Sample records for lahesoo lle roosmaa

  1. [Dölle and Bowlby--discourses about sensitivity].

    PubMed

    Strauss, Bernhard

    2011-08-01

    Based upon biographical information and a summary of E.A. Dölle's contributions to psychotherapy research, this paper describes how Dölle - obviously during his time in a British war prison - had some encounters with John Bowlby, father of attachment theory, and how these encounters might have influenced Dölle during his later years. These years were spent at the Catholic University Eichstätt, where Dölle tried to positively influence the development of values and their "sensitivity for sensitivity" among Catholic students. The paper concludes that Dölle probably would be disappointed if he could see current developments within science and - even more - within society. George Thieme Verlag KG Stuttgart · New York.

  2. LLE 2008 annual report, October 2007 - September 2008

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

    None

    2009-01-31

    The research program at the University of Rochester’s Laboratory for Laser Energetics (LLE) focuses on inertial confinement fusion (ICF) research supporting the goal of achieving ignition on the National Ignition Facility (NIF). This program includes the full use of the OMEGA EP Laser System. Within the National Ignition Campaign (NIC), LLE is the lead laboratory for the validation of the performance of cryogenic target implosions, essential to all forms of ICF ignition. LLE has taken responsibility for a number of critical elements within the Integrated Experimental Teams (IET’s) supporting the demonstration of indirect-drive ignition on the NIF and is themore » lead laboratory for the validation of the polardrive approach to ignition on the NIF. LLE is also developing, testing, and building a number of diagnostics to be deployed on the NIF for the NIC.« less

  3. LLE 2010 Annual Report October 2009 - September 2010

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

    None

    2011-01-01

    The fiscal year ending September 2010 (FY10) concluded the third year of the third five-year renewal of Cooperative Agreement DE-FC52-08NA28302 with the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE). This annual report summarizes progress in inertial fusion research at the Laboratory for Laser Energetics (LLE) during the past fiscal year including work on the National Ignition Campaign (NIC). It also reports on LLE's progress on laboratory basic science research; laser, optical materials, and advanced technology development; operation of OMEGA and OMEGA EP for the NIC and high-energy density (HED) campaigns, the National Laser Users Facility (NLUF), and for other external users; andmore » programs focusing on the education of high school, undergraduate, and graduate students during the year.« less

  4. LLE Review Quarterly Report (April-June 1989). Volume 39

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

    Simon, A.

    1989-06-01

    This volume of the LLE Review, covering the period April-June 1989, includes the second part of a two-part series dealing with the preliminary design of the OMEGA Upgrade. One article provides a general overview of the current upgrade system configuration and another article describes the target system. Future issues of the LLE Review will cover other aspects of the OMEGA Upgrade as the detailed system design develops. In addition, the advanced technology section of this issue contains an article discussing the interaction of a picosecond optical pulse with high temperature superconductors. Finally, the activities of the National Laser Users Facilitymore » and the GDL and OMEGA laser facilities are summarized.« less

  5. [Neurousurpation--the expropriation and suppression of Dölle's neurobiological pioneer work].

    PubMed

    Bertram, Wulf

    2011-08-01

    The discovery of a hitherto unpublished dissertational thesis in the archive of a publishing house has lead to a lost publication by Ernst August Dölle. In this manuscript, the author reports on the stimulation of a cerebral libido area in the dog, long before Olds and Milner published their work on the discovery of the rewarding area. The reasons for the suppression of this early publication by Dölle are investigated and are ascribed to an effort to use his neurobiologic research for secret mental manipulation experiments of the CIA at the beginning of the Cold War. George Thieme Verlag KG Stuttgart · New York.

  6. LLE 2004 annual report, October 2003-September 2004

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

    None, None

    2005-01-01

    This report summarizes research at the Laboratory for Laser Energetics (LLE) conducted during the year, operation of the National Laser Users’ Facility (NLUF), a status report of the new OMEGA Extended Performance (EP) laser project, and programs concerning the education of high school, undergraduate, and graduate students during the year.

  7. LLE Review 117 (October-December 2008)

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

    Bittle, W., editor

    2009-05-28

    This volume of the LLE Review, covering October-December 2008, features 'Demonstration of the Shock-Timing Technique for Ignition Targets at the National Ignition Facility' by T. R. Boehly, V. N. Goncharov, S. X. Hu, J. A. Marozas, T. C. Sangster, D. D. Meyerhofer (LLE), D. Munro, P. M. Celliers, D. G. Hicks, G. W. Collins, H. F. Robey, O. L. Landen (LLNL), and R. E. Olson (SNL). In this article (p. 1) the authors report on a technique to measure the velocity and timing of shock waves in a capsule contained within hohlraum targets. This technique is critical for optimizing themore » drive profiles for high-performance inertial-confinement-fusion capsules, which are compressed by multiple precisely timed shock waves. The shock-timing technique was demonstrated on OMEGA using surrogate hohlraum targets heated to 180 eV and fitted with a re-entrant cone and quartz window to facilitate velocity measurements using velocity interferometry. Cryogenic experiments using targets filled with liquid deuterium further demonstrated the entire timing technique in a hohlraum environment. Direct-drive cryogenic targets with multiple spherical shocks were also used to validate this technique, including convergence effects at relevant pressures (velocities) and sizes. These results provide confidence that shock velocity and timing can be measured in NIF ignition targets, thereby optimizing these critical parameters.« less

  8. LLE Review 120 (July-September 2009)

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

    Edgell, D.H., editor

    2001-02-19

    This issue has the following articles: (1) The Omega Laser Facility Users Group Workshop; (2) The Effect of Condensates and Inner Coatings on the Performance of Vacuum Hohlraum Targets; (3) Zirconia-Coated-Carbonyl-Iron-Particle-Based Magnetorheological Fluid for Polishing Optical Glasses and Ceramics; (4) All-Fiber Optical Magnetic Field Sensor Based on Faraday Rotation in Highly Terbium Doped Fiber; (5) Femtosecond Optical Pump-Probe Characterization of High-Pressure-Grown Al{sub 0.86}Ga{sub 0.14}N Single Crystals; (6) LLE's Summer High School Research Program; (7) Laser Facility Report; and (8) National Laser Users Facility and External Users Programs.

  9. LLE Review 116 (July-September 2008)

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

    Marozas, J.A., editor

    2010-03-12

    This issue has the following articles: (1) Optimizing Electron-Positron Pair Production on kJ-Class High-Intensity Lasers for the Purpose of Pair-Plasma Creation; (2) Neutron Yield Study of Direct-Drive, Low-Adiabat Cryogenic D2 Implosions on OMEGA; (3) Al 1s-2p Absorption Spectroscopy of Shock-Wave Heating and Compression in Laser-Driven Planar Foil; (4) A Measurable Lawson Criterion and Hydro-Equivalent Curves for Inertial Confinement Fusion; (5) Pulsed-THz Characterization of Hg-Based, High-Temperature Superconductors; (6) LLE's Summer High School Research Program; (7) FY08 Laser Facility Report; and (8) National Laser Users Facility and External Users Programs.

  10. The Effect of the Immediate Feedback by the Collaborative Education Tool ViLLE on Learning for Business Mathematics in Higher Education

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Kuikka, Matti; Laakso, Mikko-Jussi; Joshi, Marjo

    2016-01-01

    This article outlines the effect of the collaborative educational tool ViLLE when learning business mathematics in higher education. ViLLE validates students' answers during the assessment process and provides immediate feedback, enabling students to receive feedback and guidance about the correctness of their answers. The learning results in the…

  11. Determination of DDT and metabolites in surface water and sediment using LLE, SPE, ACE and SE.

    PubMed

    Sibali, Linda L; Okonkwo, Jonathan O; Zvinowanda, Caliphs

    2009-12-01

    Surface water and sediment samples collected from Jukskei River in South Africa, were subjected to different extraction techniques, liquid-liquid (LLE), solid-phase extraction (SPE), activated carbon extraction (ACE) and soxhlet extraction (SE) for sediment. The samples were extracted with dichloromethane, cleaned in a silica gel column and the extracts quantified using a Varian 3800 GC-ECD. The percentage recovery test for 2,4'DDT, DDE and DDD and 4,4'DDT, DDE and DDD in water ranged from 80%-96% and 76%-95% (LLE); 56%-76% and 56%-70% (SPE) and 75%-84% (ACE), respectively; while that recoveries for sediment samples varied from 65%-95% for 2,4'DDT, DDE and DDD and 80%-91% for 4,4'DDT, DDE and DDD. The high recoveries exhibited by ACE compared very well with LLE and SE. This was not the case with SPE which exhibited the lowest value of recoveries for both 2,4 and 4,4'DDD, DDE and DDT standard samples. The mean concentrations of DDT and metabolites ranged from nd-1.10 μg/L, nd-0.80 μg/L, nd-1.21 μg/L and 1.92 μg/L for LLE, SPE, ACE and SE, respectively. The total DDT (2,4' and 4,4'-DDT) in water and sediment samples ranged from 1.20-3.25 μg/L and 1.82-5.24 μg/L, respectively. The low concentrations of the DDT metabolites obtained in the present study may suggest a recent contamination of the river by DDT.

  12. LLE 2009 annual report, October 2008-September 2009

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

    none, none

    2010-01-01

    The fiscal year ending September 2009 (FY2009) concluded the second year of the third five-year renewal of Cooperative Agreement DE-FC52-08NA28302 with the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE). This annual report summarizes progress in inertial fusion research at the Laboratory for Laser Energetics (LLE) during the past fiscal year. It also reports on LLE’s progress on laboratory basic science research; laser, optical materials, and advanced technology development; operation of OMEGA and OMEGA EP for the National Laser Users’ Facility (NLUF), and other external users; and programs focusingon the education of high school, undergraduate, and graduate students during the year.

  13. LLE review

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

    Bradley, D.K.

    1989-01-01

    This volume of the LLE Review, covering the period October--December 1989, contains an article discussing saturation effects and power-balance considerations in the design of high-power lasers and an article describing numerical modeling of the effects of power imbalances on target behavior. The advanced technology section reports on the development of a liquid crystal laser-beam apodizer and an experiment to study the high-intensity ionization of noble gases. Finally, the activities of the National Laser Users Facility and the GDL and OMEGA laser facilities are summarized. The highlights of this issue are: The problem of achieving power balance in high-efficiency, multibeam lasersmore » has been studied in terms of gain-saturation effects and the nonlinear nature of harmonic frequency conversion. It is shown that power imbalance can be minimized by balancing the gains and losses in equivalent amplification stages in each beamline. The effects of target implosion behavior of various power-imbalance sources in the OMEGA laser system have been studied using the two-dimensional hydrodynamics code ORCHID. The simulations show good agreement with an experiment in which a deliberate power imbalance was applied to the target drive. Laser-beam apodizers with large clear apertures have been fabricated using cholesteric liquid crystals. A soft-edge profile has been achieved by filling a cell with two separate liquid crystals with different selective-reflection bands, and allowing them to partially mix at the interface. A study of the ionization of noble gases in the tunneling regime using high- intensity, 1-ps pulses from the tabletop terawatt laser (T{sup 3}) has been carried out. The measured ion production is well predicted by a Coulomb barrier suppression ionization theory.« less

  14. Headspace solid-phase microextraction (HS-SPME) and liquid-liquid extraction (LLE): comparison of the performance in classification of ecstasy tablets. Part 2.

    PubMed

    Bonadio, Federica; Margot, Pierre; Delémont, Olivier; Esseiva, Pierre

    2008-11-20

    Headspace solid-phase microextraction (HS-SPME) is assessed as an alternative to liquid-liquid extraction (LLE) currently used for 3,4-methylenedioxymethampethamine (MDMA) profiling. Both methods were compared evaluating their performance in discriminating and classifying samples. For this purpose 62 different seizures were analysed using both extraction techniques followed by gas chromatography-mass spectroscopy (GC-MS). A previously validated method provided data for HS-SPME, whereas LLE data were collected applying a harmonized methodology developed and used in the European project CHAMP. After suitable pre-treatment, similarities between sample pairs were studied using the Pearson correlation. Both methods enable to distinguish between samples coming from the same pre-tabletting batches and samples coming from different pre-tabletting batches. This finding emphasizes the use of HS-SPME as an effective alternative to LLE, with additional advantages such as sample preparation and a solvent-free process.

  15. LLE review. Quarterly report, January 1994--March 1994, Volume 58

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

    Simon, A.

    1994-07-01

    This volume of the LLE Review, covering the period Jan - Mar 1994, contains articles on backlighting diagnostics; the effect of electron collisions on ion-acoustic waves and heat flow; using PIC code simulations for analysis of ultrashort laser pulses interacting with solid targets; creating a new instrument for characterizing thick cryogenic layers; and a description of a large-aperture ring amplifier for laser-fusion drivers. Three of these articles - backlighting diagnostics; characterizing thick cryogenic layers; and large-aperture ring amplifier - are directly related to the OMEGA Upgrade, now under construction. Separate abstracts have been prepared for articles from this report.

  16. LLE Review 98 (January-March 2004)

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

    Goncharov, V.N.

    2004-08-10

    This volume of the LLE Review, covering January-March 2004, features ''Performance of 1-THz-Bandwidth, 2-D Smoothing by Spectral Dispersion and Polarization Smoothing of High-Power, Solid-State Laser Beams'', by S. P. Regan, J. A. Marozas, R. S. Craxton, J. H. Kelly, W. R. Donaldson, P. A. Jaanimagi, D. Jacobs-Perkins, R. L. Keck, T. J. Kessler, D. D. Meyerhofer, T. C. Sangster, W. Seka, V.A. Smalyuk, S. Skupsky, and J. D. Zuegel (p. 49). Laser-beam smoothing achieved with 1-THz-bandwidth, two-dimensional smoothing by spectral dispersion and polarization smoothing on the 60-beam, 30-kJ, 351-nm OMEGA laser system is reported. These beam-smoothing techniques are directly applicablemore » to direct-drive ignition target designs for the 192-beam, 1.8-MJ, 351-nm National Ignition Facility. Equivalent-target-plane images for constant-intensity laser pulses of varying duration were used to determine the smoothing. The properties of the phase plates, frequency modulators, and birefringent wedges were simulated and found to be in good agreement with the measurements.« less

  17. LLE review. Volume 61, Quarterly report, October--December 1994

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

    NONE

    1994-12-31

    This volume of the LLE review, covering the period of October--December 1994, contains articles on a diagnostic method employing krypton spectroscopy for measurement of temperature and shell-fuel mixing in high-temperature implosions; the first direct assessment of the ion-acoustic decay instability in a large-scale length, hot plasma; measurements of polarization mode dispersion and group-velocity walkaway in birefringent media using a frequency domain interferometer; an evaluation of the magnetic flux dynamics occurring in an optically triggered, thin-film superconducting switch; the effect of slurry fluid chemistry on particle size distribution during aqueous polishing of optical glass; and the influence of thermal and mechanicalmore » processing history in the preparation of well-ordered liquid crystal elastomer systems.« less

  18. [Integrated health service research of the epiphenomenon (IVF-E)--paradigm shift or Dölle's wine in new skins?].

    PubMed

    Herzog, Wolfgang

    2011-08-01

    The meaning of epiphenomenalism for psychosomatic medicine and psychotherapy is analyzed. It may be concluded that Ernst-August Dölle was one of the first researchers to describe and to use the Alpha and Omega of epiphenomenalism. Georg Thieme Verlag KG Stuttgart · New York.

  19. LLE 1998 annual report, October 1997--September 1998. Inertial fusion program and National Laser Users` Facility program

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

    NONE

    1999-01-01

    This report summarizes research at the Laboratory for Laser Energetics (LLE), the operation of the National Laser Users` Facility (NLUF), and programs involving the education of high school, undergraduate, and graduate students for FY98. Research summaries cover: progress in laser fusion; diagnostic development; laser and optical technology; and advanced technology for laser targets.

  20. LLE Review Quarterly Report July-September 2000

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

    NONE

    2000-12-01

    This volume of the LLE Review, covering July-September 2000, begins with an article by T. R. Boehly, V. N. Goncharov, O. Gotchev, J. P. Knauer, D. D. Meyerhofer, D. Oron, S. P. Regan, Y. Srebro, W. Seka, D. Shvarts, S. Skupsky, and V.A. Smalyuk, who describe measurements of the effect of beam smoothing and pulse shape on imprinting. (Imprinting is defined as the imposition of pressure perturbations on the target by spatial variations in the laser intensity.) A principal result is the observation of reduced levels of imprint with the higher beam smoothing afforded by 1-THz smoothing by spectral dispersionmore » (SSD). Additional highlights of research presented in this issue are: (1) P. W. McKenty, V. N. Goncharov, R. P. J. Town, S. Skupsky, R. Betti, and R. L. McCrory describe calculations of directly driven ignition capsule performance on the National Ignition Facility (NIF). The authors detail how the various contributors to implosion disruption (laser imprint, power imbalance, and target roughness) affect target performance and final gain. The conclusions are obtained by examining the simulated target evolution with the two-dimensional hydrodynamics computer code ORCHID. (2) D. D. Meyerhofer, J. A. Delettrez, R. Epstein, V. Yu. Glebov, V. N. Goncharov, R. L. Keck, R. L. McCrory, P. W. McKenty, F. J. Marshall, P. B. Radha, S. P. Regan, S. Roberts, W. Seka, S. Skupsky, V. A. Smalyuk, C. Sorce, C. Stoeckl, J. M. Soures, R. P. J. Town, B. Yaakobi, J. D. Zuegel, J. Frenje, C. K. L1,R. D. Petrasso, F. Seguin, K. Fletcher, S. Padalino, C. Freeman, N. Izumi, R. Lerche, T. W. Phillips, and T. C. Sangster describe the results of a series of direct-drive implosions of gas-fusion-fuel-filled plastic shells performed on the OMEGA laser system. The experiments include those performed with 1-THZ SSD and high-quality power balance. (3) V. Yu. Glebov, D. D. Meyerhofer, C. Stoeckl, and J. D. Zuegel describe the technique of measuring secondary neutron yield (DT neutron yield

  1. LLE 1995 annual report, October 1994--September 1995

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

    NONE

    1996-01-01

    The fiscal year ending September 1995 (FY95) concluded the third year of the cooperative agreement (DE-FC03-92SF19460) with the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE). This report summarizes research at the Laboratory for Laser Energetics (LLE) and reports on the successful completion of the OMEGA Upgrade. Previous annual reports describe the OMEGA Upgrade design. The preliminary design for the system was complete in October 1989 and the detailed design started in October 1990. The original 24-beam OMEGA system was decommissioned in December 1992 as construction for the OMEGA Upgrade began. We discuss the initial performance results (p. 99) of the upgraded OMEGAmore » laser system. All acceptance tests were completed, and we demonstrated that all 60 beams can irradiate a target with more energy and better beam balance than was required by DOE`s acceptance criteria. We are most proud that all program milestones were met or exceeded, and that the system was completed on time and on budget.« less

  2. LLE Review Quarterly Report (October - December 2007). Volume 113

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

    Zuegel, Jonathan D.

    2007-12-01

    This volume of the LLE Review, covering October–December 2007, features “High-Intensity Laser–Plasma Interactions in the Refluxing Limit,” by P. M. Nilson, W. Theobald, J. Myatt, C. Stoeckl, M. Storm, O. V. Gotchev, J. D. Zuegel, R. Betti, D. D. Meyerhofer, and T. C. Sangster. In this article (p. 1), the authors report on target experiments using the Multi-Terawatt (MTW) Laser Facility to study isochoric heating of solid-density targets by fast electrons produced from intense, short-pulse laser irradiation. Electron refluxing occurs due to target-sheath field effects and contains most of the fast electrons within the target volume. This efficiently heats themore » solid-density plasma through collisions. X-ray spectroscopic measurements of absolute K α (x-radiation) photon yields and variations of the K β/K α b emission ratio both indicate that laser energy couples to fast electrons with a conversion efficiency of approximately 20%. Bulk electron temperatures of at least 200 eV are inferred for the smallest mass targets.« less

  3. Variable Spaced Grating (VSG) Snout, Rotator and Rails for use at LLE

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

    Mukherjee, S K; Emig, J A; Griffith, L V

    2010-01-25

    The Variable Spaced Grating (VSG) is a spectrometer snout mounted to an X-Ray Framing Camera (XRFC) through the Unimount flange. This equipment already exists and is used at the University of Rochester, Laboratory for Laser Energetics (LLE) facility. The XRFC and the Unimount flange are designed by LLE. The Tilt Rotator fixture that mounts next to the XRFC and the cart rails are designed by LLNL, and are included in this safety note. The other related components, such as the TIM rails and the Unimount flange, are addressed in a separate safety note, EDSN09-500005-AA. The Multipurpose Spectrometer (MSPEC) and VSGmore » are mounted on the TIM Boat through the cart rails that are very similar in design. The tilt rotator combination with the Unimount flange is also a standard mounting procedure. The later mounting system has been included in this safety note. Figure-1 shows the interface components and the VSG snout. Figure-2 shows the VSG assembly mounted on the Unimount flange. The calibration pointer attachment is shown in place of the snout. There are two types of VSG, one made of 6061-T6 aluminum, weighing approximately 3 pounds, and the other made of 304 stainless steel, weighing approximately 5.5 pounds. This safety note examines the VSG steel design. Specific experiments may require orienting the VSG snout in 90 degrees increment with respect to the Unimount flange. This is done by changing the bolts position on the VSG-main body adapter flange to the Unimount adapter plate. There is no hazard involved in handling the VSG during this procedure as it is done outside the target chamber on the cart rail before installing on the TIM. This safety note addresses the mechanical integrity of the VSG structure, the tilt rotating fixture, the cart rails with handle and their connections. Safety Factors are also calculated for the MSPEC in place of the VSG.« less

  4. LLE Review Quarterly Report (January-March 1999). Volume 78

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

    Regan, Sean P.

    1999-03-01

    This volume of the LLE Review, covering the period January-March 1999, features two articles concerning issues relevant to 2-D SSD laser-beam smoothing on OMEGA. In the first article J. D. Zuegel and J. A. Marozas present the design of an efficient, bulk phase modulator operating at approximately 10.5 GHz, which can produce substantial phase-modulated bandwidth with modest microwave drive power. This modulator is the cornerstone of the 1-THz UV bandwidth operation planned for OMEGA this year. In the second article J. A. Marozas and J. H. Kelly describe a recently developed code -- Waasese -- that simulates the collective behaviormore » of the optical components in the SSD driver line. The measurable signatures predicted by the code greatly enhance the diagnostic capability of the SSD driver line. Other articles in this volume are titled: Hollow-Shell Implosion Studies on the 60-Beam, UC OMEGA Laser System; Simultaneous Measurements of Fuel Areal Density, Shell Areal Density, and Fuel Temperature in D 3He-Filled Imploding Capsules; The Design of Optical Pulse Shapes with an Aperture-Coupled-Stripline Pulse-Shaping System; Measurement Technique for Characterization of Rapidly Time- and Frequency-Varying Electronic Devices; and, Damage to Fused-Silica, Spatial-Filter Lenses on the OMEGA Laser System.« less

  5. LLE Review Quarterly Report (October-December 2001). Volume 89

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

    Donaldson, William R.

    2001-12-01

    This volume of the LLE Review, covering October-December 2001, features “Time-Integrated Light Images of OMEGA Implosions” by P. Morley and W. Seka (p. 1). E. Kowaluk initiated this project for aesthetic rather than scientific reasons when he began taking visible light photographs of imploding OMEGA targets. These beautiful images are used to communicate LLE’s mission to the general public. A closer examination of the images revealed a one-to-one correspondence between the bright spots in the image and each of the 60 laser beams. The intensity of the bright spots has been related to refraction and absorption in the plasma surroundingmore » the imploding target. These photographs are now proving to be the basis of a new laser-plasma interaction diagnostic. Other articles in this volume are titled the following: Analytical Model of Nonlinear, Single-Mode, Classical Rayleigh-Taylor Instability at Arbitrary Atwood Numbers; A High-Pass Phase Plate Design for OMEGA and the NIF; Advanced Tritium Recovery System; Establishing Links Between Single Gold Nanoparticles Buried Inside SiO 2 Thin Film and 351-nm Pulsed-Laser-Damage Morphology; Resistive Switching Dynamics in Current-Biased Y-Ba-Cu-O Microbridges Excited by Nanosecond Electrical Pulses; and, Properties of Amorphous Carbon Films.« less

  6. LLE Review Quarterly Report (January-March 2002). Volume 90

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

    Donaldson, William R.

    2002-03-01

    This volume of the LLE Review, covering January-March 2002, features “First Results from Cryogenic Target Implosions on OMEGA” by C. Stoeckl et al. (p. 49). This article describes initial results from direct-drive spherical cryogenic target implosions on the 60-beam OMEGA laser system. These experiments are part of the scientific base leading to direct-drive ignition implosions planned for the National Ignition Facility (NIF). Results shown include neutron yield, secondary-neutron and proton yields, the time of peak neutron emission, and both time-integrated and time-resolved x-ray images of the imploding core. The experimental values are compared with 1-D numerical simulations. The target withmore » an ice-layer nonuniformity of srms = 9 mm showed 30% of the 1-D predicted neutron yield. These initial results are encouraging for future cryogenic implosions on OMEGA and the NIF. Other articles in this issue are titled the following: Equation-of-State Measurements of Porous Materials on OMEGA: Numerical Modeling; Observations of Modulated Shock Waves in Solid Targets Driven by Spatially Modulated Laser Beams; Time-Dependent Electron Thermal Flux Inhibition in direct-Drive Laser Implosions; Precision Spectral Sculpting of Broadband FM Pulses Amplified in a Narrowband Medium; Electric-Field-Induced Motion of Polymer Cholesteric Liquid Crystal Flakes in a Moderately Conductive Fluid; and, Femtosecond Response of a Freestanding LT-GaAs Photoconductive Switch.« less

  7. LLE Review 83, Quarterly Report

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

    None

    2000-12-01

    This volume of the LLE Review, covering April-June 2000, features an article by F. J. Marshall, T. Ohki, D. McInnis, Z. Ninkov, and J. Carbone, who detail the conversion of the OMEGA time-integrated x-ray diagnostics to electronic readout using direct-detection x-ray cameras [charge-injection devices (CID's)]. Pinhole and x-ray microscope images are shown along with inferred calibration measurements of the CID cameras. Currently, the same cameras are being used to obtain x-ray spectra in a TIM-based spectrometer, extending their use to all time-integrated imaging and spectroscopic x-ray instruments used on OMEGA. Additional highlights of the research presented in this issue are:more » (1) V. A. Smalyuk, B. Yaakobi, F. J. Marshall, and D. D. Meyerhofer investigate the spatial structure of the temperature and density of target-shell plasmas at peak compression (stagnation). This is accomplished by examining the energy dependence of the x-ray emission using narrow-band x-ray filters and the known absorption properties of the shell dopant (Ti). (2) F. Sequin, C. K. Ll, D. G. Hicks, J. A. Frenje, K. M. Green, R. D. Petrasso, J. M. Soures, V. Yu. Glebov, C. Stoeckl, P. B. Radha, D. D. Meyerhofer, S. Roberts, C. Sorce, T. C. Sangster, M. D. Cable, S. Padalino, and K. Fletcher detail the physics and instrumentation used to obtain and interpret secondary D-{sup 3}He proton spectra from current gas-filled-target and future cryogenic-target experiments. Through a novel extension of existing charged-particle detection techniques with track detectors, the authors demonstrate the ability to obtain secondary proton spectra with increased sensitivity. (3) M. Guardelben, L. Ning, N. Jain, D. Battaglia, and K. Marshall compare the utility of a novel liquid-crystal-based, point-diffraction interferometer (LCPDI) with the commercial standard phase-shifting interferometer and conclude that the LCPDI is a viable low-cost alternative. (4) A. B. Shorey, S. D. Jacobs, W. I. Kordonski

  8. LLE Review Quarterly Report January - March 2012. Volume 130

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

    Shvydky, Alex

    2012-03-01

    This volume of the LLE Review, covering January–March 2012, features “OMEGA Polar-Drive Target Designs,” by P. B. Radha, J. A. Marozas, F. J. Marshall, A. Shvydky, T. J. B. Collins, V. N. Goncharov, R. L. McCrory, P. W. McKenty, D. D. Meyerhofer, T. C. Sangster, and S. Skupsky. This article (p. 57) describes low-adiabat, cryogenic-deuterium–tritium, and warm-plastic-shell polar-drive (PD)–implosion designs for the OMEGA laser. The designs are at two different on-target laser intensities, each at a different in-flight aspect ratio (IFAR). The first design permits one to study implosion energetics and target performance closer to ignition-relevant intensities (7 X 10more » 14 W/cm 2 at the quarter-critical surface), where nonlocal heat conduction and laser–plasma interactions can play an important role, but at lower values of IFAR (~22). The second design permits one to study implosion energetics and target performance at a lower intensity (3 X 10 14 W/cm 2) but at higher IFAR (~32), where the shell instability can play an important role. The higher IFAR designs are accessible on the existing OMEGA Laser System only at lower intensities. Implosions at ignition-relevant intensities can be obtained only by reducing target radius, although only at smaller values of IFAR. Polar-drive geometry requires repointing the laser beams to improve shell symmetry. The higher-intensity designs optimize target performance by repointing beams to a lesser extent and compensate for the reduced equatorial drive by increasing beam energies for the repointed beams and using custom beam profiles that improve equatorial illumination at the expense of irradiation at higher latitudes. These designs will be studied when new phase plates for the OMEGA Laser System, corresponding to the smaller target radii and custom beam profiles, are obtained. Implosion results from the combined set of high-intensity and high-IFAR implosions should yield valuable data to validate models of laser

  9. Unfallaufnahme und Datenerhebung

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Brösdorf, Klaus-Dieter; Moser, Andreas; Burg, Jürgen

    Unfälle ereignen sich in unterschiedlichen Schweregraden. Man unterscheidet zwischen Unfälle mit nur Sachschaden und in Unfälle mit Personenschaden. Gemäß Statistik [1] machten in Deutschland im Jahr 2005 Unfälle mit Personenschaden (336.619) etwa 15 % der Gesamtanzahl der polizeilich erfassten Unfälle (2.253.992) aus. In den amtlichen Statistiken sind nur polizeilich erfasste Unfälle enthalten. Eine größere Zahl von Unfällen, insbesondere leichtere Unfälle, wird offensichtlich polizeilich nicht gemeldet. Mit den Daten der Versicherungswirtschaft wird die Anzahl der Kfz-Schäden pro Jahr in Deutschland mit 8.673.000 angegeben [2].

  10. Partitioning of light lithophile elements during basalt eruptions on Earth and application to Martian shergottites

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Edmonds, Marie

    2015-02-01

    An enigmatic record of light lithophile element (LLE) zoning in pyroxenes in basaltic shergottite meteorites, whereby LLE concentrations decrease dramatically from the cores to the rims, has been interpreted as being due to partitioning of LLE into a hydrous vapor during magma ascent to the surface on Mars. These trends are used as evidence that Martian basaltic melts are water-rich (McSween et al., 2001). Lithium and boron are light lithophile elements (LLE) that partition into volcanic minerals and into vapor from silicate melts, making them potential tracers of degassing processes during magma ascent to the surface of Earth and of other planets. While LLE degassing behavior is relatively well understood for silica-rich melts, where water and LLE concentrations are relatively high, very little data exists for LLE abundance, heterogeneity and degassing in basaltic melts. The lack of data hampers interpretation of the trends in the shergottite meteorites. Through a geochemical study of LLE, volatile and trace elements in olivine-hosted melt inclusions from Kilauea Volcano, Hawaii, it can be demonstrated that lithium behaves similarly to the light to middle rare Earth elements during melting, magma mixing and fractionation. Considerable heterogeneity in lithium and boron is inherited from mantle-derived primary melts, which is dominant over the fractionation and degassing signal. Lithium and boron are only very weakly volatile in basaltic melt erupted from Kilauea Volcano, with vapor-melt partition coefficients <0.1. Degassing of LLE is further inhibited at high temperatures. Pyroxene and associated melt inclusion LLE concentrations from a range of volcanoes are used to quantify lithium pyroxene-melt partition coefficients, which correlate negatively with melt H2O content, ranging from 0.13 at low water contents to <0.08 at H2O contents >4 wt%. The observed terrestrial LLE partitioning behavior is extrapolated to Martian primitive melts through modeling. The zoning

  11. Acute manic episode is associated with an increased risk of lower limb edema.

    PubMed

    Hochman, Eldar; Krivoy, Amir; Shoval, Gal; Valevski, Avi; Weizman, Abraham; Fischel, Tsvi

    2013-12-02

    Lower limb edema (LLE) was suggested to be associated with the use of psychotropic drugs among patients suffering from severe mental illnesses; however no direct mechanism was found. Therefore, we examined the association between the occurrence of LLE and acute untreated episode leading to hospitalization. A retrospective cross-sectional study was conducted using medical charts of 2529 patients admitted to Geha Mental Health Center between 2002 and 2012. Incident cases of LLE, demographic and clinical data were retrieved. Admission clinical status was modeled as three non-overlapping groups of patients: (i) Patients with a non-affective psychosis (NAP) episode (n = 1563), (ii) patients with a manic episode (n = 366), and (iii) patients with a depressive episode (n = 600). We performed a logistic regression analysis with LLE as the dependent variable controlling for the demographic and clinical variables that may be associated with LLE. LLE was diagnosed in 3.8% (n = 95) of the study population. The rate of LLE was 3-fold higher (χ(2) = 51.9, df = 2, p<0.001) in patients admitted with a manic episode (n = 38; 10.4%) compared to patients admitted with a NAP episode (n = 41; 2.6%) and patients admitted with a depressive episode (n = 16; 2.7%). Manic episode was associated with an increased risk for LLE compared to depressive episode (OR 8.72, 95% CI: 3.53-21.52, p<0.001) or NAP episode (OR 3.96, 95% CI: 2.16-7.26, p<0.001) after controlling for relevant confounders. Acute manic episode, leading to hospitalization, is associated with an increased risk of LLE, compared to NAP or depressive episode, suggesting causal relationship between mood and fluid imbalance. Yet, future prospective studies are needed to rule out the contribution of physical agitation and lithium treatment. © 2013.

  12. Tricuspid insufficiency after laser lead extraction.

    PubMed

    Rodriguez, Yasser; Mesa, Julian; Arguelles, Eric; Carrillo, Roger G

    2013-08-01

    The use of laser lead extraction (LLE) to remove pacemaker and implantable cardiac defibrillator leads has become more prevalent in the past decade. Though the procedure is associated with a low rate of complications, LLE still poses some risks to patients. Some reports have suggested an increase in tricuspid insufficiency (TI) associated with LLE. We present a series of patients who underwent both LLE and complete evaluation for TI with echocardiographic techniques. From August 2008 to January 2010, 173 prospective, consecutive patients underwent LLE in a single center. All patients had transesophageal echocardiograms (TEE) during the extraction. Fifty-three patients had tricuspid valve function evaluated a day before the procedure with a transthoracic echocardiogram (TTE), during the procedure with a TEE and 2 days postoperatively with a TTE. All 173 patients experienced no change in tricuspid valve function during the procedure with TEE. Of the 53 patients who underwent a complete TI evaluation, 38 were males (72%) and 15 females (38%), with a mean age of 69.45 ± 14.08. Mean ejection fraction was 35.82 ± 14.72. Three (6%) patients experienced TI after the procedure (two mild and one severe, all with tricuspid valve endocarditis); 16 (30%) patients were found to have TI before LLE that returned to normal valve function during or after the procedure. Thirty-four (64%) patients did not experience any significant change of the tricuspid valve performance after LLE. LLE was not associated with increased TI. ©2013, The Authors. Journal compilation ©2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

  13. Prenatal and perinatal risks for late language emergence in a population-level sample of twins at age 2.

    PubMed

    Taylor, Catherine L; Rice, Mabel L; Christensen, Daniel; Blair, Eve; Zubrick, Stephen R

    2018-02-07

    Late Language Emergence (LLE) in the first two years of life is one of the most common parental concerns about child development and reasons for seeking advice from health professionals. LLE is much more prevalent in twins (38%) than singletons (20%). In studies of language development in twins without overt disability, adverse prenatal and perinatal environments have been reported to play a lesser role in the etiology of LLE than adverse postnatal environments. However, there is a lack of population-level evidence about prenatal and perinatal risk factors for LLE in twins. This study investigated the extent to which prenatal and perinatal risk factors were associated with LLE in a population-level sample of twins at age 2 without overt disability. The sample comprised 473 twin pairs drawn from a population sample frame comprising statutory notifications of all births in Western Australia (WA), 2000-2003. Twin pairs in which either twin had a known developmental disorder or exposure to language(s) other than English were excluded. Of the 946 twins, 47.9% were male. There were 313 dizygotic and 160 monozygotic twin pairs. LLE was defined as a score at or below the gender-specific 10th percentile on the MacArthur Communicative Development Inventories: Words and Sentences (CDI-WS) (Words Produced). Bivariate and multivariable logistic regression was used to investigate risk factors associated with LLE. In the multivariable model, risk factors for LLE in order of decreasing magnitude were: Gestational diabetes had an adjusted odds ratio (aOR) of 19.5 (95% confidence interval (CI) 1.2, 313.1); prolonged TSR (aOR: 13.6 [2.0, 91.1]); multiparity (aOR: 7.6 [1.6, 37.5]), monozygosity (aOR: 6.9 [1.7, 27.9]) and fetal growth restriction (aOR: 4.6 [1.7, 12.7]). Sociodemographic risk factors (e.g., low maternal education, socioeconomic area disadvantage) were not associated with increased odds of LLE. The results suggest that adverse prenatal and perinatal environments are

  14. [Variable selection methods combined with local linear embedding theory used for optimization of near infrared spectral quantitative models].

    PubMed

    Hao, Yong; Sun, Xu-Dong; Yang, Qiang

    2012-12-01

    Variables selection strategy combined with local linear embedding (LLE) was introduced for the analysis of complex samples by using near infrared spectroscopy (NIRS). Three methods include Monte Carlo uninformation variable elimination (MCUVE), successive projections algorithm (SPA) and MCUVE connected with SPA were used for eliminating redundancy spectral variables. Partial least squares regression (PLSR) and LLE-PLSR were used for modeling complex samples. The results shown that MCUVE can both extract effective informative variables and improve the precision of models. Compared with PLSR models, LLE-PLSR models can achieve more accurate analysis results. MCUVE combined with LLE-PLSR is an effective modeling method for NIRS quantitative analysis.

  15. Microdialysis as a New Technique for Extracting Phenolic Compounds from Extra Virgin Olive Oil.

    PubMed

    Bazzu, Gianfranco; Molinu, Maria Giovanna; Dore, Antonio; Serra, Pier Andrea

    2017-03-01

    The amount and composition of the phenolic components play a major role in determining the quality of olive oil. The traditional liquid-liquid extraction (LLE) method requires a time-consuming sample preparation to obtain the "phenolic profile" of extra virgin olive oil (EVOO). This study aimed to develop a microdialysis extraction (MDE) as an alternative to the LLE method to evaluate the phenolic components of EVOO. To this purpose, a microdialysis device and dialysis procedure were developed. "Dynamic-oil" microdialysis was performed using an extracting solution (80:20 methanol/water) flow rate of 2 μL min -1 and a constant EVOO stream of 4 μL min -1 . The results indicated a strong positive correlation between MDE and the LLE method, providing a very similar phenolic profile obtained with traditional LLE. In conclusion, the MDE approach, easier and quicker in comparison to LLE, provided a reliable procedure to determine the phenolic components used as a marker of the quality and traceability of EVOO.

  16. Evaluation of risk for late language emergence after in utero antiretroviral drug exposure in HIV-exposed uninfected infants.

    PubMed

    Rice, Mabel L; Zeldow, Bret; Siberry, George K; Purswani, Murli; Malee, Kathleen; Hoffman, Howard J; Frederick, Toni; Buchanan, Ashley; Sirois, Patricia A; Allison, Susannah M; Williams, Paige L

    2013-10-01

    Combination antiretroviral (cARV) regimens are recommended for pregnant women with HIV to prevent perinatal HIV transmission. Safety is a concern for infants who were HIV-exposed but uninfected, particularly for neurodevelopmental problems, such as language delays. We studied late language emergence (LLE) in HIV-exposed but uninfected children enrolled in a US-based prospective cohort study. LLE was defined as a caregiver-reported score ≤10th percentile in any of 4 domains of the MacArthur-Bates Communicative Development Inventory for 1-year olds and as ≥1 standard deviation below age-specific norms for the Ages and Stages Questionnaire for 2-year olds. Logistic regression models were used to evaluate associations of in utero cARV exposure with LLE, adjusting for infant, maternal and environmental characteristics. 1129 language assessments were conducted among 792 1- and 2-year-old children (50% male, 62% black and 37% Hispanic). Overall, 86% had in utero exposure to cARV and 83% to protease inhibitors. LLE was identified in 26% of 1-year olds and 23% of 2-year olds, with higher rates among boys. In adjusted models, LLE was not associated with maternal cARV or ARV drug classes in either age group. Among cARV-exposed 1-year olds, increased odds of LLE was observed for those exposed to atazanavir (adjusted odds ratio = 1.83, 95% confidence interval: 1.10-3.04), particularly after the first trimester (adjusted odds ratio = 3.56, P = 0.001), compared with atazanavir-unexposed infants. No associations of individual ARV drugs with LLE were observed among 2-year olds. In utero cARV exposure showed little association with LLE, except for a higher risk of language delay observed in 1-year-old infants with atazanavir exposure.

  17. Spatial and gender scenario of literate life expectancy at birth in India.

    PubMed

    Chattopadhyay, Aparajita; Sinha, Kumar Chiman

    2010-10-01

    Measuring human quality of life is academically challenging. The human development index (HDI) substantially captures the overall country level status on human welfare. However, this index has some drawbacks. Therefore, Lutz composed a simple index in 1995 combining life expectancy and literacy, called literate life expectancy (LLE). LLE can be calculated for subpopulations depending on availability of data. This article captures the LLE in major states in India and the gender differences in LLE at rural and urban levels. The authors have tried to highlight the social development scenario in India and its major states by using this pure social indicator that intentionally does not use any economic measurement. The state scenario comprehensively depicts gender differentials in social development, and it calls for implementing development measures more seriously in states like Haryana, Bihar, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, and Uttar Pradesh to reduce the gender gap. Being highly correlated with the HDI, the LLE index proves to be a very clear and simple comprehensive measure of social development for different subpopulations.

  18. Locally Linear Embedding of Local Orthogonal Least Squares Images for Face Recognition

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Hafizhelmi Kamaru Zaman, Fadhlan

    2018-03-01

    Dimensionality reduction is very important in face recognition since it ensures that high-dimensionality data can be mapped to lower dimensional space without losing salient and integral facial information. Locally Linear Embedding (LLE) has been previously used to serve this purpose, however, the process of acquiring LLE features requires high computation and resources. To overcome this limitation, we propose a locally-applied Local Orthogonal Least Squares (LOLS) model can be used as initial feature extraction before the application of LLE. By construction of least squares regression under orthogonal constraints we can preserve more discriminant information in the local subspace of facial features while reducing the overall features into a more compact form that we called LOLS images. LLE can then be applied on the LOLS images to maps its representation into a global coordinate system of much lower dimensionality. Several experiments carried out using publicly available face datasets such as AR, ORL, YaleB, and FERET under Single Sample Per Person (SSPP) constraint demonstrates that our proposed method can reduce the time required to compute LLE features while delivering better accuracy when compared to when either LLE or OLS alone is used. Comparison against several other feature extraction methods and more recent feature-learning method such as state-of-the-art Convolutional Neural Networks (CNN) also reveal the superiority of the proposed method under SSPP constraint.

  19. Preventive effects of lignan extract from flax hulls on experimentally induced benign prostate hyperplasia.

    PubMed

    Bisson, Jean-François; Hidalgo, Sophie; Simons, Rudy; Verbruggen, Marian

    2014-06-01

    Consumption of diet rich in lignans may decrease the risk of some chronic hormonal conditions such as benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH). This study investigated whether a lignan-rich extract from flaxseed hulls, LinumLife EXTRA (LLE), could prevent BPH using the testosterone propionate (TP)-induced BPH rat model. Male Wistar-Unilever rats were randomly divided into four groups of 12 rats each: a negative control group fed with control diet and receiving daily subcutaneous injections of corn oil without TP, and three groups fed with control diet (positive control), diet containing 0.5% LLE (LLE 0.5) or 1.0% LLE (LLE 1.0) and receiving daily subcutaneous injections of TP in corn oil. Treatments with diets started 2 weeks before the induction of BPH and were carried out for 5 consecutive weeks. The influence of TP and LLE on body weight (BW), food and water consumptions, and enterolactone (ENL) levels in serum and urine of rats was examined at the end of the 5-week treatment period. TP significantly diminished the mean body weight gain (MBWG) of positive control rats and their food and water consumptions while LLE reduced significantly this MBWG reduction in a dose-dependent manner. The lignan-rich extract significantly inhibited TP-induced prostate size ratio (prostate weight/rat BW) increase in comparison with positive controls (P<.001). This effect was dose dependent. Higher serum and urine levels of ENL correlated well with the dose of extract provided to rats. It was concluded that the lignan-rich flaxseed hull extract prevented the TP-induced BPH indicating it might be beneficial in the prevention of BPH.

  20. Thiolene and SIFEL-based Microfluidic Platforms for Liquid-Liquid Extraction

    PubMed Central

    Goyal, Sachit; Desai, Amit V.; Lewis, Robert W.; Ranganathan, David R.; Li, Hairong; Zeng, Dexing; Reichert, David E.; Kenis, Paul J.A.

    2014-01-01

    Microfluidic platforms provide several advantages for liquid-liquid extraction (LLE) processes over conventional methods, for example with respect to lower consumption of solvents and enhanced extraction efficiencies due to the inherent shorter diffusional distances. Here, we report the development of polymer-based parallel-flow microfluidic platforms for LLE. To date, parallel-flow microfluidic platforms have predominantly been made out of silicon or glass due to their compatibility with most organic solvents used for LLE. Fabrication of silicon and glass-based LLE platforms typically requires extensive use of photolithography, plasma or laser-based etching, high temperature (anodic) bonding, and/or wet etching with KOH or HF solutions. In contrast, polymeric microfluidic platforms can be fabricated using less involved processes, typically photolithography in combination with replica molding, hot embossing, and/or bonding at much lower temperatures. Here we report the fabrication and testing of microfluidic LLE platforms comprised of thiolene or a perfluoropolyether-based material, SIFEL, where the choice of materials was mainly guided by the need for solvent compatibility and fabrication amenability. Suitable designs for polymer-based LLE platforms that maximize extraction efficiencies within the constraints of the fabrication methods and feasible operational conditions were obtained using analytical modeling. To optimize the performance of the polymer-based LLE platforms, we systematically studied the effect of surface functionalization and of microstructures on the stability of the liquid-liquid interface and on the ability to separate the phases. As demonstrative examples, we report (i) a thiolene-based platform to determine the lipophilicity of caffeine, and (ii) a SIFEL-based platform to extract radioactive copper from an acidic aqueous solution. PMID:25246730

  1. Comparison of methods for determination of volatile organic compounds in drinking water.

    PubMed

    Golfinopoulos, S K; Lekkas, T D; Nikolaou, A D

    2001-10-01

    Comparison of four methods including liquid-liquid extraction (LLE), direct aqueous injection (DAI), purge and trap (PAT) and head space (HS) were carried out in this work for determination of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) including trihalomethanes (THMs) in drinking water. This comparison is made especially to show the advantages and disadvantages and specifically the different detection limits (DL) that can be obtained for a given type of analysis. LLE is applicable only for determination of the THMs concentrations, while DAI, PAT, HS methods with different DL each of them are applicable for all VOCs, with PAT to be the most sensitive. Sampling apparatus and procedure for all these methods except of PAT are very simple and easy, but possible disadvantages for LLE and DAI are the low sensitivity and especially the detection only of THMs with LLE.

  2. Comparative evaluation of the efficiency of low-cost adsorbents and ligninolytic fungi to remove a combination of xenoestrogens and pesticides from a landfill leachate and abate its phytotoxicity.

    PubMed

    Loffredo, Elisabetta; Castellana, Giancarlo

    2015-01-01

    In this study, two widely available low-cost adsorbents, almond shells and a green compost, and two ligninolytic fungi, Pleurotus ostreatus and Stereum hirsutum, were used to remove organic contaminants from a landfill leachate (LLe) and abate its phytotoxicity. The methodology adopted was based on the occurrence of two simultaneous processes, such as adsorption and bioremoval. The leachate was artificially contaminated with a mixture of the xenoestrogens bisphenol A (BPA), ethynilestadiol (EE2) and 4-n-nonylphenol (NP), the herbicide linuron and the insecticide dimethoate at concentrations of 10, 1, 1, 10 and 10 mg L(-1), respectively. Three adsorption substrates were prepared: potato dextrose agar alone or the same incorporating each adsorbent. The substrates were either not inoculated or inoculated with each fungus, separately, before to be superimposed on LLe. After 2 months, the residual amount of each contaminant, the electrical conductivity, the pH and the content of total phenols were measured in treated LLe. Germination assays using lettuce, ryegrass and radish were performed to evaluate LLe phytotoxicity. The combination substrate+P. ostreatus showed the best results with average removals of 88, 96, 99, 58 and 46% for BPA, EE2, NP, linuron and dimethoate, respectively. The same treatment considerably reduced the phenol content in LLe compared to no treatment. The combination substrate+S. hirsutum produced average removals of 39, 71, 100, 61 and 32% for BPA, EE2, NP, linuron and dimethoate, respectively. Also uninoculated substrates showed relevant adsorption capacities towards the five contaminants. Most treatments significantly reduced LLe phytotoxicity, especially on lettuce. The best results were obtained with the treatment compost+S. hirsutum, which produced root and shoot lengths and seedling biomass of lettuce, respectively, 2.3, 3.3, and 1.9 times those measured in untreated LLe. In general, germination results were negatively correlated with LLe

  3. Late language emergence in 24-month-old twins: heritable and increased risk for late language emergence in twins.

    PubMed

    Rice, Mabel L; Zubrick, Stephen R; Taylor, Catherine L; Gayán, Javier; Bontempo, Daniel E

    2014-06-01

    This study investigated the etiology of late language emergence (LLE) in 24-month-old twins, considering possible twinning, zygosity, gender, and heritability effects for vocabulary and grammar phenotypes. A population-based sample of 473 twin pairs participated. Multilevel modeling estimated means and variances of vocabulary and grammar phenotypes, controlling for familiality. Heritability was estimated with DeFries-Fulker regression and variance components models to determine effects of heritability, shared environment, and nonshared environment. Twins had lower average language scores than norms for single-born children, with lower average performance for monozygotic than dizygotic twins and for boys than girls, although gender and zygosity did not interact. Gender did not predict LLE. Significant heritability was detected for vocabulary (0.26) and grammar phenotypes (0.52 and 0.43 for boys and girls, respectively) in the full sample and in the sample selected for LLE (0.42 and 0.44). LLE and the appearance of Word Combinations were also significantly heritable (0.22-0.23). The findings revealed an increased likelihood of LLE in twin toddlers compared with single-born children that is modulated by zygosity and gender differences. Heritability estimates are consistent with previous research for vocabulary and add further suggestion of heritable differences in early grammar acquisition.

  4. A Study of Care Work in Welfare Facilities for the Elderly, Using Non Linear Analysis of Finger Plethysmograms

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Hirohashi, Yoko; Oyama-Higa, Mayumi; Lee, Sangjae

    2011-06-01

    The fingertip pulse waves of a number of staff working in a daycare center for the elderly and a special nursing home for the elderly were measured several times throughout the day for a period of one or two days, and the chaotic information gained was analyzed using a non linear analysis method. As a result, a relation between the staff's length of career and the change of Largest Lyapunov Exponent (LLE) of the fingertip pulse waves that synchronized with the mental revitalization degrees and the tension of the sympathetic nerve was evident. The LLE of the staff with short careers dramatically changed and also took a long time to settle down again. In addition, staff LLE changed greatly after sessions of bathing assistance and watching residents with dementia. LLE measurements showed drops in some staff after a period of rest, but this was not the case for other staff. It can be concluded that the LLE is related to the length of the staff member's career and what is actually done during working hours and rest periods. A high level of sympathetic nerve was seen in almost all of the care workers. On this basis, the authors propose that improvements are needed in the content of the care work.

  5. PubMed

    Hachenberg, Thomas; Kols, Kerstin

    2018-04-01

    Schlichtungsstellen für Arzthaftpflichtfragen bieten Patienten, Ärzten und Versicherern eine Möglichkeit, Arzthaftungsstreitigkeiten außergerichtlich zu klären. In der Rubrik „Fälle der Schlichtungsstelle“ stellen wir abgeschlossene Fälle aus der Schlichtungsstelle für Arzthaftpflichtfragen der norddeutschen Ärztekammern vor.

  6. 1999 Summer Research Program for High School Juniors at the University of Rochester's Laboratory for Laser Energetics

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

    None

    2002-10-09

    oak-B202--During the summer of 1999, 12 students from Rochester-area high schools participated in the Laboratory for Laser Energetics' Summer High School Research Program. The goal of this program is to excite a group of high school students about careers in the areas of science and technology by exposing them to research in a state-of-the-art environment. Too often, students are exposed to ''research'' only through classroom laboratories that have prescribed procedures and predictable results. In LLE's summer program, the students experience all of the trials, tribulations, and rewards of scientific research. By participating in research in a real environment, the studentsmore » often become more enthusiastic about careers in science and technology. In addition, LLE gains from the contributions of the many highly talented students who are attracted to the program. The students spent most of their time working on their individual research projects with members of LLE's technical staff. The projects were related to current research activities at LLE and covered a broad range of areas of interest including laser modeling, diagnostic development, chemistry, liquid crystal devices, and opacity data visualization. The students, their high schools, their LLE supervisors and their project titles are listed in the table. Their written reports are collected in this volume. The students attended weekly seminars on technical topics associated with LLE's research. Topics this year included lasers, fusion, holography, optical materials, global warming, measurement errors, and scientific ethics. The students also received safety training, learned how to give scientific presentations, and were introduced to LLE's resources, especially the computational facilities. The program culminated with the High School Student Summer Research Symposium on 25 August at which the students presented the results of their research to an audience that included parents, teachers, and members of

  7. Principles of Stagewise Separation Process Calculations: A Simple Algebraic Approach Using Solvent Extraction.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Crittenden, Barry D.

    1991-01-01

    A simple liquid-liquid equilibrium (LLE) system involving a constant partition coefficient based on solute ratios is used to develop an algebraic understanding of multistage contacting in a first-year separation processes course. This algebraic approach to the LLE system is shown to be operable for the introduction of graphical techniques…

  8. Becoming an L2 Learner (Again): How a Brief Language Learning Experience Sparked Connections with SLA Theory

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Forman, Ross

    2015-01-01

    A brief "language learning experience" (LLE) in Thai was integrated into a second language development course as part of postgraduate TESOL study at an Australian university. Sixty primary and secondary teachers from a range of schools evaluated the impact of the LLE by means of a questionnaire; the teachers proved highly affirming of…

  9. Evaluation of tricuspid valve regurgitation following laser lead extraction†.

    PubMed

    Pecha, Simon; Castro, Liesa; Gosau, Nils; Linder, Matthias; Vogler, Julia; Willems, Stephan; Reichenspurner, Hermann; Hakmi, Samer

    2017-06-01

    The objective of this study was to examine the effect of laser lead extraction (LLE) on the development of post-procedural tricuspid regurgitation (TR). Some reports have suggested an increase in TR associated with LLE. We present a series of patients who underwent both, LLE and complete echocardiographic evaluation for TR. A single centre analysis of consecutive patients referred for LLE between January 2012 and August 2015. One hundred and three patients had tricuspid valve function evaluated before the procedure with a transthoracic echocardiography (TTE), during the procedure using transoesophageal echocardiography and postoperatively using a TTE. TR was graded from 0 (none) to 4 (severe). We treated 235 leads in 103 patients, including 118 ventricular leads. Seventy-seven were male (74.8%) and 26 female (25.2%), with a mean age of 65.6 ± 15.4 years. Mean time from initial lead implantation was 98.0 ± 67.3 months. Twenty-one patients (20.4%) had ejection fraction below 30%. No intra-procedural worsening of tricuspid valve function was seen with TEE in any of the patients. Ten patients (9.7%) were found to have TR before LLE that returned to normal valve function after the procedure. Two patients (1.9%) experienced mild TR after the procedure (both with tricuspid valve endocarditis). Ninety-one patients (88.3%) did not experience any significant change of the tricuspid valve function after LLE. Transthoracic and transoesophageal echocardiography findings showed that laser lead extraction was not associated with a significant increase in the incidence of tricuspid valve regurgitation. © The Author 2017. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the European Association for Cardio-Thoracic Surgery. All rights reserved.

  10. Gas pressure assisted microliquid-liquid extraction coupled online to direct infusion mass spectrometry: a new automated screening platform for bioanalysis.

    PubMed

    Raterink, Robert-Jan; Witkam, Yoeri; Vreeken, Rob J; Ramautar, Rawi; Hankemeier, Thomas

    2014-10-21

    In the field of bioanalysis, there is an increasing demand for miniaturized, automated, robust sample pretreatment procedures that can be easily connected to direct-infusion mass spectrometry (DI-MS) in order to allow the high-throughput screening of drugs and/or their metabolites in complex body fluids like plasma. Liquid-Liquid extraction (LLE) is a common sample pretreatment technique often used for complex aqueous samples in bioanalysis. Despite significant developments that have been made in automated and miniaturized LLE procedures, fully automated LLE techniques allowing high-throughput bioanalytical studies on small-volume samples using direct infusion mass spectrometry, have not been matured yet. Here, we introduce a new fully automated micro-LLE technique based on gas-pressure assisted mixing followed by passive phase separation, coupled online to nanoelectrospray-DI-MS. Our method was characterized by varying the gas flow and its duration through the solvent mixture. For evaluation of the analytical performance, four drugs were spiked to human plasma, resulting in highly acceptable precision (RSD down to 9%) and linearity (R(2) ranging from 0.990 to 0.998). We demonstrate that our new method does not only allow the reliable extraction of analytes from small sample volumes of a few microliters in an automated and high-throughput manner, but also performs comparable or better than conventional offline LLE, in which the handling of small volumes remains challenging. Finally, we demonstrate the applicability of our method for drug screening on dried blood spots showing excellent linearity (R(2) of 0.998) and precision (RSD of 9%). In conclusion, we present the proof of principe of a new high-throughput screening platform for bioanalysis based on a new automated microLLE method, coupled online to a commercially available nano-ESI-DI-MS.

  11. The Systematics of Light Lithophile Elements (Li, Be, B) in Lunar Picritic Glasses

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Shearer, C. K.; Layne, G. D.; Papike, J. J.

    1993-07-01

    Lunar picritic glasses are thought to be the product of either partial melting of the deep lunar mantle followed by rapid ascent [1,2] or polybaric partial melting initiated in the deep lunar mantle [3]. The near primary compositions of these volcanic glasses provide us with a unique perspective for evaluating mare basaltic magmatism and the characteristics and evolution of the lunar mantle. Because of their obvious importance in deciphering the evolution of the Earth-Moon system, we have initiated an extensive trace element study of these picritic glasses using ion microprobe techniques. Here, we report the initial results of light lithophile element (LLE) analyses of these glasses. This is the first reported study of LLE in lunar basalts. The LLE have only recently received attention in terrestrial basaltic systems [4-6]. Their correlations with other more routinely analyzed trace elements (Li:Yb or V, Be:Nd, B:K) in a variety of terrestrial mantle environments have yielded several important insights into mantle magmatism [4-6]. Ion microprobe analyses of the glasses were conducted using a Cameca 4f ion microprobe operated on the UNM campus. The light lithophile elements were analyzed under the following conditions: 10-kV O- primary beam, 8-nA primary beam current, 10-15-micrometer beam diameter, sample voltage offset of -70 +- 25 V, and a 150-micrometer secondary ion image field with a 33-micrometer field aperature inserted. Counting times included background (2 seconds), 30Si (2 seconds), 7Li (2 seconds), 9Be (4 seconds), and 11B (8 seconds). Each analysis involved 30 to 40 counting cycles. These counting times resulted in precision for Li of better than 1.2% and for B and Be of better than 2.2%. Standards for Li, Be, and B in basaltic glass matrices were kindly provided by J. Ryan [4-6]. Calibration curves (LLE/30Si x wt% SiO2 vs. LLE concentration) were originally defined by a minimum of five standards for each element and are linear for the concentration

  12. Sample preparation combined with electroanalysis to improve simultaneous determination of antibiotics in animal derived food samples.

    PubMed

    da Silva, Wesley Pereira; de Oliveira, Luiz Henrique; Santos, André Luiz Dos; Ferreira, Valdir Souza; Trindade, Magno Aparecido Gonçalves

    2018-06-01

    A procedure based on liquid-liquid extraction (LLE) and phase separation using magnetically stirred salt-induced high-temperature liquid-liquid extraction (PS-MSSI-HT-LLE) was developed to extract and pre-concentrate ciprofloxacin (CIPRO) and enrofloxacin (ENRO) from animal food samples before electroanalysis. Firstly, simple LLE was used to extract the fluoroquinolones (FQs) from animal food samples, in which dilution was performed to reduce interference effects to below a tolerable threshold. Then, adapted PS-MSSI-HT-LLE protocols allowed re-extraction and further pre-concentration of target analytes in the diluted acid samples for simultaneous electrochemical quantification at low concentration levels. To improve the peak separation, in simultaneous detection, a baseline-corrected second-order derivative approach was processed. These approaches allowed quantification of target FQs from animal food samples spiked at levels of 0.80 to 2.00 µmol L -1 in chicken meat, with recovery values always higher than 80.5%, as well as in milk samples spiked at 4.00 µmol L -1 , with recovery values close to 70.0%. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  13. A simple liquid extraction protocol for overcoming the ion suppression of triacylglycerols by phospholipids in liquid chromatography mass spectrometry studies.

    PubMed

    Araujo, Pedro; Tilahun, Ephrem; Breivik, Joar Fjørtoft; Abdulkader, Bashir M; Frøyland, Livar; Zeng, Yingxu

    2016-02-01

    It is well-known that triacylglycerol (TAG) ions are suppressed by phospholipid (PL) ions in regiospecific analysis of TAG by mass spectrometry (MS). Hence, it is essential to remove the PL during sample preparation prior to MS analysis. The present article proposes a cost-effective liquid-liquid extraction (LLE) method to remove PL from TAG in different kinds of biological samples by using methanol, hexane and water. High performance thin layer chromatography confirmed the lack of PL in krill oil and salmon liver samples, submitted to the proposed LLE protocol, and liquid chromatography tandem MS confirmed that the identified TAG ions were highly enhanced after implementing the LLE procedure. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  14. Locally linear embedding: dimension reduction of massive protostellar spectra

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Ward, J. L.; Lumsden, S. L.

    2016-09-01

    We present the results of the application of locally linear embedding (LLE) to reduce the dimensionality of dereddened and continuum subtracted near-infrared spectra using a combination of models and real spectra of massive protostars selected from the Red MSX Source survey data base. A brief comparison is also made with two other dimension reduction techniques; principal component analysis (PCA) and Isomap using the same set of spectra as well as a more advanced form of LLE, Hessian locally linear embedding. We find that whilst LLE certainly has its limitations, it significantly outperforms both PCA and Isomap in classification of spectra based on the presence/absence of emission lines and provides a valuable tool for classification and analysis of large spectral data sets.

  15. Comparison of Electron Imaging Modes for Dimensional Measurements in the Scanning Electron Microscope.

    PubMed

    Postek, Michael T; Vladár, András E; Villarrubia, John S; Muto, Atsushi

    2016-08-01

    Dimensional measurements from secondary electron (SE) images were compared with those from backscattered electron (BSE) and low-loss electron (LLE) images. With the commonly used 50% threshold criterion, the lines consistently appeared larger in the SE images. As the images were acquired simultaneously by an instrument with the capability to operate detectors for both signals at the same time, the differences cannot be explained by the assumption that contamination or drift between images affected the SE, BSE, or LLE images differently. Simulations with JMONSEL, an electron microscope simulator, indicate that the nanometer-scale differences observed on this sample can be explained by the different convolution effects of a beam with finite size on signals with different symmetry (the SE signal's characteristic peak versus the BSE or LLE signal's characteristic step). This effect is too small to explain the >100 nm discrepancies that were observed in earlier work on different samples. Additional modeling indicates that those discrepancies can be explained by the much larger sidewall angles of the earlier samples, coupled with the different response of SE versus BSE/LLE profiles to such wall angles.

  16. Bearing Fault Diagnosis Based on Statistical Locally Linear Embedding

    PubMed Central

    Wang, Xiang; Zheng, Yuan; Zhao, Zhenzhou; Wang, Jinping

    2015-01-01

    Fault diagnosis is essentially a kind of pattern recognition. The measured signal samples usually distribute on nonlinear low-dimensional manifolds embedded in the high-dimensional signal space, so how to implement feature extraction, dimensionality reduction and improve recognition performance is a crucial task. In this paper a novel machinery fault diagnosis approach based on a statistical locally linear embedding (S-LLE) algorithm which is an extension of LLE by exploiting the fault class label information is proposed. The fault diagnosis approach first extracts the intrinsic manifold features from the high-dimensional feature vectors which are obtained from vibration signals that feature extraction by time-domain, frequency-domain and empirical mode decomposition (EMD), and then translates the complex mode space into a salient low-dimensional feature space by the manifold learning algorithm S-LLE, which outperforms other feature reduction methods such as PCA, LDA and LLE. Finally in the feature reduction space pattern classification and fault diagnosis by classifier are carried out easily and rapidly. Rolling bearing fault signals are used to validate the proposed fault diagnosis approach. The results indicate that the proposed approach obviously improves the classification performance of fault pattern recognition and outperforms the other traditional approaches. PMID:26153771

  17. Chronic low back pain after lumbosacral fracture due to sagittal and frontal vertebral imbalance.

    PubMed

    Boyoud-Garnier, L; Boudissa, M; Ruatti, S; Kerschbaumer, G; Grobost, P; Tonetti, J

    2017-06-01

    Over time, some patients with unilateral or bilateral lumbosacral injuries experience chronic low back pain. We studied the sagittal and frontal balance in a population with these injuries to determine whether mismatch in the pelvic and lumbar angles are associated with chronic low back pain. Patients with posterior pelvic ring fractures (Tile C1, C2, C3 and A3.3) that had healed were included. Foreign patients and those with an associated spinal or acetabular fracture or nonunion were excluded. The review consisted of subjective questionnaires, a clinical examination, and standing A/P and lateral stereoradiographic views. The pelvic tilt (PT), sacral slope (SS), pelvic incidence (PI), measured lumbar lordosis (LLm), T9 sagittal offset, leg discrepancy (LD) and lateral curvature (LC). The expected lumbar lordosis (LLe) was calculated using the formula LLe=PI+9°. We defined lumbopelvic mismatch (LPM) as the difference between LLm and LLe being equal or greater than 25% of LLe. Fifteen patients were reviewed after an average follow-up of 8.8 years [5.4-15]. There were four Tile C1, five Tile C2, five Tile C3 and one Tile A3.3 fracture. Ten of the 15 patients had low back pain. The mean angles were: LLm 49.6° and LLe 71.9° (P=0.002), PT 21.3°, SS 44.1°, PI 62.9° in patients with low back pain and LLm 57.4° and LLe 63.2° (P=0.55), PT 13°, SS 43.1°, PI 54.2° in those without. LPM was present in 9 patients, 8 of who had low back pain (P=0.02). Six patients, all of whom had low back pain, had a mean LC of 7.5° [4.5-23] (P=0.02). The mean LD was 0.77cm. The findings of this small study suggest that patients who experience low back pain after their posterior arch of the pelvic ring fracture has healed, have a lumbopelvic mismatch. Early treatment of these patients should aim to reestablish the anatomy of the pelvic base relative to the frontal and sagittal balance. IV. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.

  18. The Sixth Omega Laser Facility Users Group Workshop

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

    Petrasso, R. D.

    A capacity gathering of over 100 researchers from 25 universities and laboratories met at the Laboratory for Laser Energetics (LLE) for the Sixth Omega Laser Facility Users Group (OLUG) workshop. The purpose of the 2.5-day workshop was to facilitate communications and exchanges among individual OMEGA users, and between users and the LLE management; to present ongoing and proposed research; to encourage research opportunities and collaborations that could be undertaken at the Omega Laser Facility and in a complementary fashion at other facilities [such as the National Ignition Facility (NIF) or the Laboratoire pour l’Utilisation des Lasers Intenses (LULI)]; to providemore » an opportunity for students, postdoctoral fellows, and young researchers to present their research in an informal setting; and to provide feedback from the users to LLE management about ways to improve and keep the facility and future experimental campaigns at the cutting edge.« less

  19. The Fifth Omega Laser Facility Users Group Workshop

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

    Petrasso, R. D.

    A capacity gathering of over 100 researchers from 25 universities and laboratories met at the Laboratory for Laser Energetics (LLE) for the Fifth Omega Laser Facility Users Group (OLUG) workshop. The purpose of the 2.5-day workshop was to facilitate communications and exchanges among individual Omega users and between users and the LLE management; to present ongoing and proposed research; to encourage research opportunities and collaborations that could be undertaken at the Omega Laser Facility and in a complementary fashion at other facilities [such as the National Ignition Facility (NIF) or the Laboratoire pour l’Utilisation des Lasers Intenses (LULI)]; to providemore » an opportunity for students, postdoctoral fellows, and young researchers to present their research in an informal setting; and to provide feedback to LLE management from the users about ways to improve the facility and future experimental campaigns.« less

  20. Lyapunov exponent and criticality in the Hamiltonian mean field model

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Filho, L. H. Miranda; Amato, M. A.; Rocha Filho, T. M.

    2018-03-01

    We investigate the dependence of the largest Lyapunov exponent (LLE) of an N-particle self-gravitating ring model at equilibrium with respect to the number of particles and its dependence on energy. This model has a continuous phase-transition from a ferromagnetic to homogeneous phase, and we numerically confirm with large scale simulations the existence of a critical exponent associated to the LLE, although at variance with the theoretical estimate. The existence of strong chaos in the magnetized state evidenced by a positive Lyapunov exponent is explained by the coupling of individual particle oscillations to the diffusive motion of the center of mass of the system and also results in a change of the scaling of the LLE with the number of particles. We also discuss thoroughly for the model the validity and limits of the approximations made by a geometrical model for their analytic estimate.

  1. Chaotic characteristics enhanced by impeller of perturbed six-bent-bladed turbine in stirred tank

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Luan, Deyu; Zhang, Shengfeng; Lu, Jianping; Zhang, Xiaoguang

    The fundamental way of improving the mixing efficiency is to induce the chaotic flow in a stirred vessel. The impeller form plays an important role for changing the structure of flow field and realizing chaotic mixing. Based on the velocity time series acquired by the experiment of particle image velocimetry (PIV), with the software Matlab, the macro-instability (MI), largest Lyapunov exponent (LLE), and Kolmogorov entropy in the water stirred tank is investigated respectively with the impeller of perturbed six-bent-bladed turbine (6PBT). The results show that the MI characteristics are obvious and two peak values of MI frequency are observed at the speed N = 60 rpm. With the increasing speed (more than 100 rpm), the peak characteristics of MI frequency disappear and a multi-scale wavelet structure of characterizing the chaotic flow field appears. Moreover, under the speed N = 60 rpm, the LLE is less than 0 and Kolmogorov entropy is 0, which means that the flow field is in the periodic moving state. As the speed is increased to more than 100 rpm, the LLE and Kolmogorov entropy are all more than 0, which indicates that the flow field goes into the chaotic mixing. When the speed reaches up to about 210 rpm, both of the LLE and Kolmogorov entropy achieve the optimum values, which will result in an excellent chaos with the highest mixing efficient. So it is feasible that the MI frequency, the LLE and the Kolmogorov entropy can be used to analyze the flow field characteristics in a stirred tank. The research results promote the understanding of the chaotic mixing mechanism and provide a theoretical reference for the development of new type impeller.

  2. Three Months of Progressive High-Load Versus Traditional Low-Load Strength Training Among Patients With Rotator Cuff Tendinopathy: Primary Results From the Double-Blind Randomized Controlled RoCTEx Trial

    PubMed Central

    Ingwersen, Kim Gordon; Jensen, Steen Lund; Sørensen, Lilli; Jørgensen, Hans Ri; Christensen, Robin; Søgaard, Karen; Juul-Kristensen, Birgit

    2017-01-01

    Background: Progressive high-load exercise (PHLE) has led to positive clinical results in patients with patellar and Achilles tendinopathy. However, its effects on rotator cuff tendinopathy still need to be investigated. Purpose: To assess the clinical effects of PHLE versus low-load exercise (LLE) among patients with rotator cuff tendinopathy. Study Design: Randomized controlled trial; Level of evidence, 1. Methods: Patients with rotator cuff tendinopathy were recruited and randomized to 12 weeks of PHLE or LLE, stratified for concomitant administration of corticosteroid injection. The primary outcome measure was change from baseline to 12 weeks in the Disabilities of the Arm, Shoulder, and Hand (DASH) questionnaire, assessed in the intention-to-treat population. Results: A total of 100 patients were randomized to PHLE (n = 49) or LLE (n = 51). Mean changes in the DASH questionnaire were 7.11 points (95% CI, 3.07-11.16) and 8.39 points (95% CI, 4.35-12.44) in the PHLE and LLE groups, respectively; this corresponded to a statistically nonsignificant adjusted mean group difference of −1.37 points (95% CI, −6.72 to 3.99; P = .61). Similar nonsignificant results were seen for pain, range of motion, and strength. However, a significant interaction effect was found between the 2 groups and concomitant corticosteroid use (P = .028), with the largest positive change in DASH in favor of PHLE for the group receiving concomitant corticosteroid. Conclusion: The study results showed no superior benefit from PHLE over traditional LLE among patients with rotator cuff tendinopathy. Further investigation of the possible interaction between exercise type and corticosteroid injection is needed to establish optimal and potentially synergistic combinations of these 2 factors. Registration: NCT01984203 (ClinicalTrials.gov identifier): Rotator Cuff Tendinopathy Exercise Trial (RoCTEx). PMID:28875153

  3. Three Months of Progressive High-Load Versus Traditional Low-Load Strength Training Among Patients With Rotator Cuff Tendinopathy: Primary Results From the Double-Blind Randomized Controlled RoCTEx Trial.

    PubMed

    Ingwersen, Kim Gordon; Jensen, Steen Lund; Sørensen, Lilli; Jørgensen, Hans Ri; Christensen, Robin; Søgaard, Karen; Juul-Kristensen, Birgit

    2017-08-01

    Progressive high-load exercise (PHLE) has led to positive clinical results in patients with patellar and Achilles tendinopathy. However, its effects on rotator cuff tendinopathy still need to be investigated. To assess the clinical effects of PHLE versus low-load exercise (LLE) among patients with rotator cuff tendinopathy. Randomized controlled trial; Level of evidence, 1. Patients with rotator cuff tendinopathy were recruited and randomized to 12 weeks of PHLE or LLE, stratified for concomitant administration of corticosteroid injection. The primary outcome measure was change from baseline to 12 weeks in the Disabilities of the Arm, Shoulder, and Hand (DASH) questionnaire, assessed in the intention-to-treat population. A total of 100 patients were randomized to PHLE (n = 49) or LLE (n = 51). Mean changes in the DASH questionnaire were 7.11 points (95% CI, 3.07-11.16) and 8.39 points (95% CI, 4.35-12.44) in the PHLE and LLE groups, respectively; this corresponded to a statistically nonsignificant adjusted mean group difference of -1.37 points (95% CI, -6.72 to 3.99; P = .61). Similar nonsignificant results were seen for pain, range of motion, and strength. However, a significant interaction effect was found between the 2 groups and concomitant corticosteroid use ( P = .028), with the largest positive change in DASH in favor of PHLE for the group receiving concomitant corticosteroid. The study results showed no superior benefit from PHLE over traditional LLE among patients with rotator cuff tendinopathy. Further investigation of the possible interaction between exercise type and corticosteroid injection is needed to establish optimal and potentially synergistic combinations of these 2 factors. NCT01984203 (ClinicalTrials.gov identifier): Rotator Cuff Tendinopathy Exercise Trial (RoCTEx).

  4. Extensive Evaluation of the Conductor-like Screening Model for Real Solvents Method in Predicting Liquid-Liquid Equilibria in Ternary Systems of Ionic Liquids with Molecular Compounds.

    PubMed

    Paduszyński, Kamil

    2018-04-12

    A conductor-like screening model for real solvents (COSMO-RS) is nowadays one of the most popular and commonly applied tools for the estimation of thermodynamic properties of complex fluids. The goal of this work is to provide a comprehensive review and analysis of the performance of this approach in calculating liquid-liquid equilibrium (LLE) phase diagrams in ternary systems composed of ionic liquid and two molecular compounds belonging to diverse families of chemicals (alkanes, aromatics, S/N-compounds, alcohols, ketones, ethers, carboxylic acid, esters, and water). The predictions are presented for extensive experimental database, including 930 LLE data sets and more than 9000 data points (LLE tie lines) reported for 779 unique ternary mixtures. An impact of the type of molecular binary subsystem on the accuracy of predictions is demonstrated and discussed on the basis of representative examples. The model's capability of capturing qualitative trends in the LLE distribution ratio and selectivity is also checked for a number of structural effects. Comparative analysis of two levels of quantum chemical theory (BP-TZVP-COSMO vs BP-TZVPD-FINE) for the input molecular data for COSMO-RS is presented. Finally, some general recommendations for the applicability of the model are indicated based on the analysis of the global performance as well as on the results obtained for systems relevant from the point of view of important separation problems.

  5. Low tritium partial pressure permeation system for mass transport measurement in lead lithium eutectic

    DOE PAGES

    Pawelko, R. J.; Shimada, M.; Katayama, K.; ...

    2015-11-28

    This paper describes a new experimental system designed to investigate tritium mass transfer properties in materials important to fusion technology. Experimental activities were carried out at the Safety and Tritium Applied Research (STAR) facility located at the Idaho National Laboratory (INL). The tritium permeation measurement system was developed as part of the Japan/US TITAN collaboration to investigate tritium mass transfer properties in liquid lead lithium eutectic (LLE) alloy. The experimental system is configured to measure tritium mass transfer properties at low tritium partial pressures. Initial tritium permeation scoping tests were conducted on a 1 mm thick α-Fe plate to determinemore » operating parameters and to validate the experimental technique. A second series of permeation tests was then conducted with the α-Fe plate covered with an approximately 8.5 mm layer of liquid lead lithium eutectic alloy (α-Fe/LLE). We present preliminary tritium permeation data for α-Fe and α-Fe/LLE at temperatures between 400 and 600°C and at tritium partial pressures between 1.7E-3 and 2.5 Pa in helium. Preliminary results for the α-Fe plate and α-Fe/LLE indicate that the data spans a transition region between the diffusion-limited regime and the surface-limited regime. In conclusion, additional data is required to determine the existence and range of a surface-limited regime.« less

  6. [Diverse sustainability--sustainable diversity].

    PubMed

    Schmeling-Kludas, Christoph; Koch-Gromus, Uwe

    2011-08-01

    In spite of its plenitude, the scientific works of the important German psychologist Ernst August Dölle (1898-1972) are little adapted till today, mostly they are being reduced to his studies about dichotomy and duplicity. But based on his diaries of the year 1968, the authors can verify without doubt, that Dölle far ahead of his time, carried on research about sustainability and diversity. He was the first scientist worldwide to connect these two concepts. Georg Thieme Verlag KG Stuttgart · New York.

  7. Bioactivity of food peptides: biological response of rats to bovine milk whey peptides following acute exercise

    PubMed Central

    Moura, Carolina Soares; Lollo, Pablo Christiano Barboza; Morato, Priscila Neder; Risso, Eder Muller; Amaya-Farfan, Jaime

    2017-01-01

    ABSTRACT Background: Several physiologically beneficial effects of consuming a whey protein hydrolysate (WPH) have been attributed to the greater availability of bioactive peptides. Aims: The aim was to investigate the effect of four branched-chain amino acid- (BCAA-)containing dipeptides, present in WPH, on immune modulation, stimulation of HSP expression, muscle protein synthesis, glycogen content, satiety signals and the impact of these peptides on the plasma free amino acid profiles. Methods: The animals were divided in groups: control (rest, without gavage), vehicle (water), L-isoleucyl-L-leucine (lle-Leu), L-leucyl-L-isoleucine (Leu-lle), L-valyl-Lleucine (Val-Leu), L-leucyl-L-valine (Leu-Val) and WPH. All animals were submitted to acute exercise, except for control. Results: lle-Leu stimulated immune response, hepatic and muscle glycogen and HSP60 expression, whereas Leu-Val enhanced HSP90 expression. All dipeptides reduced glucagon-like peptide-1 and glucose-dependent insulinotropic polypeptide, no changes were observed on leptin. All peptides inhibited NF-kB expression. The plasma amino acid time-course showed peptide-specific and isomer-specific metabolic features, including increases of the BCAAs. Conclusion: The data indicate that lle-Leu was effective to attenuate immune-suppression exercise-induced, promoted glycogen content and stimulated anti-stress effect (HSP). Furthermore, Leu-Val increased HSP90, p-4EBP1, p-mTOR and p-AMPK expression. The data suggest the involvement of these peptides in various beneficial functions of WPH consumption. PMID:28326005

  8. Risk equivalent of exposure versus dose of radiation

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

    Bond, V.P.

    This report describes a risk analysis study of low-dose irradiation and the resulting biological effects on a cell. The author describes fundamental differences between the effects of high-level exposure (HLE) and low-level exposure (LLE). He stresses that the concept of absorbed dose to an organ is not a dose but a level of effect produced by a particular number of particles. He discusses the confusion between a linear-proportional representation of dose limits and a threshold-curvilinear representation, suggesting that a LLE is a composite of both systems. (TEM)

  9. Optimizing Ligand Efficiency of Selective Androgen Receptor Modulators (SARMs)

    PubMed Central

    2015-01-01

    A series of selective androgen receptor modulators (SARMs) containing the 1-(trifluoromethyl)benzyl alcohol core have been optimized for androgen receptor (AR) potency and drug-like properties. We have taken advantage of the lipophilic ligand efficiency (LLE) parameter as a guide to interpret the effect of structural changes on AR activity. Over the course of optimization efforts the LLE increased over 3 log units leading to a SARM 43 with nanomolar potency, good aqueous kinetic solubility (>700 μM), and high oral bioavailability in rats (83%). PMID:26819671

  10. Characteristic Extraction of Mental Disease Patients by Nonlinear Analysis of Plethysmograms

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Hu, Yuyu; Wang, Wenbiao; Suzuki, Takashi; Oyama-Higa, Mayumi

    2011-06-01

    We measured the pulse waves of 196 mentally ill patients and 113 healthy students. Using heartbeat changes, we calculated the values of their sympathetic nerves, parasympathetic nerves, and autonomic nerve balance. In addition, we calculated the largest Lyapunov exponents (LLE) by non-linear analysis of plethysmograms. Values were analyzed by group. The results revealed a significant relationship between LLE and the autonomic nerve balance. The sympathetic nerve values in the patient group were significantly higher than those in the student group, whereas the LLE values were significantly lower. Furthermore, we illustrated the dynamic change in the results for single participants over several testing times. The measurement of pulse waves is easy and economical and does not put a strain on the subject. Additionally, these values can provide information that is more accurate than medical examination obtained from an interview. Our study contributed to the existing methodology in this field, and future data collection and measurement will be carried out. We hope that our study will be useful for neurologists and psychotherapists in their detection and treatment of mental illness.

  11. Sustainable efficient way for opioid peptide LVV-h7 preparation from enzymatic proteolysis in a microfluidic-based reaction-extraction process with solvent recycling.

    PubMed

    Elagli, Adil; Belhacene, Kalim; Dhulster, Pascal; Froidevaux, Renato

    2016-05-01

    LVV-h7 (LVVYPWTQFR) is a bioactive peptide that can be obtained from blood as waste of food industry, more precisely from hemoglobin hydrolysis by pepsin. This opioid peptide belongs to the hemorphins family and have strong physiological effects that bring its use in pharmaceutics and various therapeutic treatments attractive, in particular for substituting its costly chemically synthetized analogous. Hemoglobin hydrolysis by pepsin generates a huge variety of peptides among whose LVV-h7 can be purified by liquid-liquid extraction (LLE). Herein, selective preparation of this peptide is proposed by a microfluidic-based continuous reaction-separation process. Hemoglobin hydrolysis in microreactor was firstly coupled to LVV-h7 LLE in octan-1-ol and then coupled to LVV-h7 back LLE in acidic water. This continuous process allowed to prepare pure LVV-h7, as confirmed by liquid chromatography and mass spectrometry. The microfluidic circuit also allowed octan-1-ol recycling in a closed loop, making this method more sustainable than similar biphasic batch process. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  12. Mapping High Dimensional Sparse Customer Requirements into Product Configurations

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Jiao, Yao; Yang, Yu; Zhang, Hongshan

    2017-10-01

    Mapping customer requirements into product configurations is a crucial step for product design, while, customers express their needs ambiguously and locally due to the lack of domain knowledge. Thus the data mining process of customer requirements might result in fragmental information with high dimensional sparsity, leading the mapping procedure risk uncertainty and complexity. The Expert Judgment is widely applied against that background since there is no formal requirements for systematic or structural data. However, there are concerns on the repeatability and bias for Expert Judgment. In this study, an integrated method by adjusted Local Linear Embedding (LLE) and Naïve Bayes (NB) classifier is proposed to map high dimensional sparse customer requirements to product configurations. The integrated method adjusts classical LLE to preprocess high dimensional sparse dataset to satisfy the prerequisite of NB for classifying different customer requirements to corresponding product configurations. Compared with Expert Judgment, the adjusted LLE with NB performs much better in a real-world Tablet PC design case both in accuracy and robustness.

  13. Unfälle mit Kleintransportern

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Tschirschwitz, Christian

    Auf einer außerörtlichen Bundesstraße geriet ein mit vier Personen besetzter Pkw Toyota Corolla aus letztlich nicht vollständig geklärten Gründen ins Schleudern. Nachdem sich das Fahrzeug beträchtlich entgegen dem Uhrzeigersinn ausgedreht hatte, prallte ein entgegenkommender Kleintransporter VW T4 frontal an die rechte Flanke des Toyota. Der Transporter wurde gedreht, ausgehoben und durch einen Pkw Ford Escort unterfahren. Alle Fahrzeuge kamen in Kollisionsortnähe zum Endstand. Die vier Toyota-Insassen wurden getötet. Aus den anderen Fahrzeugen wurden sechs Personen überwiegend schwer verletzt. Unbeteiligte Zeugen waren nicht vorhanden.

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

    Shvydky, Alex

    This volume of LLE Review, covering October–December 2011, features “Crossed-Beam Energy Transfer in Direct-Drive Implosions” by I. V. Igumenshchev, W. Seka, D. H. Edgell, D. T. Michel, D. H. Froula, R. S. Craxton, R. Follett, J. H. Kelly, T. Z. Kosc, J. F. Myatt, T. C. Sangster, A. Shvydky, S. Skupsky, and C. Stoeckl (LLE); V. N. Goncharov and A. V. Maximov (LLE and Department of Mechanical Engineering, U. of Rochester); L. Divol and P. Michel (LLNL); and R. L. McCrory and D. D. Meyerhofer (LLE and Departments of Mechanical Engineering and Physics, U. of Rochester). In this article (p.more » 1), direct-drive–implosion experiments on the OMEGA laser [T. R. Boehly et al., Opt. Commun. 133, 495 (1995)] have shown discrepancies between simulations of the scattered (non-absorbed) light levels and measured ones that indicates the presence of a mechanism that reduces laser coupling efficiency by 10% to 20%. The authors attribute this degradation in laser coupling to crossed-beam energy transfer (CBET)— which is electromagnetically seeded—low-gain stimulated Brillouin scattering. CBET scatters energy from the central portion of the incoming light beam to outgoing light, reducing the laser absorption and hydrodynamic efficiency of implosions. One-dimensional hydrodynamic simulations including CBET show good agreement with all observables in implosion experiments on OMEGA. Three strategies to mitigate CBET and improve laser coupling are considered: the use of narrow beams, multicolor lasers, and higher-Z ablators. Experiments on OMEGA using narrow beams have demonstrated improvements in implosion performance.« less

  15. University of Rochester, Laboratory for Laser Energetics

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    1987-01-01

    In FY86 the Laboratory has produced a list of accomplishments in which it takes pride. LLE has met every laser-fusion program milestone to date in a program of research for direct-drive ultraviolet laser fusion originally formulated in 1981. LLE scientists authored or co-authored 135 scientific papers during 1985 to 1986. The collaborative experiments with NRL, LANL, and LLNL have led to a number of important ICF results. The cryogenic target system developed by KMS Fusion for LLE will be used in future high-density experiments on OMEGA to demonstrate the compression of thermonuclear fuel to 100 to 200 times that of solid (20 to 40 g/cm) in a test of the direct-drive concept, as noted in the National Academy of Sciences' report. The excellence of the advanced technology efforts at LLE is illustrated by the establishment of the Ultrafast Science Center by the Department of Defense through the Air Force Office of Scientific Research. Research in the Center will concentrate on bridging the gap between high-speed electronics and ultrafast optics by providing education, research, and development in areas critical to future communications and high-speed computer systems. The Laboratory for Laser Energetics continues its pioneering work on the interaction of intense radiation with matter. This includes inertial-fusion and advanced optical and optical electronics research; training people in the technology and applications of high-power, short-pulse lasers; and interacting with the scientific community, business, industry, and government to promote the growth of laser technology.

  16. Prospective Changes in Infertile Patients using Nonlinear Analysis

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Takahashi, Yuko; Tomiyama, Tatsuhiro; Matsubayashi, Hidehiko; Tsukamoto, Asami; Oyama-Higa, Mayumi

    2011-06-01

    We measured pulse waves in 22 infertile women from the beginning of in vitro fertilization-embryo transfer (IVF-ET) through to pregnancy testing. The largest Lyapunov exponent (LLE) and autonomic nerve balance in the pregnancy group were significantly lower than that in the non-pregnancy group. In this study, we measured plethysmograms of four women who became pregnant and 18 who did not, ten times from each. We calculated LLE and a value for the autonomic nerve balance; from this analysis, we conclude that a mental state that allows for the possibility of becoming pregnant is necessary for a successful pregnancy.

  17. Dual-axis reflective continuous-wave terahertz confocal scanning polarization imaging and image fusion

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Zhou, Yi; Li, Qi

    2017-01-01

    A dual-axis reflective continuous-wave terahertz (THz) confocal scanning polarization imaging system was adopted. THz polarization imaging experiments on gaps on film and metallic letters "BeLLE" were carried out. Imaging results indicate that the THz polarization imaging is sensitive to the tilted gap or wide flat gap, suggesting the THz polarization imaging is able to detect edges and stains. An image fusion method based on the digital image processing was proposed to ameliorate the imaging quality of metallic letters "BeLLE." Objective and subjective evaluation both prove that this method can improve the imaging quality.

  18. Was the Risk from Nursing-Home Evacuation after the Fukushima Accident Higher than the Radiation Risk?

    PubMed

    Murakami, Michio; Ono, Kyoko; Tsubokura, Masaharu; Nomura, Shuhei; Oikawa, Tomoyoshi; Oka, Tosihiro; Kami, Masahiro; Oki, Taikan

    2015-01-01

    After the 2011 accident at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant, nursing-home residents and staff were evacuated voluntarily from damaged areas to avoid radiation exposure. Unfortunately, the evacuation resulted in increased mortalities among nursing home residents. We assessed the risk trade-off between evacuation and radiation for 191 residents and 184 staff at three nursing homes by using the same detriment indicator, namely loss of life expectancy (LLE), under four scenarios, i.e. "rapid evacuation (in accordance with the actual situation; i.e. evacuation on 22 March)," "deliberate evacuation (i.e. evacuation on 20 June)," "20-mSv exposure," and "100-mSv exposure." The LLE from evacuation-related mortality among nursing home residents was assessed with survival probability data from nursing homes in the city of Minamisoma and the city of Soma. The LLE from radiation mortality was calculated from the estimated age-specific mortality rates from leukemia and all solid cancers based on the additional effective doses and the survival probabilities. The total LLE of residents due to evacuation-related risks in rapid evacuation was 11,000 persons-d-much higher than the total LLEs of residents and staff due to radiation in the other scenarios (27, 1100, and 5800 persons-d for deliberate evacuation, 20 mSv-exposure, and 100 mSv-exposure, respectively). The latitude for reducing evacuation risks among nursing home residents is surprisingly large. Evacuation regulation and planning should therefore be well balanced with the trade-offs against radiation risks. This is the first quantitative assessment of the risk trade-off between radiation exposure and evacuation after a nuclear power plant accident.

  19. Strahlungsfeldbedingungen bei der Ionisationsdosimetrie

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Krieger, Hanno

    Bei der Dosimetrie von Photonenstrahlungen mit luftgefüllten Ionisationskammern werden in diesem Kapitel zwei Grenzfälle unterschieden. Der eine Fall ist die Bedingung des so genannten Sekundärelektronengleichwichts im Kammervolumen. In diesem Fall bestimmen ausschließlich die Photonen im Messvolumen die dosimetrische Anzeige. Der zweite Grenzfall ist gegeben, wenn das Luftvolumen und die Kammer das Strahlungsfeld im Phantom so wenig stören, dass der Sekundärelektronenfluss unverändert bleibt. Diese Bedingungen nennt man BRAGG-GRAY-Bedingungen. Beide Grenzfälle sind in der Praxis nur näherungsweise zu verwirklichen. Abweichungen müssen durch entsprechende Korrekturen oder Kalibrierungen berücksichtigt werden.

  20. State Anxiety and Nonlinear Dynamics of Heart Rate Variability in Students.

    PubMed

    Dimitriev, Dimitriy A; Saperova, Elena V; Dimitriev, Aleksey D

    2016-01-01

    Clinical and experimental research studies have demonstrated that the emotional experience of anxiety impairs heart rate variability (HRV) in humans. The present study investigated whether changes in state anxiety (SA) can also modulate nonlinear dynamics of heart rate. A group of 96 students volunteered to participate in the study. For each student, two 5-minute recordings of beat intervals (RR) were performed: one during a rest period and one just before a university examination, which was assumed to be a real-life stressor. Nonlinear analysis of HRV was performed. The Spielberger's State-Trait Anxiety Inventory was used to assess the level of SA. Before adjusting for heart rate, a Wilcoxon matched pairs test showed significant decreases in Poincaré plot measures, entropy, largest Lyapunov exponent (LLE), and pointwise correlation dimension (PD2), and an increase in the short-term fractal-like scaling exponent of detrended fluctuation analysis (α1) during the exam session, compared with the rest period. A Pearson analysis indicated significant negative correlations between the dynamics of SA and Poincaré plot axes ratio (SD1/SD2), and between changes in SA and changes in entropy measures. A strong negative correlation was found between the dynamics of SA and LLE. A significant positive correlation was found between the dynamics of SA and α1. The decreases in Poincaré plot measures (SD1, complex correlation measure), entropy measures, and LLE were still significant after adjusting for heart rate. Corrected α1 was increased during the exam session. As before, the dynamics of adjusted LLE was significantly correlated with the dynamics of SA. The qualitative increase in SA during academic examination was related to the decrease in the complexity and size of the Poincaré plot through a reduction of both the interbeat interval and its variation.

  1. State Anxiety and Nonlinear Dynamics of Heart Rate Variability in Students

    PubMed Central

    Dimitriev, Aleksey D.

    2016-01-01

    Objectives Clinical and experimental research studies have demonstrated that the emotional experience of anxiety impairs heart rate variability (HRV) in humans. The present study investigated whether changes in state anxiety (SA) can also modulate nonlinear dynamics of heart rate. Methods A group of 96 students volunteered to participate in the study. For each student, two 5-minute recordings of beat intervals (RR) were performed: one during a rest period and one just before a university examination, which was assumed to be a real-life stressor. Nonlinear analysis of HRV was performed. The Spielberger’s State-Trait Anxiety Inventory was used to assess the level of SA. Results Before adjusting for heart rate, a Wilcoxon matched pairs test showed significant decreases in Poincaré plot measures, entropy, largest Lyapunov exponent (LLE), and pointwise correlation dimension (PD2), and an increase in the short-term fractal-like scaling exponent of detrended fluctuation analysis (α1) during the exam session, compared with the rest period. A Pearson analysis indicated significant negative correlations between the dynamics of SA and Poincaré plot axes ratio (SD1/SD2), and between changes in SA and changes in entropy measures. A strong negative correlation was found between the dynamics of SA and LLE. A significant positive correlation was found between the dynamics of SA and α1. The decreases in Poincaré plot measures (SD1, complex correlation measure), entropy measures, and LLE were still significant after adjusting for heart rate. Corrected α1 was increased during the exam session. As before, the dynamics of adjusted LLE was significantly correlated with the dynamics of SA. Conclusions The qualitative increase in SA during academic examination was related to the decrease in the complexity and size of the Poincaré plot through a reduction of both the interbeat interval and its variation. PMID:26807793

  2. [Preparation and applications of a supported liquid-liquid extraction column with a composite diatomite material].

    PubMed

    Bao, Jianmin; Ma, Zhishuang; Sun, Ying; Wang, Yongzun; Li, Youxin

    2012-08-01

    A rapid and special supported liquid-liquid extraction (SLE) column was developed with a composite diatomite material. The SLE column was evaluated by high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) with acidic, neutral and alkaline compounds dissolved in water. Furthermore, some real complex samples were also analyzed by HPLC with the SLE method. The recoveries of benzoic acid (acidic), p-nitroaniline (alkaline) and 4-hydroxy-benzoic methyl ester (neutral) treated by the SLE column were 90.6%, 98.1% and 97.7%. However, the recoveries of the three compounds treated by traditional liquid-liquid extraction (LLE) method were 71.9%, 81.9% and 83.9%. The results showed that the SLE technique had higher recoveries than the traditional LLE method. The spiked recoveries of the complex samples, such as benzoic acid in Sprite and dexamethasone acetate, chlorphenamine maleate, indomethacin in bovine serum, were between 80% and 110% and the relative standard deviations (RSDs) were less than 15%. For biological specimen, the results could be accepted. Meantime, many disadvantages associated with traditional LLE method, such as emulsion formation, didn't occur using SLE column. The SLE column technique is a good sample preparation method with many advantages, such as rapid, simple, robust, easily automated, high recovery and high-throughput, which would be widely used in the future.

  3. Quantitative determination of methamphetamine in oral fluid by liquid-liquid extraction and gas chromatography/mass spectrometry.

    PubMed

    Bahmanabadi, L; Akhgari, M; Jokar, F; Sadeghi, H B

    2017-02-01

    Methamphetamine abuse is one of the most medical and social problems many countries face. In spite of the ban on the use of methamphetamine, it is widely available in Iran's drug black market. There are many analytical methods for the detection of methamphetamine in biological specimen. Oral fluid has become a popular specimen to test for the presence of methamphetamine. The purpose of the present study was to develop a method for the extraction and detection of methamphetamine in oral fluid samples using liquid-liquid extraction (LLE) and gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC/MS) methods. An analytical study was designed in that blank and 50 authentic oral fluid samples were collected to be first extracted by LLE and subsequently analysed by GC/MS. The method was fully validated and showed an excellent intra- and inter-assay precision (reflex sympathetic dystrophy ˂ 10%) for external quality control samples. Recovery with LLE methods was 96%. Limit of detection and limit of quantitation were 5 and 15 ng/mL, respectively. The method showed high selectivity, no additional peak due to interfering substances in samples was observed. The introduced method was sensitive, accurate and precise enough for the extraction of methamphetamine from oral fluid samples in forensic toxicology laboratories.

  4. LLE Review 118 (January-March 2009)

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

    Bittle, W., editor

    2009-08-03

    This issue has the following articles: (1) Applied Plasma Spectroscopy: Laser-Fusion Experiments; (2) Relativistic Electron-Beam Transport Studies Using High-Resolution, Coherent Transition Radiation Imaging; (3) Pressure-Driven, Resistive Magnetohydrodynamic Interchange Instabilities in Laser-Produced, High-Energy-Density Plasmas; (4) Extended Model for Polymer Cholesteric Liquid Crystal Flake Reorientation and Relaxation; (5) Modeling the Effects of Microencapsulation on the Electro-Optic Behavior of Polymer Cholesteric Liquid Crystal Flakes; (6) Capillarity and Dielectrophoresis of Liquid Deuterium; and (7) A Stable Mid-IR, GaSb-Based Diode Laser Source for Cryogenic Target Layering at the OMEGA Laser Facility.

  5. Identification and quantification analysis of nonlinear dynamics properties of combustion instability in a diesel engine

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

    Yang, Li-Ping, E-mail: yangliping302@hrbeu.edu.cn; Ding, Shun-Liang; Song, En-Zhe

    The cycling combustion instabilities in a diesel engine have been analyzed based on chaos theory. The objective was to investigate the dynamical characteristics of combustion in diesel engine. In this study, experiments were performed under the entire operating range of a diesel engine (the engine speed was changed from 600 to 1400 rpm and the engine load rate was from 0% to 100%), and acquired real-time series of in-cylinder combustion pressure using a piezoelectric transducer installed on the cylinder head. Several methods were applied to identify and quantitatively analyze the combustion process complexity in the diesel engine including delay-coordinate embedding, recurrencemore » plot (RP), Recurrence Quantification Analysis, correlation dimension (CD), and the largest Lyapunov exponent (LLE) estimation. The results show that the combustion process exhibits some determinism. If LLE is positive, then the combustion system has a fractal dimension and CD is no more than 1.6 and within the diesel engine operating range. We have concluded that the combustion system of diesel engine is a low-dimensional chaotic system and the maximum values of CD and LLE occur at the lowest engine speed and load. This means that combustion system is more complex and sensitive to initial conditions and that poor combustion quality leads to the decrease of fuel economy and the increase of exhaust emissions.« less

  6. A continuous mapping of sleep states through association of EEG with a mesoscale cortical model.

    PubMed

    Lopour, Beth A; Tasoglu, Savas; Kirsch, Heidi E; Sleigh, James W; Szeri, Andrew J

    2011-04-01

    Here we show that a mathematical model of the human sleep cycle can be used to obtain a detailed description of electroencephalogram (EEG) sleep stages, and we discuss how this analysis may aid in the prediction and prevention of seizures during sleep. The association between EEG data and the cortical model is found via locally linear embedding (LLE), a method of dimensionality reduction. We first show that LLE can distinguish between traditional sleep stages when applied to EEG data. It reliably separates REM and non-REM sleep and maps the EEG data to a low-dimensional output space where the sleep state changes smoothly over time. We also incorporate the concept of strongly connected components and use this as a method of automatic outlier rejection for EEG data. Then, by using LLE on a hybrid data set containing both sleep EEG and signals generated from the mesoscale cortical model, we quantify the relationship between the data and the mathematical model. This enables us to take any sample of sleep EEG data and associate it with a position among the continuous range of sleep states provided by the model; we can thus infer a trajectory of states as the subject sleeps. Lastly, we show that this method gives consistent results for various subjects over a full night of sleep and can be done in real time.

  7. Identification and quantification analysis of nonlinear dynamics properties of combustion instability in a diesel engine.

    PubMed

    Yang, Li-Ping; Ding, Shun-Liang; Litak, Grzegorz; Song, En-Zhe; Ma, Xiu-Zhen

    2015-01-01

    The cycling combustion instabilities in a diesel engine have been analyzed based on chaos theory. The objective was to investigate the dynamical characteristics of combustion in diesel engine. In this study, experiments were performed under the entire operating range of a diesel engine (the engine speed was changed from 600 to 1400 rpm and the engine load rate was from 0% to 100%), and acquired real-time series of in-cylinder combustion pressure using a piezoelectric transducer installed on the cylinder head. Several methods were applied to identify and quantitatively analyze the combustion process complexity in the diesel engine including delay-coordinate embedding, recurrence plot (RP), Recurrence Quantification Analysis, correlation dimension (CD), and the largest Lyapunov exponent (LLE) estimation. The results show that the combustion process exhibits some determinism. If LLE is positive, then the combustion system has a fractal dimension and CD is no more than 1.6 and within the diesel engine operating range. We have concluded that the combustion system of diesel engine is a low-dimensional chaotic system and the maximum values of CD and LLE occur at the lowest engine speed and load. This means that combustion system is more complex and sensitive to initial conditions and that poor combustion quality leads to the decrease of fuel economy and the increase of exhaust emissions.

  8. Risk assessment of mortality for all-cause, ischemic heart disease, cardiopulmonary disease, and lung cancer due to the operation of the world's largest coal-fired power plant

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Kuo, Pei-Hsuan; Tsuang, Ben-Jei; Chen, Chien-Jen; Hu, Suh-Woan; Chiang, Chun-Ju; Tsai, Jeng-Lin; Tang, Mei-Ling; Chen, Guan-Jie; Ku, Kai-Chen

    2014-10-01

    Based on recent understanding of PM2.5 health-related problems from fossil-fueled power plants emission inventories collected in Taiwan, we have determined the loss of life expectancy (LLE) and the lifetime (75-year) risks for PM2.5 health-related mortalities as attributed to the operation of the world's largest coal-fired power plant; the Taichung Power Plant (TCP), with an installed nominal electrical capacity of 5780 MW in 2013. Five plausible scenarios (combinations of emission controls, fuel switch, and relocation) and two risk factors were considered. It is estimated that the lifetime (75-y) risk for all-cause mortality was 0.3%-0.6% for males and 0.2%-0.4% for females, and LLE at 84 days in 1997 for the 23 million residents of Taiwan. The risk has been reduced to one-fourth at 0.05%-0.10% for males and 0.03%-0.06% for females, and LLE at 15 days in 2007, which was mainly attributed to the installation of desulfurization and de-NOx equipment. Moreover, additional improvements can be expected if we can relocate the power plant to a downwind site on Taiwan, and convert the fuel source from coal to natural gas. The risk can be significantly reduced further to one-fiftieth at 0.001%-0.002% for males and 0.001% for females, and LLE at 0.3 days. Nonetheless, it is still an order higher than the commonly accepted elevated-cancer risk at 0.0001% (10-6), indicating that the PM2.5 health-related risk for operating such a world-class power plant is not negligible. In addition, this study finds that a better-chosen site (involving moving the plant to the leeward side of Taiwan) can reduce the risk significantly as opposed to solely transitioning the fuel source to natural gas. Note that the fuel cost of using natural gas (0.11 USD/kWh in 2013) in Taiwan is about twice the price of using coal fuel (0.05 USD/kWh in 2013).

  9. Tests and calibration of NIF neutron time of flight detectors.

    PubMed

    Ali, Z A; Glebov, V Yu; Cruz, M; Duffy, T; Stoeckl, C; Roberts, S; Sangster, T C; Tommasini, R; Throop, A; Moran, M; Dauffy, L; Horsefield, C

    2008-10-01

    The National Ignition Facility (NIF) neutron time of flight (NTOF) diagnostic will measure neutron yield and ion temperature in all NIF campaigns in DD, DT, and THD(*) implosions. The NIF NTOF diagnostic is designed to measure neutron yield from 1x10(9) to 2x10(19). The NTOF consists of several detectors of varying sensitivity located on the NIF at about 5 and 20 m from the target. Production, testing, and calibration of the NIF NTOF detectors have begun at the Laboratory for Laser Energetics (LLE). Operational tests of the NTOF detectors were performed on several facilities including the OMEGA laser at LLE and the Titan laser at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory. Neutron calibrations were carried out on the OMEGA laser. Results of the NTOF detector tests and calibration will be presented.

  10. General rigid motion correction for computed tomography imaging based on locally linear embedding

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Chen, Mianyi; He, Peng; Feng, Peng; Liu, Baodong; Yang, Qingsong; Wei, Biao; Wang, Ge

    2018-02-01

    The patient motion can damage the quality of computed tomography images, which are typically acquired in cone-beam geometry. The rigid patient motion is characterized by six geometric parameters and are more challenging to correct than in fan-beam geometry. We extend our previous rigid patient motion correction method based on the principle of locally linear embedding (LLE) from fan-beam to cone-beam geometry and accelerate the computational procedure with the graphics processing unit (GPU)-based all scale tomographic reconstruction Antwerp toolbox. The major merit of our method is that we need neither fiducial markers nor motion-tracking devices. The numerical and experimental studies show that the LLE-based patient motion correction is capable of calibrating the six parameters of the patient motion simultaneously, reducing patient motion artifacts significantly.

  11. Improving Non-Linear Approaches to Anomaly Detection, Class Separation, and Visualization

    DTIC Science & Technology

    2014-12-26

    Chainlink . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 2.2.3 Modified Banana ...45 3.3 LLE Example for the Modified Banana Dataset. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47 x...Figure Page 3.4 Banana Dataset RLLE and Supervised RLLE Example. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51 3.5 DWT Decomposition [162

  12. Late Language Emergence at 24 Months: An Epidemiological Study of Prevalence, Predictors, and Covariates

    PubMed Central

    Zubrick, Stephen R.; Taylor, Catherine L.; Rice, Mabel L.

    2012-01-01

    Purpose The primary objectives of this study were to determine the prevalence of late language emergence (LLE) and to investigate the predictive status of maternal, family, and child variables. Method This is a prospective cohort study of 1766 epidemiologically ascertained twenty-four-month singleton children. The framework was an ecological model of child development, encompassing a wide range of maternal, family, and child variables. Data were obtained using postal questionnaire. Item analyses of the 6-item Ages and Stages Questionnaire (ASQ) Communication Scale yielded a composite score encompassing comprehension as well as production items. One standard deviation below the mean yielded good separation of affected from unaffected children. Analyses of bivariate relationships with maternal, family, and child variables were carried out, followed by multivariate logistic regression to predict LLE group membership. Results 13.4% of the sample showed late language emergence via the ASQ criterion; 19.1% using a single item “combining words.” Risk for LLE at 24 months was not associated with particular strata of parental educational levels, socioeconomic resources, parental mental health, parenting practices or family functioning. Significant predictors included familial history of late language emergence, male gender and early neurobiological growth. Covariates included psychosocial indicators. Conclusion Results are congruent with models of language emergence and impairment that posit a strong role for neurobiological and genetic mechanisms of onset that operate across a wide variation in maternal and family characteristics. PMID:18055773

  13. Direct-drive inertial confinement fusion research at the Laboratory for Laser Energetics: charting the path to thermonuclear ignition

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    McCrory, R. L.; Regan, S. P.; Loucks, S. J.; Meyerhofer, D. D.; Skupsky, S.; Betti, R.; Boehly, T. R.; Craxton, R. S.; Collins, T. J. B.; Delettrez, J. A.; Edgell, D.; Epstein, R.; Fletcher, K. A.; Freeman, C.; Frenje, J. A.; Glebov, V. Yu.; Goncharov, V. N.; Harding, D. R.; Igumenshchev, I. V.; Keck, R. L.; Kilkenny, J. D.; Knauer, J. P.; Li, C. K.; Marciante, J.; Marozas, J. A.; Marshall, F. J.; Maximov, A. V.; McKenty, P. W.; Myatt, J.; Padalino, S.; Petrasso, R. D.; Radha, P. B.; Sangster, T. C.; Séguin, F. H.; Seka, W.; Smalyuk, V. A.; Soures, J. M.; Stoeckl, C.; Yaakobi, B.; Zuegel, J. D.

    2005-10-01

    Significant theoretical and experimental progress continues to be made at the University of Rochester's Laboratory for Laser Energetics (LLE), charting the path to direct-drive inertial confinement fusion (ICF) ignition. Direct drive offers the potential for higher-gain implosions than x-ray drive and is a leading candidate for an inertial fusion energy power plant. LLE's direct-drive ICF ignition target designs for the National Ignition Facility (NIF) are based on hot-spot ignition. A cryogenic target with a spherical DT-ice layer, within or without a foam matrix, enclosed by a thin plastic shell, will be directly irradiated with ~1.5 MJ of laser energy. Cryogenic and plastic/foam (surrogate-cryogenic) targets that are hydrodynamically scaled from these ignition target designs are imploded on the 60-beam, 30 kJ, UV OMEGA laser system to validate the key target physics issues, including energy coupling, hydrodynamic instabilities and implosion symmetry. Prospects for direct-drive ignition on the NIF are extremely favourable, even while it is in its x-ray-drive irradiation configuration, with the development of the polar-direct-drive concept. A high-energy petawatt capability is being constructed at LLE next to the existing 60-beam OMEGA compression facility. This OMEGA EP (extended performance) laser will add two short-pulse, 2.6 kJ beams to the OMEGA laser system to backlight direct-drive ICF implosions and study fast-ignition physics with focused intensities up to 6 × 1020 W cm-2.

  14. Method development for the analysis of organophosphate and pyrethroid insecticides at low parts per trillion levels in water.

    PubMed

    Wang, Dongli; Weston, Donald P; Lydy, Michael J

    2009-06-15

    In the current study, organophosphate and pyrethroid insecticides including diazinon, chlorpyrifos, bifenthrin, fenpropathrin, permethrin, lambda-cyhalothrin, cyfluthrin, cypermethrin, esfenvalerate and deltamethrin were analyzed in laboratory and field-collected water samples. Water samples were extracted and analyzed by gas chromatography/electron capture detector (GC/ECD) and gas chromatography/nitrogen-phosphorous detector (GC/NPD). Comparison of results from liquid-liquid extraction and subsequent normal phase solid-phase extraction cleanup (LLE-NPSPE), and reversed phase solid-phase extraction (RPSPE) showed that LLE-NPSPE was the better choice to extract trace amounts of pesticides from water. Pesticide recoveries from four spiked water samples using LLE-NPSPE ranged from 63.2 to 148.8% at four spiking concentrations. Method detection limits were 0.72-1.69 ng/L using four different water sources. The stability of the target pesticides in lake water was investigated at 4 degrees C for 1h, 1d, 4d, and 7d under three conditions: (1) water samples only; (2) with 20 mL hexane used as a keeper solvent; and (3) with acidification to pH 2 with HCl. Results showed that water storage without treatment resulted in slow degradation of some pesticides with storage time, storage using water acidification led to significant degradation and loss of diazinon and chlorpyrifos, while water storage with hexane as a keeper solvent showed good stability for all of the target pesticides over the 7d storage period.

  15. Semi-automated 96-well liquid-liquid extraction for quantitation of drugs in biological fluids.

    PubMed

    Zhang, N; Hoffman, K L; Li, W; Rossi, D T

    2000-02-01

    A semi-automated liquid-liquid extraction (LLE) technique for biological fluid sample preparation was introduced for the quantitation of four drugs in rat plasma. All liquid transferring during the sample preparation was automated using a Tomtec Quadra 96 Model 320 liquid handling robot, which processed up to 96 samples in parallel. The samples were either in 96-deep-well plate or tube-rack format. One plate of samples can be prepared in approximately 1.5 h, and the 96-well plate is directly compatible with the autosampler of an LC/MS system. Selection of organic solvents and recoveries are discussed. Also, precision, relative error, linearity and quantitation of the semi automated LLE method are estimated for four example drugs using LC/MS/MS with a multiple reaction monitoring (MRM) approach. The applicability of this method and future directions are evaluated.

  16. Tuning the control system of a nonlinear inverted pendulum by means of the new method of Lyapunov exponents estimation

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Balcerzak, Marek; Dąbrowski, Artur; Pikunov, Danylo

    2018-01-01

    This paper presents a practical application of a new, simplified method of Lyapunov exponents estimation. The method has been applied to optimization of a real, nonlinear inverted pendulum system. Authors presented how the algorithm of the Largest Lyapunov Exponent (LLE) estimation can be applied to evaluate control systems performance. The new LLE-based control performance index has been proposed. Equations of the inverted pendulum system of the fourth order have been found. The nonlinear friction of the regulation object has been identified by means of the nonlinear least squares method. Three different friction models have been tested: linear, cubic and Coulomb model. The Differential Evolution (DE) algorithm has been used to search for the best set of parameters of the general linear regulator. This work proves that proposed method is efficient and results in faster perturbation rejection, especially when disturbances are significant.

  17. Concentration dependent survival and neural differentiation of murine embryonic stem cells cultured on polyethylene glycol dimethacrylate hydrogels possessing a continuous concentration gradient of n-cadherin derived peptide His-Ala-Val-Asp-Lle.

    PubMed

    Lim, Hyun Ju; Mosley, Matthew C; Kurosu, Yuki; Smith Callahan, Laura A

    2017-07-01

    N-cadherin cell-cell signaling plays a key role in the structure and function of the nervous system. However, few studies have incorporated bioactive signaling from n-cadherin into tissue engineering matrices. The present study uses a continuous gradient approach in polyethylene glycol dimethacrylate hydrogels to identify concentration dependent effects of n-cadherin peptide, His-Ala-Val-Asp-Lle (HAVDI), on murine embryonic stem cell survival and neural differentiation. The n-cadherin peptide was found to affect the expression of pluripotency marker, alkaline phosphatase, in murine embryonic stem cells cultured on n-cadherin peptide containing hydrogels in a concentration dependent manner. Increasing n-cadherin peptide concentrations in the hydrogels elicited a biphasic response in neurite extension length and mRNA expression of neural differentiation marker, neuron-specific class III β-tubulin, in murine embryonic stem cells cultured on the hydrogels. High concentrations of n-cadherin peptide in the hydrogels were found to increase the expression of apoptotic marker, caspase 3/7, in murine embryonic stem cells compared to that of murine embryonic stem cell cultures on hydrogels containing lower concentrations of n-cadherin peptide. Increasing the n-cadherin peptide concentration in the hydrogels facilitated greater survival of murine embryonic stem cells exposed to increasing oxidative stress caused by hydrogen peroxide exposure. The combinatorial approach presented in this work demonstrates concentration dependent effects of n-cadherin signaling on mouse embryonic stem cell behavior, underscoring the need for the greater use of systematic approaches in tissue engineering matrix design in order to understand and optimize bioactive signaling in the matrix for tissue formation. Single cell encapsulation is common in tissue engineering matrices. This eliminates cellular access to cell-cell signaling. N-cadherin, a cell-cell signaling molecule, plays a vital role in

  18. Proposal for Prevention or Alleviation of Protein/Lymph-Losing Enteropathy (PLE/LLE) After Fontan Circulation Treatment of Univentricular Hearts: Restoration of Lymph Balance With a "Lymphatic Right-to-Left Shunt."

    PubMed

    James, H; Witte, M H; Bernas, M; Barber, B

    2016-09-01

    In Fontan circulations created for univentricular hearts, systemic venous return is diverted to the lungs before returning to the heart. The Total Cavopulmonary Connection (TCPC) is often the preferred surgical procedure whereby a 4-way anastomosis is created with inflow from the superior vena cava (SVC) and inferior vena cava (IVC) and outflow to the right and left branches of the pulmonary artery. In this arrangement, the systemic venous pressure must be elevated sufficiently to perfuse the lungs passively without the normal boost of the right ventricle. Hence, unlike surgical corrections for other congenital heart conditions, the systemic venous pressures in a Fontan circuit must be elevated to make the circulation work. It is proposed here that the incidence of PLE/LLE is directly related to elevated venous and lymphatic pressures, which cause leakage of proteins/lymph into the gastrointestinal tract (GIT) and expulsion from the body. It is commonly held that elevated venous pressures are relatively better tolerated in the upper body, but much less so in the heptatosplanchnic circulation and the lower body. It is also well established that elevated venous pressure increases lymph formation, most of which is produced in the hepatosplanchnic region (liver and intestine). It is further argued here that the increase in lymph filling pressure arising from the higher lymph flow, in association with the backpressure exerted by elevated venous pressure at the main drainage point into the venous system, results in a substantial increase in pressure in the thoracic duct. This pressure is transmitted back to the intestinal lymphatics, causing dilatation with lacteal rupture and protein or bulk lymph leakage into the intestine. We propose in this paper a new approach, based on experimental evidence, to prevent and/or alleviate this condition by draining or redirecting the thoracic duct (or, alternatively, a more localized intestinal lymphatic vessel) into one of the

  19. RaPToRS Sample Delivery System

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Henchen, Robert; Shibata, Kye; Krieger, Michael; Pogozelski, Edward; Padalino, Stephen; Glebov, Vladimir; Sangster, Craig

    2010-11-01

    At various labs (NIF, LLE, NRL), activated material samples are used to measure reaction properties. The Rapid Pneumatic Transport of Radioactive Samples (RaPToRS) system quickly and safely moves these radioactive samples through a closed PVC tube via airflow. The carrier travels from the reaction chamber to the control and analysis station, pneumatically braking at the outlet. A reversible multiplexer routes samples from various locations near the shot chamber to the analysis station. Also, the multiplexer allows users to remotely load unactivated samples without manually approaching the reaction chamber. All elements of the system (pneumatic drivers, flow control valves, optical position sensors, multiplexers, Geiger counters, and release gates at the analysis station) can be controlled manually or automatically using a custom LabVIEW interface. A prototype is currently operating at NRL in Washington DC. Prospective facilities for Raptors systems include LLE and NIF.

  20. Evaluating source separation of plastic waste using conjoint analysis.

    PubMed

    Nakatani, Jun; Aramaki, Toshiya; Hanaki, Keisuke

    2008-11-01

    Using conjoint analysis, we estimated the willingness to pay (WTP) of households for source separation of plastic waste and the improvement of related environmental impacts, the residents' loss of life expectancy (LLE), the landfill capacity, and the CO2 emissions. Unreliable respondents were identified and removed from the sample based on their answers to follow-up questions. It was found that the utility associated with reducing LLE and with the landfill capacity were both well expressed by logarithmic functions, but that residents were indifferent to the level of CO2 emissions even though they approved of CO2 reduction. In addition, residents derived utility from the act of separating plastic waste, irrespective of its environmental impacts; that is, they were willing to practice the separation of plastic waste at home in anticipation of its "invisible effects", such as the improvement of citizens' attitudes toward solid waste issues.

  1. Characterization of halogenated DBPs and identification of new DBPs trihalomethanols in chlorine dioxide treated drinking water with multiple extractions.

    PubMed

    Han, Jiarui; Zhang, Xiangru; Liu, Jiaqi; Zhu, Xiaohu; Gong, Tingting

    2017-08-01

    Chlorine dioxide (ClO 2 ) is a widely used alternative disinfectant due to its high biocidal efficiency and low-level formation of trihalomethanes and haloacetic acids. A major portion of total organic halogen (TOX), a collective parameter for all halogenated DBPs, formed in ClO 2 -treated drinking water is still unknown. A commonly used pretreatment method for analyzing halogenated DBPs in drinking water is one-time liquid-liquid extraction (LLE), which may lead to a substantial loss of DBPs prior to analysis. In this study, characterization and identification of polar halogenated DBPs in a ClO 2 -treated drinking water sample were conducted by pretreating the sample with multiple extractions. Compared to one-time LLE, the combined four-time LLEs improved the recovery of TOX by 2.3 times. The developmental toxicity of the drinking water sample pretreated with the combined four-time LLEs was 1.67 times higher than that pretreated with one-time LLE. With the aid of ultra-performance liquid chromatography/electrospray ionization-triple quadrupole mass spectrometry, a new group of polar halogenated DBPs, trihalomethanols, were detected in the drinking water sample pretreated with multiple extractions; two of them, trichloromethanol and bromodichloromethanol, were identified with synthesized standard compounds. Moreover, these trihalomethanols were found to be the transformation products of trihalomethanes formed during ClO 2 disinfection. The results indicate that multiple LLEs can significantly improve extraction efficiencies of polar halogenated DBPs and is a better pretreatment method for characterizing and identifying new polar halogenated DBPs in drinking water. Copyright © 2017. Published by Elsevier B.V.

  2. Propagation Influences on Digital Transmission Systems: Problems and Solutions Held at Athens, Greece on 4-8 June 1984.

    DTIC Science & Technology

    1984-06-08

    compared with predictions of dispersion. The predictions considerably underestimated the measured dispersion, but the inclusion of a beam hro~ adening ...41 ’ii Nl A TRANSMISSION ASYNCHRONE A FORT ETALEMENT DE SPECTRE Par- M. SCHILLIGER et C. LELOUP - MT RADIOPROFESSIONNE.LLE 46, Quai Alphonse le Gallo

  3. Analysis of the mobile phone effect on the heart rate variability by using the largest Lyapunov exponent.

    PubMed

    Yılmaz, Derya; Yıldız, Metin

    2010-12-01

    In this study, the effects of electromagnetic fields (EMFs) emitted by GSM900 based mobile phones (MPs) on the heart rate variability (HRV) were examined by using nonlinear analysis methods. The largest Lyapunov exponent (LLE) calculation was used to evaluate the effect of MP under various real exposure conditions. Sixteen healthy young volunteers were exposed to EMFs emitted by GSM900 based MP at two levels from a very low EMF (MP at stand-by) to a higher EMF (MP at pre-ring handshaking and ringing). A blind experimental protocol was designed and utilized with consideration to the physiological and psychological factors that may affect HRV. The results showed that the LLE values increased slightly with higher EMF produced by MP (P < 0.05). This change indicates that the degree of chaos in the HRV signals increased at higher EMF compared to low level EMF. Consequently, we have concluded that high level EMF changed the complexity of cardiac system behavior, significantly.

  4. Preliminary numerical investigation of bandwidth effects on CBET using the LPSE-CBET code

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Bates, Jason; Myatt, Jason; Shaw, John; Weaver, James; Obenschain, Keith; Lehmberg, Robert; Obenschain, Steve

    2016-10-01

    Cross beam energy transfer (CBET) is a significant energy-loss mechanism for direct-drive implosions on the OMEGA laser facility. Recently, a working group that includes participants from the Laboratory for Laser Energetics (LLE) at the University of Rochester and the U.S. Naval Research Laboratory (NRL) was formed to investigate strategies for ameliorating the deleterious effects of CBET. As part of this collaboration, the wave-based code LPSE-CBET developed at LLE has been made available to researchers at NRL and is being used to study the feasibility of suppressing CBET through the enhancement of laser bandwidth by stimulated rotational Raman scattering (SRRS). In this poster, we present some preliminary results on this subject. In particular, we discuss initial efforts to evaluate mitigation levels of 4 discrete Stokes lines from SRRS in air and compare our findings with ray-based simulation results of wavelength shifted (-6Å ,0, +6Å) driver-lines on OMEGA. Work Supported by DoE/NNSA.

  5. Theory of Random Copolymer Fractionation in Columns

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Enders, Sabine

    Random copolymers show polydispersity both with respect to molecular weight and with respect to chemical composition, where the physical and chemical properties depend on both polydispersities. For special applications, the two-dimensional distribution function must adjusted to the application purpose. The adjustment can be achieved by polymer fractionation. From the thermodynamic point of view, the distribution function can be adjusted by the successive establishment of liquid-liquid equilibria (LLE) for suitable solutions of the polymer to be fractionated. The fractionation column is divided into theoretical stages. Assuming an LLE on each theoretical stage, the polymer fractionation can be modeled using phase equilibrium thermodynamics. As examples, simulations of stepwise fractionation in one direction, cross-fractionation in two directions, and two different column fractionations (Baker-Williams fractionation and continuous polymer fractionation) have been investigated. The simulation delivers the distribution according the molecular weight and chemical composition in every obtained fraction, depending on the operative properties, and is able to optimize the fractionation effectively.

  6. Late Language Emergence in 24-Month-Old Twins: Heritable and Increased Risk for Late Language Emergence in Twins

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Rice, Mabel L.; Zubrick, Stephen R.; Taylor, Catherine L.; Gayán, Javier; Bontempo, Daniel E.

    2014-01-01

    Purpose: This study investigated the etiology of late language emergence (LLE) in 24-month-old twins, considering possible twinning, zygosity, gender, and heritability effects for vocabulary and grammar phenotypes. Method: A population-based sample of 473 twin pairs participated. Multilevel modeling estimated means and variances of vocabulary and…

  7. Comparison of salting-out and sugaring-out liquid-liquid extraction methods for the partition of 10-hydroxy-2-decenoic acid in royal jelly and their co-extracted protein content.

    PubMed

    Tu, Xijuan; Sun, Fanyi; Wu, Siyuan; Liu, Weiyi; Gao, Zhaosheng; Huang, Shaokang; Chen, Wenbin

    2018-01-15

    Homogeneous liquid-liquid extraction (h-LLE) has been receiving considerable attention as a sample preparation method due to its simple and fast partition of compounds with a wide range of polarities. To better understand the differences between the two h-LLE extraction approaches, salting-out assisted liquid-liquid extraction (SALLE) and sugaring-out assisted liquid-liquid extraction (SULLE), have been compared for the partition of 10-hydroxy-2-decenoic acid (10-HDA) from royal jelly, and for the co-extraction of proteins. Effects of the amount of phase partition agents and the concentration of acetonitrile (ACN) on the h-LLE were discussed. Results showed that partition efficiency of 10-HDA depends on the phase ratio in both SALLE and SULLE. Though the partition triggered by NaCl and glucose is less efficient than MgSO 4 in the 50% (v/v) ACN-water mixture, their extraction yields can be improved to be similar with that in MgSO 4 SALLE by increasing the initial concentration of ACN in the ACN-water mixture. The content of co-extracted protein was correlated with water concentration in the obtained upper phase. MgSO 4 showed the largest protein co-extraction at the low concentration of salt. Glucose exhibited a large protein co-extraction in the high phase ratio condition. Furthermore, NaCl with high initial ACN concentration is recommended because it produced high extraction yield for 10-HDA and the lowest amount of co-extracted protein. These observations would be valuable for the sample preparation of royal jelly. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  8. Techno-economic analysis for incorporating a liquid-liquid extraction system to remove acetic acid into a proposed commercial scale biorefinery.

    PubMed

    Aghazadeh, Mahdieh; Engelberth, Abigail S

    2016-07-08

    Mitigating the effect of fermentation inhibitors in bioethanol plants can have a great positive impact on the economy of this industry. Liquid-liquid extraction (LLE) using ethyl acetate is able to remove fermentation inhibitors-chiefly, acetic acid-from an aqueous solution used to produce bioethanol. The fermentation broth resulting from LLE has higher performance for ethanol yield and its production rate. Previous techno-economic analyses focused on second-generation biofuel production did not address the impact of removing the fermentation inhibitors on the economic performance of the biorefinery. A comprehensive analysis of applying a separation system to mitigate the fermentation inhibition effect and to provide an analysis on the economic impact of removal of acetic acid from corn stover hydrolysate on the overall revenue of the biorefinery is necessary. This study examines the pros and cons associated with implementing LLE column along with the solvent recovery system into a commercial scale bioethanol plant. Using details from the NREL-developed model of corn stover biorefinery, the capital costs associated with the equipment and the operating cost for the use of solvent were estimated and the results were compared with the profit gain due to higher ethanol production. Results indicate that the additional capital will add 1% to the total capital and manufacturing cost will increase by 5.9%. The benefit arises from the higher ethanol production rate and yield as a consequence of inhibitor extraction and results in a $0.35 per gallon reduction in the minimum ethanol selling price (MESP). © 2016 American Institute of Chemical Engineers Biotechnol. Prog., 32:971-977, 2016. © 2016 American Institute of Chemical Engineers.

  9. Pre-conceptual design of the Z-LLE accelerator.

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

    Stygar, William A.

    We begin with a model of 20 LTD modules, connected in parallel. We assume each LTD module consists of 10 LTD cavities, connected in series. We assume each cavity includes 20 LTD bricks, in parallel. Each brick is assumed to have a 40-nF capacitance and a 160-nH inductance. We use for this calculation the RLC-circuit model of an LTD system that was developed by Mazarakis and colleagues.

  10. LLE 1994 annual report, October 1993--September 1994

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

    NONE

    1995-01-01

    This is the 1994 annual report for the University of Rochester, Laboratory for Laser Energetics. The report is presented as a series of research type reports. The titles emphasize the breadth of work carried out. They are: stability analysis of unsteady ablation fronts; characterization of laser-produced plasma density profiles using grid image refractometry; transport and sound waves in plasmas with light and heavy ions; three-halves-harmonic radiation from long-scale-length plasmas revisited; OMEGA upgrade status report; target imaging and backlighting diagnosis; effect of electron collisions on ion-acoustic waves and heat flow; particle-in-cell code simulations of the interaction of gaussian ultrashort laser pulsesmore » with targets of varying initial scale lengths; characterization of thick cryogenic fuel layers: compensation for the lens effect using convergent beam interferometry; compact, multijoule-output, Nd:Glass, large-aperture ring amplifier; atomic force microscopy observation of water-induced morphological changes in Y{sub 2}O{sub 3} monolayer coatings; observation of longitudinal acceleration of electrons born in a high-intensity laser focus; spatial intensity nonuniformities of an OMEGA beam due to nonlinear beam propagation; calculated X-ray backlighting images of mixed imploded targets; evaluation of cosmic rays for use in the monitoring of the MEDUSA scintillator-photomultiplier diagnostic array; highly efficient second-harmonic generation of ultra-intense Nd:Glass laser pulses multiple cutoff wave numbers of the ablative Rayleigh-Taylor instability; ultrafast, all-silicon light modulator; angular dependence of the stimulated Brillouin scattering in homogeneous plasma; femtosecond excited-state dynamics of a conjugated ladder polymer.« less

  11. A spatiotemporal view of plasmid loss in biofilms and planktonic cultures.

    PubMed

    Madsen, Jonas Stenløkke; Burmølle, Mette; Sørensen, Søren Johannes

    2013-12-01

    This Commentary by Madsen, Burmølle, and Sørensen discusses the article Non-invasive in situ monitoring and quantification of TOL plasmid segregational loss within Pseudomonas putida biofilms by Ma, Katzenmeyer, and Bryers. (2013. Biotechnol Bioeng. 110(11):2949-2958. DOI: 10.1002/bit.24953). © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

  12. Late Language Emergence at 24 Months: An Epidemiological Study of Prevalence, Predictors, and Covariates

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Zubrick, Stephen R.; Taylor, Catherine L.; Rice, Mabel L.; Slegers, David W.

    2007-01-01

    Purpose: The primary objectives of this study were to determine the prevalence of late language emergence (LLE) and to investigate the predictive status of maternal, family, and child variables. Method: This is a prospective cohort study of 1,766 epidemiologically ascertained 24-month-old singleton children. The framework was an ecological model…

  13. Comparative evaluation of liquid-liquid extraction, solid-phase extraction and solid-phase microextraction for the gas chromatography-mass spectrometry determination of multiclass priority organic contaminants in wastewater.

    PubMed

    Robles-Molina, José; Gilbert-López, Bienvenida; García-Reyes, Juan F; Molina-Díaz, Antonio

    2013-12-15

    The European Water Framework Directive (WFD) 2000/60/EC establishes guidelines to control the pollution of surface water by sorting out a list of priority substances that involves a significant risk to or via the aquatic systems. In this article, the analytical performance of three different sample preparation methodologies for the GC-MS/MS determination of multiclass organic contaminants-including priority comprounds from the WFD-in wastewater samples using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry was evaluated. The methodologies tested were: (a) liquid-liquid extraction (LLE) with n-hexane; (b) solid-phase extraction (SPE) with C18 cartridges and elution with ethyl acetate:dichloromethane (1:1 (v/v)), and (c) headspace solid-phase microextraction (HS-SPME) using two different fibers: polyacrylate and polydimethylsiloxane/carboxen/divinilbenzene. Identification and confirmation of the selected 57 compounds included in the study (comprising polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), pesticides and other contaminants) were accomplished using gas chromatography tandem mass spectrometry (GC-MS/MS) with a triple quadrupole instrument operated in the multiple reaction monitoring (MRM) mode. Three MS/MS transitions were selected for unambiguous confirmation of the target chemicals. The different advantages and pitfalls of each method were discussed. In the case of both LLE and SPE procedures, the method was validated at two different concentration levels (15 and 150 ng L(-1)) obtaining recovery rates in the range 70-120% for most of the target compounds. In terms of analyte coverage, results with HS-SPME were not satisfactory, since 14 of the compounds tested were not properly recovered and the overall performance was worse than the other two methods tested. LLE, SPE and HS-SPME (using polyacrylate fiber) procedures also showed good linearity and precision. Using any of the three methodologies tested, limits of quantitation obtained for most of the detected compounds were in

  14. Effectiveness of tai chi as a community-based falls prevention intervention: a randomized controlled trial.

    PubMed

    Taylor, Denise; Hale, Leigh; Schluter, Philip; Waters, Debra L; Binns, Elizabeth E; McCracken, Hamish; McPherson, Kathryn; Wolf, Steven L

    2012-05-01

    To compare the effectiveness of tai chi and low-level exercise in reducing falls in older adults; to determine whether mobility, balance, and lower limb strength improved and whether higher doses of tai chi resulted in greater effect. Randomized controlled trial. Eleven sites throughout New Zealand. Six hundred eighty-four community-residing older adults (mean age 74.5; 73% female) with at least one falls risk factor. Tai chi once a week (TC1) (n = 233); tai chi twice a week (TC2) (n = 220), or a low-level exercise program control group (LLE) (n = 231) for 20 wks. Number of falls was ascertained according to monthly falls calendars. Mobility (Timed-Up-and-Go Test), balance (step test), and lower limb strength (chair stand test) were assessed. The adjusted incident rate ratio (IRR) for falls was not significantly different between the TC1 and LLE groups (IRR = 1.05, 95% confidence interval (CI) = 0.83-1.33, P = .70) or between the TC2 and LLE groups (IRR = 0.88, 95% CI = 0.68-1.16, P = .37). Adjusted multilevel mixed-effects Poisson regression showed a significant reduction in logarithmic mean fall rate of -0.050 (95% CI = -0.064 to -0.037, P < .001) per month for all groups. Multilevel fixed-effects analyses indicated improvements in balance (P < .001 right and left leg) and lower limb strength (P < .001) but not mobility (P = .54) in all groups over time, with no differences between the groups (P = .37 (right leg), P = .66 (left leg), P = .21, and P = .44, respectively). There was no difference in falls rates between the groups, with falls reducing similarly (mean falls rate reduction of 58%) over the 17-month follow-up period. Strength and balance improved similarly in all groups over time. © 2012, Copyright the Authors Journal compilation © 2012, The American Geriatrics Society.

  15. Language Learning Experience in School Context and Metacognitive Awareness of Multilingual Children

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Le Pichon Vorstman, Emmanuelle; De Swart, Henriette; Ceginskas, Viktorija; Van Den Bergh, Huub

    2009-01-01

    What is the influence of a language learning experience (LLE) in a school context on the metacognitive development of children? To answer that question, we presented 54 multilingual preschoolers with two movie clips and examined their reactions to an exolingual situation of communication. These preschoolers were aged four and a half to six and a…

  16. 40 CFR 141.131 - Analytical requirements.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

    2011-07-01

    ..., respectively. The cited methods published in either edition may be used. Copies may be obtained from the... obtained from the American Society for Testing and Materials International, 100 Barr Harbor Drive, West... 6251 B-94 SPE (acidic methanol)/GC/ECD 552.1 5 LLE (acidic methanol)/GC/ECD 552.2, 552.3 Bromate Ion...

  17. 40 CFR 141.131 - Analytical requirements.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-07-01

    ..., respectively. The cited methods published in either edition may be used. Copies may be obtained from the... obtained from the American Society for Testing and Materials International, 100 Barr Harbor Drive, West... 6251 B-94 SPE (acidic methanol)/GC/ECD 552.1 5 LLE (acidic methanol)/GC/ECD 552.2, 552.3 Bromate Ion...

  18. OMEGA: A NEW COLD X-RAY SIMULATION FACILITY FOR THE EVALUATION OF OPTICAL COATINGS

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

    Fisher, J H; Newlander, C D; Fournier, K B

    We report on recent progress for the development of a new cold X-ray optical test capability using the Omega Facility located at the Laboratory for Laser Energetics (LLE) at the University of Rochester. These tests were done on the 30 kJ OMEGA laser at the Laboratory for Laser Energetics (LLE) at the University of Rochester, Rochester, NY. We conducted a six-shot series called OMEGA II on 14 July 2006 in one eight-hour day (supported by the Defense Threat Reduction Agency). The initial testing was performed using simple protected gold optical coatings on fused silica substrates. PUFFTFT analyses were completed andmore » the specimen's thermal lateral stress and transverse stress conditions were calculated and interpreted. No major anomalies were detected. Comparison of the pre- and posttest reflective measurements coupled with the TFCALC analyses proved invaluable in guiding the analyses and interpreting the observed damage. The Omega facility is a high quality facility for performing evaluation of optical coatings and coupons and provides experience for the development of future National Ignition Facility (NIF) testing.« less

  19. VizieR Online Data Catalog: GRB prompt emission fitted with the DREAM model (Ahlgren+, 2015)

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Ahlgren, B.; Larsson, J.; Nymark, T.; Ryde, F.; Pe'Er, A.

    2018-01-01

    We illustrate the application of the DREAM model by fitting it to two different, bright Fermi GRBs; GRB 090618 and GRB 100724B. While GRB 090618 is well fitted by a Band function, GRB 100724B was the first example of a burst with a significant additional BB component (Guiriec et al. 2011ApJ...727L..33G). GRB 090618 is analysed using Gamma-ray Burst Monitor (GBM) data (Meegan et al. 2009ApJ...702..791M) from the NaI and BGO detectors. For GRB 100724B, we used GBM data from the NaI and BGO detectors as well as Large Area Telescope Low Energy (LAT-LLE) data. For both bursts we selected NaI detectors seeing the GRB at an off-axis angle lower than 60° and the BGO detector as being the best aligned of the two BGO detectors. The spectra were fitted in the energy ranges 8-1000 keV (NaI), 200-40000 keV (BGO) and 30-1000 MeV (LAT-LLE). (2 data files).

  20. Quantitative determination of 5-hydroxy-N-methylpyrrolidone in urine for biological monitoring of N-methylpyrrolidone exposure.

    PubMed

    Ligocka, D; Lison, D; Haufroid, V

    2002-10-05

    The aim of this work was to validate a sensitive method for quantitative analysis of 5-hydroxy-N-methylpyrrolidone (5-HNMP) in urine. This compound has been recommended as a marker for biological monitoring of N-methylpyrrolidone (NMP) exposure. Different solvents and alternative methods of extraction including liquid-liquid extraction (LLE) on Chem Elut and solid-phase extraction (SPE) on Oasis HLB columns were tested. The most efficient extraction of 5-HNMP in urine was LLE with Chem Elut columns and dichloromethane as a solvent (consistently 22% of recovery). The urinary extracts were derivatized by bis(trimethylsilyl)trifluoroacetamide and analysed by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) with tetradeutered 5-HNMP as an internal standard. The detection limit of this method is 0.017 mg/l urine with an intraassay precision of 1.6-2.6%. The proposed method of extraction is simple and reproducible. Four different m/z signal ratios of TMS-5-HNMP and tetralabelled TMS-5-HNMP have been validated and could be indifferently used in case of unexpected impurities from urine matrix. Copyright 2002 Elsevier Science B.V.

  1. LLE Review, Volume 57. Quarterly report, October--December 1993

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

    Simon, A.

    During this quarter, the visible fruits of long design labors on the OMEGA Upgrade began to appear. The target mirror structure was put in place, along with the target chamber itself. The laser bay structures were also installed, and the bay is now being prepared to receive optomechanical, control, and laser assemblies. Further details are in the OMEGA Upgrade Status Report in this issue. Theory and analysis of previous experiments continued during this reporting period. Articles contained herein describe an improved theory of the ablative Rayleigh-Taylor instability; a novel proposal for characterizing plasma-density profiles by using grid image refractometry; amore » much-improved treatment of the damping of ion sound waves in a mixture of light and heavy ions; and, finally, a new interpretation of measurements of 3/2-harmonic radiation emitted from the long-scale-length plasmas created in earlier OMEGA experiments.« less

  2. Preliminary Results on TID (Travelling Ionospheric Disturbances) over Ebro from TEC Data.

    DTIC Science & Technology

    1982-10-30

    auroral zone during magnetio substOrms (Chimonas and Etnes,1970, Testud , 1970, Titheridge,1971) while several causes have been poin-ted out for the...88 62 Testud , J.. 1970 Jro.At.Terr.,A202,32087 Mutnri, .. 1971 Jus.GoPhys.esL1,6915 TOkuao,I., .Om andLle195JAmerPhs,715 0. tsui .ad .g 19J73

  3. Language Outcomes of 7-Year-Old Children with or without a History of Late Language Emergence at 24 Months

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Rice, Mabel L.; Taylor, Catherine L.; Zubrick, Stephen R.

    2008-01-01

    Purpose: The aim of this study was to investigate the language outcomes of 7-year-old children with and without a history of late language emergence at 24 months. Method: One hundred twenty-eight children with a history of late language emergence (LLE) at 24 months and 109 children with a history of normal language emergence (NLE) at 24 months…

  4. Extraction of benzene and cyclohexane using [BMIM][N(CN)2] and their equilibrium modeling

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Ismail, Marhaina; Bustam, M. Azmi; Man, Zakaria

    2017-12-01

    The separation of aromatic compound from aliphatic mixture is one of the essential industrial processes for an economically green process. In order to determine the separation efficiency of ionic liquid (IL) as a solvent in the separation, the ternary diagram of liquid-liquid extraction (LLE) 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium dicyanamide [BMIM][N(CN)2] with benzene and cyclohexane was studied at T=298.15 K and atmospheric pressure. The solute distribution coefficient and solvent selectivity derived from the equilibrium data were used to evaluate if the selected ionic liquid can be considered as potential solvent for the separation of benzene from cyclohexane. The experimental tie line data was correlated using non-random two liquid model (NRTL) and Margules model. It was found that the solute distribution coefficient is (0.4430-0.0776) and selectivity of [BMIM][N(CN)2] for benzene is (53.6-13.9). The ternary diagram showed that the selected IL can perform the separation of benzene and cyclohexane as it has extractive capacity and selectivity. Therefore, [BMIM][N(CN)2] can be considered as a potential extracting solvent for the LLE of benzene and cyclohexane.

  5. IViPP: A Tool for Visualization in Particle Physics

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Tran, Hieu; Skiba, Elizabeth; Baldwin, Doug

    2011-10-01

    Experiments and simulations in physics generate a lot of data; visualization is helpful to prepare that data for analysis. IViPP (Interactive Visualizations in Particle Physics) is an interactive computer program that visualizes results of particle physics simulations or experiments. IViPP can handle data from different simulators, such as SRIM or MCNP. It can display relevant geometry and measured scalar data; it can do simple selection from the visualized data. In order to be an effective visualization tool, IViPP must have a software architecture that can flexibly adapt to new data sources and display styles. It must be able to display complicated geometry and measured data with a high dynamic range. We therefore organize it in a highly modular structure, we develop libraries to describe geometry algorithmically, use rendering algorithms running on the powerful GPU to display 3-D geometry at interactive rates, and we represent scalar values in a visual form of scientific notation that shows both mantissa and exponent. This work was supported in part by the US Department of Energy through the Laboratory for Laser Energetics (LLE), with special thanks to Craig Sangster at LLE.

  6. Optimization of squalene produced from crude palm oil waste

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Wandira, Irda; Legowo, Evita H.; Widiputri, Diah I.

    2017-01-01

    Squalene is a hydrocarbon originally and still mostly extracted from shark liver oil. Due to environmental issues over shark hunting, there have been efforts to extract squalene from alternative sources, such as Palm Fatty Acid Distillate (PFAD), one of crude palm oil (CPO) wastes. Previous researches have shown that squalene can be extracted from PFAD using saponification process followed with liquid-liquid extraction process although the method had yet to be optimized in order to optimize the amount of squalene extracted from PFAD. The optimization was done by optimizing both processes of squalene extraction method: saponification and liquid-liquid extraction. The factors utilized in the saponification process optimization were KOH concentration and saponification duration while during the liquid-liquid extraction (LLE) process optimization, the factors used were the volumes of distilled water and dichloromethane. The optimum percentage of squalene content in the extract (24.08%) was achieved by saponifying the PFAD with 50%w/v KOH for 60 minutes and subjecting the saponified PFAD to LLE, utilizing 100 ml of distilled water along with 3 times addition of fresh dichloromethane, 75 ml each; those factors would be utilized in the optimum squalene extraction method.

  7. Classification of molecular structure images by using ANN, RF, LBP, HOG, and size reduction methods for early stomach cancer detection

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Aytaç Korkmaz, Sevcan; Binol, Hamidullah

    2018-03-01

    Patients who die from stomach cancer are still present. Early diagnosis is crucial in reducing the mortality rate of cancer patients. Therefore, computer aided methods have been developed for early detection in this article. Stomach cancer images were obtained from Fırat University Medical Faculty Pathology Department. The Local Binary Patterns (LBP) and Histogram of Oriented Gradients (HOG) features of these images are calculated. At the same time, Sammon mapping, Stochastic Neighbor Embedding (SNE), Isomap, Classical multidimensional scaling (MDS), Local Linear Embedding (LLE), Linear Discriminant Analysis (LDA), t-Distributed Stochastic Neighbor Embedding (t-SNE), and Laplacian Eigenmaps methods are used for dimensional the reduction of the features. The high dimension of these features has been reduced to lower dimensions using dimensional reduction methods. Artificial neural networks (ANN) and Random Forest (RF) classifiers were used to classify stomach cancer images with these new lower feature sizes. New medical systems have developed to measure the effects of these dimensions by obtaining features in different dimensional with dimensional reduction methods. When all the methods developed are compared, it has been found that the best accuracy results are obtained with LBP_MDS_ANN and LBP_LLE_ANN methods.

  8. Effectiveness of Liquid-Liquid Extraction, Solid Phase Extraction, and Headspace Technique for Determination of Some Volatile Water-Soluble Compounds of Rose Aromatic Water

    PubMed Central

    2017-01-01

    Steam distillation is used to isolate scent of rose flowers. Rose aromatic water is commonly used in European cuisine and aromatherapy besides its use in cosmetic industry for its lovely scent. In this study, three different sampling techniques, liquid-liquid extraction (LLE), headspace technique (HS), and solid phase extraction (SPE), were compared for the analysis of volatile water-soluble compounds in commercial rose aromatic water. Some volatile water-soluble compounds of rose aromatic water were also analyzed by gas chromatography mass spectrometry (GCMS). In any case, it was concluded that one of the solid phase extraction methods led to higher recoveries for 2-phenylethyl alcohol (PEA) in the rose aromatic water than the liquid-liquid extraction and headspace technique. Liquid-liquid extraction method provided higher recovery ratios for citronellol, nerol, and geraniol than others. Ideal linear correlation coefficient values were observed by GCMS for quantitative analysis of volatile compounds (r2 ≥ 0.999). Optimized methods showed acceptable repeatability (RSDs < 5%) and excellent recovery (>95%). For compounds such as α-pinene, linalool, β-caryophyllene, α-humulene, methyl eugenol, and eugenol, the best recovery values were obtained with LLE and SPE. PMID:28791049

  9. Parallel screening of drug-like natural compounds using Caco-2 cell permeability QSAR model with applicability domain, lipophilic ligand efficiency index and shape property: A case study of HIV-1 reverse transcriptase inhibitors

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Patel, Rikin D.; Kumar, Sivakumar Prasanth; Patel, Chirag N.; Shankar, Shetty Shilpa; Pandya, Himanshu A.; Solanki, Hitesh A.

    2017-10-01

    The traditional drug design strategy centrally focuses on optimizing binding affinity with the receptor target and evaluates pharmacokinetic properties at a later stage which causes high rate of attrition in clinical trials. Alternatively, parallel screening allows evaluation of these properties and affinity simultaneously. In a case study to identify leads from natural compounds with experimental HIV-1 reverse transcriptase (RT) inhibition, we integrated various computational approaches including Caco-2 cell permeability QSAR model with applicability domain (AD) to recognize drug-like natural compounds, molecular docking to study HIV-1 RT interactions and shape similarity analysis with known crystal inhibitors having characteristic butterfly-like model. Further, the lipophilic properties of the compounds refined from the process with best scores were examined using lipophilic ligand efficiency (LLE) index. Seven natural compound hits viz. baicalien, (+)-calanolide A, mniopetal F, fagaronine chloride, 3,5,8-trihydroxy-4-quinolone methyl ether derivative, nitidine chloride and palmatine, were prioritized based on LLE score which demonstrated Caco-2 well absorption labeling, encompassment in AD structural coverage, better receptor affinity, shape adaptation and permissible AlogP value. We showed that this integrative approach is successful in lead exploration of natural compounds targeted against HIV-1 RT enzyme.

  10. Optimisation of olive oil phenol extraction conditions using a high-power probe ultrasonication.

    PubMed

    Jerman Klen, T; Mozetič Vodopivec, B

    2012-10-15

    A new method of ultrasound probe assisted liquid-liquid extraction (US-LLE) combined with a freeze-based fat precipitation clean-up and HPLC-DAD-FLD-MS detection is described for extra virgin olive oil (EVOO) phenol analysis. Three extraction variables (solvent type; 100%, 80%, 50% methanol, sonication time; 5, 10, 20 min, extraction steps; 1-5) and two clean-up methods (n-hexane washing vs. low temperature fat precipitation) were studied and optimised with aim to maximise extracts' phenol recoveries. A three-step extraction of 10 min with pure methanol (5 mL) resulted in the highest phenol content of freeze-based defatted extracts (667 μg GAE g(-1)) from 10 g of EVOO, providing much higher efficiency (up to 68%) and repeatability (up to 51%) vs. its non-sonicated counterpart (LLE-agitation) and n-hexane washing. In addition, the overall method provided high linearity (r(2)≥0.97), precision (RSD: 0.4-9.3%) and sensitivity with LODs/LOQs ranging from 0.03 to 0.16 μg g(-1) and 0.10-0.51 μg g(-1) of EVOO, respectively. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  11. Determining the Most Vital Arcs Within a Multi-Mode Communication Network Using Set-Based Measures

    DTIC Science & Technology

    2015-03-26

    Disruption • llE"GreedyDisruption F’ ig u r c8 . A b..-o r grap h d isplayin g tho avcragcch augc in v;• lnc at cnchdcgrccor d is r u l>- t io n w h...Force Institute of Technology Graduate School of Engineering and Management (AFIT/ENS) 2950 Hobson Way WPAFB OH 45433-7765 AFIT-ENS-MS-15-M-131

  12. SU-E-J-261: Statistical Analysis and Chaotic Dynamics of Respiratory Signal of Patients in BodyFix

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

    Michalski, D; Huq, M; Bednarz, G

    Purpose: To quantify respiratory signal of patients in BodyFix undergoing 4DCT scan with and without immobilization cover. Methods: 20 pairs of respiratory tracks recorded with RPM system during 4DCT scan were analyzed. Descriptive statistic was applied to selected parameters of exhale-inhale decomposition. Standardized signals were used with the delay method to build orbits in embedded space. Nonlinear behavior was tested with surrogate data. Sample entropy SE, Lempel-Ziv complexity LZC and the largest Lyapunov exponents LLE were compared. Results: Statistical tests show difference between scans for inspiration time and its variability, which is bigger for scans without cover. The same ismore » for variability of the end of exhalation and inhalation. Other parameters fail to show the difference. For both scans respiratory signals show determinism and nonlinear stationarity. Statistical test on surrogate data reveals their nonlinearity. LLEs show signals chaotic nature and its correlation with breathing period and its embedding delay time. SE, LZC and LLE measure respiratory signal complexity. Nonlinear characteristics do not differ between scans. Conclusion: Contrary to expectation cover applied to patients in BodyFix appears to have limited effect on signal parameters. Analysis based on trajectories of delay vectors shows respiratory system nonlinear character and its sensitive dependence on initial conditions. Reproducibility of respiratory signal can be evaluated with measures of signal complexity and its predictability window. Longer respiratory period is conducive for signal reproducibility as shown by these gauges. Statistical independence of the exhale and inhale times is also supported by the magnitude of LLE. The nonlinear parameters seem more appropriate to gauge respiratory signal complexity since its deterministic chaotic nature. It contrasts with measures based on harmonic analysis that are blind for nonlinear features. Dynamics of breathing, so

  13. Determination of six iodotrihalomethanes in drinking water in Korea.

    PubMed

    Woo, Bomi; Park, Ju-Hyun; Kim, Seungki; Lee, Jeongae; Choi, Jong-Ho; Pyo, Heesoo

    2018-06-02

    Trihalomethanes (THMs) are chemicals regulated by Environmental Protection Agency's first drinking water regulation issued after the passage of the Safe Drinking Water Act. Among THMs, iodotrihalomethanes (I-THMs) are produced by treating water containing iodides ion with chlorine or ozone. I-THMs are more carcinogenic and biotoxic than chlorinated or brominated THMs. The purpose of this study was to analyze of I-THMs in drinking water using the liquid-liquid extraction (LLE) method with various extraction solvents. The calibration curves ranged from 0.01 to 20 ng/mL and the correlation coefficient showed a good linearity of 0.99 or more. The method detection limit ranged from 0.01 to 0.10 ng/mL. The accuracy of the LLE method ranged from 99.43 to 112.40%, and its precision ranged from 1.10 to 10.36%. Good recoveries (71.35-118.60%) were obtained for spiked drinking water samples, demonstrating that the LLE method is suitable for the analysis of drinking water samples. Dichloroiodomethane, bromochloroiodomethane, and dibromoiodomethane were identified in drinking water collected from 70 places of water purification plants in Korea. The samples were classified by disinfection systems, regions, seasons, and water sources. The concentration of I-THMs in pre-/postchlorination facilities owing to excess chlorine usage was higher than in ozonization/postchlorination facilities. Moreover, the concentrations of I-THMs were high in the coastal region, because of the large amount of halide ions from the sea. There was no seasonal difference; however, the concentration of I-THMs in pre-/postchlorination facilities increased in spring and summer. The concentration of I-THMs in water sources was high in samples from the Geum River and the Yeongsan and Sumjin River. The concentration and detection frequency of I-THMs in Han River and Nakdong River were high in the coastal region, because of numerous pre-/postchlorination facilities and the abundance of halide ions from the

  14. Summer 2017 Microfluidics Research Report

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

    Mcculloch, Quinn

    Liquid-liquid Extraction (LLE), also known as solvent extraction, represents a large subset of chemistry where one or more solutes are transferred across an interface between two immiscible liquids. This type of chemistry is used in industrial scale processes to purify solvents, refine ore, process petroleum, treat wastewater, and much more. Although LLE has been successfully employed at the macroscale, where many liters/kgs of species are processed at large flow rates, LLE stands to benefit from lab-on-a-chip technology, where reactions take place quickly and efficiently at the microscale. A device, called a screen contactor, has been invented at Los Alamos Nationalmore » Laboratory (LANL) to perform solvent extraction at the microscale. This invention has been submitted to LANL’s Feynman Center for Innovation, and has been filed for provisional patent under U.S. Patent Application No. 62/483,107 1. The screen contactor consists of a housing that contains two different screen materials, flametreated stainless steel and polyether ether ketone (PEEK) thermoplastic, that are uniquely wetted by either an aqueous or an organic liquid phase, respectively. Liquids in this device flow longitudinally through the screens. The fine pore size of the screens (tens of microns) provide large capillary/adhesional forces while maintaining small hydraulic pressure drops. These physical characteristics are paramount to efficient microscale liquid phase separation. To demonstrate mass transfer using the screen contactor, a well-known chemical system 2 consisting of water and n-decane as solvents and trimethylamine (TEA) as a solute was selected. TEA is basic in water so its concentration can easily be quantified using a digital pH meter and an experimentally determined base dissociation constant. Characterization of this solvent system and its behavior in the screen contactor have been the focus of my research activities this summer. In the following sections, I have detailed

  15. Long Range Spoil Disposal Study. Part III. Sub-Study 2. Nature, Source, and Cause of Shoal. Appendix A,

    DTIC Science & Technology

    1973-12-01

    MAP OF DELI N TOWN FM, ENGLISHTOWN, WOODBURY ak ADJACENT MERCHANTVILLE CLAY, NONMARINE SEDIMENTS SUCH AS MAGOTHY , RARITAN, LN PATAPSCO, PATUXENT LN...Tr and Patuxent Magothy 39 - 61 - Merchantville 21 - 55 24 Woodbury 29 - 41 30 Englishtown 38 - 35 27 Marshalltown 28 42 12 18 Wenonah 40 - 28 32 77...FORMATIONS V * (INCLUDES RARITAN, PATAPCO, \\~ .c PATUXENT, MAGOTHY . MERCHANTVI LLE, WOODBURY, ENGLISHTOWN, MARSHALL- TOWN, WENONAM, MOUNT LAUREL, NAVESINK a

  16. Development of X-Ray Laser Media. Measurement of Gain and Development of Cavity Resonators for Wavelengths near 130 Angstroms. Volume 3.

    DTIC Science & Technology

    1983-02-01

    ray microscope (Kirkpatrick and Baez, 1948). At present such systems use single layer coatings illminated at very glancing angles. Ikltilayer coatings...might be useful as a means of operating such a system at an increased angle of incidence to the surface (this would reduce the geometrical aberrations...of the focussing elements); however our analysis of the LLE system indicates that one will have to accept a trade-off between collection aperture

  17. The Decision to Not Invade Baghdad (Persian Gulf War)

    DTIC Science & Technology

    2007-04-12

    LAWRENCE K. MONTGOMERY, JR. United States Army National Guard Se ni or Se rv ic e Co lle ge DISTRIBUTION STATEMENT A: Approved for Public Release...Distribution is Unlimited. USAWC CLASS OF 2007 REPORT DOCUMENTATION PAGE Form Approved OMB No. 0704-0188 Public reporting burden for this collection of...information is estimated to average 1 hour per response, including the time for reviewing instructions, searching existing data sources, gathering and

  18. LLE review, volume 73. Quarterly report, October 1997--December 1997

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

    NONE

    1998-04-01

    This progress report contains discussion on the following topics: A high-bandwidth electrical-waveform generator based on aperture-coupled striplines for OMEGA pulse-shaping applications; sweep deflection circuit development using computer-aided circuit design for the OMEGA multichannel streak camera; D-{sup 3}He protons as a diagnostic for target {rho}R; growth rates of the ablative Rayleigh-Taylor instability in inertial confinement fusion; three-dimensional analysis of the power transfer between crossed laser beams; characterization of freestanding polymer films for application in 351-nm, high-peak-power laser systems; subsurface damage in microgrinding optical glasses; bound-abrasive polishers for optical glass; and color gamut of cholesteric liquid crystal films and flakes by standardmore » colorimetry.« less

  19. Anticipated improvement in laser beam uniformity using distributed phase plates with quasirandom patterns

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

    Epstein, R.; Skupsky, S.

    1990-08-01

    The uniformity of focused laser beams, that has been modified with randomly phased distributed phase plates (C. B. Burckhardt, Appl. Opt. {bold 9}, 695 (1970); Kato and Mima, Appl. Phys. B {bold 29}, 186 (1982); Kato {ital et} {ital al}., Phys. Rev. Lett. {bold 53}, 1057 (1984); LLE Rev. {bold 33}, 1 (1987)), can be improved further by constructing patterns of phase elements which minimize phase correlations over small separations. Long-wavelength nonuniformities in the intensity distribution, which are relatively difficult to overcome in the target by thermal smoothing and in the laser by, e.g., spectral dispersion (Skupsky {ital et} {italmore » al}., J. Appl. Phys. {bold 66}, 3456 (1989); LLE Rev. {bold 36}, 158 (1989); {bold 37}, 29 (1989); {bold 37}, 40 (1989)), result largely from short-range phase correlations between phase plate elements. To reduce the long-wavelength structure, we have constructed phase patterns with smaller short-range correlations than would occur randomly. Calculations show that long-wavelength nonuniformities in single-beam intensity patterns can be reduced with these masks when the intrinsic phase error of the beam falls below certain limits. We show the effect of this improvement on uniformity for spherical irradiation by a multibeam system.« less

  20. Method development aspects for the quantitation of pharmaceutical compounds in human plasma with a matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization source in the multiple reaction monitoring mode.

    PubMed

    Kovarik, Peter; Grivet, Chantal; Bourgogne, Emmanuel; Hopfgartner, Gérard

    2007-01-01

    The present work investigates various method development aspects for the quantitative analysis of pharmaceutical compounds in human plasma using matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization and multiple reaction monitoring (MALDI-MRM). Talinolol was selected as a model analyte. Liquid-liquid extraction (LLE) and protein precipitation were evaluated regarding sensitivity and throughput for the MALDI-MRM technique and its applicability without and with chromatographic separation. Compared to classical electrospray liquid chromatography/mass spectrometry (LC/ESI-MS) method development, with MALDI-MRM the tuning of the analyte in single MS mode is more challenging due to interfering matrix background ions. An approach is proposed using background subtraction. With LLE and using a 200 microL human plasma aliquot acceptable precision and accuracy could be obtained in the range of 1 to 1000 ng/mL without any LC separation. Approximately 3 s were required for one analysis. A full calibration curve and its quality control samples (20 samples) can be analyzed within 1 min. Combining LC with the MALDI analysis allowed improving the linearity down to 50 pg/mL, while reducing the throughput potential only by two-fold. Matrix effects are still a significant issue with MALDI but can be monitored in a similar way to that used for LC/ESI-MS analysis.

  1. Evaluation of Limb Load Asymmetry Using Two New Mathematical Models

    PubMed Central

    Kumar, Senthil NS; Omar, Baharudin; Joseph, Leonard H.; Htwe, Ohnmar; Jagannathan, K.; Hamdan, Nor M Y; Rajalakshmi, D.

    2015-01-01

    Quantitative measurement of limb loading is important in orthopedic and neurological rehabilitation. In current practice, mathematical models such as Symmetry index (SI), Symmetry ratio (SR), and Symmetry angle (SA) are used to quantify limb loading asymmetry. Literatures have identified certain limitations with the above mathematical models. Hence this study presents two new mathematical models Modified symmetry index (MSI) and Limb loading error (LLE) that would address these limitations. Furthermore, the current mathematical models were compared against the new model with the goal of achieving a better model. This study uses hypothetical data to simulate an algorithmic preliminary computational measure to perform with all numerical possibilities of even and uneven limb loading that can occur in human legs. Descriptive statistics are used to interpret the limb loading patterns: symmetry, asymmetry and maximum asymmetry. The five mathematical models were similar in analyzing symmetry between limbs. However, for asymmetry and maximum asymmetry data, the SA and SR values do not give any meaningful interpretation, and SI gives an inflated value. The MSI and LLE are direct, easy to interpret and identify the loading patterns with the side of asymmetry. The new models are notable as they quantify the amount and side of asymmetry under different loading patterns. PMID:25716372

  2. Equilibrium study for ternary mixtures of biodiesel

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Doungsri, S.; Sookkumnerd, T.; Wongkoblap, A.; Nuchitprasittichai, A.

    2017-11-01

    The liquid-liquid equilibrium (LLE) data for the ternary mixtures of methanol + fatty acid methyl ester (FAME) + palm oil and FAME + palm oil + glycerol at various temperatures from 35 to 55°C, the tie lines and binodial curves were also investigated and plotted in the equilibrium curve. The experimental results showed that the binodial curves of methanol + FAME + palm oil depended significantly with temperature while the binodial curves of FAME + palm oil + glycerol illustrated insignificant change with temperatures. The interaction parameters between liquid pair obtained for NRTL (Nonrandom Two-Liquid) and UNIQUAC (Universal Quasi-Chemical Theory) models from the experimental data were also investigated. It was found that the correlated parameters of UNIQUAC model for system of FAME + palm oil + glycerol, denoted as a13 and a31, were 580.42K and -123.69K, respectively, while those for system of methanol + FAME + palm oil, denoted as a42 and a24, were 71.48 K and 965.57K, respectively. The ternary LLE data reported here would be beneficial for engineers and scientists to use for prediction of yield and purity of biodiesel for the production. The UNIQUAC model agreed well with the experimental data of ternary mixtures of biodiesel.

  3. Performance Characterization of RaPToRS Systems

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Shibata, K.; Krieger, M.; Fallica, J.; Henchen, R.; Pogozelski, E.; Padalino, S.; SUNY Geneseo Collaboration; LaboratoryLaser Energetics at University of Rochester Collaboration

    2011-10-01

    The Rapid Pneumatic Transport of Radioactive Samples (RaPToRS) system can quickly and efficiently move radioactive materials from their activation site to a counting station. Facilities such as the NIF and LLE are considering these systems while NRL is currently using one. The system is essentially a 10 cm diameter pneumatic tube with a cylindrical sample carrier. The performance of the system depends on many factors, including the mass of the carrier, length of the tube, angle and difference in height of the tube's endpoints, the carrier's physical design, and the number, type, and distribution of blowers attached to the tube. These factors have been systematically examined to develop the fastest and most reliable system. The most significant factors are the mass and the vertical travel of the carrier. When the carrier mass is low, moving air supports the carrier in the tube, resulting in low friction. The terminal velocity ranges from 13.5 to 2.5 m/s for masses varying from 1 kg to 3 kg. Using a single 1100 W blower, the initial force exerted on the carrier was 11.3 N. This work was supported in part by the US Department of Energy through the LLE.

  4. A Rapid Method for the Quantitative Determination of 34 Pesticides in Nonalcoholic Carbonated Beverages Using Liquid-Liquid Extraction Coupled to Dispersive Solid-Phase Cleanup Followed by Gas Chromatography with Tandem Mass Spectrometry.

    PubMed

    Rai, Satyajeet; Gullapalli, Madhuri Devi; Srivastava, Anshuman; Shaik, Hussain; Siddiqui, Mohammed Haris; Mudiam, Mohana Krishna Reddy

    2017-05-01

    An economical, rapid, and sensitive multiresidue method using liquid-liquid extraction (LLE) coupled with dispersive SPE (dSPE) cleanup was developed for the quantitative determination of 34 multiclass multiresidue (MCMR) pesticides (14 organochlorines, eight organophosphates, 10 synthetic pyrethroids, and two herbicides) in nonalcoholic carbonated beverages (cola, orange, lemon-lime, and citra) using GC with tandem MS. The procedure mainly involved LLE by dichloromethane and dSPE cleanup in the presence of magnesium sulfate, primary secondary amine, and C18. The RSD of the developed method was found to be less than 14%. The LOD and LOQ values for all the analyzed pesticides were found in the ranges of 0.001-0.027 μg/L and 0.004-0.088 μg/L, respectively. The LOQ levels of the pesticides analyzed were found to be well below the recommended limit by the European Union (0.1 μg/L in water). The mean recoveries of pesticides in different nonalcoholic carbonated beverages (cola, orange, lemon-lime, and citra) were found to be in the range of 79-111%, with RSDs less than 11%. The validation data prove that the method can be acceptable to regulatory agencies for the routine analysis of MCMR pesticides in nonalcoholic carbonated beverages.

  5. Identification, optimisation and in vivo evaluation of oxadiazole DGAT-1 inhibitors for the treatment of obesity and diabetes.

    PubMed

    McCoull, William; Addie, Matthew S; Birch, Alan M; Birtles, Susan; Buckett, Linda K; Butlin, Roger J; Bowker, Suzanne S; Boyd, Scott; Chapman, Stephen; Davies, Robert D M; Donald, Craig S; Green, Clive P; Jenner, Chloe; Kemmitt, Paul D; Leach, Andrew G; Moody, Graeme C; Gutierrez, Pablo Morentin; Newcombe, Nicholas J; Nowak, Thorsten; Packer, Martin J; Plowright, Alleyn T; Revill, John; Schofield, Paul; Sheldon, Chris; Stokes, Steve; Turnbull, Andrew V; Wang, Steven J Y; Whalley, David P; Wood, J Matthew

    2012-06-15

    A novel series of DGAT-1 inhibitors was discovered from an oxadiazole amide high throughput screening (HTS) hit. Optimisation of potency and ligand lipophilicity efficiency (LLE) resulted in a carboxylic acid containing clinical candidate 53 (AZD3988), which demonstrated excellent DGAT-1 potency (0.6 nM), good pharmacokinetics and pre-clinical in vivo efficacy that could be rationalised through a PK/PD relationship. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  6. Soviet Development of Gyrotrons

    DTIC Science & Technology

    1986-05-01

    Relationship Type of Device Remarks V, - Vc, anomalous Doppler Capable of 100 percent efficiency, CRM but more cumbersome than Cheren- kov devices V...authors; and discusses inlividual Soviet reseaLc- groups, the basic organizational units responAiLle for the CRM and gyrotron research and development. The...maintained a cCnEistEnt iecord of significant achievements; it has managed to overcome the systenic yeaxness of the Soviet R&C systeg in teimg atle to

  7. JPRS Report, East Asia Southeast Asia

    DTIC Science & Technology

    1987-07-31

    New Dell « yesterday. "We will have rallies, civil disobedi- ence . . . everything to oppose the army rule," Mr Reddy told reporters after two...21 Jun 87 p 14 [Article by David Jenkins] [Text] hr ~gu~",^llE Indonesian Ambassador to Australia, Major-General August Marpaung, leaves this...appointment (1964-68) spanned Presi- dent Soekanio’s ill-considered Confron- tation of Malaysia and the difficult early years of the New Order

  8. Nonlinear dynamics analysis of the human balance control subjected to physical and sensory perturbations.

    PubMed

    Ashtiani, Mohammed N; Mahmood-Reza, Azghani

    2017-01-01

    Postural control after applying perturbation involves neural and muscular efforts to limit the center of mass (CoM) motion. Linear dynamical approaches may not unveil all complexities of body efforts. This study was aimed at determining two nonlinear dynamics parameters (fractal dimension (FD) and largest Lyapunov exponent (LLE)) in addition to the linear standing metrics of balance in perturbed stance. Sixteen healthy young males were subjected to sudden rotations of the standing platform. The vision and cognition during the standing were also interfered. Motion capturing was used to measure the lower limb joints and the CoM displacements. The CoM path length as a linear parameter was increased by elimination of vision (p<0.01) and adding a cognitive load (p<0.01). The CoM nonlinear metric FD was decreased due to the cognitive loads (p<0.001). The visual interference increased the FD of all joints when the task included the cognitive loads (p<0.01). The slightly positive LLE values showed weakly-chaotic behavior of the whole body. The local joint rotations indicated higher LLEs. Results indicated weakly chaotic response of the whole body. Increase in the task difficulty by adding sensory interference had difference effects on parameters. Linear and nonlinear metrics of the perturbed stance showed that a combination of them may properly represent the body behavior.

  9. Social Interventions to Prevent Heat-Related Mortality in the Older Adult in Rome, Italy: A Quasi-Experimental Study

    PubMed Central

    Inzerilli, Maria Chiara; Palombi, Leonardo; Madaro, Olga; Betti, Daniela; Marazzi, Maria Cristina

    2018-01-01

    This study focuses on the impact of a program aimed at reducing heat-related mortality among older adults residing in central Rome by counteracting social isolation. The mortality of citizens over the age of 75 living in three Urban Areas (UAs) located in central Rome is compared with that of the residents of four adjacent UAs during the summer of 2015. The data, broken down by UA, were provided by the Statistical Office of the Municipality of Rome, which gathers them on a routine basis. During the summer of 2015, 167 deaths were recorded in those UAs in which the Long Live the Elderly (LLE) program was active and 169 in those in which it was not, implying cumulative mortality rates of 25‰ (SD ± 1.4; Cl 95%: 23–29) and 29‰ (SD ± 6.7; Cl 95%: 17–43), respectively. Relative to the summer of 2014, the increase of deaths during the summer of 2015 was greater in UAs in which the LLE program had not been implemented (+97.3% vs. +48.8%). In conclusion, the paper shows the impact of a community-based active monitoring program, focused on strengthening individual relationship networks and the social capital of the community, on mortality in those over 75 during heat waves. PMID:29641436

  10. The Dortmund Data Bank: A computerized system for retrieval, correlation, and prediction of thermodynamic properties of mixtures

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Onken, U.; Rarey-Nies, J.; Gmehling, J.

    1989-05-01

    The Dortmund Data Bank (DDB) was started in 1973 with the intention to employ the vast store of vapor-liquid equilibrium (VLE) data from the literature for the development of models for the prediction of VLE. From the beginning, the structure of the DDB has been organized in such a way that it was possible to take advantage of the full potential of electronic computers. With the experience gained in fitting and processing VLE data, we extended the DDB system to other types of mixture properties, i.e., liquid-liquid equilibria (LLE), gas solubilities (GLE), activity coefficients at infinite dilution γ∞, heats of mixing ( h E), and excess heat capacities. Besides the files for mixture properties, the DDB contains pure-component data and program packages for various applications. New experimental data are checked for consistency before they are stored. For data retrieval user-specified search masks can be used. The data files are available via an online data service and through the Dechema Chemistry Data Series. For the purpose of data correlation and model testing, parameter fitting is performed with an optimization routine (Nelder-Mead). In the past years the DDB system has been successfully employed for the development of prediction methods for VLE, LLE, GLE, γ∞, and h E (UNIFAC, mod. UNIFAC, etc.).

  11. Speciation of organotin compounds in urine by GC-MIP-AED and GC-MS after ethylation and liquid-liquid extraction.

    PubMed

    Zachariadis, G A; Rosenberg, E

    2009-04-15

    A method for the determination of organotin compounds in urine samples based on liquid-liquid extraction (LLE) in hexane and gas chromatographic separation was developed and optimized. Seven organotin species, namely monobutyltin (MBT), dibutyltin (DBT), tributyltin (TBT), tetrabutyltin (TeBT), monophenyltin (MPhT), diphenyltin (DPhT) and triphenyltin (TPhT), were in situ derivatized by sodium tetraethylborate (NaBEt(4)) to form ethylated less polar derivatives directly in the urine matrix. The critical parameters which have a significant effect on the yield of the successive liquid-liquid extraction procedure were examined, by using standard solutions of tetrabutyltin in hexane. The method was optimized for use in direct analysis of undiluted human urine samples and ways to overcome practical problems such as foam formation during extraction, due to various constituents of urine are discussed. After thorough optimization of the extraction procedure, all examined species could be determined after 3 min of simultaneous derivatization and extraction at room temperature and 5 min phase separation by centrifugation. Gas chromatography with a microwave-induced plasma atomic emission detector (MIP-AED) as element specific detector was employed for quantitative measurements, while a quadrupole mass spectrometric detector (MS) was used as molecular specific detector. The detection limits were between 0.42 and 0.67 microg L(-1) (as Sn) for the quantitative LLE-GC-MIP-AED method and the precision between 4.2% and 11.7%, respectively.

  12. Efficacy of recombinant protein vaccines for protection against Nocardia seriolae infection in the largemouth bass Micropterus salmoides.

    PubMed

    Ho, Ping-Yueh; Chen, Yao-Chung; Maekawa, Shun; Hu, Hsiang-Hui; Tsai, An-Wei; Chang, Yung-Fu; Wang, Pei-Chi; Chen, Shih-Chu

    2018-07-01

    A reverse vaccinology-based survey of potent antigens associated with fish nocardiosis was conducted using the largemouth bass, Micropterus salmoides, with an aim to develop subunit vaccines. The antigens selected from the virulent strain Nocardia seriolae 961113 include the gene products of NGL2579 (GAPDH), NGL5701 (MMP), NGL4377 (OCTase), NGL4486 (ABC transporter), NGL3372 (LLE), NGL3388 (GHf10), NGL6627 (Antigen-85), NGL6696 (Esterase), and NGL6936 (CBP). These antigens were heterologously expressed in E. coli BL21 (DE3) for recombinant protein production. Then fish were vaccinated was these antigens, boosted at 2 weeks, and challenged with N. seriolae at 6 weeks after vaccination. The relative protection survival assay revealed high and significant protection efficacies of 94.45, 50.00, and 44.45 in fish that received the NGL3388 (GHf10), NGL6936 (CBP), and NGL3372 (LLE) vaccines, respectively. There were no apparent relationships or differences in tissue lesions among the administered vaccines. The serum titers against the bacterial preparations were higher for all vaccinated groups than for the control group at 4 weeks after immunization. However, no significant difference in serum titer was found at 6 weeks after immunization. The results of this study demonstrate that subunit vaccines against fish nocardiosis have differential effects, but are highly promising for nocardial prophylaxis. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  13. Analysis of fentanyl in urine by DLLME-GC-MS.

    PubMed

    Gardner, Michael A; Sampsel, Sheena; Jenkins, Werner W; Owens, Janel E

    2015-03-01

    Fentanyl is a synthetic narcotic anesthetic ∼80-100 times more potent than morphine. Owing to the potential for its abuse, the drug may be included in a forensic toxicology work-up, which requires fast, precise and accurate measurements. Here, the stability of fentanyl was assessed when stored at three different temperatures (-20, 4 and 25°C) in synthetic urine. Stability at those three temperatures was demonstrated over 12 weeks upon analysis by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry with a deuterated internal standard (fentanyl-D5) utilizing three different extraction techniques: liquid-liquid extraction (LLE), solid-phase extraction and dispersed liquid-liquid microextraction (DLLME). The DLLME method was then optimized before use in the analysis of fentanyl in urine samples obtained from autopsy cases at the El Paso County Coroner's Office. Accuracy of the DLLME method was assessed by completing spike and recovery studies at three different fortification levels (10, 100 and 250 ng/mL) with excellent recovery (89.9-102.6%). The excellent comparability between DLLME and LLE is demonstrated (Bland-Altman difference plot with a mean difference of 4.9 ng/mL) and the use of this methodology in the analysis of forensically relevant samples is discussed. © The Author 2014. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.

  14. Infrared Optical Properties of Bipropellant Cryocontaminants

    DTIC Science & Technology

    1979-08-01

    9 1.402~19 1.39105~ k 0.018800 0.U20900 0.022700 0 .025200 .0.027700 0.030~00 0 .033?00 O.03? 3UV 0 . 0 ~ 0 4 0 0 0.04~300 0.0~?/00...I152 TI-5-0- 1148 TD ;6 l l ~ l-1 ~--~ ll4O Tl-Yff- 1136 TI󈧦 113~ -I-I-3D- 117.8 -l-l-E6- 1124 1T22 1120 ] 1 1 8 1116 1114 1112

  15. Design of a Film-Cooled Entraining Diffuser.

    DTIC Science & Technology

    1980-04-01

    AD-A783 951 DEFENCE RESEARCH ESTABLISHMENT SUFFIELD RALSTON (ALBERTA) FIG 20/4 NL3 DESIGN OF A FILM-COOLED ENTRAINING DIFFUSER. 1U) APR 80 S B MURRAY...S.B. Murray C PCN 27C01 April 1980 80 4 29 004 DEFENCE RESEARCH ESTABLISHMENT SUFFIELD: RALSTON: ALBERTA WARNING rht ... , i. to - °aton is per lle...ulje(f to -ogoltio • IIl proprieh’~ra~r ind wtent it hh , i j l - UNCLASS I FI ED Li m DEFENCE RESEARCH ESTABLISHMENT SUFFIELD RALSTON ALBERTA

  16. Structure-Activity Relationships of Agents Modifying Cholinergic Transmissions

    DTIC Science & Technology

    1983-09-01

    t .Li ,.L,: "."c’S .!Cetylchoiine vithin a choliner .,-ic synapse. 3o*e poss~lle .n~r.Ic:,. .- .ire I lecrease the content of acecylcholine wiithia the... choliner .,iLc tu,.,I’, by •nterfering aith synthesis, (2) desensitizing cholinergic receptors I.t 7o-’--n..tic qites, (3) decreasing the release of...method of Potter et al (1983). This method uses reverse phase HPLC to .;eparate acetylcholine and choline . The effluent S emerging from the column is

  17. Functional Description for the Department of the Army Movements Management System. Redesign Phase 1. (DAMMS-R1). Volume 3.

    DTIC Science & Technology

    1987-12-31

    Maintan -.ountry-TbI e CARDINALiii 134; HL~.,N-L.". 1); bL t i 11L h I...MEMO: FCityCd-Memo SOURCE IS: ’TMAS DAlA MODEL’ ATTRIBUTE IS: MEDIA ’DISK’ SEC-CLASS ’UNCLASSIFIED’ volatility ’DYNAMIC’I UPDATE- METHOD ’INTERACTIVE...8217 ATTRIBUTE IS: MEDIA ’DISK’ SEC-CLASS ’UNCLASSIFIED’ volatility ’STATTO’ UPDATE- METHOD ’INTERACTIVE’ UPDATE-FREQUENCY ’AS PER CHANGE’ Tt.LLE-FORM ’COMMAND’

  18. The risk equivalent of an exposure to-, versus a dose of radiation

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

    Bond, V.P.

    The long-term potential carcinogenic effects of low-level exposure (LLE) are addressed. The principal point discussed is linear, no-threshold dose-response curve. That the linear no-threshold, or proportional relationship is widely used is seen in the way in which the values for cancer risk coefficients are expressed - in terms of new cases, per million persons exposed, per year, per unit exposure or dose. This implies that the underlying relationship is proportional, i.e., ''linear, without threshold''. 12 refs., 9 figs., 1 tab.

  19. Effects of Solar Ultraviolet Radiation on Biogeochemical Dynamics in Aquatic Environments: Report of a Workshop Held in Woods Hole, Massachusetts on 23-26 October 1989

    DTIC Science & Technology

    1990-01-01

    V’V for aqluatic organismls call be calclltteli wit Ii kmlowle’lle oIi 11151’ fatcto(rs. HIowI’ver , ai ke ,N un cert ainty remains in tile choice of...of the rapid rate of oxidation of Fe(II) at such pH and, possibly more importantly, the tendency of reduced iron to remain sorbed to particuiate iron...surface-located metal-organic complexes appears the most reasonable explanation for the ability of light to enhance colloid dissolution, much remains

  20. Phase Equilibrium Investigation on 2-Phenylethanol in Binary and Ternary Systems: Influence of High Pressure on Density and Solid-Liquid Phase Equilibrium.

    PubMed

    Domańska, Urszula; Królikowski, Marek; Wlazło, Michał; Więckowski, Mikołaj

    2018-05-30

    Ionic liquids (ILs) are important new solvents proposed for applications in different separation processes. Herein, an idea of possible use of high pressure in a general strategy of production of 2-phenylethanol (PEA) is discussed. In this work, we present the influence of pressure on the density in binary systems of {1-hexyl-1-methylpyrrolidynium bis{(trifluoromethyl)sulfonyl}imide, [HMPYR][NTf 2 ], or 1-dodecyl-3-methylimidazolium bis{(trifluoromethyl)sulfonyl}imide, [DoMIM][NTf 2 ] + PEA} in a wide range of temperatures (298.15-348.15 K) and pressures (0.1-40 MPa). The densities at ambient and high pressures are measured to present the physicochemical properties of the ILs used in the process of separation of PEA from aqueous phase. The Tait equation was used for the correlation of density of one-component and two-component systems as a function of mole fraction, temperature, and pressure. The influence of pressure is not significant. These systems exhibit mainly negative molar excess volumes, V E . The solid-liquid phase equilibrium (SLE) of [DoMIM][NTf 2 ] in PEA at atmospheric pressure was measured and compared to the SLE high-pressure results. Additionally, the ternary liquid-liquid phase equilibrium (LLE) at ambient pressure in the {[DoMIM][NTf 2 ] (1) + PEA (2) + water (3)} at temperature T = 308.15 K was investigated. The solubility of water in the [DoMIM][NTf 2 ] is quite high in comparison with that measured by us earlier for ILs ( x 3 = 0.403) at T = 308.15 K, which results in not very successful average selectivity of extraction of PEA from the aqueous phase. The [DoMIM][NTf 2 ] has shown strong interaction with PEA without the immiscibility region. The ternary system revealed Treybal's type phase equilibrium in which two partially miscible binaries ([DoMIM][NTf 2 ] + water) and (PEA + water) exist. From the results of LLE in the ternary system, the selectivity and the solute distribution ratio of separation of water/PEA were calculated and compared

  1. Kombinierte Hoch-/Niedrig-Dosis-Therapie mit systemischen Glukokor-tikoiden bei schweren Verlaufsformen der Alopecia areata im Kindesalter.

    PubMed

    Jahn-Bassler, Karin; Bauer, Wolfgang Michael; Karlhofer, Franz; Vossen, Matthias G; Stingl, Georg

    2017-01-01

    Schwere Verlaufsformen der Alopecia areata (AA) im Kindesalter sind aufgrund limitierter Optionen therapeutisch herausfordernd. Systemische, hochdosierte Glukokortikoide weisen die schnellste Ansprechrate auf, nach dem Absetzen kommt es allerdings zu Rezidiven. Eine längerfristige Hochdosis-Anwendung ist aufgrund der zu erwartenden Nebenwirkungen nicht empfehlenswert. Eine dauerhafte Steroiderhaltungstherapie unterhalb der Cushing-Schwellen-Dosis nach Bolustherapie könnte die Krankheitsaktivität ohne Nebenwirkungen längerfristig unterdrücken. Im Rahmen einer offenen Anwendungsbeobachtung wurden 13 Kinder mit schweren Formen der AA in diese Studie eingeschlossen. Bei sieben Kindern lag eine AA totalis/universalis vor, bei sechs eine multifokale AA mit Befall von mehr als 50 % der Kopfhaut. Das Therapieregime sah eine initiale Prednisolon-Dosierung von 2 mg/kg Körpergeweicht (KG) vor und wurde innerhalb von neun Wochen auf eine Erhaltungsdosierung unter der individuellen Cushing-Schwelle reduziert. Der Nachbeobachtungszeitraum betrug ein bis drei Jahre. Wir beobachteten in 62 % aller Fälle ein komplettes Nachwachsen der Haare. Die mittlere Dauer bis zum Ansprechen lag bei 6,6 Wochen und konnte mit der Erhaltungstherapie über den gesamten Beobachtungszeitraum aufrechterhalten werden. An Nebenwirkungen wurden ausschließlich eine Gewichtszunahme (1-3 kg) bei allen Behandelten sowie eine milde Steroidakne in 23 % der Fälle beobachtet. Die kombinierte Hoch-/Niedrig-Dosis-Therapie mit systemischen Glukokortikoiden mittels Prednisolon zeigte eine hohe, dauerhafte Ansprechrate ohne signifikante Nebenwirkungen. © 2017 Deutsche Dermatologische Gesellschaft (DDG). Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  2. Multiview Locally Linear Embedding for Effective Medical Image Retrieval

    PubMed Central

    Shen, Hualei; Tao, Dacheng; Ma, Dianfu

    2013-01-01

    Content-based medical image retrieval continues to gain attention for its potential to assist radiological image interpretation and decision making. Many approaches have been proposed to improve the performance of medical image retrieval system, among which visual features such as SIFT, LBP, and intensity histogram play a critical role. Typically, these features are concatenated into a long vector to represent medical images, and thus traditional dimension reduction techniques such as locally linear embedding (LLE), principal component analysis (PCA), or laplacian eigenmaps (LE) can be employed to reduce the “curse of dimensionality”. Though these approaches show promising performance for medical image retrieval, the feature-concatenating method ignores the fact that different features have distinct physical meanings. In this paper, we propose a new method called multiview locally linear embedding (MLLE) for medical image retrieval. Following the patch alignment framework, MLLE preserves the geometric structure of the local patch in each feature space according to the LLE criterion. To explore complementary properties among a range of features, MLLE assigns different weights to local patches from different feature spaces. Finally, MLLE employs global coordinate alignment and alternating optimization techniques to learn a smooth low-dimensional embedding from different features. To justify the effectiveness of MLLE for medical image retrieval, we compare it with conventional spectral embedding methods. We conduct experiments on a subset of the IRMA medical image data set. Evaluation results show that MLLE outperforms state-of-the-art dimension reduction methods. PMID:24349277

  3. Simultaneous determination of dextromethorphan, dextrorphan, and guaifenesin in human plasma using semi-automated liquid/liquid extraction and gradient liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry.

    PubMed

    Eichhold, Thomas H; McCauley-Myers, David L; Khambe, Deepa A; Thompson, Gary A; Hoke, Steven H

    2007-01-17

    A method for the simultaneous determination of dextromethorphan (DEX), dextrorphan (DET), and guaifenesin (GG) in human plasma was developed, validated, and applied to determine plasma concentrations of these compounds in samples from six clinical pharmacokinetic (PK) studies. Semi-automated liquid handling systems were used to perform the majority of the sample manipulation including liquid/liquid extraction (LLE) of the analytes from human plasma. Stable-isotope-labeled analogues were utilized as internal standards (ISTDs) for each analyte to facilitate accurate and precise quantification. Extracts were analyzed using gradient liquid chromatography coupled with tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS). Use of semi-automated LLE with LC-MS/MS proved to be a very rugged and reliable approach for analysis of more than 6200 clinical study samples. The lower limit of quantification was validated at 0.010, 0.010, and 1.0 ng/mL of plasma for DEX, DET, and GG, respectively. Accuracy and precision of quality control (QC) samples for all three analytes met FDA Guidance criteria of +/-15% for average QC accuracy with coefficients of variation less than 15%. Data from the thorough evaluation of the method during development, validation, and application are presented to characterize selectivity, linearity, over-range sample analysis, accuracy, precision, autosampler carry-over, ruggedness, extraction efficiency, ionization suppression, and stability. Pharmacokinetic data are also provided to illustrate improvements in systemic drug and metabolite concentration-time profiles that were achieved by formulation optimization.

  4. Technische Systeme für den Herzersatz und die Herzunterstützung

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Schöb, Reto; Loree, Howard M.

    Herzkrankheiten verursachen allein in den Vereinigten Staaten jährlich mehr als 700’000 Todesfälle. Ungefähr 3 Millionen Patienten in den U.S.A. leiden gemäss der American Heart Association (AHA) und dem National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute (NHLBI) an kongestivem Herzversagen (Congestive Heart Failure, CHF), welches eine chronische, sehr entkräftende und degenerative Krankheit ist: Das Herz ist dabei unfähig, hinreichend Blut zu den Organen des Körpers zu pumpen. Über 400’000 Fälle von CHF werden jedes Jahr diagnostiziert. Ähnliche Zahlen werden für Europa und Japan zusammen geschätzt. Basierend auf Daten vom AHA und NHLBI beträgt die fünfjährige Überlebensrate für CHF-Patienten lediglich etwa 50% [1]. 70’000-120’000 dieser Patienten könnten von einer Herzverpflanzung profitieren. 1999 wurden in den USA aber nur 2185 Herztransplantationen durchgeführt während die Warteliste über 4000 Patienten beträgt [2]. Ein akuter Mangel an Spenderherzen und die enormen Kosten (250’000-400’000 USD pro Patient) sind die begrenzenden Faktoren für Herztransplantationen [3]. Dies bedeutet, dass eine riesige Anzahl von Patienten durch ein zuverlässiges und verschleissfreies, nichtthrombotisches, total implantierbares, künstliches Herz gerettet werden könnten. Bis heute jedoch kein derartiges Implantat kommerziell verfügbar.

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

    Pierson, Stephen A.; Nacham, Omprakash; Clark, Kevin D.

    Magnetic ionic liquids (MILs) are distinguished from traditional ionic liquids (ILs) by the incorporation of a paramagnetic component within their chemical structure. Hydrophobic MILs are novel solvents that can be used in many applications, including liquid–liquid extraction (LLE) and catalysis. Low viscosity and low water solubility are essential features that determine their feasibility in LLE. Here, we synthesized extremely hydrophobic MILs by using transition and rare earth metal hexafluoroacetylacetonate chelated anions paired with the trihexyl(tetradecyl)phosphonium ([P 66614 +]) cation. Hydrophobic MILs exhibiting water solubilities less than 0.01% (v/v) were synthesized in a rapid two-step procedure. Furthermore, the viscosities of themore » MILs are among some of the lowest ever reported for hydrophobic MILs (276.5–927.9 centipoise (cP) at 23.7 °C) dramatically improving the ease of handling these liquids. For the first time, the magnetic properties of MILs possessing hexafluoroacetylacetonate chelated metal anions synthesized in this study are reported using a superconducting quantum interference device (SQUID) magnetometer. We also achieved an effective magnetic moments (μ eff) as high as 9.7 and 7.7 Bohr magnetons (μ B) by incorporating high spin dysprosium and gadolinium ions, respectively, into the anion component of the MIL. The low viscosity, high hydrophobicity, and large magnetic susceptibility of these MILs make them highly attractive and promising solvents for separations and purification, liquid electrochromic materials, catalytic studies, as well as microfluidic applications.« less

  6. Detecting a wide range of environmental contaminants in human blood samples--combining QuEChERS with LC-MS and GC-MS methods.

    PubMed

    Plassmann, Merle M; Schmidt, Magdalena; Brack, Werner; Krauss, Martin

    2015-09-01

    Exposure to environmental pollution and consumer products may result in an uptake of chemicals into human tissues. Several studies have reported the presence of diverse environmental contaminants in human blood samples. However, previously developed multi-target methods for the analysis of human blood include a fairly limited amount of compounds stemming from one or two related compound groups. Thus, the sample preparation method QuEChERS (quick easy cheap effective rugged and safe) was tested for the extraction of 64 analytes covering a broad compound domain followed by detection using liquid and gas chromatography coupled to mass spectrometry (LC- and GC-MS). Forty-seven analytes showed absolute recoveries above 70% in the first QuEChERS step, being a simple liquid-liquid extraction (LLE) using acetonitrile and salt. The second QuEChERS step, being a dispersive solid phase extraction, did not result in an overall improvement of recoveries or removal of background signals. Using solely the LLE step, eight analytes could subsequently be detected in human blood samples from the German Environmental Specimen Bank. Using a LC-multiple reaction monitoring (MRM) method with a triple quadrupole instrument, better recoveries were achieved than with an older LC-high-resolution (HR) MS full scan orbitrap instrument, which required a higher concentration factor of the extracts. However, the application of HRMS full scan methods could be used for the detection of additional compounds retrospectively.

  7. Quantification of maltol in Korean ginseng (Panax ginseng) products by high-performance liquid chromatography-diode array detector

    PubMed Central

    Jeong, Hyun Cheol; Hong, Hee-Do; Kim, Young-Chan; Rhee, Young Kyoung; Choi, Sang Yoon; Kim, Kyung-Tack; Kim, Sung Soo; Lee, Young-Chul; Cho, Chang-Won

    2015-01-01

    Background: Maltol, as a type of phenolic compounds, is produced by the browning reaction during the high-temperature treatment of ginseng. Thus, maltol can be used as a marker for the quality control of various ginseng products manufactured by high-temperature treatment including red ginseng. For the quantification of maltol in Korean ginseng products, an effective high-performance liquid chromatography-diode array detector (HPLC-DAD) method was developed. Materials and Methods: The HPLC-DAD method for maltol quantification coupled with a liquid-liquid extraction (LLE) method was developed and validated in terms of linearity, precision, and accuracy. An HPLC separation was performed on a C18 column. Results: The LLE methods and HPLC running conditions for maltol quantification were optimized. The calibration curve of the maltol exhibited good linearity (R2 = 1.00). The limit of detection value of maltol was 0.26 μg/mL, and the limit of quantification value was 0.79 μg/mL. The relative standard deviations (RSDs) of the data of the intra- and inter-day experiments were <1.27% and 0.61%, respectively. The results of the recovery test were 101.35–101.75% with an RSD value of 0.21–1.65%. The developed method was applied successfully to quantify the maltol in three ginseng products manufactured by different methods. Conclusion: The results of validation demonstrated that the proposed HPLC-DAD method was useful for the quantification of maltol in various ginseng products. PMID:26246746

  8. Catechin concentrates of garden tea leaves (Camellia sinensis L.): extraction/isolation and evaluation of chemical composition.

    PubMed

    Gadkari, Pravin Vasantrao; Kadimi, Udaya Sankar; Balaraman, Manohar

    2014-11-01

    Solid-liquid (SLE) and liquid-liquid (LLE) extraction techniques were applied to extract catechins and caffeine from quick mechanically expelled tea leaf juice (QMETLJ) and freeze-dried (FD)-QMETLJ of Camellia sinensis L. The concentrates obtained were analyzed for total polyphenol content and antioxidant activity (DPPH(•) inhibition, FRAP and phosphomolybdenum assay). Catechins were identified and quantified using HPLC. Overall, 95% (v/v) ethanol was the best solvent system for extracting total polyphenols (355.26 ± 23.68 to 457.89 ± 28.94 g GAE kg(-1) extractable solid yield (ESY)) and antioxidants (DPPH(•) inhibition, 16.97 ± 0.52 to 20.83 ± 3.11%; FRAP, 4.15 ± 0.32 to 6.38 ± 0.57 mmol TE g(-1) ESY; Mo(V) reduction, 2.47 ± 0.19 to 3.84 ± 0.39 mmol AAE g(-1) ESY) from FD-QMETLJ. Similarly, in LLE, ethyl acetate showed the best results for recovering polyphenols (960.52 ± 7.89 g GAE kg(-1) ESY) and antioxidants (DPPH(•) inhibition, 42.39 ± 0.91%; FRAP, 11.39 ± 0.83 mmol TE g(-1) ESY; Mo(V) reduction, 6.71 ± 1.14 mmol AAE g(-1) ESY) from QMETLJ. It was found that 95% ethanol can be used to increase the total polyphenols and antioxidants in extracts from FD-QMETLJ, while ethyl acetate can be effectively employed for concentrating catechins from QMETLJ. © 2014 Society of Chemical Industry.

  9. Career Anchors: Understanding Differences Among Demographic Groups at the Naval Postgraduate School

    DTIC Science & Technology

    2001-12-01

    r C ha lle ng e C re at iv ity Id eo lo gy Id en tit y W ill in gn es s...to L ea ve C ar ee r Sa tis fa ct io n Technical 1.00 0.14 0.01 -0.10 -0.08 -0.08 -0.10 0.17 0.10 0.12 -0.04 Security 1.00 0.18 0.31 0.10...Technological Changes in Office Jobs.” Changing Nature of Work: 173-208. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass. 6. Deci, E . L. with R . Flaste.

  10. Fort Sill Oklahoma/Post Field. Revised Uniform Summary of Surface Weather Observations

    DTIC Science & Technology

    1975-06-23

    TEMPERATURE DEPRESSIO (F) TOTAL TOTAL (F) 0 t .2 3-4 5 6 7 - ,9 I 1 1 1 .1 516 17 -18119 -20 21 22 23 -2412S.26 27 -2 9 3, 1i ’’WB ~ ub e ub~ we.. 2/ 1...Temp WET BULB TEMPERATURE DEPRESSIO (F) TOTAL _ TOTAL F)/ 03 1 .2 3C 4, 0 1-1 I3- 5, 6 1 .1 9-20 2 2_3- 5-." 26 27 -28 D.B W .2 0 31b We B lle on 90

  11. Effectiveness of Program Visualization: A Case Study with the ViLLE Tool

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Rajala, Teemu; Laakso, Mikko-Jussi; Kaila, Erkki; Salakoski, Tapio

    2008-01-01

    Program visualization is one of the various methods developed over the years to aid novices with their difficulties in learning to program. It consists of different graphical--often animated--and textual objects, visualizing the execution of programs. The aim of program visualization is to enhance students' understanding of different areas of…

  12. Liquid chromatography-negative ion atmospheric pressure photoionization tandem mass spectrometry for the determination of brominated flame retardants in environmental water and industrial effluents.

    PubMed

    Bacaloni, Alessandro; Callipo, Luciano; Corradini, Eleonora; Giansanti, Piero; Gubbiotti, Riccardo; Samperi, Roberto; Laganà, Aldo

    2009-09-04

    We describe the development of a liquid chromatography with negative-ion atmospheric pressure photoionization tandem mass spectrometric (LC/NI-APPI/MS/MS) method for the simultaneous determination of tetrabromobisphenol A (TBBP-A) and five polybrominated diphenyl ethers (BDE-47, BDE-99, BDE-100, BDE-153 and BDE-154) in water. A mobile phase methanol/acetone/water was used, where acetone acts also as dopant. NI-APPI produced precursor ions corresponding to [M-H](-) for TBBP-A, [M-Br+O](-), and [M-2Br+O](-) for the BDE congeners studied. Each compound was quantified operating in multiple reaction monitoring mode. Linearity was observed in the range 0.025-10 ng injected for all compounds. Coefficients of determination R(2) ranged from 0.9934 to 0.9982. BDEs were poorly retained by solid-phase extraction (SPE) from river water and sewage treatment plant effluent, thus liquid-liquid extraction (LLE) by n-hexane should be used for these samples. The recoveries of TBBP-A and PBDEs from tap water (SPE), river water and industrial wastewater (LLE) were in the range of 81-88%, 78-92%, and 43-99%, respectively, with relative standard deviations below 17%. The limits of detection, based on signal-to-noise ratio of 3, ranged from 0.004 to 0.1 ng injected, and method quantification limits were 0.2-3.3 ng L(-1) but BDE47 (20.3 ng L(-1)). Only TBBP-A was found in a treated industrial sewage at 4 ng L(-1), while BDE-99 and BDE-100 were detected on suspended solids.

  13. Reduction of time-averaged irradiation speckle nonuniformity in laser-driven plasmas due to target ablation

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

    Epstein, R.

    1997-09-01

    In inertial confinement fusion (ICF) experiments, irradiation uniformity is improved by passing laser beams through distributed phase plates (DPPs), which produce focused intensity profiles with well-controlled, reproducible envelopes modulated by fine random speckle. [C. B. Burckhardt, Appl. Opt. {bold 9}, 695 (1970); Y. Kato and K. Mima, Appl. Phys. B {bold 29}, 186 (1982); Y. Kato {ital et al.}, Phys. Rev. Lett. {bold 53}, 1057 (1984); Laboratory for Laser Energetics LLE Review 33, NTIS Document No. DOE/DP/40200-65, 1987 (unpublished), p. 1; Laboratory for Laser Energetics LLE Review 63, NTIS Document No. DOE/SF/19460-91, 1995 (unpublished), p. 1.] A uniformly ablating plasmamore » atmosphere acts to reduce the contribution of the speckle to the time-averaged irradiation nonuniformity by causing the intensity distribution to move relative to the absorption layer of the plasma. This occurs most directly as the absorption layer in the plasma moves with the ablation-driven flow, but it is shown that the effect of the accumulating ablated plasma on the phase of the laser light also makes a quantitatively significant contribution. Analytical results are obtained using the paraxial approximation applied to the beam propagation, and a simple statistical model is assumed for the properties of DPPs. The reduction in the time-averaged spatial spectrum of the speckle due to these effects is shown to be quantitatively significant within time intervals characteristic of atmospheric hydrodynamics under typical ICF irradiation intensities. {copyright} {ital 1997 American Institute of Physics.}« less

  14. Study of 3-Ethylamino-but-2-enoic acid phenylamide as a new ligand for preconcentration of lanthanides from aqueous media by liquid-liquid extraction prior to ICP-MS analysis.

    PubMed

    Varbanova, Evelina K; Angelov, Plamen A; Stefanova, Violeta M

    2016-11-01

    In the present work the potential of a new ligand 3-Ethylamino-but-2-enoic acid phenylamide (representing the class of enaminones) for selective preconcentration of lanthanides (La, Ce, Eu, Gd and Er) from aqueous medium is examined. Liquid-liquid extraction parameters, such as pH of the water phase, type and volume of organic solvent, quantity of ligand and reaction time are optimized on model solutions. Recovery of lanthanides by re-extraction with nitric acid makes the LLE procedure compatible with Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometry. Spectral and non-spectral interferences are studied. Two isotopes per element are measured (with exception of La) for dynamic evaluation of the potential risk of spectral interference in variable real samples. The selectivity of complex formation reaction towards concomitant alkali and alkali-earth elements eliminates the interferences from sample matrix. Subjecting the standards to the optimized extraction procedure in combination with Re as internal standard is recommended as calibration strategy. The accuracy of developed method is approved by analysis of CRM Bush branches and leaves (NCS DC 73348) and recovery of spiked water and plant samples. The method's limits of detection for both studied objects are in the ranges from 0.2 ((158)Gd) to 3.7 ((139)La) ngl(-1) and 0.02 ((158)Gd) to 0.37((139)La) ngg(-1) for waters and plants respectively. The studied compound is an effective new ligand for preconcentration/separation of lanthanides from aqueous medium by LLE and subsequent determination by ICP-MS. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  15. Determination of ten monohydroxylated polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons by liquid-liquid extraction and liquid chromatography/tandem mass spectrometry.

    PubMed

    Fan, Ruifang; Ramage, Robert; Wang, Dongli; Zhou, Junqiang; She, Jianwen

    2012-05-15

    The aim of this study is to develop and validate an analytical method for the quantitation of ten urinary monohydroxylated polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (OH-PAHs) through high pressure liquid chromatography/tandem mass spectrometry (HPLC/MS/MS). After enzymatic deconjugation, urine samples were extracted by liquid-liquid extraction (LLE) and OH-PAHs were analyzed by HPLC/MS/MS operated in negative electrospray ionization (ESI) and multiple reaction monitoring (MRM) mode. LLE was conducted with the solvent mixture of pentane and toluene, which reduced the matrix interferences and enhanced the method sensitivity significantly. Deuterated and (13)C-labeled analogs are used as internal standards. Calibration curves of all target analytes shows favorable linearity within the concentration range of 5.9-15,000.0 ng/L for different OH-PAHs with the regression coefficients above 0.993. The limits of detection (LODs) in pooled urine ranged from 1.72 to 17.47 ng/L, which were much lower than those obtained by a gas chromatography/high resolution mass spectrometry (GC/HRMS) method. The method shows satisfactory accuracy and precision when analyzing three different levels of OH-PAHs spiked in pooled urine. Except for 1-hydroxynaphthalene, recoveries of other OH-PAHs were in the range of 100 ± 20% with a variation coefficient of less than 13%. The measurement of OH-PAHs from a QC sample of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) generated results close to the values measured by CDC. This method has been successfully employed in the California Biomonitoring Program. Published by Elsevier B.V.

  16. Detection and quantification of ionophore antibiotics in runoff, soil and poultry litter.

    PubMed

    Sun, Peizhe; Barmaz, Delphine; Cabrera, Miguel L; Pavlostathis, Spyros G; Huang, Ching-Hua

    2013-10-18

    Ionophore antibiotics (IPAs) are widely used as coccidiostats in poultry and other livestock industries to promote growth and prevent infections. Because most of the ingested IPAs are excreted in poultry litter, which is primarily applied as grassland fertilizer, a significant amount of IPAs can be released into the litter-soil-water environment. A robust analytical method has been developed to quantify IPAs (monensin (MON), salinomycin (SAL) and narasin (NAR)) in complex environmental compartments including surface runoff, soil and poultry litter, with success to minimize matrix interference. The method for water samples involves solid-phase extraction (SPE) followed by liquid-liquid extraction (LLE) post-clean up steps. The method for solid samples involves bi-solvent LLE. IPAs were detected by HPLC-MS, with optimized parameters to achieve the highest sensitivity. Nigericin (NIG), an IPA not used in livestock industry, is successfully applied and validated as a surrogate standard. The method recoveries were at 92-95% and 81-85% in runoff samples from unfertilized and litter-fertilized fields, respectively. For solids, the method recoveries were at 93-99% in soils, and 79-83% in poultry litter samples. SAL was detected at up to 22mg/kg and MON and NAR at up to 4mg/kg in broiler litter from different farms. Up to 183μg/kg of MON was detected in litter-fertilized soils. All three IPAs were detected in the rainfall runoff from litter-fertilized lands at concentrations up to 9μg/L. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  17. Relativistic Electron Beams, Forward Thomson Scattering, and ``Raman'' Scattering

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Simon, A.

    1999-11-01

    Experiments at LLE (see abstract by D. Hicks at this meeting) show that surprisingly high potentials (+0.5 to 2.0 MV) develop in plasmas irradiated by high-energy lasers. The highly conducting plasma will be a near equipotential and should attract return-current electrons in a radial beam-like distribution, especially in the outer low-density regions. This will initiate the BOT instability, creating large plasma waves with phase velocities close to c. Coherent Thomson scattering of the interaction beam from these waves must occur primarily in the forward direction. This will appear to be ``backward SRS'' upon reflection from a critical surface. We will show that the resulting spectrum is fairly broad and at short wavelengths. Collisional absorption of the scattered EM wave limits the reflectivity to low values (depending on the density scale length). Thus, a distinct difference exists between the spectrum for thick targets (nc surface present) and thin targets (gasbags, etc., from which primarily a narrow absolute-SRS backward emission occurs, at the peak density). The thick-target, reflected-wave angular distribution will be concentrated in the backward direction. The corresponding plasma-wave k-vector will be a fraction of k_0. The variation of the spectrum with potential and angle will be discussed. Comparison will be made with recent results at LLE and LLNL. This work was supported by the U.S. Department of Energy Office of Inertial Confinement Fusion under Cooperative Agreement No. DE-FC03-92SF19460, UR, and NYSERDA.

  18. Report on the B-Fields at NIF Workshop Held at LLNL October 12-13, 2015

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

    Fournier, K. B.; Moody, J. D.

    2015-12-13

    A national ICF laboratory workshop on requirements for a magnetized target capability on NIF was held by NIF at LLNL on October 12 and 13, attended by experts from LLNL, SNL, LLE, LANL, GA, and NRL. Advocates for indirect drive (LLNL), magnetic (Z) drive (SNL), polar direct drive (LLE), and basic science needing applied B (many institutions) presented and discussed requirements for the magnetized target capabilities they would like to see. 30T capability was most frequently requested. A phased operation increasing the field in steps experimentally can be envisioned. The NIF management will take the inputs from the scientific communitymore » represented at the workshop and recommend pulse-powered magnet parameters for NIF that best meet the collective user requests. In parallel, LLNL will continue investigating magnets for future generations that might be powered by compact laser-B-field generators (Moody, Fujioka, Santos, Woolsey, Pollock). The NIF facility engineers will start to analyze compatibility of the recommended pulsed magnet parameters (size, field, rise time, materials) with NIF chamber constraints, diagnostic access, and final optics protection against debris in FY16. The objective of this assessment will be to develop a schedule for achieving an initial Bfield capability. Based on an initial assessment, room temperature magnetized gas capsules will be fielded on NIF first. Magnetized cryo-ice-layered targets will take longer (more compatibility issues). Magnetized wetted foam DT targets (Olson) may have somewhat fewer compatibility issues making them a more likely choice for the first cryo-ice-layered target fielded with applied Bz.« less

  19. Grundlegende Steuerungsverfahren im heterogenen Logistiknetz mit Kanban

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Dickmann, Eva; Dickmann, Philipp; Lödding, Hermann; Möller, Niklas; Rücker, Thomas; Schneider, Herfried M.; Zäh, Michael F.

    In vielen Unternehmen werden heterogene (verschiedene) Steuerungen in einem abgestimmten Konzept kombiniert. Je nach Anwendungsfall und Rahmenbedingungen werden Kombinationen allgemein bekannter Steuerungen oder Steuerungsvarianten gemischt eingesetzt, um eine optimale Steuerung für unterschiedliche Fälle zu erreichen. Hierbei stehen neben den bekannten und weit verbreiteten Methoden, wie Material Requirements Planning (MRP) oder Kanban, auch weniger bekannte oder neue Methoden zur Auswahl, wie die Produktionssteuerung mit dezentraler, bestandsorientierter Fertigungsregelung (DBF). Kanban ist ein simples und effizientes Steuerungskonzept, das in der klassischen Form für spezifische einfache Anwendungsfälle umsetzbar ist. Hochentwickelte Steuerungsalgorithmen können helfen, komplexe Abläufe optimal abzubilden. Mit einer grundlegenden Vereinfachung der Abläufe kann allerdings in vielen Fällen ein wesentlich stärkerer und umfassender Verbesserungseffekt erzielt werden. Die wesentliche Fragestellung sollte folglich lauten: Warum ist der Ablauf nicht mit einer einfachen Steuerung wie Kanban abzubilden? Um die Vorteile des Konzepts auch in untypischen Bereichen anwenden zu können, sind jedoch verschiedene Varianten oder Kanban-ähnliche Steuerungsmethoden entstanden. Darüber hinaus sind in der Praxis hybride Steuerungen im Einsatz, welche so kombiniert werden, dass die Zusammensetzung anspruchsvolle Eigenschaftsbilder noch exakt abbildet. In der Praxis basieren die Steuerungsentscheidungen nur zu einem kleinen Teil auf den eigentlichen Steuerungsalgorithmen, wie sie uns das MRP-System zur Verfügung stellt. Moderne Steuerungswelten" schließen alle relevanten Informationsquellen in eine heterogene Entscheidungsmatrix mit ein. Letztlich zählt nicht, ob die Entscheidung auf den Informationen aus dem MRP-System oder auf Softfacts basierend getroffen wurde, sondern nur, ob die Entscheidung erfolgreich war.

  20. Light Emitting Diodes for Fiber Optic Communications.

    DTIC Science & Technology

    1981-03-31

    asC.3~~ in.(c)- above and do- (1) pcait by volu.3 of dicst.iLle =zto.- Pazo 10 .61Edd, tcxcopt colvonts used cha-l bo: * ( a ) Methyl. alcohbl I7or 04...AD £101 480 LASER DIODE LABS INC NEW BRUNSWICK NJ / 1 / L I GT EMITTING DIODES FOR FIBER OPTIC COWMICATIONS.Cul AR, at A GENNARO DAARO-76-C-813 NA 1...PRArrcmA. P . 1"UNISPE-D TO DDC CONTAINE A II&~-’llryBE v., R OF :AO , MflG DO 9W CORADCOM U S ARMY COMMUNICATIONS RESEARCH 9 DEVELOPMENT COMMAND

  1. Probleme aus der Physik

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Vogel, Helmut

    Das beliebte Arbeitsbuch "Probleme aus der Physik" bietet nun auch zur 17. Auflage von Gerthsen Vogel "Physik" (ISBN 3-540-56638-4) mit über 1150 gelösten Aufgaben aus der Physik und ihren Anwendungen in Technik, Astrophysik, Geound Biowissenschaften eine Fülle an Material zum Üben und Weiterlernen, zur Prüfungsvorbereitung und zum Selbststudium. Neu hinzugekommen ist ein Kapitel zur nichtlinearen Dynamik. Aufgaben aller Schwierigkeitsgrade machen "Probleme aus der Physik" unentbehrlich für Studenten der Physik im Haupt- und Nebenfach; Schüler der Leistungskurse Physik finden hier eine hervorragende Ergänzung.

  2. One-step liquid-liquid extraction of cocaine from urine samples for gas chromatographic analysis.

    PubMed

    Farina, Marcelo; Yonamine, Maurício; Silva, Ovandir A

    2002-07-17

    An improved technique for cocaine extraction from urine samples for gas chromatographic (GC) analysis is described. Employing a simple liquid-liquid extraction (LLE) of cocaine with a mixture of ethyl ether:isopropanol (9:1) the method presents a mean recovery of 74.49%. Limit of detection (LOD) and limit of quantification (LOQ) were 5 and 20 ng/ml, respectively. The method is highly precise (coefficient of variation (CV) <8%) and linear from 20 to 2000 ng/ml. It can he applied to detect the presence of cocaine in urine as a marker of its recent use in drug abuse treatment protocols.

  3. An Examination of Cleaning and Gas Freeing Costs of Oil Tankers in Government Service

    DTIC Science & Technology

    1994-03-01

    showing age and wear as exhibited by pervasive rust and peeling of tank coatings. (The author observed at least two different color coatings in...quality and environmental directives. MSC Sealift Class tankers, in particular, are showing their age as evidenced by the declining material condition of...acII5 gs aIIc se e.lleSais4% a a t soo • s a s* f *b Ill lb.a a 4 Ioll IC * I°assl aO~ at 1.1.o Mo eill, a, 44. ft sall ages e gg@i sae $"ef ispe Oe? s

  4. Geographic List of Prime Contract Awards. Oct 1992-Sep 1993. (Addison, Alabama-Yell County, Arkansas). Part 1

    DTIC Science & Technology

    1994-03-01

    LL. LLj. to 00 co 9 L LL a.. OLG. LLL. . LL.LA.I ND 1 40£’ I) W Ia o Go LA.. W OHP IV 4~ Oru IY 0i’ 00 4) NNN 4~ 0) 0£O ) O V a o G CV)) M£’ IT ( Mm...1I000 0 000 0000000 0 000 000 0000 M N L. 1 00 110 0000oo 000000000 00o 0000 C0000 W0000000 LUJ Ka I 00W KaRL L A.. MEM M~nE)E mmmmmm LL.E M .E()E m MM

  5. Zeitlicher Verlauf der avaskulären Nekrose des Hüftkopfes bei Patienten mit Pemphigus vulgaris.

    PubMed

    Balighi, Kamran; Daneshpazhooh, Maryam; Aghazadeh, Nessa; Saeidi, Vahide; Shahpouri, Farzam; Hejazi, Pardis; Chams-Davatchi, Cheyda

    2016-10-01

    Pemphigus vulgaris (PV) wird in der Regel mit systemischen Corticosteroiden und Immunsuppressiva behandelt. Avaskuläre Nekrose (AVN) des Hüftkopfes ist eine gut bekannte schwerere Komplikation einer Corticosteroid-Therapie. Die Charakteristika dieser schweren Komplikation bei PV sind nach wie vor unbekannt. Nicht kontrollierte, retrospektive Untersuchung aller PV-bedingten AVN-Fälle, die in einer iranischen Klinik für bullöse Autoimmunerkrankungen zwischen 1985 und 2013 diagnostiziert wurden. Anhand der Krankenakten von 2321 untersuchten PV-Patienten wurden 45 Fälle (1,93 %) von femoraler AVN identifiziert. Dreißig davon waren Männer. Das mittlere Alter bei der Diagnose der AVN betrug 47,4 ± 14,2 Jahre. Der mittlere Zeitraum zwischen der Diagnose des PV und dem Einsetzen der AVN lag bei 25,3 ± 18,3 Monaten. Mit Ausnahme von acht Fällen (17,8 %) setzte die AVN bei der Mehrheit der Patienten innerhalb von drei Jahren nach Diagnose des PV ein. Die mittlere kumulative Dosis von Prednisolon bei Patienten mit AVN betrug 13.115,8 ± 7041,1 mg. Zwischen der Prednisolon-Gesamtdosis und dem Zeitraum bis zum Einsetzen der AVN bestand eine starke Korrelation (p = 0,001). Bei Patienten mit Alendronateinnahme in der Vorgeschichte war dieser Zeitraum signifikant kürzer (p = 0,01). Die AVN ist eine schwere Komplikation einer Corticosteroid-Behandlung bei Patienten mit PV. Sie wird bei 2 % der Patienten beobachtet und tritt vor allem in den ersten drei Behandlungsjahren auf. Bei Patienten, die höhere Dosen von Prednisolon erhalten, setzt die AVN tendenziell früher ein. © 2016 Deutsche Dermatologische Gesellschaft (DDG). Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  6. Isolation of atropine and scopolamine from plant material using liquid-liquid extraction and EXtrelut® columns.

    PubMed

    Śramska, Paula; Maciejka, Artur; Topolewska, Anna; Stepnowski, Piotr; Haliński, Łukasz P

    2017-02-01

    Tropane alkaloids are toxic secondary metabolites produced by Solanaceae plants. Among them, plants from Datura genus produce significant amounts of scopolamine and hyoscyamine; the latter undergoes racemization to atropine during isolation. Because of their biological importance, toxic properties and commonly reported food and animal feed contamination by different Datura sp. organs, there is a constant need for reliable methods for the analysis of tropane alkaloids in many matrices. In the current study, three extraction and sample-clean up procedures for the determination of scopolamine and atropine in plant material were compared in terms of their effectiveness and repeatability. Standard liquid-liquid extraction (LLE) and EXtrelut ® NT 3 columns were used for the sample clean-up. Combined ultrasound-assisted extraction and 24h static extraction using ethyl acetate, followed by multiple LLE steps was found the most effective separation method among tested. However, absolute extraction recovery was relatively low and reached 45-67% for atropine and 52-73% for scopolamine, depending on the compound concentration. The same method was also the most effective one for the isolation of target compounds from Datura stramonium leaves. EXtrelut ® columns, on the other hand, displayed relatively low effectiveness in isolating atropine and scopolamine from such a complex matrix and hence could not be recommended. The most effective method was also applied to the extraction of alkaloids from roots and stems of D. stramonium. Quantitative analyses were performed using validated method based on gas chromatography with flame ionization detector (GC-FID). Based on the results, the importance of the proper selection of internal standards in the analysis of tropane alkaloids was stressed out. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  7. Identification of temporal variations in mental workload using locally-linear-embedding-based EEG feature reduction and support-vector-machine-based clustering and classification techniques.

    PubMed

    Yin, Zhong; Zhang, Jianhua

    2014-07-01

    Identifying the abnormal changes of mental workload (MWL) over time is quite crucial for preventing the accidents due to cognitive overload and inattention of human operators in safety-critical human-machine systems. It is known that various neuroimaging technologies can be used to identify the MWL variations. In order to classify MWL into a few discrete levels using representative MWL indicators and small-sized training samples, a novel EEG-based approach by combining locally linear embedding (LLE), support vector clustering (SVC) and support vector data description (SVDD) techniques is proposed and evaluated by using the experimentally measured data. The MWL indicators from different cortical regions are first elicited by using the LLE technique. Then, the SVC approach is used to find the clusters of these MWL indicators and thereby to detect MWL variations. It is shown that the clusters can be interpreted as the binary class MWL. Furthermore, a trained binary SVDD classifier is shown to be capable of detecting slight variations of those indicators. By combining the two schemes, a SVC-SVDD framework is proposed, where the clear-cut (smaller) cluster is detected by SVC first and then a subsequent SVDD model is utilized to divide the overlapped (larger) cluster into two classes. Finally, three-class MWL levels (low, normal and high) can be identified automatically. The experimental data analysis results are compared with those of several existing methods. It has been demonstrated that the proposed framework can lead to acceptable computational accuracy and has the advantages of both unsupervised and supervised training strategies. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

  8. Integrated Fast-Ignition Core-Heating Experiments on OMEGA

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Theobald, W.

    2010-11-01

    Integrated fast-ignition core-heating experiments are carried out at the Omega Laser Facility. Plastic (CD) shell targets with a re-entrant gold cone are compressed with a ˜20-kJ, UV low-adiabat laser pulse. A 1-kJ, 10-ps pulse from OMEGA EP generates fast electrons in the hollow cone that are transported into the compressed core. The experiments demonstrate a significant enhancement of the neutron yield. The neutron-yield enhancement caused by the high-intensity pulse is 1.5 x 10^7, which is more than 150% of the implosion yield. For the first time, measurements of the breakout time of the compression-induced shock wave through the cone were performed for the same targets as used in the integrated experiments. The shock breakout was measured to be ˜100 ps after peak neutron production. The experiments demonstrate that the cone tip is intact at the time when the short-pulse laser interacts with the cone. This work was supported by the U.S. Department of Energy Office of Inertial Confinement Fusion under Cooperative Agreement Nos. DE-FC52-08NA28302, DE-FC02-04ER54789, and DE-FG02-05ER54839. [4pt] In collaboration with A. A. Solodov, K. S. Anderson, R. Betti (LLE/FSC); C. Stoeckl, T.R. Boehly, R.S. Craxton, J.A. Delettrez, V.Yu. Glebov, J.P. Knauer, F.J. Marshall, K.L. Marshall, D.D. Meyerhofer,^ P.M. Nilson, T.C. Sangster, W. Seka (LLE); F.N. Beg (UCSD), H. Habara (ILE), P.K. Patel (LLNL), R.B. Stephens (GA); J.A. Frenje, N. Sinenian (PSFC/MIT).

  9. A modified approach for isolation of essential oil from fruit of Amorpha fruticosa Linn using microwave-assisted hydrodistillation concatenated liquid-liquid extraction.

    PubMed

    Chen, Fengli; Jia, Jia; Zhang, Qiang; Gu, Huiyan; Yang, Lei

    2017-11-17

    In this work, a modified technique was developed to separate essential oil from the fruit of Amorpha fruticosa using microwave-assisted hydrodistillation concatenated liquid-liquid extraction (MHD-LLE). The new apparatus consists of two series-wound separation columns for separating essential oil, one is the conventional oil-water separation column, and the other is the extraction column of components from hydrosol using an organic solvent. Therefore, the apparatus can simultaneously collect the essential oil separated on the top of hydrosol and the components extracted from hydrosol using an organic solvent. Based on the yield of essential oil in the first and second separation columns, the effects of parameters were investigated by single factor experiments and Box-Behnken design. Under the optimum conditions (2mL ethyl ether as the extraction solvent in the second separation column, 12mL/g liquid-solid ratio, 4.0min homogenate time, 35min microwave irradiation time and 540W microwave irradiation power), satisfactory yields for the essential oil in the first separation column (10.31±0.33g/kg) and second separation column (0.82±0.03g/kg) were obtained. Compared with traditional methods, the developed method gave a higher yield of essential oil in a shorter time. In addition, GC-MS analysis of the essential oil indicated significant differences of the relative contents of individual volatile components in the essential oils obtained in the two separation columns. Therefore, the MHD-LLE technique developed here is a good alternative for the isolation of essential oil from A. fruticosa fruit as well as other herbs. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  10. High Incidence and Levels of Ochratoxin A in Wines Sourced from the United States.

    PubMed

    De Jesus, Christopher Lawrence; Bartley, Amanda; Welch, Aaron Z; Berry, John P

    2017-12-21

    Ochratoxin A (OTA) is one of the most prevalent mycotoxin contaminants of food crops. Among the agricultural products consequently contaminated by OTA is wine. In the present study, a sample of wines sourced from the United States was assessed for OTA. Wines were primarily analyzed by high-performance liquid chromatography with fluorescence detection (HPLC-FD) coupled to a liquid-liquid extraction (LLE) technique which was developed and validated as a simplified sample preparation approach. More than 85% of the wines evaluated were found to contain OTA, at levels above the limit-of-detection (LOD = 0.1 µg L -1 ), and 76% were above the limit-of-quantitation (LOQ = 0.3 µg L -1 ) for the LLE/HPLC-FD method. More than two-thirds of the wines above the LOQ were found to exceed 1 µg L -1 . Complementary analysis by HPLC coupled to tandem mass spectrometry (HPLC-MS/MS) confirmed OTA in 74% of the OTA-positive wines (i.e., >LOQ by HPLC-FD). Overall, both the occurrence and measured levels of OTA were generally high, specifically relative to previous assessments of OTA in wine, and two of the wines were above the only current (European Union) regulatory limit of two parts-per-billion (ppb, ~2 µg L -1 ). Possible trends with respect to geographical region and/or growing climate are noted. As the first assessment of U.S. wines in more than a decade, the overall high occurrence and levels of OTA in wine, and possible geographic and climatic trends, point to a need for regular surveillance of wines, as well as investigation of the relevant contributors to OTA occurrence toward mitigating contamination and exposure risks.

  11. A novel dual-valve sequential injection manifold (DV-SIA) for automated liquid-liquid extraction. Application for the determination of picric acid.

    PubMed

    Skrlíková, Jana; Andruch, Vasil; Sklenárová, Hana; Chocholous, Petr; Solich, Petr; Balogh, Ioseph S

    2010-05-07

    A novel dual-valve sequential injection system (DV-SIA) for online liquid-liquid extraction which resolves the main problems of LLE utilization in SIA has been designed. The main idea behind this new design was to construct an SIA system by connecting two independent units, one for aqueous-organic mixture flow and the second specifically for organic phase flow. As a result, the DV-SIA manifold consists of an Extraction unit and a Detection unit. Processing a mixture of aqueous-organic phase in the Extraction unit and a separated organic phase in the Detection unit solves the problems associated with the change of phases having different affinities to the walls of the Teflon tubing used in the SI-system. The developed manifold is a simple, user-friendly and universal system built entirely from commercially available components. The system can be used for a variety of samples and organic solvents and is simple enough to be easily handled by operators less familiar with flow systems. The efficiency of the DV-SIA system is demonstrated by the extraction of picric acid in the form of an ion associate with 2-[2-(4-methoxy-phenylamino)-vinyl]-1,3,3-trimethyl-3H-indolium reagent, with subsequent spectrophotometric detection. The suggested DV-SIA concept can be expected to stimulate new experiments in analytical laboratories and can be applied to the elaboration of procedures for the determination of other compounds extractable by organic solvents. It could thus form a basis for the design of simple, single-purpose commercial instruments used in LLE procedures. 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  12. Phosphor-Penetration Color Cathode-Ray Tube.

    DTIC Science & Technology

    1979-06-01

    radii of curvature and with differing optical transmission. The face- plate chosen for this program has a 40-inch inside radius and a light- transmission...DIFFERENCE WHEN V3 V2I SMALL AREAMIESH -TO- SCREEN GEOMIETRY FIGURE 13 Ri =40 INCHES A .50 INCHES R 2= 60 INCHES H771 7.0 INCHES * Vs I V4 ~ VST V4 2...APMIY COIL"UNTCATIONS R&D CO*MtAND 001 DOVER, NJ 07801 000 FORT MONMOUTH, NJ 07703 1 DRDCO-COM-RO 711 METALS AND CERAMICS INF CENTER I USMC- LNO BATE LLE I ATFE-LO-EC SOS KING AVENUE 001 COLUMBUS, OHi 43201 4

  13. A Very Simple Method to Calculate the (Positive) Largest Lyapunov Exponent Using Interval Extensions

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Mendes, Eduardo M. A. M.; Nepomuceno, Erivelton G.

    2016-12-01

    In this letter, a very simple method to calculate the positive Largest Lyapunov Exponent (LLE) based on the concept of interval extensions and using the original equations of motion is presented. The exponent is estimated from the slope of the line derived from the lower bound error when considering two interval extensions of the original system. It is shown that the algorithm is robust, fast and easy to implement and can be considered as alternative to other algorithms available in the literature. The method has been successfully tested in five well-known systems: Logistic, Hénon, Lorenz and Rössler equations and the Mackey-Glass system.

  14. Smart Water Conservation System for Irrigated Landscape

    DTIC Science & Technology

    2016-05-01

    Ir ri ga tio n Sy st em s Ir ri... ire d fo r i rr ig at io n. Le ss w at er u se d re su lts in re du ce d en er gy us ag e. C on tro lle r c ol le ct s a nd e va lu at es re...al -ti m e se ns or d at a to de te rm in e w he n it is n ec es sa ry to ir rig at e an d ho w m uc h w at er to a pp ly b as ed

  15. DNA extraction on bio-chip: history and preeminence over conventional and solid-phase extraction methods.

    PubMed

    Ayoib, Adilah; Hashim, Uda; Gopinath, Subash C B; Md Arshad, M K

    2017-11-01

    This review covers a developmental progression on early to modern taxonomy at cellular level following the advent of electron microscopy and the advancement in deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) extraction for expatiation of biological classification at DNA level. Here, we discuss the fundamental values of conventional chemical methods of DNA extraction using liquid/liquid extraction (LLE) followed by development of solid-phase extraction (SPE) methods, as well as recent advances in microfluidics device-based system for DNA extraction on-chip. We also discuss the importance of DNA extraction as well as the advantages over conventional chemical methods, and how Lab-on-a-Chip (LOC) system plays a crucial role for the future achievements.

  16. Identification of Dynamic Patterns of Speech-Evoked Auditory Brainstem Response Based on Ensemble Empirical Mode Decomposition and Nonlinear Time Series Analysis Methods

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Mozaffarilegha, Marjan; Esteki, Ali; Ahadi, Mohsen; Nazeri, Ahmadreza

    The speech-evoked auditory brainstem response (sABR) shows how complex sounds such as speech and music are processed in the auditory system. Speech-ABR could be used to evaluate particular impairments and improvements in auditory processing system. Many researchers used linear approaches for characterizing different components of sABR signal, whereas nonlinear techniques are not applied so commonly. The primary aim of the present study is to examine the underlying dynamics of normal sABR signals. The secondary goal is to evaluate whether some chaotic features exist in this signal. We have presented a methodology for determining various components of sABR signals, by performing Ensemble Empirical Mode Decomposition (EEMD) to get the intrinsic mode functions (IMFs). Then, composite multiscale entropy (CMSE), the largest Lyapunov exponent (LLE) and deterministic nonlinear prediction are computed for each extracted IMF. EEMD decomposes sABR signal into five modes and a residue. The CMSE results of sABR signals obtained from 40 healthy people showed that 1st, and 2nd IMFs were similar to the white noise, IMF-3 with synthetic chaotic time series and 4th, and 5th IMFs with sine waveform. LLE analysis showed positive values for 3rd IMFs. Moreover, 1st, and 2nd IMFs showed overlaps with surrogate data and 3rd, 4th and 5th IMFs showed no overlap with corresponding surrogate data. Results showed the presence of noisy, chaotic and deterministic components in the signal which respectively corresponded to 1st, and 2nd IMFs, IMF-3, and 4th and 5th IMFs. While these findings provide supportive evidence of the chaos conjecture for the 3rd IMF, they do not confirm any such claims. However, they provide a first step towards an understanding of nonlinear behavior of auditory system dynamics in brainstem level.

  17. Characterization and determination of naphthenic acids species in oil sands process-affected water and groundwater from oil sands development area of Alberta, Canada.

    PubMed

    Huang, Rongfu; Chen, Yuan; Meshref, Mohamed N A; Chelme-Ayala, Pamela; Dong, Shimiao; Ibrahim, Mohamed D; Wang, Chengjin; Klamerth, Nikolaus; Hughes, Sarah A; Headley, John V; Peru, Kerry M; Brown, Christine; Mahaffey, Ashley; Gamal El-Din, Mohamed

    2018-01-01

    This work reports the monitoring and assessment of naphthenic acids (NAs) in oil sands process-affected water (OSPW), Pleistocene channel aquifer groundwater (PLCA), and oil sands basal aquifer groundwater (OSBA) from an active oil sands development in Alberta, Canada, using ultra performance liquid chromatography time-of-flight mass spectrometry (UPLC-TOF-MS) analysis with internal standard (ISTD) and external standard (ESTD) calibration methods and Fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance mass spectrometry (FTICR-MS) for compositional analysis. PLCA was collected at 45-51 m depth and OSBA was collected at 67-144 m depth. Results of O x -NA concentrations follow an order as OSPW > OSBA > PLCA, indicating that occurrences of NAs in OSBA were likely related to natural bitumen deposits instead of OSPW. Liquid-liquid extraction (LLE) was applied to avoid the matrix effect for the ESTD method. Reduced LLE efficiency accounted for the divergence of the ISTD and ESTD calibrated results for oxidized NAs. Principle component analysis results of O 2 and O 4 species could be employed for differentiation of water types, while classical NAs with C13-15 and Z (-4)-(-6) and aromatic O 2 -NAs with C16-18 and Z (-14)-(-16) could be measured as marker compounds to characterize water sources and potential temporal variations of samples, respectively. FTICR-MS results revealed that compositions of NA species varied greatly among OSPW, PLCA, and OSBA, because of NA transfer and transformation processes. This work contributed to the understanding of the concentration and composition of NAs in various types of water, and provided a useful combination of analytical and statistical tools for monitoring studies, in support of future safe discharge of treated OSPW. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  18. Liquid-liquid extraction of strongly protein bound BMS-299897 from human plasma and cerebrospinal fluid, followed by high-performance liquid chromatography/tandem mass spectrometry.

    PubMed

    Xue, Y J; Pursley, Janice; Arnold, Mark

    2007-04-11

    BMS-299897 is a gamma-secretase inhibitor that is being developed for the treatment of Alzheimer's disease. Liquid-liquid extraction (LLE), chromatographic/tandem mass spectrometry (LC/MS/MS) methods have been developed and validated for the quantitation of BMS-299897 in human plasma and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF). Both methods utilized (13)C6-BMS-299897, the stable label isotope analog, as the internal standard. For the human plasma extraction method, two incubation steps were required after the addition of 5 mM ammonium acetate and the internal standard in acetonitrile to release the analyte bound to proteins prior to LLE with toluene. For the human CSF extraction method, after the addition of 0.5 N HCl and the internal standard, CSF samples were extracted with toluene and no incubation was required. The organic layers obtained from both extraction methods were removed and evaporated to dryness. The residues were reconstituted and injected into the LC/MS/MS system. Chromatographic separation was achieved isocratically on a MetaChem C18 Hypersil BDS column (2.0 mm x 50 mm, 3 microm). The mobile phase contained 10 mM ammonium acetate pH 5 and acetonitrile. Detection was by negative ion electrospray tandem mass spectrometry. The standard curves ranged from 1 to 1000 ng/ml for human plasma and 0.25-100 ng/ml for human CSF. Both standard curves were fitted to a 1/x weighted quadratic regression model. For both methods, the intra-assay precision was within 8.2% CV, the inter-assay precision was within 5.4% CV, and assay accuracy was within +/-7.4% of the nominal values. The validation and sample analysis results demonstrated that both methods had acceptable precision and accuracy across the calibration ranges.

  19. Studies of Magnetic Reconnection in Colliding Laser-Produced Plasmas

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Rosenberg, Michael

    2013-10-01

    Novel images of magnetic fields and measurements of electron and ion temperatures have been obtained in the magnetic reconnection region of high- β, laser-produced plasmas. Experiments using laser-irradiated foils produce expanding, hemispherical plasma plumes carrying MG Biermann-battery magnetic fields, which can be driven to interact and reconnect. Thomson-scattering measurements of electron and ion temperatures in the interaction region of two colliding, magnetized plasmas show no thermal enhancement due to reconnection, as expected for β ~ 8 plasmas. Two different proton radiography techniques used to image the magnetic field structures show deformation, pileup, and annihilation of magnetic flux. High-resolution images reveal unambiguously reconnection-induced jets emerging from the interaction region and show instabilities in the expanding plasma plumes and supersonic, hydrodynamic jets due to the plasma collision. Quantitative magnetic flux data show that reconnection in experiments with asymmetry in the scale size, density, temperature, and plasma flow across the reconnection region occurs less efficiently than in similar, symmetric experiments. This result is attributed to disruption of the Hall mechanism mediating collisionless reconnection. The collision of plasmas carrying parallel magnetic fields has also been probed, illustrating the deformation of magnetic field structures in high-energy-density plasmas in the absence of reconnection. These experiments are particularly relevant to high- β reconnection environments, such as the magnetopause. This work was performed in collaboration with C. Li, F. Séguin, A. Zylstra, H. Rinderknecht, H. Sio, J. Frenje, and R. Petrasso (MIT), I. Igumenshchev, V. Glebov, C. Stoeckl, and D. Froula (LLE), J. Ross and R. Town (LLNL), W. Fox (UNH), and A. Nikroo (GA), and was supported in part by the NLUF, FSC/UR, U.S. DOE, LLNL, and LLE.

  20. Characterization of N-palmitoylated human growth hormone by in situ liquid-liquid extraction and MALDI tandem mass spectrometry.

    PubMed

    Sachon, Emmanuelle; Nielsen, Per Franklin; Jensen, Ole Nørregaard

    2007-06-01

    Acylation is a common post-translational modification found in secreted proteins and membrane-associated proteins, including signal transducing and regulatory proteins. Acylation is also explored in the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industry to increase the stability and lifetime of protein-based products. The presence of acyl moieties in proteins and peptides affects the physico-chemical properties of these species, thereby modulating protein stability, function, localization and molecular interactions. Characterization of protein acylation is a challenging analytical task, which includes the precise definition of the acylation sites in proteins and determination of the identity and molecular heterogeneity of the acyl moiety at each individual site. In this study, we generated a chemically modified human growth hormone (hGH) by incorporation of a palmitoyl moiety on the N(epsilon) group of a lysine residue. Monoacylation of the hGH protein was confirmed by determination of the intact molecular weight by mass spectrometry. Detailed analysis of protein acylation was achieved by analysis of peptides derived from hGH by protease treatment. However, peptide mass mapping by MALDI MS using trypsin and AspN proteases and standard sample preparation methods did not reveal any palmitoylated peptides. In contrast, in situ liquid-liquid extraction (LLE) performed directly on the MALDI MS metal target enabled detection of acylated peptide candidates by MALDI MS and demonstrated that hGH was N-palmitoylated at multiple lysine residues. MALDI MS and MS/MS analysis of the modified peptides mapped the N-palmitoylation sites to Lys158, Lys172 and Lys140 or Lys145. This study demonstrates the utility of LLE/MALDI MS/MS for mapping and characterization of acylation sites in proteins and peptides and the importance of optimizing sample preparation methods for mass spectrometry-based determination of substoichiometric, multi-site protein modifications.

  1. Simultaneous determination of trace rare-earth elements in simulated water samples using ICP-OES with TODGA extraction/back-extraction.

    PubMed

    Li, FuKai; Gong, AiJun; Qiu, LiNa; Zhang, WeiWei; Li, JingRui; Liu, Yu; Liu, YuNing; Yuan, HuiTing

    2017-01-01

    The determination of trace rare-earth elements (REEs) can be used for the assessment of environmental pollution, and is of great significance to the study of toxicity and toxicology in animals and plants. N, N, N', N'-tetraoctyl diglycolamide (TODGA) is an environmental friendly extractant that is highly selective to REEs. In this study, an analytical method was developed for the simultaneous determination of 16 trace REEs in simulated water samples by inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectroscopy (ICP-OES). With this method, TODGA was used as the extractant to perform the liquid-liquid extraction (LLE) sample pretreatment procedure. All 16 REEs were extracted from a 3 M nitric acid medium into an organic phase by a 0.025 M TODGA petroleum ether solution. A 0.03 M ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid disodium salt (EDTA) solution was used for back-extraction to strip the REEs from the organic phase into the aqueous phase. The aqueous phase was concentrated using a vacuum rotary evaporator and the concentration of the 16 REEs was detected by ICP-OES. Under the optimum experimental conditions, the limits of detection (3σ, n = 7) for the REEs ranged from 0.0405 ng mL-1 (Nd) to 0.5038 ng mL-1 (Ho). The relative standard deviations (c = 100 ng mL-1, n = 7) were from 0.5% (Eu) to 4.0% (Tm) with a linear range of 4-1000 ng mL-1 (R2 > 0.999). The recoveries of 16 REEs ranged from 95% to 106%. The LLE-ICP-OES method established in this study has the advantages of simple operation, low detection limits, fast analysis speed and the ability to simultaneously determine 16 REEs, thereby acting as a viable alternative for the simultaneous detection of trace amounts of REEs in water samples.

  2. Hysteresis-induced bifurcation and chaos in a magneto-rheological suspension system under external excitation

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Hailong, Zhang; Enrong, Wang; Fuhong, Min; Ning, Zhang

    2016-03-01

    The magneto-rheological damper (MRD) is a promising device used in vehicle semi-active suspension systems, for its continuous adjustable damping output. However, the innate nonlinear hysteresis characteristic of MRD may cause the nonlinear behaviors. In this work, a two-degree-of-freedom (2-DOF) MR suspension system was established first, by employing the modified Bouc-Wen force-velocity (F-v) hysteretic model. The nonlinear dynamic response of the system was investigated under the external excitation of single-frequency harmonic and bandwidth-limited stochastic road surface. The largest Lyapunov exponent (LLE) was used to detect the chaotic area of the frequency and amplitude of harmonic excitation, and the bifurcation diagrams, time histories, phase portraits, and power spectrum density (PSD) diagrams were used to reveal the dynamic evolution process in detail. Moreover, the LLE and Kolmogorov entropy (K entropy) were used to identify whether the system response was random or chaotic under stochastic road surface. The results demonstrated that the complex dynamical behaviors occur under different external excitation conditions. The oscillating mechanism of alternating periodic oscillations, quasi-periodic oscillations, and chaotic oscillations was observed in detail. The chaotic regions revealed that chaotic motions may appear in conditions of mid-low frequency and large amplitude, as well as small amplitude and all frequency. The obtained parameter regions where the chaotic motions may appear are useful for design of structural parameters of the vibration isolation, and the optimization of control strategy for MR suspension system. Projects supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant Nos. 51475246, 51277098, and 51075215), the Research Innovation Program for College Graduates of Jiangsu Province China (Grant No. KYLX15 0725), and the Natural Science Foundation of Jiangsu Province of China (Grant No. BK20131402).

  3. Automated High-Throughput Permethylation for Glycosylation Analysis of Biologics Using MALDI-TOF-MS.

    PubMed

    Shubhakar, Archana; Kozak, Radoslaw P; Reiding, Karli R; Royle, Louise; Spencer, Daniel I R; Fernandes, Daryl L; Wuhrer, Manfred

    2016-09-06

    Monitoring glycoprotein therapeutics for changes in glycosylation throughout the drug's life cycle is vital, as glycans significantly modulate the stability, biological activity, serum half-life, safety, and immunogenicity. Biopharma companies are increasingly adopting Quality by Design (QbD) frameworks for measuring, optimizing, and controlling drug glycosylation. Permethylation of glycans prior to analysis by matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF-MS) is a valuable tool for glycan characterization and for screening of large numbers of samples in QbD drug realization. However, the existing protocols for manual permethylation and liquid-liquid extraction (LLE) steps are labor intensive and are thus not practical for high-throughput (HT) studies. Here we present a glycan permethylation protocol, based on 96-well microplates, that has been developed into a kit suitable for HT work. The workflow is largely automated using a liquid handling robot and includes N-glycan release, enrichment of N-glycans, permethylation, and LLE. The kit has been validated according to industry analytical performance guidelines and applied to characterize biopharmaceutical samples, including IgG4 monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) and recombinant human erythropoietin (rhEPO). The HT permethylation enabled glycan characterization and relative quantitation with minimal side reactions: the MALDI-TOF-MS profiles obtained were in good agreement with hydrophilic liquid interaction chromatography (HILIC) and ultrahigh performance liquid chromatography (UHPLC) data. Automated permethylation and extraction of 96 glycan samples was achieved in less than 5 h and automated data acquisition on MALDI-TOF-MS took on average less than 1 min per sample. This automated and HT glycan preparation and permethylation showed to be convenient, fast, and reliable and can be applied for drug glycan profiling and clinical glycan biomarker studies.

  4. Time series analyses of breathing patterns of lung cancer patients using nonlinear dynamical system theory.

    PubMed

    Tewatia, D K; Tolakanahalli, R P; Paliwal, B R; Tomé, W A

    2011-04-07

    The underlying requirements for successful implementation of any efficient tumour motion management strategy are regularity and reproducibility of a patient's breathing pattern. The physiological act of breathing is controlled by multiple nonlinear feedback and feed-forward couplings. It would therefore be appropriate to analyse the breathing pattern of lung cancer patients in the light of nonlinear dynamical system theory. The purpose of this paper is to analyse the one-dimensional respiratory time series of lung cancer patients based on nonlinear dynamics and delay coordinate state space embedding. It is very important to select a suitable pair of embedding dimension 'm' and time delay 'τ' when performing a state space reconstruction. Appropriate time delay and embedding dimension were obtained using well-established methods, namely mutual information and the false nearest neighbour method, respectively. Establishing stationarity and determinism in a given scalar time series is a prerequisite to demonstrating that the nonlinear dynamical system that gave rise to the scalar time series exhibits a sensitive dependence on initial conditions, i.e. is chaotic. Hence, once an appropriate state space embedding of the dynamical system has been reconstructed, we show that the time series of the nonlinear dynamical systems under study are both stationary and deterministic in nature. Once both criteria are established, we proceed to calculate the largest Lyapunov exponent (LLE), which is an invariant quantity under time delay embedding. The LLE for all 16 patients is positive, which along with stationarity and determinism establishes the fact that the time series of a lung cancer patient's breathing pattern is not random or irregular, but rather it is deterministic in nature albeit chaotic. These results indicate that chaotic characteristics exist in the respiratory waveform and techniques based on state space dynamics should be employed for tumour motion management.

  5. Simultaneous determination of trace rare-earth elements in simulated water samples using ICP-OES with TODGA extraction/back-extraction

    PubMed Central

    Li, FuKai; Qiu, LiNa; Zhang, WeiWei; Li, JingRui; Liu, Yu; Liu, YuNing; Yuan, HuiTing

    2017-01-01

    The determination of trace rare-earth elements (REEs) can be used for the assessment of environmental pollution, and is of great significance to the study of toxicity and toxicology in animals and plants. N, N, N′, N′-tetraoctyl diglycolamide (TODGA) is an environmental friendly extractant that is highly selective to REEs. In this study, an analytical method was developed for the simultaneous determination of 16 trace REEs in simulated water samples by inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectroscopy (ICP-OES). With this method, TODGA was used as the extractant to perform the liquid-liquid extraction (LLE) sample pretreatment procedure. All 16 REEs were extracted from a 3 M nitric acid medium into an organic phase by a 0.025 M TODGA petroleum ether solution. A 0.03 M ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid disodium salt (EDTA) solution was used for back-extraction to strip the REEs from the organic phase into the aqueous phase. The aqueous phase was concentrated using a vacuum rotary evaporator and the concentration of the 16 REEs was detected by ICP-OES. Under the optimum experimental conditions, the limits of detection (3σ, n = 7) for the REEs ranged from 0.0405 ng mL-1 (Nd) to 0.5038 ng mL-1 (Ho). The relative standard deviations (c = 100 ng mL-1, n = 7) were from 0.5% (Eu) to 4.0% (Tm) with a linear range of 4–1000 ng mL-1 (R2 > 0.999). The recoveries of 16 REEs ranged from 95% to 106%. The LLE-ICP-OES method established in this study has the advantages of simple operation, low detection limits, fast analysis speed and the ability to simultaneously determine 16 REEs, thereby acting as a viable alternative for the simultaneous detection of trace amounts of REEs in water samples. PMID:28945788

  6. Mutational analysis of AGXT gene in Libyan children with primary hyperoxaluria type 1 at Tripoli Children Hospital.

    PubMed

    Rhuma, Naziha R; Fituri, Omar A; Sabei, Laila T

    2018-01-01

    Primary hyperoxaluria type 1 (PH1) is an inborn error of glyoxylate metabolism. It results from genetic mutation of the AGXT gene. The study objective was to verify the clinical and epidemiological patterns of PH1 in Libyan children at Tripoli Children Hospital confirmed by AGXT gene mutation. A descriptive case series study of 53 children with PH1 diagnosed between 1994 and 2015 was carried out in the Nephrology Unit at Tripoli Children Hospital. Diagnosis of PH1 was based on the clinical presentation (renal stones or nephrocalcinosis), positive family history of PH1, and high 24 h urinary oxalate. Sampling for AGXT gene mutation was collected from April 2012 to December. 2015. Among the 53 children included, males composed of 62.3% of patients. Their age at presentation ranged between two months and 20 years with a mean age of 55.4 ± 48 months. The parents of 81.1% of these patients had positive consanguinity. Forty (75.5%) patients were from South West (mountain area), and 16 (40%) of them were from Yefrin. The most common mutation found in this study was c.731T>C (p.lle244thr) seen in 32 (71%) of children, and interestingly, among these patients, 87.1% were homozygous in gene typing, 86.2% had positive history of consanguinity, 71.4% were from South West (mountain area), 96.6% had family history of PH1, and 20% presented with impaired renal function. The patients with this mutation were younger at presentation than that with other genes, and it was more prevalent among boys (61.3%). Thus, the most common gene mutation found in Libyan children with PH1 was c.731T>C (p.lle244thr) and this is more likely due to the strong genetic pooling caused by the high consanguinity rate which requires an extensive genetic counseling.

  7. Pre-Deployment Handbook Papua New Guinea

    DTIC Science & Technology

    2014-03-01

    ai M or eh ea d W ea m Ku pi an o A ng or am Te le fo m in Ta la se a G lo uc es te r...rit ai n B ou ga in vi lle C ho is eu l S an ta Y sa be l W oo dl ar k P oc kl in gt on R ee f D ’E nt re ca st ea ux Is la nd s Lo ui si ad e A...rc hi pe la go B is m a rc k A rc h ip e la g o Ta sk ul K ar ka r Lo ng K iw ai U

  8. Waterborne Commerce of the United States, Calendar Year 1982. Part 2. Waterways and Harbors, Gulf Coast, Mississippi River System and Antilles.

    DTIC Science & Technology

    1984-07-01

    PRACTICABLE. THE COPY FURNISHED TO DTIC CONTAINED A SIGNIFICANT NUMBER OF PAGES WHICH DO NOT REPRODUCE LEGIBLY. ". * e ...CW July 1984 % 13. NUMBER OF PAGES• % ~~Forrestal Bldg, Stop 391 , RR E "’-虗 O Tn314 IS..nDECA IA T1ON/DDCNRAD4 1NG -% .M IOR.IN(; G ENpC3Y NAME...joK C) 1 -z $1N CL i5 - C0 -’ IN~ 0 0 Lj -f z 2 10 2 4b. La I \\ ~ E LsJ . ~’ %Q~f %V7 ~, z - %.at 0 - . V Q iJ A E / I 41 r-- 11 ;,4. 4 LLE 0c 01 q CLI

  9. Measuring spatial distributions of nuclear burn in ICF implosions at OMEGA and the NIF using proton emission imaging

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Seguin, Fredrick; Rinderknecht, H. G.; Zylstra, A.; Sio, H.; Frenje, J.; Li, C. K.; Petrasso, R.; Rosenberg, M.; Marshall, F. J.; Sangster, T. C.; McKenty, P.; Craxton, S.; Rygg, J. R.; Le Pape, S.; Smalyuk, V.; Amendt, P. A.; Wilks, S. C.; MacKinnon, A.; Hoffman, N. M.

    2015-11-01

    Fusion reactions in ICF implosions of D3He-filled capsules produce 14.7-MeV D3He protons and 3-MeV DD protons. Spatial distributions of the D3He and DD reactions are studied with a penumbral imaging camera that utilizes a CR-39-based imaging detector to detect the protons. Up to three orthogonal cameras have been used simultaneously at OMEGA to study the 3-D structure of asymmetric implosions, and two orthogonal cameras have now been used to study an exploding-pusher implosion at the NIF. Recent data from OMEGA and from the NIF will be shown. This work was supported in part by NLUF, US DOE, and LLE.

  10. Magnetoseed - Vasculäres Tissue Engineering

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Perea Saavedra, Héctor; Methe, Heiko; Wintermantel, Erich

    Gegenwärtig sind kardiovaskuläre Erkrankungen, allen voran die Arteriosklerose koronarer und zerebraler Gefäße, Ursache für 38% aller Todesfälle in Nordamerika und häufigste Todesursache europäischer Männer < 65 Jahre und zweithäufigste Todesursache bei Frauen [4]. Es wird prognostiziert, dass innerhalb der nächsten 10-15 Jahre kardiovaskuläre Erkrankungen und deren Komplikationen weltweit die häufigste Todesursache stellen werden. Dies ist zum einen Folge der ansteigenden Prävalenz kardiovaskulärer Erkrankungen in Osteuropa und zunehmend auch in den Entwicklungsländern, zum anderen Folge der kontinuierlich ansteigenden Inzidenz von Übergewicht und Diabetes mellitus in den westlichen Ländern.

  11. The Magnetic Recoil Spectrometer for time-resolved neutron measurements (MRSt) at the NIF

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Parker, C. E.; Frenje, J. A.; Wink, C. W.; Gatu Johnson, M.; Lahmann, B.; Li, C. K.; Seguin, F. H.; Petrasso, R. D.; Hilsabeck, T. J.; Kilkenny, J. D.; Bionta, R.; Casey, D. T.; Khater, H. Y.; Forrest, C. J.; Glebov, V. Yu.; Sorce, C.; Hares, J. D.; Siegmund, O. H. W.

    2017-10-01

    The next-generation Magnetic Recoil Spectrometer, called MRSt, will provide time-resolved measurements of the DT-neutron spectrum. These measurements will provide critical information about the time evolution of the fuel assembly, hot-spot formation, and nuclear burn in Inertial Confinement Fusion (ICF) implosions at the National Ignition Facility (NIF). The neutron spectrum in the energy range 12-16 MeV will be measured with high accuracy ( 5%), unprecedented energy resolution ( 100 keV) and, for the first time ever, time resolution ( 20 ps). An overview of the physics motivation, conceptual design for meeting these performance requirements, and the status of the offline tests for critical components will be presented. This work was supported in part by the U.S. DOE, LLNL, and LLE.

  12. Application of gas chromatography to analysis of spirit-based alcoholic beverages.

    PubMed

    Wiśniewska, Paulina; Śliwińska, Magdalena; Dymerski, Tomasz; Wardencki, Waldemar; Namieśnik, Jacek

    2015-01-01

    Spirit-based beverages are alcoholic drinks; their production processes are dependent on the type and origin of raw materials. The composition of this complex matrix is difficult to analyze, and scientists commonly choose gas chromatography techniques for this reason. With a wide selection of extraction methods and detectors it is possible to provide qualitative and quantitative analysis for many chemical compounds with various functional groups. This article describes different types of gas chromatography techniques and their most commonly used associated extraction techniques (e.g., LLE, SPME, SPE, SFE, and SBME) and detectors (MS, TOFMS, FID, ECD, NPD, AED, O or EPD). Additionally, brief characteristics of internationally popular spirit-based beverages and application of gas chromatography to the analysis of selected alcoholic drinks are presented.

  13. Neutron-induced reactions in the hohlraum to study reaction in flight neutrons

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

    Boswell, M. S.; Elliott, S. R.; Tybo, J.

    2013-04-19

    We are currently developing the physics necessary to measure the Reaction In Flight (RIF) neutron flux from a NIF capsule. A measurement of the RIF neutron flux from a NIF capsule could be used to deduce the stopping power in the cold fuel of the NIF capsule. A foil irradiated at the Omega laser at LLE was counted at the LANL low-background counting facility at WIPP. The estimated production rate of {sup 195}Au was just below our experimental sensitivity. We have made several improvements to our counting facility in recent months. These improvements are designed to increase our sensitivity, andmore » include installing two new low-background detectors, and taking steps to reduce noise in the signals.« less

  14. Spill Assessment Model (SAM) Procedure for Manual Field Calculations.

    DTIC Science & Technology

    1980-04-01

    34or ~ d 0 <OJ -i~ < 1I/6 z L) C.) 9. I- a. c cu cj El 0 0. 0. 0 0 ~~1~ 3 ci h -z L - 00,0o c 0. Ci) 0 #. .2 a) 13 i __ ______4-- (± 3d ) Hld3(Q 00 o 0 0 r...release rate since for the purpose of expected use it was assumed that inadequate in- formation would be available to accurately characterize a...Io:ot:.n1311 Madten.tepecificHas ofVWpels): S. HEALTH AZARDS Aqar I3 12,,tHit aoV~otrri A5lle~ t1es ,feWP6O 3eutrns: .1 9 Laten I-atdy1p,1 F I en: 0 1k

  15. De Novo Design and Experimental Characterization of Ultrashort Self-Associating Peptides

    PubMed Central

    Xue, Bo; Robinson, Robert C.; Hauser, Charlotte A. E.; Floudas, Christodoulos A.

    2014-01-01

    Self-association is a common phenomenon in biology and one that can have positive and negative impacts, from the construction of the architectural cytoskeleton of cells to the formation of fibrils in amyloid diseases. Understanding the nature and mechanisms of self-association is important for modulating these systems and in creating biologically-inspired materials. Here, we present a two-stage de novo peptide design framework that can generate novel self-associating peptide systems. The first stage uses a simulated multimeric template structure as input into the optimization-based Sequence Selection to generate low potential energy sequences. The second stage is a computational validation procedure that calculates Fold Specificity and/or Approximate Association Affinity (K*association) based on metrics that we have devised for multimeric systems. This framework was applied to the design of self-associating tripeptides using the known self-associating tripeptide, Ac-IVD, as a structural template. Six computationally predicted tripeptides (Ac-LVE, Ac-YYD, Ac-LLE, Ac-YLD, Ac-MYD, Ac-VIE) were chosen for experimental validation in order to illustrate the self-association outcomes predicted by the three metrics. Self-association and electron microscopy studies revealed that Ac-LLE formed bead-like microstructures, Ac-LVE and Ac-YYD formed fibrillar aggregates, Ac-VIE and Ac-MYD formed hydrogels, and Ac-YLD crystallized under ambient conditions. An X-ray crystallographic study was carried out on a single crystal of Ac-YLD, which revealed that each molecule adopts a β-strand conformation that stack together to form parallel β-sheets. As an additional validation of the approach, the hydrogel-forming sequences of Ac-MYD and Ac-VIE were shuffled. The shuffled sequences were computationally predicted to have lower K*association values and were experimentally verified to not form hydrogels. This illustrates the robustness of the framework in predicting self

  16. Efficacy of head space solid-phase microextraction coupled to gas chromatography-mass spectrometry method for determination of the trace extracellular hydrocarbons of cyanobacteria.

    PubMed

    Guan, Wenna; Zhu, Tao; Wang, Yuejie; Zhang, Zhongyi; Jin, Zhao; Wang, Cong; Bai, Fali

    2016-09-01

    Hydrocarbons are widespread in cyanobacteria, and the biochemical synthetic pathways were recently identified. Intracellular fatty alka(e)nes of cyanobacteria have been detected by liquid-liquid extraction (LLE) coupled to gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC/MS). However, whether fatty alka(e)nes can be released to cyanobacterial culture media remains to be clarified. This work develops a sensitive method for analyzing the trace level of extracellular hydrocarbons in cyanobacterial culture media by head space solid-phase microextraction (HS-SPME) coupled to GC/MS. Headspace (HS) extraction mode using polydimethylsiloxane fiber to extract for 30min at 50°C was employed as the optimal extraction conditions. Five cyanobacterial fatty alka(e)nes analogs including pentadecene (C15:1), pentadecane (C15:0), heptadecene (C17:1), heptadecane (C17:0), nonadecane (C19:0) were analyzed, and the data obtained from HS-SPME-GC/MS method were quantified using internal standard peak area comparisons. Limits of detection (LOD), limits of quantitation (LOQ), linear dynamic range, precisions (RSD) and recovery for the analysis of extracellular fatty alka(e)nes of cyanobacteria by HS-SPME-GC/MS were evaluated. The LODs limits of detection (S/N = 3) varied from 10 to 21 ng L-1. The correlation coefficients (r) of the calibration curves ranged from 0.9873 to 0.9977 with a linearity from 0.1 to 50 μg L-1. The RSD values were ranging from 7.8 to 14.0% and from 4.0 to 8.8% at 1.0 μg L-1 and 10.0 μg L-1 standard solutions, respectively. Comparative analysis of extracellular fatty alka(e)nes in the culture media of model cyanobacteria Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803 demonstrated that sensitivity of HS-SPME-GC/MS method was significantly higher than LLE method. Finally, we found that heptadecane can be released into the culture media of Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803 at the later growth period. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  17. Level of Education as a Risk Factor for Extensive Prevalence of Cervical Intervertebral Disc Degenerative Changes and Chronic Neck Pain.

    PubMed

    Markotić, Vedran; Zubac, Damir; Miljko, Miro; Šimić, Goran; Zalihić, Amra; Bogdan, Gojko; Radančević, Dorijan; Šimić, Ana Dugandžić; Mašković, Josip

    2017-09-01

    The aim of this study was to document the prevalence of degenerative intervertebral disc changes in the patients who previously reported symptoms of neck pain and to determine the influence of education level on degenerative intervertebral disc changes and subsequent chronic neck pain. One hundred and twelve patients were randomly selected from the University Hospital in Mostar, Bosna and Herzegovina, (aged 48.5±12.7 years) and submitted to magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of the cervical spine. MRI of 3.0 T (Siemens, Skyrim, Erlangen, Germany) was used to obtain cervical spine images. Patients were separated into two groups based on their education level: low education level (LLE) and high education level (HLE). Pfirrmann classification was used to document intervertebral disc degeneration, while self-reported chronic neck pain was evaluated using the previously validated Oswestry questionnaire. The entire logistic regression model containing all predictors was statistically significant, (χ 2 (3)=12.2, p=0.02), and was able to distinguish between respondents who had chronic neck pain and vice versa. The model explained between 10.0% (Cox-Snell R 2 ) and 13.8% (Nagelkerke R 2 ) of common variance with Pfirrmann classification, and it had the strength to discriminate and correctly classify 69.6% of patients. The probability of a patient being classified in the high or low group of degenerative disc changes according to the Pfirrmann scale was associated with the education level (Wald test: 5.5, p=0.02). Based on the Pfirrmann assessment scale, the HLE group was significantly different from the LLE group in the degree of degenerative changes of the cervical intervertebral discs (U=1,077.5, p=0.001). A moderate level of intervertebral disc degenerative changes (grade II and III) was equally matched among all patients, while the overall results suggest a higher level of education as a risk factor leading to cervical disc degenerative changes, regardless of age

  18. Quantitative studies of kinetic effects in direct- and indirect-drive Inertial Confinement Fusion implosions

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Rinderknecht, Hans

    2013-10-01

    A comprehensive set of experiments using shock-driven implosions has been conducted to quantitatively study kinetic effects by exploring deviations from hydrodynamic behavior in plasmas relevant to inertial confinement fusion (ICF). Two types of targets were imploded at OMEGA to create ~10 keV, ~1022 cm-3 plasmas with conditions comparable to the incipient hotspot in ignition designs: thin-glass targets filled with mixtures of D2 and 3He gas; and thin deuterated-plastic shells filled with 3He. In the thin-glass experiments, the gas pressure was varied from 1 to 25 atm to scan the ion-mean-free path in the plasma at shock burn. The observed nuclear yields and temperatures deviated more strongly from hydrodynamic predictions as the ion-mean-free path increased to the order of the plasma size. This result provides the first direct experimental evidence how kinetic effects impact yields and ion temperature. The ratio of D to 3He was also varied while maintaining the fuel mass density. As the D fraction was reduced, the DD and D3He fusion products displayed an anomalous yield reduction. Separation of the D and 3He ion species across the strong (Mach ~10) shock-front will be discussed as the likely cause of this result. Finally, thin-CD shells filled with 3He produced significantly more D3He-protons when imploded than is explained by hydrodynamic mix models. This result suggests a kinetic form of mix dominates at the strongly-shocked shell-gas interface. This work was performed in collaboration with C. Li, M. Rosenberg, A. Zylstra, H. Sio, M. Gatu Johnson, F. Séguin, J. Frenje, and R. Petrasso (MIT), V. Glebov, C. Stoeckl, J. Delettrez, and C. Sangster (LLE), J. Pino, P. Amendt, C. Bellei, and S. Wilks (LLNL), G. Kagan, N. Hoffmann and K. Molvig (LANL), and A. Nikroo (GA) and was supported in part by the NLUF, FSC/UR, U.S. DOE, LLNL and LLE.

  19. Rapid analysis of pharmaceuticals and personal care products in fish plasma micro-aliquots using liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry.

    PubMed

    Chen, Fangfang; Gong, Zhiyuan; Kelly, Barry C

    2015-02-27

    A sensitive analytical method based on liquid-liquid extraction (LLE) and liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) was developed for rapid analysis of 11 pharmaceuticals and personal care products (PPCPs) in fish plasma micro-aliquots (∼20μL). Target PPCPs included, bisphenol A, carbamazepine, diclofenac, fluoxetine, gemfibrozil, ibuprofen, naproxen, risperidone, sertraline, simvastatin and triclosan. A relatively quicker and cheaper LLE procedure exhibited comparable analyte recoveries with solid-phase extraction. Rapid separation and analysis of target compounds in fish plasma extracts was achieved by employing a high efficiency C-18 HPLC column (Agilent Poroshell 120 SB-C18, 2.1mm×50mm, 2.7μm) and fast polarity switching, enabling effective monitoring of positive and negative ions in a single 9min run. With the exception of bisphenol A, which exhibited relatively high background contamination, method detection limits of individual PPCPs ranged between 0.15 and 0.69pg/μL, while method quantification limits were between 0.05 and 2.3pg/μL. Mean matrix effect (ME) values ranged between 65 and 156% for the various target analytes. Isotope dilution quantification using isotopically labelled internal surrogates was utilized to correct for signal suppression or enhancement and analyte losses during sample preparation. The method was evaluated by analysis of 20μL plasma micro-aliquots collected from zebrafish (Danio rerio) from a laboratory bioaccumulation study, which included control group fish (no exposure), as well as fish exposed to environmentally relevant concentrations of PPCPs. Using the developed LC-MS/MS based method, concentrations of the studied PPCPs were consistently detected in the low pg/μL (ppb) range. The method may be useful for investigations requiring fast, reliable concentration measurements of PPCPs in fish plasma. In particular, the method may be applicable for in situ contaminant biomonitoring, as well as

  20. Rapid and automated analysis of aflatoxin M1 in milk and dairy products by online solid phase extraction coupled to ultra-high-pressure-liquid-chromatography tandem mass spectrometry.

    PubMed

    Campone, Luca; Piccinelli, Anna Lisa; Celano, Rita; Pagano, Imma; Russo, Mariateresa; Rastrelli, Luca

    2016-01-08

    This study reports a fast and automated analytical procedure for the analysis of aflatoxin M1 (AFM1) in milk and dairy products. The method is based on the simultaneous protein precipitation and AFM1 extraction, by salt-induced liquid-liquid extraction (SI-LLE), followed by an online solid-phase extraction (online SPE) coupled to ultra-high-pressure-liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (UHPLC-MS/MS) analysis to the automatic pre-concentration, clean up and sensitive and selective determination of AFM1. The main parameters affecting the extraction efficiency and accuracy of the analytical method were studied in detail. In the optimal conditions, acetonitrile and NaCl were used as extraction/denaturant solvent and salting-out agent in SI-LLE, respectively. After centrifugation, the organic phase (acetonitrile) was diluted with water (1:9 v/v) and purified (1mL) by online C18 cartridge coupled with an UHPLC column. Finally, selected reaction monitoring (SRM) acquisition mode was applied to the detection of AFM1. Validation studies were carried out on different dairy products (whole and skimmed cow milk, yogurt, goat milk, and powder infant formula), providing method quantification limits about 25 times lower than AFM1 maximum levels permitted by EU regulation 1881/2006 in milk and dairy products for direct human consumption. Recoveries (86-102%) and repeatability (RSD<3, n=6) meet the performance criteria required by EU regulation N. 401/2006 for the determination of the levels of mycotoxins in foodstuffs. Moreover, no matrix effects were observed in the different milk and dairy products studied. The proposed method improves the performance of AFM1 analysis in milk samples as AFM1 determination is performed with a degree of accuracy higher than the conventional methods. Other advantages are the reduction of sample preparation procedure, time and cost of the analysis, enabling high sample throughput that meet the current concerns of food safety and the public

  1. A manifold learning approach to target detection in high-resolution hyperspectral imagery

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Ziemann, Amanda K.

    Imagery collected from airborne platforms and satellites provide an important medium for remotely analyzing the content in a scene. In particular, the ability to detect a specific material within a scene is of high importance to both civilian and defense applications. This may include identifying "targets" such as vehicles, buildings, or boats. Sensors that process hyperspectral images provide the high-dimensional spectral information necessary to perform such analyses. However, for a d-dimensional hyperspectral image, it is typical for the data to inherently occupy an m-dimensional space, with m << d. In the remote sensing community, this has led to a recent increase in the use of manifold learning, which aims to characterize the embedded lower-dimensional, non-linear manifold upon which the hyperspectral data inherently lie. Classic hyperspectral data models include statistical, linear subspace, and linear mixture models, but these can place restrictive assumptions on the distribution of the data; this is particularly true when implementing traditional target detection approaches, and the limitations of these models are well-documented. With manifold learning based approaches, the only assumption is that the data reside on an underlying manifold that can be discretely modeled by a graph. The research presented here focuses on the use of graph theory and manifold learning in hyperspectral imagery. Early work explored various graph-building techniques with application to the background model of the Topological Anomaly Detection (TAD) algorithm, which is a graph theory based approach to anomaly detection. This led towards a focus on target detection, and in the development of a specific graph-based model of the data and subsequent dimensionality reduction using manifold learning. An adaptive graph is built on the data, and then used to implement an adaptive version of locally linear embedding (LLE). We artificially induce a target manifold and incorporate it into

  2. Expeditious method to determine uranium in the process control samples of chemical plant separating (233)U from thoria irradiated in power reactors.

    PubMed

    Kedari, C S; Kharwandikar, B K; Banerjee, K

    2016-11-01

    Analysis of U in the samples containing a significant proportion of (232)U and high concentration of Th is of great concern. Transmutation of Th in the nuclear power reactor produces a notable quantity of (232)U (half life 68.9 years) along with fissile isotope (233)U. The decay series of (232)U is initiated with (228)Th (half life 1.9 year) and it is followed by several short lived α emitting progenies, (224)Ra, (220)Rn, (216)Po, (212)Bi and (212)Po. Even at the smallest contamination of (228)Th in the sample, a very high pulse rate of α emission is obtained, which is to be counted for the radiometric determination of [U]. A commercially available anionic type of extractant Alamine®336 is used to obtain the selective extraction of U from other alpha active elements and fission products present in the sample. Experimental conditions of liquid-liquid extraction (LLE) are optimized for obtaining maximum decontamination and recovery of U in the organic phase. The effect of some interfering ionic impurities in the sample on the process of separation is investigated. Depending on the level of the concentration of U in the samples, spectrophotometry or radiometry methods are adopted for its determination after separation by LLE. Under optimized experimental conditions, i.e. 5.5M HCl in the aqueous phase and 0.27M Alamin®336 in the organic phase, the recovery of U is about 100%, the decontamination factor with respect to Th is >2000 and the extraction of fission products like (90)Sr, (144)Ce and (134,137)Cs is negligible. The detection limit for [U] using α radiometry is 10mg/L, even in presence of >100g/L of Th in the sample. Accuracy and precision for the determination of U is also assessed. Reproducibility of results is within 5%. This method shows very good agreement with the results obtained by mass spectrometry. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  3. Studies on Five Senses Treatment

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Sato, Sadaka; Miao, Tiejun; Oyama-Higa, Mayumi

    2011-06-01

    This study proposed a therapy from complementary and alternative medicine to treat mental disorder by through interactions of five senses between therapist and patient. In this method sounding a certain six voices play an important role in healing and recovery. First, we studied effects of speaking using scalp- EEG measurement. Chaos analysis of EEG showed a largely enhanced largest Lyapunov exponent (LLE) during the speaking. In addition, EEG power spectrum showed an increase over most frequencies. Second, we performed case studies on mental disorder using the therapy. Running power spectrum of EEG of patients indicated decreasing power at end of treatment, implying five senses therapy induced relaxed and lowered energy in central neural system. The results agreed with patient's reports that there were considerable decline in anxiety and improvements in mood.

  4. Satellitenbewegung, band III: Natiirliche und gesteuerte bewegung.

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Jochim, E. F.

    2014-12-01

    Im dritten Band der Satellitenbewegung werden in fortlaufender Nummerierung einige für Untersuchungen der Bewegung der künstlichen Satelliten wichtige Grundlagen der Astrodynamik mit ausführlichen mathematischen Formelsystemen behandelt. Dazu zählen die unterschiedlichen Aspekte der Bewegung der natürlichen Himmelskörper, die Steuerung und Kontrolle von künstlichen Objekten, und insbesondere die für eine Satellitenbahnanalyse wichtigen physikalischen Beeinflussungen einer Satellitenbewegung. Mathematisch entscheidend ist die Wahl geeigneter Bahnparameter, die ein bestimmtes Bewegungsproblem widerspruchsfrei und singularitätenfrei zu behandeln gestatten. Für die Behandlung routinemäßiger Aufgabenstellungen der Satellitenbewegung, in erster Linie einer präzisen Bahnbestimmung und Bahnverbesserung, kann auf eine Fülle von lehrbuchartigen Monographien verwiesen werden, so dass diese Problematik in der vorliegenden Arbeit nur angedeutet werden soll.

  5. Exploration of kinetic and multiple-ion-fluids effects in D3He and T3He gas-filled ICF implosions using multiple nuclear reaction histories

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Sio, Hong; Rinderknecht, Hans; Rosenberg, Michael; Zylstra, Alex; Séguin, Fredrick; Gatu Johnson, Maria; Li, Chikang; Petrasso, Richard; Hoffman, Nelson; Kagan, Krigory; Molvig, Kim; Amendt, Peter; Bellei, Claudio; Wilks, Scott; Stoeckl, Christian; Glebov, Vladimir; Betti, Riccardo; Sangster, Thomas; Katz, Joseph

    2014-10-01

    To explore kinetic and multi-ion-fluid effects in D3He and T3He gas-filled shock-driven implosions, multiple nuclear reaction histories were measured using the upgraded Particle Temporal Diagnostic (PTD) on OMEGA. For D3He gas-filled implosions, the relative timing of the DD and D3He reaction histories were measured with 20 ps precision. For T3He gas-filled implosions (with 1-2% deuterium), the relative timing of the DT and D3He reaction histories were measured with 10 ps precision. The observed differences between the reaction histories on these two OMEGA experiments are contrasted to 1-D single-ion hydro simulations for different gas-fill pressure and gas mixture. This work is supported in part by the U.S. DOE, LLNL, LLE, and NNSA SSGF.

  6. A Review of Feature Extraction Software for Microarray Gene Expression Data

    PubMed Central

    Tan, Ching Siang; Ting, Wai Soon; Mohamad, Mohd Saberi; Chan, Weng Howe; Deris, Safaai; Ali Shah, Zuraini

    2014-01-01

    When gene expression data are too large to be processed, they are transformed into a reduced representation set of genes. Transforming large-scale gene expression data into a set of genes is called feature extraction. If the genes extracted are carefully chosen, this gene set can extract the relevant information from the large-scale gene expression data, allowing further analysis by using this reduced representation instead of the full size data. In this paper, we review numerous software applications that can be used for feature extraction. The software reviewed is mainly for Principal Component Analysis (PCA), Independent Component Analysis (ICA), Partial Least Squares (PLS), and Local Linear Embedding (LLE). A summary and sources of the software are provided in the last section for each feature extraction method. PMID:25250315

  7. Bifurcation and Firing Patterns of the Pancreatic β-Cell

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Wang, Jing; Liu, Shenquan; Liu, Xuanliang; Zeng, Yanjun

    Using a model of individual isolated pancreatic β-cells, we investigated bifurcation diagrams of interspike intervals (ISIs) and largest Lyapunov exponents (LLE), which clearly demonstrated a wide range of transitions between different firing patterns. The numerical simulation results revealed the effect of different time constants and ion channels on the neuronal discharge rhythm. Furthermore, an individual cell exhibited tonic spiking, square-wave bursting, and tapered bursting. Additionally, several bifurcation phenomena can be observed in this paper, such as period-doubling, period-adding, inverse period-doubling and inverse period-adding scenarios. In addition, we researched the mechanisms underlying two kinds of bursting (tapered and square-wave bursting) by use of fast-slow dynamics analysis. Finally, we analyzed the codimension-two bifurcation of the fast subsystem and studied cusp bifurcation, generalized Hopf (or Bautin) bifurcation and Bogdanov-Takens bifurcation.

  8. Double-shell target fabrication workshop-2016 report

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

    Wang, Y. Morris; Oertel, John; Farrell, Michael

    On June 30, 2016, over 40 representatives from Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL), Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL), General Atomics (GA), Laboratory for Laser Energetics (LLE), Schafer Corporation, and NNSA headquarter attended a double-shell (DS) target fabrication workshop at Livermore, California. Pushered-single-shell (PSS) and DS metalgas platforms potentially have a large impact on programmatic applications. The goal of this focused workshop is to bring together target fabrication scientists, physicists, and designers to brainstorm future PSS and DS target fabrication needs and strategies. This one-day workshop intends to give an overall view of historical information, recent approaches, and future research activitiesmore » at each participating organization. Five topical areas have been discussed that are vital to the success of future DS target fabrications, including inner metal shells, foam spheres, outer ablators, fill tube assembly, and metrology.« less

  9. Method of analysis and quality-assurance practices by the U. S. Geological Survey Organic Geochemistry Research Group; determination of four selected mosquito insecticides and a synergist in water using liquid-liquid extraction and gas chrom

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Zimmerman, L.R.; Strahan, A.P.; Thurman, E.M.

    2001-01-01

    A method of analysis and quality-assurance practices were developed for the determination of four mosquito insecticides (malathion, metho-prene, phenothrin, and resmethrin) and one synergist (piperonyl butoxide) in water. The analytical method uses liquid-liquid extraction (LLE) and gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC/MS). Good precision and accuracy were demonstrated in reagent water, urban surface water, and ground water. The mean accuracies as percentages of the true compound concentrations from water samples spiked at 10 and 50 nanograms per liter ranged from 68 to 171 percent, with standard deviations in concentrations of 27 nanograms per liter or less. The method detection limit for all compounds was 5.9 nanograms per liter or less for 247-milliliter samples. This method is valuable for acquiring information about the fate and transport of these mosquito insecticides and one synergist in water.

  10. Multiphase, multicomponent phase behavior prediction

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Dadmohammadi, Younas

    Accurate prediction of phase behavior of fluid mixtures in the chemical industry is essential for designing and operating a multitude of processes. Reliable generalized predictions of phase equilibrium properties, such as pressure, temperature, and phase compositions offer an attractive alternative to costly and time consuming experimental measurements. The main purpose of this work was to assess the efficacy of recently generalized activity coefficient models based on binary experimental data to (a) predict binary and ternary vapor-liquid equilibrium systems, and (b) characterize liquid-liquid equilibrium systems. These studies were completed using a diverse binary VLE database consisting of 916 binary and 86 ternary systems involving 140 compounds belonging to 31 chemical classes. Specifically the following tasks were undertaken: First, a comprehensive assessment of the two common approaches (gamma-phi (gamma-ϕ) and phi-phi (ϕ-ϕ)) used for determining the phase behavior of vapor-liquid equilibrium systems is presented. Both the representation and predictive capabilities of these two approaches were examined, as delineated form internal and external consistency tests of 916 binary systems. For the purpose, the universal quasi-chemical (UNIQUAC) model and the Peng-Robinson (PR) equation of state (EOS) were used in this assessment. Second, the efficacy of recently developed generalized UNIQUAC and the nonrandom two-liquid (NRTL) for predicting multicomponent VLE systems were investigated. Third, the abilities of recently modified NRTL model (mNRTL2 and mNRTL1) to characterize liquid-liquid equilibria (LLE) phase conditions and attributes, including phase stability, miscibility, and consolute point coordinates, were assessed. The results of this work indicate that the ϕ-ϕ approach represents the binary VLE systems considered within three times the error of the gamma-ϕ approach. A similar trend was observed for the for the generalized model predictions using

  11. A randomized controlled pilot trial comparing the impact of access to clinical endocrinology video demonstrations with access to usual revision resources on medical student performance of clinical endocrinology skills

    PubMed Central

    2013-01-01

    Background Demonstrating competence in clinical skills is key to course completion for medical students. Methods of providing clinical instruction that foster immediate learning and potentially serve as longer-term repositories for on-demand revision, such as online videos demonstrating competent performance of clinical skills, are increasingly being used. However, their impact on learning has been little studied. The aim of this study was to determine the value of adjunctive on-demand video-based training for clinical skills acquisition by medical students in endocrinology. Methods Following an endocrinology clinical tutorial program, 2nd year medical students in the pre-assessment revision period were recruited and randomized to either a set of bespoke on-line clinical skills training videos (TV), or to revision as usual (RAU). The skills demonstrated on video were history taking in diabetes mellitus (DMH), examination for diabetes lower limb complications (LLE), and examination for signs of thyroid disease (TE). Students were assessed on these clinical skills in an observed structured clinical examination two weeks after randomization. Assessors were blinded to student randomization status. Results For both diabetes related clinical skills assessment tasks, students in the TV group performed significantly better than those in the RAU group. There were no between group differences in thyroid examination performance. For the LLE, 91.7% (n = 11/12) of students randomized to the video were rated globally as competent at the skill compared with 40% (n = 4/10) of students not randomized to the video (p = 0.024). For the DMH, 83.3% (n = 10/12) of students randomized to the video were rated globally as competent at the skill compared with 20% (n = 2/10) of students not randomized to the video (p = 0.007). Conclusion Exposure to high quality videos demonstrating clinical skills can significantly improve medical student skill performance in an

  12. A randomized controlled pilot trial comparing the impact of access to clinical endocrinology video demonstrations with access to usual revision resources on medical student performance of clinical endocrinology skills.

    PubMed

    Hibbert, Emily J; Lambert, Tim; Carter, John N; Learoyd, Diana L; Twigg, Stephen; Clarke, Stephen

    2013-10-03

    Demonstrating competence in clinical skills is key to course completion for medical students. Methods of providing clinical instruction that foster immediate learning and potentially serve as longer-term repositories for on-demand revision, such as online videos demonstrating competent performance of clinical skills, are increasingly being used. However, their impact on learning has been little studied. The aim of this study was to determine the value of adjunctive on-demand video-based training for clinical skills acquisition by medical students in endocrinology. Following an endocrinology clinical tutorial program, 2nd year medical students in the pre-assessment revision period were recruited and randomized to either a set of bespoke on-line clinical skills training videos (TV), or to revision as usual (RAU). The skills demonstrated on video were history taking in diabetes mellitus (DMH), examination for diabetes lower limb complications (LLE), and examination for signs of thyroid disease (TE). Students were assessed on these clinical skills in an observed structured clinical examination two weeks after randomization. Assessors were blinded to student randomization status. For both diabetes related clinical skills assessment tasks, students in the TV group performed significantly better than those in the RAU group. There were no between group differences in thyroid examination performance. For the LLE, 91.7% (n = 11/12) of students randomized to the video were rated globally as competent at the skill compared with 40% (n = 4/10) of students not randomized to the video (p = 0.024). For the DMH, 83.3% (n = 10/12) of students randomized to the video were rated globally as competent at the skill compared with 20% (n = 2/10) of students not randomized to the video (p = 0.007). Exposure to high quality videos demonstrating clinical skills can significantly improve medical student skill performance in an observed structured clinical examination of these skills, when

  13. Computation of liquid-liquid equilibria and phase stabilities: implications for RH-dependent gas/particle partitioning of organic-inorganic aerosols

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Zuend, A.; Marcolli, C.; Peter, T.; Seinfeld, J. H.

    2010-08-01

    Semivolatile organic and inorganic aerosol species partition between the gas and aerosol particle phases to maintain thermodynamic equilibrium. Liquid-liquid phase separation into an organic-rich and an aqueous electrolyte phase can occur in the aerosol as a result of the salting-out effect. Such liquid-liquid equilibria (LLE) affect the gas/particle partitioning of the different semivolatile compounds and might significantly alter both particle mass and composition as compared to a one-phase particle. We present a new liquid-liquid equilibrium and gas/particle partitioning model, using as a basis the group-contribution model AIOMFAC (Zuend et al., 2008). This model allows the reliable computation of the liquid-liquid coexistence curve (binodal), corresponding tie-lines, the limit of stability/metastability (spinodal), and further thermodynamic properties of multicomponent systems. Calculations for ternary and multicomponent alcohol/polyol-water-salt mixtures suggest that LLE are a prevalent feature of organic-inorganic aerosol systems. A six-component polyol-water-ammonium sulphate system is used to simulate effects of relative humidity (RH) and the presence of liquid-liquid phase separation on the gas/particle partitioning. RH, salt concentration, and hydrophilicity (water-solubility) are identified as key features in defining the region of a miscibility gap and govern the extent to which compound partitioning is affected by changes in RH. The model predicts that liquid-liquid phase separation can lead to either an increase or decrease in total particulate mass, depending on the overall composition of a system and the particle water content, which is related to the hydrophilicity of the different organic and inorganic compounds. Neglecting non-ideality and liquid-liquid phase separations by assuming an ideal mixture leads to an overestimation of the total particulate mass by up to 30% for the composition and RH range considered in the six-component system

  14. Computation of liquid-liquid equilibria and phase stabilities: implications for RH-dependent gas/particle partitioning of organic-inorganic aerosols

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Zuend, A.; Marcolli, C.; Peter, T.; Seinfeld, J. H.

    2010-05-01

    Semivolatile organic and inorganic aerosol species partition between the gas and aerosol particle phases to maintain thermodynamic equilibrium. Liquid-liquid phase separation into an organic-rich and an aqueous electrolyte phase can occur in the aerosol as a result of the salting-out effect. Such liquid-liquid equilibria (LLE) affect the gas/particle partitioning of the different semivolatile compounds and might significantly alter both particle mass and composition as compared to a one-phase particle. We present a new liquid-liquid equilibrium and gas/particle partitioning model, using as a basis the group-contribution model AIOMFAC (Zuend et al., 2008). This model allows the reliable computation of the liquid-liquid coexistence curve (binodal), corresponding tie-lines, the limit of stability/metastability (spinodal), and further thermodynamic properties of the phase diagram. Calculations for ternary and multicomponent alcohol/polyol-water-salt mixtures suggest that LLE are a prevalent feature of organic-inorganic aerosol systems. A six-component polyol-water-ammonium sulphate system is used to simulate effects of relative humidity (RH) and the presence of liquid-liquid phase separation on the gas/particle partitioning. RH, salt concentration, and hydrophilicity (water-solubility) are identified as key features in defining the region of a miscibility gap and govern the extent to which compound partitioning is affected by changes in RH. The model predicts that liquid-liquid phase separation can lead to either an increase or decrease in total particulate mass, depending on the overall composition of a system and the particle water content, which is related to the hydrophilicity of the different organic and inorganic compounds. Neglecting non-ideality and liquid-liquid phase separations by assuming an ideal mixture leads to an overestimation of the total particulate mass by up to 30% for the composition and RH range considered in the six-component system simulation

  15. Downstream processing of antibodies: single-stage versus multi-stage aqueous two-phase extraction.

    PubMed

    Rosa, P A J; Azevedo, A M; Ferreira, I F; Sommerfeld, S; Bäcker, W; Aires-Barros, M R

    2009-12-11

    Single-stage and multi-stage strategies have been evaluated and compared for the purification of human antibodies using liquid-liquid extraction in aqueous two-phase systems (ATPSs) composed of polyethylene glycol 3350 (PEG 3350), dextran, and triethylene glycol diglutaric acid (TEG-COOH). The performance of single-stage extraction systems was firstly investigated by studying the effect of pH, TEG-COOH concentration and volume ratio on the partitioning of the different components of a Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cells supernatant. It was observed that lower pH values and high TEG-COOH concentrations favoured the selective extraction of human immunoglobulin G (IgG) to the PEG-rich phase. Higher recovery yields, purities and percentage of contaminants removal were always achieved in the presence of the ligand, TEG-COOH. The extraction of IgG could be enhanced using higher volume ratios, however with a significant decrease in both purity and percentage of contaminants removal. The best single-stage extraction conditions were achieved for an ATPS containing 1.3% (w/w) TEG-COOH with a volume ratio of 2.2, which allowed the recovery of 96% of IgG in the PEG-rich phase with a final IgG concentration of 0.21mg/mL, a protein purity of 87% and a total purity of 43%. In order to enhance simultaneously both recovery yield and purity, a four stage cross-current operation was simulated and the corresponding liquid-liquid equilibrium (LLE) data determined. A predicted optimised scheme of a counter-current multi-stage aqueous two-phase extraction was hence described. IgG can be purified in the PEG-rich top phase with a final recovery yield of 95%, a final concentration of 1.04mg/mL and a protein purity of 93%, if a PEG/dextran ATPS containing 1.3% (w/w) TEG-COOH, 5 stages and volume ratio of 0.4 are used. Moreover, according to the LLE data of all CHO cells supernatant components, it was possible to observe that most of the cells supernatant contaminants can be removed during this

  16. Design of a Neutron Temporal Diagnostic for measuring DD or DT burn histories at the NIF

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Lahmann, B.; Frenje, J. A.; Sio, H.; Petrasso, R. D.; Bradley, D. K.; Le Pape, S.; MacKinnon, A. J.; Isumi, N.; Macphee, A.; Zayas, C.; Spears, B. K.; Hermann, H.; Hilsabeck, T. J.; Kilkenny, J. D.

    2015-11-01

    The DD or DT burn history in Inertial Confinement Fusion (ICF) implosions provides essential information about implosion performance and helps to constrain numerical modeling. The capability of measuring this burn history is thus important for the NIF in its pursuit of ignition. Currently, the Gamma Reaction History (GRH) diagnostic is the only system capable of measuring the burn history for DT implosions with yields greater than ~ 1e14. To complement GRH, a new NIF Neutron Temporal Diagnostic (NTD) is being designed for measuring the DD or DT burn history with yields greater than ~ 1e10. A traditional scintillator-based design and a pulse-dilation-based design are being considered. Using MCNPX simulations, both designs have been optimized, validated and contrasted for various types of implosions at the NIF. This work was supported in part by the U.S. DOE, LLNL and LLE.

  17. Analysis of the VP2 protein gene of canine parvovirus strains from affected dogs in Japan.

    PubMed

    Soma, Takehisa; Taharaguchi, Satoshi; Ohinata, Tsuyoshi; Ishii, Hiroshi; Hara, Motonobu

    2013-04-01

    To clarify the evolution of canine parvovirus 2 (CPV-2) that has recently been epidemic in Japan, VP2 gene sequences at positions 3556-4166 were analyzed in 107 CPV-2 strains obtained from rectal swabs of diarrheic dogs from 2009 to 2011. CPV-2b (95 strains) was more frequently detected than CPV-2a (nine strains), while CPV-2c was not detected. Remaining three strains were identified as the original type CPV-2, which should be derived from vaccines. These findings are similar to the previous results involving Japanese strains, suggesting there has been no great change in the recent CPV-2 epidemic in Japan. This epidemic is the same as that in Taiwan. Furthermore, a 324-lle mutant, which has been reported in Korean and Chinese strains, was detected in 66.7% of CPV-2a strains. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  18. US Army Aeromedical Research Laboratory Annual Progress Report, FY 1981.

    DTIC Science & Technology

    1981-10-01

    PROGRAM ELEMENT. PROJECT. TASK US Army Aeromedical Research Laboratory AREA 6 WORK UNIT NUMBERS PO Box 577 Fort Rucker, Alabama 36362 Listed on each DD...d J F I’ 0 l I I I I ;11 11 it Ili di fi li I t t o tim!L’ 151 niii tt 11 ,0 lo 1’ I I J rt 1,( K 1 soo m~r mOo I r I) o r t AIi t tO hi1t Lle I’I tu...I I, I ’ 11 t hit f:1iU :IJ . ] i ;)1T11C 1t 11i1 hs boo par kcW ind ulitac~u ho 1,1-i c " t I a It Cs rt I U I o v’! : a rd anId oxo c t cc ha at in

  19. Aroma Characterization and Safety Assessment of a Beverage Fermented by Trametes versicolor.

    PubMed

    Zhang, Yanyan; Fraatz, Marco Alexander; Müller, Julia; Schmitz, Hans-Joachim; Birk, Florian; Schrenk, Dieter; Zorn, Holger

    2015-08-12

    A cereal-based beverage was developed by fermentation of wort with the basidiomycete Trametes versicolor. The beverage possessed a fruity, fresh, and slightly floral aroma. The volatiles of the beverage were isolated by liquid-liquid extraction (LLE) and additionally by headspace solid phase microextraction (HS-SPME). The aroma compounds were analyzed by a gas chromatography system equipped with a tandem mass spectrometer and an olfactory detection port (GC-MS/MS-O) followed by aroma (extract) dilution analysis. Thirty-four different odor impressions were perceived, and 27 corresponding compounds were identified. Fifteen key odorants with flavor dilution (FD) factors ranging from 8 to 128 were quantitated, and their respective odor activity values (OAVs) were calculated. Six key odorants were synthesized de novo by T. versicolor. Furthermore, quantitative changes during the fermentation process were analyzed. To prepare for the market introduction of the beverage, a comprehensive safety assessment was performed.

  20. Evolution of Magnetized Liner Inertial Fusion (MagLIF) Targets

    DOE PAGES

    Fooks, J. A.; Carlson, L. C.; Fitzsimmons, P.; ...

    2017-12-19

    Here, the magnetized liner inertial fusion (MagLIF) experimental campaign conducted at the University of Rochester’s Laboratory for Laser Energetics (LLE) has evolved significantly since its start in 2014. Scientific requirements and OMEGA EP system technology both have progressed, resulting in necessary and available updates to the target design. These include, but are not limited to: optimizing target dimensions and aspect ratios to maximize survival at desired pressures; coating target components to enhance physics diagnosis; precision-machining diagnostic windows along the axis of the target; improving fiducial placement reproducibility and reducing subsequent assembly time by 50%; and implementing gas-pressure transducers on themore » targets. In addition, target fabrication techniques have changed and improved, allowing for simpler target reproducibility and decreased assembly time. To date, eleven variations of targets have been fabricated, with successful target fielding ranging from 1 to 20atm internal pressure and a maximum survivability of 33atm.« less

  1. Models for the Aerosols of the Lower Atmosphere and the Effects of Humidity Variations on their Optical Properties

    DTIC Science & Technology

    1979-09-20

    PSi NEN.4 0 0i Si -t .4 It 4D NN 16*. * 4 . M% 0 NU% .Ir. N ’ .0 41% a E D 0. P.4 0 .. 4 ’A a4 4% 9 4 44 P 4s C’ r) Ai N U% IAN 40 U’ 0u4 i’ Ný .4 .4...1128101 1 1901 9 AI I I goo-I 1 4M-I SC*Ti*Lle PARAM1ETE .ff@ 1.66911*66 1*9911-01 1090619-01 .0407 .7773 sole 90119-1-1 809011-11 1.4761-01 all...2.9.1H-02 1.9611-01 1.6631-01 .666 .23 .3.75 2.5071-0? 1.103S-01 9..774E-02 . 65292 .12 4.0 23.9-19.0511-0 6.4p9E-%32 *.24#4 .66 1.0 1931-02 1.2.01S-03

  2. Liquid-liquid extraction/headspace/gas chromatographic/mass spectrometric determination of benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, (o-, m- and p-)xylene and styrene in olive oil using surfactant-coated carbon nanotubes as extractant.

    PubMed

    Carrillo-Carrión, Carolina; Lucena, Rafael; Cárdenas, Soledad; Valcárcel, Miguel

    2007-11-09

    BTEX-S compounds are widely distributed in the environment and can be present in different foodstuffs, including olive oil. Taking into account the risks of the exposure to these compounds, analytical methods for their determination in different matrices are mandatory. In this paper, the use of surfactant-coated multiwalled carbon nanotubes as additive in liquid-liquid extraction is applied for the determination of single-ring aromatic compounds in olive oil samples. After sample treatment, the aqueous extracts are subsequently analyzed by headspace/gas chromatography/mass spectrometry allowing the determination of BTEX-S within ca. 15 min. Each stage of the proposed LLE/HS/GC/MS configuration involves a selectivity enhancement avoiding the interference of other compounds of the sample matrix. Limits of detection were in the range 0.25 ng mL(-1) (obtained for ethylbenzene) and 0.43 ng mL(-1) (for benzene). The repeatability of the proposed method expressed as RSD varied between 1.9% (styrene) and 3.3% (benzene) (n=11).

  3. Using Rutherford Backscattering Spectroscopy to Characterize Targets for MTW

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Brown, Gunnar; Stockler, Barak; Ward, Ryan; Freeman, Charlie; Padalino, Stephen; Stillman, Collin; Ivancic, Steven; Reagan, S. P.; Sangster, T. C.

    2017-10-01

    A study is underway to determine the composition and thickness of targets used at the Multiterawatt (MTW) laser facility at the Laboratory for Laser Energetics (LLE) using Rutherford backscattering spectroscopy (RBS). In RBS, an ion beam is incident on a sample and the scattered ions are detected with a surface barrier detector. The resulting energy spectra of the scattered ions can be analyzed to determine important parameters of the target including elemental composition and thickness. Proton, helium and deuterium beams from the 1.7 MV Pelletron accelerator at SUNY Geneseo have been used to characterize several different targets for MTW, including CH and aluminum foils of varying thickness. RBS spectra were also obtained for a cylindrical iron buried-layer target with aluminum dopant which was mounted on a silicon carbide stalk. The computer program SIMNRA is used to analyze the spectra. This work was funded in part by a Grant from the DOE through the Laboratory for Laser Energetics.

  4. Measuring radial profiles of nuclear burn in ICF implosions at OMEGA and the NIF using proton emission imaging

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Seguin, F. H.; Rinderknecht, H. G.; Rosenberg, M.; Zylstra, A.; Frenje, J.; Li, C. K.; Petrasso, R.; Marshall, F. J.; Sangster, T. C.; Hoffman, N. M.; Amendt, P. A.; Bellei, C.; Le Pape, S.; Wilks, S. C.

    2014-10-01

    Fusion reactions in ICF implosions of D3He-filled capsules produce 14.7-MeV D3He protons and 3-MeV DD protons. Measurements of the spatial distributions of the D3He and DD reactions are studied with a penumbral imaging system that utilizes a CR-39-based imaging detector to simultaneously record separate penumbral images of the two types of protons. Measured burn profiles are useful for studying implosion physics and provide a critical test for benchmarking simulations. Recent implosions at OMEGA of CD capsules containing 3He gas fill and SiO2 capsules containing low-pressure D3He gas were expected to have hollow D3He burn profiles (in the 3He-filled capsule, due to fuel-shell mix), but penumbral imaging showed that the reactions were centrally peaked due to enhanced ion diffusion. The imaging technique is to be implemented soon on the NIF. This work was supported in part by NLUF, DOE, and LLE.

  5. Word Frequency Analysis. MOS: 57H. Skill Levels 1 & 2.

    DTIC Science & Technology

    1981-05-01

    8217 . -4 1a’ _________ Palms 1t. FLL& T - VI;:.P - -- S LtrTZE5 I Lu" I rprz l * 4 2lE p:Zn.uAwn PLCU4LLE 14 Piz;* I P RTICULAR 4 PZR1S 7 J _________ 2...I’ I VIn 1 fIV 7 IaIIA!’I TIP 2 1-111 L LAlT P i;10! S II*,s , 11- 1 L Ii1! p UIIIc tInlG Z :𔃻 S -W (INSf4 2 IZ 1111tE~ ;l ,’I I z a5T p Oil ’(1$I1...p --G 6 RIGGING- I~ V~. 1 5EL~ .1 50:L I SF AFY~~3!.rS_7I; 7 SAFETY I----c- 7 -- ss1 ’_F T_-------- 1 HPPI 7A! I1CEUE SCP .~LaG 3 SHUTWI ~ SC’~J’!LI

  6. 100J Pulsed Laser Shock Driver for Dynamic Compression Research

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Wang, X.; Sethian, J.; Bromage, J.; Fochs, S.; Broege, D.; Zuegel, J.; Roides, R.; Cuffney, R.; Brent, G.; Zweiback, J.; Currier, Z.; D'Amico, K.; Hawreliak, J.; Zhang, J.; Rigg, P. A.; Gupta, Y. M.

    2017-06-01

    Logos Technologies and the Laboratory for Laser Energetics (LLE, University of Rochester) - in partnership with Washington State University - have designed, built and deployed a one of a kind 100J pulsed UV (351 nm) laser system to perform real-time, x-ray diffraction and imaging experiments in laser-driven compression experiments at the Dynamic Compression Sector (DCS) at the Advanced Photon Source, Argonne National Laboratory. The laser complements the other dynamic compression drivers at DCS. The laser system features beam smoothing for 2-d spatially uniform loading of samples and four, highly reproducible, temporal profiles (total pulse duration: 5-15 ns) to accommodate a wide variety of scientific needs. Other pulse shapes can be achieved as the experimental needs evolve. Timing of the laser pulse is highly precise (<200 ps) to allow accurate synchronization of the x-rays with the dynamic compression event. Details of the laser system, its operating parameters, and representative results will be presented. Work supported by DOE/NNSA.

  7. Evolution of Magnetized Liner Inertial Fusion (MagLIF) Targets

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

    Fooks, J. A.; Carlson, L. C.; Fitzsimmons, P.

    Here, the magnetized liner inertial fusion (MagLIF) experimental campaign conducted at the University of Rochester’s Laboratory for Laser Energetics (LLE) has evolved significantly since its start in 2014. Scientific requirements and OMEGA EP system technology both have progressed, resulting in necessary and available updates to the target design. These include, but are not limited to: optimizing target dimensions and aspect ratios to maximize survival at desired pressures; coating target components to enhance physics diagnosis; precision-machining diagnostic windows along the axis of the target; improving fiducial placement reproducibility and reducing subsequent assembly time by 50%; and implementing gas-pressure transducers on themore » targets. In addition, target fabrication techniques have changed and improved, allowing for simpler target reproducibility and decreased assembly time. To date, eleven variations of targets have been fabricated, with successful target fielding ranging from 1 to 20atm internal pressure and a maximum survivability of 33atm.« less

  8. Determination of itopride in human plasma by liquid chromatography coupled to tandem mass spectrometric detection: application to a bioequivalence study.

    PubMed

    Lee, Heon-Woo; Seo, Ji-Hyung; Choi, Seung-Ki; Lee, Kyung-Tae

    2007-01-30

    A simple method using a one-step liquid-liquid extraction (LLE) with butyl acetate followed by high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) with positive ion electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometric (ESI-MS/MS) detection was developed for the determination of itopride in human plasma, using sulpiride as an internal standard (IS). Acquisition was performed in multiple reaction monitoring (MRM) mode, by monitoring the transitions: m/z 359.5>166.1 for itopride and m/z 342.3>111.6 for IS, respectively. Analytes were chromatographed on an YMC C18 reverse-phase chromatographic column by isocratic elution with 1 mM ammonium acetate buffer-methanol (20: 80, v/v; pH 4.0 adjusted with acetic acid). Results were linear (r2=0.9999) over the studied range (0.5-1000 ng mL(-1)) with a total analysis time per run of 2 min for LC-MS/MS. The developed method was validated and successfully applied to bioequivalence studies of itopride hydrochloride in healthy male volunteers.

  9. Impact of flows on ion temperatures inferred from neutron spectra in asymmetrically driven OMEGA DT implosions

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Gatu Johnson, M.; Frenje, J. A.; Seguin, F. H.; Petrasso, R. D.; Aappelbe, B.; Chittenden, J.; Walsh, C.; Knauer, J. P.; Glebov, V. Yu.; Forrest, C.; Marshall, F.; Michel, T.; Stoeckl, C.; Sangster, T. C.; Zylstra, A.

    2016-10-01

    Ion temperatures (Tion) in Inertial Confinement Fusion (ICF) experiments have traditionally been inferred from the broadening of primary neutron spectra. Directional motion (flow) of the fuel at burn, expected to arise due to asymmetries imposed by engineering features (such as stalks, fill tubes, tents, or capsule imperfections) or drive non-uniformity, also impacts broadening and may lead to artificially inflated ``Tion'' values. Flow due to low-mode asymmetries is expected to give rise to line-of-sight variations in measured Tion, as observed in OMEGA cryogenic DT implosions but not in similar experiments at the NIF. In this presentation we report on an OMEGA experiment with intentionally asymmetric drive, designed to test the ability to accurately predict and measure line-of-sight differences in apparent Tion due to low-mode asymmetry-seeded flows. The results provide insight into the complexity of hot-spot dynamics, which is a problem that must be mastered to achieve ICF ignition. This work was supported in part by LLE, the U.S. DoE (NNSA, NLUF) and LLNL.

  10. Calibration of a Thomson parabola ion spectrometer and Fujifilm imaging plate detectors for protons, deuterons, and alpha particles.

    PubMed

    Freeman, C G; Fiksel, G; Stoeckl, C; Sinenian, N; Canfield, M J; Graeper, G B; Lombardo, A T; Stillman, C R; Padalino, S J; Mileham, C; Sangster, T C; Frenje, J A

    2011-07-01

    A Thomson parabola ion spectrometer has been designed for use at the Multiterawatt (MTW) laser facility at the Laboratory for Laser Energetics (LLE) at the University of Rochester. This device uses parallel electric and magnetic fields to deflect particles of a given mass-to-charge ratio onto parabolic curves on the detector plane. Once calibrated, the position of the ions on the detector plane can be used to determine the particle energy. The position dispersion of both the electric and magnetic fields of the Thomson parabola was measured using monoenergetic proton and alpha particle beams from the SUNY Geneseo 1.7 MV tandem Pelletron accelerator. The sensitivity of Fujifilm BAS-TR imaging plates, used as a detector in the Thomson parabola, was also measured as a function of the incident particle energy over the range from 0.6 MeV to 3.4 MeV for protons and deuterons and from 0.9 MeV to 5.4 MeV for alpha particles. The device was used to measure the energy spectrum of laser-produced protons at MTW.

  11. Characterizing Neutron Diagnostics on the nTOF Line at SUNY Geneseo

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Harrison, Hannah; Seppala, Hannah; Visca, Hannah; Wakwella, Praveen; Fletcher, Kurt; Padalino, Stephen; Forrest, Chad; Regan, Sean; Sangster, Craig

    2016-10-01

    Charged particle beams from SUNY Geneseo's 1.7 MV Tandem Pelletron Accelerator induce nuclear reactions that emit neutrons ranging from 0.5 to 17.9 MeV via 2H(d,n)3He and 11B(d,n)12C. This adjustable neutron source can be used to calibrate ICF and HEDP neutron scintillators for ICF diagnostics. However, gamma rays and muons, which are often present during an accelerator-based calibration, are difficult to differentiate from neutron signals in scintillators. To mitigate this problem, a new neutron time-of-flight (nTOF) line has been constructed. The nTOF timing is measured using the associated particle technique. A charged particle produced by the nuclear reaction serves as a start signal, while its associated neutron is the stop signal. Each reaction is analyzed event-by-event to determine whether the scintillator signal was generated by a neutron, gamma or muon. Using this nTOF technique, the neutron response for different scintillation detectors can be determined. Funded in part by a LLE contract through the DOE.

  12. "One-pot" ethyl chloroformate derivatization and liquid-liquid extraction of reduced glutathione in erythrocyte and its quantitative GC-MS analysis.

    PubMed

    Manca, Alessandra; Alladio, Eugenio; Massarenti, Paola; Puccinelli, M Paola; De Francesco, Antonella; Del Grosso, Erika; Mengozzi, Giulio; Pazzi, Marco; Vincenti, Marco

    2017-12-01

    A simple "one-pot" derivatization and liquid-liquid extraction (LLE) procedure was developed for GC-MS analysis of reduced glutathione (GSH) analysis in erythrocytes. The metabolite was extracted by 5% (w/v) TCA, the supernatant treated with ECF and ethanol-pyridine media, the derivative separated and detected by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry using a short non-polar capillary GC column at a high column-head pressure. Total analysis time was 11min. The process was optimized by a Design of Experiment. The method was validated showing a good linearity over the 25.4-813.4μM concentration range, providing satisfactory results in terms of intra-day and inter-day precision as well as an optimal accuracy. The new method was evaluated in a pilot study involving patients with severe protein malnutrition. Comparison of this group with a group of healthy subjects revealed significantly lower GSH concentrations in erythrocytes in the former, thus proving that the described GC-MS method could be employed for fast and simple GSH analysis in clinical studies. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  13. CBET Experiments with Wavelength Shifting at the Nike Laser

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Weaver, James; McKenty, P.; Bates, J.; Myatt, J.; Shaw, J.; Obenschain, K.; Oh, J.; Kehne, D.; Obenschain, S.; Lehmberg, R. H.; Tsung, F.; Schmitt, A. J.; Serlin, V.

    2016-10-01

    Studies conducted at NRL during 2015 searched for cross-beam energy transport (CBET) in small-scale plastic targets with strong gradients in planar, cylindrical, and spherical geometries. The targets were irradiated by two widely separated beam arrays in a geometry similar to polar direct drive. Data from these shots will be presented that show a lack of a clear CBET signature even with wavelength shifting of one set of beams. This poster will discuss the next campaign being planned, in part, with modelling codes developed at LLE. The next experiments will use a target configuration optimized to create stronger SBS growth. The primary path under consideration is to increase scale lengths 5-10x over the previous study by using exploding foils or low density foams. In addition to simulations, the presentation will also discuss improvements to the diagnostic suite and laser operations; for example, a new set of etalons will be available for the next campaign that should double the range of wavelength shifting between the two beam arrays. Work supported by DoE/NNSA.

  14. Prime Contract Awards Alphabetically by Contractor, by State or Country, and Place. Part 9. (H and H Meat Products, Inc.-Iannucci and Son Con.)

    DTIC Science & Technology

    1989-01-01

    8217 Cl - 4 enC )() COOIn-Mi I -4N(r4 N(\\J C C NN N lc04-. >N I 40(00 000 0 (NJ>om -4N(04L) 1 00 CIoOC ’o >0 0 I 20 0 0 Q n4 00 0 L ooQC IM 4(-4 C4 o a oI...1- Q( a ɘ ə a < LA-L-L) < 00(u0N D 0( W1 I’N D (D (DN 41 If 4( c I lle W M.-(--4.1000 U).- 4(D LA- LADO LA4 ( (0C 01.᝴ L -4 - 14-4 I-4 -4 -- of...Mooɜ IftVci 0I oU1 n107,I nL nI nI CaN InC) LALLAALL L -4 1.1Q(0 O C1(1Cim 1000 -00 1 f (D(0 f1 ENc nu nI nu )t nL)I r nI nu O L A L A L A L 10 C -i

  15. High-throughput method for the determination of residues of β-lactam antibiotics in bovine milk by LC-MS/MS.

    PubMed

    Jank, Louise; Martins, Magda Targa; Arsand, Juliana Bazzan; Hoff, Rodrigo Barcellos; Barreto, Fabiano; Pizzolato, Tânia Mara

    2015-01-01

    This study describes the development and validation procedures for scope extension of a method for the determination of β-lactam antibiotic residues (ampicillin, amoxicillin, penicillin G, penicillin V, oxacillin, cloxacillin, dicloxacillin, nafcillin, ceftiofur, cefquinome, cefoperazone, cephapirine, cefalexin and cephalonium) in bovine milk. Sample preparation was performed by liquid-liquid extraction (LLE) followed by two clean-up steps, including low temperature purification (LTP) and a solid phase dispersion clean-up. Extracts were analysed using a liquid chromatography-electrospray-tandem mass spectrometry system (LC-ESI-MS/MS). Chromatographic separation was performed in a C18 column, using methanol and water (both with 0.1% of formic acid) as mobile phase. Method validation was performed according to the criteria of Commission Decision 2002/657/EC. Main validation parameters such as linearity, limit of detection, decision limit (CCα), detection capability (CCβ), accuracy, and repeatability were determined and were shown to be adequate. The method was applied to real samples (more than 250) and two milk samples had levels above maximum residues limits (MRLs) for cloxacillin - CLX and cefapirin - CFAP.

  16. Monolithic methacrylate packed 96-tips for high throughput bioanalysis.

    PubMed

    Altun, Zeki; Skoglund, Christina; Abdel-Rehim, Mohamed

    2010-04-16

    In the pharmaceutical industry the growing number of samples to be analyzed requires high throughput and fully automated analytical techniques. Commonly used sample-preparation methods are solid-phase extraction (SPE), liquid-liquid extraction (LLE) and protein precipitation. In this paper we will discus a new sample-preparation technique based on SPE for high throughput drug extraction developed and used by our group. This new sample-preparation method is based on monolithic methacrylate polymer as packing sorbent for 96-tip robotic device. Using this device a 96-well plate could be handled in 2-4min. The key aspect of the monolithic phase is that monolithic material can offer both good binding capacity and low back-pressure properties compared to e.g. silica phases. The present paper presents the successful application of monolithic 96-tips and LC-MS/MS by the sample preparation of busulphan, rescovitine, metoprolol, pindolol and local anaesthetics from human plasma samples and cyklophosphamid from mice blood samples. Copyright 2009 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  17. Long Scalelength Plasmas for LPI Studies at the Nike Laser

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Weaver, J. L.; Oh, J.; Bates, J. W.; Schmitt, A. J.; Kehne, D. M.; Wolford, M. F.; Obenschain, S. P.; Serlin, V.; Lehmberg, R. H.; Follett, R. K.; Shaw, J. G.; Myatt, J. F.; McKenty, P. W.; Wei, M. S.; Reynolds, H.; Williams, J.; Tsung, F.

    2017-10-01

    Studies of laser plasma instabilities (LPI) at the Nike laser have mainly used short pulses, small focal spots, and solid plastic (CH) targets that have yielded maximum gradient scalelengths below 200 microns. The current experimental effort aims to produce larger volume plasmas with 5-10x reduction in the density and velocity gradients as a platform for SBS, SRS, and TPD studies. The next campaign will concentrate on the effects of wavelength shifting and bandwidth changes on CBET in low density (5-10 mg/cm3) CH foam targets. This poster will discuss the development of this new LPI target platform based on modelling with the LPSE code developed at LLE. The presentation will also discuss alternative target schemes (e.g. exploding foils) and improvements to the LPI diagnostic suite and laser operations; for example, a new set of etalons will be available for the next campaign that should double the range of available wavelength shifting. Upgrades to the scattered light spectrometers in general use for LPI studies will also be presented. Work supported by DoE/NNSA.

  18. Liquid to liquid extraction and liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry determination of hainanmycin in feed.

    PubMed

    Wang, Ze Ping; Shen, Jian Zhong; Linhardt, Robert J; Jiang, Hui; Cheng, Lin Li

    2017-03-01

    Hainanmycin is a new veterinary polyether antibiotic and has few sensitive analytical method in present days. In this study, a liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) relying on multiple reaction monitoring (MRM) detection was developed for analysis of hainanmycin in animal feed. Feed samples were extracted with ethyl acetate and purified by two steps of liquid-liquid extraction (LLE) to get rid of water solvable matrix and lipids one by one. The final simple was analyzed by LC-MS/MS. The LC mobile phase was composed of 0.1% aqueous formic acid and 0.1% formic acidified acetonitrile by gradient elution. Average recoveries ranged from 74.22% to 87.85%, as determined by spiking with 2.0 (LOQ) ∼2500μgkg -1 of hainanmycin. The inter-day and intra-day coefficient of variation was 9.21% to 11.77% and 7.67% to 13.49%, respectively. The limit of detection (LOD) and the limit of quantitation (LOQ) were 0.36μgkg -1 and 2.0μgkg -1 , respectively. Copyright © 2016. Published by Elsevier B.V.

  19. A Retrieval System for Radioactive Target Materials at the NIF

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Krieger, M.; Shibata, K.; Fallica, J.; Henchen, R.; Pogozelski, E.; Padalino, S.; Sangster, T. C.; Suny Collaboration; Laboratory Collaboration

    2011-10-01

    Currently, solid radioactive material collection from the NIF target chamber is performed via the DIM. The retrieval process takes several hours to complete. To decrease this time for short lived radioisotopes, the Target Materials Retrieval System (TMRS) is being designed to move a radioactive sample from the target chamber to the counting station in less than 50 seconds, using a closed-loop helium filled RaPToRS system. The TMRS consists of three components: the retrieval apparatus, RaPToRS and the counting station. Starting at 0.5 meters from TCC, the sample will move from the vacuum chamber, travel through 60 meters of 10 centimeter diameter RaPToRS tubes, reaching speeds of 10 m/s. The sample will then arrive at the counting station, where it be robotically placed in front of a gamma ray detector. The use of helium will decrease background gamma radiation produced by activated N2 normally found in a pressurized air system. This work was supported in part by the US Department of Energy through the LLE.

  20. Nonadditive entropy Sq and nonextensive statistical mechanics: Applications in geophysics and elsewhere

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Tsallis, Constantino

    2012-06-01

    The celebrated Boltzmann-Gibbs (BG) entropy, S BG = -kΣi p i ln p i, and associated statistical mechanics are essentially based on hypotheses such as ergodicity, i.e., when ensemble averages coincide with time averages. This dynamical simplification occurs in classical systems (and quantum counterparts) whose microscopic evolution is governed by a positive largest Lyapunov exponent (LLE). Under such circumstances, relevant microscopic variables behave, from the probabilistic viewpoint, as (nearly) independent. Many phenomena exist, however, in natural, artificial and social systems (geophysics, astrophysics, biophysics, economics, and others) that violate ergodicity. To cover a (possibly) wide class of such systems, a generalization (nonextensive statistical mechanics) of the BG theory was proposed in 1988. This theory is based on nonadditive entropies such as S_q = kfrac{{1 - sumnolimits_i {p_i^q } }} {{q - 1}}left( {S_1 = S_{BG} } right). Here we comment some central aspects of this theory, and briefly review typical predictions, verifications and applications in geophysics and elsewhere, as illustrated through theoretical, experimental, observational, and computational results.

  1. Using secondary nuclear products for inferring the fuel areal density, convergence, and electron temperatures of deuterium filled implosions on the NIF

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Lahmann, B.; Frenje, J. A.; Gatu Johnson, M.; Sio, H.; Kabadi, N. V.; Sutcliffe, G.; Seguin, F. H.; Li, C. K.; Petrasso, R. D.; Hartouni, E. P.; Rinderknecht, H. G.; Sayre, D. B.; Yeamans, C. B.; Khan, S. F.; Kyrala, G. A.; Lepape, S.; Berzak-Hopkins, L.; Meezan, N.; Bionta, R.; Ma, T.

    2016-10-01

    In deuterium-filled inertial confinement fusion implosions, 0.82 MeV 3He and 1.01 MeV T born from the primary DD reaction branches can undergo fusion reactions with the thermal deuterium plasma to create secondary D3He protons and DT neutrons respectively. In regimes of moderate fuel areal density (ρR 5 - 100 mg/cm2) the ratio of both of these secondary yields to the primary yield can be used to infer the fuel ρR, convergence, and an electron temperature (Te) simultaneously. This technique has been used on a myriad of deuterium filled implosion experiments on the NIF using the nuclear time of flight (NTOF) diagnostics to measure the secondary DT neutrons and CR-39 based wedge range filters (WRFs) to measure the secondary D3He protons. Additionally, a comparative study is conducted between the nuclear inferred convergence and x-ray inferred convergence obtained on these experiments. This work was supported in part by LLE, the U.S. DoE (NNSA, NLUF) and LLNL.

  2. Studies of ion kinetic effects in OMEGA shock-driven implosions using fusion burn imaging

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Rosenberg, M. J.; Seguin, F. H.; Rinderknecht, H. G.; Sio, H.; Zylstra, A. B.; Gatu Johnson, M.; Frenje, J. A.; Li, C. K.; Petrasso, R. D.; Amendt, P. A.; Wilks, S. C.; Zimmerman, G.; Hoffman, N. M.; Kagan, G.; Molvig, K.; Glebov, V. Yu.; Stoeckl, C.; Marshall, F. J.; Seka, W.; Delettrez, J. A.; Sangster, T. C.; Betti, R.; Meyerhofer, D. D.; Atzeni, S.; Nikroo, A.

    2014-10-01

    Ion kinetic effects have been inferred in a series of shock-driven implosions at OMEGA from an increasing yield discrepancy between observations and hydrodynamic simulations as the ion-ion mean free path increases. To more precisely identify the nature and impact of ion kinetic effects, spatial burn profile measurements of DD and D3He reactions in these D3He-filled shock-driven implosions are presented and contrasted to both purely hydrodynamic models and models that include ion kinetic effects. It is shown that in implosions where the ion mean free path is equal to or greater than the size of the fuel region, purely hydrodynamic models fail to capture the observed burn profiles, while a model that includes ion diffusion is able to recover the observed burn profile shape. These results further elucidate the ion kinetic mechanisms that are present under long mean-free-path conditions after shock convergence in both shock-driven and ablatively-driven implosions. This work was supported in part by the U.S. DOE, NLUF, LLE, and LLNL.

  3. First quantitative measurements of charged-particle stopping and its dependence on electron temperature and density in Inertial-Confinement-Fusion plasmas

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Frenje, J.; Li, C. K.; Séguin, F.; Zylstra, A.; Rinderknecht, H.; Petrasso, R.; Delettrez, J.; Glebov, V.; Sangster, T.

    2013-10-01

    We report on the first quantitative measurements of charged-particle stopping in Inertial-Confinement-Fusion (ICF) plasmas at various conditions. In these experiments, four charged fusion products from the DD and D3He reactions in D3He gas-filled filled implosions were used to determine the stopping power of ICF plasmas at electron temperatures (Te) , ion temperatures (Ti) , and areal densities (ρR) in the range of 0.6-4.0 keV, 3-14 keV and 2-10 mg/cm2, respectively. The resulting data, in the form of measured energy downshift of the charged fusion products, clearly indicate that the stopping-power function depends strongly on Te. It was also observed that the stopping-power function change in characteristics for higher-density implosions in which ions and electrons equilibrate faster, resulting in higher Te relative to Ti and higher ρR s. These results will be modelled by Landau-Spitzer theory and contrasted to different stopping-power models. This work was partially supported by the US DOE, NLUF, LLE, and GA.

  4. Ether bond effects in quaternary ammonium and phosphonium ionic liquid-propanol solutions

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Kishimura, Hiroaki; Kohki, Erica; Nakada, Ayumu; Tamatani, Kentaro; Abe, Hiroshi

    2018-03-01

    The liquid-liquid equilibria (LLE) of quaternary ammonium and phosphonium ionic liquid (IL)-propanol solutions were examined. The ILs contained cations with or without ether bonds; the anion in all the ILs was bis(trifluoromethanesulfonyl)imide (TFSI-). The cations without ether groups are tributylmethyl ammonium (N4441+), triethylpentyl phosphonium (P2225+), triethyloctyl phosphonium (P2228+), and tributylmethyl phosphonium (P4441+). The cations containing ether groups are N,N-diethyl-N-methyl-N-(2-methoxyethyl) ammonium, (N122(2O1)+), triethyl(methoxymethyl) phosphonium (P222(1O1)+), and triethyl(2-methoxyethyl) phosphonium, (P222(2O1)+). Propanol isomer effect was observed to affect the LLEs, reflecting the geometrical factors and hydrophobicities of 1-propanol and 2-propanol. According to Raman spectroscopy, the TFSI- anion conformers in the mixtures were altered in the presence of ether bonds in the cations. The universal quasichemical (UNIQUAC) interaction parameters are consistent with significant factors affecting IL-propanol solutions, such as the type of cation (ammonium or phosphonium), ether bonds, TFSI- conformers, and propanol isomer effects.

  5. Preparation of penta-O-galloyl-β-D-glucose from tannic acid and plasma pharmacokinetic analyses by liquid-liquid extraction and reverse-phase HPLC.

    PubMed

    Li, Li; Shaik, Ahmad Ali; Zhang, Jinhui; Nhkata, Katai; Wang, Lei; Zhang, Yong; Xing, Chengguo; Kim, Sung-Hoon; Lü, Junxuan

    2011-02-20

    The gallotannin penta-O-galloyl-beta-D-glucose (PGG) has many biological activities including in vivo anti-cancer efficacy. We present in this paper a scaled-up protocol for its preparation in high purity from tannic acid by acidic methanolysis with typical yield of 15%. We also describe a method for the analysis of PGG in mouse plasma by HPLC and its application in preliminary pharmacokinetic studies. A liquid-liquid extraction (LLE) protocol was optimized for the extraction of PGG from mouse plasma. The extraction efficiency for PGG at 1 μg/mL in mouse plasma was 70.0±1.3% (n=5). The limit of detection (LOD) for PGG was approximately 0.2 μg/mL. Preliminary pharmacokinetic parameters of PGG following a single i.p. injection with 5% ethanol/saline vehicle in mice were established. The peak plasma PGG concentrations (C(max)) were approximately 3-4 μM at a dose of 0.5 mg per mouse (∼20 mg/kg) at 2 h post-injection (T(max)). Copyright © 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  6. Validation of a Laser-Ray Package in an Eulerian Code

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Bradley, Paul; Hall, Mike; McKenty, Patrick; Collins, Tim; Keller, David

    2014-10-01

    A laser-ray absorption package was recently installed in the RAGE code by the Laboratory for Laser Energetics (LLE). In this presentation, we describe our use of this package to implode Omega 60 beam symmetric direct drive capsules. The capsules have outer diameters of about 860 microns, CH plastic shell thicknesses between 8 and 32 microns, DD or DT gas fills between 5 and 20 atmospheres, and a 1 ns square pulse of 23 to 27 kJ. These capsule implosions were previously modeled with a calibrated energy source in the outer layer of the capsule, where we matched bang time and burn ion temperature well, but the simulated yields were two to three times higher than the data. We will run simulations with laser ray energy deposition to the experiments and the results to the yield and spectroscopic data. Work performed by Los Alamos National Laboratory under Contract DE-AC52-06NA25396 for the National Nuclear Security Administration of the U.S. Department of Energy.

  7. Turbulent Dynamo Amplification of Magnetic Fields in Laser-Produced Plasmas: Simulations and Experiments

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Tzeferacos, P.; Rigby, A.; Bott, A.; Bell, A.; Bingham, R.; Casner, A.; Cattaneo, F.; Churazov, E.; Forest, C.; Katz, J.; Koenig, M.; Li, C.-K.; Meinecke, J.; Petrasso, R.; Park, H.-S.; Remington, B.; Ross, J.; Ryutov, D.; Ryu, D.; Reville, B.; Miniati, F.; Schekochihin, A.; Froula, D.; Lamb, D.; Gregori, G.

    2017-10-01

    The universe is permeated by magnetic fields, with strengths ranging from a femtogauss in the voids between the filaments of galaxy clusters to several teragauss in black holes and neutron stars. The standard model for cosmological magnetic fields is the nonlinear amplification of seed fields via turbulent dynamo. We have conceived experiments to demonstrate and study the turbulent dynamo mechanism in the laboratory. Here, we describe the design of these experiments through large-scale 3D FLASH simulations on the Mira supercomputer at ANL, and the laser-driven experiments we conducted with the OMEGA laser at LLE. Our results indicate that turbulence is capable of rapidly amplifying seed fields to near equipartition with the turbulent fluid motions. This work was supported in part from the ERC (FP7/2007-2013, No. 256973 and 247039), and the U.S. DOE, Contract No. B591485 to LLNL, FWP 57789 to ANL, Grant No. DE-NA0002724 and DE-SC0016566 to the University of Chicago, and DE-AC02-06CH11357 to ANL.

  8. The Mini Orange Spectrometer (MOS) for Stellar and Big-Bang Nucleosynthesis studies at OMEGA and the National Ignition Facility

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Sutcliffe, G. D.; Frenje, J. A.; Gatu Johnson, M.; Li, C. K.; Parker, C.; Simpson, R.; Sio, H.; Seguin, F. H.; Petrasso, R. D.; Zylstra, A.

    2017-10-01

    A compact and highly efficient Mini Orange Spectrometer (MOS) is being designed for measurements of energy spectra of protons and alphas in the range of 1-12 MeV in experiments at the OMEGA laser facility and the National Ignition Facility (NIF). The MOS will extend charged-particle spectrometry at these laser facilities to lower energies (<5 MeV) and lower yields (<5×108) than current instrumentation allows. This new spectrometer will enable studies of low-probability stellar nucleosynthesis reactions, including the 3He+3He reaction that is part of the solar proton-proton chain. Its unique capabilities will also be exploited in other basic science experiments, including studies of stopping power in ICF-relevant plasmas, astrophysical shocks and kinetic physics. The MOS design achieves high efficiency by maximizing the solid angle of particle acceptance. The optimization of the MOS design uses simulated magnetic fields and particle tracing. Performance requirements of the MOS system, including desired detection efficiencies and energy resolution, are discussed. This work was supported in part by the U.S. DoE, LLNL, and LLE.

  9. Effect of solvent polarity levels on separation of xanthone and coumarin from Calophyllum inophyllum leaves extract

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Susanto, D. F.; Hapsari, S.; Trilutfiani, Z.; Borhet, A.; Aparamarta, H. W.; Widjaja, A.; Gunawan, S.

    2018-03-01

    Calophyllum inophyllum has various benefits that can be utilized from root, stem, leaf, until seed. C. inophyllum leaves contain many bioactive compounds, such as xanthone and coumarin which are useful as antioxidant, and inhibitors of enzyme activity from HIV virus. The aim of this research was to investigate the effect of solvent polarity levels on the separation of xanthone and coumarin compounds contained in the crude extract of C. inophyllum leaves. Crude leaves extract was obtained by percolation method. Moreover, Liquid Liquid Extraction (LLE) was used for separating xanthone and coumarin compounds. It was performed by methanol (polar solvent) and hexane (non-polar solvent) with solvent ratio of 1. Methanol concentration in water used were 20%, 50%, 80%, and 100%. Each fraction obtained was tested qualitatively using Thin Layer Chromatography (TLC) and quantitatively using Gas Chromatography (GC) to analyze xanthone and coumarin. The best separation result was obtained by using 50% methanol. In this results, coumarin and xanthones were separated in methanol fraction (81.18% recovery) and in hexane fraction (81.91% recovery), respectively.

  10. Stability of catechins in green tea nutraceutical products: application of solid phase extraction-thin layer chromatography densitometry.

    PubMed

    Abd-Elsalam, Heba-Alla H; Al-Ghobashy, Medhat A; Zaazaa, Hala E; Ibrahim, Mohamed A

    2014-08-01

    Epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG) is a powerful antioxidant and commonly used nutraceutical. Accelerated stability of EGCG in tablet formulations was investigated. LLE and SPE were employed for sample clean-up and enrichment of EGCG over caffeine. Samples were analysed after spiking with fixed concentration of gallic acid (GA), in order to verify reproducibility of analysis. A TLC-densitometric assay was developed and validated for determination of % loss EGCG. EGCG, GA and caffeine were resolved with Rf values 0.54, 0.69 and 0.80, respectively. LC-MS/MS was used to verify identity and purity of the EGCG band. Determination was carried out over a concentration range of 0.50-5.00μg/band and 0.20-2.40μg/band for GA and caffeine, respectively. Results showed significant reduction in EGCG content after one, three and six months: 24.00%, 28.00% and 52.00% respectively. Results continue to demonstrate that stability of nutraceutical products should be investigated in-depth using industry-oriented protocols before granting marketing authorisation. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  11. The MIT HEDP Accelerator Facility for education and advanced diagnostics development for OMEGA, Z and the NIF

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Petrasso, R.; Gatu Johnson, M.; Armstrong, E.; Han, H. W.; Kabadi, N.; Lahmann, B.; Orozco, D.; Rojas Herrera, J.; Sio, H.; Sutcliffe, G.; Frenje, J.; Li, C. K.; Séguin, F. H.; Leeper, R.; Ruiz, C. L.; Sangster, T. C.

    2015-11-01

    The MIT HEDP Accelerator Facility utilizes a 135-keV linear electrostatic ion accelerator, a D-T neutron source and two x-ray sources for development and characterization of nuclear diagnostics for OMEGA, Z, and the NIF. The ion accelerator generates D-D and D-3He fusion products through acceleration of D ions onto a 3He-doped Erbium-Deuteride target. Fusion reaction rates around 106 s-1 are routinely achieved, and fluence and energy of the fusion products have been accurately characterized. The D-T neutron source generates up to 6 × 108 neutrons/s. The two x-ray generators produce spectra with peak energies of 35 keV and 225 keV and maximum dose rates of 0.5 Gy/min and 12 Gy/min, respectively. Diagnostics developed and calibrated at this facility include CR-39 based charged-particle spectrometers, neutron detectors, and the particle Time-Of-Flight (pTOF) and Magnetic PTOF CVD-diamond-based bang time detectors. The accelerator is also a vital tool in the education of graduate and undergraduate students at MIT. This work was supported in part by SNL, DOE, LLE and LLNL.

  12. Application of ionic liquid for extraction and separation of bioactive compounds from plants.

    PubMed

    Tang, Baokun; Bi, Wentao; Tian, Minglei; Row, Kyung Ho

    2012-09-01

    In recent years, ionic liquids (ILs), as green and designer solvents, have accelerated research in analytical chemistry. This review highlights some of the unique properties of ILs and provides an overview of the preparation and application of IL or IL-based materials to extract bioactive compounds in plants. IL or IL-based materials in conjunction with liquid-liquid extraction (LLE), ultrasonic-assisted extraction (UAE), microwave-assisted extraction (MAE), high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) and solid-phase extraction (SPE) analytical technologies etc., have been applied successfully to the extraction or separation of bioactive compounds from plants. This paper reviews the available data and references to examine the advantages of IL and IL-based materials in these applications. In addition, the main target compounds reviewed in this paper are bioactive compounds with multiple therapeutic effects and pharmacological activities. Based on the importance of the targets, this paper reviews the applications of ILs, IL-based materials or co-working with analytical technologies. The exploitation of new applications of ILs on the extraction of bioactive compounds from plant samples is expected to increase. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  13. Application of HRAM screening and LC-MS/MS confirmation of active pharmaceutical ingredient in "natural" herbal supplements.

    PubMed

    Pascali, Jennifer P; Fais, Paolo; Vaiano, Fabio; Bertol, Elisabetta

    2018-05-01

    The growing market of herbal remedies worldwide could pose severe problems to consumers' health due to the possible presence of potentially harmful, undeclared synthetic substances or analogues of prescription drugs. The present work shows a simple but effective approach to unequivocally identify synthetic anorectic compounds in allegedly 'natural' herbal extracts, by exploiting liquid chromatography/time of flight (Q-TOF LC/MS) technology coupled to liquid chromatography/triple quadrupole (LC-MS/MS) confirmation and quantitation. The procedure was applied to five tea herbal extracts and pills sold as coadjutant for weigh loss. The method exploited liquid-liquid sample extraction (LLE) and separation in a C18 (2.1mm×150mm, 1.8μm) column. QTOF acquisitions were carried out both in scan mode and all ion MS/MS mode and results were obtained after search against ad hoc prepared library. Sibutramine, 4-hydroxyamphetamine, caffeine and theophylline were preliminary identified samples. Confirmation and quantitation of the preliminary identified compounds were obtained in LC-MS/MS after preparation of appropriated standards. Sibutramine, caffeine and theophylline were finally confirmed and quantitate. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  14. Development of a compact 30 T magnetic field system for OMEGA

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Fiksel, G.; Backhus, R.; McNally, P.; Viges, E.; Villalta, M.; Jacobs-Perkins, D.; Betti, R.

    2017-10-01

    Aiming at conducting studies of magnetized high-energy density plasmas in a high magnetic field, we are developing a compact system capable of creating a pulsed magnetic field of about 30T in a volume of several cubic centimeters. The system prototype will be tested at the University of Michigan and will be adopted afterwards for use at the OMEGA facility of the Laboratory for Laser Energetics (LLE) of the University of Rochester, NY. The system consists of a pulsed power supply situated outside of the Omega vacuum chamber and a magnetic coil inserted into the chamber with a diagnostic inserter. The power supply is based on a 50 μF/20kV storage capacitor and is capable of driving a pulse of current of up to 50kA through the coil. The power supply is connected with the coil via a low-inductive chain of power cables and a strip transmission line. The system electrical, magnetic, and thermal analysis will be presented along with the results of initial testing. This work is supported in part through a DOE-OFES award DE-SC0016258 and a University of Michigan research Grant U051442.

  15. Comparison of SVM and ANFIS for Snore Related Sounds Classification by Using the Largest Lyapunov Exponent and Entropy

    PubMed Central

    Ankışhan, Haydar; Yılmaz, Derya

    2013-01-01

    Snoring, which may be decisive for many diseases, is an important indicator especially for sleep disorders. In recent years, many studies have been performed on the snore related sounds (SRSs) due to producing useful results for detection of sleep apnea/hypopnea syndrome (SAHS). The first important step of these studies is the detection of snore from SRSs by using different time and frequency domain features. The SRSs have a complex nature that is originated from several physiological and physical conditions. The nonlinear characteristics of SRSs can be examined with chaos theory methods which are widely used to evaluate the biomedical signals and systems, recently. The aim of this study is to classify the SRSs as snore/breathing/silence by using the largest Lyapunov exponent (LLE) and entropy with multiclass support vector machines (SVMs) and adaptive network fuzzy inference system (ANFIS). Two different experiments were performed for different training and test data sets. Experimental results show that the multiclass SVMs can produce the better classification results than ANFIS with used nonlinear quantities. Additionally, these nonlinear features are carrying meaningful information for classifying SRSs and are able to be used for diagnosis of sleep disorders such as SAHS. PMID:24194786

  16. Enrichment of bio-oil after hydrothermal liquefaction (HTL) of microalgae C. vulgaris grown in wastewater: Bio-char and post HTL wastewater utilization studies.

    PubMed

    Arun, Jayaseelan; Varshini, Padmanabhan; Prithvinath, P Kamath; Priyadarshini, Venkataramani; Gopinath, Kannappan Panchamoorthy

    2018-08-01

    In this study, bio-oil was produced through hydrothermal liquefaction (HTL) of C. vulgaris biomass cultivated in wastewater and was enriched into transportation fuels. Bio-oil yield was 29.37% wt at 300 °C, 60 min, at 15 g/200 mL biomass loading rate with 3% wt nano ZnO catalyst loading. Applying catalyst reduced oxygen and nitrogen content in bio-oil and increased its calorific value (19.6 ± 0.8 MJ/Kg). Bio-oil was enriched through liquid-liquid extraction (LLE) and higher yield was obtained at 30 °C for dichloromethane solvent (18.2% wt). Compounds of enriched oil were within the petro-diesel range (C 8 -C 21 ). Bio-char after HTL process was activated and used as adsorbent in wastewater treatment process to remove organic pollutants (COD, NO 3 , NH 3 and PO 4 ). Treated wastewater can be supplied as growth medium for microalgae cultivation in further experiments. Nearly 3-4 times the nanocatalyst can be reused in the HTL process. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  17. From the Telescope to the Laboratory and Back Again: The Center for Astrophysical Plasma Properties

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Houston Montgomery, Michael; Winget, Don; Schaeuble, Marc; Hawkins, Keith; Wheeler, Craig

    2018-01-01

    The Center for Astrophysical Plasma Properties (CAPP) is a new center focusing on the spectroscopic properties of stars and accretion disks using “at-parameter” experiments. Currently, these experiments use the X-ray output of the Z machine at Sandia National Laboratories—the largest X-ray source in the world—to heat plasmas to the same conditions (temperature, density, and radiation environment) as those observed in astronomical objects. Current experiments include measuring (1) density-dependent opacities of iron-peak elements at solar interior conditions, (2) spectral lines of low-Z elements at white dwarf photospheric conditions, (3) atomic population kinetics of neon in a radiation-dominated environment, and (4) resonant Auger destruction (RAD) of silicon at accretion disk conditions around supermassive black holes. We will be moving to new astrophysical environments and additional experimental facilities, such as the National Ignition Facility (NIF) and the OMEGA facility at the Laboratory for Laser Energetics (LLE). We seek students and collaborators to work on these experiments as well as the calculations that complement them. CAPP has funding for 5 years and can support up to six graduate students and three post-docs.

  18. Studies of multi-ion-fluid yield anomaly in shock-driven implosions

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Rinderknecht, H. G.; Rosenberg, M. J.; Li, C. K.; Zylstra, A. B.; Sio, H.; Gatu Johnson, M.; Frenje, J. A.; Séguin, F. H.; Petrasso, R. D.; Amendt, P. A.; Bellei, C.; Wilks, S. C.; Zimmerman, G.; Hoffman, N. M.; Kagan, G.; Molvig, K.; Glebov, V. Yu.; Stoeckl, C.; Marshall, F. J.; Seka, W.; Delettrez, J. A.; Sangster, T. C.; Betti, R.; Goncharov, V. N.; Meyerhofer, D. D.

    2014-10-01

    A. NIKROO, GA - Anomalously reduced yields relative to hydrodynamically calculated values have been observed for mixtures of D:3He compared to pure D2 gas-filled implosions in a series of shock-driven implosions at OMEGA. An extensive suite of measurements including temporal and spatial measurements of both the DD- and D3He-fusion reactions were obtained to identify the origin and physics behind this anomalous yield reduction. Measured spectral linewidths of fusion products suggest that the D ions are not thermalized to 3He during the burn, contributing to the reduced yield. The hypothesis that ion-species separation due to diffusive processes contributes to the observed yield reduction is explored using hydrodynamic simulations incorporating ion diffusion. Recent observations by Rosenberg et al. of a yield reduction with increased ion-ion mean free path do not explain the observed anomalous yield trend. Future work that will directly probe species separation with high-precision relative fusion reaction rate measurements between DD-neutrons and D3He-protons using the DualPTD instrument is discussed. This work was supported in part by the U.S. DOE, NLUF, LLE, and LLNL.

  19. Darwinische Kulturtheorie - Evolutionistische und "evolutionistische`` Theorien sozialen Wandels

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Antweiler, Christoph

    Evolutionistische Argumentationen außerhalb der Biologie sind weit verbreitet. Wenn sie vertreten werden, heißt das mitnichten, dass sie notwendigerweise von darwinischen Argumenten geprägt sind. Wenn man Evolution und Kultur aus explizit darwinischer Perspektive zusammen bringt, bedeutet das noch lange nicht unbedingt Soziobiologie. Und es bedeutet sicherlich nicht Sozialdarwinismus. Dieser Beitrag soll einen Überblick der so genannten evolutionären Ansätze bzw. evolutionistischen Ansätze zu menschlichen Gesellschaften bzw. Kulturen geben. Es soll gezeigt werden, was in den Ansätzen analytisch zu trennen ist und was synthetisch zusammen gehört. Mein Beitrag ist nicht wissenschaftsgeschichtlich angelegt, sondern systematisch ausgerichtet und hat zwei Schwerpunkte (Antweiler 2008; Antweiler 2009b). Zum einen geht es um kausale Zusammenhänge von organischer Evolution und gesellschaftlichem Wandel. Auf der anderen Seite werden Analogien zwischen biotischer und kultureller Evolution erläutert, die als spezifische Ähnlichkeiten dieser beiden als grundsätzlich verschieden gesehenen Prozesse aufgefasst werden. Dadurch wird die Frage aufgeworfen, ob die Evolution von Organismen einerseits und die Transformation von Gesellschaften bzw. Kulturen andererseits, spezielle Fälle eines allgemeinen Modells von Evolution darstellen.

  20. Reduced Noise UV Enhancement of Etch Rates for Nuclear Tracks in CR-39

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Sheets, Rebecca; Clarkson, David; Ume, Rubab; Regan, Sean; Sangster, Craig; Padalino, Stephen; McLean, James

    2016-10-01

    The use of CR-39 plastic as a Solid State Nuclear Track Detector is an effective technique for obtaining data in high-energy particle experiments including inertial confinement fusion. To reveal particle tracks after irradiation, CR-39 is chemically etched in NaOH at 80°C for 6 hours, producing micron-scale signal pits at the nuclear track sites. Using CR-39 irradiated with 5.4 MeV alpha particles and 1.0 MeV protons, we show that exposing the CR-39 to high intensity UV light before etching, with wavelengths between 240 nm and 350 nm, speeds the etch process. Elevated temperatures during UV exposure amplifies this effect, with etch rates up to 50% greater than unprocessed conditions. CR-39 pieces exposed to UV light and heat can also exhibit heightened levels of etch-induced noise (surface features not caused by nuclear particles). By illuminating the CR-39 from the side opposite to the tracks, a similar level of etch enhancement was obtained with little to no noise. The effective wavelength range is reduced, due to strong attenuation of shorter wavelengths. Funded in part by a LLE contract through the DOE.

  1. Nonlinear Dynamics of a Multistage Gear Transmission System with Multi-Clearance

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Xiang, Ling; Zhang, Yue; Gao, Nan; Hu, Aijun; Xing, Jingtang

    The nonlinear torsional model of a multistage gear transmission system which consists of a planetary gear and two parallel gear stages is established with time-varying meshing stiffness, comprehensive gear error and multi-clearance. The nonlinear dynamic responses are analyzed by applying the reference of backlash bifurcation parameters. The motions of the system on the change of backlash are identified through global bifurcation diagram, largest Lyapunov exponent (LLE), FFT spectra, Poincaré maps, the phase diagrams and time series. The numerical results demonstrate that the system exhibits rich features of nonlinear dynamics such as the periodic motion, nonperiodic states and chaotic states. It is found that the sun-planet backlash has more complex effect on the system than the ring-planet backlash. The motions of the system with backlash of parallel gear are diverse including some different multi-periodic motions. Furthermore, the state of the system can change from chaos into quasi-periodic behavior, which means that the dynamic behavior of the system is composed of more stable components with the increase of the backlash. Correspondingly, the parameters of the system should be designed properly and controlled timely for better operation and enhancing the life of the system.

  2. Determination of halonitromethanes and haloacetamides: an evaluation of sample preservation and analyte stability in drinking water.

    PubMed

    Liew, Deborah; Linge, Kathryn L; Joll, Cynthia A; Heitz, Anna; Charrois, Jeffrey W A

    2012-06-08

    Simultaneous quantitation of 6 halonitromethanes (HNMs) and 5 haloacetamides (HAAms) was achieved with a simplified liquid-liquid extraction (LLE) method, followed by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. Stability tests showed that brominated tri-HNMs immediately degraded in the presence of ascorbic acid, sodium sulphite and sodium borohydride, and also reduced in samples treated with ammonium chloride, or with no preservation. Both ammonium chloride and ascorbic acid were suitable for the preservation of HAAms. Ammonium chloride was most suitable for preserving both HNMs and HAAms, although it is recommended that samples be analysed as soon as possible after collection. While groundwater samples exhibited a greater analytical bias compared to other waters, the good recoveries (>90%) of most analytes in tap water suggest that the method is very appropriate for determining these analytes in treated drinking waters. Application of the method to water from three drinking water treatment plants in Western Australia indicating N-DBP formation did occur, with increased detections after chlorination. The method is recommended for low-cost, rapid screening of both HNMs and HAAms in drinking water. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

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

    Shiraga, H.; Nagatomo, H.; Theobald, W.

    Here, integrated fast ignition experiments were performed at ILE, Osaka, and LLE, Rochester, in which a nanosecond driver laser implodes a deuterated plastic shell in front of the tip of a hollow metal cone and an intense ultrashort-pulse laser is injected through the cone to heat the compressed plasma. Based on the initial successful results of fast electron heating of cone-in-shell targets, large-energy short-pulse laser beam lines were constructed and became operational: OMEGA-EP at Rochester and LFEX at Osaka. Neutron enhancement due to heating with a ~kJ short-pulse laser has been demonstrated in the integrated experiments at Osaka and Rochester.more » The neutron yields are being analyzed by comparing the experimental results with simulations. Details of the fast electron beam transport and the electron energy deposition in the imploded fuel plasma are complicated and further studies are imperative. The hydrodynamics of the implosion was studied including the interaction of the imploded core plasma with the cone tip. Theory and simulation studies are presented on the hydrodynamics of a high-gain target for a fast ignition point design.« less

  4. Comprehensive Study of Volatile Compounds in Two Australian Rosé Wines: Aroma Extract Dilution Analysis (AEDA) of Extracts Prepared Using Solvent-Assisted Flavor Evaporation (SAFE) or Headspace Solid-Phase Extraction (HS-SPE).

    PubMed

    Wang, Jiaming; Gambetta, Joanna M; Jeffery, David W

    2016-05-18

    Two rosé wines, representing a tropical and a fruity/floral style, were chosen from a previous study for further exploration by aroma extract dilution analysis (AEDA) and quantitative analysis. Volatiles were extracted using either liquid-liquid extraction (LLE) followed by solvent-assisted flavor evaporation (SAFE) or a recently developed dynamic headspace (HS) sampling method utilizing solid-phase extraction (SPE) cartridges. AEDA was conducted using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry/olfactometry (GC-MS/O) and a total of 51 aroma compounds with a flavor dilution (FD) factor ≥3 were detected. Quantitative analysis of 92 volatiles was undertaken in both wines for calculation of odor activity values. The fruity and floral wine style was mostly driven by 2-phenylethanol, β-damascenone, and a range of esters, whereas 3-SHA and several volatile acids were seen as essential for the tropical style. When extraction methods were compared, HS-SPE was as efficient as SAFE for extracting most esters and higher alcohols, which were associated with fruity and floral characters, but it was difficult to capture volatiles with greater polarity or higher boiling point that may still be important to perceived wine aroma.

  5. High-throughput method for macrolides and lincosamides antibiotics residues analysis in milk and muscle using a simple liquid-liquid extraction technique and liquid chromatography-electrospray-tandem mass spectrometry analysis (LC-MS/MS).

    PubMed

    Jank, Louise; Martins, Magda Targa; Arsand, Juliana Bazzan; Campos Motta, Tanara Magalhães; Hoff, Rodrigo Barcellos; Barreto, Fabiano; Pizzolato, Tânia Mara

    2015-11-01

    A fast and simple method for residue analysis of the antibiotics classes of macrolides (erythromycin, azithromycin, tylosin, tilmicosin and spiramycin) and lincosamides (lincomycin and clindamycin) was developed and validated for cattle, swine and chicken muscle and for bovine milk. Sample preparation consists in a liquid-liquid extraction (LLE) with acetonitrile, followed by liquid chromatography-electrospray-tandem mass spectrometry analysis (LC-ESI-MS/MS), without the need of any additional clean-up steps. Chromatographic separation was achieved using a C18 column and a mobile phase composed by acidified acetonitrile and water. The method was fully validated according the criteria of the Commission Decision 2002/657/EC. Validation parameters such as limit of detection, limit of quantification, linearity, accuracy, repeatability, specificity, reproducibility, decision limit (CCα) and detection capability (CCβ) were evaluated. All calculated values met the established criteria. Reproducibility values, expressed as coefficient of variation, were all lower than 19.1%. Recoveries range from 60% to 107%. Limits of detection were from 5 to 25 µg kg(-1).The present method is able to be applied in routine analysis, with adequate time of analysis, low cost and a simple sample preparation protocol. Copyright © 2015. Published by Elsevier B.V.

  6. Measurement of the 6He Decay Produced by the 9Be(n, α) 6 He Reaction

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Cook, Katelyn; Coats, Micah; Yuly, Mark; Padalino, Stephen; Sangster, Craig; Regan, Sean

    2016-10-01

    The OMEGA laser at LLE is routinely used to implode gas-filled capsules to study light ion fusion reaction rates of interest to stellar nucleosynthesis. As a first step toward a possible measurement of the 3H(t,γ)6He radiative capture reaction, a detector system capable of measuring the 801 ms half-life of 6He has been developed and is being tested using 6He nuclei produced via the 9Be(n,α)6He reaction. Deuterons from the SUNY Geneseo tandem Pelletron produce neutrons in a thick deuterated polyethylene target via the 2H(d,n)3He reaction. These neutrons are allowed to strike a beryllium target placed in front of a silicon ΔE-E detector telescope, which is used to identify the β particles from 6He decay. Following an approximately five second long activation period, the beryllium sample is immediately counted for about five seconds. The pulse heights for each detector and the timestamp are recorded using a specially configured femtoDAQ acquision system and used to measure the decay curve. Funded in part by a Grant from the DOE through the Laboratory for Laser Energetics.

  7. Impact of flows on ion temperatures inferred from neutron spectra in asymmetrically driven OMEGA DT implosions

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Gatu Johnson, M.; Frenje, J.; Lahmann, B.; Seguin, F.; Petrasso, R.; Appelbe, B.; Chittenden, J.; Walsh, C.; Delettrez, J.; Igumenshchev, I.; Knauer, J. P.; Glebov, V. Yu.; Forrest, C.; Grimble, W.; Marshall, F.; Michel, T.; Stoeckl, C.; Haines, B. M.; Zylstra, A. B.

    2017-10-01

    Ion temperatures (Tion) in Inertial Confinement Fusion (ICF) experiments have traditionally been inferred from the broadening of primary neutron spectra. Directional motion (flow) of the fuel at burn, expected to arise due to asymmetries imposed by e.g. engineering features or drive non-uniformity, also impacts broadening and may lead to artificially inflated ``Tion'' values. Flow due to low-mode asymmetries is expected to give rise to line-of-sight variations in measured Tion, as observed in OMEGA cryogenic DT implosions but not in similar experiments at the NIF. In this presentation, we report on OMEGA experiments with intentional drive asymmetry designed for testing the ability to accurately predict and measure line-of-sight differences in apparent Tion due to low-mode asymmetry-seeded flows. The measurements are contrasted to CHIMERA, RAGE and ASTER simulations, providing insight into implosion dynamics and the relative importance of laser drive non-uniformity, stalk and offset as sources of asymmetry. The results highlight the complexity of hot-spot dynamics, which is a problem that must be mastered to achieve ICF ignition. This work was supported in part by the U.S. DOE, NLUF and LLE.

  8. Determination of metabolite of nicergoline in human plasma by high-performance liquid chromatography and its application in pharmacokinetic studies.

    PubMed

    Zheng, Rong; Wu, Yi-Hong; Jiang, De-Xi; Zhang, Dan

    2012-02-01

    A fast, simple and sensitive high performance liquid chromatographic (HPLC) method has been developed for determination of 10 α -methoxy-6-methyl ergoline-8 β -methanol (MDL, a main metabolite of nicergoline) in human plasma. One-step liquid-liquid extraction (LLE) with diethyl ether was employed as the sample preparation method. Tizanidine hydrochloride was selected as the internal standard (IS). Analysis was carried out on a Diamonsil ODS column (150 mm×4.6 mm, 5 μm) using acetonitrile-ammonium acetate (0.1 mol/L) (15/85, v/v) as mobile phase at detection wavelength of 224 nm. The calibration curves were linear over the range of 2.288-73.2 ng/mL with a lower limit of quantitation (LLOQ) of 2.288 ng/mL. The intra- and inter-day precision values were below 13% and the recoveries were from 74.47% to 83.20% at three quality control levels. The method herein described was successfully applied in a randomized crossover bioequivalence study of two different nicergoline preparations after administration of 30 mg in 20 healthy volunteers.

  9. Determination of metabolite of nicergoline in human plasma by high-performance liquid chromatography and its application in pharmacokinetic studies

    PubMed Central

    Zheng, Rong; Wu, Yi-Hong; Jiang, De-Xi; Zhang, Dan

    2012-01-01

    A fast, simple and sensitive high performance liquid chromatographic (HPLC) method has been developed for determination of 10α-methoxy-6-methyl ergoline-8β-methanol (MDL, a main metabolite of nicergoline) in human plasma. One-step liquid–liquid extraction (LLE) with diethyl ether was employed as the sample preparation method. Tizanidine hydrochloride was selected as the internal standard (IS). Analysis was carried out on a Diamonsil ODS column (150 mm×4.6 mm, 5 μm) using acetonitrile–ammonium acetate (0.1 mol/L) (15/85, v/v) as mobile phase at detection wavelength of 224 nm. The calibration curves were linear over the range of 2.288–73.2 ng/mL with a lower limit of quantitation (LLOQ) of 2.288 ng/mL. The intra- and inter-day precision values were below 13% and the recoveries were from 74.47% to 83.20% at three quality control levels. The method herein described was successfully applied in a randomized crossover bioequivalence study of two different nicergoline preparations after administration of 30 mg in 20 healthy volunteers. PMID:29403722

  10. Understanding alterations on blood and biochemical parameters in athletes that use dietary supplements, steroids and illicit drugs.

    PubMed

    Bordin, Dayanne Mozaner; Bettim, Bárbara Beltrame; Perdona, Gleici Castro; de Campos, Eduardo Geraldo; De Martinis, Bruno Spinosa

    2017-02-01

    In recent years it was verified there are an alarming growing number of teenagers and young adults using a combination of dietary supplements (DS) anabolic androgenic steroids (AAS) and drugs of abuse. This practice is used to improve physical fitness and appearance, may cause serious side effects. This article shows the alterations in the hematological and renal function parameters associate with these substances in 40 athletes. This research involved three steps: 1-the administration of a self-completion questionnaire ; 2-the assessment of hematological and biochemical parameters of renal function and; 3-toxicological urinalysis. Hematological and biochemical tests were conducted in an accredited laboratory and the toxicological urinalysis was validated in our laboratory using liquid-liquid extraction (LLE) and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). The testosterone levels in the participants who consumed steroids increased 20-60% and alterations in serum creatinine, urea and uric reached values of up to 1.9; 60.6 and 7.5mg/dL, respectively. The toxicological urinalysis supports self-reports confirming the use of AAS and recreational drugs, putting at risk the health of those athletes increasing the chances of kidney diseases. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

  11. Microbial composition in microcosms amended with natural and mineral fertilizers under different water regimes

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Brad, Traian; Chiriac, Cecilia; Szekeres, Edina; Coman, Cristian; Rudi, Knut; Sandor, Mignon

    2017-04-01

    Twenty microcosm enclosures containing two types of soil (i.e. a rich Chernozemic and a poorer soil) were fertilized with mineral (NPK-complex) and organic (Gülle, manure and a green fertilizer) materials and placed under dry and wet water regimes. After 10, 20 and 30 days of the experiment, soil samples were analyzed for the structure and composition of microbial communities using next generation sequencing techniques (Illumina) and statistical analysis. The differences between bacteria communities in different soil types, and in different fertilization and hydric treatments were analyzed using quantitative phylogenetic distances and the ANOSIM test. The two types of soil especially selected for the structure of microbial communities, while moisture and the type of fertilizer appeared to have a smaller influence on microbial diversity in microcosms. The alpha-diversity indices (species richness, evenness and phylogenetic diversity) had higher values for the poorer soil compared to the rich Chernozemic soil. For both soil types, the highest bacteria diversity values were obtained after fertilization with manure. The microbial communities in the analyzed soils were complex and dominated by sequences belonging to Actinobacteria, Proteobacteria, Acidobacteria and Firmicutes.

  12. 'A WONDERFULL MONSTER BORNE IN GERMANY': HAIRY GIRLS IN MEDIEVAL AND EARLY MODERN GERMAN BOOK, COURT AND PERFORMANCE CULTURE.

    PubMed

    Katritzky, M A

    2014-09-24

    Mannes zieht die aktuelle geschichtswissenschaftliche Forschung in der Regel Verbindungslinien zwischen der frühneuzeitlichen Wahrnehmung von Hypertrichose-Fällen und Fragen der Ethnizität, ohne jedoch zu beachten, dass in der Frühen Neuzeit die Verbindung zwischen temporärem Hirsutismus und der krankhaften Verknüpfung von Unterernährung und Anorexie bekannt war. Im vorliegenden Beitragwerden vier Fälle von an Hirsutismus erkrankten Frauen neu analysiert, unter Einbezug dieser medizinischen Perspektive und unter Beachtung von Texten und Abbildungen, die meine jüngsten Forschungen in der Herzog August Bibliothek und an deutschen Archiven ans Licht gefördert haben. Die hier betrachteten Fälle betreffen ein italienisches Mädchen, das 1355 von Anna von Schweidnitz, Kaiserin des Hl. Römischen Reichs, nach Prag gebracht wurde; Madeleine und Antonietta Gonzalez, die Töchter des 'Wilden Manns' von Teneriffa, die in den 1580er Jahren an deutschen Höfen bezeugt sind; die bärtige Sankt Kümmernis (Wilgefortis), und die bayerische Jahrmarktkünstlerin Barbara Urslerin.

  13. ‘A Wonderfull Monster Borne in Germany’: Hairy Girls in Medieval and Early Modern German Book, Court and Performance Culture*

    PubMed Central

    Katritzky, MA

    2014-01-01

    Wilden Mannes zieht die aktuelle geschichtswissenschaftliche Forschung in der Regel Verbindungslinien zwischen der frühneuzeitlichen Wahrnehmung von Hypertrichose-Fällen und Fragen der Ethnizität, ohne jedoch zu beachten, dass in der Frühen Neuzeit die Verbindung zwischen temporärem Hirsutismus und der krankhaften Verknüpfung von Unterernährung und Anorexie bekannt war. Im vorliegenden Beitrag werden vier Fälle von an Hirsutismus erkrankten Frauen neu analysiert, unter Einbezug dieser medizinischen Perspektive und unter Beachtung von Texten und Abbildungen, die meine jüngsten Forschungen in der Herzog August Bibliothek und an deutschen Archiven ans Licht gefördert haben. Die hier betrachteten Fälle betreffen ein italienisches Mädchen, das 1355 von Anna von Schweidnitz, Kaiserin des Hl. Römischen Reichs, nach Prag gebracht wurde; Madeleine und Antonietta Gonzalez, die Töchter des ‘Wilden Manns’ von Teneriffa, die in den 1580er Jahren an deutschen Höfen bezeugt sind; die bärtige Sankt Kümmernis (Wilgefortis), und die bayerische Jahrmarktkünstlerin Barbara Urslerin. PMID:25598545

  14. Rapid high-throughput analysis of ochratoxin A by the self-assembly of DNAzyme-aptamer conjugates in wine.

    PubMed

    Yang, Cheng; Lates, Vasilica; Prieto-Simón, Beatriz; Marty, Jean-Louis; Yang, Xiurong

    2013-11-15

    We report a new label-free colorimetric aptasensor based on DNAzyme-aptamer conjugate for rapid and high-throughput detection of Ochratoxin A (OTA, a possible human carcinogen, group 2B) in wine. Two oligonucleotides were designed for this detection. One is N1 for biorecognition, which includes two adjacent sequences: the OTA-specific aptamer sequence and the horseradish peroxidase (HRP)-mimicking DNAzyme sequence. The other is a blocking DNA (B2), which is partially complementary to a part of the OTA aptamer and partially complementary to a part of the DNAzyme. The existence of OTA reduces the hybridization between N1 and B2. Thus, the activity of the non-hybridized DNAzyme is linearly correlated with the concentration of OTA up to 30 nM with a limit of detection of 4 nM (3σ). Meanwhile, a double liquid-liquid extraction (LLE) method is accordingly developed to purify OTA from wine. Compared with the existing HPLC-FD or immunoassay methods, the proposed strategy presents the most appropriate balance between accuracy and facility, resulting in a considerable improvement of real-time quality control, and thereby, preventing chronic poisoning caused by OTA contained red wine. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  15. Shock Induced Phase Changes in Forsterite and Iron Silicide

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Newman, M.; Asimow, P.; Kraus, R. G.; Smith, R.; Coppari, F.; Eggert, J. H.; Wicks, J.; Tracy, S.; Duffy, T.

    2017-06-01

    The equation of state of magnesium silicates and iron alloys at the pressures and temperatures near the melt curve is important for understanding the thermal evolution and interior structure of rocky planets. Here, we present a series of laser driven shock experiments on single crystal Mg2SiO4 and textured polycrystalline iron silicide (Fe-15Si), conducted at LLE. In situ x-ray diffraction measurements were used to probe the melting transition and investigate the potential decomposition of forsterite into solid MgO and silica rich liquid and Fe-15Si in to silicon rich B2 and iron rich hcp structures. This work examines kinetic effects of chemical decomposition due to the short time scale of laser-shock experiments. Preliminary results demonstrate solid-solid and solid-liquid phase transitions on both the forsterite and Fe-15Si Hugoniots. For Fe-15Si, we observe a texture preserving martensitic transformation of D03 Fe-15Si into an hcp structure and melting at 318 GPa. For forsterite, we observe diffraction consistent with B1 MgO and melting at 215 GPa. This work was performed under the auspices of the U.S. Department of Energy by Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory under Contract DE-AC52-07NA27344.

  16. The MIT HEDP Accelerator Facility for Diagnostic Development for OMEGA, Z, and the NIF

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Parker, C. E.; Gatu Johnson, M.; Birkel, A.; Kabadi, N. V.; Lahmann, B.; Milanese, L. M.; Simpson, R. A.; Sio, H.; Sutcliffe, G. D.; Wink, C.; Frenje, J. A.; Li, C. K.; Seguin, F. H.; Petrasso, R. D.; Leeper, R.; Ruiz, C. L.; Sangster, T. C.

    2016-10-01

    The MIT HEDP Accelerator Facility utilizes a 135-keV linear electrostatic ion accelerator, DT and DD neutron sources, and two x-ray sources for development and characterization of nuclear diagnostics for OMEGA, Z, and the NIF. The accelerator generates DD and D3He fusion products through the acceleration of D+ ions onto a 3He-doped Erbium-Deuteride target. Accurately characterized fusion product rates of around 106 s-1 are routinely achieved. The DT and DD neutron sources generate up to 6x108, and 1x107 neutrons/s, respectively. One x-ray generator is a thick-target W source with a peak energy of 225 keV and a maximum dose rate of 12 Gy/min; the other uses Cu, Mo, or Ti elemental tubes to generate x-rays with a maximum energy of 40 keV. Diagnostics developed and calibrated at this facility include CR-39-based charged-particle spectrometers, neutron detectors, and the particle Time-Of-Flight (pTOF) and Magnetic PTOF CVD-diamond-based bang time detectors. The accelerator is also a valuable hands-on tool for graduate and undergraduate education at MIT. This work was supported in part by the U.S. DoE, SNL, LLE and LLNL.

  17. The MIT HEDP Accelerator Facility for Diagnostic Development for OMEGA, Z, and the NIF

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Sio, H.; Gatu Johnson, M.; Birkel, A.; Doeg, E.; Frankel, R.; Kabadi, N. V.; Lahmann, B.; Manzin, M.; Simpson, R. A.; Parker, C. E.; Sutcliffe, G. D.; Wink, C.; Frenje, J. A.; Li, C. K.; Seguin, F. H.; Petrasso, R. D.; Leeper, R.; Hahn, K.; Ruiz, C. L.; Sangster, T. C.; Hilsabeck, T.

    2017-10-01

    The MIT HEDP Accelerator Facility utilizes a 135-keV, linear electrostatic ion accelerator; DT and DD neutron sources; and two x-ray sources for development and characterization of nuclear diagnostics for OMEGA, Z, and the NIF. The accelerator generates DD and D3He fusion products through the acceleration of D+ ions onto a 3He-doped Erbium-Deuteride target. Accurately characterized fusion product rates of around 106 s- 1 are routinely achieved. The DT and DD neutron sources generate up to 6×108 and 1×107 neutrons/s, respectively. One x-ray generator is a thick-target W source with a peak energy of 225 keV and a maximum dose rate of 12 Gy/min; the other uses Cu, Mo, or Ti elemental tubes to generate x-rays with a maximum energy of 40 keV. Diagnostics developed and calibrated at this facility include CR-39-based charged-particle spectrometers, neutron detectors, and the particle Time-Of-Flight (pTOF) and Magnetic PTOF CVD-diamond-based bang time detectors. The accelerator is also a valuable hands-on tool for graduate and undergraduate education at MIT. This work was supported in part by the U.S. DoE, SNL, LLE and LLNL.

  18. Characterizing ICF Neutron Diagnostics on the nTOF line at SUNY Geneseo

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Simone, Angela; Padalino, Stephen; Turner, Ethan; Ginnane, Mary Kate; Dubois, Natalie; Fletcher, Kurtis; Giordano, Michael; Lawson-Keister, Patrick; Harrison, Hannah; Visca, Hannah; Sangster, Craig; Regan, Sean

    2014-10-01

    Charged particle beams from the Geneseo 1.7 MV tandem Pelletron accelerator produce nuclear reactions that emit neutrons in the range of 0.5 to 17.9 MeV via the d(d,n)3He and 11B(d,n)12C reactions. The neutron energy and flux can be adjusted by controlling the accelerator beam current and potential. This adjustable neutron source makes it possible to calibrate ICF and HEDP neutron scintillator diagnostics. However, gamma rays which are often present during an accelerator-based calibration are difficult to differentiate from neutron signals in scintillators. To identify neutrons from gamma rays and to determine their energy, a permanent neutron time-of-flight (nTOF) line is being constructed. By detecting the scintillator signal in coincidence with an associated charged particle (ACP) produced in the reaction, the identity of the neutron can be known and its energy determined by time of flight. Using a 100% efficient surface barrier detector to count the ACPs, the absolute efficiency of the scintillator as a function of neutron energy can be determined. This is done by determining the ratio of the ACP counts in the singles spectrum to coincidence counts for matched solid angles of the SBD and scintillator. Funded in part by a LLE contract through the DOE.

  19. Measurements of proton energy spectra using a radiochromic film stack

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Filkins, T. M.; Steidle, Jessica; Ellison, D. M.; Steidle, Jeffrey; Freeman, C. G.; Padalino, S. J.; Fiksel, G.; Regan, S. P.; Sangster, T. C.

    2014-10-01

    The energy spectrum of protons accelerated from the rear-side of a thin foil illuminated with ultra-intense laser light from the OMEGA EP laser system at the University of Rochester's Laboratory for Laser Energetics (LLE) was measured using a stack of radiochromic film (RCF). The film stack consisted of four layers of Gafchromic HD-V2 film and four layers of Gafchromic MD-V2-55 film. Aluminum foils of various thicknesses were placed between each piece of RCF in the stack. This arrangement allowed protons with energies of 30 MeV to reach the back layer of RCF in the stack. The stack was placed in the detector plane of a Thomson parabola ion energy (TPIE) spectrometer. Each piece of film in the stack was scanned using a commercially available flat-bed scanner (Epson 10000XL). The resulting optical density was converted into proton fluence using an absolute calibration of the RCF obtained at the SUNY Geneseo 1.7 MV Pelletron accelerator laboratory. In these calibration measurements, the sensitivity of the radiochromic film was measured using monoenergetic protons produced by the accelerator. Details of the analysis procedure and the resulting proton energy spectra will be presented. Funded in part by a grant from the DOE through the Laboratory for Laser Energetics.

  20. Identification of the Rice Wines with Different Marked Ages by Electronic Nose Coupled with Smartphone and Cloud Storage Platform

    PubMed Central

    Wei, Zhebo; Xiao, Xize

    2017-01-01

    In this study, a portable electronic nose (E-nose) was self-developed to identify rice wines with different marked ages—all the operations of the E-nose were controlled by a special Smartphone Application. The sensor array of the E-nose was comprised of 12 MOS sensors and the obtained response values were transmitted to the Smartphone thorough a wireless communication module. Then, Aliyun worked as a cloud storage platform for the storage of responses and identification models. The measurement of the E-nose was composed of the taste information obtained phase (TIOP) and the aftertaste information obtained phase (AIOP). The area feature data obtained from the TIOP and the feature data obtained from the TIOP-AIOP were applied to identify rice wines by using pattern recognition methods. Principal component analysis (PCA), locally linear embedding (LLE) and linear discriminant analysis (LDA) were applied for the classification of those wine samples. LDA based on the area feature data obtained from the TIOP-AIOP proved a powerful tool and showed the best classification results. Partial least-squares regression (PLSR) and support vector machine (SVM) were applied for the predictions of marked ages and SVM (R2 = 0.9942) worked much better than PLSR. PMID:29088076

  1. Effect of several variables in the polymer toys additive migration to saliva.

    PubMed

    Noguerol-Cal, R; López-Vilariño, J M; González-Rodríguez, M V; Barral-Losada, L

    2011-09-30

    Capacity to migrate of a representative group of polymeric additives, dyes, antioxidants, hindered amine light stabilizers (HALS) or antistatics, from plastic toys to saliva was analyzed to protect children in their habits of sucking and biting. Most of target additives appear no-regulated in toys normative but adverse effects on human health of some of them have been demonstrated and their presence in others commercial articles normative has been included. In order to offer an effective and easy tool to perform these controls, migration tests by dynamic and static contact, followed by a preconcentration step by liquid-liquid extraction (LLE) and ultra performance liquid chromatographic analysis with ultraviolet-visible and evaporative light scattering detections (UPLC-UV/Vis-ELSD) have been optimized to evaluate the migrated amounts of the additives in saliva simulant. The detection limits of the migration methodologies were ranged from 8.68 × 10(-2) to 1.30 × 10(-3)mg migrated (L simulant)(-1). Influence of several variables on this mass transport, as time, temperature and friction, was also analyzed to achieve the most aggressive methodology to protect consumers. Migration of several studied additives, whose presence has been demonstrated in several purchased commercial toys, has been observed. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  2. Identification of the Rice Wines with Different Marked Ages by Electronic Nose Coupled with Smartphone and Cloud Storage Platform.

    PubMed

    Wei, Zhebo; Xiao, Xize; Wang, Jun; Wang, Hui

    2017-10-31

    In this study, a portable electronic nose (E-nose) was self-developed to identify rice wines with different marked ages-all the operations of the E-nose were controlled by a special Smartphone Application. The sensor array of the E-nose was comprised of 12 MOS sensors and the obtained response values were transmitted to the Smartphone thorough a wireless communication module. Then, Aliyun worked as a cloud storage platform for the storage of responses and identification models. The measurement of the E-nose was composed of the taste information obtained phase (TIOP) and the aftertaste information obtained phase (AIOP). The area feature data obtained from the TIOP and the feature data obtained from the TIOP-AIOP were applied to identify rice wines by using pattern recognition methods. Principal component analysis (PCA), locally linear embedding (LLE) and linear discriminant analysis (LDA) were applied for the classification of those wine samples. LDA based on the area feature data obtained from the TIOP-AIOP proved a powerful tool and showed the best classification results. Partial least-squares regression (PLSR) and support vector machine (SVM) were applied for the predictions of marked ages and SVM (R² = 0.9942) worked much better than PLSR.

  3. A Framework for Automating Cost Estimates in Assembly Processes

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

    Calton, T.L.; Peters, R.R.

    1998-12-09

    When a product concept emerges, the manufacturing engineer is asked to sketch out a production strategy and estimate its cost. The engineer is given an initial product design, along with a schedule of expected production volumes. The engineer then determines the best approach to manufacturing the product, comparing a variey of alternative production strategies. The engineer must consider capital cost, operating cost, lead-time, and other issues in an attempt to maximize pro$ts. After making these basic choices and sketching the design of overall production, the engineer produces estimates of the required capital, operating costs, and production capacity. 177is process maymore » iterate as the product design is refined in order to improve its pe~ormance or manufacturability. The focus of this paper is on the development of computer tools to aid manufacturing engineers in their decision-making processes. This computer sof~are tool provides aj?amework in which accurate cost estimates can be seamlessly derivedfiom design requirements at the start of any engineering project. Z+e result is faster cycle times through first-pass success; lower ll~e cycie cost due to requirements-driven design and accurate cost estimates derived early in the process.« less

  4. National Ignition Facility project acquisition plan

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

    Callaghan, R.W.

    The purpose of this National Ignition Facility Acquisition Plan is to describe the overall procurement strategy planned for the National Ignition Facility (NIF) Project. The scope of the plan describes the procurement activities and acquisition strategy for the following phases of the NIF Project, each of which receives either plant and capital equipment (PACE) or other project cost (OPC) funds: Title 1 and 2 design and Title 3 engineering (PACE); Optics manufacturing facilitization and pilot production (OPC); Convention facility construction (PACE); Procurement, installation, and acceptance testing of equipment (PACE); and Start-up (OPC). Activities that are part of the base Inertialmore » Confinement Fusion (ICF) Program are not included in this plan. The University of California (UC), operating Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) and Los Alamos National Laboratory, and Lockheed-Martin, which operates Sandia National Laboratory (SNL) and the University of Rochester Laboratory for Laser Energetics (UR-LLE), will conduct the acquisition of needed products and services in support of their assigned responsibilities within the NIF Project structure in accordance with their prime contracts with the Department of Energy (DOE). LLNL, designated as the lead Laboratory, will have responsibility for all procurements required for construction, installation, activation, and startup of the NIF.« less

  5. Improved simultaneous quantitation of candesartan and hydrochlorthiazide in human plasma by UPLC-MS/MS and its application in bioequivalence studies.

    PubMed

    Singh, Bhupinder; Lokhandae, Rama S; Dwivedi, Ashish; Sharma, Sandeep; Dubey, Naveen

    2014-04-01

    A validated ultra-performance liquid chromatography mass spectrometric method (UPLC-MS/MS) was used for the simultaneous quantitation of candesartan (CN) and hydrochlorothiazide (HCT) in human plasma. The analysis was performed on UPLC-MS/MS system using turbo ion spray interface. Negative ions were measured in multiple reaction monitoring (MRM) mode. The analytes were extracted using a liquid-liquid extraction (LLE) method by using 0.1 mL of plasma volume. The lower limit of quantitation for CN and HCT was 1.00 ng/mL whereas the upper limit of quantitation was 499.15 ng/mL and 601.61 ng/mL for CN and HCT respectively. CN d 4 and HCT- 13 Cd 2 were used as the internal standards for CN and HCT respectively. The chromatography was achieved within 2.0 min run time using a C18 Phenomenex, Gemini NX (100 mm×4.6 mm, 5 µm) column with organic mixture:buffer solution (80:20, v/v) at a flow rate of 0.800 mL/min. The method has been successfully applied to establish the bioequivalence of candesartan cilexetil (CNC) and HCT immediate release tablets with reference product in human subjects.

  6. Vulnerability of CMOS image sensors in Megajoule Class Laser harsh environment.

    PubMed

    Goiffon, V; Girard, S; Chabane, A; Paillet, P; Magnan, P; Cervantes, P; Martin-Gonthier, P; Baggio, J; Estribeau, M; Bourgade, J-L; Darbon, S; Rousseau, A; Glebov, V Yu; Pien, G; Sangster, T C

    2012-08-27

    CMOS image sensors (CIS) are promising candidates as part of optical imagers for the plasma diagnostics devoted to the study of fusion by inertial confinement. However, the harsh radiative environment of Megajoule Class Lasers threatens the performances of these optical sensors. In this paper, the vulnerability of CIS to the transient and mixed pulsed radiation environment associated with such facilities is investigated during an experiment at the OMEGA facility at the Laboratory for Laser Energetics (LLE), Rochester, NY, USA. The transient and permanent effects of the 14 MeV neutron pulse on CIS are presented. The behavior of the tested CIS shows that active pixel sensors (APS) exhibit a better hardness to this harsh environment than a CCD. A first order extrapolation of the reported results to the higher level of radiation expected for Megajoule Class Laser facilities (Laser Megajoule in France or National Ignition Facility in the USA) shows that temporarily saturated pixels due to transient neutron-induced single event effects will be the major issue for the development of radiation-tolerant plasma diagnostic instruments whereas the permanent degradation of the CIS related to displacement damage or total ionizing dose effects could be reduced by applying well known mitigation techniques.

  7. Pharmacokinetics and tissue distribution study of Praeruptorin D from Radix peucedani in rats by high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC).

    PubMed

    Liang, Taigang; Yue, Wenyan; Du, Xue; Ren, Luhui; Li, Qingshan

    2012-01-01

    Praeruptorin D (PD), a major pyranocoumarin isolated from Radix Peucedani, exhibited antitumor and anti-inflammatory activities. The aim of this study was to investigate the pharmacokinetics and tissue distribution of PD in rats following intravenous (i.v.) administration. The levels of PD in plasma and tissues were measured by a simple and sensitive reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) method. The biosamples were treated by liquid-liquid extraction (LLE) with methyl tert-butyl ether (MTBE) and osthole was used as the internal standard (IS). The chromatographic separation was accomplished on a reversed-phase C(18) column using methanol-water (75:25, v/v) as mobile phase at a flow rate of 0.8 mL/min and ultraviolet detection wave length was set at 323 nm. The results demonstrate that this method has excellent specificity, linearity, precision, accuracy and recovery. The pharmacokinetic study found that PD fitted well into a two-compartment model with a fast distribution phase and a relative slow elimination phase. Tissue distribution showed that the highest concentration was observed in the lung, followed by heart, liver and kidney. Furthermore, PD can also be detected in the brain, which indicated that PD could cross the blood-brain barrier after i.v. administration.

  8. Identification of volatile compounds associated with the aroma of white strawberries (Fragaria chiloensis).

    PubMed

    Prat, Loreto; Espinoza, María Inés; Agosin, Eduardo; Silva, Herman

    2014-03-15

    Fragaria chiloensis (L.) Mill spp. chiloensis form chiloensis, is a strawberry that produces white fruits with unique aromas. This species, endemic to Chile, is one of the progenitors of Fragaria x ananassa Duch. In order to identify the volatile compounds that might be responsible for aroma, these were extracted, and analyzed by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS), gas chromatography-olfactometry (GC-O) and compared with sensory analyses. Three methods of extraction were used: solvent-assisted evaporation (SAFE), headspace solid phase micro-extraction (HS-SPME) and liquid-liquid extraction (LLE). Ninety-nine volatile compounds were identified by GC-MS, of which 75 showed odor activity using GC-O. Based on the highest dilution factor (FD = 1000) and GC-O intensity ≥2, we determined 20 major compounds in white strawberry fruit that contribute to its aroma. We chose 51 compounds to be tested against their commercial standards. The identities were confirmed by comparison of their linear retention indices against the commercial standards. The aroma of white strawberry fruits was reconstituted with a synthetic mixture of most of these compounds. The volatile profile of white strawberry fruit described as fruity, green-fresh, floral, caramel, sweet, nutty and woody will be a useful reference for future strawberry breeding programs. © 2013 Society of Chemical Industry.

  9. Radiatively-suppressed spherical accretion under relativistic radiative transfer

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Fukue, Jun

    2018-03-01

    We numerically examine radiatively-suppressed relativistic spherical accretion flows on to a central object with mass M under Newtonian gravity and special relativity. We simultaneously solve both the relativistic radiative transfer equation and the relativistic hydrodynamical equations for spherically symmetric flows under the double iteration process in the case of the intermediate optical depth. We find that the accretion flow is suppressed, compared with the freefall case in the nonrelativistic regime. For example, in the case of accretion on to a luminous core with accretion luminosity L*, the freefall velocity v normalized by the speed of light c under the radiative force in the nonrelativistic regime is β (\\hat{r}) = v/c = -√{(1-Γ _*)/(\\hat{r}+1-Γ _*)}, where Γ* (≡ L*/LE, LE being the Eddington luminosity) is the Eddington parameter and \\hat{r} (= r/rS, rS being the Schwarzschild radius) the normalized radius, whereas the infall speed at the central core is ˜0.7β(1), irrespective of the mass-accretion rate. This is due to the relativistic effect; the comoving flux is enhanced by the advective flux. We briefly examine and discuss an isothermal case, where the emission takes place in the entire space.

  10. A review of available analytical technologies for qualitative and quantitative determination of nitramines.

    PubMed

    Lindahl, Sofia; Gundersen, Cathrine Brecke; Lundanes, Elsa

    2014-08-01

    This review aims to summarize the available analytical methods in the open literature for the determination of some aliphatic and cyclic nitramines. Nitramines covered in this review are the ones that can be formed from the use of amines in post-combustion CO2 capture (PCC) plants and end up in the environment. Since the literature is quite scarce regarding the determination of nitramines in aqueous and soil samples, methods for determination of nitramines in other matrices have also been included. Since the nitramines are found in complex matrices and/or in very low concentration, an extraction step is often necessary before their determination. Liquid-liquid extraction (LLE) using dichloromethane and solid phase extraction (SPE) with an activated carbon based material have been the two most common extraction methods. Gas chromatography (GC) or reversed phase liquid chromatography (RPLC) has been used often combined with mass spectrometry (MS) in the final determination step. Presently there is no comprehensive method available that can be used for determination of all nitramines included in this review. The lowest concentration limit of quantification (cLOQ) is in the ng L(-1) range, however, most methods appear to have a cLOQ in the μg L(-1) range, if the cLOQ has been given.

  11. The reformist triad and institutional forgetting of culture: a field study into twentieth-century Swedish social medicine.

    PubMed

    Nyce, James M; Timpka, Toomas

    2012-01-01

    Social medicine deals with the interplay between medicine and society. An awareness of how analytical categories have emerged historically can strengthen the role the discipline can play in the societal reinventions of health care now under way around the world. This study examines the categories that informed social medicine in Sweden during the 20th century. An anthropological field study was conducted over a 12-year period in a Swedish academic clinical setting. Historical documents were used to link local-level issues with macro-level (here, national and European) contexts. Social medicine, modernity, and social democracy were found to share a common history and a common vision of what society should be. As a result, concepts from politics, ideology, economy, and science tended to be conflated. As a clinician at the study site explained, "samhälle [community] is both society and state". The consequence for social medicine is that culture has become neglected as an analytical category. This institutional amnesia has strongly influenced how 21st century social medicine, in this region of the world, has defined itself and its interests. To return a cultural perspective to social medicine, a critical distance must be kept between the analyses the discipline undertakes and the prevailing societal ideologies.

  12. Dynamic Game Behavior of Retailers Considering the Quality of Substitute Products Based on Delay Decision

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Bao, Binshuo; Ma, Junhai

    2017-12-01

    Motivated by the Silk Road Economic Belt and the 21st-Century Maritime Silk Road project, i.e. the Belt and Road (B&R), more goods will flow around the world. With this trading platform, people can buy products at relatively cheap prices, and it is easier for people to buy various goods. The quality and quantity of products thus attract more and more attention in the supply chains. This paper discusses the quantity decision by considering the product quality in parallel supply chains where two manufacturers produce substitute products and then sell them to their downstream retailers separately. In terms of the changing quantity, as well as the different quality, this paper establishes a dynamic game model to explore the dynamic behavior when the optimal profits of two retailers have been calculated. The dynamic behaviors of the system, such as stable region, bifurcation and chaos, strange attractors and the largest Lyapunov exponents (LLE) are analyzed. The effect of the quantity adjustment parameter on the stability of the supply chain system is investigated through numerical simulations. Furthermore, a dynamic game model is established based on the quality delay decision, to investigate the influence of the quality delay parameter on the dynamic game model and the profits. Finally, the optimal decisions are obtained and analyzed.

  13. Analytical procedures for the determination of fuel combustion products, anti-corrosive compounds, and de-icing compounds in airport runoff water samples.

    PubMed

    Sulej, Anna Maria; Polkowska, Żaneta; Astel, Aleksander; Namieśnik, Jacek

    2013-12-15

    The purpose of this study is to propose and evaluate new procedures for determination of fuel combustion products, anti-corrosive and de-icing compounds in runoff water samples collected from the airports located in different regions and characterized by different levels of the activity expressed by the number of flights and the number of passengers (per year). The most difficult step in the analytical procedure used for the determination of PAHs, benzotriazoles and glycols is sample preparation stage, due to diverse matrix composition, the possibility of interference associated with the presence of components with similar physicochemical properties. In this study, five different versions of sample preparation using extraction techniques, such as: LLE and SPE, were tested. In all examined runoff water samples collected from the airports, the presence of PAH compounds and glycols was observed. In majority of the samples, BT compounds were determined. Runoff water samples collected from the areas of Polish and British international airports as well as local airports had similar qualitative composition, but quantitative composition of the analytes was very diverse. New and validated analytical methodologies ensure that the necessary information for assessing the negative impact of airport activities on the environment can be obtained. © 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  14. Advanced Concept Exploration for Fast Ignition Science Program, Final Report

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

    Stephens, Richard Burnite; McLean, Harry M.; Theobald, Wolfgang

    density target as well as large and erratic spread of the electron beam with increasing short pulse duration. We have demonstrated, using newly available higher contrast lasers, an improved energy coupling, painting a promising picture for FI feasibility. • Our detailed experiments and analyses of fast electron transport dependence on target material have shown that it is feasible to collimate fast electron beam by self-generated resistive magnetic fields in engineered targets with a rather simple geometry. Stable and collimated electron beam with spot size as small as 50-μm after >100-μm propagation distance (an angular divergence angle of 20°!) in solid density plasma targets has been demonstrated with FI-relevant (10-ps, >1-kJ) laser pulses Such collimated beam would meet the required heating beam size for FI. • Our new experimental platforms developed for the OMEGA laser (i.e., i) high resolution 8 keV backlighter platform for cone-in-shell implosion and ii) the 8 keV imaging with Cu-doped shell targets for detailed transport characterization) have enabled us to experimentally confirm fuel assembly from cone-in-shell implosion with record-high areal density. We have also made the first direct measurement of fast electron transport and spatial energy deposition in integrated FI experiments enabling the first experiment-based benchmarking of integrated simulation codes. Executing this program required a large team. It was managed as a collaboration between General Atomics (GA), Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL), and the Laboratory for Laser Energetics (LLE). GA fulfills its responsibilities jointly with the University of California, San Diego (UCSD), The Ohio State University (OSU) and the University of Nevada at Reno (UNR). The division of responsibility was as follows: (1) LLE had primary leadership for channeling studies and the integrated energy transfer, (2) LLNL led the development of measurement methods, analysis, and deployment of diagnostics

  15. Final Project Report "Advanced Concept Exploration For Fast Ignition Science Program"

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

    STEPHENS, Richard B.; McLEAN, Harry M.; THEOBALD, Wolfgang

    bremsstrahlung and x-ray line radiation from K-shell fluorescence. Integrated experiments, which combine target compression with short-pulse laser heating, yield additional information on target heating efficiency. This indirect way of studying the underlying behavior of the electrons must be validated with computational modeling to understand the physics and improve the design. This program execution required a large, well-organized team and it was managed by a joint Collaboration between General Atomics (GA), Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL), and the Laboratory for Laser Energetics (LLE). The Collaboration was formed 8 years ago to understand the physics issues of the Fast Ignition concept, building on the strengths of each partner. GA fulfills its responsibilities jointly with the University of California, San Diego (UCSD), The Ohio State University (OSU) and the University of Nevada at Reno (UNR). Since RHED physics is pursued vigorously in many countries, international researchers have been an important part of our efforts to make progress. The division of responsibility was as follows: (1) LLE had primary leadership for channeling studies and the integrated energy transfer, (2) LLNL led the development of measurement methods, analysis, and deployment of diagnostics, and (3) GA together with UCSD, OSU and UNR studied the detailed energy-transfer physics. The experimental program was carried out using the Titan laser at the Jupiter Laser Facility at LLNL, the OMEGA and OMEGA EP lasers at LLE and the Texas Petawatt laser (TPW) at UT Austin. Modeling has been pursued on large computing facilities at LLNL, OSU, and UCSD using codes developed (by us and others) within the HEDLP program, commercial codes, and by leveraging existing supercomputer codes developed by the NNSA ICF program. This Consortium brought together all the components—resources, facilities, and personnel—necessary to accomplish its aggressive goals. The ACE Program has been strongly

  16. High-foot Implosion Workshop (March 22-24, 2016) Report

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

    Hurricane, O.

    From March 22-24, 2016 at Workshop was held at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory bringing together international experts in inertial confinement fusion research for the purpose of discussing the results from the ‘high-foot implosion campaign.’ The Workshop topics covered a retrospective of the first two years of experiments, a discussion of our best present understanding of what the data and our models imply, a discussion about remaining mysteries that are not understood at this time, and a discussion of our strategy moving forward. The material herein contains information from published and unpublished sources and is distributed solely for the purposes ofmore » this Workshop. Key assessments and conclusions resulting from the Workshop are: “The high foot campaign is extremely well documented and the interested reader is urged to go directly to the peer-reviewed journal literature for details.” – D. Haynes (LANL) “Overall progress in understanding of fuel and hot-spot properties near peak burn is excellent.” – V. Goncharov (LLE) “I would say that given the constraints of using the same hohlraum and similar capsule designs to the National Ignition Campaign, the High Foot Campaign achieved as much as could be expected. Indeed the demonstration of significant alpha particle heating remains a landmark achievement.” – J. Chittenden (Imperial College) “One of the principal points of discussion at the meeting was the importance of the roll over in inferred pressure that occurs with reducing coast time for different ablator thicknesses and the idea of repeating shot N140819 to confirm this. I would be very interested to see a return to the High Foot platform as a way to exercise the improved radiographic capabilities such as the curved crystal imaging system and as a way to examine the hypothesis of ‘burn truncation by aneurism.’ ” – J. Chittenden (Imperial College) “It is clear from the quality of the data presented during this

  17. Heavy ion beams from an Alphatross source for use in calibration and testing of diagnostics

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Ward, R. J.; Brown, G. M.; Ho, D.; Stockler, B. F. O. F.; Freeman, C. G.; Padalino, S. J.; Regan, S. P.

    2016-10-01

    Ion beams from the 1.7 MV Pelletron Accelerator at SUNY Geneseo have been used to test and calibrate many inertial confinement fusion (ICF) diagnostics and high energy density physics (HEDP) diagnostics used at the Laboratory for Laser Energetics (LLE). The ion source on this accelerator, a radio-frequency (RF) alkali-metal charge exchange source called an Alphatross, is designed to produce beams of hydrogen and helium isotopes. There is interest in accelerating beams of carbon, oxygen, argon, and other heavy ions for use in testing several diagnostics, including the Time Resolved Tandem Faraday Cup (TRTF). The feasibility of generating these heavy ion beams using the Alphatross source will be reported. Small amounts of various gases are mixed into the helium plasma in the ion source bottle. A velocity selector is used to allow the desired ions to pass into the accelerator. As the heavy ions pass through the stripper canal of the accelerator, they emerge in a variety of charge states. The energy of the ion beam at the high-energy end of the accelerator will vary as a function of the charge state, however the maximum energy deliverable to target is limited by the maximum achievable magnetic field produced by the accelerator's steering magnet. This material is based upon work supported by the Department of Energy National Nuclear Security Administration under Award Number DE-NA0001944.

  18. LC-ESI-MS/MS analysis and pharmacokinetics of 6'-hydroxy justicidin A, a potential antitumor active component isolated from Justicia procumbens, in rats.

    PubMed

    Qiu, Feng; Zhou, Shujun; Fu, Shujun; Kong, Weijun; Yang, Shihai; Yang, Meihua

    2012-11-01

    A sensitive and accurate LC-ESI-MS/MS method was developed and validated of for the determination of 6'-hydroxy justicidin A (HJA), a potential antitumor active component isolated from Justicia procumbens in rat plasma using a simple liquid-liquid extraction (LLE) method for sample preparation. Chromatographic separation was achieved on an Agilent Zorbax-C(18) column (2.1 mm × 50 mm, 3.5 μm) using a step gradient program with the mobile phase of 0.1% formic acid aqueous solution and acetonitrile with 0.1% formic acid. HJA and IS (buspirone) were detected using electrospray positive ionization mass spectrometry in the multiple reaction monitoring (MRM) mode. This method demonstrated good linearity and did not show any endogenous interference with the active compound and IS peaks. The lower limit of quantification (LLOQ) of HJA was 0.50 ng/ml in 50 μl rat plasma. The developed and validated method has been successfully applied to the quantification and pharmacokinetic study of HJA in rats after intravenous and oral administration of 0.25 mg/kg HJA. The oral bioavailability (F) of HJA was estimated to be 36.0±13.4% with an elimination half-life (t(1/2)) value of 1.04±0.20 h. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  19. Discovery of imidazopyridines containing isoindoline-1,3-dione framework as a new class of BACE1 inhibitors: Design, synthesis and SAR analysis.

    PubMed

    Azimi, Sara; Zonouzi, Afsaneh; Firuzi, Omidreza; Iraji, Aida; Saeedi, Mina; Mahdavi, Mohammad; Edraki, Najmeh

    2017-09-29

    Alzheimer's disease is characterized by chronic neurodegeneration leading to dementia. The main cause of neurodegeneration is considered to be the accumulation of amyloid-β. Inhibiting BACE1 is a well-studied approach to lower the burden of amyloid-β aggregates. We designed a series of imidazopyridines-based compounds bearing phthalimide moieties as inhibitors of BACE1. The compounds 8a-o were synthesized by the Groebke-Blackburn-Bienaymé three-component reaction of heteroaromatic amidines, aldehydes and isocyanides. Evaluating the BACE1 inhibitory effects of the synthesized compounds revealed that introducing an aminocyclohexyl moiety in the imidazopyridine core resulted in a significant improvement in its BACE1 inhibitory potential. In this regard, compound 8e was the most potent against BACE1 with an IC 50 value of 2.84 (±0.95) μM. Molecular docking revealed that the nitrogen atom of imidazopyridines and the oxygen atom of the phenoxypropyl linker were involved in hydrogen bound interactions with Asp228 and Asp32 of BACE1 active site, respectively. The phthalimide moiety oriented toward the flap pocket and interacted with phe108, lle110, Trp115, Ile118 through van der Waal's and hydrophobic interactions. These findings demonstrate that imidazopyridines-based compounds bearing phthalimide moiety have the potential to decrease amyloid-β levels and ameliorate the symptoms of Alzheimer's disease. Copyright © 2017. Published by Elsevier Masson SAS.

  20. Design of Protease Activated Optical Contrast Agents That Exploit a Latent Lysosomotropic Effect for Use in Fluorescence-Guided Surgery

    PubMed Central

    2015-01-01

    There is a need for new molecular-guided contrast agents to enhance surgical procedures such as tumor resection that require a high degree of precision. Cysteine cathepsins are highly up-regulated in a wide variety of cancers, both in tumor cells and in the tumor-supporting cells of the surrounding stroma. Therefore, tools that can be used to dynamically monitor their activity in vivo could be used as imaging contrast agents for intraoperative fluorescence image guided surgery (FGS). Although multiple classes of cathepsin-targeted substrate probes have been reported, most suffer from overall fast clearance from sites of protease activation, leading to reduced signal intensity and duration in vivo. Here we describe the design and synthesis of a series of near-infrared fluorogenic probes that exploit a latent cationic lysosomotropic effect (LLE) to promote cellular retention upon protease activation. These probes show tumor-specific retention, fast activation kinetics, and rapid systemic distribution. We demonstrate that they are suitable for detection of diverse cancer types including breast, colon and lung tumors. Most importantly, the agents are compatible with the existing, FDA approved, da Vinci surgical system for fluorescence guided tumor resection. Therefore, our data suggest that the probes reported here can be used with existing clinical instrumentation to detect tumors and potentially other types of inflammatory lesions to guide surgical decision making in real time. PMID:26039341

  1. Cloud-point extraction is compatible with liquid chromatography coupled to electrospray ionization mass spectrometry for the determination of antazoline in human plasma.

    PubMed

    Giebułtowicz, Joanna; Kojro, Grzegorz; Piotrowski, Roman; Kułakowski, Piotr; Wroczyński, Piotr

    2016-09-05

    Cloud-point extraction (CPE) is attracting increasing interest in a number of analytical fields, including bioanalysis, as it provides a simple, safe and environmentally-friendly sample preparation technique. However, there are only few reports on the application of this extraction technique in liquid chromatography-electrospray ionization-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-ESI-MS/MS) analysis. In this study, CPE was used for the isolation of antazoline from human plasma. To date, only one method of antazoline isolation from plasma exists-liquid-liquid extraction (LLE). The aim of this study was to prove the compatibility of CPE and LC-ESI-MS/MS and the applicability of CPE to the determination of antazoline in spiked human plasma and clinical samples. Antazoline was isolated from human plasma using Triton X-114 as a surfactant. Xylometazoline was used as an internal standard. NaOH concentration, temperature and Triton X-114 concentration were optimized. The absolute matrix effect was carefully investigated. All validation experiments met international acceptance criteria and no significant relative matrix effect was observed. The compatibility of CPE and LC-ESI-MS/MS was confirmed using clinical plasma samples. The determination of antazoline concentration in human plasma in the range 10-2500ngmL(-1) by the CPE method led to results which are equivalent to those obtained by the widely used liquid-liquid extraction method. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  2. Erhöhtes Lungenkrebs-Risiko bei Ekzempatienten: eine landesweite Kohortenstudie in Taiwan.

    PubMed

    Juan, Chao-Kuei; Shen, Jui-Lung; Lin, Cheng-Li; Kim, Karen Wang; Chen, Wen-Chi

    2016-09-01

    Der Zusammenhang zwischen Lungenkrebs und Ekzemen bleibt umstritten. Frühere Studien haben zu widersprüchlichen Ergebnissen geführt. Diese retrospektive populationsbasierte Kohortenstudie zielt darauf ab, das Risiko von Lungenkrebs im Zusammenhang mit Ekzemen abzuklären. In der Forschungsdatenbank der taiwanesischen nationalen Krankenversicherung identifizierten wir 43719 Patienten, bei denen in den Jahren 2000 bis 2010 ein Ekzem neu diagnostiziert wurde. Die Vergleichskohorte bildeten 87438 zufällig ausgewählte, altersangepasste Patienten ohne Ekzem. Die Fälle aus diesen beiden Kohorten wurden bis 2011 verfolgt. Zur Kalkulation des Lungenkrebsrisikos bei Ekzempatienten wurde die Cox-Regression verwendet. Die Datenbank enthielt keine Informationen über Raucherstatus, Alkoholkonsum, sozioökonomischen Status oder Familienanamnese. Nach der Bereinigung um Alter und Komorbidität hatte die Population mit Ekzemen ein um 2,80 erhöhtes Risiko für die Entwicklung von Lungenkrebs gegenüber der Vergleichskohorte (bereinigte Hazard-Ratio 2,80, 95 % Konfidenzinterval 2,59-3,03). Ekzempatienten mit Begleiterkrankungen, darunter Asthma, chronisch obstruktive Lungenerkrankungen, alkoholbedingten Leberschäden oder Diabetes, hatten ein höheres Lungenkrebsrisiko als Patienten ohne Ekzeme oder Komorbidität. Ekzeme gehen mit einem höheren Risiko für die Entwicklung von Lungenkrebs einher. Weitere Studien mit umfassenderen Informationen über weitere potentielle Einflussfaktoren sind sinnvoll. © 2016 Deutsche Dermatologische Gesellschaft (DDG). Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  3. Rapid Pneumatic Transport of Radioactive Samples - RaPToRS

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Padalino, S.; Barrios, M.; Sangster, C.

    2005-10-01

    Some ICF neutron activation diagnostics require quick retrieval of the activated sample. Minimizing retrieval times is particularly important when the half-life of the activated material is on the order of the transport time or the degree of radioactivity is close to the background counting level. These restrictions exist in current experiments performed at the Laboratory for Laser Energetics, thus motivating the development of the RaPToRS system. The system has been designed to minimize transportation time while requiring no human intervention during transport or counting. These factors will be important if the system is to be used at the NIF where radiological hazards will be present during post activation. The sample carrier is pneumatically transported via a 4 inch ID PVC pipe to a remote location in excess of 100 meters from the activation site at a speed of approximately 7 m/s. It arrives at an end station where it is dismounted robotically from the carrier and removed from its hermetic package. The sample is then placed by the robot in a counting station. This system is currently being developed to measure back-to-back gamma rays produced by positron annihilation which were emitted by activated graphite. Funded in part by the U.S. DOE under sub contract with LLE at the University of Rochester.

  4. Development of high-throughput multi-residue method for non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs monitoring in swine muscle by LC-MS/MS.

    PubMed

    Castilhos, Tamara S; Barreto, Fabiano; Meneghini, Leonardo; Bergold, Ana Maria

    2016-07-01

    A reliable and simple method for the detection and quantification of residues of 14 non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs and a metamizole metabolite in swine muscle was developed using liquid chromatography-electrospray ionisation-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-ESI-MS/MS). The samples were extracted with acetonitrile (ACN) in solid-liquid extraction followed by a low-temperature partitioning (LLE-LTP) process at -20 ± 2°C. After evaporation to dryness, the residue was reconstituted with hexane and a mixture of water:acetonitrile (1:1). LC separation was achieved on a reversed-phase (RP18) column with gradient elution using water (phase A) and ACN (phase B) both containing 1 mmol l(-)(1) ammonium acetate (NH4COO) with 0.025% acetic acid. Analysis was carried out on a triple-quadrupole tandem mass spectrometer (LC-MS/MS) in multiple reaction monitoring mode using an electrospray interface in negative and positive mode in a single run. Method validation was performed according to the criteria of Commission Decision No. 2002/657/EC. The matrix effect and linearity were evaluated. Decision limit (CCα), detection capability (CCβ), accuracy and repeatability of the method are also reported. The proposed method proved to be simple, easy and adequate for high-throughput analysis and was applied to routine analysis by the Brazilian Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Food Supply.

  5. Validated semiquantitative/quantitative screening of 51 drugs in whole blood as silylated derivatives by gas chromatography-selected ion monitoring mass spectrometry and gas chromatography electron capture detection.

    PubMed

    Gunnar, Teemu; Mykkänen, Sirpa; Ariniemi, Kari; Lillsunde, Pirjo

    2004-07-05

    A comprehensively validated procedure is presented for simultaneous semiquantitative/quantitative screening of 51 drugs of abuse or drugs potentially hazardous for traffic safety in serum, plasma or whole blood. Benzodiazepines (12), cannabinoids (3), opioids (8), cocaine, antidepressants (13), antipsychotics (5) and antiepileptics (2) as well as zolpidem, zaleplon, zopiclone, meprobamate, carisoprodol, tizanidine and orphenadrine and internal standard flurazepam, were isolated by high-yield liquid-liquid extraction (LLE). The dried extracts were derivatized by two-step silylation and analyzed by the combination of two different gas chromatographic (GC) separations with both electron capture detection (ECD) and mass spectrometry (MS) operating in a selected ion-monitoring (SIM) mode. Quantitative or semiquantitative results were obtained for each substance based on four-point calibration. In the validation tests, accuracy, reproducibility, linearity, limit of detection (LOD) and limit of quantitation (LOQ), selectivity, as well as extraction efficiency and stability of standard stock solutions were tested, and derivatization was optimized in detail. Intra- and inter-day precisions were within 2.5-21.8 and 6.0-22.5%, and square of correlation coefficients of linearity ranged from 0.9896 to 0.9999. The limit of quantitation (LOQ) varied from 2 to 2000 ng/ml due to a variety of the relevant concentrations of the analyzed substances in blood. The method is feasible for highly sensitive, reliable and possibly routinely performed clinical and forensic toxicological analyses.

  6. Alterations of p53 in tumorigenic human bronchial epithelial cells correlate with metastatic potential

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Piao, C. Q.; Willey, J. C.; Hei, T. K.; Hall, E. J. (Principal Investigator)

    1999-01-01

    The cellular and molecular mechanisms of radiation-induced lung cancer are not known. In the present study, alterations of p53 in tumorigenic human papillomavirus-immortalized human bronchial epithelial (BEP2D) cells induced by a single low dose of either alpha-particles or 1 GeV/nucleon (56)Fe were analyzed by PCR-single-stranded conformation polymorphism (SSCP) coupled with sequencing analysis and immunoprecipitation assay. A total of nine primary and four secondary tumor cell lines, three of which were metastatic, together with the parental BEP2D and primary human bronchial epithelial (NHBE) cells were studied. The immunoprecipitation assay showed overexpression of mutant p53 proteins in all the tumor lines but not in NHBE and BEP2D cells. PCR-SSCP and sequencing analysis found band shifts and gene mutations in all four of the secondary tumors. A G-->T transversion in codon 139 in exon 5 that replaced Lys with Asn was detected in two tumor lines. One mutation each, involving a G-->T transversion in codon 215 in exon 6 (Ser-->lle) and a G-->A transition in codon 373 in exon 8 (Arg-->His), was identified in the remaining two secondary tumors. These results suggest that p53 alterations correlate with tumorigenesis in the BEP2D cell model and that mutations in the p53 gene may be indicative of metastatic potential.

  7. Low fuel convergence path to ignition on the NIF

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Schmitt, M. J.; Molvig, Kim; Gianakon, T. A.; Woods, C. N.; Krasheninnikova, N. S.; Hsu, S. C.; Schmidt, D. W.; Dodd, E. S.; Zylstra, Alex; Scheiner, B.; McKenty, P.; Campbell, E. M.; Froula, D.; Betti, R.; Michel, T.

    2017-10-01

    A novel concept for achieving ignition on the NIF is proposed that obviates current issues plaguing single-shell high-convergence capsules. A large directly-driven Be shell is designed to robustly implode two nested internal shells by efficiently converting 1.7MJ of laser energy from a 6 ns, low intensity laser pulse, into a 1 ns dynamic pressure pulse to ignite and burn a central liquid DT core after a fuel convergence of only 9. The short, low intensity laser pulse mitigates LPI allowing more uniform laser drive of the target and eliminates hot e-, preheat and laser zooming issues. Preliminary rad-hydro simulations predict ignition initiation with 90% maximum inner shell velocity, before deceleration Rayleigh-Taylor growth can cause significant pusher shell mix into the compressed DT fuel. The gold inner pusher shell reduces pre-ignition radiation losses from the fuel allowing ignition to occur at 2.5keV. Further 2D simulations show that the short pulse design results in a spatially uniform kinetic drive that is tolerant to variations in laser cone power. A multi-pronged effort, in collaboration with LLE, is progressing to optimize this design for NIF's PDD laser configuration. Work performed under the auspices of the U.S. Dept. of Energy by the Los Alamos National Security, LLC, Los Alamos National Laboratory under contract DE-FG02-051ER54810.

  8. Identifikationsverfahren zur Analyse von EEG-Signalen bei Epilepsie mit Reaktions-Diffusions Netzwerken

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Gollas, F.; Tetzlaff, R.

    2007-06-01

    Partielle Differentialgleichungen des Reaktions-Diffusions-Typs beschreiben Phänomene wie Musterbildung, nichtlineare Wellenausbreitung und deterministisches Chaos und werden oft zur Untersuchung komplexer Vorgänge auf den Gebieten der Biologie, Chemie und Physik herangezogen. Zellulare Nichtlineare Netzwerke (CNN) sind eine räumliche Anordnung vergleichsweise einfacher dynamischer Systeme, die eine lokale Kopplung untereinander aufweisen. Durch eine Diskretisierung der Ortsvariablen können Reaktions-Diffusions-Gleichungen häufig auf CNN mit nichtlinearen Gewichtsfunktionen abgebildet werden. Die resultierenden Reaktions-Diffusions-CNN (RD-CNN) weisen dann in ihrer Dynamik näherungsweise gleiches Verhalten wie die zugrunde gelegten Reaktions-Diffusions-Systeme auf. Werden RD-CNN zur Identifikation neuronaler Strukturen anhand von EEG-Signalen herangezogen, so besteht die Möglichkeit festzustellen, ob das gefundene Netzwerk lokale Aktivität aufweist. Die von Chua eingeführte Theorie der lokalen Aktivität Chua (1998); Dogaru und Chua (1998) liefert eine notwendige Bedingung für das Auftreten von emergentem Verhalten in zellularen Netzwerken. Änderungen in den Parametern bestimmter RD-CNN könnten auf bevorstehende epileptische Anfälle hinweisen. In diesem Beitrag steht die Identifikation neuronaler Strukturen anhand von EEG-Signalen durch Reaktions-Diffusions-Netzwerke im Vordergrund der dargestellten Untersuchungen. In der Ergebnisdiskussion wird insbesondere auch die Frage nach einer geeigneten Netzwerkstruktur mit minimaler Komplexität behandelt.

  9. Towards tributyltin quantification in natural water at the Environmental Quality Standard level required by the Water Framework Directive.

    PubMed

    Alasonati, Enrica; Fettig, Ina; Richter, Janine; Philipp, Rosemarie; Milačič, Radmila; Sčančar, Janez; Zuliani, Tea; Tunç, Murat; Bilsel, Mine; Gören, Ahmet Ceyhan; Fisicaro, Paola

    2016-11-01

    The European Union (EU) has included tributyltin (TBT) and its compounds in the list of priority water pollutants. Quality standards demanded by the EU Water Framework Directive (WFD) require determination of TBT at so low concentration level that chemical analysis is still difficult and further research is needed to improve the sensitivity, the accuracy and the precision of existing methodologies. Within the frame of a joint research project "Traceable measurements for monitoring critical pollutants under the European Water Framework Directive" in the European Metrology Research Programme (EMRP), four metrological and designated institutes have developed a primary method to quantify TBT in natural water using liquid-liquid extraction (LLE) and species-specific isotope dilution mass spectrometry (SSIDMS). The procedure has been validated at the Environmental Quality Standard (EQS) level (0.2ngL(-1) as cation) and at the WFD-required limit of quantification (LOQ) (0.06ngL(-1) as cation). The LOQ of the methodology was 0.06ngL(-1) and the average measurement uncertainty at the LOQ was 36%, which agreed with WFD requirements. The analytical difficulties of the method, namely the presence of TBT in blanks and the sources of measurement uncertainties, as well as the interlaboratory comparison results are discussed in detail. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  10. Extraction protocol and liquid chromatography/tandem mass spectrometry method for determining micelle-entrapped paclitaxel at the cellular and subcellular levels: Application to a cellular uptake and distribution study.

    PubMed

    Zheng, Nan; Lian, Bin; Du, Wenwen; Xu, Guobing; Ji, Jiafu

    2018-01-01

    Paclitaxel-loaded polymeric micelles (PTX-PM) are commonly used as tumor-targeted nanocarriers and display outstanding antitumor features in clinic, but its accumulation and distribution in vitro are lack of investigation. It is probably due to the complex micellar system and its low concentration at the cellular or subcellular levels. In this study, we developed an improved extraction method, which was a combination of mechanical disruption and liquid-liquid extraction (LLE), to extract the total PTX from micelles in the cell lysate and subcellular compartments. An ultra-performance liquid chromatography tandem mass spectroscopy (UPLC-MS/MS) method was optimized to detect the low concentration of PTX at cellular and subcellular levels simultaneously, using docetaxel as internal standard (IS). The method was proved to release PTX totally from micelles (≥95.93%) with a consistent and reproducible extraction recovery (≥75.04%). Good linearity was obtained at concentrations ranging from 0.2 to 20ng/mL. The relative error (RE%) for accuracy varied from 0.68 to 7.56%, and the intra- and inter-precision (relative standard deviation, RSD%) was less than 8.64% and 13.14%, respectively. This method was fully validated and successfully applied to the cellular uptake and distribution study of PTX-loaded PLGA-PEG micelles in human breast cancer cells (MCF-7). Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  11. FY16 LLNL Omega Experimental Programs

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

    Heeter, R. F.; Ali, S. J.; Benstead, J.

    In FY16, LLNL’s High-Energy-Density Physics (HED) and Indirect Drive Inertial Confinement Fusion (ICF-ID) programs conducted several campaigns on the OMEGA laser system and on the EP laser system, as well as campaigns that used the OMEGA and EP beams jointly. Overall, these LLNL programs led 430 target shots in FY16, with 304 shots using just the OMEGA laser system, and 126 shots using just the EP laser system. Approximately 21% of the total number of shots (77 OMEGA shots and 14 EP shots) supported the Indirect Drive Inertial Confinement Fusion Campaign (ICF-ID). The remaining 79% (227 OMEGA shots and 112more » EP shots) were dedicated to experiments for High-Energy-Density Physics (HED). Highlights of the various HED and ICF campaigns are summarized in the following reports. In addition to these experiments, LLNL Principal Investigators led a variety of Laboratory Basic Science campaigns using OMEGA and EP, including 81 target shots using just OMEGA and 42 shots using just EP. The highlights of these are also summarized, following the ICF and HED campaigns. Overall, LLNL PIs led a total of 553 shots at LLE in FY 2016. In addition, LLNL PIs also supported 57 NLUF shots on Omega and 31 NLUF shots on EP, in collaboration with the academic community.« less

  12. Beta Hebbian Learning as a New Method for Exploratory Projection Pursuit.

    PubMed

    Quintián, Héctor; Corchado, Emilio

    2017-09-01

    In this research, a novel family of learning rules called Beta Hebbian Learning (BHL) is thoroughly investigated to extract information from high-dimensional datasets by projecting the data onto low-dimensional (typically two dimensional) subspaces, improving the existing exploratory methods by providing a clear representation of data's internal structure. BHL applies a family of learning rules derived from the Probability Density Function (PDF) of the residual based on the beta distribution. This family of rules may be called Hebbian in that all use a simple multiplication of the output of the neural network with some function of the residuals after feedback. The derived learning rules can be linked to an adaptive form of Exploratory Projection Pursuit and with artificial distributions, the networks perform as the theory suggests they should: the use of different learning rules derived from different PDFs allows the identification of "interesting" dimensions (as far from the Gaussian distribution as possible) in high-dimensional datasets. This novel algorithm, BHL, has been tested over seven artificial datasets to study the behavior of BHL parameters, and was later applied successfully over four real datasets, comparing its results, in terms of performance, with other well-known Exploratory and projection models such as Maximum Likelihood Hebbian Learning (MLHL), Locally-Linear Embedding (LLE), Curvilinear Component Analysis (CCA), Isomap and Neural Principal Component Analysis (Neural PCA).

  13. National Ignition Facility: Experimental plan

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    1994-05-01

    As part of the Conceptual Design Report (CDR) for the National Ignition Facility (NIF), scientists from Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL), Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL), Sandia National Laboratory (SNL), the University of Rochester's Laboratory for Laser Energetics (UR/LLE), and EG&G formed an NIF Target Diagnostics Working Group. The purpose of the Target Diagnostics Working Group is to prepare conceptual designs of target diagnostics for inclusion in the facility CDR and to determine how these specifications impact the CDR. To accomplish this, a subgroup has directed its efforts at constructing an approximate experimental plan for the ignition campaign of the NIF CDR. The results of this effort are contained in this document, the Experimental Plan for achieving fusion ignition in the NIF. This group initially concentrated on the flow-down requirements of the experimental campaign leading to ignition, which will dominate the initial efforts of the NIF. It is envisaged, however, that before ignition, there will be parallel campaigns supporting weapons physics, weapons effects, and other research. This plan was developed by analyzing the sequence of activities required to finally fire the laser at the level of power and precision necessary to achieve the conditions of an ignition hohlraum target, and to then use our experience in activating and running Nova experiments to estimate the rate of completing these activities.

  14. Supercritical fluid extraction (SFE) of ketamine metabolites from dried urine and on-line quantification by supercritical fluid chromatography and single mass detection (on-line SFE-SFC-MS).

    PubMed

    Hofstetter, Robert; Fassauer, Georg M; Link, Andreas

    2018-02-15

    On-line solid-phase supercritical fluid extraction (SFE) and chromatography (SFC) coupled to mass spectrometry (MS) has been evaluated for its usefulness with respect to metabolic profiling and pharmacological investigations of ketamine in humans. The aim of this study was to develop and validate a rapid, highly selective and sensitive SFE-SFC-MS method for the quantification of ketamine and its metabolites in miniature amounts in human urine excluding liquid-liquid extraction (LLE). Several conditions were optimized systematically following the requirements of the European Medicines Agency: selectivity, carry-over, calibration curve parameters (LLOQ, range and linearity), within- and between-run accuracy and precision, dilution integrity, matrix effect, and stability. The method, which required a relatively small volume of human urine (20 μL per sample), was validated for pharmacologically and toxicologically relevant concentrations ranging from 25.0 to 1000 ng/mL (r 2  > 0.995). The lower limit of quantification (LLOQ) for all compounds was found to be as low as 0.5 ng. In addition, stability of analytes during removal of water from the urine samples using different conditions (filter paper or ISOLUTE® HM-N) was studied. In conclusion, the method developed in this study can be successfully applied to studies of ketamine metabolites in humans, and may pave the way for routine application of on-line SFE-SFC-MS in clinical investigations. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  15. Plattenepithelkarzinom in Verbindung mit einer roten Tätowierung.

    PubMed

    Schmitz, Inge; Prymak, Oleg; Epple, Matthias; Ernert, Carsten; Tannapfel, Andrea

    2016-06-01

    Obwohl Tätowierungen in den letzten Jahren außerordentlich beliebt geworden sind, wurde in der Literatur bisher nur über wenige Fälle schwerer Reaktionen berichtet, die zu einer malignen Transformation führten. Dies steht im Kontrast zu der praktisch unüberschaubaren Zahl an Tätowierungen weltweit. Die Zusammensetzung der für Tätowierungen verwendeten Farbstoffe variiert stark, und selbst gleiche Farbtöne können unterschiedliche Komponenten enthalten. Das Ziel unserer Studie war es zu untersuchen, auf welche Weise Tätowierungen möglicherweise Hautkrebs auslösen können. Wir berichten über den seltenen Fall einer 24-jährigen Frau, bei der sich sieben Monate nachdem sie eine Tätowierung auf dem Fußrücken erhalten hatte in unmittelbarer Nähe des verwendeten roten Farbstoffs ein Plattenepithelkarzinom entwickelte. Die Komplikationen begannen mit einer unspezifischen Schwellung. Die Läsion wurde histologisch untersucht. Die Zusammensetzung des inkorporierten Farbstoffs wurde mittels Rasterelektronenmikroskopie in Kombination mit energiedispersiver Elementanalyse analysiert. Zur weiteren Charakterisierung wurden Thermogravimetrie und Pulverdiffraktometrie eingesetzt. Der Tätowierungsfarbstoff enthielt hauptsächlich Bariumsulfat; Spuren von Al, S, Ti, P, Mg und Cl ließen sich ebenfalls nachweisen. Bei der Analyse zeigten sich Pigmentgranula unterschiedlicher Größe. In seltenen Fällen kann Tätowierungstinte karzinogene Effekte haben, die multifaktoriell zu sein scheinen. © 2016 Deutsche Dermatologische Gesellschaft (DDG). Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  16. Mehr Mathematik Wagen in der Medizin

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Deuflhard, Peter; Dössel, Olaf; Louis, Alfred K.; Zachow, Stefan

    In diesem Artikel wird an drei Erfolgsmodellen dargestellt, wie das Zusammenwirken von Mathematik und Medizin eine Entwicklung hin zu patientenspezifischen Modellen auf Basis moderner medizinischer Bildgebung angestoßen hat, die in naher Zukunft dynamisch weiter Raum greifen wird. Dabei existiert ein Gleichklang der Interessen von Medizin und Mathematik: Beide Disziplinen wollen die Resultate schnell und zuverlässig. Für die Klinik heißt dies, dass notwendige Rechnungen in möglichst kurzer Zeit, und zwar auf dem PC, ablaufen müssen und dass die Resultate so genau und belastbar sein müssen, dass medizinische Entscheidungen darauf aufbauen können. Für die Mathematik folgt daraus, dass höchste Anforderungen an die Effizienz der verwendeten Algorithmen und die darauf aufbauende Software in Numerik und Visualisierung zu stellen sind. Allerdings ist es noch ein weiter Weg, bis anatomische und medizinisch brauchbare funktionelle Modelle auch nur für die wichtigsten Körperteile und die häufigsten Krankheitsfälle verfügbar sein werden. Führende Universitätskliniken könnten, als Zentren einer interdisziplinären Kooperation von Medizinern, Ingenieuren und Mathematikern, eine Vorreiterrolle dabei übernehmen, mehr Mathematik in der Medizin zu wagen. Dies wäre zweifellos ein wichtiger Schritt in Richtung auf eine individuelle quantitative Medizin, bei dem Deutschland die besten Voraussetzungen hätte, die Rolle des "Schrittmachers“ zu übernehmen.

  17. Vigabatrin in dried plasma spots: validation of a novel LC-MS/MS method and application to clinical practice.

    PubMed

    Kostić, Nađa; Dotsikas, Yannis; Jović, Nebojša; Stevanović, Galina; Malenović, Anđelija; Medenica, Mirjana

    2014-07-01

    This paper presents a LC-MS/MS method for the determination of antiepileptic drug vigabatrin in dried plasma spots (DPS). Due to its zwitterionic chemical structure, a pre-column derivatization procedure was performed, aiming to yield enhanced ionization efficiency and improved chromatographic behaviour. Propyl chloroformate, in the presence of propanol, was selected as the best derivatization reagent, providing a strong signal along with reasonable run time. A relatively novel sample collection technique, DPS, was utilized, offering easy sample handling and analysis, using a sample in micro amount (∼5μL). Derivatized vigabatrin and its internal standard, 4-aminocyclohexanecarboxylic acid, were extracted by liquid-liquid extraction (LLE) and determined in positive ion mode by applying two SRM transitions per analyte. A Zorbax Eclipse XDB-C8 column (150×4.6mm, 5μm particle size) maintained at 30°C, was utilized with running mobile phase composed of acetonitrile: 0.15% formic acid (85:15, v/v). Flow rate was 550μL/min and total run time 4.5min. The assay exhibited excellent linearity over the concentration range of 0.500-50.0μg/mL, which is suitable for the determination of vigabatrin level after per os administration in children and youths with epilepsy, who were on vigabatrin therapy, with or without co-medication. Specificity, accuracy, precision, recovery, matrix-effect and stability were also estimated and assessed within acceptance criteria. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  18. Dissipation pattern and risk quotients assessment of amisulbrom in Korean melon cultivated in plastic house conditions.

    PubMed

    Kabir, Md Humayun; Abd El-Aty, A M; Rahman, Md Musfiqur; Chung, Hyung Suk; Lee, Han Sol; Park, Sun-Hyang; Hacımüftüoğlu, Fazil; Chang, Byung-Joon; Shin, Ho-Chul; Shim, Jae-Han

    2017-06-01

    Amisulbrom formulated as suspension concentrate was applied at the rate recommended for Korean melon to determine the dissipation pattern (at two different sites), the pre-harvest residue limit (PHRL), and risk assessments. Samples collected over 10 days were extracted using liquid-liquid extraction (LLE) and cleaned up with solid-phase extraction (SPE) Florisil cartridge. Residual concentrations were determined using liquid chromatography-ultraviolet detector (LC-UVD) and confirmed by liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS). The standard showed good instrument response linearity with a correlation coefficient (R 2 ) = 0.9999, and the recovery ranged from 87.5 to 93.7%. The dissipation half-life calculated from two different sites were found to be 7.0 and 8.8 days for sites 1 and 2, respectively. A PHRL graph constructed from the data indicated that if the residue levels were less than 0.55-0.59 mg/kg 3 days before harvest or less than 0.61-0.74 mg/kg 7 days before harvest, then they would be lower than the maximum residue limits (MRLs) at harvest. Risk assessments showed that the risk quotient (RQ) was 4.39-3.47% at 0 day, declined to 1.53-1.63% at 10 days. Therefore, the current data indicate that the amisulbrom can be applied safely to Korean melon; hence, it is unlikely to induce adverse health effects in consumers.

  19. Simultaneous determination of amlodipine and bisoprolol in rat plasma by a liquid chromatography/tandem mass spectrometry method and its application in pharmacokinetic study.

    PubMed

    Chang, Huichao; Li, Jinyin; Li, Ji; Guan, Xiaoduo; Sun, Fanlu; Qian, Zhongzhi; Bi, Kaishun; Fan, Guorong

    2012-12-01

    A sensitive, specific liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) method was established for the quantitative determination of amlodipine and bisoprolol, using clenbuterol as the internal standard (IS). The analytes and IS were isolated from 100μL plasma samples by a simple liquid-liquid extraction (LLE). Reverse-phase high performance liquid chromatography (RP-HPLC) separation was accomplished on a Diamonsil C(18) column (50mm×4.6mm, 5μm) with a mobile phase composed of methanol-water-formic acid (75:25:0.01, v/v/v) at a flow rate of 0.3mL/min. The method had a chromatographic total run time of 3min. Multiple reacting monitoring (MRM) transitions of m/z [M+H](+) 409.1→237.9 (amlodipine), m/z [M+H](+) 326.2→116.0 (bisoprolol) and m/z [M+H](+) 277.0→203.0 (clenbuterol, IS) were used to quantify amlodipine, bisoprolol and IS, respectively. The method was sensitive with a lower limit of quantitation (LLOQ) of 0.2ng/mL for both amlodipine and bisoprolol, and the linear range was 0.2-50ng/mL for both amlodipine and bisoprolol (r(2)>0.9961). All the validation data, such as accuracy, precision and inter-day repeatability, were within the required limits. The method was successfully applied to pharmacokinetic studies of amlodipine and bisoprolol in Sprague-Dawley (SD) rats. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  20. Required length of guardrails before hazards.

    PubMed

    Tomasch, E; Sinz, W; Hoschopf, H; Gobald, M; Steffan, H; Nadler, B; Nadler, F; Strnad, B; Schneider, F

    2011-11-01

    One way to protect against impacts during run-off-road accidents with infrastructure is the use of guardrails. However, real-world accidents indicate that vehicles can leave the road and end up behind the guardrail. These vehicles have no possibility of returning to the lane. Vehicles often end up behind the guardrail because the length of the guardrails installed before hazards is too short; this can lead to a collision with a shielded hazard. To identify the basic speed for determining the necessary length of guardrails, we analyzed the speed at which vehicles leave the roadway from the ZEDATU (Zentrale Datenbank Tödlicher Unfälle) real-world accidents database. The required length of guardrail was considered the length that reduces vehicle speed at a maximum theoretically possible deceleration of 0.3g behind the barrier based on real-world road departure speed. To determine the desired length of a guardrail ahead of a hazard, we developed a relationship between guardrail length and the speed at which vehicles depart the roadway. If the initial elements are flared away from the carriageway, the required length will be reduced by up to an additional 30% The ZEDATU database analysis showed that extending the current length of guardrails to the evaluated required length would reduce the number of fatalities among occupants of vehicles striking bridge abutments by approximately eight percent. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  1. Suicide attempt with a mix of synthetic cannabinoids and synthetic cathinones: Case report of non-fatal intoxication with AB-CHMINACA, AB-FUBINACA, alpha-PHP, alpha-PVP and 4-CMC.

    PubMed

    Klavž, Janez; Gorenjak, Maksimiljan; Marinšek, Martin

    2016-08-01

    We report on a case of intoxication with a mix of new psychoactive substances. A 38-year-old male was brought to the emergency department (ED) following the ingestion of an unknown drug in a suicide attempt. During the transport, he became progressively more somnolent and unresponsive to painful stimuli. Urine and stomach content were collected on admission to be screened for drugs of abuse and medicinal drugs. After admission, the patient's next of kin presented five small grip seal plastic bags containing different powders/crystals, and they were sent for analysis along with urine and stomach content to the toxicology laboratory. An easy and rapid sample preparation technique was applied for the extraction of urine and stomach content. Samples were extracted with liquid-liquid extraction (LLE) technique and analysed using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). A small amount of powder material from the bags was diluted in methanol and injected directly into the GC-MS instrument. Obtained spectra (EI) were evaluated against SWGDRUG library. Five different designer drugs were identified in the powder material, including synthetic cannabinoids (AB-CHMINACA, AB-FUBINACA) and synthetic cathinones (alpha-PHP, alpha-PVP and 4-CMC). With the exception of 4-CMC, all of these substances were also detected in the stomach content along with the prescription drugs. This is the first time that a positive identification of these five drugs has been made by a clinical laboratory in Slovenia. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

  2. Analytical methods for determination of mycotoxins: a review.

    PubMed

    Turner, Nicholas W; Subrahmanyam, Sreenath; Piletsky, Sergey A

    2009-01-26

    Mycotoxins are small (MW approximately 700), toxic chemical products formed as secondary metabolites by a few fungal species that readily colonise crops and contaminate them with toxins in the field or after harvest. Ochratoxins and Aflatoxins are mycotoxins of major significance and hence there has been significant research on broad range of analytical and detection techniques that could be useful and practical. Due to the variety of structures of these toxins, it is impossible to use one standard technique for analysis and/or detection. Practical requirements for high-sensitivity analysis and the need for a specialist laboratory setting create challenges for routine analysis. Several existing analytical techniques, which offer flexible and broad-based methods of analysis and in some cases detection, have been discussed in this manuscript. There are a number of methods used, of which many are lab-based, but to our knowledge there seems to be no single technique that stands out above the rest, although analytical liquid chromatography, commonly linked with mass spectroscopy is likely to be popular. This review manuscript discusses (a) sample pre-treatment methods such as liquid-liquid extraction (LLE), supercritical fluid extraction (SFE), solid phase extraction (SPE), (b) separation methods such as (TLC), high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC), gas chromatography (GC), and capillary electrophoresis (CE) and (c) others such as ELISA. Further currents trends, advantages and disadvantages and future prospects of these methods have been discussed.

  3. Analytical methods for the assessment of endocrine disrupting chemical exposure during human fetal and lactation stages: a review.

    PubMed

    Jiménez-Díaz, I; Vela-Soria, F; Rodríguez-Gómez, R; Zafra-Gómez, A; Ballesteros, O; Navalón, A

    2015-09-10

    In the present work, a review of the analytical methods developed in the last 15 years for the determination of endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs) in human samples related with children, including placenta, cord blood, amniotic fluid, maternal blood, maternal urine and breast milk, is proposed. Children are highly vulnerable to toxic chemicals in the environment. Among these environmental contaminants to which children are at risk of exposure are EDCs -substances able to alter the normal hormone function of wildlife and humans-. The work focuses mainly on sample preparation and instrumental techniques used for the detection and quantification of the analytes. The sample preparation techniques include, not only liquid-liquid extraction (LLE) and solid-phase extraction (SPE), but also modern microextraction techniques such as extraction with molecular imprinted polymers (MIPs), stir-bar sorptive extraction (SBSE), hollow-fiber liquid-phase microextraction (HF-LPME), dispersive liquid-liquid microextraction (DLLME), matrix solid phase dispersion (MSPD) or ultrasound-assisted extraction (UAE), which are becoming alternatives in the analysis of human samples. Most studies focus on minimizing the number of steps and using the lowest solvent amounts in the sample treatment. The usual instrumental techniques employed include liquid chromatography (LC), gas chromatography (GC) mainly coupled to tandem mass spectrometry. Multiresidue methods are being developed for the determination of several families of EDCs with one extraction step and limited sample preparation. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  4. Hematopoietic prostaglandin D synthase (HPGDS): a high stability, Val187Ile isoenzyme common among African Americans and its relationship to risk for colorectal cancer

    PubMed Central

    Tippin, Brigette L.; Levine, A. Joan; Materi, Alicia M.; Song, Wen-Liang; Keku, Temitope O.; Goodman, Julie E.; Sansbury, Leah B.; Das, Sudipto; Dai, Aihua; Kwong, Alan M.; Lin, Amy M.; Lin, John M.; Park, Jae Man; Patterson, Ruth E.; Chlebowski, Rowan T.; Garavito, R. Michael; Inoue, Tsuyoshi; Cho, Wonhwa; Lawson, John A.; Kapoor, Shiv; Kolonel, Laurence N.; Marchand, Loïc Le; Haile, Robert W.; Sandler, Robert S.; Lin, Henry J.

    2011-01-01

    Intestinal tumors in ApcMin/+ mice are suppressed by over-production of HPGDS, which is a glutathione transferase that forms prostaglandin D2 (PGD2). We characterized naturally occurring HPGDS isoenzymes, to see if HPGDS variation is associated with human colorectal cancer risk. We used DNA heteroduplex analysis and sequencing to identify HPGDS variants among healthy individuals. HPGDS isoenzymes were produced in bacteria, and their catalytic activities were tested. To determine in vivo effects, we conducted pooled case-control analyses to assess whether there is an association of the isoenzyme with colorectal cancer. Roughly 8% of African Americans and 2% of Caucasians had a highly stable Val187lle isoenzyme (with isoleucine instead of valine at position 187). At 37 °C, the wild-type enzyme lost 15% of its activity in one hour, whereas the Val187Ile form remained >95% active. At 50 °C, the half life of native HPGDS was 9 minutes, compared to 42 minutes for Val187Ile. The odds ratio for colorectal cancer among African Americans with Val187Ile was 1.10 (95% CI, 0.75–1.62; 533 cases, 795 controls). Thus, the Val187Ile HPGDS isoenzyme common among African Americans is not associated with colorectal cancer risk. Other approaches will be needed to establish a role for HPGDS in occurrence of human intestinal tumors, as indicated by a mouse model. PMID:21821144

  5. Novel liquid chromatography method based on linear weighted regression for the fast determination of isoprostane isomers in plasma samples using sensitive tandem mass spectrometry detection.

    PubMed

    Aszyk, Justyna; Kot, Jacek; Tkachenko, Yurii; Woźniak, Michał; Bogucka-Kocka, Anna; Kot-Wasik, Agata

    2017-04-15

    A simple, fast, sensitive and accurate methodology based on a LLE followed by liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry for simultaneous determination of four regioisomers (8-iso prostaglandin F 2α , 8-iso-15(R)-prostaglandin F 2α , 11β-prostaglandin F 2α , 15(R)-prostaglandin F 2α ) in routine analysis of human plasma samples was developed. Isoprostanes are stable products of arachidonic acid peroxidation and are regarded as the most reliable markers of oxidative stress in vivo. Validation of method was performed by evaluation of the key analytical parameters such as: matrix effect, analytical curve, trueness, precision, limits of detection and limits of quantification. As a homoscedasticity was not met for analytical data, weighted linear regression was applied in order to improve the accuracy at the lower end points of calibration curve. The detection limits (LODs) ranged from 1.0 to 2.1pg/mL. For plasma samples spiked with the isoprostanes at the level of 50pg/mL, intra-and interday repeatability ranged from 2.1 to 3.5% and 0.1 to 5.1%, respectively. The applicability of the proposed approach has been verified by monitoring of isoprostane isomers level in plasma samples collected from young patients (n=8) subjected to hyperbaric hyperoxia (100% oxygen at 280kPa(a) for 30min) in a multiplace hyperbaric chamber. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  6. Modeling ICF With RAGE, BHR, And The New Laser Package

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Cliche, Dylan; Welser-Sherrill, Leslie; Haines, Brian; Mancini, Roberto

    2017-10-01

    Inertial Confinement Fusion (ICF) is one method used to obtain thermonuclear burn through the either direct or indirect ablation of a millimeter-scale capsule with several lasers. Although progress has been made in theory, experiment, and diagnostics, the community has yet to reach ignition. A way of investigating this is through the use of high performance computer simulations of the implosion. RAGE is an advanced 1D, 2D, and 3D radiation adaptive grid Eulerian code used to simulate hydrodynamics of a system. Due to the unstable nature of two unequal densities accelerating into one another, it is important to include a turbulence model. BHR is a turbulence model which uses Reynolds-averaged Navier-Stokes (RANS) equations to model the mixing that occurs between the shell and fusion fuel material. Until recently, it was still difficult to model direct drive experiments because there was no laser energy deposition model in RAGE. Recently, a new laser energy deposition model has been implemented using the same ray tracing method as the Mazinisin laser package used at the OMEGA laser facility at the Laboratory for Laser Energetics (LLE) in Rochester, New York. Using the new laser package along with BHR for mixing allows us to more accurately simulate ICF implosions and obtain spatially and temporally resolved information (e.g. position, temperature, density, and mix concentrations) to give insight into what is happening inside the implosion.

  7. Time-Resolved Tandem Faraday Cup Development for High Energy TNSA Particles

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Padalino, S.; Simone, A.; Turner, E.; Ginnane, M. K.; Glisic, M.; Kousar, B.; Smith, A.; Sangster, C.; Regan, S.

    2015-11-01

    MTW and OMEGA EP Lasers at LLE utilize ultra-intense laser light to produce high-energy ion pulses through Target Normal Sheath Acceleration (TNSA). A Time Resolved Tandem Faraday Cup (TRTF) was designed and built to collect and differentiate protons from heavy ions (HI) produced during TNSA. The TRTF includes a replaceable thickness absorber capable of stopping a range of user-selectable HI emitted from TNSA plasma. HI stop within the primary cup, while less massive particles continue through and deposit their remaining charge in the secondary cup, releasing secondary electrons in the process. The time-resolved beam current generated in each cup will be measured on a fast storage scope in multiple channels. A charge-exchange foil at the TRTF entrance modifies the charge state distribution of HI to a known distribution. Using this distribution and the time of flight of the HI, the total HI current can be determined. Initial tests of the TRTF have been made using a proton beam produced by SUNY Geneseo's 1.7 MV Pelletron accelerator. A substantial reduction in secondary electron production, from 70% of the proton beam current at 2MeV down to 0.7%, was achieved by installing a pair of dipole magnet deflectors which successfully returned the electrons to the cups in the TRTF. Ultimately the TRTF will be used to normalize a variety of nuclear physics cross sections and stopping power measurements. Based in part upon work supported by a DOE NNSA Award#DE-NA0001944.

  8. Volatile Behavior in Lunar and Terrestrial Basalts During Shock: Implications for Martian Magmas

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Chaklader, Johny; Shearer, C. K.; Hoerz, F.; Newsom, H. E.

    2004-01-01

    The amount of water in martian magmas has significant ramifications for the martian atmosphere-hydrosphere cycle. Large D-enrichments have been observed in kaersutitic amphiboles in Zagami, Chassigny and Shergotty meteorites (delta-D values up to 4400 per mil) suggesting that substantial amounts of H escaped Mars in its past. Furthermore, martian meteorites with inclusions of biotite and apatite imply possible origins in a hydrous mantle. However, whether martian magmas ever possessed considerable proportions of water remains controversial and unclear. The H-content of mica and amphibole melt inclusions has been found to be low, while bulk-rock H2O content is also low ranging from 0.013 to 0.035 wt. % in Shergotty. Hydrous martian magmas were considered responsible for light lithophile element (LLE) zoning patterns observed in Nakhlite and Shergottite pyroxenes. Since LLEs, such as Li and B, partition into aqueous fluids at temperatures greater than 350 C, workers interpreted Li-B depletions in pyroxene rims as evidence that supercritical fluid exsolution occurred during magma degassing. In that many martian basalts experienced substantial shock (15-45 GPa) it is possible that the magmatic volatile record preserved in martian basalts has been disturbed. Previous shock experiments suggest that shock processes may effect water content and H/D. To better understand the possible effects of shock on this volatile record, we are studying the redistribution of volatile elements in naturally and experimentally shocked basalts. Here, we report the initial results from shocked basalts associated with the Lonar Crater, India and an experimentally shocked lunar basalt.

  9. Krankheitsverlauf, medizinische Versorgung und Lebensqualität von Patienten mit kongenitalen melanozytären Nävi - Auswertung des deutschsprachigen KMN-Registers.

    PubMed

    Elisabeth Wramp, Maria; Langenbruch, Anna; Augustin, Matthias; Zillikens, Detlef; Krengel, Sven

    2017-02-01

    Kongenitale melanozytäre Nävi (KMN) bedeuten für Patienten und Familien eine psychologische Belastung und bergen zudem medizinische Risiken. Das 2005 gegründete deutschsprachige KMN-Register wurde nun einer Zwischenauswertung bezüglich des Krankheitsverlaufes, der medizinischen Versorgung und der Lebensqualität unterzogen. 100 Patienten, die sich in den Jahren 2005 bis 2012 mit einem Erstmeldebogen registriert hatten, wurde im Rahmen einer prospektiven Kohortenstudie Anfang 2013 ein Folgemeldebogen zugesandt. Außerdem wurden mithilfe standardisierter Fragebögen Daten zu Lebensqualität (dermatology life quality index, DLQI) und Stigmatisierungserfahrungen (perceived stigmatization questionnaire, PSQ; social comfort questionnaire, SCQ) erhoben. 83 % der Patienten oder deren Eltern antworteten (Altersdurchschnitt 11,2 Jahre, Median 6 Jahre; mittleres Follow-up 4,4 Jahre). Im Gesamtkollektiv wurden vier Melanome diagnostiziert, davon zwei zerebrale Melanome im Kindesalter, ein kutanes Melanom im Erwachsenenalter und eines, das sich als proliferierender Knoten erwies. Bei vier Kindern wurde eine neurokutane Melanozytose festgestellt, drei davon mit neurologischer Symptomatik. Chirurgisch behandelt wurden 88 % (73/83). Achtundsiebzig Prozent der Befragten berichteten eine geringe oder keine Beeinträchtigung der Lebensqualität. Die wahrgenommene Stigmatisierung beziehungsweise Beeinträchtigung des sozialen Wohlbefindens war generell ebenfalls gering. Die Ergebnisse geben einen Überblick über die Situation von Patienten mit KMN in Deutschland, Österreich und der Schweiz. Ein Melanom entwickelte sich in 3 %, eine ZNS-Beteiligung bestand in 4 % der Fälle. © 2017 Deutsche Dermatologische Gesellschaft (DDG). Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  10. Colloidal mode of transport in the Potomac River watershed

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

    Maher, I.L.; Foster, G.D.

    1995-12-31

    Similarly to the particulate phase the colloidal phase may play an important role in the organic contaminant transport downstream the river. The colloidal phase consisting of microparticles and micromolecules which are small enough to be mobile and large enough to attract pollutants can absorb nonpolar organic compounds similarly as do soil and sediment particles. To test the hypothesis three river water samples have been analyzed for PAH content in the dissolved, the colloidal, and the particulate phase. The first sample was collected at the Blue Ridge province of Potomac River watershed, at Point of Rocks, the second one in themore » Pidmont province, at Riverbend Park, and the third sample at Coastal Plane, at Dyke Marsh (Belle Heven marina). In the laboratory environment each water sample was prefiltered to separate the particulate phase form the dissolved and colloidal phase. One part of the prefiltered water sample was ultrafiltered to separate colloids while the second part of the water was Goulden extracted. The separated colloidal phase was liquid-liquid extracted (LLE) while filters containing the suspended solids were Soxhlet extracted. The extracts of the particulate phase, the colloidal phase, and the dissolved plus colloidal phase were analyzed for selected PAHs via GC/MS. It is planned that concentrations of selected PAHs in three phases will be used for calculations of the partition coefficients, the colloid/dissolved partition coefficient and the particle/dissolved partition coefficient. Both partition coefficients will be compared to define the significance of organic contaminant transport by aquatic colloids.« less

  11. Supersonic, shockwave-driven hydrodynamic instability experiments at OMEGA-EP

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Wan, Willow

    2016-10-01

    Hydrodynamic instabilities play a dominant role in the transport of mass, momentum, and energy in nearly every plasma environment, governing the dynamics of natural and engineering systems such as solar convective zones, magnetospheric boundaries, and fusion experiments. In past decades, limitations in our understanding of hydrodynamic instabilities have led to discrepancies between observations and predictions. Since then, significant improvements have been made to our available experimental techniques, diagnostics, and simulation capabilities. Here, we present a novel experimental platform that can sustain a steady, supersonic flow across a precision-machined, well-characterized material interface for unprecedented durations We applied this platform to a series of Kelvin-Helmholtz instability experiments. The Kelvin-Helmholtz instability generates vortical structures and turbulence at an interface with shear flow. In a supersonic flow, the growth rate is inhibited and the instability structure is altered. The data were obtained at the OMEGA-EP facility by firing three laser beams in sequence to produce a 12 kJ, 28 ns stitched laser pulse. The ablation pressure sustained a steady shockwave for 70 ns over a foam-plastic, single-mode or dual-mode interface. A spherical crystal imager was used to measure the evolution of these modulations with high-resolution x-ray radiography using Cu Kα radiation at 8.0 keV. The observed structure was reproduced with 2D hydrodynamic simulations. Supported by the U.S. DOE, through NNSA Grants DE-NA0002956 (SSAA) and DE-NA0002719 (NLUF), by the LLE under DE-NA0001944, and by the LLNL under subcontract B614207 to DE-AC52-07NA27344.

  12. Papaya (Carica papaya) leaf methanolic extract modulates in vitro rumen methanogenesis and rumen biohydrogenation.

    PubMed

    Jafari, Saeid; Goh, Yong M; Rajion, Mohamed A; Jahromi, Mohammad F; Ahmad, Yusof H; Ebrahimi, Mahdi

    2017-02-01

    Papaya leaf methanolic extract (PLE) at concentrations of 0 (CON), 5 (LLE), 10 (MLE) and 15 (HLE) mg/250 mg dry matter (DM) with 30 mL buffered rumen fluid were incubated for 24 h to identify its effect on in vitro ruminal methanogenesis and ruminal biohydrogenation (BH). Total gas production was not affected (P > 0.05) by addition of PLE compared to the CON at 24 h of incubation. Methane (CH 4 ) production (mL/250 mg DM) decreased (P < 0.05) with increasing levels of PLE. Acetate to propionate ratio was lower (P <0.05) in MLE (2.02) and HLE (1.93) compared to the CON (2.28). Supplementation of the diet with PLE significantly (P <0.05) decreased the rate of BH of C18:1n-9 (oleic acid; OA), C18:2n-6 (linoleic acid; LA), C18:3n-3 (linolenic acid; LNA) and C18 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) compared to CON after 24 h incubation, which resulted in higher concentrations of BH intermediates such as C18:1 t11 (vaccenic acid; VA), c9t11 conjugated LA (CLA) (rumenic acid; RA) and t10c12 CLA. Real-time PCR analysis indicated that the total bacteria, total protozoa, Butyrivibrio fibrisolvens and methanogen population in HLE decreased (P <0.05) compared to CON, but the total bacteria and B. fibrisolvens population were higher (P < 0.05) in CON compared to the PLE treatment groups. © 2016 Japanese Society of Animal Science.

  13. Initial experiments to understand the interaction of stellar radiation with molecular clouds

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Vandervort, Robert; Davis, Josh; Trantham, Matt; Klein, Sallee; Shvarts, Dov; Keiter, Paul; Drake, R. Paul

    2017-10-01

    Enhanced star formation triggered by local O and B type stars is an astrophysical problem of interest. O and B type stars are massive, hot stars that emit an enormous amount of radiation. This radiation acts to either compress or blow apart gas clumps in the interstellar media. For example, in the optically thick limit, when the radiation in the gas clump has a short mean free path, radiation is absorbed near the clump edge and compresses the clump. In the optically thin limit, when the mean free path is long, the radiation is absorbed throughout, acting to heat the clump. This heating explodes the gas clump. Careful selection of parameters, such as foam density or source temperature, allow the experimental platform to access different hydrodynamic regimes. 2D CRASH simulations guide our parameter selection. A stellar radiation source is mimicked by a laser-irradiated, thin, gold foil, providing a source of thermal x-rays around 100 eV. The gas clump is mimicked by low-density CRF foam. We plan to show the preliminary experimental results of this platform in the optically thick limit, from experiments scheduled in August. This work is funded by the U.S. DOE, through the NNSA-DS and SC-OFES Joint Program in HEDPLP, Grant No. DE-NA0002956, and the NLUF Program, Grant No. DE-NA0002719, and through LLE, University of Rochester by the NNSA/OICF under Cooperative Agreement No. DE-NA0001944. This work is funded by the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory under subcontract B614207.

  14. Experimental design to understand the interaction of stellar radiation with molecular clouds

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Vandervort, Robert; Davis, Josh; Trantham, Matt; Klein, Sallee; Frank, Yechiel; Raicher, Erez; Fraenkel, Moshe; Shvarts, Dov; Keiter, Paul; Drake, R. Paul

    2016-10-01

    Enhanced star formation triggered by local O and B type stars is an astrophysical problem of interest. O and B type stars are massive, hot stars that emit an enormous amount of radiation. This radiation acts to either compress or blow apart clumps of gas in the interstellar media. For example, in the optically thick limit, when the x-ray radiation in the gas clump has a short mean free path length the x-ray radiation is absorbed near the clump edge and compresses the clump. In the optically thin limit, when the mean free path is long, the radiation is absorbed throughout acting to heat the clump. This heating explodes the gas clump. Careful selection of parameters, such as foam density or source temperature, allow the experimental platform to access different hydrodynamic regimes. The stellar radiation source is mimicked by a laser irradiated thin gold foil. This will provide a source of thermal x-rays (around 100 eV). The gas clump is mimicked by a low-density foam around 0.12 g/cc. Simulations were done using radiation hydrodynamics codes to tune the experimental parameters. The experiment will be carried out at the Omega laser facility on OMEGA 60. Funding acknowledgements: This work is funded by the U.S. DOE, through the NNSA-DS and SC-OFES Joint Program in HEDPLP, Grant No. DE-NA0001840, and the NLUF Program, Grant No. DE-NA0000850, and through LLE, University of Rochester by the NNSA/OICF under Agreement No. DE-FC52-08NA28302.

  15. Analysis of 3-chloro-4-(dichloromethyl)-5-hydroxy-2(5H)-furanone (MX) and its brominated analogues in chlorine-treated water by gas chromatography coupled to triple quadrupole tandem mass spectrometry (GC-QqQ-MS/MS).

    PubMed

    Planas, Carles; Ventura, Francesc; Caixach, Josep; Martín, Jordi; Boleda, M Rosa; Paraira, Miquel

    2015-11-01

    A simple, selective and sensitive method for the analysis of the strong mutagen 3-chloro-4-(dichloromethyl)-5-hydroxy-2(5H)-furanone (MX) and its brominated analogues (BMXs) in chlorine-treated water has been developed. The method is based on gas chromatography coupled to triple quadrupole tandem mass spectrometry (GC-QqQ-MS/MS), previous liquid-liquid extraction (LLE) of a smaller sample volume compared to other methods and on-line derivatization with a silylation reactive. GC-QqQ-MS/MS has been raised as an alternative easier to perform than gas chromatography coupled to high resolution mass spectrometry (GC-HRMS) for the analysis of MX and BMXs, and it allows to achieve low LODs (0.3 ng/L for MX and 0.4-0.9 ng/L for BMXs). This technique had not been previously described for the analysis of MX and BMXs. Quality parameters were calculated and real samples related to 3 drinking water treatment plants (DWTPs), tap water and both untreated and chlorinated groundwater were analyzed. Concentrations of 0.3-6.6 ng/L for MX and 1.0-7.3 ng/L for BMXs were detected. Results were discussed according to five of the main factors affecting MX and BMXs formation in chlorine-treated water (organic precursors, influence of bromide ions, evolution of MX and BMXs in the drinking water distribution system, groundwater chlorination and infiltration of water coming from chlorination processes in groundwater). Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  16. UV-filters and musk fragrances in seafood commercialized in Europe Union: Occurrence, risk and exposure assessment.

    PubMed

    Cunha, S C; Trabalón, L; Jacobs, S; Castro, M; Fernandez-Tejedor, M; Granby, K; Verbeke, W; Kwadijk, C; Ferrari, F; Robbens, J; Sioen, I; Pocurull, E; Marques, A; Fernandes, J O; Domingo, J L

    2018-02-01

    In the framework of the FP7 ECsafeSeafood project, 62 seafood samples commercialized in Europe Union from several representative species - mackerel, tuna, salmon, seabream, cod, monkfish, crab, shrimp, octopus, perch and plaice - were analysed for residues of 21 personal care products (PCPs), including 11 UV-filters (UV-Fs) and 10 musk fragrances (musks). PCPs analysis were performed by Quick, Easy, Cheap, Effective Rugged, Safe (QuEChERS), combined with liquid-liquid extraction (LLE) or dispersive solid-phase extraction (dSPE), followed by gas chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (GC-MS/MS). The results showed the presence in a wide range of samples of nine out of eleven UV-Fs compounds analysed, namely 2-ethylhexyl salicylate (EHS), 2-ethylhexyl,4-methoxycinnamate (EHMC), 4-methylbenzylidenecamphor (4-MBC), benzophenone-1 (BP1), benzophenone-3 (BP3), isoamyl-4-methoxycinnamate (IMC), 2,2'-dihydroxy-4,4'-dimethoxybenzophenone (DHMB), homosalate (HS), and octocrylene (OC), whereas galaxolide (HHCB), galaxolide lactone (HHCB-lactone), and tonalide (AHTN) were the most found musks. The potential risks to human health associated with the exposure to eight of the more prevalent PCPs - EHS, EHMC, 4-MBC, BP1, BP3, IMC, HHCB, and AHTN - through seafood consumption were assessed for consumers from five European countries (Belgium, Ireland, Italy, Portugal and Spain). Results showed that the human exposure to UV-Fs and musks estimated from the concentration values found in seafood and the daily consumption of concerned seafood species, were far below toxicological reference values. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  17. Experiment to measure oxygen opacity at high density and temperature

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Keiter, Paul; Mussack, Katie; Orban, Chris; Colgan, James; Ducret, Jean-Eric; Fontes, Christopher J.; Guzik, Joyce Ann; Heeter, Robert F.; Kilcrease, Dave; Le Pennec, Maelle; Mancini, Roberto; Perry, Ted; Turck-Chièze, Sylvaine; Trantham, Matt

    2017-06-01

    In recent years, there has been a debate over the abundances of heavy elements (Z >2) in the solar interior. Recent solar atmosphere models [Asplund 2009] find a significantly lower abundance for C, N, and O compared to models used roughly a decade ago. This discrepancy has led to an investigation of opacities through laboratory experiments and improved opacity models for many of the larger contributors to the sun’s opacity, including iron and oxygen. Recent opacity measurements of iron disagree with opacity model predictions [Bailey et al, 2015]. Although these results are still controversial, repeated scrutiny of the experiment and data has not produced a conclusive reason for the discrepancy. New models have been implemented in the ATOMIC opacity code for C, O and Fe to address the solar abundance issue [Colgan, 2013]. Armstrong et al [2014] have also implemented changes in the ATOMIC code for low-Z elements. However, no data currently exists to test the low-Z material models in the regime relevant to the solar convection zone. We present an experimental design using the opacity platform developed at the National Ignition Facility to study the oxygen opacity at densities and temperatures near the solar convection zone conditions.This work is funded by the U.S. DOE, through the NNSA-DS and SC-OFES Joint Program in HEDPLP, grant No. DE-NA0001840, and the NLUF Program, grant No. DE-NA0000850, and through LLE, University of Rochester by the NNSA/OICF under Agreement No. DE-FC52-08NA28302.

  18. Can shale safely host US nuclear waste?

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Neuzil, C.E.

    2013-01-01

    "Even as cleanup efforts after Japan’s Fukushima disaster offer a stark reminder of the spent nuclear fuel (SNF) stored at nuclear plants worldwide, the decision in 2009 to scrap Yucca Mountain as a permanent disposal site has dimmed hope for a repository for SNF and other high-level nuclear waste (HLW) in the United States anytime soon. About 70,000 metric tons of SNF are now in pool or dry cask storage at 75 sites across the United States [Government Accountability Office, 2012], and uncertainty about its fate is hobbling future development of nuclear power, increasing costs for utilities, and creating a liability for American taxpayers [Blue Ribbon Commission on America’s Nuclear Future, 2012].However, abandoning Yucca Mountain could also result in broadening geologic options for hosting America’s nuclear waste. Shales and other argillaceous formations (mudrocks, clays, and similar clay-rich media) have been absent from the U.S. repository program. In contrast, France, Switzerland, and Belgium are now planning repositories in argillaceous formations after extensive research in underground laboratories on the safety and feasibility of such an approach [Blue Ribbon Commission on America’s Nuclear Future, 2012; Nationale Genossenschaft für die Lagerung radioaktiver Abfälle (NAGRA), 2010; Organisme national des déchets radioactifs et des matières fissiles enrichies, 2011]. Other nations, notably Japan, Canada, and the United Kingdom, are studying argillaceous formations or may consider them in their siting programs [Japan Atomic Energy Agency, 2012; Nuclear Waste Management Organization (NWMO), (2011a); Powell et al., 2010]."

  19. Gesammelte Werke / Collected Works

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Schwarzschild, Karl; Voigt, Hans-Heinrich

    Der bekannte Astronom Karl Schwarzschild (1873-1916) gilt als der Begründer der Astrophysik und als hervorragender Forscher mit einer erstaunlichen Bandbreite seiner Interessen. Arbeiten zur Himmelsmechanik, Elektrodynamik und Relativitätstheorie weisen ihn als vorzüglichen Mathematiker und Physiker auf der Höhe seiner Zeit aus. Untersuchungen zur Photographischen Photometrie, Optik und Spektroskopie zeigen den versierten Beobachter, der sein Meßinstrumentarium beherrscht, und schließlich arbeitete Schwarzschild als Astrophysiker an Sternatmosphären, Kometen, Struktur und Dynamik von Sternsystemen. Die in seinem kurzen Leben entstandene Fülle an wissenschaftlichen Arbeiten ist in drei Bänden der Gesamtausgabe gesammelt, ergänzt durch biographisches Material, Annotationen von Fachleuten und einen Essay des Nobelpreisträgers S. Chandrasekhar. The well-known astronomer Karl Schwarzschild (1873-1916) is regarded as the founder of astrophysics and as an exceptionally talented researcher whose interests spanned a remarkably broad spectrum. His work on celestial mechanics, electrodynamics, and relativity theory demonstrates his great abilities as a mathematician and physicist who significantly influenced the science of his times. His investigations of photographic photometry, optics, and spectroscopy display his strengths as an observer who knew his instruments. But above all Schwarzschild pursued questions of astrophysics, addressing in particular stellar atmospheres, comets, and the structure and dynamics of stellar systems. The host of scientific works that he authored in his short life is now collected in the form of this three-volume complete works; it is supplemented by biographical material, notes from some of todays experts, and an essay by the Nobel Laureate S. Chandrasekhar.

  20. Simultaneous determination of trantinterol and its metabolites in rat urine and feces by liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry.

    PubMed

    Li, Kunjie; Wang, Yanjuan; Zhang, Lili; Qin, Feng; Guo, Xingjie; Li, Famei

    2013-09-01

    A highly selective and sensitive liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) method was developed for the simultaneous determination of trantinterol (SPFF) and its major metabolites for the first time. The analytes were extracted from rat urine and feces samples by liquid-liquid extraction (LLE) and determined in multiple reaction monitoring (MRM) mode with clenbuterol as the internal standard. Chromatographic separation was achieved on a Venusil ASB C8 column (2.1mm×100mm, 3μm), with the mobile phase consisted of methanol-0.2% formic acid (30:70, v/v) at the flow rate of 0.2mL/min. Each sample was chromatographed within 5min. This method has a lower limit of quantification (LLOQ) of 0.450, 1.05, 1.35, 0.904 and 1.36ng/mL for trantinterol (SPFF), arylhydroxylamine trantinterol (N-OH-SPFF), tert-butyl hydroxylated trantinterol (Tert-OH-SPFF), 1-carbonyl trantinterol (SPFF-COOH) and 3-methyl sulfone-dechloro-trantinterol (SPFF-SO2CH3) in rat urine, and 0.450, 1.35 and 0.904ng/mL for SPFF, Tert-OH-SPFF and SPFF-COOH in rat feces, respectively. The linear correlation coefficients were greater than 0.990. The intra- and inter-day precision (relative standard deviation, RSD) values were below 15% and the accuracy (relative error, RE) was -9.9% to 11% at three quality control levels. The method has been successfully applied to the excretion study following an oral administration of 1mg/kg trantinterol to rats. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  1. Measurements of Laser Generated X-ray Spectra from Irradiated Gold Foils

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Davis, Joshua; Keiter, Paul; Drake, Paul; Klein, Sallee

    2015-11-01

    Soft x-ray sources may provide a means of driving photoionization fronts in materials with a Z >2. To generate these soft x-rays at a traditional UV laser facility, a gold converter foil can be implemented that absorbs the UV photons and heats up to act as a quasi-continuum blackbody emitter with a characteristic temperature of ~ 100eV. However, it takes time for the heating wave to propagate through the foil, with thicker foils having a longer delay before measureable emission is produced. Prior work has studied the emission characteristics of foil x-ray sources but was limited to laser pulses of 1ns or less. Our interest is in long duration sources (>1ns) which requires the use of thicker Au foils. To better understand how the increased foil thickness affects emission we have performed experiments at the Omega-60 laser facility studying the x-ray intensity and total emission time of 0.5, 1.0, and 2.0 μm thick gold foils driven by a 2kJ, 6ns laser pulse. This presentation will discuss the results of these experiments and will include a discussion of how these results compare with theoretical predictions. This work is funded by the U.S. DOE, through the NNSA-DS and SC-OFES Joint Program in HEDPLP, grant No. DE-NA0001840, and the NLUF Program, grant No. DE-NA0000850, and through LLE, Univ of Rochester by the NNSA/OICF under Agreement No. DE-FC52-08NA28302.

  2. Final Scientific Report

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

    Hayes, Adam; Mayton, Mark; Rolland, Jannick

    2016-03-29

    Project 1: We have created a 3D optical research and design software platform for simulation and optimization, geared toward asymmetric, folded optical systems and new, enabling freeform surfaces. The software, Eikonal+, targets both institutional researchers and leading optical surface fabricators. With a modular design and the source code available to the development team at the University of Rochester, custom modules can be created for specific research interests and is accelerating the work on freeform optics currently being carried out at the Institute of Optics. With a research-based optical design environment, the fabrication, assembly, and testing industries can anticipate, innovate, andmore » retool for the future of optical systems. Targeted proposals for science and innovation in freeform optics spanning design to fabrication, assembly, and testing can proceed with a level of technical transparency that has been unachievable in this field since the 1960’s, when optics design code was commercialized and became unavailable to the research community for competitive reasons. Project 2: The University of Rochester Laboratory for Laser Energetics (LLE) with personnel from Flint Creek Resources (FCR) collaborated to develop technologies for the reclamation and reuse of cerium oxide based slurries intended for the polishing of optical components. The pilot process was evaluated and modifications were made to improve the collection of spent glass polish, to improve the efficiency and capacity of the recycling equipment, and to expand the customer base. A portable, self-contained system was developed and fabricated to recycle glass polishing compounds where the spent materials are produced.« less

  3. Final Report: Posttest Analysis of Omega II Optical Specimens

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

    Newlander, C D; Fisher, J H

    Preliminary posttest analyses have been completed on optical specimens exposed during the Omega II test series conducted on 14 July 2006. The Omega Facility, located at the Laboratory for Laser Energetics (LLE) at the University of Rochester was used to produce X-ray environments through the interaction of intense pulsed laser radiation upon germanium-loaded silica aerogels. The optical specimen testing was supported by GH Systems through experiment design, pre- and post-test analyses, specimen acquisition, and overall technical experience. The test specimens were fabricated and characterized by Surface Optics Corporation (SOC), San Diego, CA and were simple protected gold coatings on silicamore » substrates. Six test specimens were exposed, five filtered with thin beryllium foil filters, and one unfiltered which was exposed directly to the raw environment. The experimental objectives were: (1) demonstrate that tests of optical specimens could be performed at the Omega facility; (2) evaluate the use and survivability of beryllium foil filters as a function of thickness; (3) obtain damage data on optical specimens which ranged from no damage to damage; (4) correlate existing thermal response models with the damage data; (5) evaluate the use of the direct raw environment upon the specimen response and the ability/desirability to conduct sensitive optical specimen tests using the raw environment; and (6) initiate the development of a protocol for performing optical coatings/mirror tests. This report documents the activities performed by GH Systems in evaluating and using the environments provided by LLNL, the PUFFTFT analyses performed using those environments, and the calculated results compared to the observed and measured posttest data.« less

  4. Loess and Loess-like Sediments on the Tibetan Plateau: New Results and Findings

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Lehmkuhl, F.

    2014-12-01

    Aeolian, loess-like sediments distributed as mantles of silt covering the bedrock and debris are widespread depositions in the Qilain Shan and on the Tibetan Plateau (Lehmkuhl 1997). Up to now little is known about the timing and distribution of these late Quaternary sediments originated from far and local transported aeolian dust and sand. They represent valuable archives about environmental change during the late Quaternary. In addition, this fine material is important for growth of the vegetation cover and for water storage and nomadic life. Radiocarbon and luminescence dating provide information concerning their timing to the end of the last glacial cycle and especially to the Holocene, as some of them include loess-paleosol sequences. In addition, valuable information on paleoenvironmental conditions was acquired by grain-size distribution and geochemical analyses (e.g. Nottebaum et al. 2014, Lehmkuhl et. al. 2014). This contribution mainly focuses on the Qilian Shan, the northeastern and southern Tibetan Plateau. Lehmkuhl F. (1997). The spatial distribution of loess and loess-like sediments in the mountain areas of Central and High Asia, Zeitschrift für Geomorphologie, N.F., Suppl.-Bd. 111, 97-116. Lehmkuhl F., Schulte P., Zhao H., Hülle D., Protze J., Stauch G. (2014). Timing and spatial distribution of loess and loess-like sediments in the mountain areas of the northeastern Tibetan Plateau, Catena 117, 22-33. Nottebaum V., Lehmkuhl F., Stauch G., Hartmann K., Wünnemann B, Schimpf S, Lu H. (2014): Regional grain size variations in aeolian sediments along the transition between Tibetan highlands and northwestern Chinese deserts: The influence of geomorphological settings on aeolian transport pathways, Earth Surface Processes and Landforms, in press. DOI: 10.1002/esp.3590

  5. Retrospektive Analyse von Zufallsbefunden, die bei Patienten mit kutanem malignen Malignom durch (18) F-Fluordeoxyglucose-PET/CT erhoben wurden.

    PubMed

    Conrad, Franziska; Winkens, Thomas; Kaatz, Martin; Goetze, Steven; Freesmeyer, Martin

    2016-08-01

    Bei der (18) F-Fluordeoxyglucose-Positronenemissionstomographie/Computertomographie (FDG-PET/CT) ergeben sich häufig Zufallsbefunde. In der vorliegenden Studie konzentrierten wir uns auf mittels FDG-PET/CT erhaltene Zufallsbefunde bei Patienten mit kutanem Melanom und überprüften deren Relevanz hinsichtlich weiterer diagnostischer Maßnahmen und Interventionen. Die Krankenakten von 181 konsekutiven Melanom-Patienten wurden retrospektiv ausgewertet, um das Management von Zufallsbefunden zu dokumentieren. Der Schwerpunkt lag dabei auf den histologischen Befunden. Bei 33 von 181 (18 %) Patienten lagen 39 relevante Zufallsbefunde vor, und zwar im Kolorektalbereich (n = 15 Patienten), in der Schilddrüse (n = 8), der Prostata (n = 2), dem Bewegungsapparat (n = 2), in Lymphknoten (n = 2), der Parotis (n = 1), den Mandeln (n = 1), den Nieren (n = 1) und der Gallenblase (n = 1). Bei 25 Patienten schlossen sich weitere diagnostische Verfahren an, wobei in 21 Fällen ein klinisches Korrelat nachgewiesen wurde. Bei 16 von 21 Patienten ergab sich eine Neoplasie, darunter fünf maligne Läsionen (vier Kolonkarzinome und ein Prostatakarzinom). Die Malignome wurden frühzeitig diagnostiziert und in der Mehrzahl der Fälle erfolgreich entfernt. Der Einsatz der FDG-PET/CT als Routine-Diagnostik wird in den Leitlinien empfohlen und ist indiziert bei malignem Melanom ab Stadium IIC. In dieser Studie wurden auf effektive Weise ansonsten nicht erkannte Krebserkrankungen, insbesondere Kolonkarzinome, detektiert. In den meisten Fällen war eine frühe Intervention möglich. Zufallsbefunde durch FDG-PET/CT sollten, unter Berücksichtigung des Zustands und der Wünsche des Patienten, mit den geeigneten diagnostischen Maßnahmen abgeklärt werden. © 2016 Deutsche Dermatologische Gesellschaft (DDG). Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  6. Photometric analysis of esthetically pleasant and unpleasant facial profile

    PubMed Central

    Fortes, Helena Nunes da Rocha; Guimarães, Thamirys Correia; Belo, Ivana Mara Lira; da Matta, Edgard Norões Rodrigues

    2014-01-01

    Objective To identify which linear, angular and proportionality measures could influence a profile to be considered esthetically pleasant or unpleasant, and to assess sexual dimorphism. Methods 150 standardized facial profile photographs of dental students of both sexes were obtained and printed on photographic paper. Ten plastic surgeons, ten orthodontists and ten layperson answered a questionnaire characterizing each profile as pleasant, acceptable or unpleasant. With the use of a score system, the 15 most pleasant and unpleasant profiles of each sex were selected. The photographs were scanned into AutoCAD computer software. Linear, angular and proportion measurements were obtained using the software tools. The average values between groups were compared by the Student's t-test and the Mann-Whitney test at 5%. Results The linear measures LL-S, LL-H, LL-E, LL-B and Pn-H showed statistically significant differences (p < 0.05). Statistical differences were also found in the angular measures G'.Pn.Pg', G'.Sn.Pg' and Sn.Me'.C and in the proportions G'-Sn:Sn-Me' and Sn-Gn':Gn'-C (p < 0.05). Differences between sexes were found for the linear measure Ala-Pn, angles G'-Pg'.N-Pn, Sn.Me'.C, and proportions Gn'-Sn:Sn-Me' and Ala-Pn:N'-Sn. (p < 0.05). Conclusion The anteroposterior position of the lower lip, the amount of nose that influences the profile, facial convexity, total vertical proportion and lip-chin proportion appear to influence pleasantness of facial profile. Sexual dimorphism was identified in nasal length, nasofacial and lower third of the face angles, total vertical and nasal height/length proportions. PMID:24945516

  7. Simultaneous determination of dextromethorphan, dextrorphan and doxylamine in human plasma by HPLC coupled to electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry: application to a pharmacokinetic study.

    PubMed

    Donato, J L; Koizumi, F; Pereira, A S; Mendes, G D; De Nucci, G

    2012-06-15

    In the present study, a fast, sensitive and robust method to quantify dextromethorphan, dextrorphan and doxylamine in human plasma using deuterated internal standards (IS) is described. The analytes and the IS were extracted from plasma by a liquid-liquid extraction (LLE) using diethyl-ether/hexane (80/20, v/v). Extracted samples were analyzed by high performance liquid chromatography coupled to electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry (HPLC-ESI-MS/MS). Chromatographic separation was performed by pumping the mobile phase (acetonitrile/water/formic acid (90/9/1, v/v/v) during 4.0min at a flow-rate of 1.5 mL min⁻¹ into a Phenomenex Gemini® C18, 5 μm analytical column (150 × 4.6 mm i.d.). The calibration curve was linear over the range from 0.2 to 200 ng mL⁻¹ for dextromethorphan and doxylamine and 0.05 to 10 ng mL⁻¹ for dextrorphan. The intra-batch precision and accuracy (%CV) of the method ranged from 2.5 to 9.5%, and 88.9 to 105.1%, respectively. Method inter-batch precision (%CV) and accuracy ranged from 6.7 to 10.3%, and 92.2 to 107.1%, respectively. The run-time was for 4 min. The analytical procedure herein described was used to assess the pharmacokinetics of dextromethorphan, dextrorphan and doxylamine in healthy volunteers after a single oral dose of a formulation containing 30 mg of dextromethorphan hydrobromide and 12.5mg of doxylamine succinate. The method has high sensitivity, specificity and allows high throughput analysis required for a pharmacokinetic study. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  8. Photometric analysis of esthetically pleasant and unpleasant facial profile.

    PubMed

    Fortes, Helena Nunes da Rocha; Guimarães, Thamirys Correia; Belo, Ivana Mara Lira; da Matta, Edgard Norões Rodrigues

    2014-01-01

    To identify which linear, angular and proportionality measures could influence a profile to be considered esthetically pleasant or unpleasant, and to assess sexual dimorphism. 150 standardized facial profile photographs of dental students of both sexes were obtained and printed on photographic paper. Ten plastic surgeons, ten orthodontists and ten layperson answered a questionnaire characterizing each profile as pleasant, acceptable or unpleasant. With the use of a score system, the 15 most pleasant and unpleasant profiles of each sex were selected. The photographs were scanned into AutoCAD computer software. Linear, angular and proportion measurements were obtained using the software tools. The average values between groups were compared by the Student's t-test and the Mann-Whitney test at a significance level of 5%. The linear measures LL-S, LL-H, LL-E, LL-B and Pn-H showed statistically significant differences (p < 0.05). Statistical differences were also found in the angular measures G'.Pn.Pg', G'.Sn.Pg' and Sn.Me'.C and in the proportions G'-Sn:Sn-Me' and Sn-Gn':Gn'-C (p < 0.05). Differences between sexes were found for the linear measure Ala-Pn, angles G'-Pg'.N-Pn, Sn.Me'.C, and proportions Gn'-Sn:Sn-Me' and Ala-Pn:N'-Sn. (p < 0.05). The anteroposterior position of the lower lip, the amount of nose that influences the profile, facial convexity, total vertical proportion and lip-chin proportion appear to influence pleasantness of facial profile. Sexual dimorphism was identified in nasal length, nasofacial and lower third of the face angles, total vertical and nasal height/length proportions.

  9. Moho Depth and Bulk Crustal Properties in Northern Quebec and Labrador

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Vervaet, F.; Darbyshire, F. A.

    2016-12-01

    Northern Quebec and Labrador lie at the heart of the Laurentian landmass and preserve over 3 billion years of continental evolution. In this region the Archean Superior and Nain cratons are surrounded by Paleoproterozoic orogens such as New-Quebec, Trans-Hudson and Torngat, as well as the younger Grenville orogen to the SE. Study of crustal structure in this region provides valuable information on the assembly of the North American continent. We use data from 8 seismic stations installed in summer 2011 as part of the QUiLLE (Quebec-Labrador Lithospheric Experiment) project to investigate crustal structure, using receiver function analysis. The data set covers 5 years (2011-2016) for most of the stations, comprising several hundred events of magnitude ≥5 and epicentral distance 30-90°. After initial data processing and quality control, several tens of events per station were used in an H-κ stacking analysis to estimate Moho depth and bulk crustal properties. Some stations show significant complexity in their receiver functions, leading to inconclusive H-κ results, but the majority show a consistent Moho signal from which crustal parameters are successfully extracted. Crustal thickness varies from 33 to 49 km, with the thickest crust associated with the Trans-Hudson orogen in the Ungava region of northernmost Quebec and the thinnest beneath the central Labrador coast. Vp/Vs ratios (κ) lie in the range 1.71-1.86, with the majority of values consistent with granite-gneiss-tonalite bulk crustal compositions. The receiver functions are combined with surface-wave group velocity data to model the crustal structures in more detail beneath each station, allowing us to investigate crustal layering, Moho complexity and lateral heterogeneity.

  10. Application of gas chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry for the determination of amphetamine-type stimulants in blood and urine.

    PubMed

    Woźniak, Mateusz Kacper; Wiergowski, Marek; Aszyk, Justyna; Kubica, Paweł; Namieśnik, Jacek; Biziuk, Marek

    2018-01-30

    Amphetamine, methamphetamine, phentermine, 3,4-methylenedioxyamphetamine (MDA), 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA), and 3,4-methylenedioxy-N-ethylamphetamine (MDEA) are the most popular amphetamine-type stimulants. The use of these substances is a serious societal problem worldwide. In this study, a method based on gas chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (GC-MS/MS) with simple and rapid liquid-liquid extraction (LLE) and derivatization was developed and validated for the simultaneous determination of the six aforementioned amphetamine derivatives in blood and urine. The detection of all compounds was based on multiple reaction monitoring (MRM) transitions. The most important advantage of the method is the minimal sample volume (as low as 200μL) required for the extraction procedure. The validation parameters, i.e., the recovery (90.5-104%), inter-day accuracy (94.2-109.1%) and precision (0.5-5.8%), showed the repeatability and sensitivity of the method for both matrices and indicated that the proposed procedure fulfils internationally established acceptance criteria for bioanalytical methods The procedure was successfully applied to the analysis of real blood and urine samples examined in 22 forensic toxicological cases. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first work presenting the use of GC-MS/MS for the determination of amphetamine-type stimulants in blood and urine. In view of the low limits of detection (0.09-0.81ng/mL), limits of quantification (0.26-2.4ng/mL), and high selectivity, the procedure can be applied for drug monitoring in both fatal and non-fatal intoxication cases in routine toxicology analysis. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  11. Determination of GHB in human hair by HPLC-MS/MS: Development and validation of a method and application to a study group and three possible single exposure cases.

    PubMed

    Bertol, Elisabetta; Mari, Francesco; Vaiano, Fabio; Romano, Guido; Zaami, Simona; Baglìo, Giovanni; Busardò, Francesco Paolo

    2015-05-01

    Gamma-hydroxybutyrate (GHB) over the last two decades has generated increased notoriety as a euphoric and disinhibiting drug of abuse in cases of drug-related sexual assault and for this reason it is considered a 'date rape' drug. The first aim of this paper was to develop and fully validate a method for the detection of GHB in human hair by high performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (HPLC-MS/MS) after liquid-liquid extraction (LLE). The second aim was the application of the method to hair samples of 30 GHB-free users in order to determine the basal level. The results obtained showed no significant differences in endogenous concentrations (p = 0.556) between hair samples of the three groups (black, blonde, and dyed hair) and the age and sex of the subjects did not affect the endogenous levels. Another 12 healthy volunteers, with no previous history of GHB use, were selected and a single dose (25 mg/Kg) was orally administered to all of them and hair samples were collected before the administration of the single dose and other two samples were collected one month and two months later, respectively. The segmental analysis of the latter two samples allowed us to calculate two ratios: 4.45:1 (95% C.I. 3.52-5.63) and 3.35:1 (95% C.I. 2.14-5.18), respectively, which can be recommended as reasonable values for a positive identification of GHB intake. Finally the method was applied to three real cases where a GHB single exposure probably occurred. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

  12. Absolute radiant power measurement for the Au M lines of laser-plasma using a calibrated broadband soft X-ray spectrometer with flat-spectral response.

    PubMed

    Troussel, Ph; Villette, B; Emprin, B; Oudot, G; Tassin, V; Bridou, F; Delmotte, F; Krumrey, M

    2014-01-01

    CEA implemented an absolutely calibrated broadband soft X-ray spectrometer called DMX on the Omega laser facility at the Laboratory for Laser Energetics (LLE) in 1999 to measure radiant power and spectral distribution of the radiation of the Au plasma. The DMX spectrometer is composed of 20 channels covering the spectral range from 50 eV to 20 keV. The channels for energies below 1.5 keV combine a mirror and a filter with a coaxial photo-emissive detector. For the channels above 5 keV the photoemissive detector is replaced by a conductive detector. The intermediate energy channels (1.5 keV < photon energy < 5 keV) use only a filter and a coaxial detector. A further improvement of DMX consists in flat-response X-ray channels for a precise absolute measurement of the photon flux in the photon energy range from 0.1 keV to 6 keV. Such channels are equipped with a filter, a Multilayer Mirror (MLM), and a coaxial detector. We present as an example the development of channel for the gold M emission lines in the photon energy range from 2 keV to 4 keV which has been successfully used on the OMEGA laser facility. The results of the radiant power measurements with the new MLM channel and with the usual channel composed of a thin titanium filter and a coaxial detector (without mirror) are compared. All elements of the channel have been calibrated in the laboratory of the Physikalisch-Technische Bundesanstalt, Germany's National Metrology Institute, at the synchrotron radiation facility BESSY II in Berlin using dedicated well established and validated methods.

  13. Simultaneous determination of cucurbitacin B and cucurbitacin E in rat plasma by UHPLC-MS/MS: A pharmacokinetics study after oral administration of cucurbitacin tablets.

    PubMed

    Wang, Zhibin; Zhu, Wenbo; Gao, Mingjie; Wu, Chengcui; Yang, Chunjuan; Yang, Jing; Wu, Gaosong; Yang, Bingyou; Kuang, Haixue

    2017-10-15

    Cucurbitacin B (CuB) and cucurbitacin E (CuE) are tetracyclic triterpene compounds from Cucurbitaceae, and the main bioactive compounds of cucurbitacins tablets that used to treatment of chronic hepatitis. Pharmacological research has been very comprehensive, and there are few studies on pharmacokinetics, especially about CuE. An Ultra High Performance Liquid Chromatography-tandem Mass Spectrometry (UHPLC-MS/MS) method with high selectivity, simplicity and sensitivity has been used for quantitative analysis of Cucurbitacin B (CuB) and cucurbitacin E (CuE). Plasma samples were pretreatment by Liquid-liquid extraction (LLE) method with dichloromethane. The chromatographic separation was achieved on a C 18 column (Agilent Eclipse Plus, 1.8μm, 50×2.1mm) using gradient elution with water - methanol at a flow rate of 0.3mL/min and the column temperature was set at 30°C. The method was validated according to FDA guidelines. Lower limit of quantification (LLOQ) was 1.60ng/mL for CuB and 1.58ng/mL for CuE. Correlation coefficients of CuB and CuE were more than 0.99 in rat plasma. All values of intra-day and inter-day precision (RSD%) were not exceeded 15%, the accuracy (RE%) were within -5.57 to 5.20% for CuB and -3.33 to 7.37% for CuE. The mean extraction recoveries were more than 80%. Pharmacokinetic parameters were also evaluated by UHPLC-MS/MS method. The results suggestion that this method was successfully applied to pharmacokinetic study of CuB and CuE in rat plasma after oral administration cucurbitacin tablets. Published by Elsevier B.V.

  14. EU-wide monitoring survey on emerging polar organic contaminants in wastewater treatment plant effluents.

    PubMed

    Loos, Robert; Carvalho, Raquel; António, Diana C; Comero, Sara; Locoro, Giovanni; Tavazzi, Simona; Paracchini, Bruno; Ghiani, Michela; Lettieri, Teresa; Blaha, Ludek; Jarosova, Barbora; Voorspoels, Stefan; Servaes, Kelly; Haglund, Peter; Fick, Jerker; Lindberg, Richard H; Schwesig, David; Gawlik, Bernd M

    2013-11-01

    In the year 2010, effluents from 90 European wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) were analyzed for 156 polar organic chemical contaminants. The analyses were complemented by effect-based monitoring approaches aiming at estrogenicity and dioxin-like toxicity analyzed by in vitro reporter gene bioassays, and yeast and diatom culture acute toxicity optical bioassays. Analyses of organic substances were performed by solid-phase extraction (SPE) or liquid-liquid extraction (LLE) followed by liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS-MS) or gas chromatography high-resolution mass spectrometry (GC-HRMS). Target microcontaminants were pharmaceuticals and personal care products (PPCPs), veterinary (antibiotic) drugs, perfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs), organophosphate ester flame retardants, pesticides (and some metabolites), industrial chemicals such as benzotriazoles (corrosion inhibitors), iodinated x-ray contrast agents, and gadolinium magnetic resonance imaging agents; in addition biological endpoints were measured. The obtained results show the presence of 125 substances (80% of the target compounds) in European wastewater effluents, in concentrations ranging from low nanograms to milligrams per liter. These results allow for an estimation to be made of a European median level for the chemicals investigated in WWTP effluents. The most relevant compounds in the effluent waters with the highest median concentration levels were the artificial sweeteners acesulfame and sucralose, benzotriazoles (corrosion inhibitors), several organophosphate ester flame retardants and plasticizers (e.g. tris(2-chloroisopropyl)phosphate; TCPP), pharmaceutical compounds such as carbamazepine, tramadol, telmisartan, venlafaxine, irbesartan, fluconazole, oxazepam, fexofenadine, diclofenac, citalopram, codeine, bisoprolol, eprosartan, the antibiotics trimethoprim, ciprofloxacine, sulfamethoxazole, and clindamycine, the insect repellent N,N'-diethyltoluamide (DEET), the pesticides

  15. Simultaneous determination of carboprost methylate and its active metabolite carboprost in dog plasma by liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry with positive/negative ion-switching electrospray ionization and its application to a pharmacokinetic study.

    PubMed

    Yin, Lei; Meng, Xiangjun; Zhou, Xiaotong; Zhang, Tinglan; Sun, Heping; Yang, Zhichao; Yang, Bo; Xiao, Ning; Fawcett, J Paul; Yang, Yan; Gu, Jingkai

    2015-08-15

    A liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometric (LC-MS/MS) method using positive/negative electrospray ionization (ESI) switching for the simultaneous quantitation of carboprost methylate and carboprost in dog plasma has been developed and validated. After screening, the esterase inhibitor, dichlorvos was added to the whole blood at a ratio of 1:99 (v/v) to stabilize carboprost methylate during blood collection, sample storage and LLE. Indomethacin was added to plasma to inhibit prostaglandins synthesis after sampling. After liquid-liquid extraction of 500μL plasma with ethyl ether-dichloromethane (75:25, v/v), analytes and internal standard (IS), alprostadil-d4, were chromatographed on a CAPCELL PAK Phenyl column (150×2.0mm, 5μm) using acetonitrile-5mM ammonium acetate as mobile phase. Carboprost methylate was detected by positive ion electrospray ionization followed by multiple reaction monitoring (MRM) of the transition at m/z 400.5→329.3; the carboprost and IS were detected by negative ion electrospray ionization followed by MRM of the transitions at m/z 367.2→323.2, and 357.1→321.2, respectively. The method was linear for both analytes in the concentration range 0.05-30ng/mL with intra- and inter-day precisions (as relative standard deviation) of ≤6.75% and accuracy (as relative error) of ≤7.21% and limit of detection (LOD) values were 10 and 20pg/mL, respectively. The method was successfully applied to a pharmacokinetic study of the analytes in beagle dogs after intravaginal administration of a suppository containing 0.5mg carboprost methylate. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  16. Analysis of benzodiazepines and their metabolites using DBS cards and LC-MS/MS.

    PubMed

    Lee, Heesang; Park, Yujin; Jo, Jiyeong; In, Sangwhan; Park, Yonghoon; Kim, Eunmi; Pyo, Jaesung; Choe, Sanggil

    2015-10-01

    Dried Blood Spot (DBS) has been used a blood extraction method for inherited metabolic disorder screening since 1960s. With introduction of LC-MS/MS, not only DBS could be used to analysis drugs in small blood volume, but in various fields, such as toxicology, drug therapeutic monitoring, drug diagnostic screening, and illicit drugs. In toxicology field, many drugs (e.g. benzodiazepines, acetaminophen, small molecule drugs) have been tested with DBS. Compared with earlier blood extraction methods (SPE and LLE), DBS has lots of advantages; lower blood volume (less than 50μL), shorter analysis time caused by a more concise analysis procedure and lower cost. We optimized the DBS procedure and LC-MS/MS conditions for 18 benzodiazepines, seven benzodiazepine metabolites, and one z-drug (zolpidem) analysis in blood. 30μL of whole blood was spotted on FTA DMPK card C and dried for 2h in a desiccator. A 6-mm disk was punched and vortexed for 1min in a centrifuge tube with 300μL methanol/acetonitrile mixture (1:1, v/v). After evaporation, redissolved in 100μL mobile phase of LC-MS/MS and 5μL was injected. In the analysis for 26 target compounds in blood, all of the method validation parameters - LLOD, LLOQ, accuracy (intra- and inter-assay), and precision (intra- and inter-assay) - were satisfied with method validation criteria, within 15%. The results of matrix effect, recovery, and process efficiency were good. We developed a fast and reliable sample preparation method using DBS for 26 benzodiazepines, benzodiazepine metabolites, and z-drug (zolpidem). Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

  17. Proteomic alterations induced by ionic liquids in Aspergillus nidulans and Neurospora crassa.

    PubMed

    Martins, Isabel; Hartmann, Diego O; Alves, Paula C; Planchon, Sébastien; Renaut, Jenny; Leitão, M Cristina; Rebelo, Luís P N; Silva Pereira, Cristina

    2013-12-06

    This study constitutes the first attempt to understand at the proteomic level the fungal response to ionic liquid stress. Ascomycota are able to grow in media supplemented with high concentrations of an ionic liquid, which, in turn, lead to major alterations in the fungal metabolic footprint. Herein, we analysed the differential accumulation of mycelial proteins in Aspergillus nidulans and Neurospora crassa after their exposure to two of the most commonly used ionic liquids: 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium chloride or cholinium chloride. Data obtained showed that numerous stress-responsive proteins (e.g. anti-ROS defence proteins) as well as several critical biological processes and/or pathways were affected by either ionic liquid. Amongst other changes, these compounds altered developmental programmes in both fungi (e.g. promoting the development of Hülle cells or conidiation) and led to accumulation of osmolytes, some of which may play an important role in multiple stress responses. In particular, in N. crassa, both ionic liquids increased the levels of proteins which are likely involved in the biosynthesis of unusual metabolites. These data potentially open new perspectives on ionic liquid research, furthering their conscious design and their use to trigger production of targeted metabolites. The present study emphasises the importance of understanding ionic liquid's stress responses, crucial to further their safe large-scale usage. Knowledge of the alterations prompted at a cellular and biochemical level gives also fresh perspectives on how to employ these "novel" compounds to manipulate proteins or pathways of biotechnological value. The results presented here provide meaningful insights into the understanding of fungi stress and adaptation responses to anthropogenic chemicals used in industry. © 2013.

  18. A consensus embedding approach for segmentation of high resolution in vivo prostate magnetic resonance imagery

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Viswanath, Satish; Rosen, Mark; Madabhushi, Anant

    2008-03-01

    Current techniques for localization of prostatic adenocarcinoma (CaP) via blinded trans-rectal ultrasound biopsy are associated with a high false negative detection rate. While high resolution endorectal in vivo Magnetic Resonance (MR) prostate imaging has been shown to have improved contrast and resolution for CaP detection over ultrasound, similarity in intensity characteristics between benign and cancerous regions on MR images contribute to a high false positive detection rate. In this paper, we present a novel unsupervised segmentation method that employs manifold learning via consensus schemes for detection of cancerous regions from high resolution 1.5 Tesla (T) endorectal in vivo prostate MRI. A significant contribution of this paper is a method to combine multiple weak, lower-dimensional representations of high dimensional feature data in a way analogous to classifier ensemble schemes, and hence create a stable and accurate reduced dimensional representation. After correcting for MR image intensity artifacts, such as bias field inhomogeneity and intensity non-standardness, our algorithm extracts over 350 3D texture features at every spatial location in the MR scene at multiple scales and orientations. Non-linear dimensionality reduction schemes such as Locally Linear Embedding (LLE) and Graph Embedding (GE) are employed to create multiple low dimensional data representations of this high dimensional texture feature space. Our novel consensus embedding method is used to average object adjacencies from within the multiple low dimensional projections so that class relationships are preserved. Unsupervised consensus clustering is then used to partition the objects in this consensus embedding space into distinct classes. Quantitative evaluation on 18 1.5 T prostate MR data against corresponding histology obtained from the multi-site ACRIN trials show a sensitivity of 92.65% and a specificity of 82.06%, which suggests that our method is successfully able to detect

  19. Development of in situ product removal strategies in biocatalysis applying scaled-down unit operations.

    PubMed

    Heintz, Søren; Börner, Tim; Ringborg, Rolf H; Rehn, Gustav; Grey, Carl; Nordblad, Mathias; Krühne, Ulrich; Gernaey, Krist V; Adlercreutz, Patrick; Woodley, John M

    2017-03-01

    An experimental platform based on scaled-down unit operations combined in a plug-and-play manner enables easy and highly flexible testing of advanced biocatalytic process options such as in situ product removal (ISPR) process strategies. In such a platform, it is possible to compartmentalize different process steps while operating it as a combined system, giving the possibility to test and characterize the performance of novel process concepts and biocatalysts with minimal influence of inhibitory products. Here the capabilities of performing process development by applying scaled-down unit operations are highlighted through a case study investigating the asymmetric synthesis of 1-methyl-3-phenylpropylamine (MPPA) using ω-transaminase, an enzyme in the sub-family of amino transferases (ATAs). An on-line HPLC system was applied to avoid manual sample handling and to semi-automatically characterize ω-transaminases in a scaled-down packed-bed reactor (PBR) module, showing MPPA as a strong inhibitor. To overcome the inhibition, a two-step liquid-liquid extraction (LLE) ISPR concept was tested using scaled-down unit operations combined in a plug-and-play manner. Through the tested ISPR concept, it was possible to continuously feed the main substrate benzylacetone (BA) and extract the main product MPPA throughout the reaction, thereby overcoming the challenges of low substrate solubility and product inhibition. The tested ISPR concept achieved a product concentration of 26.5 g MPPA  · L -1 , a purity up to 70% g MPPA  · g tot -1 and a recovery in the range of 80% mol · mol -1 of MPPA in 20 h, with the possibility to increase the concentration, purity, and recovery further. Biotechnol. Bioeng. 2017;114: 600-609. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

  20. Direct analysis of prostaglandin-E2 and -D2 produced in an inflammatory cell reaction and its application for activity screening and potency evaluation using turbulent flow chromatography liquid chromatography-high resolution mass spectrometry.

    PubMed

    Shin, Jeong-Sook; Peng, Lei; Kang, Kyungsu; Choi, Yongsoo

    2016-09-09

    Direct analysis of prostaglandin-E2 (PGE2) and -D2 (PGD2) produced from a RAW264.7 cell-based reaction was performed by liquid chromatography high-resolution mass spectrometry (LC-HRMS), which was online coupled with turbulent flow chromatography (TFC). The capability of this method to accurately measure PG levels in cell reaction medium containing cytokines or proteins as a reaction byproduct was cross-validated by two conventional methods. Two methods, including an LC-HRMS method after liquid-liquid extraction (LLE) of the sample and a commercial PGE2 enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), showed PGE2 and/or PGD2 levels almost similar to those obtained by TFC LC-HRMS over the reaction time after LPS stimulation. After the cross-validation, significant analytical throughputs, allowing simultaneous screening and potency evaluation of 80 natural products including 60 phytochemicals and 20 natural product extracts for the inhibition of the PGD2 produced in the cell-based inflammatory reaction, were achieved using the TFC LC-HRMS method developed. Among the 60 phytochemicals screened, licochalcone A and formononetin inhibited PGD2 production the most with IC50 values of 126 and 151nM, respectively. For a reference activity, indomethacin and diclofenac were used, measuring IC50 values of 0.64 and 0.21nM, respectively. This method also found a butanol extract of Akebia quinata Decne (AQ) stem as a promising natural product for PGD2 inhibition. Direct and accurate analysis of PGs in the inflammatory cell reaction using the TFC LC-HRMS method developed enables the high-throughput screening and potency evaluation of as many as 320 samples in less than 48h without changing a TFC column. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  1. Mixing from below in hydrothermal ore deposits

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Bons, Paul D.; Gomez-Rivas, Enrique; Markl, Gregor; Walter, Bejamin

    2014-05-01

    Unconformity-related hydrothermal ore deposits typically show indications of mixing of two end-member fluids: (a) hot, deep, rock-buffered basement brines and (b) colder fluids derived from the surface or overlying sediments. The hydromechanics of bringing these fluids together from above and below remain unclear. Classical percolative Darcy-flow models are inconsistent with (1) fluid overpressure indicated by fracturing and brecciation, (2) fast fluid flow indicated by thermal disequilibrium, and (3) strong fluid composition variations on the mm-scale, indicated by fluid inclusion analyses (Bons et al. 2012; Fusswinkel et al. 2013). We propose that fluids first descend, sucked down by desiccation reactions in exhumed basement. Oldest fluids reach greatest depths, where long residence times and elevated temperatures allow them the extensively equilibrate with their host rock, reach high salinity and scavenge metals, if present. Youngest fluids can only penetrate to shallower depths and can (partially) retain signatures from their origin, for example high Cl/Br ratios from the dissolution of evaporitic halite horizons. When fluids are released from all levels of the crustal column, these fluids mix during rapid ascent to form hydrothermal ore deposits. Mixing from below provides a viable hydromechanical mechanism to explain the common phenomenon of mixed shallow and deep fluids in hydrothermal ore deposits. Bons, P.D., Elburg, M.A., Gomez-Rivas, E. 2012. A review of the formation of tectonic veins and their microstructures. J. Struct. Geol. doi:10.1016/j.jsg.2012.07.005 Fusswinkel, T., Wagner, T., Wälle, M., Wenzel, T., Heinrich, C.A., Markl, M. 2013. Fluid mixing forms basement-hosted Pb-Zn deposits: Insight from metal and halogen geochemistry of individual fluid inclusions. Geology. doi:10.1130/G34092.1

  2. Development and validation of a method for determination of corticosteroids in pig fat using liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry.

    PubMed

    Tölgyesi, Adám; Sharma, Virender K; Fekete, Jeno

    2011-02-15

    A new method was developed to determine five corticosteroids (prednisolone, methylprednisone, flumethasone, dexamethasone, and methylprednisolone) in pig fat samples by liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) utilizing an optimized liquid-liquid extraction (LLE) and subsequent solid-phase extraction (SPE) for sample clean-up. In the sample preparation, a pig fat sample was dissolved in n-hexane and then extracted into the methanol-water (50/50, v/v) mixture that enabled extraction of only medium polar corticosteroids and not the non-polar components of matrices. This extract was cleaned-up and concentrated on polymeric Oasis HLB SPE cartridge. Separation involved isocratic solvent (methanol-acetate buffer, pH 5.4) and Ascentis Express Fused-Core type HLPC column; reduced the analysis time to 7.5 min, which is at least two times lower than time required for separation using conventional techniques. Other advantage of the developed method is the minimized ion suppression of LC-MS/MS analysis, which allowed detection of corticosteroids in sub μg/kg. Method was validated according to European Union (EU) Commission Decision 2002/657/EC. Measured parameters such as selectivity, linearity, recovery, within-laboratory reproducibility, decision limit, and detection capability satisfied the EU Directive. Ranges of mean recoveries and within-laboratory reproducibility were 81-100% and 8.0-20.5%, respectively. Decision limits were calculated in the range from 4.5 to 11.9 μg/kg for MRL compounds and varied from 0.1 to 0.2 μg/kg for banned substances. Limit of detections (LODs), calculated as three time signal-to-noise ratio, were in the range of 0.1-0.3 μg/kg. Copyright © 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  3. Development of visual peak selection system based on multi-ISs normalization algorithm to apply to methamphetamine impurity profiling.

    PubMed

    Lee, Hun Joo; Han, Eunyoung; Lee, Jaesin; Chung, Heesun; Min, Sung-Gi

    2016-11-01

    The aim of this study is to improve resolution of impurity peaks using a newly devised normalization algorithm for multi-internal standards (ISs) and to describe a visual peak selection system (VPSS) for efficient support of impurity profiling. Drug trafficking routes, location of manufacture, or synthetic route can be identified from impurities in seized drugs. In the analysis of impurities, different chromatogram profiles are obtained from gas chromatography and used to examine similarities between drug samples. The data processing method using relative retention time (RRT) calculated by a single internal standard is not preferred when many internal standards are used and many chromatographic peaks present because of the risk of overlapping between peaks and difficulty in classifying impurities. In this study, impurities in methamphetamine (MA) were extracted by liquid-liquid extraction (LLE) method using ethylacetate containing 4 internal standards and analyzed by gas chromatography-flame ionization detection (GC-FID). The newly developed VPSS consists of an input module, a conversion module, and a detection module. The input module imports chromatograms collected from GC and performs preprocessing, which is converted with a normalization algorithm in the conversion module, and finally the detection module detects the impurities in MA samples using a visualized zoning user interface. The normalization algorithm in the conversion module was used to convert the raw data from GC-FID. The VPSS with the built-in normalization algorithm can effectively detect different impurities in samples even in complex matrices and has high resolution keeping the time sequence of chromatographic peaks the same as that of the RRT method. The system can widen a full range of chromatograms so that the peaks of impurities were better aligned for easy separation and classification. The resolution, accuracy, and speed of impurity profiling showed remarkable improvement. Copyright

  4. Development and validation of an UFLC-MS/MS method for enantioselectivity determination of d,l-thero-methylphenidate, d,l-thero-ethylphenidate and d,l-thero-ritalinic acid in rat plasma and its application to pharmacokinetic study.

    PubMed

    Zhang, Chenghao; Luo, Huafei; Wu, Yubo; Zhang, Junyun; Zhang, Furong; Lin, Guobei; Wang, Hao

    2016-02-01

    A chiral UFLC-MS/MS method was established and validated for quantifying d-threo-methylphenidate (d-threo-MPH), l-threo-methylphenidate (l-threo-MPH), d-threo-ethylphenidate (d-threo-EPH), l-threo-ethylphenidate (l-threo-EPH) and d,l-threo-ritalinic acid (d,l-threo-RA) in rat plasma over the linearity range of 1-500ng/mL. Chiral separation was performed on an Astec Chirobiotic V2 column (5μm, 250×2.1mm) with isocratic elution using methanol containing 0.003% ammonium acetate (w/v) and 0.003% trifluoroacetic acid (v/v) at a flow of 0.3mL/min. All analytes and IS were extracted from rat plasma by a one-step liquid-liquid extraction (LLE) method. The intra- and inter-run accuracies were within 85-115%, and the intra- and inter-run precision were <10% for all analytes. Extraction recoveries were 55-62% for d-threo-MPH, 54-60% for l-threo-MPH, 55-60% for d-threo-EPH, 53-57% for l-threo-EPH and 25-30% for d,l-threo-RA. The validated UFLC-MS/MS method successfully applied to the pharmacokinetic interaction study of oral d-threo-MPH and l-threo-MPH (alone or in combination) in female Sprague Dawley rats. The EPH was not detected in rat plasma following oral administrated MPH without EtOH. As far as it is known to the authors, this study is the first one step liquid-liquid extraction method to extract and UFLC-MS/MS method to quantify d-threo-MPH, l-threo-MPH, d-threo-EPH, l-threo-EPH and d,l-threo-RA simultaneously. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  5. L1-norm locally linear representation regularization multi-source adaptation learning.

    PubMed

    Tao, Jianwen; Wen, Shiting; Hu, Wenjun

    2015-09-01

    In most supervised domain adaptation learning (DAL) tasks, one has access only to a small number of labeled examples from target domain. Therefore the success of supervised DAL in this "small sample" regime needs the effective utilization of the large amounts of unlabeled data to extract information that is useful for generalization. Toward this end, we here use the geometric intuition of manifold assumption to extend the established frameworks in existing model-based DAL methods for function learning by incorporating additional information about the target geometric structure of the marginal distribution. We would like to ensure that the solution is smooth with respect to both the ambient space and the target marginal distribution. In doing this, we propose a novel L1-norm locally linear representation regularization multi-source adaptation learning framework which exploits the geometry of the probability distribution, which has two techniques. Firstly, an L1-norm locally linear representation method is presented for robust graph construction by replacing the L2-norm reconstruction measure in LLE with L1-norm one, which is termed as L1-LLR for short. Secondly, considering the robust graph regularization, we replace traditional graph Laplacian regularization with our new L1-LLR graph Laplacian regularization and therefore construct new graph-based semi-supervised learning framework with multi-source adaptation constraint, which is coined as L1-MSAL method. Moreover, to deal with the nonlinear learning problem, we also generalize the L1-MSAL method by mapping the input data points from the input space to a high-dimensional reproducing kernel Hilbert space (RKHS) via a nonlinear mapping. Promising experimental results have been obtained on several real-world datasets such as face, visual video and object. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  6. Inzidenz von bullösen Autoimmunerkrankungen in Serbien: eine retrospektive Studie über 20 Jahre.

    PubMed

    Milinković, Mirjana; Janković, Slavenka; Medenica, Ljiljana; Nikolić, Miloš; Reljić, Vesna; Popadić, Svetlana; Janković, Janko

    2016-10-01

    Die meisten früheren Arbeiten zu den klinisch-epidemiologischen Merkmalen von bullösen Autoimmunerkrankungen (AIBD) konzentrierten sich vor allem auf eine einzige Krankheitsentität oder nur eine Krankheitsgruppe; nur in wenigen Studien wurde die Inzidenz verschiedener AIBD untersucht. Bei der vorliegenden Studie war es unser Ziel, das gesamte Spektrum der AIBD zu betrachten, die Inzidenz der häufigsten AIBD zu ermitteln und die zeitlichen Trends ihres Auftretens in Zentralserbien über einen Zeitraum von 20 Jahren zu untersuchen. Wir rekrutierten retrospektiv 1161 AIBD-Fälle, die in Zentralserbien von Januar 1991 bis Dezember 2010 neu diagnostiziert wurden. Die Diagnose stützte sich auf eine strikte klinische, histologische und immunhistologische Beurteilung. Folgende Inzidenzraten wurden für die einzelnen Erkrankungen ermittelt: 4,35 pro eine Million Einwohner/Jahr (pME/Jahr) für Pemphigus, 4,47 pME/Jahr für Pemphigoid, 1,42 pME/Jahr für Dermatitis herpetiformis (DH), 0,25 pME/Jahr IgA-Dermatose und 0,08 pME/Jahr für Epidermolysis bullosa acquisita. Im betrachteten Zeitraum stieg die altersbereinigte Inzidenzrate für Pemphigus und insbesondere für Pemphigoid signifikant an, während sie für DH, allerdings nicht signifikant, abnahm. Unsere Studie befasst sich zum ersten Mal mit den Inzidenzraten des gesamten Spektrums der AIBD in Serbien und untersucht die zeitlichen Trends ihres Auftretens über einen Zeitraum von 20 Jahren. Nach unserem besten Wissen wurde ein ähnlicher Befund wie der unsere, dass nämlich die Inzidenzraten von Pemphigus und Pemphigoid vergleichbar sind, bisher noch nicht publiziert. © 2016 Deutsche Dermatologische Gesellschaft (DDG). Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  7. Anomalous DD and TT yields relative to the DT yield in inertial-confinement-fusion implosions

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Casey, Daniel T.

    2011-10-01

    Measurements of the D(d,p)T (DD), T(t,2n)4He (TT) and D(t,n)4He (DT) reactions have been conducted using deuterium-tritium gas-filled inertial confinement fusion (ICF) implosions. In these experiments, which were carried out at the OMEGA laser facility, absolute spectral measurements of the DD protons and TT neutrons were conducted and compared to neutron-time-of-flight measured DT-neutron yields. From these measurements, it is concluded that the DD yield is anomalously low and the TT yield is anomalously high relative to the DT yield, an effect that is enhanced with increasing ion temperature. These results can be explained by an enrichment of tritium in the core of an ICF implosion, which may be present in ignition experiments planned on the National Ignition Facility. In addition, the spectral measurements of the TT-neutron spectrum were conducted for the first time at reactant central-mass energies in the range of 15-30 keV. The results from these measurements indicate that the TT reaction proceeds primarily through the direct three-body reaction channel, producing a continuous TT-neutron spectrum in the range 0 - 9.5 MeV. This work was conducted in collaboration with J. A. Frenje, M. Gatu Johnson, M. J.-E. Manuel, H. G. Rinderknecht, N. Sinenian, F. H. Seguin, C. K. Li, R. D. Petrasso, P. B. Radha, J. A. Delettrez, V. Yu Glebov, D. D. Meyerhofer, T. C. Sangster, D. P. McNabb, P. A. Amendt, R. N. Boyd, J. R. Rygg, H. W. Herrmann, Y. H. Kim, G. P. Grim and A. D. Bacher. This work was supported in part by the U.S. Department of Energy (Grant No. DE-FG03-03SF22691), LLE (subcontract Grant No. 412160-001G), LLNL (subcontract Grant No. B504974).

  8. Stimulation of aerobic degradation of bentazone, mecoprop and dichlorprop by oxygen addition to aquifer sediment.

    PubMed

    Levi, S; Hybel, A-M; Bjerg, P L; Albrechtsen, H-J

    2014-03-01

    In order to investigate aerobic degradation potential for the herbicides bentazone, mecoprop and dichlorprop, anaerobic groundwater samples from two monitoring and three drinking water wells near a drinking water abstraction field in Nybølle, Denmark, were screened for their degradation potential for the herbicides. In the presence of oxygen (14)C-labelled bentazone and mecoprop were removed significantly from the two monitoring wells' groundwater samples. Oxygen was added to microcosms in order to investigate whether different oxygen concentrations stimulate the biodegradation of the three herbicides in microcosms using groundwater and sandy aquifer materials. To maintain a certain oxygen concentration this level was measured from the outside of the bottles with a fibre oxygen meter using oxygen-sensitive luminescent sensor foil mounted inside the microcosm, to which supplementary oxygen was added. The highest oxygen concentrations (corresponding to 4-11 mg L(-1)) stimulated degradation (a 14-27% increase for mecoprop, 3-9% for dichlorprop and 15-20% for bentazone) over an experimental period of 200 days. Oxygen was required to biodegrade the herbicides, since no degradation was observed under anaerobic conditions. This is the first time bentazone degradation has been observed in aquifer material at low oxygen concentrations (2 mg L(-1)). The sediment had substantial oxygen consumption (0.92-1.45O2 g(-1)dw over 200 days) and oxygen was depleted rapidly in most incubations soon after its addition, which might be due to the oxidation of organic matter and other reduced species such as Fe(2+), S(2-) and Mn in sediment before the biodegradation of herbicides takes place. This study suggests that oxygen enhancement around a drinking water abstraction field could stimulate the bioremediation of diffuse source contamination. Copyright © 2013. Published by Elsevier B.V.

  9. Exploring the dynamics of kinetic/multi-ion effects and ion-electron equilibration rates in ICF plasmas at OMEGA

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Sio, H.

    2017-10-01

    During the last few years, an increasing number of experiments have shown that kinetic and multi-ion-fluid effects do impact the performance of an ICF implosion. Observations include: increasing yield degradation as the implosion becomes more kinetic; thermal decoupling between ion species; anomalous yield scaling for different fuel mixtures; ion diffusion; and fuel stratification. The common theme in these experiments is that the results are based on time-integrated nuclear observables that are affected by an accumulation of effects throughout the implosion, which complicate interpretation of the data. A natural extension of these studies is therefore to conduct time-resolved measurements of multiple nuclear-burn histories to explore the dynamics of kinetic/multi-ion effects in the fuel and their impact on the implosion performance. This was accomplished through simultaneous, high-precision measurements of the relative timing of the onset, bang time and duration of DD, D3He, DT and T3He burn from T3He (with trace D) or D3He gas-filled implosions using the new Particle X-ray Temporal Diagnostic (PXTD) on OMEGA. As the different reactions have different temperature sensitivities, Ti(t) was determined from the data. Uniquely to the PXTD, several x-ray emission histories (in different energy bands) were also measured, from which a spatially averaged Te(t) was also determined. The inferred Ti(t) and Te(t) data have been used to experimentally explore ion-electron equilibration rates and the Coulomb Logarithm for various plasma conditions. Finally, the implementation and use of PXTD, which represents a significant advance at OMEGA, have laid the foundation for implementing a Te(t) measurement in support of the main cryogenic DT programs at OMEGA and the NIF. This work was supported in part by the US DOE, LLE, LLNL, and DOE NNSA SSGF.

  10. GC-MS/MS determination and ecological risk assessment of pesticides in aquatic system: A case study in Hooghly River basin in West Bengal, India.

    PubMed

    Mondal, Rahul; Mukherjee, Ayan; Biswas, Subrata; Kole, Ramen Kumar

    2018-04-30

    A liquid-liquid extraction (LLE) for water and modified QuEChERS (quick, easy, cheap, effective, rugged, and safe) method for sediment combined with gas chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (GC-MS/MS) detection in multiple reaction monitoring (MRM) mode was standardized for determination of 31 pesticides. Performance characteristics for the selected pesticides were acceptable according to European Commission's (EC) guidelines for method validation (recovery 70-120%, RSD <20% and R 2 value ≥ 0.99). River, pond and tubewell water and river sediment samples (64 nos.) were collected from Hooghly River basin in West Bengal, India during 2014-2016. About 42% of the samples showed the presence of 19 pesticides with the highest loading of total pesticides (T-pesticides) in river water (3.01 ng mL -1 ) followed by sediment (1.25 ng g -1 ), pond (0.40 ng mL -1 ) and tubewell (0.02 ng mL -1 ) water. The non-agricultural OC (organochlorine) insecticides were detected in all river water and sediment samples mainly due to HCHs (hexachlorocyclohexane) from old source and fresh use of DDTs (dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane) in local areas. No OC insecticides were detected in pond and tubewell water. Maximum residues of some recommended pesticides in agriculture were obtained in pond water. Most of the river water samples (93.7%) were in excess of EC limit (0.50 ng mL -1 ) of T-pesticides for drinking followed by pond water samples (56.2%). Tubewell water samples were free from T-pesticide threat but exceeded the EC limit (0.10 ng mL -1 ) for single pesticide in case of chlorpyrifos only. Ecological risk on aquatic animals was observed for OCs in river and chlorpyrifos in pond aquatic ecosystem. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  11. Combination of dispersive liquid-liquid microextraction with flame atomic absorption spectrometry using microsample introduction for determination of lead in water samples.

    PubMed

    Naseri, Mohammad Taghi; Hemmatkhah, Payam; Hosseini, Mohammad Reza Milani; Assadi, Yaghoub

    2008-03-03

    The dispersive liquid-liquid microextraction (DLLME) was combined with the flame atomic absorption spectrometry (FAAS) for determination of lead in the water samples. Diethyldithiophosphoric acid (DDTP), carbon tetrachloride and methanol were used as chelating agent, extraction solvent and disperser solvent, respectively. A new FAAS sample introduction system was employed for the microvolume nebulization of the non-flammable chlorinated organic extracts. Injection of 20 microL volumes of the organic extract into an air-acetylene flame provided very sensitive spike-like and reproducible signals. Some effective parameters on the microextraction and the complex formation were selected and optimized. These parameters include extraction and disperser solvent type as well as their volume, extraction time, salt effect, pH and amount of the chelating agent. Under the optimized conditions, the enrichment factor of 450 was obtained from a sample volume of 25.0 mL. The enhancement factor, calculated as the ratio of the slopes of the calibration graphs with and without preconcentration, which was about 1000. The calibration graph was linear in the range of 1-70 microgL(-1) with a detection limit of 0.5 microgL(-1). The relative standard deviation (R.S.D.) for seven replicate measurements of 5.0 and 50 microgL(-1) of lead were 3.8 and 2.0%, respectively. The relative recoveries of lead in tap, well, river and seawater samples at the spiking level of 20 microgL(-1) ranged from 93.8 to 106.2%. The characteristics of the proposed method were compared with those of the liquid-liquid extraction (LLE), cloud point extraction (CPE), on-line and off-line solid-phase extraction (SPE) as well as co-precipitation, based on bibliographic data. Operation simplicity, rapidity, low cost, high enrichment factor, good repeatability, and low consumption of the extraction solvent at a microliter level are the main advantages of the proposed method.

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

    Ferrell, Jack R; Ware, Anne E

    Two catalytic fast pyrolysis (CFP) oils (bottom/heavy fraction) were analyzed in various solvents that are used in common analytical methods (nuclear magnetic resonance - NMR, gas chromatography - GC, gel permeation chromatography - GPC, thermogravimetric analysis - TGA) for oil characterization and speciation. A more accurate analysis of the CFP oils can be obtained by identification and exploitation of solvent miscibility characteristics. Acetone and tetrahydrofuran can be used to completely solubilize CFP oils for analysis by GC and tetrahydrofuran can be used for traditional organic GPC analysis of the oils. DMSO-d6 can be used to solubilize CFP oils for analysismore » by 13C NMR. The fractionation of oils into solvents that did not completely solubilize the whole oils showed that miscibility can be related to the oil properties. This allows for solvent selection based on physico-chemical properties of the oils. However, based on semi-quantitative comparisons of the GC chromatograms, the organic solvent fractionation schemes did not speciate the oils based on specific analyte type. On the other hand, chlorinated solvents did fractionate the oils based on analyte size to a certain degree. Unfortunately, like raw pyrolysis oil, the matrix of the CFP oils is complicated and is not amenable to simple liquid-liquid extraction (LLE) or solvent fractionation to separate the oils based on the chemical and/or physical properties of individual components. For reliable analyses, for each analytical method used, it is critical that the bio-oil sample is both completely soluble and also not likely to react with the chosen solvent. The adoption of the standardized solvent selection protocols presented here will allow for greater reproducibility of analysis across different users and facilities.« less

  13. [Hepatitis E - More than a Rare Travel-Associated Infectious Disease!

    PubMed

    Wedemeyer, Heiner

    2017-06-01

    Übertragungswege  In Deutschland infizieren sich jedes Jahr wahrscheinlich mehr als 300 000 Menschen mit dem Hepatitis-E-Virus (HEV). Die Hepatitis E ist in Mitteleuropa in der Regel eine durch den zoonotischen HEV-Genotyp-3-verursachte autochthone, d. h. lokal erworbene Infektionskrankheit. Der Verzehr von nicht ausreichend erhitztem Schweine- oder Wildfleisch ist ein Hauptrisikofaktor für HEV-Infektionen, Übertragungen des Virus durch Bluttransfusionen sind aber auch möglich. Diagnostik  Bei Immunkompetenten kann die Diagnose einer akuten Hepatitis E mit dem Nachweis von anti-HEV-IgM gestellt werden. Serologische Tests können bei Immunsupprimierten aber falsch-negativ sein, weshalb in diesen Fällen eine HEV-Infektion nur durch den direkten Nachweis des Erregers mittels PCR im Blut oder Stuhl erfolgen sollte. Natürlicher Verlauf  Eine akute Hepatitis E kann bei Patienten mit anderen chronischen Lebererkrankungen zu einem Leberversagen führen. Chronische Verläufe, definiert durch eine Virämie von mind. 3 Monaten, sind bei Organtransplantierten mit immunsuppressiver Medikation beschrieben, können aber auch bei anderen Immundefizienzen auftreten. Eine chronische Hepatitis E kann innerhalb von Monaten zu einer fortgeschrittenen Leberfibrose oder zur Zirrhose führen. Extrahepatische Manifestationen  Extrahepatische Manifestationen können während und nach einer HEV-Infektion auftreten. Insbesondere Guillain-Barré-Syndrome und die neuralgische Schulteramyotrophie sind mit einer Hepatitis E assoziiert worden. Therapie  Ribavirin hat eine antivirale Wirksamkeit gegen HEV. Bei chronischer Hepatitis E sollte die Behandlung für 3 – 6 Monate durchgeführt werden. Therapieversagen und Rückfälle nach Beendigung einer Behandlung sind möglich. Ein Impfstoff gegen HEV ist bisher nur in China zugelassen.

  14. Return Current Electron Beams and Their Generation of "Raman" Scattering

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Simon, A.

    1998-11-01

    For some years, we(A. Simon and R. W. Short, Phys. Rev. Lett. 53), 1912 (1984). have proposed that the only reasonable explanation for many of the observations of "Raman" scattering is the presence of an electron beam in the plasma. (The beam creates a bump-on-tail instability.) Two major objections to this picture have been observation of Raman when no n_c/4 surface was present, with no likely source for the electron beam, and the necessity for the initially outward directed beam to bounce once to create the proper waves. Now new observations on LLE's OMEGA(R. Petrasso et al), this conference. and at LULI(C. Labaune et al)., Phys. Plasma 5, 234 (1998). have suggested a new origin for the electron beam. This new scenario answers the previous objections, maintains electron beams as the explanation of the older experiments, and may clear up puzzling observations that have remained unexplained. The new scenario is based on two assumptions: (1) High positive potentials develop in target plasmas during their creation. (2) A high-intensity laser beam initiates spark discharges from nearby surfaces to the target plasma. The resulting return current of electrons should be much more delta-like, is initially inwardly directed, and no longer requires the continued presence of a n_c/4 surface. Scattering of the interaction beam from the BOT waves yields the observed Raman signal. Experimental observations that support this picture will be cited. ``Pulsation'' of the scattering and broadband ``flashes'' are a natural part of this scenario. This work was supported by the U.S. Department of Energy Office of Inertial Confinement Fusion under Cooperative Agreement No. DE-FC03-92SF19460.

  15. Organotin speciation in environmental matrices by automated on-line hydride generation-programmed temperature vaporization-capillary gas chromatography-mass spectrometry detection.

    PubMed

    Serra, H; Nogueira, J M F

    2005-11-11

    In the present contribution, a new automated on-line hydride generation methodology was developed for dibutyltin and tributyltin speciation at the trace level, using a programmable temperature-vaporizing inlet followed by capillary gas chromatography coupled to mass spectrometry in the selected ion-monitoring mode acquisition (PTV-GC/MS(SIM)). The methodology involves a sequence defined by two running methods, the first one configured for hydride generation with sodium tetrahydroborate as derivatising agent and the second configured for speciation purposes, using a conventional autosampler and data acquisition controlled by the instrument's software. From the method-development experiments, it had been established that injector configuration has a great effect on the speciation of the actual methodology, particularly, the initial inlet temperature (-20 degrees C; He: 150 ml/min), injection volume (2 microl) and solvent characteristics using the solvent venting mode. Under optimized conditions, a remarkable instrumental performance including very good precision (RSD < 4%), excellent linear dynamic range (up to 50 microg/ml) and limits of detection of 0.12 microg/ml and 9 ng/ml, were obtained for dibutyltin and tributyltin, respectively. The feasibility of the present methodology was validated through assays upon in-house spiked water (2 ng/ml) and a certified reference sediment matrix (Community Bureau of Reference, CRM 462, Nr. 330 dibutyltin: 68+/-12 ng/g; tributyltin: 54+/-15 ng/g on dry mass basis), using liquid-liquid extraction (LLE) and solid-phase extraction (SPE) sample enrichment and multiple injections (2 x 5 microl) for sensitivity enhancement. The methodology evidenced high reproducibility, is easy to work-up, sensitive and showed to be a suitable alternative to replace the currently dedicated analytical systems for organotin speciation in environmental matrices at the trace level.

  16. Correlation coefficient based supervised locally linear embedding for pulmonary nodule recognition.

    PubMed

    Wu, Panpan; Xia, Kewen; Yu, Hengyong

    2016-11-01

    Dimensionality reduction techniques are developed to suppress the negative effects of high dimensional feature space of lung CT images on classification performance in computer aided detection (CAD) systems for pulmonary nodule detection. An improved supervised locally linear embedding (SLLE) algorithm is proposed based on the concept of correlation coefficient. The Spearman's rank correlation coefficient is introduced to adjust the distance metric in the SLLE algorithm to ensure that more suitable neighborhood points could be identified, and thus to enhance the discriminating power of embedded data. The proposed Spearman's rank correlation coefficient based SLLE (SC(2)SLLE) is implemented and validated in our pilot CAD system using a clinical dataset collected from the publicly available lung image database consortium and image database resource initiative (LICD-IDRI). Particularly, a representative CAD system for solitary pulmonary nodule detection is designed and implemented. After a sequential medical image processing steps, 64 nodules and 140 non-nodules are extracted, and 34 representative features are calculated. The SC(2)SLLE, as well as SLLE and LLE algorithm, are applied to reduce the dimensionality. Several quantitative measurements are also used to evaluate and compare the performances. Using a 5-fold cross-validation methodology, the proposed algorithm achieves 87.65% accuracy, 79.23% sensitivity, 91.43% specificity, and 8.57% false positive rate, on average. Experimental results indicate that the proposed algorithm outperforms the original locally linear embedding and SLLE coupled with the support vector machine (SVM) classifier. Based on the preliminary results from a limited number of nodules in our dataset, this study demonstrates the great potential to improve the performance of a CAD system for nodule detection using the proposed SC(2)SLLE. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

  17. Urinary levels of bisphenol analogues in residents living near a manufacturing plant in south China.

    PubMed

    Yang, Yunjia; Guan, Jian; Yin, Jie; Shao, Bing; Li, Hong

    2014-10-01

    The use of bisphenol A (BPA) has been restricted in many countries because of its potential health effects. As a result of these restrictions, a group of bisphenol analogues that are structurally similar to BPA have been developed as the alternatives for industrial applications. However, latest researches indicated that these chemicals have similar endocrine-disrupting effects as BPA in humans. Moreover, only a limited number of studies have attempted to monitor the exposure level in humans of other bisphenol analogues. In the present study, the concentrations of seven bisphenols, including bisphenol S (BPS), bisphenol F (BPF), bisphenol B (BPB), BPA, bisphenol AF (BPAF), tetrachlorobisphenol A (TCBPA) and tetrabromobisphenol A (TBBPA), in human urine samples were measured by liquid chromatography coupled to mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) following the enzymatic hydrolysis of glucuronidase/arylsulfatase and liquid-liquid extraction (LLE). Under the optimised conditions, high recoveries (81.6-116.8%) were obtained for all the analytes, and the relative standard deviations (RSD, %) were less than 16.4% (n=6). The isotopic internal standard calibration curves for each of the target compounds exhibited excellent linearity (r(2)>0.99) and the limit of quantification (LOQ) for the analytes in urine ranged from 0.024 to 0.310 ng mL(-1). The method was applied to investigate the urinary levels of these seven bisphenols in a cohort of residents living near a BPAF manufacturing plant in south China. BPS, BPF, BPA and BPAF were detected in urine samples at concentrations ranging from

  18. Slow Wave Sleep Induced by GABA Agonist Tiagabine Fails to Benefit Memory Consolidation

    PubMed Central

    Feld, Gordon B.; Wilhelm, Ines; Ma, Ying; Groch, Sabine; Binkofski, Ferdinand; Mölle, Matthias; Born, Jan

    2013-01-01

    Study Objectives: Slow wave sleep (SWS) plays a pivotal role in consolidating memories. Tiagabine has been shown to increase SWS in favor of REM sleep without impacting subjective sleep. However, it is unknown whether this effect is paralleled by an improved sleep-dependent consolidation of memory. Design: This double-blind within-subject crossover study tested sensitivity of overnight retention of declarative neutral and emotional materials (word pairs, pictures) as well as a procedural memory task (sequence finger tapping) to oral administration of placebo or 10 mg tiagabine (at 22:30). Participants: Fourteen healthy young men aged 21.9 years (range 18-28 years). Measurements and Results: Tiagabine significantly increased the time spent in SWS and decreased REM sleep compared to placebo. Tiagabine also enhanced slow wave activity (0.5-4.0 Hz) and density of < 1 Hz slow oscillations during NREM sleep. Fast (12-15 Hz) and slow (9-12 Hz) spindle activity, in particular that occurring phase-locked to the slow oscillation cycle, was decreased following tiagabine. Despite signs of deeper and more SWS, overnight retention of memory tested after sleep the next evening (19:30) was generally not improved after tiagabine, but on average even lower than after placebo, with this impairing effect reaching significance for procedural sequence finger tapping. Conclusions: Our data show that increasing slow wave sleep with tiagabine does not improve memory consolidation. Possibly this is due to functional differences from normal slow wave sleep, i.e., the concurrent suppressive influence of tiagabine on phase-locked spindle activity. Citation: Feld GB; Wilhelm I; Ma Y; Groch S; Binkofski F; Mölle M; Born J. Slow wave sleep induced by GABA agonist tiagabine fails to benefit memory consolidation. SLEEP 2013;36(9):1317-1326. PMID:23997364

  19. Fast and Slow Spindles during the Sleep Slow Oscillation: Disparate Coalescence and Engagement in Memory Processing

    PubMed Central

    Mölle, Matthias; Bergmann, Til O.; Marshall, Lisa; Born, Jan

    2011-01-01

    Study Objectives: Thalamo-cortical spindles driven by the up-state of neocortical slow (< 1 Hz) oscillations (SOs) represent a candidate mechanism of memory consolidation during sleep. We examined interactions between SOs and spindles in human slow wave sleep, focusing on the presumed existence of 2 kinds of spindles, i.e., slow frontocortical and fast centro-parietal spindles. Design: Two experiments were performed in healthy humans (24.5 ± 0.9 y) investigating undisturbed sleep (Experiment I) and the effects of prior learning (word paired associates) vs. non-learning (Experiment II) on multichannel EEG recordings during sleep. Measurements and Results: Only fast spindles (12-15 Hz) were synchronized to the depolarizing SO up-state. Slow spindles (9-12 Hz) occurred preferentially at the transition into the SO down-state, i.e., during waning depolarization. Slow spindles also revealed a higher probability to follow rather than precede fast spindles. For sequences of individual SOs, fast spindle activity was largest for “initial” SOs, whereas SO amplitude and slow spindle activity were largest for succeeding SOs. Prior learning enhanced this pattern. Conclusions: The finding that fast and slow spindles occur at different times of the SO cycle points to disparate generating mechanisms for the 2 kinds of spindles. The reported temporal relationships during SO sequences suggest that fast spindles, driven by the SO up-state feed back to enhance the likelihood of succeeding SOs together with slow spindles. By enforcing such SO-spindle cycles, particularly after prior learning, fast spindles possibly play a key role in sleep-dependent memory processing. Citation: Mölle M; Bergmann TO; Marshall L; Born J. Fast and slow spindles during the sleep slow oscillation: disparate coalescence and engagement in memory processing. SLEEP 2011;34(10):1411–1421. PMID:21966073

  20. Levels of perfluorinated compounds in human breast milk in Jordan: the impact of sociodemographic characteristics.

    PubMed

    Al-sheyab, Nihaya A; Al-Qudah, Khaled M; Tahboub, Yahya R

    2015-08-01

    There is scarcity in literature in regards to the exact levels of such compounds in the Middle Eastern region including Jordan. This study was conducted to measure the presence and levels of perfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs) (perfluoroocane sulfonate (PFOS) and perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA)) in human milk and local fresh cow milk in northern Jordan and also to investigate the relationship between levels of PFASs and some sociodemographic characteristics of breastfeeding mothers and their infants as well as usage of Teflon kitchenware products. Seventy-nine milk samples were collected from breastfeeding women and 25 samples from local fresh cow milk in northern Jordan. Levels of PFOS and PFOA were liquid/liquid extracted (LLE) by acetone followed by purification on an Oasis hydrophilic-lipophilic balance (HLB) solid-phase extraction (SPE). Separations and detections were performed by liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry. Limits of quantitation (LOQs) were 10 ng/L for both PFOA and PFOS. The measured concentrations ranged between non-detectable (ND) and 178 ng/L for PFOS and between 24 and 1120 ng/L for PFOA in human milk and between ND-178 ng/L and LOQ-160 ng/L in fresh cow milk, respectively. Median concentrations of PFOS in human milk samples from Jordan in this study were lower than those found in a recent study from Italy. Moreover, mean concentrations of PFOA and PFOS were significantly higher in milk samples provided by older women. Also, mean concentrations of PFOA was much higher in multiparas and those who have younger infants. The mean rank of PFOA was twice as high in the milk of women who had older Teflon products in kitchen compared to those who had relatively new Teflon products.

  1. The High-Foot Implosion Campaign on the National Ignition Facility

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Hurricane, Omar

    2013-10-01

    The `High-Foot' platform manipulates the laser pulse-shape coming from the National Ignition Facility (NIF) laser to create an indirect drive 3-shock implosion that is significantly more robust against instability growth involving the ablator and also modestly reduces implosion convergence ratio. This tactic gives up on theoretical high-gain in an inertial confinement fusion implosion in order to obtain better control of the implosion and bring experimental performance in-line with calculated performance, yet keeps the absolute capsule performance relatively high. This approach is generally consistent with the philosophy laid out in a recent international workshop on the topic of ignition science on NIF [``Workshop on the Science of Fusion Ignition on NIF,'' Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory Report, LLNL-TR-570412 (2012). Op cit. V. Gocharov and O.A. Hurricane, ``Panel 3 Report: Implosion Hydrodynamics,'' LLNL-TR-562104 (2012)]. Side benefits our the High-Foot pulse-shape modification appear to be improvements in hohlraum behavior--less wall motion achieved through higher pressure He gas fill and improved inner cone laser beam propagation. Another consequence of the `High-Foot' is a higher fuel adiabat, so there is some relation to direct-drive experiments performed at the Laboratory for Laser Energetics (LLE). In this talk, we will cover the various experimental and theoretical motivations for the High-Foot drive as well as cover the experimental results that have come out of the High-Foot experimental campaign. Most notably, at the time of this writing record DT layer implosion performance with record low levels of inferred mix and excellent agreement with one-dimensional implosion models without the aid of mix models. This work was performed under the auspices of the U.S. Department of Energy by Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory under Contract DE-AC52-07NA27344.

  2. Liquid chromatography and supercritical fluid chromatography as alternative techniques to gas chromatography for the rapid screening of anabolic agents in urine.

    PubMed

    Desfontaine, Vincent; Nováková, Lucie; Ponzetto, Federico; Nicoli, Raul; Saugy, Martial; Veuthey, Jean-Luc; Guillarme, Davy

    2016-06-17

    This work describes the development of two methods involving supported liquid extraction (SLE) sample treatment followed by ultra-high performance liquid chromatography or ultra-high performance supercritical fluid chromatography coupled to tandem mass spectrometry (UHPLC-MS/MS and UHPSFC-MS/MS) for the screening of 43 anabolic agents in human urine. After evaluating different stationary phases, a polar-embedded C18 and a diol columns were selected for UHPLC-MS/MS and UHPSFC-MS/MS, respectively. Sample preparation, mobile phases and MS conditions were also finely tuned to achieve highest selectivity, chromatographic resolution and sensitivity. Then, the performance of these two methods was compared to the reference routine procedure for steroid analyses in anti-doping laboratories, which combines liquid-liquid extraction (LLE) followed by gas chromatography coupled to tandem mass spectrometry (GC-MS/MS). For this purpose, urine samples spiked with the compounds of interest at five different concentrations were analyzed using the three analytical platforms. The retention and selectivity of the three techniques were very different, ensuring a good complementarity. However, the two new methods displayed numerous advantages. The overall procedure was much faster thanks to high throughput SLE sample treatment using 48-well plates and faster chromatographic analysis. Moreover, the highest sensitivity was attained using UHPLC-MS/MS with 98% of the doping agents detected at the lowest concentration level (0.1ng/mL), against 76% for UHPSFC-MS/MS and only 14% for GC-MS/MS. Finally, the weakest matrix effects were obtained with UHPSFC-MS/MS with 76% of the analytes displaying relative matrix effect between -20 and 20%, while the GC-MS/MS reference method displayed very strong matrix effects (over 100%) for all of the anabolic agents. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

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

    Regan, S.P.

    This volume of the LLE Review, covering the period October--December 1998, includes two articles addressing issues applicable to direct-drive ICF on the National Ignition Facility (NIF): laser-plasma interactions and laser-irradiation uniformity. Additional highlights of the research presented in this issue are: (1) P.B. Radha and S. Skupsky present a novel charged-particle diagnostic that performs simultaneous {rho}R measurements of the fuel, shell, and ablator regions of a compressed ICF target, consisting of an inner DT fuel region, a plastic (CH) shell, and an ablator (CD), by measuring the knock-on deuteron spectrum. (2) F. Dahmani, S. Burns, J. Lambropoulos, S. Papernov, andmore » A. Schmid report results from stress-inhibited laser-driven crack propagation and stress-delayed damage-initiation experiments in fused silica at 351 nm. Research is underway presently to determine the ramifications of these findings for large-aperture systems, such as OMEGA. (3) V. Goncharov presents an analytic theory of the ablative Richtmyer-Meshkov instability, which shows that the main stabilizing mechanism of the ablation-front perturbations is the dynamic overpressure of the blowoff plasma with respect to the target material. The perturbation evolution during the shock transit time is studied to determine the initial conditions for the Rayleigh-Taylor phase of the instability and to analyze the level of laser imprint on ICF direct-drive targets. (4) J.M. Larkin, W.R. Donaldson, T.H. Foster, and R.S. Knox examine the triplet state of rose bengal, a dye used in photodynamic therapy, that is produced by 1,064-nm excitation of T{sub 1}. (5) R. Adam, M. Currie, R. Sobolewski, O. Harnack, and M. Darula report measurements of the picosecond photoresponse of a current-biased YBCO microbridge coupled to a bicrystal YBCO Josephson junction.« less

  4. Eddington limit for a gaseous stratus with finite optical depth

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Fukue, Jun

    2015-06-01

    The Eddington luminosity of a spherical source is usually defined for a uniformly extending normal plasma. We usually suppose that the gas can accrete to the central object at the sub-Eddington luminosity, while it would be blown off from the central luminous source in the super-Eddington case. We reconsider this central dogma of the Eddington limit under the radiative transfer effect for the purely scattering case, using analytical and numerical methods. For the translucent isolated gas cloud (stratus) with finite optical depth, the concept of the Eddington luminosity is drastically changed. In an heuristic way, we find that the critical condition is approximately expressed as Γ = (1 + μ* + τc)/2, where Γ (=L/LE) is the central luminosity L normalized by the Eddington luminosity LE, τc is the optical depth of the stratus, and μ* (=√{1-R_*^2/R^2}) is the direction cosine of the central object, R* being the radius of the central object, and R the distance from the central object. When the optical depth of the stratus is around unity, the classical Eddington limit roughly holds for the stratus; Γ ˜ 1. However, when the optical depth is greater than unity, the critical condition becomes roughly Γ ˜ τc/2, and the stratus would infall on to the central source even at the highly super-Eddington luminosity. When the optical depth is less than unity, on the other hand, the critical condition reduces to Γ ≳ (1 + μ*)/2, and the stratus could be blown off in some limited ranges, depending on μ*. This new concept of the Eddington limit for the isolated stratus could drastically change the accretion and outflow physics of highly inhomegeneous plasmas, with relevance for astrophysical jets and winds and supermassive black hole formation.

  5. Development of a validated UPLC method for simultaneous estimation of both free and entrapped (in solid lipid nanoparticles) all-trans retinoic acid and cholecalciferol (vitamin D3) and its pharmacokinetic applicability in rats.

    PubMed

    Kumar, Manoj; Sharma, Gaurav; Singla, Dinesh; Singh, Sukhjeet; Sahwney, Sudhir; Chauhan, Anurag S; Singh, Gagandeep; Kaur, Indu Pal

    2014-03-01

    A sensitive ultra-performance liquid chromatography (UPLC) method was developed for simultaneous estimation of all-trans retinoic acid (ATRA) and cholecalciferol (vitamin D3) in rat plasma. The method was validated over the linear range of 1.0-5000ng/ml (r(2)=0.999) for both vitamins with a limit of detection of 0.5ng/ml. Chromatographic separation was achieved using liquid-liquid extraction (LLE) on an Acquity BEH RP 18 column (2.1mm×50mm, I.D. 1.7μm), with mobile phase comprising of acetonitrile:methanol:water (90:8:2, v/v/v), at a flow rate of 0.20ml/min and a total run time of 5min. Intra and inter-day variability (RSD) was ≤3.1%, and the accuracy varied between 95.4-99.9% and 95.3-101.1% respectively, for ATRA and 98.5-100.8% and 99.3-101.7%, respectively for vitamin D3. High recovery of ≥96.0% for ATRA and ≥87.80% for vitamin D3 was achieved. ATRA and vitamin D3 were stable in plasma under different storage and processing conditions. The method was applied to estimate the total drug content and entrapment efficiency of ATRA and vitamin D3 loaded solid lipid nanoparticles (SLNs). Concentration of these two agents was determined in rat plasma after simultaneous subcutaneous administration in free form or when loaded into SLNs thus establishing pharmacokinetic application of the developed procedure. Results indicated an improvement in AUC0-∞ by 5.4 times and 29.4 times for ATRA and vitamin D3, respectively, upon their incorporation into SLNs. Simultaneous administration of these two vitamins and their improved and prolonged bioavailability has scope for their use in treatment and control of tuberculosis. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  6. Arsenic-related skin lesions and glutathione S-transferase P1 A1578G (lle105Val) polymorphism in two ethnic clans exposed to indoor combustion of high arsenic coal in one village

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

    Lin, G.F.; Du, H.; Chen, J.G.

    A total of 2402 patients with arsenic-related skin lesions, such as hyperkeratosis, hyperpigmentation or hypopigmentation, or even skin cancer in a few villages in Southwest Guizhou Autonomous Prefecture, China represent a unique case of endemic arsenism related with indoor combustion of high arsenic coal. This study aimed to investigate the cluster of arsenism cases and the possible relevant factors including GSTP1 polymorphism in two clans of different ethnic origin living in one village for generations. Arsenism morbidity in Miao clan P was significantly lower than in the neighbouring Han clan G1 (5.9 vs. 32.7%, odds ratio (OR)=0.13, 95% confidence intervalmore » (CI): 0.06-0.27, P < 0.0001). No sex differences were confirmed inside both clans. Analyses of the environmental samples indicated that Miao clan P members were exposed to higher amounts of arsenic via inhalation and food ingestion. Hair and urine samples also proved a higher arsenic body burden in ethnic Miao individuals. No corresponding differences by sex were found. Higher frequencies of combined mutant genotype G/G1578 and A/G1578 (OR=4.72, 95% CI: 2.34-9.54, P < 0.0001) and of mutant allele G1578 (OR=3.22, 95% CI: 2.00-5.18, P < 0.0001) were detected in diagnosed arsenism patients than in non-diseased individuals. The Miao individuals showed a lower percentage of combined mutant genotypes (30.6 vs. 52.7%, OR=0.40, 95% CI: 0.19-0.84, P=0.015) as well as of mutant allele G1578 (OR=0.46, 95% CI: 0.24-0.88, P=0.017) than their Han neighbours. Conclusions Genetic predisposition influences dermal arsenism toxicity. The GSTP1 A1578G (IIe105Val) status might be a susceptibility factor for arsenic-related skin lesions.« less

  7. Ultrafast carrier dynamics in organic molecular crystals and conjugated polymers

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Hegmann, Frank

    2005-03-01

    . Thorsmølle, R. D. Averitt, X. Chi, D. J. Hilton, D. L. Smith, A. P. Ramirez, and A. J. Taylor, Appl. Phys. Lett. 84, 891 (2004).

  8. [Multi-Target Recognition of Internal and External Defects of Potato by Semi-Transmission Hyperspectral Imaging and Manifold Learning Algorithm].

    PubMed

    Huang, Tao; Li, Xiao-yu; Jin, Rui; Ku, Jing; Xu, Sen-miao; Xu, Meng-ling; Wu, Zhen-zhong; Kong, De-guo

    2015-04-01

    The present paper put forward a non-destructive detection method which combines semi-transmission hyperspectral imaging technology with manifold learning dimension reduction algorithm and least squares support vector machine (LSSVM) to recognize internal and external defects in potatoes simultaneously. Three hundred fifteen potatoes were bought in farmers market as research object, and semi-transmission hyperspectral image acquisition system was constructed to acquire the hyperspectral images of normal external defects (bud and green rind) and internal defect (hollow heart) potatoes. In order to conform to the actual production, defect part is randomly put right, side and back to the acquisition probe when the hyperspectral images of external defects potatoes are acquired. The average spectrums (390-1,040 nm) were extracted from the region of interests for spectral preprocessing. Then three kinds of manifold learning algorithm were respectively utilized to reduce the dimension of spectrum data, including supervised locally linear embedding (SLLE), locally linear embedding (LLE) and isometric mapping (ISOMAP), the low-dimensional data gotten by manifold learning algorithms is used as model input, Error Correcting Output Code (ECOC) and LSSVM were combined to develop the multi-target classification model. By comparing and analyzing results of the three models, we concluded that SLLE is the optimal manifold learning dimension reduction algorithm, and the SLLE-LSSVM model is determined to get the best recognition rate for recognizing internal and external defects potatoes. For test set data, the single recognition rate of normal, bud, green rind and hollow heart potato reached 96.83%, 86.96%, 86.96% and 95% respectively, and he hybrid recognition rate was 93.02%. The results indicate that combining the semi-transmission hyperspectral imaging technology with SLLE-LSSVM is a feasible qualitative analytical method which can simultaneously recognize the internal and

  9. Comparison of UPE and GPR systems for the survey of reinforced concrete structures

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Derobert, Xavier; Villain, Géraldine; Joubert, Anaelle

    2014-05-01

    The objective of this study is to compare two non-destructive techniques using sonic and radar pulses for the survey of reinforced concre structures. The first studied testing method is a Ultrasonic (US) Pulse-Echo (model M2502, from Acoustic Control Systems manufacturer) composed of an array of 12 S-wave transmitters and 12 receivers in one bloc. Their central frequency is equal to 55 kHz. As the averaged USvelocities in concrete tend to 1800-3000 m/s, the corresponding wavelengths tend to 3-5 cm. The Ground-penetrating radar (GPR) system has been performed with high frequency antennas above 1 GHz (1.5 and 2.6 GHz antennas), which lead to the same range of EM wavelengths than the US ones. Measurements have been performed on some thick reinforced concrete elements of structures, and then are compared in term of resolution, depth penetration and ease to use. One of the studied elements is a concrete beam (dimensions : 16 m long, 0.5 m width and 1 m high) designed in an European Projet (FP7_ISTIMES) and damaged by controled impacts of blocks of several tons dropped from few meters [1]. Therefore, the objective of this studyis to compare the two techniques, and for the last studied element to detect the major cracks and the spallings of the cover concrete which are visible from the opposite side. References: Malhotra V.M., Carino, N.J., CRC Handbook on Nondestructive Testing of Concrete, CRC Press LLC, , 1991, 343p. Taffe A., Wiggenhauser H., Validation for Thickness Measurement in Civil Engineering with Ultrasonic Echo, International Symposium NDT-CE, Saint-Louis, USA, 2006, pp506-512. Géraldine Villain, Anaëlle Luczak, Olivier Durand, Xavier Dérobert, Deepening of the measurement technique by Ultrasonic Pulse Echo UPE, Report, IFSTTAR, January 2011, 22p. Catapano I., Di Napoli R., Soldovieri F., Bavusi M., Loperte A., Dumoulin J. (2012), « Structural monitoring via microwave tomography-enhanced GPR : the Montagnole test site », J. Geophys. Eng., Vol. 9, pp. 100-107.

  10. Determination of crenolanib in human serum and cerebrospinal fluid by liquid chromatography-electrospray ionization-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-ESI-MS/MS).

    PubMed

    Roberts, Michael S; Turner, David C; Owens, Thandranese S; Ramachandran, Abhijit; Wetmore, Cynthia; Throm, Stacy L; Stewart, Clinton F

    2013-06-15

    A LC-ESI-MS/MS method for the determination of crenolanib (CP-868,596) in human serum was developed and validated employing d4-CP-868,596 as an internal standard (ISTD). In addition to human serum, the method was also partially validated for crenolanib determination in human cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) samples. Sample aliquots (50μl of serum or CSF) were prepared for analysis using liquid-liquid extraction (LLE) with tert-butyl methyl ether. Chromatography was performed using a phenomenex Gemini C18 column (3μm, 100mm×4.6mm I.D.) in a column heater set at 50°C and an isocratic mobile phase (methanol/water/formic acid at a volume ratio of 25/25/0.15, v/v/v). The flow rate was 0.45mL/min, and the retention time for both analyte and ISTD was less than 3.5min. Samples were analyzed with an API-5500 LC-MS/MS system (ESI) in positive ionization mode coupled to a Shimadzu HPLC system. The ion transitions monitored were m/z 444.4→373.1 and m/z 448.2→374.2 for crenolanib and ISTD, respectively. The method was linear over the range of 5-1000ng/mL for serum and 0.5-1000ng/mL for CSF. For human serum, both intra-day and inter-day precision were <4%, while intra-day and inter-day accuracy were within 8% of nominal values. Recovery was greater than 50% for both the analyte and ISTD. For CSF samples, both intra-day and inter-day precision were <9% except at the lower limit of quantification (LLOQ) which was <17%. The intra-day and inter-day accuracy were within 11% of the nominal CSF concentrations. After validation, this method was successfully applied to the analysis of serial pharmacokinetic samples obtained from a child treated with oral crenolanib. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  11. Hair-based rapid analyses for multiple drugs in forensics and doping: application of dynamic multiple reaction monitoring with LC-MS/MS.

    PubMed

    Shah, Iltaf; Petroczi, Andrea; Uvacsek, Martina; Ránky, Márta; Naughton, Declan P

    2014-01-01

    Considerable efforts are being extended to develop more effective methods to detect drugs in forensic science for applications such as preventing doping in sport. The aim of this study was to develop a sensitive and accurate method for analytes of forensic and toxicological nature in human hair at sub-pg levels. The hair test covers a range of different classes of drugs and metabolites of forensic and toxicological nature including selected anabolic steroids, cocaine, amphetamines, cannabinoids, opiates, bronchodilators, phencyclidine and ketamine. For extraction purposes, the hair samples were decontaminated using dichloromethane, ground and treated with 1 M sodium hydroxide and neutralised with hydrochloric acid and phosphate buffer and the homogenate was later extracted with hexane using liquid-liquid extraction (LLE). Following extraction from hair samples, drug-screening employed liquid chromatography coupled to tandem mass spectrometric (LC-MS/MS) analysis using dynamic multiple reaction monitoring (DYN-MRM) method using proprietary software. The screening method (for > 200 drugs/metabolites) was calibrated with a tailored drug mixture and was validated for 20 selected drugs for this study. Using standard additions to hair sample extracts, validation was in line with FDA guidance. A Zorbax Eclipse plus C18 (2.1 mm internal diameter × 100 mm length × 1.8 μm particle size) column was used for analysis. Total instrument run time was 8 minutes with no noted matrix interferences. The LOD of compounds ranged between 0.05-0.5 pg/mg of hair. 233 human hair samples were screened using this new method and samples were confirmed positive for 20 different drugs, mainly steroids and drugs of abuse. This is the first report of the application of this proprietary system to investigate the presence of drugs in human hair samples. The method is selective, sensitive and robust for the screening and confirmation of multiple drugs in a single analysis and has

  12. Utilizing Ayurvedic literature for the identification of novel phytochemical inhibitors of botulinum neurotoxin A.

    PubMed

    Yalamanchili, Chinni; Manda, Vamshi K; Chittiboyina, Amar G; Guernieri, Rebecca L; Harrell, William A; Webb, Robert P; Smith, Leonard A; Khan, Ikhlas A

    2017-02-02

    Ayurveda, an ancient holistic system of health care practiced on the Indian subcontinent, utilizes a number of multi-plant formulations and is considered by many as a potential source for novel treatments, as well as the identification of new drugs. Our aim is to identify novel phytochemicals for the inhibition of bacterial exotoxin, botulinum neurotoxin A (BoNT/A) based on Ayurvedic literature. BoNT/A is released by Clostridium species, which when ingested, inhibits the release of acetylcholine by concentrating at the neuromuscular junction and causes flaccid paralysis, resulting in a condition termed as botulism, and may also lead to death due to respiratory arrest. Fifteen plants were selected from the book 'Diagnosis and treatment of diseases in Ayurveda' by Vaidya Bhagwan Dash and Lalitesh Kashyap, based on their frequency of use in the formulations used for the treatment of six diseases with neuromuscular symptoms similar to botulism. Phytochemicals from these plants were screened using in silico, and in vitro methods. Structures of 570 reported phytochemicals from 14 plants were docked inside six reported BoNT/A light chain crystal structures using ensemble docking module in Maestro (Schrödinger, LLE). From the docking scores and structural diversity, nine compounds including acoric acid 1, three flavonoids, three coumarins derivatives, one kava lactone were selected and screened using an in vitro HPLC-based protease assay. The bioassay results showed that several compounds possess BoNT/A LC inhibition of 50-60% when compared to positive controls NSC 84094 and CB7967495 (80-95%). Further testing of the active compounds identified from Ayurvedic literature and structure-activity studies of acoric acid 1 using more sensitive bioassays is under way. The identification of acoric acid 1, a novel scaffold against BoNT/A, exemplifies the utility of Ayurvedic literature for the discovery of novel drug leads. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights

  13. [Treating high angle bimaxillary protrusion with three kinds of extraction method: a clinical study].

    PubMed

    Dai, Jia-Yin; Zhang, Miao-Miao; Sun, Miao; Ni, Hui

    2009-06-01

    To compare the effect of three kinds of extraction model on high angle bimaxillary protrusion patients. A total of 30 patients with Class I malocclusion and bimaxillary protrusion, aged 14-25 years old, were selected and divided into three groups. Four first premolars were extracted in the first group. The two maxillary first premolars and two mandibular first molars were extracted in the second group. The two maxillary first premolars and two mandibular first molars were extracted in the third group, and two additional micro-implants used as orthodontic anchorage in maxilla. Three groups were all treated with MBT appliance. Cephalometric analysis were carried out before and after treatment, and the results were analyzed with statistics. 1) About the hard tissues, compared with the first group, there were statistically significant differences of N-Me, SGo/NMe, ANS-Me, FH/MP, SN/MP, and ODI in the second and the third group after treatment (P<0.01). 2) About the soft tissues, the teeth and the alveolar bone, compared with the first group, there were statistically significant differences of Pg-Pos, Li-SnPos, Si-LiPos, LL-E, L1-NB, L1/NB, U1/L1, L7-MP in the second and the third group after treatment (P<0.01). 3) All patients received consummate orthodontic treatment and obtained fine occlusion. Facial profiles were improved significantly after orthodontic treatment. 1) After orthodontic treatment with mandibular first molars extraction, FH/MP, SN/MP, N-Me, ANS-Me, L1-NB and L1/NB decreased respectively, and soft tissue profiles were improved significantly. 2) Additional micro-implant used as orthodontic anchorage in maxilla significantly contributed to the maxillary incisor retraction and subsequent soft tissue change. 3) The first molars extraction and additional micro-implant used as orthodontic anchorage are efficient in improving the facial profiles for high angle bimaxillary protrusion patients.

  14. Major signal suppression from metal ion clusters in SFC/ESI-MS - Cause and effects.

    PubMed

    Haglind, Alfred; Hedeland, Mikael; Arvidsson, Torbjörn; Pettersson, Curt E

    2018-05-01

    The widening application area of SFC-MS with polar analytes and water-containing samples facilitates the use of quick and simple sample preparation techniques such as "dilute and shoot" and protein precipitation. This has also introduced new polar interfering components such as alkali metal ions naturally abundant in e.g. blood plasma and urine, which have shown to be retained using screening conditions in SFC/ESI-TOF-MS and causing areas of major ion suppression. Analytes co-eluting with these clusters will have a decreased signal intensity, which might have a major effect on both quantification and identification. When investigating the composition of the alkali metal clusters using accurate mass and isotopic pattern, it could be concluded that they were previously not described in the literature. Using NaCl and KCl standards and different chromatographic conditions, varying e.g. column and modifier, the clusters proved to be formed from the alkali metal ions in combination with the alcohol modifier and make-up solvent. Their compositions were [(XOCH 3 ) n  + X] + , [(XOH) n  + X] + , [(X 2 CO 3 ) n  + X] + and [(XOOCOCH 3 ) n  + X] + for X = Na + or K + in ESI+. In ESI-, the clusters depended more on modifier, with [(XCl) n  + Cl] - and [(XOCH 3 ) n  + OCH 3 ] - mainly formed in pure methanol and [(XOOCH) n  + OOCH] - when 20 mM NH 4 Fa was added. To prevent the formation of the clusters by avoiding methanol as modifier might be difficult, as this is a widely used modifier providing good solubility when analyzing polar compounds in SFC. A sample preparation with e.g. LLE would remove the alkali ions, however also introducing a time consuming and discriminating step into the method. Since the alkali metal ions were retained and affected by chromatographic adjustments as e.g. mobile phase modifications, a way to avoid them could therefore be chromatographic tuning, when analyzing samples containing them. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier

  15. Exploring nuclear reactions relevant to Stellar and Big-Bang Nucleosynthesis using High-Energy-Density plasmas at OMEGA and the NIF

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Gatu Johnson, M.

    2017-10-01

    Thermonuclear reaction rates and nuclear processes have been explored traditionally by means of accelerator experiments, which are difficult to execute at conditions relevant to Stellar Nucleosynthesis (SN) and Big Bang Nucleosynthesis (BBN). High-Energy-Density (HED) plasmas closely mimic astrophysical environments and are an excellent complement to accelerator experiments in exploring SN and BBN-relevant nuclear reactions. To date, our work using HED plasmas at OMEGA and NIF has focused on the complementary 3He+3He, T+3He and T +T reactions. First studies of the T +T reaction indicated the significance of the 5He ground-state resonance in the T +T neutron spectrum. Subsequent T +T experiments showed that the strength of this resonance varies with center-of-mass (c-m) energy in the range of 16-50 keV, a variation that is not fundamentally understood. Studies of the 3He+3He and T+3He reactions have also been conducted at OMEGA at c-m energies of 165 keV and 80 keV, respectively, and the results revealed three things. First, a large cross section for the T+3He- γ branch can be ruled out as an explanation for the anomalously high abundance of 6Li in primordial material. Second, the results contrasted to theoretical modeling indicate that the mirror-symmetry assumption is not enough to capture the differences between T +T and 3He+3He reactions. Third, the elliptical spectrum assumed in the analysis of 3He+3He data obtained in accelerator experiments is incorrect. Preliminary data from recent experiments at the NIF exploring the 3He+3He reaction at c-m energies of 60 keV and 100 keV also indicate that the underlying physics changes with c-m energy. In this talk, we describe these findings and future directions for exploring light-ion reactions at OMEGA and the NIF. The work was supported in part by the US DOE, LLE, and LLNL.

  16. Simple, miniaturized blood plasma extraction method.

    PubMed

    Kim, Jin-Hee; Woenker, Timothy; Adamec, Jiri; Regnier, Fred E

    2013-12-03

    A rapid plasma extraction technology that collects a 2.5 μL aliquot of plasma within three minutes from a finger-stick derived drop of blood was evaluated. The utility of the plasma extraction cards used was that a paper collection disc bearing plasma was produced that could be air-dried in fifteen minutes and placed in a mailing envelop for transport to an analytical laboratory. This circumvents the need for venipuncture and blood collection in specialized vials by a phlebotomist along with centrifugation and refrigerated storage. Plasma extraction was achieved by applying a blood drop to a membrane stack through which plasma was drawn by capillary action. During the course of plasma migration to a collection disc at the bottom of the membrane stack blood cells were removed by a combination of adsorption and filtration. After the collection disc filled with an aliquot of plasma the upper membranes were stripped from the collection card and the collection disc was air-dried. Intercard differences in the volume of plasma collected varied approximately 1% while volume variations of less than 2% were seen with hematocrit levels ranging from 20% to 71%. Dried samples bearing metabolites and proteins were then extracted from the disc and analyzed. 25-Hydroxy vitamin D was quantified by LC-MS/MS analysis following derivatization with a secosteroid signal enhancing tag that imparted a permanent positive charge to the vitamin and reduced the limit of quantification (LOQ) to 1 pg of collected vitamin on the disc; comparable to values observed with liquid-liquid extraction (LLE) of a venipuncture sample. A similar study using conventional proteomics methods and spectral counting for quantification was conducted with yeast enolase added to serum as an internal standard. The LOQ with extracted serum samples for enolase was 1 μM, linear from 1 to 40 μM, the highest concentration examined. In all respects protein quantification with extracted serum samples was comparable to

  17. A meta-classifier for detecting prostate cancer by quantitative integration of in vivo magnetic resonance spectroscopy and magnetic resonance imaging

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Viswanath, Satish; Tiwari, Pallavi; Rosen, Mark; Madabhushi, Anant

    2008-03-01

    Recently, in vivo Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) and Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy (MRS) have emerged as promising new modalities to aid in prostate cancer (CaP) detection. MRI provides anatomic and structural information of the prostate while MRS provides functional data pertaining to biochemical concentrations of metabolites such as creatine, choline and citrate. We have previously presented a hierarchical clustering scheme for CaP detection on in vivo prostate MRS and have recently developed a computer-aided method for CaP detection on in vivo prostate MRI. In this paper we present a novel scheme to develop a meta-classifier to detect CaP in vivo via quantitative integration of multimodal prostate MRS and MRI by use of non-linear dimensionality reduction (NLDR) methods including spectral clustering and locally linear embedding (LLE). Quantitative integration of multimodal image data (MRI and PET) involves the concatenation of image intensities following image registration. However multimodal data integration is non-trivial when the individual modalities include spectral and image intensity data. We propose a data combination solution wherein we project the feature spaces (image intensities and spectral data) associated with each of the modalities into a lower dimensional embedding space via NLDR. NLDR methods preserve the relationships between the objects in the original high dimensional space when projecting them into the reduced low dimensional space. Since the original spectral and image intensity data are divorced from their original physical meaning in the reduced dimensional space, data at the same spatial location can be integrated by concatenating the respective embedding vectors. Unsupervised consensus clustering is then used to partition objects into different classes in the combined MRS and MRI embedding space. Quantitative results of our multimodal computer-aided diagnosis scheme on 16 sets of patient data obtained from the ACRIN trial, for which

  18. Solventless and solvent-minimized sample preparation techniques for determining currently used pesticides in water samples: a review.

    PubMed

    Tankiewicz, Maciej; Fenik, Jolanta; Biziuk, Marek

    2011-10-30

    The intensification of agriculture means that increasing amounts of toxic organic and inorganic compounds are entering the environment. The pesticides generally applied nowadays are regarded as some of the most dangerous contaminants of the environment. Their presence in the environment, especially in water, is hazardous because they cause human beings to become more susceptible to disease. For these reasons, it is essential to monitor pesticide residues in the environment with the aid of all accessible analytical methods. The analysis of samples for the presence of pesticides is problematic, because of the laborious and time-consuming operations involved in preparing samples for analysis, which themselves may be a source of additional contaminations and errors. To date, it has been standard practice to use large quantities of organic solvents in the sample preparation process; but as these solvents are themselves hazardous, solventless and solvent-minimized techniques are coming into use. This paper discusses the most commonly used over the last 15 years sample preparation techniques for monitoring organophosphorus and organonitrogen pesticides residue in water samples. Furthermore, a significant trend in sample preparation, in accordance with the principles of 'Green Chemistry' is the simplification, miniaturization and automation of analytical techniques. In view of this aspect, several novel techniques are being developed in order to reduce the analysis step, increase the sample throughput and to improve the quality and the sensitivity of analytical methods. The paper describes extraction techniques requiring the use of solvents - liquid-liquid extraction (LLE) and its modifications, membrane extraction techniques, hollow fibre-protected two-phase solvent microextraction, liquid phase microextraction based on the solidification of a floating organic drop (LPME-SFO), solid-phase extraction (SPE) and single-drop microextraction (SDME) - as well as solvent

  19. Enhancement of oral bioavailability of doxorubicin through surface modified biodegradable polymeric nanoparticles.

    PubMed

    Ahmad, Niyaz; Ahmad, Rizwan; Alam, Md Aftab; Ahmad, Farhan Jalees

    2018-05-23

    Doxorubicin hydrochloride (DOX·HCl), an anthracycline glycoside antibiotic, exhibits low oral bioavailability due to active efflux from intestinal P-glycoprotein receptors. The oral administration of DOX remains a challenge hence; no oral formulation for DOX is marketed, till date. To improve the oral bioavailability of DOX through, preparation of a nanoformulation i.e. PEGylated-doxorubicin(DOX)-loaded-poly-lactic-co-glycolic acid (PLGA)-Nanoparticles (NPs) and to develop and validate an ultra-high performance liquid chromatography electrospray ionization-synapt mass spectrometric bioanalytical method (UHPLC/ESI-QTOF-MS/MS) for plasma (Wistar rats) DOX quantification. For chromatography, Waters ACQUITY UPLC™ along with a BEH C-18 column (2.1 mm × 100 mm; 1.7 μm), mobile phase conditions (acetonitrile: 0.1% formic acid::1:1 v/v) and flow rate (0.20 ml/min) was used. For analyte recovery from rat plasma, a liquid-liquid extraction method (LLE), using Acetonitrile: 5 mM ammonium acetate in a ratio of 6:4 v/v at pH 3.5, was used. Nanoformulation with a particle size (183.10 ± 7.41 nm), zeta potential (- 13.10 ± 1.04 mV), drug content (42.69 ± 1.97 µg/mg) and a spherical shape and smooth surface was developed. An elution time of 1.61 and 1.75 min along with a transition at m/z 544.42/397.27 and 528.46/321.41 were observed for DOX and internal standard (IS) Daunorubicin, respectively. In addition, a linear dynamic range with r 2  ≥ 0.9985 over a concentration range of 1.00-2500.0 ng/ml was observed for different processes and parameters used in the study. Similarly a marked improvement i.e. 6.8 fold was observed, in PEGylated-DOX-PLGA-NPs as compared to DOX-S, in pharmacokinetics studies. The promising approach of PEGylated-DOX-PLGA-NPs may provide an alternate to intravenous therapy for better patient care.

  20. Obituary: Sam Roweis (1972-2010)

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Hogg, David

    2011-12-01

    Computer scientist and statistical astronomer Sam Roweis took his own life in New York City on 2010 January 12. He was a brilliant and accomplished researcher in the field of machine learning, and a strong advocate for the use of computational statistics for automating discovery and scientific data analysis. He made several important contributions to astronomy and was working on adaptive astronomical data analysis at the time of his death. Roweis obtained his PhD in 1999 from the California Institute of Technology, where he worked on a remarkable range of subjects, including DNA computing, modeling of dynamical systems, signal processing, and speech recognition. During this time he unified and clarified some of the most important data analysis techniques, including Principal Component Analysis, Hidden Markov Models, and Expectation Maximization. His work was aimed at making data analysis and modeling faster, but also better justified scientifically. The last years of his PhD were spent in Princeton NJ, where he came in contact with a young generation of cosmologists thinking about microwave background and large-scale structure data. In a postdoc at University College London, Roweis co-created the Locally Linear Embedding (LLE) algorithm; a simple but flexible technique for mapping a large data set onto a low-dimensional manifold. The LLE paper obtained more than 2700 citations in 9 years, launched a new sub-field of machine learning known as "manifold learning," and inspired work in data visualization, search, and applied mathematics. In 2001, Roweis took a faculty job at the University of Toronto Computer Science Department. He continued working on data analysis methods that have probabilistic interpretation and therefore scientific applicability, but at the same time have good performance on large data sets. He was awarded a Sloan Fellowship, a Canada Research Chair, and a fellowship of the Canadian Institute for Advanced Research, among other honors and awards

  1. Pharmacokinetic based study on "lagged stimulation" of Curcumae Longae Rhizoma - Piper nigrum couplet in their main active components' metabolism using UPLC-MS-MS.

    PubMed

    Chen, Zhao; Sun, Dongmei; Bi, Xiaoli; Zeng, Xiaohui; Luo, Wenhui; Cai, Dake; Zeng, Qiaohuang; Xu, Aili

    2017-04-15

    Curcumae Longae Rhizoma is one of the commonly used traditional Chinese medicines, which has multiple biological activities such as relieving stagnation and stasis, pain alleviation, curing amenorrhea and wounds. However, its main active component-curcumin has poor absorption and very fast metabolism in body. To solve this problem, Piper nigrum was introduced for its ability to strengthen bioavailability of other compounds. In most cases of TCM couplets, all ingredients were prepared and taken simultaneously, which in our opinion did not take full advantage of their interactions. Therefore, order of administration should be adjusted according to pharmacokinetic parameters of the ingredients, which the ones act as supplement can first be taken, and main therapeutic components followed when the former reached its peak. the extract of Piper nigrum (containing at least 95% piperine) was taken by rats 6h before taking Curcumae Longae Rhizoma extract (containing at least 95% curcumin). Then, a UPLC-MS-MS method was developed to determine their content in plasma simultaneously. Determination was carried out by on a C18 column within 5min by isocratic elution using 0.2% formic acid and acetonitrile (50:50, v/v). Tandem mass detection was conducted by selective reaction monitoring (SRM) via electrospray ionization (ESI) source in positive mode. Samples were pre-treated by liquid-liquid extraction (LLE), and verapamil was used as internal standard (IS). For both curcumin and piperine, the proposed method had good linearity (r 2 =0.999) within the concentration range of 1-1000ng/ml, with good recovery, precision and stability. The lower limit of quantification (LLOQ) was 1ng/ml. As pharmacokinetic data indicated, Maximum concentration (C max ) of curcumin increased significantly to 394.06; the time reach maximum concentration (T max ) and elimination half-life (T 1/2 ) were 0.5 and 0.67h, respectively; CONCLUSION: The results provide a good strategy for the investigation of

  2. Computation of Phase Equilibria, State Diagrams and Gas/Particle Partitioning of Mixed Organic-Inorganic Aerosols

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Zuend, A.; Marcolli, C.; Peter, T.

    2009-04-01

    The chemical composition of organic-inorganic aerosols is linked to several processes and specific topics in the field of atmospheric aerosol science. Photochemical oxidation of organics in the gas phase lowers the volatility of semi-volatile compounds and contributes to the particulate matter by gas/particle partitioning. Heterogeneous chemistry and changes in the ambient relative humidity influence the aerosol composition as well. Molecular interactions between condensed phase species show typically non-ideal thermodynamic behavior. Liquid-liquid phase separations into a mainly polar, aqueous and a less polar, organic phase may considerably influence the gas/particle partitioning of semi-volatile organics and inorganics (Erdakos and Pankow, 2004; Chang and Pankow, 2006). Moreover, the phases present in the aerosol particles feed back on the heterogeneous, multi-phase chemistry, influence the scattering and absorption of radiation and affect the CCN ability of the particles. Non-ideal thermodynamic behavior in mixtures is usually described by an expression for the excess Gibbs energy, enabling the calculation of activity coefficients. We use the group-contribution model AIOMFAC (Zuend et al., 2008) to calculate activity coefficients, chemical potentials and the total Gibbs energy of mixed organic-inorganic systems. This thermodynamic model was combined with a robust global optimization module to compute potential liquid-liquid (LLE) and vapor-liquid-liquid equilibria (VLLE) as a function of particle composition at room temperature. And related to that, the gas/particle partitioning of semi-volatile components. Furthermore, we compute the thermodynamic stability (spinodal limits) of single-phase solutions, which provides information on the process type and kinetics of a phase separation. References Chang, E. I. and Pankow, J. F.: Prediction of activity coefficients in liquid aerosol particles containing organic compounds, dissolved inorganic salts, and water - Part

  3. A novel single-step GC-MS/MS method for cannabinoids and 11-OH-THC metabolite analysis in hair.

    PubMed

    Angeli, Ilaria; Casati, Sara; Ravelli, Alessandro; Minoli, Mauro; Orioli, Marica

    2018-06-05

    THC, CBD, CBN, THC-COOH and 11-OH-THC are the most popular markers of cannabis consumption and abuse. The use of this drug is a serious social problem worldwide. In this study, a method based on gas chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (GC-MS/MS) operated in electron ionization (EI) with simple and rapid liquid-liquid extraction (LLE) and derivatization was developed and validated for the simultaneous determination of THC, CBD, CBN and 11-OH-THC in hair samples. The detection of all compounds was based on multiple reaction monitoring (MRM) transitions. The most important advantage of this method is the single-step, quick, easy and effective sample extraction procedure for THC, CBD, CBN and 11-OH-THC. The method showed a good linearity with a correlation coefficient (r 2 ) between 0.997 and 0.999 for all substances. The variation coefficient (%CV) was <5% for THC, 11-OH-THC and CBD and <13% for CBN. The limit of detection (LOD) was 0.03 pg/mg for 11-OH-THC and it ranged from 0.3 to 1.4 pg/mg for THC, CBD and CBN. The limit of quantification was 0.1 pg/mg for 11-OH-THC and it ranged from 0.9 to 4.7 pg/mg for THC, CBD and CBN. Analytical recovery was higher than 88% for 11-OH-THC and it ranged between 68 and 97% for THC, CBD and CBN. Intra- and inter-assay precision and accuracy were always lower than 9-14% and 5-9%, respectively. In parallel, we have quantified the THC-COOH level, following the methods previously set-up by us. The whole procedure was successfully applied to more than 200 different hair samples from cannabis consumers, disclosing the presence of 11-OH-THC in a range between 0.2 pg/mg and 27 pg/mg, and the presence of THC-COOH in a range between 0.05 pg/mg and 42.05 pg/mg. These data provided a good start towards the use of 11-THC-OH as alternative hair biomarker of cannabis consumption. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  4. Clarification of the Mechanism of Acylation Reaction and Origin of Substrate Specificity of the Serine-Carboxyl Peptidase Sedolisin through QM/MM Free Energy Simulations

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

    Xu, Qin; Yao, Jianzhuang; Wiodawer, Alexander

    2011-01-01

    Quantum mechanical/molecular mechanical (QM/MM) free energy simulations are applied for understanding the mechanism of the acylation reaction catalyzed by sedolisin, a representative serine-carboxyl peptidase, leading to the acyl-enzyme (AE) and first product from the enzyme-catalyzed reaction. One of the interesting questions to be addressed in this work is the origin of the substrate specificity of sedolisin that shows a relatively high activity on the substrates with Glu at P1 site. It is shown that the bond making and breaking events of the acylation reaction involving a peptide substrate (LLE*FL) seem to be accompanied by local conformational changes, proton transfers asmore » well as the formation of alternative hydrogen bonds. The results of the simulations indicate that the conformational change of Glu at P1 site and its formation of a low barrier hydrogen bond with Asp-170 (along with the transient proton transfer) during the acylation reaction might play a role in the relatively high specificity for the substrate with Glu at P1 site. The role of some key residues in the catalysis is confirmed through free energy simulations. Glu-80 is found to act as a general base to accept a proton from Ser-287 during the nucleophilic attack and then as a general acid to protonate the leaving group (N H of P1 -Phe) during the cleavage of the scissile peptide bond. Another acidic residue, Asp-170, acts as a general acid catalyst to protonate the carbonyl of P1-Glu during the formation of the tetrahedral intermediate and as a general base for the formation of the acyl-enzyme. The energetic results from the free energy simulations support the importance of proton transfer from Asp-170 to the carbonyl of P1-Glu in the stabilization of the tetrahedral intermediate and the formation of a low-barrier hydrogen bond between the carboxyl group of P1-Glu and Asp-170 in the lowering of the free energy barrier for the cleavage of the peptide bond. Detailed analyses of the proton

  5. Quasi-isentropic Compression of Iron and Magnesium Oxide to 3 Mbar at the Omega Laser Facility

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Wang, J.; Smith, R. F.; Coppari, F.; Eggert, J. H.; Boehly, T.; Collins, G.; Duffy, T. S.

    2011-12-01

    =JUSTIFY> We acknowledge the Omega staff at LLE for their assistance, Micro/Nano fabrication laboratory staff at Princeton University and the Target Engineering Team at LLNL for fabrication and metrology of the targets used in these experiments. The research was supported by DOE under DE-FG52-09NA29037.

  6. Analysis of ketamine and norketamine in urine by automatic solid-phase extraction (SPE) and positive ion chemical ionization-gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (PCI-GC-MS).

    PubMed

    Kim, Eun-mi; Lee, Ju-seon; Choi, Sang-kil; Lim, Mi-ae; Chung, Hee-sun

    2008-01-30

    -liquid extraction (LLE), and PCI-GC-MS can offer both qualitative and quantitative information for urinalysis of KT in forensic analysis.

  7. Thermodynamic Modeling of Organic-Inorganic Aerosols with the Group-Contribution Model AIOMFAC

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Zuend, A.; Marcolli, C.; Luo, B. P.; Peter, T.

    2009-04-01

    Liquid aerosol particles are - from a physicochemical viewpoint - mixtures of inorganic salts, acids, water and a large variety of organic compounds (Rogge et al., 1993; Zhang et al., 2007). Molecular interactions between these aerosol components lead to deviations from ideal thermodynamic behavior. Strong non-ideality between organics and dissolved ions may influence the aerosol phases at equilibrium by means of liquid-liquid phase separations into a mainly polar (aqueous) and a less polar (organic) phase. A number of activity models exists to successfully describe the thermodynamic equilibrium of aqueous electrolyte solutions. However, the large number of different, often multi-functional, organic compounds in mixed organic-inorganic particles is a challenging problem for the development of thermodynamic models. The group-contribution concept as introduced in the UNIFAC model by Fredenslund et al. (1975), is a practical method to handle this difficulty and to add a certain predictability for unknown organic substances. We present the group-contribution model AIOMFAC (Aerosol Inorganic-Organic Mixtures Functional groups Activity Coefficients), which explicitly accounts for molecular interactions between solution constituents, both organic and inorganic, to calculate activities, chemical potentials and the total Gibbs energy of mixed systems (Zuend et al., 2008). This model enables the computation of vapor-liquid (VLE), liquid-liquid (LLE) and solid-liquid (SLE) equilibria within one framework. Focusing on atmospheric applications we considered eight different cations, five anions and a wide range of alcohols/polyols as organic compounds. With AIOMFAC, the activities of the components within an aqueous electrolyte solution are very well represented up to high ionic strength. We show that the semi-empirical middle-range parametrization of direct organic-inorganic interactions in alcohol-water-salt solutions enables accurate computations of vapor-liquid and liquid

  8. IMP3 can predict aggressive behaviour of lung adenocarcinoma

    PubMed Central

    2012-01-01

    with IMP3 overexpression more often had distant metastases than patients with negative IMP3, 55.5% versus 33.3% (P = 0.033). Non solid subtypes with IMP3 overexpression developed distant metastasis more common than non solid subtypes with negative IMP3, 72% versus 35% (P = 0.028). Conclusions Expression of IMP3 correlates with solid subtype and with distant metastases regardless of histological subtype of lung adenocarcinoma. Virtual slides http://www.diagnosticpathology.diagnomx.eu/vs/1966211581795258 Zusammenfassung Hintergrund Das Lungenkarzinom kommt meistens als nicht resektabler Tumor vor und die Diagnose kann nur in kleinen Biopsaten oder zytologisch gestellt werden. In der Gruppe der nicht kleinzelligen Lungenkarzinome kann der nicht anders spezifizierte Adenokarzinom Phänotyp mit Hilfe der Antikörper TTF-1 und Napsin A diagnostiziert werden. Die Expression des onkoföetalen Proteins IMP3 ist bei humanen Karzinomen mit agressivem Verhalten und metastatischem Potential verbunden. In dieser Studie korreliert die Expression von IMP3 mit TTF-1, Napsin A, histologischem Typ und klinischem Staging des Lungenkarzinoms. Wir waren daran interessiert, ob Fernmetastasen mit IMP3 Überexpression assoziiert sind, unabhängig von der histologischen Subtyp von Adenokarzinom. Methode In der retrospektiven Studie wurden die von 2006 bis 2009 im Klinischem Krankenhaus Split, Kroatien diagnostizerte Adenokarzinome der Lunge von 105 Patienten analysiert. Die klinischen Daten stammten aus der Abteilung für Pulmologie und im Falle des Todes vom Todesregister. Die Paraffinblöcke der primären Lungenbiopsate dieser Patienten wurden im Institut für Pathologie mit der indirekter Enzym - Immunohistochemie mittels Kombination der Antikörper gegen IMP3, Napsin A und TTF1 untersucht. 15 Fälle aus der Analyse aufgrund unzureichender Material ausgeschlossen. Es wurde eine statistische Untersuchung durchgeführt und Werte weniger als 0.05 P wurden als statistisch signifikant

  9. Development and validation of an automated liquid-liquid extraction GC/MS method for the determination of THC, 11-OH-THC, and free THC-carboxylic acid (THC-COOH) from blood serum.

    PubMed

    Purschke, Kirsten; Heinl, Sonja; Lerch, Oliver; Erdmann, Freidoon; Veit, Florian

    2016-06-01

    well. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first publication on a comprehensively automated classical liquid-liquid extraction workflow in the field of forensic toxicological analysis. Graphical abstract GC/MS with MPS Dual Head at the Institute of Legal Medicine, Giessen, Germany. Modules from left to right: (quick) Mix (for LLE), wash station, tray 1 (vials for extracts), solvent reservoir, (m) VAP (for extract evaporation), Solvent Filling Station (solvent supply), cooled tray 2 (vials for serum samples), and centrifuge (for phase separation).

  10. Treatment of Low Back Pain with a Digital Multidisciplinary Pain Treatment App: Short-Term Results.

    PubMed

    Huber, Stephan; Priebe, Janosch A; Baumann, Kaja-Maria; Plidschun, Anne; Schiessl, Christine; Tölle, Thomas R

    2017-12-04

    -selected population of app users, an app digitalizing multidisciplinary rehabilitation for the self-management of LBP reduced user-reported pain levels significantly. The observed effect size was clinically relevant. Ongoing prospective RCTs will adjust for potential bias and selection effects. ©Stephan Huber, Janosch A Priebe, Kaja-Maria Baumann, Anne Plidschun, Christine Schiessl, Thomas R Tölle. Originally published in JMIR Rehabilitation and Assistive Technology (http://rehab.jmir.org), 04.12.2017.

  11. Comparative analysis of nonlinear dimensionality reduction techniques for breast MRI segmentation

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

    Akhbardeh, Alireza; Jacobs, Michael A.; Russell H. Morgan Department of Radiology and Radiological Science, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland 21205

    2012-04-15

    Purpose: Visualization of anatomical structures using radiological imaging methods is an important tool in medicine to differentiate normal from pathological tissue and can generate large amounts of data for a radiologist to read. Integrating these large data sets is difficult and time-consuming. A new approach uses both supervised and unsupervised advanced machine learning techniques to visualize and segment radiological data. This study describes the application of a novel hybrid scheme, based on combining wavelet transform and nonlinear dimensionality reduction (NLDR) methods, to breast magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) data using three well-established NLDR techniques, namely, ISOMAP, local linear embedding (LLE), andmore » diffusion maps (DfM), to perform a comparative performance analysis. Methods: Twenty-five breast lesion subjects were scanned using a 3T scanner. MRI sequences used were T1-weighted, T2-weighted, diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI), and dynamic contrast-enhanced (DCE) imaging. The hybrid scheme consisted of two steps: preprocessing and postprocessing of the data. The preprocessing step was applied for B{sub 1} inhomogeneity correction, image registration, and wavelet-based image compression to match and denoise the data. In the postprocessing step, MRI parameters were considered data dimensions and the NLDR-based hybrid approach was applied to integrate the MRI parameters into a single image, termed the embedded image. This was achieved by mapping all pixel intensities from the higher dimension to a lower dimensional (embedded) space. For validation, the authors compared the hybrid NLDR with linear methods of principal component analysis (PCA) and multidimensional scaling (MDS) using synthetic data. For the clinical application, the authors used breast MRI data, comparison was performed using the postcontrast DCE MRI image and evaluating the congruence of the segmented lesions. Results: The NLDR-based hybrid approach was able to define and

  12. Quantification of suvorexant in blood using liquid chromatography-quadrupole/time of flight (LC-Q/TOF) mass spectrometry.

    PubMed

    Skillman, Britni; Kerrigan, Sarah

    2018-08-01

    Suvorexant is a novel drug for the treatment of insomnia that is marketed under the trade name Belsomra®. Unlike other hypnotics, suvorexant is a dual orexin receptor antagonist that is believed to have a lower abuse potential compared to other therapeutics. Although sedative hypnotics feature prominently in forensic toxicology investigations, there have been limited reports that describe the analysis of suvorexant in biological samples. Following a 10-mg oral dose, peak concentrations are typically <200 ng/mL. A highly sensitive assay is required because forensic toxicology laboratories are often required to identify a drug several hours after a single dose. A new analytical procedure for the quantification of suvorexant in whole blood was developed that will aid in the identification of this new drug in forensic toxicology casework. A simple acidic/neutral liquid-liquid extraction (LLE) was used to isolate suvorexant from whole blood followed by liquid chromatography-quadrupole/time of flight (LC-Q/TOF) mass spectrometry analysis using positive electrospray ionization (ESI). The extraction efficiencies of various solvents in blood were evaluated in addition to limit of detection, limit of quantitation, precision, accuracy and bias, calibration model, matrix effects, interferences, and carryover. The recovery of suvorexant was evaluated using four different extraction solvents (N-butyl chloride, ether/toluene (1:1), hexane/ethyl acetate (9:1), and methyl tert-butyl ether (MTBE). Although no significant differences in analytical recovery were observed, N-butyl chloride demonstrated improved reproducibility, efficiency and convenience. A weighted (1/x) quadratic calibration model was selected over a range of 2-200 ng/mL (R 2  = 0.995). Using only 0.5 mL whole blood, limits of detection and quantification were 0.5 ng/mL. Intra-assay (n = 5) and inter-assay (n = 15) precision (% CV) were ≤ 13% and bias ranged from -5 to 2% at concentrations

  13. Phylogeny of Penicillium and the segregation of Trichocomaceae into three families

    PubMed Central

    Houbraken, J.; Samson, R.A.

    2011-01-01

    Species of Trichocomaceae occur commonly and are important to both industry and medicine. They are associated with food spoilage and mycotoxin production and can occur in the indoor environment, causing health hazards by the formation of β-glucans, mycotoxins and surface proteins. Some species are opportunistic pathogens, while others are exploited in biotechnology for the production of enzymes, antibiotics and other products. Penicillium belongs phylogenetically to Trichocomaceae and more than 250 species are currently accepted in this genus. In this study, we investigated the relationship of Penicillium to other genera of Trichocomaceae and studied in detail the phylogeny of the genus itself. In order to study these relationships, partial RPB1, RPB2 (RNA polymerase II genes), Tsr1 (putative ribosome biogenesis protein) and Cct8 (putative chaperonin complex component TCP-1) gene sequences were obtained. The Trichocomaceae are divided in three separate families: Aspergillaceae, Thermoascaceae and Trichocomaceae. The Aspergillaceae are characterised by the formation flask-shaped or cylindrical phialides, asci produced inside cleistothecia or surrounded by Hülle cells and mainly ascospores with a furrow or slit, while the Trichocomaceae are defined by the formation of lanceolate phialides, asci borne within a tuft or layer of loose hyphae and ascospores lacking a slit. Thermoascus and Paecilomyces, both members of Thermoascaceae, also form ascospores lacking a furrow or slit, but are differentiated from Trichocomaceae by the production of asci from croziers and their thermotolerant or thermophilic nature. Phylogenetic analysis shows that Penicillium is polyphyletic. The genus is re-defined and a monophyletic genus for both anamorphs and teleomorphs is created (Penicillium sensu stricto). The genera Thysanophora, Eupenicillium, Chromocleista, Hemicarpenteles and Torulomyces belong in Penicillium s. str. and new combinations for the species belonging to these genera

  14. A review on regional convection permitting climate modeling

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    van Lipzig, Nicole; Prein, Andreas; Brisson, Erwan; Van Weverberg, Kwinten; Demuzere, Matthias; Saeed, Sajjad; Stengel, Martin

    2016-04-01

    of using CPMs to study climate change it is necessary that these deficiencies are addressed in future research. Coordinated modeling programs are crucially needed to advance parameterizations of unresolved physics and to assess the full potential of CPMs. Brisson, E., K. Van Weverberg, M. Demuzere, A. Devis, S. Saeed, M. Stengel, N.P.M. van Lipzig, 2016. How well can a convection-permitting climate model reproduce 1 decadal statistics of precipitation, temperature and cloud characteristics? Clim. Dyn. (minor revisions). Prein, Andreas F., Wolfgang Langhans, Giorgia Fosser, Andrew Ferrone, Nikolina Ban, Klaus Goergen, Michael Keller, Merja Tölle, Oliver Gutjahr, Frauke Feser, Erwan Brisson, Stefan Kollet, Juerg Schmidli, Nicole P. M. van Lipzig, Ruby Leung. (2015) A review on regional convection-permitting climate modeling: Demonstrations, prospects, and challenges. Reviews of Geophysics 53:10.1002/rog.v53.2, 323-361

  15. Development and application of denuder sampling techniques with in situ derivatization for the determination of hydrogenbromide in volcanic plumes

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Gutmann, Alexandra; Rüdiger, Julian; Hoffmann, Thorsten

    2016-04-01

    -of-principle investigations showed the suitability of the method for halogenhalides-analysis. References Bobrowski, N. and Giuffrida, G.: Bromine monoxide / sulphur dioxide ratios in relation to volcanological observations at Mt. Etna 2006-2009, Solid Earth, 3, 433-445, doi:10.5194/se-3-433-2012, 2012. Bobrowski, N. and Platt, U.: Den Himmel betrachten, die Hölle verstehen. Telegramm aus dem Inneren der Erde., Ruperto Carola, 2013, 2013. Gerlach, T. M.: Volcanic sources of tropospheric ozone-depleting trace gases, Geochem. Geophys. Geosyst., 5, n/a, doi:10.1029/2004GC000747, 2004. Huang, R.-J. and Hoffmann, T.: A denuder-impinger system with in situ derivatization followed by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry for the determination of gaseous iodine-containing halogen species, Journal of Chromatography A, 1210, 135-141, doi:10.1016/j.chroma.2008.08.003, 2008.

  16. Water level observations from Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) for improving probabilistic estimations of interaction between rivers and groundwater

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Bandini, Filippo; Butts, Michael; Vammen Jacobsen, Torsten; Bauer-Gottwein, Peter

    2016-04-01

    Integrated hydrological models are generally calibrated against observations of river discharge and piezometric head in groundwater aquifers. Integrated hydrological models are rarely calibrated against spatially distributed water level observations measured by either in-situ stations or spaceborne platforms. Indeed in-situ observations derived from ground-based stations are generally spaced too far apart to capture spatial patterns in the water surface. On the other hand spaceborne observations have limited spatial resolution. Additionally satellite observations have a temporal resolution which is not ideal for observing the temporal patterns of the hydrological variables during extreme events. UAVs (Unmanned Aerial Vehicles) offer several advantages: i) high spatial resolution; ii) tracking of the water body better than any satellite technology; iii) timing of the sampling merely depending on the operators. In this case study the Mølleåen river (Denmark) and its catchment have been simulated through an integrated hydrological model (MIKE 11-MIKE SHE). This model was initially calibrated against observations of river discharge retrieved by in-situ stations and against piezometric head of the aquifers. Subsequently the hydrological model has been calibrated against dense spatially distributed water level observations, which could potentially be retrieved by UAVs. Error characteristics of synthetic UAV water level observations were taken from a recent proof-of-concept study. Since the technology for ranging water level is under development, UAV synthetic water level observations were extracted from another model of the river with higher spatial resolution (cross sections located every 10 m). This model with high resolution is assumed to be absolute truth for the purpose of this work. The river model with the coarser resolution has been calibrated against the synthetic water level observations through Differential Evolution Adaptive Metropolis (DREAM) algorithm, an

  17. 44th Annual Anomalous Absorption Conference

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

    Beg, Farhat

    Conference Grant Report July 14, 2015 Submitted to the U. S. Department of Energy Attn: Dr. Sean Finnegan By the University of California, San Diego 9500 Gilman Drive La Jolla, California 92093 On behalf of the 44th Annual Anomalous Absorption Conference 8-13 June 2014, in Estes Park, Colorado Support Requested: $10,100 Amount expended: $3,216.14 Performance Period: 1 March 20 14 to 28 February 20 15 Principal Investigator Dr. Farhat Beg Center for Energy Research University of California, San Diego 9500 Gilman Drive La Jolla, California 92093-0417 858-822-1266 (telephone) 858-534-4543 (fax) fbeg@ucsd.edu Administrative Point of Contact: Brandi Pate, 858-534-0851, blpate®ucsd.edu I.more » Background The forty-fourth Anomalous Absorption Conference was held in Estes Park, Colorado from June 5-8, 2014 (aac2014.ucsd.edu). The first Anomalous Absorption Conference was held in 1971 to assemble experts in the poorly understood area of laser-plasma absorption. The goal of that conference was to address the anomalously large laser absorption seen in plasma experiments with respect to the laser absorption predicted by linear plasma theory. Great progress in this research area has been made in the decades since that first meeting, due in part to the scientific interactions that have occurred annually at this conference. Specifically, this includes the development of nonlinear laser-plasma theory and the simulation of laser interactions with plasmas. Each summer since that first meeting, this week-long conference has been held at unique locations in North America as a scientific forum for intense scientific exchanges relevant to the interaction of laser radiation with plasmas. Responsibility for organizing the conference has traditional rotated each year between the major Inertial Confinement Fusion (ICF) laboratories and universities including LANL, LLNL, LLE, UCLA UC Davis and NRL. As the conference has matured over the past four decades, its technical footprint has

  18. A Concept Exploration Program in Fast Ignition Inertial Fusion — Final Report

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

    Stephens, Richarad Burnite; Freeman, Richard R.; Van Woekom, L. D.

    invited to give numerous talks at national and international conferences (including APS-DPP, IAEA, FIW). The advent of PW capabilities – at Rutherford Appleton Lab (UK) and then at Titan (LLNL) (2005 and 2006, respectively), was a major step toward experiments in ultra-high intensity high-energy FI relevant regime. The next step comes with the activation of OMEGA EP at LLE, followed shortly by NIF-ARC at LLNL. These capabilities allow production of hot dense material for electron transport studies. In this transitional period, considerable effort has been spent in developing the necessary tools and experiments for electron transport in hot and dense plasmas. In addition, substantial new data on electron generation and transport in metallic targets has been produced and analyzed. Progress in FI detailed in §2 is related to the Concept Exploration Program (CEP) objectives; this section is a summary of the publications and presentations listed in §5. This work has benefited from the synergy with work on related Department of Energy (DOE) grants, the Fusion Science Center and the Fast Ignition Advanced Concept Exploration grant, and from our interactions with overseas colleagues, primarily at Rutherford Appleton Laboratory in the UK, and the Institute for Laser Engineering in Japan.« less

  19. X-ray Diffraction Study of Molybdenum to 900 GPa

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Wang, J.; Coppari, F.; Smith, R.; Eggert, J.; Boehly, T.; Collins, G. W.; Duffy, T. S.

    2013-12-01

    phase of Mo remained stable along the Hugoniot up to at least 350 GPa. Our observation of diffraction peaks from shocked Mo shows that Hugoniot does not cross the melting curve until at least this pressure. This indicates that previous diamond cell experiments (Errandonea et al., 2004) have underestimated the Mo melting curve. We acknowledge the Omega staff at LLE for their assistance, and the Target Engineering Team at LLNL for fabrication of the targets used in these experiments. The research was supported by NNSA/DOE through the National Laser Users' Facility Program under contracts DE-NA0000856 and DE-FG52-09NA29037. References: [1] R.S. Hixson, D.A. Boness, and J.W. Shaner, Phys. Rev. Lett., 62, 637 (1989). [2] D. Errandonea, B. Schwager, R. Ditz, C. Gessmann, R. Boehler, and M. Ross, Phys. Rev. B, 63, 132104 (2004). [3] A.B. Belonoshko, L. Burakovsky, S.P. Chen, B. Johansson, A.S. Mikhaylushkin, D.L. Preston, S.I. Simak, and D.C. Swift, Phys. Rev. Lett., 100, 135701 (2008). [4] C. Cazorla, D. Alfè, and M.J. Gillan, Phys. Rev. Lett. 101, 049601 (2008). [5] A.S. Mikhaylushkin, S.I. Simak ,L. Burakovsky, S.P. Chen, B. Johansson, D.L. Preston, D.C. Swift, and A.B. Belonoshko Phys. Rev. Lett., 101, 049602 (2008). [6] B. Wang, G. Zhang, and Y. Wang, J. Alloys Compd., 556, 116-120, (2013).

  20. Soot and Sulfuric Acid from Aircraft: Is There Enough to Cause Detrimental Environmental E-kCTSs?

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Pueschel, R. F.; Strawa, A. W.; Ferry, G. V.; Howard, S. D.; Verma, S.

    1998-01-01

    Aerosol from aircraft can affect the environment in three ways: First, soot aerosol has been implicated to cause Icing-tern ozone depletion at mid-latitudes in the lower stratosphere at a rate of approx. 5% per decade. This effect is in addition and unrelated to the polar ozone holes which are strongly influenced by heterogeneous chemistry on polar stratospheric clouds. Second, the most obvious effect of jet aircraft is the formation of visible contrails in the upper troposphere. The Salt Lake City region experienced an 8% increase in cirrus cloud cover over a 15-year period which covariates with an increase in regional commercial air traffic. If soot particles act as freezing nuclei to cause contrail formation heterogeneously, they would be linked to a secondary effect to cloud modification that very likely is climatologically important. Third, a buildup of soot aerosol could reduce the single scatter albedo of stratospheric aerosol from 0.993+0.004 to 0.98, a critical value that has been postulated to separate stratospheric cooling from warming. Thus arises an important question: Do aircraft emit sufficient amounts of soot to have detrimental effects and warrant emission controls? During the 1996 SUCCESS field campaign, we sampled aerosols in the exhaust wake of a Boeing 757 aircraft and determined emission indices for sulfuric acid (EI(sub H2SO4) = 9.0E-2 and 5.0E-1 g/kg (sub FUEL) for 75 and 675 ppm fuel-sulfur, respectively) and soot aerosol (2.2E-3 less than EI(sub SOOT) = l.lE-2 g/kg (sub FUEL)). The soot particle analysis accounted for their fractal nature, determined electron-microscopically, which enhanced the surface area by a factor of 26 and the volume 11-fold over equivalent-volume spheres. The corresponding fuel-sulfur to H2SO4 conversion efficiency was 10% (for 675 ppmm fuel-S) and 37% (for 75 ppmm fuel-S). Applying the H2SO4 emission index to the 1990 fuel use by the worlds commercial fleets of 1.3E11 kg, a conversion efficiency of 30% of 500 ppmm

  1. Semiconductor Laser Diode Pumps for Inertial Fusion Energy Lasers

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

    Deri, R J

    2011-01-03

    Solid-state lasers have been demonstrated as attractive drivers for inertial confinement fusion on the National Ignition Facility (NIF) at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) and at the Omega Facility at the Laboratory for Laser Energetics (LLE) in Rochester, NY. For power plant applications, these lasers must be pumped by semiconductor diode lasers to achieve the required laser system efficiency, repetition rate, and lifetime. Inertial fusion energy (IFE) power plants will require approximately 40-to-80 GW of peak pump power, and must operate efficiently and with high system availability for decades. These considerations lead to requirements on the efficiency, price, and productionmore » capacity of the semiconductor pump sources. This document provides a brief summary of these requirements, and how they can be met by a natural evolution of the current semiconductor laser industry. The detailed technical requirements described in this document flow down from a laser ampl9ifier design described elsewhere. In brief, laser amplifiers comprising multiple Nd:glass gain slabs are face-pumped by two planar diode arrays, each delivering 30 to 40 MW of peak power at 872 nm during a {approx} 200 {micro}s quasi-CW (QCW) pulse with a repetition rate in the range of 10 to 20 Hz. The baseline design of the diode array employs a 2D mosaic of submodules to facilitate manufacturing. As a baseline, they envision that each submodule is an array of vertically stacked, 1 cm wide, edge-emitting diode bars, an industry standard form factor. These stacks are mounted on a common backplane providing cooling and current drive. Stacks are conductively cooled to the backplane, to minimize both diode package cost and the number of fluid interconnects for improved reliability. While the baseline assessment in this document is based on edge-emitting devices, the amplifier design does not preclude future use of surface emitting diodes, which may offer appreciable future cost

  2. A new approach to the study of therapeutic work in the transference.

    PubMed

    Pessier, J; Stuart, J

    2000-02-01

    This article proposes a new method for evaluating the effects of therapist and patient work in the transference. Work in the transference is often difficult for the patient, and may show a characteristic pattern of lag between a transference interpretation and its therapeutic effect. To account for this lag, we assessed patient responses to interpretations over the course of entire sessions. The narratives patients told about others, or Relationship Episodes (REs), were used as units of study. In a sample of three consecutive sessions taken from each of three psychodynamic cases, we identified several instances when transference work appeared to have an initial inhibitory effect, but facilitated progress over the course of the entire session. We recommend that to examine the effects of interpretations future studies use longer, more clinically meaningful segments of patient speech than have been used in the past. Dieser Beitrag propagiert eine neue Methode zur Evaluierung der Effekte von Übertragungsarbeit durch Therapeut und Patient. Arbeit in der Übertragung ist für den Patienten oftmals schwierig und zeigt häufig eine charakteristisches Muster von zeitlichen Verzögerungen bzgl. Übertragungsdeutungen und deren therapeutischen Effekten. Um diese zeitliche Verzögerung zu erklären, untersuchten wir die Reaktionen von Patienten auf derartige Deutungen im Verlauf ganzer Sitzungen. Narrative, in denen die Patienten über andere berichteten, also Beziehungsepisoden, dienten in dieser Studie als Einheit. In einter Stichprobe dreier aufeinanderfolgender Sitzugnen, die sich auf drei Fälle bezogen, identifizierten wir verschiedene Umstände, unter denen Übertragungsarbeit anfänglich einen hemmenden Affekt zu haben schien, letztlich aber den Gesamtverlauf der Sitzung günstig beeinflussten. Wir empfehlen, in Zukunft die Effekte von Übertragungsdeutungen auf der Basis längerer, klinische sinnvoller Segmente von Patientenäußerungen zu untersuchen als dies in der

  3. The effects of training in time-limited dynamic psychotherapy: changes in therapeutic outcome.

    PubMed

    Bein, E; Anderson, T; Strupp, H; Henry, W; Schacht, T; Binder, J; Butler, S

    2000-02-01

    behandelten Fälle legt nahe, dass die Mehrzahl der Therapeuten keine grundlegende Kompetenz in zeitlich limitierter dynamischer Psychotherapie erworben hatte. Cette éude explore les effets sur les résultats thérapeutiques de la formation des thérapeutes dans une thérapie brève, manualissée. Dans le cadre du projet Vanderbilt II, chacun des 16 thérapeutes (8 psychiatrs et 8 psychologues cliniciens) a traité deux patients adultes modérément perturbés, chacun par sa méthode habituelle de thérapie brève; ensuite ils ont reçu une formation d'une année dans une méthode manualisée de thérapie brève, la Psychothérapie Dynamique Limitée dans le Temps (TLDP); pour finir, ils ont appliqué la TLDP à de meilleurs résultats en général, et qu'une amélioration comparativement plus importante sera observée chez des patients habituellement considérés comme moins adaptés à une thérapie dynamique brè. Les résultats obtenus à la terminaison n'ont pu confirmer aucune de ces hypothèses. Des mesures de la dépendance interpersonnelle une année après étaient consistantes avec la première hypothèse, mais les données catamnestiques étaient inconsistantes avec la deuxième. Une revue systématique des 32 cas après formation a suggéré que la majorité des thérapeutes n'avait pas acquis une compétence de base en TLDP. Este estudio exploró la efectividad del entrenamiento de terapeutas en una terapia breve manualizada. Como parte del proyecto Vanderbilt II, dieciséis terapeutas (ocho psiquiatras y ocho psicólogos clínicos) trataron dos pacientes adultos mooderadamente perturbados con sus métodos habituales de tratamiento a corto plazo. Estos terapeutas recibieron luego un año de entrenamiento en terapia dinámica breve manualizada que se Ilamó Psicoterapia Dinámica de Tiempo limitado (TLDP). Finalmente, administraron esta TLDP a dos pacientes más. La hipótesis fue que el entrenamiento ilevaría, en general, a resultados mejores y que habr

  4. On the age of sinistral shearing along the southern border of the Tauern Window (Eastern Alps).

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Kitzig, C.; Schneider, S.; Hammerschmidt, K.

    2009-04-01

    undeformed tonalites yield an age of 26.4±0.1 Ma and of 11.1±0.1 Ma, the strongly foliated tonalitic gneiss yields an age of 19.8±0.1 Ma, which is close to the age of the outcrop-scale shear zone of 18.0±0.1 Ma. It is difficult to interpret the 11 Ma age of one undeformed sample, because it is significantly younger than the ages obtained from zircon fission tracks from neighbouring areas. The older age of 26 Ma for the undeformed tonalite sample is interpreted as cooling age below the closure temperature of biotite, based on the following arguments: 1) This age is consistent with the inferred regional thermochronological distribution of cooling (Luth and Willingshofer, 2008); 2) The rock fabric is undeformed; 3) The age is older than the two deformed samples collected within a distance of a few hundreds of meters. The mineral assemblage of the deformed samples (green biotite and albite crystallisation) differs from the one of the undeformed rocks (red-brown biotite and K-feldspar clasts). Therefore, the albite-biotite isochrons of the deformed samples are inferred to date the deformation event. This age of deformation is consistent with the age determination of Glodny et al. (2008) from deformed marbles of the Schieferhülle, and with previous dating of sinistral shearing along the northern border of the western Tauern Window (Schneider et al., 2007), which yielded an average (n=5) age of 21.9±1.6 Ma. Therefore, sinistral deformation appears to have affected contemporaneously both the northern and the southern margins of the Zentral Gneiss in the western Tauern Window. References: Barnes, J. D., Selverstone, J. & Sharp, Z.D., 2004. Interactions between serpentinite devolatilization, metasomatism and strike-slip strain localization during deep-crustal shearing in the Eastern Alps. Journal of Metamorphic Geology, 22, 283-300. Glodny, J., Ring, U. Kühn. A., 2008. Coeval high-pressure metamorphism, thrusting, strike slip, and extensional shearing in the Tauern Window

  5. Preface

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Gauthier, Jean-Claude; Hammel, Bruce; Azechi, Hiroshi; Labaune, Christine

    2006-06-01

    have shown promising results. A lot of new results of experiments and numerical simulations in ultra-intense laser interactions have also been presented. The Megajoule Laser (LMJ), as one of two facilities being built to achieve target ignition, was a key attraction of IFSA 2005. About 200 participants toured the LMJ construction site and the LIL laser prototype during the conference. Before the tour, a special Facility Focus session examined progress on inertial fusion facilities around the world, including the soon-to-be-completed OMEGA-EP upgrade at Rochester, USA, and FIREX I, at Osaka, Japan. Recent progresses in hohlraum physics continue to give confidence in the ultimate achievement of ignition on the NIF Laser and the Megajoule Laser. The USA are pursuing a very focused program on ICF under the National Ignition Campaign (NIC). In China, a national project has been launched, the goal of which is fusion ignition and plasma burning in about 2020. Progress in direct drive has been notable over the past few years with the cryogenic implosions at LLE, polar direct-drive that may enable to switch rapidly from an indirect- to a direct-drive laser configuration, adiabat shaping of laser pulses, and even "Saturn targets", a short circuit topic from ICF to laboratory astrophysics. About this last topic, radiative shocks and plasma jets were among the most studied subjects. There were also sessions on the technologies of al1 types of drivers, including KrF and DPSSL lasers, particle beams, and Z-pinches. Advances in Z-pinch included double-hohlraum irradiation symmetry and the construction of a PW laser beam for the Z-facility. Advance in plasma diagnostics were dominated by proton imaging from ultra-intense interactions and precise imaging spectroscopy of core implosions. Of special interest, advanced target physics and reactor design studies have started to be more present during this IFSA edition. These Proceedings start with special chapters on the keynote speeches

  6. Progress Toward Ignition on the National Ignition Facility

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

    Kauffman, R L

    2011-10-17

    The principal approach to ignition on the National Ignition Facility (NIF) is indirect drive. A schematic of an ignition target is shown in Figure 1. The laser beams are focused through laser entrance holes at each end of a high-Z cylindrical case, or hohlraum. The lasers irradiate the hohlraum walls producing x-rays that ablate and compress the fuel capsule in the center of the hohlraum. The hohlraum is made of Au, U, or other high-Z material. For ignition targets, the hohlraum is {approx}0.5 cm diameter by {approx}1 cm in length. The hohlraum absorbs the incident laser energy producing x-rays formore » symmetrically imploding the capsule. The fuel capsule is a {approx}2-mm-diameter spherical shell of CH, Be, or C filled with DT fuel. The DT fuel is in the form of a cryogenic layer on the inside of the capsule. X-rays ablate the outside of the capsule, producing a spherical implosion. The imploding shell stagnates in the center, igniting the DT fuel. NIC has overseen installation of all of the hardware for performing ignition experiments, including commissioning of approximately 50 diagnostic systems in NIF. The diagnostics measure scattered optical light, x-rays from the hohlraum over the energy range from 100 eV to 500 keV, and x-rays, neutrons, and charged particles from the implosion. An example of a diagnostic is the Magnetic Recoil Spectrometer (MRS) built by a collaboration of scientists from MIT, UR-LLE, and LLNL shown in Figure 2. MRS measures the neutron spectrum from the implosion, providing information on the neutron yield and areal density that are metrics of the quality of the implosion. Experiments on NIF extend ICF research to unexplored regimes in target physics. NIF can produce more than 50 times the laser energy and more than 20 times the power of any previous ICF facility. Ignition scale hohlraum targets are three to four times larger than targets used at smaller facilities, and the ignition drive pulses are two to five times longer. The

  7. Calibrazioni a terra e prestazioni in volo di spettrometri ad immagine nel visibile e nel vicino infrarosso per l'esplorazione planetaria

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Filacchione, Gianrico

    2006-10-01

    progettuale e realizzativa dei parametri e de lle prestazioni strumentali; in generale infatti non solo sarà necessario mantenere le dimensioni, il peso, i consumi elettrici ed il data-volume entro i requisiti disponibili del satellite ma anche ottimizzare i disegni ottici, meccanici ed elettronici al fine di ottenere le massime prestazioni possibili in funzione della natura del target osservato e dei parametri orbitali della missione. Questa tesi descrive i metodi utilizzati per caratterizzare il funzionamento di spettrometri ad immagine per l’esplorazione planetaria. L’attività svolta ha riguardato sia la misura in laboratorio dei parametri strumentali fondamentali sia l’analisi dei dati in volo su cui verificarne ed eventualmente correggerne la risposta. Il funzionamento degli strumenti e la metodologia di calibrazione vengono descritti nelle due parti principali e nelle appendici di questa tesi per gli esperimenti Cassini-VIMS-V e Rosetta-VIRTIS-M. La prima parte è dedicata all’esperimento VIMS-V sul satellite Cassini, il cui disegno ottico, originariamente proposto da Francis Reininger, verrà successivamente riutilizzato e perfezionato su VIRTIS-M (Reininger et al., 1994; Miller et al., 1996). Il capitolo 1 contiene una descrizione dei parametri ottici, strutturali, termici ed elettronici di VIMS-V mettendone in risalto gli aspetti più innovativi del progetto. Vengono inoltre descritti la collocazione dell’esperimento sul satellite Cassini, il coallineamento con gli altri strumenti di remote sensing, i possibili modi operativi ed il formato dei dati scientifici. Il capitolo 2 riguarda il processo di calibrazione ed analisi dei dati in volo di VIMS-V. La procedura eseguita per calibrare radiometricamente lo strumento utilizzando i dati della superficie della Luna e per stimare il flat-field mediante i dati dell’atmosfera di Venere viene dettagliatamente descritta assieme agli algoritmi utilizzati per la rimozione di diversi effetti strumentali (read

  8. Magnetic jets from accretion disks : field structure and X-ray emission

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Memola, Elisabetta

    2002-06-01

    . We also calculate the X-ray emission in the energy range 0.2--10.1,keV from a microquasar relativistic jet close to its source of 5 solar masses. In order to do it, we apply the jet flow parameters (densities, velocities, temperatures of each volume element along the collimating jet) derived in the literature from the relativistic magnetohydrodynamic equations. We obtain theoretical thermal X-ray spectra of the innermost jet as composition of the spectral contributions of the single volume elements along the jet. Since relativistic effects as Doppler shift and Doppler boosting due to the motion of jets toward us might be important, we investigate how the spectra are affected by them considering different inclinations of the line of sight to the jet axis. Emission lines of highly ionized iron are clearly visible in our spectra, probably also observed in the Galactic microquasars GRS 1915+105 and XTE J1748-288. The Doppler shift of the emission lines is always evident. Due to the chosen geometry of the magnetohydrodynamic jet, the inner X-ray emitting part is not yet collimated. Ergo, depending on the viewing angle, the Doppler boosting does not play a major role in the total spectra. This is the first time that X-ray spectra have been calculated from the numerical solution of a magnetohydrodynamic jet. Astrophysikalische Jets sind stark kollimierte Materieströmungen hoher Geschwindigkeit. Sie stehen im Zusammenhang mit einer Fülle verschiedener astrophysikalischer Objekte wie jungen Sternen, stellaren schwarzen Löchern ('Mikro-Quasare'), Galaxien mit aktivem Kern (AGN) und wahrscheinlich auch mit dem beobachteten intensiven Aufblitzen von Gamma-Strahlung (Gamma Ray Bursts). Insbesondere hat sich gezeigt, dass die Jets der Mikro-Quasare wahrscheinlich als kleinskalige Version der Jets der AGN anzusehen sind. Neben den Beobachtungen haben vor allem auch theoretische Überlegungen gezeigt, dass Magnetfelder bei der Jetentstehung, -beschleunigung und -kollimation eine

  9. FORS am Very Large Telescope der Europäischen Südsternwarte

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    1998-09-01

    Erstes wissenschaftliches Beobachtungsinstrument liefert eindrucksvolle Bilder Entsprechend dem straffen Zeitplan wird das ESO Very Large Teleskop Projekt (VLT-Projekt) auf dem Cerro Paranal in Nord-Chile verwirklicht: die volle Betriebsbereitschaft des ersten der vier 8,2m-Einzelteleskope wird Anfang des nächsten Jahres erreicht sein. Am 15. September 1998 wurde ein weiterer wichtiger Meilenstein erfolgreich, rechtzeitig und innerhalb des Kostenplans erreicht. Nur wenige Tage nach seiner Montage am ersten 8,2m-Einzelteleskop des VLT (UT1) konnte FORS1 ( FO cal R educer and S pectrograph) als erstes einer Gruppe leistungsfähiger und komplexer wissenschaftlicher Instrumente seine Beobachtungstätigkeit beginnen. Von Anfang an konnte es eine Reihe exzellenter astronomischer Bilder aufnehmen. Dieses bedeutende Ereignis eröffnet eine Fülle neuer Möglichkeiten für die europäische Astronomie. FORS - ein Höhepunkt an Komplexität FORS1 und das zukünftige Zwillingsinstrument (FORS2) sind das Ergebnis einer der eingehendsten und fortschrittlichsten technologischen Studien, die je für ein Instrument der bodengebundenen Astronomie durchgeführt wurden. Dieses einzigartige Instrument ist nun im Cassegrain-Fokus installiert und verschwindet beinahe, trotz seiner Dimensionen von 3 x 1.5m (Gewicht 2.3t), unterhalb des riesigen 53 m 2 großen Zerodurspiegels. Um die große Spiegelfläche und die hervorragende Bildqualität von UT1 optimal auszunützen, wurde FORS speziell so konstruiert, daß es die lichtschwächsten und entferntesten Objekte im Weltall untersuchen kann. Bald wird dieses komplexe VLT-Instrument den europäischen Astronomen erlauben, die derzeitigen Beobachtungshorizonte entscheidend zu erweitern. Die beiden FORS-Instrumente sind Vielzweck-Beobachtungsinstrumente, die in mehreren unterschiedlichen Beobachtungsarten eingesetzt werden können. Beispielsweise können Bilder mit zwei verschiedenen Abbildungsmaßstäben (Vergrößerungen) sowie Spektren mit