve method are compared to (1) stage-discharge rating curves for six temporary stage gages and two streamflow-gaging stations developed by combining stage records with modeled unsteady flow; (2) stage-discharge rating curves developed from stage records and discharge measurements at three streamflow-gaging stations; and (3) stages surveyed at known discharges at the Northern Arizona Sand Bar Studies sites. The stage-normalized curve method shows good agreement with field data when the discharges used in the construction of the rating curves are at least 200 cubic meters per second apart. Predictions of stage using the stage-normalized curve method are also compared to predictions of stage from a steady-flow model.

Quantification of Pulmonary Inflammatory Processes Using Chest Radiography: Tuberculosis as the Motivating Application

PubMed Central

Giacomini, Guilherme; Miranda, José R.A.; Pavan, Ana Luiza M.; Duarte, Sérgio B.; Ribeiro, Sérgio M.; Pereira, Paulo C.M.; Alves, Allan F.F.; de Oliveira, Marcela; Pina, Diana R.

2015-01-01

Abstract The purpose of this work was to develop a quantitative method for evaluating the pulmonary inflammatory process (PIP) through the computational analysis of chest radiography exams in posteroanterior (PA) and lateral views. The quantification procedure was applied to patients with tuberculosis (TB) as the motivating application. A study of high-resolution computed tomography (HRCT) examinations of patients with TB was developed to establish a relation between the inflammatory process and the signal difference-to-noise ratio (SDNR) measured in the PA projection. A phantom essay was used to validate this relation, which was implemented using an algorithm that is able to estimate the volume of the inflammatory region based solely on SDNR values in the chest radiographs of patients. The PIP volumes that were quantified for 30 patients with TB were used for comparisons with direct HRCT analysis for the same patient. The Bland–Altman statistical analyses showed no significant differences between the 2 quantification methods. The linear regression line had a correlation coefficient of R2 = 0.97 and P < 0.001, showing a strong association between the volume that was determined by our evaluation method and the results obtained by direct HRCT scan analysis. Since the diagnosis and follow-up of patients with TB is commonly performed using X-rays exams, the method developed herein can be considered an adequate tool for quantifying the PIP with a lower patient radiation dose and lower institutional cost. Although we used patients with TB for the application of the method, this method may be used for other pulmonary diseases characterized by a PIP. PMID:26131814

Novel techniques for enhancement and segmentation of acne vulgaris lesions.

PubMed

Malik, A S; Humayun, J; Kamel, N; Yap, F B-B

2014-08-01

More than 99% acne patients suffer from acne vulgaris. While diagnosing the severity of acne vulgaris lesions, dermatologists have observed inter-rater and intra-rater variability in diagnosis results. This is because during assessment, identifying lesion types and their counting is a tedious job for dermatologists. To make the assessment job objective and easier for dermatologists, an automated system based on image processing methods is proposed in this study. There are two main objectives: (i) to develop an algorithm for the enhancement of various acne vulgaris lesions; and (ii) to develop a method for the segmentation of enhanced acne vulgaris lesions. For the first objective, an algorithm is developed based on the theory of high dynamic range (HDR) images. The proposed algorithm uses local rank transform to generate the HDR images from a single acne image followed by the log transformation. Then, segmentation is performed by clustering the pixels based on Mahalanobis distance of each pixel from spectral models of acne vulgaris lesions. Two metrics are used to evaluate the enhancement of acne vulgaris lesions, i.e., contrast improvement factor (CIF) and image contrast normalization (ICN). The proposed algorithm is compared with two other methods. The proposed enhancement algorithm shows better result than both the other methods based on CIF and ICN. In addition, sensitivity and specificity are calculated for the segmentation results. The proposed segmentation method shows higher sensitivity and specificity than other methods. This article specifically discusses the contrast enhancement and segmentation for automated diagnosis system of acne vulgaris lesions. The results are promising that can be used for further classification of acne vulgaris lesions for final grading of the lesions. © 2013 John Wiley & Sons A/S. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Water stress assessment of cork oak leaves and maritime pine needles based on LIF spectra

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lavrov, A.; Utkin, A. B.; Marques da Silva, J.; Vilar, Rui; Santos, N. M.; Alves, B.

2012-02-01

The aim of the present work was to develop a method for the remote assessment of the impact of fire and drought stress on Mediterranean forest species such as the cork oak ( Quercus suber) and maritime pine ( Pinus pinaster). The proposed method is based on laser induced fluorescence (LIF): chlorophyll fluorescence is remotely excited by frequency-doubled YAG:Nd laser radiation pulses and collected and analyzed using a telescope and a gated high sensitivity spectrometer. The plant health criterion used is based on the I 685/ I 740 ratio value, calculated from the fluorescence spectra. The method was benchmarked by comparing the results achieved with those obtained by conventional, continuous excitation fluorometric method and water loss gravimetric measurements. The results obtained with both methods show a strong correlation between them and with the weight-loss measurements, showing that the proposed method is suitable for fire and drought impact assessment on these two species.

3D foot shape generation from 2D information.

PubMed

Luximon, Ameersing; Goonetilleke, Ravindra S; Zhang, Ming

2005-05-15

Two methods to generate an individual 3D foot shape from 2D information are proposed. A standard foot shape was first generated and then scaled based on known 2D information. In the first method, the foot outline and the foot height were used, and in the second, the foot outline and the foot profile were used. The models were developed using 40 participants and then validated using a different set of 40 participants. Results show that each individual foot shape can be predicted within a mean absolute error of 1.36 mm for the left foot and 1.37 mm for the right foot using the first method, and within a mean absolute error of 1.02 mm for the left foot and 1.02 mm for the right foot using the second method. The second method shows somewhat improved accuracy even though it requires two images. Both the methods are relatively cheaper than using a scanner to determine the 3D foot shape for custom footwear design.

Improving the precision of the keyword-matching pornographic text filtering method using a hybrid model.

PubMed

Su, Gui-yang; Li, Jian-hua; Ma, Ying-hua; Li, Sheng-hong

2004-09-01

With the flooding of pornographic information on the Internet, how to keep people away from that offensive information is becoming one of the most important research areas in network information security. Some applications which can block or filter such information are used. Approaches in those systems can be roughly classified into two kinds: metadata based and content based. With the development of distributed technologies, content based filtering technologies will play a more and more important role in filtering systems. Keyword matching is a content based method used widely in harmful text filtering. Experiments to evaluate the recall and precision of the method showed that the precision of the method is not satisfactory, though the recall of the method is rather high. According to the results, a new pornographic text filtering model based on reconfirming is put forward. Experiments showed that the model is practical, has less loss of recall than the single keyword matching method, and has higher precision.

A comparison of two differential methods for nutrition education in elementary school: lecture-and experience-based learning program.

PubMed

Jung, Lan-Hee; Choi, Jeong-Hwa; Bang, Hyun-Mi; Shin, Jun-Ho; Heo, Young-Ran

2015-02-01

This research was conducted to compare lecture-and experience-based methods of nutritional education as well as provide fundamental data for developing an effective nutritional education program in elementary schools. A total of 110 students in three elementary schools in Jeollanam-do were recruited and randomly distributed in lecture-and experience-based groups. The effects of education on students' dietary knowledge, dietary behaviors, and dietary habits were analyzed using a pre/post-test. Lecture-and experience-based methods did not significantly alter total scores for dietary knowledge in any group, although lecture-based method led to improvement for some detailed questions. In the experience-based group, subjects showed significant alteration of dietary behaviors, whereas lecture-based method showed alteration of dietary habits. These outcomes suggest that lecture-and experience-based methods led to differential improvement of students' dietary habits, behaviors, and knowledge. To obtain better nutritional education results, both lectures and experiential activities need to be considered.

Development of a novel and highly efficient method of isolating bacteriophages from water.

PubMed

Liu, Weili; Li, Chao; Qiu, Zhi-Gang; Jin, Min; Wang, Jing-Feng; Yang, Dong; Xiao, Zhong-Hai; Yuan, Zhao-Kang; Li, Jun-Wen; Xu, Qun-Ying; Shen, Zhi-Qiang

2017-08-01

Bacteriophages are widely used to the treatment of drug-resistant bacteria and the improvement of food safety through bacterial lysis. However, the limited investigations on bacteriophage restrict their further application. In this study, a novel and highly efficient method was developed for isolating bacteriophage from water based on the electropositive silica gel particles (ESPs) method. To optimize the ESPs method, we evaluated the eluent type, flow rate, pH, temperature, and inoculation concentration of bacteriophage using bacteriophage f2. The quantitative detection reported that the recovery of the ESPs method reached over 90%. The qualitative detection demonstrated that the ESPs method effectively isolated 70% of extremely low-concentration bacteriophage (10 0 PFU/100L). Based on the host bacteria composed of 33 standard strains and 10 isolated strains, the bacteriophages in 18 water samples collected from the three sites in the Tianjin Haihe River Basin were isolated by the ESPs and traditional methods. Results showed that the ESPs method was significantly superior to the traditional method. The ESPs method isolated 32 strains of bacteriophage, whereas the traditional method isolated 15 strains. The sample isolation efficiency and bacteriophage isolation efficiency of the ESPs method were 3.28 and 2.13 times higher than those of the traditional method. The developed ESPs method was characterized by high isolation efficiency, efficient handling of large water sample size and low requirement on water quality. Copyright © 2017. Published by Elsevier B.V.

A simple method for the extraction and identification of light density microplastics from soil.

PubMed

Zhang, Shaoliang; Yang, Xiaomei; Gertsen, Hennie; Peters, Piet; Salánki, Tamás; Geissen, Violette

2018-03-01

This article introduces a simple and cost-saving method developed to extract, distinguish and quantify light density microplastics of polyethylene (PE) and polypropylene (PP) in soil. A floatation method using distilled water was used to extract the light density microplastics from soil samples. Microplastics and impurities were identified using a heating method (3-5s at 130°C). The number and size of particles were determined using a camera (Leica DFC 425) connected to a microscope (Leica wild M3C, Type S, simple light, 6.4×). Quantification of the microplastics was conducted using a developed model. Results showed that the floatation method was effective in extracting microplastics from soils, with recovery rates of approximately 90%. After being exposed to heat, the microplastics in the soil samples melted and were transformed into circular transparent particles while other impurities, such as organic matter and silicates were not changed by the heat. Regression analysis of microplastics weight and particle volume (a calculation based on image J software analysis) after heating showed the best fit (y=1.14x+0.46, R 2 =99%, p<0.001). Recovery rates based on the empirical model method were >80%. Results from field samples collected from North-western China prove that our method of repetitive floatation and heating can be used to extract, distinguish and quantify light density polyethylene microplastics in soils. Microplastics mass can be evaluated using the empirical model. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Multiple Approaches to the Investigation of Cell Assembly in Memory Research-Present and Future.

PubMed

Sakurai, Yoshio; Osako, Yuma; Tanisumi, Yuta; Ishihara, Eriko; Hirokawa, Junya; Manabe, Hiroyuki

2018-01-01

In this review article we focus on research methodologies for detecting the actual activity of cell assemblies, which are populations of functionally connected neurons that encode information in the brain. We introduce and discuss traditional and novel experimental methods and those currently in development and briefly discuss their advantages and disadvantages for the detection of cell-assembly activity. First, we introduce the electrophysiological method, i.e., multineuronal recording, and review former and recent examples of studies showing models of dynamic coding by cell assemblies in behaving rodents and monkeys. We also discuss how the firing correlation of two neurons reflects the firing synchrony among the numerous surrounding neurons that constitute cell assemblies. Second, we review the recent outstanding studies that used the novel method of optogenetics to show causal relationships between cell-assembly activity and behavioral change. Third, we review the most recently developed method of live-cell imaging, which facilitates the simultaneous observation of firings of a large number of neurons in behaving rodents. Currently, all these available methods have both advantages and disadvantages, and no single measurement method can directly and precisely detect the actual activity of cell assemblies. The best strategy is to combine the available methods and utilize each of their advantages with the technique of operant conditioning of multiple-task behaviors in animals and, if necessary, with brain-machine interface technology to verify the accuracy of neural information detected as cell-assembly activity.

Development of Friction Stir Processing for Repair of Nuclear Dry Cask Storage System Canisters

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

Ross, Kenneth A.; Sutton, Ben; Grant, Glenn J.

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has identified chloride-induced stress corrosion cracking (CISCC) of austenitic stainless steel dry cask storage systems (DCSS) as an area of great concern. Friction Stir Processing (FSP) was used to repair laboratory-generated stress corrosion cracking (SCC) in representative stainless steel 304 coupons. Results of this study show FSP is a viable method for repair and mitigation CISCC. This paper highlights lessons learned and developed techniques relative to FSP development for crack repair in sensitized thick section stainless steel 304. These include: development of process parameters, welding at low spindle speed, use of weld power and temperature controlmore » and optimization of these controls. NDE and destructive analysis are also presented to demonstrate effectiveness of the developed methods for SCC crack repair.« less

Development of an extractive spectrophotometric method for estimation of uranium in ore leach solutions using 2-ethylhexyl phosphonic acid-mono-2-ethylhexyl ester (PC88A) and tri-n-octyl phosphine oxide (TOPO) mixture as extractant and 2-(5-bromo-2-pyridylozo)-5-diethyl aminophenol (Br-PADAP) as chromophore.

PubMed

Biswas, Sujoy; Pathak, P N; Roy, S B

2012-06-01

An extractive spectrophotometric analytical method has been developed for the determination of uranium in ore leach solution. This technique is based on the selective extraction of uranium from multielement system using a synergistic mixture of 2-ethylhexyl phosphonic acid-mono-2-ethylhexyl ester (PC88A) and tri-n-octyl phosphine oxide (TOPO) in cyclohexane and color development from the organic phase aliquot using 2-(5-Bromo-2-pyridylazo)-5-diethyl aminophenol (Br-PADAP) as chromogenic reagent. The absorption maximum (λ(max)) for UO(2)(2+)-Br-PADAP complex in organic phase samples, in 64% (v/v) ethanol containing buffer solution (pH 7.8) and 1,2-cyclohexylenedinitrilotetraacetic acid (CyDTA) complexing agent, has been found to be at 576 nm (molar extinction coefficient, ɛ: 36,750 ± 240 L mol(-1)cm(-1)). Effects of various parameters like stability of complex, ethanol volume, ore matrix, interfering ions etc. on the determination of uranium have also been evaluated. Absorbance measurements as a function of time showed that colored complex is stable up to > 24h. Presence of increased amount of ethanol in colored solution suppresses the absorption of a standard UO(2)(2+)-Br-PADAP solution. Analyses of synthetic standard as well as ore leach a solution show that for 10 determination relative standard deviation (RSD) is < 2%. The accuracy of the developed method has been checked by determining uranium using standard addition method and was found to be accurate with a 98-105% recovery rate. The developed method has been applied for the analysis of a number of uranium samples generated from uranium ore leach solutions and results were compared with standard methods like inductively coupled plasma emission spectrometry (ICPAES). The determined values of uranium concentrations by these methods are within ± 2%. This method can be used to determine 2.5-250 μg mL(-1) uranium in ore leach solutions with high accuracy and precision. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Ensemble framework based real-time respiratory motion prediction for adaptive radiotherapy applications.

PubMed

Tatinati, Sivanagaraja; Nazarpour, Kianoush; Tech Ang, Wei; Veluvolu, Kalyana C

2016-08-01

Successful treatment of tumors with motion-adaptive radiotherapy requires accurate prediction of respiratory motion, ideally with a prediction horizon larger than the latency in radiotherapy system. Accurate prediction of respiratory motion is however a non-trivial task due to the presence of irregularities and intra-trace variabilities, such as baseline drift and temporal changes in fundamental frequency pattern. In this paper, to enhance the accuracy of the respiratory motion prediction, we propose a stacked regression ensemble framework that integrates heterogeneous respiratory motion prediction algorithms. We further address two crucial issues for developing a successful ensemble framework: (1) selection of appropriate prediction methods to ensemble (level-0 methods) among the best existing prediction methods; and (2) finding a suitable generalization approach that can successfully exploit the relative advantages of the chosen level-0 methods. The efficacy of the developed ensemble framework is assessed with real respiratory motion traces acquired from 31 patients undergoing treatment. Results show that the developed ensemble framework improves the prediction performance significantly compared to the best existing methods. Copyright © 2016 IPEM. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Generalization of the Poincare sphere to process 2D displacement signals

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sciammarella, Cesar A.; Lamberti, Luciano

2017-06-01

Traditionally the multiple phase method has been considered as an essential tool for phase information recovery. The in-quadrature phase method that theoretically is an alternative pathway to achieve the same goal failed in actual applications. The authors in a previous paper dealing with 1D signals have shown that properly implemented the in-quadrature method yields phase values with the same accuracy than the multiple phase method. The present paper extends the methodology developed in 1D to 2D. This extension is not a straight forward process and requires the introduction of a number of additional concepts and developments. The concept of monogenic function provides the necessary tools required for the extension process. The monogenic function has a graphic representation through the Poincare sphere familiar in the field of Photoelasticity and through the developments introduced in this paper connected to the analysis of displacement fringe patterns. The paper is illustrated with examples of application that show that multiple phases method and the in-quadrature are two aspects of the same basic theoretical model.

Sensitive polarographic electrochemical determination of clarithromycin in blood serum

PubMed Central

Jain, Ashish; Jain, Ankit; Jain, Anki

2013-01-01

Clarithromycin is an antibacterial widely used for the treatment of a myriad of infections. Various methods including HPLC have been reported for its drug plasma concentration but they are more complex. In this study, we developed an electrochemical method for estimation of clarithromycin in blood using differential pulse polarography (DPP) after oral administration of pure clarithromycin suspension. The differential pulse polarography of clarithromycin showed peak with peak potential Ep is −1460 mV SCE at pH 6.5 ± 0.1. The developed electrochemical method was standardized and validated for the determination of clarithromycin in blood serum of albino rats. PK analysis included Cmax, Tmax, AUC0-24, elimination rate constant (Kel) and t1/2. Cmax were found to be 1.34 ± 0.16 mg/ml and 1.99 ± 0.22 mg/ml for plain clarithromycin and suspension formulation, respectively. Effects of ammonium tartarate concentration and pH were also studied as specificity parameters. Developed electrochemical method was found to be simple, accurate method for to estimate blood-clarithromycin profile and can also be used similarly for various dosage forms. PMID:24023459

U.S. Geological Survey experience with the residual absolutes method

USGS Publications Warehouse

Worthington, E. William; Matzka, Jurgen

2017-01-01

The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Geomagnetism Program has developed and tested the residual method of absolutes, with the assistance of the Danish Technical University's (DTU) Geomagnetism Program. Three years of testing were performed at College Magnetic Observatory (CMO), Fairbanks, Alaska, to compare the residual method with the null method. Results show that the two methods compare very well with each other and both sets of baseline data were used to process the 2015 definitive data. The residual method will be implemented at the other USGS high-latitude geomagnetic observatories in the summer of 2017 and 2018.

An Immersed Boundary-Lattice Boltzmann Method for Simulating Particulate Flows

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhang, Baili; Cheng, Ming; Lou, Jing

2013-11-01

A two-dimensional momentum exchange-based immersed boundary-lattice Boltzmann method developed by X.D. Niu et al. (2006) has been extended in three-dimensions for solving fluid-particles interaction problems. This method combines the most desirable features of the lattice Boltzmann method and the immersed boundary method by using a regular Eulerian mesh for the flow domain and a Lagrangian mesh for the moving particles in the flow field. The non-slip boundary conditions for the fluid and the particles are enforced by adding a force density term into the lattice Boltzmann equation, and the forcing term is simply calculated by the momentum exchange of the boundary particle density distribution functions, which are interpolated by the Lagrangian polynomials from the underlying Eulerian mesh. This method preserves the advantages of lattice Boltzmann method in tracking a group of particles and, at the same time, provides an alternative approach to treat solid-fluid boundary conditions. Numerical validations show that the present method is very accurate and efficient. The present method will be further developed to simulate more complex problems with particle deformation, particle-bubble and particle-droplet interactions.

[Extraction method suitable for detection of unheated crustaceans including cephalothorax by ELISA].

PubMed

Shibahara, Yusuke; Yamada, Itta; Uesaka, Yoshihiko; Uneo, Noriko; Abe, Akihisa; Ohashi, Eiji; Shiomi, Kazuo

2009-08-01

When unheated whole samples of crustaceans (shrimp, prawn and crab) were analyzed with our ELISA kit (FA test EIA-Crustacean 'Nissui') using anti-tropomyosin antibodies, a remarkable reduction in reactivity was recognized. This reduction in activity was found to be due to the digestion of tropomyosin during the extraction process by proteases contained in cephalothorax. To avoid the digestion of tropomyosin by proteases, we developed an extraction method (heating method) suitable for the detection of tropomyosin in unheated crustaceans including cephalothorax. Experiments with unheated whole samples of various species of crustaceans confirmed that the heating method greatly improved the low reactivity in the standard method; the heating method gave extraction efficiencies of as high as 93-107%. Various processed crustaceans with cephalothorax, such as dry products (unheated or weakly heated products) and pickles in soy sauce (unheated products), that showed low reactivity with the standard method were confirmed to give superior results with the heating method. These results indicated that the developed heating method is suitable for detecting unheated crustaceans with cephalothorax by means of the ELISA kit.

Spectrophotometric methods for simultaneous determination of betamethasone valerate and fusidic acid in their binary mixture.

PubMed

Lotfy, Hayam Mahmoud; Salem, Hesham; Abdelkawy, Mohammad; Samir, Ahmed

2015-04-05

Five spectrophotometric methods were successfully developed and validated for the determination of betamethasone valerate and fusidic acid in their binary mixture. Those methods are isoabsorptive point method combined with the first derivative (ISO Point--D1) and the recently developed and well established methods namely ratio difference (RD) and constant center coupled with spectrum subtraction (CC) methods, in addition to derivative ratio (1DD) and mean centering of ratio spectra (MCR). New enrichment technique called spectrum addition technique was used instead of traditional spiking technique. The proposed spectrophotometric procedures do not require any separation steps. Accuracy, precision and linearity ranges of the proposed methods were determined and the specificity was assessed by analyzing synthetic mixtures of both drugs. They were applied to their pharmaceutical formulation and the results obtained were statistically compared to that of official methods. The statistical comparison showed that there is no significant difference between the proposed methods and the official ones regarding both accuracy and precision. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

TBDQ: A Pragmatic Task-Based Method to Data Quality Assessment and Improvement

PubMed Central

Vaziri, Reza; Mohsenzadeh, Mehran; Habibi, Jafar

2016-01-01

Organizations are increasingly accepting data quality (DQ) as a major key to their success. In order to assess and improve DQ, methods have been devised. Many of these methods attempt to raise DQ by directly manipulating low quality data. Such methods operate reactively and are suitable for organizations with highly developed integrated systems. However, there is a lack of a proactive DQ method for businesses with weak IT infrastructure where data quality is largely affected by tasks that are performed by human agents. This study aims to develop and evaluate a new method for structured data, which is simple and practical so that it can easily be applied to real world situations. The new method detects the potentially risky tasks within a process, and adds new improving tasks to counter them. To achieve continuous improvement, an award system is also developed to help with the better selection of the proposed improving tasks. The task-based DQ method (TBDQ) is most appropriate for small and medium organizations, and simplicity in implementation is one of its most prominent features. TBDQ is case studied in an international trade company. The case study shows that TBDQ is effective in selecting optimal activities for DQ improvement in terms of cost and improvement. PMID:27192547

Validated flow-injection method for rapid aluminium determination in anti-perspirants.

PubMed

López-Gonzálvez, A; Ruiz, M A; Barbas, C

2008-09-29

A flow-injection (FI) method for the rapid determination of aluminium in anti-perspirants has been developed. The method is based on the spectrophotometric detection at 535nm of the complex formed between Al ions and the chromogenic reagent eriochrome cyanine R. Both the batch and FI methods were validated by checking the parameters included in the ISO-3543-1 regulation. Variables involved in the FI method were optimized by using appropriate statistical tools. The method does not exhibit interference from other substances present in anti-perspirants and it shows a high precision with a R.S.D. value (n=6) of 0.9%. Moreover, the accuracy of the method was evaluated by comparison with a back complexometric titration method, which is currently used for routine analysis in pharmaceutical laboratories. The Student's t-test showed that the results obtained by both methods were not significantly different for a significance level of 95%. A response time of 12s and a sample analysis time, by performing triplicate injections, of 60s were achieved. The analytical figures of merit make the method highly appropriate to substitute the time-consuming complexometric method for this kind of analysis.

Energy-Based Metrics for Arthroscopic Skills Assessment.

PubMed

Poursartip, Behnaz; LeBel, Marie-Eve; McCracken, Laura C; Escoto, Abelardo; Patel, Rajni V; Naish, Michael D; Trejos, Ana Luisa

2017-08-05

Minimally invasive skills assessment methods are essential in developing efficient surgical simulators and implementing consistent skills evaluation. Although numerous methods have been investigated in the literature, there is still a need to further improve the accuracy of surgical skills assessment. Energy expenditure can be an indication of motor skills proficiency. The goals of this study are to develop objective metrics based on energy expenditure, normalize these metrics, and investigate classifying trainees using these metrics. To this end, different forms of energy consisting of mechanical energy and work were considered and their values were divided by the related value of an ideal performance to develop normalized metrics. These metrics were used as inputs for various machine learning algorithms including support vector machines (SVM) and neural networks (NNs) for classification. The accuracy of the combination of the normalized energy-based metrics with these classifiers was evaluated through a leave-one-subject-out cross-validation. The proposed method was validated using 26 subjects at two experience levels (novices and experts) in three arthroscopic tasks. The results showed that there are statistically significant differences between novices and experts for almost all of the normalized energy-based metrics. The accuracy of classification using SVM and NN methods was between 70% and 95% for the various tasks. The results show that the normalized energy-based metrics and their combination with SVM and NN classifiers are capable of providing accurate classification of trainees. The assessment method proposed in this study can enhance surgical training by providing appropriate feedback to trainees about their level of expertise and can be used in the evaluation of proficiency.

Detection of Anatoxin-a and Three Analogs in Anabaena spp. Cultures: New Fluorescence Polarization Assay and Toxin Profile by LC-MS/MS

PubMed Central

Sanchez, Jon A.; Otero, Paz; Alfonso, Amparo; Ramos, Vitor; Vasconcelos, Vitor; Aráoz, Romulo; Molgó, Jordi; Vieytes, Mercedes R.; Botana, Luis M.

2014-01-01

Anatoxin-a (ATX) is a potent neurotoxin produced by several species of Anabaena spp. Cyanobacteria blooms around the world have been increasing in recent years; therefore, it is urgent to develop sensitive techniques that unequivocally confirm the presence of these toxins in fresh water and cyanobacterial samples. In addition, the identification of different ATX analogues is essential to later determine its toxicity. In this paper we designed a fluorescent polarization (FP) method to detect ATXs in water samples. A nicotinic acetylcholine receptor (nAChR) labeled with a fluorescein derivative was used to develop this assay. Data showed a direct relationship between the amount of toxin in a sample and the changes in the polarization degree of the emitted light by the labeled nAChR, indicating an interaction between the two molecules. This method was used to measure the amount of ATX in three Anabaena spp. cultures. Results indicate that it is a good method to show ATXs presence in algal samples. In order to check the toxin profile of Anabaena cultures a LC-MS/MS method was also developed. Within this new method, ATX-a, retention time (RT) 5 min, and three other molecules with a mass m/z 180.1 eluting at 4.14 min, 5.90 min and 7.14 min with MS/MS spectra characteristic of ATX toxin group not previously identified were detected in the Anabaena spp. cultures. These ATX analogues may have an important role in the toxicity of the sample. PMID:24469431

Microscopic Fuel Particles Produced by Self-Assembly of Actinide Nanoclusters on Carbon Nanomaterials

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

Na, Chongzheng

2016-10-17

Many consider further development of nuclear power to be essential for sustained development of society; however, the fuel forms currently used are expensive to recycle. In this project, we sought to create the knowledge and knowhow that are needed to produce nanocomposite materials by directly depositing uranium nanoclusters on networks of carbon-­ based nanomaterials. The objectives of the proposed work were to (1) determine the control of uranium nanocluster surface chemistry on nanocomposite formation, (2) determine the control of carbon nanomaterial surface chemistry on nanocomposite formation, and (3) develop protocols for synthesizing uranium-­carbon nanomaterials. After examining a wide variety ofmore » synthetic methods, we show that synthesizing graphene-­supported UO 2 nanocrystals in polar ethylene glycol compounds by polyol reduction under boiling reflux can enable the use of an inexpensive graphene precursor graphene oxide in the production of uranium-carbon nanocomposites in a one-­pot process. We further show that triethylene glycol is the most suitable solvent for producing nanometer-­sized UO 2 crystals compared to monoethylene glycol, diethylene glycol, and polyethylene glycol. Graphene-­supported UO 2 nanocrystals synthesized with triethylene glycol show evidence of heteroepitaxy, which can be beneficial for facilitating heat transfer in nuclear fuel particles. Furthermore, we show that graphene-supported UO 2 nanocrystals synthesized by polyol reduction can be readily stored in alcohols, preventing oxidation from the prevalent oxygen in air. Together, these methods provide a facile approach for preparing and storing graphene-supported UO nanocrystals for further investigation and development under ambient conditions.« less

PRINTING TECHNIQUES: RECENT DEVELOPMENTS IN PHARMACEUTICAL TECHNOLOGY.

PubMed

Jamroz, Witold; Kurek, Mateusz; Lyszczarz, Ewelina; Brniak, Witold; Jachowicz, Renata

2017-05-01

In the last few years there has been a huge progress in a development of printing techniques and their application in pharmaceutical sciences and particularly in the pharmaceutical technology. The variety of printing methods makes it necessary to systemize them, explain the principles of operation, and specify the possibilities of their use in pharmaceutical technology. This paper aims to review the printing techniques used in a drug development process. The growing interest in 2D and 3D printing methods results in continuously increasing number of scientific papers. Introduction of the first printed drug Spritam@ to the market seems to be a milestone of the 3D printing development. Thus, a particular aim of this review is to show the latest achievements of the researchers in the field of the printing medicines.

Chemometric-assisted spectrophotometric methods and high performance liquid chromatography for simultaneous determination of seven β-blockers in their pharmaceutical products: A comparative study

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Abdel Hameed, Eman A.; Abdel Salam, Randa A.; Hadad, Ghada M.

2015-04-01

Chemometric-assisted spectrophotometric methods and high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) were developed for the simultaneous determination of the seven most commonly prescribed β-blockers (atenolol, sotalol, metoprolol, bisoprolol, propranolol, carvedilol and nebivolol). Principal component regression PCR, partial least square PLS and PLS with previous wavelength selection by genetic algorithm (GA-PLS) were used for chemometric analysis of spectral data of these drugs. The compositions of the mixtures used in the calibration set were varied to cover the linearity ranges 0.7-10 μg ml-1 for AT, 1-15 μg ml-1 for ST, 1-15 μg ml-1 for MT, 0.3-5 μg ml-1 for BS, 0.1-3 μg ml-1 for PR, 0.1-3 μg ml-1 for CV and 0.7-5 μg ml-1 for NB. The analytical performances of these chemometric methods were characterized by relative prediction errors and were compared with each other. GA-PLS showed superiority over the other applied multivariate methods due to the wavelength selection. A new gradient HPLC method had been developed using statistical experimental design. Optimum conditions of separation were determined with the aid of central composite design. The developed HPLC method was found to be linear in the range of 0.2-20 μg ml-1 for AT, 0.2-20 μg ml-1 for ST, 0.1-15 μg ml-1 for MT, 0.1-15 μg ml-1 for BS, 0.1-13 μg ml-1 for PR, 0.1-13 μg ml-1 for CV and 0.4-20 μg ml-1 for NB. No significant difference between the results of the proposed GA-PLS and HPLC methods with respect to accuracy and precision. The proposed analytical methods did not show any interference of the excipients when applied to pharmaceutical products.

A Study of Method Development, Validation, and Forced Degradation for Simultaneous Quantification of Paracetamol and Ibuprofen in Pharmaceutical Dosage Form by RP-HPLC Method

PubMed Central

Jahan, Md. Sarowar; Islam, Md. Jahirul; Begum, Rehana; Kayesh, Ruhul; Rahman, Asma

2014-01-01

A rapid and stability-indicating reversed phase high-performance liquid chromatography (RP-HPLC) method was developed for simultaneous quantification of paracetamol and ibuprofen in their combined dosage form especially to get some more advantages over other methods already developed for this combination. The method was validated according to United States Pharmacopeia (USP) guideline with respect to accuracy, precision, specificity, linearity, solution stability, robustness, sensitivity, and system suitability. Forced degradation study was validated according to International Conference on Harmonisation (ICH). For this, an isocratic condition of mobile phase comprising phosphate buffer (pH 6.8) and acetonitrile in a ratio of 65:35, v/v at a flow rate of 0.7 mL/minute over RP C18 (octadecylsilane (ODS), 150 × 4.6 mm, 5 μm, Phenomenex Inc.) column at ambient temperature was maintained. The method showed excellent linear response with correlation coefficient (R2) values of 0.999 and 1.0 for paracetamol and ibuprofen respectively, which were within the limit of correlation coefficient (R2 > 0.995). The percent recoveries for two drugs were found within the acceptance limit of (97.0–103.0%). Intra-and inter-day precision studies of the new method were less than the maximum allowable limit percentage of relative standard deviation (%RSD) ≤ 2.0. Forced degradation of the drug product was carried out as per the ICH guidelines with a view to establishing the stability-indicating property of this method and providing useful information about the degradation pathways, degradation products, and how the quality of a drug substance and drug product changes with time under the influence of various stressing conditions. The degradation of ibuprofen was within the limit (5–20%, according to the guideline of ICH), while paracetamol showed <20% degradation in oxidation and basic condition. PMID:25452691

A Study of Method Development, Validation, and Forced Degradation for Simultaneous Quantification of Paracetamol and Ibuprofen in Pharmaceutical Dosage Form by RP-HPLC Method.

PubMed

Jahan, Md Sarowar; Islam, Md Jahirul; Begum, Rehana; Kayesh, Ruhul; Rahman, Asma

2014-01-01

A rapid and stability-indicating reversed phase high-performance liquid chromatography (RP-HPLC) method was developed for simultaneous quantification of paracetamol and ibuprofen in their combined dosage form especially to get some more advantages over other methods already developed for this combination. The method was validated according to United States Pharmacopeia (USP) guideline with respect to accuracy, precision, specificity, linearity, solution stability, robustness, sensitivity, and system suitability. Forced degradation study was validated according to International Conference on Harmonisation (ICH). For this, an isocratic condition of mobile phase comprising phosphate buffer (pH 6.8) and acetonitrile in a ratio of 65:35, v/v at a flow rate of 0.7 mL/minute over RP C18 (octadecylsilane (ODS), 150 × 4.6 mm, 5 μm, Phenomenex Inc.) column at ambient temperature was maintained. The method showed excellent linear response with correlation coefficient (R (2)) values of 0.999 and 1.0 for paracetamol and ibuprofen respectively, which were within the limit of correlation coefficient (R (2) > 0.995). The percent recoveries for two drugs were found within the acceptance limit of (97.0-103.0%). Intra-and inter-day precision studies of the new method were less than the maximum allowable limit percentage of relative standard deviation (%RSD) ≤ 2.0. Forced degradation of the drug product was carried out as per the ICH guidelines with a view to establishing the stability-indicating property of this method and providing useful information about the degradation pathways, degradation products, and how the quality of a drug substance and drug product changes with time under the influence of various stressing conditions. The degradation of ibuprofen was within the limit (5-20%, according to the guideline of ICH), while paracetamol showed <20% degradation in oxidation and basic condition.

A rapid method of accurate detection and differentiation of Newcastle disease virus pathotypes by demonstrating multiple bands in degenerate primer based nested RT-PCR.

PubMed

Desingu, P A; Singh, S D; Dhama, K; Kumar, O R Vinodh; Singh, R; Singh, R K

2015-02-01

A rapid and accurate method of detection and differentiation of virulent and avirulent Newcastle disease virus (NDV) pathotypes was developed. The NDV detection was carried out for different domestic avian field isolates and pigeon paramyxo virus-1 (25 field isolates and 9 vaccine strains) by using APMV-I "fusion" (F) gene Class II specific external primer A and B (535bp), internal primer C and D (238bp) based reverses transcriptase PCR (RT-PCR). The internal degenerative reverse primer D is specific for F gene cleavage position of virulent strain of NDV. The nested RT-PCR products of avirulent strains showed two bands (535bp and 424bp) while virulent strains showed four bands (535bp, 424bp, 349bp and 238bp) on agar gel electrophoresis. This is the first report regarding development and use of degenerate primer based nested RT-PCR for accurate detection and differentiation of NDV pathotypes by demonstrating multiple PCR band patterns. Being a rapid, simple, and economical test, the developed method could serve as a valuable alternate diagnostic tool for characterizing NDV isolates and carrying out molecular epidemiological surveillance studies for this important pathogen of poultry. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Test method development to evaluate hot, humid air decontamination of materials contaminated with Bacillus anthracis ∆Sterne and B. thuringiensis Al Hakam spores.

PubMed

Buhr, T L; Young, A A; Minter, Z A; Wells, C M; McPherson, D C; Hooban, C L; Johnson, C A; Prokop, E J; Crigler, J R

2012-11-01

To develop test methods and evaluate the survival of Bacillus anthracis ∆Sterne and Bacillus thuringiensis Al Hakam spores after exposure to hot, humid air. Spores (>7 logs) of both strains were dried on six different test materials. Response surface methodology was employed to identify the limits of spore survival at optimal test combinations of temperature (60, 68, 77°C), relative humidity (60, 75, 90%) and time (1, 4, 7 days). No spores survived the harshest test run (77°C, 90% r.h., 7 days), while > 6·5 logs of spores survived the mildest test run (60°C, 60% r.h., 1 day). Spores of both strains inoculated on nylon webbing and polypropylene had greater survival rates at 68°C, 75% r.h., 4 days than spores on other materials. Electron microscopy showed no obvious physical damage to spores using hot, humid air, which contrasted with pH-adjusted bleach decontamination. Test methods were developed to show that hot, humid air effectively inactivates B. anthracis ∆Sterne and B. thuringiensis Al Hakam spores with similar kinetics. Hot, humid air is a potential alternative to conventional chemical decontamination. © 2012 The Authors Journal of Applied Microbiology © 2012 The Society for Applied Microbiology.

Stir bar sorptive extraction of diclofenac from liquid formulations: a proof of concept study.

PubMed

Kole, Prashant Laxman; Millership, Jeff; McElnay, James C

2011-03-25

A new stir bar sorptive extraction (SBSE) technique coupled with HPLC-UV method for quantification of diclofenac in pharmaceutical formulations has been developed and validated as a proof of concept study. Commercially available polydimethylsiloxane stir bars (Twister™) were used for method development and SBSE extraction (pH, phase ratio, stirring speed, temperature, ionic strength and time) and liquid desorption (solvents, desorption method, stirring time etc) procedures were optimised. The method was validated as per ICH guidelines and was successfully applied for the estimation of diclofenac from three liquid formulations viz. Voltarol(®) Optha single dose eye drops, Voltarol(®) Ophtha multidose eye drops and Voltarol(®) ampoules. The developed method was found to be linear (r=0.9999) over 100-2000ng/ml concentration range with acceptable accuracy and precision (tested over three QC concentrations). The SBSE extraction recovery of the diclofenac was found to be 70% and the LOD and LOQ of the validated method were found to be 16.06 and 48.68ng/ml, respectively. Furthermore, a forced degradation study of a diclofenac formulation leading to the formation of structurally similar cyclic impurity (indolinone) was carried out. The developed extraction method showed comparable results to that of the reference method, i.e. method was capable of selectively extracting the indolinone and diclofenac from the liquid matrix. Data on inter and intra stir bar accuracy and precision further confirmed robustness of the method, supporting the multiple re-use of the stir bars. Copyright © 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

[Assessment of ecological environment effects of coastal development in Hebei Province, China].

PubMed

Cui, Li-Tuo; Li, Zhi-Wei

2014-07-01

Through the analysis of the development activities and the ecological environment in coastal of Hebei Province, China, an index system for evaluating the ecological environment effect, composed of 28 indices, was set up by the pressure, state and response subsystems. Using the comprehensive index evaluation method, the integrated effects of ecological environment index (EI) was calculated and its grading criterion was founded. The results showed that the ecological environment effect of Hebei Province coastal development varied from being relatively small, normal and then relatively large from 1984 to 2010, and its acceptance degree evolved from being acceptable to being unacceptable. Because the resource and environment pressures caused by coastal development were serious and a delay existed in the state relative to the response, the improvement of various measures in the response subsystem did not show a positive effect on the state, and the environmental quality of ocean showed a degrading trend. Due to the differences in coastal development pattern and strength, the ecological environment effect of development activities showed some spatial differences. The ecological environment effect of Qinhuangdao coastal development was the minimum, followed by Cangzhou and Tangshan. Cangzhou and Tangshan had reached unacceptable levels and needed to further strengthen the restoration and protection of ecological environment.

Extended capture range for focus-diverse phase retrieval in segmented aperture systems using geometrical optics.

PubMed

Jurling, Alden S; Fienup, James R

2014-03-01

Extending previous work by Thurman on wavefront sensing for segmented-aperture systems, we developed an algorithm for estimating segment tips and tilts from multiple point spread functions in different defocused planes. We also developed methods for overcoming two common modes for stagnation in nonlinear optimization-based phase retrieval algorithms for segmented systems. We showed that when used together, these methods largely solve the capture range problem in focus-diverse phase retrieval for segmented systems with large tips and tilts. Monte Carlo simulations produced a rate of success better than 98% for the combined approach.

Microbial production of the drugs violacein and deoxyviolacein: analytical development and strain comparison.

PubMed

Rodrigues, André L; Göcke, Yvonne; Bolten, Christoph; Brock, Nelson L; Dickschat, Jeroen S; Wittmann, Christoph

2012-04-01

Violacein and deoxyviolacein display a broad range of interesting biological properties but their production is rarely distinguished due to the lack of suitable analytical methods. An HPLC method has been developed for the separation and quantification of violacein and deoxyviolacein and can determine the content of both molecules in microbial cultures. A comparison of different production microorganisms, including recombinant Escherichia coli and the natural producer Janthinobacterium lividum, revealed that the formation of violacein and deoxyviolacein is strain-specific but showed significant variation during growth although the ratio between the two compounds remained constant.

Design and Development of the Trash Spliter with Three Different Sensors

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Perangin Angin, Despaleri; Siagian, Hendrik; Dodi Suryanto, Eka; Sashanti, Rahayu; Marcopolo

2018-04-01

Abstract. Trash has become a major problem in everyday life. Until now there is no right method to handle it. This paper discusses a method of development of the trash splitter with three different sensors. There are three sensors are used infrared, metal, and light sensors. The results obtained are more effective with the results obtained show the devices have similar accuracy garbage sorting is a metal (98%), organic (26.67%), paper (32%), and plastics (58%). The accuracy of the mixed waste sorting is a metal (94.67%), organic (28%), paper (12%), and plastics (41.3%).

Development and Application of On-line Monitor for the ZLW-1 Axis Cracks

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Shi-jun, Yang; Qian-hui, Yang; Jian-guo, Jin

2018-03-01

This article mainly introduces a method that uses acoustic emission techniques to achieve on-line monitor for the shaft cracks and crack growth. According to this method, axis crack monitor is produced by acoustic emission techniques. This instrument can apply to all the pressure vessels, pipelines and rotor machines that can bear buckling load. It has the online real-time monitoring, automatic recording, printing, sound and light alarm, collecting crack information function. After a series of tests in both laboratory and field, it shows that this instrument is very versatile and possesses broad prospects of development and application.

SBIR-Long fluoride fiber

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jaeger, Raymond E.; Vacha, Lubos J.

1987-08-01

This report summarizes results obtained under a program aimed at developing new techniques for fabricating long lengths of heavy metal fluoride glass (HMFG) optical fiber. A new method for overcladding conventional HMFG preforms with a low melting oxide glass was developed, and improvements in the rotational casting method were made to increase preform length. The resulting composite glass canes consist of a fluoride glass overcoat layer to enhance strength and chemical durability. To show feasibility, prototype optical fiber preforms up to 1.6 cm in diameter with lengths of 22 cm were fabricated. These were drawn into optical fibers with lengths up to 900 meters.

Near-infrared microscopic methods for the detection and quantification of processed by-products of animal origin

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Abbas, O.; Fernández Pierna, J. A.; Dardenne, P.; Baeten, V.

2010-04-01

Since the BSE crisis, researches concern mainly the detection, identification, and quantification of meat and bone meal with an important focus on the development of new analytical methods. Microscopic based spectroscopy methods (NIR microscopy - NIRM or/and NIR hyperspectral imaging) have been proposed as complementary methods to the official method; the optical microscopy. NIR spectroscopy offers the advantage of being rapid, accurate and independent of human analyst skills. The combination of an NIR detector and a microscope or a camera allows the collection of high quality spectra for small feed particles having a size larger than 50 μm. Several studies undertaken have demonstrated the clear potential of NIR microscopic methods for the detection of animal particles in both raw and sediment fractions. Samples are sieved and only the gross fraction (superior than 250 μm) is investigated. Proposed methodologies have been developed to assure, with an acceptable level of confidence (95%), the detection of at least one animal particle when a feed sample is adulterated at a level of 0.1%. NIRM and NIR hyperspectral imaging are running under accreditation ISO 17025 since 2005 at CRA-W. A quantitative NIRM approach has been developed in order to fulfill the new requirements of the European commission policies. The capacities of NIRM method have been improved; only the raw fraction is analyzed, both the gross and the fine fractions of the samples are considered, and the acquisition parameters are optimized (the aperture, the gap, and the composition of the animal feed). A mapping method for a faster collection of spectra is also developed. The aim of this work is to show the new advances in the analytical methods developed in the frame of the feed ban applied in Europe.

Development of acceptance criteria for batches of silane primer for external tank thermal protection system bonding applications

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Mikes, F.

1984-01-01

Silane primers for use as thermal protection on external tanks were subjected to various analytic techniques to determine the most effective testing method for silane lot evaluation. The analytic methods included high performance liquid chromatography, gas chromatography, thermogravimetry (TGA), and fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). It is suggested that FTIR be used as the method for silane lot evaluation. Chromatograms, TGA profiles, bar graphs showing IR absorbances, and FTIR spectra are presented.

Estimating the Post-Mortem Interval of skeletonized remains: The use of Infrared spectroscopy and Raman spectro-microscopy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Creagh, Dudley; Cameron, Alyce

2017-08-01

When skeletonized remains are found it becomes a police task to determine to identify the body and establish the cause of death. It assists investigators if the Post-Mortem Interval (PMI) can be established. Hitherto no reliable qualitative method of estimating the PMI has been found. A quantitative method has yet to be developed. This paper shows that IR spectroscopy and Raman microscopy have the potential to form the basis of a quantitative method.

A thermoluminescent method for aerosol characterization

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Long, E. R., Jr.; Rogowski, R. S.

1976-01-01

A thermoluminescent method has been used to study the interactions of aerosols with ozone. The preliminary results show that ozone reacts with many compounds found in aerosols, and that the thermoluminescence curves obtained from ozonated aerosols are characteristic of the aerosol. The results suggest several important applications of the thermoluminescent method: development of a detector for identification of effluent sources; a sensitive experimental tool for study of heterogeneous chemistry; evaluation of importance of aerosols in atmospheric chemistry; and study of formation of toxic, electronically excited species in airborne particles.

Clinical applications of angiocardiography

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Dodge, H. T.; Sandler, H.

1974-01-01

Several tables are presented giving left ventricular (LV) data for normal patients and patients with heart disease of varied etiologies, pointing out the salient features. Graphs showing LV pressure-volume relationships (compliance) are presented and discussed. The method developed by Rackley et al. (1964) for determining left ventricular mass in man is described, and limitations to the method are discussed. Some clinical methods for determining LV oxygen consumption are briefly described, and the relation of various abnormalities of ventricular performance to coronary artery disease and ischemic heart disease is characterized.

Application of linearized inverse scattering methods for the inspection in steel plates embedded in concrete structures

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tsunoda, Takaya; Suzuki, Keigo; Saitoh, Takahiro

2018-04-01

This study develops a method to visualize the state of steel-concrete interface with ultrasonic testing. Scattered waves are obtained by the UT pitch-catch mode from the surface of the concrete. Discrete wavelet transform is applied in order to extract echoes scattered from the steel-concrete interface. Then Linearized Inverse Scattering Methods are used for imaging the interface. The results show that LISM with Born and Kirchhoff approximation provide clear images for the target.

Properties of fiber reinforced plastics about static and dynamic loadings

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kudinov, Vladimir V.; Korneeva, Natalia V.

2016-05-01

A method for investigation of impact toughness of anisotropic polymer composite materials (reinforced plastics) with the help of CM model sample in the configuration of microplastic (micro plastic) and impact pendulum-type testing machine under static and dynamic loadings has been developed. The method is called "Break by Impact" (Impact Break IB). The estimation of impact resistance CFRP by this method showed that an increase in loading velocity ~104 times the largest changes occurs in impact toughness and deformation ability of a material.

Transfer Function Identification Using Orthogonal Fourier Transform Modeling Functions

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Morelli, Eugene A.

2013-01-01

A method for transfer function identification, including both model structure determination and parameter estimation, was developed and demonstrated. The approach uses orthogonal modeling functions generated from frequency domain data obtained by Fourier transformation of time series data. The method was applied to simulation data to identify continuous-time transfer function models and unsteady aerodynamic models. Model fit error, estimated model parameters, and the associated uncertainties were used to show the effectiveness of the method for identifying accurate transfer function models from noisy data.

Nonlinear rotordynamics analysis. [Space Shuttle Main Engine turbopumps

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Noah, Sherif T.

1991-01-01

Effective analysis tools were developed for predicting the nonlinear rotordynamic behavior of the Space Shuttle Main Engine (SSME) turbopumps under steady and transient operating conditions. Using these methods, preliminary parametric studies were conducted on both generic and actual HPOTP (high pressure oxygen turbopump) models. In particular, a novel modified harmonic balance/alternating Fourier transform (HB/AFT) method was developed and used to conduct a preliminary study of the effects of fluid, bearing and seal forces on the unbalanced response of a multi-disk rotor in the presence of bearing clearances. The method makes it possible to determine periodic, sub-, super-synchronous and chaotic responses of a rotor system. The method also yields information about the stability of the obtained response, thus allowing bifurcation analyses. This provides a more effective capability for predicting the response under transient conditions by searching in proximity of resonance peaks. Preliminary results were also obtained for the nonlinear transient response of an actual HPOTP model using an efficient, newly developed numerical method based on convolution integration. Currently, the HB/AFT is being extended for determining the aperiodic response of nonlinear systems. Initial results show the method to be promising.

Development of spectrofluorimetric method for determination of certain aminoglycoside drugs in dosage forms and human plasma through condensation with ninhydrin and phenyl acetaldehyde.

PubMed

Omar, Mahmoud A; Hammad, Mohamed A; Nagy, Dalia M; Aly, Alshymaa A

2015-02-05

A simple and sensitive spectrofluorimetric method has been developed and validated for determination of amikacin sulfate, neomycin sulfate and tobramycin in pure forms, pharmaceutical formulations and human plasma. The method was based on condensation reaction of cited drugs with ninhydrin and phenylacetaldehyde in buffered medium (pH 6) resulting in formation of fluorescent products which exhibit excitation and emission maxima at 395 and 470nm, respectively. The different experimental parameters affecting the development and stability of the reaction products were carefully studied and optimized. The calibration plots were constructed with good correlation coefficients (0.9993 for tobramycin and 0.9996 for both neomycin and amikacin). The proposed method was successfully applied for the analysis of cited drugs in dosage forms with high accuracy (98.33-101.7)±(0.80-1.26)%. The results show an excellent agreement with the reference method, indicating no significant difference in accuracy and precision. Due to its high sensitivity, the proposed method was applied successfully for determination of amikacin in real human plasma. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Development and Validation of Different Ultraviolet-Spectrophotometric Methods for the Estimation of Besifloxacin in Different Simulated Body Fluids.

PubMed

Singh, C L; Singh, A; Kumar, S; Kumar, M; Sharma, P K; Majumdar, D K

2015-01-01

In the present study a simple, accurate, precise, economical and specific UV-spectrophotometric method for estimation of besifloxacin in bulk and in different pharmaceutical formulation has been developed. The drug shows maximum λmax289 nm in distilled water, simulated tears and phosphate buffer saline. The linearity range of developed methods were in the range of 3-30 μg/ml of drug with a correlation coefficient (r(2)) 0.9992, 0.9989 and 0.9984 with respect to distilled water, simulated tears and phosphate buffer saline, respectively. Reproducibility by repeating methods as %RSD were found to be less than 2%. The limit of detection in different media was found to be 0.62, 0.72 and 0.88 μg/ml, respectively. The limit of quantification was found to be 1.88, 2.10, 2.60 μg/ml, respectively. The proposed method was validated statically according to International Conference on Harmonization guidelines with respect to specificity, linearity, range, accuracy, precision and robustness. The proposed methods of validation were found to be accurate and highly specific for the estimation of besifloxacin in different pharmaceutical formulations.

Technology development of high-quality semiconductor devices using solution-processed crystallization of pentacene

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Liu, Hung-Wei

Organic electronic materials and processing techniques have attracted considerable attention for developing organic thin-film transistors (OTFTs), since they may be patterned on flexible substrates which may be bent into a variety of shapes for applications such as displays, smart cards, solar devices and sensors Various fabrication methods for building pentacene-based OTFTs have been demonstrated. Traditional vacuum deposition and vapor deposition methods have been studied for deposition on plastic and paper, but these are unlikely to scale well to large area printing. Researchers have developed methods for processing OTFTs from solution because of the potential for low-cost and large area device manufacturing, such as through inkjet or offset printing. Most methods require the use of precursors which are used to make pentacene soluble, and these methods have typically produced much lower carrier mobility than the best vacuum deposited devices. We have investigated devices built from solution-processed pentacene that is locally crystallized at room temperature on the polymer substrates. Pentacene crystals grown in this manner are highly localized at pre-determined sites, have good crystallinity and show good carrier mobility, making this an attractive method for large area manufacturing of semiconductor devices.

Time-dependent and outflow boundary conditions for Dissipative Particle Dynamics

PubMed Central

Lei, Huan; Fedosov, Dmitry A.; Karniadakis, George Em

2011-01-01

We propose a simple method to impose both no-slip boundary conditions at fluid-wall interfaces and at outflow boundaries in fully developed regions for Dissipative Particle Dynamics (DPD) fluid systems. The procedure to enforce the no-slip condition is based on a velocity-dependent shear force, which is a generalized force to represent the presence of the solid-wall particles and to maintain locally thermodynamic consistency. We show that this method can be implemented in both steady and time-dependent fluid systems and compare the DPD results with the continuum limit (Navier-Stokes) results. We also develop a force-adaptive method to impose the outflow boundary conditions for fully developed flow with unspecified outflow velocity profile or pressure value. We study flows over the backward-facing step and in idealized arterial bifurcations using a combination of the two new boundary methods with different flow rates. Finally, we explore the applicability of the outflow method in time-dependent flow systems. The outflow boundary method works well for systems with Womersley number of O(1), i.e., when the pressure and flowrate at the outflow are approximately in-phase. PMID:21499548

Bridge Displacement Monitoring Method Based on Laser Projection-Sensing Technology

PubMed Central

Zhao, Xuefeng; Liu, Hao; Yu, Yan; Xu, Xiaodong; Hu, Weitong; Li, Mingchu; Ou, Jingping

2015-01-01

Bridge displacement is the most basic evaluation index of the health status of a bridge structure. The existing measurement methods for bridge displacement basically fail to realize long-term and real-time dynamic monitoring of bridge structures, because of the low degree of automation and the insufficient precision, causing bottlenecks and restriction. To solve this problem, we proposed a bridge displacement monitoring system based on laser projection-sensing technology. First, the laser spot recognition method was studied. Second, the software for the displacement monitoring system was developed. Finally, a series of experiments using this system were conducted, and the results show that such a system has high measurement accuracy and speed. We aim to develop a low-cost, high-accuracy and long-term monitoring method for bridge displacement based on these preliminary efforts. PMID:25871716

Effective PCR detection of animal species in highly processed animal byproducts and compound feeds.

PubMed

Fumière, Olivier; Dubois, Marc; Baeten, Vincent; von Holst, Christoph; Berben, Gilbert

2006-07-01

In this paper we present a polymerase chain reaction (PCR)-based method for detecting meat and bone meal (MBM) in compound feedingstuffs. By choosing adequate DNA targets from an appropriate localisation in the genome, the real-time PCR method developed here proved to be robust to severe heat treatment of the MBM, showing high sensitivity in the detection of MBM. The method developed here permits the specific detection of processed pig and cattle materials treated at 134 degrees C in various feed matrices down to a limit of detection of about 0.1%. This technique has also been successfully applied to well-characterised MBM samples heated to as high as 141 degrees C, as well as to various blind feed samples with very low MBM contents. Finally, the method also passed several official European ring trials.

Development of a fast screening and confirmatory method by liquid chromatography-quadrupole-time-of-flight mass spectrometry for glucuronide-conjugated methyltestosterone metabolite in tilapia.

PubMed

Amarasinghe, Kande; Chu, Pak-Sin; Evans, Eric; Reimschuessel, Renate; Hasbrouck, Nicholas; Jayasuriya, Hiranthi

2012-05-23

This paper describes the development of a fast method to screen and confirm methyltestosterone 17-O-glucuronide (MT-glu) in tilapia bile. The method consists of solid-phase extraction (SPE) followed by high-performance liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry. The system used was an Agilent 6530 Q-TOF with an Agilent Jet stream electrospray ionization interface. The glucuronide detected in the bile was characterized as MT-glu by comparison with a chemically synthesized standard. MT-glu was detected in bile for up to 7 days after dosing. Semiquantification was done with matrix-matched calibration curves, because MT-glu showed signal suppression due to matrix effects. This method provides a suitable tool to monitor the illegal use of methyltestosterone in tilapia culture.

Bacteriocidal activity of sanitizers against Enterococcus faecium attached to stainless steel as determined by plate count and impedance methods.

PubMed

Andrade, N J; Bridgeman, T A; Zottola, E A

1998-07-01

Enterococcus faecium attached to stainless steel chips (100 mm2) was treated with the following sanitizers: sodium hypochlorite, peracetic acid (PA), peracetic acid plus an organic acid (PAS), quaternary ammonium, organic acid, and anionic acid. The effectiveness of sanitizer solutions on planktonic cells (not attached) was evaluated by the Association of Official Analytical Chemists (AOAC) suspension test. The number of attached cells was determined by impedance measurement and plate count method after vortexing. The decimal reduction (DR) in numbers of the E. faecium population was determined for the three methods and was analyzed by analysis of variance (P < 0.05) using Statview software. The adhered cells were more resistant (P < 0.05) than nonadherent cells. The DR averages for all of the sanitizers for 30 s of exposure were 6.4, 2.2, and 2.5 for the AOAC suspension test, plate count method after vortexing, and impedance measurement, respectively. Plate count and impedance methods showed a difference (P < 0.05) after 30 s of sanitizer exposure but not after 2 min. The impedance measurement was the best method to measure adherent cells. Impedance measurement required the development of a quadratic regression. The equation developed from 82 samples is as follows: log CFU/chip = 0.2385T2-0.96T + 9.35, r2 = 0.92, P < 0.05, T = impedance detection time in hours. This method showed that the sanitizers PAS and PA were more effective against E. faecium than the other sanitizers. At 30 s, the impedance method recovered about 25 times more cells than the plate count method after vortexing. These data suggest that impedance measurement is the method of choice when evaluating the number of bacterial cells adhered to a surface.

Application of age estimation methods based on teeth eruption: how easy is Olze method to use?

PubMed

De Angelis, D; Gibelli, D; Merelli, V; Botto, M; Ventura, F; Cattaneo, C

2014-09-01

The development of new methods for age estimation has become with time an urgent issue because of the increasing immigration, in order to estimate accurately the age of those subjects who lack valid identity documents. Methods of age estimation are divided in skeletal and dental ones, and among the latter, Olze's method is one of the most recent, since it was introduced in 2010 with the aim to identify the legal age of 18 and 21 years by evaluating the different stages of development of the periodontal ligament of the third molars with closed root apices. The present study aims at verifying the applicability of the method to the daily forensic practice, with special focus on the interobserver repeatability. Olze's method was applied by three different observers (two physicians and one dentist without a specific training in Olze's method) to 61 orthopantomograms from subjects of mixed ethnicity aged between 16 and 51 years. The analysis took into consideration the lower third molars. The results provided by the different observers were then compared in order to verify the interobserver error. Results showed that interobserver error varies between 43 and 57 % for the right lower third molar (M48) and between 23 and 49 % for the left lower third molar (M38). Chi-square test did not show significant differences according to the side of teeth and type of professional figure. The results prove that Olze's method is not easy to apply when used by not adequately trained personnel, because of an intrinsic interobserver error. Since it is however a crucial method in age determination, it should be used only by experienced observers after an intensive and specific training.

On Inertial Body Tracking in the Presence of Model Calibration Errors

PubMed Central

Miezal, Markus; Taetz, Bertram; Bleser, Gabriele

2016-01-01

In inertial body tracking, the human body is commonly represented as a biomechanical model consisting of rigid segments with known lengths and connecting joints. The model state is then estimated via sensor fusion methods based on data from attached inertial measurement units (IMUs). This requires the relative poses of the IMUs w.r.t. the segments—the IMU-to-segment calibrations, subsequently called I2S calibrations—to be known. Since calibration methods based on static poses, movements and manual measurements are still the most widely used, potentially large human-induced calibration errors have to be expected. This work compares three newly developed/adapted extended Kalman filter (EKF) and optimization-based sensor fusion methods with an existing EKF-based method w.r.t. their segment orientation estimation accuracy in the presence of model calibration errors with and without using magnetometer information. While the existing EKF-based method uses a segment-centered kinematic chain biomechanical model and a constant angular acceleration motion model, the newly developed/adapted methods are all based on a free segments model, where each segment is represented with six degrees of freedom in the global frame. Moreover, these methods differ in the assumed motion model (constant angular acceleration, constant angular velocity, inertial data as control input), the state representation (segment-centered, IMU-centered) and the estimation method (EKF, sliding window optimization). In addition to the free segments representation, the optimization-based method also represents each IMU with six degrees of freedom in the global frame. In the evaluation on simulated and real data from a three segment model (an arm), the optimization-based method showed the smallest mean errors, standard deviations and maximum errors throughout all tests. It also showed the lowest dependency on magnetometer information and motion agility. Moreover, it was insensitive w.r.t. I2S position and segment length errors in the tested ranges. Errors in the I2S orientations were, however, linearly propagated into the estimated segment orientations. In the absence of magnetic disturbances, severe model calibration errors and fast motion changes, the newly developed IMU centered EKF-based method yielded comparable results with lower computational complexity. PMID:27455266

A phenomenological study of assessment methods in the inquiry-based science classroom: How do educators decide?

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tash, Gina G.

The purpose of this phenomenological study was to describe the experiences of science educators as they select and develop assessment methods for inquiry learning. Balancing preparations for standardized tests and authentic inquiry assessment experiences can be challenging for science educators. The review of literature revealed that current research focused on instructional methods and assessment, students' assessment experiences, and teachers' instructional methods experiences. There remains a gap in current literature regarding the experiences of science educators as they select and develop assessment methods for inquiry learning. This study filled the gap by providing a description of the experiences of science educators as they select and develop assessments for inquiry learning. The participants in this study were 16 fifth through eighth grade science teachers who participate in the Alabama Math, Science, and Technology Initiative (AMSTI) in northwest Alabama. A phenomenological research method was chosen in order to describe the experiences of AMSTI science teachers as they select and develop assessments for inquiry learning. Data were collected through interviews and focus group discussions. The data analysis used a modified Stevick-Colaizzi-Keen framework. The results showed AMSTI science teachers use a variety of assessment resources and methods, feel pressures to meet Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP), and implement varying degrees of change in their assessment process due to No Child Left Behind (NCLB). Contributing a positive social change, this study's findings supplied science teachers with descriptions of successful inquiry classrooms and creative assessments that correspond to inquiry-based learning methods.

Effective Methods of Teaching Moon Phases

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jones, Heather; Hintz, E. G.; Lawler, M. J.; Jones, M.; Mangrubang, F. R.; Neeley, J. E.

2010-01-01

This research investigates the effectiveness of several commonly used methods for teaching the causes of moon phases to sixth grade students. Common teaching methods being investigated are the use of diagrams, animations, modeling/kinesthetics and direct observations of moon phases using a planetarium. Data for each method will be measured by a pre and post assessment of students understanding of moon phases taught using one of the methods. The data will then be used to evaluate the effectiveness of each teaching method individually and comparatively, as well as the method's ability to discourage common misconceptions about moon phases. Results from this research will provide foundational data for the development of educational planetarium shows for the deaf or other linguistically disadvantage children.

ANN-PSO Integrated Optimization Methodology for Intelligent Control of MMC Machining

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chandrasekaran, Muthumari; Tamang, Santosh

2017-08-01

Metal Matrix Composites (MMC) show improved properties in comparison with non-reinforced alloys and have found increased application in automotive and aerospace industries. The selection of optimum machining parameters to produce components of desired surface roughness is of great concern considering the quality and economy of manufacturing process. In this study, a surface roughness prediction model for turning Al-SiCp MMC is developed using Artificial Neural Network (ANN). Three turning parameters viz., spindle speed ( N), feed rate ( f) and depth of cut ( d) were considered as input neurons and surface roughness was an output neuron. ANN architecture having 3 -5 -1 is found to be optimum and the model predicts with an average percentage error of 7.72 %. Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO) technique is used for optimizing parameters to minimize machining time. The innovative aspect of this work is the development of an integrated ANN-PSO optimization method for intelligent control of MMC machining process applicable to manufacturing industries. The robustness of the method shows its superiority for obtaining optimum cutting parameters satisfying desired surface roughness. The method has better convergent capability with minimum number of iterations.

Research on navigation of satellite constellation based on an asynchronous observation model using X-ray pulsar

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Guo, Pengbin; Sun, Jian; Hu, Shuling; Xue, Ju

2018-02-01

Pulsar navigation is a promising navigation method for high-altitude orbit space tasks or deep space exploration. At present, an important reason for restricting the development of pulsar navigation is that navigation accuracy is not high due to the slow update of the measurements. In order to improve the accuracy of pulsar navigation, an asynchronous observation model which can improve the update rate of the measurements is proposed on the basis of satellite constellation which has a broad space for development because of its visibility and reliability. The simulation results show that the asynchronous observation model improves the positioning accuracy by 31.48% and velocity accuracy by 24.75% than that of the synchronous observation model. With the new Doppler effects compensation method in the asynchronous observation model proposed in this paper, the positioning accuracy is improved by 32.27%, and the velocity accuracy is improved by 34.07% than that of the traditional method. The simulation results show that without considering the clock error will result in a filtering divergence.

Chemical spoilage extent traceability of two kinds of processed pork meats using one multispectral system developed by hyperspectral imaging combined with effective variable selection methods.

PubMed

Cheng, Weiwei; Sun, Da-Wen; Pu, Hongbin; Wei, Qingyi

2017-04-15

The feasibility of hyperspectral imaging (HSI) (400-1000nm) for tracing the chemical spoilage extent of the raw meat used for two kinds of processed meats was investigated. Calibration models established separately for salted and cooked meats using full wavebands showed good results with the determination coefficient in prediction (R 2 P ) of 0.887 and 0.832, respectively. For simplifying the calibration models, two variable selection methods were used and compared. The results showed that genetic algorithm-partial least squares (GA-PLS) with as much continuous wavebands selected as possible always had better performance. The potential of HSI to develop one multispectral system for simultaneously tracing the chemical spoilage extent of the two kinds of processed meats was also studied. Good result with an R 2 P of 0.854 was obtained using GA-PLS as the dimension reduction method, which was thus used to visualize total volatile base nitrogen (TVB-N) contents corresponding to each pixel of the image. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Development of two stable isotope dilution assays for the quantitation of acrolein in heat-processed fats.

PubMed

Ewert, Alice; Granvogl, Michael; Schieberle, Peter

2011-04-27

Two stable isotope dilution assays were developed for the quantitation of acrolein in fats and oils using [(13)C(3)]-acrolein as the internal standard. First, a direct GC-MS headspace method, followed by an indirect GC-MS method using derivatization with pentafluorophenyl hydrazine, was established. Analysis of six different types of oils varying in their pattern of fatty acids showed significant differences in the amounts of acrolein formed after heating at various temperatures and for various times. For example, after 24 h at 140 °C, coconut oil contained 6.7 mg/kg, whereas linseed oil was highest with 242.3 mg/kg. A comparison of the results showed that the extent of acrolein formation seemed to be correlated with the amount of linolenic acid in the oils. Although the acrolein concentrations were lowered in all six oils after frying of potato crisps, linseed and rapeseed oil still contained the highest amounts of acrolein after frying. By applying both methods on different thermally treated fats and oils, nearly identical quantitative data were obtained.